#anyway where the resident lover peeps at???

[caitlynmeow]

yo this resident lover game is dope!!

[barbieb0y]

song of the tulips.

DAY 7 YAYYYYYYYY we going out with a bang here people. this is probably the longest one ive written for this event

today, i went with a crown of flowers upon the head + picnicking among nature’s beauty + a dance of blooming roses ! okay that last one is kinda untrue bc i wrote about tulips instead bc apparently theres a tulip garden in san fran and it's amazing bc tulips are my fave flowers. crazy

this is actually a sequel to my day 2 entry ! you dont have to read that one to get this one but you'll get the references i put here if you do!! also a little disclaimer this one is kinda suggestive. nothing too wild, just a joke and a subtle nudge but yeah. if i could write smut i wouldve done it for these two believe me (not for this week/event but in general)

enjoy what may be my last uppercut fic for a while. thank you scrunkly week for enabling me and my selfship these past few days, you have NO idea how much this means to me 🥺

Queen Wilhelmina Garden is fairly far from where they reside in Haight Street, especially if they are to ride there on Joe’s bike. Luckily for the couple, Joe has a rare moment of pure genius (yet a common moment of money spending for Paper Cut).

A peaceful smile creeps onto Paper Cut’s face, relieved that his lover took his advice to heart. It’s not uncommon since Joe sort of sees Paper Cut as the all-knowing doctor but it does well to remind himself that the biker is as stubborn as Paper Cut himself.

“Wow, you actually bought a car this time around.”

And beautiful it is. Paper Cut does notice something about it though.

“Yeah! Look at her – beautiful, ain’t she?”

“Considering it’s the exact same model as the car you rented that weekend in summer, I’m guessing you got emotionally attached to that car.”

Joe lets out an awkward laugh then falls silent, and so does his smile.

“...We don’t talk about that car.”

Right on the money, Paper Cut thinks. He’ll humor his boyfriend.

“Anyway, shall we get going then?”

A smile that can rival the sunshine instantly makes its way to Joe’s lips.

“Last one to get in the car is a rotten egg!”

“And soooooo Sally can wait…”

“She knows it’s too lateeeee as we’re waaalkin’ on by~”

It’s full-on karaoke mode in that freshly-bought car. Though Paper Cut always insists he won’t sing along (“I’m not as good as you.” “It’s not about being good, babe, it’s about having fun!”), a part of him subconsciously makes him belt out to radio hits either way.

“Man, I love music.”

Paper Cut’s confession prompts Joe to let out a hearty laugh. The freedom in Paper Cut’s singing voice is already proof of that fact but it’s nice to hear it from the man himself. Then Joe has a flashbulb moment.

“I oughta take you out to the disco sometimes.”

“Oh God, no thank you. Too many sweaty people dancing in one small, dark room sounds like a nightmare.”

Joe often attempts to drag Paper Cut into social situations knowing he won’t ever do it himself. As introverted as he is, he’s still a social creature as far as Paper Cut’s concerned.

Joe had expected this response. The reasoning is just a bonus. But his spirit is not broken so easily (which is merely a delicate way of saying he’s stubborn).

“When you put it that way, it sounds like one! Don’t worry baby boy, I’ll make sure you’ll have a good time.”

Paper Cut falls into red, bashful silence at the phrase “baby boy”, cursing himself for being so weak to pet names as such, but especially that one. Joe only smirks, knowing his victory is sealed. After a minute, Paper Cut sighs.

“Okay, but still, I don’t dance.”

Well, now he’s just straight up lying, Joe thinks.

“You did yesterday. I saw you.”

Joe genuinely thinks this is a good argument – it would be if it weren’t for the fact that Paper Cut was not made aware of this fact.

“It is very not nice to peep on people!”

Paper Cut gives Joe’s shoulder a light hit, the blush never leaving his face. Joe manages to scratch the back of his head in shame with one hand.

“Yeah okay, but you looked like you were having a good time!”

“Keep your hand on the steering wheel, dammit!”

The two keep on bantering for the rest of the journey, the radio karaoke forgotten entirely.

They wouldn't say the idea of having a picnic here is anything original but they definitely expected less picnic blankets strewn about. But it's a pleasant sight – friends, couples, families, even individuals are out here surrounding themselves with nature's beauty with sandwiches in hand.

Thankfully, despite the amount of people, the couple still manages to find a spot for just the two of them, a little ways away from the rest of everyone else just in case Paper Cut gets too anxious (and in case Joe wants to initiate some “socially unacceptable” PDA – the two tries not to lament on the fate on couples like them too much).

They start unpacking their lunches – fried rice and fruit juices courtesy of Paper Cut, mineral water and (of course) sandwiches courtesy of Joe.

“Man, you’re out here serving us food like we’re kings meanwhile I just brought us plain-ass water and peanut butter jelly sandwiches like we’re kindergarten kids.”

The exaggeration pulls out a laugh from Paper Cut.

“C’mon, it’s not that serious. As long as it doesn’t kill me, I’ll put it in my mouth. And no, that’s not your cue to joke about you-know-what.”

A pout makes its appearance which Paper Cut ignores in grace, continuing to set up their little picnic spot with a little hum of a radio hit on his lips. With gentle sunlight and the scent of newly-bloomed tulips embracing the couple, Paper Cut feels like he’s a budding plant himself.

They start digging into their food; Joe sees this as a prime opportunity to gossip about the going-ons of their neighbors and the neighborhood kids while Paper Cut relishes in people-watching from their place.

At some point, Joe, being the kinaesthete that he is, gets up to walk around the garden but not without a quick heads-up to Paper Cut. Paper Cut, on the other hand, takes this as his cue to dominate the picnic blanket and lie down as if he’s making a snow angel (a picnic blanket angel, maybe). He soaks up the sun while he can, before he eventually retreats into his “man cave” as some locals have described his residence.

He tries to gain some inspiration from the springing of mother nature that surrounds him. Grass greener than the other side, the rows and rows of tulips in different hues reminiscent of a Holland rainbow, laughter tickling his sensitive ears, and skies as blue as his lover’s gentle eyes. Paper Cut never thought it was possible to feel this alive. Should this even be a bandage? It is an emotion so heavenly that it may transcend corporealness.

“Enjoying yourself, arent’cha?”

All things come to an end, yes, but beautiful things can begin right after. Joe snaps his boyfriend out of his trance with his teasing voice and the beautiful skies he has for eyes. In addition, he comes bearing gifts, which he then proceeds to rain down on his boyfriend who’s in the process of sitting up. Literally.

“What the–”

He is met with a shower of flowers and their healthy green stems, in which he tries to shield his face from by dropping his head and raising his hands, forming futile gates. Joe giggles and as he sits down, utters a quick apology for the prank. Paper Cut doesn’t take his teasing to heart but he pretends to sulk anyway, prompting his lover to elaborate on the sudden appearance of flowers separated from their fields and gathered on their picnic blanket.

“There’s a bunch of stray flowers around so I just hoarded them for no reason. But then this really nice lady taught me how to make flower crowns for them so that kinda took a bit of my time. You don’t mind, right?”

Paper Cut gives his lover a small laugh at his recount of his little walk. It’s difficult to get mad at this guy.

“Not at all. It’s very ‘you’ to already be making friends out here.”

Joe guiltily rubs a hand on the back of his head either way, offering an apologetic smile. His boyfriend merely shoots him a knowing glance.

“So lemme guess… you wanna try making flower crowns with me?”

Paper Cut starts to fiddle with a flower, staring at it curiously. He doesn’t have any kind of flower crown knowledge or experience so it’ll make for an interesting activity.

“Yeah! We can make them for each other!”

Joe is beaming once more. If the sun ever feels like retiring, Joe can easily fill in the vacancy.

“Haha, alright then.”

Well, at least he can say he tried his best?

For a first attempt, he’d say it’s not that bad. His demons are fighting amongst themselves to whisper in his ear that it could’ve been better while Paper Cut himself basks in the simplicity of having had fun making the flower crown.

“You finished?”

Paper Cut looks up from where his crown lay in his lap at the question and merely nods, a bit shy to show off his creation. Meanwhile, Joe raises his own like a well-earned trophy.

“Ta-da!”

The boundless wonder in his eyes can only make Paper Cut smile tenderly, matching the demure nature of the flower crown Joe made – all pale pink and yellow tulips, it’s a color combination that Paper Cut thinks is spring itself.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Not as beautiful as you.”

That is all he can muster up to say aloud. There is a proud twinkle in Joe’s eyes that eventually transitions into an affectionate one, once he places the flower crown on his boyfriend’s head.

Paper Cut is as red as the flowers on his lap now and he averts his gaze out of embarrassment. A light chuckle escapes his lover’s lips but he doesn’t say anything else.

“W-Well… I made this. It’s not as good as yours but…”

The blushing boy somehow manages to mutter and, still without looking at his lover, outstretches his hands to show Joe his flower crown. It is a dance of crimson tulips, and Joe can feel Paper Cut’s deep love and passion in his creation.

“Cut… this is the prettiest thing I’ve ever laid my eyes on. Aside from you, I mean.”

That manages to bring a laugh out of Paper Cut, his embarrassment subsiding slightly. He rises to his knees as Joe leans down to aid him in placing the crown on his head. They both laugh this time and Joe makes the first move to revert to his original position, allowing the flower crowning ceremony to resume.

They then proceed to gaze into each other’s eyes, both enamored by each other and unsure of what to do next with all this tension. But as usual, Joe initiates – once the two of them are within suitable proximity, he leans in for a delicate kiss. Paper Cut takes a second to overcome his shock and then reciprocates.

The world around seems to dissolve as they kiss and as Joe shifts to lay Paper Cut down. The former leans down once more to plant more kisses which the latter returns with no hesitation. Mother Nature sways in a sudden breeze, as if to shield them from prying eyes.

It is until Paper Cut lets out a little noise that clarity hits him like a truck. He instantly puts a hand between his face and Joe’s to stop him from continuing.

“Okay okay okay, I think that’s enough. We’re in public, remember?”

He insists as he watches Joe’s consciousness snap back into place as well. Joe only sighs, whether satisfied with their little love session or discontent that he was interrupted, Paper Cut doesn’t know. But it’s a reminder much needed for the both of them.

“It’s easy to forget when I’m around you, really.”

This time Paper Cut only rolls his eyes in amusement. His lover truly takes any chance to charm him to death.

“Corny.”

Joe guffaws as he pulls Paper Cut to sit up together.

“You like it though.”

Paper Cut lets out a brief “hah”, now leaning on Joe’s shoulder. Joe follows suit.

“I didn’t say I didn’t like it.”

They enjoy each other’s company for the remainder of the afternoon until they eventually have to head home (“Actually, can we stop by a mosque on the way home? It’s getting kind of late.” “Honey, you should’ve told me earlier, I’d hate for you to miss your prayer because of me!”). More bantering and singing ensue in their little car, with the addition of another kissing session once they’re actually home. But perhaps, home is wherever and whenever they’re together.

Spring is the season for the new, and the flower crowns that adorn their home walls mark the beckoning of a new chapter for the couple.

[rommahh]

{Harry in sparkly black….Harry lemme **** *** *** for free}

You hadn’t talked to Harry all day. Not that you were mad at him or anything but your therapy this morning left you feeling a little spacey. There was something about talking about your emotions that left you feeling emotionally drained.

You missed Harry terribly and though it’s only been a short week, you felt very lonely. But on another note, your anxiety wasn’t as bad as it was. You were starting to feel like your normal self again but missing something.

You loved the tight knit life you have with Harry. You like being around him most hours of the day. You two were inseparable. If you were in the shower, he was in the bathroom reading a book from the lounger chair in the corner. If he was writing music on the beach, you were somewhere on the shore collecting shells. If you were going to the grocery store the least he could do was go for the drive with you. You two were close and it was something the both of you were ok with.

Some couples don’t like being so close but it worked for you and Harry. Being away from Harry was a weird experience. It’s only been a week but you feel like it’s been a lifetime. You haven’t minded being on your own but you wanted to be with the person you felt most connected to.

So being you, you purchased a ticket to Chicago. You didn’t know how Harry was going to react but you could only assume it would be a positive reaction. You told Jeff that you were coming so he could get you a hotel key and backstage pass.

As you sat in the airport you felt your back pocket buzz- your music pausing for the call. Your hand slipped into the pocket roughly pulling out the small phone. Harry’s icon, him in a fluffy robe looking as grumpy as ever, met your eyes. You cursed because you were quite obviously in the airport and if he saw you, the surprise would be ruined.

You answered anyways but only for audio. You made sure that your airpods were snug in you ear and there was no chance of them falling out.

“My lover!” Harry greets you a in sing song voice. You could hear his humph as he recognizes that you didn’t answer with the FaceTime video on. “Turn your camera on.”

“Can’t, I’m not feeling good.” You fib nervously. Harry frowned, nervous that he may have done something to upset you.

“Oh, alright. What’s wrong then?” He asks. You chew your lip trying to think of an answer.

“Uh, period.” You stammer.

“Your period doesn’t start for another few day…saw it on the tracker.” Harry may have your period tracker on his phone but it was because he wanted to make sure he was able to comfort you the best way he could when he needed to.

“Must be the meds-“ The sound of your boarding attendant sounded over your head cutting you off. “Hey bubs, I’ve actually got to go but we can’t chat later.”

“Sure, that’s fine I guess. Love you.” He mumbles, confused by the phone call. You hang up leaving Harry a little lost in his thoughts.

Later, Harry sang through his rehearsal carelessly, his head clouded with thoughts. He even sang through TBSL and though he was in the worst of moods, fans waiting at the venue thought he never sounded better.

You on the other hand had just sat through the worst flight of your life. There was a woman in the flight who didn’t want to wear her mask causing commotion before the flight could even take off. You had the worst headache halfway through the flight and because of the lack on supplies, the flight couldn’t give you any ginger ale or accommodations.

You didn’t let any of it get to you though as you directed for the chauffeur Jeff sent for you to go to the venue for show.

Harry sat in the common room backstage with the band and Jeff eating dinner grumpily. His fork was stabbing every little piece of lettuce of his salad, everyone watched worried that he may break his bowl.

“HS3 is trending on Twitter today, pretty exciting.” Jeff says to Harry breaking the silence. Jeff just received a text from you saying that you arrived to the venue and were walking towards Harry’s dressing room.

“Mmm great.” Harry grumbles. Jeff rolled his eyes at the diva.

“Someone’s a little pissy this evening. How about you go fix that mood before you greet your fans with a bad attitude.” Jeff scolds him like a child who just got caught doing something they shouldn’t have. Jeff really didn’t care about Harry’s attitude, used to the moods at this point, but he needed a way for Harry to leave the room and see you in the dressing room.

“Fine, didn’t want to be around anyways.” Harry shrugs.

Back in Harry’s dressing room, you rolled your suitcase into a corner where Harry’s outfit for the night resided on a hanger. You smiled at the sparkly black top that you helped pick out. You walked around his dressing room from the hair and makeup table, past the bathroom/ dressing area, and back around to the couch’s and coffee table where you took a seat. You snagged one of his green juices needing the boost of energy from being on the flight.

