#after he tried to die on me on monday its super nice to have him back to his semi psychotic self

[allylikethecat]

I did it!! I finished the next chapter of You Know Where the City Is! I'm going to do another read through and post it tomorrow 🥰 Thank you so much for everyones patience!

[thr-333]

Just Another Class Trip :)  Part 3

You know getting dragged through a multi billion dollar corporations building to try and avoid your illegitimate father, a normal monday for most I’m sure.

First< Previous >Next

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It’s official, I hate Adrien

Marinette groans, having been practically dragged out of bed for breakfast. Adrien was wisely backed up as far as he could in the elevator. She yawns, making it loud as possible and looking Adrien right in the eye.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have stayed out so late,” Tikki giggles, hidden in her scarf.

Yeah it turns out that ‘just need to help out one person’ turned into a it is now 3am and I am halfway across the city beating up a gang.

“At least the box was safe,” Marinette whispers back, she had crashed in Adrien's room, no matter how mad Lila would be, or because of it who knows.

And indeed Lila was mad. The second they step foot into the hotel restaurant the entire class turns to stare at them. Crowded around a smug looking Lila with tears rolling down her cheeks. Marinette just turns a sharp left to the coffee. It isn’t until she has downed half a cup and refilled it that she tries to look for her friends.

Chloe looks just as dead as her, so she sits next to her. Let the morning people talk, they were ready to pass out together.

“Kagami?”

“Yep, Adrien?”

“Yep,”

“Morning people,” They both sneer.

“Were you planning on sleeping all morning?” Kagami asks, eating breakfast like a normal person, what a jerk.

“Were you planning on watching me all morning?” Chloe half heartedly retorts.

“You are adorable when you’re sleeping,”

“Fuck you, I’m adorable all the time,”

“Chlo, language, please,” Marinette implores, nursing her giant cup.

“Shut up Dupain-Cheng,” Chloe snaps, face planting back into the table.

“She’s not that cute actually,” Kagami whispers to Adrien, “Wore a face mask she got green all over the bed,”

“I’ll get green all over you,” Chloe mumbles absentmindedly.

"Marinette,"

"Ah the storm is coming,took them long enough" She takes a gulp of burning coffee, "Yes Alya?"

"You cant just say that to a person," Alya tries to explain, as if talking down to a child, "Lila was up all night crying,"

"She probably just put on a recording and went soundly to sleep," Chloe scoffs, sleepily looking up from the table.

"I was with her all night!" Alya turns to Chloe, seething rage coming to the surface.

"Thats some impressive endurance," Marinette mutters, downing more coffee.

"You think she's been practicing?" Chloe smirks.

"This isn't-"

"Make sure she get's plenty of water," Marinette turns away, hoping the conversation would be over.

"Marinette!" Alya looks down at her the way Marinette often looks at her, the look at a dear friend who changed, "Can't you see you're hurting Lila?"

"Can't you see she's hurting me?" She covers that honestly by gulping down more coffee, she has not had enough for this conversation.

"You used to be so nice Marinette," Alya dodges the question, pointing to Chloe and Kagami instead, "Then you started spending time with these two, and, and you changed!"

"Believe what you want Alya," Marinette motions for her friends to stay calm, "But they stand by me when no one else will, especially you,"

"Thats because!- Marinette if you had just gotten to know Lila instead of being jealous this would have never happened," Alya looks down at her sadly, Marinette was sure Paris would have been up in flames somehow if she had ever trusted Lila, "If you just didn't spend time around these bullies everything could be the same, you wouldn't have become a bully too,"

"So what?" She spits bitterly, looking over at the table watching them, Lila looking disgruntled it wasn't an all out fight, "If I got up and joined that table right now, would everything go back to the way it was?"

"... No,"

Marinette’s pocket buzzes in a familiar sequence. Akuma alert.

"Ok then, not much point in arguing about it, I'm going to stay with my friends, the ones I can actually trust," Marinette quickly shuts down Alya's protest, "Now go get Lila some water,"

Alya walks off back to the table, everyone crowding around her. Marinette waits for the door to be clear, she has to leave before Alya finishes or the whole class will be breathing down her neck.

“Forgot something in my room,” Marinette slings on her back pack, “Be back soon,”

She was not back soon, she was not back soon at all. Luckily she should only be three minutes late for the bus-and nope they left, great. She’ll just have to catch up with the tour later.

Well, I had stuff to do anyways

She talks with the receptionist; her assistant should have sent her a prepared motorcycle to the hotel the day before. It’s a quick drive to the location she had selected specifically to be close to the hotel.

She puts on a simple domino mask before entering the building, she didn’t want anyone to leak her identity after all. Walking in she’s glad to see everything is not in disarray.

“MDC,” Her assistant, Liam walks up to her.

Liam was someone she met through Penny. He’s older than her and also acted as her guardian on most of her trips as MDC. He does know her civilian identity, which she trusted him completely to keep. She likes him because-

“Is that mine?” She snatches the cup of coffee as he passes it to her.

“Figured you needed it,” Liam smiles, wincing as she downs the burning liquid, it's fine she has a strong healing factor, “You said your bag was stolen? This should replace it, it’s most of what you had plus more,”

He rolls forward a pre packed suitcase.

“I would die without,” Marinette says in all seriousness, “So what's the damage?”

“No major problems so far, the security we hired is enough to scare away the smaller thugs,” Liam nods to some security personnel guarding each door, “They won't be enough if any super villains try to attack the actual show,”

“Mm, give them instructions on the night of the show they are only allowed to intercept small time, anything bigger they are not allowed to engage,” Marinette studies the room, there's great places to hide, friend or foe, “If they see anything they are simply to report it directly to me,”

“They can’t engage?” Liam looks around, trying to see what she is.

“They won't be able to stop them anyway, and there is no reason for them to die,”

“If you say so,” Liam leads her through the room where lights are being set up and walls are being painted, “So what's the plan if we do get attacked?”

“I’m sure Batman is going to have his eye on any big events,” Marinette approves of the color of the back wall, it looking even better in person, “Besides I’m planning on trying to intercept before any violence,”

“In other words you're going to make my job a lot more stressful,” Liam sighs, making a note or rather on his tablet.

“Not if I can help it,”

“You can’t,” Liam sighs again at her grin, “Didn’t you have a tour with your class today?”

“They left me,” Liam seems equally unsurprised, “But I should probably head for Wayne tower anyway,”

“Don’t get into trouble,”

“I never get into trouble,” Marinette smirks from the door, “Trouble drags me into it kicking and screaming,”

“More like keen and skipping,” Liam closes the door in her face.

Marinette strolls into the Wayne tower an hour late with Starbucks, she sees is her class, being a nuisance arguing with a tour guide.

“You cannot just leave a student alone in Gotham,” The tour guide all but yells at Madame Bustier.

“Marinette is very responsible, she can handle herself,” Madame Bustier more defends herself than Marinette.

“I don’t care how responsible your student is, that won't stop them from getting shot!” This time he does yell, “You need to go back and pray to god she’s alright and hasn't gotten lost for some murder to find!”

Alright time to break the tension

“Hey, what did I miss?” Marinette asks casually, Already sipping at her straw when all eyes turn to her.

“Marinette! How did you get here?” Madame bustier demands.

“I-”

“I think you mean ‘are you alright, I’m so sorry for leaving you behind,” The tour guide glowers, apparently threatening enough that Madame Bustier actually repeats him.

“I’m fine, I borrowed a bike from my friend in Gotham,”

“You don’t have a licence in Gotham,” Lila sneers triumphantly.

Oh look who actually did some research, how much digging did you do when I learnt how to ride a motorcycle

“I didn’t say it was a motorcycle,” That shut’s Lila up, “But yeah it is a motorcycle,

Worth it for that face

“Also I got my licence approved in America before I came,”

So worth that face

Lila opens her mouth, better than the flood gates, when the tour guide interrupts.

“Now that everyone is here,” He sends a smile to Marinette and a glare to Madame Bustier somehow at the same time, she gets the tinglily feeling of  miraculous holder, or maybe its just the caffeine, “We can start, my name is Dick I will be your tour guide today.

They follow Dick through the tour Marinette's group right behind Dick. She scribbled designs and took notes as he talked, asking her own questions. This got her dubbed Dicks favourite, and easy title to gain as the rest of the class lagged behind. Most were listening to Lila, only Max and Alix were straining to hear Dick over the chatter. Marinette would occasionally pick up a mention of the Wayne's and knew it wasn't related to the tour. She'd have to guess Lila was lying about either dating someone or saving their life, or because it's Lila probably both. A gutsy move in the Wayne tower she had to admit. Marinette could tell Dick was listening and would probably have that rumour make it back to the Wayne's themselves. Would the wrath of some of the richest and most powerful people be enough to stop her? not likely.

They split up for lunch at the cafeteria in the building. She saw the coffee machine and was about to make a bee line to it when Kagami pulled her back to eat some 'real food' whatever that is. She makes a break for it after eating the so called 'real food', right before the tour was about to restart. She reaches it as a familiar figure is also waiting.

"Hi Tim," She greets, getting him to actually jump, "You work here?"

"Hi! um-yeah," He looks over to her, "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" She takes the biggest travel cup they have available.

"Sn-nothing," Tim still looks uneasy, then his eyes lock onto the cup, "tired?"

"Was up till three am last night, plus jet lag?" She yawns, "Yeah I'm tired,"

"Then you'll want to put that cup back,"

"Hm why?"

he gets her answer when Tim ducks down, opening a hidden cupboard full of travel cups at least twice the size of her current one,

"Tim I love you," She fills up the giant cup, "You're my favourite person in Gotham as of right now,"

"Not Dick?"

"Eh, his puns are lacklustre," She shrugs, Tim spits out his drink, "You know Dick?"

"Yep, give him a hard time for me!" Tim calls over his shoulder, walking away.

"You got it!" She hurries in the opposite direction, late for the tour once again.

“Did you get another coffee?” Dick asks as they enter the PR department.

“They were serving them at lunch,” Marinette could almost laugh at how quickly he had begun to fret over her during the tour.

“I know, that was my brothers idea, or rather demand,” Dick sighs, someone else approaching the group to direct the tour.

“Your brother works here?”

“Sure does,”

“But you don’t”

This makes Dick pause, looking down at her as she sips at the coffee.

“What?”

“I mean you don’t work this job at least,” She shrugs, it wasn't hard to figure out.

“Why's that?”

“You seem uncomfortable, your charismatic but still lack the smoothness of a rehearsed tour, plus you seem offended that they are in the back chatting,” Marinette nods towards Lila and her posse, “Regular tour guides would be used to that,”

“You found me out,” Dick chuckles, “I’m just taking over for today,”

“Well I think you picked a bad class to do that for,” She looks over at most her class ignoring the speaker trying to get their attention.

“I think I picked the right one,” Dick says cryptically, then walks off to help herd the class.

“Alright you have to give me the recipe,” Marinette overhears from a nearby desk.

Someone is sitting on it eating a cookie, while the other taps away at her computer.

“Sorry no can do,” She shrugs, “I don’t know it,”

“How can you not know it, you baked them right?” He asks, trying to steal another one and getting his hand slapped away.

“Nope, new vigilante came in, beat up someone robbing my house and baked me cookies,”

“This is Gotham so I believe the first two,” He looks between her and the container, “But cookies?”

“They also gave me free therapy,” She shrugs, before tapping on the container,“And do you really believe I could make these?”

“Touche,” He smirks leaning back on the desk, “So who’s the new guy? With the Batclan?”

“No they said they were just passing through,” She doesn't look up from her computer, focusing intently on the screen, “Names Starling,”

“Never heard of them,”

“Neither, and I tried looking them up,” She sighs, pushing back from the computer in defeat, “Found someone, but it’s not them, actually couldn't find anything on them,”

“Weird,” He gets up from the desk, “Can’t imagine Batman is going to take kindly to a new vigilante running around,”

“Unless he adopts them,”

“That… yeah he probably will,”

"Oh no-CLAIRE" The speaker trying to wrangle her class stops, "We have a problem!"

"Sorry to cut this short," Claire doesn't look sorry at all, "Seems we have important matters to tend to,"

She follows Dick out of the department, ushering her class as she goes. Claire looks over at her like she has two heads, a mixture of impressed and pity, and perhaps a bit of jealously.

They get to go further up the building, to the higher floors. They reach a space that is mostly meeting rooms. He class decide to take advantage of Dick declaring they are completely sound proof, or maybe they took it as a challenge. Marinette is walking past a hall when someone leaning against the wall catches her eye.

“Auntie Selina?!”

They look around, only spotting Marinette seconds before they collide into a hug, she feels the tingling buzz of a true holder.

“Mari!” Selina picks her up and spins her around, no different from when she was five, “Oh, my love it’s so good to see you, when did you arrive in Gotham?”

Marinette watches as her smile morphs into horror.

“Wait, what are you doing in Gotham!?”

“It’s a class trip and- hey where are we going?” Her Auntie grabs her arm pulling her down the hall.

“Marinette!” Dick calls, walking around the corner, Selina makes a sharp turn down another corridor, “Wait!”

Selina is two steps away from running as she pulls Marinette through the maze of hallways.

“Auntie where are we going?”

“Down here,” She opens the door leading to a staircase, too narrow to be a fire exit.

“That’s not really what I was asking,”

Selina inputs a key code, the door swinging open as she is pulled into the room.

“Wait!” She gets pulled through another door just as quick “Was that wall full of weapons?”

“Just a picture sweetie,” She says sweetly, “Down these stairs,”

“Aunt Selina what are we running from?” They are running now, floor after floor.

“We’re not running from anything sweetie,” Selina speeds up, “I just wanted to show you a cool spot in Gotham,”

“Right,” Marinette raises an eyebrow, “I was actually with the class so maybe we could go later?”

“It closes in five minutes,”

“Like you wouldn’t just break in if we were going somewhere,”

“I promise I will take you somewhere nice,” She smiles back at Marinette, they reach the end of the stairs, coming to a garage of sorts, “If you promise to hurry up,”

“Sure-” She does a double take, of the room, “Hold up are those costumes?”

“Collectors stuff, you know,” They are surrounded by bat themed... everything, “Rich people,”

“Right and how do you know this?”

“I-” She hesitates, eyes drifting, “Hey look, the exit!”

They all out sprint towards the exit. Selina reaches out to open the door a second after it swings open.

“Selina,” The man smiles at Selina as she runs into him.

“Hey Bruce,” Selina jumps back, trying to hide Marinette behind her.

“Where are you going?” Bruce looks behind her at Marinette, who gives a little wave.

“Out! Got to hurry!” She grabs Marinette's arm again, trying to pull her around Bruce.

“Is something wrong?” Bruce grabs Selina's shoulders to keep her still and looking at him.

“Nope nothings wrong,” She wriggles out of his grasp, trying again to pull Marinette away.

“Ok then,” Bruce still looks worried but turns to Marinette instead, “Hello I’m Bruce Wayne, Selina finance,”

“YOU’RE HER WHAT!?”

“Snitch,” He Auntie spits out venomously.

“Why didn’t you tell me!?” Marinette asks her with the biggest grin.

“Surprise,” Selina gives half heated jazz hands.

“Wait! Whens the wedding? Do You have a dress? I’ll make one!” She deicides, brining out her sketchbook, drawing different designs, “What's the theme? Never mind tell me on the way to the fabric store, I’ll sketch up some designs,”

“Darling, please-” Selina is now getting pulled along.

“Oh! I’ll call Papa! I’m sure he’ll want to make your cake! We have to hurry, come on lets go!” They're already out the door, Marinette waves turning back to Bruce, “Nice meeting you!”

“What just happened?” Bruce asks Dick as he runs up next to him.

“She kidnapped one of the students on tour,”

“Who is now making her wedding dress,” Bruce nods, not understanding anything

“Did I miss something?”

I think we all did

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

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[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt.37

Shiro arrived mid-afternoon, as Keith drank his forth cup of coffee to settle his nerves. His brother wasn’t great at keeping time, yet Keith wished he could have managed it for a nice change. Lance had been nervy all morning. He’d cleaned through the house, Keith still in bed when Lance came to attack the spare bedroom. His boyfriend casually lifting the bed, balancing it on his shoulder, vacuuming under it and placing the bed down again in a manner of minutes like it was perfectly normally, and he hadn’t been in the bed trying to sleep after tossing and turning all damn night as he wished he had the courage to go crawl into bed with Lance.

Matt and Lance were off to a rough start. Both males had looked each other up and down. Lance calling Matt a “mutt” and Matt calling Lance a “corpse”. Vampires and werewolves occasionally coexisted, but these two seemed natural born enemies. Lance had explained the house rules, Matt had looked bored, even scoffing when Lance asked that he and his girlfriend not have sex all over his house, and if they could wait until everyone was asleep before they did. Keith wasn’t sure this work. He could tell Lance was seething, the wine glass in his hand barely holding together in his kind of boyfriend’s tight grip. Sitting around the kitchen table, Shiro was trying his hardest to defuse the situation before it became one.

Smiling tightly, Shiro hand his hands wrapped around his coffee cup. His brother looked exhausted, as if he hadn’t slept the whole time he was away. It’d been months since Shiro had looked this bad. Keith wanted to send him to bed, but Shiro was kind of the lynchpin that brought everyone in the group together. If Shiro spoke, then both Lance and Matt would listen. Under the table Keith’s leg was against Lance’s trying to offer silent support as they couldn’t hold hands. Lance would freak if Keith even thought of trying

“Now. I know this is hard for all of us, but I think we should try by reintroducing ourselves. Lance?”

Keith felt it unfair Lance had to go first. Shiro hadn’t even talked to him alone about what had happened while he’d been away. Keith didn’t have anything he could use to make Lance feel better about the current situation. Whatever Shiro said, they’d be finding out together.

“I’m Lance. This is my house. I’ve been dead for the last 36 years. I have a cat called Blue. Pidge and Hunk are my two best human friends”

Lance sounded as if he was standing in front of some anonymous meeting. Detached and nervous. More nervous than detached

“Thanks for that, Lance. Keith?”

Shiro really was insistent they go through the whole charade

“Keith. Shiro’s brother. Apparently recently transferred to Platt. I like coffee”

Shiro raised an eyebrow at him. His brother was lucky to get that much from him as it was. Yeah. He hasn’t forgotten being transferred with no say. Curtis didn’t need prompting as he explained

“Curtis. I’ve been cursed for about 4 months now. Ex-hunter who now works for VOLTRON out of Platt. Lance’s personal assistant, and medical advisor”

Again, Shiro raised his eyebrow in silent judgment. If his brother liked to be too busy, he was going to miss everything happening

“We’ll talk about that later. Matt?”

Matt sighed, his expressions were so much like Pidge’s that it was easy to tell the two of them were siblings. Other than the height difference and the long scar on Matt’s cheek, Pidge could have easily passed as him

“Matt. Werewolf”

Shiro closed his eyes, Keith nearly able to hear his brother counting to ten before he opened his eyes again

“Look. Neither of you might be happy initially, but we all need to be on the same team here”

Matt huffed, even his attitude was like Pidge’s

“Fine. Matt. Werewolf. I was accidentally by my girlfriend Rieva. Pidge’s older brother. I’ve got all the attributes including the sense of smell. Lance smells like a virgin in heat”

“It’s better than stinking off wet dog that rolled in something dead”

“Hey...”

Shiro pushed his seat back, rising to his feet as he slammed his hands on the table. Whelp. They’d gone and done it now

“Enough. You’re acting like children. This is Lance’s house, so as long as you’re living here, you’ll show him some respect. Lance, Matt and Rieva are you’re guests. I know you’ve been ill, but you need to keep your ego in check. You both need to keep your egos under control. Keith and I will be moving back to Platt Monday week. The both of your are under our care until you’re proven to be a direct threat to human lives. Especially you, Matt. Lance has a long track record of not harming humans. You, on the other hand, injured two of the Blade’s werewolves. I can’t keep you safe if you slip again”

Matt sighed again. Keith wanted to punch him in the face. Sure, there were a huge array of sounds that the word “sigh” covered, but Matt kept using the same one

“I’m sorry. You’re right. We’re both having issues with our egos”

Keith looked to Lance who gave a tiny nod, Lance didn’t want to be standoffish, especially not to the brother of his best friend

“I’m sorry to. My senses have been pretty whack lately. That’s why Curtis is here, he was sent by Coran to make sure I don’t up and die... again”

“Alright. Good. Now, I was thinking maybe we’d all get along better if we all knew how each other turned”

Lance immediately paled, Keith had seen how hard it was for the vampire to explain the incident

“Lance got attacked by two vampires when he was 8”

Matt let out a whistle

“Damn, man. They got you young. Rieva tried to hide she was a werewolf. We met on the same tour in Greece, then again a few days later in Paris. I took it as a sign, she kept trying to push me away, that was 10 months ago. She accidentally bit me 9 months ago... got this scar at the same time”

Rieva nodded. The woman was pretty in her own way. Tanned enough to for her skin to be a deeper shade of brown than Lance’s with long black hair and green eyes

“I never meant to hurt him. I turned at the full moon and escaped for the night. Matt came after me...”

“And I’m glad I did”

Ugh. So they were one of those disgustingly loved up couples.

Across the table Curtis cleared his throat

“I was cursed. I’ve got half a horn, and half a tail. I was supposed to infiltrate a werewolf pack in Prague, but they seemed to already know I was hunter. They were trying to summon the spirit of a berserker using magic, only I’m not a werewolf and the spell went wrong. I wasn’t permitted to stay in Rome, they didn’t take too kindly to me being cursed. Coran offered to take me, so I’ve been working in Platt looking into the curses effects in his laboratory. So far it seems to affect the things I say. Coran feels they summoned part of a lesser demon instead of a beast spirit, and part of its soul has bonded with my quintessence. Lance has been through a lot, and Coran thought we may be able to help each other. His fae magic had no effect on the curse. Of course, without the original spell working backwards has been hard. And it hasn’t been that great, but I’m happy to be alive. Especially now Shiro’s returned”

It was Keith’s turn to raise an eyebrow at his brother. Curtis had no filter and that sounded suspiciously like his brother had been keeping secrets about his love life. Either that, or Curtis simply meant he was happy to see his friend and hadn’t meant it the way he sounded. Just because he’d snagged himself a boyfriend, didn’t mean everyone was suddenly in love and dating. Shiro was still mourning Adam. They’d intended to marry and everything that came with it. It wasn’t fair... what had happened. Since meeting Lance, Keith had kind of felt like maybe he was better place himself, forced to work through feelings because there wasn’t a whole lot things to do in Garrison. Not that he was going to tell Shiro this. His brother had abandoned him and he figured he could milk that for a little longer.

“That’s rough. Most werewolves I’ve met have been all about the muscles and not the sharpest tools in the shed. They really shouldn’t be messing with that stuff. Not that vampires are any better. Who the fuck takes a human as a pet?”

Curtis nodded at Lance’s words, Matt didn’t look terribly pleased but by now he’d probably had his fair of share of scrapes with werewolves. Shiro simply smiled like he’d solved everything with one conversation. He definitely hadn’t.

“How’s Pidge doing?”

The glass in Lance’s hand finally broke. Lance shoving Keith when Keith automatically went to start picking up the pieces

“Idiot. You can’t touch the blood. I am not having you think I’ve turned you again”

Reprimanded by his boyfriend, Keith crossed his arms. Lance was super protective of Pidge, he’d have had months of Pidge upset because Matt wasn’t messaging her back

“I wasn’t thinking”

“That’s obvious. Don’t touch it while I get a cloth”

Matt watched as Lance cleaned up the mess, placing the glass in the sink to rinse the blood off of it

“I asked you how my sister is”

Keith almost felt sorry for Matt. A cranky Lance was a scary thing

“How do you think she is? I know you were staying away to do the right thing by your family, but you really fucking hurt her by not replying. She pretty much worships you, and you weren’t replying. She’s fine physically. Still hunting ghosts and making videos. Still wanting to do dumb things like she’s isn’t a human. Her and Hunk are still as tight as always. Hunk’s got a girlfriend now, Shay. She’s just like him, they’re so sweet together. They’ve got no idea about this world. I’ve never told her and I’ve done my best to make sure she never finds out”

Matt looked upset, hopefully with his actions

“You wouldn’t understand... I wasn’t going to come back...”

Keith groaned mentally, why would Matt go there? Lance understood too well what a bite did to a family

“I wouldn’t understand? Please tell me how I don’t know how being turned can ruin your family? How you’re scared of what you are and you don’t understand? I have no idea at all. We both know if Pidge knew, she’d want the bite. She’d want to be part of this world. Heck, I think she’s so interested in the paranormal because she wants to feel close to you again. Rieva, please don’t think I’m having a go at you. I know accidental turns happen, and how scared you must have been to turn Matt. I’ve put you and Matt in the room Keith and Shiro were using, the guest bathroom is near your room. It’s the downstairs spare room. Shiro, I’ll bunk you Curtis and Keith. I’ll have to find a spare bed, or one of you can sleep in the living room. Normally I don’t have a full house to worry about. My office is off limits. I work as a lawyer so I’d rather keep my clients information confidential. If I have to talk to a client, I’ll try warn you ahead of time. If you want to train, do it out on the back lawn, and don’t kill my garden. Also, Curtis and Keith aren’t allowed near the toaster without supervision... And maybe don’t touch Keith’s coffee, he’d likely to stab you for trying. He revivals Pidge with his need for caffeine. I’m going to double check the bedroom upstairs”

Lance had barely left the kitchen before Keith was pushing his chair back. Shiro cocking his head as he watched

“Where are you going?”

“To check on Lance. He’s obviously upset”

“When did become so perceptive?”

“When you went disappeared for weeks. Pidge is like a sister to Lance. Everything dangerous she wants to do he always checks it out first to make sure doesn’t get hurt. He’s been looking out for her, even when it puts him in danger. He collapsed a mine shaft so Pidge wouldn’t be hurt... Don’t listen to our conversation”

Yeah, Keith wasn’t be fair. He’d basically tattooed “I’m not okay with this situation across his forehead”. Shiro would make him apologise later, but for now he wanted to check on Lance. He’d gone from having Hunk and Pidge staying over to 6 people kind of living with him. Keith was already at his people limit before everyone came back. He’d missed Shiro, but he wasn’t sure he was keen on Matt. He wasn’t about to shoot him, but family was a complicated thing that Lance had had such a hard time with. Heading upstairs he headed straight for Lance’s bedroom, knowing he’d find him there.

*

Knocking gently on Lance’s door, he found Lance sitting on the side of his bed like he liked to do when he was thinking

“I didn’t handle that very well”

Keith sighed as he walked over to the bed, before sitting down next to Lance and taking his hand

“I think I handled that even worse”

“I heard. It’s just... my body is being weird again. I’m not used to the scent of werewolves and it’s making everything all yuck. I’ll get over it, but I shouldn’t have been so short with Matt”

“You were worried about Pidge. You’re allowed to worry about your friends”

Lance dropped his head to rest of Keith’s shoulder

“Still. I made a horrible first impression”

“If Matt is anything like Pidge, you’ll be fine once it settles down a bit”

“I feel like I’m lying to her by not letting her know he’s here and that he’s okay”

“Nah. Think of it like a surprise. Besides, you’re not intentionally hurting her by not telling her right away”

“Still feels like I am. How are you? You must be happy Shiro’s back”

“I’m relieved. I’m still mad at him though. I get why he had to keep quiet until things were organised”

“You two will work things out. You should be downstairs with everyone else...”

“I’m fine here. I wanted to make sure you’re okay. How’s the hand?”

“Healed up. I must have looked so lame breaking the glass”

“You didn’t meant to”

“It still happened. I know Pidge is human and close ties are dangerous but I don’t want to see her hurt”

“I know you don’t. It’s one of the things I like about you”

“It’s not my great arse and award winning personality?”

Lance tried to joke but it sounded flat. Keith didn’t like it. Lance was being too hard on himself for caring

“Those too. So, what are we going to do about bedding? I don’t mind sleeping on the couch”

“If anyone should be sleeping on the couch, it should be me. I knew I didn’t have enough beds, but I don’t know what to do about that”

“I can sleep on the couch. I’ve slept on way worse”

“Mami would have a fit if I made a guest sleep on the couch”

“Then how about we share a bed?”

Keith didn’t mean it to sound as forward as it did. But Lance’s bed would easily fit both of them, and there was only one bed left. Not that he actually minded the couch. There would be plenty of space for him

“I don’t know... wouldn’t that make things awkward with Shiro?”

“Like you said, I need to talk to him anyway”

“I get nightmares...”

“So do I”

“But you’re not a vampire. I could seriously hurt you”

“Or, it could be fine. Why don’t we just try it for the night and think about things tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Maybe. I turned the forth room into my office... maybe I could sleep there?”

“Lance, it’s your house. You shouldn’t be kicked out your own bed for doing a nice thing and giving Rieva and Matt a place to call home”

“I can’t imagine what the two of them went through. I really hope they don’t hate me”

“Like you said, it’s an ego thing. You can’t control that, but if anyone can bring their ego under control, it’s you”

Lance let out a small snort. Keith taking the win

“See, you know I’m right. You’re overthinking things”

“Only because I’m rubbish at hosting people”

“Nah, I’m still here, aren’t I?

“Only because you’re stubborn”

“I’m as stubborn as you are. Seriously though, you’re fine. Things’ll settle down”

“I’m worried about going into heat. I have I idea how to explain that”

“You don’t have to, unless you want to”

“I’m not going to have much choice if I turn into a bat”

“We can talk to Shiro together. Or I can tell him. I don’t want you feeling uncomfortable”

“You’re the one I’m worried about. I don’t want you and Shiro to end up fighting because of me”

That was so Lance

“Even if we fight, we’re brothers at the end of the day”

“That must be nice. Mami is the glue that keeps my family together. I miss her”

For someone older than him, Lance was sweet for still caring for his mum the way he did. If it wasn’t for the fact they had three new arrivals, Keith would suggest a trip up to Platt

“Why don’t you call her?”

“She’d known something’s up. She’s got enough to worry about”

“She loves you. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind. But I get if you don’t want to call her. Can I do anything?”

“You already are. You should go talk to Shiro. I might take a nap and calm down”

Lance took too much on his shoulders. Keith didn’t want to leave him alone when he was feeling down

“I can stay...”

