#and i don’t even have to do anything since it’s all auto-battle!

[fore-seer]

i don’t think global devastation qualifies as a silly little prank, grima

[emgavi]

I can't lose her (Gavi x reader)

Part 2 of Losing you slowly, hope it gives some of you closure from the last part.:)) 1,944 words

All you could hear around you was the busy life of the airport as you sat by your terminal for your flight. You were going to do this, you couldn’t believe it. Part of you was excited to go to New York City, but another part was thinking about what Gavi is doing now. By now you think he read your letter at your, well now his apartment. 

“Flight 309 to New York will be boarding in 5 minutes” 

Hearing the announcement I get my suitcase and head to the already forming long line near the entrance. Just as you stopped rolling your bag, you heard a voice call out behind you that sounded like your name. 

“y/n!” 

I turned around looking to the side of the people behind me to see… no… what is he doing here? There I see Gavi running towards me. Stunned at seeing him here especially since you didn’t know he would know you would be here at this time. 

“Gavi? What are you doing here?” i asked , puzzled as he came towards me.

Panting from running in, “i - i - I needed to see you. Y/n mi amor, i’m so sorry from the bottom of my heart i never meant to hurt you and not show up last night. I was texting you but I forgot to press send, that’s my fault completely. Everything. Please forgive m-”

You cut him off, feeling yourself start to grow angry again hearing him make more excuses, “Stop, Gavi, stop with the excuses, that’s all you ever give me. How hard is it to show respect in this relationship? I love you Gavi, i really do , which is why it is so hard to say goodbye even after all you’ve done.”

He looked at you with pleading eyes ‘i’ll be better, i’ll fix myself, please mi amor don’t leave me, I don’t want to lose you” he begged, reaching out to hold your hands but you pulled away before he could. Making him frown at your movements to distance yourself.

``Please Gavi, even if you did, how could I have full confidence that you won’t do it again?”

Gavi opened then closed his mouth, having an internal battle as you said that. Shaking his head , that’s when you notice tears fall from his eyes. You started to feel bad and wanted to comfort him but you were still upset so all you did was rubbed his shoulder.

“This is probably for the best, I bet you heard about my promotion, headquarters gavi, this is big and i’m sorry it had to end this way but I need to go.”

Gavi was about the response but then the announcer beat him to it, 

“Flight 309 to New York Gate will be closing soon”

He didn’t even realize that the rest of the people that once surrounded him were gone and in the plane, leaving only y/n and him outside. 

“I’ve got to go Gavi” you said as you started to back away.

Panicking again, he grabbed your hand softly, “por favor y/n, I don’t want you to leave like this, i - i don’t want to lose you, por favor give me another chance, what do i have to do to prove to you ??? i will do it , anything you say, please y/n” he said more tears falling from his face.

Struggling on the inside seeing him fall apart in front of you,  It makes you give in to the need to hold him. You go and hug him, and once you do his arms hold you tight like you might disappear while he puts his face to your hair, cherishing the moment you are willingly giving him. One he fears will be the last.

You both stand there for a few seconds before you start to pull away, “i have to do this Gavi, there’s no other opportunity like it…… I’ve gotta go. “

You turn quickly and make your way to the gate but before you’re far you hear Gavi speak something behind you

“I love you”

Closing your eyes, fighting to stay strong, you didn’t turn back to him instead kept walking but in your head you said it back, “

I love you too”. 

T H R E E   M O N T H S   L A T E R .

In Barcelona Gavi was a wreck. He was basically on auto pilot and everybody could see how much the break up affected him, even the barcelona fc staff. He tried to send you text messages every once and a while to let you know he was still there, but you never replied. He so desperately wished he could go see you and fix things.

Pedri looked at his poor friend who was kicking poorly at an attempt to practice penalty kicks.

Xavi, his coach was also looking alongside him, sighing “ that kid really can’t get over it’ .

Pedri turned his head to his coach, “no…he won’t stop talking about her” 

His coach nodded, growing concern lingered in him as he watched his rising young star start to struggle both in the game and life. “Does she still talk to him?” Pedri shook his head. 

He thought for a while then called Gavi over. As Gavi walked over to his coach he asked, ‘si coach?” 

“I’ve been watching you, and you haven’t been looking like yourself out there” Xavi started 

Gavi looked down in disappointment as he heard those words 

His coach continued, “I remember being your age, all the dumb decsions I made that i regret to this day…I’ll only do this once but…. He hesitated 

“I can arrange for you some time where you can leave to go fix your problems, however when you return you’ll have to sit on the bench for at least 3 games. Do you accept it?”

Gavi looked at him surprised , he certainly did not expect to hear that from his coach and so did pedri, nodding his head quickly, “si claro que si, gracias , muchas gracias!” Gavi said going to give him a hug. 

“One condition, you better be in playing form when you return” he told the boy. 

Shaking his head as he headed to the exit of the field, already knowing where he’d been wanting to go for three months, he shouted out, “gracias!” before finally leaving the field. Running over to his car to go straight to his apartment and pack.

In NYC…

It’s been 3 months since you’ve left barcelona… since you left Gavi. In that time you were enjoying yourself in your new city minus the heavy workload and some rude employers. You were finally living one of your goals.

You hadn’t talked to Gavi during that whole time but he did try to contact you. Calling or leaving you texts saying he hoped that you were having a good day. It was clear that he still didn’t want to let you go and from your talks with Aurora, Gavi wasn’t giving up. 

It was the winter time here in NYC which meant your apartment was way colder than it was in barcelona at this time. Still early in the morning on your day off you decided to make some hot chocolate to warm you up a bit. Turning up the music you took your hot chocolate and sat on your comfy lounge chair. 

Right when you were in a comfortable position taking one sip from the mug, a loud knock to your door rang out. Annoyed, you sighed and placed your mug down to open the door. 

Who in the world is out at this hour in almost blizzard conditions??? You thought as you walked up. As you opened the door and saw who was there, your eyes went wide.

“H-hola , can i come i- in?”  

There standing in front of your footstep was Gavi. Shivering from the lack of layers needed for NY weather. Quickly feeling the cold air enter your house you ushered him inside. Which he was very happy about entering a warm room. 

“Gracias,” he said, warming up his hands. You saw that he had a suitcase with him, raising your eyebrows.

“How did you know where I lived?” you asked if the only person you ever told in barcelona was Auror,,, oh, i'm going to talk to her after this.

“I think you already know judging your face right now’ he said 

“Why are you here? Why come all this way?” 

“To be with you” he said promptly and you gave him a confused look. 

“You said before you left that you needed to leave for this opportunity, so you are here, then i am here” he said plainly, even more confused you asked him 

“But what about barcelona gavi, your dream??, don’t you still want to play football? I can’t let you throw that away ``I told him sternly, this was crazy.

““You were about to risk your career for me so I’m risking mine for you because I love you and your more important and I should’ve shown you that all of those times but I was selfish, and incredibly stupid. I want to fix the mess I made and be here with you.” he said getting closer to you.

You were stunned at this, all the anger at him disappearing and started to feel your love creep in again for the brown eyed boy. You knew how much football meant to him, and he was choosing you over that, “Gavi i …i don’t know what to say” 

“Say you’ll let me stay with you, i’ll even sleep on the couch” he said

Still not getting over the fact that he seriously left barcelona during it’s season, “this is a sweet gesture to show me but i can’t let you throw away your chance to play Gavi, have you ever considered his completely, aren't you in season right now?” 

He smiled at you rambling over the concern for this career. He grabbed your hands which you let him, ‘you are worth everything, i was a wreck without you y/n , when you left I didn’t know what to do with myself, if this is enough to prove to you that I love you and im serious that i’ll change then i’m right where i should be.”

Taken aback from his words, and him staring deep into your eyes was the moment you felt yourself lean into him, he did the same. Stopping inches before your lips met, you looked up at his eyes, “one more chance’ you whispered on his lips 

He smiled wide “I promise you won’t regret it” then he leaned forward and met your lips. Holding you tightly, hands at your waist while yours around his neck, he kissed you as if trying to show you how much he missed and loved you. 

When you pulled away you asked, “wait but what are you going to say to Barcelona when you don’t show up for practice?” 

He gave you a smirk and pulled you closer “don’t worry mi amor, I got xavi to cover for me, turns out there’s a really good rehab specialist here in New York that barcelona likes to send their injured players sometimes, i got at least 1 month”

You looked at him surprised at the actually well calculated plan, “well then, with that taken care of, I guess it’s time for….New York adventures with y/n and Gavi!” you said excitedly 

He laughed then looked at you with a glow in his eyes, “te amo y/n”

Te amo tambien Gavi”  leaning up to kiss him. 

[bots-and-cons]

OK I got your answer to my request and yeah I’m sorry for not giving much context .

I would still like a Optimus, Bumblebee and Smokescreen x female Pokémon trainer reader

How about for context, let’s say that the auto bots are detecting all the commotion being caused by the reader and her Pokémon when they are training and since they don’t know anything about Pokémon, they would be confused at first, and try to protect the reader from her Pokémon only for her to have to explain what Pokémon is to them. 

As for the little cherry on top, I’d honestly love to see what each of them think of Pokémon like, as in what their personal opinion of them is. Maybe even stating which one they would say is their favorite Pokémon.

If you would like any suggestions for any kind of Pokémon to appear, might I suggest Eevee and Lucario? Those are some of my favorite Pokémon so I figured if you wanted Pokémon suggestions I’d suggest them.

I did HCs, since I'm not particularly in the mood for scenarios atm. Honestly, I just mostly did the bot’s reactions to the Pokemon you mentioned and something like that. I’m really freaking tired today and I just wanted to get something out since it’s been a week since the last fic post. Sorry I didn’t do Bee, I didn’t have any ideas and my brain isn’t working right now. Pokemon x TFP crossover I guess

~Smokescreen~

•First he thinks the little creatures that seem to be fighting each other are going to hurt you, so he scoops you up and tries to take you away from your pokemon

•You of course protest, and tell him to put you down

•Smokescreen thought the two pokemon were some weird dogs but dogs don’t walk on two legs and when he gets a closer look, the smaller one doesn’t quite look like a dog either

•He wasn’t going to hurt the little animals(?) he just wanted to keep you safe

•You of course have to explain to him that they’re not animals, they’re pokemon

•Smokes is of course interested in what exactly these so called “pokemon” do and what they mean to you since they seem to also be very protective of you

•When he picked you up to protect you from them, they tried to save you by attacking him but you stopped them

•Your pokemon friends don’t particularly seem to like Smokescreen, but he doesn’t really notice

•Smokescreen doesn’t really get what the difference between pokemon and normal animals is, but he thinks it’s great you have such companions to keep you safe

~Optimus Prime~

•Optimus is of course not familiar with pokemon, he just thought they were some odd animals

•But you explain the whole thing to him, the pokemon, training them and how you battle other trainers

•Optimus asks how you got your pokemon and you ended up also explaining the whole starter pokemon thing, your starter pokemon was Mudkip and you’ve collected other pokemon over the years, like Eevee and Lucario

•He doesn’t really get the whole “battling other trainers” thing, because he doesn’t like unnecessary fighting, but he doesn’t tell you that, since it seems like it’s such a normal thing to you

•Optimus thinks the pokemon are quite fascinating and he finds the whole training thing interesting

•Your pokemon seem to actually be quite interested in Optimus as well, probably because he’s not anything they’ve seen before, and since he seems to be important to you they also want him to be safe

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Personal opinion but I feel quite a let down when Vil's new SSR card is just a bonus card for Jamil's hometown event, even if they made a slight change to the story to include him?? The last Vil's event SSR card is Halloween part 1 which to be fair all 3 SSR cards were barely focused or main character-ish. So I was expecting for a Vil focused event, like hometown or anything that would give him the spotlight more... So yeah, quite a let down, and the card doesn't even have a vignette. Guestroom furnitures are cool, but I still prefer vignettes 😔

[Referencing this post!]

Mmm, I think the thing with the first Halloween event is that the three featured SSRs did play a somewhat more significant role than the others, but they were also bogged down by having to compete with EVERY other main cast student, NRC Staff, and even the Ramshackle Ghosts also appearing in the event. (If I remember correctly, it was Cater who informed everyone about the Magicam Monsters, Jade who encouraged everyone to fight back using scare tactics, and Vil who headed the Halloween planning committee.) Considering all of this, I get why the importance of Vil's first event SSR may have seemed to be minimized. It felt like a mainly “Cater” event of the SSR trio. I do think Vil is an odd choice to give a SSR for Jamil's hometown event of all things 😅 I mean, it has been years since Vil last got an event SSR, but in terms of context this just seems... out of nowhere?

I guess Vil can technically be easily thrown in with the excuse of "oh, he's there on an acting/modeling gig", but then that would work for any event?? And it isn't really justified with a change in the story either (it sounds like it will be 100% the same; Vil doesn't even come with vignettes but with furniture recipes so we won't ever formally get an explanation for why he's in Yasmina Silk). It's a CRIME that Vil won't get to hang out with best girl Najma 😭 LET THEM TEASE JAMIL TOGETHER-- I would have thought the natural new SSR to come for this event would be Kalim (who already has a presence in the event, but not a new outfit, so you wouldn't even have to write much new dialogue for him; this would be similar to what was done for SSR Suitor Suit Idia and SR Suitor Suit Lilia). Even Lilia would work, as he was originally intended to go with Malleus as his +1 (although this route would have warranted considerable new chunks of story to incorporate Lilia into the narrative). Like… are those two not the Obvious Choices???

Maybe I just feel this way because I prefer story and character to how something looks (although nice aesthetics are always a bonus)?? Honestly, I don't really care for decorating the Guest Room or making furniture, I find it very annoying and time-consuming to gather the materials especially since you usually can't auto the Extra battles and the Guest Room isn't all that interactive anyway 😂 I also just don’t see a point in releasing a new card when there’s no story at all associated with it??? That’s probably why Yasmine Silk Vil and his lack of event presence seems more egregious to me... It is what it is, unfortunately 💦 I'm sure there are people who love decorating and are excited that Vil is finally getting a new (non-obligatory, non-birthday) card regardless. I'm happy for them and hope that they enjoy him when he releases!

[aibouart]

So I’ve had an anon in my drafts for like a year now asking how to get better at being fast at art since I can be a bit speedy (I used to be faster but I’ve slowed down in some areas to take my time BDBDS)

Anyways, I have been thinking abt it constantly since then and decided to just make a video about it, but Vegas cONSTANTLY crashes on me and when I was doing it, I couldn’t upload it anyways due to my terrible internet and the length

SO I’ve decided to just say a summary of it, cuz like, ultimately it’s a lot of things but the primary thing is:

Keyboard shortcuts (and tools)

Fr, you can get super fast at digital art just by navigating your program efficiently. You don’t even need to be fast at the art thing itself (that part is just practice unfortunately). If you learn and apply shortcuts in your program (sorry mobile users I can’t help u there rn) then you can easily become a LOT faster without even needing to get better at art itself.

For example:

We already know ctrl-Z, ctrl-Y (or ctrl-shift-z for some programs), ctl-X, ctrl-v, ctrl-c

But some other shortcuts I use (this is in Paint Tool SAI, so you can look up your program’s as it might overlap!) are:

Holding space: bro this shit works for like every single program i swear. hold space and click and drag to move the canvas around, a lot faster than going to the scroll bars or using the preview (unless you want a large movement)

Ctrl A: this will select everything on your canvas, it won’t select all layers though but in conjunction with ctrl-x, ctrl-c, or your fill shortcut (ctrl-f for me) it means you’re lightning fast to do what you’re doing without having to use magic wand tool or selection tool. ctrl-a + ctrl-c + ctrl-v is super fast to just, select it all, copy it, and paste it. 

ctrl-alt: idk abt other programs, but holding ctrl-alt on SAI brings up the brush size wherever your mouse is. you can adjust the size on the spot itself without going to brush tab 

ctrl f: i don’t even use the bucket tool i just use this. it’ll fill anything in your selection (or the entire screen if u don’t have anything selected)

alt: holding this down while using a selection tool will make it deselect. no need to use a deselection tool or anything if u just hold this down (really good in conjunction w magic wand tool). I use this to go even faster by being sloppy with my selection tool, going to my lineart, holding alt and deselecting the areas that go out of the lines. a lot faster for me than trying to get the perfect selection right away.

ctrl d: deselects

c: this auto selects the invisible/eraser setting for any tool you’re using, so I just use this when using a pen or something to erase instead of the actual eraser tool

v: this swaps between the primary colour selected and the secondary one

ctrl-e: merges selected layer w layer below it

ctrl-shift-e: merges all layers (can get funky w folders, but if you select the very top layer it should work) this is esp useful if you’re sharing art by pasting it into stuff like discord, ctrl-shift-e, ctrl-a, ctrl-c, all copied, no need to screenshot it at all.

right click: eyedropper tool, you can hold alt as well but i use right click

there’s even more than these (pretty sure there’s one u can hold to rotate the canvas for example but i never use it). honestly, half the battle w digital art is getting used to your program. if u have access to keyboard shortcuts, using them will allow u to just go ham once u have them memorised (note that these took years for me to figure them all out, i def didn’t memorise them all in one week or anything. over steady application to my habits i got them down)

here’s a fast tutorial on filling in lineart stupid quickly!: https://aibouart.tumblr.com/post/182793937136/using-the-magic-wand-tool-to-try-and-fill-every

filling in ur colour now becomes as easy as click, click, click, invert, ctrl-f. u may need to clean some corners but otherwise it’s basically instantly filled. if ur program has magic wand tool it’ll prolly do this

https://gyazo.com/a5efd8695e7e0bda6667063168612823 (really quick example of selection tool, magic wand tool, alt, ctrl-f)

[notajinn]

Top Games Played in 2023 - Number 3: Honkai Star Rail

3. Honkai Star Rail (Mobile)

When Dragalia Lost ended, I had a mobile game slot open in my life. I left that slot unfilled for a while since I knew I wouldn’t find something I’d become attached to as much as Dragalia. But after hearing good things about the gameplay and story, I decided to try Honkai Star Rail. It’s not as good as Dragalia, but it’s much better than a mobile game needs to be.

What I Like

Star Rail is a turn-based RPG, which means the battle system will make or break my enjoyment. And they made a good battle system! There’s a variety of character paths/classes, a good but not overwhelming number of things to upgrade, and some fun unique things like Ultimates as turn-interrupts.

But more than the battle system, what hooked me in the game is the writing. Most of the mainline story is good to great, but the real strong writing is in the events.  These are usually smaller self-contained stories that make the best use of the characters. That said, I do think the main story of Jaillo (the first planet after the Space Station) is also great.

The music is also surprisingly good. Most notably, the climax battles of both of the planets in the current version of the game have these great vocal tracks.

As far as gacha games are considered, it’s reasonable in giving free pulls for characters. The free characters are already pretty solid and cover all elements. Otherwise you get enough pulls for a 5 star every few patches. And even though the game is still in it’s early life, they’ve already done some re-run banners running parallel with new characters if you missed a character you wanted.

The game also has an auto-battle mode for helping with grinding, and easy fast-travel points for them.

What I Don’t Like

It’s still ultimately a mobile gacha game. This means the game’s story will often go out of its way to showcase the upcoming banner characters. So far it hasn’t been laughably bad, but I’m expecting it to happen.

It also has the mobile game issues of a stamina system limiting how much you can play at a time. Fortunately the story and events are not stamina-gated, so you don’t get locked out of important things. But when you need to grind materials or equipment, you’re going to be limited.

Speaking of equipment, the Relics (most of your equipment) grinding system is awful. It costs a big chunk of stamina, and you get 2 random 5-star Relics from one of two different equipment groups. So you have to get:

The correct equipment group

The correct piece of equipment (arm/head/body/boots)

The right main stat on the equipment

And then in late game, getting the right sub-stats on the equipment also makes a difference

So you can spend a full day’s stamina on just getting Relics and still not get anything usable.

Also this is specifically a problem with the current game, but most of the female characters released during the Xianzhou story have the same cookie-cutter outfit. I feel like there’s been at least 8 characters with this same outfit with slightly different colours/details. It’s gotten to the point where I didn’t even try to pull any of the Xianzhou characters.

Final Thoughts

For a mobile game, Honkai Star Rail is a comfortable (if distant) second to Dragalia Lost. Which means it’s the best currently active mobile game.

