#a few distractions before the main goal are ok

[drag00ni]

He is reading a book

[far-side-skies]

How would you rewrite Atmos most wanted?🤔🤔🤔

Oh this is a good one. Anyone who's been in the discord for a while will know more or less my ideas for this one.

Unlike Energy Crisis, I have actual grievances with this episode, and they are as follows:

The Raptors' disguises were just… why? I know why, it's because Storm Hawks is a kid's show, but surely you can give your audience a bit more credit than that. It's Dark Ace in Velocity all over again. I forgive it for the most part because it's a cartoon, but Nerd Corps is on thin ice XD

The people who are on the war path after the Hawks makes no bloody sense for when the episode happens in relation to the rest of the show. Yes, the show has episodic writing but by AMW, the Rex Guardians, Absolute Zeroes and Rebel Ducks all have an established history with the Hawks. If anything, more people than just Dove should've been trying to help them clear their names.

The crimes and items stolen is just nonsensical. There was no end goal for the Raptors here, they were just being evil for the sake of it and as a result the stakes were depressingly low. We deserved a bigger threat than what we got.

With those problems established, let's go over how I'd fix them, starting with the teams who think the Storm Hawks robbed them.

This episode would've been a great opportunity to introduce some squadrons we don't know very well. Perhaps the Buff Buzzards and the Screaming Queens, both teams we've seen in passing during Velocity, but that never got much development.

As for the teams we do know better. All of them felt like they were being written terribly out of character, excluding Wren. Wren can stay the crazy accusing old man he originally was. This man almost yeeted these kids into the Wastelands on their first meeting because he refused to believe that they weren't Cyclonians until Radarr bit him.

So we have Wren on the war path making false accusations again. How about the rest of the Rebel Ducks are following him to make sure he doesn't give himself an aneurism. Meanwhile Harrier and Suzy Lu are trying to get to the bottom of these thefts before pinning it on the Hawks. These kids surely wouldn't steal such valuable and even dangerous items, would they?

Now what is actually being stolen? And why?

The Cheese Stone is funny but ultimately useless. Let's replace it with a box of high-grade explosives, because one of my headcanons for the Rebel Ducks is that blowing things up is their favourite way to get shit done. Nobody makes a bomb like a Galeman can.

The snow blaster is… ok, I guess? One of the few instances of gun weapons being seen in Storm Hawks. But let's make it a bit more specific and have it that one of Suzy-Lu's frost crystals was stolen. An extremely rare one that's capable of freezing metal to the point where it shatters.

The Rex Guardians always seemed to me like one of the most influential squadrons in the Free Atmos, so as well as old Sky Knight relics they probably have archives of current and recent goings-on in the war, maybe even things that let them access high-security locations such as prisons.

If anyone can see where I'm going with this, you can have a cookie.

Stealing the Aurora Stone pieces is a brave move, and I'm sure anyone's attention would be grabbed by an attempt at such a crime.

So we have some new antagonists, and a running theme for the items that have been stolen. What can these things be used for? What goal shall we give the thieves of this rewrite?

How about a prison break?

The Atmosia Stockade is a high-security prison that houses Carver, and no doubt numerous other prisoners of war, such as high ranking Talons, turncoat Sky Knights, powerful Murk Raiders, the list goes on. The Free Atmos would stand to lose a lot if so many dangerous individuals escaped. Imagine the chaos!

And if that wasn't enough, I have one last major change to bring out.

The Raptors aren't the thieves in this. Not the main ones anyway. Perhaps they were hired as distractions, perhaps they did help with a couple of the thefts, but they're not the primary culprits. It's the Storm Hawks Reserve team.

This ties into other rewrite ideas I've got lined up, specifically Talon Academy. I decided a while back that several members of the Reserves that Aerrow suggested in TA and that never got mentioned again what the hell were in fact Cyclonian double agents. People with a huge motivation to break people out of the Stockade. And it'd explain why the likes of Wren are so sure that it was the Storm Hawks who robbed them. They have the right uniforms, the right insignia, and they are not a pack of giant lizards in paper masks.

...Sorry, I'm a bit salty.

I want the Storm Hawks to fail in this episode. It would've been interesting to see how they handle a loss like this, and I think it would make things incredibly interesting for the lead-up to Cyclonia Rising. Imagine all the new threats we could've gotten.

So that's my extensive ideas for how I'd rewrite Atmos's Most Wanted. Maybe one day I'll do a fanfic or even an audio drama based on this rewrite, because apparently recording my attempts at voice acting is something I want to so. I hope you enjoyed my ramblings!

[lesbianrobin]

can I ask for some details about the st/911 fic 🥺🥺 I'm so curious I want to know more

YES HIIII ok so so sorry i didn't reply earlier i got distracted by mustacheddie.

so the st/911 crossover is a prompt fill for the 911 gotcha for gaza!! which means i was basically told to write a fic about steve and robin stealing baby buck and i am going... absolutely bonkers with it.

like okay i will go ahead and share that i have written out a timeline of major life events for every main stranger things character + buck and maddie (and daniel for his brief time on this earth RIP) from 1966 to 2011. i will probably extend the timeline when i get deeper into writing. and i don't even know how much of that will make it into the fic but i Needed to know where everybody is/was and what they're doing and how things line up before i could really delve into the fic.

my current structure is a sort of. sequence of moments from buck's life. we'll start off with steve and robin's babynapping of course and i May do a little nancy pov moment 😳 but after that we're gonna switch to buck's pov and start skipping a few years at a time to check in on him as he's growing up!! i want to show his journey of figuring out who he is and what he wants in life and how that might change with a radically different family environment, as well as check in with the stranger things characters over time!! i'm very excited to show little hints of what everyone is up to in the background of buck's story!!

i'm not gonna be altering canon too radically, my main goals are 1. showing buck's self-discovery as he grows up, 2. showing how steve and robin's parenting impacts him, and 3. creating a lovely beautiful world where all of the stranger things characters get to grow from the trauma of canon! i'm basically gonna be progressing from the assumption that in stranger things 5 no mains are gonna die and they're gonna end the upside down/vecna stuff for good and then go on to live "normal" lives.

i'm so excited because i actually am doing something. very silly with buck that i think a lot of people will hate but i'm Thrilled about it and i think you can maybe guess what it is based on the snippets i've shared on here already <3

thank u for askinggg!!! 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻 mwah

[bullet-prooflove]

How do you stay motivated to write?

I usually write one shots but would love to create a longer series/story.

So my series usually start out as a one shot and then continue because I feel like there's more of the story to be told.

If you're a fan of my blog you know I usually work from prompts, sometimes a string of them just kind of work to form a series. That's why I love prompts it takes you in a different direction from the norm and people quite enjoy that aspect of my work.

If I do 'plan' one it usually starts with a specific scene or idea in mind.

I think Dean Archer's The Study started with the idea of what would Dean do if Jack Dayton fell in love with his wife and then I start putting together the parts of how that happens and that usually generates the conflict. Like how do they end up in close proximity - ok so they're working on this study together, it's very important to Isobel, ok... why is it important to Isobel, does that override her ability to see straight when it comes to Jack. What does Dean do about it? That's the kind of thing that builds up the additional parts and formulates how it progresses.

I usually have an ending in mind that I work towards but as the story develops the characters usually change it and that's fine, it's having the goal that helps, like a little guiding star. I never start with this piece is going to be six parts. I never know how many parts it's going to be.

As for the motivation I try to live and breathe it, usually it will be the only thing I work on for a few days. I usually have the show on in the background, so I'm not distracted by something else. I think that plays a big part.

I try not to release a series before it's completed or it has at least five parts. If I'm around five parts usually I need a little break from it so I immerse myself in other stuff. That gives me five weeks to work on the next few pieces when I'm ready, depending on where they are in my schedule. I usually come back to it after a few weeks, read through it and continue because by that point I've had the brain space for it to be fresh again.

Main Tips to Take Away From This:

Have an ending in mind, it doesn't have to end up being the actual ending but it gives you something to work towards.

Live and breath it for a few days, make it the project you focus on. Give it the time it deserves.

If you need to take a break, that's fine, come back to it in a couple of weeks with fresh eyes.

Be wary of release pressure. If you start releasing it straight away you can’t go back and change something if the character reveals something new later on. Also the pressure of releasing it straight away is that when people want more, and you’re having an off day, that pressure can cause writer’s block and you feel like you’re disappointing people. What you really need is brain space so reframe the thought like  - wow people are interested in this story, they’ll wait for the next part. Reframing takes that pressure away.

Use Cause & Effect to build conflict, if your character is doing A, question why and what led them to this moment and consider how it effects their actions moving forward. Do this for all characters. The Study is an excellent reflection of this because each character has their own motivations which causes them to react the way they do.

- Isobel becomes obsessed with the study because of her history, effectively ignoring her husband and putting her in the proximity of a man who is in love with her.

- Her history is the reason Dean chide her about the situation, but he’s also going through his own shit and is struggling to tell his wife about it because of the distance, which creates more distance. What will Isobel do when she does find out about Dean’s illness?

- Again her history is one of the reasons she’s so kind to Jack regarding his situation, which makes him fall in love with her because no one has ever understood him before. It’s that love that leads him to come clean to Dean about the why and take drastic steps regarding Dean’s condition. So many fics fall short because they don’t use cause and effect, it gives you a deeper, more realistic insight into the characters and shows you what path they’re going to take without coming across as contrived or stilted.

[zhongrin]

!!! the event + afterparty were all super fun to witness n you did a really good job!! the afterparty was a little hard to follow but super cool nonetheless. also, when i sent in that ask abt my theory, i was so sure i was right only to get humbled by the alchemist sdbfhjsd

if you dont mind, can you explain the whole thing going on with albedo and dorian? mb im just slow or missed a bunch of important lore while scrolling through my dash, but what actually happened?

thank youuuu <333 and hsldkfjlsdf i hope bedo's answer didn't hurt you or anything, he's just.... i feel like it would be how he writes hahaha

oh gosh uhh the whole thing? there's.... there's a lot shldfjlksdfj

ok, let me try to summarize this... (i won't include ALL the hints i dropped because that would be. uhh. crazy. lol. just the important ones!)

ebg event

you can see a documentary of all the asks here - except for day 7 (thanks navi!! mwah mwah)

there are a few clues dropped in here and there as to what's causing mei's (who is my sona in this story basically) memory loss. the pills were a distraction (they really were for caffeine deficiency). but if you go through some asks and my posts for the last 2 days (albedo taking out mei's vision from the drawer + them taking it somewhere else), you'll notice that it's actually the loss of her vision that's causing it (side note, i was cheeky and gave yall hint on the vision poll - there's a hidden link on the underline of the emoji. you're welcome <3)

as for what happened on day 7... there were many things that happened because things were escalating really fast, and basically one of you tried to save mei AND almost succeeded. this happened on the last ask of day 7, where mei confronts albedo for the pills (because her friends - aka everyone - were basically saying that the pills were the issue here). pushed up against the wall, albedo decides to subdue her and flees to another location because he knows the lab isn't safe.

ebg afterparty

so after all that, we transition to the afterparty. where basically albedo and dorian take over the blog, because mei is mostly unconscious. as for why she's unconscious, it was because of fentanyl, which bedo actually referenced here before.

on the afterparty intro post, you can see that there are codes that you can actually try to decipher. but i'll spare you the headache and gives you the result. it says:

1 ask = 10m Σ 2800m time is ticking

this is basically a countdown to mei waking up. the total is 2800 minutes (aka 48 hours - so that's 2 days). 1 ask (only valid ones though, not the shitposts. which you can see, some posts have the '10' tag and some don't) will minus 10 minutes off the clock. and this runs in real time. the pinned post had the countdown and the hour, so you could actually track from there.

the gimmick is that, albedo will keep adding into this 'clock'. hence you see some posts with '+240' and all that. so it was actually everyone's objective to keep sending asks and waking mei up. i think only a few people realized this lol

so! that's the mechanics out of the way. lore-wise, remember: the missing vision was the reason mei lost her memories. albedo/dorian took that vision out of the drawer somewhere. so your goal was to actually locate where they were hiding and give mei's vision back to her.

now about the 'timelines' - basically what happened was that, since everyone was doing rp on their own characters and situations, it wasn't possible at this point to make them happen in one world. hence, i dropped hints about different timelines being at work here.

think of it as a parallel universe, right? one decision leads to another, and had you made a different decision, it would have been a branch of a story on its own.

but considering all that, the main storyline is still the same. everyone's goal is still the same, and albedo's actions don't differ much from all the timelines. hence i kept trying to steer you all toward where they were (it was mingyun village. see if you can spot all the little hints i dropped lol).

the thing is that almost no one really realized about the missing vision until later on, and even then no one asked where it was. so i couldn't fit the opportunity to give you clues ;w; (but on risu's last ask, i did give you a revelation - it's actually on albedo. yeah.. he had it on him the entire time lol)

so uh yeah. anyway. i probably missed a lot of things. but keep sending stuff so i can. rehash it out and geek out about all the hidden lore of this massive au? please lol

[jamoontoast]

Eportfolio

Week 2 ‘Starting Out’

My first and second week of my Bachelor of Sport Business course at Holmesglen, I attempted to focus on getting used to the course structure, the expectations and planning how to manage my time effectively throughout the semester. On top of this I went through all assessment dates.

In orientation, I learned about the resources available, such as the Holmesglen library and some support tools like the Holmesglen easy reference guide which will help with accessing academic resources and how to reference them. 

I also attended my first classes in week two that provided outlines of the subjects I will be studying. 

Takeaways that I was able to gather was the importance of engagement with the course content and the main takeaway of saying yes to everything. Which was highlighted by my lectures and guest speakers. 

Attending and engaging all my lectures will be a priority and I will try to ask questions whenever I can to help my understanding throughout the semester. 

Using the academic tools will be crucial for my skills and improving my performance in assessments.

