#Juni is better with new humans so she got to go

[arlo-venn]

Juni is with Thom & Tyrell at Tyrell’s dad’s house and I’ve been sent this video of her being a-scared of the faux mouse inside this ball.

[bloodmoonmuses]

stray cats, cold spaghetti | mark lee

genre: mark lee x reader, meet cute, friends to lovers (this is unedited, so forgive any typos! happy valentine's day!)

warnings: mentions of food!

summary: your cat introduces you to your new friend, mark. he's a bit more similar to an actual cat than you initially realized.

You didn’t understand the attachment people had to their pets until this stupid cat showed up. She was a stray, with mangled fur and callous eyes, who popped up some months ago. You had checked for any postings about missing pets, and even asked a few of your neighbors, but no one claimed the ratty thing. It’s not that you disliked animals entirely- you’re not a sociopath. You just aired more on the side of nonchalance. 

The cat could sense this, ever since the first time you two crossed paths. You remember that night so vividly. You couldn’t sleep. You laid on your couch, staring at the ceiling, hoping slumber would whisk you away sooner than later. Just as your eyes began to flutter shut, you heard whining. Visceral, pained whining. At first, you tried to ignore it, but when you heard a sound that suspiciously sounded like a young child, you figured it’d be better to survey the situation just in case. When you opened your door to a begging cat, you sighed. Damn the neighbors for feeding this thing. Now she thinks she owns the place. 

“I bet you’re hungry, huh.” The cat bore into you with bright green eyes, tilting its head as if to say, “Duh!”

So you re-entered your home, Googled “What human food can cats eat?”, and came back with canned tuna and half a carrot. The brat looked right past the carrot and inhaled the tuna, this being its first real meal of the day. In between scarfing down food, the gray cat looked at you inquisitively. “Any more where that came from?” her eyes said. She sidled up next to your leg, purring and rubbing her head against it. 

“That’s all I got,” you had confessed. 

You named her June, since that’s the month she came into your life. Now, you’re best friends. June is actually pretty chill. She likes watching movies with you and, strangely, likes going on walks. After getting her groomed, she’s kinda cute too. You hated to admit it, but you love June. You imagine this is how people felt about their kids- without the initial reluctance of course. June comes and goes as she pleases as if she’s still a stray, but always comes back by dinner time. 

When June isn’t back at her usual time one day in October, you get a bit nervous. She never does this. Before breaking out into a full out panic, you remember she’s got a collar and a tracker from the vet now. No biggie. Opening the app that’s connected to June’s tracker, you meander down the path you usually walk with her when it’s warmer out. When you’re a few blocks from your place, you see her, relief flooding your system. Then you realize there’s a man petting her.

“Junie! June!” You run up to her, taking her into your arms. You snuggle her into a tight embrace, planting a kiss on her head. You’re so caught up in your reunion with June that you forget about the stranger standing in front of you. Oh yeah. You should probably say something. His hair is somewhere in between auburn and brown, making his face look incredibly warm. You hold June a bit tighter.

“Cute cat,” the stranger says. His voice is a bit hoarse. “Thought she was a stray before I saw the collar.” Um, okay? June’s a little rough around the edges, but she’s clearly cared for. 

“Yeah, she’s mine. Do you, like, follow strays around in your free time?” you ask with a bite to your tone. 

“Do you let your pet wander around like a stray in your free time?” Fair, you think, but still rude.

“She’s a free spirit,” you contest. 

“So you let her wander.” 

“This is the first time she hasn’t come home for dinner. Our relationship is built mostly on my ability to provide her food- which works for me.” You’re not sure why you’re explaining your relationship with your cat. Who cares what this guy thinks?

June jumps out of your arms, back to the ground, and walks up to the stranger’s legs. He bends down to resume petting her. From his crouched stance, he looks into your eyes. The eye contact makes you shiver.  

“She’s sweet,” he says. “What’s her name?” 

“June. She’s a charmer- and incredibly manipulative. She probably thought she could swindle you out of some food.”

“Do I look easy to take advantage of?” He asks.

You assess him. Oversized hoodie, baggy pants, sneakers covered in scuffs... Maybe he’s a dancer. Or skateboards. You’d be into that, you think. Skater boys weren’t really your thing, but they could be- as long as it’s him. If anything, the guy just looks… cozy, all bundled up like this. There’s a tinge of red on the tip of his nose from the nippy air. He’s smirking to himself at his (flirtatious) question, making his cheek look plump. You want to pinch it. 

You want to make him as warm as his eyes make you feel. 

You realize you’ve probably been staring. Geez, what was his question? Oh yeah. “Yeah. Like a pushover,” you say. “In the best way, of course.”

“Ouch.”

“Only a real sap would fall victim to June’s powers. She can sense lackeys. No offense.” 

“I’m gonna choose to believe that means you think I’m a nice guy.”

“Nice enough.”

“I’ll take it.” The two of you stand in awkward silence for a few moments, June having finally grown bored of her new friend. The guy stands from his crouching position and sways a bit as he awaits your next move.

“Well, like I said, this little lady was late for dinner. So if it’s okay with you,” you pick up June, then continue your thought, “We’ll be heading out.” 

As you turn to walk back home, the stranger says, “I… didn’t catch your name, by the way.” 

Right. You introduced June, but not yourself. Go figure. “Oh. I’m ___.” 

“Cool. I’m Mark.” He looks like a ‘Mark’-boyish and chipper.

“Nice to meet you, Mark. Well, have a nice night.” You start to walk again, but Mark interjects yet again.

“The sun’s setting,” he blurts it out like he’s trying to rid his mouth of the words as quickly as possible. “Can I walk you home?” Then he amends, “I live nearby, so I know it gets kinda dark in this neighborhood. Not many street lights.”

You think about it. You’re not getting any serial killer vibes, plus he’s already passed the June test. (And if you're being honest, he's very cute.) “Um, sure. Thanks.”

The two of you walk in silence, save for June’s purring. When you make it to your apartment building, you stop. Your gut is twisting, mind fixating on the warmth radiating off Mark’s body. Your fingertips are whirring with electricity. You have a bad idea. 

“Would you maybe… wanna come in for dinner?” Mark turns to look at you.  “I never really learned how to cook for one person, so I always have a bunch of leftovers.” 

It’s a lie, but not entirely. You like to cook enough food for the entire week. Mark doesn't need to know this, you conclude.

Mark nods to himself. “Uh, sure. I could eat.”

As soon as you place June down in your apartment, she sprints to her food bowl. Silly girl. 

“Sorry about the mess. Wasn’t expecting company,” you say. “I hope you like spaghetti.”

“Love it,” Mark responds. (You’d later find out this was a lie.)

“Perfect.”

That’s how you and Mark became friends- similarly to how June came into your life. You fed him. In all honesty, he wasn’t that fond of your spaghetti. He just liked the way you smiled each time he took a bite. The two of you continued to get to know one another while making food. Neither of you are great cooks, so you usually team up. It’s become a love language of sorts, sending recipes back and forth to try. You look forward to eating with Mark more than anything these days.

You’re more than aware of your underlying feelings for Mark, but you’ve managed to temper them. You don’t want to scare him off, but the tension is relentless. You’re making tiramisu and your shoulders touch. You’re piping flowers on a cupcake while Mark pulls tendrils of hair away from your face. You’re whisking meringue into stiff peaks while Mark hums to June in the living room. It’s heart achingly domestic. 

Oftentimes you imagine Mark as your husband. In your daydreams the two of you are wearing matching aprons, flour dusting his nose. He kisses you, a fit of giggles attacking your system. You’re absolutely smitten and unabashedly so.

 In reality, today is Valentine’s Day. Mark suggests he comes over and makes pizza. You don’t think Mark realizes what day it is until you suggest making your pizzas heart shaped. He says he forgot to buy his friend Jaehyun a birthday gift.

“This is, like, kinda romantic.” If being covered in pizza sauce and flour is romantic, then yes. This was very romantic. You have a nice spread here-  fresh basil, mozzarella, alfredo sauce, vodka sauce, roma tomatoes… It smells so nice. Mark keeps sneaking chunks of cheese into his mouth. He looks like a little mouse. June is fast asleep on the couch. You’ve finally perfected the heart shape of your dough, and begin to spread alfredo sauce on your pizza. 

“Your parameters for romance are very strange, Mark Lee.”

“If you close your eyes, it’s like we’re in Italy.” When he says things like this, they only fuel your daydreams. You blame the flush of your face on the preheating oven.

“Venice, I hope.”

“Of course.”

Mark’s pizza looks more like an anatomical heart than the kind you’d doodle in a notebook. He scoffs when you tell him this, feigning offense.

“Should I remind you of how your cinnamon rolls came out a few weeks ago?” They were awful. At a certain point, you had given up and rolled them into balls. 

“My cinnamon rolls/balls were innovative and transcendent.” 

“I don’t even know how you messed them up,” Mark says as he puts the pizzas in the oven, “We bought pre-made dough.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

When the pizzas are done baking, the two of you sit at the dinner table. It’s a different feel for the two of you, seeing as you usually eat together on the couch.  You take a bite of your pizza, savoring the taste.

“Not bad. Wanna taste?” Mark nods. Instinctively, the two of you swap plates, trying each others’ creations.

“I think you’re better at making savory foods.”

“I agree.”

You and Mark continue to eat your pizzas, taking gulps of your respective drinks in between bites. Beer for Mark, white wine for you. Jazz plays softly from your shitty phone speaker, and June’s snores fill in the gaps of silence. After a bit, Mark’s face goes red from the alcohol. You liked seeing him tipsy. He gets all wavy and fluid, unconsciously swaying side to side like a daisy in the wind. Your face feels fuzzy from the wine and you find yourself biting your tongue. 

You’ve had to be more conscious of your alcohol intake around Mark lately. It felt as if at any moment, your love for him would simply become unbearable. Recently, it’s been hard to just look at him- even while sober. Tonight, apparently, you threw caution to the wind. 

“Mark?” you say.

“Hmm….”  He’s drifting away, lethargic from the food and beer. You repeat his name again, this time getting his full attention. When his glassy eyes meet yours, the force behind them knocks the wind out of you.

“Yes?” says Mark. He takes another sip of beer. 

You can’t do this, you think, backtracking entirely. The lie escapes as a garbled mess of words: “Forgot what I was gonna say.” You take a nervous gulp of your wine.

Mark slams his fist on the table, in a drunken stupor. The sound startles you, but there’s no malice behind his motion. In fact, he’s laughing to himself. “Bullshit.”

“I really did lose my train of thought. Maybe it’ll come back to me.”

“I know you’re lying. Like you lied about that cold ass spaghetti you used to lure me in!” he says, referencing the night you met. The spaghetti wasn’t that cold…

“I really did make too much spaghetti that night! Plus, you kept June safe. It was the least I could do!” 

Mark begins to gather your plates and cups, walking over to the kitchen to place them in the sink. As he stands, he says, “I won’t force you to say it, but I know you’re lying.” 

Then he moves to run the faucet. The rushing water fills the silence like TV static, buzzing and itching in your ears. Your throat is burning. You want to talk to him openly, honestly- but something’s stopping you. Mark washes the dishes wordlessly. With his back turned to you, his words hang heavy in the air. Mark never pries but simultaneously knows you so intimately. You love being known by him. You love knowing him. 

You simply love him.

“Why’d you walk me home that night?” Your voice barely pierces the air. The question practically squeaks out of you.

“What?” Mark turns off the facet and dries his hands on a towel, turning to look at you.

“The night we met. Why’d you walk me home?”

He contemplates the question for a moment, closing his eyes to visualize the night. Then he says, “Wanted to make sure you got home safely.” 

The moment is delicate and fragile. You’re scared that if not nimble enough, if not cradled with the utmost gentleness, it will shatter. You proceed with caution.

“Mark?” At the sound of his name, Mark returns to his seat at the dining table.

“I think… I love you.” Mark chuckles. “Don’t laugh!”

“You think?” he says, now breaking out into a full-bodied laugh.

“Yeah. I think so.” 

“I love you too.” He pauses for dramatic effect. “...I think.”

“Very funny, asshole.” 

Mark reaches over the table and places a chaste kiss upon your lips. “Okay, I think I’m a little more sure now,” he says.

“Need some more reassurance?” you ask. Mark nods. 

You lean in to kiss him this time, and just before your lips touch, you hear whining. You pull back to look down, seeing June curled up beneath your chair. Her timing is always impeccable. The two of you giggle, sealing the moment with a fervent kiss. You melt into his touch, the elation coursing through your veins. When you come up for air, you meet Mark’s eyes.  

“What?” he says. “I’m a better kisser than you thought?” 

“I was just wondering… you’re still gonna wash the dishes, right?”

[mwcowan]

Return to Normal? At Least Returned.

Chapter 1, Manila

Night 2, 4:30am. I wasn’t sure if I would write a blog this trip, but jetlag has reared its ugly head and wide awake with nothing better to do, here I go again.

Besides more or less syncing up with our stated plans to spend winters here, we’re in the Philippines a little earlier for a special reason – for me to experience Filipino Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. Christmas is celebrated here probably like no other place on earth, with the season officially starting in September. Decorations go up, holiday parties start, shopping season begins, gifts are exchanged. I’m not exaggerating, it starts in September. I’ve seen glimpses of it before, being here in September 2017 and November 2018 as we were building our house, but never here for the main event. Likewise, New Year’s is also quite the celebration, an excess of alcohol and fireworks, and not the safe and sane type. Christmas is still a couple days off, so I’ll report again after the festivities.

I’ll start this blog by going back a few weeks. Georgia actually came over just after Thanksgiving to meet with our Bay Area friends Mina, Juni, Teng, and a few of their family members who’ve been on an extended vacation. With the kind help of our Manila friends Noel and Michelle, they all enjoyed a trip to Balesin Island (a unique private island resort – our trips there have been reported in previous blogs).

At the same time our Graeagle friends Todd and Kathleen traveled to Costa Rica for their own fun and warm adventure. They are Lizzie’s humans; Lizzie is Max’s sister and BFF. I stayed at home with both of the pups whose purpose was to keep me busy. Below, Max photobombs Lizzie’s serious portrait.

In the first 10 days of my dog-sitting we had 3 separate snowstorms with snow piling up over 2 feet. Nothing but good times for the dogs though, they’ll chase each other or a ball all day long in the snow, the deeper the better. They never seem to get either tired or cold, it’s me who does and I’m the spoil sport who always calls them back in to warm up.

Lizzie went back to her humans when they returned last week, leaving Max and I as bachelors for a few days. About that time it turned cold; when I got up the morning before heading here it was 5°F (-15°C). Max didn’t care but it definitely got me thinking about the nice warm weather in the Philippines!

My trip here was uneventful but longer than usual – a 6:00 am flight from Reno to SFO, then SFO to Seoul, and finally Seoul to Manila. Everything was on time until the last flight which was delayed a few hours, giving me a travel time (Reno airport shuttle to Dolly’s house in Manila) of about 29 hours. I slept really well the first night here but old jetlag is always lurking and eventually catches up with you.

Before you worry about Max, he’s staying with Lizzie, Todd, and Kathleen until early January, when Georgia’s sister Dignah will come stay at our house and entertain Max until we return in May.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s adventures continued. Besides the fun type in Balesin, she also ran into some bad adventure. Or to be more accurate, some bad adventure ran into her. After returning from Balesin she was driving back to her mom’s house and while stopped waiting for traffic to clear so she could make a right turn, a delivery truck on her left decided to squeeze in front of her. It was a bit too tight of a squeeze and despite Georgia’s energetic honking the side of the truck struck and removed much of the front end of our car. Georgia was rattled of course, but thankfully unhurt. To make it all worse, she then waited hours for the police inspector to arrive, and after that had to go to the police station to file a report. To top it off, it was raining. What a way to ruin your day!

We’re very lucky that Georgia’s sister Divine (Vinee) and her husband Alvin who live in Hong Kong have a few cars stationed over here. They’ve generously lent us a Toyota Previa van for as long as we need it. Since I still hadn’t arrived, poor Georgia had to deal with it all – police, insurance, towing, finding a body shop, etc. The car’s now sitting in a repair shop not too far from Dolly’s house. We’ll see how this turns out.

To wrap this up on a positive note, Georgia reports all is well at our house in Kawayan Cove. No disasters such as those which greeted us on our last trip; she’s very pleased with the way our new caretakers have maintained both house and garden. I’m looking forward to getting there – our plan is to stay here through Christmas day and then go to KC for the week, returning to Manila for New Years.

Finally, I want to wish every one of you a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year!

[sly-merlin]

killing me - 10 |n.y

pairing : law student!reader + yuta

genre :    angst , mafia au/ arranged marriage au , smut

warnings of this chapter : cursing, explanatory mention of a pistol! 

words :: 5.3k

summary : “life’s never fair y/n. realise it as soon as you can . it is the only secret for living a regretless life.”                                  

or              

                   “  curiousity got the cat hitched”

taglist :: @kpop-choco​​​ @moon-yuta​​​ @kawaiiayasan​​​ @btm-taeyong​​​ @exfolitae​​​ @lanadreamie​​​ @cheersskznct​​​ @hyuckiesgf​​​ @theworld-accordingtocasey​​​  @yiyi4657​​ @sorrywonwoo​​ @sillywinnergladiator​​​ @suhweo​​​ @minejungwoo​​ @leesalts​​  @mal-nakamoto23​​ @ro2424​​

@kafenetwork​​​​​ @neowritingsnet​​​​​

K.M masterlist

k.m9    next

Previous night

“What the fuck were you spitting out there hmm! Have you lost your mind? Why aren’t you answering me you shit!”

jaehyun avoided prying when mark and yuta were arguing but he couldn’t keep it in anymore. mark shifted the gears to park the car in the middle of nowhere, tense silence hugging all of them. jaemin was annoyed with jaehyun’s endless remarks at mark but it was hyuck who was most confused as he was unable to form any kind of judgement.

“why did you stop the car now? Its midnight-

“can you stop drunk talking hyung. I can’t drive like this!”