You heard the door knob jiggle but stayed planted in you seat sipping on the juice. You never made a peep as Harry barged through the room, scowl covering his face. He stormed past the couch not batting an eye at you. He went to the mini fridge where his juices were before letting an exasperated sigh.

“Who fucking took my juice?” He whines. You quietly giggle in your hand at his tone.

“Im sorry, thought I could have it.” You chuckle. Harry leaps from where he stands letting out a yell. He turns to look at you with wide eyes, hand over his chest as if his heart was going to explode from his chest. You stood from the couch waiting for him to react more but he just stood there in shock. When the realization of you actually being there kicked in he let out another yell before bounding over to you.

Before you knew it, you had two strong arms wrapped tightly around you. Your wrapped around his neck, hands and fingers spread through his hair. His face tucked into your lower neck peppering desperate kisses all over just to feel something.

“What are you doing here?” You hear him cry. You pulled away from him to wipe his eyes of the tears that streamed down his face.

“I needed to see you.” Was all you could muster. He pulled you down on the couch, your body cushioning his larger frame. He laid in between your legs, your back flat in the body of the couch.

“Im so happy your here.” Harry couldn’t even put his excitement into words. He knew you were coming in a week but to have you here earlier than that made him feel things. He sat up from suffocating you into the couch, allowing for you to sit up beside him. “What about your therapy? I hope you’re not jeopardizing your mental health to be here with me cause I would much prefer if you put me on the back burner and took care of yourself.”

You rolled your eyes playfully. “I’m ok. I still will see my therapist virtually, I’ve got all new meds that are working fine, and if all goes to shit I will go back home. It’s ok bubs.” You reassure him.

He grabs your face with both hands pulling your face to his. Your lips meet with need. His lips slotting with yours, moving slowly but with rigor as if he was scared you would slip from his fingers. Your bottom lips fit between his lips leaving for him to suck on it slightly. You moaned at the feeling making Harry pull you in tighter. You sat slightly upon his lap, chest against each other tightly. Your tongues pushed at one another, lips loving in tangent.

You pulled away when you felt his lower presence awaken. He whined at the loss of contact making you giggle.

“If we go any further you’re gonna be late for your show. I’ll give you more back at the hotel, yeah?” You say lowly trying to catch your breathe. He groaned resting his forehead on yours chasing your lips with chaste kisses making you smile.

“Fine, you owe my though. This is level three apology situation that can only be resolved with these things; sloppy blowies, butt stuff, or face masks if you catch my drift.” He chastised. You let out a deep belly laugh pushing yourself away from him. You two still sit facing each other, your legs slightly on top of his.

“You’re so nasty, but I may be able to arrange one of those.” You wink making Harry let out a triumphant laugh.

“Are you staying for the show? I understand if your not.” He questions fiddling with your fingers.

“Think it would be best if I didn’t. I’m really tired and I obviously need a nap if I’m going to be up for your post show antics.” You joke giving his nose a poke. He jokingly pretends to bite your finger in retaliation.

Harry went on stage that night happier than ever. He started plotting proposals from the second he walked you to the car with your suitcase and waved goodbye to you. You went to the hotel room and “accidentally” fell asleep wearing one of your most recent purchases curled up in your tour bus blanket.

Let’s just say that Harry not so accidentally woke you up after that concert ready to love all of his adrenaline off in you.

Part 2👀

[imsorryjughead]

Chapter 1: Where a Teacher has Sex with a Student

Ok so, I knew about Riverdale. How can you not. You hear the CW is making an Archie adaptation and you scoff. You and your smug sense of self worth go, “Look Margorie, they’re making a show based off of Archie. And it's a grim and gritty reboot let us laugh.”

And laugh we did. While we were doing that though it went on for Six. Seasons. And also It’s lost its mind. Like I can’t be the only one you’ll be hanging out and you’ll mention Riverdale and someone will go.

“Oh yeah Archie started a cult.” Or “There’s like seven serial killers” Or “Jughead is weird.”

And that’s, that’s weird right. Like I never watched 90210 or Degrassi. And at least with the latter I feel shit would go off the rails. But like reasonably. This show just exceeds that. And that terrifies me.

So lets you and I. Go on a journey. To a small town, a town that once resided on the checkout lines of grocery stores. A town of Americana and high school. A town now home to way too much sex and murder. Let us go,

To Riverdale.

Aight so we’re not five minutes in and these two white bitches are def having an incestuous relationship. I mean they’re driving out to the woods in like a…. It's a car that exudes wealth. They’re holding hands and going to row a boat. These two weird rich people are Cheryl and Jason Blossom.

Jason then dies. Oh the tragedy.

It's a whole big thing and everyone is sad except for this one lady who’s like. “I hope he burns in hell.” Weird flex but ok.

Also there's a narrator maybe? I think he’s gonna be a beginning and end of episode deal.

So the rich boy is dead. Let’s meet Veronica Lodge shall we? Veronica is rich and her dad is under investigation for embezzlement. She looks like Mila Kunis and would probably be in this role if she was 20 years younger. This thought will not leave me. Also she's like Sheldon cooper if he name dropped classic literature.

Her and her mother Hermione are in Riverdale now to escape? I mean they have a butler named Smithers. So like they still have that.

I guess this is where I’d go looking into the history of the character and discuss her adaptation but man I just don’t care enough. Maybe at the end of season 1 ok?

We’ll note that Hiram Lodge, her father, embezzling money is a new thing, as well as The Blossoms…. Period.

Then we meet Betty Cooper. All I know is in the comics she can fix cars. Her.. brother? I think? (I think this might actually be Kevin who isn’t her brother).Tells her to just ask Archie out. Then he peeps him through his window and says that Archie got hot.

Archie did get hot. Let’s not lie. For some reason they made Archie hot. I do not know why they did this. I am not against it per se. It’s def weird though.

Meanwhile Archie is being like, a worst Troy Bolton. He’s trying to juggle a budding music career and Football and taking over his dad’s construction business. The plight of the straight white boy.

Anyway they get to high school and like…. Man this is a drag to recap. Like I skipped over Betty’s neurotic mom whom I'm convinced killed Jason but like… man…

Like what happens now? We meet Kevin and he’s gay. He’s that prime time gay too. The one who’s dressed for an Abercrombie commercial and just a bit too feminine. He’s the best character right now and I hate it. Veronica immediately takes him under her wing as a gay best friend which is the most accurate piece of writing in the episode.

They have an assembly about the dead rich boy and his creepy sister is like, We’ll still have the back to school dance. But we’ll plaster his face everywhere. It’s what he would have wanted.

Then Archie, his lovers and Kevin eat lunch and….

Oh right Archie fucked his teacher.

Archie Andrews fucked a grown ass woman.

His teacher Geraldine Grundy performed statutory rape on her student.

And this is important cause while they were having a wrong they heard gunshots. Cause also everyone thought Jason drowned. So they can't tell anyone because.... You know…. A High school teacher fucked her student…. Who is a sophomore.

We find this out and that's why he’s into music now. And he writes these. Guitar ballad fuck boy songs. They all say it's good but it's not their fault. Sometimes you need to write about someone having talent when they have none. It happens its limitations.

Also on the first day of school every extra curricular is holding tryouts. And I wasn’t a sports kid but doesn’t this stuff happen like a week or two in? Like saddling students with this stuff isn't good.

So Betty and Veronica try out for the cheer squad and its… its ass… I mean I also was never a cheerleader so maybe this is how tryouts work. They just kinda. Well they move but I'm not impressed. And when this doesn’t work Veronica kisses Betty.

Let me know if your high school cheer squad would make out like a bunch of horny bastards during halftime. Cause uh… I don’t think they do that.

Cheryl is unimpressed because their moves were weak and their kiss was derivative. Then she bullies Betty for lets see. Her sister was dating her brother and then it got ugly. Betty doesn't blow up at her but Veronica says that fuck you you pompous bitch.

They make the team.

Archie meanwhile also makes the team by…. We don't even see him play; he's just, away from every other player standing there. Anyway he has a whole thing about do I join football or help my dad.

Archie's dad is great so far. He doesn't help Hermione get a job but he gives descend advice to his son. Archie's dad is also hot. He’s a good dad.

Also B and V get dressed in their uniforms. Then just leave like that’s their normal outfit like they are the most popular girls in school. Then Veronica makes Betty ask out Archie to a dance that is also happening tonight.

Jesus how many things are going on in this damn school.

Unrelated Hiram sent Hermione a bag full of money. This will hopefully go somewhere.

So Betty gets home and her mom is like “Cheryl Blossom is evil and you can't do cheerleading.” Betty tells her mom shut up. I’m still convinced she killed Jason. She's just super weird and controlling.

So they go to the dance and it’s fine. It's a dance. Cheryl makes Josie and the pussycats play the song she and Jason were conceived to. It's what he would have wanted.

Oh right Jossie and the pussycats are here. Feels weird they’re pulling them this early. But ey you do you Riverdale. I’ll only judge you harshly.

Archie tells Ms.Grundy. Either help me with my music or I go to the cops and tell them you had sex with a minor. She agrees and now Archie can do football AND help his dad. And all he had to do was engage his teacher in illegal sex! Score one for Archie.

Deduct 20 from the audience. I hate it here.

Also Kevin and Moose are going to do gay shit later. It’s what Jason would have wanted.

Moose isn’t blonde here. Which bothers me cause like he’s got the build but the blonde sells it. Like Flash Thompson if that makes sense.

Cheryl invites the world's worst throuple to her house for an after party to embarrass them by…. Forcing a seven minutes in heaven situation. I unno how she did this cause ok she picks Archie then spins a bottle. It lands between Betty and Veronica. And before this she stands behind them so either she had like magnets or a Stand or something.

Archie and Veronica kiss in the closet after having angst and Archie being like “I don't love Betty, but I do love my adult teacher.” Betty left cause anxiety or something and Archie goes to look for her.

Oh right Jughead.

So yeah Jughead is here and not Archie's BFF. which is… blasphemous. He’s writing a book about the murder of Jason. And like that's weird, cause he’s just doing PI work to write a book which is also just the season. Also the page he’s writing is not the same as the one in the margin of his program and that bothers me.

Archie shares awkward words with Jughead and then he’s gone again. Jugheads just kinda been looming over everything. He hasn't eaten a single burger either. He’s weird and also the narrator.

Betty is at home and Archie tries to reconcile but that fucking fails. I feel I should care but it’s still the first damn episode.

Kevin and Moose are about to do gay lake shit but WHOOPS. Guess they found Jason’s body. They find out he’s shot so no idea why we had Archie fuck his teacher now. Oh god they’re gonna be like “oh we don't have to worry now” aren't they?

Jughead says someone gets arrested next episode. That’s a decent hook at least.

I’m only one episode in and I want to die. It’s what Jason would have wanted.

[noirrest]

the swiping motion of the knife had become muscle memory as mariette chops up the deviled devil's dill. they hardly think as they bring the knife up level to their rib and swipe down diagonally so the edge of the blade pushes past the cutting board.

she thinks back to when she had first arrived in devildom— or, more specifically— what she was doing prior to being teleported.

another attempt, that was all. another attempt to end her life.

being alive for so long would never be as fun as one would think. they'd never be able to feel the confort of death's hand, gently caressing their soul as she lead them to whatever afterlife was destined for a being such as them.

watching nations rise and fall became more depressing the more times she saw it. watching as the people inhabiting the land lose themselves to war. greed. famine. money.

being able to say: "oh! i watched as noah's arc sailed across the great earth, the conditions were shoddy, but at least it got the job done!" was never something they were able to take pride in.

watching as past lovers lived and fell was never something she took pride in either. she watched as they contracted diseases that easily could have been cured should she have felt like it. she watched as they were hunted at the stake. she watched from afar as they grew old.

they always buried that lover of the century in an attempt to make up for their lack of genuine feelings. they paid the highest dollar with money they had saved up and made sure to get the best priest of their religion.

thinking back on it, maybe this is where she got her infatuation with death. she'd watched too many people have the luxury of something she could never afford.

mariette zones back into the vegetable in front of them once they feel the end of the herb. "oh," they murmur, picking up the thumb that has accidentally been chopped off. they blink and hold it in front of their eyes, examining it as the digit began wiggling around at their command.

there was no blood spurting from her hand or thumb. just a void of black that lead to the rest of her body. a sign of my divinity, she thinks. my lack of humanity.

they reattach the thumb, watching as large stitches began wrapping themselves over the cut from under their skin.

mariette is disappointed belphegor's attempt on her life didn't work. she remembers the look of demented joy on his face when he supposedly snapped her neck. how mammon almost cried upon seeing the bone pop out from the side.

their body work on autopilot as they scoop the dill onto the knife and into the boiling pot of food. they pick up a laddle and begin stirring before moving into the meat.

she remembers teleporting herself to the top of the staircase, replacing the body in mammon's arms with some excess of her body that resides in the shadows of the mansion. she remembers grimacing over how she messed up one of the details on her so called corpse.

watching the disbelief on the brothers face as they sucked their tongue in disappointment, shifting their body away to look like the wings of an angel before they began flying away.

to be truthful with herself, she's disappointed belphegor wasn't able to follow through with his plan. of course, she would never be able to show that disappointment lest the brothers and angels show their never-ending concern and love.

mariette shakes themselves out of their thoughts, taking a deep breath as they continue hammering the large slab of bull meat. they can see beelzebub's hand out of the corner of their eye as he looks at the food from over their shoulder.

"i'll curse you if you try it, beel," she warns, kicking one of her legs back into his shin playfully.

the demon shakes his head and stops their pounding, grabbing hold of their reattached thumb. "what's this?" he asks, closely examining the stitch-work. "you hurt yourself." beel then says, much more firmly.

"no." mariette states pulling their hand away to pick at the now needless body part. "just some macaroni bits i cut up and glued on. forgot to take them off." they pull it all off and throw it to the floor, stomping on it to cover up the fact that it crawls up their leg.

beel hears the crunch sound and doesn't to question it any further, only pouting when he realized he wouldn't be able to eat it.

"is the food almost ready?"

mariette shakes her head and gestures to the meat. beel's pout deepens and his eyebrows furrow. "i'll help then. this is to big for you anyways. you could hit your hand."

".. send someone else down," they respond, snatching the mallet out of his hand. they push his shoulder to try and turn him and then push on his back to try and get him out the kitchen. "you'll only eat the food."

she knew beel's needless concern was coming from a good place, but it still managed to fluster her.

beel nods, trudging out of the kitchen and into the library to look for satan. he then turns on his heel and peeps his head back into the kitchen. "why'd you do that?"