This map was given before orientation and was a major help in the first few days around campus. 

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Week 5 had me take on a group academic report with three other members that focused on media coverage in women's sport. As seen from the above images taken from my team work survey in table 1 our roles and responsibilities were very clear but seen in table 2 and 3 we did not communicate too much but work still got done. We were able to divide the assessment equally as well. I surprised myself and took somewhat of a leadership role in this assessment, always being in class and finding myself doing the dividing of parts and submitting the assessment.  Silva, (2016) states that leadership just occurs and people accept someone as a leader to achieve common goals. This can be found in my group's case as I basically just became leader of the group without anything special occurring but it was ok because we all had the same goal of submitting the assessment. 

Time management during the assessment overall was good by our group but again because of our communication or lack of it took until the last day for the assessment to be submitted despite us having finished well before.  

Through this experience I found that I took charge which is very rare and not happened before so could again in the future. I also found that I could be quite adaptable when needed such as changing what I needed to do for the assessment. Next time for what I will do differently is have more open communications and submit before the day of the due date. 

Silva, A. (2016/09//). What is Leadership? Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 8(1), 1-5. 

Week 7. ‘Self-management: motivation and resilience’

As the weeks go on and we approach halfway through the semester I've really had to start focusing on balancing workloads from my four classes with work and sport as well as other outside influences. At times it has been challenging especially when multiple assignments become due at the same time but I have had some strategies in place to help me get through. 

I have allocated my Fridays to uni work days as it is the only day of the week where I have nothing on and I make sure I do bits for all classes on this day and it also works well with the assignment schedules as this is when many are due.

When I first receive assignments my gameplan is to gather as much research as I can by finding resources. This way I can come back to an assignment after a week and not have to start from scratch. 

While I have a plan in place for when to do work I also know it is important to be flexible with my time. As a result I make time where I can to do any work that needs to be done at any given moment 

Staying motivated has been a challenge over the first few weeks as there are many distractions around me and procrastination is probably my biggest worry but to help this I have started to set myself small goals instead of one big one. For example sitting down to do an assignment expecting to finish it in one sitting, I instead set myself up to do an hour or 2 before taking a break then coming back and doing the same process. This becomes a lot more realistic than one big sitting.

To further my self management for the rest of the semester I hope to improve on self motivating and seek more feedback when I can.

Week 9. ‘Understanding and utilising feedback’

Throughout the semester receiving feedback from both classmates and lectures has been extremely important on how my learning has enhanced over the year so far. This week we split into partners of people we still didn't know much about. Will and I were partnered and sat down to review our progress so far. We did this by addressing our biggest challenges and then helped each other by suggesting actions or solutions to nerf or resolve these particular challenges. 

Figure 4

Week 11. ‘Managing assessments’

Assessments have become the main focus now for the semester. During the week I have reflected on what I have done well during them and what I can improve on further. 

What I have done well:

Submitting on time: I haven't yet submitted late all assignments have been on time with many being submitted before the day it is due.

Research: I have started ensuring I get full marks for this part of the rubric as my writing may not be the best at times but I know I can guarantee marks for this section.

Effort: Again my writing can let me down but I am very proud of the effort I have put in during the semester.

Improvements:

Referencing: My referencing has improved over the semester as I’ve gotten used to it but there are still little tweaks I can do to perfect it

Writing: Using better language and reviewing my work can help with this as I find my self finishing an assignment and submitting pretty much straight away instead of reading and reviewing

At this point of the semester I am happy where I'm at with assessments. There have been times where there is a bit of panic when mlti-le are due all at the same time but after this it is relatively easy  there now won't be any for a week or two so it is definitely manageable. If I keep following what I've done well and improving on what I need to, there should be no worries coming into the last few weeks of the semester with final assessments. 

Week 13. ‘Future strategies’

With the semester wrapping up this final entry will be a summary of my overall experience and how I can continue to improve. I surprised myself this semester with how organised I was. Before this I was fully expecting to have missed a couple of deadlines and to have done a lot of assignments at the last minute. This was not the case however as I managed to submit all assignments on time and all while doing a third year subject as a first year. 

Knowledge:

I have been able to gain a deeper understanding of all my subjects which is a success and my research skills during these classes have greatly improved from the start. To improve on my knowledge for the next semester and coming years I definitely need to improve on my revving and editing skills.

Skills 

Time management and the way I was able to get all my research were my best skills over the semester and was a big reason why I had success in my assignments. To further my skills I will focus on presenting in front of an audience and to screens as that is what my last few assignments had me do. I can do it when required but not to a standard I am happy with. 

Attitudes/Behaviours 

During the semester I found that I can be open for feedback from anyone and will always take it on board, I was also surprised at how well I did attending classes and engaging in them. To improve however I believe I can further this engagement in class and teamwork and can reflect more often on my work and progress.

[shinigamiringo]

New year new death :D

So I have pretty much always failed my resolutions. There’s so much I want to learn and do, and so ofc like a normal adult I try to cram it all into one month and get overwhelmed then give up and beat myself up. Because that’s what you’re supposed to do right? 😂 But! While this year might not be too different, I have decided to cram less into the resolution part and not commit sudoku if I fail. Because I probably will. A lot. At this point though, I need something to change or I will just be a dog chasing its’ tail. I get too dizzy for that so fuck that noise. So, I’ve decided to try this in terms of quarters- that is, 4 separate parts of the year with each quarter building upon itself. My resolutions are pretty small too, so hopefully that will help a bit. Without further ado:

Q1:

1. Learn and understand all 2000 jouyou kanji.

I’ve been trying to learn Japanese since about the time the dinosaurs roamed, and with that amount of time I should have been fluent already. Sadly, I am not. Obviously. So instead of putting a goal of “become native level fluent,” my goal is just to learn the Jouyou Kanji. I do have some things to build on for that, but right now my goal is just to be able to read and since kanji has always been a huge road block I thought tackling that would be pretty helpful. 

To help with this goal, I will be using a few different resources that I have hoarded through the years: Wanikani, A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters, Renshuu, and Memrise. Wanikani goes too slow for the time I have to accomplish this, so it will mainly be used as a reinforcer. Resnhuu and Memrise will be both reinforcers and learning resources, while A Guide will be my main focus.

2. Work out at least 2x a week

The gym and I have always had a weird relationship. I love working out when I’m there but getting there is the insanely hard part. I get tired as soon as I sit down and then distract myself for too long. I also don’t want to work out before I go to work only because I’m afraid I won’t have time. Yes, I am the person who has an appointment so makes no other plans for the day 🥲

With that in mind, I have a few different things to help out: I have teas to drink so I can lower/ completely cut out soda consumption, Fit boxing/Ringfit for the switch, a step/ swinging thing called dipda, and ofc some youtube videos. This gives me plenty of options if I don’t want to go to the gym. If I do make it to the gym, I plan on just focusing on getting my mile below 18 minutes. God, if my teen self saw my time they would throw me off a roof ��

3. Floss, brush, and mouthwash everyday

OK, so ngl I debated putting this in here but since I’m shouting into the void it probably won’t be too bad. Anyway, due to depresso I’ve had trouble being consistent with my dental hygiene. Is it gross? Yes, but that’s what happens when you feel like shit and even getting out of bed is a exhausting. If you don’t understand what I mean, you’ve obviously never been to that dark place and while I applaud you, don’t judge me for my amount of spoons. hmph. 

To help with this, I figured putting on a podcast I like as I listen would be a good way to encourage that, and only listening to it when I do my teeth. I have quite a few on backlog but decided to either use Behind the Bastards or Let’s Not meet. I’m not sure yet tbh, but having 2 to choose from will probably be better so I won’t get bored. Also, since I can only listen to the chosen podcast during the washup process, I might actually encourage myself to do a face routine and teeth routine day and night. Hope springs eternal!

There are a few other things I want to add on there, like drink 64oz of water  everyday, a drawing course, and a calligraphy course (already bought and delivered, thank goodness) but I don’t want to make the same mistake again so these 3 are the main focus for this quarter. Hopefully, I can update everyday to show progress, but if I don’t then I’ll focus on washing my spoons. Let’s go, 2023 D:<

[pensat-i-fet]

12 Days of Christmas: Day 12 (Rúben Dias)

Day 11

Masterlist

Wattpad

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Probably because it's the 24th".

Your out-of-tune singing was the soundtrack of every day but especially of the Holidays. You always changed the lyrics to something you found funnier and your boyfriend Rúben loved that. He even taught you what some of his favourite Portuguese songs said so you could make up lyrics for those ones too. 

And now, your main goal was to make him happy even if it was by singing every Christmas carol ever invented. Due to heavy storms all over Europe, his family was stuck in Portugal and he was really sad to be spending his first Christmas ever without them.

It was also your first Christmas together after your friend Rodri tricked you into finally going on a date together the previous Christmas. So you needed it to be extra special and the weather had already destroyed half of the plans you had made.

"Dance with me!", you told him when you found him in the kitchen.

"What?"

"Dance with me! Come on!"

He shook his head but joined your silly dancing. 

"We should start cooking soon so let's have fun first".

"There is no need for that. We can eat whatever is in the fridge or order something".

"Rúben, no. It's Christmas Eve. We need to make a special dinner".

"It's a waste when it's just for two".

"But I still want to do it", you said, trying not to sound too whiny. He had been saying no to most plans you mentioned since he knew about his family not coming to England. "It's our first Christmas together".

"I know", he said, and walked to you so he could hug you. "I'm sorry I'm so annoying right now. I'm just sad about my family".

"That's normal. I would be too. But we can still have a good day. What do you say?"

"Ok, let's do it!"

                                     **

"This is a long list", said Rúben when you were entering the shop. "You do realize it's just you and me, right?"

"The beauty of Christmas is having enough leftovers to last you a week".

He just laughed. "Do you want me to carry the trolley. It'll be very heavy if we buy all of this".

"It's fine, it has wheels. You can put your muscles to work when it's time to take the shop from the car to the apartment".

Twenty minutes later you were checking you had everything you needed.

"Chocolate chips, flour, cranberries…I think we have everything, yes", you said, with a satisfied smile on your face.

"The queue to the checkout is so long", complained Rúben.

You then turned to look at him and wrapped your arms around his waist. "We can cuddle while we wait".

"I thought you weren't a fan of PDA", he said, but still kissed the top of your head.

"Desperate moments require desperate measures".

"You sound like Rodri".

"Spend as many years being his friend as I have and you'll sound like him too".

                                   **

"Ok, Dias. Organization is key to success today", you said when you were back in your kitchen.

"Yes, ma'am", he said with a salute.

"You're too sexy when you do that. Don't distract me".

You started by preparing the chicken that would cook in the oven for over an hour and once it was there, it was time for the potatoes, vegetables and sauces you planned to have with the meat.

"I love cranberry sauce", you said, mouth full with a handful of berries.

"We won't have any if you keep eating them", said Rúben, taking the bowl from you and eating some while you weren't looking.

"So, there are a few options for dessert. But I think cupcakes are the best. And you can take the ones we don't eat to work tomorrow".

"For my teammates?", he asked, confused.

"No, for the people who work at the training centre".

"Right. I forgot you're good friends with them because they let you sneak in to see me".

"Do you want to know a secret?"

"Sure", he answered, raising an eyebrow. You two didn't keep secrets.

"They let me sneak in before we started dating because I picked up Rodri a few times".

"Ok…".

"And I used to go see your training and…well, it wasn't Rodri I looked at".

That made him laugh. "So you were stalking me? Wow! The things I discover".

"You? No. I was there to see Kalvin. I love a man with dimples", you teased him and his only response was to throw the tablecloth at your face.

You were laughing hysterically until you realized the pot with the sauce was still in the hob. "Oh crap!"

                                      **

"Food ready and dessert is in the oven. Time to get changed".

"We don't need to get changed. We didn't get our clothes dirty while cooking".

"Rúben, come on", you said, giving him a look. "I'm wearing gym clothes. I'm not wearing these while celebrating our first Christmas together. How tragic would that be?"

"I would call the way you look in those leggings many things but tragic wouldn't be one", he said, slapping your bum.

"I'm still getting changed and so are you. Wait until you see the dress I'm wearing just for you".

                                     **

"Can you pass me the iPad, please?"

"Sure".

He picked up the iPad that had been charging and gave it to you.

"Come here", you told him, patting the chair next to yours.

And when he sat down, he saw what you were doing.

"Why are you on zoom?"

"Because your family not being here doesn't mean that we can't be with them today at all. I know a video call is not the same but it's better than nothing", you shrugged.

"They told me they couldn't talk today".

"We wanted it to be a surprise".

His smile showed you it had been worth it making all the effort you had the last couple of days, trying to make him happy. White lies included.

"I'm so lucky to have you", he told you, putting the iPad away for a second so he could kiss you and show you how grateful he was to have you by his side.

                                   **

After the call with his family and having the lovely dinner you both made, it was time for some Christmas film neither of you were particularly interested in. You were a lot more interested in each other.

"Thank you for a great day", said Rúben when you were both about to fall asleep.

"You're welcome".

"Don't think I didn't notice all the things you've been doing the last couple of days. To cheer me up".

"Well, it's my job as a girlfriend", you told him, burrowing your face in his neck.

"You could have told me to go to hell many times. You've got the patience of a saint. I guess that's necessary to be friends with Rodri for so long".

Your laugh was the last thing he heard before falling asleep. But a couple of hours later, he was wide awake and had to leave the bed to put an extra Christmas present underneath the tree. Only then could he relax enough to sleep.

                                     **

Christmas morning had always been one of your favourite days. Not even because of the presents, but the time you got to spend with your family. And now, with Rúben.

“Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!”, you sang, unaware of how little rest he had gotten.

“One second”, he said, covering his face with the duvet.

You got up to make yourself a cup of coffee while he stayed in bed, thinking about what was going to happen next. He had never been this nervous before. Not even while playing big finals.

