#and then fives (romeo) thinks echo (juliet) dies

[leofromsomewhere]

clone wars update: just finished the bad batch arc and im so sad because all i can think is-

who has to be the one to tell echo what happened to fives?

[nincompoopydoo]

PAIRING, BAGELS, REPEAT

— PALM TO PALM IS HOLY PALMER’S KISS ; PART 3 / ?

PAIRING: Bruce Wayne x reader

WORD COUNT: 1846

SUMMARY: You’re back to teaching at Gotham High and you end up overlooking rehearsals for the GHS drama club’s upcoming annual play: Romeo and Juliet that no one ever attends. In the spirit of keeping your students’ hopes up, you decide to take it upon yourself to draft out a plan to drive more people to come to the play. The key is the man you’re in love with.

WARNINGS: Vague description of a nightmare, death and an annoying teenager.

A/N: This is really going slowly like a true slow burn. I hope yall like this one. Enjoy!

MASTERLIST ; MASTERPOST

In the light of your unemployment as a teacher, Gotham High miraculously offered your old job back after Mrs Wilson, one of the senior English Literature teachers, died of a heart attack unannounced. In all seriousness, apologies were made, admitting they had a mistake with firing you because well, you were clearly a passionate teacher. To your surprise, you were told your students even missed you. Hence, you accepted a job from GHS once again because you would do anything to avoid the smell of burgers and the sounds of hungry crying children. After the whole burglary incident, the Big Belly Burger at midtown was forever doomed as customers gradually decreased over time. It was Gotham after all, people should be used to these kinds of things by now. Including witnessing Batman saving you, the whole experience felt like a fever dream. As excited you were and weirdly unbothered by the whole near-death experience, you realized that if you were to talk about it, no one would genuinely believe you anyway. He was a myth to most citizens of Gotham, but you’re an exception because you’re well acquainted with the knowledge that Bruce definitely knows Batman.

And oh boy, do they talk.

It’s your secret to keep and so is the Batarang you stole. You’re also dying to tell Bruce.

So, you find yourself back in the hallways, crowded with sweaty teenagers, but you would choose this over anything else in a heartbeat. Apart from returning to teaching uninterested students about the works of Shakespeare and Harper Lee and forcing reading lists onto them, you are also replacing Mrs Wilson as the GHS Drama Club’s advisor. Stage performance may be personally foreign to you but plays were practically your forte. That was how you ended up spending your Tuesday afternoons, preparing the members for the club’s annual play. This time, they decided to perform the classic: Romeo and Juliet.

As an English teacher, you were frankly sick of the play, forbidden love was a tad overrated to you. Yet the kids were genuinely trying their best. Shaniqua and Oscar were currently rehearsing their lines as the two infamous star-crossed lovers; You watched them with pride. The two were quiet in your classes but they truly shone on the stage of the school theatre.

“And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss—teach, what does this whole scene even mean?” Shaniqua exclaims and you chuckle, “This scene is simply a metaphor where Romeo is a pilgrim wanting to erase his sins and Juliet is a saint. So, he is basically trying to convince her to kiss him so that he can truly be free of sin,” your explanation echoes through the room, and you notice Oscar turning red when you mention the word ‘kiss’. It was clear as day that the poor boy really liked the girl he’s currently hand in hand with but you don’t want him to feel nervous and uncomfortable about the thought of kissing her. “Now Oscar, you can kiss her on the cheek and that’s fine. Shaniqua, say it with more emotion, okay? Everyone got it?” The response you received was a sputter of hums and nods. Before you could continue, Josh, who plays Lord Capulet and is sitting lazily on the handmade throne, speaks up much to your dismay, “Why is it so important that we put so much effort into this. It’s not like anyone is going to come.” The kids around him began agreeing with his statement, and it was honestly completely expected of him but it was the truth. No one attends the drama club’s annual play. As you're trying to calm everyone down, your phone buzzes on the table in front of you. It’s a text from Bruce, asking if you could come over tonight, phrasing it like he’s a schoolboy sneaking from his parents to meet with a girl late at night. Then, like an epiphany you have an idea although there’s an eighty percent chance it wouldn’t go through. Nevertheless, you turn to the rest of the students with a hint of a smile on your lips. “I might have just the idea to solve that.”

-

A brief span seemed like an eternity when sleep doesn’t come easy to you. Tonight was a different case; thoughts were completely clear and concise. In much need of sleep, you steal the chance to savour in this clarity and serenity for as long as you could. To feel his warmth, arm gently resting on your abdomen and the occasional whiff of his deodorant from his ebony shirt you’re dressed in. If this was what bliss feels like, you never want it to go away. Your eyes grow heavy, flickering into darkness due to exhaustion from a long day of rehearsals. At once, you’re struck with the reminder of the idea you had this afternoon. It is more of a favour, involving none other than Bruce. There’s a tinge of guilt whenever favours are involved because you never liked asking for help. You were furiously independent and responsible, relying on others was out of the question. Yet, Bruce has always seemed to find a way to weave himself in your mistakes and problems, constantly there to help out. You have to remind yourself this isn’t about you. It’s for the kids. Special guest, Bruce Wayne, playboy and billionaire. Sounds awesome.

As your consciousness begins ebbing away, you feel Bruce shift from beside you, grasp tightening upon your waist. Before your dazed mind could even fully process that he was in the midst of a nightmare, his eyes are wide open, heart-pounding and it seizes him up instantly. With deep breaths, he closed his eyes once more, unable to shake the feeling of dread that rattles in him. Then, a sudden cold touch to his arm—he jumps and snaps his head to look over his shoulder.

It’s you, still laid in bed with a prominent frown upon your brows. Your hand squeezes his forearm and all he feels is instant relief. His heart still pounds, not in fear but with affection. “Are you okay?” you drawled as you watch his lingering hand, fingers weaved between the strands of hair. The silver ones glint under the low light, contrasting the deep brown ones. You notice how his hair had grown along with his five o’clock shadow becomes more evident by the days. His face away from you, finally nodding in response to your question. “Yeah, just... a bad dream. His voice is subdued as he shifts under the sheets, head leaning against the headboard. Despite your weakened state, you bring yourself to sit up, twisting your body to face him properly. "You wanna talk about it?” you say, patting his shoulder lightly in a comforting manner. You watch him rub his eyes, exhale tightly and shake his head. “No. Anything but that.”

His response comes out almost harsh but Bruce doesn’t mean for it to be perceived in that way. His dream was the usual, the normal ones he’s used to by now but in times of stress overwork, they have started to become more intense and violent. This time it involved you, for the first time, and he watched you vividly get shot in the forehead—trails of his memory as Batman when he encountered you at the burger restaurant with the muzzle of a gun inches away from you. It haunts him to think that if the circumstances were different if you hadn’t texted him those dreaded four words, you might be dead.

He certainly is not telling you about the dream. Never in a million years.

Bruce turns to you and you’re still staring at him, worry carved deep in your furrowed brows. Change of topic was merely necessary at this point. “So, how has school been? The kids still mean to you?” Classic Bruce, always sweeping his problems under the antique Persian rug. You don’t blame him because you wouldn’t know better.

It was your turn to sigh at the mention of school but since tonight’s pillow talk is heading towards your job as an English teacher at GHS, you might as well use the opportunity to pitch in your plan. “Still mean, but the drama club kids are really great,” You thumb the edge of the blanket, unable to hide your growing smile. “Speaking of which, the annual play is next Friday and they have been rehearsing all week but,” you paused as you watched his right brow gradually lift. “No one comes for it. Like, no one and I hate to see all their efforts just thrown out the window like that—”

“So, you want me to go for it.”

You blinked, wondering if your explanations were too obvious of its underlying intent or Bruce could just read you like an open book. You won’t be surprised if it’s the latter.

“If it’s no biggie. You don’t have to because I know you’re very busy but I don’t want the special guest to end up being the Big Belly Burger mascot.” Your smile widens and Bruce chuckles. Hell, it’s probably past midnight and you’re still able to find ways to be terribly funny. Literally terrible. After a beat of silence, he clears his throat. “I’ll clear my schedule.” It didn’t need much anticipation or thought because despite everything going on in his life, he knows he’ll do just about anything for you. You’re practically beaming at him and he finally sees it’s all worth it in the end. “Thank you, Bruce.” Your voice is sweet, and it makes his heart swell ever so slightly.

He sometimes wishes the two of you weren’t trapped in this loophole of unsaid confessions and hidden strong emotions for the other.

It almost comes naturally when he leans to you and presses a swift kiss to your forehead. Instead, it’s contradicting everything the two of you consider normal. He isn’t thinking straight and now your smile has disappeared, mouth agape and eyes very wide. Your brain stops.

Uh, what the hell just happened?

It hits him like a punch to the gut and the growing awkward silence is deafening. Yet, he doesn’t apologise because if he does, it doesn’t mean anything when in reality, it means so much more than just an accidental gesture. You don’t mention anything because you don’t objectify his actions. Kissing Bruce was fine when there are no strings attached but a peck to the forehead is way too affectionate for the man.

Before the both of you begin to overthink the events of a few moments ago, Bruce’s rational conscience kicks in and he clears his throat. “Get some sleep. You had a long day today.” He pats you on the shoulder awkwardly and you hum, shifting your head to lay back on the pillow. “Yesterday.” you correct him as it’s well past midnight. He chuckles, now laying flat on his back as he stares at the ceiling. Silently, the two of you agree to forget whatever happened a minute ago and to just...sleep it off.

TAGLIST:

@raineeace

[dumbkiri]

Fate Changes Three

Parts: [1, 2, Here, 4, 5 ]

Summary: [Name] and Barbara’s lives are on the line. Batman has a difficult choice to make and while he abandons the only person that keeps Jason alive in memories, [Name] is content with his decision. This is her chance. 

Pairing: Jason Todd x Female! Reader

Genre: Action, Slight Angst

Word Count: 3.1k //  7 pages

Warnings: Guns, Suicide, Blood, Death

"Because like you, Juliet, Romeo never died."

 His words haunted her like her nightmares. His modified voice still echoing in her head. His Arkham symbol planted in her memories. Everything about him, threw her off her tracks. It was bothersome that she couldn't find out who he was. Then [Name] thought about the star-crossed lovers.

Romeo died in the story. What did the Arkham Knight mean that Romeo never died? Juliet was under the influence of a sleeping potion which gave Romeo the impression that she died. He mourns for her like a true lover and voluntarily drinks poison because he believed she was dead. Juliet not even a moment before wakes up from her sleep and finds Romeo dead. Juliet then stabs herself in the heart. 

......

“Because like you, Juliet-”

Juliet, she was still alive. She was only sleeping. 

“Romeo never died.” 

Romeo was tricked.

“I fear too early, for my mind misgives-”

The Arkham Knight wasn’t going to let her kill herself. 

“Some consequences, yet hanging in the stars-”

If Juliet had woken up earlier, she wouldn’t have allowed Romeo to drink the poison. Because she was alive.

“Shall bitterly begin.”

The roles...they switched. 

......

 "Where's Barbara?" [Name] asked sitting in the middle between two armed guards. Her eyes trained on the Arkham Knight sitting casually in the passenger seat. His fingers drumming to the song playing on the radio. She recognized the singer's voice: Frank Sinatra. The man who sang the famous song in her dreams. 

"Hey," She addressed the Arkham Knight, "I asked you a question." 

Her attitude earned a hit from the guard on her right. He slammed the butt of his gun on her chest. She reacted with a strangled gasp. Her wounds hadn't fully healed. She was surprised she was still alive. 

"Barbara Gordon is in another car. Away from you." The guard on her left gave her an answer.

 She nodded her head and weakly said, "Thanks."

 Her head hung low and she was very exhausted. [Name] hated showing her weakness, but tonight was like no other night. Tonight she was going to experience fear and that scared her to no end. The rest of the car ride, [Name] had slept. The guards, of course, kept a close eye on her. Even the Knight would look over his shoulder to see what she was doing. Every time, he would see [Name] twitch in her sleep. It was either her fingers or her legs that often twitched. Sometimes she would flinch so hard that the guards would point their guns at her only to see that she was still sleeping. 

