#and for anyone that doesn’t know (cuz I didn’t til like a year ago) the author is of Ainu heritage

[pisswizzard]

[ID: tags that read: #like the entire point is that You The Reader could be any one of these people #ticked by the system #blinded by propaganda #and before you know it you hae blood on your hand #fma is about what you do after that #how do you recover from that? #how do you pay the world back for that? /end ID]

“FMA is bad because it portrays war criminals as sympathetic, likable people” bro that’s the point. That’s the whole point. That is THE point. Did you think Ethnic Cleanser is some kind of special category of person that gets separated away from all the Good People at birth? Did you think there’s some kind of barn full of Genocide Doers that only gets deployed into the general public during world wars? Did you think assholes who do terrible shit in real life are never charming or likable or capable of doing good things and helping people? One of the best parts of FMA is how we the audience realize that some of our core protags have made irredeemable choices, and we have to reckon with the fact that they’re still people, with the unalienable rights and qualities thereof. Sorry if the Problematics aren’t constantly wearing a dunce cap and a list of all their crimes and this makes the media incomprehensible to you  

[omg-im-such-a-masochist]

A NEW EXPERIENCE

Prompt: You and Roman have been together for 7 years now,and on the night of your 5th year wedding anniversary,you have a new way to demonstrate your love for him

Word count: Uh girl,grab a snack ‘cuz this one is long!

Pairing: Roman Reigns x Reader

Warnings: +18 smut,cursing,slight self-degradation,fluff(at the end),a lot of intimacy and Tantric Massage(yes,you’ve heard it right 😉)

A little disclaimer,before we continue: Tantra is a middle eastern (more precisely Indian) philosophy and spiritual path,the tantric massage itself is a wonderful experience that DOES NOT involves any sort of sexual interaction such as penetration or masturbation!Yes it does involve yoni/lingam massage(vagina/penis massage) but the whole goal of it it’s not orgasm/ejaculation.It can happen of course,’cuz we’re humans but if it can it has to be delayed/controlled since that’s not a goal to be reached,it’s a full body experience and a deeper self connection and healing journey.So if someday you reach out a PROFESSIONAL for this especific massage,keep all this things in mind,please.The only reason I’ve included sex on this it’s because the characters in this story are married and got carried away(also because,it’s Roman I mean,who wouldn’t?). Also they don’t live the Tantra as a philosophy or spiritual path at all! It’s just a new way of working they intimacy together as a couple.It is NOT my intention to degrade ANY form of philosophy/spiritual path from anyone’s beliefs,this is for entertainment purposes only,and also a new way for me to write about new/different themes(or personal study topics of mine) for my stories. I have a deep love for middle eastern cultures and an even deeper love for studying different types of philosophy/spiritual paths.

Tag: My soul sister @ziasaph

Notes: Y’all know the drill loves,sorry for misspellings,english isn’t my first language (bla bla bla),check out my other stories if you’d like to(it would make your girl here very happy 😊) and if you’re comfortable with it,please let me know what you think? Some feedback is always welcomed and appreciated ❤️You can check out my other stories typing ‘masochist writes’ on the search bar on my page and my newest story as a fixed post.

Okay,now let’s get to the fun part,shall we? Hope you’ll enjoy 😉

Today’s my 5th year wedding anniversary with my lovely husband,Roman.We’ve been together for 7 years now.The first time I met him,I gotta say, I hated him! There was something about him that screamed trouble.He was too good to be true,I mean,he was incredibly handsome,polite,thoughtful,kind,loving,funny,intelligent,respectful(a true gentleman really),the best kiss I’ve ever had and don’t even get me started on this man’s bedroom skills...No man ever fucked me like that,no man ever cared much more about my pleasure than with he’s own,no man could make me feel like a goddess the way he could..you see what I mean?He couldn’t be an honest good man right?!And I knew better!Oh I really did..I’ve always had a “rotten finger” when it came to my men choices.If you putted me in a room with two guys,a truly good man and a shitty asshole,I would’ve had 100% chose the latter.Maybe for the “fun” of it or even just to prove my Freudian fate,who knows?

But when I decided to finally give in to the Samoan’s charm and accepted to finally officially date him,I discovered why he smelled like trouble,because as soon as I found out I was in love with him I knew I had lost my whole heart to that man!And if you came from a emocional troubled background,like I did,you know that that’s the worst case scenario one could ever have.But funny enough,despite my deepest fears,he changed my whole world,he dragged me out of the shit pit I’ve always lived in and pushed me into the light beside him,making me forget everything bad that ever happened to me,transforming my reality into the fairytale I could never had imagined.If you told me,7 years ago,that right now I would be here telling you this same story,I would have have bitterly laughed at your face and asked you to give me a hit of whatever it is that you had.

But here I am,finishing to set up one of our guests room for the surprise I had in mind for my husband.I’m sure that this will never repay him for the way he always made me feel,but at least I hope he can have a bit of a glimpse of how much I truly love and care for him.

I was lighting up the last pair of candles when I heard the front door open,his deep sigh and the loud thump of his bags dropping on the living room floor.

“Y/N,baby girl? You home?” That voice alone could bring the biggest,truthful smile upon my lips.I put the lighter on my jacket’s pocket,carefully closing the guest room door and I ran downstairs to meet my redemption in form of a man.

“Roman!” I squealed while I preceded to jump on his arms and wrap my legs around his waist,kissing him like I would never see him again.

“Wow!” He chuckled “I see someone missed me those 3 weeks,huh?!” Still laughing,he wrapped his big arms around my waist and retributed my kiss vigorously.

“Of course I missed you baby!You’re my Samoan Prince Charming,how could I not miss that?!”I laughed.

“Prince Charming,huh?!”He chuckled “You wait ‘til you see what I wanna do to you...I’m pretty sure you’re gonna change your mind from prince charming to tramp real quick!”He smirks and I can already feel my panties getting damp with excitement.

“Oh really,big guy?! Well I’m sorry,but I’m about to piss in your yard and ruin your dreams!’Cuz I already have a surprise for you,and that took a lot of prep time too,so as much as I would love to see what you have in mind that will have to wait,at least ‘til later.”

“Piss in my yard?!Oh baby girl,always so delicate with your words!”He laughed

“What? I’m expressive,you know that!Also if anyone here is the well mannered,polite and posh one that’s you,I’m just you know,rough street trash”.I bitterly said

“Hey!Don’t say that,please.You know that I don’t like when you degradate yourself like that.You’re not trash,you’re my everything!And let’s be honest here baby, I love your rough side..”He squeezed my ass,to prove his point.

“If you keep doing that, I’m gonna get all worked up,and you’re going to ruin my surprise...” I whispered

“Ok,ok.I stopped!”He chuckled,then gave me a light peck on the lips before lowering me down to the ground.”So what do you have planned?”

“You know it’s called surprise for a reason right?!”I said.

“Oh c’mon Y/N! Not even a little preview baby?” He gave me those beautiful puppy eyes,and the bastard knew that I would give in.

“Argh,you’re the worst!”I faked an annoyed face,but he knew I was pretending so he just smiled and I couldn’t help but smile back.”Ok the only,ONLY thing I will tell you is that it involves a large amount of intimacy..I’ve never done that to anyone before..and it’s an incredible experience.That’s all I’m saying!”I proudly huffed.He stared at my face for an eternity before he slowly smirked at me saying “You do realize that you said you were going to tell me just ONE thing about it,but you ended up telling me THREE instead,right?!” He started laughing when I poked his broad chest saying “Shut up! You know,you’re lucky I love you,because otherwise I would just kick your ass right now.”I tried to hold back my laugh,but that soon was forgotten when he kissed my lips so slowly and sweet and said “I don’t have a doubt you could kiss my ass at anytime baby.” He lazily smiled at me,before his expression turned more serious. “I love you Y/N so fucking much!” He caresses my face before continuing “I’m so happy I could take a few days off to be with you,to celebrate the 7 years we’ve been together..and the many more years yet to come” He pecked my lips lightly “I could never have asked for a better woman,wife,best friend,lover,supporter..my own personal safe harbor.” He shyly smiled at me and pressed our foreheads together,and I couldn’t help the tears escaping through my eyes.

“Oh baby girl, I didn’t meant to make you cry!” He said

“Those are happy tears I promise!” I sighed “Besides,I feel bad that I can’t say such beautiful things to you,I’m sorry baby,that you got the product made with a broken mold” I sadly sighed.

“Hey,I already told you to stop saying those bad things about yourself! Also you don’t have to apologize,I know everything you went through and it’s normal for someone in your position to be a little careful when showing your fellings,and trust me babe, I don’t need your words to know that you love me,your actions already do the job!” The smile he gave me was so sincere that reached his eyes.And I really hope that my actions tonight will prove his statement to be right.

“So,when do you plan on giving me my surprise?” He asked with a sparkle in his eyes.And I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Well the first thing I need to know is if you’re already fed?”

“Yep! I stopped by a cafe on my way home and ate something light,like you asked me to”. He responded

“Good!Now I’m gonna need you to take a shower so you can wash away the tiredness of your flight,towel yourself dry,but don’t put any clothes on I’m gonna need you naked for this.” He maliciously smirked at me.

“You need me naked,huh?” He licked his lips “Ok,sounds like a great surprise so far..”

“Yes it is! And if I were you, I would hurry up..”

With that he ran off to the bathroom like a little boy,and a few seconds later I could hear the water running.

As soon as I finished stripping the last piece of clothing off my body,I heard the bathroom door open and Roman call for me.

“I’m in the guest room.The one near the stairs.” A few seconds later, I see him entering the room.

“Wow,this looks beautiful!” Since we never used that room as a guest room,it didn’t had a bed(which helped a lot) I just cleaned the hardwood floor,placed a big extra thick(about 40mm) yoga exercise mat in the center of the room,a lot of candles(some were sandalwood scented,but not many,so it doesn’t get too nauseating.Just enough to give that relaxing feeling),some rose petals around the floor, a few cozy cushions around the yoga mat and a little low table with one massage candle and a large thermical water bottle(to keep the water cold and fresh).It wasn’t much but it did look cozy and spa like.

“Did you like it?”

“If I like it?Baby girl it’s perfect!”Then he looked at my naked body and added “Perfect indeed” as he slowly lowered down to catch my lips in the most romantic kiss. When I broke the kiss(‘cuz if it was for him,we would stay there for hours) I begin to explain to him what my surprise was.

“I was thinking what I could give you for our 5th year anniversary that wasn’t bought from a store,but had more of a deep sentimental value” He slowly nodded

“I was talking to Sarah and she told me that Lisa,her new girlfriend is a Tantric massage therapist and had given her a tantric massage one day,she said it was the best experience she’s ever had.So I got curious and decided to make an appointment with her and babe” I sighed “I’ve never had in my life,such an amazing experience! The feeling is...I can’t describe,you have to feel it to understand it. My point is,Lisa told me that tantric massage can be used by couples as a form of bonding,like a deeper connection. It can be used to strengthen they’re intimacy.” When I saw the confused look on his face I said

“What I’m trying to say is that I love you so much” He smiles “I love you too baby girl” I smiled back,continuing my explanation “And I know that you’re the best man I could’ve ever had asked for myself!Even too good for me,but my point is that,it makes me upset that I don’t tell you as often as I would like to how much you mean to me,so I asked Lisa for some advice on how to perform a tantric massage on you and thought that,maybe it would be a nice way to show you how I truly feel,through this” I pointed out to the set up in front of us,smiling shyly.

“I-I..baby girl, I don’t even know what to say...This is all so beautiful, I mean, you didn’t need to make all this to show me that you care or love me babe,I know that regardless” he touched my face softly and quickly added “But that doesn’t mean I’m not curious about your surprise..In fact I’m quite excited to see what this is all about” He has a evil sparkle on his eyes and we both couldn’t help but laugh.

“Ok big dog,I gonna need you to lay down on your stomach for me,okay?”

He smiled and did as I asked.

I kneeled down on one of the cushions beside the yoga mat and said

“Alright baby,now,I need you to close your eyes,relax and just focus on my touch upon your skin ok?” When he nodded I grabbed the massage candle and started by dripping some of the wax into his ankles and calves,lightly spreading the melted wax up,until it reaches his back thighs.

I remembered that Lisa told me that this should not be a relaxing massage,in the sense of quizzing in the muscles to bring relief,but it was more focused on the touch it self,so I had to keep a very lightweight touch and make sure that only my finger tips(and occasionally my finger nails if I wanted to) touched his skin lightly.

When I reached his back thighs I notice Roman shifting his weight ever so slightly.

*Oh thank God,I’m doing this right!* I thought to myself relieved.

I dripped more wax,now,onto his perfect round ass and lower back.As I begin working out the wax and spreading it I heard a deep,low,almost inaudible,growl leave his lips and I couldn’t help but smile to myself.I let my finger nails just lightly roam his ass,lower back and side hips.I was so lost in the action that I was caught by surprise when a loud moan left Roman’s lips.

“Y/N..”

I grabbed the candle again and repeated the same process but now on his middle and upper back,shoulders,in the back of his arms and forearms,the palm of his hands,his fingers,neck and ears.

When I reached his head,I lightly dive my finger tips through his hair so I could reach his scalp and begin lightly massaging it,as if I was washing his hair,when I very lightly scratched his scalp I heard a very familiar sound

“Mmmmm fuck,oh shit...Mmmmm”

*Hold on..did he just? Oh I know THAT sound,I think he came!* I thought to myself

I lightly tapped his shoulder twice(a sign for him to turn onto his back) and when he did I could see that I was right,as there were evidences of his cum not only on his stomach but also on the yoga mat,and his deliciously thick erection resting on his belly.

I placed a cushion under his hips and one under the back of his head before I repeated the same previous actions.Starting from the soles of his feet,working my way up his shin,knees,thighs,lower abdomen,hips,abdomen,ribs,chest,nipples,side of the neck,face,front shoulders,biceps,forearm and the front of his hands.

Once I got up and placed myself on the mat,between his legs, I looked at him and I could swear that in 7 years,I’ve never seen that man with such a wild,primal,raw,luscious look on his face.

“Ro?”

“Hm?” I’ve never heard his voice so rough before

“We’re going to the last step now,ok?”

“Mhmm” was all he answered with his gaze glued to my face

I dripped some wax onto my hands and rub them together to spread it.

I took his length into my left hand,lightly squeezed the base of his cock and started to pull my hand up towards the head until my hand slides off,just so I could grabbed it with my right hand and repeat the same steps.

“Oh my fucking God” He rolled his eyes to the back of his head “ Sweet fucking Christ,Oohhh fuuuck” He moaned with a raspy voice.

I took the opportunity to massage the head of his cock in a orange juicer motion.

“Argh” He deeply growled,snapped his eyes open and look at me with a deadly look on his face “Fuck me Y/N! I need you to fuck me right now! Come here and ride me nice and hard baby”

“But Roman,I’m not done ye-“

“I don’t give a fuck!” He gritted “I need you,and I need you right now! Just come here,and put my cock inside that sweet tight pussy baby” He smirked in an almost demonic way and I immediately straddle his hips.

Once I lined his cock to my entrance he quickly thrusted inside of me,making me gasp.

While he gave sometime to adjust he said

“Oh it feels good to be home!” He chuckled

“Baby girl, I don’t know what you did or how,but we’re definitely gonna be doing this more often!” He smiled deviously before he holded my hips in place so he could fuck me like a maniac.

“Oh Ro,fuck”

I’ve never felt him so thick,so deep and so hard inside of me.He was fucking me at a pace so brutal that it was almost deliciously painful.

He grabbed my wrists from his chest and rapidly tugged me down so our chests were glued to each other’s,he took the opportunity to ferociously kiss my lips while he preceded to fuck me brutally.

“Ro,baby,I’m gonna-“

I couldn’t even finish my sentence,because my orgasm hit me so hard that I couldn’t even breathe properly.

“Oh fuck me baby! So fucking tight...so warm...” He gritted “So insanely wet”

With that I could feel his cock throbbing and the hot spurts of his cum inside of me.

When he released his last spurt,we look at each other’s eyes and shared the most passionate loving kiss.When we broke the kiss I said

“I love you Ro,so much”

“With your heart,body and soul?” He lightly smiled,remembering his own words said to me on our wedding vows.

I smiled back before answering without a doubt

“With all of my heart,my whole body and my only soul”

And it was in that moment that I knew I couldn’t have picked a better surprise for the owner and of my heart,body and soul.

[pokeexehasstoppedworking]

Love Doesn’t Do Encores Ch15 Battle Gym Leader Allister

( I'm open for any further things my readers want added to this or future stories.)

To say your exit out of Stow-on-Side was quick and abrupt to say the least was an understatement. Gloria literally dragged you out of town and the two of you two ran through the heat like the time the onix chased you two in the Wild Area until exhausted and too hot from the heat to handle and collasped under a shady ledge of one of the cliffsides that were still surrounding the path you took out of Stow-on-Side. Panting, sitting on the ground as your Drizzilie face planted the shaded ground next to you just as tired.

.....You weakly raised an arm from your sweating tired self pointing up. "W-W-We...a-are *wheeze* NEVER r-running- *gasp* in the h-heat again! Hhhaaaaa-'' Your arm flopped back to your side as your laid there heaving your lungs out and Gloria weakly nodded agreeing to that proposal.

After a few tired moments of just laying there in the shade catching your breaths and regular temperatures back thanks to the shade provided Gloria eventually spoke. "W-Well...W-What now?"

You shrugged. "I dunno man. The past two days have been absolutely CRAZY!" During the silence as you were catching your breaths, the silence let it sink in for you two exactly what had transpired the last day and a half for the two of you. "It all happened so fast I can barely believe it happened."

Gloria nodded again patting her pockets. "If I didn't have these wee ones on me person I would nah believe it either but 'ere we are. UGH! What was that boy thinkin'!?"

You shrugged forcing yourself back up into a standing position despite your tired body's protest. "I-I dunno but I think it might be best for us to just leave Stow-on-Side all together before we get caught in anymore trouble's crossfires."

She nodded immediately and used the ledge she laid again to help pull herself up. Before pausing for a moment..and pointing at your hand. "What's that ya got there?"

You hummed before lifting your hand up and coming face to face with the lightly dirty mask that Sonia's yamper had found. And you lit up in realization. "OH! It's the mask Sonia found." You held it out to her as she made a reach for it. "I must've forgotten I had it when we suddenly split town. But I think she said it might've belonged to whoever runs the ghost type gym around here."

"Allister," Gloria corrected you turning the small mask over in her hands...before smiling. "Well if it is we outta return it ta him! I was plannin' on seeing 'em anyways! Now might be a good time as any if we need a reason ta leave."

You nodded. Good enough reason to you too. "I...think Sonia said his gym was a day out of here by some grave yard."

"Oh yeah it is! In fact when I checked the map for his location, I noticed there's also an Inn and a taxi station right next to it as well! We'll have somewhere to rest up then!" You nodded, nudging your pokemon who made an annoyed noise but reluctantly got up from his spot on the ground. "I just hope he's not too scared to accept battling with me. Especially since I already go the same badge he give out from Bea."

You paused..looking up from your yawning water type to raise a brow at her examining the mask more. "..What are you talking about?"

She still looked at the mask almost sadly for a moment before looking at you. "Oh right. Of course you wouldn't really know about him. Even tho it's easily known." She sighed looking back down to the mask. "Allister accordin' ta Lee is one of the newest Gym Leaders in Galar, in fact this is gonna be his first Gym Challenge too."

You blinked wide eyed at her. "Oh really?"

She nodded slowly. "In fact he's only been an official gym leader for 'round two years, but he is a bit eccentric from what I've heard. He claims ta be able ta see ghosts after an accident when he was four that claimed the lives o' his folks." She looked at you and you stared back STUNNED at the words that came and still stumbled from her mouth. "Then he was taken in by the old Gym Leader of the stadium he runs now before he passed away too. From there Allister took over and I think the Chairman or Lee's the one who's taken on the responsibility for him about keeping the stadium up n' running since he's so young." She held the mask with a slightly bigger frown. "In fact accordin' to his league card he's supposed ta have at least a hundred of these things cuz he's so shy."

You still stared.....WHAT!? HOW COULD ANYONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND PUT THAT KIND OF RESPONSIBILITY ON A CHILD THAT YOUNG!?...Well you couldn't remember exactly HOW young he was since you remembered the only time you had ever really seen most of the Gym Leaders was during the Entrance Ceremony months ago and only for a short time. And in the game Allister's backstory, as much as it pained you too say, didn't have much impact because in fact JUST A GAME then. But now with it being your reality this was down right almost cruel! THAT CHILD NEEDS HELP!!

"Who in their right mind would just put all that responsibility on a kid like that?," you asked scowling.

Gloria shrugged. "From what I've heard through the grapevine Allister insisted on takin' over and wouldn't budge til they agreed. He must've really wanted ta stay at the stadium if he did that."

You didn't at first and just sighed shaking your head. "Well...In any case if we're heading to see him we better start walking while there's still daylight to see by. I don't feel like camping surrounded by cliffs where more boulders could fall on us."

That got her motivated enough to slip the mask into her back pack as the two of you shoved back off in the summer heat, and began walking down the trail still surrounded by the Stow-on-Side's cliffs. By the time it was night time you two were still surrounded by cliffs, so the best thing either of you could do was pitch the tent as fair from the center of the pathway you could as to not block the entrance way in case some traveler passed by. The next morning waking bright and early at Gloria's insistance to start traveling again. As in her words it would take at least a day to get there but since you two had a head start if you started walking early in the morning now, you should be able to reach the inn before night fall. You grumbled but the promise of a proper bed and home cooked food that wasn't just trail mix or the like was enough motivation for you to get up and after packing everything away, started off once again. The sun was as hot as ever as the two of you walked with Drizzilie whining but keeping up at your feet, you were glad he took what you said seriously and began walking but you also regretted not having any water for him or Gloria who looked absolutely miserable in the heat. The sooner you got to that inn the better! As the three of you walked and walked, the sun slowly got to the middle of the sky and then started slowly going down towards the time of sunset. Also within the hours you walked, the cliffs around you started to become scarcer and scarcer until they started to break off from the path around you until you both would just walk by the occiasional one spread out away from the last one and more trees and vegitation started to replace them around you. Thank goodness. The trees offered some shade from the scorching heat luckily, but it still was a pain to walk through. Ahead of you along the dirt path it started to open up to open fields like most of the scenery of Galar you've traveled past and you groaned dreading the lack of shade once you got past the treeline.

"LOOK!," Gloria suddenly pointed making you blink at where she was pointing. And you had to squint your eyes past the sun's glare to see what she was pointing to in the distance. And to your shock, a lil fair aways from you in the open area was a giant silvery stadium, and across from it was a few buildings. THERE IT WAS!! THE INN!! "There it is!" She started forward again waving to you. "C'mon. Let's get outta this bloody sun already! I'm more cooked than a burnt curry."

You could agree with that. Picking up your pace, the two of you quickly made down the pathway, sun be darned to the inn and the closer and closer you two got, the more you noticed this stadium was JUST as BIG as the others even tho it was smack dab in the middle of no where outside of a town. But that's not what got the two of you staring. It was the grave yard on the other side of the giant stadium that caught your attention. It was MASSIVE!! At least two hundred looking headstones surrounded by a very tall and sturdy looking black metal fence with the gates leading into there wide open. You two must've have noticed it at first because it was blocked from view by the stadium. Gloria was first to noticed as she just so happened to glance over her shoulder as you two went down the path that broke off from the main dirt road and towards the inn that in all honestly wasn't an inn. It was in fact just a regular two story house you'd find in Postwick,but very very BIG with what looked like lots of rooms. The only way you could've figured it was an actual inn was the sign in front of the home stating it was in fact a hotel. Just not a very big one. Beside the home was just a plain looking barn with LOTS and LOTS of hay scattered about the front of in like the kind of bard you'd keep cows and pigs in. You nearly made it to the porch when your Drizzilie squeaked and tugged on your leg, when you looked to him he pointed at Gloria, and you looked too confused, until you saw the massive graveyard she was silently staring at for a moment and you settled your gaze on it too for a moment.

".....Gloria. Are you ok?," you eventually asked her once you got over your initial shock of seeing such a thing by a pokemon stadium of all things.

She....eventually nodded and looked back to you. "Y-Yeah. I'm fine. I just thought I saw someone." She shivered before shaking it off and bounding up to you and you made a point of turning around to walk up onto the shady house's porch. "It was just my imagination tho. I guess I'm just a wee spooked about it all."

You nodded in understanding. The two of you walked up to the door and hesitated just a moment before you slowly opened the door which opened with a creak. What it opened too was a cozy looking regular living room and a few doorways leading to different areas, one of which was a kitchen from the looks of it and the other was a stairway leading up towards the second floor of the home. The two of you stared for a moment, relieved it looked normal, before looking at each other. This was an inn?? After a moment the two of you looked back inside and around, not too sure if you should step in from the shaded porch, even if the ac from the cool house was inviting.

"Uh....HELLO!?," you called into the home eventually raising a brow and looking around, "Is anyone here?! We heard this was an inn with rooms!"

"Maybe the place is run by ghosts too," Gloria suggested half teasing half mumbled.

"OH CUSTOMERS!!" Both of you looked up as a young woman's voice shouted from the kitchen area and some noises that sounded like pots and pans and shuffling footsteps. "Please, come in and close the door! I'll be right out in a giffy!" You two looked at each other again before Gloria shrugged and walked in and you followed, closing the door behind you with a creak. As you two walked into the living room area the source of the noise finally made herself present. A woman who looked about a few years older than you with black hair in a short ponytail and black sweats and t-shirt came speed walking from the kitchen. A bright white apron draped over her otherwise dark wardrode. Some flour spread all over her face and front like snow. "Hello there! Good evening!" She greeted with a wave and bright smile. Huh. You didn't remember this in game. Must've been because this was an actual world too. "Sorry I couldn't answer the door. I was a little busy baking some soul cakes." She briefly gestured to the kitchen. "But welcome to the Stow-on-Side Inn and Corviknight flight service! How can I help you two today?"

You two briefly looked at one another again before you cleared your throat. "Well, I don't suppose we could get a room just for the night. ...And where's everyone else?" You rose a brow around you. "This place is pretty big just for one person to manage."

"Oh I'm not alone," the woman explained, "My family works as the caretakers for the Stow-on-Side Cemetery or employed at the stadium across the street. Except for my uncle. He's out right now but him and his corviknight are in charge of the taxi from here if that's what you need." You shook your head no. "It's just me and my grandmother here for the moment, but I'd be happy to ring you up and show you to the guests rooms." You both agreed to that and watched as the woman just walked on over to the closet, opened it, and pulled out an old timey looking cash register. It took a moment for the two of you to practically go through your entire bags to scramble just enough for how much the room would cost for the night and after putting away said register with the money, the woman gestured for you two to follow her up the stairs and onto the second floor. As you two followed, you were honestly surprised at the place being homey and not so scary despite working for the ghost type gym leader and caretaking the cemetery next to it. You followed her to a nice looking but big room with double beds on the opposite side of the house. "The bathroom is through there." She pointed at a closed door within the room. "Feel free to use our laundry room if you need too. It's just down the hall through the green door. Dinner will be served in about two hours. I hope you don't mind soup."

"Uh..No, no. That's fine," you assured her, "Thanks."

She nodded. "You can just leave your dishes outside your door and I'll collect them before sun down. I hope you two enjoy your stay here."

"Thanks again....By the way," you gave her another look, "Where's the gym leader now? I didn't see him when we came in."

"Oh Allister? Probably off somewhere in the gym. He prefers to be left alone unless some one's delivering him food or checking up on him as the Champion ordered. But I'm sure he's fine if you're looking to go battle him right now."

"Uh. No. I was just curious."

She nodded before leaving. "Well if there's anything else you need don't hesitate to come down stairs and ask us."

She seemed pretty nice, and you were surprised but relieved to hear that Leon had recruited someone at least to keep an eye on the boy. You wasted no time in using the provided shower and laundry room for your clothes, relief flooding away from getting to finally cool down from the scorching heat you've endured for quite a few days. Your Drizzilie sure seemed to like when you filled the bathtub just a little bit and let the poor pokemon jump in only to curl up for a nap within the water. He must've been more tired out than you. Gloria made herself busy as she went through her things before pulling out that camera and a lense thing that went over it. When you asked she explained it wasn't just a night vision lense, but one that would also allow her to take pictures clear as day without the bright flash. Sounded handy. Then the next thing you knew she was pulling out that mask you had let her take and headed towards the sink and when you looked over noticed she was scrubbing the thing  front and back with soap in the washroom sink furiously. As if it never had been cleaned before in it's life.

"Hey. What are you cleaning that thing off for?"

"Well I can't just give it back ta him all dirty now can I? It'd look like we didn't take care o' it at all 'n come off as rude don't cha think?"

