#anyways i love her i thought she would be obnoxious but i was wrong

[morebird]

Hey, soldier.

[aquaticmercy]

Beautiful Mess

Summary : Bucky tries to cook you a food you’ve been craving. It goes wrong, but it also goes right.

Pairing : Bucky Barnes x Reader (she/her) 

Warnings : food, mild cursing? and lots and lots of fluff! 

Requested by : anon 

Word count : 1.5k

Note : It’s my first fic in 4 years and boy I forgot how good it felt writing for fun. Thank you to the anon who requested this! (I said it would be >1k word blurb but I got over the limit and I hope you don’t mind!) Enjoy!

Requests are open!

“Shut up,” Bucky grumbled, aggressively poking at the smoke alarm with the end of his rifle case. He stretched on his toes, metal arm whirring as he tried to reach the obnoxiously tall ceiling. 

‘Oh this is wonderful,’ you had been giddy with joy when the two of you viewed this apartment, ‘I love the high ceilings, don't you, Buck?’

He had chuckled and agreed that day. For all he cared, the ceiling could be as high as the atmosphere allowed if it meant it made you happy. But now he was thinking maybe your next place should have, at the very least, a reachable ceiling on his tip toes. 

The shrill beeping had been going on for what felt like an eternity. Bucky Barnes has never been known for his patience, and now it was wearing dangerously thin.

Clearly, he hadn't thought any of his actions through. The rifle case was too flimsy, and it bent under the pressure of each jab. If the alarm didn’t stop soon, it wouldn’t just be his sanity at stake— the neighbours would probably come knocking on the door asking if they needed to evacuate.

"Great idea, Barnes. Brilliant," he muttered to himself, throwing a desperate scan around the room. His eyes landed on the bo staff you kept in the corner— a weapon from your training collection. 

“Perfect,” he said to himself, practically lunging for it. Surely, you wouldn’t mind him using it just this once. It was just a stick, right?

Grabbing the staff, he reached up again, tapping the alarm with its tip. His strength— which usually worked in his favour— became his single greatest enemy. With a loud snap, the white disk detached completely, wires dangling from the ceiling as the alarm finally went silent. A part of him took in the quiet bliss for a moment before realising the repercussions. He’d have to contact the building super, then pay the fees, and since he’s off for a mission in a couple of days, he had unintentionally given you a bit more life admin work around the house.

He cursed under his breath, staring at the detached alarm hanging limply in his hand.

He tossed it into the kitchen trash bin, as if hiding it there might make the problem disappear.  For a moment Bucky just stood there, staring at the mess around him, trying to make sense of how things had spiraled out of control.

He ran a hand through his brown thick locks, ones you had asked him to grow out again. He sighed. How did it go so wrong?

All he wanted was to do something nice for you. Just one thing. You’d been so good to him— so patient, especially after he'd returned from weeks of missions worn down and, admittedly, a bit grumpy. You greeted him with nothing but warmth, even though you were probably as tired as he was.

And then there was the food. Bucky still wasn’t sure why he'd been craving bland, 1940s-era meals, the kind no modern person could possibly enjoy, but you indulged him anyway. When he’d mentioned how much he missed a particular meatloaf recipe, you made it for him. He could tell from the look on your face that you were struggling not to spit every bite out, but you powered through for his sake. And when he’d told you about his mom’s molasses cookies, you had taken the time to bake a jar that tasted just like the ones from his childhood.

It was perfect. You were perfect.

So why couldn’t he get this right?

You'd been talking about focaccia earlier this week, your eyes lit up in childlike wonder as you told him about how you used to experiment with different toppings. He’d taken a mental note of that moment, thinking he could surprise you by making some himself.

He glanced around the kitchen. Flour dusted on nearly every surface, olive oil splattered on the counter, and a sad, burnt dough resting on the baking tray. 

Bucky sighed, leaning back against the counter, staring at the mess with a mixture of frustration and helplessness.

You’d probably laugh at this, he thought as a self-deprecating smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He could already hear your teasing voice, reminding him that not everything had to be perfect.

But still, he wanted to get it right. 

He glanced at the clock. You’d be home soon. He had maybe thirty minutes to try and salvage this— or at least clean up the evidence before you walked through the door. 

Priorities, he thought.

He cracked his knuckles, pouring the excess dough to a new baking tray. He thanked whatever gods still existed that he had accidentally made way too much dough. Not even waiting for it to rise, he shoved it in the oven and reshaped it into something that didn’t look like a science experiment gone wrong.

“Okay,” he pressed a palm to his forehead as if that would magically clear his mind. “Focus.”

He realised the oven was too hot, and that was probably why it burnt. 

Very smart, Barnes, he thought to himself, about time you used basic logic.

As he fumbled with the oven dials, he heard the familiar sound of your keys jingling at the front door. His heart sank. Shit. She’s home early.

Frantically, Bucky darted toward the flour-covered countertops, grabbing a towel to wipe down the mess. But there was no saving kitchen wreck—not in under thirty seconds, anyway. 

You stepped through the door, humming softly to yourself as you dropped your heavy bag with a thud. You stretched your shoulders, straining a little from the weight. Tossing the keys to the side, you noticed how uncharacteristically quiet it is in your home.

As you moved deeper into the apartment, you saw why.

It was your boyfriend, standing awkwardly in the middle of the kitchen, holding a flour and oil-coated dish towel like a deer caught in headlights.

The corners of your mouth lifted. “What on earth?”

“I can explain,” a red plum blush coloured his cheeks, raising his hands in defense. You raised an eyebrow, stepping closer to the crime scene.

“Wait…” your eyes widened, “are you trying to make focaccia?” 

“Yeah,” he admitted sheepishly. “I thought I could surprise you with it, since you’d been talking about how much you love it. But, uh…” He motioned to the oven. “It’s not exactly turning out the way I planned.”

You let out a soft laugh, one that melted Bucky's heart, that made his chest thrum with joy. You took the towel from his hand, squirming then dropping it when you touched the part of the fabric that was very sticky with congealed liquid, clearly a mix of olive oil and flour. “I can see that,” you teased, quickly wiping your hand as you bent down to be eye-level with the dough. “What is this? An attempt at modern art?”

Bucky groaned, covering his face with his hands. You looked around the room, seeing your bo staff on the floor, and his (hopefully unloaded) rifle by the dishwasher. “Did you shoot it?” you joked.

“No.”

“Did you hit it with my stick?”

“It’s a disaster,” he complained, exasperated.

You took a deep breath and then giggled, your shoulders shaking as you leaned against his shoulder for support.

“I tried, okay?” he grumbled, part mortified, part relieved, and fully, thoroughly, embarrassed. Still, he could feel his heart flutter as he watched you laugh.

You cupped his cheeks affectionately. “I can’t believe you went through all this trouble just to make me bread.”

He shrugged, his expression softening as he looked down at you. “I just wanted to do something nice for you. You’ve been so good to me. I thought I could, I don’t know… return the favor.”

Your heart melted at his words. You didn't care about the focaccia, or the mess in the kitchen. It was about the fact that Bucky had gone out of his way to try and do something sweet for you— even if it clearly went south.

“Bucky,” you said softly, standing on your toes to press a chaste kiss to his lips. “I love that you tried.”

He sighed in relief, wrapping his strong arms around you, pulling you into his warm chest. “I just didn’t want to screw it up.”

“You didn’t,” you reassured, resting your head against his shoulder. “I didn’t even know you knew what focaccia was,” you teased.

He chuckled, burying his face in your hair. “I’m still not sure I do.”

You pulled back slightly, looking up at him “Tell you what, I’ll make you an offer. I’ll show you how to make focaccia, and we’ll order takeout in the meantime.”

Bucky’s smile widened, as he peppered kisses on your face, overwhelming you with as much love as he could possibly give, “That sounds perfect.”

You threw him a clean kitchen towel once you were able to escape his affectionate attack, not that you wanted to. “Now help me clean up, Buck.”

He grabbed the towel and started in the corner as you started chucking empty olive oil bottles into the trash bin.

Wait, trash bin-

“What the hell is the fire alarm doing in the trash, Barnes?” 

Bucky froze, turning to you with wide eyes. “I can explain.”

You tried to suppress a laughter, piecing together the clues, “Did you break it?”

He raised his hands in defense. “It was beeping, and I didn’t mean to rip it out of the ceiling…”

“You tried to kill it with my staff, didn’t you?”

“Maybe.”

You smiled. Oh, what a beautiful mess you had found yourself in.

-end

[hannibals-favourite-meal]

.⋆｡You And Him｡⋆.

Aaron Hotchner x plus size reader

Calls from Jack were precious so Hotch was more than okay with you answering them

Warnings: fluff, thoughts on the future

WC: 579

Minors DNI

Library- @hannibals-favourite-meal-library

There was a certain order of events that always transpired on the jet ride home after a case was done; A round of teas and coffees would be brewed by Rossi (who claimed no one knew how to do it properly), Derek would don a pair of headphones that should have been thrown out years ago and play obnoxiously loud music, JJ would take a much-deserved nap, Emily had a habit of reading cheesy romance novels while Spencer played chess against himself. And Hotch called home.

Hearing his boy’s voice or even just his breathing while he slept, calmed his anxiety down to almost nothing. It soothed him more than he could ever say out loud.

A smile pulled at his lips as Aaron’s phone lit up with his former sister-in-law’s name. He didn’t even bother glancing around the cabin to check if anyone was watching as he answered the call.

“Hey buddy.” The typical heavy breathing of a child filled his ears before there was a soft hiccup.

“Hi dad.” Hotch’s brow scrunched in concern and pressed the device closer to his skin, as if he could impart some comfort onto his son through the screen.

“What’s wrong?” Across the table from him, your eyes snapped up from your report, your attention now solely focused on him.

“Is um, is Y/N there?” Immediately, Aaron sagged into the airplane seat, his smile returning tenfold. Your relationship was fresh, still filled with the anxiety and excitement of firsts as you explored each other. You were infinitely nervous when he had finally introduced you to Jack as his girlfriend and not just the colleague you had been before.

But just like he knew you would, you and his son were thick as thieves and evidently, that carried over into when you were away for work. “Yeah buddy, she’s sitting right in front of me.” Your breath hitched and he knew that heat was now crawling up your neck. 

“Can I talk to her? Please?” His heart melted at Jack’s sincere plea. He would never deny his son, especially not when it came to this. 

“Of course.” Your head was tilted in confusion until Aaron pulled the phone from his ear and held it to you. “It’s for you.” 

Your beaming smile lit up the whole cabin as you practically snatched the device from his hand, cradling it to your ear as if you were holding a baby bird. “Jack?”

Aaron couldn’t hear his response over the roar of the airplane’s engine but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway because as soon as you sunk back into your seat, your eyes sparkling with love, he became lost in his fantasies.

He could see you clear as day, standing in front of him in a white dress, glowing in that way you did when you were overwhelmingly happy. Jack would be between you, both as your man of honour and his best man, unable to choose which side he wanted to stand on. Maybe there would even be another little Hotchner in the crowd with your eyes and Aaron’s dimples. 

Possibly even two of them, or three. 

Your quiet giggles made his heart skip a beat and Aaron thought that he didn’t mind if you took all his calls from Jack on the way home if it meant that he could hear your voice, unburdened by the depravity of the job.

He wondered if it was too early to start shopping for rings.

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[natti-ice]

Wrong Assumptions- Regulus Black.

Pairing: Regulus Black x fem!reader

Summary: The Marauders come to visit for the summer, Regulus does everything to avoid the love of his life

Warnings: written in third person (she/her pronouns), this is two parts in one (2.7k words)

Author’s note: this is a reupload, I wrote this a while ago!

Reblogs and comments are greatly appreciated<3

Summer breaks at 12 Grimmauld Place weren't always eventful. It was quiet most days, a rare conversation here and there. The Black brothers got along to a certain extent. Even when his parents were constantly comparing him to his brother, Sirius did love his brother. Regulus wouldn't say it out loud but he loved his brother too. 

This break was different than the rest, Walburga and Orion were out of town for a few weeks. This meant the boys had the house to themselves. Sirius took advantage of this immediately. He sent an owl to his friends the second his parents left, telling them to come asap. 

Regulus didn't care they were gone, or that Sirius had friends over. He kept to himself most of the day anyway. He wasn't overly fond of Sirius' friends, they were the complete opposite of him. Loud, obnoxious, just all over the place. Well, that was mainly James.

He could tolerate the tall one, the short boy didn't look in his direction so Regulus didn't mind him. He liked Y/N, only because she was his friend first.

Growing up, their parents were friends. Y/N would come over and play with the boys, she was always closer with Regulus even though she was a year older. She wasn't into the things Sirius liked. He was more into physical toys, while Y/N and Reg would create fantasy lands with their imaginations. 

One day they could be pirates finding lost treasure at sea, the next they were doctors performing emergency surgery on a teddy bear. This went on for a while till it was time for her to go to school. That's when she and Sirius became close, it seemed like she completely forgot about Regulus.