“Should we open the presents now or after breakfast?”, you asked him the moment he got to the kitchen.

“After”.

“You ok, Rúben? You don’t look good”.

“Calling me ugly on Christmas Day, how rude”, he tried to joke.

His attitude made you frown, he was fine last night. What had changed?

“I know you have to train later but do you want half of my cupcake? It’s Christmas!”

“I’m not hungry”.

“Ok, Rúben, you’re not okay. What happened? You were fine only a couple of hours ago”.

He sighed. “Let’s open the presents”.

And he took your hand to take you to the tree, confusing you even more.

There weren’t really that many gifts, since you had settled on a limit. Your budget wasn’t the same as his and you didn’t want him spending too much when you couldn’t do the same.

But you still managed to get him a couple of things you knew he would love. And seeing him open the presents showed you were right. His mood even seemed to improve a bit.

“We are done! Merry Christmas, my love”, you said, giving him a kiss.

“We are not done”, he said.

“But there are no presents left”.

You looked around the tree, just in case you had missed something and saw a small little box, wrapped in a different paper to the rest of the presents.

“What is this?”

“Not really a present but it’s for you. If you want it”.

Looking at his expression confused you even more. Why did he look so nervous?

So you just unwrapped it and found a ring box. A ring box. 

“Rúben? What…”.

He took the box from you and after taking a deep breath, he finally talked. "I didn't want to do this now because I didn't want my weird mood to taint this moment but I can’t wait anymore. I’ve been up all night thinking about this”, he laughed, nervously. 

You still sat there, staring at him. And not being able to read your expression only made him more nervous.

“So…”, he said, opening the box to reveal a beautiful ring. Of course, he would pick the perfect ring for you. “Would you marry…”.

“Yes!”, you said, not letting him finish. “Yes. Of course. I mean, I still can’t believe this is happening but yes. Did I already say yes?”

He only laughed, now smiling widely. Nerves gone. And took the ring out of the box to put it on your finger. “You said yes, but feel free to say it as many times as you want to. It might be my new favourite word”.

“I knew our first Christmas together was going to be the best ever”.

“Oh, you just wait until you see what I have prepared for next year”.

[elektroyu]

Tell us about your OCs! Give us a quick introduction and something about them that makes you happy!

Ok this is probably going to get a little messy and long, but I'll try. Thank you for asking this, you have no idea how happy I am right now 🥹 Also be aware that I love Catboys and winged humans. Also mostly old sketchy art.

What I love about them is more or less the same for each of them: most of the main characters of each story have traits that I saw or still see in myself, so I have a strong personal connection to them and the bonds they share with the other characters. I also simply love their appearances, drawing them makes me very happy (I just don't do it very often because I struggle with expressing things).

Mura's Voice

Arokhal & Kharazhak: Aro works quite successfully under his father Orazhar, who runs the "military" of the remaining population of their winged race, but he's generally disliked by most of his peers for being arrogant, aloof and uninterested. He makes sort of an effort for the young ladies of high society, who do enjoy his charisma and a chance to get in his bed, but most are aware that he's not serious about it. Khaz is Aro's mura (a type of magic that runs in certain bloodlines) and they share an intimate bond. Khaz has been mentoring Aro in secret since he was young, which made him outstanding in using the mura magic.

Amin, Padavoz & Haizur: Compared to the rest of the cast Amin sometimes seems a little boring and him being the nice-guy-from-next-door type doesn't exactly help that, either. However, he has quite a few demons to deal with even before Aro forces him to go into the parallel world (don't have a name for it yet). Being there doesn't lessen his struggles at all, but over time things get rolling and he has to come to terms with himself and his problems and wants. Not the least of his problems are the two muras inside him who both don't necesarily care about his wellbeing, let alone seek any sort of relationship with him. Padavoz, who is regarded as just a myth nowadays, sees him as just a vessel and tool and doesn't care about anything save for revenge for the hand he was dealt. Haizur barely has any sense of self and thus is struggling a lot with the WHY of life and existence, which simply renders them unable to have any connection to others. They're the most unhinged and unpredictable character in his story, you never know if they'll help or sabotage or do nothing at all if a dangerous situation arises.

Kavi & Oru: Kavi is a bright, happy boy from a good family. Being the mura bearer of the family is something he takes very seriously and is proud of, even though Oru is by far the weakest mura anyone has ever seen. On top of being weak, Oru tends to be distractable and airheaded, so Kavi not only needs to be the responsible one of the two, but he also needs to find solutions mostly by himself. Despite this, he really loves Oru a lot.

Karakal, Orazhar & Kamavokh: Karakal (and his mura) may or may not have a place in the final story, but if he does he starts off as an antagonist. He's lived a sheltered, but pretty secluded life in a remote town and doesn't know who or where is parents/ family are, nor why he grew up the way he did. He's hotheaded and never backs down from a challenge. He's also determined to find out about his family. Orazhar is Aro's father and head of the "military", whose goal it is to preserve the muras and general magic abilities of his people. Since these abilities get lost the more their race mixes with humans they strive to strengthen the bloodlines and at the same time prevent more mixing. He knows this will require lots of sacrifices, but he's willing to do what has to be done to achieve his vision. Kamavokh is technically just Aro's direct subordinate, but is often seen substituting him on duty. He's also the closest thing to a friend Aro has. He's good at what he does, has a good heart and strives to always do the right thing.

Inra & Sann: These two originally had been a fixed part in the story, but over time I changed Inra's role and discarded Sann entirely. I'm thinking of giving them their own little side story some time. Inra is a yavomur (shapeshifter) and because that's basically the dirty, undesirable counterpart of mura bearers he considers himself lucky Orazhar lets him work for him. He's not happy about the situation, but as long as he's just doing scouting and tracking work and not required to kill people he goes along with it. He discovers Amin in the human world and later also tracks them for Orazhar. During one of his visits to the human world he meets Sann. Sann was originally still in high school and very involved in Padavoz' issues, but I think I'll change her into an adult and keep her removed from the main story entirely. I now imagine her as a relatively successful writer (she probably writes fantasy romances), who loves plants and cats and her quiet peaceful life, but she feels something is missing. She gets an idea of what that could be when she meets Inra (in his not-shapeshifted form finally; at first she only meets him in cat form). They quickly form a deep bond, but unfortunately he can't stay in the human world forever. He needs to figure out what kind of life he wants to live, and she needs to decide if she wants to leave everything behind for him or vice versa.

Feline Fabric

Aurel, Ivo & Miriam: Aurel is stubborn, self-centered, quick to anger and has no regard for others, which is his way of coping with the circumstances in his life. His owners are an elderly pair who never could have kids, and while the husband realizes that Aurel is a very bad fit for them his wife keeps holding on to her expectations, which results in constant friction in the household and ultimately in Aurel being literally confined in the house (barred windows and all). He desperately seeks attention, though, and, once outside, finds a very willing recipient in Ivo. Ivo is a fashion designer who works for a big label and makes a very good living from that, but finds himself art blocked more and more to the point of barely being able to work at all. He secretly dreams of working in the very niche market for mokat* fashion (* = catpeople, term may change if I can think of something better) and when Aurel appears this gets rammed into his face full force. His head immediately gets swarmed by idea after idea and he really latches onto that despite everyone cautioning him about Aurel's lacking personality and bad influence. He finds himself getting caught up in Aurel and his seductions way more than he should, which causes him to nearly go mad. Miriam is Ivo's fiance and sees pretty clearly what's happening between him and Aurel. She tries to warn Ivo again and again that he's going down a dangerous path where she wouldn't be able to follow, and she starts to hate Aurel for trying to take away the life with Ivo she dreamed of.

Rajnish, Miral & Numa: Rajnish has a knack for healing (and magic, although that's not widely accepted as something real and not part of the main story). He's one of the rare voices of reason that Aurel is willing to listen to (because 1. he doesn't immediately judge Aurel by his behavior like everyone else and 2. they share a fondness for sensual activities), and he's guiding him to a place to live and his old mentor when things with Ivo get out of hand. Miral & Numa have their own little side story about finding themselves a new life apart from their old master. Miral is desperately trying to hold on to his old life, even though he hates it, because he doesn't see the possibility of anything else. At least he has food and shelter and a good standing. Numa unintentionally challenges that when he arrives there, but takes a liking to him enough to also intentionally try to encourage Miral to take life into his own hands and decide something better for himself.

____

I mean I have more OCs, but these are the ones that I tend to think about the most and I reaaallyyyyy want to draw all these things as comics some day 🥹✨

[asstrolo]

a lil tarot love reading for the signs on this V-Day

very little, almost minuscule; this is not necessary romantic and it focuses on the energy that Valentine’s Day lefts on the signs for the next few weeks

check sun/moon/rising/VENUS, i also recommend stellium and dominant signs!

aries: if you’ve been dealing with past emotions for a while maybe this Valentine’s Day made you want or forced you to move on, or you’ve been trying hard to do so, the journey is long and never linear, but this could have been blocking NEW things, so work hard on the present these next weeks, i see the most important thing here is the money and a new-found independency that’ll be so good for you, you’ve been blocking your own blessing for something that is past, so now remember that what’s past is past, the future, even the prersent m,oment looks promising, cause good things will come if you put your focus in the present time, or even in the future

taurus: have you been feeling emotionally drained or restricted? your feelings are all over the place, in the past maybe someone betrayed your trust or you gave a manipulative person too much control over your life, now you feel super drained and tired, don’t feel like arguing or fighting anymore, if this is about a person then you’re done or too tired to deal with them and the repercussions, don’t worry, this was maybe a good decision and you’re going to focus on more IMPORTANT things, maybe self-love or doing things that de-stress you and give you joy, that’s very needed, take care of yourself mentally, physically and ✨ aesthetically ✨

gemini: there’s something here you wanted to happen so bad, maybe related to a person and you had very high expectations on this situation, almost too high, unrealistic, the situation was not met how you wanted it to, maybe you were too impulsive on your decisions, or trusting someone, you might have been lied to and this is why things didn’t went how you expected them to, but, if the truth hasn’t come out yet, it will very soon in this mercury rx, you are about to be shocked, if it already happened it was super quick almost unexpectedly, don’t beat yourself up for trusting this person, it’s ok, the truth about something is about to come out for everyone to know, they might get what they deserve

cancer: okay there was, or still is a situation that has you very dependent on something, you can’t be free, you feel very emotionally tied to a result or to a person and this has made you to lose countless days thinking of them and the outcome of something, while you still want to do your work and act like nothing happened, you can’t, you’re trying to juggle and balance a lot of things right now and it’s not good for your mental health, you feel defeated and like you lost something very important to you, don’t go around pretending you didn’t, if you wanna get over this then you have to acknowledge it

leo: if you’ve been hurting or in a bad emotional state right now, you’re using drugs, alcohol, food, sex, etc, to make you feel better and you know this, you know you’re just distracting yourself from thinking of something, if you know this, you ALSO know that it’s not working, maybe for a little bit, but you always come back tot he same mindset, don’t worry tho, if you’re aware of your bad habits and addictions then you know that you must change them, somebody hurted you really badly in the past or very recently, and you just can’t forget about them or the feeling and the pain, it’s time to see the bigger picture, have more self-love, look inward to why you do what you do and how it affects your mental health and emotional health, so many good things will come if you do the job!

virgo: for you there might have been an abrupt change that did a very significant change on you and your surroundings, it could be this overwhelming transformation or you’re just not welcoming this change, change it’s necessary guys! you must let things go with the flow and don’t try to control everything, there’s a chance for unity and communication here, if you have a person then you MUST let these fears go, you can’t control what’s gonna happen, take a risk, i know you wanna take care of your emotions and not getting hurted, but this looks good, even your friends might be supporting this new relationship or the person you like is a really close friend, that’s why you’re so scared things might not work out, but why fear something that hasn’t happened? enjoy the present moment

libra: there’s a situation here for a few of you, maybe you left someone else in the cold or they left you, maybe you’re going to apologize to someone or this person is coming with an apology of how things ended, but, if this last one’s the case, by the time this person comes you’ll be over it! the apology will not be needed, you have founded inner peace and moving on from this to a more positive place, it’s your choice to accept or not said apology, you’ll have new-found strength after this, since in the past you felt very stagnant and like there was no moving forward, like you were stuck in this thought and this situation most of the time, please don’t lose hope if this is the case! you’ll rely more on yourself now than in other’s so you’ll be more confident

scorpio: this is a complicated situation you are, o were in, there’s something you did out of impulse that now, thinking of it, you regret it greatly, maybe you got mad and said things you didn’t meant to, now you can’t rest because of this, you have all that’s necessary to fix or move on from this situation yet you’re lacking better judgement or other point of view, there’s something bad that’s gonna happen if you don’t sit down and talk this out, or reflect on the past, don’t get anxious, don’t blame yourself for everything, be rational, look for a second opinion if needed, you need to rethink your steps before moving forward, if you do this, the hard work you’ve been doing to keep this connection or to keep your mental health..., well, healthy, will not be in vain, look inwards, don’t criticize yourself so much, after all you’re just human 

sagittarius: this one is a lot, if you’ve been pursuing a goal it probably did not come to fruition, it’s most likely you gave away all your time and energy into something that didn’t gave you anything in return so you were left tired and with no accomplishments, this can be because you’ve been working too hard and haven’t been taking care of your mental health, it’s at risk of becoming your main problem, if it isn’t already, there’s a lot of self-doubt and self-hate even, if something did not turned out how you wanted it to, beating yourself for it it’s not gonna help anyone, not you, not your future projects, you need a BREAK, you need to breath and stop trying to do everything all at once, especially if you have depression please rest, you’re too stressed right now 

capricorn: you’ve been pursuing something that, at first, seemed to give good results and motivated you to keep going, but maybe you were using this thing to distract yourself from something else? sooner than later something or a connection with someone started to go south, maybe even unexpectedly because you are going through something you haven’t told anybody or you haven’t told your person about it and this makes the relationship feels stuck or weird, you’re going through a transformation, a test, a change, and you don’t want to see that this person or situation are changing you whole, accept that change it’s good, you’ve been lacking a lot of self-confidence and you might even think they don’t want you the same way you do, but this is why communication is important! don’t let your fears rule over you, you’re worthy of love, talk to them, a surpise might occur

aquarius: you’ve been too stuck in your own ways, your way is the only right one, you’ve been kinda selfish and even unreliable in work, friendships or in a relationship, maybe this is a way of protecting yourself from hurting, but it feels very defensive, you’re not telling the truth about your feelings or your situation, trying to act tough can only work for so long, if you have something to say or feelings you wanna talk about do it, don’t get mad and act indifferent, it won’t help you at all, if there’s a person or a situation in work/self, you don’t know what to do, all the decisions look bad, but you have to choose either way, to stay or to go, to talk or to be silent, but choose one, this maybe has more to do with a person and a relationship, but it can also be with yourself, happiness and celebration will come if you TRULY talk about what’s on your mind to them, don’t be scared!

pisces: okay, there’s a situation that made you back down and retire from socializing for awhile, there was something you were fighting for, but as of now, honestly? you kind of left it there, maybe you’re looking for a more peaceful solution or approach, or you’re not doing anything about it at all, like you stopped fighting for that thing and you’ve been trying to focus on other things, maybe this situation will solve itself out, or it was the one that is making you feel so small right now, like it took away a lot of your confidence, but you’re on your way to taking that back, being alone seems like the only way of healing from this situation right now, good for you! if a situation was making you feel bad or like you needed to fight to be with that person, then it wasn’t worth it

ROLES CAN BE REVERSED. Take what resonates and if it doesn’t don’t come @ me please. 

