#anyways if anyone wants a quick sketch for 5 keys

[scribesofcalamity]

Be so for real right now -.- I never get the weapon skins. It gave me three weapon skins,but neither of the BL exclusives I actually want. Boooo.

That new military jacket omg...wish it wasn't a black lion chest exclusive 😱😭😮‍💨 I haven't gambled on keys in a while but I'm tempted lol...

[blind-alchemists]

Meta-Analysis of the Rift Mage Specialization

I said in February I was going to do it, and it only took me seven months to follow through!

Anyway. Analyzing game-play elements for narratives purposes has become somewhat of a hobby of mine ever since I really got into GameLit. Then, I started "fangs" and felt that my fight scenes were boring, so I build ability trees reminiscent of DA:I's for my OCs. You know, as you do. During that process, though, the lack of banter acknowledging several choices struck me as odd. Especially regarding specializations. Especially when it comes to Solas'.

We’ll be taking a look at (in order)

1. Description

2. Codex Entry

3. Skills

a. in comparison to DA: II’s Primal & Force Mage

4. Specialization Dialogue with Solas

5. Conclusion

Disclaimer: I talk a lot (this post might have about 2.5k). And, I promise you, you'll be tired of seeing 'the Fade this' and 'the Veil that' at the end of it.

Description

“These mages draw upon the force of the Fade, either pulling matter from the Fade to attack or twisting the Veil itself into a weapon to stagger or crush their enemies.”

[source – DA wiki; bolding mine]

So, lore-wise, mages do ‘draw upon the Fade’. Sure. But do they ‘pull matter from the Fade’? Absolutely not.

Physical things and the Fade rarely mix well. Plus – this is mainly my theory – the way magic is utilized (the 'drawing upon the Fade part') requires it to pass through the Veil. Magic being a form of energy, and thus not physical, does not constitute to ‘pulling matter from the Fade’.

That's the first thing other mages (read: Dorian, Vivienne, possible the Inquisitor) should (or could) have referenced in banter/dialogue.

The rest of the sentence ('twisting the Veil into a weapon') is also highly interesting, since there is little known about the Veil. Nobody knows how it works. And, thus, nobody should be capable enough to manipulate it consistently enough to use it as a weapon. But considering it's Solas who gets this specialization - well. He knows the Veil well enough, don't you think? (Which is why I think Rift Mage should have been Solas' personal, individual specialization like Fenris' Lyrium Ghost, but I just really like personalized skill trees in general.)

However, having answered that question, connecting magic so closely to the very thing can be described as a “magical vibration that repels the Fade”, I'm curious about how it would work. Since, you know, mages are inevitably tied to the Fade. Wouldn't the Veil repel a try to manipulate it by a mage? Is using mana the same thing as drawing energy from the Fade? If so, it would be straight-up impossible to actually use such a method for any ordinary mage (read: not Solas). If mana can be used without the Fade, it would be possible, but is such a thing feasible? Can you switch between spells and Veil quickly enough without horrific consequences such as possibly tearing yourself apart?

Very interesting topic. Would love to go into it more, but at that point, I'd become subjective, so let's end it here.

To summarize: Rift mages do things (physically pulling things from the Fade plus using the Veil) normal mages don't do. There is also a chance, logically speaking, that no one else but Solas (or mage!Inquisitor) can accomplish such a feat without dying a horrific death.

Codex Entry

From "Power Bleeds: Harness the Flow." Your Trainer's words make one passage stand out:

There are no tomes dedicated to this manipulation. There has been no time for academics, only the practical—and not in a manner that mitigates risk. Power in a raw form has found an outlet, both visible and in ways that only we of arcane proclivity can sense. The risk is great.

An account:

From this page forward, these are the notes of Thelric. They began as the work of my mentor Julion, and I will continue in the research she began, as she cannot, because she is dead. The rift we were examining did not react well to her last investigation. We believed ourselves prepared for demonic manifestation. We were not prepared for how the energies we expected would be encountered. Well-versed in the forces that magic can produce, my senior was surprised by an alteration, a deviance. That which previously had to be coaxed is now a flood that must be staunched. The same amount in different intensity, quick to expose fault in the way it is accessed. She drew too much, expecting resistance. There was none, and her form suffered the brunt. Tread carefully in studies of new matters, for I cannot unsee the end of her.

