#I'm so annoyed because i had no time to mentally prepare for this either

[woodblxssomcrowned]

I'm socialy hungover but unfortunately I have to continue being social with relatives I like the least because they for some reason couldn't come when everyone else did yesterday

I pray they won't stay for long

[wolfiesmoon]

Ratted out

sometimes friends and family accidentally (or purposefully) reveal things they shouldnt :)

characters featured: Leona, Kalim, Jade, Jack

ufff idk whats wrong with me but i ended up creating an entire (unrelated to this fic) movie plan related to twst this is mentally stable activities, truly

also unrelated but the new event got me SCREAMING how do they look so good😫

ᐟᐟ☆๋࣭ ⭑໑ Leona Kingscholar

when hanging out with your boyfriend Leona, a little lion boy suddenly jumps him and he immediately lets you go

who is this child???

"Uncle Leona!" the boy clings onto him and you can feel the annoyance eminating from Leona

it's like its own aura thats how annoyed he is🥴

so his nephew (you presume) looks to you all of a sudden and asks "who are you?" with an innocent look on his face

"I'm his lover...?" you said, a little unsure. But when you looked to Leona, he had a look of pure horror on his face...? What is even going on?????

"What?! No way, you're dating Uncle Leona?!" the kid got all excited and ran off somewhere before you could stop him

"...What have you done?" Leona hissed at you through clenched teeth, holding his forehead

you do realise you just revealed that he's dating you to the most big mouthed child in the world, right? that his whole family will know in a matter of minutes, right? that you've basically just invited yourself to every future family gathering at once, right?

and sure enough, in a few minutes he got a surprised text from his brother which he left on read 💀

"Damn brat..." he muttered under his breath, you still confused over what just happened

ᐟᐟ☆๋࣭ ⭑໑ Kalim Al-Asim

let's be real babes there is nothing for his siblings to rat him out on because he immediately told his family he was dating you

however....😈

his siblings happened to overhear a little something...

"Hey, hey." one of Kalim's younger brothers pulled your sleeve, wanting to tell you something

"yes?" you answered absentmindedly, thinking he's going to start talking about a strange thing he saw today or something

"Kalim's gonna marry you." he whispered to you, looking around to make sure no one heard

You laughed a little. "If you think so." you pat his little head

"No, he was like, asking mom if he can marry you soon. We heard it." another one of his brothers joined in after hearing the tea being spilled

"What?! Really?!" you're both extremely surprised and happy and mad at his brothers for ruining the surprise right now

oh well, what's done is done, and now you know Kalim is SERIOUS about you

that gets you thinking about wedding stuff now...🤔

What none of you know tho is that Jamil overheard all of you

"Okay, maybe we need to scrap the whole surprise wedding proposal thing..." he sighs, making a mental note of it and preparing to dissapoint poor Kalim

ᐟᐟ☆๋࣭ ⭑໑ Jade Leech

jade is like... oddly nice to you after you first meet him

you're a little wary of him considering his reputation but he hasn't done anything weird at all so... might as well accept his gifts?

one time he approaches you with jade in tow and you think absolutely nothing of it since they're together like 90% of the time anyways

"Hello there, are you enjoying your lunch?" he just sat down next to you without asking if he can at all 😔

"Uh, yeah, I suppose." you didn't really know what to tell him and it seems he doesnt know how to continue the conversation either so u just kinda... stare at eachother while Floyd casually steals a bit of ur food

"Maaaan, aren't you like, supposed to be crushing on Little Shrimpy or something? Then taaalk about stuff, I'm bored." Floyd looked bored when he saw the two of you didn't start talking about weird stuff

Jade simply smiled at you, telling you to ignore Floyd

But on the inside he was planning approximately 10 ways to... get rid of someone without others noticing

or alternatively, just beating the everloving crap out of his twin brother if the first plan is not a possibility

"Do you have a crush on me?" you wanted to know now...

"That's for you to think about." he smiled oddly eerily, but then just started talking abt something mundane 😥

ᐟᐟ☆๋࣭ ⭑໑ Jack Howl

You're visiting him for the first time because you got curious what his family is like

OF COURSE HE'S AN OLDER BROTHER IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW

his younger siblings immediately ambushed you with their little sniffer noses as soon as you stepped in the house🤔

"Who are you?" they asked, always curious about anyone that Jack brings over

When you told them who you were, they immediately ran away to "TELL MOM" and were literally screaming that the two of you are dating so loudly that the whole neighborhood could hear

You could also hear some woman (who you presume is his mom) laughing from somewhere in the house so uhhh.... atleast she isn't mad about it?

You looked back at Jack who seemed more annoyed than anything

"Aren't you gonna... go stop them?" you asked, raising a brow.

"Nah, I was gonna tell mom I'm dating you anyways. I'm just mad that they beat me to it." he crossed his arms, huffing in annoyance

"Actually, speaking of, isn't me dating you kinda a big deal? You told me before that wolves have one partner for life." you actually got kinda nervous, i mean, you gotta impress his family good now

"It is. But I think everyone's just happy I got someone at all." Jack looked at his overly excited siblings who were still celebrating

"Wow, that's sad." you sassed him 😝

"...I shouldn't have brought you."

[steviesbicrisis]

I was hallucinating a few hours ago due to lack of sleep bUT-

Thinking about Steve who's confident in his bisexuality, told the kids that he likes both and that's okay because he knows they need, trying to flirt with Eddie who is in denial bc it has to be a joke, right? Harrington, the straightest man alive? Steve lady's man Harrington? Nah, it's only on his mind. Meanwhile Steve is getting more and more sad thinking he's being rejected.

Now, think about the Hellfire members knowing that Eddie's a crush on Steve because he talks about it CONSTANTLY and be sad because "he doesn't have a fat chance in hell". They're also very protective of him so if anyone new in the club is being homophobic, they just throw them out.

So one day Steve is in the Hellfire to wait for the kids and flirt a little, telling himself that "this is the last time, you'll get a GRIP and MOVE THE FUCK ON!" is what he tells to himself. He tries a little and drops after a while, so in the break time the old members tell him that he needs to leave, because they won't allow anyone doing that to Eddie, as in: they think Steve knows that Eddie's gay and likes him so he's flirting with him in a mocking way.

So he leaves.

And when everyone (Eddie + the kids) is asking where is Steve, they say that he was being homophobic, an automat answer and they quickly try to cover up because they don't want to do that to Eddie, but Dustin immediately response was:

"how can Steve be homophobic if he's bi?"

And the world freaking EXPLOSES!

not the steddie hallucinations LMAO

Thank you for sending me this ask because I'm president of "Steve is a confident disaster Bisexual" and I'm making t-shirts for club members as we speak.

Anyways, I think Steve would be extremely confident in his sexuality to the point where he just likes whoever and goes for it (with the right precautions of course). When Eddie comes out to him and the rest of their group, Steve doesn't even think about coming out to him as well because he's been out to the group for so long he just assumes that everyone close to him knows.

So when he realizes he likes Eddie and flirts with him, he doesn't know what to take from his reactions: he doesn't look annoyed or uninterested (think about the girls he would flirt with at Scoops) but he doesn't respond either, which is weird for someone like Eddie, who engages flirty banters even with plants.

Let's add to the mix that Steve's love life has been a mess recently, how many times can you be rejected before you think there's something wrong with you?

That's why he decides to go all in one last time and then leave Eddie alone, but even the worst scenarios in his head did not prepare him for Eddie's friends telling him off on his behalf.

Steve's head is a mess but most of it all, he's ashamed. He thinks he must've been so annoying and oblivious to Eddie's disinterest that the guy had to ask his friends to put Steve in his place for him.

So he finds himself in the school's parking lot, sitting on the hood of his car and mentally counting how much money he and Robin will need to move to another country (because not even the most embarrassing moment of his life will make him go anywhere without her), completely unaware of the chaos inside the Hellfire room.

Eddie isn't in a better mental state than Steve, so he's letting the kids and the band do the talk for him.

"What do you mean he's bisexual? of course he isn't, he's Steve Harrington!" Gareth exclaims, voicing out one of Eddie's many thoughts.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean? do you need a special license for that?" Mike huffs, crossing his arms.

Jeff steps in to defend his friend "Of course not! But he's king Steve! And he's constantly picking on Eddie, you heard him!"

"Picking on him? Even a child could see that he has been throwing hints at Eddie for weeks now! What are you, five?"

Erica's words put an end to the discussion, silence falls down abruptly.

Eddie jumps up off his throne and follows wherever Steve had disappeared before, distantly hearing his friends muttered apologies.

He sighs in relief when he sees Steve hasn't left yet.

The car is parked the opposite way of the entrance, so Eddie can only see Steve's back, but he can tell he's gesturing and, when he's close enough, he can hear him talk.

"You can never take a hint, can you? This is so stupid, how can you go around saying you got game when you can't even tell if someone's interested in you? Harrington charm my ass" Steve's hands are all up in the air and Eddie realizes he's gesturing similar to how Eddie does on a daily basis.

It's cute.

"Please leave the Harrington charm out of this" Eddie interjects, making Steve jump in surprise.

He looks like a deer caught by car lights, but he hides it quickly behind a smirk that Eddie refers to - at least in his head - as bitchy Steve "so, no more sending your gang after me? are you worried they didn't do a good job? or am I forbidden to stay even in the parking lot? I'll let you know that I-"

Eddie loves mean girl Steve, but he has no time for him now, so he interrupts "Go on a date with me."

Steve's raised eyebrow and incredulous look tell him that he doesn't take him seriously in the slightest.

"I said, go on a date with me" he repeats.

"I heard you the first time" Steve's voice is close to a whisper "I just think you must've hit your head on your way here."

"You're the one always taking hits on the head, not me" Eddie takes a step closer to him.

Steve steps back "well, there's a first time for everyone" he says, looking away.

Eddie moves close again, his face only a few inches from Steve's "I don't hear an answer."

Steve's eyes flicker on Eddie's lips for half a second, "I didn't hear a question" he bites back.

Eddie smirks and, under Steve's shocked look, jumps on his car.

"Eddie, what the fuck? get down of my car!" he's trying to maintain a firm tone but Eddie can tell he's amused by his antics. Eddie couldn't ask for anything better.

He looks around the parking lot to make sure they're alone, then loudly enounces "Steve Fucking Harrington-"

"Don't say it like it's my middle name!"

Eddie ignores him "- king of the school grounds, best Scoops Ahoy model-"

"what does that even mean-"

"Worst employee that family video has ever had, Faberge Organics favorite costumer-"

"I told you that in confidence."

"Would you do this humble commoner kneeling at your presence" he kneels down theatrically as he says so "the honor of accompanying him for an evening of frivolous romantic shit that society expects you to do when you find a respectable partner?"

“If I say yes will you get down?”

Eddie moves his weight from one foot to the other, making the car under him bounce “I might consider it.”

Steve lifts his arms, apprehensively “Okay, yes fine! Now please get down-”

Eddie jumps down, right into Steve’s arms.

———

All the hellfire club members decide to stop spying on them and get back inside when Eddie’s highly entertaining antics turn into a gross make out session.

“So” Dustin elbows Gareth’s side “does that look homophobic to you?”

[sillylittlestoryblog]

(Not) Hard to Love

( Part 1 of 2 )

Trafalgar Law x Reader

Warning: ⚠️ reader has self love issues, angst, some suggestive thoughts, not a native English speaker here :)

Authors notes: I have read your comments about writing a part 3 to Keeping me warm, i hadn’t really planed it as a series, so if you have a suggestion how the story should end, I would love to hear your thoughts.

I know this story isn’t that much different. But I am just living for that angsty pining shit. 😗✌🏻this will have a part two and it will follow soon. Anyways have fun. Feel free to comment your thoughts. And remember nice words are good for everybody’s mental health. ;)

"You're staring again"

Robin's words snapped you out of your thoughts. The dark-haired girl was sitting next to you on a sun lounger. There was an open book on her lap. She giggled.

" what?! No. I'm not!"

"Are you sure? You seem to be quite fascinated by him"

She held her sunglasses up for a moment so that you could see her eyes. She winked before putting the sunglasses back on her nose. She grinned and looked happily towards the sun.

It was a hot midday on the Thousand Sunny. Chopper and Luffy were playing a mixture of catch and hide-and-seek, with Luffy usually winning.

Zoro was snoring on deck, his swords always beside his sleeping body.

Usopp and Franky repaired small things on the Sunny and Sanji prepared a few refreshing drinks. While Brook was singing to himself somewhere.

Nami, Robin and you were sunbathing on the main deck. At least that was Nami's plan. Robin had gone along to do some reading. And you had mainly agreed to it for a very specific reason.

Normally your friends would have been reason enough, but the drastic heat was anything but pleasant.

If it hadn't been for this one reason, you would have gone somewhere in the shade long ago, preferably to Sanji in the kitchen or to the girls' room. Somewhere where you could best escape the sun.

But your reason for staying out on deck hadn't really moved for two hours. He was sitting at a small table with a parasol, a few sheets of paper and books spread out in front of him. Immersed in his work.

He was sitting far enough away not to be disturbed by Chopper and Luffy's games.

Trafalgar Law had been on board the Sunny for a few weeks now. Being part of the Strawhat crew again, even if only for a short time, was really getting to him. Groaning, he stretched his body, which was already a little sore from the uncomfortable posture. He really should take breaks from studying more often.

He walked briskly towards the kitchen. As a good doctor, he knew how important it was to drink water regularly, especially in these temperatures.

" and do you like what you see?"

" huh?!"

Once again, your mind wandered. For a brief moment, you wish you could take photos with your eyes. Just save certain moments in your mind forever. And return again and again to study them in detail.

That's all it was. You wanted to know what his deal was. Although you had already had several conversations with him, and in your opinion always with friendly intentions, he had managed to make you feel terrible every time.

Almost every conversation had degenerated too quickly. You could hardly believe how stubborn someone could be. And your captain was Luffy.

So you definitely knew your way around stubborn men. But Law was different. He was cold and grim and always wanted to be right.

You were annoyed by him from day one. Annoyed because this handsome, strong pirate was making you feel things. And that completely destroyed your former inner harmony.

There were either constant arguments or harsh silence between you. Sometimes he ignored you for days. At first you didn’t understand why he stayed with your crew, if he hated it so much.

But every now and then you could see a different side to him. How he talked caringly to Chopper about medication, how he complimented Sanji's cooking, how he gave Robin a brief smile after she had shown him her newest book collection in the library.

But these little moments were never with you. Every interaction between you and him was a disaster. He was grumpy, stressed and strict. So most times he just gave you a weird glance or turned the other way when he saw you walking towards him.

At least you had tried. But ever since Law decided to treat you differently from the other crew members and set out to make your life a living hell, you didn't want to be the friendly one either. You were sure, he didn’t have a problem with the rest of the crew. His problem was you.