"Man, Batgirl has some weird habits," The guy on her right said. He set his gun down and looked at his partner.

 The left man replied back, "She flinched so much in only five minutes." 

The Arkham Knight scoffed and turned the radio higher before saying, "She's having a nightmare." The two guards looked at each other and shrugged. The Knight knew more about Batgirl than they did. They weren't going to question his knowledge. They weren't that stupid.

 [Name] heard what the Knight said and cringed. Only one person knew why she flinched in her sleep. Not even Batman, Alfred, Barbara or Tim knew.

 ……

“Jason, do you ever think that we could live outside of Gotham?” [Name] asked sitting in the backyard of Wayne Manor.

 Jason was casually laying next to her with his arms behind his head. The blanket beneath them providing sanction from the damp green grass it was placed on. Jason’s blue eyes traveled from the stars to [Name]’s back then to the stars again. “Not really?” He said with an unsure tone in his voice. The teen didn’t quite understand what she was trying to say.

 [Name] rested her chin on top of her palm and watched as the stars twinkled happily above them. Her [e.color] eyes reflecting the beautiful night sky. She bit her lip and finally got the courage to say what she wanted, “I think that in order for me to be happy, I need to live somewhere else. Gotham reminds me too much of-" She paused and rephrased her sentence, "Gotham isn’t a place for me to be.”

 Jason sat up at her words, “You’re not serious, are you? Gotham is your home." He watched her as she stayed quiet. Jason continued with a nervous stare. His heart racing faster than when she confessed to him. "It’s where Bruce taught us how to fight. Where Alfred comforts us in the time we need it. It’s where you help me come back to Earth.” He was not happy with her at the moment and [Name] knew that.

 “Jason,” She softly said, her eyes no longer on the night sky. Instead, they were staring straight into deep ocean blue eyes. She wanted him to understand why she wanted to move away from Gotham. “I need this. I need time away from Gotham. From crime fighting. Bruce offered to help me move to Metropolis. It’s not too far from here and I’ll still visit you guys. It’s not like-”

“You don’t get it, [Name]. I need you here with me.” Jason said and scooted closer to her. He placed his hands on her arms and brought her closer to him. “You...I like you, a lot. And you telling me that you want to move away from Gotham makes me feel like I did something wrong. Tell me, what did I do?” 

[Name] smiled at him and felt that he was calming down. That he was willing to listen to her reasons. “Jason, you did nothing wrong. If you did, I would tell you. But you,” She removed one arm away from his grasp and used that hand to reach his head. She brushed her fingers through his hair and then traced his jawline, “You will always be my home, Romeo. Don’t you ever forget that.”

He sighed and rested his forehead on her shoulder, “When will you move?”She resumed combing her fingers through his hair. Her eyes went back to the stars, “I move next week.”

Jason picked his head up from her shoulder and pressed his lips on her cheek. He then spoke up, his voice frail and soft, “At least write to me, okay?”This earned a giggle from the [h.color] haired teen. She covered her mouth and gave him an incredulous look. “Write letters? What century are we in?” [Name] laughed and laughed while Jason crossed his arms over his chest.

 He was currently pouting where he sat. “Writing letters is more personal than sending emails or messaging through technology, alright?”

[Name] couldn’t stop her laughing and Jason had about enough with her teasing. He grumbled under his breath and stood up off the ground. He began walking away, but [Name] grabbed his hand gently in hers. He turned back and saw her hair dancing with the light breeze. Her eyes reflecting the moonlight. 

“Of course, I’ll write to you, Jaybird,” She promised. 

Jason smiled and pulled her into his arms.

 They sealed the promise with a sweet kiss.

……

"[Name]."

It was someone familiar calling out to her. She knew that soft voice. That caring voice. 

"[Name], please, wake up." 

She felt someone tap her foot and she flinched in her sleep. Her eyes begged for her to open up and she begrudgingly agreed. [Name] blinked her eyes open slowly and her focus was absolutely trashed. It took her at least a minute to see who was sitting in front of her. "B-barbara?" [Name] asked sitting up in her position which caused a groan to escape her lips.

 "I wouldn't move too much if I were you. You put up quite a fight tonight. Not only that, but you been shot, survived a car crash and earned bruises from those military guys." Barbara let her head rest against the crate behind her. Her arms were also bound behind her back. She didn't look as bad as [Name] did, but it was evident that she endured just as much.

 "Before you ask, the Arkham Knight stuffed us back here. It looks like a large storage room." [Name] nodded her head, "You can see more than I can." She blinked her eyes again and the darkness around her was starting to get lighter. Her eyes were adjusting.

 "Barbara, do you have any idea of who could be the Arkham Knight?" Barbara shook her head, "No." Then she brought her green eyes to the beaten Batgirl in front of her. "Y-you have an idea, don't you?" "I am not sure," [Name] looked down at her legs, "he gives me these vibes. His actions...they remind me of him."

 Barbara squinted her eyes, "What do you mean 'him'?"

 [Name] sucked in a breath. It took her exactly two minutes to spit the sentence out. "They remind me of Jason." 

Barbara shook her head. Denying [Name]'s words of truth. Jason was dead and her friend needed to get over that fact. "He died," Barbara reminded [Name].

 [Name] involuntarily cringed at her words, "I know, just listen-"

 "The Joker killed him. We all saw the tape. We all saw him murdered in cold blood." Barbara was once again, relentless with her words. "He died, [Name]. He died being Robin." 

"I know!" [Name] yelled at her friend fighting back her tears. Why does everyone have to remind her that Jason was dead? "All I'm saying is that his actions were close to Jason's. I was hinting that maybe the Arkham Knight knew Jason. A childhood friend-" Not possible. "Or a classmate," Wrong. "Someone who knew him." Never.

 You know what you're saying is wrong. You know deep inside that- 

"How do we know it can be one of those options?" 

"Because it's someone who has a large target on Batman. Someone who knows Batman himself possibly even his true identity." Barbara finished. 

The door to the storage room opened. "I assume you two know Batman's true identity." Scarecrow popped out of nowhere scaring the girls for a quick second only for that fear to turn into anger. They weren’t going to answer an obvious question. Scarecrow knew for a fact that they knew who was under the mask. He walked closer to them and his feet stopped to stand in between them. Scarecrow looked at Barbara and then to [Name]. His sinister eyes boring into her fear stricken ones.

"Batman is here as we speak," Scarecrow informed them, "It's time for him to choose which Batgirl he wants to save." 

"What do you mean?" [Name] asked the tall man. He gave her a smile; a creepy and sinister one. Then she looked at Barbara, but her green eyes were trained on the floor. The commander's daughter knew what was going to happen, but she was still drawing a blank. "You'll see, Batgirl."

 The Arkham Knight walked in silently and picked up Barbara. He carried her over her shoulder and ordered his men to help [Name] up. They followed his order and lifted her off the floor. She gasped out loud and the Arkham Knight whisked his head in her direction. He watched as she hunched over in pain. Her face contorted and her arms wishing to hold herself together. Her face was decorated with more scratches and bruises. He wondered what her suit was hiding beneath. Broken bones? More bruises, but much more darker, yellow? 

 "Enough with the dramatics, Batgirl," Scarecrow chastised, "the real show has yet to begin." The Arkham Knight followed after his men. Barbara silent as ever and [Name] wincing every time his men lifted her off the floor. She was too tired and weak to fully stand, so they resorted to dragging her body to the cell she was going to be stuck in. Fear gas would soon be in her system screwing up her already screwed up mind.

 ……

[Name] was carelessly thrown into her bulletproof glass cell. Her body roughly colliding with the floor. Her neck aching in pulses that matched her heart rate. She coughed up and spat blood on the floor. In so much pain, she curled up into a ball and cried out from it all. 

"Batgirl." She heard Batman call out to her and she weakly looked up from the floor. "Bat...man," She groaned and pushed herself off the floor only to stumble against the nightstand next to her. Something clinked against the floor and she brought her full attention to it. There mockingly laying in front of her was a loaded pistol. 

She then looked in front of her to see her mentor. "Batman, I tried to stop them. But I ended up crashing into a tank and the car- we could have died on impact. I could have, but the Arkham Knight...he sav-" 

"Save your breath, Batgirl," Scarecrow popped up on the screens behind her. The background dark and the light on him. "Batman, the task is grueling ahead of you. Standing before you is your current Batgirl, the one you held dear to your heart." [Name]'s heart raced. "And in the other cell is your former sidekick, Barbara Gordon." The Scarecrow chuckled. "You have one choice to make tonight. Save your current Batgirl or the crippled one. You have two minutes to decide. Every ten seconds you wait, a light dose of fear toxin will be injected in their system via the collar they wear." 

[Name]'s hand flew to the collar around her neck. She didn't even know when they put this on her. Why couldn't she have felt it earlier? Her eyes were then directed to her right where she saw Barbara sitting down in her wheelchair. "Your time starts now." Scarecrow finished and [Name] ran up to the front of the cell. She placed her hands on the glass and called out to her mentor, "Batman, you have to save Barbara!" She felt a sharp prick at her neck and her vision slowly changed on her. 

"No, no," Barbara yelled out holding her hands to her head. "Leave me alone!" 

Batman looked between the girls. [Name] banged her hands on the glass to get his attention, "Listen to me, this may be the last time I get to speak to you," another dosage of fear toxin entered her system, "I don't blame you for anything. Not even Jason’s death for which you blame yourself. It wasn’t your fault that the Joker got to him before we could.”

She closed her eyes, so she won't see the horrors in front of her anymore. But that didn't stop the voices.

 "You left me alone to die, now look where you ended up. Alone.” Jason taunted.

 "Not true, you aren't him," [Name] responded with heavy breathing. Her lungs working at a fast rate due to her panicking. She took a deep breath in and stumbled away from the cell to see Jason’s dead body lying helplessly on the floor. Batman was no longer the center of her attention because the fear toxin was clouding her vision. 

The Joker’s laugh echoed in her head and she slapped her hands over her ears. But she could still hear his demented cackle; one of pure evil. Then she heard Jason screaming and yelling as Joker tortured him over and over. Her knees buckled and hit the floor with a pop. 

"I c-can't," [Name] cried and looked behind her to see the gun laying on the floor. She crawled over to the weapon and felt the familiar cold kiss her fingers. 

"What will you do, Batman? It seems both of them are willing to kill themselves." Scarecrow watched amused by what was happening. 

Both Batgirls reached for their weapons. Batman wasn't going to let either one of them to pull the trigger. But he had to think fast. With a heavy heart, he gave [Name] one last good look at her. This is not how he wanted to remember her. She was always so bright. So loving. Yet [Name] gave him permission to save Barbara before her. So he worked on opening Barbara’s cell before the redhead could reach the gun on the nightstand.

 ……

[Name] wasn't going to deny that her heart ached when Batman chose Barbara over herself. Who was she kidding? Barbara will always hold a special place in Bruce Wayne's heart while [Name] wasn't even sure he saved a spot for her.

[Name]’s mind drifted to the pistol. Her fingers wrapped around the cold gun and she stared at it helplessly. She could end it all right here. Pull the trigger and let her brains splatter against the wall behind her. She could let her body fall limp into Death's arms and have him take her away to wherever God deemed her soul to rest. But suicide isn't welcomed in Heaven. Taking your life was an insult to God who gave you the ability to live. At least that's what the nuns at the orphanage told her. 

"You can be with me."

 [Name] flinched at how cool and calm Jason's voice was. She knew he was standing right behind her in his Robin costume. She knew the fear toxin was still being applied in her body. Running its course and digging a deeper hole, a place where should would fall in and never come back to the surface.Her fear was coming to life. But she had to look at him again. Just this once. 

Slowly, she turned her body around and her eyes widened. Standing before her was Jason, but he looked better. He was wearing casual clothing which consisted of a red tee and jeans. The outfit she last saw him in. 

"Don't you want to be with me, [Name]?" 

BANG!

