#The Dan who she herself helped become a better person?

[bet-on-me-13]

Okay but these parallels are incredible.

If we go with the explanation given in the Replies, all of Jazz's loved ones are Dead. Just like Dan.

And Jazz took all the Grief and Sorrow of losing her entire Family, and funneled it into pure Rage at the ones responsible. Just like Dan.

Except where Dan didn't have anyone to direct that Rage towards, Jazz does. Dan took his Rage out on the world, Jazz took it out on the ones who killed her Family.

But guess what? Dan is still around. Post AGIT he got placed in a younger Body and raised by Vlad on a path of redemption, finally letting go and moving on from all the Pain and Sorrow and Rage that had clouded his Heart for so many years.

So how would he react to seeing his Big Sister suffer through almost the exact same Thing? His loving Big Sister, who raised him more than their parents did. The Big Sister who patched him up when he came home from fights hurt. His Big Sister who held incredible rage in her Heart but always kept it locked away the the sake of the people around her.

His Big Sister, who he had already lost once before. Who accepted him even after seeing what he had become, and helped him work through his own rage after he began to seek redemption.

He needs to help his Sister. He doesn't know if he can bear seeing her hurt so much, so he needs to help her the same way she helped him.

Jazz, for some reason or the other, becomes a wielder of a red lantern ring. After going on her rampage and getting her revenge, she realizes that the feeling of rage won't go away. Instead of letting the anger destroy her, she decided to do something else with it.

That's how we end up with a stand-off between Hal Jordan and the most powerful Red Lantern he's ever seen. Because...

"What... what did you just say?"

The young woman smiled gently at him. He would've been fooled by it if not for the burning rage carefully hidden... No, she wasn't hiding anything behind those turquoise eyes. It was taking everything she had to hold it back.

"I said that I would like to join The Justice League." Her voice was soft and velvety. Comforting in a way that sends chills up his spine.

"But you're a Red Lantern."

There was a beat of silence, she cocked her head to the side while looking at the blood-red ring on her finger.

"I don't know what that means, but I'm guessing it's got something to do with this ring?"

Hal didn't respond but she took it as confirmation. There was silence between them once more before Jasmine sighed and continued.

"I feel angry, more than angry. This rage that I've been holding inside for so long has reached its limits and is finally bubbling over. Everything that I loved is gone so killed what took it away from me. But... but I'm still SO FUCKING ANGRY!"

She was screaming now. Tears of rage and sadness rolled down her cheeks as violent red energy radiated from her being. Hal flew back. He didn't want to fight her but was ready to do so if it came to it.

Just as easily as she lost it she pulled herself together, wiping her tears away, returning to her previously calm demeanor. It freaked Hal out.

"I... I know that blind rage without direction leads to meaningless destruction. I don't want to hurt anybody. No... I don't want to hurt the wrong people. I'm asking you to guide me, to guide my rage in the right direction... Please."

[gordisaquaberrymodel]

Some more OCs

I couldn’t help myself and created new Bully OCs. Can’t stop my mind from creating new characters lol.

Okay, ladies and gentlemen, meet Katherine (Kate) and Frederick (Fred) Baker. They’re twins and they’re jocks. They moved to Bullworth to their uncle from Kansas after their parents died in a car accident when they were 10 years old. Fred has been involved in sports since childhood, and Kate started in high school. They are siblings, who often quarrel and cannot share something. Sometimes they act like enemies. But in reality they worry and care about each other.

Kate (17):

She loves sports so much, she almost lives for it.

She is very cheeky and strong-willed girl by nature. Sometimes she likes to cause troubles and pranks, her favorite holiday - Halloween.

Kate is openly bisexual. She flirts with both girls and boys without shame (but for the most part she is not particularly interested in romantic relationships).

She has been swimming since childhood, but when she started studying in Bullworth Academy she switched to physical training and sports games.

Her secret hobby - video games and horror movies.

She doesn’t care about the hierarchy and cliques at school, she makes friends with those she considers cool.

She is the life of the party, you will never get bored with her.

She puts all of herself into sports, but sometimes she worries about her studies.

Kate is not a fan of all sorts of girly stuff (cosmetics, romance, etc), which is why she is more comfortable with boys.

Unlike other girls, she seems to be on Lola’s side, not at all condemning her behavior. “Girl just wants to have fun, that’s all”

Relationships with characters/cliques:

Main trio: Sometimes hangs out with Jimmy. She has a warm relationship with Pete and often protects him from bullying. She has a negative attitude towards Gary, they almost enemies to each other.

Nerds: Treats them as neutrally as possible and does not even try to bully them (she is categorically against bullying).

Bullies: She is on good terms with them, although she condemns their behavior. Friends: Trent (they’re blonde bi besties), Tom, Wade, Russell.

Preps: The only clique she would have completely despised if she hadn’t become friends with Justin (actually secretly in love with him) and Gord (she finds him quite funny and interesting bacause of his love for clothes and fashion, which other boys didn’t have).

Greasers: She is quite friendly with them, she likes their clothing and hairstyles (sometimes she can borrow a jacket from Vance). Friends: Vance, Norton, Ricky.

Jocks: Of course on better terms with them, although she condemns them for bullying nerds. Friends: Kirby (bi besties, again), Dan, Casey, Mandy (at first, they had a tense relationship due to the fact that all jocks liked Kate, they drooled over her, but she immediately assured that she was not interested in this and was not at all trying to steal Mandy’s popularity).

Townies: She has not had much contact with them, Kate only knows Zoe, with whom she is very close friends (they’re besties).

∘₊✧—————————————————————————————————✧₊∘

Fred (17):

He is quite serious person unlike his sister.

Fred treats his studies responsibly even if sports comes first for him.

Despite his seriousness and a certain coldness, he can sometimes be a cheerful person.

You can trust him with any secret, any emotional experiences.

Loves baseball since childhood.

Sometimes it seems to him that he is an older brother, even though he and Kate are twins (due to the fact that she often behaves like a child).

Hates silence, feeling uncomfortable being in it.

Can sometimes act like an asshole, but in his heart he is really completely different.

He’s not interested in bullying nerds, he treats them neutrally.

Relationships with characters:

Basically he always stays close to jocks. His friends: Casey, Ted (he admires him so much, trying to be like him), Luis, Bo, Mandy (it seems he’s a little bit in love with her).

Fred is also friends with Bullies, like his sister (in fact, she made him friends with them).

He is neutral towards nerds.

He can’t stand preps (and he’s often reproaches his sister for being friends with some of them).

Fred treats greasers with a certain condescension, considers them ridiculous because of their style.

He had only heard about townies and tried not to encounter them.

[bloody-cupcakes]

Yandere serena van der woodsen but she's really toxic, like more toxic than usual. She threatens to purposely overdose/hurt herself if you dont do what she says and calls you crying whenever you get into fights or when you hang out with someone else

A/N: trying out a bit of a new format with this hehe. thanks for the gossip girl request btw!

Tw: yandere/dark content, gender neutral reader, both obsessive and possessive behavior, mentions of addictions (drugs/alcohol), manipulation, swearing

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Serena loved you so, so much. She swore that she did. She'd never felt anything close to what she felt for you.

You were so amazing to her, so perfect in her eyes. You were better than Nate, or Carter, or Dan, or anyone elsed she'd ever hooked up with before. You saw her for who she was, and you loved her regardless.

Her addictions didn't define her when it came to you. Whenever she relapsed or needed help, you were always there for her, cleaning her up and holding her hair back while she puked. Not even Blair was as attentive as you were, and they'd known each other for years.

The way she saw it, you were hers. Who else would come rushing over to the VDW manor the second she called, crying because Gossip Girl had posted yet another blast that made her out to be nothing more than a alcoholic slut?

Of course, other people caught on. Dan, naturally, as he loved Serena far more than he should given that she was yours. Blair did, too, not that she cared much. With someone else keeping the blonde distracted, she wouldn't have to worry about doing damage control.

Even her family caught on, which certainly said something as Eric spent most of his time searching for his next boytoy to fool around with and Lily was determined to marry another man solely for his money and social status. Even they knew just how important you were in her life, just how codependent she was- to an almost unsettling degree.

Lily wanted to say something, but her daughter seemed happy for once, not quite as bratty or miserable, so she let it slide. Eric, on the other hand, wasn't afraid to confront his older sister over her most recent behavior changes.

"What's going on with you and this new person in your life?" He questioned one day while standing in the doorway to her room, watching as she got ready to meet up with you somewhere.

"Okay, first of all, this new person happens to have a name," she lightly chastised while applying her favorite brand of lip gloss, one that she hoped would soon end up all over your lips and face (and maybe even thighs) by the end of the night. "And second, nothing's going on. You make it sound like a bad thing that I've made a friend."

"It's only a bad thing because of how obsessed with them you seem to be," he stated while crossing his arms, not looking entirely convinced. "You can't just hang out with only one person, Serena. What about Blair?"

"What about her?" The blonde's tone had become sharp, a slight edge to it as her brother began to chart into unwelcome territory. While it was true she'd let her relationship with her bestie suffer a little recently, that still didn't mean he got the right to bring it up to her.

"All I'm saying is please be careful, okay?" Despite everything, he was genuinely worried for her. You seemed great and all, but he knew how Serena got when things didn't go her way, and with her setting up such high expectations for you it was bound that you'd end up disappointing her sooner or later, which would only result in a mess that he'd have to help clean up.

"Whatever, you're just jealous that I'm not spending as much time with you as usual," she lightly teased, reaching her hand out to give his hair an affectionate ruffle as she passed by him. Meanwhile, he frowned and averted his gaze when he noticed her dress, quite certain there was no way she saw you as just a friend when she was going out to meet you while wearing something so revealing.

He ended up being right, unsurprisingly. You got into a massive argument with her when she found out you'd been hanging out with Jenny Humphrey, Little J herself. God, how could she be so stupid?

"Why do you need to hang out with her, huh? Why do you need her when you already have me?" She loudly sobbed, shoving you away whenever you went in to comfort her.

"Hey, hey, calm down, alright? She's just my friend, that's all," you tried to reassure her, but she was having none of it.

"Oh, just a friend? Really? Do you honestly think I'm so stupid as to believe something like that?" She harshly spit out, and it was a that moment you stopped trying to make her feel better.

"You know what, Serena? I can't talk to you when you're like this. I'm leaving."

Her angry demeanor instantly crumpled the moment you said that, and she watched you helplessly as you grabbed your coat and started heading for the door.

"W- Wait, I didn't mean it like that-" She began, trying desperately to explain to you what she really meant. "Come back, I'm sorry, please-"

But you were already gone, shutting the door behind you with a loud, deafening slam. She was quiet for a moment before letting out a wail of anguish, falling to her knees before curling up into a ball on the floor, laying there in a fetal position as she begged for you to come back.

It was a little later, and you were starting to feel a bit guilty for leaving her there like that. You were about to call her when she beat you to it. "Serena, hey," you answered in relief, but that relief quickly turned to worry and then panic when you heard her hiccuping while letting out shuddering breaths, something that wasn't normal for her to do, even when she was crying. "Serena? What's wrong?"

"I- I took something," she announced, her speech definitely slurring when she spoke. "It was some sort of meds that I got off someone at the last party I went to. I washed it down with some alcohol."

You felt your blood run ice cold. She'd been drinking, and taking some kind of drugs that probably shouldn't be mixed together? This was not good.

"Where are you?" You asked while trying your best to remain calm, a task that seemed close to impossible as you rushed around your place, quickly putting on your shoes and coat.

"Mm... some dive bar downtown. I rented out one of the rooms here so I could have some privacy."

Shit. You knew what it meant when she did that: she was about to relapse, and bad, if she hadn't done it already.

"Okay, stay were you're at, alright? I'll be right there." You were still on the phone with her, even in your hurry to get out the door. You had to find and get to her before it was too late.

"Okay... try to hurry..."

It sounded like she was on the verge of passing out, which only hastened you. If she went unconscious while under the influence of drugs and alcohol, especially at that large of a dosage, there was a good chance she might not wake up.

As soon as you got there, you could tell she was in bad shape. She absolutely reeked of the stuff that was in her system, and she looked half dead.

"Hey, S? Are you alright?" You asked despite already knowing the answer to that question.

"Mm... I'm better now that you're here..." She seemed relatively happy to see you, at least that's what you gathered, anyway. Judging by the look on her face, she was most likely feeling pretty numb.

"Here, I'm going to take you to the hospital, alright?" You said while helping her up, wrapping one arm firmly around her waist so she could lean on you, already noticing how she was starting to stagger. "You're going to be okay, I promise."

She was out of it for sure, but she did know one thing, and that was she finally had a way of getting your attention, even when you'd rather ignore her or try to forget about her altogether. There's no way you could ever think about leaving her alone again after this, and that's what she was counting on.

After all, you were hers. She needed you the same way she needed to breathe, and she was going to keep you there by her side no matter what the cost. If this is what she had to do to keep you close, then so be it.

She'd rather die than ever have to risk giving you up.

[justbookscatsandtea]

I got the feeling that people hate the arc in the mortal world where Yan Dan pushes Tang Zhou away after regaining her memories. But I have to say that I actually really liked that part ... I mean it was heartbreaking and I was somewhat frustrated but I also feel like it was necessary and beneficial for them in the long run.

After first regaining her memories, she was understandably upset because Ying Yuan did everything in his power to make her hate him so that she may have a future. She doesn't know that and her feelings of betrayal are valid (I do not blame Ying Yuan for his actions either. He had an abundance of horrible and worse options and tried to make the best choices. It might have been better if he and Yan Dan communicated more but I feel he was the only one who really grasped the enormity of the situation - that there was no way Yan Dan would have survived if he so much as hinted at caring for her - the emperor was on his case already). Anyway she feels betrayed and doesn't want to be with a man who could never love her (as he made her think) and could definitely never choose her. So pushing him away was her wish to save herself from future heartbreak. It also gave her time to come to terms with her feelings and to find out what really happened back then (like with the butterfly of hate but actually love).

Then comes the iteration where Tang Zhou does the unthinkable: he decides to choose her over his sect, over his martial arts, over everything that held importance in his life. I think that it did help her heal and see that duty is not more important to him than love. (Funnily enough I have the Barbie and the Pauper quote stucknin my head because of this show: duty is doing the things your heart might well regret. It just fits them so beautifully because honestly the duty of the Sovereign Lord alnost broke them both)

But then comes the most important part for her I believe - what she did not even manage to do in the heavenly realm as isolated as she was from the world up there: she understood what Ying Yuan meant to the world. That all her friends, her family, the people she loved needed Tang Zhou to become the Sovereign Lord again. He can choose his duty over her because the sect will be FINE. Sure they needed some help establishing themselves but ultimately they did not need Tang Zhou to lead them. The stakes were pretty much non-existent. This is not true for the world where a conspiracy 11 000 years in the making has already seen ENTIRE REALMS DESTROYED. He IS the powerhouse of the heavenly realm, the only one who can make things right. That is also the compromise they make at the end after all. AFTER fulfilling his duty and saving the world, he will leave for the mortal realm and they can be together. When the world is save to live in once again. And she needed to get to the point where she sacrificed the second part of her heart not only for love. The first half was mainly out of her love for him. Sure she thought that the heavenly realm might need him but the reasons where far more personal. Now she also knows that he NEEDS to be up there and make things right. In the end he sacrificed himself for duty and love for he had already hurt her with the demonic powers he cannot control and she choses to share his destiny which enabled them later on to be reborn together.

Another minor point is that she basically turned the Uno reverse card on him: now she will push him away for his own good. I think a part of her doesn't want him to choose between the world and herself again because it is at the end a cruel choice that will tear him apart no matter what. And she loves him too much to do that hence the compromise later on.

[teablogreal]

Roze episode 3 thoughts

Didn't get around to putting my thoughts on episode 2 down last week but basically Ash Phoenix is easily becoming my favorite character in the cast and also catherine is a little funny i think

Anyways as usual below this line will be spoiler talk

Ok so like episode 3 had a lot going on like WOW. LL's new fit looks better in the scene that he shows up in than the concept art ive seen floating around. I have seen some discussions on the lore discrepancies regarding lelouch bestowing the same geass he had onto sakuya/roze however i'll wait and see how things go before i decide my thoughts on that bit. I think throwing a fit over lore contradictions is a bit silly, personally.

The maid cafe section of the episode really brought back the goofy slice of life elements of code geass that you either dread or cherish. For me personally even if a lot of it leans onto fanservice I feel like the more comedic lighthearted moments are necessary to emphasize the drama that happens later. Having Sakuya be forced to balance working at a cafe and also larping as Ash's brother while also having to deal with Ash crushing on her waitress-sona is an entertaining scenario. Although not as layered as the school shenanigans in og Code Geass, they can definitely work with this for 12 episodes i feel. or 4 movies, depending on how you're viewing this.

Ash Phoenix. This character fucking baffles me, dude spends one episode cooking with the hardest one liners possible ("I'll show you that even iron bleeds" is the hardest shit like dude) and then goes into the next episode bumbling and infodumping over a crush. He's perhaps the most endearing character on the cast in my opinion, he's just a silly little guy who loves taking care of puppies and kittens and he loves cooking however he also is highly trained in military combat and has nearly inhuman reflexes (dude moved that coffee cup filled to the brim with coffee at high speeds and somehow DIDNT spill it) like he's just the funniest guy there at this point.

Catherine is another highlight this episode, she appeared with one big scene involving her but I already am enjoying how extra she is. She is like intentionally leaning in to the whole meangirl shtick and yknow what? i think its entertaining as shit personally speaking. like yeah shes a total asshole, everybody in neo britannia is. but that doesnt stop the fact that she is incredibly fucking silly to witness. like one of those characters that you love to shove down a flight of stairs.

Norland had his first speaking role here, I was completely caught off guard hearing Dan fucking Green voicing him. It genuinely took my some time to recognize his voice in the dub but shit man his voice was scary here. I was worried that neo britannia might just be a bit of a pushover going off of how the fights with arnold and the two other guys went, but if anything this episode makes it clear that from this point on, things will only get harder for the protagonists. I hope Norland leaves a lasting impact as what i assume is the main antagonist here.

Callis caught me off guard. His dynamic with Natalia was interesting however I did not expect them to kill him off instantly. Curious as to if this was an inside job or not, either way I expect there to be some moral opposition between Natalia and Sakuya because of this incident, even if Sakuya herself has nothing to do with it.

Also taking another moment to mention Mei because I feel like she's decent comic relief. Her shenanigans when helping Sakuya come up with a fake background for herself at the cafe were really funny to watch.

But yeah, i definitely enjoyed this one more than last week's episode, not that episode 2 was bad or anything I just thing that this one kinda topped it in terms of goofy comedy and also world and character building. I'm really glad the writers managed to recapture that same feel of the original series.