“Nah. I’ll Be okay. You go make up with Shiro. It’ll make me feel better”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Thanks for coming to check on me”

“I’ve got your back”

“I know... if I’m not away in hour or so, come poke me with a stick”

Keith found himself kissing the top of Lance’s head, before replying

“Will do. I’ll find the biggest stick I can”

“Why do I feel like you’re actually going to find a stick now?”

“Because I am. Now let’s get you tucked in. Can’t have you sleeping on top of the covers”

“I’m not a little kid”

“You could be”

“Fight me”

Keith laughed. He deserved that one

“After the old man gets his sleep. I’ll sort things out with Shiro, so stop worrying about it so much”

“I can’t help it. I care about you”

Keith kissed the top of Lance’s head again. Shiro was going to be confused as fuck when he finally explained what was going on between him and Lance. Hopefully his brother would be more distracted by what was happening with his heart that his newly discovered love life

“I care about you too. It’s going to be okay”

[whimsically-ominously-auspice]

Ostracized as usual Denise loudly tells every one she's making corn dogs and asks if they want some...

Then she asks Nathaniel in Spanish how many.

I'm in my room with my door shut and nothing but the air on... I'm not deaf and she opened my daughter's door to ask her and she rejected the offer.

But Denise is acting really cheerful like I knocked something loose other than her scalp loose.

I feel like it's fake but tree says i was going at least 60 mph and my very good quality glass screen protector cracked all the way across... And my phone screen was being weird after, showing green dots where i typed... Which isnt normal...

So like I mean i fucked her up... Like enough to do something to her brain? Or is it like dopamine and shit for pain still going in her chemical system?

I think it's fake... Idk... I don't trust her.

Tree says I fucked her up straight to her brain and knocked some tar loose.

I guess...

But it's weird... Cause she's never cheerful...

Like I'm waiting for us all to die. She could have some frontal lobe pressure that is really doing her a number though... Taking out that psycho sociopath shit She has usually.

That's probably it... If nothing else...

Oh they tell me she had tar injected up past her eye into her skull between her brain and skull... And it got knocked loose...

Well that is fucking weird.

She shouldn't be ostracizing me then! I think she's plotting...

She will be the happy one and I'll be the mean miserable one and so no one will mind if I go missing then she will go back to being psycho

Or she will be all "I kicked you out. Get out" but be all "no.not me.I'm the nice one. You have seen this"

Tar syndrome can't save us all.

Apparently she didn't even tell my Uncle Dad but i did. I wrote an email to him at that police station because i thought i was going to jail And I was not gonna have her go lie about that. Where I was or what i did. So i told him exactly in chronological order without many details exactly.

And I admitted to busting her head open.

Which tree posted and our replies.. And explanation of my adoptive father's existence.

But no way was she gonna go just tell her side. Sure to the cops fine. But not any where else. Not like I expected him to bail me out but I wanted him to know the truth and all that. Because she lies about Everything.

And i figured she would lie about where I was or what happened. Because i didn't know what was going on to be honest and i was all "man I'm fucking going to jail cause she's fucking bleeding because I couldn't control myself and did what I wanted to do for so fucking long"

It was worth one night in jail no charges. You know what i mean? Like just one. Then like "you know what? Forget about it my husband said this was bad to press charges on my kid" type shit

Like "drunk tank me" then let me go.

It was hot in the truck and I wanted to go sit in the shade on the sidewalk but i didn't trust her she got Nathaniel to give me a ride and i was all this bitch is gonna leave my ass stranded the first step I make out this truck.

Because that was what she wanted in the first place!

What the fuck. Its not the first time she's pulled over in that exact spot but before i told her i would get out and she was all "forget it" and I told her "you do that again and I'm gonna beat your ass"

She laughed in my face

And well I pounded her head in enough, apparently.

Excuse me but I get fucking mail on Monday even if it's a holiday. The fucking bitch just took me on Saturday

What does she think? The tooth fairy brought it?!?!

Just goddamed already.

A fact is a fucking fact. I loose my goddamed shit sometimes.

I don't even remember even talking to her. I just remembered like next thing I knew her hair was in my hand and I was all ... Wait what am I doing? Yes I want to do this and I used both hands to yank the shit out of it. 2x

The 2nd time because i could. Because she really tried to hit me! Ugh.

The 3rd time.. Like i knew the second she pulled out from the stop when she told me to,get the fuck out she was taking me to the police station and that is why i pulled her hair

Cause I was like bitch.

Then the 3rd time I planned that... I was gonna make it good if she turned on that street... But I didn't know what my brain knew subconsciously because I was all hey body what are you doing? Cell phone Stabbing her skull?! Not what I had planned but okay! Sure why not.

Then i was all fucking damit it i broke my nail. This is bad. I shouldn't did that plus she was bleeding allover the place and i was all this is it

I can't even pretend I didn't do it. Its too late

I couldn't lie my way out if I tried. I didn't feel bad. I didn't feel scared. I didn't fucking care any more

I was pissed at myself because my kid was gonna be stuck without a mom. Even temporary. Just for a night.

That's why I told my Uncle Dad. Like I said I wasn't looking for bail. But I knew he would want the truth and he always told me to tell it.

So even if I wasn't sorry I still had to admit what I did, for my kid. He always told me that. "Just tell the truth even if you're not sorry. Even if you're proud"

"But doesn't that prove guilt in the eyes of the law?"

"It doesn't matter"

He'd yell... 'Does this look like court? I'll get you a lawyer!' Cause I'd ramp up a huge thing But... The end of the game..

Just tell the truth.

That's what I learned from him.

Maybe my kid would be super pissed and I would deserve her hate at me for not caring about her and being stupid for 10 minutes.

Because it was. It was stupid.

And I'm lucky she didn't press charges and the only reason she didn't is because she's a horrible person and did horrible shit to me as a kid and my Uncle Dad always has taken my side Because I am honest and good and he has always told her she will find a new place to live if she ever presses charges on his kids.

Thats why I got him this shirt for father's day which I already gave him

2..

But yeah my kid would beat my ass if my Uncle didn't have that threat on Denise.

And I would deserved it.

So y'all people fucking around. I'm not a hypocrite. I know what I deserve for what I did.

I know it wasn't right

I owned up to it and I was ready to accept the punishment although I didn't want to. If she chose to, I had no other choice

She was dripping blood all over her shirt at s very rapid pace and she should have gotten stitches.

I feel kinda bad that she didn't. But she chose to lie and hide what really happened.

No one should be treated like she was.

If you are in a relationship like she is

A family like she is

A home she is

You should leave.

I don't say that because i hate her

I say that because we abuse her.

She abuses us. So, we eye for an eye and abuse her back.

So watching that video with no other information. Anyone in a relationship like that should leave.

Y'all know me and our history and so it's different

But no back story and out of context.. It was out of control and could be manifested into a different kind of tale.

And most people in the world shouldn't be treated like she was

If I was her and I was someone else that was say a boyfriend not DNA4U approved or stranger... I would thrown me out of the car, too. And I have, in the past.

So out of context what she did, driving to the police station... Was kinda the right thing to do but I beat her ass and that part is usually deserted but Jack called ahead because he knew I was hitting her and he knew in ESP connection what she was planning. Just as i did.

It is what caused her head to bleed. Like I said I planned it.

She should had went to a gas station or other public places that would been safer ... Especially how that police department is situated.

The back door is open. Not the front. But Jack sent someone out because he knew.

So... If any of you are in that situation you should press charges.

Next time they could kill you

I blacked out. Had she not been driving, i may had killed her.

Im being honest.

[embarrassingsmartphonegame]

Anything (Chapter 3) - Nik Ryder x f!MC

Summary: After surviving an attempt on her life, she discovers there are worse fates than dying. And they’re all ice cold.

Warnings for this chapter: a few swear words here and there, some mentions of violence

Links to previous chapters: one // two 

Nik Ryder, ace Nighthunter, cursed and limped back to his apartment after a long night. Damn feral threw him against a tombstone before he managed to stake it through the heart. Whatever, each feral he hunted came with a pretty penny from the new local vampire kingpin, so he couldn’t complain. He ran a hand through his hair, the usually blunt edges longer and softened and thinned over time, as he went to open the door of his loft. Sunday night crept up slowly to Monday morning, and he estimated that he had at least a few hours before he had to go track down a ghoul terrorizing a tourist boat. Absentmindedly, his thoughts drifted to his next few jobs of the week, his schedule nice and packed the way he preferred it to be.

But as he was turning the key and opening the door to his dark living room, his deft ears picked up on a soft rustling sound originating from the couch. His right hand automatically flew to his crossbow strapped to his back, and he loaded and cocked it expertly as he stepped into the darkness cautiously, preparing himself from whatever monster that somehow managed to break into his place. He elusively side stepped a broken plastic curtain rod on the ground to get to the light switch. The veteran Nighthunter flicked the lights on and pointed his weapon.

“FREEZE!” But he dropped his crossbow with a loud thud. Shock painted his rugged, tired features and his mouth dried at the familiar chocolate brown eyes opening and meeting his.

==============================================

She dropped her bat. Leah groaned and pinched herself hard on her forearm. This had to be another bad dream. It was definitely not the first time she saw her father in a dream.

“Leah, this isn’t a dream.” A wise, comforting voice tilted out of the Fae in front of her. He looked exactly as she remembered him in Lamrian. Tall, regal, exuding an aura of kindness and inherent goodness...and he was supposed to be dead. But there he was, standing in the middle of her small, messy apartment in the middle of bum-fuck-where-the-hell-do-you-live-again Wyoming. His robes even glimmered lowly under the artificial white light of her living room, no evidence of a Bloodwraith attack left. He held his arms out wide towards her patiently.

“That’s what you said in the last dream too…” she replied quietly, taking a few careful steps towards him. As bewildered as she was, she was always respectful in her dreams of him, especially when they didn’t involve his death being replayed over and over again. A part of her never wanted to wake up whenever she got the pleasant ones. To her surprise, what she thought was an apparition reached out and enveloped her in his warm arms, and she knew instantly from the wholeness in her chest it was real. Her arms found his waist and she hugged him back desperately, tears running down her face for the second time that night. They stayed that way for God knows how long. Her father simply held her and let her take all the time she needed, and she was grateful for that.

“But...but I don’t understand.” Leah finally pulled away to meet his gaze. “You’re dead. Wait, does this mean I’m also--”

“No, you’re not,” Lord Elric reassured, wiping away a few tears from her mascara-stained raccoon eyes. “But I did come back here as a final gift to you, albeit temporary.”

“Does this mean you’re a ghost?”

“No, we Fae are different. I’m here for a quick visit. I’m touching you, aren’t I?” A rare smile passed over her features before she started crying again, more emotions in her chest that one night than in the previous three months. 

“I’m so happy to see you.” They sat down on her old, lumpy couch. It was strange to her, seeing a Fae lord sitting in her small living room on a couch the most unappealing shade of beige possible, even if he was her father. He sat up straight and addressed her, never letting go of her hands.

“It brings me great joy just to see your face again, my daughter. I needed to come see you tonight.” She winced at his words, wishing that she hadn’t gone out that night. Her father deserved better than seeing her in some trashy club dress that she hadn’t bothered to take off before flopping on her bed alone. She ran a hand through tangled, dirty hair in a pathetic attempt to smooth it out.

“But, Father…why are you here? Wouldn’t it be a better use of your time visiting Lady Thalissa or anyone else watching over Lamrian?” Leah questioned, guilt threatening her consciousness for the billionth time since Lord Elric died and left Lamrian for Lady Thalissa to get back on its feet. Her kind, loving stepmother was unfortunately on her long list of people she couldn’t face.

“I’m here because I wasn’t able to be your father for very long on Earth, but I’m now able to be your father for a little bit now.” A warm yet sad smile was etched on his face, and his gaze became reproachful. “May I offer you some guidance? You seem lost.”

Leah sighed; her life was such a wreck that her father literally came back from the dead temporarily just to tell her that. Great. “You’re not wrong. This probably wasn’t what you had in mind when you found out you had a daughter. I didn’t tell you that my life is really just a useless degree and a dead end job in Wyoming and that I don’t really speak to my mother, so she doesn’t know that I know about you. I’m sorry for disappointing you.”

“Leah, you’re my daughter and I love you. You could never disappoint me.” Elric stroked her hair, affection crystal clear in his actions. “I don’t care what job you have, as long as it fills you with joy, and I can see this doesn’t. And I loved Jacqueline, but I can understand why you’re not ready to speak with her.”

“This job...hell, this entire life...doesn’t give me joy. And I don’t know what to do about it. I don’t know what I wanna do with my life! It’s pathetic; I’m 25 and have absolutely no direction as to where my life is going!” At that point she knew she was most likely still drunk, since the words spilled out like a waterfall. “Oh and can I just say that you’re the only one that gets this isn’t just about Nik? I was already thinking of leaving my job even before I went to New Orleans! My life doesn’t revolve around a man!”

Elric nodded, listening intently to her babbling. “So then what changed?”

“I died.” She hated saying that. “I literally died. And I don’t exactly know how I came back to life. I’m getting really tired of my existence being a mystery. I’m just...tired. I wanted to go back to my life before I found out monsters were real, but I feel absolutely nothing.”

“You feel...nothing?”

“It’s hard to explain. I try to feel something, anything,” she continued to confess. “But I can’t...at least, not since I came back.”

“My daughter,” Elric began and squeezed her hands. “You can’t run away from what happened. You can’t run away from who you are.”

“But I don’t even know who I am anymore! A half-Fae who apparently can die and come back to life but can’t use my damn powers?!” she replied, agitated and stone cold sober at that point. 

“But you do know. You do know deep in your heart who you are and what you want, and how you’re going to get it.” Elric met her gaze again more firmly, and she squeezed his hands tighter, sensing that their time together was almost out. “It’s a matter of if you are willing to follow your heart. And I know that my daughter is strong and willing. All I want is for you to be happy; that’s all. I hope you let Thalissa know I love her and will wait patiently for her.”

“I don’t know if I can ever go back to Lamrian. It hurts too much since you’ve been gone.”

“That’s okay. But I hope you know that you will always have a home in Lamrian.” Elric’s form started to become thinner and more transparent, his hands gaseous and cold as Leah desperately tried to hold on for a little bit longer. “I love you, Leah.”

She choked on her own tears. “I love you too, Father.”

Eventually his form completely dissipated, and he returned to being only a memory in the deep recesses of her mind. Her apartment was cold and empty again, but her chest felt warm, alight with a new resolve. Leah heaved herself off her couch and opened her laptop.

==============================================

‘Leah...this is fucking ridiculous, even for you.’ The plane landed in Louisiana a few hours later. Leah hastily typed out an email to her boss that she needed to fly out of town for a sudden death in the family, knowing that it probably wouldn’t matter anyway if she decided to keep wrestling down that all too rational voice in her head and face all her fears. She checked her phone as the taxi took her to her last-minute motel, the streets of New Orleans whizzing past her like the reel of an old movie. She briefly considered texting Katherine and Cal that she was in town, but there was one stop she had to make before doing anything else.

“Best to rip the Band-Aid off first,” Leah muttered to herself after dropping her luggage off at her motel and making her way to what she heard was the best tavern in town. The door clinked open and she took a spot at the bar next to what looked like a man and a woman conversing with an equally human bartender. But she knew better.

The bartender quickly excused himself to serve his next customer, and his eyes widened in shock as he saw Leah’s face. “Leah?”

“Leah!” Ivy noticed her, squealed, and pulled her into a hug. Krom waved shyly as Garrus beamed, his hands flying to make a concoction for her. “Long time no see! How have you been?”

“Honestly…” Leah felt extremely awkward yet happy to be talking with the three supernatural beings she called friends. “Really shitty. Like, super shitty. So shitty that I’m running back to the place that literally killed me once and I don’t even have a job or plan. My life is already a series of bad decisions, so this is pretty in character for me.”

Garrus smiled and slid a pink-purple-blue-sparkle drink to her. “Well, at least you now have a drink at the best bar in town! Ever thought about bartending? That’s why you came here first, right?”

“Not that this isn’t the best bar in town,” she said as she took a sip, the alcohol immediately going to her head. “But I’m actually here for a reason. This is going to sound really, really weird considering what happened...but I need to talk to Nik.”

“My mortal…” Garrus’ handsome face suddenly looked faraway and mournful. Leah held her breath, preparing for the worst. “He’s been working...a lot. More than usual, I’m afraid. Never has time to spend with his old buddies here. And he always looks so sad, so tired.”

Ivy interjected. “We tried talking to him a few times, but he’s always so angry now too. Once I made the mistake of mentioning you and that Bloodwraith looked like a puppy in comparison.”

“He says he’s fine, but he’s clearly not,” Krom’s timid voice rang out from the next stool over, and he placed one of his stone hands over Garrus’. “He actually reminds me of me when I broke up with my ex.” 

Yikes. None of that sounded good. Leah felt immediately responsible and she sagged down on her stool. Her hands found her head, and she pushed her hair back, fighting the urge to yank on her strands in punishment. “Does he still live here? I need to at least apologize.”

“Yes he does, and I think he’s coming back from a job soon.” Garrus walked from behind the bar to the stairs leading up to Nik’s loft. He pulled out a key and unlocked it. Leah raised an eyebrow.

“Uhhh isn’t that...illegal?” ‘And really creepy?’ 

The Fae shrugged. “We supernatural don’t really follow the laws of the human world. Now go inside and wait for him.”

Ivy and Krom each sent her an encouraging grin and she walked up to his apartment. When she closed the door behind her, she immediately noticed how the apartment looked exactly the same as how she left it, but with less upkeep. Leah wordlessly picked up a cracked plastic curtain rod on the ground, surprised that it was still in the apartment, let alone still on the ground. She smiled and set it back down, remembering the first time she woke up in his weird, wonderful apartment.

Leah sat on the same couch and practiced in her head what she was going to say to him. Butterflies soared in her stomach as she waited in anticipation. At some point she turned the lights off since the light was worsening her headache. But minutes soon turned into hours, and she was eventually fast asleep, the past few days catching up to her. It was only when she heard the shout of a veteran Nighthunter and clang of a crossbow dropping to the ground that she woke up.

Brown eyes met another pair of brown eyes that coupled with a sheepish, awkward half-grin. “...Hi, Nik.”

==============================================

A/N: Surprise, I’m alive! So sorry this took so long; school has been keeping me busy and I’m still trying to strike a balance. (I say as I post this at 2am after being at school for 14 hours today.) As always, all feedback is welcome and appreciated. Hope you guys enjoyed it and the next update should hopefully be out sooner than this one rolled out!

Tagging: @furiouscloddonutpeanut @nighthunterkatherine @saivilo @samara-rani @god-save-the-keen  @xxdangerouscapri15xx @inlovewithrebels

[thirstytrashblogger]

Such a Kind Man Part 2

A/N The spirit of winter has given me the strength to write and I've been facing writers block with the second part of Reigen Arataka x reader but here it is! I've finally started on season 2 and I have so many ideas for the new chapter. Sorry this is so so late. I've been so busy with school but I've tried very hard on this and hope you like it. Happy late Valentine's day.

Riegen POV

It had been about two weeks since that night I met (y/n). I found myself checking my phone more often to see if she had called but there was nothing. Maybe it was for the best. She was under a lot of stress that night, I don't want her to feel obligated to owe me anything just because I was in the right place at the right time.

All of a sudden my phone rang. HOLY SHIT IS IT HER???

“Spirits and su-”

I was cut off my a screaming man on the other side. He sounded like he was shitting himself after seeing a floating flower pot in his apartment.

“Yes sir. I'll be right there.” I hung up the phone and went out with Mob to see the client.

---

We arrive at a shady looking apartment complex. I told Mob to be careful in case of non spiritual danger and rang the bell to the door.

“Hey, Spirits and Such here.”

I'm suddenly yanked into the apartment by a terrified looking guy. He was kinda short and husky with black curly hair and a slight butt chin. The apartment was full of different plants. It looked like a jungle.

“Are you real or another one of those creepy spirits?” the guy asked me super close. His breath smelled like old cat food, I just wanted him off me.

“Cool it, man. I am Reigen Arataka, famous psychic here to help.”

The guy finally let me down and I called for Mob to come in.

“So what are we looking at here?” I asked.

The man sat down on his worn out sofa and had to collect his thoughts. The guy was obviously shaken up by something.

“It's been going on for about a week. I came home and started finding things missing or out of place but I live alone and then I saw these creepy faces show up from time to time but being alone all the time in here, I figured it was my imagination. BUT THEN this morning I saw my beloved zebra lily in mid air. It was floating before it crashed on the ground! My beloved baby! I had to work fast to save its life and then the room shook and spiders came from everywhere! It's crazy!”

“hmm interesting. Mob, do you feel anything?”  I figure if anything it's a low level spirit or a minor earthquake happens and with all these plants spiders were startled out of them.

“Only a very small one but its fading, master”

“Is Dimple around?” I asked

“Dimple you are being summoned” Mob summoned

“Huh what's it this time? I'm still tired from the last job.” Dimple rubbed his eye with sleepiness.

“You're a spirit, you don't need to sleep.” I spoke

“Doesn't mean I don't like to sleep” dimple replied

“Okay, scope the area and see if there's any spirits floating away.” I commanded Dimple.

“Fine fine.  I don't feel anything.” He said after looking around for a minute “oh wait. There's something”

Mob and I look out the window and see a little wandering dark green spirit in mid air. It was shaped like a tiny man and looked more confused than scary.

“Huh? Why is it just wandering around?” I asked

“It's confused. Master, I don't think it can see” Mob said

“*whistle* hey spirit, why are you bugging this guy's plants?” I ask out the window

The spirit looked at us and started coming over slowly. It was still trying to figure out where the sound if talking came from.

“This way man, Jeez”

“S-sorry. It's been so dark and I didn't know someone else lived here now. I used to live here and I always kept it so dark in the house. I'm not used to light. I just want to go to sleep” the spirit said talking to the wall instead of any of us.

“Mob, is it saying anything?”

“It says it can't see in the light and just wants to go to sleep”

“my plants need the sun though. Tell it to sleep somewhere else” the client said, holding one of his plants close.

“If I exercise you, you won't have to see the light anymore” Mob explained to the spirit.

“Will it hurt?” the spirit asked.

“Eh. Just don't freak out man. It'll be fine.” Dimple answered the spirit's question

Mob let a ring of blue aura surround him as he exercised the spirit with ease.

“It's gone! Oh glory haleluya! Thank you so much!”

Another happy customer.

“Good job, mob. I can sense you are getting stronger with your abilities every day.” I told Mob on our walk back to the shop.

“He doesn't know anything about that, kid. But you are getting stronger. Maybe that club of yours is helping.” Dimple commented.

Along our walk a woman carrying a bag of groceries passed us. I couldn't see her face because of the bag but she must have recognized my voice when I was talking to Mob. She turned around just after we passed her and called my name. I turned around only to see lettuce in the way of her face.

“Huh? Sorry ma'am. Do I know you?” I asked a bit confused.

She moved the bag a but to show her face. LETTUCE HEAD LADY WAS (Y/N)!! I'm such a dumbass.

“(Y/N) wow. I was wondering when I would see you again.” I was just so happy to see her again. I hope the lettuce in her face was preventing her from seeing my sweating, blushing face.

“Haha. Hello again, I was going to call sooner but I've been very busy lately.”

“That’s okay. Oh, this is Mob, my apprentice in spiritual practice.” I introduced politely I completely forgot Mob and Dimple were next to me for a minute.

“Good afternoon, miss (l/n).” Mob bowed.

“Good afternoon Mr. Kageyama”

“wait a moment, do you two know each other?” I was confused

“Miss (l/n) is a guidance counselor at the middle school” Mob answered

Now I really feel like a dumbass.

“It's true. I didn't mention that last time we talked.” she said. She wore a slight blush. It was quite adorable.

“Wow. I would have never guessed. So how have you been since last we met?” I asked. I hope she was doing fine after that hairy situation. She was wearing a short sleeve shirt today and I could see she had no new bruises on her skin. The old ones were how a faded yellow.

Dimple and Mob waited patiently for the conversation to wrap up.

“Hey kid, ya know that feeling when you go to the grocery store with your mom and she runs into a friend? You stay there for hours on end until the conversation ends. By the time it's over, you grow a beard and have built a tent in the frozen food isle. I don't know about you but I would always get bored out of my mind. Let's ditch this guy.” Dimple tried to convince Mob to leave the scene.

“Excuse me master, it's getting a bit late, I should head home now. Good day, miss (l/n).” Mob dismissed himself.

“Oh yeah. See ya.” I called back

~(Y/n) POV~

“So, Riegen I wondered if you were still interested in meeting me anywhere? There's no rush, of course” I was so nervous to bring it up. We haven't talked in weeks and I wondered if he had forgotten. I really would have called him sooner but a lot has happened these past two weeks, what with my ex being charged for domestic abuse, and I had to move out of that apartment. It was very stressful.

“Oh yes. I'm free this Thursday if that works for you?” he asked me. He must be very busy too, I'm sure. I took a small pause.

“Thursday sounds wonderful” I was a bit in awe. I must be a blushing mess.

~Reigen’s POV~

“Sounds perfect, (y/n) I'll keep in touch.” man, I'm so good at talking to people but it's so different when you're heart is beating faster than usual.

“Okay, awesome! I should get going now. It was great seeing you again.”

“It was very nice to see you too, (y/n) I took her free hand and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles. Even with the lettuce, I could tell she was blushing. At least I'm not the only one.

With that we parted ways. Wait isn't today Monday?? I have so little time before I see her again.

---

I was sitting in my office the next day, Dimple appeared to talk to me.

“Hey, you look more stressed out than usual.” He commented. “What's eatin ya?”

“I don't know what you mean” I replied, smoothly playing off the subject.

“It's that lettuce girl we saw yesterday isn't it?” Dimple was trying to pry.

“She's only an acquaintance.”

“You like her. I don't blame ya. She was pretty cute.” Dimple stated matter of factly

“Heh? Since when do you care about anyone's love life?” I asked.

“I've been showing Shigeo to the ropes for some time now. Until now I didn't even think you had a love life”

Wow now I'm the loveless doofus

“Well maybe I do, maybe I don't. It’s none if your business. And don't you feel like some creep prying into a middle school kids love life?”

“okay, suit yourself but just so you know she likes you too.”

“Huh? You don't know that.”

“Of Course I do. I am a spirit so I can see human auras. Both of you were glowing with emotion when you saw each other. Maybe you should go up to her with flowers and sweep her off her feet

.. or you can stay here like a loser.”

“Hey, we've already set a date for Thursday. I don't need you prying into this.”

“This Thursday? Don't you know what day that is?” Dimple asked me

“The 14th?” I stated. What's he playing at?

“You really are an idiot. This Thursday is Valentine's day”

“huh?” I played myself. my face looked like I was about to die

“You just asked a girl out on a date on Valentine's day, man! Eh it's just a made up holiday anyway.”

“But it must be important to her. And she accepted the day. She must think I have some huge event planned?” I can't disappoint her. I've only ever been on 2 other dates in my life and the first girl was just trying to get back at her boyfriend and the second one yelled at me so much on the date I ended up trying not to cry on the train home. This would be my first Valentine's day with anyone.

“Hey man, you still got time. What were you planning anyway? You said you met her before, where did you go then?”

“We just went to my place last time and she slept over.”

“Wow. I misjudged you, I didn’t know you got her in bed on the first date. Well if she’s that kinda girl I wouldn’t worry too much about that Valentine’s crap.”

“What??? You idiot! We didn’t do anything. I performed a public service and then offered her a place to stay the night”

“How the hell am I supposed to know that based off of your wording!?”

“I’ve got it!!” I knew exactly what to do.

“Oh, how so?”

“A DOUBLE EVENT”

“I don’t follow”

“It is simple really, a restaurant date would be full of couples going on romantic dinners and people being proposed to. A movie date would not allow us to talk and get to know each other very well. But a Karaoke bar/ comedy club is perfect! An average karaoke club has small personal rooms that might be too intimate but a big party of it means everyone can make a fool of themselves and no one will judge each other. The fun and light hearted atmosphere does not promote any unnecessary pressure of the date leading anywhere she doesn’t want to go but allows the freedom of her having the option to do what she wants. Groups of friends, couples, and singles will be there all to have fun. By the end of the night, we’ll both have had a great time with no pressure of being together on Valentine’s day.” It’s a genius plan!

“It’s a stupid plan” spoke up Dimple

“What do you mean?”

“She must have had loads of great Valentine’s days. She’s probably wanting something more intimate.”

I thought about what it must’ve been like for her with that terrible relationship she was in. She might still be afraid to jump into something so serious so soon.

“Trust me, I think she’d appreciate something more public and light hearted.”

---

(Y/N) pov

I went to meet him at the train station as planned. I wore a pastel pink turtleneck with some blue jeans and casual matching pastel pink wedges. I put my hair into a high ponytail with some strands next to my face and a little fake gold circle necklace. 

I waked to the train station pretty quickly. I’ll admit I was nervous. I hadn’t been on a first date in years and it was going to be something different. I had never really had a Valentine’s day in that time either but that’s in the past now. I’m going to do what’s healthy for myself and what will make me happy.

I saw Reigen waiting for me. He looked so nice. He wore a grey hoodie with a denim jacket and some dark wash jeans with white shoes. I didn’t know he could be more dashing than he was in a suit.

Reigen's POV

“Hi, you look so lovely tonight.” I was a little star struck but managed to keep my cool

“Thank you. You look very handsome, yourself.”

“Thanks. You'll love what I have planned for us tonight. Shall we?” smooth smooth

---

The train ride was crammed with people. The ropes were a bit higher than she could reach so I put my hand over her shoulders to keep her stable through the whole ride. She was a bit surprised but welcomed my touch. After the train got to our stop, she held my hand to keep us from drifting away from each other as we exited the train. I couldn't help but blush.

“It's just around here. Ah. There come on” we walked over to the location. I was honestly excited. I hadn't even noticed she was still holding my hand. It was so cute to see how tiny her hands were next to mine. We entered the karaoke place and her face just lit up. It felt so great to know the place I picked made her so happy.

“I had no idea you enjoyed singing” she smiled up at me.

“Well. Not particularly but I figured this would be a fun experience for us both.” I wouldn't look her in the eye. She's too cute.