“I’m very sober. Its you whose brain is dead mark. Did you even notice yuta’s face when you-

“just stop hyung. I’m not ashamed of what I said there. I stand by each and every word! Now can we go back home or do you have anything else?

“you can’t be real! He has done so much for you all these years and this is how you repa-

“yes exactly! He has made so many sacrifices for me all these years, that’s why its my responsibility to show him the right way that he is clearly not following at all and you all are partly responsible for it! You are feeding his selfish ego by showing him hollow sympathy but that’s gonna bite him in the ass at end.”

“woah woah tiger. So what you gonna do? Instruct him how to live his life. Are you making him realise that he doesn’t hate y/n when he clearly cant stand her presence for even a minute and by some miracle, even if you end up pacifying yuta, then what about that cold hearted queen! She’s just here t-

“she is not here on her own! And I am not going to repeat myself, so fix it in your head hyung. She is not here to replace anyone!! Yuta hyung just hates the thought of her coerced and fortuitous presence in his life and I’m not trying to create a miracle here. I just want our lives back to normal and I’ll go to every extent to make it possible!” his chest heaved up and down as the anger subsided a bit, his heart feeling at ease after getting his thoughts out. Jaehyun only scoffed at him.

“you are too naïve markie. This is not how emotions work.”

“this is the only way emotions work hyung!” with that said, he shifted the gear, driving on the road with the same silence lurking again but he felt better. much better.

“who do you think is right?” hyuck whispered in jaemin’s ear, in the hope that he would solve his dilemma.

“I don’t know but I’d love if she stays forever. We are missing one member anyway” he whispered back earning a small tight lip smile from donghyuck who fell into a deep slumber right after that.

Slowly he moved himself to the other side, bruised elbow secured in his hand, grunts exiting him. You knew you were fucked up as soon as his cold eyes fell upon you.

“I guess it’s my time to call taeyong.” He glared, the strong eye contact not lasting for too long as he tried to lift himself up from the floor.

Meanwhile you kept observing him, biting your left thumb, feet glued to the ground. your eyes followed his hobbled travel from the kitchen to the couches from where you heard his long sigh of relief as he placed his leg on the table while stroking his knee. his head fell on the couches and suddenly your conscience kicked in while watching his painful expressions. You found yourself sluggishly walking out of the kitchen with careful steps to avoid the spill, sleepiness fading away.

Yuta’s scraped elbow was in the vision as you neared him. He was still nursing his knee, elbow forgotten by now. Maybe it was the momentary pain! you deliberated about asking him first but then remembered that you don’t have to communicate with him to show that you were still human! So you quietly went to bathroom to find your first aid kit that you placed somewhere the day you settled your stuff. It was not easy to locate it with the lack of cooperation of your hands and mind in the current state, but still you tried your best.

With same motion you went back. Yuta’s hand was still cupping the knee but his features seemed to be much more peaceful than before. But you still approached hesitantly and placed the box on the table, near his foot.

“have a seat please. We have some unfinished business here beautiful!” he sneered, signalling you to sit beside him.

“no thanks. I have work to do.” You tiredly replied, moving away.

“I.Said.Sit.Here! I also wanna experience the thrill of whinning like a baby!

“oh please , I have nothing to fear! Just call him already. I’ve work to do!” you told him in stern voice while circling the table to sit far away from him.

Yuta smirked a little at your show of bravery when anyone could see right through you at the moment. Your eyes were half shut, shoulders slumped down but still upright when it came to fighting him. But yuta clearly knew he had the upper hand this time.

Or he thought!

Your heartbeat sped up with each ring. Very dramatically , yuta had put the phone on speaker to prove his point.

After 5 rings, tayeong picked up and so did your pulse.

“who it is?” a yawn filled voice was heard from the other side.

“are you still sleeping bitch?” yuta inquired with annoyance.

“ye-yes. We cleared the month last night so everyone is sleeping. What el-

“just wake up! I’ve something important to tell!”

“later. I’m bus-

“its about your precious y/n!”

“is she gone?” it sounded like he was suddenly awake!

“tsk tsk. The fuck is your problem? Do you even care about my wellbeing or should I find a new father!” yuta growled at him, his voice pierced through your ears.

“I’ll call her myself!”

“like she would tell you about her plan to lay my 6 feet under the ground!”

Yuta heard a deep sigh from the other side.

“this story better be good coz I don’t wanna lose my sleep ov-

“this is not a story. She spilled water to make me slip and –

“and kill you. what kind of man dies after a little slipping! Huh!”

“have you adopted her or something taeyong! Your attitude is fucking me up. Can you hear me for once or do you-

“what do you wanna say exactly! That you slipped and broke your legs and arms. Make it believable yuta. She might be a bit bitchy but can’t be that evil.”

“so I am a bitch!” your sleepy and cold voice interrupted.

“no no , I meant-

“It was unintentional. i didn’t even know he was home. And it was him who decided to barge in when I was finding food. He was not even invited into the kitchen in the first place!”

“but I got hurt and it was because-

“hurt? you mean as in injured! Oh god. You can’t come back then. take leave for a few days if you are hurt badly and call jun , he’ll be there with medicines and bandages. Consider this an extension of the suspension but you aren’t leaving the hous-

“fuck you taeyong! I hope you die in your sleep!!”

Slamming the phone on the table, he pulled at his roots, lidded eyes boring into you.

“you’ll pay for this.” his finger threateningly pointed towards you.

You let out a yawn before getting up to leave the space to him,

“whatever just don’t finish the spray bottle. Its new”

After that you didn’t hear anything from yuta or anyone.

And it just went like that for 2 more weeks!

“why don’t you shift to the dorms for two months! You can hang out with minjun while he complete his reports.”

“so you want me to lose my sleep and baby your baby?” you snickered, slurping the soup a bit louder this time.

“I’m not a baby!” minjun whined.

“oh you are!” a collective response resounded through the room and your reached out to pet minjun’s hair but he swatted your hand away in annoyance.

“no seriously shortie. You’d be alone for a whole month. Even chelin is going home this time. you can spend some time with junie and he’d treat you to homemade food Is it tempting enough?” jungkook suggested.

“not that I’m any interested in the offer but I can teach you the Japanese you were talking about earlier.” At minjun’s comment, everyone raised their brows, silently questioning your new interest.

“what? You all are so nosy. My new roommate is always dissing me in Japanese and I can’t answer that fucker coz I don’t understand anything he spits out at me.”

“HE?” another group chant resonated.

“why is your roommate a man?” yugyeom added.

“because he was born a man!”

“haha very funny y/n l/n. what’s his name and is he from our university?”

“his name is nakamoto yuta and no, he’s not a student. And before you enquire, he’s home only for like few hours so you don’t need to worry him being a pervert or anything.”

“where is your new residence anyway?” you almost choked at yugyeom’s sudden interruption but it confirmed your suspicion that jungkook hadn’t revealed anything yet.

“instead of me, shouldn’t you love birds be worried about the unbearable separation that’d last for a whole month. How are you gonna cope with it gyeom? Especially when yeong is going to be in Incheon and you in busan, stuck with the sweaty sports team and jungkook, who’d be slapping with you with kisses every now and then, thinking you are min-

A shove of dumpling into your mouth caused you to inhale back all the words that were supposed to leave.

“if you don’t wanna meet, then atleast call him daily after your moon internship and he can also accompany you to busan if you want.”

The colour of the air faded at the mention. Slowly, you swallowed the piece in your mouth , instantly finding a distraction to lighten the mood.

“why are these so delicious?”

Rummaging through the empty boxes, jungkook found the pamphlet and shoved it in your face which you curled into a ball and threw towards minjun, hitting him right in the face.

“yaa jun. keep it safe. We’ll order while watching movies and take keys of this house from your boyfriend,” you ordered, pointing to jungkook, “and his Netflix password and his wallet and if he allows, his car ke-

“shut your mouth love-hater!” jungkook exclaimed while stuffing your mouth with two dumplings. And everyone else just laughed at your troubled state, silently agreeing with jungkook’s statement.

What a good day to be a foodie!

Three days!

Taeil had granted you three days to de-stress yourself before you’d be joining your so called trainer for a self defence training program of two months. You wondered who could it be but it was definitely not the person you wished for! Johnny had been in france since two weeks, right from the day your exams started. He left his phone at home but he did contact you through a payphone to wish luck for exams. Since then, it’d been complete silence from the other end. You didn’t even know whether you really missed his presence or just the thought of being with someone who really showed some care for you.  

eat, tv, sleep repeat seemed to be a very reasonable routine! your happiness had elevated when you saw a notification of chois about a job opening. Though you wanted to start from an internship in the main office but a moderate salary job as an assistant researcher of a junior lawyer wasn’t so bad as well!

no. actually it was awful seeing how much over-qualified you were for this job but with all the diminishing digits in your wallet, there was some significant scope for the bargain in your situation. But you still had to wait for 2 weeks for the acceptance of your application that would take you a step closer to your dream. Just two more weeks!

Is he still alive, you thought before leaving the kitchen, ready to finish the homemade meal.

High on a happy chemical , you cooked yourself ramyeon and eggs and completed your fancy dinner with a bottle of coke.

While slipping out of the kitchen , your eyes fell on the clean sink reminding you of the presence that you hadn’t felt since the last week.

“I’ll accompany jeno. We’ll be done in two minutes” yuta proposed with a lopsided grin.

The place was more livelier with yuta’s return. Not that he wasn’t already present, but the day he returned to his usual routine was when everyone got their sunshine back. He acted like nothing has changed but still noone could ignore his overcautiousness. He was engaging too much as if to make up for the lost time and not that anyone objected for they were happy to see the old yuta with old ways. Just something was odd!

While most of them were oblivious, others understood what he was hiding behind that façade. They had noticed how he took late night activities just to avoid being sent home or how he took jaehyun and mark with him to avoid any interaction with you.

But the most irksome was how day by day,he was drifting apart from taeyong.

“do you wanna take him home?” taeil snapped his fingers in front of your eyes as you registered his words. You were looking or shamelessly staring at the face of the man. He was dangerously tall as compared to you but his face was shining brighter than the sun itself. Your head snapped towards him again as taeil went on,

“don’t stare like you are gonna eat him y/n.” jungwoo eyes were dancing in the whole room as he avoided your curious ones. You didn’t mean to be creepy but you were having a hard time believing that the man sitting in front of you was a street fight champ and a former drug lord’s son. He seemed too….human.

“who’s staring?” you feigned innocence, looking at taeil.

“way to go advocate!” he said before continuing , “as I told you, jungwoo is a trained fighter, assassin and has a strong grip on pistols. Seeing what you can carry, a pistol is best for you. and jungwoo is a softie here so he won’t even give you a scratch during the training. But you have to actually listen to him or I’ll assign someone that won’t go easy on you.

“like?”

“like ten or jeno, they both don’t have any control over where they are hitting once they start so either you can cooperate with jungwoo or be ready to break some of your limbs.”

“how subtle taeil. but I can work with him.” you smiled at jungwoo which was returned with a shy one.

“okay then. Take care of each other and if you need anything then I’m not home.” Ad with a wave , he was gone.

“what do you wanna start with?” jungwoo asked in a small voice.

“you are teacher so whatever you say.”

“okay them. we’ll start with grip practice.” He got up, signalling you to follow him.

You ended up in a small part of the basement. It was divided into two sections with a glass used as the separation. Raw grass kind hard padding was attached to the walls on the both sides. On the other side of the wall were pasted two targets looking like giant sized dart boards that you suppose were for the practice.

While you were glancing around, jungwoo came back with a small metal box. He opened it to reveal a matt black pistol that looked even smaller when he held it.

“you can’t start with a semi-auto one just yet so for basics this is good for you. though I’m here but please don’t drop it. it belongs to taeyong hyung and he doesn’t know it’s here so please don’t mention it either.” He pleaded in a soft voice to which you found yourself nodding, copying his motion.

“so , you don’t need to memorise every part of a pistol but remember the few terms so if you ever held a new gun or pistol, someone can instruct you as to the handling of it.” you kept nodded as he went on,

“this is the exposed barrel, slide stop, safety lever , trigger and trigger guard and the most important magazine, if its empty ,your body would become the home of enemy bullets. Try clicking the safety lever!”

You did as he instructed. For about thirty minutes, he taught about pulling the barrel that drained your wrists of all the strength they had. He let you go only when he was sure you won’t forget the basics, atleast not until tomorrow.

You hadn’t felt this exhausted in your life as much as you did in the last week. If Thesis research and jungwoo’s lessons were not enough then minjun’s new found love of photography was surely doing its work on your body. Who knew holding flowers and leaves for aesthetic photos was so much draining! And the time you were alone at home was spent sleeping and that too only if yuta and his gang were not screeching out their lungs, fighting with someone online with no regard for the well-being of others in the house. You knew he was aware of his actions but with zero communication, even you didn’t bother pointing him out.

But when had avoidance created peace!

12:30 p.m

As you flipped the glossy leaves of the photo album, the three humans behind that transparent film seemed to come alive, albeit in your memories. Pausing at every page, you tried to live those moments once again ,just like every year. Though you and that photo album were bound by a thread of sadness, the memories it contained made you feel immense joy that was incomparable for you.

The small album was the only memory that reminded you of the family you had once! and today was the day you’ll go to meet them again.

Busan was not that far away but the location of the graveyard added a whole hour to the already 3 hour long journey. You were supposed to meet your orphan warden at the station directly and like every year she'd be accompanying you to Busan so you could meet them. Even though you were a grown-up now , she didn't had the heart to let you go alone. So it had became a tradition.

After memorizing every picture, you got up to get ready for the long journey. Taeil had excused you for this weekend so there were no worries from his side. you rotated the doorknob to open but it didn’t budge.

You shoved your body against the door but nothing happned! Though you didn't want to rely , there was only one option left!

"yuta!" You shouted in a hope that his lazy ass would respond but silence replied instead.

"yuta! Can you hear me. I'm locked!" You tried again, both shouting and trying the knob, banged the door but none worked in your favour.

Then realisation dawned on you! Why won't he hear anything when he was right outside the room! because he didn't want to!

"yuta I swear I'm gonna kill you! let me out!"

Raking your hands through your hair, you decided to find your phone but it looked like the whole universe was conspiring against you as the phone was not in the room. you had probably left it on the kitchen counter earlier. The only communication you had was with yuta and he was not listening to you , delibrately!

Your fist met the door with all the power you could muster but only the echo was heard which fainted within few seconds.

"fuck you yuta" you mumbled dejectedly before throwing yourself on the mattress. Contempt filled your heart as you watched the fan moving endlessly and your mind grasped the reality that maybe you won't be visiting them. Not if he didn't open the door. But he couldn't lock you for years!

And whenever that door opens , you'll make sure to close it forever.

"eat slugs , haechan!" Yuta exclaimed into the microphone, killing another of haechan's Avatar in the game. He winced as haechan groaned loudly, trying to get some pity out of yuta.

Calling it a day, he teared the headphones away , the sudden silence bringing peace to his ears. Stretching his limbs, he got up but as he trudged for the kitchen, he heard a knock that didn't come from the front door.

He stopped abruptly as if to check if his mind was playing games on him but he heard it again, this time a fainted one.

His stopped in front of your room and slapped his hand against the door , checking his suspicious. Another fast and hard bang came in response and he rotated the knob to open but nothing happened. Forcing his body against the door, a metal dropping sound reached him before the door opened. Without even glancing at you, he leaned and picked up the screws that were stuck in the door hinges. But before he could show you those, you pushed him backward, releasing all the anger at once.

"what the fuck is wrong with you!" Not paying any attention to any of his words, you searched for your phone that you found on the counter and shot your warden an apologetic message. The orphan was near the station so you were sure she won't have waited for more than thirty minutes but you knew she'd have been worried for you.

Quickly working , you called taeyong while running for the main door, a confused yuta following you.

"you are home taeyong?" You asked him while wearing your shoes and exited , ignoring yuta's perplexed questions.

Yuta stood in the doorway, contemplating what the heck he had witnessed!

18:30

Taeyong jerked forward on his chair as you slammed open the door of his office and marched in. When you called earlier , he thought you were going to complain about something that yuta did but the heat of the anger radiating through your body was enough to burn his senses from a distance.

"sit and calm-

"I'm not here to witness your hospitality Lee taeyong. Relieve me of the agreement here and now. my way or your way! I don't wanna live under the same roof wi-

"why are you shouting so much?" Jaehyun interrupted ,entering the room in a swift motion. Following him were few others who might have been awakened by your outburst.

"shut up jaehyun! For once do something with your worthless life" you spit out, eyes boring into jaehyun's.

"can you atleast tell me what has happened!"

To answer taeyong , you moved forward, resting your hands on the head of a chair continued,

"yuta locked me today. My phone was outside in the kitchen. I shouted , pleaded but he didn't open the door for 5 hours. I was supposed to go to Busan but that motherfucker don't ha-

"Busan? Your hometown?" Taeyong disrupted your speech,

"f-for my parents' death anniversary! I was suppose to visit their graves like every year.b-but he chose today of all days to play his little revenge games on me." With broken voice and tears threatening to spill, you managed to proceed,

"i don't wanna live with him anymore. I didn't sign up for this torture. Kill me for all you want but don't try to convince me into staying with that bastard!" Your nails holed into the leather chair, creating small crescents on the surface.

Uncomfortable silence fell over the whole room . As you turned around to leave, you were met with yuta's figure. His hand motioned to reach you but you closed the distance before he could.

"i hope you enjoyed it today!" With venom laced words, you finalised your proposition by flinging the ring straight into his face, his face scrunching at the hit , before walking past him.

"hyun-

Before taeyong could complete, taeil was already was on your heels.

"why do you have to be an asshole yuta?"

" i didn't do anything!" He started as he picked up the ring from the floor, “the door was ja-

“you shouldn’t have stooped so low nakamoto yuta!” tayeong growled with eyes glistening with fire.