[kimberly-campbell]

Duskwood characters in a Vampire AU:

//This has no connection to original game plot. Imagine if vampires started to appear in Duskwood. Here Hannah and Lilly are still sisters, Hannah and Thomas are a couple, Jessy works at Richy's, MC works with Jake, Cleo, Lilly and Dan know each other, but there's no group of friends like it was in a game. Vampires here can't be killed by sunlight, but under the rays of sun they can be killed like a normal human. That's how I see Duskwood characters in this situation.//

Richy: vampire. One of the first vampires in Duskwood. Was conversed against his will. Hates his whole existence, thinks that it would be better if vampire who bit him just drank his blood and left him die. Feels incredibly guilty for what he's done to Jessy. Tries to do everything for her because of guilt and also because he always had feelings for her. Didn't know that vampires can also drink animal blood before Jessy told him. Now he only drinks animal blood because he doesn't want both himself and Jessy to hate him even more.

Lilly: human, professional vampire hunter. Literally a modern Van Hellsing, one of the best vampire hunters in the whole Duskwood. Has serious inner conflict because of helping her vampire sister to hide. Thinks that she might have to kill her if she starts drinking human blood because she'll become a threat to society. She is incredibly scared of that thought and hopes that it never happens but realizes that it's more than possible.

Hannah: vampire. Turned into a vampire by the same person that did it to Richy and, also like Richy, against her will. At first tried not to drink blood at all because she was a vegetarian before her conversion, but after the blood thirst almost made her kill a human (Lilly stopped her at the last moment) she started to drink animal blood. However, stopping herself from drinking human blood gets harder and harder.

Thomas: human. Helps Hannah hiding as well as Lilly. Sometimes hunts animals for her. Unlike Lilly, he doesn't care about the society and moral side of Hannah's being a vampire. Thinks about turning into a vampire to be with Hannah forever. The only thing that stops him at the moment is that he will be less able to help Hannah.

Jessy: vampire. Her conversion was accidental. She was working late, it was about midnight, she didn't know that Richy was a vampire (it was a beginning of vampire epidemic and Richy hid himself quite well). He suddenly had blood thirst and attacked Jessy. After he drank some blood, his mind cleared and he realized what he's done. He thought that the only way to save her was to turn her into a vampire. She almost killed Richy after she woke up. Drinks animal blood since the very beginning. Lives with Richy most of the time since he converted her - at first because it was better for her as she was new to the vampire world; then she realized that it's too hard for her to be completely alone all the time, and not only that. She has very controversial feelings for Richy - on the one hand, she still holds a grudge on him for turning her into a vampire and depriving her of normal life; on the other hand, she had feelings for Richy for years (but she didn't understand it for a long time) and they were never gone, even after what he's done.

Cleo: human, amateur vampire hunter. Unlike Lilly, she doesn't have a proper strategy, she just throws holy water at all vampires that accidentally reveal themselves. Lilly once said that now she only has to kill vampires with IQ > 100 because 'all the dumb ones died under Cleo's holy water shower'.

Jake: human. A talented young scientist who tries to make a medicine that will reverse vampire conversion. He has to do it secretly because vampires would kill him if they knew. Only the vampire hunters and MC know about his experiments. He has an agreement with hunters community - they sometimes deliver neutralized and stunned vampires to his basement where he performes his experiments. Has a relationship with MC. He loves her a lot and feels scared every time she enters the experimental basement with him - he is afraid that something might get out of hand, but he knows there's no way to change her mind. However, he made her swear that she won't ever go there without him, and she keeps her promise. Successfully hides from vampires due to his strategy. Was mistaken for a vampire a couple times because of his lifestyle.

MC: human. Was Jake's laboratory assistant in the university before vampires appeared, now she helps him with his experiments on vampires. Their relationship started in the university, now they live together. She will fight for Jake until her last breath, and so will Jake. Also very smart and talented. Killed some vampires that they lost control over (agressively poured holy water on them, threw garlic and poked with crucifix; that worked, but after that incident Jake just bought them a gun and silver bullets).

Dan: human, professional vampire hunter. Lilly's eyeroll reason #1. Became a hunter because he wants to protect his loved ones and the whole Duskwood (and also a little bit because he wants to be a hero). Really good at hunting vampires except that he is quite careless ('I'm not gonna hide, I'll stand like a man and fight! Vampires hide? Then they're cowards. I'm not'). He was almost killed several times because of his carelessness. Lilly and other hunters often call him 'Mr. Bravery and Stupidity'. Sometimes he offers Lilly a competition (who kills more vampires in a hunt wins), Lilly rolls her eyes and says he should be more serious, but always agrees in the end (she secretly enjoys it). Slowly develops feelings for Lilly.

[lyon-amore]

The half of me Chapter 6

Chapter 5 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----A year ago----

Jessy Tell me, do you text to this hacker person? 🤔

MC Every now and then, why?

Jessy He is creepy

MC He is... different

Jessy Do you mean that in a good or bad way?

MC Good way

Jessy 🤔 But don't get me wrong, I don't think he is behind the kidnapping He would put himself in too much danger by talking to us

MC But that also helps him get to a lot of information ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MC did not know what to think of that hacker. She was torn between whether or not to trust him, was it perhaps because he had told her that he trusted her? That Jessy wasn't the only person she'd connected with? No one had ever told her before that they trusted her, only her sister. That someone else did it was something new.

And, strange as it seemed, she still didn't know that the two of them had to do all this.    "Should I trust him?" She asked herself, looking at the conversation with the anonymous "Since he trusts me, I think it would be the right thing to trust him..."     She put the phone aside, looking at it nervously, remembering the threat she had also received. Could it have been him? Did he want to scare her? Was he someone with multiple personalities? She sighed, shaking her head. He was looking for a kidnapped girl. Why would he do that to her?    "He's not Krebs" MC murmured, tugging at the cuff of her shirt ", he's not a monster...is he not?"

----Present----

She put the computer in a box with clothes that she was going to take to her house when Elliot left. She prevented any of her friends from seeing it. First, she had to know what it was that Daliah was worrying about to shut down her computer like that.    "Is everything saved?" she heard Jessy ask, hopefully she didn't get to see how she put away the laptop.    "Yes" answered the brunette, getting up from her chair ". I'll take this one, it was clothes that Daliah was going to give me when she got tired of it" she replied a little hurt. If her sister wanted her to keep some of her clothes, then she would do it ". The rest I might sell..."    "You could sell it in the store" she approached to take one of the boxes, smiling at her "Weren't you going to open one? Maybe to start-"    "Let's just say...the opening is going to have to wait" she said quickly, remembering that she had vandalized the store ". But yeah, I might sell what she didn't like."     They left with the rest, leaving some boxes on the kitchen table, looking at them. MC was holding her box, hse didn't want to mix it so as not to confuse it.    "There's still a lot to pick up..." Cleo sighed, looking at how the kitchen was already empty.    "The living room has become a bit empty..." Lilly commented sadly.    "Cheer up girls" Dan looked at them, keeping their strength in him ", the sooner we finish the better."    "Give us a minute, please..." Jessy replied, looking at MC, who didn't take her eyes off the boxes.     Putting Daliah's things in a box meant that she was never coming back. It was true that she had buried her. That she wasn't going to hear her voice anymore. It would take her a while to admit it, but it was already a fact that Daliah's life had vanished forever.

They put the boxes in a van, driving to a warehouse to store their things. One by one, they stacked the boxes as best they could. There were children's books and toys from when they were little. They parents had saved it for their future grandchildren. She remembered Daliah always ignoring the subject. She never explained why.    "And here's the last box." Grace said, leaving the box where she put 'Figurines' on top of her clothes "Or are there any more?"    "No" answered MC quickly ", the one I have is for me."    "Okay."    "This is depressing." Phil commented, looking at the boxes.     All eyes were directed at him, as if they were glaring at him. The young man looked at them, confused.    "I didn't say it in a bad way" He rolled his eyes, seeing how everyone was exaggerating with him, or rather, it was what he thought ". I don't think I've ever had to save the things of a person who died young, that's all... I guess it makes you think a lot."     MC hugged herself, listening to his words. She knew she was going to be next, just as she had been sent in that letter or in her sister's body. She hoped the police would find out who Daliah's killer is before going after her.

She walked over to Lilly, who still had the same tired eyes as hers. Since that morning, the blonde was still trying to find out what was happening to the brunette    "Do you think you can come to my house?" MC asked her friend, making sure the others didn't ask why.    "Sure, but what's wrong, MC?" Lilly crossed her arms, worried "You've been weird all day."    "Not here, just walk me home, okay?" The young woman whispered, as if she was doing something wrong.    "Ready to go back to the hostel, Lilly?" Cleo asked, moving closer to them.     Lilly looked at MC and then at her. She shook her head, letting out a sigh.    "I'll go to MC's house" she replied, putting on a pitying voice ". I'll spend the night at his house, if Dan is okay with me taking his round..."    "Sure" Dan walked up to them, hugging the two girls ". See you tomorrow girls, but no staying up late, okay?"     They both let out a laugh. He sounded like a father talking to his daughters.    "Hey, if you need anything" Grace walked over, taking the young MC's hands. Her eyes shone, as if she was going to cry "you know that Carter and I will support you, he has sent me a message saying that if you want, he will give you his number to talk to him to vent."    "Thank you, Grace" MC hugged the brown-eyed brunette tightly. Having Daliah's friends for support made her sister close to her ". I'll talk to him when I can."    "Okay" she took a deep breath, slowly pulling away from her ". And I'm so sorry, MC... Daliah was like a sister to me too." she started to cry, putting her hand to her face, trying to avoid sobbing.     It hurt her MC to see her like that. She knew that Grace had also been Daliah's support when they went to high school together. Both were the most well-known in town, the ones that made it shine. Now the town had lost a star.

They said their goodbyes and MC and Lilly got into the car. She first checked that they were alone, that the police car was far away. She took a long breath before speaking.    "Lilly, do you still have Jake's chat?"    "Yes, of course." Lilly replied confused, as she put on the seatbelt "What's wrong? Has something happened?"    "I need you to delete it."     The blonde blinked in confusion. Little by little, her face changed. She felt her anger run through her body.    "Is that why you wanted to talk to me?" Lilly raised her voice, annoyed "So I can delete my brother's chat?"    "Lilly" MC looked straight into her eyes, determined. She had changed a lot since last year, she was a little less shy, but maybe it was because she was confident with her ", you'll know when we get to my house, but please, delete that chat" she started the car, running her tongue over her lips.    "Why? Have you been hacked again?" Each time, her friend was more nervous "But what about the Nymos program? Doesn't it protect you?"    "Yes, it does protect me, but..." How can she tell her now? She didn't feel safe being in the car explaining it to him "Please...Trust me, I'm not telling you this because I'm mad at Jake if that's what you think" she replied with a pleading voice, hoping that at least that would convince her ". I promise that everything will be known when we have arrived at my house."    "You sound like him..." Lilly chuckled. "Okay, I'll trust you."     Lilly picked up her phone, looking for Jake's chat. All of her messages had come up as an error, as if there was no signal where Jake was. But she knew perfectly well that it was because it no longer existed. Inside her, she already knew that this chat had already stopped working. She deleted the chat, with a small sob. She really trusted that there was a good explanation for what MC was asking of her.

They entered the apartment and MC left the box on the small dining room table, taking Daliah's computer out of it.    "Did you take it out of your sister's room?" Lilly asked, raising an eyebrow.    "I can't get into it" explained MC, trying again to enter different passwords ", and coming from someone who knew perfectly all the passwords of her sister, I can say that it's strange..."    "You should leave it to the police." Lilly advised, sitting in a chair.    "No, I have something better..."     MC took out her phone, going to the second chat she had, Nymos. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MC Jake? I have something that may interest us for the investigation of Daliah.

----Nym-0s has connected----

Nym-0s Hello MC. What is it?

MC Well First I want to tell you something Lilly is in my house

Nym-0s Lilly? Wait. You want me to speak to her, right?

MC It's your sister Jake... She has been worried about you for a year 🙁

Nym-0s I didn't say I don't want to talk to her :) Fine, so you call?

MC I think is better... Better do it yourself She sure likes the surprise 🙂

Nym-0s Alright.

MC OH! And Could you... I don't know... Don't use the voice modulator?

Nym-0s It's because both Hannah and you have spoken to me in my real voice and you feel bad at it, right?

MC It seems that someone is already learning to detect emotions through messages 🤔

Nym-0s I have practiced a lot during our investigations ;) Although for now, it only applies to you.

MC 🙂 So... Please?

Nym-0s Of course. I call now.

MC Thank you 😊 Take your time

Nym-0s Thank you. :) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lilly was looking at MC curiously. She could see on her face a smile that she had never seen from her. She refrained from asking in case she was private.    "Good..." The young brunette placed the cell phone on the table, waiting for the call.     She knew that it was difficult for Jake. She had never talked to Lilly for this long except for research. She wanted him to brace himself. On the other hand, the blonde rolled her eyes, tired of waiting.    "MC, look, I get it, all of this has affected you a lot-"    "Just wait" MC made a sign with her hands, so that she would be calm ", I promise that everything will be fine."     Her friend sighed, crossing her arms in anticipation.

The phone started ringing. On the screen, it could be read that Nymos was the one who was calling.    "But-"    "Answer." MC encouraged, with a smile of emotion.     Lilly, not trusting what was going on, accepted the call by speakerphone. She looked at MC and then at her phone, hoping it wasn't because they were both starting to go crazy.    "Hello?" she asked, a little fearful.    "Hi Lilly."     She didn't know that voice. It didn't ring a bell. She looked at MC and she nodded, as if she was telling her that it was him. Lilly began to cry, placing a hand on her chest.    "Are you Jake?" she asked, a little pitch voice.    "Yes." the young man on the other end of the line replied calmly "How are you, Lilly?"    "Oh my God..." She felt like she was little again and it was Christmas day. A year without hearing from her older brother made that moment worth it "But when?! When did you come back?!"    "Last night, I got in touch with MC."    "I'll leave you alone to talk" said the brunette, taking the box ", I'm going to put this away."    "MC, what was it that you wanted to tell me?" Jake asked, curious.    "First talk, I tell you later."    "Alright."    "Jake! You don't know how excited he was to talk to you again!" Lilly exclaimed excitedly.     MC left the room, to go to her room to put away the dresses that she had collected.

First she left them in bed, watching them. She remembered when Daliah had put them on. One of them was on their birthday. Her sister insisted that she wear it, but she couldn't do it when she saw that it looked beautiful on her. She picked it up and looked at herself in the mirror. Completely white. Without a stain. She bit the inside of her cheek, thinking of trying it on for her. Would it be dishonoring her memory if she didn't? Or maybe she would have liked her? She sighed and began to undress, wanting to see how that dress of hers would look on her. In the meantime, she could hear Lilly's laughter, glad to talk to her brother again. A wave of jealousy ran through her body. She was envious knowing that she was talking to her brother. Knowing that he was alive. She wiped away the small tears that had fallen on her cheeks. She shouldn't be envious. She had to be happy because she had managed to get them in touch. She focused on her in that moment, on what Daliah would say when she saw her in that dress of hers. She ran her hand over the delicate fabric while she looked at herself in the mirror. Perhaps it was because in her head was the image of her sister, but she felt that it suited her perfectly. Almost made to measure.    "MC, I told Jake-" Lilly's voice came from the doorway.     The young brunette turned and saw her friend with the phone in her hand. She stared at her surprised to see her in her dress.    "My God..." Lilly started to say, approaching her "MC! You look beautiful!" The blonde exclaimed "Jake! You would have to see her! I has never seen you like this before!"    "Nah..." answered MC, a little shy. Knowing that she had brought her phone with her, she was even more embarrassed " Besides, I was going to take it from me now- "    "Wait a minute" Lilly stopped her, holding up her hand. MC sighed, crossing her arms ". Jake, is this chat really safe?"    "Yes, why do you ask?"    "Because you have to see it." Lilly held the phone upright, smiling mischievously.    "Lilly no!" exclaimed MC with a red face, approaching her "Give me my phone!"    "No! He has to see you like this!"    "Girls... can we focus on what is important?" They heard Jake sigh.     They both looked at each other and nodded, leaving the room. MC didn't want to admit it, but it was a moment that she reminded her and her sister. Those little moments were what made her feel her still. She didn't want them to ever disappear.

They returned to the dining room, where the computer continued with its screen for entering the password. The two girls stared at the screen, focused.    "Okay, tell me what is going on." Jake said, his voice serious.    "I've tried to access Daliah's computer, but none of her possible passwords have worked" MC began to explain, without taking her eyes off the computer.    "Did you know all her passwords?"    "Daliah and I knew each other's passwords and phone PINs..."    "And for some reason, that computer has a password that you do not know."    "I think there's something in it that she didn't want us to see..."    "What could Daliah hide?" Lilly asked, looking at MC and the phone, as if she was seeing Jake "she was a girl who didn't keep anything back, she loved to say everything she thought.    "Until months ago..."     MC lowered her gaze, remembering the clippings and the horse doll. A truly creepy doll, because since the day of the kidnapping Daliah, she avoided anything that was related to horses. An innocent animal has marked her for years.    "I was wondering if you could unlock it for me" the brunette asked, her voice awkward "I know that... I know that I told you that I didn't want to know more, but something has happened."    "What happened, MC?" Jake's question sounded as if he was nervous.     That intonation made Lilly smile with amusement.    "Daliah... Apparently she had clippings of the kidnappings of the children" MC trembled as she told him, hugging herself ", so, I was wondering if the computer contains anything about those clippings..."    "I am really sorry, we will try to find an explanation for all this then." Jake's words were sincere. So sincere, that she would have liked him to be in front of her to tell her ". Lilly."    "Yes?" Her sister answered right away, sitting up in her chair.    "When do you return to Duskwood?"    "Tomorrow I'll leave by the two o'clock train" she looked confused at the phone ", why?"    "I want you to put the computer in a backpack" Jake began to explaining "and at the first stop, get off and leave it under a bench, I will send someone I trust to get it."    "Do you want her to get off at Evergreed?" MC asked, worried "it's the worst town that exists. If you leave the computer there, it will disappear in a few seconds!"     Jake let out a laugh, although for the girls, they didn't see it funny. The town of Evergreed was known for having high crime and drug sales. Clearly not all of Evergreed was like that, but they notoriety had made them go down in history.    "Do not worry, I am telling my trusted person right now" they heard how they began to type on the computer ", he owes me a favor, so he will surely help me with this."    "Thank you Jake..." MC whispered, smiling a little.    "Do not give it to me yet, I do not know how long it will take me to unlock it" the young hacker answered, finishing writing ". If you yourself have tried it and you know her better than anyone, then it will take time for the program to do its job and unlock it."    "How long does it usually take?" asked Lilly curiously.    "Well, in the best case that the computer is intact, at most, half an hour or so." They heard him sigh. The bad news "At worst... Let is just say that I would have to agree to force and what it would imply-"    "Hack it completely." MC continued.    "I do not want you to feel bad about this, MC" His soft words calmed her down. She missed those worries of his ", but if you really want to know what she was hiding, it is the only way."     MC nodded, tugging at the fabric of the dress. Invading her sister's privacy wasn't what was expected, but her concern had grown. She hadn't told her anything about those clippings, and now there was a password that was totally unknown to her.    "So... We would then have to access her files one by one" the brunette finally said, releasing a long sigh ". Cool then."    "Let us hope that is not necessary. I would like you to have the computer back as quickly as possible"    "I don't mind if it's to find out what happened..."     The three of them let out a sigh. She wondered for a moment if she was doing the right thing bringing Jake into all of this, would it be dangerous? Would she get him in trouble again? This time it was not the case of a kidnapping, but a murder. And one that covered up the suicide of a serial killer.