 She jumped up at the sound of a gun going off and she went to turn around to see what Batman was doing, but Jason stopped her. 

"You don't want to look over there, it's not pretty." He warned her and placed a hand under her chin to keep her eyes on him.

 [Name] closed her eyes and her hand gripped tighter on the weapon. Batman didn't save Barbara in time and he won't save her either. Because she was going to be with Jason. No one was going to stop her anymore. No Batman. No Arkham Knight. 

"All you have to do is pull the trigger. Then I can hold you in my arms forever." He cooed and removed his hand off her face.

 [Name] opened her eyes and looked at the gun one last time. The metallic black color shining in a different light. The weight of it light as a feather. She cocked it and lifted the barrel toward her. It touched her chin and she smiled.

 This was it.

[twokinkybeans]

Stark On Ice 6: Epilogue [Starker]

Read here on AO3!

-

Chapter 6: Epilogue

Peter sighs as he laces up his skates and pulls the zipper of the Midtown Ice Arena-themed vest a little higher. He already hears the loud, happy noise coming from the locker rooms. It’s not like he didn’t teach any classes during Celebrity Spin-Off, but it’s good to have more time for his students again.  “Mr. Parker, hi!” Peter turns around to see a young girl emerging from the locker room with a big, broad smile on her face. “You have to check out my double axel. I finally mastered the landing!” She’s beaming with happiness, and it warms Peter’s heart to see her enthusiasm. Before the TV show, she’d been nearly there- just… Just the final details had needed some work. “Don’t show me before you finish a proper warm-up though, go skate five laps first and do the regular routine. Can’t wait to see it!” His encouraging words reach her, and with a big smile, she sets foot on the ice to prepare herself for today’s class. Slowly, more and more students drop in, and before he knows it, the ice is rather filled. The next hour simply flies by.

-

Tony stares at the man presenting the current progress of the new project. Tony isn’t sure he even heard a word the man said. He never quite realized just how much he despises working as the CEO of Stark Industries. It’s tiring, having to make stupid business deals all the time. It’s not like the results are any good. He never really cared, but… Oh well. Ever since he started to care for Peter, he’s begun to care for other things in his life too.  A slight smile plays on his lips when he remembers Happy’s face when he gave the man a raise that doubled his salary. He earned it, and Tony is done with being a greedy billionaire. He wants to do something else. His fingers itch to throw everything he has overboard and make a run for it. He doesn’t know what he’ll be heading for, though. He has no plan. No idea. He’s never done something else, so how is he supposed to know?

“Mr. Stark, I would-” “Wait,” Tony sighs and shakes his head. “Look, boy, it isn’t you. I bet your presentation is wonderful and that the progress is going according to plan- few bumps here and there, yada yada. I, however, won’t be in charge of this deal.” The surprised echo going through the room is everything. Tony eyes the man’s name sign and grins.  “Michael, you’ve been working hard on this project. You know the revenue streams better than I do. If you want, I’ll leave you in charge to execute any decision related to this project.” The boy in front of the other people has a hard time to keep from crying. His eyes teary- filled with the recognition he’s been wanting so much. “T-Thank you, Mr. Stark, I don’t know what I did, but I would very happily accept the offer.” he stammers. Tony smirks. “It’s yours, fella.”

Michael takes a deep breath before he continues his presentation. Nervous but bold when he tells the clients what his plans are. Tony nods to himself. That was the right call. He made someone very happy here, and he doesn’t have to bother with it. He realizes he finally starts to trust people again. His employees. His friends, too. All because of Peter Parker with his ever-be-damned innocent puppy eyes. He wishes he could see Peter again soon. The boy is immensely busy with teaching and catching up with his YouTube channel and own training. Even though Celebrity Spin-Off may have eliminated them for the race - leaving Clint and MJ to win - the bookings for Dancing On Ice have been off the charts. Everyone wants to get a glimpse of Peter Parker with their own eyes. Tony wishes he could spend more time with his boyfriend, but he’s immensely proud of how the boy is doing. He’s famous, famous for being himself and the thought alone has Tony feel proud.

They haven’t seen each other in three weeks now. But Tony intends to surprise him tonight. Happy happily volunteered to be their chauffeur, and the restaurant had been more than excited to rearrange some tables to squeeze them in. Ned and MJ are a part of the secret plan, too, making sure Peter has the night off from something else.

-

“So, I’ve been meaning to ask you something for a long time now.” “Oh?” “Why aren’t you pursuing the Olympics? I may not be a professional, but I know enough about figure skating now to see you have the potential.” Tony’s voice is gentler than usual. Peter presses his lips together and casts his gaze down. The man knows he’s treading on thin ice and it has Peter feeling understood and more at ease simultaneously. He knows he doesn’t owe anyone an explanation. A simple “I don’t feel like it” would suffice. Peter wants Tony to know, though. He’s his boyfriend, for fuck’s sake. 

“My parents… They were rather famous pair skaters—multiple Olympic gold medals. My mom, she… The stress of having to upkeep her physique, athletic capabilities, relationship, and me-” Peter pauses for a short second, taking a deep breath. “It drove her to a massive panic attack during a show and she fell. Broke her ankle. Couldn’t skate again on the same level. It drove her insane. She got behind the wheel, drunkenly so, and crashed herself and my father into a tree in Ohio.” Peter’s voice wavers, and he shakes his head slightly. “I don’t… I don’t want to end up like them. I want to enjoy the sports. She grew to hate it. I couldn’t… I need this in my life. I can’t bear the thought of losing it. I’m good here. Shows, teaching. It’s still professional, and yet at the end of the day, I can still have a game night with Ned and stuff my face with a way too big pizza.”

Tony nods. Unsure what to say. Peter gives him a faint smile. “You don’t have to say anything. It’s been fifteen years now. Although it’s something I carry with me, it’s not… It’s not something that I’m allowing to dictate my life. Honestly, I’m having a grand old time, Tones.” “I’m so sorry, though,” Tony whispers and opens his arms. Peter hums appreciatively and crawls into his lap- straddling the thickened thighs. All these months of harsh training show on Tony. “I wish they were still here to see what an amazing young man you’ve become.” 

Peter scoffs, but his gaze betrays his pride. “Thanks,” he whispers and kisses Tony’s forehead. “Now, what about your parents? They left a mark on you too, didn’t they?” Tony shrugs. “My dad’s a prick. My mom never knew how to deal with that. They died before I could properly build a bond with her.” “How’d they die?” “Suspicious car accident. It’s never been confirmed exactly what or who did it.” “I’m sorry…” “Nah, honestly, as much as I miss the idea of them- I don’t miss them. They were never there for me when I needed them. I wish I could’ve had loving parents, but hey, at least they left me with a multi-billion-dollar company.” “I always forget how rich you are.” “Wanna be spoiled?” “Ugh, no. We’re good like this.” “Good.”

The both of them fall silent for a good minute after that. That is until Peter cocks his head and innocently brings his drink to his lips. “So-” he starts “-MJ and I have a plan for a new video for our channel.” Tony knows by the tone of the boy’s voice that it is something that Tony won’t necessarily like all that much. Or maybe he will. It’s about him, that’s for sure. “Oh?” He simply says. Peter chuckles. “Well, we figured it’d be fun to star you as a guest? People will love to see more of us skating together, and the fact that you’re Tony Stark only makes it better.” “What about MJ?” 

Peter’s smirk widens, and he grabs his phone that had been facedown onto the edge of the table. Tony groans. “Oh God, you got it all planned out, didn’t ya?” “Of course I did. Who do you think I am? MJ is in charge of all our social media and editing, but I? I make the scripts. Skating is much more than just a simple dance, eh? It’s a choreo. A story.” “Sure thing.” Peter scoffs and shakes his head as he scrolls through his phone, probably to find the right document or whatever it is he wants to show his boyfriend. “Thought I taught you more these past months,” he jokes. Tony chuckles.  “I’m still very much a rookie, Pete. Your world of figure skating, I- haven’t figured it out yet.” “Oh God, that’s the worst pun ever.” “Shush, I’m having an ice day.” Peter snorts and shoves his phone forward. “Maybe my choreo will shut your mouth.”

Tony can’t help biting down his lower lip as he spills his last joke. “Axel-lent.” Peter sends him a death glare after that, but the playful sparkle in his eyes betrays that he loves the convo. He nods at his phone, and Tony takes the hint. Dropping more jokes would be overkill now. (Yes, he knows more puns, and he won’t ever admit to Peter that he stayed up until 3 am a few nights ago to Google them).  He squints his eyes at the screen, cursing under his breath as his fingers slide down the screen to lower the brightness. As much as he doesn’t think he’s that old yet, his eyesight doesn’t agree. Peter, if he even noticed, doesn’t comment on it.

“I- Is this Romeo and Juliet?” “Well-” “MJ IS PARIS?” “Isn’t it romantic!” “Romeo and Juliet never came off as romantic to me, to be frank. Those teens had an unhealthy obsession and-” “Tony, I love Prokofiev’s music. You’re gonna have to bear with it. Be glad I didn’t cast you as Juliet.” “Did you steal this from that Netflix show? I know Justin’s a hottie, but-” Peter blushes a bright red, and Tony grins. “Does that mean you agree?” “Yes. Of course, I agree. But no, this choreo is very different. They were pair skating for the competition, and we’ll be making a little play. On ice. Plus, it’s not even the same song.” “Alright, alright. Agreed on Prokofiev.” “Good.”

Tony smiles as Peter continues to explain the rest of the choreo to him. The costumes he has in mind. Tony doesn’t like admitting things to himself- especially not when they’re good feelings. But he has to confess he likes this. Peter. Skating. Even acting, in a way. It unlocks a part of him that he’s never quite experienced before. Obviously, his job allows for minimal creativity, but it’s nothing, absolutely nothing, like this. 

-

A little over 11 months ago, the broadcasters asked Tony to participate in Celebrity Spin-Off; an annual TV series where celebrities get paired up with a professional figure skater and compete against each other. Well, he’d laughed in their faces, wondering why they’d even ask. Were they really that stupid? He had better things to do. “If you can find me a male skater who lets me lead, I’m in,” he’d scoffed sarcastically to brush them off. 

He’s still not sure why they took his answer seriously, but they had. Tony Stark doesn’t back out of a promise, though. So, here he is, lacing up his skates to record a YouTube video with his sweet, enthusiastic, now 22-year-old boyfriend and his bestie; dressed in a silver-lined tight suit to play Romeo out of all possible characters.

He’s never felt more alive.

(Especially not at 7 AM)

[tidal-wave56]

It started when he was younger. It came from his dad mostly. The times when they did talk he told him about when him and his mother met. How before he met her he was completely numb and immune to human feelings until he saw her and it felt like everything was so colorful. And what he did to make her his.

He was a kid and couldn't comprehend the things he did so his mother would fall in love with him. He grew up like that. He realized he was completely immune to others feelings.

But his father left out the part how his mother brought out the more damaged and psychotic part of him.

Her. Her. Her. Her. Her.

That's all that went through his head when he saw her. The most emotion he showed. He only ever really hung around with three others. But they never gave him a proper appeal. He gained nothing from them. He didn't seem to like them at all. He didn't. He just stood by them so nobody would pity or try and befriend him. 

He was eye candy to everyone yes but he never paid any attention to that. It never gave him emotions. For his mother he tried. He did. But when she selfishly ended her pitiful self he just fell deeper into that hole.

When he was younger he wanted to be like the others. He tried. But trying isn't enough you had to feel.

He never hung with someone unless they benefited him. Nobody was an exception. Well. For her yes. She was the only exception. Only her.

 

He doesn't want the redhead that is obviously dropping hints and charming. Those rich girls? He only used them for the money and for inside info. Never wanted the girl or her body. He found it disgusting when they were a mess and begging for him when he hasn't even done a thing. At least don't try to jerk him off in class. He doesn't want you or any sexual intentions you have or want to give him. He snapped a girl's wrist. Of course he visited the hospital.

But no no. Not to apologize. Just to shake her up a bit.

Next day it turned out she died due to internal bleeding.