[sunghox99]

hjremi​:

“i am not losing it.” he’s not pouting. it would be embarrassing if he was pouting. “okay, so like, maybe i overindulged, maybe. but i earned it!” he’d just finished his final for the coastal engineering class the day before. which like, hey remi from the beginning of the year, don’t take that fucking class. it had been unnecessarily difficult, and they couldn’t even do anything with the things they learned, since the people that lived in the water wanted to be bitches about it. surrounded by the largest renewable resource in the world, but noooo… can’t do shit with it.

taking two cans of soda from the fridge, remi rolls his eyes as he rummages around for the stupid timer. he must not have shut it off properly whenever the brownies had been finished, because it’s rattling the whole damn counter with the vibrations from whatever drawer he’d shoved it in. “you seriously don’t know who jarvis is? but you know bb-8? dude. if anyone else in this town tells me they don’t know marvel, i’m gonna move to the sun.”

aha, success! he flicks the little switch, tossing the now-still timer back into the drawer. “jarvis is the ai from ironman. and way cooler than bb-8, for the record. well, maybe not in this case, since it’s just a custom voice for my echo.” those things were stupid easy to jailbreak - privacy first, privacy second! - but he didn’t even need to in order to accomplish that, as jarvis was a standard option available on them.

remi freezes as soon as he sees sungho, eyes scraping over him, before he makes himself look away. damn whatever horny lizard that lived in his brain for wanting to immediately crawl on top of the other. you can’t be eye-fucking him already, dude, he just got here. “here.” passing the soda over to sungho, remi sets his own aside, hitting the button on his tv before collapsing onto his stomach beside the other, letting out a heavy breath. exams got him fucked up.

“fuck, dude, i can’t wait for summer. i finally don’t look like the phantom of the fuckin’ opera, so i might actually be able to go to the beach.” his scar tissue had been healing pretty well, according to his doctor. so well, in fact, the little stick-and-poke tattoo he’d given himself on the back of his hand, which had already looked kinda shitty to begin with, had distorted further, the smiley face turning into some weird grin.

once the television loads properly, it begins auto-playing whatever he had on last, which from sound alone appears to be some anime he’d put on before going to sleep the night before. he’s not really even looking, turning instead to look at sungho. “are you staying in hanjeong for the summer? you live in the city normally, yeah?” he kinda vaguely recalls that, from some half-conversation they might’ve had between studying.

"Do I look like I watch Marvel!?" Sungho questioned in a defensive tone, "Plus, BB-8 could beat up the Avengers; hell, even we could." He was referencing an online meme that said the Avengers were so weak that almost everyone else could defeat them in battle, "Anyways, it's cool you know how to mod like that but not go extreme and try to take down the government?"

He was only half serious, as mass media often showed computer-inclined people to be hackers and anon troops in a never-ending war to overthrow "the system". It was probably usual for Remi, but Sungho asked for a soda specifically because that was something he was denied during his upbringing. Some things were considered uncultured and outside the family image, though his Mom did allow them when it was just the two of them. Sungho wasn’t liking how, in this short time with the other, he was getting reminders of his past. Remi was decently nice and all, but so far, this may not be a long-term thing if the reminders keep coming.

"Why not? He was rich as fuck and had the hottest woman after him," Sungho replied after drinking a third of the can in one go. "School got you that bad; you haven’t gone to the beach". There was disbelief in his voice. Sungho went at least twice to get away from everyone and decompress. Sure, there was some danger with the sirens and mermaids, but he didn’t have any contact with them that he knew of. For him, everyone was human until stated otherwise. He was unconcerned with the culture war, as he had no stake in it. He was at Hanjeong to get away from his family.

Anyways the anime did lessen the awkwardness by providing white noise to end the silence between them. He chuckled a bit at Remi, thinking he was just on a short stay. "No, I’ve been here for 3 years; I just kept a low profile. I've got to figure out my plan though, since my studies are finishing soon. Yeah, I live closer to the city. Why are you trying to come over?" There was a flirty hint in that. Of course, he wasn’t going to give full access to the other, despite his hidden reputation. Sungho could be as picky as he wanted because, well, body anatomy and conscent. "There are some more touristy areas that have a lot going on, so that might be more exciting. But if you like nature, there’s biking, hiking, walking trails, surfing, and sight-seeing away from the computer. Sungho looked at the other, sticking out his tongue, meaning his last words were playful and not to be taken as a vile dig.

hjremi​:

@hjxsungho your problem now

“don’t hit your head on the stairs on the way up.” remi reaches up, smacking the beam above his head. he’s too short to worry about it, usually, but sungho is taller than he is. as they reach the top of the small staircase in the back of the grocery store, remi fumbles with his door code for a minute, fingers clumsy.

“remington, is that you?” a woman���s voice, from the bottom of the stairs. presumably the woman that had been running the register whenever they’d come in, but no way to tell without seeing her.

“yes, mrs. kim!”

“are you feeling better? you looked peaky this morning.” he’d been stoned out of his gourd last he’d spoken to her, but he’s not about to tell her that.

“yes, mrs. kim, i’m feeling much better!” he pushes the door open, gesturing for sungho to enter first.

“oh, that’s wonderful to hear. do you want some kimchi jjigae? i made some earlier, it’s in the usual spot.”

fuck, he really does. focus, remi, focus. “i’ll stop by in a while to pick some up, thank you, mrs. kim. i’m gonna go now, i’ve got a friend over.” he looks to the other, shrugging helplessly, as if to say ’what can you do?’

friend is one way to put it. he and sungho go to the same small-ass college, sure, but this is their first time really ever hanging out. blame their different majors. “sorry, ’s my landlord.” he explains, closing the door and kicking his shoes off haphazardly and letting them land in the pile by his front door. “i think she’s adopted me, but i haven’t seen any paperwork yet. you want a drink?”

his apartment - though you can barely call it that, more of a room than anything else - is cluttered almost beyond belief. there’s hardly an inch of available wall space with all the posters, artwork, and most prominently, polaroids, that he’s got hanging up, no less than four monitors on his desk, and, whenever remi prompts, “jarvis, turn on the lights.” as he heads to his fridge, enough ambient lighting to bathe the whole room in a purpley glow. it’s not dirty, at least, just incredibly overfull.

“i’ve still got brownies too, if you’re interested. cliche, i know, but i don’t know how to bake anything else besides box mix.” he breaks off a little piece of one, popping it into his mouth. “you can sit anywhere, by the way. just shove shit if it’s in your way.” he forgot to put the futon back up before leaving this morning, but he’s sure sungho’s smart enough to figure it out.

Sungho was at times uninspired by university, having grown up in a high-performing environment. The academic leap from high school to university was an adjustment for anyone, but if you could see the patterns, it was a breeze. Even if he was the black sheep of the family, that wasn't an excuse to slack off. The young man was one of the top students in his major, partly by choice but also to avoid incurring the wrath of his parents. He still had the same expectations to achieve as his siblings. However, after leaving the island, he felt out of place, a common occurrence. The political landscape of the island didn't directly concern him, nor did the supernatural, as he was human. Some students were highly invested, or at least down for the cause. Remi(ngton) was one person who was on a similar wavelength. The two of them didn't have any classes together but studied adjacently from time to time. They weren't friends, but the potential was there.    Sungho almost said no to Remi's invitation to hang out but saw the effort. There was an instant tinge of envy at how the other and their landlord got along; it was more care than he got from his own mother. She even cooked for a guy who wasn't her son! Remi had it good; they weren't leaving without taking some of the food. Following the other, Sungho had no appreciation for the living space, as his classist mindset was peeking out as he took off his shoes. Remi's whole place could fit in Sungho's living room with more than enough room to spare. There was some charm to the room. The photos on the wall showed a hobby, the purple-hued light of the fridge had to be a custom mod. The imposing computer set-up screamed that this guy was a hella computer major. The mess was passable, as he was a college student. "That brownie got you losing it, so I'll pass. Who the hell is Jarvis? You're BB-8?" he asked as leaned back on the bed using his arms as support, “I’ll take a soda.”

[hawkins-losers]

Hello! How are you? I hope you are good I was wondering if you would like to write something with Eddie Munson and prompt 23 or 36 on your list. If you feel like doing it, thanks in advance!<3

(“It’s hard to get used to…” “what is?” “Being someone that someone cares for…” + ‘’you were put on this earth to give me a headache’’)

A/N: Reader is Dustin’s sister in this (Henderson!Reader)

-

‘’Hear me now,’’ Eddie dramatically spoke, putting his foot on the plastic milk bin, getting into character as he would in a D&D campaign. ‘’There will be no more retreating from Eddie the Banished.’’

‘’Hey, you’re really ready for battle.’’ Dustin laughed at his own joke, which Eddie clearly didn’t get by the confused look on his face. ‘’You get it? Battle. B-A-T,’’ he explained, hoping someday someone will get one of his jokes. ‘’No? I thought it was a good one...’’

Without warning, Eddie charged at the younger boy and they began play-fighting. Despite being a little beefy for his age, Eddie was much taller and older therefore Dustin stood no chance against him.

‘’No! No wedgie,’’ you heard your brother beg as you walked up the little hill of grass.

‘’Eddie, don’t kill my brother!I know he’s a little shithead, but my mom would have my head if anything happens to him,’’ you called.

Eddie let go of Dustin, giving him one last longing look, then picked up his handmade weapon. ‘’Look at that, Sweetheart. Not bad, uh?’’ He showed off his shield he made with a trash can lid and nails. ‘’All ready to save the princess.’’

‘’Princess?’’ you repeated with a raised eyebrow. ‘’I sure hope that’s not me. You know I’m not a damsel in distress.’’

He shook his head as you stood before him, the slow coming down of the sun sparkling in his eyes. ‘’You’re not the princess, you’re the queen. The only person I bend the knee for.’’ His words had a double meaning, making the corner of his lips twist devilishly.

You grabbed the lapel of his jacket and about to pull him down for a kiss, but Dustin broke the moment. Since you found Eddie at old Rick’s boat shed, you and him haven't had a single moment alone. There was always someone interrupting.

Dustin wrinkled his nose. ‘’Are you done with my sister, Eddie? We gotta finish the shields.’’

You groaned, tired of being interrupted. ‘’Ugh, you were put on this earth to give me a headache… Leave us for a moment, will you?’’

‘’Right now is not a time to make out, we have a battle to prepare for,’’ he reminded the both of you before leaving to help Lucas and Erica.

Eddie laughed, despite all being very fond of your little brother. He was his best Hellfire club new recruit. Dustin was intelligent, had a lot of imagination and was very courageous. He sometimes needed to get his ego in check and could be a little annoying, but, regardless of the age gap, Eddie considered him one of his best friends.

‘‘I can’t wait for all this Vecna shit to be over,’‘ you said, reaching up to fix Eddie’s hair. He was so handsome - even when he was in grand need of a shower. 

Eddie hummed. ‘‘Me too.’‘ 

‘‘I don’t know if a comb will get through this mess though. Your hair has so many knots. Lucky for you, I got this magic detangler at home that get through any knots. Your curls are gonna look beautiful again.’‘ 

A shy smile crept on the tall boy’s lips, his head down. “It’s hard to get used to.” 

“What is?” you asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Being someone that someone cares for. Growing up, I’ve never had anyone who took care of me. My mom took off when I was two and my dad was too busy committing grand theft auto to give a shit about me.”

‘‘I’ll always take care of you,’’ you promised, grabbing his face in your palms. A mischievous smile curled on your lips. ‘’You can even call me Mommy if you want-’‘

You didn’t get to finish you sentence, Eddie’s hand coming up to cover your mouth before anyone heard you. He laughed, shaking his head before kissing you.

-

Taglist: @broadway-or-noway @violetsleftfist @thelaststraw3  @cursedandromedablack  @Slashersimpfor  @savagejane1   @wh0reforbucknasty   @eddiemunson-slut   @slvdsjjk  @hehehehannahthings  @dreamdancers-world  @grace-loux  @iamharrystyleslover  @matildavol6  @Original_babababoo  @eddiemunsonbby  @notbeforelong  @lexi-2004 @violetrainbow412-blog  @tatespillows  @alwayslexii  @lilygreennn   @milkiane  @imahomeslice  @bunnygrl16 @cwritesforfun @marauders3rawh0re  @your-mom21 @parkersmyth @voguesir @milkiane @andrewgarfields-girlfriend @lilygreennn @alexxavicry @charlie-chick  @wandamaximoffs-deadchild  @horrorstreet  @rmeddar123  @pastel-abyss-x @lil-tracys  @lanalanabanana

Eddie Munson taglist: @nighttwingg @yourfavoriteakutagawakinnie @heizenka @eddiemvunsongf @Eddie_munsons_girlfriend @magicalchocolatecheesecake @eddiemunsonistheloveofmylife @avril-reblog-cave @Fandomfaeryreads @harrys-tittie @straycatarang @fourlokiss  @eddiemattress  @ghoulishlygrey   @paola-carter @bubsonnobx @pauldanoswifereal @ofherscarlettwitchways @kiszkathecook  @truewdw1 @bubsonnobx @ohhrexella @Dreamtiara @pastelbabygirl19  @steves-robin @eddiemunsonbby @jenlouvre @bonked-beyond-belief2  @tvserie-s-world @bootlegmothman420 @courtmr @chrisxevans-seb @satinselenite @thikkiesixx  @jennilynn63  @nia-um  @welcometohellfirw @strangermarvelgirl @sugar-simz @fandomloversvaries @miakatharinaa  @julsss321 @m1rkw00dpr1ncess  @Minksblog @soph69420world  @ameliakf13 @nancewheelersworld @parasadic-blog @nluvwitheddiemunson

[radnewspaperroom]

So, you wanna prep for Diavolo's birthday huh? Smart!

Dia's birthday falls on Halloween, which means it'll be around that time that the event will drop (as Mammon's was Sep 10th but the previous events started before, to allow replay ability) So I’d look for it about Mid October to be honest. 

After Mammon's event and the regular crammed in scheduling of events--you’re probably wondering how much Ap, Dp and D-Energy you're going to need in advance, and how much of each you can get if you decide to skip out on the events upcoming (since more than likely they will end up in LD in due time anyway)

So, let's get into the math

Excuse my typo and let's see: 51 days until Halloween (I wrote this on Sep 10th) Mammon’s Birthday Event lasts until the 16th. That means there’s really only 44 Days. **less than that because--I just don’t know when exactly**

Let’s see how you’d stand if from the 17th on you didn’t use anything and just saved it until Oct 31st

(you can adjust the dates with equations found at the bottom of you want an even more accurate look at numbers once the event is announced)

DP: Mainly what you’ll want to save to make up the missing needs when its time

You get 18 free DP a day by completing 7 items on your Daily To Do List

18 Free DP a Day * 44 Days = 792 DP 

Now this means you’d be missing out on any Nightmare events that happen between Sep 16- Oct 31 unless you have DV to use instead, if you use any--the calculation will be off--so make sure to do your own and double check your numbers! 

AP: *You would have to either avoid battling until then, so it saves on top, or do just enough battling to clear your Daily To Do List (DTDL) and suffer a little bit less. Remember, idk what you are capped out at, or what you want/are going to do--so make sure you do your own calculations for personalization! 

Your AP bar reflects what level you are, and you’ll cap out at 100 (meaning that each day you login after being away--you will auto hold 100, if you have 100 and are gifted 200 for the event from the Devs **which they usually do!**, then you can have 300--but once you use that 300, it’ll cap back out at 100) 

You have a chance at 210 free AP a day if you complete all the available ways to do it

Fridge Mission: 60 AP (30 twice)

AP to Friends: 50 (if all send back) 

Daily To Do List: 30 (10 three times)

**Ads to watch: 50 (5 vids at 10 each)

**Surprise Guest Gifts: 20 (10 twice)

as you know, in order to get the ads and the surprise guest gifts--you have to battle, which means you’ll use AP tp do, so in the end you really only have a chance at 140 if you’re avoiding using any before the event. 

You can count on the full 210 (**plus the 200 if you use 10DP to buy 200 AP the first time you run out every day of the event, it’s better than buying AP individually for 10AP for 1DP)  

Even so: 

140 AP available a day * 44 days =6,160 AP 

You won’t receive a timer to stack AP if you’re already full--so you can only count on the logining in and doing things to grant you more AP than your cap. 

If you don’t login from now until Dia’s birthday, you’ll miss out on everything free and still only have whatever your max amount given a day is (50-100). So just avoiding the game isn’t going to help out any, the timer only activates when you drop under your cap (if you’re capped at 50, it’ll start at 45 etc) 

It takes 5 mins for 1 AP to refill, so if you are capped out at 100, it’ll take about 8 or so hours fore it to refill totally (meaning you can have 2 full refills a day if you keep a timer and are able to login and use it all)  

SO

we should figure out when they’re doing his event before it happens, so we’ll know exactly when it drops and can adjust our numbers by replacing the days until the event # and it’ll adjust our saved amount: 

18 free DP a day * X days until Dia Event = Y amount of DP saved 

140 Free AP * X days until Dia Event = Y Amount of AP Saved

*just in case you cave and cant go without the current event or Nightmare that comes after Mammon’s birthday 

That would help out A LOT when you’re trying to do events, but with the way they’re steamrolled through Obey Me, it’s impossible to save that much--it’s designed to make you spend money in game to help support it. 

Now how can we know how much of each we’re going to need? 

Well, since I can’t look into the future to tell exactly how many stars will be on page 1 and 2 (there’s a slight chance, there might even be 3), we can only go based off of other birthday events and past used numbers. 

Usually there are anywhere from 36-39 stars on Page 1 and usually 42-45 on page 2. And the event usually runs about 6 days for birthdays and 11 for story events. 

I’m going to use Mammon’s numbers as a base since it’s the active one right now. (if you’ve ready my mammon 22 guide, then you already know this and can just skip it, but there’s equations at the bottom you can use for anyone’s B-Day!) 

36 battles on page 1

42 battles on page 2

5 Ad Battles

*You can adjust these by looking at the number of stars given on each page, that’s how many individual battles there are

**You can gain 3 stars per battle stage and you can do a stage 3 times--so its the same! If there happens to be a third page, simply add those stars in with everything on Page 1 and 2, plus the ad battles for a new total! 

Total battles: 83 a day

83 battles a day * 6 days = 498 battles total 

8 AP per battle * 498 Battles = 3,984

Now, you’ll need 8,000 party crackers to clear the UR card ONCE (to max it out, you’d need 33,500) 

You’ll get 12 Dia Party Crackers a battle (there are no cheat cards for birthdays and no boosted days either, so 12 is all you get) 

12 * 498 = 5,976 Dia Party Crackers if you clear every single battle every single day and do no more. but that will leave you 

8,000 - 5,976 = 2,024 party crackers short

2,024 short / 12 per battle = 169 battles short 

169 battles needed / 3 per D-Energy = 57 D-Energy Used to clear

57 times buying Battles * 5 dp per time = 285

So, in the end you’ll need either 57 D-Energy or to use 285 of your DP Reserves (918 if you remember!) to clear all the battles needed

Now about that AP...

169 extra battles needed to clear + 498 battles given over the course of the event = 667 battles 

667 battles * 8 ap each = 5,336 

RECAP Birthday Equations: 

18 free DP a day * X days until Event = Y amount of DP saved

140 Free AP * X days until Event = Y Amount of AP Saved

Page 1 Stars + Page 2 Stars + 5 AD Battles = Daily Free Battles

Daily Free Battles * Days Event Lasts = Total Number of Free Battles

Total Number of Free Battles * 12 Party Crackers = Total PC Given during event

8,000 needed for UR - Total PC Given = Needed PC Left

Needed PC Left / 12 PC Per Battle = Amount of Battles Needed 

Amount of Battles needed / 3 per D-Energy = # of D-energy needed 

Amount of Battles Needed / 3 per DP Buy = # of DP buys 

# of DP buys * 5 DP per purchase = # Of DP Spent to buy battles 

Amount of Battles Needed + Daily Free Battles = Total Battles

Total Battles * 8 AP Per Battle = Total # of AP Needed for UR Card

simple, right? lol 

[violettelueur]

— JUJUTSU KAISEN EPISODE TWENTY TWO || THE ORIGIN OF BLIND OBEDIENCE

↳ featuring : itadori yuji + fushiguro megumi + kugisaki nobara + nitta akari from jujutsu kaisen

↳ warnings : mention of violence + mention of suicide + mention of dangerous acts + mention of killing + EXTREME grammar issues

↳ form : story

↳ published : 04 may

↳ pronouns : she/her

↳ word count : 7.2k

↳ synopsis : within the jujutsu world, there were three famous clans to be aware of, the Kamo clan, Zenin clan and the Gojo clan. However, unknown to many sorcerers there was one last family that was known to be apart of the three, only for them to disappear after the golden era leading some to speculate that they had died in battle after the sealing of ryomen sukuna, but....

