#and the rest of the gang who i'm not tagging because those five are the most important sorry coach

[mirchloe]

Chapters: 29/? Fandom: Psychonauts (Video Games) Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Razputin "Raz" Aquato & Bobby Zilch Characters: Razputin "Raz" Aquato, Bobby Zilch, Adam Joseph Gette, Lizzie (Psychonauts), Sasha Nein, Hollis Forsythe, Chloe Barge, Lili Zanotto, Truman Zanotto, Mirtala Aquato, Morceau Oleander, Milla Vodello, Aquato Family (Psychonauts) Additional Tags: Mental Worlds (Psychonauts), Survival Horror, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Trauma, Blood and Violence, Archetypes (Psychonauts), Macabre, Developing Friendships, Mental Instability, Jealousy, Self-Hatred, Deception, Angst with a Happy Ending, Future Fic, Gore, Mental Health Issues, Rival Relationship, Recovery, Destructive Behavior, Fist Fights, Past Relationship(s), Body Image, Dread, Mental Anguish, Memories, Body Horror, Heart-to-Heart, Personification, Eldritch Summary:

A request from none other than Bobby to assist him in facing his inner demons should have been deduced as a lie. Raz might have been wary, but he chose to believe him. Now trapped in Bobby’s mind, his psychic powers locked to maintain a twisted sense of realism, Raz has to traverse through a living nightmare if he wants both of them to make it out alive.

[monimccoythings]

The Beast Within

Sooo I was trying to write a feral!Logan but this oneshot crossed my mind and I just went along with it. I'll write the feral!logan I want to write when I finish the Wolverine's 1988 run. I think I remember mentioning back in my Retired!Logan headcanons that shall danger come for his family he would be ready and waiting. I wanted to dwell on that.

Summary: You awake only to find yourself and your daughters tied up by some unknown men that wnat to roleplay their wildest and scariest fantasies. Your only hope to survive lies on your husband; a man that gang would soon know they shouldn't have messed with.

Word count: 3087

tags: slight feral!logan, a bit of horror, gn!reader, happy ending, Logan loves his family and will kill for them. A bit ooc Wolverine.

tw: blood, death, attempted rape, non-con elements, kidnapping, swear words.

It had all happened so quickly. One moment you were entering your home with your daughters in tow, and the next, you were being knocked out by some masked men.

When you opened your eyes, you found yourself unable to move, having been tied to a chair, the cords against your wrists and ankles cutting into your blood flow. Yet you didn't fear for your life.

Desperately you looked around for Laura and your youngest child. Silently praying those assholes hadn't reached them. You nearly bursted into tears when you saw Laura tied to the couch, still knocked out like a light, but fine nevertheless; but that relief was short lived when you saw one of the men holding your youngest in his arms.

"Well, look who's finally up! I'm so glad you could join us."

You mentally counted them, There were about five burly men. All masked, to conceal their identities. A shiver ran down your spine when you saw they were all armed.

"Why are you doing this? What do you want?" Your mind went overdrive with the amount of possibilities. Where they from an anti mutant group? Have you been found out?? Logan had made sure your tracks were covered so nobody would know who and what he and the children were. Where they robbers, then?

"Hmm why would people do what they do?" The supposed leader of the group dramatically pondered. "Us humans always worry about norms, etiquette, social behavior, we repress ourselves..." you let the man rant about how our real animal natures were suppressed by society, you didn't care too much for that, too busy finding different ways to free yourself and save your kids.

"So, to answer your question. We do this for fun. Because we can. Because we aren't afraid to show who we really are." You felt the blood in your veins freeze when you felt the disgusting hand come near your crotch. These people were insane. If they were just robbers, you could just let them take whatever they wanted and wait until they left. Material things could be replaced, but his words implied something much much worse for you.

"Please, just take what you want and leave!" You knew you had to do something, anything just to keep those men away from your babies, just buy enough time for Logan to-

Logan! Yes, he would sense something was wrong, and come for you all! You just-

The man licked a long streak from your collarbone to your cheek, his hungry depraved eyes mirroring those of his accomplices.

"Oh, we are going to take it indeed." He licked his lips in anticipation, his fingers lazily undoing the buttons of your shirt. You felt the cold air in your exposed skin.

"Listen. My husband will come soon. You need to leave now that you can-"

He forcefully grabbed your chin, forcing you to look into his empty cold eyes. You didn't find any source of empathy or humanity there. His free hand started to unbutton your jeans.

"Then, he can watch."

The lights went out after that, startling the man and his crew. Some let out a few curses.

"Shut the fuck up! It's just the fucking lights!" The man bellowed towards the rest of the group. He signaled with his head towards the most dimwitted looking member. "Beta! Go check the fuse box!"

The man obediently complied with his orders. The fact that you could barely see, didn't do well for your nerves. They could strike any moment.

Minutes passed and the dude nicknamed 'Beta' hadn't returned. Which was weird, because the fusebox was in a small broom closet at the other end of the cabin, and the cabin wasn't really Charles Xavier's Mansion. You could tell that the man giving the orders was already starting to lose his patience.

"Dumb fuck, can't do shit by himself..." He mumbled. "Gamma! Go tell that stupid bitch to hurry the fuck up!" He turned towards you a terrifying smile on his face "I just can't wait to see the look in your eyes when we break you and the kids."

That was enough for you to lunge towards him, parental instincts activating like crazy. Unfortunately there was little you could do with your limited mobility. He grabbed a fistful of your hair and pulled painfully, you felt tears burning at the corner of your eyes but you refused to give him the pleasure of watching you cry.

"Listen here you little slut. Only I get to bite, only I get to kick, and when I'm done with you l, you'll be-"

"Alpha, he ain't here!" 'Gamma''s voice could be heard from the hall. That only fueled 'Alpha's' impatience.

"I ask him a simple task and he fucking gets lost! Look better or none of you are having a piece of this whore!!"

His eyes turned back to yours. A hungry, wicked look crossed them. His mouth went towards your neck, as much as you tried to resist you couldn't pull away from his strong hold in your hair. You let out a scream when he bit you, praying that he hadn't bitten hard enough to draw blood, but that only seemed to encourage him, just as his tongues was lapping at the bruising bitemark you heard someone scream from the end of the hall.

"OH FUCKING SHIT!!"

*bang*

*bang*

And then nothing. That seemed to alert the group, the leader, Alpha, immediately pulling away and releasing you from his vice grip.

"The fuck was that!?" He commanded "Beta! Gamma! Answer now!"

No answer.

With your heart in your throat you quickly took deep breaths, trying to recover a sense of calmness and normalcy that you knew was long lost. But you had to. Your kids were still unconscious you needed to protect them.

"Sigma. Get out and secure the perimeter."

'Sigma' didn't look very convinced but as long as he released your little baby girl everything would be fine. You could practically feel the hesitation in him as he lowered your daughter onto the nearest armchair and quietly exited the living room, gun in hand.

"Whatever the fuck is trying to screw with us, is going to learn this 'pack' doesn't go down easily."

Minutes passed of eery silence, each minute felt like agonizing hours. You thought it would never end until you heard a blood curling scream followed by the sound of glass breaking and something splattering against the walls.

That's when you heard it. An animalistic snarl. It was faint, but it was definitely there and filled your heart with hope like no other. This time you were surely going to cry from joy.

He had arrived.

You were saved.

Tears fell freely down your cheeks, you couldn't help the broad smile that formed in your features.

"Oh God he's here. He's here..." You repeated over and over like a mantra, as if you couldn't quite believe it.

"The fuck is this bitch talking about??" He backhanded you so roughly that you thought you saw stars, the sharp pain in your cheek was nothing compared to the huge relief you were feeling.

'Alpha' turned towards the last remaining member of his 'pack'. "What are you waiting for, dumbass?? Lock the fucking doors!"

The other guy didn't move for a few seconds, obviously scared at this dramatic turn of events. The tension between him and the leader was so thick you could cut it with a knife. You were sure he was wondering why he should risk his life for a plan that was going awry with each passing second. Maybe he was also considering shooting down 'Alpha' and be done with it.

Before he has time to live up that fantasy, he found himself looking straight at the end of 'Alpha's' Magnum. This was no longer a fun game for them. It had stopped being a game when 'Beta' hadn't returned.

"Lock. The fucking. Doors." 'Alpha's' voice was unusually quiet and full of promises of a world of pain if he disobeyed his orders. There was no other choice but to follow his lead, as always.

With trembling hands, the poor guy put the safety lock as best as he could. Once done, he breathed a sigh of relief, believing him safe.

Until a massive arm, broke through the glass of the door and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him a couple of inches off the ground. The man kicked and struggled, trying in vain to reach for his gun. When the hand released him, he hurriedly went for it before he was grabbed again but was stopped by three metal claws piercing through his skull, killing him instantly. The man fell to the ground like a ragdoll.

"Shit." 'Alpha' whispered, feeling for the first time that night true fear. "Shitshitshitshitshit!" His panic grew as he saw the killer of his 'packmate' kick the doors open as if it was nothing.

You couldn't see him, but you knew he was pissed like he had never been before.

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

'Alpha' fired bullet after bullet towards him. A single shot would have taken down a grown man. But this wasn't a normal man. Oh no, they had just gone after the family of one of the most dangerous men to ever live.

Logan slowly stepped into the moonlight and your breath caught in your throat. From his beard, to his clothes, blood was dripping, but not from the gunshotwounds, those were already healed. His sharp teeth, bared in a feral snarl were stained with blood, having used them to tear through flesh and bone. The icing on the cake were his eyes, those eyes that looked at you with so much tenderness and lust, that crinkled with happiness when they saw his little ones run towards him; they were just empty, void of any rational thought.

You shuddered at his primal display.

The man known just as 'Alpha' took a step back. For all his talk about how he didn't repress from his animal urges and how he was an alpha male, he found himself small and insignificant in the presence of a real animal. Every adamantium coated bone in Logan's body exuded dominance, power, strength; it was overwhelming. 'Alpha' knew if he didn't play his cards well he would end up like the rest of his 'pack' or worse.

Cold sweat formed on your forehead when the gun pointed towards you.

"One more step, and I'll shoot." His voice was deadly quiet, but you could hear the fear hidden behind all that bravado.

Logan stopped, a low growl building up in his throat. His eyes quickly darted towards yours and returned towards his enemy. You knew you had little time, as long as the 'Alpha' kept his eyes locked on Logan's; he wouldn't dare shoot you unless he wanted to have the slowest and most painful death there was, he just needed to think for a better plan of action, which gave you a wonderful opportunity to ponder about how you were going to get out safely, you had to act fast enough to give Logan some margin.

As quiet as you could muster, you started balancing yourself from side to side. Each second that passed increased your chances of ending up with a hole in your chest. A couple of swings more and-

"AAAAAAAAARRRGGGGHHH"

'Alpha' roared in pain when Laura out of nowhere, sunk her teeth and bone claws on his leg. Unfortunately, as a reflex, he accidentally pressed the trigger.

You would never be sure about how you got so lucky that night, as you fell sideways with the chair, the bullet barely grazed your shoulder. You had evaded death miraculously and there was a new hole in the wall.

Logan didn't waste his opportunity. Before 'Alpha' had the chance to kick Laura off his leg, he freed his claws and with a swift motion slashed his yugular vein with two clean cuts.

The blood splattered on his chest and face like a fountain. Alpha's body went limp and fell lifeless to the side. You let out a sigh in relief, as tears ran again freely down your cheeks.

The nightmare was over.

But not for Logan.

For a couple of seconds, he just stood there, breathing heavily, and coated in blood. Laura stood at his feet, looking at him apprehensively, as if sensing there was something wrong.

"Logan." You called for him reassuringly, but he didn't even look at you. You doubted he had heard you. His fists were clenching and unclenching, his knuckles were turning white. The veins in his arms bulged against the swollen muscles. His breaths came out in short puffs of air. Whatever he was feeling right now, you needed to pull him out of it.

His head turned sharply when he heard your youngest stirring. He looked at his bloodied hands and finally looked at you with a mixture of panic and dread. He didn't know what to do.

"Laura. Laura, sweetheart, untie me." She snapped out from her stupor and quickly tore through the cords, freeing you at last. You massaged your wrists, hoping to return your bloodflow back to normal. As much as you'd have loved to rest there was no time to lose.

You understood Logan's fear. It was already painful enough for him to have Laura watching him when he was like that, he didn't want the other one to go through the same trauma.

You quickly rushed towads him and he flinched back, still in shock. "It is okay, Logan. We're safe. You saved us. I'm going to take the girls to her room okay? He barely nodded, his eyes unfocused. You would deal with him later, now the kids were a top priority.

You would heal together, later.

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

He had scrubbed the floors clean until he thought he was going to pass out from the chemicals. He had hidden the bodies or whatever remained of them in a place where he knew nobody would ever look for them. Not that they'd be missed, he supposed.

It scared him how good he was at this. He should have gotten used to it by now, after all, he was the best at what he did, and what he did wasn't very nice.

It had been to good to be true. A sweet dream before waking up and facing reality. He had gotten sloppy and his family had paid the price. He didn't even know what those had wanted, nor did he care. One single look through the window and all sense of rationality had left his brain leaving only the animal that deep down he knew he was.

What would you think of him now? Did you regret marrying him? Knowing what he did was one thing, but actually witnessing it was another. What had transpired tonight would surely define your relationship for the rest of your lives

And Laura? He had worked so hard to erase the violence and trauma of her earlier years, to give her a normal childhood with a family. And he had just pulled her back.

He buried his face in his hands, grabbing chunks of his hair. He was a monster, an animal, a mindless-

He jumped and turned around with a snarl on his face and his claws ready when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Logan's tense muscles visibly relaxed when he saw it was just you, but he was still restless.

"Logan, it's okay. It's just me" You knew exactly was was crossing his mind. After years of knowing each other, you knew that the legendary Wolverine, the man that would take his secrets to his grave, could be easily read like an open book if you got close enough.

"Honey, this is not your fault. You came and saved us. We're here because of you." You couldn't bear the thought of him punishing himself over something that wasn't even his fault to begin with.

"I should have been there with you. I should have arrived sooner, then you wouldn't have to go through-" His gruff voice sounded so broken, so terrified, there was nothing you wanted more than to cradle him in your arms. "I'm a monster." He quietly whispered.

"You are not a monster. You. Are. Not. Not a monster, neither an animal." You cupped his face in your hands, looking into his eyes sternly.

"I-I lost control. I saw you there tied up and I lost it. Laura saw it, and our little-"

"Shhhh... They are alright. They are okay in their bedroom. Laura knew you were protecting us, she has always known." You ran your fingers through his wild hair, marvelling at how his tufts stayed up no matter the situation.

You gently guide him back into the house. You don't look at the toppled chair, or the hole in the wall, or the mountain of cleaning products. Neither of you wanted to think about that. When you reached the bedroom, you undressed each other, taking your time, memorizing every string of clothing. Your discarded attires formed a dirty and bloody pile in the corner.

Tenderly, like treating a very vulnerable creature, you cleaned his face, chest and hands with a towel. You could feel the raw power stored in that massive torso and hands, you knew what he could do with those. But you also knew how careful and soft he was around you and the girls.

You put on your comfiest pijamas and got ready for bed, leaving the mess of that night for the next day. Before he climbed in with you, Logan stopped and takes a step back.

"What's wrong?" You asked.

"Wait here." He hurriedly exited your bedroom, leaving you alone, baffled at his behavior. The last thing you wanted was to be left alone after that night.

Your initial confusion gave way to tenderness when you saw him return holding a daugther on each of his thick arms. Laura blinked groggily at you, annoyed at having been woken up from her slumber. You quickly craddled her in your arms, kissing her forehead.

Holding your youngest baby girl to his chest he got in bed, his free arm pulling you and Laura closer, trapping you in an embrace. He kissed your head, his soft breaths along with those of your daughters were enough to lull you to sleep.

You were safe.

Nobody was going to get you.

He would make sure of that.

[hebuiltfive]

Thundertober Day Seventeen: Danger

I'm debating taking a break from posting these for a few days, to try and catch my breath and properly review what I have planned for the rest of the month, so this might be the last one for a little bit. No Tracy Bros in this, but International Rescue is mentioned at the end... kind of. I keep having these stories end on cliffhangers, I'm so sorry! Anyway! I hope you enjoy!

AO3 here

Days: One ~ Two ~ Three ~ Four ~ Five ~ Six ~ Seven ~ Eight ~ Nine ~ Ten ~ Eleven ~ Twelve ~ Thirteen ~ Fourteen ~ Fifteen ~ Sixteen

Warnings for: Swearing and gang mentions. Kat's new lead guides her towards a very dangerous path. Tagging: @thunder-tober@skymaiden32@idontknowreallywhy@mrmustachious

She really needed to start heeding the warnings that were given to her. Perhaps if she had actually listened to her editor when he told her to drop this exposé, she might have actually stood a chance of getting out unscathed.

Yet here she was instead, trapped in a room spewing God-knew-what kind of gas, and all of it was because she didn’t stop to properly investigate what turned out to be a traitorous lead.

TWO HOURS EARLIER

Kat Cavanaugh sat idly in the chair at her desk. Chopsticks were twirled between her fingers whilst her untouched Kung Pao Chicken she had ordered for lunch became increasingly cold in the oyster pail.

She knew she was staring into space, knew her mind was thinking too hard, but she allowed herself to get absorbed in those thoughts because she was running out of time. The report she had been compiling for next week’s hard-hitting edition of EXPOSED! was looking more and more like a dead-end.

There was nothing Kat hated more than a dead-end.

After a fraught meeting with her editor that morning, who had insisted she drop the article and instead focused on the rehabilitation and redevelopment of the Bay area, Kat had been left with a sour taste in her mouth. She wasn’t going to be ordered around, editor or not. She hadn’t got this far into her career to start taking the ‘easier’ path now. That wasn’t how she had made her name, nor was it how she was going to allow her legacy to end.

Instead of dropping the piece, Kat began to focus on different angles she could take. They had all fallen flat because she still lacked that one, vital component that made a story like this credible: evidence. She had no leads, no quotes, no names, no places… The only way she could think of getting any information now would be to try the police again, which hadn’t ended well last time.

Kat had gone out to buy her lunch, uninspired but not fully without hope, and had returned to a gift she had very much not been expecting.

3pm. Hudson Building. Fifth floor. Details of the Serpents revealed. Tell no-one.

The cyber-crime gang known formally as the Serpent Soldiers, less formally as just Serpents, had been a thorn in everybody’s sides, including Kat’s. All sorts of gangs had steadily been increasing over the last few months, all intent on, in Kat’s opinion, the same outcome. The Serpents were the biggest group in this part of the States, and were the only known gang to cross state borders with their membership.

Of course Kat had chosen to write the exposé on them, foolishly thinking it wouldn’t be as difficult (or as dangerous) as it had inevitably become.

The email she had received seemed too good to be true, but when had Kat Cavanaugh ever listened to rational thinking? So, she decided to keep it to herself as instructed. Her editor, who had been so vehemently against her continuing this story this morning, didn’t need to be aware of it.

All she had to do was think of a suitable reason to leave the office in a couple of hours and—

“Kat? Katherine?”

Her colleague, Nessa, had arrived at her desk at… some point. A look of concern dominated her features. “You alright, Cavanaugh?”

Kat flashed her a quick, reassuring smile, and straightened herself up in her seat. Amid all the daydreaming, she hadn’t realised she’d ended up so slouched. Very professional there, Kat.

“Ness! Hi. Yes, I’m fine. Just.. thinking.”

Nessa’s gloriously painted nails tapped on the takeout box, brow arching. “You shouldn’t eat at your desk, you know? Statistics show that your more likely to do work than take a break.”

“I’m fine, Nes. I’ve just got a lot on my plate right now, that’s all.”

Another nudge of the full box. “Damn right you do! Have you even eaten anything yet?”

Kat swatted her hand away with an amused grin. “Not that plate! You know what I meant.”

“Oh. The Serpent article?”

Naturally, her work on the piece had become a source of office gossip.

“Always aiming too high, that Kat. Never going to get a story out of it.”

“Does she think that because she’s interview International Rescue once that she’s some hot-shot journal now?”

“The Serpents speak to no-one. She’s lucky she isn’t already dead in a ditch somewhere.”

Office gossip was something she was, unfortunately, accustomed to, but it didn’t mean it made hearing her peers talk about her in hushed voices as she passed any less painful to endure. Kat always managed to brush it aside and tell herself that she didn’t care when, truthfully, she felt the opposite.