Hmm. She had a point. It'd be rude of you to just give the poor boy his mask back in poor condition, it was better to clean it up before giving it back to him. By the time Gloria was done it was mostly ok looking. It still looked to have a few scratches and markings here and there from being obviously left out in the elements for who knows how long before being found, but it should still function ok. You didn't know how much time had exactly passed since you crashed on one of the twin beds provided for you but when you did eventually look up from your laid position was when there was a knock at the door and Gloria had found herself busy sticking more of the pictures she had apparently taken with her camera into the pages of one of her dex challenge books but looked up as you got up and answered the door. And on the other side was the same woman although without flour on herself or the apron this time, holding a tray which judging by the smell that hit you as soon as you opened the door was tomato or some kind of veggie soup.

She smiled. "Hello! Hope I'm not disturbing you folks too much." She held up the food. "But since you didn't come down for dinner I figured I would bring it to you as promised. Again, I hope you don't mind soup."

After a moment, you blinked and smiled. "That'll be fine thank you!" You carefully took it from her. It would be a nice change from curry, wild berries, and camping food at least.

She nodded before you closed the door. "Just leave them outside your door and I'll collect them from you later."

You nodded back to her before closing the door and turning with the tray in your hands. Gloria perking up at the promised food you had collected and gestured for you to come on over and look at the pictures she had taken so far. My my. There was a lot already and the book of different pokemon was practically full. Most of them were really well done and showed off the pokemon really well. Victor must've really put a lot of time and effort into the hobby he was so passionate about. However the newer ones were more plain looking and there was a bit of a snap-and-go kind of vibe to them that was obviously Gloria's and some were a bit blurry but not to the point you couldn't tell what pokemon they were.  That's not saying Gloria's was worse just more different. One picture she pointed out to you was one of you asleep on the table back at the Stow-on-Side's pokemon center with your Drizzilie asleep next to you for her photo under the Drizzilie section....You had given her a look half way through your soup with a raised brow, but she only giggled in response teasing how he must've been your long lost twin to be stuck to your side most of the time. You decided to let it go for now since you were more focused on eating your food to fill the empty space in your stomach. Speaking of said water type pokemon, Drizzilie had given a bored but curious look over the still slightly filled tub once he heard the mention of food. Afraid he might've yelled and gotten you in trouble with who ever the owners of this place was, you had rummaged around in your backpack and had found a mini bag of what looked like granola bars and tossed it to him to keep his stomach in check. You also found the small bag of candy you had been 'tipped' back in Hulbury for your 'job' still sealed tight with the little ribbon. Deciding you didn't want for it you offered it to Gloria who, after giving a thoughtful expression, gladly took it and set it aside for the moment. For the next while you had finished the food offered, leaving it outside the door as requested, and you picked up helping her find the right pictures to put into place within the book until you were done. There was quite a number of them that you didn't remember her taking on her way to Hammerlocke or Stow-on-Side concluding she must've just not had the time to glue them all in yet. By the time you were finished and Gloria put the book and other things back into her bag the sun had set and darkness was settling in for a long night ahead.

You stretched and yawned with a sigh turning to the bed provided for you with a smile. Happy you didn't have to worry about pitching a tent for the night again. "Ok! Time for bed-"

"UH! Don't ya mean adventure, Y/n?" You paused...turning Gloria with a bewildered expression plastered on your face as it what she meant by that. She meant adventure as in like a good dream right? She held up her camera and shook it a bit. "The best time ta capture ghost pokemon would be at night! And what better place than around a ghost type stadium n' grave yard!? I don't even have the flash on so it won't scare 'em off!"

"Oh HECK to the no with that idea!" You frowned immediately shutting her idea down and pointed to the floor. "Gloria we've been walking all day in the hot sun and I'd like to get a little sleep tonight. Plus we CAN'T just go tresspassing in a graveyard of all places! That's like high key illegal and very disrespectful might I add."

She gave you a look as if you had just insulted her mother. "WHAT!? Who said anythin' about goin' into that spooky place? I was talkin' 'bout just takin' pictures of 'em as they floated around. I wouldn't really just walk into a grave yard in the middle of the night are ya looney?"

Oh.....That actually made a lot more sense. Since ghost type pokemon wouldn't be too common during the day if any came out at all, and Gloria would probably need to get a few pictures of them if she wanted to finish up that challenge book. Being next to a ghost type stadium and the grave yard did seem like a good place as any to catch a couple of them floating about. But you two couldn't just be skulking about at night light this!! They'd think you were...were....I don't know! Grave robbers or something!

You shook your head. "Glory. Don't you think this is ...I don't know. Strange looking? What if someone catches us and think we're up to no good? These people practically own this land after all."

She gave you that same pleading face she gave to you when she wanted to meet Raihan back in Hammerlocke. "Please! I know I said I wouldn't ask for any more favors but this could be a good chance to get some pictures I probably couldn't get anywhere else! And we wouldn't be actually goin' inside the cemetary for pictures anyways so there wouldn't be any reason for us to get in trouble even if we were found! Plus think of the scientific reasons!" You rose a brow. "Seein' ghost type pokemon first hand in their natural habitat! Documenting' 'em for the world ta see! It'd be a good first hand experience in case one ever crosses our paths!"

You groaned, reaching a hand up to rub at your face. "You're really settled on this thing aren't you??....*sigh* Fine!" You pointed to her. "But you can't expect us to spend all night out there! We'll spend an hour outside but then we need to come back and get some sleep for tomorrow."

"....An hour n' a half!"

You sighed again. "Fine. An hour and a half but don't push it anymore than that!"

She beamed brightly nodding and jumping to her feet with her pack still slung over her shoulders. "You got it! We'll be in 'n out so fast they'll think we're ghosts too!"

You dry chuckled before shaking your head and turning. The things you got yourself into on this journey. "Drizzilie!" Said water pokemon peeked it's head over from the tub as it was called and you pointed to your own bag. "We'll be right back. Watch my bag for me until we come back. Ok?" The pokemon made some kind of sound before sinking back down from view which you took as an ok and turned back to follow Gloria once she walked over to the door. "Hey." She paused. "We'll need to be quiet about this. Remember. In and out. We're not going to be doing anything crazy like in Stow-on-Side. Ok?"

She nodded and with a groan, you reluctantly followed her flipping the lights of your room off as you did. The dishes weren't in the doorway when Gloria stepped out so the lady must've collected them as she promised. The whole house was...quiet. And dark. You had snuck downstairs to the kitchen a couple times to grab a midnight snack without your parents knowing when you were back home a couple times, but this felt different. Everything was quiet and dark besides the odd night noises you'd usually hear and the moonlight leaking in through the windows being your only source of light around. You stood there for a moment taking it in, it almost felt like you two were sneaking away like thieves or something, even if neither of you had bad intentions it still felt strange sneaking out like this. You jumped as the door made a soft creaking noise as Gloria slowly closed it behind the two of you. The brunette turned to you before putting a hand to her mouth in the universal 'be quiet' motion that you guessed even in this universe was known. You nodded and together the two of you slowly walked towards the stairs. It was strange at night sounds seemed to be much louder especially when the two of you were TRYING to be quiet. Even though your footsteps were pretty light and soft considering to your slightly worried selves they might as well have been compared to an elephant's! You tried to not bump or trip over anything in the limited light the moon provided and did your best to try and let your eyes get used to the dark as fast as possible to help out. Eventually Gloria found the stairs and took the first few steps down with you right behind her of course praying you neither of you would accidentally trip down these. Someone must've heard your prayers because you both made it and headed towards the front door. Gloria made the first move as you looked around and were surprised no one from the family woke up. They must've all still been asleep. Gloria slowly reached over and grabbed onto the doorknob, slowly turning it counter clockwise until there was a small click noise alerting it had been all the way turned, and pulled back the door with a small squeak noise. You two cringed at it and in a panicked stopped half way from the noise looking back towards the stairs of the dark and still home......But no sounds of anyone waking up came. With a sigh Gloria finished opening the creaking door enough for you both to slip through and out you two went into the night before she as slowly as before closed it back with a creak and small click. You both stayed still for a moment a little on edge...before sighing on the dark porch. Whelp you made it outside at least. Turning around, you looked out onto the dark world around you and it didn't look so much different than usual. The stadium giant and silent blocking out some of the moonlight and casting the road in front of it and parts of the cemetery in a pitch black shadow. The moon full rising high above your heads as stars twinkled around it like diamonds and dark grey clouds lazily passed along the sky. Would've made a perfect scene for a halloween cartoon. As you glanced towards the cemetary, devoid of any life or light besides the moon, you couldn't help but let a shiver run down your spine. But you didn't see any pokemon. Not even ghost pokemon.

"Hey Gloria," you nearly said in a whisper turning. But jumped realizing she wasn't next to you anymore. It only took one look over your shoulder to locate her tho. She turned back to you and made another shush motion before waving you over from her kneeled spot on the ground facing down the road from the stadium. How did she move so fast? Blinking, you did end up walking over to her as she resumed holding the camera to her eye, leaning over to be eye level. "What's up?"

"Shh." She looked to you, held her finger to her now smiling mouth for a third time, before pointing in front of her. "Loud noises will scare 'em away." She whispered.

Raising a brow you looked forward....And your eyes widened. Down the road from the stadium (the side that didn't have the cemetery on it) was littered in taller grass and a few trees. And they were AB-SO-LUTELY FILLED with ghosts pokemon! And some lights which you quickly realized were chandelier and candle looking pokemon flying or shuffling around. THERE MUST'VE BEEN AT LEAST ONE OR TWO HUNDRED OF THEM!! Peeking through grass. Randomly flying around. Interacting with one another. Climbing over the barn building. A few you remembered the names of like that small group of driftloons. A few shuppets here and there. That there climbing on the barn's roof was a sableeye. You THINK those candle like pokemon walking down the pathway were litwick. There was this really pretty white pokemon who looked to be dancing in the moonlight and you were pretty sure it was a Frostlass.  IT WAS INCREDIBL- You gave a yelped and fell to your knees next to Gloria ducking as a loudly wailing Mismagius flew over head....And the teen giggled at you as you threw a frown at her.

"Oh haha. Very funny Ms. Get-Us-Chased-By-An-Onix."

"Hey! I said it was an accident. Besides unlike with that big rock for brains I know we'll be safe doin' this." She went back to holding up the camera towards the variety of pokemon around you. And while it was dark, and you were both a decent ways a way from the cemetery so you couldn't really have seen unless you could see in the dark....Neither of you saw the small figure peeking out from between the tombstones at you. Having heard the yelp you made thanks to the mischevious pokemon that whizzed by.

"Oh yeah? How are you so sure?"

"Ghost type pokemon are just different from rock types," she continued with a smile, "Rock pokemon would usually just mindlessly chase after ya far away if you even bother 'em in the slightest. And while ghost type pokemon can be pretty territorial if they have a territory of their own, usually they're just like this." She pressed the button again aiming at a ghost pokemon with a skull over it's face you couldn't remember the name off. Despite being so close to it and Gloria pointing the camera directly at it, it never even looked at her as it left. "They like to just mind they're own business most of the time as it is. As long as ye don't bother 'em or make 'em feel like you're gonna do something bad nine times outta ten they'll just leave ya alone. A lot of people think they're creepy or just plain ol' dangerous cuz of the bad rep some spread....But we're just sittin' here. Mindin' our own business while they do theirs. What reason would they have to just suddenly come at us?"

You stared at her completely in surprise. ".....Did you learn this from Hop too?"

"Yep!," she said snapping a picture at one of those chandelier like pokemon as it flew directly over the two of you. "He'd make a pretty smart scientist or pokemon researcher if he ever decided to become one."

You nodded. Not aware of just how smart Hop if he could know such astounding information. "...Well. How would you describe it then if a lot of people are too scared of them?"

....she paused...before looking and not even missing a beat said, "Beautiful. Wouldn't you?" The figure watching you's eyes widened.

You blinked a moment before looking forward as another driftloon lazily floated past close enough that if you wanted too you could touch one of it's yellow hand-thingies...before smiling. "You know I would. Because I can't really argue with how you described it either."

She hummed before turning and spotting a small mimikyu walking past towards the shadowed area of the path you two couldn't see into and pointed her camera towards it's disappearing figur- She froze. Eyes widening as through the night proof lense she caught a humanoid white face staring back before it swiftly ducked behind a tombstone- "GAH!!" You yelped as Gloria fell backwards onto her bum with a loud yelp. Startling some of the ghost pokemon into scattering away while others turned at the noise that disturbed the night. She pointed. "There's a bloody ghost in there!"

"SHHH!!" You quickly looked back towards the house relieved it didn't look like anyone was disturbed..before turning to her scared look with a scowl. "Gloria! You'll wake everyone up!"

her hand grabbed your arm as she scowled herself and pointed still. "I. Saw. A. Bloody. GHOST!! G. H. O. S. T. GHOST!!"

"Of course you're gonna see a ghost! We're surrounded by them-"

"No! Not a ghost type pokemon! I mean a real-..." She suddenly let go of your arm. "Hang on." With a fumble she managed to pull her camera's strap from around her head and forced the camera over to you. You nearly dropped to as she grabbed your shoulder and pointed towards a specific part of the cemetery across the road you couldn't see into because of the stadium blocking the moonlight. "Look. There! Right 'round that area there!" You looked to the camera, where she pointed, and then her unsure. But judging by the frown she wore, she wasn't going to take no for an answer. With a sigh you complied and held the camera up to your eye. Now you weren't sure whatever lense she used, but she was right that this thing made everything look like it really was in day time. Only with a yellow-ish hue to it. You could see the grave yard(making you shiver again-) clearly with this again, and could make out a bunch more ghost type pokemon doing their own thing among the graves there. Nothing really out of place as you could tell- until a humanoid black blur ran past  a few of them. Startled you gave a small gasped and dropped the camera from your face. Gloria wearing an 'I told you so' look before snatching the camera back. "Now do you believe me?"

You opened your mouth before closing it like a goldfish a couple times looking between her and the pitch black darkness a few times. Not sure what to say...before settling on. "W-Well....Maybe it's one of the caretakers. They could be doing night rounds or...or something?" Or maybe it was a ghost type pokemon you couldn't remember.

She hummed. "Sure. Could be. But when did a graves keeper wear some kind of ghost ma-" Gloria froze...her hands lowering the camera back around her neck before dropping to her lap. her eyed wide and staring off into the darkness for a moment. ".....Wait a bloody second." You watched confused as she slid her bag off her shoulders(not sure why she brought it along in the first place) and opened it. Her hand hand shooting inside one specific area before pulling out the same white mask she had been cleaning earlier that day. It's white color shining in the moonlight as she held it up. Her brown eyes looked at it then at the dark cemetery then back to it again before she slowly stood up. Still looking at the mask as she slung her backpack back over her shoulders before looking back at the cemetary....and began to walk across the dirt road towards it.

"HEY! Gloria!" You were quick to jump to your feet and run after her, reaching a hand out to grab her backpack again as she let out a 'Hey!' in protest to you stopping her. "Whoa whoa whoa! And where do you think you're going!? I thought we agreed no grave yard adventures!"

"But he's in there!,'' she insisted pointing forward.

"Him? Him who?"

"Allister." she held up the small mask tugging free from your grip. "We said we'd give it back ta him."

......You rose a brow. "You think that Allister is in the grave yard?.....I'm pretty sure he's not an actual ghost."

"I didn't mean like that! He's runnin' around in there."

"Gloria. He's younger than you and most kids even adults would be asleep by now. What makes you think a little kid is going to be running around in a dark cemetery filled with pokemon who'd rather not be bothered at ten at night by himself??"

...She sighed. "Look. I know it sounds crazy but-.."She looked back to it. "I can't explain it..But there's somethin' I really need ta check out there. SO...Please? It's not like we'd be causing trouble by just lookin'."

You understandably were WAY too ready to just say no, call it a night there, and then drag Gloria back to bed to see Allister IN THE MORNING especially not in a grave yard but-...You looked back up too. ....There was a strange feeling about this. Not a bad feeling like you'd get with Mr. Rose or an uncomfortable feeling like when Raihan tried flirting with you or a familiar feeling like when you remembered something. Just...a neutral one as you stared back towards the darkness. And you found yourself slowly walking towards it yourself. Gloria blinked but didn't questioning anything as she followed you into the darkness. It didn't take long for either of you to find the open gates wide open for the two of you and in you went with Gloria right after you. Right into the dark grave yard. And you instantly felt a scary feeling overcome you. OH BOY!! This was like NOTHING in a game!! As you two looked around, Gloria turned down one way for a moment before beginning to walk that way, you blinking before slowly following behind not wanting to be left alone in this place. And like you had seen through the lense there was plenty of ghost types running around here. Many you didn't pay attention too as the two of you walked and looked around. Besides being in a literally cemetery in the middle of the night, everything seemed pretty normal. Before you bumped into Gloria who had stopped suddenly right in front of you.

"Hey!" Her sudden shout made you jump and blink. She walked forward a few steps and you watched...and noticed there was something cowering behind a particular tombstone that didn't look like a pokemon. "I can see ya hidin' away there." Whatever the thing was shifted even more behind the tombstone as Gloria stepped forward- Until a sudden barracaded wall of purple and sound quickly materialized from out of the earth before you two and sent her yelping and stumbling back as a trio of ghastly, haunter, and a gengar made up it. They didn't too happy. Acting quickly, you held your arms out just in time to catch her back before pushing her back upright into a standing position from the scare. She stumbled, righted herself up, and threw you a smile over her shoulder. "Quick thinkin' Y/n!"

"Those three don't seem to be too happy to see us," you commented gesturing to the obvious trio blocking your way as they made more sounds of contentment and frowns your way. Huh. Strange. Usually when you saw these three in any pokemon media they were always smiling so why were these trio angry? Were you invading their domain?

The thing moved from one tombstone to behind another and you two got a glimpse of a person. A rather small person which made Gloria raise a hand and call out again. "WAIT! You're Allister right?!" She pointed behind her. "You're the gym leader here aren't ya?"

There was a moment of silence as the trio of ghosts still stood there .....before the TINIEST and softest voice you had ever come from a kid speak out. "......'M A-Allister." You two could barely make out what was said by the voice...before slowly ....a small hand grabbed onto the side of the tomb stone the figure was hiding behind and a white masked face with dark hair peeked an eye from behind it. You both stared at him and he stared right back at the two of you. First at Gloria, then you, then back to Gloria before he shrunk a bit back behind the grave stone. "...Gym c-c-challenger??" He whispered out.

You weren't sure if it was a question or statement but Gloria nodded. "Yeah. That's right." Before lowering herself to sit cross legged on the ground as you blinked in surprise at her actions. "I am one but I didn't come 'ere to challenge ye or anythin'," she assured in a soft voice Wait...She DIDNT?! Then why was see so inssistant on coming here? "So you don't have ta worry yourself over that."

There was a long pause and the figure didn't even budge from his spot, in fact he inched back even more behind the stone if you were seeing things in the dark corrected. "T-T-Then w-w-why ...W-What do y-y-you-" Gloria calmly held up the lightly scratched up mask to him, and it seemed to be he realized what it was because his visible eye that was reflected within the moonlight blinked at it. "....T-T-That's m-m-my mask."

She slowly nodded again. "I figured it was." Without getting up she slowly extended her arm holding the mask out to him. "We found it all the way in Stow-on-Side. I just...well I wanted to return it to ya. Since you're always wearin' 'em in all I figured you'd might want it back is all."

......The hand on the stone pointed behind her at you. "W-W-W-Who's t-that?"

"Oh this?" She looked back to you before gesturing to come sit on the ground next to her and after a second of hesitation you complied and sat yourself on the ground next to her. "This is my pal Y/n. She was the one who found your mask by the mural in Stow-on-Side." There was another silence as he still stood there before Gloria slowly held it out to the purple pokemon trio in front of her instead. "Here. You can give it to him if it's make it more comfortable to him."

The pokemon all blinked before looking at one another before the gengar reached out and took the mask from her. Examining it as it turned around and walked over to where the boy was still hiding behind the stone. Allister's head disappeared for a moment back behind the stone and you both watched as a hand poked right out real quick to grab the mask from the pokemon who held it out to him.

"I'm really sorry about all the scratches n' dents in it," Gloria apologised, "But I cleaned it up good. I hope that's alright."

Again another pause and while he didn't look out again his voice came back. "T-That c-camera a-around your neck."The masked face peeked out again." ...W-Were you going to t-t-take m-my picture w-w-w-with it?"

"Absolutely not unless you wanted too." The boy furiously shook his head no and Gloria held up her hands before reaching up and taking the camera off your shoulder and held it over to you. You understood and without a word, silently took it from her and placed it inside her bag as she looked back to him. "Ta tell ya the truth I came out 'ere to collect some pictures of ghost type pokemon for somethin' I've been working on."

The boy nodded but in a way that almost seemed guilty. "I-I know I-I heard you speaking....I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. We don't mind at all. And we were being a bit loud, especially when I got spooked by a mismagius," you finally spoke giving him a smile and the same tone Gloria used. Holding a hand to your chest. You're little tease bringing a small but single chuckle from the boy to your delight. "My name's Y/n and this is Gloria. It's very nice to meet you Allister."

"......Gloria?," he asked tilting his head to Gloria who nodded, ".....Like Leon said?"

"If it was Lee who told ya 'bout me then it was def me." She tilted her head at him. "Did he tell ya bout me?"

......"He s-s-said you were a v-very nice and k-kind p-person."

She chuckled. "I try to be. Which is why I wanted to return your mask to ya. Although I have no idea how it ended up all the way in Stow-on-Side."

There was another pause....before the boy disappeared behind the stone again only to shuffle out to meet his full body to face you, as if in case he'd have to duck back behind it again, and you widened your eyes in surprise. When you had originally seen him back in the Entrance Ceremony on the giant screen you estimated him to be only one or two years younger than Gloria herself, but judging by his height and tone he couldn't possibly be older than eight or nine years. As he clutched the lightly scratched mask to his chest he stared at the two of you for a moment. "I-I....l-lost it by accident..w-when I was visiting a yam-mask in the ruins."

"Well then it sounds like you have a bunch of friends from everywhere," you smiled and Gloria nodded. He seemed to brighten at the fact you didn't state what someone would probably usually say and that having a yamask for a friend and traveling to see him was strange. .....You hesitated but couldn't help but ask. "Hey. Sweetie, what are you doing out here so late at night? And by yourself?"

"Oh. I-I'm n-not alone," he said a slightly brighter tone to his voice before he looked at the now smiling trio behind him. "I'm here with my friends."

.....You nodded. "I can see that, and it's obvious to me that they must help take very good care of you." The three pokemon made proud noises and smiles at the praise. "But I guess what I mean is did you let anyone from the stadium know you would be playing outside this late? They might be worried if you didn't let them know."

"Oh no it's ok. They already know I like to come out here a lot so it's not a b-big deal." He said this like it was normal....You slowly nodded but didn't make any move to make him feel bad. Allister then cocked his head curiously at the both of you. ".....D-Did you really m-mean it? I mean. W-When you said you f-found ghost types...b-b-beautiful?"

"Of course we did!," Gloria stated proudly and loudly. Well a little too loud because it made Allister flinch from the loud voice. "Oh. Sorry 'bout that." She immediately apologized before nodding and talking in that soft tone again. "Yeah. We did. But genuinely if I'm honest I really like all pokemon despite what kind they are. Ghost, physic, grass....They're all really unique in their own way. Just like Gym Leaders even if they're similar."

He seemed confused as he stared at her. "What do you mean?"

She hummed in thought. "Well...For example Kabu and Bea exercise a lot to keep fit n' ta help with their motivation, and so does Nessa now that I think about it. All three exercise for their careers in one way or another, but for different reasons. Like how Bea uses that to compete in the Galarian Martial Arts tournaments while Kabu couldn't careless 'bout fightin' in those things." A brighter smile lit up her features. "Oh! Or how Raihan and Gordie like postin' lots for their fan base. But each o' 'em post different things and even if it's the same thing there's differences in each one. It's fun getting to meet all the different gym leaders as people and seeing what makes them so passionate about their lives and how they do things!"

".....A-A-And me?" His grip on the mask increased slightly as he hugged it to himself. "W-What would you w-w-want to meet me for?"

"Well, besides to return that mask like I was tellin' ye about," she explained with a smile, "I think I wanted to meet you to see that special connection ya got that no one else has."

"Huh?," he blinked at her confused.

She gestured to him. "I've been around for a bit n' I've seen some really good connections between some people and their pokemon. But not even Leon can communicate the same level those lovlies behind ya can with you." Allister looked to the trio around him before looking back to her. "I'm not sayin' people and pokemon can't be friend, cuz that wouldn't be right at all since pokemon can be your friends no matter what. But there's somethin' extra special about the way you talk and interact with 'em compared to the other trainers and their pokemon that just seems more......closely bonded in a way I don't know but I can kinda understand in a way.  ....That what makes it so beautiful about ya." Allister....didn't move....or talk.....Just stared silently. To the point even his ghost pokemon pals turned to look at him in question. And more long silence the two of you exchanged a worry look before Gloria looked at him. "H-hey mate. I'm sorry if I said something to upset ya."

"Hm?" He blinked..before waving his hands. "Oh n-no nono. I-I'm sorry. I-It's just....n-no body's ever s-said that to me b-before e-except for L-Leon a-and P-Piers."

"Well he's not wrong." He turned to look at you as you genuinely smiled at the boy. "Allister, I honestly don't know you or much about you ..but by kindly you've been and how ready your friends are to help you speaks that you're a really kind hearted person. And I think you're a great gym leader too. It wouldn't even matter if Leon told you you were special because I think you always were. We just all happen to be special in our unique ways."

He seemed to be taken aback at what you just said because he looked away and kicked at the ground with his foot. "You don't.....think any of this is scary?"

"Hm. Maybe some people would but that's alright too. We're all scared on something. I'm scared of heights."

"....Oooh. So that's why you never wanted to ride a flying taxi."

You nodded. "But that doesn't mean it's a bad thing at all Allister. I think you're a good kid. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"Besides. We've talked to ghosts too!"

A silence fell over the lot of you again as you blinked and everyone turned to Gloria who smiled. "........What?"

"Yeah. You remember her! Paula! She's the one who wanted us to deliver a letter-"....She blinked. "Oh wait!" You all watched as she slung her bag off her shoulders and once again went to dig through it. Allister tilted his head curiously at her rummaging until jumping back when Gloria pulled out the same letter she had received from Paula back in Hammerlocke. "Here it is!"

"Gloria. We can't just say that little girl was a ghost. She could've just been a regular person."

She rose her brow at you. "A lil girl who could run as fast as a rapidash and disappear as silent as a ghost type pokemon?"

".....Ok. You have a fair point but we can't just jump to conclusions like that-"

"M-May.." You both turned back to Allister as he slowly reached a free hand out the other one still clutching the returned mask to him. "M-May I see it?"

"Of course ya can."

She gently handed over the letter and you two watched him take it as his ghost pokemon crowded around him to also look at it. He stared silently the entire time he looked at it, turning the thing front and back with his hands. ".........T-This has a strange aura about it." He finally looked at Gloria. "Y-You said she wanted you to d-deliver it?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Said it was for someone called Frank in Bellonlea. Also said I looked like someone she could trust."

He hummed for a moment before slowly handing it back to her and she took it back from him. "W-Well.....I think the b-best thing to do if she e-entrusted you with it is to make sure it gets delivered as soon as possible."

Gloria nodded putting the letter back into her bag. "Then it sounds like ta me the next stop we should make is the Bellonlea gym. I can go return the letter n' then battle the gym leader there....*yyyyaaaawwwnnn*"

"Yeah. Speaking of tomorrow, I think we've all had enough adventure for one night and should head back." You slowly stood up as to not spook Allister and Gloria slowly nodded and followed your example with another yawn. "We've all been out here for a while."

......Allister nodded. "U-Um...Yeah. I t-t-think I'll go back inside now too."

"Do you want us to walk you home?" He looked up to you surprised for a moment before shaking his head. "Are you sure? I wouldn't want you to get lost on your way back by yourself."

"Oh don't worry Miss. I'm not alone. I-I have my friends to help me.....b-but if you want y-y-you can come with me to the stadium doors. I-I don't mind."

You smiled and offered your hand out to him making him jump a bit in surprise....before silently looking between you and your hand....before slowly extending his free hand...and putting it in yours. You smiled as you turned around at a slow pace the young boy could walk without needing to change whatever pace he would've already had and walked with him towards the exit of cemetery. Thanking whoever answered your prayers that you were going to be able to get some sleep tonight after all. Even if Allister did this often in game or in this world often, you would feel better knowing that the young boy was safe inside his home and not out running around in the dark unsupervised and got home safely. So you slowly walked with him out of the cemetery and along the dirt path all the way to the big stadium doors where he eventually let go of your hand and you let him with Gloria and the spooky trio following.

"I-I can go on from here,'' he told you.

"Are you sure?" He nodded. "Alright. You be careful now. Ok?"

"I-I will." You smiled and waved a moment before turning and starting to walk away. Gloria turning too the moment you got to her.