“what now?” yuta’s jaw clenched at jaehyun’s nonchalant words. Pocketing his annoyance for him, he opened his mouth to explain himself,

“nothing now ok! I did nothing.i didn’t lock her and certainly didn’t try to forbid from going anywhere. She wa- the door was jammed due to some loose screws. I had to push it so it’d open. I-i-I wasn’t even aware of her plans. Heck, you can ask hyuck. I was playing with him for 6 hours straight. I had headphones in my ears all that time and you know how much hyuck yells. Even if she was stuck, there was not a sound that reached me taeyong. I was as oblivious to all this as much as you all were till now and knowingly, I won’t ever do anything so harsh. You know me very well! don’t you?” he ended with a hopeful question glancing at everyone in the room. With each passing second, his anxiousness elevated at the silent and calculating faces of everyone.

“you don’t believe me, do you?” his broken voice resembled the one they just heard few minutes ago.

“no yuta.i-its not like that . message taeil hyung about all this so he can calm her down.” Taeyong muttered with eyes searching up yuta’s for any malice he might be planning but found nothing. he was innocent.

But yuta panicked at his words, “why? I can explain by myself. It’s not that difficult. I can handle her taeyong.” he turned for the door but taeyong’s words stopped him in his tracks.

“you think so! You should be glad you are alive yuta”

“then release us taeyong. I’m begging you, LET HER GO!” the shout that echoed was enough to send shivers through every living being in the vicinity.

“I will. If taeil hyung say so. Message him yuta and you should know I don’t repeat my words without expense!”

He did as told, head hung low to avoid the pity looks that were thrown his way!

“don’t follow me taeil!”

“I’ll stop if you’ll stop!” taeil politely replied, tracking your steps on the sidewalk. He tried to obstruct your way but ended up following you instead. 15 minutes had passed since you both left the house but your anger was not simmering down and you were stunned at his patience.

“you can’t walk till university.” You deadpanned.

“neither can you.”

Stopping abruptly, you faced him, “you can’t stop me taeil.”

“I won’t. but the bus driver would. Even pretty girls don’t get a free ride home.” You groaned at his unnecessarily true words. He was right, you had nothing on you except for the phone.

He silently observed your slumping body, before walking a step closer to check the waters. When you didn’t push him away, he lightly took your hand in his, tugging you to come along.

“I don’t wanna go with you.” your hushed voice gave him some courage to proceed further,

“we aren’t going home. Lets just sit”

He dragged you to the park you had passed just five minutes ago. Sitting on the bench , he asked you to explain everything that had happened in the last 6 hours. You recited the whole story till the end where you threw the ring at yuta. Taeil only hummed in response when he heard a buzz from his phone.

Reading yuta’s message , he suddenly knew where to start!

“read this y/n.” he said before giving you the phone.

You absorbed each and every word written. It made sense. But did it?

“he’s lying.” You scoffed , returning the phone.

“he’s not.”

“ofcourse you’ll take his side.”

“and why would I do that?”

“he’s your brother”

“and you are my sister”

“no I’m not. I never would be.” You retorted, hiding the effect his words had on you.

“I might not be your brother but you can’t stop me from calling you my sister and I’d prefer you over yuta anyday.”

“but you still think I’m lying and he’s right”

Taeil massaged the back of his neck, clearly getting annoyed by your snapping.

“when did I say you are lying? I just said he’s not lying.”

“isn’t it the same thing?”

“no its clearly not. You just don’t wanna admit that you misunderstood!”

Uncrossing your legs, you faced him, “ because I am not in the wrong here. he is ! he did it so he can have the house all to himself while I’m locked. The truth is he hates my guts. He wont ever pass an opportunity against me!”

“and like you love his guts! Your hatred for him is the reason that you don’t wanna believe he’s innocent. Your heart wants to believe that everything that had unfolded after that night is yuta’s fault. You don’t wanna believe because you just don’t want to! You are rejecting his reason because your mind says its the perfect chance to break taeyong! your anger and emotions are playing games with you and you are letting them! and this is exactly what yuta had been doing from the very first day! He’s no different than you. No matter how much you discard it, the truth won’t change! Impulsive actions lead you nowhere!” His polite yet authoritative voice was providing inputs that you didn’t want to believe. Not yet.

“I just wanted to go to busan taeil. If he hadn’t been home the-

“if he hadn’t been home , then you would not have even made it out! And I’m sure you have heard him playing games. He’s a loudspeaker and believe me haechan is yuta part two. I’m sure he didn’t hear you.”

“but why would anyone even care! I’m the one at loss here.”

“what loss. Just because you missed it today doesn’t mean you can’t go tomorrow and If you want i can take you there. we can go right now! But y/n , loved ones live in your heart!. You don’t need a day to show them your respect and love. They know you and they watch over you. don’t crumble under the weight of customs and rituals. We’ll go tomorrow morning. Be ready by 8 a.m !” his soothing voice managed to calm the storm but you weren’t going to budge from your first condition.

“I don’t wanna go back with him.”

He sighed heavily before pressing his phone to his ear,

“taeyong. replace yuta in france. For two months and I don’t want any further discussion.”

You sniffled, finally letting out the tears that were in the waiting since the morning.

“I can drop you to the dorm for tonight until he packs his stuff and you can go back home tomorrow. Sounds right?” he described his plan , petting your hair.

You weakly nodded, letting him ease your worries with sympathetic words that you didn’t even know you needed!

next morning 

Uncomfortable silence welcomed you as you entered the house. You were told that he was gone and it sounded about right with the present atmosphere.

After finding the fruits, you made you way to the room but stopped in your tracks as you spotted something on the counter.

Three moulded screws were placed on a paper along with the ring that you thought would never be seen by you again. you breath quickened as you read the words on the plain paper

I’m sorry!

What were you supposed to do with it now?

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

thank you for reading ! feedback is always appreciated \(￣︶￣*\))

🎈

[synnefo-nefeli]

Working on a WIP scene for Heard Your Heart Beating, my Klapollo friends to lovers post AA5, slow-burn fic

___

//Come fix your prosecutor// read Athena’s text. Apollo groaned wondering what Klavier could have done in the hour Klavier had spent at the WAA.

He adjusted his tie in the mirror of his locker, checked to make sure that he no longer looked sweaty from his ride over from court, and shoved his cycling outfit into his locker along with his helmet.

He could hear laughing on the other side of the office’s front door so that was a good sign, he hoped, as he swiped his keycard through the lock.

“Herr Forehead has finally arrived from his battle with the courts!” Klavier beamed at him with the smile that Apollo was now coming to call “on-stage-mode”. Klavier was sitting on the sofa next to Athena, coffee cups and tea biscuits between them on the table.

He could hear Mr. Wright bustling in the office kitchenette.

“I am back,” Apollo announced, “...and I survived Blackquill-“

“Oh, is that the reason you biked back? Simon didn’t offer to give you a lift?” Athena laughed, “how mean. He needs to learn to leave it in the courtroom.”

Apollo rolled his eyes, “Probably, but I am sure it has more to do with him needing to go down to the precinct and yell at the poor detective who sent him into court with an outdated autopsy report...also, what would I have done with my bike? I don’t want to ruin the guy’s new car by stashing it in the back seat.”

Mr. Wright arrived from the kitchen, fresh pot of coffee in hand, “Wow. A defense attorney having an updated report instead of the prosecution? Never thought I’d see the day...”

Apollo flopped on the couch opposite Athena and Klavier, “Hey. Miracles do happen...and considering all of our court win-streak, we shouldn’t be too surprised that they exist.”

“Here. Here.” Klavier said amiably into his coffee looking as if he was about to attempt to change the subject. Oh, Klavier wasn’t getting away from whatever occurred before Apollo arrived so easily,

“So... what’s this about me needing to fix ‘my prosecutor’?”

Klavier made an amused expression, “Ah, is that what I am called? Well I am honored to be Herr Justice’s”

Athena rolled her eyes, “Oh stop with the charm-“ she looked at Apollo, “he doesn’t want you to know that he’s never been to the Tragic Kingdom”

Apollo stared at Klavier, “Seriously?” which earned Klavier a playful elbow to the ribs from Athena, “Told you he would react like that”

Klavier sighed, “Is it really that big of a deal? Not going to a children’s amuse-“

“HOLD IT!” Apollo didn’t care that everyone about him flinched (“Indoor voice, Polly, jeeze”, Mr. Wright muttered”), “Disneyland is for everyone,” Apollo breathed, “you seriously haven’t gone? Ever? I mean...it’s only in Anaheim. That’s less than an hour without traffic from here-“

Mr. Wright handed Apollo a cup of coffee, “It’s been a while since ‘Mr. Disney Adult’’s shown his face at the office.”

“You say that as if you don’t have an annual pass too, Mr. Wright.”

Klavier appeared lost in the conversation; it was refreshing to see Mr. Tall, Blonde and Unflappable looking out of his depth, “Is it really a big deal that I haven’t?”

“Mm...not so much,” Mr. Wright said before Apollo could object, “well it wouldn’t be a big deal if you were hanging out with someone else, but I mean considering that you two have been spending a lot of time outside of court together, I think it’s more shocking that Apollo *hasn’t* dragged you down there already.

“You act like I go there all the time-“

“Says the person who has scheduled himself to come in late on days where there are morning annual passholder events,” Athena mused, “or how about the time you, Clay and Trucy, just decided to go to Disneyland after work because you wanted corndogs for dinner”

Across from him Klavier made a face, as if silently saying “Corndogs for dinner? Really? What are you, five?”.

Apollo met ‘his prosecutor’s’ eyes, “Those corndogs are legendary, and the only ones I’ll eat,” he rebutted, not caring that Klavier hadn’t actually said anything.

“He has a point there,” agreed Mr. Wright, “so I guess the big question is- how long before Klavier gets pulled into driving Apollo down to Anaheim?”

Klavier looked around the room at all of the other attorneys as if expecting for someone to tell him suddenly that this was all an act. Apollo meanwhile was mentally running through his calendar to figure out when he would have time to properly take Klavier to the park. There was so much to do at work-not to mention, he would have to prep Klavier for his first park visit.

“Do you like amusement parks?” Apollo asked Klavier.

The blonde man simply shrugged, “I’ve only been to a few in my life. Mein family wasn’t really into things like theme parks; didn’t see the value in them as entertainment. And when I moved here, I just didn’t go-“

“Not even grad-night?” Athena asked, “Junie told me that’s what the student council is setting up for the seniors. It’s tradition. Heck, every high school in Southern California does a school trip there at least once.”

Klavier shrugged, “I graduated early, remember? I guess I could have gone to the ceremony with the class that was graduating that year, but I wanted to get mein badge so I went home as soon as I could to pass the bar in Germany.”

“There’s one in France!”

Klavier sighed, “If I asked to do anything outside of museums and cultural experiences while we were in France, I would have been left in Germany.”

“Anyway,” Athena said, “If you’re going to hang with Polly, you’re going to have to go to the parks eventually-“

Apollo felt his cheeks heat, “I mean if that’s not what you like to do for fun, you don’t have to-“

“Oh please,” Mr. Wright interrupted, “I can confidently bet that you’ve been sitting here this entire time planning a trip for him.”

Apollo crossed his arms and sat back in defeat as Athena continued to regale Klavier with anecdotes of the WAA’s trips to the parks as well as Apollo’s impromptu visits,

“Has he shown you his pin collection yet?” Athena said in a tone that was too close to the tone she liked to use whenever she teased Apollo about his and Klavier relationship not being as platonic as Apollo made them seem.

//As if she doesn’t know the actual truth// Apollo grumbled, “Okay enough. Klavier already knows I am a nerd- he doesn’t need any more evidence about it”

“Ach you’re always cool, Herr Forehead,” Klavier smiled again in “on-stage mode”, which made Apollo decide that he needed to show Klavier what he was missing.

“When’s your birthday?” Apollo blurted.

Athena groaned, “Oh my god, Apollo, haven’t you heard of Wikipedia?”

“I like that Herr Forehead doesn’t feel the need to research me, it makes a rock god like me feel practically human,” Klavier teased and then with an amiable grin, “May 23rd.

However-I told you that on Valentine’s Day, don’t you remember?” He said a little too suggestively for Apollo’s comfort,

“I’m hurt that you don’t remember… and here I thought things that were shared during sleepovers were sacred,” he added a pout for good measure.

Out of the corner of his eye, Apollo saw Athena not-so-subtly pull out of her phone to text something, most certainly to Trucy.

Great, he was not going to know peace from either of them for the foreseeable future.

Although, Apollo appreciated that Athena had the grace to attempt to hide her grin.

Whether or not Klavier was aware of what was happening next to him, Klavier only sipped at his coffee.

“So in three weeks. Great, guess what we’re doing to celebrate your 26th birthday,” Apollo announced.

“It’s on a workday.”

“Take off.”

“Don’t you have to work?” Klavier asked

Apollo turned to Mr. Wright, “Mr. Wright, may I have the 23rd off?”

“Of course. Just put it on the calendar.”

Apollo, having won the debate, smiled smugly at Klavier, “Get ready, we have a lot to do before then.”

Klavier looked genuinely confused, “Like what?!”

He was about to ask what Klavier’s favorite Disney movie was, but then Athena’s phone buzzed, “Simon’s here- he needs help bringing up the food...and Trucy says she wants to also go to Disneyland for Klavier’s birthday, I think that’s a good idea; what do you think, boss?,”

Before Apollo could say anything about Athena or Trucy inviting themselves, Mr. Wright smiled and said,

“You know what- unless something pressing comes up and Trucy doesn’t have any projects or tests at school, I think the agency needs a mental health day. Maybe Miles and Prosecutor Blackquill need one too,” he remarked walking towards his office in order to most likely call his fiancé.

Finally alone- sort of. At least until Athena and Prosecutor Blackquill came upstairs with the food. But still, alone enough to enjoy Klavier silently trying to figure out what the hell just happened...or Apollo would have enjoyed Klavier’s genuinely flummoxed expression, except that he remembered how Klavier, despite his celebrity status, didn’t like to draw attention too himself unless it was in court or on stage- and especially not in public.

It was the reason Klavier hadn’t shown up to Clay’s funeral after all. He looked at Klavier feeling guilty for putting his friend on the spot,

“Sorry, if you don’t want to- we don’t have to-“

“Nein, nein,” Klavier said with his genuine smile, “you all are so passionate about it, now I have to experience it”

“Are you sure? I didn’t even ask if that’s how you wanted to spend your birthday-I just kinda got caught up in it.”

Klavier shrugged, “Honestly, considering that I usually spent the last few dragged to stuffy VIP lounges of clubs I wasn’t interested in, with people who, as it turned out, cared less about me- I think this may be a gut change of pace.”

Well that made him feel better...and a bit sad for Klavier, “I’ll make sure you have a good time and we won’t be overwhelmed. A lot of celebrities go to Disneyland, and they don’t get mobbed- people are pretty respectful of celebrities having their time in the parks.”

“You sound as if you are familiar.”

“Clay...worked there for a summer, celebrities would come all the time as park guests. And aside from maybe helping a celebrity escape a crowd, they don’t give anyone special treatment unless they’ve paid for a guided tour-“

“Oh- are we not doing that, Herr Forehead?”

Apollo snorted,“Hell no, you’re going to stand in line for Space Mountain like the rest of us plebes.” Also I’m not about to suggest we spend $800 an hour for a theme park tour...

Klavier’s laugh was enough to make Apollo feel better and better about commandeering Klavier’s birthday. He was going to look forward to these next few weeks in getting Klavier ready for his first time at the park. The thought of movie nights made Apollo feel a bit warm inside. Warm in a way that he hadn’t felt since Klavier had comforted him during his own birthday.

The office door opened, Athena holding it open so that Simon could come through with the large box that contained their takeout dinners. Apollo braced himself for any barbed words from Athena’s prosecutor; considering how the day’s court proceedings had gone, Apollo expected some amount of sour grapes. Instead Simon ignore Apollo and incredulously regarded his co-worker with,

“You’ve seriously never been to Disneyland, Gavin-dono?”

***

[sestra-inestro]

Just A Really Big Mistake (2/?)

Jane the Virgin!AU 

Pairings: Detective!Steve Rogers x Fem!reader, Hotel Owner!Bucky Barnes x Natasha Romanoff

Summary: You find out about your pregnancy and it causes some serious stress among your family and brings back some past issues. 

Warnings: wearing, cheating, accidental insemination, mention of smut. Angst, talks of abortion, abandonment issues, talks of abandonment and absent parents. 

A/N: I stayed up real late to deliver this one to you because I really enjoyed writing this one. Sweet idea from @whatcouldgowrong-ohthat​ who will be my rock during this fic. Enjoy this sweetness. 

Bucky held the small piece of paper in his shaky hands. The small words on it confused him to no end and Natasha’s smile confused him more. 

“I might be a father?” Bucky asked her, his mouth hung open. 

“I used your sample baby.” Natasha’s grin matched the gleam in her eyes as she rubbed over his thigh. 

“You what?” He couldn’t control the anger in his voice as he asked her. “Without telling me?” 

“I wanted it to be a surprise. To be romantic.” Her smile didn’t let up. 

“But you...” Bucky couldn’t even find the words to respond to her. 

His plans to ask her for a divorce now had a wedge in them. The fact that she used his sperm without him knowing, just to hold something else to hold over him angered him. 

He glared down at the dinner she made him. Everything was all a setup and he couldn’t do anything but just wait. All he ever wanted was to have a family. His own children and his own family to call his. He couldn’t see himself being with Natasha anymore, but now after she used his only sample before the surgery for cancer, he had no choice.  

Without saying a word, Bucky stood from the table. Natasha watched the pain etch onto his face as he left the dining room. He left to their bedroom without a word to her. He was upset, but in Natasha’s head, this is what would keep them together. 

-

It had been 15 days since you had been to the doctors, and in the last couple of days you had been waking up nauseous and weak. 

You sat on the bus with May on your way to the mall, you carried a water bottle with you to try and keep you refreshed and wake you up. 

As you took in a deep breath another wave of nausea came over you. You untwist the bottle and take a drink, trying to ease yourself. 

May noticed you’re uncomfortable and shifted in your seat. 