The silence was broken by a slight sound. Lilly blushed slightly, embarrassed.    "I'm sorry... That was my stomach..." the young woman apologized.    "I'm hungry too" MC laughed a little "after working so hard to clean up Daliah's house, I've gotten hungry." She got up and went to the kitchen. She was embarrassed to see that she had nothing in the fridge. Those days she had barely eaten, Cleo bought everything and made it instantly, since she hadn't had the strength to do it herself "Shall we order something to eat?"    "Can I suggest something?" Jake asked. His voice sounded strangely excited.    "Let's see what you suggest." the brunette arched an eyebrow, curiously.    "Well, I have seen that there is only one Chinese restaurant in Rosenschwarz that is fantastic."     MC rolled her eyes, avoiding a laugh. She remembered that conversation. A conversation in which he gave her very little hope of dreaming for a moment. She also remembered how foolish she had been. Or, at least, that was what her sister had told her when she told her about their conversation. Why make her hope to take her out to dinner if he was never going to be rid of that burden?    "Yes, of course" her smile faded, letting her arms fall to the sides of her body ", can I ask for a little..."     Did he even notice how upset she was? Why had he give her those memories back? Of course he had noticed that she was angry. Lilly didn't understand what exactly had gone on between them. Yes, she knew that MC was mad at Jake for just disappearing, but what was wrong with her? To her, it didn't seem like her words.

When MC left them alone again, Lilly saw that she had received a command in Nymos' chat. It seemed that Jake had gotten on her while they had been talking. She decided to call him, to test if it worked.    "Testing, one two, one two." Lilly started to say, when Jake accepted the call.    "Haha, you do not have to do that" Although Lilly didn't see it, Jake smiled when he heard her ", it works like a cell phone, do not worry."    "Okay, understood" the blonde nodded, looking in the direction in which MC had gone, to avoid her seeing her talk about it ". Hey Jake, what happened between you and MC? Why is she mad at you?"    "Well..." Jake scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. It was a relief that Lilly didn't see him at that moment, nervous "I suppose it is because I did not come back, although I have already explained why-"    "No, it's not that" Lilly looked back, hesitating to continue "it's...how shall I put it? It's always been like that, one day she talks about you worried, as if she cared a lot about you" the young woman looked sadly at the computer, seeing the photo of the twins with their parents ", then it's as if... As if all those thoughts no longer mattered to her... Did you say something to her?"    "To be honest, Lilly, I do not know... I can understand her annoyance, but I am also surprised by her changing mood."    "It's like you."     Jake gave a small laugh, followed by a sigh.    "Yeah, I guess there is something she is hiding about her changes."     Lilly bit the inside of her cheek. She didn't like what she was thinking at that moment. The real reason why MC was behaving in that way towards Jake.    "Do you think it could be because-?"    "I'm done." MC came back and looked at her frowning "Were you talking about me?" she asked when she saw that she wasn't on speakerphone.     Lilly put her phone down on the table, selecting the speakerphone option.    "I was just going to tell him about Hannah." She glanced quickly at her friend and then at her phone. "Did you hear it?" She asked her brother, concerned.    "No, what happened?"    "She's going to trial for Jennifer's accident" Lilly continued and MC sat next to her, seeing the young woman put on a sad look ", they've been collecting all the evidence that you and MC obtained, including the conversation with Amy..."     Jake knew it would happen one day. Hannah had to go through the process of being judged for what she had done. At least, of the two she was the bravest, he feared for his life, but even more now that he couldn't lose something good in this world.    "It was to be expected" the young man answered calmly ", we could not help it Lilly, I know you do not want her to go through this, but you cannot help it that they do not want to seek justice."    "But-"    "Lilly" Jake called her firmly. He made her little sister look at the phone with her eyes about to drop tears ", we know it was an accident, but what she did next... It is something that the judge will have to judge, not us."     The little Donfort sibling nodded slowly. She still had a hard time believing that her sister would hide a crime that she might have confessed to back then.    "I'm going to the bathroom for a moment." Lilly quickly got up from her chair.     MC watched her leave. It was saddened to see her like this. Knowing that your sister did something you didn't know about and that was horrible must have been hard. It wasn't comparable to what Daliah kept from her. Lilly's pain was much stronger.    "We have to give her time" Jake commented, with a note of sadness in his voice ", I had a hard time assimilating it too."     MC remained silent. She wasn't supposed to meddle in other people's family matters.

She looked at the phone, trying to know what to say to comfort him, but knowing that she also needed to be comforted, she couldn't find the exact words.    "I'm sure she'd like you to be with her." She finally told him sadly.    "Me too..." the hacker sighed "I feel like I am failing her as her older brother right now..."    "At least now she knows that she can talk to you whenever she wants." MC smiled, trying to see a positive side.    "How did it go in your sister's apartment?" Jake asked worriedly.     The young woman bit the inside of her cheek, she wondered if she Lilly had told him something about the next letter she had received. Was she okay with her telling him? She didn't want to worry him anymore either, but keeping it from him would make him perhaps offended for not trusting him.    "They left another letter at Daliah's door" MC finally answered, a little nervous ", but it was addressed to me this time."    "Then there are two possibilities" Jake said calmly, not looking angry at what had happened, ": that the stalker was watching your sister's apartment or that he is watching you."    "Neither of the two options calms me down" she crossed her arms, shrugging in her chair, looking at the phone, trying to find comfort in that calm voice ", because then what good is the police protecting me?"    "We must assume then that this stalker can walk without problems in front of everyone."    "Jake... You're not helping me at all."    "Sorry, it is just a theory, of course."     The young woman slowly sat up in her chair, as if Jake's words suddenly made sense.    "Could...Could this person be known to Daliah?"     Jake was going to answer when there was a knock at the door. MC got up and both she and Lilly were already close to open the door.

They looked a little afraid. And they knew that it couldn't be Daliah's killer, no one could go to the apartment without being on the list of people not suspected. Like the group of Duskwood and her parents. She looked through the peephole and sighed, opening the door.    "Good afternoon-" Elliot looked MC up and down.     The young woman was still wearing Daliah's dress, she had forgotten to take it off. And that was what that young policeman was looking at: a totally different MC from what he was used to.    "Elliot?" MC called him, frowning a little uncomfortable "Everything alright?"    "Yes, it's just..." He shook his head, then raised a bag "I'm sorry, MC, we didn't want to let the delivery man go up in case of suspicion" he handed her the Chinese food, to which the young woman accepted, giving it to Lilly ". By the way, I thought I heard a man's voice. Is there anyone else with you?"    "Actually, it's..." Lilly began nervously.     MC remembered how hard it had been for her in the past to hide Jake's secret from the group, so she stepped in again to help her.     "We were watching a movie" she answered quickly ", after what happened, I wanted to relax with my friend and watch a movie."    "That's right" Lilly replied, more relieved ". It's a movie about..."    "Mystery" answered MC, coming back to help her ". Although I don't think I need to give so many details either."     The blond nodded, avoiding leaving his gaze too much on the brunette. He pointed to the stairs nervously.    "After what happened, I've decided to change my shift, I'll be down below watching."    "Okay."    "So..." Elliot cleared his throat, looking at the young woman with a slight blush on her cheeks "Have a good time."    "Thank you, Elliot."     The boy nodded, walking off down the stairs.

MC shut the door and saw Lilly's smile. A cheeky smile. She didn't understand that smile or why she really did.    "I'll change and we'll eat" said the blue-eyed young woman, going to the room ", I don't want to stain her dress."    "MC, that guy likes you!" Lilly exclaimed loudly.    "He doesn't like Lilly" MC poked her head through the doorway ", I just reminded him of Daliah, nothing more."    "I don't know... he seemed very worried about you when we were at Daliah's apartment."    "What guy?" They heard from the living room "Are you talking about the policeman who went there?"     MC recalled that she forgot to remove the speaker. She cursed in her mind that Jake was listening to all this.    "How did you guess he's a policeman?" MC came out with more comfortable clothes, approaching the table to sit next to Lilly, who was beginning to place everything on the table.    "He said that he changed his shift and that he would be watching" Jake replied. Annoyance could be heard in his voice ". So, I assume he is a policeman."    "He's Daliah's ex-boyfriend" answered MC, giving him great importance ". He is the son of Alan Bloomgate, Elliot."    "I understand..."    "Well, he may not completely like you" Lilly told her, setting the plates on the table ", but that he has feelings for you, it shows."    "Elliot and I have never had a close relationship" answered the young woman, letting out a sigh ", I think it's this week that we've had more interaction than ever."    "Do you think that Elliot could do something to Daliah?" Jake's question surprised MC. She never would have thought badly of Elliot before, not even after they broke up. She knew they didn't have a bad relationship, they got along well.     She shook his head, remembering later that he couldn't see her.    "No, Elliot isn't capable of killing Daliah, he loved her." She seemed to sound annoyed. She found Jake's question strange.    "Okay, I just wanted to make sure."     She knew perfectly well that he wanted to know if he was legit. The ex-boyfriend was always the first suspect, something that, even now it seemed strange to her that he was in charge of the case, they should have kept him out of the way so that his feelings did not get in the way.

Was she doing the right thing in trusting Elliot?

Chapter 7

[crustycantankerousgrownup]

I'm all for mercilessly critiquing media that you love but I have something to get off my chest;

You do not get to retroactively declare that something is meaningless garbage JUST BECAUSE the author is revealed to have committed Sins and Crimes ™

If it resonated with you before, it has not changed. You have not changed that much. You still got something from the thing that the shitty person made.

If Victorious made you want to audition for your school's talent show, or choir, or sign up for theatre class, then you now have skills that you wouldn't have if it wasn't for Foot Fetishist and Child Harasser Dan Schneider.

Likewise, if Harry Potter helped you become more accepting of others, more skeptical of fascists, more willing to stick up for your beliefs, etc. then you now have values that you wouldn't have if it wasn't for #1 Most Incorrect Harry Potter Fan Jo Rowling.

Don't act like the value that you got out of it was some sort of Mandela effect. Don't act like it's suddenly retroactively worthless or uniquely bad when a lot of people got real, significant benefit from it before JK had her big betrayal meltdown.

Good things can be made by people who cause great harm.

Are some people so out of touch with empathy that they're incapable of making good art? Yeah, I'd say Onision was a good example of that.

But most of the time bad things are done by ordinary people trying to do their best. The key is to be aware of the consequences of your actions, and willing to learn and change.

You know why JK Rowling has dug her heels in and continued to cause harm?

It's not because she's evil.

It's not because she lacks empathy.

It's not because she's an idiot.

It's because she won't admit to herself that she could ever become the thing that she hates, so she's unwilling to learn or change.

She has drawn a line between herself, and the people she sees as bigots-- the worst thing she thinks a person can be-- and she can't see that she herself has become a bigot.

She won't admit to herself that an ordinary person might become a bigot, so she can't see that she's oppressing people who do not deserve to be oppressed.*

You know why it bothers me so much to see people dismiss art made by bad people as meaningless?

Because if you can't see that HP represents JK's espoused beliefs better than her actions do, then you can't see when your own actions contradict your beliefs.

That's how you become the thing you hate.

That's how you become the bigot.

--------------

Just to Clarify;

I'm not suggesting that boycotting something is wrong when the author does bad things or espouses bad beliefs, I'm suggesting that retroactively declaring that the work was never good is not helpful, and may actually be harmful. It's always best to critique works on their own merits, and HP clearly has some merit given the themes it explores, and the number and types of people it resonated with.

----------------

*People who deserve to be oppressed include fascists, racists, basically anyone who is trying to use their beliefs to hurt others.

[teddy-feathers]

gonna talk a bit about my super hero characters

This is cannon for the universe i need to build for them and not necessarily how ive been role playing them.

There's Noah Really. He's Caucasian and got a nose with a big arch, green eyes, and long blonde hair. His power is prehensile hair - if you had a power null on around him itd still work because its just another muscle. He's gay and came from a very large conservative family. They kicked him out as soon as legally able and he's been managing on his own since. While he loves his siblings and had a large part in rasing many of them as the second eldest, hes been completely cut off from his family. He made a new one though. a bunch of other young supers who needed/ need help. He's talkative, flirty, flamboyant, but despite that he very rarely dates. He has too many platonic people relying on him to settle for anything less than a real deep snd long lasting connection.

Jo Everbody is an Asian American kid with shaggy, ear length black hair and brown eyes. They're non binary but look and dress masculine, though the carpet dont match the drapes so to speak. They're younger than most of the rest of the group though only by a couple of years. they have a home though, they lost their parents when they were ten and their sister Cecilia "Cissa" had just turned 18 and was allowed to take care of them. Their power is they are a very powerful empath, when they were younger they got overstimulated by this frequently. Now that theyre older they have better control and regulation of their power... but they crave deep emotional attachments and often date and get dumped seeking them. Theyre quiet and studious outside of their flings and dont know how to handle ofher people's emotions without fixing it for them - something theyre loath to do. But they do like doing emotional feedback during romantic encounters. if they feel good and their partner feels good it can create a positive feedback loop that feeds on itself.

"Deb" Debrah Beat is an African American woman with brown curls, dark brown eyes, and a great smile. Shes very active and physical and would like to be a physical therapist but.... her power is she heals. From everything. Anything. Since it's basically a horrible power she designed and built - with the help of her girlfriend - some large robotic gloves. She can punch like the hulk with those on and she never lets slip her power is healing herself.

"Abby" Abhi Normal is a trans woman. She dyes her hair pink and favors very feminine clothing, rarely wearing pants. She likes costumes and trying different fashions but mostly she is creative. Her power is being able to control what she creates. So she creates everything from paper dolls to mannequins. Shes very handy. She is pansexual and in a very committed and loving relationship with Deb Beat.

Dan Gnabbit is a trans man. Hes a bit of a nerd, bit of a slob, but his power is opening doors. if it looks like a door he can make a portal between it and a place he knows that also has a door like area to anchor to. the fun thing is its all in his head - it doesn't have to be a door like structure. he can just make portals. but hes still learning to control his power and needs the mental connection.

Varie Nearly is a... difficult person. Shes Aromatic but into sex. thats not why shes difficult shes... kinda a bitch. very much a kick you while your down sort of person. very insulting. she like punkish clothing and has died red hair and wears heavy purple makeup. the thing with her is she might be an asshole but shes *our* asshole. surprisingly very loyal to the group. her power is she can talk to birds. youll find her up trees when shes not harrassing someone already having a bad day.

Seren Deputy is a hispanic american woman who really really wants to become a doctor. only problem is that her power is opening old wounds. She wouldve killed deb by accident had deb not been a healer. shes actually extremely smart, very kind, and is working her way to med school. shes just also feels bad that she could have killed deb that one time.

theres probably more to this but I'm tired

[gas-stxtion-a]

@rejectshumanity said: ♡ ♢ ☼ for the munday meme!

(what is this? an interrogation? come back with a warrant - open)

//hehe thank you <3 i'll put these under the cut b/c i never fucking shut up lmao

♡ What are your top five favorite things about yourself?

//how daaaare you make me be nice to myselffffff

no jokes aside <3 anyway.

i like that i'm generally a nice person! i think that it's important to be kind when you can, because there's enough darkness in the world. why not be kind when you have the chance?

... on another note, though, i'm really happy that i'm getting better at standing up for myself and handling conflict. because being kind is important, but sometimes you gotta be a bitch and that's life! i was rereading something i sent a friend years ago regarding a conflict i was having at the time, and i was astounded by it lmao like... oh my god. my dude. you have very good reasons to be upset and it's okay to say "i'm mad at this person" without adding a million disclaimers that it's probably not their fault!!

i genuinely think i'm *so* fucking funny, and for better or worse, you will certainly hear my jokes.

i'm a good listener. when people are having a hard time and need someone to talk to, i'm good at like... just offering a listening ear. i may not always have advice but i can generally listen and chat and help someone talk through it if that's what they need.

i don't like to judge people unless they give me very, very good reason to, especially if i don't know them. i try to assume ignorance more than i'll assume malice, though i'm also trying to get better at recognizing when the line between those can get a bit blurred haha.

♢ What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?

//gimme that salted caramel <333 though honestly a long-time favorite is like. anything with cherries. that's the good shit.

☼ Who are your top five favorite fictional characters?

//CRACKS KNUCKLES.

okay for the sake of not going on forever, i'll just list five characters that aren't muses of mine (at least not on this blog). because we all know mr jack townsend is number one but like. others deserve a shot. for fun, i'll also explain myself a bit :3c

dr. robert langdon - the da vinci code (and other dan brown books)

i was obsessed with these books a completely normal amount as a middle schooler (lying). something about this like... charming middle-aged professor who keeps finding himself in the middle of massive conspiracies usually related in some way to religion and frequently having his life put in danger? and saves the day by being a fucking nerd? what a dude!

arthur morgan - red dead redemption 2

if you were there for my rdr2 fixation (which most of you definitely weren't lmao) then uhhh yeah <3 genuinely i had a huge crush on this character and was so obsessed with him for so long. the yearning was out of control, folks. i do still have a lot of fondness for him, but tbh some not-so-fun interactions in the fandom really put me off of the whole series for a while. he still means a lot to me though!

rhys - tales from the borderlands

would it be exaggerating to say that rhys tftbl is the reason i'm trans? probably. but y'know something about him really resonated with me at a time when i was really going through some gender fuckery and trying to figure myself out. idk what it says about me that that shitty little twink helped me figure myself out a bit, but anyway.

evelyn mckinnon - accounts from a lonely broadcast station

had to list at least one woman lmao- but yeah i really love evelyn. she's such an incredibly written character and every time i reread (or. rather. re-listen to) the series i actually get a little choked up because her narrative is so *fascinating* and well-done to me. like wow we love a tragic cringefail woman who has to face her own mistakes and become better, not just for her own sake but for others'!!! and face the fact that her fuck-ups hurt more than just herself!!!

evelyn is one of the many characters i'm considering for the horror multimuse i talk about sometimes. and maybe i'll even let her stay a cis woman- i'm kidding ASDFJKL; but like. fr. we'll see.

charlie kelly - it's always sunny in philadelphia

honorable mention for the trashiest man i'm currently thinking about lmao- so i started watching iasip because i wanted to see the insanity for myself and. wow all of these characters are terrible. but god it's so fun to see them in action. and charlie is by far my favorite. he's illiterate. he drinks paint. he eats cat food for fun. he's an artist. he makes a living beating rats to death with a stick. he's a wet paper bag of a man. he's very deeply traumatized and doesn't realize it.

he's the perfect man.