But the heat was getting to everyone, and with such temperatures you can shortly forget the real problems.

Especially after Law had gotten rid of his long coat and overly thick sweater. Even his hat, which he usually wears, had been laying on the table next to his medicine and history books for almost half an hour.

And law without all that, was definitely interesting enough to briefly forget what the real problem was.

Tattoos on his upper and lower arms, his dark hair crushed and disheveled from wearing his hat. And his warm eyes that were now really visible for the first time.

"Robin! ... Why is he like that?"

" like what, y/n?"

" like so... so... so arghhhhh..., annoying ?! Angry? Attractive?!" You sighed and put your hands before your face. Not wanting even more people to see your blushing face.

Robin grinned again and took the book off her lap.

" so you do fancy him. Nami and I were right. ... hey Usopp! You owe me 50 berry!"

"Oh no. You did a bet on me ?!"

You loved Robin. She was the most beautiful, intelligent and loving woman you knew. But sometimes you were a tiny bit mad at her for knowing you so well. You couldn’t keep any secret from her. This woman had all the wisdom of the world (+ the gossip on the sunny ) in her head.

" I just don't get why someone who has that gorgeous hair and pretty smile, is such an asshole."

" Law isn't that terrible, Y/N. I told you he's just shy around new people. He'll make friends with you sooner than you know, I'm sure of it. And I don't think he hates you. He just doesn't know how to talk to you yet."

"Yeah, but he can't really get to know me and be my „ friend“, if he always leaves the room when I walk in.... I just want to know why he won't at least try to be friendly to me.

I mean, we have a lot in common. And I was really nice to him on his first day here. I showed him around the ship and even made him fresh juice from Nami’s trees and prepared his room. And all I got was a grumpy face and not a single comment.

And I just don’t know what is wrong with me?! He likes you guys, and he is so kind to Chopper." A sad frown making its way onto your face.

„sounds like you are jealous.“

Nami hadn’t really participated in the conversation yet. But she just enjoyed teasing you too much.

„ ahhh… just shut up, Nami.“

Now hiding your entire body under the beach towel you had brought with you.

You sigh after rolling your eyes for a moment. This wasn’t helping. You would have to find out what exactly his problem with you was.

Later that day, you helped Sanji in the kitchen. You were preparing some muffins for after dinner.

" Hey, can I ask you something?"

" Sure thing, honey. What's on your mind?"

Nervously, you bite your lip. Should you really ask Sanji for help? He certainly wasn't your first choice, but you felt you had to talk to a man. And the other men on board wouldn't be much help either.

„ but of course you are! You are incredibly beautiful and as pretty as a glowing nightsky or a bouquet of expensive flowers.“

Sanji was dancing around you with hearts in his eyes. Making weird noises while twirling like a ballerina.

That’s exactly why you were nervous. Surly Sanji wasn’t the right one to talk about this. But you at least had to try and find out what was wrong with you.

„ but like… do you like my personality too?“

„ yes of course sweetheart, you are the kindest, sweetest and most loving creature to ever bless my eyes.“

„and do you think that the others think so too? That I m helpful ? And kind ? And have a purpose on this ship?“

Sanji stopped dancing and looked at you seriously. „ why are you doubting yourself so much Y/N ? Of course the others think so too. You are part of our Nakama. What makes you think that way? „

Sanji stepped behind you and wrapping his arm around you. „Did the stupid Marimo say something again? I told you not to listen to the shit he says.“

You sat down on one of the chairs next to the kitchen table.

You immediately felt your chest tighten. You didn't want to cry. You really didn't. But the whole thing bothered you more than you initially thought.

"I just don't understand what I did wrong. I was only ever friendly and did everything I could to make him like me. But he hates me and I don't know why."

You sat uncomfortably on the chair with your legs drawn up. Sanji had never seen you so irritated.

" hey hey. It's all good, y/n. Who are you talking about?"

" The fucking Doctor, of course..."

Sanji smirked. He had almost suspected that. He had seen how you kept looking after the dark-haired man after he had ignored you and quickly left the room.

" I just don't get it! Why does he hate me? I've really tried everything, but he won't even look at me when I talk to him.

I've been asking myself for days... am I so ugly that he can't even bear to look at me? Is there really nothing to like about me?“

Hot tears started falling. Your flushed cheeks covered with them.

You didn't deserve all this attention you were hoping for. There was a reason nobody loved you. Something must be wrong with you. Something everybody probably knew, but was too afraid to tell you.

Were you this hard to love ? Why did you have to be so interested in this dude anyway?! Oh yeah, he was gorgeous to look at, intelligent like no other and had seen more of the world than you could ever dream of. Of course you had a stupid crush on him. But for him, you were only air. Or maybe something worse.

Sanji didn’t know if he should laugh or cry with you. He couldn’t believe how stupid you were. Almost as stupid as his captain and the dumb green haired swordsman.

„ y/n hey. Calm down. It’s okay. Nobody hates you. Shhh.“

His arms wrapped around you and held you in a tight embrace.

He almost chuckled thinking about what happend just a few hours before.

Law couldn’t take it anymore. The weather was already killing him. But seeing you in just your short bikini, laying just a few feet from him in the glistening sun. That was clearly to much.

He frowned under his breath. What a cruel joke. Almost as if his crew was behind an evil prank. Watching him, suffering all by himself.

He knew he was fucked the moment he saw you for the first time. He was just saying goodbye to his crew, when he spotted the newest crew member on deck. You were holding Chopper up like a toddler. Making sure he wasn’t gonna fall overboard, while still being able to see the other pirate ship.

Law had looked at you far to long for his liking. Your hair floating around you in the sea wind. And your bright smile lighting up his entire mood. You were mesmerizing.

How did Strawhat-ya always find these people? Law was almost jealous. Even tho he knew he wouldn’t be able to have a woman like you on his crew. It would never work out.

Looking up from his textbook he noticed you watching him again. In some wild fantasy in his head, he would wink at you now.

But Law was a serious man. He had things to do. And he couldn’t get distracted. Even tho the sight before him was definitely something he couldn’t forget in a while, he knew it wouldn’t be good if he was gonna stay sitting at this place. His mind was already wandering to very different places.

This wasn’t good.

Law exhaled and got up. He picked up the textbook before him and went inside. The kitchen wasn’t nearly as hot as the outside and definitely not as distracting.

The blonde cook was standing next to the stove preparing something that looked like dinner.

„ Hey. Is it okay if I sit here for a while?“

The cook turned around and gave him a kind smile.

„ sure. I don’t mind. Was it to hot for you outside?“

„ something like that.“ Law muttered, wishing he wouldn’t have noticed how the sentence had a double meaning. Ignoring Sanjis knowing grin he pretended to already be occupied with his book again.

During the afternoon, some crew members came by the kitchen. Law remained quietly seated at the table, absorbed in his studies.

Even when Nami and Robin entered the kitchen together, still dressed only in their bathing suits, Law did not look up from his work. There was no reaction to be seen on his face.

The others had been observing this behavior for a while. And Sanji was pretty sure by now.

His expression was mostly relaxed or thoughtful. Busy with his work. But that could change abruptly. Because Law showed some other forms of reaction as soon as you entered the room.

You had fallen asleep in the afternoon sun and after finding the deck empty, the first thing you did was head for the kitchen. A glass of water was now your only salvation.

Sanji saw you climb the stairs to the kitchen. And even though he would have liked to continue looking out of the window, enchanted by your face, he had more important things to do. His gaze darted back to the Surgeon of Death as inconspicuously as possible.

When you entered the room, he had already given himself away. Law's face was strangely tense. His eyes stared as unnaturally as Sanji had ever seen them, at the sheet of paper in front of him.

Bingo.

Sanji knew exactly what was going on.

Only when y/n turned to Sanji did Law look up from his book.

Law had to swallow. The view in front of him made him freeze for a moment. His mind going absolutely blank.

The next time Sanji turned his gaze to Law, he held his hand in front of his nose. He rushed out of the kitchen with a bright red head.

Sanji couldn't help but grin. So he had been right all along.

Nami, Robin and Sanji whispered through the night. Their captain laying and snoring between them. Luffy had initially been very excited about this secret meeting. But after he had found out that it was only about you and Law, he had fallen asleep from boredom.

"Haha, I knew it." Nami was beaming from ear to ear.

"Usopp doesn't stand a chance. I'll be rich tomorrow!!!"

"Oh Nami love, it can't just be all about money for you, can it? After all, it's about love, devotion and passion. Law is so attracted to Y/N that he can't even stand to be in the same room with her."

Sanji got heart eyes. "That's the most romantic thing I've ever witnessed. Oh to be in lovee..."

Robin giggled. "So what exactly are we going to do now?“

„ We have to get them to confess to each other !!“ Nami hushed to her friends „and not just for the money“ she added while holding her hands up in the air. Signaling a promise.

„ Maybe we could set up a romantic date for the two of them. I could cook their favorite meals and“ Sanjis lovestruck face suddenly changed into a dark frown.

„ Watch over them, because if Traffy tries to hurt my dear Y/Ns feelings I will kill him.“

„ Oh we shouldn’t do that Sanji, it would be more than stupid to do that. If he hurts her I will simply give him to the marines. At least we could make a profit like that.“ Nami was grinning proudly at her plan.

„ My dear friends, I don’t think that’s gonna happen. Let’s see, Franky said that he didn’t have time yet to repair the door to our storage room yet… let’s say for some unknown reason he doesn’t repair it until in a few days? I m sure there is enough other work around the sunny!“

„ What are you suggesting Robin, Dear?“

The dark haired woman placed her chin on her hand, grinning into the blonde cooks face with a mischievous look in her eyes.

„ You’ll see Sanji. You’ll see.“

[yerimbrit]

WWIB > 5. lunch with pretty (wc: 1.2k)

danielle grins happily as she listens to y/n explain each classroom and their respective teachers. mrs. kim and mr. park, the math teachers, mr. baek the literature teacher—the list goes on. y/n has more annoyed complaints to say about mr. song, which makes danielle giggle with her hand covering her mouth.

she notices her mentor has a hard time making eye contact with her. everyone that she's talked to is okay, but it seems it's different when it comes to danielle. it reassures her in thinking that her seatmate may already have some feelings for her too.

"mrs. kim is nice, but she keeps giving us pop quizzes," y/n gulps down the last of her pocari sweat and throws it away at the nearest recycling bin. "i don't know about mr. park but from what i've heard for eunchae—the girl who kept poking me in class today—he likes pop quizzes too."

danielle takes a sip of her strawberry milk. y/n was adamant about treating her, even if it was just the school vending machines. they finally replaced the selection with better drinks, and everyone's been swarming the machines during break according to the girl. "that's bad," she pouts, "i can't do well on tests without studying super hard; i'll have to study everyday."

y/n widens her eyes and shakes her head, finally glancing at danielle. the transfer student's eyes glimmer with genuine fear. "ah, it's not that bad! they're usually right after we review some introductory material or something like that, don't worry."

they walk through the hallways. some students stare in awe at danielle as they walk past the pair, even more so when she greets each of them with a bright smile. y/n looks like she's seconds away from either passing out or growling at the other students.

they're about to enter the cafeteria when danielle stops briefly. "you didn't have plans with your friends, did you? i know i asked if you wanted to eat lunch together but it's not too late to back out..."

y/n ponders for a moment, glancing around. "i'll... i want to eat lunch with you, it's okay. do you know anyone else here?" she slowly asks. 'she really has a permanent smile on her face,' y/n notes in her head.

"i have a friend who's a senior, but she's... busy today. i can always catch up with her later!" danielle answers easily, hoisting her backpack up to adjust it.

y/n nods and they walk into the already-bustling lunchroom. they don't bother getting in line since danielle brought her own food for today and y/n had a particularly big breakfast with haerin.

"you're not gonna eat?" danielle decides to question this decision, pulling her comically large lunchbox out of her bag, which separates into three different containers. she almost looks disappointed at the lack of food in front of her mentor. 'she's really expressive,' y/n adds to her mental note.

the girl in front of her stares in bewilderment, looking between danielle and her abundance of food that she prepared for lunch. "is that all for you?" she asks in astonishment, before quickly realizing that danielle might take it the wrong way. "i mean, not that i'm calling you-"

y/n gets cut off by the girl laughing. the sound makes her feel like she's floating, ready to ascend to whatever's up there. 'this must be heaven.'

"it's okay! i'm a big eater, i'm pretty active. i used to do track back in australia, but i had to quit because my family was moving back to korea."

the girl across from her nods in understanding, drumming her fingertips on top of the table. "you're from australia?"

"yeah! i was born there but we moved back and forth between seoul and newcastle. my mom's korean."

danielle takes the lids off of her lunchbox containers, revealing a copious amount of gimbap, some cutlery, and a whole box dedicated to a mix of cherry tomatoes and baby carrots. she gestures to the container filled with the fruits and vegetables. "want some?"

"oh," y/n's mouth forms an 'o' shape, and she picks a cherry tomato from the pile. "thank you."

the australian watches as y/n pops the fruit into her mouth with expectant eyes. "is it sweet?"

"mm, very."

"that's good! i love fruits and vegetables, i can't go a day without having them. oh, especially carrots. i love carrots," danielle rambles as she picks up a piece of her gimbap with her chopsticks and shoves it in her mouth. she repeats this until all of her lunch is gone, before y/n can even blink.

"hey loser," eunchae sets her tray down on the table, taking a seat next to y/n. "hi danielle!"

danielle flashes a huge grin and waves, recognizing the girl as the person that y/n was talking about earlier. "hello! eunchae...?"

"big baby..." y/n mutters under her breath. unfortunately for her, eunchae hears it and pinches her on the side. they side-eye each other.

then, as if nothing happened, she turns back to danielle with a friendly expression. "that's right! yunjin-unnie told me lots about you."

this turns out to be something that danielle didn't expect, because she lets out a loud gasp. "you know yunjin-unnie!?"

y/n curses at eunchae in her head.

the two get wrapped up in an exciting conversation about yunjin and how they know her, and also getting to know each other in the process. danielle, yunjin, and another girl named yuna grew up together, and they still keep in touch even now. they keep each other updated on almost every detail of their lives while danielle is away, and also exchanging small pieces of gossip.

eunchae's older sister, chaewon, is close friends with the musician, and she describes them as a "budding situationship" before she laughs it off and changes to a different subject. internally, y/n takes back the curses she directed to the younger girl as she also got to know the pretty girl better through their interaction.

two figures approach their table and eunchae and danielle's conversation is put on pause in order to see who arrived.

"ah, finally!" y/n stands up, moving her bag so the student council power couple could sit. "you took forever."

"danielle," eunchae starts, pointing to the girls that had just settled down in their seats with a lunchbox that the secretary packed. "this is hanni-unnie and minji-unnie, our very own student council secretary and president. guys, this is danielle, the new transfer."