“Are you okay, honey?” May put a hand on your shoulder. 

“Yeah, just feeling a little nauseous is all.” You assured her. 

May frowns. “Maybe We should get you some Pepto-Bismol while we are there.” 

You nodded in agreement and went back to looking out the window. The bus came to a stop and two elderly nuns got on board. 

You looked around seeing that most seats were full and you and May were in the curiosity seats. 

“C’mon. Let’s get up.” You nudge May. 

“But you’re feeling sick.” May tries to keep you seated. 

“No, it’s fine. I’ll be fine.” You said before standing up. 

As soon as you step out into the isles, you feel a dizzy spell come over you from the back of your head and your chest fills with pressure. You sway as you try to stay upright but then nausea came again. 

May saw you sway and before she could say your name, you dropped to the floor. 

“Oh my god, June!” May kneels over you, pulling you into a recovery position while people alerted the bus driver. 

You woke up again and you were in the emergency room. 

You frown and groan as you sit up. 

“Hey, there take it easy.” May was at your side as soon as you opened your eyes. 

“What happened?” You asked her. 

“You fainted on the bus.” May said, rubbing the back of your hand. “I think you’re a little sick, my love.” She gave you a sweet smile. 

“Maybe a little.” 

“Alright, I’ve got news.” A doctor pulled back the privacy curtain. “Oh, you’re awake. Hello, I’m Dr Banner.” 

“Hi, Dr Banner.” You said as you slowly sat up in the bed. 

“So we tested your urine and your bloods. Your nausea and fainting spells are not random. Congratulations, you’re pregnant.” 

“What?” Both you And May say at the same time. 

“That’s not right.” May says. 

“Yeah, there’s no way I’m pregnant. I’m a virgin.” You tell him.

Dr Banner pauses at your words. “Maybe We should have this conversation in private, June.” 

“Oh my god, June.” You look up at May who had a cheeky smile on her face. “Did you and Steve...?” 

“No, we did not.” you held up your hand. “There’s no need to talk in private, because I’m not pregnant.”

“Okay. False positives are frequent but false negatives are very rare.” Dr Banner tries to tell you. 

“Well, then you better take another test because if my daughter says she’s a virgin then she’s a freaking virgin.” May began to fume. 

Dr Banner held up his hands. “Okay, alright. We will take another test.” 

Dr Banner fetched you a cup of water and waited for you to bring back your urine. 

He held the pregnancy strip in front of you and dipped it into your pee cup. “Pink means pregnant.” 

He pulled out the strip, and believe it or not, the tip was pink. 

You and May stared at it in awe. “But I’ve never had sex!” 

-

Bucky and Natasha sit in front of Becca in her office in silence.

“Just say it. I’m not pregnant.” Nat said. 

Becca clasped her hands together in front of her mouth and nodded. “No. No, you are not pregnant. I’m very sorry.” 

Bucky sighed in relief, but his hope also diminished inside of him. “It’s alright, Bec it’s not your fault.” 

“No, but you see it kinda is.” Becca shrugged. 

Both Bucky and Nat frowned at her. They took in her appearance. She looked very stressed and she held herself as if she was now just letting it roll away from her. 

“What do you mean?” Bucky asked her. 

“Well,” Becca shifted in her chair. “Two weeks ago when I walked in on Allison with her...” she rolled her eyes and trailed off. “It doesn’t matter, it was two weeks ago. I accidentally inseminated a woman with your specimen.” 

Bucky’s and Nat’s eyebrows shot up at her words. “You wh-insemin-“ Nat stuttered over her words and Bucky sat in shock. 

“Yep. I did that.” Becca opened her hands and took her responsibility. “I did it and frankly I cannot reverse it.” 

A knock came at the door of her office. A nurse pushed it open and looked at Becca. 

“She’s here.” 

Becca looked at Bucky and Nat, giving them a tight-lipped smile and pushed herself off the chair. “Excuse me.” 

She walked out of the office, leaving Bucky and Nat to thinking about the predicament. 

Becca stood in front of the room you were currently sitting inside and took a deep breath. 

You sat inside with May standing next to you. You could feel the stress building in your stomach when May suddenly burst out. “I slept with Happy last month.”

“What?” You whip your head around to look at her. “Why are you telling me this now?” 

“What if yours some sort of religious messiah? I can’t lie to a religious messiah!”

“I’m not even religious May, or a messiah. Just stop.” 

May shifted in her spot when the door opened, Dr Alver stepped into the room. 

“Oh thank god. Dr Alver thank you for seeing me.” Becca closed the door and sat down as she listened to you explain. “It’s the craziest thing happening. All these pregnancy tests keep coming back positive. There’s gotta be some sort of reason right? Like a hormonal thing or...” 

“There is a reason.” Becca nodded to you, staying very calm. “And that reason would be that I accidentally inseminated you two weeks ago.”

You and May stared at her, dumbfounded. “What?”

“It was a mistake. I made a mistake. There’s usually only a 20% that it takes so I thought you would never know, but apparently that wasn’t the case.” 

You stared at her in shock as May began to lay into her about her professionalism and her medical license. 

Your worst fear has come true. You have an unplanned pregnancy on your hands. You tried all these years to keep your flower pure and white as you sorted out your life but now your whole life has been turned upside down. 

“Ms Parker.” Becca brought your attention back to her. “You are under no obligation to keep the baby or get rid of it. And you obviously do not have to make contact but the father does know.” 

The mention of the father made you sad. “Oh my god. The father.” 

Those words almost brought tears to your eyes. 

“I have to go. I need to leave.” 

“Ms Parker.” Becca tried to get you to talk but May stopped her. 

“No! No, this is bullshit!” May pointed at her. 

You left her to defend herself against May as you walked out of the doctor’s clinic. 

You felt your petals crumpling and turning brown with every step you took. What the hell were you going to do? What were you going to tell Steve? 

You stood in the street and panted as you panic. 

You have a baby growing inside you and you don’t know what to do with it, and this is exactly what you were trying to avoid. You weren’t ready to have a baby, to be responsible for another human being and to have a baby stretch your body. You were too young to have a mom-bod. 

“June.” Mays voice came from behind you and her hands were on your shoulders. “June it’s okay to be okay.” 

“No it’s not. None of this is going to be okay, May.” Tears filled your eyes as you looked at May. “I have someone else’s child in me and I don’t even know him. I’m only twenty-three and I still live at home. I’m in school and I’m a waitress at a hotel, how the hell am I supposed to have a baby?” 

You sobbed as May pulled you into her arms. Too many emotions swelled in your chest and stomach right now that you couldn’t even stop yourself from crying into her shoulder. 

“You’re not alone in this, Junie. And this is in no way your fault. It’s that stupid doctor’s fault and we are gonna sue.” May reassured you as she rubbed your back. 

A couple walking passed the clinic and saw you crying into May’s arms, watching you with confused looks. 

“What are you looking at motherfuckers?” May snapped at them, causing them to look away and walk away quickly. 

“May, stop.” You pulled away from her and laughed at her antics. 

You wiped at your eyes and let out a watery sigh. “I’m a mess.” 

“You’re allowed to be.” May rubbed your arms. “That doctor also gave me a pill to give you.” May rolled her eyes as she said doctor and handed you a pill bottle. “If you decide not to keep the baby, then you take those.” 

You looked at the little brown bottle that would end the little life starting building in your womb. 

You can’t think straight, this was all too much information in under an hour. 

“It’s okay, take time to think about it. It’s a lot.” May patted your hand with the bottle. 

“Thank you, May.” You looked at her with an appreciative smile. “For everything.” 

“Anything for you.” May might not be your biological mother, but she meant so much more than any real parent of yours would be. 

“I love you.” You pulled her into another hug. 

“Aw, I love you too, my baby.” May smiled and kiss your hair. “Now you gotta get ready for your anniversary dinner with Steve tonight.” 

“What about the Mall?” You asked her. 

“Honey, the Mall was forgotten about seven bouts of bad news ago.” She wrapped her arm around you and you both made your way down the street to the bus stop. 

-

Steve was pacing around and continuously fussing about with the dinner setting. Tonight had to be absolutely perfect of wanted it all to work out. 

He was fiddling with the placement of dining wear when the front doorbell rang. 

He frowned and made his way over to the door, opening to reveal you. 

“June.” Steve frowns and looks at his watch. “You’re a bit early.” He steps aside to let you in. 

“I hope that’s okay.” You lean up on your tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips. “Today has just been...” You wave your hand around as you try to find the words. “All kinds of crazy.”

“No that’s completely fine.” Steve assures you, walking into the house and watching you take your jacket off. 

He felt the ring box in his pocket, he saw you. He was in love with you and there was no changing that, ever. He will still wait forever if he has to, but he wants to call you his wife. 

Better now than never. 

Steve took the ring box out of his pocket. “I really need all of this to be perfect for you, Junie.” 

You huff in amusement as you still fiddled with your jacket, not looking at him. “Today has been far from perfect.” 

“Well, baby.” Steve got down on his knee as you turned around to face him. 

“Oh, god.” You say as you see him on his knee with the box in his hand. “Steve...” you tried before he could say anything. 

“June, there’s been so many things in my life that I haven’t been sure about. But I know that I am definitely sure about you.” 

“Steve, please...”

“I’m in love with you, June. I’m not doing this just because I want sex. Though I do want to have sex with you. But I want you completely. June, will you-“ you cut him off quickly. 

“I’m pregnant.” You blurt out. 

Steve blinks and his posture falters for a second. “What?” 

-

You sat at the dining table as Steve paced back and forth. 

“So let me get this straight.” He placed a finger in the table and a hand on his hip. “She just inseminated you without checking your file?” 

“I don’t know, Steve. All I remember is her crying. She could barely hold it together.” You shrugged. 

“June, that doesn’t matter. You’re now pregnant because she was sad.” Steve raised his voice. 

“I know, Steve. I am the one that’s pregnant you don’t need to yell at me.” You glared at him and looked back down at your hands. 

Steve sighed and sat down across from you. His shoulders sagged and he put his head in his hands. “I know. I’m sorry.” He lifted his head to look at you, grasping your hands in his and making you look up at him. “I’m not angry at you, I’m sorry. I’m annoyed at the doctor.” 

“I know.” You sighed. 

“So what’s happening right now?” Steve asks.

You shake your head as you run through your options. “I have no idea.” 

The doorbell rang through the house. Steve’s shoulders sagged more. “I invited both our families. I was sure you would say yes.”

You caress his hands and give him an apologetic look.

“Can we at least pretend you did, just for now?” Steve asks, trying to hide his stress. 

“Of course.” You say. 

Steve stands and pulls you up with him. “Thank you.” 

You give him a sweet smile. “You know, under different circumstances, I would’ve said yes.” 

Steve smiles down at you. “I know.” He says and rests his forehead against yours. 

The doorbell rang again followed by a knock. 

“Alright, we can do this.” Steve said. 

“We can do this.” You nodded. You pulled him down to a kiss before letting him go to the door. 

This was going to be a tough strain on your relationship. 

-

The party went as well as it could. Steve disappeared from you at some points, but that was to be expected. May, Pepper, and Peter came to congratulate you and hug you, as well as Steve’s family. 

If you had said yes, this would’ve been the time of your life. But with the pregnancy fresh in the back of your mind and now the trouble with Steve weighing on you, you found it hard to enjoy the party. It was all fake. 

And you couldn’t even drink the stress away. You took a sip of wine before spitting it back into the glass, but the thought of drinking the wine anyway did cross your mind. This wasn’t your baby and you didn’t want this at all. It wasn’t even a mistake you had made. 

You considered drinking the alcohol before deciding to tip it out and stick with juice. 

At the end of the night, you kissed Steve and his family goodnight and you were taken home. 

As you got ready for bed in the bathroom, Pepper snuck into your room to congratulate you again when she spotted the bottle of pills. Abortion pills. Pepper lifts the bottle closer to her face. 

The idea of you pregnant settles in her mind and she lets her body to sit on your bed. Everything she had warned you about as a child has been to avoid exactly this.

She didn’t want you to end up like your mother, who dumped you on your father’s doorstep and left before he could open the door. The same man who ran straight to his ex-girlfriend for advice after his parents made him have a DNA test and kicked him out. Pepper had let him stay with her while he sorted out what to do, she watched as he spiraled and declared himself unfit to raise a little girl on his own before running off himself. 

May was the only one with a stable income and had also taken in Peter after his parents died. Pepper cane around frequently to help her raise two children at once, ones that weren’t even there’s. 

You walked into your bedroom to see Pepper on your bed, holding the pills. 

“Were you planning on telling me anytime soon, or were you just going to get rid of it before I found out.” Pepper asked you in a low voice, not moving from your bed. 

“No, Pepper. This is all just a big mistake.” You tried to explain it to her. 

“You know, your father felt the same about you too.” She said, placing the pills back on your bedside table and stood from your bed.

“Pep, this is different.” You say. 

“How is this different? Because you and Steve are now engaged because you’re in trouble?” 

“We aren’t actually engaged.” You mumble and Pepper raised her eyebrows, ready to lay into you.

“No, Pepper, please listen.” You held up your hands before she could open your mouth.

Pepper arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms, waiting for you to talk. 

“I was accidentally inseminated.” You start. 

“You were what?!” Pepper screeched. 

“She got me confused with another woman and put a piece of another man inside me.” You explained to her. 

Peppers face softened and hardened at the same time. 

“How on earth does she get you confused?! She put a another man’s baby in you!” 

“I know. We only found out just hours ago, and I’m still trying to figure out how to deal with it.” 

Pepper puts a hand to her forehead and sighs at the news. “Do you know this man?” 

You shook your head. 

Pepper watched as your body sagged with visible tiredness. You were leaning against the doorway, barely able to stand and you were clearly stressed by everything. 

“Oh, June.” Pepper steps forward and brings you into her arms. 

You hug her and start to cry again. You really needed to comfort from both of them right now, because even with this new life inside of you, you’ve never felt so isolated. 

“I did everything all my life to make sure that this wouldn’t happen. I followed your rules. But now I’m so scared, Pepper.” You sobbed. 

“Shh, baby. I know.” Pepper brushes your hair back and kisses your forehead. “I know this is scary, but you will get through this. You’re not alone.” 

“I know.” You hugged her tighter. “Thank you, Pep.” 

Pepper pulls back and takes your cheeks in her hands. 

“You’re very welcome, my sweet.” She sighs before moving her hands to your shoulders. “But I think you should hold off on the termination. Just for now. It’s only day one after all.” 

You look up at her and nod. “Of course.” 

Pepper gives you another smile before kissing your forehead again. “Get some sleep, babe.” 

“Goodnight.” You say before she leaves. 

As soon as you tuck yourself into bed, you’re exhaustion caught up with you and as soon as your head hit your pillow, you were out like a light. 

-

Over the next few days, Steve put nose into his work and you worked on figuring out a way to work with your pregnancy. 

While at work, one of your managers told you that the owner of the hotel wanted to speak to you. 

Chills ran down your spine you remember the last time you spoke to him. 

You called him a jerk. Within reason, because he thought you were a stripper. But still, he was your boss. As if you needed more stress right now, now he was about to make your life a living hell. 

He was in a small paradise tent near the pool, standing and looking over the pool. 

“Mr Barnes?” Your voice was small as you said his name. 

He turned at the sound of your voice, and a smile graced his face. “June.” 

He approached you with a much better attitude than you anticipated. “Hey, June.” 

You gave him a hesitant smile before responding. “Hi. Look before you do anything.” You cleared your throat. “I just wanna apologise for calling you a jerk that night. I mean, you can kinda understand why, but none the less I shouldn’t have done it and I’m really sorry.” 

“Oh, please. No need to apologise I was out of line.” He reassured you and you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding in. 

“Thank you.” You have him a rested smile. 

“Please,” he stepped aside and offered for you to sit down at the table. “Join me for a second.” 

“Um, sure.” You entered the open tent and took a seat. In front of you was a glass of orange juice. 

“I know this is very sudden, but I just wanted to make sure that you were okay and comfortable.” Bucky said as he sat down. 

You frowned at him in confusion. “What do you mean?” 

Bucky looked at you and took a deep breath. “I am the father.” He said lowly. 

You raised your eyebrows for what felt like the millionth time in the past two weeks. “You’re the father?” 

“Yeah.” Bucky his lip. “That was my sperm.” 

“Oh my god.” You said in shock. 

“I know this is all very confusing and, as I can imagine, full-on. But I felt an obligation to make sure that you were okay.” He looked at you with worried eyes. 

You observed his face as he looked at you. His big, silvery blue eye looked at you with such pure concern that you didn’t know what to think. 

“I-I don’t know wha- I mean-“ you stumbled over your words and Bucky held up his hand. 

“It’s alright. I can’t imagine how much news you’ve been given lately.” 

“I am so sorry.” You spat out. 

“You’re sorry?” Bucky asked you. 

“Yes, Mr Barnes. I-“ 

“Please, call me Bucky.” He told you. 

“Bucky.” You nodded. “I mean, this is your baby that is supposed to be in your wife and I insulted you just weeks ago and now I have your kids and this is all just so much.” You rambled.  

Bucky could see that you were spiraling and starting to panic. He got up from his seat and kneeled down next to you, picking up your glass of orange juice and handing it to you. 

“This is not your fault.” He reassured you. “All of this was just a really big mistake.” 

Bucky spoke as you downed your orange juice. 

You breathed as you swallowed the last bit and placed the glass back down. 

“That’s really good juice.” You said with a little laugh as you wiped your mouth. 

“Yeah. I had it freshly squeezed when I saw that you order it with your lunch every day.” 

You looked at him with a raised brow. 

“I wanted to make sure you were at least a little comfortable when I told you.” He gestured to the jug of juice next to it. “This was the best I could do without invading your privacy.” 

You gave him a smile of appreciation. “Thank you, Mr Barnes.” 

“Bucky.” He winked at you. 

“Bucky.” 

You both sat and talked for a while, looking out at the pool and easing your nerves and feeling a lot better than you have since what felt like forever. 