We walked in and already there were drunks making happy fools of themselves and groups of friends laughing and having a good time. My speculations were correct. The whole building had a happy feeling. Suddenly the music ended and the announcer called for the next group. A group of friends began singing “You making my dreams come true” by Hall and Oats. They all sounded terrible but they were having a fun time.  (Y/n) and I got drinks and talked about nothing for a while. People continued to sing and laugh. Then we danced most of the night away. Neither of us stopped smiling the whole night. I didn't feel like I had to wear a mask around her. She was just happy being with me.

“Would you like to sign up for a song?” I offered. We were taking a break from dancing and sat at a table watching the singers.

“I’m not much of a singer but maybe it could be fun. I can't remember the last time I had this much fun.” she was beaming with happiness.

We tried to decide on a song to sing but then it hit me. The perfect song. I hadn't told her what it was and she was excited. We were finally called up and when the music started she looked up at me with a huge smile.

*Time of my life* begins and we sing in perfect crappy harmony. We were both a little drunk and in love. By the end of the song we were holding each other up with our foreheads touching.

--

After a wonderful night we both figured it was time to head home when the people started clearing out and crying singles were singing sad songs on the mic. We were about to step out when we heard thunder and it started pouring rain. I should've checked the weather before. Now what? Suddenly she hopped out if her seat and started digging in her bag.

“Good think I checked the weather.” she spoke as she pulled a black umbrella from her bag. One I played the tab we headed out. She opened the umbrella and the underside had a beautiful cloud pattern. It was like our own little sunny patch out of the rain. Being taller, I held the umbrella for us and she held my arm as we walked to the metro. We kept laughing and talking. Neither of us wanted the night to end. Before we walked down the stairs to the train she stopped walking and looked up at me. Her eyes were like stars and fort the first time in awhile I couldn't think of anything to say. She cupped my face and kissed me softly on the lips. I almost dropped the umbrella as I melted into the kiss. I used my free hand to grab the small of her back and deepen the kiss. The sound of heavy rain around us.

We pulled back for air and touched foreheads as we stared into each others eyes. This was the best Valentine's day ever.

(A/N) wow. This was longer than I expected it to be.

[sockablock]

Something New for Me and You

• (start) (AO3) (prev) (next) •

Chapter 5: Ribbons of Green Silk

TUSK LOVE 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO Today 8:22 AM

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*: hey assholes whos excited for saturdaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy??!!!!! NottSoBrave: caleb says ‘what is she going on about’ (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*: rude (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*: im not going to elaborate until he apologizes Babebarian: caleb please say sorry NottSoBrave: he says “i dont understand why but i am sorry” (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*: i forgive him (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*: anyways im talking about the 25th anniversary!! Its going to be so fun molly told me all the juicy details Seaman: and wouldn’t tell ME anything about it NottSoBrave: what a dick (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*: ANYWAYS, will we all be able to meet at some point? I know molly is performing (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*: and fjord and beau and yasha have to work that night Babebarian: perhaps after the show when things have calmed down we can all meet Seaman: yeah sure

Nott swung her feet off the side of the counter as Caleb finished washing their dishes. “Nobody’s replying now,” she narrated. “Did you have something you wanted me to send?”

Caleb shut the faucet off. “No, I am fine,” he said. “Tell me instead, have you and Jester decided on a time yet? Is your plan worked out?”

Nott nodded grudgingly. “She’s picking me up after her classes end. You’re super lucky that you’ve already got a suit, you know,” she sighed. “I really don’t want to do this.”

Caleb gave her a sympathetic smile. “I am sure it will be fine. Jester wouldn’t subject you to too much, of that I am certain.”

Nott sagged against the cupboards. “But this is going to suck,” she groaned. “People are gonna be looking at me, touching me, what if they realize I’m a goblin? The gnome disguise is only an illusion, what if they accidentally feel my ears or my hands, or what if the spell ends before I remember to cast it again? What then?”

“There are definitely risks,” Caleb conceded. “But that should not stop you. You can set a reminder on your cell every hour, and I am sure Jester would be more than happy to make sure nobody gets too close. She is our friend, ja?”

“Yeah,” Nott muttered. “Gods, I didn’t think going to a fancy party would be this much trouble. I still don’t see why I couldn’t have just magicked a fake dress for myself and saved a us a whole lot of trouble.”

“Jester wanted to treat you,” he reminded her. “And this is an experience you’ve always wanted, isn’t it? Even more, you deserve something nice. It is not every day one of us gets to be fancy, you should enjoy it. That is what you said when Jester dragged me out to the Tri Spires for dinner, ja?”

Nott raised an eyebrow. “Is this revenge, then? Are you getting back at me for that?”

Caleb grinned. “Not at all,” he said. “This is me giving you moral support and wishing that all goes well. Ich drücke dir die Daumen. Fingers crossed.”

•

Molly awoke to Fjord standing next to his bed, poking him in the arm. The half-orc was saying something, garbled and completely intelligible, and Molly had to sluggishly shove his hand away and pull the blankets over his head and ignore Fjord’s impatient sighs for a solid thirty seconds before he felt awake enough to reemerge and attempt communication.

“Gods, what?” he muttered. “What’s it?”

“I need you to stop by Crute’s apartment before you go to work and give him my letter,” Fjord said. “It’s on the kitchen table. Can you do that?”

“Letter?” Molly mumbled. “What letter?”

Fjord rolled his eyes. “My notice of leave letter, remember? Because I’m moving out next month? Like I told you last night?”

“Oh. That letter.”

“Yes, Molly. Can you do that?”

He rolled over and sighed dramatically. “I suppose so,” he said, “but I can’t say I’m thrilled about it. Am I not a good roommate, Fjord Tough? Have I not been more than wonderful? Are you abandoning me now, in this, my time of greatest need?”

Fjord shuffled his feet awkwardly. “Molly, you know I’m sorry, I really am, it’s not you. Jester ‘n I have been looking forward to this for a long time, yeah? And when we found the perfect apartment we knew it was the time and I know it leaves you out by yourself, but—”

Molly rolled back over and took Fjord’s hand. “I’m kidding, dear.” His tone was still sleepy, but now light and laced with warmth. “Of course I’m very happy for you both, I’ll give Crute the letter. Besides, when you’re gone then there won’t be any pushy half-orcs to prod me awake every morning.”

Fjord smiled. “Thanks, Molly.”

“Don’t mention it. Now get out, go to school, or whatever. I still have two hours before I need to be at the Moondrop.”

Fjord laughed. “Alright, alright, I’m going.”

And just as he was about to walk through the doorway, he paused and turned and said, “I’m gonna miss this, Mol.”

Molly pulled the blankets up again. “No,” he said. “Too early for emotions. Go away, try again later.”

Fjord snorted and left. A few seconds later, the front door clicked shut.

Eventually, Molly managed to close his eyes.

•

Shortly after Jester waltzed out of their apartment, pink backpack hanging loosely off one shoulder and humming cheerfully to herself all the way, Beau got up.

She slowly got out of bed and trudged into the kitchen, leaned against the counter and started sorting through mail as she waited for the coffeemaker to get its shit together.

“Boring…boring…boring,” she mumbled, tossing letters aside. She made a mental note to make sure Jester saw the one from Sieversii’s Office of the Bursar, immediately ignored a card saying she was overdue at the dentist, and then flipped to the next message and froze.

This envelope, brown and plain, was almost completely blank. Almost, except for “Beauregard” scrawled across the front in lazy, looping script.

She bit her lip. She thought for a moment. She walked over to the sink, held the envelope over it just in case, and carefully tore it open from the bottom.

A single piece of paper slid out.

She stared at it, lying motionless in the basin for a good minute. Then she gingerly picked it up and began to read.

Her eyes narrowed. Her teeth clenched, and her mouth curled into a scowl. Her anger grew, swelled, expanded until it burst in a thunderous explosion and she screamed with rage, kicked the dishwasher, crumpled the letter into a tight ball and whirled around and chucked it across the room. She pounded a fist against the side of the sink and stared furiously into the drain.

The coffeemaker dinged. She glowered at it, and then sighed.

She reached for the dishrack and found her mug, light blue ceramic.

She poured herself a cup.

•

“Okay, Nott!” Jester grinned as she climbed out of the car. “Welcome to the Tri-Spires! That tower over there, that one’s the Triumph Chime, where Caleb and Fjord and Molly and I had dinner on Monday. That one’s the Zauber Spire, it’s got fancy wizards in it and stuff, and that’s the Constellation Bridge. We’re going to one of the smaller boutiques, though,” she continued, gesturing to the bustling shops and storefronts around them. “I’ve been there a couple times before, they’re super nice. And you’re in gnome disguise, so it should be fine!”

Nott tugged uneasily on her coat. “But the illusion will cover everything up,” she said. “What if the people working there want to see me try something on, or what if they touch me and their hands disappear? That wouldn’t end well, Jester.”

She gave Nott a pat on the arm. “I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. Trust me?”

Nott looked conflicted for only a moment. She exhaled and nodded slowly. “Alright, Jester. I trust you.”

•

“So,” said Yasha as she leaned against the costume rack and watched Mollymauk apply a generous layer of sparkling powder to his eyelids. “How was the, er...the coffee time?”

Molly snorted, launching a cloud of glitter into the air. “The coffee time?” he asked.

Yasha shrugged. She saw Molly reach for a tiny brush that was indistinguishable from an army of tiny brushes on the makeup table and press it to his eyelashes. “The event with Caleb?” she tried. “I don’t know, I would have said ‘date’ but he seemed adamant yesterday that I did not use that label.”

Molly frowned at Yasha in the mirror. “Really?” he asked. “Did he say why?”

Yasha shrugged again. “I left his home in a hurry. If he did, I did not catch it.”

There was a soft chuckle at that. “I’ve never seen you late for something before,” Molly quipped, “especially when you were harping on me for being on time. I’m ashamed for you, Yasha.”

She snorted and threw a stray sequin at his head, which hit his chair and vanished under the dresser. “Hush,” she said. “And tell me about your not-date, already. How was it? Did you have a good time? Was it everything you hoped?”

Molly sighed and leaned back to examine his eyeshadow. “Sort of,” he said. “It’s definitely confirmed that I am, in fact, head-over-heels for him. But I know it’s much too soon, and I’m fairly certain he harbors no such feelings in return.”

“Perhaps then you just need more time,” Yasha suggested. “Or maybe you should turn your affections elsewhere. I like him but he is a strange one, that Caleb. And that is coming from me.”

“I can’t just stop my emotions like that, Yasha. And besides, I wouldn’t want to. Even if he doesn’t ‘like me back’ it wouldn’t matter. Any suffering I face now is nothing in comparison to the darkness of not being able to love him.”

There was a brief pause.

“That was from Tusk Love, dear.”

“I know. I can’t tell if I want to punch you or clap.”

“I think I make a pretty good Guinevere.”

“You have nothing on Jester.”

There was another pause.

“Yeah, alright, that’s fair,” Molly conceded, and went back to studying his reflection. “Anyways, I do believe that. I’m just going to keep doing my best, and so long as it doesn’t make him uncomfortable, or ruin anything, I don’t see what the harm is. Let me feel, Yasha. Let me love.”

“You should listen to him,” said Mona from the mirror next to them. “If you don’t he’ll just keep complaining.”

“Endlessly,” agreed Yuli, standing behind Mona and doing her sister’s hair. “Hey, when are we going to meet this mystery man of yours, anyways?”

“He seems a much better sort than the kind you usually end up with,” added Mona.

“Soon,” said Molly. “Actually, he’s coming to the anniversary tomorrow. Maybe you’ll catch a glimpse of him then?”

“Not good enough,” said Yuli. “I want to meet him.”

“We should invite him backstage,” Yasha suggested. “He knows us both already as is, we can offset any awkwardness, yes?”

Molly blinked a few times. “Mm...maybe,” he said. “We’ll see. It’s a bit early to introduce him to the family, isn’t it?”

“He’s the love of your life,” Yasha teased. “Doesn’t that help?”

“Oh it helps,” said Molly. He leaned into the mirror, and studied his expression. He liked to think his eyes made him hard to read, but right now the fear and worry painted across his face was painfully obvious to him, at least.

He sighed, and lifted his brush. “We’ll just have to see if that’s enough.”

•

“Okay,” said Jester as she pulled the curtain closed. “You can drop the illusion now! It’s just us.”

Nott breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly, the appearance of a small gnome girl with curly red hair and bright blue eyes melted away. Now there was a little goblin in a ratty hoodie standing in the middle of the large fitting room.

“Thank the gods,” she said. “I got really worried when that half-elf tried to touch my illusion-dress. Thanks for distracting her, by the way.”

Jester beamed. “Of course! I promised I would protect you, yes? Now come on. Which one do you want to try on first?”

Nott surveyed their haul, which barely fit on the available hooks.

“We can start with the pink one?” she suggested. “I don’t know, I’ve never done this before. And I still don’t see the point in getting a dress, Jester, especially when nobody will actually see the real thing.”

Jester shook her head. “I want you to have something nice!” she said. “You’re a pretty girl, you need something pretty of your own to go with it. Not Caleb’s old clothes.”

Nott scoffed. “I’m not a pretty girl,” she said. “I’m a goblin.”

Jester raised an eyebrow. “So what? What difference does that make?”

Nott gave an incredulous laugh. “It makes the whole difference!” she said. “Goblins can’t be pretty, that’s ridiculous. They’re horrible, nasty, awful creatures that live in caves and eat children, everybody knows that. A goblin is, is, is disgusting.”

“No way,” said Jester. “That’s not true at all. You aren’t disgusting, and you’re not nasty or terrible either!”

“But I’m still a goblin,” Nott argued. “And there’s nothing I can do about it. I’ll always be a goblin.”

“Maybe so,” Jester said, and here she put a hand on Nott’s shoulder. “Maybe that’s the case. But you’re not only a goblin. You’re also Nott! And Nott is kind, and funny, and lovable. And if she gives it a chance, I think she’d see that she can be pretty too.”

Nott bit her lip. She looked up, met Jester’s pleading expression, and for the second time today, relented.

“Okay,” she sighed. “I’m not completely convinced, but I’ll try.” She slowly reached for one of the dresses, and turned back to Jester with a hesitant smile. “Help me with the zipper?”

•

Caleb looked up from his book—a particularly promising history detailing the rise of the Age of Arcanum—as a green, sheepish-looking man in a bright pink scarf walked up to his counter and tapped lightly on the bell.

It gave a faint, twinkling ding.

“Er...hi, Caleb,” said Fjord, putting the yarn out of his mouth. “How’re you today?"

He blinked. He stared at Fjord for a few silent, awkward seconds.

“Do not take this the wrong way,” Caleb said eventually, sliding a bookmark between the pages and putting the volume aside, “but what are you doing here? Doesn’t Sieversii have a much better library than this? One exclusive to students?” he added with only mild resentment.

“I’m, uh, I’m not actually here for books,” Fjord said. “I was actually meanin’ to ask you for your rates. Sorry I’m buggin’ you for such a small thing, I would’ve texted but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have gotten a response.”

Caleb blinked again. “Excuse me, back up a second,” he said. “Rates?”

Fjord raised an eyebrow. “Uh...yeah? Sorry, are you not taking on more at the moment, or…?”

Caleb leaned forward. He wore a thoroughly bewildered expression on his face. “Fjord,” he said slowly, “I have no idea what you are talking about. Is Jester involved somehow?”

Fjord nodded. Now he looked just as confused as the wizard.

“Okay then,” Caleb said. “In that case, you should start again slowly. What is it you are here for?”

Fjord reached into his bag and produced a thick spiral notebook. He placed it onto the counter between them both.

“I need your help with classes,” he said. “I have a hard time understandin’ arithmetic and magical theory, and I was hoping you’d have some spare time in your weekly schedule to take me on as a student.”

“Oh,” said Caleb. “Oh, tutoring, ja sure, that is absolutely doable. But what did you mean before, asking for ‘rates’?”

Fjord frowned. “How much you charge, Caleb. I might not be able to match what Jes pays you, but—”

Caleb held up a hand. He met Fjord’s eyes. “Jester does not pay me,” he said evenly. “I never asked her to.”

Fjord blinked. He stared at Caleb. He took in the dark circles under the man’s eyes, the tattered nature of his coat. He thought about his own apartment, where he lived with Mollymauk, and then about Caleb and Nott’s home. He thought about his job at Fletch, and he thought about his salary.

“I’m paying you,” he said, and watched Caleb’s eyes go wide. “Seriously,” he added. “Whatever you ask. Name the price.”

•

Nott arrived through the front door that evening, which almost scared Caleb out of his mind as he stood in the kitchen, trying to light the stove with a gentle application of Burning Hands.

“Scheiss, spatz,” he said, extinguishing his fingers. “I thought you were a robber.”

“Sorry, sorry,” said Nott. She wore a wide and giddy grin. “I just didn’t want to rumple my dress coming through the window.”

Caleb’s face lit up. “Your dress? You got one?”

Nott proudly thrust forward a fabric bag almost as tall as she was. “I did!” she beamed. “And I really have to say...it was a lot of fun. I felt like a real girl, for the first time, you know?”

Caleb gave her a soft smile. “You’ve always been a real girl, Nott. But I am happy that you had that feeling. Can I see it?

She quickly shook her head. “Nope. You’re not allowed yet. Not ‘till after Jester does my hair and makeup. It’s a whole look.”

Caleb raised an eyebrow, but the grin stayed warmly in place. “If you say so,” he conceded. “Color me excited for tomorrow, then.”

“I’m really excited too,” Nott said. “Thank you for inviting me along.”

He chuckled. “Of course,” he said. “You are my family, Nott. I would want nobody else at my side.”

•

Jester arrived home to the smell of Marquesian takeout. Beau was seated at the dinner table, shoveling curried chicken into her mouth.

“Oh, Jester,” she said, muffled. “Welcome back.”

Jester shook the snow off her boots and hung her coat up. “I’m starving,” she said. “Scoot, let me at that bread.”

After Jester skipped over and began to eat, Beau stared into her bowl, seemingly thinking hard about something. After a moment, she suddenly looked up and said quickly, as if trying to prevent herself from stalling, “Hey, can I ask you something?”

Jester raised an eyebrow. “Sure. What’s up?”

Beau hesitated. “Do you...uh...do you like your mom?”

Jester laughed. “Uh...yeah?” She raised an eyebrow. “Of course I do, she’s my mom! And she loves me very much.”

“How, uh, how do you know?”

Jester put her fork down. “I dunno,” she mused. “I guess ‘cause she pays attention to me, and talks to me whenever she has time, and gives me lots of cool stuff and cares about me. She wouldn’t have sent me away if she didn’t love me, right? I could have been in super bad trouble if I had stayed home, after all.”

Beau contemplated this. She took a slow bite of chicken.

“I guess,” she said eventually. “I guess that makes sense.”

“Why’re you asking?” Jester leaned in. “Is there something going on?”

“No, no,” Beau shook her head quickly. “No, not at all. Just curious, I guess. Hey, pass me that bread, you can’t eat all of it!”

Jester giggled. “I bet I could,” she said, but handed it over. Then she met Beau's gaze with a soft expression. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" she asked. "We’re besties, that’s what they do.”

“Is it?”

“Absolutely.”

Beau nodded, and gave Jester a small smile. “Good to know, then,” she said. “I guess I’ll keep that in mind.”

•

Today 9:25 PM

Molly Tealeaf: hey there mister caleb! Molly Tealeaf: ive been told now that you never actually will read these Molly Tealeaf: but i figured id stop by just in case you do! Molly Tealeaf: i just wanted to let you know how excited i am that you’ll be seeing me sing Molly Tealeaf: for real I mean, not just karaoke while im drunk Molly Tealeaf: and yesterday Molly Tealeaf: it was a ton of fun! Molly Tealeaf: thank you again so much for agreeing to get coffee with me Molly Tealeaf: and lending me your coat Molly Tealeaf: i can’t wait for next time!!

•

Caleb adjusted his tie and sighed.

Now it was Saturday afternoon, a few hours before the performance. He was seated on Jester’ bed, glancing slack-jawed at the room around him, all high windows and thick curtains, plush carpeting under his feet and towering bookshelves to his left, gold leaf on the doors and dresser drawers. It would have been something out of a TV program on millionaire’s homes and lifestyles, if not for the pile of stuffed animals on the bed, the sea of beanbag chairs and cushions on the floor, and the dozens upon dozens of drawings and posters taped along the walls.

“I just got two more,” Jester had said cheerfully before shoving Nott into the bathroom. “One for Shallow Breaths and one for Scent of the Sea. Plus I added some more drawings, feel free to look! I’m very proud.”

And then she had closed the door behind her, leaving Caleb in his tan tweed jacket alone on the bed.

He could hear the girls giggling in the distance, the sound of a blow-dryer occasionally drowning them out.

He fidgeted with his sleeve. He stared at the windows. He put his head in his hands and leaned his elbows against his thighs. He groaned and rubbed his temples.

“What are you doing?” he whispered, staring at the red carpet beneath him. “Why on earth are you here? What made you think this would be a good idea? Gottsverdamnt, this is a high-class party you are about to attend, for the city’s elite!” He rubbed his chin and groaned. “And look at you now, with your shaved face, your neat hair and fancy attire. You are going to get recognized, you imbecile. What if somebody you know is there? Fuck, what if they are there? You don’t know? You were too stupid to ask what kind of people would attend. What if they are in town? What if they decide come? What then?”

He gestured blindly around. “And look at all this,” he continued. “Look at all this. You were supposed to leave this behind. You are garbage, you do not deserve such well-to-do and kind friends, who let you into their homes and, and, and buy you clothing! How could you let Jester do that? You do not deserve this! You should be in your filthy apartment, alone, doing nothing but research. This is a waste of time and a terrible risk.”

There was a sound, muffled by the bathroom door. He glanced up in a panic, half-expecting the girls to be standing there and staring at him. But the room was empty. He heard them giggle, and relaxed.

“Listen to that,” he muttered. “Hear how happy they are? Not for you, Widogast. Not for you. You should have encouraged Nott to come alone. Why even bother with this? You should just go home, now, while you still have the chance.”

He flopped backwards onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling, a high arch far above, reminding him again of how small and insignificant he was.

“You are a fool,” he murmured, and ran his fingers through his hair. He stretched his arm out and stared at the back of his hand. “Why are you here?” he asked nobody. “What made you do this? What is the point—”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something slip out of his jacket pocket and fall onto the bed. His brow furrowed. He felt around on the covers and his palm brushed a folded-up piece of paper.

He gently brought it closer; he held it up. He read:

Thank you again, Mister Caleb! A bit of warmth in the cold is all we need sometimes, eh?

This handwriting was more of a scrawl, as if formed by a grip unused to writing but determined nonetheless. It was actually almost intelligible, and took Caleb a few moments to properly understand.

When he did, he realized that it—along with the Mister Caleb—was completely, undeniably, Mollymauk.

He let his hand drop onto the blankets, and brought his other arm around to cover his eyes.

“You are a fool,” he muttered again. “A damn fool.”

This time, it lacked venom. If anything it sounded more resigned than angry.

•

Molly stared at his reflection in the mirror.

The rest of the group milled about behind him in various states of preparation for the big evening—Gustav fretting over his top hat, Desmond carefully tuning the instruments, Ornna opening and closing her fan, Bosun helping Kylre into his costume and the Knot Sisters braiding Toya’s hair.

Molly looked down at his costume, a flowing red cloak adorned with alchemical symbols and gaudy colored shapes. It had taken days, weeks, months to complete, and he was rather proud. He’d never played a powerful sorcerer before; usually he didn’t act at all. But rehearsals had gone well, and he couldn’t wait to show it all off tonight.

Still, something fluttered uneasily in his chest.

Molly would be the first person to admit he was a peacock that adored showing off for posh crowds. But Caleb would be here tonight. This would be the first time he’d watch Molly perform. Would he like it? Would he be impressed? Entertained? Or would he think Molly was shallow, too flamboyant, too flashy, too dramatic?

Molly ran a hand through his hair. Then he kicked himself mentally and reached for the hair gel. As he squeezed the pale blue substance into his palm and rubbed his hands together, he looked back at his reflection and paused.

What did he want? He’d told Yasha he would be happy just being allowed to stand by Caleb as a friend. Was that true? Was that right? Was that okay?

He sighed and pushed the gel into his hair.

What did he want?

He didn’t know. And somehow, that was the worst part.

•

Jester burst out of the bathroom, swinging an anxious-looking Nott behind her by the hand.

“We’re ready!” she declared loudly. “Caleb, get up and tell us that we are pretty!”

He pushed himself up. His eyes softened, and a smile crept across his face.

Jester was wearing a long, pale pink dress that seemed to shimmer as she moved. There were no sleeves, and the neckline curved down, stopping just short of indecency, ending at playful with a refined edge. She wore long white gloves, and a necklace of pearls, and a delighted grin.

Nott stood next to her in a bright yellow sundress with a cream-colored sash around the middle. It ended just below her knees, fanning out and twirling slightly as she fidgeted. Her eyes were expectant, and nervous.

“You both look wonderful,” Caleb said. “Absolutely spectacular.”

Nott glowed under his praise. “Thanks, Caleb.” Her hesitant smiled turned giddy. “I feel pretty spectacular too.”

Jester pumped a fist into the air. “I knew it would be amazing!” she beamed. “And now it’s time to party!"

•

Today 5:51 PM

Jester Lavore: mission accomplished molly Jester Lavore: caleb and nott are in some choice fashions Jester Lavore: we’ll head over soon Molly Tealeaf: youre a doll, dear Jester Lavore: im not a doll im a chic god Molly Tealeaf: right of course Molly Tealeaf: thank you so much again for doing this Jester Lavore: HA! any excuse to shop Jester Lavore: nott would NEVER let me put her in a dress if she didn’t have to anyway Jester Lavore: so really its perfect Molly Tealeaf: it truly is, thank you again Molly Tealeaf: hey can I ask you one more favor? Jester Lavore: of course! anything for you Molly Tealeaf: excellent

•

Caleb wasn’t sure whether or not to be relieved. Upon arrival, Jester had immediately dragged them past Yasha at the front entrance and up the carpeted stairs, away from the bar and between the tables and around the stage so quickly that none of the guests had even seen them for more than a few seconds. No chance of being recognized, that way, or any need for socialization.

But she had done so because they were going to the performer’s lounge to see Molly and his coworkers before the show. Quite a need for socialization, in that department.

“Relax,” she whispered, pausing just outside the door. “They’re all super-duper nice, and he’s already told them all about you both. Even you,” she added with a grin to Nott. “They know you’re a goblin, but it’s alright. And they won’t say a word.”

“Good,” Nott sighed. “The less we talk about it, the better.”

Caleb gave her a pat on the head. “I am sure they would have loved you on sight, disguise or no. It is me that I am worried about, Jester, I don’t know how to speak to these people! I have never even met them before, how am I supposed to behave? Will they try and make light conversation or should I not speak unless spoken to, or—"

She snorted. “What kind of dumb rule is that? Just be yourself! C’mon, it’ll be fun. Molly’s dying for you to meet them.”

And then she knocked on the door and pressed her cheek against the wood and called, “Guys! It’s Jester and Caleb and Nott! Put your pants on, we’re coming in!”

She turned the handle and yanked it open.

Ten pairs of eyes at assorted heights and varying sizes immediately trained on them. There was a half-elf in a frock coat standing next to a shorter balding man surrounded by a loop of floating instruments. A woman with dark skin and fiery hair, draped in gold and crimson fabrics, lounged next to a rack of costumes. Two identical halflings in shimmering green bodysuits looked up from behind a table covered in makeup and hair products. A half-orc was seated on the carpet, adjusting a drum, and tiny flaxen-haired dwarf girl in a simple white dress was perched atop an enormous, bright green, hulking mass of a lizard-man in the corner by the window.

Mollymauk, seated on the arm of a couch, beamed.

“Jester! Caleb and Nott too, hey, you made it!” He immediately stood up and ushered them over to the sofa. “I’m so glad you guys stopped by, I really wanted to introduce you to the troupe.”

Gustav gave them a warm smile as they sat. “Lovely to see you again, Miss Lavore,” he said to Jester, tipping his hat. Then he turned to Caleb and Nott and bowed. “I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure yet. My name is Gustav Fletching, master of ceremonies. Come on, you lot!” He grinned, waving at the rest. “Introduce yourselves!”

“Ornna,” said the redheaded woman. “It's pleasure.”

“Bosun,” said the half-orc. “The Breaker. Call me Bo.”

“Mona,” said one of the halfling women.

“Yuli,” said the other. “We’re the Knot sisters.”

“Desmond Moondrop,” said the man surrounded by musical instruments. “I’m a bard.”

There was a tremor from the corner of the room, and then a deep, gravelly voice leaked from the mouth of the lizard-man. “Kylre,” he said.

“Toya,” whispered the dwarf sitting on top of him.

“And I’m Mollymauk,” Molly grinned cheekily. “But you knew that already. Yasha’s included in the troupe too, since she hangs around us so much, but you also knew that already too.”

Jester nudged Caleb and Nott. “Go on,” she hissed. “Introduce yourselves!”

“I’m Nott,” said Nott. “The Brave. But there’s no comma.”

There was a chorus of “hellos,” and Bosun laughed. “Perfect!” he said. “We have the same middle name.”

Then they all looked expectantly at Caleb. He managed to clear his throat and said, only slightly shakily, “Caleb. Caleb Widogast.”

“Ah,” Yuli grinned. “You’re Caleb, then?”

Ornna chuckled. “You're the mysterious man who—”

She was cut off as Molly suddenly threw his arms out and pulled her in tightly by the shoulders. “Anyways, he said loudly, "it was lovely of you three to stop by! The show’s on in half an hour and we’ll be a bit busy from now on, but maybe we can all talk some more after the show. Drinks included.”

Desmond glanced at his watch. “Actually, Molly, we could still spare a few—”

“We’re very busy!” Molly declared again, very pointedly. “After the show.”

The troupe exchanged glances. A few members tried very hard to hide their sniggering.

“Of course,” said Gustav generously. He turned back to the trio and gave another wide bow. “I’m delighted to have met you all. Do stop by again, a friend of Molly’s is a friend of ours, and I’d love to get to know you better, Ms. Nott and Mr. Caleb.”

They both nodded, and before they could say a word were swept up by Jester as she rose and started ushering them out the door. Just before leaving, she turned back and called, “Break a leg, you guys! I can’t wait to see the show!”

“You all seem really cool!” Nott added, sticking her head around Jester. “Nice meeting you!”

“Er…I as well,” Caleb said, and then kicked himself, and then tried again. “I mean, I enjoyed this.”

