#also limitless hugs from my parents any time I wanted them

[anneslifeinchrist]

British Friend: What do you plan to do about your election? Me: Move to Europe. British Friend: Fair.

[holymaccaronii]

im sorry i absolutly love BE

I see AM as a father figure for some struggles I got and BE is sooo well writed for me I couldnt help but slowly see her as a mother figure as well,,,,UGH i love her you writed her so well pls ramble more about her(BE and AM are even divorced just like my irl parents/j)

Ou anon you don't know how happy you make me when knowing you see AM and BE that way + asking me for rambles. Of course I'll ramble comforting facts abt BE and her behavior towards AM. I might've mentioned a few things before but i dont rlly mind. Have some rambles below the cut and a doodle :P

So first an introduction shall we? We might explain some background as well despite being repeated a lot. As her lore dictates, BE was born from the materials of a much bigger ai implanted on the moon after HEL-102 (former human that was part of the mission turned into a dictator) tore it apart and built his society + kingdom. She spent a good while in there being used as a role model (with other units like her too) for lower-class units to believe that, if they worked hard enough, they could achieve to be upgraded into her type of model. This being all a big lie. She lived a life seemingly flawless and perfect... but at last, it was her own curiosity, determination and hope that got her out of that hell she realized she was in. She eventually meets AM after a series of events on earth and she gifts him the ability to be anything and do anything he wanted, their relationship eventually grows and grows...

Facts about BE herself:

-Up in the moon, she used to accompany HEL-102 to his personal theater a lot. She gained an interest for dancing in there + learned her classic "to be or not to be" phrase during a play.

-Her exposed cables showcase their current temperature thru colors. Her core/closed body is the warmest area, thus why you can see red/orange colors in there. Her hair and arms are the most stable areas, but if touched/affected they can vary on color patterns. This also means that she can give you a warm or cool hug whenever you need it c:

-BE is able to configure your body to dream about something specific, and she uses this feature to avoid any nightmares on her survivors. As long as there is not another evil ai trying to access your dreams, you'll get a guaranteed good rest.

-BE can grant you about any wish as long as it doesn't pose a threat to you, her, or anybody. Want to have a profession or be someone? Sure! Want to go somewhere and experience the place of your dreams? Of course! Want to have a cat? Have 15! Her power is limitless as long as she uses it above the surface.

-I headcanon her voice to be similar to the one of Rose Quartz (SU).

Facts about BEAM (yep that's their ship name):

-I have mentioned it many times alr but BE literally provided him anything he wished for and even things he didn't know he wanted... mainly to receive different forms of affection and the ability to shapeshift. Their relationship relies heavily on comfort from BE's part, since she believed he was abandoned and thus deserved all the affection she gave him.

-BE wasn't really allowed to be too affectionate or expressive up in the moon, but with AM, she could show as much love as she wanted.

-She was all in for physical and verbal demonstrations of affection. She LOVED to do stuff like face smooches, teeth smooches (since well yk about my AM), rubbing, scratching and cuddling.

-At some point she also started to call AM names such as dear, sweetheart or honey, and he initially had to eat these up to not give her his real-self impression, but as time passed by he got used to them.

-To comfort him she also used her abilities to create and transform matter with her code as well, allowing him to shapeshift and enjoy life not necessarily in a human body.

-Annnd you guessed it right anon, they do behave as motherly and fatherly figures towards the survivors, BE forming a bond with them ever since they proved their worth and values to her as humans, and AM forming a bond when they accepted to help him get back together with BE. The ending of that route gets even better but I won't spoil that :p

I hope these were good rambles and sorry for the wait tehee

[roscgcld]

HEADCANONS + GOJO SATORU || onii-chan

note: this was a few ideas given to me by my beloved 🌸Anon - a bunch of new gojotwins!au headcanons c: this one is a little different compared to my other story, so this is a stand alone one. might turn it into a series if it gets enough love, but we’ll see~ you can read the original ask here!

pronouns: she/her

note: mentions of blood and death and spoilers for volume 8 & 9 of the manga. SUPER LONG by the way lol

gojotwins!au masterlist

twins have always been viewed as a bad omen for the parents - there are high chances of both twins developing no Cursed Technique at all, or have a Cursed Technique that is not desirable. So there had been no hope when one of the wives from the main family of the gojo clan was pregnant, and from what they can tell with twins at that

so it was a huge surprise to not only the elders but the entire jujutsu world when not one, but both of the twins were born with the coveted Six Eyes - something that had never happened in the history of the gojo clan. it was a moment to be celebrated!

if only they knew just what was lies ahead

much to the delight of the elders, the older one of the twins was the boy, satoru, while the girl was born 20 minutes after - it wouldn’t have mattered if it was the other way around, but just having the young boy being the one born first was definitely the icing on the cake

both of you were an absolute headache to deal with, causing so much chaos and mayhem that the elders had wondered if they should have celebrated at the idea of having two Six Eyes users under the same house was a good thing

the both of you trained together throughout your younger years, with satoru becoming super overprotective even though you were twins - he understood from a young age that the both of you were starting at different levels of footing because of your gender

yes, you are a girl - but at 7 years old you had exorcise a Grade-Two Curse by yourself with no more than an annoyed click of your tongue and a snap of your fingers, walking away whilst whining about how it got your favourite dress dirty

with that being said though, he loves to tease you are still the younger one between the both of you, and had teased you about how you should refer to him as ‘onii-chan’ instead of his first name

“come on, Y/N~ it’s a sign of respect~”

“i am going to spend you to outer space one of these days.”

the two of you were already known about the jujutsu world way before you even became old enough to enroll in Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College - you two were even allowed to enter without an interview with the then principal of the school

who would want to waste their time interviewing two highly over qualified teenagers anyway?

the first time you met geto and shoko, they were both intimidated by your sheer presence. the both of them have heard talks about the gojo twins entering their year as a pair

so when they had first met you, standing there in your uniform with your bright blue eyes hiding behind a pair of blacked out sunglasses and an indifferent look on your face - they definitely felt a shiver go through their bodies

however, when they saw your twin brother appearing behind you with the biggest grin, hugging you from behind whilst you scowled and tried to push his head away - they were definitely less intimidated now

“now, now, Y/N-chan, stop being so scary~”

“nii-chan, i am giving you three seconds to let go of me.”

the two of you quite the duo, especially when you two are always pinned against one another with more difficult and more challenging missions compared to when you were under the care of the gojo clan 

geto felt less pressure to match up to his friend, since satoru and Y/N are always at each other’s throat - wanting to outmatch the other and one up the other with silly things like Curse head counts and how difficult its level is

with that being said, satoru is very protective of you - if any so much as speaks poorly of you, he would not hesitate to put them in their place

“oya? what makes you think you can speak of my baby sister like that?” satoru had hummed towards the small group of men, who were commenting on how beautiful the young woman was followed by a lot of unsavoury comments. 

satoru still sported his casual smile, yet there was a certain air around him that made them shut their mouths up real fast. “mind repeating that? just want to make sure that i have a good enough reason to put your lazy asses six feet underground..”

after that specific incident by the way, satoru had you and your friends out on a little excursion around tokyo - where they just did a bunch of stupid things together to calm down

you can read him like the back of a book though, so when both of your friends went away to browse through some shelves in a video game store, you just wrapped your arms around your brother with a smile. “you know, nii-chan, you don’t need to go about protect my honour. i’m a big girl now.”

he’d just blink down at you before giving you a soft but genuine smile, petting the top of your head with one of his hand while the other was resting inside of his pocket. “if i don’t protect you, who am i going to protect?”

that statement was proven during your second year - a cursed user had overpowered you and shoko and had taken the both of you hostage. the curse user had practically beaten you into a pulp, knowing that you were the stronger one between the two

shoko had been tied up and beaten as well, but you were definitely taking the brunt of his anger - along with being forced to listen about how he was going to sell you to some low life family that had been trying to get you to marry their sorry excuse of a son. 

you don’t even remember meeting the father of the boy, who had claimed to visit the gojo clan home a few times now

“you gonna be a good girl for me?” the man had gripped as he gripped your hair in his hands, giving you a smirk whilst you scowled over at him in annoyance, blinking the blood out of your eyes from the wound on the top of your head. 

before you can give another snarky answer in reply that will get you another beating, the sound of someone kicking the door in. before either one of you can move, the man suddenly let go of your hair with a pained gasp as someone grabbed his hair and forced his head back, looking up into a pair of glowing blue eyes

“get your filthy hands off my baby sister.”

geto was in charge of taking care of the both of you, leaving the room with a simple reminder to satoru that they needed to bring the man back alive

both of you spending most of your time trying to unlock the many secrets of the Limitless, and how to control it better

during the entire star plasma vessel fiasco, you had stayed by geto’s side. and while you didn’t manage to save rika from being murdered, you had, like gojo, managed to touch the core of cursed energy

toji had ‘killed you’ before he went after geto, yet like satoru, he did not decapitate your head; so you had slowly started to use the reverse curse technique to heal your wounds

so you couldn’t believe satoru’s belief when he found you using reverse cursed technique to heal geto, wrapping you up in his arms while you just smile and hold him as well

the three of you plus shoko had turned to one another for comfort, because along the way you four have grown close to the young girl, and her death really affected all of you

but if there is something bright that came out from this, is that you and your brother had really elevated yourselves to become the strongest duo of the new generation - both pretty much an entire chest above the current active sorcerers

after satoru had calmed down, he had told you about what toji had said to him before his death - about how he has a son that he had planned to sell of to the zen’ins

the two of you went to visit the young boy, discovering that he had an older sister as well; and without hesitation you had taken the both of them under your wing, pulling a few strings behind the scenes while also trying to provide him with as normal as a life as you two could

megumi had viewed you as a mother figure, someone who looked out for him and tsumiki, teaching the two of them life skills like sewing and cooking, making sure they always have warm meals. 

you never miss their birthdays either - always making sure to get them either a cake or a small cupcake with a candle on the top to blow out just for the sake of tradition

sure, satoru loves to spoil them too, but he acted more like their chilled older brother - he definitely relies on you more as a parental figure he had lacked for quite a huge part of his childhood

he had remembered how once, when you had made him his favourite curry and rice after a long week, he just sighed and said, “thanks mum,” before he started to eat his meal 

at first you froze in shock, and  megumi did too - but before the blushing teen can apologise, you had already wrapped him up in your arms as you just cried your heart out

satoru had teasingly asked him if megumi can call him ‘dad’, to which megumi just scowled and sent his divine dogs after your brother

satoru loves to introduce you two as the ‘strongest duo’ by the way - which makes you super awkward and you hate it with a passion. he wasn’t wrong, but it’s still awkward

“we’re the Gojos - the strongest duo out there.”

“please stop calling us that.”

feel like because you’re there, geto might still be on the path to the light lmao - like mans will be a teacher in school and you three will be dub the ‘idiot trinity’ or some bullshit nickname lol - the three biggest troublemakers in the jujutsu world

yet the three most capable ones as well - absolutely drive the higher ups of the jujutsu world insane

with that being said though - the three of you definitely hashed a plan to change the jujutsu world together. even shoko agrees that there should be some change to the old ways of the jujutsu world; so the four of you decided to sign up to work as teachers at Jujutsu High 

the first group of students you took under your wing was the then first years - maki, toge, panda, and eventually yuta when he joined your little class

you are the mother for the students while geto is the responsible dad; satoru is the crazy uncle that is not allowed to supervise the students alone, and shoko is the cool aunt who lets you skip class in her office if you want

all the students have, at one point, just referred to you as ‘mum’ and you had always just accepted that with a soft smile and a pat on the top of their head

even if they are taller than you, they will willingly bend down to your height so you can pet them on the head - even megumi lets you get away with it

when itadori and nobara came into the picture, you had taken them un as your own as well - but you did spend a good 5 minutes laughing with geto at the idea that yuji manages to control sukuna like he is just an annoying imaginary friend in the back of his head that refuses to shut up

you had tried to give them some form of normality and comforts as teenagers, even if many times they were forced into very uncomfortable situations

all in all - it was utter chaos the moment both you and satoru were born. yet it was a miracle nonetheless. many times you prove to the world that your bond is stronger than people think it is, and that you two will go through anything to make sure the other is safe. 

you are the younger one, but the more responsible one too. the motherly figure that everyone turned to, even your friends and brother, who needs comfort and a warm meal. yet if provoked, you can become deadly and kill with no hesitation. it’s because of this, both you and your brother are considered as quite the deadly duo; the strongest ones around. 

© roscgcld — all rights reserved to me, rose, the author and creator of these works. do not repost/translate/claim my work as yours on any platform

[dovechim]

the happiest place on earth (m)

➾ 24k 

➾ summary: in this life, you have two goals. 1. get park jimin to notice you. 2. get into Broadway. (not necessarily in that order). you and jimin have been crew members at Disneyland for over a year, but he’s no closer to being your boyfriend than you are to getting into Broadway. when you get promoted from a fur character to a face character, your hopes and dreams of playing Princess Ariel opposite his Prince Eric are this close to coming true. But what happens when you’re tasked to play the Evil Queen instead? 

slice of life au, incredibly cheesy towards the end. basically a lot of fluff with some smut :)

➾ warnings: protected sex, oral (f receiving) this one is pretty mild tbh

➾ a/n: for the purpose of this fic, let’s ignore that Sesame Street and Disney are own by two different companies 🙃 happy 25/26th birthday to one mr park jimin, the only Prince Charming I'll ever fall for 💓 this is just a warning of the cheesiness to come 🧀

The sounds of joyful music are slightly muffled, not just by the constant excited chatter around you, but also by the heavy costume that drags your entire body down. The incredible buildup of body heat is seemingly exacerbated by the sheer amount of bodies around you, little kids who are scampering to get a hold of your soft yellow fur.

“Mommy! I want a picture with Big Bird too!” A toddler’s voice wails from a distance, and you struggle to see out of the tiny little eye holes in the yellow neck of the costume.

Well, the good thing about having to wear this is that you don’t have to fake a smile for the cameras. The permanent grin on Big Bird’s face- er, beak, convinces everyone around you that you fit right in at this place.

The kids are all in giggles as they take turns hugging you with joyful screams and giggles, being towed away by their parents once they’ve got their shot. You can see your handler, Joy, keeping a watchful eye from a distance away to make sure things don’t get too out of hand. Your movements are heavy and cumbersome, but luckily you don’t have to move much because all the kids just crowd around you anyway.

Your time is nearly up. For the safety and well-being of all cast members who are required to wear full costumes, often referred to as fur characters, shifts are restricted to 15 minutes at a time, with a 45 minutes rest time before you go again. And with this weather, you feel as if the 15 minutes can’t go by fast enough.

You glance over enviously at Oscar the Grouch, your usual character, having a much calmer time with the noticeably thinner crowd around him. He’s never been a very popular character, especially not with the kids, since they tend to prefer the bright and cheerful personalities of Big Bird, Elmo and of course Cookie Monster. The blue furry character is dancing energetically on the street, rousing delighted cheers and screams from the kids as he pretends to queue at prop truck selling cookies.

You curse at the management’s decision to have you take over Big Bird’s character today. Better yet, you curse the guy who originally plays Big Bird. Why’d Kim Namjoon have to call in sick today of all days? And why, for heaven’s sake, did middle management think it’d be a good idea to get someone your size, to take his place?

Miserable and sweating bullets, you try your best to wave and move your arms around in some semblance of a dance to entertain the kids.

“Last photo, folks,” Joy waves her hands to get the crowd’s attention with a grin on her face. “Be sure to give Big Bird a big hug, alright?”

Your head jerks sharply in her direction with a steely glare, but it loses all effect because of the stupid goofy Big Bird head. As if the grubby kids around you needed any encouragement to squeeze and grope you in this costume. You swear, one more little kid mashing his face into you, stepping on your feet in the huge orange shoes, and you’ll just scream-

“Alright alright, Big Bird’s gotta go help Cookie Monster bake some cookies now,” Joy gently pries a little boy wearing glasses off you. She loops her arm around your fluffy wing to give you some support as the two of you start shuffling away slowly. “We’ll be back at 3pm! See you all then!”

Even if you hate every second being in this sweat soaked costume, you can’t deny that you’ve definitely noticed a change playing a slightly more popular character. Kids don’t pull faces at you the way they did when you were playing Oscar the Grouch, instead they tell you they love you, their faces light up when they see you, and they fight to be the first in line at for a photo opportunity with you.

There is a small warmth in your chest as you walk painfully slowly and turn down a discreet corner into the staff rest area. Once out of sight from the public, you strip off the bright yellow head as Joy opens the doors of the air-conditioned break room for you.

“Oh my god. That was the longest 15 minutes of my life,” you groan, collapsing down onto the floor dramatically. Joy winces in sympathy as she quickly gets a bottle of water for you, rummaging in the pantry for the good snacks.

“It was extra hot today, wasn’t it? Ugh, I’m dreading my shift next,” Joy tosses you a packet of biscuits.

The door bursts open, and Cookie Monster comes in singing and dancing, his energy seemingly limitless. When he strips off the character’s head, Jeon Jeongguk’s voice comes out even more clearly, the grin on his face still at full power as when he started his shift.

His hair is messy as he runs a hand through it, casting a puzzled glance at you laying down on the floor.

“Wasn’t that a great shift?” Jeongguk enthuses, a happy puppy grin on his face as his handler Kim Taehyung unzips the back of his costume. “The kids were all so cute. This really is the happiest place on earth!”

As if on comedic timing, Oscar the Grouch bursts into the room, and you can hear Min Yoongi cursing and swearing as he can’t get the character’s head off fast enough. From your position on the floor, sipping your water and nibbling at your crackers, you cast a jealous, spiteful glance at him.

What does he have to complain about? Oscar is practically the easiest character to play on Sesame Street!!

The buddy system consists of one character and one handler, and they switch shifts throughout the day. Kim Namjoon calling in sick means that the buddy system is one short today, and Yoongi doesn’t have anyone to switch shifts with. Which means he’s due to go again in less than thirty minutes.

Feeling your strength returning, you sit up again and start to unzip your costume so that Joy can start getting ready. There isn’t any changing room here, but all of you aren’t exactly naked under the costume, so no one has any objections changing in each other’s presence. Your light workout shorts and tanktop are soaked with sweat and sticking to your skin when you climb out of the yellow costume, kicking off the orange shoes before you turn to help Joy into it.

“Goooood afternoon!” A cheerful, happy voice sings out as the door opens, and your entire being perks up in recognition.

His presence brightens the room immediately- even Yoongi looks relieved to see him.

“Jimin? What are you doing here? It’s your day off,” Taehyung is half-way into his transformation into Cookie Monster.

“Heard Namjoon was sick today, so I volunteered to come in to cover,” he says with a happy grin, his eyes creased into a smile. His fluffy dark blue hair looks so soft, and he casts a brief glance across the room, eyes landing on you and Joy, Jeongguk and Taehyung, and then Yoongi, obviously doing the math. “I guess I’m up next in Oscar the Grouch?”

Dammit. One more reason why you’re cursing Min Yoongi, or more accurately, your rotten luck. You could have had a chance to partner with Park Jimin today if you’d stayed as Oscar the Grouch, something you’d been waiting for ever since you joined the park as a character actor.

Unfortunately, your schedule never seems to coincide with his, until today.

“Oh thank fucking God,” Yoongi mutters as he strips himself out of the costume in a hurry. “I’m so happy I could kiss you.”

Park Jimin giggles, a sound that sets off butterflies in your stomach. But nothing prepares you for the way he casually strips off his grey sweatpants to reveal the tight booty shorts underneath, preparing to step into the costume.

You belatedly realise that you are staring at Park Jimin’s very supple ass, and Joy is left to struggle into the Big Bird costume all by herself, with time running out. Turning away with a reddened blush on your cheeks that you hope the others attribute to the heat, you zip her up and hand her Big Bird’s head, leaving her to finish dressing herself as you quickly slip on some jeans and the standard issue polo shirt that handlers wear.

Your throat is dry as you glance at him shyly, wishing more than ever that you could be the one helping him into his costume. Min Yoongi catches the longing glance that you give him, but he can’t be arsed enough to tease you about it.

“C’mon guys, time to go!” Jimin’s smile is blinding as he gets ready to put on Oscar’s head, shuffling towards the door with the garbage bin around his waist. He makes eye contact with you, and your heart skips a beat. “Let’s make this a great shift!”

You’ve never been one for optimism. But somehow, it’s almost bearable when its coming from Jimin.

As you hold Joy’s hand and walk her slowly out to the main street, your attention remains on Jimin in the Oscar costume. Somehow, even in his grimy garbage can, nothing seems to dim his bright personality. He is like the sun as he dances on the street, crouches down in his garbage can, teases the kids and makes them scream with laughter. His movements are large and exaggerated, the way you were all trained to do, and you can’t help but admire his natural talent that can’t be hidden by a costume.

He is an incredible hit with the kids, an unusual occurrence. Someone like Park Jimin really does fit in here. Every bit of his personality suits the happiest place on earth.

Unlike yours.

*

It’s been almost a year since you joined as a character actor, and by now, practically the whole crew knows about your crush on Park Jimin. Everyone but the man himself, unfortunately. Luck just hasn’t been on your side so far, and most of the time you’re left admiring him from afar.

“So… that was an unexpected surprise,” Joy says as she wipes her face with a tissue, glancing at you in the mirror.

You pretend not to know what she’s talking about as you tie your sweaty hair up into a bun, getting ready to clock out. You and Joy are familiar with this routine, sharing the same schedule ever since the both of you decided that working as an amusement park character would be the best way to boost your resumes and eventually earn you the chance to audition for Broadway someday.

They were big and lofty dreams alright, but as long as you take a tiny step every day, you know you’ll make it eventually.

“You won’t get anything done hoeing around like that you know,” Joy giggles as she spies the nonchalant look on your face. “You need to go out there and get your man. Honestly. Or someone else will.”

You whip your head around to stare at her in panic. “Someone else has their eye on him? Who?”

Joy shrugs carelessly, but you can see the caution on her face as her movements slow. “Well… there are some rumours going around about him and Dahyun…”

“Dahyun? The girl who plays Ariel?” You frown, picturing them together in your mind. “I didn’t know they knew each other.”

“_______... they’re in the same rotation schedule,” Joy says with a hint of pity in her voice. Being the more outgoing of the two of you, she seems to be in on the latest news and gossip.

Or maybe that’s because you always leave the crew group chat on mute.

Sighing in frustration, you toss a used baby wipe into the trash. “How am I supposed to make a move if I can’t even talk to him? We barely even know each other, we’re just co-workers!”

“You and Jeongguk are co-workers, that doesn’t stop him from stealing your Pringles every time you leave them in the pantry, or you from play fighting with him when he does,” Joy points out.

“That’s different!” Your brows furrow in consternation, but you leave it at that. “Anyway, we don’t even have the same shift lined up.”

“Girl, you’re working in the happiest place on earth, where magic and fairytales and your Prince Charming is infinitely possible,” Joy sighs dreamily, waving the wand of her lip gloss around as if it were a real magic wand. “Make it happen.”

It seems like the whole wow factor of working at Disney hasn’t worn off on your best friend. As for your naturally cynical self, you can’t exactly say that you’ve never been amazed by the fact that you work at such a magical place, but it’s not really like you to get sucked in by all the illusion that this place offers.

“Ooh!! Can you imagine if he played Prince Charming, and you played Sleeping Beauty?” Joy almost falls over in her excitement as she grips your arm. “That’s like a magical love story waiting to happen!”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” you grumble at her, but even you can’t help but let a small smile tug at the corners of your mouth. “It’s only been a year since we started, and all new joiners have to start at the bottom for god knows how long. Promotion is practically unheard of. Maybe we’ll be stuck playing Sesame Street characters still we’re old ladies.”

“Don’t say that!” Joy swipes your arm with a pout. “It’s got to do with vacancies as well. As soon as they need someone playing a face character, they’ll bump one of us up. That’s how Dahyun got Ariel within 6 months of joining.”

“Well, let’s hope one of them gets chickenpox or something, that’s the only way I’ll get a lucky break,” you say with a deadpan voice as Joy bursts into giggles, chiding you as you turn to exit the bathroom.

“What’s a princess character like her even want with Park Jimin anyway? Shouldn’t she be romancing, I don’t know, one of the Princes instead?” You can’t get your mind off that rumour of the both of them together.

You find it hard to believe, seeing as there is a very obvious social hierarchy amongst all the crew. The Disney princesses are the queen bees, the very top of the pyramid, along with the Princes. Somewhere around second tier are the less popular princesses such as Mulan, Pochahontas, or Tinkerbell, still very well sought after by guests, but a lot less well known as compared to, say Ariel or Sleeping Beauty. All the furry characters rank at the very bottom, with the only exception perhaps being the classic Mickey Mouse himself.

The hierarchy is so ingrained into the system that you don’t even talk to or hang out with anyone outside of your level. Even in the staff cafeteria, buried in the underbelly of Disney World itself, seating is segregated according to which character you play. It’s like high school all over again.

That’s exactly why Joy’s dream of playing a Disney princess is far-fetched, to say the least. It would be like jumping straight to the top of the hierarchy in the blink of an eye. The best you can hope for is a promotion to a face character. Any face character. Just so you don’t have to wear the unbearably stuffy, disgusting costume anymore.

“What should we eat? I’m in the mood for pizza- oh!” Joy stops in her tracks, and you smack into her back.

“Give me a heads up, would you,” you groan, massaging your forehead, moving to walk around her as you scan your card at the train gantry.

“Oh my god. It’s Park Jimin.” She sounds breathless, and you look up at the mention of his name.

And there he is, seated on one of the benches with his thighs spread in his grey sweatpants, white shirt almost hanging off his shoulder sinfully, and blue backpack slung casually over the other shoulder. He is scrolling through something on his phone, completely absorbed in what he sees on his screen.

“Here’s your chance!” You hear Joy hiss at you, shoving you forward. “Talk to him!”

You are reduced to a blubbering mess, somehow losing control over your limbs as Joy continues to push you forward until you are in his line of sight.

“-don’t want to- agh!”

Jimin glances up at the sound of your voice, a smile of recognition immediately lighting up his face as he puts his phone away.

“Hey! ______, right?”

Even the way he says your name reduces you to a pathetic pile of goo. The mere fact that he knows who you are…!

“U-uh, hi, yeah!” You smile awkwardly at him.

Jimin scoots over and pats the seat beside him invitingly, looking over your shoulder. “And Joy, right?”

“Mhmm, going home?” Joy responds so naturally; you wish you had her ease when it comes to talking to guys. Or anyone, in general.

“Yeah,” Jimin grins his heart melting smile again, this time directing it at you. “Hey, you did great with Big Bird today. It’s tough playing such a tall character­- his head is the heaviest, I swear.”

“It-it is,” you stumble a reply back to him. “I don’t usually play Big Bird…”

“I know, your usual is Oscar right?” Jimin beams back. “I don’t know how you do it; it’s so hard to get his character just right! Especially wearing that costume- I feel like I’m behind a mask.”

Now you know he’s also painfully kind on top of everything else; complimenting you even though he easily plays Oscar better than you on your good days. Even the way he takes notice of your usual character makes you feel… dare you say… special.

“Hey, I forgot something back at the park, I’m gonna go back,” Joy says with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes as she bids the both of you goodbye. “You two go ahead! I’ll see you tomorrow!”

That sly little minx! You stand up involuntarily, panicking over being left alone with Jimin. At the same time, he grabs your arm to get your attention.

“Hey! The train’s here,” Jimin seems unperturbed by Joy’s sudden departure, getting up and starts walking towards the doors.

You hastily follow him into an empty cabin, struggling to keep your composure and cool your heated cheeks. There aren’t many people going in the opposite direction at this time of the evening, and the both of you find a seat easily.

“Which stop are you getting off at?” You ask, glancing at the map above the train doors.

“The second to last,” he grins with a slight wince. It’s absolutely adorable, the way he scrunches his nose. “I know, long ride right?”

“That’s my stop too!” Your eyes widen as you realise that you’ll be sharing the entire ride with him.

“Guess it’s my lucky day to have company then,” Jimin grins. “I think we joined at around the same time, but we haven’t really talked much.”

“Yeah, about a year ago, I think our schedules just haven’t really matched up,” you smile at him, having to avert your eyes as he ruffles his dark blue hair casually.

He flirts so effortlessly; his smiles are charming, and he draws you in with every word of his. It’s more than you could ever hope for, sharing a nearly empty train ride back with Park Jimin.

“So, is working at Disney everything you ever dreamt of and more?” Jimin asks, his eyes shining bright.

“You mean, did I dream of being stuck in a stuffy, sweaty and smelly costume for four hours a day? Totally,” you say unironically, but it makes Jimin giggle.

“Yeah, that part isn’t the best,” Jimin admits with a hand covering his mouth, still giggling. “I always make sure to air our whatever costume I’m wearing, so that the next person doesn’t have such a bad time.”

And he has a heart of gold too.

“It’ll get better once we get to play the face characters,” Jimin reassures with a few pats on your hand. The physical contact makes your heart skip a beat. “I think it’ll be soon, if we keep doing a good job!”

“Who are you hoping to get?” You desperately hope that he doesn’t see the blush on your cheeks.

“Hmmm, I don’t know. I guess I’ve always been a fan of Aladdin. You know, how cheeky he is and everything. Of course, I don’t think I’ll get a monkey as my sidekick, but still…”

“You’d make a perfect Aladdin,” you can already picture him charming all the little girls, sweeping them off their feet even without a magic carpet.

“What about you?” Jimin asks, a curious gleam in his eyes.

“Uhm… well…” you almost say Jasmine out of pure instinct, but you stop yourself just in time. To be honest, you never really thought about which face character you wanted to play. Getting a foot in the door to work at a Disney Park alone was a dream come true, and you’ve been so absorbed with the toiling labour of playing a fur character that you simply didn’t have the time to dream of something better.

But Jimin’s words have set you thinking. Of course, anyone’s answer might be to play a Disney Princess. It would be an incredible add to your resume. But could you really muster up enough of your acting skills to be in character around people all day? Not only would it be physically tiring like it is now, but it would also be mentally exhausting.

Unless you can find a character that suits you to a T, the way Aladdin suits Jimin. Or rather, the way Jimin can mold himself to suit any character he’s playing. It’s a talent you know you don’t have, and you know it’s an area of improvement for you as an aspiring actress. But somehow, you still can’t bring yourself to give up on your dream of standing upon the Broadway stage one day.

“I haven’t really thought about it,” you admit finally. “I guess… anyone would be fine. As long as it’s not Pluto,” you add in as an afterthought, and Jimin bursts into his musical laughter that travels throughout his entire body.

“You could be Elsa,” he says after a moment, after he’s calmed down. “Cold, a little aloof, but beautiful. I think you’d suit her well.”

The sincerity with which he says this makes your heart flutter. Moments ago, the thought of playing the ice princess and having to sing ‘Let It Go’ to dozens of grubby children would have put you off. You’d never liked that movie, but with Jimin’s suggestion, you ironically find yourself warming up to the idea.

*

Life has a way of smiling down at certain people. Park Jimin is one of them. And with just one encounter with him, you can feel his good luck rubbing off on you already.

When you check your schedule for the next quarter, your eyes catch on his name along with yours, side by side as handler and character. This time, as your usual: Oscar the Grouch.

You are in a good mood that morning as you clock into the park, heading to the utilities room to retrieve your costume and sign for it. When you reach the desk, you realise that Jimin somehow got here earlier than you did, and already signed out on your behalf.

He’s waiting in the common dressing room, drinking a protein shake and dressed in a muscle tee that shows off a dangerous amount of skin. You catch a glimpse of nipple as he raises his shake to his lips, and your throat goes dry. No one ever comes in for the morning shift this early, so the two of you are alone.

“H-hey, you’re early,” you clear your throat as you slide your backpack off your shoulder.

Jimin turns to face you, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Hey! Yeah, thought I’d get in a workout and start my shift little earlier today. Did you eat yet? I got you a bagel!”

He tosses a warm, buttery package across at you, and you just barely catch it. It’s only when you bite into it and a moan escapes your lips that you realise how essential breakfast is.

“Do you want to go first? Or me?” Jimin abandons his chair to come sit next to you on the couch. “I’m fine with whatever, but I’m a little sweaty right now, so…”

He grins bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck as he does so. It’s incredibly cute, and you have to distract yourself, tearing your eyes away from his almost transparent muscle tee.

“Sure, I’ll take first shift,” you push yourself up from your seat, feeling an intense need to put some distance between you and the dangerously charming man.

You usually dress the same way for work every time- jeans and the standard polo tee, with exercise shorts and a thin tank top underneath. It makes things easier when you have to rotate between being character and handler.  With Park Jimin in the same room, you feel a little self-conscious at stripping down in front of him, so you attempt to hide behind the locker as you quickly get rid of your jeans and shirt.

You feel painfully naked as you start to wrangle yourself into the Oscar costume. Jimin sets aside his drink and helps you by holding the bottom half of the costume open for you to step into, his face dangerously close to the apex of your thighs. You can feel his hot breath on your flesh as you gingerly step into Oscar’s trashcan.

Putting on a costume has never felt this intimate before.

“It’s like you were made to play him, you fit perfectly!” Jimin giggles, patting the top of your head. “How cute!”

“You’re one to talk,” you grumble back at him, if only to hide the growing smile on your own face. “You fit into it pretty well last time too.”

The moment is shattered as the door flings open, and Jeongguk and Taehyung come chattering in. They give Jimin a fist bump each, in the natural camaraderie that boys have with each other.

“See ya at break, ______!” Jeongguk calls out playfully, waving a tube full of your Pringles with one hand just to taunt you. Even though you can’t see him with Oscar’s head on, you hear the telltale sound of the chips rattling inside the tube, and you actually growl in annoyance.

“Jeon Jeongguk! I swear if you eat even a single one-“

“I’ll save you the empty can! Hey, does Oscar do recycling or is he just in a normal trash can?”

*

The difference between your Oscar and Jimin’s Oscar is painfully stark. When it’s his turn, he gets no less than 20 children crowding him at one time. His natural charisma just oozes through the suit.

But rather than discourage you, it actually makes you work even harder. You actually learn a couple of things from observing how he plays Oscar, and by the end of the day, you’re proud to say that you’re on par to compete with even Cookie Monster sometimes.

“Good one today, ______!” Jimin grins as he strips off the green, furry head, pushing his sweaty hair off his forehead.

“You weren’t too bad yourself,” you say with a tiny smile, offering him a pack of wet wipes.

“Hey, I was thinking we should grab a bite to eat,” Jimin turns to look at himself in the mirror, styling his dark blue hair as he rakes through it carelessly with his fingers. “You down?”

You have to stop yourself from grinning from ear to ear, instead answering coolly. “Sure. Where did you have in mind?”

“Cafeteria? I’m craving a Dole Whip myself,” he’s back in his muscle tee again, pulling on a pair of his favourite grey sweatpants.

You’ve never actually eaten anywhere other than the staff cafeteria, and even then, you avoid doing so after shifts because you don’t want to deal with seeing the rest of the crew. But Jimin has such a sweet smile that you don’t have it in you to refuse.