“If you don’t mind me asking.” You said to him. “What made you freeze your sperm?”

Bucky sighed. “Two years ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had to undergo surgery that would compromise my ability to have kids. I’ve always wanted a family of my own so I froze it.” He explained. 

You grew a wave of sympathy for him. “Wow. I’m so sorry about that.” 

“Yeah.” He looked at the ground and played with his fingers. “The surgery got rid of it and did its job. I just didn’t expect my wife to go unfreeze it without telling me.” 

“You didn’t know?” You frowned at him. 

He shook his head. “Nope. But, you know, nonetheless, I still want kids.” 

“And this was your only chance.” You finished the story in your head. 

Bucky only nodded. Now you felt super guilty. 

You had really been considering your options about this baby, but now it killed you to know that the only shot of Bucky having a family is inside of you right now. 

“I think we need to discuss some sort of arrangement.” You said, making him look up. 

-

Steve was working hard to identify the red-headed woman that Sam Wilson, a possible buyer from a major drug cartel, Hydra, had been sleeping with in the recent days. 

Pictures of the woman were strewn across his desk as he rubbed at the tension headache delaying him. 

Hearing wolf whistles, Steve lifted his head to see you, graced in a beautiful dress and a smile, making your way towards him. 

“June.” He stood from his desk. “What are you doing here?” 

“I’m going to keep the baby.” You said as you reached him. 

Steve frowned at your words. 

“I’m going to keep the baby and when it’s born, I’ll give it to it’s parents.” You continued. 

“You found out who the father is?” Steve questioned you. 

You nodded. “It was his one shot at having kids and I don’t have the heart to take that away from him and his wife.” 

Steve breathed out a sigh of relief as you said ‘wife’. 

You chuckled at his action and stepped forward, resting a hand on his chest. 

“I know this is going to be tough. But I’m still very much in love with you.” Steve reaches to touch your hand and squeezed it at your words. 

“And I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather have by my side.” 

You lifted the ring box that he gave you the night he tried to propose. 

“But what about your timeline?” He lifted his eyes to look at you with hope. 

You smirked at him. “I think I forgot about that timeline an ‘accidental insemination’ ago.” Steve huffed out a laugh. 

He was so happy to see you and to see you so much better than when he did that night. 

“So, Steve Rogers...” you began. “Will you marry me?” 

“Fuck yes.” Steve lifted you by the waist and pressed his lips against yours. The whole precinct cheered as you kissed. 

You poured your heart and soul into the kiss.

When he finally pulled away, he took the ring out of the box and threw it on his desk. Pushing the ring onto your finger, he rested his forehead against yours. 

“I love you so much.” 

“I love you too.” You pulled him into another kiss.

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[badlydrawndrawnings]

atwq book two thoughts

i know from a search online there’s a supplementary book (kind of?) published between the second and third book, and i saw the news netflix is like, probably developing an atwq series? i love reading supplementary material, but i currently have no way of reading it, and netflix for all i know, could adapt it and i can be ‘uh....what the hell is this?’. so i’m gonna take a break from reading the atwq series (idk how long) to figure out what i’m going to do. like, i may jump into the third book and save the supplementary book for last to make myself feel better about the possible bittersweet ending this series is gonna have. 

as a kid i did not take lemony’s warning into consideration, so the me now knows better and realistically readjust ending expectations. good thing too, considering this book reveal a lot more than i thought. i guess it’s a given due to the fact it’s a four-book series and not thirteen-book series like asoue.

more of the review under the cut. i also have some asoue rambling opinions -one is which related to some atwq/tua things in regards to lemony and his family, and some thoughts on the possible netflix!atwq series.

so before going to the plot, i want to talk about kit and lemony’s last conversation for the time being. actually, i want to talk about the snicket family in general. 

teen!kit took what is probably the biggest risk for their plan to steal...whatever they wanted to steal from vfd (so it’s important enough for kit to deciding to continue the job solo but not important enough for lemony deciding to not send in a replacement despite probably the one who came with the idea; will talk about that when i get to lemony). it’s a big risk on kit’s end, and it hurts lemony is more than willing cut short the conversation. i don’t blame him for it, not really. there’s the matter of people overhearing and hiding it from their chaperones.

but teen!kit getting caught by the police makes me think of the end with kit thinking both of her brothers are dead. obviously teen!kit will have her breaking out of their custody and meet lemony and jacques again because clearly she’s not in prison by asoue (unless she actually served time, but i doubt it; adult!kit broke taxi laws and safety and got away with it) or something akin to it. now, kit in some parts of tua knew lemony was alive. she did recommended the asoue books after all. but when was the last time they talk to each other? i presumed lemony was on the run for the last 15 years since olaf pinning lemony for crimes sort of corresponded with beatrice and bertrand getting married. in their what turn out to be their last conversation (probably right before it all went to crap for lemony or before lemony’s mistaken death), did lemony cut the conversation short? or was it kit who cut the conversation short?

like maybe kit could be comparing lemony’s situation to her and thought it would end the same way, only for her to proven wrong in the worse possible way.

while kit is the important snicket that is the protagonist of her own story told in the illustrations (adult!kit confirm to have worsen eyesight as an adult), it’s nice to see jacques get a name drop. i suspect he has no clue what his younger siblings are planning or does knows, but is too far away, even father than lemony and his resident in strain’d-by-the-sea (sbts) to help out (i’m thinking the latter like the way lemony wants kit to send his regards makes me think jacques has some idea the younger siblings are planning). with the last snicket sibling out of way, i need to talk about their family.

i think i should have mention this in my review of the first atwq book, but it’s more noticeable here. lemony seems to have some memories (the hike is what i want to talk about that’s the flag that made me go ‘uhhh’ out loud and got some glances; also my headcanon about e snicket enjoying camping and nature feels more sensible now) of his parents. but in tua, lemony most likely/confirm to be taken as a baby and still crawling. with lemony’s comment about his mother and father on the day he and his siblings got taken in the tua, i assumed that at least all three or one of the siblings were able to meet up with their parents again as teenagers/young adults before their death and told their grief on that day. 

yet in this book and the last book to some minor degree, lemony talks about his parents as if he reunited with them before atwq series started. i’m not going to lie, and i should have brought it up in my last review, but i went ‘wtf’ at the first chapter of the first book i almost bought the fake parents act and the fact s. theodora markson figured it out made me go ‘oh thank good so lemony haven’t reunited with his parents yet” (s. theodora markson looking past the act means she is more competent than she looks, so i’m wondering why she’s...that with the main case she’s working on). i also made a note in my last review kid!lemony uses his imagination for familiar comfort and joy from out of his loneliness, so i’m wondering that’s the case here. i think while mentions of his parents is lemony thinking of what he wants to think, the ones with more details are ‘real’, in a sense jacques and kit told lemony. like the hike.

jacques and kit could actually remember that day and told lemony because they remember most of the events even if some parts are fuzzy. i say this because i was five and ran into traffic and almost got ran over. the memory of the incident itself is fuzzy, but i remember most of it to where i know it really did happen.

with some sad feelings of the snicket family situation out of the way, i get to talk about the atwq characters. i only know jake hix and cleo knight for one book, but i love them and i hope they become high school sweethearts (like they exist and those who are devoted to one another have great happiness with one another).

jake is honestly that meme of that guy going ‘i’ll feed you all’. i don’t want to call jake team (food) mom yet because i have a semi-bad experience of another fandom with a male character who cooks and is call ‘team mom’ due to the early parts of the fandom going out of control with it (it chilled down now hence ‘semi-bad experience’). but seriously, jake is going to care for the kids and he’s gonna feed them all and no one can stop him. no one will also stop him when he learns cleo isn’t actually okay and got kidnapped (he’s so devoted to her and her goal this is why i say i hope they become high school sweethearts) to where he was willing to crash her car in the clinic but didn’t because the car is like, non-destructible. i thought with his character description he would have like, bangs. the illustration shows that’s not the case. his bowtie is very dapper.

cleo really only showed up close to the ending so i kind don’t have a good grip of of her character like jake. but my goodness, i love her illustration (the full one that has her looking menacingly not the poster of her face). cleo’s outfit screams rich kid vibe (granted she is one) + late 1970s clothing with the future flair (cleo being ‘modern’ as she can be is helping my headcanon the vibe of the asoue world is like, slowly rebuilding and getting dominated by the world in first 20th century due to rose tinted glasses). the black and white motif her family has going on screams ‘in theory, we could order a hit man but we choose not to’ and that’s because they decided to drain the sea instead. that’s how rich they are. anyway, i doubt cleo wants to kill a person. she has to create a formula and save sbts. i don’t want to call her team (chemistry) dad just yet, because i don’t have a good grip f her character. but i like how she help moxie with her injury, and how goal driven she is to save her town from her family’s mistake.

since cleo and ellington were able to make their plan work to a degree, ellington is probably older than lemony and not just taller than him (i know 12-13 years old can look older than their real age, but people i know those age when i was in middle school only got mistaken as a freshman). also, the kid friendly noir vibes are now getting stronger. ellington just pretended to be someone else and like, it’s raising the red flags in my mind and i’m the eye emoji now i am on my guard i may be under attack. however, i still have my heart on my sleeve for her and have hopes of her reuniting with her father, who I now really think he’s a good dad and was specifically targeted (like cleo) due to being a naturalist.

it helps hangfire really shows how terrible he is. he tried to pretend to be her father! i know his voice mimicry is basically akin to juni cortez’s mimicry, but this is just cruel had ellington been there.

whatever hangfire’s group is doing, i’m not seeing how this relates with the BB statue and the people he kidnapped. we got a chemist who does things with tubes and bunsen burners and dangerous chemicals that makes one wear goggles, and a man who likes the natural environment. the tadpoles that bites are confusing me more though. why would someone create tadpoles that bites? still, with more detail of what hangfire is part of and with parts of his plan known at last, the plot is picking up speed. i’m scared, intrigued, and excited to read what will happen next, especially since hangfire is like, now going to be active in his own plan + group. they’re clearly not giving a damn about human life given their name of the inhumane society. whatever they’re planning and with the people they kidnapped so far, it has to do with the BB creature itself. is this going into the supernatural realm? is this connected to possibly the great unknown? am i overthinking connections?

i don’t have too much to say for most of the other secondary characters. i hope qwerty deals with his moth problems (so if moth balls stop moths from eating clothing, can they work in libraries? can qwerty even afford some non killing month repellent with his sub-librarian salary?), pip and squeak need to stop working and go be kids (their dad must be close to death if he’s that sick and they have to work), and prosper lost can tone down the watching. also, i think the mitchum parents don’t really love each other or not as much as before and need a divorce or couple counseling (their bickering is making me concern), and stew...still can’t find any pity or anything to find him a character i love to hate.

in regards to moxie, she is honestly the best friend lemony needs. she’s sticking her life to helping lemony with his case and while having opinions at the end of the day she just wants to help her friend in need. she puts up with so much give her an award like she got ditched at the library and stay to give lemony a piece of her mind before going all ‘okay so what we gonna do next’. she also gave him a dumb haircut. that is best friend material and i want their friendship to go into their adult years (yes i still think she’s the kind editor).

also, LEMONY CANONICALLY HAD A BOWL CUT HAIRSTYLE. he now has reasons to wear a hat and hide his face for the time being.

i said most things in regard to lemony in the snicket family situations paragraphs at the beginning of this post, so talking about kid!lemony as a solo character is not going as wordy. in this book kid!lemony could have died several times, one time by hangfire’s hand! he’s a kid, and this is really something a 17 or 18 should be in (even then i don’t want a 17 and 18 year old, or anyone of any age, be in his situation). he’s risking so much of his life for sbts and the people living there, all without knowing his sister is also in trouble as well until the final chapter. with lemony learning what happen to kit, i can’t help but wonder his worry for family will affect his actions in the next two books. though now i am question is actions pre-atwq like lemony almost got thrown out of vfd?? shoot lemony, i didn’t think he like vfd a lot as an adult ‘active’ member of vfd  but he was still loyal, but this is new. i also don’t want to say he’s staging a coup but he and a whole other sbg members -kit is obvious- are clearly doing something that’s totally a coup? was being frames for crimes he didn’t commit, living on the run, and losing everything (fiancee, friends, and family) broke adult!lemony so much it made him  ‘passive’ (i don’t think it’s the right word but it’s the one i can think of now)?

my feelings on s. theodora markson are the same as before, but i think she may be smarter than she looks given a re-think of the last book. her current behavior makes me think she is ‘warming’ up to lemony, even in the last book. she took him off probation was being ‘nice’ and when teasing lemony about his not-crush on ellington (i legit don’t know if lemony has a crush on her or is really wanting to help her out). that’s something an adult does to a child who may or may not have a crush on someone. theodora still treats lemony like she did in the previous book, no doubt due to vfd rules and her upbringing in vfd. 

i only have read two books of atwq, so i probably don’t carry too much weight on my two cents of a netflix adaptation. but i am thinking of the changes netflix asoue made with hector and kit, and vfd as a freaking whole. hector is not part of vfd the organization anymore, but he can be replaced with larry-your-waiter (just got to rewrite the balloon stuff with something else). kit is giving me a headache because i still can’t figure out if she was retcon into the youngest snicket in netflix show, and excluding that netflix!kit’s change of personality/character makes me think netflix!kit would not have gotten caught and like, kit needs to get caught it’s important for her off screen story and kid!lemony story as a side thing. because it’s the books, vfd is still the ‘old. old as balls’ conspiracy secret organization, while netflix is the ‘hey let’s make our (book) club be something more to change the world’ secret agent organization made by ishmael. well, netflix good luck with the hole you dug that is possibly kit and vfd.

it’s now round two of asoue character cameos (kit doesn’t count she’s a protagonist of her own off-screen story), and widdershins is a surprise. before i get into his atwq cameo and my opinion of the character, i want to copy-paste something from my first atwq review: asoue was one of my first fandom i entered via me me and my sister. no one else read the books or weren’t fans of them, so we turn to each other to talk about them. i began lurking pre-atwq books, but gave up after several months due to being in more active fandoms and i had bad timing to join when it was basically dead, and i outgrew the target demographic when atwq came out and i had no chance to read the books. i only made the decision to re-lurk (sparingly i am still in more active fandoms) and make and share content in 2016 (and i’m too used to lurking for this fandom. i can reblog for fandoms, just not for this fandom and i’m trying to overcome whatever is making me not do it).

so, i’m a fandom hermit living in the woods away from fandom society and i suddenly decided to enter fandom society, and all of my opinions are free of influences and other fan opinions (sans my sister but we talk more about the plot and story than characters). my opinion of widdershins is a dislike-neutral-*thinking emoji*. i dislike him, but i don’t hate him. and if i have to make a tier list of all the important and semi-important  asoue characters from favorite to hated, widdershins would actually be lump in the middle with the other true-neutral characters i have.

disliking widdershins should be obvious. with a most likely vfd upbringing, he probably thinks his actions are acceptable and the norm but they blur a lot with his parenting to where his actions are just plain awful. the big one is him throwing fernald under the bus or allowing jacques to throw fernald under the bus when it came to the anwhistle aquatic fire (i’m not sure what happen here). don’t get me started with the talk of arranged marriages and willingness to send fiona and the baudelaires -which is basically two teens, a teen i call a kid, and a baby- into a life or death place (and sunny almost died) and left without instructions and maybe no note (with the reveal of violet’s fifteenth date i wonder if widdershins and phil were putting up decorations and when they had to leave, widdershins went ‘the balloons will do’ because they spell out vfd and somehow thought he was killing two birds with one stone; it’s still bad as no note).

the whole *thinking emoji* came from the happy family photo. it got me asking ‘what the heck is up with this guy’ and a fascination on trying to figure out how he ticks. with re-reads, i got the impression widdershins was a normal and calm person/vfd member as can be. fernald clearly liked widdershins before the anwhistle aquatic fire. widdershins being fernald and fiona’s stepfather is proof mrs. widdershins loved him -flaws and all- and accept his proposal in spite of the age gap that went over my head as a kid. the way he speaks of josephine, kit, and jacques means he has friends who like him. i sort of came to the idea his level of jerkass and awfulness gradually build up over time post anwhistle aquatic fire (being its worst by tgg), and i took his off-screen actions in the end based off the photo and my impressions of pre-fire widdershins that widdershins realized what he become -probably when he got the news fernald and fiona double cross olaf- and clean up his act to be with them again, even if it kills him. 

so i’m kind of please teen!widdershins (that tiny as hell illustration makes me think he’s a teen okay) is calm and normal? he’s not screaming ‘aye’ every other sentence. he’s more considerate to others. he’s nice as he can be to kid!lemony when breaking the news teen!kit got caught (widdershins breaking the news makes me think kit and him are friends). he even complimented kid!lemony for the not coup kid!lemony is planning (he’s probably going along with the not coup he’s clearly not stopping it; and i want to say their friendship ended when widdershins believed a certain daily punctilio story and showed it everyone- including beatrice- which lead to widdershins forgetting lemony’s name, yet lemony was part of the crew of two after jacques, so something else must have been the cause?). teen!widdershins has his philosophy of not hesitating, but it’s not consuming his life. from what i read, teen!widdershins is someone (kid and teen) fernald would and probably did got along with: it’s the older big brother (figure) who has cool stories to tell while also being sensible with kind words and advice when the younger sibling feels down and needs help and probably let said sibling do whatever they want. it perfectly lines up with my messed up widdershins-caliban theory headcanon holy ****

with the cameo now in mind, i can’t help but wonder if teen!widdershins would hesitate -or not hesitate- to punch his adult self for becoming radically different. 

[bashfulmusician]

So....I’m just going to say it and get it done with because I’ve been holding it in for so long that I can’t take it any more. Feel free to skip down to the very bottom of this because it’s LONG. It has to do with my gender identity. ((It’s seriously SUPER long and personal, so feel free to skip to the TLDR at the bottom))

So I’m ace. That’s pretty easy to tell at this point. I’ve known for almost a year now and it’s such an intrinsic part of who I am that I will proudly wear my flag (literally. I have a couple of ace pins now).