Most people thought Sirius and Y/N were in love the way they were never separate. For a while, Regulus didn't think that until he saw Y/N and Sirius cuddled up at the great lake one day. 

The Marauders arrived a few days ago, nothing crazy had happened thankfully. No kitchen fires or broken vases, just loud voices that reminded Regulus of their presence. 

-

It was about 8:30 in the morning, the house was quiet. Regulus figured they were all still asleep, he didn't like to leave his room when they were about the house. He went downstairs to the kitchen to make himself breakfast.

Walking into the kitchen, heading straight to the cabinet to make his morning tea. He failed to see someone already sitting at the dining table

"Good morning Reggie" She said

"Morning" he said with a thin-lipped smile

"How have you been?" she kept the conversation going

"I've been fine" he sat in front of her, stirring his tea

They made small talk for a while, catching up on what the other has been doing over the years. They hadn't had an actual conversation in who knows how long. Small waves and hellos in the hallways were the extent of their friendship.

The conversation was easy as if they'd never stopped talking. A few laughs here and there, until the boys woke up. Thumbing could be heard from outside the kitchen door, the boys came into the kitchen all at once. They were already talking about something probably meaningless. Regulus took this opportunity to slip out of the room.

It kind of hurt Y/N to see him leave, but she understood. He wasn't a people person. She would see him around school, always by himself. He would talk to some boys in his house, but she knew they weren't his close friends.

"Y/N/N get dressed, we're going into town today" Sirius told the girl as he buttered his toast

She listened heading up the stairs to her room to pick out an outfit. She passes by Regulus' room, stopping, backing up to be in front of his door.

She figured it wouldn't hurt to ask if he wanted to come. She knocks on the door

"Hey Reg, can I come in for a sec"

"sure" muffled by the door, she cracks open slightly stepping into his room.

It was very neat and elegant for a young man. A tall bookshelf and desk furnished his room.

"The boys and I are going out later, I just wanted to know if you wanted to come" she smiled

"Oh, no. Thank you, though" he said quicker than she'd like

"Okay, I'll see you later then" she left his room, it was probably for the best. The boys would've flipped if he came.

-

The sun was almost completely down before the Marauders came back. They went all over London. 

During their absence, Regulus thought back to that day at the lake. He was studying some plants for herbology that lived in the water. A few feet away was his brother's little friend group. Sirius was leaning up against a tree, while Y/N was rested under his arm with her head on his shoulder.

A small pain struck Regulus' heart, he didn't understand it back then but he knows now. He's in love with her, the feeling was new to him. He felt sick to his stomach any time he saw them together after that day.

That's why he didn't want to go out with them, if it was just Y/N, he'd go anywhere she wanted. 

The boys had worn themselves out today, they all were asleep by 11:30. Y/N laid in her bed, trying her best to fall asleep. She was restless, she didn't have as much fun as she pretended she did. Throughout the day Regulus ran through her mind. She missed being around him, watching him grow up on the sidelines was painful. They should've done it together.

When he got sorted into a different house, she knew there wasn't a chance for their relationship to be as it once was. 

She left her bed, she walked the halls of the house trying to cure her boredom. She decided to go up to the roof. It was a place she and Reggie would sneak off to when they'd gotten in trouble. No one ever found them.

She climbed up the hidden ladder that was installed into the ceiling of the top floor. A warm breeze hit her face as she got to the roof. She sat down against the brick wall that's connected to the chimney.

 She sighed, finally some fresh air. She loved her friends, but sometimes they were too much.

"Y/N?" A voice said

"Reggie?" she asked back

A tall figure came from behind the wall, sitting next to her. 

"What are you doing out here?" He asked

"Just needed a little air" he nods, "I didn't know you still came up here" she says

"Yeah, it's my own hideaway" a small smile on his face

They sat in silence for a minute or two. Y/N taking in the beauty of the night sky.

"Can I ask you something?" Regulus asked randomly

"Sure, anything" 

He takes a short pause, thinking of how to word the question. "Are you in love with my brother?" he asks in a quiet voice

She looked at him searching for any sign he was joking. He was being serious. She had to laugh. 

"What's so funny?" He was confused by her hysterics

"I'm sorry, it was just funny. You think I like Sirius?" 

"You don't?" He was even more confused now

"No! I love him, just not in that way. I don't know why everyone thinks me and him are a thing." She explained

"Okay... what about when you two were cozied up at the lake?"  

"Are you stalking me Reggie?" she teased

"What? No." He was thankful for the darkness, he could feel his face heating up

"It was cold that day, I forgot my jacket. He was being a good friend is all. Plus he's not really my type" she said

"Oh. I don't think he deserves you anyway" he smirked "What is your type then?" He needed to know, he knew it would eat him up if he didn't know.

It felt like she was taking forever to answer, he could hear his pulse. It was so loud, he almost missed what she said.

"I'm sorry what?" he asked

"I said, you" She smiled

This was something he had wanted to hear for a very long time, now was his time. Something came over him, and he went for it.

"I love you" he blurted out

"I was hoping you'd say that" she leaned in slightly, inches away from his face "I'm going to kiss you now" she whispered

Regulus closed the distance between them, holding her cheek in hand. This moment was what he thought about every day. He was afraid he was dreaming. Finally pulling away for air. 

"I love you too, Reggie"

-

They didn't stay on the roof for long, the summer nights were quite warm. Sleep wasn't an option for them, rekindling their friendship and starting a new relationship gave them an adrenaline boost.

They thought of things they could do that were fun but didn't risk them getting caught. Regulus was trying to come up with something when he remembered a little secret of his.

"I know something we can do, but if you tell anyone I'll deny it" he started

"What are you talking about? Should I be worried?" She asked, his bold vague statement made her very curious

"I own one of those muggle television sets. I was tired of hearing the kids at school talking about them so I had to see what the big deal was"

"Really?"

He nods,

"Oh my" she laughs, "Who would've thought, the pureblood has a liking for muggle things"

"Hey, it was only-"

"I'm teasing, Reg!" she smiled at him "I'd love to watch tv with you"

"C'mon I show you where it is," he said, standing up offering her a hand.

She accepted it, pulling herself up. They climbed back down the ladder into the house. Regulus took her hand, leading her down the dark hallway to a small room in an abandoned part of the house.

The room was pretty bare, with only a small tv and a two-person couch filling the space. Reg walks over to the television turning the dials finding his favorite channel. It played reruns of the American show 'Charlie's Angels'.

Both of them sat down on the couch, closer than they would've this time yesterday. He had already seen this episode before, he filled Y/N in on what she'd missed.

The couple sat together enjoying the program, neither of them could believe they were finally together. They were still getting used to being around each other again. It was a little awkward at first, but as their nerves calmed they eased into it.

"Y'know what would make this better?" Y/N said

"What?" his voice raspy from not speaking

"Snacks"

"You're absolutely right" he smiled

Walking downstairs, trying their best to be quiet. They knew if the boys found out, it would be a whole fiasco. It was best to keep it to themselves for now.

Y/N took the lead stepping into the kitchen pushing open the door, the fridge light was already illuminating the room. Sirius had woken up and decided to get something to drink.

"Oh hey Y/N/N... and Regulus?" he furrowed his brows together "What are you two doing?" he questioned

"Just hanging out, we couldn't sleep" She came up with on the fly, Regulus silently stood behind her, maintaining eye contact with his older brother.

"Right, can I talk to you for a minute, Y/N" he said pulling her into the other room

She kept her composure, she knew he had many questions. But she wasn't ready to tell him everything just yet.

"You and him are friends now?"

"We've always been friends, Sirius. We just haven't talked in a while that's all" she told him

"Okay, just answer me this one question" he sighed, dreading the answer. "Are you messing around with my brother?"

"WHAT?" She said a little too loudly "No, I am not messing around with him" she whispered, Regulus was probably listening

"I'll take your word for it" he put his hands up in defense "I've got to go back to bed, Goodnight"

"Goodnight, Sirius" she watched as he ascended up the stairs

She released the breath she didn't know she was holding, going back into the kitchen.

"How'd it go?" Regulus asked

"Fine, but he is very suspicious. If we want to keep this a secret, we'll have to be more discrete." She didn't like keeping secrets from Sirius, but she didn't want to jeopardize her relationship with Regulus.

He walks up to her, taking her face in his hand. "We'll tell him soon enough, don't worry dear" he tells her, placing a small kiss on her forehead

-

It was the Marauders last week at The Black's house. Every night Y/N and Regulus would stay up, take every moment they could to be together before she had to leave.

This also meant they were exhausted during the day. She still had to hang around the boys, so she sacrificed her sleep to keep her secret. The boys noticed her tiredness but didn't pay it any mind, figured she was worn out from being around them for so long.

There were a few times they had almost got caught, barely getting out of each situation. Like the time James decided to be an early bird.

It was 4:45 am, Y/N and Regulus had accidentally fallen asleep in the living room. Y/N was laying on top of Regulus. James half-awake walked past the room, thankfully it was quite dark in the house. He could only see her figure on the couch.

"Psst, Y/N" This caused her to stir, she realized whose voice that was. Slowly turning her head to face James, thinking she was caught.

He wasn't looking in her direction thankfully

"Yeah?" she answered

"Go to your room, there's no way that couch is comfortable" he walked away

She frantically woke up Regulus after she saw James' silhouette was gone. They both had to tiptoe back to their respective rooms.

-

Today was her last day. One by one the Marauders were leaving. James and Y/N were the last to leave. She, James, and Sirius were waiting in the living room. Her parents would be there any minute, so she wanted to say goodbye to regulus.

"I'm gonna go say goodbye to Reggie" she told the boys

"Careful, he might bite" James laughed

Rolling her eyes, she made her way to his room. Lightly knocking on the door,

"Hey Reggie, can I come in?" she asks

"Of course," he replied

She walks into the room, he was standing in the middle of the room. He'd been waiting for her to come up there.

"My parents will be here soon, I wanted to say goodbye" She walks up to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. He snakes his arms around her shoulders, squeezing her tight.

"School starts back soon, Won't be long we'll see each other again" he says pulling away slightly so they're face to face.

"I love you, Y/N" He leans down, capturing her lips in a sweet kiss.

He's so happy he finally got the girl. The girl he always wanted, even when he thought she loved his brother.

"Hey Y/N, your parents-" Sirius says walking into his brothers from

The couple pulls away from each other, not fast enough for Sirius not to see.

"Haven't you heard of knocking" Regulus questions his brother

"I thought you said you two weren't messing around?" confusion slapped across his face

"We're not!" she panics

"Right, then what the hell was that?" slight anger in his tone

"We're not messing around. I love him, Sirius" She had to tell the truth

Sirius didn't say anything, only eyed the couple. Sighing he finally replied,

"I know,"

"You know?" Regulus asks

"Yeah, I've always known you loved each other. I just didn't know how to feel about it"

"How do you feel about it?" Y/N didn't want this to ruin anything being her and Sirius, he's her best friend

"It'll take me a while to get used to, but I want you guys to be happy"

Y/N walks up to him, wrapping him in a bear hug. "Thank you" she whispers

A car horn is heard outside the window

"I should probably go" she let go of her friend, walking back over to her boyfriend

"I love you, Reggie" giving him a quick peck

"Ew, please don't do that around me," Sirius says, a sickened look on his face

"You're gonna have to get use to it" she shrugged walking out of the room. Regulus follows behind her, standing next to his brother

"Goodbye Y/N" Sirius yells down the hall

"Goodbye boys" she says, heading down the stairs

Once he heard the door shut, Sirius turned to his brother

"If you hurt her, I promise you I will make your life hell" he put on a fake smile

"I wouldn't dream of it" he matched his brother's smile

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[tigergirltail]

TIGER HRT CHAPTER 4 - MONTH 3 - GROWING PAINS

First - Prev - Next

Everything hurts.

I started noticing it about two weeks after my first dose. It felt like a dull headache at first, but over the next month it spread to pretty much my entire body.

I had to start working from home, and eventually it got bad enough that I could only put in a few hours of work each day. My boss is a reasonable enough guy, but he wasn't going to pay a full time salary for part time hours, so I had to take a salary cut.

Luckily, my partner is around to take care of daily errands, not to mention being there to reassure and comfort me when the pain gets bad. They've been thinking about seeing if Lindwurm HRT is a thing, but they don't want to get the process started until I'm in the clear and can take care of myself again.

Gods I love them.

The reason the pain is happening, as best I can tell, is that my skeletal structure is already changing. I've gotten at least an inch taller, and my face has been reshaping into a feline muzzle. My teeth are getting sharper, and I'm developing proper fangs. I also noticed a little while ago that my fingernails and toenails had receded into their respective digits, which sucks for two reasons - I can't paint fingernails I don't have, and they are sore as HELL when I put any amount of pressure on them. I have to be REALLY careful with how I type to not inflict agony on myself. I'm also feeling my tail growing in, and even if it hurts, it's euphoric as HELL. A tail was always the part I wanted most out of this.