"G-Gloria.." She stopped and turned to Allister who was still hugging the mask to himself. "U-Um....If...I-I k-know you said y-y-you didn't want to have a battle w-w-with me...b-b-but i-if you want too..y-you can stop by b-before you l-leave t-t-tomorrow a-a-and have a quick match."

She blinked at him for a moment before smiling and nodding. "I wouldn't miss it!" And then turned to catch up with you.

As you passed by the ghosts pokemon you gave them a smile. "You three continue looking after him ok? You've all done such a great job so far."

They all smiled and made happy noises so you took that as a yes. The both of you heard the door to the stadium open and close as you were walking signalling Allisters entrance and you sighed in relief knowing he'd be safe inside at least. You both returned the same way you got out. By sneaking inside through the creaking doors cringing all the way and being as quiet as you can to not wake anyone up. By the grace of some unseen force you managed to somehow not wake anyone up and successfully make your ways back into your room safe and soundly. And finding your Drzzilie had curled himself in your bag and had fallen asleep. Heh. Guess old habits died hard. You were sure exhausted though and practically fell dead asleep as soon as you hit the pillow. Sighing and closing your heavy eyelids as the peaceful darkness took over. Infact..... you didn't wake up. Not until much later the next day. Also not surprisingly in the slightest you ended up dead asleep again, not waking up until it was almost eleven in the after noon and when you eventually pulled your heavy feeling body out of bed you discovered Gloria folding some white clothing to stuff back into her bag with a plate of untouched waffles sitting next to her on the bed, and your Drizzilie boredly staring unmoving at the food.

At the sounds of you groaning and sitting up she flashed you a smile and waved. "Mornin' Sleepin' Beauty! I hope you're hungry cuz I already went through the trouble of not lettin' this tyrant 'ere take your breakfast." You pokemon sent an annoyed look her way.

With a long yawn and quick rub of your eyes you waved back. "Mmmmmmm. Morning. *yaaaaawwwwnnn*".....Your tired eyes blinked more at the uniform she was stuffing back into her pack and you pointed. "Hey. How come you have your challenger uniform out?"

"Well it's required ta wear it when you challenge a gym leader. I swear both his and Bea's gym challenge was me spinnin' more than Kabu's arcanine's flame wheel attack."

.........You blinked, taking a moment for your tired brain to process what she had just said. "Wait. You challenged Allister?" She nodded. "When did that happen?"

"Early this mornin'. He said if I wanted ta challenge him I should do it before we left for Bellonlea this mornin'. I was thinkin' of heading there next anyways since it would be the closest Gym I haven't battled yet." She finished stuffing the uniform into the pack before slinging it over her shoulders before you noticed the camera slung back over her neck. "And I got the badge...Even if I didn't win exactly."

"....What do you mean by that?"

"There was four rounds with 'em. I won two and lost two. So it ended with a tie between us both. I didn't want to accept the badge if I didn't really win, but he said since we were even I should take it anyways since I technically won it in a way. I think he was really happen to just have a battle with someone who didn't pressure him into it and without a big crows ta watch, tho he said as an official battle it'd still is gonna be broadcasted online for everyone to see," she explained picking up the food and turning to you,"  He's a really strong trainer for a lil kid. I think he's gonna be a great gym leader. And I saved ya some food that the land lady brought."

"Thanks! ...But where is he now?"

"Asleep. He was pretty tuckered out from last night n' the battle." She handed the plate over to you. "But that's to be expected."

You nodded. "Yeah. So that means you got the Ghost gym badge right?" She nodded again. "...Oh. By the way, how far away is Bellonlea anyways?"

"Eh. It'd take a REAL long time if we walk, n' there's no train 'round here for a good distance too. Which is why I already told the taxi guy out front we would use the corviknight taxi as soon as you were all ready."

You paused. Food on your fork lowered as you looked at her wide eyed. A silence coming over you two as you stared long enough to not notice your Drizzilie take one of the waffles from your plate.

".....WHAT!?"

[xyliane]

AUgust 7: HAVE YOU SEEN THIS 12 YEAR OLD

PROMPT THE SEVENTH: CHILDHOOD FRIENDS wait how can you childhood friends au killugon, I asked myself, forgetting that I had a whole-ass idea in my drafts already. this one’s a proper fic, too (minus editing cuz l o l it’s an AU writing challenge, not editing challenge). T, aged-up killugon, modern day au. ft ambiguous descriptions of social media, alluka, kalluto, and leorio in killua’s corner, and zushi and spinner in gon’s, brief discussion of getting plastered and dealing with a hangover. 5000 words.

0o0o0o0o0

The first sign that today is going to be an absolutely terrible day, is when Killua wakes up with a hangover.

This does not happen. Killua can count on one hand the number of times he’s gotten so drunk he’s had a hangover, and most of them are the fault of his little siblings. Little siblings who are now living together, whose couch he is currently painfully existing upon, half too hot and his toes way too cold. And the couch is too soft, an old secondhand thing he’d helped Alluka grapple up the stairs months ago after they found it outside an old dorm. He makes a notch in his very sore brain to blame the current situation on them. Kalluto might be kind enough to let a drunk big brother crash with them, but Alluka has a devious streak a mile wide.

Yeah. This is definitely their fault.

One eye slowly creaks open, surveying his surroundings through blurry vision. Nothing out of the ordinary here. He’s in the pajamas he’s left with Alluka forever ago, curled up under an old blanket he gave her for Nanika’s birthday. It’s covered in the Matrix code, all green letters on black wool. It barely covers him from chest to knees, which explains the cold toes.

Sunlight flickers through the curtains, cheerful and bright, and Killua pulls the blanket over his face. He’ll take cold toes over being blinded by his headache.

The second sign that today is going to be an absolutely terrible day, is when a noise like a chainsaw burrowing through a marshmallow erupts from his phone buzzing on the coffee table, just barely out of reach.

Killua attempts to bury himself under the blanket. He’s not dealing with work today.

And then he remembers: He doesn’t have work. Work can’t bother him today. Not just because it’s a weekend—work never respected the sanctity of weekends, no matter that he was at least partially in charge and used to have a fancy degree hanging on his wall. He doesn’t have work anymore. Killua quit.

Which, well. That explains the hangover.

He’s still blaming his siblings.

His phone buzzes loud enough to break the sound barrier, and Killua decides, fuck it. He doesn’t have anything to lose. If it’s the-place-formerly-known-as-work, he can delete everything. If it’s Mom or Father, he can definitely delete everything. And maybe it’s a friendly person, congratulating him on giving up a job that for anyone else would have been an absolute money-making dream. He’ll delete those too.

It takes a few tries to unlock his phone, and it unfortunately involves opening his eyes, squinting against the glaring light of the screen. But once he does, he frowns. Maybe he’s seeing double. Or a hundredfold. Because he should not have this many notifications.

awwww cute, i hope u 2 find each other! the top one says. It has several hundred likes. Why is it in his notifications?

Scrolling down reveals that it’s not an anomaly.

wtf man how can you find a TWELVE YEAR OLD from FIFTEEN YEARS AGO.

Me and my mom went on a cruise around there once, it was really pretty!

this is so sweet T__T maybe this is him?

And then another hundred photos of brown-skinned men with varying degrees of shirt-wearing, all black haired and most of them buff in very appealing ways and all of them beaming at Killua.

“What the fuck,” Killua croaks as he scrolls through all of the images and messages. Maybe this is a dream. A really weird, hangover-induced dream about how little of a social life he has, that his phone is possessed by someone else’s. A warning of sorts, that he should never have installed any social media on his phone ever, not even for hookups.

The reason for all the notifications lies at the top of his own page. Just a few sentences, all-caps, with an image of an old crinkled photo of two boys on a tropical beach, grinning at the camera. Killua sees himself, white curly hair flying in all directions and pale skin sunburned and ruddy with the briny wind, happier than Killua can ever remember being. Next to him, one arm slung around his shoulders and the other holding a bucket full of seashells, is a brown-skinned boy with freckles dancing across his nose and the tops of his shoulders, brown eyes wide and laughing and black hair thick and spiked from some mix of wind and seawater and natural gravity defiance.

He didn’t know he still had this photo. It had followed him from childhood all the way through grad school, a carefully guarded keepsake hidden away from the watchful eyes of his parents and Illumi, before ending up in a box or a bag at some point in the last few years. Part of Killua thought he’d lost it in the move. He barely remembers much about being twelve, about the cruise he’d been forcibly dragged on. But he remembers…

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY? yells the caption. WE WERE BEST FRIENDS FOR A WEEK WHEN I GOT DRAGGED ON A CRUISE BY MY ASSHOLE PARENTS. HE WAS 12 ON WHALE ISLAND 15 YEARS AGO. IF FOUND, DM IMMEDIATELY.

“Gon,” Killua breathes.

He gathers himself, wrapping the blanket around his head in a feeble protection against the morning, and lurches over to Alluka’s room.

He gets to bang on her door three times, confused spite winning out over his own pounding headache, before Kalluto appears out of their room, blinking blearily at Killua. “Shut up.”

Killua kicks Alluka’s door for good measure, and brandishes his phone in front of him like a weapon. “Not until you explain what the hell this is doing on the internet.”

Kalluto pales, then flushes, then pales again. “Oh. Um.”

At that, Alluka creaks her door open, guilty blue eyes far too awake for how close to noon it is. Killua kind of wants to kill her on principle alone. If he has to be hungover, so does everyone else.

“Explain,” he grinds out through his teeth.

The third and final sign that today is going to be an absolutely terrible day, is when Alluka puts on her most winning smile, the kind she uses to ward off angry customers and idiotic faux-academics on the internet. “Congratulations, Brother! I might have made you go viral.”

Killua throws his phone at her.

—————

Today’s going to be a good day, Gon decides. He’s been in the forests of East Gorteau for the better part of a month, which normally isn’t so bad. But this group has been…They’re nice enough, when Gon’s not spending half of his time explaining that, no, that species of plant does not make a good stew, and no, that species is endangered please don’t hunt them, and yes Gon is sure he doesn’t date his clients even after the hike, and no the reason the tent fell over again is because it wasn’t properly set up in the first place—

All of Aunt Mito’s complaints about tourists on Whale Island make so much more sense, now that Gon’s leading backwoods hikes.

But last night had been fun! Spinner had met the group at a pre-set campsite not far from their pickup so Gon hadn’t had to work the whole night, and he could relax with his friend over good food, more alcohol than he probably should have drunk, and not having to explain to Mrs. Yuldvin the difference between marijuana, buckeye, and poison oak again. Spinner had even taken care of the fire, although she had left him to rescue the Podomos siblings from the ruins of their tent with nothing more than a smirk and a wave. Nevertheless, Gon smiled through his headache all morning, because soon he’ll be home, and he can sleep.

Zushi is waiting in the parking lot once Gon’s done packing up the last of the gear and saying goodbye to Spinner, jeep idling while he flicks through his phone, thick eyebrows drawn together in increasing concern. He doesn’t even look up until Gon drops his pack onto the hood of the car, and he jolts so badly in surprise that he tosses his phone in the air.

“Are you okay?” Gon asks, and tries to peek at the screen.

Zushi pulls it up and away, a frantic look in his eyes. It won’t really keep Gon from seeing what’s happening, not if he wants to, but Zushi’s height is enough of a deterrent to make it hard. “You were gone way too long,” he says.

Gon leans against the hot metal of Zushi’s car. It wasn’t an unusual length for a trip, not really—this backcountry needs the length to be able to see and understand the region. Not to mention the Small Billed Swan preservation society keeping the whole place locked down except to authorized guides and trekkers. Zushi knows this. They’ve been roommates long enough that this isn’t even the longest time Gon’s been gone.

“You knew I’d be gone til today,” Gon says.

“Yeah, but…” Zushi’s eyebrows descend even further, scrunching his whole face up in worry. “You haven’t checked your phone, right?”

“No?” Even if he did have cell service, Gon never brings his own phone. He borrows Kite’s satellite phone, because it is more reliable and doesn’t need to be charged constantly.

“Okay. Well.” Zushi takes a deep breath, then another, one of Wing’s old meditation techniques. Despite his exhaustion and single-minded determination to sink into a real bed and sleep for a week, Gon feels a minor pang of worry. On breath three, he unlocks his phone and turns it towards Gon. “You’re a meme.”

On Zushi’s screen is a photo Gon can’t ever forget about. Backed by Whale Island’s sunbleached white beaches and the humid brilliant colors of summer, Gon sees himself—twelve, smiling from ear to ear, hair a mess from swimming and his shirt practically covered in sand from digging up all the seashells in his bucket. He’s got an arm around another boy, who’s caught mid-laugh so his blue eyes burn the same color as the sky, white curls even messier than Gon’s hair. They look like they’ve known each other their whole lives, like they’d still be best friends even if they haven’t seen or spoken to each other since the photo was taken.

Gon hopes Killua thinks so, too.

He cradles the phone in his hand, carefully zooming in on their faces and the errant crinkles visible through the photo. His own faded copy is in a drawer, having survived a whole trip around the world and countless apartment jumps. This one looks just as well cared for, in its own way.

“That…is you, right?” Zushi asks carefully. “Because Wing was asking, and half of Kite’s guide company is yelling about it on your social media page that you don’t even use, and now people are messaging me, and they’re saying the weirdest things, and the post is from last week, so—”

“It’s Killua,” Gon says. A smile spreads across his face, a mirror to the one he’d had when he was twelve. “That’s Killua!”

“Who?” the others ask, but Gon isn’t listening.

He spins, frantically searching his pockets for his phone. “Spinner, can you do me a favor?”

She narrows her eyes suspiciously.

Gon knew today was going to be a good day.

—————

It’s been a week, and Killua has quit all social media forever.

The steady buzz of his phone informing the apartment of his notifications is not his problem. Alluka’s the one who decided to hack into his phone and post something to his old public account, the one he mostly uses for photos of cats and complaining about terrible business precedents. He hasn’t posted much since school, and if anything, it should have simply vanished into the void of the internet.

He finds the culprit fairly quickly, and for once it’s not his sister’s moderate but dedicated video following.

“Old man, what the fuck is wrong with you?”

Leorio lounges in Alluka and Kalluto’s living room, freshly out of his scrubs and looking pleased as all hell. “I just reblogged a fun post from my friend,” he says somewhat defensively. “You were a cute kid, Killua. What happened?”

Killua feels a growl creep up his throat. “You can’t just do that,” he snaps.

“It’s not my fault the people like my well-coiffed but rugged appearance and dedication to social justice in medicine.”

“You have 500,000 followers because you made a joke post two years ago, and some authorized user reblogged it five times. It has nothing to do with your ugly mug.” If Killua squints and plugs his ears, he can even see why people think Leorio’s attractive or whatever: tan skin, lean but strong as hell, actually takes care of his hair, not to mention a damn good doctor with one of the most prestigious institutions in Yorknew who spends most of his free time running health clinics in impoverished neighborhoods. That’s all swell. But then he starts talking, and Killua has no idea where the off button is.

Leorio spreads a hand out, gesturing vaguely with the glass of iced tea that he’d helped himself to out of Alluka’s stash. “It has everything to do with my ‘ugly mug,’” he says. “Which is why I used my powers for good and spread your post. Don’t you want to find him?”

“Not like this!”

“You were not going to find him at all,” Kalluto’s quiet voice pipes up from the kitchen. They have night classes tonight, but Killua has a feeling that even if they were supposed to be attending their Yorknew Uni lectures, they would still be here making Killua’s life worse. “You’ve had that picture for years, and you did not even try to look.”

Leorio gives him a judgmental look over the tops of his stupid tiny glasses. “You haven’t?”

It would be a losing game to bury his burning face in one of the throw pillows, so Killua does his best to cross his arms over his chest and glower instead. “I…tried.”

“And?”

“I don’t even know his last name!” Killua splutters. “I didn’t have his number or where he was from, other than his mom worked on the ship. And that cruiseline went bankrupt and liquidated everything before I could get out of the house, so I couldn’t even look that up.”

Kalluto crosses over from the kitchen and perches like a sweatshirt-wearing crow on the coffee table, their blue eyes carefully neutral under straight black bangs. “Alluka and Nanika would have helped. Or even Milluki, if you had explained the situation.”

“I was eighteen, okay? I just left home, and our parents were still being…shit, themselves, I guess.” He hadn’t even considered asking for help. Then again, he’d tried the moment he could, that first summer of undergrad where he didn’t have to come home and Illumi couldn’t spend half his time breathing down the back of Killua’s neck. He had a general idea of where they’d gone, maps of islands scurried away in the closet with the old photo and a bag full of seashells Gon had given him as a going-away present.

They’d been friends for a week, in the whirlwind way that only kids can be. The cruise ship was massive, and Killua’s parents were in meetings half the time and playing nice with the other rich people on board the other half. Killua had been bored witless, and Gon was everything he couldn’t have possibly imagined: encouraging Killua to go exploring, to stealing food from the kitchens, making him help clean up the decks, playing cards with the deckhands. Sneaking off the boat to visit an island without Killua’s parents while the ship was docked, scrambling over the burning hot sands and dashing through the jungle, diving into the waves fully clothed and competing to see who could find the biggest prettiest shells. Gon’d been Killua’s first friend, his first crush, his first…a lot of firsts.

Then the cruise had ended, and Killua forgot to give Gon his phone number. His address. Anything. They’d been so swept up in being friends, being best friends, it had seemed impossible that they would never see each other again.

Does Gon even remember? Why should he, when Killua hasn’t contacted him? Would they even be friends anymore?

Maybe he hadn’t searched hard enough. But part of Killua thinks he shouldn’t have tried at all.

The phone buzzes loudly, and Killua tries not to flinch.

“Hey, Killua. It’s okay.” Leorio leans forward, hands clasped over his too-long limbs and expression gentle. “If you want me to delete it, I will. Not sure I can help with the viral part of things, except maybe go through your messages and delete the gross ones, or at least find the weirdest ones for you to laugh at later.”

“Alluka and I have been doing this already,” Kalluto says, their posture a little too protective for Killua’s raw nerves at this point. “But perhaps you have some suggestions for what to do next, Dr. Paladiknight?”

Leorio smiles sympathetically. “Don’t read the comments? That said, most of your comments have been much more positive than anything I usually post. The masses seem to be genuinely rooting for you, kid.”

“I have only had to delete a dozen lewd messages for you this morning,” Kalluto adds, not mentioning the hundred or so that Alluka took care of yesterday.

Killua’s traitorous phone buzzes again, and that’s it. Time to bury himself in a pillow. Killua flops onto the couch, narrowly missing Leorio, and does his best to burrow into the cushions. “That’s just great,” he says into the fabric.

A comforting hand rubs against his hair, messing up the curls for a moment, and Killua refuses to admit that it’s nice, that he has friends like Leorio who even bother to care. “It could be worse. You could be dealing with this while still working a soul-sucking job making more money than most of us will see in our lifetimes, in exchange for giving up all of your morals.”

Killua groans loudly. “I’m not having this conversation with you.”

“You’re gonna need to do something, Killua! And hey, I might be able to set something up with my—”

“I already told you, no.”

“But it’s what you’re good at. And you wouldn’t be fucking people over to do it.”

“No.”

“Just listen for one—”

Killua lifts his head enough to glare as murderously as he can at Leorio. It must work at least a little, because the doctor shuts up.

Meanwhile, Kalluto is scrolling through Killua’s phone, poking at the screen occasionally. In the awkward silence, their sharp gasp is loud enough to shatter a window, and they hurriedly shove the phone in the pocket of their oversized sweatshirt.

Leorio raises an eyebrow. “Everything okay?”

Kalluto squeezes their eyes shut for a moment, then carefully places the phone on the coffee table, screen pointed innocently at the ceiling. “You will want to look at this one, Brother.”

“This isn’t another erotic sandcastle is it?” he says.

Kalluto shakes their head, and Killua’s stomach lurches up his throat. Alluka has been the one excited about this whole thing. But Kalluto, as reserved as they are, is a massive romantic. The whole thing might be Alluka’s fault, but Killua knows it’s Kalluto who almost lets themselves believe it’ll work. Despite all of the false positives, the people who send messages that don’t sound right or photos that have the wrong smile.

Killua doesn’t want to hope. It can’t possibly be Gon. But his hands shake nonetheless as he unlocks his phone and finds a new message in his DMs.

It’s not from Gon.

Instead, someone with the icon of a small-billed white swan in a soft small-billed hat and a handle of @flymypretties has sent a photo of a brown-skinned man with spiky black hair absolutely covered in dirt and grime. He’s waving at the camera, a backpacking bag propped against his shoulder and the widest smile Killua has ever seen beaming straight through the screen and into his chest. Next to him and half out of frame, a tall tanned man with massive black eyebrows and a tank top showing off an impressive amount of muscle has his head in his hands. Killua feels a sharp stab of sympathy, somewhere buried beneath the racing of his heart.

look im sorry about this but this idiot can’t find his phone and we r kind of in the middle of nowhere so reception’s shit. he wants to know if you admit he found the biggest seashell on the beach, whatever that means.

For a long, long moment—seconds? minutes maybe?—Killua can do nothing but stare at the screen of his phone. Leorio and Kalluto both look at him with a mix of curiosity and worry, Kalluto starting to slowly reach for the phone.

In a completely childish protective moment, Killua grabs it against his chest, like the image will vanish if he doesn’t keep it close.

“Is it…?” Leorio asks.

Killua swallows heavily, trying to think around the roaring of the ocean in his ears. “I think so,” he says faintly.

Kalluto’s eyes widen, and they spin on their heels towards their room. “I’m calling Alluka!”

—————

“Has he responded?”

“No!”

“…what about now?”

Spinner throws her hands in the air so violently that her hat falls off. “For god’s sake, Gon, it’s been an hour, you don’t even have your phone, and you still need to go home.”

Gon huffs and pouts. They’re still in the parking lot over an hour after the rest of the trekking group has left, and all the exhaustion that had settled into Gon’s body from the tour has been turned into a jittery energy that keeps trying to leak out from under his skin. He wants to go home immediately and dig out his copy of the photo, rub out the old fingerprints he and Aunt Mito have left on it over the years. He wants to find his phone and message Killua directly. He wants to wait right here until Killua responds, no matter how long it takes.

He knows it’s childish, to be this selfish. Spinner has work to do, work that she already put on hold to help with the last day of the tour. Kite probably will want to know what’s happening, or at least why his lead guide and his chief guide organizer have been stuck in a parking lot. And Gon can practically feel Zushi’s obsessive scrolling through social media, frantically trying to navigate Gon’s feeds without actually having access.

Gon needs to find his phone.

“Spinner, what if—”

It’s not that Spinner’s a large woman. Out of the three people standing in the parking lot, Zushi’s far and away the strongest, even if he is about as threatening as a large, muscular teddy bear. And Gon has only packed on weight and muscle over his years of backpacking around the wilderness, no matter that he’s not super tall. But Spinner goes for longer, harder treks on her own than anyone but Kite, and she packs in her own climbing gear on top of that, so when she tosses Gon into the back of Zushi’s jeep, he flies.

“Zushi,” she says in a low exhausted snarl, and he jumps right off the hood of his car. Gon probably would have felt bad for him, if everything wasn’t spinning. “If you do not take your roommate home, I am not responsible for the consequences.”

“What if you hear back?” Gon groans around the aches in his side.

Spinner rolls her eyes, and Gon knows she’s just tired. “I’ll let you know.”

“But what if my phone’s gone? What will I do if someone stole it, or if I can’t—”

“I’ll call you go home already,” she says, and slams the door shut on his face.

For a long moment, the only sound is Spinner storming away, boots thudding heavily in the dirt until her car door slams.

The jeep shifts slightly as Zushi quietly lowers himself into the driver’s seat and puts the key into the ignition. Gon wants to tell him to follow Spinner, so she can yell out the window as soon as Killua gets back to her. But Zushi looks about ready to bolt. So Gon slumps back in the seat, the rumble of tires crunching through gravel making his already jittery nerves shake.

A small voice that sounds a lot like Kite tells Gon that it’s better to wait, that it will be easier to have a conversation and determine if this really is Killua after a rest and a shower.

Gon doesn’t want that, though. He wants…

It’s been a long time since he was on Whale Island. Longer still since he saw Killua. That doesn’t mean he stopped thinking about either of them, during the quiet moments out under the stars. They’re part of him, like his lungs are part of him—essential and irreplaceable, buried so far inside that removing them would change him irrevocably.

What is Killua like now? Is Gon just as important to him as he is to Gon? He has to be. Right?

They make it home without saying anything else. Gon floats in and out between bone-deep weariness and electric sparks of nervous joy, and Zushi flinches every time Gon jolts himself from one to the other.

“Hey, are you…I mean, maybe not okay, but.”

Gon lifts his chin up sharply at the sound of his roommate’s voice, and notices the familiar apartment complex in front of him. Oh, they’re home. “I’m good,” he says, and grins.

“Sure,” Zushi says like he doesn’t believe Gon.

A dubious silence stretches out between them as they gather the rest of the gear, dropping it in a heap on the sidewalk. “You were kids, though,” Zushi finally says.

Gon shrugs and slams the door shut hard enough to make the vehicle rattle. “I didn’t forget. So I don’t think Killua would, either.”

Zushi’s eyebrows wrinkle on each other, like they can’t decide whether to go up or down and settle on some combination of the two. “What if he did?”

“He didn’t,” Gon says, more sure of that than anything else in his life.

Zushi’s eyebrows dance again, but he doesn’t say anything else.

Between Gon’s camping gear and Zushi’s leftover practice pads, it takes longer than Gon’s excitement can take to get everything settled enough to look for his phone. Well, Gon would have liked to look for his phone, but Zushi makes a pointed look at the shower. There are only so many places the phone could be in the whole apartment, after all.

Gon’s just drying off when Zushi knocks on the door. “I found it, but it’s dead,” he says, voice muffled.

“Then charge it!” Gon shouts. After a moment, he adds, quieter and less snappishly, “Please?”

A faint laugh echoes through the apartment.

By the time Gon can make himself a very early dinner of whatever he could grab out of the cabinets without thinking, the phone is charged enough to turn on. Sure enough, there are a wide variety of messages, mostly from Kite’s groupchat asking about the viral post. A few are from former hikers, people who Gon liked enough to share contact info, offering to see if they can get in touch. There are even a few—okay, how did they get ahold of his old social media page? It’s practically defunct, since Gon’s never had a phone capable of more than the most basic apps. And those are…

It’s flattering in a way, but Gon’s not really into that. Or them.

Zushi catches sight of the grimace, and takes one look over Gon’s shoulder before turning beet red.

By the time he’s gone through and deleted the vast majority of what had been filling up his phone, there’s still no message from Spinner, and nothing at all from Killua. Gon sighs and lies his head down on the table with a heavy thunk.

The other chair scrapes heavily along the tiles as Zushi sits, a mug of coffee in his hands. “What will you do? When he messages you, I mean.”

When, not if, an unexpected certainty coming from Zushi. Gon has the best friends in the world. “Talk to him,” Gon says. “It’s only been fifteen years, right? We promised we’d be friends forever.”

“A lot changes in fifteen years,” Zushi says.

“Not that.”

“Then why didn’t you look for him?”

Gon frowns. It had taken a long, long time, but Aunt Mito managed to track down the cruise captain the last time they were in port, tracing through old charters until the right names came up. But when she’d called them up, she’d been met with stonewall after stonewall, pleasant-sounding voices insisting in no uncertain terms that she would never speak with a member of Killua’s family, let alone let her son speak to his friend. By the time Gon was old enough to look himself, he found nothing but a mansion full of people whose eyes matched Killua’s in everything except for his warmth, who refused to even acknowledge Gon’s presence except to throw him out.

That had been years ago. It’s not that Gon stopped looking. Not exactly.

“I did, but I—” Gon starts to say, but his phone buzzes violently against the table, and they both jump out of their chairs.

“Is it—?” Zushi asks, breath in his throat.

It’s a message from Spinner. you owe me big time, kid, she says, followed by a phone number.

Gon rips his phone off the cable, a wide smile spreading across his face. “It is,” he says, and dials Killua.

—————

bzz bzz—

bzz bzz—

bzz b—

“H-hello?”

“Killua! Hi!”

“…Gon? Is that—It’s really…?”

“Killua, it’s you, I thought I’d never—”

“I did find the biggest seashell, and you know it.”

A breath, sharp and astonished. “The blue and white one, with green lines.”

“I found it, and I gave it to you.”

“I still have it.”

A snort of amusement, slightly damp. “I know. You promised you’d keep it.”

“I did. And I promised—”

“That we’d be friends forever.”

A laugh, delighted and teary at the same time. “I knew you remembered.”