The two of you exit the dressing room, making your way down to the staff cafeteria, buried out of sight from the guests. To be honest, park food isn’t that bad, and the cafeteria serves a selection of it weekly, at a heavily discounted rate for staff.

Jimin’s just pondering over what he should have before Dole Whip, when a small tap on his shoulder makes him turn around.

“Oh- Dahyun! Hey, I didn’t know you’d be here,” Jimin greets her with a grin, and you can’t help but peer around him to get a glimpse of her as well.

She is exquisitely beautiful in a way you know you could never be, her features are dainty and delicate, and you can see why she’s such a good fit for Ariel. She moves with a grace and elegance that comes only with years of dance and stage training, and even in her loose-fitting pants, you can see that she has a figure to die for.

It’s people like her who make it to Broadway.

“It’s my shift starting soon,” she says in a soft, tinkling voice, casting a curious glance at you. “Anyway, I was just coming from the manager’s office. They want to see you.”

“Oh really?” Jimin frowns as he checks his phone. “I haven’t checked my email yet-“

“Yeah, something about a character change,” she smiles in excitement. “Seo Joon’s quitting, so they asked me if I had anyone to recommend to take his place, and I said you! Isn’t that great?”

Jimin seems genuinely enthused as he widens his eyes in realization. “Oh… oh wow! Prince Eric! I… I didn’t think it’d be this soon!”

“You should hurry down so they can give you the official new schedule,” Dahyun claps her hands as she giggles. “There’ll be character training sessions, outfit fittings, oh, and we also have to train together for a bit!”

The two of them almost forget that you are there, and you awkwardly take a step back, which makes Jimin look at you. His elation disappears a little.

“Hey, I’m sorry, I’ll just go attend the meeting real quick. I’m sorry about lunch, we should reschedule and it’ll be my treat!”

“No,” you shake your head and swallow hard, struggling to express that you are really happy for him amidst the all the envy and jealousy swirling in your chest. Because you truly are, he deserves this and so much more. “Go for your meeting. Don’t worry. I’ll just… I’ll uh… just head home.”

“You should get a Dole Whip! It’s the perfect treat after a shift,” he calls over his shoulder as Dahyun shoots you an awkward little smile, turning to follow him.

You watch as the two of them exit the staff cafeteria, already excitedly chattering to each other about god knows what. Yeah, somehow, you don’t think a Dole Whip is about to make things better.

*

“Prince Eric?” Joy frowns. “Well, I can’t say he doesn’t suit that character, because he would suit any prince, but…”

Now that Jimin had to be swapped out, the only good thing about it is that Joy is back on the same rotation as you again. So it means you can whine to your best friend about how unfair all of this is, how you wish Dahyun would actually get her voice sucked out of her by Ursula.

“They’re gonna look perfect together,” you say glumly. “This is why I don’t hope for anything. The moment I do, it just gets taken away.”

Joy winces as she watches you avert your gaze, untying and tying your shoelace. Your sandwich remains untouched as the two of you hide away in the dressing room during lunch break.

“Sweetie… I’m sorry,” she sighs as she pulls you in so that you can rest your head on her chest. “I’m sure our big break is coming soon. It’s all about that stroke of luck, you know?”

“Only if that lucky break comes in the form of Dahyun’s broken leg,” you grumble. Honestly, you should have seen this coming. Someone as bright and talented and golden as Park Jimin deserves to be with someone who can match him. Someone who can look as good beside him.

In other words, definitely not you. Children run away from you when they see you. They cry when they see your face. Even when you’re hidden and concealed behind a costume, they still can’t bring themselves to come any closer to you.

Your thoughts are interrupted by Jeongguk throwing open the door, still stuffing his face with a Mickey ice cream sandwich. His eyes land on the both of you, take in your disgruntled expression, then he continues to scarf down the rest of his sweet treat. Taehyung follows close behind, holding a bunch of snacks in his arms and dumping them all on the table.

“Whats wrong with her?” Jeongguk gestures with his sticky hands, stomping around in his heavy Timberland boots.

This dressing room is somewhat of a cosy reprieve, not only from the sweltering heat out there, but also away from all the other crew members. It’s long been established that it belongs to the select few of you who have the misfortune to be playing the fur characters, while the face characters are assigned the bigger, more luxurious dressing rooms for them to do their makeup and hair in. However, since the fur characters don’t need much prep other than climbing into a large furry suit, this dressing room only has the bare minimum.

You don’t mind though, because over the past year, it has come to feel like home. Ending a shift and collapsing on the couch, bickering with Jeongguk about the snack stash, coming in early to find Yoongi pulling an all nighter on the couch from the day before, getting annoyed with all of Taehyung’s junk everywhere. Getting secretly drunk after park hours with Joy and sneaking out to avoid getting into trouble.

As much as you hate to admit it, the few of you have become family.

“Not in the mood, Jeon, run along,” you shoot him a warning glare, but he is all too used to your caustic words, and sometimes you think he even enjoys riling you up.

“Might this have something to do with a certain Park Jimin getting to play Prince Eric?” Jeongguk is more astute than he lets on, but then again, it could be just because he actually bothered to read the crew schedule today.

“Who’s playing who?” Yoongi enters with a cup of cold brew in hand, sucking it down like it’s his lifeblood. All this while, you’ve never actually seen him eat something solid.

“Jimin is Prince Eric, opposite Dahyun’s Ariel,” Jeongguk repeats in delight, all too happy to take part in your misery.

Joy shoots him a glare and moves to cover your ears. “Gee, I don’t think you could rub that in any harder, Jeon.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” he snickers, moving toward the lockers in the corner for his bag to start getting ready for the afternoon’s shift. At the last minute, however, he turns back to glance at you, still lying motionless on the couch, with a look of mild concern on his face. He looks like he’s about to say something, but lets it go at the last minute.

“I hope when we get promoted, we all get it at the same time,” Taehyung says earnestly, looking around at the rest of your faces. “I just wanna stay with you guys forever. Park can go play Prince Eric for all I care, honestly.”

Yoongi finishes his coffee, discarding the cup into one of the trash bins. “Can’t say he doesn’t deserve it though.”

With a resigned sigh, because the older man is right, you go about getting ready for your shift. Something tells you that today is going to be harder than it usually is.

*

You go through the motions of your job like you do every single day, stooping inside your little garbage can, twirling little children around, taking pictures and trying your best to be in character. It’s just the start of your third shift for the day, when something out of the ordinary happens.

You first catch wind of it through the children’s excited chatters.

“Pwincess Ariel is coming!” A little girl with a lisp says, pulling at the arm of her sister next you. “Huwwy up, we gotta go see her! Leave Mister Oscar alone!’

Her sister all but shoves you away in her excitement, causing you to nearly topple over in the heavy character suit, but luckily Joy is there to support you. All the children around you suddenly scatter, screaming and crying as they tumble toward the other end of the street.

“It’s Ariel! And Pwince Eric!” The same girl yells, and your breathing slows to a stop.

What? Why would they come down to the Main Street? Princesses and Princes usually stay in their own zone, in their castles if they have one, unless it’s parade time, which it most definitely isn’t. In a matter of minutes, your side of Main Street is left deserted, you and Joy standing pathetically alone in the middle of the road as you watch all the kids surround the perfect royal couple.

Jimin is absolutely radiant in his white blazer and dark blue pants that fit him perfectly. He looks every bit like royalty with gold embellishments on his shoulders, gold buttons down the front, and a sash to accompany his top half, while his long legs are accentuated by his boots. His newly dyed black hair is parted down the middle, swept back off his forehead to expose his sweetly smiling eyes as he greets everyone around him.

He walks as if he is on a runway. The audience is captivated by him; he steals the show even from the beautiful Ariel herself. Girls are falling at his feet to take pictures with him, children are asking if he has a white horse with him, and parents are sighing with adoration over how perfect he and Ariel look as a couple. It’s like a Disney movie come to life.

Everyone coos in admiration as the handsome Prince Eric gets down on one knee to a tiny girl dressed in an Ariel costume, takes her hand and kisses the back of it. Then the real Princess Ariel sweeps in with her green dress and flowing, shiny red hair, on the other side of the little girl, and the three of them pose for a picture together.

You are awestruck at how realistic they look together. They look as if they’ve just stepped out of a live action Disney movie.

“God damn,” Joy says under her breath as Jimin offers his hand to Dahyun, and the two of them continue their mini parade down the street. “He really does look perfect.”

It’s as if Jimin was born to play Prince Eric.

The two of them are fast approaching you and the other Sesame Street characters. Cookie Monster spreads his arms wide in welcome, doing a little jig that has the children screaming with laughter. He pretends to ask Prince Eric if he has any cookies, and their mini impromptu skit delights the audience. Worse still, Jeongguk in the Cookie Monster costume fawns over Princess Ariel too, gesturing for them to hold hands as he pretends to act as their royal butler, doing a deep bow that nearly has him toppling over.

Your legs feel weak and you opt to crouch down in your trashcan, making Oscar the Grouch look even smaller and more pathetic, all alone on the Street.

“Hey, are you okay? Do you need to have a rest?” Joy crouches down beside you in concern.

“…fine…” you mumble, but you can’t really be heard inside Oscar’s head. But then, it actually might be a good idea to escape back to the dressing room before Jimin and Dahyun make it down here. You turn to tell Joy that you want to go back, but then a little child approaches you out of nowhere.

“Mister Oscar?” A tiny, petulant voice calls, and you turn around to face it.

It’s a little boy with glasses, dressed in an Oscar T-shirt and with an Oscar headband. He looks shyly up at you, but even from inside Oscar’s head, you can see his eyes are filled with wonder and amazement.

“Can I have a picture please?” He asks politely, and Joy jumps to her feet.

“Of course! And would you like an autograph too? Where’s your book?” She helps the little boy with his book and pen, and glad for something else to focus on, you take the pen and open the book to the right page.

“Whats your name?” Joy asks, so that you can write it along with your autograph.

“Seokjin,” he pronounces clearly. “You’re my favourite Sesame Street character,” the boy says with a proud smile, pointing to his Oscar T-shirt. No matter how foul your mood is, that’s bound to melt your heart a little, and you express it through your actions, holding your hands to your heart for a second before spreading your arms for a giant hug.

As you feel the squirmy little body in your arms, you hear a familiar voice behind you.

“Ah, how sweet!” It’s Prince Eric, and he looks on at the scene with his sweet smile. “Mister Oscar, thank you for keeping our streets so clean always!”

You release the child from your hug and look up at Jimin. His smile seems a little bigger than it was just now, and his eyes are trained on the exact spot where yours would be if you weren’t wearing the suit. For a moment, you wonder if he knows that it’s you inside the suit.

“Mister Oscar is smelly!” A child yells out from somewhere, and a dozen giggles follow. “He loves trash!”

Ouch. As much as it’s true, children can be rather thoughtless with their comments sometimes. You struggle to stay in character even as your character head droops a little, retreating into your trash can.

There is an awkward silence from the crowd, and even Dayhun’s smile is frozen, at a loss for words, and there’s even a look of pity in her eyes. You can feel Seokjin beside you grasp your hand a little tighter in defensiveness as he puffs his chest out.

But before he can say anything, Prince Eric frowns, turning to face the general direction of the child who had insulted you. “That isn’t very nice, is it?” He reprimands the child gently, and the crowd quiets down. “Mister Oscar has feelings too, and how do you think he might feel if you say that?”

The girl who had called you smelly looks guilty as Jimin admonishes her. “Sowwy, Prince Eric and sowwy, Mister Oscar.”

Prince Eric’s radiant smile is back on his face as he pets her head once. “That’s better. Now, you have a great day and enjoy yourselves in the Magical Kingdom. Have a great day, Mister Oscar!”

You pretend to bow as the royal couple take their leave.

*

“I don’t get it,” you say in a fit of anger as you sponge the sweat off your neck. “Why would he- they- come all the way down to Main Street?”

“Forget about it,” Joy soothes as she digs out a tube of original flavoured Pringles from her bag and offers it to you. “Shall we have soju or beer today? And chicken? It’s my treat.”

You take the tube from her and open it, shoving a stack of chips into your mouth, feeling better once you taste the salt. You’re no stranger to getting insulted by children, but somehow today stings more than usual. “I bet Ariel doesn’t get any children telling her she’s trash.”

Joy sighs, but doesn’t say anything.

You gather up your things to leave, pulling your hair back in a drooping ponytail. “Rain check? I’m not really feeling it today.”

“Sure,” Joy agrees, watching you pack your things, not even bothering to hide the tube of Pringles somewhere Jeongguk can’t find it. “Call me when you get back!”

The trek to the train station is longer than usual, lonelier without Joy to accompany you, but it’s better for you to be alone with your thoughts anyway.

*

You’re no stranger to fielding slightly abusive and insulting comments from children. Usually, you’re able to just brush it off because you tell yourself that children don’t really mean what they say. But the past incident has taken a toll on your psyche, and you can feel yourself dragging your feet to work.

On top of the next month’s schedule, you get another email from management asking you to drop by their office before your next shift.

Jeongguk catches you on the way to the management’s office, in the midst of finishing a Dole Whip from the cafeteria. The sight of it reminds you of Jimin and his promise to make up that missed lunch date.

“Here to see management?” Jeongguk asks, following you inside and offering you a spoon of the sweet yellow dessert. You open your mouth grudgingly, and the taste is not bad as it melts on your tongue. It does calm your nerves a little, though.

“Let’s hope it’s nothing bad,” you mumble under your breath.

Knocking on the door, you enter the corporate office, which looks very ordinary. No such trace of the Disney magic here. The receptionist directs you to the head of Character Management.

The head of Character Management is a stern looking lady with her hair pulled back into a bun. Kim Sejeong bids you and Jeongguk to sit down, lacing her fingers together.

“I’ve called the both of you in for some very good news today,” she begins, a hint of a smile on her otherwise serious face. “A career advancement. The two of you are being promoted to face characters.”

Your heart leaps in your chest, and Jeongguk can’t help but grin.

A lucky break. This is what you’ve been waiting for all this time. You can barely contain your excitement as your mind starts to race. Who could it be? Dare you even hope that you might be playing a Disney Princess? You’d be thankful even if it was one of the lesser known princesses. Mulan? Alice in Wonderland?

“First of all, Jeongguk.” She turns her gaze towards the boy with the bunny grin beside you. “You’ll be playing Gaston from now onwards.”

You nearly snort in laughter. Vain, idiotic, attention seeking Gaston who can’t read nor spell his name? It’s a perfect fit for Jeongguk. You can already see him in your mind’s eye, flaunting his muscles and bickering non-stop with the Beast.

Just as long as you don’t have to play Belle.

“And you, Ms _______,” she turns her gaze to you next. Your heart completely stops in your chest, trying to anticipate what’s coming next.

Maybe you’ll finally get a likeable character. Someone like Cinderella, and then kids won’t say mean things to you anymore.

“You’re going to play The Evil Queen, Snow White’s stepmother.”

*

“Oh my god!” Joy can barely contain herself when she hears the news. “I’m so happy for you! Finally, you got a face character!!”

Somehow, you don’t really share her excitement. It’s one of your last few times playing a fur character, and you can’t say you’ll miss it. Jeongguk was the first to break the news to everyone the moment he got back to the dressing room. As one of the first few to be promoted to a face character, it is definitely liberating, but a part of you is unsure of the uncertainty that lies ahead.

“At least you can attend the character crash course together,” Taehyung says gloomily at the prospect of losing his best friend.

“She’s lucky to be accompanied by my dashingly handsome self,” Jeongguk pretends to flex a bicep, already getting into the role of Gaston. It doesn’t seem like he’ll need much training to assimilate.

“It’s the Evil Queen,” you say quietly to Joy. “Who likes her? It’s even worse than Oscar the Grouch.”

Everyone knows that the fur characters occupy the bottom of the hierarchy. But what they don’t acknowledge is that the villains are barely a rung higher than them. It’s even worse now that you won’t have the character costume to hide behind. You’re going to have to step up your acting skills, and actually talk to and interact with guests who might be snarky and even meaner to you now.

“C’mon, it’ll be great for your resume. I can already see it. You’re gonna ace it, then you’ll snag the audition for Maleficient,” Joy is already thinking ahead. “And the role is practically perfect for you! Honestly, I was a little worried because I didn’t see you as the type to go around cooing at little children and hugging them and everything. This suits you way better.”

“Wow, thanks for the compliment,” you shoot back at her.

Joy only sighs. “You know what I mean.”

“We have a bigger problem,” Taehyung interrupts as Jeongguk continues to flex at himself in the mirror. “Who’s gonna take your places? It’ll be like breaking up the Fabulous Five. We won’t even see each other anymore. You’ll be using the huuuge dressing rooms. We’ll become like strangers!”

You sigh at Taehyung’s overreaction. “That won’t happen, Tae. Even if Jeongguk and I graduate from fur characters, it doesn’t mean we won’t hang out anymore. We’ll still come back here after shifts and all. I mean, this is the only dressing room that has a TV!”

“I guess…” Taehyung doesn’t seem convinced. “You’ll still come and visit though right?” He pokes Jeongguk in the ribs, causing the younger boy to flinch in the midst of practicing one of his Gaston poses.

“Of course he will, the bigger dressing rooms don’t have nearly as good a snack selection as we do,” Yoongi says off-handedly from his position stretched out across the couch. “And Jeongguk’s got all his weights stacked in the corner there. It’ll take him ages to move it over.”

As much as Yoongi seems to be aloof most of the time, the eldest crew member actually does seem to have a heart at times. His words do the job of reassuring Taehyung well enough, and the subject is left alone as everyone starts to get ready for their shifts.

“Hey, you on for the all-nighter today?” Jeongguk nudges you with his arm as you slip past him to put away your bag. “We gotta watch Beauty and the Beast and Snow White at least three times each before we start character training.”

“Who said I wanted to watch it with you?” You turn your nose up at him.

“Together? Ew,” Jeongguk expresses his dissatisfaction in a similar manner, scrunching up his nose. “I didn’t mean it like that, you idiot! It’s just, I know for a fact you’re too poor to afford a TV at home, and we happen to have both films on hand here…”

Jeongguk pauses for a moment as he looks at Taehyung, Yoongi and Joy, all of whom are currently absorbed in a discussion of whether the turkey leg tastes better with or without mustard.

“… unless you guys wanted to watch it too?” He has to raise his voice to be heard over Taehyung’s valiant defense of ketchup.

“No thanks, I hate fairytales,” Yoongi grumbles, waving the offer away. You all know Yoongi only came on board because he’d been offered the chance to play Darth Vader, but at the last minute got scammed into Sesame Street.

“Why would we wanna be holed up in here watching the same movie over and over when we could be getting fried chicken?” Joy grins unapologetically, and Taehyung chimes in.

“With extra ketchup!”

“Alright, fine!” You toss one of Jeongguk’s white shirts at him. “I guess it’s just us.”

“… I brought snacks,” he holds up a bag of Pringles with a mischievous smile.

And you’re sold.

*

“Did you actually shower?” Your eyes widen in disbelief as Jeongguk returns to the dressing room after both your shifts have ended, hair wet and dressed in fresh clothes.

“I’m not a slob, you know,” he grumbles as he makes a futile attempt to dry his hair one last time. “I got us some food from the cafeteria on the way back. They had orange chicken from Nine Dragons.”

“Really? That’s different,” you sit up in interest. “Oh my god. Are those pork belly buns too?”

“How’d you know? You never go down to the cafeteria anyway,” Jeongguk opens up another box containing shrimp fried rice, and the whole room smells so good.

“I don’t like navigating that political jungle,” you say with a mouth full of delicious, savoury pork. “You ready? I’m gonna start Snow White first.”

Jeongguk begins to devour the food as the two of you settle in to watch the movie. You have a pen and pad by your side to take down some notes on the Evil Queen’s character, how she interacts with the other characters, and some of her more iconic lines.

She’s overall a very snarky and witty character, and the more you watch, the more you think you might enjoy playing her after all. Her personality is not unlike your own, and some of the things she says are straight up savage.

“Oh! You should definitely call people peasants,” Jeongguk chimes in, a fistful of chips in the air.

“You think? Wouldn’t that be too much?” You are doubtful, but you write it down anyway, figuring you could always run it past the trainer during the sessions.

“Please. You’re a Queen. Everyone else simply must bow,” Jeongguk does a horrible impression of a British accent, which sends you giggling so hard that you nearly drop your plate.

“Maybe I’ll even come by as Gaston and steal all the attention from you. How’s that?” Jeongguk grins cheekily, and you roll your eyes.

“Oh please, as if your ugly face could ever.”

The two of you are laughing so hard that you don’t hear the knock at the door until it creaks open.

“Um… hi?” A familiar, honeyed voice makes you turn around.

It’s Park Jimin, the last person you expected to see. You’re suddenly aware of how this must look, of how you must look, dressed down in your sweats and junk food all over the place.

“Jimin! What are you doing here?” You attempt to straighten your shirt and sit up straight, pausing the movie.

“I know it’s late, but I hoped you’d still be here, so I decided to come and check,” he says shyly, averting his gaze to the floor. “I thought you’d be leaving soon… and maybe we could leave together.”

“We’re in the middle of a movie,” Jeongguk states the obvious, and you slap his wrist to get him to shut up, but he ignores you. “It’s for our character training.”

Realisation dawns across Jimin’s face. “Oh- oh! That’s right! I heard the good news. You’re being promoted to a face character! Congrats, that’s so great. I know you’ll do so well.”

Is he saying that to compliment your acting skills, or is he maybe insinuating that someone like you has the personality akin to an Evil Queen? Knowing pure, sweet Jimin, it’s probably the former, but your traitorous mind can’t help but doubt it.

“Um… thanks,” you smile hesitantly back at him. “I… I saw you as Prince Eric. You were… you were great.”

He blushes cutely, and you can feel Jeongguk rolling his eyes beside you.

“Well, um… glad to have you as a face character too. Maybe we’ll see each other more often. I think our zones are pretty close to each other,” Jimin ruffles his jet-black hair once, bringing your attention to the metal rings on his fingers. “So… see you around!”

“Wait!” You spring up from the couch, making it to the door before he can disappear fully. “I��ll um… I’ll walk you out.”

After not seeing him for more than a month, you can’t let him slip away that easily. Especially not when he looks this good, dressed down in a black shirt and black ripped jeans.

“If you need help with getting used to face characters, I could give you some pointers,” Jimin grins as you start to walk alongside him. “Or if you need help coming up with ‘outs’.”

“’Outs’? What are those?” You’re unfamiliar with the term.

“It’s when someone asks you to do something you’re not allowed to, like accepting food, or even hugs, if you don’t want to,” Jimin explains. “Or if they ask weird questions you don’t know how to answer. Usually it involves weaving in your character’s backstory to make it more believable.”

“Oh wow. I had no idea being a face character would be so difficult,” you can’t help but start to worry about how different it is from what you’re used to.

“It’s not that hard. This girl asked if she could marry me, right in front of Princess Ariel!” Jimin giggles. “Dahyun wasn’t very pleased.”

You go quiet at the mention of her, and the easy, joking atmosphere between the both of you fades. The park is dark and quiet, all the shops are shuttered, and in general, it is a much gloomier and more eerie place than you’re used to.

“Anyway, I think you’ll do a good job.” Jimin has a way with words that always seems to reassure you.

You come to the entrance of the train station, and you stand awkwardly as Jimin looks for his train pass.

“I’ll see you around?” You offer hopefully.

“Of course!” Jimin grins, turning to tap his pass. But then he hesitates. “Hey, um… maybe we should exchange numbers. In case… in case you need help with the training or something.”

“Y-yeah, that’s a great idea,” you fumble for your phone and present it to him, noting how cute his fingers look as he types in his number, giving himself a missed call so he’ll have your number too before he gives it back to you. You notice that he’s named himself in your contacts with a cute little chick emoji.

“I should be getting back now,” you have to stop yourself from fawning over how cute he is.

“Oh yeah! Shouldn’t keep… uh… Jeongguk from waiting too long,” Jimin scratches the back of his neck. “It’s kinda dark, will you be okay walking back alone?”

“I’ll be fine, I do it all the time,” you wave his concern away.

“You should text me when you get back,” Jimin says over his shoulder as he taps his train pass, then crosses the gantry. It’s only then that you realise that he might think you and Jeongguk are something more than friends, judging from the way he said his name.

“Jeongguk! He’s just…” You blurt out, causing Jimin to turn around, a few steps into the train station with a slightly confused look on his face.

Your cheeks are burning as your voice trails off. “He’s um… just a friend.” You finish lamely.

“Oh.”

Maybe it’s a little hard to tell in the dark, but you could have sworn you saw the smile on his face get a little brighter.

*

You can do this. This is only a tiny step of a multitude of challenges to come.

Knocking timidly on the door, you let yourself into the unfamiliar dressing room, Jeongguk close behind you.

“What if they eat us alive?” Jeongguk stage whispers into your ear.

“Don’t be an idiot,” you elbow him in the ribs in irritation as you attempt to swallow back your intimidation, walking to the dressing room with what you hope is a confident stride. “The worst they can do is stare us down.”

It must be at least three times the size of your old dressing room. There are two rows of dressing tables and chairs on their side, with brightly lit mirrors and bottles of makeup gathered neatly on the tables. At the back are two private changing rooms, one male and one female.

A few of the dressing tables are already occupied, and you don’t recognize most of the crew members currently here. But by the looks of their costumes, you gather that they play Princess Jasmine, Cinderella, and Aladdin respectively.

Walking cautiously to one of the dressing tables in the back, you set your bag down, realizing that there are private lockers stowed beneath the dressing tables themselves. You’ve never had this much space for your stuff before, even a dedicated hanger beside the mirror for you to hang your costume.

Jeongguk sets up shop beside you. “This is weird. It’s like there’s too much space.”

“Where’s Taehyung’s junk when you need it?” You attempt to make a joke to ease your own nervousness, even as you pull up a picture of the Evil Queen herself and start working on your makeup the way the character trainers had taught you to.

Being your first time playing her, you want to get everything right, so you make sure to come more than an hour before your shift is due to start. As the next half an hour passes, more and more crew members start to fill up the dressing room, but they keep mostly to themselves, and leave you and Jeongguk alone at the back.

Dark purple eyeshadow, dramatic brows, and red lipstick. You had been practicing this by yourself at home all weekend, so it goes pretty smoothly. To finish, you layer on the blush to complete the look. Now all you have to do is get into your costume in the private changing room.

A purple ankle length dress with sleeves, and a dramatic black cape with a high white collar to match. You have to tie back your hair so that you can secure the headpiece of the costume and affix the golden crown on the top of your head. When you look in the mirror, you don’t even recognize yourself.

You look tall. Intimidating. The thick layer of makeup has completely transformed all your features. You look like the witch from the nightmares you had as a five-year old. You try an experimental swish of your cape, and the resulting action makes you feel powerful.

There is a knock on the changing room door.

“Hello? Are you done in there? We still have to get changed.”

You open the door to see Dahyun’s slightly annoyed face morph into a semblance of a smile as she takes in your appearance. “Wow… um, ________. You look… um… great.”

The girls behind her giggle, and you know it is far from a compliment she’s paying you.

And maybe it’s because going through the ritual of transformation into someone else has truly changed you, because you can almost feel the Evil Queen’s aura that prevents you from doing something you usually would, like lowering your head or scurrying away in shame.

“I know,” you say, and you walk away in a swish of velvet fabric and shocked stares trailing after you.

*

It’s a hot afternoon as usual, but nothing you can’t handle. After being stuck in a stuffy little costume, getting to feel the slight breeze on your cheeks as a face character feels like heaven.

You hang out by the Wishing Well, practicing your cape swirls and finding that you enjoy it a lot more than you’d thought. It’s a quiet start to your first time playing the Evil Queen, and you try not to let the nerves get to you. Most of the visitors just walk by you and smile awkwardly without doing anything.

Your first customer is a child wearing the trademark Mickey Mouse ears. She approaches you timidly, holding out a red apple to you. The Evil Queen never smiles, so you glance down at the child, clasping a hand to your chest as your eyes widen in approval.

“Why hello there child, is that apple for me?”

The child nods so hard that their Mickey Ears nearly fall off, and you have to admit, they are kind of cute.

“Are you absolutely sure? Well then, thank you very much, I must say you have great taste. Even if you do like to wear rat ears on your head…” You take the apple gently from the child and raise it high in the air. “Behold! The most gorgeous apple in the kingdom, only suitable for the fairest queen in the land of course!”

You glance down at the child again, who seems to be more than excited that you accepted their gift. “Would you like a picture child? Alright then, where is your caretaker?”

The child grasps a fistful of your cloak in their hands as she points to her parents, waving a camera, and you pose for the picture, arms folded regally and eyebrows raised. When you see that the child kind of just freezes up for the camera, you take it upon yourself to bend down so that you are eye level with her, gently helping her to fold her arms and copy your facial expression.

You can feel her parent’s laughs of delight when they finally take your picture again, the child a carbon copy of your regal and intimidating self. When they come to collect their child, they flash you a grateful smile, and that tiny bit of affirmation is all you need.

After the ice has been broken, you feel much more at ease with the crowd. A few more people approach you for pictures, and you manage to maintain a friendly bicker with them while still staying in character. You ask for compliments, admiring yourself in their front view cameras, dissing Snow White when they bring her up, and when they leave, they bring a new crowd in along with them, all of whom are entertained by how self-absorbed and vain you are.

“Queen, queen! Oh, my queen,” a teenage girl raises her hand. “Who do you think is better looking, you or Gaston?”

“Gaston!?” You gasp in horror dramatically. “That terrible excuse for a man? You must be joking.”

“But I asked him, and he said he thinks he’s the most handsome!”

You wave them away with a roll of your eyes. “Oh please. Have you seen that pathetic little stallion tail he has for hair?”

“I heard someone was talking about me?” A loud, blasting voice sounds from behind you, and you turn to see Jeon Jeongguk dressed up as Gaston approaching, hands on his hips.

His costume consists of a large amount of shoulder and chest padding, and his red tunic is stretched tight across his naturally huge thighs. You have to say, he does have the body to play Gaston, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t look ridiculous. You almost want to burst out in laughter, but somehow you manage to keep it in.

“Only about how ugly you are,” you say with a wave of your cape.

“Ugly?” Jeongguk is affronted. “That is a word I’ve never heard in my life.”

“With how small your vocabulary is, I’m not surprised,” you examine your flawless nails, and smirk in satisfaction when a few people around you clap in delight at your comeback.

“Look at all these people here to see me!” Jeongguk goes on as if he never heard you, spreading his arms to flex his biceps to welcome the cheers of the crowd. More and more people are now gathering around the two of you. “They must be amazed by how handsome I am.”

“They are here to see me,” you clarify. “That is, before you barged in so uncouthly. Don’t you have better things to do? Like groom that monstrosity of a dog in your backyard?”

“Did she just refer to the Beast as a dog?” Hushed whispers and giggles come from around you, and you don’t have to do much to hide your smirk.

“They’re admiring the size of my muscles, of course!” He strikes a pose down on one knee, flexing one bicep, and some of the girls actually swoon at his good looks. A part of you secretly thinks that he ignored the second part of your insult because he doesn’t know how to respond to it in an appropriate PG manner. Instead, he focuses on making sure everyone around him can see him flexing his biceps.

You can tell that he is enjoying every bit of the attention he gets, as some of the crowd ‘ooh’s and ‘aah’s at his show, and the competitive spirit inside you gets ignited.

“A true Queen does not need to compliment herself, for she has her servants to do it for her,” you gesture at the crowd impatiently. “Well? Compliment me!”

“The fairest in all the land!”

“Snow White is ugly!”

“My Queen, you are so beautiful!”

With every compliment, you nod in approval, and it’s clear the crowd is having a great time. Some of them are even recording your impromptu little skit with Gaston.

It’s the most fun you’ve had playing a character since you started working here. For once, you can kind of let go and be yourself without worrying if you’ll be good enough.

Jeongguk gathers his little fanclub that has formed around him. “Come on, let’s go tell Belle how handsome I am.” He struts off, one arm around a girl each as they follow him back to his zone giddily.

“Ugh, good riddance,” you sigh and continue to admire yourself in a mirror someone gives you. “I dislike him almost as much as Snow White.”

Some of the crowd actually looks a bit upset when Gaston leaves, and you observe with slight surprise that they really enjoyed this impromptu skit between you. You make a mental note to yourself to talk about this with Jeongguk after your shift, to see how the both of you can arrange more regular visits for him in the future. The fact that both of your characters aren’t even in the same story means you have even more freedom to come up with their interactions.

The afternoon passes quickly, and you feel more settled into your role, even starting to have fun once you realise that you can pretty much just make up your lines on the spot. It’s even more enjoyable once you realise that playing a villain is essentially getting paid to insult visitors.

You’re just about to get ready to end your shift when you spot a large crowd approaching your area. At the very front, you spot Dahyun as Ariel, striking with her red wig and flowing green dress, and slightly behind her is-

Your throat closes up as you see Jimin in his prince costume again, the navy blue of his blazer making his white ruffled dress shirt stand out even more. His black hair is side parted, his eyes are smiling as he trails after his partner. It’s been a while since you last saw him in character, but he never fails to take your breath away.

When Dahyun spots you at the Wishing Well, you can almost swear that she slows down, turning behind her to reach out a hand to Jimin. At first the prince doesn’t notice her outstretched hand, as he leans to take a selfie with a visitor, but once he catches sight of it, he takes her hand without a second thought, tucking it into the crook of his arm in one smooth, natural motion.

You school your features into a look of disdain, but you don’t even have to pretend to begin with.

Making sure that they are within ear shot, you swish your cape in disinterest. “Does anyone smell anything fishy? Oh. It’s that fish-girl.”

You swear you can actually see the look of shock cross her pretty features, and she opens her mouth, but no words come out.

“Gaping like a fish too,” you say with a wave of your hand, and the visitors around you gasp at your savage comment. “Begone, trespasser, shouldn’t you be in an aquarium somewhere?”

Some of the visitors near you are laughing and even taking videos of you, and they are just loving the savagery that you dish out. Their impressed murmurs only serve to boost your confidence, especially when you see Dahyun’s reaction.

She only attempts to smile prettily at the crowd, unable to come up with a witty comeback, but you can see her grin is forced and doesn’t reach her eyes.

You haven’t dared to look straight at Jimin yet, but your eyes land on their joined hands instead. Clasping a hand to your chest in disgust, you roll your eyes. “Ugh, they’re holding hands. Someone please remove them from my presence.”

And then, even as you’re trying your very best not to look at the one person who has undoubtedly captured all your attention, your eyes can’t help but be drawn to the way his eyes widen when he sees you.

Suddenly a bead of insecurity creeps up in your chest. Surely he must think you look revolting like this. That’s what everyone thinks when they see a Disney villain. You are, quite literally, playing the villain in the love story between him and Dahyun. You might not be from the same fairytale, but the idea is there.

She’s the princess, he’s the prince.

And you’re the villain.

The two of them approach your Wishing Well at a steady pace, Jimin’s pretty eyes have now thankfully returned to their normal size as he runs his hand through his silky black hair, waving and blowing kisses to the crowd. He doesn’t even spare you a single glance, and it stings.