It's weird, the skeletal changes weren't supposed to happen this early. I've been trying to reach Dr. Erian about it, but he's constantly busy, probably because of the sudden surge of people looking for Humanity Removal Therapy.

Other than that, I've been getting areas of white and black fur coming in - mostly on my arms and legs, but a little bit on my face and ears - ears that are gradually reshaping and migrating. Nothing to report on hearing sensitivity, but I think my night vision is getting better.

I did a little bit of looking around for anyone with similar pain experiences. I got my hopes up when I found a girl, Antonina, who had a painful experience with Cat HRT, but it turns out it's because she took the rumoured Fifteen Minute version. She described the pain as "like bathing in an active volcano".

It leaves me wondering whether I would have preferred a 15-minute lava bath over a months-long full-body headache.

I ended up reaching out to her anyway, just because I wanted to know what I was in for in the endgame and feline HRT is rarer than I thought it would be. Sounds like the prey drive is the real deal - she keeps feeling the urge to bite this one girl who's on mouse HRT.

We've been spending some time comparing notes and getting to know each other. It's nice to know someone else who's going through this thing, even if our experiences aren't exactly one-to-one.

I also talked to my mother for the first time in nearly a year. I went No Contact with her a while back because she was only getting more obnoxious and combative about me being trans, but I figured changing my species is a big enough deal that I should keep her in the loop.

Besides, my savings had nearly dried up and I needed to ask her for money.

It… did not go well. She hadn't heard of therian HRT before, and once I explained it, she started panicking about how I'm "mutilating my body" with "untested treatments". I think I also heard her cry something about how her "son" is "killing himself", which is just multiple layers of insensitive.

At least she sent me some money. Hopefully it'll be enough to last until my transformation stops being agonizing and I can go back to work, and then I can go right back to pretending my family doesn't exist.

At roughly the three-month mark, I have a check-in video call with Dr. Erian. From the moment his face appears on screen, though, I can tell something is wrong. He seems… older, somehow.

"Hello, Miss Alexis.", he offers. He sounds tired. Sorrowful, even.

"Hey, doc." I have to ask about it. "Everything okay? You seem a bit tired."

"Nothing to worry about Miss Alexis, just the ordinary stresses of daily life."

Liar. I know I'm not entitled to details of your personal life, much less your professional secrets, but I know when something is eating at someone.

"…Does the word 'crossroads' mean anything to you, Miss Alexis?"

Huh? That came a bit out of left field. "I've… heard some other therian HRT patients use the term, but I don't know much of the details. Something about a point of no return?"

"Something of the sort." He lowers his head and seems to go from sorrowful to downright grim. "There will come a time, Miss Alexis, when you will have to make a very important decision in your care, and I ask that you do so with great consideration for the consequences."

I recoil a little in my seat. "Yeah… Of course I will. Any decision I make, even reaching out to you in the first place, I don't take it lightly."

"Good… That's good." His demeanor shifts back to his stoic, clinical self. I don't know what just happened, but he went somewhere for a moment there.

"Now then, I did receive your messages, I apologize for not getting back to you. You mentioned you were experiencing persistent and debilitating whole-body soreness?"

"Yeah. I can't even leave the apartment most days, it hurts so much."

"Odd… You are taking the treatment as directed, yes?"

"Of course. One tablespoon a week, just like it says on the bottle."

I see his eyes twitch behind his glasses. Did I say something wrong?

"…Teaspoon."

I cock my head to the side. "Say again?"

"You mean one TEASPOON a week, yes?"

I feel my heart sink. The dark smear on the dosage information… I could have sworn it said '1 tbsp/week'.

"…Could you hold on a second please?" I mute the mic and call out to my partner to bring the bottle of tiger HRT over. When they do, I unmute and hold it up to the webcam. I hear Dr. Erian take a sharp intake of breath as he notices the obscured instructions.

I set the bottle aside and the two of us share an awkward silence.

"So…", I begin. "…How bad is it?"

"The good news", he offers slowly, "is that you have only been taking three times the prescribed dose. An increased dose imbalances the growth rate of the different parts of your body, hence your pain and persistent weakness, but it could have been much worse."

I think back to the so-called Fifteen Minute version, and Antonina's description of it - like bathing in an active volcano.

Dr. Erian continues. "Assuming you return to a CORRECT dose, your growth rates will gradually level out over the course of the next month or so. It is my medical opinion that you should maintain a low-activity lifestyle until then, but you will eventually be able to return to your typical activity level, and you will also find that the physical effects become more… consistent."

"That's… reassuring. Thank you, doctor." I pause. Something I noticed a little while ago has been weighing on my mind. "There's one thing, though - do the treatments have… I guess you'd call them restorative or regenerative effects? I've noticed some old wounds aren't there anymore."

The doctor clicks his pen and brings up his notepad. "Interesting. Do go on, Miss Alexis."

"Well… I used to get lower back pain from a car crash injury I got a little over a year ago, but I haven't noticed it at all lately. Pretty much the only part that DOESN'T hurt… There also used to be some marks on my arm from a cat biting me when I was little." I give a slight smile. "The cat's name was Tiger, go figure."

Dr. Erian is writing the whole time I'm talking. "Yes, that is to be expected. Minor persistent injuries will fade over time as your body re-forms itself to a new baseline, even severe chronic symptoms may fade. If there are no other concerns…"

"Just one… Most of the other therian HRT patients I've talked to have gotten their meds as pills, so what's with the potion bottle?"

Dr. Erian pauses, and adjusts his glasses nervously, as if he's been caught out on something he doesn't want to admit to. "Well… advances in the field are occurring rapidly, and you are one of the more recent patients, so a more… streamlined option was available to you. I took the liberty of choosing the most compatible option based on your medical records, and that bottle is it."

"Okay… But what's IN it?"

"The active ingredients are antihominidone, which is your humanity-blocker, and a specialized formula of felistrogen, infused with white tiger genetic material. The rest of the fluid is a suspension used to dilute the effects, without which you would be looking at a short, but excruciating and potentially lethal process."

The Fifteen Minute version, I think to myself. I'm taking diluted Fifteen Minute meds. There's no WAY this isn't experimental, and I'M the experiment. I despise saying it, but maybe my mother was right to worry.

"But I'm afraid I really do have to go, Miss Alexis, my next appointment is waiting."

"G-gotcha. See ya, doctor."

---

Special thanks to @paintedbytosia for letting me write her in, and shoutout to @megamoonerjenny for coming up with 'antihominidone'

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Aita for assuming my coworker is a toxic partner?

I, 22M, work in a big chain restaurant with a bunch of people my age. Recently, one of the bussers who’s been at this branch since it opened two years ago (I’m a relatively newer higher but not by much, just not og staff) turned 19 and revealed that he has started dating one of the other servers that he’s been friends with for a while, let’s call the two of them Busboy (19 ftm), and Server (21 MtNB)

I’ve got nothing wrong with Busboy. He’s a hard worker, a little odd sometimes, and he’s been with our location for a long time. He and Server are both original staff members and the two have done a lot together, especially after Busboy turned 18 in December of 2022. Server set up Busboy’s first tattoo appointment, they go to the movies all the time, and at work they keep things friendly but professional. Honestly, we all kinda thought they were already dating before Busboy told everyone

Recently, Server got fired because of a stupid management rule about tables that walk out without paying. It sucked, but Server wasn’t really the best waiter anyways and there wasn’t really any lost love. Another waiter, let’s call him Closer (24M), and his wife (23F) have started hosting game nights at their apartment with Closer’s sister and some of her friends. As far as I know, Busboy and Server have been frequent attendants and tbh it looks like a lot of fun. Closer sent a general invite to the work group chat and me and some other coworkers decided to head over tonight

When we got there, it was fine at first. We were mixing drinks (no drinks for Closer’s wife since she’s pregnant or Busboy since he’s underaged) and playing games when I see Busboy take Server’s drink from them and tell them to stop drinking. Server sort of nodded real small like and I don’t know, it set off an alarm bell in my head. To paint a picture, Busboy is a fit young white guy even if he doesn’t pass that well while Server is a fat Mexican person with a lot of acne and stuff like that. Busboy’s also been known to cite his alleged disabilities to get out of work from time to time and he’s picky when ordering around the other bussers at work. Regardless of him being a Trainer, it’s just off putting yk?

I keep watching them before I asked Server if they wanted to be on my team for a card game we all wanted to play. Server looked to Busboy for permission and Busboy gave me a strange look before slowly agreeing. When Server and I were off by ourselves, I asked them if everything was okay. They didn’t really give me an answer, just sort of shrugged and said that it wasn’t anything I can do. Can you see where I’m going with this?

While we played the game, Busboy got very loud and obnoxious, saying inside jokes that only he, Closer and Server would know from when they opened our restaurant location, frequently interrupted my team and chastised me for offering Server some of my lemondrop drink, saying: “can’t you see that they clearly don’t want any?”

And here’s where I may be the asshole, I said: “How about you shut up and ask him what he wants?”

I know, I misgendered Server on accident, and I corrected myself in the moment, but the room went silent and Busboy got really confused and said: “But i did?”

I asked him: “When? They’ve spent all night stuck to your side, it looks like you’ve got them on a leash.”

Closer made an inappropriate joke to lighten the mood, but Busboy looked really confused and kept asking everyone if that’s what it looked like. I said: “yeah, it does. [Server], what do you want to do?”

Server said; “I don’t know, man, what are we upset about?”

But when I tried to explain that Busboy was acting really suspicious all night, everyone started telling me that I was wrong and that this wasn’t true, that Busboy’s always like this. It didn’t make any sense to me! I asked if Busboy always micromanages how Server drinks and Closer said; “no, but it’s [Server]’s turn to drive the two of them home. Usually [Busboy] drives and it’s a long drive, but today they’re in [Server]’s car.”

I ended up leaving pretty soon after and I feel really silly about the whole thing. So, tumblr, Aita?

What are these acronyms?

[xanderjkz]

Knox Overstreet- Fixing the problem of a kind boy

I like fucking love the concept of Knox's character and the message he portrays but holy shit they really fucked up when it came to the execution. Both in the movie AND book (ESPECIALLY there). This fandom takes its time to reconstruct his character to be likeable. But how would this actually play out in a better-constructed storyline for this dude with girl problems?

Well, that's the answer I would like to answer today

Knox in the official dead poets media

Like every poet in the movie Spotlight, Knox comes from a family that's enforcing the path of a lawyer. His father is one, which is how his storyline even starts. He is invited to the Danbury's because his dad helped the only responsible and well-mannered dude in the house. And in that same scene, they literally tell us that people expect him to be a lawyer. So there's this kind of pressure.

But not really because we never get to see that side of Knox in the movies where he clearly states that he doesn't like the path people chose for him. All he has is girls problems.

Which is sad considering that he could be so much more

But then we'd have to extend the movie by about 1 hour and that would make it unenjoyable because this movie is perfect because of the pacing they chose. It's fast and yet slow and kinda counts down to Neil's suicide in a way that gets stuck. Because he is one of the main characters and most scenes should be with him. Not with Knox considering if his life expectancy is okay.

So is there any extra scenes in the book?

...yeah no

"But how do we solve this issue with knox's awful storyline?"

Rewrite the book and hope for the best.

Since I'm an author myself I know that writing often gets complicated when your creative streak is gone but since I'm an author I'd solve it this way:

Keep the Chris storyline

Let that boy be problematic, let him make mistakes but not once that deeply traumatises someone like SEXUALLY ASSULTING someone. Knox is the message bringer of the bad side of carpe Diem. Sometimes seizing the day will make things worse because you didn't think it through. That's a great message to bring across, I mean how many 16-year-olds make mistakes that we thought were okay? A lot, and he is the one who made the mistake in the story.

"So how would you change his mistake?"

The storyline reinvented

He meets Chris like usual

Look he didn't fuck up here in the slightest. I too would be stuttering if I met a beautiful girl. And him meeting her through the Danbury clearly shows the problem he has to date Chris. It's classic anyway

Cut the bike scene and use his sister instead

From what I gathered his sister goes to the same school as Chris (can be mistaken but for this story she does! ) so he uses her to kinda pry into Chris's life and find things out. It is problematic if he literally implies stalking her but c'mon, at least someone in the Overstreet family has common sense and only observes in the distance...right? Besides who doesn't use their siblings for their advantages? Plus it brings depth to that mean. Seeing how he treats his sister could indicate his behaviour with people extremely close to him.

Let him attempt the party but be extremely obnoxious

That's what he's best at

His nickname is literally knoxious. But what the hell do I mean by being obnoxious? Let that boy not leave Chris's side. Why? Because that sets up his mistake. Being attached to someone's hip can be extremely uncomfortable and with Chet's provoke able (?) ass this can go wrong fast. (Also we can't forget that Chris is the one being played around like an object in this and this should be his biggest mistake as we do not treat anyone like that, especially women!) But what would be the breaking point for CHRIS and Chet and the thing where he decides that "carpe diem" is good to use (even tho it's not)?

