#Just gotta suck it up and beat the paranoia back into the back of my mind where it belongs with a baseball bat | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

redorich · 4 years

Note

Eventually the Hermits get their hands on the one shulker box. They give it back a day later, filled with goodies as an apology for stealing, because they just needed it briefly so Doc could set up a shulker box duplicator.

(2/2) To expand on the shulker box ask I sent: It's cheating. They know it's cheating. They debate for a while over wether or not they should build it. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and dammit they need shulkers. Mules and Llamas can only get them so far.

---

(this takes place before the fic where puffy finds zedaph.)

---

The Hermits put up with mule highways and caravans of spitting llamas because they think they have no choice. At least one person complains about the lack of sophisticated storage transportation daily. Mumbo tries to create a system which will ferry items between bases, but it turns out to be more of a Rube Goldberg machine than anything, considering the items only travel at the speed of the water which carries them. Zedaph creates an actual Rube Goldberg machine for item transportation, but the only people who use it are himself and his neighbors, Impulse, False, and Tango. It’s more for prank transportation and snail mail anyway.

Things change when Stress, on a covert surface run, comes a bit too close to other humans on accident and catches sight of a blond man in a hoodie furtively checking his surroundings. Stress immediately does as she’s been trained, hiding herself behind tree cover and checking how long her invisibility potion will be in effect for. It says four minutes. As long as he leaves soon, she won’t have an issue.

The man surveys the muddy clearing with a keen eye, keeping watch for any evildoing interlopers. He places down an Ender chest, reaches his hands into it, then looks around once again to make sure no one’s there. Stress’s heart beats like a drum-- not the style of drums she usually plays, but rather the percussion of one of Xisuma’s favorite black metal bands. As the man’s gaze passes right over her, she feels the machine gun fire of her heart against her chest peak, breath catching in her throat.

He doesn’t see her. Quickly, he pulls something out of the Ender chest. A shulker box!

Stress’s breath stops for an entirely different reason. The things the Hermits could do with even one shulker box..! Item dupers are a thing, right? If anyone knows how to make an item duplication machine, it would be Doc. And a shulker box might be useful for an item duping machine!

She’s getting ahead of herself. Should she steal from this person? Can she steal from this person? Even disregarding the moral dilemma, the members of the Dream SMP are fighters through and through. She’s got the advantage of surprise because she’s invisible and this man doesn’t know she’s here, but how long will that last? Even if she manages to take it, what if the blond man (Punz, she thinks is his name) kills her and takes the shulker box back from her?

As Stress weighs the risks and the rewards, she knows she’s running out of time. Punz breaks the shulker box. Right as he’s about to put it back in his Ender chest, Stress, who can see the window of opportunity closing, springs into panicked action.

She sprints right past Punz, hoping with every fiber of her being that her invisibility potion will be enough to save her. Snatching the box right out of Punz’s hands, Stress takes off running. Punz shouts, swinging his sword wildly at the air. He’s so close that a few strands of hair, just barely the tips, get sheared off of Stress’s fluffy mane and become visible as they flutter to the ground.

Punz’s eyes narrow, tracking the potion particles that he can just barely see. Unfortunately for him, the invisible thief takes off into the mob-infested forest. He gives chase, but the thief gains on him every time he has to stop to fight a mob.

Stress knows she can’t outrun Punz. She’s not bad, but he’s really good. Stress absolutely cannot lead this man back to the canyon. Allowing the hostile mobs of the forest to buy her time by slowing Punz down, Stress looks around rapidly, searching for something, anything she can do to lose the hunter on her trail.

A lone cow catches her eye. Thinking fast, she bites her lip as she dumps her only water bucket out into a nearby pond where it won’t be noticed, then milks the cow. In the distance, a zombie groans as Punz takes it out. Stress hyperventilates, frantically digging at the ground beneath her feet with a silk touch shovel. Once she’s created a hole just barely big enough for her to hide in, she hops in and puts the grassy dirt she dug up just seconds ago above her head and immediately downs the milk, so that there won’t be any potion particles to track her by.

Slowly, carefully, and as quiet as she possibly can, she digs up the dirt beneath her feet in absolute darkness. Logically, Stress knows that Punz won’t be able to see the light from her torch, but she’s too terrified to think logically. What has she done?!

Her shovel stills as angry feet stomp above her. Dirt crumbles into her hair when Punz walks directly above her. Caustic mutters faintly reach her ears through the loamy earth, fading farther and farther away as Punz searches in vain for the invisible thief. Stress waits with bated breath for minutes on end, hands shaking like leaves in a hurricane.

Tentatively, she digs up the diorite block below her with a pickaxe. A mob shifts aboveground and Stress, paralyzed with the paranoia that it might be Punz, spends another five minutes in immobile silence. Burying her face in her hands, she sucks in a breath and continues digging. Once she hits a decently low y-level, she digs forward, taking care to place all her blocks behind her exactly as they were before she mined them.

After a solid three hundred blocks, she begins to staircase back up. On one unfortunate swing of her pick, water floods into her staircase. She must be under a lake or a sea. She can make out some kelp, though, so hopefully that’ll be enough cover for her to go up and check her surroundings.

Stress takes a deep breath and plunges into the cold water. Swimming up, she catches sight of wood-- no way. There is no way she’s made it to the docks just outside of the canyon. Eagerly, she swims back down into her staircase for a breath of air and the chance to down an invisibility potion, then back up to the surface.

On the entire journey from the bottom of the sea to the elevator on the other side of the canyon, she expects someone to catch her, to notice the water she’s dripping on the ground, to somehow sense the guilt emanating off her in waves. It doesn’t happen. Stress makes it to the elevator and pushes the down button eagerly. Every foot the elevator descends down is another thousand pounds of weight off her shoulders. She’s exhausted, and so close to home base. If she can just make it into the Atrium, she’ll have succeeded.

The elevator dings, rousing Stress from her daydreaming. “I really am dead on my feet, ain’t I?” she murmurs to herself.

She makes her way into one of the village houses, avoiding the pressure plates and tripwires which she knows like the back of her hand by now. In the house, she presses a button, which opens a door which leads to a tunnel. Sagging in relief, Stress practically melts across the floor as she traverses the short tunnel and finally makes it into Atrium 1-- a large circular room with a rounded ceiling and plenty of light.

“Woah, Stress!” Ren exclaims, running to support her. The dark circles under his eyes make him look as exhausted as she feels. He’s been working round the clock at the tree farm to churn out enough wood to meet the demands of twenty-four Hermits.

“Stress?” Ren asks with concern in his eyes, gently shaking Stress’s shoulders.

She laughs, high-pitched and wild. She’s done it. She’s really gone and done it!

“I got a shulker box,” she breathes.

Ren gasps. “What?! No way, they’re not even a thing on this server!”

“Yes they are,” Stress sing-songs, “because I have one.”

She tosses him the cyan shulker box with a look of pride on her face. Ren looks at the box in his hands, then back up at Stress with wide eyes.

“We gotta go show Xisuma, my dude.”

---

The Hermits convene in the small meeting room in the residential district, then realize that the room is in fact small and twenty-four Hermits aren’t going to fit in it. Xisuma’s having a good day, so he decides to hold the meeting in Atrium 1.

There are many different opinions on the acquisition of the shulker box, which sits innocently in the center of the room. Some people like Wels believe that even if it’s a great boon, it was stolen and therefore the Hermits don’t have the right to use it. Things were different when they first arrived in the canyon; they stole small things in order to survive. A shulker is nice to have, but the Hermits won’t die without it. On the other hand, there are people who side with Grian, who believes that since the Hermits already have the shulker box, they might as well use it.

Doc rumbles a deep hm, indicating that he’s debating with himself whether he should say something or not. Finally, it seems that the side of him which wants to tell his fellow Hermits wins out.

“Have you guys considered shulker box duping?” he says. Immediately, there is a clamor of outcries, both for and against, as well as just plain disbelieving.

Tango speaks up: absolutely not. It’s cheating. False tentatively rebuts, though, that sometimes cheating is acceptable when it's for a good cause. After all, part of her season 7 base was dug out using TNT dupers. Mumbo awkwardly raises his hand and waits for someone to acknowledge him, which Grian does.

“Er… what if we give it back after we’re done with it?” Mumbo says. Tango still looks unhappy, but the idea seems to appease Wels.

“Friends,” Xisuma says softly. Everyone quiets down immediately. “Should we have a civil vote, or shall I decide?”

Immediately, everyone gets shamed into behaving. “We can vote,” Bdubs says. “Everyone in favor of not cheating?”

“Wait, what are our options?” Grian asks.

“Er,” Scar speaks up. “Keeping the box but not duping it, giving the box back, duping it then giving it back, or duping it and not giving the original back. Is that right?”

Bdubs nods. “Yeah! So, all in favor of keeping the one original box?” A few hands go up, maybe five or six.

“Giving the box back?” More hands go up.

“Duplicating the box, then giving it back?” Nearly a dozen hands go up.

“Well then,” Bdubs says, “I guess I don’t have to finish the options; dupe-and-return wins.”

Doc strides into the center of the room and mines up the shulker box before anyone can change their mind; Tango grumbles good-naturedly at having lost the vote. Meanwhile, while everyone discusses the vote, Joe ferries Xisuma off to his quarters.

“So who’s going to give the shulker box back when we’re done with it, my dudes?” Ren asks the room at large.

“I will,” Stress says immediately. “I stole it; it’s only right that I give it back.”

---

Two days later, Punz wakes up to a noise in his house. He reaches for a knife under his pillow; just because there is no one to be seen doesn’t mean that no one’s there, as Punz is well aware given the theft of his shulker box, which he is still smarting over.

He gets out of bed, treading softly. Right there, in the doorway, is the same shulker box he lost! He looks around. This has to be a trap. No one is around… Punz might as well spring this trap.

He opens the box. Nothing is missing. In fact, there are more items inside than there were when it was stolen from him! A totem of undying, four diamond blocks, two ingots of netherite, and a note which reads, Sorry I stole your box! I only needed to borrow it, but I felt bad so I left some extra goodies in. xoxo

“...Huh?” Punz says to himself. This is the weirdest prank ever.

He puts the box back into his Ender chest and resolves to think about it in the morning.

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not-me-simping-for-blasty · 4 years

Text

I Melt With You - Bakugou Katsuki

All Parts:

Part 9:

As it turns out, being told there’s an imminent threat on your life, does not lend itself to a relaxing day at work. No, what it lends itself to, is a day of looking over your shoulder, of flipping the lights on in every room- of creeping quietly around furniture, trying to get the jump on whoever is hiding behind it.

Except, there’s never anyone behind it. There’s never anyone behind anything, and all you have to show for it is a heart beating far too fast. All you have is a ribcage, strung together with dental floss, little bits of string pulled much too far and much too tight. What’s left is a person one surprise from a panic attack, and one loud noise away from a mental breakdown.

It’s the weirdest anxiety you’ve ever felt; a dripping, acrid, paranoia lining your bones with electricity and your muscles with shock. The strangest part of all though? The way you’re counting the minutes. Watching the seconds pass by with each moment, trying to be patient until you could see Bakugou of all people.

You’re not sure when you started to associate him with safety, but it’s almost a lost cause at this point. His attitude was pretty much irrelevant to the issue, and even if he wasn’t very soft or reassuring, you know he’d rather die than let you get taken. His ego just wouldn’t allow it, and for some odd reason, you think that’s the most comforting part of all.

You walk out the backdoor, dragging your feet and hardly even jumping in surprise when you see him. Bakugou is leaning against the back wall of the alley, disinterest coloring his face. He’s in his hero gear, but thankfully he’s got his mask in his hands- being unable to fully see his eyes made him much harder to read.

“No bruises, scrapes? Blood?” You ask, looking him up and down twice over. You can’t help yourself as you near, eyes squinting as you study him closely. “No injuries, right?”

“No- ‘m fuckin’ fine. Stop fussing, woman.”

You see the red on his cheeks, just barely for a second, before he’s quickly sliding the mask onto his face. So much for seeing his eyes, then- apparently he wanted to keep you guessing all night. Not that you wouldn’t have been anyway.

"I'm not- actually, yeah, sorry. Maybe I was fussing a little bit." You laugh under you breath, taking a step back. "It's not my fault though, alright? Usually I only see you when you’re exhausted or bleeding out."

"Yeah, because bein' around ya is fuckin' torture, leech. Why the hell would I see you if I didn't have to?"

You turn, balking at him. Under the glow of the streetlamp, something sly and mischievous lines his smile. You watch him glow for a moment, yellow streetlamp luminescence casting his pale skin in shades of glimmering gold. He’s almost unrecognizable like that, unable to help himself when he shakes his head.

“I told you, leech.” He laughs. “You’re too easy.”

“No- you’re an asshole. You know that? You have to know that, don’t you?”

“I know.”

“And, what, you’re proud of that?”

He just shrugs, kicking off the wall and brushing past you. His shoulder knocks into yours, and you feel a little unsteady at the impact. Bakugou laughs. Then he picks up speed, walking briskly towards the end of the alley, looking behind him to make sure that you’re following.

“That’s not an answer, you know.” You say, rolling your eyes. “Not even a little bit of an answer.”

“Who the fuck said I gotta answer all your questions, hah?” He replies, petulance coloring his words. He turns back to look at you, snapping his fingers to urge you on. “Now c’mon. Faster. Pick up the goddamn pace.”

“Jeez, you’re pushy tonight.”

Bakugou doesn’t answer you, just leading you out of the alley, and into the street. He slows suddenly, falling behind you with watchful eyes scanning every shadow. There’s no one out that night, there almost never is at that time, but Bakugou still seems keen on keeping up his vigilance. Turning back to look at him, you’re almost shocked by the concentration on his face.

It’s a look you’re not especially used to seeing on him. You’d never realized how much time he spent just messing with you, but the foreignness of his expression made that apparent. In that moment, all you can wonder is why villians even bothered in the first place- it was obvious they weren’t going to get away with anything under his watch. Not at least if Bakugou’s fists had something to say about it.

“You look pretty guard-dog-like back there.” You comment with a coy smile. “Super scary.”

“Shut up.”

“Mhm, that’s what you always say isn’t it.”

“Fuck’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, nothing.” You say lightly, spinning to look at him for a moment. He’s confused, head tilted slightly to the side. He looks like a dog all over again and you have to hold back a giggle. “Just means you’re short with me all the time. Well- when you’re not being mean that is.”

“You pickin’ a fight?”

“No. No. I’m not.” You laugh. “I almost never am, or at least not intentionally. You always think so though.”

Bakugou speeds up then, his strides matching yours. He’s close then, way closer to you than he’d usually walk. You’re not particularly curious about it, but you’re sure that if you reached out, just barely extended your fingers, you’d brush right up against those giant gauntlets of his. And probably get those same fingers blasted right off- but that’s neither here nor there.

“You look tired.” He gruffs, changing the subject suddenly. He’s looking away, eyes trained down every dark alley you pass. “You somehow sleep worse than me or somethin’?”

“No. Just lots of people coming in and out today. Lots of patients to see.”

“Mhm.” He nods. “Any weird injuries?”

“No? Why?”

He just looks at you then, eyes squinting slightly.

“Oh. Those villians you can’t tell me about. I get it.” You say, and Bakugou nods. “But no. Not that I saw- sorry. Strange influx of elderly people, though. But that’s probably just a coincidence. Probably unrelated.”

“It is.”

“Huh? How would you know?”

“Just do.”

You roll your eyes, huffing. “You suck at explaining things, you know- just like, the worst conversationalist.”

He shrugs again, and at the movement you feel the edge of his gauntlets against your arm. The metal is cold, even through the thin material of your jacket, and you shiver.

“Damn, you really that fuckin’ scared of ‘em?” He scoffs, looking at you a little weirdly. “Chill the hell out, leech. ‘m not after you.”

“No- it’s not- I’m not scared of them. Well, I am, but not of you. Or them.” You rub at your arms, trying to avoid accidentally elbowing him as he walks next to you. “The metal was just cold. Didn’t expect it, is all.”

He nods, grunting something under his breath. Then he’s side-eyeing you. For way too long to be normal, even for ordinary person standards. Hardly another breath passes before he smirks, jostling his shoulders and pressing the gauntlet directly into your arm. It hits against your jacket, flooding ice through the material and into your skin.

“It’s cold!” You squeal in surprise, almost stumbling as you pull away. You take another step to the side, just to increase the distance between you and him- just to be safe. “I literally just said that! You’re a dick.”

Bakugou just smothers his laugh in his shoulder.

“No! Don’t laugh- what you think this is funny? Huh?”

“Yeah.” He chuckles, trying to get you with the gauntlets once more. You flinch away, which just makes him laugh more. “I do actually.”

“It’s not! It’s cold out, you asshole! Don’t make it any worse!”

He just laughs at you, eyes crinkling around the edges. Bakugou doesn’t laugh much, not around you at least, but now you’re sort of wishing he did. His eyes look a lot brighter when he laughs. Happier.

“Okay, okay, chill out already.” He smirks, shushing you like a child. “Won’t happen again.”

“You sound like you’re lying.”

“Nah. ‘m not.”

“I don’t trust you.” You counter, eyeing him with suspicion. “Not at all.”

He just shrugs, like your answer doesn’t surprise him, nor does it make any sort of difference. You suppose that’s about right. Bakugou pretty much only cared about pushing your buttons- making you feel comfortable wasn’t even a thought in his mind.

“You’re such a baby.” He comments, eyes scanning down another dark alley. “Seriously. ‘s not even that fuckin’ cold outside.”

“Says you.”

“I’m right.”

“You’re not.”

“I am.”

“You’re absolutely not.” Drawing your jacket tighter, you fight the shiver that threatens to crawl up your spine. “You know, for a guy who gets so mad about me “picking fights” all the time, you sure do like to argue a lot. You sure you’re not actually the one picking fights?”

“I don’t gotta pick ‘em, I just finish them.”

There’s no way- there’s no way in hell a fully grown hero, a pro hero just opened his mouth and said that to you. It’s inconcievable, or, it should be, but then you look at Bakugou and the absolute sincerity of his expression.

“You’re a barbarian.” You can’t help but laugh, pinching the bridge of your nose with faux annoyance. “Seriously. I just gagged on all the testosterone in that sentence.”

“So? ‘s not my fuckin’ problem.”

“It is. It definitely is.” You tell him, hardly restraining your urge to knock him right off the curb.

From where he is, walking on the outside of the sidewalk and closest to the road, all it would take is a little nudge- he’s walking so very close to the edge. But knowing him, Bakugou would probably take you with him. So you refrain, changing the subject instead.

“So, you see any bad guys yet?”

“Bad guys?” He snorts, eyeing you like you’re stupid. “No. I haven’t seen any villains, yet.”

“Good, just checking. I don’t actually know what I’d do if you did.”

“You don’t do shit. You stay the hell out of it.”

“Okay, but what if you-”

“No. You run the other direction and go fuckin’ hide. That’s what you do.” He orders, seriousness lining his features. “Don’t go tryin’ anything. You’ll only get in the way, leech.”

A part of you bristles all over at that- at his insistence that you’d be nothing but useless weight in a fight. It makes you uncomfortable because as it stands, he’s right. You’d never be able to hold your own, much less defeat anyone.

You felt weak. Vulnerable.

“Don’t be a goddamn baby. I can see you panicking.” He says, kicking at a rock on the sidewalk. “I told you- ‘m not plannin’ to let any of those fuckers get you. ‘s a hypothetical, so don’t go cryin’ over shit that hasn’t even happened yet.”

“It’s not that.”

“Fuck is it then?”

“It’s just- I was thinking, you know, about what I’d do in a fight.” You start, rubbing at your elbow mindlessly. “And you’re right. I’d be entirely useless. I can’t hurt anybody. I don’t think I ever would, even if I had the skills to.”

You hardly see it from the corner of your vision, but Bakugou scrunches his nose. Your words must’ve upset him because then he’s huffing like a bull, curling his fingers closed into a fist.

“Don’t say it like it’s a fuckin’ bad thing. Don’t be an idiot.” He mutters lowly, voice pinched and tight. There’s a flush on his cheeks, just barely visible in the dark. “People getting fuckin’ hurt is never a good thing.”

“No, it’s not. I guess you’re right. But, still, I guess what I’m saying is I wish I was a little less soft, you know? Stronger.”

He cuts his eyes toward you, something guarded lining them. You can hardly tell, and you wish he’d take his mask off, but Bakugou almost looks..... offended?

“Bein’ soft doesn’t mean you’re fuckin’ weak.”

“You’ve literally called me weak before!”

“Yeah- when you were playin’ all fuckin’ nice when you didn’t mean it.” He flares his nostrils. “That’s weak.”

“Oh, so you’re saying- actually, no, I have no idea what point you’re trying to get at right now.”

“Jesus, you’re stupid.” He mutters on his breath. “I’m saying, don’t do shit just because you think you have to. That’s stupid. That’s weak.”

“So you’re saying I shouldn’t fight anybody?”

“Do you want to fight anybody?”

“Well, no, but-”

“Then why the hell are we even fuckin’ talking about this?” He asks, simple and plain like it never even mattered to him in the first place. “If you don’t want to fight then don’t fight. It’s that fuckin’ easy.”

“Yeah, but-”

“No buts.” He says, finality lacing his tone. “Besides, it’s not gonna fuckin’ matter anyway. I’ll skin ‘em before they even get anywhere near you.”

Bakugou seems to realize his words- and the weight behind them at the same time you do. Where you’re blushing and looking away, he’s straightening in place next to you. His spine goes ramrod, feet stuttering like the pavement is shooting electric shocks through his heels.

“That’s- I think that’s the only sort of nice thing you’ve ever said to me.” You utter out, entirely shocked. Then you’re slapping a hand against your mouth, breathing a gasp out between the gaps in your fingers. “That’s- that’s the only nice thing I get? A threat against somebody else? That’s ridiculous!”

You can’t help the giggle that tumbles out of your mouth then, something small and tiny quickly growing louder. It makes you feel light- weightless on the street, like the pavement below you is bolstering you higher with each step. When you look over, Bakugou’s not laughing, but he’s smiling, something pinched and shy as he looks back at you. A he stares at you, blinking slowly, tipping his head to the side like he doesn’t understand.

“It’s- I’m sorry.” You laugh, biting down on your lip. “It’s just so funny! You being nice isn’t even you being nice- it’s just you being mean to somebody else for once!”

“If this is what you’re like when I’m fuckin’ nice, then I’ll never be nice to you again.”

“Don’t grumble.” You smile, trying to cover your smile with an errant palm. “Even if I’m laughing, I’m not necassarily laughing at you, you know? I guess what I”m saying is that it helps with the panic- to know that somebody capable is looking out for me, you know?”

“Yeah, I bet.”

His tone leaves something sour, sarcasm and cynicism left behind on his breath. You look over at him, but his eyes are trained forward, shooting between every dark crevice and shadow. He’s relentless, shoulders constantly drawn forward, stalking and prowling like he’s just waiting for somebody to challenge him.

It makes you wonder who’s looking out for him. If anybody even is- or, more specifically, if he is letting anyone.

“Hey, Bakugou?” You ask suddenly.

“What?”

“I appreciate it, you know. This. You walking me home.” You find yourself unable to hold his intense gaze any longer. Eyes trained at the ground, you continue. “I know you didn’t have to, and even if it’s not for me, it still makes me feel a lot better. Less scared. So thank you.”

He doesn’t say anything, doesn’t really even react other than straightening a little beside you. It makes you want to take the words back, to fluster, make excuses maybe- but you don’t. You steel yourself and you don’t apologize because you meant it. Meant every word.

“Jesus, you really are soft, huh.” He mutters quietly, voice hardly carrying through the cold air. “Really fuckin’ soft.”

“Yeah. I am.”

He doesn’t say anything else, but he does walk a little closer. From where he is, right up next to you, Bakugou looks a lot different. It might just be the low light, but you could’ve sworn he was all soft angles then; all smooth skin covering a gently sloping nose, delicate lips curled up into the smallest of smiles. You think he’s beautiful then- like somehow, all of his blistering strength had gone molten instead of igniting.

There’s not much left to say, and you’re out of jokes, so the rest of your walk is spent in silence. It’s a weird kind of quiet, something that sits heavy in your chest, warm and fluid- almost like it’s lulling you to sleep. There’s still a little anxiety rolling in your stomach, but that’s softened now too. You’re sure Bakugou would laugh at you if you told him, but he really did make you feel safe. If only in an belligerent and begrudging sort of way on his end.

Another few minutes pass and you’re at the entrance to your apartment building. He hovers close behind you as you swipe your keycard, eyes watching the same way they’d done all night. He really is diligent when he wants to be apparently.

“Are you coming in?” You ask, lingering in the door way.

“Nah. I’m on patrol for a few more hours.”

“Oh- yeah, okay, that makes sense.”

“You scared or somethin’?” He asks, squinting at you. “Go inside already.”

You curl your fingers a little tighter around the handle, shifting your weight onto your other foot. It frustrates you a little- how he seems to see right through you when you can hardly ever tell what he’s thinking.

“No- well, yes, but I get it, you’ve got other priorities.” You say, gently. “Go, I’ll be fine. Don’t let my weird paranoia hold you up or anything.”

He just nods, adjusting the mask on his face as he turns away. Bakugou only makes it a few steps, just barely secluded into the shadows beyond the complex lights, before he’s turning around. Hand itching at the back of his neck, he plants his feet, regarding you with familiar red eyes.

“It’s not weird.” He says. “I’ll be back later. Don’t do anything fuckin’ stupid while I’m gone.”

Then he’s turning around before you can say anything, his dark costume melting into the shadows. The air somehow feels colder when he leaves, empty almost, and you rush into your apartment complex as a result.

When you’re finally unlocking your door, and quickly relocking it behind you, the exhaustion nearly bulldozes you. You’d been so careful that day, not using your quirk just like Bakugou had advised, but in the end you figured it didn’t really matter- you were scared, absolutely terrified about some villian it didn’t seem like you could even prepare for. That would make anyone tired, weird quirk or not.