You can imagine your face is a really bright shade of purple, if your emotions are anything to judge by.

“Ma-madam,” a whimpering child approaches hesitantly at your feet, and you nearly startle. You didn’t see them approach, all your attention being focused on the prince and his princess.

“Yes, child, what is it,” your voice coming out a little more huffy than you wanted it to. But still, no one around you sees this as out of character, and you suddenly remember who you’re supposed to be playing.

You’re allowed to be a little mean.

“Are you… are you a witch?” The child’s large, inquisitive eyes gaze up at you, and you stare back at her with your chin lifted high.

Jimin and Dahyun are within earshot now. You can feel as if the crowd is holding its breath expectantly, waiting for your answer.

“A witch?” Your voice rises, scandalized. You do a graceful swish of your cape as you spin around, arms spread dramatically. “How can a witch be this beautiful, child?”

It’s a lie. All of it is a lie, because you don’t feel the least bit beautiful. Especially not in this getup, especially not in front of Dahyun with her porcelain skin and fiery red hair that compliments it so well.

But the crowd eats it up with cheers and laughter, clapping and chanting your character’s name. All the attention is now on you, and the prince and his princess are left to pass by quietly.

Maybe your acting skills have improved, but you’re pretty sure that you’re the only one in the whole crowd who didn’t buy that act one bit.

*

“You’re viral!!! Oh my god. Have you SEEN this?” You’re attacked by some kind of rabid animal the moment you step into the fur character’s changing room.

It turns out to be only Joy, who seems beside herself with excitement. She’s currently still in her Oscar costume with the head off, that’s why you mistook her for a rabid animal in the first place. The fur of her costume nearly suffocates you as she’s all up in your face.

It’s late, you’ve just finished your last shift and all you want to do is collapse on the couch for a few minutes before you have to muster up the energy for the train ride home. Today took more out of you than you realized.

“You’re viral,” Taehyung grunts from a corner, attempting a few sets with Jeongguk’s weights that are clearly too heavy for him. “She’s been saying that over and over for the past few hours.”

“What are you talking about?” You say wearily, trying to focus on the phone that Joy is waving around in your face before you just grab it from her in your impatience.

It’s a Youtube video titled “EVIL QUEEN PUTS GASTON IN HIS PLACE” and it was just uploaded only a few hours ago. But it already has a million views and counting.

Slightly more awake now, you start to focus on the short three-minute video. It was just taken today, and you hear yourself insulting Gaston for a bit, before actually bickering with him when he shows up. The camera work is shaky, clearly taken by someone in the audience.

“Did you read the comments yet?” Joy says breathlessly as she peeks over your shoulder. “Read them. They’re gold.”

You start to scroll down to the comment section, your heart racing as you read them.

disneylover012: Oh my god. The Evil Queen is the best. She’s so savage!!

walkingonsunshine: Imagine getting paid to be mean to visitors. I LOVE HER

starwarsfan48: We need more of this. MORE

chipndale29: I’m gonna go to Disney tomorrow just to see her!!!!

sunnyreds: she and Gaston are actually kinda cute together… arguing like a married couple. They should totally date!! (4 replies)

        potatocakes: imagine if they ACTUALLY WERE DATING IRL

        luckycat7: THAT’S SOOOO CUTE OMG I TOTALLY SHIP THEM

chimchim013: why’s everyone saying they should date??? They’re probably just friends in real life…

nochu019: @chimchim013 lol don’t hate him just cuz u ain’t him… I ship them too

“Oh my God, they ship you and Gaston,” Joy is falling over herself with laughter, and you put aside the phone for a moment to help her get out of her costume, seeing the threat that she poses to anyone in her near vicinity.

“Who ships us?” Jeongguk arrives with his hair wet and shirt clinging to his body. He dumps his bag at the door and plops himself onto the couch.

You feel a little weird after reading that comment. Joy is safely out of her costume by now, and you hand her back the phone. “Nothing. Just some random people on Youtube.”

“They aren’t just some random people,” Joy admonishes. That’s the top liked comment, and that video has a million views now. And counting. _______, you’re famous!!!!!! The star of our little park!!!!!”

“Not forgetting who else starred in that video, are we,” Jeongguk raises an eyebrow, popping open the lid of a Pringles can. “I was, after all, your co-star.”

“Oh shut up, you were totally getting owned- hey wait. We didn’t even show you the video yet. Why do you seem like you already know which video that is?” You narrow your eyes in suspicion, turning to look at Jeongguk.

Jeongguk turns red immediately, stuffing his face with more of your chips. “Mmf- happened to see it…”

There’s a loud clank in the corner as Taehyung gives up on working out. He massages his biceps as he paces around the room, eyes bright with excitement. “This is huge. Bigger than we could have ever imagined!!!” He grabs you by the shoulders. “________, you might even win Employee of the Month if you keep this up! The crowd loves you!”

“Oh please,” you wave away their optimism with a hand. “It was only one video.”

“It’s not just one video,” Joy corrects you as she scrolls furiously on her phone. “This account also uploaded another one. This time it’s called…”

Joy gets cut off with a snort of laughter. “Oh my god, you bad bitch.”

The door opens, and Yoongi walks in, hair in a mess and eyes half-open. “Who’s a bad bitch?”

“_________!” Joy squeals. “You fucking called Ariel a fish.”

“No way,” Taehyung grabs the phone to see for himself.

EVIL QUEEN DISSES PRINCESS ARIEL, CALLS HER A FISH

“…Oh. It’s that fish girl.” You hear your voice blasted loudly, and then the rest of the video is drowned out by boisterous laughter, cheers and screaming.

It’s chaos. Taehyung is running around the room. Joy is jumping up and down, replaying the video over and over. Jeongguk is rolling with laughter on the couch and falls off, knocking his knee on the table. Yoongi, true to his quiet self, only smirks at you with a look that resembles admiration, a tall order for the man of few words.

“Not bad. Guess you are serious about getting your man.”

“Wh-what?” Oh my god, guys shut up for a fucking second,” you say to your friends, but they aren’t having it. They are completely beside themselves with mirth, and a part of you can’t help but smile either. The animosity between fur and face characters has been an ongoing war ever since you joined. A video like this going viral just feels like a score for you and zilch for them.

“I thought we’d lost you and Jeongguk over to the Dark Side when you got promoted to face characters,” Taehyung says, still half doubled over from the exertion, face red. “But now it’s totally us against them. You’re a double agent!”

“She’s a fucking champ is what she is,” Jeongguk says with a look of pride on his face. “Insulting them while keeping character. I don’t know how she does that.”

You don’t really have much to say as you watch your friends replay the video over and over, but there is a warmth in your chest as they celebrate and dance. A warmth that completely erases the feelings of insecurity still lingering after seeing how beautiful Dahyun was today. The validation from your friends is just what you needed to chase those doubts away, and you plop yourself down on the couch, snuggling closer to Jeongguk as you settle in to watch the rest of the videos uploaded by that account.

Yoongi only partially grumbles about all of you squeezing onto one couch, but even you can see the tiny, proud gummy smile on his face as he watches from his standing position behind you all.

There may be shitty moments in this job. But moments like this make it all worth it, and you tell yourself to hold on to it no matter what.

*

Jimin collapses into a chair in the dressing room. To be honest, he prefers the fur character’s dressing room to this one. Always cosy, with that soft couch perfect for taking a nap in between shifts. And the main plus point: the people. Ever since he got promoted to a face character he felt weird going back there, but it seems like you and Jeongguk still treat it as your dressing room. He hardly ever sees you in here, even when your shifts match.

A bigger dressing room also means more people, and more strangers. It’s noisy, impossible to relax for a moment in between shifts. So he pulls out his earphones and plugs it into his phone, opening Youtube and idly browsing his homefeed.

He comes across an interesting video that catches his eye immediately.

EVIL QUEEN PUTS GASTON IN HIS PLACE

That’s you in the thumbnail. He’d know your face anywhere. Jimin clicks on it, and the video begins to play. You and Gaston are bickering away, back and forth with an undeniable chemistry, and Jimin feels a lump growing in his throat.

It’s partially overshadowed by the pride when he notices that it’s gone viral, over two million views now, and he grins happily. Watches the way you throw yourself into your acting, how confident you look making up your lines impromptu.

His mistake is when he decided to scroll through the comments.

sunnyreds: she and Gaston are actually kinda cute together… arguing like a married couple. They should totally date!! (2 replies)

        potatocakes: imagine if they ACTUALLY WERE DATING IRL

        luckycat7: THAT’S SOOOO CUTE OMG I TOTALLY SHIP THEM

He frowns. You and Jeongguk? Hm. Not if he has anything to say about it.

He types furiously on his phone and presses submit before he has a chance to think twice about it. Satisfied with his reply, he continues watching to the end of the video, but not before another ping interrupts him.

It’s a notification that someone has replied to his comment. He opens it and scrunches his brow in disapproval.

sunnyreds: she and Gaston are actually kinda cute together… arguing like a married couple. They should totally date!! (4 replies)

        potatocakes: imagine if they ACTUALLY WERE DATING IRL

        luckycat7: THAT’S SOOOO CUTE OMG I TOTALLY SHIP THEM

chimchim013: why’s everyone saying they should date??? They’re probably just friends in real life…

nochu019: @chimchim013 lol don’t hate him just cuz u ain’t him… I ship them too

He starts typing furiously again but can’t come up with anything intelligent to say. Finally, he deletes everything and clicks on the offending user’s screenname to check out his channel.

It’s primarily focused on gaming and streaming, although their latest video does look like it was taken in Disneyland itself. Jimin sees a familiar silhouette in the corner of the video’s thumbnail and clicks on the video to get a better view, though the figure is never clearly outlined.

Frustrated he scrolls through the rest of the channel’s videos, but it’s all lame gaming streams.

It’s probably just a loser gaming nerd, Jimin tells himself as he returns to the viral video of the Evil Queen. Nothing to get worked up over.

He’s interrupted by the timer on his phone signalling his next shift, and he sighs, tossing it away and starting to get ready.

*

The view count only goes up and up. Throughout the weeks that follow, more of your fan accounts pop up, uploading numerous videos of you sparring with Gaston, entertaining the crowd solo, insulting and bickering with guests. The list goes on, and your fanbase grows bigger.

Now you have a sizeable crowd at the Wishing Well every time your shift comes on. It energizes you, gives you the motivation to act better, think of wittier lines. The recognition that you’re getting every day makes you shine even brighter, giving you the hope to aspire towards your eventual big-picture dream of Broadway.

“It’s totally possible,” Joy gushes as she takes off her makeup at the end of the day.

You’re sitting on the couch in the small living area, face already scrubbed clean of all your makeup. You tear into a face mask and carefully align it on your face. With the extra makeup that comes with playing a face character, you also run the risk of breaking out more, and blemishes are even harder to cover. So you put more effort into your skincare routine to make sure that your skin is as flawless as can be.

“With all this fame you have, you could totally have an edge at auditioning for Broadway,” Joy continues on.

“Maybe…” you say, closing your eyes and tipping your head back for a moment of relaxation. “No one knows it’s me playing the Evil Queen. They can’t find out my name, or Disney will fire me. You know the rules.”

“Yeah, you could send it in as a highlight reel or an audition tape,” Joy answers. “Those are kept private anyway, so the public won’t find out. Win-win.”

You roll over to face her. “You think that’ll work?”

Her response is interrupted by a polite knock at the door of the small dressing room. You both know that none of you ever knock before entering, so whoever is outside must be a visitor.

“I’ll get it,” you say, walking toward the door and opening it.

“Um, hi.” It’s Park Jimin again, hands awkwardly in his pockets and looking freshly showered in a black shirt and ripped jeans. His favourite combo. “I thought I might find you here.”

You hastily rip off your face mask, cheeks turning red at your disheveled appearance compare to his flawless one. “Hey! Um, yeah haha guess I’m pretty predictable!”

You almost cringe at your awkwardness. Jimin only smiles gently, eyes looking past you into the room.

“Are you busy?”

“Um… no! Not really. Just relaxing after my shift, Joy’s here too, you know her, right?”

Jimin acknowledges her with a nod. “Actually, I kind of ran into senior management just now, and they asked me if you were still in the park. I think they want to see you and it seemed kind of urgent, so I came over to see if you were here.”

A slight tinge of disappointment makes itself known in your chest. So Jimin didn’t come here to look for you, he only came because senior management asked him to.

“They- they want to see me? I didn’t get any email from them though…” you pull out your phone and check it, only to realise it’s out of battery. “Oh. No wonder. Um… sure. I’ll go see them right now. Thanks for letting me know.”

You start to slip past him, but he catches your arm halfway.

“I’ll walk with you, if you don’t mind,” he says with a shy little smile, flipping his hair off his forehead with one hand.

“You sure? I don’t want to hold you up… you must be tired.” Both of you start to stroll toward the head offices.

Jimin smiles companionably, taking a deep breath of the crisp, cold air. “I’m okay. Not that tired. It’s a really fun job, and seeing the crowd gives me energy. So I always end the day with more energy than I started it with.”

You can kind of relate to what he’s referring to, and for the first time you realise how important it is to receive so much love and attention from your audience. “Yeah, totally. It’s like a two-way dialogue. You give the audience your all, and they give it back to you tenfold.”

“Exactly!” He grins at you with a little skip in his step. “You’ve been killing it lately. I heard you’re going super viral on Youtube. The first video of you and Gaston has, what- five million views?”

“Oh, yeah… it’s crazy. I have no idea how that happened,” you blush a little under his intense gaze, focusing on the path in front of you instead.

“I know how it happened, your acting skills are amazing,” Jimin says with a shrug, saying it as if it’s obvious. “Watching you makes me feel like you were born to act. When you’re acting, you just steal the spotlight even if there isn’t a stage. I think you should give yourself more credit.”

He turns to you with a sweet smile, eyes warm. It almost makes you stumble over a non-existent rock.

“Thankfully neither you nor the crowd are mind readers, because I was doubting myself like crazy that day,” you attempt to laugh it off, but your confession only makes Jimin even more curious, his hand brushing against yours. You ignore the hitch in your voice. “It was more like tiny little questions. ‘Like is this okay? Am I doing a good job? Was that too mean? Do they hate me?’ ”

“Wow- that’s… I couldn’t tell at all,” Jimin admits. “From the outside you just looked like you were born to be there. You looked so confident and comfortable in your own skin, and… it was attractive.”

Your heart skips multiple beats as you shakily bring yourself to make eye contact with him. Jimin is still looking at you, and the words are left unsaid between the two of you, but his gaze makes it loud and clear.

I was attracted to you.

You’re saved from a response as you approach the head office. Thinking he’d probably do the normal thing and leave now, you turn to say goodbye to him, but Jimin follows you into the office.

“I can stay a little. Don’t have anything after this anyway,” he says with an easy smile, and part of you is glad, because you’re nervous at the thought of meeting with senior management.

Though you’ll have to go in alone, the thought of Jimin waiting outside for you makes you a little less anxious.

“Good evening, _________,” the head of Character Management, Kim Sejeong greets you.

It’s strange to be meeting with management so often, the last time being when you got promoted. But this time, the rest of the management is also in the room, sitting on either side of a long table, looking important and intimidating.

“Hi- Good evening, I believe you wanted to see me?” Your voice comes out small, and you hate it.

“Yes, we have some very great news for you,” Kim Sejeong smiles tightly as she ushers you to a seat at the end of the table. “I’ll let our director of HR deliver it himself.”

His nameplate reads Jung Hoseok. He clears his throat, adjusting his tie as he smiles at you. “Congratulations, ________. You’ve been made employee of the month.”

There’s a stunned silence for a moment as you digest the news. Finally, you bring yourself to utter a response. “Um… I… wow, this is amazing, I had no idea… Thank you so much, Mr Jung.”

Jung Hoseok laces his fingers together, smiling again as he looks at the other members of the senior management. “I think I speak for all of us when I say that we’ve definitely noticed how you are shining in your new assignment. We’ve taken note that you’ve gone viral, and we estimate that park visitation numbers have gone up by 5% ever since you were promoted. You’ve brought very good publicity for our park, and we think you deserve this title.”

“In fact, we decided to modify the title slightly, you’re now employee of the month for the next three months. Of course, we’ll be announcing your title in the official staff newsletter later this month, but we just thought you’d like to know in advance,” Sejeong interjects smoothly.

This has to be a dream. Some cruel nightmare where everything is ripped away from you at the very last second. There’s no way something this good can happen to you… is there?

“It’s not just a title,” Jung Hoseok corrects himself. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but the Employee of the Month is also rewarded with a small voucher. But since this is Employee of the Month for the next three months, we thought the prize should be similarly inflated.”

You glance at Sejeong expectantly, not daring to get your hopes up. What could it be? Cash? A month off work? A bonus?

“Two pairs of VIP tickets to Disneyland, redeemable at any time with no expiry,” Jung Hoseok grins as if he thinks he’s awarding you the Nobel Peace Prize. “And, a free night’s stay at the Disneyland hotel, two rooms inclusive.”

You’ve never really been a fan of Disneyland and its hotels, but this is slightly ridiculous. The reward for doing well at work is… getting to spend more time at work? You supposed you can always sell the tickets or something… you just have to find a way to be discreet about it.

You realise that a longer than socially acceptable amount of time has passed in which you’ve just been staring at senior management, and you clear your throat, mentally slapping yourself out of your stupor.

“Thank you, Mr Jung. I truly… truly appreciate this, it’s such an honour,” you force the words out alone with a stiff smile on your face.

Jung Hoseok seems satisfied with your gratitude. “Thank you, Ms______. Please keep up the good work. Well, that’s all we have for you today, unless there’s anything on your side, Sejeong?”

“Nope, nothing from me,” Sejeong shakes her head. “You may go now.”

You thank them one more time before letting yourself out of the room, still trying to process everything. Jimin sees the slightly overwhelmed look on your face, and he immediately meets you at your side, arm around your shoulder to guide you to the door.

“You okay? It wasn’t bad news, right?” He asks, worried.

“No… no it wasn’t. Quite the opposite, actually,” you say still in a daze. “I was awarded Employee of the Month. For the next three months.”

“Oh my god. That’s amazing! You totally deserve it!” Jimin expresses his joy with his entire body, skipping ahead of you a few paces and even doing a spin, giggling in that cute way of his.

“It is,” you smile, genuinely happy now. “But get this, guess what was the reward.”

“A 13th month bonus?” Jimin guesses excitedly, his eyes bright.

“Two pairs of VIP tickets to Disneyland. And two hotel rooms, one night stay,” you say in a deadpan manner. “I know, right? How stingy. Employees already get a 20% discounted rate off everything, and yet…”

“You could always sell them. Or, I mean… take the chance to just be a normal person at Disney. I guess that’s easier said than done, with all the things that we’ve seen as cast members…” Jimin bites his lip in a way that highlights how plush they are.

“A normal person at Disney?” You’re intrigued by the idea as the two of you start to walk back towards the cast member’s dressing rooms. “I’ve never really thought of that before. I mean, this is our workplace, so I don’t think I could ever think of it as a place to have fun.”

“I could show you, i-if you wanted,” Jimin stumbles over his words, and you can see a slight blush on his cheeks as his smile rounds them out gently. “I think it’d be fun. To just forget what we’re really here for and enjoy the park as Walt Disney himself intended it.”

From anyone else, those words would have rubbed you the wrong way. But coming from Park Jimin, it’s genuine because you can tell he really believes that this park was meant to bring joy to people.

And after all, spending a day with Park Jimin in Disney doesn’t sound all that bad. Especially when you think of the hotel room waiting for you after.

“I think it’s a deal,” you grin at him, a fluttering in your stomach when you see his face light up.

*

“Oh my god. Please,” Jeongguk begs, practically on his knees in front of you. “I’d kill to stay in a Disney hotel just once. And besides, this would be great for my channel!”

“You have a channel?” You frown at him. This is news.

“I recently just started one! It’s mainly gaming for now, but I thought of branching out into vlogging too! And what better place to vlog than Disney itself?” Jeongguk grins and stretches his arms, spinning in the small dressing room and nearly knocking Yoongi off his feet.

The older man glares as he shields his Americano with his body. “Count me out. Spending more time in this place is the last thing I want.”

You sigh under your breath. “Me too, bud.”

“C’mon, you have three tickets! Just give one to me, and Tae and Joy can take the other two! It’s perfect!” Jeongguk folds his arms petulantly, as if he can’t believe you haven’t done the math. “We can do the ‘Eat Everything at Disney Challenge’ and then crash in the hotel room at night. It’ll be like old times again, just way fancier!”

“We can just sneak Yoongi hyung in for the ‘crash at hotel’ part,” Taehyung chimes in. “We’ll get snacks and alcohol and shit. It’ll be great!”

“Um… well, about that…” you shift your weight from foot to foot. “I… kind of only have two tickets left.”

“What? Where’d the last one go?” Jeongguk immediately questions this unexpected wrench in his well laid plans.

This catches Yoongi’s attention too, and he stops scrolling on his phone to fix his eyes on you. Eyebrow raised, as if he can tell what you’re going to say next.

“I don’t think you have any other friends than us,” Jeongguk is thinking hard, and you punch him in the shoulder just for that comment.

“It’s Park Jimin, that’s who,” Joy pipes up from the corner as she’s examining her skin for any breakouts.

Jeongguk frowns. “Wait. Prince Eric? He’s your friend? You guys are close?”

Yoongi snorts at that naïve response. “Dude, she has the biggest boner for him. Everyone in the crew knows that. Well, except for you and him, I guess.”

“Shut up, everyone does not know that!” You throw a cushion at Yoongi, but he raises an arm to deflect it, unbothered as always. “I’m gonna put salt in your Americano tomorrow.”

“Two slots and three people, that’s gonna be interesting,” Yoongi says, going back to his phone.

“Well, I volunteer Tae as tribute. He’s the only one whose shift doesn’t match ours for the next month,” Joy shoots you a quick glance as she says this, and you understand what she’s getting at immediately.

If it’s just you, Jimin and the two brats, you’ll be spending the whole day taking care of them like they’re your overgrown children. But with Joy along, hopefully she can distract Jeongguk long enough for you and Jimin to have some time together, and hopefully even hit the end goal of-

“Oh, right…” Taehyung says with slumped shoulders. “Who plans the shifts anyway? Why’d I have to be left out this time?”

Feeling a little guilty for all the unspoken planning going on between you and Joy, you ruffle Taehyung’s hair fondly. “Hey. You can still join us at night. We’ll just sneak you guys all in.”

You almost regret the words coming out of your mouth the moment you say it, because Joy shoots you an ‘are you sure about this’ look. You return her look with a shrug. As much as you want Jimin, it doesn’t feel right to exclude your friends like this, friends who have been like a family to you.

You’ll just have to find a way to get Jimin alone, because this is your best chance.

*

“Hey everyone! What’s up guys, today we’re doing a ‘Eat Everything at Disney Challenge’!! Woohoo!” Jeongguk’s boisterous voice attracts the attention of a few other people around him.

He holds out his vlogging camera further to capture the rest of the party. Joy is walking beside him, doing a great job of being the physical buffer between Jeongguk, you and Jimin. She waves half-heartedly, more concerned with shielding herself from the merciless sun with her sunhat and making sure Jeongguk doesn’t crash into anything while mindlessly vlogging.

You’re a few paces away with Jimin, matching your pace to his and already feeling the exhilaration of the day ahead. Even just walking beside him is enough to get your heart racing. Today he’s dressed up slightly more, in a white button-down shirt with cut-off khaki shorts that show off his muscled thighs. To complete the look, his black hair is parted in the middle, showing off his forehead, black sunglasses hung on the vee of his white button down shirt.

“Did I miss the memo or something?” Jimin turns to you with an amused smile on his lips. They look soft, pink and even a little glossy, as if he’d taken the time to apply some tinted lip balm. “Eat everything at Disney Challenge?”

“Don’t worry, I missed it too. If I’d known, I would have worn something a lot looser than this,” you gesture down at yourself. If only Jimin knew that you had spent hours agonizing over your outfit last night, panic calling Joy for help and realizing that you have absolutely zero date worthy clothes in your closet.

It figures because the last time you went out for something other than work and auditions and grocery shopping was never.

Finally, you’d settled on a yellow plaid dress with thin straps to fight off the summer heat, and sneakers to make walking a little easier.

“You look great though,” Jimin says boldly, biting his lower lip. “How about this: he’s here for the all you can eat challenge. We’re here on a date.”

The words make your stomach flutter dangerously, as if you’re on Space Mountain just before the big drop. There’s something slightly different about Jimin today, he’s a sassier, more flirty version of himself, and it only makes you wish you could have come alone with him even more.

*

No more shy smiles or cute grins today, Park Jimin is going all out in his flirting. He’s going to get the girl today, Jeon Jeongguk be damned.

The four of you stop at a churro stand, and Jeongguk announces to the camera that it’s the first stop of the day.

Jimin’s never been one for the sugary treat, but he spies an opportunity as Jeongguk begins to scarf down his churro on camera, getting sugar all over his shirt.

“Hi, can I have one pineapple churro please?” He asks before turning to you. “Share one with me?”

“Sure,” you shrug as Jeongguk approaches the two of you, his original flavour churro already gone.

“What’d you guys get?” Jeongguk squeezes himself in between you and Jimin. “Oh. Pineapple? I didn’t know they had that flavour.”

Jimin hands over some cash to the vendor and takes the still warm, yellow churro dusted in bright yellow sugar. “They have all different kinds of flavours, look.” He points to the menu board on top of the booth. “Hey, you know what’d be cool Jeongguk?”

“Hmm?” Jeongguk turns to him with a questioning look in his eyes.

“You should try all the different flavoured churros, it’d be a really cool addition to the vlog!”

Jeongguk lights up at the suggestion. “Why didn’t I think of that?” He turns to the vendor and points at the menu. “Can I have one in every flavour? Oh, and employee discount please.”

“Sure, but we’re fresh out of churros and it’ll take about fifteen minutes to make the next batch, would you be okay with waiting, sir?”

Jimin discreetly tugs at your hand and pulls you away with him while Jeongguk haggles with the vendor about the waiting time, too preoccupied to even notice the two of you.

A safe distance away, Jimin grins as he glances you up and down as if he suddenly realized something. “Here. Take this.”

He shoves the churro at you, and you take it from him, brows knitted in confusion.

“It matches your outfit, and you look really cute. I wanna take a picture of you,” Jimin explains with a giggle as he takes his phone out of his pocket, positioning you so that the Magic Castle is directly behind you. “One, two three…”

You make him laugh in his signature way, with his entire body, when you pretend to play the churro like a flute. He snaps a few more pictures with a satisfied smile on his face, and you drop the pose, walking over to him to check the picture and half hoping you don’t look horrible.

“So pretty, see,” Jimin shows you a candid of you laughing at him laughing, and you realise it’s the happiest you’ve seen yourself lately. His proximity as he shows you the other pictures makes your heart race, and you almost don’t want to move away.

To cover up your fluttering nerves, you take a bite of the churro, feeling the sugar melt on your tongue, and the tangy taste of pineapple spread across your tastebuds.

“Good?” Jimin asks, putting his phone away, casually letting his arm skim past your waist as he tucks it into his pocket. “Lemme try?”

Before you can offer your end of the churro to him, he closes one hand around your wrist and lifts the other end of the churro to his lips, taking a bite of it. The sugar dusts his plush lips, and he maintains direct eye contact with you as he chews, his smoldering eyes such a contrast with the cute bulge of his cheek full of churro.

The slight height difference means the churro is tilted in between the two of you, and your end of the churro remains slightly out of your reach. Feeling as if his eyes are daring you to, you lean forward slightly and take a bite from your side while he takes another bite from his end.

God damn if this isn’t the most romantic thing you’ve ever done. You’d thought these things only happen in movies. Feeling your cheeks heat up from his stare, you break away first and brush some sugar off your chin.

“It’s really good,” Jimin comments, licking his lips to get every bit of sugar. “Tastes just like the Dole Whip. Pineapple’s really good for you too.”

“It is?” You ask before you can fully comprehend what he’s said, mind already addled by his close proximity and how outrageously cheesy he’s being. You see a stray granule of sugar on his bottom lip, and without thinking, brush it away with your thumb.

Jimin pairs his answer with another bite of the pineapple churro, a slight smirk on his lips as he chews. “Yeah, it tastes good, and it makes you taste good too.”

You understand his double entendre immediately and wonder where the hell this side of Park Jimin was all along. A moment ago, everything was straight out of a rom-com movie, and a second later he’s looking at you like you’re the lead actors of Fifty Shades.

“Hey guys, I got it!” Jeongguk bounds over with his two fists full of churros, his camera balanced dangerously in the crook of his elbow. Joy trails behind with a slightly apologetic look on her face at not being able to successfully keep him busy. “Guys, can you film me? I’m gonna try to break the world record for eating churros the fastest.”

You oblige, stepping away from Jimin to rescue the camera from Jeongguk. “There’s such a record? What’s the time to beat?”

“Dunno,” Jeongguk shrugs, his eyes already focused on the multi-coloured churros in his hands. There’s pineapple, plum, green apple, strawberry and blue raspberry. “I’ll make one if there isn’t.”

“Don’t choke, Kook,” you caution him, taking out a bottle of water from your bag just in case, and position him in the camera frame. “Three… two… one… action!”

Jimin looks over your shoulder at the camera’s viewfinder as Jeongguk begins to scoff down the churros at record speed. In the blink of an eye, he’s already downed three, and he shoves the last two in his mouth at the same time, chewing furiously as if he’s eating two Pocky sticks at the same time.

“And… time!” You call out, figuring he can just add in the timer below later in post editing. You keep recording though, and hand him the bottle of water with your free hand.

Jeongguk looks satisfied with himself, though his eyes land on how close Jimin is standing behind you as he chugs the water. With a petulant pout, he lowers the bottle from his lips.

“Do I have sugar on my mouth?” He asks you, looking at your face rather than at the camera.

“Yes, yes you do,” you say with a laugh. “It’s all over your face and chin.”

“Wipe it for me?” Jeongguk asks with a shameless grin, glancing at the way Jimin’s expression tightens. “I can’t see where it is.”

There’s a brief pause as you hesitate, and then you pull a pack of tissues out of your pocket, tossing them at him. “Here. Use these.”

Jimin’s laughter sounds angelic to you, but it grates on Jeongguk’s ears.

*

“Hey, can you walk ahead of me?” Jeongguk turns to you with his camera still focused in front of him. “I wanna do a ‘follow me’ shot. And I need a model.”

“I’ll do it!” Joy chimes in enthusiastically, although you can obviously tell how forced it is judging from the smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. The heat is definitely taking a toll on her. You owe her a huge debt after this.

But Jeongguk frowns a little. “Hmmm, can ______ do it instead?”

“What’s wrong with me?” Joy crosses her arms defensively.

“Have you seen the way you walk?” Jeongguk rolls his eyes. “You’re like a drunk elephant.”

Joy’s eyes widen in outrage and you can tell this is about to turn into an argument between your two best friends. Before she can say anything, however, Jimin cuts in.

“I’ll do it,” he says, pushing back his black hair from his forehead.

Relieved, you chime in. “Y-yes! Jimin walks really well. You should see the way he walks down Main Street when he’s Prince Eric. He turns the whole place into his private runway!”

Jimin shoots you a fond little smile, glowing from your compliment and you feel Jeongguk’s eyes tracking this tiny moment between you.

“What do I have to do?” Jimin asks, already walking in front of Jeongguk.

“But… ‘follow me’ shots are usually done by a girl because they get more viewers,” Jeongguk protests weakly, especially when Jimin appears in the viewfinder of his camera. “And… and we have to hold hands.”

“You have no idea how handsome I am from the back,” Jimin smirks, running a hand through his hair again. “I’ll get you way more views than Joy and ______ ever could.”

“God damn. That confidence is so hot,” Joy whispers beside you, watching the two men squabble over having to hold hands, and then finally settle for no hand holding.

You don’t doubt he could get way more views than you or Joy, especially with the little smirk he shoots the camera over his shoulder as he starts to walk toward the Magic Castle. Jeongguk follows while filming, leaving the two of you behind for a moment.

“You know what’s hotter?” Your eyes don’t leave him for a second. “That ass.”

Joy giggles in tandem with you for a second before she stops with sudden realization. “Oh my god. I just realised something. I hope the walls between the hotel rooms are soundproof.”

*

“And… here’s the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen today…” Jeongguk suddenly turns the camera on you as you pick at your candy floss. “We’re waiting to go on the carousel!”

Suddenly camera shy, you hide behind the giant pink cloud. “What’s with you? Why are you complimenting me?”

“Because it’s true,” Jeongguk shrugs, one hand reaching out to move your cotton candy away from your face so that he can see you.

But his view is suddenly rudely interrupted by Jimin who sticks his face right in front of the camera. Jeongguk jumps back in slightly shock, a scowl etched across his features as Jimin blocks you entirely.

“How about me? Aren’t I the cutest guy you’ve ever seen?” Jimin checks himself out in the camera lens, and you have to stop yourself from agreeing. He fluffs up his silky black hair, taking the sunglasses that hang in the vee of his shirt and putting them on.

Jimin continues to check himself out in the camera’s viewfinder, and you laugh at him, watching him smooth his hair and lick his lips, and suddenly you find yourself envying the viewers of Jeongguk’s channel. That is, if Jeongguk decides to even let this make it into the vlog in the first place.

Jeongguk is making noises of disgust, trying to get Jimin out of frame, and the two of them are squabbling like little kids.

Jeongguk passes the camera to you. “Hey, film me.”

He grabs a piece of popcorn and tosses it into the air, trying to catch it with his mouth. Joy giggles when he fails, and Jimin snorts with laughter at his reattempts.

“C’mon, that’s easy,” Jimin says as he grabs popcorn from Jeongguk, and you turn to focus the camera on him instead. Jimin tosses it into the air and catches it easily, shooting the camera a little smirk.

“I’ll do it again,” Jimin says, grabbing another piece of popcorn and tossing it in the air. It lands in his mouth effortlessly, and the way he looks at you while chewing makes your mouth go dry.

“One more, and if I succeed…” his voice trails off so that you have to strain to hear him over all the background noise of the park. “You have to ride me tonight.”

Then he throws it into the air and catches it with his mouth, and your heart skips a beat when he catches your eye after.

“Um, what?? I’ll have to ride… what?” You feel like that piece of popcorn has gone down your throat instead, from the way you’re stuttering.

“You’ll have to ride with me,” Jimin says with a wink, nodding at the carousel. “What did you think I said?”

You’re saved from replying when the gates in front of you open, signalling the next batch of carousel riders.

Joy tugs you along, unaffected by what just went down whatsoever. Her only aim is to choose the prettiest unicorn so she can take millions of selfies, and you follow her, not realizing that Jeongguk isn’t behind you. By the time you do realise, you’re already standing beside a white pony with a pink mane and tail just behind Joy.

“You go ahead, I wanna film the carousel from here,” Jeongguk focuses on getting the perfect frame on his camera. Jimin glances over his shoulder and realizes that it’s focused on you, following you as you go from pony to pony, laughing and giggling with your cotton candy still in hand.

