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get-shiggy-with-it · 4 years ago

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Scream Therapy

Pairing: Tomura Shigaraki x gender neutral!reader

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings: extremely vague allusions to mental illness, metaphors about wounds, angst with a relieving ending, let me know if i’ve missed something

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So you know those tiktoks where people go out into the woods and scream? Just like expel all the shit that’s been holding them down into an open field and let the earth reclaim all their dark, restless energy? Reveal the burdens that have been creaking in their joints and trapped in the prison of their ribs for the trees to swallow?

I’ve been thinking about that and Shigaraki a lot.

Like the rest of the league too, but mostly Shigs.

Just imagine:

It’s late, it always is when shit is going down at the hideout. The League of Villains is practically nocturnal at this point. Shigaraki’s mind is a loud place—lot’s of rabid, train tearing down the track lines of thought that clatter and roar and gush toxic coal smoke.

So as annoyed as he makes himself out to be, he doesn’t actually mind the din of the bar all that much. Twice and Toga chattering in the corner, random bits of too loud laughter and the clink of Kurogiri polishing glasses as he tells off Dabi for the umpteenth time about smoking inside—hell, even Compress rambling about the health benefits of high quality wine to nobody in particular is somewhat...comforting?

That’s not quite the right word, but their noise settles around him a bit like a thick quilt and dampens the rampage inside his head for a while.

He thinks about a lot of things.

Some good, most bad, all obsessive. He’ll get stuck in these loops sometimes, small questions evolve into bigger, more complicated webs, and suddenly it’s been four hours and he’s done nothing but stare at the same spot on the wall just left of his desktop monitor.

Sleep is a terrifying venture for much the same reason. Once he gets caught in that cycling it’s so hard to break out, and that’s when he’ll stumble down the stairs and sequester himself away at the end of the bar.

There he will sit and listen to the incessant white noise of his team—which is frustrating too but infinitely better than whatever anxiety coated sludge his brain will come up with if left to its own devices, so he bears it.

And then there’s you.

Who you are isn’t entirely important.

Maybe you’re just another member of the League, dedicated to helping your boss spread villainy across the city. Maybe you’re a morally ambiguous civilian who just stumbled in much like a stray cat into a depressed college student’s apartment and simply never left.

Whatever the circumstances, where you came from doesn’t matter.

To him, your contributions to the din are just another layer of insulation against the storm. He couldn’t really care less what you do, or where you go when you weren’t there. As long as your voice could offer a different type of grating against his ears than the silent throbbing of his head when he is alone, then your presence is justified.

Shigaraki only takes notice of you when you leave, when your voice is no longer adding to the uproar drowning out whatever new thought spiral he was trying to claw his way out of.

It’s very late then. That odd, in between time when it’s closer to the sunrise than to it’s setting but somehow also the darkest portion of the night. Of course, it’s never totally dark—not with all the light pollution laying an ever present, glowing haze across the horizon—but it’s as close as it gets out here to pitch black.

He catches the tail end of your coat, a glimpse of your shoe soles as you slip up the stairs and climb the wrought iron ladder that leads to the roof. Shigaraki often catches himself wondering how you figured out exactly how to avoid each board that creaked. He thinks sometimes it’s because you like going unnoticed, that too much attention makes you feel just as shaky as he gets when he’s been inside his head too long. Or possibly you just don’t want to wake anyone up in the rare moments that some League members are actually asleep.

Regardless, he watches you go and feels strangely...compelled to follow and because he rarely feels compelled to do anything unless it’s furthering the downfall of hero society, he does.

He takes an unsteady step, then another until the brisk, cusp-of-summer air is washing over him. It bites through his thin black top and the worn holes in his jeans, but the sting feel likes something.

And since he almost always feels nothing at all, it’s good.

You’re stood a few feet from the edge of the building, where the ledge has begun to crumble away from age and poor maintenance. The wind is strong enough that it makes your limp arms sway by your sides. Shigaraki is so thin now, he’s almost afraid for a moment it might blow him away. He’s found himself feeling so insubstantial as of late, it’s shocking when his feet don’t lift off from the roof entirely. He crosses the distance towards you slowly.

If you hear him approaching, you don’t show it.

Normally he wouldn’t start a conversation of his own volition but he did follow you up here and the silence is getting a bit deafening, even with the breeze.

“What are you doing here?” he asks.

It’s simple, but it’s all he can think to say. Funny, with how many words that run through his head, he can never find the right ones when he wants them.

You turn then, and your face is...well it’s a face. He tends not to look at people’s faces much—doesn’t want to see their expressions when they look at him, but from what he can tell you aren’t upset that he’s here at least.

“I love the city at night.”

That’s all you offer in response and he knows somehow that you’ll keep talking even if he doesn’t answer. That you know how much he hates the quiet but can’t ever fill it himself.

“When you’re up high enough, you can pretend the streetlights are stars,” you divulge, as if it’s some sort of great, long kept secret.

Maybe it is.

Maybe you have a lot of secrets. You seem to him like the type of person who would. Who keeps life changing truths tucked under your tongue to drop suddenly over convenience store dinners and cheap beer.

He thinks that maybe he’d like to know them.

“It’s always so alive during the day, the streets I mean,” you continue, eyes trained out on the buildings below, tracing constellations from block to block. “But I can’t shake the feeling that it’s rotting too like….”

You trail off and don’t finish the thought, but you don’t have to. He knows what you mean: like the city is a wound that’s festering. That all the people and the heroes that corral them like cattle are just an infection waiting to spread.

“What are you doing here?” he asks again, because he hasn’t been able to come up with anything else.

Your gaze flits over his face this time, and Shigaraki almost misses the small smile that plays at your lips. He’s close enough now that you could touch him, and you almost do, shoulders just inches away from brushing. But you don’t close the gap.

You touch the others, a lot actually, though he gets the sense you’re the type to ask first. And with his mind running on overdrive every waking second, he gets overstimulated easily. He should probably be thankful you aren’t as familiar with him. That you bother to notice the distance he keeps even when he rarely pays you any mind.

Maybe you’re thankful for that too.

“You know, scream therapy is a very effective and cheap alternative to professional intervention,” you say matter of factly in response.

He waits for you to continue and you do.

“There’s no one out this late but heroes on patrols and they won’t come to help us, so this is a perfect opportunity to give it a try.”

He can feel his brow knitting together and you raise your hand for a second as if to smooth your thumb over the wrinkled skin. Shigaraki doesn’t move, but watches your fingers pause in mid motion and drop back down.

There’s a strange charge in the air between you—a spark he distantly wishes would ignite if only so he could stop churning in his gut.

“How do you do it?”

He’s never asked so many questions of anyone in his life. But he finds he truly wants to know.

And you’re the one that can show him.

You breathe deeply beside him, letting your eyes drift shut and taking a step towards the ledge. With hands balled into righteous little fists, you bend a bit at the waist and you...scream.

Shigaraki isn’t quite sure what he’d expected, but for some reason it wasn’t that.

He’s heard shouts before, cries for help or out of fear, but nothing like this. The sound seems to bubble up from some deep, dank pit inside you and bursts forth from your mouth like a geyser spewing boiling water from the earth. It’s long and low and loudloudloud. It isn’t a sound he could ever imagine you making, but it rumbles in his chest as if it’s his own.

Just watching has a weight lifting from his shoulders.

You keep going even when he knows you should have run out of air. But you aren’t really making the noise, you’re just letting it escape. He’s not sure how he knows that but he does.

Your voice cracks and snaps and rages forth and you scream in a way he feels in his very bones. The garbled, awful sound is so clearly understandable despite the wind that carries it away.

It says: I am free and young and can feel none of it.

And then it’s words. Words that tumble from you in a torrent.

About your family, about what’s been done to you, what you’ve done to yourself.

About the lies and the injustice of it all.

You’re heaving by the end, deflated as though all the screams had left behind an empty space—an abscess drained and ready to heal over or fill back up.

“It’s your turn.”

Shigaraki stares at you, silhouetted by the dull, silver glow of the city and panting. You both look at each other for a moment, reveling in the odd connection that sometimes forms between strangers who know far too much about each other.

He doesn’t think he could top that, but the energy you’ve created is invigorating and he’s determined to ride the wave while he has it.

Taking a step, he joins you by the ledge again, and you back up as if allowing him into the spotlight. The wind will swallow whatever he says, it will eat the words like a starving behemoth and he finds himself ready to feed the beast.

He has to dig deep, scratch at old sores to make them bleed again, tear at scabs so he can let the contaminating thoughts leak out. Once he feels like he’s breached far enough, Shigaraki takes a breath.

And he screams.

His body doubles over with the strength of it, foot slamming down onto the roofing and four fingers fisted in the hem of his shirt.

It hurts coming out, rips at his vocal chords and has his throat raw to bleeding after just the first few seconds but he pushes past it.

He wonders if this is what a runner's high feels like, when you’ve pushed beyond the side stitches and knee aches and your blood finally rushes with all those elusive feel good chemicals he never has enough of.

Whatever it is, the feeling is addicting.

Shigaraki is dimly aware of you in his peripheral, encouraging the tsunami thoughts in his head to be thrust out into the uncaring arms of the city skyline.

Surprisingly, he doesn’t have to search for the words. They simply come. All his frustrations, some he wasn’t even conscious of, spill fresh and steaming like blood. Physically, his body remains but somewhere in the depths of his mind he is younger and hurt and alone and trying desperately to scream.

“I destroy everything I touch!” he roars at the apathetic, grey sidewalk below.

After the last word leaves him, he feels the same weightlessness he’d seen in the sag of your shoulders. The same snapping of the coil slack in his spine.

And suddenly, with this glorious, awful sense of revelation, Shigaraki realizes that everything in his head has gone quiet.

He’s over taken by a silence that requires no filling, a peace that he’d imagined only existed at the bottom of abandoned wells, far away from any chubby child’s hands that may toss foolish wishes down them.

He thinks about kissing you then.

And he knows now that this thought has always been there, but it was drowned like a subway rat in the aftermath of the hurricane brewing in his brainstem. He has always noticed you no matter how hard you try to blend into the background. Your voice has always been a bit better at shutting out the unending, worthless choir in his head.

He wouldn’t have followed anyone else up here—not Dabi, not Spinner, not Compress or even Kurogiri.

He can see that now. In this new enlightened state, everything is so much clearer. Though he is quickly thrust back into the present, into his body once again, as another kind of soft weight settles on his shoulders. Your coat is skin warmed and smells like you and everything he’s ever loved in his own screwy little way. He realizes then that you’ve been trying to talk to him this whole time.

“Shigs,” you call again and tuck the coat tighter around his shoulders, “you were shaking.”

Shigaraki nods, feeling relief from the cold he hadn’t quite been aware of till now. He’s not sure if you’ve ever addressed him so informally before, but he decides he likes the nickname.

It feels a bit like a gift.

“Better, yeah?”

He’s not really sure if it’s better, but it is different and it’s been impossibly long since anything has been different, so he thinks it must be good.

“Yes,” he says.

It’s a general yes, both to your question and to you, whatever that might mean. He doesn’t say anything more because he’s done enough talking and you nod like you understand.

Neither of you moves to leave the roof, but you do inch closer to him this time, closing the gap and tucking him into your side. Your arm is slung gently across his shoulders and he finds the weight of it relieving.

That seems like it shouldn’t make since but it does—a paradox of sorts, weight being a comfort.

Then the sun begins to rise and it’s as if he’s seeing you in a new light.

Your profile outlined by the stark daybreak rays, so horribly strong despite the scream he knows is forming again under the surface.

And Shigaraki wonders if you see him that way too.

#tomura shigaraki x reader #shigaraki tomura x reader #shigaraki x reader #bnha x reader #tomura shigaraki imagines #gender nuetral reader #slight manga spoilers #bee.writes

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akp-1327 · 4 years ago

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dear diary // chapter one

Hi, everyone! This is the first chapter of the new series I’ve started. I hope you enjoy and stick around for future chapters! 💕

Find a series “description” and other detailing here!

Word Count: ~ 5.3k

(*) Warnings: none

July 16th, 2020

Dear Diary,

Nothing would make me happier than to visit the city. The bright lights, the busy streets, the shops, the smell of car exhaust. For all the wonders I’d discover, for all the opportunities I’d face. For the experience, for the fun.

Living in a small town is boring. It’s the same, day after day. Then as soon as you bat an eye, you’ve turned eighteen and have barely left the state. Some would call me a hobbit, some would call me lazy. But it’s hard to get out of town when your family can’t really leave because of their job and you’re too scared to learn how to drive.

The diner that my parents own is great; awesome pancakes, delicious milkshakes, and every single pie flavor you could ever imagine. It’s called the Golden Griddle and it’s located right in the heart of Cedar Cove, Oregon. You’d have to be blind to miss the sunny yellow paint (that’s ever so slowly chipping away, but don’t tell my dad) smeared on the bricks.

Anyway. I’m Charlotte, but you knew that already, didn’t you? Of course you did. Well, if you needed a reminder of my sob-worthy life story...my brother and I are adopted. But you probably remembered that, right? Wow, I need to stop ranting about how you probably remember me. You’re a literal book for God’s sake.

Wait; back on topic. I want to go to see the city. So badly. Oh, and have I mentioned that I got accepted into my dream school? New York University, here I come. How have I not written about that yet? Holy crap. NYU preparations have been coming along nicely. I already have half my room packed and almost all my dorm stuff that my mom insists on buying. My brother Henry, too. He’s going to Ohio State on a football scholarship and a desire to pursue athletic training. Big dreams!

Me, you ask? Good gracious, Diary, stop interrupting! (Oh boy, I’m talking to myself. Skye would laugh...). I’m pursuing acting and theater, of course. A major in drama and a minor in production. I’m chasing the sun here, okay? I am a future Broadway star and actress with dreams as far as the eye can see!

I am ecstatic to make the big move at the beginning of August. More updates to come. Sorry if this ending was abrupt. My dad made his famous chili tonight and I gotta go get it while it’s hot and before Henry inhales it all like the vacuum he is.

Yours, Charlotte :)

The faint, familiar smell of spices filled my senses as I put the old and tattered diary down. It was a gift I got years and years ago from a friend, but I never used it. May as well start before the wild ride of my new life starts, right?

I threw my blonde hair into a bun as I walked out of my room, avoiding boxes piled up high on the floor. Right as I stepped into the hallway, however, my foot met a ball of fluff curled right outside my doorway.

“Aw, Cooper,” I cooed, leaning down and scooping the little snowball I called a dog into my arms, cradling him close, “you’re missing all the food downstairs, buddy!”

A small whimper came from him as I made my way down the stairs. Henry was spread out on the couch and watching some sort of European soccer, er, football on the TV.

“Hey, just in time!” Henry smiled, waving me over to sit next to him. I obliged, setting Cooper down onto the floor and taking a seat next to him.

...It was crazy how he was twice my size. And how I was the older one by three whole minutes.

“What’s up, Henry?” I asked, nudging his arm. A laugh escaped his throat as he gestured to the screen and unpaused the video (wait, it was paused this entire time?). I watched the screen to see a player get hit in the head with a soccer ball.

“Hah!” Henry laughed, his deep pitch echoing off the walls. I gasped and swatted his arm.

“Henry! Laughing at someone else’s pain is so rude! What if he got a concussion that ended his career?” I said, a twinge of amusement in my tone. All in all, I loved to see my brother get all flustered. He was such a goody-two-shoes that even something like this comment would make him blow a gasket--

“He’s laughing, sis. I don’t think the dude’s hurt.” Henry said, his tone smug. Maybe college was finally really going to his head.

I shook my head with both surprise and disappointment as I stood up, gesturing for the walking vacuum to follow suit. “C’mon, knucklehead. Dinner’s almost ready.”

We both walked into the kitchen to see the finishing arrangements being set up for dinner; Mom was retrieving bowls and utensils as Dad strained the water from the elbow macaroni at the sink.

“You two are in here early,” Mom teased, giving us a side glare as she placed the bowls and spoons on the counter, “what about?”

A sweet, innocent smile crossed my face as I batted my eyelashes at her. “It just smells so good that I couldn’t stay away!”

“I’ve heard that one before, you jest. Come get your bowls.” Mom chuckled, stepping away. Henry and I grabbed a bowl right as Dad turned to us.

“Get it while it’s hot!” Dad said, grabbing a bowl of his own. Henry and I both dove for the noodles and chili, somehow managing to get our servings without making a complete mess like we usually do. It’s crazy to think of how people mature over time...

The old seats at the table squeaked as we all sat down and started to dig into our chili. A comfortable silence blanketed the table and just as I got used to it, Mom broke it.

“So, you two have been packing, yes? Even the stuff you aren’t bringing?” Mom asked sweetly, dabbing a napkin at the corners of her mouth. She’d always been the politest one in the family; too bad no one else at the table had her mannerisms.

“My room is basically packed except for some of my clothes and books,” I said in between chews of the (extremely hot) chili in my mouth, “but otherwise I’m good.”

Henry nodded and pointed his thumb at me, his eyes never leaving his bowl. “Mhmm.”

“That’s great! Your flights leave in only a matter of days!” Dad cheered, giving Mom a high five. It was such a weird but common thing to see parents do: act like teenagers.

“You sound excited about that?” Henry questioned. I looked over to see half his bowl already gone.

Mom heaved a sigh.

“We’re excited for you both to finally experience the world. We can’t wait for your lives to truly start!” Mom said, a smile encompassing her features. Her kind, brown eyes flitted between Henry and me.

“You two have the world at your fingertips,” Dad added, glancing at Mom. They shared a fond look.

At that moment, for the briefest second, I wished that I had a connection like that; a soulmate, someone who you could spill your heart out to. Someone who you could love and be loved by. Someone who’d want nothing more than to see you happy.

Also at that moment, I decided that I would make it a small goal of mine to make this wish come true during my time at NYU.

My blankets were soft around my legs as I sat propped up against my pillows. Leila and I had been talking on the phone all night. I felt like I was in that moment in Mean Girls where Gretchen was switching between Cady, Karen, and Regina. Except...I wasn’t switching between anyone at the moment.

Leila Maciel is my best friend. She’s someone with a sarcastic personality and a snarky remark to anything. She’s as smart as a whip and could, without a doubt, put you in your place if you stepped out of line with her intimidating strength. Though, she also has a soft and caring side that she only reveals to those who she deems trustworthy. A confident, kind, and bold girl indeed.

We’ve been friends for our entire high school careers, but it feels like I’ve known her my entire life.

During our freshman year, Leila was in an extremely toxic relationship. Her ex-girlfriend, a “sweet” but a rather manipulative girl, was to blame for our friendship. This girl, Sadie, ticked all of Leila’s boxes; beautiful, smart, compassionate, sweet...

Remember that Leila and I had only known each other for a month at this point.

Leila and Sadie’s relationship was adorable from the outside. Both bright-eyed and bushy-tailed freshmen with hearts in their eyes. It was something you’d see in a more realistic version of High School Musical because let’s be real...those movies aren’t realistic. (I still love them, though!)

About a year into their relationship, though, Sadie transformed from sweet to sour. She used Leila to get what she wanted like she was her very own puppet. Her antics ranged from cheating on tests to almost stealing a designer handbag before I intervened. Then, like the cherry on top of this extremely nasty sundae, Sadie revealed that she cheated on Leila with a college girl for the majority of their relationship. Let’s just say that their relationship was terminated seconds after that bombshell blew up.

Leila was broken for months. She truly believed that she loved Sadie, but upon further examination, I found that Leila felt guilty whenever she had the opportunity to say no. It had never been any sort of love; it was an obligation. Also after that relationship, Leila decided that instead of focusing on liking girls, she’d be open and love anyone. She was sick of limits.

So, here we are today.

Now, as we talked on the phone, I thought about how she’d also be going to NYU, majoring in business. We were roommates! It was like a dream come true.

“Uh, Charlotte?” Leila asked with a laugh. “You alive?”

Reality snapped back into place as I blinked my eyes rapidly. “Oh, uh, yeah. What’d you say?”

“Did you buy a fan for our dorm?” Leila asked monotonously. This made me laugh for some odd reason. “Dear Lord, what’s so funny?”

Honestly, though. What was funny, Charlotte? One could say that I was losing my mind.

“I don’t know, spur of the moment? But otherwise, yes; I got the one you pointed out at Target.” I said, surprising myself with how even my voice sounded. A familiar hum came from the other end of the line in response.

“Cool. Then you’re all set to go for next week?” Leila asked, her voice making it sound like she was smiling. I laughed again and nodded to myself.

“Yes!” Was all I could say.

Leila’s sigh was so loud that I could swear that I felt her breath through the phone. “You’re not stressing out over this, are you?”

My eyes widened at her question. Was I stressing out about this? I’d been packing for days on end without breaks. I had folded, re-folded, and re-re-folded all of my clothes several times in my duffel bag. I had splurged on so many things, like that fan Leila mentioned, without a second thought. I don’t think I’ve had a proper shower in almost a week; I was too busy being a nervous wreck.

“Maybe a little bit, but not too much,” I responded, my tone a bit somber as I tried to conceal my lie. My fingers twirled the fringed fabric of my tie blanket around as I waited for Leila’s retort.

“Stressing out over this is like a circle, Charlotte. It’s pointless,” Leila said, her voice starting to reveal her exhaustion, “and you need to relax. We’ll be fine.”

Thoughts buzzed through my mind as I contemplated her words. Would we be fine? Is “fine” even the correct word to describe this situation? How about rephrasing the entire statement entirely by saying “there is a chance that we’ll survive, but it definitely ain’t high.”? That version was more accurate, in all honesty. Moving across the country for school didn’t sound like a situation that could only earn the word “fine”.

“Aren’t you worried, though? A big city, a new city, a scary city...we’re diving into the deep end here, Leila! We have no idea what the hell we’re doing!” I panicked, squeezing my eyes closed.

Now it was Leila’s turn to laugh uncontrollably. Though, hers was more of a witch’s cackle.

“Wow, okay. First of all, we’ll stick together. Second, not knowing what we’re doing is all apart of the college experience. We’ll seriously be okay if we stick together.” Leila assured, still laughing - she never was the sympathetic type in these types of situations.

“If you think so, then I guess I need to believe it.” I yawned, tucking myself further into my blankets. Leila broke out into a yawn as well, making me think that she was actually tired for once (the girl was the definition of a night owl).

“We should get some sleep. We’ll have plenty of time to talk later.” Leila stated. I could imagine her rolling her brown eyes at her own words. A laugh escaped me instead of the hum I intended on.

“Jesus, why do you keep laughing? Why do you have so much energy?” Leila groaned, making my laughter subside.

“I honestly don’t know, I’m a complete and utter mess. We’ll text tomorrow?” I suspired, resting my arm over my eyes to completely block out this embarrassing reality.

“You bet. Love you lots.” Leila said. Her declarations of love truly became more meaningful after that whole spectacle with Sadie. She had a ginormous heart of gold beneath that rough exterior.

“Love you more! Good night!” I said, hanging up after she murmured a farewell. I tossed my phone onto the soft fabric of my blanket and stared up at the ceiling, a nostalgic feeling washing over me. All of the nights during elementary school where I’d do this exact thing, except I would be thinking about my Barbie dolls or my recess adventures. Now, I thought about the future and what waited for me.

College better live up to its well-known reputation.

Before I could comprehend what was even happening, I was standing in the middle of Portland’s airport with the arms of my family around me.

Days legitimately whizzed past with nothing short of a greeting. I mean, it was already August 4th...somehow.

“You have all your bags, right?” Dad asked, his voice wavering the slightest bit. I looked down at my belongings for the fourth time; a large duffel bag of clothes, a chest full of dorm stuff and personal items (including that stupid fan, yes), and a very large and heavy carry-on stuffed with all of my technology. And, for the fourth time, I confirmed that I had everything.

“It’s all here, Dad. For the last time.” I giggled, shaking my head. He could only respond with his usual eye roll and grin.

“What about Leila? Are you completely positive that she’s on your flight?” Mom asked, her eyes inspecting mine. A sigh freed itself from my lungs as I nodded.

“She’s already waiting for me by the baggage area, Mom. You even saw her when we walked in, remember?” I stated, returning her inspecting gaze as she fondly smiled in remembrance.

My hands were reaching down to pick up my bags before Henry lightly punched my shoulder. “Wait, whoa, where’s the love, sis?”

“It’s hiding from you,” I teased, punching his shoulder before I pulled him close for a tight hug, “I’m gonna miss you bunches, you know.”

Henry’s grip tightened before he pulled back to show me the tears in his eyes. I gave him a sad smile, knowing that familiar look in his eye; he agreed but didn’t want to admit it.