“I did promise you that I would.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

(AUgust prompts)

[calpalirwin]

Snapshots and Snapbacks

Summary: It’s easy to flirt with someone when you don’t expect them to call your bluff

A/N: College!Cal

Content: Sexual situations/mentions, mentions of drinking/drugs, my usual bullshit

Word Count: 10.3K

And away, and away we go!

~~~

The first time Brooke saw Calum she almost gasped out loud. There was no way a young man could be that pretty. Then he spoke and her heart raced in her chest.

She spent most of that semester staring at the pretty boy with the prettier handwriting rather than the board.

When the semester ended, she had exchanged only a handful of words with Calum, but that didn’t matter. She hoped their paths would cross again and that she would be braver about pursuing a friendship at the very least.

Two semesters later, having nearly forgotten about the pretty boy who was held her interest a year ago, he strolled into her last class of the day, and her smile broke out in a wide grin. “Cal!” she waved, motioning to the empty desk next to her as all those feelings that had laid dormant bubbled to the surface once more. “Missed ya man!”

“Shit, what up, girl?” he smiled back, bro-slapping her hand in greeting. “Was starting to think you graduated.”

“Nah,” she laughed with a shake of her head, her hand tingling from the feel of his palm against hers. “Last semester, though.”

“Shit, look at you go!” he praised.

“Thank you, thank you,” she continued to laugh, brushing imaginary dirt off her shoulders, grinning when his laugh joined hers.

~~~

Her hand reached into her bag of pretzels at the same time a Vans-clad foot shoved the leg of her desk chair. “Pst!” Calum whispered loudly, giving her desk another nudge. “Pst!”

She turned slightly in her desk to look at him, his eyes crinkling around the edges from the wide grin on his face. She tilted her chin upwards in a silent question of “What?” and stifled a laugh when he held his hand out and pouted. She laughed quietly, shaking her head as she dumped some pretzels in his waiting hand, both of them stifling more laughs as the bag crinkled in the dark and quiet classroom.

That would not be the last class he stole her snacks, thereby deeming himself Cal the Snack Thief. She damn near lost in when she brought Teddy Grahams and he let out the loudest moan stuffing them into his mouth with a “I haven’t had these in FOREVER!”

~~~

“Hey, you stole my shirt,” she joked, pointing between the shirts they were both wearing: a grey NASA tee.

“Nah,” he grinned. “Bet I had mine longer, so technically you stole mine.”

She chuckled as she took her seat. “Fair, very fair.”

“Where’s your hat?” he asked, noticing the blonde streaks in her brown hair for the first time, wondering if she always had them as she always had her hair hidden by a hat.

She pushed a hand through her hair, the blonde more noticeable as her hair flashed under the lights. “Oh, I wore a beanie today cuz it was cold. But I took it off because it made me look like shit.”

“Has it ever occurred to you that it was you making the beanie look like shit, not the other way around?” he asked teasingly.

She reached over to give his shoulder a push. “Shut up, you jerk,” she laughed before swiping the hat he wore on his own head and putting it on her head. “There, now I have my hat,” she said, sticking out her tongue at him.

Calum let out a small gasp of disbelief. Unbeknownst to her, Calum also liked Brooke. He liked that she was quick-witted in every aspect; that she could go from voicing the most complexly profound thoughts to giving the snarkiest of retorts. And he’d be lying if he said that every time she mouthed off didn’t stir his dom side wild. Like now. She continued to smirk at him before turning to face forward in her desk, her hands coming to rest cockily behind her neck, fingers interlacing. He leaned forward and snatched his hat off her head. “Shouldn’t take things that don’t belong to us, Brooke,” he breathed in her ear, getting smug satisfaction at the way she shivered.

But then, that bratty look was on her face as she turned in her seat to fire back with “Says you, snack thief.”

~~~

She heard the footsteps running up behind her before Calum was letting loose a scream behind her. She laughed and pushed his shoulder, laughing more as he stumbled over his feet. “You scared me, you jerk!”

“Yeah?” he asked, his brown eyes shining proudly.

“No,” she admitted, pushing him again. “I heard you, dumbass. If you had grabbed me though, I probably would’ve screamed.”

“Aw, shit. I had my headphones in, forgot you could hear me running.”

“You idiot,” she chuckled, pushing him a third time while he danced away from her, half chuckles falling from his own lips.

“Skip with me,” he directed.

“Skip with you?”

“Yeah! C’mon!” And then he was skipping down the sidewalk. She laughed and followed suit. God, how he could be so cute and dorky while being sexy as hell was beyond her. And totally unfair.

“So, where you headed?” she asked as they stopped skipping and fell into a relaxed walking pace.

His shoulders shrugged as he gripped his backpack straps. “Was gonna play some pool. Did you know we have a game center on campus? It’s fuckin’ sick.”

She rolled her eyes. “You really are an idiot.”

“What?”

“DiD yOu KnOw We HaVe A gAmE cEnTeR oN cAmPuS?” she mocked. “Of course we have a game center.”

“Well, shit, I didn’t know about it until Monday, okay Miss Smartypants? Shit…”

“I’m teasing, you goof. But, pool, huh?”

“Yeah, I’m not very good. But it’s a good way to kill some time.”

“Aw, don’t wanna go home?” she teased.

“Not to 3 dudes, I don’t!”

“Aw, roommates, how cute.”

“Yeah, I’m a broke ass college student. ‘Course I got roommates. You don’t?”

“Nope,” she answered, popping the “p” sound. “I’m a RA so I get a single at a discount.”

“Nice, look at you, baller.”

She shrugged. “It is what it is.”

“You mean you can have sex without anyone bothering you, you mean.”

She gasped in shock, “Calum!”

It was his turn to shrug as he grinned dangerously. “Am I wrong?” he challenged.

“That is none of your business, sir,” Brooke laughed, grateful it was dark out so he couldn’t she the blush in her cheeks.

“Aw, c’mon, we’re friends, aren’t we?”

“That we most definitely are,” she agreed, bypassing his original question. “And this is you,” she added, gesturing to the student center.

“This is me,” he confirmed. “See ya Monday, then?”

“Yeah, see ya in class,” she nodded. “Have fun.” Then, in a moment of bravery, she leaned for a hug.

His arm wrapped around her shoulders and she was slightly taken aback by the warm softness that radiated from such a strong arm. “See ya, girl,” he whispered as they broke apart.

By the time she let herself into her room, she had already sent him a friend request on Instagram and he had accepted.

~~~

Her fingers shook over her keyboard, the message chat open on her phone. She had been too shy to impose herself on his game of pool the other night. But he had said they were friends. Friends could play pool together.

Babbling_Brook: How’d playing pool by yourself go lol?

Calpal_hoodie: Lol! Actually one of the pool sharks in there came up to me and wanted to play some frames. It was a really good time.

Babbling_Brook: Oh shit that’s cool! We should play sometime before class lol. See if I still suck.

Her fingers shook with nerves as she waited for his message.

Calpal_hoodie: Haha down!

She let out a breath of relief. Good. He had agreed. Now to make it happen.

Babbling_Brook: Sick. I’m free before class for like 3 hours.

Calpal_hoodie: I have about an hour before.

Babbling_Brook: Sweet, I’ll be able to practice beforehand so I don’t make a total fool of myself lmao.

Calpal_hoodie: Lol! I’m nothing special, it’s okay

Babbling_Brook: We’ll see on Monday then who sucks more lmao

~~~

It was a slow drag to Monday and the impending date to shoot pool. It seemed to both like an eternity had taken place between Brooke’s last message Friday morning and her message Monday afternoon that included a picture of a pool table set up and waiting.

Babbling_Brook: Let’s go, playa!

Calpal_hoodie: I didn’t do the worksheet for class! After?

Her heart sank a little in her chest, but she wasn’t surprised her friend had procrastinated the idiotic assignment that was due every class.

Babbling_Brook: Do it in class lol

Calpal_hoodie: Lol! Sounds good! He doesn’t collect them until the end of class anyway.

Babbling_Brook: Exactly dude!

Calpal_hoodie: Dude! Did I tell you how I bought a new stick? Won’t be here til tomorrow though…

Babbling_Brook: Nice! Table’s set, btw.

“Oi! Over here!” Brooke called out across the room, recognizing that head of dark curls anywhere.

He broke out in a grin, as he hurried over to her. “What up, girl?” he asked, giving her a one-armed hug.

“Not much,” she said, gesturing to the pool table. “Wanna break?”

“Oh, we’re not playing 9-ball?” he asked, brown eyes scanning the table set up.

“No? Because I don’t know how?”

He nodded, placing the cue ball how he wanted, his pool cue sliding through his fingers. “After this, I’ll teach ya?” he asked, taking his shot, the balls clacking loudly, one sinking into a pocket.

She clicked her tongue in her cheek and nodded. “For sure.” Then, “I thought you were bad at this.”

He chuckled at her as he lined up his next shot. “I am. But I also watch a lot so…”

“Visual learner, nice,” she said, taking out her phone and snapping a picture of him leaning over the table. He missed and she moved around, plotting her own shot. “I learn by doing,” she admitted, taking her shot and missing. “Damn,” she muttered, shaking her head.

“Learn by doing, eh?” he smirked.

“Was about to turn that into a sex joke myself,” she laughed. Again, when he was busying himself with his turn, she snapped more photos of him. He quirked an eyebrow at her in silent question when he caught her on the third go-round. “What?” she asked, her cheeks flushing. “I like taking candids of my friends,” she half-lied, pocketing her phone. “I like capturing people in their element. Not posing for the camera or putting on a show. Just them being a hundred percent themselves.”

“Mhm,” he replied with a note of playful skepticism. Then, to make conversation, “You said you had a girlfriend, yeah?”

She laughed at the bold directness of the question. “What?! No!”

“No? Shit… I could’ve sworn… Aw, I’m so sorry!” he sputtered, his brown eyes wide and worried he had offended her. He was enveloping her in a hug before she knew it, his chest solid against her. “I love you! Don’t hate me!”

She laughed as they pulled apart. “I might have said I want a girlfriend, but I don’t actually have one. I wish.”

“You and me both,” he laughed. “Shit, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to...”

She waved him off. “Seriously man, it’s cool. You’re half right. I’m bi. It’s really fun to piss guys off by saying I’ve made out with more girls than they have. I mean, I’ve only made out with 2 girls. But still. You’d be surprised how many guys haven’t even done that.”

He nodded in appreciation. “Sick. So was it a boyfriend, then, and I just misheard?”

“Well…” she paused to think about it. “I mean, I’m seeing someone.”

He nodded and she detected the way his face fell for a moment. His face fell more when he sunk the 8 ball in the pocket and the cue ball followed. “Shit, good game.”

She laughed. “Thanks! It’s almost like you did all the work for me!”

“It’s cuz I did,” he laughed with her. “Alright, so 9-ball,” he started to explain as he set up the table. “You play with 9 balls.”

“Mmm, kinky,” Brooke snorted. “Continue.”

He rolled his eyes at her joke. “And you go in order. As long as you hit the first number in the sequence first, you’re good.”

Their game made them a few minutes late to their class, both of them giggling as the sped-walked across the room. “No, sit in front of me,” he whispered as she took her regular set in the row beside him.

She rolled her eyes but moved anyway, giggling more before reaching into her backpack to grab her snack. She pushed it to the bottom edge of her desk so he could reach. “More pool after class? Or you got plans?” she whispered, leaning back in her seat.

“Yeah, I’m down for a few games,” he whispered back, his hand reaching into the bag of teddy bear shaped graham crackers. Then, “So, you’ve only ever made out with chicks, but have you…?”

She gasped at the question he left hanging between them. “Yes, I’ve had sex. But only with one dude.”

“The one you’re seeing?”

She nodded. “And your body count?”

He snickered into his hand. “Way more than one.”

She turned, her eyes wide. She shouldn’t be surprised. He was a good looking guy. Too good looking if she could say so herself. Of course he was using it to his benefit.

~~~

“So, the guy?” he questioned, eyes trained on the pool table after class. “Must be good dick if he’s the only one?”

She laughed from her spot on the stool. “I guess? I mean, I wouldn’t know any different.”

“Aw, how cute,” he teased.

“Shut the fuck up,” she laughed at him, then put her hands on top of her head and sighed. “Fuck, I need to get fucked though.”

“Yeah?” he asked, his eyebrows shooting up.

“Yeah. Haven’t seen him in like a week.”

“You seeing him tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“Shit, what are you doing here playing pool with me for? Go get your dick girl!”

She rolled her eyes. “He hasn’t texted me he landed yet. I got time.”

“Long distance?”

She shook her head. “Nah, he was just traveling for work.”

“Nice,” he nodded. “So tits or ass?”

“My preference? As a girl with no ass herself, I’m a tit woman.”

He let out a chuckle of agreement. “No offense, but doesn’t seem like you got much tits either.”

She scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’ll have you know my tits are huge.”

“Bullshit. What size?”

“Triple D, bitch!” she stated proudly.

“Bull-fuckin-shit! Bet that is the roomiest fuckin bra in the planet.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” she smirked. “So, you a dom or a sub?” she asked, keeping the conversation going. If they were talking sex, she was going to get every inch, figuratively speaking.

He let his breathe in a sputtering huff as he thought, he hands raking through his curls. “Depends I guess.”

“Aw, you a switch?” she teased.

“Are you?” he challenged, equally playful.

She shrugged. “I’m a brat. Like I gave this guy the perfect chance to dom me and he flopped. It was kinda sad.”

He laughed. “What did you say?”

“I forget what started it. But I ended up asking what he was gonna do about it. And he just shrugged.”

His eyes went wide and his nose flared slightly at her words. “Oh yeah. Asking what I’m gonna do is gonna get the dom out. Like, excuse me?”

She laughed and shifted in her seat under his gaze. “Yeah! That’s what I expected was going to happen. But nope! What a shame.” She didn’t catch his muttered agreement as her phone buzzed. “Oh, yay! He landed.”

“Gotta go?” he asked, busying himself with taking his shot to hide his deflation.

“Nah,” she waved her hand. “We can finish the game. He’s still gotta get here.”

“Alright, for sure,” he said, perking back up again.

The game didn’t last much longer as Calum remained his innocence that he really wasn’t that good and Brooke proved that she actually wasn’t good. “Alright, I’m out,” she said, setting her pool stick aside. “See ya Wednesday?” she asked, slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

“Yup,” he said, giving her another one armed hug. “Go get that dick.”

She laughed as they let go and walked off calling out, “I fuckin will!”

As she tidied up her room, waiting for her actual date, she sent Calum the pictures she had taken of him earlier. 

Babbling_Brook: Some of the better shots I took

Calpal_hoodie: Nice! Had a great time. Let’s do it again, yeah?

She grinned at her phone before responding. 

Babbling_Brook: Oh for fuckin sure. New after class ritual lol?

Calpal_hoodie: Down

Babbling_Brook: Sweet. We should try the little bowling thing they got. Maybe I can actually win lmao

Calpal_hoodie: You a good bowler?

Babbling_Brook: Nope! But my dude makes mini bowling alleys for a living so I like to think I got a slight advantage lol

Calpal_hoodie: Oh, gotcha! He home yet?

Babbling_Brook: Nah. He’s stopping to get us burgers first. 

Calpal_hoodie: Animal style burger then fuck me animal style lol?

Babbling_Brook: He fuckin better!

Calpal_hoodie: Jesus lmao. Hahaha. Love it.

Babbling_Brook: Look, my hand and vibrator only do so much before a girl just needs a real dick. And THAT’S why I’m only half gay. 

Calpal_hoodie: With the technology y’all have with vibrators… so much pressure is put on the men I’ll have you know. When a vibrator can hit “your spot” a million times without fail… it really sets us up for failure lmao

Babbling_Brook: Well maybe I have a romantic kink then lol. I need human touch more than I need a damn vibrator. 

On the other side of campus, Calum hung his head sadly, wishing more than he cared to admit that he was the one providing her with that human touch she craved.

~~~

On Wednesday, Brooke carefully plotted her outfit. She was a bit bitter that Calum hadn’t believed her about her boob size, and she was determined to make him regret ever having doubted her. 

She admired herself briefly in her tank top before she threw on her hoodie and hat.

~~~

She was leaving the gym and was headed for the game center when her phone pinged. 

Calpal_hoodie: Syllabus doesn’t have a worksheet for today so guess who’s ditching?

Babbling_Brook: Bruh… so pool?

Calpal_hoodie: Yeah I’ll be playing pool until my pussy appointment later tonight. So like til 8 probs.

Her heart sank a little. But she supposed it was her fault for bragging about her own sex life. 

Babbling_Brook: Shit, get it!

Calpal_hoodie: Yeah. So I’ll be playing with some of the pool sharks, but if you wanna swing by, I’ll play a few games with ya. 

She chuckled and took a quick selfie of her with the pool tables behind her. 

Babbling_Brook: “swing by later” bitch get on my level lmao

Calpal_hoodie: Haha! Okay I see you I see you.

Brooke chuckled to herself as she pocketed her phone and watched the door for him. She had shrugged herself free of the hoodie long ago, the Southern California weather providing more warmth than seemed logically possible for the middle of February. She drummed her fingers impatiently against her leg, her mind debating whether to get a table for herself or just to wait. 

She narrowed her eyes when Calum finally did stroll in, and right past her, a man on a mission. Rather than storming over there like she wanted, she took out her phone and snapped more photos of him, enjoying seeing him in his element. Then, she picked up her things and strolled over.

“Just walk right by me, huh?” she greeted teasingly, her hand going to rest on his shoulder.

His brown eyes shined brightly and he grinned as he turned towards her familiar voice. “Hey! Shit, my bad,” he responded, wrapping her in his famous one-armed hug. “Must’ve walked right by you.”

“Yeah, I saw you walk by and was like really?”

“I’m sorry!” he laughed, pouting his lips at her. “Do you have a table?”

“Nah,” she waved her hand. “I’ll watch for a bit. We’ll play ourselves later.”

“Cool, for sure,” he nodded before engaging himself with the small group of guys already playing at the table.

She pretended to busy herself with her phone or studying the table, anything to distract herself from studying him. She had her back turned when his fingers brushing across her bare shoulder made her jump. “Nice tattoo,” he murmured as he retracted his light touch, her skin on fire.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, her cheeks flushing as her own fingers flew up to trace the sunflower his fingers had been tracing mere seconds ago. “I like yours too,” she added, pointing at his arms that held much more ink than her single small shoulder piece.

His soft chuckle tickled her ear as he stayed close behind her. “Also, I owe you an apology,” he said, his eyes darting downwards briefly. “I see it now with the tank top.”

“Told ya,” she smirked over her shoulder at him.

His eyes went wide in realization. “Wait! Did you wear a tank top on purpose?”

She scoffed and averted his gaze. “What? That’s ridiculous. No I- yes I did,” she laughed, not able to keep a straight face. “Did it work?” she asked with a hopeful voice.

He let out another soft chuckle in response, then, “Go set up a table. I’m almost done with this game.”

“Aw shit, are we keeping you from your girl?” one of the guys Calum had been playing with asked.

The two friends jumped apart. “What? No! We’re just friends!” they both blurted before Brooke walked off to the front desk to get a table for her and Calum.

“Sorry about that,” Calum said, a hand rubbing at his neck when she came back.

She waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. It’s harmless.”

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” he chuckled. “Could you imagine though?” he asked with a raised eyebrow and slight smirk.

She laughed at his bluntness. “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t,” she answered truthfully.

“Oh yeah?” he questioned, cocking his head to the side.

She shrugged. “You’re a good looking dude. I got a nice rack. I’m also smart as hell. We get along. Wouldn’t be a whole lot different than what we’re doing now.”

“Shit, I suppose you’re right. Too bad we’ll never know.” His shrug mirrored her own, his words meaning different things to each of them. To him, he was referring to her “seeing someone” and to her it was solidification that a guy like him would never go for a girl like her.

“Yup,” she said, just to have something to say as she lined up her shot.

“Here, can I tell you something?” he asked suddenly.

“Yeah, shoot,” she said, straightening up, intrigued.

“You bridge with your thumb,” he told her, pointing at her hand still resting on the pool table. “Which is fine because you can tilt it and such. But lie the rest of your knuckles flat on the table. It’ll give you steadier control.”

“Oh. Like this?” she checked, adjusting her hand slightly so her knuckles were flat against the green felt rather than tilted at an angle.

“Yeah, there you go.”

She bent back over the table to take her shot, fully aware of how heavy his gaze felt on her.

They remained quiet as they went about playing their game, minus the small muttered curses at a missed shot, exchanging soft smiles as they moved about the table and each other. When he won, he high-fived her. “Good game. You almost had me. Play by yourself for a bit and I’ll be back to check on you? I’m gonna go get in on another game with them if I can,” he said, jerking a thumb at the table in front of them.

“I’ll be here,” she smiled at him, feeling the heat rush to her cheeks at his mention of checking up on her. She lost herself in focusing on her own game, but her gaze still fluttered over to him more than she intended. And every time she looked away, he looked over at her.

“You good?” he asked, coming up behind her.

She pushed the strands of hair that were falling in her face out of the way, having discarded her hat a while ago. “Yup. How’s your game?”

“Oh we finished. But the other guy wants to play so here I am. Mind if I?” He let his gesturing finish his question as his large hand swept over the table.

She took a step back, “Go for it.”

Again, they didn’t say much. This time though, she busied herself with getting lost in the music playing from the speakers around the room, singing softly and moving her hips to the beat. He tried not to stare, but it was hard not to. No matter how hard he tried he just couldn’t get her off his mind. There was something in the way she just felt familiar to him, like he didn’t have to put on a show. He could just be, and she would just accept it, no questions asked.

He drummed his fingers against his thighs after he cleared the table, pondering his next move. “Alright, I’m heading back over there. But, uh…?”

Brooke chuckled. “Go do you. I’m fine.”

She played another two games by herself without Calum coming back. She set up for a third game, and left it there before walking over to where he was. “Hey,” she said, putting her hand on his shoulder, feeling her heart race when he turned and grinned at her.

“Hey!”

“Hi,” she laughed at his happy nature, his eyes rimmed red.

“We’re a little high. Wanna hit?”

“Nah, I’m good, thanks.”

“Don’t smoke?”

“No.”

“Have you ever?”

“Once.”

“Nice! Oh, I’m gonna go get some food. You guys want anything?”

“I won’t say no to a cheese pizza. Since you’re offering.”

The other guy muttered something about how pizza sounded great, pulling out his wallet.

“Nah,” Calum waved his hand. “Don’t worry about it. I offered.”

“Ah, well shit. I’ll get next time then. I don’t like mooching.”

Brooke laughed and touched Calum’s shoulder again. “Oh, I don’t give a fuck about mooching.”

Calum laughed with her, before his eyes got playfully dark. “Venmo me, bitch.”

She laughed more, “Nah, I’ll pay you in other ways, yeah?” she teased , eyes darting to his lap.

The other guy clapped a hand to his mouth as he snorted in laughter. “Damn, you gonna suck his dick right here?”

Brooke ran a hand through her hair, “Cal wishes.”

“Right. You guys aren’t together. But like… would you?”

Brooke shrugged and opted for honesty, “Yeah, I’d fuck him.”

“Nice. And you?” he asked Calum.

“Me what?”

“Would you fuck her?”

“Given a chance? Oh, hell yeah.” He reached into his backpack and took a hit off a vape pen before walking off in search of pizza.

“So are you with someone else or is he?” the guy asked Brooke.

“Uh… little bit of both?” she said skeptically with a shrug as she took a seat on the stool.

He nodded. Then blinked. “Wait, what do you mean by that?”

“Well, I’ve been seeing someone for years. But weren’t not… serious I guess? More of like a super close friendship that involves sex.”

He nodded again, understanding better. “So dating without the label?”

She chuckled. “Yeah, I guess. And not for lack of trying on my part. I mean, I like the dude, obviously. But I’d also like to say I have a boyfriend.”

“Mhm. And that one?” he asked, jerking a thumb towards where Calum had wandered off.

“Oh, Cal’s single. He’s actually going to hook up with a chick later.”

“And that chick isn’t you?”

She shook her head. “Nope.”

“Why not? You just both admitted you’d fuck each other. You guys seem to get along. And he hasn’t stopped checking you out.”

She blushed. “I think I ruined it by telling him I was seeing someone. I think he thinks it’s an actual relationship. And I don’t know how to bring that up. Especially now. ‘Hey Cal, remember how we just said we’d fuck each other given a chance? Well, I’m actually single. Surprise!’? No. He’d think I was just saying it. And I’m not into people thinking I’m using them.”

The guy nodded for a third time. “Fair enough. Fuck, I’m so high right now. Shit, I gotta get to class. How long does it take to get pizza?”

Brooke chuckled as she pushed back her hair. “Want me to go check on him?”

“Would you mind?”

“Nah, not at all,” she said getting up. She would take any excuse to be with Calum.

Calum had a beer in his hand and was sitting at a table, his head down as he looked at the phone in his other hand. She couldn’t stop herself from suppressing the urge to place her hands on those squishy cheeks as she moved towards him but at the last second, her hands placed themselves on either side of his head, giving him a playful shake. “Hey!” he said, brightening up as he realized it was her. “I got a beer,” he added, showing her the beer in his hand. “The pizza should be out soon. I got a medium cuz it was cheaper.”

“Smart move,” she agreed. “I didn’t know you were even old enough to drink.”

He quirked an eyebrow at her. “I’m 22. My birthday was a couple weeks ago.”

“Shit yeah? I turned 22 back in December.”

“Aw, we like birthday buddies almost.”

“Almost yeah. Hey, I didn’t make things awkward when I admitted I’d sleep with you, did I?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I mean, I admitted the same thing. We’re still cool.”

“Cool,” she smiled.

“So what’s up? Come to check on me?”

“Yeah, thought I’d keep you company. Plus the guy’s gotta get to class so he’s getting a bit impatient.”

Calum’s laugh rang out in the pizza shop. “Guess he’s gonna be late to class. But, tell him it shouldn’t be much longer?”

“Yeah, for sure,” she said, patting his shoulder before walking back to the game room.

“Aw, damn, was hoping you’d both come back,” the guy said, seeing only her return.

“Sorry, man. Cal got a medium cuz it was cheaper so he’s gotta wait. Should be done soon though.”

“Alright, no problem,” he had just enough time to respond before Calum was walking to them, a pizza box with plates in one hand and his beer in the other. “Awesome! Wish I didn’t have to grab and leave, but I gotta get going. Got a quiz.”

“No worries man,” Calum told him, handing the other man a plate and opening the box. “Sorry it took so long.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. Thanks, man,” he said, loading his plate up with slices of pizza. “Catch ya later. Nice meeting you…” his voice faltered as he looked at Brooke.

“Brooke,” she supplied. “Nice meeting you too.”

“Yup. See ya guys.”

“Thanks for the pizza, Cal,” she said, putting a slice on the plate he handed her.

“No problem. Needed to eat something. Aw, he took like all the pepperoni,” he frowned at the box.

She looked at the box with him, her heart fluttering that half of it was cheese for her. “You could’ve gotten it all pepperoni.”

“But you wanted cheese,” he said, taking a sip of his beer.

“You’re cute, you know that?” she asked, being bold and taking a sip of his beer herself, wincing at the taste.

“Hey!” he laughed, snatching his beer back. “Getcha own beer.”

She made a face. “Yuck! You can keep it. Ugh. Nasty!”

“So you don’t drink either?”

She shook her head. “That makes me like the most boring person on the planet huh? College girl who doesn’t drink or smoke.”

“Nah,” he said with a shake of his head. “One of my roommates is the same way. So you just don’t like the taste or you scared?”

“Scared? I’m not scared of anything.”

He laughed. “No! I didn’t mean it like that. Not scared of anything, huh? Should’ve guessed. I just meant… some people don’t drink because they got a family history. So they’re more… aware of the choices they make. Or don’t make, I guess.”

“Is your roommate one of those people?”

“Yeah. Being an alcoholic scares him. Rightfully so. Shit’s scary.”

“You don’t seem scared yourself.”

He shrugged. “I like to think I know my limits. Like this will be the only drink I have.”

She nodded, approvingly. “I’m just not a big fan of the taste. But, I’ll drink every now and then. But even then, it’s barely enough to give me a buzz. I like being in control.”

“Ooo, a dom, eh?” his eyes danced playfully.

“Says the switch!” she laughed. “No. I’m just a brat. Don’t have enough confidence to actually be a dom. I’m all bark and no bite.” Her voice trailed off as they ate their pizza. When she caught him lip syncing to the music playing through the speakers, she spoke up, “Like this music?”

He nodded, a slight red tinge undertoning his tanned cheeks. “Yeah. But I’ll listen to just about anything.”

“Yeah?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, I play and sing, so…”

“Yeah?! That’s awesome. What do you play?”

“Bass, mostly. My roommates and I are actually in a band.”

“No shit?” she asked. “Would love to watch you play sometime then.”

“Yeah? Shit, I’ll tell you next time we practice, then,” he promised, reaching into the pizza box. “Aw, shit, is there any left?”

She nodded. “Should be one more.”

“Yeah? How many did you have?”

“This is my third.”

“That was my fourth. Last one’s yours then.”

She shook her head. “No. You bought it. You take it. I’m good.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Game?”

“For sure,” he nodded, taking a big bite of the slice.

They played at a slow pace, taking their time. At one point he went back to his pizza slice to take a bite, but held it out to her in offering. She grinned and instead of taking it from his hands like he expected, she leaned down and tore off a piece with her teeth. “Thanks,” she continued to grin around the bite, making him laugh. They loved how easy it felt to be around each other, quirky banter without any sense of awkwardness or trying to impress the other. Just straight up honesty at every turn.

“Ugh!” he muttered in frustration as he missed what seemed like an easy shot even for her. “I’m getting mad!”

She covered her mouth with her hand and giggled so hard she let out a loud squeaky wheezing sound.

“Was that you?” he asked.

She nodded, her body continuing to shake with her laughter. “Sorry. I do that when I laugh too hard. You’re cute when you’re mad, you know that?”

“You know that you’re just cute?” he asked back.

She blushed and busied herself with taking her turn, opting not to respond.

“So what’s your favorite position?” he asked her.

“Shit!” she sputtered, bringing a finger to her lips in thought.

“My bad. You don’t have to answer.”

“Nah, it’s cool. Just a good question. Shit… Uh… well I’m a little romantic at heart, so probably missionary. But I like others too.”

“Yeah? Missionary’s my favorite because I can pull her hair and make her look at me.”

Her eyes went wide. “Ooo, into hair pulling huh? I love pulling and getting my hair pulled.”

His own eyes went wide and his cock twitched in his pants. “Yeah? What other positions do you like? You said there were others.”

Her cheeks flushed. “Yeah,” she stammered. “Well, uh… like most girls I assume, I get off through clit stimulation. So 69 is like a gold mine. Doggy’s also nice.”

He nodded approvingly as his cock twitched more. “Wanna know the nice part of doggy?” he asked, his voice catching a little.

“What?” she laughed, knowing she had him about as flustered as he had her.

“You get to pull her up by her hair and play with her clit,” he winked.

“Ayyyy! That’s exactly why I like it!”

“It’s definitely on the list of positions I like too. Plus I get to choke her a bit. That’s why I like missionary too.”

“Any position you can choke and pull her hair, huh? See, I like doggy because I get both of those and some ass smacking. All my kinks in one position.”

“Aw, you got them soft kinks,” he teased.

“Shut up, so do you!” she laughed.

He sat down in a high-backed chair that rocked slightly with his movements. “Aw, shit, this chair would be perfect to have a girl riding me on,” he acknowledged with a horny look. His teeth sunk into his lower lip as he gripped the armrests and made the chair rock more. “Just, a little this with her hand choking me. Phew… Clutch, lemme tell ya.”

“Annnd, there’s the switch,” she giggled.

“Look, I only like being dommed when she’s riding me. Otherwise, I’m domming.”

“Next you’re gonna tell me you like being called ‘Daddy’,” she scoffed at him.

The way his eyes lit up at the title had her gulping involuntarily. “Fuck yeah. The girl I’m gonna hook up with later- we’ve hooked up in the past- she called me ‘Sir’ once and I corrected her so fuckin’ hard.”

She laughed to hide her arousal. “You’re so weird.”

He smirked at her as he stood up. “Aw, got you a little flustered, do I?” he breathed down at her once he had closed their distance

“Like I don’t have you just as flustered,” she shot back, rubbing her hand against his cheek. “Daddy,” she added with a loud laugh. She pursed her lips in a knowing smirk of her own at the way he looked: his eyes clenched shut, hands curling in a fist, and teeth biting into his lip. “What? I shouldn’t touch you?” she continued to play with him, dropping her hand to draw it down his torso, enjoying the feel of his muscles underneath her fingertips. He radiated strength in a way that made her weak in the knees and wet between her thighs. Thankfully for her, she could hide her arousal better than he could.

“You really shouldn’t,” he said, his lips barely moving, and his brown eyes practically pitch black with lust.

She shrugged and stepped back. “Your shot, by the way,” she told him, gesturing at the pool table.

Right. Pool. He had nearly forgotten what he was originally here to do, his mind full of thoughts that centered around bending her over the pool table and wiping that smirk off her face. Her own mind raced with similar thoughts, wishing he didn’t have a hook up date with another girl.