REBLOG SO IT GETS TO MORE PEOPLE PLSS!!!

[shadowofahope]

Don't Tell Me What You See || 06

SPOKEN

Warnings: NOTHING. Just slight angst, so far...

Pairing: ??? BTS x reader

Author's notes: Any guesses on who her soulmate could be?

TA-DA. This one I found really hard to write, but I managed somehow 🤦🏻‍♀️

masterlist

It was weird seeing everything you own in boxes…again. The first time when you moved to Korea and now again. Even weirder was seeing 4 out of 7 members of BTS moving boxes out of your apartment. You were used to Yoongi and Tae showing up unannounced at your place, but you never had the other members over before.

“I think everything will fit in the rental truck, Y/N.” Jungkook announces as he re-enters.

“I really hope so, Kook.” You sigh. “I don’t want to have to make 2 trips, and I’d like to unpack some boxes tonight.”

“Don’t worry,” He remarks, picking up more boxes and heading out. “We’ll make it work.”

You sigh to yourself, looking at the last box sitting in the middle of the studio floor. Picking up the box and walking out the door, you turn around one last time. You had amazing memories in this little place, but you were excited to create new ones in your new place.

You drop your keycard into the apartment manager's mailbox on your way through the lobby. Jin is the first to notice you as the boys come into view, Jimin and Hoseok in the truck playing the largest game of tetris you’ve ever seen. Jin walks over and takes the box from you.

“I think we’ll have to put a few of these lighter ones in a car.” He comments. You nod in agreement.

“I have to drive the truck, but I also have to get my car over to the new place.” You mention. “So, we can put them in my trunk… I’ll just have to come back later to grab my car.”

“Or, you drive the truck, someone else can take your car and I’ll bring mine.” He offers. “I drove everyone here anyways.”

You watch as Jungkook and Jimin manage to close the truck door and latch it, chewing on your cheek, mulling over his suggestion.

“I can drive your car, Y/N.” Hoseok says as he walks over to the two of you.

“Ok, that works.” You shrug.

“I want to go in the truck with Y/N!” Jungkook exclaims excitedly jumping over to his hyungs. You can’t help but smile, this boy will be the death of you.

“Alright, Jungkook goes with me.” You laugh, before anyone can argue. Jungkook swings off his hyungs and over to you, landing incredibly close behind you.

“Let’s go Bunny.” You grab his wrist pulling him along with you to the truck, throwing your car keys over to Hoseok..

The three other’s stand there dumbfounded at Jungkook's apparent clinginess.

“Well that’s-” Jin started.

“Weird….that was weird.” Hoseok finishes.

“I mean how did Jungkook-” Jin starts again.

“No idea.” Hoseok's confusion was evident on his face. Eyeing the truck suspiciously.

“C’mon guys, we have to follow them!” Jimin yells from the passenger side of your car, waiting for the door to be unlocked. Both the older men look at each other and head to the cars.

You and Jungkook climb up into the truck, and hand him your phone.

“I’ve set the new address into the GPS already.” You chime. “Ready?”

“Ready, Captain!” He salutes you. You roll your eyes and laugh.

On the way to your new place you and Jungkook blast music and sing along, him obviously sounding way better than you.

You were nervous to begin with being around Jungkook. The younger being super shy, barely making eye contact with you. Him, only responding to questions and never actually speaking directly to you. He opened up faster than you expected, and the more time you spend with him, the more you welcome his puppy-like antics. He isn’t as physically touchy as Taehyung, but he is more verbally and spatially needy than your twinflame. Even on days when you feel like you are suffocating under the weight of work and your broken soul mirror, you couldn’t bring yourself to force him away. He was a distraction and a light you didn’t know you needed. His main goal seemed to be to make you laugh and bring a smile to your face. Going out of his way to catch your attention, wanting nothing more than you to focus solely on him. Which you are more than happy to oblige in his neediness.

Pulling into your new apartment complex, both vehicles follow behind you, you pull the truck up to a loading/unloading parking spot near the front.

Climbing out of the car, you point to visitor parking for Jin and yell at Hoseok your parking number for your underground parking stall. Both cars drive away, leaving you and Jungkook to open the truck. You talk about ordering food before Jungkook unlocks the padlock on the door. The other boys regroup and start making their way over to you. You climb up onto the truck to pull the door up, your foot catches on the door as it unhinges, knocking you off balance.

The world moves past you in slow motion, both feet coming out from under you. You close your eyes and hold your breath, waiting for your impact with the cement.

However, it's not the ground you feel yourself collide with, but arms. Two arms cradle your body, you slowly peek an eye open to look at the figure holding you.Your heart flutters, his face so close to yours, the closest it’s ever been, blinded by his infectious smile. You smile back, just as wide.

“Hi.” His smile widens.

“Hi.” You manage, out of breath. Smile growing wilder, you stare into his eyes. You start to feel shy, as he’s staring back just as intently.

“Y/N, ARE YOU OK?!” Jungkook breaks the moment.

You turn your head to look at him, adrenaline pumping through your veins.

“Yea, I’m fine Bunny.” Your feet feel the ground again, legs feeling a little weak. The arms that were once carrying you, now holding on to your arms to help you stay upright.

“Thank you.” You say, regaining your bearings on solid ground.

“It’s ok, Y/N. As long as you’re alright.” Hoseok beams.

Jungkook ushers you away from the truck to stand beside him and Jimin. You begin to breathe normally again.

“Are you sure you’re not hurt anywhere?” Jimin finally speaks up, concern written all over his face.

“I promise I’m fine, just scared me for a minute there.” Unable to do anything but laugh. “Let’s just get this done ok?”

You're too busy looking up the door code on your phone to notice the look the boys share.

💜♾💜♾💜

You look around your new living room; furniture and boxes arranged in piles according to the room. You did it; all of your stuff now here and the truck returned, you just had to unpack.

“I can stay and help, Y/N” Jungkook says coming out of the bathroom.

“Bunny, you don’t have to.” You protest.

“I know I don’t have to,” He rolls his eyes. “I want to.”

“Jimin and I can stay too.” Hoseok announces from the hallway to your bedroom.

You turn to Jin, who is in the kitchen. He looks at his phone.

“Sorry guys, I have dinner plans tonight.” He gives you an apologetic smile.

“That’s ok, I think we can handle it.” You reassure him.

“I should head out now. How are you guys going to get home?” Jin asks his younger members.

“We can call a cab or we can walk. It’s not too far from the dorms.” Jungkook suggests.

“OR, I can drive them back.” You intervene.

“Ok.” Jin agrees, grabbing his jacket and heading to your front door. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow!”

You walk back into your kitchen, where all three members are now waiting for your orders.

“Maybe we should get food first?” You offer. “My treat?”

“How about Jungkook and Jimin go grab food and bring it back here” Hoseok counters. “You and I can start unpacking.”

“Yea, we can grab the food. What about that sushi place down the street we drove past?” Jimin chimes in.

“That will work, let's go hyung!” Jungkook starts to pull Jimin out of your apartment before you can argue with them about payment.

“Come here, y/n '' Hoseok beckons to you from the center of your living room. You look over at him as he starts pushing the furniture to the outskirts of the room. You eye him suspiciously as he walks over to your entertainment system. He turns your portable speakers on and connects a cell phone.

You continue to stare at him as he reaches a hand out towards you. He waits for you to take it. Music starts playing and you smile, reaching out to take his hand.

(play song)

He twirls you twice before pulling you closer to dance together. You start to laugh.

“I thought we were supposed to start unpacking.” You try to scold him.

“And we will, after you relax.” He replies cheekily. Placing a hand on your lower back and the other intertwining his fingers with yours, spinning you both around your vacant living room.

Jungkook may give you a sense of warmth and comfort, but Hoseok gives you this overwhelming urge to relax, the air around you eases out of all tension.

Almost like Taehyung, he could tell when you are overthinking, most likely by your posture, or the way your eyes don’t stop darting around. Regardless, he could tell and when he does, he makes it a point to break up your inner chaos. Like right now, forcing you into an impromptu dance session.

Sunshine was an understatement when describing Hoseok. Your heart always flutters, when he beams literal sunshine at you with a single smile. His confidence from the stage seeps, into the studio, into his everyday life.

Like Jungkook, you enjoyed your time with Hoseok, becoming close with him just as fast. Where Jungkook was cute, Hoseok was handsome. Where Jungkook leaned into being more shy, Hoseok's confidence shone through. Both being extremely beautiful humans, that demanded attention from everyone in the room. Sometimes you had a hard time looking either of them in the eyes, other times you couldn’t look away.

However, each boy brought about different emotional responses from you. Some deeper than others.

When Hoseok twirls you again, you notice the other two boys standing in the kitchen, containers of food sprawled out on the island. One watching with amusement on his face, the other you couldn’t exactly place, but it wasn’t as friendly as their normal gaze.

The playlist continues playing, even when Hoseok spins you over to the island. You laugh as you catch yourself on one of your bar stools. Him following behind you.

You look at all the sushi laid out in front of you and realize that they bought all your favourites.

“How?” You mumble.

“Jimin texted Taehyung-hyung on our way over to the restaurant.” Jungkook answers.

Pausing unpacking plates for the group to eat off of, Jimin looks up at you and smiles. Your skin begins to tingle when you make eye contact.

“Thank you, Jimin.” You smile warmly. He nods in return and continues rifling through the box.

The four of you scarff down the food and come up with a plan for unpacking. Because the boys didn’t know where you would want things, they’d be the muscle to move the furniture around and place things where you instructed.

💜♾💜♾💜

While watching the three boys scattered around your living room, unpacking boxes you had given them, a sad smile makes its way onto your face. You are more than happy to have them here, it's just a little bittersweet. Thinking about what their reactions would be if they knew. One reaction in particular makes you feel uneasy. You feel guilty for keeping it to yourself, but there is too much to tell. You are too far gone in your lies.

But they don’t know...

They don’t know about all the nights you spent crying, doubled over in pain. Tae and Yoongi by your side, holding you in their embrace. Telling you things like ‘It’ll stop soon’, ‘breathe’ and ‘hold on’. Begging you to tell your soulmate that it’s you, so this can all stop. Because everytime this happens, they hurt with you. You’re not the only one going through something, you aren’t alone in your pain. You know if they could take away any of your pain and bear it themselves, they would. It makes you feel like a monster for putting them through it. If you could, you would go back in time and stop them from finding out. You would choose to do this alone, to suffer in silence.

You watch as they move around your place, with smiles on their faces, light banter filling the air. Watch them interact with each other, with their brothers, their family; you’re afraid of what it might also do to the group. You assume that your quick connections with each member are mostly due to being Taehyung's twinflame. They open up to you easily because of their close relationships with Tae, and by extension, you as well. They would be pissed to say the least.

You don’t want them to hurt, none of them. You will have to make a decision on whether you will let the cracks consume you completely, leading you down a path of madness.

Opening a box on the far side of the room, you notice a picture frame. It contains one of the most happy and heartbreaking moments of your life. The picture is of you, your parents and your older brother at a traveling amusement park that came to your town back home. It was the last picture you had taken of your brother; that night was the last time you saw your brother alive.

Your brother had rejected his soulmate, but not completely. He never officially went to a Kosmos reader to reject the bond. His soulmate would beg him to let her in, to fulfill the bond, but your brother knew things about his soulmate that no one else did. She was mixed up with some really dangerous people, addiction running through her veins. He would tell her that if she recovered they could try, that right now he couldn’t accept her. Telling her no countless times, her mirror cracking over and over and over again, until there were almost no remnants of it left. She was thrown into a madness so dark she took your brother's life...and then her own. Soul madness can be an unrelenting, vicious and manipulative force that drives the individual to do things they never would have before. You couldn’t blame your brother for saying no, and you couldn’t blame her for the outcome. Especially now..

Placing the framed picture on the bookcase in front of your Charles Dickens collection, a gift from your brother, your eyes lingered a little longer. Turning back to the box you continue packing, joining in the ongoing banter.

Jokes are made, some at your expense and some at Hoseok’s. The cheerful mood of the room forces you out of your dark memories.