Dying from a snapped wrist is unlikely. So something must have happened when he visited.

He played the part of the nice boy toy at her funeral. Her father taking pity on him gave him exactly what he wanted. He thought it was so stupid how naive that old man was.

But all his morals changed in sophomore year. He was close to dropping out. Oh but he finally had a few classes with a girl. The girl that made his world colorful like his father said. 

But like I said. He left out some parts.

It felt like it was only a timer for him.

He found himself always staring at her not caring about others saying he looked like a creep.

He didn't care at all. Only for her. She made him feel things he only heard of.

When she even looked his way he always felt like his guts would drop out of his stomach. She’s that breathtaking.

Fast forward a few weeks later of eavesdropping and stalking. He gathered so much and has everything about her memorized.

Just give him a reason to blame it on you. Talk to him. 

For once he wasn't staring at her only at the guy who was staring at her. And he felt a nudge on her shoulder looking up and his body was filled with fire.

She’s talking to him.

“You’re Xavier right? The teacher said we are partners. Im-” She was interrupted when Xavier stood up and smiled genuinely at her.

“Rachel, right?” He asks and she slowly nods before he leads her to the back of the room as others got with their partners. 

She sat down and instantly started to explain the assignment to the anonymous stalker.

She’s more ravishing up close…

“Are you listening to me?” She sighs and was suddenly straight at him.

“Yes, why are you asking?” His voice was soothing to hear and it had a hint of mischief in it.

“You were just daydreaming, and not responding to any questions.” She sighs wondering why she was partnered up with him.

“Oh, the first question is A. Juliet stabbed herself with Romeo's dagger. Not with the poison.” He responded rather quickly sensing her doubt in him and that made him panic.

She studied him before humming in response and they went over the questions together but unknown to her he was edging closer to her little by little.

Once the bell rang she got up and he growled under his breath having an urge to abuse a bell.

“Hey we only missed one question, why are you growling? We did fine.” She reminds and he looks at her after making eye contact with the boy that was staring at Rachel.

“I was just enjoying your company.” He gave a genuine and complementary explanation and she chuckled awkwardly not knowing how to respond to that.

“I li- enjoyed it too. We have to get to our next classes. Bye.” She gave a curt wave and he smiled waving back but she was already gone then he narrowed his eyes. He got up and grabbed his bag walking to the door but slammed into the guy.

“Sorry man, didn't mean to do that!” Xavier apologized and helped him pick up his things and the male smiled apologetically.

“Thanks, and don't worry about it! I wasn't watching where I was going anyways.” He breathed out with a flat chuckle and got up leaving the room after taking his books from Xavier.

Xavier dropped the sorry look and looked at the card as he walked the opposite direction of his next class.

“Oh, Williams? Shame. I know his older brothers.” Xavier murmured to himself.

A few hours later school was let out and everyone went home like they normally would. 

Williams walked down the dark hallway with a sigh, his hair messy and wore a knitted sweater. He was too busy goggling at Rachel to take notes. He was going to fail… He was the last person there and he always stayed late and was often trusted to lock up the school so he had an extra pair of keys.

He walked towards the front door only to slam into it when it didn't open. He shook the door knob and it was locked. He sighed and pushed his hands into his pockets to fish out his keys but they weren't there. 

Thinking he forgot them in the classroom he walked back and walked over to the door only to find writing on the glass.

Ten second head start. Run.

His eyes widened then narrowed thinking this was a prank and he tried wiping off the ink only to smell and feel its substance.

Blood.

His bag fell to the ground and he dropped everything looking disgusted and disturbed. He looked around for the culprit but saw a trail of blood. He gulped harshly and pulled out a small pocket knife. Smaller than his pinky. Sad really. But hilarious and amusing.

He started following and staggering towards the trail only to see it lead to the bathrooms. The athletes bathrooms.

He stammered out words of ‘Come out’ or something along those lines. He was stuttering like crazy, you couldn't understand him.

He then held his free hand over his mouth as a shield for his own vomit seeing the smashed in head of the janitor. Her fat pig bodied corpse lying in the middle of the athletes showers. Her skull looked like mush and her blood and brains were rinsing down the drain.

Suddenly the showers turned on and steam rose into the air fogging up the glass and windows.

He squeaked and bolted but the door was locked. He realized he dropped the keys, so. Fair game, right?

He started screaming from the top of his lungs and it sent chills down his spine as it echoed around him.

He saw a shadow but before he could turn he felt a thud in his head.

~

Xavier made his way up to the school seeing people gathered outside of the gates and it looked like a riot or something.

He slipped passed others and made it to Rachel.

“What's wrong?” He asked, raising a brow.

“People keep saying a student and staff member was murdered. But The police are saying its a murdered suicide.” She responds.

“Why?”

“The student slit his wrists with a knife and he was beaten by the staff member.” She adds and keeps trying to look over the crowd before sighing and starts walking away.

“Classes are cancelled today.” A few kids say as others started walking back home or whatever.

Xavier watched Rachel before he just- wOOP- all the way up to her and smiled.

“Hey, want to hang out? I don't want to go home and I don't want to be alone right now.” He asked his bag hanging from his shoulder.

She seemed skeptical of his request but she figured why not and agreed.

He suddenly had her bag and held it.

“I invited you so I might as well hold your things.” He spoke up quickly when she gave him a weird look. She debated whether she should retort or even excuse herself. But of course since they are already walking, might as well.

“So...why don't you want to go home?” She asked, not wanting to walk in an uncomfortable silence.

“Well my dad has his models back at home. So work.” He cut it down.

No that man was torturing those women saying it was for an aesthetic. And to bring up awareness. Make it look real.

That was bullshit of course.

“Oh, do you not like them?”

“What do you want to eat?” He interrupted her and apologized as she chuckled.

“Oh I don't mind- I don't have money-” She murmured.

“Did I ask if you had money or not?”

If you texted that it would sound aggressive and agitated. But he said it in a joking and a soft manner. You could tell he said it like he was paying no matter what.

“Well...thank you.” She smiled slightly.

“Hey Rachel! Hey Xavier!”

Xavier glared and looked up seeing Daniel and he skipped over waving to Rachel. And Xavier seemed annoyed by his presence. He was getting in the way of his hang out.

~

“Bye! I had fun!” Rachel smiled and left as Daniel and Xavier waved.

“Why are you still here…” Xavier growled and Daniel was taken aback from how cruel he grew towards him in under five seconds.

“I just wanted to hang out with you-”

“Well when I am with her I don't want you or anyone else around.” He growls his face inches from Daniels.

“You killed Williams didn't you?” Daniel frowned and suddenly Xavier walked away and Daniel followed wanting answers.

Xavier stood by a boulder and Daniel climbed till he stood beside him.

“What happened-?”

“She happened.” Suddenly he had a psychotic smile and looked at Daniel with crazed eyes.

“I haven't felt like this since….well since never! Haha! She happened! I'm so in love with her I will kill anyone just so I can only have her!” He shouts, flinging his arms out and Daniel stared his eyes wide and he was terrified by his sudden obsession.  

“Xavier that-”

“You know how many I've killed already? I never felt more alive then when I killed for her! And I’m telling you because you are my friend.” He smiled but it wasn't a warm or psychotic one. It was just there. It didn't seem fake either. He felt a hand on his chest and stared at Xavier whose face suddenly went dim.

“But I don't trust you. I told you. But I don't trust you at all.” 

“Xavier the things you feel right now? They aren't real, that isn't love- that's obsession-”

“What's the difference? She is mine. She will be all mine.”

“Xavier! This isn't love! You will just hurt her and yourself!” Daniel tried getting that through his head but Xavier was just grinning and having one hand on the side of his own head as if holding it.

“Who cares? As long as I have her I will feel everything! She is the person that makes me feel. She's mine….all mine….”

Daniel frowned.

“She won’t love you.”

Xavier stared at him before his hand on Daniel's chest pushed him and Daniel plummeted to the ground.

The cracks would make anybody cringe and his twisted body laid at the ground.

“I’ll make her learn to love me.”

[honeybinnies]

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞'𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦. — a skz multi-ship one-shot wherein ten friends take a trip to a cabin, and go wild with a game of spin the bottle, and seven minutes in heaven. 

pairings: seo changbin, lee felix + reader, kim woojin, bang chan + kim seungmin, lee minho, han jisung + hwang hyunjin 

additional characters: yang jeongin (bc hes babie) 

rating: E (explicit) for sexual content and vulgar language

word count: 3.3k words

note: @changlixfucker69 come get yall juice i hate u for making me die several times while doing this

thanks for 500+ followers! this is what i had in store for u guys, so i hope doing this one-shot did you justice! for a better experience, have this, this, and this song for,,, you know,,, the adventure 

       “YOU KNOW WHAT FUCKIN’ SUCKS?” Felix hollered over to the living room where the rest lazed, either tapping away on their phones or having some minimal conversation about how the weather was, or the classifications of goats’ cheese around Europe. Despite the coziness in the cabin they settled in for the next few days, unpacking was never a forte within them. They would only catch you, Woojin, Chan and Seungmin moving about, unloading baggage and settling down in the wooden house. The rest were unproductive, as usual.

Felix groaned at the lack of response, gripping his hand tighter on the doorknob. He didn’t stop complaining, nonetheless, and shut the bathroom door as loud as he could. “When people leave their drips of pee on the bowl, and never even bother to clean it up after! I mean, think of the other bathroom users who actually care about sanitation.” Snappish, he rubbed his hands clean with sanitizer from the countertop, and flopped right beside an uninterested Jisung. “Which one of you fuckers had the audacity to break proper bathroom decorum?”

“Calm your ass, Bokkie.” Hyunjin mused, swiping several filters for a selfie he took with the resplendent design of the furnished cabin. “If anybody would do such a thing, it would be Jisung.”

“Excuse me?” Jisung looked up from his phone, disinterest now incredulous. “Why do you always blame me for everything, huh? Just this morning, you blamed me for spilling strawberry milkshake on the seat when it was clearly Jeongin.”

“No, Ji, we all know that was you.” Seungmin remarked, huffing out a small sigh as he placed the rest of the bags on the empty armchair beside Minho. “Could you all please get up and help us four here? [First Name]’s having trouble with the grill!”

“I got it.” Changbin stood abruptly, locking his phone as he did so. The rest could only tease, resonating a sound of “oohs” and whistles that echoed around the cabins of the forest. Changbin, seemingly flustered, looked over to the bunch, and flashed them an easy glare. “What?” He grumbled. “It’s obvious that the girl needs help. It’s a grill.”

“Right, like you should’ve known that earlier.” Minho laughed, quirking an obvious brow at the younger. The rest only snickered at Minho’s retort, obviously enjoying the teasing session they were giving Changbin. It was an inside joke among the guys that you and Changbin were known as the “Romeo and Juliet” of the bunch, knowing the obvious signs of fancy towards you two. Your denials were borderline a pain to hear most of the time, but it’s not like the guys never knew about the secret kisses you two shared when no one was looking, or the whispers of endearments on your ears when it was quiet amidst the night.

The guys were going to deal with another series of these subtleties for the next three days, and they didn’t know whether to cry or to tune into their interest.

Little did they know that a certain person was in quite of a dismal conflict with yours and Changbin’s relationship. As Changbin finally escaped his friends’ constant teasing, Felix followed the older’s gaze as he made his way to the door, eager to help you with tonight’s grilling session. He whipped his head to the side at the thought of the two of you, a small sour pit building on his stomach slowly, but horribly. Unlike Changbin, the greatest hyung to ever exist in his life, you were the first to ever move his heart in any way. You were there for him when he was going through some of the hardest time, you were there when he would ask for some criticism on his dance moves, you were there when he improved himself, made himself a better person. It wasn’t wrong for him to suddenly fall on a crush for you, and if any guy would love you for your looks, Felix loved you for what you’ve made him become. A better person.