Scattered symbols and sketches follow.

[source – DA wiki; bolding mine]

Apparently DA:I has a thing for hiding the true horror in Codex Entries and off-hand comments.

Here, we learn one key fact: The school of Rift Magic is relatively new ('no tomes dedicated to this manipulation'). I think it's safe to assume the possibility - and thus research concerning it - emerged around the time the Breach appeared. So it's new, people have no idea what they're doing, but it somehow works. A little like the whole time magic thing, funnily. (That brings me back to a lot of questions I have about the Veil: Just how powerful is it? Just how deeply is it intervened with Thedas?)

Reading further, the entry seems to (only) stress how dangerous Rift Magic is. Who would have thought! No, really, it's a fair point to empaphize. I'm not certain the Trainer and his previous teacher (or anyone else but Solas) know what kind of role the Veil plays in this, and so of course experiments are going to get ugly. The Veil holds a much greater importance than the people of Thedas realize.

And, in a very similar vein: The people of Thedas don't know much about directly interacting with the Fade through, say, a rift, which poses another risk. The wiki entry establishes two things in particular that are relevant here: Using spells (in the Fade itself) has unpredictable results, and one can draw unprecedented power from it while sleeping.

The codex entry cited above proves that. A rift is a direct connection to the Fade, and thus unpredictable ('She drew too much, expecting resistance. There was none') and that power is too much to handle ('her form suffered the brunt').

My theory is that, while a certain flunction is natural to the Fade, the Veil also plays a role here. Which I'm not sure. But it has one.

Personally, I wouldn't be sure the risks of a horrific death outweigh the benefits of power, but let's look more in depth at that!

Skills

Which brings me to the abilities themselves.

The first two you can choose from are Veilstrike and Stonefist. (Which I think should have had their names changed but, oh, well.)

Veilstrike: “You recreate your own fist from the essence of the Fade and smash nearby foes to the ground.” (Upgrades being Punched Down and Wounded Veil, but they don’t have anything interesting for this analysis. Note the names, though.)

Curious here is the 'recreate [...] from the essence of the Fade' part here. On first glance, it sounds like a rather ordinary spell, right? But it's not. That's just the 'hiding in plain sight for the first playthrough' aspect of Solas' character.

Mages do shape their spells with energy from the Fade (as far as my assumptions go). Maybe they can also recreate something. I'll give them that much. But the essence of the Fade - the inherit, unchanging nature of it - can't be manipulated by them. I think that's specifically a trait only Dreamers can have. (More evidence for my 'Rift Mage should have been Solas' personalized, individual specialization' hc!)

There is an argument to be made if this already constitutes for 'pulling matter from the Fade', but this isn't even the funkiest part yet.

Stonefist: “You summon a boulder from the Fade and smash it into your target, sending them flying.” (Upgrades being Shatterstone and Unblockable Force.)

'Summon a boulder from the Fade', you know, as in, bring physical matter from the Fade to the other side of the Veil. A thing that is pretty much unheard of. Remembers what happens to spirits when they pass violently through the Veil? There is an entire game dealing with that. (I mean, stones won't hopefully turn into demons, but my point is that bringing things through, usually, is not a wise idea.

Another thing someone could have commented on.

Passives: Restorative Veil, Encircling Veil, Smothering Veil, Twisting Veil.

Unfortunately, neither of these descriptions give me much, but they all have the ‘Veil’ component in their name, so that’s interesting.

Upon closer inspection, the Veil can function in a variety of ways: speeding up mana recovery, further weakening enemies, boosting your own damage. (Veilstrike being an example of a means of attack.)