But there’s something else that’s an important and confusing part of who I am. It’s kind of a long story, but I have to get it out somewhere and somehow.

I was born and have identified as a cisfemale all my life. I loved my femininity (as annoying as social rights and expectations could sometimes be) and embraced myself. But there was also something else that I always wanted. I always wanted to wear more masculine clothing. I saw bowties and neckties and got jealous. I wanted to wear them.

But I was also born into a very strictly Christian family. I was taught by homophobic parents who proclaimed the whole “love the sinner, hate the sin” saying, yet would also make fun of LGBT+ individuals. I would never have been allowed to wear ties if I’d asked. For the longest time, this was my normal.

Then I went to college and all of that changed.

As some of you know, I’m studying social work at my university. Two of the profession’s core values are social justice and competence. Needless to say, my ingrained ideals were challenged for three years. They have ultimately changed for the better. Now I can say that I believe in the right of every human being to present as the gender(s) they so choose and the freedom to embrace and express their sexuality. Human rights should not be revoked or threatened to be revoked from people just because they aren’t heteronormative or cis-gendered. My parents have not changed their views, and I do not look for them to. But I can rest knowing that I will one day do my part to help others.

And here’s where the news comes in.

A couple months ago (unfortunately while I was visiting my family for summer break and cringing at remarks), I visited a free clothing closet. While there I noticed two pairs of suspenders and some men’s button-ups. Thinking, “why the heck not?”, I grabbed them without my sister noticing and snuck them home in my clothing bag.

Late that night, I dug out a bowtie from an old work uniform and headed down to the basement. I tried them on, hiding, and my gosh. Oh. My. Gosh. I looked in the mirror and truly understood euphoria for the first time. I realized why I had always wanted to wear button-ups and ties. I loved them! I cried with joy and happiness, so glad that I’d grabbed the suspenders and dug out the old tie. I looked different in the best way possible. A way that I couldn’t explain, but I could feel so strongly. It felt amazing and wonderful.

The next night, not able to help myself, I tried another outfit with my secret stash. I almost cried again, ecstatic and euphoric. Then someone knocked on the door.

I quickly threw on my dress, balled up my clothes, and left the bathroom. I said that I’d been trying on clothes to see what still fit. The catch though? I didn’t like what I’d seen in the mirror. The dress didn’t feel right. It didn’t look right.

I thought that maybe I just preferred masculine clothing. That happens to normal women, right? They realize they like a different style. I was still a woman.

But then I started to not like my chest. Whenever I wanted to wear the masculine clothes, I also wished that I had a flat chest. It didn’t look or feel right. I’d still have days when I felt alright wearing a dress and could stand my more feminine aspects. But those days when I wanted to wear more masculine clothes really bothered me. My gender identity was really weighing on me. Especially with all that my family had taught me and what I was raised with, I was always anxious that maybe I wasn’t straight? Maybe I wasn’t cis? It ate away at me.

Then I thought, “why not try they/them pronouns? If I’m really not cis, this will kind of prove to me and help me figure this out. If I don’t like it, then I know I’m still cis.” Gosh darn internalized LGBT+ phobia Big surprise for me, they/them pronouns felt exactly right. Then I realized I really didn’t like to be called a she when I felt this....different feeling. My name even felt wrong on those days, it didn’t sound like my name.

Also yesterday and today I experienced what I identify as dysphoria. I was unable to bind due to the heat and had to limit myself to one bra. I also couldn’t wear a button up shirt like I wanted to (weather again). Last night everything felt wrong. My chest felt like it wasn’t mine, it felt strange and so wrong to be called by my feminine name, and being referred to as a she? I wanted my born gender to disappear. I just wanted to be a person, not a female.

I’ve realized now that I really don’t know what my gender identity is. I’m saying genderqueer for now because I’m very confused. Some days I feel like a woman, others I feel neutral (I call them “they days”). On “they days”, I bind (SAFELY!!!), wear more masculine clothes (I’m not FtM, he/him pronouns don’t sound right), and use they/them pronouns. I also want to use a different name, but I suppose that will come a bit later when I’m more comfortable with this strange part of myself. For now, you can use she/her or they/them for me. I’ll still go by the same names, but I’m also going to add Emile to the list. Thank you all for reading this far, if you have, and I appreciate and love every single one of you.

TLDR: I am genderqueer. Somedays I’m a woman, others I’m a “they”. I use she/her and they/them pronouns depending on the day, but either is fine here! While I will still go by June/Juni/Juniper, I also will go by Emile.  Thank you all ~Juni/Emile 💜🖤💚

[acrobaticcatfeline]

I hate what school does to people. God, I hate it so bad, it destroys the love of learning that anyone ever had.

I adore writing. I adore history, I adore science, I'm a nerd through and through. I failed or barely got a C in every English class I ever took until last year. I failed writing assignments left and right. History has almost completely lost its luster for me because of school, I wrote like, a ten page essay on Harriet Tubman when I was like 10 for fun, and now I deflate at having to learn anything in history, because it's not fun and exciting anymore, it's bland and boring and tedious and repetitive. Until last year, I hadn't enjoyed a science class for real since elementary school. Where were the experiments? Where was the the dissection that I had been told was in high school science? It was read and perform this experiment that had no practical work. Here's this really interesting theory, instead of testing it in a fun way, how about we chew gum instead?

And it's not just me. I was talking to W tonight and we picked him up from his house to go to the movies, and he's a war buff! He teases me about knowing most every fact about the revolutionary war like the back of my hand and getting a little too passionate when I talk about it, but he knows more about the world wars than I could ever imagine knowing. He finds our history classes boring as all hell, and idiotic. And he's not wrong, you can't study for a test if all of your notes have been collected by the teacher. He reads quickly and religiously, he's read several long ass books in a single day because he just eats that shit up. He's failed every English class he's taken in high school. And that's disgusting. He's the kind of nerd that should be thriving in school, but he's not even sure if he's going to graduate. I'm still ahead in school, I'm overcompensating by a lot, I'm most definitely graduating, but it's cruel to know that school has fuck all to do with learning, and all to do with control.

W has ISS for two days next week because the librarian hates him. That's bullshit. He's the kid she should love, he used to go to the library at lunch every day, he reads so so much, he should be teachers pet, but he isn't. Guess who is? Me. I go there so so rarely. I go when my class field trips over for the day, I go when I have to run errands as TA, and that's pretty much it. I lost my love of reading because of school, so I avoid it like the plague. Books I've had to read in school were so rarely good, so often deemed classic just because they're old, that the idea of reading "good" books, made me queasy. If old man and the sea is a "good" book, no books are actually good. My reading level is high as fuck, I'm able to read AND write at a college graduate level, but that wasn't enjoyable. Back when I was like 8 and reading at the level of someone twice my age, I refused to read things that weren't from the children's section. I read magic tree house and Junie b Jones and the rainbow magic series. I refused to read Harry Potter. It was long and scary and my school had us reading long scary books that were even smaller. I still haven't finished the fourth book, I can't sit through it all, it's just too damn long, I lose interest.

I have audible, and my parents and I have books we listen to together, it makes the reward of paying attention better, because then I can rant about that one part I loved, or the part that pissed me off. We can get really excited when a book we just read is getting a sequel. You can't imagine the joy me and my dad felt when we found out the sequel to neverwhere was released the month before we had finished the book. The elatedness all three of us felt when we found out Andrea Vernon and the corporation for ultra human protection got a second book. Before we got this like last year, I think the last time I read for pleasure was... Probably when I was ten. So eight years ago. And it's so dumb!!! The last time I had read a new book that hadn't ever been introduced to me before that I enjoyed reading in class one hundred percent, every word, was Fahrenheit 451 in 8th grade, that wasn't even allowed by the school. If I included rereads it would be Beowulf last year, but I read it in 7th grade originally.

I don't hate a man for all seasons, or Jane Eyre, I quite enjoy them honestly, but it's not because of the book alone. The community part of it was what made it fun. Plays are meant to be performed, and not read, so we all played parts in class. Jane Eyre is really fun to bitch about, especially in a class of 13 women. Why is she letting him treat her like that, why does she like this about him, honestly she should kill this prick, etc etc. I knows so much about this time period and yet I can't help my modern brain kicking and telling me to forget the time period and just get angry at the characters, but I'm engaged, I'm excited, I'm getting passionate and heated in an argument about it, I'm invested, and that means Bronte did her job.

I enjoy books. I enjoy absorbing the contents of books, but the act of sitting still, often times alone, with a book and reading makes me forget violently. I lose my train of thought, I get distracted, I lose interest because the engaging parts are only so common in the books, it won't be high action all the time, and once it isn't I'm bored. It's a bad habit of mine, it's why I don't really read. I get upset that my parents haven't read Jane Eyre because I want to talk about it, and I can't. I hate that with shows and movies too, I hate having this cool reference that would perfectly fit in this conversation, but nobody knowing what I'm talking about.

This has gone a little off on a tangent, but god, I hate school, because I used to be like W and devour books rapid speed, and now I can't stand to read most of the books I have bought because the act of reading makes me uncomfy. I hate school because I should love my government class, I want to be a lawyer, a good portion of the class talks about the revolution, and instead I nap and bitch about the teacher because it made such a cool subject boring.

[barclaysangel]

"Smells Like Teen Spirit"; Chapter 20: A Mosquito

Here is the new chapter, landing at 3.7K words!

This is the first serious chapter I’ve written that doesn’t have any fun stuff/jokes since the very beginning of this fic.

But the end is near! Just 2 more chapters and an epilogue left until this story comes to a close! So please lemme know what you think of this story so far!

Enjoy :)

Junior didn’t get an ounce of sleep that night. 

He lied awake in bed, hardly blinking as he stared at the ceiling and listened to his cousin snoring. Sometimes the sound brought him annoyance, sometimes comfort, but this time it was neither. He just stayed awake and allowed his mind to spiral. 

Besides, how could Junior sleep with the new choice he was going to make? One that he had to do, to prove that he wasn’t a total piece of shit. 

He went over what he would say, what he would tell the others, how they would react over and over again to the point where it started to drive him insane. 

They wouldn’t be happy, that much he knew. But this was his decision. 

And Teo didn’t deserve to be stuck inside of his own body, only able to escape through certain triggers and cry and beg for his life back before being thrown into the trunk away. 

Or worse, Teo could fade from existence and his soul would practically die the longer that Junior stayed inside of his body. 

Both were things that the doll just couldn’t do to his doppelgänger. 

Teo deserved much, much better than that. 

By the time Jake finally woke up, Junior was still awake. He was sitting upright, notebook on the bed and holding a pencil tightly in a fist. There were crumpled up pieces of paper littered all over the floor, written by the brunette doll with words that just didn’t sound right enough so he kept quitting and restarting multiple times. 

“Jun-Jun? What’s going on?” Jake asked him tiredly, yawning and rubbing his eyes with one hand while pulling himself into a sitting position. 

Even while half asleep, the doll probably looked deranged and exhausted enough that it had the human teenager concerned over what the former was going through. 

Junior didn’t say anything for a moment, staying completely silent and gave up on trying to write so he just held the pencil in his hand. “I-I need to talk to you. All of you. You, Devon, and Lexy. I only want to do this once so I don’t repeat myself.” 

The concerned look in Jake’s eyes just grew more, seeming to fully wake up Fromm his serious his cousin was being. “Dude, what’s happening right now? What do you want to talk about?” 

The doll just shook his head. “I don’t want to say the same thing multiple times. I just want to get this over and done with. When Devon and Lexy are here too, then I’ll talk.”

His curly-haired cousin looked incredibly worried, pulling out his phone and most likely texted Lexy to come over sooner. He placed a hand on Junior’s shoulder, making him stiffen slightly, but his cousin just gave him a small smile in an attempt to reassure his racing brain. Then he got up and left the room to wake up Devon. 

Junior stayed dangerously quiet, even when Devon went into Jake’s room. They both tried to ask questions, trying to pry and figure out what was going on to make the other boy act like this, but he wouldn’t give in. He remained firm on his decision to wait until Lexy arrived, which she did soon after. 

Whatever the hell Jake texted her must’ve gotten her worried as fuck because he was immediately met with her concerned eyes the second she was inside his cousin’s room. 

“Do you wanna talk about what’s going on now?” Devon asked the doll, looking at the pile of papers that were scattered on the bedroom floor from words that just didn’t sound right to Junior. 

They were all sitting on the bed, the brunette doll being right on the middle while Lexy sat down beside him. “C’mon, Juni, you can tell us anything.” She told him in a reassuring tone but her eyes looked nervous and anxious. 

He took a few deep breaths, gathering his thoughts before finally speaking. “I-I appreciate everything you’ve done for me,” the doll started off, “I knew these last couple months have been really fucking hard for you guys. But I’m grateful that you’ve been here for me, doing everything you can to help me. I appreciate it so much. But there’s something really important that I need to say to you all.”

Junior took another deep breath and looked each of them before talking again. 

“I’m not going to possess Teo.” 

Immediately, there were three voices loudly overlapping, freaking out and demanding to know why he didn’t want to do this, so the brunette doll just held a hand up in an oddly calm way to get them to stop. 

“I thought I could do it,” he told them seriously, “I thought I could take away someone’s life just to have another chance of my own. But I can’t. I can’t do that. It’s not worth it and Teo deserves better.” 

“I don’t understand, why are you changing your mind?” Jake asked, looking like he couldn’t even wrap his mind around his doll cousin wanting to change the plans. 

“Because I may be a murderer but I’m not willing to murder an innocent person’s soul.” He replied without missing a beat, his blue eyes tired from lack of sleep yet unwavering in his decision. 

“But, Jun-Jun, you hate being a doll!” Lexy pointed out to him. “You hated being a doll since you put your soul in him…so why would not want to possess Teo anymore?” 

“Because I grew to knew him. I saw how great of a person Teo is. He’s good and he’s kind and he has a heart of gold, something I’ll never have…he doesn’t deserve the shit that we’re planning, even though I do hate being a doll.” Junior responded to her, fiddling with the sleeves of his hoodie. 

“Junior’s right.” Devon said out of nowhere, causing three pairs of heads to snap towards him, Junior looking surprised while the other two stared at him incredulously. “I-I wasn’t feeling okay about the plan. It just…it didn’t feel right. And the more we got to know Teo, the more uneasy I felt. I just didn’t say anything because this was Junior’s choice. Now he’s made his decision and we should respect it.” 

The brunette doll gave Devon a thankful smile. Leave it to Devon for continuing to be the voice of reason. Of course he wouldn’t support it but went along since he thought that’s what Junior would’ve wanted. 

He was glad to know that he wasn’t alone in this at least. 

“No, this-this can’t be over!” Lexy quickly shook her head, not accepting this. “Junior, you deserve to have a second chance! You deserve to live again!” 

“I already had my chance at life and I fucked it up. I can’t change that by taking over someone else’s life.” Junior said, a part of him almost wanting to change his mind because of how his cousin and ex-girlfriend were reacting to his sudden news. 

But no. He wouldn’t change his mind. This was his decision and he was sticking to it. 

Everyone did, however, since at the doll’s poor choice of words. “You didn’t fuck it up,” Jake told him, “you were going through a lot. You died to protect Lexy. You’ve done enough good now to deserve a second life.” 

“At what cost?” The brunette doll asked his cousin, tilting his head at him. “The cost of an innocent person having to spend the rest of his life stuck inside of his own body without a way out? Or to have his soul die because my own soul was like a parasite that drained his life away?” 

“No, that’s not—!” Jake and Lexy started to argue but Junior quickly interrupted them. 

“I’m a killer,” he reminded them, “but you three aren’t. And allowing me, even encouraging me, to possess an amazing person…is absolutely wrong. It would kill Teo. You guys might not be holding the knife but we would all be responsible for whatever he goes through if I possessed him. Killing Teo would make you all killers too…and you don’t want that on your consciences.” 

They went silent, seeming as if Junior’s words were starting to dawn on them. Maybe they were finally realizing that the doll was right. They would, to an extent, be killers as well. 

“Juni…do you really want to spend eternity as a doll?” Lexy asked him, tears starting to shine in her hazel eyes. 

“I don’t.” Junior replied honestly. “I really don’t. But…I’d rather be like this until the end of time than to possess an innocent teenager who never asked for this. If I have to be a doll forever, then so be it.” 

The brunette doll paused for a moment before speaking again. “I know it’s hard to deal with carrying around a doll all the time, making up excuses at to why you have it. So just…say the word and I’ll go back with Tiffany. You guys can all live the rest of your lives in peace.” 

He was immediately met with looks of pure disbelief from his words. “Junior, that’s ridiculous!” Devon said loudly. 

“We don’t care that you’re a doll! You’re my cousin! Our friend! We aren’t going to kick you aside just because you don’t want to possess a human!” Jake told him quickly, looking shocked that the doll would even say this. 

“Yeah, you’re not getting rid of us until you want to go.” Lexy agreed in a playful way and gave him a small in an attempt to reassure him. 

Junior relaxed slightly, cracking just a ghost of a smile. “Okay. Who knows, maybe you guys can pass me off as some family heirloom to your future families.” He joked, feeling a bit successful when he earned chuckles out of his three best friends. 

He didn’t say anything again for at least ten seconds, knowing that this part wasn’t going to be as easy as the beginning part. “There’s something else I have to say too,” he began while rubbing the back of his neck, “we need to tell Teo. Everything. He deserves to know what we were going to do.” 

Immediately they started protesting, perhaps even more than when Junior announced that he wouldn’t possess his doppelgänger. 

“No, Junior, he can’t know!” 

“You aren’t going to possess him so we don’t need to tell him!”

“He doesn’t need to know about this, he can live the rest of his life never knowing!” 

“We’re telling him!” The doll snapped, making them all quiet down. “Teo deserves to know the truth. He doesn’t deserve to keep being lied to and being deceived by us.” 

Lexy bit her bottom lip, looking down before bringing her eyes back to Junior. “If we tell Teo what we were going to do…he’ll never want to be friends with us again.” 