~~~

Brooke wasn’t expecting to hear from Calum until Monday, so when her phone pinged not even an hour after they had said their goodbyes for the night, she was definitely surprised.

Calpal_hoodie: Wanna hear something annoying?

She perked up so much, she felt a little guilty.

Babbling_Brook: Omg, yes! What happened with your date?

Calpal_hoodie: So, she gets here. We drove around to find a spot. I take out my condoms. She’s ALLERGIC to them! So, I drove to a store to get new ones. I drive back. And she’s like “can you drive me back please?” She was about to break down about her break up with her ex and couldn’t handle it. So dry dick for Cal.

Brooke clapped a hand over her mouth to suppress her giggles. On one hand, she felt bad for him. On the other, she was glad his date had freaked out. The fact that- besides playing venting at her- he had let his date call it quits before it even started only made Brooke feel better about her feelings about Calum.

Babbling_Brook: If it makes you feel any better, this chick I’m never gonna stand a chance with called me a pussy wetter. Which like… no… I’m dorky and awkward. I just have a talent for being smooth as fuck

Calpal_hoodie: Lol. You want me to agree with her, don’t you?

Babbling_Brook: I mean… I gave you the set up…

Calpal_hoodie: Lol! Yes, you definitely have pussy wetting potential.

Babbling_Brook: Potential?! Aw, bubbie…

Calpal_hoodie: Bubbie? Lol

Babbling_Brook: Not into pet names? Cal the Snack Thief is a tad long... And again. “Potential”?! Smh… lowkey offended, bubbie.

Calpal_hoodie: So am I… And no! I didn’t mean it like that, honest… When I use the term “potential” it means you already got it.

Babbling_Brook: 1.) Did you just make a big dick joke? 2.) I’m teasing. I know I’m a smooth talking son of a gun. I can talk the panties off a mannequin.

Calpal_hoodie: Yes, yes I did lol. And note taken. That was smooth right there.

Babbling_Brook: I mean… I made you nice and flustered earlier, yeah?

Calpal_hoodie: Oh yeah… fuck! I just want pussy in my mouth with my cock down someone’s throat… is that too much to ask?!

Babbling_Brook: You and me both, bubbie. Only the opposite. But yeah…

Calpal_hoodie: Wake up that dude of yours by sucking his dick then, lmao. I’m gonna get high as balls.

Babbling_Brook: Nah, I’m probs just gonna go to bed. As for you? Yeah, go get high as balls and maybe you’ll forget it’s your own hand you’re fucking.

Calpal_hoodie: Now you’re just making me feel bad lmao

Babbling_Brook: Just being a brat, like whatchu gonna do?

Calpal_hoodie: Lmao, I think you know what I would do… fuck, I’ll probably end up sending nudes to my chick after I smoke. I always get more comfortable doing that when I’m high as hell.

Babbling_Brook: Makes sense. Being drunk/high tends to lower one’s inhibitions so people are more likely to step outside of their normal comfort zone when under the influence (See, told ya I was smart, too)

Calpal_hoodie: Alright, calm down Plato lol

Babbling_Brook: Lol.

She paused and looked at her phone. Her curiosity was getting the better of her. She had to know.

Babbling_Brook: Now… out of pure curiosity… I’m pretty bratty with you frequently. Given the chance, what would you actually do?

Calpal_hoodie: Look at you all turned on asking me lol

She chuckled at her phone. She wasn’t going to let him see her sweat. She turned up the brat charm.

Babbling_Brook: My curiosity is turned on, sure. As for the rest of me? Dry as your dick, bubbie.

Calpal_hoodie: Oh, damn! Alright… so like… what would I do to you sexually? If I had the chance and you were single?

She frowned at her phone, briefly. Was he only this willing to divulge all this information to her because he thought she was with someone else? Because he could freely flirt with her because he thought all it amounted to was just two friends talking shit? She wondered if now was her chance to come clean. Let him know that he had misinterpreted her words when she said she was seeing someone. But, she was afraid he would balk if she did. That knowing there was no actual boundary would be what pushed their relationship into awkward territory. And as much as she liked him that way, she also really enjoyed the friendship and didn’t want to lose that.

Babbling_Brook: Yeah. We’re both single. We have the relationship we do now. I mouth off like I always do. What do you do?

Calpal_hoodie: Well I’d tell you that if you keep mouthing off, you won’t have any room left in your mouth to speak. And of course you wouldn’t want to stop talking shit then. So I’d prove it and make you get on your knees for me… and if we had that room to ourselves, you’d definitely end up over that pool table taking every inch. But… ya know… lol!

Brooke gulped, reading the message, knowing he wouldn’t have told her that if she told him the truth. It was easy to be bold when you thought nothing could come of it.

Babbling_Brook: Oh, so when you said you were a dom, you meant like a dom dom. Alright… I dig.

Calpal_hoodie: Lol oh yeah. And you? What would you do?

Babbling_Brook: Shit… flip the script, yeah? Alright… Well, I’d definitely be much brattier knowing I could probably get something out of it. Test these dom limits of yours. And then get hella insecure that you saw me as a fling. Because even though I started everything in good fun, I’d be secretly craving a relationship like the romantic ho I am.

Calpal_hoodie: Aw! Least you’re honest. Well, would’ve been fun.

She shook her head sadly at her phone. If only he knew this was all entirely possible.

Babbling_Brook: I try to be lol. Like in all reality, I’d let you fuck me six ways to Sunday and then probably cry about it because I’d get all girly about it. But I’d still be my bratty self to you in person acting all cool and unbothered cuz I don’t want to be clingy and weird. Definitely would’ve been a ride for sure- pun fully intended.

Calpal_hoodie: Aw! That’s like both a lil sad but so honest and genuine. Nice pun, btw lol.

Babbling_Brook: Lol, it’s okay though. Cuz, trust, you’d want a relationship. Like I’m fuckin great! I can be adventurous as fuck or we can chill in bed all day watching movies. And I value my independence so like I’m more than fine with you going off with your boys or whatever cuz I like my alone time. Plus, I’ll remind you of what you got waiting for you later…

Calpal_hoodie: Ayyy! Sounds good to me lmao! Fuck, I still gotta smoke…

Babbling_Brook: Cool, cool. I’m gonna hit the hay. Enjoy that smoke and the thoughts we put in each other’s head lol!

Calpal_hoodie: Lmao, will do!

They both did. They both made a mess of themselves at the idea of giving themselves over to the other one.

~~~

Again, Brooke didn’t expect to hear from Calum until Monday at class. So when her phone pinged on Saturday and the notification said it was from him, her eyebrows pinched together in confusion while her heart raced in excitement.

Calpal_hoodie: Hey, I dunno if you had plans or anything. But my roommates and I are gonna have a rehearsal. So if… No worries if you’re busy. Just thought you’d be interested.

Babbling_Brook: Nah, that sounds great! I’m off today. Where you guys at?”

He messaged her an address to a set of apartments she knew was a few blocks from campus. A twenty minute walk, tops. She looked out the window at the soft warm sunshine. A walk would be perfect.

Babbling_Brook: Cool, be there in twenty. Should I bring anything?

Calpal_hoodie: Nah, just your cute ass

Babbling_Brook: Lmao, you mean my nonexistent ass?

Calpal_hoodie: Lol, it’s okay. You don’t need an ass. You got tits for days.

Babbling_Brook: That I do, lol. See ya in a few then.

The music playing in her headphones got caught off by her phone pinging. Her heart sank, thinking it was Calum cancelling. But it wasn’t. It was Trevor, her not-boyfriend.

Trev: Hey

Brookie: Hey

Trev: You busy?

Brookie: Yeah, I’m actually heading over to a friend’s. Gonna watch his band practice

Trev: His? Like a dude?

Brookie: Is that a problem?

Trev: No. So later then?

Brookie: Maybe… What are we, Trev?

Trev: This again? Brookie…

Brookie: I know. I just…

Trev: You wanna fuck this dude without feeling guilty?

Brookie: Don’t put words in my mouth… I’m not trying to fight.

Trev: I’m not either. Look, we’ve dated other people before. You’re free to do what you want Brookie. I’ll be here whenever you’re done having your fun.

Brookie: Don’t do that. Don’t act like I’m the one stringing you along. You wanted this setup, not me.

Trev: I wasn’t saying that to be mean, Brookie, damn. Seriously, have your fun.

Brookie: I’m sorry, Trev. I didn’t expect to feel this way.

Trev: You don’t have to apologize, Brookie. I’m the idiot who keeps you at arm’s length. I know that comes with the risk of losing you to someone who won’t. But that’s my problem, not yours.

Brookie: I’m still sorry. I don’t like hurting you.

Trev: I know. That’s part of your charm Brookie. You care deeply about everyone around you. Don’t worry about me, okay?

Brookie: Easier said than done, Trev…

Trev: I know. See ya around, Brookie.

She sniffed back the tears that threatened to fall, feeling stupid for mourning a loss that was never hers to lose in the first place. All Trevor and her had been were friends who sometimes had sex. Which is why she had known exactly what to say to Calum about what she would afterwards in the event they ever crossed the line and had sex themselves. It had been a projection of her own relationship with Trevor. She just had to keep faith that maybe her relationship with Calum would have a better ending.

She paused to collect herself before she rapped her knuckles on the door of Calum’s apartment. The door swung open before she had even finished knocking and she was being pulled in the apartment and that one-armed hug she only now fully realized how much she loved. “Hey! You’re here! Guys! This is Brooke. Brooke, these are the guys. Ash, Luke, and Mike.”

3 tall guys nodded as their names were called, first a hazel-eyed brunette with a bright red bandana, then a blue-eyed blonde with a lip ring, and a guy with hair dyed the same shade of green as his eyes.

“Hi,” she squeaked, heat rushing to her cheeks. Of course someone as good looking as Calum would have equally good-looking friends.

“You okay?” Calum asked her, his brown eyes full of concern.

She let out her breath in a huff and shrugged her shoulders. “Eh,” she held her hand flat and gave it a small shake. “It’s fine. So do you guys do covers or write your own stuff?”

“Bit of both,” the blonde told her.

“Cool! What would you classify the stuff you make as? Like genre?”

“Punk!” the green-haired man grinned.

Brooke chuckled as the others sighed, “Mikey…”

“We’re mostly rock oriented,” the brunette explained. “But we experiment with different sounds, so I wouldn’t classify us specifically as a rock band. We just make music we like to make. The genre part is irrelevant.”

“Ash, the word smith,” Calum teased with a roll of his eyes as he moved across the room to pick up the bass he must have set aside when he answered the door. “Have a seat,” he directed at Brooke. “Get comfortable.”

She took a seat on a chair while the men went to various instruments. “2, 3, 4,” the brunette, Ash, counted from a drum kit. Brooke watched his thick thigh work to create a steady fast-paced beat, drumsticks twirling effortlessly before her eyes were glancing back over to Calum who had his eyes closed as he played the beat with Ash before the other two joined in with their the guitars and the blonde started singing.

Brooke watched, mesmerized, her jaw dropping when Calum started singing himself. She quickly closed it when he caught her and shot her a wink. She swayed in her seat, her feet tapping along to the beat as the roommates played their way through some songs she didn’t recognize so she assumed they were theirs, snapping the occasional picture.

~~~

“So, how do you know, Cal?” Ash was asking her an hour later as they both sipped on water. The instruments had been placed aside in favor of game controllers and when Ash made a mention of grabbing some drinks, she had realized how parched she had become.

“Oh, we have a class together.”

He nodded, leaning against the kitchen counter. “College girl meets college boy, huh? Same major?”

She chuckled softly, before shaking her head. “No, I’m a photography major. I think Cal’s English, isn’t he?”

He nodded. “Yeah, Cal’s an English major. He always liked to read. But photography, eh? That explains you taking all those pictures.”

She shrugged. “I like seeing people for who they truly are. Are you guys in college, too?”

He shook his head. “Nah, I graduated last year. And those two barely made it out of high school. Cal and I were the only ones who could stick out school. Which is crazy cuz Luke’s mum’s a teacher.”

She chuckled more. “Mum… what are you, British?”

“Australian, darling. We all are. Cal didn’t tell you?”

She sputtered, choking on her water. “What?! No! No, he didn’t.”

He giggled and a dimple appeared in his cheek. “Yeah. Luke and Mike have dreams of being rockstars. And they’re our boys and it’s our band. So when we graduated high school, we all moved out here. But, Cal wanted a college education. And I had already completed a year myself at that point, so I joined him. And Luke and Mike… well, their talents lie elsewhere. They’ve gotten us a few demos made. We even have our own albums and perform at festivals. Just waiting for Cal to get done so we can make it big time.”

“Sounds to me like that won’t be that hard. You guys got some serious talent.”

“Yeah? You think?”

She nodded. “Yeah. So you’re a year older then?”

It was his turn to nod. “There abouts. I’m 23. Mike and Cal are 22. Then Luke’s the baby. He won’t be 22 until after my 24th birthday. How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Oh, I’m 22. I’m about two months older than Cal.”

“Nice. And you have a class together with Cal?”

She nodded. “Yeah. We had a class last year which is how we met. Honestly, I didn't think he noticed me at all. Then, this semester we ended up in another class together, and I guess I made more of an impression than I thought.”

He smiled down at her and she thought she’d drown in that hazel gaze. “Oh, you made the impression alright. Mate doesn’t shut up about you. Always going on about the girl in class with the snacks and snark.”

She laughed loudly, covering her mouth with her hand as she blushed. “Don’t know why he would. I’m really not much. Just a girl who doesn’t know when to shut her mouth.”

“Should see yourself from someone else’s point of view, darling. Cuz, you’re a bombshell, if I can be so bold as to say so.”

She sputtered again. “Oh yeah?”

He leaned down, his gaze heavy on her. “Oh, yeah.”

“Hey!” Calum’s voice snapped darkly and Ash and Brooke jumped apart, Ash giving his friend a sheepish grin, Brooke’s face bright red like she had got caught with her hand in the cookie jar. “The fuck, Ash?”

Ash raised his hands in defense. “My bad. Line crossed. I’ll back off.”

“Yeah, back the fuck up. She’s got a boyfriend.”

“You’re dating?” Ash’s hazel eyes flashed in startled confusion.

Calum’s brown eyes rolled. “No. She’s got a boyfriend.”

Brooke fiddled with her fingers. “Um… actually…” she started, her voice small, both slightly frightened and turned on by Calum’s protective jealousy.

“You don’t have a boyfriend?” Calum’s voice asked, the fierceness replaced by a tone that sounded on the verge of breaking. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I said… and you assumed… and I didn’t… Cal, we said…” Brooke’s hands started to flutter at her sides, her eyes welling up with tears. The girl who normally had more words than she knew what to do with was speechless.

“Whoa… hey,” his voice soothed and then he was pulling her into a hug. But instead of one arm, it was both, and she was about to crack from the soft intimacy. “C’mere,” he said before he was leading her down the hallway and into a bedroom. “Brooke, it astounds me how fucking blunt and honest we are with each other. Like the shit that comes out of your mouth blows me away sometimes. But you really couldn’t feel like you could tell me that you didn't have a boyfriend?”

“I’m sorry…” she whispered. “I… what Trevor and I have is hard to explain. It’s like we’re a couple without the label. And it’s always been confusing for me. And I didn’t want to try and explain that and get us both confused, so it was easier to let you think that he was my boyfriend. And then… well, we admitted what we admitted and… I dunno. I think it was easy for you to say those things when you thought nothing could come from it.”

“You think I said those filthy things to you just to say them?”

She shrugged and bit into her lower lip. “Maybe… Easy to flirt with someone when you can hide behind the fact that nothing will come of it…”

“Is that why you let me believe you had a boyfriend? So you could hide?”

She shook her head. “No! I just… look the relationship I had… have… I dunno… it’s not fully what I want. Yes, we’re friends. Yes, we have sex. But I want more than that. And he doesn’t. And that’s fine. But… I can’t do it with you, too. And I know it’s probably on me for being the proud tomboy who likes to be one of the guys. But I can’t keep being the girl who’s not good enough to be the girlfriend.”

“Jesus…” Calum breathed, running his hands through his curls.

“Don’t,” she said, standing up. “It’s fine. I’m the hopeless romantic living in a hookup culture world. Um, I’m gonna go now. But, I’ll see you Monday? Want teddy grahams or pretzels?”

“You’re doing that thing you said you would do,” he muttered.

“What thing?” she asked, forcing a smile.

“Where you said you would act cool and unbothered to not come off as clingy and desperate.”

“I said weird, not desperate…” she mumbled, staring down at her shoes. “See ya, Cal.”

“On your knees,” his voice barked at her as her back turned and her hand gripped the knob of the bedroom door.

“Excuse me?” she asked, turning back to face him, her face a mix of sad longing and confused anger.

He stalked over to her. “I said,” he spoke, his voice low and raspy as his fingers dug into her shoulders. “On. Your. Knees.”

She looked at him in full confusion but sank to her knees anyway. “Cal… What are you doing?”

“Making good on my word of what I would do to you if I ever got the chance,” he answered darkly. Then his face was inches from hers and it was full of soft concern. “That okay?”

She gulped and nodded. Then, as he went to straighten up, “Wait! Cal?”

“Yeah?” he asked, crouching back down.

“What happens after?”

“You said you’d make a great girlfriend, didn’t you?”

She nodded.

“I’m willing to give that a try if you are.”

She nodded again. Then, “Cal?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Brooke. I’m a romantic, too. This is about making sure we both get what we want. And I want you.”

“I want you too, Cal.”

“Good,” he smiled before pressing a soft kiss to her lips that made her stomach do flips. “Now, open up that pretty mouth of yours,” he said, tracing his thumbs over her lips to part them as he straightened up once more. “And it’s ‘Daddy’ from here on out,” he added with a smirk before his fingers were undoing his jeans and pushing them down along with his boxers.

“Yes, Sir,” she grinned saucily, her mouth watering at how big he was.

“There’s my brat,” he cooed in a manner that sent shivers down her spine. “Gonna fuck that attitude out of you real fast, sweetheart. You’ll learn.”

“Do your worst,” she taunted.

~~~

They were a breathless mess of tangled limbs and soft kisses in his bed. “Fuck, Ca- Da- Um…” she giggled while her cheeks flushed brick red. “Shit, I dunno what to call you now…”

His chest rumbled beneath her with his chuckle. “You can still call me, ‘Cal,’ sweetheart. ‘Daddy’ is just for bedroom activities. I’m not that kind of dom.”

She nodded. “Fuck, that was amazing.”

“Plenty more where that came from too, sweetheart. This is only the beginning.”

She sprawled across him to reach for her phone that was in her pants. “Can I?” she asked.

He nodded, pulling up the blankets to make them less exposed as she snapped some pictures. “You said you take pictures because you like seeing how people are when they’re fully themselves?”

“Yeah…”

“So what would those snapshots of you look like? If you were able to take candids of yourself.”

She thought for a minute then showed him the pictures she had just taken. “Probably a lot like this. You make me feel… well you make me feel a lot of things. One of which happens to be total relaxation. I feel like I can just be. No act. No bullshit. Just me.”

“Good, cuz I happen to like just you a whole fuckin lot.”

~~~

Tag List (Leave a message at the beep)

@goeatsomelife​ @flameraine​ @cashtonasff5sos​ @here-for-the-uproars​ @cxddlyash​ @1-irwin-94​ @baldcalum​ @sparkling-chaos​ @tea4sykes​ @youngblood199456​ @5-seconds-of-obsession​

[orangeoctopi7]

Stupid Teen Emotions

@forduary Week three is travel/trapped. In this story, Stan and Ford TRAVEL back to the past, where they become TRAPPED! It fits!

Chapter 1:  Back in My Day

They didn’t sleep well, that first night. Ford stayed up late, because of course he would have stayed up into the wee hours of the night working on his perpetual motion machine in the original timeline. But he barely touched the project. With the knowledge he had now, he could probably build the whole thing tonight, but that would, of course, be changing the timeline. A younger Ford had learned a lot, working so hard and so long on this machine, and future Ford didn’t want to deprive his past self of that important lesson. So instead, he began writing, racking his brain for anything he could remember of January, 1969.

Stan tried to sleep at first, but he just couldn't. He was too anxious and excited, all rolled into one. So he instead dug out a few of his old comic books that never got thrown away.

They both must have fallen asleep at some point, because come morning, there was a rapping at the door that woke them both with a start.

“Get up, you two! You’re gonna be late for school!” A woman with a thick Jersey accent yelled through the door.

“M-mom?” Ford’s head lifted blearily off his desk.

“Wow, you are really taking the whole ‘stick to the timeline’ thing seriously.” Stan mused from his bottom bunk.

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep at my desk…” Ford groaned.

“You never do, Sixer, you never do.”

They marched downstairs and into the kitchen, where their mother had a breakfast of hot cinnamon and apple oatmeal waiting for them. Stan was so happy to see her, he ran over and hugged her, pecking a swift kiss on her cheek.

"Aww, sweetie!" She planted a kiss on his forehead. "I'm still not paying your parking ticket." She added flatly.

"What parking ticket?" Stan asked, confused. "Oh, um, I mean, drat."

Ford was too tired to even work up the energy to be happy to see his mother. As he sat down, he automatically reached for the coffee pot. But a rolled up newspaper smacked his hand away.

“What d’you think you’re doin’?” Caryn asked, eyebrow raised.

“... getting my morning coffee?” Ford answered, addled.

“How many times do I have to tell you, honey? No coffee ‘til you’re 18. It’ll stunt your growth!”

Ford looked like he was about to have a fit.

“Wait, are we not 18?” Stan asked quickly. Luckily, his parents ignored his out-of-place comment.

“Ya don’t need coffee, ya need more sleep!” Filbrick grunted from behind his newspaper.

“You both drink ten cups a day!” Ford argued, his voice cracking again.

“That’s cuz we’re adults.” Filbrick growled, “Once you’re old an’ decrepit, you can drink all the coffee ya want.”

“Trust me, he will.” Stan said flatly.

Ford kicked him under the table. Hard. Stan cried out.

“Can it, you two!” Caryn scolded them, “You’ll wake up Shermie. I don’t wanna have to deal with three crying babies.”

The brothers finished their breakfast sullenly but quietly, and grabbed their backpacks before heading out the door.

“Think we should leave Shermie a note warning him to watch out for time travelers?” Stan asked as he fished out his keys to the STNLYMBL. “Y’know, for when he’s older?”

“Then Dipper and Mabel will be born later than 2000.” Ford reminded him irritably.

“Right.” Stan smacked himself. “Man, this sucks! Why time travel if we can’t make things better?”

Ford’s only reply was a surly sigh as he turned to the cafe next door.

“Hey, where’re you goin’?” Stan asked.

“To get some coffee!”

“Seriously, Sixer? Hot Belgian Waffles is next door, Mrs. DuBios will rat you out to Ma for sure!”

Ford heaved an even more enraged sigh that bordered on a growl, and turned on his heal to get into Stan’s car, slamming the door shut.

“Whoa, easy, we’ll just stop by the donut place on the boardwalk.” Stan reassured him as he started the car. “What’s gotten into you?”

The scientist groaned and pulled his fingers through his curly brown hair. “I don’t know! Normally it’s simple to just focus on my intellect and control my emotions, but it just isn’t working now for some reason!”

“‘Control’ your emotions, or bottle them up?” Stan muttered. Ford shot him a withering glare. “Shoot, I wasn’t supposed to say that out loud. Why do I keep doin’ that?”

“And the only reason I’m so mad in the first place is because I’m so tired!” Ford continued to rant, “I got at least four hours of sleep last night, it doesn’t make any sense!”

“Heh, guess teen Ford isn’t used to old man Ford’s space-sleep schedule. Or lack of sleep schedule, anyway.”

Ford’s face brightened into his ‘a-ha!’ expression. “Stanley, that’s it!”

“What?” 

“The reason I’m having such a hard time regulating my emotions, and the reason you can’t keep your mouth shut even more than usual! We may still have our minds from 2013, but our bodies are teenagers in the middle of puberty. Our hormone levels are magnitudes higher than what we’ve become accustomed to.”

“Great. Goin’ through puberty again. Just what everyone wants outta time travel.”

They pulled up to the donut shop on the boardwalk. Stan poked around in his seat and found a quarter, which he handed to Ford. Suddenly, his brother looked unsure.

“Stan, maybe you should hang onto this. You’re going to need all the money you can get, come summer.”

“It’s a freaking quarter, Poindexter.”

“Yeah, but a quarter is worth a lot more in 1969 than it will be in 2013! This is almost a whole gallon of gas!”

Stan pinched the bridge of his nose. “Ten minutes ago you were about to have a meltdown because you couldn't get your morning coffee, just buy it, Ford!”

“Fine, but I’ll pay for it myself.”

“With what money, genius? You didn’t have a job in high school because you were too busy with your academic science nerd stuff! Now go buy yourself a cup of coffee, or I’ll make you walk the rest of the way to school.”