And then Jester slammed the door, and they all stood in the empty hallway for a few beats of silence.

“That was…peculiar,” Caleb said eventually. “They are a, a colorful lot.”

“They’re good people,” Jester said cheerily. “And they’re Molly’s family, you know?”

“I liked ‘em,” grinned Nott. “I wanna to talk to them some more.”

“I bet we can,” Jester agreed. “But after the show.” She started marching down the corridor, and the other two scrambled to follow her. “C’mon!” she declared. “Let’s go find a table with a good view, before they’re all gone.”

•

Beau dropped her elbows onto Fjord’s counter and raised an eyebrow. “Hey,” she said when he failed to notice her. “Hey, Fjord. When’re you gonna take your break?”

He turned around, wiping a glass cup, and glanced wearily at the packed crowd wedged into the bar around them, dancing to loud, bass-heavy music or playing pool to the side or occupying the booths beyond maximum capacity.

“Dunno,” he said. “There’s a lot of people here tonight.”

“Yeah,” sighed Beau, “bar discounts’ will do that. But we gotta take a break at some point, right? Everybody’s been hypin’ this thing at the Moondrop up for ages, we can’t miss it. Jes promising to illegally tape it for us ain't enough.”

Fjord nodded. “I’ll see if I can’t get someone to fill in for me later,” he said. “And you’re right, if Molly hears I never got a chance to see it he’d be crushed.”

“You think?” Beau asked.

Fjord laughed. “I know.”

The conversation went on hold for a moment, as two people approached the bar and rattled off an order. Beau idly picked at her fingernails.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” said Fjord. “Anyways, how’ve you been? Haven’t seen you in a few.”

Beau snorted. “We were at the gym together like…three days ago,” she said. “And I helped you finalize your apartment decision with Jester. Are you forgetting me in your old age already?”

Fjord rolled his eyes. “You know what I meant,” he said. “C’mon, spill. What’s up?”

Beau paused. She seemed to briefly wrestle with something, a mental debate that came and went in a flash

“Not much,” she said, and pointed to a clear bottle behind Fjord. “Hey, pour me one of those? It’s gonna be a long night and I think I need some help.”

Fjord raised an eyebrow. “You sure?” he asked. “You're on the clock and It’s like…seven-thirty. Isn’t that a bit early?”

Beau shook her head. “No way,” she said. “Alcohol will only enhance my performance right now, and seven-thirty just means that night is young. And ripe with opportunity.”

•

Jester had found a circular table near the middle of the crowd, stage-side views having already been claimed. The three of them now sat together in tall, cushioned chairs, hands neatly folded in their laps—Caleb—or fingers drumming absent-mindedly on the white cloth—Jester and Nott. Thankfully, which Caleb noted as he made furtive glances around the large hall, there was nobody here that he recognized. There had been a brief moment, when his eyes caught an older man with a wrinkled face and long beard, where he almost had a heart attack on the spot—

—until he realized the eyes and nose were different. Eventually, he calmed down.

Around the large floral centerpiece, Caleb also sized up the other couples sitting at their table. There was elf with a human, and a pair of gnomes. The closest one, a woman with pale blonde hair and rosy cheeks, gave Nott a pleasant smile when they noticed each other.

“Excited for the show?” she asked, quite kindly, in Gnomish. “My husband and I came a long ways out to come see it.”

Nott stared at her. Her eyes darted back and forth and behind her, Jester and Caleb began to panic silently.

“Uh…” she said, and under the table Jester kicked Caleb’s leg in a you’re-magic-you-have-to-do-something sort of way. He nudged her back with a I-don’t-have-any-spells-that-can-work-fast-enough-to-help-fuck.

Nott cleared her throat. “Ah…actually,” she said, “I’m real sorry, but I don’t speak Gnomish.”

The woman blinked. “Oh, shoot, I’m the one that’s sorry,” she said quickly. “It was my fault for assuming.”

“No, no,” said Nott. “It’s alright. It was a reasonable assumption, Miss. It’s just that I, uh, I was…uh…”

She quickly glanced back at Caleb and Jester, who both shrugged.

“I was raised by halflings!” Nott declared. “Yes, that’s it. Adopted. Never knew my birth parents, it’s quite sad really. But I love my halfling family, and we’re very close.”

“Is that so?” The woman smiled. “Well then, that’s nice. I lived with my adopted brother, you know. He couldn’t make it tonight, but I’m sure he would have loved to meet you, Miss…?”

“Oh!” Nott smiled and gave her a short wave. “I’m, uh, Bren,” she said. “Bren…Tough.”

“Bren Tough?” The other gnome, a man with short brown hair and glittering eyes, raised an eyebrow. “That’s a pretty interesting name.”

“Thanks,” said Nott. “It belongs to me. What are, uh, what are your names?”

“Oh,” the woman smiled. “Of course, where are my manners? I’m—”

The chandeliers went out. A spotlight suddenly appeared on the grand stage, illuminating a single man in a long frock coat and a tall top hat. He bowed deeply, spreading his arm aside and lowering his hat as he did.

“Esteemed Guests,” he called in a rich, musical tone. “I extend my humble gratitude for gracing us with your presence, and I welcome you to the 25th Anniversary celebration of the Fletching & Moondrop. Our performers have worked tirelessly for months to prepare a unique and spectacular exhibition of culture and music and art for you all tonight, and I firmly believe that it will be to your liking. Grant us your imaginations this eve but a trifle bit of time. Sit back, have some dinner, and enjoy the show.”

And then he bowed again, and in a sudden plume of purple, glittering smoke, he was gone.

The curtains pulled open, and revealing a single man dressed all in blue, old-fashioned minstrel’s clothing, a large feathered cap perched upon his head. He had a fiddle in his hands, and as the light moved towards him, he began to play.

Ah, came Gustav’s voice from somewhere unseen, I see you’ve already met Desmond. He’ll be part of our story tonight, so keep a wily eye for the shifting fool. But first, I will tell you the tale of two sisters of the Fey.

Desmond bowed his head, slowly moved away from the center. And as he retreated, three long ribbons of green silk unfurled from the ceiling and gently caressed the wooden stage.

Lost without form into the mazes of the underworld, there, where the body would break, they found a teacher in a mystical serpent. And the gift they received, was the ability to bend with this maze that had captured them, and slither their way back to the surface, to reclaim their place in the world.

A hand emerged just into view, along the top of the silk. It swayed gently, as if stirred by a breeze. And then another appeared, and another, and another, and then two bodies adorned in glittering emerald scales dropped down, catching themselves against the ribbons and twirling in the air. Their faces turned towards the audience, and then to each other.

May I present to you: Mona and Yuli, the Knot Sisters.

The sisters began to move slowly, bending their limbs, arching their backs and intertwining their torsos in impossible formations, dangling in the air supported by nothing but ribbons, and one another. And as the fiddle’s melody, now sourceless and swelling, building, crescendoing and accelerating in tempo and vigor, the sisters began to spin wildly, press tightly, drape their arms together and move unison, seemingly shifting into a single being of whirling, fluid scales and shimmering, verdant green.

Next to him, Caleb saw Nott wince at their display of impossible flexibility and bone-shattering dexterity. A number of patrons close to the stages were also gasping in shock, in awe, mouths agape and whispering with hushed amazement. The elf at their table gave an impressed nod, and Jester was completely entranced.

Suddenly, one of the sisters folded over and plunged downward, drawing horrified exclamations from the audience, until she stopped short barely two feet of the ground. The other twirled down as well and the two of them began to tangle and wrap like battling serpents, hissing and thrashing and violent and beautiful all at the same time. It was…off-putting, and impossible to look away.

Slowly, the lighting began to dull into a pale turquoise. And then it got darker. And darker. And the sisters fell into the underworld.

They began to tell the tale of struggle, crawling across each other limb by limb, using their snake-like forms as a ladder that extended up the ribbons, using every muscle in their bodies to climb upwards. Caleb found himself forgetting to breathe, so pulled into this wordless story of redemption, of hope, of climbing back to the surface from a dark hell to the soft glow above. And as they moved higher and higher, building off one another and stretching upwards, the lighting shifted, grew brighter, and their climbing became less fevered. The two of them, arm into arm, leg into leg, rolled upward and swirled and spun and twirled until finally they reached the apex and wrapped themselves close and pressed their foreheads together and, one again, turned back out to the audience. The extended their hands, and bowed their heads.

And with a flourish, their ribbons were pulled back up, out of sight, the sisters along with them, until the stage was empty again.

The audience erupted into applause. Caleb felt something brush his cheek, and saw Jester patting his face with her napkin.

“You were crying,” she whispered softly. “It’s okay. I got it.”

He blinked, and felt the moisture gathering under his eyes. He glanced back at Jester, who was smiling in an uncharacteristic moment of silence, and thought of something to say.

“…thank you,” he murmured.

She put the napkin down and gave him a pat on the arm. “Don’t worry. And sorry if your face is sticky, I think there was some juice on my cloth.”

And then, before he could reply, the soft green light suddenly vanished, replaced with nothing but empty darkness, and Gustav’s voice echoed around them once more.

In a flash, beyond the ash, gods all went and gone. The darkness came to grasp, reclaim, and suffocate the dawn.

Suddenly, the audience gasped again as out of the darkness, a burst of flame erupted through the room, beginning with two torch sconces just beside the stage on both sides, spreading out in a circle around the hall, shedding a low, orange light over all of their heads. Caleb couldn’t help but wonder if this was scientific, or arcane, and briefly considered a Detect Magic to find out. But then Gustav spoke again, breaking his train of thought:

But from that night, a burning light doth keep back the shadows’ bane. The strength to fight will set alight the morning sun again. Esteemed guests, I present to you: Ornna, the Fire Fairy.

From the center of the stage, a flash of silver metal. And then another, and another, and suddenly as the sharp gleam arced through the air a flame trailed after it, framing the face of that beautiful woman with blazing red hair, now surrounded by curls of fire. She spun in a hypnotic twirl, her simple dress fanning out around her and catching the warm light, flickering and giving her the visage of a warrior-goddess battling against the darkness around her. The frenzied fiddle soared again, she spun the fans in her grasp, face stoic and graceful all at the same time. The audience breathed their quiet awe, watching her strike and spin and dive across the stage, banishing the shadows from the hall. She moved with the music, drew wild as it crescendoed, leapt and lunged and flew through the air until the song climaxed and she finished one final, brilliant twirl, and as she landed on the stage, the lights all around her suddenly rocketed into a victorious luminescence.

The crowd went wild. Nott stood in her chair and pumped her fists and even in this refined, upper-class audience, she was not alone.

“This is super different from what they usually do,” Jester whispered to the human on her other side. “Usually it’s just background singing and stuff.”

“What a shame,” said the elf. “I would love to see this sort of show more often. Nice use of pyrotechnics.”

“It’s very artistic,” said Nott, sitting back down. “I like it.”

And then the torches went out, and a low drumbeat began to pulse from the stage. Gustav spoke once more:

Even as the sun would rise anew, bellowing roars will quake the lands of Xhorhas and beyond. Terrible beasts, now freed from their dark masters, scattered into our world.

And then a terrible, guttural roar shook the entire performance hall. In the dead silence that followed, came the quiet crawl of grinding, dragging chains.

A spotlight appeared, cast over the form of Bo the Breaker, dragging something onstage. Desmond came with him, chains in one hand and fiddle in the other, the bow moving itself. And then a shape emerged, massive, hulking, covered completely in slimy, swamp-green scales a stark contrast of the lithe sisters from before. This shape was enormous, corpulent, with large toad-like legs that framed a rotund torso, muscular arms manacled and pulling it in. It fought and wrestled against the chains but slowly, painfully, bitterly pulled into the center of the stage. It roared a second time, mighty and brutal. The front row of the audience pulled back in their seats, whispering urgently, fear beginning to build.

The devil-toad crawls hungrily into the land of free folk, said Gustav, steady and unwavering. It ravages the mind and lords over nightmares. But what truth lies behind the eyes of this beast? What would be learned when the guiding heart of innocence pierces the hateful soul, brings beauty for the first time?

A soft, faint voice from somewhere in the darkness began to drift slowly over their heads.

I now present to you: the vivid song of Toya.

A light shone down atop a platform against the left side of the stage. And upon the structure, feet swinging and bare, was the shape of the young dwarven girl in the flowing white dress. Her eyes were closed, hands at her side. And her voice, her voice, her voice—

—she sung with a mystifying hum, a sound that pierced the heart with unexpected, uncontrolled, unbridled joy. The crowd audibly gasped as the melody washed over them, entranced them, brought every single person into its music. Caleb felt something brush his cheek again, and when he looked down he saw Jester blow her nose into the napkin, staring at the stage with wide, tear-brimmed eyes.

And before them all, the devil-toad froze. It stopped struggling, seemingly caught by this song. Its face dropped into a soft smile and it slowly walked beneath Toya’s wooden platform. It looked up, and sat down. Bosun and Desmond both dropped their chains and walked away, leaving the creature in its awed rapture. From up above, Toya’s voice began to grow, almost summoning a chorus from the ether that once again spoke of magic that could not be. Her smile was infectious, and though tears spilled down Caleb’s face, he could not break his gaze.

Until, abruptly, a man seated at one of the tables shot to his feet. His arms were outstretched and behind his fine-tailored suit was a body wracked with age. His legs shook, and the low light caught the wetness of his cheeks.

“What’s happening?” Nott whispered as the audience's attention shifted to the man. “What’s he doing?”

“I dunno,” Jester frowned. “I think…hey, he doesn’t look so good—”

He screamed. The music instantly stopped. Other patrons began to stand up, began to move closer, to check on him, watched him collapse to the ground and clutch his chest and with another wet gurgle screamed again, vocal chords bursting and now the skin on his arms began to tear, the bones split from his flesh, the people immediately around him began screaming themselves and backing away and his body writhed and crackled and dust shook from his swelling form and the entire audience started panicking, scrambling, running for the exits and shouting and—

Chaos erupted all around them.

Instinctively, Caleb’s hands caught fire.

•

���� ☕ ☕ 💚

[korra-the-red-lion]

Unnatural Affairs. Chapter 17: Fiona Moore, Locker Room Ghost.

(Ally + Lyn + Michael).

Lyn.

Despite her zealous, I told Ally we not doing any more ghost hunting until after my swim meet this weekend. Although she had been a little pouty about it, I argued that we needed to stay on top of our schoolwork, even if we were solving multiple murders. My education wasn’t going to suffer because of this, and I refused to let it happen to her and Michael either. Plus, since the last time we went ghost hunting left me with a super wonderful souvenir, I wanted to wait until after the meet before doing it again. Finally, she conceded defeat. Hey, having two older sisters was great for winning arguments.

I sat on the bench after warmups, redoing my hair. After that embarrassing meltdown at the pool, I was starter to feel a little bit more like myself. Loryn was watching my back like a hawk, but I found that I didn’t mind. I was still a little fragile, if I was being truthful. I did, however, fill that stupid prescription I’d gotten way back in the hospital for some sleeping pills. I was using them sparingly, but the first night I took them let me sleep through the whole night, a first time in a long time. It was amazing what a full night’s sleep could do for a person.

I slipped on my sneakers and cheered for Maddie as she swam her 100m Backstroke finals. This weekend hadn’t been my best, but I refused to let my crappy mood swings ruin this meet for everyone. I cheered the loudest I could and swam my heart out. I guess I needed to get ready for my race, the 100m Fly. I went over to the blocks to start my good luck ritual when Sophie approached me.

“Hey, Lyn,” she said, stretching beside me.

“Hm?”

“I know I shouldn’t ask, but what the hell happened to you arm?”

“Bear attack,” I said with a cheeky grin. I flexed my biceps so the scars stood out even more. “If you think this is bad, you should see the other guy.”

Sophie looked over with skepticism in her eyes before snorting. “You’re so weird. Good luck, Lyn.”

“Good luck to you too, Soph. May the best-looking win.”

She grinned at me as she snapped her goggles on. “Guess I have this in the bag, then.”

I smirked at the floor, feeling a lightness in my chest. It felt good to joke around with someone who wasn’t involved in my daily life. Sophie and I were rivals on different teams, but we’re also friends because we swim against each other in nearly every Fly race. We had a strange relationship, that’s for sure.

We got up onto the diving blocks as I adjusted my Fastskin one last time. I caught Loryn’s eye from across the pool deck and winked. She shook her head with a laugh and gave me two thumbs up. The horn blew, indicating that we needed to be ready. The whistle went and we were off.

100 meters was so fast and slow at the same time. The race was speeding by, but I felt like I was moving in slow motion. I really wanted this race to be a good one. I hadn’t had a fantastic meet this weekend, mostly because I was still in my own head, but this was the race I wanted to win. My arm was blazing with pain, my lungs felt like they were on fire, but I pushed through all that. I was swimming for myself. This was something I absolutely loved doing, and I was willing to put a 110% into it.

My hand punched the wall awkwardly as I crashed to a stop. My eyes flickered to the timer, and a huge grin broke out onto my face. Sophie and I tied for first place, which didn’t happen very often. But the best part was it was a best time for me, a new record. Actually, as my mind raced through all the numbers printed on the wall back home, that was a new record for the school!

Sophie draped her arm over my shoulders, her chest falling up and down heavily. She smiled at me, her cheeks bright red from exertion. “Guess we’re both gorgeous, eh Lyn?”

I laughed loudly, hugging her back. We got out of the pool together, heading towards our respective teams. Coach Jacob hugged me tightly, not caring how wet he got.

“A new best time and a new school record!” he exclaimed, eyes bright with pride and excitement. “That was amazing, Lyn!”

“Thanks,” my grin couldn’t get any bigger. I gave everything I had for that race. My breathing was all over the place and my legs were shaking like crazy, but I felt great. Actually, this was the best I felt in awhile.

“Go warm down, you still have the relay, if you’re okay to keep swimming.”

I nodded as I headed to the cool down pool, my heart beating like crazy. Adrenaline was pumping through my whole body, my brain was buzzing with excitement. Maddie was leaning against the wall when I hopped in, and she patted me gently on the head as she got out. I nodded at her as I ducked under the water, pushing off lazily.

I swam about 500 meters before getting out, the high finally wearing off. I got out and walked over to the benches, drying off quickly before throwing on my sweats and shoes. Loryn wrapped her arms around me before I could pull my shirt on, and I glanced over my shoulder to see her smiling softly at me.

When I raised my eyebrows in question, she just shook her head. “I’m just happy that you’re looking more like yourself,” she said quietly, for no one else’s ears but my own.

“Me too,” I replied just as softly. I twisted all the way around and hugged her tightly, breathing in her calming scent.

“Do you two need a room together or something?” joked Kerry as she sat down next to us, putting her own coat on.

“Shut up,” we said in unison. Kerry just laughed at us.

I did pull away, because my arms were getting cold. Loryn gave me one last arm rub before heading over to the blocks for her last race of the meet. I threw my shirt on, then my parka. I walked over to where Emma was sitting with Tammy, grim determination on her face. I sat down next to them, saying nothing. We all hype ourselves up when needed, and right now I could tell she just wanted to stew in her thoughts.

When Maddie made her way over, Emma sighed deeply, standing up slowly. We gathered around her, my eyes wandering over to where Andrew was huddling the boys. When our eyes caught each other, he smiled and nodded, mouthing ‘good luck’ to us. I did the same back, turning my attention back to Emma.

“Okay, we have 3 more meets after this. But this relay? This relay is for Jackie, who couldn’t be here today,” said Emma, her eyes ablaze with firm determination. “I just want people to have a good race, okay? Try your best, and I love you girls so much. Wolves on 3!”

We cheered on 3, emotion cracking through all of our voices. We got up to the blocks, waiting for them to tell us it was okay to go. Maddie waved to all of us as she jumped into the water after the first horn blast. I took in a deep breath and held it there for a minute, waiting for my nerves to calm. We were doing this for Jackie, and that was most important to me right now.

XXX

Turns out my Monday morning class was cancelled, so that was a nice surprise.

I sat at the table, staring off into the distance, my head empty of thoughts. I should be worried about heading back to the locker room so soon, but honestly, I didn’t think it was going to be as bad this time around. No freaky full moon to give the ghost- I mean Fredrik- any super boosts. Then again, that was me, the bloody optimist, always looking on the bright side of things, even when I shouldn’t because it could end up hurting me and I’m such a fucking idiot that-

I shook my head, stopping that train of thought in its tracks. Until I was able to speak to a professional about all of this, I needed to keep myself in check. I was put on a waiting list, but there was always the mental health counsellor that I spoke to last time. You get free sessions from her.

Vaguely I heard voices getting closer to where I was sitting. I tilted my head backwards and saw Ally and Michael walking over to the table. Ally waved at me, a bright smile on her face. Normally when she smiled at me like that, my heart would race and my ears would light up like Christmas lights, but right now I felt numb. Was it happening again? I smiled back at least.

“Hey,” she said, taking the seat next to mine.

“How was your weekend?” Michael asked, sitting down across from us.

“Good,” I said, my voice sounded a little flat in my ears. I blinked, shook my head, and tried again. “It went really well.” Not much better.

Ally looked like she wanted to say something but changed her mind, reaching for my hand instead. As soon as a connection was established, the feeling returned to my body again and I closed my eyes, trying to supress the shuddering of my body.

I looked over at her, and she just smiled gently at me. I was very aware of Michael sitting across from us, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. The urge to kiss her was very strong all of a sudden, but I managed to tear my eyes away, the tips of my ears feeling very warm. I did interlace our fingers underneath the table, however.

“Okay, I was thinking that we could potentially go tonight,” Ally led with.

“As long as it doesn’t interfere with classes tomorrow,” I interjected.

Ally nodded. “Right. If everything goes smoothly this time, it should be fine. We just need to go in, talk to Fiona, and get out. There’s no reason to actually go into the swim’s team change room, which is where Fredrik was last time.”

“And maybe you don’t wear the amethyst this time,” remarked Michael lightly.

“Fair point, I’ll make sure those aren’t on.”

I leaned forward, cupping my chin in my palm. “Okay, should I still bring a weapon? I would really like it if I didn’t nearly die again this time. Or if you guys didn’t either.”

Ally frowned, her thinking face firmly in place. “No, it should be fine. Wait, no. I- um…yeah, you know what? Bring something, just in case. I don’t think it should be dangerous this time, but better safe than sorry.”

“Excellent,” said Michael, clapping his hands together. “My question this time. If Fredrik was brought here forcibly, finding the murderer won’t actually help him move on. The person who brought him here or someone else who is well versed in…well, whatever the heck you need to be well versed in sending ghosts back to where they belong.”

“There was no question in that,” Ally pointed out.

“What? Oh, right. Do you know anyone like that?”

“Nope,” said Ally, popping her ‘p’.

Michael stared at her blankly. After several silent seconds, he shook his head with a chuckle, “I’m not sure why I expected a different answer.” I cracked a smile at that.

We planned our night for the next little bit before we all headed to class. The plan itself was pretty straight forward: we were going to go there just after closing, talk to Fiona, and get out. If everything all goes according to plan, we should be in and out in about an hour. I hope it went according to plan.

XXX

Ally.

I closed my laptop after noticing the time. The Athletic Centre closes at 11, and it was 10:50 now. I had to head out shortly to meet the others. My heart was doing a funny little skip beat the closer it got to mission time. I tried very hard to supress my nerves in front of the other two, but internally I was freaking out. It had gone so horribly wrong last time, with both of my friends getting injured. I didn’t want that to happen again, never again.

I pulled on a hoodie and grabbed my jacket before heading to the door. Sarah had fallen asleep already, snoring away with her headphones on and show still playing. It was probably better this way, now I didn’t have to explain myself to her. I closed the door behind me as softly as possible.

Unfortunately, as I was leaving, the RA happened to be at the door. She inquired where I was going, and I had to fabricate this massive lie on the spot about how I was meeting up with my friends for some late-night studying. The look on her face told me she didn’t really believe a word I just said, but she shrugged it off. I wondered how people like that managed to get a job like this yet they’re so apathetic about the students in their care. I honestly wanted to move out already. Maybe I would get an apartment for next term. I would miss Sarah as a roommate though, she’s been nothing short of amazing since we started living together.

The stars were out in full tonight, twinkling brightly above. I stared at them as I walked towards my destination. It was truly a strange divide, this earth we lived on. How could I be heading towards something so dark and terrible, yet the sky was gorgeous? Humanity could be both beautiful and vile at the same time.

When I got there, no one else was here yet. I took a seat on the grass, not caring that my skirt was getting wet. I pulled my legs in close, still looking up at the night sky. I could still see that there was something dark swirling around this building, but hopefully we could help it leave after tonight. I looked over to the central area of Yokeville, where I could make out some of the buildings. It was a curious thing that such a small town held so many dark secrets. I wonder what else was hiding here, just beneath the surface. Surely the university wasn’t the one thing with a darkness?

I looked over to where the Student Centre was. Jamieson was there, waiting for us to capture his murderer. Amelia was waiting in Harper Hall, wishing for the same thing. Fiona was just inside here, not aware that we were trying to bring her peace. Even Dahlia must be waiting for some form of justice to be served for all these murders.

Actually, speaking of her. Something was bothering me, something I hadn’t noticed until I was thinking about the murders. They all had similar methods. All the victims’ deaths were considered suicides or accidental, but when Dahlia had appeared that day with her wounds in front of me, they were most definitely stab wounds. It didn’t match the MO of this guy. Was it possible that Dahlia wasn’t killed by the same person? I frowned in displeasure at the thought. I never once thought to ask her how she died, because I guess subconsciously, I didn’t think she was connected to this string of murders. That was very disturbing.

“Ally!”

I looked over when I heard my name called. Michael was walking over with a wave. He had his bag again. When I asked about it, he told me it was filled with precautionary items again, just in case. Also, I had to stop myself from snorting because he was wearing a baseball helmet.

“What?” Michael said when he saw the look on my face. “I’m not risking it again, okay? I like my brain the way it is.”

Can’t argue with that logic. I stood up with a laugh, shaking my head in amusement. “I get it. I just hope for our sake that you don’t need it at all.”

“I freaking hope so too.”

Lyn silently approached as we were chatting away. She waved to both of us when she got close enough to be seen. She was carrying a baseball bat that looked like it was covered in something white in her right hand. When she saw Michael’s head gear, she grinned.

“Looks like we had the same idea,” she said, holding the bat in view.

Michael looked over the bat before whistling in appreciation. “Covered that bad boy in salt, did cha?”

“You bloody well know it.”

I clapped them both on the shoulder with a little effort. “Okay, are we ready?”

One nod and one shrug later, we were heading in. Michael flicked the flashlight on, waving it around to check the hallway out. There was nothing noticeable. I knocked my knuckles against the wall, earning me a strange look from Lyn.

“Hehe, just making there’s no distortion happening this time around,” I said with a sheepish grin.

“Makes just about sense as anything around here,” she commented dryly, earning a chuckle from both of us.

We walked down the familiar hall, cutting through the weight room just like last time. The closer we got to the women’s locker room, the heavier the air was getting. Sweat was already beading my forehead as we approached the doors. Lyn took a deep breath before pushing them open slowly. Michael and I peaked out from behind her, seeing nothing. We all glanced at each other before heading in.

A growl came out from behind the locked door of the swim team’s change room. We froze, not daring to even breathe. A tense few minutes later and no other sounds, we kept walking. My heart was thudding against my rib cage, as if it was trying to escape my chest. Michael was shaking next to me, his teeth chattering loudly. Lyn’s knuckles were white as she gripped the bat with dear life, holding it up high.

We walked into the bathroom/shower area. One of the sinks was dripping, the pipes groaning above us. I slowly walked towards the mirrors, tapping my fingers against the glass. From the corner of my eye, I saw Lyn slipping a ring on her finger. It must have been the same one as last time. Michael put one of his hands on my shoulders, nodding encouragingly. I nodded back, then looked back into the mirror.

“Fiona? Fiona, are you there?” I called quietly.

There was a flicker from the flashlight as it went out. Michael looked at it very concerned when there was another flicker in front of us. We both jumped back in shock as Fiona Moore appeared before us. Her hair was stringy and hanging limply in her face. Her skin looked soddened and bloated, with parts of it hanging off by stringy threads. Her eyes looked glassy. She looked at me sorrowfully.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she said quietly.

“You said that last time,” I responded evenly.

“Because it’s true. You’ll only get hurt.”

“Fiona, we know who you are. We know that you went missing, that you and your brother were murdered,” I said, taking note of how she winced when I mentioned her brother.

She looked away, shaking her head. Droplets of waters hit the floor. “I meant it last time too. I don’t know who you and your little Scooby gang think you are, but you need to leave. It’s not safe here.”

There was another growl, louder this time. I looked behind my shoulder fearfully, but there was still nothing there. I turned back to Fiona, who was watching me with a weariness.

“Fiona, I’m trying to help solve your murder,” I explained, my voice tight with control. I could feel the panic bubbling up inside my chest, squeezing my throat with each word spoken.

“Ally…” Lyn was facing the doorway, grim determination on her face. “Speed things up a little, okay?”

“You need to leave,” said Fiona. Her face went dark, fangs flashing briefly before turning back into normal teeth. My heart skipped a beat. Was she turning vengeful?

“Show me!” I pleaded, stepping forward. “Show me how you died, and then we’ll leave! Please, Fiona, we’re only trying to help!”

“YOU CAN’T HELP!” Her voice boomed. The mirrors shattered, spraying the floor with glass. The pipes rattled threateningly above us, waiting to burst at any minute.

“Ally, we should go!” squeaked Michael, reaching for my arm. I pulled away, refusing to take my eyes off of Fiona. “Ally, please!”

“Give me another minute!” I stepped towards her. I know that we needed to get out of here, but I was close, I was sure of it. Behind all the rage, there was a sadness. I could see it in her, the true belief that no one cared. “Fiona, I care! I know how easily they gave up on you and your brother, but I won’t! I swear that I’ll bring your killer to justice!”

“NO, YOU WON’T!” There were tears streaming down her face as the walls started to shake violently. “You people all say that, but never mean it. Why should you? You and your fucking White Privilege would never understand how it feels to be forgotten. A pretty young White girl like you? If you went missing, the whole damn country would have been searching for any sign of you being alive,” she said scornfully. “Me? An Indigenous woman? How many of us have gone missing before and no one cared? You never cared. They didn’t, that’s for sure. The search party from the RCMP lasted 2 weeks before they declared it off. You know what they said about us? That we probably got shit faced drunk and froze to death somewheres. That there was no point in looking until the ice was gone, and that cougars probably ate our bodies. We’ve been dealing with this kind of bullshit for years, so what makes it different now, ALLY?”