“It will get done by next week, Nes. I’ve just got to get one, solid, credible lead.”

“Good luck with that.” Nessa patted her shoulder. “I don’t envy your task, Kat.”

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

The Hudson Building was a half-hour walk away from her office, but Kat gave herself more time, just in case. So far this was her only lead and she couldn’t afford to blow it.

The area looked run-down. Many businesses had moved out of the area years ago, leading to graffitied walls and smashed windows in their wake. As mentioned by her editor that morning, the district had been green-lit a renovation project by the Mayor’s office, but Kat was sceptical of that every becoming a reality. The Bay area had been overlooked for years. She didn’t see why it would be any different this time. In her many years of experience travelling the country for her work, Kat had come to the conclusion that cities like this one needed the run-down areas in order for the ‘prettier’ areas to remain profitable.

She pondered her scepticism as she continued her brisk walk, politely offering a dollar or two to a couple of homeless people as she passed them. The thought of the implications of this area of the city being the meeting spot from a very dubious note had not crossed her mind once.

The Hudson Building had been one of the last to become derelict in the area and thus, from the outside, it had fared better than the rest of the street. However as Kat stepped into the building there was immediate evidence of squatter activity in the lobby. Tattered sleeping bags alongside old pizza boxes, drink cans and the occasional discarded needle.

Kat ignored the faint urge in her that screamed to get out. On tip-toes, she carefully trod over the discarded items, an elbow rising to cover her nose from the smell of the damp and filth, to make it over to the elevators which she prayed still worked.

She was in luck.

The fifth floor was cleaner in terms of the lack of squatter activity but thick dust covered the carpeted flooring. Mould grew from damp walls. This was not a place she wanted to stay in for long.

Kat checked her watch. Five to three. The note hadn’t specified where on the fifth floor to meet. She tried all the doors on the floor. She’d almost given up when none of them had opened for her… until she reached the last one. Offices 545-559. This door was unlocked and, unlike the other handles, was not covered in grime.

Flickering lights met her when she entered. Windows had been blacked out, meaning no light from the outside filtered through. Kat switched on the torch on her phone and used it to guide herself through the empty space.

It was a relatively small reception, with doors that led off to different office spaces, she presumed. Again, as before, Kat tried all the doors. This time, it was the door marked 556 that opened. She made a note of the number, in case it became important for her exposé at a later date.

Office 556 was nothing out of the ordinary. It had a desk in the centre, a couple of broken digital screens on top along with a broken holo-projector. The seats were filthy and, like the reception, the single window in the room had been boarded up.

Kat took a few more steps forward, to see if the screens were working, when she heard the door behind her slam and lock.

Shit.

Immediately, Kat made for the door, wrangling with the handle in an attempt to get it to open.

Of course, it didn’t.

“Hey! Whoever’s out there, let me out! This isn’t funny—”

She heard the hiss of the gas first, unable to see or smell it from the colourless and odourless quality. That didn’t matter. Gas was gas and… this wasn’t looking good.

“Hey! What the hell are you doing? Open this door NOW!”

The more she spoke, the more she breathed. The more she breathed, the more gas she inhaled.

Kat began to cough as the gas tickled her throat. Her heart-rate spiked. Fear began to creep in because fuck! She hadn’t told anyone where she had been going. Nobody knew she was here.

She gave up on the door and ignored the gas that was still being vented in from the gap at the bottom, stumbling over to the desk where she’d left her phone. If she was quick, maybe she would be able to call someone before she passed out or… worse.

“God, don’t think about that, Kat.” She mumbled to herself, arms rising to try and get a signal to her phone. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

Kat didn’t feel the floor as she hit it, but she knew she had; harsh bristles from the carpet dug into her cheek. Her vision had blurred and she tried so desperately hard to fight the urge to just pass out. On the floor, the gas inhalation was greater.

The last thing she remembered was a pair of familiar looking, blue boots come into focus in front of her.

She knew those boots.

She could have wept happy tears. They’d somehow found her.

International Rescue.

She was safe.

Of course, with the state Kat was in, it was forgivable for her to jump to the most positive of conclusions but, in reality, the truth was far from her hopeful imagination.

[hitcritical]

positivity anon here, wanting to offer some encouragement and love for you. if you feel like it , list three things you like about yourself then tag a few friends to do the same thing <3!

Okay but this is the cutest thing ! Usually I'm not really the type of person who gives myself any compliments, but for you anon, i will do exactly that ! 𝟏. considering where i came from, i think it's really rad that my house right now is a safe space where plenty of people come through every so often to just rest and have a good meal. there's a stocked pantry and a freezer filled with home-cooked favourites of the gang. the pets welcome everyone, and the guest bedroom is always ready for those who might need it. going from no physical house to a place that even other people can call home in less than five years alongside the love of my life might truly be one of my greatest achievements ( that, and i think the decor is really rad. . . might do a house tour one of these days - )

𝟐. even when i have nothing more than a high school degree, i'm pretty happy with where i am career wise right now. it isn't the best job in the world, and i might complain about it at times, but it's still far better than what i thought i would end up doing in the long run.

𝟑. i think that i like the vibes i bring to this particular function. i know i am a poetry whore who simply cannot help themselves from applying a good quote or a banging metaphor to the narrative of these wrestling babies . . . but i think it's neat. nothing ground breaking or never done before . . . just neat.

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 : you ! if you see this, you simply have to do this. i'm sorry, i don't make the rules . . . also @happicstplace and @timelovcd because i'm always making out sloppy style with k80 and pidge.

[sixseasonsofodestawithatardis]

Literally saw someone on Twitter call Maria unbearable this morning, and this, on top of my anger at Chrissie Jackson, has reignited the annoyance I felt towards Sja/dwtwt as I was writing those tags. Lmao! Anyway, sorry, OP, you're about to get 3 huge paragraphs about Maria Jackson + Rani Chandra being awesome and why Chrissie sucks! AKA stuff I couldn't elaborate on in the tags!

Maria is a brilliant character, and her arc for s1/2 is well-written. Maria is 13/14, going through her parent's divorce, settling into somewhere new, and struggling with a strained relationship with her mum!

She's the first member of the gang we meet and is our entryway into Sja; in a way, our care towards the rest of the show for the pilot relies on her and her narrative for the most part (Luke and SJ are still important). On top of that, she is the first person Luke meets and the first person she helps rescue alongside Sarah Jane. If it weren't for Maria, we wouldn't care for any of this as much, nor would Sarah Jane become a friendlier and warmer person ready to adopt Luke.

Ultimately, Maria becomes Sarah Jane's daughter figure, as does Sarah Jane become Maria's mother figure, and the attic becomes a safe space away from her Mum, like when she slams the attic door in Eye of the Gorgon. Hence why Sarah Jane and Luke take Maria moving to America so hard.

This is also why Rani feels very excluded in parts of season 3 and why we get the mad woman in the attic timeline: She can't get as close as Maria could to Sarah Jane or be included as well as she could at times.

In contrast, Rani has a typical family dynamic with a mum and dad, unlike the rest of the characters and is driven, with a lot of pressure to be ahead. She knows what she wants and will get there- but unlike the others, she's more trusting and less cynical. (Not sure if thats the right word- we're rolling with it!) , i.e. trusting Peter Dalton and the Blathereen. She's also the newest one of the group and so gels with Clyde more easily in that respect as you don't expect them two to be able to handle it ( technically, Maria can't either, but she's away from the narrative by this point)

Rani and Maria have huge shoes to fill in their introductions and narratives for different reasons. Maria + her actress is the first entryway into the narrative, and we have to enjoy her story and her dynamic on top of this being a pilot and eventually a first series... Its a lot and if this went wrong in any way we wouldn't of got to series 2 let alone five!

Rani's (well, Anjili) is now replacing a fan favourite character on top of establishing a whole new dynamic, and if this fails, again, no series 3 or Big Finish continuation.

Rani and Maria are well-written women who are important in different ways to the show, and comparing them and bringing either down feels wrong to me. Also, these are 13/14 y/o kids, and they aren't going to act rationally in some situations; sorry, this whole Twitter trend reeks of grown-ups trying to pull children down a peg and misogyny (maybe I'm being a bit harsh!). Anyway, put me in the writer's room! Rani and Maria need to maximise their joint slay!

Also, if any character deserves the hate Maria is getting, it is Chrissie because she may have taken out a Sontaran once, but my god, is she horrible! Not only does she come over unannounced, but she literally attempts to move in during an argument with Ivan taking over Alan and Maria's space, and then when Maria talks about Sarah Jane in that same episode, she goes off on one! It is NOT Sarah Jane's fault YOU have no relationship with your daughter anymore, Chrissie! Plus, whenever she does visit, it's only when she needs money or furniture or to rub the fact Alan's single in his face! Also, the time she spoke to Statue! Alan nicely for once- could you not have said that before the divorce?! Or thought about that before you went for the Salsa teacher?!

Okay I really don't get the evil Maria Jackson memes on twitter rn, because how anyone watching Maria in S1-2 of SJA and saying she's evil, even jokingly???

[universitypenguin]

Restitution - Chapter Seven

Author's Note: Hello everyone. I'm sorry for my absence. I've had some recent interactions that have made me consider if I would continue to post fanfiction on Tumblr. A couple minors followed me and I had to take a step back and consider what appropriate action looked like. Some of you were unfairly blocked and have since been unblocked and refollowed. I apologize to those users. You can read the full detail of my blocking spree here.

To answer your burning question:

Yes, I'll continue to write on Tumblr. No, there won't be another blocking spree. I will block those who I can tell are minors, but I can't police every interaction that occurs on my blog. I don't have the time or energy. Going forward I'll only interact with those who I know are over 18. My tag list is going to be reviewed but I haven't gotten around to it yet, so I'm leaving it off for now. Tomorrow I'll review it. If you're on my tag list and don't have an age listed or haven't messaged me already to say you're not a minor, please contact me or list your age. I'm going to tag you all in a post tomorrow and make sure everyone understands what's going on.

Word Count: 2,832

Warnings: Smut, explicit language, sexual content, NSFW, 18+, minors do not interact. (Note: This chapter does not contain smut but as part of a work of erotic fanfiction, it's tagged as smut.)

Prior chapters: My masterlist

Chapter Seven

“My father was a fourth generation gangster. He was in the Irish mafia. When he died, his title fell to me.”

Andy watched you closely, gauging your reaction. You kept your face smooth and waited for the rest. He licked his lips and then continued.

“He was always an upper ranking member, but after the war for territory killed his brother, he became the boss. He led the gang for twenty years. The three of us boys all wanted out. But it was easier said than done. In the end, I couldn’t escape. Before I left you, a Mexican gang who’d been moving up the coast claiming territory showed up. They murdered my father. Right after his death, his right-hand man came to see me. He said if I didn’t take over, they’d kill me, my mother, and my brothers. I knew he was right. My legacy claim was the only thing that kept our side from internal combustion.”

A chill washed over you at the idea. Steve and Ari had endeared themselves to you. Even as anger stirred in your chest at Andy’s lies, you could appreciate his desire to protect them. The amount of money they’d paid for the painting made sense now, with the context of their underworld ties. Fifty-five million in cash spelled out organized crime in bright red letters.

Andy Barber was a mafia boss. It was perfectly clear, the reality of it staring you straight in the eye. But the unexpectedness of it all was a difficult thing to wrap your head around.

“I’d always imagined you’d run off to be a district attorney in New York or something.”

His mouth twitched. “My plans to go straight were incredibly romanticized. I wanted to roll as far away from the tree I’d fallen from as I could. At least I had those seven years out from under his thumb. The last few I spent with you were the best of my life.”

“What about the others? Steve and Ari? You’re the middle child. Why wouldn’t Steve have taken over?”

“He was born sick and my father hated him for it. They sent Steve to live with an aunt in Brooklyn when he was a year old. We saw each other because of my mother, but my father pretended he didn’t exist. At home, we all did. When he decided something, none of us talked back.”

“I’m sorry. That’s awful. He’s not sick now, right?”

Andy snorted. “He’s the picture of health. The military did experiments on him. They turned him into a beast. He grew ten inches and can outpace a cheetah. I’d hoped when I walked out on my father he might set his sights on Steve as the heir. Selfish, I know. But he never spoke about his oldest child. To him, Steve was dead.”

“But he let you take off for college?”

“He didn’t stop me. He just kept close tabs. Eventually, my little walkabout would have ended. I was too young and stupid to see it, but there was never a way out for me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Denial. I thought I’d left it all behind, but it was looming over me the whole time. The Mexican gang shot him outside of his restaurant. It was one of his money laundering spots that also did brisk business. There were a ton of witnesses and the attack was brutal. When it came down to it, I went back into the mafia life to protect my family. Steve was back from Afghanistan on Liberty. Ari was arriving that same night after a backpacking trip around Europe.”

“Were they in danger?”

“Yes. I took care of things. When I told you I’d been over at Ben’s studying? That was a lie. I met with Steve, got Ari to a safe house, and we agreed. We were in it together and it worked out. The Mexicans left after three months.”

“So we broke up a few days after this war started?”

Andy nodded. “The Mexicans had little information on me. They were at the airport when Steve and I went to get Ari, but we got past them. After they went to ground and started planning, I realized they didn’t know about my new life. So I broke it off and told you to stay away. If I hadn’t they would have come for you and I could barely protect my family. Plus, exposing you to what I grew up in….the idea turned my stomach, duchess.”

“Why didn’t you contact me after it was over? I was still in the apartment. I kept hoping you’d come back.”

“I wanted to. But I was surrounded by bodyguards and they’re more loyal to their clan than to me. Taking over during a war kept us united, but afterwards, I had to prove myself. Steve took up enforcement and Ari started the poker games. The money was good, even better than what they’d made under my father’s rule. The mafia was happy, so they kept us.”

“Feeding the piranhas?” you asked, smiling a little.

“That’s not a bad metaphor. That first few months, I was paranoid. I was in my twenties trying not to get shredded. You know, it’s the only time I’ve been grateful to my father. He prepared me for the job.”

You found you were grateful, too. Because a world without Andy would be a dark and lonely place. Having experienced it, you knew how it felt. At the very least, you’d held on to the fact that maybe he was happy. Anguish aside, your heart was his. Even when you hated him, at the core of your being, you hoped he’d found happiness somewhere in the world.

“Now you know the truth. I broke up with you so you’d be safe. I stayed away for the same reason. I lied to you and I hurt you, but if I had to do it again? I would. You’re still breathing, and no matter the cost, I’d pay it ten times over to keep you that way.”

Your lip curled in outrage. He had lied. A valid lie, spoken with good intentions. But nonetheless, it had been a lie. What stuck in your throat was that you’d never suspected any of this. Andy had been sweet and warm. He’d given you flowers on your first date. He’d stayed on campus late to walk you home every night when you’d lived in the dorms.

���Duchess? Please say something?”

You saw the pain on his face and your hand twitched. There was a powerful urge to reach out to him, but you shoved it down.

“Did you finish your law degree?”

“No, but I passed the bar exam.”

Numb with surprise, you nodded, trying to reorient your world view. Andy wasn’t the man you’d thought him to be. The whole situation tonight had been a massive web of lies, just as your life with him during college had been. Was he the architect of this conspiracy, too?

“Who’s idea was tonight? Why did your brothers proposition Jackson and then come to my office?”

“Ari noticed you. He knew you were with Jackson, and he wanted to seduce you away from him. Unfortunately, Steve had designs on you, too. His plan was to ask you on a date. When they realized they were after the same woman, fists flew. I broke it up and while the matter was being settled, your name came up. Imagine my surprise.”

“Do they know about us? What have you told them?”

Andy frowned. “I mentioned we dated in college. Nothing else. Ari went off from there, spinning a yarn about how none of us had to lose. He assumed the best about our history and I didn’t correct him. Steve agreed to turn on Jackson and try to lure you in, even though he hated the false pretenses. And I kept my mouth shut because they’d planned out a chance for me to see you again without attracting unwelcome attention from our men.”

You pressed your palm to your temple, pain bursting across your mind as you tried to sort through the rush of information. Your emotions were a wild churn. Questions needed to be asked, but you weren’t sure where to start.

Andy Barber was the leader of the Irish Mafia. He’d never finished law school.

“Do you still swim?”

“What?” His brow furrowed.

“Did you like swimming or was that part of your act?”

“I’ve always…” he cut off and took a deep breath. “Fuck. I’m not a total phony.”

“How would I know? I seem to have a gift for attracting them.”

Andy’s face clouded with confusion. Then rage twisted his features. He leaned back, shoulders moving as realization set in.

“Did you just compare me to Jackson?”

“You lied, he lied. I bought the lies. The similarities are endless when you think about it.”

Nostrils flared, a tell you still recognized, announced that your comment truly enraged him.

“Duchess, I’d never hurt you…”

“A minute ago, you said you’d hurt me ten times over if it kept me alive. So there’s another lie on your scorecard.”

“Fuck, baby, give me something to work with here. Jackson financially abused you. He conned you and stole your identity.”

“You stole my heart and lied to me about who you were. I loved you. Losing you like that broke me, Andy. You did that. My bank balance will recover a lot faster than my heart did.”

He jerked as if you’d slapped him. Then his spine slumped, and he curved in on himself. Your heart ached. The instinct to comfort him surged. You fought it off.

“When Ari told me what he’d done, I wanted to help you.”

“What happened to me is none of your business!”

Andy winced.

“I want it to be. I want to protect you. It kills me that he preyed on you, used you, hurt you.”

“You cut me off. That was your decision, not mine. You lied to me and used me as cover.”

“I never used you. Duchess, our relationship was the most authentic thing I’ve ever had.”

You shook your head, refusing to believe him. Andy persisted.

“That was the only time I’ve been free. It wasn’t real freedom, but I didn’t know that. I wanted a life with you. I believed I could have it and I thought I’d left my past behind. You’re pissed I never told you where I came from, but I was ashamed. I’m ashamed of who my father was and what he did.”

Your eyes caught his, and the emotion within them made your heart stutter. Love and misery brimmed out of him, calling to you. You held your breath and stiffened as fear kicked in. He’d ripped you apart. A second round with Andy Barber would shatter what was left of your psyche.

Andy sighed. “Now I get to be ashamed of the man I’ve become. And that has more to do with what happened between us than any of the crimes I’ve committed.”

Breathing was difficult. Thinking was more difficult. Your fight-or-flight instincts were kicking on. Andy was a threat to your wellbeing. It was a terrible dilemma that you wanted to throw yourself into his arms and tell him you’d always loved him and always would. The urge to run warred with an aching desire to stay.

“Why did you want to get me alone, Andy? Did you just want to come clean or do you have something more to say? Because if not I want to go home.”

“I want you. I have no right to ask, but I’m doing it anyway. There are no more lies between us and you know who I am. When we were together, I wasn’t honest with you. If you’ll have me, I want to spend the rest of my life proving how sincere I am about loving you.”

His eyes glinted with moisture. You were frozen, heartbeat thumping.

“You’re saying this isn’t just one night?”

“I’m saying I’m yours. And I’m asking if you’ll have me.”

“Steve and Ari? Where do they fit into this?”

Andy shrugged. “I’ll let them make their own passes at you. For now, I’m throwing myself at your mercy. You don’t have to say anything right now. I’d prefer you think things over. Weigh the odds, duchess. Don’t reject me out of hand, please. I’m begging. I want a second chance.”

“Andy, I don’t know…”

He shifted closer, and suddenly you were in his arms. He snagged you against his chest. At the familiar embrace, you crumpled. He was warm and smelled of the same cologne he’d worn before. Andy groaned. His lips brushed your ear.

“Please, let me back in. I need you, more than I ever have. I want something good in my life. We can make it work. I need you, duchess. Please.”

His voice was aching. Again, you wanted to comfort him. But your head was still spinning. The lies you’d never suspected him of burned your ego and bruised your trust. He’d tied up loose ends, but the explanations didn’t sit easily on your conscience.

He’d had limited options, but the lies had been of his own making. Your belief in him was rattled. Worse, between his lies and Jackson’s, your belief in yourself was broken. If you’d been asked this morning if your college sweetheart could’ve become a ruthless mobster, you’d have laughed. That’s crazy. Andy had planned to become a prosecutor. He was a world away from living the future you’d imagined for him.

Your head snapped up at the sound of the door opening. Ari stepped into the room. He flashed a grin at the sight of you in Andy’s arms.