Collapsing on your couch with a sigh, you can’t help yourself as sleep quickly takes over.

--/--

You’re jolted awake by the sound of knocking, and, even in your sleep-drunk haze, you know who it is. You’d never known anyone else in your entire life who knocked as loudly as he did. It was like miniature bombs were going off against the glass.

Bakugou is standing outside in normal clothes, thankfully shucked of both his hero costume and mask. He’s clad in sweatpants and a t-shirt, tapping his foot impatiently as you approach the door. You wonder how he’s not cold, how in the world he’s not freezing his ass off out there. You’d ask, but the exhaustion is still creeping in, piloting your body with hardly a quarter of as much energy as you would normally have.

“You look tired.” He says, taking in your appearance when you slide open the door. He lets himself in, brushing past you when you apparently take too long. “You fall asleep or somethin’?”

“Yeah- yeah, I did, sorry.” You yawn, rubbing away the sleep in your eyes. “Couldn’t help it. Was tired.”

“Oh.”

Bakugou seems a little stilted, hardly even looking at you, and when he does, it’s with a flush on his face. You just shrug his weird behavior off, not having the energy to ask nor the care to even remotely get to the bottom of it. As it was- you were dead tired. His weird mood wasn’t going to trump that apparently.

“You all good?” You yawn again into your hand, then stretch your arms high above your head. “No injuries or anything?”

“Nope.”

“Oh. Okay. That’s good. That’s good.” You trail off, turning away from him to gather your purse and coat off of the couch. “How was it?”

“I didn’t find them yet. If that’s what you’re asking.”

“No- well, that’s sorta- but not really.” You’re fluffing the pillows for him before you realize, gathering a blanket from where it was tucked away too. “I meant- like, everything go alright? Just general checking up stuff.”

“Why- you decide to care now or somethin’?”

“Don’t be difficult. I care. Wouldn’t- wouldn’t ask if I didn’t care to know the answer.”

“Fine.” He grumbles, cheeks going pink once more. “It was boring. Nobody was out tryin’ to pull anything.”

“Well, that’s nice to hear, actually.”

You continue making up his pseduo bed, spreading the blanket over your cushions and folding it back neatly. It’s almost subconscious, the way your hands move even through your sleep-fog. Bakugou just watches, looking at you a little strangely. His red eyes flicker from you, to the pseduo-bed you’d made up for him, and then back again several times over.

On the couch, there’s the normal blanket, but this time you’d also sacrificed one of your real pillows too. You figured that if he was going to go through the hassle of making sure you were safe, then the least you could do was spare him a good pillow. Still, the gesture seemed to stump him, and Bakugou just stared blankly at it. Then his eyes flicker back to you, something unsure in them.

You’re not used to seeing him like that. Apprehensive. Almost timid.

“Hope it’s alright.” You tell him, passing him to flick off the bright overhead light. “Thought it was about time for an upgrade. Take it as a show of my appreciation.”

“Whatever.” He flusters a bit, but shakes it off quickly. “Glad you finally realized how shitty your throw pillows are.”

“Mhm. Sure.”

“You really that tired?”

“Yeah. Sorry. ‘s pretty hard for me to function after I’ve just woken up. ‘s really embarrassing.”

“No, it’s-”

Bakugou seems to suddenly seize in place half way through his words, spinning the other direction like someone was puppetting his strings. You really start to wonder what had gotten into him in the few hours since you’d seen him last.

“Well, if that’s all,” You say, hiding another large yawn behind your gloves. Then you’re pulling at the material, freeing one of your hands. “Then I’d really like to go back to sleep. So, c’mon, hand out already, yeah?”

He nods tightly, his whole face red. He won’t look at you, eyes hardly flickering up to yours for a second before he forces them back down. Another loud yawn escapes you, and that only seems to worsen whatever problem he’s having, because then Bakugou is dragging a hand down his face- stretching and pulling and tugging at heated skin like he’s in physical pain. Still, he holds his hand out anyways, refusing to meet your eyes.

That same subtle warmth floods you again, solid and sure where his hand meets yours. It’s muted now, a little softer, but still there. You’re half asleep, barely functioning, and you absentmindedly rub the back of his hand with you thumb, once, twice, and then pat when you let go.

He just looks at you, absolutely bewildered, and honestly- you’re not sure you have an explanation. There is no explanation. All there is, is your bone-deep exhaustion and the apparently uncharacteristic things it makes you do. Like shushing him when he starts to speak, which only seems to stun him more. Then you’re waving him off, beginning to walk towards your bedroom without hardly letting him get a reaction in edgewise. You’d apologize, but honestly, you’re sure you’d fall asleep half-way through the words.

“Goodnight.” You say absentmindedly, head lolling over your shoulder to look back at him. “Have a good sleep or whatever. See you tomorrow.”

Then you’re stumbling down the hall, just barely remembering to flick off the overhead lights. You hit the bed, flopping down boneless and sated.

You’re sure it must take all over 10 seconds until you’re out again. Maybe even less than that.

hope u enjoy lovelies :)))

taglist: @fluffyviciousbunny @definitelynottrin @imsuperawkward @i-need-air @ahbeautifulexistence @brennabooz @jazzylove @flattykawadoorusmilkbread @katsuki-bakubabe @sorrythatspussynal @bakugouswh0r3 @cloudsgathering @un-limit-edd @thekatsukisimp @pollayra21 @the2ndl @officialtrashbusiness @waffleareniceandfluffy @monempathieetmoi @koiwoshinai @christianagrace9 @the2ndl @the-shota-king-masayuki @shy-panda02 @devastyle @shoto-supremacy00 @shotoful

#bakugou #bakugou katsuki #katsuki bakugou #bakugou x reader #bakugou x y/n #bakugou x self insert #bakugou fic #bakugou series #mha bakugou #bnha bakugou #mha fic #bnha fic #bakugou fluff #bakugou imagine

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kasienda · 3 years

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Right Behind You - Chapter 1: Scandal

An Adrino Story - Friends to lovers Maybe the person you need is not the one you’ve had your eye on, but the one who’s been right behind you supporting you the whole time. Chapter 1: Scandal Nino was awake.

Which was a crime.

His gig the previous evening hadn’t ended until well past four in the morning, and glancing at the glowing clock next to his bed it wasn’t even eight yet. He had managed maybe two hours of sleep.

And he could feel it everywhere in his body. The light peeking through the edges of his blackout curtains felt like an assault on his dry and irritated eyes. His left knee ached from a week-old injury caused by a bad landing during one of Carapace’s patrols. Even his thoughts felt like they were smothered in a thick cold fog.

He hated when the all night events hit on back to back days, but he needed the double pay at least a few times a month to afford his downtown Parisian apartment and without fail the requests for such events tended to land on the same weekend. No doubt, it would be worth it in a few hours. Once he had a cup or three of coffee.

Or another five hours of sleep.

But his phone clearly had other plans as the blasted digital brick wouldn’t stop buzzing every few minutes.

Nino left it in the other room every night to avoid this exact scenario, but he must have left it on some plastic container because the vibration was loud. And whoever this was, they were very insistent.

He sat up with a groan, very aware of the dull ache that stretched from one temple to the other. He let his head hang lifelessly to his chest.

The phone went off again. He glared through the open doorway.

“I’ll make coffee.”

Nino tried to smile at the tiny green floating kwami, but it came out more like a grimace. “Thanks, Wayzz. You’re the best.”

He gave himself five minutes of just sitting with his blankets still wrapped luxuriously around him protecting against the chill of the morning. The phone had mockingly gone silent after almost ten minutes of near constant buzzing. He contemplated letting his head fall back to the pillows. But it was probably too late. Despite his fatigue, Nino was rarely able to go back to sleep.

He reached blindly to the small table beside his bed for his glasses, and then stumbled through his small apartment to the kitchen. Wayzz was already pouring black coffee into a cup.

Nino smiled at the ridiculous sight of the floating green creature handling an object twice its own size. It didn’t even look strange to him anymore. Really, Nino was unsure how he had ever gotten by without the constant support of the ancient kwami.

He stepped forward to accept custody of the steaming beverage. He added a spoon of sugar and creamer. Before he could take his first sip, the blasted phone went off again.

Alya’s gleaming smile lit up his screen. He frowned at the device and immediately answered, even as he continued mixing his coffee.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“How do you do that?” her synthetic voice demanded from the other end of the line.

“Al, except for my birthday, you haven’t called me in two years,” he stated flatly. Why was she even asking? They texted quite often, and whenever she was back in Paris they usually would have lunch or hang out with their mutual friends. But ever since their break up, she had not called.

Well, except for his birthday.

“And today is not my birthday. And it’s barely morning! You know that I’m never up before ten at the earliest and twelve is really a better bet. And you’ve been blowing up my phone clearly trying to get my ass out of bed. So I ask again, what is wrong?” he said slowly, emphasizing each word before he licked the spoon he was using to mix his coffee.

“Have you talked to Adrien lately?”

His stomach dropped. This must be really bad news. Alya didn’t usually beat around the bush. She was more like a bulldozer that went straight through things. And if this was about Adrien… “Like three days ago. Why?”

His phone buzzed against his cheek immediately. He pulled it away to see the headline she sent him.

Supermodel, Adrien Agreste, batting for the other team?

Keep Reading on Ao3

He already hated it, but that didn’t stop him from tapping on the link. Nino sucked in air at the sight of the picture. Nino has seen a lot of professional shots of Adrien over the years. This picture was gorgeous. Or, it would have been in absolutely any other context.

The picture captured three quarters of Adrien’s face, but only a bit of his partner. His hair caught the light and gleamed gold, not quite as perfectly in place as it would have been in the morning. Like he had run his hands through it just a few times. His normally peach cheeks were dusted with pink and his eyes were closed. He was pulling away from a kiss with a fair-skinned man wearing glasses. But Nino’s eyes focused on his friend’s mouth. Adrien’s lips were upturned in the slightest little smile - the dopey one he had whenever he was talking about the mystery girl he loved.

And that was the only difference between all the professional shots Nino had seen over the years and the front page tabloid. In this picture, Adrien looked… happy. Genuinely so.

And now, that beautiful private moment was now plastered all over every gossip rag from one side of France to the other.

Likely without Adrien’s permission.

How unfair that one little moment of indiscretion outed him to all of Paris.

Nino’s gut twisted painfully.

All of Paris included Gabriel. Adrien had never told his father about being bi, and it was no wonder as the uptight bastard was an ice statue of propriety with absolutely no feelings.

“It wasn’t at an event, Nino,” Alya explained. “It’s around the corner from that pub we used to frequent after lycee, almost in an alley outside a club. But the photo’s too good for some random person to have just seen him walking by at this time of day. The lighting should have been terrible and the photo grainy.”

“So?”

“The photographer knew Adrien was going to be there and that there'd be something worth taking a picture of.”

“Shit,” he cursed, his free hand gripping his own shoulder. “I gotta go.”

“Yeah, I figured.”

“Thanks, Al, for calling. He never would.”

“I know. I might be terrible at keeping in touch, but maybe we could schedule a catch up?”

In spite of the circumstances, he found himself smiling. “I would like that. When are you back in Paris?”

“I’m here now actually. When else do I read trashy gossip rags?”

He laughed. “Fair. How long are you in town for?”

“Just the long weekend, but I wasn’t going to tell anyone because I didn’t have a whole lot of time and I’m going to be back for like six months in just a few weeks. Then, I read this, and well…”

“Yeah, thanks for the head’s up.”

“Sorry for waking you up so early.”

“You already know this was worth it to me. Thank you.”

“Of course, Nino. Anytime. Now, go track down a certain unfairly attractive supermodel, and make sure he’s okay. I’ll start researching who this bastard is and see if I can ruin his day.”

Nino laughed. Alya was protective of her friends, and positively vindictive. It was a scary combination. But Nino had always loved that about her.

“Nino?”

“Yeah?”

“Tell him I love him, too. He’s not alone.”

He smiled again. “I’ll tell him. Thanks again, Al,” and then he ended the call.

He drained his coffee though it was still too hot. Because he definitely didn’t have time to nurse it, and he definitely was going to need the caffeine rush today. He then immediately called Adrien.

His friend didn’t answer, so Nino called again because there was no way in hell Adrien wasn’t doom scrolling through feeds obsessing over this story.

And again.

On the fifth try Adrien finally answered.

“Did it ever occur to you that when someone doesn’t answer it might mean they don’t want to talk?”

Nino shook his head, put the call on speaker, and thudded back to his bedroom to find clothes he could wear in public. “Never in your case, dude! Where are you? I’m coming over.”

“You don’t have to,” Adrien objected. “What are you even doing up? Didn’t you have an event last night? I was counting on you sleeping until noon!”

“It went late. I never went to sleep,” Nino lied. He didn’t want to mention Alya’s call or plan for revenge yet, or admit to a monster headache. If he did, Adrien wouldn’t let him come over.

“You don’t have to come listen to my sob story,” Adrien insisted. “Get some sleep. This isn’t important. It was my own fault. I was stupid.”

Nino rolled his eyes. “Shut up. Where are you?” He pulled a white t-shirt over his head, and placed the phone back to his ear.

Adrien remained silent on the other end.

“Dude, if you don’t tell me where you are, I’ll call Chloé and Kagami for back up in tracking you down.”

There was a sigh over the phone. “I’m at the hotel.”

“Room number?”

“427.”

“Be there in fifteen,” Nino promised. He jumped into a pair of khakis, kissed the brim of his red hat before slipping it over his head, and went straight out the door.

“Fifteen minutes is cutting it a little close, young master,” Wayzz chided from his left shoulder.

Nino had long stopped trying to get Wayzz to drop the title. The creature was as stubborn as he was old.

“Not if we take the superhero express.”

Wayzz’s disapproving frown did nothing to dissuade Nino from his plans.

Adrien needed him.

…

The door whipped open barely a second after Nino’s knuckles had knocked. For a second, neither of them spoke. Nino studied Adrien’s face carefully for signs of upset. His friend’s eyes were bloodshot as if he’d been up all night, but they weren’t puffy, so he probably at least hadn’t been crying. And his lips were curled into a relieved smile.

Nino returned the expression before pulling Adrien into a hug.

“How did you get here so fast?” Adrien mumbled into Nino’s shoulder.

Nino pulled away, and followed Adrien into the small hotel room. “Trade secret,” he deflected, hoping the humor had Adrien rolling his eyes instead of insisting on an explanation.

Maybe Wayzz’s paranoia was somewhat justified. Not that Nino had any regrets. Adrien didn’t push, and instead immediately fell backwards on the pristinely made bed. His friend clearly hadn’t even attempted to get any sleep last night. His green eyes stared blankly at the ceiling.

Nino flopped on the bed next to him, lying perpendicular with their heads side by side.

“So why the hotel?”

Adrien snorted. “The studio has paparazzi.”

“You could’ve crashed my place.”

“But you weren’t there.”

Nino’s head rolled towards his best friend. “So? You have a key.”

Adrien’s gaze remained glued to the ceiling. ”Maybe I’m just embarrassed and didn’t want to explain anything.”

“You don’t have to explain anything,” Nino said. “If you don’t want to talk, fine. But I’m here. And if you do want to talk, I’m here for that, too.”

And then Nino just waited, listening to Adrien’s uneven breathing. He suspected Adrien did want to talk. But it remained silent longer than Nino would have expected under the circumstances. And Nino was blissfully comfortable next to Adrien’s warmth and familiar presence and Nino’s caffeine boost was fading fast. He quickly found himself nodding off.

“Promise you won’t judge?”

Nino started awake.

“Nino?” Adrien rolled onto his side toward Nino.

“Yeah?” Nino responded, trying to disguise the crack in his voice.

“You fell asleep, didn’t you?” Adrien observed dryly.

“No!” Nino denied for all he was worth.

Adrien sighed, returning to his back. “I told you that you didn’t have to come.”

Nino shook his head. “Come on! Admit it. You wanted me to be here.”

Adrien sat up on the bed. Nino met his green-eyed gaze easily. “Yeah…” Adrien admitted. “I did.”

Nino gave a slight nod. “So, I’m here.”

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. “I just… I hate being high maintenance.”

“You’re not high maintenance,” Nino said gently for what had to be the millionth time over the last ten years. “Your asshole father just has you brainwashed into believing you have to handle it all yourself. But you don’t. And today, you’re having a bad day, so I’m here.”

“A horrible day!” Adrien agreed. “And it’s only just started.”

Nino sat up, spun his legs to be at Adrien’s side, and then shoulder bumped his friend. “So, let me make the rest of it better.”

Adrien grinned. “Thank you. Thank you for being here.”

“You don’t have to thank me for that, mec.”

“I know, but I want to.”

Nino scooted closer. “So, do you want to talk about what happened? Or do you want to be distracted?”

“How about I tell you what happened, and then you can distract me?”

“Sounds good, mec.”

“I met him at the university library,” Adrien began, his gaze on the far wall, and not on Nino. But Nino gave him his full attention anyway. “I was doing research for my thesis. And when he saw me fumbling with a stack of textbooks he just offered to help me put my reference books away. And he started talking about physics and when we were done, we just kept talking. We ended up downstairs in the student union just having coffee. It didn’t seem like he recognized me.” Adrien tugged at his blond locks. “I’m such an idiot! Of course, he recognized me. How can anyone not recognize me? My face is on every other billboard!”

“It makes me feel like you’re always with me,” Nino joked.

Adrien responded with a flick from his middle finger to the brim of Nino’s hat, sending the red keepsake snapping off his head.

“Hey!” Nino objected. “Anything but the hat.”

“Right. Sorry.”

“It’s fine, mec,” Nino soothed. If there was one person Nino actually trusted with his older brother’s hat, it was Adrien. “So, what happened over coffee?”

“Nothing really. Like I said, we just talked. It was nice. Or… I thought it was. We almost split there, but then he whirled back around and asked me out. He seemed genuinely interested, and I had really enjoyed talking to him, I thought maybe it was worth a shot! Especially after…” he trailed off. And yeah, Nino knew Adrien was still pining after this mystery girl he worked with after years of her saying no. “It just felt nice to be wanted.”

And god, if it wasn’t always the same story.

“We went to dinner at this little cafe. You know, even if he was acting the whole time, he really was a fantastic conversationalist. It was just so easy! And I thought… we had a connection? It was just one kiss. But apparently, the whole thing was a set up. I knew as soon as the flash went off. They had a screen for lighting and everything.”

He must have been good, Nino surmised. Adrien hadn’t been tricked by one of these looking for a moment of fame since they were seventeen.

“But I should have known better. Nathalie always says to never go out the same day they ask.”

“What?! You didn’t give Nathalie time to write a twenty page report on your potential suitor?” Nino asked mockingly.

Adrien barked a laugh. “Twenty? Try forty!” Then his mirth faded. “But I hate it, Nino. I hate being so suspicious and cynical.”

Nino clamped his hand onto Adrien’s shoulder and squeezed in what he hoped was a reassuring manner.

“And I hate it more when she’s right,” Adrien added in a whisper.

At those words, Nino pulled him into a hug. “I’m sorry, dude. Wish the world was filled with more genuine people and less opportunists.”

“Yeah…”

It was silent again, and Nino was at a loss for how to fill it. But he definitely didn’t want Adrien spiraling in his thoughts for too long.

“How’d your father take it?” It wasn’t the question Nino wanted to ask, but it was always best to get the Gabriel rant out of the way.

Adrien’s whole body went rigid in Nino’s arms. “I haven’t actually talked to him yet.”

Nino just hugged him harder. “How many times has Nathalie called?”

Adrien pulled away, and tossed him his phone. Nino unlocked it with practiced ease. Missed calls - three. Spaced exactly thirty minutes apart. Nino shook his head.

“That’s not that bad.”

“Bet she texts or calls you before she makes it to call number five,” Adrien countered.

Nino laughed. “You’re on. She’ll try you at least three more times. Anything in particular you want me to negotiate for?”

“I don’t want to talk to him today. Tomorrow is fine.”

Nino waved his hand dismissively. “That one’s obvious, dude. I was thinking more like your working conditions in general?”

“I would love it if we could move my fittings to early morning. Like super early. Five am? I’ve requested it before, but it costs extra to have a team there that early.”

Nino made a distasteful face. “I don’t know why you’d want to get up so blasted early.”

“I just want to get it over with so I have more time to study or hang out with my friends during the rest of the day. Is my company not worth a dawn wake up in your world?”

“This is my dawn! And here I am!”

Adrien’s grin faded. “Yeah. Sorry.”

“None of that!” Nino waved his arms dramatically. “We already established that when you need me, I am here!”

Adrien’s lips curled up into a soft smile. “Thank you.”

“So, are you okay?” Nino finally asked the question he had been wanting to ask since he arrived. Adrien had just been outed publicly.

Adrien shrugged. “Just embarrassed… mostly. You know I am comfortable with my sexuality. I was really only keeping it under wraps for father and the company.”

“Are you really okay?”

Adrien chuckled darkly. “How do you do that?”

Nino shrugged, his body going limp. “It’s my superpower, clearly. So you’re not okay, I take it?”

Adrien sighed. “I don’t know. I guess I was ready to be out with my friends, and the important people already know, but being outed publicly is terrifying. I feel so exposed. Like more than normal.

“And apparently, I do care what people think. But I hate that I care!” Adrien bit out, the bitterness and self-reproach clear in his tone. “I thought I didn’t, but I definitely do,” he added, his voice softer. “I wish I was brave enough not to.”

“Dude!” Nino objected. “You’re being too hard on yourself. It’s normal to not want to be judged. I know I wouldn’t want to be. Not when it wasn’t by choice.” Nino was out only with his closest friends. He had never talked to his parents. They weren’t exactly traditional, but they grew up in a country where homosexuality was met with prison time. Nino didn’t think they would disown him or anything, but he didn’t expect them to be thrilled. And he didn’t want to risk it. Not unless it was necessary.

Noël didn’t know either. Nino didn’t think his little brother would care, but Nino wasn’t confident Noël would remain discreet either.

“Know that I’m with you every step of the way,” Nino promised.

“Thanks, dude.” Adrien didn’t say anything more, but his blond eyebrows scrunched together so he was clearly thinking about something. “I definitely fantasized about my public coming out at some charity or something. Some event that could help the LGBTQ cause and community. And now it just feels so… tawdry. Like it’s just another sex scandal. And I feel like that possibility was stolen from me.”

Nino was quiet. “I’m sorry, mec. This wasn’t cool.”

Adrien shrugged. “And I’m maybe a little heartbroken. But I’m used to that.”

Nino’s chest tightened. It wasn’t fair. If anyone on this earth deserved love, it was Adrien.

“Anything I can do?”

“You’re doing it!” Adrien looked up and genuinely smiled, his green eyes impossibly bright. “You always do.”

Nino smiled. “That’s because I love you, dude. You know that right?”

“Yeah, man. Of course I do. And I love you, too.”

“What do you want to do for the rest of the day? Do you just want to hang out just the two of us? Or shall I invite the girls over?”

The girls meant Marinette, Kagami, and Chloé. But maybe Nino would include Alya as well since she was in town.

“They will tear this guy to pieces.”

Nino nodded. “Exactly. He deserves it.”

“Do you think Marinette will actually come?”

“I mean, I think if anything will bring her out of her cave of isolation to make you feel better, it would be that headline.”

Adrien hesitated, another hand on his neck. “I don’t know… I don’t know if I want to face them. I’m so embarrassed. Chloé is going to give me hell for not seeing through this guy.”

Nino didn’t agree on that assessment. Chloé would definitely give him a hard time. But she’d do it at some point weeks or months in the future. She wouldn't tease him today. “If she does, remind her of the Antonia disaster!”

Adrien laughed. Thank all the kwamis that that relationship had only lasted six months. Six long excruciating months. They had all hated Antonia, and not only because the feeling was mutual, but because she had torn Chloé’s sense of self worth into shreds.

“Seriously mec, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. We’ve all had colossal misjudgements in relationships. Like all of us.”

“When has Marinette screwed up?”

Nino’s laugh exploded from his chest. “Mec, you have no idea. Unfortunately, I am not at liberty to say.”

“What?! No fair! Why do you get to know, and not me?”

Nino just shrugged. He probably would have had no trouble gossiping about Marinette to Adrien if so many of her secrets didn’t involve the blond in question. “I don’t make the rules. I just follow them.”

“What about you?” Adrien asked. “When have you screwed up in a relationship?”

“Does a drunk hook-up count?” Nino asked.

“Depends! Were they cute?”

“Not as cute as you,” Nino snarked back.

Adrien actually blushed, and then just threw his arms around Nino again.

“Thank you,” he said sincerely.

“For?”

“For being here despite my protests, for making me feel better.”

Nino squeezes Adrien tighter. “Always, mec.”

“You can invite the girls, but can we do it at my place?”

“I thought your place had paparazzi.”

“Just a van.”

Nino winced. That was almost worse than a crowd. A team on stakeout would be more invasive and they’d stick around for longer.

They rolled to their feet. Neither had anything in the way of belongings and exited into the hallway.

“Which room is the gorilla staying in?”

Adrien jerked his thumb towards the adjacent room.

Nino knocked with a complicated staccato rhythm. The door swung open a few seconds later.

“Morning, Big G!” Nino greeted enthusiastically offering a fist, which Adrien’s protector reciprocated, though his expression remained devoid of feeling.

“We’re heading out,” Nino explained. “Back to his place. I’m ordering breakfast on the way. What do you want from Tom and Sabine’s?”

The stoic man nodded and signed animatedly.

Nino nodded. “Sounds good! We’ll meet you out front in fifteen.”

Adrien shook his head as the door closed. “How is it that you know how to talk to him better than I do?”

“Sign language isn’t that hard, man. And I had motivation to learn!”

It was hard to bribe a man if you didn’t speak his language.

…

Chapter 2

#Adrino #Adrinino #Miraculous Ladybug Fan fiction #friends to lovers #hurt/comfort #adrien agreste #nino lahiffe #Right Behind You #My Own Content

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everything-laito · 4 years

Text

Never expected the Laito vs Shin CD to be this deep on Laito’s side. Hi, I’m back at it again with another long rant.