“Don’t worry, Henry. I’ll only be a call away if you ever need to talk to me,” I said, putting my hands on his shoulders, “and I’ll be a nine hours’ drive away if you ever need me in person.”

He cracked a smile that was identical to my own and let out a deep breath that turned into a shaky laugh.

“Shut up, midget. Go catch your flight.” Henry laughed, shaking his head to compose himself. His blonde hair was tucked away in a red hat with a big, fancy ‘O’ embroidered in gray and black on its face. My heart swelled with pride to see it, too.

“Ditto!” I laughed while reaching down to grab my bags. “Well, I ought to get going. Leila’s been waiting on me for a while”

“Travel safely and call us when you land, no matter the time!” Mom said, hugging Dad and pulling Henry close. My eyes burned with tears as I nodded.

“Can do,” I shakily breathed, “I love you guys.”

Mom blew kisses my way and Dad smiled. Even Henry gave me a rare, genuine grin. I waved, and with a final glance, turned around and headed to the gate that was just behind me without looking back.

The weight of the bags in my hands doubled with each step towards Leila. She was sitting in the waiting area, her bags all around her, scrolling through her phone. Her straight black shoulder length hair was accessorized with a jade green headband, matching her comfy outfit that consisted of a matching jade green tee and a pair of workout leggings.

“Took you long enough, you slowpoke!” Leila smiled, patting the blue seat next to her as she tucked her phone in her backpack. I dropped my bags in relief as I sat down next to her. “How emotional were your parents?”

“Enough to make me almost cry?” I laughed, wiping the wetness below my eyes. “Well, maybe I did cry a little.”

Leila laughed and wrapped her arm around my shoulder. “It doesn’t take much to make you cry, Charlotte. But I am beyond glad to see that you held in most of your alligator tears.”

We both laughed, though our laughter faded after about a minute, turning into a stressed silence...

“We’re really doing this, aren’t we?” I said while taking a deep breath. After almost a year of building up the nerves, the day was finally here. College...adulthood...life...

Leila turned to me, her eyes showing the most vulnerability that I’ve ever seen in them, and took a deep breath with me. “We may be crazy, but at least we’re crazy together.”

Bag security was a surprising breeze; little to no lines and no troubles. The security guys even smiled at me. Talk about weird.

Waiting for the flight time was tiring. I did, however, get a text from Henry saying that he’d successfully reached his gate and would be taking off for Ohio at dusk. So that was at least something to keep me occupied for a good two minutes.

Another distraction was to play matchmaker with Leila. It was our favorite pastime in high school, so why not continue the tradition?

“Ooh, that business guy over there wearing the red tie, and...” Leila trailed off, scanning the rows of seats until her eyes focused on a woman talking animatedly on the phone only a few feet away, “her.”

“Wait, the Adrian Raines-looking guy paired with that preppy woman?” I asked, my eyes narrowing. Leila hummed with approval next to me, making me cringe immediately; why, and how, would that work? They were polar opposites!

“Leila, listen. He looks like the type of guy that’d bite your head off if you gave him the wrong coffee order and she looks like the type of girl to organize a charity event. It’s all in the eyes and the cheekbones, even the eyebrows.” I explained, shaking my head. Leila, however, disagreed like she always did.

“They’d balance each other out. He’d soften up and she’d harden up. It’s that simple! Plus, it helps that they’re both very attractive...” Leila smirked, her eyes examining them both with a wistful sigh.

“And they’re probably much older than us, so don’t even get ahead of yourself.” I sighed, rolling my eyes. “But back on topic. Are you talking about the whole ‘opposites attract’ lore? Because that’s just not...plausible. Maybe it is in the movies--”

Leila let out an exasperated breath that hindered the rest of my thought. “It is plausible, though! Just think about how you would feel in this situation. Would you want a guy who has a prickly exterior and a mushy-gushy heart?”

My heart started to palpitate as my hands started to sweat. I have learned to loathe Leila’s ‘boy talk’ because it’d always turn into her setting me up with guys that were either way out of my league or guys that just didn’t meet my expectations.

Her question, though, did deserve some deep thought. I guess I can set my pride aside for a mere second and give her some sort of approbation...

So, the question on the table: did I really have a thing for those types of people? Snarky but also impossibly soft? I guess I’ve never really been invested in relationships of my own. The idea of romance, sure, but not for me. It just never really seemed as important as the ACT or my GPA. I’m starting to regret my valedictorian title; I focused so hard on my studies that I forgot about the fun aspect of high school like the average, rebellious boyfriend with a leather coat and a motorcycle.

“You know what, Leila?” I started, carefully testing this ground as to not lead her down the matchmaking rabbit hole, “I would like a guy like that. A sarcastic and snarky guy with a secret soft side? Yes, please. Oh, and glasses that he’d push up his nose when he was frustrated? Even better.”

An uncharacteristic snicker escaped Leila; she was never one to snicker like that, and now that I actually think about it, our boy talk always had that stereotypical effect on her. Man, this hobby was melting her brain. Is there any research out there on how the quietest whisper of romance can turn the human brain to goo? If so, I need to get my hands on it ASAP.

“I knew that you had a thing for that! I’ve been scoping this out for years, Charlotte!”

Of course she has.

“Glad you’ve been looking out for me. That or stalking me, but that’s up to you.” I teased, bumping my shoulder with hers only to receive a tired groan in response.

“Oh, hush. You know exactly how damn predictable you can be sometimes. Don’t even try to contradict that, either.” Leila stated, giving me a side glare. I gave her a bright, innocent smile in response as I fiddled with my duffel bag’s handles.

My mouth opened to bring up another round of matchmaker, but I was overpowered by a loud speaker.

“Flight one-hundred two for New York boarding at gate fifty-six!” A voice said gently over the speakers. Leila and I instantly looked at each other with the same anxious looks that slightly weirded me out.

“Um, Leila--” I stammered, trailing off as Leila hopped up and started to grab her things. She wore the biggest and brightest smile when she glanced at me out of the corner of her eye.

“C’mon, slowpoke! We gotta go! Move those short legs of yours!” Leila beamed, grabbing my duffel bag with her open hand. Before I could retort, I was ushered into standing and walking towards the luggage area.

“Alright, eager one, slow down a bit?” I asked through a huff. Only two months off of the cheer team and away from drama and I’m already bent out of shape.

Leila threw my duffel bag and her own suitcase onto the conveyor belt and so I followed suit.

This...this entire experience was moving faster than I expected.

The plane ride wasn’t really all that exciting. Just Leila falling asleep on me, like I expected. Throw in a couple packs of peanuts, a dash of watching Dirty Dancing and Grease religiously, and a sprinkle of a baby’s obnoxious tantrum...and you end up with the definition of a typical plane ride.

Woo, college. Already kicking off with such an exciting start.

We were about thirty minutes out from The Big Apple when Leila finally woke up from her sleep. I felt my shoulder lighten and then felt the instant soreness from the five and a half hour flight.

“How’d you sleep?” I asked, busying myself by pausing Dirty Dancing on its second playthrough. Of course it was right as Baby started to awkwardly dance down the staircase and onto the bridge.

Leila’s response didn’t come when I thought it would, so I looked over to see if she fell back asleep on the plane’s wall. To my surprise, I saw that her eyes were glued to a figure a few seats over.

The girl who sat there had this gorgeous auburn hair that cascaded over her shoulders. Her black headphones stood out against her pale complexion and revealed the slightest trace of taupe freckles scattered about her cheeks. Also from the girl’s side profile, you could just barely see the tint of matte black lipstick on her lips.

A gentle but teasing smile formed when I looked back over at a wide-eyed Leila, her cheeks now starting to redden with embarrassment.

“See someone you like over there?” I asked, softly nudging her arm with my own. She cleared her throat and blinked rapidly before turning her attention to me.

“I thought she was snoring?” Leila stammered, now rubbing her tired eyes. I looked back over at the girl - her head bobbing slightly to whatever she’d been playing on her laptop - and let out a laugh.

“Sorry to break it to you, Leila, but she’s completely awake.”

Leila whipped her head back around to see and then let another deep blush cover her cheeks. It was hard to notice against her olive skin, though it deepened enough to see from miles away.

“Okay, um, she was snoring a little bit ago. I swear on your life.” Leila said, pressing her hands to hide her bright red cheeks.

I let out another laugh. She had never let herself get this flustered...ever. This was so rare that I’d only ever seen it once and that was back in high school. Leila locked eyes for a solid twenty seconds with a junior guy named Michael Harrison at lunch during our freshman year. She couldn’t stop blushing or stuttering for the rest of the day, and that’s not mentioning the dejected look she had when Michael walked out of the building with an unfamiliar girl on his arm after school.

As expected, Leila only responded to me with her notorious deadly side glare.

“Shut up right this instant, Charlotte Parker.” She hissed between her gritted teeth.

Did I listen? Of course not.

“Looks like Miss Maciel has been struck by Cupid’s arrow...” I teased, dramatically leaning into her lap with my hand against my forehead. She grumbled and leaned her head on her palm, looking out the window. After I sat up, I could see her brown eyes flit over in the girl’s direction every once in a while and couldn’t hold back my smile. Not teasing, but happy.

I knew that wistful look in her eye well enough to know that she’d been enamored.

The plane landed at about seven in the evening. Before getting off the plane, I looked over to the girl. She was frantically putting her computer away in it’s decorated case. I saw a patch with the familiar NYU bobcat...right next to another patch with the name “Skye” in this sort of horror-ish calligraphy.

Huh.

“I think her name is Skye,” I said, leaning in to whisper to Leila, “and I think she’s going to NYU.”

Leila glanced over as she stuffed her neck pillow (that she never used) in her bag.

“Cool. Um...Skye, you said?” Leila said, a blush blooming across her cheeks again.

I’m seriously loving this.

“Yep, Skye. Maybe she’s a freshman like us?” I said. Leila bit her thin bottom lip.

“Maybe,” Leila said, a smirk crossing over her features, “just...maybe.”

Waiting for our luggage was so boring. I decided that it was even worse than waiting for our fight.

“Ah, it’s mine!” I heard a girl a few feet away from my tired figure cheer. She rushed forward to grab a gaudy pink suitcase bedazzled with fake gems. Leila pretended to gag next to me.

“Gross,” Leila sighed, though her eyes suddenly lit up, “hey, wait, those are our bags!”

She pointed toward a cluster of familiar bags on the conveyor.

“Ah! C’mon!” I stammered, rushing forward and grabbing them. We both started to laugh as we lugged them off.

“Jesus, this is heavier than I remember.” Leila huffed, lifting her bag onto her shoulder. I did the same, though almost toppled over because of the weight.

“Are we sure that these are ours?” I asked, unzipping the duffel bag to see my familiar coat. Relief flooded my features as I looked back at Leila.

Her face was a sickly greenish pale.

“Uh, Charlotte, this...this isn’t...” Leila stuttered, carefully shuffling through the bag. There were lots of black sweaters and lots of striped shirts. A couple pairs of ripped jeans, a few rock band tees along with an NYU sweatshirt...and a tag on the strap.

I reached out for the black tag on the strap and flipped it over. It read...

Skye...Crandall?

“Leila, remember that girl from the plane?” I asked, showing her the tag. Her face immediately fell, though I could see the flame of hope flickering in her deep brown irises.

“Oh. My. God.” Leila groaned, taking the tag into her hand. “You’re kidding. Charlotte, this seriously isn’t happening right now.”

Despite her panicked state, I laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

“I’m officially calling you Eliza Schuyler because you are helpless!” I giggled, doubling over. Leila loudly sighed.

“No, no no no...” Leila whispered, zipping the bag closed, “how are we going to find her now? I bet she left already with my bag.”

I sadly let my laughter subside as I wiped the humored tears from my eyes, being careful to not let my light layer of mascara run or smudge into a huge mess. That was the last thing I needed right now.

“Alright. Well, I think we should wait and see if your bag is still here. We don’t know for sure that she has it,” I stated, patting Leila’s shoulder, “but if it doesn’t show, we’ll track this Skye girl down and give her the right bag. Okay?”

Leila nodded, her face still contorted with a mixed emotion of annoyance and helplessness.

“Welcome to New York, where we lose your freaking bags and make you chase after freaking girls that you like,” Leila mumbled in a bad imitation of a New York accent, pinching the bridge of her slender nose.

“So you do admit it! Aww!” I cooed, booping her nose. She caught my wrist and gave me another glare, though this one was downright teasing.

“Shut it or I will mercilessly write on your face tonight with a Sharpie while you sleep,” Leila teased, “but let’s get going. We still gotta find our dorm and the sun’s already starting to set.”

I nodded and gathered up my stuff, taking another look back at the conveyor...

“Oh, everyone’s gone?” I questioned, my eyes scanning the now empty area around us. Leila rolled her eyes and started to drag me along towards the masses of people with her free hand.

“Yes, but now let’s go find this girl before I lose my mind. I need my bag and I can bet that she needs hers.”

#high school story class act #hssca #mc: charlotte parker #mc's twin: henry parker #oc: leila maciel #skye crandall #choices stories you play #no warnings #newwww au!#first chapter complete! 🥳

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vcg73 · 5 years ago

Text

Witch!Kurt #42: The Calm Before the Storm

As promised, I got back to work on this. :)

~*~*~*~*~*~

Adam hummed as he moved through the kitchen, fetching plates, cups, and cutlery from their cabinets and drawers before dishing up the two servings of eggs and sausage links he’d just finished cooking.

He pulled a large orange from the refrigerator and cut it into halves, placing one on each plate. He really preferred grapefruit, but Kurt hated even the scent of them, so he compromised by purchasing a large bag of Mandarins on his last shopping trip. It made him feel better, since Kurt had ceased purchasing his own former staple of strawberries once he had discovered that Adam was allergic. Adam had insisted that there was no need for Kurt to give up a favorite food, and Kurt had made a noise of agreement but Adam had noticed soon afterward that their grocery list never had that particular fruit on it anymore. The bottle of strawberry pancake syrup that had formerly graced their little condiment shelf had also mysteriously vanished. It was the sort of sweet gesture that his husband tended to make without thought, and Adam was determined to show that he appreciated it in just as subtle a fashion. He refused to be another one of those people in Kurt’s life who took his generous nature for granted.

Pouring a steaming cup of tea for himself and coffee for Kurt, he smiled at how delightfully domestic this was. Other than company, the thing he had missed most during his seemingly endless span in the emptiness of the Void was simply having something to do. Getting his hands on some small chore and keeping busy with it. Adam had never been an idler, never one to just sit quietly with his hands folded and wait for something to come along. From earliest childhood, he had been a doer, taking satisfaction from playing games, cooking meals, scribbling notes, inventing choreography, learning some new skill, or sorting out an activity for others. He and Kurt had that in common, along with having work and living spaces that tended to stay tidy and well organized, though neither took it to neat-freak levels. Adam had missed being able to set his hand to a thing and see it completed, and a small part of him thrilled at the mundane little task.

It bothered him more than he liked to admit that he was still slightly off his game when it came to getting his nerve up for comings and goings beyond the loft, even after six months back in the real world, but having a full time stay-at-home job now helped immensely. Most of his daylight hours were kept busy making calls, booking online appointments, and sorting out talent for various casting calls about town. It made him feel useful again, and after only two months on the job, he was already earning praise from his employers and glowing reviews from their clients. That little boost to his self-esteem was making him bolder about going outdoors and meeting people again. Now that winter was over, greenery was beginning to pop up everywhere and the days were becoming mild and pleasant, beckoning him to take a nice walk through the park, or down to Bui’s for a spot of tea on his lunch hour. He no longer worked for Mrs. Bui, having given up his position as stock-boy to an eager young high schooler once his schedule with H&B had been set, but he still liked to pop round for a hot cup, two or three delicious chocolate biccies, and a nice gossip.

And then there was Kurt. How lucky he felt each day to wake up to the sight of that beautiful face on the pillow next to his, to phone him at lunchtime to say ‘how are you’, ‘what would you like for dinner’, and ‘I love you’. Such simple words, but so full of delight to them both. And he liked to be here, finishing up his work for the day, or bustling about getting the evening meal when it was his turn to cook, having it ready when Kurt came home from work or school, and seeing his face light up with joy at the sight of him.

“Hello, husband,” Kurt would say, with that loving look in his beautiful eyes as he came forward for a kiss and a fond embrace. “How was your day?”

Kurt took positive delight in that greeting, and Adam enjoyed hearing it just as much. He supposed over time the shiny newness of being married would wear off, but for now it was still great fun.

Adam buttered four newly popped slices of toast and once again divided them between the waiting plates, adding a quick smear of marmalade to his own half and a dribble of honey to Kurt’s. He added a bit of honey to his tea as well, then used the spoon he’d stirred it with to mix a helping of nonfat creamer and a packet of sweetener into the coffee. He took a small sip of the latter to test the level of sweetness, and then grimaced, wondering what he’d been thinking as he took a quick swig of tea to banish the taste. Kurt had grown up drinking Burt Hummel’s noxious brew, and he still preferred his coffee strong enough to degrease an engine or melt the spines off a cactus.

“Breakfast is ready, husband of mine,” he said, setting a plate and the coffee on Kurt’s side of the breakfast table just in time to greet him with a kiss as he wandered out from the bathroom, wearing a towel about his waist, skin fresh and still ever so slightly damp after showering.

Kurt kissed him back with a smile and immediately went for the cup, taking an experimental sip followed by a large happy slurp. “Mmm, this is great!” he said. “You used hazelnut creamer, didn’t you?”

Vaguely amused at his enthusiasm, Adam said, “I did. I used that cocoa infused espresso you bought last trip, and I thought hazelnut would be a nice complement to it.”

“Nutella in a cup,” he sighed blissfully, belting back another swallow. He kissed Adam again, on the cheek this time and said, “Be right back.”

Kurt disappeared into the bedroom, and Adam had just enough time to top up his cup and add another good dollop of creamer before Kurt emerged again wearing a smart new outfit of gray checked trousers, black shoes and belt, and a shimmery green, patterned button down. Now that he had truly got the hang of using his assorted magics, Kurt could get himself dressed for the day in the literal blink of an eye. The only delay would be in choosing which outfit to wear. It was the one power that Adam envied him, though he doubted that even being able to instantly don and discard clothing would give him the impeccably chic and polished look that Kurt always had.

After all, even his own power to whisk his hair into order with a thought did not give him the ability to look sexily tumbled when rising from his pillow of a morning the way Kurt typically did. Adam usually looked as though he’d received electric shock until he got himself under a hot shower, and he knew he could potter around in his closet for a good half hour trying on assorted items and still look like he’d just escaped from a harrowing ride through a clothes dryer. Lucky for him that Kurt found the rumpled look attractive.

“What’s funny?” Kurt asked, sitting down to breakfast. He hadn’t been gone long enough for the food to grow cold and he tucked in with an appreciative appetite.

Adam just waved a hand. “Oh nothing. Just musing about how unfairly gorgeous you are for first thing in the morning.”

Flattered, he blushed a bit, his eyes sparkling at the compliment. “You look nice too.”

And he did. Adam had a video call with a producer this morning, someone his agency had landed for casting of a big-budget film. Adam’s job was simply to take down the particulars of cast size, shooting schedule, and what sort of roles they were looking to fill, and then he would take down their availability and set up a second meeting with one of H&B’s more senior casting agents. But even that required a bit more spit and polish than usual.

He told Kurt as much. “I must let them see that Hanover & Bradley is a posh firm, even down to the lowliest of booking clerks.” He straightened his black and gold striped tie before lifting his nose in the air and sticking his pinky out with extreme dignity as he took a sip from his teacup.

As he had expected, Kurt laughed. “Well, I’m sure they’ll appreciate it. I wish it wasn’t considered unprofessional to suggest casting yourself. I glanced at the script spec you were reading last night and that movie sounds right up your alley.”

Adam smiled. “Appreciated, but I don’t think I’m quite ready for the chaos of a film set yet. Though I must admit that I have been growing bolder of late. I’ve been considering scraping the rust off of my acting skills and joining the Lightning Circle for one or two evenings a week.”

For a moment Kurt looked blank, but then he brightened as the name clicked. “That’s the Improv group that your friend Joey runs, isn’t it?” At Adam’s nod, he clasped his hands. “Adam, that would be amazing! It’s a perfect way to stick a toe in the water and find out whether or not you’d be comfortable on stage again. Joey was an Apple, so he’ll totally get it if you’re not quite ready to get out in public yet. You two were really close during my freshman year, so I imagine it would be like slipping into a favorite pair of shoes to work with him again. It won’t even matter if you’re rusty, because figuring your way around an awkward moment is the whole idea of Improv.”

Adam beamed at his support. “Exactly right. I had a talk with Janice during my last session about wanting to take baby steps back toward my aborted career. She suggested testing the waters in some small way, then reporting back on how it went. I was thinking Community Theater, or joining the Lexington retirees for one of their in-house productions, or a sketch comedy night somewhere. Then I recalled Joe telling us at the last Apples get-together that he’s renting a space in the Village. His troupe rehearses a few nights a week and performs on Sunday evenings. They write sketches, work out the framing, and then sort of fill in the blanks before an audience. I know for certain that I’m welcome to join.”

Kurt was grinning. “Then you should totally do it. Maybe we could start by attending a performance on the weekend, just to see what it’s like. That way you can make an informed decision about whether or not it’s something you want to do. I think it would be so good for you, honey. I know how refreshing it can be to put your problems aside and just be someone else for a little while. Plus it sounds like a lot of fun!”

Pleased at how easily Kurt had not only accepted the plan but dove straight in with his support, Adam said, “So, it’s a date then?”

Privately he was thinking that if this worked out, it might be a bit of fun they could do together. The others always asked after Kurt, and seemed quite interested in his progress at NYADA, so they would be glad to have him.

“It’s a date,” Kurt confirmed. Munching the last bite of his breakfast, he glanced at his phone on the table beside him and made a startled sound. “Oh, gosh! Is that the time already? Isabelle asked me to help choose the summer dress selections for the website today and I don’t want to be late.”

Adam nodded. He needed to get himself ready for the meeting soon as well. “Have fun and I’ll see you this afternoon. Is it your turn for dinner tonight?”

“It was, but I’ll do it tomorrow. Brittany called earlier and asked if she, Santana, and Tubbington could join us. They’ll pick up something from the Golden Lotus on the way here.”

He was used to this. Members of their witch family dropped by at odd hours all the time and usually brought food with them, so Adam nodded. “I’ll text and ask them for an order of sweet and sour, or maybe some General Tso. That pineapple and green pepper concoction they picked out the last time was revolting. I was belching peppers for two days straight.”

Kurt laughed. “I already asked. Santana likes that stuff, but Brittany agrees with you, and of course Tubbington would probably stage a revolt if they didn’t get his beloved Kung Pao Chicken, so nobody balked at my request to add Pork Fried Rice and General Tsao.”

Taking one last swig of coffee, Kurt took his dishes to the kitchen, then hurried to the bathroom to quickly brush his teeth. Giving his husband a minty kiss goodbye, Kurt grabbed his bag and a light jacket and was out the door.

Adam stared fondly after him for a moment, then willed the magical ward back into place and went to his own work.

~*~*~*~*~

“What’s happened?” Adam asked when Kurt came through the door without his usual cheerful greeting.

The buoyant mood Kurt had left home with this morning had transformed throughout the day into a feeling of tense foreboding that had been palpable the moment he walked in the door. Before that, actually. A more tamped-down version had been singing along their emotional bond for the past couple of hours.

Adam found himself wondering if their idyllic breakfast this morning had just been the calm before some great storm. Whatever it was, he suspected that their Sunday theater plans had just been cancelled. “Is something wrong in Ohio?”

“No,” Kurt said, speaking the word with a hint of hesitation. He made an impatient gesture with his hands as he amended it to, “Not exactly. Nothing’s really wrong, but I had a text from Sue Sylvester today and I suspect it’s no coincidence that she sent it to me on the same day Brittany and Santana suddenly decided to drop by for dinner.”

Adam agreed that this was unlikely. Sue had kept her promise to keep tabs on the Blaine situation for them, but she wasn’t the ‘just dropping a friendly line’ sort of person. “What did it say?”

Pulling out his phone, Kurt showed him the message. ‘Red Alert. Paddington has taken a flea dip.’ “What on earth?”

“Sue always codes her messages,” Kurt explained. “She thinks satellites are sharing them with the C.I.A. or something. Paddington is the nickname she gave to Dave Karofsky after he came out as gay. Y’know, as in a baby bear.”