↳ previous episode : jamais vu

↳ next episode : the origin of blind obedience 2 

↳ barista’s notes : let me admit...this ain’t my best piece of work, but i hope you all enjoy this episode of the series and good night everyone ʕ •ᴥ•ʔゝ☆

BEFORE READING, I NEED YOU TO BE AWARE OF THIS:

1. the whole story belongs to Gege Akutami and the credits go to them and them only.

2. the spell curses used belong to Tite Kubo due to them being the ‘Kidos’ being used on the manga and anime ‘Bleach’.

there was one going to be mention but...let’s keep that a secret for now...

2.5. for the ‘cursed spells’/kidos (bleach) i will link this video here and tell you the time stamp to check out what i am intending to show - remember i add a few twist here and there by adding the katana to link with Y/N’s cursed technique : hopefully this video is slightly better...

3. if you are confused on anything, please don’t hesitate to message me since i know this whole thing is so confusing.

“Kanada Taichi in Morioka, in June. Shimada Osamu in Yokohama, in August. Yamato Hiroshi in Nagoya, in September. These three died in similar circumstances. They were stabbed to death by a cursed spirit at the entrances to their apartments and all of them had filed the same complaint with the property managers several weeks before dying. They claimed their auto-locking doors were left wide open. None of the other residents have any idea what could have happened,” Nitta (your current driver) explained, causing you to open your eyes slowly, letting your drowsiness fade away slowly.

Currently, at this moment in time, you and your classmates were being driven to your desired destination to your current mission that all four of you were set causing you to wonder how much longer the drive was going to be, but also how you were going to cope with dealing with the whole ordeal since it had been a while since you had gone on a mission dealing with the unknown - last time was over two months ago at the detention centre where you had to face Sukuna (a special grade curse).

“None of the dates or locations match, though. Could the same cursed spirit have killed them all?” Fushiguro questioned as he stared down at the Ipad he had in his hands while trying to read all the information that was provided.

‘There is one location they all have in common though’ you thought, as you turned your head to stare out of the window, recalling the time where you had read the same information on your phone during breakfast with your adoptive father, Gojo Satoru.

“Hey, could the cursed spirit be responsible for the doors? Do sensors like those pick up cursed spirits? They don’t show up on camera and stuff, right?” Itadori began to ask an abundance of questions causing you to internally giggle as some of the questions he asked were basic knowledge for jujutsu sorcerers, but it was adorable for him to try to find a solution.

“Apparently, the cursed spirit made the door operators go crazy, not the sensors,” Nitta answered, leading you to give a side-eye to indicate that you were listening to her before going back to peer at the window to figure out a solution of your own about the current situation.

“Oh...Operators?” Itadori muttered in confusion as he tilted his head slightly to the side.

“And as for whether or not the same cursed spirit was behind this...Well, we couldn’t be certain from just the residuals. After all, a lot of time had already passed. So we tried to track down any connections between the three, we found that all three attended the same middle school for two years,” Nitta mentioned causing you to stiffen up slightly on the information given to you.

“Meaning all three received the same curse, and it activated after time had passed?” Kugisaki suggested with a thinking gesture causing Itadori to make a noise of impressiveness before leaning forward to view the female sorcerer.

“Precisely. That’s highly likely. So we’re going to that middle school now to question someone the three victims all knew, and I want you four to see what you can find as sorcerers,” Nitta answered leading you to sigh (to which she slyly notices) before you processed to close your eyes as if you were going to nap for a bit.

“Way to go, Kugisaki!” Itadori mentioned in astonishment leading the mentioned sorcerer to flick her hair back.

“Heh. What’d you expect?” Kugisaki questioned smugly.

However, without the attention of all three of you, Fushiguro seemed to be annoyed as he leaned his head back onto the chair seats before letting out a sigh of his own, wondering how he was going to handle this situation now.

                                              ꕥ

“A funeral?” Itadori questioned, as you processed to exit out of the car leading you to see a few people wearing all black, entering into a building before shutting the door quietly to not disturb the mourners that were attending the disheartening event.

“Is this the home of that acquaintance?” Kugisaki asked as she was also looking at the darkening event that was happening.

“Yes, it is…” NItta answered in a stutter leading everyone to get back in the car since there was no possible way, all of you could even interview someone properly during this time since it would be considered extremely rude.

                                               ꕥ

“Well, this sucks. He dies the same way the other three did. He lived with his family, so there was no auto-locking door, but he was killed in front of the entrance. Previously, upon returning home alone, he reported, “The door was unlocked, but it wouldn’t open,” to his family members,” Nitta explained, as you processed to scan through all the documents through your phone trying to obtain some sort of connection between all the victims rather than the middle school that they attended to.

‘Date of birth 1983-1984...that means they were in middle school at around 1995-1998...Yasohachi Bridge was popular back then, right?’

Suddenly, the car had come to a sudden halt causing you to look up from your phone, only to discover that you had arrived at the location that Nitta had discussed to everyone at the beginning leading you to look up that the building from the side of your window before slowly letting out a breath as you processed to open the car door to go and investigate with the others.

“I asked his parents, too, but they said they didn’t know what relationship he had with the other three. Man, there goes our only lead!” Nitta whined loudly, as everyone began to enter the school premises causing you to halt for a second before you continued to stroll behind them, trying to make sure your classmates didn’t notice your fidgeting behaviour.

“Don’t worry! There has to be something at this middle school!” Itadori reassured Nitta as she looked disappointed with her head hanging low.

“I sure hope so. For now, I’ve secured an appointment with a teacher, so I’m counting on you,” Nitta replied with a disheartened tone.

“Roger,” Itadori replied with a determined smile.

Suddenly, Kugisaki (who had her hands behind her head in the beginning) unexpectedly had a mischievous smile painted on her face before quickly running off to the side causing you to look at her with a raised eyebrow as you wondered what she was planning on doing.

“There’s some obvious punks, let’s beat’em up and set’em straight!” Kugisaki suggested causing you to walk up to her with your hand raised since she was going completely off-topic with what everyone was supposed to do currently.

“Why?” Itadori asked in a confused tone.

Slowly, the two punks that Kugisaki mentioned began to straightening up with menacing looks on their face, leading Itadori to lean forward to observe the two, only for them to suddenly straighten up more in sudden fear, causing you to be somewhat confused on why there was a sudden change in expression, only for your eyes to follow what they were looking at.

“I-It’s good to see you!” the pucks shouted while processing to bow 90 degrees with their heads lowered causing you to turn back to them with widened eyes at what was going on.

“Heh, look at that. You actually get it,” Kugisaki stated with a smug look on her face causing you to give her a fed-up look towards her direction while trying to figure out why Itadori was joining in her shenanigans.

“An aura just pours out, even if you try to hide it,” Itadori mentioned as he pushed his hair back leading you to ignore both of your classmates and you processed to look around the school trying to find some clues while noticing slight hints of cursed energy roaming around the premises.

“We haven’t seen you since graduation, Fushiguro-san!” one of the punks mentioned, causing the two smug sorcerers to drop their act before quickly turning around to see Fushiguro, who was now looking to the side in embarrassment.

“I...went here...for middle school,” Fushiguro announced before turning his back to face behind him to avoid his classmates, only for them to violently grab his face as they tried to make his turn to face them.

“That’s a surprise, too, but that’s not the point! Look at me!” Kugisaki angrily demanded, as she forcibly turned Fushiguro’s face to look at her with a struggle as Itadori had a hold of the shikigami sorcerer’s head to make it face him.

“What’d you do?! What did you do in middle school?! No, it would be quicker to ask them!” Itadori mentioned in a panic, as he was desperate to find an answer.

“Hey, Idiot A and Idiot B! What did this guy do to you?” Kugisaki yelled out her question, while still having a hold on Fushiguro’s face.

“We...Or rather, every delinquent, gang member, and so on in this area got beaten up by Fushiguro-san,” one of the punks answered, as both of them lifted their heads leading both Itadori and Kugisaki to let go of their friend’s face in shock before turning back to face him in confusion, looking for answers.

“I beat them up,” Fushiguro muttered as he turned his head back with his now messed up hair, leading Itadori and Kugisaki to grab his face again in complete surprise.

“Why do you keep talking so stiffly?! Look at me!” Kugisaki angrily asked as she painfully turned Fushiguro’s face to look at her.

“What are you doing?! Hey! What are you doing?!” Itadori asked in a panic, once again, as he now turned Fushiguro’s head to face him.

“Wow~ you beat up people Fushiguro, what a drag~” you commented with a hand over your mouth leading the erratic-haired sorcerer to look to you for help only for you to turn away to observe the school’s premises again, trying to gain something for the mission at hand.

“Hey!” someone shouted, causing both of the sorcerers to let go of Fushiguro’s face which led his hair to bounce a bit. Turning around to face the front, you noticed an old man with glasses running up towards you guys leading your eyes to widen once you had gotten a good look at who was coming towards everyone.

“Who are you? Students from other schools aren’t allowed in here!” the old man stated with a loud tone.

“And who the hell are you?!” Kugisaki yelled back in anger, causing you to smack the back of her head as if to tell her to ‘shut up’ which caused her to look up at you with a pout as she held her head to soothe the pain away.

“He’s clearly a staff member. Why are you so combative?” Itadori questioned in a low tone as he began to slouch.

“We have permission to be here,’ Nitta informed the staff member while processing to show the pass that she was carrying leading the old man to adjust his glasses as he peered at the pass she was currently holding.

“Oh, you’re the ones? You’re all young, you need to hang your pass around your neck,” the old man mentioned as began to observe the group of students behind her before his eyes widened once they handed on a certain someone. 

“Fushiguro-kun?” 

“Hello,” Fushiguro greeted, as he looked to the side with a small blush beginning to appear on his face.

“He remembers you!” Itadori and Kugisaki mentioned in a teasing tone as they looked at their classmate with an amused look.

“So this man’s been here a long time?” NItta asked with a cheerful tone, leading you to conclude that she probably had gained hope for a new lead on the mission that was happening right now.

“Probably, Takeda-san’s a permanent employee,” Fushiguro answered in a monotone voice.

“Then I leave the rest to you!” Nitta concluded, to which she held a thumbs up as if it was some sort of encouragement.

‘Abandoning her duty....’ Fushiguro thought, before shifting his eyes towards you as he realised that you had become quiet again, only to discover that you were looking at Takeda with some sort of fondness in your eyes as a small but noticeable smile appeared on your face.

‘It’s been a while, hasn’t it Takeda-san? How are you? You’ve been okay? I wish I could ask you this..but...it’s for the best that I didn’t at all huh?’ you thought before turning your head to look at the windows beside you, only to realise that the same hint of cursed energy was still lingering around.

‘I’m surprised it remains here…’ you mentioned internally before turning back to look at the staff member in front of you.

                                              ꕥ

“Kanada, Shimada, Yamato...and Morishita, huh? I was shocked by their passing, but I guess it’s been nearly twenty years since they graduated, I remember it like it was yesterday. They were problem children in their own right, though not as bad as you. What do you want to know?” Takeda mentioned with a soft smile causing you to scoff a bit at his comment as you covered your mouth to hold your laugh but to Fushiguro’s annoyance.

“Strange rumours, dark rumours, connections to bad adults…” Fushiguro listed as he raised his arm, leading you to look at him weirdly since it wasn’t the arm towards your side he had lifted.

“Hey, problem child!” Itadori and Kugisaki chanted in a teasing tone.

“...and anything of ill omen,” Fushiguro concluded before closing his hand into a fist as he proceeded to swing it down to punch the top of Itadori’s head.

“Dark rumours? They may have been problem children, but they never went beyond average middle school stuff. But wait...ill omen?” Takeda muttered as he began to think.

“Do you mean that tale? About the Yasohachi Bridge bungee jumping?” one of the punks questioned, causing you to look to the side in interest since you had an idea about the bridge before you had arrived at the middle school.

“You’re still here, A and B?” Kugisaki asked since she was surprised that they remained where they were.

“Yasohachi Bridge?” Itadori questioned.

“A notorious suicide spot, it’s well known in this area as a haunted location,” you answered in a casual tone before explaining why it was such an important detail to note for your pink-haired classmate.

“Oh, that’s right! Back then, it was all the rage among delinquents to bungee jump off Yasohachi Bridge late at night, it was one of those tests of courage,” Takeda explained, once he remembered what he was trying to think of.

“What a weird tribe,” Kugisaki muttered in annoyance.

“What a drag,” you mentioned in a fed-up tone.

“I’m surprised there are people dumber than me!” Itadori stated.

“What do you use for a cord?” Fushiguro questioned as he was trying to wonder how the people bungee jumped in the first place.

“We don’t do it, I just heard some students from our parents’ generation talking about it,” the punk mentioned causing you to nod your head slowly, conveying that you understood what he meant.

“One day, Kanada and the other three were absent without permission. That wasn’t all that usual by itself, but when we contacted their families, we learned that those four hadn’t come home the day before. It caused a pretty big stir, then they were found unconscious under the bridge. They got chewed out good, but all four swore up and down they didn’t remember a thing,” Takeda explained, causing all the first years to come to the same conclusion in their heads.

                                               ꕥ

“I think that’s it,” Nitta suggested as she looked at all four of you.

“I’ve been to Yasohachi Bridge, too,” Fushiguro mentioned in a serious tone.

“To bungee jump?” Itadori asked comedically, leading Fushiguro to swiftly smash a fist on the top of his head in annoyance causing Itadori to wince in pain as he held his head with a pout.

“It’s easy for curses to take root in haunted locations, just like in schools, so people from Jujutsu High regularly patrol it,” Fushiguro explained causing you to recall the times where you would walk around the area late at night while trying to hide from the sorcerers that came from time to time back a few years ago.

“There wasn’t anything unusual at the time, though. It might be a bit famous, but it’s still used as a normal bridge,” Fushiguro mentioned.

“We still have to go check it out, though,” Kugisaki suggested, causing you to agree with her since it was the best for all the four of you to survey the bridge yourselves.

“Fushiguro-kun?” someone called out, causing everyone to turn to find Takeda coming towards everyone’s way.

“Sorry, I was curious about something,” Takeda mentioned causing Fushiguro to fully turn around to face the old man.

“What is it?” Fushiguro asked.

“Tsukimi-kun took awfully good care of you when you were in school. Is she doing well?” the old man asked, causing you to stiffen up slightly before shifting your eyes to the side since you were getting nervous at the fact the staff member was remembering everyone little by little.

“Yes,” Fushiguro answered with a deadpan expression.

“Who’s Tsumiki?” Itadori asked the shikigami user in curiosity.

“My older sister,” Fushiguro answered in a low tone, leading Kugisaki to grab his shoulder in surprise once again.

“What?! You tell us too little about yourself!” Kugisaki mentioned in an annoyed tone leading Itadori to agree with her, leading the old man to tilt his head slightly to the side - to avoid the blockage of Itadori’s body - to discover you making your way to the side of the car, where you were sitting before.

“Excuse me, I also wanted to ask you something if you don’t mind,” Takeda asked in a kind tone, causing you to halt your movements before looking up to find the old man gifting you with a sweet smile that you remembered so much causing you to turn back and make your way towards the staff-member with lessening the tension that you had before walking away.

“Yeah, it’s fine, what is it you want to ask me?” you questioned with a light tone, trying to sound polite to the man, causing him to smile at you.

“Do I remember you from anywhere, you seem quite familiar to me?” Takeda asked, causing your eyes to widen in fear before quickly blinking away the sudden change in emotion you were surprisingly expressing so easily.

“I never been to Saitama Urami East Junior High before, I’m sorry but I don’t think I’m the person you are trying to recall,” you answered with a sad soft smile leading the man to sigh before fixing his glasses.

“Is that so? I’m sorry, the minute I saw you, I began to recall a student that would always help me around from time to time and she was always on top of her work, but she left around the second year before I got to thank her,” the old man began to reminisce, not noticing the stiffness of your body as well as the panic rising within your heart leading it to beat faster than it should.

‘He’s remembering too much, but didn’t I put enough cursed energy into that spell? It should have wiped everything from his memory’

“Sorry, but could you look at my left eye for a second? I think I got an eyelash stuck there,” you quickly asked, causing the old man to agree to help you as he adjusted his glasses once again before taking a good look at your eye.

‘It could cast it now, but the others are here...I could just not use the spell to its full potential and that couldn’t cause him to faint, maybe that will work,’ you quickly thought as you were slowly transferring a small amount of your cursed energy to your left eye.

“Haku-” you muttered under your breath before coming to a sudden halt, causing your cursed energy to waver slightly as it began to slowly move away from your eye leading you to conclude that you didn’t even have the guts to commit to the action that you were planning to go on with like you did two years ago, to which caused your heart to become extremely heavy with guilt as you knew once he entered back into the school, the lingering cursed energy that you had left in the school would cause his memory to fade away, processing you to let go of your sudden plan as the staff-member mentioned that there was nothing to worry about.

‘Nothing to worry about huh?’

“Thank you so much,” you softly said with gratitude before giving the old man a final wave goodbye before entering the car with the rest of your classmates, wondering if it was still for the best that you let him free with his memory gradually coming back to life.

                                              ꕥ

“We’re here. Koi no Kuchi Canyon, Yasohachi Bridge. Once you confirm a cursed spirit’s here, I’ll lower a veil,” Nitta explained as all of the first years processed to get out of the sleek black vehicle before stepping to the side of the bridge to be away from the road.

“Roger!” Itadori started with a confident smile presented on his face as he tugged at the vinyl cord he was holding.

Slowly, you began to walk away from the group while Nitta got back in her car before driving away and steadily grabbed onto the metal poles the were in front of you - probably built to prevent any more suicidal people from jumping over - and with much effort, began to pull yourself up to reach to the top before grabbing in the metal bar as you pulled yourself up even further.

“GOJO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Kugisaki screamed in horror, as she finally turned around to discover you pulled your body up to sit on top of the fence as you peered down to check how far you had to jump down in order to find what you were looking for in this mission.

“SHE’S NOT LISTENING!” Kugisaki yelled (once again) as she pointed at you in anger, causing the boys to turn around to see what the fuss was about before seeing the drastic measures you had taken to find the cursed spirit.

“Woah, Gojo, there’s no need for that! We have the vinyl cord for a reason!” Itadori mentioned, which seemed to be a way of getting you to come down from where you were right now as you turned to look at him before turning back at the ground below you.

“SHE’S NOT LISTENING AGAIN!” Itadori cried out in fear, as if he hadn’t done more stupid and extremes things than what you were doing right now.

“Gojo!” Fushiguro shouted before jumping up to reach the back of your school jacket, leading you to grab onto the sides of the metal bar that you were sitting on right now for support before turning back to peer at the shikigami user, ready to yell at him for disturbing your train of thought only for him to give you a pair of surprised eyes as if he remembered something.

“Get down, please,” Fushiguro quietly commanded, leading you to give him a deadpan expression before turning back to prepare to jump off since you couldn’t find another way to get down there, only for Fushiguro to pull you from your jacket once again leading your body to start to fall backwards - much to your surprise - to which caused the boys to immediately get behind you, ready to catch you so you didn’t hit the ground at all. 

“You drag!” you screamed at Fushiguro before letting your body fall towards the safe side of the metal barrier, processing to land on top of Itadori and Fushiguro as a result.

                                              ꕥ

Letting out a yawn, Itadori couldn’t help but emphasise how tired and bored he was as he remained seated on the metal railings that all four of you were sitting on right now.

“Hey, we didn’t find hide nor hair of any cursed spirit,” Kugisaki whined in annoyance as her posture slouch in disappointment, leaving Fushiguro to slouch in boredom while you had your eyes closed as if you were sleeping while sitting up straight when in reality, you were concentrating on sensing any lingering cursed energy around the area you were in right now.

Suddenly, you felt something pressed gently on the side of your head before it pushed you down to the side slowly, causing the movement to halt the second you felt someone’s shoulder being used as a pillow for your head leading a sense of confusion to rise within your stomach before you heard a few teasing sounds from Kugisaki.

“Oh~ what a gentleman Fushiguro~” Kugisaki teased, leading you to realise that your head was now resting on Fushiguro’s shoulder since it did seem like you had fallen asleep while sitting up.