Hiiii! It’s Corn here, with a long awaited analysis of the Laito vs Shin drama cd!

I didn’t expect to like this pairing as much as I did, but honestly Shin’s abrasiveness brought more out of Laito than I expected. Maybe it’s also the combination of Laito struggling to keep himself restrained.

If you wanna hear my shitpost 2 am reactions to this, here’s the link. I go back now and realize I forgot some stuff in my notes to put in there, but oh well haha. If you want me to release the ones I forgot let me know lololol, my 2 am ramblings are pretty funny in hindsight. Thank you to @/dialovers-translations for providing the translations to these CDs! If you want to check the CD out for yourself, here it is. And as always, if you want to add anything, feel free to! Huge analysis under the cut :)

So the CD starts off with Laito and Yui. They’re in public somewhere and Laito’s being… Laito. But he’s trying to be quiet which was off putting for me at first. Anyways, this takes place right after the Lost Eden ending. I will admit I haven’t played Lost Eden or has seen the translations yet (I like playing the games as I do) but I do know that in in some endings the Sakamakis (and Mukamis???? I think??? Not sure) inherit daddy ketchup’s power. (I think it’s all of them that do in their endings but correct me if I’m wrong).

So we know that Laito doesn’t like violence from him saying it multiple times in past games, drama cds, etc. He also mentioned in Haunted Dark Bridal that he doesn’t like family politics and has no interest in having the throne/Karl’s power. So, safe to assume from the start he doesn’t like having this power. And oh boy he is NOT having it.

In my notes of the first track I made a quip of that Laito’s been kind of a “wannabe romantic.” I know that’s not the best way to describe it, but he’s like “human girls like this right?” or “this is what you do in a relationship, right?” (And he either puts his own twist on it or it ends up being More Blood’s vampire ending). So in this he holds your hand, no tricks, no nothing. I know this is a result of Rejet’s writing change after HDB, but also I think it’s some development on Laito’s end too (either way, it’s cute as hell). I honestly took this as him trying to distract himself from the power he now has; one that he never wanted in the first place. And we know Laito: master of distracting himself from his own issues and other people.

Laito: “Fufu…You’re shaking~ In that case, should we just dive down from here while I hold you in my arms? …We’ll reach the ground in no time, but it might be reaaaaaally scary.”

Laito: “I’m not going to jump down. After all, I’ve decided I won’t use these powers no matter what.”

Although it takes some deeper knowledge of Laito, he definitely is using the ol “making fun of things I’m insecure about = coping mechanism” plenty of people like to do. He’s teasing himself; making a little quip of it and then kinda turning serious, yet still remaining his “~playful Laito façade~” self. In my notes I say that I’m glad Rejet stuck by with Laito’s whole “I have no interest in these powers” kinda thing. I also think that it scares him, on top of the fact that he just doesn’t give a shit. Or him having the “I don’t give a shit” attitude is a cover up for that fear? We’re gonna go deeper into that, my fellow sinners.

Before I get into that, I just wanted to point out yet another quote that follows the ones that I put.

Laito: “Don’t look so puzzled. This is the human world, isn’t it? It would be odd. There’s no hidden meaning behind it. That’s all.”

I liked my note in response to this quote: “H A H don’t be so DAFT, Laito, you’re the KING of double meanings. I know this is a liiiieeeeee” and man, I gotta agree with my cryptid self. He’s using the fact that it’s the human world as an excuse for him to not use his powers. Which…. Is a valid excuse. But this is also Laito we’re talking about. And he just sucked your blood in public. And moaned. I can see right through you man. Laito without double meanings is just…. He can’t exist. There’s no way. Sure he’s developed but if he’s still sticking with his façade from time to time, it’s a safe assumption; deductively.

As for Laito fearing his powers, it really starts to prove itself by Track 02. Shin finds him, attacks him with wolves, and Laito STILL doesn’t use his powers, even in self defense. For a man that has 0 self restraint typically,,,,,, he really can restrain himself for the most specific things. This further supports my claim that Laito’s scared of himself with these powers. He’s also just really dedicated to his morals, whether they’re falsified morals he created himself in self defense, or ones that go deep to his core (oh shit, another analysis idea???).

Then… Laito got angry, and attacked Shin in the process (this happens in track 04. Shin steals Yui in track 03). Again, I know I just said he’s pretty dedicated to his morals. But it’s an oddly human thing to do; breaking your morals once in a while to achieve something. We’ve all done it at least once in our lives. Then Laito beats himself up over letting his angry emotions get to him. And we get such a moving scene.

Laito: “Ah…Fuck…! Why…! Why!? Why did I let myself fall for such an easy taunt!? …Bitch-chan? I’m weird, right now, aren’t I? Because of that guy’s powers…Aren’t I going crazy?”

Laito: “…!? I…I’ve been composed this whole time. Yet…Why do you tell me such a thing!? Just as I thought…You also think that I’m becoming weird! If not, you wouldn’t look at me with those eyes!”

Laito: “Don’t touch me…!! If you touch me…You’ll be corrupted as well.”

Laito: “Fufufu…Ahaha…! I’m not corrupted? No, haven’t you experienced it first-hand? That man’s sullied blood and powers are flowing through this body of mine. Even though I don’t need them…! Even though I never wished for them…! Why…!? Why did I have to get these things forced upon me!? Fuck!”

I know that Japanese doesn’t technically have swear words like we do. He says 「くそ」 (“kuso”) which is an interjection that describes something that’s outrageous. Which is why it gets translated into “damn!” “Shit!” “Fuck!” Based on the context and aggressiveness. But, Laito rarely ever says 「くそ」, and he said it a LOT in this CD. And that’s what really caught me off guard.

So, SO much is said in those quotes I cannot even begin to fathom. So let’s break it down.

Firstly, as I mentioned, He’s beating himself up (as well as gaslighting himself(?) Is that possible?) over breaking his own morals and not wanting to have these powers in the first place. And he uses Karl as a scapegoat, as he (and the other brothers) have a habit of doing. Also, he refers to his powers as “that guy’s powers.” He hasn’t even accepted that they’re his, and that’s also what’s really sad.

Then the second line. “I’ve been composed this whole time.” Well we, as Laito fans, know that what we usually see Laito is a façade. But this, right now, is raw Laito, baby. He then kinda gets a paranoia of some sort, trying to read your eyes (which is most likely sympathetic, not thinking he’s weird) in order to blame it on someone, or continuing to gaslight himself. And the third line… Wow that hit hard for me in the feels. You know how Laito usually says he wants to corrupt you? Steal your innocence? (Again, projection, from what Cordelia made him feel). This also further supports the notion that Laito doesn’t think that highly of himself (well, people who have some type of superiority complex do. And he definitely does, sometimes on Ayato levels) and also the fact that he still keeps that façade up. Probably to protect these inner feelings. Again, his statement about his composure says as much.

It’s then implied that Yui tries to comfort him, saying that he’s not corrupted. He continues to not listen to her and kinda say his bottled up feelings. God that last quote, and the way he says it,,,, ugh god it’s so heartbreaking. As we previously knew, he didn’t want these powers at all. He never wanted to be in any part of Karlheinz’s games. He just wanted to live the way he wants to (even if it is,,,, an unhealthy mindset to live in). He says it in such a fearful and tragic way. Again, he’s afraid of himself with these powers. He’s trying to build back up his facade or adjust it in any way that he can to avoid it, but right now, it’s too much for him.

Laito: “Bitch-chan, you see. As long as she has someone to make her feel good, she will make do with anyone. …Power does not matter. That’s what being a ‘Bitch-chan’ is all about, isn’t it?”

Shin: “Che! You’re just spouting random crap! You won’t deceive me.”

Laito: “Heh…There, there…Don’t glare at me like that..We’ve come all the way up here…It would be foolish to waste our time talking about power dynamics. Let’s enjoy ourselves…I don’t care about complicated stuff. To me, this is everything.”

I actually said something coherent enough in my 2 am notes in response to this to pretty much put it in here verbatim:

Damn, this boy really just wants to vibe and avoid responsibility (I mean, don’t we all Laito) but he just has to face it. I kinda realize through this drama cd that Laito just… doesn’t wanna face complexity too. He doesn’t, never has. Violence is too complicated, getting involved with Cordelia and Ayato’s relationship by standing up for Ayato as a kid is too complicated, getting on Cordelia’s “good side” (which is uh,,,, awful) is too complicated.

Putting up that whole perverted façade in order to hide from his own feelings; holy shit idk how I didn’t notice this blatantly before. I didn’t know it would take Shin to make me realize this. Laito never asked for any of this happening to him (none of the boys really did; at least for their pasts). Goddamn, when I try to look at the overly complex stuff, I miss the simple shit so easily. People in real life try to escape like this––using sex and pleasure––just like Laito.

(Can’t believe I said that at 2 am omg) But, to add onto that, the whole “That’s what being a ‘Bitch-chan’ is all about, isn’t it?” Has SO much meaning to it. First of all, it’s a question. Which raises uncertainty about a subject. This subject is what being a ‘Bitch-chan’ is. It’s phrased in a desperate way that this is Laito’s way to ask you to help. And that’s huge. Also, I think it’s Laito’s way of saying to not judge him right now, and to still accept him for who he is. If he really thought that Yui was that “loose” of a woman with no standards, he wouldn’t have cared to say this, or implied his purpose: which is wanting to make Yui feel good. Which, I think in Laito terms, means “wanting to make Yui happy.” And he wants to continue to be there with her through this double meaning. And wow. That’s,,,,pretty poetic.

Last note; I know that Shin even said or implied (I’m too lazy to go back to the direct quote) that he was like “bruh get over yourself, these are your powers now, get used to it” (which set Laito off I believe). And going in, I didn’t think I’d get much out of this duo in terms of development, but WOW, there’s a chock full of stuff.

If you’ve made it this far, congrats! Holy crap I think this is longer than the Hilde analysis.

Thanks for reading as always! -Corn

#analysis #Diabolik lovers #dialover #dialovers #Diabolik Lovers analysis #dl #laito sakamaki #sakamaki laito #raito sakamaki #sakamaki raito #laito

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themusedump · 4 years

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Halsey + Manic (2020) sentence memes because I truly love this album. I don’t like it as much as badlands but it really is good. I plan on doing a meme of all three of her major albums.

ashley

“I can't remember why the decision wasn't mine but it seems I'm only clinging to an idea now.” “Took my heart and sold it out to a vision that I wrote myself.” “I only wanna die some days.” “When I burst into flames I'll leave you the dust, my love.” “I told you I'd spill my guts.” “Seems like now it's impossible to work this out.” “Is it really that strange if I always wanna change?” “I think I'm making a mistake” “But if I decide to break, who will fill the empty space?” “Apart from my beating heart. It's a muscle but it's still not strong enough to carry the weight of the choices I've made.” “I told you I'd ride this out.” “It's getting harder every day somehow.”

clementine

“And in my world, the people on the street don't know my name.” “Because in my world, I'm constantly, constantly havin' a breakthrough.” “Would you make out with me underneath the shelter of the balcony?“ “'Cause I don't need anyone,” “I don't need anyone. I just need everyone and then some.” “The blush in your cheeks says that you bleed like me.” “Would you make out with me on the floor of the mezzanine?” “And still with one eye open, well, all I see is you.” “I left my daydreams at the gate because I just can't take 'em too.”

graveyard

“It's crazy when the thing you love the most Is the detriment.” “Oh, 'cause I keep digging myself down deeper.” “I won't stop till I get where you are.” “They say I may be making a mistake.” “I woulda followed all the way, no matter how far.” “You look at me with eyes so dark I don't know how you even see.” “Oh, it's funny how the warning signs can feel like they're butterflies.”

you should be sad

“I gotta get it off my chest.” “Got no anger, got no malice, just a little bit of regret.” “Know nobody else will tell you.” “No, you're not half the man you think that you are.” “You can't fill the hole inside of you with money, drugs and cars.” “I'm so glad I never ever had a baby with you.” “You can't love nothing unless there's something in it for you.” “Oh, I feel so sorry.” “I feel so sad.” “I tried to help you, it just made you mad.” “And I had no warning about who you are.” “I'm just glad I made it out.” “Won't see your alligator tears ‘cause, no, I've had enough of them.” “I really meant well from the start.” “Take a broken man right in my hands and then put back all his parts.” “You can't fill the hole inside of you with money, girls and cars.” “You should be sad.”

forever ... (is a long time)

“And I curse the ground for growing green.” “I spent a long time substituting honest with sarcastic.” “I curse my tongue for being mean.” “He cut me open, sucked the poison from an aging wound.” “I could never hold a perfect thing and not demolish it.” “What am I thinking? What does this mean?” “How could somebody ever love me?” “Talk to your man, tell him he's got bad news coming.”

dominic's Interlude

“Your eyes are fragile and timeless.” “There's power in the words you whisper.” “He/she treats you cold and so mindless.” “Your eyes are drawn to the wine list.” “You should know there's power in the words you're thinking.” “Walk on the edge with someone new.” “You can take a chance, come take my hand.”

I HATE EVERYBODY

“I'm my own biggest enemy.” “My friends are getting bored of me.” “I don't know what they all think of me.” “But in reality I don't even remember anything but thinking you're the one.” “And I can force a future like it's nothing.” “I just hate everybody.” “Why can't I go home without somebody?” “I could fall in love with anybody who don't want me.” “I hate everybody. But, maybe I don't.” “I know I've got a tendency to exaggerate what I'm seein.” “It's 'cause I notice every single thing that's ever happening in the moment.” “But none of it is love so while I'm waiting for it.” “If I could make you love me, maybe you could make me love me.” “And if I can't make you love me then I'll just hate everybody.”

3am

“Darling, I've just left the bar.” “I've misplaced all my credit cards.” “Think I took it way too far.” “My insecurities are hurting me.” “Someone, please come and flirt with me.” “I really need a mirror that'll come along and tell me that I'm fine.” “I do it every time.” “Come on and make me feel alright again.” “I'm calling everybody that I know.” “I need it digital ‘cause, baby, when it's physical, I end up alone.” “Know that my identity's always gettin' the best of me.” “I'm the worst of my enemies and I don't really know what to do with me.” “And will you please pick up the fucking phone?“

without me

“Found you when your heart was broke.” “Took it so far to keep you close.” “I was afraid to leave you on your own.” “I said I'd catch you if you fall ad if they laugh, then fuck 'em all.” “And then I got you off your knees, put you right back on your feet just so you could take advantage of me.” “You know I'm the one who put you up there,” “Does it ever get lonely thinking you could live without me?” “I don't know why.” “Just running from the demons in your mind. then I took yours and made 'em mine.” “I didn't notice 'cause my love was blind.” “You don't have to say just what you did .I already know.” “So tell me, how's it feel?”

finally // beautiful stranger

“Sour apple baby, but you taste so sweet.” “And I wonder if you'd like to meet.” “Your voice is velvet through a telephone.” “You can come to mine, but both my roommates are home.” “Think I know a bar where they would leave us alone.” “And I wonder if you'd take it slow.” “The truth is this. That I've never seen a mouth that I would kill to kiss.” “And I'm terrified, but I can't resist.” “Beautiful stranger, here you are in my arms.” “I know that beautiful strangers only come along to do me wrong.” “But I think it's finally safe for me to fall.” “And I wonder if it goes too far.” “I've never recognized a purer face.” “You stopped me in my tracks and put me right in my place.” “Used to think that loving meant a painful chase.” “But you're right here now and I think you'll stay.”

alanis' interlude

“Bit my nails down so they wouldn't scratch.” “But who believes in needs like these?” “I'll take two of 'em, please.” “All these beautiful laughs and beautiful thighs.” “Your pussy is a wonderland.” “And I could be a better man.” “It doesn't matter to me.” “And I have never felt the difference.” “Bad news, think I'll probably die before I have you.”

killing boys

“Told me pick my battles and be picking 'em wise but I wanna pick 'em all and I don't want to decide.” “No more, no more, anymore.” “So we'll sneak in the back and then we'll kick in the door.” “Tell me have you ever keyed a Ferrari before?” “Oh no, oh I don't anymore.” “And I'm not breaking, I won't take it.” “And I won't ever feel this way again.” “'Cause you don't need me anymore.” “And I won't ever try again.” “All I want in return is revenge.” “Cause I don't need you anymore.” “So where do you go?”

SUGA's Interlude (I’m not going to use the translations of this one because I have no way of telling how accurate they are sorry.)

“I been trying all my life to separate the time in between the having it all and giving it up,.” “I wonder what's in store if I don't love it anymore.”

“They told me once nothing grows when a house ain't a home.” “Is it true, honestly?” “Wanna scream but what's the use?“ “I just can't take it no more.” “They told me it's useless.” “There's no hope in store.” “But somehow I just want you more.” “Wonder will we ever meet?“ “And would you know it right away how hard I tried to see your face?” “'Cause I still believe it won't be like before.” “And when you decide it's your time to arrive, I've loved you for all of my life.” “And nothing could stop me from giving a try. I've loved you for all of my life.” “Somehow I'll still love you more.”

still learning

“I should be living the dream.” “I got a paranoia in me.” “And you wouldn't believe everything that I've seen.” “I know that I've done some wrong but I'm trying to make it right.” “I know that I love you but I'm still learning to love myself.” “I go home and I got no self-esteem.”

929

“Well, who am I?” “Can't remember half the time that I've been alive.” “Don't meet your heroes, they're all fucking weirdos." “Because nobody loves you, they just try to fuck you.” “And who do you call when it's late at night?” “You gotta promise us that you won't die cause we need you.” “And it's just these things that I'm thinking for hours.” “I lost the love of my life to an ivory powder but then I realise that I'm no higher power.” “I wasn't in love then and I'm still not now and I'm so happy I figured that out.” “I've got a long way to go until self-preservation.” “Think my moral compass is on a vacation.” "I can't believe I still feed my fucking temptation.” “And I'm still looking for my salvation.” “And I'm a fucking liar.”

I'm Not Mad

“I'm not even mad anymore.” “I don't even want you back anymore.” “I don't remember what we had anymore.” “I hope your back aches and your knees hurt.” “I hope you think about me sleeping in your t-shirt.” “I hope your little brother turns out to be nothing like you.” “I hope that you hurt more than I do.” “And honestly I still wish you nothing but the best.” “I know that you're still self-obsessed.” “I hear the wicked get no rest but when you do I hope you'll dream of me.” “I don't even hope you die these days.” “I hope you live 'til eighty-five these days.” “I hope it's eating you alive these days.” “I've got a twenty dollar bill that says that you never ever ever gonna change.”

Wipe Your Tears

“Nothing's gonna hurt you, baby.” “Nothing's gonna make you cry.” “I'll be damned if I ever let another hand wipe your tears before they dry.” “Keep your friends close but this pretty girl closer.” “But she's so cold but the world is colder.” “Take her in my lap and I promise that I'll hold her.” “My bed is too big for only me.”

#sentence meme #lyrics meme #roleplay meme #inbox meme

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artificialqueens · 5 years

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Girls Interrupted, Chapter 2: She Wants To Dance Like Uma Thurman, But She Can’t (Vatya) 2/2 - Maeve

A/N: Hi, it’s Maeve here, and holy fuck this is long! Sorry for the wait, everyone, it’s been a real time. I’ll admit that I spent a lot of time collecting firsthand accounts of real teen parties because homegirl has never been to one of the cool kid ones. I feel no personal shame! I hope you all enjoy it. I’m a one woman show over here, but I’ve tried to be as accurate as possible with the characterization of the queens. There are some parts of this chapter that might be a little confusing, but that’s because the story is told through Katya’s eyes and she doesn’t always have all of the information. She will soon, though! As always, constructive criticism (really feedback of any kind) is welcome. If there’s interest, I’ll drop my sideblog one of these days. Here’s some petty teenage bullshit to take your mind off of the outside world.

What do normal people wear? What’s ‘in’ with the youths? Katya furrowed her brow. She grew out of following trends in middle school. The clothes weren’t her, and they didn’t magically assimilate her into a friend group either. So Katya was no manic pixie dream girl, more of a manic sexy carny And that was okay…most of the time. There would be a wide variety of teens at the party—Alaska ran in many different circles—but all of them had eyes, and Katya wasn’t about to make Alaska question her judgement over unironically worn Hawaiian print. She’d have to pass for artistically different. Dresses were risky, so Katya opted for a pair of skintight black denim shorts and a well-worn Warner Brothers Studios shirt. A good french tuck and a statement jacket were just enough to polish off her shabby-chic ensemble. It would have to be good enough.

Katya’s freshly washed hair had dried in loose waves that framed her face beautifully. Two things she refused to guilt herself into were shaving her legs and putting on makeup, and she wore her bangs down to hide the hairline she was so self-conscious about. It wasn’t like she was trying to impress anyone. Katya had given up on that a long, long time ago. She glanced at the clock. It was only a few minutes past 6:00. Living in a constant state of perpetual anxiety was a real bitch.

Katya sighed, Wheel of Fortune and Diet Coke it is. Her parents were at the neighborhood’s annual Back to School Barbecue, so she had the entire house to herself. She hoped there would be a familiar face or two—or at the very least caffeine—at Alaska’s house.

Katya could hear the music coming from the inside of Alaska’s house through her massive front door. It was a hot and humid evening, yet Katya chose to linger in the yard. She wasn’t the first one there, and she wouldn’t be the last one, either; there was just something about crossing the solid oak barrier that made her presence…pressing. Awkward, even.

Alaska wouldn’t have invited you if she didn’t want you to be here, Katya reminded herself. She knew this was true—Alaska Honard was an absolute sweetheart—but her paranoia got the best of her. She pulled out her phone and sent a message to ‘Bianca del Realest’:

I’m outside. Walk me in? I don’t wanna know if pigs’ blood comes out of denim.

Her phone vibrated seconds later with a response from Bianca:

Pussy.

Soon, the door opened, revealing a smug Bianca del Rio. Katya grinned, “Yes, I do have a pussy, mama, and I’m serving fish all night.”

Bianca howled, “I don’t put things in me if I don’t know where they’ve been, and you’re a filthy whore.”

“You rotted cunt! That was a rash, not a herpes sore!” Katya protested.

“Just get your ass in here, Zamo, before the neighbors call the police to report a solicitor on the premises,” Bianca stepped aside so Katya could enter.

The first thing she saw was an ornately framed oil painting of Alaska and her family. It had to be at least her height. “Holy mother of pearl…” Katya gaped.

“Mother of Alaska, actually. Father and sister, too,” Bianca corrected. Katya gave her a shove. “What? I do this out of love, honey.” The blonde rolled her eyes. “Come on, there’s someone I want you to meet,” Bianca grabbed hold of Katya’s arm and steered her towards the kitchen.

Alaska’s kitchen—which was a literal gourmet kitchen—was relatively empty save for an entire island of snacks and several coolers with drinks. She could still feel the thrum of the bass in her teeth, but the walls muffled the music’s full volume. What Katya found most shocking was actually who was in the kitchen. Trixie Mattel was leaning against the sink in a pair of light wash jeans and a flowing pink top.

Wow, Katya’s eyes went wide. She was in the same room as Trixie Mattel, about to be introduced by their apparently mutual friend, and she desperately needed to be able to pull herself together.

“Oh, honey, send in the clowns!” Trixie exclaimed, noticing Bianca’s return.

“I prefer to be called an erotic clown,” Bianca shot back. Katya snorted. “This is the creature I was telling you about.” Bianca gave Katya a small shove forward.

“Hi, I’m the chemical burn from the spiral perm, Trixie Mattel,” Trixie introduced herself extending a well-manicured hand. “I sit across from you in English, but we’ve never really talked.”

“Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova. But your dad just calls me Katya,” Katya winked and took Trixie’s hand, gently kissing her knuckles. Inside her head, Katya was screaming, Fuuuuuuuck. However, Trixie’s smile only grew. The life-sized Barbie doubled over with laughter.

Trixie turned to Bianca, “I’ll keep her!” Katya scrunched up her nose. She didn’t realize she was for sale.

“Just make sure to walk her often. She’s not house trained,” Bianca warned.

Katya wasn’t given the chance to retort because the door that connected the main room to the backyard flew open, and all three girls reached to cover their ears as Travis Scott’s voice grew three times as loud. An out-of-breath Jinkx Monsoon stood in the doorway, and her mouth began to move.

“What?” Bianca shouted over Sicko Mode.

Jinkx came further into the kitchen and screamed, “I said the hotshots just pulled up! If you don’t wanna get trampled, we should probab—”

“Bottoms up, bitches!” Willam shouted from somewhere in the hall. A cacophony of voices seemed to flood the space all at once, and then the kitchen was swarmed with all of the juniors on the cheer squad and football team. Hands and bodies were everywhere. Katya, standing at 5’1”, was swept away in the sea of future frat boys. Thankfully, the kitchen was only a stop on their route, and once the kitchen had been successfully raided, the four girls could get their bearings.

Jinkx straightened her dress. “Leave. I was going to say leave,” she finished her earlier thought and slumped against the kitchen island. “The real party’s out back. Now with added kegs.”

“Now, this I gotta see,” Bianca chuckled, “You in?” Katya shrugged and followed Bianca and Trixie past the horndogs sucking face in the living room and into Alaska’s massive backyard. She didn’t know what she’d gotten herself into, and she didn’t see it getting any better.

The glass doors let out onto a patio with a cabana and firepit. Stone steps led down to yet another seating area and a resort-style pool filled with floats, fountaints, and colored lights. There must’ve been at least a hundred people outside. She’d never seen so much illicit activity in one place. What was the word? Collusion? Collusion. Collusion vibes but not in a good way, Mama. We’re all going to hell, Katya swallowed thickly. The blonde was overwhelmed by the sweaty bodies, loud music, and flashing lights. Was this what a rave was like? The kegs by the pool were a happening place, and she planned to avoid them as much as possible.

When she looked to her right, she noticed Bianca had slipped away unnoticed, leaving her completely and utterly alone with one Trixie Mattel. Fuck. Again.