"wow! it's so nice to meet you! i didn't know y/n-ssi was so connected."

"it's very nice to meet you, danielle," hanni states, making a face at y/n, who flips her off while the bright girl isn't looking.

the rest of the girls finish their lunch, with some taking their share of danielle's offered tomatoes and carrots (minji made a face, though no one except hanni and y/n noticed), and soon lunch was over. y/n's face pales at the bell.

she still has class with the new girl in two periods.

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taglist: @idkwhatim-doinghere101 @nnewjeansstuff @airice @yeetaberry127 @multiliker @saysirhc @shozeu @nwjnsloona @hannienthusiast @hotluvlet @gayforalll @technicallyimportantsweets @jeindall777 @popasi @gtfoiydlyj

[mxlktxa]

birthday girl

moder!au pairing; ellie williams x fem!reader cw; language, (brief) 18+ content , alcohol use, modern!au, (brief) underage drinking (reader is turning 20, while ellie is 22) an; i only did this cuz my bday was yesterday (may 5th) ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ

I placed my keys and bag right at the front door, leaning against the front door to mentally prepare myself for whatever Ellie had planned for my birthday today.

"Ellie!" I called out, knowing she had to be somewhere in our shared apartment, "I'm home, Ellie!"

"Don't any of turn the lights on. Just come to the bedroom," her voice came from down the hall, exactly from our bedroom.

My legs carried me through the dim hall, passing by the closed bathroom, a bit annoyed as it looked as though she left the light on in there. Jesus, our utility bills are gonna be so fucking crazy, I can feel it.

"El?" I called out to her again, not seeing her anywhere in the room. Not because it was dark, there were a few candles lit in the bedroom, a bunch of different flower petals all over the floor and plenty more on the bed. On either side of the bed, there were an almost absurd amount of 'Happy Birthday!' balloons, which of course made me giggle at them.

"Hey, baby," Ellie kissed on the nape of my neck, a glass of wine entering my peripheral view on both sides of me, "happy birthday, gorgeous. Got you a drink."

"Ellie, I'm a minor," I joked, biting my lip and turning to face up at her. She rolled her eyes before handed me the drink anyways.

"Ugh, shut up and take the damn drink. No one's here to bust us."

"You're going to jail," I whispered, keeping eye contact with the woman in front of me as I took a sip from the cup handed to me. Ellie chuckled and did the same, her hand reaching for my waist and looking me up and down a few times.

"Why's the bathroom light on?"

"It's not."

"Then why's there light coming from beneath the-"

"One thing at time princess," Ellie chuckled, "Take these clothes off, I'll show you why the 'light' is on," Ellie took both our glasses, placing them on the nightstand on her side of the bed before coming back to me and slowly starting to strip.

"Oh, you were serious," I raised a brow, following her lead.

"Of course I was serious. Keep your bra and panties on though."

"Oh, but you can walk around without a bra on?"

"I have no fucking tits. What do I need to wear a bra for?"

I pouted at Ellie, tossing my shirt at her and unbuttoning my jeans, "whatever. Whore."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, you whore," I giggled, putting my hands on her chest as she closed the distance between us, smirking and letting her hand latch onto my hips.

"I dare you to say it again."

"No. I'm good on that," I smiled up at her, doing my best to keep my eyes on her.

"Pussy," Ellie nodded, "take your pants off, let's go," the freckled woman, left to the bathroom without me which sent me into a bit of a panic and I nearly died taking my pants off.

After a little bit, I found Ellie bent over the bathtub, dumping a handful of bath salts into the bubbly water. I also noticed the candles on the sink, the toilet and the two front corner of the tub. On the mirror, the words 'one year left until you can buy alcohol... legally' was written in pink dry erase marker.

A giggle left me as Ellie turned to me and gently tugged at my undergarments, asking to peel them off me. I gave her the green light, watching as she kneeled down, a little too excited to undress me.

"You're so pretty, baby. So pretty."

"I know. You told me about eight million times today, Ellie."

"That's not enough."

"It is for me."

"Yeah, to you. Not me," Ellie tossed them to the side, standing up so she could undo my bra now, "I didn't know if you wanted a bubble bath or just bath salts so I did both for you. Get in, the water is boiling, just how you like it."

"Oh, how thoughtful," I scoffed, watching Ellie now completely undress herself and then help me in the tub with her. I took her hand, sitting in front of her and her behind me, of course.

Right off the bat, Ellie started massaging my back, leaving a trail of kisses every now and again. Her hands would sometimes find their way to my thighs or breasts but she would hesitantly pull away, replacing her lewd actions with kisses and more massages.

"Just do it, babe. I deserve it. Work was stressful and it's my birthday."

"Thank fuck," she huffed, instantly going to grope my tits and kiss the side of my neck, "I've been waiting way too long for you to get home."

"I can tell," I grinned at her comment, shutting my eyes while she had her little fun, "No ice cream cake?"

"It's in the freezer."

"Mmm, we're not lighting it tonight are we?"

"Definitely not, sweetheart," Ellie huffed, biting down my shoulder and moving her hands down to my thighs, kneading them like dough, "fuck, I missed you all day, you don't understand. My favorite birthday girl."

I wanted to respond, truly but Ellie was dipping her toe into an exhilarating trance and I followed right beside her. Her little grunts and groans were not helping either of us leave this rapture. Her long fingers had slipped inside of me, sending a shiver down my back and a soft gasp leaving me. I could feel her lips curl into a grin on my shoulder. Ellie was definitely going to start acting like a dickhead, she was already too far in. That was until we were startled by a knock on the door.

"The fuck?" we spoke in sync, Ellie hugging me close to her rather than attempting to move, "did you invite anyone over?" I muttered, removing her hands and getting out of the tub.

"No. Dina, Joel, and Jesse said they'd come over but I told them not to."

"You know they don't listen to anyone, damn it," I rolled my eyes, handing Ellie a towel as she stepped out after me and went to the room, I assumed to get us robes.

"I'm sorry. I was truing to give you a good birthday present. But these jackasses-."

"Minus Joel!" I cut Ellie off, punching her shoulder and pulling her away from the closet so I could look through it.

"Fucking, excuse you!" Ellie laughed, damn near putting me in a head lock as she walked me to the bed, "Don't be a little shit! Your birthday doesn't exclude me beating your ass!"

I squealed a bit before getting out of her grasp and crawling on the bed. Ellie climbed on top of me, starting to playfully land some punches on me.

"Stop it! I'm cold, it's cold! Get me a robe, Ellie, please, I'm sorry!" I yelped, blocking her and kicking my feet in the air.

"Say you're sorry! Admit you were wrong!"

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry! I was in the wrong, now get me some clothes, I'm freezing!"

We lied on the bed laughing for a bit before Ellie got up, finding me some lacey underclothing, shorts and one of her tops and jackets. I quickly got dressed so I could watch her get dressed.

"Go blow out the candles, drain the tub. I'm gonna open the door."

"Are you forgetting something?" I backed my ass into Ellie's hip, glancing back at her as she raised a brow at me actions. Her hand raised slightly then came down harshly, leaving a crazy sting on a single cheek.

"Nope! No, complaints! Go do what you were told," Ellie spoke as I opened my mouth to cry about how hard she had spanked me, "I'll kiss it after they leave. But the longer you take to blow out those candles-."

"The longer it's gonna take for things to go my way, yeah, yeah, yeah."

"Atta girl," Ellie chuckled, kissing my forehead before going to blow out the candles lit in our room then leaving to open the front door.

Fuck Jesse and Dina. Love Joel, of course. He gets a pass.

[hypewinter]

Tw for blood just in case

Danny stared up at the sky, for once grateful that he didn't have to breathe. If he did, he'd imagine it'd be very painful considering all the wounds that currently covered his body. He couldn't even remember who he had just fought. Between all the challengers to the throne and the "threats to the timestream" as CW put in, he couldn't keep count. They all kinda blurred together after the 5th fight. All he knew was that his body hurt. And I'm probably bleeding profusely he mused morbidly as he felt liquid trickle from his nose and down his cheek. He barely had time to recover between each fight before he was thrown into the next. Not that the recovery periods were any better. When he wasn't fighting, Danny was sorting through years of backlogged paperwork. His healing factor reflected his state of exhaustion by mending his broken body at an incredibly slow pace.

The young king closed his eyes as the sun set. I'm so tired he thought. With nothing else to do until he was healed enough to move, Danny began cataloguing things that needed to be done once he got back to the Infinite Realms. There was a territory dispute that definitely required his immediate attention. Oh! And then there's that annoying meeting with the observants. Eh, he had been putting that off for a while, what was a little more time. He had to pick his new royal guard. Something Fright Knight was quite insistent on. Ellie also wanted him to visit soon. Danny continued going through his mental checklist, deciding which things could be put off and which things needed to be done right away.

Satisfied with his list, Danny began drifting off. Why waste valuable sleep time right? Before he could fully succumb to sleep's sweet embrace though, a glowing green portal opened up just above him. Danny screamed internally, expecting another challenger to come through. He was currently physically incapable of fighting off another opponent right now and hoped that whoever came through would take pity on him. At the very least maybe they would let him recover his strength out of some sort of honor code? Who was he kidding? He knew the odds of either option happening were slim to none.

Tears slipped out of the boy's eyes as he prepared for his second death. "It was a good run I suppose." Danny croaked. Oh God! He can't believe those were going to be his last words. That was when the figure finally came through the portal to reveal.... Clockwork!? The time ghost blocked out Danny's view as he came close and observed the boy. Then he uttered one sentence "Take a break." With that, green flooded Danny's vision as he was portaled away somewhere, his consciousness slipping away.

--------

Superman stared at the boy in front of him. He lay unconscious in the grass and looked so peaceful one would think he was sleeping. Except for the blood. It was everywhere. Flowing freely from his body and soaking into the soil. Superman couldn't even tell what his original hair color was or what he was wearing because of all the blood. There was also the unnatural way some of his limbs were bent. In fact, the Kryptonian would have assumed the child was dead, had it not been the barely noticeable rise and fall of his chest.

Superman swallowed as he opened his comlink. "Get me Green Lantern and prepare the MedBay." He said as he crouched down. He wouldn't dare to move the kid without proper support. "Don't worry." He whispered, "It's going to be alright."

[13as07]

Jashin’s Angel

(Hidan)

[Artwork is not mine! Credit to MauroIllustrator]

Requested by: @reincarnatedornotimfucked

Word Count: 3,995

Warnings and/or Pre-Notes:

I learn the most unneeded shit for some of my fics

Also a lot of my fics involve sleeping. Maybe it's a sign I need to sleep more

Tad bit unhinged

Threats/talk of death

Toxic Religious Themes

———————————————————————

My eyes roll over the heap of bedding and limbs curled up on my bed. It's weird, seeing someone using my bed after leaving it untouched for so long. I've always insisted Pain remove it from my room since it has no use. All it does is take up space but I guess it's a good thing it wasn't removed.

I don't know what I'm supposed to do with myself. Usually, I sharpen my scythe or pray to Jashin while the others sleep. Occasionally, I sit outside or walk the forest edges with Itachi since it seems he doesn't need sleep either. Despite all that, I can't bring myself to leave the room in search of my fellow nocturnal member. Or to perform either of my usual nightly habits. What if it wakes her?

What do I care if it wakes her? She fell asleep in my room, if my routine wakes her, it's her fault.

My eyes scan the darkness, searching for the place I left my scythe as I make my mental checklist. Scythe, stone, water, sandpaper, rag. I repeat the list to myself, slowly collecting the items, and leaving them to rest on my desk.

I'm moving slowly because I want to, because there's no point rushing around, that is all. I freeze when my scythe clicks against the floor because I want to, because I want to prepare for any complaint or bitching that might have followed. No other reason.

I need to head toward the kitchen to collect my bowl of water, then I can sharpen my weapon. Unlike before, I stall in front of my bedroom door, my hand resting on the handle. I turn to the side, sights wandering my bed, the red bedsheets that have never been used before tonight, and the unhidden snip bits of the woman sleeping in it.

The longer I look at her, the longer I think about leaving her alone in my room, the more uneasy I get. My stomach feels upset like it did that time Kakuzu and I had bad sushi. It feels like I'm shaking to the point that my eyes glance at the door handle to make sure I'm not. My heart thumps against my chest too, harder than it ever has, an annoying reminder that I am not a God like Jashin. The longer I stare, the more irritated I get, and the more I believe something will happen to her while I'm away.

What do I care if something happens to her? It would be a waste of a sacrifice, yes, but she is not irreplaceable. It would be even better if someone attacked her while I was away. That would mean I had more sacrifices to offer my God.

I finally push the handle down, letting my door creak open. I turn my head again, checking on her - because I want to pick a fight, not because I care if the sound woke her. Sadly, there will be no fight, seeing how she doesn't even stir in her sleep.

I let out a sigh, of annoyance, as I walk out of my room. The further I walk away from my room, the more sick my stomach feels. Maybe something was wrong with the food Kakuzu and I brought back to the hideout today. I'm sure that's what it is.

I move quickly around the kitchen, eager to get back to my room. To see if my gut is right, that's why. I want to see if there is an unwanted person within the walls of the hideout. I want to see if I have another sacrifice for Jashin. That is all.

My walk back to my room is as irritating as walking out of my room was. If I move too fast the bowl of water will spill, leaving me out of my room longer. I will miss my extra sacrifice, the extra offering to my God. That is why I'm so eager to get back to my room, why I'm so annoyed that I filled the bowl too full.

I open my door slowly, so the water doesn't spill, not so I don't wake her. Like I said before, she fell asleep in my room. If I wake her, it's her fault. She should sleep in her room, that's what it's there for.

When my attention falls on my bed again, I don't feel sick anymore. I bet she's a witch, one that places a curse on me. I shall ask Jashin to rid me of her curse.

I settle the bowl on the desk, glancing at the inconvenience in my bed once again. Still, no fight brewing, what a waste. As much of a waste as my bed and her taking up space in my room. In the morning I shall tell her I will present her with death if she falls asleep in my bed ever again.

I place myself in the chair by my desk, letting the stone soak in water as I wipe down the blade of my scythe. As is work, I notice myself slowly inching toward my bed, toward the woman sleeping in my sheets. I'm interested in what sleep is, that is the reason I wish to be close to her, to watch what it is to sleep.

She will die, in the morning. She can be my next sacrifice. A good one at that. That is why I'm drawn toward her so often because Jashin wishes to have her.

I repeat the words - and my actions - as I sit next to my bed, spending the passing hours watching the night slowly bleed into the day. Watching the way the sunrise dances across her skin, the way it makes her hair glow.

Yes, she's an angel, one of Jashin's. That is why He wants her back. His angel escaped His heavens and lost her way upon her path. I do not blame Him for wanting her back. As soon as she wakes, I'll return her to Jashin, I'll give back what is His.