“I’m surprised she can sleep while sitting up,” Itadori commented, as she leaned forward to see you in what seemed to be in a state of rest since you made the decision to keep your eyes closed.

“You should have seen her while we were training, she was asleep for so long every day,” Kugisaki mentioned as she began to recall all the times you had taken a nap during your daily training sessions with the second-years as preparation for the Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event.

                                              ꕥ

As time went by, after you had ‘woken up’ from your nap when in reality, you had given up on trying to trace a single amount of cursed energy from the distance you were away from the ground below - which was where you were trying to go from the beginning if Fushiguro didn’t pull you down - you were now in front of a small convenience store while sipping on a small carton of orange juice that you had managed to purchase as a breakfast substitute since you were surprisingly not feeling hungry at all currently.

“We didn’t sense any presences or residuals,” Fushiguro informed Nitta, who had come to pick you three up after not hearing a single thing from everything, except for all of you being hungry. 

“I see, which means this ain’t it, Guess it’s back to square one,” Nitta replied with a slight tone of disappointment as the most promising lead has been for nothing.

‘It wouldn’t be square one if you just let me jump down to the bottom to investigate…’

“Gojo, is there something wrong?” Kugisaki asked as she noticed you looking to the side with a somewhat annoyed expression planted on your face.

“It’s nothing,” you replied before taking another sip from the carton you were holding.

“But isn’t it bad if we take too long?” Itadori asked in a light serious tone.

“Why?” Kugisaki questioned, wondering why they needed to be in a hurry to finish the mission as soon as possible.

“Well, it’s a famous haunted location, right? There might still be plenty of others who got cursed and right now, the death rates at 100%. We don’t want to see others die, right?” Itadori explained as he answered Kugisaki’s previous question.

“True,” Kugisaki muttered, once she took Itadori’s theory into consideration.

“Ding-Ding! Bungee jumping was all the rage then, right? So maybe the act of jumping off is the key?” Nitta asked as she seemed excited to think of another clue on how to find the curses that were the curse for all these deaths that have been happening.

“Did she say “ding-ding”? Did she really say that?” Itadori asked as he stared at his senior in adoration.

“She did! She did!” Kugisaki replied in the same high tone with the same look at adoration at how cute Nitta was right now.

“Itadori already tried that,” Fushiguro mentioned causing the bungee jump idea to come to a halt.

“Huh?..... What?! You mean you jumped with that vinyl cord?!” Nitta screamed in shock as she began to imagine how you, Fushiguro, and Kugisaki would wrap Itadori in the cord, only for the shikigami user to fly kick him over the metal bar with you and Kugisaki holding onto the end of the cord.

“Hey, there you are!” someone shouted, causing you to look towards the direction in where the sound was coming from, only to discover one of the punks from yesterday to be on a bike with someone behind him with her arms wrapped around his waist.

“Fushiguro-san!” the punk shouted to gain the shikigami user’s attention.

“Who’s that again?” Kugisaki asked as she stared at the punk with a confused expression only for Itadori to answer her question by mentioning the people were Fushiguro’s upperclassman from his middle school and how she was ready to pick a fight with them causing her to suddenly remember who the person was.

“You were talking about Yasohachi Bridge, so...I’m really glad I found you here!” the puck mentioned with a smile on his face with slight sweat from the swift bike riding as well as a hint of fear of Fushiguro.

‘Fujinuma?...If I recall, she was a student as well…’ you thought, as you watched the girl get off of the bike she was on before walking towards the group as her eyes widened at you for a second before turning into complete confusion, leading your body to complete tense for a second.

“Fujinuma?” Fushiguro muttered causing Nitta to look at him with a perplexed expression before he clarified that she was an old classmate of his.

“My older sister,” the punk introduced the girl leading her to bow as a greeting.

“I’m glad you remember me,” Fujinuma stated in a soft-toned voice before straightening back up to face everyone within the group.

“I was talking to my sister about you yesterday, and..” the punk stated before his sister took the reins.

“Um, Morishita-san had a funeral in the neighbourhood...Then I heard from my brother that you were looking into that man and Tasohachi Bridge, so I started to wonder if they were related…” Fujinuma began to explain, leading Nitta from behind both of the people to shake her head as they needed to hide the real reason on why everyone was here right now to which Fushiguro noticed.

“If what’s related?” Fushiguro queried as if he didn’t understand what was going on.

“Morishita-san’s death and the bridge…” Fujinuma replied in a smaller tone.

“They’re not related, we just-” Fushiguro quickly countered back.

“I...I went there. In eighth grade...I went to Yasohachi Bridge at night,” Fujinuma stated as her face contorted in fear as she began to tilt her head down, causing Kugisaki to give a look as she began to wonder how many people had been to that bridge.

“Has anything odd happened at home recently? Any strange feelings that only affect you and no one else?” Nitta asked as she leaned down to face the fearful girl, only for Fujinuma to look up once again.

“My family runs a local branch shop...and the shop’s automatic door is wide open only when I come home. Mom and Dad both say it’s just a coincidence, but there’s definitely something there. It scared me. That’s when I heard about you and remembered the Yasohachi Bridge,” the girl replied as she began to shiver in fear while trying to recall all the same incidents happening to her.

“When did the issue with your automatic door start?” Nitta queried, trying to get enough information as sly as possible.

“It’s happened about every other day for exactly one week now,” Fujinuma replied in a shaky tone.

‘There’s at least two weeks between when the four victims noticed something and their deaths,’ Fushiguro thought.

‘We still have some time,’ Itadori thought, encouraged by the fact that there was some amount of time left to save someone from the cycle that was happening right now.

“You didn’t go to Yasohachi Bridge by yourself at the time, did you? Do you remember who you went with?” Kugisaki asked, trying to make sure there weren't any other victims that you all were missing at this current moment in time.

“Um, so this really does have something to do with…” Fujinuma mentioned in a stutter, scared that her life might now be at risk.

“Just with your automatic door. But it has nothing to do with Morishita-sans’s death. Fushiguro-kun and the others are helping me with my college report: Electromagnetic Waves from Haunted Locations and their Effects on Electronics, it’s a huge pain in my gut!” Nitta responded quickly, before suddenly linking arms with you causing you to put on a realistic fake smile to hold the lie in place.

“But I want to hear from all kinds of people, so I’d love to hear who you went with,” Nitta continued, trying to make the girl calm herself down while reminding her the fact that they now have to save her life before something could happen to her.

“I went on a test of courage with two others from my club. That’s right. Fushiguro-kun, Tsumiki-san was with us then, too,” Fujinuma announced, causing you to halt for a second while Itadori and Kugisaki were shocked at the fact that Fushiguro’s sister was involved in this too.

“I see. Then I’ll try asking Tsumiki, too,” Fushiguro replied calmly.

“There was also another person there at the bottom of the bridge, but I don’t remember really clearly of her at all...she was wearing our uniform thought, sort of reminds me of her,” Fujinuma stated as she pointed off to somewhere, leading your whole body to become suddenly numb at the fact that her finger was directing pointing at you causing your classmates to turn to you in fear at what might happening to you if her statement was true.

“Sorry, but I never been here at all, maybe you have the wrong person?” you unconcernedly suggested, trying to change you from being the topic of the conversation leading the girl to look confused again before gasping on how silly she was being before mentioning that she had never even met you and that she apologised for scaring you.

“Okay, then I’ll escort these two home. Please keep working on the report,” Nitta mentioned to the four of you with a smile on her face.

“Something’s up, isn’t it?” Fujinuma’s brother asked leading Nitta to form another excuse on how she could let them ride a bike back after making them petal all the way here, causing you to turn around and take a deep breath the second they began walking away.

“Fushiguro,” Itadori called out in worry before repeating his name again louder as he proceeded to grab onto his friend’s shoulder, only to see the look of unknown fear painted across Fushiguro’s face.

“Fushiguro, snap out of it, make sure she’s safe first,” Itadori muttered in reassurance, as he turned his body to face his friend to help him calm down.

“I’m fine,” Fushiguro muttered in a low tone, once he was able to snap out of his fear daze but apologising to his friend as he needed to take a step back for a second before reaching into his pocket to grab his phone to make a call leaving Kugisaki to come to your side and ask a few questions for you to answer.

“What was she talking about? Were you really a part of that school? Were you really at Yasohachi bridge back then? Answer me, Gojo!” Kugisaki asked in a panic, as you just stared at her with a blank look on your face before letting out a sigh.

“I’ve never been there before until yesterday, I have never been here at all, to begin with. There is no way I could be at that bridge,” you answered, trying to convert the conversation into something different, only for Itadori to turn his body to face you directly as he questioned you again about your ‘involvement’ in everything that's happening right now.

“Why are random people saying if they remember you then, does your cursed technique allow you to manipulate someone’s mind or anything?” Itadori asked as he needed to understand why a few people mentioned about you when you had said you have never been here at this location ever in your life.

“I don’t have a technique that does that, they have been talking about a girl that looks like me,” you answered while proceeding to cross your arms to stay as persuasive as you could while trying to hide a piece of your past that you had already somewhat erased out of everyone’s minds.

‘If they are somehow recalling some bits here and there...what about Fushiguro?’ you thought as you closed your eyes to lessen the headache that was gradually coming from the back of your head.

‘There isn’t enough time to think about it at all...these three need to get out of here before I go investigate the whole thing myself...that is...if my theory is correct like last time’

Suddenly, you reached into the pocket of your skirt before taking out your phone to swiftly call Nitta to pick everyone up from where she had left all of you causing Itadori and Kugisaki to look at you in complete confusion.

                                              ꕥ

“Just get in the car,” you commanded in a low and threatening tone, causing the three first-years to look at you in shock before all three were pushing down into the back seats of the car.

“Us three? What about you Gojo?” Itadori asked in a panic, as he wasn’t sure why you were pushing everyone into the car that Nitta was pulled in - to which she understood why you were doing this at this moment in time.

“The mission has gone into a higher rank than what it was previously predicted, I’ll come back once I’m done with the whole thing,” you stated in a serious manner as you processed to push Itadori further into the car causing Fushiguro and Kugisaki to be squashed behind him before slamming the car door shut before anyone could escape out of the vehicle leaving you alone once the car had driven off with all three of your classmates inside of it.

                                              ꕥ

‘If I remember, you go down here’ you thought, as you began to slide down to the bottom of the ground before walking forward out of the wood, to only find yourself in the same spot you were two years ago in a different sort of uniform.

Taking your katana out of the shoulder bag you were carrying, you hooked it on your lower back before taking the familiar blue metal pole out of the same back before hooking it on to the side of your belt causing it to dangle once it was secured onto your side.

‘If my theory was right along, there should be an incomplete domain lingering around here...meaning there is a possibility that Sukuna’s finger is within a finger bearer if I enter it…’

“What a drag,” you muttered under your breath before sliding your katana out of its wooden sheath as you swift swang it behind you, causing the tip of the blade to be an inch away from Itadori’s neck to which lead the sorcerer to lean his head back in shock as your sudden speed.

“Why are you all here? Didn’t I tell you all to go home and I would deal with this?” you rhetorically asked as you pulled your katana back from Itadori leading him to relax as he let out a breath of relief.

“Fushiguro told us everything and that's what led us to help you out,” Kugisaki mentioned causing your eyes to shift from her to the shikigami user.

“We don’t want you to do this alone, you don’t have to tell us everything you are hiding Gojo, just let us help you,” Itadori pleaded with you as his hands were pressed together in a way to convey a ‘please’ to you.

“I...I can’t tell you anything...I’m sorry,” you muttered, as you slide your katana back into its black wooden casing, causing the trio to look at you with worry in their eyes as they were anxious that the secret you were keeping was something that was going to eat you inside as they were already cautious about your wellbeing if the cursed spirit was now going to target you due to Fujinuma sudden assumption.

                                              ꕥ

After the sudden intrusion of your classmates (much to your dismay), everyone started to walk towards the area where everyone believed the domain was going to be.

Crossing a river or other border - acts that symbolise crossing into the afterlife - carry important meaning in sorcery.

Confidently, everyone took one step forward causing a reaction of electricity to conduct as your foot hit the ground causing it to erupt as the domain suddenly enclosed everyone that had taken a step within its territory.

“There it is,” Itadori stated as he stared up at the curse, leading everyone to prepare themselves with their weapons of choice.

“This one will be rewarding to exorcise,” Kugisaki commented, as she confidently smiled at the scene in front of her.

Suddenly, you had sensed something coming from behind causing you to turn your head to the side to find a disgusting looking creature coming towards you leading everyone to move away slightly as the creature spun in the air before landing in front of all of you.

“What’s this? Someone beat me here?” the creature asked in a weird voice.

“Huh?” Kugisaki yelled out in annoyance.

“Fushiguro, this one’s a different case, right?” Itadori asked as he faced the new cursed spirit that decided to make an appearance.

“Yeah,” Fushiguro confirmed, leading Itadori to close his hands into a fist as they suddenly became consumed with his cursed energy.

“Then you three focus on that other one, I’ll exorcise this one,” Itadori stated as he raised his hands.

“What? You’re going to play with me? I wanted the older sister to,” the curse asked, causing you to shiver as you came to the sudden realisation that this curse was most likely with the others that were at the Kyoto Exchange event.

However, before even one could even move you rapidly unsheath your katana from your wooden casing as you spun around to block the sudden sneak attack that was behind you before utilising your cursed energy to your legs to give you the strength to halt your movement as the sudden intruder in front of you widened their eyes in shock at your sudden speed.

“That isn’t going to work on me again, you drag,” you muttered in a menacing tone causing your new opponent to laugh as they snapped out of their shock.

“Please, call me your mother again,” the woman stated as she smirked at you, leading a wave of anger and excitement to consume your body.

“Please, I….can’t wait to kill you,” you replied back with a crazed smile.

© violettelueur 2021 : written and published by violettelueur - do not steal or repost

[happyselves]

Pacify Him { Daniel Ricciardo x reader } /// WARNING EXPLICIT ///

Chapter : One shot Rating : Mature / Explicit / NSFW Words : 3,622 words

“Pacify her, she is getting on my nerves, hold your bitch before I push her away. You’re free to bring anyone here as long as they are behaving, but her … I don’t judge the person you are seeing, obviously I could give two shits about it but please tell her to calm herself down … This isn’t professional.”

You were fuming as you entered Daniel’s driver room,as his PR assistante you never interfere in his frequentation, but when it was impacting the reputation of the team and bugging people visiting the motorhome you had to step him. You calm yourself after a few breaths, stepping aside from Daniel a bit before looking at him again.

“ I didn’t mean to come that hard on you Daniel, but please you know how this is important right. You always ask for my honest opinion and there it is, I didn’t mean it for it to step out this hard on you but I can’t apologize for my words when I was thinking about them. She is toxic for you, she brings the bad in you when you are someone adorable usually. What is happening to you that you don’t trust me enough anymore to tell me when something is going wrong ? And before you are shushing me off, you know I am right, you and I are a package deal. “

He was defeated, not even looking at you, his whole body was shutting down and his legs were giving up on him. He takes the closest seat near him, almost falling and barely able to sit gracefully like he used to do.

“ I don’t know … I am so lost, I keep doing stuff wrong, I can’t find my soul anymore, I’m not very myself recently, I can’t even find my smile being genuine in the morning when I wake up in the morning. I’m putting a mask for people to see, but I’m like an empty shell. This bitch as you call her is only here to distract me and try to make me feel alive. She is nothing and it was a mistake to bring her… “

You were very concerned about Daniel’s attitude, it was the first time since you have known him that he worries about you right now. You were kneeling in front of him, trying your best not to invade his personal space. It’s something new for you, not invading it, you never ever thought he needed one but he looked so fragile, then you were under the impression that if you were touching him he would vanish into dust.

“ You are scaring me, what’s happening, is it the team ? Something personal ? You know you can tell me everything … “ A long silence got installed, your eyes were starting to water by all the pain you were seeing in him. You thought he wouldn’t open up, he was shutting you out by the way his body was curling up and turning to avoid your gaze on him. He was protecting himself like a kid that was terrified of a big stormy night.

You wanted to be the one to reassure one, but you were practically sure you were part of the problem. You stand quietly, ready to leave him alone in his driver room because there was nothing you could do if he wasn’t letting you.

His reaction was imminent, the driver inside of him was popping up and his muscles memories acting for him as it was his turn to get up and close the space between you, shutting the opened door. You yelped out of surprise before feeling his pressing body against you. You were stuck between the wooden door and his warm torso. Feeling his heretic heartbeat pounding in his chest. You couldn’t speak, you were too shocked for that. You and him were friends, close friends but not that physically close. You never cross that boundaries, but today was different, you felt it was.

The seconds looked like hours waiting for the confirmation of your assumption. Daniel seems to be as surprised as you to have acted the way he did, it was too late to back away now.

“ Don’t leave … don’t walk out that door “ His forehead was now resting on the back of your head, slightly not to hurt you and put weight on it. You wanted to ignore all the fuzzy feelings flooding in your whole body, but you couldn’t. Having him so close to you awakens a deep feeling hidden in you. “ The bitch will go away I promise, I am sorry “

Why was he apologizing to you, he didn’t disappoint anyone, yet. You weren’t even mad, you learn better to not judge someone's fucked up attitude when you could recognize the coping mechanics of someone keeping a secret and trying to turn the attention away from himself for nobody to catch the true meaning behind these actions. Does that make it acceptable ? It was each individual to have their own opinion. It was annoying you, that Daniel was suffering but preferred to distract himself and run away from his problem instead of talking to you or anyone else.

You close your eyes, your own forehead finds the cold surface of the door, his own head following yours not breaking the contact. HIs hands find the side of your hip.

“ The bitch isn’t the problem isn’t it ? “ You asked without any certainty he will give you a proper answer to that. His thumbs were caressing the skin of your hips through the tissues of your teamwear shirt, drawing a circle. You were sure he didn’t even notice he was doing it, his body was only responding to one mood and it was the auto-pilot one.

You were searching for breath and the driver’s room was starting to get tighter by the meanings, you were about to suffocate if the situation in which you both were wasn’t going to change fast enough.

“ You are the only one that can take away my pain … “ It could pass for a simple sentence if it wasn’t so Daniel, you had learned the code of conduct of Daniel Ricciardo and that … that was a declaration. “ It was you and I before, remember ? “

You were missing a piece of puzzle here, what was he talking about, is he drunk ? You never act differently around him, nothing changes, it never does. Yes it was him and you, always have been.

“ What are you talking about Daniel, you are confusing me “

“ Why did it change, the two of us … “ He was responding to your question by another one, like he was having his own conversation in his head, you were tempted to let him speak his mind to discover the bottom of the problem.

“ It didn’t change Daniel … “ You were trying as much as you could to put everything together, in vain.

“ It did change, I can’t look at you the same way as before … “ There it was, a little clue. If only he knew that it has been a long time since you have been able to look at him the way he used to when you meet him the first time. It was more than annoying you that he had brought someone with him for the weekend, more than it should. You were fuming when you saw the unknown name on the list of guests and asked someone to lighten it for you.

“ I know you are lying, why would you react the way you just did before if you weren’t “ You wanted to look at him, but his body was still pressing you against the cold wood. You had so much to say and him as well, all this unspoken tension you both tried to make yourself believe was a liar. You were both frauds, your friendship switched into something more months ago after a drunk night. Nothing happened that night, only looks were exchanged. The battle you both had as a joke at first turned into something way more deeper than you both were expecting and when you both tried to pull out of it, the damage had been done. That night was an epiphany moment for you, awaking the true desire between you. Your bodies couldn’t lie, the need for them to touch, the flaming sensation of his skin against yours like it was happening right now. Everything happened before and since that night, it never was the same thing for Daniel and everything went downhill.

You move your hand, posting on the door and Daniel understands the message and detaches himself from you. You slowly turn, god he was a mess and you bet you weren’t better.

“ You bewitched me that night, seduced me with your eyes. It was a game at first and now look at us, where is the game now ? “ He wasn’t accusing you of anything, it was a simple statement, an understanding between you. Two people were playing the game and two people ended up losing.

“ That wasn’t my intention, I tried to pull away, it was too late “ Who sounds defeated now, the tables have turned and he brings you down with him to the bottom of his misery. A couple bruises on your heart that he created was all you needed to have the proof that at least you two had shared a moment. It had to stay professional, but as his face was closing up the gap, all your convictions were being erased one by one.