Now, my question here would be: Do over mages notice changes in the Veil? Do they feel it shift and bend? If not, well, that's one thing. if they do, even subconsciously, I'd want banter. (I want a lot of banter, though. Just generally speaking.)

Pull of the Abyss: “You create a tiny rift that pulls enemies toward a central point.” (Upgrades being Shaken Veil and Devouring Veil.)

I can live with never hearing anything about everything else. Sure. But this one? This damned skill? You're telling me I read that the first time I played the game, nodded, and that was it?

'You can create a tiny rift-' I'm sorry, do you what now? After a good a couple of hours of learning just how bad rifts are?

And the upgrade names. Shaken Veil, Devouring Veil - is there anything this thing can't do, except for becoming more and more horrifying and giving me bad vibes ofr whatever DA4 will do with it?

Firestorm: “You summon flaming meteors, raining fire down upon enemies all over the area for the next several seconds. This ability consumes and is powered by focus.”

This one is ... honestly, I don't like it being here. It's an AOE skill, which does fit in with the rest, but it's fire and it seems rather randomly assigned compared to other focus abilities with a more personal note (Haste, Rampagne, Cloak of Shadows, Mark of the Rift).

Doesn't give a lot here to analyze, except that raining down flaming meteors is the level of (global) destruction I can see happening in the future if Solas isn't stopped. So. That's fun.

(It's the ultimate skill in the Fire/Ice tree in DA:II, or at least the ability there has the same name.)

DA: II Comparison

Nearing the end, I'll take a brief look at the Force Mage specialization from DA:II and the Primal base skill tree for mages. Both have some interesting similarities.

First, Primal.

Stonefist: “The mage hurls a stone projectile that strikes with massive force.”

It's only the name and the effect, honestly, but it is curious to see it in a skill tree that focuses exclusively on the elements earth and lightning. (Because Pride demons also use electricity ... yeah, yeah. I'm reading too much into this.)

Petrify: “The mage entombs an enemy in stone, leaving the foe temporarily unable to move. However, the target becomes more resistant to damage for the duration of the spell.”

This has nothing to do with Rift Mage, but in light of Trespasser, I'll just leave it here for your consideration. Petrifying people is neither new nor exclusive to Evanruis.

Now, onto Force Mage.

Fist of the Maker: “The mage slams enemies into the ground with incredible power, against which armor is no protection.”

The effect sounds like Stonefist (Primal) and Veilstrike.

Pull of the Abyss: “The mage conjures a maelstrom of energy that draws enemies to its center while slowing them to a crawl.”

This one is similar to the Rift Mage skill with the same name, so it might have served as an inspiration (or base).

Overall, though: nothing much to say here. Maybe I could talk more about Rift Mage being focused on crowd control, but that is probably for game-play balance. I could connect that to Solas' character and analyze every little thing to death. I'm not doing it, though.

Specialization Dialogue

Solas: You have begun practicing new magical forms. Interesting. You seem to be drawing upon the raw substance of the Fade, likely using your mark as a catalyst. I use similar techniques, although it took me years to learn that. Why did you choose such an esoteric area of study?

Inquisitor: (if chosen) I hoped that studying such magic would me help better understand the Fade.

Solas: While our fight affords little time for formal study, the wise can better themselves even in the midst of battle. Perhaps especially then. I hope your new studies serve you well.

[source]

Let’s go through this slowly.

‘You seem to be drawing upon the raw substance of the Fade-’ Alright, we’ve talked about that. Makes sense he’d comment on it. ‘likely using your mark as a catalyst’ Sorry? The Inquisitor is doing what? I’m not saying it’s not possible, I’m just saying it might not be an overly smart idea to use the Anchor in that way. Because it’s attached to the Inquisitor’s arm. And because the Inquisitor knows what happens if it snaps out of control. So, purposefully doing something that might cause you agonizing pain? Mh. Yeah. No, thanks.

Also. The 'drawing upon the raw substance of the Fade' part makes me think that the Anchor does give the Inquisitor Dreamer-like abilities. Forcefully, and possibly difficult to control, and the Inquisitor might not be aware of it, but. That would be an interesting aspect to explore.