[monstermaster13]

Aykroydian Invasion. Tom Everett (Caddyshack II) FTM TG/Were-Aykroyd theme.

~~~~~~ Sometimes being a paranormal law enforcer isn't easy, and that's something Melanie 'Mel' Sanders had to put up with all the time, from villains who were too stubborn to change their ways to people who thought of her as a 'threat' or 'pest' rather than an ally, it wasn't easy at all for her to cope and it was very stressful, sometimes she felt like she just wanted to break out into her she-hulkesque form and get back at those types of people but she was above this, she was above using violence or hostility…she only did that on truly horrible people. But one night when she was on duty with Matthias T. Radke aka That Werebelushi In The Shades (who had signed on a security chief) she had gotten herself into quite a pickle, she didn't mean to though…it's just that she got involved with a type of monster that got the better of her, that was a type of were-celeb. The two of them were on duty when she heard a cry for help, and like the superheroine she was she rushed right over to assist the person that was in trouble. But just as she did…she and Matthias found themselves a horde of Dan Aykroyd characters.

"Matthias..am I having another one of my weird dreams again?"

"Nope…if you were, you'd be possessed by Mick Jagger and seducing your boyfriend with a long tongue."

Elwood Blues, Mack Sennett, Ben Bart, Beldar and Austin Milbarge materialized around her. 'Hi Miss Mel.' 'How do you know my name and what are you doing with that person over there?' 'Nothing, we just want to say hi to you and introduce ourselves. We are the Aykroyds, and we all have a special gift that someone like you would appreciate.' Austin's eyes gave off a supernatural glow, making Mel bush a little. Was he trying to hypnotize her? Because it suddenly became difficult for her to focus on anyone but him…as if she was falling under his spell, Austin explained that he had been searching for someone who would appreciate him for being strange and that if there was anyone it would be her.

"I don't know why but…i'm…"

"Yes, Ms Mel?"

"Attracted to you…"

Maybe it was the adorable doe eyes and that sweet boyish charm but she couldn't help but fall in love with Austin, yes..he was an Aykroyd character and a spy and usually only Eukie fell in love with Aykroyd characters but she couldn't help but find him irresistible. 'You're attracted to me? Well that sounds wonderful, i've always wanted to be with someone who truly understood me. It's not easy being what I am, i'm sure you know how it feels too.' 'Why yes, I do.' 'I want to be your friend, but more than that. I want you to join me.' Those words snapped Mel out of her trance. 'WHAT?' 'You heard me, I want you to join me and the guys and become one of us.' 'Oh that's just great, another assimilator type.' 'Hey hey hey…i'm not like that I swear.' She huffed for a few minutes before getting out her spellbook and getting ready to cast a few spells. I know I know, you're probably thinking this is one of those 'jerkass character gets punished by being turned stories' you've heard over and over again scenarios or those scenarios where a character bemoans their transforming state, well you're going to be disappointed.

Anyway…Austin seemed worried and confused, he didn't mean to say what he said, he wasn't evil…in fact he was a good guy, it was just that even with all the others he felt like he needed someone to be his friend and to support him. Mel felt like she had hurt his feelings and she only cast one spell, that spell was to keep herself from being affected by the others. 'Austin, i'm sorry.' 'It's alright…it's just sometimes being an Aykroyd is kind of lonely.' 'Even with all the others?' 'Yes. I just wish I had a friend who understood me.' 'I know how you feel.'

'You do?"

"Yes…I feel that there are some people out there that don't get me. They either view me as someone who transforms people forcibly and punishes them even if they didn't do anything wrong or as a threat or a pest. I'm just doing my job. And what would they rather have me do? Work at Hooters?"'

"You're viewed as crazy too?"

"Yes…and I loathe it. I have thoughts, I have feelings..but does anyone ever ask me? Does anyone ever ask me how I feel nope? They assume i'm an uncaring monster who would rather threaten the lives of an innocent person."

"You poor thing…" sh "It's a difficult life."

"Maybe I could help, I wouldn't force you to transform into an Aykroyd. I could give you the ability to do it and teach you how to control it. Would you like that? It may feel strange to you at first but you'd grow to like it."

"Now that's what i'm looking for in a monster."

Austin chuckled several times, hugging Mel gently and kissing her…Mel allowed him to do so and in the process he transferred his aura into her, giving him his powers which mixed with her own aura and gave her half Aykroydian attributes. 'Woah, you're a good kisser.' She began to feel a little bit dizzy for a few seconds but she didn't faint. 'Thanks…are you alright?'

"Yeah…maybe I just need to wind down."

"I know just the place, follow me."

Austin and the other Aykroyd characters helped Mel, taking her to a hotel that was located next to the Hellfire Nightclub. 'I have been here before. It's where I rest when i'm away from my friends. Could you boys book a room for me?' 'Sure.' The guys headed over the reception area and booked a room for her, she had to admit that they were really generous. 'Say where are you guys from?' 'The Aykroyd-verse.' 'Not the Upside Down?' 'We like that place, but we're not from there.' Mel walked into the room that had been booked for her, turned on some classical music and laid down.

As she laid down, she drifted off to sleep and dreamed. Although her dreams took on an unusual turn, they started with her walking down a hallway while music was playing, and that Dan Aykroyd himself was speaking to her, telling her of his ways. He asked if she'd like to know more, she nodded and said yes. She willingly allowed Dan to turn into a ghost and possess her, but she didn't mind it. When she awoke, she began to feel a bit odd..her stomach gurgled, she assumed it was because she ate something terrible. Although the only thing she had eaten prior to this was piece of the chocolate koala cake that her boyfriend had made her for her birthday.

Her stomach slowly inflated while her arms broadened, she gasped while her hands enlarged…her fur slowly transitioning into skin, for a while she looked horrified but then she realized she willingly let this happen as she examined her chest, her torso broadened while her breasts retracted. Her dark blue tank top slowly turning into a camouflage one as tattoos burned themselves into existence on her arms, a pair of black fingerless gloves materializing on her hands while she examined her body. 'You know I thought this would be scary but I don't mind it, I really like it.' 'See? I told you it would be good.' 'Am I becoming like you guys?' 'Yes. You are.'

Mel blushed a little as the same pattern from her shirt developed on her jeans and her rear shrank in size before plumping up, her back broadening as her privates contorted. She felt only a mild bit of pain as she slowly grew up in height to 6'1 and her shoulders broadened, her tail retracting into her rear as her hair slowly shortened itself, her eyes widened as one remained brown and the other turned green, her eyebrows thickened as her nose broadened a little. 'Ah-ah-ah-achoo!', she couldn't help but let out a sneeze as her much larger nose finished growing, twitching in the process, she sneezed into her elbow to prevent any possible problems. A small cleft materialized in the middle of it as her lips lost their feminine touch but remained kissable, her features slowly morphing and contorting themselves while her koala-like ears shrank away, her jawline broadening while two black lines that looked like war paint materialized.

Her features slowly morphed and contorted themselves further, taking on a more Aykroydian appearance. She was a little distraught that she was turning into a character of Aykroyd's she hated but she wasn't horrified, it's just that she wasn't quite used to it yet. She chuckled a little as her voice deepened and lowered, also contorting into a voice that sounded like an imitation of Bill Murray as Carl Speckler as done by Aykroyd, that voice belonging to the character she was turning into. She held her head for a few seconds as her or rather 'his' mind and personality contorted, memories merging together as he remembered being an Aykroyd, but also being named Tom Everett as his transformation completed.

"How does it feel?"

"Not too bad. I like this."

"Good, welcome aboard. I told you it would be fun."

Matthias/Werebelushi barged in just as he witnessed this, he gasped as he saw what happened to his partner. 'Mel..is that you?' 'Oh, you're looking for Ms Mel?' 'Is that you in there?' 'Don't be silly…everyone knows my name is Capt. Tom Everett.' 'The Aykroyds got to you, didn't they?' 'They sure did, boy are they the nicest guys ever.' 'Nice? But they made you into his character from Caddyshack II and you hate that character.' 'Not really…now I think about it, I think he's alright.'

"It's alright, he can still be Mel. Watch."

Austin used a special spell on Tom Everett that enabled him to turn back into 'Mel' before morphing back into Tom. 'He can still live a normal life you see.' 'That's good to know.' 'So what do you say? Can he stay here with us tonight?' 'I don't see why not.' 'Mr Werebelushi, you're a lifesaver.' And thus with that the Aykroyds and their newest member stayed for the night while Matthias kept watch all night long.

As for what happened later, Tom Everett did manage to live a normal life and still have time to hang out with his other friends while embracing the perks of his new self. Being an Aykroyd really wasn't so strange after all. And here comes the moral, remember…sometimes we might think that the monsters we meet everyday are a threat, but really they're just like us and if you take the time to get to know them, you might learn more about them.

[jakesduskwood]

i think i liked me better lonely

Pairing: Jake x Fem!MC | Phil x Fem!MC (one-sided, platonic, don't worry, it's a Jake story)

Genre: Post-Episode 10

Words: 4,604

Summary: After the events of Episode 10, MC is ready for a fresh start in Duskwood. All her friends, and she thinks, her maybe-not-so-maybe boyfriend, are there. Except Jake never shows up. She's not angry. Really. She's not. Except well, really, she is.

[ A/N: Hi!!

I'm so sorry I haven't written anything in like three months. I truly did start this story in June and just now had the energy to finish it. Hopefully you guys are still with me and want to read it.

Enjoy! ]

“[MC].”

Hannah reached across the table for my hand and gave me an almost sympathetic smile. Like she knew the reason behind my shaky hands and bloodshot eyes and the reason I double-checked my phone three times a day despite the fact that I knew he would never reach out. It had been exactly one month since Hannah had been found. One month since Richy’s death. One month since I had packed up my things and moved to Duskwood. One month since the MWAF had become another painful memory we didn’t talk about.

In some ways—I think all of us missed Richy. The parts of him we knew. The parts that couldn’t be hidden underneath a mask. Maybe that’s why we didn’t talk about it. We needed to remember him the way we wanted to. Still—Hannah had been doing well since Alan had rescued her out of the mine. We had become rather close in the time since I’d come to visit her in the hospital a few days after her rescue. Thomas had been there. Stayed by her side the whole time. Hannah seemed to welcome his touches—seemed much more content to be with him than Thomas said she had in the days before her disappearance.

I was happy about that.

They were good for each other.

Somehow—I felt like Hannah was the only one who really understood me. Despite how close I’d become with the others—our weekly Aurora hangouts and occasional movie nights and being the talk of the town together—the town of Duskwood didn’t feel full. I didn’t know if Thomas would understand that. If Jessy would. Cleo. Dan. Lilly, even. But Hannah did. She was the only person who had known him the way that I did. Who had to lose him the way that I did. She was the only person I felt like I could tell I missed him and she would be okay with it—she wouldn’t try to tell me he had been captured or killed or had chucked his phone into the nearest lake in an attempt to abandon me. She would simply squeeze my hand and nod and tell me that she did too.

And—the thing with Hannah and Jake had been years ago. Hannah had told me herself—she had never seen a future for them. She had always known it would never work. But he was nice to talk to and she liked that about him. I understood that. Still—I couldn’t help but feel relief when Lilly had sat her down and told her they had a brother who risked everything to find her—and that that brother was Jake. Hannah had taken it better than I expected her to. Almost like it made sense for things to work out that way. Well—when you go through what she had to—most things probably did make sense.

I didn’t blame him—in the end. For wherever he was. Captured. Arrested. Across the world with his hand in someone else’s. Dead. My heart clenched at the thought. Perhaps he had forgotten me already. After all—our mission was complete. We saved Hannah. We were safe. Maybe that was enough for him. But—if he was out there in the world, alive somewhere—maybe I would always hold a part of me that wished he missed me too.

“I’m fine.” I responded.

She narrowed her eyes at me. “I don’t believe you.”

We both knew she was in the right. My eyes still scanned across every dark-haired, hoodie-laden  guy they came across, hoping that maybe. Still—my texts stayed unread. The ones I’d written the days after he’d left, praying that he was okay and would make it to me soon. The ones I’d written in anger, towards Jake and towards myself. The ones I’d written on the nights I felt alone, hushed ‘I love yous’ falling from my lips as I begged him to respond. Hannah didn’t know about those. I didn’t plan to tell her.

“We were never together.” I told her honestly. “I don’t have a claim to him. If he wanted to—run off and start some new life in another country with a new name, he can do that. I don’t—we were never together.” The words felt like a lie. “He can do whatever he wants.”

“You don’t know that’s what he did.”

I reached for my coffee. “I don’t know that’s not what he did either. Just—the FBI is still looking for him, as far as we know, right, and he hasn’t been found dead. Look, Hannah. I’m happy that I met Jake, because it lead us to find you. But—falling in love with a wanted hacker is high on the list of things I’d like to punch myself for.”

“Yeah.” She hummed. “Falling in love with a wanted hacker and then realizing he’s your brother is pretty high on that list too.”

“It probably should be.” I smirked. “Do you want another coffee?”

She shook her head. “It’s okay. I have to meet Thomas in a few minutes anyway. He’ll call if I’m even two minutes late.”

“We went through a lot to find you.” I reminded her. “I think it’s sweet that he worries about you the way he does. You never know when somebody might need to.”

She paused. “Jake cared about you, [MC]. I know I wasn’t there when you two—” She motioned with her hands in a circle. “And I don’t know why he did what he did. But—I did know Jake. He was there for me. Even when we hadn’t spoken in years. He risked his life to make sure you guys found me. I can’t repay him for that. Even if he does come back. Didn’t you tell me he made sure you would be safe?”

“Yeah.” I swallowed hard. “He installed this program on my phone. It let him know whenever he had to interfere.”

“Right.” She hummed. “Just—Look, I don’t really know much. But from what he used to tell me about himself, I kind of gathered he didn’t just blurt out ‘I love you’ to people. So, if he said it to you—I think he meant it.”

“Hannah.” I ran a hand through my hair and tugged at the ends. “I know he helped find you. And I know he’s your brother. I would never—I’m not angry with him. Not really. But—I really think I’m losing my mind sometimes.”

“I understand that.” She sympathized. “But—even if he doesn’t come back, you will always have us. Although—I suppose being friends with your ex-boyfriend’s sister is probably a bit weird.”

My face scrunched up. “He was never my boyfriend.”

“Officially.” She smirked. “Anyway, I should probably go.” She waved her phone around, where a display of texts—presumably Thomas—were taking up her lock screen. “I think we’re going to lunch, but—you can come with us if you don’t want to be alone.”

“I love you,” I told her. “And I love Thomas. But I really do not want to crash your lunch date. If anything, I think that would make me feel more alone.” I cracked a smile. “I’ll be okay. Probably get another coffee and head home.”

She reached across the table to squeeze my hand. The truth was—moving to Duskwood had been good for me—with or without Jake. I’d needed a new start long before Thomas had contacted me and asked me to help find Hannah, and however bad the circumstances might have been, Hannah had been found, and somewhere in the chaos, I’d found a new family. A group of friends to share Friday nights with. To drink with. To hang out with.

Hell. Even Phil started hanging out with our group more often. Jessy told me it was to spend time with me. I was flattered. Phil was cute. He’d tried to ask me out a couple of times—all of which I had turned down. Jessy had told me to give him a chance. Please, [MC]. He asks about you—like all the time. Please go on a date with him. I told her I’d think about it.

Though—it wasn’t like I’d been moping around for the past month. I had been staying with Jessy while I figured things out. She assured me it was fine. Her spare bedroom was available and after everything with Richy, she felt more comfortable with someone around. I had moved most of my things to her place, and what I couldn’t, I’d put in a storage locker. All I knew was that there was no going back.

Hannah was gone by the time I snapped out of my daze. I grabbed my keys and my empty cup of coffee and made my way inside. The place was a bit more crowded now than it was when we had first arrived. The barista must have changed shifts or gone to lunch, because there was somebody else behind the counter—a college-aged kid, maybe, with light hair and a far-too-bright smile for someone being criticized by an older customer.

I tossed my empty cup into the trash and folded my arms over my stomach as I got in line behind two teenagers. Their eyes moved wildly as they motioned to someone in front of them. I grabbed my phone from my pocket and shot off a quick message to Jessy, letting her know I’d be back in a few minutes.

ME: Are you around? Just finished coffee with Hannah. Be back in a few.

My phone buzzed only a moment later.

JESSY: Went to the library, should be back soon.

By the time I made it to the front of the line, the barista had a tight-lipped smile and looked much less happy to be making coffee mid-day on a Saturday. I wasn’t here that often, maybe only once or twice a week, but I made a mental note to ask her name before I left. I placed my usual—black coffee with two sugars and an extra shot of espresso—and reached into my pocket to pull out my wallet.

“Oh, don’t worry—” She waved her hand. “It’s been paid for.”

I blinked. “Uh—I’m sorry?”

“This nice gentleman.” She explained. “Must’ve seen you in line.”

I furrowed my eyebrows. “Oh.” I murmured dumbfoundedly. “Right. Well—that was really kind of him. Uh—thanks.”

I stepped to the side to wait for my coffee and scanned the place for anybody I thought may have done so. I’d circled the place a few times with my eyes when a hand grazed my shoulder. “Fancy seeing you here.”

I rolled my eyes playfully. “Of course it’s you.”

“Ouch—” Phil laughed teasingly. “Good to see you too.”

“Are you stalking me now?”

“How was I supposed to know you were going to be here?” He raised an eyebrow. “It’s merely a coincidence. Though—if you’re free,” He gestured to an open table with raised eyebrows. “Want some company?”

I accepted my coffee with a quick ‘thank you’ and turned back to Phil. I really wanted to politely decline and head home. But—Jessy’s words rang in my head and—he did buy me coffee. Would it be rude to accept his gift and not a date? Probably. I pinched the bridge of my nose. Okay. One date.

“Fifteen minutes.” I accepted.

He nodded and led me over to the table he’d been eyeing. I took a seat across from him—cups of coffee in between us—and tried to think of a topic of conversation. The truth was—Phil wasn’t a bad guy. He was fun to hang out with. Fun to be around. Fun to tease. Maybe he’d even be fun to date. I don’t know why I was adamant against it. Maybe because I wanted to be.

“How has your day been?” He wondered.

I smirked behind my coffee. “It’s barely noon.”

“And yet you’re already on your second cup of coffee.”

“So you are stalking me.”

He shrugged. “I’m merely observant.”

“It’s—I don’t know. I keep waiting for something to happen. And nothing ever does. I’ve moved into Jessy’s place. I’m applying for jobs. I’m—out, you know. It feels like a breath of air—we all can move on. We all should have moved on. Richy’s dead. Hannah’s back. But—I hear Jessy cry out for Richy in the middle of the night all the time and I reread texts from Jake all the time and I wonder if it will ever really be over.”

“Jake—your hacker boyfriend.”

“Not my boyfriend.” I fiddled with the lip of my cup. “But—yeah.”

“He helped clear my name.”

I snorted. “Actually, I’m pretty sure he would have left you in jail if he could have. Jake—wasn’t your biggest fan. But—Hannah was his sister. That meant more to him. He wouldn’t have let you rot behind bars for a crime you didn’t even commit. I wouldn’t have either.”

“Figured I owed you for all your help.”

“You don’t.” I promised. “That’s what friends do for each other.”

He smiled softly. “Friends? You risked your life for someone you’d never met. Actually, for a lot of people you’d never met. Hannah. My sister. Jake. Me. That’s not something somebody forgets about easily.”

“And that’s why you thought you would ask me out five times?”

He grinned. “Can you blame a guy?”

“And buy my coffee.”

His smile faded. “I didn’t buy you a coffee.”

I blinked. Lowered the cup down from my mouth and stared at him. “Uh—you bought my coffee right before I sat down with you.”

“I’m pretty sure I would have remembered that.”

My mouth fell open. “Then how—but you—you’re here!”

“You realize there’s like one coffee shop in this town.” He raised his eyebrows at me. “I saw you waiting to get your coffee and thought I would come and talk to you.”

I groaned. “Well, then—who—”