You didn’t wait for him, you joined him in the middle, your lips connected quicker than he had anticipated, your eyes shut down in synchronisation. You didn’t who reacted first and kissed the other one back. That lip was perfect, far from it, it was messy just like him, but it was passionate. His teeth were teasing your bottom lips, asking permission to tear the flesh of it apart. You moaned when his tongue was inviting you to open your mouth. The taste of your two saliva was so intoxicated that you almost fell and he had to catch you with both of his arms, supporting you from your lower back. His smile came back to life against your mouth, letting out a childish giggle and you hit his arm to make him stop making fun of your lack of stability.

HIs reaction was quick, if you couldn’t stand up anymore he would use that door to help you. He pushes you toward it and your back gets lean on it, his arms unlocking themselves to explore your body, finding where they were before except this style the hem of your shirt came loose, letting the palm of his hand directly enter in contact with your skin, sending you shivers.

You had forgotten your environnement, too busy burying your own hands in his dark curls, bringing him closer as much as possible. Your teeth were still clenching and air was starting to lack in your lounge. You didn’t want to let go, scared for the reality to be brought back. You have been dreaming for months about this. Having the fantasy in your head when the night was setting and the moon shining.

DSaniel didn’t let you think for another second as he used this little moment of rest when you stop kissing him for a second, to lift you up, grabbing your ass, his palm firmly around it. He moves you and remembered to lock the door before turning back his focus on you as he finally break the kiss to look at you. Lust could be seen all over your two faces. His face was not showing any sadness anymore, only mischievousness and happiness. If you knew that all you needed to do to bring back the Daniel you knew was to let your own desire take over you, you would have done it sooner.

He took the direction of the massage table beside him, putting you on the edge before finding your neck and kissing the soft skin. You let a snort escape when his scruff tickles a sensitive spot behind your ear. He laughs against the skin and the vibration changes the snort into a whining complaint. He traveled all the way down to your clavicle but the fabric of your shirt was stopping him. He didn’t wait for your approval to remove it, the force of the removal making you lift your arm automatically. They fall back on his neck when he throws the piece of tissue somewhere you will have a hard time finding back.

That was extremely hot from him and by your legs starting to spread a little bit and the heat you were starting to feel between them, he noticed acknowledge the effect he had on you and smirk, visibly proud of himself. It was not the time to hide yourself even if you could feel embarrassed, this man in front of you was everything you had dreamt of and it had the talent to make you feel confident of your body, just by the way he looks at every detail of your body.

You were eager to let him take the situation under his control and only his, not doing anything and just being the prize he was working on to have for so long. All the torment, the torture and the conviction he will never have you, he deserved it. You will get your prize another time … it was only the beginning for you.

He was taking his time with you,no matter how much his desire was waking up, he had one mission and one mission only; your pleasure. You could see the forming bulge in his pants and felt for him, imagining how inconfortable it must be for him.

It all went to dust when his hands found their way under your bra cupping your breast and his lips traveled your chest as he was kissing his way down. He was leaving wet kisses and blowing air on it, goosebumps started to appear quickly, head being jolted back.

You wish you knew what to do with your hands but they were gripping the leather of the massage table so hard your knuckles were getting white by the second. He didn’t seem to care as his hands found your pants, he pushed you a bit behind, making unspeakable demands for you to lift your ass so he could slide the piece of clothes down for it to join your shirt somewhere in the room.

You could barely keep your eyes open as you witnessed the extremely hot scene in front of you. Daniel between your legs, keeping the same pace with you, kissing his way up toward the inner of your thighs. You sensed his teeth nibbling your skin, licking every spot afterward, like he was trying to heal the pain he just caused you. Little did he know that pain you were feeling was arousing you even more, your panty was starting to visibly licked your excitement. It was feeling like torture, you thougth that Daniel would be like the others partner you had, your skin would get used to the touch after a moment and the horniness would stop at a certain level, thinking you had reach the maximal of his possibility. How wrong were you when you were on the verge to cum without him actually pleasuring you in this area. You knew it was coming, Daniel kisses were more hungry, teasing the flesh of your thigh turning red by the bite and the kisses.

His lips were swallowing, getting bigger by the unusual exercise they were carrying on, his tongue would feel numb if it was for the desire he had to taste you, letting it survive for a couple minutes still. You watch him, leaving a kiss on the wet fabric of your underwear, your eyes were blurrying by the anticipation of him finally finding your clit. His teeth end up moving the piece of dentelle that was the last barrier between you and him.

It was like he was home and belonged there, here with you, right in this instance, it was you and him against the world. Forgetting your environnement you let a cry escape a little bit too loud as soon his thick tongue was licking arousal. You thought that seeing the start was a legend, a fantasy, but Daniel had made you become reality as your head was banged back, finding the cold wall, your neck was stretching so hard that the blood was lacking in your brain making you see some sparkling spot. He needed you to stay quiet and as he tried to put one of his hands on your mouth he ended up finding the neck instead, squeezing it enough for you to moan his name as he was continuing his exploration of your pussy.

Your hands finally leave the grip of the massage table to find their new place around Daniel's arm. You were stretched out in front of him, so vulnerable, just for him and you were unable to give a proper reaction to being buried in the pleasure he was giving you. His tongue was teasing your entrance, making it hardening, pushing himself in you as you will. The thumb of his free hand was moving in a slow circle around your clit. He didn’t know the dilemma you were encountering, keeping your eyes shut and your head back or fighting his firm hand on your neck for you to see him eating you alive. You sure had to make a decision quickly because you were soon to arrive at the edge before you will let the orgasm consume your whole body.

By the sound you were making, Daniel had the confirmation he was doing everything in the right way for you. He never experienced such joy to make someone lose their composure due to his actions. He was feeling proud that he was finding it out with you. Every woman he had been with didn’t sound or look as beautiful and real as you spread in front of him right now. He could spend hours tasting you, how good you were for him, how reactive and sensitive your skin was becoming after being torn apart by him. How the thought of fucking you with his tongue had haunt his dream for the past couples of month now, but the reality of this was surpassing all his expectations. He wanted to be rough with you, all the dirty thoughts came back rushing into his brain, overwhelming him and sending twitch to his dick. Rather than being dominant, it was all about showing you how much he had wanted you and how willing he was to give you anything you wanted, because you deserved it. You deserved for him to make you forget every man you had sex with. Replacing all the bad and good memories with his own. Changing all the faces in your dream, planting his own in the own DNA of your imagination.

He could feel that you were holding it together for it to last longer, even if that meant losing the self-control you had in you. Your wall was tightening around his fat tongue. You were completely losing your mind at the foreword of sensation throwing at you at the same time. You were sure it was too much for one person and you could care less about the verbal explosion you might have in a couple of seconds. Daniel however, foreseeing your release, put two fingers in your mouth holding your jaw from your mouth, your lips closed themself around them and your tongue was soon relaxing on them. You bite his knuckles when his tongue replaces his thumb in one flick of the tongue, finally letting cum. Your legs were shaking and Daniel had to hold you for you not to hurt yourself, your eyes were rolling back as your orgasm hit you in small waves, sending you jolts of electricity around your body. Your brain was shutting down, the stifled moan never reaching the exterior of your mouth, dying down on Daniel’s fingers in sensual vibration that made his bulge react, begging to be taken care of.

It tooks you minutes to come back to the open world, Daniel’s eyes not leaving you for a second, admiring his work. You slowly come back to reality and automatically search for him, missing his touch already. Your eyes were still not open when you found the collar of his shirt and pulled him rather violently, crashing your lips together, taking a taste of your own juice still lingering on his lips. You sigh in the kiss, reassured that what just happened wasn’t just a dream and that you were far needing to wake up from it.You rest your forehead on his, the wave of pleasure was still leaving some after effects on you including dizziness.

You had to clear your throat as you realised no sound was coming it out the first time you tried to speak.

“ That bitch needs to go, tell her you replace her with a more living version. “

You couldn’t help but laugh at your own words and Daniel was smiling at the way you just described yourself.

“ She’s already gone, she was already gone before you burst into my room.

You didn’t know how to respond to that, but one thing for sure is that you will have a hard time making people outside of this room say that nothing happened between the two of you. At least you would not pissed them off and you were able to pacify him at any time.

MASTERLIST

[utilitycaster]

Level 14!

let’s go down the list except Fjord last because there are two paths he can go by but in the long run there’s still time to change the road you’re on

Jester and Caduceus: no additional spell slots, although they can prep an additional spell as they always can upon leveling up (both are now able to prep 19 spells). Eighth level spells show up at L15 and honestly it’s a short list (for those wondering: control weather is very handy but they might not get that in time to battle the takers, antimagic field will be good when they take on Trent at some point in the future but probably not yet, earthquake could be pretty nasty against enemies in the distance, and holy aura grants some great benefits but does require an extremely expensive relic and mostly I just want to know what a 1000 GP relic of The Traveler will be). They do however get improved Destroy Undead (up to CR 3 now), and a slightly better chance at divine intervention (not relevant for 7 days for Caduceus, but maybe Jester will be able to drag Artagan from the bar?)

Caleb: like the other full casters, no additional spell slots. He does get two new spells for free and personally speaking after looking into how antimagic fields interact with concentration I would love to see delayed blast fireball. I’m saving 8th level spell speculation for when they level up to 15 because the wizard list is huge, and more importantly, Caleb gets a subclass feature this level! He is now a master transmuter and can use his stone in four ways: he can transmute a nonmagical object no larger than a five foot cube into a different nonmagical object of similar size and no greater value; he can remove all curses, diseases, and poisons from one creature and bring them up to full HP; he can cast raise dead without a spell slot (diamond still required)(unless it’s Yasha); or he can restore youth, reducing a creature’s apparent age by a minimum of 13 years (3d10 or 13, whichever is higher), but with no lifespan extension. Any of these options will destroy the stone, and he’d need to create a new one, which takes 8 hours, after a long rest.

Veth: She learns a new spell, which can be up to 3rd level, and can be anything on the wizard spell list (as opposed to her usual limitation to the enchantment and illusion list). Also she hasn’t use mage hand to distract people, I don’t think, unless I missed it in last week’s battles, which is a L13 ability that Sam might review upon leveling up. As mentioned, she could take Leomund’s Tiny Hut, but also counterspell, blink, nondetection, remove curse, sending...it’s a good list. I would advise personally against major image just because that’s illusion, so she could take it at any level she gets to learn new spells or swap out an older spell for it.

Yasha: in addition to a zillion HP, she gets the most metal ability of all, Rage Beyond Death. If she is raging and is taken to 0 HP, she does not go unconscious. She still makes death saves as normal - and presumably, if she is hit she still takes a death saving fail (although not an auto-crit since she’s not unconscious) but she will remain conscious until her rage ends, and also she can, as far as I can tell from the wording, be healed despite failing 3 death saves and remain alive as long as her rage has been continuous. L14 is a fun in-between state because at L15 she gets persistent rage, which makes her very, very hard to kill as a result - it pretty much needs to be an insta-kill, like disintegrate or finger of death or being taken to -154 HP, since otherwise she just rages until healed. But at L14 she does have to maintain rage through attacks or damage.

Beau: Beau is now proficient in all saving throws, which means +9 to WIS and INT, +6 to CHA, and +8 to CON which will help a lot against Lucien next time (as she was rolling with just a +3 to CON last week). Her strength and dex saves are unchanged since monks have proficiency in those to start. She also can spend a ki point to reroll a failed save. And finally, her unarmored movement speed is now 55 feet per round, which means with step of the wind she can do 165 ft/round, which is 18.75 mph or about 30 km/h. (note: technically this is not superhuman; Usain Bolt’s record 100 m dash comes out to 37 km/h. However, that was for under 10 seconds. A rested Beau can do this for 14 rounds which is 84 seconds, covering about 700 meters. Using the 800m dash world record, the top speed is about 29 km/h; since it’s not a perfect comparison, Beau is at the very least matched with the (male) world record holder for that distance and possibly a bit faster).

Fjord: Fjord is currently at L10 Warlock/L3 Paladin.

Another level in Warlock gives him two major benefits: a third 5th level spell slot which like his other warlock spells refreshes on a short rest, and a mystic arcanum, which is essentially a once-per-day 6th level spell. The arcanum options are interesting and a few don’t seem very in line with his patron (somehow, create undead, mental prison, or soul cage don’t really seem like great choices) but arcane gate is highly on-brand - it’s basically Now You’re Thinking With Portals (and means that he could essentially allow the whole party to dimension door, with the restriction that it must be somewhere he can see). Conjure fey is sort of the same idea as conjure greater demon except fey, so I don’t really see the benefit; Eyebite is a solid debuffing option; Flesh to Stone lets him petrify people if he can maintain concentration and they fail their saves; Mass Suggestion is exactly what it sounds like (and lasts 24 hours without concentration, although there’s a save and it breaks if you attack the creatures affected); the various elemental investiture spells which could be handy in combat although would make it hard for the other melee fighters in the Nein; scatter, which is also very on brand in that it lets him teleport other people around; and we know True Seeing from the clerics and it’s probably not worth it since he’s got the sword and said clerics can do the same thing.

L4 in Paladin’s main benefits are: gets him closer to higher paladin levels, gets him an extra prepared L1 spell, and he finally gets the ASI/feat the rest of the party got two levels ago. For ASIs, bumping up strength and dex wouldn’t hurt - a higher AC and saves are always nice even if his attacks are with his maxed-out charisma - but the feats look better, honestly. Some that stand out to me are are inspiring leader (he’d have to do it twice to cover everyone, but it would give everyone +19 temp HP); mage slayer which is a feat I really like but also makes sense for Fjord, who is often in melee against spellcasters; spell sniper (which would give him a 240 range with Eldritch Blast, and a bonus cantrip, which he could take from any list although charisma casters are the smartest option); or prodigy, which Beau has and which would give him some extra skills and expertise.

[marlahey]

under the same roof part three: all the time you need

a harry styles rpf part three of six written by annie and aj (marlahey and formerly harryonstage) ratings/warnings: disaster gays, endangered ovaries from dad!harry, women aggressively supporting women notes: enter the rest of harry’s family unit! in case anyone’s curious, annie tells sylvia to give her dad a kiss in vietnamese, to which he responds, good girl. before anyone comes for me, there will be plenty more opportunities for bed-sharing to come. side note: aj always pictured olivia coleman as officer warren.  masterlist | part one | part two | part four (21.12.20)

............................................... • saturday, 5th january 9:18 am • The second time you’re roused from sleep, sunlight illuminates Harry’s room. You lift your head, squinting, but more quickly you recognize where you are.