What you fail to notice is the pair of hands and eyes that meticulously inspect every item they unpack, Scanning over the sentimentality you might have attached to it, before asking you nonchalantly where it should go. The same eyes that watch you closely as you occasionally look back at the family photo and smile. His eyes feel drawn to the picture, but he’s not willing to ask about it.

He doesn’t know what’s too far with you yet, what secrets you are willing to share with them or what Taehyung only knows. Taehyung seems to know everything about you, and that makes him feel unusually uncomfortable. He wants to know it all, every tiny detail about you. Confusion and a need to be close to you always flood his mind when you're around. He doesn’t know why he’s so drawn to you, but his instinct drives him to you. His full undivided attention is always on you, whether he means to or not. He really couldn’t come to a conclusion as to why.

Without trying, you make him feel things he can’t comprehend.

💜♾💜♾💜

You take in the state of your living room and kitchen, finally the place looks livable enough for now.

“He guys, it’s getting pretty late.” You say noticing the clock on your oven, “Maybe we should call it a night?”

“But it’s not even 10 yet.” Jungkook commented.

“I can handle the rest, besides you guys are filming tomorrow aren’t you?”

“Ahh, right. I forgot.” Jungkook sighs.

“Do you guys want me to drive you back?” You ask.

“No, we can walk back.” Hoseok pipes up. “It’ll take only like 15 minutes. We’ll be fine.”

“Ok.” You reply, chewing on your bottom lip. “If you guys are sure.”

“Yep we’ll be fine. How about we text you when we get back?”

“Deal.” You smile, beginning to follow the boys to the front door.

“Umm, I’m just going to use the washroom. You guys can go without me.” Jimin calls over to the other members before heading down the hallway.

Putting their shoes on they bid you goodnight and leave. As soon as they’re gone Jimin emerges from the hallway.

“I’m really glad we could help today.” He smiles brightly at you.

“I can’t even begin to thank you guys for all of this. It would have been a nightmare on my own.” You chuckle more to yourself then him.

You notice him taking his time putting his shoes on. Eventually he finishes, standing up and turning around to face you.

“Y/N?” You barely hear him.

“Hm.”

“Thank you.” You look at him in surprise. What did you do to earn a thank you from him?

“For what?” You question.

“For being Tae’s twinflame.” He responds meekly. “For caring about him the way you do. He’s my best friend and I know he goes through things he feels he can’t talk to me about. So, I’m really glad he has you. He hasn’t smiled this genuinely in a long while.”

His praise left you dumbfounded. If only he knew what Taehyung does for you. How you feel like there is nothing you could possibly do in this world to repay him.

“He is extremely important to me, and not just because he’s my twinflame.” You think aloud. “He’s the most important person to me.”

“What about your soulmate?” Jimin looks at you unconvinced.

“Well, they’re just going to have to deal with it, aren’t they?” You laugh, trying to hide your dislike for talking about soulmates. “He’ll forever be number two, I don’t think I can handle being so vulnerable with someone else other than him.”

“I don’t know about that,” He laughs with you. “But I think Tae would understand being second place. Maybe one day you’ll be open to it.”

“Yea...maybe…” You whisper as Jimin opens your front door to leave.

Maybe Tae was right. Maybe Jimin is right. One day, you might be able to become more vulnerable with your soulmate, possibly even with other people you cared about in your life. Maybe it was time to take a step in that direction. Trying couldn’t hurt more then limbo, right?

As you watch Jimin walk down the hallway towards the elevators, anxiety bubbles in your chest.

“Hey Jimin!” You can’t stop yourself from calling out. “Do you want to stay longer?”

He turns around, smiling.

“I’d love to.” Your soulmate responds.

💜♾💜♾💜

Surprise or not..... Everyone say hello to Y/N's soulmate. Now the real story starts. I'm gonna apologize now...

How many people got it right??? Let me know in the comments!!!

And don’t even get me started on the MUSTER. I watched both nights and didn’t survive ☠️☠️

Truth Untold || Or More

TAGLIST:

@fangirl125reader @christelle332 @shopmum @jksbbyfacebunny @lilluvbun @ellxpsismm @pensandmicrogalaxies @mayla548 @nanafj95

[kywaslost]

Levi Comforts Anxious Sister Reader

Warnings: anxiety, anxiety attack

Requests are possibly open?? I don’t really know yet if I’m honest lol

Being the younger sister of humanity’s last hope isn��t easy. You worried constantly, whether it be what people thought of you or if your brother would make it back from the latest expedition. You were only 16 and you felt like the world was resting on your shoulders. With Lance Corporal Levi as your brother, people expected you to be just like him; cold, heartless, and an amazing warrior. 

In reality, you were just another soldier. There wasn’t even anything special about you. You couldn’t turn into a titan like Eren, be quick on your feet like Mikasa, or be smart like Arwin. You were just like anyone else. You didn’t have much in common with your older brother either. You had his hair color and facial structure, but that was as far as it goes. Levi never showed his emotions whereas you could never mask your own. He knew how to lead an army and take down a titan without a second thought. Your social anxiety kept you from trying to take charge and you considered every possibility that a titan could do to kill you and that distracted you from your main goal.

There was an expedition a few weeks ago that scarred you. It wasn’t your first, but it sure made your heart stop beating. You were a part of Levi’s squad. Just because you were another soldier doesn’t mean you weren’t good enough to be with your brother. Levi would never admit it but he fought hard and well to make sure you were on his squad when you had to go out on expeditions.

There were more titans than you thought there would be. You were swarmed, alone. Three titans were closing in on you and there was no one around to help you kill them. You let out a shrill scream as one of the titans enclosed you in its grip. You panicked, trying to free your arms. You were lifted closer to the titans mouth. In a final attempt to save your life, you screamed, “Levi!” You closed your eyes, accepting defeat. In a split second, you hit the ground and the air was knocked out of you. You winced in pain as your right shoulder took most of the impact. The ground shook as the three titans hit the ground, dead.

“Y/N!” Next thing you knew you were in someone’s arms and flying through the air. You opened your eyes slowly to see your older brother looking down at you. You then closed your eyes, unconscious.

Levi cursed to himself when he felt you fall limp. “Do not close your eyes,” he screamed. “Don’t die on me!” Levi landed on one of the medical carts retreating back to HQ. Eren lay still in the center, weakly looking up at the sky above them. Arwin sat beside him and Mikasa rode her horse along the cart.

“Captain?” Eren called hoarsely.

“Arwin, help me,” Levi ordered. Arwin quickly pulled off his cloak and folded it to use as a pillow. He helped Levi lay you flat on the cart next to Eren and he started to press part of your own cloak against your head.

“She’s bleeding, Captain,” Arwin informed the man.

“How bad is it?” Levi asked as he inspected your shoulder. It was obviously dislocated and broken.

“I can’t quite tell but she has a head injury, most definitely a concussion.”

“Mikasa,” Levi called. “Give me your cloak.” The girl ripped it off and passed it to the captain. He then popped your shoulder back in place and used the cloak as a sling. Taking off his own green cover Levi layed it over you in an attempt to keep you warm.

“Is Y/N ok?” Eren asked quietly, reaching over to grab her hand.

“Don’t touch her!” Levi ordered, taking her hand instead.

That was a few weeks ago. Since then, you’ve been ordered by your brother and Erwen himself to take it easy. You were to sit out of training and for chores you were to stay with your brother and do as he told you to do. You were bummed you had to sit out but were beyond grateful that you got to spend so much time with your brother. Ever since that day, you started to panic whenever you were by yourself. Your breath would quicken and your heart rate would pick up. It never got terrible though, since someone would find you rather quickly. You didn’t bother telling anyone about this, since you thought it was just a temporary thing.

Today you were with Levi in his office. He noticed how you winced in pain whenever you moved so he ordered you to sit on the couch in his office and rest.

“But Levi--” you started to protest but he glared at you.

“That’s Captain Levi to you,” he corrected. You looked away, suddenly upset. He never ordered you to call him Captain when it was just the two of you, let alone ever glare at you like that. You heard the man sigh and felt the couch dip beside you. “Hey,” he said softly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you.” He pulled your head to rest on his shoulder. “I know this is hard for you and I’m sorry I’m making things worse. I’ve just had a lot of paperwork and I know that’s no excuse.” You closed your eyes and leaned into your brother’s touch.

“It’s alright,” you said quietly. “I understand.” You shifted to get more comfortable but winced in pain. Your head was killing you. Armin was right, you did have a pretty bad concussion. Levi took notice of your pain and frowned slightly. He never was one to show his emotions. He gently lifted you off of him and laid you down on the couch.

“Where are you going?” you asked as you sat up quickly. Levi gently pushed you back down onto the couch.

“Lay down brat,” he said. Although there was no emotion showing on his face, you could see the concern in his eyes. “I’m going to go find something to help you with the pain.” Levi turned around and left the room. Your eyes widened in panic.

“But--”

“I’ll be back.” With that, your brother left. Your breath quickened and you started to panic. Ever since the day you got injured, you couldn’t stand being alone. You squeezed your eyes shut, the tension causing your head to hurt even more. Letting out a choked sob you started to shake. I can’t do this, you thought to yourself. I can’t be alone. You attempted to stand and walk, wanting to find at least someone to stay with you until Levi got back, but you were too far gone. You stumbled down to the ground as the pain in your head caused your legs to give out from beneath you. You gripped and pulled your hair with your one good hand, breath labored.

“Levi,” you gasped quietly. Tears stream down your face, leaving small streams on your cheeks and dripping from your chin. Your vision became blurry, colors being distorted and black dots appearing every now and then.

You’re all alone, just like that day.

You can never be as great as your perfect brother if you can’t even stand being alone for a few minutes.

It took you a few moments to realize that you were trying to scream despite the fact you were gasping for air. 

“I found some--” You couldn’t even hear the voice of the man that had entered the room.

Levi’s heart nearly stopped beating when he saw you a mess on the floor in his office. The small bottle of pills that were in his hands clattered to the floor, rolling under a chair. The man dropped down beside you and quickly wrapped his arms around you. You let out an ear piercing scream, not knowing what was going on around you. Levi jumped back. His hands hovered over you as the man panicked on what he should do. He’s never seen you this vulnerable before, let alone packing like this. He debated yelling for help, wondering if your friends would be able to handle the situation.

This wasn’t the first time he had dealt with someone having a panic attack. With him being a leader, his soldiers always asked for his help when they were this vulnerable but he had never seen an attack this bad before. Heck, he had attacks himself but they weren’t nearly as severe as this.

“Captain, what’s--” Levi looked to the doorway to see a few cadets standing in the doorway. 

“Leave,” he growled. The cadets nodded and quickly closed the door, slamming it in the process. You jumped, screaming even louder. Levi’s eyes pricked with tears as he took in your state. He started to try and talk you down since you obviously didn’t want to be touched.

“Hey princess,” he soothed as he tried to keep his voice steady and calm. It would be of no help if you heard him panicking as well. “I’m here, ok? You need to calm down.” He saw that this wasn’t working and remembered how you would never disobey an order, even if it came from your brother. “Breathe, Y/N. That’s an order.”

You heard your brother beside you. You were no longer alone. Despite hearing his order, you could not escape the prison that was your mind. You continued to gasp for air as your body trembled.

“Breathe,” Levi said again. “Slow. Take it slow. In and out.” He started to breathe loud and slow to try to get you to do it with him.

“I can’t!” you sobbed. “I can’t breathe!” Levi watched as the color drained from your face slowly and how you slowly moved to lay on the floor.

“No,” he said sternly, going to touch you before remembering that could make it all worse. “Do not pass out on me.” You were laying on your back now, still gripping your hair with one hand.

“It hurts!” you cried out. You started to feel yourself drift off due to the lack of oxygen your body was getting. “Levi.” The words barely made it past your lips as your eyes drooped closed. Levi’s eyes widened.

“No! Do not pass out!” It was too late, you were out. Your breath quickly even out as your body relaxed. Quickly, Levi placed your head in his lap. He gripped your good hand with one of his and pressed a kiss to it as his other hand ran through your hair. He wiped the remaining tears from your face. “Please,” he begged silently, “wake up Y/N.” The two of you stayed like that for several moments before your head lulled to the side and a quiet groan left your lips. Levi smiled softly, bending down to kiss your head.

“Hey sis,” he whispered as he moved the hair from your forehead. “It’s ok, I’ve got you.” You slowly opened your eyes, looking around the room. Your eyes connected with his and it took you a second to process who you were looking at.

“It’s alright,” Levi cooed softly. “You need a moment for your head to kick back into the right gear, and that’s alright.” You attempted to sit up but Levi pulled you back down into his lap. He tapped your nose gently with his pointer finger. “What are you doing brat? You are in no condition to be moving around.”

“Levi?” you whispered slowly. He gave you a small smile.

“Yeah,” he answered. “It’s me.” You sighed softly, leaning into Levi’s leg. The two of you sat like that with Levi staring down at you, afraid to take his eyes off of you.

“Bubby?” you muttered, looking up at his worried gaze. Levi’s eyes softened. You only ever called him that when you were upset or something was wrong.

“What is it baby?” Words were the only way Levi knew how to provide comfort and even then he still couldn’t do it well.

“Can we move to the couch?” Nodding slightly, Levi picked you up and laid you down on the couch. He sat down near your head as you sat up and leaned against his shoulder.

“What happened?” he asked quietly. “I didn’t know you struggled with attacks like that.” You let out a shaky breath and buried your face in Levi’s arm. “It’s ok if you don’t want to talk about it but I would greatly appreciate it if you told me.”

“Please don’t leave,” you muttered silently. Levi pulled you onto his lap and hugged you.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered in your hair. “I promise.”

Without looking up to meet your brother’s eyes, you started to explain, “Ever since that expedition I can’t stand being alone. I can’t breathe very well and speaking is hard.” Levi’s eyes widened in realization. “I’m guessing it was because I was alone when the titan attacked.” If it were even possible, Levi held you tighter.