Jeongin was the first to notice the pain written across Felix’s features, as the laugh that he emitted died down from the rest, glancing over to the blonde boy with sympathy. He looked over to the door where Changbin once stood, assuming that he was probably helping you with the rustic grill with the marred green edges, and back at Felix, whose company seemed to be bothered at the moment. Carefully, he grazed his palm over Felix’s knee, and sported him a sad smile, one that Felix returned back, if not even more sorrowful than the one Jeongin had. “I’ll be okay.” He mouthed at the youngest, to which the youngest nodded before returning back to the sudden conversation on bugs around the cabin.

“Alright, fellas. Let’s get down to business.” Chan sighed once everybody has settled down. It’s past afternoon, nearing five in the cabin. The “porters” were exhausted in their place, wiping some sweat and grime off their faces as they turned their attention to Chan. He could almost laugh at how tired they must’ve been from the four-hour trip, but that didn’t waver him from the itinerary. “First off, dinner. It’s almost 6PM, so we better start prepping the meat.”

He looked at each one as they turned to face him, faces attentive and ears open. “Secondly, Woojinnie, [First Name], and I set up a bonfire by the backyard—“

“A backyard campfire?!” Jeongin brightened, sparkles twinkling on his eyes. “With the marshmallows and all?”

“Yes, Innie.” Chan chuckled, fond of the youngest. “We’re having s’mores. Lastly,” there was a change of expression on the older’s face, something less calm and more clouded, almost challenging if the guys were to describe it. Dread slowly crept up to their throats, and suddenly, they all wondered if they would like the idea that Chan had in mind.

A deep, almost shy chuckle escaped from Chan’s lips as he brought a hand to his nape, rubbing the base bashfully. “We’re having a game of spin the bottle.”

The entire cabin went silent. All of the guys, including you, stared dumbly at Chan for a good few seconds, processing everything. A game of spin the bottle? How could such a simple, family-friendly game be so…worrisome to the rest. There was a catch, you all thought. There must be a catch. It isn’t just a game of spin the bottle when a person like Bang Chan hosted it—

“Threesome edition.”

Another silence. The air stilled, the stares grew deeper. If you could almost hear the way the gears on your minds were working, they’d be turning fast. Nobody knew what to say. It wasn’t like the bunch has ever done dirty games such as these. Hell, you guys have done the craziest and dirtiest of games, though they were mostly through drinking sessions and foolish, bored times around the dorm or your apartment whenever you’d offer them a 10-person dinner.

A threesome edition, though, was something else, and Felix had the urge to glance at you and Changbin, if not the slightest of peeks.

“Wait,” Seungmin interjected, snapping everyone out from a daze. “A…A threesome? Just how are we going to do that?”

“The way other people have done threesomes.” Chan shrugged, still slightly bashful. No one noted the way Woojin rubbed comforting rubs beneath his inner thigh, hoping to ease the shyness out of Chan. “We can think of something else if you’d like—“

“Let’s do it.” Minho said, suddenly daring. Chan brightened at the younger’s challenged expression, and looked over at the rest, the same look mirroring Minho’s. “You guys up for it?”

“I’ll be the game master.” Jeongin said bluntly, fiddling with a split end of his bangs. “Always have been anyway, since none of you ever really involve me in your slutty shenanigans. Now, let’s eat!” He stood, grinning from ear to ear. “I’m starving over here.”

“This’ll be exciting.” You stood with the rest, patting the dust off the crumbs and specs of the clothed couch. You turned your head over to Felix, who seemed to be the most silent throughout the talk, and nudged your knee on his thigh. “Right, Lix?” He only gave you a spread of a smile, one that didn’t reach his eyes, and stood alongside you, patting your shoulder. “Yeah, it’ll be fun.”

You never understood the emptiness in his usually cheerful voice.

          The ten of you didn’t expect the spin the bottle game to be like…this. It was already expected that things would get especially spicy, yet the fate of the bottle spinning towards the groups of three was unexpected, but somehow fated. It was around 10 in the evening, mouths cleaned from the sweetness of the chocolate and marshmallows, and skins fresh from the dirt and hard-work from today’s set up. The each of you knew that showering again would be the best option, so neither of you never minded it. The game was just too interesting.

Here’s how it all went down:

The moment the bottle landed last on Seungmin, everybody guffawed, throwing themselves off their crossed-legged position on the floor or shaking one another by the shoulders. The last man chosen could only blink at the bottle, before staring up at the other two in slight bemusement. Woojin and Chan were flustered as they should, exchanging eye contact with the younger. Surprisingly, Seungmin never minded, and just stood, going to the room.

“Well?” He asked when he turned to Woojin and Chan, who were baffled by his sudden change in demeanor. The rest never knew what happened inside that room once the door was shut and locked, the three inside aware of their time limit. Seven minutes in heaven, that’s all they had, and for whatever’s worth, the rest were curious to what they had in stored for each other, knowing that Seungmin wasn’t the type to be easily persuaded in these events.

Little did they know that Seungmin himself was propped up on an armchair, fingers wrapped around the material of his camera as he captured the scene unfolding in front of him. His photos were skin against skin, tongues tied and saliva slicked, mouths wide open and breathing out gentle moans. Woojin had his cold fingers trailing over the base of Chan’s stomach, his warm lips filled Chan’s neck, peppering, licking, sucking, while Chan’s warm palms roamed past Woojin’s back, smoothing past his skin while he let the older take complete control over him, hitting him in the right spots.

“Don’t mind me, hyung.” Seungmin hummed when he heard Chan moan out his name in question, as if asking him why he wasn’t joining in. He only sunk deeper in the armchair, eyes hooded and voice suddenly an octave lower, and raised his camera, focusing and zooming in on Woojin’s glossed lips on Chan’s chest, the quality coming out dim and golden. “Just have your fun while I’m having mine.”

Jisung wasn’t having it any better too. He was having the best time of his life.

The moment Jeongin set the timer from outside their door, Minho and Hyunjin gave him no mercy. The two had him fisting at the white sheets of the cabin, one that smelled like fresh detergent and a tinge of cinnamon. He had his head thrown back completely, eliciting vocal moans that had the two’s egos boosted way up as they patched every bit of his skin with kisses and bites. “F-Fuck, wow.” Jisung spluttered, jolting in peer pleasure when he felt Minho’s lips travel down to his length, licking the seams of his tip like dripping ice cream.

“You’re wet, Sungie.” Minho chuckled on his tip, staring up at him hungrily as he gave one more lick for good measure. “Hyunnie seems to be doing a good job up there, huh?” Before Jisung could respond, he was left a stuttering mess once more when he felt Hyunjin groan against Jisung’s neck, pleased with the praise Minho gave him. With Hyunjin’s hands brushing past his nipples, and his plump lips pressed firmly against the sensitive spot on his neck, it pissed Jisung off how wet he could already get by just this short form of foreplay. Minho, amused by his speechless response, rose up to kiss Jisung, allowing him to taste a bit of his precum before tilting his head to the mirror.

“Look at you, fucked out already. It hasn’t even been seven minutes, and you’ve already reached heaven.” Jisung could only whimper in response, vision clouded and hazed as he locked gazes with himself in the mirror. Sweat glistened from his body down to his navel, and it showcased a perfect view of Hyunjin’s side profile on his chest, eyes closed and at pure bliss at his own lips on Jisung’s skin. Not to mention, the hooded bangs on Minho’s eyes and the gloss of saliva and cum on his lips didn’t even help Jisung one bit, and he shut his eyes, pleasure enfolding him completely.

“Ahh-ah,” Minho gripped his chin, snapping him towards the wide mirror view. “Keep your eyes on the mirror, Sungie. You need to see how beautiful you look while Hyunnie and I bring you to heaven in the next five minutes.”

Lastly, it all went down to you, Changbin, and Felix. While the rest were unfazed by the pairing, only Jeongin would look over to how surprised Felix’s face was when he knew he was paired with the two of you. With Felix’s heart beating louder and louder, his eyes shone over to the both of you once the door closed, and heard Jeongin count to hammering of his heart on his chest, loud and clear.

“Seven minutes, your time starts now!”

If Felix were to be frank, he didn’t even know what happened after the minutes started ticking down. Firstly, all he ever did was stand here, conflicted and wondering how he was going to go about this entire game without you and Changbin noticing his final moments of sanity. He’s…never really thought about anything exceptionally lewd with you, let alone with his hyung. Well, yeah, sure, he’s had thoughts of kissing you, had thoughts of making out by the couch or by the kitchen countertop, but he’s never thought of an actual threesome.

How would he even make you pleasured? He knew nothing of the sort, unlike you and Changbin, who have probably snuck in a few sneaky touches underneath the shirt or beneath the tables. He wondered how Hyunjin and Seungmin tackled theirs—Seungmin explaining that he took pictures instead—but Felix couldn’t take pictures as good as Seungmin. Would he even have the guts to visualize Changbin and his caressing touches on your skin when all he could ever feel was a tinge of jealousy that churned around his stomach.

Felix wanted to leave, but it was too late. He already immersed himself in this game, and it was getting too addictive to stop.

“That’s it, love.” Changbin whispered on your ear as you moaned to his touch, raking the fingers on the sheets while his hands kneaded your breasts expertly. “Don’t be afraid to let it out, I’ve always adored your voice when you call out my name.” With his fingers trickling up from your lower breasts to your nipples, you gasped when he teased his fingers over your hardened buds, as if waiting for the right moment to pinch.

“B-Binnie, please, I—Lix!” To your surprise, you jolted when Felix had your legs spread wide and his face locked in between your legs, peppering gentle kisses on your damp heat. His fingers were splayed perfectly on your inner thighs, rubbing circles that stimulated your arousal. He didn’t know what went over him, honestly, but everything about you enticed him; your moans, your beautiful face glistening with sweat from the sex filling the room, and the way your legs were spread nicely, caging his head in place whenever the ghost of his tip ran over your folds, making you shiver in pleasure. It was an urge, he thought to himself, and he’s glad that he took the chance when he had it.

“I’m sorry, was that too much?” Felix pulled away, quirking a brow at your reaction. He could almost smirk when he heard a whine escape your lips, as you shook your head dismissively through the various kneads of Changbin’s fingers on your hardened buds. “N-No, you’re good you’re—you’re great…”

Satisfied, and so full of himself, Felix grinned at the praise you were giving him, and dived his head back down, positioning himself once more between your legs, glancing up at you ravenously. “Tell us how good we’re making you feel, love.” Love, since when has he ever called you that? “We want to hear how good we’re making you feel.” This is too overwhelming, but too exciting at the same time. The thrill is setting him on fire, and it doesn’t take rocket science to know that the words that spilled out your lips next sent him to heaven faster than you and Changbin could ever reach.

So, with his tongue swirling expertly on your heat, taking in your leaking cum by each time his tongue presses on your clit, his eyes flutter shut at the sensation of eating you out, humming by the shiver and throb of your skin on his lips. He groaned when your fingers began threading to his hair, tugging and pulling at the roots, taking him deeper, filling his tongue all across your core. Your moans have grown excessively louder, and each stimulant on your neck from Changbin’s bites and your throbbing core made you want more, more, more. You stuttered a breathy whimper when you spread your legs wider, giving Felix better access to roam his tongue all over your core, and the single finger of his hand to slip inside you, pressing twice on your clit to have him enjoy his course. Everything was in pure bliss for the three of you, and you three weren’t even aware that knocking resounded on the door, four knocks too long.

“You guys!” Jeongin huffed impatiently. “It’s way past seven minutes, get out of there!”

“Let them be, Innie.” Jisung patted the youngest on the shoulder, face spread into a sympathetic look as Jeongin turned to face him. “[First Name] and Changbin have never gone this extreme before, and it’s Felix’s first time to even touch a woman. Give them seven more minutes.”

“Or an hour.” They could hear Changbin hoarse out through the door, leaving the rest silent in their place. Sullenly, they sauntered back to the couch, and settled in complete silence as they regarded your vocal moans and Felix and Changbin’s words of praises as music to their ears, except for Jeongin, obviously.