The floor was filling with water now. The pipes burst, water spraying from the showers, sinks, and showers. The walls seeped with vicious dark red blood. Michael scrambled out of the way as one of the taps smashed into the wall next to his face. Lyn grabbed my arm, pulling me away from Fiona.

“Ally, we need to go now!” she yelled over the sound of rushing water.

Even though I was conflicted about leaving, I knew we had to. It was getting too dangerous. “Fiona, I will help! I promise to figure this out, I won’t let you down!”

Fiona’s face twisted up in rage, those fangs returning once more. “If you want to know how I died so badly, little miss hero, then I’ll show you!”

A huge bellow caused ripples across the water that was nearly up to our knees. Fredrik smashed into the room, taking all three of us down at the same time. His monstrous arms wrapped around my throat and held me under the water. I tugged at his fingers, struggling to get away. Michael reached into his bag and stabbed Fredrik in the arm with a knife. Instantly the wound began to steam as he bellowed in pain, retracting his arm away. Lyn smashed her bat against his other arm, causing him to swat at her. I scrambled away from his, coughing up water as I tried to catch my breath.

“I thought you wanted to help, Ally,” sneered Fiona in my ear. “I thought you wanted to know how I died, Ally.”

“I-” I broke down into a coughing fit.

“He’ll get you in the end. He always wins in the end.”

I looked up at her. There was rage as clear as day on her face, but in her eyes was fear. I reached out and touched her face, causing her to flinch away. “Who, Fiona? Who did this to you?”

Fiona looked at with me with pity as she pushed me under the water again. “If you don’t know who, then there’s no hope.”

I struggled against her grip as my vision started to get spotty from the lack of oxygen. My hand slipped off of hers, as my eyes started to close unwillingly. I can’t believe I told them it was going to be safer this time, only to end up being killed by someone I was trying to help. How would mom and dad react when they found out? How disappointed would dad be once he figured out what killed me? But just before I lost consciousness, Fiona got torn away from me, and someone hefted me to my feet.

I threw up a bunch of water, my chest heaving as I gasped for breath. Lyn stood in front of me, her bat held in front of her like a sword. “Ally, are you alright?” she asked, not turning around.

“I-I will be,” I choked out.

She nodded, her back still to me. “We need to leave, now. I have a plan. Fiona is too dangerous. Either she is being controlled by whomever killed her, or her rage and agony is far too much for her to handle. That beast is blocking our only exit,” she indicated Fredrik with a tilt of her head. Michael backed away from Fredrik, who was holding his arm tenderly. He backed up until he was right up against us. Lyn glanced at both of us, her face calm. “Ready?”

“Ready for what?” Michael asked, his grip on the knife tightening.

“My plan,” said Lyn, her voice still strangely calm. Honestly, it was scaring me almost as much as Fiona was. How did she even know all that about Fiona? It didn’t make any sense. But then it hit me like a ton of bricks. It was her eyes.

They were sea green.

XXX

Michael.

“W-what plan?” I asked, my arms shaking violently. I barely noticed when Ally stiffened beside me, chalking it up to her being scared of nearly dying. It was a little strange that Lyn was the one with the plan, considering she could barely see the ghosts even with the ring, but I was willing to give anything a chance at this point.

Lyn glanced at me again. “Trust me. Fredrik is only here because Fiona summoned him here with her rage. I believe there are two exits once we get by him. So, the logical conclusion is to stop Fiona.”

I looked over at said ghost, whose entire persona was changing right in front of our very eyes. Her fingers were elongating into claws, her face changing into something beastly, like her brother. I had no idea what Lyn was thinking. There was no way we could stop them between the three of us. Especially since Ally was still coughing her lungs out.

“Are you s-sure?” I stammered. My pulse was throbbing in my ears, my teeth clattering. I was scared out of my mind right now, but I was still able to comprehend everything. It felt very hopeless, truthfully.

Lyn smirked at me, her eyes brimming with confidence. “Trust me,” she repeated. “I can handle Fiona. You two make a break for it, and I’ll follow shortly behind.”

Before I could argue the insanity of that plan, Lyn charged forward. She ducked when Fredrik took a swipe at her. I saw our chance, as Fredrik lunged at her. I grabbed Ally’s arm and pulled her towards the doorway. Fiona disappeared and reappeared in front of us, her arms outstretched to stop us. I was just about to swing my knife at her when Lyn smashed the bat against her face. Maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me, but I thought it was glowing. Like the whole bat was just glowing with energy. Okay, that’s super freaky.

I didn’t have time to figure that out. Ally wasn’t coughing as much anymore, and she managed keep up with me as we ran down the hallway. The ceiling lights rattled as we heard Fredrik roar in frustration. Lyn dashed out from the other room, quickly following behind us. There was blood smeared on her face but otherwise she seemed unharmed. A huge rush of water and blood spilled out, filling the hallway. I thought about heading towards the back entrance again, but the water was making the floor slippery. Making a quick decision, I ran towards the stairs, making sure Ally was still with me.

The three of us raced up the stairs, our footfalls echoing throughout the whole building. I shoved open the emergency door and the girls flew through the doors as I followed shortly behind. We ran all the way down the street until we were near the Swan Pond, very far away from the Athletic Centre.

Ally fell to her knees, gasping for breath. Bruises were already forming on her neck from where she had been held under by Fredrik and Fiona. I fell down beside her, throwing my stupid baseball helmet off. My chest fell heavily as my whole body trembled. That was terrifying. I closed my eyes to focus on slowing down my heart, which I was pretty sure was beating 200 beats a minute. I’m not sure if this time had been worse than last, but right now I didn’t really care.

Lyn sat down next to Ally but said nothing, just looking off at the night sky. She was behaving really strangely. I rolled onto my side, and asked, “Are you doing okay, Ally?”

She nodded slowly, still taking gulping breaths of air, but she was doing it less. After a few minutes, she finally sat down, wrapping her arms around herself. “W-who are you?” she croaked out. I blinked in confusion, looking around. Who was she talking to?

“You know who I am.”

What the hell? I sat up, even more confused. Why was Lyn talking? I looked between the two of them, trying to figure out what was happening.

Ally rubbed her eyes, her glasses missing. They must have been lost in the tussle. She looked over at Lyn with tired eyes. “Stop playing with me, please. I’m too tired to figure this out.”

Lyn(?) smirked as she twirled her hair around her finger. “Not even a thank you for helping you out? How truly tragic, and very rude of you.”

“Give her back.”

“She’s right here,” said Lyn(?), tapping her head.

“I’m sorry,” I cut in, “but what’s going on?”

“That’s not Lyn,” said Ally dully. “Look at her eyes, those aren’t her eyes. She’s being possessed by someone. Well, not someone. She’s being possessed by Dahlia.”

What? I frowned as I looked over. I could barely tell the difference in her eye colour, but I guess they did look a little greener. How the hell did Ally pick up on that so easily? Her observation skills were really amazing.

“Anyhow,” Dahlia/Lyn said, waving her hand around, “I am going now. It took a lot out of me to do this. Just make sure you don’t go sticking your nose into there anymore, it’s far too dangerous. I also expect a thank you later, darling.”

The breeze picked up as Lyn’s eyes rolled into the back of her head. She fell to the grass with a heavy thump. Ally crawled over and grabbed her face, her own full of concern. I shuffled over too, carefully putting my hand on Ally’s shoulder.

“Is she okay?” I asked with concern.

“I…I think so?” Ally answered, her tone unsure. “I’ve never really seen a possession before now. I don’t know how it’s going to affect her.”

I frowned. That was not great to hear. I looked around, noticing for the first time that it was lightly snowing. We were all wet and shivering from the cold. I looked back at Lyn. I wasn’t sure I would be able to carry her back to her room like this, I was too tired, and she was dead weight right now. This wasn’t a good situation.

“We need to figure out how to move her,” I said quietly. “We’re going to freeze if we stay out here.”

Ally nodded. I felt terrible. She really went through the wringer tonight. I also would bet my bottom dollar that she was blaming herself for that attack. There was no way to predict what happen. It caught us all off guard.

Something else was bothering me too. Last time, I figured I saw Fiona in the mirror because Ally’s own abilities had been heighted. But this time? She wasn’t wearing the gemstones. I was worried that the spiritual energy was increasing at the school, which usually indicated something bad was coming.

Okay, I needed to figure out how to get us back into somewhere warm. I couldn’t leave this all on Ally’s shoulders. Ignoring my protesting body, I got to my feet. “I’m going to get campus security,” I told Ally.

“Is that a good idea?” she countered. “They might question why we’re soaked to the bone in the middle of the night.”

“Maybe, but what options do we have? I don’t think I can lug Lyn back to her dorm.”

“What if we tried together?”

“Ally, no offense, but you’re in no condition to help me,” I sighed. Ally sighed too, knowing I was right. We were stuck.

But by some grace of God, Lyn’s eyes fluttered open.

XXX

Ally.

“Wha’s going on?” Lyn asked groggily as she sat up.

Relief flooded my body as soon as I saw her eyes were back to those beautiful electric blue. I practically fell on top of her, wrapping my arms around her tightly.

“Um…” Lyn wrapped one arm around me while using the other one to support herself. “Why are we outside?”

I was too exhausted to even muster up an explanation, but luckily Michael stepped up to the plate. He knelt to the grass, his brows furrowed together in concern. “Lyn, what’s the last thing you remember?”

Lyn blinked. “Ally was…she was being attacked by Fredrik, and you fucking whipped out a knife and stabbed him. I remember hitting him with my bat so he would let go, and I think he tossed me into the wall? I kinda blacked out after that. Speaking of,” she shifted so she was sitting up more, cupping my face in her hand, “are you okay?”

I nodded. My throat hurt so much, and I didn’t feel like talking right now. My lungs were aching, and my head was pounding after nearly dying.

“Okaaaay,” said Michael slowly, “so this is gonna sound super weird, but I guess you were possessed by Dahlia.”

“What?” Lyn stiffened underneath me. “How did that happen?”

Michael shrugged helplessly, and when Lyn looked at me, I did the same. I really didn’t know how she did it. I was being truthful when I told Michael that.

“Cool. Cool. Cooooool,” Lyn shook her head. “You know what? I’m not even gonna think about it, not right now at least. That’s just too much for me to process.”

“Fair enough,” said Michael. “I personally have no idea how to process that either. I do know that we should get inside though, before we freeze to death out here.”

Lyn snorted. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh, but that has to be one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard. I can totally tell you’re from BC, you know?”

“Excuse me?”

“Sure, it’s chilly, but this ain’t cold,” she said with a smile. “It can feel like -30°C here with the wind chill, Michael.”

Michael looked horrified. “Are you serious? What the hell is wrong with you East Coasters?”

Lyn full on laughed while I chuckled silently into her chest. My eyes felt heavy, and I started feeling myself drifting off, which given my condition was probably not a good thing. But I was tired. My body ached. I just wanted to sleep now, to make it all go away.

I felt my body weight shift as Lyn stood up. I blinked my eyes open to see her looking down at me with concern.

“You doing okay, Al?”

I shook my head.

“Right. We should get back then.”

I could feel her body shaking as she carried me across the campus. Knowing her, I bet she was feeling a lot worse than she was letting on. Just like last time. She pretended that her arm wasn’t that bad so Michael would be seen first. What did Loryn say to me that time we spoke? Something like Lyn would carry the weight of the world without letting anyone know how heavy it was or whatever. I curled in closer, trying to stop my own uncontrolled shivers.

It sounded like Michael and Lyn were talking about something, but I couldn’t make out the words. Everything was fuzzy, like if my ears were filled with cotton. I tried very hard to stay with it as they walked back to the residences.

Some time later, Lyn was jostling me in her arms still. I was still awake, I swear. It took me a couple of minutes, but I finally focused on her face. It looked blurry. Then I realized I wasn’t wearing my glasses. That’s why everything had been so hard to make out.

“Ally? Can you hear me?”

I nodded.

“Do you have anyone to get into your res? I don’t have your key.”

“My purse,” I croaked.

“Luv, your purse is gone. I think we lost it back there,” said Lyn softly.

Oh. I guess that meant my phone was gone too. So, I couldn’t even text Sarah to let me back in. Crap. I bit my lip, trying to think of a solution. There was a doorbell that people could ring if they lost their student card. I was about to tell Lyn that, but she was already walking in some unfamiliar direction.

“Wh-where are we going?” I asked, my teeth chattering as I shivered.

“You can just sleep in my room tonight,” she said. “Nura is out with her boyfriend, so I know she won’t be back until tomorrow after class.”

I didn’t say anything else until after we got there. Lyn tapped her card against the sensor pad and pulled the door open once it turned green. The hallway was dimly lit as she walked towards her room. I was surprised that there was no RA in sight, but then I heard some rowdiness somewhere else in the building, and assumed they were there.

“Ally, can I put you down for a second? I just need to get my key out.”

I slipped down, feeling very unsteady on my feet. I grabbed a hold of her arm to keep myself upright. Lyn reached into her pocket and fished out the key. Her hand was shaking pretty badly as she tried to get it into the hole. I reached over and tried to steady her hand, but it only made it worse. We both ended up giggling as she finally managed to insert the stupid thing. She helped me into the room.

I was starting to feel a little more awake, but honestly, I was freezing. I took a look around the room and I don’t why, but I was surprised to see the stack of books beside the bed that I assumed to be Lyn’s. At least it looked like her bed. There were photos tacked above the bed, but they were too blurry for me to see.

“This way,” Lyn grabbed my hand and led me to sit on the bed. “Here, I have some clothes you can change into. They’re gonna be way too big for you, but it’s better than freezing your ass off.”

I took them thankfully. Lyn turned her back to me, to let me change in peace. I quickly undressed and put on the new clothes. Lyn wasn’t wrong, they were too big. I felt like I was swimming in the t-shirt, and while the waist wasn’t terrible because I could tie it, the pant legs just went on forever.

“I’m done,” I told Lyn.

Lyn had been pulling on her own new shirt. She turned around and grinned when she saw how I looked. “Here, put this on too,” she tossed a hoodie at me.

“Thanks,” I said as I pulled it on. Already I was feeling a little better. Lyn sat down next to me, holding a brush in her hand. I looked at it in question.

“Your hair just looks like it needs a quick brush,” Lyn explained as she waggled the brush around. “After my hair gets wet, I like to brush out the tangles before sleeping.”

She started to slowly brush out the tangles, which felt very relaxing. I found myself leaning into her as she ran the brush through my hair. It was strange to think that I nearly died not too long ago, yet here I was, in my crush’s room letting her brush my hair. It was surreal. I felt the tears well up in my eyes as I sat there, everything catching up to me at once. My throat was pounding from where those hands tried to squeeze the life out of me.

“Hey,” Lyn said softly behind me. I turned around, wiping at my eyes. She cupped my face in her hands and wiped away the rest of the tears with her thumbs. “It’s alright. You’re going to be okay. If you need a minute, I’m here.”

I nodded, sniffling. She pulled me close for a hug, and I held on to her tightly. Was it worth it? Was I doing the right thing by investigating these murders? I thought I was, I really did. I guess a better question to ask if it was the right thing to drag in other people with me? I didn’t think it was. I should tell them to stop, that they didn’t need to help me anymore. I’ll do this on my own from now on. I took a shuddering breath to say as much, pulling away from Lyn’s embrace. But when I saw the look on her face, I knew I couldn’t. There was a fire in her eyes. They both would have told me if they didn’t want to help, I believe that.

“Are you doing okay?” Lyn asked, her eyes searching my face. I nodded, and her lip quirked upwards. “Good, I’m glad. Get some rest, Ally. You need it.”

“Lyn…” I hesitated.

Her eyes narrowed in concern. “Yeah? What is it?”

“You…you would tell me if you didn’t want to do this anymore, right?” I asked, my heart speeding up in a bout of nerves.

Lyn’s face softened as she reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “Of course, I would. You never forced me into this, Ally. I chose to help. Michael too. Listen, what happened tonight? Not your fault. Shit happens, you know? Don’t blame yourself.”

My heart was still racing, but it wasn’t from nerves anymore. I nodded, so she knew I listened to what she said. She smiled, her hand still on my face. My hands were trembling, but I knew. I leaned forward, kissing Lyn softly.

Her eyes widened in surprise before she closed them, kissing me back. It was better than I ever imagined it to be. I could smell the chlorine on her skin, lingering from her earlier practice. Her lips are softer than I expected, not at all dry.

I pulled away, smiling shyly. “I wanted to do that for awhile now,” I whispered.

Lyn put her forehead on mine, her thumb rubbing my cheek softly. “Me too,” she admitted with a chuckle. “I was going to, back in the library before the ghost interrupted. Then I was too wrapped in all my shit when I got back. I’m glad you took initiative, heh. Now, as much as I want to kiss you again, you need to sleep. I’ll be here in the morning.”

“Okay,” I pulled away and laid down in her bed. “Do you mind sharing with me? I’m still really cold.”

Lyn smirked, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “Sure thing.” She got up and shut the lights off, then climbed back into the bed. It was a little small for two people to share, but I found I didn’t mind being squished. She wrapped her arm around my middle and held me close. Lyn pulled up the blankets, tucking her chin on top of my head. I felt warm and protected by her embrace and loved it. It was a wonderful feeling. It chased away the chill I felt deep in my chest. I drifted off instantly.

[potterblogs-blog]

ok y'all have been sorting pjo characters into hogwarts houses which would be nice if you were doing it right

it’s great that you’re trying and all but the thing is, I find a lot of them following the same pattern:

All the demigods are automatically in Gryffindor, because they’re super brave. Octavian and Ethan Nakamura and Clarisse and all sorts of people the fandom doesn’t like are obviously in Slytherin because, you know, Slytherin is hella evil. Then we’ve got the stuck-ups in Ravenclaw and the background characters in Hufflepuff, ‘cause apparently it’s the potato House.

Since all this is hella stereotypical and not at all correct, I was like, well, what would I do? Well hERE IS THE ANSWER ASSHATS

*bill nye voice* please...cOnSiDeR tHe FoLLoWiNg

Percy is a hella Hufflepuff, no denying it, not one bit. He doesn’t care about a position or nothing, he is just a pure Hufflepuff inside and out.

Let’s talk about some major Hufflepuff qualities here:

• Dedication (yo my boy percy is pretty dedicated to the camp and to staying alive am i right i mean he was literally not at all tempted to join kronos’ army like ever soo yeah. also. consider a thing. have u even read the books. if they are a smol bean and he has met them at least 15 mins ago u bet ur lil ass he’s dedicated)

• Patience (percy has not decapitated a SINGLE god on purpose and they all keep coming back, i mean it’s bound to happen someday but CMON YOU GOTTA ADMIRE HIM FOR THAT. literally so patient. even by ADHD standards and its ok u can ask me i have ADHD but that’s beside the point back to percy now)

• Loyalty (it’s his freaking fatal flaw wtf else do you want from him??? to jump into tartarus out of loyalty to his girlfriend??? you do one wrong thing to percy’s friend and he will mESS UP YOUR SHIT LIKE A TRUE HUFFLEPUFF DON’T EVEN PRETEND HE WON’T. remember nancy? I THOUGHT SO. FIRST FEW PAGES OF THE SERIES. AND IT ONLY GETS BETTER)

THAT BEING SAID: ALL THESE THINGS ARE DEF PRETTY IMPORTANT TO PERCY OKAY

Conclusion: HELGA HUFFLEPUFF IS HAPPY THAT SHE HAS SUCH A HELLA HUFFLEPUFF IN HER HOUSE WHERE HE BELONGS.

Don’t try to tell me my girl Annabeth is a Ravenclaw because she ain’t no Ravenclaw get outta my face and let me lay down some FACTS here

LOOK AT THESE SLYTHERIN/ANNABAE TRAITS

• Cunning (we all know what this means so lemme just throw down some hella rad SYNONYMS because those are just the bOMB DIGGITY: we got crafting, scheming, designing, and calculating rn. YOU KNOW WHO IS ALL OF THOSE THINGS? MY GIRL ANNIE. FIGHT ME. I GOT ANNABETH ON MY TEAM AND SHE WILL SLAY YOU WITH HER CLEVERNESS AND DECEIT BEFORE SHE EVEN TAKES OUT HER DAGGER. SHE TRICKED ARACHNE INTO WEAVING HER OWN DEATH TRAP FOR ZEUS’ SAKE)

• Resourcefulness (lil bby annabeth ran away from home in SAN FRANCISCO when she was SEVEN and met luke and thalia in RICHMOND which is in VIRGINIA. SHE WAS SEVEN AND SOMEHOW WENT FROM THE WEST COAST TO THE EAST COAST. GOTTA BE RESOURCEFUL FOR THAT. also remember that time when she broke her ankle, scolded it, then made a cast out of bUBBLE WRAP? BECAUSE I DO. AND THEN THE WHOLE WEAVING A BRIDGE THING. DANG GIRL.)

• Ambition (don’t deny it this girl’s fatal flaw is pride and those two things are connected aS SHIT. SHE’S SO INTENT ON BEING AN ARCHITECT THAT SHE GOT THE GODS TO GIVE HER A JOB REDESIGNING MOUNT OLYMPUS AND THATS A BIG ASS THING IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF. reminder that this girl had the chance to get away from a sphinx but she challenged it instead because it was sorta insulting?? who else do we know is like this?? oh yeah fUCKIGN SLYTHERINS)

ANNABETH BAMF CHASE HAS ALL THESE QUALITIES AND SHE KNOWS IT. THAT’S WHY SHE USES THEM TO HER ADVANTAGE SO OFTEN.

Conclusion: SALAZAR SLYTHERIN SAYS ANNABETH CHASE CAN SLAY HIS BASILISK ANYTIME THAT’S HOW PERFECT SHE IS FOR THIS HOUSE.

LEMME TALK TO YOU ABOUT A THING HERE. A BIG THING. AN IMPORTANT THING. JASON IS A RAD LIL RAVENCLAW BOOGER AND HERE’S WHY. THERE ARE A WHOLE LOTTA RAVENCLAW TRAITS BUT IMMA GIVE YOU 3.

• Wisdom (yeah annabeth’s mom may be the goddess of wisdom but if jason wasn’t wise then how the heckity heck would he have survived long enough to be made a freaking PRAETOR. also you know what fight me. jason is the equivalent of a giant dog that is a floofer and goes boof and loves small children but that has nothing to do with wisdom anyway he is one of the smartest out of the seven)

• Individuality (yeah that’s a thing go ask my girl JK. if jason isn’t so Original™ then explain to me please how he restored the Fifth Cohort to awesomeness?? he was a total badass who didn’t take any shit and turned it around for the whole cohort that’s how. this lil boi is an individual yis. one might ask how can one be a badass but also be a fluffball? well jason did it so stop asking ok)

• Acceptance (we are talking about the official mom friend and the founder of the nico di angelo protection squad what else do you want him to do, hug mother earth??? he wrote the song you’ve got a friend in me because he loves everyone)

SEE HERE: JASON IS A TOTAL DORK NERD WHO POKES PIPER AND GOES “PIPER. PIPER LISTEN TO THIS THING I FOUND OUT TODAY. PIPER ISN’T IT AWESOME”

Conclusion: NOWHERE ELSE IS WHERE JASON GOES. HE WEARS THE RAVENCLAW DIADEM TO ALL OF HIS CLASSES. FIGHT ME. ALSO THE GREY LADY BC HE MAKES HER COOKIES AND SHE LOVES IT EVEN THOUGH SHE’S DEAD AND CAN’T EAT THEM.

Consider yourself a thing. Consider all of the Gryffindor Piper things. JUST CONSIDER THEM.

• Recklessness (subtle reminder that Piper used her charmspeak to fuckign steal stuff even though she knew she would get caught. also consider yourself some other things. remember when she anNIHILATED A FRICKIN GODDESS WITH HER IMPULSIVENESS BECAUSE YES. remember when she and anniebell had to do the thing with the stuff that was all about feelings and shit but lil orphan annie over there was totally lost and all like “this is hella illogical” and pipes was just all “we just gotta dO THE THING ANNABETH” and it was total badassery bc it’s the reason i live)

• Bravery (this girl went on her first quest like a week after she found out she was a demigod and would probably die a painful death bUT DID SHE STUTTER?? nah. REMEMBER WHEN SHE SCREAMED AT A CROWD OF ANGRY ROMAN CHILDREN WHO WANTED MURDER BECAUSE JASON GOT HIT IN THE HEAD WITH A BRICK AND SHE HAD TO PROTECT HIM??? BRAVE. went on her first quest knowing that her dad was probably gonna die and did all the things to make the giants angry and plan a rescue??? BRAVE AF.)

• Chivalry (HELLA amazing friend because she’s just sO GENUINE AND KIND and you know that if someone hurts you she will CUT THEM WITH HER SUPER BADASS KNIFE THAT GIVES PEOPLE NIGHTMARES. stands by jason ALL THE TIME especially when he needs her and actually everyone can count on her for all of the things.)

SO: IF YOU DON’T THINK PIPER IS HELLA BRAVE THEN YOU ARE VERY WRONG MY DEAR FRIEND.

Conclusion: Piper would have defeated Voldemort by year 2 but sadly she was not the chosen one. GODRIC GRYFFINDOR SAYS HER FACE SHOULD BE PERMANENTLY ENGRAVED ON HIS SWORD SO THAT THE LAST THING THEIR ENEMIES SEE IS THE CUTE AND UNFORGIVING FACE OF PIPER MCLEAN.

On the subject of Leo: This child is a Ravenclaw through and through no evidence needed but jUST IN CASE I WILL TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE STUFF.

• Creativity (we are talking about a smol bean who makes tiny helicopters and stuff that actually works WHEN HE IS NOT EVEN LOOKING AT WHAT HE IS DOING OR PAYING ANY ATTENTION TO IT. remember how this child saw a terrifying bronze dragon that everyone had tried and failed to tame and just went “sweet, imma grab that so we can ride off into the Canadian sunset”??? yeahp. remember when apollo needed a thing so he just casually freaking iNVENTED A BRAND NEW INSTRUMENT LIKE IT WAS NBD??? I DO. BADASS)

• Originality (leo practically becomes famous for his abilities to come up with plans that are so ridiculously original that nobody figures out what’s happening before it’s too late and if that’s not good enough for you then idk what is. allow me to raise you the cyclops incident, right next to the robot eidolons thing plus that whole fiasco where he fuckign died, also did i mention the valdezinator or the fact that he was the only person to ever figure out how to return to ogygia?? this kid is a mechanical engineer already and he’s 16 im pretty sure baby eight year old leo sat through calculus classes at a local college and got the best grades tbh)

• Wit (leo is the master of comebacks and rash two-minute ideas that actually end up working like damn son this is a purebred Ravenclaw right here lemme just appreciate this. also hey remember that time where he got launched off of a flying ship and was hurtling downwards at a very alarming rate because you know that’s what happens when you fall and he literally actually built himself a working helicopter so that he wouldn’t die all while free falling from probably at least a few thousand feet in the air like damn son)

AS A FOOTNOTE: LEO CAN RIVAL ANNABETH IN KNOWLEDGE I MEAN HE IS A MECHANICAL ENGINEER WHAT MORE DO YOU ASK FOR

Conclusion: Leo and Jason share the diadem. Leo gets it on mondays, wednesdays and fridays and Jason gets to wear it on tuesdays, thursdays and saturdays and on sundays they surrender it to the marble bust of Rowena Ravenclaw in the Ravenclaw Tower who says that LEO DESERVES TO BE IN RAVENCLAW EVEN MORE SO THAN YOUR AVERAGE STUDENT COME AT ME BRO

ok well hazel is somehow both my child and my mom so I’m not exactly sure how that works but anyway hERE ARE ALL THE REASONS THAT HAZEL IS A BEAUTIFUL, BADASS SLYTHERIN.

• Cunning (hey y'all remember that time with the cliff and the turtle and the feet?? terrifying huh?? yeah girl slay!! hazel will trick you and manipulate you and you won’t have any idea it’s happening until you’re being gobbled up by your own gargantuan pet sea turtle. Slytherins are also known for achieving their ends in any and all ways and all i could think of was how my child actually literally fuckign died so that she could stop the rise of acelonywhatever and the whole time she was 13 and staring death and gaea right in the frickin face and she didn’t give any shits at all)

• Resourcefulness (let’s talk about that time when hazel was “captured” by the amazons and basically had nothing so she did the only logical thing which was drown them in massive piles of jewelry from the warehouse and make them beg for mercy, also there was this horse thing that nobody could touch and she just casually goes “oh just a sec lemme summon a giant gold nugget that was probably at least a mile into the dirt because how else would it be this big” and he loves her and she rides him into victory. did i mention that hazel is my mom?? this is just one (1) of the sUPER RAD RESOURCEFUL THINGS that hazel manages to pull off)

• Ambition (hazel both believes and knows for a fact that she can literally do all of the things and she never once doubts herself like at all because she is AMAZEBALLS LIKE THAT. SHE WAS 13 AND THE AMAZONS WERE ALL LIKE “DANG GIRL WE WANT YOU ON OUR TEAM” and she was like “i got this huge to-do list but nbd i’ll get her done” like she is pURE CONFIDENCE AND. YES)

Also: SHE’S TOTALLY SUPER COOL WITH ALL THE THINGS AND IS NEVER FAZED. THAT IS MY GIRL.

Conclusion: HAZEL LEVESQUE IS SLYTHERIN AF AND WILL ALWAYS ACHIEVE HER ENDS NO MATTER HOW MANY GIANT SEA TURTLES SHE HAS TO FEED YOU TO. SALAZAR SLYTHERIN FRICKIN APPROVES AND THINKS THAT SHE IS JUST AS TERRIFYING AS ANNABETH.

Not gonna deny that my lil noob Frankie's a tRUE PURE-HEARTED GRYFFINDOR. THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD AGREE WITH ME.