‘I use similar techniques, although it took me years to learn that’. Well. Yeah. Mostly a sound response, except I’m not really sure it's true. Why does he say years? Because he didn’t go right to sleep after creating the Veil, or because he studied such methods theoretically beforehand? I doubt he refers to the time Inquisition spans, because it’s not that long, cannocially, (isn't it like ... a year? I forget what the devs said), but … I don’t know. It doesn't sit right with me. Solas never truly outright lies, so there is probably some merit in it.

‘Why did you choose such an esoteric area of study?’ That’s … an interesting way to ask. Sure, there is a very small group who has this specialized knowledge, but it feels a little like deflection.

The rest of the conversation doesn’t give much for me to analyze.

Conclusion

TL;DR: There should have been banter. Or Rift Mage should have been a personalized, individual specialization.

Pull of the Abyss is the funkiest skill in the entire game, from a meta-perspective, because tearing a hole into the Veil is the opposite of what the Inquisitor is trying to do.

There are also many more questions than answer to take away from this regarding the Veil and the Fade and how Solas manages not to blow his cover, but I believe there are theories about at least the two former points out there.

I thank you very much for bearing with me for this long!

[writingforfunsies]

The Demon Brothers: Creative Outlets Headcanons

they are all immortals and when you've lived longer than you can remember, you're bound to find a creative outlet to destress, alleviate boredom, or you know, to just have fun!

Lucifer

He’s a busy demon. If he’s not working, he's sleeping, or cleaning up one of his brother’s messes, so he doesn't have that much time to just relax and explore his creative sides. 

That said though, it doesn’t mean he has no hobbies at all.

He plays the piano. He used to play it every morning, back when he’s still in the Celestial Realm, when he’d taught Lilith how to play the piano every morning and she’d sat besides him as his fingers moved across the keys slower so she could copy him. 

Nowadays, playing the piano feels very nostalgic and bittersweet, but you’ll hear soft, bittersweet melodies drift from the music room once in a while.

He also composes his own music, but that's an even rarer occurrence. The last time he created a new music piece was centuries ago. 

(Ever since MC came to Devildom though, he's been itching to write music for them.)

Practices calligraphy for fun. He has a whole set of brushes and ink and lettering pens. His handwriting is already beautiful but his calligraphy is even more amazing.

Another thing he does is gardening. He's got a great eye for landscape architecture, he's the reason why the house's backyard is pretty. 

He plants decorative plants and likes to cross breed flowers so the House of Lamentation's backyard is full of pretty shrubs and unfamiliar flowers. 

He is usually joined by Beel as he is the other brother that finds gardening very relaxing.

Mammon

He definitely shows his creativity by coming up with the most absurdly brilliant, out-of-the-box, original schemes to make money.

Mammon can draw, like really good. His drawings are very realistic. He prefers to use traditional media: charcoal pencils, graphite sticks, blenders, erasers, drawing pens, brushes, and maybe some watercolors.

He usually does architecture sketches.

But if you check his drawers, you’ll find several sketchbooks of his brothers in different candid poses. MC alone has taken up three whole sketchbooks. Mammon makes sure MC doesn’t see those sketches though.

Crashes Asmo’s Art Day regularly, claiming that if Levi’s invited then the Great Mammon should be too. Asmo and Levi always complains but they let him stay anyway.

Mammon also has a natural talent on jewelry making and metalwork. He makes jewelry from buttons, beads, pearls, diamonds, and crystals. From small pendants to elaborate neckpieces, simple anklets to ornate hairpins. 

Mammon has made metal bookmarks for Satan because the book lover always misplaces his bookmarks or destroys them in fits of rage when he doesn't like a book's ending.

He sculpts wood. It takes him months to finish one small piece because he only does it when he's really, really bored, he prefers to make his much more profitable jewelry. 

He keeps all of his sculptures in his room, small and detailed pieces of wood engraving of Devildom native animals lining up on one of the shelves.