“I can bet you Bokkie dommed the shit out of [First Name]!” Hyunjin exclaimed, listening in more to the way Felix begged for your praises. The rest seemed to agree with him, eyes up and focusing on the lewd shouts resonating from the third room to the right. They didn’t notice Jeongin ghosting a smile from the kitchen, his back faced from his friends as he prepared himself a midnight snack. Perhaps Felix has realized something from this silly little game that his hyung prepared in their three-day trip, and even if it meant taking him days to open up to you and Changbin about it, at least this should knock some sense into him. Never mind how weird the circumstance is, just let Felix be the judge of that.

“Third time’s a charm.” Jeongin mumbled to himself, sipping his cup of hot chocolate before going back to his group of friends, who were currently betting over who got to pleasure you better.

[johnmurphysreddit]

Last time I felt sarcastic and made a bunch of “they wouldn’t be that banal” predictions I got was more right than wrong.  Here’s my season seven list in no particular order. 

1. Echo jumps in front of a bullet for Bellamy. She dies in his arms and makes him swear to love again.  

2. Raven’s pregnant.  Turns out a mother’s love for a child is what she needed all along.  We’ve seen her turn away from each of her men after sex to focus on a book or her work.  Now she puts down her work to tend to her baby.  A portion of the women in the audience are appalled by the damaging message.  Another portion tell the first group that they don’t really know what it means to love a child.  Basically season five all over again.  Jason claims credit on Twitter for Asexual and aromantic representation. 

3. Clarke’s pregnant from her night with the doctor.  She and Bellamy have deep conversations about it but never go romantic canon in the opinion of antis but they’re super canon according to shippers.  He makes her promise not to put the weight of raising a child on Madi and to instead turn to him. Lexa gets name checked as he tells her about the promise he made to Echo.  Clarke dies in childbirth.

4.  Murphy's season’s long scorn for religion is swallowed as he agrees to lead a group of Prime worshipers who just can’t adjust.  His wedding to Emori is a mash up of the Red Wedding from GOT, Romeo and Juliet, and Finn’s massacre.  It gets swarmed the way they were swarmed in season one.  Bullets fly and he thinks Emori has been killed.  He goes feral, and a character with one of the lowest body counts on the show goes full slayer.  Turns out Emori’s not quite dead because The 100 can’t go a season without at least one glaring medical error.  There’s a tearful moment, then they both die. 

5.  An incredible amount of time is taken up on plots based around new characters that no one cares about and mythology and science without internal consistency. 

5a. Also there’s a fight scene with fire and swords. 

6. The anomaly includes doors to new worlds.  Octavia is familiar with some and has a favorite.  She decides to live in one where she can just be a normal girl. So does Diyoza. 

7. Bellamy spends a lot of time in the woods making faces like his colitis is flaring up. 

8. The series ends with Madi doing a voiceover as her little blonde sister draws. 

Comments welcome. 

[sun-kissed-star]

Race prompt? Easy. The dork convinces some of the gang to go to an abandoned hospital to go ghost hunting. He proceeds to annoy them all and taunt the ghosts and do everything Davey says *not* to do. (aka he acts like Shane from Buzzfeed Unsolved)