• Chivalry (WE’RE TALKING ABOUT A CHILD WHO WILL TRIP OVER HIS OWN FEET AND PUNCH HIMSELF IN THE FACE IF IT MEANS HE’S SHOWING RESPECT TO YOU. my dude doesn’t care who you are, he will literally always show you respect until he’s given a reason not to. everything he eVER DOES is because he’s PROTECTING SOMEONE or he’s GETTING A LIL BIT OF PAYBACK and if that’s noT A GRYFFINDOR THING THEN DAMN SON YOU SHOULD REALLY SORT OUT YOUR PRIORITIES)

• Bravery (if you’re going to come into mY HOUSE and tell me that FRANK ZHANG ISN’T BRAVE then feel free to hit yourself in the face with a hammer because guess what losers?? this kid loses his mom and then his gma just goes “oh by the way you’re half god and you have a gift that you need to figure out for yourself and also here’s this piece of wood, don’t burn it or else you will actually die, now go with this pack of fuckign wolves to camp so that monsters won’t attack you and you won’t die, plus when you get there you have to beg forgiveness for this thing that your great grandfather did or else they might literally murder you. have fun” and frankie just rOLLS WITH IT AND KICKS ASS WHILE BEING A CUTE LIL CHUBBY BUNNY. LET’S NOT FORGET ABOUT HOW HE COMPLETELY OBLITERATED A WHOLE CITY’S WORTH OF MONSTERS to appease a stupid ass god and save nico and hazel from being forever plants and he gets back and trippy is absolutely terrified of him because omg he’s glowing red and he actually did the thing and oh also he kind of scared me so much that i sort of forgot i was a god and had power over him)

• Nerve (let me repeat how FRANK ENOUGH NERVE TO THREATEN A GOD WITHOUT EVEN THINKING OF THE CONSEQUENCES. I’M SO DONE WITH THIS. THIS IS MY SHIT THANKS. PLS APPRECIATE FRANKIE YOURE ALL BREAKING MY HEART. Also remember how he entrusted his real actual lifeline to somebody who wasn’t him like daaang boi that is so pure)

Additionally: FRANK ZHANG IS THE REASON I AM ALIVE AND WELL. ALSO REMEMBER HOW HE BECAME PRAETOR?? I DO BELIEVE THAT IS THE MOST BADASS WAY ANYONE HAS EVER BECOME PRAETOR PLEASE AND THANKS

Conclusion: GODRIC GRYFFINDOR CRIED WHEN FRANK WAS SORTED INTO HIS HOUSE. GODRIC DOESN’T THINK HE EVEN DESERVES FRANK. FRANK CAN HAVE 4 OF HIS SWORDS.

THIS HAS BEEN A THING. A THING WITH HOUSES AND PJO. I HOPE THIS WAS ENTERTAINING AT LEAST. THANK YOU KINDLY.

[dpargyle]

Winter of My Discontents

Alright, moving on –

So this is the first day of shit weather this year where I live.  It’s weird – growing up in New York I remember the seasons – but here we only have two – winter and construction.  It goes from 80 to 40 (F) in about a week – so yesterday was 75 and sunny and I could read outside and actually talk to people and today it’s 59 and rainy and cloudy and I just wanna set everything on fire.

I fucking hate it.

Kids – I fucking hate winter.  It glooms over you – and everything goes from bright and outside to monochrome and “fuck you.”  My wheelchair can’t go over the snow and it snows here from like the beginning of November to the middle of April and all of those months here I loathe.  Summer’s ok here but you’re still surrounded by religious lunatics.  

Nobody plows their fucking sidewalk in winter so I have to literally risk my life by driving my wheelchair in the middle of roads with cars in order to cross my own godsdamn street just to get food and now this year

my Dad wants me to come into the office three times a week.  

(So – to explain my work situation – OK – so technically I’m unemployed – and that’s cuz of the stupid fucking government who says like “oh you’re making above this much money as a person in a wheelchair?  Well in that case Medicaid isn’t gonna pay for your attendants to help you get up in the morning and go to bed at night (I’d need to make, like, 25k or so a year to afford that basically)” and also if you save literally one dollar more than $2,000 at one time on all your bank accounts combined we’ll also cut your Medicaid funding for the attendants and very expensive medical equipment (my chair costs 36k every 5 years) as well!” so I’m very much hamstrung by bureaucratic bullshit) –

so in order to get around all this nonsense – I (with the help of my family) am officially unemployed but I live in an apartment that’s technically rented by my Dad’s company – and in return I write and edit (and have been for like 6 years now) an e-magazine about the 3D Printing Industry (I don’t put my name on it though because again, government…) – which is kinda interesting and has allowed me to do both that and focus on my creative work as well – and I also do some freelance writing and one time an artistic thing for the company as well – (that money gets funneled to a bank account the government doesn’t know about) but mostly I’m glad I’ve had these jobs but they’re not…I don’t get excited about them.  I know other people might, but – I’m not one of them hahaha.  I really want to work creatively, but you know…)

In any case, while my Dad does run the main company as CEO he didn’t hire me – it wasn’t his idea – the owner of the company (who has lots of $$$) – after a year of me searching for jobs after college (very unsuccessfully) called me up one day and was like “you’re doing this for us now” and I needed to move out of my folks’ house ASAP so I was like “OK” –

But now my Dad wants me to come in to the office on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays – and I totally understand his reasoning (he’s trying to help me out) – he thinks that if I’m in the office other people there will involve me more in freelance-type work and I’ll be able to earn more $ - and this is probably true – and he also wants me to “get out of your warren” – cuz he knows my brother was basically the only person I interacted with socially in this entire city on any regular basis and now that he’s gone, well….

So my Dad seems to think being social with the other workers or something will be good for me? I mean maybe he’s right but I know everyone in there and they’re all super old and while they’re very nice I don’t have much in common with them and even if I did it’s still super awkward cuz I’m the boss’s son and it’s just awkward – I mean this is part of the reason why my brother left anyway – he worked there for three years but after those three years he was ready to not work at his Dad’s company anymore – and plus he and his wife fuckin hated Utah anyway and I don’t blame them at all I mostly hate it too haahahaha (cries)…

Though if I’m being honest anywhere I’d live I’d probably find all the flaws in real quick…

But maybe somewhere like California where actual things happen and I don’t have to fucking war against winter every year…

Cuz like I’ve tried the work many days a week with a commute in this city – and in summer it’s ok – there’s a very good tram-line system and I’m close to a station (for this purpose) – but in winter…

So for the first year I lived in Salt Lake I was working the magazine job and I was also working at the local Apple Store as well and that winter I literally nearly died commuting cuz I was super tired all the time (my fatigue tolerance level is super low) and dealing with customers and then doing the magazine job and then I was trying to write a book in my free time (it was the first one I wrote and it was complete shit but I’m proud of it cuz it was the first thing I’d ever finished) but I was basically operating at only 15% power and then one night I was on the train platform and there was ice and I slipped off it and half my wheelchair and I fell into the gap between the platform and the train and if that train operator hadn’t seen me he would’ve pulled out of the station and I woulda been warm meat paste…

(I nearly die at least six times a year…)

And that was the night I decided I’d quit that Apple job cuz no job is worth that hellish commute.

Even in subtler ways, though the winter is a killer for me here – there are days when the weather or the pressure changes and my right shoulder (the arm I drive my power wheelchair with) is in so much agony I can hardly move at all – and this lasts 2 or 3 days sometimes 4 –

and then they have these frikken godsforsaken mines here and we’re in this bowl-shaped valley so they mine all this dust into the air and so there’s this inversion here in winter and you can literally visibly see the dust in the air and your throat burns for like four months straight and it’s like the fuckin dust bowl or something god I hate unregulated red states…

And to top it all off, when I travel a lot in the cold my feet rub against my shoes which happened when I commuted to the apple store and by the end of that year I had sores on my heels that took 6 months to heal and in that time one of my best friends from high school died and I couldn’t travel to his funeral because I couldn’t even get out of my door and….I hated myself for that – I’d let him down (again.)

To be honest with you – when I first got offered that job at Apple I was so proud and happy and excited – I’d been looking for a job for a year after college and I looked everywhere – all over the world – in every industry I could think of – and there was just nothing.  Nobody even offered me an interview before they did – and I have self-esteem issues anyway so I started thinking – like – is it cuz I’m in a wheelchair?  Is that why nobody wants me?  (I really have issues dealing with any kind of rejection because of this…)

But then Apple came along and said “Yes!”  And I was like OMG this is amazing – I’m doing retail but it’s gonna be in an interesting (kind of) industry and I’m gonna work with young peeps like me and I’m gonna do creative stuff in my free time and slowly work my way up the ladder and I’m still young I got tons of time to do everything and be everywhere I wanna be going…and then the month before I had the job orientation with Apple my old high school friend had the sudden accident which would lead to his passing a few months later – and….nothing mattered like it had anymore…

He was hovering between life and death all the way in New York and I was in Utah doing…what? Selling expensive crap to rich Mormons? Nothing made sense anymore.  For six years before that point I’d been an insufferable evangelical Christian zealot – and although for two years my faith had been wavering due to me beginning to question its draconian teachings – at that point I still had it – but then this happened and very quickly what little faith I’d been holding onto died with my friend.  

I’m glad I’ve grown in my empathy and inclusiveness since then – but on the other hand, I feel I’ve lost something…

And then a month after my friend’s accident I had to present myself to Apple and be an enthusiastic team player filled with evangelism for the products and I just…I couldn’t do it…I remember that week so vividly too cuz that was the week George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney and they announced they were doing MORE STAR WARS and I was like holy fuck that’s what I wanna do – maybe not necessarily Star Wars (though !!!) – but telling stories and weaving myths – and making a thing that MATTERED to people – that moved them and shook them and changed them and nourished them and gave them some godsdamned fucking hope in this unjust world…

But I was stuck here in Utah…

So I started writing that book and I pushed myself so incredibly hard cuz literally by that point it was the only thing that mattered to me and made sense – feeling like I’d been put on this Earth to make art and I wasn’t gonna waste anymore time because maybe I didn’t have anymore time, you know?

And like I couldn’t connect with my coworkers – they were my age but many of them were Mormons with whole families they were supporting and most of the rest (save for my good friend @soundscomplicated) – I just…it was hard to connect to.  In college I’d been surrounded by interesting people who challenged my brain and soul parts (at least sometimes – though academia drove me nuts) …but now….now I was stuck in the wasteland with no way out…

I finished the book and it was crap but at least I’d done something.  Then I made that personal safety decision to quit Apple and for the last four years I’ve been working from home…

And this past year or so I finally began to put it all together again maybe – my drawing skills were improving – I was writing another book that scared the crap outta me (but that was a good thing) – about a group of nerds who lost someone close to them and whose worlds were turned upside down as a result – where the protagonist was a kid in a wheelchair like me and for the first time I felt like I was writing something IMPORTANT that MATTERED that might move people – letting out all my pain and hope and regret and love -

But then I sent it out to potential agents and waited and waited and waited for months and months and literally none of them even sent me a solid rejection.  It was all just nothingness into the void.  I understand they get so many submissions though so I tried not to take it personally –

And I decided this story and these words that I’d finished were important enough for me to publish on Amazon – so I did – and it was one of the proudest moments of my life (this was back in April or so) but then – nobody bought it.  And it’s not like I expected to make out like gangbusters – I don’t know anything about marketing or being social media savvy (I mean just witness the godsdamned length of this friggen post hahaha) – but I thought at least everyone in my extended family would buy it – but nope. It sold like 11 copies.  Let’s just say I will love those 11 people forever but I just…

Like I’d killed myself over this fucking book.  I went down into the deepest parts of my soul and ripped them out for all the world to see – I didn’t do anything but this book.  I did my paying work for the company but hanging out with people other than my brother sometimes?  I didn’t have time.  I didn’t have the energy.

In the flesh connections are so hard and when you’re working on something you truly believe in – well – you feel compelled to WORK WORK WORK and where was I gonna meet people here anyway?  

This story mattered more than my own happiness.

And now that it hasn’t done well?  What was it all for?  Really? It’s not that I’m not totally effing proud of what came out – I am – probably more than any other art I’ve ever made – but…I dunno I guess I just have delusions of grandeur for myself…sometimes I feel like if I’m not Shakespeare – if I can’t support myself with my art – I’m a failure.  

I’ve failed.  My life has been a waste!

And then I sit back and I try to remind myself that’s an incredibly toxic and terrible way of thinking but at this point I literally can’t help it…

I don’t know what to work on next creatively.  And now I’m having to spend more time away from my creative stuff and I don’t want to – I really don’t give a shit about the meager extra money I’m gonna get by going into the office – I want those hours I’m gonna waste there back!  I don’t want to spend more hours not doing what I was born on this earth to do.

That probably sounds super privileged of me and I’m lucky to be where I am and blah blah blah but I just……and when the winter really comes and there’s snow on the ground I literally will not be able to go to the office (or even leave my apartment easily for that matter) and my Dad understands that – but I just…

Maybe I just don’t want to do that stuff anymore?  I’m probably coming across as a super lazy and ungrateful person – and I am, but…

I just don’t have many friends here anyway and spending energy on commuting is just not gonna help that at all and I see no way out and I’m literally crying as I type this and I want OUT OUT OUT so bad but I don’t know what that means or what that looks like and I am cold and scared and lonely and tired and

For the past month it’s been warm and sunny and I’ve had Blondie to distract me from all this pain and mounting mediocrity and it’s been nice cuz I haven’t really had a crush in the flesh since college – like literally the last girl I allowed myself to fall for is now married with two kids hahaha and that night I got my head stuck in the fridge and I didn’t say this in the original post but

I was literally kind of sobbing because my brother was leaving (he’s gone now) and I don’t have many good friends (especially here) and my book I cared so much about fucking crashed and burned and I put my fucking soul into that thing and it wasn’t good enough I’M NEVER GOOD ENOUGH and then my chair crapped out and I was about to die and I cried for like an hour (I haven’t cried like that in like seven years – since before my friend died) but then I stopped crying cuz Leia’s Theme came on my shuffle and it gave me some hope so instead of crying I was yelling and then somebody busted open my front door

And she was literally an angel and just sweet and all my everything just washed away and everything was OK but now – it’s just – that distraction is fading away and I am facing my reality and…

As with every winter here, I am growing restless…

[shipmvns]

Closure From The Great Streetlight God

its the one year anniversary of this fic. dont call me sentimental. the universe wants maya dead

Pairing: Riley/Maya Words: 2,332 Summary:  Perhaps there's a lesson to be learned from us all about horror stories and miracles in between the monotonous drone of everything else, which is really just to say that if there's some great terrible cliche moral to be learned from being alive and dying, too, then really, it can wait until the end. 

PART ONE  PART TWO  PART THREE  PART FOUR  PART FIVE  PART SIX  PART SEVEN  PART EIGHT PART NINE  PART TEN PART ELEVEN

ALTERNATIVELY, READ IT ON AO3/LEAVE A COMMENT

But then he stops you before you can even start, earthy dirt choking you up in the back of your throat, standing in the street outside your apartment in a prom dress that’s a little torn and a little wet and definitely ruined forever, now, and he’s holding your shaking shoulders, and you don’t know if he’s listening to you.

“But that didn’t happen, right?” He prompts you, voice soft, slight nod. You swallow hard. He might be patronizing you. Probably not, though. You think he’s mostly probably just trying to be nice, because come on, it’s Farkle, and he’s known her almost as long as you have, and he cares almost as much as you do, and he’s probably a lot more practical than you are, anyways.

You nod, choked sob and all, and his grip relaxes on your shoulder.

“I know it scared you, but she’s fine, all right? Right? She started going, but they got her back. So it’s okay. And you’re remembering it all wrong, Riles. It’s not like she’s actually been in a coma that long, it’s only been a couple weeks,” he says, breathing slow and even, like he’s trying to teach you how to do it yourself. He sounds awfully sincere.

You breathe, ragged and slow. Your explanations of things may be all out of order, but you’re too caught up on the what-ifs to care, because it may have only been just a little before prom, but what if it was longer? What if it ends up longer? You can’t get it out of your head, and that makes it hard to care about what you are and aren’t imagining in your great retelling of the end of your life.

“It’s not okay,” You express, dragging your knuckle across your cheeks like a child, hiccupping slightly as you try to catch your breath. You must be quite the sight right now, the two of you. “It’s not. Because she’s still in a coma, and she crashed, and they got her back but they might not have, and she could have died, and I wouldn’t have been there, because I would have been kissing some greasy upperclassmen in the corridor while eight Juniors got drunk in the girls room, instead of being there for her!” Your voice cracks against your will, and you shove some hair that’s fallen loose out of your face.

“Riley. Hey. I know you love Maya, but life doesn’t stop just because she can’t be with you every step of the way. She could have died, but she didn’t, and you can’t tear yourself up about what might have happened,” he promises you, but it doesn’t really deliver you much comfort.

“I was supposed to protect her,” you sputter mournfully. “I promised her I would save her and it’s my fault,” you lower yourself to the cement, rapping your arms around yourself. He meets you there on his knees.

He’s more forceful this time, wills you to meet his eyes. “No, it’s not.” He pauses, looks upward, as if asking the big streetlight in the sky for guidance when dealing with a sobbing fifteen-year-old girl, then comes back down after a beat, heavy sigh and all, dark eyes meeting your own. “It was Maya’s.”

You pause, taken aback, wondering if you should punch him or cry, but a weary grin is making its way onto his face. “She stole her mom’s car because she was too jealous to let you explain a misunderstanding. She- she doesn’t even know how to drive, Riley. And, really, doesn’t that sound exactly like something Maya would do?” He shrugs, helpless to the bare truth in his statement, and he begins to laugh.

You take a minute, but then offer a watery chuckle in return, but soon his laughs as echoing, tinny and sharp in the empty night, and before you know it, both of you are laughing on the ground, rain pooling around you, prom dress and all.

Eventually, Monday comes, and you do your best to avoid that upperclassman that you cried after kissing, but it’s not hard. School is coming to a screeching close, and you and Farkle study for finals every other day. On your off days, you visit Maya. Farkle comes, too, if he can. On the days Farkle comes, you talk to him. On the days he doesn’t, you talk to Maya.

While you should be throwing yourself into studying about algebraic equations and the Watergate scandal, you instead throw yourself into studying about the Glasgow Coma Scale and Apallic Syndrome.

You learn about pupils in coma patients, and how the way that they react to light can predict the prognosis for the patient, so you tell Farkle you want to go alone, and bring your father’s miniature flashlight from his keychain.

When you make it there, you wait until there aren’t any nurses in the halls, and then you lift her left eyelid open. You flinch, if only for a moment; it’s the first time you’ve seen her eyes in weeks. You shake your head, as if that will physically save you from the jarring notion in your chest, then take the flashlight and hold it up to her eyes.

You take a painful breath; her eyes dilate. You might start crying from relief, but the blaring of her machines jolts you backwards, and you scurry out unnoticed as doctors pile in, chaotic symphony against the sound of her tachycardic heart.

After a while, you’ve started drawing lines with your uncut nails in the arm of the hospital chair, and the only thing that manages to stop you is the sight of a familiar doctor standing over you. He told you, once, when you thought that the world would end, that his name was Henry.

He looks at you expectantly, and when you say nothing, he starts for you, instead. “She… isn’t dead,” and he sounds almost helpless, looking down at you, eyebrows knitted together. “She should be,” he tells you, after a long breath. “She… by all means, medically… should be dead. And, uh, I’ve been going over it in my head, for a while, now thinking of all of the reasons… any reason, why this kid wouldn’t be dead. At all, but especially her, and especially by now. I mean, she really should be dead,” he strings together words like he doesn’t know what he’s trying to say, what he’s trying to convey to you.

“Why are you telling me this?” You look up at him, voice hoarse. Does he think he’s making you feel better?

“Well- I’ve been going over it in my mind. So have all of the other surgeons, even. And, uh, they all chock it up to something like a miracle? That’s.. what we call it, in science, in medicine, when something doesn’t make sense. When a tumor disappears. When a girl who should be dead is doing surprisingly all right. They’re all calling it a miracle,” he peers down on you, but he sounds incomplete, like he needs to go further, trudge along with whatever else he has to say.

“A miracle,” you repeat, knitting your hands together, not breaking his gaze.

“That’s what they’re saying about it,” he nods, shifting uncomfortably. “But… I don’t think it is,” he looks at you sideways. “I think.. I think that it’s you. I mean, I’m the one who’s been on her case, since the first car accident, to this one. And she shouldn’t be alive, and, uh, she doesn’t… Doesn’t really strike me as a super lucky kid. All things considered,” he tells you.

You stay silent.

“So I… It’s not exactly scientific, or a diagnosis, but I think that it might be you. I think… she’s struggling like hell to not be dead, even if she should be. And I think it might be you.”

He looks from side to side. You wouldn’t know how to respond if words could meet your lips, anyways. So instead, you just nod, and hope that he gets it, and then you wander home, the picture of Maya’s eyes still bright in your mind.

Everyone is worried about you, and you wish it would stopping, because obviously, the comatose girl is the more pressing issue, here. Still, you can’t fight the nagging feeling that you can’t live without her, and you can’t ward off the fear that grows in your chest each time you go to see her. It’s easier with Farkle, but he’s not there, today, and so she’s your only company, and it scares you, seeing Maya be so, so quiet.

Still, though, everything Henry said to you lingers in your head, and you find yourself rambling over her bed, begging her to stay alive.

“Maya, you can’t do this. You can’t be like this. You’re Maya Hart, nothing that a car can kill. It tried once, remember? Remember? But you didn’t die, not then, and not again, when your brain started bleeding. So you’re not just going to- to die, here, in a stupid hospital, because you thought it would be a good idea to drive! You can’t drive!” You sputter, gripping at her sheets, looking at her, broken and bruised, completely still in front of you.

“You shouldn’t have run off in the first place,” you reprimand her unmoving body, “that was stupid! Why did you have to run off, why do you always do that, Maya? Why can’t you ever listen to me, why do you always have to go off and try to destroy yourself?!” You struggle, and you find yourself crying once again, sucking in ragged breaths, halfway past hyperventilating.

“You can’t die here, Maya! You have to wake up, because I can’t do this without you!”

Maya, in turn, says nothing.

You don’t stop visiting her, because you aren’t petty enough to hold a grudge over someone in a coma for giving you the silent treatment. You wish Farkle was here, but he isn’t, and you’re curled up in the chair next to her with a science book, trying to define what a plume is, when there’s a blip on her heart monitor.

Your own heart stops, because afterall, didn’t you always want to be like Maya? And your eyes first go to the monitor, then to her, and your breath hitches entirely when you see that her eyes are flitting open.

You say nothing, do nothing, are nothing at all as she blinks, and her eyes slowly focus in on her surroundings, unfocused and confused. After a very long, very silent beat, in which you are nothing more than a shell of a person, she dramatically whips her head back and croons, as if part of a soap opera: “Oh, Riley, how long have I been out?”

You start crying, and don’t really think that you’ll ever stop.

Eventually, your friendly neighborhood doctor comes back in, and explains to you that the coma had mainly been cause by a swelling in her brain, and her organs needing to heal back to a more functional state. The worry for survival had mainly been infection, or her body giving out and not furthering its healing, causing death or a permanent vegetative state. Now that she’s awake and verbally functioning, with little to no memory loss, her prognosis is good.

“How much school did I miss?” Maya inquires as you toss your textbook towards your bookbag, moving towards her for yet another embrace as the doctor leaves the room.

“Two weeks,” you tell her. “You missed prom. You almost died on prom night, actually. Then the doctor told me that you should be dead,” you give a tearful laugh.

“I almost died on prom night. Cool,” She nods, but she’s playing clumsily with her hands, and you can tell that something is bothering her, because she won’t quite meet your eyes, and it’s starting to hurt.

She looks up suddenly. “Hey, um, Riles?” She gazes at you from her hospital bed. You look at her with open eyes. She could say just about anything right now, and you would take it with a smile. “I don’t think we should... be around each other, anymore,” she rushes out, quiet, as if she’s trying to relay the meaning without actually saying it.

“What?!” She could say just about anything, except, of course, for that.

“Well.. listen, all of this bad shit keeps happening to me, all of the time, and I don’t want you to have to see me get hurt, or die, even, or worse, get dragged into it, get hurt yourself. I just want you to be safe, and the world obviously has some kind of vendetta against me, so…” she tries.

You will have none of it. “Maya. Listen to me. Look me in the eyes. Okay? That is no way to think. That isn’t any way to live your life. Have you had a bad stroke of luck lately? Sure, fine, but that ends here and now. Because you won’t let it. Because the reality is, there is no great being in the sky trying to kill you, even if it seems like it. The universe does not want you, specifically, dead, above all other things. So you can’t act like it does, and succumb to some kind of idea that you’re destined for anything, let alone death. Maya, from here on out, you are going to create your own destiny. No more shitty fate, no more ‘bad-things-for-Maya,’ no more Final Fantasy, no more ‘the universe wants Maya dead.’ Give it up, throw it away. You woke up from a coma, I’ve had enough of this, and you have, too, so it’s over, now, Maya,” you say meaningfully, and she looks almost guilty.

She shifts uncomfortably.

“….Is my mom’s car okay?”

“O-Of course it’s not, Maya. Of course it’s not!”

And the two of you laugh and cry until you can’t feel anything but each other.  

Friday. 10:23 pm.

[softeyzs]

Affliction

admin: clover character count: 10873 paring: hoseok x reader genre: angst Obsessing over a boy was a high school thing, but yet here you are. Screaming with your best friend, Joji  about how he just pushed his hair back. You guys weren't exactly stalkers. He worked at the same pet shop as you both so it was kind of hard not to see him. On top of that he literally shined like the sun. A beam of light going aisle to aisle stocking shelves with dog food. He had recently dyed his hair brown, you silently cursed. Personally he looked the best with brown hair. His lanky body and intoxicating laugh, his love for dancing and rapping. You found it cute when he wouldn't go near the snakes cages because they always scared him. Both you and Joji  would kill to date him. He spoke to the both of you quite often, it's was kind of hard not to when your co workers. You often flirted with him so that he would one day pick you over Joji. She was beautiful. Her black hair ran down her back. Her perfect legs and timid personality. Joji says that you are like a ball of sunshine as well and you and Hoseok would be double sunshine trouble. But you think they would be the sun and the moon perfectly paired. So when you planned and asked both joji and hoseok if they wanted to go to a club with you they both agreed. So here you are putting on your maroon velvet dress and black heels. Doing up your face and letting your hair down. You looked at your figure in the mirror the dress hugging all your curves. Your dark brown wavy hair falling perfectly at your shoulders and upper back. Eyes winged with eyeliner. Maybe you would see a different side of him today something a little more sexy. You met them at the club. Joji looks gorgeous of course. Oh boy did Hoseok look good. He was sporting ripped black jeans with a black and red flannel and a tight black shirt. You could feel yourself practically drooling. “ Hey this place looks pretty cool huh?” Hoseok said with the biggest brightest smile on his face. “ Sure is!” Joji laughed out her eyes going up and down the building. “ I'm glad you guys like it, I wasn't sure if you guys would..”  You explained. You had picked the club. It was really nice with mello blue signs around it and you could see a rooftop deck area. “ Shall we ladies?” Hobi said hooking arms with you and Joji.   He lead you both inside the club and to the bar. Hoseok insisted that you and Joji try his favorite drink, which was fruity surprisingly. It was like his personality in a drink it practically swallowed you whole. You had a quick boost of energy, you practically dragged Hoseok and Joji to the crowded dance floor. You guys started off just dancing really weirdly and just for laughs but when a different song came on it was like it ignited a fire in you. Suddenly you were moving  your hips and swaying your body. Consumed by the music you didn't notice Hobi dancing with you until you heard him. “ You’re a great dancer y/n.” He said gaze getting predatory. “ Really? Thank you.” You said spinning around and putting your arms around his neck. Let's say you were a light weight. You had enough liquid courage to start dancing to the beat you arms around his neck, daring him to join in with a wink of your eye. He gladly joined in grabbing your lower waist. For the whole dance you both stole hooded glances at each other till at the end of the song he lifted your chin and kissed you. The kiss was fierce yet passionate, he pulled your body closer to his and it just felt so right. When you finally pulled away to breathe he smiled at you and whispered in your ear. “ Thanks angel” he said as he walked away to the towards the bar where Joji was. Holy shit, did that really happen. Did the man your so close to falling hopelessly in love with just kiss you? You pinched yourself, this is obviously not a dream is it? You watched him as he talked to Joji. Your lips still tingling with excitement. For the rest of the night you all danced and drank and afterwards took cabs home. Hoseok didn't kiss you anymore that night and you wondered why. The next few days at the pet shop were fun. Hobi would come up to you and Joji and talk more and would even invite you both to lunch. It just made you fall even more for him. It wasn't  till the 2nd week that you started finding things to be super weird. On that Monday just before lunch break you went to the aquatic part of the store to feed the fish. This part of the store was kinda far from the entrance and rodent aisle where Joji and Hoseok were. When you finished you went towards the front to see if they were ready to get lunch but, they weren't there anymore. You were left with a note taped on the stores doors saying “ We went out for lunch. We can bring you something back?” Why did they just leave you here. You thought that everyone was going to lunch together. You went to the employee closets and grabbed your spare ramen out of your backpack. You mopped in the puppy adoption center with the dogs till they came back and you had to pretend you were peachy and happy. Wednesday round in and it was after work and today was the day Joji promised to go to the new shop that opened down the street from your condo. You already talked about it and planned to meet there around 6. You had been waiting to see this shop and experience it with Joji. So you got in the shower and put on different clothes. Around 5:45 you started walking to the shop and sent Joji a text. You: im on my way! super excited!                  sent: 5:45pm You looked up. The sky was gloomy the chance it would rain was very high today. You knew this so, you brought your clear umbrella. You finally made it outside the store. It was around 5:55 so you sent Joji a text. You: im here next to a bike rack when you get here.                 sent: 5:56pm At 6:00 you called Joji she knew this was important to you. Something had to be up. On the first call she didn't answer. As you started to spam her with calls getting more angry, she answered the 6th one. “Y/N I'm on a date what do you want!” “A date? With who? You promised we could go to the opening of the store by my condo! I'm already here Joji!!!” You held back your anger. “ I'm on a date with Hoseok right now and you're ruining it! I'm sorry okay we can go to the store another time but, I'm on a date right now. I can text you details later?” “Don't.” You hung up. The rain had started while you were on the phone the droplets going through strands of your hair and making it wavy again. You couldn't let the two of them see how broken you were. How this broke you. You had to start keeping it all balled up. The man you fell in love with likes your best friend . Sun and moon, just like you imagined. There's never two suns coexisting together. One has to die for a bigger brighter one to be born. Maybe you just died to make him brighter? Maybe you died a long time ago when he kissed you. You hadn't noticed you were crying. Your shaky hand reaching up and wiping away your tears. You didn't go into the store, you turned on your heels and went home. What you feared was confirmed and it was starting its journey to crushing you. You didn't sleep much that night. The tears leaking out of your eyes and the sobs starting to voice. You went into work tired and hurt. When you walked in Joji ran to you telling you her “good news”. “Y/N me and Hoseok are dating now! I'M SO HAPPY and why didn't you answer your phone yesterday? I tried to text you.” She said while shaking you by your shoulders. “My phones broken.. Congratulations!” You tried to say in the most happy and sincere way. She hugged you tight. You smiled and let go heading to your spot by the puppies. You went in and fed them. Laying down in the pen with them feeling lifeless. That's when you heard it, the laugh. A laugh that had made your cheeks flush pink but now made your eyes cry blue. Hoseok’s. You could hear his laughing mixed with Joji’s giggles. You felt a tear run down your cheek. When you wiped a tear from your face a dog walked up to your body and curled into a ball by your side. This is the first comforting you have gotten. Throughout the weeks. You got in and out of work fast. You were not only heart broken but you and Joji didn't really talk anymore. You would see them kissing in aisles, holding hands, you even almost walked in on them in a “heated situation” in the employee closet. You could feel yourself losing it. The air thicker, your weight dropping, the swell of your heart, and messy hair. You were holding it all in. You had to make yourself healthy and talk to them about how you feel. The first had to be Joji she was your best friend but, now you secretly despised her. You called her and asked her to meet you at a small cafe near work. You saw her walk in. She sat in front of you and it made it feel real. No backing out, you were gonna get better. “Okay, I'm gonna tell you how I really feel and just everything. Ever since you and Hoseok have been a thing I feel like I can't breathe. You knew I liked him and I knew you liked him. I thought you would understand that seeing you two together would crush me. And I thought you would tell him no because you are so perfect Joji you could literally have anyone. I fell in love with him. You guys just rubbed and shoved the fact that you were going out straight into my face. That really hurt Joji you were my best friend. We are nothing anymore. So I can't be friends with you anymore. I have to distance myself from what makes my heart ache and bones chill.” She looked shocked to say the least. You told her goodbye and walked out of the cafe feeling better than you went in. Also a whole lot lighter. You called into your job and first adopted the small dog that cuddled up to you and when you went to pick the dog up from the store you quit. You couldn't work with them if you were going to make yourself better. Next was hobi, hardest one. You sent him a text asking him to meet you in a park around 2:30. He happily relied with a “yes”. You got there after he did. When you saw him you felt your head go dizzy. His perfect features shining brighter than the sun in his face. There goes your heart aching again.  You sat next to him. You avoided looking at him and looked at your hands in your lap. Before he could speak you started. “ I love you, I love you so much it hurts. I'm not here to confess and beg you to be with me. This is more like a seeing my love go away party. Sorta like a good bye. I have to separate myself from the one I love even if it hurts. So goodbye Hoseok.” “Wait, don't you wanna be friends at least?!” He grabbed your wrist as you got up. “No. I feel like I'll crumble if I stay near you.” You tried to look at him and smile. He let go of your wrist and you walked away clean start. No more being heartbroken. Finally you had time to cope and feel whole again and forget about falling in love.  AN: this is the best Ive done in a while. It was hard to write such a sad drabble for my bias!!! I hope you all enjoy!