Harry is nowhere in sight, but a fresh glass of water is within reach on the nightstand, and a cardigan knitted with primary-colored patches lies folded at the foot of the bed. After slipping your arms through the loose sleeves, you take a few gulps of water and make sure to shut his bedroom door quietly on your way out. You hadn’t spent much time in the living room as per Officer Warren’s instructions to avoid the windows, but you can see into it from the hall. And since there’s still no sign of Harry, you take a minute to discreetly look around at the place he and his daughter call home. His flat is obviously larger than yours—he has two bedrooms versus one—but the morning light seems to stretch the space even further, like an open armed welcome. The atmosphere bustles with a little dose of chaos. Two brimming bookshelves span one wall of the living room, and plants line the windowsills. A half-sized Christmas tree stands off in the corner, wrapped in twinkly lights and strings of popcorn. A white fender guitar decorated with various stickers stands with a speaker beside the couch, and records tile the wall behind it: Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, The Stones, The Cars, Hello I’m Dolly.  There is ample evidence that a child lives here, too. The walls are dotted with drawings in watercolor, crayon, and sparkles. You can see pieces of Lego strewn out on the carpet; they must be from that towering box Harry had towed into the lift a week before Christmas. A small smile tugs at your lips as you follow the smell of espresso into the kitchen. You find Harry leaning against the counter looking contemplative, holding aloft a cup of coffee that he seems to have forgotten about. He’s wearing the same shirt he’d slept in, but thrown on a pair of joggers. You bid a quiet, “Good morning.” He inhales sharply as his head whips toward you, his drink sloshing over the edge of his mug slightly. “Jesus, sorry,” he laughs softly, shaking his head at himself. You watch as he wets a dishrag and cleans the small mess. “Not really used to company my age.” “Oh… Sorry.” “S’alright.” His voice is covered in sleep; it almost sounds like he has a cold. “Coffee?” You hum appreciatively. “Love some.” “Were you able to get some sleep?” he asks, pulling a mug from the cabinet. “Enough, yeah.” All you can think about is waking up locked in his embrace, on the still-dark cusp of sunrise. “Thank you for letting me, um…” “Course. Cream?” “That’s great, thanks.” Harry nods over his shoulder towards the bedroom. “It help at all?” How are you supposed to answer that? “The real bed?” he clarifies, like it is at all necessary.  You listen to the spoon clink rhythmically against the ceramic, and settle on “I think so,” as noncommittally as possible. “How did you sleep?” “Very well.” In passing you your mug, Harry catches your eyes for the first time today in a way that feels like not an accident. “More importantly, how are you feeling about everything else?” You shrug, eyes glued to the cream swirling in your coffee. “Better, a little.” “That’s good.” “What about you?” you ask. “You’ve kinda been through the wringer, yourself.” “I’m good, yeah.” Harry pushes up his glasses. “I was thinking—if you don’t mind—I’d like to come with you to the police department this morning.”  “No, no, Harry.” You wave away the offer. “Don’t worry about that.” “No, really. It might make more sense. I saw him in the hall last night, and I was with you in the lift. They might need to ask some questions of both of us.” You consider this a moment. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to.” “I don’t have to,” Harry counters. “I want to. I want you to, y’know… ” he trails off. “I want them to get this guy.” You blink at him. There’s a strange feeling in knowing that Harry has clearly thought about your wellbeing beyond the night that you’ve effectively been trapped in his flat. Regardless, it’s too early for a battle of wills, and he has a point. You slouch against the fridge. “Alright. Well… I still have India’s car so I can drive us,” you concede. A smile lights Harry’s face. Suddenly your stomach rumbles so powerfully and for so long that it interrupts the conversation. You cover a small, mortified laugh with both hands as Harry’s eyebrows raise. “Well,” he begins, exaggerated. “Let’s take care of that… You take the first turn in the bathroom, I’ll fix us some breakfast.” “You sure?” “Go ahead.” He grabs a skillet from the drying rack, turning on one of the burners. “Thank you, Harry.” “It’s no problem.” You wash your face with something you find above the sink and brush your teeth on auto-pilot before considering your bundle of clothes from the night before. Your cardigan lays at the top of the stack. Four of your fingers fit through the gaping hole in its collar, and dirt covers one of the sleeves. You hadn’t forgotten about the shape it was in last night, but you didn’t consider it a problem until now, as you hold it up in front of you by the shoulders, frowning. You try to tame your hair with a purple, sparkly brush to no avail, so you take a quick look around to see if Sylvia has any spare barrettes or pins. Thankfully there’s a single hair tie floating in the bottom of your purse. You shrug back into Harry’s patchwork sweater—oddly comforting in how fully it swallows your shoulders and hands—and slip back out to the kitchen, where Harry plates grilled tomatoes and bacon. “We’re about ready to eat.” Harry turns the stovetop down to a simmer as the toaster pops. “How do you take your eggs?” “Sunny side up, please.”  He salutes you with his spatula, attention already returned to the pan.  “Can I help with anything?” Harry nods to a drawer. “Yeah can you pass us a couple napkins from just there? I’ll be right back,” he rushes, already halfway out of the kitchen. You pull a few paper napkins from their packet as he returns with two chairs that you recognize from his small wicker table. “Blinds are open in the other room, thought it might be best if we just eat in here.” He sets the chairs apart, facing one another. “Now this is living,” you deadpan. Harry laughs lightly as he gestures for you to sit. The two of you get adjusted with your plates on your lap, and your knees almost bump in the small space. “This is great, Harry. Thank you.”  “I’d make you bubble and squeak, too, but we’re fresh out and Sylvia hates beans so we don’t keep them on hand. So technically...” Harry lowers his voice to a whisper. “S’not a full English fry up.” You can only smile around your mouthful, unexpectedly endeared. The rest of breakfast passes in silence. You shouldn’t have slept on an empty stomach; you’re ravenous from skipping a meal last night.  He looks up at you eventually, a touch more serious than before. “Shall we think about heading to the police station soon?”  You dab your mouth with your napkin and nod. Harry stands from his chair and reaches an open hand down to you for your plate. “No, no,” you nudge him away with your elbow. “You cooked, I’ll clean.”  “Let me deal with these. You’re a guest.” “I’m a captive.” “No you’re not! You’re—” He breaks off, hesitating a moment before plunging on with an amused slant to his lips. “You’re my sort-of friend.” Your assumption he hadn’t overheard that comment to your mother last night on the phone was clearly in vain. You press your lips together against any inadvertent reaction. Your head swivels toward him, eyes full of lighthearted reproach. “Look, just let me do the dishes to give myself the illusion that I’m not just a freeloader here. Besides, I’m already ready to go.” "Fine,” he caves disapprovingly. “I’ll get myself sorted and be out in a minute.” “Take your time.” While Harry is preoccupied, you finish slotting the clean plates from breakfast carefully into the drying rack and pull out your phone to message India. Hey, I have a lot to update you on but it’ll be much easier to explain in person. I still have your car and I need it for one thing this morning but I promise I’ll fill the tank ASAP. It’s about the guy that’s been following me. Just know that I’m safe and everything’s okay. I’ll call you when I can. Love you. Send. That’ll have to do for now. Harry returns in jeans and a sweater. It’s still strange to see him so dressed down. “Ready?” he asks. “Yeah. You mind if I wear this to the police station?” you ask, pinching the fabric of his cardigan. You feel the urge to explain yourself—the hole in your sweater, the grime—but Harry’s already shaking his head. “Not at all. Do you maybe want something a little less… loud? I don’t even wear that one out, myself, really.”  You consider the bright cacophony of color like it’s brand new to your eyes. Loud is right. “Yeah, that’s not a terrible idea.”  Harry’s lips twitch. “C’mon then. You’re welcome to pick anything you’d like.” Pick? You nod because you’re worried the surprise is painted on your face. “Okay.” Harry leads you to his bedroom again, and over to the large wooden wardrobe.  He pulls the double doors open and you cannot help yourself from gawking a little. You’re taken by all the exquisite patterns and intricate textures of the suits, but it’s oddly wistful to run your fingertips along all of them hung in a row. You smile privately, a bit removed. “What?” Harry laughs from behind you. “Nothing!” you reply, glancing over your shoulder before saying more softly, “I just recognize some of these.” “Oh, thought you were sizing them up. My mates all take the piss… They say my suits are eccentric.” He rolls his eyes, reciting the insult like he’s quoting their words verbatim. You turn back around to his closet. “I think they look nice—I think you look nice in them.” You take a step back and crane your neck to the shelf of folded sweaters above the hanging rod. The extensive array of muted wool and cotton is a bit overwhelming. You spot the planet sweater he’d worn the first time you saw Sylvia, the oversized yellow one that reminded you of Charlie Brown, the black one with half a red heart and the letters, NY in bold white text… It takes a minute of jogging your memory before you can recall him wearing something more plain. Harry doesn’t own a lot of plain. You still can’t quite reach the shelf up on your tiptoes, but Harry is at your side immediately. “The brown?” He tugs it from the stacks and passes it down. “Yeah, thanks.” You examine the camel colored fabric with tiny flecks of black thread, and run your hand along the smooth purl. “This should do.” You tug the sweater over your head; it’s boxy, your arms aren’t long enough to fit, and it isn’t doing any favors for your shoulders. You have to roll the sleeves up past your wrists before the outfit can half pass as something you purposely wore out of the house. You spin around to face him. “Does it look normal?” Harry’s jaw flexes as he gives you the up-down. You fiddle with one of the sleeves. “Yeah,” Harry says stiffly. “Looks normal.” It’s bizarre walking through the level six hallway; it’s identical to your own, but the last time you’d been here, everything down to the carpet and light fixtures had been tainted by your deafening fear. What’s more is that riding down in the lift with Harry feels entirely different now. You see it all from his perspective, and try to visualize what you look like to him most mornings, standing in the corner with your school bag and a book tucked beneath your arm. The lift picks up a few people on its way down, but by the time it reaches the garage, you and Harry are alone. You catch his eyes in the reflection of the doors a second before they open. He clears his throat. “I know it’s probably… we’ll be fine, but stay close, yeah?” You look up at him and nod. It’s easy to keep to your word. Harry guides you to walk in front of him the entire way as your eyes scan the shadows in between the rows of cars. You’re sure you will never be able to see this garage quite the same way. “It’s the old Volkswagen.” “I see it.” You’re so out of it that you almost try to get in on the passenger side. It’s the kind of slip up that Harry might have teased you about, but he’s quiet and looking around, too. You pull the jacket you’d left on the seat last night into your lap, the two of you strap in, and you cannot pull out into the street fast enough. The mustard yellow envelope in the back seat is an unwelcome passenger, visible in your rearview mirror.  Who else knew about these photos? How many are there that weren’t in your envelope? Are they online somewhere? Would they follow you to law school? Your grip tightens on the steering wheel as you grind your teeth. “Alright?” Harry asks. His voice brings you back down to earth. He’d asked you that question when you pricked your finger on the poppy in your jacket pocket. He’d asked you in his bed on the most terrifying night of your life. And he’s asking you now. You nod. “I will be.” • saturday, 5th january 10:42 am • In the parking lot behind Lavender Hill Police Station, you’ve killed the engine but remain in your seat. Part of you is still reluctant to have Harry come along; keeping your composure in front of the police feels hard enough without the prospect of him being there, too, but maybe that’s the one thing that will get you through this. “Sorry.” You shake your head, suddenly aware of how long you’ve been sitting motionless at the wheel. Harry’s gaze is unperturbed. He watches you push anxiously at the sleeves of his sweater. “Take all the time you need.” It’s the same phrase the initial officer who’d taken your statement all those weeks ago had used. It’s what Officer Warren had said to you on the phone last night, and you’re so tired of hearing it. You don’t want to have as much time as you need to feel calm or steady or normal again. You want your time back. You want to reclaim all those extra seconds spent checking over your shoulder, the minutes lost to changing your routes, and the hours spent staring up at the ceiling when you should have been asleep. Rationally, you know that there will be time to relearn how to walk down the street and feel at ease, and plan that trip to Brighton you and India have been talking about for months. There will be time with Harry that isn’t this… stuck in a cramped space, crushed by the weight of your own fear. You hate the way you felt with him in the lift this morning; you want that back most of all. “Faster we get in there,” you say—half to Harry, half to yourself, “the faster we’ll get to leave.” Harry nods. “C’mon then.” The heather grey of the building is no less intimidating than it was in October, but at least this time you don’t have to pull the heavy glass doors open on your own. Inside, you speak with the woman at reception, who gestures for you to sit in a small waiting area just beyond the desk. People in uniform bustle back and forth. Harry’s leg brushes against yours as you sit. He doesn’t move. Neither do you. You have no sense of how long you sit waiting—this doesn’t feel like a place where it’s appropriate to play Solitaire on your phone. You can feel Harry looking at you periodically, but you don’t glance back until a woman with a familiar voice appears before you. She ushers you to follow with a quick, professional smile. Harry doesn’t quite offer the same, but you’re reassured anyway. “I’m Officer Warren.” She stops at a desk with an empty chair beside it. You take care to shake her hand firmly, introducing yourself with all the confidence you can scrap together. “Are you comfortable sitting here?” “Yes, this is fine.” If either Harry or Officer Warren notice your voice is an octave higher, neither of them make any sign. “Good.” She reaches past you to shake Harry’s hand too. “Harry.” “Nice to meet you both. We can also find a conference room, if you’d like somewhere more private, or if you’d both like to sit.” Harry speaks up when you don’t right away. “I’m fine standing.” He looks exactly as he had in the car—calm and willing to take your lead, so you sit before you can change your mind. Officer Warren smiles again, clearly trying to put you at ease. You wish it was more effective. “Right, well I won’t take up too much of your time. Since I took your statement last night, I’ve already got a copy of the transcript from our conversation over the phone, and you won’t need to go over all of that again.” Your shoulders cave a little in relief. Harry’s fingers hook gently over the top of your chair. “Okay.” “But,” she continues, “there is the matter of how to proceed. What we talked about regarding your flat still stands… it really isn’t safe for you to remain there, especially since the suspect seems to know which one is yours, and we still don’t have a clear idea of where he is now, or how he was able to access the car park in your building in the first place.” “So…” You shake your head, in either confusion or denial. “I can’t even go home?” “I’m afraid not, for the time being.” Her eyes are soft, regretful. “Not if he knows where you live. Not if there’s a chance he could get more photographs, or try to break in again.” Your stomach twists. “Were you able to figure out who he is?” You’re not even sure you want to know. Officer Warren’s mouth pinches apologetically. “Not yet. We have a couple technicians working on the security footage and the photos you’ve turned in, so hopefully we’ll be able to get something from them. The car he was driving had no plates. You haven’t seen any sign of him since we spoke last?” You shake your head, and she glances up at Harry as if to confirm. “Alright, that’s a good sign at least. He knows we’re watching, now. On the other hand, there’s a chance he’ll carry on, but be stealthier about it. Is it possible for you to physically stay inside, completely out of sight for let’s say, a week?” “I mean… where?” “Do you have somewhere else you can stay for the time being? With a friend?” You open your mouth, but the “Yes,” is not your own. You force yourself not to turn back to look at him; Harry’s fingers touch your shoulder again. “Yes, she does. She can stay with me. We live in the same building after all, so it’ll hardly be disruptive.” Officer Warren gives him a long look. You can’t tell if she approves or is displeased with him for speaking for you, but now that the initial shock has worn off, gratitude washes over you. Asking India to stay with her indefinitely would have been out of the question; there’s no way you’re endangering your best friend any more than you already have. You’d be putting her in a position where she couldn’t say no. She has four roommates. She doesn’t even know about the photos yet.  “That works,” you hear yourself say. This will only be for a few days, you reason—it’ll buy you just enough time to find your feet. By then, you can sort out a longer-term place to stay if the police still haven’t found the man. Officer Warren is speaking again, and it takes effort to actively refocus on the conversation. “The objective here is to make it seem as though you’re gone. On holiday. He’ll be keeping an eye on the building, no doubt, so he’ll notice if the car is gone, or your flat is empty. Is there any way you can take your classes remotely?” You find you can barely speak, so you just nod instead.  She leans in a little, her eyes finding yours more carefully. “I know it’s frightening, but you’ve been incredibly strong. This won’t be forever. In the meantime, we can send an officer back with you this afternoon so you can gather a few of your things.” You nod again. “Do you have any questions for me?” You force yourself to say, “No, thank you,” which Harry echoes. Officer Warren nods, almost perfunctorily, and stands. “If you wait here just a minute, I’ll introduce you to the officer who’ll take you back to your flat. You’ll be in an unmarked car, and we can arrange for yours to be retrieved.” “Thank you. I’ll call my friend now,” you say. “Maybe she can… I'll have to ask her to look after my cat. And it’s her car, anyway.” Officer Warren nods, apparently satisfied.  You shake her hand again, though your mind is stuck on this won’t be forever. As you rise from the chair, you feel the gentle pressure of Harry’s hand on the small of your back. When Officer Warren returns with another uniformed policeman, you don’t want to move, but your legs carry you anyway. Harry’s gaze finds the side of your face periodically like a lighthouse beam while you call India from the backseat of the police car. After reassuring her again that you’re fine, you gloss over the details of staying in Harry’s flat. You can tell even in her silence that she’s not going to let you off the hook that easily, so you start rambling about what to do with Chowder before she gets the chance to say something embarrassing while Harry is sitting right there. “Of course I’m taking Chowder,” she says before you get the chance to phrase the question. “Don’t even worry about it. I’ll get in a cab right now. Do you need help packing up?” “Yeah sure, thank you. But what about your car?” “I’ll take the keys from you and get it after. Honestly, it’s fine. It’s not like it’s gonna get stolen from the bloody police station.” It’s a stupid joke but you’re comforted a little anyway. “Okay.” “Be there soon. I love you.” “Love you too.” Harry glances over at you. “Everything okay?” “Yeah.” You smile a little and for the first time in ages, it doesn’t feel forced. “She’s gonna meet us at home and take Chowder for me.” “That’s great.” “I know,” you reply, a little distant. “Harry, thank you for coming with me… It was nice not to have to, y’know, do that alone.” “That’s alright.” His voice is equally gentle. “We’re gonna… They’re gonna find him. And they’re gonna fix this, and then everything’s gonna go back to normal.” You aren’t sure which of you he’s trying to reassure, but Harry meets your eyes and you nod. Back at your building, you meet up with India. “Think I might just pop home, if that’s alright,” Harry says, going in for the sixth-floor button on the keypad. “I told Annie a bit about what’s going on, but I owe her an update.” “Of course.” You look up at him in the reflection of the doors. “We’ll see you down there.” It’s your first time seeing the dent and scratches on the door to your flat in person. You shiver, turn the key, and push the door open.  “Chowder!” you shout as a flash of orange darts through your legs, meowing down the hall. The officer’s hand lands reflexively on his baton as your cat scares all three of you half to death. Once you manage to corral your cat back to your corner of the hallway, you struggle to keep him still in your arms. “Indy, his crate is under my bed—” “Hold off a minute, I’m going to do a quick walkthrough. I’m sure everything’s fine, but wait out here.” The officer leaves the door cracked open behind him. India offers a small, encouraging smile when you flinch at the sound of him announcing himself in your apartment. You stroke between Chowder’s ears; he is heavy and warm in your arms, and his fur sticks uncomfortably to the sweat on your palms. “All clear.” The officer reappears. “Let’s try to be quick about this.” India immediately ducks through the door following him, but you have to take a deep breath before stepping through the threshold. The place looks completely untouched. Had you been expecting company, perhaps you would have thought to clear the dishes from the sink or remove your laundry from the drying rack. After coercing an unusually talkative Chowder into his travel crate, you and India work as a team to stuff as much into your duffel bag as will fit. Shirts, bras, and pants hurtle past your head. “Indy, I’m staying at a neighbor’s for a few days—what on earth am I going to need this for?” You hold up the silk, strappy dress that just landed on your neatly-folded stacks, shooting her a disapproving look. “I’m just grabbing and throwing!” “Well just, y’know… let’s make sure we’re not speeding through this at the expense of packing with a little common sense.” “I’ve got this,” India says, waving down at the open duffel. “Go sort whatever toiletries you need, yeah?” Thankfully you’ve stayed overnight at her place enough times to warrant a travel case of essentials that lives under your bathroom sink. There’s makeup cluttered all over the counter. You stare at it a moment before rolling your eyes at yourself. “We should probably get going.” The officer’s voice from the other room startles you both as India zips up your duffel. “Are you two about ready?”  As you stick your head out of your bedroom, the officer is peeking through the blinds across the street. “Yes,” you reply. “We are.” Overnight bag and Chowder in tow, you clamber back onto the lift. “Did you get your toothbrush?” “Yes.” “Face wash?” “Yes.” “Pillow?” “Indy, you saw me putting it in—” “Towel?” “Yes.” “Phone charger?” “… Shit.” Ding. The officer steps out with you on the sixth floor as you thank him, and bid a quick goodbye once he reassures you to call if you need anything or, of course, if anything happens. India turns to face you next. “He’s this way.” You nod down the hall, and she leads. “It’s right at the end. The one with the wreath.” The doors of the lift close. You don’t want to think about the last time you’d been walking down this corridor and heard that sound from behind you. India moves aside holding Chowder’s crate by the handle, and the shopping bag full of his supplies as you step up to the welcome mat with your things. Harry swings open the door to his apartment after the second knock, immediately taking the duffel bag from off of your shoulder. “Oh, Harry, you don’t have to—” “I got it.” India elbows you in the ribs. Harry turns to carry your bag to Sylvia's room, and when you look behind at her, her eyebrows are raised above an animated smirk. “Don’t,” you whisper through gritted teeth. She raises a hand in defense as Harry returns before reaching out to accept his offered hand. “Hello, I’m India.” “Harry.”  “Pleasure.” He flashes her a warm smile. She nods appreciatively as they shake hands—at you, however, instead of Harry and your cheeks ignite. “Okay great. That’s settled then. Shall we—um… Indy?” You cut in, then turn to her, nodding to the door with I’m going to kill you in your eyes. “Lovely to meet you, Harry!” “Cheers, dear. You as well.” Harry’s attention returns to you for a moment. “I’ll just be…” He gestures vaguely to the kitchen. You step out into the hall with India. Chowder meows from the crate in her arms and she almost drops him. “What,” you hiss, “was that?”  She ignores your tone, then says your name like it’s a plea. “Call me if you need absolutely anything, or text me—no matter what time it is. I’ll drop everything and come straight to you.” “I’m sleeping two floors below where I usually do, Indy, I’m not dying.” “I know, I know… How’s a Skype dinner tomorrow night? I’ll order us a take away.” “Definitely.” You wish you could squeeze her in another tight hug, but Chowder’s crate impedes you. “Thank you.” “Love you, babe.” “Love you too.” She looks unsatisfied. “It’s going to be fine, I promise. Text me when we’re eating, okay?” You begin to walk backward into Harry’s apartment and blow her a kiss. “I will… Bye!” “Please don’t kill my cat!” You lean on the door frame, watching India’s silhouette shrink as she heads back down the hall to the lift with Chowder. You sigh and close the door, but as you turn around, your hand rushes to your chest in a gasp; Harry is standing just behind you, rubbing his face. “So I’ve just rung Annie while you were upstairs… ” He steps aside to give you a clear path through the hallway. “Oh?” “I’m sorry—they’re just coming,” he rushes, sounding a little panicked as you step into Sylvia's room. You set your phone and laptop down with the rest of your things. “They insisted ‘cause they’ve got a spare mattress, and I told them you needed a place to crash for a bit and also that you stayed here last night so… yeah. You don’t have to be here for that. When they come—oh, and they probably have Sylvia, too, if that’s… ” Harry trails off.” “Wait, I’m sorry.” You close your eyes and shake your head. “Annie? You mean—” “Sylvia’s mum, yeah, and um… her fiancé, AJ.” Harry tilts his head down, as if to gauge your reaction. “And they want to give… they have a spare mattress? But you already have a mattress.” “That’s what I said!” Harry gestures wildly. It must have been a lively phone call. “Oh, well that’s… awfully kind of them,” you begin, trying to keep up. “Would it be easier if I wasn’t—” “No.” He’s clearly surprised at his own volume as he cuts you off. Harry literally leans back, hesitating. “I mean… stay. They’d love to meet you. They’re my family and you’re…” His eyes flit back to yours and hang on. “You’re obviously gonna to be staying here a bit, and they drop by all the time so I jus’ don’t wanna overwhelm you, is all.” Suddenly, it’s your turn struggling to look at him. “Well, I—” “H, open the door! This is heavy!” a voice bellows from beyond the front door. Harry’s eyes shut momentarily. “Coming!” he calls. You stand there, in the doorway to Sylvia’s room, stunned at the pace with which this is all unfolding. Harry jogs to the door. You poke your head out as an explosion of noise disrupts what had before been so peaceful. A child’s high-pitched shriek rips through the flat, followed by a long, labored groan from Harry as Sylvia barrels into his arms and he crouches down to lift her. “How’s Daddy’s girl?” he greets. Sylvia simply continues screaming and tries to bend over backward out of his arms. “Hi, Harry.” A striking woman with jet-black hair waltzes in, carrying a large dish of food wrapped in tin foil, seemingly unphased. Harry shifts Sylvia to one arm, bending over to greet her in a side hug and quick kiss to the cheek. “Hi, love.” What appears to be a twin sized mattress with twig legs follows in suit, grunting softly. “Still heavy.” “Right, sorry.” Harry hands Sylvia off to who you assume is Annie as he hurries to take the mattress, revealing a second, much taller woman with sunglasses atop her blonde head of hair. She’s wearing red lipstick and bright suede pumps. “There we go,” she sighs. “I need a fag.” Harry almost takes out a light fixture as he hauls the bed. You press yourself up against the wall as he offers a quick, “S’cuse me,” and passes you to Sylvia's room. The two women look at you as simultaneous smiles light their faces. “Hi!” “Hello!” Sylvia waves at you, too. “Guess this one doesn’t need an introduction,” the dark-haired woman laughs, approaching with a hand extended. You notice that she’s the one wearing the ring. “I’m Annie.” “It’s great to meet you, Harry has spoken so highly of both of you.” You turn to the other woman after introducing yourself. “AJ.” One corner of her mouth quirks up. “It’s a pleasure.” “Thank you so much for the mattress, ” you begin, wringing your hands. “It seems like everyone’s done so much to help me in the past few days… It’s really meant a lot.” AJ tilts her head to look at you with a more meaningful gaze, and Annie steps forward to rest a hand on your forearm. “Harry hasn’t gone into a terrible amount of detail but… we’re so, awfully sorry for what’s happened to you.” She squeezes gently, her fingers in the crook of your elbow. The strange familiarity of the gesture disarms you. “I can’t imagine what you must be going through, and with your family so far away—I just… we heard about what was going on, and that was it. We had to help.” You nod and suddenly have trouble swallowing. There’s just something different about discussing this with women. “Harry’s air mattress,” AJ chips in, sardonic, “belongs in an incinerator.” “Hey!” His voice comes muted from the open door of Sylvia’s bedroom. Now that you’ve seen the both of them together up close, you realize how wrong you were in thinking that Sylvia only took after her father. Annie’s features are evident in her daughter’s deep, brown eyes, her nose, and the high angles of her cheeks.  “Well,” Annie starts, raising her eyebrows at everyone, “we’re obviously feeding you.” You laugh in disbelief. “No you’re not!” “We are!” She smiles as she sets Sylvia down, who weaves through everyone’s legs to her bedroom. “And relax, it’s already cooked so there’s no use in turning it down.” AJ pulls you in for a side hug, which you were grossly unprepared for. “Thank… you.” In your bewilderment, it’s all you can manage to say as Annie removes the tin foil from a full pan’s helping of chicken and vegetables. “Isn’t this supposed to be tomorrow’s roast? The Sunday roast?” Harry appears in the kitchen with Sylvia on his hip. He frowns, poking his head over Annie’s shoulder as she preheats the oven. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she replies. They lock eyes. Something tender passes between them; part of you feels like you should look away. “Annie… ” Harry says, softer now. “You didn’t have to do all this.” She ignores him, setting the timer on the oven as AJ slides a small mountain of tupperware into the fridge. The kettle starts to scream. You hadn’t realized someone started tea. You’re not sure what to do besides stand by the sink and stare. AJ rushes over to fill four steaming mugs, portioning different amounts of cream and honey into each. She turns to the few stray dishes in the sink, beginning to wash. “AJ, stop tha—” “Harry, relax would you?” She whips his leg with a dish towel and he relents. “Why is she staying in my room?” Sylvia pipes up from Harry’s arms. He looks across the kitchen at you, and then down to her. “Well see, bug, Daddy’s got a friend who’s gonna stay here for a little while.” Harry points at you and twists so she has a better view. You wave your fingers at her, and Harry asks Sylvia if she can say your name, but she simply buries her face into his sweater. “Like a slumber party?” “Um—” Harry falters. “Sort of, but not quite.” “It’s a grown-up slumber party?” AJ chokes on her tea. The tips of Harry’s ears go crimson.  “Honey, it’s like when Auntie Kristen comes over to Mummy and Mum’s to stay on holiday,” Annie salvages. Harry’s shoulders visibly relax.  Sylvia tugs at the collar of Harry’s sweater. “How long?” she begs. Your heart falls. “‘M not sure, Vi.” Harry moves some hair from her face as she pouts, then kisses her forehead. “Not forever.” “This’ll be good for you, Harry. You need more friends.” Annie pinches Harry’s side before turning to you with a smirk. “Maybe you can finally start hanging out with people your own age.” You shrug to play along, pursing your lips against a smile. “I mean… ” “Harry doesn’t go out much.” Annie’s comedic whisper fills the room as she carries your tea over to you. “Neither do you!” Harry retorts, frowning playfully over his shoulder, attempting to smack her; she narrowly dodges. “Yeah, just the one time,” AJ deadpans, pointing between them and then nodding to Sylvia. “Jesus Christ,” Harry breathes before they break into laughter. You can’t help but join in. Sylvia’s head swings from parent to parent, smiling in oblivious delight. “Alright, alright,” Annie wipes a tear from the corner of her eye. “Just leave the roast in there until you’re ready to eat. We should get going soon.” “Have you got sheets that fit the bed?” Harry asks, bouncing Sylvia on his hip. “Right!” Annie’s eyes go wide. She turns to AJ, “Darling, you mind popping down to the car to get those?” “Since I already hauled up the mattress, am I allowed to play the gender card?” AJ throws eyes at Harry. “Hands are full,” he replies cheerfully. He holds one of Sylvia’s arms up to wave. “Fine,” she relents, plucking the keys from Annie’s back pocket. “Thank you!” Annie calls after her. AJ simply waves a hand behind her head. “Promise I’ll make it worth your while later!” AJ begins to walk faster. Harry shoots Annie a jokingly scandalized look with a hand covering his gaping mouth. She squints at him and rolls her eyes. He puts Sylvia down, whispering in her ear as he points to the miniature arts and crafts table in the living room.  Sylvia takes a seat on the colorful stool, her tiny features already pinched in concentration as she finds a crayon and begins to draw. Harry crouches at her side, watching her for a moment before kissing the top of her head. He breezes past you before you hear the bathroom door lock shut and now it’s just you and Annie alone together. “I love Harry, but he’s a man and he doesn’t know anything.” You shouldn’t laugh, but you do. “We live ten minutes away. If you need anything at all—anything, I mean it, please call us. Mine and AJ’s mobile numbers are both on the fridge.” “Thank you, Annie.” She hesitates, playing absently with the tag of her tea bag before nodding to the living room. “Let’s sit.” You have a seat on the couch; Annie takes the small leather armchair on the other side of the coffee table. Her eyes are warm. You see a flash of that expression that had passed between her and Harry. “He is a good man.” Annie’s voice is so low, it’s almost a whisper. “One of the best I’ve ever met… You’re in good hands, I promise.” There isn’t a chance for you to respond as the sound of the faucet running in the bathroom interrupts. Harry re-enters the living room, his eyes flitting between yours and Annie’s with a curious look on his face. “Am I interrupting something?” “Course not, lovely. We’re just waiting for AJ with the sheets,” Annie replies. She must be killer at poker. AJ slips through the door with a folded bundle of checkered sheets nearly covering her face. “Miss me?” She perches on the armrest of Annie’s chair upon returning from Syvia’s room, an arm wrapped around her shoulders. You are acutely aware of the warmth of Harry’s leg against yours, suddenly too nervous to shift and potentially draw attention to it. Though you try hard not to, you can practically see the silent conversation happening between the three other adults in the room; if you had to guess, it’s probably about you. You categorically refuse to look at Harry, so you’re left with AJ’s nearly imperceptible eyebrow-raising, and a curl of Annie’s lip that seems to be a question and a confirmation all at once. The three of them are a little… too quiet. “Well we should be off then,” she says, drawing her hands together in a clap. “Someone needs a bath tonight.”  Sylvia hurries over and locks her arms around Harry’s legs. He scoops her up like she weighs absolutely nothing. “C’mon now, angel,” he murmurs, glancing over his daughter’s head to look at you with a vaguely resigned expression. “Gonna see you tomorrow, aren’t I? Gotta be good for your mums.” Harry fixes Sylvia’s wobbling lower lip with a stern look. “Hey, now. What’s this about? S’not any different from Mummy’s normal turn with you, right? You know you’ve got too much love pumpkin, we gotta share ya.” Sylvia mumbles something too soft to make out; Harry ducks his head close. “Tell me?” You don’t catch all the words, except, “stars.” His face crumples a bit. “Oh honey, of course you’ll still have your bedtime stars. They’re not going anywhere. Nobody’s gonna take your stars.” “And that sounds like the beginning of a meltdown,” Annie says, standing quickly and pulling Sylvia from Harry’s arms. “Best be on our way before she tests all our eardrums.” Sylvia momentarily seems like she might reach back for him, but then she looks at you as though by accident, and shrinks back into her mother’s arms. Shame knots in your stomach as the two women head for the door. Sylvia peeks over Annie’s shoulder as AJ slings her purse over her arm with the car keys in hand. You busy yourself clearing the empty mugs of tea in some small attempt to give them privacy. “Come ‘round about six, yeah?” Annie says as AJ waves at you and disappears first out the door. Harry is sliding Sylvia’s arm through the second sleeve of her coat. His and Annie’s teamwork seems fluid and practiced. “Sounds good.” He tugs her tiny knit hat more securely over her curls. “Love you, bug.” “Hôn ba đi, Vi.”  You have no idea what Annie’s just said to Sylvia but Harry leans forward to receive his daughter’s kiss, placing an audible one on her forehead in return.  He says something else to Sylvia that’s not English. That deeply tender look in Annie’s face returns. Harry’s hand falls to her waist and she touches his jaw to place a quick peck at the corner of his mouth. “Call us if you need anything.” She turns back to you. “You too. Our numbers are—” “On the fridge,” you finish with a smile, waving. “Thank you, Annie.” Harry shuts the door behind them and the flat falls silent for the first time in what feels like ages. You hear him laugh once before he turns to you. “Sorry about that.” “No. Harry, I should be the one apologizing. Sylvia’s so upset, I feel awful.” Harry looks from you to the door and back again, shaking his head as he moves towards the kitchen. “Oh no, don’t worry about that. She was mostly tired, is all. Happens all the time.” He pauses before joking, “Sorry you had to hear my really terrible Vietnamese.” You watch as he begins to rifle through the cabinets. “What are you doing?” “I’m sure I left it in here somewhere—aha!” He holds an empty mason jar aloft before grabbing a sharpie and the magnetic pad of Hello Kitty sticky notes from the fridge door. Harry scrawls quickly, the cap of the pen between his teeth, before sticking a note on the glass and holding it up for you to read the big, block letters. APOLOGIES.