Ford frowned, but took the quarter. He couldn’t help but feel guilty as he got his cup of coffee. How could he or anyone else have ever said that Stan was the lazy one, when Stan was the only one who’d ever had a ‘real’ job? Even to this day, Ford had never had what anyone would call a normal job, barring that one summer he’d been a lifeguard at a waterpark in a dolphin-dominant dimension. He’d always relied on scholarships and grants and accademia, which was hard work, in its own way, but still.  It certainly wasn’t what his father would have called a real job. While traveling across dimensions, he’d relied on trading information and knowledge, building and selling inventions, and even, occasionally, stealing.

Stan was the one who’d gotten a minimum wage, part-time job selling popsicles on the beach. Stan was the one who’d entered local semi-pro boxing matches and brought home winnings. Stan was the one who’d saved up for his own car. 

“Ar-are you crying!?” Stan exclaimed when Ford climbed back into the car, cup of coffee in hand.  Ford reached up to wipe his eyes, surprised as his brother to find tears there.

“Oh geez, Stanford, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be so harsh, I just--” Stan began to babble.

“N-no, it’s not you.” Ford found his voice wavering as soon as he tried to speak. “It’s just-- gah, I’m so stupid! Stupid hormonal chemical imbalance!”

Ford tried to keep himself from crying anymore by taking a big gulp of coffee. It wasn’t very good, and it was just this side of warm, but it instantly improved his mood.

“Ah, there’s that good dopamine.”

“Better?”

“Much. Let’s go. I think we’re already late.”

Despite the fact that they were ten minutes late, there were still several students milling about when they arrived at the school. The twins felt like they should stick out like a sore thumb, but nobody paid them any mind. 

“Ugh, never thought I’d come back here.” Stan grumbled.

“Well, look on the bright side!” Ford reassured him, “Now that you’ve studied quantum physics and run your own business for thirty years, Math and Science classes should be a breeze!”

“Hey, yeah! I can’t wait to see the look on Mr. Grauberger’s face when I can tell him exactly how much interest $300 will accumulate over 20 years!” But he paused. “Wait, what about changin’ the timeline? Pretty sure I never answered questions in class.”

“Oh, it wouldn’t make that much of a difference.” Ford scoffed. “Even if you get 100% on every quiz while we’re here, I don’t think it’d be enough to bring your grade up past a C, and you’ll be dropping out before graduation anyway.”

“Oh yeah….” Stan’s good mood quickly washed away.

Ford rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. “We know it all works out in the end.”

“Yeah…” Stan agreed, “but there was still a lot of heartache gettin’ there.”

[occasionalmemes]

SJ TUCKER SENTENCE STARTERS

          cheshire kitten.

“ i grew up seeing things a little differently, appearing, disappearing, hardly innocent, nor tied down to the ground. ” “ i learned to roll and tumble with the punches.” “ heavy is the crown that's always hidden. ” “ tender is the heart you never see. ” “ hard and fast shines the grin that we flash, but there's a vulnerable stripe or two on me. ” “ maybe any place outside of _____ is not for me, my friend. ” “ if i leave my grin behind, remind me that we're all mad here and it's okay. ” “ the shadows hide me down in _____. ” “ _____, nobody knows the way.” “ if you find it in your dreams, you can find it at your dayjob somewhere south of Hell. ” “ take the path to left or right with just your gut to guide you. ” “ the story is not for anyone else to tell. ” “ go down the rabbit hole and out the other side. ” “ you can't go home in the middle of the magic carpet ride. ” “ you gotta greet the sun before his lovely daughter moon. ” “ you can't forsake the journey for the safety of your room. ” “ learn your lesson well. ” “ i have learned to see and hear everybody loud and clear. ” “ the truth comes out in riddles that are safe enough to share. ” “ that's how it is in songs, you see.” “ heavy is the burden of the wise ones when no one understands a word they say. ” “ the Jabberwock never bothered anyone, but nobody believes him to this day.” “ and why should they? ” “ is it the stripes or the spots you see? ” “ was it hearts or diamonds, baby, brought you here to me? ” “ darling, you know better than to trust a pack of cards! ” “ what have we learned? ” “ the world is never as mad as it could be. ” “ we’re all mad here, and it’s okay. ”

          were-owl.

“ look long enough into the eyes of any creature, there's no knowing what you'll find. ” “ we all seek the light one way or another, mostly flying blind. ” “ everything flies at the mercy of the moonlight, lovers more than most at times. ” “ you've sought the light where few have ever found it. ” “ little one, seek and ye shall find. ” “ take care what you find in the tawny eyes of a hunter by night. ” “ who is it dares to find these feathers, stroke this skin? ” “ how can you dream of the night he spreads his wings to hold you, shows you all he knows and lets you in?” “ i've heard it said none but fools will ever count on shifting shapes and flying dreams. ” “ foolish the heart that lights upon a love who's never what he seems.” “ shows one face at dawn and another in the twilight. ” “ kings have worn his shape before. ” “ lord of the evening, so handsome in the sunlight, leaves you wanting so much more. ” “ child, death is a dance on the forest floor! ” “ shifting shapes and flying dreams, love is never what it seems. ” “ be his love and not his prey. ”

          love lies.

“ love lies downwind waiting patiently to be found. ” “ angel don't make a sound unless you are the one i have been waiting for. ” “ you are the one i have been waiting for. ” “ i've been downwind waiting for you to come around. ” “ there is no one soul that will swallow me whole and let me out shining and beautiful, no. ” “ in love there is loss of control, but like the rivers, i roll. are you in for the ride? ” “ where will you sleep tonight? ” “ love lies, downwind waiting, with the silence of tigers and a hunger burning bright with a heart song shining bright. ” “ desert star, shine a light. ”

          don’t get my hopes up.

“ lately I'm a little bit prickly. ” “ everything hurts when you fall in love hard enough, rock bottom doesn't feel so bad. ” “ i wouldn't quite call this bitchy. ” “ when I am on my best behavior I'll fool you like a grown-up little girl who didn't know how good she had it before. ” “ when desire walks through your door and all hell breaks loose times four, you'll understand and maybe you won't pull smooth maneuvers on your suitors anymore. ” “ when desire walks through your door and all hell breaks loose times four, you'll understand.” “ maybe you won't pull smooth maneuvers on your suitors anymore. ” “ don't you go getting my hopes up, girl. ” “ you'll be sorry and so will i. ” “ last thing either one of us needs is yet another reason to cry. ” “ i know that i'm your last in line. ” “ i oughtta know better than to call you mine. ” “ say a flat out "no" to my face, that's fine, but don't get my hopes up, girl. ” “ lately I'm a pretty good swimmer-- so far up the creek cuz I fell in love hard enough hot water doesn't seem so dire. ” “ i must've quit paying attention, baby, i have to tell you the line is blurred pretty bad between the frying pan and the fire. ” “ when love sneaks up on you and fries your circuits through and through, you'll understand and maybe forgive me my trespasses, for I know not what I do. ” “ when love sneaks up on you and fries your circuits through and through, you'll understand.” “ forgive me my trespasses, for I know not what I do. ” “ don't you go getting my hopes up, boy. ” “ i'm not one for second chances once you've made me cry. ” “ my dance card's full, my waiting list is too backed up for shit like this. ” “ go ahead and pretend that i don't exist, but don't get my hopes up, boy. ” “ when desire walks through your door and all hell breaks loose times four, you'll understand. ” “ maybe you won't demand good manners from your lovers anymore. ” “ don't you go getting my hopes up, love. ” “ you'll be sorry 'til the day you die. ” “ i see you wishing on your star and wishes cannot lie. ” “ i make 'em too, or haven't you heard? ” “ waste a few on you cuz i never did learn. ” “ i know courage is harder to show than concern. ” “ you can't steal fire and not get burned. ” “ i will try to hold out and wait my turn, but don't get my hopes up, love. ”

          neptune.

“ years ago i came to you, down beneath your ripples, submitting to the mystery of life beneath the waves. ” “ years i floated near you, swimming in your subterrain, rocked within the opium embrace of Triton's tomb. ” “ time i lost just fussing over every little thing you asked for. ” “ let myself keep fading, silver fishes through my skin. ” “ somewhere i stopped breathing, but i missed the kiss of air. ” “ someday in my castle keep, where rumors fly and questions creep they'll say to me, what of the lord of the deep? ” “ i'll say, i knew him once but he was asleep. ” “ there's no light where you are, my Neptune. ” “ to the mountains i will fly, away from you. ” “ free from the waves into new love's arms, back to the realm of the sky. ” “ years ago I came to you, in love and doomed to drowning, beholden to the mystery of life beneath the waves. ” “ years i floated near you, i will never see again. ” “ how i could tarry in the opium embrace of Triton's tomb. ” “ years ago i came to you, in love and doomed by what i knew. ” “ though i miss the mystery now of life beneath the waves, thin air's as sweet as water when your body begs to breathe. ” “ and so i leave when i must leave. ” “ don't weep for love i couldn't save. ” “ all of us who dare to love are brave! ”

          girl with the lion’s tail.

“ don't look for home in me between the lines of this, our fairytale. ” “ man cannot follow the monsters. ” “ it’s simple for you, love, but never for me. ” “ nothing can be as it once was. ” “ call me a beast as you've always done, but one which can no longer love you. ” “ look for me not, lover, i am long gone. how can you hope to follow? ” “ you're meant to crawl upon your knees, not steal my soul or talk to me. ” “ the last thing i would ever do. ” “ i am the place where air meets ice. ” “ i don't want to be the girl you tame, an oddity locked away somewhere safe. ” “ i don't want to be the girl you tame, your one-heart menagerie, lonely. ” “ give me back the girl i was, the beast i used to be, shedding the skin of this creature. ” “ you were never cage enough to keep the light inside. ” “ deny me the sky and i'm running. ” “ a lion must keep something back for her own if she's been let to live. ” “ i'd sooner run than waste away at home. ” " you already have all that I had to give. ” “ take away your holiness, your pleading and your crying eyes. ” “ bring me back the girl i was, untamed. ” “ cry me a river to hell. ” “ hell or home, it's all much the same. ”

          the truth about ninjas

“ paragon of dignity, untouchable and lethal. ” “ there's more to life than shuriken. ” “ sudden death comes easy when you practice every day. ” “ you'll think you're ten feet tall and bulletproof until you pass my way. ” “ you will never see it coming. ” “ no one's sad to see you go. ” “ within my eyes you'll glimpse a wisdom you were not prepared to know. ” “ in fearing what you cannot see, you fall beneath my hand. ” “ this is a ninja thing, you wouldn’t understand. ” “ you will never know i'm here until it's far too late. ” “ it is a ninja's way to pass unseen and not to storm the gate. ” “ moving quieter than kitten, circumnavigating law. ” “ you'll never hear a thing. ” “ the soul has always been corrupted, but the heart and hands are clean. ” “ the game is glory but I take my joy in leaving not a trace. ” “ my actions, quick as lightning, unintended to hurt you. ” “ i'm only doing what a ninja's gotta do. ” “ i won't say life is hard, but i must restrain my urges to run naked through my yard. ” “ my career would shrivel up and die, but damn would it be fun! ” “ i'd pirouette beneath the moonlight. ”

[shrimpfriedr1ce]

So I’m gonna speak up. #HijoAko

!!!Trigger Warning!!!

3 years ago. I learned that anyone can manipulate you into doing what they want. And I learned it the hard way. I’m not really read to call him out yet, but I want to share my experience and let people know that I sympathize.

LONG VERSION (Skip to AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA for the short version)

Prior to these events. I’ve been avoiding Jerick. I felt like our friendship was getting.. a bit too toxic. He’d coax me to come over and with food since he lives nearby. He openly admitted it in a conversation with my friend saying “Oh, you want him to come over? Just tell him you have food. Easy.”

He’d find excuses to come over to my place (we both live alone) with statements like “I bought too much food, can I come over?”. He claims he’s depressed and that he has panic attacks. I remember he had 2 panic attacks on 2 separate classes. So a little part of me thought he was faking it so I would feel soft for him and take care of him. But at the same time.. what if he wasn’t? Worst case scenario, it’s real. So naturally, I’d do what any person would do and look after him.

I remember one time, it was our finals for one of our programming classes; GDEVDAT (idk what it meant. Game DEVelopment DATa???). He asked me to come over since he had food and so he could help me with the finals. I was in a bit of a struggle, so why not. I came over and the moment I setup my laptop he insisted that we played DoTA til well into the night. My software wasn’t working properly. So I stopped playing and asked him if he could help me fix it. He looked a little disappointed because I didn’t want to play anymore. Needless to say, it was a silent room for 2 hours. Then I walked back home at 4 am. A part of me that time felt like I wasted my time. I felt like, as the gamers call it -baited- into coming over.

He would tell me to stay away from my circle of friends since they were not his kind of crowd. He’d point out my friends’ flaws and say mean things about them. I’m not gonna drop their names, but they know who they are. So me being me, I believed him. I could see his point and thought “huh, he’s right”. Before I knew it, I was closer to him than I was to my friends. Before long, I began.. protecting him. He’d have suicidal thoughts, I’d come rushing over. He needed company, I was already there. I knew something was up at this point. Which brings me back to my disclaimer. I started avoiding him.

It felt tiring and I couldn’t get time to myself because.. well, yeah. He kept guilt tripping me into meeting up.

So here’s where it got.. fucked up.

I remember coming home after buying a mop ‘cuz my friends were gonna’ sleepover so I planned to clean before they arrived the next day (we had an overnight event at school). I then received multiple messages on facebook telling me to take care of Jerick because he was attempting a suicide. He lived nearby, so I laced up my shoes and went to his place. I come over and there are just.. guards from our school in front of his flat. I ask if they’re there for Jerick. They said said yes. But they couldn’t enter because the landlord said only the Jerick could let us in. He was pissed drunk. Moments later he comes down drunk as hell and the landlord lets us in. He smelled like vodka. Me and who I assume is the commanding officer lifted, L I F T E D –this guy was 3 times my size– back to his unit. I tell the officer that I’ll handle things. So they leave. Leaving me and Jerick alone. BAD IDEA Vince. We sat quietly in the room. I looked around, forcing to look for something to break the silence. I had a cigarette. Sat down and asked him why he had a condom on his table. He said he hooked up with a guy but he finished super fast. I deadass said “huh, maybe I should keep a condom. I heard it’s good luck for guys” at this point 2020 Me is telling 2017 me to stfu. He told me if I wanted to get my dick sucked, he was right there. He tried to pull down my shorts and force himself on me (we were sitting on the bed btw, i know. my bad). I pushed him over and he stopped. He then passed out. I sat there for a good 5 mins. Processing what just happened. I thought to myself, should I report this? or just keep it to myself? I left a note saying that I would stay quiet. I come back to my room and pass out.

He messages me the next morning saying what happened. I of course, decided to keep quiet. I didn’t want to talk to him because.. it felt weird. He says he doesn’t remember anything and what was it that I didn’t wanna tell anyone. Remember we had  an event at school? I told him personally. He said he was sorry and that he was drunk etc. I let it slide.

Fucked up #2. MAJOR. MAJOR. MAJOR. TRIGGER WARNING. I SWEAR TO GOD JUST SKIP THIS IF YOU’RE EASILY TRIGGERED BY SUICIDE. I’LL MARK IT  WITH “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA” IF IT’S DONE. JUST. OKAY?

Same events occur. Messages telling me to go to Jerick. Ayt. Cool.  So I rush over to his place. I see you asking “How you gonna get in through the main gate?” I got lucky. Someone was gonna enter the same time as me. I reached his door and the lights were off. Pitch black. Sketchy. I went in. His place wasn’t that big. So I went in and saw a silhouette of him standing on the window about to jump. I coax him to come down and sit down and talk. He said he felt abandoned and that I wasn’t there to help him. And how it was my fault that he felt sad. THEN HE OFFERS TO BUY ME DINNER..?? AT ARISTOCRAT?? if you’re a Filipino and from Manila. You know.

We talk over dinner and he confessed that he only kept talking to me because he wanted to make a female friend of mine jealous. WE WERE LAUGHING THE NIGHT AWAY. And I come  back to my unit. And think.. DID I JUST GET FUCKING PLAYED AGAIN?????????? I sat on my bed puzzling  the scheme that was the attempted suicide.

Issue 1.) WHY THE FUCK WAS HIS DOOR CONVENIENTLY UNLOCKED??  I mean.. everyone locks their front door. You lock it. You always lock it.

Issue 2.) Did he fake a suicide attempt.. JUST TO HAVE DINNER WITH ME?

Issue 3.)  I got played.

At this point. I avoided him altogether. Facebook, Twitter and his number.

I learned later that same year, I wasn’t the only victim. And that he too chose to keep it to himself.

I’ve had trouble believing people since. I’ve had trouble getting attached to people because of the vulnerability or what might happen.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

It’s been 3 years since this incident. And I’ve never publicly talked about this issue. I was scared. I was scared of what would happen to him if I accused him of sexual assault. A mom and dad would lose their child, and a person’s hopes and dreams would be unreachable. It was also hard for me to talk about it because.. I felt easily dismissed but at the same time, I didn’t want to dwell on a topic that brought  back memories as bad as this one.

I decided to just keep it to myself and hope he becomes a better person. I thought I could just put a tough face on and power through the day. It’s not like that. I’ve developed a fear of trusting people and being overly attached. And for a short time, developed a sick and twisted mindset. At one point, I resented gay people. I thought “what if all of them are as manipulative as him?” –I no longer do of course. I’ve grown past the stereotyping, and I’ve met wonderful people of the LGBT+ community.

Okay, the thing is. Sexual Assault and Gas Lighting.. are bad. In a word, they’re bad. In more words, it’s.. I don’t know. I felt like a dog who had to obey their master. A dog who was at the mercy of their master so I could eat and be able to speak when I’m allowed to. At the same time, I felt like I was just another chunk of  meat for someone’s pleasure. It’s like I wasn’t human. I wasn’t a guy who goes to school, plays video games and watches anime. I was just another guy on Jerick’s list of people he’d want to get on top of.

[creativewritingpracticestudio]

Sirens(Onesided!Lip Gallagher x Reader)(Season 1)

This takes place during season 1.

Trigger warnings: Underage drinking, alcoholism,implied violence/physical abuse, slight mentions of sexual assault.

Pairings: onesided Lip x reader, platonic Ian x reader, mentions of Ian x Mickey, Ian x Kash, and Lip x Karen

Enjoy. Feel free to send requests. Please like and reblog.

Your lips curled into a grimace as you pressed the cigarette to your lips. God, these things are fucking disgusting. How the fuck do the Gallagher’s do this shit? You thought to yourself as you spat onto the grass, trying to clean out the flavor. You weren’t completely sure why you smoked. After all, you hated cigarettes. They made your mouth taste bad and they made you feel shitty. But, of course, that wasn’t true; you knew why you smoked them. Cuz Lip does. That was your reasoning for almost every bad habit you had. Everything you did revolved around that big-nosed son of a bitch. He hadn’t spoken to you in months and yet he was still there.

Your depressing thoughts were interrupted by a familiar sound; sirens. The blue and red lights flashed across your fave as an ambulance drove past you. Someone was hurt, badly. You liked sirens. They felt familiar. Comforting. In a dark way, they reminded you that things could be worse; you could be in an ambulance right now, crying and bleeding and in pain instead of in front of the grocery store that Ian worked at, smoking and freezing your ass off. Of course, you being there was your fault. You need alcohol and you needed it bad. You could have chosen to stay in your warm house and steal beer from your father, but then you would have risked being beaten had you been caught. You’d stick with the fake ID approach, thank you.

After another puff, you decided to stop stalling-the cigarette smoke was getting to you. You dropped the cigarette, crushed it under your shoe, and jogged across the street to Kash’s store. When you walked in, Ian’s voice called to you from behind the chip rack-“(Y/n)! Hey!” A smile spread over your face as he walked towards you. “Hey, Ian.” Ian was the only Gallagher who you still talked to after Lip stopped hanging out with you. Most likely because you were one of the only people who knew he was gay and who treated him like normal regardless. Of course, you’d found out his secret long before anyone else had, even Lip.

You and Ian had been friends longer than you and Lip had, and you had been Ian’s first girlfriend when he was in 6th and you were in 7th. You held hands and shared cookies and watched movies at his house while his mom and dad screamed at each other and then watched them as they went upstairs to have sex. A year later, when he was in 7th and you were in 8th, while in your secret spot(the swings behind your house), you asked him why he didn’t want to kiss you like the other boys kissed their girlfriends.

After a silent moment, Ian had admitted that he had thought about kissing another boy in your class, and not you. That he couldn’t imagine kissing a girl. And, after stunned silence, you had hugged him and stroked his hair while he cried and begged you not to tell anyone. After that, you and Ian broke up, pretending it was due to lame couple shit when in reality you didn’t want people asking why you and him didn’t kiss or fuck or do anything everyone else did. He was still your closest friend.

“So, what the hell are you doing here? It’s late. You usually pass out by 8.” You rolled your eyes playfully. “None of your business, dweeb.” You ruffled his hair and walked over to the beer aisle, scanning the various bottles on the shelves, looking for a 12 pack of the strongest beer available. “Um, okay? Since when do you drink?” Ian followed you over and crossed his arms. “Since I decided that sprite just wasn’t cutting it. What’s the strongest kind you got?” Ian stared at you for a moment, seeming to notice that something wasn’t right with you, but eventually averted his eyes and pointed to a particular beer. “That one.”

You grinned at him. “Thanks, babes.” You plucked the box of beer from the aisle and store over to the register. “Where’s Kash at, anyhow? Did you give him bad dick or something?” Ian grimaced. “Linda’s fertile right now.” “Ah. Say no more.” You nodded empathetically and let the ginger boy ring up your box before sliding him a $50. He spoke as he kept his eyes on the register. “Me and Mickey are still going on.” You raised a brow. “Ooo. Interesting. I should go for Mandy so we match.” He laughed and started to hand you the remaining money. “Keep the change, hun. Fiona and you guys probably needs it more than me, aye?”

He smiled half-heartedly. “That’s for sure. So, whats the beer for?” You blinked. “Uh, to drink?” He rolled his eyes. “You know what i mean.” “Nothing, Ian. Just need a stress reliever. That’s all.” “If you say so. Just, please, don’t pull a Frank on me. I know Lip’s being an ass but I can’t lose you. Who else will supply me with gay porn mags?” You grinned at him. “Aw. Glad I’m needed. And don’t ever compare me to that bastard. I love you, Ian. Give Lip a throat punch for me.” He smiled. “Sure thing. I love you too. Come by the house sometime and I’ll tell you about Mickey a little more, yeah? Lip will probably be out screwing Karen.” You nodded. “I will. Night, Ian.” And with that, you waved goodbye and started on your way home.

The next day, you woke up to someone pounding on your front door. Groaning, you started to sit up and then grabbed your head in pain as a glass bottle rolled off the bed and smashed on the floor. Shit. How much had you had to drink last night? You checked the floor. 7 bottles. Out of 12. Holy. Fucking. Shit. The pounding on the door resumed, and your head started pounding with it. You winced, swallowed down some Tylenol, and went for the door. “I’m coming, I’m coming. Hold your fucking horses, god damn it.” You swung the door open. “Hey, (Y/n). Been a while.”

You blinked. “What the hell are you doing here, Lip? Where’s that blonde bitch at? Screwing one of your friends or something?” “Karen’s not hanging out with me til later.” “Ah.” The two of you stared at each other in silence. “So, what the fuck do you want then?” Lip shuffled awkwardly for a second and then shoved his hands in his pockets. “Ian said you bought some beer yesterday.” You glared. “That little shit. Why the fuck would he tell you that?” “I asked him where he got the $40 from. He didn’t want to tell me but I forced it out. What was the beer for? Your dad? He doesn’t need anymore of that shit you know, he’s turning out like Frank-“ “Don’t ever compare my Dad to yours. Ever. Your dads a lazy drunk-ass fuck who couldn’t give a shit less about his kids. Mine just likes to beat me the shit outta me sometimes. It’s different. Don’t lecture me.”

Now Lip looked suspicious. “Then what was it for?” “Why do you care?” “Cuz I know you. Last time you drank beer, you overdid it and almost got fucking alcohol poisoning. You can’t handle beer.” “Yes I can. Don’t tell me what to do. And actually, I drank like 7 last night. Cuz I’m not your child. And I can do whatever the hell I want. Stop acting like a fucking Dad, you drink too.” “But I don’t over drink. I’m not like Frank. You are. You can’t handle it. Just because you’re jealous about Karen doesn’t mean you should cope with alcohol-“ “Oh my god, shut the fuck up, you narcissistic asshole! Shut up! I’m not fucking jealous of your whore! I’ll drink if I want and fuck if I want and smoke if I want and I don’t need your permission! You made your choice. You picked Karen. Leave, now! I’m coming by later to hang with Ian, so you and the whore better not be there. You’re lucky my dad left for work or he’d have kicked your ass for knocking so loud. Fuck you. Have a nice day.” And you shut the door in his face before he could reply.

Your face was now red from anger. Your hands shaking, you went upstairs, threw up in the bathroom, took some more Tylenol and then curled up on your bed, staring at the ceiling. Fuck him. God, he was so condescending. That was the first time he’d talked to you in a couple of months and it was to scold you like a child for drinking. He drank too. He did all of this shit too. He had done that shit with you so many times you couldn’t even count. What was his problem? Your lip quivered as you felt tears forming. You thought about how close the two of you used to be.

Swinging together behind your house, sneaking into each other’s rooms to cuddle and talk about your shitty lives, watching the stars and whispering to each other, sneaking into movies, shoplifting candy bars and fizzy drinks to eat as you sat in his car to watch the sunrise or the sunset. He was your best friend and your first love and your rock and he was everything. All you had besides Ian, except Ian didn’t kiss you or hold your hand like Lip did. Lip was a boyfriend without the commitment, a lover without the title. And you adored him. It had been this way for 2 years, since you were 14 and he was 15. And then, 3 months ago, just a month before he abandoned you, it all came to a peak. The most amazing moment of your life.

The two of you had snuck out at 3 in the morning on a warm, starry night, each armed with snacks and a flashlight, along with blankets and pillows. You met underneath the train tracks, and laid out the pillows and blankets into a small makeshift bed. Lip pulled you down onto the pallet, hugging you close and pulled the blanket over you, and you laid in his arms and watched the trains go by. During a quiet moment, he whispered that you were beautiful, and kissed you, and, after a few moments, you let him make love to you right there under the tracks as trains went by. He took your virginity and then held you as you fell asleep, stroking your hair and whispering to you as you dozed.

You started crying. It had been only 3 months ago. 3 months. And now things were so different. That had been the only time you had sex, but it was still fresh in your mind. You had been so sure that he would ask you out afterwards, but he never did. And it had stung a little. But you put up with it because you liked him. And then, a month later, he met Karen. He bragged to you about the hummer she gave him, and then had Ian go to get one too, even though Ian was gay. He started dropping plans to hang with Karen, and talked about how great of a fuck she was when he did make time for you, and eventually stopped coming to hang all together. And it hurt so fucking bad. Why weren’t you good enough? You lay on your bed, curled up in the fetal position, and cried. Just laid there and sobbed until your eyes were tired and your throat was sore.

You passed out for about 2 hours, woke up. showered off, changed clothes and went to go meet with Ian. Fiona opened the door, hugged you, and asked how you had been. After you caught up for a minute, you asked where Ian was and went up to his room. Sure enough, he was sprawled out on his bed with a magazine in his hand, which he tossed aside when he saw you. “H-hey. Listen, sorry I told Lip but he kept asking where I got the money and I’m not a great lier and-“ “it’s okay, dude, chill! All he did was try to lecture me anyway. Who does that little bitch think he is, telling me what to do? Screw him.” Ian grimaced. “He’s just worried. You used to have to be convinced to even take a sip of something and now you’re out buying 12-packs for yourself. He just doesn’t want you to turn out like-“ “Like Frank. I know, I know. But it’s none of his concern. He left me. He should focus on his bimbo and leave me alone.”

The conversation ended. You sat with Ian and ate cookies as he talked about Mickey and how he was going to Mandy’s to see him more often. Mandy had no qualms with kissing a gay man, so her and Ian were fake dating to have a beard for Ian. You made a sexual joke about taking it up the ass, and Ian laughed and shoved your arm. After a minute of silence when the laughter died down, Ian spoke up. “He misses you, you know.” “Mickey?” “No. Lip. He mentioned you a couple days ago.” Your heart dropped. “What’d he say?” “He said he took Karen to the train tracks like him and you used to do, and it wasn’t as fun. Just said he missed you. Oh, and yesterday Fiona said she missed your pot roast you used to make us on Friday’s and Lip said he did too, so that counts I guess.”