“Come get a drink with me!” Trixie insisted. She might not have been entirely comfortable alone with her crush, but tagging along was a significantly better option than hiding in a corner. The two pushed their way towards the booze. Trixie filled a red solo cup for Katya before grabbing one for herself and maneuvering them over to the poolside loveseat.

Katya’s drink felt awkward clutched in her hands. She knew that most highschoolers had experience with alcohol, but it was different watching her peers getting trashed. What’s the point? Katya wondered.

“That’s gonna get warm, you know?” Trixie snapped Katya out of her thoughts.

Katya gave her a sheepish smile, “I don’t really drink. Like at all. I just took it so you didn’t think I was lame.”

“Oh, honey,” Trixie began softly, “I would never judge you for something like that. Here, let me take that.” She made a grab for Katya’s cup, but Katya pulled it away.

“One sec!” Katya stuck two fingers of her free hand right into her beer and pulled them out. She saw the confusion on Trixie’s face and gave her a mischievous look. Katya took her beer fingers and wiped the alcohol across the pulse points on her neck. Playing it safe, she repeated the action until all the places she’d usual spray with perfume were sticky with beer. She was sure she smelled like a distillery. Perfect. Once again, Trixie made a grab for the cub, but another hand beat her to it. Alaska Honard in all her glory snatched it from Katya and drained its contents.

“Thanksss, Kati,” Alaska slurred. “Jus’ needed a lil’ liquid courage before I go on.” She swooped down to give Katya a sloppy kiss on the cheek. Alaska was sloshed. Her makeup was smudged she was swaying on her feet, and she smelled worse than Katya, who had just taken a bath in her beer.

“Go on what, Alaska?” Needless to say, Katya was a bit concerned. Because the two had done most of the work for their partner scene the previous class, Alaska and Katya were able to spend the day’s 3rd period chatting away. The demure girl from earlier was nowhere to be found. She was beginning to wonder if her friend had even processed her question when Alaska finally responded.

“‘M gonna be a star, Kati,” Alaska giggled. “Britney, bitch!” She then proceeded to fist up the fabric at the bottom of her dress and try to pull her black bodycon sequin gown up and over her body. Katya could only watch as she writhed around and made pitiful whining noises in her attempt to undress. “Off!” Alaska pouted, giving Katya her best puppy dog eyes.

Katya shared a look with Trixie before standing up and carefully spinning the blonde around. Her small hands were perfect for pulling down tiny zippers, and the dress slid down Alaska’s lithe body and pooled at her feet. Katya’s throat went dry.

Underneath her dress, Alaska wore a lacy, black strapless bra and a matching set of panties. Katya could not handle it. She didn’t mean to stare, but she couldn’t bring herself to look away. Soft, pale, flawless, Katya took in the beauty in front of her. Talk about body-ody-ody. Alaska was toned with the supple legs of a dancer—unfortunately, she lacked a dancer’s poise. Katya’s aneurism was cut short when the cheerleader stumbled trying to get out of the offending garment.

“Geez, Alaska,” Katya exclaimed, “Would you be more careful?”

“I may not be graceful…” Alaska trailed off, beginning to sway on her feet.

“I need my Lasky!” Detox shouted from the edge of the pool. Alaska visibly perked at her nickname and gave Katya a sloppy goodbye kiss on the cheek before teetering off towards Detox and Roy.

What the fuck? Katya raised her eyebrows. She turned to Trixie in search of an answer as to what just happened, but all the blonde had to offer was a shrug. Katya looked back to Rolaskatox and noticed a few pertinent details she’d missed in her first glance: Roxy and Detox were also in their skivvies, three chairs were now in a row on the bridge that separated the two halves of the pool, and the music had stopped.

Katya tried to do the math in her head: liquid courage + 3 scantily clad girls x 1 chair - Kendrick Lamar = ???? She had to be missing something. “‘I’m gonna be a star,’” Alaska had said…Fame = liquid courage + 3 scantily clad girls x 1 chair - Kendrick Lamar. Katya’s brows knit together. Some kind of performance? And then it hit her. “‘Britney, bitch,’”…They’re performing a Britney Spears number practically naked. Obviously the ideal way to spend a Friday night. Katya could think of no other explanation for the weird happenings of the last few minutes, but the answer she’d arrived at wasn’t any less of an acid trip.

The three girls took their places behind the chairs, and Roxy, who had at some point manifested a microphone, gave pearl a thumbs up.

“Where my party people at?” Roxy shouted into the microphone. Praise Putin for Pearl because the feedback on the mic might have made their ears bleed. The crowd around the pool hooted and hollered. Yuck, Katya gagged on the high school movie realness. “We’ve got a special treat for you tonight! Our little Lasky here,” Roxy pushed Alaska forward, “Didn’t think that she was going to make the varsity cheer team.” Alaska flushed at her friends divulgence and squirmed in her grip. Naturally, Roxy paid no attention to her friend’s discomfort, “So Toxy and I, we made a bet: if Lasky didn’t make varsity we’d have a Golden Girls marathon, but if she did…she’d have to show off her sweet moves at the Back-to-School Bash!”

“Hit it, Pearl!” Detox shouted. Roxy tossed the microphone to someone near the end of the walk, and the three girls took their places by their chairs. Alaska was clearly less thrilled about the performance than she was when she had been talking to Katya minutes ago. Liquid courage? No dice. The instrumental intro into Britney Spears’ “Toxic” began to play from the outdoor speakers, and Alaska’s gyrated her hips mechanically to the beat.

Baby, can’t you see

I’m calling

A guy like you should wear a warning

It’s dangerous, I’m falling

Katya was dumbfounded. Mouth agape, she wondered, Does this shit happen at all high school parties? Mother, I swear I’m sober. She hadn’t had anything to drink, so she couldn’t have been drugged or anything crazy like that. This was, in fact, happening. And Katya had thought she was fucking mental. A glance to her side told her that she wasn’t the only one questioning her sanity; Trixie’s eyes were bulging out of their sockets.

There’s no escape

I can’t wait

I need a hit, Baby, give me it

You’re dangerous, I’m lovin’ it

Dangerous. There was something sinister about the atmospheric red that bathed the trio and spilled into the audience. Her hands began to tremble. Brenda, not now, she willed herself to calm down.

Too high

Can’t come down

Losin’ my head, spinnin’ ‘round and 'round

Do you feel me now?

It wasn’t just her shaking, though. Alaska’s body was vibrating with tension—not ‘loving it’. Her sisters in scandal moved a lot smoother than she did, and she was concentrating hard on keeping herself from falling off of her chair. How much “‘liquid courage’” did this bitch have? The trio had gotten up on their chairs at the beginning of the chorus and were doing what looked like Christina Aguilera choreography circa Genie in a Bottle. Katya wouldn’t be surprised if Rotox had actually gotten the wrong blonde when choreographing. Katya frowned, Alaska, please don’t crack your head open.

With a taste of your lips I’m on a ride

You’re toxic I’m slippin’ under

With a taste of a poison paradise

I’m addicted to you

Don’t you know that you’re toxic?

And I love what you do

Don’t you know that you’re toxic?

She regained her breath when the chair acrobatics were finally over. The dance routine had evolved into what could probably qualify as softcore porn. Roxy, Alaska, and Detox were writhing on the platform in an obscene manner. Katya thought they looked like cats in heat. Alcoholic cats in heat. Which was actually quite a shame because real alcoholic cats in heat were something that Katya would totally like to see.

It’s getting late to give you up

I took a sip from my devil’s cup

Slowly, it’s taking over me

Too high, can’t come down

It’s in the air and it’s all around

Can you feel me now?

Britney Spears you are a cruel bitch, Katya chewed her lower lip. She was trying her hardest not to feel anything.

With a taste of your lips, I’m on a ride

You’re toxic, I’m slippin’ under

With a taste of a poison paradise

I’m addicted to you

Don’t you know that you’re toxic?

And I love what you do

Don’t you know that you’re toxic?

If she weren’t so put off by the course the night had taken and concerned for her friend, she might have been more than a little turned on. There was no denying that Alaska was attractive—even as she flopped about like a fish on a marble platter—but her mother raised her right. We do not objectify women, and we definitely do not allow others to take advantage of inebriated ones.

Taste of your lips, I’m on a ride

You’re toxic, I’m slippin’ under

With a taste of a poison paradise

I’m addicted to you

Don’t you know that you’re toxic?

With a taste of your lips, I’m on a ride

You’re toxic, I’m slippin’ under

With a taste of a poison paradise

I’m addicted to you

Don’t you know that you’re toxic?

Katya had to admit she was impressed. There really was no better way to draw attention to yourself than repeatedly slamming your pussy into the makeshift stage. It certainly seemed to be working now; she might just have to try it sometime.

Intoxicate me now

With your lovin’ now

I think I’m ready now

Intoxicate me now

With your lovin’ now

I think I’m ready now

Roxy, Alaska, and Detox all struck their final poses. Katya could see their chests heaving wildly as they held for the raucous applause of the party guests standing poolside. It was certainly strange, but she couldn’t knock their performance. Kids would be kids, right? She was about to chalk it all up to a bit of harmless fun, after all, when tweedle dumb and tweedle dumber broke formation and pushed Alaska straight off of the platform. Suddenly, the tall blonde was in the water, limbs thrashing about in response to the sudden change in environment.

“Pool party!” Willam shouted, stripping off her own dress. Leave it to Willam to make a splash. Literally. For some reason the most inebriated of the guests decided that it was a fantastic idea to accidentally drown themselves instead of their sorrows. Soon, the pool was full of bodies and she could no longer keep track of her friend.

Alaska finally scampered to the steps with the stability of a newborn fawn. She all but fell out of the pool and took half of the water with her. Alaska’s mascara streaked down her cheeks, and her hair hung limp and matted. Roxy and Detox were nowhere to be found—either to help her clean up or to read her for filth. Coco Montrese and her longtime frenemy Miss Alyssa Edwards, however, were more than happy to fill in.

They sound like those brain dead hyenas from The Lion King, Katya snickered to herself. Maybe not that lady one, though. That bitch was fierce.

Alaska coughed up a mouthful of water right at their feet. “Hey, Coco,” She began, “Your makeup is terrible.” Coco wasn’t laughing anymore. Point Alaska.

“Have you seen yourself, mama?” Coco fired back, The blonde rolled her eyes and snatched the drink in Coco’s hand. Alaska tossed it back all in one go.

“Thanks,” Alaska drawled, tossing the empty cup back and wrapping herself in the first available towel.

Katya turned to Trixie with a question on her lips. “Does this happen often?” She asked. Trixie gave a low whistle.

“Pearl has dragged me to a lot of weird shit, but I think this might just be a first,” Trixie answered with gusto. She checked her watch, “And it’s not even 10:00! The night is still young, honey!”

Right, Katya thought, the night is still young. Just great.

Trixie soon ditched Katya for Pearl—something about the stupid pumpkin carriage coming to steal her friend after midnight—and Katya hadn’t known Trixie long enough to reasonably protest the abandonment. She hoped Bianca was somewhere inside the house.

There were still people in the living room, but it looked like the horny gremlins from earlier had finally gotten a room. Literally. Unfortunately, the cheerleaders that had taken their place were not much better. Head bitch Violet Chachki had her legs draped over one of the arms of a stately armchair in a carefree yet superior manner. Why anyone would want to be queen of the hot messes? Katya couldn’t tell you. But apparently power—or at least the perception of power—gave one Violet Chachki a raging hard on. Gag.

Bianca wasn’t in the room, but the blonde was determined to see her valiant quest through. Hopefully, she’d stumble upon a nunnery with some sexy ladies along the way. Sneaking past the wicked bitch of the west and her flying monkeys, she regrouped in the kitchen. Katya went down her mental checklist: Keys? Check. Assorted limbs? Check. Clothes? Check. Inhibitions? Check. Virtue? Debauched. Sanity? Remaining hopefully optimistic. Bianca? Still M.I.A. The kitchen was empty due to the commotion happening poolside. Chips crunched under the soles of Katya’s sneakers. That was another reason she didn’t enjoy being out in the general public for extended periods of time: bitches be nasty.

The second floor was significantly cleaner than the first. An entire floor of the Honards’ house was dedicated to entertainment. Katya knew that Alaska had an older sister, Nebraska, but she couldn’t fathom why any child—or two children for that matter—needed an entire floor to play. How could the rooms not feel so…empty? Katya wondered, shuddering involuntarily. The blonde couldn’t picture Alaska spending much time up here now. She felt as though she was looking at an abandoned playground and couldn’t help but think it made Alaska sad, too.

After a few moments, it became clear to Katya that Bianca wasn’t there, but she continued to linger on the landing. Her blue eyes were drawn to the set of stairs that would take her to the third floor. It was an idea for the pantheon of bad ideas; she was tempted nonetheless. Katya could hear her grandfather’s words in her head: ‘Curiosity killed the kitty, лисичка,’ What her Deda didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. Besides, I’m not that kind of pussy, am I? She justified.

Katya crept up to the dark third story of the house with the innocence of an intruder—she’d plead the fifth if necessary. The second door down from the landing was ominously open. Honestly, there may as well have been a big red arrow pointing towards the room because Katya’s feet were already carrying her towards it. Darkness engulfed the room, itself, save for a rectangle of warm light.

“Jinkxy, is that you?” Alaska groaned, presumably from the same direction as the light. “Jus’ leave the dress on the bed. Save the lecture for the morning.”

Katya cleared her throat, “Alaska? It’s Katya. Can I come in?” She received a grunt in response. The blonde followed the sound into what turned out to be Alaska’s master bathroom. Her friend was curled up against her marble tub with a beach towel wrapped around her.

“How was I, Kati?“ Alaska drawled.

Katya took a seat in front of her and pulled her legs to her chest. She thought for a moment before speaking, “80% sexy, 20% disgusting…like me.” Alaska whined. “Why are you still in your wet clothes?” She asked. Her friend shrugged. Right, Katya sighed. Alaska was half asleep; this wasn’t going to be a one woman job. Thankfully, Jinkx appeared moments later with her heels in one hand and Alaska’s little black dress in the other. Katya raised her hands in surrender. “I swear she was like this when I found her,” she blurted.

“This isn’t even the worst of it,” Jinx spoke candidly. She tossed her shoes onto the floor and pulled up her long, red hair. “I’ll wrangle the monkey if you go and find her some dry underwear and something to wear to bed.” Jinkx’s tone left no room for questioning.

Mother, I never thought I’d be a panty snatcher, much less an invited one, Katya made a face. Alaska’s dressers were easy to find, and she felt undeniably dirty as she began her game of panty roulette. Pulling open the first drawer, Katya sprang back, ready to strike. Assorted pajamas were hardly a foe, and she vanquished them swiftly. Rebel athleticwear laid in wait behind drawer number two. They, too, were no match for her feet of fury, Katya kicked the drawer shut with a battle cry.

“Katya, what the hell are you doing out there?” Jinkx called.

Katya had the dignity to look sheepish. “Nothing!” She shouted back. “Be there in a second!” The underwear turned out to be in the next drawer down. She thrust a hand inside without looking and tightened her grip on the first piece of fabric her hand found. Her feeling of triumph only lasted the few seconds it took for her to realize what she’d managed to retrieve: a lacy black teddy. Katya dropped the offending garment as if she’d been burned. I am going to hell, she shook her head, Straight to hell. I will not pass go, nor will I collect $100…Deuces never loses, right? The scarlet thong she fished out next begged to differ. Her face was almost as red as the fabric, itself, when she flung it across the room. Fortunately, the third time was the charm. The pastel pink boyshorts seemed like a more appropriate item to put on a drunk girl, so Katya returned to the bathroom to present her nightwear bounty to Jinkx.

The motherly redhead, unsurprisingly, was not impressed. Jinkx arched a brow expectantly.

“You see,” Katya began, “I wasn’t comfortable—I didn’t um feel right digging through her things without, you know, her permission?” She swallowed thickly. “So I thought maybe it would be less creepy if I just reached in and grabbed the first thing I touched. Well, you see, Alaska’s got such a wide range of tastes, and it-uh…It took a hot second to find something appropriate…for the…occasion?” She was expecting to find disgust when she raised her eyes to meet Jinkx’s, but the redhead cackled loudly instead.

“Lemme guess, you saw something you didn’t want to see?” Jinkx chortled. Katya managed a weak nod. “I’m sorry, doll, I forget that not everyone is as acquainted with Miss Honard’s unmentionables as little ol’ me.”

Not everyone is as acquain—Oh! Blue eyes threatened to burst from their sockets as Katya processed her words.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, not like that,” Jinkx exclaimed, reading the thoughts reflected on Katya’s face. “Lasky and I did community theater together. I’ve known her since the first grade. Drunk proof her nightstand for me? I’ll dress blondie over here.”

“Does this happen often?” Katya asked Jinkx after Alaska’s door was closed. The incapacitated cheerleader was finally sound asleep in her bed, and the two girls didn’t think she’d be up anytime soon.

Jinkx sighed sadly, “It didn’t use to. Roxy and Detox are more toxic than Drano, and there’s no one to stop her from going out with them. Look, Lasky’s a sweet girl. A good, smart girl. But she makes bad choices sometimes, and there’s nothing that I—that we—can do about it. She’s gotta be the one to say enough is enough.”

Katya understood. Katya understood more than she wanted to. She’d been a shell of a girl drowning in the voices in her head not too long ago. It didn’t matter how many hands reached out to her if she refused to take them. Alaska—happy and hopeful Alaska—might just be drowning, too. Katya wondered if she drank to impress, to keep up, or to forget.

Jinkx promised that she’d look over Alaska until the next morning, so Katya reluctantly chose to rejoin the land of the living downstairs. The first floor was significantly louder than it was when she left it. Games of flip cup and beer pong had picked up in the dining room, and Violet’s flock had not only grown, but had grown to include both Trixie and Bianca, who were trying their hardest not to laugh at the spectacle in the middle of the living area. Willam and Courtney were having a major bitchfest for all to see. Normally, Katya would run for the hills, but if Bianca and Trixie weren’t afraid of getting caught in the crossfire, she figured it was safe enough to stick around and tuned into the conversation.

“Your tone seems really pointed right now,” Willam pursed her lips. She was clearly the calmer of the two, as Courtney was beet red and positively radiating tension. Katya could tell Willam’s nonchalance was only winding the Australian up more.

Courtney folded her arms defensively. “Well, I’m sorry you think that, Willam,” she took a deep breath. “I feel like everything I say kinda comes from the heart, and I’m truly hurt that you threw yourself at Daniel when you knew how I felt about him.”

“Sorry ‘bout it,” Willam scoffed, picking at her nails. Her words reflected everything but the sentiment they were meant to.

Katya knew that Willam was a bitch, but this was a little much even for her. Willam and Courtney had been best friends since Courtney moved from Australia the summer of their freshman year; it was hard to believe that Willam would throw their relationship away. Katya held her breath. Everyone in the wings was uncomfortable during the pregnant pause. The scene before her was straight out of a 90s teen movie, and she didn’t have the popcorn to go with it.

All movement stilled when Willam finally looked up. “I tend to think emotions are for ugly people,” she deadpanned. The room let out a collective gasp. Courtney was across the room in a flash, and her palm made contact with Willam’s cheek. It would be logical to assume that Willam, who was just slapped across the face by her best friend, would be the most in shock at the sudden turn of events; it would also be the wrong conclusion. Courtney’s features were frozen in fear. The offending hand still hovered in the air, trembling like a leaf.

Willam was the first to react—and in a very uncharacteristic way. She engulfed the smaller girl in a tender hug. Courtney began to sob muffled apologies into her neck, and despite her obvious desire to recoil, Willam continued to hold her close.

Maybe Willam actually does have feelings, Katya’s eyebrows raised. The sight of Willam whispering words of reassurance into Courtney’s ear was enough to make even the coldest heart melt. Well, the coldest heart with the exception of Violet Chachki’s. Katya was pretty sure the stick up her ass was a permanent installment.

When the two pulled apart minutes later with smiles on their faces, they were met with a round of applause. Courtney wiped at her eyes, careful not to smudge her makeup. If she noticed Willam’s arm around her waist, she didn’t give any indication as she addressed the spectators that had gathered, “Well, I’m gonna need to be less sober before I spill any more about myself. Truth or drink, anyone?”

Truth or drink? No thanks, Katya turned to sneak out. Unfortunately, Bianca had also chosen that exact moment to glance in her direction, and Katya was caught in the act.

“Bitch, you can’t leave yet. It’s not even midnight!” Bianca half whispered, half hissed.

And Bianca doesn’t associate with losers, Katya reminded herself. Don’t be a loser. “If my locker gets filled with worms next week, I will personally marinate you like a chicken,” she promised her friend.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ve heard it all before. Blame it on Bianca Del Rio. Take a number, sweetheart, you’re holding up the line,” Bianca patted the space next to her on the floor.

Laganja had batted her eyelashes—and used her mouth—to coerce one of the mindless jocks to bring in one of the kegs from outside for their “slumber party secret sesh”. There were fifteen girls, including Katya, who stuck around for the potentially risky game, and Katya wasn’t thrilled to be playing with most of them. Adore finished off her beer and placed the empty bottle in the center of the circle.

“Party!” Adore shouted before giving the bottle a good spin. Around, and around, and around it went before coming to a stop at Coco’s feet. “Miss Coco Montrese, truth or dare?” She asked.

“I’ll pick truth, mama,” Coco answered.

Adore thought for a moment before speaking, “Are you afraid that you’ll always be the runner up?” There was a chorus of oohs. Everyone knew that the race for junior varsity squad captain their sophomore year was a sore spot for both girls. It was no secret that Alyssa was originally chosen to be captain by her teammates. However, when she became implicated in a cheating scandal, Coach Calhoun was forced to denounce her and give Coco, Alyssa’s best friend and the candidate to receive the second most votes, the position. To make matters worse, it was rumored that Coco was the one who suggested that Alyssa had committed academic dishonesty in the first place. Alyssa and Coco had patched up their friendship over the course of the last year, but there was no telling whether or not the structure would hold if tested.

“Out of respect for me and Miss Alyssa, I am going to drink,” Coco responded without hesitance. Adore poured her a shot, and Alyssa gave her hand a grateful squeeze as she tossed it back. “Ain’t no use bringing up what’s past.”

Coco spun the bottle next, and it chose Trixie as its victim. “Truth or dare?” Coco asked.

“I think I’ll pick dare?” Trixie responded with hesitance. Katya didn’t know much about Coco Montrese, but for Trixie’s sake she hoped Coco was one of the nice ones.

Said cheerleader gave Trixie a small and genuine smile, “Okay, mama, I dare you to let Miss Pearl over here do your makeup. Something has got to be done because you aren’t doing a pretty girl like yourself any favors.” The reactions to Coco’s dare for Trixie were mixed. Some of the she-demons tried and failed to hide their amused laughs, Pearl’s eyes opened fully, Violet’s grip on her chair tightened, and Trixie seemed to be not entirely opposed to the idea.

“Pearlie girl,” Trixie began, standing up and crossing to her best friend on the opposite side of the circle, “Treat my face like a princess and then fuck it like a slut.” The life-sized Barbie batted her eyelashes animatedly, earning her a laugh from pearl and a glare from Violet. The ice queen’s elevated irritability prompted Katya to reconsider her previous assessments—maybe it was an entire branch up her ass.

When Pearl and Trixie left, there was a void that seemed to swallow Violet whole. The physical space around her remained largely unchanged, but Katya could feel the emptiness that moved to fill the space Pearl left. And for the first time it occurred to her that Violet Chachki might be alone. I guess there might be some truth to the saying, she mused. After all, if you’re at the top, how can anyone else be? When you stripped away the glitter, the makeup, the clothes, you were left with a girl—albeit an arrogant, entitled, straight up cunt—plain and simple.

“Heavy is the head that wears the crown, huh?” Bianca nudged Katya’s arm, snapping her out of her thoughts.

“What?” Katya asked. Had she missed something while she was contemplating the character of Violet Chachki?

Bianca chuckled, “You’ve been staring at Chachki since Trixie and Pearl left.” The blonde feigned innocence. “You know how I feel about that 48 Hours show, Zamo. Share with the class before your peanut brain short circuits.”

“What’s her problem?” Katya whispered. “I mean, aside from her general disdain for anything that has a pulse and moves.”

“With Trixie?” Bianca confirmed. Katya nodded. “Oh, this is old news. Her Royal Hardass doesn’t share, but Sleeping Beauty’s got a soft spot for one Trixie Mattel.”

The dots aligned in Katya’s head once again. “Violet’s the pumpkin carriage!” She whisper-shouted.

“Bitch, that was not English,” Bianca snarked, “You been hanging around with Jose Cuervo?”

Katya rolled her eyes at her friend’s question, “I have ninety-nine problems, and substance abuse won’t be one of them if I have anything to say about it.” She turned back to the circle just in time to see the neck of the bottle stop on Bianca, who didn’t even flinch. Katya was secretly proud; her friend had bigger balls than most of the ‘macho men’ at the party—this was going to be interesting. Since Trixie had gone upstairs to get her face redone, Detox decided that she would be the brave volunteer to issue the next truth or dare.

“Bianca, truth or dare?” Detox asked smugly. Katya couldn’t guess which one would be worse. Unsurprisingly, Bianca chose dare. “I dare you to ask Max for his number.” There was, again, a chorus of oohs, and it was Bianca’s turn to roll her eyes.

“Really, bitch?” Bianca asked. She stood up and righted her denim shorts before striding over to the meatheads playing beer pong with a clear purpose and her head held high.

Because Bianca could run with the boys, no one batted an eye—unless she wanted them to. She hoisted herself up onto the pool table in front of Max and held out an upturned palm. They were too far away to make out their conversation, and Katya was a terrible lip reader at best, but she could picture how the exchange would go down:

“Gimme ya’ numbah, beefstick,” She imitated Bianca in her head. The 1920s gangster voice was a bold choice, but she wasn’t going to mock it just yet.

“D’uhh…okay,” Fake Max droned.