HE DANCES WITH CHRIS

Okay, instead of him being an ass and kissing Chris, he's an ass and dances with her. He was under the influence when he made both decisions which isn't an excuse but something that pushed him towards it. Because Knox in his most sober self wouldn't even talk properly to her.

So, some lame-ass song from the 50s is playing and he grabs her hand. Maybe she danced with someone else and he stole her. Considering that the tension between Chris and Knox is already uncomfortable, this would bring it to the maximum. Chris (as the beautiful woman she is) would try to use this moment to finally talk about his behavior so he lets her go. And the moment he finally talks chet comes in.

This small synopsis is weak but let's be honest, no one would read a whole ass script abt this.

Anyway

Chet comes in, the situation becomes way out of control and the only person getting extremely hurt is Chris. As she was toyed around by Knox and Chet. So she leaves the party prematurely (as she should, take care of yourselves) and Knox returns to Welton with the same bloody nose as in the movie

He goes directly to her house

Him doing so is a direct response to his failure. Between the party and them talking he needs to reflect on his failures and feel genuine guilt. It sucks that he can only do so once he gets punched but at least he has the mind to realise that.

But Chris isn't that easy to talk to. Obviously, this whole thing made her feel weird and sad so she avoided both of them. When he goes up to her house and gets rejected? He talks with Keating.

Mentor Keating

Not only would this solidify his last scene in the movie more but it also gives them a connection more than Keating humiliating him. Okay, but can we fit this into the movie? Not the conversation but he could easily fit it into the scene where he returns to Welton after talking to her.

"What would Keating tell him?"

The same thing he told Neil. Honesty.

Fate decides itself in the decisions you make and Knox knows that lies won't wrap her around his fingers. So maybe honesty carries them to a state where they can be friends.

So his masterplan gets made and it's the most trope-st shit you can think of.

Throwing a rock in the night at her sweet sweet window

Why did I think of this? Well, do you like the scenery of how he originally apologised and made everybody look at her?

At least it's at night so fewer people look and it would show us the skills he earned from sneaking off bc of the poet's meetings. Thus showing the audience more connection to the group. Plus at night people are mostly at their most vulnerable time and it would get Chris to talk.

But what would they talk about?

Considering that he finally saw the wrong parts of his obsession with her, he would give her the space to express her discomfort to its fullest after he of course apologises. But I think Chris wouldn't even express herself to the fullest because she has sympathy for him. She understands that loving someone can make you sick and twisted when you're a teenager but she is still her flesh and mind who clearly didn't want it to cause her relationship to break.

She might not express the worst anger that comes with something like this but she still expressed her sorrow in this mess. And Knox listens and sees the wrong in his actions. He doesn't need to justify himself because no justification could make this play in his favour. And when all is said and done, she forgives him for being so damn obnoxious.

But she doesn't like him in the way Knox wishes her to feel. And knox needs to learn to accept it. Like we all do

The story progresses without knox getting what he wants

Through this whole story he went through, we as viewers get the message that even if you apologise, it's up to the victim of your actions to give you what you want. And throughout the film, I never even got the notion that Chris has an interest in Knox. Hell, they don't even talk that much to build a conclusion on their goddamn relationship before he kissed her. He sets the message of a "Carpe Diem" gone wrong. After that, he is a reminder of us humans and our way of going through those problems you cause.

There are probably better ways of doing his arc, heck give him a different one. I mean he has potential. Maybe he's better off once the group splits or maybe he isn't.

But the way he is in the movie is a horrible portrayal of romance. I get it, the script is from the 80s but c'mon you're allowed to admit that it's bad.

Well, there's nothing we can really do, the movie in itself is an art and should be viewed as it. It fits into the zeitgeist of past generations and our present ones. I love the movie but if I had to change one storyline it would always be Knox oversteet's

Btw can be talk about how stupid his fucking name is? Who names their child Knox? With the last name OVERSTREET

[hyperfixations-ahoy]

Ellegaard + Magnus headcanons because yes

Magnus is probably the one person who can convince Ellegaard to take a break - mostly because he makes fun of her every time he finds her passed out and she’s sick of it

Also, he’s a surprisingly good cook. Ellegaard bought him an obnoxiously frilly pink apron as a joke, and he wears it out of spite

Soren and Ivor are both well aware that they hate and love each other at the same time, Gabriel is the only person confused as to their relationship

“Ellegaard and Magnus were fighting earlier… I hope they can be friends soon :(” and then Soren tells him that they were literally sleeping together last night

Some of their arguments are fake so that nobody realizes that they’re dating (everyone knows they’re dating), but also, bickering is just a part of their relationship

Occasionally though, one of them will go too far. Magnus will silent-treatment Ellegaard until she apologizes, which is usually within a couple of hours because she feels too awful to be stubborn. On the flipside, Ellegaard will hide in her workshop and avoid everyone, and Magnus usually has to bribe her out with baked goods before he can apologize

They constantly try to embarrass each other with the most sickeningly sweet pet names they can, well aware the other person absolutely hates it

After the Order split up, Magnus was the first person Ellegaard tried to contact, thinking he’d be the most likely person to respond. However, the mailman at Boomtown had overheard Magnus furiously ranting about the Order and “that stupid fucking engineer”, and figured he wouldn’t want to hear from her. She sent letter after letter, but never received a response because they never made it to Magnus in the first place. But of course, Ellegaard didn’t know that, and came to the conclusion that splitting from the Order meant they had split apart as well. So she threw herself into her work, trying to forget the stupid stubborn rogue who had broken her heart.

Meanwhile, Magnus had spent the first few days of the Order’s separation waiting for Soren to come crawling back, prepared to hear the architect finally admit he was wrong and reinstate their group. But he didn’t come, nobody did. Magnus thought that out of anyone, Ellegaard would at least come to see him. But that damn engineer was too stubborn for her own good, so he decided to take the high road this once and go pay a visit to Redstonia himself… Only to get turned away at the gate. Ellegaard had ordered for nobody to disturb her, ESPECIALLY not Magnus. He was left thinking that she had already moved on, shoving away anyone from her past. Well, that was just fine by him. Who needed an engineer who was willing to cut all ties without a second thought? Magnus fell into the same cycle that Ellegaard had, trying to forget she had ever existed and failing to deny that she was the only person he could ever fall in love with.

After Ellegaard’s death (she’s who I picked in my playthrough), Magnus is finally given all of her sent and unsent letters. Even after she had decided to forget about him, there were times where she just couldn’t get him off her mind, and wrote letters that were hidden in her workshop. When Magnus received them, it broke him even more than her death had. All those years believing that the other didn’t care, when the truth had been right here the entire time. Boomtown was left to Axel, and the rogue disappeared.

That got really angsty sorry anyways uhhh fuck that mailman

[sagurus]

Sure! When you have time I would love it if you any interactions between Saguru and any of the Gosho girls. It doesn't have to be shipped or whatever, but it's just because I've read so many of his interactions with the Gosho boys and I feel like the girls are underrated in that sense. I love crack and I love Saguru and I adore your writing and edits :)

Hey anon from 2018, lmao. You're right, there really do need to be more interactions between Saguru and the girls. I have a WIP I started recently that I feel really shows Aoko's acuity. It's not crack, but instead a tense interaction between two friends.

Eventually this'll make its way to AO3, but for now, here it is:

--

“So, Saguru-kun…”

Saguru finds himself bracing. Aoko has seemed to be in a strange mood the entire evening. He’d almost wondered if she was irritated with him at first, or maybe just more disappointed about Kuroba’s last-minute cancellation than she wanted to let on. But their plans had gone as expected otherwise; they studied, watched a show Aoko had been excited to show him over some reheated leftovers, all without incident. Now they’d settled in the living room, occupying themselves with their own activities.

But now, as casual as she was trying to seem, Saguru detected an underlying tension.

“Yes, Aoko-san?” He kept his eyes on his book.

“Did you know that Aoko’s dad thought Kaito was KID once?”

Saguru’s entire train of thought stuttered to a halt. Every thought vanished — and then his mind raced with questions. For what reason was she bringing this up? What kind of reaction was she expecting?

Her gaze was drilling into him, he could tell. She hadn’t turned away from her video game, but she had to be concentrating on him in her periphery. The sensation of it raised the hair on the back of his neck..

He turned the page, but wasn’t reading anymore.

“Did he? I’ve never heard anything about that,” Saguru said mildly. His heart rate was elevated. He focused on breathing normally.

“Yeah!” Aoko said, and she said it with a giggle. A feint. “He told me that and I thought it was so strange. Sure, he’s obnoxious, but he’s not stupid Kaitou KID.”

It was best to leave space in the conversation. He didn’t say anything, waiting for Aoko to continue.

“Anyway, Dad got a look at him at one heist, and he was sure he looked like Kaito. So to prove him wrong, I asked Kaito on a date!”

“A date?”

“Yep! I mean, thinking back that was pretty silly, but it got him to come. But isn’t that so weird? That he’d even think for a second that Kaito was KID?”

She sounded so cheery. The version of herself she put on in class when she was getting along with everybody. Masking away her acute intelligence and calculations. He used to think she wore her feelings on her sleeve - and to an extent she did. But these days he knew that there was plenty she kept under wraps. She and Kuroba were truly quite the pair.

“It does seem like a strange conclusion for the inspector to come to.” He tried to keep his voice neutral as he could. “How did the date go?”

Aoko stuck her tongue out, and for the moment turned her eyes back toward the screen, organizing her character’s inventory. “Oh, you know. Bakaito. He was his normal annoying self, but he showed up on time. We met up at Tropical Land and had a lot of fun! We saw a 3D movie and everything.” She paused, then added, “Actually, I even handcuffed us together. Which was probably overkill, honestly.”

Great minds think alike.

“And the heist?” Saguru asked.

“Oh, the heist still happened. And Kaito was with me the whole time.”

“Well, I imagine that remedied the inspector’s suspicions?”

“Yeah. Dad never said anything about it again.”

The conversation lulled into silence, but the tension in the room was palpable.

“It’s just weird. That’s the only time Dad has ever had a suspect. Honestly, I don’t get why he’d even entertain the idea.”

Saguru hmmed, hoping it sounded like agreement.

“I mean, Kaito is way too young to be KID. Everyone knows Kaitou KID has to be in at least his forties.”

“That does seem to be the most prominent theory,” Saguru said neutrally. It wasn’t the most satisfactory response, he knew. But he could toe this line, if he focused on the commonly-held beliefs and not his own hypotheses and opinions.

“I wonder who Kaitou KID actually is. Whoever it is, I really can’t stand him. I’d like to give him a piece of my mind for all the trouble he’s causing everybody.”

“That’s fair of you.” Saguru wouldn’t condemn KID himself. But he’s already made clear to her that he doesn’t share the same hostility. “What with KID’s talent, I wouldn’t be surprised if the public never comes to know his identity.” After a moment, he amended, “Not to imply the task force is lacking in talent or capability. Your father has prevented many thefts from coming to fruition.” Never mind the fact KID so far still hadn’t truly stolen anything regardless. “But no matter how successful plans are on this side, KID has still proven successful as an escape artist, if nothing else. We’ll just have to see if ever he’s caught, or we get a hint.”

“It would be nice, though,” Aoko said, and Saguru had a hard time reading her tone. “To know who it is.”

What was she trying to accomplish here? It felt like she was fishing. Like she wanted a specific response from him. She might want him to agree that it was a ridiculous idea, confirm that the suspicions were completely unfounded. But he couldn’t imagine lying to her outright. But on the other hand…

“Have you ever suspected anyone of being KID, Saguru-kun?”

Ah.

“Well,” he said.

He couldn’t bring himself to lie to her, but he certainly couldn’t tell the truth. Saguru wouldn’t betray Kuroba like that; Kuroba may not trust him, but Saguru wasn’t going to confirm Kuroba’s own impressions.

And it wouldn’t just be betraying Kuroba. It would be a betrayal of one of Aoko’s closest friends.

No winning. Catch-22.

He forced himself to turn the question over in his mind, as slowly as he could allow without seeming as if he took too long. It wasn’t like he’d obtained any real proof. Other than observable evidence that Kaito wasn’t KID. And the DNA proof he’d destroyed. Of course, Saguru knew, but technically he’d proved the opposite.

“You’ll laugh, but I actually suspected Kuroba once myself.”

Aoko paused her game. “You did?”

And now the tension amplified exponentially. Did she know? He’d suspected before that she might. With how perceptive she was, how could she not have at least considered it?

Even then, that didn’t mean he could confirm it. Kuroba was the only person who could do that.

Steady. “Yes, well. I did test the theory, and my suspicions were proven false.” Based on the happenings, anyway.