As the yellow of the sun starts to seep into the blue of the sky, she stirs. Her limbs move slowly like they haven't been oiled in a long time. A delicate wrist shifts upward, glowing beautifully in the sunlight as she rubs her eyes. It looks fragile like I could snap it without thinking, like my scythe could slice through it easier than water. Seeing her like this makes it hard to believe she's survived with the Akatsuki this long, that she spends her time among murderers and assassins, and that Pain's pet isn't a kitten.

"Hidan?" Her voice slides out. It's jagged, not as smooth but still as soft as it is during the day.

I'm going to rid the Earth of this witch that curses me with sickness, this freeloader that finds root in my bed, the dead weight clinging to the leader of the Akatsuki -

"Good morning. I'm sorry I fell asleep in your bed. I didn't mean to." Her voice cuts my thoughts off, her words wrapping themselves around my lungs and squeezing them.

- but not this morning. Perhaps I'll return her to Jashin this afternoon.

"Good morning," I echo, climbing to my feet. "Did you sleep well, Angel?" The word slips out before I can stop it, my voice being the one to strangle my lungs now.

Her head tilts, making the curtain of hair slide across her face. Her pink dusted, teeth grinned face. "Better than I have in a while."

"Why is that?"

"Because your bed smells like you."

I change my mind, I'm going to kill her after breakfast.

————————————

I'm irritable today, and it only seems to get worse every time Pain touches Jashin's angel. I am not a man of science, I completely offer myself to my religion. Still, even I know how genetics work, and the longer I look at the two of them, the less similar they seem.

Is that why you're here, Jashin's Angel? Because a member of blood is in charge of all of us? Or is he your life partner? Do you love him? Why do you love such a person like Pain? Because his eyes search for you in every room? Because he pats your head when he finds you? Because the only time he smiles is when he speaks to you? If another performed those actions, would you love them too? Is mortal love that shallow? Does it waiver so much easier than my love for Jashin?

Pain's sights cross mine, his eyes freezing over when he figures out where I'm staring. His hand slithers up, wrapping around his pet's eyes, cutting off my view of their sparkle. He tilts her head back, making her neck extend. I swear the sun makes her skin shimmer like stones in a river.

I don't understand my Lord. Is this a test of my loyalty to you or a reward for my dedication? Perhaps my earlier thoughts were right. Perhaps she is a witch using spells to mess with my functions, my thoughts. Or perhaps she's a talented shinobi, able to use justus most cannot, just like Pain.

Pain, who has Jashin's Angel pressed against him, who has his hand around her eyes, has her head on his shoulder, whose lips are whispering things into her ear. Pain who I want to tear into pieces for myself, and not for Jashin. Pain who finally lets the wingless Angel go.

Her eyes aren't shiny like before, they're rather dull, a milked color from whatever he was telling her. Her smile is present, as always, but it doesn't affect me like it did this morning. No. This morning I wanted to cut the smile off of her face for the way it made me feel, but now? Now it makes me want to hurt Pain, makes me want to figure out what he said to dull the Heavens that seep for the Angel's being.

"I'm going on a walk," she starts, the noise in the room instantly falling mute. "I hope you all return safely from your missions." She bows her head, her hair curling around her again, and somehow picking up every ray of sun. 'Thank you's spill from the room as she stands straight, her smile different once again, just a drop of the one I saw this morning present in the one she's wearing.

She leaves the room, unlike usual, without Pain following her nor him waving Kakuzu after her; his silent command to my partner to watch his pet from the shadows as she adventurous outside 'alone'.

The longer she's gone without Kakuzu being sent after her, the harder it is to breathe. Again, this time it's different from this morning. It's not the lightheaded lack of air I felt when she wished me a good morning. It's... just different. It's the lack of air I felt leaving her alone in my room.

I don't care if she gets attacked, if she lives or dies, but it would be a waste of a sacrifice. If she is one of His angels, it might upset Him if a non-believer killed her. Yes. That's why I am uneasy about the situation. That is all, nothing else.

Once again, I do not understand my Lord. Why is Pain sending her alone? No one leaves the hideout alone, not even Pain. I do not understand what I am supposed to do. Have I been sent here to kill her? Or am I here to protect her? I need a sign, a hint in the direction you wish for me to follow. I do not understand. Please, Jashin.

I let out a soft sigh, finally pulling my eyes away from the exit, and letting them settle on the window outside. Perched on a branch is an oval-shaped bird. Its face marked with round eyes and almost horn-like feathers gives way to what it is; an owl, out in the daylight. I guess you can't be any more clear, can you, Jashin?

I go to move, my mind set on my orders to protect the Angel, but I'm stopped before I can even stand. Kakuzu's hand is wrapped around the arm of my chair, keeping it - and me - in place. He leans toward me, most of his focus still on the words Pain is saying. "It's a trap," he husks out, tone low and his body not daring to move even an inch.

"What?"

"It's a trap," he repeats, slowly letting go of my chair. "If you leave the meeting, he will use it to justify killing you, or as close to killing as you can get. He will spin it as you lacking loyalty," Kakuzu says, the words spilling out like slime from his mouth.

"Why?"

"He does not take kindly to his... Dearest getting attached to someone other than him."

I think over Kakuzu's words for a moment, my eyes locked on the Owl still perched outside. Jashin, I cannot follow after your Angel this time. I can't protect her if I am not around, please forgive me.

————————————

I'm tucked around the corner from the open door, sitting in one of the shadows, my eyes locked on the Angel as she sits on the porch. Her hair is down, lightly swirling around because of the breeze running through it. It's going to the storm, but despite the greying air and the dark clouds in the sky, she still seems to glow. Maybe my Lord's Heavens does seep from her body.

"You're creeping me out," she says, her words carried backward by the breeze, catching me off guard. "You have been, all afternoon. Come sit or go find someone else to peep on."

Slowly I leave the darkness I failed to hide in, letting the sun envelope me the same way it doesn't her. I stand behind her, careful not to touch her in fear of Jashin becoming unhappy, in fear of her bursting into a pile of feathers before she leaves me for the Lord's Heavens.

"Phillipa - the owl that sleeps in the old dying tree," she starts, tilling her head up so her words reach me better. "He's very active this morning."

"Phillipa?"

She hums a yes, nodding her head a bit in agreement. "It's a foreigner's name. One from across the seas. I read it in a book once and thought it sounded cool when Pain said it."

     That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. "I don't understand you mortals," I mumble, scanning the tree branches for this 'Phillipa', my hand buried in my hair so I can scratch my head. My Lord, your Angel is not the smartest person you've crossed my path with.

     "What don't you understand about us?"

     "Why you bother naming an owl, especially a name such as that. It's a waste naming something that's going to die so soon."

     A soft "hmph" exits her lips, her head tilting to the side instead of being tilted towards me. "I guess you and Nag - er - Pain have a lot more in common than I thought."

     "I don't understand." I'm starting to get ticked off with the day. It seems there's not much happening today I do understand.

     "Hidan? Do you know my name?"

     "No."

     "No one does, not even Pain. He never bothered naming me. He's just always called me Dearest, since the very beginning."

     Maybe my thoughts from earlier were wrong, maybe she is Pain's blood. That's what she's making it seem like. "Oh."

     "I'm sorry," she whispers, her head snapping to the left. Angel is suddenly perky, her eyes scanning the hidden path that leads to the main paths of the forest.

     "For what?" I ask, my eyes flickering between her and the area she's locked in so intensely.

     "My brother's attempt at a trap this morning. He's quite upset I fell asleep in your bed last night. Give it a few days and he'll be back to normal again."

     They are blood, and for whatever reason, it gives me that lightheaded airlessness from this morning. "There is something else I do not understand."

     "What might that be?" Angel asks, balling herself up, knees to chest, and arms around her legs. Her eyes are still stuck on the edge of the forest. What might it be that has her so entranced?

     "Why are you here? You do not go on missions, you do not work, you do not do house chores, and it seems you are not Pain's life partner, at least not an appropriate one. Why is it that Pain keeps you around?"

     "Because we're family."

     "That is not an answer!" I bark at her, my temper quickly slipping from my grasp. I hate this Angel you have sent me Jashin. She makes me sick, she makes it hard to breathe, she makes me feel lost, and she confuses me. I do not understand my Lord. What is it that you could see in her? What is it that you see me needing her for?

     Her position doesn't change from my yelling or me fuming behind her. Her eyes don't even blink. "I'd be careful yelling. He doesn't take too kindly to people that raise their voices at me."

     "Who?"

     "Me." The single word sends shivers down my spine, Pain's low voice being the main cause of it, and his closeness to my ear being the backup cause. Forgive me for my anger towards you, Jashin, and please grant me the ability to survive whatever I'm about to be put through.

     "Hidan?" His Angel calls again, her voice feeling like a cure to some of the dread-filled anticipation brewing in my veins. "Love."

     "What?"

     "The answer to your question. It's love. My brother keeps me around because he loves me."

     "No, I don't," Pain grumbles, his hand gripping the back of my neck, fingernails digging into my skin.

     Angel's cure no longer works as I'm being dragged backward, but still, she's the last thing I see before the door slams closed. Please Jashin, forgive me for my anger and help me survive the actions about to be taken against me so I can continue learning from and watching over your Angel.

————————————

Being buried alive hasn't been all that bad. It's given me a lot of time to talk to Jashin. A lot. It's also given me a lot of time to think about... Jashin's Angel.

     Maybe I'm reading into it too much. Maybe it's all been a coincidence. Maybe my thoughts are just my disconnection from Jashin since I haven't been able to make a sacrifice in... a while. Maybe. I don't know how long I've been down here. Long enough to make my stomach grumble. Perhaps Pain will succeed at killing me.

     What about His Angel though? What is His plan for us? She doesn't talk much. Most of the time I'm not even sure she's breathing. She doesn't even have a name. Even I have a name. That is something everybody has. Perhaps Dearest is her name. Tell me, Angel, are you Jashin's Dearest too?

     The sound of shifting dirt rattles through the small space Pain left me with. It's not an uncommon sound, I've come to learn. I have thought about the cause of the noise for a while too; footsteps over me, the Earth adjusting itself, animals catching my scent and attempting to dig me up, shovels.

     Shovels? The curved metal end of a shovel pokes through the dirt, barely an inch away from my face. Who's on the other side? Pain? Kakuzu? Jashin? The next time the shovel digs into the Earth, the end of it knocks into my nose, sending a small river of blood down my cheek. Definitely Kakuzu.

     "Be more careful you old bastard!" I yell, shifting myself around to help him dig me out. It doesn't take long before I can pop out of the Earth, the soil spilling out of my hair and tumbling back to the ground. "What took you so damn long to find me?" I grumble, shaking my hair and my clothes to help more excess dirt fall off of me.

     "I had to talk Itachi into letting me borrow his crow."

     My focus sticks on the ground, the voice answering my question most definitely not being Kakuzu. Slowly, I lift my head, the recently common lightheaded airlessness filling my chest. Standing in front of me is Jashin's Angel, wrapped up in her white bedroom robe. Very unfitting to play in the dirt, but certainly helps her look even more like an Angel. Curled in her shadows with its hair standing on end is very much not a crow.

     "Calm down. It's just a transformation jutsu," she mutters, dropping her hands into the release sign. A puff of clouds wraps around the beast, Itachi's crow appearing once the air clears the space. "Crows aren't exactly known for being able to track scents."

     "I thought you were Kakuzu."

     She rolls her eyes, tapping her shoulder like I've seen Itachi do. The crow happily flaps his wings, gently landing on Angel's shoulder before rubbing its beak against her cheek. "My bad, would you like me to fetch your Prince Charming for you?" Perhaps she talks more than I thought. I shake my head no, somehow more dirt falls out of my hair. "Then stop complaining."

     I slowly climb to my feet, letting myself hover closer to her than usual. The ends of her robe are filthy, as are her house slippers, both cakes in bed. A bag catches my attention out of the corner of my eye. My eyes flicker between the bag and the Angel as I try to piece the situation together. It's a big bag and a heavy one from what it seems. Is that why Itachi's crow was a beast instead of just a dog? "What's with the bag?"

     "My brother is a psychopath. Well... you all are psychopaths."

     "What does that have to do with the bag?"

     "It's my apology present from Pain. For using me. As a pawn. Because he doesn't like you."

     "The bag... is a present... that is here with us."

     "Of course not, dumbie. What's in the bag was my apology present. I have no use for him and he cannot live after being around the Akatsuki, so I figured he could be of use to you. There's also a sandwich in there for you but it's probably crushed," she mutters the last part, turning in a slow circle before looking at the bird perched on her shoulder.

     After a moment or two, the crow takes off from her shoulder, flying low enough to be in her sights and paced enough for her to peacefully walk behind it. "Come back or don't. The choice is yours," she adds on, lifting the hood of her robe, the material perfectly flowing down to rest on her head before she turns away, starting her trip back to the hideout.

     I watch her walk away until she's shielded by the darkness and the branches of the forest. Even then I look after her for a moment. What - I guess it would be who - is it that you have regifted to me, Angel? I bend down, carefully unzipping the bag left stranded on the ground by her. As promised, a cloth-wrapped meal is awaiting me, sitting on top of the stomach of a very awake man.

     Pinned to the cloth is a note in neat loopy handwriting. Sacrifice, in case you couldn't figure that out on your own. What a thoughtful Angel Jashin has led across my path.

     I can feel the corners of my mouth turning up, because of the sacrifice I'm going to make, because of the muffled screams and begs from the man I'm about to kill, no other reason.