[saintkimora]

well here is how the past 4 days have been w joel

we started talking on scruff like 5 days ago. it was actually really nice conversation. like i usually suck at talking to people on those apps but w him it came naturally so that was a good first sign

so our first cuddle date was on friday night. i drove to his apartment and i actually drove on the parkway! it was scary but i had to do it bc using the regular streets would have taken like an extra 12 minutes. i was not expecting much bc he said on scruff that he isnt looking for a relationship bc hes been going from relationship to relationship for a while and he felt suppressed so he wanted some time to just hoe around (ok caleb) so i went into it just expecting a decent one night thing. i got there around midnight

 so i finally got there and he was soooooooooo cute in person omg!!! he already looked cute in his profile pic but he was even cuter irl. so i got there and his 3 roommates were all in like the living room area so i had to meet them. it was hard and i was getting more nervous as the convo went on. but the first thing one of them asked me was if i knew who that poppy was and i was like yeah i do lol and they all went wild asfajkdfbheakdfkha they were so surprised that i knew who she was! and then one of them showed me her pet toad lmao 

so then we went into his room. we cuddled and talked and stuff and it was soooooo nice omg. he was sooooooooooooo cute and sweet and affectionate and funny and his voice is kinda dorky. and his hair is SOOOOOOOOO SO nice omg i was touching it like all night. and his ass is so nice omg i finally got a man with some ass!!! his ass is so fat and hairy and jiggly omg! and he had a really cute soft belly too and he has nice titties. and his eyelashes are so cute and he had nice eyebrows and a nice beard and soft lips. AND he likes me hairy and he told me i didnt even need to trim my pubes! now this is a MAN 

so we talked on his bed for most of the night. we talked about drag race (he has bad opinions on it though he hates all the messy iconic queens! like he doesnt like nina or trinity smh) and overwatch and ff and kh and also some more personal stuff. and he has anxiety too! which is good bc now i dont have to worry as much about my anxiety being a burden like i had to do with c*leb. he also told me about some of his past relationships which i will get to later bc i was not happy about this

 at one point we sat on his couch bc he wanted to show me all the playbills for the shows hes been to/been a part of. i do not care for theatre stuff but i still enjoyed it bc he seemed really excited to show off all his playbills lol. he also gave me his mcat book since he doesnt need it since hes already taken it and gotten an acceptable score lol

so we cuddled some more (hes a REALLY good cuddler btw omg) and we did some touching and kissing and oral obv and then we fell asleep. and this was like one of my fave parts omg i looooooooved falling asleep with him and waking up with him. it was such a cute first date! he did leave like 3 hickeys on me though :/

so then i had to leave and go back home to go to my cousins baptism party. it was boring but it wasnt as bad as it couldve been bc joel kept texting me all day telling me he missed me and stuff which was cute 

then he invited me over again that night. so towards the end of the party he was like “btw my friends and i just started watching rent live so take your time bc youll prob get here during the middle of it” and i was like ok that is not happening bc i was not about to sit there and hang out w him and his friends that i dont know at all bc i am not repeating my third date with caleb. so i really took my time and watched the newest drag race. then i got there around midnight again

so we went into his room and he was playing kh 2.8 but we turned it off and we played mariokart on the switch instead! 10th grade me WISHES he was current me omg it was super fun even though he beat me almost every time lol. then we went in bed and did the usual. but this is where a problem started. so we were kissing and touching and stuff and i accidentally moaned calebs name AJKSFADSJFAEJKF i felt SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO bad 

he was like “what was that?” and i was like “what?” and he was like “what did you say?” and i was like “nothing” and he was like “it sounded like you said caleb” so then i apologized like a million times lol he said it was ok as long as it didnt happen again. but still i felt sooooo bad about it. i apologized again later on in the night and he said its ok and not to dwell on it lol. idek why i said it bc joel is more attractive than caleb both in terms of looks and personality. i had the same problem when i was with caleb too smh whenever i was w caleb i had to fight the urge to say freddies name. so yeah that was the one mistake ive made so far

so then i tried to make it up to him by sucking his dick. then i also ate his ass and fingered him. now THAT made me horny omg eating his ass was so much fun and his hole was so pretty and fingering him was super fun too! he was nice and tight and he was REALLY enjoying it which made me like it even more! so then i basically fingered him while sucking his dick/jerking him off until he came and it was honestly a religious experience omg he looked SO hot

then we fell asleep again lol but this time i had to wake up earlier bc i had work. work was good bc i got 3 credit cards and my manager sarah was happy about it. but i got SOOOO angry towards the end like we closed at 7 and a whole crowd of people came in at 6:55 and the line was so long even after we closed and when i finally got my last customer she ended up being the most difficult one of the day i hated herrrrrr omg she had like a million returns all w dif receipts and it was even more annoying bc we have to put away the returns along w the go backs after closing so she just gave me even more work to do

then on sunday joel said we shouldnt hang out that night bc we needed to pace ourselves. i was fine w that bc obv i missed him but logically speaking going slow is prob the best thing to do so we dont burn out too quickly. he did text me a lot that night though lol he was not afraid to tell me how much he missed me lol it was cute. then on monday afternoon i saw my therapist and told her all about my new thing w joel and i talked about the doubts i had about it and we had a v good session!

then came last night/today. so this time i got there around like 9pm. i was happy bc it was so easy driving on the parkway this time i was like wow this is actually kinda fun but then i had so much trouble finding parking smh like i can never just have one completely good drive! so i got there and said hi to 2 of his roommates who were in the living room/kitchen area. we went into his room and we watched finding dory and it was so cute! i prob wouldnt have enjoyed it by myself but it was fun watching it while cuddling w him. then there was like a centipede type thing on his ceiling and i was about to die omg he sprayed it w lysol and it fell but he couldnt find it so he thought it would die soon but then later on in the movie it touched his foot and i had to get away while he killed it for good. then later that night when we were in bed there was another bug on his wall smh but this one was easy for him to kill

after the movie he pulled up these youtube videos from this dance show his schools theatre honor society did and made me watch all the songs w him in them. it was honestly really boring im not gonna lie akjfhadshfkfskdjabhd but it was nice seeing him dance and stuff i guess. there was one point where there was a guy in the performance and he was like “oh he had such a nice ass, when i first saw him i was like whoa” like...once again ok caleb like that is not really information i needed to hear. or when this other guy was in the performance and he was like “oh he was my roommate that year, he was one hot piece of ass” like again i really do not need to hear this

then we went in his bed and it was nice! i ate his ass again and this time he ate my ass as well and i ended up cumming this time and i started like laughing uncontrollably after i came idk why lol but it was fun. we fell asleep and this time we could sleep in so it was nice. we kept waking up and kissing and cuddling and stuff. we ended up getting up for real at like 2pm. then he wanted to watch friends so we did that and then he played overwatch while i watched and cuddled him and touched his belly. then we were just laying in bed again and then i had to go back home for dinner. he offered me cereal or oatmeal when he had a bagel for breakfast but im not comfortable eating in front of him yet and i also hate imposing on people so i lied and said i wasnt hungry even though i was starving ashjfadkfhdskjn

so now for the bad parts. so like joel has not shown any signs of being anything but completely 100% interested in me and he has shown no signs of stopping soon yet i cant stop feeling like he just likes me now bc this is new and then he’ll get bored and leave when he gets to know me better. bc thats basically what caleb did and like i have no proof that joel will do it too but i cant get over the feeling unfortunately :/ like honestly out of our 3 dates so far i was kinda tempted to just cancel and then never talk to him again for 2 of them just to end things now so it doesnt get messy later. but my therapist said im not psychic so i shouldnt try to predict the future without any evidence so i am trying to just push the feeling to the back of my mind

now for my next issue: our relationship status. so joel said when we first talked on scruff that he didnt want a relationship but his actions have said otherwise. like he said he wants to take things slow bc he wants to make this work and he keeps saying he wants me to be his and stuff like that and he seems v interested in me beyond just as a friend w benefits. so idk what exactly he wants bc even if he changes his mind and wants to be bfs w me idk if i want to bc i dont want to make him feel “suppressed” again like he said about his past relationship history. so yeah as of now im not taking it too seriously and am just trying to enjoy myself without really thinking of how our situation is going to develop

now for my next issue: his past relationships. he told me the one time he like REALLY fell in love w a guy was w this online long distance relationship. this relationship actually ended very badly for him. but the issue to me is how it began. joel said he met this online guy WHILE he (joel) already had a boyfriend and that he developed feelings for this online guy while he was still w his bf at the time. he said he felt bad about it which is nice i guess. but the way i see it is that if he did this once he can very well do it again and i dont want to be the current boyfriend when that happens. like i honestly cant relate at all bc im the type who doesnt even really check out other guys when im currently bfs w someone. not everyone is like this obv so i cant be mad at him if hes the type to still be attracted to other men. but like, to actually develop feelings for someone else (and not just have it be a physical attraction) while currently bfs w someone? that is just disgusting imo and when he told me this i told him like im ngl thats messed up. so yeah that makes me even more hesitant to be in a relationship w him since he might meet another guy when hes with me and fall in love with him instead. so yeah this is just another thing to note in the back of my mind

and now for something i have mixed feelings about. on sunday he texted me to let me know he deleted all his dating apps yesterday bc he wanted to to focus on pursuing me and he wanted to be preemptive about it bc he didnt want to have any “temptations.” honestly it was cute at first but then i went to delete mine and looked on scruff and it said he was online 10 hours ago but he said he deleted it yesterday! so i asked him about it and he was like “oh yeah i redownloaded them this morning just to check them one last time” like ????????? honestly it was just funny to me bc like why did he tell me deleted his dating apps like it was some big thing if he was just gonna redownload them the next day nnnnnnnnn and like he didnt tell me about the redownloading part so he just wanted me to believe he deleted them yesterday? like idgi what was the point of that lol i think he wanted to do something to look sweet but it just ended up backfiring lmao. also he said he deleted the apps but he didnt delete his profiles so idk what to make of that but honestly i really dont care ive known this guy for 5 days afhkjafkhdaskn it was just kinda funny to me

but this next part is worrisome. its what he said about resisting tempations. like it wouldve been fine if he just said like “i am pursuing you so theres no reason for me to still be on dating apps” but like saying he “didnt want any tempations” so its like...hes admitting that its possible for him to be tempted? like as i said im not tempted by other guys at all like if i am with a man it is just him and only him for me. so idk again it seemed like he was trying to gain points w me by saying that but it just made me even more suspicious. again im not making too much of a big deal over it bc its not that serious yet but its just something for me to keep in my mind bc my therapist said this is the stage where i should be doing research and making note of things that could be red flags and stuff. so *tiffany pollard voice* ive been doing a little research

like it doesnt seem THAT bad on its own but when you combine the temptations thing w his past relationship history stuff it does make it seem like its very possible for him to show so much interest in me now and get with me only to decide he likes another guy more. so yeah for these reasons i am not putting too much stock into whatever we have rn bc im not quite sure yet whether i want to pursue a relationship with him

and i have one more thing. as ive mentioned before joel is good at EVERYTHING. he is good at orgo, playing a bunch of instruments, choreography, makeup, studying, video games, staying on top of his career goals, cooking, and he has a higher gpa than me. i am trying not to be competitive but its honestly really fucking annoying that he is better than me at literally everything! like i wish i just had one thing i could beat him at. i dont want to let it get to me but regardless of how i want to feel the fact of the matter is that i dont like it when people are better than me at anything in general, so when someone is better than me at like everything it REALLY gets on my nerves

and another thing. like all 3 of our dates so far have just been us two alone in his room. i have yet to see how good we are together in like social situations. like w caleb we got along perfectly fine when we were alone just hanging out but the problems started w like going out and doing social things like that. so i need to see what his needs are socially and how compatible our lifestyles are before i can fully devote myself bc if he has the same needs as caleb i most likely wont be able to keep up which will put a strain on the relationship

so those are my issues with the situation so far. i said those first bc i wanted to end on a good note! so now i can move on to the good stuff

joel is honestly really really nice and he gives me soooo much attention and he seems very interested in me atm. he loves my appearance AND he loves my personality and for once it seems like we equally enjoy being with each other instead of me liking the other person way more than they like me. and we have so many common interests and like i dont feel nervous at all when im talking to him! and like he misses me soooo much its so cute! and his personality is just like my fave like it just makes me wanna squeeze him! and hes so funny and like its so cute like if i make a joke and he says like get out or leave or something and im like ok and start to get up hes like “no no dont!!!” and like latches onto me and it is soooooooooo cute. and i literally cannot keep my hands off his hair (and also his ass and tum tbh). and since he lives w his 3 roommates theres no parents to worry about! and he just makes me really happy like i cannot be sad around him and hes so bubbly and he always uses so many heart emojis and calls me nice things like babe and my love and sweetheart and yeah just like he is literally checking off every box rn. all the problems i listed before are somewhat significant but overall i really like him so far so i def want to keep seeing him. and he already lives v close to his school so its not like i need to worry about him leaving anytime soon! and hes really nice like i really liked caleb at first as well (since the problems only really started towards the end of our relationship) but i already like joel way more than i liked caleb! and its nice bc like everyone kept saying when caleb broke up w me that i would find someone way better than him but it was kinda hard to believe at the time but everyone was right! i like joel soooooo much so far and if any guy ive met so far has been boyfriend material its definitely him

[artificialqueens]

Baby, New York City: Chapter Five (Biadore) - Boleyn

AN: HELLO WORLD. I HAVE RETURNED. I’m so sorry this took me over a month to get to y'all!! Life got super hectic and I felt so absolutely overwhelmed and unmotivated but I’m here and here is the next chapter! Thank you so much to everyone that’s been keeping this little story in their thoughts. Y'all pushed me to keep going! I hope you enjoy!!

Chapter Five: Workplace Distractions and Stage Time Together

Roy sat around the large oak table trading bored glances with Shane the vocal coach. It was the monthly staff round table and why the hell they held them on Monday mornings was a mystery Roy had never figured out. He looked over to where University President RuPaul Charles was droning on about rising costs necessitating less extravagant freshman and sophomore productions. Roy rolled his eyes. He didn’t know why he needed to be present for this discussion. I coach comedy. Most of the kids I work with end up standing in front of a microphone and telling jokes. They don’t need production. They barely need lighting. Some of them would benefit from less lighting. No lighting even.

Shane sniggered from across the table at Roy’s antics. Roy looked at him and hammed up his performance, crossing his eyes as he leaned back in his chair.

Willam, a dramatics professor, began to spar with President Charles over attacking the theatrical department disproportionately and Roy animatedly sighed. Great. He knew that if Willam got started, there was no way that this meeting would end before his 10 am lecture. Shane sensed the direction the situation was going and extended an arm, gently pulling Willam back down. He smiled at Willam. “I’m sure this is something we can discuss with President Charles? The vocal department is also being effected by this and I would love to partake in this discussion. Dr. Charles, is there any way concerned faculty can address the budget deficit and proposed solution with you at a more appropriate time?

God fucking bless you, Shane. Yes. Let’s get the fuck out of here. He snuck a look at his phone and noticed a text notification from Danny. He felt the corners of his mouth pull up, wishing he trusted himself enough to open the text now and not grin like a fucking idiot. He tried to school his features before looking up again, immediately making eye contact with Shane who was staring him down quizzically.

“Of course we can discuss it, but remember that the final decision is mine to make,” Dr. Charles announced, closing his leather portfolio and looking across the room. His eyes mildly reprimanded Roy. Guess subtlety will never be my strong suit. “That’s all. Make your way to your lectures.”

Everyone waited until RuPaul had exited the conference room before stirring and making small talk with those around them. Roy barely had time to stand before Shane was practically on top of him.

“Okay,” the lithe Australian chided him. “What’s going on with you? You’re all happy and smiley. Where’s my reliable cynic?”

Roy rolled his eyes. “What, cunt? I’m not allowed to be happy every once in a while?”

“No, actually you’re not. Not unless I get to know what’s got you that way. Did someone you hate die?”

Roy loudly sighed. “No, Shane. Someone did not die. I’m happy not fucking ecstatic.”

Willam burst out laughing as he dragged the new dance coach over with him. “Bitch, it would take a fucking miracle to get you jolly.”

Roy rolled his eyes. “Okay cunts. I don’t need your fucking shade. It’s too early for this shit.”

“Y’all I need to get me some go-go juice. Where the hell can a lady get a Red Bull up in this gig?” the new dance coach interrupted in a lilting southern drawl.

“I need caffeine if I’m going to be around you two all day,” Roy agreed turning to the big-haired woman beside him. “I’m Roy Haylock. I teach comedy and scene study.” He extended his hand to the tall, slender woman, using the moment to take in her entire presence. She had hair up to high heaven, piled over onto one side, and a shoulder padded, dark green, brocade blazer and pencil skirt combination on. She had sleek black pumps on that were an inch or two taller than perhaps professionally appropriate, but certainly accentuated her toned calves.

“My name is Miss Alyssa Edwards and it’s a pleasure to meet you, sweetie.” She daintily placed her hand in his and smiled toward him. She seemed larger than life itself.

Roy smiled back at her, retracting his hand and turning to face Willam and Shane. “You assholes coming on a coffee run?” He deadpanned at the two fuckers he called friends. He heard Alyssa give a small, scandalized gasp.

Shane laughed, intertwining his arm with Roy’s. “I’m not going anywhere until you’ve told me what’s going on.”

Roy rolled his eyes. “Willam?”

“I’m not doing shit until my 1 o’clock,” he quipped.

The group of four meandered their way to an on campus Starbucks taking turns reading one another along the way. Alyssa could hardly keep up with the three. She knew she liked them but she couldn’t imagine spending every moment with your friends on your toes, waiting for the next bomb to drop. The topic of discussion was blessedly never her, so she used her time with them to observe the odd trio of professors that she now worked with. They stepped through the doorway into the Starbucks. The place was littered with students, all flamboyantly dressed, with scripts or instruments or lyric sheets spread around them. Alyssa smiled. She missed Texas like hell, but she was also grateful to be in an environment that fostered creativity in all its forms and expressions.

Roy made a particularly devilish comment about Courtney’s choice in bed partner and Willam nearly doubled over laughing.

Alyssa’s head snapped over to him and her eyebrows flew up to her hairline of their own accord. “Girl, your laugh sounds like a fucking asthmatic seal.”

All three of the men turned to look at her, eyes wide. Alyssa began to panic. Maybe she wasn’t allowed to join in their mockery yet? Maybe there was some sort of right of passage she needed to complete first?

Suddenly Roy burst out into a gigantic grin and laughed. “That was good bitch! That was good!” He clapped as the group got into the Starbucks line.

Alyssa felt relief was over her. She was definitely in.

Roy walked up to the counter and frowned. He hadn’t been able to go to the Steampot this morning before work. He was surprised by how much he missed it. The barista smiled widely at him.

“Hey Dr. Haylock! What can I get started for ya?” It took Roy a moment to realize who the younger man was.

“Oh my gosh! Tyler! I barely recognized you! You must be in your, what? Senior year now?” Roy smiled, remembering Tyler the busted, annoying freshman from his costuming course three years ago.

“Yep. Last year and then out to the real world,” he said with far too much enthusiasm.

“You’ve got a storm coming kid,” Roy laughed, not managing to appreciate Tyler’s sickening optimism near as much as Danny’s enthralled him.

“I’ll miss this place. Not my professors though. Just you. You were always my favorite. Funny, nice, charming. Always happy to stay after and help me when I couldn’t get something right,” Tyler smiled sweetly at him.

What the fuck? Roy looked back at him quizzically.“Umm, I’ll take a black coffee, double shot,” he stated, uncomfortable under Tyler’s oogling.

“Someone likes theirs strong, Prof.” Roy handed Tyler a few bills and immediately retreated away from him to the opposite end of the counter.

Roy watched as Shane placed his order, paid, and made his way over to Roy. He grinned fanatically at him. “Someone likes you.”

“Disgusting.” He returned Shane’s gaze, face devoid of humor.

“Oh come on you old grump! He’s cute, not in any of your classes, and he’d be an easy shag. He practically screams bottom!”

“You should know, bitch. Takes one to know one.”

Shane enjoyed watching his friend squirm. Very few things were able to throw Roy quite like students’ misplaced affections were. “Then you won’t mind if I went ahead and gave it a go?”

“Shane, that’s inappropriate.”

“What? He’s never been in any of my courses, I’m younger than you are and he’s a senior. And I’m practically a regular top now. I’ve done it twice this month!”

“The age thing doesn’t matter. He’s a student here and you’re a professor.

“The age thing doesn’t matter? Roy, you dog! He’s got to be like ten years younger than me. I’ve never known you to be one to ignore something like that.”

“Listen age is just a thing. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how many years are between two people if everything else just clicks, you know?”

Shane looked at him intriguingly before his entire face lit up in understanding. “Roy Haylock. I’ve figured it out. You are involved with a younger man.”

Roy’s phone chose that moment to vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw a text message notification from non other than Danny. Roy involuntarily smiled.

“And his name is Danny,” Shane observed, quickly peeking at Roy’s phone screen.

“Shane, for fuck’s sake, keep your voice down!” Roy hissed, noting that Willam had a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Roy’s got a man?” Willam excitedly chirped, grin still obnoxiously plastered across his face. Roy felt flashes of irritation pulsate through him.

“It ain’t none of your damn business what body I got in the trunk of my car, queen,” he threw back, eyes challenging Willam to continue.

Willam either decided to ignore the glint in Roy’s eyes or the look went over his head as he barged on, “bitch, you wouldn’t be this defensive if the body was dead. You found yourself some dick!”

Roy’s gaze turned witheringly cold, burning into Willam. Alyssa felt the weight of Roy’s stare and stepped back a few feet, overwhelmed by the intensity. Willam appeared to be oblivious, grinning idiotically at the other man.

“If you all must know, I met someone but it’s very new. Happy now?” Roy stressed his ending question, daring someone to continue.

“Oh c’mon Roy! You can’t leave us with just that!” Shane whined, grabbing his and Roy’s drinks off the counter. “You’re not getting this,” he teased, shaking Roy’s beverage, “until you spill some T.”

Roy practically growled. “I don’t know why I’m friends with you fucks. Okay, his name is Danny. He works at a coffee shop that I go to. We’ve only been on one date. It’s not even a real thing!” I want it to be. It could be.

Shane narrowed his eyes and Roy squirmed under his scrutiny. He was relieved that his tanned skin hid the blush he felt creeping up his neck.

“Have you fucked him yet?” Willam asked loudly drawing the attention of the other patrons to them.

Alyssa gasped. “I … I am shocked. What the hell kind of question is that? He just said they’ve only been out once!”

Willam looked at her as if she’d grown a second head. “Yeah, so you get dicked?”

“Oh, honey. No, not my gay ass. I was raised a good Christian woman. I don’t live in sin baby.”

Roy and Shane started laughing as Willam took time to process the information being presented to him. “No, no I’d rather fuck now and go to hell later. Bet there’s amazing dick down there.”

Alyssa gasped and pointedly turned away from Willam. “Baby, sweetie, you need Jesus. Now Roy,” she quipped, attention fixed fully on him. “When we gon have a good ‘ole church wedding?”

The three men cackled in laughter as they walked out the store back toward the Performance Arts buildings. Alyssa followed them, warmth settling in her heart at having made three fast friends among the faculty her first day here.

–

Danny’s phone rang again. He cringed when he saw the Caller ID display Michelle Visage. Fuck. Ugh, might as well just fucking deal with it man. He took a deep breath and tapped his phone screen.

“Hey,” he more or less whispered, subconsciously hoping that his manager would think he hadn’t answered if he were quiet enough.

“Daniel. I’m guessing you’re either in a hospital or a prison. I can’t come up with any other explanation for why you didn’t show up to our meeting yesterday. Without notice, I might add,” the stern, older woman barked into the phone, her Jersey accent more pronounced in her anger.

“Yeah, sorry. I kind of lost track of time. I was totally vibed out and writing and feeling and shit. I had to go to that space and, like, do whatever I had to for the music, you know? I’m a Libra.”

“Mmmm.”

“But I got a shit ton done, man! Wanna hear some? I promise it’s fucking cool.”

“Go on.” Danny winced at the lack of emotion in her voice. He was sensitive to her energy and the negative aura was killing his enthusiasm. Her opinion mattered more to him than anyone else’s. She was his manager, she had believed in him and trusted him before anyone else. He hated the thought that he might disappoint her.

Danny nervously walked over to his keyboard and put his phone to speaker as he sat down. He flipped his notebook a few pages back and cleared his throat. “Okay, so it’s called Constellations and it’s not done yet but I’ve got, like, almost all of it in my head already.”

He ran his fingers gently over the keys once before beginning to play them, beating out a soft tune. He took a deep breath and silently prayed that Michelle would like it.

“It’s the weekend, anything can happen

Anything can happen tonight.”

Danny smiled as he thought back to taking small peeks at Roy over the top of the sketchbooks, watching him quickly turn away, trying not to be caught also staring.

“Feel the space with cosmic revelation

Let our bodies go on and fly.”

Danny’s mind flashed back to Roy’s lips pressed against his, his heart beating against Roy’s, the world slipping away save for everything that was them.

“And just surrender

Live forever

It’s all ours tonight.”

Danny closed his eyes and briefly allowed himself to picture a future where he was worldwide superstar rocking out on stage every night but with Roy waiting to hold him at the end of the night, traveling the world with him, supporting him, saying sweet, validating things to him.

“A million stars light up the night

The constellations give me life

And heaven’s boulevard it’s shining.”

Danny opened his eyes and it was suddenly last night. He and Roy were walking hand in hand down the street, the dark sky illuminated with specks of light.

“I’m givin’ in, and letting go

The constellations fill my soul

Our heart beats are on zero gravity.”

He raised a hand to his chest where his heart was frantically hammering. He looked around himself and it was his room again. A small smile graced his lips. He felt strangely nostalgic and novel at the same time.

“Okay, I’m impressed. That’s one of the best things you’ve ever written.”

Danny flushed with pride. Yeah motherfucka yeah. I wrote that shit. “And that’s not the whole thing. I’ve got more of it done. The only thing I need to still figure out is the sound cuz it’s not, like, the same as my other stuff. I don’t want it to be, like, some party, dance track, cuz this is, like, some real shit to me.”

“Really? Talk to me, girl. What’s going on?”

Roy.

“Nothing, man. I just don’t want to, like, only have club songs. Like, I want to have some real life shit too.”

“I’m not buying it. Something’s going on. I think we both know that I’m not patient so you can tell me or I can force it out of you.”

Danny laughed. His manager was one of the greatest people he knew, but also stubborn, hot-tempered, and one of his most reliable critics. She was never shy to voice her opinion. Danny knew better than to keep her in suspense, especially when he was trying to redeem himself for skipping his meeting the previous evening.

“Okay, so I guess I like might have met someone,” he chewed his bottom lip as he waited for Michelle’s reply.

“Daniel Anthony Noriega,” she gasped. “It’s about time, girl! Spill, sweetie.”