Adam snorted, picturing the hulking young man he had briefly glimpsed on his aborted surveillance trip to Lima dressed in a duffel coat, red hat and wellies. “So in her own peculiar way, she’s telling you that Dave has rid himself of a certain pest?”

“That’s how I read it,” Kurt agreed. “He must have broken up with Blaine. Either he shook off Blaine’s persuasive influence somehow, or he just wasn’t as taken in by it as we assumed. I’d be interested to find out what happened. The important thing for now is that if Dave is gone, then Blaine doesn’t have anyone handy to power-dump his stolen magic into. That might make Blaine vulnerable.”

“Or it might make him more of a problem,” Adam reminded him, willing away the shiver of apprehension that skittered down his spine at Kurt’s words. “If Blaine has suddenly found himself alone and forced to return to what Santana colorfully calls the ‘snatch and splooge’ technique of transferring power, he could be extremely dangerous.”

Kurt shook his head. “That’s assuming he hasn’t stored power in half the innocent Standards in Lima. He was always unnaturally good at swaying a crowd to his side, long before the soul-polluting began. He’s a lot easier to deal with one on one than with a pack of supporters behind him. Especially ones who are convinced against all logic and evidence that he can do no wrong.”

Reading his meaning in that, Adam said flatly, “You are not going to face him alone, Kurt.”

“Well, I’m not sending you to spy on him again,” Kurt countered with a trace of heat. “I don’t want you going anywhere near him.”

“Nor I you, so if you think I’m going to just sit here safely on the sidelines while that nasty blighter attacks you, then …”

“Adam, I’ll be at twice as much risk if I’m worrying about what might happen to you,” Kurt interrupted. “I’m not an idiot. I know how dangerous he can be, and that you both want and deserve to be with me when I face him, but he nearly killed you once, and then just seeing him for an instant all but paralyzed you! The last time you two were face to face, you were at full strength and he still nearly destroyed you. What if he finds out that you’re not only still alive, but that I’ve married you, and once and for all torpedoed his plans for me? He’ll go berserk and I don’t want to risk him taking that out on you. If I put you in his line of sight, I might as well be pulling the trigger on you myself.”

Adam wanted to argue back that he would be equally devastated if Kurt were to face their enemy alone and be killed or sent to the Void. Which might well be the same thing, since none of their group might be able to find and rescue him if he were to be banished to that place without an anchor. But Kurt would resist such reasoning. For all his instinctive mother-henning of loved ones, he could be remarkably blind when it came to his own well-being.

“Darling, what with all the Lima people who came to our reception, I highly doubt that Blaine has remained oblivious to my miraculous return from the great beyond. I’m safer with you, and the members of our coven, than I ever would be alone.” He struggled to keep his voice calm, even though he suspected that his emotions were broadcasting loud and clear anyway. “I may not be as physically strong as I was the first time I encountered him, but magically I’ve grown stronger. One of the upsides to being part of a good coven. Since Joining with you, I’ve gained new levels of control. But what you’re forgetting is that neither one of us is in this alone. We have a group of excellent witches and Familiars at our back, as well as friends and family. It may turn out that Blaine has put together an army of brain-washed sycophants, but if the Intelligence we’ve received thus far is true, then we also have Coach Sylvester’s magically-inclined Cheerio squad to counter them.”

As he had hoped, Kurt responded to the logic of this statement. “That’s true,” he said slowly. “I hate the idea of putting kids at risk, but I’d put my money on the Cheerios over Blaine’s personal Fight Club any day of the week.”

“I wouldn’t discount Sebastian’s influence over his former prep-school peers either,” Adam pressed. “Or for that matter Finn and Sam’s influence over your old Glee Club, which might even have countered Blaine’s a bit. Just because you’ve been left with that self-enamored tosser as your sole responsibility in the past, doesn’t mean you still are. You were a lone ship on a stormy ocean once upon a time, Kurt, but now you’re the captain of a veritable armada, and the rest of us are just waiting for an order to fire a shot across Blaine’s bow.”

Kurt’s mouth, which had fallen open during Adam’s impassioned speech, clicked shut and he gave him a wan smile. “I’m not sure you aren’t being just a little too optimistic here, but you have a good point.” The smile widened. “You like to claim that you’re not much of an orator, but you give a darned good rallying speech.”

“I think so too,” Santana said by way of greeting, making the two of them jump in surprise as she opened the door and walked casually into their discussion. Kurt had dropped the ward as he came inside, and left it down knowing his friends would be arriving right on his heels. “And he’s right, oh Captain my Captain. If you go back to Lima and cut us out of all the fun after keeping us waiting for months to kick Anderson’s bubble butt, we’ll disown you and elect a new coven leader. I hear Drumsticks has his eye on the spot.”

“Johnny? But he never…oh,” Kurt said in chagrin, laughing a little when he realized she was teasing. “I guess I’m being kind of stupid.”

“Never bothered us before,” she replied, a wicked twinkle in her eye. “I take it you heard from Sue?”

Brittany and Tubbington, who had come in behind her, put their sacks of food down on the kitchen island and Brittany said, “She sent us a message this morning before I called. I wasn’t sure if I should say anything then.”

“Paddington?” Adam queried, wondering if they’d got the same text Kurt had.

Tubbington gave him a frown and said, “Dawn Patrol”.

Not as familiar with Coach Sylvester’s unique personal code as the rest of them, Adam said, “What does that mean?”

“Be on alert because it might be time to come to Lima and get Blaine out of everybody’s way,” Santana translated casually.

Seeing his confusion, Kurt said, “Dawn. You know, as in the dish-washing soap that’s supposed to be extra good at clearing away greasy messes? It … never mind. The point is that Blaine has been dumped, and Coach thinks it might have him off balance enough for us to make our move.” He looked at their guests and said, “Adam was reminding me that we’re a team and that Blaine is no longer just my problem.”

“He’s right, Junior,” Tubbington garbled as he pulled a steaming box and a pair of chopsticks out of the nearest bag and stuffed a large bite of food into his mouth while he spoke. “I been keeping tabs on your family through Sebastian and he tells me that Blaine has already started sniffing around your house now that Sam is living there again.”

“What?” Kurt said in alarm, jumping up from the chair he had just taken.

Brittany patted his arm. “Don’t worry, nobody is in danger. That’s part of what we wanted to tell you tonight. Your dad has Fam, that’s what Sam and Finn call themselves when they’re not being individuals, did you know that? Anyway, Burt has made them wear that cologne Adam made for him at Christmas, just to be safe. He offered some to Sebastian too, but a Familiar can’t be influenced by Wild Magics so he didn’t need it.”

“I should mix them up a fresh batch if Burt is sharing,” Adam mused, already considering ways he might beef up the recipe while still keeping the cologne smelling pleasant. Having been victim to Blaine’s venomous influence once, Sam and Finn might be more than usually vulnerable, and that wasn’t a risk he wanted to take. “Perhaps I could mix it into a deodorant, so there would be no danger of anyone forgetting to wear the potion. ‘Magical Musk for Men’, or some such.”

“You should do it,” Santana agreed, shrugging when she saw that nobody was bothering with food except for the always voracious Lord Tubbington, and going for plates and forks, which she spread around the table before helping herself to a serving of fried rice. “The old stuff does its job, though. Sebastian reported to L.T. that Blaine showed up at the house last night, God only knows why, and Burt met him at the door with a wicked set of hedge-clippers in hand.”

She cackled at the thought and everyone else had to grin at the picture it painted when Brittany added, “Your dad told him he’d had a feeling that it was time to prune away the obnoxious weeds that were in his yard. Then he clacked the blades just a couple of inches from Blaine’s crotch and stared him down until he ran off.”

“Didn’t stop moving until he hit the Lima Bean, from what I hear,” L.T. said with satisfaction, treating them all to a window-shaking belch as he picked a stray vegetable from his beard and popped it into his mouth. “Damn, that’s great. The Lotus must have a new chef.”

Kurt, no longer surprised that his father hadn’t reported the visit, sighed and sad down, taking a spoonful of rice and another of steaming beef & broccoli. Adam and Brittany likewise sat down and helped themselves to a serving of mouthwatering entrees. Adam happily sailed into the box of spicy chicken, also accepting a spoonful of beef & broccoli when Kurt shook the box with an inquiring look. Santana pulled out a second container of Kung Pao, having known from experience that nobody else would have a chance at the initial serving of Tubbington’s favorite, and passed it around.

“If Blaine is already trying to get in good with Sam again,” Kurt mused after a moment, “then it really does support the idea that losing Dave must have come as an unpleasant shock. To his ego if not his magic-stealing. There’s no way he could know that Sam isn’t alone anymore, right?”

“No,” Adam said, “I’m sure he doesn’t know. After all, he believes that he murdered Finn, just as he thinks he did to me. But if he’s seen him around Lima, then even without Sight he must realize that Sam is suddenly a good bit healthier than he was when their friendship was broken off. I could see so clearly, and I don’t even know the poor fellow well.”

Brittany nodded. “We went to visit my folks a couple of weeks ago and I looked in on Fam. Sam’s almost back to his old self again. You did a really good thing for him when you joined him with Finn.”

“Technically that was Sebastian’s idea,” Kurt said, giving credit where it was due. “And all of you helped.”

“Yeah, but you’re the one who actually did the heavy lifting,” Santana countered, having no patience for self-effacement. Not when it came to an act of combined delicacy and power, not to mention personal risk, that had left even her cynical self in awe. Sounding baffled by her next words, she added, “And Finn is happy riding around in the back of Sam’s brain. I thought sure he’d be going crazy by now, given how much he liked being the center of attention back in high school. Instead he seems to think he’s some kind of secret agent. As long as Sam lets him take the wheel and do what he wants a couple of times a day, he doesn’t seem to give a flying fuck that nobody else knows they’re taking to Finn Hudson, ex Lima superstar.”

“I suspect without the influence of power-hungry girlfriends, he’s actually happier out of the spotlight,” Kurt said dryly. “He liked being part of the Quarterback-Head Cheerleader power couple, until it became more pressure than fun. Then he hooked up with Rachel and she was a cattle prod in the backside as far as the craving for fame and popularity went. It wasn’t until they went long-distance and Finn didn’t have anyone to give him orders, or any independent direction of his own, that he kind of crashed.”

Brittany nodded. “And Sam always felt more comfortable having an image to hide behind, so he probably likes being able to sit back and let Finn take over some of the time.” She smiled gently. “I think the people who used to know them both are a little confused, though. People never seem to see things clearly without a map.”

Remembering some of the mind-bending leaps of logic this woman had taken in the years he had known her, Kurt had to agree. Brittany always saw things clearly, it was one reason she had the most powerful gifts of Sight and magical intuition he had yet encountered, but unfortunately her idea of clarity rarely matched up with anyone else’s. At least not without a lot of practice in translating her thoughts. He had become far better at ‘speaking Brit’ over this past year than he had ever done when they were schoolmates.

“Makes sense,” he said. “Okay, so assuming my family is safe, Fam’s secret is still intact, and Blaine is beginning to lose control, how much time do you think we have to deal with this?”

“Not long, I would say,” Adam said, brow furrowing in thought. “When I confronted him two years ago, he panicked and went into immediate attack mode. Same with your brother. If he’s reeling from the insult of being dumped, and possibly from the withdrawal of whatever power he’d stored up in your friend Dave … well, I fear we’ve left this kettle boiling too long as it is.”

Tubbington cut in, “Oh, he’ll be feeling it, I’m sure of that. I don’t know if that other kid is still in town or not, but if he broke off their relationship it’s a cinch Dave’s not willing to let Blaine cozy up for a nice easy power withdrawal. Whatever magic had been stored in him would have started draining away almost immediately once he was at a safe distance.”

At Kurt’s querying noise, Adam said, “As you know, magic has a shelf-life. We can only do so much before we’re either starving or exhausted from having used up our reserves. Storing magic in a prepared object allows it to stay viable for a while, like storing perishables in the freezer. But storing it in a person would mean using their physical reserves. Like storing those perishables in a hot garage. The power would begin to ‘go bad’ in a very short amount of time, and while the vessel could be damaged in the long term, they could also be helped by it in the short.”

“In what way?” Kurt asked, resting his elbows on the table and pressing his lips to steepled fingers as he unconsciously adopted a studying pose.

Santana answered, “Like, if Sam had been critically injured and Blaine had siphoned a portion of his own power, his own life-force, into him to keep him alive until they could get medical help, that would be okay. Noble, even. Not that something that selfless would ever occur to him.”

Tubbington agreed, “I’ve been around long enough to see that happen a couple of times, but before the human litter-box came along, I’d never even heard of a witch, regular or Wild, stealing magic from other witches without their knowledge and power-dumping it into some poor unwitting Standard. Only to steal that power back for their own personal use with no thought as to how much damage they were causing. That he did it to supposed loved ones?” He made a sound that suggested he was about to reject the box of Chinese food he had just inhaled.

“The sorts of things we can do as witches gives us an advantage over the majority of society,” Adam resumed. “And it is widely accepted throughout the community that that sort of privilege gives us a firm ethical responsibility to not misuse our power, nor go mucking about in the lives of Standards. I have wondered from time to time if the general bias against the weak, uncontrolled power of most Wild witches hasn’t led to the rest of us dropping the ball there. After all, if one never knows they’re a witch, how is one to develop the ethical foundation that is, quite frankly, expected of us? Blaine Anderson is an extreme case of self-aggrandizing moral decay, but I doubt he’s alone in it.”

“Well, there’s a cheerful thought,” Santana said sourly. “You’re saying all this is somehow our fault?”

Surprising them all, Kurt who said, “No. I spent months, years even, blaming myself for all the crap Blaine pulled when we were together. I’ve finally accepted that I wasn’t responsible for his actions or responses, only for my own. I’m not going back to thinking otherwise. Blaine was hypocritical, oblivious to other people’s feelings, and painfully self-absorbed long before he and I first started having problems. I was just too infatuated at first, and too emotionally beaten down later, to actually see it. I suspect from certain things he’s told me about his childhood that he always has been that way.”

Adam nodded. “True, and we’re speaking of Blaine as though he were a child, with no ability to recognize how destructive his behavior has been. He’s not.”

Brittany nodded. “There are a lot of bad people out in the world who got there without any help from magic. People who commit terrible crimes every day. Blaine is just doing his the easy way.”

Making a frustrated motion with his hands, Kurt said, “If the magical community is at fault in any way, it’s in not actually behaving as a community. NYADA is as much a school for witches as a school for performing artists, but you’d never know it until something goes wrong.”

“Do you know they actually had the nerve to send us a sternly worded letter after our wedding, admonishing us for performing a Major Working without a senior coven official present?” Adam said to Santana, Brittany, and Tubbington in response to his husband’s disgusted tone. “Basically they scolded us for not asking permission. Kurt was ready to go down to NYADA on the spot, likely leaving a few scorch marks in his wake, but I convinced him to not ruin a promising academic career, and to take a different approach.”

Smiling slightly, having come to appreciate Adam’s occasionally twisted sense of humor, Santana said, “What did you do to them?”

He blinked at her with calculated innocence in his too-wide blue eyes. “I merely passed the letter over to Gran, with a gentle hint that she wasn’t being properly respected for her status as a Senior level witch, and reminding her that Carmen and her crew never did apologize for their laxity in my own rescue.”

She laughed, “Oh, you are evil!”

Kurt laughed as well. “We got another letter that same week advising us to ‘please disregard the former missive’ and congratulating us on our wedding and a ‘difficult job well done’.”

“Honestly it was as close to groveling as I ever expect to see from the Almighty Carmen,” Adam chuckled. “Gran must have given them a tongue-lashing they’ll never forget.”

A sigh came from Kurt. “That’s what’s so frustrating, though! If powerful coven leaders like Madame Tibideaux, whose business is supposed to be education, would only make it their mission to trade information, help those who need it and make sure nobody falls through the cracks the way Finn and I almost did, and assessing and training those with power without treating those with unusual types of magic as second-class or unimportant, the world would be a much better place. They have the power, and they could make sure that cases like Blaine’s wouldn’t happen, because someone would always have their eyes open to step in and redirect someone who’s going the wrong way before they turn into a complete disaster.”

A swift interested chain reaction of glances and nods passed between his companions. Every good coven eventually developed a higher purpose, something beyond mere friendship and the occasional Major Working. Kurt had, without quite realizing it, just hit upon theirs. Their peculiar mixture of powers and creative problem-solving, Adam’s interest in the history of witchcraft, Johnny’s fascination with the mechanics of spell crafting, the unexpected co-mingling of Animagus and Purebred Familiars, Kurt’s own seeming magnetism toward all manner of people, both magical and Standard, drawing even Wild witches and the extremely rare Magic Dampers into his sphere; all spoke to the blending of a wider, more open overall community.

Oblivious to their silent communication, Kurt went on, “I guess that’s why I still feel like confronting Blaine is up to me. Or rather, to us.”

“Well, you know you can count me in,” Lord Tubbington said. “I’ve wanted to flex my claws on that ugly little scratching post since the first time I saw him.”

“Mine too,” Brittany said with no trace of irony. “I knew he was up to something bad the first time he came to Glee Club dressed like male Rachel.”

Still smirking a bit, Santana said, “I’ve been waiting to kick his ass since last Thanksgiving. What do you say, Kurt?”

He nodded. "Let’s get Dani, Johnny, Monica, and Elliott over here. I think it’s time we put together a plan.”

THE END

#Witch!Kurt #Kadam fic #One Three Hill Coven #Kurt Hummel/Adam Crawford #not Blaine or klaine friendly

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fanofvariousthings · 5 years ago

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Sweet Lips and Lies part 1

Mafia!Jungkook X Reader

BTS mafia au,, Jungkook x Reader featuring Taehyung x Jimin

Summary: This is the story of how you started dating the mobster, Jeon Jungkook, and how he turned out to be something you didn’t expect.

A/N: okay so originally this was supposed to be a one shot but I started writing and it got to be way too long so it’s now gonna be a mini series!! I watched Goodfellas (a 1990 film based on a young man growing up in the mob and working his way to the top of the ranks) and I felt really inspired so I had to write something based on the main character and his girlfriend

Your POV

Jeon Jungkook. The name that belonged to the anxious man sitting beside you in a booth at some fancy restaurant your best friend, Park Jimin has dragged you to. A man named Kim Taehyung had been pursuing your dear friend. You thought he seemed kind of sketchy and apparently Jimin did too, seeing as you were accompanying him on his date with Taehyung right now. Jimin had only agreed to go on a date with Taehyung as long as he could bring you and Taehyung brought one of his friends as your date so you wouldn’t get lonely. And that happened to be Jungkook. He was subconsciously bouncing his left leg underneath the table. He was waiting for something. He was in a rush to be somewhere else. You found him just as sketchy as Taehyung and you had a gut feeling that they were involved in... something bad. But that seemed to make you more intrigued.

[[MORE]]

Both of the seemingly powerful and mysterious men wore, what looked like, extremely expensive fitted suits and they both happened to be extremely attractive. You honestly couldn’t blame Jimin for giving into a face like Kim Taehyung’s. He was what you would imagine a god to look like. Kim Taehyung was ethereal. But looks can be deceiving. The devil was once an angel.

Jimin and Taehyung were on the opposite side of the booth looking like they were eye fucking each other. You rolled your eyes, Jimin’s such a horndog. Although you did worry for Jimin’s safety slightly, you were adult enough to make your own decisions about what you wanted in life and you knew Jimin was a literal sucker for rich and powerful men-

“Can we get the bill please?” Jungkooks deep voice pulled you out of your thoughts. You must have been wrapped up in your own thoughts the whole evening as your date barely interacted with you. You’d received a mere greeting from him telling you that it was nice to meet you and that you looked lovely as he placed a kiss on your hand. That led you to think this whole double date would go well. You were wrong. He seemed distant after that and he seemed like he didn’t want to be there, there was clearly something else on his mind. As Jimin and Taehyung were on their starters, Jungkook was already asking the waiters for yours and his main courses but now he just wanted to completely skip dessert as he asked for the bill when your main courses just arrived. He was so obviously in a rush to be somewhere else that it made you seem so disinterested in him, and the fact that he didn’t even bother to engage in a conversation with you and opted to only talk to Tae and Jimin made him seem rather obnoxious.

“Yah! Kook relax, pay attention to Y/N! We’ve barely even eaten and I think Jimin-ie here wants dessert,” Taehyung spoke up whilst sending a wink to your friend.

“You know I’ve got that thing to attend to.” Jungkook gave his friend a stern look.

“Alright, get lost.” Taehyung sighed in defeat.

Jungkook stood up from the table, dumping a handful of cash in the middle of it to put towards the bill. It was a shame really.

Jungkook was a very handsome 21 year old man. He was only a year older than you and he still had a slight baby face despite the strong muscles which were made very obvious through his shirt when he took his blazer off earlier in the evening. His jawline was beautifully carved and his dark doe-eyes were captivating as a few strands of messy, wavy hair almost covered them. You also couldn’t help but notice the tiny mole below his bottom lips, thinking it was cute.

Such a shame he seems like an asshole, you thought, well you can’t have it all.

Jungkook suddenly grabbed your hand pulling you with him. “Make sure she gets home safely please,” Jimin said goodbye and that he’ll text you later before leaning back into his dates arm who just waved goodbye to you.

“What are you doing?” You questioned your date as he opened his car door, pushing you inside. The leather interior was cold on your bare legs, your dress wasn’t doing much to help cover them.

“It’d be rude if I didn’t drop my date back at her house.” He slid into his seat, turning on the engine of the slick sports car.

You scoffed. Now he didn’t want to be rude? “That’s funny considering you ignored my existence for the whole night. You practically wasted my time.”

It was now his turn to scoff at you. “Excuse me, baby, but I have important business to attend to. You’re lucky that I even came tonight at all.” He sped down the lit-up neon streets of Seoul, trying to drop you home as quickly as possible.

You sighed, deciding to keep your mouth shut and not give him anymore of your attention for the rest of the ride. After a few minutes of watching the city go by through the window, you arrived outside your apartment building.

“Thanks,” your hand rested on the door handle about to leave when you noticed Jungkook sliding over the bonnet of his car, landing on your side of the car, to open your door for you. You stepped out of the car giving him a suspicious glance through your lashes. He placed a hand on your back urging you forward. “I can walk myself you know,” irritation was dripping in your voice. Why was he so rude and polite at the same time?

“Hurry up!” He still had his hand on your back rushing you into your apartment complex’s lobby, earning you a weird stare from the doorman.

Once you were inside he said “goodbye,” before pacing back to his car and speeding off again. Whatever, you stepped into the elevator going up to your appartment level when you got a text from Jimin.

Chimmy: Did you get home alright? If you did I hope you got a good dicking down from Mr Jungcock ;)

You: Yes I did thanks but EW JIMIN NO!!!!!!!!! Control yourself!!!!!!!! He barely showed any interest in me :/

Chimmy: I can’t promise anything as long as I’m around Tae ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) and I know Jungcock seemed distracted but when you weren’t looking at him he was certainly looking at you heheheh

You: whatever Chim... you know he only spoke to you and Taehyung the whole night

You: I’m gonna have a bubble bath then go to bed but call me if u need anything

~ a few days later ~

BUZZ. BUZZ BUZZ. BUZZ. BUZZ BUZZ.

Buzzing was interrupting your Netflix and literal chill time after work. You lifted your phone up to see that Jimin was calling you and quickly slid your finger across the green answer call button. “Hey Chim,” you greeted as you pressed the phone up to your ear.

“Hi Y/N/N!”

“Everything okay? I haven’t seen you since the double date.” You sighed, remembering how... strange your date was.

“Yeah,” he giggled like a school girl who has a crush. “We saw each other again last night. I went back to his.”

“PARK JIMIN, YOU WHAT?!”

“Calm down Y/N... everything was safe,” another giggle escaped his lips. “Lots of protection don’t worry.”

“You need Jesus,” you breathed out. “Just be careful about what you’re getting yourself into Chim. Taehyung and Jungkook are obviously involved in something... illegal. Nobody around our age should have that much money and be flashy about it.” You looked around at your small 2 bedroom apartment which you and your roommate, Hoseok, managed to afford as you split the bills.

“I know. I should probably tell you now that Taehyung’s house is huge. Like 10 bedroom, 15 bathrooms and personal chef and maids-mansion huge. Everything in it looked so expensive and his whole wardrobe was basically a Gucci shop. That kind of money certainly doesn’t come from an average 9 to 5 office job...”

“Oh my God, are you sure that’s his house? It might be his parents. WAIT! What if he’s a drug lord or something?”