"was bored." mariette answers without missing a beat or lifting their head. "saw it on devilgram and wanted to try it."

the demon hums and finally leaves.

mariette is alone with her thoughts once more, picking up the hammer in order to flatten it. she places her hand on top of the meat without much of a second thought. she brings the tenderizer up, hovering over the slab of meat that her hand left unoccupied.

it must have been a spur of the moment thing when they slammed the tenderizer onto their hand, watching as the skin began to turn a dark purple. "fuck." they mutter as they bring it into the light, a scowl covering their face.

"mariette?" satan voices, turning around the corner and into the kitchen. "are you alright? that slam was awfully loud."

she brings her hand down and into the pocket of the hoodie she had stolen from levi. she places the other inside with it, just to be safe. "mhm, just a close call." mariette answers, brushing past the blond so she can move to the bathroom. "i'll be right back. can you take over for me? i'll only be a couple minutes."

satan hesitantly nods, briefly glancing at their pockets before replacing their position at the bull meat.

mariette makes a hum of approval as they jog to the restroom, bringing their hands out and making sure they were covered by the sleeved of the hoodie.

[averagesmw]

DC Girls x Reader- Christmas time! (2/3)

DC Comics (Comics, not the movies)

A/N: This is a small one-shot collection, with the theme being the holidays!

I don’t own any of the images, they’re just so you can identify the characters easier

CHARACTERS:

-HARLEY QUINN AND POISON IVY

- KILLER FROST/ LOUISE LINCOLN

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

Harley and Ivy

If there was one thing you swore to do was protect Gotham City, even on nights like this one, where most spend their time with their loved ones and get together to eat and party

But the moment you walked into the door, the guys at the GCPD stopped you on your tracks, all insisted that you take the day off, especially since you had covered for a few of them in the past. Normally, you wouldn't agree to it, but when the commissioner himself told you to go home, there was not much to do about it

You got a call from Harley inviting you to Pamela's apartment not so far away from yours. She said she wanted you all to get together for the holidays

It would have come as a surprise if she hadn't talked about it for weeks, even arranging a Christmas exchange between the three of you

And so, with your wrapped gift on hand and a couple of drinks, you walked to the building Pamela lived in. It wasn't hard to spot, it had a greenhouse on the roof

You got to the floor she lived in and knocked on the door, all the noise suddenly coming to an end when you did

Then, Harley herself opened the door, her eyes going wide when she saw you

"Y/N!!"

Was all she said before launching herself at you and trying to start a make-out session, but a vine wrapped around her leg and forced her down. Honestly, the sight was kinda funny

From across the room, Pamela stood there with a smirk and her palm raised to control the vine, making it drag Harley to her

It had quite a few plants, but not too many either. There were also festive lights hung across the walls, probably Harley's idea

It was cozy, to say the least

"Now now, give them some space"

Harley pouted, making you chuckle. This same sound made the redhead look at you with a smirk

"And you, you're here early. Not that I'm complaining"

"Yeah, we thought you'd be working your ass off 'till noon!"

Harley added, still on the floor and you placed the bottles you brought along in the counter nearby

"Well, pretty much the entire police force told me to take the day off so...here I am! Hope it's alright with you girls"

"Are you kiddin'? It's even better!"

The clown girl finally got up, sporting a huge grin as she did. Ivy herself walked closer to you as well

"Yeah, it was about time they recognized what you do for the city"

She then placed a hand on your shoulder and slid it to your cheek, her eyes filled with worry too

"I still don't know why you waste yourself in that place"

With a sympathetic smile, you put your hand on hers and reassured her with your voice

"Someone has to keep the people safe. You know, when the bats aren't around, they deserve some happiness too, you know"

The redhead was about to say something when your mutual lover came through talking from the kitchen

"That's sweet and all, but tonight you ain't a cop, sweetie"

Then she showed up with glasses filled with some of the wine you brought, raising them as if they were an award

"You're Y/N, the sweetest guy/gal in town, and who deserves a drink more than anyone else in here!"

Before any more of the liquid spilled into the floor, Pamela's vines snatched the drinks away and placed them back on the kitchen counter

"While I agree with you, Harls, it's way to early to get wasted. Don't you want to be sober for the exchange?"

Harley began arguing with Pamela about it and all you could do was stand there and smile. Their dynamic was so cute, it was so easy to forget their background sometimes

"Y/N, tell Red I can handle it!" Harley's voice stopped your train of thought with the attitude of a child

"Pam's right, Harley. There's still a long night ahead of us"

And you weren't wrong about it. The dinner was just the beginning, there was a bit of a dance party and of course, the gift exchange

Pamela bought you a package containing all the seasons of your favorite series, suggesting that you watch it together some time

You gave Harley a couple of new roller skates, she wouldn't shut up about how amazing they were and she also wouldn't let go of you until her time was up to bring her gift

It was a plant that had traveled all the way from Asia and into Ivy's arms. You had never seen the girl happier for a gift before

Harley suggested that you should start watching your newly acquired series, but after a couple of episodes, she fell asleep on your lap...and Pamela's

Maybe if you hadn't been stroking her hair she wouldn't have fallen asleep so early, but it didn't matter. The redhead asked you if she could talk to you in the balcony, she said it was important

Upon agreeing to talk, Ivy used her vines to gently lift Harley enough for you to stand up from the couch and as the plants took the girl to sleep, you met the retired supervillain at the terrace

It wasn't that cold, but it was certainly more fresh than inside, a bit darker as well

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"I just wanted some fresh air, to be honest"

You couldn't help but chuckle at this turn of events. Both of you looking over the city from the balcony with a cup of coffee in hand

"Yeah, it's nice to take a break from everything"

She nodded before taking a sip from the cup

"You said it, a hell of a life we got"

As you looked at the city, you were surprised by her scooting closer to you and trying not to blush about it

"But at least we're in good company"

You chuckled while pulling Pamela close to you, making her yelp by this gesture, but she didn't comply either

"Yeah, we are"

Returning the gesture, Pamela held you closer as well, placing the cups of coffee away before doing so

As for the embrace itself, it was soft, silent for a good couple minutes until you heard her giggling

"You know, I didn't notice until now, but Harley placed some mistletoe here"

She pointed at where the small plant was and smirked at you, making you laugh in the process. It was honestly hard to believe it wasn't Pamela's idea

"You got to respect the tradition"

With your hands on her hips and with hers around your neck, you proceeded to do the only logical thing when faced in this situation. Her lips were so soft, it was addicting

...or at least it would have been if a certain someone hadn't shouted from across the apartment

"IT WORKED!!!"

Harley was peeping just around the corner of the room, and her child-like excitement might have come as annoying, but all you could do was laugh about it

You knew that

Pamela did too

And so did Harley herself, but she was the first one to stop laughing to look directly at you

"...but seriously, I want one too"

Louise Lincoln/ Killer Frost

Arkham Asylum was many things: the home of madmen, the place with the worst security on the planet, and so on but if there was something it was not, was heartless, and Louise soon discovered that the moment there was a knock on the door to her cell

Soon enough, a guard opened the door as well as a psychiatrist. The noise was loud enough to wake her up and sit down on her bed, growling at the poor souls who dared wake to end her sleep

"Good morning, Louise, I trust you sleep well?" The psychologist asked with a kind tone

"Until you came here, yeah" Her answer was weak, but just because she had just woken up

She yawned as she turned around to face the staff, rubbing her eyes

"What do you want?"

"Well, today's a special day. You'll be allowed a complete meal and two extra hours"

Louise looked at the staff in disbelief. They had hardly ever been that kind to her, and they just come to her saying this out of the blue

Better not to joke about removing her inhibitor collar now

"What's so special about today anyway?"

"Well...It's Christmas"

The girl felt her eyes go wide with the realization of the date. Being a resident in Arkham does take away any real sense of time and while the date was meaningless to her, it still felt like a big revelation

"But before you can go on, there is still the daily check-up with Dr. L/N"

She tried her best not to smile at the mention of that name, barely able to maintain her facade

"Fine, take me to them"

Without further due, the guard escorted them to the next room. Along the way, however, Louise found a wide array of different scenes that honestly, were not something to forget

Some of the walls were decorated with ribbons or lights, some of the staff were using Santa hats and hell, even some of the inmates were acting less creepy than usual

It almost felt...peaceful

"Alright, we're here"

The voice of the guard brought Louise back to reality, standing just outside of the room where her interviews tend to take place.

Upon being asked to enter, she stepped into the place to find out that even you were infected with some of that "holiday spirit", the Santa hat and the red/white cup with hot chocolate gave it away

Regardless, what caught her attention the most, was your smile

"Hello, Louise! How are you today?"

You invited her to take a seat across the table, which she did (but her gaze remained just as confused)

"I'm...fine, thanks for asking"

You gave her a nod whilst opening her file, taking out your pen to start taking some notes as was the standard procedure

"Before we begin, I just want to tell you, merry Christmas, Louise"

While the tone alone was enough to make anyone smile, this wasn't the case with her, not even close

"Yeah...you too"

Picking up with her reaction, you immediately shifted your topic of discussion

"Hmm...rocky relationship with the holiday?

"I'd rather not talk about it if that's okay"

Her eyes moved to the side, looking down in an attempt to hide the memory. While it was a trauma worth exploring, it would have to be another time

She barely had any joy in this place, it wasn't proper to ruin the only day she could be happy by forcing her to say it

"It's alright, Louise. We'll begin with our session so you can leave early"

She nodded and without further due, you began asking questions about her state, some opinions on different topics to understand her current pattern of thought and later compare it to the previous evaluation

It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, if anything her answers seemed to be improving, but ever so slightly. And so, in a matter of minutes, you had written down her answer to the final question

"Alright, thanks for your cooperation"

"Wait, that's it?"

"Yeah, you can enjoy your day now"

Instead of showing relief or anything of the sort, you saw her gaze sadden. This little hint of emotion would not go unnoticed

You stooped storing away your material to look at her and softly ask:

"Is something wrong?"

"Well, it's kinda hard to explain, it even sounds weird..."

A sympathetic smile formed across your face. To be honest, such a thing sounded even insulting considering the kinds of things you saw on a daily basis

"There is no such thing as weird, Louise, you know you can trust me"

"That's the thing. You're the person I've spent most of my time with in this nuthouse and now that I got a day to myself I..."

A deep sigh left her lips when she found herself unable to continue. You, on the other hand, said nothing, giving her a chance to gather her strength but also, to appreciate the fact that she was actually being honest for a change

"Can...can I ask you a favor?"

She looked back up, straight into your eyes for that sentence, her confidence being nowhere near where it was, but none of the rudeness was there either

This was... something else

"Of course, what can I do for you?"

You answered almost out of pure instinct, unsure of whether saying yes was the right thing to do, but you had never seen Louise act like this before. You had to discover the cause

"Listen, can...Can you stay with me, just for today?"

All the intrigue, the curiousness, and even fear disappeared with that single request

No longer did you have a metahuman criminal whose attitude made treatment difficult

Now you had a person as fragile as anyone else and just as alone that, in that moment, was asking for your help

This moment of silence brought doubt into Louise, she quickly tried to look away, only for a hand to rest above hers to catch her attention. When she returned her gaze to you, she saw you smile

Not the professional, polite kind of gesture, but a genuine one

"Sure, I'll stay with you"

[douxbebearchives]

Find An Olitz Fic Masterlist: Sixteen

#301 - Hi, I'm looking for a fic I read where Olivia and Fitz are neighbors but they first meet at a grocery store when Fitz is with his newborn and his other child (I can't remember if it's a boy or girl). Mellie died giving birth and Olivia offers to help him out. They eventually start dating... that's all i can remember

#302 - I'm looking for a story Fitz and Olivia have daughters who are best friends with each other. Fitz invites Liv's daughter to vacation with them and Liv goes, too. Liv and Fitz sleeps together. They're both divorced from their spouses. Please help and thank you. Also, I want to buy you a cup of coffee, how does that work. Again, thank you so much I truly appreciate your site.

#303 - Hi. Can you please recommend me some slow burn stories? Also I'd love to read some enemies to lovers or something like that lol. Thank you in advance!

#304 - Hi there I'm looking for a story but I can't remember much of it. Like I'm not entirely sure of Fitz is still president in this one but anyway, he and Liv ended things between them and he now has a new girlfriend. The relationship is serious I think. There's one scene in the story that I can remember; they're all at a party of some sort and Liv gets really drunk and morbid. Her friends are all worried. They decide that she needs help and Fitz offers to take her home because he feels bad.

#305 - I was going 2check the archives but idk what this would fall under...Liv&fitz are in the residence &they spent the night together. I think Tom snuck her up? Cy walks in &fitz has to hid Liv under the covers. Cy is going off fussing because fitz is late for work. Cy &Fitz both realize at the same time he left a shoe out. Cy fusses at fitz for sneaking a random women upstairs until fitz pulls the cover back & it’s liv. Cy tells fitz he smells like vagina &fitz makes a joke asking how Cy would know

#306 - Please help i am looking for an Olitz story in which Fitz has not run for a second term, he marries liv and moves to vermont instead. Thy are very happy and have son the older kids live there to when not at school/college. one night cyrus comes to ask fitz to run again what everyone doesn't know is that edison is plotting their demise by setting his crazy friend on them. Liv's mother ends up being murdered protecting their children while on the trail with them

#307 - Looking for a fic where Olivia is the new doctor working with Fitz. Fitz is very arrogant and misogynistic at first. I remember a specific scene where he complains about Olivia wearing heels to work. But he later on falls in love with her.

#308 - Olivia reunites with Fitz

#309 - Hello, I'm looking for the name and link for a fanfiction where Liv is a teacher and Fitz is a farmer. He has scars from a car accident when he was younger.

#310 - Are there FFs that pick up where the show ended? I am just watching the series' end, and it left me disappointed.

#311 - who remembers but that one shot fic written in Mellie’s POV where she catches Olivia and Fitz having sex and is like peeping through the door. it was posted exclusively on tumblr though and seemed like the user wasn’t really active they just made the account to post their story.

#312 - I read this fic a while back and can’t remember the name. Olivia works with special needs kids and Fitz is a lawyer? and single dad. Teddy has autism or aspergers and Karen was 5. Towards the end Liv and Fitz get married on Christmas? it was really well written and I’d like to read it again.

#313 - Hi, sorry to be a bother but I'm looking for a fic I read awhile ago but can't remember the title of. Essentially I believe Olivia was dating some congressman/senator or something like that and his ex was a journalist and she found out abour O & F' s affair and had all sorts of evidence attesting to it. I also remember she was given the evidence by Mellie and Mellie would threaten her and stuff. I'm sorry if this is too vague. I'd just like to say thank you and also you run a great blog.

#314 - *UNANSWERED* Looking for a story where Olivia and Fitz hookup and Olivia wakes up and acts like a bitch to Fitz. He tells Cyrus about it. Says that she acts like a guy because he wanted more but she was bitchy. I think she gets pregnant and he doesn't think it's his and he goes off on her. That's all I remember.

#315 - Hi, can you find this story that was about Olitz having marital problems because Olivia was working too much. Harrison is also in this story as an her old friend, and he’s trying to take her away from Fitz. Also, Olitz is seeing a marriage counselor, and Olivia finds out that she’s pregnant. Thanks!