“This is cute. Did you love birds talk it out?”

When he looked closer at you, his smirk dropped.

“What’s going on? Are you okay?”

Maybe you’d read Andy and Jackson wrong, but Ari was living up to expectations.

“She’s fine,” Andy said.

“I wasn’t talking to you. Sweetheart, why don’t you let my brother and I step outside so he can tell me why he made you cry?”

You wiped the wetness away with the back of your hand. “He lied to me. He broke up with me without a hint of warning after we’d been together for three years. After we’d lived together for two years. I showed up to find him moving out, and he dropped the bomb on me. No explanation, just a clean break. He loved me, but he had to go. Then he dropped off the face of the earth.”

Andy’s face blanched of color, but you had one last detail he didn’t know about your breakup.

“It was an enormous shock, given that I’d found a ring in his sock drawer a week before.”

Ari hissed. Andy swore.

The tanned man was glaring daggers at his brother.

“You didn’t tell us.” Ari clenched his jaw and turned to you. “I swear we didn’t know. Steve and I thought you’d casually dated.”

“I told her,” Andy said.

“You friggin’ asshole, you’ve made us look like psychopaths. Honey -”

“It’s okay. Believe me, I know how convincing he can be.”

Andy’s eyes dimmed at your harsh words. Guilt tugged at your heartstrings, but the pain in your chest was stronger.

“Okay, that’s it. We’re calling it a night. I’m throwing Jackson out on the street. Andy, you can take him home. While you’re at it, find somewhere else to sleep tonight. She and I will take your bed.”

“Fuck you, Ari. I was explaining-”

“Do you want him here?” Ari asked you.

You sighed and laid your hand on Andy’s jaw, feeling his soft beard. A surge of love made your heart go mushy when he shut his eyes and leaned into your touch.

“I’m tired, okay. Can we talk later?”

He looked hopeful. “Anytime you want.”

“In the morning.”

“Sure, great, talk in the morning. Now get the fuck out and take her ex-boyfriend with you,” Ari said.

“You broke up with him?” Andy asked.

“No.”

“She’s going to,” Ari said.

He stalked to the bed and jerked off his shirt, tossing it on the floor. Then he undid his jeans. Andy scowled.

“This is my bedroom.”

“Tonight it’s hers and you’re not fucking welcome. Get out. If you come back before she wants to see you, you’re going to die.”

Andy curled his arm around you, leaning in. His lips were coming closer. You held perfectly still, excited but afraid. He could realize the power he held over you if you weren’t careful. But a part of you wanted to throw caution to the wind and give in.

Ari grabbed him by the arm and yanked Andy away. He let his brother drag him to the door, looking at you regretfully.

“Sorry, Duchess. Have Ari text me tomorrow when you want to see me.”

- - - - -

Next Part: Chapter Eight

- - - - -

Tag List: Under review due to minors following me. Now that I'm aware of this problem, I'm reconstructing my tag list. I'll work on it tomorrow and reblog with tags.

[ridiasfangirlings]

reading through the "Dark AU" tag and maybe you've already answered this but if you haven't I have a burning (no pun intended) question: does "Dark" Yata get as nervous around girls as canon Yata? because the thought of that is just. really funny. will beat up anyone who disrespects mikoto but cannot ask a woman for directions.

...I hadn't thought about that but I'm going to go with yes XD Like imagine Dark AU Yata is this super violent thug type character, if anyone says a single thing bad about Mikoto Yata will happily squish their head like a melon with his baseball bat. Other gangs totally fear him, everyone knows that in a fight Yata won't stop until either all his opponents are dead or he himself is. Like the rest of Dark Homra he's known as this terrifying gang member who won't hesitate to stoop to violence to get what he wants and he's got like this fanatical devotion to Mikoto, to the point that even his own fellow clansmen will likely get beaten up just for saying something slightly less than praising about Mikoto in Yata's presence. He's a dangerous unpredictable force of pure violence that most normal people would be too afraid to ever provoke, and even members of other gangs try to keep away from him.

And also, he can't handle women in any way, shape or form. Just imagine Dark!Yata, terrifying and wild and willing to beat up anyone just because he can...and then a high school girl walks by and asks him if he knows what time it is and suddenly he's blushing and stuttering and probably calling her 'ma'am' and just doing a complete turnaround from how he was before. It's like the one thing that he and normal Yata have in common – imagine one of those scenarios where Dark!Yata escapes into the normal K world and he's causing all this trouble and maybe trying to like hunt down Fushimi and normal Yata is doing whatever he can to stop his evil self. They end up face to face in a final battle, both of them bloody and bruised but neither one willing to give up. Yata punches his dark self through the window of a nearby building and jumps in after him, ready to end this once and for all – except it turns out the business is a strip joint, a bunch of scantily clad women are staring at them both, and both Yatas just go bright red and scream like five year olds, grabbing each other by the hand and running out of the building at top speed.

[self-shipyard]

"I Will (Pt. 1): The Bride Team" - A Self-Ship Wedding Fic

SYNOPSIS: The first part of a special, four-part fic in which the bridal team meets up and gets the blushing bride ready for the big day.

Word Count: 1478

CW: Pre-Wedding Fluff, Mild Swearing, Mild Tension

Tag List: @guthound, @danieladimitrescu, @puppyships, @ava-ships, @awesomedanganronpaconfessions, @sinners-call-me-baby, @reigenhusband, @that-autistic-team-skull-grunt, @noellojello, @somethingscarlet13, @spookymasonjar, @vanityloves, @valor-selfships

PART 1 - PART 2 - PART 3 - PART 4

"Turn your head," Sorbet instructed.

Lumaca looked up in the mirror at Sorbet as he held her curls in one hand and a brush in the other.

She had been studying herself in the mirror and thinking about her initial hesitation when he offered to help gussy her up for the big day. It wasn't that she didn't think he could do a good job; she knew he was an expert when it came to painting his and Gelato's nails. She had just worried about potentially bothering him with it.

Though, she was glad that he was so persistent in the end. After all, he did have the innate ability to make anything look lavish on a tight budget.

"Like this?" she asked, turning her head to the right.

"Yeah," he replied.

The brush's teeth glided through her hair, smoothing out any rough curls that were sticking out of her head. Each stroke smoothed it out more and more until he was able to hold all of her hair in one of his hands. Then, as gently as he could, he wrapped it up into a bun. He left two long strands on either side of her face.

He stepped back to study his work from afar, feeling rather proud of himself.

Then he noticed her shift in expression.

"You look nervous," he commented.

She looked up at him and gave him a little smile.

"I am a little," she admitted.

"What's wrong?" His head tilted slightly. "Today's a happy day."

"I am happy, Sorbet!" Her hand went to her chest. "I feel like my heart could explode right now; you know? It's racing like crazy."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, I mean after today, I get to..." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I get to spend the rest of my life with Ghiaccio. It's all I've been wanting and I'll get that privilege today. I'm just... Feeling a little overwhelmed with love, I guess..."

Sorbet sighed quietly to himself, and he kneeled down to her eye level.

"Ghiaccio feels the same way," Sorbet mumbled. "You should've heard him. Every day since you said yes, he's been rambling to me and Gelato. Rambling about how long he's been waiting for this. How he wants everything to be perfect for you. How he loves you so much."

Her eyes went wide, even sparkling a little.

His eyes, in the meanwhile, drifted to the ceiling as he continued on.

"I can't say we've ever seen him happier, and it's because of you..."

Sorbet stopped and looked back down at her when he heard her sniffle. Her hazel eyes shone with tears and her lips carried a smile that could challenge the warmth of the sun.

He squinted and pointed a finger at her.

"No crying, Lumaca."

"I'm sorry," she smiled as she began to fan her eyes with her hands. "I'm trying not to, but-!"

"No crying," he cut her off before she could work herself up even more. "Save that for when you go to meet your groom at the altar."

He realized a little too late that those words only made her even more emotional. Now she was biting into the inside of her lip in a vain attempt to stop her tears from falling.

"Sorbet, that's making it worse!" she giggled, a sound which awakened his playful side. If she was going to be like this, he figured he'd have a little fun with it. Who knows? Maybe, it'll loosen her up a little.

"Not my fault..."

He leaned in close to her ear and whispered into it.

"... Mrs. Ghiaccio.~"

She pulled away from him with a squeal, holding her ear and letting her laugh fill the room.

"Sorbet, you jerk!"

He too started to chuckle, taking some joy in hearing his friend laugh.

Their laughter was interrupted by the sound of a firm knock at the door. After motioning for her to stay seated, Sorbet got up and made his way to the sound of the knocking.

He peeked through the window.

"It's Formaggio and Prosciutto," he called back to her.

Within a matter of seconds, the front door had been swung open and in walked Formaggio with Prosciutto right behind him. They were both dressed for the occasion, in formalwear similar to what Sorbet was currently wearing; white collared shirts with red vests and ties, long black pants, and polished black dress shoes.

"Hey, hey!" Formaggio called out. "What's going on bride gang?"

"Hey, Formaggio!" Lumaca smiled over her shoulder at him. "Nice to see you're already dressed."

Formaggio held up a hand to his chest and let out a fake gasp.

"Why I'm surprised at you, Space Cadet!" The nickname made her scrunch up her nose a little. "You say that like I was hoping to skimp out for the occasion."

"Thank God you didn't," Prosciutto mumbled behind him. "A lot of us would've been pretty pissed off if you hadn't come prepared."

"Hey now," Formaggio tilted his head to look back with a grin at the other man. "I thought you were supposed to be the father of the bride, not MY father!"

Prosciutto sighed at him before turning his attention to the Man of Honor and the bride. "Good afternoon Sorbet and Luma...."

Taking one look at her made him stop and stare.

"Good afternoon, Prosciutto." she smiled.

Prosciutto gave himself a quiet moment to take it all in.

He knew this day was coming ever since she and Ghiaccio had announced the engagement, but now as he stared at her, it dawned on him that she, someone he saw as a daughter, really was going to be getting married.

And that he was going to be the one to give her away.

"You look beautiful," he commented, trying not to let emotion show in his voice.

"He's right, I mean damn Sorbet!" Formaggio suddenly chimed in before she had time to thank Prosciutto for his kind words. "You did a great job. Lumaca's looking good enough to eat."

She smiled warmly at his reaction.

"Thank you!"

Lumaca suddenly noticed that Formaggio had a devious glint in his eyes. Deep down, she and the others knew that he was wanting to add on some sort of suggestion. However, just as he had opened his mouth again, a knock came to the door.

Sorbet was quick to answer.

"Oh, thank God," he mumbled, looking out the window. "It's Gelato."

The door opened and in walked Gelato, dressed in similar formalwear to the others and his face a little frazzled. He and Sorbet greeted each other with a quick kiss.

"Ahh," Formaggio called out to the newcomer. "So, the last bridesman finally decides to show up."

"Shut your mouth, cheese head," Gelato laughed. "It's not my fault traffic was bad."

"What, just like it is every other meeting day?" Formaggio chuckled, while Sorbet closed the door behind them. "Buddy, it's okay to say that you overslept or something."

With a roll of his eyes, Gelato's attention went to Lumaca and his face lit up upon seeing her.

"Oh!" He gave a little wolf whistle that made Lumaca act all bashful. He trotted up next to her and kneeled once he was in range. "Well, would you look at that! Now, who could this principessa be getting married to, huh?"

"A handsome cavaliere with blue curls!" she chirped.

"What a lucky bastard he is," he chuckled while he stood back up. "Speaking of which, the wedding's in about twenty-five minutes, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Sorbet went up next to Gelato, his hand resting on the small of his back. "We were just about to leave."

Though her face was lit up with excitement, Lumaca's eyes gained a hint of anxiety.

"It's..." she took a deep breath. "It's time already?"

"Just about," Prosciutto commented, looking down at his watch. "Sorbet's right; we should be heading out since it'll take fifteen minutes for us to get there. Let the two of them help you up."

Sorbet and Gelato both held out a hand to Lumaca, who took hold of them both and rose from her seat. She was careful not to catch herself on her dress or the chair as she stood up to meet them.

"There we go!" Gelato chirped. "Now let's go! We don't want to keep the groom waiting, do we?"

Lumaca looked over at herself one last time in the mirror, and it dawned on her that a bride was staring right back at her. In that moment, she was looking into the eyes of someone who was on her way to marrying the love of her life. The thought alone started to make her head spin.

Masking these feelings for the time being, she turned to look at Gelato with a smile.

"No, I don't think we do!"

[f1shbonez]

"Yeah, we're The Firelights - you might've heard of us." 

“Nope!” Jinx chirped, enjoying the playful jab Ekko had set her up for. It was the truth! There were loads of little rag-tag gangs scattered across the country. If this was everyone, how did Ekko expect her to know about them? There were only– she paused, looking away to count the others she could see- four…five? 

Ekko had already switched from grisled and ready for blood to a petulant mirror of the confident kid she’d met all those years ago. He couldn’t be mad for something she had no control over! Besides, she was back and they were both fine, even after all this time. Something about the shadow on his face filled Jinx with a curious kind of satisfaction. So, he’d missed her, then? 

"I'm taking out the trash. Because someone has to, and I got tired of waiting for the Minutemen to get their shit back together.”

“That’s no way to talk about our reunion!” Jinx exclaimed, throwing both arms above herself from where she lay. 

“ Anyway, what about you? Why are you wandering around kicking raiders' nests all by your lonesome, high off your face? You working out some issues, or something?"

“What’s wrong with kicking raiders?” Jinx asked simply, feeling the ebb and flow of the residual psycho draining the sharpness from her edges with every passing minute. It felt easier to breathe now. Everything was slowing to something languid and regular. 

Blue eyes narrowed up at Ekko, shrewd and considering at his next question.

You working out some issues, or something?

Who the hell wasn’t? Goodneighbour was getting stuffy and boring, nothing interesting ever happened there. She’d just needed to…figure some stuff out. Test some guns! Blow off some steam. Walk to a new place. Buy some new guns. Buy some new ammo. Test the new guns and ammo. Visit somewhere new. Find a store that sells Fancy Lad Snack Cakes. Y’know. Small stuff. One day turned to three. One excuse turned to five. And now Jinx was as West as The Commonwealth went, one week into the journey and a thousand excuses away from being ready to turn back. 

“I went for a walk.” There was a dangerous simplicity to the assertion, despite the sweetness of Jinx’s tone. 

“I got–....What’s the opposite of homesick? Homebored? Then I got roadbored.” Travelling alone was lonely, afterall.

“Then I met these guys! Got a new gun I wanted to test and…” She sighed fondly, “The rest is history!” Jinx waved a hand at the mess of flesh and bone in one of the room’s corners. Who knew that miniguns could rip people apart so fast? Where was the best place nearby to fill her pockets with ammo after this?

“Soo, if you and your buddies are on cleanup duty, you gotta be from ‘round here.” What was the nearest settlement like? Hopefully they had good stuff. Good food. Good guns. All of the treasures Jinx had stuffed into her bag and pockets were starting to get heavy- moreso now that the chems were wearing off. It’d be good to take a break. 

“You gonna vouch for me, Survival-King?”

 “Pull that trigger, you’ll wish you hadn’t.” 

 A noxious cocktail of chems coursed through Jinx’s veins, baying for blood. The predatory intensity made the hunt even more thrilling. Hot and electric, it pulsed through Jinx whilst she moved from room to room, pouring bullets and switching weapons in a flurry of bloodlust. Fast. Fast. Fast. It amplified everything. Speed. Noise. Reaction time. Strength. She could fight anything like this. 

Raiders, raiders, raiders. They were simple. Loud. Easy to shoot at. Nobody liked raiders! The cacophony of gunfire must have been audible for miles around. Was it overkill? Yup! Was it fun and a great distraction from the mess in her head? Also yup! She could hardly hear the sound of people dropping, screaming and choking on their own blood over the heavy gun exploding deadly shots from her hip. The room stank of rotting wood, mould and gunpowder. Through the haze, Jinx took a breath and smiled. 

Maybe all the ruckus would draw out some new targets to shoot at. The furthest corner of The Commonwealth was void of most life. Sure, there’d been a Deathclaw to the North, but as Jinx ambled and weaved along the Western routes, everywhere was empty. Except for these raiders. 

They had nice digs too. A few rotting ghouls made clear that they’d only held the factory for a small amount of time. Maybe they’d have some cool stuff in their armoury. Oh! Or a safe to break into! If nothing else, it would help to stock up on ammo after such a long trip. After peppering the place with Pow-Pow’s bullets (and felling most of the raiders in the process), it was time to consider being a bit more thrifty with bullets. Just in case. 

It was dead quiet. That usually meant every raider in the place was dead. They weren’t the kind to shy from a fight when it came knocking, and that was exactly what Jinx had needed; a brief, exhilarating bloodbath. 

Strolling through her new digs (freshly painted in red!), Jinx began to hum, stooping to rifle through pockets and empty her still-warm opponents' weapons of their ammo. Why did nobody carry 5mm bullets? Rude. She wandered through the place, lifting bottles to inspect them, pocketing a couple of canisters of jet and psycho as she found them and–bingo! Terminal. With her back to the room, Jinx slumped forwards, beginning to coax the machine into unlocking. Would they have a light control system? Any juicy gossip? What about–

–What was that noise?

Feeling her expression snap back into a lethal snarl, Jinx spun around, firing blindly towards the noise. 

You’re dead!

There were more! How had she missed them?! After only a couple of rotations Pow-Pow slowed, releasing nothing but smoke. In the second it took Jinx to glance down at her gun, they were upon her. Swinging the barrels of the minigun forward to strike her attackers was cumbersome- slower than sinking bullets into people. She only managed one strike before she was tackled to the ground. A masked face was looming over her, it was pretty similar to her own if not for the colour…and the sweet paint job. She’d be taking that once he was dead- it was pretty cool. 

Writhing and doing her best to drive a knee into her attacker’s stomach, Jinx battled to pull a hand to her belt. All she needed was her pistol and this would be over as quickly as it started. 

“Pull that trigger, you’ll wish you hadn’t.”

A frustrated hiss slid through Jinx’s teeth as she wrestled with the weight atop of her. Maybe a pistol was a bit ambitious right now, but a loose right arm would offer the chance to bash this guy good ‘n hard over the head with her Pip-boy. …Pip-boy.

Was…was the guy on top of her wearing a Pip-boy? Adrenaline still spiking, Jinx paused only for a second. 

“Nice stuff.” She hissed, flopping back to the ground in a mock surrender. 

“After I kill ya, I’ll take good care of it.”

[takerfoxx]

Now I'm wondering how the Walpurgis Nights girls would react to watching the Rebellion Story. ESPECIALLY Charlotte.

You...really need to stop putting ideas in my head that I can’t stop thinking about.

Fine. Okay. Here’s a rough draft of that very scenario, but mostly unedited and only up through the opening. I’ll hit up the rest when I have the time.

Note that this takes place some time after the story’s wrapped up, so the Hitomi arc is canon.

G=Gretchen

H=Homulilly

Op=Ophelia

Ok=Oktavia

Ca=Candeloro/Mami

Ch=Charlotte

...

Ch: Okay, this is basically us if we didn’t turn into witches and die, am I getting that right?

Ca: That does seem to be the case.

Op: So worst possible scenario.

G: Oh, I think it’ll be okay. I’m actually really excited about this!

Ok: I hope we get to see our outfits. I’ve always wondered about those.

…

Ok: Who’s narrating?

Ch: Sounds like a really grumpy Homulilly.

H: I don’t sound like that. Do I sound like that?

Ch: A little…

Op: Oooh, ominous!

Ok: “Disappear…” Do they mean turn into witches?

Ca, reading the description: No, apparently this take place in an alternate world where magical girls just…disappear instead of turning into witches.

Everyone: What?

Op: Who let that happen?

Ca: Um, Gretchen, apparently.

G: I did what? How?

Ch: I’m sure it’ll explain things. Eventually.

…

Ok: That sure is a lot of bubbles.

Op: Sounding a little cynical there, Lilly-Billy. Something you want to tell the rest of the class?

H: It’s not me!

Ok: Familiar smile…Oh, I know who she’s talking about!

Op: No matter the world, Homulilly stays loyal!

G: Why can’t she see me though? Am I dead?

H: Seriously, we don’t know if that’s even me.

…

Ch: Nice city.

Ok: I feel like I’m watching a tourism ad.

G: Is that where we lived?