“Has this happened before?” he whispered. You simply shrugged.

“Yeah, but it’s never gotten this bad. I usually can’t breathe very well for a minute or two before someone comes back. Then I’m fine.”

“I’m so sorry,” Levi said with tears in his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t think that much of it,” you responded.

“Come to me the next time this happens, ok?” Levi commanded. “That’s an order.” You give a small giggle.

“Yes, sir.”

“Does your head still hurt?” you nodded as your brother slowly set you on the couch and picked up the bottle that had fallen from his hand moments ago. He placed two pills in your hand and handed you his cup of tea. Once you had taken the pills and settled down on your brother’s shoulder again, you started to drift off to sleep.

From that day on, Levi made sure you were never alone. He would always command another cadet to be with you when he could not be and was always there to talk you down when you were left alone. Let’s just say that whoever left you alone would later be seen unconscious with a bloody nose before being carried off to the medical wing.

[marinerainbow]

Idk if you're still doing nights requests, but Reala x one of your ocs?

...

Anon...

I have no clue who you are, or why you took an interest in seeing my OC shipped with a Canon character...

But I have one thing to say...

Thank you so so so much for asking about my OC! And about wanting to see her paired with a canon character! That is honestly a huge compliment, it tells me you think she's interesting enough and legit enough to be with a canon character!

Ok. The only NiGHTS OC that I have that could be shipped with him, is my nightopian OC Prism (her bio should be under the 'my own OC's' tag or 'Prism' tag, please check her out if your interested ^^) but... If I'm honest, I had thought of them together in a relationship before.

I know that there's nothing wrong with OC x Canon ships, but I always get nervous at the thought of posting anything like that, especially if no one asks about my characters (the last thing I want is to embarras myself if someone is like 'nobody asked to see this why are you posting it'... Even though the internet is a free platform and we can post whatever we want and don't have to worry about anybody putting us down.

ANYWAYS! I've rambled too much. Time to give you what you asked for. My thoughts on Prism x Reala (or Realism in this case XD). I'll go for my general thoughts/story for it, but this got pretty long so I won't add headcannons to it (maybe I'll make a separate post for headcannons)

Reala x Prism (Realism)

Peony: Regarded as one of the most popular and culturally significant flowers in many parts of the world, the peony is closely associated with peace, stability and prosperous domestic life

(I hope that's a peony gif. Gif courtesy of Google)

Anyone who knows Prism's story knows that if she was canon, Reala would be her #1 enemy for a multitude of reasons.

For starters, when he and NiGHTS were created, they both made her job as a guardian a whole lot harder. At first she was able to deal with third and second levels just fine, although the second levels she would need a few tries to learn their strategies so she could properly fight back. But NiGHTS and Reala, by far the known strongest creations of Wizeman. They made her eat dirt with their superior magic and strength alone everytime she tried to fight them for the ideya they stole. The most she could do was use herself as a distraction while the visitors and nightopians in the area get to safety.

Then, when NiGHTS rebelled and she and them bonded and befriended each other, Reala gave her another reason to hate him. He was constantly hurting her friend and trying to drag them back to a place that would practically kill them without physically harming them. Anyone who knows Prism knows that she is not the type to stand back and let her loved ones get hurt, she would sacrifice herself in a heartbeat and think about the consequences later. There were many times she had to break NiGHTS out of trouble and square up to Reala to try to protect them. Fortunately NiGHTS was on her side this time, so her fights with the nightnaren weren't so unevenly matched anymore.

But of course, the hatred she felt for him was mutual. Remember, no story is one sided, and we have to see this through Reala's eyes too. Prism has caused him and the other 'maren so much trouble with how she fights them and takes back any ideya they steal, and has made Wizeman very temperamental and progress to stagnate. Not to mention the fact that she is the only thing- alongside the visitors- keeping him from bringing his friend back home and was also the reason why NiGHTS left in the first place (in his eyes at least). So when he sees Prism, all Reala sees is a pest that is far too much trouble and needs to be taken care of so not only he but the rest of Nightnare can achieve their goal without further hinderence.

So the main reason for their rivalry is simple. They both have conflicting goals. Prism wants to protect the night dimension and ensure the visitors and her loved ones are safe. Reala wants to keep Wizeman satisfied so no one else will die and bring back his comrade. And the one thing that even made things this way for them was Wizeman. As long as he exists and forces the nightmaren to bring him ideya, they will continue to clash heads.

So what happens when you remove Wizeman from the picture? When Wizeman is finally gone for good and the nightmaren have no reason to hunt visitors anymore?

Complications.

After NiGHTS rebelled and showed Prism that the nightmaren weren't inherently evil, she wanted to protect the nightmaren too. Being a guardian of the night dimension includes Nightmare too, not to mention all the stories NiGHTS told her about the day to day lives the 'maren lead. She wanted to help them, but when Wizeman was in power she had to keep fighting them to help the visitors. She couldn't just stop protecting the humans, the night dimension exist because of the visitors, so they were the top priority. So even though she sympathized with the 'maren, she couldn't stop what she began.

But now that Wizeman is gone, she tries to make amends. She goes out of her way to try to help Nightmare heal along with Nightopia. Of course, since she caused so much suffering for the 'maren, none of them want to trust her. Especially Reala, the new leader of Nightmare.

NiGHTS would definitely have to be a mediator between them both. Because even though Prism is trying to be trusting and calm and helpful, centuries of agony and the cold truth that he couldn't trust anyone, not even his closest friend, makes Reala lash out. Now that she's just standing there, doing nothing but putting a target on her back, his fury and hurt over the years bubble up and splash onto her.

But at the same time, he caused her suffering too. Every visitor she couldn't save, every paradise and nightopian that was torn apart by the nightmaren and all the beat downs she took in all of the fights she had, Reala was a big part of all that. At least after he was created. They both have hurt each other in different ways, they both had caused the others day to worsen intentionally or not.

And, in a way, that's how they both come to an understanding. Eventually, they both recognize what they've done to the other and that neither of them are intirely innocent. When they both see that, they both can take two steps back and realize they are more alike then they thought. They both want peace in their communities, they both care for their loved ones and want them around, they both carry similar responsibilities and are seen as authority figures or protectors in their homes and they both want the conflict to just stop.

So with time, they both can come to an agreement to help each other. They both can help the night dimension heal and help bring back the unity that Nightmare and Nightopia used to have. It's with this clarity and understanding for the other that allows them to work together. And later, when they both have a chance to actually get to know each other and bond- all thanks to NiGHTS I assure you- They find love with each other.

That's why I love Realism so much. It's not only a enemies to lovers story, but it also has them show each other a side neither of them saw before. Prism gets to see Reala's more caring and softer side, and Reala gets to see her more sympathetic and understanding side. And it's only when they see the other half of each other is when they can unite and become one with each other.

What do you guys think? Any questions or criticism are always welcome!

[whumpingcrow]

Pt. 12 "It's Already October?"

CW: PTSD themes, nightmares, insomnia, dishonesty about mental state, past noncon/dubcon mention, past abuse mention, emotional abuse, panic attack, tics/tourrettes, food mention, slapping mention, injury mention, blood, self harm (explicit), razor mention, bondage mention, drugs/alcohol (explicit), August is sort of in this one, oblivious caretaker, party setting, halloween setting (Let me know if I missed anything!)

(Note, as a general warning these two upcoming chapters are going to be pretty graphic with descriptions/intensity of the situation, and I really want to reinforce that I prefer if these stories are viewed by 18+ readers, and is read with discretion <3 -Crow)

The last time that Elias had talked to Allen, he had promised that things were going to start getting easier, that the pain and the fear would ebb and it would all begin to feel ok very soon. Elias was beginning to think that he had a different idea of 'soon' than Allen did, because he wasn't feeling like it was getting any better. If anything, it seemed like it was only going to keep getting worse. His nightmares were so violent and often that he didn't even put in effort to sleep anymore, he simply stayed up after the first time he was jolted out of his sleep. After that he would always sneak out of the room around Tyson and busy himself with something until he woke up as well. He was constantly tired, sure, but it was ridiculously hard to convince himself to close his eyes and force himself back into a nightmare once he was already awake. It made him feel incredibly ashamed, but he was getting rather good at hiding how much all of it was really wearing down on him from Tyson, how he wasn't allowing his injuries to heal, how he was always terrified and exhausted. Except that this didn't exactly go in his favor, because he was acting so good that Tyson decided he could go back to work.

"I'm not working the full shift, so I'll be back before you even know it. You'll probably sleep the whole time, won't even know I'm gone." He smiled at Elias, who was sitting at the edge of the bed watching him get ready. "If you need anything, you can call Leo or Allen, or me if you don't wanna call them."

Elias nodded, only out of obedience, he didn't want to bother anyone by calling them in the middle of the night. He could deal with it himself, just like he always did. "You look nice in your scrubs," he said, to deflect the attention off of himself, "like one of those hot doctors from that show."

Tyson laughed and flopped onto the mattress next to him. "Yeah? This pale blue really brings out my eyes, huh?" He melted as Elias laughed, the sound of it was light and, if he dared to think, happy. Maybe he was gonna be just fine, he seemed like he was doing alright so far. He was hopeful, and the fact that he was about to leave Elias alone all night and he was alright enough to be laughing had to be a good sign, right? It was ironic, but it seemed like Elias was less nervous about the whole situation than Tyson was. With a small sigh, he reached over and smoothed out a wrinkle on the sheets and mumbled, "I'm gonna miss you."

At that, Elias turned his gaze away from him, trying not to let his upset that he was leaving show. "You'll be too busy to miss me." He insisted, forcing as much humor into the sentence as possible.

"I highly doubt that." Tyson pulled him against his chest, kissing his cheek gently. When he thought about having to stand up to leave, dread filled his chest and weighed him down enough to stay put. He tried not to think about how someone might break in, how they might take Elias away from him again, how he would be powerless, so far away. August was in jail now, he reminded himself, Elias would be ok.

"You're gonna be late, Doctor." Elias teased him, pushing him away playfully. He smiled when Tyson sighed heavily and stood up, looking him up and down.

"Ok... I'll see you in the morning. Promise you'll call someone if anything happens?" He waited for Elias to nod, then grabbed his bag and turned to the door.

He only made it a few steps before he heard Elias stand up, his voice small and scared as he breathed, "Tyson, wait."

"Hm?" He looked over Elias, who had his arms wrapped around himself and looked like he might fall over any second. He was silent for a long time, squeezing his hands tightly around the materiel of his shirt, looking like he was too nervous to say what was on his mind.

"I love you," he finally muttered, "that's all. Have a good night."

Tyson grinned at him and crossed the room again to kiss him. "I love you too. Get some rest."

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

Whatever movie was playing on the TV was boring, Elias couldn't seem to focus on it. He had been sitting on the couch the majority of the night, smoking weed every time he felt uneasy. He got up a few times to double-check that the door was locked, just to make himself feel a little better. It was painfully lonely without Tyson, without the simple knowledge that there was someone else in the house with him. He debated calling him, just to hear his voice, but he didn't want to take him away from his work. Then he wondered if maybe he should call Allen, that he might have some advice about being alone. Really he felt like he just needed someone to talk to, someone to tell him that he was doing alright.

"Everything you're doing is wrong," August was sighing, shaking his head disdainfully. The disappointed glare in his deep blue eyes could've killed Elias, made his chest ache so painfully every other injury he'd ever gotten from August paled in comparison. August was a monster, a sadistic devil of a man who's main goal seemed to be causing everyone else around him misery. So then, Elias found himself wondering time and time again, why was displeasing him so upsetting? Why did Elias feel like he was crumbling to pieces without his approval? "Tyson's too soft on you. But you know that, of course, don't you sweetheart?"

"I'm trying to do what you taught me it's just...he doesn't care. I don't know what to do."

"Yes you do. You've got to be punished, my love." Just like always, his voice was disgustingly honeyed, even as August grabbed him by the throat and pinned him to the ground. Elias didn't even see him grab them, but there were the ropes again, tight around his wrists as always, and Elias couldn't move, and he could see the glint of the razor inching closer to his skin.

"August please God, no! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please I'll do better!" He couldn't breathe, he couldn't move, August was going to slice into him again and he couldn't handle anymore pain.

"You know you need it, Elias. Remember, it's to help you be better. Don't you want to be better?" His voice was sweet, almost caring, even with the corner of the razor digging into his skin.

Elias didn't remember falling asleep, but all at once he was bolting off of the couch and gasping in frenzied breaths, looking around the dimly lit room for any sign of danger. He was alone still, there was no one with him. As soon as he realized it was only a nightmare, he blindly reached forward until his hand brushed the glass pipe on the table. He didn't waste any time pulling it toward him so that he could get high again. Even though the smoke made him cough, he felt like he could breathe a little better the foggier his head got. He checked his phone, disappointed when he saw Tyson hadn't checked up on him yet and that it would still be hours until he got back. Without meaning to, he thought back to the nightmare, what August was saying. His subconscious August, at least.

Would he feel better if someone hurt him? Would it make him stop lying and hiding what he was feeling if he just got into trouble for it once? He knew Tyson wouldn't ever lay a hand on him, and August was long gone. But the more he lingered on the idea, the more he realized how much he needed the pain. His anxiety only began to worsen again as he dwelled on it, so he stood up and tried to busy himself by cleaning up. It helped for a bit, he was mostly distracted enough that he didn't think of the nightmare or the idea of being punished, until he got to the bathroom.