“Possibly. That’s kinda hot though.” Of course Jimin would say that. You’re honestly not surprised at this point. Jimin and his last boyfriend, Min Yoongi, were together when they were in high school. Yoongi was the classic bad boy. Skipping classes. Taking and selling drugs. Going to lots of parties. Seeing lots of girls. It was honestly pretty funny though. Everyone was very shocked to discover that Yoongi had a soft spot for Jimin and soon after they started dating. Yoongi became slightly more sensible after that... things ended between them on a good note. You all still keep in contact till this day. Yoongi now owns a record label company but you’re getting off topic...

“This is more serious than a bad boy teenage boyfriend. You’re smart, Chim. Be careful.”

“I know, Y/N. Anyway, I know you don’t think it’s a good idea to get dragged further into this but we’re going on a double date again. Tae thought it would be a good idea and he said that Jungkook will actually give you attention this time because he hasn’t got any prior commitments.”

“Hmmm I’m not sure... I don’t want to waste my time. I don’t think that he really cares. Oh and also -I’M NOT SURE IF I WANT TO DATE A GANGSTER-”

“Just one more chance, Y/N! Then you never have to see him again if you don’t want to.” Jimin pleaded in a singsong voice on the opposite side of the phone. He just wanted you to get back out into the dating world again since he knew it had been a while. He wanted someone to be by your side when he couldn’t be because of Taehyung. Besides, he knew you’d never admit it out loud to him but he could tell that you were physically attracted to Jeon Jungkook. A lot.

“Okay, Chimmy. Just for you.” You gave in.

“Yay! Fantastic! Same restaurant as last time at 8pm on Friday.”

“Okay, see you then.”

“Bye. Love you Y/N/N!”

“Love you too, Chim.” You hung up the phone before continuing to watch your tv show.

~Friday night~

You’d finished doing your hair and makeup and you slipped on a red silky, perfectly fitted dress with a pair of heels which made you feel good about your appearance. You’d wanted to dress up knowing that you’d be attending the same fancy restaurant again as you did last week. You saw the time on your phone, 7:30pm and decided now would be a good time to leave. You made your way down to the apartment buildings car park. Once you opened your car door and settled in behind the wheel you began to drive to your destination, zooming through dark roads in the city. Part of you was looking forward to seeing Jungkook again. Maybe he’ll be different this time. Maybe he’ll still be very confusing and conflicting. Guess you’ll just have to wait and see.

“Y/N!” You heard your name being called over to a private booth in the restaurant you just entered.

“You’re gorgeous,” Jimin smiled at you before pulling you into a hug.

“Thank you, so are you Chimmy!” You smiled back, glancing at your best friends new man beside him.

“I can agree with that,” Taehyung smirked. “Nice to see you, Y/N. How have you been?”

You and Taehyung made small talk for a while with Jimin as you all sat down. You all ordered drinks, of course you had non-alcoholic seeing as you were driving but your best friend on the other hand just downed a whole glass of wine. He’d always been like that. He was the ‘wild child’ out of the two of you. And this was one of the reasons why you were currently sitting with someone who’s involved with the biggest mafia in Seoul.

“So... where’s Jungkook?” Jimin asked Taehyung. It was as if he was reading your mind. Thank god he’s your best friend because he really speaks for you when you feel like you can’t.

“He said he’d be here,” Taehyung hummed.

One hour has passed. You’d had laughs and good conversation with your darling friend and his boyfriend but one whole hour had gone by and Jeon Jungkook still wasn’t at the restaurant for your double date. You’d been third wheeling the new couple for an hour and you couldn’t help but feel envious of the way Taehyung looked at your best friend. You could tell he really cared about him. They both cared for each other and you were glad that your Chimmy was happy and that he so clearly had Tae wrapped around his little pinkie finger as the suspected mobster was practically doing everything and anything for Jimin. But as happy as you were that the two men in front of you were happy, you couldn’t help but feel the anger rise within you as you realised that your date has stood you up. How dare he not show up without a notice or reasonable explanation. You can’t believe he didn’t even tell his own friend or wait-

“Where is he, Taehyung?” You stood up facing him.

“Who?”

“Jungkook. Who else would it be?”

“I don’t know. Sorry, Y/N.” The insincere apology and avoided eye contact told you otherwise. Surely, if he was involved with the mafia he could at least be good at lying.

You took a step closer to him which caused two men in black suits to appear out of nowhere, behind you. “Don’t bullshit me, Kim Taehyung. Tell me where he is right now.” You gritted your teeth.

Tae stood up, now towering over you and looked down at you with stone cold eyes. “Okay, Y/N. If you must know and if you must involve yourself in a part of his life he doesn’t want you involved in, go to him. He’s at a bar. Southside Parlour. Obviously in the southern part of the city.” Taehyung then waved you off.

You stumbled back in shock for a few seconds.

“You can’t send her there.” Jimin mumbled in an annoyed tone to his boyfriend who then sat down again. One of the men in a black suit started escorting you back to your car. He was obviously a part of whatever Kim Taehyung was so deeply involved with. You opened your car and sat in it for a few minutes, wondering what the hell you should do now.

Taehyung’s POV

“She needs to find out for herself, Jimin-ie.” I took his small, soft hand in mine before kissing it. This was my way of trying to calm him down, knowing where I just sent his best friend to.

Jungkook was attracted to Y/N, he told me himself that he thinks she’s possibly the most beautiful woman he’s ever met... physically and even her personality too. Intelligent, kind and strong. However, he doesn’t want her to get caught up in this whole mafia mess. He thinks she deserves better than that. And I thought the same about my Jimin too. Of course I want to keep him safe and protect him. Of course I don’t want to involve him in my line of work but it’s easier to protect those who you love if you’re with them than if you’re not...

A/N: ahhhhh so here’s the first part I hope y’all liked it,, there’s more Jungkook in the next part I promise!!!!!

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dirtyahs · 6 years ago

Text

A Day Spent with Councilman Kai Anderson. (Part 3.)

hi friends!! I got another Kai request so i just decided to combine those prompt requests into part three :)

Thank you @slytherinintj13 for the request! I hope you enjoy <3 (i forgot to include prompt #18 tho im sorry)

Prompts: “You’re so fucking hot when you’re mad.” + “I dare you.”

Word Count: 2,778

People I think would enjoy this: @evanfuckingpeters @stellaholland @reaperprincess89 @whydonthumansfly

Warnings: choking, hitting, hair pulling, spitting, degradation, breathplay overall super rough kinky shit

You sighed as your hands moved through the racks of formal dresses, searching desperately for the right one. Just like most things, you put this off until the last minute and the council meeting was tomorrow night. You and Kai had been talking regularly since your last interaction and were getting closer and closer.

You found yourself falling asleep under a blanket with him, missing his touch when he got up to get more wine from the kitchen. You never thought you'd fall for someone as extreme as he is, but even though you disagreed with him politically, he was smart as hell and you admired his passion. Not to mention, the sex got better and better. He pushed your limits, but always respected your boundaries. You had never been able to find a partner that could be as rough as you wanted, but Kai did it with ease. Aftercare was a work in progress, but you expected that. He would awkwardly cuddle you for a few minutes, but soon enough get up to go work on something else. He was trying though and you did see an improvement.

You had a few dresses slung over your arm as you made your way to the dressing room. You weren't exactly sure what Kai wanted you to wear, but you knew you wanted to tease him just enough. Maybe do a little harmless flirting to get yourself in trouble later that night. The first several dresses were terrible. They didn't flatter you right or just weren't as cute as you had initially thought. But after what felt like fifty different dresses, you found the one. It was black and velvety, thin straps crossing along the open back, low cut enough that it was tasteful, but still something that would drive your man absolutely crazy. You picked a pair of cherry red heels to match his tie and were on your way back to his place. You had been spending a fair amount of time there and he was surprisingly welcome of all of your things in his space.

"I'm back!" You called into the kitchen, trying to hide everything you had just purchased - you wanted to surprise him tomorrow evening.

"How'd it go?" He gave you a quick smile before glancing at your bag.

"I found everything I needed." You grinned up at him, "But it's a secret until tomorrow." You smirked at him playfully, turning around to walk upstairs. He followed you, bringing his hand down against your ass teasingly.

"Why won't you just show me?" He whined, sitting on the bed you two had now gotten used to sharing.

"Because!" You started, "I just want it to be a surprise." You planted a kiss on his cheek, his hands instinctively trying to wrap around your waist.

"I bought the sluttiest dress imaginable." You whispered to him, hoping he'd pick up on your joke. He did, pulling your body down on top of his.

"Yeah? Sounds perfect for my little whore." He growled, grabbing fistfuls of your ass with his words.

"Yeah, I'm going to flirt with all of the other councilmen, maybe show them how dirty I can be." It was fun to rile him up, it always made for extra rough, extra dominant Kai.

“I dare you." He hissed, "See what happens." The day had gone by shockingly fast, and you had been in the bathroom for several hours. Kai was minutes away from breaking the door down and dragging you out by your hair, but you finished just in time. You took one last look in the mirror at your perfectly curled hair and "natural" smokey eye and smiled. You felt more confident than usual and you couldn't wait for Kai to see you.

"It's about damn time!" He huffed when he heard the bathroom door open, turning to face you, eyes immediately going wide.

"Perfection takes time though..." His tone changed quickly, his hands sliding over the velvet material hugging your hips.

"So this is okay?" You looked up at him, straightening his tie.

"More than okay. You're going to show up every old bat in that place." He smirked, making you chuckle. His young age had always been a point media tried to make to show his lack of experience. He had a high approval rating though. You thought it was because you'd convinced him to tone it down a bit, but he'd never admit that. You linked arms with Kai, him leading you inside the large, expensive looking dining hall. Everything was pristine and white, red and blue flowers adding pops of color on every table. It wasn't long before Kai had you two in the center of a conversation, mixing with other councilmen.

"Kai Anderson! It's great to meet you." An older man stuck out his hand for Kai to shake, giving him a big veneered smile. Kai responded with a firm handshake, immediately introducing you to the man.

This is my girlfriend, (Y/N)." Kai grinned, watching as you extended your hand also. You didn't have time to be shocked about him introducing you as his girlfriend. He'd never called you that before. You didn't think he had any interest in being completely monogamous, but that was going to be a conversation for later. This was your chance to get under his skin.

"It's so wonderful to meet you, sir." You flashed him a flirtatious smile, flicking your hair over your shoulder.

"Kai has always told me how much respect he has for a man like you." You gave him a sneaky look up and down, almost able to feel your "boyfriends" eyes boring into your exposed back. His hand met the skin on your back gently and you pulled back from the older man whose cheeks were now dusted red. "Beautiful girl you've got, councilman." He nodded before turning around to escape the situation. Never letting his camera ready smile fade, Kai leaned down into your ear, growling quietly,

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"You looked up with the best innocent doe eyes you could manage.

"I don't know what you're talking about." You couldn't help but flinch a bit when his hand tightened on the small of your back.

"Watch yourself..." He hissed, leaning back up to tower over you, his words sending a chill down your spine, the excitement rising in your tummy. The night went on, you continued flirting with the older men specifically, Kai's hands protectively touching your back the whole night. He continued introducing you as his girlfriend.You had been especially friendly to the councilman of a major city in Arizona, leaving Kai's side to bring him a drink, putting your hand on his shoulder when you talked to him, making sure your cleavage was perfectly visible. You could see the anger building behind Kai's eyes, constantly watching the clock to see when it'd finally be time to go home. The room had began to quiet and people started to fizzle out. It was down to you and Kai and a few other couples all sitting around a table.

"I think it's about time for us to head home." Kai said, linking his fingers with yours. Your heart was racing. You two said your goodbye's to everyone and you made sure to give a tight hug to the man you had been playing with earlier, Kai now visibly angry, forcing you to walk faster than you were comfortable with.

"I don't know what the fuck you think you're doing," He started, leading you outside without looking at you at all. "But the amount of disrespect you showed me tonight was unbelievable." He hissed, opening your car door for you still.

"Kai-" He cut you off sharply.

"I'm going to fucking ruin you when we get home." He growled quietly, closing the door a bit too hard after you sat down. The car ride was silent but you felt the heat between your thighs, trying to mentally prepare yourself for the harsh level of degradation you were bound to receive moments from now. Kai's jaw was clenched tightly, his knuckles turned white from his tight grip on the steering wheel. He pulled messily into the driveway, crooked as all hell.

"Get inside." He demanded and you weren't about to question him. You stepped out, heels clicking along the cement to the front door, walking inside before Kai. The door slammed so loud the walls shook. Kai's hand tangled in your hair, pulling you so your back was against the door.

"Do you think that was funny? What you pulled tonight?" He was yelling at you now, his free hand pinning your waist against the door.

"Kai I don't know what you're talking about." You choked out, but you knew damn well what he was referring to.

"Don't play dumb with me, (Y/N). Flirting with every man in that room? Bringing them drinks, hugging them before you left? You trying to whore yourself out to all the men with more money than me? As if I don't take good enough care of you?" His nose was almost touching yours now and his hands still held you tightly.

"Kai-""Shut the fuck up." He hissed, his erection pressed against your leg he was so close to you.

"You're so fucking hot when you're mad." You smiled, watching his jaw clench once again, face turning red. He kicked your legs apart, hiking your dress up and touching your exposed core.

"So you wanted this? You wanted to piss me off." He hissed, "And now your pussy is soaked from me degrading you." In one sharp movement his hand crashed down against your cheek, a sadistic smile spreading over his lips.

"You want to act like a whore then I'm going to treat you like one. Get on your knees." You obeyed immediately, watching from the ground as he untucked his shirt and loosened his red tie, unhooking the clasp on his slacks, pushing them and his boxers down to his mid-thigh.

"Open." You did.

He smacked his cock against your tongue a few times,

"You dirty bitch. You wanted to get me angry so I'd fuck you rough." With those words he forced his full length down your throat, making you gag immediately.

"Oh what? Isn't this what my little whore wanted?" He hissed, pulling out only to slam down your throat once again, your eyes pinching closed to try and stop the tears from falling.

"Open your eyes. I want to see how pathetic and desperate you are." You listened, looking up at him as blackened tears fell from your waterline. He was fucking your throat now, snapping his hips forward rapidly.

"For such a dirty bitch your mouth makes such a good fuck toy for my cock." He was angry - genuinely angry. And it only aided to the wetness between your thighs. You gagged as he pushed balls deep, making him chuckle. One of his hands came down and pinched your nose so you couldn't breathe.

“I own you." He hissed, looking down at you."I own you. This mouth belongs to me, your pussy belongs to me, every breath you take belongs to me."

The tears were flowing now, your face was covered in watered down eyeliner, nude lipstick smeared over your cheeks. You tried to nod the best you could, watching his face twist with pleasure. What felt like several minutes had passed and he pulled from your throat and released your nose at the same time, making you cough and gasp, airways finally cleared.

"Get up." You looked up at him, fingertips shaking.

"Did you not hear me? I said get up, whore." He took a fistful of your hair at the top of your head and forced you up, making you cry out.

"You wanted this." Was all he said before tearing your dress down your shoulders, letting it pool around your feet, exposing your naked body, just in the red heels now.

"Get upstairs. I want you bent over the bed when I get up there." He shoved you forward by your hair and you nodded.

"Yes sir." Your voice was shaky. Your legs felt weak but you pushed yourself up the stairs, making your way to the bedroom and bending over the bed like he told you to. You left your heels on. Your breath hitched when you heard the door close behind Kai and he snickered to himself.

"So my little girl actually can listen." His hands slid over the curves of your ass, smacking firmly. You looked at him to see his tie in his hand now, shirt unbuttoned.

"Since you kept running your mouth tonight," He wrapped his tie around your head, "I don't want to hear you anymore." He tied it in a knot behind your head, gagging you to force you into silence.

"How are you feeling?" He teased, knowing you couldn't respond but you tried. A warped "good" came out of your throat and he chuckled.

"I'm going to change that." And he moved out of your line of vision. You knew exactly where he was though when he littered your ass with painful spanks, covering you in bright red hand prints. You cried out with every one, but it only made him laugh to hear your pathetic whines.

"Why should I fuck you, hm?" He hissed, running one long finger over your soaked folds.

"Please..." You tried, hardly audible with the makeshift gag in your mouth.

"Do you deserve it?" His hands were running over the burning flesh of your ass now, somewhat cooling the pain. You nodded quickly.

"You think flirting with other men makes you good enough for me to fuck?" His words cut through you,

"The only reason I'm going to give you anything is to prove who you belong to. I'm going to fuck you stupid, bitch."

He spanked you again, forcing more tears to fall from your tear ducts. "Understand me?" You nodded, your inner thighs soaked with your excitement. Your heart jumped when you heard him kick his slacks aside, followed by his shirt sliding down his arms and onto the floor.

"Regardless of you acting like a dirty whore, you're my dirty whore." He hissed before spitting between your thighs, sliding two fingers along your soaking wet folds. You whimpered but nodded, if you could speak you'd be begging for him to fuck you. You tried your best to grind your hips against him, trying to plead the best way you knew how in this situation. All he did was laugh before grabbing your hips to hold them steady before slamming every thick inch into your soaked pussy.

You arched your back, still managing a choked out scream even with the tie in your mouth. Kai gave you no time to adjust to him now deep inside you, but immediately began thrusting in and out with no mercy. It hurt, but in the best way possible and you didn't want him to stop. He was growling through clenched teeth,

"Could any of those old bastards fuck you like this? Hm?" You shook your head in reply, fists clenching the white sheets beneath you.

"No sir..." You tried, but failed. You just about screamed when one hand pulled the knot behind your head, his red tie soaked with your spit falling out of your mouth.

"Talk to me whore, tell me what I want to hear." He took a fistful of your hair and pulled you up so your back was flush against his chest, his breath was hot on your neck.

"I'm sorry sir! I wanted to make you angry." You croaked, hands searching now for something to hold on to. "None of them could fuck me like you! No one could ever fuck me like you!"

He smacked your cheek, smirking against your neck.

"Good girl..." He hissed, letting out a parched groan, suddenly spilling his load deep inside of you, each of you moaning in unison.

"I-I'm close too, sir." But with your desperate words, he pulled out of you abruptly, pushing you back down to bend over.

"You think you deserve to cum? After your little stunt?" He chuckled, watching as you collapsed onto your stomach, tears pricking at your eyes.

"Kai, I said I'm sorry." You whined, looking over your shoulder at him, he was shaking his head.

"Too bad princess, this is your punishment." He flahsed you a playful smirk and kissed your head, running his thumb over your cheek.

"Change and take this makeup off, I'll be downstairs with Netflix on. Maybe if you behave, I'll change my mind."

#ahs #american horror story #ahs7 #ahs cult #kai anderson #ahs kai #ahs imagine #ahs fanfiction #evan peters #evan peters imagine #evan peters fanfiction #kai anderson fanfiction #winter anderson #sarah paulson #notmygif

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cutiesexylovelybts · 5 years ago

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Member: Jimin (BTS)

Genre: Angst/fluff/fiction/friendship

Word count: 1559

Summary: After a hard day of practicing difficult thoughts come to mind. So many questions arise feeding Jimin's fear and insecurities. The comeback is around the corner and here I am feeling this way. Did I lose my passion? Can I escape this dark prison I put myself in or will I be able to soar high again freely?

A story inspired by the album Map of the Soul 7, specifically Black Swan.

It was 22:00 PM. It was a crazy day. Here I was, sitting in the dancepractice room exhausted, drenched in sweat, my body all sore thinking about what happend today.

Everyone already went home but I decided to stay and practice some more.

I don't know what's going on with me lately... We have a new comeback around the corner and here I am still unable to do that spin.

I always seem to sabotage myself. Everyone tells me I'm doing fine and my dancing is amazing but I'm having a hard time believing it myself.

Come on man.. , we've been here before...*sigh*

Aah... perfection, this word has been my best friend, pushing me to work harder over the years but at the same time it was also my worst enemy.

Before we debuted I was always working so hard. Pushing myself to sometimes extreme ends, I didn't allow myself to give anything less than perfection.

Though I love it and want to achieve it, I'm also affraid to face it.

What if I don't make it..

What if I ruin it for the others..

If I fail, we all fail.

What if I can't do this happily anymore...

What if, what if, WHAT IF! SO MANY IF'S AND WHAT IF'S ARGH!..

I'm so much in my mind I can't get anything usefull out of me. This is my passion right?

That being said...

Why do I secretly feel like running away from all of this?

These past years we have been so succesful. It's like we are living the dream that was beyond what we could even imagine. Who would have thought 7 guys from South Korea could make it this far.

As happy as I am about how succesful we are, soaring in the sky with the wings given by ARMY..,

That's also how scared I am of flying so high in that spot.. From this height it seems like I have more fears than I ever had before. When we debuted I couldn't have ever imagined that this dream could feel so much like a nightmare at times.

I mean.. Our last comeback was months ago. And before that we were even thinking of possible disbandment. Can you believe it?... Just thinking about it.. I immidiatly feel the tears well up in my eyes.

You know what I fear the most.. I can't even say it. It's such a crazy thought but... What if I don't love doing this anymore. I can't be thinking this right now. What the heck is wrong with me!..

But it's a fact though, this fear is so real.. I'm scared. It's like a shadow, following me everywhere I go. Reminding me that flying that high may mean one day, if we ever fall, we might not survive that fall. If I lose my passion for all of this what's the use of continueing? Wasn't it this passion that saved us so many times before..

No I can't cry! We are at a better place now during this comeback.

*sigh* at the other hand, now that we've released the news about our comeback everyone is expecting a huge comeback. Especially our ARMY, more then dissapointing myself I really don't want to dissapoint them.

*sigh* I miss them so much... They always know how to encourage us when we are feeling down.

They have given us so much I want to give them perfection as a present and a thank you for everything. Just imagining those smiles, those cheers, those happy faces. I don't want to dissapoint them. I want to be real with them and show them I still love being with them while doing what I love the most. I still love it right?

But the way I am now.. I don't dare to face them. How am I going to face them if I can't even face myself...

I lift up my head and look at myself in the mirror. I saw a man sitting in the dark feeling so vulnerable and small. At that moment I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. A few minutes went by of me crying out of frustration and exhaustion being so dissapointed in myself.

Aah.. What am I going to do with you. Look at you questioning your abilities and talents again. Like you haven't gone through this before. Are you really going to give up? What would ARMY think of this, what would my brothers think of me like this?.. Comeback is just around the corner. Come on stop crying, get up and let's practice some more.

The moment I wipe my tears and get up I hear a voice calling my name.

Jimin?.. What are you doing here in the dark? He switched on the light.

At that moment I panicked and quickly wiped my tears. I was a total mess so ofcourse he immediately caught on what was going on. I mean he isn't my soulmate for nothing.

Jimin.. Are you crying? What's wrong?

Seeing him looking at me so worried made me feel like bawling my eyes out. I know I wasn't going to be able to hold back. I didn't want him to be worried. As my eyes filled with tears I suddenly see 5 other heads pop out behind him.

Oh noo what's going on?

Did we arrive too late?

We just brought you some food and drinks because you were practicing so hard. You know you should rest as well right?

See.. I knew he was going to be upset about what happend at dance practice today.

I was amazed to see even Yoongi hyung was here to comfort me. Normally he would've already gone to sleep after such a crazy day like this one. RM hyung is so busy lately with the songs and yet he is still here at this moment. Let's not even talk about Jin hyung. He is amazing, working on his singing and dancing. He even started learning the choreo earlier because he didn't want to slow us down, even though we told him that's not the case. He is working so hard, I'm really so proud of him.

Hey come here!! Before I know it I'm being hugged by the six of them.

Aahhww uri Jiminie don't cry. Everything will be alright. At that moment I couldn't hold my tears back anymore and let everything out.

Oh no.. Hobi hyung is looking at me with those worried eyes again, he knows I always beat myself up when I can't do the choreo as I want it. It's difficult dealing with us during dance practice sometimes yet he is always there to help us out. Everytime this happens he will always take the time to explain those moves we have a hard time with. Those eyes are speaking to me, clearly asking me: "Why didn't you reach out to me Jiminie?"

And these two goofballs always know to find me when I'm down to cheer me up. We are all exhausted of this crazy day.

And yet.. here we are.. After our group hug and them comforting me I told them my fears and insecurities. Afterwards they all shared theirs as well and I can say some tears were falling and some bawling happend. Jk still had a hard time seeing his hyungs having a hard time. I didn't think they were having such a hard time too. It's been a while since we shared with eachother like this as we ate and drank together. I'm happy to see us like this on this practice floor. It's almost been 7 years and we are still us. Our worries and fears are different now but I'm happy to see Bangtan still being Bangtan.