The blonde chuckled to herself as the real Max stuck a fist in the pockets of his jeans and fished around. Finally, he produced what looked like a wadded up gum wrapper and snagged a pen from his pal, presumably jotting down his number. Bianca hastily took the offering and sashayed back to the group of girls. She dropped the wrapper in Detox’s lap before taking her seat by Katya.

While the hens squawked over her success, Bianca leaned over to Katya and whispered, “Never let a bitch see you sweat.” Katya had so many questions, but she wouldn’t be able to ask them until later. It was Bianca’s turn to spin the bottle, and Adore, unsurprisingly, chose truth when landed on.

“Adore, which girl on the squad is the skunkiest?” Bianca waggled her thick, black brows. Because she was the mascot and didn’t change in the locker room, she genuinely had no idea how rank the girls smelled after practice or a game. Sue her; she was curious. What Bianca also didn’t know was that the question had a definitive answer, and that answer would do damage far beyond her intent to poke a little harmless and innocent fun at one of the girls.

Even completely sloshed, Adore recognized the gravity of the question. “Fuck! If I drink any more, I’m gonna be sick,” Adore groaned. Her teammates looked at her with pity in their eyes.

“Yeah but it’s not like anyone’s ever died from drinking too much!” Laganja came to her rescue, topping off her cup, “What’s one more?” Adore could only offer her a weak smile.

“Uh, I think I’m just gonna spin the thing now…For everyone’s sake,” Adore informed the group. The bottle landed on Gia, and she picked dare.

The turns only seemed to bleed together as time went on. After Gia drank from the toilet, Roxy refused to reveal her weight. Laganja told her dad she was eloping in Vegas, and when she spun the bottle it landed on Violet. Because ladies don’t kiss and tell, the brunette tossed one back instead of revealing the number of sexual partners she’s had. Alyssa confessed that she was afraid she would never achieve her dream of owning her own dance studio. Courtney shared that she’d never been in love, and Willam exposed her entire browser history, telling Katya a lot more than she wanted to know about the girl. For obvious reasons, Joslyn refused to eat a raw egg. Detox followed by removing Adore’s socks with her teeth. Katya played it safe and suggested that Bianca would be a bad date because she’s insulting people all the time before daring Gia to reveal any childhood nickname she had. Things didn’t start going downhill until the bottle landed on Violet a second time.

“Violet,” Gia cooed, “Truth or dare?”.

“Truth,” Violet answered with an unreadable expression.

Gia thought for a moment before asking the first truly problematic question of the night, “Who in this room do you like the least?”

Ruh-roh, Katya winced.

Violet didn’t waste a moment before answering, “Willam.” There was a collective gasp across the room. Willam, on her part, didn’t seem to be phased in the slightest. Then again, you could never really read Willam Belli.

Pearl and Trixie returned, arm in arm, before Violet could spin the bottle. Katya’s jaw—along with all the other girls’—dropped. Trixie looked gorgeous. Pearl reclaimed her seat next to Violet, much to the cheerleader’s delight, but brought Trixie with her. At the group’s insistence, Trixie was allowed to take the turn that she missed, and Detox was dared to call a random number in her phone and deliver the worst pickup line she could think of. Katya was glad for the change in the room’s atmosphere after Violet’s confession until Detox took her turn. After the call, Detox dared Violet to spend the next hour trapped in a bathroom with another girl from the circle chosen at random. Anyone who didn’t know Detox might think she was trying to create a seven minutes in heaven type deal, but even Katya could pick up on her intent to stir up trouble. She pitied the poor soul who ended up stuck in there.

Of course that poor soul ended up being her, and she wasn’t about to pussy out in front of the most popular girls in school. Peer pressure was a bitch. Judge, jury, and executioner had all decided it was her time, and she accepted that; she just wished her death march had a better soundtrack. Katya would be cooped up in one of the Honards’ bathrooms with a less than pleasant—soon to be considerably more less than pleasant—Violet Chachki. She was going to punch Detox in her stupid mouth.

Katya entered the bathroom the same way she’d rip off a band-aid: quickly and without much thought for the immediate consequences. Violet, who was perched on the bathroom counter, had been engrossed in her phone when the door swung open to reveal the one girl that she just couldn’t seem to get away from. Unsurprisingly, the cheerleader wasn’t thrilled.

“Really, bitch?” Violet griped, giving Katya a once over. It wasn’t like the situation was ideal for either of them.

Katya put her hands on her hips, “You know what you can suck? My whole dick.” She unenthusiastically plunked herself down against the wall opposite of the door. “We’ve got two options, Chachki, we can either suck it up and spend the next hour in here in silence, or we can French a little.” Violet was aghast at her words. If Katya were a proper woman, she might have been able to hold in the cackling fit prompted by the girl’s scandalized reaction. Violet wasn’t impressed with her wheezing, either. Katya finally calmed down and attempted to explain herself, “Sorry, I could have been more clear, but your reaction was priceless.” She wiped at her eyes. “Thanks. I needed that. Detox said she was “‘feeling generous,’” and if we so choose, we can suck face and then get the hell out of Dodge.” Violet sneered, and Katya wondered if it was with anger or disgust; she didn’t know which one was better.

“As fucking if,” Violet scoffed, clearly feeling as though Detox’s so-called coup de grâce was more of a personal attack.

“Well, I don’t see anyone lining up to get the kiss of the spider woman, either,” Katya observed. “I told you that you weren’t going to like it.” The cheerleader exhaled sharply, and she was surprised not to see steam come out of her flared nostrils.

Violet pursed her lips, “Just shut up and stay on your side of the room.” With that, Violet returned her attention to her phone, but Katya didn’t fail to notice that her expression didn’t soften. If Katya weren’t trapped in the room with her, she’d probably find Violet’s situation hilarious.

Katya had made the mistake of leaving her jacket—and consequentially, her phone—on the coat rack in the hall. Call her old fashioned, but it was a force of habit. Besides, she didn’t need her phone because Bianca was supposed to be there to pull her out of trouble if it arose. But are we really surprised to find ourselves here? Katya asked herself. No. Not at all. At least she found herself entertaining. Hoping to bring forth inspiration, she laid back on the floor, let her gaze unfocus, and tried to lose herself in the plain ceiling. Katya didn’t know how long she’d been drifting for when Violet’s voice shattered the silence.

“Fuck!” Violet cursed, and the sound of hard plastic hitting the floor made Katya’s whole body go rigid. She squeezed her eyes shut. I am not going to be equipped to handle this, Katya bristled. Maybe if I just keep my eyes closed, I can fall asleep. It seemed like a feasible plan until she heard the first sniffle. Of course I find out she has feelings when I’m stuck in a room with her, the blonde facepalmed inwardly. Why today, of all days, to be railed in the ass by life? Her left eye opened first, searching for any signs of danger before being followed by her right eye.

“I knew you didn’t like me Chachki, but I didn’t think you found me this repulsive,” Katya spoke. “Quite frankly, it’s offensive.”

“Fuck you,” Violet spat, but the usual venom in her voice was gone. Katya propped herself back up against the wall to get a better look at the girl on the counter. Her attention was unwanted, and Violet turned towards the door with a huff.

Clearly comedic relief wasn’t the answer. “Do you wanna talk about it?” Katya tried again. No response. The girl’s side profile was growing red and blotchy, and Katya had sent her mom enough photos of her crying to know that Violet was trying and failing to stifle an emotional response. Go figure. “I won’t tell anyone if you cry, you know?” She said softly. “Bottling it up is just gonna make you feel shittier than you do now.”

“Do you think I’m a goddamn idiot?” Violet barked. She wiped furiously at her eyes before whirling around in an attempt to intimidate the blonde. “Better make your fifteen minutes last.”

Katya was genuinely taken aback. Does this bitch really think I’m in on this? She shook her head incredulously. Her airhead friends would literally eat me alive, and I’m pretty sure I haven’t given her any reason to think that I’m faker than Malibu Barbie. If I were made of plastic, why in the hell would I keep my hands this small? “Are we really back on this bullshit, Violet?” Katya snapped. “I’m sorry you think that the universe revolves around you. I hate to burst your bubble, but I have better things to do than conspire against you with your teammates over scones. Get over yourself, Princess.” In her head, Katya blew the smoke from the pistols in her hands. Call me perestroika, Mother, for I am reforming problematic practices, she hooted.

“Whatever,” Violet grumbled. Katya, on the other hand, wasn’t willing to let this go; some conversation was better than nothing.

“How’s the back?” The blonde inquired and was pleasantly surprised when Violet outright snorted at the shift in conversation. Katya took her in as she threw her head back in laughter. There was something about this Violet—the unguarded and natural Violet—that captivated her. Violet’s eyes crinkled, and she clasped a hand over her mouth in a flimsy attempt to stifle the noises she was making. It was frustratingly endearing.

Violet cleared her throat before answering, “Fucked. I’m considering outlawing acrylics on the squad. That shit’s not even practical for a cheerleader, and it’s hurting like a bitch to corset.”

“You’re wearing a corset?” Katya gasped. For the first time that night, she took all of Violet in. She wore a nude illusion dress with a loose black lattice pattern. It covered just a little more than her ass and was cinched at the waist with a rocker belt, squeezing her in a way that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. How in the world do you hide a corset under that? Katya wondered. In addition to the dress, she donned thigh high, slick black boots and a thick, black leather choker that looked more like a collar. Hot damn, Katya could n e v e r, and she knew it. She finally composed herself, “First of all, you’re literally a cheerleader with a body to die for. Second of all, why wear something that hurts you?”

The cheerleader didn’t even seem phased by the inquiries, almost like she’d dealt with them hundreds of times before, “Pain is beauty, and I’m the prettiest.” Katya couldn’t argue there. Violet was beautiful, but she still thought her ideology was questionable.

“So what actually happened at the pep rally? We all saw you fall, but I’ll believe it was your fault when the garden is full of ducks holding pastry in their hands. You’re too much of a hardass.”

Violet raised her eyebrows, as if daring Katya to say it again, “I will let that slide only because it’s technically a compliment. And you’d be correct; I am a professional, unlike others. You’d do well to take note: one of my biggest pet peeves is when people don’t take the things I love as seriously as I do. I accept nothing less than perfection.”

“That must be lonely,” Katya couldn’t stop the words from spilling from her mouth. “You know, having such high standards? Does anyone ever make the cut?” Opening her mouth was clearly a mistake because Violet seemed to shut down all at once.

“What do you know about how I feel?” Violet fired back, crossing her arms over her chest.

Keep digging yourself deeper, why don’t ya? Katya shook her head. She needed to tread carefully. It was a miracle that she had even been having a civil conversation with Violet in the first place, and she didn’t want to ruin the progress they had made. “I know that you work harder than anyone else on that squad, and nobody gives you credit or appreciates you for it,” Katya began. “I know that people are fast to discredit your talent because of how young you are. I know that you’re waiting for the day those bitches stop hoping that you’ll screw up or get hurt, the day you can finally stop looking over your shoulder, the day that you no longer have to prove yourself. I know that you’re tired of fighting tooth and nail for the respect that you’ll probably never earn, and I know it’s fucking hard for you to pretend that your peers aren’t harboring resentment towards you. I know that at night you try to wash it all away because you’re still holding out hope that it will all be worth it in the end. Cheer and theatre aren’t that different. It was obvious in the gym, and it’s obvious now.” Katya took a deep breath. Maybe she’d been thinking a little more about Violet that afternoon than she’d like to admit. She hadn’t meant to go off on a tangent like that, but she certainly didn’t regret what she said. Based on Violet’s reaction, however, maybe she should have. The brunette’s hands were clenched into tight fists at her sides, and tears began to roll down her cheeks. Katya tried to backtrack, “Violet I—”

Katya was cut off by the bathroom door swinging open. Pearl, who stood oblivious on the other side, immediately noticed the state of her friend. “Vi?” Pearl approached her hesitantly. Violet’s gaze didn’t move from the floor. “Hey, what’s going on? Talk to me.” She moved to lift Violet’s chin up, but Violet recoiled from her touch.

“Don’t touch me!” Violet shouted, her voice almost frantic. Katya’s eyes darted from one girl to the other. Pearl, who was visibly shocked by her reaction, looked hurt, which was very uncharacteristic for the mellow girl. Katya, herself, had never seen anything but characteristic nonchalance reflected on Pearl’s face, and the change made her uneasy.

Pearl took a reluctant step forward and spoke in a whisper, “Violet, did something happen? You know you can tell me anything.”

“Is that the truth, Pearl?” The brunette questioned. “Because clearly I don’t know you as well as I thought I did.”

Pearl shook her head in frustration. “Cut the crap, Vi,” She demanded, “You’re literally my best friend, and—”

“Bullshit!” Violet interrupted. “I call motherfucking bullshit!” Both girls were standing now with less than a foot between them, the situation escalating by the second, and Katya was stuck in the middle of it. She tried to push her back further into the solid wall behind her, but there was nowhere for her to go. Fuck me! Katya grimaced. Why is Toxic so damn appropriate right now?

“What the hell, Violet?” Pearl shouted back. “God, you’re fucking impossible.”

“Fuck you, Pearl!” Violet pushed Pearl, and the blonde hit the wall with a dull thud. “Fuck you! You and I are done! You hear me? Done! Save your goddamn lies for that pathetic dress up doll. I never want to see you again.” With a huff, Violet stormed out of the bathroom, leaving an uncomfortable Katya and a drained Pearl alone. What the fuck just happened? Katya tried and failed to process the encounter.

She was caught off guard when Pearl finally acknowledged her presence. “Forecast predicts drinking to forget,” Pearl deadpanned, nodding her head towards the door Violet had just stormed through. “Want in?” Katya shook her head furiously. Getting piss drunk with those two would be like making smalltalk with a Molotov cocktail. She’d pass. She’d pass hard. Pearl seemed to understand. “It’s flazéda or whatever,” The corners of her mouth turned up slightly. “Just do me a solid and remind me to fuck with Willam’s weed on Monday.”

Katya didn’t know what “‘flazéda’” meant, or the why and how of Pearl tampering with Willam’s weed, but the questions weren’t enough to persuade her to stick around the party longer. When Pearl left, Katya made a run for the Honards’ front door. She grabbed her jacket before taking off down the street. The blonde didn’t stop until she could no longer hear the music pulsing from the house. Her phone buzzed in her pocket with a text from ‘Bianca del Realest’:

Bitch, where are you?

What the fuck happened in there?

Earth to Yekaterina?

Katya sighed and pocketed the phone again. She’d call her when she got home. That would buy her some more time to put the experience into words…and to decide just how much information she should share.

The drive home from the Honards’ was quiet—too quiet. Music normally made being in the car enjoyable, but there was something about the night that didn’t allow Björk to keep her out of her own head. It didn’t feel real, and that terrified the shit out of her. Life was monotonous, life was mundane, life was one of those stupid time loop movies where you had to learn from your mistakes over time and find out what was important in the stupid haystack of chaos. Violet Chachki and her ex best friend potentially ex best friend were not supposed to have the Chernobyl of all relationship meltdowns in Alaska Honard’s guest bathroom right in front of her. Katya didn’t know who opened this tragic can of worms, but when she found them, she was going to slap a bitch silly.

#rpdr fanfiction #katya zamolodchikova #violet chachki #alaska thunderfuck #bianca del rio #trixie mattel #roxxxy andrews #detox icunt #high school au #lesbian au #slow burn #fluff #angst #enemies to friends #enemies to lovers #girls interrupted #maeve #tw anxiety and depression #tw drinking

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sevenringsblingbling · 5 years

Text

Sienna and Colson part 4

Word count: 1,923

@creatureofthen1ght-v3 <3

My favorite thing about Christmas you might ask? The lights. I adore string lights especially the white, they look so beautiful. I had ordered two fifty foot white string lights to hang up all over my apartment not sure if all of it would fit but I didn't care. It was the weekend before Christmas and I still hadn’t solidified any plans. My relationship with my family was strained to say the least. We talked but it wasn't much. Yes i was the “black sheep” and had gotten past all the hurt of it and just wanted to move on with my life. I was still a person regardless if my family felt otherwise. Me and Colson were still a thing. Funny thing is we split up for a bit while months ago. A big blow up over his addiction issue with cocaine. It got so bad that I didn't know what mood he would wake up in. One minute we were good and then the next he would get agitated over the tiniest misunderstanding and we’d have knock down dragouts that his friends would have to break up and it got to be too much. Not only that but I had a battle with it as well.

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3 months ago

“Yeah I definitely think that we should do something about the water crisis in Flint. I mean we can help in some way.” Sienna gulped down the rest of her wine and put the glass down on the coffee table. Rook nodded his head in agreement. Yes sienna was drunk but she meant every word of it. She tends to get philosophical when she’s had a few drinks but her heart was in the right place. The Boulevard was a crowded mess. It was a random house party all the guys decided to throw just because. After all it was Los Angeles on a Friday night what else was there to do?

Colson sat down next to Sienna and put his arm around her. “What y’all talking about?” He felt a small twinge of jealousy run down his spin. Rook was his brother for life but he hated seeing Sienna talk to anyone of the opposite sex for more than a few minutes and after all he know how men thought. Here was Sienna in a denim skirt that was way too short and and blinged out tube top that showed her nipples. He took a deep breath. “Bro we gotta do something about the water crisis. Its fucked that those people have to drink that dirty ass water. Nobody should have to live like that.” He shook his head in frustration. “You know what you're right Rook but hey this is a party lighten up. We’ll look into this first thing Monday morning though.” He adjusted the chain around his neck. “Rookie how about another drink.” Rook sighed and walked to the kitchen. Sienna turned to Colson. “I've told you about bossing him around. I don’t like it. Short men deserve respect too. I don't see you bossing Baze or Slim like that.” Colson smiled. “Ah he knows i’m just playing with him.” Sienna rolled her eyes. “Yeah whatever.”

A little while later two sketchy looking white guys walked over to Colson and greeted him. They talked for a bit and walked into the kitchen. Sienna couldn't see much of what was happening because of her drunken haze it was all a blur. Minutes later Colson walked out of the kitchen and disappeared. Sienna shrugged her shoulders not sure where he went. Vibing to the music Sienna got a notification on her phone. Tall babe: quickie? Sienna smiled and shook her head. Hell yes she thought then remembered Oh fuck i’m on my period. She sucked her teeth. Tall babe: upstairs bathroom. She got up and headed to that upstairs bathroom lowkey mad that she couldn’t have sex.

Once I was inside Colson picked me up and tongue kissed me leaving hickeys on my neck. “Damn you smell good. Don't worry about taking the skirt off just bend that sexy ass over.” Before i could protest he turned me around and put his hand on my back. “Wait I can’t babe i'm on my period but really want to.” He sucked his teeth. “Fuck. That sucks. I’m horny as fuck.” He thought for a moment. “Well we could still fuck if you're up for it.” He had that devilish grin on his face. I knew what he was thinking. “Oh no i’m not doing anal.” I shook my head. “I’m so not in the mood right now.” I remember last time and I was sore for days. I don't know how on earth women do that shit on a constant basis. From now on i was only giving up the ass on his birthday. That’s it.

He bumped two lines off the counter and wiped his nose on his hand. “Well fuck, then...hey you want a bump of this shit, damn its good. ” He laughed. I had tried coke a handful of times and it was a love hate relationship. The high was great and it kept the weight off but I'd end up a sweaty mess that couldn't sleep for days and have paranoia like crazy. I looked at the lines then back up at him. “Colson I don’t know..i..i’m really wanting to stop and i..” He handed me the steel straw. “Hey no pressure but remember last time we got so high we fucked all over the house and you said it was the best orgasms.” I playfully hit his arm. He was right though. Sex on it was everything. Something about it was like fireworks going off inside me.” I bumped one line and instantly felt it hit me like a ton of bricks. I heart beat had turned up, my face went numb and things were suddenly getting lusty. I smiled “one line that's it. Just a little something to spice things up.” I kissed him and threw the straw in the sink. His back hit the door. I just wanted to rip all his clothes off and give it to him from every angle but sadly had to settle on a blow, it would have to do for now. I got down on my knees and unbuckled his pants. He was ecstatic but what guy wouldn’t be.

His dick was rock hard and big. Oh fuck i wish it was inside me like now. There was some precum on the head that i just licked off. He breath quickened. “Baby don’t do that teasing shit you know i hate that.” I smiled. Men can be so impatient. I licked his shaft like it was ice cream. Just making love to it with my tongue. “Mhmm baby fuck that feels incredible. Lift up your shirt let me see those tits.” I pulled one of the strings in the back and the whole thing dropped down my arms to his delight. I sucked him with all my heart and throat. Gagging on it practically cutting off my airways but it was worth it to see the look of pleasure on his face. I was so turned on i felt i was wet and throbbing but dammit i couldn't do anything about it. He grabbed the back of my head and guided me. “God damn. Fuckk you little slut. Gag on it babe.” Panting through his words. “I’m gonna cum soon baby. Don’t stop.” He gripped my hair tighter. I tried to go deeper but throats only have so much room. “I want that cum all over my tongue daddy.” I held out my tongue while he jerked that beautiful dick. “Oh fuck here it comes.” All that white cream landed in my mouth and a little bit on my lower lip. It was truly amazing.

Colson was panting and breathing hard. “Damn baby that was amazing.” I swallowed all the salty goodness down. My legs felt wobbly as i stood. My shirt still on my floor. “I really wish we could fuck.” The coke had worn off just that quick now i was agitated and fiending for more but I had promised myself just one line. How long had we been in the bathroom? I wasn't sure. Colson took an eight ball out of his pocket and set up more lines while i put my shirt back on. Nope not gonna do it. Nope nope nope. “This shit is so fucking pure. Like damn so good.” He bent down to bump three lines this time and wiped his nose while looking in the mirror. “Here.” He handed me the straw. “Oh no i'm good.” I tried to give it back to him. “Girl you know you want to. It's good shit. Live a little.” I truly wanted to stop but I had this ache to do more. I just wanted to be high again. “No babe we...i promised myself.” There was this voice inside of me saying “Do it. Treat yourself to some more of those powdered donuts. Wouldn't hurt and it's Friday, by Monday this will all be over.” I snapped out of my thoughts. “Hey how about i get a bottle and we can just hang out in the bathroom and have our own lit party right here.”

A few moments later Colson came back with an unopened bottle of tequila. I did the honors and took two gulps. It was strong but i was kinda used to it by now. “Fuck it.” I bumped three lines and took another sip. It felt like hours me and col were in that bathroom a hot sweaty mess. We would take turns bumping and drinking and talking our faces off about everything under the sun. before I knew it, the bag was practically empty. I looked down at my phone it was 4.34am. It was quiet. I wasn't sure if everyone had left or if the party went outside. Just then there was a knock on the door. My paranoid ass thought it might be the cops. “Hey y'all done fucking?” Slim laughed. “Just joking but were thinking about going to ihop y'all down?” We both stood up. “Yeah where is everyone?” Colson asked looking in the mirror making sure he didn't have any residue around his nose. I checked mine too. No one knew I did coke except for Colson it was my..well i guess our dirty little secret. I wasn't sure if anyone had suspected anything. I tried my best to hide it.

“They're all gone, party died down about an hour ago. Were heading out in fifteen. Hope its not crowded.” We heard Slim’s footsteps get farther away from the door. I cleaned up the counter making sure there was no trace of what we had just done. We fixed ourselves up as to try to not look high. Col hid his much better than I did. My pupils were like saucers, my eyes looked like they were swimming in water. My jaw wanted to rock back and forth. I knew it would ache in the morning. “Babe how do i look?” I did a spin for him. “Umm cute but high.” He laughed at me. “Not funny asshole. Okay so what can i do to bring it down?” I was so high i didn't know how I was going to keep myself together. I adjusted my clothes. “You’ll be fine just take a deep breath.” He reassured me.

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A/N: hey girl heyyy lol. whats the tea? whats the skinny? okay so boom it looks like si has a problem with those donuts. oh lordyy this cant be good right?? let me know what you think. the shorter chapters push out so much faster. editing takes like 20 min.

#machine gun kelly #mgk #mgk imagine #mgk fanfic #mgk imagines #imagines #colson baker #fanfic #fanfiction #fantasy #gunner #seven

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hwanggeum-ashi · 5 years

Text

Love At First Peek

➝Pairing: Kim Taehyung x reader

➝Genre: tooth rotting fluff (don’t blame me for diabetes lmao)

➝Wordcount: 2209

➝Summary: you stalked the nerd so that you can get a free ice cream

You are sitting on the library floor

One book propped open on your lap and rest lying scattered on the ground

You're studying for your upcoming exams.Hence all the books

But they would help only if you were paying attention to them

Coz your whole attention was focused on the boy sitting right across from you

Well not right across coz there's a huge ass bookshelf in between you both

But what is classic book-space-peeping-hole made for right?

You're admiring, no full on staring at him

His soft brown hair which falls over his eyes when he bends his head down

His semi plump lips which he is chewing right now

His long fingers softly holding the pages, just like how you like and not like those animal who just tear the pages off. His fingers glides across the lines he's reading

He's sitting cross legged. His trousers creasing at the folds

But the most cutest thing is how his specs keep sliding down and you can't help but laugh when he sighs for nth time and pushes it back

That's when his eyes meet you

You quickly avert your eyes, flailing your book pages

He's clearly caught you staring

You keep your head down, to scared to lift it up and see what you'll find

After five mins of paranoia, you finally manage to lift your head up only to find him missing from his spot

Your mouth quickly turns into a frown and you decided to gather your books and leave, since you already wasted too much time

Huffing you get up and walk away only to bump into something hard

"Oof!"

"Careful”

You snap your head up immediately regretting coz now you prolly got a nerve pull or something

But it's all worth it

"sorry I wasn't looking"

"here." he hands you the book that had fallen from your hand "it's alright, I should've said something"

Suddenly the proximity of you both dawns upon you and you jump back "I guess, I should go. Thanks"

He smiles at you and steps aside "my pleasure"

You race to your dorm with beating heart and fall face first as soon as you see your bed

You squeal in the pillow, not being able to contain the excitement

But then you sit straight "breath in, breathe out." But then again your face morphs into a stupid smile

Next day you arrive early to the class so there's only a few students there

You scan the classroom coz you know he has this class

How did you know? Duh stalking!