#316 - Looking for a fic where Oliva and Fitz had a fight in a hotel similar to the one in s3 about jake. I think in the story jake or tom stands guard outside while Olitz get their 'business' handled pretty loudly inside. Thanks in advance if you find it.

#317 - Looking for the title of a relatively new story. Fitz is Olivia’s new boss. She thinks he hates her at first and there’s an office prize for whoever sleeps with him first.

#318 - *UNANSWERED* Do you know of a Olitz fanfic where they’re best friends and Olivia is sleeping with some dude named Kenny? I’m sorry that I don’t know all of the details. I also think that both of their families are really close as well.  

#319 - *UNANSWERED* Hi can you help me. I’m looking for a story where Fitz changes Olivia’s tire on his way to pick up his son from school. Olivia is a law student. Later she gets a job as campaign manager.

#320 - I Am Looking For A Fanfic Where Oliva Is An Artist And Owns Her Own Art Studio and Lives Upstairs But She Meets Fitz At Her Studio And He Still Is In College But They End Up Having A Baby And They Are Engage.

[hcazj]

made a cover for my whack af mchanzo nanowrimo 2019 novel. u can find it on ao3 via “finding you in the buckass of nowhere” lmao. prologue under the cut but after this i will be exclusively posting on ao3

PROLOGUE

The sun rises high into the sky, casting shadows on everything residing on the surface. Jesse gives a loud yawn before scratching his scrappy goatee and turning the page on a health textbook he was given by Angela by instruction of his residing commander. He didn’t know how the conversation had started, but during a debriefing on the latest mission in one of the meeting rooms, one of the punks on the Blackwatch team had decided to give Gabriel Reyes a run for his money and ask if he had a soulmate waiting back home. Gabe, of course, had laughed in that guy’s face. He laughed like it was the funniest thing in the entire world.

And just as he was laughing, something miraculous happened. The team was visited by none other than Overwatch’s Strike Commander, who not only served as a face for publicity stunts, but also was the head of operations. And the strike teams, hence the title.

“He better not.” Soldier: 76, better known as Jack Morrison, said as he practically kicked the meeting room door open with his boot. He looked pissed. And also had a stack of papers on him. It looked like someone forgot to get their morning coffee. “He’d have some serious explaining to do.”

There were a couple whispers across the table, a couple agents trying to understand the implications of what had just transpired. Jesse swore he saw some of his teammates starting to sweat. The band of Blackwatch agents saw Gabriel Reyes flash his most charming smile. The rascal could look good when he wanted to.

“Jackie, you’re backie. Not in blackie, though. I’m happy you’re openly talking about this, but didn’t we agree not to tell anyone? Also, hey, dinner at 8 in my room.” And then Gabe winked at Jack. Ew.

Jack sighed, crossing his arms, and not so subtly cueing to the assortment of medals pinned to the lapel of his cornflower blue coat. Subtle. He addressed Gabe. “Remember last night? Well, I’ve decided to become the possessive bastard you always wanted.” He gave an intimidating glance at everyone in the room. “How are you kids doing? I’m sure you’ve met me around. Though you probably didn’t think I’d be so involved with Gabe. Like, probably never expected in a million years that I was his soulmate. But yeah. That’s classified information, not a peep out of this room unless you want your life to being an even more visceral piece of hell.”

Someone gulped in anxiety. Someone sneered in ennui. But if Blackwatch owned anything, it was a pile of troublemakers.

Now, Jesse hadn’t been part of Blackwatch too long, but it never took him that long to make friends. Genji--Jesse’s best friend and second best troublemaker in Blackwatch history--decided it was his turn to say something. (Jesse liked to think of himself as the best troublemaker, but that was an entirely different discussion).

“And how are you going to do that exactly? Your boyfriend already has us running laps across the Mediterranean.” Genji sat proudly with his feet resting on the table, and Jack gave him a look of disgust.

Jack excused the moment of insubordination, and walked right past the table and into the arms of his lover. They shared a quick kiss after a moment of lingering in each others arms, much to the dismay of everyone else in the meeting room. And if Jack was good at anything, it was playing games with new recruits.

“What’s up, marido ? What makes my darling husband so sad?” Gabe said, combing his hair through the tufts of Jack’s pale blond hair. It was thin, very much unlike his own, but he liked to try.

Jack laughed, trying to materialize every ounce of theatrics he had stored in his body for this very moment. “My sweet love, I just don’t know how I’m going to live if you don’t assign your soldiers 50 more pushups each every morning before breakfast. They’re not super soldiers like us, but we must make sure they are raised right. They’re like our kids, to me.” Jack lifted a leg off the floor, like he was swooning for real.

Groaning broke out around the table, and Jesse wasn’t sure if his teammates were groaning at the obviously satirical display of affection, or at the thought of actually being assigned even more pushups every morning.

It was Gabe’s turn to laugh. “Aw, Jack. We’re going to have a conversation later on why you’re so touchy today. Let me kiss you goodbye, though.” He planted another kiss on his husband’s nose before resuming business as per usual. Jack begrudgingly peeled himself off of his husband, but not without greeting their personal pet project. He smacked the stack of autopsies in front of Jesse and gave him a wink, before ruffling through the kid’s hair.

Gabe cleared his throat, as the door shut. Radio silence. He looked at Genji, who was making paper triangle footballs to send flying across the room. Genji looked up at him and discarded the paper football into the recycling bin. Gabe swore, some of the people on this team had the attention span of gnats.

“Ok, amigxs. Before we get into the details of the upcoming mission abroad, Jack was serious about our relationship being confidential. Think of the absolute horror you would cause if the UN caught winding that I’m fucking their Strick Commander. Like, maybe it’s funny. Actually, that’s pretty fucking funny. Can I get a laugh track going here?”

Jesse was the first to start hooting and hollering. A round of applause followed. If Gabe getting laid meant a happy Gabe, who cared, really? Sure, it could cause an international scandal, but Jesse liked to take it a day at a time.

“Thanks, caballero. Ok. It might be the funniest thing ever, but let’s be serious. I don’t want to fire any of you, but if wind caught that I’m soulmates with Jack, that would probably raise some suspicions of nepotism. Now we all know that I’m a very accomplished man, with a great piece of ass too, but it could potentially mean getting the pink slip from the higher higher ups. And all of you would probably also be out of the job, since Blackwatch technically does not exist. Really. So please don’t, if you value your paycheck.

“Alright, anyways. Any questions before we begin reviewing these autopsy reports like a pack of lawyers from a video game?” Gabe asked.

Jesse McCree had a question.

He partially raised his hand like a kid in a classroom, but then put it back down as he was contemplating if he should ask it at all, but then fully raised his hand as he thought ‘fuck it’.

“Hey, son. What’s bothering you? No, I don’t have any Nature Grain bars to feed you right now, please wait until after the meeting,” Gabe said. That aroused another short round of laughter from the people at the meeting.

Jesse chuckled too, because he had actually asked for a Nature Grain before in the middle of a mission. But he had a question to ask, and that was very important. “Hey, so, uhhhhh. I don’t know if this is relevant, or important enough, but what in tarnation’s a soulmate again?”

And Jesse kind of knew too, but only vaguely, like the word ‘esoteric’.

Of course, ‘esoteric’ is a word that is used to describe when something is only understood by a small set of people. Like you could call string theory ‘esoteric’, because who the fuck knows what string theory is? But it comes around often enough that people have heard of string theory, if only by name. You could even consider the word ‘esoteric’ esoteric. That was kind of funny. But Jesse was raised in the pit of the South with a single mother, before he found himself living a life of crime. He reconsidered how esoteric the word ‘soulmates’ was.

Like ‘esoteric’, ‘soulmates’ was not a word that came up when Jesse was robbing trains for a living, nor running from the police after a shooting with an opposing gang, nor in the middle of jewelry heists in the heart of Santa Fe. ‘Soulmates’ wasn’t necessary by any means of the word, that word, necessary. But maybe while he had only heard it a handful of times, with no definition to attach to the word, maybe everyone else had.

He felt like he was the odd duck out, and that was hard to do in a group of mother fucking misfits. Like, come on, Genji was basically a fucking cyborg. Gabe had gone through that freak of a soldier enhancement program that probably fucked with his biology in ways Jesse would never understand. Moira, their resident evil scientist, shot floating orbs out of her hands in the middle of combat. What the fuck was that about? Did she hone the essence of Orbeez for the inspiration behind her primary weapon? Jesse had some real mother fucking questions.

And a lot of the times, he asked them too.

But out of all of the unprofessional and obscure questions he had asked in his life, and even just in his short stay at Blackwatch where he could ask some pretty weird things, he had never asked a question that just about floored so many different people all at once. It’s like, he asked the question about soulmates, and the question took the cake. It took the cake and ran away with the spoon and like, eloped with the dish. And fucked the moon. Jesse didn’t think there was a reason for everyone to look so scandalized, though.

Because questions didn’t take cakes, or run with spoons, or elope, or fuck.

Gabe had a face that betrayed emotions Jesse knew Gabe didn’t show often: remorse. Of course, ‘remorse’ kind of sounded like ‘Morrison’ and that was funny for 2 seconds. But it was downright scary. Jesse was the type of person that was always starting something.

2 days ago, he had snuck into the mess hall at 3:30AM to steal a bag of doritos. Last week, he got captured on a mission and had to be rescued from an abandoned warehouse. Yesterday, he accidentally passed a stink bomb so bad, Gabe started coughing and moved their weekly recap meeting outside. And it was raining, too.

“Kid, did you ever take a health class before dropping out of school?” Gabe asked.

Jesse didn’t know how to answer that. “Well, I know how my body works, thank you. Uh, but t’answer your question…. No. What’s that got t’do with soulmates?”

Gabe scrunched his lips, wondering how he could quickly remedy the situation. This is why they paid him the big bucks. Not the biggest bucks, but more than large enough bucks. “Ok, everyone settle down for a hot second. Jesse, I’m going to comm Angela for a textbook you can read. And you probably need some one-on-one lessons on other stuff--yeah, I know you know what sex is but what about STIs? That’s half the battle. How about taking a break this week and just getting through health class?”

“But boss--”

“Trust me, this is way more important.”

Gabe took out one of his comms, one that only a limited amount of people on base had access too. It was mostly used for emergencies, but other times, was used as a quick way to contact anyone on base.  

“Hey Angela! How are you? It’s Gabriel Reyes. I’m great and so is Jack-o’-Lantern thanks for asking. Do you have a this week to give some health lessons to one of our agents? I know you’re friends with our little Jesse. Great. Yeah? Perfect, please put that textbook on reserve. I’ll send Jesse down soon. Ok. Awesome. Over.” Gabe clipped the comm back into his belt. “Ok, anyone else skip health class?”

The room, for once, was a resounding silence. Moira raised her hand.

“You didn’t take health class, O’deorain? Aren’t you a doctor?” Gabe asked.

“Very funny, commander. I was wondering why you did not just ask me to prepare some lessons and generic information for Jesse, and instead contacted Angela Zeigler.” She brought a hand up to her face, and rested her cheek on her long purple nails that looked like talons.

“Hey, doc. You’re coming with us on this mission. You can help out later if Jesse wants.” Gabe sighs and turns to Jesse. “Alright, cowboy. Sorry to do this to you, and don’t let this go to your head, but I can’t just let you go gallivanting into a foreign country with no knowledge about your own body parts. Trust me. Soulmates isn’t something to mess around with. I know you’re stressed about it. Consider yourself on hourly while you lax away while hitting the books this week, ok?”

Jesse sighed and pulled his cowboy hat off of his head. He was disappointed he wouldn’t be going to Japan, but there would definitely be more opportunities for travel in the future. Filling the cracks in his education wasn’t something that he would have completely expected out of Blackwatch.

In fact, he was still reeling over getting fed 3 square meals a day. Being treated with any semblance or respect. Being valued not because he was probably the greatest sharpshooter of his generation, but for his personality and interests. Though playing old Hollywood flicks on movie night annoyed his teammates to no end, people stuck around and watched with him. And that was more valuable than ransacking a jewelry store.

“You can stick around, but I suggest getting around early since the textbook Angela has for you is several hundreds of pages long.” Gabe grinned, trying to whisk away Jesse’s problems.

Jesse replaced the hat on his head, and yawned as he stretched his arms above his head. “See y’all later, suckeroonies. Y’all hear that? I’m being paid to stay on base this week!”

More laughter from the gallery. Jesse got a few pats on the back. Genji flicked a paper football in his direction, and it smacked Jesse straight in the forehead.

“Text me” Genji said with a salute. Gabriel cleared his throat and held out his hand.

Genji sighed as he was caught red handed, and surrendered his stash of paper footballs. A beat passed, and Gabriel remained focused on Genji. Genji took the paper footballs out of the pockets of his sweatpants and handed those over too.

That Genji.

Jesse snuck out the door as the team started talking about the autopsy reports, and was off to find Angela.

And not to say he wasn’t disappointed at not being able to travel with the rest of the team this time, but he tried to stick to the silver lining: gorging on breadsticks. Sometimes they were stale, but hit those babies with an unearthly and disgusting amount of ranch dressing, and Jesse would eat them like there was no tomorrow. Being paid also wasn’t half bad. And getting his question answered certainly wasn’t that bad.

He walked past the kitchen, one of the larger living rooms, and some of the barracks before taking an elevator up a few floors to the right area. Why wasn’t the med bay in the middle of the building?

Angela “Mercy” Zeigler was one of Overwatch’s doctors. She was at the top of her field at a young age, and a dear friend of Jesse’s. While the two could not have come from more different worlds, they bonded over some obscure things like miniature scented soaps. Besides, Jesse got injured so much on missions, they practically had to become friends. Angela was huge on doctor patient confidentiality, but that didn’t stop her from chewing Jesse out every single time he came back needing a cast.

If taking health classes was urgent enough for Gabe to kick him off of the latest mission, it had to be some level of important. How important could the whole soulmates thing be ? The elevator dinged and he followed the path he knew by heart to Angela’s office. He knocked on her door.

“Come in!” someone called from the other side.

He stepped inside. The examination room was just like he remembered it. White walls, with neat stacks of papers and books sitting in the corners by a computer desk. He was always impressed by how Angela worked, nothing seemed to get by her despite the clear lack of organization she subjected her belongings to. “Angie! Reckon you have a moment to spare for an old cowboy?”

She looked up from the paper she was reading and instinctively scanned the length of his body. “What appears to be the problem, Jesse? Ah. You’re here so early. Health lessons?”

“Correcto-mundo.”

She stifled a laugh and motioned to the examination table. “Feel free to take a seat, I’ll set up one of the projects. I have time to give you a quick lesson today, but otherwise believe you are just going to have to read a textbook and call me with any pertinent questions. We should also have a quick quiz at the end of the week just to see if you have retained any information. Where would you like to start?”

Jesse started swinging his legs back and forth, and took his hat off to get comfortable. This would be the closest he’d ever gotten to college. “What the hell’s a soulmate, Angela?”