Taehyung shared with us all his fun adventures with ARMY on weverse and suggested we scroll through ARMY's posts for encouragement. We read some funny and touching posts to eachother and before I know it my insecurities and fears became insignificant. Looking at these brothers of mine and our ARMY I felt a current of a comforting warmth flow from my heart to my whole body. A sensation that made me feel secure and safe. That's when I realised again for the gazillionth time.. As long as we love eachother and trust eachother we will keep soaring together. And even if we fall, if it's with this family we can always soar toghether no matter what. That's when I looked at the clock and saw it's 0:00AM. It's a new day already. And no matter how great the struggles were yesterday, there was always a day that they passed just like today. As long as we are alive we can still fight.

Since we have been gifted with these wings helping us to soar higher we might as well go as far and as high as we can. Yes we might always feel the fear of falling, but falling is a possibility and no certainty. Just like any other ending. At the end of the day none of us know the ending so we might as well enjoy the ride there.

If we have eachother and ARMY we will always have the courage to face our fears. We will always find the love and the passion to continue. We will eternally be bulletproof.

Thank you for reading my first short story. I hope you liked it and I wish you the best. Remember to never give up but keep moving forward no matter what. Have a nice day😄💜

#genre: angst #genre: fluff #genre: fiction #bts fanfic #bts #bts jimin #bts friends #short story #black swan #map of the soul 7 #first story #bts army #we are bulletproof eternal #0:00

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darling-stay-with-me · 5 years ago

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Favourite Episodes of Season 7 of Charmed

Season 7 is a real mixed bag for me. I really like Zankou as the demon of the season - honestly the best demon on the show. But I didn’t really like the whole Avatar storyline.

1. The Bare Witch Project

This episode is probably the most ‘in your face’ feminist episode the show ever did (there might be one more in season 8). Most of the feminism in this show is just really subtle - just having kickass woman fighting evil every day and having a ‘normal’ life. I think they could have gone a bit deeper on some things but I kind of like that it was simple empowerment. I just kind of like being able to watch it and not be reminded of shitty things happening in the world!

But I just love this episode for how one small thing like Godiva riding horseback naked was such an important moment for women’s history. I just like how it was done. That final scene with Phoebe riding horseback naked for a cafe to allow women to breastfeed was EVERYTHING. I assuming Alyssa actually did it and it wasn’t double because it seems like an Alyssa thing to do

2. Cheaper by the Coven

One of the rare episodes where Victor, Patty and Penny were all in the same episode which is probably why I liked it! Also seeing the girls act like children was fucking hilarious! I loved the moment when Phoebe is calling Leslie and then hanging up immediately then Piper steals her phone and starts making fun of her and Victor is just watching smiling - its a simple moment but it was good.

I loved seeing Patty as a mother. How she worked out what was happening with Wyatt because of what happened with Piper when she was little was cute. Also having her talk about how her and Victor would have made good parents, and how difficult it is to leave.

3. Styx Feet Under

This episode is just Piper being fucking done with everything and everyone and it is hilarious! After she gets turned into Angel of Death and Paige is having to deal with the cops and having to deal with Piper yelling in her ear while acting normal was so funny. Piper telling her to act sadder and then yelling when the police started taking her body.

I do wish there was a bit more emotion from Piper when she was about to take Paige to the afterlife. But I could understand that she realised that this was the way things worked in the world of death. Much like how Prue had to realise that death wasn't the enemy.

4. Something to Witch Over Me

Maybe I like this episode because it has Chris in it... maybe that is the reason?!

But I do like that we got to see more of the Avatars. We had seen them very briefly in season 5 when they recruited Cole. Which by the way I wish they fucking addressed in the show somehow. I feel that would have been a really good sign that they might not be a good thing. Them recruiting one of the most powerful demons as part of their grand plan sounds bad.

I do feel like Leo didn't have much of a choice into becoming an Avatar. Especially since Piper and Phoebe were dead. He had to become one to save them.

5. There’s Something about Leo

This one I feel was a good one watching live because of the fact Leo tells Piper and the sisters the truth and how shitty it turned out.

Kyle was a fucking crazy person. I really didn’t like his character much.

6. Witchness Protection

I LOVED THE SEER AKA KYRA I WANTED HER TO STAY! Phoebe and her bonding were so fucking adorable. I feel they all would have been good friends.

Also finding out what happened to Sheridan was fucking messed up. Kyle was an ass!?

This is also the first introduction to Zankou who I love.

7. Extreme Make Over: World Edition/Charmaggedon

I do wish that the sisters were able to live in this Utopia world and able to have the lives that they wanted to live but it just isn’t the case for them, unfortunately.

It kind of annoyed me that as soon as they made Utopia Leo then started questioning shit. Like why weren't you questioning this at the beginning? Like there is obviously going to be a catch to living in a world where there is no conflict.

Phoebe having to get Piper to feel Leo’s ‘death’ was so sad. Making her listen to her son’s crying and then her feeling her grief was so sad. Paige as well. Paige crying and saying ‘i don't want to’ broke my heart

I didn’t like Kyle much and I don’t really think he deserved to be a whitelighter but like of course the Elders made him a whitelighter *eye roll*

8. Show Ghouls

I don’t know why I like this one. Especially since this episode gave me nightmares when I watched it live. I am someone that is terrified of fire and the thought of being stuck somewhere that is burning with no escape is fucking horrifying to me which is probably why it gave me nightmares.

It was nice to see Phoebe having fun with the witch stuff again. I also really liked Drake and his sense of humour. He was able to bring out that fun side of Phoebe again which was great.

9. The Seven Year Witch

150 episodes of Charmed! I loved that they bought back Cole/Julian. I do wish he had some scenes with Alyssa but nevermind.

I loved when Piper collapsed and she is like oh am I dead again? Piper and Cole is a combination we never saw that much in the show so it was kind of cool to see Julian and Holly play off one another.

I am still really pissed off with the fact Elders interfered with that test Leo was on. They are the fucking worse. They are all high and mighty but they would hate it if they were proven wrong aka Leo choosing his family over his job.

The only good Elder is that female Elder. She is the only decent one.

8. Death Becomes Us

This episode (and the next episode) are probably the best of the season. I loved how Zankou made the sisters vulnerable. Bring back innocents that they had lost to come and attack them was fucking brutal. I would have thought Inspector Davidson would be more pissed at Prue considering she was the one that didn’t save him at the end. But I could also understand why he was pissed at Phoebe as well.

I wish we could have recognised who Piper’s innocents were. One of them would have definitely been that Doctor that died because he had their powers in season 2, in my opinion. Imagine if Zankou bought back Prue as a final hit... that would have been fucking rough! Especially since Piper had to blow up the bodies to save her and her sisters!

9. Something Wicca This Way Goes

This episode would have been perfect as a series finale. It was intense. It had elements of the Season 3 finale. I remember watching this when it was live in New Zealand I was freaking the fuck out thinking that it was the end of the show, which was obviously their intention because they didn't know if they were going to be renewed. But I was so sad thinking my favourite show was going to end.

I like they mentioned things from the past like Quake, past demons like Banshee. It had the nostalgia factor I personally love. I liked that they also mentioned Prue and had her be a major part in them surviving. Also having her in spirit close the door at the end was amazing.

The scene when Piper was saying goodbye to Wyatt and Chris not knowing if they were going to make it out alive was fucking heartbreaking.

I also loved that Darryl figured out the sisters were alive by one simple look. I loved Darryl and I wish they gave him more to do in the show - got to see more of his family and him on the job or something.

#charmed #piper halliwell #Phoebe halliwell #Paige matthews #Leo wyatt

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dancingwithdylan21 · 7 years ago

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Pop Princess - Bodyguard AU

Summary: Mitch is the reader’s bodyguard and his feelings are revealed on the set of her new music video.

Pairing: bodyguard!Mitch x popstar!Reader

Word Count: 2,083

Mitch grits his teeth, biting back a low growl, he can feel a dangerous rumble in his chest that’s threatening to escape. His fury filled eyes witness you greedily accept every seductive touch from your co-star Justyn.

Your bodyguard is fully aware that the sexual bullshit playing out before him is just acting for your music video. That it’s your job at the moment to portray a lustful, passionate relationship for the camera. Although it doesn’t lessen the strong urge of wanting to break your co-stars face.

Justyn’s grubby hands are grabbing and pulling you, his lips kissing and grazing you, his whole motherfucking body keeps touching you. To make matters worse, you’re donning sexy red lingerie that barely leaves anything to the imagination.

Feeling himself start to overheat, Mitch harshly rips off his black leather jacket in an attempt to breathe. Unfortunately it’s futile because his blood continues to boil, failing to allow any form of sweet relief.

Suddenly feeling a heavy gaze, Mitch’s brown eyes snap to his left where he catches your stylist Megan sending him quizzical look. He starts to slightly panic because he thought his inner battle was kept under control. Now he’s paranoid about his feelings bubbling to the surface.

“Moving on!” The director shouts up into the air, on command the music and lights are cut and everyone jumps into action to setup for the next shot.

“Oh thank Christ.” Mitch already breaks out into a fast stride towards where you’re standing. He can’t help but groan loudly as Justyn wraps his muscular arms around you one last time to say goodbye.

You and your handsome bodyguard finally lock eyes as he impatiently waves you over. You squint noticing that he seems uncharacteristically flustered right now.

“You alright, Rapp? Your face is all red.”

“I’m fine. Let’s go.” Mitch replies half-heartedly motioning in the direction of your trailer. Deciding to just leave it be, a curious smile appears on your face as you let him lead the way.

“What was I thinking? I’ve never had so many outfit changes in one music video and now I know why. It’s a pain in the ass! This will be the sixth one.” You whine out, lazily hopping up your trailer steps and dragging yourself inside.

“You gonna wear actual clothes this time around?” Mitch automatically detects the hint of jealously in his voice and it makes him wince as he shuts the door behind him.

“I didn’t realize I had to run my wardrobe by you, Rapp.” You deliver dryly, not missing the way Mitch’s jaw tightens.

“Well now you know. So act accordingly.” Satisfied with his witty remark, Mitch ignores your roll of the eyes and proceeds to plop down onto the couch.

A sudden wave of energy bustles into the trailer when your stylist Megan and makeup artist Donny walk through the door. They immediately get to work, transforming you yet again into another character for your video.

“Doing anything fun on your day off tomorrow?” Donny inquires sweeping aside your wavy locks to dust bronzer over your chest and shoulders.

“I’m going to Disneyland!” You giddily clap your hands and start bouncing in your seat.

Your words bring Mitch into an automatic state of uneasiness and he’s now officially dreading tomorrow. He knows you going to a supermarket can turn into a shitshow, never mind a god damn theme park.

“Are you sure, Y/N?” Mitch hesitantly peels himself off of the couch and moves slowly to stand behind your chair. He looks apprehensive as he makes eye contact with you in the mirror.

“Yes! Don’t worry. You get the day off too. Go do whatever you want.” You happily inform him, giving his brooding reflection a thumbs up.

“Funny. What time will we leave? I’ll call and get a VIP guide setup to take us around to the rides.” Mitch misses the immediate scowl on your face, too busy typing away on his iPhone.

“I’m serious, dude. It doesn’t need to be turned into a celebrity thing. I don’t want a guide shuffling me around the park and pushing me to the front of the line for every ride. I just wanna be normal for once.” It’s now your bodyguard’s turn to have the scowl and he certainly wears it well.

“Besides Joel will be with me.” You add quickly casting your eyes down to fidget with your bracelet. You’re already aware of Mitch’s opinion of him and it’s definitely not in your favor.

“Joel. Your moron guitar player? You’re kidding, right? He couldn’t fight his way out of a paper bag. There’s no way in hell I’m trusting him to protect you.”

“Mitch…”

“Not happening, Y/N. End of discussion.” He declares sternly.

“Don’t talk to me like I’m a god damn child.” You grumble in frustration while friggin Donny is squeezing your face with his hand to keep it in place. Impatiently waiting for him to fix your smokey eyes, he finally finishes with a loud ‘ta-da!’

“Can you guys please excuse us? Go get yourselves a coffee or something at craft services.” You smile sweetly but it fails to reach your eyes, thankfully Donny and Megan exit the trailer with no questions asked.

“I’m your boss ya know.” Not bothering to spin around in your chair, you decide to send him a hard glare through your reflection in the mirror.

“I don’t care.”

“Damn it, Mitch! I’m the celebrity. You’re the bodyguard. You do what I say!” In a loud huff, you hop off of your chair and twirl around to face him determined to stand your ground.

“To the world, you’re a celebrity. To me, you’re still the brace faced dork who made up dances to Madonna songs in her backyard.” He cheekily replies making your mouth drop open in shock.

“How the hell do you know about that? I was like eleven!”

“I was your next door neighbor, dumb ass. I could see you from my bedroom window.”

“Oh. So you were a stalker at fourteen years old. That’s not creepy at all.” You tell him narrowing your eyes.

“Stalker? Yeah totally. I was taking notes in my Ren and Stimpy notebook.” With a shake of his head, Mitch starts chuckling at the aggravated look covering your face.

“At least you admit it.” You mutter under your breath.

“For your fucking information…that asshole John from down the street always picked on the younger kids. I was watching over your stubborn ass even back then.” Mitch laughs humorlessly realizing just how long you’ve had a hold on him.

“Whatever. There’s a reason that my former bodyguards didn’t work out. I don’t need a babysitter, Rapp.”

“You got along with all of them until they disagreed with you. Two got fired and the third quit. Nice track record.”

“You’re giving me a headache, man.” You moan dramatically, doing your best to focus on something that isn’t the brown eyed man.

“You know what the difference is between me and those other guys?” Mitch intentionally speaks louder making your head snap up to attention.

“Enlighten me.”

“I. don’t. give. a. fuck. You can whine, cry, bitch, yell, have a tantrum…doesn’t matter. I’ve seen the best of you and I’ve definitely seen the worst. So give me your best shot, princess.” He finishes with a smirk that drives you wild and you’d like nothing more than to wipe it off his fucking face.

“Yeah well I’m gonna tell Stan that you’re being a dick to me.” You regret the childish words the second they fly out of your mouth. Annoyed with yourself, you pretend that you didn’t just revert back and act like a twelve year old.

“Aw you’re gonna go tattle tale to your big scary uncle?” He rolls his eyes. “Go ahead. No skin off my back.”

“You’re the one who wanted this job so bad, Rapp. I wouldn’t act so cocky.”

“I…I’m sorry?” Mitch looks taken aback, searching your face to see if you’re fucking with him.

“You’re the one who begged Stan to get me to hire you!” You respond exasperated now pacing around the trailer. You think back to the conversation you had with the uncle that raised you.

“Are you high?!” Mitch spits out causing you to automatically freeze in front of him.

“Hurley convinced me to let you have the job. He said you weren’t ready to get back into the field after your last mission.”

“That little mother fucker.” Mitch growls pulling a confused expression from you.

“I was involved in an operation but I backed out because he practically pleaded with me to take this job.”

“That doesn’t make sense, Rapp.”

“Hurley said you wanted someone you were comfortable with and that you could trust. And that you wanted me to do it.” He barely glaces at you, focusing more on the pit developing in his stomach.

The obvious question of why your uncle would arrange this is hanging in the air, neither of you wanting to be the one to voice it first. Of course you figure it’s because of your hidden feelings for Mitch.

You’ve never admitted them to your uncle but he knows you all too well. This is the bastard’s way of trying to get you to reveal them. You’re not easily intimidated but Mitch has always driven you to the point of madness.

“It wasn’t my idea. I had another security guard hired and then I had to drop him.” You purse your lips wishing that your uncle was here, you want to strangle him for putting you in this embarrassing situation.

While you’re lost in thought, Mitch sinks back down onto the couch feeling worn down by this whole ordeal. Leave it to Stan to exhaust everyone when he’s not even in the same fucking state.

“Stan’s done a lot of ridiculous shit over the years but this one takes the cake.” You say quietly now feeling extremely awkward with every movement that you make.

“I knew it.” Mitch scoffs clasping his hands so tight that his knuckles are turning white.

“Knew what?”

“When I first started, I mentioned to Hurley that you didn’t seem too thrilled that I was around. He said to give it time, that you were just being shy. And I bought it!”

“I can be shy.” You state defensively, dropping down next to him onto the couch.

“Shy my ass. You were just half naked, dry humping some random guy in a room full of people.” Mitch spits out before he can stop himself. He reluctantly turns towards you and then encounters the ultimate bitch face.

“But you’re the princess of pop so apparently being risque is acceptable. What the hell do I know?” He finishes now unable to control the judgmental shit being aimed your way.

“You sound like a jealous fucking prick right now!” You’re instantly alarmed about what just slipped out of your damn unfiltered mouth. It seems to have woken something deep inside of Mitch who looks extremely close to flipping his shit.

“Maybe because I am!” Mitch roars propelling himself into the middle of the room.

He appears slightly intimidating between his rougher than usual voice and the intensity in his eyes but you decide to stay frozen while he continues his breakdown. Besides what he just exclaimed isn’t sinking in with you yet, otherwise you’d have a much stronger response.

“I’ve been in love with the same girl since I was fourteen. Fourteen! Do you know what it’s like having feelings for someone and being too big of a pussy to tell her? And let’s not forget that she turned into the biggest fucking pop star on the planet!”

Mitch’s gesturing wildly and you’re praying that he continues his rant because you are at a fucking loss. You’re understanding his words but your brain is not fucking registering them.

“So naturally your idiot uncle decides to step in and rearrange my entire god damn life, making me a permanent fixture in your crazy world. As if me being around you 24/7 would make me grow some balls. And I guess the joke’s on me because here we fucking are.”

Finally pausing to catch his breath, Mitch gives you his full attention and it makes your head start swimming. So much for being your usual confident self, you feel like you’re on the verge of a panic attack.

“Well…are you gonna say anything, Y/N?!”

Masterlist

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a-room-with-a-mew · 6 years ago

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SCOOP by Evelyn Waugh

‘The funniest novel ever written about journalism’… I don’t know; is it just me or does this not really sell it? Is journalism a natural place we go to for laughs? I mean.. Yeah, there are comic-features writers, and journos who write books and scripts and maybe even do stand up. But in terms of fiction, of stories, I’d almost always think of journalism as high drama, a noble pursuit like in All the President’s Men or Superman. Waugh is interested in hackism. Okay he is indulging in a little self-parody here, as a writer himself, but for quite a time, this book feels like a long in-joke, a nudge to a colleague. While it works well as a series of jokes, sketches, and odd-ball characters in crazy situations, the fact that this is a novel means that we are invited to rest our feet upon the rocky conceit of a war in a far-off, fictional foreign land, which may or may not reflect a real war/ place. And additionally, as the place and people aren’t real, only ‘inspired by’, Waugh can say whatever he bally likes about them with impunity. A bit like The Life of Brian, only well – not as funny! Tall order though of course.

Let’s dive in. I managed to stick with and read SCOOP on my third attempt after owning the novel for years. Like a lot of books, the cover mystifies. Who are these? Mrs Stitch presumably? There’s only two watery female characters in the book so must be her. She doesn’t figure much so the cynic in me thinks the publishers are attempting to glam up the story.. With her fur and hat and the moody black and white. Reminds me of an edition of Brideshead I saw once in a shop – the cover had a cartoon slinky flapper girl – the hat, the stole, elbow-length gloves, cigarette holder, diamonds and whatnot. Missing the point a bit I think! So! Here we have two snoots getting on a plane. This doesn’t happen in the book. Natch.

Story

Likely the appeal or not of this story will depend upon whether you like action / adventure stories and seek thrills and fantastic places and daring endeavours. Of course you do! Well, I don’t. Or at least – I don’t tend to read them. Give me Indiana Jones on the big screen – but I don’t know if I’d read Alexander Fleming or the da Vinci Code (again). In the books I read, people tend to sit around thinking, or drive thinking, or potter around the kitchen, thinking, or fall in love but not realize it or declare it, or holiday and develop the self, but very subtly, or befall intensely personal disasters, make human connexions that you have to squint to see.

Suffice to say I loved, say, A Handful of Dust to distraction. Brilliant book. What actually happened? What was the plot? Ahm… Well.. Hard to describe, the slow, tragic dissolution of a marriage. That makes it sound boring. It isn’t!! SCOOP kind of is, and yet the action doesn’t let up for a paragraph.

Waugh – probably joyfully – breaks the golden rule of writing by NOT introducing his main character in the first page / chapter. Tries to fox us, he does. Very clever – in fact the whole book is, very clever: maybe that’s why it left me behind in the dust. Okay, so though some administrative cock-up, our hero, William Boot - a very sheltered country-squire sort who generally never leaves his decaying mansion full of ancient relatives – he’s never described physically, but go ahead and imagine the plus-fours, Norfolk jacket, pristine boots, hunting hat, moustache - finds himself sent, as a foreign correspondent, to a war-torn country of which he has never heard. Promising premise.

What follows is William’s whirlwind adventure of being summoned to his new post, preparing to go to Africa, complete with the bare essentials - collapsible boat and hockey-sticks and back-street passports. Everything is charged back to the paper – The Beast – and so there is a real consumer-fetish going on here too! As William is one of those old-fashioned toffs who own great estates but are somehow stony broke.

Much of the novel is taken up with travelling – to this fabled Ishmaelia, which was initially founded by an American family called the Jacksons, and various in-fighting and coups have taken place within the dynasty for generations. Now they’re out of power, and socialism is threatening to sneak in via the Russians. I do believe? And there’s much interest in this particular country from other well-to-do nations. Of course this doesn’t come about for a while, and for most of the mission, William wanders around hearing snippets and spending the paper’s money. Is Waugh indulging in a little revenge fantasy? William is incapable as a journalist, but just happens to be in the right place at the right time and know the right people, and comes through with the climactic glory of the story – not the exposure of the truth, but a good story with lots of COLOUR.

Characterization

Okay well, as I’ve mentioned somewhere, Waugh is not a writer whose strongest suit is characterization – it’s his writing, wording that shines, and we’ll get to that in a minute. And yet the characters are the reason we generally love a story, no? Or at least – if you are interested in the human psyche, the intricacies of human relations, the effect of surroundings upon the humans therein. But for Waugh, his love is words and the ways he can string them beautifully: he sees the novel "not as an investigation of character, but as an exercise in the use of language.” An exercise! Like you do at school.

William Boot, the protagonist, is so wan and inconsequential that his mistaken namesake is introduced first, and more memorably. He reminds me of Paul Pennyfeather from Decline and Fall – he is only there to go along with the plot, adding nothing to it with his own input, but only to observe the zany characters around him. And Paul annoyed me so much! The way the others were breaking curfew in college, and Paul blandly took the blame without a fight. And he floats through the rest of it. Although William differs from Paul in one way – though William is rather pushed into this job, and takes the glamour and action in his stride, he retains a strong and immovable affection for his dreary old homestead, and that is the true love of the story – his affection for the country-side and desire to walk “feather-footed through the plashy fen.” William says no – and he’s such a blah character that it truly surprises and delights when he does.

At one stage he purports to be in love with a woman – she does him out of a load of money and a boat, in which he helps her and her husband escape. It’s not as noble as it sounds! Each and every character in this story is out for themselves. If they can’t see past their nose, why ought we invest?

SCOOP has memorable caricatures – larger-than-life, humorous, and distinctive, but they are there to portray ideas, not to have their own agency and accountability and foibles. They run around building and holding in place Waugh’s ideas, they exist to show the deftness of his pen, they are satire, they are text.

Writing

Brilliant as always, and makes the reader wish that Waugh’s themes and characters were as wonderful and satisfying as his prose.

“The immense trees which encircled Boot Magna Hall, shaded its drives and rides, and stood (tastefully disposed at the whim of some forgotten, provincial predecessor at Repton), singly and in groups about the park, had suffered, some from ivy, some from lightening, some from the various malignant disorders that vegetation is heir to, but all principally from old age. Some were supported with trusses and crutches of iron, some were filled with cement; some, even now, in June, could show only a handful of green leaves at their extremities. Sap ran thin and slow; a gutsy night always brought down a litter of dead timber.”

Now who else is going to describe a group of trees so well? Not only are they so very clear to picture, he has given them history, and in doing the history of the house, the family, and possibly the decaying aristocracy itself. I bet the fields are thick with meadowsweet and all!