He narrows his eyes in suspicion. “Hey, I thought this was supposed to be a ‘Eat Everything at Disney Challenge’? Why are you filming ______ like, exclusively?”

“Because I wanna eat her, that’s why,” Jeongguk mumbles under his breath, and Jimin nearly explodes.

“What did you just say man?” He’s ready to grab Jeongguk by the collar for referring to you in such a crude manner.

“Calm down dude, it was just a joke,” Jeongguk’s eyes widen in fear. “I say stupid things sometimes without thinking! You know I’d never treat _____ like that. She’s like one of my best friends! I can’t help if I’m attracted to her like that!”

“Kook? What are you doing? Get over here!” You gesture at him and Jimin, who are still in the queue even though there are more than enough spaces on the carousel.

You notice the two of them having a seemingly intense conversation, at the end of which Jimin backs down and shoves his way through the gate, with a hard set to his jaw as he approaches the horse you’re about to ride. But by the time he’s on the carousel itself, the annoyance has vanished off his face.

“You should ride on this one instead,” Jimin gestures to a horse on the inside of the carousel. “Switch with me.”

You were just about to get on the horse, but at his insistence, switch to riding the one on the inside instead. Jimin stands just behind you, making sure you’re securely on the horse before he climbs up on the one next to you.

He glances at Jeongguk still in the queue trying to get a shot of you on the carousel, but he purposely angles his body so that he’s blocking you entirely. Especially when he sees your exposed thigh when your dress rides up from your position on the horse. Jimin doesn’t want anyone but him to be privy to this view, that’s for sure.

The ride slowly creaks to a start, and the whimsical music starts up. Now that the sun has gone down, the glow of the carousel lights casts a magical tinge over everything, and when Jimin looks over at you, he isn’t ready for the surge of butterflies.

*

The four of you make it to the hotel to check-in, half exhausted and just wanting to collapse onto cool sheets for a while before coming up with a plan to sneak in Yoongi and Tae, who insisted on bringing the snacks and alcohol so that they wouldn’t be left out.

“Here you go, two rooms, across the hallway from each other. 503 and 504,” the hotel clerk smiles at you, and you thank her, grabbing the keys and joining the other three in front of the elevators.

“Fifth floor,” you mumble to no one in particular as the four of you enter the lift. Joy reaches out to punch in the correct number, while Jimin boldly wraps an arm around your waist and you press your cheek into his chest.

“Why’s Kook sulking?” You refer to Jeongguk who’s been silent ever since you got off the carousel ride, looking through shots on his camera with a sullen look on his face.

“His blood sugar is low, he needs some snacks probably,” Joy says, stifling a yawn herself. “God, I can’t believe it’s only 9pm and we’re dying to go to bed. When did we become boring ass adults?”

“Ever since we got jobs and started paying bills,” your voice is muffled by Jimin’s shirt.

The elevator dings and you stumble out, navigating the lush hallways lined with red carpeting to find the correct unit number. You stop in front of 503 and tap the key card to the sensor, tossing the other one to Joy who opens the opposite room.

The sight of the neat, luxurious hotel rooms perks even Jeongguk up, as you dump your stuff and throw yourselves onto the soft beds.

“Oh god. Who was the one who suggested The Spinning Teacups? I hate you so much right now,” you mumble into a pillow, all your energy sapped up.

“Jeongguk did,” Jimin helpfully supplements your memory even as you feel the bed dip slightly beside you.

All of a sudden, you are painfully aware that the two of you are alone in the room together… the door is locked securely and there’s no one, not even Mr Walt Disney himself, who could interrupt your moment now. You turn to see Jimin flat on his back beside you, eyes closed and hair brushed away from his face. The outline of his sharp jawline leads you down to his Adam’s apple, then further down into the v of his shirt that exposes his chest…

He catches you looking with a playful smirk on his plush lips, turning onto his side so that he can regard you better.

“I waited all day for this…” Jimin whispers in a low sultry tone as his eyes undress you, and he sits up, running his fingers through his hair. “Remember what I said about riding me?”

You can only gape at him for a moment, before you reach out to smack his chest. “Oh my god, I knew I heard that! You made me feel like such a pervert!”

Jimin laughs, reaching across the bed to pull you into his lap so that you are indeed straddling him. “You’re cute when you’re flustered.”

You forget about how sweaty you feel when Jimin pulls you down for a kiss, and you finally taste those plush lips of his that you’d been dreaming of forever. You feel as if all of this is a dream, only it can’t be because the sensation of his warm body beneath yours is all too real, his tongue begging for entrance is making all of your fantasies come true and-

Ding dong ding dong ding dong ding dong!!!

The doorbell rings persistently and doesn’t stop. Such an obnoxious act can only be the work of one person. Sighing, you extricate yourself from Jimin’s grasp with one last kiss to his bottom lip and go to check who’s outside in the doorhole.

But all you see is darkness.

“What are you guys doing in there! Come out! Yoongi and Tae are here!” Jeongguk’s voice sounds from outside, and you can only surmise that he’s covered the door hole with his hand. Real mature.

Sighing, you turn back to Jimin still on the bed. Inside here is Jimin with his cute smile and sinful promises of the night to come, and out there is… Jeon Jeongguk with a penchant of cock blocking you at every turn he gets.

“We should join them for a bit. Then sneak away if we can.” Jimin sighs when the doorbell continues ringing, twitching an eyebrow in annoyance. “Or else he’ll never leave us alone. We need a game plan.”

Jimin turns to rummage through his bag for some comfy clothes to change into, and you do the same, only retreating into the bathroom to try and freshen up a little first. Five minutes later you emerge, dressed in comfy sweats as you open the door, only to stop the incessant ringing of the doorbell.

“Kook, you’re disturbing the neighbours,” you chide him gently, pushing him towards the other hotel room as Jimin emerges behind you in an oversized black hoodie and shorts.

It seems like the party already started without you, chip bags open and strewn everywhere, beer cans crushed and strewn around. You plop yourself down on a pillow and reach for some Doritos, moaning as the salty, cheesy goodness hits your tongue and you feel renergised.

Yoongi comes in bearing pizza, and for a moment no one speaks as you all hungrily devour the food.

“So Kook, did you manage to finish your ‘Eat Everything at Disney Challenge’?” Taehyung asks with a hopeful grin, for he’d contributed to the idea himself.

“Obviously not, or else he wouldn’t be stuffing himself right now,” Joy says through a mouthful of pizza, chasing it down with a gulp of soda. “He started off strong with the churros, but I think he kinda got sidetracked along the way…”

“Oh,” Taehyung says, not really looking all that disappointed. “Bro, there’s always next time! I told you, you need me!”

Yoongi settles back with a can of beer, looking as though the day has thoroughly worn him out. “So, how’d you losers like Disney? As visitors, not as cast members.”

“Eh, was okay I guess,” Jeongguk picks at a piece of pineapple on his slice. “Vlog turned out slightly different than I wanted it to.”

“Too hot,” Joy complains, before realizing her mistake. Her eyes widen as Taehyung tosses an empty crushed beer can at her.

“Try an entire afternoon in costume!” Taehyung says indignantly, before bursting into laughter.

While they bicker back and forth, Jimin nudges your knee with his, and mouths the words ‘game plan’. Your eyes dart around the mess in front of you, then at each of your friends.

Jeongguk is stuffing himself with the rest of the pizza, and if you know anything about him is that he goes out like a light after meals. Yoongi is already more than half asleep, Tae and Joy are distracting each other. Now’s the perfect time.

You start to stand up slowly, making your way to the door to let yourself out quietly. You don’t dare to turn and see if Jimin is following behind you, all you can do is keep going straight without making any more noise…

“_______? Where are you going?”

Shit.

Jeongguk’s sleepy voice interrupts you, and you turn around, a hesitant smile on your face. You see that Jimin is still seated in the circle, and you root around in your head for an excuse.

“Just- just gonna get more beer, we’re already out!” You say, and Jeongguk seems to accept this as he shifts his position to lie his head on Jimin’s lap instead. “Hyung- can I call you that? Hyung, lend me your lap for a while. You’re comfy.”

Ignoring Jimin’s silent protests for help, you let yourself out of the room, breathing a sigh of relief once the door closes behind you. You let yourself into the other room with the spare keycard in your pocket, thanking the heavens that you decided to ask for an extra card at reception just now. The original one is with Jimin, if and when he manages to extricate himself from Jeongguk’s grasp…

You sigh and slide under the soft, warm sheets, deciding that you might as well take a nap while waiting for Jimin.

*

Beep-beep….

The sound of a key-card being scanned stirs you from sleep, and you crack open an eye, but all you’re met with is the darkness of your hotel room. Then there’s a weight on the bed beside you, and Jimin’s soft voice.

“Did you fall asleep?”

“No, no I-“ the sleep in your voice betrays you, though, and you sit up hastily, taking in Jimin’s ruffled appearance; hair messy and cheeks slightly red. “What time is it?”

“Just past 2am,” Jimin rubs a hand down his face, reaching for a bottle of water on the bedside. “We were deep into some drinking game before I managed to escape. They’re all passed out in the other room.”

Jimin tilts the bottle and drinks deeply as if to chase away the sleepiness. He replaces the bottle on the bedside and moves to take off his hoodie, revealing the thin black shirt underneath. Unable to stop yourself, you push yourself into a sitting position, grabbing his shirt and pulling him in for a kiss, continuing from where you left off earlier.

You can taste the remnants of beer on his tongue, his hands slide around your waist to feel your soft curves, pull you closer to him so that you feel the hardness of his abs and the heat of his body.

“Finally,” he groans, trailing his kisses down your neck. “Fucking finally. This was all I could think about when we were playing 7 Up.”

His hands slide down to lift your shirt over your head, his lips marking the top of one breast as he works at the clasp of your bra. Jimin’s roughness is welcome as he sucks purple and blue into your skin, tossing away your bra like it’s nothing.

“You had the nerve to fall asleep while I was stuck entertaining your friends?” Jimin emphasizes this with a particularly harsh suck on your nipple, his fingers twisting the other one and your thighs clench together, trying to seek some sort of friction. His palm gropes your breasts, squeezing it roughly as he marks the other with his teeth and tongue.

“Shi-t I’m sorry!” You squeak out, but this side of Jimin you’ve never seen before is so fucking hot, and you can feel yourself already craving his touch on your body, inside you, and just everywhere.

His anger translates itself into his actions as he pulls down your sweatpants with a yank, but his fingers are always gentle on your skin as he travels up your inner thighs, traces across your sensitive lower lips. He witnesses how soaked your underwear is, pulling it away from you as he settles himself in between your thighs.

One flick of his tongue sends your thighs trembling, and he concentrates all his efforts on your clit, his fingers digging into your soft flesh in an attempt to keep your legs spread for him. Two fingers spread you for his viewing pleasure, he eats you like a man starved, not caring if your juice smear on his chin or cheeks.

When his fingers start to tease at your entrance, you buck your hips in a silent plea for more, and Jimin obliges you by sliding in one finger. Even though you’ve pleasured yourself in the past, it doesn’t compare to the feeling of him filling you up with his fingers, stretching you out and watching how well you take him.

One thumb is still rubbing circles around your clit, fingers stroking that special spot inside you as he coaxes you to cum all over him. Finally, Jimin goes in for the kill, replacing his thumb with his lips wrapped around your clit, and sucking until you see stars and your thighs are wrapped tight around his head.

You are panting and out of breath when your muscles loosen up, and Jimin is licking his lips, staring at your cunt. Without giving yourself time to get shy, you move to straddle him, ripping his shirt off in a hunger to feel his chest and abs, grinding against him.

“Fuck, are you really going to ride me like this?” Jimin has his hands around your waist as your tongue swirls in the shell of his ear, feeling your wet cunt grind against his abs. He lets you get a fill of his rock hard muscles for a few more seconds before aligning you where he really wants it, just over the bulge in his sweatpants.

“A bet’s a bet, right?” You reach down to pull the waistband of his sweatpants lower, bringing his underwear with it.  You can already see the red tip of his cock, hard and angry and weeping with precum.

You grasp him with your mouth watering at the thought of swallowing his thick cock down your throat, but that will have to wait because you think you might die if you don’t feel him inside you this very instant.

“You know, I always look at your ass in your Prince Eric costume when you walk past the Wishing Well,” you admit to him, stroking his cock a few times and relishing the deep groans from Jimin.

“Sounds like you have a kink for Princes. Maybe I should fuck you while wearing my Prince outfit?”

“Bonus points if we can roleplay. You can save me from this big, towering castle, and when you climb all the way up I’ll thank you by sucking your huge-“ You’re unable to finish the sentence, bursting out into giggles only to be met with a puzzled look from Jimin.

“Wait, you weren’t being serious? I was getting into that!” 

“Only if you call me Queen. And I get to call you a peasant.”

Jimin mock pouts, but then when his cock brushes against your clit, he suddenly remembers that he’s supposed to be punishing you for falling asleep while waiting for him.

He delivers one spank to your ass, causing you to moan as he reaches for the condoms thoughtfully provided by the hotel.

“Ugh, they’re Disney themed,” Jimin groans in distaste as he tosses aside the Mickey Mouse wrapper, unrolling the red and white polka dot condom over himself and swearing even more. “Who the hell would be turned on by this!”

You giggle at his obvious distress over how the condom makes his cock look.

“You’re laughing?” Jimin frowns in disapproval. “I’m here in danger of going soft before I can even fuck you and you’re-“

“Then I’d better help out,” you stifle your laughter as you grip him by the base and sink down onto him, and immediately all thoughts of Mickey Mouse, Disneyland and his cock going soft flee from Jimin’s mind.

All he can think of is the feeling of your warm cunt surrounding him, how tight you are as you take him all the way. You alternate between bouncing on top of him and grinding your hips in circles when you want more depth. Your thighs are burning, but you promised you’d ride Jimin till he cums.

When your pace slows down just a smidge, Jimin bends his thighs under you and meets you halfway for a while, before finally wrapping his arms around your waist so that your upper body is pressed tightly to his. Then you feel him pound into you, using his lower body strength to keep up the pace.

Although you’re on top, he seems to be doing most of the work, and the most you can do is to tighten around him. You can feel his grasp tight around your waist as his breaths quicken against your skin.

“Fuck, I’m gonna cum,” Jimin is clearly trying to hold himself back, but you gather the last of your strength and start bouncing on him, trying to push him over the edge. A few more squeezes of your core around him and Jimin is groaning, gripping your waist as he thrusts up into you and spills into the condom.

A few brushes of his thumb around your clit is all it takes for you to follow him over the edge, collapsing against his chest in exhaustion as you both come down from your high.

Jimin goes soft and slips out of you, and he rolls you to the side so that he can take off the used condom. He grimaces as he ties the end and tosses it into the trash. “Never a-fucking-gain.”

“Does that mean we aren’t having round two here?” You tease him as he comes back to bed, snuggling deep into the covers with his cold feet pressed against your thigh.

“I think I could maybe deal with that… are there any Donald Duck ones?”

*

“My queen! I brought you a new servant!” A teenage girl excitedly drags her friends towards you, holding a camera up to film your reaction.

More and more of your visitors have been filming you, but you take it all in stride rather than feel pressurized by the thought that this will end up on Youtube. You pretend to check yourself out in the camera’s front view for a moment before noticing her and her friends.

“My new servant? Well everyone’s a servant, what are you talking about?” You glance dismissively at the crowd around you, holding up your mirror to catch the sun’s rays. “Well, if you’re my servant, you may bow.”

The girls giggle as they attempt to curtsy.

“That was terrible,” you swirl your cape in response. “It needs work. Now off with you!”

You turn and begin to stroll in the direction of the Magic Castle, aware that your little entourage is following you. Children are running after you and a few of them ask to hold your hand, which you allow graciously.

“Come, come, walk with me. The Wishing Well is filthy, Snow White hasn’t been doing her job lately. Out of my way! Out of our way, peasants!” You proclaim loudly, making everyone aware that you’re currently conducting your own parade.

Your shift is due to end soon, but you can’t resist passing by the Magic Castle just once. If you get the timing right, Jimin should be doing his rounds there while Ariel is stuck inside at in a photo session…

From far away you spot the bright blue jacket of his blazer, his dark black hair glowing in the sun and his pretty smiles as he twirls a child around in his arms. The sight of Park Jimin as Prince Eric nearly makes you want to smile, and you barely manage to keep your smirk of disdain on.

“My Queen, what do you think of Prince Eric? Isn’t he just the dreamiest?” One of your followers sighs from behind you as they catch a glimpse of the Prince. “He would make a great servant!”

“That’s precisely the reason why I came here, to recruit a new servant,” you concede, waving your mirror in the air as you approach Jimin. “I think a poison apple or two should be enough to take care of Princess Ariel, and then he’ll be all mine!”

Your laughter makes Jimin glance up at your approaching entourage, and well-mannered as his character is, he gives you a slight bow.

“Well, to what pleasure do we owe your presence to? Not here to give out any poisoned apples, are we?” Jimin holds a child’s hand as they attempt to hide behind him.

“Not at all… not yet at least,” you smile deviously, gesturing to all the people following you. “Someone here suggested you’d make a good servant… and I came here to see for myself.”

“Ah, I’m afraid I have to politely decline,” Jimin says with a small bow, but you can see the slight smile on his face. “As much as it would be an honour to serve you, my Queen, I’m afraid my allegiance lies elsewhere.”

“Hmmm,” you consider his rejection with a finger on your chin, checking your reflection in your mirror before you answer. “Well, at least he has manners. Which is more than I can say for his other half, that fish girl. I guess he needs to make up for the both of them.”

You can see it takes everything Jimin has not to giggle with his entire body like he usually does. Swirling your cape, you turn around and stride to the nearest exit, waving goodbye to your followers.

A few minutes later, Jimin follows you into one of the dressing rooms already laughing.

“You did it on purpose! I nearly broke character because of you,” Jimin points an accusing finger at you, but his giggles take all the sting out of it. He takes your hand and the two of you start to walk back to your fur character’s dressing room, taking the shortcut through the tunnels so that god forbid, no one in the park sees Prince Eric and The Evil Queen holding hands and giggling together.

In all the fairytales you read as a child, it’s always the Princess who gets her Prince and her happy ending. Never in your wildest dreams would you imagine that something like this would be possible, and yet here you are, walking hand in hand with the Prince of your dreams.

Maybe you don’t have to be a princess to get a happy ending after all.

“I should come by more often, you’re cute when flustered,” you tease him as he opens the door to the dressing room, and you’re thankful that no one can see the silly smile on your face that definitely doesn’t fit the Evil Queen.

“Ugh, get a room,” Yoongi peeks an eye open and closes it immediately at the sight of the two of you.

“This is a room,” you say, and Jimin only reluctantly lets go of your hand to let you take off your makeup.

Yoongi only grumbles and goes back to napping, and the two of you quieten down in the unspoken agreement that a sleepy Yoongi is like a bear that should best be left in hibernation.

You retrieve your phone to check your messages that you missed while being away for the past few hours, only to see that you have five missed calls and three messages all from the same number.

Opening the latest message, your heart skips a few excited beats.

Dear ______,

This is Mr Kim, Casting Manager for Broadway’s Maleficient. I refer to your audition tape sent in a few weeks back, apologies for the delay in getting back to you. I’d like to formally invite you down for an audition at your earliest possible convenience. The directors are all very excited to meet you, especially after watching your audition tape of your current role as The Evil Queen at Disneyland. You’ve become somewhat of an internet sensation, and we would love to have a chance to meet you in person. Please let me know what date works for you, or give me a call any time.

Your hands are shaking. It feels like all the air has been sucked out of the room.

“What? What is it?” Jimin asks in concern, peeking over your shoulder to read the text.

Then he lets out a loud whoop that makes Yoongi grunt in annoyance.

“You better not be giving him blowjob right in front of my salad or I’m kicking the two of you out on your naked asses…”

“______ got a fucking Broadway audition! She’s going to BROADWAY!!!!”

Jimin is beside himself with excitement, and you turn to kiss him, not because you want to shut him up (though it does accomplish that too).  

You kiss him because you feel like every happy ending deserves to end with a kiss like this, only then does it count as a happily ever after.

[cosmiclatte28]

Immortal (Jaehyun x you)

Inspired from The Old Guard

a/n : angst, mentions of death and diseases. Please leave a comment and tell me what do you think :D

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

“You're different.” Jaehyun reaches for your hand and makes you freeze in place.

You cannot believe your ears and your eyes. Not in this situation where the place is being ambushed. Not right now, you wish with your whole heart time can rewind itself and gives you a proper way to talk.

“It's just if I don’t say this now, I don’t know when I will be able to say that again.” The man in crisp shirt and blue tie and slick hair bites his lips as he hides his red ears. Despite his white shirt being crumpled and adorned with his own bloods, his suit still hugs his body perfectly.

You turn your body slowly to face him, the eerie secret tunnel in this mansion is not helping your nerve at all.

Yes, your parents, the president of the state, were holding a party, yes you were assigned a special bodyguard, and yes that bodyguard was Jaehyun the man you wish you can have.

“What do you mean Jeffrey?” You call him by his childhood name. A name he introduced himself at first place when he met you in the scout summer camp.

Jaehyun bites his inner cheeks, suddenly his boldness is slipping out of his grip.

“You're different and I like you.” He glances to his feet and look back to you when he hears you let out a gasp.

“You're not in your mind now. We're under an attack. We should run before they find us here.” You free your wrist from his grip and take a rush to the endless tunnel.

Jaehyun sighs and follows after you, in his hand is a gun and he's on full alert since there are only you and him here. Whatever happens to you will be his responsibility.

“You don’t know the passage.”

“I do. It leads me to the backyard where we have to run to the bunker and wait for help.” You reply him frustratedly with tears forming in your eyes.

Jaehyun was flustered to see you cry. Yes he understands the situation can be too hard for you to process, but you need to save your life right now.

“I saw my father died there Jae, I was running because of the shock and you pulled me directly here. But now… now that we're here alone in this eerie dark tunnel… I don’t know if I'll survive.” The stress and pessimism are building in your body and you hate yourself for being this weak at critical moments.

Jaehyun shakes his head and pulls you to a hug, he knows the tunnel is safe because no one knows about it and no one saw him escape. But it will be a matter of time before the enemy realizes the daughter of the president is missing and they will find you no matter what.

“Come, we need to safe you.” Jaehyun grits his teeth. He wanted to confess his feelings because he too is afraid, he won’t get the chance, but that was not the right moment. He blames himself for his action.

“I can't Jae! Look, you know I don’t have much time left too!” you hug yourself and walk faster following the tunnel.

Jaehyun runs after you, keeping an eye on the parameter still.

“What are you talking about?” He snaps back

“Don't you hear the news? I am diagnosed with a stadium three brain cancer. I don’t have much left." You said between your tears. You cannot lie right now you can feel your head aching and you can taste blood in your mouth.

“Shit you're bleeding.” Jaehyun quickly takes out his handkerchief and presses it into your nose.

“And didn’t you know I have the cursed blood genetic disease?”

Jaehyun knows that. He is aware of the list of things you need to avoid, one of them was avoiding bleeding because you have hemophilia, the condition where your blood doesn’t clot as fast as other's.  He is also aware of the cancer, but he thought your medication is doing okay.

“Stay with me,” Jaehyun falls with you when you lean into his body and slowly lose consciousness.

“Please (y/n)… for me.” He picks you on his back and quickly take big strides to the end of the tunnel.

They almost made it, they're so close to reaching the gates.

In fact, with you mumbling all the things you hate about being the president's daughter, Jaehyun made it into the bunker.

“Stop talking, breathe please breathe keep your energy.” Jaehyun says as he lays you down on the bed and fetches a fresh blood supply for your type.

You watch him through your blurry eyes, “Jae, I am different from you.”

Jaehyun shakes his head as he rummages through the fridge “Fuck where is your supply?! Goddammit someone took yours! We only have one?!” he furiously sets the needle and pokes it into you.

You gasp and cough “They planned it Jae.”

He shakes his head “Stay! I love you, please stay!”

“They knew and they didn’t kill me there. They want me to suffer. I haven’t taken my chemotherapy for the last month Jae, there was always interruption.” You whisper as you watch Jaehyun checks over all of your body for open wounds.

“I only have months,” you look into his eyes “Unlike you, some lucky species who don’t die as easy as me. I envy your cells.” You chuckle.

Jaehyun has been identified as one of the rarest evolved species. He is gifted with an “immortality" . When he gets hit or shot, the wound will cover up quickly before any fatal things can happen and he can stand up again as if nothing happened.

You saw that, earlier on the dinner when you clearly saw him taking bullets for you and once you're in the tunnel his body is smooth like a marble. No scratch, no marks, like a total new skin!

“You cannot die. How jealous am I.” you close your eyes to take a deep breath. Jaehyun couldn’t say anything as he busies himself with the radio transmitter trying to get help.

“Jeffrey! Look at me. You did well, you did your duty well. You saved me; it's just my time is coming. I won’t forget all of your actions for saving me.” You whisper taking every ounce of muscle and cognitive to work.

Jaehyun can’t hold back his tears. It has always been like this, since the first world war up to today, he doesn’t age. He has limitless life. Making him the most powerful agent or bodyguard.

“I hate you Jeffrey, if only I could stay longer with you then I’ll love you” you smile as you exhale your last breath and close your eyes after recording his face for the last time.

The man cries, again it always ends with him suffering the pain of being left by the people he loves. He's witnessed all of his lovers go through painful deaths, but he cannot do nothing, he cannot save them, he cannot spare their life despite him being “immortal”.

  end

[nad-zeta]

Hi!!! May I ask for hc for Ikesen characters (your choice! But please do include Kenshin) reacting to a MC who hates using chopsticks? (Cuz she's half Japanese half English and her whole life she's used to just forks and knives)~~~ I love your blog!!! Yay~~~

Hi hi, love! Thank you so much for the request!❤🌻 Awww u are so sweet and kind *hugs*😆 Lol, I am also super bad at using chopsticks and would 100% choose a knife and fork over chopstick any day of the week, to spare me the embarrassment of not actually being able to use them hehe!😳😳 Anyways hope you enjoy this love and i hope you have a good day! ❤❤

Headcanon: MC that hates using chopsticks feat: Kenshin and Mitsuhide 

Kenshin

You had never eaten with Kenshin before 

(◕‸ ◕✿)

The two of you cuties have been in a relationship for all of three months now and somehow you had managed to avoid eating in front of your beloved God of War (￣ω￣)

For you see you had a secret ꈍ .̮ ꈍ

One that you were low key pretty embarrassed about, and it was that you couldn’t for the life of you, use chopsticks (*ﾉωﾉ)

You low key blamed your parents, even though your family was part Japanese, you had adapted more to your more English roots in using knives and forks 🍴

You dramatically clenched your fist in the air, “Dammit mom and dad, what am I going to do tonight, thanks to you guys I’m ganna embarrass myself in front of my lover and some fancy visiting princess.”

(ノ#--)ノ＼。゜。

You fell back onto your futon and covered your face with your pillow (/ε＼*) 

Perhaps it was time to come clean (っ´ω｀c)

You rested your eyes for what felt like a second, when you heard a knock at the door (๑ᵕ⌓ᵕ̤)

Sasuke had come to get you for the evening’s banquet |･x･`)

You stared at him in disbelief and looked out the window, “Just how long did you sleep.” (´-εヾ )

You groaned as you quickly got ready for the banquet

You had taken your rightful place beside the love of your life which had now perked up since your arrival (✪‿✪)ノ

The two of you chatted and laughed, and was legit having the best time

that was until the food was placed in front of you (ᇴ‿ฺᇴ)

You sheepishly picked up the chopsticks and tried your best to pick up the braised piece of pork, but as you carried it to your mouth, it fell down and landed straight on your lap ʕ⊙ᴥ⊙ʔ

You looked around nervously to see if anyone had noticed, thankfully not

You tried again, ending in the same result 

(╯ಠ_ಠ）╯︵ ┳━┳

At this point, the visiting princess was definitely sending a judging look your way, and you knew exactly what she was thinking, as she gave you a smirk * Lord Kenshin could never love a fool like her, look she cant even use chopsticks* (¬‿¬)

Kenshin notice the look of distress on your face and the pieces of pork that had fallen in your lap now staining your light blue kimono ⚆ _ ⚆

He gave you one of his bright dazzling smile and pulled you into his arms to sit you down on his lap (｡◕‿◕｡)

“What is the matter love,”  he asked as he nuzzled your cheek 

Worry and love for you filled the bunny warlords eyes (◕⍸ ◕✿)

“I-I-I I don’t know how to use chopsticks, I grew up using knives and forks, so I never learned how to eat using them” you squeezed your eyes shut and clenched your hands in tight fists

 (／≧ω＼)

This is it, Kenshin was going to dump you in front of all these people

‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚

That’s when you suddenly heard Kenshin lightly chuckle ( ͡ᵔ ͜ʖ ͡ᵔ )

You cracked open one of your eyes only to see Kenshin kiss the tip of your nose, “Is that all, then I shall teach you.” (✿◠‿◠)

He gave you his chopsticks and placed his hands over yours, he then all while guiding you, brought a piece of the pork to your mouth

(•‾⌣‾•)و

You took a small bite, while breaking out into the biggest blush

(*≧∀≦*)

Just then, one of Kenshin's fluff balls jumped up onto your lap and stole one of the chopstick straight out of your hand, the other bunnies saw this, and another one hoped up to the two of you and stole the other one

(ㅇㅅㅇ❀) (≖ᴗ≖✿)

You were shook, the only ones in the castle who had known your secret were the bunnies, that’s when Umi hopped up to you and dropped a small pouch in your lap (≖ᴗ≖✿)

The bunny then pushed your hand with his little nose as if urging you to open it (ㆁᴗㆁ✿)

Kenshin looked at the whole scene unfold curiously and before you could pick up the brown pouch, Kenshin grabbed hold of it and looked inside (人◕ω◕)

He pulled out the contents and to reveal a silver knife and fork, the ones you had been using since arriving at the castle, gifted to you by the Oda forces who teased you heavily for your dislike in using chopsticks  🍴

Kenshin chuckled and handed them over to you, “Seems like the bunnies have revealed your secret” 

You continued to sit in his lap, and the two of you happily shared the meal (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

No one dare say a thing about you using a knife and fork to dine, otherwise, they would have an adorable mad fluffy army after them, a lesson that was learned the hard way ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ

As when the visiting princess started loudly mocking you, your army of fluff pounced on her (；一_一)

No one dare disrespect their beloved princess and get away with it

Since that day you and Kenshin often dined together, the fear and embarrassment long-forgotten (っ˘ڡ˘ς)

He would eat with chopsticks, and you would eat with your knives and forks \ (•◡•) /

And the bunnies would steal the vegetables of your plates and cuddle with you two cuties as you ate

Mitsuhide

During one of your princess lessons you and Mitsuhide sat and ate together (・∧‐)ゞ

The kitsune eyed you curiously as you went to your handbag to retrieve a plastic knife and fork wrapped in a napkin (ᇴ‿ฺᇴ) 

“Little mouse might I ask just what you are doing.”  ( ͡ᵔ ͜ʖ ͡ᵔ )

“Same as you, eating obviously.” (≖ᴗ≖✿)

Mitsuhide smirked as he watched you continue your meal (─‿‿─)

This sneki boy found it incredibly interesting that you never once used chopsticks when you ate, and it seemed that your magical bag, had contained a limitless amount of these strange other eating utensils ≧☉_☉≦

“Little mouse may I ask you a question,” he asked in the middle of one of your lessons on economics, you rolled your eyes and nodded almost predicting what he was going to ask 

(；一_一)

“I have noticed you do not use chopstick when you dine, is there a particular reason for that.” (・ω・｀)………..

“I just really HATE, using them, plus I never really learned considering I grew up using a knife and fork.” 乁( ⁰͡  Ĺ̯ ⁰͡ ) ㄏ

Mitsuhide nodded thoughtfully and then continued on with the lesson 

A few days later he came into your room carrying an array of food, courtesy of Masamune ლ(•ω •ლ)

“Your next princes lesson little mouse will be, how to eat using chopsticks”, you groaned you really didn’t want to (¬_¬) 

“Mother dearest will scold you for 3 days if you attend tomorrows banquet without knowing how to use these” (¬‿¬)

It was the longest lesson of your life and by the end of it instead of learning how to use chopstick you had actually convinced Mitsuhide about all the benefits of not using chopsticks 

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

The next day at the banquet, your lesson had paid off and you were successfully eating with your hated chopsticks （ლ ^ิ౪^ิ）ლ

You turned to Mitsuhide to show him how well his lessons had paid off when you spotted something in his hands ⊙０⊙

Is that a… SPOON (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

It seems the sneki snek had raided you bag ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ

You walked your way over to the kitsune and loomed over him “Well well well and what do we have here” you narrowed your eyes at Mitsuhide as you took a seat beside him ಠ⌣ಠ

“It seems, mouse, you were correct in your use in this strange cutlery, I find it most amusing, and efficient” He demonstrated by scooping up a large helping of his mixed together meal and popped it in his mouth

“Princess were you the one that introduced lord Mitsuhide to this wonderful contraption,” Across from you and Mitsu, Mitsunari beamed as he too was eating with your stolen knife and fork 

“Told you, they are great,” you said with a triumphant grim  (｡◕‿◕｡)

He returned the smile and handed you over a gift ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ

You carefully unwrapped the present and you couldn’t help but beam when you saw what was inside ｡◕‿◕｡

A SILVER CUTLERY SET! (◕▿◕✿)

He had visited the western traders earlier that day with Nobunaga and spotted it in one of the shops

The two of you now sat together and ate your banquet dinner with the silverware although your happy victory was short-lived, as soon the mother hen descended upon the two of you 

“Just what do you think you are doing, why are you using those strange things to eat” (ʘᗩʘ')

You smiled and handed your fork over to Hideyoshi “cause it’s waaaay easier and quicker to eat like this” (≖︿≖✿)

He carefully took the fork from your hand, picked up some stewed vegetables and brought it to Mitsunari's lips to feed him, he was in one of his book trances

Mitsunari opened his mouth and took a bite of the food, Hideyoshi narrowed his eyes he can't deny that this was slightly easier...  (ᇴ‿ฺᇴ)

Since that day you had managed to convert the Oda forces to occasionally eat with knives and forks (◠‿◠✿)

I hope you enjoyed! And I hope you have a super good day! 😆🌻❤

[cosplayinamerica]

Honest John from Disney's Pinocchio : Juju Creative Cosplay

 I watched Pinocchio for the first time in 15 years back in 2018. I had forgotten how funny some characters were. Honest John and Gideon caught my eye. They were very entertaining and I'm sad Disney didn't do more with them! As a result-- not only did it inspire me to make my Honest John cosplay, but I was inspired to create my own script about the backstory of these two characters. 

I write scripts I hope to one day present to Disney with my manager and agent and this one is called "Foulfellow and company". I have also created a lot of fun original characters and I intend to cosplay one from the story in the future!

I get so many great responses at cons! Sometimes people stand in shock when they see me because its not a character people typically cosplay. It is also a character that appeals to all generations old and young.