Leviathan

This is canon but he draws! He doesn't think he's very good at it, but he really enjoys it. 

Unlike Mammon who likes to draw with his charcoal pencils and drawing pens, Levi prefers to draw digitally. He still switch to traditional media now and then though.

Has a monthly scheduled “Art Day” where he and Asmo hang out together, Levi draws with his sketchbook or his drawing tablet and Asmo paints. They basically just gossip and hype each other’s art.

Dabbles in making short animations but feels like it’s just not something for him. He makes short comics though.

He wants to be able to make his own video game someday though. Maybe after he learns programming.

He makes the most detailed cosplay outfits for his own cosplays. He sews really good and patches his brothers clothes when they ask. Where do you think Asmo learns how to sew his own clothes from?

Really good at dancing and he really likes it too. He's a natural at it. From the most intricate traditional Devildom dances to freestyle dancing. He can make new moves on the spot and can copy any moves from one look.

He’s a shy baby though, you’ll rarely see him dance when he’s sober.

Except when he’s playing DDR (Demons Dance Revolution). Then, it’s like he’s the most confident demon in Devildom.

Satan

Satan writes poetry when inspiration strikes him. He has also written short stories but he always comes back to creating beautiful poems. He’s got a way with words.

Photography is something he has only recently taken interest in but he has a great eye for taking breathtaking shots. 

Has become the family’s go-to photographer.

“Satan, take a picture of me and Mammon!” “Satan, take our picture, quick!” “Satan, help me get a picture for my Devilgram!”

He’s the reason Asmo’s Devilgram pictures always look like they’re taken professionally in a photo studio or something.

Satan loves art, likes to stroll through museums and stare at paintings for hours, but has little talent in creating them. Even so, he still likes to paint even if he's not good at it. 

Sometimes he just wants to slap paint on a canvas and make a colorful mess. It's fun. 

He joins Art Day every other month.

Another thing he does is knitting! It relaxes him. It gives him something to focus at when he's angry (um, angrier than usual), just to give his hands something to do that doesn't involve breaking anything. The simple patterns he makes are easy enough that they don't frustrate him. 

Rarely ever finishes his knitting though, you'll just find this 5 meters long knitted fabric in one corner of his room with the ends coming undone because he calms himself down enough to stop knitting.

Asmodeus

Regularly designs, cut, and sew his own clothes. 

Has a lot of sketchbooks full of drawings of flowy dresses and stylish coats and many aesthetically pleasing shirts. 

He has started his own clothing line and sometimes collaborate with Majolish. 

But for the most part, he designs clothes for himself and himself only, he doesn't want anyone else to wear clothes as fabolous as his.

Nail art? Nail art. 

Asmo paints all of the brothers nails and sometimes he'll persuade one of them to let him do a complete manicure, with glitter polish and shiny studs and all. 

Yes, even Lucifer. You just never see the results because Lucifer wears his gloves almost all the time.

Asmo creates beautiful makeup art. He doesn't really like a lot of makeup on his own face though, so his brothers' faces are his canvases.

He also has a great eye for interior decorating and flower arranging. He restyles his room every month.

Not many people know it but he paints. And he's very good at it. He has done a painting of each brother, the paintings can be seen on the walls of the House of Lamentation's hallways. 

Art Day with Levi (and sometimes Satan or Belphie) is spent with him in front of canvases, chatting with his brothers, paint splatters on his hands. It's the only day that he doesn't mind looking a little messy.

Beelzebub

He cooks, of course!  And bakes too!

It's one of the times he’s willing to wait to eat because cooking the ingredients first rather than just straight up eating them will make the foods taste better. 

Half of the food in the kitchen are his creations. Anything he can make on his own from scratch, he will; jams, ice cream, sauces, juices, bread, chips, etc. 

Likes to experiment and always do something different than the original recipes. 

He garnishes his cooking like it’s something you order from a five star restaurant.

Beel is another demon who has a green thumb. He likes taking care of plants and doesn't mind getting a bit dirty doing it so gardening is another hobby of his. 