Waugh has lots of fun with the journalistic jargon; the idea that an article must have news, but to sell, it must have colour – love that term: it must have some literary merit, some artistic verve, really appeal to the reader. Elsewhere William keeps getting increasingly frantic and mysteriously coded cables from the newspaper offices in London, going to despair because he’s not providing any stories he promised and running up enormous bills. Finally he manages: “Please don’t worry quite safe and well in fact rather enjoying things weather improving will cable again if there’s any news Yours Boot.” And later “Nothing much has happened except the president who has been imprisoned in his own palace.” The downplaying is so dry and delightful. I wish I knew what was going on. Maybe that’s the point!

#evelyn waugh #scoop #book review #booklr #books #penguin modern classics #20th century literature

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mingimakesmetingly · 6 years ago

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•f o u r•

The first day of class went by in a blur and I couldn’t seem to focus on anything. I watched the clock in all of my classes leading up to lunch, I wanted to make sure Hyunjin wouldn’t be sitting by himself and I wanted to make sure that our weird staring/touching session in front of the water fountain didn’t change anything.

It didn’t. Lunch was pretty quiet and there were a few words exchanged here and there but the conversation ended once Eunha walked up to our table and sat next to Hyunjin.

He was more talkative with her and I was soon non existent. I was expecting this to happen, but I didn’t think it would be so soon. I wanted to become friends with him before everyone else wanted the same thing.

Once we got on the bus to go home, he found his way next to my side but still never said anything besides asking how long it would take to get home. I spent the whole bus ride with my head pressed against the window, watching the trees pass by and wishing this day never happened.

Tomorrow I’m bringing my ipod,I will block him out.

When we got to our stop, he got up and let me slide out of the seat and out the door before him. If today would’ve gone differently, I would’ve stalled outside with him and we would’ve talked about how he likes it here but instead I rushed across the street and into my house. I slammed the door, kick off my shoes, and helplessly threw my backpack off from my bony shoulders.

This is going to be a long school year and I’m not looking forward to the days ahead of me. Maybe I will start making new friends tomorrow or rekindling the old friendships that fell apart during the summertime.

Either way, I’m not going to let Hwang Hyunjin consume my thoughts and feelings. I don’t want to fall into the pool of teenage lust and I didn’t want to get my heart crushed by some boy who lives across the street from me. That would be pathetic but it would also be kind of cute, I needed to mute my thoughts.

I needed to just pretend he didn’t even exist.I could easily walk around with my head held high and not a single thought of him or what we could be doing together would cross my mind.

That is until I walked up to my bedroom and looked out of my window to find Hyunjin sitting in his front lawn looking up my house. He looked so lost, like he didn’t belong in this town and he was planning his next big escape.

I wanted to be his escape.

I wanted to be his everything.

I always thought it was cute in movies where the boy couldn’t imagine a life without the girl and the girl was always so clueless as to what she really wanted in life and was going back and forth between her problems and the love for the guy. I’m not saying I love Hyunjin, I don’t even know him. I’m saying that I want to be the guy (but not in guy form) unable to imagine a life without Hyunjin and I wanted Hyunjin to grow with me while he’s going back and forth with life and his love for me. I could help him and he could help me, we’d be a team.

I spend the rest of my night sitting in my room, being extremely bored with nothing to do and nowhere to be. My mom told me she would be out late tonight with her book club friends and my dad is usually not home until 10 so that leaves me with all the freedom I could ever want. At least my mom knows that on nights when she’s out to leave money on the counter so I could order pizza and indulge in my Netflix addiction. After all, that’s how I spent most of my summer, the first couple of weeks consisted in me going over to my friend Jisung’s house and talking about all the plans that we had for this summer. We started a type of summer bucket list but his family decided it would be fun to spend the whole summer up at the cabin so naturally, we lost contact the whole summer.

When I saw Jisung walking down the halls today, I saw a completely different person and I was too nervous to walk up to him and strike a conversation. He had this new way of walking and when he flashed me a smile, it wasn’t the smile that I was use to. It was different, he was different. Maybe I should just call him..

I walk into the kitchen and grab the cordless phone that was sitting in a clutter mess on the countertop. My parents thought it was unfit for a 17 year old to own a cell phone so I was stuck communicating via phone calls whereas everyone else was communication through texting and social networking.

I started to dial his number when there was a knock on the door. There’s no way the delivery man is already here, I just placed my order 15 minutes ago. Unless my mom already called them and told them to expect my call, it’s a local pizza place so they probably know the routine by now. But when I looked out the window, there was no car in the driveway.

I was suddenly scared and it probably has a lot to do with the fact that I’ve seen my fair share of horror movies so presumably, I think it’s someone knocking at my door as a ploy to break into my house and hold me as hostage.

I unlock the door and start to open it with both of my eyes tightly shut, once it’s completely open, I hear a laugh.

I’m done for.

“Elle?” I opened my eyes to see Hyunjin standing in front of me with a huge smile plastered across his face. “Do you normally answer the door like that?”

My tensed shoulders become untense and I let out a sigh that I’ve been holding in and I’m mentally kicking myself in the ass for embarrassing myself.

“No,” I let out that stupid nervous laugh that Jisung makes fun of. “I’ve just watched too many horror films and I think something will happen when I’m home by myself.”

Now what do I do? Do we just stand here and have awkward small talk or do I invite him in? I look over to the driveway hoping that the pizza man will pull in any minute with my pizza and I look over at Hyunjin as he looks back at me thoughtfully.

“Could I come in?” He puts his hands in his front pockets and looks down at our “WELCOME” mat. Stupid fucking mat, always welcoming everyone into our house.

I open the door and step aside, unable to say anything. I think about what my mom will say when she sees that there’s a boy in the house alone with me, we’ve never gone over the guidelines of what’s acceptable and what’s not. I welcomed him in.

Hyunjin slips off his shoes and I noticed how delicate he is when he carefully picks them up and sets them next to the stack of shoes on the side of the door.

“I’m sure you’re wondering why I came over.” I shrug and try to play it cool, guys like girls who are nonchalant, right? “You’re not wondering why I came over?” He narrows his eyes and looks directly at me.

“I mean, sure I wonder why you’re here but I don’t care?”

“Why did you turn that into an unsure questionable statement?”

“Fine,” I give up. “Why are you here?” I walk into the living room and he follows me. I sit down on the couch and he sits down next to me.

“I’m here because my parents aren’t home and my mom asked your mom if it’s okay for me to come over on nights when this happens. That is why I’m here.”

So I’m here to babysit you. “So I’m going to babysit you then?”

He laughs at that and shakes his head. “No way, I’m here to be your friend and you’re here to be my friend. It’s as simple as that.”

The doorbell rings and I get up so quickly that I feel like I’m going to fall back down.Hyunjin stands up and puts his hand on my back and I regain my balance.

“Thanks.” I mumbled and walked to the door.

I instantly smell the pizza and my mouth begins to salivate, I am way too hungry.

“Hey Elle,” the pizza man says once I open the door. “Your mom already paid for the pizza and she left a decent tip, so thank you. Here’s your pizza and Dr. Pepper.”

I thank him as a grab the pizza and soda from him and I close the door with my foot. I make my way to the kitchen and I see a note taped onto the box.

Elle,

I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that Hyunjin was going to come over, share the pizza with him and be nice. I’ll be home by 11.

Love, Mom

Ps. no funny business, got it?

Thanks mom, thanks a lot. I walk over to the dishwasher and take out two clean plates and two clean cups and load the pizza on each plate and fill the cups up with Dr. Pepper. This is bound to be awkward. I can’t wait. I’ve only known him for a day and I’m sharing my pizza with him. This is blasphemy, absolute blasphemy.

I make my way out to the living room and set the plates down on the coffee table and hand him his Dr. Pepper.

“Thanks.” He takes a sip and looks outside. This is awkward and I’m not sure what I should be doing. My mom never told me I had to entertain him, I just had to be nice and share my pizza. I’ve done both and I’m not sure I can do anymore.

It’s only 6 and I have 5 hours left with Hyunjin that is unless his parents come home before my mom, I will be having my fingers crossed until then.

“So…” Hyunjin taps his fingers against his cup. “Are we just going to sit here and awkwardly steal glances at each other or are we going to talk and establish a friendship?”

I choked back on my drink, completely thrown off by how forward his question was. “Um well, I don’t know. What would you prefer?” Shit, I don’t even know how to keep it cool.

He set down his cup on the coffee table and faced me, he sat with his legs criss crossed and placed his hands on his knees.

“I would prefer that we would talk and become friends, you don’t seem to have any and I don’t have any. I see a lot of potential in us.”

“Potential.” I laugh. “Am I a candidate and you’re going to question me and deem me worthy or unworthy? If so, I’m totally open to this.”

He clapped his hands together and stretched out his legs so they were laying across my lap. What the hell is this?

“What is your favorite color, Elle?”

My god. “I would say it’s a toss up between teal blue or orchid. I haven’t been able to decide.” I grab a slice of pizza and begin to eat.

“Favorite movie?” Instinctively, I hand him a piece as well.

“Dirty Dancing.”

“Ahh, nobody puts baby in a corner, huh?”

“I’ve had the time of my life and I owe it all to Johnny Castle.” Hyunjin laughed and continued to eat his pizza.

I could get use to hearing his laughter, it’s not the kind of laughter that makes you cringe. It’s the kind of laughter that invites you in after you’ve been standing out in the pouring rain, it was warm and comforting.

“This question is very crucial, if you don’t answer it right, I’m afraid we can’t be friends.”

“Okay.” I roll my eyes.

“What do you listen to?”

“Well, I listen to a lot of things. When I go to school, I listen to the teachers drone on and on. When it’s raining, I listen to it hit my window-”

“No. Music, what music do you listen to?” He interjects.

“I am in love with Big Bang, G- Dragon is pretty much my spirit animal. I’m not a fan of what’s on the radio too much. How many songs can they make about sex?”

At that, Hyunjin takes his legs off my lap and scoots over to me and put his arm around my shoulder.

“You know, you’re not so bad El. I think we are in the beginning stages of a great friendship.But let’s not fall in love.”

I rolled my eyes and leaned into him, “So you like BigBang too?”

We sat like this the rest of the night, sharing pizza and laughing at everything and nothing.

#hwang hyunjin #hyunjin #hyunjinfanfic #kpop fanfiction #stray kids fluff #stray kids felix #stray kids seungmin #high school au #college au #Fandoms #stray kids changbin #stray kids bang chan #stray kids i.n #stray kids lee minho #stray kids woojin #stray kids jisung

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journeysintowebcomics · 6 years ago

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Worm Liveblog #83

UPDATE 83: Panacea is On the Brink of Despair

Well that sure took a long time. I’m very sorry, everyone. When life gets busy, hobbies are the first ones to suffer. With some luck we’re going back to the usual level of delays and tardiness instead of the extraordinary tardiness this update had.

Last time the teams had managed to get out of the parts where the bombs would explode – except maybe Skitter. She also gained a giant beetle to ride and fly, thanks to Panacea’s powers. It won’t be long before some of Bakuda’s bombs explode. Will it work? Let’s see!

In the time we had remaining, I directed my mount as high as he could manage. My power gave me a sense of how far I was above the ground. My range formed a loose sphere around me, and as I made my way skyward, my power covered less and less ground, on a literal level. It wasn’t long before my power didn’t reach the ground beneath me.

In any other circumstances I’d say this is very dangerous and she shouldn’t be flying so high when she’s just a novice and her beetle doesn’t sound very experienced at flying, but...extenuating circumstances. A small chance of living through doing something risky is better than almost certain death on the ground. Fly away, Skitter!

While she flies, she philosophizes about how she was relying on her bugs so much to perceive the world around her. Not too long afterwards, a plane flies by, dropping the payload of bombs. Huh, so they weren’t already set on the ground already. I see. The target is the parking lot where Bonesaw and Jack were at.

You know, I wonder what’s the public’s opinion about the heroes’ plans. It’s not everyday the heroes literally bomb a place in the city. Not the most heroic maneuver ever, some may think. Also, these bombs seem to be normal – fire and blasts. I think these aren’t Bakuda’s. She was more than capable of making normal bombs, yeah, but I imagine most of them would have some sort of effect. I mean, she demonstrated how varied her effects can be, many arcs ago. Didn’t seem to me like she was stingy about using special bombs. I find believable she may have a cache of normal bombs, and that anything better than those are the trump card the heroes haven’t activated yet, but...yeah. Maybe these are normal bombs.

Now that the explosions started, Tattletale calls Skitter, and informs how things are going. Sounds like they’re safe for the time being. Good, just in the nick of time!

“Any idea if that did anything to Jack and Bonesaw? Or Crawler?”

Crawler would have loved to stand in middle of explosions, that’s for sure. Jack and Bonesaw...hard to say. I think that depends if the Siberian reached them in time, something that’s possible.

There’s a possibility Jack and Bonesaw survived by escaping into some place that could be of use. Like the sewers! Or...a bank vault? Last I checked this was in middle of a parking lot, right after being attacked by heroes. Unless there was a very convenient bank vault awaiting nearby, no way they’re there! The sewers are a bit more likely, but I’m not sure how wise it’s to hide underground when there’s bombs falling. A cave-in is a terrifying possibility. So I stand on the theory the Siberian may have reached them in time.

The current priority is find out where people are at. For example! Where’s Crawler? Is he about to pounce from the top of a building to stab people with his tongue? Sundancer will deal with the fire, extinguishing it and making sure they’ll have enough leeway to search for the villain targets. Otherwise Skitter wouldn’t be able to do anything because her bugs continue being extremely vulnerable to fire. Hm. Now that I think about it...

...is her giant beetle resistant to fire? I sure hope so. It’d be awful to lose such a great asset.

“You haven’t seen Legend?”

“No.”

“Then I’d bet he’s still chasing Siberian. Or minimizing the damage she can do, anyways”

Oh, okay! If Legend is pursuing her, then it isn’t so likely she reached Bonesaw and Jack. That’s good! In that case, then I guess those two really did hide in the sewers.

The situation is evaluated. Skitter takes a moment to answer my concerns and says her beetle is durable, but she’s paying a lot of attention to him anyway, just in case. Wouldn’t want to plunge into a sea of flames! And since her bugs can’t search because...well, fire, it takes her some time to navigate and check around.

Had they died?

I can say without any doubts that they’re alive. It would be incredibly anticlimactic for them to die at a time like this. They’re so alive you won’t believe it. Very alive. It’s also noted the sewers and storm drains are habitable, the chance they slipped in one is feasible. Skitter may want to try to send a few bugs in there.

As expected, Crawler is having a grand time walking into the flames. Can’t be the first time he experiences such a thing, so I suppose he’s doing it simply because he can. The heroes are still on the place where they were frozen in time – well, most of them. Weld is fighting. Quite daring of him to fight in middle of a lot of fire. I doubt that would kill him because otherwise that’s a huge weakness in his power, but it can’t be pleasant.

It’s Mannequin, he’s fighting Mannequin. I had completely forgotten about him. He currently has four arms and is throwing a lot of vehicles at Weld, making him stick pretty close to Cache and Clockblocker. He gets ready to pile more and more vehicles, vehicles that will crush the heroes once Clockblocker’s timefreeze is over.

Worse, Cache was storing a number of the other heroes in his personal dimension. What would happen to them if he died?

Well, I don’t know much about Cache’s power, but if it’s his personal dimension then it’ll disappear once he dies, won’t it? Fwoop. Gone. Unless he’s actually using a dimension somewhere else that isn’t reliant on him for existing, in which case...the heroes would be trapped there forever. Which isn’t really a cheerier possibility. Weld better not fail at keeping Cache safe or it’ll all be over.

Bad news! The cars piled on top of Weld fall right onto Cache and Clockblocker when Mannequin manages to push Weld out of there, unless something’s done quickly, things are going to get ugly. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Skitter has no way to help here. The beetle is her only possibility and she doesn’t trust it’ll be of much use right now. All she can do is tell Tattletale the situation and hope things will be okay.

Finding Tattletale and the rest was easy enough. Skitter arrives, literally slams her beetle against the ground because she wasn’t able to direct it to extend its legs properly, and gives Panacea compliments about the beetle, as well as a couple suggestions.

“Its legs work through something like hydraulics. When it’s flying, it diverts those fluids to the flight system. Do you know how hard it was to make that thing able to fly? It’s not like I’ve practiced this sort of thing.”

“It’s fantastic,” I said. “Really. Thank you. Do you think you could work on making him a little bigger while I get prepared? I can supply the bugs.”

I think what Panacea did to create this thing was use the flesh and proteins of countless insects, possibly melting them together or something, and made the entire beetle. That’d mean Skitter has been riding the equivalent of a swarm of considerable proportions. That’s so cool! And weird – the good kind of weird.

Panacea’s immediate reply is a ‘no’. When Skitter tries to offer suggestions on how to achieve it, thinking it was something about physical limitations, Panacea tells her it’s that she doesn’t want to do it. Oh, geez...this song and dance keeps happening in this arc: Panacea says she won’t do something, Skitter convinces her she should, Panacea does it, some time passes before Panacea gets asked to do something again. At some point this cycle will break, I just hope it doesn’t keep happening further than this arc.

Skitter uses the argument that has worked well before: Glory Girl’s wellbeing. Panacea’s immediate reply is that Glory Girl is tough and will be okay, while having an expression that pretty much says she’s scared anything will happen to Glory Girl. Too bad she’s literally defenseless right now.

The plan: throw grenades or bombs, it seems. Kind of funny Skitter will have to resort to continue bombing the place, this time to save the heroes. Ballistic gives her several grenades, Trickster gives her a handgun. Behind her, Panacea caves and fixes the bug, continuing the cycle I mentioned two paragraphs ago. All in all, this may have taken a minute or so. Better hope Cache and Clockblocker are still frozen!

There was some underlying logic, but it wasn’t the same sort of instinctual behavior I was used to. As far as I could tell, she had set him up to continue whatever I’d last instructed him to do, so I didn’t need to maintain focus to keep him going.

I suppose it’s much different to mess with the brain of a bug than the brain of a human, because Panacea has no qualms with doing that. She rewired the brain to make it continue the last command Skitter gives it, effectively freeing her to do her own thing instead of having to worry if her beetle will stop flying or something.

No, after testing it I didn’t like how slippery it made the navigation feel. I’d only use it on a case-by-case basis. Besides, it was something I could do with my power anyways, with greater effect and nuance. I’d been knocked out once, and my power had continued directing insects by my last given order.

Irritating.

...on Panacea’s defense, I’ll say she has no way of knowing it’d be an inconvenient modification. Or maybe she did know, and this is some form of petty revenge, correcting the flaw like Skitter wanted but bringing an entirely new one. I like the thought of Panacea being petty like that. Too bad it’s unlikely because this could get in the way of helping Glory Girl.

Once Skitter returns, she checks the situation. Is Cache crushed yet? Nope, he isn’t. Weld is getting rid of Mannequin’s pile of vehicles, Mannequin keeps hitting him and there’s still a truck that’d kill Cache. It’s pretty doubtful Clockblocker will be quick enough to notice the danger and freeze it, so...yeah, still a very real danger here.

Carefully, I positioned myself, noted the wind, and then grabbed a grenade from the sash that hung around my neck.

I really shouldn’t be using this without any training, I thought.

No kidding, you really shouldn’t! What if the grenade explodes right when Cache and Clockblocker unfreeze? Things would get really ugly. But it’s either this or a far more certain death under a flaming truck, so it’s pretty obvious what’s the better option.

Wind carried the grenade further than I expected.

This is precisely why training is needed. Luckily, the grenade doesn’t fall too far away from the objective, the blast dislodges the car that was against Cache, that’s a success. Skitter takes a moment to repeat what I had said about what if they had unfrozen right when the grenade exploded, because, just like me, it seems Skitter also thinks outlandish scenarios you’d have to be really unlucky to see.

Now that Mannequin and Weld know she’s there, does that change anything? Weld sure seems glad she’s around, Mannequin...I imagine he’s not too pleased. Besides, they still have to fight each other. With Skitter as support, the fight continues. The problem is that Mannequin is way too agile, and Weld is way too slow. Even with Skitter, it’s a stalemate in terms of waiting for someone to be defeated.

Neeeeevermind, the scales are tilting towards the Slaughterhouse Nine. Crawler arrived. You know, for an attack on the Slaughterhouse Nine, this all sure did nothing at all. All the members are still running around, unharmed. This makes it a failure, doesn’t it? It’s...disappointing. I thought Piggot’s daring move would rock the boat harder than this.

Hoping Weld would deal with the biggest threat while she kept Mannequin at bay, she shouted where Crawler was at, and continued throwing grenades. It didn’t work because Weld had no way of knowing Skitter’s thoughts, he kept fighting Mannequin. The moment he needed to dodge, he did that but was blindsided by Crawler, who’s well-prepared to shred metal into...well, shreds.

Crawler’s claws tore into him, revealing bones in silver, organs in copper and gold.

That’s such an odd mental image. I always thought Weld was a solid and mobile block of steel. Didn’t think he had such things as bones and organs.

There are only two grenades left, and unless she gets lucky, that won’t be nearly enough to do anything. She does throw one at Crawler, who bats it with Weld’s body, and that makes Weld be freed and fall. He manages to close her wounds, but I suppose that means he lost any superfluous material he had right now. Dang, at least he’s doing well enough and...you know, not dying.

Mannequin made a gesture at Crawler, fingertips of two hands all touching, pressed to his ‘mouth’, then he pulled his hands away, splaying his fingers. Crawler cocked his head and Mannequin pointed at the frozen heroes. I heard Crawler rumble with guttural laughter.

No.

What could I do? I was a bystander here, effectively powerless, but for my beetle. I had the gun, but it wouldn’t do anything to Crawler and I didn’t trust myself to hit Mannequin at this range. I had a single grenade, and I knew that wouldn’t even make Crawler flinch.

I’m not sure what Mannequin’s suggestion was. At first I thought it was like...’hey, rip them apart’, but the gesture doesn’t really fit. What else can Crawler do—oh, okay, it’s acid. That answers it. Hopefully there’s enough luck to not unfreeze while the acid is still there.

If I used a grenade, could I clear it away? Or was it too viscous? Would I be losing something I couldn’t afford to throw away?

Seeing how it’s the last grenade, yeah, that’d be a waste! Better try to use it in something you know would work! Besides, if it’s so viscous it’d stick together enough to be all blasted away, it’d also be viscous enough to not be blasted away by a grenade. Just saying.

Not that there’s much time to think about it. Cache comes back to life. I can only imagine what he thought, when suddenly everything changes, there’s Crawler in front of you, and you’re bathed with acid that’s likely to kill you in like half a minute. Would Clockblocker freezing him again save him?

And once again Skitter wonders what I was wondering! The part about what Cache may have been thinking, that is. This update she and I really are wondering the same things.

Somehow, Cache stays calm. He doesn’t panic while, you know, he’s possibly being dissolved alive in a sea of flames and acid, and tries to release the heroes, something the two Slaughterhouse Nine members don’t want to happen. Both Crawler and Mannequin attack. Weld goes for Crawler, who just lets it happen. Skitter takes on Mannequin with her handgun.

I’m not really sure how effective a handgun is going to be against Mannequin. His shell is bound to be resistant, a bullet won’t be enough to--

Mannequin fell.

How the hell did I manage that?

...yeah! Yeah, I’m wondering that too! Okay, I doubt he fell because he was injured by that. I bet it was the force of the impact or something like that. Not that it stops Skitter from shooting again while Mannequin tries retreating. Cache lets out a few of the heroes, who seem to have a plan already. Glory Girl gets ready to defend everyone, trying to punch Crawler once he gets close enough, misses, and is showered in acid. Her forcefield protects her before Crawler slams his head against her, disabling it. That’s the same strategy Tattletale and Skitter had back during the bank heist, so...yeah, it works this time too.

I could see her skin turning red, then black, where the spittle had covered it. Flesh melted away to reveal muscle, then the acidic vomit began to eat away at that. She screamed, frantic, thrashing, oblivious to the flaming patches of ground that she was rolling into.

...

...Panacea isn’t going to like that. You’re getting blamed, Skitter. She gave you a beetle and everything so you’d help protect Glory Girl, and here’s Glory Girl pretty much dissolving in front of you, and also literally rolling on fire. Goodbye, whatever progress was made in trying to get Panacea to stop being so rancorous.

The rest of the heroes are freed, Cache collapses in the arms of one of the heroes. Crawler approaches Glory Girl, no doubt enjoying the situation and getting ready to deliver the finishing blow. Mannequin...I suppose he ran away. No sign of any other Slaughterhouse Nine member, the rest of Skitter’s friends and allies are away. Nothing Skitter can do, either.