I have 2 notable interactions that were very fun:

1. A man in his mid 50s started singing "Hi diddle dee dee" behind me.... I don’t think he expected me to burst out into song, but when i did we went skipping down the hall singing the song and people recorded us and applauded. It was a lot of fun!

2. A small boy came up to me and asked to take a photo. After the photo, I gave him an ace of spades card and told him it was his "ticket to pleasure island". He handed it back to me saying "I'm a good boy who goes to school, but you can send my little brother to pleasure island if you want!"

I couldn’t contain my laughter. The child was about 8 and it was so funny I high five him and gave him a big hug. His parents were so happy. Overall. I believe I get the best interactions with this character because he is very rare. Whenever I cosplay him, i go all out with my impressions and mannerisms. So much so, my boyfriend tells me that I intimidate people! But it's all in good fun

(Photo by @oceania1618)

I had never worked with fur before this point so learning how to sew with fur was a bit of a challenge. The costume itself was pretty simple in my opinion (I have been sewing for years). I made the entire thing from scratch. My favorite prop is probably the top hat he has which I made from foam. Sometimes I put Jimmy Cricket on top of the hat like in the scene where Honest John sings "hi diddle dee dee". The cloak I made for him is fun to wear and there is a little space in between where the tail fits perfectly. To make the tail, I had to use wiring and foam to give it the shape I wanted but overall I was satisfied with how the cosplay turned out!

The quote I associate most with cosplay is "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself" You have so much room to be creative with cosplays. A lot of people don't know how to sew and prefer their own cosplays which is completely awesome and valid, but I like to have the freedom for creativity in cosplay which is why I make my own. I like being able to design costumes from scratch and then show off the outcome! I've learned a lot of patience in cosplay. If you want something to look the way you want, it's not a good idea to rush it! Take your time and make it yours!

Cosplay is for everyone! It doesn’t matter who you are, what your race is, your your gender, your ethnic background etc... if you love a character and you're scared to cosplay them because you don’t "look" like them.... DO IT ANYWAY. The one rule I have is do not alter your skin if you are white/white passing and you wish to cosplay a character of a different race. Do your research and be respectful. I have cosplayed out of my race for characters without the need to alter my skin, and I do this simply because I love the characters! Never be afraid to express your love for a character regardless of who they are. And of course, make it yours and own it! As long as you are respectful, do your research and do not appropriate any culture, your options are limitless

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #340

“wash the poison from off my skin  /  show me how to be whole again”

What is one thing that you took to show and tell as a kid? I have this oddly specific memory of bringing my little Snorlax plushie for one in pre-k. I remember thinking everyone thought I was weird for liking Pokemon as a girl. Do you remember losing your first tooth? I don't. Have you ever been addicted to a game? What game? I think I was addicted to World of Warcraft at a point, but it's honestly hard to tell. My depression was just so abysmal that it was the one thing I got even a smidge of not even joy, but active distraction out of because the options of what you can do in the game are essentially limitless. Are you afraid to pop a balloon? Not really, but it does make me jump because I don't like loud noises. Name one person you’d like to see this month. Bitch we fighting Covid, stay away from me. When was the last time you laughed when you shouldn’t have? I don’t know. Which was better: the first The Lion King or the second? They're nearly tied, honestly, but I prefer the original. Do any of your grandparents have a tattoo? I KNOW my maternal grandmother didn't, and I don't believe any other grandparent did, either. When was the last time you had a bubble bath? Not since I was a kid. What do you usually buy when you go to the corner store? You mean like, a gas station or dollar store? Something small like that? In that case, I'll usually look for a Mountain Dew Voltage sometimes along with something Reese's-related. Do you believe that your pets feel love towards you? My cat, absofuckinglutely. He so obviously loves me. I know my snake doesn't though, considering reptilian brains just physically aren't capable of creating that emotion. She does, however, obviously trust me and definitely seems to enjoy coming out of her terrarium and thus hanging out by me. Bubbles or sidewalk chalk? I loved drawing with chalk, but I like bubbles more. I just love how they catch light and have such beautiful colors to share. What do you use to tell time when your gone out somewhere? My phone. Are you proud of your body? FUCK no. I wish I still was, goddammit. I used to be so fit, and it's funny, because even back then at like, 118 lbs at 5'4'', I thought I was kinda chubby. Like bitch shut the fuck up. Watermelon or cherries? I honestly don't like either, but I'll definitely pick watermelon over cherries. They're disgusting. What is your all-time favourite song? "False Flags" by Massive Attack. Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character? Biiiiiitch guess lmao. I think everyone has, though. What is the band you’ve listened to most lately? Definitely 3TEETH. Love 'em. Favourite brand of cookies? Hm, good question. They've gotta be good at making SOFT chocolate chip cookies, though. I don't enjoy crunchy cookies nearly as much. If you could meet anyone who lived before your time, who would it be? I don't really know. Oh, y'know, chatting with Edgar Allan Poe would probably be cool. Do you pay for your own things? I literally can't. It's embarrassing. Have you ever been rushed to the hospital in an ambulance? No. What is one thing you’d never want your parents to find out? Certain sexual things I've done, probably. When you were little, did you like Dr. Suess books? Of course. Have you ever felt trapped in a relationship? I felt that way in my friendship with Colleen, but no romantic relationships. What would you consider unforgivable? Rape. Like no, go to hell. Do you like eating out at restaurants? Pre-Covid, yeah. What do you dislike the most about being the gender that you are? Probably how heavily judged women are for having ANYTHING "wrong" with their appearance. You could be five pounds over what is "normal" for your height and you're seen as fat. One strand of body hair, and you're disgusting. Bushy eyebrows, you're now manly. I could go on and on. Do you think that weed/marijuana should be legalized? Yes. Rate your typing speed on a scale from 1 - 10? 10. Do you enjoy tanning? Ugh, no. Just sitting there doing nothing but sweating. Have you ever written anybody an anonymous note? I have not. What is your favorite condiment to go with french fries? Ketchup. Have you ever laid in a hammock? Yeah; we used to have one. It was the best when we lived in the woods. Do you blow dry your hair or do you let it air out? I just let it air dry. Candles or incense? I prefer incense. Can you juggle? No. Your favorite vegetable? Broccoli. Do you catch lizards? No; I don't like terrifying wildlife. I'd much rather just take pictures of the little guys and let them go about their business. If we returned to a world without internet, what aspect of online life would you miss the most? YouTube, haha. It's more unique and personal entertainment than television, imo. Are you craving anything aside from food, and if so, what? I want a new piercinggggg. What was the last change you made to your lifestyle? I'm *trying* to get back into regularly making art, along with reading. I'm also really trying to implement drinking more water into my day. What was the last thing you gave up doing? *shrug* What was the last thing to boost your self-esteem? What sort of things typically make you feel good about yourself? It really, really helped to hear my PHP group enjoy my poem about gay rights so much. I was so terrified and did NOT want my therapist to share it, but it turned out being very beneficial. To answer the second question, it's pretty much stuff like I just mentioned: positive reactions to things I create. When it comes to food, do you prefer crunchy or softer textures? Definitely softer. Do you prefer savory or sweet things for breakfast? Hm. Depends on the day, ig. What is something small that you take extremely personally? I'm blanking. What was going on the last time you couldn’t sleep? I just... couldn't sleep. That's not rare for me. Have you drawn anything recently? I recently drew a picture of a still from Rammstein's "Mutter" music video, and I'm now working on Sara's 'kat Alucard. If you're going somewhere close by, do you walk? No. One simply does not walk in this town and not fear being shot. Do you prefer colorful notebooks over plain ones? I like colorful ones, particularly those with a nice pattern or something on it. What's your most ambitious goal? I'd consider wanting to be a successful freelance photographer to be rather ambitious. Do you know anyone named Alex? Well, knew, by this point. One of my closest online friends that just got a boyfriend and fell off the face of the planet when we used to talk every day. I'm still hurt about it, honestly. What's your favorite kind of pie? I don't like pie because of the crust being so, well... crusty and crumbly. Have you ever chatted someone up and scored a date? No. How far would you go with someone you just met? Not very far at all. All you're getting is a hug, if even that. What's your favorite meal to have for dinner? I mean, it depends on what I feel like having. I don't have a set favorite meal. What do you daydream about? The future, mostly. People I miss. Have you ever known someone online and then met them in person? If so, which website did you meet on? Yes, Sara. <3 We met via YouTube back when it had much more social connection. Have you ever been to the beach? Yeah, a good number of times. When was the last time you were sick and what illness did you have? I don't believe I've been ill in any sort of way since I had that ungodly ear infection a few years ago. Have you ever been kicked out of somewhere? Yeah, Colleen's house. Mom once tried kicking me out of the car one night otw home, but I didn't listen. Have you ever intentionally trolled? No. How many siblings do your parents have? Mom has two brothers and I think one sister, and Dad has one sister. Who last held your hand? My niece or nephew, dragging me somewhere, haha. Have you seen all the Lord of the Rings movies? No, not interested. What was the last thing you watched on YouTube? I'm watching John Wolfe's playthrough of Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs. It's so funny how like... every let's player I watch doesn't enjoy the game, like they miss the incredible symbolism and shy away from the advanced language, and sometimes it's just frustrating to watch them; I only do because I enjoy the game and want to see more people experience it and relive it vicariously. It's very high on my list of favorite games. What sport do you find yourself best at? I wouldn't know; I haven't played any sports in years. I was pretty good at softball as a kid, though. Do you think makeup on guys is freaky or sexy? My opinion shouldn't matter; a man can wear makeup whenever he damn well pleases without worrying what others think. But anyway, I tend to find it attractive, especially if it's goth makeup. Have you ever been accused of a crime you did not commit? No. Do you like pickles? I love dill pickles. What was the craziest moment of your life? Probably just lying in that hospital bed following my OD, my mom and two best friends just sitting there with me. It was such a weird, weird feeling. Like I was just so done, frustrated beyond what I can say. I remember thinking it was almost funny, just how it all built up and went wrong. Where do you spend most of your time? In my room on my bed. What is your favorite muffin? Chocolate chip. Would you ever get a boob job? I already know when/if I lose the weight I want to, it will be kind of a big deal to me and my atrocious body image to get a breast lift. Being overweight ~does things~ you know, and god knows I want every trace of it that can be erased gone. Would you ever go on a reality TV dating show? That's a massive "no" from me, buddy. Would you rather be inside or outside? It depends on where I am and the temperature outside, but generally, inside. Do you like the current president? Well, I voted for him, so I can't shit-talk much. I don't know the true depths of him as a person and all he stands for, though; when I decided I needed to vote, I just did some research on his core values. I don't have any complaints yet, from what I've seen at least, which isn't a lot. Do you whiten your teeth? I've used whitening strips before, but I don't now because they're not that effective. If it's financially plausible at some point in my life, teeth whitening is another thing I want to have medically done because of my previous horrible self-care. My teeth have a clear yellow tint and I hate it. Do you get cold easily? No; it's actually the opposite: I get hot easily. What was the worst sickness you ever had? Probably this one stomach bug I had where I just threw up relentlessly. Like eventually barely even bile would come up; it was just dry heaving. My stomach muscles were in agony. Was your childhood wasted by something? No, thankfully. Would you rather die during an adventure or die like a normal person? A normal person. The idea of having such a sudden death stresses me out for multiple reasons; I mostly don't want my family to just be suddenly devastated, and I honestly want to come to peace with the fact I was dying. Like, find my life's own closure instead of just having it ripped away. Have your parents ever tried to commit suicide? Jesus, I sure hope not. Do you have a gag reflex? A very strong one. Do you ever fantasize about trying drugs? I've wondered before what the effects of weed would be like for me, but "fantasize" is definitely the wrong word. Would you rather have sex before you’re married or wait till marriage? It'd be up to my partner, honestly, because I'm fine with either. What is the nastiest dare you have ever committed? I never did dares because I thought they were stupid. Like I'm not gonna do dumb shit just to show you I can. Do you know anyone who has been raped? I think I might? Have you ever asked someone for a tampon? Yeah. Do you have any exes you can’t stand anymore? No. Are you more of a phone or a computer person? Computer. Do you prefer headphones or earbuds? Earbuds. Headphones are just big and clunky and in the way when you use a laptop in bed, plus they irritate my skin. I like how earbuds actually go in your ears for more direct hearing. Would you ever consider adopting a child with a severe mental illness? If I wanted children, no, because I don't think I'm capable to give a child like that adequate care, being so mentally ill myself. I wouldn't want to risk worsening their condition. Favorite thing to do with a significant other? Play games together, particularly cute multiplayer ones that are more about the experience of playing together versus getting past difficult obstacles and such. Like for example, one of my favorite memories with Jason is simply playing Little Big Planet together. Favorite ice cream topping? I don't like many toppings on my ice cream, but I do love melted hot fudge. First boyfriend/girlfriend’s name? Aaron. Do you support PETA? Considering they are incredibly self-righteous extremists, no. Do you believe in the Big Bang Theory? Well, I believe in some sort of "god" figure that created the universe, so I don't think so. A condensed ball of nothing exploding to create something so extravagant? It sounds pretty far-fetched to me. But then again, maybe that semblance of a "god" I believe in created the universe through that, idk. It doesn't really matter now, though, does it. What happened happened, I'm not very concerned with it. What insect can you not stand the site of? It's more so larvae that I can't stand the sight of, like maggots and stuff. They make me squirm. Do you like Doctor Who? I've only seen one or two episodes, so I can't say. Do you approve of gay marriage? Of course I do. I'm bisexual and would like to get married, so I might marry a woman. Are you into politics? I'm really not. Do you think the world is ending soon? Nah, even though it sure does feel like it sometimes. Ever been to a mosh pit? No, they don't seem very fun at all. Do you like to debate? NO. NO NO NO. Do you like the band System of a Down? Yeah, I do. Are you German? It's a big part of my heritage. Do your parents like your best friend? Yes. Who’s someone you can act your complete self around? Sara, 100%. She's the only person I feel entirely comfortable around when it comes to being myself. Do you believe in Friday the 13th? I don't believe in there being any supernatural power to it, no. Who is your favorite rapper? Eminem. What age is your youngest aunt? Uhhhh I have no idea. Do you like bowling? Sure, it's fun. Do you like roasting marshmallows on a bonfire? I do. What shows or characters scared you as a child? Ghostface from the Scream series was my worst fucking nightmare. I couldn't even see pictures of him without crying. The King Ramses guy from Courage the Cowardly Dog also gave me a number of nightmares. Something about the way he was animated was very unnatural and unnerving to me.

[blissfulalchemist]

Heart Warming Wednesday

Okay so I was driving home last night and this scene came to me and I had to write it out. @risenlucifer here is a little something for your boy. Please enjoy. 

The two versions of the song: Liz’s and Wes’

I’m nervous, my shaking hands tell me that much as I breathe like mom taught me. Trying to focus on the calling of my name, the last performance is finishing up. I’m regretting this decision already, I was never going to participate to begin with. Then he mentioned that he didn’t want to celebrate his birthday, given we always had before, I was appalled by this notion. I had planned on trying to make something for his birthday but an idea came to mind while I helped him tune up his old bike and I found myself signing up for this talent showcase, knowing he’d never say no to supporting me.

The group before me are bowing making their way off the stage, my head is starting to spin, I’m gonna throw up. For all the bravado I took from my dad this feels different and I’m scared. Scared I’m going to mess up, that he’ll hate it, that everyone is going to make fun of me for it later, that I didn’t wear the right clothes, that I-. The weight of my father’s hand on my shoulder grounds me, he’s smiling at me, cello in hand. “You got this mija,” he brings me into a quick hug, “He’s gonna love it. And I bet you five bucks we’ll find him crying later.” He kisses my forehead, “Just pretend you’re at Aunt Wren’s and focus on our family out there,” he points to audience and I can make out the faces of Wren, Wes, Rowan, Chance, mom, Danny, Jane, Randy, everyone in my parent’s group of friends. Some of my cousins have made it also but they’re scattered out sitting with their friends.

“Now welcome to the stage Lizette Estrada,” the school music teacher finally announces. My first step is hesitant as I make my way to the two chairs set up at the center of the bright stage. It blinds my eyes and I can no longer see the audience very well. I focus on the microphone, setting the old borrowed guitar down as I adjust it to the height that I need. I hear a few whispers from where they all sit as they watch my dad get himself set up with his cello. If I can’t see them then I can just pretend this is another practice session we’ve been having the past month.

My hands stop shaking so much as I meet my father’s dark brown eyes, he gives me a nod everything ready for his needs. I settle myself in the chair holding the guitar gently as I take one more deep breath. I clear my throat bringing my mouth closer to the mic, “Hi, uhm so,” I try to tune out the coughs mixing with the anticipation silence, “a little bit about this song before I start.” I smile glancing at dad who’s feigning hurt, “Before we start, sorry.” There’s a small laughter that ripples through some of the audience members, “Anyway, this song is dedicated to someone very special to me and my favorite person in the whole world...other than my parents.” I’m glad I wrote out what I planned to say as my heart is beating out of my chest, “According to my mom, when I was little he was watching me and Danny when my parents were out, and I apparently was having a hard time falling asleep. None of my parent’s tricks were working and so he does the last thing he can think of. He pulls out this guitar,” I pat the guitar resting on my thighs, “and starts playing. It must have been the only song he could remember that sounded soothing because mom told me they came home hearing him play it in my room twice before he realized they were watching him.”

I can’t help but laugh a little, my father and some of the audience members following suit. “The tune always stuck with me though. I am told that I used to bug him all the time to play it again and again and again,” talking about these little memories is becoming easier, my confidence rising as the audience is responding how I wanted, “Okay I still do sometimes, but he’d oblige if he could at the time.” The strings are strummed unconsciously, “So I guess now it’s my turn to play it for him. It’s a little different from how he would play it but I think that fits.” I get myself more settled into the seat, “Happy birthday Uncle Wes.” I hear the quietest of ‘Aww’s from mom and Aunt Wren.

I look to dad who’s asking if I’m okay. I nod and get my fingers in the right place waiting for him to start with the first note. The drone of the first note hits my ears as I mentally count out the beats before my fingers strum the first chord. The song is slower and a cover from an old musical of the same name. I inhale, “Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup. They slither while they pass. They slip away across the universe.” Dad and I have gone over this song more times than Wessy ever played it for me, but it had to be perfect, “Pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my opened mind possessing and caressing me,” there’s a breath in between as I ready myself to hold the next words, “Jai Guru Deva, Om.”

I start the chorus and my confidence is growing as everything about this moment feels natural. I glance out to the audience as I sing, meeting everyone’s eyes saving Wes’ for last hoping to see his reaction. The lights are too bright but I see his hand over his mouth, the slightest sheen of tears, though it could be my eyes playing a trick on me. I’m starting to rock with the beat of the music as I start the second verse, “Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes. They call me on and on across the universe.” My voice flies out confident and just like how Tia Wren encouraged me. All those days by her piano begging her to play the notes all in an attempt to coax Wes into singing with me, “Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box. They tumble blindly as they make their way across the universe.”

The memories of being high, touching the sky from his shoulders, the way I used to boss him around to do things right, the infamous pancake fiasco, how I would talk and ramble for hours as he worked on his bike, the times he listened as I got older and I no longer fit in, the staple he is for my parents making sure he was the only dumb one in their little group. Everything that’s ever been shared between us rapidly crosses my mind as the final verse starts, “Sounds of laughter, shades of life are ringing through my open ears.” The closeness of our family seeming to stem from his presence, “Inciting and inviting me,” the people and lives he’s made better because he was simply him, “Limitless, undying love which shines around me like a million suns,” witnessing the love he has for her, pure and simplistic but forever cosmic, “It calls me on and on across the universe.” This whole song is one moment in time but encases the whole of memories from everyone he’s ever touched, not just me.

I feel my throat start to close as we near the end of the song, I’m trying to not cry, cursing my mother for giving me the over emotional gene. How I manage to hold it back long enough to finish the song is a mystery but welcomed as I hear the start of the final notes. My father was the one to start the song and he’ll be the one to end it. “Jai Guru Deva,” I hold the last syllable a few seconds, the last droning note being played. The silence that follows holds us suspended in time as I see the proud faces of everyone that’s here in my life because of him. He’d never admit it but I know. I figured out how much of a common denominator he is in this group. He’s the one to connect the dots, completing the constellations I’ve grown up around, something I could never thank him enough for. 

His hazel eyes are holding what I think is pride, maybe a little shock still from how much I dragged him into the public eye for the four minutes it took to finish the song. Life is in slow motion as I watch everyone start to stand, the sound of the first clap speeding everything back to normal as it hits my ears. I can feel my cheeks hurting from my smile as I’m made to stand for a bow. There are cheers that are louder than the others as I come back up from my bow. I hold my arm out to direct the attention on my father as he takes his own bow. The applause doesn’t stop until we both leave the stage, seeing the rest of them slip out the auditorium doors to meet us with smiles, hugs, and praise in the hallway. 

Dad stops us before we leave the music room, “You did amazing out there,” his arms are tight as they wrap around me, “I always knew you were a blessing to us, but tonight you’re more than that. Especially to him.” 

His words hit me, pride spreading through my chest, I have no choice but to bury my face into his shoulder. The tears soaking into his shirt, “Thank you,” I sniffle trying to stop myself from sobbing, “I love you dad.” I hear the smallest sound of some form of crying from him before he pulls away kissing my cheek.

He’s smiling holding my shoulders, eyes looking to the door that’s opened behind me, I’m turned to see Wes standing there, “I don’t want to intrude-.”

“Intrude away Wessy,” my arms open as he quickly steps into them. He lifts me a few inches from the ground, I’m handing the guitar over for dad to hold, “Happy birthday Wessy. Did you like your present?”

His tears are starting to fall, “I loved it. God I loved it.” My own tears are staining his shirt as we stand in crying silence. It’s a comforting feeling and I wish there was a better way to preserve this moment. The video mom took isn’t enough anymore to be a reminder of this moment, this night, it’s this hug. The love in the room that can never compare to any other kind because this love has been born years before I was ever a thought, before he ever thought he was worth something, before he finally found what he had always been searching for. No, there’s nothing like it for there’s no one else like him. He’s wiping his face when he finally pulls back, “Funny how this old guitar made it back to the beginning.” He takes it from my father looking it over.

I tilt my head, “What do you mean?”

His eyes are far away, “You didn’t tell her Raf?”

“I thought you did. Assumed that’s why she had it to begin with,” he shrugs, “I didn’t even know she had it until I got up to the stage lights.”

“Tell me what? I just thought it would make it more special because it was yours Wessy,” I’m inspecting the guitar trying to find any clues as to what they could be talking about.

He’s chuckling shaking his head, “It’s more than that,” he looks up to my dad’s face, “Your father picked it out. Gave it to me for my birthday.”

A small gasp escapes me as I cover my mouth, I should have had a pocket full of tissues. I’m looking between them, “Hurt when you left it behind,” my father responds as he places a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Guess it became your anchor in the end.”

Wes sighs holding out the guitar to me, “Guess it’s found its home. Ain’t very good anyway.”

I shake my head wiping my tear stained face, “No Wessy,” everything is clicking into place, for me as I see their reflection in the glossy wood, “It doesn’t belong to me. It’s yours. Dad’s right, it was your anchor. It’s home and home is where the heart is.” I wrap my arms around him tightly.

“And you’re the heart, Wessy.”

[alienatedchic]

Know them

Sirius Black. Black. The name was enough to make witches and wizards bow their heads before him. Why not? He was a Black! The Black family is the most ancient and purest blood family in the Wizarding world; they were one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. They were most respected and honored in the society and had highest status. Their wealth was unlimited; generations could stay unemployed and yet will have enough money for luxuries. Sirius was raised to feel proud for who he is, his family and his name. His dear mother, Walburga Black, was always there to remind him and his younger brother, Regulus, of how pure they were, how handsome and perfect they were, how much worthier and better they were than half-bloods and muggle-borns (“scums and mudbloods” in her wording). However Sirius never bought any of this. Deep down, Sirius was always curious about muggles and why blood purity mattered so much. And if he ever mistakenly thought of it loudly, he would receive another deep cut on his small back. He and his brother was taught only about blood status and how important it was for them to keep it safe and pure as they were the only male Blacks born in their generation.

Being a rebellious kid, Sirius decided to break generations of Black tradition by getting sorted to different house but Slytherin when he received his Hogwarts acceptance letter. Though he allowed his mother to coo at what a handsome Slytherin he’ll be and that green and silver matched so well with him, Sirius in his mind had no intention of being a part of his family’s tradition or beliefs.

 James Potter. Another rebellious pure-blood of the generation with wealth and fame- his father had invented the internationally famous hair potion. As James came very late in his parents’ lives and was also the only child, the amount of love he received was limitless. He grew up in a big house with big yard and no scarcity to materials. Thus he grew up to become arrogant and egoistic as his parents never made him feel down or unimportant. Yet, he was the most generous and protective of his loved ones without much to his notice.

No one was as excited about receiving the Hogwrtas letter as James was. He was going to learn magic! Most importantly, he was going to have his own Quidditch team to play with! After getting attacked with kisses from his mother and hugs from his father, James hurried off into the Hogwarts Express and looked for an empty compartment. Finally, he found one, except it wasn’t empty. A girl with dark red hair was sitting beside the window, her head pressed against the window sill.

“Do you mind if I sit?”

“No”

She didn’t turn to look at him; her eyes were fixed outside of the window and on the station where families were still waving off to their kids and shouting last reminders. James heaved his trunk into the compartment and slid the door shut-waiting for the train to start. Within a minute, the compartment door slid open and a tall, dark haired boy poked his head in, scanned the compartment and his eyes landed on James’s

“Uh…other compartments are full…can I sit here…?”

“Yes.”

“Sure.”

The red haired girl (without turning her head to look) and James replied at once. Both James and the black haired boy stared at the girl. Shrugging, James gestured the boy to enter and helped him with the trunk.

“I’m James. James Potter.”

“I’m Sirius Black,” said Sirius, a little taken aback at how normal James was when he said his name-he just smiled and nodded.

Within a minute, James and Sirius started taking interest in each other. They talked about Quidditch and other random topics as the train started to move. The red-haired girl, finally, tore her eyes away from the window and leaned her head on the head of the couch, sighing.

A moment later, Severus hurried out of his compartment to look for Lily. Where was she? He looked into almost every compartment until he finally found her sitting beside a window, her eyes closed. “There you are!” He sat in front of her and grinned at her but she didn’t return the smile; she turned away.

Severus Snape was never taken care of and received little or any affection. His life at home was filled with constant arguments of his parents as he lay forgotten on the corner of his small house, praying desperately for another family. Severus would forget about his trouble and abuse at home whenever he would have the chance to stay with Lily Evans, a pretty red-haired girl from the muggle town, who, thankfully, showed signs of magic. They built quite a very strong bond and became best friends within weeks. Severus filled Lily with all the information he knew about Hogwarts and the Wizarding World while Lily marveled and waited longingly for her Hogwarts acceptance letter.

As their friendship grew stronger, Severus’s dislike towards Lily’s sister, Petunia Evans, also grew deeper. Petunia also had no liking toward Severus so she wouldn’t miss an opportunity to discourage Lily to not talk to “the boy from Spinner’s End”. However, Lily refused to listen to her, “So what if he’s from the Spinner’s End? What if he’s poor and has ugly clothes? He didn’t get to choose his life, you know.” Severus couldn’t help but melt at how sweet and kind this muggleborn girl was.

Lily Evans was a bright, small and cheery girl with thick, dark red hair. She was a lovely daughter to her parents and an amazing friend to her elder sister, Petunia. Petunia and Lily shared a very stable and strong friendship; they would share their silly secrets, treats and help eachother to steal their mother’s make up. While Lily was playful and a bit clumsy, Petunia was a well kept girl and liked to stick to the rules. Nevertheless, this didn’t stop them from being the most dynamic duo. Petunia always cared for her sister and, even though she would complain it wasn’t right to do, would help Lily pull pranks and jokes. They were best friends!

Until he came. . .

Until he became more interesting than Petunia because he was just as ‘magical’ as Lily. . .

Until the letter came. . .

Until Lily was labeled as the ‘special’ one. . .

Until Petunia called Lily a “Freak!”

No words could express the sorrow Lily felt in her small, young heart. No one knew how horrible Lily felt when the word, “Freak” left Petunia’s lips. I’m not a freak! Tears gushed from Lily’s eyes and ran down her cheeks as she bit her lower lip. She turned around when she saw a messy, black haired boy draw near her compartment. Another boy also entered the compartment later but she didn’t turn to look at them-she couldn’t let them see her red, puffy eyes.

“There you are!”

A wave of frustration rushed through Lily when she heard the familiar voice as the compartment door slid open for the third time.

“I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Why not?”

“Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore.”

“So what?”

“So she’s my sister!”

She couldn’t believe it. You don’t care about my relationship with my sister!?

The other boys took no notice in Lily and Severus until the latter mentioned Slytherin.

“Slytherin? Who wants to be in Slytherin?”

James was in shock. People really want to be in Slytherin? How nasty!  

“ ‘Gryffindore, where dwell the brave at heart.’ Like my dad,” James replied when Sirius asked which house he preferred.

Severus snickered at him.

“Got a problem with that?” James asked, coldly.

“No. If you’d rather be brawny than brainy-

Brawny or brainy? I can be both. I will be both. I’ll prove it, you little-

Before James could reply, Sirius spat, “Where’re you hoping to go, seeing as you’re neither?”

James roared with laughter.

Lily was shocked at how Severus mocked the two strangers and how they talked back! She took Severus’s hand and left the compartment, disgusted at the two boys, who called him “Snivellus”. How rude. Really, I thought magical people would at least know some manners!

Beside this compartment was another compartment filled with a different group of first year students. Amongst them was a small, mousy haired boy, sitting beside the window. His face was hidden behind a large book. There were deep cuts on his face and scratches on his skinny forearms.

“Hi, I’m Peter Pettigrew,” said a round, watery-eyed boy to him.

Looking from the top of his book, the mousy haired boy muttered, “I’m Remus Lupin.”

“Anything from the trolley, dears?” the compartment door slid open and the trolley women came in. At the sight of the lady, Remus dropped his book and shot up.

“Me.”

Peter’s mouth fell open as he got to see Remus’s face clearly for the first time.

“Oh, it’s just a bad accident,” Remus said, waving a careless hand when he realized Peter staring at his scars.

Was it really a ‘bad accident’?

Remus Lupin was attacked by a werewolf named Fenrir Greyback when he was only five years old. Fenrir attacked Remus to take revenge on Lyall Lupin, Remus’s father. Lyall Lupin was working against werewolves and believed that werewolves did not deserve living in the world. Little Remus had to suffer for his father’s mistakes. He couldn’t understand why his parents moved to an isolated place to live, why his parents forbade him to befriend anyone, why he would once a month wake up naked in their warehouse, why his body ached all over, why his small, skinny body had innumerable cuts or how and why his fragile bones crack into a vicious monster, every month.

Until Remus was seven year old, when he was fully able to read and write. He would read anything and everything he found. He was so smart for his age that big volumes of books were a piece of cake for him. That is when Remus learned about his lycanthropy.

“Mum. . .wh-what am I?”

The words crushed Mrs Lupin’s heart. She couldn’t look at her son-her beautiful, smart, innocent son. She dropped whatever was in her hands and ran over to her son and hugged him tight. Oh no. She could feel her son’s bones crushing under her arms.

“Wh-what d-do you mean?” Mrs Lupin muttered.

“Mum, am I a monster? Am I bad?”

NO, love, no! You’re my son, not a monster! Mrs Lupin wanted to shout it to her son but she felt she lost her voice. Her boy was facing a crucial reality not even adults deserve to. He’s just a boy!

“N-n-no, son. Remus, my sweet boy, you’re the best boy I’ve ever met. You can NEVER be bad.”

“Then I’m a monster? I. . .I know I am, mum. . .”

Sitting across the kitchen table was Mr Lupin, hiding his face behind the newspaper as silent tears fell from his eyes. He couldn’t take it anymore. His boy was suffering the worst punishment. . .

From then on, Remus started building the worst inferiority complex by isolating himself, even from his parents. He would preoccupy himself with books and lock himself up in his room. Before every full moon, he would go to their warehouse alone and return once the full moon was over. Remus Lupin was small, fragile and innocent but his world was harsh and old.

 After buying almost all the chocolate frogs from the trolley lady, Remus settled himself in his sit and started unwrapping chocolates. Peter, meanwhile, bought packs of Every flavoured beans and cauldron cakes. Remus and Peter started trading chocolates and cakes as Remus took interest in the quiet, shy boy. Their conversations wouldn’t last long for Remus wasn’t the best at socializing and Peter would get nervous for talking too long and would busy himself to finish his cakes.

Peter Pettigrew would always chew on his fingernails and bite his lips. When he was young boy, he showed signs of magic very late than average. His family almost counted him as a Squib so they would try and force magic out of him. Though Peter did prove himself to be a wizard, his family’s mocking of him being slow made him to actually believe he was stupid and that Hogwarts would never accept a half-squib like him. However, fortunately, he did receive the acceptance letter which, though delighted his family, didn’t help Peter gain any confidence in himself.

[breannacasey]

May I please also have number 99 from One Hundred Ways to Say ‘I Love You’ - “Be careful” for Rebecca/ Brian (Limitless)? I think this one can be as angsty as you'd like, since you write angst so well ^_^

Hold On To The Light

Brian Finch/Rebecca Harris. Angst with a Happy Ending. 1599 words. Read on ao3

               “Brian, be careful!”

Brian stood on the snow covered roof, fixing Christmas lights to the side of it. He fully intended on making this the prettiest house on the whole street. He didn’t earn himself a craft reputation for nothing. He’d made enough models at work to help them solve crimes, surely he could do a good job with this too.

               “Always.” He said with what Rebecca called his best shit-eating grin.

               “Cause you remember last year-”

               “Yeah, yeah, last year I slipped off the roof, I know. Don’t worry, I promise it won’t happen again. I’ve grown since then. I’m being really careful where I put my foot. Ice won’t take me down this time.”

The look Rebecca gave him from the front lawn seemed doubtful, but he’d prove her wrong. He had learned from his mistake, now he expected there to be traitorous ice hiding under the snow. He really was being careful. He didn’t know why she had so little confidence in him, he’d done so many more dangerous things before and came out the other side unscathed.

               “You know, you don’t have to do this. You don’t even celebrate Christmas!”

               “Yeah, but I like to make you happy. And most importantly, I think your mom only likes me because I can climb up here to put up the lights for her.”

Maybe that was a stretch considering how last time went, but he’d still gotten the job done before he fell and sprained his ankle.

               “That’s not true! She also likes that you’re... that... that you can change the bottle in the water cooler.”

               “Exactly. Anyway, you coming tonight? You know my parents always make a big deal of the first night.”

               “Of course. Besides, Rachel made me promise to. She wants a friendly face to be on her side when your brothers’ wives gang up on her.”

               “And I’m not one? Should I remind you I was doing that job just fine before you came along?”

               “By grabbing all the forever single attention, and adding no career path to it. I wouldn’t be so proud of that. Aren’t you glad Rachel and I get along now?”