[hikarimiyanaga]

I'll Always Be Yours (Part 6)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Sixth Song : Back To Love

Natasha remembers her fond memories of you. She then finds you once and for all.

A/N : It’s the first full-on English song on this playlist!! YES!

No warning this time but if you think I should put one. Just say so and I'll edit as soon as I can

Can this be consider Fluff? If it is then there.

Fluff.

Late night she watches the moon from the shoreline

Waiting there where hope is found

Talks through me inside, she's not holding back

Where can love be found?

-

Natasha watches the moon as Clint gives them the information about the new threat. She doesn’t listen but tries to make it seems like she is. She missed you again. She knows you were avoiding her during your latest art exhibition because she just kept waiting in front of her own portrait but you never approached her.

-

“Y/N.” She calls out and you hum. You just snuggle into her more. “Baby, come on.” She whines and you chuckle.

“What is it?”

“I want food.” You laugh and you untangle yourself from her. She whines again but you just shake your head as you wear your clothes.

“Anything you want?”

“Peanut Butter Pancakes?” You nod and kiss her forehead before throwing on your shirt.

“Give me at least five minutes, baby.” You leave your room and Natasha puts on her own clothes. After five minutes, she goes to the kitchen and sees you flip a pancake to a plate.

“Y/N?” You hum and smile at her.

“Morning.”

“It’s 1pm.” You laugh and turn off the stove and get the last one to the plate. You then sit down and pat the chair next to you.

“It’s morning somewhere.” She laughs and sits besides you.

-

She loves mornings with you. How you always cared for her.

“Nat?” She hums and look at Clint. “You’re thinking about her.” She nods. “After this mission, we’ll find her again.” She smiles at him.

“I know.”

-

If you can see words deep inside of this

Then at least try to fill your heart with bliss

Cause I will find you, to where you're going now

And I will find a way to live by through your heart and through your mind

-

Natasha quickly strides to Tony’s lab, she wanted to find you as soon as possible so she hasn’t even bothered changing.

“Tony-“ Her words get caught up in her throat when she sees the painting on his wall. It was yours. “Wha-“

“Bought everything on that exhibition. Except your portrait and that one painting. She said that it was reserved.”

“How much did you-?”

“125 million. It was worth it though, Pepper says my décor is not shit anymore.” Nat was still admiring your painting. “She said to give you something.” That got her attention. “It’s in your room and covered.”

“I need-“

“I’m already on it. I’ll tell you when I find her.” Natasha nods and goes to her room. She immediately notices the canvas sitting on her bed. She uncovers it and gasps. It was them, the Avengers in all of their glory. She realizes that you must’ve watched videos of them in the Battle of New York. She tears up and sobs.

-

“Y/N.” She calls out and you hum. “What are you doing, baby?” She hugs you from behind and you smile.

“Painting.”

“Oh wow.” You turn to her.

“Is it good?”

“Good? It’s amazing.” You laugh and kiss her. “Is it supposed to be me?” You gasp and she chuckles.

“Natalia! It is you! The resemblance is uncanny!” She laughs and you revel in the sound.

“I’m just joking, baby.” You hum and kiss her again.

“I’ll paint more.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’s really fun to do.”

“Says you. I love kicking ass more.” You laugh.

“Not all of us know how to take down people that are bigger than us, Nat.” She hums.

“I should teach you.”

“What?”

“How to take down people.” You scrunch up your face at her.

“Why?”

“Self-defense.”

“Or you just really want to throw me like a ragdoll.” She laughs and kisses you.

“One of the reasons.” You gasp and push her away.

“Oh my god, my girlfriend likes to punch me! You abuser!” She jumps on you and you catch her. You slip on the floor and you both end up on the floor. You both laugh and Natasha straddles you.

“I love you.” She says softly and you sit. You cup her face and smile.

“I love you too.”

-

She calms herself down and hangs your painting on her wall. She smiles at your signature at the bottom right. She touches the letter carefully.

‘Y/N Y/LN. I’ll find you and I’ll love you again.’ Tears fall down her face. ‘So please don’t say that’s it’s too late. Please. I want you to be mine again.’

-

Even though I'm never there

You never have to fear

I can see you up from here

With a little mist of tear

So I spread my wings and fly above the skies I see so clear

You can feel the love my dear, do you hear me now?

Then I'll sing it back for love

-

“Natasha. Found her.” Natasha stands up from the dinner table and gets the paper that Tony holds out.

“Where is she?” Clint asks and drinks.

“Philippines. A mansion in Batanes Islands.”

“Nat.” Natasha hums as she gets to a laptop. “Need help?”

“For what?”

“I don’t know? Explaining?”

“Explaining what?”

“Why you couldn’t contact her? Why you thought she was better off?”

“Seriously? That’s a lame reason.” Clint glares at Tony. “Just saying. Y/N doesn’t look weak.”

“So what? Natasha was chased by the remnants of the Red Room for years. Not to mention, KGB agents.” Tony hold up his hands in surrender.

“Okay, Barton. I get it.”

“It’s okay, Clint. I’ll go alone.” She gets her jacket and the duffel bag full of clothes and essentials. “Tony, I need to borrow the smaller quinjet.”

“Sure.” Natasha gets into the quinjet and pilots it to Batanes.

“Jarvis. Switch to Auto Pilot.”

“Confirmed. Confirmed destination. ETA : 2 hours.” Natasha nods and steps back. She sits down on the corner and close her eyes.

-

“Hi, Mrs. Y/LN.” Natasha greets and you try to stop your laughter but give out. Natasha’s eyes widen and your mother swats your arm.

“Sorry. Sorry. I told her not to nervous and she’s still stiff as a board.”

“And you are not helping her.”

“Ma. I saw her take at least 10 people that’s three times her size.”

“So what? I am your mother.” You scrunch up your face.

“Whom she already met.”

“When she was a kid.” You shrug and your mother shakes her head at you. “Don’t mind that one, Natalia. Come inside.”

“T-thank you.” She stutters and you get her coat.

“Don’t be nervous.” You whisper and she gulps.

“Easier said than done.”

“Nat. Mom already loves you.”

“Really?”

“It’s the truth. You’re the only one who can make my stubborn daughter listen, Nat.” You gasp.

“I listen to you, mom!” Your mother raises an eyebrow at you.

“Your laundry?” You blush and groan. “Your cooking?”

“One time! I messed up one time!”

“Your art supplies?”

“Okay! Fine! Make me seem messy, mom.” You push Natasha to the dinner table. You squeal in delight. “You cooked lumpia and palabok! You’re the best, Mom.” You hug her and she shakes her head at your antics.

“This is what you have to deal with, Natalia.” You sit and pull Natasha besides you. You ignore your mom and begin getting food. You get your mom’s, Natasha’s and your own.

You all bond and after the visit, Natasha feels more comfortable with your mother.

As you both go home. You hum a song and Natasha smiles.

“What song is that?”

“Forever. It’s by December Avenue.”

“Oh. That band that you listen to all the time.”

“Yep. Their lyrics are pretty angsty but I like them.”

“It’s in Filipino.”

“They have English songs too.” You smile at her and she laughs. She takes your hand.

“I love your mom.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. She’s really nice and comforting.” You hum.

“That she is.”

“Do you think she’ll give me her blessing?” You tilt your head at her.

“For what?”

“When I ask for your hand in marriage.” She casually drops and you stop. She hums as she looks at your frozen face. You blush as seconds pass by and Natasha laughs. You clear your throat and trudge after her.

“Ask her yourself.” You mumble and Natasha nods. She plans to.

-

“Miss Romanoff, we’re going to arrive in 15 minutes.” Nat gets woken up by Jarvis’s voice. She took a nap without meaning to.

“Okay.” She changes her clothes into more comfortable ones.

-

I'm coming back, I'm coming back for your love

I'm coming right back to love again

And I'll spread my wings and I'll take you high in love

I'm coming back, I'm coming back

I'm coming back, I'm coming back to love

-

You were sketching with headphones on so you don’t hear the quinjet’s soft landing in your yard. Silvia and Miyuki did though and they were glaring at it. Natasha steps out with her duffel bag and sees your bodyguards.

“What do you want from Y/N?” Silvia growls and Natasha sighs.

“That’s none of your business.” Miyuki steps forward and stops Silvia from advancing on her.

“It is when you make our boss and friend cry at night.” Natasha sighs.

“And I plan to rectify that.” She glares at them.

“NO WAY. Go back to your boyfriend.” Natasha’s eye twitches.

“Okay, first of all, Steve is not my boyfriend. Second, it was a mission. And third, I have Y/N! I love her!”

“Still no, Miss Romanoff. Please leave.”

“Let me see Y/N before you two regret it.”

“Try us.” Natasha runs straight at them. And the two tries their best to beat her.

-

You hum as you sketch your mom. You’ve been sketching Natasha for the past few days on end so you wanted a different person. You were oblivious while the three duke it out on your yard.

“Jusmiyo! Silvia! Miyuki!” Your house’s caretaker, Patricia, shouts as she sees them. They all stop and pant. Natasha sighs. The two were good, they managed to get some punches in but their teamwork needs some work… specially since Silvia seems adamant to take all of her punches on her own. “Anong ginagawa niyo!? At sino ka!?” Silvia and Miyuki clam up. While Silvia knows some Tagalog words, her Tagalog could use more leveling up and Miyuki is just starting to learn it.

“Pasensya na po.” Natasha says and they all look at her. “Ako po si Natalia.” She introduces herself and Patricia nods.

“Ah. Yung nobya ni Y/N. Andoon siya sa loob, pumasok ka na.” Natasha sighs in relief.

“Salamat po.” She walks by Silvia and Miyuki who glares at her. She walks inside and sees you sitting on the sofa. You were sketching and she gets teary-eyed. “Y/N?” She calls out then notices that you have your earphones again. She sighs and drops her duffel bag besides the sofa. She slowly sits so she won’t alert you. She takes off your earphone. You look at the sudden interruption and freeze.

“Nat?” You call out softly and you drop your sketchpad and pencil. She nods. “Is this a dream?” She shakes her head and tears fall down your face. “You’re really here?” You cup her face, and she leans into your touch.

“I am, baby. I am.” You cry more.

“Why?”

“I told you, моя любовь. I’ll come back for you.” You chuckle.

“Don’t you have Steve?” She cups your face, and you gulp.

“Listen, Y/N. I know you saw us kiss but that meant nothing to me.” You frown. “You’re still the one.”

“How do I-“ She cuts you off with a kiss, you try to fight it back at first but the desire that you've always had just can't be stopped. You kiss her back. Tears fall down her face and you break the kiss off. “What’s wrong?” She shakes her head.

“You kissed me back.” You nod. “I’m not too late yet.” She kisses you again and you smile against her lips. You agree, she isn’t too late yet. - Translations: Jusmiyo - Oh my God Anong ginagawa niyo!? At sino ka!? - What are you all doing!? And who are you!? Pasensya na po. - I'm sorry Ako po si Natalia. - I am Natalia. Yung nobya ni Y/N. Andoon siya sa loob, pumasok ka na. - Y/N's Girlfriend. She's there inside, go inside now. Salamat po. - Thank you моя любовь - Moya lyubov - My love Because imagining Natasha speaking my mother tongue does things to me. Also, we only have two more songs to go and this series is finished. Seriously though, this is the fastest that I've ever written? I only wrote this in like five days when I got the inspiration. Turns out doing nothing does wonders for me and my writing.