…

Op: Uh, okay. This is new.

Ch: As far as we know.

G: I thought there weren’t any witches in this version.

…

Ch: City’s leaking.

Ok: That’s what happens if you don’t housetrain your skyscrapers.

Op: Looks like cum.

=Homulilly has to cover her mouth and turn away to keep from laughing=

Ca: Ophelia!

Op: Well, it does.

Ok: And now it turned into a ballerina. Okay.

Op: Cumberlina.

Ca: Stop saying cum!

…

Ch: These animators were on drugs.

Ok: Music’s nice, though.

H: “Welcome to cinema”?

…

Ok: Okay, what the hell is this fever dream? What’s with the demon teddy bear?

H: Maybe it’s a witch?

G: There aren’t supposed to be witches though!

Ch: What are we supposed to fight then?

Op: Maybe each other?

G: Oh, I really hope not.

Op: Gang war! Gang war!

Ok: Who is this thing even performing for?

…

Ca: Are those…teddy bear bombs?

Ok: Looks like.

Ca: And are those…are those marshmallows or pillows?

Op: Okay, following a clumsy dance recital with indiscriminate acts of terrorism. You know what? I get it. I’ve been there.

…

Ok: Holy crap, that’s Gretchen!

H: What? Where?

Ok: There! To the left with the cumberlinas!

Ca: Stop! Saying! Cumberlina!

H: Pause it! Pause it!

G: Is that what I looked like? I’m so…

Op: Pink!

Ch: Honestly, it’s kind of adorable.

G: Why am I with the cumberlinas though?

Ca: =indistinct noises of irritation and defeat=

…

Ch: What, is it judging them now?

Op, to the TV: Oh, like you could do better! Asshole…

Ch: You okay?

Op: I’m fine. It just reminded me of someone I know.

Ca: Oh, that’s Gretchen all right!

Ok: So many frills!

H: You’re so cute!

G: It’s not that…WHOA!

Op: Holy shit, Gretch is packing!

Ok: Death from above!

Ch: Maybe you should have cleared out first.

G: Whoops.

…

Ok: Oh my God, it’s me!

Op: Hell yeah!

Ca: Holy shit, it is you!

G: Look at that outfit! It’s so cool!

Ca: There’s even a cape!

Ok: Forget the cape, I’ve got legs!

G: “Madoka.” Still sounds weird to me.

Op: Heh. “Bingo.”

…

Op: AAAAHHHH! THAT’S ME!

Ok: Okay, I was sort of worried, but c’mon. Our outfits look totally badass.

H: Look at that hair.

Op: I know, right?!

Ok: And we’re working together!

Op: Damn right! Tag team that musty bitch!

=high five=

Ca: Where are we, though? We’re in this, right?

Ch: Movie’s just started. I guess we show up later.

…

Ch: Uh…okay.

G: That was a lot of windows.

H: Was this sort of thing…normal?

Ok: Did anyone else see the bleeding goat?

…

=stunned silence=

Ch: Well, this is happening now.

Op: What the hell is going on?

G: Well, we obviously invited the monster teddy bear over for dinner!

Ok: As one does.

H: Is this a musical?

Ok: Oh, that would be so awesome.

…

Op: See? There you are, Candy!

Ca: Wow.

Ok: Oh, my God. That outfit is so hot.

Ch: Where am I, though? Am I even…What hell is that thing?

G: Um, Charlotte? I think that’s you.

Ch: What?!

Op: And the obligatory tit shot…

Ca: Yeah, they really did zoom right in on them, didn’t they?

H: Dead center.

Ch: I’m not really that creepy doll thing, am I?

H: Maybe you’re the teddy bear.

…

Ok: Building’s on fire.

Op: Not my fault.

Ok: It’s at least one-fourth your fault.

G: Is no one going to bring up the skyscrapers that the teddy bear blew up?

Ok: Guess not.

G: But what if there were people in there?

Ok: Yeah, we’re kind of lousy at the whole “save the city” thing, aren’t we?

H: Why haven’t I shown up yet?

Ok: Maybe you’re the teddy bear!

…

Ok: And she’s awake!

G: Oh, we’re following me! Am I the main character?

Ca: It did kind of lead with you.

Ok: Homulilly was narrating, though.

Op: Maybe she’s the wise old mentor that gets killed off in a flashback.

H: =belabored sigh=

Ch: WHY AM I A CREEPY DOLL THING?!

…

Op: Wait, is that a fucking Incubator?

Ok: Well, this just got dark.

G: Why am I petting…Oh! Is that my mom?

Ok: Close!

G: It’s my dad! That’s my dad!

Ok: Oh, wow.

Op: Gretch, you gonna be okay?

G: Tatsuya…

=Homulilly hugs her=

Ok: That is a lot of chairs.

…

Ch: Looks like it runs in the family.

G: What does.

Ch: Being a sweetheart.

G, blushing: Oh, uh, thank you.

Ok: Hey, Candy. Did you ever meet Gretch’s family?

Ca: No, I didn’t. Actually, the only parents I was introduced to were Ophelia’s, and, well…

Op: Say no more.

Ca: Thank you.

…

Ch: And the classic schoolgirl, off to class with toast in her mouth and an alien abomination on her shoulder.

Ok: As one does.

Op: Why is it always toast? They’re not hard to eat. Just eat it with the rest of breakfast!

H: Does anyone else feel a strange, almost irresistible desire to strangle that little white rodent every time it shows up on screen?

Everyone: Yup!

Op: If someone doesn’t shoot that thing at least once before the end of the film, then I’m going to be very disappointed.

…

Ch: I guess this is the opening.

G: I thought the song where we were all feeding the creepy teddy bear until it blew up was the opening.

Ch: I don’t think that was an anything. That was just…there.

Ca: I really like the animation though.

Ok: Song’s pretty.

G: Oh, look! I am the main character!

Op: Oh, look! Look! There we are!

Ok: Yes! Spin that teacup!

H: Oh!

Ok: Hey, there you are!

Op: Looking all depressed and dramatic in that spotlight, but there you are.

H: Am I like…the rival or something?

Ch: Honestly, the rival is always the best character.

…

Ca: I like this part.

Op: Look at us all go! This is pretty adorable.

Ok: Candy, was it actually like that when we were, well, alive?

Ca: Actually, it’s not too far off.

Op: Neat.

H: Oh, that stupid clock. I’m always stuck in a clock!

…

Ok: Heh. Hip bump.

Op: See? Even Gretchen wants the old you to cheer up.

=Gretchen playfully bumps Homulilly with her hip, who smiles=

Ok: I don’t think you’re the rival. More of Gretchen’s mopey girlfriend. You know, to balance out her ray of sunshine vibes!

Ch: So…basically like it is now.

H: I’m not that mopey.

Ok: Well, this is teenage you.

H: True...

…

H: Again with the clocks, and-WHOA!

Ok: What’s up with the wings?

H: Could I fly? Was that something I could do?

Ca: No, the wings are new.

…

Op: Okay, this part rules.

Ok: Dance break! Come on, Homulilly! Join in!

G: What’s with all the close-ups of our hips?

Op: Well, they’re cute!

Ok: Hey, did we really break out into dance whenever Homulilly needed cheering up?

Ca: No, the dancing is new too. And I wouldn’t say that she was really all that mopey, just very…serious-minded and focused. Very mysterious too.

H: I wonder why.

G: Because it’s sexy.

Op: Can’t really argue with that.

…

Ch: Well, there’s some foreshadowing if I’ve ever seen it.

G: Why did I turn into sand?

Ok: It’s probably symbolic for something.

H: And why was it focusing so much on me? Am I the main character? I haven’t even shown up yet!

Ch: At least you got to be in the opening and mostly looked like yourself. Me? I get to be a creepy doll thing!

Op: At least you’re merchandisable.

Ch: Oh, like a bunch of cute girls in showy outfits can’t be merchandised. There’s probably like hundreds of little figurines and…uh…

G: What are you…oh.

Ch: Probably best not to think about it.

Op: Speak for yourself. I find a swimsuit version of us, I’m getting the whole set.

Ch: I will literally break your arms.

Ok: What if they have one of you? But, the doll version?

Ch: Oh, God! I just pictured it, and oh God! No!

Ok: Personally I’m hoping for body pillows.

Op: Oh, those they definitely have. You have to go to some shady places to get the nudy kind though.

Ok: Charlotte’s are probably sold official.

Ch: Stop! I am begging you to stop!

[palimpsessed]

So @captain-aralias​ did one of these and invited other writers to do the same. And I wasn't really going to because it feels a bit late now and also I've done quite a few other year in review posts for 2020. But then I got to thinking that it would be really nice to have one of these for each year to look back on and compare, which convinced me. So, here we go!

If you’re a writer, I’d also encourage you to steal this. Tag me on your post so I can see your thoughts! 🥰

List of Complete Fics for 2020 1. At the Top of a Tower, With You- General, 900 words 2. Use Your Words- Teen, 16k 3. A Man of Letters, or Five Times Baz Retreats and the One Time He Doesn’t- Teen, 54k 4. To the Manor Borne- Teen, 43k

Total: 4 fics, 113k words

Every one of these fics was written for an event, which, realistically, is the only reason they got finished. I have so many ideas I'm working on all at once, and I came into fandom with a focus on making art, so to actually find the motivation to sit down and write/finish/post a fic was entirely deadline based. And it's a technique I'm sure I will also employ in 2021.

Best/Worst Title?

Well, I've mentioned a few times before that I usually have a title before I have much in the way of a fic concept. I don't really dislike any of the my titles, because they all did exactly what I needed them to do, which was help me focus on what I wanted to accomplish in the fic. Comparatively speaking, though, I can answer this.

Best: Use Your Words - succinct, idiomatic, a book quote/motif that also has the potential to be a spell, does what it says on the tin, is probably what all of us are constantly yelling at Baz and Simon to do throughout the books and the fic itself

(Honorable mention to A Man of Letters because that title forms a perfect heart shape when viewed on mobile on AO3. ❤️)

Worst: At the Top of a Tower, With You - this is also a quote and it fits the fic perfectly, but it is a bit of a mouthful and it has a comma in the middle of it, which, while I love commas, feels a bit off-putting in terms of a title - also, it's always kind of bothered me that it's a Baz WS quote used for a CO-era Lucy POV

Best/worst summary?

Again, I don't really dislike any of my summaries.

Best:

To the Manor Borne: The gang decides to spend Christmas together at Pitch Manor. Romance, hijinks, and holiday cheer ensue.

Anything that lets me use the word hijinks is always good! - it's short and sweet - it does a fair job of setting up the premise for the fic and giving highlights, without giving anything away

Worst: A Man of Letters

I'm not going to include this one because it's so long, I had to cut down the version I posted on tumblr to fit in the AO3 field, which is really why I rank it below my others - it effectively sets up the world of Simon and Baz in Regency England prior to where the story starts, but it is prohibitively long - and it's set up, not summary, so it also loses points for not doing what it purports to do - I could have said exactly what this fic was in one sentence: "Simon and Baz meet at several Regency-appropriate venues over the course of a London season and reflect on their acquaintance in letters", but instead I did the full book jacket version because it was more interesting to me.

Best/Worst First Line?

Oh, this is interesting. I can honestly say that I have no idea where this will go. Going to pull up my docs and find out! Okay, since I only have four fics to consider, and I'm feeling split, I'm going to do two for each. I feel good about my words, but I will say that half of my first lines actually provide information, and the other half are incomplete thoughts. Those were stylistic decisions I made, but when taken alone, it does somewhat limit the effectivness of a sentence when it can't stand without the rest of the paragraph. Perhaps that decision will lure readers in for more?

Best:

In the end, we wind up at Pitch Manor. (To the Manor Borne)

I know that you won't be surprised when I tell you that I do not like writing letters. (A Man of Letters)

Kind of interesting that these both contain key words from the titles 🤔

Worst:

I'm not sure how I'm supposed to do this. (Use Your Words)

I love how the title seems to be answering Baz's question when the two are put together like this 😂

Strange that it should end here, where it all started. (At the Top of a Tower, With You)

The title also seems to complete the first line in this one, too. I'm learning about my writing as this goes on, so that's cool!

Best/Worst Last Line?

Hmm. Okay, again, no idea. Also, a little leery of including last lines for anyone who hasn't read the fics they're from yet. (Tho I guess it's unlikely those people would be reading this😆) But let's see what we've got.

Use Your Words and A Man of Letters have very similar final lines, and both are somewhat spoilery.

Best: The ending of A Man of Letters felt risky to me, in the way that it is formatted and changes tone from the rest of the story. It was something that happened as I wrote it and I loved it. I had no idea if readers would like it, if they would feel like it worked as an ending, but I felt strongly enough about it to let the entire fic hinge on that and I think it really paid off. So, without giving you the actual last line, which is only one word, I'm going to say that one is my best ending.

Worst:

To the Manor Borne: "Carry on, Simon."

It's not bad, it's just not mine.

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, fewer than you thought, or about what you predicted?

I did not set out to write any fics in 2020. I was supposed to be taking a break from writing. I've been an aspiring novelist for half my life now, and have been going through major ups and downs with my writing. I decided I needed to re-evaluate and figure out if writing was something that was even going to be able to make me happy anymore. The answer is: YES! Just…not original fiction. At the moment. I'm happiest when I can write for the sake of writing and not have to DO something with that writing. Which is why discovering fan fiction was AMAZING!!!! 🥰🥰🥰

To actually answer the question, yes, I wrote more than I thought I would. I also wrote exactly as much as I thought I would, simply because these were all things I signed up for (with the exception of my Countdown fic, but I committed to it as if it were something that required a sign up).

I have a lot more ideas for 2021, but I don't know how many of them will come to fruition. I'm not putting pressure on myself to have to do anything beyond what I sign up for again, because it did work out so well for me starting off.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?

I mean, the pairing and the fandom were in no way a surprise. 😆 They're my only ones, so those were both a given. The genre is also not surprising.

What's your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest?

A Man of Letters, without any hesitation. I adore it so much. It's the kind of fic I know I will unabashedly sit down to read over and over, even if I'm the one who wrote it. I had one reader to please and it was ME. By far, my most self-indulgent fic.

Okay, NOW your most popular story?

That depends on the metric.

To the Manor Borne leads in Comments (107), Kudos (153), and Hits (1992), and Use Your Words leads in Bookmarks (26).

But since To the Manor Borne is top in 3 out of 4 metrics, I'll say that one.

Story most upderappreciated by the universe?

I mean, the least popular by a wide margin is At the Top of a Tower, With You, but I don't know if I'd call it underappreciated. It's short, it's angsty, it's got a very unusual style, it's Lucy POV, it's the first fic I wrote and posted. I didn't really go into it with high performance expectations. I'm proud of it, I just didn't expect it to be popular. It would be nice if more people read it, but I'm not broken up over it.

Story that could have been better?

I'm not even going to touch this one. Everything can always be improved upon, but if I go down that route, nothing will ever be done. This is one of the things I have come to appreciate about traditional art versus digital. With traditional, there is only so much you can do before something is permanent and you have to live with it. It's an exercise in letting go and acceptance. Digital is flashier and more flexible, but I could (and have) spend months on a single piece and never feel satisfied, never stop tweaking. I think that's also the reason I started to hate my novels.

Sexiest story?

Based purely on overall vibes, I find the understated tension of the Regency the most appealing, so I'm going to say A Man of Letters. I didn't actually stray into sex territory in any of my fics (though Simon and Baz have had sex by the time To the Manor Borne starts, and refer to it, and probably do it "offscreen"), but A Man of Letters is the one that feels sexiest to me. Lots of thirsting!Baz and feral!Simon and sensual hand touching (how risqué!) - and YEARNING. That, to me, is the sexiest vibe of all. So. Much. Yearning.

Saddest story?

At the Top of a Tower, With You - for this one, I tagged "angst without plot" and I stand by that. It's Lucy losing her connection to Simon at the end of CO and trying to find a way to reconcile herself to leaving him alone again. I gave it as much of a hopeful bent as I could, with the refrain of Baz's spoken "love" to cling to, but it's very sad.

Most fun?

To the Manor Borne - All of my fics have their fair share of angst, but this one also has some good, silly, holiday fluff thrown in. Since I wrote it for the Countdown, each chapter was based on a different prompt, which led to this one going in all sorts of directions no single fic probably ever should. Plus, it has the most Shepard, and Shepard always makes things more fun.

Story with the single sweetest moment?

Oh my god. I don't know. No, never mind. I do. It's To the Manor Borne, but it's split between the two gift giving scenes, the Constellations and Secret Santa/Gift Giving prompts. These were private moments between Simon and Baz, sharing themselves with each other, being vulnerable, and communicating. It's the gifts they give each other, yes, but it's more so the reasons they chose those gifts, and how they show part of themselves and share their love for each other, through those gifts, that had me in tears writing those two scenes. I'm super proud of them.

Hardest story to write?

Use Your Words - it was written for an exchange and that made it really hard to write it knowing there was this pressure of making my gift-ee happy with the fic. I'm proud of it, and they really liked it, but the anxiety was too much for me.

Easiest/most fun story to write?

A Man of Letters - if there is a fic better suited to me as a writer, I haven't met it. I started writing after reading Pride and Prejudice in high school, so I started out writing Regency and I spent years and years and years of my life obsessed. When I transferred into college, an administrator I had never met before heard my name during orientation and said, "Oh, you're the Austen scholar." (It is a small, private college, and I was a transfer, so the pool of students was even smaller. But still. Many years later, I'm clearly not over it.) I also did my senior thesis on an epistolary novel (Frances Burney’s Evelina), and my English Lit emphasis was for that time period. So, I felt like I had been preparing for this fic my entire adult life. 😂

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?

I don't think so. I tend to let my writing be dictated by the characters, so I'm always following their lead. Sometimes they'll do or say something that surprises me and takes me down a route I didn't necessarily foresee, but I don't think there was ever a point where one of them did something that made me rethink who they are as a character.

Most overdue story?

I will say A Man of Letters, since that one felt like a culmination of my seventeen-year-old self's wildest writing dreams. But I should probably say the Scooby Doo AU I still haven't managed to finish, because that one has been a WIP since I joined the fandom. Oops. (I'm hoping when I look over this in a year, I can feel smug that it's finally done.)

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

Writing at all was a risk for me! And writing fan fic for the very first time! Writing an entire fic told only through letters. And then ending it in a completely different style from the rest of the fic. Doing a multi-chaptered fic for the Countdown, using a different prompt for each chapter, and publishing a chapter every single day for thirty days (with the exception of two days that had art). Signing up for fandom events in the first place!

What I learned from taking risks in my writing is the same thing I learned when I took risks in my art this year. I have a much better appreciation for what I've done when I push myself, I feel better about the end product, and I like it longer. I think it's really good for me to challenge myself creatively.

This year's theme and the story that demonstrates it most?

Oh boy. Um. Therapy! Both Use Your Words and To the Manor Borne had their big HEA moments built around sending Simon and Baz to therapy. I don't think that's likely to change for future fics, either. I feel like therapy as the theme for 2020 seems very fitting. (Also, I think I keep sending the boys to therapy because I'm trying to get myself there…)

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

Just to write what I want to write, have fun, not put any pressure on myself, and to take risks in my writing and my art because it will help me to grow.

[cocastyle]

Change - Ch. 1 | T H R E E

Pairing - Bill Denbrough x reader

Word Count - 4,888

A/N - another chapter!! yay! I’ve only just started this series and I already love writing it so much and can’t wait for you all to see what happens next! I hope you all like this update and expect another one up very soon!

in other news, I have decided that I would like to write a Stranger Things rewrite as well! I am currently doing a tally for who the pairing should be so leave me a comment on who you would like the rewrite to be on! your options are Will Byers, Steve Harrington, Dustin Henderson, or Jonathan Byers! I would love to write for any of the characters but those four are the ones I have ideas for :)

if you would like to be added to the tag list for this series let me know!

C H A N G E

Change Series Masterlist

* - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - *

T H R E E   -   Lois Lane

* - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - *

Y/N was the first to break the silent staring contest the boys all seemed to be having, quickly stepping by her cousin and hurrying over to the boy who was lying in the water with a bloody shirt. "Are you okay?" Y/N asked softly as she knelt down in front of the boy who just stared up at her with wide eyes, surprised that she was talking to him.