               “Starting to worry about you leaving for my little sister, but yes, I’m really happy you got over whatever it was between you two.”

               “I’d never leave you. I can’t resist your big heart. Besides, no one is more exasperatingly adorable as you.”

               “Good. Here, all done. See, just like I told you, everything went well. I can handle it. Don’t even need NZT. Your mom will get so many compliments for this and she’ll be forced to change her mind about me.”

               “Oh, for sure.”

He was beaming, so happy with himself. He started making his way down, but he got his foot into one of the string lights, tripped and fell over the side of the roof, Rebecca’s scream the only thing that existed anymore.

               “Brian!”

He landed on the ground and he couldn’t say where the pain was coming from, it was all over his body, overwhelming. He tried to focus on Rebecca. On the sound of her steps in the snow as she ran towards him. On the sound of her voice as she asked, again and again, if he was okay. He thought he answered, but maybe he didn’t. He stared at her as she leaned over him, tears brightening her eyes, and her phone glued to the side of her face as she called for an ambulance. He tried to smile to reassure her and she gently let her fingers trace the side of his face, telling him help was coming and it would all be alright. All he had to do was hold on.

Then everything went black.

----

It was so much worse than last year.

Last year, he’d slipped and landed on his foot that sprained. This time, he got his foot stuck in the lights which caused him to stay suspended for maybe a second before falling head first, bringing all the lights down with him. She ran, yelling, screaming, wishing he’d answer something stupid and witty along the lines of “see, I didn’t slip on the ice this time, it’s completely different.” Anything to show he was fine.

She reached for her phone and called 9-1-1 right away. He lied down on his back, his eyes unfocused, but at least he was looking at her, breathing. That was a start. His face contorted in some kind of expression she thought could be an attempt at a smile, ruined by how much pain he must’ve been in. She brushed her fingers on his cheek, hoping to comfort him.

               “Help is coming, Brian, just hold on. Everything’s gonna be okay. You’re with me, Brian? Hold on. Please. For me.”

When his eyes fluttered shut to not open again, no matter how hard she tried to get any kind of response from him, it felt as though her own heart stopped. Thankfully, she could feel both of their heartbeats going, hers fast as she worried he might’ve broken his back or something even worse, his slow but steady. His breathing was ragged, likely from the shock the fall had on his lungs, but at least it was there.

As she waited for the ambulance to get there, what felt like an eternity later but was in reality only a few minutes, she concentrated on the fact he was still alive. She never let go of his wrist, his pulse grounding her in that important part of reality. She wanted to pull him closer, to hold him warm and close in her arms, but she knew moving him risked making matters worse. So she settled for his hand and his wrist.

The paramedics finally got there. They put a collar on him, tried unsuccessfully to wake him up. When they started moving him, it turned out his arm was broken under him. The bone was poking out. They reset it, put it in a brace and moved Brian to the gurney. They carried him away toward the ambulance and Rebecca found herself frozen in place. She couldn’t help her eyes locking on the patch of red snow he left behind.

One of the paramedics came back, put a hand on her shoulder and asked, ever so lightly, if she wanted to ride with them. She nodded and wiped a tear that had been about to escape her. They told her it was alright to hold his hand and she did. Feeling the warmth of his skin, and his pulse still, brought her just the smallest bit of comfort as they drove to the hospital.

He would be alright. He had to be.

               “It’s okay to let your feelings show, Rebecca. You can’t keep everything inside.” Naz said, after the both of them sat in silence for half an hour, waiting for news it was still too early for.

               “I need to be strong for Brian.”

               “You know that’s not what he’d want.”

               “It seems like if I let myself feel, I’ll break and will never be able to pick myself back up again.”

               “See, that’s the problem. You don’t have to pick yourself back up. I’m here, Boyle’s here, Mike and Ike are here, the Finches are on their way. We’re all here for you. Let us in.”

               “What if he doesn’t make it?”

Her voice broke and Naz pulled her into a hug. She let herself relish in the comforting gesture. She even let herself cry for a little while. It brought her some relief, maybe more than she’d admit.

She was woken by Naz shaking her shoulder. She couldn’t remember when she managed to fall asleep, or who put their coat over her. She looked up, the sight of the doctor standing in front of her quickly ridding her of the haze of sleep.

               “Rebecca Harris?”

               “It’s me. Is Brian okay?”

               “Yes. We managed to repair the damage to his back, there was nothing too major. He arrested during surgery, but he’s stable now. He’ll need a lot of rest, no climbing up a roof anytime soon. Bed rest for a week, and he’ll have to wear the cast on his arm for at least 6 weeks, probably more. But he will make a full recovery.”

               “Can I see him?”

               “Of course.”

Brian smiled when she entered the room. He was laying there, his eyes foggy and heavy from all the painkillers keeping him comfortable, but his face still lit up as soon as she walked in. She couldn’t stop herself from doing the same. She was so relieved. As hurt as he was, as tired as he was, his spirit was still good.

               “I held on.”

His voice sounded rough, but right now it was the best thing she could ever hope to hear. She approached slowly, hesitant as she sat next to him on the bed, afraid the movement would cause him pain. He let his head fall on her shoulder, a sigh of relief escaping his lips when she carefully wrapped an arm around him. He intertwined their fingers, his strong grip all the reassurance she needed to know he was fine.

               “I love you.” He breathed.

               “I love you too.” She answered.

He smiled and cuddled in closer. She had been rubbing his back for less than five minutes when he fell asleep. She followed not long after. Nothing like feeling his warmth against her, knowing he was safe, to make all her worries go away. They were both alright and now they could rest together.

[ey8508]

5 minutes encounter with …… (…… X MC)

Chapter 10

After that ‘time travel’, I’m now back in my own world.

That day after he replied my question he quickly sent me back to my office room even before I can react about it.

He told me, that it must’ve been stressing me emotionally and physically about staying too long in that world.

With that said he ruffled my hair before disappearing from my sight.

I was dumbfounded but then I suddenly got called for the morning case in schedule.

In that moment, I realized that my world hasn’t moved while I was away and that I still haven’t asked about his name yet again…

Weeks went by… apparently he didn’t show up. Not even once.

Every day, hour and second… I waited for him to come by…

But he never did. Was he perhaps somewhere here where I can’t see him?

I acknowledge about the fact that in truth he could endanger my fate just because of his simple desire.

Yet, how could I blame him. If it was any reasons… It wasn’t his fault.

If I were to be given the same fate and chance as him… I have no doubt that I’d be doing the same thing.

After a month, I assumed he had some company issue coming up which is quite weird because I know he can manage those in a second.

So, I assumed he’d be having some other issues… and I have no idea about…

However, as much as I didn’t want to admit it… I was somehow worried for him.

Did it perhaps cost him way too much trouble to bring me with him before??

Countless thoughts came through my head yet I managed to push it away.

I know, if he’s out there somewhere… he wouldn’t want me, to worry about him.

______________________________

Months went by and now it was nearly the end of winter season…

Some snow was still covering the lawn as I looked through the hazy window…

I was bored.

However, cases were on my shoulder at this time of the week.

2: 17: 14 p. m

“MC is that you…”

A slightly hesitant words were spoken from across the living room.

I looked away from my laptop screen towards the voice that I last heard since months ago.

He was as decent as ever but his frown never fades.

I stood up and slowly walked towards him.

My thoughts were empty.

I didn’t know what to say or act.

I just stood there, 3 meters apart from him.

2: 18: 58 p. m

He faintly smiled and took out his golden pocket watch.

There were terrible cracks visible all over the front glass of the pocket watch.

“The clock keeps memories of paths between worlds. Limitless and countless web of timelines are recorded with every path I walked through. However, without using the same clock…”

I have never seen him trying to explain something with such effort.

“You couldn’t find your way back here?”

He looked at me.

“Not really… I-“

I smiled knowing that he wouldn’t admit that.

Without hesitation, I close the gap between us and hugged him tightly.

“It’s probably either me or you, who’s an idiot but why are you making me sad.”

He was unresponsive. However, I didn’t expect him to do anything but it turns out he did hug me back.

“I won't again...”

He suddenly holds on to both side of my face and bends down as he carefully placed his forehead on mine.

“Do you understand… As long as you’re by my side, there’s nothing to worry”

His eyes met mine as he carefully wipes away my tears.

I nodded with a smile.

“Good…”

He smiled.

After a few moments...

[Time Exceeded]

Did I-

 I suddenly realized that I'm being somehow over reacting about this... Totally not a good idea.

 I haven't personally known much about him.

 Not this 'Me'

 This must've been abruptly unrealistic even for him...

 I’m being ridiculous…

 I mean, we basically just met a few times. At least 'I' did.

 "Umm... I'm sorry, if I'm over reacting about this. I'll keep my distant"

 There was confusion written all over his face but he slowly let go of me as I stepped away from him.

 "Right..."

 He replied back with a nod. However, judging from his eyes... It was as if he was describing a lot of things to me.

 Was it sadness, frustration or perhaps disappointment??

 I couldn't quite put it in words to describe him.

 I was expecting him to talk about it but he never did as we yet again stayed in silent.

 "Anyways, welcome back..."

 I finally beamed a proper greeting at him.

 He sighed before nodding with a faint smile.

 "MC... I wanna show you something."

 I blinked at his sudden request.

 "Wait- I wanna ask you about something first."

 He slightly frowned before answering back to me.

 "Ask."

 "Can I meet someone from your world? Does it effect anyone?"

 "No, but who's that?"

 Does he even need to know about that?

 "My best guy"

 Upon carefully saying it out, he somehow looks indifferent about the whole idea.

 "Best guy? Your boyfriend?"

 At this point, he was frowning more than before.

 "Well kinda, but-"

 I haven't finished explaining when suddenly he cuts through my words.

 "No. Why don't you just meet him here then?"

 I didn't quite wanna tell him about the real deal.

 "It's complicated"

 He sighed, seemingly not going to agree at all.

 "Please..."

 I pleaded, trying to convince him.

 "Fine, tell me his name"

 He wasn't even trying to cover the annoyance anymore...

 But, what's up with that anyway? Was it too troublesome?

 "It's Victor-"

 If I wasn't wrong, he could've been slightly surprised by the name.

 "Victor... what? No full name?"

 However, his eyebrows were still frowning as before.

 "It's Victor Li Zeyan"

 In that instant, his whole bad vibe changed.

 Did he perhaps know this person?

 "Got it."

 Even when he's seemingly calm now, he still replied it with such casual.

 "Thanks."

 He nods before extending his hand towards me.

 I responded in understanding as I reached out my hand to hold on to his hand.

 In an instant, I was somewhere else but this time I know where we were.

 This place had been a place I often visit every year since I was younger.

 Everything was still the same of course. What could've changed in this place.

 "I figured, you do know about him."

 "I certainly do"

 "Yeah, I doubt that my previous 'me' didn't talk about him"

 I sighed and walked my way towards the gravestone.

 "You know, sometimes I just came here to tell him about how my day turned out if it's miserable or good. I missed him every single day."

 I looked at him as his eyes were already focused on me.

 "Is this what you want to show me about?"

 "No."

 He exclaimed before slowly walking his way towards me.

 "Then, what is it?"

 I questioned him but he replied with yet again another question.

 "Do you know my name?"

 I frowned as I shook my head sideways.

 He smiled.

 At that moment, I realized something.

 There was a lot of things that I've been thinking about but how did I missed this thought all along.

 I did think about it before but I-

 How did I not think more into it?!

 It makes sense.

 The answer had been here all along.

 "But why didn't you tell me?"

 "I can't tell you. You must realize it yourself. It's the rules. Plus, you won't believe it-"

 My heartbeat accelerated. I was shocked, surprised and overwhelmed by all the emotions. The emotions were indescribable.

 I couldn't content myself anymore and yet again cried twice at the same day.

 "Victor- I'm sorry. I- "

I should’ve known it was him all along...

I gulped, trying to calm myself as I slowly took a few steps towards him.

 Never did I thought, that I'd be the one who's hurting him with those words I've been saying before. All this time-

 Perhaps it was the tears covering my eyes or the wind blowing my hair until I didn't even realize that he was the one who’s already embracing me instead.

 "No need…”

 He whispered to me as he held on to me as if I could've disappear from his grasp.

 I hugged him back as I cried to my heart's content...

 "You're alright... I'm here now."

 Who could've thought that this man who's holding me is the adult version of my dearest friend.

 I now, understand how did the 'Me' from his world even know him.

 Victor didn't talk much even when we were children in my world. He only talks when I asked him questions or that when he wants me to understand something.

 I myself, wasn't much of a talker but somehow we understood each other even without saying it out with words. It's weird but that's just how we ended up being in good terms.

Our family was close too and that certainly adds up our time together. I’m quite awkward about proper events however he had no problems with talking. So, he'd be always the one to do the proper talking while I just hid behind.

 Countless of memories flashed inside my mind as he holds me tighter.

 As I finally calmed myself down, he let go of me to face him instead.

 "Do you still remember the day we first met?"

 I asked him, looking straight into his eyes.

 He smiled.

 "I still can't believe my parents asked me to play with you at the playground when we were both looking like unhappy children"

 He was now laughing now as I joined him, knowing too well about it.

 "I was 5, you were 10."

 "Yes, and you won't even look at me"

 He exclaimed with a chuckle.

 "I don't know, I just felt like you were gonna fake smile at me. Which is creepy"

 I laughed, happy to recall those events.

 We certainly both have long term memory.

 "And here you are..."

 I shook my head sideways upon hearing his remarks as I laughed.

 "I guess, we're just some idiots"

 "Idiot..."

 He laughed seemingly amused about the phrase.

 As how much I hate to admit it, their laughter is similar. That laughter where I myself rarely listen too. This proves that- they're the same exact person.

 Is that why he didn't feel any different with me? Because the 'Me' in his world was also an exact copy of Me.

 "What is it MC?"

 He questioned me as I was deep in thought.

 I shook my head sideways and beamed a smile at him.

 He blinked at me seemingly unconvinced.

 Before he can even react... I hugged him again.

 I have never hugged someone as if that person was going to leave me where I couldn't see them again.

 But today, I now know these kind of feelings were real and true.

 He's real. Victor is here with me.

 If there were any other emotions that's left, it should be happiness.

 I should be happy.

 "Victor?"

 "Yeah?"

 "Victor..."

 "Hmm..."

 My voice was muffled (well because I wasn't that tall) as I called out his name and yet he responded back.

 "My best guy."

 "About that..."

 "What? You want a different title?"

 "An official title"

 Now, what is he even trying to say-

 I knew it...

 There's nothing good about him.

 But I don't have any obligation about it either.

 "And how are you gonna do that?"

 Had to admit that, I'd be surprised if he'd actually do it.

 "You'll see"

 I could tell that he was also grinning while whispering that to me.

[opes-magnas]

The Funeral

How would it be, if you could see your funeral unfold?

I can’t believe they let the casket be open! Gosh!

I can’t look at myself that way, of course no one wants to look at themselves devoid of life and rotting away but it was much more harder for me to be another entity (which I didn’t believe to exist) and just stand there letting my body lay there when I desperately want to wiggle into it, like a cosy blanket that covers your toes when it’s cold but sadly that’s what death means, its finality only hits you only after it scoops up your soul, from the tiny little nest in your body and sets it free, to float in the air, to become one with the soil, to flow like water, to burn like fire or attain peace if that’s what you were destined to for, be one with the most singular core of the universe, which I am yet to know because I’m still here.

With death also comes revelation of secrets which were hidden in plain sight that everyone looked for but never actually desired it or wanted it only for the sake of knowing it. It’s like that tiny voice inside your head which speaks to you and you know everyone also experiences the same thing but no one really speaks about it or wants to prove it.

Wow! death did make me philosophical which I never was, but now I’m not Scarlett Hamilton I’m just a lost soul detached from its anchor, I don’t even know why I’m here, but the weird part is I can still feel strong emotions towards all the people I loved or even hated, I can see my daughter crying a river out, those salty tears roll down like beads stringing along a long pearl necklace I once wore.

Yup, now it’s just getting started, maybe I have willed myself so hardly too able to witness the grandeur of the world just once last time before I go wherever I’m supposed to. So my metaphorical body’s shaking at the thought of being a spectator to my own funeral.

The service started and I was standing on top an empty chair in the last row, I saw my husband standing near the casket with my four other brothers. He’s still as handsome as the first time I laid my eyes on him, I still can’t believe that I landed him, he is like way out of my league.

Those deep blueish green eyes, which appear like the sea bed whenever sunlight hits on it at very specific angles and brings out this certain depth, a mystery, which I would try to unravel every time I gazed into them and one day while eating French toast in a small Parisian cafe I made a rather curious analogy to this one puzzle that I just couldn’t get right, a continuous clockwork ticking and every second it’s different and that can never be brought back and a mystical creature might pop out any moment and he laughed his wide goofy grin which made his dimples appear distinctly. His platinum blonde hair slightly below his ears almost caressing them lightly, I can still remember the way I used to run my fingers through it like it just happened this morning, oh! It did. I’m happy that was the last thing I did before you know, I died. The rippling of muscles can still be seen underneath that black suit he’s wearing, which I picked out for him to wear to the his big Oscar after party. Everything just feels so real yet so far away, I’m right here, but I’m a world away from him. I guess I felt this way when we had a big fight about well I don’t remember what and honestly it was stupid but we stopped talking and when I was sitting right next to him, I felt miles and miles away from him. It was the worst.

I’m longing to have another moment with him, just to tell him that I’ve loved him until my very last breath, literally, that no one else could ever have made more of an impact on my life other than him, and I just have so many things to do.

Funny, now I want to do so many things when I’ve wished to die like a thousand times or probably even tried to. But now since I’m really dead all I want to do is live another moment.

Shaking off the deathly feeling, yeah now I’m definitely in the second stage of grieving, “the acceptance”.

The service started with the father saying some kind words about how I always was such a big donator to the church funds, honestly I did it because I didn’t know what to do with the money I had, it might come of snobbish but that was the truth. Now I’m being applauded for an act I did, not in the intention everyone believes it was done.

Now, I wish was more spiritual than I was, to actually believe there is something out of reach which I thought wasn’t possible cos the motto I always believed in was, ‘There are no boundaries to the knowledge you can unearth. Science can become quite lonely, even when you’re the most alone, if you could just believe you have one other person with you, God, it would be so splendiferous just to never be alone.

Focus, you insipient fool, focus! these are your last moments on this beautiful world, you’ll probably be eternally damned to the meadows of asphodel to have time to ponder upon the tiny nuances of life, right now take in as much as you can, you probably won’t remember Darcy, Ophelia, Zoheth or for that matter Zeke when you leave.

Then, my best friend walked up to the podium, I could the rivers of mascara gushing down, unrestrained, like the mighty rivers, sparing no one who stood in the way, right now the only things that stood in the way were tiny mountains of acne, pimples which were barely visible, but as she always said I was omnipercepient, but that was arrogant on my behalf to actually believe it deep down.

Euphemia, ‘the well-spoken off’, ‘the one who martyred for what she believed in’, is actually what her name means, and I was always awed like how her parents could have even the slightest clue that she would one day live up to the glory that her name had already bestowed on her.

Somebody, in some late night show once asked me to describe Euphemia as a scent. I sat baffled for a minute, because I thought of her as this limitless person who couldn’t be bound by timidity of just words but I did try my best.

I distinctly remember the first time all of my green roses (that’s something I call my gang as, I identified each of them with these characters from Oscar Wilde’s books the first time I met them, and I do hope someone gets this reference for once)

We went hiking to the grand canyon, we climbed uphill all day long soaked with perspiration, but when we reached the peak, I had to remind myself to breathe as I felt so awed by nature, like those slightly purple pink rock mountains rising majestically as in a challenge to the sky, splitting the clouds into an shards of glass when they’re broken, but reflecting the dazzling light in all its glory all across, in every colour I could ever imagine about, huge trees appeared like chess pawns moved here and there by the will of these cordilleras, I just relished every moment I saw this marvellous creation.

Then at night we lit this bonfire, which emanated a strange crackling and pungent smell at first but it soon felt so familiar. Warm and fuzzy that I felt I’ve been discerning this forever. That is how I think Euphemia would be if I could ever convert her essence into a scent.

She pursued her full lips, biting the inside of her cheek, knotting her overly expressive eyebrows into this broken bridge, contracting her face into a lemon being squeezed out of its limit, I could feel the turmoil she was in just by glancing at her. She gripped the mic with her freshly manicured nails and began to speak in a tone I’ve heard her use only a few times.

“Scar, I wish you were here with me…. umm I don’t know what you would want me to say though we talked about every single thing on earth, being the twisted sisters 2.0, but we weren’t dark to begin with.

As you always said, with every end there is a new beginning, as today marks the end of your mortal life here, I so want to reminisce the beginning we had which some might say is odd but we were never normal to begin with.”

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

I was walking towards me to be dorm, on broken cobblestones, just thinking of how small electrons can be and walked up the creaky wooden stairs and reached ROOM 27 , and I knocked the door and heard a ‘come in’ and dragged my two very huge suitcases in to see her standing there.

She scuffled over in her very high heels thumping methodically against the floor and when I was just about to measure its oscillation period with my pulse rate, she hugged me.

I’m not hugger nor am I a “people person”, so I responded with an awkward side hug and my face buried in her brown curls cascading down to her shoulders.

You must be Scarlet, the genius whiz kid! Hi, I’m Euphemia Clarke, I’m an undergrad in English lit, women studies and philosophy. So?

Umm… I’m scarlet Hamilton, I’m a grad in theoretical and quantum physics and English lit.

But, your of my age, how could you be a grad student? Yeah, I forgot momentarily that I’m in the presence of the next greatest scientist here, ooh we’ll be buddies in English lit. But why English lit? It seems like an odd choice for a science person to be interested in... And your also doing a double degree... what can’t you do! I must bagged the lottery in roommates cos you’re just a dream to be with and ooh nice dress huh... Zara 2018...chic, edgy and makes a statement... thank God! You have a nice taste, I couldn’t possibly live with a horrible makeover gone wrong nincompoop, I would just die a thousand deaths before that.

Uhhh...

Yeah?

Um... I should get settled in, then I might have to go and take a tour of the library, it’s pretty huge and also do some other admin stuff, so I guess I’ll see then.

Shut up, I’m going to help, it literally took an army for my room to be done, I came like 2 days early just to do some painting work, what colour do you like? We could...

My head kept spinning and jumping on ropes just to catch up with her, all I could hear was an echo of words and she did a graceful swirl and smiled at me, “we’re going to be just fine.”

I had the chance to then observe her like I did everyone, a “perfect body” some magazines would say, slender, about 5’2, a brunette with deep green eyes , her eyebrows deserved an award for all the jumps, somersaults, backbends they did and her smile made me feel like I was tasting honey on a warm summer afternoon at centennial park.

I certainly can’t be friends with her, she’s one of the high and mighty sorority girls who went on a shopping spree to Dior, Chanel and Marc Jacobs and spent like $500,000 dollars buying a pair of fur coats and heels and wanted to become a socialite fluttering at parties being ‘the pretty one’ and marry some rich guy and came to colleges like Yale only cos ‘daddy’ paid whoever was looking at her essays to look the other way.

God! Am I judgmental?

(Some months of awkward conversations later)

We were walking to English lit together and she was strutting like a Ralph Lauren model on a runway in ridiculously high heels and just took my hand in hers and gave it a squeeze without even looking at me and held the door open.

Today we were discussing about ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and because I’ve almost read the book a hundred times I was very excited to what kind of discussion we were going to have, I have looked at the book from my perspective which is can vary from a hopeless romantic to a strong feminist depending on what kind of mood I’m in, I want to see the book how a person who doesn’t believe in love, feminism, freedom sees it, obviously I will take it offensively but my curiosity multiplies by the second.

She and I spilt as we walked into the class, she went towards the back.

I found my seat in the middle of the amphitheater like classroom, which I think was chosen for English literature class specifically just to add that glamour, majesty and that extra pinch of drama that old English prose gives off. Clever.

Ms. Dalloway started reading the book, which opens with an immortal statement, “It is truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of good fortune must in want of a good wife.” Why don’t we kick the class of by a discussion on this iconic statement? Anyone up for the challenge?

Aah. Scarlet, not you again, I sincerely hope the next time you will allow the other nitwits here to use the fragments of their brains left. But, go on, you certainly are the person to speak about this book.

I think what that sentence means in plain English is that any man who is rich and handsome wants a trophy wife just to look at him as if he’s the greatest and adore him like a silly schoolgirl and basically smother and mother him and nurse his big giant ego.

I think this sentence is truly aptly describes how the society was and is, women are always reduced to matter of objects traded between men and valued only for looking pretty and being a social butterfly and the main goal in their life is to be a human incubators or rather baby machines. On a more serious and highly unfair note of beauty standards, however ugly the man is, he wanted a small waisted, thin, fair maiden from a “good family”. I mean women almost killed themselves trying to please men, wearing those corsets as tight their lungs could probably burst, lead powder as kohl and what not, just so men could feel valued, I don’t know even they even knew what self-respect meant. Jane Austen is a genius, she almost gave a jist of her novel in the very first sentence.

I don’t think she is the right person to speak about this book, Ms. Dalloway, she has only the view of a feminist, when one talks about a book, and it must be from an unbiased view.

All heads turned towards who spoke, even I was surprised that Euphemia could even think about anything other than her Manolo Blanik pink lacy heels she bought yesterday.

I think this story is totally unrelatable, yes I am a woman but it didn’t make it any easier for me to relate to it, I mean like everyone sees Miss Bennet as a prime example of Feminism, strength and how women can make their own way and stand by the things they believe in. But, she is as shallow, narrow as the other women and a big bully. She makes fun of Mr.Bingley because he is isn’t tall, handsome when she herself believes that women must not be judged for their external beauty. Men and women having equal opportunities, isn’t that what feminism means, and isn’t she being a huge hypocrite when she is going against the very ideals she believes in? She also mocks Caroline, who calls her family out on their shit. So, that makes her exactly the same as the others.

That was when I knew she would be my best friend.

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

“Yeah and that’s how I knew she would be my best friend, because she stood by what she believed in, actually it is funny my name means the saint who married for what she believed in and her name means wealth and both of us embodied what each other meant and then had an epiphany that we could be what we were meant to be since we were born by looking at each other.”

I will be eternally grateful to Scarlet for making me more than a pretty girl, a woman who was a force of nature, who couldn’t be stopped by these insipid little men. I love you my dear, I always have. The only regret I have is I didn’t say it as often as I wished to. I love you, you have left an everlasting scar on my heart.”

Oh, Mia, I know, I know…

I saw her walk down the aisle and I remembered the day I walked her down the aisle to her husband and she looked at me and told, “You have left an everlasting scar on my heart.”

She looked at Zeke and nodded and went and sat next to Jake who kissed her cheek ever so tenderly and squeezed her shoulders just like I used to and she broke.

Many others spoke, like my mum, whose sentences weren’t distinguishable because of her crying and how God should have taken her instead, and it is so terrible to live after your child had died and looking at my face which was full and pink now shrivelled and almost passed out just to be caught by Papa, who couldn’t look her in the eye.

Mama always loved me dearly, I was the only girl out of 4 boys who were tough, burly and never asked for a kiss and a hug before running off to school, chatted with her late in the night explaining how she saw the world from her tiny green emeralds for her eyes and asked her flaming red hair to be combed into braids and always was willing to hear family gossip.

Well, papa wasn’t as warm and gooey as mum but he loved me , I knew it when he was hard on me to study better even when I got straight A’s and had skipped grades but didn’t give my brothers a twat when they scored less than adequate. He believed in me, which is more than I ever could ask for.

Maybe my cold and hard side was because of him, I was very analytical and logical and never let my emotions interfere with my decisions except when I said yes to my husband.

I never said this thought out loud, not even thought about it to myself, I was never a warm and gooey person who went around telling people how much I loved them, so it comes as quite a shock to me that I could even think of it. Maybe death brings finality to little things that were left out.

Saying the word still gives me chills, which reminds me again that we are never ready for things unless forced upon us. Whoever thinks they are ‘ready’ for life, they mostly never are, I never was.

My children came up, Darcy held Ophelia and Zoh like a fierce lioness protecting her cubs, I knew I raised her right, she took the mic and started speaking so confidently, she turned her steel grey eyes and looked right at me, a sharp light baring through my soul, almost as if she could see me and nodded her head right at me.

“Sorry, mum I haven’t shed a tear for you, even though the cessation of this hasn’t quite hit me yet, but I could see the differences already, nobody told if this black dress was appropriate or if my looked okay and Ophy and Zoh relied on me completely. I am sorry, but I know you never expected me to cry, but I think I know well enough to tell you expected me to be great. I still remember you whispering in my ear, before I entered Harvard, “Be Great or Nothing”, and those words were repeated by me in the break of dawn every day. You were what I wanted to be, independent, brave, most of all I was grateful to God to be blessed with the lottery in genetics. So, ma, that’s what I’m going to be, great.”

I saw the way her eyes sparkled with fear, fierceness almost as if her heart had broken into a million pieces yet she was holding it together not for the sake of putting on a show, but for herself. All I could do was smile, a huge grin actually, all the time I wanted them to be ordinary people, but she proved me wrong, greatness runs inn our blood.

Zoh and Ophelia, my little babies, I wasn’t worried about them either, they did cry though but chanted this one sentence together, “ Vincit qui se vincit .” and the three of them bowed before my casket, touched my feet, an intense bolt and I could hear them whisper together, non-duco ,duco.

An intense bolt of lightning shot through me, I looked at my arms they became almost transparent now. I could feel myself fading away, being sucked into but, I was ready to go before hearing his voice one last time.

My children, I was proud of myself to have raised them, but I looked at the sky above me and thanked the Gods for giving such Brave and strong humans into me. Thank you, thank you.

I was so lost in the maternal glory and satisfaction, I didn’t notice Zeke passing out on the podium before he even uttered a word.

He slowly swayed down, his eyelids shutting down on his beliquent violet eyes gleaming with distress and grief, his hands went upwards in a dramatic manner and his knees buckled down and landed with a thud on the floor, out of habit his eyes frantically searched the room for me before giving out a guttural scream in my name.

Suddenly, everything moved so slowly, people sauntered about as glaze leisurely dripped of a cake, none could hear me screaming, scratching and pushing past everyone to hold him.

The next thing I remember is sitting in a rushing ambulance moving like those cars in video games, twishing and twashing around other vehicles but never actually touching them. I could feel his heartbeat getting fainter and fainter and his hand grappling to my side. I put all the strength I had left in me to push his intense desire to be with me.

The doctors were speaking in a feverish pitch and everyone was so focused on saving him, my reality jilted and I was back in the Lake District National Park, the glacial ribbon like water was still the same, where the sky kissed the tip of peak Windermere who was stretching into the sky, looking for lost love, the purple pink flowers scattered around, the manifestation of temptation, no one resisted in plucking them out ,, the reflection trees into the almost ice like water gleamed like crystals, miles and miles of grass stretching infinitely and in it were a thousand insects, chirping and hooting and going by their lives not knowing the amount of tragedy that has befallen the world and a plaid picnic spread over with all my favourites which included my person.

I remember this day, the day of my betrothal to my beloved.

Ezekiel, the same serene look on his face, his mouth puckered into a smile that tugged at his dimples, his platinum hair swaying the wind and his hands beckoning me towards, as much as I wanted to go, I stood rooted where I was. Even if I moved an inch, I somehow became aware of the repercussions, the loss of his life, the more intense his desire to stay with me, the less will he has to live.

Dr.Burke once said, “With all medical realities being equal, why does one person live and another die? I believe there is a mind, body and spirit connection.”, if Zeke doesn’t want to live, no matter how much the odds that favour him, his body will defy everything to be with, me.

Our love, was the kind of love that came around once in a lifetime, the pure love which doesn’t expect anything in return but just loves not because of the looks but because of the thoughts, the feelings and mostly the heart. I loved Zeke with every inch of my body, every cell in my being and it tears my heart to leave him alone, but I won’t be selfish today. He still has a lot left to do, his time hasn’t come yet, and death hasn’t knocked upon his door so I’m not going to slip the key to it.

He smiled, “Scarlett, my sun, my moon and stars, come, please. You know why, I can’t live another minute knowing you’re not there to lay my head upon your lap and talk about how our day went, or to see your chest collapse and fall with every breath, the comfort it gives me, just in  knowing your alive . No, no, no!!”

I know, but you must always remember that I will be live as long as there is a place for me in your heart, I will live in those times your remember me and smile, I will live in those moments where you and the kids look up to the sky and say my name, I will live as long you draw breath, do you wish to kill my legacy? Do you? Go back Ezekiel, go back, I will wait for you.

His face contorted into a fit of rage, sorrow, despair and he walked near me and starting thrashing wildly, kicking his arms and legs in all inhumanly directions, screaming, yelling and when I looked into his eyes and gave him one last look, he stretched his arm out to lightly touch my fingertips and whispered,” Goodbye, my love, I will live for you.” as he knelt before me the same way he did that day.

I felt myself being swirled into a whirlpool of light, stretching me into long into infinite bounds, suddenly filled with power and just the feeling of being complete and then darkness enveloped everywhere.

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

— Whoosh, a gust of wind blew over his face, almost caressing him. —

His eyelids fluttered open just a little, just enough to a peek at what is around him.

“Where am I? “

Daddy, you fainted at mum’s... umm... funeral and had a heart attack on the way, but now you’re okay, I sent Ophelia and Zoheth home, they persisted to stay but they had to go to school, that’s what mum would have wanted. You were muttering something in your sleep about seeing mum... Did you actually see her?

Yes, I did, she convinced me to stay. Go home, and take rest, you need to get back to college, remember what we promised mom? We are going to keep our word. Go.

She came and hugged him and gave a toothy grin and said,” Yes.” and closed the door behind her.

Thoughts flooded Zeke’s mind, he could remember clearly what happened at the lakes, and he knew what he was going to do. He clutched at his wedding ring and gazed outside his window knowingly. Even dead, Scarlet had made him a better man.

Scarlett I hope your happy.

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“What I want in my life is willing to be dazzled, to be cast aside by the weight of facts and maybe even float a little above this difficult world.” ~ M.O.

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Love,

Lady Lazarus

(picture and prompt from: pinterest)

[theangriestpea]

In the Shadows : Eight

Summary: Jughead Jones, resident werewolf, just wants to protect his family and his pack from the incoming doom of The Red Circle. Sweet Pea and Lily join him to help keep the Southside safe from human tyranny. Meanwhile a demon princess named Myra and succubus named Lavender had a plan to bring on the apocalypse. <ao3> <masterlist> <playlist>

Rating: Mature // Explicit

Pairings: Jughead Jones x OC, Sweet Pea x OC, Kurtz x OC

Warnings: None for this chapter

Word Count: 5k+

A/N:  This is like my least favorite chapter that I've written thus far and I really apologize for that. It just didn't come out the way that I had hoped, so hopefully it is still enjoyable. I've got a paid writing gig that I'm going to have to divide my time with so updates may slow down a tad (only by a day or so). I'm getting back to requests after this.