“It could be that guy who’s been staring at you for like ten minutes.” He nodded toward the other side of the bar, where, sure enough, there was a guy with black hair and bright green eyes glaring daggers into Phil’s skull. “But that’s just my opinion.”

“You’re incredible.”

His smile faded. “You’re really just not into me, are you?”

“Phil.” I sighed heavily. “It’s—it’s not you, I promise. I’m really not into anyone right now. You are an amazing guy, and you’re Jessy’s brother, and I like spending time with you. But—”

“But you don’t like me.”

“No.” I admitted. “Not like—”

“Do you like him?”

I laughed. “I don’t know him, Phil. Just—he bought me a coffee. I think the least I can do is have a conversation with the guy. Kind of like you and I are doing right now.”

“Because you thought I bought you a coffee.”

“Because we’re friends.” I corrected. “Because I like talking to you. Because you are in this with us whether you like it or not.”

He hummed. “And if this hacker guy doesn’t come back?”

“You’ll be the first person I call.”

He smiled. “I think I can live with that.”

“Right.” I could feel the stranger’s eyes staring into me. “Well. I should—” I motioned back over to where I knew the guy was sitting. “I should at least go turn this guy down before he thinks I’m cheating on him.”

Phil gave a three-fingered wave and went back to his coffee. Sighing, I grabbed at my phone and opened up my texts with Jake. Unread. Unread. Unread. Unread. Unread.

ME: I hate you for what you did to me.

Read.

My mouth opened. I held my breath. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. Nothing. I shook my head, shoved my phone back in my pocket and grabbed my cup before making my way to the coffee-guy, who was now staring at the wall beside him. He turned to look at me when I was still a few feet away, meeting my eyes with a hardened gaze that softened just a bit when he saw who I was.

“Uh—hey,” I offered softly, waving my half-empty cup of coffee around. “Am I right to say you bought me this?” He frowned. “Right. Okay, well—I’m sorry. My roommate’s brother is—a flirt like almost all of the time, so I assumed he bought me this. Uh—do you mind if I—” I glanced at the seat across from him to which he nodded. “Great.”

“Do you live here?”

It was a weird question from someone I’d just met. Duskwood was beautiful, sure, but there were seldom people that visited the town for its pleasantries. Still—I was more focused on the break in his voice. It was deep, husky like he didn’t use it often. I watched as he uncrossed then recrossed and then uncrossed his arms again. Finally, he settled them on the table between us.

“Uh—” I remembered his question. “In Duskwood. I moved here about a month ago. There were some—things—that happened to a couple friends of mine. I figured it was better to be closer and not towns away.”

He hummed. “Are they okay now?”

“They’re okay.” I supplied without much context.

“And are you okay?”

I paused. “Uh. We don’t have to—I mean, you don’t even know my name. It’s going to take a lot more than a cup of coffee for me to unpack that baggage.”

“Like falling in love with a hacker?”

I blinked. “Excuse me—”

“And helping to find his kidnapped sister?”

“What are you—”

“And then, when you finally think you will meet him, he is a complete idiot and leaves for weeks without telling you—”

Suddenly, the coffee in my stomach felt like lead. My mouth opened and closed repeatedly like a fish. There was no way. The man in front of me—Jake?!—stared at me like he was trying to read my expression. He offered a smile—a smile, like he wasn’t gone for a month, like he didn’t leave me behind with no explanation and a broken heart.

“I can see you’re angry.”

“Fuck you.” I spit out at him. “You have no idea.”

“[MC].”

“I can explain.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “I don’t want your explanation.”

“Please.” He reached across the table to take my hand. “You are allowed to be angry. But, please do not shut me out. I didn’t want to leave you.”

I blinked back the tears I felt coming to my eyes. “Then why did you?”

“I had to.” He shook his head. “After the mine—I barely escaped. If it wasn’t for the fire, I might have been caught. Everybody was looking at you. If I had come back, they would have gone after us both. I couldn’t risk putting you in anymore danger.”

“Isn’t that for me to decide?”

His face fell. “[MC].”

“And why did it take a month?” I demanded.

“I wasn’t—”

I sat back in my seat. “You weren’t sure if you wanted to come back.”

“No.”

I shook my head. “You’re unbelievable.”

“I was under the impression you would be happy to see me.”

“Jake—” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I waited for you for a month. I—I texted every time I thought about you. I packed up my things and moved to Duskwood and I prayed with everything in me that you would follow through and meet me here. I—I ran through every single scenario in my head—of you being kidnapped and arrested and gone and dead—and I would constantly have debates with myself about which one I thought was worse. I—you told me you loved me and you left me. I am ecstatic to see you. But—I’m worried about which part of my heart I’ll have to pick up when you turn around and leave again.”

“I came back for you.”

A tear slipped down my face. “Please don’t tell me that.”

“I’m sorry that I hurt you.”

“You know—” I whispered quietly. “Phil is a really good guy. He’s—he likes me and he doesn’t have to come and go and he’s—he’s really, really good for me.” Jake made a noise like he didn’t quite believe me. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I believed me. “And I—I love you.”

“And that’s—not a good thing?”

I wiped at my tears. “I want to love you in public. I want to go on dates and have our friends hate us because we’re so disgustingly cute and I want to hold your hand and—”

“Like this?” He reached back for my hand and covered my fingers with his. “Exactly what we’re doing right now?”

I sniffled. “I want to kiss you in public.” He raised his eyebrows. “You know—two people called me your girlfriend today and it—it made me realize how much I wanted to be. And—also, you’re ridiculously hot, if I haven’t told you. And it’s kind of unfair, because you look like that, and I’m sitting here crying, which is definitely not how I wanted to meet you for the first time.”

He shook his head. “I think you’re beautiful.”

“Oh.” I blushed. “Well. Okay then.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“I don’t know what to believe right now,” I admitted quietly. “I am angry. I told Hannah I wasn’t angry with you, but seeing you here—I am angry. Just—I’m not angry enough to want to tell you to leave.”  

“I don’t want to leave.”

“But you will.” I supplied, taking a sip of my now-cold coffee. “Won’t you?” He hesitated. “And what happens then?”

“I will never leave you forever.”

“But you’ll still leave me,” I explained. “You’ll still make me wait around and hope that you will come back eventually. And I will—because I’m in love with you. Jake, I don’t want to be in love with you. I want to be happy.”

“Then come with me.”

I scoffed. “Come with you?”

“You can.” He offered hopefully. “We talked about it.”

“That was before I lived here, Jake.”

“I thought—” His face darkened. “I thought you came here for me.”

“I did.” I told him. “But—I love everyone here. Jessy. Dan. Your sisters. I stayed for them. After I realized you weren’t going to—to come, I moved here. Hannah and I have coffee every week. I live with Jessy. We—we hang out at the Aurora on Fridays. Phil will open the bar back up for an hour after he closes. Just for us.”

It sounded weird. Justifying all the reasons I had to stay in Duskwood to him. Like I thought that he might not understand them. In actuality, I thought Jake would probably understand better than anyone else. He had ties connected to this town. His sisters. His father. Me. Maybe I was the one who didn’t understand. Maybe I needed to justify my actions to myself. Give myself a reason not to go. To not get hurt again.

“I can’t do this.” I told him and stood, clambering my way out of the seat. He reached out to grab me, but I backed away, clutching the coffee cup to my chest like it was my last lifeline. “I—No. I really can’t do this. I’m sorry, Jake.”

With shaky hands, I backed away until I was out the door. My hands ran messily through my hair and I stood in place for a few seconds before I turned and headed back toward Jessy’s place, only a quick walk, luckily. Tears streamed down my face as I quickened my pace. Passersby probably turned to look back at me, but I didn’t care.

By the time I got to Jessy’s place, the door was unlocked and her keys were hung up on the stand by the walkway. I tossed my keys in with hers and made my way to the living room, where Jessy was sitting with her feet kicked up on the coffee table. When she saw me walk in, she jumped up from her spot on the couch, her face falling as she made her way over to me.

“What happened to you?” She demanded.

I shook my head. “Jake happened.”

“Jake?” Her eyes widened. “He contacted you?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “He showed up at the Rainbow Café when I was there. Phil was there too, and I thought he bought me a coffee, but really, Jake bought me a coffee, so I had to go and talk to both of them.”

“You talked to Jake.”

“Mm.”

“Why are you crying about it?”

I shook my head. “He wants me to—run away with him. Or something. I don’t know. All I know is that he came back to tell me that he can’t come back. Not fully. Not ever. But, he loves me and he wants to be with me and he doesn’t want to leave me. But—how do I just wait around for him to come back and visit once every month? I can’t.”

“So, what did you tell him?”

“I told him that I have a life here now.”

She paused. “Do you want to go with him?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it matters!” She argued back. “Do you remember when we had that talk about getting out of Duskwood when everything was done?”

“That was before, Jessy.”

“Isn’t that reason enough to get out of here?” She wondered. “I—I would have wanted for you to take me out. Of Duskwood. If you’d wanted to. And you want Jake to. Don’t use us as an excuse as to why you can’t. You can always come back. To visit. If things don’t work out. I really doubt any of us plan to be in Duskwood for our entire lives, [MC].”

“So, you think I made a mistake?”

She shook her head. “I think you’re making a mistake—this one is still fixable.”

“And I’m supposed to call him and—”

“—tell him that you want to spend the rest of your life with him, yes.”

I pursed my lips. I hated that Jessy was right. That I wanted to be with Jake—in Duskwood or on the run or wherever he would allow me to. Because that was what I signed up for. The constantly on-the-move. The secrecy. I knew that when I had fallen in love with him. And yet—watching as he constantly left and came back would slowly destroy me. Maybe it already did.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and hit the ‘PHONE’ button.

He answered on the second ring. “[MC].”

“I want to come with you.” I blurted before I could change my mind.

“What?”

“Wherever you go—I want to be there,” I told him. “I think I would probably move to Antarctica if you asked me to. Just—don’t go there without me.”

I could hear the smile in his voice. “Really?”

“I love you,” I told him. “So—yeah. I’ll—I’ll pack my things. You’ll let me know where to meet you?”

“I will send it over in a message.”

I smiled. “Okay.”

��Okay.”

“Jake?”

He paused. “Yeah?”

“I—” I shook my head. “Just making sure.”

[xxwritemeastoryxx]

Hidden Marks

Author: xxwritemeastoryxx

Pairings: Elijah Mikaelson x Reader

Request:  Hii! If you still taking request I want ask for an soulmate au with Elijah, where which one of them have the same mark. He and his soulmate are very good friends for a long time and never have thought about this, but someday he see her mark and find out about this but don't tell her for being afraid of hurting her because of his family -Anon

Word Count: 1.6K

Warnings: Tad bit of angst, mentions of blood, but that's canon at this point.

Author’s Note: I apologize that this wasn't out earlier today. But there was some things in it that were bugging me and I just couldn't let it post without fixing it! It's still the 7th for me so this is your fic for the day! I hope you guys enjoy it!

Feedback gives me life and motivation for future things. ♥

“Oh come on,” Y/N said as she turned and faced Elijah as a smile pulled at her lips. “Are you really telling me that you’ve given up on looking?”

Elijah shook his head slightly as he let a huff of air past his lips. “For as many times as you’ve tried to persuade me to find who my soulmate is, my answer has remained the same.”

“Deep down I don’t think you mean it.” Y/N said with a slight tilt of her head. “You give the advice of your best friend ‘needing’ to find who she is ‘destined’ to be with, but you wont take your own advice or mine for that matter.”

When Elijah was younger, he believed that Soulmates finding each other was something magical. He may have lived with his mother who was a witch, and even a few of his brothers, but this was different. Elijah could remember the stories some of the villagers told him about how they found their soulmates. That the marks they were born with would match the person they were meant to be with.

Elijah had hoped that his soulmate would come along and he’d get to experience that kind of magic that he witnessed. He wondered who his soulmate was. How he would meet them and when they would realize who they were to each other. But when Henrik died, Elijah had felt his opportunity to meet his soulmate had been lost the moment he became a vampire.

The magical feeling he once believed in had been diminished over time. As the centuries had passed Elijah had never once met someone who he would ever be his soulmate. That there was no longer someone out there that would share the same mark as he did. As the years passed, the thoughts of a soulmate had all but diminished.

Elijah’s mark had been just below his left clavicle. The mark is a few shades darker than his skin tone. An intricate design of three circles intertwined in a horizontal line. His clothing always covering the mark from everyone around him. So long as it was covered, he wouldn’t be asked about it.

At least that was until Y/N came into his life. The vampire may have been several centuries younger than him, but they had become close friends over the past century. Elijah had met her during his time away from Klaus. The need to be away from his brother for a while had proved to be much needed. And when he met Y/N there didn’t seem to be anyone else better to spend his time with.

But during that time, he never mentioned what his mark looked like, let alone asked her what her mark looked like. Y/N was like Elijah in some ways. She once believed that soulmates were like fairytales. But when she turned, the notion of having her soulmate found had diminished.

“Was it not just a few hours ago that you reminded me that you’d rather not find them?” Elijah asked as he watched her.

The smile she had on her face faded slightly. “I have my reasons.” she shrugged slightly. “I may change my mind if I see you find yours.”

A light chuckle passed Elijah’s lips as he began walking down the pathway they stopped in moments before. “I wouldn’t hold your breath.”

There were several more conversations similar to that between them. But no matter how many times each of them brought it up, they both believed that they didn’t want to know who their soulmate was. They were content with their lives and it avoided the disappointment if their soulmates were human and lost some time ago. This way, there wouldn’t be heartache.

_____

“Elijah?” Y/N called out as she struggled to keep herself steady as she walked into the compound. She hadn’t ever expected to go to Elijah when she had been injured. But she needed help this time. Someone had attempted to shoot a wooden bullet at her and it was currently lodged in her back.

In a blink of an eye, Elijah was in front of her taking in her appearance. His eyes had widened as he helped her over to a seat in the courtyard. “What happened.” He asked as he took note of the current bullet holes in her shirt.

“Oh you know, failed attempt at making friends.” She tried to brush off the pain that was currently radiating through her. “ I just need you to help take one of them out. The others were easy to do. But this one is lodged in there.”

Elijah moved behind her as came to take note of where she had been speaking about. There had been a tear in her shirt from the attempt to make the bullet hole bigger to get the wooden bullet out. He could see the healed spots from the others that she had been able to take out.

It was as he moved the fabric aside to begin pulling the bullet out that he noticed the mark right above it. He stopped for a moment as he took in the horizontal circles that were intertwined. For as many times as he had seen his own mark, it was replicated on Y/N’s skin.

Y/N could feel how he hesitated; she looked over her shoulder at him. “What is it?”

Elijah shook his head slightly. “I believe that is the first time I’ve seen your mark.” He said before he began to poke and prod at the bullet hole.

She hissed as she felt him digging into her skin and muscle. “There’s a first for everything.”

Y/N knew that while they had joked and pressed the other to go in search of their soulmates, they never once actually saw each other’s mark. For the century and a half that she had known Elijah, she had never once seen Elijah’s mark, just as he hadn’t seen hers until this moment.

Elijah hadn’t said anything in response. If anything he was letting his mind go over everything the last several centuries had shown him. He had been at his lowest, the lowest that he could be as a Vampire, when Y/N had entered his life. They had gotten along so well during that time that Elijah just considered it them having a lot in common.

“I take it now that you’ve seen it, you’re going to go on a mission to find my soulmate for me?” She asked a moment later, hoping to fill the air with voices instead of the sound of blood and muscle being messed with.

“I thought you disagreed with that plan.” Elijah tried to keep his voice normal as he talked with her.

As much as seeing the mark should have made him happy, that he should have stopped right then and there and told her what it was that he realized, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. It had nothing to do with the bullet that he was now pulling out from her back. If that had been the case, he’d tell her the moment he watched her skin begin to heal before his eyes.

“Oh, I do.” Said with a nod as rolled her shoulders, stretching out the muscles of her back where the bullet had been moments before. “That doesn’t mean it will stop you from doing it.”

Her words had caused him to chuckle as he pulled out his handkerchief and began cleaning his hands of her blood. She turned towards him in her seat, watching as he tossed the bullet onto the table a moment later.

“I have no intentions of seeking someone out that you do not wish to meet.” He noted with a nod of his head as he looked over at her. Even after getting into some trouble, she still looked as if she could still take on the world.

There was something in her eyes that changed a moment after his words had pierced the air. “Would you tell me if you saw the mark on someone else?”

“Of course.” He said even though it had been a lie. He knew he wasn’t going to speak of the very mark that was on his chest.

As much as Elijah wanted to express every thought he was having at the moment, he couldn’t allow himself too. Not with the past that he had. Not when there were multiple reasons why he didn’t want her to know.

Not to mention the track record he had with the women in his life. While one would argue that it was all meant to lead up to him meeting Y/N, Elijah knew that even she wasn’t immune to the darkest parts of his family or even himself.

He watched as she stood up from her seat. “Thank you for helping me with that.” She gestured to the bullet. “Would I be able to interest you in a little night hunt?”

There was a smirk pulling at her lips, one that Elijah couldn’t stop one from forming on his own. She was offering him a night of catching those that attempted to harm her. Between the two of them, the sport of keeping each other and his family had been a game of keeping score. His head nodded in agreement at the thought of helping her.

He always promised to help keep her safe. And it was as they began leaving the compound that Elijah realized in order to do so, he was going to have to keep his mark hidden from her.

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[incorrectnessduskwood]

despicable

A/N: Hey, there, people! How are you? I was supposed to have this out earlier this week but I just kinda forgot (you can blame college and work for that), but here it is! I hope you'll enjoy it and that it'll break your heart in the best possible way (like it did mine). I also have a few ideas for a part 2, so let me know if you would like to read it. Good reading! (ps. I recommend listening to despicable by grandson. It's the song that gave me the idea for this story)

Pairing: Jake x MC

Word Count: 3.4k

Warnings: angst, not a happy ending, break up, Richy is dead (I'm so sorry), PTSD, trauma

Watching her was one of the things Jake most enjoyed; she always seemed to be in her own element, no matter where or who she was talking to. She made friends with everyone, she was gentle with each person she came across, and she was comfortable anywhere she found herself in. When talking to her, she made you feel like the most important person in the world; she really looked at you, she saw you, she listened to everything you said, and she was honest while still being considerate of your feelings. She didn’t say anything to hurt anyone, no matter how bad that person had been to her or others.

Jake admired her for that and for so much more. She had gone through so much and still managed to be a good person; all the violence and pain and death she had seen and gone through hadn’t been enough to turn her bitter, cold, angry.

Still, he could see the tightness in her smiles sometimes. How she would flinch whenever someone touched her or spoke louder; how her eyes would search for possible way-outs in case she needed it. It was all very subtle and, if you didn’t know her well enough, you wouldn’t see the marks Hannah’s kidnapping, Richy’s death and the time she spent locked with the kidnapper had left on her, but they were there: there were well hidden dark bags under her eyes from sleepless nights or nights in which she was plagued by nightmares, the scars were smartly covered by clothing and the subject was never brought up or subtly escaped from.

He knew the others had their own problems too; Hannah had confided in him that she couldn’t be in the dark or alone, though she couldn’t handle being touched by anyone yet. They had all taken turns staying with her, him and Lilly spending most of the nights with her, just trying to distract her or just being there to keep her company.