[whentherewerebicycles]

gonna do some reflective journaling about the rest of my BIRTH EXPERIENCE under the cut

i had a really good birth experience in retrospect. the induction part where we were trying to get my body to actually go into labor was super hard and weirdly demoralizing. obviously no one could give me any clear indication of how long it would take and it was really hard to manage my own expectations and mentally prepare for it to take anywhere from 12-48 hours or longer to get my body into labor. i think all the normal big feelings around birth itself were exacerbated by being so sleep deprived going into it & in so much pain from my hands… like it was just hard to be like i've felt so bad for so long and i am afraid i'm about to be in a lot more pain that will compound the existing pain and also i have no clear timeframe for when either pain will end. also i think i was still a little traumatized by the foley balloon experience lol. like i think that if the promised dilation had happened over 12-24 hours like they expected maybe it would've felt less abrupt and violent, but instead it took less than 2 hours and was SUPER painful at the end, which then terrified me because i was like wow if birth is even worse than this how am i going to handle it. i had a total meltdown around 9pm the first night (sunday night) just being like I'LL HURT FOREVER AND I DON'T EVEN FEEL EXCITED ABOUT THE BABY ANYMORE BECAUSE I'M SO FOCUSED ON THE FACT THAT I'LL HURT FOREVER. but my mom and sister were SO good through the whole process and so loving and i felt a lot better after having a big cathartic cry about it.

the other hard part of the induction was that the pitocin contractions really were kind of a lot to handle. i was intellectually prepared for that after reading about it but physically it is hard to prepare for pain you have not yet experienced! i also have no experience of natural contractions to compare them to but it felt like they just got REALLY intense really fast and were so close together that it felt like there wasn't a lot of time to rest/recover after each one. from about 11pm to 4am when i got the epidural i was just in a lot of pain. my sister was sooo good through this part. she got up around midnight and we just hung out and she did counter-pressure for me on every contraction from maybe 2-4am when they got really intense and close together and also she helped me wash my hair which was for some reason extremely important to me.

the other part that i found hard about the contractions-with-no-pain-management part was that the night nurse was not all that helpful or sympathetic and mostly seemed kind of annoyed that i was asking for the epidural so early (i was a little over 5cm dilated at the time). and that made me feel embarrassed because i felt like a wimp!looking back on it i feel like i could've endured longer but also i was just SO tired from being awake and in escalating pain/discomfort for 24 hours and i was really overwhelmed by the idea of spending like six more hours of doing this on no sleep. but also looking back on it: who cares about what some nurse thinks of me!! i was the one in my body and i was feeling overwhelmed and it was ok of me to not want to be in pain anymore. anyway the epidural was incredible, i loved it, i want to marry my anesthesiologist, etc etc. i still think if i have another baby and am able to have a non-induce birth i would be interested in trying an unmedicated birth or at least seeing if contractions without pitocin allowed me to get further. it was an interesting physical experience and i think if i hadn't been so tired and in so much hand pain i might have found it more intriguing to keep going & to see what else that experience had in store for me. but as it was: i am fine with how it went down! and i was Ready to not be in pain.

anyway: got the epidural around 4am or so on monday and immediately crashed SO hard. like i was falling asleep sitting up at the table after they injected the pain meds. the anesthesiologist said that was normal lol i guess you don't realize how much adrenaline is coursing through your body bc of the pain until the pain is abruptly & totally removed and then your body is like PHEW!!! TIME TO COLLAPSE. i did indeed collapse. i slept three hours, just like the deepest and most uninterrupted slumber i've slept since literally late march, and woke up feeling like a new human. at that point they did a cervix check and i was i think at 6ish cm? so they let me sleep another three blissful hours and then i woke up and they were like whoa you're at 9.5cm it's almost go time. then we had a frantic 45 min or so of getting ready (i was like i NEED to BRUSH my TEETH!!!!!! i cannot BIRTH this BABY without BRUSHING MY TEETH but of course i could not walk so my sister had to bring me all the things aha). and then it was go time!!!!

pushing was hilariously fast ahaha this was by far the easiest part of my labor. everyone was in a great mood and the vibes were good and i felt like i had newly acquired superpowers after sleeping for SIX WHOLE HOURS. i spent so much time getting myself emotionally ready for it to take hours and be really hard, and then i think i pushed for like, five sets of three 10-second pushes, and he was there. it took 27 min total and would've been even faster except that they made me stop and wait for five-ish min while his head was RIGHT there in the birth canal (i saw it in the mirror!!!!!! it was insane!!!!!) because someone had to RUN and grab the OB. then i pushed for one more set and he was out!!!!! it was crazy!!!!! his cord was so short they ended up clamping and cutting it right away so they could put him on my chest. when they first threw him on me it was kind of terrifying because he was SO still and silent, and also a very dark purple/blue color, and i was like oh my god. he's dead. he's dead. i made it this far and he died. it was so scary gahhh i'm crying just thinking about it!! but then they started massaging him and patting his back and he coughed a bunch and started crying. they made him cry a LOT and checked his lungs a bunch the first 15 min or so because they were full of gunk/didn't sound so great, but he cleared it all by crying up a storm and then he was fine!!! and not so purple!!! and he was all mine he was my healthy baby boy!!!! he cried so much because it's scary to be born but we did it!!!!

wahhhh it was so good i want to remember it forever i am bawling again thinking about it. my guy!!!! he was so little and squashed and such a funny color and he opened his eyes and looked at me!!! and now he's just mine he's my baby!!!!! he had big dark eyes and big hands with long long fingers and long narrow feet with long delicate-looking toes and perfect little orecchiette ears and a truly majestic conehead from coming out of the birth canal ahaha. a perfect baby!!!! he weighed 7 lbs 14 oz at birth and was 21 inches long, and everyone kept saying phew if he'd had three more weeks to cook in there he would've been a BIG boy!!! i love him so much he is so perfect. oh also they gave me a 'placenta tour' which was very fun and also kind of horrifying like ouch that ripped off the side of my uterus?? also i had a small tear they had to stitch up but nothing too bad. idk the main event was obviously the BABY and he was perfect and everything was perfect and it was worth it to go through the shitty parts of induction to get him early. my kiddo!!!!! i love him!!!!

[radishhqueen]

11, 16, or 32 for either/both of the caseys?

32. body swap | Put That Guy in a SituationTM Ask Game

"Dude, hurry up," Casey said into the bathroom stall door, hyper-aware of the line of yokai that was starting to form outside. 

"I'm trying," Junior hissed from inside, sounding a bit on the brink of tears. He'd been trying for like, three whole minutes now, how hard was it to take a piss? 

Well. It probably would've been easier about two hours ago, before their little Witchtown snafu. She couldn't help but start tapping her foot impatiently, glancing at her reflection in the vanity mirror and seeing Junior glaring back at her. "Sit on the toilet," she barked, watching the reflection of Junior move his mouth in time with hers. "I can see you pacing. You're not gonna get anywhere standing up."

He let out a whine, the pacing coming to an abrupt stop. There was a moment of silence, before she heard the rustle of clothes and then finally he sat down. "I hate this. It's embarrassing," he complained, his voice sounding a bit muffled. 

"It's only embarrassing if you make a fuss out of it," she said, the wise words of someone who had not yet used the bathroom while dealing with this whole situation. Junior didn't deign that with a response, but he also didn't start peeing, so she continued her efforts to get him to be a bit less uptight. "It's just a minor curse. Should be done and over with in like, max, twelve hours. Easy peasy."

Junior grunted in annoyance, not bothering to deign her with a full response. He did start peeing though, so win for Casey.

Casey took a much shorter amount of time in her own attempt to take a leak before dinner, which she was going to chalk up to her mental superiority and emotional fortitude, not the fact that she'd had the whole time she was waiting on Junior to cope with the whole "performing basic body functions in an unfamiliar body" thing. It wasn't until she was back outside of the stall, washing her (Junior's) hands, that she noticed it didn't feel quite right.

She could see the water running over Junior's skin, and she could feel it over the backs of his hands, but when she flipped his hand so the palm was facing the faucet, all she could really feel was some light pressure. No tingling, no pain, but the coolness from the water was completely absent. 

She had never really thought about the gloves Junior wore all the time. Gloves were useful. They made climbing easier, they could help prevent blisters when wielding unfamiliar weapons. They could protect against sharp objects, to a degree. Mentally, she'd just written it off as part of Junior's dedication to being prepared for all situations. 

"Burned my nerve endings," he said. He must've noticed her prodding at them, because when she looked up, she saw herself, or rather, Junior, looking at her in the mirror. "It's nothing new."

Casey swallowed, feeling embarrassed that her staring had been noticed, even though she'd literally been coaching Junior through peeing not even five minutes previous. She focused on the faucet as she turned it off, grabbing some paper towels from the dispenser next to her. Now that she'd noticed, it was practically all she could focus on, how strange and alien the lack of sensation was. 

"It doesn't hurt ever?" she asked, trying and failing to sound casual. 

"Nah, I just have to remember to do my hand stretches."

Except she was stuck in his body for the next ten hours. She didn't know how often he had to do these stretches, but she didn't want to be the reason he fell behind in his maintenance. "Show me them after dinner," she said, ignoring the surprised look Junior had put on her face and instead holding open the bathroom door and ignoring the long line of annoyed yokai waiting outside. 

"Yeah, remind me," he agreed, waiting for her to follow before he started walking back toward the table the turtles were sitting at, ignoring the line right alongside her.

[glittter-vamp]

CHAPTER 6

Joe Burrow x Bisexual OC.

Warnings: Angsty. Mentions of homophobia.

Word Count: 3.1k

Driving to Joe's felt like the longest drive in the entire world for Val, despite it being only a 15 minute drive. She had no clue what she was going to say to him, her emotions were all over the place. They both fucked up and hurt one another. She knew she had to mentally and emotionally prepare for the worst. Its been two days since all of this and even though Joe immediately wanted too see Val, she just wasn't ready to face things so they decided to give some time to each other before taking to one another and gather their thoughts.

Val pulled up to the familiar house and took a deep breath before shutting the engine of her car off and getting out of it. Usually she would use her key to let herself in but after everything, she felt weird to do so, so she just rang the doorbell instead. She waited nervously at the door for a moment before the door opens revealing Joe. He looked as sleepless as she felt, in his infamous colorful sweats he always wore.

"You could of used your key." Joe gives Val a small smile.

"Would of felt weird at the moment." She awkwardly shrugs as Joe lets her in the house.

"I uh...do you want something to drink?" Joe asks, Val could tell he was nervous about the conversation that needed to take place.

"I'm fine, we should just talk about everything and rip it off like a bandaid at this point." Val shakes her head.

"I...don't even know where to start here. I fucked up badly and I know you must hate me for it." Joe shakes his head running his fingers through his hair.

"Well I wasn't innocent either here and I don't hate you." Val sighs the conversation starting already in a manner that she didn't like.

"Yeah but you wouldn't have done what you did if I wasn't such a piece of shit." Joe shakes his head with regret written all over his face.

"I didn't know about the model until the morning after Joe, I got too drunk and let Summer dance like that with me." Val admits.

"So, you didn't get with her out of spite because of what I did?" Joe asks and Valeria shakes her head no.

"I bumped into Summer at the club, after we went back to my place, I guess we made out and I passed out before anything else happened. I then woke up the next morning in bed with her... mostly naked, freaked out but Summer told me that we didn't have sex and that's when I found out about you and the model leaving the club together in Miami." Val bites her lip.

"Do you have feelings for her?" Joe asks which caught her off completely guard. She didn't think that would be the next thing to come out of his mouth.

"No! Of course not?! Joe...why would I have feelings for her when I haven't seen her in years and I'm in love with you?" Val scoffs annoyed that he would ask that.

"I'm just trying to understand what's happening to us." Joe sighs shaking his head.

"I...think we might have move on from each other." Val bites her lip not even wanting to admit that herself, but she knew Joe wouldn't make this type of move.

"No." Joe says sternly crossing his arms and Val snorts sarcastically.

"No? What do you mean no? Joe, our relationship has gone no where these past few years and then all of a sudden it just plummeted because we both cheated!? So no isn't really an option." Val scoffs not believing that Joe would straight out just say no the way he did.

"It's not that bad! We can still fix this, You didn't even sleep with Summer and I...technically didn't really sleep with Sofia..." He says making Valeria confused hearing the last part.

"What does that even mean and don't piss me off, just be honest" Val rolls her eyes at Joe.

"She left my hotel room pissed cause...I couldn't... perform." Joe says embarrassed which almost made Val laugh but she managed to keep her cool.

"So, having erectile disfunction is the only reason why you didn't fuck her? That's not making me me feel any better cause the only reason you didn't fuck her was because you had limp dick & not because you didn't want to." Val snorts shaking her head in disbelief on what she was currently hearing. She couldn't believe this conversation right now.

"I couldn't have sex with her because I was thinking of you! You know I've never had that issue with you in bed but I just couldn't stop thinking of you. I know I was making a huge mistake and my anger towards myself was driving me to do what I was intending! " Joe snaps back clearly getting angry now at Val's reaction to what he was saying.

"You were thinking of me so much & mad at yourself that you brought a famous drop dead gorgeous model back to your hotel your room to fuck her. Thank you so much, that's exactly what every girl just dreams of!" Val says sarcastically.

"Val...I'm trying here. I'm being as honest and transparent as I can. We both fucked up, and I truly believe we can still work on this, we love each other to much not to." Joe practically pleads.

"Work on what Joe? Before this whole cheating thing, we both didn't talk to each other for 10 days and before that--our relationship was basically us being each others booty call cause we live separately and hang out in public once every 4 months to keep the 'we're just friends' narrative going...what could we do to fix this at this point? We've both have been on different pages this whole time on our relationship...what is there to fix or work on?" Val says exhaustedly, she was tired of repeating herself to Joe and reminding him of how fucked yo their relationship truly was.

"So that's it, you're going to just throw all these years together away? Just like that?" Joe scoffs which annoyed Val.

"I think we owe it to ourselves to put ourselves first right now. We both need time and to figure things out." She shakes her head.

"So you want a break?" Joe sighs.

"It seems right, we need to think about what we want and come back." Val nods.

"What if we end up wanting different things? Or you simply want to break up for good and I don't?" Joe asks.

"I don't think either of us deserve to be in a relationship where either one is in it for the wrong reasons Joe." Val sniffles feeling the emotions start to her. They both look at each other with sad heartbroken looks but Joe nods in agreement.

"Do you...want your apartment key back?" He says holding his emotions in as best as he could.

"We can deal with that later unless you want yours--No. It's okay, I'm...not ready for that. I can only handle so much right now..." Joe stops her as Val reaches for his house key on her keys.

"Well if you want it back, just uh, let me know." Val nods.

"Can I still...text you from time to time? I really hated not talking to you everyday and want to at least make sure you're alive and stuff." Joe asks seeming nervous to even ask the question.

"Sure, I don't mind." Val nods as they stand there awkwardly for a moment looking at each other and seeing each other trying not to break down in this moment.

"I should...get going." Val nods knowing Joe wouldn't dare ask her to leave.

"Wait um...does this mean we're suppose to be dating other people? I just ask cause I don't want to be surprised like I was this past weekend with what I saw online." Joe says. It was a valid question so Val couldn't even be mad at it.

"If that's what you feel like you need to do...go for it." Val shrugs pretending saying those words weren't hurting her.

"I'm not planning on it." Joe says but Val doesn't buy it. At the end of the day he's a famous football player with the looks and body of a god, a break means free game. She knew Joe was going to take advantage one way or another. Val just nods not commenting on what he said and she heads for the front door, Joe following behind.

"I'm real sorry Val. I still love you & whatever you need, I'll be here." Joe sighs once she opens the door and steps out.

"Me too."

**********************************

A Few Days Later:

Val was at her store a few hours before regular hours because Kade and Elsa wanted to brainstorm some ideas with her. She got them their coffee orders & some bagels before coming in, trying to care for her employees with even the little things. They stood at the front register talking a bit about personal stuff a little bit before they started on the store conversations.