oh HELL yeah babey

no editing we die like men

also jack and race are brothers in this but that’s p obvious

~~~

“Let’s make bets on who’s gonna die first. C’mon, put ‘em up.”

Davey smacked Race’s outstretched hand. “We’re not gonna die,” he hissed. “And even if we do, it’d be your fault anyway. This was your idea.”

“But you still came, didn’t you?” Race said, grinning like the Chesire Cat. Jack, who had been talking in low voices with Sarah and Elmer, jogged to catch up with them and threw an arm around Race’s neck.

“Yeah, ‘cause none of us wanted to be the ones to tell Medda that your little punk self died exploring an abandoned hospital,” Jack said.

“Where’d you even find this place?” Davey said. He pulled out his phone for the fourth time in the last five minutes, holding it up in some hopeless attempt to connect with the outside world. “I don’t even have any service.”

“That’s what makes it haunted,” Race said, eyebrows wiggling. “If we die, no one’ll ever know. The ghosts are the kids that came here before us and never made it out alive.” They passed a shattered window, broken glass decorating the musty floor, and a breeze swept in from the cold air outside. Race stopped in his tracks and his grin got wider.

“You feel that?” he said. “That’s not air, Dave. Safe to say you just walked through a kid that died here ten years ago.”

An involuntary shudder crept up Davey’s spine. He wasn’t scared, per say, but he would admit to being slightly annoyed, slightly worried from the ghost stories Race had been telling as they walked down the hallway.

“Well, at least Elmer’s got that ghost-trackin’ app,” Jack said. “Good thing it doesn’t need service, or else we’d probably be dead by now.”

“Yeah,” Davey said dryly. “Lucky us.”

“Hey, Elmo,” Race called over his shoulder. “What’s your app say about that dead kid we just walked through?”

“It didn’t pick anything up,” Elmer said, and Davey couldn’t help his smug smile when Race scowled. “But there’s a cold spot up ahead, and… oh, shit.”

“What?” Davey said, turning around. “What is it?”“Um…” Elmer frowned and punched something into his phone. “I dunno, it says the thing’s getting closer.”“I don’t see anything,” Davey said, squinting down the corridor.

“Well, duh. It’s a ghost.”

“Oh, silly me,” Davey muttered to himself. “Race, I seriously think we should turn around. We’re not gonna find anything, and Medda’s gonna start worryin’ about you and…”

He trailed off when he turned around and met Race’s eyes when there should have been two pairs looking back at him.

“Where’d Jack go?”

“He’s right…”

Race looked over his shoulder.

“… not here.”

“Guys? Sarah’s gone too.”Sure enough, at Elmer’s words, Davey and Race turned around in unison and found Elmer standing alone in the hallway.

“Okay, this is weird.” Davey spun on Race and poked him in the chest. “Race, if you’re tryin’ to scare us, you should seriously just consider tellin’ more of those ghost stories inste-”“I’m not!” Race said vehemently, backing up a few feet and wincing as his foot hit a creaky floorboard. “Listen, if they die or somethin’, I’ll be the one to tell Katherine that her girlfriend’s dead and Medda about Jack. Promise.”“Yeah, well then we’ll have three dead bodies on our hands.”“Guys, my tracker is picking something up.” Elmer shuffled forward and ducked under Race’s arm, holding his phone up to Davey’s eyes. “Maybe it’s Sarah and Jack?”

“Why would your ghost tracker pick Sarah and Jack up?”“Maybe they’re already dead.”Davey found that suggestion very, very unnecessary, and he rounded on Race with a glare more fit for Medusa. But before he could open his mouth or smack Race upside the head, a door creaked open on their left and he, Race, and Elmer spun around.

Race pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight. “Hey, ghost!” he yelled, voice echoing off the high, crumbling ceiling. “Come and get a piece of me! Do it, no balls!”

Elmer stepped forward too, and Davey debated dragging them both backwards. Then, a touch as light as a feather brushed his arm, and he jumped forward to join them. “I felt something,” he said, gripping Race and Elmer’s shoulders. “We need to get somewhere safe and find Jack and Sarah.”

Race frowned, but he looked halfway towards agreeing with him. “How are we gonna -”Two pairs of icy cold hands gripped Davey’s bare arm and clenched the thin fabric of Race’s shirt, and they both screamed.

“What the hell!?” Race shouted, falling back into Davey’s arms. Davey caught him under the armpits. “Shit, Elmer, you were right, fuck, we gotta get the hell out of he-”That’s when Elmer and two other disembodied voices started to laugh. And as it turned out, those two disembodied voices were Sarah and Jack, trying and failing to contain themselves from falling over on the floor in laughter.

Race had a much easier time processing what happened, and he jumped out of Davey’s arms with a furious expression on his face. “Hey, what the hell was that for!?” he demanded. “I take you into my home, I appreciate you, I take you on my adventures, and this is the thanks I get?”

“Okay, first of all,” Jack said, bent over and gasping for breath. “You didn’t take us into your good Christian home, don’t play yourself. You brought us to an abandoned hospital.”

“And ‘that,’ was for bringing us to said hospital,” Sarah said, propping her elbow up on Jack’s shoulder. “You’re welcome!”“And you were in on it?” Race said, wheeling on Elmer.

“Yep!” Elmer said. He held up his phone. “I wasn’t checking my ghost-tracker, I was recording it! Don’t worry, I’ll send it to the group chat as soon as we get our service back.”“You’re on thin ice, kid,” Race said. “Thought you were on my side! We binged Buzzfeed Unsolved together, you traitor!”“Yeah, but it was funny.”

Race looked about two seconds away from jumping him, and Davey put a hand on his arm and tugged him away.

“Let’s go home,” Davey said. “On the bright side, we aren’t bringin’ any dead bodies home.”

“Says you,” Jack said, pulling Race into a headlock and ruffling his hair. “Wait ‘til Medda finds out we were here and it was all this kid’s idea.”

“Hey, I only said I’d do that if you and Sarah were dead.”

“Yeah, well, we’re not gonna be the dead ones by the end of this.”

TAG LIST

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[mincapella]

Its Storming Outside

7303 words, excluding this note. It’s not the best, but I tried! Also Tumblr was stupid and it took like 27 tries to try and post it hnnng @dorkstache​

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

It was storming outside, the rain pounding heavily on the roof and windows of the old mansion, and although this typically wouldn’t bother Dark, it meant that Wilford would want to come up with some ridiculous idea to try and pass the time until clearer skies came around. The energetic male couldn’t sit still for more than two minutes at a time.

As if he had been waiting for Dark to finish his thought, Wilford came bounding up to him, flashcards in hand. He skidded to a halt in front of Dark, looking down on him with nothing but pure excitement on his face.

“‘Ello Dark! I came up with a new game to play, and you’ve gotta play it with me! Nobody else wants to play with me, so you’ve gotta, or I’m fining you ten million dollars!” He screamed into the shorter male’s face despite them being less than a foot apart.

Dark was about to give a snarky response in return, but when Wil looked down on him with the most pathetic puppy eyes he’s ever seen, how could he refuse? He settled instead for asking the simple question of “What game is it?”

“It’s truth or dare! Google and Bing helped me create flashcards, well, more I created flashcards and they argued the entire time,” Dark let out an involuntary snort at that,” but nobody else wants to play! They’re all ‘busy’ or some excuse like that, but I know for a fact that you’re over here brooding and have all the time in the world to play!”

“You sound like you’re five with all the talk of playing, and seriously? Truth or dare? What are we, two teenage highschool girls having a sleepover?”

“Shut up! I worked hard in this, and you can’t say no! Or else!”

Dark smirked at that. “Or else what?”

“I-i! Don’t really! Know!! But! You will play with me!”

Dark gave an exasperated sigh. “If I play this childish game with you, will you leave me alone?”

“No!”

“I thought as much.”

Dark grabbed the taller male’s arm, who gave a surprised squawk, and dragged him into the living room where they would have more room for the antics that Wil surely would have up his sleeve.

After forcing the two of them into chairs opposite of each other, Wil grabbed his flashcards and spread them across the table. Dark simply watches as Wil did his thing, only moving to push a stray card back towards the pile every once in awhile. Once Wil finished, he looked expectantly at Dark, waiting for him to make a move. Dark just awkwardly clear his throat, quickly realising he had no idea how to play.

Thankfully Wil seemed to notice this, judging by how his eyes widened and how quickly he scrambled for the pile of cards to explain.

“So!! It’s simple, you just pick a card. You just do what it says, and if you refuse, you have to do the punishment written on the paper. It’s not that difficult.”

Dark just nodded, and silently reached for a card.

‘Kiss one person you’re playing with, or sing a song (not those kid songs!!!).’

Dark glanced up at Wil, who reached for the card. His eyes silently scanned over the card, and he looked back up at Dark.

“Y’know, I was sorta expecting more people to come play this so, uh..”

He trailed off, and Dark sighed. He got up, walked over to Wil, and grabbed his shoulders. Wil shut his eyes and stammered a weak “You don’t have to do this.”

Dark scanned his face, and leaned in, gently pressing their noses together, rubbing them together for a few seconds before pulling away. He walked back to his seat as Wil opened his eyes. Wil opened his mouth to say something, but Dark cut him off.

“Eskimo kiss. You just rub noses with each other. Technically a kiss.”

“Oh, yeah. Forgot that was a thing.” Wil stopped for a second, and then starting bouncing in his seat as he reached for another card. He pulls one from the pile, and he frowns. Dark stared with mild curiosity, but didn’t say anything.

“I don’t want to do this one. Guess I got to do the punishment! ‘S okay ‘cause I can’t die.”

It takes a second for Dark to register what Wil said, but by the time he does, Wil already has his gun pulled out. Dark keeps his face steady, but his voice wavers when he asks the question of

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Wil glances at him, still smiling and bouncing, not really seeming to understand what he was doing.

“I don’t wanna do the card, so I’ve gotta reenact a play! Doesn’t matter which one, but what better way to do it than with a bang, right?”

“No, not right! Do you know what you’re doing? You’re going to kill yourself!”

“Yeah, that’s the whole point! It’ll be fine, I’ll just come back! You did!”

Dark visibly flinches at that statement. Wil already had the gun cocked and loaded, and was lifting it up to his head.

“No, that was a very special case, Wil you won’t come ba-’

A bang echoed throughout the entire house, causing Dark to instantly fall silent, as Wil fell down, blood flowing from a shot wound in his head. Dark just stood there, starting to shake as he bent over to pick up the card Wil had refused to do.

‘Try to anger Host, or reenact something from a play ((Romeo and Juliet is stupid, do something fun!))’

It was so stupid, so unbelievably stupid that Dark started to laugh. For Wil to take his life with the belief that he would come back over something so stupid, Dark started to actually laugh.

He dropped to his knees beside Wil, and started to shake even harder. He knew that he had been a special case, Damien and Celine had sacrificed what was left of their souls to give him life again, but Wil. Wil didn’t have that.

Or did he?

Dark started to think, and as he thought, he got up and started to pace.

If Damien and Celine could transfer their souls to him, then wouldn’t it make sense for him to be able to transfer his soul to Wil?

He quickly crouched next to Wil, unsure of what to do. So, he settled on placing his hand on Wil’s heart, and he started to think of giving Wil life again. He started to think harder and harder, until-

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

Wil awoke with a start, and a huge smile was plastered onto his face as he jolted upward.

“See, Dark! I’m perfectly fine, everything is okay-”

As Wil said that, he noticed a limp body next to his, the familiar shape of Dark was cold. Wil froze, but quickly started to laugh.

“Did I take so long that you fell asleep? You’re one funny lad, you know? Couldn’t even carry me to a bed or anything. Now that I think about it, though, I do have a headache, and I feel a bit funny.”

He glanced down at Dark’s body once more, and noticed how still it was. Too still. Not even faint breathing could be seen. He reached out to touch his face. It was cold. Too cold. Wil started to laugh once more.

“So you died too, huh? That’s okay, you’ll come back, we all do.”

Wil sighed, drumming his fingers on the cold floor, unsure of what to do with himself now.

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

3 years later

It was a cold and rainy day, but now the rain could be heard on the pink umbrella Wil had. He was standing in a graveyard, staring at a grave that belonged to Dark.

“Hey, buddy, I know you’re dead, but can you come back sooner? It’s boring without you. I’m trying to be patient, but you’re taking a bit longer than normal. But it’s okay, you’ll come back. We all do, right?”

Tears mixed with raindrops. It was a rainy day, but he no longer had anyone to play with.

[arisefairsun]

What books and/or other works of Shakespeare do you recommend for someone who is undeniably obsessed with Romeo and Juliet and fascinated with Macbeth?

Ah, these are my two favorite plays! Let’s see now. 

You might enjoy the following Shakespearean plays if you are undeniably obsessed with Romeo and Juliet (it’s a beautiful feeling that, isn’t it?):

Antony and Cleopatra. It is no coincidence that Juliet’s mother is dressed up as Cleopatra in Luhrmann’s movie. The play is filled with unrestrained sensuality, with a very strong-minded woman as one of its leading roles. (Cleopatra is also the female character with most lines in all of Shakespeare’s plays.) It also offers an interesting insight into gender roles, which are to an extent subverted again. Moreover, the deaths of the protagonists resemble those of Romeo and Juliet in that they die partly as a consequence of misleading circumstances: Romeo and Antony believe their lovers to be dead, so they lamentably commit suicide. Coleridge himself thought that Antony and Cleopatra should be ‘perused in mental contrast with Romeo and Juliet’, so do give it a try!

Othello. It is similar to Romeo and Juliet in that Desdemona and Juliet both defy the conventions of their world in marrying a man who is not socially acceptable for them. Though their love stories evolve differently, both couples are very affectionate, inherently good to each other—but they are lamentably destroyed by social oppression. Othello is one of the most sorrowful and sublime stories I have ever read, so I truly recommend it!

A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I’m not that into the comedies, but I believe it would also be a good read. Both were written around the same time and share numerous themes. For instance, the story of Pyramus and Thisbe is considerably relevant in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, something that clearly echoes the love of Romeo and Juliet. The play presents, again, patriarchs refusing to acknowledge their daughters’s liberty; but it’s a comedy, so nobody dies for once! ;)

Richard II. Yet another play that’s especially preoccupied with language.

The sonnets. They are a must read if you wish to read more about love.

“The Phoenix and the Turtle”. It is a beautiful poem about ideal, perennial love, capable of merging the lovers so profoundly that they become a single entity. It is quite obscure, though, but you will find a lot of analyses on the Internet.

As for non-Shakespearean stories, it can be interesting to have a look at the various versions of the Romeo and Juliet story through the centuries:

La Divina Commedia (Purgatorio VI, vv.106-108) by Dante. He mentions the feud between the Montagues (Montecchi) and the Capulets (Cappelletti).

Novellino (33rd story) by Masuccio Salernitano.

Hystoria novellamente ritrovata di due nobili amanti by Luigi da Porto.

La sfortunata morte di dui infelicissimi amanti by Matteo Bandello.

Histoire troisième de deux Amants by Pierre Boaistuau (translated from Bandello).

The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke. This one is particularly interesting, given that Shakespeare’s play is mainly based on it. Knowing which aspects of Brooke’s poem Shakespeare decided to keep and which he decided to alter can enrich your reading of Romeo and Juliet. It is available as a PDF here.

The Palace of Pleasure by William Painter. Shakespeare is also thought to have consulted this version.

If you are interested in reading the Italian sources, I suggest that you buy Romeo and Juliet: Original Text of Masuccio, da Porto, Bandello and Shakespeare (all the texts are translated into English).

Here are some interesting rewritings which were very influential over the centuries and are therefore worth considering:

Castelvines y Monteses (so Capulets and Montagues) by Spanish playwright Lope de Vega. Written a few decades after the Bard’s play, his ending might not be so tragic ;)