“Ah, yes. That is a fun topic. Let us begin.”

And that is how Jesse finds himself reading through what has got to be the densest book he’s ever laid his pretty brown eyes on. Reading this thing is like trying to breath in a chunky soup. There’s just too much going on for it to be possible, but some find a way to make it happen. Not many, but some. The sun, now past noon, has travelled lower into the sky during the course of the afternoon. He sits on a cliff by the Overwatch base in Gibraltar, after thoroughly being lectured this morning by Dr. Zeigler.

Jesse rolls over, book in hand, and takes a moment to look over the cliff he’s been sitting at the whole time. The sea beneath him crashes into the crook of the precipice, leaving sparkling moisture behind to glitter in the sun. Who needed to go to Japan for a mission anyways? He sighed.

He glanced back down at his textbook. Jesse swears he’s never read so much in his life.

The connection between soulmates has not yet been properly explained by the lengths of modern medicine .

Great. Just what Angela said.

However, there is one documented process that occurs between a pair of soulmates. When an individual instigates skin-to-skin contact with their soulmate for the first time, their touch will leave a mark in the shape of the touch. For example, if a person accidentally bumps into their soulmate and the two touch shoulders, the initiator of the touch (IOT for short) will leave a shoulder shaped imprint on the receiver of the touch (ROT for short). Though the receiver may not see the mark form on their skin automatically, they will automatically feel a connection to their soulmate. However, the IOT will not feel anything short of some shoulder discomfort during this exchange.

Individuals in Markwell’s case study report that a forming soulmate connection feels like being “stuck in a movie montage” (Markwell 40). The ROT will automatically reel through a selection of events from the IOT’s life, and thus, gaining a better understanding of their fated person .

Hm.

When someone first receives their soulmate marking, Markwell reports, “it is common to freeze up as the memories are being transferred from person to person” (Markwell 41). In order to seal the bond and make it permanent, the ROT must then instigate skin-to-skin contact with the original IOT. Otherwise, any received soulmate marks will slowly fade over time, though never completely disappear.

Soulmates do not have to be romantic couples. Some opt for friendship, or other types of relationships. However, the majority of soulmates do end up spending the rest of their lives together in some form, due to the depth of their unique connection.

It is possible for soulmates to never meet, because before initial skin-to-skin contact, there are currently no medical tools available that accurately predict the existence of a soulmate connection between two people. The next section is a photo gallery of soulmate marks .

Ok.

Some of these were pretty funny. There’s an image of someone with a neon purple pair of lips, indicating that their first contact with their soulmate was a kiss. It was so embarrassing Jesse laughed. On another page, someone just had an imprint of a dark yellow hand on their shoulder. That looked kind of cool. 

Next page.

Soulmate pairs with an incomplete set of soulmate marks are another story. Individuals that have received a soulmate marking, but whom are unable to reciprocate the marking on their respective soulmate, have a greater chance of developing anxiety or depression. Individuals studied have repeatedly reported feeling listless. This has not yet been thoroughly studied. Psychiatrists predict that this is due to a mixture of reasons.

Scary.

Jesse hoped that this would never happen to him. He hoped to god, the gods, the sky, the flowing rivers and the tall mountains. He hoped this would never happen. But fate had other plans for young Jesse McCree.

[girlysword]

Okay, let’s break this down

The North: They get independence, but no one else? Why didn’t Dorne ask for independence, or the Iron Islands? Why didn’t the Riverlands and the Vale say, “You know what? We just gonna hang with our Northern peeps. See ya suckers!”

Bran:

1. Bran has lived his entire life in the North, which has just seceded. Being a functional foreigner was one the red flags about Daenerys. Not that Bran will go mad, but there is a reason there are residency rules for a politician to be eligible for office.

2. None of these people know Bran or what he is like as a ruler. His only experience is about two weeks when he was ten.

3. Bran can’t have children. Uncertainty in terms of inheritance is what started all this. The show also made a point to show Westeros isn’t ready for a democracy yet.

4. Isn’t the supernatural supposed to be a double-edged sword? ( Not that Bran can do much anyway, seeing as how there are no weirwoods in KL)

5. Besides Tyrion being Hand, this is the endgame I have the hardest time imagining GRRM actually writing. From what I remember, the theme of leadership in Bran’s story in tied with Winterfell, not the concept in general. But GRRM did say he was going to a have a twelve year old conquer the world, so what do I know?

Tyrion:

1. First of all, I’m not pressed about Bronn. I’m positive that is a show invention.

2. Even leaving out bringing the Mad King’s daughter to Westeros, Tyrion has made several errors. But he has to be Hand to fix his mistakes. WHY COULDN’T THAT BE JON’S KARMIC JUSTICE?

3. Speaking of Jon, why is he punished for kinslaying and not Tyrion?

4. I have two theories for what happened

a. D&D love Tryion so much, they ignored GRRM’s ending

b.  GRRM meant for Tyrion to be the villain who survives. He becomes the new Littlefinger, slithering his way into places he is not wanted.

Sam/Davos/Brienne:

1.  Before this episode, these characters have been really hard to predict for me. I flip flopped back and forth between an ending close to what we got, and a more domestic ending.

2.  As Jon’s best friend, who learned important things and challenged the status quo, it seems logical to give Sam an “important” part in the endgame. On the other hand, he is the closest analog to Samwise Gamgee and it would have been sweet to see him settling down with Gilly and their children. People have also pointed out that he technically isn’t qualified to be a maester. (If I were writing this story, Sarella Sand would be Grand Maester).

3. Davos has been so close to the politics of the story, again, it seems logical to give him a political ending. On the other hand, in the books, he has a family to go back to.

4. Brienne is the perfect knight, but she also is the sole heir to her house. Has the Knightsguards vows changed so they can inherit? You think that would important enough to include…(this is one of the things that pissed me off about Jaime’s ending. He and Brienne would have made lovely Lord and Lady of Tarth)

5. To make matters more confusing, I’m pretty sure GRRM doesn’t consider these main characters so he might have not told D&D where their stories end.

Jon:

1. HIS PUNISHMENT MAKES NO SENSE

a. Jaime wasn’t banished and he killed a king half the country supported. Dany just showed up and burned everyone.

b. Greyworm started the killing of innocents on the ground and he is leaving. Why on Planentos does he have a say?

c. There is no reason for the Night’s Watch to still exist. The White Walkers are gone and the Wildings are chill now.

d. What remains of the Wall is in the North, which has just seceded.

2. If this is GRRM’s ending, I’m sure leaving will be Jon’s choice. I still hate it, Jon abandoning his responsibilities grinds my gears, but that at least makes sense. I also think GRRM will make it clear that Jon and Sansa have feelings for each other, but they can’t be together right now. I feel like D&D felt beholden to what GRRM told them that they laid hints for Jonsa, but were too chicken to stick the landing.

Arya:

1. I actually don’t mind this ending. Or at least I saw it coming. That “west of Westeros” line in season 5 wouldn’t make sense without this. Although, a lot of things were hinted without follow-up, so, again, what do I know? (Was there any significance to the white horse Arya rode, or what it just a pretty visual?)

2. I hope that this is what GRRM meant by a twelve year old conquering the world.

3. GRRM said none of the spinoffs cover the continuing adventures of Jon, Arya, and Sansa. Which makes me think he is going to give them an ending that sets up possible continuing adventures. Which makes me think, for better or worse, the show endings are likely some pale resemblance of the book endings. For these characters at least.

4. I think GRRM would make it clear that Arya is going to come back someday, and that she makes sure that her family is okay before she leaves (why didn’t she go to Sansa’s coronation D&D?)

5. Someone write a fanfiction of Arya’s continuing adventures, change the names, and publish it (like a reverse Fifty Shades).

Sansa:

1.Besides Dany’s character arc, I feel like this is the only thing D&D got kind of right. The coronation scene is absolutely the scene in Sophie’s house. D&D went all out directing that.

2.It really sucks how alone she is though. There aren’t even any friends or family there. Where is Arya?  or Captain of the Sansa Stark fan club, Yohn Royce? I feel like GRRM wouldn’t leave Sansa that isolated. She would also probably have an inner monologue about how her heirs will be sired by a wolf (waggles eyebrows).

3.In addition to the Sinbad Arya book series, someone write a book series about a queen and her wildling lover.

Drogon: There is a WMD on the loose! That can only cause problems in the future.

Me: I’m doing really well actually. After the leaks came out, I decided to just assume the absolute worst and it worked for me. I’m pretty light-hearted, ready to let go and live exclusively in fanfiction land. I’m not even planning to read the books (if they come out) unless I hear really really good things about them.

[dfldslsd-blog]

introducing,

- ( rome flynn, cis-male ) do you know who THEODORE KINGSLEIGH is? yeah, they moved in FLOOR C about 1 YEAR ago. the 23 year old is a MED STUDENT. i heard some talk in the lobby that they’re +COMPASSIONATE and +TRUSTWORTHY, but honestly i think HE can be -UNCONVENTIONAL and -RECKLESS. all in all, they’re a real ANOMALOUS.

waddup, peeps ?? i’m late to the intro party as always, but this tiny bean goes by the name of rue ( she/her ) and i’ll be playing soft boy™, theodore kingsleigh. he’s pretty much a new faceclaim for me with an old character’s background. however, rome has recently become my forever fave, therefore i’m so excited to have the opportunity to play him !! if you would like to hmu for plots / scream about connections all day long, please give this a like and i’ll come wiggling into your ims ( or discord; find me at mlkhoney#2233 ) shortly after. under the cut, you’ll find a brief summary about theo and his life. also all my wcs are listed over here if you wanna check that out as well. his stats can be found here too. can’t wait to start interacting !!

+ disclaimer: very slight talks of cancer and mental health are below. read at your discretion.

layer one: the stats.

name. theodore alexander kingsleigh.

alias. people usually just call him by theodore but sometimes theo make an appearance.

title. over time, he has proudly deemed himself an obsessive plant lover, artistic nutcase, or one of the missing dead poets society members.

name meaning. his true significance of his name means God’s gift.

age. twenty-three years old.

gender identity. cis-male.

pronouns. he/him.

sexual orientation. predominately panromantic demisexual. it isn’t so much so that theo is completely disinterested in sex (he’s got a perfectly good libido, thank you very much), he just doesn’t find himself sexually attracted to people based on physical appearance or initial impressions. instead he finds personality, intellect, and existing emotional attachment considerably more compelling. the idea of intimacy with somebody he’s not close with rather repulses him.

current residence. seattle.

religion. he was raised roman catholic but converted to spiritual agnosticism when he was fifteen. he views that universal ethics and love are far more important than claims about any deity and trivialize the arguments supporting or rejecting such claims. to theo, it doesn’t matter which religion someone might follow, nor does it matter whether or not someone believes in god. what matters is what someone does, not what they believe. he has his parents’ full support in his switch even though the rest of his family practices catholism.

spoken languages. spanish (fluent/main), english (fluent/2nd main), french, and a bit of chinese.

education. graduated with a bachelors of science in human physiology as well as a bachelors of fine arts in illustration and photography. currently a medical student working on his masters.

layer two: the story.

- so this is my baby boy, theodore  kingsleigh and i love him sm ?? he usually goes by theodore, but on occasion people call him theo but he doesn’t care what people call him as long as it’s kind.

- theo was born in london, england to both loving and supportive parents named james and adriana. he lived there until he was six years old when his family moved to denver because his parents, who are both marine biologists, were located for work.

- his parents had him when they were both young.

- unlike his older siblings, theo wasn’t a bastard though. by the time he was born, his parents had already married.

- growing up, he had and still does, have a great relationship with his parents. with his childhood consisting nothing more than love and devotion from his parents, theo had nothing to complain about. his parents loved him dearly, whose pure heart  and open-mindedness they helped to cultivate. they encouraged theo’s belief in extraordinary things and hoped he had carried it throughout his life growing up. his parents had always made him promise to have courage and be kind to others, for—as they explained to him—kindness has power, and that they would see him through all the trials that life could offer, in life and death.

- cancer/mental illness tw: when he was thirteen, his mother had been diagnosed with cervical cancer. upon hearing the news, theo’s whole world clasped. not only was he at a pivotal stage in his life where everything was changing and becoming more stressful ( becoming a teenager, starting high school, going through puberty ), one of the most important people in his life had be claimed by the deadly disease altogether. so many thoughts and feelings were going through his mind at the time, that he ran himself physically sick and had experienced his first panic attack. he has since been medically diagnosed with panic disorder. thankfully the cells on his mother’s cervix were diagnosed at precancerous stage and the doctors were able to treat it because it developed and spread. however, that didn’t and doesn’t stop theo from being in a constantly state of panic every time his mother so much as feels pain or coughs due to irrelevant reasons. the entire year had changed him and his family for a while.

- he’s the youngest of three children: natalia, christopher, and theodore. his old brother, who is three years older than him and their relationship, however, is a bit estranged. as much as he loves his brother and wishes they could see eye-to-eye, sometimes they have a tendency to butt heads often. whether that might mean your typical sibling arguments or full-on blown out fights, they just can’t seem to see get along.

- most people would describe theo as the altruistic. despite being in a world where there’s hatred and suffering, theo declares himself independent and strong-willed by remaining kind-hearted and self-loving, not allowing the bitterness surrounding his life to overtake him and morph him into someone as cruel as the world seems to be every day. he makes the most of his life by remaining optimistic of the possibilities of a brighter future. but besides that, he’s also witty and sarcastic. he is unafraid to stand up for himself when he feels he’s in the right–or at least, attempt to do so. and although he strives to contain his optimism aura, he can fall into fits of frustration and annoyance quite often.

- he’s also super quiet and shy. he loves to make friends but because of his quiet complex, he usually has trouble speaking up and making his voice heard. he tends to become flustered a lot too when he can’t express his emotions; which he has trouble doing anyway when he’s not flustered.

- theo is capable of enduing tremendous hardship. though he may not handle difficulty in the healthiest or best way, often repressing emotion, he mostly like emerges on the other side. he doesn’t know how to express his emotions in a diplomatic way, but rather fumbles it all up and starts to ramble. rarely opens up because of this.

- went to college at university of denver as an undergrad. graduated with a bachelors of science in human physiology as well as a bachelors of fine arts in illustration and photography.

- moved to settle for his masters and has loved the small town ever since.

- currently in medical school to get his M.D.

- to put it plan and simple theodore is an art ho ( he’s even going to school for it ). theo always loved anything artistic. even when he was little, he would go around with his disposable camera and take pictures of everything and then take to paper to draw of all the things he had taken pictures of as well.

- he’s like a hippie dippy child of the universe. no joke. no seriously, his place at home is full of sensual shit and art. it’s getting out of hand and somebody needs stop him soon.

- he strongly believes that art is an umbrella term that relates to expressing of oneself ( not just through photography and painting ) and that everyone has the freedom to express themselves however they please. because of his beliefs, he chooses to break gender roles like bread and wears whatever the fuck he wants because yolo.