"Okay, so can we start with the idea's now?" Elsa smiles excitedly.

"Yes! Please." Val nods in agreement.

"Okay, so...I'm not trying to over step here or disrespect you at all but... I think you should use what happened in the tabloids this past weekend, to your own advantage." Elsa says confidently. Val raises an eyebrow at her wondering where she was going with this.

"Pride month is next month, two and a half weeks away exactly and though we always have a section with all of the proceeds donated to LGBTQIA+ causes on certain items...this is now officially a LGBTQIA+ owned business and you should market to the community and go all out for Pride month." Kade suggests.

"How would we get merchandise orders in time, other than what we ordered a few months ago for Pride? Two weeks isn't nearly enough time and before you'll know it the month will be over." Val shakes her head before sipping her coffee.

"I made a few calls and if you tell me by noon today...all this will be here by today, next week. Kade helped me with the budget, it's doable and you'd make record profit if you jump on that attention wave you're receiving right now. Online orders will boom!" Elsa smirks showing Val all the Pride items printed out on a few pieces of paper.

"This would also mean breaking donation records." Kade nods adding his two cents. Val looks over everything they had both gotten together, it had seemed like they had both done their homework on this in the short period they had.

"Fuck it. Might as well!" Val agrees making Kade and Elsa high five each other.

"Great! Next year we can talk designing actual pieces for pride but for now this is a great way to use something bad to your advantage and get some good out of it." Elsa smiles.

"We do however... need to be prepared for any Karen's or Ken's, I've deleted a lot of mean comments on our store instagram page." Kade reminds everyone. That part made Valeria nervous a bit, she was still getting very homophobic hate comments from people, all to which don't even follow her and never had. It was tough to see but she was blocking people like crazy and limiting comments on most posts especially on the store ones. Her group of friends were also not holding back with defending her which she appreciated. They talk a bit more about the Pride collection and how the display should now work with the extra stuff that will be ordered along with marketing strategies on social media.

The day then goes on and since Dani was out for the week Val had her hands full with restocking and cleaning around the store while Kade stayed on the register and Elsa did shipment orders in the back. Val didn't mind though, she was happy that she had something to try and keep her mind busy and off Joe, though it wasn't working like she wanted too. She hadn't talked to him since she went to his house to talk about the dumpster fire that was their relationship. She still had mixed feelings about everything, she adored Joe & cared for him in ways she couldn't even describe but they both cheated on one another. She also couldn't leave out the fact that she spent years hiding the fact that Joe was her boyfriend and him doing the same to her. As much as she loved Joe, she knew she couldn't do that for however many more years. Val gets pulled out from her thoughts when she hears Kade call for her and she turns around to see two very unexpected guests in her store at the moment.

"Hey...what are you two doing here?" Val asks awkwardly at the two men in front of her.

"Uh, just wanted to know if you've heard anything from Joe. We've been trying to reach him cause he hasn't made it to last practices and that's not really like him. Even if they're not mandatory. We decided to see if you could help us out here." Ja'Marr says.

"Yeah, we know you two are really close friends so we thought you might of heard something or known something." Tee says awkwardly making Val snort. Ja'Marr and Tee both knew about you and Joe. They were the only guys on the team other than the head coach that did so seeing Tee trying to make it not obvious was quite funny.

"I uh, I'm sorry but can't help you here boys. Maybe he's in Athens or feeling under the weather lately, I haven't talked to him in a few days myself. I know just as much as you do. " Val shrugs trying to play it as cool as she could but Ja'Marr eyes her suspiciously.

"Y'all break up?' He blurts out and Tee sucks his teeth in annoyance smacking him in the arm. They both look around and notice that thankfully no one was around to hear what he just said.

"We might be...going through some troubles but I still don't know where he is. It's been days since I've last heard of him. " Val shakes her head telling them the truth.

"Are you doing alright though? We saw... the thing on TMZ, you good?" Tee asks.

"Yeah, for the most part. But uh, I should really get back to this, I have lost to do afterwards. I hope you guys are able to track him down though, he shouldn't be ignoring you like that." Val says pushing a smile on her face.

"Yeah, I'll uh, see you later." Ja'Marr nods.

"Thanks anyway." Tee smiles.

They both say goodbye to Val and walk out of the store. Val lets out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in and then took another deep breath getting back to her work, pushing whatever just happened out of her mind. Though she tried hard, she couldn't help but wonder what was going on with Joe. He never was the type to mope around, miss practice and ignore his teammates due to personal life troubles. Val fought her own thoughts on reaching out to him, they agreed on being on a break and giving each other space. She also thought about what if he actually just used the guys too spy on her & see how she was doing. They were acting a bit odd but she knew overall she had to just leave it alone and focus on her.

**************** It was late in the evening now and Val was making herself some dinner. Shrimp Alfredo to be exact. As she was adding the sauce to the noodles & shrimp there was a random knock on her door. She checked the time on her Apple Watch and it was too late for anyone to be delivering packages so she walked to her door checked the peep hole wondering who it could be. She was very shocked to see it was Summer. She opens the door and Summer immediately greets her with a warm smile. She was holding a bouquet of flowers. Pink Roses to be exact.

"Hey! I hope you don't mind me dropping by like this... I uh, wanted to talk to you." Summer bites her hip.

"Uh, yeah sure come in. Sorry if it smells like food, I'm making dinner at the moment." Val says letting her in.

"Smells great actually!" Summer smiles.

"Thanks, I'm making shrimp Alfredo if you want some! There's plenty, I always over make food for myself." Val nods going back to her stove and mixing it up to make sure all the sauce was spread out evenly.

"I could eat!" Summer nods.

"It'll be ready in a few." Val smiles.

"Great! Um, I wanted to come by and apologize for the way I acted the day after we went to the club & how I acted in the store that day in front of you and Joe. I wouldn't have done any of that if I knew you weren't a single woman." Summer says handing you the beautiful flowers which made you blush.

"Well, I appreciate that a lot but it's really not your fault. I fucked up and wasn't honest but these flowers are so amazing. Thank you." Val gives her a warm smile and she then smells the flowers before making room for them on her breakfast bar.

"I hope things are okay between you two now... I know he probably doesn't like me very much after that video." Summer chuckles awkwardly.

"Um, we're sort of... taking a break at the moment. He wasn't so faithful either and our relationship hasn't ever been perfect. So we're both taking time away from each other to figure things out." Val nods.

"Oh.. I'm sorry to hear that." Summer responds giving Val a reassuring smile.

"Thanks. But uh, why don't you go sit down. I'll make you a plate." Val smiles.

"I wish I would of known you were cooking, I would of brought dessert... or wine." Summer says taking a seat at the dinner table.

"I have cookies and cream ice cream in the freezer & also a bottle of white or red, choose your poison." Val respond back as she gets some plates out from the cupboard.

"Definitely the red & we can never go wrong with cookies cream." Summer smirks.

A/N: Joe and Val have a Ross Geller and Rachel Green moment happening, how do you think this is gonna go for them?

[jinisnuggets]

ʏօʊռɢɮʟօօɖ քȶ. 1

ᴾᵃⁱʳⁱⁿᵍˢ: ᶜʳⁱᵐⁱⁿᵃˡ! ᴴᵉᵘⁿⁱⁿᵍ ᴷᵃⁱ ˣ ᶜᵒᵖ! ᶠᵉᵐ! ᴿᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ

ᵂᵒʳᵈ ᶜᵒᵘⁿᵗ: ³.³ᵏ

ᴳᵉⁿʳᵉ: ᴬⁿᵍˢᵗ, ᴬᵘ, ˢᵉʳⁱᵉˢ

ᵂᵃʳⁿⁱⁿᵍˢ: ᴹᵉⁿᵗⁱᵒⁿˢ ᵒᶠ ᵐᵘʳᵈᵉʳ, ᵇˡᵒᵒᵈ, ˢˡⁱᵍʰᵗ ᵛⁱᵒˡᵉⁿᶜᵉ? ᴹᵘʳᵈᵉʳ ᴴʸᵘᵏᵃ, ᴷⁱᵈⁿᵃᵖᵖⁱⁿᵍ? ˢᵉⁿˢⁱᵗⁱᵛᵉ ᵗᵒᵖⁱᶜˢ, ᵇᵉᵗʳᵃʸᵃˡ, ˢʷᵉᵃʳⁱⁿᵍ, ˡᵉᵗ ᵐᵉ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ⁱᶠ ᴵ ᵐⁱˢˢᵉᵈ ᵃⁿʸᵗʰⁱⁿᵍ

ˢʸⁿᵒᵖˢⁱˢ: ʸ/ⁿ, ᵃ ᵗᵒᵖ ᶜᵒᵖ ᵃᵗ ᵗʰᵉ ᴾᵒˡⁱᶜᵉ ˢᵗᵃᵗⁱᵒⁿ ʷʰᵒ ʷᵒʳᵏˢ ᶜˡᵒˢᵉˡʸ ʷⁱᵗʰ ʰᵉʳ ᵇᵒˢˢ, ᶜʰᵒⁱ ˢᵒᵒᵇⁱⁿ, ᵃⁿᵈ ʰᵉʳ ᶜˡᵒˢᵉˢᵗ ᵃˡˡⁱᵉ, ᶜʰᵒⁱ ʸᵉᵒⁿʲᵘⁿ. ᴶᵘˢᵗ ᵃˢ ᵉᵛᵉʳʸᵗʰⁱⁿᵍ ʷᵃˢ ᵍᵒⁱⁿᵍ ᵖᵉʳᶠᵉᶜᵗˡʸ, ˢʰᵉ ʳᵉᶜᵉⁱᵛᵉˢ ᵗʰᵉ ⁿᵉʷˢ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ʳᵉᵗᵘʳⁿ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ᵃⁿᵒⁿʸᵐᵒᵘˢ ᶜʳⁱᵐⁱⁿᵃˡ... ʷʰᵒ'ˢ ᵇᵉᵉⁿ ᵃᵐᵒⁿᵍ ᵗʰᵉ ᵗᵒᵖ ᵒᶠ ʰᵉʳ ᵖʳⁱᵒʳⁱᵗʸ ˡⁱˢᵗ, ʸᵉᵗ ᵗʰᵉ ᵒⁿᵉ ˢʰᵉ'ˢ ᵐᵒˢᵗ ᶠᵉᵃʳᶠᵘˡ ᵗᵒ ᶜᵒᵐᵉ ᵘᵖᵒⁿ.

ᴬ/ⁿ: ᴴⁱ, ʲᵘˢᵗ ᵖᵒᵖᵖⁱⁿᵍ ⁱⁿ ᵗᵒ ˢᵃʸ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᵂᵒᵒʸᵒᵘⁿᵍˢ (ᴬᵗᵉᵉᶻ) ⁱˢ qᵘⁱᵗᵉ ᵃⁿ ⁱᵐᵖᵒʳᵗᵃⁿᵗ ᶜʰᵃʳᵃᶜᵗᵉʳ ⁱⁿ ᵗʰⁱˢ ᶠⁱᶜ :') ʰᵉʰᵉ

“L/n Y/n! We need you in the office as soon as possible”

You heard the intercom come on and call. Having been on your break whenever you heard the message deliberately be delivered, you were a bit annoyed because it was in fact your time off… but you were a cop so it was your priority.

Walking the hallway, you reached your destination and stood at the door, taking a deep breath and preparing yourself mentally before entering the office. You weren't sure what to expect whenever you were called to go to your bosses office, especially when it was through the intercoms.

But this time, you had an idea of what you might've been called in for… and when you went into the room to see all the scattered paperwork and files, it only confirmed your suspicions furthermore.

“There you are.” Your boss muttered, putting down the files that he had been holding.

Bowing, you walked closer to the desk and stood over it, watching your boss stand up from his chair to be at eye level with you, despite the fact you still had to lift your head to look at the tall man eye-to-eye.

“I apologize for taking longer than I was supposed to. I assume this is an urgent matter, yeah?” you asked, looking at the files that were scattered across the desk, picking some up to investigate them yourself.

“Very urgent.” He responded.

You worked closely with the boss of your station, therefore you were promoted often, and worked on a lot of harder cases compared to your coworkers, in short, you were one of the more known officers of the area.

So when you heard the intercom come on asking you to meet in the boss’s office during your break, you knew this was serious.

“I'm sure you remember the criminal that we haven't yet been able to catch?.” Your boss asked, you thought for a moment before looking at him.

You glanced around the room and sighed, “I'm gonna need you to be more specific with what you say boss, we've had a lot of criminals in the last year.”

A few of the other close police who were also in the room glanced at you due to your informal response, you were among the top police so they couldn't correct you on your manners either.

Looking back at the chief, seeing his small, almond eyes as he let out a small sigh as he sat back down behind his desk, never breaking eye contact as he signaled you to the chair across from him. Raising an eyebrow you walked back to his direction and took a seat.

“The one that we quoted as the ‘Mastermind.’”

You felt your heart sink at his words, recalling the incidents that had happened with him as you remembered the gruesome crime scene that took place one year ago.

“He's back!?” You questioned, feeling your head begin to spin as the flashbacks replayed over and over again in your head, going silent and beginning to dread having to see that anonymous man who you were never able to see face-to-face.

How could you be such a coward to someone who was anxious to show his face and instead wore a mask everywhere he went? He didn't even have a face and you were afraid of him, that truly made you ashamed of yourself as a high rank cop.

“We assume, there's been some recent cases of gambling, a body was discovered near a lake too.”

Heart beating, you grabbed your chest and bent down, your forhead had sweat as you looked down at your bosses paperwork that read ‘Choi Soobin.’

Choi Soobin, the now Police Headchief and of course, your boss, started out as just any normal citizen.. not that you could really call him normal since he went to the top schools of the city. He'd always been a smart student.

He himself, had also suffered by fault of the ‘Mastermind’ and his men, who came and ruined his everything, crushed it.

The worst part was that you didn't even know what connection the ‘Mastermind’ had with any of his victims, you couldn't find anything that all his victims had in common that led him to murder them.

“Have you informed Yeonjun yet..?” You questioned, looking at Choi Soobin from across the table, reading the pity in his eyes for putting such a weight on you. He knew that it'd be hard for you to face someone like the anonymous ‘Mastermind' again after a year. Have to see him behind such a mask after all the trauma he inflicted on you.

“I have, he showed a similar reaction to that of yours, and since you both are my best I will be incharging you both with the case.”

You gulped and then nodded, excusing yourself from the room and taking your leave. How could you ever forget that night? How dare he come back after disappearing for more than 365 days, and just as you were starting to erase all those bad thoughts and beginning to think of him as dead, he just dared to reappear in your life like thi-

“You look like you've just seen a ghost. Looks like hearing of his return hurt your high ego a little bit.” You heard a familiar male voice say, making you look up and see the one and only Choi Yeonjun looking down at you.