“How did you test it?”

Saguru crooked a slight smile now. Casual. Easy. Amused. “Much like you, I handcuffed myself to him just before the heist began.”

She still didn’t say anything.

“So, in both of our cases, the heist still went on. So that would appear to clear Kuroba’s name on two different accounts,” he said lightly.

“Yeah, I guess it does.”

She’d slipped a little, seemed more pensive than casually amused. She recovered quickly. “It’s so funny that both of you thought it was Kaito.”

The way she continued circling, the way she persisted… on some level, she must know.

Aoko asked, “What made you think it was him, anyway?”

At least the capacity of the labs was something he wasn’t at liberty to discuss. “Probably proximity bias,” Saguru said. It wasn’t entirely untrue. “KID has a tendency for elaborate magic tricks, and Kuroba is certainly the most talented magician I’d ever met.” And then, after a beat: “But there’s plenty of talented magicians out there.”

Aoko hmmed, and fell silent again. Saguru imagined her putting him under a microscope, considering everything he said. Everything he didn’t say.

She unpaused her game and resumed playing. “Yeah, Bakaito could never be KID,” she said.

But all Saguru could think was that there was no way she didn’t know how false that was.

[newjeansgirlfriend]

there’s nothing to be done (when the flowers bloom)

danielle x reader

angst

tw: death

some context: hanahaki disease is a disease where flowers grow in your lungs because your love is unrequited

a cough. it’s something that mo ‘sunshine’ danielle would usually never take notice of.

but it’s hard to not notice when you cough up a petal. 

danielle stared at the petal. what was she going to do? her heartbeat pounded in her head.

“hey dani, come here!” her friend yelled.

swallowing her fear, she put on a smile and turned, “coming!”, running to join her friends. she shouldn’t tell anyone, it would only burden them anyways.

danielle had loved yn since she first set eyes on her. 

“hi! i’m yn! what’s your name?” she had asked. her eyes shone at the thought of making a new friend.

11 year old danielle grinned. “i’m danielle but you can call me dani! wanna be friends?”

“okay!” yn had grinned. she’s so pretty when she smiles, its like she lights up the whole room, danielle thought admiringly, before she hurried to catch up with yn as she went to play.

the day danielle realised she was in love was on yn’s birthday. 

yn was surrounded by her friends, laughing as she unwrapped the presents, when suddenly the light hit her just right.

and in that moment, where everything was still and the sunlight shone through the glass panes of the window, was where danielle thought:

oh.

——————

the days after that were the hardest. it was more tiring than she thought to ignore someone who she loved so much.

who loved her so much.

though, not in the way she wanted.

nevertheless, danielle continued pretending to not notice the steadily climbing number of missed notifications on her phone, but it kept weighing heavily on her mind. she was glad it was the weekend, but monday was looming closer, and it would be impossible to ignore yn at school.

she went to bed with a heavy heart.

——————

the next day, she went into school looking like a mess, her hair half brushed, her clothes wrinkled, her socks mismatched.

in the hallway, she ran into the one person she wished she wouldn’t encounter.

“dani! hey! danielle!”

danielle kept on walking, resisting the urge to turn around. she knew she would cave if she saw yn’s face.

“dani!” a hand came to rest on her shoulder, and she spun around, their eyes meeting.

“what is it?” she said. it came out harsher than she expected.

“oh. i’m sorry if i bothered you.” yn muttered, her head bowed, her eyes downcast. “i just wanted to know, did i do something wrong?”

danielle felt a pang in her heart. it’s not fair on yn to ignore her, she thought. it’s best to suffer myself instead of hurting yn. she deserves better.

“it’s nothing, i just needed some time. sit with me at lunch?”

“of course!”

and that was that. life went on as usual, at least on the outside. until now.

yn was chatting excitedly about something, she could tell that much from her expression and the moving of her mouth, but danielle couldn’t hear anything except the ringing in her ears. 

yn’s expression turned to a frown and she waved her hand in front of dani’s face. 

“hello? earth to dani?”

danielle snapped out of her daze.

“huh?”

“are you ok? you seem a bit out of i—“

the bell interrupted yn with its obnoxious ringing. she waved to yn as she rushed to her next lesson.

saved by the bell, she thought. if only the bell could save me from my fate.

she coughed up another petal on the way to chemistry.

——————

at home, she gathered up the petals she’s collected throughout the day. the array of flowers remind her of yn…

yn.

her best friend, her shoulder to cry on, and the soon to be reason for her death. she would never know, of course, because she wouldn’t tell her, in fact, she wouldn’t tell anyone. after all, it was inevitable she would die eventually, and it wouldn’t do yn any good if everyone knew it was her who danielle had loved so much she had made her cough up petals.

she fell asleep on her desk, the petals stained by tears.

——————

she didn’t go into school the next day. 

‘im not feeling well so i wont be in school 🤕🤕’, she had texted yn.

‘CALL ME?!??’ she had recieved as a response.

‘i lost my voice so i cant😭����’

she was a liar.

so? a voice in her head said. you’re going to die anyways.

might as well make the most of it.

——————

it had only been a day and danielle had already coughed up an entire bud. the disease was spreading quicker than she had thought. there were only a few days now. 

she picked up the phone to read the messages she had recieved she wasn’t surprised to see 74 unread messages from hanni. the latest one read: ‘im coming over.’

the doorbell rang.

danielle hurriedly shoved all of the flowers into a drawer, and rushed downstairs to greet hanni.

“dani! are you okay?” hanni asked worriedly as soon as the door swung open.

“i’m fine-“ she was cut off by a cough. her hand closed around the petal, but not quick enough for hanni to miss the red colour between her fingers.

“is that?”

“its nothing…” danielle replied curtly.

“it’s not nothing, give me that!” she snatched the crumpled petal fron danielle. it floated to the floor as hannis jaw dropped in shock, unable to comprehend the situation. “are you…”

“come in.”

hanni closed the door behind her and the two girls made their way up to danielle’s room. the silence was deafening, the tension thick enough to cut. the door to danielle’s room opened with a click.

“why didn’t you tell me?” hanni cried. 

“i didn’t tell anyone.”

“that’s worse!” hanni shouted. composing herself, she took a deep breath, and exhaled through her mouth. “who is it?”

“huh?”

“who do you love?”

“i… can’t tell you.”

“why not?”

danielle had no answer.

“dani… you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want but…”

“it’s yn.”

hanni let out a breathy gasp as the words tumbled out of danielle’s mouth. 

she should have known. the way danielle’s eyes creased a little more when yn was laughing too. the way she always clung to yn no matter what the situation.

“since when-“

“yesterday. i’ve already started coughing up buds.” deciding it was already too late to hide anything, danielle opened up the drawer and scooped up the flowers to show hanni.

“see… hanni..?” 

hanni’s eyes were brimming with tears, and as she rushed forwards to hug danielle, they flowed, staining danielle’s t-shirt. words hung in the air between them. 

i’ll miss you. i love you. don’t leave me. 

then, danielle started crying too. the two girls clung to each other as they sobbed, as if the world would collapse if they let go.

“i don’t want to die,” danielle’s lips were chapped, and she could taste salt in her mouth from her tears. 

“please,” it came out as a choked gasp. “please, i don’t want to die!” her hands curled into balls as she clenched hanni’s sweater.

“shh,” hanni reassured her. “we’ll,“ she hiccuped. “we’ll be okay.” the words were empty, but they brought danielle at least a little bit of comfort.

they sat together in silence while the blue sky turned golden and the sun receded to reveal the dark blue of the night sky.

that’s how they woke up the next day too, jolting awake at the sound of danielle’s alarm.

they laughed together at their puffy eyes, and gossiped about people at their school while pressing cold spoons to their eyes, but it was still at the back of their minds, gnawing away at them.

it was funny how they could laugh like this, like two normal best friends, like their universe was still the same, like their reality wasn’t going to be altered in a few days.

or less.

——————

danielle rushed to the bathroom, covering her mouth with her hand. she smothered another cough as she opened the door, gagging at the feel of petals in her throat. finally, she locked the door behind her and let all the buds out.

some of them were half opened. 

frantically, she dialled hanni. her clammy hands fumbled with the phone until she pressed on hanni’s contact name. she swallowed the next round of flowers.

“hello? dani, are you there?”

hanni could only hear coughs in the background.

“dani? dani where are you? are you okay? dani?”

the lack of answer made her heart drop to her stomach.

——————

danielle came to in a hospital bed, and gasped.

“dani? are you okay?” yn’s panicked voice filled her ears before she could open her eyes.

“i’m fine.” she replied, surpressing the urge to cough. “where’s hanni?”

“i’ll go get her.” yn said. danielle couldn’t tell if she could make out a hint of jealousy or not.

she was probably going insane.

she lay there in the bed, with her thoughts to keep her company, until she could hear the pitter-patter of footsteps came closer to danielle and she could make out the sound of hanni’s voice and the door burst open.

“dani!”

suddenly, she couldn’t breathe. blood rushed to her head and her vision clouded, but she could still barely make out the shocked faces of hanni and yn.

oh, she thought. so this is it.

‘you take my breath away,’ danielle had once told yn, who took it as a joke.

how ironic it was.

and as danielle’s lungs closed up, she smiled up at yn.

i’m glad i could be with you, that i could meet you, at least for a little while.

the heart monitor went flat.

yn sat down next to where danielle’s bed had been.

her hand reached up to cover her face as the uncontrollable coughing wracked her body.

in her palm, a sunflower.

her eyes closed.

danielle, i’ll see you soon.

the rise and fall of yn’s chest stilled.

ive been writing this for like a month… HOW DO PEOPLE WRITE FICS THAT ARE SO LONG ????

[the-type-a]

Duncney Week 2024

Day 7: I Hate Everything About You, Why Do I

Love You?

“Having Courtney back reminds me of how much she drives me crazy🤬… and how much she drives me crazy.😍” Create a situation where Duncney just can’t seem to stay away from each other.

*Read under break*

Courtney loathed a lot of things and right now there was one major element taking the number one spot.

Her obnoxious ex boyfriend.

If you asked her how the two ended up together in the first place she’d blame it on the stress of law school. Deep down she knew the real reason, but if her own subconscious ever strayed too far in that direction, well let’s just say she’d be making very bad decisions with a certain blue eyed man.

But enough was enough. She was Courtney freaking Rosales. She didn’t need a booty call at 12am and she most certainly did not need more time with said ex boyfriend.

She had ultimately made the decision to cut ties with him completely and the past week and a half were starting to get to her. Still, she refused to unblock that number she had all but memorized at this point. It would honestly be much easier if she didn’t have to see her ex around town. They just seemed to always bump into each other at the worst possible moments.

First, which was very much out of her control, at her best friend's cookout. She guessed that was just the price she’d pay for having mutual friends.

Second, when she needed to get an oil change. Courtney was certain she had picked a day and time she knew he was off the clock. You could imagine her surprise, and his never ending jabs that followed.

Third, a few days ago while at the grocery store. Food wasn’t even safe anymore.

I’m a big girl, she thought to herself as she entered the local bar. Courtney was never one to indulge in a place like this, but after seeing her ex all week she needed a drink or two.

Eyeing the bar, Courtney noticed there were only two seats left. Perfect, one for her and one for her bag so nobody bothered her. She made her way over and sat down. The bartender was quick in her request. As she went to occupy the other seat a tattooed hand stopped her.

“Seats taken, Princess.”

Duncan.

At this point Courtney was on the verge of angry tears. How was it that he was at every corner of her miserable life. She must have done something wrong because karma was laughing in her face now.

“Are you stalking me?” She groaned without looking at him as he made himself comfortable.

He chuckled as he ordered his usual, “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“Drop dead.” She snapped back.

In truth, that little comment made her insides squirm. No, she would absolutely hate to be stalked. But the thought of Duncan knowing where she was, what she was doing, all while silently observing her— NO. Geez, she needed to stop reading so much dark romance.

She finished her drink a lot sooner than expected just to avoid that thought altogether.

Duncan eyed her with curiosity, a small smile creeping on his face as he noticed her reaction.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing.” He sipped on his drink, “Still reading those smutty books, Courtney?”

Her face reddened and she was ever so thankful she was drinking for that to be her excuse.

“They aren’t— why are you even sitting here anyway?!”

“Who’s gonna scare away the nasty men that come your way?” He teased as he motioned a hand around the room.

Courtney rolled her eyes and scoffed, “Funny how you think you’re not included in that group.”

“Stop flirting with me, Princess.”

“Oh, please.” She laughed with a roll of her eyes.

“If you want me just say that. I promise I don’t bite,” he leaned in closer to her, “much.”

His blue eyes pierced into her brown ones as he finished his drink. There was a silence between the two before the clinking of two freshly filled glasses hit the table.

Courtney broke eye contact first as she reached for her new drink. Duncan grinned at her with a hum. He knew he had pushed a certain button.

“I’ve been thinking.”