Did you purposely select this class? Ofc not, you're not dumb

Today was the first day of the merger class coz your eco teacher called in sick for a week

So you had to merge with his class

Were you dying? Yes definitely

You see the same brown hair peeking out from the door and you quickly immerse yourself into the book, pretending to study

With sneaky eyes, you look up to find that he's talking to some guy with all black attire, even his shoes are black. Hot.

But your eyes travel to his lips

How they move when he talks

How soft they look

How kissable they look

You snap out of it when you feel them coming closer

And as per your amazing luck, he spots you "oh!

You're stuck between saying hi, waving or smiling

So you just dumbly mix everything together

To your relief before he could react, the all black boy pulls him to the seat adjacent to yours

Your heart =boom boom

Your brain = malfunctioning

Your brain cell= ded

Your soul= yeeted

You dip your deep enough so that your hair would cover the side of your face

So far so good

Halfway through the class, a pencil rolls down to your side

And as a mother teresa you are, you bend to pick up the pencil

Your hands bumps against a rather beautiful once, Tae's.

But this time you don't pull back coz he doesn't either

You both look up and he gives you smile, you return the gesture

After class you turn into flash and you're outta the class in a second

You Hear voices behind you

A familiar husky, deep voice perks your ears up

"hey man, I'll catch you guys later. Got some work to do" "yeah just be there at . See ya hyung!"

Your heartbeat quickens again

please come talk to me! please come talk to me!

And just by the Lord, there's a tap on your shoulder

Now you know better than to jump him, so you try to turn as graciously as you could

"yes?" yes?! YES?! for real get a grip!

"hi! We uh.. We met at the library? Remember?"

of fucking course I remember you dumb fool! "oh yeah! Yeah I remember."

"I'm taehyung" he extends his hand and you shake it, giving your name with it.

"so is it fine if I talk to you for a minute?"

fuck yes!

"yeah, absolutely

"well.." he scratches his hair which messed his specs and you suppress the urge to push them back

"I was wondering if you wanna be uh, you known, my partner for the uh project?"

You stiffen and you swear you can hear the wedding bells going off

"yeah! That will be great!"

He beams at you and you again suppress the urge to kiss him mercilessly

"so... shall we..?"

"don't you need to be going? It's almost five"

The words leave your mouth before you could register what you said

fuck my fucking dumb mouth! He knows! He fucking knows!

He quirked an eyebrow at you but gives you a radiant smile

yep I'm dead

"yeah I gotta be somewhere rn. But we can reschedule?"

You both exchange numbers and go your own ways

You silently thank the universe for not exploding on you

"he knows right? He definitely knows right?" You stuff your mouth with chips as you tell the whole incident to your best friend, who rn is doubling over in laughter

"ofc he knows! Boys always know! Goddamn I'm dying!"

You throw a pillow at her and huff

Next day you're waiting patiently excruciatingly painful for him at the cafe near the campus

You're prolly on your third cup of coffee coz your nerves just won't calm down

he stood me up. He absolutely did!

You hold your head in your hands he knew I was lusting over him!

You were ready to bail, leaving him message saying sorry something came up

But the jingle of the bell marks his arrival

And if you thought you were nervous before? Rn you were definitely bordering into a panic attack

And the damn wedding bells ugh!

Why won't they stop...idk belling??

He sees you and struts his handsome walk towards you and sits as gracefully like a prince. You felt like a peasant who owns five pigs and a cow

"sorry to keep you waiting! Practice ran late"

Only then you notice that he's a little out of breath he came running!

"that's okay. I only just got here"

"well then you're either super fast or I'm just imagining things coz i see three cups of coffee"

You turn the reddest red of the red unable to say anything

"so.. About the project, Where do we start?"

He takes out his notes and a well maintained diary which had everything written in an organised manner oh my god marry me!

He points out the things to do and you both assign each other duties. After an hour of discussing, your conversation comes to a stop

Turns out you both sucked at holding conversation

he's not interested you shut the voice inside your head

"so.." "so.."

You both say at the same time and burst into giggles

He's just smiling

"you first" you say coz definitely didn't have anything to say

"I was thinking if.. If you wanted to go somewhere?"

he's asking me on a date?!

He must've read your thoughts but the poor boy looked at your startled expression and got flustered

"uh I mean do you want to go somewhere rn? Since we're done? I mean it's fine if you don't want to-" "yes! I'll go!"

fuck that came out too strong

"I mean, yeah sounds good"

You both split the bill and head out

You both stroll down the streets and since it's almost Christmas, shops are decorated with lights and candy canes

You talk about random stuff, asking what he wants to do in life and you're quite surprised to hear that he wants to be a singer

Given his choice of subjects you definitely took him for a non med student

"I'm so asking do you to sing" you tease and groans

"I'm not so good yet.." "oh shut up! You're perfect"

You freeze mid walk fuck my fucking mouth!

"uh I mean uh that you'll be perfect! Hey! Is that an ice cream shop?!"

You point and almost run towards the shop

Tae just smiles behind you and catches up to you

"what flavour do you want?" you ask turning only to see him an inch away from you

You quickly turn back but he doesn't move from his spot

"chocolate" his breath hits the back of your neck and you shiver

"are you cold?" fuck he noticed!

"n-no.. I'm taking brownie fudge"

You both wait for your orders to come up and tae still hasn't moved from his spot.

His breath still fans your neck and there are now horrifyingly visible goosebumps at your arms. Thank god you're wearing a full sleeved shirt. Thank god for winter

Suddenly a bunch of school kids rush in pushing everyone

One of the kid bumps into tae who consequently bumps into you.

He mumbles an apology but it dies down when more kids start entering and causing ruckus

This makes the people standing adjacent to you lose their balance and the bump into you

You shut your eyes but don't feel the body weight

Slowly opening your eyes, you see Tae's arms at both sides of you. His chest pressing against your back.

You're too nervous to move

The shopkeeper rushes the kids out of the shop and everything quiets down

You're again suddenly hyper aware of tae behind you

His body heat radiates off of to you and you suck in a breath when you feel his heart

thumping

"t-thank you.."

He clears his throat and steps back

You both take your orders and head out suddenly feeling too suffocated in there

"thanks for saving me in there.." You say softly

"it's nothing"

There's a awkward silence and you are racking your brain to make in un-awkward

But tae beats you to it

"it's getting dark.. We should head back to the campus" you say yeah looking up at the sky

The walk back home is pleasant. You both quickly fall back into a nice conversation.

Taehyung laughs his ass off when you accidentally reveal that your best friend had a crush on jungkook and you start panicking

You both reach at the the co-ed hostel

Sign your names and get inside

The boys' floor is on the second and the girls' floor on the first

And there's a door on the stairways to prevent certain activities form happening

You both say your goodbyes at the one last shared staircase

But neither of you moves

Tae breaks the ice first

"it was fun today. I had fun with you"

"me too"

Cue in awkward silence

You're about to turn when he calls "hey! We never made plans for our next meet!"

"oh yeah!" you almost rush towards him but catch yourself the last moment

"the usual?" you ask

"I was thinking a library? I know this big town downtown if you wanna go?"

"yes I would love that"

You both stare at each other for longer than you should

But then he announces that he has to leave and you could swear that you heard dejection in his voice

Tho he says, he has to go, you leave first

You're in your third step when he calls out your name

Again

You turn around and before you could register anything, his lips are on you

You're standing on the last step so you're almost his height

Slowly you take in what's happening

And without you knowing your fingers entangle in his hair

His soft fucking hair

His hands fly up to hold your waist tightly, pulling your against him

He slips in his tongue and you almost moan coz of the feeling

At last sadly he pulls back and you both catch your breaths

A smile tugging at both your lips

"sorry for that. Had to check something"

He says with the same breathlessness as he did at the cafe

"check what?" your voice is croaky

"whether am I in love with you or not"

Your foreheads are touching

Breathes mingling

"did you find your answer?"

"yes"

"and it is?"

"I'm in love with you"

"I'm in love with you too"

@getmemyfries @rosytteok @manggojooz @jeongguksdoll @minstrivia @minlucent @cherrynochu @taeveler

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zombiequincy · 4 years

Text

THE MEGA RP PLOTTING SHEET / MEME.

First and foremost, recall that no one is perfect, we all had witnessed some plotting once which did not went too well, be it because of us or our partner. So here have this, which may help for future plotting. It’s a lot! Yes, but perhaps give your partners some insight? Anyway BOLD what fully applies, italicize if only somewhat.

MUN NAME: Hela AGE: 21 CONTACT: IM

CHARACTER(S): Giselle Gewelle, Yumichika Ayasegawa (inactive)

CURRENT FANDOM(S): Bleach

BLEACH FANDOM(S) YOU HAVE AN AU FOR: I have gory Bloodborne au but that one just exists in my head on my lonesome.

MY LANGUAGE(S): English and one very specific Middle Eastern dialect.

THEMES I’M INTERESTED IN FOR RP: FANTASY / Science fiction / Horror / WESTERN / ROMANCE / Thriller / MYSTERY / DYSTOPIA / ADVENTURE / MODERN / Erotic / Crime / MYTHOLOGY / Classic / HISTORY / RENAISSANCE / MEDIEVAL / Ancient / WAR / FAMILY / POLITICS / RELIGION / SCHOOL / ADULTHOOD / CHILDHOOD / APOCALYPTIC / GODS / Sport / MUSIC / Science / FIGHTS / ANGST / Smut / DRAMA / etc.

PREFERRED THREAD LENGTH: one-liner / 1 para / 2 PARA / 3+ / NOVELLA.

ASKS CAN BE SEND BY: MUTUALS / NON-MUTUALS / PERSONALS / ANONS.

CAN ASKS BE CONTINUED?: YES / NO only by Mutuals?: YES / NO.

PREFERRED THREAD TYPE: CRACK / casual nothing too deep / SERIOUS / DEEP AS HECK. (i love it all sorry I am quite the mixed bag lmao)

IS REALISM / RESEARCH IMPORTANT FOR YOU IN CERTAIN THEMES?: YES / NO. i gotta know what certain human body parts taste like u know

ARE YOU ATM OPEN FOR NEW PLOTS?: YES / NO / DEPENDS.

DO YOU HANDLE YOUR DRAFT / ASK - COUNT WELL?: YES / NO / SOMEWHAT. it’s SO BAD FOR ME RN ASGLDKJDJKA i’m very inconsistent i’m so sorry.

HOW LONG DO YOU USUALLY TAKE TO REPLY?: 24H / 1 WEEK / 2 WEEKS / 3+ / months / years. / a lot of it has more to do w my general writing mood and if the thread im writing catches my interest, and rn im writing a TON of really wonderful and fascinating threads so they’re all super captivating for me and i try to reply asap

I’M OKAY WITH INTERACTING: ORIGINAL CHARACTERS / a relative of my character (an oc) / duplicates / MY FANDOM / CROSSOVERS / MULTI-MUSES / self-inserts / people with no AU verse for my fandom / CANON-DIVERGENT PORTRAYALS / AU-VERSIONS.

DO YOU POST MORE IC OR OOC?: IC / OOC. (i have a lot of stupid shit sorry)

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WITH FOLLOWING OTHERS?: YES / NO / DEPENDS.

BEST WAYS TO APPROACH YOU FOR RP/PLOTTING: just send me a tumblr instant message, i know it sucks shit but im not comfy releasing my discord w everyone just yet cause i use it for personal use as well. i check tumblr on the daily so if you send me a message chances are i’ll see it and respond!

WHAT EXPECTATIONS DO YOU HOLD TOWARDS YOUR PLOTTING PARTNER: i guess just be able to put up with my rambling and stopping and starting, a lot of characterisation choices i do go through various stages and its pretty messy so when i communicate that with others it usually ends up equally messy. just be patient with me please.

WHEN YOU NOTICE THE PLOTTING IS RATHER ONE-SIDED, WHAT DO YOU DO?: i don’t mind! sometimes ppl have more ideas that they want to share first and i’m always super happy to listen to those ideas !! sometimes its nice to have someone with a clear guide or structure and be able to work around that rather than trying to fumble through a plot together.

HOW DO YOU USUALLY PLOT WITH OTHERS, DO YOU GIVE INPUT OR LEAVE MOST WORK TOWARDS YOUR PARTNER?: i try to map out some basic info abt their characters that i otherwise don’t know from their bio or verses and try to pick out points of confrontation or similarities to expand on with giselle that can be used as points for like a starter to happen. its either that or sometimes i have really stupid ideas i just toss out there like ‘LMAO THEYRE BREAKING SHIT AT DISNEYLAND’ and go buck wild from there if the other person is down. i also always try to warn people or get a gauge for what subjects to avoid and steer clear of considering that giselle is a bit of a Freak(tm) and will say and do bad things.

WHEN A PARTNER DROPS THE THREAD, DO YOU WISH TO KNOW?: YES / NO / DEPENDS. - And why?: if there’s something giselle did or said that upset you, i would love to know not to repeat it again (since i do still feel pretty new to the rp game, theres still plenty of time for me to make stupid mistakes). if its just a general lack of interest or uncertainty of where the plot should go, then you dont have to tell me i wont take it personally i promise !

WHAT COULD POSSIBLY LEAD YOU TO DROP A THREAD?: sometimes i can be made uncomfortable by certain things mentioned... it happens but its rare

- WILL YOU TELL YOUR PARTNER?: YES / NO / DEPENDS. i don’t want to upset anyone personally and sometimes explaining the ins and outs of my discomfort make things ten times worse so i just. would rather not.

IS COMMUNICATION IN THE RPC IMPORTANT TO YOU? YES / NO.

- AND WHY?: i am the most nervous person you can meet and my brain is always giving me misinfo abt paranoia and random shit so i having clear concrete communication between two parties abt if something is going wrong or is being received poorly means the world to me.

ARE YOU OKAY WITH ABSOLUTE HONESTY, EVEN IF IT MAY MEANS HEARING SOMETHING NEGA1TIVE ABOUT YOU AND/OR PORTRAYAL?: i need it !! i still feel relatively new to all this and i need to know whats going wrong to improve !!

DO YOU THINK YOU CAN HANDLE SUCH SITUATION IN A MATURE WAY? YES / NO.

WHY DO YOU RP AGAIN, IS THERE A GOAL?: to help with my confidence in writing! i have v bad anxiety when it comes to sharing my works and i write a lot of other pieces alongside this blog on ao3 and i want to develop my writing skills just in general. when it comes to like the nuts and bolts of why i rp giselle specifically, its mainly to just have fun and have a laugh w my friends who are really awesome quincy writers

WISHLIST, BE IT PLOTS OR SCENARIOS: OH SO MANY! ive managed to fulfil a lot of my wishlist threads with like, giselle talking to characters she’s already zombified and i love all that angst but i want to do more stupid shit. i want to make it my personal goal to bully every quincy man and woman on sight. although a REAL dream would be if i got to write a thread zombifying a character who managed to escape giselle’s clutches. and more fighting! i want to get better at describing action and fights and i love to write giselle getting beat up and beating people up! more more more!!

THEMES I WON’T EVER RP / EXPLORE: hohoho theres a LOT... uh r*pe/dubcon threads for one, even if yeah i know writing it doesnt condone it, it makes me intensely uncomfortable to put my muse in that scenario, i feel like i have an obligation to like, protect her from that shit you know? racism is one i don’t want to transgress, even though i’m a poc, its not really cathartic or groundbreaking to write abt racism in threads its just... really fucking upsetting. also i know the quincy’s have this very close parallel to the whole n*zi imagery and ideology thing going on and i am not about to start even daring to thread that into my writing or bring those allusions and references of real life tragedies into giselle’s threads. i’ve already talked at length abt exploring giselles trans identity in rp and why im not comfortable doing so, so.... yeah! all those i guess.

WHAT TYPE OF STARTERS DO YOU PREFER / DISLIKE, CAN’T WORK WITH?: i like starters where giselle can just immediately get right into being a piece of shit. mise en scene and all that! cut out the build up and just get to the intense horror !! i don’t like starters where its not immediately clear where the characters are standing and what they’re doing and what’s happening around them. those really disorientate me and leave me kinda floundering because i always need some allusion or mention of a setting to ground giselle in a time and place other wise i cant tell what her response should be

WHAT TYPE OF CHARACTERS CATCH YOUR INTEREST THE MOST?: EVIL WOMEN EVIL WOMEN EVIL WOMEN. also just characters i can wholeheartedly clown on, or also characters who have hidden depths to them and have a single panel of screentime. honestly it’s just all over the place!

WHAT TYPE OF CHARACTERS CATCH YOUR INTEREST THE LEAST?: angry old men GSADJDKSJA i could never rp yhwach for example or yamamoto because idk. theyre just so crummy and boring to me. i also couldnt rp characters who always have an upper hand in battle like aizen. i like my dumbasses and i like them stupid and adaptive not just, ‘yes i know this because i Know this.’

WHAT ARE YOUR STRONG ASPECTS AS RP PARTNER?: i think im nice...? FKSJDKDJSA idk i hate trying to toot my own horn. sometimes i also think i make funny jokes and im pretty chill and laid back

WHAT ARE YOUR WEAK ASPECTS AS RP PARTNER?: my writing style is inconsistent and adapts to whatever i’m reading so sometimes it’ll be really good and i love it and other times it reads like really bad fanfic and i get carried away far too easily and write novella lengths for threads which should be much shorter. i also get shy a lot and dont think i communicate very effectively but HEYO we’re working on it!

DO YOU RP SMUT?: YES / NO/ DEPENDS. haven’t had anybody brave enough to try yet lol

DO YOU PREFER TO GO INTO DETAIL?: YES / NO / DEPENDS.

ARE YOU OKAY WITH BLACK CURTAIN?: YES / NO.

- WHEN DO YOU RP SMUT? MORE OUT OF FUN OR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT?: more for fun i’d imagine because that’s just giselles own attitude to sex and relationships where she doesnt want anything deep. it might show character development in one way of just showing how she regards others in a romantic sense to be used rather than actually appreciated as their own person and show how selfish she is but yeah, more out of fun

- ANYTHING YOU WOULD NOT WANT TO RP THERE?: theres a few kinks and such but i dont think they’d ever really come up. again, just mainly no r*pe/dubcon.

ARE SHIPS IMPORTANT TO YOU?: YES / NO lets hope this doesn’t make me sound like an asshole, but its more like a fun little side thing than anything important to giselle’s actual development and characterisation.

WOULD YOU SAY YOUR BLOG IS SHIP-FOCUSED?: YES / NO. again, hardly anyone is brave enough to try to romance this evil cannibal.

DO YOU USE READ MORE?: YES / NO / SOMETIMES WHEN I WRITE LONG STUFF.

ARE YOU: MULTI-SHIP / Single-Ship / Dual-Ship — MULTIVERSE / Singleverse.

- WHAT DO YOU LOVE TO EXPLORE THE MOST IN YOUR SHIPS?: more how giselle likes to give over her power or dominate in different circumstances depending on who she’s with and what’s being done. BUT AGAIN, not a whole lot to explore yet.

ARE YOU OKAY WITH PRE-ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIPS?: YES / NO. - i mean im down for p much anything if it vibes w giselle.

► SECTION ABOUT YOUR MUSE.

- WHAT COULD POSSIBLY MAKE YOUR MUSE INTERESTING TOWARDS OTHERS, WHY SHOULD THEY RP WITH THIS PARTICULAR CHARACTER OF YOURS NOW, WHAT POSSIBLE PLOTS DO THEY OFFER?: if you want an evil woman to taunt and mock and hurt your muse, she’s your gal. you want her to zombify and ruin your muse, shes also your gal. you want her to insult and maim and injure, she’s also YOUR GAL. basically, if you want to do anything fucked up or sad or scary, she can help with that.

- WITH WHAT TYPE OF MUSES DO YOU USUALLY STRUGGLE TO RP WITH?: uh muses who get really angry quickly or don’t rise or respond to her jabs and are just kinda like a flatline. theres only so much pestering and annoying she can do until realises its not working and just wanders off

- WHAT DO THEY DESIRE, IS THEIR GOAL?: to find a goal worth living for.

- WHAT CATCHES THEIR INTEREST FIRST WHEN MEETING SOMEONE NEW?: appearance she always takes an interest in girls almost right away. age as well because she judges old people.

- WHAT DO THEY VALUE IN A PERSON?: a good set of guts to ruin and strong muscles.

- WHAT THEMES DO THEY LIKE TALKING ABOUT?: women, gore, murder, herself, music, stupid memes, gossip.

- WHICH THEMES BORE THEM?: politics, history, quincy ideology, soul reaper ideology, hollow physiology.

- DID THEY EVER WENT THROUGH SOMETHING TRAUMATIC?: her family tried to force the burden of upholding the quincy lineage onto her shoulders, she was thrown into the wrong prison and held in isolation, then pressured to become an undying monster in service of a god and then was nearly killed by that same man and left wandering without guidance or purpose. so, yeah?

- WHAT COULD LEAD TO AN INSTANT KILL?: transphobia. even a whiff of it in her direction and she’ll gut you like a fish.

- IS THERE SOMEONE /-THING THEY HATE?: the twink soul reaper who outted her.

IS YOUR MUSE EASY TO APPROACH?: YES / NO. - Best ways to approach them?: if you’re smart, you’ll bring a big bone for her to chew on and distract her while you ask whatever you want.

SOMETHING YOU MAY STILL WANT TO POINT OUT ABOUT YOUR MUSE?: i love my evil queen!

CONGRATS!!! You managed it, now tag your mutuals! ♥

Tagged by: @bazzardburner cheers chicken boy !!

Tagging: @hyouketsu @blooming5th @viciousvizard @glacies-tempestatem and whoever else wishes to do this!!

#dash games #// this took ages....

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thedarksideofriverdale · 5 years

Text

In Unity, There is Strength

Chapter 13: Unnecessary Drama

Masterlist // Playlist // Character Guide // Face-Claim

“Zara!” The girl in question turned around to see Jughead rushing out of the school entrance to her at the bottom of the entrance stairs. He stopped at the bottom step and held out his hand, palm out for her to stop. “Don’t go in yet; I gotta fill you in.”

“On what?” Zara asked impatiently. It didn’t help that yesterday she experienced yet another sleepless night because her ‘roomie’ was out all night no doubt getting high. “What could’ve possibly happened? I saw you yesterday.”

“Don’t shoot the messenger. Betty thought it ‘prudent’ to let you know. Veronica broke up with Archie.”

“Ok, that sucks. And? I feel like you’re leaving out something important.”

Jughead scratched the back of his head through his beanie. “Veronica blames you.” Zara chuckled at that. “Laugh now, but she’s raising hell in school. Even Cheryl’s afraid of her.”

“Listen, she’s none of my concern. Let the wannabe huntress think she’s important for the day.” Zara then walked around him to enter the school. It was already 8:15, and Kurtz was nowhere to be seen. But, across the hallway, she saw mop of red hair racing towards her. She waved at Archie, who seemed frazzled to say the least.

“I’m assuming Jug told you?” Archie asked quietly once he came up to Zara. “I’m sorry, Zara. I tried to keep Veronica ‘appeased,’ but once we left her out of the mini pack meeting yesterday, she lost it. To be honest, everyone was pissed. Veronica and Betty knew something was up when we were all missing from lunch. Then, Veronica told Reggie at Le Bonne Nuit, and Reggie told Moose. Since Moose was at practice, and so was Cheryl, Cheryl learned about it. And, if Cheryl knows-”

“Toni knows. I get it, Andrews. Everyone fucking knows. This is my problem, why? I’m not the fucking alpha. You agreed to excluding them.” Of course, she knew why. Archie always listens to her. “Next time, think with your brain instead of your dick.” She put your hand up to stop him from interrupting. “Don’t even argue against it; everyone knows why Veronica got pissed in the first place. Excluding her was just the last straw.” Fuming, Zara looked for an opportunity to get away from the wolf. And, it arrived. From her peripheral vision, she saw Kurtz saunter away to his locker, only five minutes until class. She rushed off towards him, leaving Archie gob smacked.

Once Zara approached Kurtz, she rolled her eyes at him. “What did I do now?” Kurtz asked, grabbing his textbook.

“Nothing. Clearly, it’s all my fault.” Kurtz raised a brow. “Don’t concern yourself with it. Any luck with finding an emissary?” He shook his head. “Keep trying.”

“Why? I thought you hated my plan of making a new pack.”

“I don’t hate it. I just don’t agree with your methods. But, finding an emissary can give us some much-needed defense against a warlock.”

“You gonna let your pack in on that information, or is it a little secret between the two of us?” he asked with a smirk. Zara took the textbook in her hand and smacked his arm. “Was that supposed to hurt?”

She scowled. “I’ll tell them, soon enough. They’re dealing with trivial drama at the moment, and I need to steer clear of it, apparently. See you at lunch.”

XXXX

Come lunch time, Zara and Kurtz were spotted outside, sitting at the benches. Zara was on her laptop with fifty some tabs open, researching emissaries. Unfortunately, Sabrina still hadn’t contacted her, so that portion of the case was at a pause. At least, Zara can focus on the other parts. “I think I should tell my mom that all of the victims were with the sisters at one point. I’ll leave out the fact that your emissary, Jimmy Riddle, was involved in your gang.”

Kurtz nodded, not looking up from his book. “I think that’s a good idea. I mean, she probably has deduced that, but it doesn’t hurt to enforce the hunch,” he replied. Before Zara could tell him about her research, Kurtz looked up from his book, brows furrowed. Zara followed his line of sight and sighed. Veronica was making her way to their table furiously... well as furious as one can be with obscenely high heels on. “Do I want to know?” Kurtz asked, and Zara shook her head.

“Let me deal with it,” Zara said, getting up from her seat to face Veronica.

Veronica had a beaming smile on her face, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Haven’t seen you all day, Z. Much to catch you up on. Did you know what I did today?” she asked with a sweet voice.

“No...” Zara lied. “I’m not your keeper, sorry to say.”

Veronica laughed and looked towards Kurtz. “A hell of a jokester, isn’t she? Hey, is it a joke that you completely ruined my relationship with Archiekins? Or, maybe is it a joke that you let Archie fall madly in love with you?” She was seething, but the smile was still firmly planted on her face.