“Not the time-” you muttered, seeing him bring his hand to his chin, making a thinking posture.

“If I knew it would bring your ego down so low I might as well have invited him to drink some coffee-”

“Not the time!” You yelled in a joking pitch, trying to get him to shut up and stop making those types of jokes especially when he knew how much you despised that man who remained faceless.

You argued with Yeonjun for a moment until the conversation became more serious, making you guys make your way to the table that was held mainly for discussions, which had luckily been empty by the time you both made it.

“If he's gonna strike again, where do you think it'll be this time..?” You asked in a monotone pitch, keeping a serious and steady voice as you waited for his response.

His hand was placed under his chin as he rested his head on it, being unable to think of a definite answer of what he could possibly tell you.

He placed his finger on the chart that highlighted a specific area of the town, moving it over to the forest that held the river where the last body happened to be found.

“Whoever he is, we know he's not alone. I can't help but notice that every single one of his crimes revolves around this certain area.” He said, motioning his finger in a circle around the chart before pointing right at the middle.

You thought about his comment for a moment before verifying, “You're right, I never noticed that-” you muttered to yourself, writing it down on a brand new page in your case notebook that you always carried around in case of things like this, “Do you think he could be inspired by some of the older, more notorious killers? Like the ghost doctor murderer?” You asked, while continuing to write the new discovery onto your notebook.

Yeonjun thought for a moment, before questioning you, “The ghost doctor murder? Like the one who broke into a hospital and killed an un-belonging ghost doctor who had been performing a surgery on his patient?” you nodded to his response and added, “They have a few similarities, they both stayed in the same area somewhat. The ghost doctor killer didn't try to hide the evidence of a murder, he just cleaned up the scene and fled.”

“But there's a difference.” Yeonjun added, “The ghost doctor killer fled and was never found, we don't even have an identity and ever since his disappearance in 2003, we have no information regarding him or his whereabouts.”

You nodded in response and shook your head, “I feel like there's a connection there, but I truthfully don't have a reason to believe so.” Yeonjun looked back down at the paperwork and sighed, “Yeah well, we can't disregard gut feelings.”

You nodded in agreement and the investigation carried on, not like it really mattered since at the end of the day, the two of you still ended up in a dead end. No leading connections, hints, explanations, nothing… and there was nothing you could do about it but leave it at that and go home exhausted with the thought that you were yet again, back at square one.

_________

“Do you have them yet?”

Taehyun left what he was reading and looked at Kai “When do you need them by? I have them but they're not ready yet.”

Huening sighed, unknowing of what to respond with.

“I need them immediately, I need to know who we need to deal with next.”

A worried look came across Taehyun’s face as he looked over at Huening Kai, “You're already gonna carry out the plan!?” Taehyun asked, Kai wasn't the type of person to cramp up the crimes he commited, so he couldn't understand why he was in such a rush to do so now.

“Why of course, make them commit their sin of gambling and watch them realize that they have a debt too big in order to pay, works every time.” Taehyun noticed a smirk creep onto Huening’s face as he looked down at the table that they used.

Taehyun slightly frowned, trying to find the best way to word his question in order to not get in trouble with Kai, “I don't really know if I'm allowed to ask but, if you only kill people who have history, what did she do?”

Kai wasn't too sure himself, his men had just told him that she was a serious case and was probably gonna attack again soon. Huening couldn't let another innocent life go to waste, especially when they had so much left to explore.

Therefore he knew he had to act fast, and Taehyun understood the message, “Alright, I'll go tell Beomgyu then.” Taehyun said, turning and making his way out of the room after getting Kai’s permission for it.

Huening knew this was wrong of him. He knew this made him a horrible person because just what human could be capable of something so gruesome such as murder. He knew that the police were after him and he didn't have much more time to act as the police finally began to take his case seriously.

He found himself chuckling through his inner thoughts, thinking “If only they knew.”

Truthfully, if only they knew… he wouldn't need to struggle so much with keeping his real identity from getting leaked, in his head, he wasn't a bad person. If you moved past the amount of people he killed he wasn't a bad person, yet no one other than his close relatives could see that he wasn't so bad.

Huening Kai was a well mannered citizen, and although he was the youngest in the casino, everyone under him had no choice but to obey him, they knew the consequences if they didn't, other than the amount of people he'd killed, he hadn't committed any crimes and his name was relatively clean. If the police suspected anyone, he'd be the last person on the list, and even if they did, he was the type of citizen that the police would try so hard to excuse, putting a dozen of reasons on why he couldn't possibly be the culprit.

And yet, he didn't just murder anyone, the police might be after him but he made the world a safer place by eliminating those who ruined the well being of others.

He was so deep in thought that he didn't even realize Taehyun was back with Beomgyu. He only realized after the two of them waved their hands in front of his face in an attempt to distract him from his trance and bring him back to earth.

“Earth to Hyuka-” Beomgyu muttered in an annoyed pitch, holding the necessary documents that Kai asked for.

“You're back..?” He asked in a low tone, looking up at the two of them who took a seat on two random chairs that were around the room, Taehyun sighed as he responded, “Beomgyu was being really loud on the way here, maybe fell one or two times-”

“I did not!!” Beomgyu corrected, to which Taehyun simply just ignored, “I'm surprised you didn't hear us making our way here since it was probably audible for over 20 miles.”

“I was not that loud!” Beomgyu argued, disliking Taehyun's selection of words because it made him come off as uneducated, Taehyun silenced Beomgyu as he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, placing the paperwork on Kai’s desk.

He had been resting his cheek on his hand, simply waiting for them to finish arguing, although he did dislike the amount of noise, he let it slip past because he genuinely found their arguments funny, hearing them ramble on about practically nothing. “Y'all done?” He asked, making both Taehyun and Beomgyu bow in apology for their immature behavior and go back to serious mode, looking at him as he lifted his head high and looked through the paperwork that had been brought and placed on his desk.

He opened up the files and looked at the name. He knew one thing for sure… he recognized this face, having gone viral multiple times for her cases, yet never found, good at disguising her true face, so therefore it remains unknown, techniques so well thought out that he just had to use some of them for his own crimes…

“The red cloak lady, an urban legend which became a reality whenever someone who wasn't in their right mind took inspiration from the old folktale.” you repeated, looking over at Yeonjun who was just as confused as you were.

“So the red cloak lady originated from a fairytale?”

“Folktale” you corrected as Yeonjun brushed you off and reiterated, “Wasn't that tale written over 100 years ago?” You shrugged and looked it up, “it definitely didn't originate here that's for sure.”

Yeonjun nodded, taking notes of what you had read, “Wasn't her last active case like over a decade ago? She was never caught and we have no idea on who she is, so she's probably already dead, don't you think?”

You agreed, doing your own personal research, having zero clue on what you were even looking for and at least trying to find one simple fact that could uncover something about the culprit, anything, even if it was what he had for breakfast you'd be more than happy. Yet… nothing, you were still at square one and unable to move forward.

“Ugh- i'm so done with this…” you muttered, slamming your head onto your arms which laid flat on the table, resting your eyes to get a break from reality. Neither you or Yeonjun could do anything until the ‘Mastermind' pulled his next move and the thought of that just made you sick, thinking about all that wasted time.

And wasted time was all that ran through your head upon thinking that you couldn't act until the 'Mastermind's next move, but you were dead wrong if you thought you could take it easy until then…

The ear piercing alarms rang across the entire station, chaos being heard from outside the room as the rest of the cops currently on shift wondered what was going on. You knew immediately what this was… you never heard the alarms unless it was a serious and current break in of a building, normally important, something such as a bank, or vip home. There was only one person on the suspect list, and if it happened to be that one person, you'd finally be able to carry on with the investigation. Your coworker ran into the room, slamming the door open.

“L/n!? Yeonjun!? Are you both in here!?”

Yeonjun stood up from his chair and walked over to the familiar face, taking them by the shoulders demanding answers, “What's going on!?”

“We don't know! But someone broke into an important representative's home and we don't know who it is or why they broke in!” Your coworker said in a panic, trying his best to keep his voice professional and understandable.

Yeonjun bit his lip in pure frustration, among turning back to your coworker he shoved them out of the way and went to the front of the station, you speed walked forward, nodding and thanking your coworker for the alert, following Yeonjun shortly after. You made your way to the front of the station, where you saw the cop cars already parked and ready to be taken out.

You made your way to an assistant who worked closely with Soobin, he normally had information regarding your investigations and crimes, if anyone knew what you were getting yourself into, it was him.

“Wooyoung- what's going on..?” You asked, turning your head to face the man who had been writing on his notepad.

Wooyoung sighed, which wasn't a good sign and it made you quite uneasy, “It's that bad…? Please tell me it isn't…”

“Sorry, but it is pretty bad… I can't really tell you much because of our circumstances-” Wooyoung muttered, as if he was trying to avoid being heard. It was unusual behavior for him because you were already used to his yelling and screaming. Tilting your head in confusion you looked around before feeling your head automatically get snatched back.

“What the heck is wrong with you!?”

“Don't look around too much-” Wooyoung whispered in an aggressive tone which made your head turn fully to him, you watched Yeonjun get into the car and look over at you. His way of telling you “Hurry up!” Telepathically.

“Woo- what's going on!?”

He interrupted you before you could finish your sentence, pulling you down and practically squeezing your faces together.

“Whatever you do, don't talk loudly, if you're gonna communicate with someone do it privately and make sure you're alone. Always stay with someone- don't split up when you get inside of that mansion… and lastly, don't tell anyone I told you this”

You glanced over at Wooyoung, worry filling every corner of your expression as you attempted to put the pieces together, you gulped and muttered a small, “Why..?”

Wooyoung pulled you closer and technically whispered in your ear, his voice more stable and clearer than it had ever been…

“We're being watched- both me and you, everyone here is.”

Your gaze quickly shifted up to look at him but he pushed you away forcing you to stay quiet about the situation, you couldn't ask any questions. Not even how he was able to know that sort of information, or where the culprit was hiding.

You clicked open the car door, sitting on the cushion, more nervous and anxious than ever, your sweat was building up on your forehead, eyes watering. Maybe you were against the same criminal as a year ago, but this time he came back as a different person. He came back ready for war, not just a play battle in the park.

Worst part was that you couldn't even question Wooyoung on what he could've possibly meant by his statement, it was more than obvious but there were so many unanswered questions… How could they watch you? Why couldn't you split up upon arriving at the mansion? Why couldn't you talk out loud? What was he protecting… that made him so vague upon revealing his statement? Was it you and everyone else in the station…? Or was it perhaps someone else..?

[chrollo-lucilfers-chains]

Hisoka x gn!lawyer!reader

Little Lawyer

Warnings: none, that I'm aware of

You walk down the hallway to death, mentally preparing yourself for the worst. Well, it's not really the hallway to death... It's just the hallway to the restaurant of the heavens arena with it's little fake trees and weird colors but with who you're thinking of meeting, it might as well be death.

As you round the corner and go inside, your eyes immediately flicker to the mop of red hair peeking out behind a decorative bush. He's sitting with his back to the room as if to demonstrate just how assured he feels in his power. Even in an arena with some of the strongest hunters and fighters in the world Hisoka Morrow is still the apex predator.

He is also in a very bad mood, you assume.

Short and to the point, you remind yourself. Otherwise he probably won't even listen to you...

Walking up to his table you don't slide into the chair across him. If he does attack you there's no way you will even get as far as to the door but the idea of standing at least gives you some false sense of security and confidence.

You clear your throat to get his attention but he doesn't react to it, intensely focused on the set of playing cards in front of him.

"Mr. Morrow, I've heard of your little law dilemma", you are about to add your name and title but he stops in the movement of his hands and closes his eyes, letting out a small moan of annoyance that stops your talking immediately.

Annoyance is worse than just a bad mood... You don't want Hisoka Morrow to be annoyed with you!

"Listen," he starts in his usual, overly sweet but icy voice before you can even begin to hold your little speech.

"I am in a very bad mood right now, so either say something interesting and get to the point or leave, because I may look like the sexy equivalent of a clown, according to my fans, but I sure don't joke around like one. It's a very bad time right now for you to try and see how long lasting my patience is."

Fuck, you think. You were right. Better make this one count then. And you were nothing if not determined!

"I was in the law team for the hunter exams and worked under the head examiner. I listened to the interviews and I know what you want. You want to kill without being held accountable and to fight other strong people. I can offer you both."

Hisoka lifts his eyes to your figure almost catlike. He tilts his head and raises one singular, perfect eyebrow in a gesture for you to continue. Many people talk bad about him but none of them can deny how attractive he is. His hair is still disheveled from the fight he'd had minutes ago and the red strands seductively frame his handsome face. You admire his sharp features and the yellow eyes. When those exact eyes narrow you remember who he is.

God damnit, his jawline is so not the point right now!

"I can get you out of any possible trial before it even begins and I will get you out of your current problem as well."

His eyes tighten, as if calculatedly scanning your every asset. You shift from one leg to another. What if he says no?

"You know, usually people who come to me with a proposal want something in return. I assume you do too?"

"I do."

You close your eyes. You'd practiced what to say in the mirror the whole morning and still it was hard to get out right now. You take a deep breath and steady yourself.

"I want you to kill my boyfriend."

Hisoka holds your gaze for a split second, as he registers what you just said, then he breaks into histerical laughter. You look around confusedly. What is going on?

"Oh god..." he lets out between giggles. "I needed that..."

Other people are starting to look at the two of you with a questionable gaze and you try smiling along with Hisoka, acting as if you'd just told a funny joke and hadn't just proposed homicide to the maniacal clown breaking out in hysterics in front of you.

"Ahaha haha, yeah... Uhm, are you okay?" You ask, mildly concerned about not only him but also the other people in the restaurant now.

He let's out another histerical giggle but finally seems to recover from his tirade. Then he apruptly stands up, takes your wrist and starts heading to the exit, pulling you along with him.

His face is set in an unreadable expression. Oh god, what had you done? Is he going to kill you now??

"Uhh, you- you can just say no, if you're not interested!" You scramble, trying to make him let go but he just keeps trotting forwards, unbothered by your pulling on his hand. And holy cow, he's strong. He could probably be a rock climber with that grip strength...

He doesn't stop outside, instead he starts heading the direction of his room and if you weren't panicking before you definitely are now.

When his door is in sight, you start twisting your hand in order of making him let go.

"Mr. Morrow I don't feel comfortable going into your room! Unhand me right this instant!!" You tell him, trying to sound calm even though you are freaking out inside but ultimately failing to conceal the panic in your voice.

He rolls his eyes without you seeing it and opens the door to his suite. He shoves you inside and shuts the door, effectively pinning you against it.

"Hisoka, my name is Hisoka."

"What?" You let out confusedly.