"Not. . .not really," the boy admitted and by the slight crack in his voice, Y/N could tell it took all of his willpower not to cry. She didn't blame him for wanting to. Judging by the amount of blood, it looked like whatever injury he had was painful. Not to mention that the events leading up to him getting hurt might've been painful as well.

Footsteps behind her had Y/N turning to see that Stan, Bill, Richie, and Eddie had come over to join her, their eyes on the hurt boy while Eddie grimaced. Y/N looked back at the boy and gave him a kind smile as her eyes flickered over his face.

His dirty blonde hair was matted to his face, slightly covering his brown eyes which stared back at her almost nervously, like he was afraid of what was going to happen or what the group would do to him. He was leaning back slightly as he were afraid they would take a punch and Y/N couldn't help but frown slightly, a sadness flashing through her eyes as she stared at the boy.

No one spoke as Y/N reached out and gently brushed the boy's hair from out of his eyes. The small gesture was enough to make the boy blush as he looked at the girl shyly. Y/N just gave him a gentle smile as she whispered, "We're going to help you, okay?"

The boy stared at her hesitantly for a moment before nodding his head ever so slightly. Y/N's smile was enough to warm the boy's heart as she gently took his hand and helped him on to his feet, turning to the other boys in the process.

To her surprise, they were all staring at her with wide eyes. Stan's was out of pure pride for having someone as sweet and gentle as his cousin. Richie and Eddie were just in shock, having forgotten just how nice and caring the girl in front of them was. Then there was Bill who was staring at her in awe, the corners of his mouth twitching up slightly as his heart skipped a beat.

Y/N didn't seem to notice their expressions and only gave them the smallest of smiles as she said, "Come on, boys. Let's get him out of here."

The four seemed to snap out of their thoughts at that and quickly rushed forward to help Y/N get the boy over to their bikes. With some help they managed to get the boy onto Bill's bike and Y/N made sure that the boy was secure before she looked to Bill, giving him a small thankful smile before she hurried after her cousin to get on his bike.

Bill stared after Y/N for a moment, his mouth hanging open slightly as he watched her get on Stan's bike. From behind him, a small voice whispered out, "She's really kind."

Bill glanced behind him and at the boy who shared his bike and smiled softly as he looked back at Y/N. "Sh-Sh-She sure is," Bill agreed before him and the others began to bike away from the Barrens and towards town, neither of them noticing Patrick Hockstetter, a member of the Bowers gang, stumble into the small river right after they left.

The ride out of the woods was mostly quiet as the group biked towards town. It was only when they had left the woods that Eddie began to ramble and lucky for Stan and Y/N, they were the closest to the boy and got to hear all of it.

"I think it's great that we're helping the new kid, but we also need to think about our own safety. I mean, he's bleeding all over and you guys know there's an AIDS epidemic happening right now as we speak. I mean my mom's friend in New York City got it juist by touching a dirty pole in the subway and she got AIDS blood into her system through a hangnail," Eddie said as he glanced over at Y/N and Stan, the girl staring back at him intently while she leaned her head against her cousin's back.

"A hangnail?" Y/N questioned, knowing that the best way to handle Eddie's rambling was to go along with it.

Besides, she knew he secretly liked it when someone actually seemed to enjoy when he talked and it was obvious that still applied by the way he smiled ever so slightly before exclaiming, "A hangnail!"

Stan let out a soft sigh and glanced at his friend before looking back ahead as he followed after Bill and Richie, Eddie right beside him.

"And-and they can amputate legs and arms. But. . .but how do you amputate a wai-? How do you amputate a waist?" Eddie asked, his eyes wide as he realized that the boy they found was going to die because they didn't know how to amputate a waist.

"Eddie," Y/N said softly, her voice causing the boy to look over at her while he nervously bit his lip. "It's going to be okay. We're not going to have to amputate his waist and the boy is going to be just fine."

"But how do you-?" Eddie began to ask.

"Just trust me," she said as her eyes flickered over Eddie's face. "You trust me, right?"

For a moment Eddie was brought back to when the two were six. He had just fallen and scraped his knee on some gravel and since they were too far away from his house to get his mother, Y/N had been the one to bandage him up with the things in his fanny pack as she softly hummed to him, her humming being enough to calm the crying boy down while he stared at her with wide eyes.

Being six years old, Eddie had thought his scraped knee was going to be the end of the world. But Y/N had been the one to calm him down. She had even the one to assure him that he was going to be okay and for the first time Eddie had believed her. It wlas that day that their friendship began to form and by the end of that summer, the two were like brother and sister.

Even after five years of not seeing her, Eddie still saw her as such and knew that his trust in her would never waiver.

"I trust you," Eddie agreed, his eyes staring directly at Y/N while Stan looked back at the two with a soft smile. It always had made Stan happy to see his friends get along so well with his cousin.

Y/N gave the boy a small smile before looking ahead as the group turned their bikes down an alley next to the pharmacy they needed to go to.

"You know that there are alleys full of AIDS infected needles, right?" Eddie spoke up, his tone still coming out nervous but not as much now that he had talked to Y/N. "You guys do know that?"

The group came to a stop and Y/N was quick to hop off Stan's bike and head over to Bill, the two helping the boy get off before sitting him down on top of a box. Y/N and Bill both knelt down in front of the boy and silently checked to make sure he was alright before Y/N whispered, "I'm Y/N by the way. This is Bill."

Bill nodded at the boy in greeting while the boy looked up at them for a minute before nodding. "Yeah, I-I know Bill. We. . .we had a class together," the boy said, not noticing the way a flicker of confusion flashed through Bill's eyes. "We never talked though, so I doubt you know me. I. . .I'm Ben."

Y/N smiled softly at the boy as she reached out to squeeze his hand. "Well, Ben, you're going to be just fine, okay? We're going to go get you some things to clean you up and then you'll be good as new in no time," she said, the optimism in her voice being enough to make Ben calm down slightly.

"Thank you," Ben whispered making Y/N smile widely.

"It's no problem," she assured him as she stood up, Bill following suit.

Bill looked at his friends as he began to back up. "Alright, s-s-so, Richie, wait here. Come on," he said before him and Y/N took off towards the pharmacy, Stan and Eddie right behind them.

Richie frowned as his friends left before looking down at Ben who was holding onto his stomach in pain, "Glad I got to meet you before you died." Ben glanced up at Richie before the two looked away, an awkward silence falling upon them.

At that time, the others managed to reach the pharmacy door and were quick to head in before Eddie led them straight to the aisle that held all sorts of bandages, gauze, ointments and more than necessary supplies than they would need.

Eddie on the other hand seemed to think they needed everything he could possibly grab and went down the aisle before grabbing so much that he could barely hold it all.

Bill and Y/N watched the boy silently while Stan counted the money that they had. "Can we afford all that?" Bill finally asked, knowing that all of the things Eddie was grabbing had to cost a lot.

Stan frowned before showing the three the little money that they had and from what Y/N could see, it really wasn't that much. A couple of dollars perhaps?

"It's all we got," Stan muttered while Eddie turned to look at the money with wide eyes.

"You kidding me?" Eddie asked, his voice soft as another wave of nervousness washed over him. The others all sighed while Stan stuffed the money into his pocket, each of them trying to think of what to do next.

"Wait, you have an account here don't you?" Bill asked, his eyes landing on Eddie while the Uris cousins looked to the young boy.

"If my mom finds out I bought all this stuff for myself, I'll spend the whole rest of the week in the emergency room getting x-rayed," Eddie told them, each of them letting out a sigh as they realized they wouldn't be able to use the boy's account.

It was at that moment that someone else entered the aisle and the four were quick to look at the newcomer, some of the items in Eddie's hands falling onto the ground in the process.

There at the end of the aisle stood a girl with long red hair tied back in a ponytail. Her startling blue eyes stared at the four and Y/N couldn't help but think the girl was extremely pretty. Her freckled face and flawless features being something Y/N would die to have herself.

The girl seemed to be startled as she stared at the four, quickly hiding something behind her back and by the looks of it, Y/N knew exactly what it was. Y/N let her eyes flicker to Bill, Stan, and Eddie and by the startled looks that seemed to be on their faces as well, the four obviously knew each other.

Y/N shook her head slightly at the four before looking at the girl and asking softly, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," the girl insisted a little harshly before she winced at her own words. "What's wrong with you?"

Stan frowned, not liking the tone the girl used with his cousin before saying, "None of your business."

"Stanley," Y/N scolded as she looked back at her cousin, but all Stan did was give her a confused and annoyed look in response.

"There's a kid outside, looks like someone killed him," Eddie suddenly said, Stan and Y/N both giving the boy an incredulous look.

Knowing that there was no way around it, Bill spoke up and said, "We need some s-s-s-supplies, but we don't have enough money."

The girl's eyes flickered over the four before she gave them a small nod. "Okay then. You guys be ready to run when I tell you," the girl told them before she began to walk down the aisle.

The four blinked in surprise before Eddie scrunched up his nose and asked, "Wait, what?"

The girl ignored him and only looked over the group before stopping on Y/N. "Do you mind helping me out?" the girl asked.

"Uh. . .sure?" Y/N said, still unsure what was happening but stepping forward to follow the girl towards the counter.

"Woah. Woah. Woah. Wait," Stan began, but Y/N was quick to stop him from stepping forward.

"It's okay, Stanley. I'll be right out there in a minute, okay?" Y/N assured him.

Stan was silent as he stared at the girl before finally allowing his gaze to fall on his cousin. He nodded a little reluctantly and Y/N gave him a small smile before beginning to follow the girl down the aisle while the boys watched after them.

"I'm Beverly Marsh by the way," the red head introduced herself as she glanced at Y/N.

"Y/N," she said as she reached out and shook the girl's hand. "Y/N Uris."

"Uris?" Beverly questioned before it seemed to click. "Oh. So you and Stan are related?"

"Yes. We're cousins actually. I'm just visiting for the summer," Y/N explained.

"That makes sense why I've never seen you at school before," Beverly hummed before the two finally began to approach the counter.

"So what's the plan?" Y/N asked, curious as to what the girl had in store for them.

Beverly just sent the girl a small smile and winked before saying, "Just follow my lead." Y/N didn't have time to question her before Beverly had gently grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her up to the counter.

Y/N didn't quite understand what was going on and glanced back at her cousin and new friends. They gave her a confused look and she merely shrugged, not knowing what was going on.

"I like your glasses, Mr. Keene," Beverly suddenly said causing Y/N to snap her attention back to what was going on. Her eyes flickered over to the pharmacist with the glasses and gave Beverly a side glance. "You look just like Clark Kent."

The man let out a small laugh and adjusted his glasses as he looked down shyly. "Oh, I don't know about that," Mr. Keene said.

"Can I try them?" Beverly questioned as she tried to put as much curiosity into her tone as she could. It was then that everything seemed to click in place for Y/N and she silently chuckled to herself as she realized what was going on.

Mr. K was silent for a moment but nodded, "Mmm. Sure." He then took his glasses off before handing them over to Beverly who chuckled and put them on.

Beverly glanced over at Y/N and sent her a smile. "What do you think?" she asked.

"You look just like Lois Lane! Doesn't she look like Lois Lane, Mr. Keene?" Y/N questioned as she played along and pointed to the girl with a smile.

Mr. Keene smiled softly before saying, "Well, how about that? She does look like Lois Lane."

"Really?" Beverly asked with a small childish laugh that made Y/N want to chuckle at how fake it actually was. Mr. Keene didn't seem to notice as he just nodded and hummed in response.

Beverly took the glasses off, making sure to keep the smile on her face. "Well, here you go," she said as she went to hand them back, but she 'accidentally' hit several packs of Carolina menthol off the counter and onto the floor. "Shoot. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Mr. Keene assured them as he put his glasses back on and bent down to pick the containers up off the ground.

Once he was out of view, Beverly and Y/N looked over their shoulders and made eye contact with the boys. Beverly gave them a small nod and Eddie, Bill, and Stan were quick to rush down the aisle.

Eddie ended up bumping into a display, but Bill was quick to grab the boy before they followed Stan out the front door. Y/N chuckled softly to herself and turned back around as Beverly stuffed a pack of cigarettes in her pocket.

The two girls glanced at each other before smiling softly and giving each other a fist bump. Y/N could already tell this was going to be a beautiful start to a new friendship.

- - -

"Just suck the wound," Richie muttered impatiently as he looked to Eddie who was busy trying to fix Ben up. Ben glanced up at Richie before looking back down at Eddie who frowned as he pressed some gauze against Ben's stomach.

"I need to focus right now," Eddie said, biting his tongue in an attempt to stop himself from yelling at Richie who was currently annoying him. Eddie knew Richie was merely bored, but that didn't stop his actions from being any less annoying.

"You need to focus?" Richie asked, his nose scrunching up as if he couldn't believe what the boy was saying.

Eddie ignored the questioning tone in his friend's voice and said, "Yeah, can you go get me something? Jesus."

"Oh, what do you need?" Richie asked and for a second Eddie swore the boy sounded as if he actually wanted to help.

"Go get my bifocals, they're in my second fanny pack," Eddie instructed,

"Why do you have two fanny packs?" Stan asked confused, while him and Richie shared a look.

"I need to focus right now and it's a long story," Eddie muttered as he pressed the gauze against Ben's stomach a little harder, Ben wincing in response.

"I don't want to hear it," Richie assured him earning a glare from his friend.

Bill shook his head at his friends in slight amusement before biting his lip nervously as he realized Y/N had yet to return. He knew she was fine, but that couldn't stop him from walking out of the alley to look in the direction of the pharmacy, hoping to see her and know that she was okay.

It was at that exact moment that the door to the pharmacy opened up and it was almost like everything went in slow motion for Bill, his eyes locking on Y/N and his mouth dropping open slightly as he watched her walk out.

He swore he had never seen someone as beautiful as Y/N Uris in his life. Even all the celebrity crushes he had would never match up to the young girl in his eyes and he knew he would never forget a face like hers for as long as he lived.

Her h/c hair seemed to shine in the sunlight as she walked out, her braid still being perfectly in tact with a few stray hairs poking out here and there that weren't really noticeable. Her skin was glowing, almost making her even brighter in Bill's eyes and making it hard for him to focus on anything else.

Then there was that smile of hers, the one that seemed to reach her eyes and make them crinkle on the sides. That kind of smile that only belonged to Y/N Uris and that made Bill's heart skip a beat. It was that special smile of hers that Bill knew shamed the sun.

He barely even registered Beverly walking out beside her, the two girls beginning to make their way down the sidewalk before Y/N turned her head and caught sight of Bill. The sight of her eyes was enough to leave him breathless. It was like her eyes held their own vocabulary that Bill desperately wanted to learn and each time he saw them he was met with a new word he had never heard of.

He hadn't felt this way since he last saw Y/N five years prior and that was when Bill knew that he was completely done for. For his feelings for her had never gone away, only been tucked away until the day when she came back and they could flourish once again.

It was a crush he assured himself. Nothing but a crush.

Y/N's smile being directed towards him was the only thing that seemed to snap him out of his thoughts, the two girls stopping in front of the boy while Bill desperately blinked in an attempt to snap himself out of it.

The only thing Bill could think to do was turn his attention to Beverly, the red head already giving him a calculating look as her eyes flickered between Bill and Y/N. Bill didn't give her time to think much longer before he began to reach in his pocket, pulling out a lonely dollar bill.

"Uhmm, th-th-thanks," Bill muttered as he held the dollar out.

Beverly seemed to realize what he was doing, but didn't question it as she held up her pack of cigarettes and smiled. "Even Steven," she assured him with a wink.

"Oh god, he's bleeding," Stan's panicking voice rang out from the alley, causing the three to glance that way.

Beverly's eyes widened slightly before a look of confusion flashed across her face. "Ben from Soc?" she whispered before beginning to make her way down the alley and towards Ben who was surrounded by Eddie, Richie, and Stan.

That left Y/N and Bill standing there on the sidewalk. Y/N turned to look at Bill at the same time as the boy and she smiled softly while Bill looked to the ground bashfully.

"Th-Th-That was really cool. . ." Bill whispered. "What you d-d-did back there."

Y/N tilted her head slightly as she looked at the boy and shrugged. "It was all Beverly's idea. I was just kind of there. I didn't do much," Y/N told him.

"I wasn't t-t-talking about that," Bill said, his eyes flickering up to look at the girl. "I was talking about the b-b-barrens and how you helped Ben. That was r-r-really cool."

Y/N blinked in surprise, her cheeks growing a tinge pink at the fact that Bill was telling her that her helping Ben was 'cool.' Really cool, nonetheless.

"Oh, I would've done the same for anyone," Y/N shrugged it off like it was no big deal.

"I-I-I know," Bill smiled at the girl, his gaze on her soft and gentle enough to make her smile widen slightly.

"Thanks," she whispered and Bill smiled shyly at the girl and bowed his head before nodding towards the others.

"We should-" he began, but Y/N quickly took the hint and nodded her head before the two began to walk down the alley together side by side, only coming to a stop behind Beverly who was watching the boys in silence.

"Are you okay?" Beverly finally spoke up, her worried eyes locked on Ben. "That looks like it hurts."

Ben glanced over at the girl and his eyes widened before he quickly dropped his shirt and sat up, Eddie backing up slightly once he couldn't see the wound anymore. "No, I'm good. I just fell," Ben assured the red head, wanting to seem strong and brave for her.

"Yeah, right into Henry Bowers," Richie muttered, his eyes narrowing at Beverly almost accusingly.

"Shut it, R-R-Richie!" Bill hissed at his friend causing both Beverly and Y/N to look at the boy confused. Y/N didn't quite understand what the big deal was. Why did they not want to tell Beverly what had happened?

"Why? It's the truth," Richie persisted while Ben looked down at the ground almost sadly.

Beverly's gaze fell on the hurt boy once again before she asked in a teasing way, "You sure they got 'the right stuff' to fix you up?" Ben looked up at Beverly and the two shared a small smile that made Y/N look between them suspiciously, wondering what the two were talking about.

"You know w-w-w-w-we'll take care of him," Bill interrupted, the red head looking away from Ben and over at Bill. "Thanks again, Beverly."

Beverly nodded slightly, "Sure, maybe I'll see you around."

"Yeah, we were maybe thinking about going to the q-q-q-quarry tomorrow, if you wanna. . ." Bill muttered, his eyes flickering over his friends who were all looking at him surprised. "Come?"

Y/N locked eyes with Richie and mouthed, "Since when were we going to the quarry?" Richie merely shrugged in response.

Y/N glanced back over at Bill, a small frown appearing on her face as she realized he had made it up on the spot so that Beverly could hang out with them more. It's not that she had anything against Beverly because she didn't, but something about knowing Bill had been the one to suggest her hanging out with them more made Y/N feel weird.

"Good to know," Beverly said as she nodded. "Thanks." She then turned and began to walk away, but not before waving goodbye to the boys and Y/N.

"Bye, Beverly," Y/N called out, waving at the girl and giving her a small smile despite what had just happened.

"Bye, Y/N. It was nice meeting you," Beverly aid before she smiled at the girl and disappeared around the corner.

Y/N stared at the alley for a moment longer before turning around, her eyes instantly locking with Bill who was staring at her. She was quick to look away, the action making Bill's eyebrows furrow in confusion and his happy expression dropped slightly.

"Nice going," Stan muttered causing them to all look at the boy who was glaring at Richie, "bringing up Bowers in front of her."

"Yeah, did you hear what she did?" Eddie asked making Y/N furrow her eyebrows in confusion as she walked over to her cousin. She stopped by Stan's side and the boy glanced at her, sighing in relief slightly at the sight of her.

"What'd she do?" Ben and Y/N both asked, their eyes locking for a moment before they looked to the others for an explanation.

"More like who'd she do?" Richie corrected them. "From what I hear, the list is longer than my wang."

Stan rolled his eyes before muttering, "That's not saying much."

Y/N's eyes widened in surprised before she quickly put a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud. Richie glared at Stan and Y/N was quick to hide her face in her cousin's arm as she chuckled softly, not noticing Stan's smile as he realized he had just made his cousin laugh.

"They're j-j-just rumors," Bill assured the group while Richie rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, Bill had her back in third grade," Richie explained, this making both Ben and Y/N look to the boy. "They kissed in the school play. The reviews said that you can't fake that kind of passion!"

Y/N's lips twitched downward ever so slightly, but she was quick to hide it, already used to having to hide how she really feels due to everything going on with at home.