Zara looked at Kurtz, who swiftly turned his eyes back to his book. She then looked back at Veronica and gulped. “I hardly see why I’m to blame. It’s not my fault that Archie likes me.” Keep the momentum, said a tiny voice in her head. “If I really had wanted to break you and Archie up, it would’ve happened much sooner. I apologize if your ex-boyfriend didn’t exactly love you anymore because your father is constantly trying to murder him, and you have done nothing to quell the situation. Let’s see, when did it start? Oh yeah, after a ski trip of his went wrong because of your father. And, do you know why? Because Archie isn’t stupid. He probably thought how the hell did Hiram know he was going to be there? Oh wait, you paid for the trip.”

“What exactly are you insinuating?” Veronica sneered. “I would do nothing to hurt Archie.”

“That probably was true, until Archie got bit. Things changed then. A part of you still loves him, but a part of you wants him dead as well. Am I wrong?”

Veronica gave her a hard look before walking off, confirming to Zara as well as anyone who knew of the confrontation that Veronica was no longer welcome in the Dark Circle.

XXXX

It was 7:30 on the dot when Kurtz pulled up into the Andrews driveway with Zara. Once the two stepped inside, Zara immediately picked up on the awkward tension oozing from Archie. She went to sit down next to Cheryl, who had her arm propped up on the armrest, supporting her head as she sighed audibly. “Who knew that a brooding Archie Andrews was even more annoying than the cheerful puppy we see daily?” she asked, exasperated. “I’m assuming you’re to blame,” she added, eyeing up Zara.

Zara went to deny it, but Archie beat her to the punch. “It was all Veronica’s fault, Cheryl. Don’t take it out on Z.” Zara muttered a thank you to him in response before looking around the room. Everyone looked tense, especially Betty. Her hands were balled up into fists and considering that Kurtz was crinkling his nose, Zara knew that Betty was breaking skin in her palms again.

“I’m sorry, B,” Zara quietly uttered. Betty looked up at her, but stayed silent as she uncurled her fists and rubbed her palms on her jeans. Zara then cleared her throat. “So, aside from the drama today, I realized that I should’ve let the rest of you on the information we received from Greendale. It was a poor decision on my part as paranoia got the best of me. I should’ve trusted my pack.” The kids nodded, eyes focused on her. “In Greendale, we realized that a witch or warlock obtains power from sacrifices. Power that can be transferred to other beings, those who do not have magic. The starting sacrifice is of a werewolf, hence why Kurtz’s werewolf friend was the first body to pop up. The only reason he was kept in the morgue longer than Chuck or our history teacher was because of his abnormal healing. We don’t know why they’re attacking previous patients of the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, but we do know that it has to be someone from Riverdale. Otherwise, they wouldn’t know of the facility. Or, we had another hunch.” Zara paused, stealing a glance at Archie who’s veins were popping out of his arms due to his tenseness. “We believed that a hunter may be employing the warlock to not only kill a werewolf, but also give them a reasonable excuse to come and hunt you all. If they can pin the blame on werewolves, according to the code, they can come and kill you. It is fully justified in the hunters’ council.

“Another thing is, the werewolf killed happened to be a son of a powerful witch who also is a seer. A person who can see into the future,” Zara clarified. “The boy, Jimmy Riddle, was Kurtz’s emissary. We feel that this might have some correlation,” she finished, allowing the others to process the information.

Jughead squinted at Kurtz and asked, “Why didn’t you think it to be vital for us to know this sooner?”

Kurtz shrugged, to which Zara rolled her eyes and proceeded to explain. “He didn’t want to say this, but he’s planning on building up his pack again.” Hearing that, Archie snarled. “Archie, calm down. If you lost your pack, you would do the same. This time, Kurtz wants to start with an emissary, but none of the candidates are showing any potential in any magic, let alone fortune telling.”

“You want a weapon, essentially?” Betty asked, folding her hands on her lap. “If we have a warlock or witch, then we can have a fighting chance.” Kurtz nodded, leaning back against the sofa. “It’s a good idea.”

Zara nodded, then felt a buzz in her pocket. She took out her phone and saw Sabrina’s name in the notification. Unlocking her phone, she held out her hand to stop the others from continuing the conversation. She read it silently and let out a large exhale through her nose. “Sabrina just texted me back,” she said loudly. In response to Cheryl’s confusion, she added, “I asked the witch who helped us if there was any connection between werewolf hunters and witches. Apparently, hunters hunt anything that hurts the normal human race. Essentially, the natural are protected from the supernatural. Some centuries ago, witches and warlocks were excluded from this supernatural bunch after some respected witches decided to... help out with werewolf extermination. So yeah, witches and hunters get along because they both want you guys dead.”

Archie rubbed his eyes with his palms and sighed. “So, the hunters are involved in this somehow. And, we were telling Veronica everything until Zara realized. God, I’m so stupid!” He got up from the chair, protests from Toni and Cheryl silenced with a flick of his hand.

After a moment of awkward silence, Reggie cleared his throat. “So… does this mean I should stop working for Veronica?” which awarded him with a punch from Moose.

“Dude?” Moose questioned, shaking his head. “But, honestly, maybe you should,” he added. Zara nodded, then looked back at the kitchen where Archie stormed off to. She was about to get up before Kurtz himself went back into the kitchen. Archie heard the omega come in and took a deep breath. “I’m fine,” he assured. “Tell Zara to stop worrying.”

“That’s not why I’m here,” Kurtz deadpanned.

“Then, why’d you follow me in here?”

“I need to know if you are going to pursue Zara.”

“Pursue? This isn’t a Jane Austen novel, dude. I’m not going to pursue her. I need time to get over Veronica.” Archie looked up at him, suspicious. “But, why do you care?” Kurtz didn’t respond, but Archie got the drift and began laughing. “You can’t be serious. Like anyone would let you,” he snarled.

“If you care so much for Zara, then you wouldn’t have allowed her to suffer in Veronica’s hands because Veronica knew how much you love Zara. You played Veronica, and Zara is facing the consequences.”

“You know nothing about my relationship with Zara. I…” he trailed off, looking at his feet.

“You what, Andrews?”

“I love her,” to which Kurtz snorted. Archie scowled at him and asked, “What’s so funny?”

“If you love her so much, why weren’t you the one to break up with Veronica? You have too many issues to give Zara the love she deserves.”

“And you don’t have issues? That’s rich, coming from a guy who was so high to not only make his life shit but also cause the deaths of each and every single person of his pack. At least, my issues don’t result in death.” Instantaneously, Kurtz wolfed out, growling at the alpha.

Meanwhile, in the living room, all of the wolves were red faced, staring at each other due to the conversation they were eavesdropping until the loud growl caused them all to get up. “What the hell’s going on in there?!” Zara screamed.

“Stay here, Zara,” Jughead commanded. “You’ll just make things worse.” Zara stopped in her tracks, furrowing her brows as the three wolves ran over to the commotion.

Jughead rushed into the kitchen to see the two wolves on the ground, Kurtz having the upper hand and punching Archie’s face. Reggie snarled and wolfed out to grab Kurtz off of Archie, but the ex-alpha was stronger than an average beta and escaped the hold to hit Archie again. But, Archie expected the attack and scratched Kurtz’s side deeply, causing the other wolf to howl. Unable to handle the noise of the commotion anymore, Cheryl ran in and screamed, causing everyone in the house to clutch their ears. All of the wolves returned to their human forms and calmed down.

Slowly, Zara walked into the kitchen to take in the state of the room and the two wolves who were brawling. “What the fuck, guys?” she asked in disbelief. She looked down and ushered Kurtz. “Come on, we’re leaving. I’ll see you guys in school tomorrow,” she added, leaving the room. Kurtz trailed her, his head down.

The car ride was unbearable, neither one of them wanting to speak until the other one did. It began pouring outside, so once Kurtz parked in the woods, the two ran into the house. Luckily, Zara’s mother wasn’t home to hear the commotion.

It was Kurtz who spoke first. “I’m fine. Nothing major happened,” then started up the stairs, and Zara stared at him for a few seconds before following him, wet hair leaving droplets on the wooden stairs. When she walked into her room, Kurtz was already peeling off his jacket. So, Zara decided to grab clean clothes and went to change in the bathroom.

She was pensive in thought as she changed. Still thinking, she went to dry her hair, but was brought out of her thoughts when she heard loud noises from her bedroom. She turned off her dryer to hear objects being thrown. Furious, she came out of the bathroom.

“Cut the bullshit; you’re not alright,” Zara said, fully taking in the state of her bedroom turned upside down. “What’s wrong with you?!”

Kurtz turned around, a frown marring his face. He stomped towards her, his face inches away from hers. “I can’t understand what’s happening to me,” he whispered.

“Tell me, and we can figure this out together.” Her hand lightly brushes against Kurtz’s, but he stepped back in response. Zara’s eyes watered, and she shook her head. “You can’t just bottle up your feelings and hurt the people around you because you can’t understand your thoughts! Why are you tormenting me?!”

“Because I fucking love you!”

Zara stepped away from him until her back was against the bathroom door. “No, you’re not,” she said firmly. “You’re delusional.”

“Who are you to tell me my emotions aren’t real?” Kurtz sneered. “I love you. I’ve had an inkling but I absolutely knew when we went to Greendale.”

“You absolutely knew nothing! Just because I’m nice to you, and I give you a place to stay does not mean I’m a good person for you to be with!” Zara screamed, breathing heavily after. “Now, clean up my room, and we can forget about this conversation.” She then went to grab her sleeping bag. “And, let me be perfectly clear: you hurt one of my friends ever again, I will no longer cut you any slack. You are my enemy from that day onward,” she stated, then exited the room.

XXXX

Notification Squad: @-thatgirloverthere- @the-gargoyle-queen @that-idiot125 @sweetscamille @kurtzyoufunkylittledruggy @thispreviewsme @jinxfanfics @lilhemmo

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knivestothroats · 5 years

Text

Part 6

List of Episodes

This one is pretty tame. Mostly dealing with how people are treating Ace now that they have free range of the base again.

Ace walked through the doors of the infirmary and stopped dead. Luke was sitting on one of the beds, next to another man Ace didn’t recognize. In reality, they had seen this man with Luke before, the first time Matty had pointed him out, but Ace hadn’t really been paying attention to anyone else.

Ace’s mind raced. Should they pretend they didn’t know him? They didn’t want Luke to think they remembered anything from their time under Miranda’s control. They knew who Luke was, but only because they had been told about him by others. That felt weird to say, but they didn’t want to lie, and–

“Hey, Ace,” Luke said. “Do you remember me?”

Remember you? Only from seeing you around the base. Not that I was watching you…

“N-no,” Ace said. “But… one of my friends told me…” That we’ve met? “Who you are. Um…” Ace felt like they should apologize, but honestly they had no idea if they had done anything to apologize for. Surely they had, but they had no idea what. Maybe just, sorry for what happened to you? Too detached. Sorry you got dragged into this? Sorry..?

Dr. Greene walked in before they could decide how to continue.

“Dr. Rosenthal isn’t in today,” He said, skipping the formalities. “You’ll have to come back later to do your check up with me.”

Ugh.

“Why do I have to come back later? I’m here now,” Ace said.

“I’m with another patient, and you can’t be in the room.”

Luke looked like he was going to speak up, but Ace beat him to it.

“You didn’t mind me being in the room when you kept me in a hospital bed for three days.” Ace pointed out, folding their arms. There wasn’t really a point in arguing, but they had to get their digs in where they could. “Whatever. When do I have to come back?”

Dr. Greene checked his watch and said, “Give it an hour.”

“’Kay,” Ace said, turning on their heel toward the door. “Looking forward to it.”

They hadn’t gotten very far down the hall before they heard a voice call out to them. Ace turned around to see Luke’s friend jogging up.

“You should stay away from Luke,” he said when he reached them.

Ace felt their chest tighten. “I didn’t know he was in there.”

“He needs space to heal, away from the people that hurt him,” the friend said.

I hurt him?

“He sees you as like…” the man struggled to find the right words. “Like, like a friend or something. It’s probably something he had to do to survive in there. He needs time in a safe place so he can recognize that what you did to him is bad.”

“What–” Ace stopped themselves before asking what did I do to him?

“I get that it wasn’t you,” the friend continued. “But… it was, physically, you. And I don’t think it’d be good for him to be around you until he’s had time to recover.”

“Okay, well,” Ace couldn’t help but feel defensive. They folded their arms across their chest and glanced away. “It’s not exactly like I’m blowing up his phone.”

“I know,” said Luke’s friend, sounding defensive now too. “I’m just… being preemptive. I think he might try to reach out to you.”

Ace didn’t know how to take that information. Was that a bad thing? Luke was the only person who knew what happened during Ace’s missing time. And if he wanted to reach out to Ace… it couldn’t be that bad, right? Wouldn’t he know better than others if he should stay away from Ace? Or was it like his friend said; some kind of defense mechanism he needed to overcome? Like Stockholm syndrome? Dr. Greene seemed to think so too, and, despite whatever feelings he and Ace had for each other, he was a doctor.

Not a psychiatrist, though.

“Well, if that’s what you think is best,” Ace managed, “I’ll make myself scarce.”

“Thank you,” the friend said. He turned away and walked back to the infirmary.

Matty was in some sort of debriefing, so Ace had to walk the halls alone. The weather had taken a turn for the worse, so Ace was stuck eating in the cafeteria. They picked an empty table, and sat with their back to the rest of the room. It felt like, if they turned around to look, everyone would be staring at them. Ace tried to ignore the paranoia. Under the table, they pulled a folding knife out of their pocket. It was spring loaded, and was designed to be open with one hand. Closing it with one hand was trickier, and Ace occupied themselves by practicing doing just that. Flick open, press the release, push the flat side against their leg, close the knife. Repeat.

They were starting to relax when they suddenly felt something thunk against the back of their skull. Hand to their head, they looked down to see an apple, smashed, where it had landed on the floor. They could hear snickers and murmurs behind their back.

Don’t look. You won’t be able to tell who threw it, they told themselves. And if even if you did, you can’t fight them. You have to prove that you’re not a threat. Everyone just needs a target to take their grief out on. Let that be you for a while. Let it play out.

Ace regretted not just taking their lunch back to their room to eat there, but they couldn’t bail out now. Not yet.

Don’t let them see you tuck tail and run. Just finish your food, and then you can go.

Ace ate what they could stomach, remained for what they hoped was an appropriate amount of time to let eyes slide off them, and then made their retreat. Once in the relative safety of the corridors, they checked the time. They could afford 10 or 15 minutes of hiding in their room before they had to go back to the infirmary for their check-up.

As they were heading back to the dorms, wondering what the hell even constitutes as a “check-up” in this situation, somebody shoved them hard into the wall.

Ace spun around to face their assailant, rage boiling their blood. Three other agents huddled around them.

“Careful,” one of them said. “They’ve been known to kill their own team.”

The heat from Ace’s anger turned to cold dread.

The one in front, Tate, got in their face. “You shouldn’t be allowed to walk free around here.” He shoved them again.

It wasn’t that Ace was outnumbered that concerned them. Sure, everyone here had been trained, but Ace was one of the best agents, and everybody knew it. The problem was, Ace knew what would happen if they hurt fellow agents. They knew what people would think.

They can’t be trusted; they’re still rabid.

“Well?” Tate prompted. “You got anything to say for yourself? Or did you ‘forget’ how to speak, too?” he put air quotes around forget, as if Ace was lying about their lost time.

Ace, never one to walk away from a fight, was running scenarios in their head on how best to get out of this situation – without losing their dignity, freedom, or teeth – when Matty rounded the corner.

His surprised smile from running into Ace without having to track them down was only briefly present on his face, quickly erased when he surveyed the scene.

“Hey,” he said easily. “What’s going on?”

Tate gave a smile. “We just wanted to see how Ace is feeling these days.”

He put his hand on Ace’s shoulder and gave it a fake-friendly squeeze. Ace clenched their jaw and fought against feelings of revulsion.

The trio walked away and Matty turned to Ace.

“What was that?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Ace grumbled. To Matty’s concerned and unconvinced look, they added, “You know I could handle myself if there was a problem.”

“Yeah,” Matty relented uneasily. “That’s true. Uh, how did you check-up go?”

“Ugh, Dr. Rosenthal wasn’t there, so I have to go back and do it with Dr. Greene.”

“Oh, that sucks. Do you want me to come with you?”

Ace rubbed their shoulder absently. “It’s whatever, you can if you want. Luke’s friend was there with him, but Dr. Greene might change the rules for me.”

“You saw Luke?” Matty asked.

Ace immediately felt like they had been caught doing something wrong. “Uh, briefly.”

“Did you get to talk to him?”

“Not really,” Ace said.

“Well, he probably knows more than anyone what happened during that time. You know, when you’re ready to hear about it,” Matty said.

Ace rubbed the back of their head, and then tugged on their overgrown hair. “Everyone’s telling me I should stay away from him,” they muttered.

Matty’s eyebrows pulled together. “Like who?”

“Uh, Dr. Greene and Luke’s friend. They said he needs time to recover from… me, I guess.”

Matty thought for a moment. “Did Luke seem scared when you saw each other?”

“No. I don’t know. I don’t think so. He asked if I remembered him. That’s about it.” Ace sighed. “His friend said he, like, thinks of me as a friend, but I… hurt him. I guess. I don’t – I don’t know what I did, obviously. So. How, uh, how was your debriefing?”

“Oh, uh,” Matty shifted uncomfortably. “I’m, uh… Brooks is sending me on an assignment. With Jess and Nadia.”

Ace nodded slowly. “Well, Jess and Nadia combined are almost as good as having me there,” they joked. “Uh, when..?”

“Tomorrow,” Matty said. “It’s gonna be a few days.”

“Okay. Well…” Ace looked at their watch. “I gotta head to the infirmary.”

“Yeah, I’ll come with you,” Matty said.

They walked in silence for a moment before Matty said, “You know, if you didn’t want to beat those guys up yourself, I could do it. Or I can get Jess and Nadia to help me as a sort of pre-mission team bonding exercise.”

Ace laughed. “Let’s hold off,” they said. “I might need to ask you to jump Dr. Greene instead, depending on how this check-up goes.”

[continues here]

#i normally give it an extra read thru b4 posting but i can't concentrate rn #Ace #original #whump #whump series #whump ocs #whump oc #whump blog #mind control #memory loss

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politesociopathicnerd · 5 years

Text

Some things that came to mind

After several hours of self reflection I understand that:

I did not turn out the way my mother had hoped and in the end that’s fine. I shouldn’t let her try to live through me.

My mother, my sister and myself are all very paranoid, untrusting people. This, while helpful in some cases is detrimental to the whole single mother and her two kids (one of whom is a grown ass man and would very much like for his mother to get her shit together so he can do the same)thing.

My mother is 45 years old and she has nothing to show for it, not even a paying job.

All the money I give her by choice and is not at all coerced from me has been going somewhere and it wasn’t bills and rent.

At my age I should be running around partying, drinking, smoking weed, buying things I can’t afford and fucking anyone who says yes. Instead I’m worrying over someone else’s rent and hoping she dies peacefully in her sleep.

My mother has had one significant other who treated her right and on a bout of paranoia with little evidence, accused him of fucking everything in this shitwhole town and began to treat him like shit while expecting us to do the same.

My mother assuming I’m choosing her ex husband over her, claiming I need to “think about where my loyalties lie”, is proof she has serious issues that we sadly cannot afford to see anyone about.

This post is me bitching about my emotionally unstable, irresponsible, dangerously deluded, and possibly schizophrenic mother. Hope you don’t mind.

My mother is living proof that growing older doesn’t magically make you wiser, if anything it leaves you open for dementia.

Her unwillingness to talk about the problems we are going through physically, emotionally, and financially, writing it all off as “white people shit”, is proof she has little to no business being a mother. This also may be the source of our fucked off, dark ass sense of humor.

Her calling feelings “white people shit”, proves that despite what she says deep down she is somewhat racist.

The fact that my 15 year old sister knows more about the law that her may say something about her as a person. My sisters exact words were, “living with our mom, you gotta know the law in case some fuck-shit happens”.

The fact that when my sister was caught trying to sneak back into the house from a party she was told she couldn’t go to, my mothers response was to violently beat her is proof that CPS may be her best bet.

The fact that I’m her biggest source of income and if I disappear or die she’ll be looking at no longer having a place to smoke weed, and occasionally meth.

She smokes meth...meth that she bought with the money I gave her for bills and rent.

She starts conflicts in public, shouting at and often threatening people who she thinks fucked her husband. including people who honestly have no idea who he his. Some of whom are packing heat...It’s a wonder they didn’t die while I was gone.

Her incessant-holier than thou-bible thumping, might just have a hand in her behavior. Now I feel kind of bad for laughing at reddit atheists.

This hellish shit-storm did not begin flailing about until after her mother passed away. She had time to grieve, I had to suck it up and pretend things were fine and dandy. I couldn’t even leave for the funeral.

I sincerely hope she dies quickly, quietly and peacefully in her sleep, preferably soon.

Deep down I know she loves us, she just can’t show in a way that doesn’t hurt us somehow.

If you read this all the way through thank you for allowing me to bitch to you about my personal problems. Please respond I love hearing from the people on this glorious shit-fuck of a website. One of you post this on im14andthisisdeep.

#im14andthisisdeep #fine and dandy #family problems #why wont you die

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barbarianbillyhargrove · 6 years

Text

They Think We’re Lost (But I Have You)

A small tbc harringrove fic for @weirdlet (like 10 days later- finals are a bitch, sorry)

Steve knew it was a mistake to lie to Dustin. He didn’t even mean to - it just happened. The kid had convinced himself that Steve needed to move on from Nancy as soon as possible. Being that it was coming up on Christmas, he thought it was the perfect time for Steve to find a girlfriend. The only problem? Steve wasn’t interested. He was a little too preoccupied with thoughts of blonde hair, blue eyes, and a body that shouldn’t attract him. Sue him, after catching an accidental glimpse in the showers one too many times he let himself indulge a little. He told himself it was an accident, it’s not his fault he saw it when the team showers… it was just… there… So he thought, “Fuck it,” and maybe he shouldn’t have, but he told himself that his life sucked recently. He was allowed to enjoy the little things in life - or not so little, in this case.

Regardless, he was screwed now. Dustin had asked one too many times if Steve was going to get another girlfriend - even going as far as to ask him if he wanted help getting one - and Steve blurted out that he already had one. The only problem was, obviously, that he didn’t. Normally, he wouldn’t give a shit about making up some girl to get out of Dustin’s questioning. He could always ‘break up’ with her later. But, strangely, Dustin kept quiet after that, so he let the lie stay. Stupid. Now he was the center of attention at the new monthly Byers-Hopper dinner, and completely out of explanations besides “I was sick of Dustin reminding me I’m single.”

Jane, never having celebrated the holidays before, wanted everyone to come over for dinner and presents. Hopper still couldn’t say no to her, so it was made clear that everyone had to be at the Byers’ for 6 o’clock that day. Then Dustin, in an attempt to embarrass Steve further, announced that he should bring his girlfriend. Steve swore he lived through the Upside Down just so he could die at the hands of a preteen trying to be his therapist.

Nancy took this new information as a sign that the awkwardness between them was gone and that he had forgiven her for cheating on him. Jonathon even looked relieved, though Steve didn’t really get why. It’s not like he cheated on Steve. Steve held nothing against Jonathon other than the typical “what do you have that I don’t?” It was Nancy that hurt him, though he did shoulder some of the blame for their broken relationship. At least he didn’t cheat.

The party looked a combination of curious, bored, and irritated (in Mike’s case). Dustin looked like he won the lottery. Considering the kid labeled himself the source of all things Steve, maybe he was justified, though Steve was still ready to throttle him. Jane was looking at him with big pleading eyes; she was still in the new-relationship honeymoon phase with Mike and convinced that everyone should share in her joy. Then Mrs. Byers jumped in and told him that he was welcome to bring his girlfriend, and before he knew it he was nodding his head and saying he’d pass on the invitation. Fuck.

Dustin looked like the cat who caught the canary when they got in the car to leave. He spent the entire car ride home making that dumb-fuck purring noise on and off. (Not that Steve would ever seriously tell him to stop. Honestly, he found it cute. He’d never tell him that, but normally he didn’t really mind.) On the other hand, Steve was still pissed. Rather than telling him to stop, he simply employed the silent treatment. Dustin, however, didn’t care. He was still smug as shit.

“I get to meet her now! What’s she look like? How long have you been dating? Why won’t you tell me anything? Steve, man, friends don’t lie.” He didn’t shut up once the whole ride home.

Steve was stuck between finding this more annoying than the purring and wishing the purring would just fucking stop already. By the time they got to his house, Steve actually started to feel bad about lying. Dustin was growing more and more agitated with his lack of response.

“Steve, can you tell me something at least?” He was refusing to get out of the car, and frowning. “We’re like… wingmen… we gotta talk about these things.”

Steve just looked at him and sighed. “Okay. First off, we are not wingmen. You’re like 5. Second off, I don’t have to tell anyone anything, okay?”

“Steve!” Dustin was clearly bothered by this revelation, which Steve didn’t particularly understand (nor did he care to). It was making him feel bad though.

He dropped his head onto the steering wheel, Dustin still planted firmly in his passenger seat. “Just one thing?”

Dustin’s entire face lit up and he nodded, almost bouncing in his seat.

Steve thought for a minute back to an apology he heard a month ago, to hard eyes and a bruised face hiding vulnerability.

“They’re the strongest person I’ve ever met.”

***

He meets him later that night at the quarry. He’s early, and he brings a six-pack with him. Billy often jokes that it’s the only reason he shows up, but Steve knows better. Billy is just as lonely as he is. When he shows up, Steve’s already slightly tipsy.

“Billy!”

He rolls off the hood of his own car in favor of throwing himself onto the front of his. Billy rolls his eyes and gets out of the car. “Miss me?”

Steve snorts and offers him a drink.