You rolled your eyes. “I’ll make you guys pot roast still. Just won’t eat with you guys.” Ian rolled over into his back and then sat up. “(Y/n). You and Lip need to sort this shit out. I miss you. Everyone misses you. He’s a dickhead and I know that and everyone else knows it. But you need to call him out for it. Make him apologize. Debbie and Carl and Fiona and I miss you a lot. And I’m sure Lip does too even if he acts like he doesn’t think about you. You were different than Karen. You were his best friend. Karen’s just a fuck buddy who he hangs out with sometimes. I’m not saying you should try to go out with him, you could fuck any guy you want really. But just talk it out. Please?”

You stared at the ground for a long minute. You thought it over. As bitter as you were, Ian was right. And you missed being with the Gallagher family. After a moment, you sighed, and relented. “Okay. I’ll confront him. But only for you and Fiona and them. Okay? Now shut up about it.” Ian half smiled and slung an arm around your shoulder. “Thank you. Good luck, yeah? He’ll be home in a few minutes, confront him then.” You agreed, and then the two of you listened to a CD as you waited for Lip to get home.

When the bedroom door swung open, you didn’t dare look. But you didn’t have to anyway. “(Y/n)?” You didn’t look up. Ian looked from you to Lip awkwardly and got up. “I have to go...Uh...do homework. Yeah.” He left the room, and neither you nor Lip moved. “What are you doing here?” You couldn’t answer. You just looked at the ground. “(Y/n), look. I get that you’re upset at me. But you need to let it go. You and I never dated. You’re being jealous over nothing. I’ll try to hang out with you more but you and I were just friends and I don’t know why you thought it was more than that.” Your head snapped up. “What the fuck did you just say?” Lip, sensing he had said the wrong thing, went silent. You slowly stood up.

“You don’t know why I thought it was more than that? Are you fucking serious? Do you actually not get it? Are you that fucking stupid?” Lip said nothing, and you stepped closer, voice rising. “I thought we were more because you acted like we were! You held my fucking hand and kissed me and told me I was beautiful and literally put your fucking dick inside me under the train you took that Karen bitch to! You took my fucking virginity! Of course I thought we were more! I was always there for you! Always! I listened to every single problem and massaged your shoulders when they tensed up and snuck around with you and risked being beaten for you! I was a part of this family! I helped out Fiona and played with Debbie and Carl and punched Frank when he hurt Ian and i loved your family so much and I was always there! And then you tossed me aside like I was a piece of garbage the second that Karen blew you!”

Lip looked remorseful. “(Y/n), I-“ “No! Shut up! It’s my turn to speak. I’m glad I didn’t try to ask what we were a few months ago, cuz I know exactly what you would have said.” Your voice took on a mocking tone as you continued. “You would have said that you liked me, really you did, but you just weren’t ready for a big experience like commitment! And you’d apologize condescendingly for leading me on like that. But you still would be down to fuck because of course you would! Cuz you’re Lip fucking Gallagher and you screw whoever you want, right? That’s all you’re in it for, right? Fuck you! Fuck you so fucking much! You lead me on and then kicked me aside for someone who’d be more open to fuck whenever you wanted, right? Screw you!”

Lip went to speak, but you had one more thing to say. “And by the way, Lip, I’m not letting your dickhead-ness stop me from hanging out with your family. I miss Ian and Fiona and Debbie and Carl. So I’ll still be here. For dinners and babysitting and for Ian. But you won’t be talking to me. Or sitting with me. Or even looking at me. You will leave me alone and let me be at peace without trying to toy with me again. I’m sick and tired of your shit. Be with your whore and leave me alone.” You turned to leave. “(Y/n).” You turned back to look at him. “Yeah?” “I’m sorry.” That was all he said. And it was all he needed to say. His eyes said it all. You nodded. “I know. Goodbye, Lip.” And with that, you turned and walked out of the room, and didn’t look back.

Remember to make requests. This was just an emotional piece, a vent piece. I take requests for one shots, headcanons, imagines, anything. Mostly x reader only, but I do angst fics exploring unrequited love and stuff like that. Like and reblog and send criticism!

[caatws]

tagged by @justanalto to answer some questions !! :)

1. What is the color of your hairbrush? it’s like a blueish/greenish color and has moana on it! i usually comb my hair so i bought that brush just bc it was moana themed a few years ago lol. i don’t use it often

2. Name a food you never eat. there are many.....#justchildhoodocdthings ermmmm i don’t eat a lot of snack foods like chips or goldfish

3. Are you typically too cold or too warm? too warm, esp these days bc the weather is hella warming up so i wake up feeling hot a lot

4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago? i was working on some post-grad work stuff and then crossed over into my roommates’ room to watch the facebook livestream graduation 2020 thing cuz miley was on singing the climb

5. What is your favorite candy bar? i love a good hershey’s special dark chocolate moment

6. Have you ever been to a professional sports event? yes, quite a lot actually! my mom is super into sports, so i grew up going to a handful of pro sports games - mlb, nba, and nhl. never nfl tho bc my mom said the price of tix wasn’t worth it LMAOOOO. also when the olympics are here in la in like 8 years i wouldn’t mind checking out some events here !!

7. What is the last thing you said out loud? i asked my roommate if she wanted me to close the door as i was leaving her room bc she was abt to hop on a zoom call

8. What is your favorite ice cream? chocolate.....esp if it’s dark chocolate which is Rare

9. What was the last thing you had to drink? starbucks peppermint hot chocolate bc i’m a basic bitch!!!!

10. Do you like your wallet? yeah, i only upgraded from my middle school wallet like back in 2018 to a normal adult looking one. it’s purple and has enough pockets for all my shit! still bulky tho

11. What was the last thing you ate? ....nothing LMFAOOOO lunch is usually my first meal of the day and i haven’t had it yet. but last night i had ramen for dinner

12. Did you buy any new clothes last weekend? last time i bought clothes was i ordered one of the black widow hoodies from hot topic like a month ago....other than that i have not gone clothes shopping since pre-quarantine

13. The last sporting event you watched? i don’t even know....i didn’t watch the super bowl, so it’d either be some time my roommate was watching hockey on our tv or whatever sports my mom was watching when i was still home for winter break in january

14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn? KETTLE CORN!!!!

15. Who is last person you sent a text message to? i sent a pic of miley singing the climb on the fb livestream on my friend’s laptop to my fam being like “lol miley is our commencement performer!!!!” and my mom was just like cool

16. Ever go camping? yes unfortunately....never for more than a night at a time tho bc i literally Cannot

17. Do you take vitamins? no bc what is Health

18. Do you go to church every Sunday? used to back in the days of catholic school (pre college), but now no longer

19. Do you have a tan? nah bc we can’t go outside bro

20. Do you prefer Chinese food or pizza? chinese food 100% i personally think pizza is overrated

21. Do you drink soda with a straw? i don’t believe i ever do tbh

22. What color socks do you usually wear? i only own socks with colorful patterns/designs on them which is extra but very me i suppose

23. Do you ever drive above the speed limit? always! (a reasonable amount over tho, like within 5-10 mph over...this is average for californians, while many others speed hella)

24. What terrifies you? not a fan of heights nor uncertainty, and this pandemic has essentially destroyed my post grad hopes/plans and now i enter an uncertain future

25. Look to your left, what do you see? my bed, with a lot of stuff piled on top

26. What chore do you hate? all of them???? i guess doing the dishes mostly tho bc i hate the smell of wet dishes with food waste/residue on them and it just feels so gross i can’t

27. What do you think of when you hear an Australian accent? i think wow australia sounds like a wild country

28. What’s your favorite soda? orange soda 4ever

29. Do you go into a fast food place or just hit the drive-thru? drive-thru if i can !!! but i don’t mind going in if there’s ample parking available

30. Who’s the last person you talked to? my roommate, when i asked if she wanted me to close the door LMAO

31. Favorite cut of beef? all of them????? i’m not picky with meat dsflkbn

32. Last song you listened to? as i was driving back into my garage the radio station i was listening to started playing sugar we’re going down which threw me for a time loop

33. Last book you read? i’ve been reading fanfic mostly recently so ig whatever the last thing i read for my internship weeks ago was, it would be that

34. Favorite day of the week? even tho time doesn’t matter in quarantine, i’ll always be a friday stan

35. Can you say the alphabet backwards? i used to be decent at it but i’m out of practice now. i’ll try to just type it rly quickly and see: zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcba (ok so this took me like 5ish secs to type so that’s p good!)

36. How do you like your coffee? i don’t! i just drink peppermint hot chocolate :^)

37. Favorite pair of shoes? my doc martens, but they are now out of season for most of the rest of the year bc i live in southern california where it’s Hawt so i probs won’t wear them again til december

38. The time you normally go to sleep? sometime between 1 and 3 am

39. The time you normally get up? sometime between 9 and 11 am

40. What do you prefer, sunrise or sunsets? sunsets are dope!!!

41. How many blankets on your bed? three, including my sheet, comforter, and a small quilt

42. Describe your kitchen plates. some are just round and plain white, some are round and white with a red decorative border, one is a pokémon plate meant for children that i bought cheap at target

43. Do you have a favorite alcoholic beverage? piña colada!!! but if i’m trying to get drunk i need vodka or somethin

44. Do you play cards? not much tbh! my apartment has been on a mahjong streak as of late

45. What color is your car? silver!!

46. Can you change a tire? no i’m useless but also my parents believe i’ll get murdered if stuck on the side of the road (which is possible) so they’d prefer me to call aaa for help

47. Your favorite province? uhhhhhhh no provinces here in the u.s. but canada has provinces and i went to british columbia (to visit vancouver) once as a kid so???? if we talking states tho y’all know i will die for california

48. Favorite job you’ve ever had? honestly my job at my school’s mail center this past year was rly cool! my boss was so great and the other student workers were chill, so it was a nice environment and i enjoyed learning all these mail-related skills

49. How did you get your biggest scar? i have no scars ;))))

50. What did you do today that made someone else happy? i had my final appointment with my therapist from my school since i graduated, so i thanked him for working with me the past year and a half!

i tag: anyone who wants to do this, i’m lazyyyyy hehe so feel free to steal!!!! i wanna read y’all’s answers

[koiandjelly]

So Fila’s actual past isn’t very detailed, because she’s not a main OC, and I haven’t spent a ton of time actually thinking about her as a character lol. 98% of my Creativity goes to my original content characters, cuz someday when I finish actually crafting my worlds, I’m gonna write a book. I’m aiming for the lofty goals of making a full, fleshed out, intricate— just fuckin’... a whole ass Multiverse system comparable to the Lore content of Tolkien’s works, or The Elder Scrolls— gah fuck y’know what, I’m changing this post from being about my Fantasy Life OC to being about my creation baby, the effort of about 6 years (I am 20 years old, and although I didn’t know it at the time I started, I was 14 when I made the shitty Fire Emblem Manakete rip-off race that I’m gonna actually now talk about, because holy fuck this ain’t gonna fit in a parenthesis “btw have some info” bubble)

A’ight so I have a hard time keeping track of time, especially in a large scale across years. Apparently it’s related to being severely depressed without medication (communication error on my part, my parents are very lovely and helped me ASAP when I spilled the beans) while also having moderate to severe ADD. So, ya know, keep in mind that I was yet another terribly depressed 8th grader when I talk about my creation’s early days. I wouldn’t experience that time of my life for any sort of payment ever. It was goddamn miserable, because when I was midway through the age of 14, not only did the aforementioned depression spring up, but I also realized I was bisexual (And I live in the infamous state of Alabama, for reference. Don’t fear for me though, I was too unnoticeable to be bullied if anyone did know, and my wonderful mother, whom I love and cherish with all of my heart, is one of the few Christians that actually... like... do what their own God tells em to. That is, Jesus. I’m an atheist and have a general discomfort about the idea of super powerful entities actually existing irl, but I do agree with the stuff I’ve heard and remember from a decade ago in Church about Jesus. Good guy. But yeah my mom not only accepted me and reassured me when I came out, but she’s gone even further and is of the opinion/fact that lgbt folks are, really, good and normal and that God created them, so she really genuinely just... loves and accepts me. There’s no “I love you despite of this” in the equation and I am so grateful. But again. I digress)

Pause after that sidetrack, to recap, all of my medical issues began to emerge about 6 months before I turned 15. Including what I hate most, the emergence of my Fibromyalgia and Sjogren’s Syndrome, and for an added kick to the flesh, an undifferentiated connective tissue disorder. Meaning, as what I understand it to be, a nameless chimaera of many symptoms in a way that the disorder either is it’s own thing, or just can’t easily be recognized as any one disorder. And I had anxiety. If I recall correctly on *that*, forgive me cuz it’s been a while since it’s been diagnosed/brought up in a significant way, I have or had either general anxiety *and* social anxiety, or just lightweight versions of both, or something, but at the time I was horribly shy and I couldn’t even talk to the teacher after class about schoolwork, even though I tried rationalizing it to hell and back that I shouldn’t be scared— as you’ll guess, shit didn’t work out til I got medicine for it, because no amount of logic and rational thought will change the fact that I was struggling because of a literal disorder, an error of the brain, and as with that walking with two shattered femurs ain’t gonna work, trying to talk when the talk machine broke... ain’t going to goddamn work.

God. I am rambling a lot. But anyway, shit fucking sucked as a teen for me, because I got that wombo combo, prepare for trouble, make it double, precision strike at my existence as a person during fucking already difficult puberty— I am rambling. It’s 4:55am as of this sentence lmao. I had a nasty cocktail of both mental illness and physical disorders pop up once puberty hit me, so I, through many events starting from loving to draw as a toddler, to play pretend stories of heartbreak, betrayal, and death as best an 8 year old could understand via playing with Polly Pockets, and all the creative power I inherited from my Dad, plus the motivation borne through a need to escape, I started making my own characters.

So, to return to the present state of my creations, which will now be referred to as Bounding Beyond the Stars, or BBtS, I’m gonna get some things out of the way. Just to clarify, yeah? I have created my worlds in a way that is specifically meant to stand apart from the irl universe as we know it. I’m certainly not a knowledgeable researcher with any level of comprehension on Spacial law and quantum physics and shit like that. So hey, if something ever seems... like, off, or wrong? Unless it’s pretty obviously wrong in the “hey you just googled how a thing works, and misunderstood it, and made a detail based on a failure to understand stuff and that’s dumb in a catastrophic way that even a high school level viewer would notice...” kind of mistake, then hey, shoot me a message. But if some sort of universal rule seems fucky in the way that it doesn’t make sense, but isn’t a catastrophic structural error... well, Imma use that sentence to start a better one. For an example of a catastrophic error, perhaps... this: “This planet has no seasons cuz of its shape and axis! And it is also like twice as big as Earth!” That would be catastrophic alone because anyone with a grasp on planetary gravity or something, may go and think “if it’s that big, gravity’s gonna be way more intense”. And you’d be right! Which is why I usually account for those things with... *Magic*.

Before I split this post for Length reasons, and I’m sorry the majority of this was me rambling about how my general experience with life sucked from ages 14-17, I’mma state something very important about all my creations.

Magic, which will be explained in depth at a later point, is a fundamental, essential, and omnipresent force of not just any one universe in my Multiversal Trio. It is a key piece of Reality itself, as magic is the flow of many multiples of millions of unique and mysterious energies, concepts, and laws existing anywhere that Is.

To end this post, I’m going to put a quick summary and explanation why I’m rambling about any of this: The rant about my age and circumstances at the start are relevant because it’s necessary context for the tone and type of writing my creations are built upon. The foundations of BBtS are borne from a sometimes angsty, sometimes genuinely upset 14 year old who found escape in the art of Creation. There have been many, many, many heavy edits, rewrites, scrapped info and ideas, and even more info built upon it. It used to be pretty pointlessly edgy in a lot of ways, and redundant in grimdark, morphing into *grimderp* plot devices and character traits. The way it’s written today, I like to think the lore of my many high fantasy-alien societies, and all its denizens and creators and whatever else, are still written to be dark, be dangerous, even angsty... but more skillfully so, with the sort of nuance a 14 year old wouldn’t really even begin to understand. Cuz I still like high stakes stories with real consequences and character deaths when appropriate. And I enjoy characters who have tragic pasts, but now that I’m older and I’ve seen and read about and done so much more— I can write that stuff *better*. And more over, what I’m most satisfied with, is that I’m more in touch with myself as a person, and I’ve evolved many of my personal beliefs and ideals and all the things of the world I can have opinions on. But most of all, I’ve reached a point where I have consumed enough content from others to where I have figured out how to write something that should be interesting, and maybe a bit new, because I put a looot of Damn focus on identifying, and understanding, writing structure, cliches, plot holes to avoid, character traits to handle differently, and just generally making something that’ll appeal to both me, and my audience, should I get that far.

[artificialqueens]

untitled part 1 (monet x cracker) -lem0nb0y

an: this fic was mostly written while I was half asleep and high but reviewed ans editted while i've been at work. im sorry i haven't been writing much but this is just a drabble cuz i wanted to write for monet. monet and trinity are managers at a phone store btw. this takes place is a part of a different verse of mine, but ofc monet, monique, bob and trinity simple just exist in this verse, they aren't important towards the whole ravjila timeline. im rambling but here is monet being a simple clumsy lesbian.

"Nonono! You have no clue how stressful work was today! We finally released that new phone ya know? Line was down the street, girl! I thought I'd never get out of there! Not to mention the only other manager there was Trinity and don't get me wrong Mo, I love Trin' and all, but she was pushin' alllll my wrong buttons."

With her shoulder pressed into her ear with a phone pancaked between, Monet opens up her purse, shoving her hand into the bag to find her earbuds for an easier talk with her roommate. She couldn't wait to complain about her day of work. The subway was practically empty from what she could see in front of her, which wasn't suprising. She stomps her way to the correct stop, her ankles pinching in pain over standing on her feet all day. Even with the crashing pain swelling her head she could still smile and tone in on her best friends dramatic telling of her own day. Monique's voice on full blast in her eardrum, she quickly takes her phone from between her shoulder and shoves the earbud plug into the phones socket.

Putting the buds in her ears she listens to the beaming storytelling, chuckling along at the antics that seemed to have taken place in Monique's personal life. "-And do you know who I bumped into today? The one and only, Miss Manila! She's doing really well, got TWO girls!"

"Two? Are you sure?" Monet eyebrows press together in confusion, shocked that their old friend had not one girlfriend, but in fact two! She pouts her lips slightly in jealousy, wishing she had at least one partner. All while stepping onto her train ride home, she turns down the volume of the call so nobody around her would hear. Monique continues her retelling of seeing Manila. "Yes! They were all snuggle buggin'. One of them is that one girl that gave you make-up tips few months ago at Sephora!"

"Wait that hot girl with the blonde braids? She's dating HER!?" Monet accidentally raising her voice a bit too loud, the few people on train looking at her with drunken, narrowed eyes. Quietly apologizing, she takes a seat two seats down from a young woman. Monet holds the mic closer to her lips, continuing to chat regardless of the company of strangers. "Nila really got lucky if she is dating that girl, she's gorgeous."

Monique agrees, changing the topic to the recent man in her life, rambling on about the endless details of the date they had recently. Those details went anywhere from how he seems to hold himself to his apparently massive dick print in his jeans. Monet listened carefully, putting in her input here and there but her mind wandered back to the fact her old highschool friend now had two more girlfriends than her. She hadn't been the best with relationships after all, but she knew she had the power and go out to get someone special.

Twirling one of her thin braids around her fingers, she ends up only replying to Monique's questions with a simple 'mhm'. She couldn't help but linger on the idea of wanting to get back out there, like Monique. Maybe go back on Tinder and swipe til she meets her future wife. Doing just that she begins the hunt for the perfect gal to fill her heart. Swiping left and right, she gets lost in it all and had paid no attention to Monique.

"Earth to Monet! Are you even listening!" Monique yells loudly into her own mic, causing Monet to snap her head up slightly and she sighs quietly. Regaining herself back into the small details about the conversation, she finally speaks. "I'm sorry girl but I think I'm just real worn out tonight. But to answer your question, suck his dick on the 3rd date. Okay, love you, night."

Monet hangs the call up and looks around herself, to see how busy the train actually was. The woman next to her and two men down the other side were all her company. As she turned her head to scope the scene, the blonde next to her flips a page of her book. She's reading an older and faded book with a rubbed off title. Looking her up an down quickly, Monet notices her pretty pink shoes. The princess pink shoes with the nails on her fingers to match, had her quite smitten. She was pretty from the small look that Monet got. A silvery blonde with a beautiful profile and sense of style wearing a poodle skirt and a tucked in white shirt. Only seeing part of the shirt, Monet could make out a peace sign.

Having returned her eyes to the phone, the Tinder swiping starts. She carelessly examines the profiles to see if they are deamed worthy of a super like. Many of the girls were basic, just visiting for vacation while others were looking for threesomes. Not quite what she had in mind but still analyzing there profiles regardless. Swiping away from another girl reluctantly, Monets eyes widen slightly as she sees a newly familiar girl.

The girl that sits not less than 6 feet from her was on her phone screen. She looks around to make sure nobody can see, nervously turning her phone screen ever so slightly away from Brianna. That's her name, Brianna. Brianna has a cat, is a hair stylist, and looking for a good coffee date. She had good fashion, always wearing pink and likes to cook. Monet stares down at her phone, wondering of what to do. Being so nervously curious to see if they could match, she hadn't even realized it was her stop. Quickly jumping up before she was left, she drops her phone on the ground. It lands face down, skitting down the floor of the train. "Shit!" Monet exclaims as she grabs it off the ground without even checking for damage. Brianna had looked up from her book just as Monet was rushed off the train, seemingly embarrassed of herself.

Embarrassed she was, after all she had just cracked her brand new phone in front of the first woman that's even peaked her interest the smallest bit all year long. It was love at first sight, but Monet doesn't believe it. Who would believe that one glance a basic blonde girl that likes to cook would be the kick start in the heart that she needed? Monets eyes wander to the long crack down the phone screen all while texting her other best friend if she can come over in hopes to get her head on straight.

She has only two best friends, one of course being the loud and happy Monique always knowing the details behind anyone. The second would be Bob. She's famous for owning the dumbest nickname known to man and being chaotically witty, knowing exactly what to say at all the seemingly wrong times. While being paired with Monique, Monet had the dream team on her hands. Bob especially was a force to be reckoned with when paired with Monet. While they bicker constantly about tiniest details of any memory they share, Monet had a tendency to lose the battle. Nonetheless she knew that Bob was who she needed to talk to about this encounter, regardless of how Bob may question her rationality of putting all her eggs into a basket named Brianna.

Sending text after text, asking if she was awake or busy, Monet got to response. The awkward thing about that was she had already arrived outside of Bobs apartment, in hopes she'd reply while she was on the way. They only lived but a few blocks apart from each other so even if Bob didn't answer the door, Monet could just walk home somewhat still hazey-headed. Monet turned off her phone and pushed it into her bag, looking at the door in front of her. "I hope this bitch is awake." She says quietly before knocking firmly and repeatedly.

There's a pause. Monet can hear the approaching footsteps staggering towards the door, presumably since Bob had just woke up. Stepping back from the door, she watches and Bob flings the door open quickly. In the doorway is Bob, a spatula in hand."Monet! Why the fuck do you knock like the damn police, I mean my god!" Bob smiles with the tip of her tounge bitten between her teeth.

Monet smiles back, going in for a hug. She hadn't actually seen Bob in weeks. Thinking about it, Monet worries that this is the worst idea to discuss her petty love life when she hadn't caught up with her bestie in awhile. The idea rattles around in her brain but still manages to reply unfazed. "I had to make sure you'd wake up! But why the fuck did you think a spatula would protect you from the cops!" A half truth, she really didn't realize she had knocked loud enough to simulate the police. Still questioning why she had chosen a cooking tool for self defense with bickering and laughter, Bob steps to the side of the door to have room for Monet to come in.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #225

“i tried to write your name in the rain, but the rain never came.”