MC had told him that Jessica had nightmares about her attack and that she wasn’t able to be alone or leave her house for long periods; she was staying with Phil and would spend most of the night at the Aurora with him until they would both go home. Their relationship had gotten better throughout the months, enough that Jessy would spend most of her time with her brother.

Lilly had become paranoid about Hannah and Jake. She wanted to know where they were every hour, calling them if it took them longer than five minutes to text her back. She would randomly show up at their houses during the week, saying she just wanted to make sure they were both still there, sometimes not believing their texts.

Thomas had become equally paranoid, always trying to be with Hannah, asking her all the time how she was, if she needed anything, what he could do for her. Jake could see he wanted to be close to Hannah, that he wanted to be there and wanted to help, but he was crowding her and Hannah could barely look at him and wouldn’t talk to him, let alone let him touch her.

Cleo and Dan seemed to be the ones dealing better with everything. Dan had gotten out of the wheelchair but he had a limp when he walked, though no one mentioned it. He still drank a lot, mostly hidden, but Jake could see the signs pretty well. MC had had a long talk with Dan a couple of weeks after Hannah was found, tried to reason with him for him to stop drinking, and he had promised he would try—Jake wasn’t sure how much of the promise he was keeping but he didn’t say anything. Cleo wanted to take care of everyone, so she would bake and cook and would bring food for everyone every other day. She had gone back to her mom’s house—for a little time, she had said—and gotten more involved in the Gates of Hope, even seeming to get more open about religion.

Jake couldn’t say he was doing much better. He tried to be strong for the others, especially for his sisters and MC; he was the one that kept MC company during the night, he was the one that woke her up from her nightmares, that listened to her cry through the bathroom door because she didn’t want to let him know in how much pain she was, even though they both knew he could hear her. He made sure she was still taking care of herself and tried to be a safe harbour for her, even if he didn’t feel that way himself.

He wanted to be there for Hannah and Lilly as well, especially after hiding the truth for so long. And they were in bad shape, they were suffering, and he understood them; the three of them knew each other’s pain pretty well.

So he tried to be there for them, for MC, and even the others. Being far away and not being directly attacked by the kidnapper, he thought of himself as lucky; he should be okay. His sister was okay, even if traumatized. He hadn’t gotten caught by the government and even managed to get a new identity (thanks to MC, though he had no idea how she had managed it) and he was able to be with the people he loved. So, why did he still have a bad feeling? Why was there still pain in his heart whenever he looked at them?

Because he knew he was putting everyone at risk. He knew there were still people after him, just waiting for one tiny mistake to come and take him away. And hadn’t Jake always said getting attached was a mistake? A weakness? Why had he done it then? Why was he still here?

Watching her, Jake wasn’t sure what was the right thing to do. He still felt like he was putting everyone in danger just by being there. He could still be found and he was sure everyone would suffer the consequences, even if they weren’t guilty. And Jake would hate himself if anything happened to any of them, especially to MC.

But she was always saying she needed him, that they had spent so much time apart and now they could finally be with each other, that he was safe, that they were all safe now; he didn’t have to run anymore. But didn’t he? How sure could he be that he wasn’t putting anyone in danger? That there weren’t people coming after him right now?

The letter tucked in his breast pocket weighed heavily, with all the words he wanted to say but couldn’t; with the goodbye and the apologies he wasn’t brave enough to tell to her face. So he had written them all and he would leave it to her as an explanation. Even if it was the hardest thing he was ever going to do, even if it was the most painful thing he ever had to do, he had to. To protect her.

Jake knew leaving would make her suffer and he never wanted to hurt her, but he was trying to save her from a more hurtful future if he stayed. That was what honourable men did, right? They did the right thing, they protected the ones they love even if it hurt.

Their eyes crossed from opposite sides of the room and MC smiled at him, the corners of her wrinkling and making her look younger; not old enough to have gone through so much tragedy and pain. Jake smiled back at her, though he was sure it didn’t look like much of a smile. She seemed to have noticed it too, tilting her head to the side and mouthing, Are you okay?

He nodded, trying to wave her concern off, even as his heart squeezed painfully in his chest and tears threatened to build in his eyes.

She seemed to accept it, mouthing Okay before smiling again and going back to her conversation. Jake knew he had to do it soon or he would lose his courage, which was already wavering. It seemed as if, every time he decided to finally leave, she would smile at him, place a soft kiss on his cheek or say she loved him, as if she knew there was something wrong, and Jake would give up.

He had spent days watching her sleep, arguing with himself that he should just do it, that he should do the right thing sooner rather than later and avoid more pain for the both of them. But he could never make it past the door. He would stand there, his hand on the handle, and he wouldn’t have any strength left to turn it open. His fingers would freeze around it and he couldn’t do anything; he could still see MC from the door, her face usually turned towards the door so she could see everything if she opened her eyes, and Jake couldn’t shake himself away from looking at her. How could he abandon her when she looked so peaceful, so beautiful, so vulnerable?

And so he always went back to the bedroom, sitting by her side and spending the rest of the night just watching her, his hand on top of hers. Sometimes she would wake up from a nightmare and he would take care of her, try to calm her down. He would pretend it didn’t break his heart to see her in so much pain and that he thought of leaving her, of taking away one more person she loves and putting her through more pain, even if it was for her own good.

Jake wondered if this wouldn’t be the best time to leave. MC was surrounded by people she cared about and that cared for her too. They would be with her when she noticed he was gone and would take care of her; they wouldn’t let anything happen to her nor let her do anything stupid, like going after him. He could ask Lilly to keep an eye on her and, once she noticed Jake was gone, she would understand his true meaning; thankfully, the two of them were getting along pretty well and he was sure Lilly would do her best to take care of MC.

He just had to figure out how to do it. He had to leave the letter somewhere she would find or ask someone to give it to her. But who? Everyone would ask what it was about and why he couldn’t give it to her himself. And Jake wouldn’t be able to explain; they wouldn’t let him leave until he talked to her and that was exactly what he didn’t want.

Looking around the room, he found Dan leaning heavily on a wall close to MC, his fingers closed around a whiskey glass as he watched the people around him. Dan would be the perfect choice; he wouldn’t ask much because he didn’t really care about Jake’s motives but, since the favour was for MC, he would do it for her.

On his way to Dan, Jake stopped behind MC, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on her shoulder. After tensing for a few seconds, her shoulders relaxed again and she placed her hands over his and leaned her head on his, still talking to the girl in front of her—what was her name again? Luna? Sylvie? Didn't matter anyway.

He waited until they stopped talking, the girl walking away after nodding at him and MC turning in his arms, smiling at him so brightly and happy that it hurt.

“Hey, handsome.”

“Hey, beautiful,” he placed a soft kiss on her lips, wishing he never had to let go.

“Have you been enjoying yourself or just lurking around and watching people?”

“I don’t lurk around.” MC raised a brow, the right corner of her lips quirked up. “Okay, maybe a little. But only because I don’t know the majority of people here.”

“I don’t either but that’s the point. This is for us to get to know the city and its people more.”

“I would rather be with you.” Jake pressed quick kisses all over her face, making MC laugh and squirm in his arms.

“Me too, but we’ll be together later.” She kissed his cheek and Jake’s eyes started to well up, knowing there wouldn’t be a later. “Go talk to someone, okay? Please?”

Jake sighed, his heart squeezing tightly inside his chest. “Okay.” He gave her a long kiss, hugging her closer and tighter, trying to commit the feeling of her in his arms in his memory before letting her go. “I love you.”

MC smiled at him, brushing a strand of hair from his face, her fingers softly caressing his temple. “I love you too. Now go be social.”

She smiled again as he walked towards Dan, each step getting harder and harder, his heart just telling him to let the idea go, to stay with her, damn the consequences.

He sighed as he stopped by Dan’s side, turning to see MC walk to Jessy and Thomas, starting a conversation right away.

“So, what are you lying about to her?” Jake turned to Dan with wide eyes. He opened his mouth to answer but Dan cut him off, “Oh, please. It’s so obvious. The hug, the kiss and the kicked puppy look when you walked away from her? I’m surprised she didn’t notice it.”

Jake licked his lips and exhaled heavily as he took the letter from his pocket. “I need you to give MC this.”

Dan took the envelope, turning it from one side to the other. “Why?”

“Because it’ll explain everything. I can’t stay any longer and I can’t take the risk of her convincing me to stay. I can’t do that to her.”

“Do what?”

“Put her in danger!” A couple of people looked at them and Jake felt his cheeks getting hot, lowering his eyes to avoid looking at anyone. He lowered his voice, “The longer I stay in the same place, the longer I stay with her makes it easy for the government to find me and I can’t risk it. I can’t do that to her. Not anymore.”

Dan stayed quiet, just looking down at the envelope. Jake wasn’t sure what reaction he was expecting from him, but he didn’t think it would be complete silence. Maybe Dan calling him stupid or just saying ‘whatever' or even just telling him to bugger off and do it himself.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Dan spoke again, “You know you’re doing the wrong thing, right?” Jake raised his brows. “Leaving’s not going to keep her safe. I mean, have you met her? She’s going to go after you until she or they find you or until they find her. And she’s not going to give up either way. Not the MC I know.”

Jake sighed, looking back at her. He knew Dan wasn’t wrong. MC was very stubborn and, if she really wanted to, she would find him. Her life goal would be to find him and possibly murder him for leaving once she found him. Still, he had to try it. Try to protect her, to give her a chance at a normal life, to be happy and not have anything holding her back.

“I know she won’t give up but I can try to be as far away as possible before she decides to come after me. And, hopefully, the government will be so focused on me that they won’t care about her, anymore. They won’t even think there’s someone they can go after to find me.”

Dan shrugged, putting the envelope in his pocket. “Okay. I’ll give her the letter when she starts to wonder where you are. Which won’t take long if I know her well enough.”

“Thank you, Dan. Can you distract her for a while? Just until I can be somewhat away.”

“Yeah, sure.” He stood up straight, wincing when he placed his left leg on the floor. “Good luck.”

Dan walked away without another word and Jake watched him for a few seconds before making his way to Lilly.

His footsteps must have caught her attention, because she raised her head and smiled at him, pocketing her phone. “Hey, how are you?”

Jake tried to smile but he just couldn’t do it, so he settled for a shrug. “Fine, just tired. Can you do me a favour?” Lilly nodded. “I-I need to make some phone calls. Can you keep an eye on MC for me?”

Lilly frowned, looking at MC and then back to him, as if not understanding him. “Of course. Are you sure everything’s okay? You don’t look good.”

“Yes, everything is fine.” He placed a soft kiss on her temple, squeezing her shoulder caringly. He knew this would only make Lilly more suspicious but he didn’t care; it was the last he would see of her. “See you later, Lilly.”

He walked away, feeling Lilly’s stare on his back. Now that he was finally doing it, it hurt so much more than he thought it would, but he had to keep going. He thought about how it was for MC’s safety that he had to go. And that everything would be okay. Even if it was hard. Even if it broke his heart. Even if he knew he would never be happy again.

She would be safe and that was enough.

**

Hello, MC.

By now, you must know something is wrong. You are probably wondering where I am or what is the meaning of this letter.

Before saying anything, I want to tell you how sorry I am; how much it hurts to do this, to have to tell you all of this in a letter instead of in person. But I couldn’t do it. I’m not strong enough to look into your eyes as I tell you my reasons, knowing I’ll be breaking your heart; I’m not strong nor brave enough to leave as I listen to you beg me not to. So I am sorry for this, even if it is for the best.

I know it may seem to you as if I am wrong about my reasons and, believe me, I wish I was but I’m not. This life, my life is not easy. It is not safe. The people that are after me are not a joke; if they got to you, they would do everything possible to hurt you just to hurt me. Just to see how much I would be able to handle before begging them to stop. And, if that happened, if they found you because of me… Well, I would never be able to live with myself.

I also know you would say we’re safe, that they wouldn’t be able to find us, but I can’t take that risk. I can’t bet your life on it because I know they will not stop. Not anytime soon. Even a new identity won’t be enough to slow them down forever. They know my abilities too well, just as I know theirs. They will do whatever they can to find me and there won’t be much I can do to stop them.

So I want you to be safe. I want you to be happy. I want nothing but good things for you, even if I am not one of them. As long as you are safe, nothing more matters to me. Not even my own happiness.

I hope you can forgive me for leaving like this. For doing it hidden and for simply disappearing, but I can’t take the risk of you convincing me to stay. And we both know you would if you tried.

MC, I love you. More than anyone or anything I have ever loved in my life. You accepted and trusted me when you had no reason to. You became my friend, my partner, and you gave me a place to belong without expecting anything in return. You welcomed me into your life and loved me for who I really am. You saved me when I didn’t think I could or deserved to.

Thank you for allowing me to be with you, for letting me love you and for loving me back, for whatever reasons you found in your heart to do so.

You will always be a part of me. I will never forget or stop loving you. I hope you’ll find a way to be happy and find a way to not hate me. But, even if you do, I can take it, as long as you’re safe.

With all my love and forever yours,

Jake/Nymos

[ringos-riddles]

mod pluto here! we have another batch! one that took seven days to post XD

Dan

he's a real soft and considerate lad. he is very patient with everyone, like a patience of a king, and never rushes anyone in a hurry. dan can probably wait a long time to let you finish what you're doing so you won't be stressed XD

he's a a bit of a doormat (well, perhaps a total doormat) he just does what everyone says, which poses a problem :(

dan can speak sign language while he talks to people, so other people sort of learn simply from watching him. it helps them understand it a little better, which is a good thing!

he really loves talking about music and the importance of understanding and accepting your friends - though, he's not a fan of huge gatherings. he's much happier in a small group ^^

when problems arise, he likes to gain as many angles of the situations as he can and take each one into consideration before thinking of a definite solution. and dan's quite good at mind puzzles on top of that! (really helps that he played a lot of professor layton growing up, which also implies he's a fan of tea and being a gentleman)

he's married to cl and works with her in the animal rescue shelter as an animal groomer; making sure that the animals are comfortable and cleaning them up. he loves to help out all animals in need :D

as for relationships, i'd like to think that he and todd would become instant friends the moment dan shows that he can use sign language. they constantly have conversations to what topic they are interested in whenever one of them is on break and todd is glad to meet dan cuz he's so nice :) besides that, dan's pretty much friendly with everyone. also! since he and cl work with animals, they are good friends with mark too

Christi

initially a bit of a socially awkward recluse due to not being close around the main part of the neighborhood, christi is absolutely delighted to make new friends from the main area when ringo's riddles lead the lads to her eclectic personal library and treehouse!

she's actually quite familiar with the bakery and patryck's coffee shop, and can often be seen there writing or sketching something in the latter - either in a laptop, notebook, and sketchbook. anything goes as long it's in her leather side-bag!

however, her true eccentricities as an author-illustrator (and amateur theologian) really come to light once you pay her a visit to her home. no, not the cottage; that's the personal library (to which anybody can go now) her home is a tree and the treehouse up top! :000

she'll probably become part of the book club that happens every month. christi might thrive there with her love of books!

christi herself is an optimist and a believer in the extraordinary in the ordinary - be it little miracles, acts of kindness, making childhood dreams come true and all those sorts! she will eventually give it a try. because after all, adventure it out there!! and as a fellow had once said before her; "those who do not believe in magic will never find it."

her little library is always open to visitors! and you can hang your coat in the large old wardrobe and relax. (just... be careful if you decide to play hide-and-seek and go in there. there's not really a back of it. word has been spreading around that you may find a forest beyond it and a lamppost in said woods, but who's to say?)

(also, she's bound to make a lot of references *wink wink* XD)

CL

cl has a very firm and voice when she speaks and will stand up for dan once he shows his doormat tendencies. she is not going to let this happen to her husband or anyone for that matter if it meant not protecting them.

she teaches people the importance of being kind while also being unyielding in your boundaries and standing up for yourself. it's important that you gotta make a line for yourself that anyone shouldn't cross and that's good! :)

she and dan are married and live in a nice, double-wide trailer

as mentioned, she rescues animals. it's her passion job! sometimes. she and the rest of the people who worked in animal-based careers meet up in a club at someone's house to whoever hosts (that usually goes to tord's) to share their experiences and ridiculous stories. what? even though she loves her job doesn't mean it's easy to take care of animals who keep being so troublesome.

when she and dan are not working, they tend to be those people who show off cool animals to everyone XD they rescued this snake a while back and kept it as a pet, and that's the one who they usually let others admire. they foster some reptiles they saved in their trailer until they can be properly released back to the wild.

occasionally, they'd be called to the zoo to handle exotic animals and allow kids to interact and explain awesome facts about them.

cl has a great friendship with edd and tord; having a sweet platonic bond with edd while she and tord feel more like they are brother and sister.

this is their work uniforms!

courtesy of my friend dan! :D

[01solarsmiles]

synopsis: you’ve been at jaehyun’s “secret” flat for a while now. you’re not quite sure how long, he says time passes differently here. not that you mind. you’re healing and there’s nothing you have wrong with that. having been away form everything that was bad for you, you’re coming to realise that things really were better with jaehyun. and no matter how many times he tries to tell you, he knows you have to come to that conclusion yourself.

tl;dr: you heal under jaehyun’s caring gaze.

genre: fantasy!au, kind of domestic!au, magic!jaehyun, fluff, smut, fem!reader

warnings: smut in the forms of kissing, titplay, basically motorboats oc, brief nipple play, heavy petting/fondling, grinding (?), oral (male recieving), jaehyun can’t hold his load oops, unprotected sex (wrap it b4 u tap it), creampie, brief cumplay lmao jaehyun is the teeniest bit kinky

other: jaehyun is my soft boi, wanna smooch and cuddle in his pastel coloured sweats, i’m british so he lives in a flat, soft smut… almost r*mantic,,, jaehyun is a boob man; do what you will with that B), jaehyun uses pet names bc i think it would be sickly sweet leaving his lips, time is relevant so i can do what i want with this thanks xox

wordcount: 8.5k

a/n: this is a continuation from the last chapter. i split it bc i needed inspo lmao so once again, not happy with how it ended previously so i had to write more. admittedly, it was origianlly one long piece but i realised i wanted to add more depth to when they’re living together (basically) so i split it therefore enabling me to write what i wanted about them being cute and stuff. yeah.

You had been given a wheelchair by the hospital but had refused to use it, wanting to prove that you were okay, to yourself and Jaehyun. He had convinced you to stay in it as you left the hospital to please the staff on your way out but you had point-blank refused when you made it to the small block of flats he said he lived in. After walking two steps from the car you let out a whimper and gave in to his incessant pleas to get you to sit in the wheelchair.