-  his appearance pretty much represents his hippie dippy lifestyle with him wearing all sorts of cute hipster shit. he’s clothes are v flow-y but don’t let that fool you. he doesn’t miss the opportunity to represent his upper-middle class within his style, so he does dress to impress, let me tell you ( he’s a fashion ho too ). his hair color changes sometimes too depending on his mood but it’s generally never too eccentric.

[elliemarchetti]

A Wonderful Mistake (part 3)

Marecal Modern!AU with a slight mention of Mareven in which Maven’s not a psycho 

@lilyharvord not as lighthearted as the previous parts, I know, but I hope you like it anyway!

@nightmarebarrow I know you probably didn’t read the second part yet but I wanted to tag you anyway, since one of your question’s answered here

Part 1

Part 2

Other Red Queen fics:

A Rebel’s Son (part 2)

Red Queen Soulmate AU (Mare’s POV) Part 2 (Diana and Shade’s POV) Part 3 (Diana’s POV)

Words: 1549

She had been so indecisive about what to do for the whole afternoon that Mare was still drying her hair at seven. She urgently needed a session at the hairdresser but she barely managed to cover the cost of living alone, let alone a luxury of that kind. Also, there was Ann who could cut her split ends, but that wouldn’t be the day. In fact, the one with Tiberias was absolutely not an appointment and there was no reason to be beautiful: demonstrating this, she decided to wear her favorite sweatshirt and a pair of old and crumpled jeans. If he really had to prove that he was not a spoiled rich man he would have to take her to a place where that was the right clothes choice.

When she was ready, she stepped out of the bathroom and glanced sideways at the clock. He was late.

"He’ll arrive." said simply Ann, who was already wearing her pajamas watching the Griffins perched on their uncomfortable couch.

"It would be better if he didn’t." Mare replied, throwing herself next to her.

"Don’t lie to me, you already look disappointed." the other answered, before dropping a handful of popcorn into her mouth without taking her eyes off the screen.

Five minutes later, when she had already surrendered to the evidence and began to relax, someone rang at the door. Mare jumped up like a spring, disappointing herself and snatching a cunning smile from Ann; she would’ve never admitted that her friend was right, but that was it. She didn’t know why, but she desperately wanted to believe that Cal was a good person, that he was different from the boy they all thought he was, that there was something else behind the façade, and at the same time a tiny part of her, the one who thought of Maven, the one who was supposed to visit him, wanted him to disappoint her, to remind her why she had chosen his half-brother and all the problems that it involved instead of simply falling into his arms. Not that he had ever tried to hook up with her before, but she doubted that if she went looking for him he would refuse her.

When she opened the door, however, there was no Cal to wait for her but a child of about eight years, not so tall, with white skin accentuated by long black hair.

"Are you Miss Barrow?" he asked, in a serious voice that didn’t seem to belong to a child. Mare nodded, perplexed, until she realized that a white van awaited them on the road. She immediately recognized the writing on its side, because she had seen it countless times since the accident that had taken away the use of her father’s legs: Jacos Foundation. The founder, Coriane Jacos, was Cal’s mother, a woman, according to her parents, born in the wrong family; unlike her brother, in fact, she didn’t like the academic life but preferred manual work, as she had amply demonstrated when she started working for a misery in the Cole’s workshop against her father’s will, and wasn’t even vain as her great-aunt, or attached to material goods like her uncle. She had drawn young Mr. Calore’s attention to the graduation of her friend, the current heart surgeon who supported the Foundation and had also operated Mare’s father, Sara Skonos, and from that moment they had become inseparable. Together, they had faced everything: the divorce of his parents, the death of her father, the coming out of his father, her first abortion and finally the fulminating end that Tiberias Senior met because of AIDS. Every scandal and sorrow was faced with strength and integrity by what was defined as the most beautiful couple in the city, until Coriane became ill. At the death of her father-in-law's partner, whom she was very attached to, she found herself alone, with her brother busy with his studies in another city, her dearest friend distant because of her exhausting work, her aunt on her deathbed and her husband too busy with family affairs to pay attention to her. Perhaps it was depression that caused her two successive abortions, perhaps, as some liked to whisper, her husband's lover who was trying to poison her, however, when Cal was finally born, for a short time, she seemed to have come back to herself . In order to keep herself busy, as she left work in the workshop on the second abortion, she had created a foundation in her name, using all the money received by her family, which used as a base the old estate she grew up in just outside town. It didn’t have a specific purpose, other than to help those who needed it most: the loner, the marginalized, those who were in non-positive economic conditions, the mentally ill and those who had lost their will to live. For two years Coriane Jacos had been the perfect woman for public opinion, the apotheosis of the American dream. Still, something in her mind didn’t work as it should, for one day they found her lifeless body in the bathtub. Mare's mother had told her that the newspapers had talked about it for weeks, until the news was slowly forgotten, replaced by the imminent marriage of the new widower with what had long been his perfidious lover. For the poor, however, Coriane’ story had remained important even years after her death, as was her family’s name, since it was her brother who took the reins, while still continuing his work as a teacher at the university, helped by his wife and her innumerable acquaintance in the medical field of her foundation. And now Cal was leaning out of that damn bus to greet her with his hand, as if the thing didn’t touched her at all, as if a day of volunteering were enough to make him good as his mother. Undecided about what to do, she replied to the greeting without too much enthusiasm, and went back into the house, telling the child to get back on the bus, where she would reach him once she got her jacket and bag.

"Don’t you think I would’ve known if Tiberias Calore had volunteered?" Mare asked to Ann, a bit of annoyance peeping in her tone.

"I think if you were interested in the city's gossip a little more, you would’ve known it." Ann replied, throwing her a sideways glance.

"You knew it?!" Mare asked, amazed. Did she really lived so detached from the rest of the world?

"Even Diana knows that, and she doesn’t even live here!" the other answered, finally deciding to turn around to look at her. Diana Farley was Tristan's best friend, a subject quite prickly, at the beginning of their relationship, but that over time had become a safe haven for both of them when they needed to detach. She lived in another city, about an hour away, and she and Tristan had met at school, before he decided to retire and return to live with his parents. Sometimes she came in town to visit them, but Mare had never had the chance to hang out with her, unlike Shade and Kilorn. Working in the evening certainly had its advantages, but unfortunately it also led you to accept a life of compromise, including abandoning your social life.

"So you're telling me I should go and act like I've always known?" Mare asked, grabbing her jacket with irritation. She didn’t know what had bothered her, but something had, turning her into the grumpy self that her siblings hated.

"I'm saying you should go and behave normally, enjoy the evening and remember ..."

"... it's not a date." they concluded in chorus.

The bell rang again, urging her to move.

"Keep me updated!" exclaimed Ann, who had already returned to look at the brightly colored screen.

"I will do my best!" the other exclaimed, just before closing the door behind her. Waiting for her now, there was Cal himself, wearing a sweatshirt and a heavy jacket too.

"So where are we going?" Mare asked, trying to start with the best good intentions for the evening.

"At McDonald's," Cal replied, leaving her deeply perplexed. He probably noticed it, because before opening the side door, he explained that once a week they took the residents of the clinic to eat out, a way to reintegrate them in society and not make them feel different from the rest of the world.

"And why there?" she asked, before getting in.

"Because this time it was up to Luther to decide." Cal replied, throwing a knowing look at the child who had gone to ring at her the door. The child replied with a wide smile of satisfaction, while who she supposed was his father seemed even sadder; that young life would be broken before reaching adolescence, yet Cal had the expression of who would do anything to make him happy. While she was fastening her belt, Mare felt a grip on her chest, right at the heart.

"Are y’all ready?" Cal asked, having reached the driver's seat, with a fake southern accent. The occupants of the bus answered positively in a choked choir of voices of every age and gender, and Mare couldn’t help but join them.

[choric]

( park jimin - demimale, he/they ) — did you see noeul han walking down the street? the twenty-three year old has lived here for three weeks. i heard they’re an aspiring painter & a part-time barista now, time sure flies. gooey by glass animals always did remind of them, maybe it’s because they’re so audacious & charitable. though i did hear they can also be commanding & capricious if you catch them on a bad day.

hey babes drum-roll it’s admin fany here to welcome yall~ with some random info about me I guess uh so I’m 26, living in northern europe, most of the time dying bc I’m not made for these hot ass summers, other times just being distracted twelve times outta ten jsyk I’m not ignoring anyone my attention span is just in the negatives. or I’m playing overwatch. or subnautica when I’m feeling particularly masochistic.  would drop dead without tea. ye. that’s all for today folks

anyway here’s Noeul’s profile if you wanna peep also a very messy plot page aaaand I’m gonna ramble about him now uwu

tw: emotional abuse, tw: assault ( kinda brief mentions, esp the assault, I tried keeping it safe )

born in Seoul but his family moved to USA when he was barely 6. they moved around a l o t since then but stayed within the borders. save for one weird year in France back in 2010

he haTED it. all the constant moving around and starting at new schools with new people trying to get new friends and find new hobbies and leaving pretty much everything behind so often just stressed the hell out of his young self and he was in a perpetual state of over-emotional about the whole ordeal and angry and bitter and yeah. not having a good time

over the years he managed to find ways to cope with it, drawing and painting being a major thing as it was one of very few things he could just continue without any special arrangements made or it feeling different. putting all that bent up negativity on paper was helpful in itself so he stuck with it without much thought then, clinging into a lifeline of one constant in a sea of variables

later on it morphed from being less of a therapeutic activity and more one of him being able just flow with creativity, paint with a less personal agenda and enjoy it way more too ( not to say he doesn't still use it as a form of escapism too )

reading was another thing he found enjoyment in, especially during his early teenage years. that is something he doesn't engage that often in anymore however

his parents didn’t really care about what hobbies he took on ( even with painting carrying throughout the years he ended up trying a whole slew of other things too ) until it became apparent he was actually considering art as a legit career path. neither agreed it being a good idea but they didn’t flat out deny him either.. just were very patronising about it for months and by that time he had come to actual decision of going through with it out of pettiness alone lmao. which of course served nothing but to legit piss them off and led to a number of arguments they still have to this day yikes

his parents entire view on life seemed to be there was no point getting attached to anything, sentimentality was a flaw and you could just buy everything you needed again without much care for what was left behind. especially his mom had a lot of emotionally abusive ways to steer his life in the direction she wanted, but giving just enough freedom for him to think he had a say in anything. not to say she wasn’t supportive and encouraging too but he honest to god can’t tell now how much of it was genuine. she was especially fond of using subtle blackmail in form of referring to her own feelings and how his actions will upset her, occasionally bursting into a loud tirade which was then quickly pushed to the side without any apologies for making him in turn upset so boy was always just on edge. this still happens but he pretty much only communicates with her through calls anymore so, Noeul just hangs up when she starts acting up. his dad was more the type to not involve himself into his hobbies and likes or anything at all he only cared about academic plans.

that all messed him up big time in his younger years bc he was inherently just very attached to everything and everyone but now.. it’s almost the complete opposite, enough repetition and shit will stick I guess cause he has next to no sentimental feelings towards anything, in turn actually loves travelling and meeting new people now. partially also cause he doesn’t feel obligated to uphold anything or allow himself being chained down, he treats everything like it’s fleeting, but not without care– don’t assume he doesn’t care when that’s something he does in abundance actually. he just.. accepts nothing lasts forever. ironic enough he’s adopted far too many of his parent’s habits to count now but has grown more tender with the experiences rather than cold. probably a miracle in itself. hella guarded about his feelings tho

so yeah he moved to LA ( parents were at the time both living in NYC ) for art school and got that bachelor of fine arts degree, graduating just spring last year and has no desire to further those studies cause screw school he’s done with institutions for a decade

also his parents filed for divorce while he was at it. before he was even done with freshman year. wasn’t all too surprising nor did he have anything to really say about it, except the times mom called him whilst drunk and essentially blamed it on him being a bad son :/// his dad’s fucked off somewhere he hasn’t heard whole lot from him in last three years beside birthday texts and money transfers to his bank account. and subtle messages through mom about how he expects him to clean up one of these days. meanwhile mom mostly contacts just to check he’s alive & doing well financially while slipping in vague ‘if you would have just listened to me‘s and ‘when will you come to your senses’s >_>

forgot to mention his dad’s a CEO of a small airline company. don’t ask me what his mom does idk prob some manager of a huge ass successful online shop?? something along those lines

will not speak about them if asked tbh don't expect anything other than "they're alive."

does not like announcing his ( their ) wealth to the world either and tries not to make decisions that could reflect that but something always has to give in the end. like he’s just way too happy to blow money on other people no matter how subtle he tries to be about it and often like his parents buys new stuff instead of finding ways to bring his old along, some of his clothes are also a dead giveaway it’s not so much that he specifically purchases anything cause it’s designer but if it looks nice he doesn’t see it as any different buying from any other store around. smells awfully lot like privilege but he’s unapologetic in getting exactly what he wants, it’s not his problem if someone takes offence to that

kind of also hates that he’s so dependant on parent’s money still but has made peace with it by giving away and works twice as hard for his own stuff, regardless if it yields anything cause he’s not doing this whole painting thing as a means to gain money ( would like to, but alas, it’s a tricky career path ) more from pure passion for the art

and noeul def is not gonna tell them to stop sending him cash he'll just have fun spending it in all the shit they'd hate-- even if they've basically set conditions but weird enough haven't cut him off yet.  guess that really is the only thing they can give him and they know it too :)) 

so. doesn’t actually like sitting idle even tho he all but could, yet cannot happily place himself in an establishment with very strict 9 to 5 shifts and such, so if and when he takes on extra work occasionally it’s always part-time, and for own personal gratification

in the case of him recently taking on a spot as a part-time barista here in acarike ( started like, two days ago or something ) was also bc of keeping up appearances ( surely he would run out of money eventually? no, but no one needs to know that ) and getting to know some of the people around since his group of road-tripping friends have seriously decided to settle in

if anyone was wondering yes he has experience working in cafes, among other places. his parents abhorred him taking on such jobs at all cause “what was the point? are we not providing enough?” first of all did he ask?