Richie clapped his hands together to gain everyone's attention once again. "Now, pip pip and tally-ho, my good fellows, I do believe this chap requires our utmost attention. Now get in there Dr. K! Come on, fix him up!" Richie exclaimed in a Bristish accent as he gently shoved the boy towards Ben.

Eddie frowned and bent down in front of Ben as he glared at Richie. "Why don't you shut the fuck up, Einstein, because I know what I'm doing and I don't want you doing the British guy routine right now," Eddie muttered.

Richie just ignored him and continued on with his British accent, "Suck the wound. Get in there."

The usual banter between the two was enough to make Y/N smile softly, but no one except for Bill seemed to realize that it didn't quite reach her eyes like normal. Y/N ignored Bill's questioning gaze and instead leaned against her cousin as they watched Eddie fix Ben up.

Maybe their first day of summer hadn't been what they had been hoping for, but with her new friends and her cousin by her side, Y/N knew it could only get better from there.

Right?

* * *

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[1kook]

freefall

✗ Wong Yukhei x (F) Reader

summary→ You thought you told Yukhei you didn’t trust Rohei, especially when she was high. Why he even bothers to hang out with her despite her obvious crush is beyond you. wc→ 6.6k tags→ angst, homewrecking attempts, drug use, couple fights :/, makeup vanilla sex, bulging mention, breath play but not rlly lol

fly→ soar→ freefall 

this has been in my drafts for 7 MONTHS!! I'm sorry also not proofread lol

A lot of the things you knew about your boyfriend where things he told you himself, like his favorite color or his grandma’s name. He loved to tell you every little detail of his day, from the fact his socks were inside out to the weird LARPer group he’d seen on the way to class. He’d told you about his love for soccer and his first crush and the last movie he saw and how he liked his phone beneath his pillow. Yukhei literally told you absolutely everything about himself. 

There’s two things Yukhei’s never directly told you. 

The first was something you’re sure Yukhei isn’t exactly aware of himself, and that was the ridiculously Casanova persona he took on when he was high. Of course, you knew firsthand about this Yukhei. His playful expression would fade away, until he was all molten gazes and wandering hands, sneaking beneath your skirt after he’d cornered you against some frat house’s kitchen. Breathy laughs, plush lips pressed against your jaw in some sort of twisted game to see if he could make you come in front of all those people, pressing his wonderfully hidden cock against your hip until you begged him to go home. 

With a little bit of weed, Yukhei became an absolutely delectable man, and you’re not the only one who’s noticed. 

Which leads you to the second piece of information Yukhei’s never told you, and that was the existence of one very clingy girl. Her name was Rohei, an accounting major in the same year as Yukhei. She was pretty and nice, and everyone seemed to like her, which somehow made her entitled to your boyfriend.  How ridiculous. 

You’re not sure when exactly she’d become such a blip in your radar, or when she even started hanging around him. Yukhei never mentioned her, so for a while, you ignored her. 

That is until she started showing up to your sessions, all giggly and annoying as she tried to squish herself beside Yukhei. Even then you’d given her the benefit of the doubt, knowing you were also, quite frankly, an annoying person when you were high. The smoke made a lot of things foggy, but her hand resting on his thigh was as clear as day. 

After that, you’d warned Yukhei against seeing the home wrecker, citing your own personal girl instincts as the only solid reason you had against disliking her, not that Yukhei particularly cared. The first time you mentioned her had confused the fuck out of him, and it only took about five minutes of physical descriptions for him to realize exactly who you were talking about. 

“Oh,” he sighed, pausing his game of Zelda to glance over at you. “The girl with the Windex bottle laugh?” 

You snorted, giving his side a gentle shove with your foot. “Yeah, that girl,” you said. You abandoned your phone in favor of meeting his gaze. He’d invited you over fresh out of his shower, his hair wonderfully fluffed up and soft. God, was he attractive. As if sensing your sudden shift, he wrapped one huge hand around your ankle, tugging you down the bed and towards him. 

“Don’t worry, baby,” he crooned, ducking down to brush his lips over yours. You let an airy moan escape you, sliding a hand around his neck to pull him closer. He grinned something wicked against your lips, game abandoned as he slotted himself against you. “You’re my girl.”

It wasn’t that you didn’t trust Yukhei—no, if anything, you trusted him too much. The real issue was that you didn’t trust these other bitches. Yukhei could flaunt your relationship as much as he wanted, could walk around with your name across his chest, but that wouldn’t stop mean and desperate girls from throwing themselves at him. They’d use any chance they’d get to entice him, which is exactly why you’d begged him not to go smoke with his friends one night. 

“Are you serious?” He asked, halfway through tugging his hoodie over his head. After an enjoyable evening tangled in the sheets with you, his best friend in the entire world, Mark Lee, had invited him out to smoke. ‘With the usual gang,’ had been his words, and Yukhei being the pothead that he was, instantly agreed. 

You sighed, tugging the sheets to your chest as you sat up. “Well, is she gonna be there?” You grumbled, not trying to hide your annoyance that well. Yukhei blinked. 

“Are you talking about that girl again?” You pursed your lips, avoiding his gaze. Yukhei snorted, and you yelped as he flopped back down on the bed to envelope you in his arms. “Baby, I’m crazy about you, you know that?”

You rolled your eyes, covering your face with your hands, as if he hadn’t seen you completely naked fifteen minutes before. “I know,” you sighed, though it came out more like a whine. “But she wants to fuck you! I know she does.”

Yukhei ignores you, nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck. Begrudgingly, you wrap your arms around his soft form, the pout on your face slowly fading. It’s the sweet and romantic side of him, the one he usually hides from his friends, that melts your resolve. A sudden nip at your collarbone brings you out of your rosy vision. 

“Babe, stooop,” you whine, your inner Sammi from Jersey Shore jumping out. “My calves still hurt.”

“Chiiiill,” he murmurs against the skin of your neck, plush lips caressing the skin. With each soft kitten lick he gives, you feel yourself slowly melt into the mattress below you. “Lemme take care of you,” he proposes, and as much as you want to protest, the hand that snakes its way between the two of you sucks the words from your mouth. 

“S-Sensitive,” you say instead, head lolling onto the pillows as Yukhei’s deft fingers rub small circles against your clit. He hums against your skin, carefully taking note of each tremble your thighs give, and the gasps that catch in your throat. 

After he’s done ravishing your throat and your orgasm is creeping up on you for the second time that night, he juts his chin up to meet your gaze. “You did so well tonight, baby,” he praises right before he slots his mouth against yours. “Rode me so good, fuck, you looked so pretty for me.” You reminisce on the grueling work out riding your boyfriend had been, the guiding hands on your waist the only help he’d provided. 

Another whimper escapes you, right before Yukhei does his signature move (the one he’d claimed about a week ago), which was slowing down all movements, letting your orgasm build, before giving your clit one final flick that sent you crashing through your own bliss. 

After you’ve received your second orgasm of the night, and you’re feeling especially pampered, Yukhei kisses you on the lips sweetly and scampers off to meet his friends. 

Afterwards, you’re feeling a little bad about trying to limit his outings because of your own raging jealousy. Yukhei was your boyfriend, but that didn’t mean you had to keep an iron grip on him. He was his own free person; a goofy soul who needed social interaction more than others. For you to keep him on a leash because of some unproven theory was wrong. 

You’re still feeling pretty sour, but that all changes when you do your usual nightly Snapchat sweep. Your swiping through snaps of your classmates and friends, crying over projects or complaining about jobs, when the one and only Mark Lee’s story pops up next. Nothing unusual, just him blowing smoke into the camera while some cheesy RnB music plays on the radio of someone’s car. In fact, everything’s fine until you click right, and are met with a three second snap of a particular group shot, the entire right side of the camera frame taken up by Yukhei’s lean figure and one scheming Rohei wrapped around him. 

You click your phone off, calmly set it to the side, and fall asleep. 

You don’t mention it to Yukhei. For some reason, there’s this annoying voice in the back of your head telling you Yukhei should tell you on his own. After all, you had been having an internal battle on whether you were too protective or not, and going off on him for something that could just be a minor instance would only prove that. 

There’s another big frat party this weekend, and though you usually go with your friends, Yukhei invites you to come with him this time. You can’t say no, especially with the way half of his smile gets hidden by the pillow he’s pressed into. He looks so soft and sweet, you find yourself peppering him in kisses as you agree. 

You don a pretty dress you’d bought that week, a tight little number that accentuates your figure. Right as you bend over to strap your heels into place, you hear a low whistle from the bathroom door. 

“Baby,” Yukhei whines, hands slowly gliding around your waist from behind. “You’re gonna be the death of me,” he huffs, nose pressed against the side of your head. You giggle, leaning back to meet his dark gaze. As if the wolf whistle wasn’t enough, he adds, “I’m gonna bend you over and fuck that pretty little pussy.”

Your jaw drops open, and you playfully slap his hands away. “Yukhei!” You scold, strutting across the room to grab your cell phone and his keys. You ignore his gaze as you go about collecting yourself, and when you’re waiting for him at the door, you say, “who says I’m gonna let you?”

The night goes similarly to that encounter, Yukhei’s eyes trailing you wherever you go. It’s like he refuses to look away from you, from the way your hips sway to the music and the way your collarbones glisten with the thinnest sheen of sweat. Even when he’s settled down in the den for a quick session with his boys, his eyes find their way back to where you’re chattering with your friends right outside the door. 

With each hit, his dark eyes become hazier and hazier. But he also becomes bolder and bolder, sinful pink tongue swiping across his lips as he eye fucks you for the entire world to see. Your friends giggle at your boyfriend’s behavior, and then scramble away when they see his tall figure come swaggering towards the doorway. You presume they’re done with their session for now, everyone parting ways. 

“You come here often?” He croons, and your lips press together in an effort to hold back the ridiculously dopey smile threatening to take over your features. 

“Every now and then,” you respond, easily falling into his little game. It ends up consisting of him babbling out every pick-up line he knows until you’re giggling and falling into him. He’s not exempt from the goofy smile you wear, staring down at you as if you’ve hung the stars in the night sky. 

After a particularly corny comment, he leans down and accidentally knocks your foreheads together. “Come back to my place, baby. I promise I can treat you better than anyone ever has.” Cherry ready lips ghost over your own. 

You hum in response, dizzy from your boyfriend’s flirty behavior. “I don’t know,” you joke, tilting your head up slightly, enough so that you upper lip brushes against his. “My boyfriend wouldn’t like that.”

“Smart guy,” he says, and you roll your eyes. “Seriously, though,” he says, suddenly more sober than he’s been in the past few hours. “I told you I was gonna fuck your pretty little brains out tonight, remember?”

His vulgarity strikes a chord within you, and you find yourself pressing your legs together. But Yukhei is nothing if not observant, his hands tracing down your side until it’s snaked its way around to rest upon the swell of your ass. He knows he’s already won you over for the night, so he presses a quick kiss to you lips before scampering off to tell his friends he’s off. Nows as good a time as ever for you to do the same. 

You nonchalantly stride back over towards where all your friends have congregated this time, telling them you’ve decided to turn in for the night. Them being your friends obviously know that you’re not heading home to sleep, but rather to get fucked into another dimension. You don’t deny nor confirm their claims, instead leaving them with a coy smile that has them up in hoots as you walk away. 

Normally, Yukhei is able to find you in a crowed party easily enough—being tall has its undeniable perks—so you’ve never really been the one searching around for him. But you remember his current state, how he’d stumbled over his words and how his long legs seemed to be working of their own accord tonight. You decide the safest option is to find him yourself, because a high Yukhei tends to have the attention span of a child. 

It doesn’t take long to find the group of guys he’s usually around, Mark Lee’s newly dyed blonde hair particularly standing out to you. They all greet you in the polite way that is customary for a fellow bro’s girlfriend, and you do the same. You turn towards Mark, “where’s Yukhei?”

Mark’s brows furrow together in confusion. “He said he was gonna look for you, actually,” he answers, and you find yourself as confused as him. 

“When was this exactly?” You press, a weird feeling settling in your gut. 

Mark’s lips quirk to the side, eyes drifting around the kitchen as he seems to try to recall when he’d last seen your boyfriend. In the end, he can only offer you a half-assed shrug and an unsure, “ten minutes ago?”

You end up thanking Mark, as well as bidding him adieu, before continuing your search for Yukhei. As you’d mentioned before, he rarely had trouble finding you in crowded areas, always gravitating towards you like a magnet. It was weird that it’d taken him this long, even weirder if he’d actually been stoned enough to have forgotten or strayed away. 

You pass by the beautiful oak study built into this frat house, and almost completely dismiss it had you not caught sight of sudden movement inside. Gently, you push open the glass paneled doors, eyes slowly adjusting to the dark room. 

“Baby,” you hear your boyfriend say. You sigh in relief, thanking god that Yukhei wasn’t lost, just dumb. You glance around for a light switch, only for your eyes to stumble upon the frame of one very out of place figure. Your brow twitches, and had you not been sheathed in darkness, you’re sure she would have seen the way your entire expression changed. 

A movement to her left finally alerts you of where Yukhei is in this dark room, and you don’t hesitate to make your way towards him. Suddenly, you have the vision of the stealthiest nightcrawler as you absorb every detail of this situation. 

The first one is Rohei’s frame, curled up beside Yukhei far enough that she isn’t touching him but close enough she can probably see the swell of his plush upper lip. The second is the vulnerable state of Yukhei’s body, a dab pen clutched between his fingers that definitely isn't his. The third and most telling factor has to be the annoyed expression on her face, similar to your own. 

Oh this bitch was definitely up to something. 

“Babe,” you say, calmer than a retail employee dealing with a stuck-up customer, “we’re supposed to be leaving.”

Yukhei nods, fast and cute like a puppy, but these circumstances make you want to strangle him. “Of course of course, baby, Rohei was just telling me about this new pen flavor!” As if on cue, Rohei smiles sweetly at you, curling just the slightest bit closer to your boyfriend. “I know you really like the watermelon one, so I was wondering if she knew any other good fruity ones.”

You flash her the fakest smile you can muster, and in his state, Yukhei doesn’t seem to notice. “That’s nice,” you play along, eyes burning into her like laser beams. “But I’d really like to get going before it gets darker out.” You tug Yukhei’s arm, his body following you to rise off the couch. 

Right before his ass can leave the cushion, there’s a sudden force being exerted on his other side that has him falling backwards. Your eyes widen, but then narrow into slits when you finally see what had stopped him from leaving with you. Your met with two perfectly manicured hands wrapped around his forearm, attached to the same girl you told Yukhei you didn’t trust. 

“But we were just beginning to talk!” she whines, flashing you an innocent pout that lets you know she knows exactly what she’s doing. You feel your insides boil. “We were having a good little chat, weren’t we, Lu?”

“Lu?” You humph, eyes flickering between her face and Yukhei’s. 

He shrugs, too dazed by the lights sweeping through the open door to really focus on the situation at hand. “She calls me by my American name, baby, remember it?” He beams, not at either of you, but at some invisible object in the air only he seems to be aware of. 

“Yes,” you seethe, “That’s nice and all, but wouldn’t your talk be better when you can actually remember it?” You try, hand gliding from his wrist to his palm to tangle your fingers together. “Let’s get you home now.”

She scoffs, not releasing her grip on his forearm even the slightest bit. “Don’t be a prude, ___,” she spits, “he’s having a good time with me right now, can’t you see.”

Your eyebrows raise at her sudden and rude comment, and you find yourself providing a quick rebuttal. “He’s having a good time because he’s high right now, you’re not that special.” 

“Really now,” she laughs, every bit of malicious intent in her tone. “I’m sure that’s why he always goes out of his way to sit next to me during rotations, right?”

You roll your eyes. “Probably because you take weak, short ass hits, and he knows that.”

"Not because he knows my mouth was there already?” She fights back. “You know my lip gloss looks real cute on him when he goes after me.”

The fact irks you, and you add it to the list of questioning you need to do later. For now, you’re not about to lose to this girl. “I don’t really care if he sits by you, honey,” you reply, finally gathering enough strength to pull Yukhei off and away from her. “Just know that those same lips that hit the blunt right before you are the same ones that ate my pussy twenty minutes earlier,” you smirk, watching as first the shock and then the humiliation washes over her face. 

You throw Yukhei’s arm over you shoulder, staggering towards the doorway as you leave a stunned Rohei behind. “And another thing,” you call out, not even bothering to look at her. “Stop going after my fucking boyfriend.”

As you and Yukhei stumble out of the house, leaving the loud music, alcohol, and weed behind, you realize how warm your face had become during the verbal altercation, turning the air on full blast once you get inside Yukhei’s car. He says nothing as he settles in the passenger seat, letting you drive the short distance to the student apartment he’d been assigned at the beginning of his junior year. 

You’re pulling up on the club when he finally regains power over his tongue. 

“Mean,” he mumbles as you guide him up the stairs until you reach the third floor. 

“Huh?” You say, unlocking his door and ushering him inside. You abandon your shoes by the door, keeping note of his whereabouts as he stumbles around his home. He ultimately crashes on the couch, staring at you with glazed over, red eyes. 

“That was mean,” he repeats, and you raise an eyebrow in confusion. He elaborates. “You didn’t have to be so mean towards Rohei,” he yawns, tugging a throw pillow onto his chest to hug. “She was just being nice, s’all.”

You blink. 

The anger you’d felt towards Rohei seemed overwhelming to you when you encountered her, but it was nothing but a candle flame to the sheer amount of fury that enveloped you now. “Being nice?” You calmly repeat, and Yukhei nods. “Oh, so taking your high as fuck ass to an empty room during a party is being nice now? Flirting with you and touching you in front of my face—that’s being nice?” You splutter.

“Chill out,” Yukhei huffs, sitting up in the slowest manner possible. “We were just smoking,” he mumbles, flashing you an unimpressed glare. 

You snort, tossing his keys on the coffee table to cross your arms over your chest. “Yeah, I know. She loved telling me how her lip gloss looks on you, Yukhei.”

If he wasn’t upset before, he definitely was now as he sits up on the sofa. “Come on now,” he snaps, “you know better than anyone how your little lip gloss sticks to the paper, don’t act stupid now, ____.”

Something snaps inside you, and you whirl directly to face him in anger. “Don’t fucking call me stupid when I’m rightfully mad at you for flirting with other girls.” 

“Rightfully, my ass,” he retorts, tugging his jacket off to throw it over the couch. “She was right, you’re a fuckin’ prude.”

It’s as if every single alarm goes off in your head, eyes narrowed in absolute fury (though it doesn’t stop the water from collecting on your waterline). “If you agree with her so much, then why don’t you invite her over and fuck her brains out tonight, Yukhei,” you spit.

He rolls his eyes, “maybe I fucking should. Probably fucks better than you anyway.”

“You’re such a fucking asshole,” you rasp out, hands balling into fists beside you. 

Yukhei simply flops back onto the sofa, ignoring you even as you stomp back to the entryway with tears in your eyes to put your shoes on. If he says anything  else, you don’t hear it past the thudding of your heart in your throat or the slam of the door behind you. 

There’s not much for you to do then other than stomp your way home in the dark and cold of night, tears blurring your vision on the entire trek back. It’s only as your swiping your ID to unlock the building that you realize you’d left your phone at Yukhei’s, but you’re feeling too humiliated to go back. You settle on washing your makeup off, and tugging your favorite loungewear on (of course, it’s just a pair of shorts and Yukhei’s t-shirt) before moping all night. 

There’s a knock on your door early the next morning that rouses you from what was probably the deepest slumber you’d had in months. It has you shaking the drowsiness away as you try to remember what awoke you in the first place. The knocking continues and you lazily slump off the bed and stumble towards the door. 

There’s a devastatingly handsome man at the door, nothing like his high counterpart that had left you a sobbing mess last night, presenting you with your forgotten phone and an apologetic frown. 

“Hey,” Yukhei murmurs, and you sniff in response, too tired and sleepy to greet him back. “I brought you your phone,” he says, as if you hadn’t already noticed. You snatch it out of his hand. “And I just wanted to—”

You let the door shut in his face, and for a moment all is silent. A second later, and your heart is fluttering wildly in your chest again, the same overwhelming sense of heartbreak you’d dealt with all last night taking a hold of you again. At the same time, the knob begins rattling like crazy, your boyfriend’s desperate voice breaching through the door. 

“Baby, please, I didn’t mean anything last night,” he pleads, the raw emotion noticeable even through the wooden door. “I was high and so fucking stupid, and I know that’s not an excuse but I-I didn’t mean any of it, please,” he begs, and a soft thud against the door leaves you wondering if he’s leaning on it. 