Chapter Eight: Soul Bound

The purple haired succubus was sitting on the old couch in the small cottage within the mystical forest. The knowledge of withholding the information of her child's paternal parent was eating at her more and more. Lily had been nothing but kind to her since she realized that the demon could be trusted. Presently she was fixing her a special tea blend to help with her terrible morning sickness. It was getting progressively worse as the days went by.

“Lily, I have a confession to make.” Lav said, her voice not sounding nearly as confident as she had wanted it to. “About...the father of the baby.” She twirled her hair around her finger, needing something to do with her hands while she waited.

The witch was at the kitchen counter, measuring out tea into disposable tea bags for her new friend. She hummed back a nonverbal response for the demon to continue as she concentrated.

“I lied before.” Lav admitted, “and it’s killing me not to tell you the truth. What is really going on. Sweet Pea has this fantasy that he can fix things but I don’t think it is nearly that simple.”

Lily glanced up at her and their eyes caught one another. They held the stare, Lily a bit confused as Lav’s looked sorrowful and sympathetic. “He’s the father. What I said about being forced was true. Myra, she said it had to be him and I had no choice in the matter. I didn’t even want to have a child to begin with but now...Now that I’m pregnant, I can’t lose her. I know you understand as a mother, and even though I’m a demon….I’m human too.”

She went back to measuring carefully. This wasn’t really a surprise. She had a suspicion that Sweet Pea was more involved than he let on. Plus she could sense very strong, very dark magical energy from the child already. Energy that nearly matched her baby daddy’s. “Tell me everything.” Lily said, her voice calm and careful. “I’m not upset. I know how he has no idea what condoms are and besides you mentioned before she gave you a potion to make you conceive. It’s not like you knew him before all of this. I’m just glad you didn’t kill him.”

Lav relaxed against the couch, glad that Sweet Pea was out doing an odd job to get them some extra money. It was hard to be around him when he was off limits. “There is a prophecy.” She continued, “and through decades of decoding it, Asmodeus discovered that the birth of a certain child would be a catalyst in bringing on the apocalypse.”

Lily stopped what she was doing. Her eyes widened as she looked at Lavender again. Was she really talking about the end of the world? This world? The mortal realm on Earth?

“Myra enslaved me by taking my mortal soul when I was in a bad car accident. My neck snapped, I was dead, but my demon half simply took over. I didn’t even know what I was until then. The mother of the child would be a hybrid without a soul. A succubus to be exact. The father would be a purely dark witch, also without a soul. This is a really dumbed down version of this, I don’t know how else to explain it.” Lav said, her heart racing in her chest now from anxiety on how Lily would react.

“Lavender.” Lily said, wanting clarification, “she bred you to bring on the end of the world? With Sweet Pea? Your daughter is going to bring the apocalypse?”

Her voice wasn’t angry, resentful, or hateful. The demon relaxed only slightly at how calm Lily was at this news. “Yes. Myra will take her the second the cord is cut and will unleash hell on Earth. I will never see her again. And Lily, there are very specific reasons why I do not want all of hell’s demons to roam the Earth and most of them are entirely selfish.”

Lily looked back at the tea leaves, taking a deep breathe to calm her hammering heart. “Most of them?” She asked, wondering why they weren’t all entirely selfish.

“I happen to like Earth the way it is.” Lavender said, “And I just want the mortals in my life to be happy. I want Daisy to grow up with both parents. I want you and Sweet Pea to continue to live by her side. I want Sweet Pea to get his soul back because he’s only going to get worse.”

“What did he do to you the other week? When you had to heal yourself.” Lily questioned, needing to know. “Why did you let him?”

Lavender crossed her legs to try and hide her discomfort at the question. “We had sex. It got a little rough, that’s it.”

“So rough that you had to heal yourself? You’re pregnant, Lavender, you can’t let him-”

“It’s fine. I’m fine.” Lav quickly interjected. “He has no soul, Lily. I understand you don’t know how people are without one. They’re terrible. It’s frightening, honestly, what a man can do without any real conscience to hold him back. He will only get worse which is why it’s imperative for you to get it back if you want him to be any kind of father to Daisy in the future, you must.”

Lily finished up the last tea bag, sealing it and putting them all into a glass jar. “I know. He’s just getting darker. I expect him to come home covered in blood half the time. His anger was always bad but never like this. I’ll get his soul back and I’ll get yours back too.”

Lav was silent as Lily handed her the jar. The demon dared to look up at her, "I know a way to break the contract." She said in a soft voice, praying that Myra wasn't hiding in some nearby shadow.

Lily smiled faintly, "she can't hear you. I have the house warded. Tell me what you have in mind."

"The vargulf is dying. He only has a few weeks left, tops. I think...I think she's in love with him. Only white magic can heal him. Only you can bring him back from the brink. Cut a deal with her. Heal him in exchange for my freedom and my mortal soul." Lav said, eyes never leaving Lily's face. "It will not protect my child, but she can no longer hurt me without repercussion."

Lily sat down next to her on the couch as Daisy toddled in, having just woken up from her nap. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the demon, "Lavie!" She giggled, running up and holding onto her legs. Lav smiled and placed a gentle hand on her head.

"Would you oppose Sweet Pea staying with you for protection? After I do this?" Lily asked, the sight of her daughter hugging the succubus warmed her heart. Daisy needed more interaction with people that weren't her parents. "He is an asshole but he is a powerful witch. Myra is stronger than you, is she not?"

Lav went quiet once more as she picked up the little girl and set her in her lap. Daisy loved to play with her purple hair, finding it memorizing. "Only if he has his soul back. He's insufferable right now. Her strength is in her age and lineage. My magic would be stronger if I had my soul, but it’s been gone for decades now. There’s not telling what state it is even in. I don’t know where she has been keeping it.”

“I plan on retrieving his soul in a few days. I need to devise a good offering to my matrons before and probably spend another night with Jug...for good measure.” Lily said, a light blush crossing the tops of her cheeks. While Lavender was the one who set them up, it was still a bit embarrassing to talk about.

The demon smirked at her, “try not to get knocked up again.” She teased as Daisy pulled at her hair. She ignored the pain, tolerating it as Daisy twisted it around her fingers in an attempt to braid it, but really she was only knotting it up. “Although you would be stron-”

The witch held up a hand to keep her quiet, “don’t even go there. I’ll only have another one when things are stable and the end of the world isn’t imminent.”

“That’s fair.” Lavender said, shrugging. “Think you can stop it?”

“I won’t know for sure until you get something for me.” Lily said, her tone becoming serious. “It might be easier for you to get a hold of than me. With your limitless access to mortal currency.”

Lav cocked her head to the side, curious. “If you need money, Lily, I can get it for you. I’ve charmed many men out of their 401ks. Do you know how many life insurances I’ve stolen away? It’s easier than it sounds.”

“What does a demon need money for anyway?” Lily asked, a bit exasperated. Money was always an issue for them. Neither could afford childcare and thus only one of them could really keep a steady job. They had decided it would be Sweet Pea but his temper got him fired more often than not. The longest he ever lasted in one place was six weeks.

“I may be a demon but I still live here on Earth so I have to abide by some mortal constructs. Before I knew what I was, when I thought I was just an ordinary human, I loved in a trailer park much like Sunnyside without the rampant flea problem. My father made enough to get by and that was about it. I always dreamed of living in a huge house with a nice car and clothes that weren’t second-hand. Not having to get food from a church pantry because we had to sell our food stamps to pay the light bill. When I learned how to control my power, I used it for my own personal gain until Myra needed me to target some poor sod for whatever reason. Someone owed a debt and their soul needed collecting or whatnot.” She let out a small sigh. “I live where I live because that’s where Myra insists that I stay. I don’t have a choice in what I can really do with the wealth I’ve amassed.”

She glanced at Lily out of the corner of her eye, “Maybe it would be better suited to just...give it to you.”

Lily bit the inside of her cheek, not wanting to even think about suddenly not having to worry about money. “Keep your money, we’re doing fine. Sweet Pea is out making us some money right now.”

Lav shrugged, “If you say so. What is it that you need me to get?”

“This prophecy should be in some kind of book, somewhere on Earth. All good prophecies are. An oracle somewhere has to know about this and they are bound to have written it down. Get me this book, Lavender, and we can find out how to end this for good.” Lily said, confident in her plan.

“A book? I think I can manage that.” She mumbled, mostly to herself. “Give me a week. I’ll see what I can do.” Her eyes moved to look at the little girl, “Alright, Daze, I better go before your jerkoff father gets home.”

Daisy giggled and crawled over onto her mother’s lap. “Bye, bye, Lavie!” She said happily and Lav smiled back as she stood.

“Bye, bye, Daisy.” She patted her on the head once more playfully. “And thanks for the tea, Lily. My stomach will appreciate it in the morning.”

“No problem, let me know if you need anything else.” Lily said as she hugged her daughter. Lav waved as she exited the cottage, glad to have avoided Sweet Pea for the time being.

Or so she thought. The asshole in question was walking up to the door as she was leaving, scowl on his face. “What are you doing here?” He practically hissed at her.

Lav rolled her eyes at him, “Just leaving, troll.” She said as she walked passed him, he reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her close.

“What did you tell her?” He asked, voice low and angry with an edge of hate.

“The truth. Now let me go or I’ll have Myra smite you where you stand.” Lav said threateningly, though she would never actually do it. Sweet Pea instantly released her and recoiled with a scowl. She watched as he turned and made his way back into the house, noticing that something else was off about him but choosing not to look too far into it.

Three days later, the day after Lily had spent a riveting night with her soulmate, she was ready to perform the spell to get Sweet Pea his soul back. Jughead was there, with Daisy, in the event that something went wrong. The warlock had begun to lash out at the wolf more and more, wishing he’d just stay away but deep down knowing why he couldn’t.

Lavender had not been around since she told Lily the truth about what was going on. Lily had kept it to herself thus far and had been going out of her way to ignore Sweet Pea as it was the easiest way to deal with his meltdowns. He had come home that day with only half the money he was supposed to get. What happened to the other half, she couldn’t get it out of him and was furious.

The oddest thing was when she tried to call the electric company, they informed her that her bill was paid in full. She knew she hadn’t paid it this month and was increasingly worried that there was an error and once they figured it out, they would shut their power off. Unfortunately she didn’t have time to dwell on her growing anxiety over money as there were bigger issues at play. The main one being Sweet Pea’s lack of soul.

“Are you sure this is safe?” Jughead asked, looking between the two witches sitting on the floor. “You’re just going to reach into hell and grab it?”

Lily smiled at him reassuringly. “It’s a little more complicated than that, but yes. I’ve already located it so it won’t be very hard. It will just take a lot of energy. It would have helped if Lavender was here to give me some of hers but...she’s not answering my calls.”

Jughead shifted uneasily, watching Sweet Pea’s eyes darken at what Lily had said. “You haven’t heard from her?” He asked, sounding more annoyed than worried. He didn’t want to let on that he cared at all about the demon. In truth, he didn’t care so much about her right now as he cared about the child growing inside of her.

“She’s fine.” Jughead said, “I checked on her yesterday. Her morning sickness is just getting bad and it’s taking all of her energy just to hunt right now. I guess demon pregnancy is rough.”

“All pregnancy is rough, Jug.” Lily corrected, glancing at Daisy who was playing with her runed blocks on the other side of the room. “Trust me. I’ll go check on her after this. She was supposed to look into something for me.”

Jughead nodded, “alright. Will it be safe to just leave him here?” He asked, motioning to Sweet Pea who was glowering at the two of them for talking as if he wasn’t sitting right there.

Lily turned her head back to look ahead at Sweet Pea, “He’ll be asleep for a while. A day or two, give or take. His soul has been down there for a long time. It’ll take time for it to resettle back into his body. Are you ready, Sweet Pea?” She asked, holding out her hands for him to take.

His large calloused hands grasped hers lightly and they both closed their eyes. Lily was muttering the spell under her breath, barely audible to anyone without supernatural hearing. Jughead didn’t understand Latin so he had no idea what she was saying.

The energy in the room grew so palpable that it was almost unbearable. Daisy stopped playing with her blocks and stared at her mother, somehow acting as if she knew what she was doing despite being so young. Jughead watched her instead of Lily, more interested in her reaction than what his girlfriend was doing.

The five white candles surrounding the two suddenly burst into flame as the temperature in the room climbed to an uncomfortable level. Sweat trailed down Lily’s spine as she brought the blackened soul closer and closer. Her grip on Sweet Pea’s hands were tight and borderline painful. The male witch winced as her nails dug into his flesh.

And then it was over. Sweet Pea’s body went slack and he crumpled forward in a state of unconsciousness. Lily was breathing heavily, feeling dizzy and nauseous all at once. Daisy walked over to her and placed a hand on the side of her face, a faint glow causing the ill sensations to dissipate.

Lily kissed her on the forehead. “Thanks baby.” She said before looking back at Jughead. “Can you help me get him into the bed?”

“Did it work?” Jughead asked, blinking at her. “His soul is back?”

She stood up with his help and rubbed the back of her neck to try and remove the sweat that had collected there. “It’s back but...it’s not in good shape. It’ll take time to heal. He’ll need something I can’t give him.”

Jughead moved around behind Sweet Pea and hoisted the man up awkwardly. Lily helped the best she could in her weakened state to get him into her bedroom. Once there Daisy walked in with a doll that Lily had never seen before.

“Daisy, where did you get that?” She asked, looking at the purple haired doll that had some kind of relaxation charm on it, similar to the one she put on the little girl’s stuffed cat.

“Lavie!” Daisy said as she climbed onto the bed. “Can I nap with daddy?”

Lily’s brow furrowed, unsure when the demon could have given Daisy a gift but appreciating it all the same. “Of course, just don’t wake him up. He’s very tired.”

“I know.” Daisy said as she curled up next to her father, the doll between them.

Jug turned and led Lily out. “If you want to check on Lav, I’ll stay and make sure Daisy is okay.”

A sigh left the witch’s lips as she collapsed on the couch. “I should rest first.” She admitted. “That took way more out of me than I thought it would. I will check on her in the morning. I’ll even take Daze to visit. They seem to enjoy each other’s company.”

Jughead laid down on the couch with his head in her lap so she could play with his hair, knowing it was one of her favorite things to do. “So what was she looking into?” He questioned, closing his eyes as her fingers softly threaded through his thick locks.

“There’s something much bigger going on and I think the four of us are the only ones that can stop it. There’s a book of prophecy she is getting for me. It’ll help us figure a way out of all of this.” Lily said softly, looking down at him with a sad expression that he did not see. Sweet Pea’s soul had been in worse shape than she had imagined it would be. She wasn’t sure what he would be like when he woke up.

The next day, Lavender finally returned the white witch’s phone call to inform her that the book was on its way to her. When asked how she got it, Lav laughed and answered honestly. This book in particular was an original, hand written, very old text that she found on eBay. It’s authenticity was confirmed through a very intensive set of magnified images. Lily wanted to know the price but Lavender refused to tell her, saying it would probably make her faint.

It arrived two days later and before Lavender took it to the cottage in the woods, where the father of her unborn child was finally starting to stir, she decided to take a look at the script herself. What could it hurt? Certainly not much.

Most of it was muddled garbage that made very little sense after the first few paragraphs which outlined her own conception. She finally got to the part about her ill-fated interaction with Sweet Pea and how her daughter was conceived. It aligned almost perfectly with what had happened but there was one line that made her blood run cold. Her heart thumped heavily in her chest as she reread it dozens of times. There was no possible way this could be true. It had to be a mistake. There was no way that Sweet Pea was….he was…

She closed the book and resisted the urge to throw it out of her bedroom window. Instead it sat silently by her side as she sat with her face in her hands, wondering what on earth she was going to do about this. It had been a dream to be free of him once this was over. To disappear somewhere with her daughter, never to have to look upon his handsome face again. If what was written was true, then that would be impossible.

Her phone buzzed and she heard the chirp of a new notification. Lav picked up her phone and saw it was Lily, telling her that it was a good time for her to come over. Sweet Pea was awake and Jughead was on his way. The demon typed back a quick reply that she’d be there in ten.

She slid off the bed slowly, grabbing the book without much care to its delicate condition and left for the cottage.

When she arrived she sat in her car for a moment, weighing her options. She needed Lily’s help but she didn’t want Lily to find out the truth . The truth that Lav wished she didn’t know. She saw Lily’s face appear between the parted curtains of the window. Now that she was caught, Lav had no choice but to go inside.

She exited the car and walked up to the door, Lily opening it before she could even knock. “Did you get it?!” She asked, voice perfectly portraying her excitement.

Lavender swallowed her anxiety thickly. “Yea. Here.” She handed it over, wishing she had blacked that sentence out or done something to alter it. Maybe if no one else knew, then it wouldn’t be real. It was too late for that.

“Are you okay? You look pale.” Lily asked as she led the demon inside of her home. Lav chose not to look through the open bedroom door, knowing that Sweet Pea was laying on the bed. She didn’t think she could stomach looking at him right now, the need to vomit growing in the pit of her stomach.

“Just morning sickness.” She lied. It was three in the afternoon. She was done throwing up for the day. Though morning sickness could be any time of the day, hers typically lasted from early morning to early afternoon. By two she was usually fine enough to go try and collect some food.

Lily ignored the lie, figuring if Lav wanted to tell her what was really bothering her then she would. Jughead walked through the door a second later and her face lit up with a smile. “Juggie, you’re late.”

Jughead smiled, rubbing the back of his head. “My dad had to lecture me about bringing stray cats into the house.” He said, giving Lily a knowing look. “Something about his allergies are bothering him.”

The witch giggled. She often took her feline form when visiting Jughead as it was a safer way for her to travel at night. “Come sit, she brought the book.” She plopped down on the couch and opened it, starting from the beginning.

“Good luck deciphering half of that crap.” Lav said, choose to sit on the floor. “Where is Daisy?”

“She’s trying to heal Sweet Pea.” Lily said quietly. “I don’t have the heart to tell her that her kind of magic isn’t what he needs right now.”

The demon chewed on her lower lip, wanting to ask what the matter was but not wanting to out herself as having any kind of feelings towards him.

Jughead looked between the two, not really understanding the expression Lavender had on her face. “What kind of magic does he need?”

“It’s complicated Jug. Souls can only be healed by their soulmates. We don’t know who his is. If we could find them then this could all be over.” Lily said as she dragged her finger down the spine of the book. “Let’s not worry about that now. Let’s try to see if we can figure this out.”

The three were silent as Lily read the old book aloud. Lav’s teeth drew blood as they dug into her flesh harder and harder. Jughead smelled it and was staring at her, wondering what had her so on edge.

Lily stopped just before the dreaded part. “Does all of this sound right so far? Has all of this happened already?” She looked at Lavender who was staring at the bedroom doorway, distracted.

“Lavender?” She probed. “What is going on?”

“Keep reading.” She mumbled. “You’ll see, just keep reading.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, her gaze sorrowful.

The witch looked back down at the book and went back to reading. “The child shall be born of soulless soulmates. Lost in darkness, two empty halves will be bound to destroy one another once the chosen child is lost to the prince of Hell.” She read, stopping abruptly once the sentence had passed her lips.

A look of realization crossed both Jughead and Lily’s faces as they looked at the demon. Nothing was said for several minutes. The silence was heavy and foreboding.

Lily set the book aside and stood. She approached the demon and crouched down to her level. “We can change this.” She said, “Prophecy is not written in stone. It’s more of a warning of consequence. We’ve already changed the course by getting Pea his soul back. Once we have yours, then the outcome written will be wrong.”

“And, if we keep the baby from getting taken to Hell, then that’ll change too.” Jughead added, trying to help ease the worry.

“I don’t care about my own destruction, that’s more than what I deserve.” Lavender said, her voice soft. “That is not the part bothering me.”

Lily glanced at Jughead before sighing. “He has his soul back now, things will be different. I won’t say that he won’t hurt you again because...he’s an asshole even with a soul. But he won’t do it on purpose. Just give him a chance.”

Lavender huffed, crossing her arms. “Why should I? Do you have any idea how much he’s antagonized me since that night?”

Lily reached out and brushed her hair out of her face. “Yes. I do. This is the man that cheated on me days after I gave birth to his daughter. I understand completely.”

“And that’s another thing! As soon as I have our child he’ll just be out putting his dick in who knows!” Lavender said, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “I don’t want to be a notch on his stupid bedpost.”

“Couchpost. He doesn’t have a bed.” Jughead said in an attempt to lighten the mood. Both women shot him a glare and he quickly shut up.

“He did that to me because we weren’t meant to be. One chance, that’s all I’m asking.” Lily said gently, trying to get her to come to reason. “If you don’t then the world could end and I know you don’t want that.”

At the reminder of the impending apocalypse, Lavender sighed in defeat. “Fine. But there’s still the issue of Myra.”

Lily stood up straight again and grinned, “Don’t worry. As soon as Sweet Pea is back on his feet, then we can tackle solving your little enslavement problem. For now, I’m banishing him to your home until this all blows over.”

“For a white witch, you sure come up with some evil plans” Lav grumbled to her. “Being stuck with him might be worse than hell on Earth.”

A devious look crossed Lily’s face, “just throw up next to him. He won’t be able to stand it and he’ll start puking in solidarity. It’s the perfect way to get back at him. He hates it.”

The demon tried not to laugh, “are you sure you’re a white witch?”

“Trust me, I’m sure.” Lily stretched her arms above her head, cracking several vertebrae in her back. “So, who wants to tell him?”

“Is he actually awake?” Lavender asked, looking back at the doorway to the darkened room.

Lily smiled knowingly, “Yes. He’s being a baby and won’t get out of bed. But I’m about to kick him out so he’s going to have to leave sometime.”

Lavender groaned as she stood up from the floor. “You tell him. He’ll just call me a whore or something along those lines and yell until I leave.”

Lily rolled her eyes as she walked into the bedroom and flicked the light on, earning herself a hiss of anger from Sweet Pea. “Get up, we need money and you’re done laying in bed.”

Sweet Pea opened his eyes to look at her, Daisy playing on the bed next to him with the same doll as before. This time she was making it kiss her stuffed cat, much to both Lily and Lav’s amusement.

“And by the way,” Lily added, turning to walk out of the room, “I’m kicking you out. You have a week.”

“You’re what?!” He shouted as both women left the room, only one stealing a glance back at him before disappearing from view..

Tag List: @the-gargoyle-queen​, @lilhemmo​, @wayward-river​, @southside-vixen, @princesweetpea​, @redhairdontcare732​  (comment/ask/message if you want to be added or subscribe to AO3)

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[fal-carrington]

Just The Two Of Us Pt.5

Pairing: Kamilah x Mc x Adrian

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part.3 // Part.4

Prompt: After the last night fighting against Gaius, before his fall, he puts his plan into execution, changing the lives of Adrian, Kamilah and Mia forever. Friendships may end, a heart may be broken and a new love may arise. In the end who will win the girl's heart?

Tag list: @rocket-scientist07 @galaxyside-0 @gavryllo @zoe6111 @iam-the-fuckin-queen @bucket-harrington @scarlet-letter-a0114 @delphinusbae @ilovekamilahsayeed @jellymonster @deereboy97 @justejuste727​ @thepotatobleh​ @jen825​ @whoinvitedalx​ @rubyheartjane​ @desiree-0816​ @sleeping-with-her06​ @riyalovestaylor​ @pizzapyjamas​ @thecleveridiot09​ @demonknightrevelations​ @dragonaceflamez​ @garlickk​ @ella-raines​ @spacecarrousel​ @walking-mess-talking​ @nydeiri​ @tigerbryn11

Michigan, 8h40pm

Mia’s pov

As the big house appeared at the end of the street and the car slowed, the air caught in Mia's lungs. Being back home after so long away was surreal. She couldn't help, but wonder how much everything had changed. Memories of her past invaded her mind, good memories, memories of her childhood and adolescence in that old house with a large garden. Throughout the trip to Michigan, she kept her eyes locked on the window, little did she know the overwhelming longing would come. “Are you alright?” Kamilah asked as she stopped the car. Mia turned to her, seeing the look in those brown eyes, something was bothering Kamilah, she could tell.

"I'm fine, it's just... It's been awhile." She admitted looking out the window again, the lights were on, several cars surrounded the block, family cars, which she recognized perfectly. “Wow. My whole family is here. At least it's good to know my dad hasn't gotten rid of the truck yet.” She laughed pointing to the window. “Why are you nervous? You told your mom we were coming, right?” Kamilah asked with a frown.

“Of course. Everyone is very eager to meet you.” Mia said. “I… When I left home and decided to move to New York, my parents didn't really like the idea, but they supported me. I think my family settled into living a simple life, I wanted more, so I left. I've always been the most adventurous in the family. Now I'm coming back, and not even in my wildest dreams did I imagine I'd be married. Especially with you.” Mia said taking a deep breath, looking deep into Kamilah's brown eyes, noticing that they stared back at her with sympathy. “I mean… I'm still getting used to all this, with you, with our life together. We arrived in Michigan by private jet, and you just parked a Mercedes on a street full of minivans, have any idea what that sounds like?” She laughed earning a half smile from Kamilah.“ I just don't want to look like a failure, you know?” "You're far from being one." Kamilah said attracting the blonde's attention. “I mean, anyone who gets me out of my building and makes me cross the country for a meeting of mortals deserves the credit.” Mia laughed at those words. “I'm about to meet your parents, and thats you who are nervous. This is the first time I will ever meet the parents of someone important in my life.” "Sorry about that. I know, It's bullshit... Wait. ”Mia shook her head and looked at her, confused. “I´m important now?” Kamilah rolled her eyes.

"No. Your parents are proud of you, I know that.” Kamilah gave a half smile before getting out of the car, leaving Mia smiling like a fool in the vehicle. Kamilah took the baggage, while Mia took her grandmother's gift. As they walked across the lawn toward her old house, the blonde looked appreciatively at the clothes Kamilah had chosen. 

“What?” Kamilah frowned. "Nothing. I guess I'm not used to seeing you without your suits on.” She laughed with a shrug, making the CEO look at her own look. She was so... casual and elegant. Her shiny brown hair was flawlessly as ever, Kamilah wore a large overcoat and navy blue sweater with jeans and heeled boots. Kamilah was wearing jeans. Which was new, and also very attractive. Mia noticed how the jeans further accentuated the CEO's body. It was unbelievable to see, the first thought that occurred in the blonde's mind was to take a picture and immediately send it to Lily. She would love to look at that. Kamilah rolled her eyes, walking ahead and not even noticing the blonde taking a picture of her on her back.

“Okay, let's do this.” She took a deep breath, and rang the bell, giving Kamilah a reassuring smile. "Just so you know, my parents can be a little... limitless." She smiled awkwardly. “What should this mean?” Kamilah asked without understanding. In a matter of seconds, the door opened, giving way to a blond woman, Kamilah couldn't help, but notice how Mia looked like her mother, and how the familiar smile on the corner of her mother-in-law's lips looked so much like her. “Miranda!” She spread her arms, smiling, pulling Mia into a tight bear hug. "Hey, mom." Mia grinned awkwardly, clutching her mother's arms. “Bill! They have arrived! ”She shouted. "Finally! Awn, my baby! ”She pulled away from Mia, pinching her cheeks, leaving a kiss on each. “We miss you so much!” "Me too, Mom." Mia tried to smile, her face growing redder with her mother's attention. Kamilah tried to keep the serious expression on her face, avoiding laughing at the situation, but seeing Mia, who always managed to embarrass her - ashamed of something, was extremely hilarious to her. “Mom, this is...” Mia stepped away, touching Kamilah's arm, drawing her mother's attention to her.

“…Kamilah.” Mia's mother looked her up and down with a wide smile on her face. Kamilah held out her hand for her mother-in-law to shake, just as she always greeted her clients and executives. But she clearly dismissed that, pulling Kamilah into a tight bear hug, surprising the CEO.

“Mom, Kamilah is not a big fan of hugs.” Mia laughed awkwardly. “Kamilah, this is my mother, Theresa.” “Nonsense. We are family, and we hug.” Theresa ignored her daughter. She pulled away after a few seconds, clutching Kamilah's cheeks. “But you're gorgeous, I'm impressed. I've heard so much about you.” ���Good stuff, I hope?” Kamilah frowned. "Mostly." She laughed waving her hand. “Mom, can you let Kamilah breathe please?” Mia touched her arms. "Oh, sure." She pulled away. “Please come in.” She gave them room to enter. “BILL! Get your ass off this kitchen, they're here! ” Theresa walked out leaving both. "Sorry about that." Mia smiled awkwardly. “Are they all like this?” Kamilah whispered looking around. She could see how many of Mia's relatives were in the back of the house. Mia smiled with red cheeks, letting Kamilah believe that was a yes. A golden retriever emerged from the back of the house running to the front. “Holiday!” Mia shouted, getting to her knees to greet the dog. "Oh God. You have a dog too, perfect.” Kamilah rolled her eyes. Theresa had come back again, and this time she was with a man, as tall as Kamilah, she could see perfectly the small white strands beginning to appear on his blond hair. “Hey, dad.” Mia threw herself into the man's arms, who was beaming with his daughter in his arms. "Hey, big city, finally show up, huh?" He grinned and touched his daughter's cheeks. His eyes turned to Kamilah, the same green eyes. “So this is where they come from.” Kamilah thought to herself. “So this is my daughter-in-law, huh? Wow,” He approached Kamilah, Kamilah thought of reaching out to him, but he wrapped her in a hug before she did. "I'm Bill, I'm pretty sure Theresa has already explained our hug policy, right?"

“Yes, she did.” Kamilah smiled with a wide, beautiful, charming smile, leaving Mia knocked out as she watched. She saw the impact it had on her parents.

"We're so happy for both of you," Bill said with a wide smile on his face. "My little bear wouldn't shut up about you for weeks." He pointed at Mia.

“Dad!” Mia shouted with red cheeks, Kamilah bit back a smile. A particular joke forming in her mind to torment Mia when they were alone.

"What?" He shrugged.

"Ah, that reminds me." Kamilah opened a bag, revealing two bottles of Merlot. "I thought you both would like it."

“Oh, thanks, honey. This is so kind.” Theresa took one of the bottles and Bill the other.

“She's beautiful and has great taste for expensive wines, I like her. Maybe you should keep her, Miranda.” He pointed at Kamilah, Mia's cheeks got even more red.

"Dad!"

"Alright, alright. Why don't we let them pack up and then we catch up, huh?" Theresa touched her husband's arm. "Kamilah, I hope you don't mind staying in Mia's old room." "Of course not." Kamilah nodded.

“When you're done upstairs, come see the people. Nana is crazy to see you, Mia.” Theresa said with a smile on her face, touching her daughter's cheek before going out with her husband. 

Mia led Kamilah up the stairs, Kamilah noticed the selection of picture frames scattered around the house attracting the CEO's attention, as she followed the blonde through the house. Mia took a deep breath and opened the door of her old room. The walls were pink, with butterfly stickers on the walls, the furniture was white, a king bed took the center of the room, not as big as the bed where both used to sleep, it was smaller. Kamilah watched from the books to the boyband posters. 

"It's quite... Feminine." Kamilah managed to say. 

"I was fifteen when I decorated." Mia said with red cheeks. 

“If you say so.” Kamilah exchanged glances with the blonde before leaving her suitcase on a small sofa in the corner of the room. 

“Oh, you have no idea how much I missed my room. Everything is exactly the same as I left it.” Mia said holding one of the photographs in hand, a smile on her face. Mia glanced over her shoulder and noticed that Kamilah kept her eyes glazed on her cell phone.“Hey. You promised. No work this weekend. It's family weekend.” Mia pointed at her and crossed her arms. Kamilah rolled her eyes impatiently. “It's just Karen, about some contracts that we'll close at the end of the month. That's important, Mia.” Kamilah said, Mia could feel some of her authoritative voice, she knew that voice. It was the way she talked to her employees at work. "Family weekend, Kamilah." Mia insisted, making Kamilah put her cell phone in her pants pocket.

Kamilah spent most of the night meeting Mia's uncles and aunts, cousins, which luckily for her, she ended up liking Mia's parents, but for her, the best person in the whole house was Mia´s grandmother, eighty years old, but she could still make Mia smile like no one else. Kamilah eventually discovered how perfect the wine was for the occasion. It made it so much simpler and easier to deal with her wife's relatives and their stupid questions. Alcohol was always the best solution, she couldn't get drunk, but Mia could. She noticed how many beers her wife had had, and how sleepy that made her. “Wow, is that mercedes out there yours, Kamilah?” One of Mia's teenage cousins said with wide eyes and a silly smile on his face. "Do you think you can let me drive any day?" "Absolutely not, you idiot." Mia said "So, Kamilah." Theresa said smiling at the table. “Mia mentioned to us that you work at a finance company.” "Yes, I work." Kamilah said shaking a glass of wine in her hands. "She's a workaholic," Mia said with a smile. "Always busy." "What do you do over there?" Bill asked curiously. "Uh... Kamilah actually owns the company." Mia admitted with her eyes on the dinner table sheets, her cheeks burning. “She has numerous offices spread across several capitals.” "So you're fucking rich," one of Mia´s cousins said. "Oh, shut up Ricky" Mia hid her face on the table. “Yes, I am.” Kamilah shrugged. “Damn, Mia. Hot and rich, you have style. ” "Oh, god." Mia rolled her eyes. “So, you have thirty years old. Wow. So young and with an empire in your hands. And to think that my own daughter can't even do the laundry by herself.” Theresa said. "Mom!" "And your parents? Mia told us that you were born in Egypt. I bet Mia loved meeting them.” "Uh..." Mia looked at Kamilah not knowing what to say. “She didn't know them. They died a long time ago, it used to be just me and my brother, but he also passed away.” Kamilah said truthfully.

"I'm sorry, my dear." Mia's grandmother said at the end of the table. "It's alright. It's been a long time.” Kamilah said shrugging, at that moment, she felt Mia's warm hand on top of hers, stroking her hand lightly, she looked at the girl with furrowed brows, the girl's dimpled smile somehow it was comforting. While Kamilah listened to some of Mia's uncles who were suddenly interested enough to want to handle their own finances, Mia got up to pick up the dishes and help her mother in the kitchen. As Theresa washed the dishes, she dried them, silently watching Kamilah talk to her grandmother. "I like her very much." Theresa suddenly said too close to the girl. "Jesus, Mom." Mia touched her chest, startled at the sudden approach. "Just saying. I like her very much.” She shrugged. "She's beautiful, smart, elegant and very polite." She smiled. Mia gave her a shy smile. "You like her too." "Me?! No! ” Mia stammered, but seeing the strange look her mother shot her, she finally came to her senses. “O-Of course I like it! She is my wife after all, right? I… I love her,” Mia stammered red. The last words still hot in her mouth, saying that out loud made her even more confused, couldn't tell if it was a lie or a truth in disguise.