"If we're going to work together you aren't calking me Mr. Morrow", he says and you blink.

"Oh god, I thought you were going to kill me! Yes, okay. I can call you that"

He nods.

"You also have to help me first, little fruit." Ah, there it is. You were expecting a certain amount of mindgames and flirting from the sociopathic clown but this is definitely a lot more intense than you thought.

"That... I can do..." You give him this one because it may just save your life.

"But you have to help me after that!" Begging won't work on him, you know that much about the magician but you still have to try.

"Why of course, little lawyer~" Hisokas smile is nothing short of frightening, as if it was supposed to be innocent but he didn't feel like it halfway through.

"We're going to get to know each other real well."

Hisokas hand pats your head twice.

What have you gotten yourself into?

[btsqualityy]

Almost done Shay! Sorry if I am annoying! But I love drabble day! So….Junior giving in laws an ultimatum about his wife since he’s tired of seeing her so upset! Thank you girl! Much love! 💗

"What was so important that we had to rush over here, Kim Myung?" Jungah demanded to know. Both she and Eunji's father, Chul, were sitting at the dining room table at Junior and Eunji's house across from their son in law.

"Yes, we have a very important conference in the States next week that we're preparing for," Chul added.

"I needed to talk to you, seriously," Junior said and both of their eyebrows rose in interest.

"What about?"

"I know you guys have been talking to Eunji about moving in with us," Junior began.

"Oh, are you going to help us convince her?" Jungah smiled. "We just think it's the best choice for everyone."

"It's economy really," Chul said. "With you two having such busy careers and two small children, it's best to leave them with people that you trust."

"And Chul and I are more than ready to retire," Jungah chuckled.

"I completely understand that but Eunji has made her feelings on the matter abundantly clear," Junior replied. "She'd rather the two of you not move in."

"Ah, you know how Eunji can be though, Myung," Jungah spoke up. "Her emotions can cloud her judgment."

"And that's what I wanted to talk to you both about," Junior sighed, taking a deep breath and exhaling before he began to speak again. "I need the both of you to stop talking about my wife that way."

"Excuse me?" Jungah uttered.

"The snide comments, the way you talk about Eunji both to her face and to other people including myself, her own husband, it has to stop," Junior stated firmly.

"Myung, we don't know what kinds of things Eunji has been telling you but-" Chul tried to say but Junior cut him off.

"She's been telling me the truth," he said. "And even if she had been making things up, the fact that I can see for myself the way that you treat her is more than enough."

"So what?" Jungah shrugged. "Are you going to give us some kind of ultimatum?"

"I am, actually," Junior smiled. "Either you two stop with the horrible comments towards my wife or all contact will be cut off."

"What?" Chul laughed.

"You heard me," Junior said. "Eunji has wanted to cut off contact with you both for a long time now, especially once the kids were born, but I talked her out of it. I mean, who wants to cut their parents off and not talk to them, especially when she's your only child?"

"But now you're encouraging her to do it?" Jungah wondered.

"I'm encouraging her to take care of herself and her mental health," Junior corrected her. "Which is something that I should've been doing but nevertheless, here we are now. So, what's it gonna be?"

"We can't help the way we feel, Myung," Jungah replied. "You have no idea what we have been through with that child of ours."

"Eunji's no saint, she's always made that very clear," Junior nodded in agreement. "But as her parents, you both should've loved her through her problems instead of shunning her, especially when most of her issues were caused by you two and your inability to show her love and affection. I'm not going to lecture you though because I know from Eunji that you two are like mules when it comes to admitting what you did so I'm done. If you need some time to think through your choice, take it but I'm going to ask you both to leave in the mean time."

Both Chul and Jungah looked up in surprise as Junior stood up and walked out of the room.

[aether-friskets]

wip questionnaire tag game yay

thanks @ap0stle for tagging me in this!! :D

The WIP im gonna talk about is uh. well it doesnt really have a name i just call it "that game i want to finish eventually" or "the survival horror game idea" lol, I'm bad with names so itll prob remain that way for a while

What's the First Part of Your WIP that You Created?

I can't recall exactly when this was, but I remember I was specifically listening to this video which, judging by its age, would've been around 2 years ago now. Something about the black and red blair witch game art used as the cover (which, i... totally legally... played that game out of curiosity later on, wasnt big on it as a blair witch fan or a horror fan in general, but you will see one little element from it as one of a few inspiration points for whats kind of becoming a major mechanic in my game at this point lol) mixed with the music itself gave me this mental image of someone driving on a road through the woods with that very black and red lighting, and i had this feeling that they were looking for someone. That's technically the very vague basis that sprouted into my game idea, which has changed a lot since then, and now I don't think a scene like that will even happen. Aside from that, my first concept that's actually stuck around, is the protag looking for their sibling (usually my brain leans sister so i may go that route, but i tend to imagine characters w/out gender in mind til later lol) and sorta ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time as a result. I have some more stuff in mind of course, but a lot of stuff is still pretty vague lol

If Your Story Was a TV Show, What Would the Theme Song/Intro Be?

Oh man this is such a fun thing to think about conceptually, I feel like the WIP is almost too much of a WIP to be sure... But it'd probably have to feel very 2000s, maybe have some kind of industrial edge? Something to capture the idea of an ordinary person descending into something they couldn't possibly be prepared for i guess loll Those things aren't necessary, but the setting is mainly going to be in this as yet unnamed city during the mid-late 2000s? I haven't settled on the exact year yet so that may not be fully accurate lol. The game probably will get some kind of intro style thing, because I absolutely LOVE that in the silent hill games (and also twilight princess had something like that!! which is very nostaglic for me lol) so I think it would be awesome to do in mine lol I feel like the closest I've heard to the vibe I imagine are like. 1. Into to The Mine from Lost in Vivo 2. Broken ALSO from Lost in Vivo (i swear something abt the music in this game just has the vibes) 3. Theme Of... by Drackfreeee I guess it makes sense because it's a silent hill inspired song that you can even hear bits from the game's intros in there but. man. it's got a dreamlike quality that fits the more surreal elements i have in mind well, plus i can totally imagine it playing in an intro thing showing a bunch of scenes from the game and setting that scene of descent When i get to that point in making the game, ill probably look back at songs like these for ideas on what'll work

What Are Your Favourite Characters You Made, and Why?

Since this thing is still so much a WIP, I don't have a tonnn figured out about the characters, so it's kinda hard to pick. But I can talk a little about what I DO have figured out! As I said previously, the protag is gonna be looking for their sibling. The basic idea being that they're visiting their sibling in this new city they've never been to before, and things go all wacky sideways real fast. I feel like I'm either gonna love 'em or hate 'em because due to the unintentionally personal nature of this story that I've been embracing more as time went on, they're probably gonna be the most like me out of the cast. I'm hoping to make them an enjoyable protagonist to play as tho, not annoying but not TOO bland or anything. The sibling is probably gonna end up reflecting a lot of my sister, cause, as i said, accidentally personal story that I'm kinda just embracing at this point lol. I wanna not make any of the characters 100% like a single person I know, so I'll probably mix in traits from other people I like lmaooo. but we'll see what they're like by the end. One thing i already DO know is I really wanna circumvent the idea of the person you're trying to find/save being this "damsel in distress" type, so I think it'd be great if when you finally reunite, they're dealing with the whole situation way better than you LMAO. or at least on par. The hardest part about that tho... Is I'll probably have to make a half-decently competent partner NPC for that part of the game... I've also had this idea for a guy based on a dream I had. I think they will be playing a part but I'm not sure yet, as stuff is still very vague at this point. The idea is of someone who is "helping" you for part of the game, only to fuck you over later on because, what can I say, I love the heartbreak of getting totally screwed over by a character you trusted sometimes :3 The idea being you'd make remote contact early on and they'd promise to help lead you to your sibling but in reality either A) they've just been trying to lead you to your death subtly lmaooo or B) more likely option, theyre tricking you into helping them instead, and then will leave you for dead once you actually help them. I feel like it'd be fun to write a guy who is a total opportunist and probably a smug asshole, idk lol There will probably be other characters? but these are the only ones I have in mind so far, and as you can tell, they arent very fleshed out at all yet

What Other Pieces of Media do You Think Your Fanbase Would Share?

Jeez, the idea of garnering any kind of fanbase in and of itself is kind of cool but scary lol I figure they'd probably like a lot of the stuff that's inspiring me in the first place, like Silent Hill (duh), Cry of Fear, Jacob's Ladder, a bit o' Twin Peaks... Basically if you like some guy going through some weird fuckin' psychological shit lmaoo More specifically, i want the vibes of stuff like. standing in a subway station at a weird hour, feeling like the only person left on the planet. Opening a door into a room that shouldn't logically connect. Cryptic phone calls and texts that don't seem like a person would make them. Desperately trying to reach someone, to find the answers, but it seems like the place itself is fighting against you. Stuff like that, I guess

What Has Been Your Biggest Struggle With Your WIP?

Man, what hasn't? I don't have much experience making games so I'm learning a lot mechanically as I go, but I also have never properly finished an entire original story before. I think the main thing, is like... I'm scared whatever I create will feel too derivative of the works that inspired me, that the thing I create will ultimately fade into the shadow of other things that did it better. So every time I have a new idea, I worry about if it'll come off too much like [x thing] and that's been making the process even slower loll Aside from that, I know the character's primary goal, and I have certain locations I think would be cool to include, but I don't know SHIT about any of the details of getting from the start to the end and what will fall in-between, which does make it tricky lol. I need to really consider what kind of path I want them to follow, and what will happen after they reach their goal, stuff like that. It's all just very vague right now and trying to work out the details is almost intimidating even tho thats the main part of making a story.

Are There any Animals in Your Story? Talk About Them!

At the moment? Not that I'm aware of. There may likely be enemies with animal-like appearances, though. I could see that being a thing I do. But I haven't really gotten into monster design just yet.

How do Your Characters Travel/Get Around?

At the moment I'm suspecting primarily on foot, however my concept for the intro of the game involves the protag taking the subway. So there may be some subway shenanigans too, idk.

What Part of Your WIP Are You Working on Right Now?

I'd say the main reason the story is still so vague, is I've been trying to get the main technical/mechanical elements set up before I get too much into the details. Or maybe I'm just stalling. So, I'd say I'm mainly working on stuff surrounding the non-story parts of the game. But in terms of the story, I want to flesh out the protag and the sibling more into proper characters first and foremost, I'd say.

What Aspects (Tropes, Maybe?) do You Think Will Draw Your Audience in?

I'll be real I got no idea but... I guess if I think about it from the perspective of what I think would draw me in from an outside view...

Use of classic survival horror stuff like fixed camera angles (plus I'm going to have both tank and analog controls so more people can enjoy it :])

Putting a guy in A Situation

The general atmosphere and setting (as I sorta said, mid-late 2000s urban enviro with weird illogical stuff happening and potentially kind of dream-like elements, i hesitate to say liminal but maybe a bit liminal? I also want to go for a ps2-ish graphics quality cause i feel like its criminally underrated lol and some people may feel like me on that part and like that)

Vaguely queer protag? like i said i dont have much fleshed out but if they're gonna be based on me at all u KNOW that bitch aint gonna feel cis or straight i'm sorry it's simply fact (also admittedly I've been wanting to make them like some kinda genderqueer or somethin because its my video game and i can do what i want, and seeing human protags that are nonbinary in some way gives me life)

Weird-ass shit??? like if you vibe with weird silent hill dialogue or the weird stuff that just. happens in twin peaks, im hoping to bring a similar energy in my own way

Possibly more stuff as I flesh things out more lol

What Are Your Hopes For Your WIP?

Honestly I just hope I make something that I feel proud of. I wanna make something that makes someone feel the same way that stuff like Silent Hill, Cry of Fear, Lost in Vivo, Twilight Princess, hell, UNDERTALE did, where that shit changes you. Where you can feel the love for the genre or medium it's based upon. But at the very least, I just hope at least one person likes it, I guess That'd be enough for me

Uhhh erm I have no idea who to tag I am so bad at this part.... If you want to do this consider yourself tagged :]

[themidnightcircusshow]

I am lowkey highkey obsessed with Thomas. He comes across as having a streak of earnestness in some things I read (it was either his knightly brotherhood agreement with Charles Duke of Orleans or his letter to Henry about how awful his situation in Ireland was) but I also like the hotheaded, reckless image of him. I think a lot of modern historians either overlook him because he wasn't around for Henry VI's minority or just tend to assume that the Battle of Bauge tells us everything about his personality and thus we end up at the hotheaded, reckless idiot image.

(also re: Henry; I think CGW says something like he could have been a good king but the way he became king meant he could never be a good king because usurpation left too great a stain on his character. That makes a lot of sense to me. Plus he got so sick just as he was starting to gain stability on the throne… you can almost sort of read this trend of Henry being like "time for kingly awesomeness! (a fun party ala Edward III; going on a military campaign)" and then ending up having another rebellion or health crisis. The dickhead was still doing it up to 1412 - he was going to lead Thomas's expedition! Until he couldn't…)

(I have written and re-written this so many times to try and clearly explain my view and I'm still not happy with it v.v)

I kind of like the mental image of Thomas as a hot head, but a hot head with a heart of gold iykwim. It really annoys me that we don't know more about him, because reading about his stint in Ireland and campaign in France knowing how much people wanted him to be heir instead of Hal really just... baffled me. The failure of those two things don't exclusively or even predominately fall on his head, it just doesn't explain why people were so ready to back him over Hal, who already had a quashed rebellion under his belt (it'd be easy to brush it off as just people really hating Hal, which they did seem to, but they also seemed to genuinely want Thomas). I think it mostly comes down to Thomas' strengths being in areas that weren't necessarily conducive to leading a country, the way Hal, John, and likely Philippa's were, but we only know of those strengths because we have been able to evaluate their and their successors achievements to examine what does make a good monarch.

CGW coming to that conclusion about Henry IV didn't make a lot of sense to me, because that book did a really good job at detailing all the ways Henry was ill-equipped to be king ^.^'''' A lot of it was definitely because of him being a usurper, like being unable to convince parliament to raise taxes because they would leverage his own promises against him, or his habit of basically never standing up for himself and then going too far in the other direction, realising how much he screwed up, and then swinging too far back again (see the Scrope debacle). And even without all the ways his being a usurper affected him, there are so many instances of him straining against the monetary confines he now has to live with (I understand why he wanted the Duchy of Lancaster to be kept separate from the crown. Terrible outcome, but understandable), or wanting to be on crusade and not being able to because he is king, or the trouble he went through for marrying Joanna because it wasn't a good marriage for a king... all of it very much suggests to me that again, the 'princely virtues' he was so often praised for over Richard did nothing to actually prepare him for running a government, and there is a lot that suggests to me he didn't enjoy it. I guess you give him more credit that I do