“We don’t deserve to be friends with Teo for what we were planning,” the brunette doll told her gently but seriously, “he deserves better friends than that. He deserve friends who are loyal and genuine.” 

“But we did care,” Devon told him honestly, “we did care about him the more we got to know him. We got so close to him, it became genuine only after a couple days, before Teo even found out that you were alive. It was real, Junior.” 

The doll figured that it was, in fact, a real friendship the developed between all of them. His friends weren’t the best actors or liars, so he could tell that they were getting close to him. Hell, even Junior got close to his doppelgänger. 

But he also knew that Teo deserved to know the truth. 

It was the least they could do, an apology before leaving his life forever and let the actor live a normal life, talking-doll free. 

“Are-are you sure that this is something you really want to do?” Jake asked him, almost hesitantly. 

In all honesty, Junior didn’t want to do this. He wanted to preserve the friendship. Doing this would cause him to lose everything. 

He would no longer hear Teo’s dumb jokes, his funny stories of the few times he watched horror movies, or the pranks he pulled on his older sister. 

He would no longer he greeted by Teo’s big smile and caring eyes, always making sure that they all were doing okay. 

All of that would be gone in a heartbeat. 

But it needed to be done. 

“Yeah…” Junior finally said after a long pause, his voice quiet, “yeah, I’m sure…he needs to know the truth. It’s the least we can do after everything.”

They really looked like they didn’t want to tell Teo. But they could see the look of the doll’s eyes, how unwavering he was. 

He made this decision and he was going to follow through with it. 

This decision wasn’t for anyone. Not for Tiffany, not for Nica, not for Lexy, not for Jake, not for Devon. 

Junior was making this decision for himself and his own morality. 

He would not possess Teo and would tell him the truth to clear his own conscience because it’s what the actor deserves. 

For once, the brunette doll got to make decisions based on what he wanted to do rather than to think about what anyone else wanted. 

“When do you want to tell him?” Devon asked him, looking saddened over the fact that they had to tell Teo but knew it was the right thing to do. 

“Now,” Junior replied, “I don’t want to keep delaying this. He needs to know, as soon as possible.” 

Lexy had her hands on her head, genuinely looking upset and barely managing to hold back tears. “I-I really…really don’t want him to know, Juni…” 

The doll frowned before reaching out and putting a plastic hand on her knee, trying to reassure her without changing his own mind. “I know. I don’t want him to know either. But he shouldn’t have to live the rest of his life without knowing that we were lying and planning something so awful to him. It’s wrong.” 

“It is wrong,” Jake ended up agreeing quietly and ran a hand through his curly hair before standing up. “Let’s go then. I rather just rip off the bandaid. Or…whatever is worse than a bandaid, I can’t think of anything right now.” 

Junior nodded in agreement as Lexy sighed shakily, still obviously not okay with this but she pulled out her phone to get an Uber. 

Ten minutes later, they were on their way to Teo’s hotel room. 

No one said a word in the car and the brunette doll could practically feel how uneasy they all were. The tension was so thick that not even a knife could cut it. No one wanted to go through with this, not even Junior himself. 

His insides were twisting and churning inside of him and he was thankful that he didn’t eat anything because there would be nothing to throw up. 

It didn’t take long for them to finally arrive at the hotel. Lexy’s arms were trembling around Junior as they all stood there after getting out of the car. He could even see Jake and Devon looking anxious and almost scared to be doing this. 

The doll wished he knew the right words to say to his best friends get them to calm down, but even he didn’t know what they were. If he knew, he would be chanting them to himself as a mantra repeatedly until he finally convinced himself. 

“You ready, Jun?” Devon asked him after a long pause where neither of them were moving. 

Was he? He wasn’t quite sure about that response either. 

But Junior swallowed down his nerves, raised his head before nodding. “Yeah…yeah, I’m ready.” 

Every step they took felt like impending doom, as if they were walking towards their own deaths or a battlefield. It was a terrifying feeling, one that the doll was unable to push away and it only grew once Jake knocked on the door of the actor’s hotel room. 

God, I know we haven’t talked in ages, but please let Teo get pissed at me. Don’t let him get mad at the others because it wasn’t their fault. It was mine. All mine. Let him take it out on me please. Those were the only thoughts going through Junior’s head before Teo opened the door and they were greeted with his signature sunshine smile. 

Fuck, this was going to be a lot harder than he thought. 

“Guys! Hi!” The doppelgänger said excitedly, quickly opening the door wider. “Come in, come in! My family isn’t back yet, they went to grab breakfast. Maybe you can meet them!” 

Why did this have to be so difficult? Why did Teo have to keep proving that his heart was made of pure gold? 

They all walked inside the room, Lexy holding the doll even tighter. He found enough courage to be the first out of the four of them to speak. “Yeah, that sounds nice, but…uhhh…we-we need to talk first.” 

Teo’s smile faltered when he noticed how serious everyone was being and nodded. “Okay, yeah. You can talk to me. Whatever you need to say, I’m all ears.” 

“Please don’t do this, Juni, please…” the brunette doll heard Lexy whisper to him in his ear, quietly enough for only him to hear. 

He turned his head to look at her, smiling sadly and shook his head. “Don’t be selfish. I’m done being selfish. It’s not fair to him.” He whispered back so softly under his breath that he was slightly surprised she even heard him. 

But he knew that she heard, because the blonde girl had tears in her eyes again and she nodded her head a little, giving up finally. 

Junior looked back at the actor, his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion over what was going on. He summoned enough courage to start telling the truth. “You know that I possessed a doll using voodoo. We…I never told you that it’s possible to use the same spell to possess a human as well.” 

Teo looked a bit shocked to hear this but tilted his head slightly in fascination. “Wait, really? That’s possible?” 

Devon nodded. “It is…it was something we wanted to do. To find a new body for Junior. The only thing is that…the soul of the person Junior possesses could be locked away or-or disappear. Forever.” 

“That sounds awful…did you have someone in mind to possess?” The doppelgänger asked and the brunette doll wished he hadn’t. 

Immediately, no one said a word. They all looked down, feeling guilty and remorseful. After almost a full minute, it slowly dawned on Teo what they were trying to say without even saying it. 

His eyes widened and his lips parted, trying to speak but being unable to and took a step away from them. “You…you’re going to possess…me?” 

Junior winced, looking up at the doll before slowly nodding. “I…yeah. I-I was going to, but I’m not now. I…I couldn’t go through with it, not after everything.” 

“That’s why you guys wanted to meet me…” the actor whispered, “not for closure…but to slither your way into my life and then rip it away from me. Everything you said…was a lie. You…used me. You all did.” 

Junior wished that he never went along with this in the first place. He should’ve said no as soon as Tiffany told him about her plan. Because seeing the pain, the hurt, the disappointment in his eyes felt like the doll was getting his tiny heart ripped out. 

“We’re so sorry…” Jake told him, taking a step toward him but Teo quickly moved back again so the former stopped, “we fucked up. We thought we could do it but we couldn’t. We knew it was wrong and we wanted to do it for a while…” 

“If you’re going to be mad at someone, be mad at me,” Junior spoke up as he was not willing to let his cousin or anyone else take the blame, “I’m the one who came up with this. Jake, Lexy, and Devon…they went with it because they just wanted me to have a second chance at being a human. That’s all. Be mad at me, but not them. It’s not their fault.” 

The doppelgänger was looking down now but the doll could see a tear that were running down his cheek and he felt like the biggest asshole in the universe. 

“I…I thought…I thought we were friends…” Teo whispered, refusing to look at any of them. 

“We are,” Junior responded gently, his chest tightening, “or…we were. You have every right to hate us for what we were going to do. You’re a good person, Teo. And I’m…not. I wanted to be alive again but not at this cost. If there was a way we both could share a body…maybe things would be different. I don’t know. But I’m so…so sorry.” 

Teo didn’t say anything, but his body language said enough. 

They’ve overstayed their welcome. 

“We’re so sorry. We all are.” Lexy said quietly after being silent the whole time, almost reaching out to the actor before she pulled her hand away. 

Jake and Devon started making their way to the door, Lexy following behind them before Junior turned his head to look at his doppelgänger. “You won’t ever hear from us again. You’ll live the rest of your life never knowing us. It’s…it’s been really fun. You made me want to be a better person,” the doll admitted and took a deep breath, “I’m sorry. Goodbye, Teo.” 

They weren’t stopped, no more words being said, so they all left the room. 

No one said anything. They were silent as they left the hotel and got into the Uber. The mood was forlorn and sad, none of them wanting things to end the way that it did…but it was for the best. 

It was better this way. Junior knew it, even if the others might not agree. They would someday. 

That’s all he could hope for. 

There was a weight lifted off his shoulders but a heavy feeling in the doll’s soul. 

He lost a friend. They all did. 

It hurt…but it needed to be done. 

Despite his mixed emotions, Junior allowed his body to relax against Lexy’s and closed his eyes, finally falling asleep. 

[melonoverlord]

Val for the otp thing

My NOTP for them

Val and her ex-girlfriend, Wendy. She was the first girl that Val ever loved and the first one to drive between Val and her sisters, and is indirectly the cause of Phoebe and Isa’s deaths. She is also the major reason why Val is afraid to tell the truth to anyone ever, even to the people she considers her best friends. If you ever see Wendy again, you better help Val get the courage to go against her.

My BROTP for them

Val is everyone’s sister and has about five best friends on the ship.

If Val was held at gunpoint and had to pick a singular best friend, she would have to pick B3rT13 just because they’ve been together since the beginning in Biomia and have somewhat of a parent-child relationship, with each of them switching roles depending on the situation. Val loves B3rT13 and would protect him with everything she has, but she also has secrets hidden even from him, mostly because they are about him. At the same time Val is B3rT13’s human and if it came between saving Val and anyone else, he’d let the galaxy burn to make sure his human was happy. No one is a bigger Valentine shipper than B3rT13.

Val’s “human” best friend would have to be Ciri, even though she isn’t one. She and Val are sisters through and through from endless validation of the other, to heavy hypocrisy on their own end. Val is incredibly happy that Ciri still chooses to be her friend after finding out that she is less than honest. She wants to try to be there for Ciri however she can and for as long as she can.

Flor and Percy were the first non-robot/non-family friends she ever made, and the three of them hit it off instantly after Val made a space vine reference towards Flor when she was eating the taquitos Tam made for dinner their first night (it was “Hurricane Katrina? More like Hurricane Tortilla!”). Flor then responded “Welcome to my kitchen. We got bananis. And avcacdis” while pointing to the guacamole on the table. Since then, the three of them have had the littest group chat in the galaxy (Zesty Memes for Spacey Teens) and she would die for her two bird brains.

Her other bird brain is her idiot gay mess of a brother, Castor, who somehow she still adores after being shot/stabbed/slashed in the back no less than three times. She’s so happy that he finally got his shit together and is with Percy, so she can stop hearing him listen to mcr and other angsty music while masturbating in the shower. She would also still die for her little bro, either by a nerf gun or perhaps an explosion.

Of course, the original BROTP is Valerie, Phoebe, and Isabella, three sisters living in a rollercoaster fighting against the world. Phoebe’s and Isa’s boisterous personalities helped the nerdy and shy Valerie come out of her shell (or rather build up her own personality as Val) and Valerie helped reign her baby sisters in from pranking everyone in Biomia.

My OTP for them

I can’t wait for that Valentine action to happen. Just one science lesbian and an explorer lesbian shacking it up in space while fighting for each other and adopting every robot they find. They both deserve the smooch after years of being a repressed gay on a planet they didn’t want to be on. Plus when Clem finds out that Val goes through vents to sneak into places, she’s gonna nut. Baby Indiana Jones will love the Vent Gremlin.

My second choice pairing for them

In another life, Val and Ciri would have made the Space Gays run for their money in space gayness. They both care about each other so much, spend a lot of time hiding their secrets, and love their crew with all their hearts. If Phoebe and Isa were alive, they would be all over Ciri and Isa in particular would think she was so cool for escaping Genesis on her own and hiding out like a space pirate. Up until getting together with Clem, Val had the biggest crush on Ciri but held it back because she saw how happy Ciri was with Tam and vice versa, and knew that Ciri needed a friend. So she stayed as a bff.

My fluffy pairing for them

Jaz and Val, the two STEM gfs who love their work, love their sisters, and value their emotional survival above all else (Val gives no fucks about her physical survival). Jaz would also help Val learn some self love and self care because Jaz may be a mess in regards to living for herself and not living for her sister, but she’s at least trying and putting her skills to good use.

My angsty pairing for them

Now that Ciri knows that Val has lied about 85% of her life to her face, it would be a very angsty time, especially since Val has to pick between Ciri who she loves with her whole heart, and her coping mechanism that’s she’s had wrapped around her tight like a blanket for almost five years. Even during their talk, she still wasn’t completely honest and some secrets she’ll take to the grave.

My favorite poly ship for them

Val, Clem, Jaz, and Ciri just need to make a gay cuddle pile of kisses and science. Clem and Jaz would help the other two in learning to be goddamn loving of themselves and not shutting emotions and people out just because they’re hurt (plus Jaz and Ravi would get along so well as surgeons), and Val and Ciri would be able to show the other two who know nothing of robotics about machinery and really the quickest way to Jaz and Clem’s hearts is teaching them something new.

My weirdest pairing for them

Juni and Val are both physically near the same age, but Juni has a much better handle on her life save the whole Lazuli business and has actual children, and Val is still lowkey a kid herself. Juni’s sex drive would also kill Val. Not because Val doesn’t have a sex drive, because she’s just as horny as Juni, but because Val is a useless lesbian who needs a good three day grace period after getting eaten out so she can recover from being pleasured. And Juni’s max wait time is a day and a half before getting dicked down.

[naturezoneunite]

Elemental Wars Book Of Wishes Chapter VI: The Return of Junis|New Student

Wednesday morning at school in the auditorium, all students, freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors reported to the auditorium for the five huge announcements. "Good morning everyone, may I have your attention please?" "So when will you let me get your phone number?" "You, me, at my place." "Mr. Turner!" "Huh?" "Go back to your seat or I will give you Saturday detention." "Okay! Okay!"

"I'm here to explain to everyone that is present in this assembly about the huge announcements." "First announcement is the new rule, you are allowed to wear casual clothes every Friday, it has to be appropriate, nothing inappropriate." "Second announcement is there will be a new student coming to Shanghai Academy, behave yourselves and show her a lot of respect."

"Third announcement will be a Boys vs Girls Relay Race this Friday, just sign up if you interested to participate in the special event." "Fourth announcement has to do with everyone here, Mr. Galanos, Mr. Turner, Ms. Sanchez, and the new student will be on the new school bus with the juniors and seniors." "Mr. Yakamura, Ms. Ishikawa, and Ms. Akamine will be on the same bus with Freshmen and Sophomores."

The boys were arguing and really fed up about the rules of being moved to another bus except for Junis and Anstice. "Silence!" The boys kept their mouths shut and behaved themselves. "Moving on to the Fifth announcement, everyone make some noise for the return of the freshmen, Junis Yei-Sung Yakamura!" Junis arrived on the stage really confident as everyone cheered for him going wild.

"Good morning Shanghai Academy, what is going on today?" "I'm back!" "Better than the time I came here which was last week." "I won't let anyone down here, I will give in my all to lead us to victory!" The crowd cheered so loud really hyped up as hell giving him the energy and the courage to do the impossible.

Few moments later at lunch, Junis was eating Spicy Curry, Pork Ramen, and drinking his Blue Iced Tea for lunch. he noticed Sukina was next to him in the same table. She sighed really sad and he looked at her. "What's wrong Akamine San?"

"It's this jerk, he has been harassing me for two days and I told her to stop but he threatened to hit me." "What!?" "Where is that peeping tom!?" "He's in the weight room working out for his first football game." "Why?" "Because you need to tell the principal about this." "But, but, I'm too scared." "You shouldn't be afraid to tell her."

The peeping tom showed up in the cafeteria. His name is Troy Stevenson he's 6'8, 245 Ibs. Running back for the Shanghai Academy Football Team. He's a Senior, he loves to sexually harass freshmen girls like Sukina. He sat next to Sukina and began to harass her and not caring that Junis is next to her.

"G-G-Get off of me!" "Nope, you are just the perfect one to become my girlfriend, what do you say?" "I don't want to be with a peeping Tom like you!" Sukina slapped him really hard and hides behind Junis really scared.

"Come on babe, don't be scared of me." Troy tried to harass her again but more than that, to rape her but Junis prevented him from doing that. "Who the fuck are you loser?" "Her friend, leave her alone!" Junis said as he glared at him. Troy got pissed, moved him out of the way and Sukina ran to Junis seeing him on the floor.

"Yakamura Sama, speak to me!" Junis woke up and looked at Sukina and smiled. "Ugh...I'm fine now." Principal Akamine showed up in the Cafeteria and was really furious at Troy. "I caught you on camera, you sexually harassed my daughter and attacked one of my star pupils." I warned you yesterday that if you disobey me, I will suspend you!" "You are expelled, meaning you won't be in this school anymore!"

"You are so dead Yakamura, I will come after you!" "Take him away." The security threw him out of school as Principal Akamine went back to her office.

Later after school, Junis Participated at the Shanghai Academy's Basketball tryouts, everyone in the gym say he put on a show but he show no emotion, he was more serious than the varsity players that played last year. He was on another level, before the tryouts, everyone thought he's a horrible talent, a try hard, a joke to the team, he proved everyone wrong.

He let the game do the talking, he was known as the silent rookie. he was a cold blood killer in the gym, he put the coach, fans, even the varsity team on notice. Coach decided to make his decision on Friday. Junis understood Coach's message and part ways as he went in the locker room getting dressed after working so hard.

Few hours later after he got dressed, he started walking to home but decided to walk to Sukina's house to check on her. He heard her screaming coming from the basement and he hurried and rushed in her house, in the basement and sees Sukina in the corner avoiding Troy in fear.