How many times a day do you check your cell to see if you have a text? Considering my dumb phone doesn't let me know I have texts half the time, I do multiple times throughout the day. Ever wonder if the person you hate will become the person you marry? HA HA YOOOOOOOOOOOO SARA AND I DID AND NOW I DEADASS WANNA MARRY HER TOMORROW How many times a day do you wash your hands? It varies. After I use the bathroom or if I'm about to touch food. You walk in on your parents smoking pot, what do you do? lol h u h How old were you when you had your first crush? Hell if I know. I do remember as a young kid though, I was very much "ew boys no thnx." Maybe like... 5th grade? When was the last time you asked God for something? A long, long time ago. Your opinion on smoking: Just don't, dude. It's money going towards gradual suicide. No one likes the smell. You sure won't like how it affects your body. It's an addiction/it's stressful to stop. I'm not gonna like, judge you if you smoke, but nevertheless, I'll tell anyone it's an awful idea. Make love or fuck? It depends on the mood. I was more into the former mood back when that even applied to me, though. Have you ever cried so much over something that later felt like nothing? Oh, I can assure you I have. The last time you were afraid of the dark was: I'm not really scared of the dark, but one time I got up semi-recently in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and after one incident, I was so, so careful and nervous to step on Bentley's tail. He lost his fucking mind on me when I did it once, of course on accident. The TV was off by this point, so I couldn't see well at all. I love having a dog that fucking scares me. How often do you say I love you to your parents and mean it? A whole lot. Your boyfriend/girlfriend say they can’t hang out & it’s been two weeks. You? I mean sure, it sucks, but if they're legitimately busy, they're busy. Have you ever wanted a wild animal for a pet? If yes what animal? I had a phase where I really wanted a fox, and now I am DEAD serious about fostering opossums at some point. When you go to sleep, do you have to have white noise or silence? SILENCE. Though I don't really get /total/ silence 'cuz I have to have my fan on. My room's always hot. Have you ever gotten in a fight with a teacher? No. Ever had a creepy dream about a teacher? No. Where were you when you had your first sleepover? Your house or a friends’? I believe I was at my then-best friend's house. I had suuuuch bad separation anxiety from my mom that I know I was older than most kids who did. What are you limits for doing stuff for money? I'd never do sexual favors or seriously hurt someone for it. Is there someone you are mean to all the time for no reason? No. I'll admit I'm typically rather short with Bentley, but Jesus, do I have reason. When you think of love what’s the first that comes to mind? Sara. How do you calm your mind and find peace when you are stressed? My best bet is going to sleep; that's pretty much, usually, my reset button. Have you ever given someone flowers? I gave Jason flowers once or twice. I gave my mom some for Mother's Day as a kid. How often do you get on Facebook? A couple times a day... mainly just to see memes lmaoooo. What day of the week is usually your busiest day? Good Lord, Tuesdays. I'm at school for 13 hours. Mostly sitting in the library waiting for classes, but. I do study a whole lot, though, and it's when I get a bunch of schoolwork done. Is there a place that you will never return back to? Idk. When was the last time that you created a PowerPoint? I'm actually working on/off one for FYS 'cuz we have to do this "Lifeline" thing where we introduce ourselves and give our stories. Guess who's not fucking ready. Do you like group work? NO. NO. Particularly if it's with people I don't know. Do you have any stickers on your laptop? No. Is music or the TV on while you complete this survey? I'm listening to Chase Holfelder's cover of "Kiss The Girl" rn. Does your grass need cut currently? No. Do you listen to Nirvana? Occasionally. What color are the doors in your house? White. Have your friends ever not wanted you to be with someone? Probably. What is your favorite use for whipped cream? I hate that stuff. What is your favorite flower? Orchids. And your favorite nut? Ew no thanks. Can you curse in a foreign language? Of course I know "fuck" and "shit" in German lmao. Are you fond of spaghetti? Hell yeah man. Have you ever played in the mud? I sure did zoom through it on my bike as a kid. Do you remember what your first real relationship felt like? That relationship ultimately led to PTSD, how could I possibly forget. Who can make you happy no matter what? Sara, Mark, and Game Grumps are particularly good at that. How tall are you? 5'4.5'' Are there any animals near you? No, I'm at school rn. Do have a lot of lists? No. Are you a godparent? No. Do you sleep too much or not enough? Eh, it depends on the day and my mood. Have you ever gone a full day without interacting with another person? Yep. How many relationships have you been in that lasted less than a year? Four. Where were you going the last time you were on a train? Never been on one before. Do you think having a bad temper is a sign of immaturity? I mean, no? It's an interesting question and I guess a "maybe," but. I feel this depends on the trigger. Have you ever been significantly more physically fit than you are now? I was a fucking yoga master babe in 9th grade, fuckin fite me. When growing up, did your parents keep the house very tidy? I guess? It wasn't dirty. How many watches do you own? Zero. Are there any ways in which you greatly differ from everyone else in your family? Political views, I guess? Or the fact I'm bi? I only know of one person in my extended family that's gay. Should teenagers be allowed to have their cell phones with them in class? No shit? Emergencies are a thing? BUT, respect the teacher, please. I cannot stand people using their phone in class, especially here in college. You're paying a shitload to learn. Spend that time as you're supposed to. Take education seriously. If your phone's on vibrate for said emergency situations, that's cool. Do you have any gay relatives? Lol oh. Yeah, Mom has a cousin. Have you ever had to have a pet put down? Yeah. Have you unfollowed, deleted, or blocked anyone on social media recently? I deleted my sister's mother-in-law in fury over her homophobia because I've seriously had it, then just a few days ago actually I went through my Facebook list deleting people I just didn't really feel connected to/didn't really care to follow their journey anymore. How many cups of coffee do you typically drink per day? Zero. Do you know what your vocal range is? It's not broad. I'd say I'm probably in a rank slightly lower than most women. What’s the biggest financial mistake you’ve ever made? I've never really been in the position to be capable of that. I've never had a source of income. If so, what sub-genres of metal do you like the best? Probably heavy. Or symphonic, though I haven't found too many artists in that sub-genre that I really enjoy. But BOY, when I do? I will BINGE that shit to the ends of the earth. Have you ever turned down someone who didn’t handle the rejection well? Ha ha oh man, I remember in 4th grade, this kid Nick was desperate to date me. It was endearing and cute, but he asked kinda obsessively. Then jfc, when I broke up with Tyler, you would've thought I was Jason and he was me, holy shit. How large is your largest scar, and what is it from? Well, I can't see it, so I actually don't know. I guess kinda long, but not wide. It's from a cyst removal surgery. Who was the last person you sincerely thanked? Omg, my Writing teacher. She really liked my writing on my essay. I was so flattered. When was the last time you went for a walk? Like, just a casual walk for the sake of walking? Not since I was at Sara's last. That was when my muscle atrophy was starting to get extremely bad though and I was very close to death omg. Have you ever been in a relationship where there was a large difference in maturity levels? I don't think so. When cooking a meal, do you clean up as you go or wait til you’re done? I don't know how to cook. Do you develop crushes easily? NO. I am soooooo romantically picky. What’s the longest you’ve ever stayed as a guest at someone’s house? A month or more with Colleen after we were evicted. That was a really good time, honestly, regardless of how we feel about each other now. I don't think anyone's done something so selfless for me, and we really did have fun. How bad was your acne when you were a teenager? I'd say it was normal for someone that age. Do you like salsa that has fruit in it? NO. Do you think stained glass windows are pretty? Hell yeah. That was my favorite thing about the church I grew up with; Catholic churches tend to truly have incredible stained glass. Are you scared of snakes? Nope, snakes are Baby. Have you had your wisdom teeth removed? No; I only have two, and I just slightly have enough room for them. Do you like hard or soft pretzels better? I strongly prefer soft. Have you ever been carded when buying something? Yes. Do you eat meat? Regretfully. Can you sleep with the light on? NOOOOOOOOOO. I have to truly be exhausted. Have you ever broken a bone? No, but I did fracture my wrist as a kid. Have you ever made ice cream in chemistry class? Bitch I wish, tf. Do you use the microwave often? Considering a bitch can't cook, yes. Microwavable meals are the reason I am alive. Have you ever painted a room? No. What’s in your copy and paste? This survey. Do you know anyone that’s painfully, socially awkward? Fuckin ME JFC. How do you usually pose in your pictures? With the left side of my face facing the camera (bc my hair kinda swoops over the right side), and I'll usually smile with my teeth or do a :D face bc at least I look happy instead of high with my squinty-ass eyes. :') Do you know anyone that absolutely freaks out if you try to take a picture of them? um????????? me?????????????? Do you pick on them for it and attempt to take loads of pictures anyway? If someone doesn't want me to take a picture of them, I absolutely don't push them 'cuz I totally get it. How’s your posture? Bad. Have you ever had to take care of a fake baby in family ed? Thank God in Heaven no. I. Would. Have. Raged. ^ were you a good mother/father? N/A What’s your favorite way to wear your hair up? My hair is too short for that. But I generally find french braid buns SO pretty. Have you ever read a ‘banned’ book? Uh, I don't think so. What does your screen name mean? Favorite animal, meerkats, + favorite artist, Ozzy Osbourne. Have you ever had to take a sobriety test? N- no wait. They were mandatory when I've gone to the ER for suicidal thoughts. Do you like movies more if they’re based on actual events? It doesn't really matter to me. What’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever done with your cell phone? Idk, dropped it? What’s your opinion on gold diggers? Selfish, or smart? Both? Uh, I don't think it's exactly debatable to call it selfish... I mean, you're dating for the sake of monetary gain...? What would you do if your bf/gf was hitting on someone else right in front of you? I couldn't even try to picture her doing that, but obviously I'd be uncomfortable and jealous. What’s something you’ve done that you’ve sworn you’d never do? Idk, multiple things. Which ex of yours do you talk to the most? I only talk to Girt. Can you recall the first person you ever drank/got drunk/high with? I drank with family, probably, but I've never reached the point of being drunk, and I've never been high. ^ are you still friends? I mean, I love my family. Have you ever taken someone else’s vehicle without permission? No. What were you doing the last time you were videotaped? *shrugs* Is that something you’d be comfortable uploading and sharing? I don't know what it would be. Which friend wears the same size clothes as you do? Probably none? I don't have many friends to compare to. Is there anyone’s wardrobe that you’d like to steal? UM Suzy Hanson is a B A B E? ?? ? ? ??? I adooooorrrrre her clothing line (Psychic Circle), too, and so wanna buy something. Have you ever been lost in the woods? DARLIN I've watched The Blair Witch Project 2 much for that shit. What did you last stretch the truth about? Idk. Have you ever had withdrawals from something? Caffeine, and then WoW for quite a few months after I stopped playing for like, a year or more. Is there anyone on your friend’s list you know next to nothing about? I know at least one of Mom's friends that I've only met once, and briefly. How old is 'too old’ for you to date? I wouldn't date over 30 (I absolutely stg that has nothing to do with H I S age being 30 lmaoooo). How do you feel about guys in tight jeans? Skinny jeans look good on like, anyone. Favorite hour-long show? Uhhh idk. Well, at least out of the shows I used to like and would be most interested in watching, The Good Doctor. Favorite half-hour show? Meerkat Manor. Most people who’ve slept over at your house all at once? My current house? Just one, I think. Steak or chicken? Chicken. I'm piiiiickyyyy w/ steak. Is flirting really cheating? Yes, if you're clearly not just teasing. What’s something you own that’s /only/ of sentimental value? My pebble from my partial hospitalization program. What’s your choice of chips? Girrrrrllll gimme Cool Ranch Doritos. What song would you use to torture someone? i t ' s  f r i d a y  f r i d a y What is the weirdest compliment you have ever received? Probably that my nose was cute? If someone REALLY fat was upset, and saying how FAT they were, what would you say? First off, NOT say "you're not fat omg ur beautiful." I'M overweight and don't like when people say that. I'm perfectly aware that you're lying "for my own sake," which is sweet, but it's not helpful. Motivate me/the person to improve without being an asshole. Let them know I believe in them, which I do for ANYONE. If I could lose 60-70 pounds in a year, anyone can. What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever heard a kid say? So when I was very little and my mom gave me orange juice, I freaked out because it had pulp in it. And what did I say? "I CAN'T DRINK THAT IT HAS NIPPLES IN IT" look idk don't ask but boy does Mom love sharing that story. A random stranger walks up to you and says 'you’re hot’. You say: Most likely "go away." Possibly "thank you, but please go away." Actually yeah, that's more likely. Like it's flattering to know someone finds you attractive, but yeah, that's just uncomfortable for some stranger to do that. I also wouldn't want to really piss the person off. Do you send messages on Facebook a lot? Definitely not. Almost the only person ever would be Girt. Have you ever gone to a strip club? No. Not my kinda scene. Like I absolutely will not think less of someone who does this, but I just don't like but moreso feel bad for men or women who reduce themselves to their sexual capabilities. Do you like Chinese food over pizza? Hell nah man. Pizza is supreme. What color is your watch? I'm not wearing one. I never do. Do you believe in love at first sight? Absolutely not. Visual attraction, of course that's real, but I promise you dear, you don't love someone upon looking at them. When you eat Frosted Flakes, do you add sugar in it? I hate that stuff. Who’s the biggest hugger you know? Ashley's father-in-law's mom. ... At least I think that's what she is? Do you want to change your name? Nah, it's fine. Have you ever tried to erase someone from your memory? Of course I have.

[chubbychummy]

Positive Week

This past week, I have spent only 2 out of 5 work days in the lab. I have otherwise been at some course in centre city (it’s about an hour away).This has been a good change of pace for me and tbh it just kind of pushes back the work I need to be doing but I think it is a much needed break.

Also a good chance for me to socialise — as I live outside of city centre, it is usually a lot of time/effort for me to get into the city. I have to plan for it. But spending all day here for the course, I was able to do things I would not have otherwise been able to doTuesday afternoon during the lunch break, I ran all over the city going to pharmacies trying to find T which apparently ran out of stock in all of France. I didn’t get all that I needed but it was enough so that was awesome. I won’t have to worry about that again til May.

Thursday, I had the chance to use my lunch break to change my transportation plan from monthly unlimited to what I should have had to begin with: pay as you go. I seldom use public transport since I usually just use my bike. I would have saved about 20€ a month which is nothing to shy from. But I won’t look at sunk costs I spent hat I could have saved. Just nice knowing that starting in May I will start saving money from this change ^^ I should have changed it many months ago (like a full year ago), but again, life came up and it’s hard to juggle everything I have going on. I’m just happy that in the future, I will not be spending unnecessary money on this

Tuesday evening I met up with Delphine. We just sat around and chatted for a bit - it was really low key. She was catsitting for a few days and I got to hang out with a super adorable and nice black longhair kitty (named Negro lmaoooo so they just call him bébéchat) Anyhow it was super super low key but it always just puts me in a good mood to see her. Later that night I went to the bar to a regular meetup type deal and chatted with some new folks I have not met before. Also relatively low key but it was just nice. ^^ Wednesday was a very inefficient day hahahh. (Monday was super super efficient- I worked essentially nonstop from 9am-7pm barely stopping for food. But I was on a good roll. Wednesday was not so efficient hahahh. But that’s okay.) crashed Wednesday night at 8:30pm and had a first long sleep in a week, which was good and my body needed it.Thursday back to the course — but it was a new course! Actually by the same instructor! I had not originally signed up for it but wanted to attend. And she said that she was looking for more students so I was welcome! Which was cool! Upside: I get to complete this course and add like 18h more to my training repertoire, it is in English so it’s easy for me, I am already familiar with the instructor, etc. downside: I still have some administrative stuff I need to sort out in centre city but I literally don’t have the time unless I take a vacation day to get it done, but I feel like I have too much work rn to try to take any day off in the next two weeks. This is my visa and residence permit thing. I needed to have done this two weeks ago hah. But anyhow. It was good that I got in this course - and how!

So there were two girls in this course also, one of whom talked to me (she’s very very talkative) and it was awesome! which is not very typical of a French person, but she did and it was awesome. (She is also fluent in German!)Anyhow the course was very cool and frankly I just felt good about the interactions. ÚwÙ Thursday evening, I had the second to last operation for my tooth surgery shitPutting in the anchor — it was back close to where I live which is 1hr away. So I hopped back on the tram then bus and made it there, got it done (it was fast!!) and it was only 19h20. There was some thing I had in my google calendar in centre city I thought I couldn’t go to cuz of the dentist thing but it was at 19h30, and honestly knowing French people, people always arrive fashionably late. So if I hopped right back on a bus/Tram from the dentist, I could get back to centre city by ~8pm so I did just that

The thing in my google calendar was at the Maison de Chercheurs, but my lab was having an outing elsewhere. So I figured okay, i would go to the one with the people from my lab. Tbh it wasn’t super great for me but also I’m still super glad I went cuz at least it completely eliminated FOMO, and honestly almost everyone was there. Like 20+ people. I hardly talked to anyone, but I was present. I did chat a little bit and the little I talked was fun. I think it was rly good I was there too cuz also I talked with the Portuguese intern who was there (she doesn’t speak French, so it was tough for her. There is only one other non francophone and he is Italian but Luca was there as well.) so she was rly alone and I’m glad I was there at least to chat with her occasionally. Anyhow it was good even if it wasn’t gr8, but I’m still very very glad I went(  Plus since I had been working so much on my own this whole week - and last - I had hardly had time to see folks in the lab)  So then Friday. Was tired waking up having only slept some 5 hours, but what was off to a tired start turned into a really good day.I didn’t pay too too much attention in the course today (had trouble focusing bc tired hah) but then around lunchtime, he girl who sat next to me yesterday (and her friend with whom she works — same cohort) invited me to lunch with them For some reason my student restaurant card doesn’t work here in centre city, so I couldn’t really pay the food things here (I was ready to pay a more expensive price with my bank card or cash but I don’t think they accept either), but one of the girls covered me. Albeit it’s only like €3, but still. (Whereas I think it’d be like 6€ idk)So I had lunch with them - chicken, fries, a dessert, and appetizer ! Good shit! And had a chance to talk to them about some stuff too so that was cool. It’s just rly nice talking with folks and meeting/getting to know new people.

Was late coming back (got scolded by the instructor), but it’s also okay. We worked on an activity where we essentially pretended to be journalists and interviewed one another about our thesis projects and I sat next to and worked with/interviewed this new girl who spoke a very fluent English! And !!!!!!! It was amazing ??????Idk you know when you instantly just click with someone And then like when that happens you kind of ?? Keep clicking ????Like repeatedly as the interaction continues, you just kind of keep clicking multiple times and it never seems to rly stop and you’re just like ??? God??? I rly get you?????? It was like that with her and it was too coolLike someone else in the class actually called out my name to tell me to lower my voice cuz I didn’t realise I was speaking too loudly — I was just ??? Really excited and enthusiastic???!?Anyhow it was just rly awesome and I was like “actually can I get your contact info later bc I would really love to talk”And we kind of had a chance in this mock interview to give each other mini professional life stories (like life stories but only what is pertinent to our professional work track I guess) and idk it was rly coolSo anyhow at the very end of the course I was getting ready to ask her to exchange contact info but she asked me firstLike literally as I was opening my mouth to ask, she was like “actually if you don’t mind—“ and I thought it would have to wait but then she straight up asked me for my contactsAnd so we sort of excitedly parted waysI considered going to the administrative building afterward (closes at 16h30 — it was 16h45 already by now) to see if I might catch someone ask they’re leaving, but also it takes like ten minutes to walk there so I decided against it in the endI was heading back to the classroom building figuring I could just spend 1.5-2hours chilling on discord or twitter while changing my phone and waiting until 18:30 cuz I told someone I’d get a drink with him later that evening. But when I turned around, the other girl was there and she waved and walked over and we chatted some more. Like where are you headed? Just going back home. You live in centre city? Yeah just around the corner. So I offered to walk her home cuz I have no other plans for the next two hoursShe asked if I had seen Les Machines (I had), and she admitted that since coming to Nantes in October (she is from Le Mans just a few hours northeast ), she hasn’t actually gone out and seen much. She bought the new assassin’s creed so she’s just been going home and playing video games all night lolBut she asked if I was down to just walk around and I’m like ?? Absolutely?? I love walking??I suggested the park, which is honestly beautiful - esp on a beautiful day - so we proceed to take the ugliest ass most inefficient route to walk there. But it was okay cuz we kinda just talked the entire time so it was fine.She’s rly rly cool and anyhow we got to the park and just continued talking while walking in the park. Eventually after hanging out with some goats, we saw there was another girl from the same course, who had her husband and her kids with her. So we just stood around and chatted for like another hour or so

Eventually it was 18h30 so I was like huh should probably meet up with that guy I said I’d get drinks with, so we headed in that general direction while still talking. Passed by a... spontaneous mini local food market? So I sent the message to the guy to come over cuz there’s something going on here. And the girl and I awkwardly accidentally walked out of the market cuz it’s rly rly small and takes about 30 seconds to walk through, and we’re just trying to decide what to do. Get a coffee? (She’s Muslim so no alcohol - also I seldom drink and I don’t prefer it). Or a kebab?  She wasn’t hungry but also admitted she didn’t have money on her, and I told her not to worry - my treat. We ended up going back to the tiny food market and I got us both some granola and fruit leather? As a snack cuz she wasn’t rly hungry. But that way we could sit around and chat and munch while waiting for my other friend to show He eventually came and we walked around together but then the girl left (said she had to go home, but tbh I think she had a fear she might have been imposing?)Anyhow I ended up walking and talking some more with the other friend (Canadian guy) and we ended up in some restaurant (oops my bad I thought it was a bar— he likes beers and said he wasn’t that hungry, so a little awk that this turned out to be a restaurant). But anyhow, he got some beers and I got a sausage platter to share for us.And we spent the rest of that night kind of just sharing life experiences and discussing doctorate struggles and remarks about French culture and our experiences and anecdotes and shitIt was just a really really good night

[hey-hey-chan]

Supernatural!Minho

Ok but like are these too long or what? Someone needs to tell me cuz idk man :( Also I feel like I don’t add enough romance but also I get caught up in this mythical world XD

“Here is the hydra, a 9-headed beast. Very powerful with poisonous venom, also one of it’s head is immortal.. To kill this beast, Hercules went and...” I furiously took notes as the professor went on and on about more evil enemies we had. 

I raised my hand as a question popped into my head.

“Professor Min, if we were to encounter a hydra, or any of the creatures you’ve mentioned, what are we supposed to do to defend ourselves?” The woman chuckled, though I didn’t find my question funny.

“y/n, if you are ever to encounter these creatures alone, you better run. But in a group, you are to find their weaknesses, which I digress...” 

The lecture soon ended and I packed up my stuff to head to the hidden library as everyone calls it, but I felt myself being shoved to the side by other students. 

“Watch it, witch.” I passing fae said. I frowned at their comment, but didn’t say anything about it. I knew the repercussions of lashing out, just last week a girl got suspended for turning into a wolf and running through the halls. 

Though, I couldn’t help but by curious on what it would be like to use my spells in battle. 

I sighed, pushing the thought to the back of my head. Before I could leave, I heard someone say my name.

“y/n?” I whipped my head to Professor Min, a young lady who wanted us to call her by her first name, but only I call her professor. 

“Yes, Professor Min?” I questioned politely. She smiled.

“As you know, you’re doing fantastic in my class, I thank you for that, considering how terribly most of the students are doing.” I laughed. 

“No problem, I love learning about new things about this world, it’s quite fascinating and much more interesting than my old life.” Contrary to most people here, I had moved to this school about a month ago, but I adjusted very well. I always knew something just didn’t click for me at my old life, and I loved it here. Plus, I’m a witch, not something scary like a vampire. I shivered at the thought. 

“I’m glad. But I do have a favor to ask.” I grew nervous. 

“What is it?” I questioned. She smiled. 

“Oh silly, don’t be scared.” I let myself breath. “I just wanted to ask you to tutor one of my students.” I felt a big sigh of relief. Phew.

“Oh of course, who would that be?” I asked. 

“His name is Lee Minho, a very strong warlock he is, just not very good at street smarts...” She trailed off. Minho? I blushed and my anxiety came back. He was known as one of the hottest guys in the school, along with his gentlemanely self, all the girls swooned over him. He was kind, but also goofy, which made him also popular with the guys. Even if he joked around in class, teachers couldn’t help but love him. He was similar to the fae, Chan, in the sense of no one could hate him. Good thing they’re friends. 

“Oh cool.” I said lamely. She smiled.

“Good, I asked him to meet you in the hidden library at 4pm, as I know you’d rather talk in peace... And I know you have no problems with the library...” I grew uneasy. Who didn’t know I talked to ghosts? It was a gift, not a curse. I hadn’t much experience with ghosts, I only saw one before, and that was in the library of the school. The ghost only asked for me to tell her husband that she left the stove on when she collapsed, she was harmless. 

“Yup, you’re right. I’ll be there at 4pm.” I left, not in the mood to hear people whine about the ghosts. 

“Hey Jihyo, I’ll be heading out now. Don’t wait up for me, alright?” I told my roommate, who was a vampire. Really freaked me out the first day, but now she’s more scared of me.

“Ok thanks for telling me.” I shut the door and made my way to the library. I breathed in the strong smell of books and mold, but mostly I could sense spirit. 

“Minho?” I called out once I got to the tables. I looked around the library and saw no one. “Guess I’m early.” I sat down and made myself comfortable with all my notes and diagrams around me until I heard a small “Hi.” I jumped.

“Oh shoot, I didn’t mean to scare you.” I looked up and saw his freaking pretty face just gazing at me like I was the most important thing. This was gonna be rough. 

“N-no, it’s fine. I’m fine. I just, got a little jumpy. I’m sorry.” I apologized. He laughed.

“No need to apologize, I’m the scary one obviously.” He held out his hand. “Lee Minho.” I shook it.

“Y/n. Nice to meet you.” I added. He nodded. His hands were so soft and I would almost imagine them just holding me and ugh! 

“Anyways, so monsters.” I took out my notes pertaining to the creatures we learned in class today. 

“Yeah, well, I just can’t wrap my head around what how just knowing the creature is supposed to help me in battle. Like I just wanna practice fighting and using spells.” He confessed. I gave him a reassuring smile. 

“I completely understand, my roomie, a vampire, says the same thing. I’ll probably be her tutor next.” He laughed. “But, as someone who lacks in the fighting field, I try to make the best of school.” I noted. He nodded.

“Yeah but thanks for tutoring me. Despite my charming appearance and dazzling personality, I’m a pretty sucky learner.” We both laughed at that, his laugh was even precious omg. 

“No you’re fine. I mean it’s fine. I mean you’re not not fine, but that’s just not what I meant and...” 

I didn’t know what to say next, except that I felt the air turn cold as ice and goosebumps ran down my arms. Turns out, Minho felt the same thing and immediately grabbed me and threw me behind him. “What the hell?” He mumbled. In any other circumstance, I would’ve loved being touched and protected by the Lee Minho, but I knew he couldn’t do anything about this.

“Don’t freak out, but there’s a ghost in here.” He turned at me with big eyes. 

“What!?” He exclaimed, a jump in his voice. I rolled my eyes. 

“It’s ok, they can’t hurt you.” I promised. He didn’t look convinced. 

At that moment, I saw it appear. It was a girl, maybe my age, a bit older. She had bright blonde hair and she looked like she could’ve been the most popular girl in school. Strangely enough, she didn’t say anything, just stared in one direction to the left and at the ground. I grew uneasy.

“What are you looking at?” I asked it. I felt Minho grab my arm. 

“What is she saying?” He asked. I felt his anxiety roll off in waves, and his hand touching my arm which made it hard to focus. 

“Nothing, she’s just staring at this spot over there.” I pointed to it. I gulped. “Minho, I think I have to go to it.” He grabbed my arm. 

“No, y/n, we should just leave.” He tried tugging me, but I gently took his grip off my arm. 

“I can’t, or else it’ll follow me back.” He gulped. 

“That’s messed up.” He mumbled. I gathered up all my courage and walked to the spot slowly and carefully. I felt Minho follow me. Suddenly, the ghost kept moving. I think I was supposed to follow her, so I kept going and going until she stopped behind the furthest bookshelf in the library, hidden in the corners of the darkness. 

“Fuck, I don’t like this at all.” I ignored him. 

The ghost suddenly whipped her head towards me. 

“In here.” She called. She didn’t point, or look, or anything, but I felt myself being drawn to a certain place in the ground. “Jump.” She said. “And bring the boy.” I looked at him, trying to act tough but I knew he was unsure of what to do. 

“I can’t.” I said. 

“You can’t what?” He asked. I shook my head, but he looked persistent. I sighed.

“She said bring the boy.” I answered. I felt him hold in a breath, but chuckled.

“Well she’s insane if she ever thought I wasn’t going to follow you.” I smiled. 

“Thanks. But don’t worry, she wouldn’t make us do anything to get us killed.” I pointed at the ground. “I have to jump on this. Hold my hand.” I asked bravely. He took my hand and I closed my eyes. 

And jumped.

“AH!” We yelled in unison. Soon we hit the ground. “What the hell?” Minho exclaimed. I took in our surroundings. A dark basement it looked like, with empty cages and covered in dust. 

“Look at this place, doesn’t look like anyone’s been down here in years.” I said, standing. Quickly, I looked around. I growled. 

“What?”

“That stupid ghost left us alone here. Where did she go?” I cried out. Minho put his hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t worry I know a spell to bring us back up.” He spoke words, but unfortunately, the way we got up was gone. I closed my eyes, blaming myself for following the ghost. 

“I’m so sorry Minho, I didn’t know this would happen. I just-” Before I could go on sobbing, I heard a rustle. We got in fighting position and scanned our surroundings. Silence. 

“Get ready.” 

Suddenly, I felt the large room shake and I felt the temperature rise. And soon enough, I was looking in the eyes of a large hydra. 

“SHIT!” We both yelled. Minho quickly said a spell, a killing spell and shot it at him. Didn’t work, just made him angry. I whispered a spell to choke him, it worked, but he quickly wrestled out of it. 

“Dammit, I really wished I paid attention in Min’s class.” I felt my heart heating out of my chest, scared for my life, til I realized what he said. 

“Min’s class. Oh my God Minho, I know what to do.” He looked at me. 

“What?!?” He yelled. 

“We have to slice off it’s immortal head and then seal it with hot metal to prevent it from growing back.” He scoffed.

“And how are we going to do that? We don’t have a sword.” At that moment, I heard metal clank against the ground. 

“Oh that’s handy.” I exclaimed. 

“Ok here’s the plan, you distract while I try and cut off it’s immortal head. And btw, what does that happen to look like?” I felt the temperature drop again. 

“The fourth one, to the right.”

“Thanks, the fourth one to the right.” He nodded, not questioning. 

“Let’s go.” I quickly jumped out and grabbed the attention of the hydra. 

“Over here buckoo!” The hydra snarled at me. I dodged the venom it lashed at me with protection spells and ducked to the ground. Minho made his way and I quickly held the beast down with chains for a split second for Minho to slice off the head. Minho swiftly took the sword and cut the head off. 

It’s blood spilled onto the floor, drenching us in blood. I yelled out a fire spell and quickly sprayed the sword with fire. 

“Seal it Minho!” I yelled. He quickly pressed the blade to its neck and the beast wailed out of pain. Sooner than expected, the best dropped to the floor.

“Run!” Minho yelled. I did as told and got the hell out of the way. I heard the thud of the hydra and I calmed down, knowing I didn’t get crushed by it. 

Minho and I sat, staring the the bloody beast and the gruesome sight. The only sounds that were heard was our heavy breathing. He turned to me.

“I got the head.” He lifted a huge bloody hydra head. I smiled. 

“Yay, we have to dispose of that now. How are we gonna tell the teachers?” He shrugged. 

“I don’t know, let’s just lay here for a while.” We both laid down, uncomfortably might I add since the blood sloshed against the ground.

“Gross.” I whispered. We laid in silence until Minho spoke.

“Well, I guess now I know to pay more attention in Defense classes.” I smiled. 

Is this the longest one??? What even am I doing???

[umflowers]

Gramma is.

Homemade dresses. French braids. Egg salad with celery seed. Letting me raid the pantry for “provisions” in my blanket fort. Gummy candies. Raisin cookies that were actually good. Homemade butterfingers. Slices of raw potato, no matter how weird she thought it was. American Girls books and dolls. Teaching me to wash my hair til it lathered when I was little, otherwise it wasn’t clean. Sorting through buttons, just cuz. Sifting through piles and piles of fabric to find scraps she thought I’d like, so I could make a patchwork Christmas tree skirt. Light pink lipstick and a little pale blue eyeshadow. Never anything more, just that. Letting me pound away for hours on her old typewriter. That black paper that you can write on, and it bleeds through to the paper underneath. I wasted so much of it. Teaching me an old swing song on the piano. I could only play it one-handed, but it was one she’d liked in her youth. Stepping on a hornet barefoot and not flinching. Keeping the peace when the barn burned down. Keeping the peace always. Cooking for her family and all the farmhands every day for many summers spent haying, dawn til dusk. Sending Christmas and birthday cards to every single one of her 17 siblings’ 200+ children every year, even when arthritis twisted her hands to claws. Signing every single one, usually writing a note. $25 in the mail, to make sure Jack and I could go on a date and relax. Building snow forts and playing cops and robbers with my cousins, and not getting called in til dark cuz she wanted us to have our fun. That cookout at Seneca Lake a few years ago. Dad, Jack, and grampa were fighting with the grill. She sat next to me at the picnic table and she leaned in and, in a conspirational whisper, said, “Boy! He finally doesn’t look 16 anymore!” She loved Jack as one of her own because he makes me happy. Didn’t need any more reason than that. Loving me no matter how hard I fought it, felt I didn’t deserve it, felt betrayed and confused by the notion of family. Gramma is realizing way too fucking late that every good, or peaceful, or just not bad memory of my childhood that I have comes back to her. I know you don’t care about my gramma, and that’s okay. Every person feels this loss like the end of their own world, but the broader issue of death is an inevitability that we don’t all feel personally every single time it happens to anyone. That’s the way it should be. But I’m posting this anyway, because I can. Because my gramma wasn’t perfect, but she was good, and it’s worth it to acknowledge a good woman.