“There’s a shock.”

“We should try again. For real this time.”

Courtney snapped her head in his direction. He wasn’t smirking or smiling, no, his face was of complete seriousness. She searched his eyes for any hint of a joke but found nothing.

She sighed, “We drove each other crazy, Duncan.”

“I know.” He said nonchalantly.

There was more silence between them. Courtney desperately wanted to feel differently, her head and heart were at war with each other at this point. She and Duncan were so on and off again that it drove her crazy. And even with the craziness of it all, she still longed for him and knew he felt the same. He wouldn’t be offering to start anew if not.

“Listen, I’m not one to believe in these kinds of things.” He began, “But the universe clearly keeps pushing us toward each other.”

A smile crept up on her face. She had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing out loud. It was so unlike him to bring the notion of fate or destiny up.

“God, I’ve been near Malibu too much.” He said with a grunt as he noticed her struggle to keep a straight face.

At that they both laughed.

“What do you say?” Duncan said with a nudge as they calmed down.

Courtney shrugged, pushing the drink away from her and getting up from the bar. “It depends.”

“On?”

Duncan eyed her as she motioned for him to follow her out the door. He slid a few bills on the countertop and quickly followed her out onto the busy street. She turned to face him, gently pushing her palm against his chest as she leaned in to whisper.

“How fast can you get us to my place?”

—

[lodgeofeilhart]

Is it just me, or does Tissaia from season 1 and 2 just has the kindest eyes? And then in season 3, she just looks mean, uncaring at times even. It's nothing against MyAnna, she is the only one I would have seen as Tissaia and I just love her so much, but I hate how her makeup makes her look like the villain.

I really and truly hope I'm wrong, but that's the first thing I saw when I saw her new look. And her hair is also darker. She doesn’t seem to care for the missing girls, is totally and obnoxiously infatuated with Vilgefortz. Hate that aspect because it wasn't even in the books. Anyways I won't go on that rant.

She looks and feels different, I just hope they don't end up ruining her character.

My thoughts, either Vilgefortz or Lydia will kill her, she'll commit suicine in the worse possible way or they turn her into the villain and gets either killed by Geralt or another mage. I hate all these ideas and in my book, she would live on, still be the rectoress at Aretuza and have Yennefer being at teacher at her side as lovers.

[scoops-aboy86]

I think it was @steviewashere and @wheneverfeasible who tagged me on this get to know you meme? Or something. I can’t find it now but I’ve had the questions in my notepad app and worked on answering them today and yesterday, before and after surgery. I swear I can feel the incision scar burning through the splint right now, it sucks.

Anyway, completely not proofread writing at the end for the AU question answer so I’m just gonna tag my permanent tag list and go to sleep.

Favorite Color -> Blue

Last Song -> Good Luck, Babe! by Chappell Roan

Currently Reading -> Various fanfic, all Steddie of course

Currently Watching -> I just watched The Princess Diaries for the first time in years; the line “Wait for me! No not you, I don’t even know you” still makes me cackle

Currently Craving -> Nothing, my pain meds have killed my appetite, it’s obnoxious. But I did get a boba tea the night before my surgery just because I wouldn’t be allowed to have anything in the morning.

Coffee or Tea -> Tea. I can’t do coffee, it hits me just wrong enough that I end up vibrating at a frequency dogs can probably hear and I become an unsafe driver.

A hobby you would like to try -> I wouldn’t mind learning how to crochet (again, but actually retain it this time) or expand my knitting skills beyond scarves and square dishcloths.

An AU you're working on/thought of -> i reread my post from the other… week? (Time is an illusion and I’m on gd drugs.) And I want to clarify that I was envisioning Steve as still in high school, Eddie as a high school band director. Because I don’t think I was super explicit about that. And maybe Eddie is in his mid twenties, not early.

Chrissy is in the color guard, because it’s cheerleader adjacent, but so is Nancy because she gets to toss sabres and (wooden) rifles as well as flags. Tammy Thompson is one of the assistant drum majors but is not the best at following the drum major instead of conducting by ear, so there are some phasing problems (band gets off because the speed of sound lags, etc.). Fred is in the pit, on the xylophone and triangle and shit. Patrick plays the timpani. Gareth is in the battery on snare drum, not section leader but that’s a lot of responsibility he’s not sure he wants anyway. Tommy plays saxophone. If Argyle is there he’s in the tuba/sousaphone section, no question.

And like I said, Steve plays clarinet because it’s the easiest instrument to march with. He is the reluctant babysitter of all the freshmen playing third or fourth part with him: Will, Dustin, and Mike. Lucas is in the saxophone section, trying to be cool, but comes to Steve for help because Steve may be a sub-par musician but his marching technique is flawless. Max is on piccolo and will intentionally blast the high notes to fuck you up. 

El plays oboe very competently in concert band but is having a hard time adjusting to mellophone on the field, scraping by with the help of her senior section leader, Kali; by the end of the season they’ve thoroughly bonded as brass sisters and get matching tattoos. It does cause problems because her dad is still police chief Hopper, who gives stern/frustrated lectures to Kali (paid for it), Steve (gives El and her stepbrother Will to rehearsals, along with the rest of the kids, so Hopper assumes he must have known; he didn’t), and Eddie (adult in charge of these hooligans, but sporting tattoos of his own, not really on display unless he rolls up his sleeves on hot days when the school AC is on the fritz).

Those lectures are somehow or another the closest anyone comes to figuring out that Steve and Eddie are together, causing both of them to panic. On Eddie this looks like trying to break it off before things blow up so Steve can have a normal life; Steve, on the other hand, doubles down hard on keeping the best and most loving relationship he’s ever had (absent parents, dating teens who only want him for his pretty face and reputation for being good in bed) and like. Wears lingerie to school under his clothes. Because you don’t have to deal with PE class and locker rooms during marching season!!

Steve is still captain of the basketball team because that’s in the spring and doesn’t overlap with marching season. Eddie comes to all of the games as a “show of school spirit,” and afterwards they meet somewhere in the woods for Eddie to either congratulate his boy on a win or console him after a loss. Sometimes Steve has to console him after too much stress eating from the student-run concession stand if it was a really close game though—sometimes in a not so sexy way before Eddie learns the hard way to steer clear of the loaded chili dogs, but even on those occasions Eddie is blearily impressed that someone so young can be so sweet and caring. 

Most of the guys he dated prior to Steve were more interested in hooking up and/or playing rough without a lot of tenderness beyond basic aftercare, mislead by his wild hair and tattoos and the assumption that a school teacher wouldn’t want to be in an openly gay relationship. Which… okay, it’s not like he’d put leather daddy photos in his cramped little office off the band room but it is a modern AU, he can have a partner that he can casually mention in the teachers lounge without it being a big deal. But his dating profile never seemed to attract the kind of guys that would want that, he never did figure out how he was going wrong there—though to be fair, before Steve he’d kind of assumed that’s what he’d wanted too.

As far as kink goes, Eddie doesn’t take it too far with an actual high school student, for all that Steve isn’t jail bait. He introduces Steve to edging, both ways, and Steve loves it—cries so pretty when he begs, and on the flip side is relentless in getting Eddie to wait and wait and then come like a teenager over and over again. No bondage more extensive than creative use of a bandana or a tie or, on one memorable occasion, a seatbelt. Eddie is meticulous about teaching Steve all about consent, checking in regularly, the stoplight system, safe words, talking things out before and after, etc., figuring that if this is just a school year fling that at least he’s setting his sweet boy up for success in future relationships—though the idea makes him sad and his insides squirmy with jealousy. He’s not possessive exactly, but when he’s in that mood he gets extra attentive in a way that Steve seems to lap up like sweet cream.

They’re monogamous, although they both agree that Steve can’t just stop dating around without raising questions about who he is seeing. So Steve still goes out with girls sometimes, the ones that seem okay with setting low expectations for both intimacy and commitment. Dinner and a movie and maybe a little making out, because neither Steve nor Eddie are puritanical about kissing. There aren’t a lot of second dates and even fewer third dates, with only occasional fallout no matter how clear and upfront Steve is about not wanting anything serious. He always feels bad about those instances, needing lots of reassurance from his secret older boyfriend that he’s not the asshole some people think he is, that he did his best and going over the situation for things he could handle better next time. And sex, to reaffirm their own relationship behind the public facades.

The only reason Eddie hasn’t bought an engagement ring by spring is because he doesn’t want to be presumptuous, but he knows what kind of ring he would look for, what kind of things Steve would like if he did. He’s talked to his friends Jeff and Grant (Unnamed Freak) about Steve, because they have nothing to do with the school and know him well enough not to be concerned that he’s some sort of predator. Jeff, who’s settled down with a nice girl (his own age) and already started looking ahead to planning a family, is loud in his approval of Eddie’s shifting taste in men from casual hookups and one night stands to something more committed, even if it’s on the unconventional side. “You seem a lot happier, man. I think it’s good for you, in the long run, no matter how it shakes out.” At which Grant laughs and says, “Yeah, at the very least you’re healing your own teenage trauma of never being able to get a popular prettyboy jock like you wanted. You’re growing up, dude! And it’s less than a ten year age gap, that’s gonna feel like nothing once he’s outta college. No one’ll even bat an eye at it by then.” Which, Grant might be a little biased because his parents are nine years apart, but it makes Eddie grin. It’s nice to have supportive friends.

(He finds out years later that Gareth, the sophomore on snare and Grant’s cousin, also knew the entire time and was just really good at keeping secrets. Mixed feelings on that one. Partly because the reveal happens in a speech at his and Steve’s wedding and he nearly falls out of his chair in front of sixty people.)

Oh and the entire time they’ve been together Eddie has been slowly but steadily putting on weight because one of Steve’s hobbies is baking and he just generally is a decent cook because he’s a latchkey kid who got tired of fast food, frozen meals, and stuff made from a box. For a long time Eddie’s excuse for the weight gain (to the world at large and to some extent himself) is that he quit smoking when he got the school job because he didn’t want to encourage any of the kids to think it’s cool—not since his Uncle Wayne’s diagnosis of early stage lung cancer, which won’t take the stubborn bastard out soon but it’ll happen someday and rip Eddie’s heart right out. So yeah, he went cold turkey and straight to stress eating.

He’d be more self conscious about it if Steve hadn’t always been something approaching reverent when touching his love handles, even when they were still faint little rolls over the top of his jeans the first time they hooked up. The boy has this intent look in his eyes whenever Eddie eats something he made, lighting up like the sun at any sign that Eddie likes it. Feeds him little treats and beams whenever Eddie licks the crumbs from his fingers, so of course Eddie does it as often and with as much gusto as possible. It’s not like he eats unhealthily all the time, he does his daily fruits and veggies and reasonable portions… But he snacks, so sue him. And he never turns down Steve’s treats.

That’s all I’ve got for now! I’m really not writing this, I just enjoy rotating it in my head like a rotisserie chicken.

Tagging to read and answer these too if you want but no pressure: @hotluncheddie @lawrencebshoggoth @sofadofax @kissinvampires @oatmilk-vampire

@wheneverfeasible @hamiltonswiftie @grtwdsmwhr @yesdangerpls@theseaofdespair

[every1studio]

“love is fiction; prove me wrong” [harry potter: draco malfoy]

genre: FLUFF + very slight angst

ficstyle: bulletpoints + a kinda long oneshot 

prompt: reader is a ravenclaw that thinks that love is only a concept in fiction novels until draco malfoy decides to prove her wrong 

note: TW (talks about divorced parents and insecurities)

◇─◇──◇─────◇──◇─◇─◇──◇─────◇──◇─◇◇─◇──◇─────◇

and they lived happily ever after

you closed the book as you sat in your favorite spot in the library

where there barely anyone there but you could still hear the voices of the other students

was there really such thing as a happily ever after?

it just seems like it’s highly fantasied yet unrealistic 

it’s just your brain releasing a bunch of chemical reactions 

you couldn’t understand why people would destroy their lives over it 

like your parents; they swore til death they would part and that their life would be a happily ever after 

but after a couple years you were born, it was like the illusion of love faded away and their marriage ended in a divorce 

they still cared for you but it opened your eyes 

love was fiction

you never used that word, even if it’s not about someone

the thought of love scared you 

so it’s better to steer away from that word; throw away that whole concept

when you enrolled into hogwarts, it was cool to focus on something else

you had access to a variety of books, could take any class that there was to offer, or even join quidditch (which you joined as a keeper)

you’ve always enjoyed books; especially in the library

not only because when your friends ever tried to talk to you about people that they’re interested in, you could just escape to library

but because it was a good way to get away from loud and obnoxious people like draco malfoy or scheming trouble makers like harry and friends

that was until you heard potter make an bet with malfoy inside the library

“as if you could find someone that could like a rotten ferret like you other than a slytherin!”