If Lucifer plants ornamental plants, Beel grows useful plants like herbs and vegetables and small fruits. He's also good at topiary.

Always has an idea for a DIY project. 

His creations is scattered all over the House of Lamentation. Belphie's drawer divider is made out of yogurt cups. Broken drawer knobs recycled into Asmo's jewelry organizer. The coat rack. The bathroom towel holder. 

Even Lucifer's hanging Demonus rack is handmade by Beel when he's bored one weekend, with Mammon's help for the engraving decorations along the sides of the rack. Beel's got a bit of Bob the Builder in him.

He is very good at singing. His voice is clear and he has a broad vocal range. Has been caught unconsciously humming in class many times.

Has definitely sang Belphie to sleep.

Belphegor

Does his pranks counts as a creative outlet though?😂 Between him and Satan, Belphie's ideas are the most creative and out of the box, resulting on some of the best pranks they did.

Belphie does origami. It's relaxing, easy enough to learn, and doesn't take much effort and energy to do it. 

Has stacks of origami papers in his room: standard origami paper, foil paper, traditional Washi ones, the leather-like Momigami paper, all kinds of paper. 

He especially loves to make little origami stars and keeps them in glass jars in his room.

Belphie also has adult coloring books. 

And kids coloring books.

Coloring is relaxing to him. It's very calming to just lay down and fills a page with pretty colors for a while. It's not a tiring way to destress, he can color without moving from his bed, and it feels satisfying when he finishes a whole page. 

He sometimes joins Art Day if he's not too lazy to move. Still prefers to color alone where it's quiet though.

He also journals. It's another thing he can do that is inexpensive and not energy consuming. He writes about anything that comes to his mind, his thoughts, his ideas, memories. 

Definitely keeps a dream journal.

Also I headcanon that as the Avatar of Sloth, sleep and dreams are some of the things he can manipulate. He enjoys creating dreams; the worldbuilding, the story, the details. He can be really creative when it comes to making them, spinning the most vivid and imaginative dreams. 

They’re not necessarily good dreams though. After all, he is still a demon, his dreams will most likely mess up your mind than make you smile in your sleep.

[thecagedsong]

Forgotten Light Chapter 13: Tunnels

A/N: Hey there, long time no see. Left to hyperfixate on Doctor Who for a while, but I’m back on my Fablehaven business. This is a long chapter, it probably should be two chapters in the final version, but I really wanted to get the tunnels part out. Also, let me know if Kendra’s crafting is making sense and if the dialog for this chapter is working out. Very important chapter. 

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13

Chapter 13: Tunnels

 When Kendra woke up the next morning, she knew Ronodin had left. The night before they had eaten dinner separately, and while Kendra focused on reading or staring at the library wall, Ronodin hadn’t come out of his room. She saw him for a moment as she went to bed, but he turned away from her.

It was confirmed by a note on the countertop.

Love,

I hate to leave while we’re fighting, but I have to go handle another errand for our host. Despite your doubts in me and what I implied, I will be back for you, and we’ll go on another little adventure. This is what we have to do until we can go on the bigger adventures together in the sunlight. At the bottom of this note is another design for an amulet you might try, and we’ll both be working to shorten your quarantine.

Ronodin

 And Kendra was back to feeling bad all over again! She went back and forth all yesterday afternoon about apologizing again, promising that Mendigo wouldn’t stop him if he tried to leave, or holding to her words. It was dangerous. He was trying. She was being difficult. She had a right to be difficult.

Sketched at the bottom of the note was a triangle amulet, with crescents open to the left. Inside the triangle was a circle inside an oval with an ‘x’ through it, bisecting in the center of the circle. Because you have to carve intent into every craft, Kendra had to go look up what the symbol meant in the dictionary he gave her.

The triangle was a curse, and the eye a symbol for blindness. Putting it within a circle, she should be able to direct it only at certain people, namely enemies. Did she want to blind her enemies? On the one hand, it was the same principal as her weakness charm. No harm, unless they intended to harm her first. On the other…

As someone who can count on her hands the number of rooms she’s seen, as someone who is alienating the single relationship she has to get a glimpse of sunlight, and as someone whose most prized possession is a landscape painting of the outside, could she take away someone else’s sight?