Oddly, there had been no one in the foyer and you hadn’t bumped into anyone in the hallway in front of the lift. He had helped you when you made it into the flat, moving you over to the sofa where you melted into the plush cushions of the seat.

On the way here, the two of you had already argued about where you were going to stay, him insisting on not leaving you alone and you insisting that you’d be okay at a friends place. In the end, he promised to contact your friends and family to tell them you were spending a little time away (you wouldn’t let him tell them you had been to the hospital). After all, he had saved you when you needed it most.

Your cracked lips remained tightly sealed as he folded the wheelchair away and tucked it behind a cupboard where it wasn’t in your direct line of sight.

You decide to look around, wanting to take up some time and to avoid looking him directly in the eye.

The flat was… cosy. It looked lived in, all the trinkets and small collages stuck up on the walls drawing your attention away from the shelves stacked with potted plants. Everything about the room seemed to tie together with another aspect of the flat. You couldn’t help but wonder why he had a place like this.

He notices your inquisitive look, “It’s supposed to be a secret. Though almost everyone important knows this is where they’ll find me if I disappear without an explanation.” Jaehyun moves towards the small kitchenette, fetching a glass of water befoer placing it on a coaster on the glass coffee table by your legs.

You wait for a second, acknolwedging the glass of iced water, then look up, meeting his hesitant gaze, “Everything’s green.”

It wasn’t a deep green either, more like a soft earthy green. Maybe a sage colour, but you were mostly going off of the presence of the plants and the colour of the sofa. Some of the counters in his one-person kitchen were a soft green, accented with wood countertops and a pastel fridge. It was soothing on your eyes, you had to admit.

He nods, unsure what you’re getting at, “Yeah…?”

“The first and second time I met you, you exclusively wore red. And it was glittery,” you point out, one wordlessly eyebrow raised.

He tilts his head, dimples appearing in his cheeks as he stuffs his hands in his jogging bottom pockets, rattling his keys in his pockets, “Just because I wear red doesn’t mean my whole life revolves around that primary colour.”

You roll your eyes and lean back into the sofa cushion, tenderly crossing your arms, “Well, no. I guess not,” you let your headrest on a pillow he slips behind your neck discreetly, “I suppose… I just assumed that you did,” you shrug your shoulders, “wasn’t something I gave much thought to.”

Jaehyun kicks off his trainers and throws his keys into a bowl on the kitchen counter. You could probably stick your arm over the back of the sofa and touch the pillar that separated the two areas if you tried hard enough adn weren’t brusied all over. He’s got a small smile on his face that brings his dimples out as he makes his way over to sit on the sofa with you, letting himself fall haphazardly onto the cushions. “So you thought about me, even a little.”

Ignoring his comment, you take in his flat to its fullest. You weren’t wrong, this man lived in a green, cottagecore aesthetic in his off-time. Admittedly you were a big fan of the wall of shelves stacked with different plants, mostly succulents and cactus -- the odd spine of a book eeking through -- and you even enjoyed the small desk that was home to a few depictions of watercolour flowers. Your eyes fall on the black figure, slinking under the legs of the glass coffee table pitched in front of you, making you flinch as you suppressed your reflex to jump; it was only a cat.

A cat man. Of course, he was.

Jaehyun’s eyes follow yours, “That’s Prim. She likes to keep to herself. Occasionally she curls up with me.”

“You made it sound like you rarely come here.”

“Mhm.”

“You have a cat.”

“I have a cat,” he affirms.

Prim disappears around the pillar into the kitchen. Jaehyun must’ve put down some food for her because you can hear her softly eating followed briefly by the sound of her lapping at a bowl of water.

“And plants.”

“Those too.” He’s not sure where you’re going with this, neither were you, but he was humouring it, seeing it through to the end if he got ot be in your presence longer.

Your eyes go back to wandering around the room, watching how the sun dips in between the curtains and cascades through the room. You had sat in the seat closest to the entrance, meaning Jaehyun’s back was to the window as he faced you while you were talking. He was still dressed in the outfit you assumed he slept in at the hospital. You were dressed in the same clothes you had gone in with, having had to change out of the gown they had provided when you left.

He looked so effortlessly pretty. It made you want to cry.

You suck in a breath and say, “I’m a little tired. Can I sleep… anywhere?”

He nods and jumpts to his feet before helping you to yours. Slowly, you make your way down the hall, almost all of your weight is beared on Jaehyun. He’s practically carrying you but neither of you mention it. It was only a small flat, something you couldn’t wrap your head around when he could probably have anything he liked, and so it only had one bedroom.

Initially, you had put up a fight but he simply said he wasn’t tired and there was a box room he could get a bed into if the sofa wasn’t comfortable enough (it was but you weren’t okay with the fact that he was giving up his bed). You lay on your side, a body pillow supporting your small frame. You were so tense, worried about Soobin and Dan-ah and Mina and your Mum and Dad and Hyejin as she was probably the only friend of yours who regularly checked in. There was so much running through your mind and you almost don’t notice Jaehyun’s soft palm gripping yours, his thumb rubbing over the back of your hand. Unbeknownst to you, he had seen the anxious look on your face and had guessed that you were psychoanalysing everything in your head, cogs turning. He wanted to subtly draw you out from your thoughts... so he let a little of his power surge through his fingertips and into your palm, hoping it was enough to make you woozy.

Without much thought to it, you rested your head on his pillow and fell asleep.

Jaehyun stays, for a minute or two, holding your hand until your grip weakens, your breathing becomes heavier and your chest goes into a steady rise and fall. He watches, as you lay, unbothered by the world outside. You looked at peace. At home.

Was this the first time you had been able to wind down like this?

He sighs, wriggling his hand from under yours and gets up to leave before he pulls a brown monochrome blanket over your frame. A slight frown etches itself on your forehead as your fingers twitch, looking for the hand Jaehyun had slipped away, before you subconsciously grip the blanket and curl into it instead, the frown erasing itself from your face, leaving you looking at peace once again.

You wake up to the sun going down outside, a blanket covering your body and pillows squished underneath to support your body.

You’re tender. That’s safe to say.

The room was airy; Jaehyun had left the window on the latch and the door cracked open so as to not make it stuffy. Glancing around, you notice the simplicity of it. Bed, side table, lamp and wardrobe. It differed massively from the rest of his flat. Maybe he hadn’t gotten around to decorating substantially in here.

You get up, perching yourself on the edge of the bed before making your way out of the room. Shuffling along, you cling to the wall as you know full well you shouldn’t be venturing around by yourself and make your way to the living room, “Jaehyun?” you call. The calling stops when you spot Jaehyun with an open book lying in his lap while he snores lightly, passed out on the sofa. The corners of your mouth twitch, curling into a smile at the sight of him so peaceful.

You hold out your arm, inspecting the bandage on it. You sigh, “I need a shower.”

You turn back, headed towards what you assumed was the bathroom. The door creaks open; thankfully, you were correct. There are fresh towels hanging on the rack and a laundry basket sits tucked into the corner. Stripping from your clothes gingerly, you turn on the shower. While it warms up you unwrap your bandages and softly poke the back of your head. You’re probably not supposed to submerge it yet so you work with what you can. The shower itself was a standalone that had frosted glass wrapped around it, hiding what was on the inside if anyone were to look in.

The whole ordeal was a show in itself, you carefully moving things about, trying not to knock anything all while trying to do your best with what you’ve got. It wasn’t the best situation in the world but it was the best out of the hand you were dealt. Having not been back to your flat to get anything, you didn’t have any of your usual hair products so you used the products that were already there and a lemon body wash that had been sitting patiently.

Eventually, you finish up with half-washed hair and a mostly clean body. Your fingers had pruned long ago and you took that as a sign to get out of the shower to stop using all the hot water.

You stepped out, and grabbed the towel off of the rack, wrapping yourself in them. They were so soft against your skin. Holding it tightly against your skin you move to stand in the middle of the bathroom. It wasn’t big but it had an oval mirror hanging above the sink. Staring at your reflection for a little, you internally pick apart everything you don’t like.

Staring with the obvious bruises. “I’ll heal,” you tell your reflection, “I won’t degrade myself like that again.” Your fingers brush against your towel-covered ribs, making you flinch. “He won’t do this to me again; I won’t let him,” you pause before whispering, “I’m not going back to him.”

By now, your eyes are watering a little so you sniffle and wipe the forming tears away before they’re given the chance to fall. You deserve better. You know this. “I deserve better. I am worth better.”

In the middle of this, Prim slinks through the crack of the door, making you jump a little. With your hand on your heart, you take deep breaths, watching as she jumps onto the closed toilet seat and sits down on a pile of clothes. A pile of clothes you don’t remember putting there. Your eyes widen at the thought of Jaehyun seeing you naked but then you whip your head to the shower walls, reminding yourself that they’re frosted and he would’ve only been able to see an outline at the most.

Prim purrs, drawing your attention back to her.

She blinks at you. She’s so calm. You reach the backside of your hand out so she can sniff it. After a quick sniff, she turns her head and rubs it into the palm of your hand. You gratefully accept her and let her continue to rub herself on you as you alternate between scratching the underside of her chin and the back of her head. She purrs in content and you let out a quiet giggle.

Jaehyun had been awake for the past ten minutes or so. He’d dug through his drawers, pulling out an old pair of jogging bottoms that he’d bulked out of but never gotten around to throwing out, a pair of clean underwear and a jumper that was currently his size but probably oversized on you. He’d slipped them onto the toilet seat (thank god it was so close to the door) without peeping past the sink and must’ve forgotten to pull the door up all the way on his way out.

He listens to Prim purring and you giggling softly from the safety of his sofa in the living room, a smile making its way onto his face. He had flicked on the table lamp on the end table by the sofa, continuing to read his book – A natural history of Dragons. Not as accurate as he remembers but a little light reading never did anyone any harm.

When you stepped out of the bathroom, you looked fresh. Swamped in his jumper and bare feet padding across the panelled flooring. He looks up from his book, noticing you gradually making your way over to him, he jumps up, trying to help you. You looked cute with your sweater paw leaned up against the wall.

He tucks a hand under your armpit for leverage, you turn, a little surprised and open your mouth to say something but can’t bring yourself to when you realise how close your faces are. Jaehyun either doesn’t notice or pretends to not know, making you feel more embarrassed than you thought possible. His musk engulfs you, overriding your senses and you hesitate in your step.

“Oh,” you say, face hot to which you can only pray he doesn’t sense how he caught you off-guard, “you don’t have to–”

“It’s okay,” he whispers softly, hands pulling you into him so he can use his body strength to help too. You feel goosebumps from his caring touch and you wonder about the last time someone treated you like this.

Since when did he become so domestic?

You brush it off and he helps lower you down to the sofa and Prim follows suit, helping herself to your lap as she curls into a ball, letting you run your fingers down her back in a soothing motion.

You could feel the heat rising up your neck at how close the two of you had been, your mind running to months before when you had been close to him. Before, you had been embarrassed about yourself as he was helping you out of the hospital but he had reassured you that you had nothing to worry about – the gentleman that he was – he didn’t want you to feel ashamed. So, you let yourself relax on his plush sofa cushions while he went about making something to eat for the both of you with a grin on his face, knowing all too well what he had inflicted upon you moments ago.

That’s how the next month or so went by. You pushed yourself to your limits, all of your minor injuries healed (somehow), and followed Jaehyun around while Prim followed you. As promised, Jaehyun brought home a bed for the box room to which you insisted on sleeping in since you were the one who was the guest but he had none of it. In the end, he dressed the room up nicely and it ended up looking like it had been there all along.

At first, Jaehyun hadn’t let you do any of the things you offered to do, especially the cooking. He had a large repertoire of recipes up his sleeve and wasn’t letting you do anything to strain yourself.

Your phone had briefly glitched the first time you turned it on, which was odd on a good day.

“Time passes differently here,” he had explained, “Einstein was right about that one; time is relevant. He almost caught us out one time with his research into it but Yuta turned him around and set him back on track again.”

To which he then had to explain to you who Yuta was. He sounded nice, harmless but what got you was the fact that there were more people like Jaehyun. You had yet to meet more than the man who stood in front of you as he explained that to you.

Weeks into your stay, he took you round to your place, helped you pick up your things and also helped you leave a thick layer of red glitter all over your now ex-boyfriend’s penthouse. He deserved it. According to Jaehyun, your ex was in the process of moving out, as per Jaehyun’s convincing argumentative skills.

You rang some of your family and friends, asking after them and telling them you were okay after it was established between you that you and Soobin were no longer together but the most heartbreaking one was between you and your niece. She had been there, she knew now, even if you didn’t want her too, she knew. You could only pray that it slowly faded from her memory, for her sake more than yours, as she grew older.

According to Hyejin (when she rambled to you on the phone as she bawled, bless her), Soobin had been given the sack and lost most of what he owned. He’d also been sporting a black eye for two weeks after you got out of the hospital. She had been the first person you rang but the small detail had slipped your mind until later that night. You tried not to outright weep tears of joy, knowing that he’d had even the tiniest bit of his own medicine fed back to him, followed suit by you quizzing Jaehyun to which he hid his knuckles behind his back as he walked in with a tray of sushi that had been delivered tonight as a treat before your anime marathon.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I haven’t seen him,” he throws his keys into the bowl on the kitchen counter after toeing off his shoes in the entrance of his flat.

Having had time to heal, you pull yourself to tuck your legs underneath you as you look over the back of the sofa. “Jaehyun,” you warn. Prim materialises from the depths of Jaehyun’s bedsheets, where you had left her earlier, to greet her beloved owner. She purrs against his leg and he leans down to scratch behind her ear.

“Y/n,” he says back, trying his best to match your tone.

Your eyes follow Prim, closely watching as she jumps onto the kitchen counter and paws at the key-bowl. Tucking your bottom lip between your teeth you nibble until you can form a sentence that wouldn’t betray you when it left the corners of your mind.

Thinking about it, you decide against arguing with him on it. If he was lying it wasn’t something that was going to stop you from hanging around him, so why push it? Because you wanted to know why. “You were out a while after you texted me you’d finished food shopping the other day, where’d you go?”

Jaehyun glances at you, his hair stood slightly on end as if he’d been running his hand through it, possibly one too many times. It was shorter than when you had first come into his care – you’d helped him one day to trim it. You’d also insisted that he let you do it because you used to cut your hair in the bathroom mirror. ‘Not the same,’ he had said but he had handed you the scissors all the same. He was still dressing for comfort, something that you appreciated when the evening came and the tv turned on. It was a small flat which meant a small-ish sofa. He wasn’t against wrapping an arm around you and the two of you had been known to fall asleep to a movie or two in recent weeks.

“Went to work, briefly. Gotta make sure everything’s on schedule; they’d practically die without me to ditto everything they’re already sure of,” he flashes you a grin that his dimples can’t escape, “it’s nice to be home.”

You murmur a response.

Scattering away, Jaehyun has a shower after being out and gets dressed quickly to return to you. He walks over to the kitchen, deciding to grab some things for the evening.

His back is turned to you now, he’s grabbing a couple of drinks from the fridge, the glow of the light illuminating his face.

“I missed you.”

You… what?

The pounding of your heart against your ribcage was deafening. Had you just said that out loud? He turns to meet your frantic gaze, waiting for your response. He can barely breathe out the response, “I missed you too.”

He grins, sinking himself into the space next to you and slings his arm over the back, his hand resting close to your neck. “Awh, did you really?”

Your body practically recoils, turning back on itself, “No. I just wanted you to bring ice cream; I’ve been craving it all week.”

Instantly you regret your choice as he frowns slightly and turns away.

You’re forced to think about the countless nights you’d spent curled up in his bed, some of them the result of you weeping into one of his many pastel sweatshirts you adorned about your failed relationship with Soobin, others about how you had neglected to tell your family and friends about the situation you had been in for almost a year by the time Jaehyun had pulled you away from it. Most nights, Jaehyun heard you, upset and alone in the dark. In the beginning, he wasn’t sure what to do about it, part of him knowing that he should leave you to heal but the other part of him screaming that he shouldn’t let you suffer alone – shouldn’t let you think you’re in this alone when you’re most certainly not where he’s concerned.

The first time he had left you, not sure he had heard correct when he came back from work, groggy from the use of his powers and feeling like he needed to faceplant his pillow from the exhaustion. You had stopped, little sniffles being masked by the vibrations of Prim’s purring against your body where she had hopped up on the bed to comfort you, when you thought Jaehyun was listening, hoping that he would leave you to hurt for a short while longer.

He had sensed your hesitation and made his way to the shower, deciding he needed to be fresh for the next morning.

He was oddly caring. Not that it was odd for someone to care but it was odd for someone to care this much and for the person to be Jaehyun was the cherry on top.

Turning back to face you, he grins, “Wanna watch that anime you were telling me about? I googled it last night and read some forums; apparently it’s good.”

Your eyes light up, “Sword Art Online? Yes please.”

Jaehyun shakes his head, chuckling to himself at how eager you are. He loved when you showed interest in things like this. His auburn hair falls into his eyes as he skims through whatever application he had pulled up (Netflix; no chill) while you weren’t looking and he breathes softly through his nose, concentrating on the screen in front of him.

Once again, you were studying him. It had been a long time since you had arrived. Time is relevant, true, but how much time is too much time?

The sun had set an hour or so ago now and you had already eaten some of the takeaway earlier as neither of you had been interested in cooking. You wondered if he knew how the table lamp accentuated his face, the soft hue acting like his usual haze when he was in his suit – which you learned was the reason he practical glowed as he had since told you there was magic twined into the thread it was sewed together with – and made him look angelic. You wondered if he knew the camel sweats he was wearing made you want to cuddle him and nuzzle your nose into his side, somewhere that you felt more than safe to be. You wondered if he knew how much you liked it here and how you were apprehensive about going back to the real world full time.

You’d been out, of course, he couldn’t confine you to his flat even if he wanted to but he always made sure that there were the correct precautions in place. He was always here, anyway, choosing you over everything else so there was rarely a time where you could go out without him. Smiling to yourself, you remind yourself that you don’t think you’d want to go by yourself when there’s a perfectly good Jaehyun waiting for you.

His hair fell in soft waves on his forehead, and his brow furrowed as he tried to figure out why he couldn’t find Sword Art Online for you two to watch. The two of you had fallen into a routine, he pats his leg, signalling for you to lay your head down on his lap as he pulls a pillow from behind him for you to rest your head on.

Shifting your body, careful of your ribs still, you lay down and wrap a hand under his leg for leverage, being sure to keep it closer to the back of his knee than his thigh as it was easier to curl your hand. He didn’t mind because when you sat and watched horror movies you would squeeze his leg in anticipation for a jump scare of sorts. He thought it was cute.