“yeah he got loads of girls fawning after him!” weasley added

“and guys!” granger echoed

potter and weasley gave a surprised look over a granger but she just nodded to confirm what she said

“just you wait, potter... I’ll prove you wrong!” malfoy was fuming

this commotion was your cue to leave the library

the group of misfit just watched as you glared at them before leaving the library 

harry leaned in real close to draco

“if you can’t get y/l/n to go to on a date with you by this weekend, you owe me 25 galleons..”

“bring it on”

draco didn’t care about the money, he just wanted to win the bet and prove scarhead wrong

but draco was glad that potter chose someone that was a pretty, smart and talented pureblood

even though he didn’t talk to you, he knew who you were and what kind of student you were

he thought that you were a quiet, studious ravenclaw that never had someone pin for them so it would be easy for him to reel you in 

you unfortunately had a class with the misfits but usually you sat near the far away from them as possible, even if it wasn’t in the front like you’d like 

this time, you were there for class before they were so you were able to get the spot you wanted 

the 3rd from the front, on the far right; it was near the front but away from the professor 

you were getting your books out when you noticed someone sit next to you

“I’m sure this seat isn’t taken.. is it alright if I sit here?”

you looked over at the platinum blondie and had the urge to move seats 

“you’re already sitting there anyways, would it even matter if I said that you couldn’t sit there?”

draco pulled his books closer to him so that he could rest his arms on top the books for a head rest and kept his eye contact with you 

“aw you really don’t mean that do you? is it really that awful to sit next to me?”

he tried to tuck your hair behind your ear but you jerked away 

you looked away to adjusted your hair yourself, “yes it would”

draco was surprised by your firmness 

“why?”

you exhaled and turned to him with slight fake smile, “you’re annoying.. your obsession with harry potter is something the whole room and I could deal without.. and you can be pretentious and act like a spoiled brat.. I don’t being around someone like that..”

you thought you were going to get an earful from him, defending his character after you heard some snickers around you

but he just looked at you with wide-eyes 

you just gave him a glimpse into the other side 

he never thought of himself like that 

hearing all of that from a third person’s point of view made him rethink his whole existence 

“what if I wasn’t like that anymore?” he was speaking so quietly, you were sure no one else could hear him 

“why would you want to do that?”

draco thought to himself before answering 

“because I don’t want you to see me like that anymore..”

you couldn’t wrap your head around his words

“if you have some ulterior motives with me, don’t waste your time.. why do you care what I think of you anyways?” you slightly raised your voice in confusion 

he gently led your face towards his by resting your chin onto his index finger and guiding it over

“because I-”

��class! today we will be learning about how to turn a whistle into a watch!” mcgonagall’s voice boomed at the start of class 

you turned to focus your attention onto mcgonagall to forget about that weird interaction you had with malfoy 

why was he so touchy? 

it bothered you that he invaded your personal space 

while you were focusing on class, draco was focusing on your question

why did he even care about what you thought of draco anyways?

was it really because of potter’s bet?

or was it because he really did like you?

although, draco never really had a problem with girls in the house of slytherin, girls in the other houses would never go for him 

he was mean and classist against anyone who wasn’t a pureblood  

even if they were a pureblood, if they weren’t hanging with other purebloods, they were a blood traitor 

that was his ideology and everyone knew that 

he said it so much that he pushed the thought of even liking anyone outside his ideology

that was until he saw you

it was like it was out of a fairytale 

you were just sitting in the library on the windowsill; basking in the sunlight, gently carrying each page over and over again 

he could watch you read for hours (and he did once) 

it was the first time he felt a sense of tranquility 

and it was the first time he felt little butterflies in his stomach 

you were everything that he was looking and yet you’d never look at him 

so yeah.. he really did like you 

by the time he made up his mind, the classroom was empty 

and the seat that was occupied by you was empty as well 

forget the bet with potter

draco was gonna start pinning for you for himself and not for anyone else 

that was when you started to see draco more often in your usual everyday life 

you were quietly eating at the ravenclaw table when draco sat across from you 

“are you enjoying your meal, love?”

you sighed in annoyance, “why are you bothering me malfoy?”

“I’m not trying to bother you.. I just wanted to talk to you... besides..” draco reaches over to wipe some crumbles from the corner of your mouth before licking the remnants

“you’re cute when you’re eating..”

you just sat there, squinting in confusion at the boy in front of you

“I just lost my appetite...” you got up and just left him there trying to ignore the snickering around him

the constant advances were getting on your nerves 

why you? 

why was draco tormenting you?

these things probably worked in the books or even other people, but not you

you kept on trying to push him away 

but the more you pushed him away, the more he tried 

it got to the point where he was walking you to your classes, without asking you of course 

draco thought that by continuously being by your side, you’d be able to see that he was changing to be better, changing for you 

you didn’t mind his presence, as long as he was quiet 

and he surprisingly was

it’s like his temperamental side was only brought out when harry potter or his friends were around 

but lately, it’s been pretty subdued

keeping it only to slight body shoves or snobby glares 

you had a quidditch game on friday against slytherin

draco used that as a conversation starter every time he talked to you

“hey love, what made you want to be a keeper?”

“my dear, y/n, have you always wanted to play quidditch?”

“what’s cooking, good-looking, how were practices today?”

you grew to tolerate your conversations with draco; even smiling at his jokes but never saying anything to his flirtatious remarks 

even though you never said anything about his flirtatious remarks, you were more comfortable with his touches; they felt natural 

he even started to hold your things for you

though you never asked him to but he always held a tight grip on your things and he insisted that you take his offer 

draco said something about how physics didn’t apply to quidditch that made you laugh

that was the first genuine laugh anyone’s ever heard from you 

harry and his friends happen to be in the area 

harry didn’t want draco to win the bet 

so he decided to take matters into his own hands 

ravenclaws and gryffindors had herbology together on thursday 

the spectacled boy stood next to you while madam sprout was lecturing about some new species of carnivorous plant

“did you know that draco malfoy and I have a bet?”

you didn’t think that he was talking to you at first until you noticed that he was staring at you intensely with his brightly colored eyes, waiting for you to answer him 

“and I care why?”

“it involves you.. I told him that if he couldn’t get you to go on a date with him this weekend, he owes me 25 galleons..” potter smirked

ah.. that was probably why draco started talking to you 

you just wanted a regular smegular school life without gossip and drama

you suspected that there was a reason for draco going out of his way talking to a ravenclaw like you and your suspicions were correct

“you feel proud about that potter? getting me involved with something I wanted no part in? what a guy you are..” 

you moved away from him, ignoring his excuses

why did that information make you feel so upset?

it was only recently that draco entered your life but it was a nice feeling 

having someone in your life who constantly asks how your day is going

someone who is always waiting to walk you to your classes

someone who just sits next to you and lets you read in silence 

someone who just cares about you

but did he?

did draco malfoy care for you?

are these unwavering feelings of love you were having?

what’s the difference between caring for someone and loving them?

you exited the class and you almost walked pass draco 

he reached out to grab your arm

“whoa there, love.. trying to run away-”

you jerked your arm away from him; which startled him 

“did you place a bet with potter? about trying to get me to go on a date with you?” your brows were furrowed at him 

draco’s gaze on you softened, “I did..”

“cool. so this WHOLE time, I just was a bet to be placed. no biggie!” you sarcastically threw your hands about 

at that time, harry and his friends walked out of the class

“and you, POTTER.. you find joy in toying with people’s feelings? and aren’t you two his friends? you’re just letting him be a sadist?!”

the three were about to defend themselves but you didn’t let them

“all of you should be ashamed of yourself..”

you didn’t realized that tears were welling up until your vision became blurry 

before anyone could do or say anything, you ran off

you weren’t suppose to catch feelings 

love wasn’t suppose to be in your vocabulary

it was all suppose to be a chemical reaction released by the brain 

so why did your chest hurt?

why were you crying?

why were you thinking about what could’ve been?

draco took off as soon as you did

he didn’t even give the trio a deathly glare 

he didn’t care about anyone else but you

he felt like it was his fault this all happened

he felt like if only he was confident enough to pin for you without anyone telling him what to you, you wouldn’t be crying because of him

you hid away in your room; where no one could bother you, where no one could look for you 

draco asked every single ravenclaw that he came across if he could enter their common rooms to look for you 

but he didn’t find any success 

so he thought it would be better to leave you alone for now, you went through enough today

he hopes that he has a chance to talk to you before the quidditch match tomorrow 

you cried into your satin pillow so hard that you felt like you could drown in your tears; so hard that you fell asleep with tears still staining your face

the next day; you wanted to forget about what happened yesterday with the quidditch match 

that was until you remembered who you were playing against 

you dreaded it when you were putting on your quidditch uniform

you dreaded it when you tried to eat a granola bar before the match

you dreaded it during team stretches and warmups 

you dreaded it until your teams walked passed each other 

that was when you felt a gentle grip on your wrist

“are you alright?” 

you couldn’t look up to look at him; you couldn’t look up at the boy who broke your heart you didn’t know you had 

captain roger davies pulled you away from draco, cho chang shielded you away from draco 

“she’ll be better when we beat you..” the captain muttered and led the team away 

everyone heard about what happen and all of your housemates couldn’t do anything when they heard you cry in you room; they felt bad for you 

you thought that since the field was so big, you didn’t have to worry about looking at draco malfoy

but his blonde hair didn’t help, your eyes always followed the platinum headed boy 

and yet you kept your head in the game, you didn’t let anything get pass you

that was until you saw draco and cho fly towards you at an extremely fast pace

you stood in your position, not budging an inch 

cho realized that she was going to crash into you or the goal so she tried to go around to try to catch the snitch

but draco kept on flying head on 

he was only a couple of feet in front of you

it seemed like he was reaching for you but a flash of gold zoomed by your face 

draco’s broom knocked into yours and he fell forward

you reached out an arm to catch him

and you did

your lips also caught his lips

somehow the angles at which the brooms hit each other and the way he fell forward, made it so that draco fell onto you

accidentally kissing you 

draco immediately leaned back into his broom with the golden snitch in his hand 

“draco malfoy caught the snitch! slytherin wins!”

the slytherins cheered as the ravenclaws were upset 

you and draco held eye contact in shock  

you were the first to landed on the ground

“I’m sorry.. I didn’t mean for that to happen-” the boy was rambling after you

“it was an accident.. how were you suppose to know that was suppose to happen..” you mumbled, still not being about look at him when he’s in front of you 

“it’s not like I calculated the physics in order for that to happen, you know..”

you chuckled at his joke; he remembered the joke he made before about physics and quidditch

“can I talk to you? privately?” draco asked

you could tell his voice was different; it was gentle, like a falling feather

it made your chest feel fluttery 

you just nodded

“I’ll meet you at your favorite spot?”

“do you even know where that is?” you curiously asked

he’s always followed you around and you had a couple of spots you liked at hogwarts, you wondered if he even knew you had a favorite spot

“let’s just meet there and we’ll see..” draco gave you a soft smile before running off to meet up with his team

you saw cho running towards you

“did he do anything else to you? did he say something mean to you?” she asked, worried about your emotional state

“I’m fine.. really. thanks for checking up on me, cho..” you sent her a smile as you both headed back to get out of your uniform

you made your way to your go-to spot; the windowsill at the corner of the library 

you’ve only shown draco this spot twice

part of you wished that he would find the spot

but a part of you wonders if he even knew where it was 

you found that draco was already there waiting for you

he was holding a neatly wrapped bouquet of lily-of-the-valley, white orchids and blue hyacinths  

“how’d you know this was my favorite spot?” you nervously started to pick at your nails, not knowing what else to do in this situation 

“I first noticed you in this area when I wanted to escape from the overwhelming feelings of expectations.. you know.. family stuff.. and you were just sitting here.. reading.. like you were in your own little world as if nothing else mattered in the world but you and your book..”

you just stood there and let him speak his mind

“you were reading a book about flowers, what kind of flowers there are in the world and what they mean.. but they weren’t about magical flowers but muggle flowers..”

draco looked up at you; the light was shining behind him, making him look almost ethereal

“I found the book and read it..”

you were surprised, you remembered reading that book months ago and he just happens to remembered the book you were reading

AND he read it even though it had to do with the muggleworld?

“I hope you know what I’m trying to say with this bouquet..” draco walked towards you to hand you the bundle of flowers 

all of these flowers symbolizes an apology, forgiveness

“so, draco...what are you sorry for? why do you want my forgiveness?” your fingers grazed over the flowers, being as gentle as possible 

draco cupped your face so that you couldn really focus and listen to every word he’s about to say

“I’m sorry for being a coward.. I should’ve told you that I wanted to go on a date with you before the bet.. I let my pride get in front of your feelings.. I’ve always admired you.. but always from afar. I can’t change who I was.. but I can change who I am.. and I want to be someone that you can trust.. and maybe even like me back..”

his hands slowly fell from your face 

“but I understand if you won’t...”

you used one hand to keep his hand on your face

“I want to.. but I’m scared..” your voice started to get shaky, you wanted someone that could stand by you and support you

you wanted what your parents had before you

you wanted what you read in the romance novels 

“what does liking someone lead to? it leads to love and I don’t know what love is like.. I only know what love is from the fairytales I’ve read.. love never seemed real..”