The History and Fall of Caius Marius by Restoration writer Thomas Otway. Combining Shakespeare’s plot and characters with one of Plutarch’s stories, it is extremely similar to Romeo and Juliet (to the point that it keeps many of the Bard’s words, namely the ‘wherefore art thou’ line). Set in ancient Rome and especially preoccupied with politics, it displaced Shakespeare’s version from the stage from 1680 to 1735. Although Otway’s play is rather unknown nowadays, our perception of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is still influenced by it. He is the reason we still believe there is a balcony scene in the play even if it is undeniably a window in Shakespeare. Such was the success of his retelling that its influence still lives nowadays. It’s interesting to consider that Romeo and Juliet was constantly subject to rewritings and revisions over the centuries, so its current status as one of the most iconic stories of Western culture partly comes from these adapted texts as well as Shakespeare’s original play. While it is indeed fascinating to read these rewritings and discover how the story was perceived by each generation, they are not particularly interesting from a feminist point of view. Otway’s version, among many others that followed, manages to contain Juliet’s boldness and also deprive Romeo of his ‘unmanly’ behavior, which I think is an important ingredient of his character. Their relationship is far less subversive and they do not transcend the social conventions of their world as intensely as Shakespeare’s lovers. But this conception of Romeo and Juliet is still present nowadays to some extent. In paintings and other portrayals of the scene, why is Juliet usually represented as a timid, still woman up on the balcony, with an ardent Romeo wooing her underneath? That reminds me of Otway’s characters rather than those of the Bard. In Shakespeare, Juliet takes control of the scene: not only is she equally passionate, but she is also far more straightforward than Romeo, encouraging him to express himself earnestly and actively making wedding plans on her own. Food for thought.

David Garrick’s rewriting of Romeo and Juliet. Adjusting the play to the preferences of his time, he revised Shakespeare’s text, adding new dialogue and altering that which did not please him. For instance, he made Juliet wake in time to share one last dialogue with Romeo (something that can be found in Otway’s play as well as in some of the Italian sources). This was the preferred ending in performances of the play until the 19th century, and is still quite recurrent nowadays, perhaps most famously in Luhrmann’s movie.

Other stories similar to Romeo and Juliet which come to my mind are the following:

“Pyramus and Thisbe” by Ovid. These star-crossed lovers attempt to escape together when their parents oppose to their love. Pyramus, believing Thisbe to be dead, takes his own life; after finding his lifeless body, she takes his sword and joins him in death. The tragic deaths of the lovers as a consequence of mischance inspired Italian writers to frame the deaths of Romeo and Juliet in a similar fashion. Perhaps you will also enjoy other stories from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. These may not be straightforwardly reminiscent of Shakespeare’s lovers, but they are all splendid and therefore worth a read. My favorites are Orpheus and Eurydice, Pygmalion and Galatea, Psyche and Cupid, and Echo and Narcissus—Juliet actually mentions Echo in the orchard scene, so it can enrich your understanding of Romeo and Juliet. (Other classical characters mentioned in the play are Cupid, Aurora, Phaeton, Venus, Diana, Jove, Danae, Dido, Hero, Helen of Troy… I hope I don’t forget any.) I truly recommend that you get your hands on a copy of the Metamorphoses, not only because it is a magnificent book but because Shakespeare’s plays are all replete with references to Ovid. Other classical lovers worth mentioning are Dido and Aeneas, and Hero and Leander. (Kit Marlowe wrote a poem about the latter.)

The Ephesian Tale of Anthia and Habrocomes by Xenophon. This is where the idea of Juliet’s faked death comes from.

Have With You To Saffron-Walden by Thomas Nashe. Many of Mercutio’s and the Nurse’s lines, among others, might have been inspired by this pamphlet—including the allusion to Tybalt as the Prince of Cats.

‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore by John Ford. This is one of the wildest plays I’ve read and also one of my favorites. It is full of trigger warnings, though, so proceed with caution. The plot follows the love affair between two siblings, and it is similar to Romeo and Juliet in that there is a friar who functions as the counselor of the male lead, while the female protagonist has a nurse as her confidant.

“To a Lady Who Presented to the Author a Lock of Hair Braded With His Own, and Appointed a Night in December to Meet Him in the Garden” by Lord Byron. This is probably the most hilarious poem I know. Byron basically declines the lady’s proposal arguing that if Shakespeare had written Romeo and Juliet at Christmas, or if he had set the story in England, surely he wouldn’t have chosen a garden for the passionate scene between Romeo and Juliet. It’s. Just. Pure. Sass.

Tristan and Iseult by Béroul. Although there are various versions of this tale, that of Béroul is most likely the most famous one. This is a story about star-crossed, tragic love, its force capable of transcending the confines of death itself. Interestingly, Wagner’s Liebestod, originally composed for Isolde’s bereavement after Tristan’s death and a tribute to the consummation of love in death, starts playing after Juliet’s suicide in Luhrmann’s movie. What a beautiful and symbolic choice by Luhrmann!

Il canzioniere by Petrarch, of course. Romeo is an ardent diehard fan of that book and probably has a poster of Petrarch in his room. Shakespeare’s play is full of Petrarchan motifs, so it’s worth a try! Romeo will be offended if you don’t read it (but Mercutio will give you a high five).

La Celestina by Fernando de Rojas. This Spanish tragicomedy has been compared to Romeo and Juliet, not only because both plays tell the story of ill-starred lovers, but because the protagonist of La Celestina is similar to Juliet’s Nurse. Do read it if you are interested in this archetype and tragic love, combined with comic undertones.

Galician-Portuguese poetry. For me, the poems written in Galicia and Portugal in the Middle Ages are some of the most beautiful expressions of love ever created. The soul of these poems is very close to that of Romeo and Juliet; you’ll find that many of the themes appear also in the dialogues between Shakespeare’s famous lovers. For instance, there are many examples of an aubade in Galician-Portuguese literature, so if you enjoy Romeo and Juliet’s morning song, you should give it a try. I especially recommend the compositions known as cantigas de amigo because they are generally spoken by a woman. (Amigo means ‘friend’ in modern Galician and Portuguese, but back then it could also be used to refer to a lover—much like Juliet’s use of the word when she says: ‘Love, lord, ay husband, friend.’) Those known as cantigas de amor usually express a man’s grief over his unrequited love for a woman who is either married, sworn to chastity, or simply uninterested—much like Romeo in the first act of the play. If you enjoy the silly jokes of Romeo and Juliet, i.e. Mercutio’s constant use of double entendres, then do read some cantigas de escarnio e maldicir, which are basically satirical and witty compositions written to insult someone.

As for Macbeth, some Shakespearean plays worth reading are his other major tragedies:

Hamlet.

Othello.

King Lear.

Do read Richard III and Julius Caesar for more exploration of tyranny and the destructiveness of power.

As for other writings relevant to Shakespeare’s play, I should mention Holinshed’s Chronicles, which supplied the Bard with the main plot of the Scottish play. (He also might have consulted George Buchanan’s Rerum Scoticarum Historia and John Leslie’s De Origine, Moribus, te Rebus Gesties Scotorum.)

These are other stories that you may enjoy, some of which could have also inspired Shakespeare while writing Macbeth:

Medea. She is the true queen of my heart: an indomitable and unstoppable woman whose insatiable need for vengeance incites her to cruelty. She is a wonderful character, her course of thought and action forming one the most compelling fictional masterpieces I have ever read. There are several writings dealing with this character, namely Euripides’s tragedy Medea, or Ovid’s narration of her deeds in Book 7 of his Metamorphoses. However, perhaps the most relevant version here is Seneca’s play, also titled Medea: his heroine and Lady Macbeth share, among other things, their rejection of female nature in order to achieve the boldness necessary for their sinister plans. Lady Macbeth’s speech at 1.5 may echo that of Medea in Act 4.

Seneca’s work. Apart from his Medea, other plays reminiscent of Shakespeare’s play are Hercules Furens and Agamemnon. Other classical references in Macbeth include Hecate, Neptune, Bellona, Tarquin (also present in Shakespeare’s wonderful poem The Rape of Lucrece) and one of my favorite characters of all time, Medusa. (I hope I don’t forget any again?)

Montaigne’s Essays. Macbeth’s destructive need to control the future and the baleful force of imagination can be found in some of Montaigne’s writings, especially ‘Of the force of imagination’ and ‘Our affections are transported beyond our selves’.

As for witchcraft, I’m sure there are multiple writings about this matter in the early modern period, but these are the ones that I either have read or look forward to doing so eventually:

Newes from Scotland.

Daemonologie by James VI and I. Quite a few themes present in this work are echoed in Macbeth.

The Witch by Thomas Middleton.

The Late Lancashire Witches by Thomas Heywood and Richard Brome. It is based on the real-life events of some women who were accused of witchcraft.

Enjoy!

[ansel-smellgort]

prom - peter parker

you frowned at the mirror, frustrated with your hair. you pulled it up, trying to discern whether it would look better off your neck or hanging loosely around your shoulders. your makeup was perfectly done by your best friend michelle, who stood beside you working on her lipstick.

“i’m so ready for tonight,” she said, smacking her deep red lips together.

“yeah, me too,” you replied, trying to ignore the butterflies raging in your stomach. “actually i’m not. maybe i’ll just tell peter i’m sick and stay home–”

your phone interrupted your outburst with a loud ding. you glanced down to see a message from peter: “on the way, see you in five! :)”

“shit, they’re coming,” you told your friend.

she smirked. “you’re going to prom, girl. besides, that boy is in love with you.”

“wait, really?”

“are you blind? he’d jump off a cliff if it would make you happy.”

“i-”

the doorbell rang, interrupting your thoughts again. you heard your mom opening the door, your dad greeting the boys.

“what do i do with my hair?!” you whisper-yelled to mj.

“leave it like that, let’s go!” she replied, and the two of you left the room.

as you approached the top of your stairs, the butterflies in your stomach seemed to triple in size. you peeked over the railing, and nearly stopped breathing. your crush, normally dressed in a ragged sweatshirt and tattered jeans, was wearing a slim black suit, his hair neatly combed, and seemed three inches taller.

“damn,” michelle whispered, “you did good.”

you both began walking carefully down the stairs, and you felt peter’s eyes rake up and down your body. your face heated up, and suddenly you felt a little dizzy– then before you knew it, you had lost your balance.

you fell in slow motion. first your feet flew up, then your arms to the side, then your hair behind you. you seemed to hit each stair with more intensity than the last, feeling every corner smack one of your bones. then time resumed its usual pace, and you were lying on the floor, staring up at peter parker.

“oh my god (y/n), are you okay?” he knelt down quickly, and the others rushed to your side as well. your face had never been redder.

“yeah, yeah, i’m okay,” you mumbled awkwardly, sitting up, and peter helped you shakily get to your feet. “i think my pride is the only thing hurt.”

“okay, well that was funny as hell,” michelle burst out laughing, and soon enough everyone was laughing as well, your face slowly returning to its normal color. your parents reentered to take a few pictures, then the four of you walked out to the car.

“have fun!” your mom yelled as peter opened the car door for you.

“not too much fun!” your dad added. “remember what we talked about!”

peter closed your door, then walked around the car to get in beside you. you turned to him, an embarrassed smile on your face. “oh no, what did he say?”

he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “uh, nothing i don’t already know.”

“let’s get this party started!” ned shouted, shoving the aux cord into his phone and turning on an obnoxiously loud song as michelle rolled her eyes. you and peter sat in a slightly uncomfortable silence all the way to the dance, while your friends chatted excitedly about a movie.

a flash blinded you as peter opened the car door in front of the school. “smile, guys!” a teacher exclaimed, holding up a bulky camera. you blinked, trying to regain your eyesight. the four of you posed in front of the car, smiling, as the teacher took more photos. “alright, have fun!” he said, and peter offered his arm to you as you walked up the steps.

“i’m sorry i’m being so awkward, it’s just, i’ve never really been around someone as gorgeous as you,” he blurted out. “and my brain doesn’t know how to process it, i don’t usually think with my heart and i don’t think i’ve ever felt this way about someone and you’re so perfect and–”

“it’s okay!” you replied quickly, trying your hardest not to beam at him. “i, uh, well, you too–”

“hey romeo and juliet, are we going in or what?” mj interrupted, ned giggling behind her.

“uh, let’s go,” you said, and almost dragged peter through the door. music pounded the walls, and flashing blue lights stormed the room. students’ feet thundered against the ground, elegant dresses filling the room.

“this, uh, this isn’t really my scene,” peter admitted to you. “what are we supposed to do?”

“dance, parker,” you laughed, taking his hand and leading him to the dance floor.

“oh, wait, no, i don’t–”

“what? i can’t hear you!”

“i said i don’t–”

“this music is so loud!” you yelled at him, smirking.

“(y/n), i really don’t dance!”

the song switched to “how would you feel” by ed sheeran. you smiled, and put peter’s arm around your waist and took his free hand in yours. “you’re dancing with me whether you like it or not, pretty boy.” out of the corner of your eye you could see mj and ned behind peter cheering you on and laughing. ned cradled a plate full of cookies in his arm like a baby.

you turned your attention back to peter, whose eyes were trained on your face. you were pressed against his chest, his hand gripping your waist, and you had never felt more comfortable. you would happily melt into his arms if you could. “(y/n), i’m–”

a loud bang sounded from behind you. peter’s eyes jumped to the window and you whipped around, his arm still hanging on your waist.

“nothing to worry about, everyone, just some fireworks at another party,” the principal’s voice boomed cheerily through the loudspeaker, but peter was still tense.

“i– i have to go to the bathroom,” he blurted out, and ran out of the room. you tried to shout after him, but realized it was no use and let your arm hang awkwardly in front of you.

“whoa, do you smell or something?” michelle said from behind you. “why’d he run away?”

you turned to face her and ned. “he said he had to go the bathroom.”

ned laughed. “he pees when he’s nervous.”

“oh…”

“wanna get food?” ned asked excitedly.

“ned, you’re holding five cookies,” you replied, glancing at his hands.

“exactly! i’m gonna run out soon, let’s go!”

mj shrugged at you, and the three of you headed towards the food. you were filling a glass up with soda when you felt a tap on your shoulder.

“(y/n), i’m so sorry–”

“you’re leaving again, aren’t you?” you asked dully.

“it’s really important, i have to go, i know it’s not fair to you–”

“not fair to me? peter, it’s not fair to anyone! where do you always run off to? what are you hiding? i’m tired of this, of thinking it’s okay but then you leave, and i wonder, is it me? if you don’t like me, then just tell me–”

“(y/n), i like you. a lot. you know that–”

but you weren’t listening anymore. you had spotted something that wasn’t there before: a red sleeve sticking out from beneath his jacket, and a red collar beneath his shirt. “peter, what are you wearing?”

“i’m sorry,” he said again, ignoring your question. “i’ll make it up to you.” and before you could protest, he had disappeared into the crowd. you turned to mj and ned. “i’m following him. cover for me if i come home late.” they nodded, and you took off in peter’s direction.

you heard his footsteps echoing through the halls; why was he running so fast? you followed the noise outside the school, but he was gone. you looked around, trying to spot his milk chocolate curls, but he had vanished.

suddenly, a large thud came from behind you. something had landed hard, as if it had been thrown. you spun around and screamed; a huge man with armor and metal wings was towering over you.

“oh, you’re the girl,” he said amusedly.

“excuse me?”

“parker’s girl,” he spat. you backed up as he approached you.

“i– i don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“oh of course, he hasn’t told you.”

“told me what?”

in response the man slowly took out a machine gun larger than your wingspan and held it to your head. you screamed and backed up quickly, only to hit a wall.

“now, call for him,” the man sneered. you didn’t know what was happening or who this man was, but you understood one thing: the weird metal man wanted to hurt peter, and you were not going to let that happen.

“call for him!” the man shouted again. you closed your eyes, waiting for the end. you heard the sound of a gunshot, but when you looked, the man had blasted the gun through the wall directly beside your head.

“hey peter! i’ve got your little girlfriend here, and she’s gonna die!” he yelled.

“stop!” you yelled, and slapped him. his eyes met yours, glowing with anger, and he aimed the gun directly at your face, but before he could do anything, he was suddenly yanked away from you. a lithe blur of red swung down from the roof above you. shaking, you watched as it hurled huge objects at your attacker in fury. the man screamed with rage and threw himself at the red blob, pinning it down to the ground. you peered more closely and realized it wasn’t a blur, it was a person in a tight red suit. and they were about to die. you tugged off your shoes and ran at the metal man as quickly as you could, and yelled as you slammed the heels into the back of his head. he collapsed onto the red person, who promptly shoved him off. they ripped off their mask to reveal peter’s face, his curls dangling in his eyes.

“peter? so this is why you’re always leaving–?”

before you could finish yelling at him, peter pulled you to him and kissed you. sparks flew in your stomach and you stared at him for a moment before closing your eyes and kissing back.

“you almost died,” he mumbled against your lips.

“yeah,” you responded, still in shock.

“i’m sorry, i’m so sorry, it’s all my fault–”

“don’t leave me,” you said, and he wrapped his arms securely around you in a bear hug.

“never,” he replied, and that was all it took for you to melt into his chest.