Things went south. You know, like usual in Worm. It’s bound to get better because usually it does, the problem is that it doesn’t always end well, so who knows how this will go. I wonder if Glory Girl will die.

It has been so long since I updated last time, I’m not going to stop here and give such a short update! Continue!

Weld makes sure everyone snaps from the horrible sight of Glory Girl dissolving, telling them to start the plans they had discussed about how to deal with Crawler and Mannequin. Skitter checks who is available to fight. Vista and Flechette are here, nice. Kid Win isn’t here – not surprising, he bowed out during the interlude – and Chariot isn’t here, I suppose he ran away after he passed Piggot’s message. There’s also Miss Militia, Assault, Battery, Prism, and Triumph. Not a bad group of heroes, I’ll say. Will they be enough?

Crawler spat, and Vista used her power, reducing the distance the spit traveled to a tenth of what it might have been. Crawler leaped, and she widened the distance between him and everyone else so he stood in the midst of a clearing.

Sounds to me like Vista may be the edge they need to keep Crawler away! He has no way to counter the spatial manipulation Vista can do, and it doesn’t hurt him. This may be the best trick to deal with him...until they can think of a better strategy. Speaking of hurting Crawler, Flechette can do that, much to Crawler’s joy. He’s enjoying that. Miss Militia shoots at him with a rocket launcher. I’m not sure if that hurts him or not, but it does throw him away. That has to be of some use.

This Prism person is a self-duplicator, always doing it twice. As long as one of the duplicates is alive, she’ll be okay. Prism and Battery are fighting Mannequin, who is being nimble and doesn’t resist the blows. Supple willow and all that. He’s targeting Prism the most, getting rid of two copies and going for the third Prism, Battery saving her life. Meanwhile, the other heroes in condition to fight are attacking Crawler. Glory Girl keeps dissolving.

I wonder if, now that her life is in very grave danger, Glory Girl will let Panacea touch her. It may be necessary. I also wonder if Panacea would take that chance to remove what she had done to Glory Girl’s psyche. She should, she really should, although I think Glory Girl would get very upset once she realizes Panacea touched her brain again.

Skitter tries to get instructions from Weld because this is clearly the best time for that. With some luck the rest of the heroes will keep Crawler so busy he won’t listen to anything Weld says. Weld’s instructions are to throw more grenades on Mannequin. What do you mean you’re out, Skitter, you have one grenade left!

“Then get out of here! You’ll be one less person we have to protect! Our front line’s pretty thin!”

That’s not bad advice. Better to have a worry less. Although, before Skitter manages to leave, he takes another look at Glory Girl and determines if she and Cache are left lying around, they’re as good as dead, so he tells Skitter to take Cache and Glory Girl away. That’s going to be really tough. Skitter has no way to carry them, and her giant beetle isn’t going to be able to carry two people at once. Any ideas, Skitter?

Had to think out of the box. If I could get her out of here, and if the beetle could manage her, I could remotely pilot it to Amy. Those were two pretty huge ifs. No, couldn’t pin my hopes on that.

Was she thinking to put Glory Girl on the beetle and send her to Panacea? While she presumably walks nearby? Hm. That sounds pretty unsafe, Glory Girl could fall down at any moment. Cache disappearing from this dimension gives Skitter one worry less, and also gives her ideas. Very, very strange and nonsensical ideas.

“Can she fly!?” I shouted.

Certainly not in her current state! Geez! Besides, Glory Girl flying high would have the same problem than draping her over the beetle: she could fall! If she faints, I mean. This can’t end well.

Weld asks something to Glory Girl, there seems to be no response, so he turns his arms into poles, inserts them underneath the prone body of Glory Girl, and tosses her in the air towards Skitter – towards the flying beetle with the hundred and eighteen pounds girl precariously riding it. It’s a surprise she managed to grab Glory Girl instead of plummeting to the ground. It’s a major surprise Skitter didn’t get any deadly acid on her.

Apparently Glory Girl is still conscious. She struggles, trying to get away from Skitter, not noticing this is an attempt to help her. Better get going before something else happens, Skitter! And...you know, not flying too high! Because I sure am not putting much stock on Skitter’s physical strength.

It’s with much effort that she manages to hold Glory Girl up, and she shouts at her to start flying, to rise up, anything that doesn’t involve getting both of them to plummet to the ground. Somehow Glory Girl was sensate enough to hear that, and she does fly. Together they fly towards where the rest of the group is.

My beetle needed a name. Had to have a better way of referring to it. A hercules beetle, but bigger, a giant. I thought about Hercules, about the myth; Hercules had borrowed the burden of the giant who carried the world. Atlas.

“Come on, Atlas,” I urged him, “Faster.”

Not the best time to be thinking of names for your newfound pet/vehicle/weapon, Skitter. There are hundreds of better moments other than flying over a burning street carrying a woman who is being eaten by acid. That said, I really like that name! Atlas is a good name. It’s better than Hercules – the one I was thinking, because that’s generic for this species of beetle. I’m glad Skitter has more originality than me.

The reactions when everyone sees the wreck that is Glory Girl are what you’d expect. Panacea’s immediate reaction is to rush at her.

“Heal her! Just don’t touch the spots where the acid hit her!”

I have to wonder, what can Panacea do about the acid? Unless it’s removed, it will keep eating the flesh, won’t it? Hmmmm...washing Glory Girl seems dangerous, though. She has several open wounds. Pouring water or any other fluids on it can’t be healthy. I suppose saving Glory Girl depends on what’s quicker: Panacea’s healing or Crawler’s acid. Her chances of survival seem lower and lower with every line I read, I swear.

If Glory Girl was sensate enough to hold herself in the air when Skitter told her to, then she’s sensate enough to reject Panacea, telling her to not do anything, and making sure to demonstrate her point by slamming her good hand against the pavement. It’d kill Panacea if it hits her. Everyone else tells Panacea to do it anyway, which I’m sure she’d love to, if it wasn’t because Glory Girl would kill her as soon as she could.

Amy shook her head, talking over her, “She’s always been emotional, passionate, unrestrained, and she’s channeling all this new emotion into hate, because it’s the closest equivalent.”

You know what people say? That love and hate aren’t that different. She must be pouring all her energy in converting the love she forcibly feels, I figure.

Naturally, everyone has their own opinions and questions. Regent outright claims Panacea mindraped Glory Girl, which is pretty accurate. When Panacea tries to defend herself like anyone would – it was an accident – nobody believes her. Imp even questions how that’s possible. If it wasn’t for Tattletale telling them to stop, they’d have continued grilling Panacea. I’m pretty sure her psyche wouldn’t have taken that well. Last thing she needs is a bunch of villains’ judgment about her actions, even if it’s rightly judgment.

Tattletale tells Glory Girl they’re going to pour sterile water over her, so Panacea takes the chance to knock Glory Girl out. That’s not going to improve the broken relationship at all, but it’s for the better this was done. Time to start fixing this mess!

“So much to do,” Amy mumbled, “Have to counter the acid with some kind of physiological byproduct, have to stop the enzymes from liquefying her entire body, and repair the damage. Trying to make some kind of firebreak to stop the spread of the venom, withdraw the proteins the venom is using to propagate itself. There isn’t enough tissue in her body for everything I need to do to fix her.”

It really is like I had said, about who was faster! If Panacea or the acid! Although it sounds like a match Panacea’s going to lose, if there’s not even enough tissue to fix her. Perhaps she can duplicate the cells quickly once the acid has been neutralized? It’d have to be creating new flesh out of nowhere, but it could be the only solution.

Okay, things are going more or less well. The necrotic tissue is being replaced by healthier tissue. I don’t think she’s reviving it, at least. While Panacea works on that, Skitter gets asked if she will return to help. She won’t.

I turned to Amy. “Do you want me to bring bugs? Maggots eat only dead flesh, which might be helpful if-”

“No. I can handle that.”

“Or I could get some of the more useless bugs, like the ones you used to make Atlas, for raw material.”

Amy turned to give me an incredulous look.

It’s a solution. Gross as heck, and I’m sure Glory Girl would hate the thought of having flesh made out of insects, but...it’s a solution – a placeholder while real flesh forms. Panacea doesn’t seem too pleased about this proposal, though, and Regent sure isn’t helping. Maybe Regent is really against mindrape nowadays. No doubt the result of his father and Cherish’s uses for their powers.

There’s Skitter, trying to defuse the situation by defending her suggestion and saying quite correctly that bugs would be a source of materials to help fix Glory Girl. The grossness and the potential unsanitary quality of that – something Panacea can solve, I’d say – are the problems here.

“It was an idle thought, but I was thinking that if we got into a food shortage, I could feed my people with bugs”

Ohohoho, I’d have loved to see that. Skitter would have a hard time convincing his people to eat insects. We westerners have a certain disgust towards this kind of concepts, and although I think in dire situations we’d suck up and accept it’s necessary, that doesn’t mean we won’t complain and try to bargain for other solutions.

Still not helping, Regent! Although bug-borg is a fun word. Skitter gets defensive over her idea of feeding bugs to her people, and even is asked if she has eaten bugs before, to which she replies she hasn’t. Hah! Pretty doubtful. Ants get everywhere, I can guarantee everyone eats ants every week unwittingly.

“Please,” Amy cut in. “Can you?”

I turned to her. It took me a second to realize what she meant, after the line of questioning from the others.

Oh. Oh! Oh my god, for a moment I forgot they’re all teasing and messing with Skitter while Glory Girl is lying around, on the verge of death, and Panacea panics over saving her. I’m sure Panacea absolutely loved that. She must have appreciated how their joking and teasing took priority, haha! It sucks to be her.

No, she’s not asking Skitter to start eating bugs, she’s asking Skitter to gather the bugs, like she said she could, so she does. I suppose the placeholder skin plan is a go! This is also how she made the beetle, I think. As soon as she gets the bugs, she dissolves them into their constituent parts and pretty much presses...the resulting mush? Onto Glory Girl. And it’s taken immediately. The process is repeated a few times, and here I am sitting and wondering just how freaking weird the concept of Glory Girl currently having skin made of insects kind of healing her injuries right now. Pretty original stuff, if you ask me.

Glory Girl didn’t look ‘done’. Scars crawled across her body, angry-looking, surrounded by burns from the acid and flames. Her skin in areas where the flesh had melted away was so new and stretched so thin that it was translucent, and there was little to no body fat to pad the area between skin and muscle.

As long as there are no open wounds then it should be okay. The danger with infections and the such is that infectious agents enter the body. If there’s no place to enter, then there’s no infection. It’s the same principle behind bandages and the such, if I’m not mistaken, and just as temporal. The problem is knowing how long it’ll be before this can be replaced with real flesh.

Tattletale suggests to undo whatever Panacea had done to Glory Girl – to her brain, she means – and leave. Panacea refuses, because Glory Girl will need her attentions in order to heal properly. Unless Glory Girl is kept knocked out for as long as that takes, she’s going to fight that vigorously, and there’s something real sketchy about keeping someone unconscious for a long period of time unless they’re at a hospital or something, and even then Panacea’s going to have to think of a very good excuse to do that. Quite the problem for Panacea.

“That’s her choice. You saved her life, good on you, but you need to let her make the call.”

She’s not wrong. Really, Tattletale is completely right about this. What I’m not certain is if this is enough to save her life. From what I read during this chapter, Glory Girl was in an awful state. There could be further consequences. Maybe Panacea should call for the heroes to take her sister to a hospital or something and then walk away, but will she do that?

She’s not in a good emotional state right now. The advice Tattletale’s giving her is rejected because she’s a villain and therefore why should Tattletale care about this? She insists and tells her to leave Glory Girl alone after she fixed her mind.

“If she fights me and doesn’t let me finish-”

“That’s her choice.” Tattletale repeated herself.

“No! That’s- that’s not her. That’s the change I made doing the talking, or the aftermath of it.”

I can’t decide if she’s right or not. I mean, of course Glory Girl is royally pissed Panacea messed with her head. Who wouldn’t be? Love or not? So I’m pretty convinced there’s a lot of anger in her. But it’s also possible some of her reactions and extreme vitriol are a consequence of, as Panacea puts it: ‘emotional cocktails and hormonal balances’. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, who knows.

She’s channeling it into anger instead of… instead of love.”

Love. The implications were so fucked up. It was the sort of thing Heartbreaker did.

No comment from Regent at this point. It’s a shame, that’s a missed chance – and it’s not like he’s afraid of saying something at bad times, you know.

“You need to fix her mind now. For you, not for her. Maybe she’ll forgive you at a later date, when she’s thinking clearly again,” Tattletale said. “Maybe then she can approach you, you two can start interacting again, you rebuild that trust over months or years, and you can finish healing her body when she gives you her permission.”

Pretty unlikely, if you ask me. Even if Glory Girl forgives her, I really doubt she’ll let herself be touched by Panacea ever again. Healing the natural and slow way isn’t going to mess with your emotions, after all!

Her conflicted emotions make her blame herself for everything. She thinks what she did ruined Glory Girl’s focus, or made her too aggressive – disproved by Skitter immediately – or didn’t get enough sleep, or her emotions made her not react quick enough...she’s looking for a way to blame herself, pretty much. Because she hates herself that much. Despite that, she has a plan.

Said plan is to patch her up and then leave. Easier said than done. She wakes up Glory Girl and helps her stand up. She will heal Glory Girl, and then she’ll go away and get work, use her powers for something useful...now that she doesn’t have a family to stay with anymore. Dang.

“And the last thing you’ll do for your family is this? Hypnotizing your sister when she’s already mad at you for assaulting her and fucking with her head?” Tattletale asked.

...I hadn’t touched that because her plan was more relevant in that paragraph, but yeah, she’s doing exactly that! Great! Like things weren’t bad enough. If Glory Girl remembers Panacea forced her to be okay with her presence and submit to treatment by what pretty much amounts to force, she’s going to get even more pissed off. Goodbye, any possibility of being forgiven.

Skitter tries to intervene because this is wrong, and Panacea isn’t being receptive to the advice they’re giving her. She even says Panacea asked her to intervene and talk when it was time to make the call in tough situations.

“Because you had the experience in making calls on morality in dangerous situations, situations where I can’t even think straight,” Amy said. Her voice hardened a little, “But I have the impression that you don’t have that same expertise when it comes to family.”

...um...well on the bright side she recognized Skitter is good at that. Nice. But at this point it’s not about family, to me it’s starting to seem more like a matter of what’s right and what’s wrong. Still, that shuts up Skitter.

“I’m trying to fix this!” Amy raised her voice. “Why are you making this a thing? Why do you even care?”

Tattletale shrugged. “I talked about it with Grue, Bitch and Regent. We were considering offering you a place on the team.”

...ahaha, wait, what? They actually discussed it? That wasn’t a mere possibility I floated around just because I thought it’d be fun? If Mr. Wildbow had decided to, she could have actually joined the team? Well, I actually didn’t see this coming! A couple things that are worth pointing out...hm, first than all, that Skitter wasn’t consulted. I wonder why. Narratively I’m guessing it was to surprise us readers with this line. In the story, though...I’m not sure why Tattletale didn’t talk with Skitter.

Second, does that mean Regent Grue and Heckpuppy accepted? They’d have welcomed Panacea to the team? Color me surprised! I imagine Heckpuppy may have approved simply because she didn’t care enough to fight back, but she wouldn’t have been happy about it anyway.

Third, ‘were’? That means it’s not an option anymore? Oh well. Sucks for Panacea. I don’t know what direction her story in Worm will take, but I’m pretty sure it’ll end being wildly different to whatever would have happened if she had joined the Undersiders. Kind of looking forward to finding out.

Amy scowled, “As if. You’re such hypocrites. Regent mind controls people all the time!”

“Regent mind controls the monsters, the bad guys,” I said.

“Taking advantage of bad people for selfish ends.”

Technically she’s right. Not that it changes anything.

“What you’re doing is selfish,” Tattletale cut in. “You think you’re doing it for her, but you’re only doing it to soothe your own guilt.”

Once another thing that’s correct. Then again, it’s not like what Tattletale and the others were suggesting wouldn’t soothe Panacea’s guilt. The only difference was that with their more sensible-yet-still-not-ideal suggestion, Panacea wouldn’t be anywhere near Glory Girl. That’s the problem, in Panacea’s opinion.

Before she leaves, she turns to Skitter and reveals she made all the bugs in a manner that meant they’d starve to death after like a week. Welp. I should have guessed there’d be a catch. She wouldn’t help a villain just like that. I should have known. You know what’s the part I feel bad about? That the giant beetle will die. Seriously, that’s a pity. It’d have been nice to have that. Without giving any space for arguments, she and Glory Girl turn around to leave. So long, Panacea, until next time.

I was pissed off enough that I wanted to hit someone. I couldn’t even articulate the entirety of why I was so angry. I’d gone out of my way to be nice to her, to empathize, to save her sister, and save both of their lives. And this was how she repaid me? A slap in the face, a final gesture to make her distrust for me as blatant as possible?

After this, I’m pretty convinced she’d have done it in any situation. In fact, maybe it’d have been a sign of extreme desperation if she hadn’t done such a failsafe to prevent Skitter from having a useful tool for too long. She doesn’t trust anyone at all.

Seeing how distraught Skitter was over this betrayal, Grue offers to take a look and try to use his powers to help. There was a risk he’d accidentally wreck the beetle because he’s not Panacea, but it’s better than doing nothing and letting it die in a week anyway so...yeah. He covers Panacea and Glory Girl with his power, and shifts the beetle’s insides around until the heroines are out of his range. Whether it was successful or not remains to be seen.

“The only thing I have any knowledge about is myself. I don’t know if it’s going to work, but he has a human digestive system. Or something close to it, that worked with his body. Near as I can figure, everything connects to what it’s supposed to.”

...oh. Oh, delightful. And totally not weird at all. This is far weirder than Glory Girl having patches of skin made from insects. Great. And now I’m kind of picturing that, and I feel squeamish and I absolutely loathe you for making me think about this, Mr. Wildbow. I didn’t want to spend any time of my life thinking about insect guts. Thanks a lot.

It’s a good thing Skitter has good knowledge of insects and the such, I trust she’ll take good care of Atlas. Maybe he’ll be okay despite everything.

Now that this conundrum about the beetle’s impending death was solved, it’s time to decide what to do. Grue tells Skitter to go and scout the area, do something because she’s restless. Regent suggests she searches for Jack and Bonesaw so they can kill them. Yeeeeeah, no. Not going to happen.

I shook my head. “They disappeared. Literally. I’m not sure if they’re dead or if they found a hiding spot.”

Good rule of thumb: if you don’t see their corpses and you don’t confirm by yourself they’re not dead and you haven’t separated their heads from their necks, then don’t even dare to think they’re dead. That’s my personal thought about these two. Sure is going to be hard to convince me they’re dead if anything happens, haha!

There’s a short discussion of where they could have gone. The Siberian was going towards a specific place, and it seems to have been to a different place than Bonesaw and Jack. That said, Tattletale seems to know where they may be.

“Then I think I know where they went. It’s quite obvious when you think about it. A place they could have researched in advance, unoccupied by anyone of consequence, capable of withstanding hits from virtually anything, supplied with food and water…”

Only when I reached the part about supplied with food and water I figured where it’d be. A shelter, right? Still, I imagine they won’t stay in there for long, so the food and water part isn’t important. I’m guessing it’s the ‘withstanding hits from virtual anything’ part. What better place to hide from a bombing? Not that I think the heroes would bomb a shelter, but it still is a line of thought I’d get to.

“The emergency shelters for Endbringer attacks,” I finished for her.

Really strong shelters. There must be several in the town, but they know in what direction those two went. That’ll narrow things down. I suppose that means the next chapter will be searching for this shelter. Will there be a confrontation? It sure feels early for such a thing, so my guess is that there won’t be.

That’s the end of this chapter, so I’ll end the update here. I apologize for how long it took!

Next time: in four updates

#worm #worm liveblog #webserial #webserial liveblog #liveblog

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skarsbill-blog · 7 years ago

Text

Bill x Reader - Neighbours.

Request: Y/N and Bill live in the same building and get to know each other through running in to one another.

Another request! I’ve decided I want to focus on these for a while, I’m finding them more enjoyable to write and knowing I’m writing something people have specifically asked for feels a bit more productive. I altered this request a little bit but I hope you still like it!

I’ve had some really good requests tonight and I’m excited to plan those out and begin writing them tomorrow.

REQUESTS ARE OPEN, please send in whatever you’d like to see from me.

Note: If you’ve sent one in, I will get to it. I keep your message in my inbox so I don’t forget what you have suggested and when I have posted your request I will reply to your message.

Happy reading! Don’t forget to let me know what you think.

MASTERLIST

Yet another Monday morning that had come around far too soon. I prepared myself for work, going through all of the usual motions of having my coffee, doing my hair, putting on my face and then picking an outfit out of the department store I called my closet. I opted for a tight black shirt tucked in to a black high waisted skater skirt and a cape style coat with beautiful gold buttons down the middle. I finished my outfit with my usual gold rings, watch and black heels. After filling my travel mug with yet another coffee or two, I grabbed my bag and I was out the door.

I made it for the elevator just as someone else did, my neighbour Bill. We lived on the same floor and often ran in to each other in the mornings and afternoons. We had never really progressed past a polite hello and how was your day, but those times were nice nevertheless. Bill gave off a very kind vibe, he was light and vibrant. You knew well who he was as far as his career went, but when you looked at him you still just saw Bill, the tall, handsome and friendly guy that lived on your floor, and you believed that Bill had noticed this, realising I wasn’t someone who recognised him for his fame but who he actually was.

“Hey Bill, how are you?” I initiated the conversation, confidence exuding from me as I pulled my phone out and flicked through some emails. I smiled at him as he replied, “I’m good Y/N, how are you babe?” He smiled at me and my heart fluttered at his words, knowing very well they were casual but liking the sound of them anyway. “Good thank you.” I grinned at him, admiring his face and just how breathtakingly handsome he truly was. The elevator arrived on the ground floor and we both jumped out. The building was extremely secure and perfect for people like Bill who required a quiet place to live, free from interruptions and by interruptions I mean fans. “You know Y/N, we always see each other in the hall but we never hang out, we should do that some time.” I nodded happily in agreement, loving the idea of actually sitting down and having a conversation with Bill that extended past our usual greetings on the way to the ground floor in the elevator. “That sounds really good,” Deciding to go a step further with my confidence this morning by suggesting a time to do exactly that, I spoke up once again “Whenever you’re free next, just come around.” “Saturday night?” “Sounds perfect, I’ll see you then.” I waved at him, smiling brightly as I turned and wandered away in the direction of my office building.

Saturday came around sooner than I thought and while I prepared all of the nibbles and drinks I had planned for us for the evening, I found myself growing giddy at the thought of spending time with Bill one on one. I had set plenty of food and drinks out on the table for the both of us and had made sure my apartment looked perfectly tidy. When Bill knocked on my door I just about jumped over the back of the sofa to get to him, opening it and smiling widely at the tall gentleman standing on the other side.

“Please, come in!” I moved to the side so he could step in freely, taking in his casual outfit choice that consisted of black skinny jeans and a white t-shirt. “Nice to see you again Y/N, what are our plans for this evening?” He asked calmly, looking around and eyeing off the refreshments on the coffee table. “Well, I have a few movies for you to pick from, plenty of food and drinks. I figured we could just hang out and talk”. I had never been one to go out in public and sit in some loud restaurant when I was trying to get to know someone and I certainly wasn’t embarrassed to make it obvious that I much preferred a cosy night in. Bill didn’t seem bothered by this as he smiled in response, making himself comfortable on the sofa, pulling one of my many fluffy blankets over his lap and perusing through all of the movies I had set out. “Sounds perfect!” He tilted his head up at me, watching me wander around the sofa and sit down next to him.

Bill eventually picked a movie and we sat comfortably with each other, watching it intently until it all became too boring and we immersed ourselves in conversation. We told each other about what was going on in our lives at the moment and what we were planning for the future. We spoke of our families, where we both came from and what we liked and didn’t like all the way from food to people. We had a lot in common and I wasn’t sure whether or not I was surprised by this. Bill was exactly as I thought he would be, easy to talk to and comfortable to be around, the perfect kind of person to spend one’s time with.