Eventually, he finds it, “Here we go,” he mumbles, clicking on the first episode. You settle in, pushing your face further into the cushion as Jaehyun lets his hand rest on your shoulder, somewhere safe for him to touch. His other hand plays with your hair absentmindedly as the episode begins, showing the people who had been waiting for the game to come out so that they could play it.

It remains like this, you making comments here and there, ooh’s and ah’s coming form both of you as you talk about the episode before it rolls over to the next one. At one point, he says something that makes you sit up completely, throwing him off as your warmth leaves his body.

“Did you just suggest that Kirito could be –”

His eyes widen, “I merely suggested that he –”

You scowl, pout and cross your arms, your cardigan falling off your shoulder at an angle, “No! You said what you said. It’s out there now, in the cosmos, for all to judge. You can’t take it back.”

He’s looking at you, first with shock but then with an expectant look. All you were doing was arguing over anime. You’re not sure you remember seeing him like this, eyes filled with something you cannot describe. Is this what being loved feels like? The flying thought catches you off guard and you hold your breath. He wonders if you know that’s how he’s feeling, how he’s seeing you. The rose-tinted filter settled in and he was determined to keep it that way for a long time.

Jaehyun had got dressed after his shower into a sweatshirt and sweatpants, and joined you on the sofa while you were watching the back end of a drama you had been meaning to watch for months before you had switched over to anime. It was your thing; watching anime together.

His hand reaches to rest on the side of your face, thumb brushing your cheek and fingers splaying down to reach your neck and brings his face closer to yours, making your breath hitch. The last time you had been like this neither of you were thinking in coherent thoughts. At this point, you’d spent months with him, hiding from your family and friends – only partially as you had wanted to gain your confidence back again and go back with a real job.

His hair was still drying on the ends where he hadn’t bothered to towel dry it. It brushed against your forehead as he brought his forehead to rest on yours, savouring the moment.

Breathily, you manage to say his name.

He hums in response, eyes trained diligently on your lips, waiting for your response. He doesn’t notice how you watch him watching you, he’s enamoured. He loved when you looked like this. So carefree. So pure. So… pretty.

“Kiss me.”

He doesn’t wait any longer.

Lips centimetres form yours, he gives you the opportunity to change your mind but you bring your lips to his, not wanting to drag this out any longer. His fingers stay on your face while your hands have yet to find somewhere to be placed – something that Jaehyun notices – so he picks up your hand and curls it around the back of his neck before wrapping his own around the small of your back, a smirk finding its home on his face.

Feeling more confident, you bring your free hand to splay across his cheek, thumb mindlessly rubbing the dip where his dimple becomes prominent. His hair stands on end on the back of his neck, the sensation of your fingers brushing his face so calmly as he pulls your lower lip between his having caused goosebumps to form down his arms.

Secretly, he was glad he was wearing his sweatshirt so that you couldn’t see how sensitive he was to you.

Jaehyun leans gradually away and you chase his lips, not wanting to forget the feeling any time soon. All of the time you had spent with Soobin and yet none of the moments you had shared felt like this. It made your heart pound and the butterflies were making their way up, tickling your diaphragm as you struggle to breathe.

“Y/n,” he begins, lids heavy and forehead pressed to yours. He’s not really sure what he wants to say… how does one express the euphoria they feel from finally doing the right thing and knowing it’s the right thing? Because that’s how Jaehyun felt. You knew he wanted to say something so you lightly prompt him.

“Jae… what are you thinking?”

His lids close and he bumps his nose with yours, lips parted, “I want to kiss you like that more often.”

You giggle, which throws him off, “Do you?” He looks up to meet your wandering gaze through his lashes, “because I want to kiss you like that more often, too.”

He grins, tightening his grip around your waist, pulling you in until you’re straddling his lap. “Oh yeah? How about I do just that, then.” His lips return to yours. You noticed that Jaehyun’s lips tasted of cherry chapstick, and you loved that, deciding to part the seal of his mouth with your tongue to devour the taste further.

The subtle curve of his lips was something you didn’t want to forget – that was for sure. You work on memorising this feature and lightly tug at the tufts of hair at the back of his head, making him moan into your mouth ever so slightly.

“That was adorable,” you mumble against his lips, lowering yourself so your bum is resting on the heels of your feet either side of his thighs.

His face flushes but he pretends to not notice and instead lets his hands roam until they’re palming the globes of your ass.

This shocks you into action a little, the squeezing fingers forcing you to lift and lean on your knees, breasts pushed up against his chin as you continue to kiss him.

As you slipped your tongue to mingle with his, you decided then and there that you were absolutely in love with kissing him. Possibly smitten, just a tiny bit.

You had worn a tank top and a light cardigan for comfort around the flat, not wanting to pull jeans on and a blouse every morning and instead opting for leggings and light-tees regularly. You weren’t sure what kind of man Jaehyun was, an ass or boob man but something igniting inside you and hardening in his sweatpants told you that you were going to find out pretty damn soon.

Pulling away you offer a small smile at him, he grins, like he knows he’s about to get a present he’s been waiting for ages for. Ironic, considering his job profession.

You bite your lip and let your hands fall down to his arms, running your palms up and down his biceps. By now the episode had rolled over and was about 10 minutes into the next but you and Jaehyun were far too distracted, you figured it would have to wait. It would still be there tomorrow when you could rewatch it and continue your marathon.

His own hands rest below the curve or your breasts, thumbing at the swell.

You dip your head, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth before letting your tongue peak out and swirl its way down to his neck. Peppering kisses against his tan skin you pick a spot where he makes the most fuss when you reach it and bruise it with your lips. He groans at the feeling of your lips tainting his skin so skillfully and thinks about how you went to waste on someone like your ex before him. His breathing grows heavy and his fingers run up and down your back in a soothing manner, toying with the hem of your tank top every time his fingers brush the bottom.

“Oh my God,” he breathes out when you’re finished.

You giggle, “What?”

You had slipped your cardigan off, letting it fall in a heap on the floor and hooked your fingers under your shirt before throwing it across the room.

Gazing up at you, you can practically see the hearts spinning around his head. You knew that if this was a Looney Toon cartoon, his eyes would’ve been pounding hearts right about now.

“You’re so beautiful,” he sighs as you press a closed mouth kiss to his jaw, “…pretty girl.”

You were left in a dark pair of leggings and your t-shirt bra. It wasn’t anything fancy (you were here for comfort, for god’s sake) but Jaehyun looked at you like you had put all the stars in the sky yourself, something you were unfamiliar with. Pride swells in your chest and lust swells in your core.

“Are you going to keep staring or are you going to do something?” You tease. He merely smirks, enjoying what he hasn’t even done yet, and buries his head between your breasts.

You let out a small “Oof” noise and steady yourself on his shoulders. Leaning on your feet normally would’ve been enough but when he stuck his head between your boobs it had knocked you slightly off balance. Your fingers dig into his shoulder blades, pressing crescetn moons into his skin, but Jaehyun takes no notice as he noses his way to a fleshy spot and attaches his lips.

“Smell so good,” he’s referring to the perfume you had brought with you when you cleaned out your apartment. “Wanna taste,” he mumbles into your boobs. Your panties dampen at the confession, not knowing completely how to respond without crying out a moan.

Unshockingly so, this was one of the few tinmes you had felt like the only girl in the world, not to quote Rihanna, but it was truly a moment you had no desire to forget any time soon.

Instinctively, your hands retire to the back of his head, pulling him closer whilst he goes to town on a hickey he’s suckling into your skin.

Pulling back, he grins, “Perfect.” He’s admiring his handiwork but it still sends the stupid butterflies contained in your abdomemn stir crazy when his gaze meets yours, filled with lust, love, adoration – whatever you want to call it, his eyes contained it. Lids low and mind focused, his hand snakes behind your body to unhook your bra but you stop him.

In fear of pushing you too far he drops his hand and waits, eyes wide for what had stopped you.

“I-I haven’t – no – I don’t…” you struggle to find the correct words in front of Jaehyun, the cool breeze making you shiver in the slightest.

“What is it, angel?” He brings his hands to your waist, rubbing slow circles to calm you.

“Soobin,” you exhale. It was all Jaehyun needed to know so he took a deep breath.

He’s watching you as he says, “I don’t care. That was then… this is now.”

You nod. His features twist into a smile, images of that night coming back to him, “Plus I already fucked you against the –”

Your hand finds itself pressed across his mouth in the blink of an eye, praying he doesn’t finish that sentence, “I know,” you squeak before emphasising, “I was there.”

He tilts his head and offers a mischievous glint, “I thought you didn’t think I was real, simply a figment of your imagination, if I do remember correctly.”

Groaning, you roll your eyes, “Stop with that! You showed up, dressed in red and in the middle of the night after I’d written a letter that only I could know the contents of. Who’s to say you weren’t an incubus, huh?”

A single eyebrow is raised on his part.

“And you were gone before I woke up,” you mumble against his neck, now enticed by his scent again, “I never told anyone because it sounds wild, right? You have to admit that part at the very least.”

That made him take a second to process, “I never thought of it like that,” he mumbles, pressing feather-light kisses up your arm.

“It was something I thought about for a while,” you meekly replied to his unasked question.

“Well,” he begins, “you don’t have to worry any longer,” and presses his lips to your clavicle, fingers unclasping your bra behind you, this time you let him, sighing into his golden touch, boobs pressed against his chest. He groans at the feeling or your unclothed, hardened nipples cutting in on his pecs. You sling your bra across the room, not giving much thought or care towards where it ended up as there were more pressing matters you cared about.

Your neck is tipped back as his tongue dips to the valley of your breasts, he places an endearing kiss to your sternum and sets his sights onto your nipples.

Hand resting on the nape of his neck, you arch into the feeling of his wet mouth latching onto your nipple, peak caught between his tongue and teeth as he teases you, and tug on his hair.

He savours this, moaning before switching to your other nipple, not wanting to leave one without the same amount of attention. At this point, your panties are embarrassingly soaked from all of the stimulation.

“You’re so good to me,” you whine, not talking about just this very moment. You’re reminiscing about the past couple of months you’ve spent in his care too and something tells you that he knows that too.

He releases your nipple from his lips and glances up at you, “Is that so, angel?”

“Mhm,” you mumble, not sure what he wants you to say or what you should say to keep the mood going, “all the time. Miss you so much because of it,” you pout slightly, not wanting to draw too much from the conversation in case things went sideways.

You bring your hands to his cheeks, resting either side and pinch lightly, toying with him. “Keep me happy,” you state before leaning down to kiss him again. His eyes flutter close and you trail your hands down his abdomen, pressing harder with your nails as you slide them down to the hem of his jumper.

“Off,” you mutter against his lips. He gladly complies, you were topless and it was only fair he comes level with your nakedness. When you part momentarily to lift it over his head, your hungry eyes zone in on how constricted his hardened dick was within the confines of his sweatpants.

Jaehyun notices this, ruffled hair askew and mind now clear from the fog you had bestowed upon him when you had kissed him. He knew what he wanted, did you want it too?

Without hesitation, you palm the outline of his dick over the sweatpants, wanting to see his reaction. You were best pleased when he fights the urge to roll his eyes but bites his lip to stop himself from thrusting into your silky touch. Not that he’d felt that today, just yet.

You stifle a giggle, “Eager, pretty boy.”

One kiss is placed to his lips before you slip off of his lap, knees thudding as they land on the floor. You hook your index fingers around the waistband of his sweats and underpants, the tell-tale Tommy band staring back at you, knowing he would comply but you only pull them down just enough to free his weeping cock.

It springs up, slapping against his abdomen, veins prominent from the grining you had been doing earlier. Your mouth waters at the sight and you lick your lips, praying that it lives up to your expectations.

You give him a few slow strokes of your nails up him and one of his hands reaching up to push a few stray strands of hair form your face.

He groans when you finally wrap your slender fingers around his shaft, thumb wiping the leaking tip of his swollen mushroom head. It throbbed a pretty shade of pink, much like his lips, after you pressed a delicate kiss to the top.

“So, so good to me, angel,” are the words that leave his lips when you lick your own before dipping your head to lick up the underside. You offered a devilish smile and lowered your hot mouth onto his throbbing length slowly, wanting to savour every second and push Jaehyun to his limit.

You hum in agreeance to his statement, sending a shiver up his spine and eliciting a moan from him, his hands quickly tangling themselves in your loose hair as he makes a make-shift ponytail to keep your hair out of your face.

Once your jaw has adjusted to the burn of his girth, he helps you bob your head up and down, curling the ponytail around one hand and using that as leverage. Flattening your tongue, you press it to the underneath of his length. You experiment with seeing how much you can take as it’s been a long time since you’ve been intimate with someone like this. One of your manicured hands reaches down to tickle his balls – a trick Hyejin had taught you the last time you were having one of those conversations – and he all but thrusts up into your throat, making you clench your legs and rub them together for some friction as your eyes close tight, forcing tears to run down your face.

“Oh fuck, I don’t think I can ah-” he lifts you off of his dick and brings your mouth to his, pressing hard against your own.

You’re flushed from his abrupt actions but that doesn’t stop you from stripping yourself of your leggings when he practically begs you to. Unsure what he wants next, you fiddle until he instructs you, “Those too,” he gestures to your panties. They weren’t grand but, had you not been about to get it on with possibly the hottest and most caring man you’ve come across, you would’ve been embarrassed about him seeing them in any normal situation.

Once they’re discarded, he stands, shimmys out of his sweats and pants and brings you close to him and guides a leg to wrap around his waist, rock hard dick pressed between your two sweaty bodies.

He kisses you hard, a clash on tongue and teeth; it’s one of the messiest kisses you had ever been on the receiving end of but ultimately still one of the best you’ve been able to experience, and lowers the two of you onto the sofa.

Again, you’re perched on your heels. He breaks the kiss, looking between your bodies to align himself with your entrance. “I’m sorry, angel,” he mutters against the column of your throat.

“Wha-”

He waits no longer before slipping himself into your core impossibly easily, as he sets a killer pace.

Squealing, you let your head fall onto his shoulder as you try your best to thrust down as much as he thrusts up into you but it was proving difficult as he suckled sweetly on the juncture where your neck and shoulder met – sending your senses into overdrive.

“S-so tight,” he breathes out, trickles of sweat forming in his hairline. One of the few brain cells you have working tells you the clench on his next thrust, only making him moan louder than before. In response, he ups the pace, setting his sights on destroying your sweet pussy.

Knowing full-well that he hadn’t tasted your arousal like he had originally intended, he brings his finger to dance across your clit, stimulating the bundle of nerves until you were whining, hips stuttering as your vision hazes, unsure of how to control yourself. Still unable to match his deadly pace, you settle on tensing your legs and hovering above him where he pounds upwards, the sound of skin hitting skin echoing around the room.

You knew that by the time he was going to be finished, your ass was going to be tainted red from where his balls were slapping your underside as he pounds into you.

“Jaehyun,” you barely manage to breathe out, “fu… fuck.” Not what you were going for so you give it another try, “Jae… kiss.”

His eyes linger on your disheveled features. You open your eyes and look down at him, worried that he hadn’t heard you. His eyes meet yours; you pout, “Kiss me, p-ah–” one particularly strong thrust ignites inside you, the tell-tale sign of your orgasm about to snap through you; halts your half-hearted attempt at riding him.

He captures your lips with his, nibbling on your lip before licking it as if to heal it. His fingers are still rubbing tiny circles in your clit that send you over the edge and into complete euphoria, spine arching.

Within milliseconds, your vision is blurring and eyes unfocus, switching for white dots across your line of sight to pair with the white hot pleasure ripping through your core. “Ah,” you whine, “oh... Jae-Jaehyun,” your voice breaks, not being able to comprehend the possibility of more thanone thing happening at once.

As you clamp down on him unintentionally, he groans, unable to hold back any longer and empties his load inside your trembling pussy, cursing as he does.

Moments pass before he can bring himself to say anything, “You’re so perfect, angel. So pretty and perfect.”

You lift your head to look at him. At his fucked-out face you melt into him, swety bodies gradually becoming one and sliding off of his softening cock so you can wrap your arms around his neck and nuzzle closer to him. He brings his arms around your waist, pressing his face into the crook of your neck and breathing sharply through his nose.

“You’re so good to me. Can’t remember the last time someone fucked me that good,” you whisper against the shell of his ear. You have one hand raking your fingers through his hair. You breathe out a laugh as he shivers at the feeling.

Knowing that was probably an ego boost enough, you press a languid kiss to the side of his mouth, not really paying much attention to where your lips landed. Continuing to pepper him with kisses, he stirs slightly, not wanting all of this attention to go to waste.

“Hey, c’mere,” he says, holding you from your waist before slowly lowering you onto the sofa beside him so your back is flat.

You’re barely holding it together, Jaehyun’s cum trickling down the side of your leg from your sore hole. He pushes your legs apart, one falls haphazardly off of the sofa and the other is pressed between his side and the back of the sofa. He doesn’t care, though, bringing two fingers up to meet your quivering core.

“What are you doi – ah!”

A lazy grin spreads across Jaehyun’s face, his fingers now covered in yours and his essence as he stuffs it back into you. The overstimulation makes you quiver but he was determined about making you suffer. “So pretty with my cum stuffed inside you, angel, so pretty.”

By now, you’re convinced he’s drunk but you don’t put it past yourself to consider yourself just as drunk on him as he is on you. You squirm, not wanting him to continue as his fingers repeat their actions. “O-oh, too much,” you whimper, “sore, so fucking sore baby.”

You knew you probably could’ve handled a little more but he obliges, not wanting to scare you away (as if that was even possible) and finishes by pushing his fingers past your lips, coaxing you to lick them clean.

Gladly, you do as he was silently suggesting.

He groans, his dick twitching but he ignores it, knowing you’re still healing and by the state of you currently, you probably weren’t up for another round. Instead, he picks you up bridal style and takes you to the bathroom, feet wobbling a few times on the way before getting to the bathroom.

“Gotta clean up, angel.”

You mumble, putting your legs to use and absently moving to switch the shower head on, soaking both of you in the stall. The water is freezing but you make no complaints, wanting to settle the heat radiating from your body. Jaehyun says nothing too. He just helps you clean yourself as you’re making a half-hearted effort – this makes him chuckle.

Twenty minutes later, the both of you are laying on his bed (the one he gave up for you), snuggled into each other.

For the first time in a long time, you slept in the crook on an arm where you felt safe, possibly loved (that would have to be addressed another time).

While you lay, breathing slowly as you listen to his heartbeat, Jaehyun has his head propped up with one arm and his other arm rests on your side, t-shirt that he had lent you riding up on the side, fingers running up and down as he takes in the feel of your smooth skin under his fingertips.

Jaehyun was smitten.

a/n: hi hello. how, uh, how was it? feel free to leave me some feedback or pop in my ask box. you’re all my angels. i just like posting to post sometimes but interaction is p darn cool too. lyl <3

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