He was paralyzed the second he saw the large straight razor sitting menacingly on the shelf of the medicine cabinet, similar to the one August had used on him. He could feel the sharpness of it without even touching it, he was familiar with the sting and the burn that came when it was dragged heavily against his skin, he remembered the dull soreness of the injuries when they started healing. What he didn't know was how it would feel to hold it, though, he had never been allowed to touch it in that way. He wondered how heavy it would be, if it would be cold or not. His hand was trembling as he reached out and picked it up, his breath bated as he looked it over. It was so god damn sharp. If someone were to hold it to his skin and just ruin him, he imagined it would probably be like pushing a reset button, like he would be brand new when it was all over. At the thought, he set it down and pulled his sweatshirt off, not even bothering to look at himself in the mirror, grabbing the razor again once his shirt was on the floor. There was nothing he wanted more than to cry at the dangerous thoughts running through his head, but at the same time this felt like the only option. He placed the razor over the healing cuts on his forearms, taking a few ragged breaths to gain some courage.

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

Tyson felt bad when Elias flinched awake as he crawled into bed with him, he seemed to be sleeping so peacefully. He looked lost and scared as he sat up, squinting through the dark at Tyson.

"Just me, love. I was gonna come sleep with you for a bit, is that ok?" He asked him, finding his hand on the blanket and brushing his fingertips over it.

Elias's shoulders dropped back to relaxed and he moved closer to Tyson, allowing him to pull him against his chest as they laid back down. "How was work?" He whispered.

"It was alright. How was your night?" He rubbed up and down his back, trying not to be bothered as he felt his spine underneath his hand.

Elias was silent for a while, then he cleared his throat. "I missed you a lot. It was lonely here."

"Yeah, I bet. Did you sleep well? I mean, before I woke you up."

"Uh...yeah, sort of. I stayed up late though. Watched a movie." He snuggled closer to Tyson, against his bare chest, sighing at the warmth.

They talked for a little longer, until Tyson was too tired to stay awake, and then Elias just stayed close to him and listened to him breathing for a long time. He couldn't fall asleep again, mostly because he didn't want to wake Tyson up if he had a nightmare, but also because he couldn't get comfortable with all of the new cuts on his arms.

There was a lot more blood than Elias was expecting, and he was too shocked to move for a second as he watched the red ribbons stream down his skin, and then a sort of sick calm washed over him. He didn't remember it feeling this relieving when August did it, but, God, did it feel like a breath of fresh air. So he just kept going, and soon he was covered in blood, like he was used to, and he turned off the light and sat at the bottom of the shower for awhile until the bleeding stopped.

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

After the sun started to shine through the curtains, Elias slipped out of Tyson's arms carefully and made his way to the kitchen, busying himself by making breakfast. He made himself some coffee while he waited for the french toast to cook, then he began to cut up some fruit. It felt odd to hold the knife after hurting himself the night before, and he found himself shaking slightly. He was doing everything he could to stay busy, he felt like if he stopped moving he would sit down and fall asleep, and he couldn't handle another nightmare. He didn't want to see August anymore, he wanted it to really be over, and when he was dreaming about him it was like actually being around him again.

"That smells amazing." Tyson remarked as he came into the kitchen. Elias jumped hard, nearly dropping the knife that he was holding.

"Jesus," he huffed, trying to breathe so his heart would stop racing, "I didn't know you were awake."

Tyson sighed as he leaned against the counter, looking around at all the food. "I just woke up."

Tyson looked so good, his dark, curly hair was messy, his face was still tired and he was shirtless and his voice was gruff from sleep. Elias set the knife down as carefully as he could and walked over to him, wrapping his arms around his torso and hugging him close. "Well, good morning, then."

"Good morning. How long have you been awake?"

"Oh, uh...I um..."

"Did you go back to sleep after I got home?" He pulled away from Elias and inspected his face. He had dark circles under his eyes, but he couldn't really tell if it was from lack of sleep or the healing bruises. Tyson knew he was getting thinner from holding him, but now that he was looking at him harder, he could see it in his face, too. He frowned as Elias shook his head, then placed his hand over his cheek.

"I'm sorry," Elias choked out, fearful over the disdainful look on Tyson's face, "I tried to, I just couldn't...I just didn't wanna have another nightmare-"

"Hey, it's ok, love. You've got nothing to be sorry about."

Even though his voice was nothing but sweet and loving, Elias turned away from him with a frustrated sigh. "For fucks sake, Tyson!" He groaned, grabbing the counter to steady himself. "I'm fucking up so bad why cant you just, like, fucking yell at me or something!?"

Tyson was shocked at the outburst, gawking at him for a moment, left speechless. He was angry at him for not being angry? Allen had been similar when he first got back, tried everything he could think of to get the people around him to see that he was bad, that he was deserving of pain, but that stopped for the most part once he realized that the people around him were safe and wouldn't hurt him even if he wanted them to. He could see Elias shaking where he stood and he felt helpless in that moment, like there was no way he could comfort him.

"Elias," he said softly, stepping carefully toward him, "you have been through more pain and fear than anyone should have to deal with in their entire lifetime. I can't imagine how hard it is for you to adjust after that, and I'm not going to punish you because you're having a hard time."

Suddenly, Elias burst into tears, caving in on himself as his shoulders shook in sobs. "You don't understand! I'm so...I need...I need you to fucking...! God fuck Tyson!"

"Baby calm down." Tyson moved to grab his shoulders in some attempt to soothe him, but Elias turned and shoved his arms away, stumbling back from him. "Elias, please-"

"Shut the fuck up! Shut up Tyson, stop being so fucking nice to me!" He covered his face as he cried, sinking down to the floor with a thud. Tyson sat down across from him, hands to himself, and watched as he began to rock back and forth a little.

"I love you Eli-"

"Stop it! Please stop it!"

"-I love you so much and you're not doing anything wrong."

Elias only got more hysteric at that, his breathing so quick and labored that Tyson was worried he might pass out. When Elias began to tic and hit his injured hand against the ground, Tyson grabbed his wrist to hold him still. Elias fought harder, screaming to be let go, for Tyson to "stop fucking touching him!" and thrashing in his grip. He wasn't going to calm down, not like this, not on his own, and he was hurting himself, so Tyson had no other choice. In one quick movement, he slapped Elias across the face.

He felt bad instantly, of course, but Elias grew still, apart from his body trembling and his shoulders rising and falling with his labored breathing. He looked up at Tyson, fear etched into every detail of his face. After a few seconds of silence, he dropped his head down and took a deep breath.

"Th-thank you," he breathed, his voice just as shaky as his body, "thank you, Tyson."

Tyson shook his head, fighting the tears in his eyes as he stood up. "Come here."

Elias slowly pushed himself to his feet, sniffling a few times and trying to steady his breathing. He stiffened when Tyson grabbed his shoulders, only bowing his head further in submission. He fought the familiar dread he usually had when August was only just beginning a punishment, when he knew he was going to be weak and broken and near death in a moment. Logically, he knew Tyson wouldn't hurt him as bad as August would, but after being hit, his brain went right back to that same fearful, trained head-space.

"Look at me, baby," Tyson whispered. When Elias shook his head and grew even more tense, Tyson took a step toward him. "Eli, angel," he cooed, tilting his face up until he grudgingly made eye contact. "Are you ok?"

Elias nodded eagerly, eyes still wide and terrified. "M'ok." He insisted. Tyson knew it was just because he thought it was what he wanted to hear, he could still see the fear and the pain written on his face.

"I'm so sorry I hit you. I won't do it again." He wiped the tears from his face as he spoke. His cheek was red from where he hit him, and Tyson's heart sank further. "I love you so much, Elias, I never want to hurt you. Ever."

Elias forced a small smile, nodding his head. "It's ok. I love you." He flinched a fraction as Tyson stooped down to hug him, then melted into his arms. He closed his eyes and took a few more deep breaths. He counted to ten, then pulled away and cleared his throat. "Your breakfast is gonna get cold."

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

Tyson couldn't be sure if it was just because he had been hit earlier and now wanted more than ever to please him or if he genuinely wanted to, but he was surprised when Elias insisted they go to Leo and Allen's for the Halloween party they'd been invited to. When Tyson brought it up, it was mostly just to let Elias know that they were thinking of him, that he had friends who wanted to see him, he wasn't expecting him to want to go. Initially, Elias was just shocked that it was already Halloween, had he been with August for that long...? Had it already been almost two weeks since he'd last seen him? He tried not to act too bothered about how much it shook him up, realizing he'd completely lost his sense of time lately. But once Elias said that he would love to go, Tyson gladly agreed, promised Elias that if it got uncomfortable or overwhelming they would leave. Elias was amused with Tyson's makeshift costume, his tight red shirt and cheap devil horn head band. He looked ridiculously attractive, and here Elias was in his oversized hoodie he'd been wearing for days and an added jacket, his hair and face were both an absolute mess. He felt ugly, not that he didn't always feel like that lately, but as long as Tyson was distracting him he wasn't really thinking about it.

The party had a lot more people than either of them were expecting, the house was buzzing with conversation and music and loud laughter, and Elias was instantly intimidated. He reached for Tyson's hand and stood close to him, looking down at his shoes as he was guided through the crowd.

"Hey! I didn't think you guys would come!" Someone was saying. Elias looked up for a split second to see it was Leo, who was grinning ear to ear. Elias was envious of his carefree happiness, and he wanted to sob when Tyson let go of his hand to hug Leo. "How are you, Elias?"

He flinched at the sound of his own name, snapping his eyes up to Leo. He hated being addressed like that, like a person, because every time he could hear August pounding it into his brain that he was less than human, that he wasn't important enough to be spoken to, that he was only alive because August allowed it, because August wanted to use him, because he was a punching bag, because he was a sex toy, because-

"I'm fine," he choked out, forcing a tight smile. "Do you have any booze?"

Leo frowned at him in confusion, then looked to Tyson for some sort of explanation. When he only responded with a simple shrug, Leo turned his attention back to Elias. "Uh...yeah. Yeah, it's in the kitchen."

Elias thanked him and turned away from them both, weaving through people until he found himself in the kitchen. Only a few people were in there with him, one of them being Allen, who looked just as uncomfortable as Elias. He was wearing a tee shirt and bow tie, which was the most low effort costume Elias had ever seen. He would have laughed, if he wasn't so hell bent on getting himself drunk so he could handle being here.

"Hey," Allen said, smiling a little, "I didn't know y-you were here."

"Yeah, just got here. Ty's with Leo." As he spoke, he poured himself a shot of tequila, holding his breath so he wouldn't tic and spill it. He threw it back, gagging on the taste, on the memories of August forcing him to take shot after shot of the burning drink because he was more fun when he was drunk, he was told. "What are you supposed to be?" He asked. Allen's eyes were on him as he filled up the shot glass again, then grimaced as he set it down and reached for something to chase it with.

"Oh, I dunno. I've n-never really done this whole Halloween party thing." He shifted his weight, chewing his lip. "What about you?"

Elias didn't answer him, shaking his head. "Can we please go somewhere quiet? This sucks."

Allen laughed, "yeah, it does, huh? Wanna go sm-smoke?" After Elias agreed, Allen took his hand and led him out to the backyard. There were a few other people, but they were dispersed enough that they found a place far away from everyone quickly.

"Tyson hit me today," Elias said suddenly, looking at the ground as he smoked, "I can't even remember why. I just...I just remember I was on the floor and he hit me."

Allen was shocked into silence for a moment, then he took a deep breath and leaned against the wall they were standing at. "Was he mad at you?"

Elias felt on the verge of tears then, couldn't speak over the lump in his throat. "He didn't seem mad, he said he was sorry after. I think he just...I think he just felt like hitting me."

Allen shook his head. "No, Tyson isn't like August. He wouldn't just hit you because he wanted to." When he looked up at Elias, he was surprised to see his cheeks wet with tears and a tight frown on his face. "Hey, it's ok, Elias. It's ok."

"No, it isn't. I'm so fucking exhausted." He dropped his head into his hands and fought the sobs shaking his shoulders. "I can't sleep and I can't eat and I feel like I'm fucking up every little thing-" he froze up when he felt Allen's arms around him, holding him tight. For a second he was stunned into silence, then he really began to cry.

"You're gonna be alright," he was saying, "right now, you're in the hardest part of it, but it's gonna get better." He pulled Elias closer as his weak, broken whimpers shook his small frame. He didn't remember ever being in this much despair, sure, he was confused and scared and hurting, but for the most part he was just relieved that he was safe. How long had Elias been back, a week and a half? When Allen had been back for that long, he was focusing on trying to get his life back together, trying to mend relationships and himself and feel as normal as he could. Elias seemed to be breaking apart over and over again. August must've been so cruel to him.

When Elias slowly stopped crying, he pulled himself out of Allen's grip and took a deep breath. "I um...I'm gonna go get another drink. Thanks for uh, talking to me."

"Yeah, of course. Let me know if you need anything." Allen watched as he stood up and limped back into the house.

[ladyhearthkeeper]

How to welcome people in your home

One of the joy of having a nice and cosy home is to receive your loved ones in it.

I would like to share some ideas and tips from how we entertain in my home.These just tips, not guidelines. Do what feels right to you and how things are done in your part of the world. Inviting people over shouldn’t be a chore, an awkward moment but something you do from your heart.

The first step is inviting your guest(s). This process is straight forward but there are a few things to keep in mind. If you’re inviting more than one person, make sure they are compatible. Some people enjoy talking to people who have different views, some don’t. Some people love to meet new people, others don’t. Your main goal is to entertain your guest and make them have a nice time so think about what them. Of course, it’s your home so don’t invite people you don’t like.

Invite them at least a week before (depending on your level of intimacy). If you want to be even more thorough, ask them when they will be available and if it suits your own free time, you have a date!

Are you inviting them for a morning coffee? A lunch? Tea? Dinner? etc. Be specific. Is it a family event? A couple invitation or just amongst women? Don’t make them guess, be specific. You can say it in a polite and gentle way “This time it’s only us girls“ “I thought it was better to only have adults so that we can have some conversation” Etc.

Once you know who’s coming, when and for what... Time to plan your menu. It doesn’t have to be rigid but it’s good to have something to fall back on if you lose inspiration.