Maybe she could limit it to cursing people not to see her. An invisibility charm was a lot less problematic than a blinding curse. Combing through the books didn’t give her any insight on how to limit the blindness. In fact, applying Ronodin’s charm as is to a circular amulet wouldn’t even limit duration. It would blind any enemy that looked at her once, permanently.

It would take good craft and magic application to create, and a single mistake would make the magic run out halfway through the first use of the amulet, leaving a person…partially blinded? Blinded in one eye? Temporarily blinded? It didn’t say, so Kendra had to put a couple of concepts together to make a guess. Magic based on gaze was actually the most magic consuming type of enchantment. That was all it said, so Kendra went looking through her little library for more of an explanation.

She managed to clobber together answers from five different books:

All magic is reactionary, a person must interact with the spell caster or the enchanted object for the magic to be applied. The safest place from magic is away from it. Simply seeing something only activates extremely rare curses and enchantments, usually crafted from Dragon parts, because it just required that much magic. Touch is the most common type of curse conduit, and came in the variations. Presence within an enchanted area or physical contact with the item or caster were the most common. Proximity casting is rare, but technically falls between touch and sight in terms of magic usage. There was also gaseous spells, which technically also operated based on touch, but the enchanted matter expanded, so that’s also deserved a special mention.

Kendra was a limitless supply of magic. If she wore a sight-based curse, well crafted to actually create an effect, it would never run out of juice. It would fully infect others every time. It also couldn’t be used against her to the same potential.

If she made that work, there was no way Ronodin could justify keeping her locked up.

But what if…what if her brother felt like he had to harm her in order to get her to go with him? She could blind him, and not even know it. Is that what old Kendra would have wanted, after giving up her memory for him? No. Temporarily feeling too weak to chase her? Fine. Permanently blinding someone with good intentions? Not fine.

Kendra left the books open and went into the hallway.

“Mendigo?” she asked, and the puppet walked in front of her. “How many hours ago did Ronodin leave?”

Mendigo held up two fingers.

“Did he say words as he left out the front door?” she checked.

Mendigo shook his head. Ha. She knew that he had made that up to keep her from stealing the key.

“You have to follow all my orders, correct?” Kendra checked. And the puppet nodded.

“Are there things I can’t tell you to do?”

Mendigo hesitated, then nodded his head.

“Are the things you won’t do if I tell you impossible because Ronodin ordered you not to do them?”

Head shaking no. She couldn’t ask him about the things he couldn’t do, Mendigo couldn’t handle questions more complicated than yes and no.

“If I gave you a paintbrush, would you be able to write out explanations to longer questions?”

Mendigo shook his head no. Drat. Complicated magic, but not an intelligence behind it.

Could she craft a puppet like Mendigo? Probably not, not unless there was some kind of wood that wanted to become a limberjack. None of her books said anything about creating a little bit of intelligence, enough to answer questions and have memory. But maybe if she got good enough. Though why she’d want another when she already had Mendigo made it a moot question. It was probably impossible anyway.  

“Mendigo, the things I could ask you to do and you wouldn’t,” she asked, “is that because they would be impossible for you to do?”

He nodded, and pointed at the front doorknob. Right, she had told him to open the door, and he couldn’t.

“Would you be able to tell me if Ronodin is the one really giving you orders?” Kendra tried.

More hesitation, then slow nodding.

“Has Ronodin ever given you any orders that you followed?”

More nodding. That didn’t actually tell her much. Ronodin was her secret boyfriend, if she had ever once said ‘Mendigo, do what Ronodin says,’ then the answer to this question would be yes.

“Are you currently following any of Ronodin’s orders?” she said. Vigorous no.

“Right,” Kendra said, feeling a little better. “From now on, you are not to follow anyone’s orders but my own, under any circumstance. Will you be able to follow that order?”