You can feel your heart thundering in your chest, every shaky inhale leaving your throat feeling more and more constricted. It doesn’t take long for your eyes to well up with yesterday’s leftover tears, but you’ll be damned if this dumb ass makes you cry two days in a row. 

Another soft knock pulls you out of the deep hole you’ve dug within yourself. “Please,” Yukhei rasps out, voice oh so vulnerable, “just open the door, baby.”

You tug the door open, narrowing him with the most furious glare you can muster through your watery gaze. “Don’t call me that,” you spit, and you hope he can see how hurt he’s left you. 

“___...” he says, slowly reaching a hand out towards you, one you brush away before turning to head further into your dorm. You plop down on the edge of your bed, turning your phone on to see it’s down to the last quarter of its battery. Yukhei shuffles in, shutting the door behind him before awkwardly hovering over you. 

He doesn’t say much, just plops down on the perfectly made bunk across from you (your roommate has been gone abroad all semester). You start toying around on your phone, watching from the corner of your eye as he plays with the ruby red comforter beneath him, all the while sneakily glancing your way, almost as if he’s unsure if he can even do as much. 

After a couple minutes of awkward silence, you decide to face your fears head on. “So how was Rohei last night?” You murmur, eyes zeroing in on your fuzzy sock-clad toes. Yukhei lets out a harsh exhale, and when you glance up at him, he meets your glare head on. 

“Baby,” he says, soft and slow, in that same tone he uses when he thinks he’s right and he won’t leave until you say otherwise. “I didn’t mean what I said last night, and you know it. I was way out of it and—”

“Shut up,” you spit, unable to contain the annoyance from curling around your voice. “Just say you’re fucking sorry instead of trying to blame this on everything else, Yukhei.”

He blinks, doe eyes comically wide as he takes in your sudden outburst. You take his silence as a sign to continue. “Stop trying to say it was because you were high or drunk or whatever the fuck you were and just say it like it is.” Your chest heaves as a huff escapes you. 

“Calm down,” he says when he regains his wits, “you know better than anyone that I would never say that to you normally, I was just really faded and shocked from all the yelling you were doing.”

“That doesn’t matter, Yukhei!” You burst, hands flailing as the frustration builds inside of you. “You said it, which means you obviously thought it before—”

“I didn’t!” He counters, voice as loud as yours. “It slipped out in the heat of the moment, it was an accid—”

“Oh, everything you said was by accident then? Calling me stupid and a prude? That was all just an accident?”

“It fucking was! Don’t act like you’re not the same way when you’re high. You let any and every guy hang off of you, but suddenly the one time I do it it’s a problem?” He snorts, brows furrowed dangerously close. 

You scoff, your chest feeling tighter and tighter with each passing second. “Don’t you dare turn this on me, Yukhei, because I’ve never said I’d rather be with someone else,” you spit, your words seemingly slowing his defensive attacks. Your traitorous eyes flood with tears. “High or no—,” you mean to end with, but your voice cracks as a sob escapes through your throat. 

You look away in shame, covering your face with your hand. It takes everything in you to stop your frame from shaking because you know he’s watching you with those big sad eyes of his. 

You’ve always been unnecessarily weak when it came to Yukhei, his smile just too bright for your heart and the way he’d softly call out baby making every bone in your body weak. You were too much of a pushover, always won over by his charming words and his talented fingers. Even now, as you feel the bed dip beside you, you don’t hesitate to throw yourself into his arms and let your sobs overtake you. 

His hand rubs against your back as he softly shushes you, murmuring, “I’m sorry,” over and over into your hair. You cry out all the tears from last night and then some. Faintly, from your spot pressed against his chest, you can hear the thundering of his heartbeat and know it matches your own. His fingers continue their dance over your skin, gently massaging your scalp before tracing along your spine, ever so softly and gently. 

“I’m sorry,” he says when your sobs have been reduced to sniffles. “I was stupid, and should have thought about what I said before I said it.” He pauses, and you pull away from your safe spot nestled in his arms to meet his forlorn gaze. “Honestly, I think I was just trying to say whatever I could to hurt you,” he admits, his glazed eyes looking down. The tip of his nose is red and you know it’s taking everything in him to not cry with you. 

Your soft spot for Yukhei is nothing compared to the weakness he has for you. 

He repeats his apology a third time, ducking his head to bump your foreheads together, eyes fluttering shut as he takes in your presence. You sniffle once more before tilting closer to brush your mouth against his. The shaky exhale he releases against you has you melting into his embrace, the fingers that had been clutching to his biceps for dear life, slowly relaxing. 

He gently eases you onto your bed, lips departing from yours to trail down your neck, pressing his knee between your spread thighs. One of his hands glides from its position on your shoulder to cradle the underside of your thigh, tugging it upwards until you’ve thrown it around his waist. The gesture has your bodies pressing closer, cores aligned. 

“You don’t have to,” you murmur when you feel his cold fingers creep beneath your top, dancing along your skin. 

He presses a peck to your collarbone. “I do,” he responds, and you jump when his fingers brush against the underside of your breast. “Have to show you how much I love you.”

Your heart swells, and you find your hands reaching up to tangle in his dark brown locks, the pretty blonde color he’d had when you first met now completely gone. The memory has you thinking back even further in time, to your lazy days spent working the movie theater over the summer, when he’d been just a silly work crush, to the first time you’d hung out and he taught you how to smoke. The rose-tinted glasses in which you view all these memories with him has you murmuring out the words back to him. 

He wastes no time tugging your little shorts off, leaving you clad in just heart-patterned undies that have Yukhei muffling a snort into your shoulder. “You’re so fucking cute, baby,” he croons, letting one lone finger trace along your slit. 

You whimper, thighs quivering as you watch him tease and toy with you until you’re begging him to fuck you already. “But you’re not stretche-”

“Please,” you whine, cupping his cheeks in your palms, “I need you so bad.”

He caves without much of a fight, leaning back onto his haunches to tug himself out of his grey sweatpants. The sight of his slowly plumping cock has you salivating like a dog, and before he leans over you again, you press a palm to his chest. 

He blinks, big brown eyes staring at you in confusion. “What?” You pinch the fabric of his shirt between two fingers, pulling it back, before letting it fall into place again. Yukhei snorts, “oh,” and with one hand, tugs his shirt over his head. The movement gives you a delicious view of his muscles in action, and you feel yourself grow impossibly wetter. 

With the material finally out of the way, he reaches down to tug your panties to the side, giving him the perfect view of your throbbing center. He doesn’t bother to line himself up, just grabs his cock in his hand before plunging it where he knows it should go. He doesn’t waste any time, bottoming out in the first go.

Your toes curl, hands wildly gripping onto whatever they can—the pillow, the comforter, his hair—until they settle on digging into his shoulders. He grinds his hips, leaning down to place his palms on the bed on either side of your head. You proximity allows you to wrap your arms around his neck, but you also use it to press a soft kiss to his jaw. 

“Fuck,” he grunts, finally pulling his hips back until only the head of his dick is sheathed inside you. He stays like that for a second, before thrusting back in full force. “You’re so perfect, baby,” he tells you, repeating the action over and over again. “I don’t know what I’d do with myself if I ever lost you.”

You moan, nails digging into the flexing muscles of his shoulders. You choke out another moan, his speed picking up and rendering you speechless afterwards. A particular hard thrust has you groaning in pleasure, a hoarse shout of “fuck!” leaving your lips. 

Yukhei huffs, hot breath fanning across your face. “You like that?” He taunts, snapping his hips forward, clapping his skin against yours. You nod, hands falling limp as they slide off his shoulders. “Tell me how much you like it, baby.”

Your tongue feels heavy inside your mouth as you struggle to find the words. The drag of his cock against your pussy walls making you draw a blank. “I-I-I love it,” you gasp, the hands that slid off his form a moment ago limply wrapping around his waist. Your head rolls to the left, and you press a chaste kiss to his wrist. “Fuuuck,” you whimper, eyes squeezing shut at the pleasure enveloping you. “Yu-Yukhei,” you cry, though he doesn’t slow down to hear you. “I love you,” you babble, and then say it another two times for good measure. 

He huffs out a chuckle at your mindless state, finally slowing his hips. He begins gently rocking against you, one hand snaking down to toy with your clit. You cry out again, every part of your being feeling so sensitive. “I love you too, baby,” he murmurs, the tip of his pointer finger tracing circles around your clit. Right as you’re about to climax, he pulls that goofy signature move of his and halts everything, letting you hang of the precipice before giving your clit one final caress. 

Your orgasm has you babbling even more nonsense, from how much you love him to how good he fucks, to a randomly thrown in “and fuck you, rohei” that has him smiling against your jawline where he’s been pressing kisses. 

Your body feels featherlight afterwards, and you almost fall asleep had Yukhei not begin shallowly thrusting in you again. You’re reminded of his pleasure, and you reach a hand up to cradle his face as he continues rutting against you. “So good, baby,” you purr, eyes hazy with love and euphoria as you watch him. He smirks at the usage of your pet name against him, turning his head to press a kiss to your palm. 

“You’re usually not a—a dirty talker,” he mumbles, looking away from you for a second to watch how his length plunges into your dripping hole. 

“I can be,” you murmur, you thighs twitching as a result of your oversensitivity. “For you.”

Yukhei snorts. “Yeah?” You nod. “Talk me through it then, baby,” he teases. 

You bite your lip in an attempt to contain a smile, but it still shines through. “Anything for you, baby,” you play along, finally letting go of his face to trace your hand down his abdomen, until it’s rested right above his pelvis. “You really outdid yourself this time,” you murmur, watching how his dick disappears inside of you. “You love fucking me when I cry, don’t you?” 

“You know it, baby,” he responds, flashing you that wicked smirk of his. 

Your laugh trails off into a light moan, and you can’t tell if the wetness you feel is from your own come or a new wave of arousal. “Ugh, I can’t,” you whine, your resolve weakening as you watch him shallowly thrust into you. Your boyfriend laughs, tightens his grip on your waist, and then pushes further in. Your eyes roll back, but you snap them open when you catch sight of your stomach. 

Something pokes up through your skin, and aside from the initial fear and confusion that’d caused your eyes to fly wide open, your entire body tingles anew when you realize it’s Yukhei’s huge cock bulging through your skin. 

“Fuck, baby,” your traitorous tongue starts, eyes hazy as you watch him move beneath your skin. “You’re so fucking big you can see it.”

If you were surprised, Yukhei is completely awestruck at the sight, his body moving as if under a trance as he watches the way his cock makes your skin bulge. Right before you can start babbling like a dumb ass, Yukhei reaches his hand down to cup over your mouth. “Just shut up for a second,” he warns, and suddenly, begins picking up his pace at the same angle. 

Each thrust has his cock pushing up into your tummy, and you moan and whine under his hand as your second orgasm builds inside of you. “Jesus, fuck,” Yukhei spits, eyes wild as he fucks for himself, completely disregarding you. “Look at my fucking cock inside of you.”

His hand stays firmly clamped over your mouth, your only airway available being your nose, so you find yourself huffing and gasping for breath. Yukhei doesn’t notice, his movements growing sloppier and more out of rhythm the closer he gets to his own orgasm, until finally he lets you go. He doesn’t give you a second to catch your breath though, as he shoves his tongue down your throat. 

Suddenly, he freezes, and you can feel his hot seed coating your walls as he groans into your mouth. The sensation of your pussy being so deliciously full of both your pleasures has something inside you snapping, and a second wave of euphoria crashes over you. Your toes curl, and his name falls from your mouth like a mantra, before eventually the both of you fall numb and silent. 

You regain your wits first, reaching a hand up to gently card at his hair, humming a tune as he catches his breath. You think he’s fallen asleep, when suddenly he leans back to look at your worn out features, and says, “did you see my cock, baby?”

You snort, and push his face away from you, much to his amusement. “Yeah, I felt it,” you murmur, and hiss when he pulls out of you, momentarily staring at your overflowing and abused hole.

He groans at the sight. “God, I can't wait to get you pregnant.”

“What?!”

[radbeetle]

OC Interview - Katherine

Tagged by @mojavejourneys and tagging @ariejul​, @justaname02​, and @flannelshirtandjeans

What is your name?

"er, Katherine? Katherine Vance.”

How old are you?

She grimaces. “That’s uh, I mean.” She makes a kind of vague hand gesture. “How do we count this? I guess... twenty-five but there’s, uh, there’s that whole two centuries in the deep freeze. It’s a question that’s more complicated than it should be.”

What do you look like?

Katherine is quiet for a good few moments. "Um… odd question. Tall, I guess. Red hair." She looks off to the side, hesitant to continue. Reluctant. She doesn't say much else.

Where are you from? Where do you live now?

"I grew up a little ways outside Boston… my parents lived here for um, almost thirty years. If you go back a few generations you can track my family history up the coast, uh, through Maine, keeps going north… I've travelled up that way a few times. Two or three times before… well, before the bombs. More recently, too. It’s still nice out there. But it’s different."

What was your childhood like?

"Unremarkable?" She sighs. "I guess that's not much of an answer. Uh, I did okay in school. Academically, at least. Had a handful of friends, eventually. Things were… well , quiet, I guess. I should be glad."

What groups are you friendly with? Are you allied with any factions?

"I've always tried my best to get along with people. Um, that's gotten much more difficult." She looks down at the ground. "I've been - I've been helping out Preston for a while now - the Minutemen are really starting to be a thing again and I think - that's a good thing. And there's the Railroad but I don't think I should say too much there."

Tell me about your best friend.

"Oh don't make me choose. There's, well, I really have more friends now than I ever did. I'm not sure what that says about me." She hesitates, lingering on that thought for a moment. "Well, Preston is - he's great, he was one of the first people I met here, um, that weren't trying to shoot me. I don't really think I have the words to say how good he is." Another pause. "But there's others. There's MacCready, and Deacon, and, um, and Hancock; I think people are always a little surprised to hear we're friends."

Do you have a family? Tell me about them!

Kate's face immediately drops. "Um, not so much. Not… not related by blood, not any more. They're all gone." She shakes her head as if to chase that thought away. "There's… there's still people who are, um - I guess 'found family' is a good term. And there's Codsworth, and I know, really, it was his programming that kept him around for so long, but… I don't know, maybe it's silly, but he means a lot to me."

What about a partner or partners?

She very swiftly turns a shade best described as beet red. Kate trips over her words a few times before regaining her composure, though her face is still pink. She laughs, a little weakly, in an attempt to stay her nerves. "I guess it's, um, not really that much of a secret? Ah, not that it ever needed to be? Or um, was never supposed to be, or…” She kicks her feet. "I'm sorry! This is still um, it's all kind of new to me and I'm not used to it. I guess I haven’t really answered the question!" She chuckles, a very different kind of laugh, one that feels much lighter. “I do have a partner, and that’s Nick. Um, Nick Valentine. The detective, from Diamond City? Ah, but - but not that kind of partner. Or yes, that kind of partner? Um, it’s romantic, I mean. I do love him. A lot.” She wonders, for a moment, if she’s gone ahead and made a fool of herself. Maybe. Too late to worry about it now - not like that will stop her.

Who are your enemies, and why?

"Ah, well, um, this took kind of a drastic turn from the previous question, didn’t it?” She scratches at the back of her neck as she has to think on this. “I mean, really, there’s got to be people out there who don’t like me. Um, raiders, or gangs, or something. I don’t know if I can think of anyone I’d specifically call my enemy, though?”

Have you ever heard of The Brotherhood of Steel? What do you think about them?

”Actually, I take that back. Yeah, I know the Brotherhood, and, uh, I helped them out for a while, but um, things got tense. I don’t… I didn’t really like them, and - that enemies thing? Yeah, um, I think that’s a decent label for Maxson. I don’t want to get into the details - it’s not really my place to talk too much about it, but, um, a lot of stuff went down with a friend of mine, and, uh, I’m not really on good terms with the Brotherhood anymore.” She grimaces.

What about The Enclave?

“Ah, who? I know I’ve heard the name before. Can’t say I’m familiar with them, though? Sorry.”

How do you feel about Super Mutants?

"Well, I only really have a problem when they're shooting at me or whatever, but that's kinda most of the time."

What’s the craziest fight you’ve ever been in?

“I feel like the honest answer here is all of them, really.”

Have you ever fought a Deathclaw?

“Yeah, um, probably more times than is safe. Actually, I think the safe number of deathclaw fights is zero. Those things are scary. I uh, can’t say I recommend taking one on.”

Do you like fighting?

”Not at all. I’m - what’s the phrase? Conflict averse. I’ll tell you though, you know how they say ‘speak softly and carry a big stick?’ That works with a big gun, too.”

What’s your weapon of choice?

”Well, um, just in general I like laser rifles. There’s no recoil, or, I guess it’s negligible. But generally it’s Harbinger. That’s - that’s my gauss rifle. It was a project back…” she trails off and runs her hand over her right arm. Over the burn scars. “Back when I got hurt, um, I had found some pre-war schematics. It was a big undertaking, trying to find equivalents - lots of stuff cobbled together out of scrap, really. Sturges helped with some of the heavier lifting, and like, welding and such. I wasn’t really in the best shape.” She bites her lip. “If I can’t take that out with me I’ve got a little pipe revolver. Chrome plated. Shiny thing, and, aptly named The Second Option.”

How do you survive? Your wits, your charm, your skills, brute force, some combination? (a.k.a. what’s your S.P.E.C.I.A.L?)

”People say I’m smart, but some days I really doubt that. Some days are better than others, though. I guess on occasion I’m a fast thinker.”

Have you ever been in a vault? What do you think about them?

”Yeah. I was stuck in one for two hundred years. Sorry, two hundred and ten.” She groans. “Been through a bunch of them. Um, they’ve all kinda gone to hell, really. I thought 81 was doing fine, and I guess it is compared to the rest, but that still has problems. They do have working showers though. That’s nice.”

How do you beat all the radiation around here? Has it affected you?

”I don’t know if you can beat radiation? Uh, hazmat suits and power armor for the occasions I have to trek into the glowing sea, and I've got a decent stash of RadAway."

What’s your favorite wasteland critter?

"I'm really glad chickens are still around! I feel a bit bad because some of them are kind of naked. I think they need little sweaters."

What’s your least favorite wasteland critter?

"Don't like bloodbugs. Regular mosquitoes are bad enough. I'm not super keen on molerats, either, but at least they've got decent meat on them. Actually, they make for a passable bacon substitute."

How do you feel about robots?

Katherine's face lights up. "Oh! Robots, I love robots. I worked for General Atomics, I was, I was onsite support for their Handys. That's how I got Codsworth, they were having one of those big wheehaw parties for employee morale - I uh, I got him in a raffle. Best thing I've ever won. Um, I still work with them a lot. The eyebots, and there's a construction protectron I keep meaning to stay home, I want to get him up and running again. Oh, and - and there's KLEO in Goodneighbor, and I don't know why she's like that, but, um, I've helped her out a few times, I don't know if she'd call me a friend but it's nice to help with repairs and stuff. Makes me feel useful."

How many caps do you have on you right now?

"On me? Oh, um, maybe a hundred. I don't carry too many at once, mostly I keep them stashed and locked up."

Nuka Cola or Sunset Sarsaparilla?

"Nuka-Cola, I think. They don't really sell Sunset around here, I think? Or, they didn't. Nuka-Cola Wild is pretty good, but I think my favorite is Grape? I like most of the flavors, except Dark, but that's the alcohol."

Do you do chems?

"Not really? I mean, uh, I have Med-X around, it is a painkiller, after all. But nothing recreational." She pauses. "Well, grape mentats if needed, but again, that's not really recreational."

Do you ever think about the Pre-War world?

"Yeah. I… try not to. I don't want to dwell on things that I know will never come back… but there's also people from back then that I don't really want to forget. It's hard. Sometimes I wish I could go back, just for a few days. To - to say goodbye, you know? Things weren't perfect then, uh, pretty far from it actually, but it was my life you know? And it all got taken away." She's quiet for a few moments, thoughts trickling through her head. "Sometimes, too, um, I wish my friends then could meet my friends now, but that's never going to happen. I don’t - I don't know how well they would get along, but I think about that sometimes."

What’s your deepest regret? What would you do differently?

"... I regret a lot of things, honestly, and, well, I try not to think too hard about them - or what I'd change, because, well, I can't, and dwelling on it, just... It's not good for me."