Now, that’s the time to ask your guests about food allergies or religious and ideological restrictions. Better to ask rather than having a disaster and not honouring your guests. Plan to make more than enough. Leftovers can always be given to neighbours, frozen or make an excellent meal for the next day.

Now when the actual invitation is looming ahead, be organized according to your other responsibilities. Some dishes can be prepared ahead, so don’t hesitate doing it. You want to be as fresh and welcoming as you can be on the actual day. The same applies for cleaning your home and making sure the (guest) bathroom is properly supplied for. I clean my home once a week so it’s relatively clean most of the time. However, if you have small children you might not have this luxury. Do it one day ahead or do the cooking one day before and tidying up on the day of the party.

It’s lovely to be ushered in a nice smelling house. So either use some scented candles or incense to make your home smell special. Candles are also lovely to give a cosy ambiance, if there are no kids involved. Some electrical candles look so real they could do the trick.

Set your table in a nice way with matching tablecloth and napkins. Buffet are also ok but I find them awkward for guests and less exquisite and special.  Make sure everything is clean : cutlery , glass, plates etc. If you are going to serve two courses, make sure you have an extra quarter plate inside the bigger one. But you don’t necessarily have to have two courses. Before your guests arrive, think ahead about your seating chart (even for 3 people!)  for better conversation, comfort etc.

Be sure that everything is set, and you are dressed at least 15 minutes before. So that you can be relaxed but also you can add some finishing touches. Make sure you have a vase handy in case someone bring flowers but don’t count on it and have your own flowers for that extra touch.

When they arrive, invite them in and welcome them warmly. It’s best to first make them sit in the living room (if you have one!) so that you can finish setting the warm dishes without having them in your way.

Depending on your culture or habits, you may want to serve them some kind of drink (fresh lemonade if it’s hot!!! or a warming tea) and some nuts or crackers to crunch on,especially if it’s a dinner invitation and some of the guests are coming straight from work.

Don’t forget to have enough water and sparking water around the dinner table. Bring most of the warm dishes to the table while they are still in the living area so that you won’t have to lean over them to place the dishes.

When you are inviting them to the table, invite each guest to his seat.

Now, depending on the size of your table and the number of guests. Make sure that everyone has access to the dishes, either by passing them around or by have two of each.

As people eat, keep the conversation light but interesting. Keep everyone involved but don’t insist. These are your loved ones so you know which subject to avoid and which subject would make everyone talk without getting into an argument.  Most of the time, you won’t need to keep the conversation going as your guests will be enjoying themselves.

Background music isn’t always a great idea. It might make people speak louder or distract some people who cannot focus. But it depends on your style and mood. I find that the less we have technological disturbance, the better the party goes. You can’t stop people from keeping their phone around them but you can keep yours away to be focused on your guests (unless one of them is late and might be in need of assistance.)

I can give more detailed advice for evening parties as opposed to a tea parties etc.  And if you have specific questions, do ask and I can try to answer.

These are general tips.  And I would love to hear yours!!

[lovingmyselfcore]

Skate Into My Heart

Chapter Three; Uh oh

BESTIES

I'M ALIVE AND I DID THE WRITING THING

@ciaraloves (or @perseusjackson-jasongrace ig) LOOK AT ME DOING THE THING

As soon as Nico left the locker room, Piper pounced on him. Literally.

He was forced to take a step back and caught her by the shoulders, “What’s up?”

She was practically vibrating with excitement, “Annabeth’s back!”

“Really?”

“Yeah! Come on!” She grabbed his hand and yanked him through the hallways and into the main rink where a crowd of people had formed next to the bleachers.

It was the rest of the team and in the center was Annabeth, a duffle bag slung over one shoulder, looking exhausted as all hell but she was grinning as the team peppered her with questions and play-by-plays of the practices she’d missed.

Piper shouldered them into the center so Nico was directly in front of Annabeth, Piper on one side and Calypso on the other.

“Hey, Nico,” Annabeth said, still grinning. She stepped forward for a hug and he let her, burying his face into her neck and breathing, already feeling the responsibility leaking from his tight shoulders. Annabeth was like a big sister to him, not that he’d ever admit that, but still.

“You want to get out?” Nico whispered into her neck.

“Yes,” She whispered back emphatically. Nico could barely stop himself from laughing but as they pulled apart he saw the genuine relief in her eyes and felt himself worrying. He needed to talk to her, about the team and skating, about Will and of course, if she needed to talk about why she’d been gone for so long, he’d do that too.

Apparently, Calypso recognized that too and, bless her heart, muttered something to Leo, and together they captured the team’s attention, allowing Nico to tug Annabeth away from the crowd and out of the rink. She sighed as soon as they were ejected onto the city streets. Nico stuck an arm out and she smiled and linked their arms.

“Where are you headed?” Nico asked as they walked the short distance to the car garage.

“Oh, probably just my apartment.”

Nico nodded, “I wasn’t sure if you’d be staying with your dad or not.”

She shook her head, “He doesn’t even know I landed yet. I’ll head over in the morning.”

Her voice was stiff and Nico took that as his cue to change the subject. “So I have something to confide in you.”

She perked up almost immediately and he swallowed hard. But she just looked at him with those gray eyes and he reminded himself that this was Annabeth. That she wasn’t going to get angry with him.

At least, he hoped not.

“I’m talking to one of the hockey players,” He said casually.

Her grip on his arm stiffened and he braced himself but she was still just looking at him.

Finally, she grinned, “So when you say ‘talking to’...”

He groaned and felt himself flush, “Oh, shut up! Just friends.”

She hummed and released his arm to dig for her keys in her jacket pocket. “Is he nice?”

“No, he’s a dick,” Nico said sarcastically.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling. “I don’t know why I even bother.”

“He’s blonde,” Nico offered.

“Oooh,” Annabeth drawled.

He rolled his eyes and she burst out laughing, her voice echoing off the stone walls of the parking garage.

“Is he gay?” Annabeth asked.

Nico nearly flinched and passed it off with another eye roll, “I don’t know, Annie, that’s not something that’s come up in casual conversation.”

She glared at him and Nico, being the mature adult he is, stuck his tongue out at her. She did it back then shook her head. “Too much time with Percy,” She muttered and Nico snorted. She grinned at him.

“So he’s okay?”

That sobered her immediately. “Yeah. Well, as okay as he can be. I’m only here for like two weeks because he insisted I come back, but I’m leaving as soon as possible,” She glanced sideways at him, “Not to leave you alone again, though.”

He shrugged off the flash of selfish hurt he’d felt, “I’m good, Beth.” But he wasn’t good. He’d just told her about Will, and not even the start of the way his stomach would twist when he saw a new text from the hockey player and not the same twist when he panicked. And that also meant his chances of performing solo again were climbing. He didn’t know how to feel about that part.

“Stop that!” She exclaimed, halting once they’d reached her car.

“Get some sleep, Annabeth,” He said genuinely then smirked a little, “It looks like you need it.”

She threw a balled-up receipt she’d found in her bag at him, “Dick!”

~~~~

“Hey, Nico.”

Nico nearly leaped out of his skin, spinning to see Persephone in the living room.

She snorted, “Didn’t mean to scare you, sorry. Did practice go well?”

His phone buzzed in his pocket, “Yeah. Annabeth’s back.”

Persephone hummed, reaching up to untwist her hair, sending it cascading down her shoulders, “That’s good. I know you’ve missed her,” She said with a knowing look in her eyes that made him shift uncomfortably.

“Yeah, definitely, um, I’m tired we learned some new moves for Regionals today, so,”

“Yeah of course.” She was still smiling.

“‘Night Persephone,”

~~~

Nico flopped face-down onto his bed with a groan. He knew Persephone though he had a crush on Annabeth; he didn’t blame her, he’d never really made it a point that he didn’t. He wished he could come out to her and his dad, he didn’t really have a reason why he hadn’t besides the weight of anxiety on his lungs.

His phone buzzed again, and he wriggled upright to yank it out of his pocket.

Will: Distract me

Will: My mom is driving me insane

Nico grinned to himself, both of them were dealing with mommy issues at the moment.

Nico: idk how you expect me to distract you

Will: Just tell me about snakes or smth

Nico: you think i just have fun facts about snakes on hand?

Will: Yeah?

Nico: good

Nico: cause i do

Will: :)

Nico: snakes can slither 12.5 mph

Will: Good lord

Nico: snakes have internal ears but not external ones

Will: ??

Nico: they can’t create their own body heat which is why theyre in the sun all the time

Will: Hmmmm

Nico: they smell w/their tongues

Will: I thought they had nostrils??

Nico: they do

Will: what

Nico: it’s their Jacobson’s organ my dude it works in mysterious ways

Nico: not really but yk

Nico: sCieNcE

Will: ok….

Nico: if you get bored of snakes i’ve also got a bunch of random cheetah facts

Nico: i love cheetahs

Nico: very cool

Nico: fast cats

Will: Lmao go ahead

Nico: but first

Nico: why’s your mom driving you insane

Nico: if you want to tell me ofc

Nico: not trying to be weird

Will: Nah you’re fine

Will: She wants me to focus entirely on med school and not hockey

Will: She’s trying to get me out of it, actually

Will: Do something ‘respectable’

Will: Not turn out like my dad

Will: Even though dad has literally NOTHING to do with hockey

Will: And in my opinion he’s not bad. Not great. Not awful yk

Will: But hockey’s what’s putting me through med school so

Will: Gods, I really just burdened you with that I’m so sorry

Nico: med school huh

Nico: now i can say i know a doctor

Will: In training

Nico: close enough

Nico: you’re a great hockey player and you're going to be a great doctor

Nico: and you can always talk to me, will

Nico: you’re not burdening me with shit

Will: thanks <3

Nico didn’t understand why he blushed. It was a goddamn emoji. Calm down, Di Angelo.

Will: So we’ve been talking for a few weeks now. Can I call you my friend yet?

Nico snorted, feeling like he was fifteen again, sprawled on his bed, in the dark (because for some reason he didn’t turn his lights on) late at night, texting his- well, anyway.

Nico: yea dumbass

Nico: we’re friends

Will: Nice

Will: Now give me cheetah facts you adorable nerd

~~~

WILL

“Will? You good?”

Will blinked, Jason coming in to focus in front of him. “Uh, yeah.”

“That was believable,” Clarisse said sarcastically from behind Jason.

Will attempted to shake the fog from his head, “Yes,” He repeated.

Jason just blinked at him and Will was formulating an excuse for why he was so tired besides the fact that he’d spent all night talking to a cute figure skater with a ridiculous amount of animal facts stored in his small body when Coach Hedge’s voice boomed from his seat on the bleachers, “Solace! You alive?”

“Yes, coach!” Will shot back.

“Then why are you just standing there? Get back to the game! You too, La Rue and Grace!”

“Yes, sir!” They all barked back.

Clarisse gave him a once over before skating back to her goal and Jason went over to Will’s spot with him, “You sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah, just tired.”

Jason opened his mouth, probably to question why the mom friend of their group was tired enough he nearly tripped over his stick but Will just said, “It’s fine, Jase. It’s not a big deal.”

“Grace!” Coach Hedge screeched.

Jason gave up on trying to interrogate Will and skated back over to his spot.

~~~~

“Mama, please,” Will tried, but his mother cut him off.

“Willaim. Hush. How’s that girl you said you were dating?”

What?

He was silent for a beat too long.

“Oh, baby,” His mother’s thick southern accent drenched her words. “You broke up? I’m so sorry.”

Oh gods, Lou Ellen Blackstone.

Will and Lou Ellen had dated for two months a long time ago, and when they were still dating he’d told his mother about her to get her to back off of his personal life a little. Their break up hadn’t had a huge fallout, Lou Ellen had told him through tears in his living room that she was aromantic. They were still friends, had been even before they dated, actually, and talked to each other pretty regularly.

But the problem was, that had been three months ago, and he hadn’t told his mother about their breakup. He knew she’d ask why, and he didn’t want to out Lou Ellen or make her a devil in his mother’s eyes. So he’d procrastinated coming up with a reason until he’d forgotten about it entirely.

And now it had come back to bite him in the ass.

“Yeah we broke up a little while ago,” He forced himself to sound choked up, which wasn’t hard, giving the way his panicked brain was now sprinting in circles on his lungs. “I just didn’t disappoint you.” Probably the most honest thing he’d said in weeks, but that’ll be unpacked later.

“Honey,” She sighed sadly and Will didn’t know whether or not that was on his behalf or hers.

“Well, it’s okay, because I’m dating someone new.”

“Oh?” He could hear her spine straighten. “Is it someone I know?”

No, mom, it’s not one of the country girls I grew up with.

“No,” He winced at how southern he sounded. He’d been talking to his mother for five minutes. “You don’t know him.”

HIM. Good Gods, Will. Yeah, you came out as bi to your mom, but still, you haven’t actually mentioned a guy to her yet.

She was silent for so long his heart joined his brain in the track meet happening on top of his lungs. “What’s his name?”

He was so she’d spoken that he blurted, “Nico.”

What. The. Fuck. Willaim.

Apparently, his heart had won that damn track race.

“Well, what I was leading up to before you told me about what happened,”

Will hummed non-committally, trying not to sound like he was taking relieved breaths as she spoke.

“The family’s come for a reunion and you should bring that boy!” Will choked on his spit.

“Mom, I don’t know about-”

“No, William. There isn’t a set date yet so we can work around your schedule,” Fuck. “I insist, Will. I need to meet this boy you clearly like very much, even though all you’ve said is his name, a mother knows.”

Umm, what.

“Sure,” Will said, sounding a little strangled. “But we have a game this weekend.”

“Alright, William.” She sounded the way she always did when he brought up hockey. “But as I said, we can work around your schedule and his. Talk to him about it, and let me know.”

“Yeah. Yeah,” Will repeated. “I’ll do that.”

She hung up and he was left staring at the wilting daisies at his kitchen table.

What had he just done?