“I saw the way you look at each other. I'm just saying, I recognize love when I see him.” Theresa said with a smile, touching her daughter's cheek. "I'm glad you found someone who loves you, who will take care of you, my dear." Yeah… thanks, mom.” Mia returned her smile, unable to tell her mother of her forced marriage, that Kamilah didn't love her, and probably never would, that behind it all, Adrian was suffering so much as both of them. Her eyes turned to the window, watching Kamilah engaged in conversation with her grandmother, a smile forming on her face. She left the kitchen and approached them, sitting next to Kamilah. "What are you two talking about?" She asked with a smile on her face. “Mia, did you know that your grandmother served as nurse at the WWII?” Kamilah looked at Mia, she was different, had a sparkle in her brown eyes and a smile… A beautiful smile on her face. Mia silently admired Kamilah's animated face, she looked happy. "Of course! Nana always had great stories to tell about it.” Mia said smiling. “It was a difficult time for all of us, I was so young at the time.” She smiled fondly at her granddaughter, her green eyes sparkling. “I was telling, dear Kamilah, from my days when I helped the wounded soldiers coming to the hospital. Your grandfather, as you well know, was one of them. When I met him, I fell madly in love, Benjamin was as charming as troublemaker.” She laughed, her eyes far away remembering her days. "We promised each other to always be faithful, and that our love will last for the rest of our lives." “It's a beautiful feeling.” Kamilah smiled slightly. “You don't know how happy I am to know you found love, honey.” Mia felt the tightness in her chest and her throat dry again. “Now, you're married and in love, finally, I can give you my wedding gift...” She reached from under the woolen blanket, two golden bracelets with a small pendant of halves of a heart that completed each other. "Your grandfather and I used to use it, in fact, it was his first gift to me." She laughed.

Mia's eyes filled with tears as she saw the present. Kamilah stared at him, unsure of what to say, the CEO didn't know how to respond to a gesture of love as unexpected as that. “When you both wear it, never forget that your love can be overcome anything.” Kamilah took the bracelets, hesitant. “Thanks so much, Nana.” Mia wrapped her arms around her grandmother. “We appreciate the gift and we will take care of it”. Kamilah touched her hand. Mia sighed and excused herself, her head was full of things. She needed some time alone. She grabbed her beer as she walked out the front door, she was greeted by the cold and snowflakes falling from the sky, forming a large white carpet across the street. Kamilah's mercedes had some snowflakes on the car's glass, Mia leaned against the vehicle and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. Trying to warm up in that useless leather jacket, it wasn't working.

She noticed a new message. Adrian. Her heart skipped a beat at the message.

“I miss you, I think about you every day. Call me as soon as you can, I love you.” 

She read that with anguish in her chest, as she was about to answer the message, Kamilah came through the door.

"You're doing a terrible job getting out here and leaving me alone with your relatives." Kamilah said standing in the doorway with her arms crossed, attracting a smile from the girl, who put the phone in her pocket. "I needed some air." Mia smiled. Kamilah approached the girl. "You're freezing, you'll catch a cold." Kamilah said noticing Mia's red nose and skin. Kamilah took off her overcoat and wrapped Mia around it, pressing it against the girl's body. It was so warm and had Kamilah´s amazing perfume on it.

“You're very sweet, you know that?” Mia frowned, a playful smile on her face. “I don't want you to be sick. Medicines are expensive.” Kamilah shrugged, drawing a laugh from Mia. “And you already give me enough expense.” Mia held back a laugh looking at Kamilah. “Sorry about my relatives. I know they can be a bit intense, but they have good intentions.” Mia said awkwardly. "That´s alright. I enjoyed it, it was different.” Kamilah half-smiled with a frown. “It's been a long time since I've done anything, but work. Thank you for making me leave home to meet your family.” Kamilah said quietly enough that Mia could hear, attracting a smile from the girl. "So you liked it." She said smiling. “Don't push it.” Kamilah scowled, but noticing the captivating smile on the girl's lips, she smiled back. "You're impossible, did you know that?"

“That's why you like me.” Mia gave her a wide smile in response. Kamilah rolled her eyes with a smile at the corner of her lips. “And yet, daring." She said softly, Mia laughed at those words. She barely realized how close she was to the CEO, the cold air coming out of her breath  and the warmth that Kamilah emanated from her body. Kamilah was the one to take the first step, her warm, delicate hand touching her cheeks, sending a shiver up Mia's spine. The mesmerizing brown eyes burned the girl's green eyes, that attraction had come back even stronger. “What am I going to do with you?” Kamilah asked softly.

"What do you want?" Mia asked, lost in those beautiful eyes. "So many things I shouldn't." Kamilah said staring at the girl's lips, moving close enough to break the distance between them, Mia longed to kiss that damn mouth again, so much that she felt her whole body begging for it. But before she could even kiss Kamilah's mouth, the CEO's cell phone vibrated in her pants pocket, preventing them from sticking together. Kamilah stepped back, as did Mia, as if regaining their senses. "I should answer that, forgive me." Kamilah said taking the phone from her pocket. "Alright." Mia waved her hand dismissively. Her face red enough, her eyes glued to the floor. Kamilah nodded and walked away. "What is Karen?" She said as she returned to the house. “Don't be out here too long.” Kamilah looked over her shoulder and Mia nodded. When Kamilah walked through the door, she let out a huge amount of air she barely knew she was holding. “Fuck. What am I doing? ” She asked herself in agony, running a hand through her hair.

One week later

"A gala?" Lily asked excitedly sitting in one of the leather chairs, waiting for Mia to come out of the dressing room with her dress. the vampire geek's mission was supposed to help her best friend find the perfect dress for the gala, but she was too busy chattering excitedly about the event. “Hell yes! You raised your level too fast, Mia. I loved it!" Mia rolled her eyes with a smile on her face as she straightened the dress over her body.

"It's the least I can do for her, Kamilah went to Michigan to visit my parents and meet them." She said as she tried to unzip herself. “This gala is very important to her company, and it's our first appearance together as a couple before the media.”

"She seemed to have enjoyed meeting your parents, from what you told me," Lily said. “I told you, Kamilah's thick wall is just something shallow, inside, she has a good heart.”

“I… I know that. But, I felt horrible lying to my family about us. They really believe we are living the biggest love story,” Mia said, upset. "Maybe you are and don't even know." "Oh shut up." "I'm serious!" "But things are so difficult, you know?" Mia emerged from the dressing room, a designer waiting for her with Lily, who hurried to help with the dress. “There's all this tension between us, when I'm by her side it feels like my whole body starts to catch fire and burn… But then I remember Adrian, I remember everything we went through together, how much I love him. And I feel horrible.” A broad smile appeared on Lily's face, Mia rolled her eyes already predicting her best friend's next words. "You're divided between the two." Lily crossed her arms. "I'm not!" "Of course yes! The two are practically fighting for your attention, you just don't see it because you don't want to, I bet Kamilah is already falling for you.” “Stop, Lily! She's not ok? Kamilah and I live together out of obligation, she endures me, just that. There is no feeling between us, no love, affection, nothing.” Mia said sadly.

"Alright, alright." Lily raised her arms in surrender, sighing. “Well, can I at least tell you how hot you look in that dress? Kamilah and Adrian will drool when they see you tonight.” Lily looked her up and down with a smug smile on her face, making Mia's cheeks flush.

Kamilah´s pov

Kamilah silently admired her from across the room, she was different. Maybe it was about the punctuality she showed up at the exact moment they agreed, or the stunning dress that valued every part of that unexplored body, or the bright dimpled smile on her face as she chatted with guests. The perfect wife. It was almost ironic to think that a few months ago Mia would do anything to embarrass her to potential investors, her executives, everyone. But now... She was there, laughing gracefully and talking, the way she dealt perfectly with the sudden questions from reporters that approached both of them as soon as they arrived at the event was unexpected, taking Kamilah by surprise. She was a box of surprises. “She's gorgeous, Kamilah. Congratulations on the wedding.” One of her executives touched her shoulder, both of them at the bar, surrounded by executives of her company. Kamilah was looking at her from across the room, too distracted with her eyes on her wife than paying attention to the conversation. 

“Oh, thank you.” Kamilah smiled appreciatively at the comment, but the smile on her face faded the moment her eyes spotted Adrian approaching Mia, Kamilah narrowed her eyes, suspicion beginning to surface in her mind. At first it was just a few minutes of conversation until Adrian reached for her and tilted his head to the dance floor. Mia looked around hesitantly, but finally nodded and took his hand.

Kamilah's jaw clenched, her chest began to burn, she tried to control herself, the red blood wanting to manifest in her eyes and her fangs begging to appear, a feeling until recently unknown to her, beginning to emerge. Jealousy. She would never admit to herself or Mia, but to see her wife dancing with her old boyfriend, laughing in his arms, and too close... It was revolting. The grip of her fingers on her glass made him crack, and the sound of the glass caught her attention, she needed to compose herself. She was in a public environment, and her anger at the scene before her made her forget it. The mask of perfect indifference returned on her face, watching them dance. Her attention returned to her executives, and she kept her for the brief twenty minutes, but it was long enough for Adrian and Mia to let go of her line of sight on the dance floor. Seeing that they were no longer there, the anger had returned, stronger than before. Kamilah excused herself and went looking for Mia around the room, she wasn't anywhere. But after ten minutes of unsuccessfully searching for her, the CEO had found her on the balcony of the building, Mia and Adrian talking quietly. She stopped and watched them in the shadows.

"...You know, these days I was remembering the dinner we had at my restaurant " Adrian said with a smile on his face, holding the girl's hand. Mia laughed softly. "It was a wonderful dinner, I miss eating at your restaurant," she said. "You know you can go anytime you want, don't you?" He said approaching. "I miss it, I miss our moments together, our conversations, touching you..." He said with sad, vacant eyes, his hand lightly touching the girl's face. "Adrian..." Mia said hesitantly, the girl looked disturbed. “I know you miss me too, our nights, our love. I can see it in your eyes, Mia.” He moved closer with his eyes on the girl's lips. They were both inches from each other, Mia didn't move away, nor did she try to push him away, and that was enough for Kamilah.

"I've seen enough," she said in the shadows, drawing their attention. Mia gave a startled jump back, and Adrian stepped away, but didn't let go of the girl's hand. “I turn my back for a minute and are you ready to cheat on me with my best friend, Miranda?” She stepped out of the shadows, her eyes red, fangs showing from the red lipstick of her lips. Mia looked speechless, her face red, her heart racing. "Nothing happened, Kamilah." Adrian said through his teeth. "I'm not talking to you." Kamilah said with her eyes turned to Mia. "Let's go. Now.” She said with the authoritative voice coming back. “She´s not going anywhere. You can't talk to her like that, Kamilah!” Adrian said, his eyes going red too. "She will." Kamilah approached. “We're going home, Miranda. Let's go." Mia was looking between them, both staring at each other, ready for anything to come, the apprehension evident in the girl's face. "I'm going, Adrian!" She said after she couldn't take the tension between them anymore. Adrian opened his mouth to argue, but she cut him off. “You two are not going to fight here, we are in a public environment and it will be horrible for both company's image. I'm going home with Kamilah.” Kamilah was the first to turn her back and walk away, Mia hurried to follow her.

As the elevator doors opened, giving way to a Kamilah who immediately headed for the bar, the only thing on the CEO's mind was to drink a big sip of whiskey at that moment. She needed to get it out of her head, that damn girl out of her mind, she almost ruined everything, her image and the image of her company because of a girl. A mortal. She was angry, angry with herself for letting it happen and things got to that point. Angry with Adrian for letting his feelings blind him, leaving him ready to betray her confidence... And with Mia, for simply existing. Kamilah filled her glass with that amber liquid and turned in one gulp, refilling again.

"Now that we get home, could you explain..." Mia said behind her back. "WHAT IN HELL WAS THAT KAMILAH?" She shouted angrily. Kamilah's eyes glittered with hatred.

“Explain?” Kamilah turned to see her. “I believe you owe me explanations, Miranda. Since you were so ready to betray me.”

"Nothing happened!" The blonde approached her, confident enough to face her. “We were just talking! If I hadn't stopped you two right there, god only knows  what would have happened! Did you forget that it was the image of your company that was at risk ?!” Kamilah laughed, a sharp, mean laugh that made the hair on her arm lift.

“Don't mean to mind my company, Miranda. Because I know you don't care, you give a damn about this marriage, you're just a child!” Kamilah raised her voice, but Mia didn't back down.

"Oh fuck you!" Mia shouted. “I care, I care about you, and I care about your stupid company! Why would I bother to go there with you if I didn't mind ?!” She screamed, pointing a finger at Kamilah. “And you told me right at the beginning of all this shit that it was just a contract marriage, and you didn't care who I slept with!” Tears began to well up in her eyes, threatening to fall on her cheeks. “Adrian was the exception!” Kamilah shouted. "I believe we are both liars, then." “It's none of your business who I sleep with, Kamilah!” Kamilah approached her enough.

“It's my business. You are my wife! You are mine and  I am ours! ” “I'm not your property and don't even think of treating me like one!” Her green eyes sparkled with anger, the girl seemed about to jump on the CEO's neck, even though she knew it would go terribly wrong. She turned her back and walked away.

“Where do you think you're going ?!” Kamilah shouted as she walked away. "What do you think?! I'm going out!” “Do it, get out. You're great at doing this!” Kamilah hurled her glass against the wall, making Mia shudder.

"Are you crazy ?!" Mia shouted angrily. The elevator doors opened, Mia threatened to enter, when Kamilah spoke.

"Miranda, if you get in that elevator... Don't  even think about coming home anymore." Kamilah said, standing in front of her, the anger, the tension and the hurt between them. Mia looked into those red eyes one last time before entering the elevator.

...

24 hours had passed, 24 hours with no call, no message. Nothing from her. Maybe she really had taken all this talk seriously and would never come back, as Kamilah had told her never to return. Somehow the idea of the girl not coming home anymore... It hurt her. The CEO went back to her company to work, the idea of burying herself in a mountain of paperwork might help, distract her and take her mind off events. The comforting thought that maybe when she came home, Mia was there invaded her mind. 

After midnight, when Kamilah decided to return home, she found the penthouse empty. Mia wasn't there, to her disappointment. Kamilah took off her overcoat and left it on the couch, as well as her bag, followed by the heels and went to her bar. She filled a glass of wine, followed by another sip, and minutes later she had finished a bottle. Not getting drunk had its advantages. Sitting in an armchair in the living room, a glass in her hand, her hair usually neat, untidy from the way she ran her hand, her social shirt with a few buttons open, she twirled the gold band in her fingers. Looking closely at the ring. Her attention drifted to the elevator as the doors opened revealing Mia. Her eyes lit up at the sight. She no longer wore her dress, but a leather jacket and jeans. Her eyes met of the CEO, who rose from the chair. Mia ignored her and continued walking around the house. "Look who arrived... The perfect wife." Kamilah grunted looking at her. "I thought I told you never to come back here." She set the glass of wine. "Oh, fuck you." Mia snapped. “This is still my home whether you like it or not, and I just came to get some clothes.” She headed for the hallway intending to go to the bedroom, but Kamilah blocked her way. "Kamilah, get out of my way," she said wearily, crossing her arms. “No.” Kamilah frowned. "You and I have to talk." "We've talked enough already." Mia sighed turning to the kitchen. “I won't argue with you about anything else, about us or about Adrian or whatever. I got tired of it. ” "Oh, did you get tired?" Kamilah said approaching. “Kamilah, don't start.” Mia shook her head.

“You were the first one to start, you can't do that, you can't decide to leave like this and come back when you want!” “You sent me away!” Mia shouted back, Kamilah laughed at that. "You left because you wanted to!" She said approaching the girl, looking at those furious green eyes. "I got tired! I got tired of it all! I'm tired of you acting like you don't care, you're a hypocrite Kamilah, you act like you don't give a damn about me, but you fight with me when Adrian and I are together, I don't understand you! ” Mia shouted with tears in her eyes, rubbing her hand over her blond hair. “Am I the hypocrite ?!” Kamilah brought her face close to hers. "You are!" Mia shouted angrily, but her frown broke when she realized how close they were. “And don't even think…!” Before Mia could finish her sentence, Kamilah kissed her, crashing her lips together, both CEO's hands on the girl's cheeks, Mia started slapping her chest trying to push her away, useless seconds... until she surrendered to the kiss. Surrendering to that feeling that neither of them was ready to assume.

Kamilah pulled away after seconds, looking straight into the girl's green eyes, she noticed how red Mia's face was. Mia was gasping for surprise and shock. "Oh fuck it" Mia said breathlessy, pulling Kamilah by the shirt collar again, starting a slow, wet kiss. Her fingers tangled in Kamilah's hair, she nibbled on Kamilah's lower lip making a moan escape from the CEO, taking advantage to invade her mouth with her tongue. Kamilah was damn good kisser... Mia could tell, her tongue and Mia's curled together, the CEO's scent inhibited the girl's senses, suddenly that connection was back, that heat, she felt the room swirl around her.  

Kamilah's hands come down to her waist, and scooped her up easily, her legs pressed against the CEO's hip, which sat her on the sink.Mia's hands shook, as she began to unbutton Kamilah's shirt. Kamilah parted her lips from hers briefly. The panting girl looked into those brown eyes that burned with desire.

“Are you sure?” Kamilah whispered against her lips. Mia answered that by kissing her again, a warm, passionate kiss, the CEO took that as a yes.

[goliath-de-senfina-sango]

Local Teen Rebels For The Environment, Local Genius Reveals Odd Sensations, Local Bully Pranked, Local Dead Kid Vents and Makes New Friend

Sam carved through the sky on a trail of brilliant neon blue light that came from the engine of her board, diving down every time she saw a piece of litter on the ground and putting it in the nearest trash or recycling bin she found.  "I need to ask Tucker about installing some soft of litter spotting function for the AI in the helmets, this is ridiculous.” Once she reached her house, Sam alighted on her balcony and hummed. Pulling it into the house on foot to show grandma would probably be safer.  On the other hand, I've skateboarded through this place more times than I can count.  Sam flew into her room, out the bedroom door, and down the hallway in search of her grandmother.  Encountering a couple of people in the halls had Sam testing the strength of the magnetic boots by swerving to ride along the ceiling.  "Woo!" Sam swerved once more as she felt the blood rushing to her head and slowed to a stop over the main staircase.

A search through her grandmother's study, the dining room, and several other fun parts of the mansion, Sam concluded that Ida had to be in the bowling alley.  Halfway there, she was met with the only real obstacle between her and most of the more exciting fun in her life. "Samantha, what are you doing?"  Her mother and father stared at her in shock, anger, and bafflement as Sam came to a dead stop in front of them.  Dismounting the board, Sam grinned.

"I'm about to show grandma Ida something amazing, as soon as you move so I can get into the bowling alley."

"Where did you get this dangerous piece of technology?"  Her father couldn't stop staring at the board long enough to glare at her, which her mother had covered as usual.  "This is from that Fenton boy isn't it?" Sam rolled her eyes and pulled off her helmet.

"Yes, Danny and Tucker both made hoverboards and are helping me-"

"Endanger yourself with reckless stunts!  Oh, you were bad enough with your skateboard inside but now you're riding this thing around my house?"

"Last I checked, Mother, it's Grandma Ida's house, not yours."  Sam held up her helmet. "Also I'm perfectly safe. I have new magnetic boots to keep me on the board no matter how harsh the winds blow and a helmet in case the board goes out of control.  I'm the one who taught Danny and Tucker how to surf in the first place."

"And look where interacting with them has gotten you!  First, it's ghosts and monsters that attack you at the school and now this?  What if you fall while trying to do a trick on a rooftop? What protection is this helmet then?"

Sam tugged at her jacket, shaking her head.  "Dad, please, anytime I go high I'm wearing layers to cushion the impact.  I was maybe 10 feet above ground level the whole time here." What they don't know won't hurt them.  No interaction with Sam's parents would be complete without a screech of outrage from her mother, however, how could Sam forget?

"WHAT IS THAT?"  Mother pulled her jacket back enough to reveal the new scar she'd received from being hit by one of Skulker's crossbow bolts.  I've been doing so good about covering that up too - only use makeup has.

"I'm not sure if you've ever roughhoused with friends in your entire life, mother, but I tripped over at Tucker's house and scraped my shoulder on one of the trees in his backyard.  It's nothing serious and should probably fade soon enough." Grabbing onto her board, Sam shouldered past her parents and walked toward the bowling alley door. "Honestly, you need to stop overreacting like that.  You might lose your voice." Gods forbid I get any peace like that around here.

"That is it!  I have had it!  Bad enough that the Fenton boy and his insane parents have been influencing you to keep up with this ridiculous phase of yours-"

"All things in life are a phase, Dad, name one permanent thing besides death and entropy."

"But now their inventions and nonsense are putting you in danger!  Baby girl, I'm thinking I should get a restraining order."

Sam felt her grip grow tight around the knob of the door and she scowled at her parents.  "Never call me baby girl, and how much wine have you been drinking lately? You can't just put a restraining order on my best friend, Dad, I voluntarily hang out with him because he's fun to be around."

"How dare you speak to your father like that?"  The look on her mother's face likely could wither all of Sam's precious plants at once.  Sam remembered a time when that look would shut her down for days at a time and she'd simply say nothing to either of her parents.  Wrenching the door open Sam rolled her eyes. Exposure therapy without the therapy I guess.  "Young lady you will apologize this instant!"

"Oh, but Mother, you wouldn't want me to be insincere, would you?  I didn't come to argue with you over something as ridiculous as a restraining order that would never work, I came to show Grandma Ida proof that we have the technology ready for my idea.  Unlike you two, I'm trying to steer this company in a direction that'll contribute to helping the planet. Because, ya know, I care."

"What you should be caring about is respecting your elders!"

"As the elder here, Jeremy, I'd feel respected if you all would stop shoutin right at the door.  It's barely even noon." Grandma Ida shook her head as she scootered over. Sam let go of the board and let it hover, gesturing grandly at it and her grandma stared for a long moment.

"Don't you see, mother?  Samantha's friendship with that Fenton boy is opening her up to ridiculous amounts of danger and she refuses to respect even our concerns about the issue, much less show enough respect not to insult us to our faces!"  Dad's scowl turned quickly to wide-eyed bemusement when Grandma Ida laughed hard enough to start wheezing. "Mother?"

"Babula you managed to bring me a little miracle just to say you can pull off a bigger one!  Every day you remind me more and more of myself." She pulled Sam into a hug. "I will say that you shouldn't go insulting your parents - there's a difference between rewarding respect with respect and refusing to give it - but just going outside is dangerous for a child and you both know that.  This hoverboard is no different from any other sport that Sam does, and it's a marvelous thing that she has friends willing to share such amazing gifts with her."

"Ida, why do you always side with her whenever she argues with us?"

"Because I agree with her, Pamela, why else?  From all your shouting I heard something about a restraining order."  Grandma scoffed and Sam grinned. "That's preposterous. The Fentons have done nothing wrong to us."

"They are a disturbance to the public peace-"

"They are wonderous inventors who provide the town with limitless, cheap power, mother.  The Fentons do good for the town - what if we somehow had a blackout? With the whole town connected to the Fentons are you gonna sue them for coming out to fix whatever the problem is?"  Sam crossed her arms and glared at her parents with as much anger as she could muster. The entire argument was getting tiresome more than anything.

Mother looked moments away from exploding before Dad took a deep breath, let it out, and put a comforting hand on Mother's shoulders.  "Fine. No charges or restraining orders against the Fentons. But the next time I hear they've put you in danger, young lady, all bets are off."  Her parents left before their blood pressure could be raised any higher, and Sam turned to her grandma, giving her another hug.

"Thank you, grandma.  It's good to know you have my back."

"Of course, Sammy.  Now, while this is amazing I'm not sure it'll convince the board without an actual blueprint for the car you want us to make."  She smiled. "It does look fun though."

"It is fun but as much as I hate agreeing with Mom and Dad it's also pretty dangerous if you can't keep your balance."  An old lady pouting was always the good kind of cute, even someone as cute adverse as Sam could admit that. "My friends helped out even more than I had planned, and we have the protoype for that car ready for a test drive if you wanna see it?”

“What are we doin still here then?”

“I dearly hope you understand, Mr. Fenton, that you cannot use your odd firearms on school property unless you have legitimately no other choice.”  Danny feels his face burning as Principal Ishiyama gives him the rundown on the rules of the school, always rounding back to that. As if she hadn’t made it clear five times already.  “It may not technically be illegal for you to own the weapons themselves and I understand that you might inevitably need them, but I better not see them out unless it’s an emergency. Am I clear?”

“Yes ma’am, you’re perfectly clear.”  Danny did his absolute best not to grit his teeth when he spoke to the principal, aware that he was on thin ice.  Still, he couldn’t be more relieved when he was told to gather his things and head to his new locker. Walking out into the hall to find Sam and Tucker there, Danny leaned on Sam and groaned loudly.  “I’m tempted to ask for homeschooling.” His friends stare at him flatly for all of five seconds before he cracks and leans instead on Tucker. “Yeah, no, definitely not. You’re right.”

“Of course we’re right.  Now, which locker are we taking you too so you can stop leaning and start walking?”  Tucker ruffled Danny’s hair even as the boy pulled his hood over his head and groaned.  Eventually, Danny stood up and pulled out a slip of paper.

“Locker 274, apparently.”  Danny started checking numbers when he heard the most melodramatic of sounds. “Did you just. Gasp in unison?  Did you practice that?” Turning around Danny saw that Sam and Tucker wore matching expressions of abject horror that went beyond what even a fight with a killer robot poacher could evoke.   “Did my life just become a horror movie?”

“You don’t know the legend of locker 274?”  Danny couldn’t tell if the horror in Tucker’s whisper was at the legend or Danny’s ignorance of it.

“Is there a vampire waiting to spring out and suck out my blood if I open this locker door?”

Sam snorted and shook her head, unease unravelling before his eyes from a tangled ball of prickly violet shards to verdant vines and leaves.  "No, you dork. The locker is supposedly haunted - probably why she gave it to you." Danny groaned, long and loud, banging his head on the locker.

"Sidney Poindexter used to have this locker back in the fifties, you see, and people were even bigger assholes to each other then than they are now," Tucker said, voice pitched toward an old scary movie narrator.  "When you're nerdy, your look isn't right and someone finds out you're not straight in the fifties, shit gets real bad real fast. Everyone bullied him all the time, and he got stuffed in this locker so many times that they say when he died here at Casper, his spirit lingered in the locker itself."

Danny stared at Tucker for a long moment, turning all of that over in his head.   Then he pulled his backpack off his back and thwapped Tuck on the head with it. Sam snorted, laughing next to him and he got her too.  "Watch it ghost boy!"

"That didn't hurt.  Also, did you guys seriously just gay up not tell me about the haunted locker this whole time?  Were you ever going to?" Danny opened the locker with a sigh, focusing on the second plane. The mirror at the back of the locker shimmered dimly with ghostly light but Danny could hardly see it.  “There’s something there but it’s dim-” hands were on his body and Danny was shoved into the locker entirely, limbs folding to compact himself with as little damage as possible. Pushing himself out, Danny whirled around with a snarl.

“-cking hell, goth bitch, I was just helpin Fentonio check out his new locker.”  Dash had one hand on his shin and the other was covering his crotch protectively - as though that could keep him safe from Sam’s steel boots.  “It’s Poindexter’s locker, right? Perfect place for a geek like him.”

“Wow Dash, I’m impressed!  A word with three whole syllables in it!  Maybe you’ll be able to use your expanded vocabulary to get a good grade on an english test without cheating off of Mikey.”  Dash scowled at Danny, his aura sparking and popping like fireworks and red as his jacket. “Or maybe football has damaged your skull beyond repair and you’ll never be able to get anywhere without swinging your fists around.  Only time will tell, huh?”

Before Dash could follow up Sam’s manslaughter with his own attempt at Murdering Danny™ - the fun new game for people ages 14-105 - the bell rang and the trio slipped away in the ensuing crowd of students flooding the halls to get to class.  Sam ruffled Danny’s hair, which he then covered up with his hood, and the three of them laughed as they tumbled into class together and sat down. “That was amazing, Danny! Dash is gonna try to actually murder you next time he sees you, but I’m proud of you for getting out of it so quickly.”

“The kinda bullshit he pulls, he deserves a lot more than just being talked around in circles,” Tucker grumbled.  “Like… if you got him back while you’re invisible, no one could know it was you getting back at him, right?”

“True…”

“Actually, Danny, your parents would find out it’s you.  Pretty damn quickly.” Sam nudged him with an elbow. “Or at least that a ghost did it.  One tore through the school and now the principal is paranoid - ghostly revenge on Dash would just tell her to have the security system turned on.”

“Ugh, that’d be a pain.”  Danny agreed with a slump, pouting at the board.  “Still, just one prank might not hurt.”

“Or it’ll hurt a hell of a lot, Danny.”

“The system won’t notice Danny at all and he can wait till it’s turned off to do something again.  Ow, ow, Sam my head is very precious and that textbook counts as a lethal weapon.”

“Please stop making horrible suggestions to our best friend then.”  Sam flashed Tucker a smile with far too many teeth for comfort and he grumbled with his arms crossed.  Sam’s grin slid from threatening to smug and Danny rolled his eyes.

The day was at first hope inducingly normal.  Classes were unengaging, unchallenging, or just boring.  Sam, while proud of the results of the test drives of the car project, was now championing a protest against having to dissect frogs in school.  By lunch, Danny had to finally say something between all the nodding along. “Sam, as much as I agree that I don’t want to cut open frog corpses, I also don’t want to think about fro-any corpses while I’m eating lunch.”

“Fair enough,” Sam conceeded.  “You guys have anything to add?”

Tucker jerked his chin in the direction of the table the jocks and cheerleaders were sitting at, rather close to them.  Danny raised a brow and listened in. “And all of a sudden, this locker door flies open and nails me.” That had all three of them turning their attention to him.  Paulina, dubbed by some as the prettiest girl in school, was brushing white foam out of her hair and Danny winced.

“I’m gonna be brushing this stuff out of my hair for a week!”

“It’s like the school is haunted.”

Sam arched a brow at Danny, leaning closer to him.  “Sounds like somebody’s been busy.”

“It wasn’t me, I swear!”  Danny grinned, barely holding in a laugh at the idea.  “That’s fire extinguisher foam in her hair, I know how hard it is to get that out.  I’m not gonna do that to anyone.”

“Ok but how’d that even happen?”  Tucker chewed his chicken for a few moments before pointing his fork at Danny.  “Maybe Sidney Poindexter’s ghost has something to do with this? You said you could sense something in the mirror right?  It was pretty faint but I’m absolutely certain I heard like, buzzing or something coming off of it.”

“I- wait, buzzing?  Like you could hear the energy?”  Danny put down his food and stared at Tucker’s ears, trying to see if any ghostly light shone from them.  Tucker nodded and Danny frowned. “That’s not normal.”

“Nothing about us is normal, Danny,” Sam said with a roll of her eyes.  “I was shopping for books the other day and felt some weird vibrations coming off of it and when I picked it up I got the strangest feeling in the world.”

“I first started hearing it when I cracked Skulker’s stupid firewalls down, and now whenever I touch a piece of technology I can practically hear it singing to me.”  Tucker shrugged, poking his chicken. “Maybe it’s like, something to do with the radiation that came from the portal opening? I mean, look what it did to you.”

“Yeah but I was in the portal when it turned on.”

“And we were right in front of it with no hazmat suits.  Plus we’ve been around ghostly stuff a lot, so maybe we’re just getting super powers like you, but slower?”  Sam nudged Danny’s arm and smiled. “I mean, the book I found was on magick, imagine if a charge of ecto energy is all it takes to make that work.”

“Hey, maybe that’s what’s happening with Sidney Poindexter in the mirror?  Exposure to Danny’s power may have made it easier for Poindexter’s own power to leak out into our world.”

Before Danny could say anything to that, a football collided with the side of his head and he found himself leaning on Sam for stability.  Reaching down, Danny grabbed the ball, looked around the cafeteria as though wondering who might’ve thrown it, and crushed it in his hand. In his peripheral vision, Danny caught Dash groaning over his foot and standing up to leave.  Sam brought his attention back to her. “You ok Danny?”

“I’m peachy.  I’m apparently radiating my best friends into ghostly mutants and the meathead quarterback just beaned me with his football and looks like he’s about to go grab another one.”

Tucker glared at Dash’s back and muttered, “I wonder how Dash would feel with one of those frog cadavers down his throat?”  Danny felt his frown curl upside down in a smirk.

“Or 12, in his pants.  I’ll be right back.” Before Sam could say something about morals and being the better person, Danny stood up and hurried off to the bathroom.  Making sure no one was there to see him, he reached inside and let the icy chill of the void fill his body up in a flash of light, and slid immediately into the unreal space between spaces.  In moments, Danny was in Falluka’s biolab, and grinned at the empty room. A box full of dead frogs invsible in his hand, Danny found Dash opening his locker, and yanked up his boxers, then the back of his jeans before dumping the frogs in his pants.  Dash ran off screaming and Danny laughed so hard he started floating backwards.

“You think that’s funny, buster?”  Danny flinched, opening his eyes to stare at the person in front of him.  A ghost in the shape of a glowing white human, his edges rippling slightly despite the lack of a breeze.  His eyes are solid white, but glimmer like polished opals, his mouth twisted up in a frown and his clothes clearly dated.  Danny gawked at the transparent teen in front of him and checked mentally to be sure that he was still just as heated up as he should be when invisible.

“You can see me?”

“Yeah that’s right, bub!  Now leave that poor kid alone.”  The boy pointed a thumb in the direction Dash had run, and Danny felt his blood boil.

“Poor kid?  Poor kid?”  Danny slipped back into visibility, his voice reverberating with his anger.  “That poor kid is the star quarter back of the Casper High Ravens!  That poor kid is the guy who stuffs me and every other scrawny kid in his path into our lockers because he thinks it’s funny we can be forced to fit in them!  That oh so poor kid’s wealthy, popular, and has put more kids through swirlies, purple nurples and indian burns than years he’s been alive!  Oh no, he might have a hard life at home that’s not an EXCUSE and I don’t CARE!  He’s been doing this shit for as long as I’ve known him!”  Danny shoved a finger into the other boy’s chest, barely noticing the lights flickering and threatening to shatter.  “If stuffing a few frogs down a guy’s pants in retaliation for being half drowned in toilet water is bad then call me the fucking Joker.”

The boy floated there, staring at Danny with wide eyes for the longest time and Danny took that moment to breathe and collect himself.  By the time his aura wasn’t crackling at the edges like solar flares, Danny was being offered a transparent hand. “I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions.  Name’s Sidney Poindexter.”

“I’m Danny, Danny Phantom.  Hey, we should probably leave before the security system comes on - do you remember where the park is?”  If this was the Sidney Poindexter Tucker had told him about then he might not’ve been around when the Park was first there.  Danny had no idea how old anything in their town was but he was beginning to feel he should learn.

Sidney smiled and nodded.  “Yeah, I do. Care to show me around?”

“I actually can’t leave the building yet, but I’ll meet you there, I promise.”  Danny patted Sidney on the shoulder, considered what he knew about Sidney, and pulled him into a hug instead.  The other ghost went stiff for a moment but relaxed and hugged him back not too long after. Danny patted his back and watched him fly through the ceiling before heading back to the bathroom, unseen and untouchable, and from there back to his friends.  “Guys, you’ll never believe what just happened.”