What’s your biggest achievement? Or what do you hope to achieve?

"God, it's kind of corny, really, but I'm… I'm quite proud of myself for just making it this far? The fact that - that I've started to get things figured out, after everything got torn away from me. I've got friends, I've got - I've got love, hell, it feels like I've got purpose, on a good day. And that's nice."

What do you want for the future? For yourself? Your friends? The world?

"That's a good question. I've, um, never really been good at figuring out what I want for myself. No good at planning for the long term. I like the way things are now, for the most part. I feel like I've gotten myself figured out, and mostly I just want things to stay that way."

[atinyidea]

Glitch | Ateez Gang!AU | ONE

⟶ gang!au, hacker!au, love triangle? poly? female!original character

How curious it is, the fact that the police just gave a media conference, confirming ATZ’s involvement in Kyungri’s families newly-appointed murder, just as she sat down for her best friend, Jaehyeon, to be tattooed by one of the gang members?

⟶ glitch ml! main ml!

⟶ prologue | next

⟶  note! if anyone wants to be on a tag list for this fic just let me know!

⟶ 4046 words!

⟶ edited 06.03.2020

ONE: Make Sure One Isn’t Stupid.

Thursday 23 October 2025, 21:39.

“I don't see the point of getting a tattoo to commemorate you breaking up with your girlfriend.” Pyo Kyungri grumbled into her scarf as she and her best friend, Lim Jaehyeon, walked down the street in the freezing, open air. She had been dragged out of her comfort zone – which was essentially just her memory foam bed and fluffy penguin onesie – to make sure Jaehyeon didn't do something one hundred per cent idiotic. She was there to keep his idiocy to a low minimum of 75 per cent.

“It’s not about that,” Jaehyeon replied, grinning across at her, “not really.” He took a pause as the crossed the road. “This is a new step in my life. I want this tattoo to commemorate the best decision I've ever made in my life.” This time his pause was because he was a dramatic idiot. “To get that woman out of my life.” He stressed. “To let go of five years of toxicity. To have my eyes finally re-opened from her cheaters blindfold.”

“Such a way with words for a cold-hearted evil bitch. You can call her that you know, it’s officially her title now.” Kyungri replied, looking at her best friend with a heavy heart.

For five years Jaehyeon had been strung along by his ex-girlfriend, Evil Bitch, and no-one was any the wiser. Kyungri carried around so much guilt for not catching on to it sooner, for not looking into her like she did with literally everyone else, for getting so caught up in a closed case of the crash that killed her parents and brother, that she forgot all about her best friend and what he was going through. Though to her credit, he thought he was in a loving relationship – for all relationships had arguments right, so where was his right to complain about the large small arguments they got into? Jaehyeon hadn’t really opened up about his relationship with Evil Bitch like he previously had with his other relationships. He would never blame Kyungri the way she was blaming herself.

Jaehyeon sighed with a chuckle, watching as his breath came out as mist in front of him in the cold air. At the sight of it, Kyungri seemed to shrink further into her scarf. “Just because she cheated on me – tore my heart out, stabbed through it with her devilish heels as she crushed it under her foot, spat on it before kicking it into the middle of a busy road just for multiple cars to drive over it forever – doesn't mean I'm going to start calling women derogatory names. I never have, and I never will.”

Kyungri’s eyebrows raised as she looked over at Jaehyeon with an amused expression yet, said nothing as they stopped in front of the shop.

Why Jaehyeon chose this particular parlour she wasn’t sure. The shopfront was indeed very appealing, with the purple neon lights casting pretty coloured shadows across the dark street as well as their faces. It was very pretty and Kyungri had to fight the urge to take several million pictures of the shopfront and look like a complete weirdo.

“C’mon, I’m a minute late already,” Jaehyeon mumbled as he pushed forwards through the glass door. He looked back at her as they walked towards the front desk – where a blonde-haired man sat silently tapping away at his laptop – “I won’t stop you though.” He grinned, continuing their conversation from outside. He took no note on how the receptionist had raised his head and now could hear them perfectly, but neither did Kyungri.

No one ever thinks about the receptionist.

“I will!” She exclaimed, grinning back at him. “I’ll call her an Evil Bitch all I like! I call upon the right to freedom of speech!” The young woman joked as they finally turned their attention to the receptionist.

The blonde man – whose hair was looking more sandy-brown than blonde – smiled up at them. As he and Jaehyeon began talking, Kyungri tuned them out taking more of an interest in the receptionist’s face rather than whatever Jaehyeon was saying. His face and features were small, cheekbones high with a clear complexion. His eyes were a gentle brown but Kyungri could see that he was trying hard to hide something behind those kind eyes. She decided not to think about it too much – everyone has their secrets and worries. He wore makeup, subtle oranges around the eyes and his lips were adorned with a light red tint. However, what caught her eye the most was the sheer amount of ear piercings the man had. That and the singular tattoo she could see peeking out from under his collar and around the back of his neck – where his hair was slightly longer and covering it.

Kyungri looked away from the receptionist, Hongjoo as he had introduced himself, not wanting to look a creep for staring exactly the right amount of too much. She glanced down, staring at the bag that hung on her shoulders that carried her laptop. If she was forced to say what her favourite possession – for one never willingly tells anyone their favourite thing in the world if they're not stupid. It would never be taken if no one knew it was important... or something – it would be her laptop. It may be a cliché for a hacker’s favourite possession to be a laptop but this one was quite special, this one she had built with her father. This one she completed her first hack with. While she never really went anywhere without it, all the files on the laptop were actually stored in an external hard drive that never left her person.

That hard drive was the real jewel.

It would be better to ask if she could use their Wi-Fi instead of hacking into it, right? That’s what polite people did.

When she looked up again, snapping out of her little daydream – the memory of switching out parts with her father by her side fading away from her mind – she noticed she stood in front of Hongjoo alone. The blonde man smiled at her, amusement written across his face and Kyungri had to make a conscious effort not to let a blush take form upon her cheeks. She cleared her throat, trying not to make it obvious that she was embarrassed and after a few seconds of silence she finally had the thought to break it.

“Do you have Wi-Fi?” She mumbled, not listening to her own words. She grimaced as soon as the words were out, immediately knowing how stupid she sounded. “That... I can also use?” She dragged out the sound of the words, trying (and failing) to make them sound planned. She looked anywhere but the man in front of her. If Kyungri ever disliked anything, she hated when she got tongue-tied in front of attractive people she had to be around more an extended period of time.

Hongjoo’s amusement never faltered, the smiled on his lips turning into a grin as he shook his head playfully, grabbing a pen and post-it note. He said nothing and if Kyungri was paying attention to anything other than the blue spot on the wall behind him she would’ve seen how his jacket had revealed a bandaged around his right wrist as he lazily reached for the post-it pack.

“He went through to San in the back.” She finally registered his voice, switching her gaze from the wall behind him to Hongjoo himself. His smile was now sweet, gaze playful, as he handed over the password, post-it note stuck to the fingertip he had extended out to her. He motioned with his other hand the way her best friend went. Kyungri gave him an appreciative, if not slightly embarrassed, look as she gingerly took the post-it note from his fingertip, mouthing the words ‘thank you’ as she stumbled her way through to the back. She hadn’t noticed that her attempts to smother her blush had also failed. She had never been good in front of people.

Once she was through to the back, the first thing she heard was Jaehyeon’s laugh. The second was the TV, hanging on the wall, it’s volume setting quite low like it was only on for background noise. She glanced over the room, gaze falling on a chair near the bed Jaehyeon was currently sat upon and she made a bee-line for it.

“What took you so long? Tired of daydreaming?” Jaehyeon teased her once he noticed she was with him once again. Not looking at him, the blush from her cheeks faded and her eyes rolled, Kyungri’s comfortable personality filtering through the small scowl on her lips. Jaehyeon had often told her she was like two sides of the same coin when it came to other people – she could be shy and uncomfortable with someone one second and the next she was rolling her eyes and slapping him on the back of the head for ‘saying something utterly fucking stupid.’ Jaehyeon grinned when he saw her small scowl, knowing that she was becoming comfortable once again before he moved on to introduce the other person in the room.

“Ri, this is the one and only Choi Yusan.” He began, slinging an arm around the other man’s shoulder. Kyungri made no move to answer him so Jaehyeon continued, “Best tattoo artist I know!” He boasted like a father would his only child.

“I’m the only tattoo artist you know.”

Yusan’s reply made Kyungri snort. The sound coming from her before she could tell herself not to. Making the decision that she had to now acknowledge the other man, she finally lifted her head to look in their direction. The man introduced as Yusan – or just San as she recalled the receptionist tell her – was grinning up at a flailing, and ever dramatic, Jaehyeon who looked simply appalled at his words.

“The only?!” Jaehyeon cried out, clutching at his chest like his heart had just been ripped out. Kyungri decided then that she wasn’t going to listen, again. Instead, she looked to Yusan. He was shorter than Jaehyeon. Not by much but she could tell from the way Jaehyeon’s elbow rested on his shoulders and how his head was slightly tilted to look up at the dramatic blonde-haired man. She only noticed this because it was how Jaehyeon himself looked like when he looked at her since she was slightly taller than him. The man beside her best friend was also quite attractive. He has a sculpted face with sharp cheekbones. When he smiled, Kyungri noted the deep dimples that made him both more attractive and way too cute. His hair was dark, a dark brown with dark red highlights, curled slightly at the top like he’d just run a hand through the locks. She decided she liked his hair. Yusan’s grin was cheeky as the two boys began to play around with each other and Kyungri noted that they must be friends. That or they were both overly dramatic and became best friends in the span of a minute – it wasn’t impossible when Jaehyeon was involved.

“I don’t really care how many tattooists you don't actually know, Jae. I’m here to make sure you don't get a penis on your forehead.”

Now it was San who snorted, clapping a hand on Jaehyeon’s back. “You would actually do it and you know it.” He said before Jaehyeon had time to disagree with Kyungri. The two watched as he nodded to himself, accepting that he would probably do that.

With a small smirk lifting to her lips, Kyungri raised a brow at their direction. “You know each other?” She asked, watching as the two of them sat back down next to each other, comfortable enough with one another to be leaning against the other. Jaehyeon nodded at you with a grin.

“I’ve told you about him before, haven't I? We went to the same high school. He was a junior when I became a freshman!” – Kyungri raised her eyebrows in amusement – “Met during my time on the swim team.” Jaehyeon said, sniffling slightly like the thought of no longer being on a high school swim team was so painful. “Been super best friends ever since!”

Now, she knew Jaehyeon was exaggerating but she found the whole thing rather amusing. She looked at the red-haired man with an entertained, questioning look. San chuckled, pushing Jaehyeon away by the face.

“You were on the swim team for three days before you got kicked off and we spoke four times.”

“That sounds more like Jae. He didn’t do very well?” She asked at the same time Jaehyeon exclaimed, “Exactly! Best friends!”

“Not if my memory serves,” San replied to the girl, who had now switched her laptop on and was sat with her legs curled into her body.

“Anyway, please call me San. It just... sounds better.” He grinned, the smile holding a secret that Kyungri didn’t know if she wanted to know.

“Sure. I’m Kyungri.” She smiled before turning her head down to her laptop. When Jaehyeon had shown up at her house earlier that night she was halfway through a job. It wasn’t a particularly hard job, which is why she was able to continue doing it on her laptop and hard drive. Kyungri didn’t like leaving a job unfinished, a pet peeve of sorts. Once she started a job she finished it, there was less chance of being traced the quicker the job was done. Close by, she could hear Jaehyeon’s voice, loud as he always was, talking with San about his tattoo. She felt the smile pull at the corner of her lips before she could do anything to stop it.

Soon after San had begun the tattoo Hongjoo entered the backroom with another man behind him. He wore a work uniform with the name badge ‘Yoosang’ pinned to the black material of his shirt. His expression was slightly downcast: eyebrows furrowed like he had just heard some bad news. However, his eyes sparkled as he shared a laugh with the blonde-haired receptionist as they walked into the room. Hongjoo held a tray with mugs on them, catching Jaehyeon’s attention.

“Oooh? What do you have there?” He asked, nothing but curiosity lacing his words.

“Hot chocolate,” Hongjoo grinned at him, “Want some?”

Jaehyeon was quick to nod, his whole body moving as he did so. Kyungri had to smother a small laugh with the sleeve of her hoodie, he really did look like a child. The small glare San sent him didn’t help the image either. Yoosang made his way to a chair, pulling up next to Kyungri while Hongjoo made himself comfortable on the other table bed on her other side, smiling down at her and offering her a cup.

“Thank you,” Kyungri smiled shyly, taking the medium-sized bright orange mug from the blonde man’s hands. He sent her a wink in response.

“Got kicked out of another job, Yeo?” San asked, not lifting his gaze from Jaehyeon’s calf but letting a smirk glide over his features. The man next to Kyungri just slouched in his chair. Kyungri could feel the way her head tilted slightly at the way San called him Yeo... Didn’t his name tag say Yoosang? Perhaps it was just a nickname, she had no place to judge what friends called each other.

“Yeah, man. That place was just rough.” Yoosang sighed, causing both San and Hongjoo to erupt in laughter. Kyungri didn’t make any move to let them acknowledge she was listening while she watched her program run.

“You’ll find one that’ll stick,” Hongjoo reassured him.

“You need a job?” Jaehyeon piped up as if he knew Yoosang and wasn’t a complete stranger. Yoosang simply nodded.

“Our friend, Chaeyoung, works at a cafe that just had an opening. She’s been bugging me about helping her find someone because her boss doesn’t promote on the internet and Chae has, like, no connections.” Jaehyeon grinned, flapping a finger between him and Kyungri as he explained. “You want it?”

“Dude! you might be a lifesaver, what cafe is it?”

“The Cafe.”

“Yeah, which one?”

“It’s called ‘The Cafe’. Jaehyeon’s a bit dumb to not explain properly.” Kyungri spoke up, not looking away from her laptop. She smiled as Jaehyeon let out a small ‘Hey!’ and San let out a small laugh. “It’s about two blocks away, maybe three I can't remember.”

“Even better, thank you.”

Kyungri glanced up to the man beside her, flashing him a smile. She didn't need to be thanked, Jaehyeon was the one who thought about it anyway. She had opened her mouth to retell her thoughts but was distracted by the sound of a news jingle coming. from the tv. She looked over at Hongjoo – “Can you turn that up for a second” – who just motioned to Yoosang, who lifted a remote in his hands and gently nodded at her.

It was the ten o'clock late-night news. It was usually uneventful but the big red lettering of ‘BREAKING NEWS’ put Kyungri on edge. She didn’t like the feeling that wracked through her.

“In the last hour ago a police report was leaked from Seoul’s Dongdaemun Police Station about an old case that was on the verge of being re-opened with new evidence. A few moments ago we received an official statement from the Cheif of Police of the station, Kwon Soonchul, who announced that the report was real and that the Pyo Family Car Crash of the twenty-fourth of November two-thousand-and-eighteen, a long seven years ago, because of new evidence brought up involving the well-known criminal gang known as ‘A. T. Z’.”

From beside her, she could see one of Yoosang’s arms raise, remote in hand to switch the channel. Without much thought, Kyungri reached out her own hands and stopped him, taking the remote from his fingers and turning the sound up. She hadn’t cared that it may have been rude, she could always apologise later but there was apparently something she hadn’t heard about her family going on and she wasn’t going to just not listen to it. She missed the way the three workers shared a glance only they would understand. Jaehyeon had fallen silent.

“Cheif Kwon also revealed that he would be taking point on the case and that it would have his full attention since the involvement of ‘A.T.Z’ especially since one of the victims, Pyo Mina, had been a quote ‘close partner.’”

Kyungri no longer listened, her eyes unfocused and her body still. Why was this happening now? How was ATZ involved? Why did Kwon Soonchul have to take point? Did the news reporter know they were saying the gang’s name wrong?

“Ri? You good?” Jaehyeon asked, more worried about the expressionless girl who wasn’t moving than the pain in his calf and San continued his tattoo. “What’re you gonna do now?” He continued when Kyungri remained silent, her eyes still stuck to the tv screen but Jaehyeon could tell they were unfocused. He kept talking at her, not wanting her to slip away and shut down in a room full of strangers, she would never forgive herself if she did that. He was about to motion for San to him to stop she Jaehyeon could physically move Kyungri, she moved.

She tore her eyes away from the TV and stumbled a little back into the chair she sat in. She pulled up her laptop from the floor, she had fallen from her lap as she stood up, and started tapping away at the keys. “You’re not thinking you’ll find ATZ are you?” Jaehyeon guessed, knowing his best friend. He was never one for subtlety, why he would talk about this is a room of strangers to Kyungri one would never know. Fortunately for those of KQ Ink, Kyungri was too focused on her laptop and Jaehyeon was as oblivious as always to how all three men seemed to freeze up slightly, falling into silence at his words. “Not doubting your skill or anything but they're not called the Ghost Gang for nothing.”

“No one calls them the Ghost Gang apart from you.”

“Yeah, well.” Jaehyeon grinned, happy with himself that he got her to reply. “People should, its a cracking name.”

“I’m finding out what the police know, please shut up.” It was like the two of them had forgotten they weren’t alone.

“Don’t be emotional about this. It’s just a news report.”

“I.. just need to know.”

“Kyungri! ATZ is an invisible force of immense power!” Jaehyeon emphasised loudly before continuing much softer, genuine concern lacing his words. “I don't want you to get hurt.”

“If they are,” Kyung swallowed, looking up at Jaehyeon, tears on the verge of clouding her vision. “If they are the reason my family is dead. Then I will find them.” Her words were cold, strong, final and Jaehyeon knew she had made up her mind about it. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to change it.

“Kyungri.” His voice was soft. “It’s been seven years.”

“I know.” Her words were fast, snapping back at him. She bit her lip before continuing a few seconds later, her tone much softer and her shoulders falling slightly. “I know how long it’s been. This whole thing doesn’t make any sense, that’s why I’m looking, okay?” She glanced back at Jaehyeon, her eyes flittering between him and San, who had his head down in what looked like concentration. She didn’t want to say anything else, realising just how much they had spoken about her family and her job to complete strangers.

It didn’t take her long to break the police force’s security system and firewall. She would have to notify Gongmyung about how the police may be coming to them with a job quite soon.

“Do you know a Jo Jowon? Or a Choi Jongho?” Kyungri asked, opening the files she had just hacked into. She had asked Jaehyeon but had spoken the words to the whole room. She figured it wouldn’t hurt, they had already heard more than enough. They didn’t seem to care anyway.

“Doesn’t ring a bell,” Jaehyeon replied almost instantly. “I know a Chu Jongho though, Chaeyoung lives next door to 'im. Why?”

“They're the lead the police have. Chaeyoung’s father is the head officer on the case by the way. As if that makes me feel any better.” Kyungri spat. It wasn’t hard to tell she held contempt for Chaeyoung’s father. She blinked twice before lowering her tone, “I’ll ask Chae later.”

“And we’re done,” San spoke up for the first time since he started working, wiping Jaehyeon’s calf twice with a cloth before leaning back and grinning at him. “You’re done.”

Jaehyeon’s lips were turned to a grin in a split second. Like he felt no pain, he bounced up from the client bed and bounded over to Kyungri, pulling her up by the forearm and dragging her to the mirrors. Kyungri, extremely used to this from her best friend simply rolled her eyes and let him drag her.

“Is that my drawing?”

“Yup!”

“You got my drawing on your leg?”

“Yup!”

“Why?”

“Because you’re my best friend.” Jaehyeon smiled. “Plus you drew it for me.”

“Yeah, when we were fourteen!”

“Well, it’s still my favourite thing you’ve given me.”

“You’re an idiot.” Kyungri smiled, letting her head fall on his shoulder, her arms winding around his torso to squeeze him quickly. Jaehyeon just smiled.

The pair of best friends split off from one another, Kyungri went over to collect her things and pack away her laptop while Jaehyeon was led to the front of the shop by Hongjoo to pay for his tattoo. Her laptop was sat on the floor with the files of Jo Jowon and Choi Jongho up on the screen. Kyungri mentally cursed herself for being so careless and prayed that the other three people in the room hadn’t snooped. They had, but she didn’t need to know that.

As the left the tattoo parlour, exchanging small smiles and tired waves with the three men, in walked a fourth boy. They passed each other so quickly that Kyungri failed to realise that she had been staring at his face for the last twenty minutes.