Over the coming weeks Bill and I found ourselves in each other’s company more often than not, and I for one certainly was not complaining. It had been indescribably enjoyable to be around someone so level headed, at least in comparison to where I was in life and the kind of person I needed around me. He made my head feel clear, he was that kind of person if you know what I mean, someone who made everything else go away, at least for a little while. It wouldn’t be too much to say that I had developed a rather large crush on him either, I mean how could I not. He was kind, beautiful, considerate, attractive, funny.. all of the best things in a person. I was appreciative that I had the opportunity to spend so much time with him and to get to know him on a basis that I knew not many people did. Although now, in consideration of the undeniable attraction I felt towards him, I couldn’t help but grow progressively more nervous at the thought of being around him. I began to find it hard to form sentences, and suddenly my cool demeanour I was able to maintain around him at any other given time has become history.

Bill was sitting at my counter, watching me wander around and gather the ingredients for a cup of English breakfast for me and a coffee for him. I could feel his eyes follow me as I moved quickly around my kitchen, thinking far too hard about remaining calm in front of Bill. It was surreal how quickly this crush had effected me, usually I was completely at ease around him and now I felt like I might throw up. “You’re acting weird..” He mumbled, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. I paused, surprised I failed to remember that Bill knew me well enough by now to notice when something was up and wishing I had tried harder to hide it. “Am I?” I feigned surprise, “I’m not trying to, sorry.” I attempted my best fake smile while I boiled the kettle, praying that this was enough for him to drop it. He stood, walking over to me as I turned to watch him. He took this opportunity to move closer, pinning me between the counter and his torso. “Y/N, tell me what’s going on.” He watched me sternly, intimidating me the best way he knew how in an effort to get me to spill whatever I was keeping from him. “Bill, this is completely embarrassing and I know I’ll regret this when you run for the hills, but I may have developed a tiny crush on you?” The last part came out as more of a question than a statement, my voice going a few octaves higher than usual. He smirked at me and I felt my cheeks flush while I waited nervously for his response. I was preparing my escape plan in my head, moving past his tall figure was the first stage and the second was locking myself in my bedroom for the rest of eternity. He took my face in both of his hands and spoke as calmly as I had ever hard him speak, “Well thank god, I thought I was the only one here with a crush on the other person in the room.” My eyes grew wide and I looked at him like he wasn’t speaking English, unable to fathom Bill liking me in the same way I had grown to like him. I mean I don’t know what I was expecting, he’s the perfect friend, now best friend and I can imagine he would be even better than the perfect boyfriend.

We stood there and took each other in for what felt like forever, before I felt Bill’s lips against my own. It was the softest and most thoughtful kiss I was sure I had ever received, I closed my eyes and savoured the moment, sinking in to his hands on the sides of my face as he traced the my cheekbone ever so softly with the pads of his thumbs. “What do you say to being.. together?” He asked me, avoiding the words boyfriend and girlfriend because we had agreed during one of our many conversations that those phrases made us both cringe. “I’d say that that sounds perfect.” I smiled, my chin against his chest, leaning up to kiss his cheek before attending back to our beverages. He wrapped his arms around me from behind, burying his head in to the crook of my neck where he left playful kisses. This felt perfect, the mere realisation of what this now meant making my heart feel more at home than it ever had with another person. “I think it sounds pretty perfect myself.” He said softly against the shell of my ear, leaving a chaste kiss against my jawline. I knew in that moment that this man was all I needed, considering myself the luckiest woman alive and thanking whichever god was out there that I had found myself living in this building, riding the elevator every single day with someone I would soon come to discover I would spend the rest of my life with.

#bill skarsgard #bill skarsgård x reader #bill skarsgard imagine #bill skarsgard fanfiction #skarsgard #hemlock grove #roman godfrey #pennywise

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dancingalone21 · 7 years ago

Text

Pop Princess

Summary: The truth is revealed on the set of the reader’s new music video.

Pairing: bodyguard!Jensen x popstar!Reader

Word Count: 2,065

Jensen grits his teeth, biting back a low growl, he can feel a dangerous rumble in his chest that’s threatening to escape. His fury filled eyes witness you greedily accept every seductive touch from your co-star Justyn.

Your bodyguard is fully aware that the sexual bullshit playing out before him is just acting. That it’s your job at the moment to portray a lustful, passionate relationship for the camera. Although it doesn’t lessen the strong urge of wanting to break your co-stars face.

Feeling himself start to overheat, Jensen harshly rips off his black leather jacket in an attempt to breathe. Unfortunately it’s futile because his blood continues to boil, failing to allow any form of sweet relief.

Suddenly feeling a heavy gaze, Jensen’s eyes snap to his left where he catches your stylist Megan sending him quizzical look. He starts to slightly panic because he thought his inner battle was kept under control. Now he’s paranoid about his feelings bubbling to the surface.

“Moving on!” The director shouts up into the air, on command the music and lights are cut and everyone jumps into action to setup for the next shot.

“Oh thank Christ.” Jensen already breaks out into a fast stride towards where you’re standing. He can’t help but groan loudly as Justyn wraps his muscular arms around you one last time to say goodbye.

You and your handsome bodyguard finally lock eyes as he impatiently waves you over. You squint noticing that he seems uncharacteristically flustered right now.

“You alright, Jay? Your face is all red.”

“I’m fine. Let’s go.” Jensen replies half-heartedly motioning in the direction of your trailer. Deciding to just leave it be, a curious smile appears on your face as you let him lead the way.

“You gonna wear actual clothes this time around?” Jensen automatically detects the hint of jealously in his voice and it makes him wince as he shuts the door behind him.

“I didn’t realize I had to run my wardrobe by you, Ackles.” You deliver dryly, not missing the way Jensen's jaw tightens.

"Well now you know. So act accordingly." Satisfied with his witty remark, Jensen ignores your roll of the eyes and proceeds to plop down onto the couch.

"Doing anything fun on your day off tomorrow?" Donny inquires sweeping aside your wavy locks to dust bronzer over your chest and shoulders.

"I'm going to Disneyland!" You giddily clap your hands and start bouncing in your seat.

Your words bring Jensen into an automatic state of uneasiness and he's now officially dreading tomorrow. He knows you going to a supermarket can turn into a shitshow, never mind a god damn theme park.

"Are you sure, Y/N?" Jensen hesitantly peels himself off of the couch and moves slowly to stand behind your chair. He looks apprehensive as he makes eye contact with you in the mirror.

"Yes! Don't worry. You get the day off too, Jay. Go do whatever you want." You happily inform him, giving his brooding reflection a thumbs up.

"Funny. What time will we leave? I'll call and get a VIP guide setup to take us around to the rides." Jensen misses the immediate scowl on your face, too busy typing away on his iPhone.

"I'm serious, Jensen. It doesn't need to be turned into a celebrity thing. I don't want a guide shuffling me around the park and pushing me to the front of the line for every ride. I just wanna be normal for once." It's now your bodyguard's turn to have the scowl and he certainly wears it well.

"Besides Joel will be with me." You add quickly casting your eyes down to fidget with your bracelet. You're already aware of Jensen's opinion of him and it's definitely not in your favor.

"Joel. Your moron guitar player? You're kidding, right? He couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag. There's no way in hell I'm trusting him to protect you."

"Jay..."

"Not happening, Y/N. End of discussion." Jensen declares sternly.

"Don't talk to me like I'm a god damn child, dude." You grumble in frustration while friggin Donny is squeezing your face with his hand to keep it in place. Impatiently waiting for him to fix your smokey eyes, he finally finishes with a loud 'ta-da!'

"Can you guys please excuse us? Go get yourselves a coffee or something at craft services." You smile sweetly but it fails to reach your eyes, thankfully Donny and Megan exit the trailer with no questions asked.

"I'm your boss ya know." Not bothering to spin around in your chair, you decide to send him a hard glare through your reflection in the mirror.

"I don't care."

"Damn it, Jensen! I'm the celebrity. You're the bodyguard. You do what I say." In a loud huff, you hop off of your chair and twirl around to face him determined to stand your ground.

"To the world, you're a celebrity. To me, you're still the brace faced dork who made up dances to Madonna songs in her backyard." He cheekily replies making your mouth drop open in shock.

"How the hell do you know about that? I was like eleven!"

"I was your next door neighbor, dumb ass. I could see you from my bedroom window."

"Oh. So you were a stalker at fourteen years old. That's not creepy at all." You tell him narrowing your eyes.

"Stalker? Yeah totally. I was taking notes in my Ren and Stimpy notebook." With a shake of his head, Jensen starts chuckling at the aggravated look covering your face.

"At least you admit it." You mutter under your breath.

"For your fucking information...that asshole John from down the street always picked on the younger kids. I was watching over your stubborn ass even back then." Jensen laughs humorlessly realizing just how long you've had a hold on him.

"Whatever. There's a reason that my former bodyguards didn't work out. I don't need a babysitter, Ackles."

"You got along with all of them until they disagreed with you. Two got fired and the third quit. Nice track record."

"You're giving me a headache, man." You moan dramatically, doing your best to focus on something that isn't the green eyed man.

"You know what the difference is between me and those other guys?" Jensen intentionally speaks louder making your head snap up to attention.

"Enlighten me."

"I. don't. give. a. fuck. You can whine, cry, bitch, yell, have a tantrum...doesn't matter. I've seen the best of you and I've definitely seen the worst. So give me your best shot, princess." He finishes with a smirk that drives you wild and you'd like nothing more than to wipe it off his fucking face.

"Yeah well I'm gonna tell Jared that you're being a dick to me." You regret the childish words the second they fly out of your mouth. Annoyed with yourself, you pretend that you didn't just revert back and act like a twelve year old.

"Awww you're going to go tattle tale to your big brother? Go ahead. He's my best friend. No skin off my back."

"You're the one who wanted this job so bad, Ackles. I wouldn't act so cocky."

"I...I'm sorry?" Jensen looks taken aback, searching your face to see if you're fucking with him.

"You're the one who begged Jared to get me to hire you!" You respond exasperated now pacing around the trailer.

"Are you high?!" Jensen spits out causing you to automatically freeze in front of him.

"I know you didn't have any job offers after you left the Marines. Jared convinced me to let you have the job."

"That little mother fucker." Jensen growls pulling a confused expression from you.

"I had a job lined up with my friend's business but I backed out because he practically pleaded with me to take this one."

"That doesn't make sense, Jay."

"Jared said you wanted someone you were comfortable with and that you could trust. And that you wanted me to do it." He barely glaces at you, focusing more on the pit developing in his stomach.

The obvious question of why Jared would arrange this is hanging in the air, neither of you wanting to be the one to voice it first. Of course you figure it’s because of your hidden feelings for Jensen.

You’ve never admitted them to your brother but he knows you all too well. This is the bastard’s way of trying to get you to reveal them. You’re not easily intimidated but this man has always driven you to the point of madness.

"It wasn't my idea. I had another security guard hired and then I had to drop him." You purse your lips wishing that your brother was here, you want to strangle him for putting you in this embarrassing situation.

While you’re lost in thought, Jensen sinks back down onto the couch feeling worn down by this whole ordeal. Leave it to Jared to exhaust everyone when he's not even in the same fucking state.

"My brother's done a lot of ridiculous shit over the years but this one takes the cake." You say quietly now feeling extremely awkward with every movement that you make.

"I knew it." Jensen scoffs clasping his hands so tight that his knuckles are turning white.

"Knew what?"

"When I first started, I mentioned to Jared that you didn't seem too thrilled that I was around. He said to give it time, that you were just being shy. And I bought it!"

"I can be shy." You state defensively, dropping down next to him onto the couch.

"Shy my ass. You were just half naked, dry humping some random guy in a room full of people." Jensen spits out before he can stop himself. He reluctantly turns towards you and then encounters the ultimate bitch face. Screw it.

"But you're the princess of pop so apparently being risque is acceptable. What the hell do I know?" He finishes now unable to control the judgmental shit being aimed your way.

"You sound like a jealous fucking prick right now!” You’re instantly alarmed about what just slipped out of your damn unfiltered mouth. It seems to have woken something deep inside of Jensen who looks extremely close to flipping his shit.

“Maybe because I am!” Jensen roars propelling himself into the middle of the room.

Jensen’s gesturing wildly and you’re praying that he continues his rant because you are at a fucking loss. You’re understanding his words but your brain is not fucking registering them.

“So naturally your idiot brother decides to step in and rearrange my entire god damn life, making me a permanent fixture in your crazy world. As if me being around you 24/7 would make me grow some balls. Shit. I guess the joke’s on me because here we fucking are.”

Finally pausing to catch his breath, Jensen gives you his full attention and it makes your head start swimming. So much for being your usual confident self, you feel like you’re on the verge of a panic attack.

“Well...are you gonna say anything, Y/N?!”

#2.5 followers oneshot #bodyguard!jensen #popstar!reader #jared padalecki #jared padalecki au #supernatural #pop princess #jensen ackles #jensen x reader #jensen ackles x reader #jensen ackles au #supernatural rpf #rpf jensen #jensen ackles rpf #dean winchester #jensen ackles fanfic #spn reader insert #supernatural au

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librapinof · 7 years ago

Text

Welcome to Forever (pt.2)

Title: Welcome to Forever (pt 2.)

Warnings: nothing too extreme, just passionate love making

Rating: R

Author: me, you guessed it, another oc

Yes, this is adult content. You have been warned.

Find me on wattapad Or ao3

Summary: "Phil chuckled softly against Dan's lips, feeling how eager the smaller boy was under him. He reached for the hem of Dan's shirt, pushing it up and pulling it off, tossing it aside to be found with his own as he attached his mouth to Dan's nipple, sucking lightly and nibbling ever to lightly on it to tease the younger underneath him."

Words: 2452

~*~*~

"Phil, please. Phil please tell me where we're going!" Dan begged as they sat on their seat of their plane. Somehow even with all the airport security of 2017, Phil had found a way to get them on a plane together without Dan truly knowing where they were going.

"You'll find out when we get there, Dan," Phil laughed as he twirled the ring on his finger.

"Ugh, fine," Dan succumbed as he sat back on the bed of their plane, rolling onto his side to face away from Phil in a mock tantrum. Since it was a longer flight, Phil had splurged for a deluxe flight that came with a double bed they would share. They'd flown like that before, but this time they were officially husband and husband.

"You love me, so you'll love this," Phil teased as he continued to stare at the ring on his finger. It was 20 October 2017, they had just been married yesterday in a small ceremony featuring their immediate family and only a few close friends.

"Yeah, I do," Dan mumbled back, gazing at his own ring. It was the same one Phil had proposed with, but because of the fans and their attention to details, he hadn't been able to wear it much through the past year. A smile was wide across his face as he twirled the ring around his finger, in love with the feeling of having it on.

"Babbeee, roll over and face me, I miss your face," Phil played as he poked at Dan's shoulders.

"You were just staring at it 15 seconds ago you spoon," Dan played as he rolled over to face Phil, all of his frustration about not knowing where they were going dissolving in an instant as Phil instantly connected their lips.

Their kiss was long and slow, full of passion and pure love but with no intentions of progressing farther. Dan brought both of his hands up to hold Phil's cheeks as they kissed, bringing himself as close to the older boy as he could. Their tongues danced past each other in a practised motion, everything familiar yet filled with the same passion as if it was their first kiss all over again.

Phil pulled away from Dan with a soft chuckle as he heard the soft whimper escape from Dan's parted lips.

"You'll get more later, you silly. I know how you get though and I don't want you horny and wanting me on this plane. You're definitely not quiet enough for that," Phil chuckled softly to Dan, gazing right into his eyes.

"I don't want to admit it, but you're right," Dan mumbled, nuzzling his face into Phil's chest, getting cozy for the plane ride.

Phil ruffled Dan's hair playfully before settling down to run his fingers through Dan's curly, fluffy hair lazily.

"We must be going somewhere far if you booked a plane with beds," Dan purred softly against Phil's chest, his curiosity about where they were going coming back.

"Well, that much I can't hide," Phil replied with a gentle laugh, "but just sleep through it, or we can put on a movie. I promise you'll more than love it when we get there."

"Can we put on a movie?" Dan asked softly, looking up at Phil through his eyelashes.

"O'course, which one do you want?" Phil asked

"I found this one called Slapshot that might be really funny even if we don't understand the sport," Dan said with a goofy grin, knowing Phil would agree to anything.

"Daniel James Howell wants to watch a sports movie?" Phil laughed, logging into their online movie account.

"That's Daniel James Lester to you, mister," Dan laughed, grabbing at Phil's left hand to wiggle the ring and remind him, "and my dad said it was a good one so I figured give it a shot, if anything we can fall asleep to it."

(a/n: i love the movie slapshot so i'm making them watch it, don't judge, it's a fic for godssake)

"God I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing that, Daniel Lester, what a name," Phil said as he found the movie and started it up, setting it up so they could both see it before laying back, snaking both of his arms tight around his husband.

They laid together through the movie, actually falling asleep half way through thanks to the exhaustion from the emotional high that had been their wedding.

Phil woke during a bout of turbulence, his sleep easily disturbed by the roughness of the plane in the air. To calm his now very awake brain, he gazed lovingly at his husband's face, staring at every feature like he was seeing Dan's face for the first time. While Dan slept he could see the small 18 year old he met at Piccadilly station back in 2009, the small timid little boy who ran right into his arms as they met in person for that first time. It was one of the memories he always went to when Dan was in one of his moods, something that held him together when his (now) husband was mad at anyone and everything.

As Phil stared at Dan's face, Dan slowly woke, waking up to change his position with Phil. He reached a hand up to rub his eyes before looking up, noticing his husband staring right at him. Dan smiled wide, loving how Phil never looked away when Dan caught him staring.

"Hey," Dan whispered up to Phil, just barely breaking the silence between them.

"Hey there," Phil whispered back, a smile wide across his face as he continued to gaze at Dan.

Dan rolled himself up, snaking his long arms around Phil's neck and laying his face onto Phil's chest, nuzzling his face against Phil's pec as he snuggled up to his husband.

They stayed like that for the rest of the flight, Phil falling back asleep as he held onto Dan. They slept as best they could for being on the slightly small air plane bed, not truly waking until the intercom voice came on to tell them that they're close to landing.

"You're so cozy," Dan purred softly as he started to fully wake up, rubbing his eyes hard with the back of his hand.

"Same to you, babyboy," Phil purred as he did the same, adjusting as he realised he'd fallen asleep with Dan with his glasses on.

Dan giggled ever so softly as he stretched out his long limbs, sitting up to prepare for landing.

"This ride has been great, I can't imagine what you have planned for us when we get off," Dan said softly, his voice thick with sleep.

"As we land, letting you know it's a nice, 30 degrees (celsius), and local time is 7:46pm," The voice over the intercom informed them.

"30 degrees?" Dan asked with wide eyes, "where are we?"

"You'll see when we get off," Phil answered with a soft smile, knowing his secret was out soon.

"Phil Lester what have you set up for us?" Dan asked, playfully pushing at Phil.

"Again, you'll see." Phil answered, playfully pushing Dan back.

The rest happened in a blur, the two boys exited the plane as gracefully as two 6-foot tall men could, making their way to baggage claim and to the taxi waiting for them out in the car park.

"This is beautiful, Phil," Dan said as he watched out the window of the taxi, trying to understand the foreign language on all of the road signs.

"We're in Villingili, Maldives, Dan," Phil said to Dan with a proud smile wide across his face, "and we have a private beach condo waiting for us for an entire two weeks together."

Dan's jaw hit the floor of the taxi as they rode, astounded that Phil put this together without him knowing.

Dan slid across the back bench seat to Phil, unable to find the right words to express his admiration for the older boy next to him. He grabbed Phil's face, pulling him in for a deep, passionate kiss to attempt to express how much love he had for his husband.

Phil chuckled softly as he kissed Dan back, snaking his long arms around Dan's slender waist.

Phil pulled back ever so softly, "so I'm guessing you're happy to be here?"

"You have no idea," Dan whispered back, pressing his nose to Phil's to stay close to the older man.

The rest of the ride was silent between them, both boys looking out the windows of the cab at all of the beauty surrounding them.

Once they reached the beach cabin, they scurried out of the car and gathered their belongings, setting every bag on the the front porch before stopping to appreciate the view they had.

While Dan was gazing out at the clear blue water Phil took his chance to scoop the distracted boy up into his arms to carry him into the threshold.

"Heeyyy!" Dan called as he threw his arms around Phil's neck, balancing himself in Phil's arms.

"It's only right," Phil cooed as he carried Dan into the house, walking slowly through the living room and down the hallway to let Dan admire the decor of the little house before taking him to the bedroom.

Phil nearly threw Dan onto the bed, his passion and desire finally loose within him as he crawled over his husband, setting one hand on either side of Dan's head as he leaned down to kiss his husband.

Dan was full of desire as he was pinned under Phil, instantly letting his hands slide down Phil's body, reaching for the hem of his shirt, tugging it upwards as he tried to get it off of his husband.

Phil pulled his mouth from Dan's just long enough for his shirt to be pulled over his head and tossed aside to be dealt with later.

Without hesitation as soon as Phil's shirt was off, Dan reached for Phil's jeans, unbuttoning them and pushing them down as far as his long arms could reach, pushing the older's boxers off along with them.

Phil chuckled softly against Dan's lips, feeling how eager the smaller boy was under him. He reached for the hem of Dan's shirt, pushing it up and pulling it off, tossing it aside to be found with his own as he attached his mouth to Dan's nipple, sucking lightly and nibbling ever to lightly on it to tease the younger underneath him.

Dan moaned loudly, squirming under the touch of his husband. He tangled his fingers into Phil's hair, tugging lightly on it as he silently begged for more.

Phil reached both of his hands down, unbuttoning and pushing Dan's jeans off, letting his hardening cock spring free from their cloth prison.

Dan shivered as the colder air hit his heated member. He bucked his hips up ever so gently as he ached for some form of touch on his achingly hard cock.

"Aw, what a needy little baby," Phil cooed softly to Dan, looking up through his long lashes at the younger boy underneath him.

"Please," Dan mumbled ever so softly, silently asking for pure passionate love-making from his husband to rival the night Phil proposed to him.

Phil nodded in a silent understanding, reaching to the bedside table where he had asked a bottle of lube to be put for them. He cracked it open, pouring a generous amount onto his hands and warming it before reaching down to Dan's entrance, pushing one of his long fingers into Dan, moving it around to stretch him gently. With his other hand he stroked up and down Dan's hard cock to relive some of Dan's need.

Dan moaned ever so softly, nodding to Phil that he was ready for another already since they did this so frequently.

Phil pushed in that second finger, scissoring them apart gently to prepare Dan for his own large cock.

Dan writhed gently on the bed, his pupils blown as he gazed at Phil, watching his husband with a new found passion within him.

Phil added a third finger, angling his wrist up just right to hit Dan's prostate every time he moved his hand.

Dan yelped softly into a deep moan as Phil hit that magical spot deep within him.

"Ready, Phil. I'm ready," Dan blabbered out, wanting more than just Phil's fingers.

Phil chuckled softly, deep in his throat, as he watched Dan whimper when he removed his fingers. He rubbed the rest of the lube all over his own length, sighing softly as he his own need was relieved before he lined up with Dan's tight entrance, pushing in slowly and carefully to not hurt his husband.

Once Phil bottomed out, Dan laid still for a moment before he nodded to Phil, silently letting him know he was ready.

Phil obliged, beginning to push himself through his husband, pulling nearly all the way out before pushing back in, repeating that with ever move of his hips.

Dan let out deep throaty moans and Phil pushed through him, his fingers raking up and down Phil's back as he lost himself in the pleasure.

"God, I love you," Phil moaned softly into Dan's ear as he moved through his husband.

"I love you too," Dan babbled out, his arms tight around Phil's neck.

"Babe, I'm close," Phil murmured into Dan's ear as he brought his hand down to stroke Dan in time with his thrusts, hoping to make it so they came together.

"Me too," Dan gasped out as his hips moved in time with Phil's, letting them buck up into Phil's hand.

Before Dan could think, he was cumming, all over Phil's hand and between their torsos. As his body tightened Phil came right after, Dan's tight wet heat pushing him to that edge.

They rode out their highs together, milking them out before Phil pulled out of Dan, not-so-gracefully collapsing next to his husband.

They laid together in silence for a long few moments, the only sounds in the room being their heavy breathing as they tried to gather themselves.

"I fucking love you," Dan mumbled as he rolled over to face Phil.

"I love you too," Phil chuckled, his voice deep and husky like it got either after sex or when he had just woken up.

Dan pressed his hand up to Phil's chest, leaning into his husband to connect their lips together.

Phil kissed Dan back for a long moment before pulling away, snaking his arms around Dan's waist to whisper, "wanna go see what the shower is like?"

Dan nodded with a sly smirk, climbing off of the bed and leading them to the large en suite bathroom where they would continue to kick off their honeymoon with love.

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