Also, accidentally posted this on my other Tumblr so if you saw it for a second, it was that, my clumsiness plus my cats combined.

[captcas]

Too Many Minutes

Rolling onto her side, she grabs her phone out of habit. There’s a spark of hope settled deep in her chest before she opens it to a screen empty of notifications beyond a few spam emails. Why would he greet her with his usual good morning? It’s not going to be a good morning… she hasn’t had a good morning in three weeks.

Three weeks, four days, and twelve hours. read on ao3

If it weren’t for the pounding in her head and uncomfortably dry tears on her cheeks, Emma would’ve thought this was all just a bad dream.

“It’s not the fact that you’re scared, Emma… I– you know I understand being scared. It’s that– it’s just so easy for you to– you’d rather give into that fear than fight it together. I thought we were stronger than that.”

She hates when he calls her Emma.

Rolling onto her side, she grabs her phone out of habit. There’s a spark of hope settled deep in her chest before she opens it to a screen empty of notifications beyond a few spam emails. Why would he greet her with his usual good morning? It’s not going to be a good morning… she hasn’t had a good morning in three weeks.

Three weeks, four days, and twelve hours.

Her body shifts into the autopilot she’s relied on since he walked out the door. She starts crying again, this time the tears collecting at her feet with the hot water from her shower. Logically, she knows she can’t see the individual tears, but as they go down the drain with the rest of the water she can’t help but feel it’s a metaphor.

A really shitty metaphor.

This is her new routine, wake up, check her phone, cry in the shower, head to work, and spend every waking moment reliving that night until she falls back asleep from utter exhaustion. Her friends don’t even know they broke up– if they did Emma surely would have more than spam emails to delete each morning. Killian must be leaving that up to her; she broke it, it’s only fair she has to pick up the pieces.

Sometimes the anger sets in. He promised he wouldn’t walk out, he said he’d be there, he promised it was them against the world— maybe doubting a promise is the easiest way to break it.

Emma walks into the kitchen to grab some coffee before heading into the center– their center. When she started at the Boston Youth Community Center, she didn’t intend to fall in love with the cheeky, handsome outdoor rec coordinator. She also didn’t intend on them working together so well that, when Marco retired, they were an obvious fit for co-directors.

That seemed like a good idea at the time.

He took the first week off, but then moved offices without so much as a word to her. He’s now on the main floor with the kids instead of the office level next to her. Killian swore to the board it was to be more involved but Emma knows it was the furthest away he could get from her without quitting.

Killian isn’t a quitter.

Emma apparently is.

Unlocking her office door, his absence is felt just as much as the empty space in her bed. The office is littered with their memories, work and otherwise. She hasn't been able to bring herself to take down the picture frames– the action feeling too finite. It’d be the next step in making all of this real. At best, she’s been able to put one face down for a few hours before she misses his artificial presence and sets it upright again.

The picture next to her computer is of the day he proposed. Just them on the couch watching The Office when (in his words) the need to propose just came over him– he’d had the ring for months. Emma’s never agreed to something so quick– any and all hesitation completely trumped by overwhelming joy at being chosen by someone forever.

Now, it’s four months later and the stress of wedding planning and the reality of what forever actually means all bombarded her one day and she snapped.

Three weeks, four days, and fourteen hours ago.

She wonders to herself if Killian already packed all these memories away. He moved offices, and she supposes it’d be weird for him to put their photos back up…

Emma jumps at a knock on her door and quickly composes herself before rushing to answer it, “Sorry, yes, coming!” She wipes a stray tear from her cheek and turns the handle. She didn’t expect to find him standing there, “Killian?”

He looks just as awful as she does– and that’s saying something because handsome is an understatement when it comes to Killian. While Emma expected that to be comforting, it only makes her feel worse. They’ve always fed off one another, their codependency one of the few that even Mary Margaret, a trained psychiatrist, called healthy. Neither of them grew up with anyone they could depend on, not long enough to form any sort of healthy connection– not until each other.

“May I come in, please?” His voice startles her. After being alone with only the memory of it, she realizes it’s much more beautiful in person. She knew she missed it, but she didn’t realize how much.

Killian raises an eyebrow, something playful she didn’t expect, before walking into the office without the permission he asked for. He beelines for the photo on her desk, the one that caused her tears only moments before. He pauses for a moment before turning towards her, “You still have them up.”

The shocked tone of his voice feels like a dagger to her chest, the fact he thought she’d be able to move past them so quickly. “Uh, yeah. I–”

She’s not good with words so she leaves it at that. There are so many things she wants to say, apologies and explanations and confessions of love. For three weeks, four days, fourteen hours, and nine minutes she’s been rehearsing everything she should have said but the minute she’s presented with the opportunity she freezes.

Emma watches as he traces his thumb over the picture of them before she glances towards his eyes. He’s been crying, maybe not this minute but she knows that hint of red at the corner of his eye– the anniversary of Liam’s death hitting him harder each year that passes. At 34 this year, he officially turned a year older than his brother and there’s something about that fact which made everything monumentally harder and caused that flash of red to remain there for weeks. She swore to herself she’d never cause him that kind of pain.

More empty promises.

He glances over at her and Emma realizes she has no concept for how long they’ve been standing there or at what point she started to cry. A soft gasp escapes him when she bats a tear away with her left hand, “You’re still wearing your ring.”

He doesn’t question it, just states it like a fact he can’t believe.

“Because, more than anything, I’m still yours.” Emma isn’t sure where it came from, eloquent confessions of feelings and emotions typically reserved for Killian. She stumbles on the follow up, “If you— could you still want me… I mean–”

He stands there taking her in for what feels like an eternity. The regret and guilt Emma’s built up in her chest for three weeks threatening to escape through her tear ducts if she has to wait for his answer much longer.

She doesn’t.

Before she can turn away, he’s wrapping her in a deep kiss. A weight lifts and it feels like every light in the world turns on the moment they connect once more. Emma knows this isn’t a fix all, that after the initial high of being together again, there’s going to be long talks, and tearful battles, but if the last three weeks, four days, fourteen hours, and who the hell knows how many minutes have taught her anything, it’s that any life with Killian is better than even a day without him. They break from the kiss and Killian leaves another on her forehead. His hand absentmindedly finds hers and begins to play with the intricate diamond band on her finger.

“Killian, I–” He kisses her again, stopping her apology. She closes her eyes, willing the tears of relief to stay put as she leans into his prosthetic when he brushes some fallen hair from her face. As she feels his body shift in front of her, she opens her eyes to find him looking straight back at her.

“I know, Swan. Me too. But not here, alright? We’ll have plenty of time to talk, so for now I’d like to enjoy holding my fiance for the first time in three weeks.”

She loves when he calls her Swan.

Killian pulls her in for a tight hug and Emma’s auto-calculator seems to speak for her, “Three weeks, ten days, fourteen hours and–”

“And too many minutes, love.” He laughs as he finishes her sentence and Emma chokes out a giggle through her tears. She feels foolish for ever doubting that when Killian promised forever that he hadn’t thought of the implications– that he was anything like the people who left scars on her through her entire life.

They end up getting married the next day, a private celebration meant solely for them. It was Emma’s idea, her way of proving to Killian that she wasn’t going to run again. At first he was wary, big rash decisions not typically in his wheelhouse, but when she put on the wedding dress she’d picked out with Mary Margaret months before he’d even proposed, she saw a sort of understanding shift into his gaze. This is something they’ve both wanted for longer than they’ve been letting on— both too scared to make the move, to risk getting hurt again. Killian makes an appointment at the courthouse and they pay the extra $12 for a random witness from the courthouse staff. Afterwards, they met their friends at the bar like they do every Friday evening.

It only took one hour and thirty-three minutes for Mary Margaret to notice the ring on Killian’s right hand and another twelve minutes for her to convince them they needed to throw a big celebration.

Emma breathes a sigh of relief that night when she hears Killian’s soft breathing beside her for the second time in– well, too long. There’s such a fine line between want and need. For both of them, it just took a harsh reminder that when you realize want and need are one in the same, you better fight for it.

[pagingdoctorbedlam]

My final potion for @quirkyseastone ‘s “Brew a Love Potion” event is complete! Hope you’re ready for the fluffiest darn thing I’ve written for this fandom (and possibly ever).

Characters: Franky x Reader

Genre: Sci-Fi AU, Fluff

TW/CW: Mentions of loss/death

Inspiration: Kudos to “A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet” by Becky Chambers for inspiring this fic~

Word Count: 2.7k words

"Alright, we've successfully docked. Good job, crew." You sit up from the captain's chair and gaze out at the starport outside your window. It's been some time since you'd landed on one of the Sabaody Moons, but you've always found the view breathtaking. The moons are more tree than earth, and bubbles slowly float from the roots up toward the stars. While some of the moons are still hives of scum and villainy, others seem almost paradisiacal as beings from far-flung galaxies intermingled in the Sabaody ports.

Before you can get too far from the bridge, the intercom of the Thousand Sunny buzzes to life. It's Franky, the A.I. that runs your ship. "Hey Captain, can I nab a word with ya' before you go on shore leave?"

"Sure thing. Need me here, or down in the core room?"

"Core Room, if ya' don't mind. I've got a super new design to run by you." Though Franky works admirably as a ship A.I., he'd originally been coded to design ships, including the one he now ran, the 1000 Suns (colloquially the Thousand Sunny to you and your crew). Even though his focus is now centered on ship diagnostics and flight procedures, the A.I. still delights in crafting new machine schematics, and you have a rule that he needs your approval before he modifies the ship.

You wave off the rest of the bridge crew, and they're all too eager to touch solid ground again after months in space. You are too, but if Franky's waited this long to check on you, it's likely something for your ears only while the rest of the crew is offboard. You stride through the winding metal hallways that make up the ship's guts, flashing your clearance badge here and there until you are down in the deep bowels of the ship, close enough to the engines that you can hear the machinery thrumming as the ship went through cooldown procedures. It's familiar. You come down here more often than others would expect, enough that you've got a futon and blanket stashed nearby for nights you don't spend in your own cabin.

"Franky? Said you wanted to see me?" You call out as you entered the Core Room. The entire room is covered in segments of a giant computer, with retractable screens and limbs for interacting with others; all of this is Franky. In a way, you're standing in his brain, which is something you try not to think about too much. What catches your attention is that all the screens are down, a rarity when Franky has company.

"Sure do!" His voice echoes, but not from the speakers. "Got a surprise for you. Close your eyes a sec, alright Captain?"

"Franky..." You're sure no other ship A.I.s play games with their commanding officers, but then again, you've yet to meet an A.I. with half the personality Franky has. You close your eyes and cover them with your hands. "Alright, ready when you are."

You expect to hear wheels, a cart with some sort of prototype wheeling into the room. Instead there are footsteps, heavy and so in-sync that it borders on unnatural. Then a hand on your shoulder, warm and soft. Too curious to resist temptation, you open your eyes and peek through your fingers.

"Franky, is this...?"

"An android body? It sure is!" He spins you around and takes a step back so you can take in his full visage. He looks human for the most part, even if the muscles in his forearms are overemphasized and patches of metal poke out from his skin. Still, he has skin, the medical-grade sort often used for replacing lost flesh in humans, and hair that's sculpted into a bright blue pompadour. He must have borrowed clothes from someone in medical too, though he's only wearing a floral patterned shirt, sunglasses, and a speedo. You suppose he was too excited for the big reveal to finish getting dressed.

"You made this, Franky?"

"Yeah, alongside Dr. Chopper and the rest of the medical team, plus Usopp over in Engineering. Surprised none of 'em spilled the beans." He flexes to show off the musculature of his arms. "We'd talked about what happened to your last ship, and figured we should make me a back-up body in case I ever needed to leave the ship with you all. Not that I plan for anything to happen to the Sunny..."

"But better safe than sorry." You still miss Merry, your sweet A.I. lost with your previous ship. She and Franky would've gotten along well, you think. "It's a good plan, I approve."

"Excellent! Now I just need to take it for a spin, test it outside the ship. Seeing as we've docked for the time being..."

Ah. Now you see what he's getting it. Pretty sly, for an A.I. "As your Captain, I'll accompany you on your first excursion out on the spaceport, to make sure everything's in working order." You offer an arm. He raises an eyebrow. "Loop it with mine. Like this...there we go. Now let's get going, shall we?"

 Even among the strangest aliens, Franky stands out in his own way at the space docks. This is only partially due to his lack of pants: he claims this is because he designed his legs to vent most of the heat his body builds up, and you wouldn't want him to overheat and faint on his first outing, would you? No, he stands out because even though he's clearly an android, there's an excitement to him that would rival even the most starry-eyed space explorers.

"Would ya' take a look at this, Captain?" You'd expect to find Franky gawking at any number of the docked spaceships, and indeed he's gushed about many of them already. Instead, he directs your attention to one of the tree roots. A trail of iridescent beetles scurry up the bark, and overhead, a couple smaller Southbirds (rare here, likely escaped cargo from the planet Skypiea) call to each other as they watch the busy port below.

"Thought you'd studied all these, Franky." After all, he's a powerful computer who can research multiple ideas at once, and innately curious as any inventor tends to be. And he's asked you and the crew many, many questions about the world beyond his metal hull.

"Yeah, but no matter how advanced the notes and visuals might be, it doesn't compare with the real thing. I mean, look at 'em!" He points at one particular beetle as its shell reflects the lights of the spaceport back with an opalescent sheen. "Even if you could theoretically simulate all this on a computer, most wouldn't think to do so on their own. Out here, stuff just...happens."

You have never seen an A.I. quite so excited about life outside, but then again, you've never met an A.I. quite like Franky. "Yeah, I guess that is pretty exciting when you put it that way. Part of the wonders of space travel; you never quite know what's going to happen out here."

Then a realization hits your brain with the full-bodied force of a supernova. "Franky, you've spent so much time traveling through the stars, but have you ever actually seen them the way we do?"

Franky looks up at the sky overhead. "Hard to see 'em from up here, even if I zoom out my eyes to max. Watch this!" His eyes...actually telescope out of his head. That's a bit disturbing with how human he looks. "Figure that's due to light pollution, though. Pretty bright out here."

"Sure is." You offer your arm to him again. "Come with me; I'll show you how folks groundside go out to look at the stars."

 Years ago, you'd come out of the harshest space battle of your life. Your crew narrowly avoided becoming space dust, and after giving her all to save you, you lost Merry. The ship that had been with you since the beginning, the A.I. with the biggest heart you'd ever met. As her files corrupted and her hull fell apart, you'd honored her final wish and set her ablaze once you reached planetside, cremating her as one would a human. You still carry a vial of her ashes on a necklace, so you never forget what you've lost to get this far.

You'd wandered through the streets of the moon of Water 7 in a daze. Hadn't even paid attention where you went as the rest of the crew licked their wounds. Before you knew it, a robotic voice called out to you from the depths of a starship demolition yard.

"What's got you down, Captain? Can't be you're sad to be out among the stars!"

You'd blinked, not recognizing the source of the voice. But you called back, "I just lost someone important to my crew. My ship." You didn't care if most folks didn't see A.I.s as people. Merry had been more than a crewmate to you. She'd been a friend.

Even though the voice emanating from the demo-yard was auto-tuned monotone, it took on a warmer tone somehow. "I'm sorry to hear that. But you say you're looking for a ship? I might be able to help with that." A crackle of static. "And if you'd like, you can tell me about your lost pal. I can't bring 'em back for you...but I've heard that talking about these kinda' things helps."

"You don't even know who I am."

"No one does when they first meet, do they? Speaking of which, call me Franky."

Somehow, pouring your heart out to a stranger was easier than talking to your crewmates. You'd wandered into the heart of the scrapheaps and talked to the mysterious Franky, his voice surrounding you from so many static-filled speakers. You'd watched as overhead, he controlled cranes to start putting pieces of a mighty vessel together. He'd asked about your specifications, what you'd loved about Merry both as a ship and a friend. You'd cried. He did too. And when you'd asked how much the ship would cost, he said the only charge would be that he could come along.

You agreed willingly, overjoyed to have such a skilled shipwright onboard. It was only when you talked to the demo-yard owner that you learned that the person you'd poured your heart out to was an A.I.

That didn't stop you from doing so again once the Thousand Sunny was complete, and Franky took to his new home in his core room. You'd wander down into the depths of the Thousand Sunny whenever you needed a second opinion on the ship or a mission, and soon after that just to talk. You'd spent hours surrounded by the computer that served as Franky's brain for so long, talking and laughing just as you used to with Merry. Except, it was more than that with him. He wasn't just a friend, you'd realized over time. But you'd shoved those thoughts away. It was ludicrous, falling in love with an A.I. whose brain you could walk through, whose body was a starship you controlled with the push of a few buttons.

But now he has a body. You can squeeze his giant hand, and he squeezes back so softly as he gets used to his own strength. He smiles the way you always imagined he would, grinning with pearly white teeth and eyes that (literally) glow with joy.

He follows you with infinite curiosity as you weave through the Sabaody streets and gather supplies for your excursion. You ask about his body's capabilities and discover his fuel source is...astonishingly close to soda, so you pick up a few colas along with some food for you. Franky gets to carry a blanket hand-woven by the locals, and you catch him marveling at the texture when he thinks you aren't looking. Finally, you rent a small paddleboat to traverse the moon with, and a map that lays out the canals and waterways of this particular moon.

"You know, it'd be a lot faster if I rowed," Franky says, mouth quirked into a lopsided grin as your comparatively tiny arms pull the oars back and forth. It's amazingly, how perfectly imperfect he looks, more human than any other android you've seen even with all the metal bits.

"There's an old human adage about the journey being more important than the destination, Franky. Take in the experience."

You watch as his attention zeroes in along the waterways, eyes zooming in on every detail until they're pulled away to something new. You expect him to be interested in the flora and fauna, as opalescent leaves bigger than your boat stretch over the water to shade you from the encroaching moonlight and soft purple creatures vaguely reminiscent of otters circle your boat before chasing each other down the river. But the entire world is new to him, and you find him fascinated by even the dirt or the buzzing insects swarming your head.

"Aww, look. I think it likes me!" Franky lifts one giant finger, where a mosquito (why did those have to be a universal constant?) tries and fails at piercing his skin.

"It probably thinks you're human and is trying to suck your blood," you point out, as the bugs try to use you as a personal juicebox. This only gets Franky to smile. Must feel validating, having even nature recognize him for what he is in his heart.

It takes a bit more rowing, but you finally arrive at your destination. A small island, mostly shore, with a small field and a lone tree with leaves that glow silver in the moonlight. You dock the boat on the shore, then set up the blanket and food for a small picnic. You motion for Franky to sit with you, and can't help but laugh a little at the faces he makes when touching sand for the first time. Then you lay back on the blanket. Franky joins you, and his eyes go wide.

A ribbon of starlight glimmers overhead. Hundreds of constellations twinkle overhead. You'd ask if he knows any, but you keep quiet so you don't break his wonder-filled gaze.

His giant hand encases yours. "Space seems even bigger from here than it does when you're in the middle of it. I mean, look at all those stars! I read that you could see 'em from so far away, but seeing it in person..."

"This is what inspired me to go into space," you say. Your finger drifts up to the brightest star in the sky. "I'd look at that one and say, I'm going to go there someday! Didn't care how far away it was, or even what might be around it. Just wanted to head to the brightest star I could."

Franky narrows his gaze up at that star. "That's over eight light years away. Might take a bit, even with a warp drive like mine. But if that's where you wanna' go? I'll take you anywhere, Captain. Long as we're together, I'll explore every corner of the universe with you."

For a moment, both of you are quiet. The air fills with the gentle rhythm of the flowing water, the buzz of insects, bushes rustling as creatures move in the night. In the distance, the hum of a starship engine taking off from the port; you soon see its lights trail across the sky as it ascends back into that void above, the space that's so comforting because it holds planets and stars and spaceships and you and Franky all together in its embrace.

"I think this is the part where one of us says 'I love you'," Franky says softly.

You smile and squeeze his hand back. "You're such a romantic. But yeah, you're right. And I do. I love you."

"Love you too, Captain. And thanks. For, y'know, helping me be human."

"Franky, you've got more heart than most anyone I know. You're plenty human already. I'm just here to steer you steady. And I always will."

You pass the rest of the night watching the stars overhead. And for the captain and A.I. of a starship, you wouldn't have it any other way.