I guess he is currently residing in the stardust motel?? but is looking for a place

for him travelling in the past few years has been sorta cathartic, inspiring if I dare say both in personal growth and in his work since he can decide on everything by himself, where he wants to go, for how long, for why etc

sometimes likes when he has company for that, other times he just needs to make a trip in solitary. altogether prefers meeting random people along the way

is a kind of odd friend, loyal, compassionate and all that but puts himself before anyone else. or rather puts his emotional and other needs before everything else. if he feels you’re the one getting more out of it than he is it’s not worth it sorry. very generous tho and sees it as his duty to help others in any way if it doesn’t inconvenience him. not unreliable but available only when it suits him. so unless it’s life threatening or emotional distress he will not drop everything for even a friend’s sake you can wait an hour or two. can make friends as quick as he drops them

might get a little inappropriately affectionate with friends. especially so when intoxicated

is an even weirder lover. he loves the idea and feeling of being in love and the emotional thrill of it. relationships are fun yeah but commitment?? not in his. vocabulary. to elaborate he lives for the push and pull and the suspense of it all and needs things to stay stimulating on all levels across the board when deepening relationships further while also being able to maintain a sense of own freedom. he craves the sort of emotional security and gratification it all brings but refuses to become dependant on it ( he knows how that will go ), furthermore does not like all the limitations it brings nor everything being perfect to the point of feeling fake??

tries to make it clear that he’s NOT looking for anything long term but even then people haven’t taken it well when he out of the blue announces they should stop whatever it is they’re doing. he always feels bad about it and tries to part in good terms but yeah :// many hearts have been broken. it’s probably even worse for the other person cause Noeul himself seems to have absolutely no problem continuing his life like nothing happened. all this has made him into a bit of a serial dater??

in whole he takes everything as they are, nothing is everlasting and he doesn’t try to make it so, doesn’t necessarily want to. values experiences but doesn’t get too hung up on letting go of them. including relationships. this is something a lot of people in his life wont understand and it’s frustrating for everyone involved sometimes but you gotta do what you gotta do. might be scared of opening up to people. of that attachment. maybe he’s actually just picky and is waiting for something out of the world magical who knows

repels all negativity as if his life depended on it like. add begone thot meme here

but can also be very confrontational so???

is actually in constant war with himself over positive and negative emotions but filters that out pretty handily. most of the time. cause uh absolutely will turn vicious and loud when angry. sensitive to criticism and personal attacks but gets over it quick enough. does hold grudges but mainly towards people whose opinion he cares about. strangers rarely phase him. has random emotion™ bursts but tbh only cries when being shouted at and/or being target of someone’s wrath-- OR when noeul's angry himself?? also lowkey dramatic but most of the time he’s just sorta chill and cheery, occasionally sarcastic but in a good-natured way he doesn’t mean ill with it. has very strong opinions on some things but doesn’t care if someone else sees it differently. as long as they’re not saying their way is the only right way. or if their reasoning is utter bullshit which he will call out then :))

negative people just make him laugh. will not take your ass seriously at all if you’re being a douche. used to take offence to these kinds of people all the time but he’s grown out of it and learned to simply ignore people who don’t deserve the time of his day. at least outwardly.

similarly used to be very.. well. lets say prone to letting people control and push him around cause that’s what he had learned to accept but whoo boy when he finally figured it out and took the reigns into own hands no one could stop him try it bitch

likes doing things in own terms in general, need for control has kinda taken off so will not take kindly to being ordered around in any manner. tries not to impose on other people or be pushy himself but cannot stand indecisiveness so. it happens. for better or for worse

in tune with his surroundings and current community of people if something’s off he can sense it and it will bug him to no end before it’s fixed. this could be anything from his room being in disarray to something going on in the city in whole

I ain’t saying he’s a psychic but actually stupid intuitive most cases WILL see through your bullshit don’t even try

…ok but lowkey into supernatural stuff and spirituality all that jazz he’s gone through it all while trying to find himself– which is a whole another can of worms we ain’t opening here

did I forget to mention noeul and co ( minho & jae ) rolled into town in this shiny big rv. he's def looking to buy a smaller car to drive around

not too keen on giving rides to strangers since this one time two summers ago that went south real fast when a guy pulled a knife on him. has a pretty big scar to show for it on his right side? tummy?? there’s a pic in the profile page if you’re curious. he jokes about it now "it adds character" but is actually terrified of that happening again so perpetually jumpy minho blames himself for it cause he's dumb

you can prob hear him coming 5 miles away with the amount of jewellery he adorns

don’t get me started on his wardrobe it’s a mixed bag and then some. gender norms belong into the fiery pits of a volcano

is equal parts a tea & coffee enthusiast basically lives off that stuff. i'm probably not even exaggerating here boy forgets to eat when he gets focused on something and just wolfs down a pot of coffee.

obsessed with watermelon flavoured lollipops probably has one on him at all times somehow magically pulls them outta thin air??

you can prob find him painting outside in the randomest places when the weather's nice

likes painting on people probably as much as painting them

it’s not an intimacy thing I swear. but. can be?? probably accidentally turns that way that’s just how he is

prefers either to focus on faces ( eyes specifically ) or nude models in general fcking @ him

this. is so long already I’m sorry omg

and that’s all I got my brains’ fried over this all but yo come plot with me pls also check my plots maybe orrr if you want me to check your plots ( I’d love to!! ) come poke me ay ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[gallivantingheart]

Lyrical Hearts (Part 9)

Synopsis: Post-What Can I Do/I Loved You/When You Love Someone Saga. Young K - Brian - Younghyun - whatever you wanted to call him - was known for being unknown. At least until you caught him and his band practicing late one afternoon. This is the narrative of your soft, tentative beginnings with the gruff bassist.

Pairing: Young K/Brian/Younghyun x fem!Reader

Genre: Romance. General? Acquaintance-to Friends-to Lovers?

Word Count: 2331

Listening Recommendations: Bolbbalgan4 - Some & ViVi -  Everyday I Love You (Feat. HaSeul) &  Hyunjin -  다녀가요 (Around You)

A/N: I’M BAAACK!!!! I went through a bit of a writer’s block-cross-plot muddle-up, but whatever. Thank you for being patient and I hope it’s good (??)

The Beginning || Part 8

It’s been a little under a week since your altercation with Haebin and so far, no repercussions. Maybe between your ferocity, Younghyun’s hand taking up permanent residence on your shoulder or Dowoon’s sudden close proximity to you, they’ve gotten the hint. So, honestly, you’d hoped that it would all blow over, everyone’s attention on the next episode of high school drama.

It’s Saturday and you’ve herded your history project partners, Sungjin and Wonpil, down to the library for some blissful quiet to work in. Contrary to popular belief, you’re one of the few people in the world who actually like group projects. You like sharing the load and bouncing ideas off one another. Maybe it’s only because you’ve had a good track record with your groups.

The three of you work fairly seamlessly, murmuring something here and there about Joseon architecture. You’re admiring Wonpil’s handwriting, fine and delicate the way he is, along with the swift, sentimental speed at which he thinks. The someone speaks, casting your name out in a whisper.

“You sure cut down Haebin, huh? Haven’t heard a peep out of her all week - Dowoon’s living the dream.”

You blink, following the source of the sound up to Wonpil’s kind face. “Uh, yeah. People are still giving me funny looks for it. So what, I raised my voice and got a bit angry.”

Sungjin surfaces and nods, humming in agreement. The days that followed entailed curious looks and awe-filled questions. You must have sounded like a broken record by the end of the week - you certainly felt like one. You scribble a writing idea down in your margin for later - mermaids are still cool, right?

“Why did you get so tense about it, anyway? A shut up would have done the trick.” Wonpil adds, fluffing at his fringe.

Your mind is quiet. He’s right.

You stop twirling your pen on the pages of your notebook. “I...I don’t know.”

Really, you don’t. As much as your works with Young K were true, the passion that fuelled it didn’t completely stem from the injustice you heard - you have never been that possessive and righteous. It wasn’t that serious.

On the way home, the sun just kissing the horizon, Wonpil takes a detour for his sister - her birthday is coming up. So Sungjin and yourself are the only ones at the bus stop. You’re still thinking, anything and everything irking you. Sungjin had a chuckle at your vague, but creased expression.

You look at him ever so slowly, straightening out your willowy pastel top. “Yeah? Did I miss something?”

“No, not at all. You just look like something is on your mind.”

Sure is. Your mind has since drifted from Haebin to Younghyun though. The various expressions that flit across his face in a day, each one just as interesting. An easy laugh that you’re happy you get to hear. The moments when you walk home that his fingertips brush yours. It hits you soft and hard, like a breeze tickling your cheeks and a punch to the stomach all at the same time. You curse, dark and loud.

“I think I might have a crush on your bassist, Sungjin-ah.” You mumble grudgingly.

Sungjin laughs, low and warm, puffing out your name on a disbelieving breath. “A crush, huh?”

You stamp your feet on the cracked pavement, kicking out at his shin. He curls forward and groans on impact. The sun turns his hair a kind red-brown, ruffled from the spring breeze.

“Don’t make fun of me!” You whine.

“Sorry. But I could already tell how you felt about him. You can’t hide your emotions very well.” He says, shrugging.

You lean against the side of the bus shelter, shock securing that blank look on your face again. You have been hiding them? This feels like a fairly recent development. A dramatic revelation. Sungjin is talking about this as if it’s been like that since the beginning. A gust of wind whistle through the shelter and between you but you don’t jump at it like before. The husky singer grins proudly at all of this.

“And what - what makes you think you know me?” You say thin, but lightly mocking.

“Didn’t you say it yourself? You’re an open book.”

That shuts you up again.

Oh, now comes the panic. When you get in, you fling yourself on your bed, denim skirt riding up horribly as you stare blankly at the ceiling. Truly, you are in some high school themed drama. How long have you liked him? Does he know? Is your new friendship the price you’re willing to pay for this?

[You] @stoneface-dan @somimimimi so, I like Younghyun?

[Stoneface Dan] And?

[You] so this really isn’t a new thing.

[You] HOW LONG?

[Somimimimi] a little while

[You] HOW COULD I NOT HAVE KNOWN?!?!?!

[You] HEY!!!

[Stoneface Dan] 😒 Shush. It’s easy to mistake fondness and affection as friendship. You’re just really bad with it.

[Somimimimi] yu hang out with him all break - is that not eough?

[You] I thought I was being a good friend! I was interested but also BORED because two of the most important ppl of my lives DITHCED ME.

[Stoneface Dan] Uh, no. You can’t pull that one on me. I offered.

[Somimimimi] 😭😭😭

[You] Shut up. You guys suck.

[Somimimimi] We thought you knew!

[Stoneface Dan] How can you not know yourself?

[You] THAT’S WHY I’M ASKING YOU.

You try and distract yourself from the running thoughts of Young K with homework due in, but after an hour and a bit of reading most of the same sentences over and over again, your usually flowing writing grinding to a halt, you toss it in. It’s late, but still relatively active outside. It can’t be healthy to think about this so much, nor try and study the way you currently are. So, ignoring the signs of the weather and the chill still nipping the breeze, you break for air, glad it’s a weekend. Pulling out your old bike and pedaling down to the riverside park, ignoring the potential for bugs. You didn’t usually go this far seeing as of course, bugs, but also the fact that it’s further than the park by the convenience store. How can everyone have seen it but you? These are your emotions after all. Your heart potentially on the line.

You don't know when you start missing his closeness - always standing by your side, close enough to touch, but not quite. The evenings spent dutifully walking you home, having him on speaker phone as you change - while you shimmy out of your school skirt, no longer feeling odd about the ignorant intimacy you feel.

That close, quiet conversation at night, whether it be verbal or written (if he’s on shift). Where you know about everything and nothing, including his debilitating crush from his previous school he still thinks about and your barren relationship history as well as your softest niggling fears from it.

When sharing his spoils of tardiness stops feeling funny. Or how easy it is to fall into step with him and tell him about your day - listen to him do the same with growing softness and light that his eyes bare.

Laughing because he is and feeling like you’re breathing in a whole new life every time. Knowing his music inside and out; that his songs are the same as your stories. Another language to some, his truth to you. Appreciating every note because they were all supposed to be called Younghyun.

Describing Younghyun as Youth. Endless laughter, sunshine smiles, moonlit hums, the thrill of summer.

You must not look very approachable as your walk your baby blue bike to your favourite bench. Aimed facing the river, right by the bridge, the Seoul city lights a twinkling cluster of vitality. A mix between a pout and a scowl resting on your face, you’re almost stomping along the pathway with shoulders of stone. You’re even more disheartened and emotionally charged when you see a lanky shape meeting you halfway. Wandering aimlessly, with his pale hands stuffed in his pockets, dark thick fringe hovering over his brows. Even you have to admit though - he does look good in green.

“Donghae.”

“Donghae.”

He looks up to shift his focus better, smiling a little as he says your name in greeting. “It’s really late. What are you doing out?”

“I could ask you the same.” You retort, with cautious side eye.

“But I asked first.”

You shrug, slumping a little on your hip. “I just needed some space to think.”

You plant yourself next to him after propping your bike against a tree. Looking at him in the dim light makes you a little uncomfortable. How his elbows rest on his knees and all his limbs reminding you of a praying mantis. His fluffy, windblown fringe evens out his sharp visage though, as do his patient doe eyes - nothing like the overbearing gleam to them by day - sorry, by Somi.

“Ah, I see.” He says nodding sagely. “Something on your mind?”

You shoot him a glare. What hasn’t been on your mind today? “Since when are you my therapist?”

“Since, you’re my dear Somi’s friend. Besides, you’re never this worried - it makes me nervous. I promise I’ll listen well.”

You eye him wearily, the silence stretching between you. He waits steadily and you think you’ve never seen him so quiet or still. Finally, you relent, knowing that if you didn’t he’d still wait - one thing you could give him was persistence. Anyway, what’s wrong with an outside opinion? You try as best as you can to make your story vague, leaving out identifying details.

The more you talk, the more you’re able to put together your thoughts and fears. Details start to slip with passion.

You squeeze your eyes shut. “I’m afraid of what he’ll say - what it will mean for our friendship. It’s so fresh and important to me. We worked really hard on understanding and discovering each other to get to where we are. I don’t want to lose him.”

“There’s every chance you might lose him, whether you say something or not. Say something and it’ll either be happy ending or broken hearts. Scare him off to the hills and make it even harder to get back to where you both are now. A few words can change everything. But,” he holds your gaze, doe eyes gone and replaced with something far deeper and harder to describe, “say nothing and you may lose him to someone else without knowing how he felt. I’ve learnt that the unrequited, unknown heartache can be the worst of all. You won’t know Brian - uh, Young K’s thoughts unless you ask.”

“I guess Donghae - hey, how -”

“Everyone knows, isn’t that what you said?” He crips with a smirk on his full mouth.

You scowl and turn away from him. You feel the wood creak under you as he leans back, peering up at the sky, the city lights polluting the stars to invisibility. Only the waning moon is left.

“I know this stuff - why else do you think I confess to Somi? So I know I don’t have regrets.”

“But why so often?”

You glance at him, barely, trying to be discreet about your curiosity. His mouth pulls at a hazy smile, a pleasant sight on Donghae’s usually animated features. His head lolls to face you.

“So I always know how she’s feeling. Sounds silly to you because you’re her friend. She’ll always tell you her emotions. The same can’t be said for myself. And sure, right now there is no affection - it may never happen. Things change, though. I can hope.” The wistful tone to his voice is heartbreaking, a feeling you never thought you would have for the boy. “You don’t have to. But what have you really got to lose? Regret?”

You put a hand on his arm and draw him fully out of his thoughts. His lashes are startingly long as they flutter you into focus. A car beeps across the bridge and the river still ripples quietly. The wind, while getting warmer, still rips through you.