“love is real.. the only thing is love is hard.. we have to put in the work for it.. we don’t have to jump into love.. we can take baby steps.. so let’s have our own fairytale..” draco muttered before you both chuckled about how cheesy that sounded

“I’m not joking though, y/n.. I don’t care about the bet or my pride.. I just care about you.. and even if it’s not this weekend, I hope that I can take you on a take when you’re ready..”

you smiled as you let him tuck a strand of hair behind your ear

“I’ll be ready this weekend..”

“really?” he smiled

“really..” you smiled back

harry potter and his friend’s jaws dropped when they saw you and draco in hogsmeade together; smiling and linking arms with one another

potter felt bad about the bet so he made his way over to give draco 25 galleons

“keep the change, potter,” draco smirked at him before leaving the trio shook to their cores 

boy did it feel good to spite his enemies and have the girl he’s always admired, like him back

The end.

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[ masterlist + guidelines ]

[imhereformr]

Waking Up... And the clock reads yesterday for Riven please (:

Guess who's aliiiiiiiiiiive (sort of)

Riven thought sleep would never come, but it did. It was a cruel, fitful sleep that had him tossing and turning all night. After the nightmare day he'd had, restless sleep was the best he could hope for. And really, even restless sleep was better than being awake.  

His alarm went off at 5:30. Riven silenced the phone, dropped it beside his pillow and rolled back over. He could skip his morning workout just this once. His muscles wouldn’t deflate if he missed one day of weights and his legs wouldn’t stop working if he didn’t go for his morning run. What was the point anyways?  

I can’t do this anymore; we’re not working. 

That was what she’d said. Quick and simple, like she was trying to get the words out before they got stuck in her throat. He had nodded, gotten up from the bar and walked away. He didn’t want Musa to see him cry. A year and a half of having his worthless life blessed by her love had come to a crushing halt yesterday, November 12th at 6:37 pm. The walk home had been a numb blur of crossing streets the streets of Gardenia and having people move around him as he rushed home to the safety of his room.  

He had almost fallen back asleep when his alarm blared in his ear. Riven cursed himself for setting a backup alarm for days when he didn’t feel like getting up. He fumbled for the phone and stabbed the silence button, returning the room to its previously dead state.  

Outside of his room he could hear Brandon and Sky joking about something. Brandon’s loud, borderline obnoxious laugh echoed through their far-too-small-for-six-people apartment, grating on Riven’s nerves. He twisted the pillow around until he was almost smothering himself, but their incessant chatter seemed to not care about solid objects because it got no quieter.  

Exasperated and unable to sleep, Riven sat up. Apparently, he would be working out this morning. It was that or lay in bed and ruminate on how he’d fucked up his relationship. He would wait until Brandon and Sky had left, though. By now, Musa had almost certainly told the other girls about the breakup and Stella had inevitably opened her big mouth and told Brandon who had also inevitably opened his somehow bigger mouth and told the other guys. And the last thing he wanted right now was Sky and Brandon’s pity. 

He grabbed his phone, determined to mindlessly scroll through social media to avoid thinking. Though, maybe he would stalk Musa’s page? Or maybe not. That wouldn’t do him any good. But really what more harm could it do? He already felt empty. He couldn’t possibly feel more empty, could he?  

“Hey, Riven, are you coming or not?” Brandon shouted through the door before Riven could even turn on his phone. 

“I’ll, uh, see you guys there” he shouted back, thankful that Brandon didn’t pester him about more than whether he was getting his ass moving. He would break Brandon’s pretty little face if the squire so much as thought to ask how Riven was feeling.  

“K. Cool, see you later.” 

Riven laid back in bed with a sigh and turned on his phone. He nearly dropped it onto his face when he saw the message that had popped up.  

Musa (6:14 am): Hey, are you free tonight? 

He clicked the message instantly then froze when the full chat screen appeared. He didn’t know what to say. Did he just say yes? Did he ask why she wanted to see him? Did she miss him? Did she regret her decision?  

Riven stared at the screen for what felt like hours, reading over her words, trying to decipher the hidden message that wasn’t there, to figure out what was wrong.  

Then it hit him. 

This was the same message she’d sent yesterday morning while he was heading out with Brandon and Sky. And every message that had followed – his confirmation that he was free, her suggesting that they get a drink, his letting her know that he’d be a bit late – was missing. It was like yesterday had never happened.  

He fumbled his way back to his home screen, nearly dropping his phone again in the process. He stared at the picture of him and Musa on their first anniversary – they'd gone to a “romantic” fancy restaurant that Helia had suggested. After they had eaten the, admittedly, delicious food, they stripped into much more casual clothes in the unnervingly fancy bathrooms and gone to a free concert in a park where they’d spent the night making out and barely paying attention to the show. He took the picture near the end of the night – long after the band had finished, and people had left – when they were lying on the grass and joking around, both trying to avoid having to call it a night.  

Back when they were happy... Before he’d gotten scared and started to pull away from her. Before she’d started getting frustrated with him and his unwillingness to open up. Before she’d stopped trying to talk to him.  

Right there, just above Musa’s head, was the second most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. He felt hope bloom in his chest. He could turn this around. He could make her change her mind. He could save them. His phone read November 12th, 6:58 am.  

For safe measure he looked up the date and nearly cried tears of joy when he saw that his phone hadn’t glitched.  

And then he called Musa. She answered on the first ring.  

“Riven? Shouldn’t you be under a few hundred pounds right now?” 

“I didn’t go to the gym. Do you have time before work? We could get breakfast.” 

She didn’t. She had to be at work for 8; she had to open the music store that day. He suggested dinner or a show – he could probably find some concert or comedy show. She countered with drinks. Exactly what she’d suggested yesterday right down to the place and time.  

“Yeah, that sounds good” he replied. He was determined not to let her plans to break up with him get him down. He’d take the day to think about what he wanted to say to her and then hopefully not freak out when he got there and lose the ability to speak like he tended to do when emotions came up. He wasn’t giving up that easily. 

He sucked at his job that day. Not that he was ever great; customer service was not his strength. He was particularly bad that day. So many orders were wrong, a few plates got dropped, some poor man got soup on his leg. It was not a good day to be his customer.  

It was a good day to be Riven though – or as good as it ever really got, anyways. He knew exactly what he wanted to say. And because he didn’t trust himself to get the words out, he also wrote it down.  

He got to the restaurant Musa had suggested at 5:45 – no sticking around work today. He sat at the bar and ordered for both of them: two blackberry beers that sounded exactly like something Musa would like.  

Musa got there at 6. She looked tired and stressed. Had she been like that yesterday? He couldn’t remember. Musa had never had a great sleep schedule – she usually got up around 7 after having been up for hours the night before doing something or other: usually writing, but sometimes it was studying or, for a few weeks after her foray into the Golden Kingdom, crying. Despite her not-so-great sleeping habits, she’d had never looked quite this tired.  

“Listen, we need to talk” she started, taking a large sip of the beer. “That’s good...” she mumbled before taking another large gulp. She was nervous. How had he not seen that? It seemed so obvious now that he knew what was coming.  

“I thought you’d like it...” 

He was stalling. The words he wanted were there, they were in his mind all lined up waiting to go, he just needed to get them out. He had practiced this. He had recited the words he wanted to say all day at work – sometimes accidentally saying something meant for Musa to a client – and the entire walk to the restaurant.  

“So... uh...” Musa fidgeted with her sleeves. Now, while she was trying to get the words out, was his chance to tell her everything. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words he wanted died on his tongue.  

Again. 

And again. 

And again.  

And why couldn’t he get the stupid fucking words out? He was growing increasingly irritated with himself and it was starting to show, and Musa would think it had to do with him and then she’d definitely leave and WHY COULDN’T HE JUST GET THE WORDS OUT?!!?!??

“Riven” she sighed, “I ca-” 

He pulled the paper – the one that contained every word he wanted to say to her – and held it out. It was a last resort. He wanted to tell her everything; to show her that he could do this whole boyfriend thing properly. A last resort would have to do. Musa startled a bit. Her questioning eyes lifted from the paper in his hands to his, tears pooling in her blue eyes. God, he really was a jerk. How could he not have noticed that she was on the verge of tears yesterday? 

“Please” he whispered.  

Musa took the paper between trembling hands and unfolded it. He watched, unable to breathe or move or think, as she read. Every shuddering breath he took tore him apart and every soft smile stitched him back together. A tear escaped her eyes and slid down her cheek, dropping onto the page.  

He wanted to reach out: to brush the tear away even if it had already escaped her face; to take her hand; to kiss her forehead; to touch her knee; to tell her he loved her. He just couldn’t. Not until he knew she understood that he would go to the end of the universe for her. That he would always come back to her. That he would kill for her. And die for her. And live for her. Riven had spent his entire life insisting that he would never fall in love and never be one of those idiots that was willing to give up everything for a girl. Then Musa looked at him and smiled at him, and all of it – the stories, the love songs – made sense.  

There were still tears in her eyes when she looked up, but it was different. When she’d come in, she looked dejected. Now, she looked at him with a love so fierce it burned him up in the best possible way. It horrified him to realise that she hadn’t looked at him like that in weeks when a year ago that (and utter rage, but he could pretend that one didn’t happen) was the only way she ever looked at him. 

“I’m sorry” he whispered, stretching his arm to offer her his hand. 

Musa smiled at him. She folded the paper and shoved it into her pocket. “I’m keeping this” she told him as she took his hand and pulled it into her lap.  

“Okay” he chuckled, rolling his eyes. The plan had been to burn the paper so no one would ever know he had feelings, but if Musa wanted to keep it, that was okay too. Anything was okay, as long as she was happy.  

“One more try” she nodded. “We give us one more try.” 

“I’ll do better” he assured her.  

Musa pulled her chair closer to him, all the while never letting go of his hand. “Me too.” 

“Muse, you have noth-” 

“Clearly I do” she scoffed. “Riven, I had no idea you... that you felt this way about me. I was so sure you didn’t care, and I’d gotten so in my head and started convincing myself that you were... I don’t know. Whatever” she shook her head. “Flora told me I should talk to you weeks ago. Clearly, she was right...” 

“The bitch” he deadpanned.  

“For real. Like, fuck her” Musa laughed. When her laughter subsided, she took a deep breath. “I’ll talk to you even if...” she trailed off. 

“Talking about it fucking sucks?” 

“Yeah.” 

“You could just write me a song” he suggested.  

“And you can just write me a letter” she countered with another laugh that made his heart flutter. “But we talk. However we need to.” 

And they did talk. All evening. They talked through four pitchers of beer, a split plate of “mixed starter platter”, a lot of tears – some from him, as much as he loathed to admit it – and one very annoyed bartender that hated that they were the last two people in the place. They got everything out into the open and, much to his surprise, he didn’t care that people could hear them.  

When they finally left, it felt like a weight that he didn’t even realise had existed had been lifted off them; like they were back in that honeymoon phase. Riven walked Musa home and kissed her goodnight when they reached her door. He turned to leave but she pulled him back into her before leading him up to the girls’ second floor apartment.  

They settled into bed. Musa curled herself up into him and Riven buried his face in her hair. He could feel her fingers tracing lazy circles into his back until she fell asleep. And then, he forced himself to stay awake, not wanting to miss a moment with her. When he finally allowed himself to go to bed, sleep came easily.  

[vixxelle]

MCSM CHARACTER REDESIGN/REWRITE: JESSICA SMITH

Here she is! The resident Girlypop!

Holy shit was designing her a pain in the ass, but anyways let's list all the changes I made!

Jessica and Jessie are different characters

I decided to split the MC and make them into two separate characters with their own personality/character arc, I felt like making them separate characters would be interesting since it would lead to opportunities to play around with their dialogue and personality along with the ‘Choose your Adventure’ aspects.

Vitiligo?

Thought it would be pretty cool to add, also symbolism points for the twins since the markings can represent how their personality contrasts.

Personality

Spunky, mischievous, and a lil bit clingy. Jessica is an upbeat gal who loves a good ol’ adventure (much to the detriment of Jessie) and doesn't let anything bring her down! (at least she tries to).

Jessica is very attached to her found family and is always seen sticking by Jesse’s side. She tries to make friends with other people but her loud and energetic demeanor makes her come off as obnoxious and arrogant. Never had any friends besides Petra, who abandoned her when she started to grow closer to Axel and Olivia.

Jessica also suffers from massive self-esteem issues, although their family tells them that there is nothing wrong with them, Jessica always felt like there was something off about themself that made people not like them. Their lack of self-confidence also tends to make them do stupid stuff in hopes of gaining approval from others (it ends up making them a laughing stock).

One day, Jessica hopes to become a great warrior so she can finally be admired and loved by many.