When they’re both situated on the Camero’s hood, Steve leans back and grabs another beer. “Guess who fucked up again?”

Billy slowly sips at his drink, as if he isn’t interested in drinking for once. “Harrington, what did they fucking drag you into now?”

“Uuuugggghhh… so Dustin…” Steve rambles off for a while, tone getting progressively more bitter as he drinks. “…y’know? I just wish Nancy wouldn’t pretend we could be like, best friends, or something. I can handle Dustin. He’s a good kid, Billy. He’s just trying to help. Nancy should fucking know better. I’m fine with what happened. I just don’t want her to butt in on my business like she deserves to know that shit… what?”

Billy smirks knowingly at him. “Do you ever wanna make her mad?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, she treated you like dirt, and now she’s acting like you’re best friends just because you got someone new? It’s kinda shitty! She’s trying to get close again just because she thinks you’re finally over her! Think about it!” Even though Steve knows it’s probably due to the alcohol, Billy seems to be making a lot of sense, “You should take someone that would really piss her off. I’m sure I could get Carol to go with you if I asked. She’d probably love to see that shit go down. I know you still don’t get along, but I think you could get over it for at least one night for something as great as this…” Billy continues to ramble, his face lighting up as he laughs at the myriad of ways to piss off Steve’s ex.

Steve, meanwhile, has long since stopped listening. He is drunkenly preoccupied with the happiness on Billy’s face as he relaxed. Billy never seems to truly relax; he’s always looking over his shoulder for the next attack. It’s something that Steve can understand, even if his wariness stems from an entirely different set of circumstances.

Steve knows enough about Billy to figure out he should blame his father for his paranoia. Contrary to common belief, Steve isn’t as big of a dumbass as everyone likes to assume. Sure, he’s shit at school, but that’s down to a lack of motivation and willingness to give a shit. He isn’t stupid. Sometimes, he thinks Billy seems to forget that about him. There’s only so many times you can blame injuries on fights and accidents before people started questioning things. And while they aren’t close enough to talk about home lives yet, Steve figures they both have each other figured out. It’s pretty obvious that no one’s ever home at Steve’s place, just like it’s pretty obvious that Billy’s bruising isn’t an accident or a fight.

Steve has seen his mother try to play that game enough times to know it was a lie. He knows what abuse looks like. His mother survived it for a long time before his parents separated. She went off to live with family in Italy, while his father spent his time fucking his secretaries and working out of state. They never officially divorced; his mother just left. His father let her go as long as she didn’t press charges or defame him, since she had threatened to put his company in the ground. After that, he stayed away from Steve. He never even touched him.

Sometimes, Steve wonders what it would be like if his mother had stayed, or if his father had turned to hurting him when she left. He never wanted him to, though. No attention is better than the attention he remembers. Steve only tried to talk about it to Billy once, and based on his reactions, he hasn’t tried again since. He just leaves him with an invitation to come over if things ever get bad. Billy has taken him up on the offer a couple of times, and Steve keeps himself from a premature heart attack by remembering that he can always go to Hopper if things get worse. Billy had already agreed to that condition.

“…So? What about it?”

“Huh?”

Billy rolls his eyes. “You should go with someone who will really piss them off. That way, you won’t have to admit to lying, and you get to see her face when she sees them.”

Steve finds himself laughing at the image of everyone meeting Billy as his boyfriend. Then his drunk ass gets an idea. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

“There’s my King!” Billy laughs and throws back his drink.

Steve doesn’t really think Billy will beat his face in again. “But you gotta go as my date.”

Billy starts coughing. Steve’s pretty sure beer just came out his nose, which like, ew, but he soldiers on anyway. “It would piss her off. And Dustin might refuse to ask me anything about my life ever again. You gotta do it man.”

Once he’s finished choking, Billy gives him an evaluating look, “Steve, are you…?”

Steve glares at him. “Queer?”

Billy shrugs. “I was going to say piss-drunk, but that too.”

“Sometimes, but don’t worry. You won’t catch any diseases if that’s your issue,” Steve snaps.

“I don’t have an issue! I didn’t know. I just thought I might have to cut you off the alcohol there,” he snorts.

Steve had figured as much; he didn’t think Billy had an issue with queer people. He treats Will well enough - likes him even. Now that Steve knows for sure, he gains more confidence. “Man, you gotta come with me. I don’t care if you’re not queer. It’ll be hilarious. I think Mike might actually shit a brick.”

Billy just continues to play with his bottle, and Steve deflates. This is very likely the only chance he’ll ever have to go out with the man of his dreams, and as pathetic as that sentiment is, he’ll take it. It looks like Billy’s weirded out by it though. He won’t even meet Steve’s eyes. Then, right as Steve is prepared to retract the offer, Billy grumbles, “I’ll do it, but only for the look on that bitch’s face. And seeing little Wheeler explode will be pretty great too.”

Steve can’t believe it. It takes him a minute to process that Billy has accepted. When he does, he laughs so hard he almost falls off the car. “She’s gonna be so pissed!”

At least holiday dinner will be interesting this year . . .

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

Billy can’t believe his fucking ears. He’s pretty sure his dad actually put him in a coma last time he touched him, because obviously this is not real. There’s no way Steve Harrington is actually gay, and no chance in hell he’s actually asking Billy to dinner, even if it is just to get back at his ex.

He can’t look him in the eye. He’s too afraid of Steve calling him calling him a faggot if he falls for the joke. But when Steve goes quiet, he takes the chance and looks at him. He’s clearly well over tipsy, but he also looks fairly upset that Billy hasn’t jumped on the idea yet. Maybe he had a chance?

But if he does say yes, does that count as taking advantage of Steve? He’s at least partially drunk, and probably wouldn’t offer if he knew about the hard-on Billy carried for him half the time. Even on the off-chance that Steve really is gay, there’s no way he likes Billy.

But maybe there is a chance? The more he thinks about, the more likely it seems. They’re in Hawkins, and the only other queer kid they know is Will (and he gets shit for it all the time). It’s not like Steve can just ask him out the way he would ask out a girl. No, he’d be stupid to do it, especially since Billy’s closeted ass hangs out with Tommy and Carol. It’d practically be suicide - the fact that he openly admitted he was queer was dangerous enough. Just because his make-shift family is accepting doesn’t mean his asshole best friend is. But he came out anyway.

Furthermore, what guy would take another man to piss off his lying, cheating ex when it’s ten times safer and just as funny to take some random bitch? It’s highly unlikely. Maybe Wheeler was homophobic? No, that can’t be it. Jonathon wouldn’t bring her near his brother if she was. Maybe Steve’s just really drunk, but then again Billy’s learned from experience that alcohol generally leads to increased honesty.

It’s how he got his first boyfriend back in Cali.

A part of Billy wants to tell him he’s gay. He wants to take the risk, take the plunge, throw himself off the diving board and open up to Steve Harrington. But the rational part of him (the fearful part of him, the part that sounds suspiciously like his father) holds its ground. He decides to just let things run their course and go from there. Judging by the way Steve’s face lights up, he’s made the right call. Even though he tells himself he’s only doing for the humor, that he’s just doing it to see the look on Nancy’s smug little face when she sees him on Steve’s arm, he knows better. He’s going to get himself a chance with Steve Harrington, even if he doesn’t fully know what the other boy feels just yet. Time will tell.

#harringrove #my post #tbc #fic

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shookethbrooketh · 6 years

Text

Blanketed

Summary: When a classic snowstorm hits New York City the night before Valentine’s Day, Dan finds himself stranded and unable to catch his flight back home to London, so he does what any functional 27-year-old would do and hits the airport bar. It’s there that he finds another stranded passenger by the name of Phil. The two bond as they learn that they’re going to be stuck in the airport overnight, and in the morning they find themselves cuddled up for warmth underneath the same blanket. But what happens when the snow melts and they have to go their separate ways?

Warnings: Alcohol

Word Count: 3.7k

Artist: @pine-tree-gi Beta: @themeoweclipse

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A/N: This is one of two fics I’ve written for the @phandomreversebang, and I love this fic so much. It’s probably the first (fairly) pure fluff I’ve written in a while, and I really enjoyed writing something soft. I hope you enjoy it as well! I know it’s a bit short, but my second one will be longer, I promise :)

“Bartender? Another drink, please?”

Dan looked up from his empty plastic cup branded on one side with “JFK Airport” in textured letters. The bartender walked over and poured more champagne into his cup. He gave the man a nod and he turned to serve other customers down the bar.

Dan took a sip from his third cup as a man slid into the seat beside him. “Champagne, please?” The bartender poured him a cup identical to Dan’s and then left the two alone. “Lemme guess,” he said, catching Dan off guard. “Snowed in?”

“News flash, buddy; we all are.” He thrust a thumb over his shoulder at the departures screen behind him. Every flight was accompanied by a red ‘cancelled’. “Not a single flight leaves until this damn snowstorm dies down and they clear the tarmac.”

“Good to know you’re just as annoyed as I am.” The man chuckled. Dan had never been one to talk to people in social settings, but he seemed to be a good-hearted man trying to make light of a shitty situation.

Dan rotated his barstool toward him and got his first good look at him. He had raven-black hair, and he was wearing a grey jumper covered in foxes along with a jean jacket the cold weather had prompted him to throw on over it. He could only see half of the man’s face, but, in all honesty, he was pretty attractive for an airport luck of the draw.

“I’m Dan.”

“Phil.”

Dan had done his part in the social contract, and they drank in silence for a moment before Phil finally spoke up.

“So, where-” he was cut off by a computerized voice ringing from speakers nobody could seem to locate.

“Attention all travelers. The weather forecast shows the current snowstorm continuing into the morning hours. Our crews cannot clear the tarmac until precipitation stops, so all flights are delayed until at least daylight tomorrow morning. We apologize for the inconvenience; thank you for flying through JFK International Airport.”

There was an audible groan from both men as well as everyone around them. Whines of tired children were heard even from outside the bar.

“Guess we’re gonna be here a while, huh?” Phil asked, shrugging off his jean jacket.

“Sadly,” Dan muttered, swirling the champagne remaining in his plastic cup.

“Hey, lighten up a bit!” Phil shouted, attracting a few glares from people around them. “You look plenty fun; you’re wearing a Christmas jumper in February.” He looked Dan up and down. “And it looks like you brought it through a wormhole from 2009.”

“Oh, thanks. Random strangers talking about my fashion sense is my favorite thing to encounter on an already shitty day.”

“Always happy to deliver.” Another moment’s silence passed. “I like your nails, by the way.”

Dan glanced down at his black-painted nails. He really did look like a 2009 emo. “Thanks,” he said monotonously.

“You seem upset. Like, beyond the level of upset a person would be just by this situation. I know we just met, but do you wanna talk?”

Dan sighed, throwing himself backwards and holding onto the bar to lunge himself back forward. “Boy, have I got a story.” He waved to the bartender. “Another round.”

“So let me get this straight,” Phil said, at least ten minutes later. “You wanted to use Valentine’s Day tomorrow as an excuse to confess to this guy you like, but there’s someone else he likes, and they’re ALSO planning to confess tomorrow, and now that your flight’s delayed, they’ll beat you to it?”

“Yup. I sound like a bloody teenager, but that’s what’s happened.”

“You really are having a bad day. I’m sorry, man. But come on!” he called out again, apparently the loud type. He threw his arm around Dan and shook his shoulder a bit. “Enjoy yourself! It’s not like you’ve got anything better to do.”

Dan rolled his eyes. “Have you got any suggestions?”

“You wanna go grab a bite? Might as well get some food before everyone gets paranoid and buys it all up.”

Dan shrugged. “Sure, why the hell not? Might as well not spend the night alone. Besides, I should probably stop drinking, or else I’ll spend the night alone and blacked out.” The two of them looked at the bartender and called out in unison.

“Check!”

A few moments later, they were rounding out their ice cream cones as they strolled through the terminal.

“Remind me why we decided to get ice cream during a snowstorm?” Dan joked, making eye contact with Phil. He hadn’t gotten a good look at his eyes earlier, but they were absolutely gorgeous. They were a wonderfully mixed turquoise with yellow flecks around the pupils; he’d only seen them once, but he knew they would be impossible to forget.

“Because we’re inside a heated airport and there just happened to be an ice cream shop in this terminal.”

“Fair enough,” Dan smiled, taking his first bite of the cone.

“Speaking of, what terminal are you headed to?”

Dan thought for a moment, almost having forgotten the details of his flight after a few drinks. “Terminal three. I only checked in here because the website said the security wait times were slower. I have a bit of a tendency to be late for flights. I thought I was going to miss this one, but, you know...” he trailed off, gesturing to the snowflakes falling through the illuminated night sky.

“Oh, nice! Same here.”

“The terminal, or the irresponsibility?”

Phil laughed, and Dan couldn’t help but smile just at that laugh. “Both.”

After they each laughed and Dan gushed over Phil for a moment, he returned to normal conversation. “Do you think there’s a tram we can take over there? I’ve had enough exercise for one day.”

“Should be. I took a train in, and I’m pretty sure it runs through the airport.” Phil paused for a moment, forcing Dan to do a double take and walk back. “It should be...” he trailed off, looking around; they’d found themselves in a four way intersection. “that way.” He pointed left and turned that way.

“There’s a sign right in front of us, Einstein.”

“Let’s just say I got pretty bored earlier and I happened to be sitting near an airport map.”

Dan rolled his eyes. “Nerd.”

After a short ride on the oddly fascinating tram, they were in terminal three, and they were both pleased to find that the terminal had a McDonald’s. Ice cream or no ice cream, Dan was planning to eat dinner on his flight back to London, and he was starving.

“A 20-piece McNugget meal, please.” Phil said to the worker at the counter, who clearly just wanted to go home.

“20 piece! I guess that ‘everyone’ who was buying up all the food out of paranoia was just you.”

Phil shrugged. “Man’s gotta eat.”

There ended up being two 20 McNugget meals in front of them as they sat in the far corner of the terminal. They hadn’t really discussed where to sit; they’d simply walked until they found an open outlet to plug their phones into, which took until the last gate in the terminal. That gate didn’t seem to have a flight planned to fly out of it, so there were no people gathered around it, allowing the boys to have their own little corner in the crowded airport. Sure, there were plenty of people within the vicinity, but it still felt as if they had a bit of privacy in their own space. And, most importantly, they could charge their phones.

“I cannot believe you got ketchup,” Phil scoffed at Dan as he dipped his McNugget into the ketchup pile he’d made on the open lid of his box.

“Don’t shame me for my dipping sauce choices!”

“Come on! Barbecue is obviously superior.” Phil made sure Dan was watching as he dipped a nugget of his own into his barbecue sauce and dramatically ate it.

“Do you wanna fight, Phil?”

“Do it, you won’t!” Dan quickly dipped a nugget in ketchup and shoved it in the direction of Phil’s mouth, smearing ketchup all over his face. “Hey!”

Phil glared at him as he dipped a nugget in barbecue and attempted to give Dan a taste of his own medicine. The two continued to shove nuggets in each other’s faces like children until finally Dan cried out. “Stop! Stop the violence!” The two paused, getting a few looks from random travelers in earshot. “I’ll eat yours, and you’ll eat mine.” They politely handed each other their nuggets and each took a bite. “Hmm,” Dan said, surprised. “This isn’t half bad.”

Phil looked up from the cup he was downing a sip of soda from. “Ketchup still sucks.”

Dan shoved him a bit, and they both laughed. Luckily, they ignored the dipping sauce choices for the fries and continued their meals until they’d each eaten to their heart’s content. They both smelled horribly of ketchup and barbecue sauce, but it was definitely worth it.

It was beginning to grow late, and the airport had dimmed the lights, allowing people around them to settle down and try to sleep. “This is so fucking uncomfortable,” Dan whispered, turning to Phil.

“We’ve both got carry-ons, right? We’ve got to have some useful things in there.” Phil sat up and unzipped the bag he was resting his head on. “I, for one, never travel without a blanket.”

“Phil, you’re a life saver.” Dan opened his carry-on, which was significantly smaller than Phil’s. “I’ve got a pillow, but it isn’t big. I think there’s still one store open down the terminal we can buy some small pillows from. If they’ve got enough, we can buy some to sit on and to rest our backs and heads on. Here’s some money; we can pool some together.”

“That’s a great idea!” Phil exclaimed, rummaging through his bag and pulling out about the same amount of money as Dan. “Stay here; I’ll go buy them out.”

“You really like buying people out of things, don’t you?” Dan asked, a smile crossing his face.

“It’s my specialty.”

A few minutes later, Dan looked up from his phone to see Phil waddling back down the terminal with pillows stacked up over his head. He jumped up and took a few from him so that he could see his face. “How did you get back down here in the dark with all those blocking your view?”

Phil shrugged. “Luck?”

Dan rolled his eyes and set down a couple of pillows for them to sit on. “Guess you didn’t bring back any change.”

“They had a lot of pillows,” he said as if to defend his actions. They each took a pillow and placed it behind their backs, topping it off with a pillow behind each of their heads.

“Clearly.”

After sitting independently on their phones for a while, Dan decided his phone had enough charge and unplugged it, favoring a pair of headphones and a dongle. “You want to watch some Netflix?” Dan asked, nudging Phil.

“Hell yeah!” he gravitated closer to Dan to see the phone. “What’ve you got?” Dan scrolled through his Netflix for a few seconds before Phil reached out and scrolled back up and settled on an icon. “You watch Queer Eye?”

“I love Queer Eye! I’m only halfway through season 2, though.”

“I don’t have Netflix, so I’ve never seen it, but I’ve always wanted to. Pick up where you left off; I’ll get into it quickly.”

They dove immediately into the show. Dan had to explain the premise and characters to Phil, but he really did pick up quickly. Then, every now and then they’d have to pause to discuss a good joke or especially gay moment. Ultimately, it ended up taking them an hour and fifteen minutes to watch 46 minutes of content. After the one video, they were both about ready to doze off.

“You know, Phil,” Dan said, plugging his phone back in. “I’ve never really had anyone to discuss Queer Eye with before. I really enjoyed that.”

Phil’s face was difficult to see in the darkness, but Dan could tell he was smiling. “I enjoyed it a lot too.” Phil bit his lip, avoiding eye contact. “I enjoyed... you.”

“What do you mean enjoyed?”

“Huh?”

“I’m still here.”

“What?”

“You said enjoyed. Past tense. But I’m still here. Enjoy, present tense.”

“Oh. Well, I enjoy your presence, I guess.”

“Hey Phil?”

“Yeah?”

“You know why I said that?”

“No. In fact, it just made this situation extremely awkward, so I can’t imagine why.”

“Because it would be significantly more awkward if I told you I liked you in the past tense, when, in fact, I like you. Present tense.”

“Oh.” They sat in silence, the sound of people shifting in their sleep around them filling the void. After a few seconds, Dan felt a hand slide into his underneath the blanket. He turned his head to see Phil grinning wildly at him. “I like you too.” Then Phil was leaning in, and before Dan even had time to think about it, Phil was kissing him. Dan’s eyes bugged out of his head, but he settled into it and eventually began to kiss him back, a feeling of peace filling his stomach. For that one moment, they forgot that they were complete strangers. They forgot that they didn’t even know each other’s last names, and they definitely forgot that they’d wake up in the morning and go their separate ways. In that one moment, none of those things mattered. After what felt like an eternity that somehow wasn’t long enough, they disconnected, but their fingers remained intertwined at their waists.

“Goodnight, Phil,” Dan said, nestling his head into the crook of Phil’s neck.

Phil kissed his forehead and settled himself under the blanket with him. “Goodnight, Dan.”

Dan awoke to sunlight pouring in through the airport windows. He yawned and checked his phone before slipping it in his pocket; it was a bit past 8:00. Other travelers were moving about the terminal and getting breakfast, but there was still no movement at any of the gates.

Dan immediately and painfully realized that he hadn’t gone to the bathroom in about twelve hours and tried to carefully slide out from under the blanket so as to not wake Phil. It took him a few seconds to stand up, but when he did he looked down and saw Phil still asleep, and he exhaled a sigh of relief. He started to walk in the direction of the bathroom when he heard stirring behind him. He clenched his face up in knowledge that he had failed and pivoted to face Phil, who was blinking his eyes open.

“Morning,” Dan said, looking down at him.

“Morning,” Phil groaned, his voice deep from sleep.

“I’m gonna go to the bathroom; you start getting our stuff together.”

Phil nodded groggily as Dan made his way down to the strip of stores in the middle of the terminal. He glanced at the flight screen to find that no flights had been announced to be leaving soon; he was thankful for that, as his gate was in the half of the terminal on the other side of the stores from where he and Phil had set up camp, and he definitely didn’t feel like running back and forth that early in the morning.

The trip to the bathroom took ages; the line was so massive that he was sure Phil could have packed twenty bags in the time he was gone. Eventually, he returned from emptying his bladder to find Phil extending his bag to him. It was significantly puffier than it was the night before. “How many pillows did you put in there?”

“Two.”

“I can’t believe you fit the other four in your bag.”

“I’m magic.”

They walked down the terminal and back to the McDonald’s. “You know, Dan,” Phil said, a grin on his face. “I know McDonald’s serves breakfast, but I’d rather have a McFlurry.”

“Do you always eat this much ice cream?”

Phil laughed. “I wish!”

They stood in front of a window as they each downed their respective M&M McFlurry. The tarmac was blanketed in a layer of white, and trees in the distance glimmered in the winter sun. Dan could see a snowplow clearing off the tarmac in another terminal. “Isn’t it beautiful?” Dan asked. “I love to see the world blanketed in snow.”

“Yeah,” Phil said, turning to look at Dan. “But not as beautiful as you,” he said, pulling a bouquet of chocolate roses out of nowhere. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Dan.”

Clearly Phil was thinking of another kind of blanket. A dark, anxious feeling made its way into Dan’s stomach. “Where did you even get those? And when?” he asked, reluctantly taking them.

“Airports have everything. I found them this morning while you were in the bathroom.” He smiled, seeming quite proud of himself.

Dan sighed. “We should probably talk about this.”

“What? Did I overstep?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just-I met you yesterday, and we’re complete strangers. After this is over, we’re probably never going to see each other again. Are you sure we should do this?”

Phil took Dan’s hands, and Dan elected to stare at the floor. “Look at me.” Dan sighed and looked into Phil’s colourful eyes. “Maybe we’ll never see each other, or maybe we’ll come across some sort of miracle and we will. Regardless, what have we got to lose?”

Dan bit his lip and took a deep breath. “You’re right.”

“Of course I am,” Phil said, giving Dan a short kiss.

“Attention all travelers,” said the computerized intercom voice. Both gasped and separated to listen to the message. The entire area settled into complete silence. “The tarmac is currently being cleared, and flights are beginning to be rescheduled. Arrivals will continue as scheduled, and departure times will depend on whether your plane was here when the snow began or if it still has to fly in. Please check the departure board for specific flight details. Thank you for flying through JFK International Airport!”

A cheer erupted through the terminal as a whole wave of passengers made its way towards the arrival and departure screens. “Something tells me we should finish our ice cream before going over there,” Phil said.

Dan watched people shouting at each other as they attempted to jump and shove each other out of the way to see their flights. In all honesty, it was purely terrifying. “Smart.”

After the area cleared up some, the two gathered their things and strolled over to the screens. Dan found his flight fairly quickly. “Mine’s back on. Leaving in half an hour.”

“Mine is too.”

The two turned to each other, a somber look on each’s face. “Guess this is goodbye?” Dan said, taking Phil’s hand in his.

“Guess so.”

They fell into a tight embrace. “Thanks for the blanket.”

“Thanks for the ice cream.”

They fell back into a kiss lasting longer than their first. This time, Dan felt a spark he didn’t feel the first time. He bit his lip, angry at himself for falling for someone in the last moment they’d ever be together. “I’m gonna miss you, Phil.”

“I’ll miss you too.” They smiled faintly at each other before Dan turned and began walking toward his gate. It wasn’t long before he realized Phil was still beside him. After walking about half the terminal, they were still side by side.

“Well, this is awkward,” Dan chuckled. Could Phil just leave already so he could mourn in peace?

Dan began to trail off towards his gate. “Dan?” He turned to see a genuine smile on Phil’s face. “Don’t tell me you’re flying into London.”

“Oh my God,” Dan said, doubling over in laughter. “We’re on the same flight, aren’t we?” Phil nodded, unable to speak from laughter. “Do you live in the city?” Phil nodded again, attempting to compose himself. “I do too!” Dan sighed as they wandered to take two empty seats in the corner. “How do these things happen?”

“I have no clue.”

“We were together for twelve hours; how did we never one ask each other where we were going?”

“I was going to when I first met you, but that dumb announcement cut me off!”

Dan couldn’t help but laugh again. “We both have British accents; how did we not expect this?”

“Two Dumbasses in an Airport: 2018′s worst romance movie.”

Each of them laughed so hard their stomachs hurt. When Dan finally wiped the final tear from his eye, Phil gave him a bit of a nudge. “Hey Dan?”

“Yeah?”

“When we get back to London, do you wanna go out sometime? Like, on a date?” Phil asked, excessively awkward for the context of their situation.

“Of course, you dork. I’ve kissed you what, four times now? You think I’m going to turn down a date?”

“Hey, you never know. You were talking about that guy earlier.”

“Hey. I found someone else.” The corners of his mouth twitched up into a smile.

An intercom beeped on near them and this time a real, male voice spoke from the desk near the gate. “Flight 1728 to London is now boarding.” The two jested of their stupidity as they turned their boarding passes in to the attendant and boarded the plane. Dan found his seat about midway through the plane, but Phil kept walking.

“Guess this is goodbye,” Phil said, altering his voice to sound like Dan.

“That’s a horrible impression of me,” Dan said, rolling his eyes. He smiled at Phil as he took his seat. “See you in London, valentine.”

“Or sooner,” Phil said with a wink, taking off before Dan had a chance to respond.

Dan stared off into space as he put in his earbuds. It was going to be an interesting seven hours.

#phan #phanfic #phanfiction #phic stuff #dong and ping #phandom reverse bang #prb #tw alcohol

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