“Thanks Donghae. I do hope you’ll find someone who will love you.” You say gently, only broken by a shiver - leaving the house in your skirt and thin shirt was a bad idea.

“Me too. You’re cold.” He unzips his jacket, throwing it into your lap. “Put this on and I’ll walk you home. It’s late.”

You’re halfway back when you ask, “so, why were you out so late, Donghae?”

“To think about Somi. A little time to be wishful, a little time to be sad. At least before I got back to life and my quest to gain her heart!” He throws his fist in the air, something like an anime character.

You want to laugh - really, you do. But you can’t bring yourself to from the way your heart pulls for Donghae’s passionate love endeavour. Time for Somi. You screw your nose up to stem the sting in your eyes.

“O-of course.” You manage to choke out, trying to fall back into the same sarcastic, protective snarl from before. You can’t though so you add, “pro-tip - try being sincere - you don’t need to show off for her.”

He stares at you owlishly, trundling your bike for you on the roadside as you look away so he doesn’t catch the emotion in your eyes.

You thank him greatly for walking you back and insistently shove the jacket back into his hands. With a smirk and a firm good luck, you see him off. It’s not until his figure wanders to the bottom of the hill that you let your bright visage crumble for him, swiping roughly at the tear or two that escapes.

Donghae is right. Better to confess and not regret than pine and wonder and wait until it’s too late, being forced to let him go.

Soon, you tell yourself. Soon.

[boystownbirdie]

LMWTV4U: GOT S7E1

Welcome back to let me watch TV 4 U (LMWTV4U) where I watch TV shows so you don’t have to! If you’re not a GoT-watcher or you just need a review, check out my pre-season-6-GoT primer here or you can just check out the review/recap of the last ep of season 6 here

It’s GoT season 7 y’all- WHO’S EXCITED?

As always, spoiler alert. Also, I’m introducing a new segment of this blog called WHY DOES THIS SCENE EVEN MATTER or (WDTSEM?) to help us decipher when some seemingly unimportant or otherwise boring scenes actually do kind of matter. So watch for that. Now let’s get into it! 

Over in Frey-ville/ Riverlands...

So we open on Walder Frey (aka Argus Filch from Harry Potter) giving a toast to a bunch of his people, all of whom have to wear inexplicably weird hats that seem to serve no purpose. Off the bat we know something is up because Arya Stark, fresh from the face-swapping-assassin-training academy, definitely killed Filch in the last ep of season 6. He’s gathered up all of his hat-wearing friends and family and is like hey guys, here’s some NOT POISONED wine let’s have a toast. It’s pretty obvious it’s Arya doing a really good impersonation of Filch/ wearing his face, especially when he doesn’t even pretend to take a sip of his wine. He’s all, hey remember when we killed all those Stark people, especially the mom and the hottie son, Robb and his preggers wife? That was fun, right? And all the poisoned guys are like yep murder is fun you are correct. Then he’s like too bad you didn’t kill all the Starks cuz one is still alive and…. It’s ME BITCHES. 

And she rips off Filches’ face/body and is like SURPRISE! And because this is the season of the woman, she doesn’t let any of the poor servant girls (who were like 15 years old and all forced to marry Filch) drink any of wine but she’s like, I know this is confusing, because I was just wearing the face and body of your former husband but it’s me, a fellow 15-year old girl and please tell everyone THE NORTH REMEMBERS. (If you’ll recall the Stark fam is from the North and a bunch of them died at the red wedding which was FOREVER AGO)

Later in the ep, we catch up with Arya who is riding around on a horse like a boss when she happens upon ED SHEERAN. SERIOUSLY ED SHEERAN IS IN THIS EPISODE WHY? I DON’T KNOW. And he’s singing a song with some soldier bros, duh. And I guess they’re from the Lannister army (if you’ll recall the Lannisters are the incest twins) because they’re wearing their colors and they’re like ugh King’s Landing (where Queen Pixie Cut aka QPC is currently ruling after blowing up most of the city) is the worst. And Arya is like umm ya it sucks, last time I was there I saw my dad get his head chopped off, BUMMER. She doesn’t say that actually but she does listen to them talk about how they wished they were home with their family instead of fighting for QPC. 

WHY DOES THIS SCENE EVEN MATTER (WDTSEM)? This scene is pretty clearly a setup to get Arya to consider meeting up with her bro (well actually uncle) and sis in Winterfell rather than her current single-minded pursuit of killing QPC. Anyway, the strangest thing about this scene is that one of the bros is like ya my mom always said to be kind to others and they’ll be kind to you and also none of the bros say anything murder-y or even slightly assault-y for that matter toward this young girl traveling alone WHAT SHOW IS THIS? On any other season of GoT this scene would have been a literal bloodbath.

Sidenote: when the opening credits run we FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER only see Westeros rather than both sides of the globe (or is it a globe? Idk. g.r.r.r.r.r. Martin plz advise) cuz our Khween Khaleesi is no longer residing there.

Next, let’s check in up North with Bran and his pal Meera who recently narrowly escaped a zombie attack only to be rescued by his zombie-uncle.

Bran is having a vision, as he is wont to do, of the “Night King” (zombie leader guy) plus thousands of zombies marching toward the non-zombie world. Some of them are even zombie giants which is super spooky. He’s like let’s GTFO and get south of this giant ice wall so they coming a-knocking on the ice-wall-door which, if you’ll recall is manned by all those moody celibate dudes that Bae was briefly murdered by before coming back from the dead. Bae’s friend who is in charge now is like umm new phone who dis cuz IDK what “Brandon Stark” looks like but it’s probably not you. And he and his friend Meera are like we promise, we’re cool and they let them in.

WDTSEM? Bran and Meera’s next stop after passing through TSA security is probably to see his sis and bro at his home, Winterfell. Last time that poor boi was there he was paralyzed, briefly made leader, ousted, forced to watch the whole place burn down and then had to escape before he was killed. So needless to say he’ll be happy to see that it’s not only rebuilt and no longer a torture dungeon, but being ruled by his fam! AND he’s the only one who knows the truth about Bae the R+L=J theory so he needs to drop that bomb on erry’body that basically means that Bae is kind of a rightful ruler and also Khaleesi’s nephew?!?

Speaking of his home, let’s check in with Winterfell...

Bae (Jon Snow) is like wow being in charge is hard no wonder Obama turned gray lol-is-this-thing-on? And Sansa is like eye-roll and they have a little tiff in front of everyone which is EMBARRASSING. A few important things happen here: 

Bae tells everyone to dig for dragonglass cuz it’s the only way to kill the zombies. He’s like hey bois, gurls, gender-non-comforming-individuals, EVERYONE needs to get to work and dig and learn to fight

Everyone’s favorite pint-sized-ruler-of-Bear-Island, Lyanna Mormont, is all about that lyfe, as shown in gif above

Bae is like wow little kids are pretty good at being in charge so let’s put these other 2 lil’ squirts in charge over at their houses

Bae sends hottie-ginger-wildling-bae to guard part of the wall where the zombies are probably heading first. Goodbye ginger-bae. 

Sansa does not agree with the putting-kids-in-charge bit which is what they argue about but he does it anyway. They kind of makeup and then they talk about how Cersei (aka Queen Pixie Cut aka QPC) is in charge now and Sansa is like she cray but also a BAMF. 

Later we get a scene of Brienne, everyone’s fave lady-knight, training her squire how to fight and are reminded that ginger-bae has the hots for her. As Sansa watches this all play out, Littlefinger (ugh he is the WORST) comes over to tell Sansa for the 80th time that he loves her and wants to rule the world with her. And as she has done 80 times, she’s like NO THANKS DUDE. 

Speaking of Queen Pixie Cut (QPC) let’s check in on her over at King’s Landing…

QPC is ruling whatever is left of her people after she blew most of them up. She commissioned this giant map/painting on the ground and is stompin’ all around like she owns the place, which, to be fair, she does. Her twin bro/lover, Jamie, comes over and is like ummm… what’s the tea? Remember how our last living kid jumped out of a building and died last season… can we discuss? And she’s literally like yolo we gotta rule this place FOR US. And he’s like but we don’t have any heirs anymore, like who’s gonna take over after that you can’t #liveforever this ain’t the high school cafeteria in the film version of Fame. She’s like dontcha worry, I gotta plan.

So Theon’s crazy uncle shows up to see them. If you’ll recall last season, he killed his bro and then tried to become king of the wet-rock-pile by throwing up a bunch of sea water even though his niece, Theon’s sis, was totes supposed to become kween of her peeps. While he was performing his water-gagging-magic-trick, Theon and his sis ran away with a bunch of the peeps and all of the ships. Again, their entire island seemed to have about 20 people so WHO IS ON THOSE SHIPS? IDK. And he was like NBD I’ll make a bunch more ships AGAIN WHO IS BUILDING AND THEN RIDING ON THESE SHIPS IDK. So I guess the ships are built and people must be on them because they show up to QPC’s shores and she’s like whatup. Jamie is NOT HAVING IT mostly because he is jelly since Theon’s crazy uncle (TCU) is hittin on his sis. TCU manages to squeeze in a really sick burn when he’s like well at least I have 2 working hands (Jamie got one chopped off 3 seasons ago) and then he asks QPC to get with him. She’s like naw dawg so he’s like NBD I’ll be back with a “very special present” and heads off. They also banter about how his niece and nephew and Khaleesi and QPC’s other bro (Tyrion) have all teamed up and are headed that way.

WDTSEM? In the books, apparently TCU has some sort of magic horn that can call dragons? I think this might be the gift he’s going to get and bring back to QPC which would be CLUTCH because in the upcoming battle against Khaleesi, the ability to control those dragons would be really helpful.

Next, let’s see how Sam is doing over in “Oldtown” where all the maesters live...

If you’ll recall, Maesters are like doctors/librarians/historians, each of whom is assigned to either a place (like the ice wall) or a family, I guess (like the Starks). Sam wants to be one but he also is NAUGHTY and brought his gf and her bb with him (Maesters are also supposed to be celibate like the ice wall guys). He’s in maester-training-camp which includes a lot of diarrhea, apparently. He’s like cleaning bedpans, putting back library books, and doing autopsies on the reg. JIM BROADBENT aka Prof. Slughorn from HP aka Harold from Moulin Rouge shows up and is like DON’T GO IN THE RESTRICTED SECTION OF THE LIBRARY, SAM (flashes of Harry Potter, amirightladies?) so of course Sam does. He sneaks some books home and finds out that “Dragonstone” which is a castle near King’s Landing that Khaleesi is heading towards, is built on top of heaps of “dragonglass” (which, I mean, could have guessed) so he’s like I gotta tell Bae since I know bb boi is trying to stock up on that. Also, there’s a brief scene when Khaleesi’s friend who had the turning-to-stone-disease (Stoney) is like in a hospital where Sam is working and is pops his stone-hand out and is like IS SHE HERE YET? Aka Stoney wants to know if Khaleesi has made it to Dragonstone yet, which WAIT TIL THE END OF THE EPISODE, DUDE.

WDTSEM? Especially the scene with Jim Broadbent (JB) is important because he talks about how the ice wall has always held up after centuries of zombie attacks and how empires rise and fall and just like go with the flow, Sam. My guess is that they’re bringing up how strong the ice wall is and how unlikely a zombie-attack really is because this is something that may actually happen now so we can really grasp how high the stakes are nowadays.

Before we get to Khaleesi, we have to check in on “The Hound” who’s walking around with those fire-worshipping dudes these days…

Is it just me or is man-bun guy kinda hot? So he and “The Hound” come across this farm house which the Hound is having some guilt about b/c last time he was in the hood he killed the girl and her dad who lived there. They find their bodies and everyone is like IDK who killed them but ugh… that’s life. And then the fire-worshipper-guys are like here look at this fire and remember the Hound hates fire because he got half of his face burned off as a kid. But he does look at the fire and has like a premonition of zombies going around the ice wall and attacking all the living people. Then he and hottie man bun bury the dead girl and her dad outside because the Hound feels #guilty for killing them I guess?

WDTSEM? Well the Hound used to be really murder-y but then he was saved by Ian McShane and his group of like Amish people (much like Harrison Ford in the film Witness) and decided to renounce violence. He used to work for QPC’s family and then kind of kidnapped Arya but also was not the worst to her (or to her sister for that matter) so if shit’s going down he could potentially be on the Stark side of things now. 

Lastly, we check in with everyone’s fave kween and co, Khaleesi, who rolls up on Dragonstone with all her pals…

She hasn’t been to this side of the world since she was a wee babe so when she steps foot on the sand, she’s like give me a minute y’all. Then she walks into the castle and looks at the throne, which is NOT made of a bunch of swords but rather a slab of rock and is still pretty baller and walks right past it to head to the room with the giant map on it. Previously, Stannis and his friends lived there including sweet ole’ no-knuckles who is currently #teambae and he spent a lot of time strategizing and having sex with witches to produce demon babies on that table. Khaleesi looks around and then is like, let’s get it started in here #blackeyedpeas.  

WDTSEM? Well, duh, cuz Khaleesi is in it and she is basically the Beyonce of GoT. But also because she has had this single-minded pursuit on the iron throne (chair made of swords where QPC is currently sitting) so you’d think she’d like take a minute to sit on this rock-slab-throne and savor the moment, but she (unlike QPC) knows that a true kween not only sits there, but also gets shit done. And I think this scene is supposed to contrast how #woke Khaleesi is compared to QPC. Both have giant maps and thrones now, but QPC is so out of touch that she has no time for strategy or listening to other people’s advice. 

Final thoughts:

This ep was what the TV people call a “table setting” episode and it did just that. The drawback is that it was pretty boring. We just check in on all of our key players/places and see how everyone is doing which is normally quite helpful in GoT world. But the season 6 finale already did that for us, so it seems to be just an extension of that episode rather than something new and exciting. Now on to our superlatives...

Biggest surprise this ep: Sam is interning for JIM BROADBENT these days, which is pretty great. Also Ed Sheeran lives in GoT-world I guess which actually explains a lot.

Biggest letdown: We only get THREE WHOLE WORDS from Khaleesi in the entire ep!

Important fashion moments: Sansa’s new lacefront is NOT working for her. With this budget you’d think they could afford better wigs! Also, while I won’t miss the Mereen subplot, I will miss Khaleesi and co being in a warmer climate because she and her friends had some killer crop tops/ cut out dresses/ bright colors . Now that everyone is on the cold side of the world, we have much less #fashun.

Who died this ep? A bunch of Walder Frey’s main cronies

Check in next week when we’re promised someone will finally be strangling littlefinger so we may be rid of his creepy soliloquies soon! Thanks for reading tell your friends!

CORRECTION: After checking my sources, it seems like the Hound maybe didn’t kill the farmer dude and his daughter but instead stole their shit and so they were forced into the dire circumstances that led them to their death. So while it sounds like he didn’t kill them, he still feels guilty that he basically caused their deaths.

Also, I incorrectly ID’ed Bae as Khaleesi’s uncle a few times but actually she is his aunt I guess? Sorry to lead you astray!