"LEAVE AKAMINE SAN ALONE!" Junis said yelling at Troy really angry. Troy turned around and transformed into a big mutant beast. "I was close to making the bitch mine until you got in my way you little runt!" "I'm tired of running from you Troy, I will take you down, and save Akamine San!" Troy got pissed and comes at Junis and attacked him crushing his bones, Junis coughs a lot of blood and trying to get up, Troy grinned at him and laughed maniacally for a moment.

"Well then, it's time to kill you, you are a worthless, useless, unworthy loser, even he would use his sloppy seconds on that green hair beauty. Junis having memories of the times he spent with Kimichi, the moments that makes him happy. Troy started choking him in the worst way possible you can think of, Junis balds his right fist and punched him really hard in the gut and Troy crashed against the wall.

"How did you manage to surpass my power!?" "You are a weakling, you are nothing but a human!" "You're wrong, I'm Junis Yei-Sung Yakamura, I'm a crimson dragon!" Junis said as he opened his right yellow eye. Junis brutally attacked Troy, crushing his body, and his skull using amber crusher.

Troy crashed through the wall and into the forest dead. Junis breathes heavily and turned back to normal. He takes Sukina back to her room and healed her using phoenix tears. He did everything he can to heal her wounds, Sukina went to sleep peacefully. He went to the basement and restored the walls downstairs using restore spell.

Thursday morning at 1st period class, Mr. Dominguez started passing out everyone's previous classwork from yesterday. "Sukina Akamine." "Present." "You got a A+, congratulations." "Thank you Mr. Dominguez." "Ming Zhun." "Here." "You got a A-, congratulations." "Thank you sir." "The new student named Allison Dominique." "Present." "A+ for you." "Thank you." "Junis Yakamura." "Present." "Outstanding job, I'm proud of you just like Allison,Sukina, and Ming, congratulations, you passed." "Thank you so much sir."

"Lastly we got you, Terrance McPeterson, you failed, you skipped my class for 3 weeks." "You get a F." Terrance loses his cool and yelled at the teacher with unyielding rage. "Oh come on Mr. Dominguez, how did I get a fucking F!?." Mr. Dominguez explained to him how he failed his class.

"Mr. McPeterson, just look at your grades, you have the worst grades than Samuel." "What!?" "Be quiet and listen." "On your first math sheet, you got a 0%, a F in multiplication. " "On your second math sheet, you got a 25%, a F in Division." "On your third math sheet, you got a 5%, a F in addition." "On your fourth math sheet, you got a 40%, a F in Subtraction." On your Last Sheet, you got a 50%." "That's a good grade." "No it's not you idiot!" "A 50% is a F!

"This is a load of bullshit, you stupid sack of shit!" "Get out of my class, you are banned from coming here!" Terrence threw his table at the chalkboard and stormed out the class, Mr. Dominguez called Principal Akamine and Terrance McPeterson got suspended for a year for his rude behavior."

Few moments later after school in the gym, Junis performed on the last day of basketball tryouts, he moved faster than yesterday, worked even harder, made every shot, rebounded better, played really aggressive, moved the ball around unselfishly, protecting the paint, and go on a fast break running too hard ahead of everyone.

At the end of the basketball tryouts, the coach of the basketball team walks up to Junis and speaks to him. "Hey kid, you got spunk, physicality, being unselfish, die hard attitude, winning mentality, and the skills that we need in a point guard, you are just the point guard we need." "My name is Dennis Harris, but call me Coach Harris." Coach Harris said as he shakes his hand. "What's your name kid?" "Junis Yei-Sung Yakamura, you can call me Junis." "Cool name for a talented point guard like yourself, congratulations, you are part of the basketball team, welcome to the Shanghai Dragons."

Few hours later Sukina and Junis came home late with Principal Akamine, Principal Akamine went to bed in her room on the 3rd floor. Sukina wanted to talk to Junis and thank him for saving her life. "Yakamura Sama, I want to thank you for saving my life, if you haven't been there for me, I would have been dead."

"No problem Akamine San, I will always look out for my friends especially you." Sukina smiled and went to her room and fell asleep. Junis went in the basement and felt cold, he warmed himself up by making the basement cold. He lays on the comfortable bed and fell asleep.

[kenbarrens]

Update 12/31/17: New Year

2017.  What a ride...

These past six months especially, I’ve really been pushed to redefine and harden myself as a person.  I don’t want to get into the details, but suffice to say I wouldn’t have survived without adapting, learning to open up and trust loved ones, and continuing to challenge myself.  

In a way, I’m glad to have had the opportunity to be challenged by something that flies squarely in the face of my ideals.  On the other hand, the situation I’m in has highlighted to me why we need more stories with positive messages and strong role models; To inspire us to keep striving to become more than what we are.

So, going into 2018, I’m taking a closer look at what I’ve got to see how I can dedicate it to a positive service for humanity.

FMN - PhInc: I spent today reviewing some of my ideas for Forget Me Not.  Recently, I’d dug up an old, non-canon sketch of Juni (the second picture attached).  This was sort of an AU where, instead of fire magic and necromancy, she used daggers and the speed of her wings to launch herself like a dart at enemies.  In this AU, she also has short-range precognition; While she can’t see far enough into the future to make predictions, at times she can see the next few seconds in precise detail and use that information to aide her reflexes.  This not only helps her dodge attacks, but also enables her to hone in on her target to ensure a critical strike, correcting her aim “frame by frame” to guide her blade exactly where it needs to go.  She’s all about moving as precisely as possible.

Today, I made a new sketch of Juni (top drawing), sort-of combining her latest redesign with this older one.  I didn’t choose a great pose for showing off costume changes (though you can see some detail as to how her coat works around her wings, plus a back-view of their newly simplified design) because I’m still experimenting with dynamic poses and foreshortening.  I also want to change up the presentation of the weapons; Rather than being decked out in steel and leather like a typical rogue, I want her to look a little more like a modern witch.  Instead of that wicked bone dagger (P.S. It looks like I completely recycled the design of the Cass from Maple Story on that thing anyway, so I definitely won’t use it like that), I’d sooner see her using a crystal rapier of sunset quartz.

I’m really in love with the idea of making her a badass knife-dancer, and especially with how I imagine learning those skills in the story will change her personality.  The struggle I’m having is this doesn’t jive with her story... at least, not yet.  All I will say for now is there’s a very important reason why she’s supposed to be a fire mage, but perhaps I can find a creative solution to give her access to this as well.  After all, she’s not supposed to have obvious magic in her world.  Maybe her story involves transmuting the gift she started with into something that works better for her, something that can speak to finding one’s self... I’ll have to keep thinking about it!

Krythe:  I’ve been doing a ton of research on psychic phenomena to pepper in.  Every single character is psionic, so I might as well make sure I know what I’m talking about!  This has slowed down the editing process considerably, but I consider it a positive change.  I’m pumping relevant content into the story to give it more credibility - that seems like something worth taking my time on as it’s going to affect the way I edit the rest of the story, and I’m still near enough to the beginning that I can afford another style change right now.

For example, this week I focused on rewriting the introduction of the primary love interest.  She contacts the main character through astral projection, but her scene wasn’t received well by the writing group.  I’ve rewritten most of it to better handle the mechanics of what’s going on psychically, right up to the point where the romantic attraction should be revealed.  It was too forced in the original draft, so I’m taking a day or two to contemplate how I want it to come out.

Else Society: Eh... I have mixed feelings on how this went.  Overall, I’m disappointed with it, though there are plenty of reasons why that could be/probably is my own fault.

The first day or two seemed uplifting enough, as the website echoes a lot of the feelings any creator trying to make sense of what they want would have.  However, after the third step, it kind of just... stops.  It provides a to-do list worksheet, but the worksheet really only has just a box to put in the item you wanted to do.  There’s little else beyond the meditation in the second step to encourage you.  Yeah, any type of program like this requires you to put in your own effort (and doing it through a week with a lot of social activity probably didn’t help), but when it ultimately boils down to “make a list... do it, good luck,” I don’t know that I really got anything out of this.

That said, I think I owe it a second chance.  I can say that I did notice forward progress, I’m just not certain that the progress I made this week is any more than I would have made without it.  Then again, I can admit I probably didn’t take the worksheet seriously enough, what with all the traveling and shuffling events around this past week.  It might be better to focus on developing my own routine though.

[alifeatthelanding]

Day 11 (Tuesday) of LET’S CHANGE ALL THE THINGS My sweet family was gracious enough to give me a few hours to go into school and work. So Junie B and I spent from about 10:45-2:00ish in my classroom! It has been completely rearranged and is looking MUCH better. - When I got home, Mama Dove and Josh had cleaned out about 3/4 of the front jungle of the little (and not so little) horrible weeds including some of the most monstrous thistles I’ve ever seen! Then they started laying floor in the master bedroom! I got home just in time to help run and make some cuts on the chop saw and table saw! We managed to get the entire master finished today. Those two are great! Junie B didn’t like all the sounds from all the finishing up that was happening, so I wrapped her up on the couch and she stayed there for quite awhile! 😂🐾❤️ Mama Dove went and spoiled us with an amazing salmon dinner so Josh and I finished up the bedroom on our own and... I don’t understand how, but it appears that our bedroom has expanded by about 30-40 ft... it’s kind of playing tricks with my mind... since the ant debacle of June 3, 2019, I have only seen one live ant in the house. We have traps everywhere. Kris Shipley said always place 2x as many as you anticipate needing. So.... we did 😂 He knows his stuff. 🐜 ☠️😫 - Carl had some much needed friend time this morning and then has literally been knocking it out of the park in our guest bathroom. He is just amazing! We have a new WHITE TUB and we’re getting a shower niche with a SHELF!! 😍😍 We feel so fancy. And also ridiculously blessed by these selfless humans helping our dreams come true. After working tirelessly in the bathroom, Carl went out and sprayed some KILL ALL (for weeds) on our rock jungles and spread some more ant destroyer to hopefully get us back on the right track as far as our yard is concerned. The breadth and scope of what Carl knows would fill a set of encyclopedias. - We have one bedroom, some trim work, the guest bathroom, and a couple random outlets to go and this bad boy’s phase one will be complete. And guys? It is super dreamy ❤️😍 #diy #homereno #bestinlawsever #newfloors #newbathroom #alifeatthelanding https://www.instagram.com/p/ByT-kbdDq5e/?igshid=3t180qvqok47

[weascleys]

Baby Steps: Chapter 22

Chapter Title: The Slumber Party Pairing: George Weasley/Donella Stirling (Original Character) Warning(s): none Words: 1441

Chapter Summary: The Gryffindor girls spend a night together.

Notes: Super fluffy but super fun to write. :) I like scenes like this because it reminds me that they're just teenagers. These kinds of scenes make them more human to me.

“‘Mione,” Ella said. Popping a Fizzing Whizbee into her mouth, “I hear that McGonagall had to talk to your and Harry and that’s why you missed the sorting. What was that all about?”

A bunch of the girls from Gryffindor had gathered up in the fourth-year girls’ dormitory because there weren’t very many of them so it was the most spacious. They were having what could only be described as a stereotypical slumber party. Sweets and drinks, both alcoholic and not, were scattered about the room. Girls sat in all different corners, talking about boys, doing hair and makeup, or playing some kind of game.

“She just wanted to talk to me about my classes this term,” Hermione said, suppressing a huge smile.

“Aren’t you taking a ton of new courses?” Parvati Patil asked as Lavender Brown braided her hair. “Like, way more courses than you should be?”

“I wouldn’t say that I’m taking more than I should be! I’m just challenging myself,” Hermione said, “and I would suggest that you two try it as well sometime.”

Lavender Brown rolled her eyes and decided to change the subject. “So Ella, what’s the deal with you and George Weasley?”

“Wait, hang on, I need to focus,” Ella said seriously as she was preparing to toss a Fizzing Whizbee into Alicia Spinnet’s mouth from across the room. She threw it and it went directly into Alicia’s mouth. “YES!” Ella yelled in triumph and high-fived Katie. “Now what were you saying, Lav?”

“I asked you what’s up between you and George Weasley?”

Ella blushed and averted her blackly lined eyes. “What do you mean?”

“I mean are you two dating? You seemed really cozy together during dinner.”

“Did we?” Ella said, pulling out her Soundgarden vinyl and reading the back of it as an excuse to not look Lavender in the eyes. “I didn’t notice anything different from how we normally act.”

“That’s my point!” Lavender huffed. “You two have dodging around it for the past two years now! When are you going to start dating?”

Now it was Ella’s turn to roll her eyes. “First of all, two years ago I was twelve. Who would want to date a twelve-year-old? Secondly, there is no way in hell that George likes me that way. And I don’t like him!” Ella grabbed a bottle of Butterbeer a put it to her mouth so she could stop talking.

“Well, in Lavender’s defense,” Katie said, “George was really broken up when you were petrified. And the way you looked at each other on the train made the sexual tension in there so thick that I could probably cut it with a knife.”

Ella choked on her Butterbeer.

“Sexual tension?” Angelina said as if it was the most scandalous thing she had ever heard. With Jackson now gone, she had taken over the role of the protective older sibling. “For heaven’s sake, Katie! She’s only fourteen!”

Katie shrugged. “Hey, I’m just sayin’.”

“But as I was saying,” Lavender Brown said, securing the complex braid in Parvati’s hair with a ribbon, “if there’s nothing between you and George, or if he doesn’t make a move, there’s always plan B.”

“Plan B?” Ella said after she had quit sputtering on Butterbeer.

“Oh please!” Lavender said. “How unobservant are you? Did you not see Cedric Diggory staring at you staring at you tonight?”

Ella blushed even harder than she had when George was brought up. George liking her was one thing, but Cedric, a popular boy who Ella had never talked to, was another. “Cedric was staring. . .at me?”

“It’s true,” Alicia said. “I saw it too. He was staring at you, he even licked his lips.”

If Ella could choke on just air, she was sure that she would have. She had never experienced a boy liking her, at least not to her explicit knowledge. It made her nervous. “Do you think — do you think he likes me? Like, like likes me?”

Lavender shrugged and giggled. “Who knows. But in my opinion, I think you should go for it. You’ve given George enough time and if he doesn’t make a move now then he’s never going to.”

“Yeah,” Ella said, faking a smile, “maybe you’re right. Thanks, Lav.”

The girls divided into their own conversations and Ella and Katie were now laying on Ella’s bed, reading a Quidditch catalog. Hermione was sitting nearby with her nose in a book, and Parvati and Lavender had gotten tired and went back to the third-year girls’ dormitory. Alicia and Angelina sat down on Katie’s bed which was directly next to Ella’s. Angelina looked like she had something very important on her mind.

“Hey, you guys,” Angelina said hesitantly, “I have a question.”

“Shoot,” Ella said, looking away from the Quidditch catalog and rested her chin in her hands.

“Well, it’s not really a question, it’s more of a thought.”

“Okay, well what is it?” Katie asked and put the Quidditch catalog away.

“Wait,” Ella said, sitting up quickly, “if this is anything gross about my brother I do not wanna know.”

“No no no,” Angelin said, “It has nothing to do with Jackson actually. . .”

“Okay, Ang, if you don’t spit it out then I’m going to tell them,” Alicia said impatiently.

“Alright, fine!” Angelina said, taking a deep breath as if she was about to divulge an incredibly delicate secret. “I think Lee is gay.”

“WHAT?” Katie and Ella shouted at the same time. Hermione suddenly looked very interested in their conversation.

“Shh!” Angelina said, waving her hands frantically. “Keep it down, would you? And hear me out,” she said and got up to close the door. “Think about it, he’s been so over the top about asking me out almost every day for the past like five years. And when you told him he didn’t have to ask me out he was so relieved.”

“But that doesn’t mean he’s gay,” Hermione said reproachfully.

“There’s more.” Angelina continued, “I’ve known Lee for five years now and I’ve never once heard him talk about a girl beside me. I’ve never even seen him with a girl. And he’s never had a girlfriend, he’s never even kissed a girl as far as I know.”

“Oh. . .” Katie said, mulling the evidence over in her head.

“Y’know,” Ella said, “you may have a point, Ang. I never thought of that.” Ella looked as though she was thinking very hard. “Oh my god,” she said and ran her fingers through her now blonde hair, “Lee Jordan is gay.”

“Thank you,” Angelina said. “It’s good to know I’m not going crazy!”

“Hey!” Alicia said and shoved Angelina. “I believed you!”

“Yeah, but you are crazy, so. . .” Angelina said and laughed when Alicia tried to smother her with a pillow.

“Guys,” Ella said very importantly, “I want to Juni and Lee to date.”

“Juni?” Hermione said. “And how do you know Juni is gay?”

“Hermione, please,” Ella said, rolling her eyes. “I’m his best friend. I know every single thing about that boy.”

“Wait,” said Katie, “didn’t he say something about having a crush on someone?”

“Ugh, yes,” Ella said, rolling her eyes once again. “He swears that he likes Padma Patil but I can see right through him. I mean, I know he’s a prat, but have you seen the way that Juni looks at Cormac McLaggen?”

“McLaggen?” Alicia sneered. “I can’t stand that guy. He mentally undresses every girl that walks past him! It’s revolting. Juni can do so much better.”

“I agree,” Ella said and glanced down at her watch. “Shite! Look at the time, we should be getting to bed. Classes start tomorrow!”

“Ah, there’s the little bookworm that I know and love,” Angelina said fondly. “All that eyeliner doesn’t change a damn thing.”

“Oh, shut up,” Ella said while laughing as Alicia and Angelina left the room. “Goodnight, you guys!”

“Night!” they both called over their shoulders.

Ella noticed how hesitant Hermione seemed to leave and return to the other girls in her year. “Wait, ‘Mione,” Ella said and caught Hermione’s shoulder before she could leave. “Do you wanna stay here tonight? It doesn’t seem like the other girls will be coming back up here.”

There was a special glimmer in Hermione’s eyes. “I would love to, if Katie’s alright with that, of course.”

“No problem at all,” Katie said while climbing into bed. “I love having you around!”

So Katie, Ella, and Hermione spent that night together and all three of them could agree that it was one of the most fun nights that any of them had ever had while at Hogwarts.