“We met at the coffee shop. He’s so cute and so smart, like, he’s a professor at Juilliard. He’s been so nice and understanding and shit. Like, Gregg showed up to one of my shows this weekend and-.”

“Hold up. Who the fuck stopped by?” Michelle practically growled into the phone.

“Yeah. I don’t know how he found out where I was but, like, yeah he was there. But Roy was too and he made sure I was okay and he got me out of there. He took me to get pizza which was really fucking cool of him. And then he walked me home and we went out the next day so yesterday. And we went to this really fucking cool place where people like make sketches and leave them there. And so he drew me and then we got tacos and then he walked me home again. I know it kinda doesn’t sound like a lot but it feels like a lot and he’s so great.”

He heard Michelle laugh lightly and smiled himself.

“I’m glad you’re happy, baby. Just promise me something,” she said softly, Danny already knowing where this was going. “You promise me that this one treats you right or I get involved, okay? You deserve the best, Danny. Promise me you won’t let yourself settle for any less?”

Danny smiled sadly. He understood that Michelle was concerned for him, and he had given her every reason to be, the way he had stayed in his last relationship and hidden from view how bad it was. But he didn’t want Roy compared to that. Roy was a different person. Hell, Danny was a different person now.

“This isn’t anything like Gregg. He isn’t anything like Gregg,” Danny quietly answered.

“That’s what I like to hear. Now, no more ditching your responsibilities. I’m not going to manage you if you can’t even show up to a damn meeting. You got that?” Michelle barked. Danny tried to keep himself from laughing. Michelle could only stay sentimental for so long before retreating back behind her wall of sarcasm and cynicism.

“Yes ma’am Mama Michelle. I’ll be a good boy.”

He heard her laugh. “Bye Daniel.”

“Bye Michelle!”

He smiled as he tapped the End Call button thinking about Roy.

He pulled open a new message to Roy and began typing.

Danny N: I missed you this morning.

Danny N: You know you have to be around to be a tease…

–

Roy finally managed to get rid of the three idiots. He smiled as he walked into his 10 am lecture room and realized hardly anyone was there yet. He pulled out his phone and hit the home button. The screen lit up and Roy’s eyes were automatically drawn to the text notification. He glimpsed at the clock, noting that he had at least ten minutes to indulge himself by trading texts with his adorable barista.

Danny N: I missed you this morning.

Danny N: You know you have to be around to be a tease…

Roy smirked.

Roy H: I’d say it was pretty successful considering you missed me and felt the need to text me to let me know about it *nail polish emoji*

Danny N: Okay, I take it back then.

Danny N: I missed the awesome fucking tip you always leave me.

Danny N: I may have to starve tonight without it. *crying emoji*

Roy had to keep himself from laughing at his phone screen. He was not going to be that crazy professor who had a mental breakdown before class. He was happy to let Dr. DuJour have that title.

Roy H: I knew you were only after me for the money …

Danny N: That and you’re amazing ass *tongue out emoji*

Roy looked up to ensure none of his students were close enough to catch a glimpse at his phone.

Roy H: Daniel! I am at work. A little subtlety please?

Danny N: K babe. Just know that the money isn’t your only asset I’m interested in. I’m all about the fucking package that comes with it …

Roy bit the inside of his lip discreetly as he flushed with warmth. He said babe. Is that just like a casual babe? Or is it like a babe-babe? Fuck Roy. Calm down, you’re reading too much into this. Play it cool.

Roy hesitated answering. After a couple minutes of trying to figure out what to say, his screen lit up with another text from Danny.

Danny N: And I mean the fucking package. *tongue emoji* *water drops emoji*

Roy glanced at the clock. 9:58. Great. I have two minutes to text Danny back, calm down, get my shit together, and remember what the fuck I was going to lecture on today. Fuck.

Roy H: And here I thought you liked my personality, whore.

Roy H: I need to start my lecture. QUIT DISTRACTING ME

Roy reluctantly turned his phone upside down onto the podium and got up to begin class. How he was going to focus on comedic timing in silent films was beyond him when all his mind would come back to was Danny and what it would be like to indulge in his package.

–

Danny nervously reordered his portfolio for the sixth or seventh time since he sat down outside his thesis professor’s office. Dr. Michaels had a reputation in the Creative Writing program. He was known to be supportive of his students’ exploration of their talents, but also super realistic about things. If your work wasn’t good enough or if you were running with an idea that wasn’t going to get you anywhere, Dr. Michaels would say so. He didn’t want to go in there with a month’s worth of research and written pieces just to be told that it was all for naught.

The door clicked open next to him and another student he recognized from his graduate courses walked out. She turned to look at him.

“You meeting with Michaels?” she asked, his voice monotone and dejected. What the fuck is her accent?

“Umm, yeah?” Danny replied, closing his folder deciding whatever order the pieces had fallen in was where fate wanted them.

“He’s ready for you.”

Danny stood up. “Party,” he responded automatically. His nerves were far more frayed than his go to word let on.

“Good luck. Nothing like having something you’re proud of torn to shreds to start the week, am I right?”

Danny had to remind himself to breathe. “Oh.”

The grey haired girl moved out of the doorway gesturing for Danny to go in.

Danny stepped into Dr. Michaels’ office, noting the pile of papers covered with red notes on his desktop.

“Hey there, Daniel. Take a seat. Let’s see what you’ve been working on.”

Danny smiled sheepishly and handed his folder over. Dr. Michaels took all the pieces out and spread them on the stretch of open desktop in front of him.

I spent all that fucking energy getting that folder together and this guy just dumps all of it out?! Danny internally groaned. Mental note: Dr. Michaels doesn’t give a shit what order shit’s in. He’s just going to throw it all around anyway.

Dr. Michaels silently thumbed through the pieces, moving from one onto the next without so much as glancing up at him. After he’d worked through the third piece, he finally made eye contact with Danny.

“Daniel, I don’t do this kind of thing often, I pride myself on being a professional. I’ve been at this university a lot of years and I’ve only come across this situation a handful of times before.” Dr. Michaels looked him straight in the eye as he spoke, never once wavering. Danny felt his breathe escape him and his lungs collapse.

Oh my god. I’m fucking awful. He’s telling me I’m not good enough. He’s telling me to leave. I can’t do this. Why did I ever tell myself I could? Why the fuck did I try? I knew I wouldn’t be anything! I’m just some no name kid from California who told himself he had a fucking shot. Fuck. Fuck. Fuuuuckkk.

Danny reached out to retrieve the papers he had worked so diligently on, the pieces of his soul he’d been so proud to share. He was desperate to get the offending words out of Dr. Michaels’s sight as soon as possible. “I’m so sorry Dr. Michaels. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m so fucking sorry. Fuck. I’m sorry for saying that. I shouldn’t’ve come here. I’m sorry you had to read -.” Danny rambled, his face burning crimson, as he clumsily tried to grab his work back, managing to only shuffle them further over the open desk space.

A gentle grip settled on one of his wrists and Dr. Michaels laughed softly. Fuck, great. He’s fucking laughing at me for even thinking he should waste his fucking time reading my shit. Oh god. Fuck.

“Danny, no,” he said, his voice soft and reassuring. “I love it. Both your thesis work and this,” he explained as he pulled the piece Danny was holding in a vice grip, easing it from his hold. “This, your work, your writing, is amazing. I haven’t read something so uniquely stylized since …. Gosh I don’t even know, kid. This is special, you are special.”

The hot prickle of shame dissipated from his extremities and gave way to wonder. Dr. Michaels was … complimenting?! … Him? What???

Danny lifted his head up, his eyes gilded with unadulterated reverence. “What?” he barely managed to breathe out.

“Kid! I like your stuff!” he exclaimed in exasperation. He knew he had a reputation for being a hardass but was it really this shocking to get praise?

“You like it? Like seriously? Like, no disrespect or whatever, but like you’re not just shitting me?” Danny couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea that the Chad Michaels actually thought his writing, the writing inspired by his darkest thoughts, was dope. What the actual fuck man?

“No, Daniel. I’m being honest. You’ve got something good here,” he replied, fishing one of Danny’s short stories out of the disaster Danny had made on his desk. “This,” he said, gently shaking the haphazardly paper clipped together bundle of sheets, “is genuinely one of the best things any student has written in this program, especially a first year. Your voice is reminiscent of Faulkner’s stream-of-conciousness. I’d like to work with you to polish it up some and submit it to a few lit magazines, see if we can get it published. Is that something you’d be interested in?”

Danny could feel his mouth hanging open and mentally forced himself to shut it. “Yes, Dr. Michaels. Yes, that’d definitely be something I’d want to do. Thank you so much!”

“Alright kid. Let’s talk about your poetry,” Dr. Michaels smiled as he walked through several of the pieces Danny had brought with him. Many of the works ended up riddled with red marks, but each mark made was thoroughly explained. By the end of the meeting, Danny had pieces that were praised, pieces that were torn to shreds, but none in a way that made him feel incompetent or not good enough. Dr. Michaels had a way of critiquing him that felt entirely nurturing and empowering. Danny wanted to write, he practically felt new ideas buzzing within his soul. Holy fuck! This is so fucking goom.

Dr. Michaels held back another two of Danny’s pieces along with the initial one to read through more carefully before returning. Danny couldn’t believe it. THE Dr. Michaels, notorious for being the gatekeeper to success, loved his stuff! He nearly squealed with delight as he walked out of the professor’s office, thanking whatever diety (that may or may not exist) that he managed to contain it.

The thing that surprised Danny most was that he immediately wanted to tell Roy. Before he even thought of telling Jay or texting G about it, he was fixated on what Roy would think about it. Deciding not to second guess his gut, the same gut that had told him that New York was where he belonged, he pulled out his phone and began to type out a message.

Danny N: Oh my fucking god. I’m literally still shaking and I’m not even in the room anymore.

Roy H: Wtf?? What’s going on????

Danny N: I had my first dissertation check in with my thesis prof.

Danny N: It was actually terrifying.

Danny N: Like I don’t even know if I was breathing while it was happening.

Roy H: You’re a fucking asshole. I thought you were dying.

Danny N: I literally could’ve.

Roy H: But you made it through! What happened?

Danny N: He liked my stuff! Like the short fiction especially and that’s the shit I was the most proud of Roy! Like I actually cannot believe that this is real. I’m freaking out for all the best reasons but I’m so

Danny N: I don’t even know just like

Danny N: Ugh this is so goom I’m dead. *skull emoji* *skull emoji*

Roy laughed. He was changing in his office from his slightly less formal daywear into a slightly more formal evening suit and currently stood with his shirt unbuttoned and a bow tie draped over his shoulders. He had decided against running all the way downtown just to change. He couldn’t imagine how much it would have confused his two pups for him to rush into the apartment just to leave it again. No. It was better to fumble with his tie and suit jacket inside his cramped office.

Danny’s frantic texts were a more than welcome distraction. He’s been distracting me all day. Roy had barely managed to push Danny to the back of his mind the entire day. He had thought about him during his two lectures, one of which had focused on comedic timing in romantic dramas. How fucking convenient that had been. How could Roy not have fixated on his adorably disarming barista while discussing the role of physical humor in relationship storytelling.

Danny’s so fucking physical. I wonder what it would be like to lick up his-. No. No. Roy was not twelve. He could damn well contain his hormonal urges. He was an adult. A professor. A damn seamstress. Not some giddy youth only just discovering lust. No he was better than that.

Roy H: What the fuck is a ‘goom’?

Danny N: If you don’t know goom maybe you don’t know me…

Roy H: I don’t have a fucking clue what that means but I definitely know that I want to get to know you. All of you.

Danny N: I thought we weren’t supposed to send suggestive texts PROFESSOR.

Roy H: And what about that message was suggestive? I was just saying that I want to know more about you.

Danny N: Mhmm.

Danny N: so I guess that means you’re only interested in knowing me better with my clothes all on?

Danny N: *tongue out face*

Roy H: I’m open to the idea of spending time with you and your clothes ….

Roy H: ON THE FLOOR.

Roy H: And very much off of your body.

Danny N: I’m ready when you are babe.

Roy had to slow down. Since when did he send suggestive text messages? He had an important dinner to go to tonight. One where he would potentially be accepting an award. No, he could not just jet off to eat out Danny’s ass. He needed to be a fucking professional and spend a night with a bunch of old, washed up theatre nerds who had nothing better to do than finance the younger generation of art kids.

Pull it together Haylock.

Roy had lowered his threshold of maturity since meeting Danny. Not because Danny was younger than him, but because Danny managed to make HIM feel young. He felt like he was having his first crush all over again. Danny made Roy’s faculties desert him, his maturity vanish from grasp, and his physical reactivity escape control. Danny was so different from anyone Roy had previously known and it was equal parts exhilarating and absolutely terrifying.

Roy H: Regardless of what I want to do, I can’t tonight.

Danny frowned at his phone. So Roy wanted to sleep with him. That would be great, if he were coming over here to sleep with him. But he isn’t, because he “can’t tonight”. What the fuck does “I can’t tonight” fucking mean?! Danny groaned as he walked down the steps of the English department building.

Danny N: Life’s short old man. Gotta make the most of what you got left.

He felt a twinge of regret after having sent the text. It came off a little sharper than he wanted it to, but he was anxious. Don’t be fucking vague, man. I don’t need that shit.

Roy cackled as he read Danny’s message. He had managed to perch his phone on his desk at just the right angle so that he could read his texts while also looking into the mirror to arrange his tie and jacket pins. I don’t feel all that old around you kid. Roy smiled as he pondered what to write back.

Roy H: I’ll have even less life to live if I don’t show face at the Arts Education Banquet tonight. I’m pretty sure it’s mandatory for people being recognized.

Danny N: Who’s getting recognized? *eyes emoji*

Roy half sighed, half laughed in exasperation.

Roy H: You’re quick aren’t ya kid? What’d you get on your SATs? KETCHUP?!

Danny N: Fuck you! I got more than that bitch!

Roy H: Mustard too?

Danny N: Fuck all the way off. Why do I even like you?

Roy H: I’m still asking myself that question *kissing emoji*

Danny N: Maybe it’s because you’re kind, understanding, accepting, brave, handsome, YOUR INCREDIBLE ASS, and because you’re insanely smart. Congrats on the award baby. Whatever it’s for, you deserve it and so much more.

Roy blushed. He felt his heart surge. He didn’t deserve someone so pure and kind. He didn’t want to go without seeing him. He couldn’t skip the banquet but arriving fashionably late wouldn’t be the worst thing he could do.

Roy H: Are you still at NYU?

Danny N: Yep! I was going to try to get some more writing done while here.

Roy thought back to NYU’s layout and cringed when he realized the English Department was right by a park. Almost instinctually Roy knew Danny would be going there.

Roy H: Please tell me you’re not actually going to Washington Park to write.

Danny N: And what if I am?

Roy H: You could not be more cliché.

Danny N: I vibe with nature man. It helps me open my mind.

Roy H: I’ve become very aware that you “vibe” with nature. I don’t know how I made it out of your room alive. It’s a fucking gas chamber!

Danny N: I’m from Cali. It’s my lifestyle.

Roy H: I have to be at NYU later tonight for this banquet, but I could be there in like half an hour and we could spend some time together?

Danny N: Fuck yeah! I’ll be at the park feeling my oats *nail painting emoji*

Roy smiled the whole cab ride uptown. Even the crawling traffic wasn’t able to dampen his excitement. He had been expecting a painful evening and, even though he would still have to go through the pomp and fare of a high society dinner, he now was going to have a bright spot to hold him over. He was going to get to see his adorable writer.

He practically jumped out of the cab as it pulled up to Washington Park. He quickly scanned the area around the fountain, guessing that would be where Danny would set up shop. Once again, he was right. On a small stretch of grass he saw the man he had been thinking about all day.

He looked like something out of some ridiculous pretentious indie fantasy. He was leaning back against a slender tree trunk with his legs propped up in front of him. A laptop was cradled in the angle formed by his stomach and thighs. He had dark wash skinny jeans, combat boots, a loose black tank top on with a red and black checked flannel tied around his hips bunched between him and the tree. He was intensely focused on what he was typing. A chocker encircled his neck deliciously.

What? Roy seriously needed to work on this damn control thing.

He strolled easily over to him, allowing himself some time to really just take in the vision before him. “Hey babe,” he said softly as he bent down to sit next to him.

“Roy! Hey!” Danny’s face lit up and Roy’s followed in response. He leaned forward to peck Roy’s lips chastely before shutting his laptop and throwing it into his bag. Once he had everything put away, his hand found its way to Roy’s, molding perfectly together. They sat there for a minute not speaking, just running their fingers over each other’s skin, enjoying the feel of the other.

“Want to go somewhere a little less public?” Roy suggested, smirking at the way Danny practically leaped up.

“Where are you taking me?” he asked, suggestively raising one of his eyebrows.

“Somewhere dark, quiet, where I can have you to myself,” he nearly growled, capturing Danny’s lips again quickly before he grabbed his hand and began dragging him out of the park.

“I’m down,” Danny breathed into his ear, dipping down to press a delicate kiss to his neck.

Roy felt every part of him respond to the younger man. Roy needed to get Danny alone. Now.

He led Danny down E 4th to the performing arts center, dragging him through the doorway and down the hall.

“Are we even allowed to be back here?” Danny laughed, amused at the way Roy was walking through the halls as though he owned them.

“Wimping out, kid? I thought you were ‘punk’?” Roy tossed over his shoulder, cackling.

Danny smiled, happy to follow Roy wherever.

Roy turned one final corner before excitedly spinning around to face Danny. “This was one of the most important places to me when I went here. I made some of my best memories in this room.”

Danny smiled encouragingly at him as Roy pushed open the heavy metal door and lead him in.

“Before you read me for having taken the stage in this tacky, polyester-seating hall let me remind you that you sing in bars that have puns for names,” Roy said as he walked over to the stage edge and sat down.

Danny looked at Roy adoringly. “Nice try, bitch. At least I can order a beer while I work.” He moved over to where Roy was and stretched out next to him.

“Doesn’t matter if you bring your own.” Roy’s smile practically split his face in two.

“Whoa Roy. I’m not sure I can be with someone so hardcore,” Danny teased as he leaned in to capture Roy’s lips, the kiss quickly growing heated.

Roy leaned into the kiss, moving them so that Danny was pinned beneath him on the stage floor. He positioned one knee between Danny’s legs and caged him in with his arms. Danny raked his fingers through the short hair at the nape of his neck, earning a small moan from his man. He smiled slightly at receiving physical validation that Roy was just as affected by his touch as he was.

Roy’s hands began to wander, running down Danny’s sides and toying with the hem of his shirt. Danny felt Roy’s fingertips ghost along his skin and dragged his nails through Roy’s stubble in response, breaking away from the kiss to suck his lower lip.

Roy’s hands stayed at the junction between Danny’s shirt and belt, drawing figures along the exposed skin there. Every sliver of skin Roy managed to get to seared electricity through Danny.

Danny abandoned Roy’s lip and worked his way up his jawline to his ear. “More.”

Roy pulled slightly away from Danny to look in his eyes. “More?” He replied, searching his features to ensure that this was what he wanted.

Danny used the space to ruck up his shirt, roughly pulling it over his head and dropping it beside them. He returned his hands to Roy’s neck, fiddling with the exposed skin by his collar.

Roy’s eyes raked down Danny’s torso, following the small trail of hair leading out of site. He slowly returned his heated gaze to Danny’s eyes. “You sure?” He managed to breathe out.

“Yes,” Danny replied softly, moving one of his hands to guide Roy’s to his exposed torso. “Touch me.”

Roy responded with fervor, diving down to reclaim Danny’s lips in a bruising kiss, his hands exploring Danny. Learning, memorizing every part of him.

Danny felt on fire. His body covered in delicious burning heat wherever Roy had touched. He felt amazing. Roy somehow balanced passion with care. He was intense and consuming but intimate and gentle. Everything around him was Roy and he was drowning but felt incredibly alive.

Just as Danny’s hands had worked their way to Roy’s hips, grabbing handfuls of ass on their way there, Roy’s phone blared.

Roy broke away and groaned. Danny laughed as he recognized the song.

“You do not have Rocky Horror as your ringtone,” he giggled.

Roy shot him a dazzling grin as he answered his phone.

Danny felt his heart flutter with affection for his theater nerd. He watched as Roy’s eyes widened and he moved away from Danny, offering him a hand to pull him up.

“Yeah. Yeah, sorry traffic was awful. Yes. I’ll be there soon. Tell them I’m on my damn way. Yeah. Okay. See you soon.” Roy rolled his eyes as he ended the call and looked apologetically at Danny. “We may have gotten a little carried away and I’m late to the dinner. I have to go.”

Danny frowned. “I’ll miss you, baby.”

Roy laughed. “I’m going to a dinner, I’m not going to China, bitch! You’ll live!” He pecked a kiss to Danny’s lips before leaning down to scoop his shirt up and hand it back to him.

Danny grabbed his shirt, using it as leverage to draw Roy back in, kissing him meaningfully. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll still miss you.”

They exited the theater and made their way out of the building, holding hands, Roy rubbing his thumb across Danny’s knuckles. Once outside, they stood still, neither one wanting to leave the other.

Roy smiled warmly. “I really have to go babe. I’m sorry. I’ll be thinking about you.” He grabbed Danny’s hand, pecking a kiss to it.

“Text me how it goes,” Danny urged, pushing Roy away from him gently.

“Let me know when you get home?” Roy called, shuffling backwards away from him, holding his gaze.

“Go!” Danny laughed.

Roy smiled goofily back at him. “Bye.”

“ROY! GO!”

“Okay, okay, I’m gone. Bye!” Roy laughed, turning around and walking away.

Danny stared after him for a bit before turning in the other direction to head toward the subway platform.

His phone buzzed and he fished it out of his pocket.

Roy H: I miss you already.

Danny flushed with warmth. He really liked this man.

Danny N: I miss you too.

[watersuncharted]

hi! its january 8th now, just a few days after setting in and man, things are insane! 

so, lets rewind. so much has happened since we last spoke. i cannot believe that right now im in spain! SPAIN! currently actually living my best life. im on the rooftop of my building, i can see the mountains i can see the water i can see sagrada in all of her glory. i see buildings and hear the bustle of the city below me. 

today was my first day alone and i must say, it’s been much needed. i woke up pretty late, around 12, and no one was home. as i got ready kay and betsy and melissa came back and got ready for class and went on their way. my class got cancelled, so pretty happy about that one. i got dressed, took out the trash, and went on a little walk. 

one thing to know about me is that i LOVE walks. they clear my head and they give me clarity and help me think better. they ease my nerves and calm me down.  although i didnt need too much calming, after this jam packed last few days i feel way better. 

i went to a cafe, which turned into a lunch spot apparently after 12. they had delicious coffee and i had a queso y jamon torta hehe the waiter was very nice and accomdated my english but i tried to speak to him in spanish. its weird, ill be thinking in spanish and then they’ll respond in english so then my english comes out wrong. kinda funny honestly. 

the weather was perfect so after i stayed there a while i wandered around to sagrada and throughout the neighborhood a little. absolutely gorgeous weather and im glad i got to see all the shops. 

 i took a lot of time to think today. im really happy about that. i think whats hard right now is that theres really no set schedule. i dont have my classes, everything i do is group and im not super super comfortable on my own. i mean, i am comfortable dont get me wrong. i dont really feel like this is a new place, which is weird, its just i dont really know what to do with myself, whats appropriate, where i can find wifi and things like that. i love it here so much, and although last night i did feel kinda homesick for my friends, i wasnt too down and out about it. 

if we rewind to the last few days, things have been crazy. i think last time i journaled was night one. after that, we did a bunch of things. the next night we went out to this sports bar and we ended up hanging out alll with americans and it was fun, dont get me wrong, but it was disappointing. it was nice to see the comfort i have in spain but i think im ready for the all immersive dive. i hope my classes aren’t all just international students and i hope that i meet others soon. we also went on a hunt for a striaghtener and i used my spanish skills to find us a huge mall. im so happy we did that because not only did we find a mall, we explored and found a cool residential area that seemed like the real deal. we walked over a highway, almost got ran over by a tram, but in the end we bought a plancha de pelo! im so happy my spanish is pretty good and people can understand me, it makes me kinda feel better about almost failing spanish all those years. aunty would be proud. then, we went to this AMAZING restaurant. l’oliviera i belike was the name. there was AMAZINGGGGG sangria, not strong but absolutely delicious. my first real sangria, and it was delicious. seriously ive never had better alcohol than i have here. but it was so sos o good. the tapas were divine and everything im pretty sure was under 10 euro each. INSANE. the food here is to die for, especially the seafood. we took a nice walk home and ive never been more proud. the girls are scared of walking at night, which is fair, abut in a group i feel like we’re fine. i dunno, maybe im crazy. 

sunday we didnt do much since it was kinda the eve of la dia de los reyes magos. there was a huge parade but jet lag got the best of us and we ended up passing out for the whole thing. the streets were packed though and im super short so im sure that i didnt miss anything too crazy, im kinda upset about it because i did want the cultural experience, but hey you win some you lose some. 

monday was the holiday but we decided to go to park guell. let me tell you, it was stunning. i cant wait to go back and walk around more and just sit there sometimes. it was a PERFECT beautiful day outside, sun was shining the wild was a slight breeze. the architecture looked fake. it was like a dream land. gaudi never ceases to amaze me and his art work is unreal. i cant wait to see the rest of what hes built, its going to be insane. i wis i would sit there for hours. its absolutely gorgeous. i love my girls here but sometimes we’re not super on the same page. afterwards we went to this AMAZING tapas restaurant. this restaurant is i think my favorite so far, besides the one we went to along the beach, sal cafe. the sangria here was stronger but still good. we were pretty much buzzed all day. i dont think ive laughed so much for so long except with these girls, i kinda hope im fitting in with them! theyre super sweet and normal, and theyre learning about me fast because i dont have time to ease them into the craziness of my family. 

anyways, we then chilled for a little bit, i made dinner for everyone, and we went to opium! in order to program opium we went to this bar where I RAN INTO ALYSSA PAULY AND ETHAN DAN. WHO I HAVENT SEEN SINCE 6TH GRADE AND SINCE BP SOPHEX THIS SUMMER. insane!! we linked with them and we went out. this going out experience costed us no more than the taxi charge, thank god. everything was FREE. we left a little early but nothing to crazy, opium sobered us up a little faster than expected. im glad we got a huge group going though, it was way nicer than going alone. happy about that. we came home aroudn 3:30, kinda like a uiuc night, and had orientation at 11 next morning. i think something funny and notable was on the way back from opium tipsy me loves to blurt out my spanish! the taxi driver LOVED me and told me i had good spanish, no idea if he was being genuine but i was happy about it :) kinda happy about that one. anyways! 

orientation was POINTLESS. we learned nothing, got our IDs and tried to change our classes. weird, but i guess thats how they do it here. i hope i get the class i absolutely need—otherwise im truly screwed. i give that into your hands God. 

i have a long laundry list of things to do today, so im hoping I can get that all done before we hop on over to razzmatazz tonight! i kinda wanna just stay in but i think its a move to go out i guess 

i need wifi now, its like 3:40pm so i think its time i get started on my day, but im happy that i have gotten to explore, be up her eon the rooftop and to just be present and reflect. i think i need more of this soon. i love it here, i really do. 

xx

[thesquishypenguin]

actually reversing the order of this post  - good stuff first, bad stuff under the cut!

on the plus side, today i received my Ciao Kuchipatchi tamagotchi which is cute as heck!! and an EU blue w soda which is the bestttttt colourrrr for my birthday <33333

ALSO I was talking to noodle and he came over, as he sometimes does, but this time when i put my hand in his viv he eventually stepped onto my hand???? and sometimes he kinda does it but quickly walks away again. BUT THIS TIME he actually came further towards me!! so i took him out, and i think thats the FIRST EVER time he’s actually approached me and fully put himself in my hands and not just like..briefly trampled over my hand to get someplace else lmao. he has tamed down so, so SO much compared to when i first got him- he’s still skittish but i love him to death!!! i hope he’s having a nice [and VERY long!] retirement with me haha

I also won a lot of “broken” tamas for like £15 because why the heck not. It seemed promising because the seller admitted they didn’t know what they were doing in regards to trying to fix them. they listed them as mostly buttons not working tbh so i took a chance.

5.5 red w stars “frequently resets” is just missing the connective rubber pad thing for the reset button, so it’s likely been accidentally activating the reset - just needs a new rubber bit, but while testing it shortly earlier i didn’t have any problems with it. im missing a rubber reset button from another tama too because i just..guess i lost it while fiddling with it and i dont have any problems with that tama, so im sure this will be fine!

V3 transparent yellow w blue  “buttons don’t work”, cleaned the contacts and buttons work now! V4 sky, “Buttons don’t work”, cleaned the contacts and it works fine.

V2 transparent orange buttons weren’t working correctly, owner took it apart to try and fix and broke it more “screen displaying only a few pixels”. screen + button contacts were cleaned, and after some fiddling its all working fine now.

Theres also a V2 TF purple w hearts that’s had some gems glued onto it [which are coming off easy], buttons don’t work. a transparent “Teal p2″ hat apparently doesn’t start, a blue spaceship P2 on which the buttons dont work and a red w/words p2 that is missing its battery door- apparently buttons don’t work on that one either. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to fix the last bunch or really mess with them jsut yet, all of the screws are really stripped down and i’ve tried but can’t get them out. So they’re off to a repair shop monday to see if the folks there who deal with watches and phones can remove the striped screws. Betting like the others they honestly just need a good clean!

but yah honestly, if i were to resell the ones i fixed? made some good money!! i damaged a couple a little more along the way for various reasons [wires snapped, were replaced and re-soldered or had to damage some to get out some stripped screws that weren’t playing ball, but doesn’t hamper operation or look of the tama. i was in a foul mood by then so the light damage was insignificant to me.]. knowing me imma just keep them tho :^))) 

bad things below lmao

.i hate that i can generally be okay and then one (1) bad thing happens and my depression bolts out from wherever its been lurking like HEY, GET READY TO WANT TO DIE AGAIN BECAUSE BOY HOWDY LOOK WHATS HAPPENED NOW!

basically my mandatory reconsideration for my benefits came back and they stick by their decision that im fit for work, which means i’ll have to start actually applying for and taking jobs and im shitting tbh. I also totally forgot to accept my commitments when i went two weeks ago and almost lost this months benefits smh

now my depression is also making me feel super lonely even tho im fully aware im not and people have their own things to do.