Here came the longest pause. Was it because she was asking him a question about the future? Maybe the enchantment didn’t allow for questions like that.

Slowly, Mendigo nodded his head. That was good.

For the rest of the morning, she settled on making a stronger version of her first amulet, temporary weakening based on intent and proximity. Maybe if she made that good enough, she wouldn’t have to permanently blind someone just to be free.

Ronodin showed up in the late afternoon, but didn’t fully enter the apartment, instead choosing to stand in the doorway.

“I see you didn’t take my suggestion,” Ronodin said, nodding at the newly carved amulet in her hand. She had taken a break to grab a snack from the kitchen, and found him there.

“Is this your way of checking in on me without having to let me out?” Kendra asked, rolling her eyes.

“Well, I ran into a snag when arranging your fake death,” Ronodin explained, “A quick video of you telling the person to help me will fix all my problems. I need to go back out again right away —”

Kendra sighed, “You can come in Ronodin, Mendigo won’t stop you from leaving.” Because it felt like the properly dramatic thing to do, she leaned against the hallway wall and slid down until she was sitting. It took a small adjustment, but her current red dress was stretchy, and she managed to do it modestly.

Ronodin came and slid down beside her, and the door swung shut.

“I’m sorry for acting like a brat,” Kendra said. “it’s not fair, and there’s no excuse, but it’s just so frustrating being locked up like this.”

Ronodin smiled, “Believe me, I know more than you can guess at what that’s like. Think you’re ready to hear why my family hates me?”

Kendra nodded, sitting up straighter.

“Forever ago, I started to question why the Fairy Queen was the ultimate authority on what was good and what was bad in the world. There were five other thrones, and they all play important roles in keeping the world functioning, and they all had different ideas of what was good and right than the Fairy Queen. But mortal wizards sided with her, as did human adventurers, and every kind of mortal agreed: the Fairy kingdom is the brightest light, and we should all strive to their ideals.

“Never mind the naiads and great fairies who kill because mortality is funny. Never mind the imps and the abandoned nipsies. Never mind the philosophies of balance that demand that destruction is just as important as creation to the continuation of the world. Never mind the strength of not picking a side and acting according to your own will and conscious. It sickened me to be part of such an oppressive kingdom that claims the moral right in everything.”

Ronodin drifted into a memory. “What did you do?” Kendra asked, bringing him back.

“I corrupted my horns,” Ronodin said simply, “It took a bit of time and a lot of favors, but I was able to break myself from the Fairy Kingdom. The Queen doesn’t command me anymore. I owe allegiance only to myself, and that’s how I want it to be. Some of those favors contributed to people getting hurt, but I can’t regret it. When I saw you going through something similar, I knew I had to talk to you. And now, here we are.”

“Here we are,” Kendra echoed. Sitting in the depths of some underground labyrinth, fighting over prison keys and the greater good, Kendra with no memory of who she was, and Ronodin fighting the same battles he’s fought his entire life over freedom.

Kendra leaned over and touched Ronodin of her own volition. Nothing romantic, not really, just her head resting on his shoulder. A silent show of support.

She sat up after just a minute, because she liked sincere Ronodin much better than flirty or angry Ronodin. (Flabberghasted Ronodin still held top spot).

“Let’s get that video for you,” Kendra said, then paused. “Wait, no one is going to get hurt when faking my death, right?”

Ronodin shook his head and took out his cell phone, “I promise, no humans are going to be harmed in the faking of your death. I just need some help creating a believable fake body.”

Kendra gave a little smile, “Doesn’t it ruin my fake death if someone knows about it and is helping you set it up?”

“Be very vague,” he advised, “The vaguer the better, so that when we do fake your death, even they will be convinced.”

“Okay then, what should I say?” she asked. “Am I talking to someone specific?”

Ronodin pointed the phone camera at her, “No, I’ll probably need to use it on a couple of people. Just tell the viewer to help me. Don’t mention my name directly, if you can help it. The less they know about who you’re with, the safer you’ll be. Ready…three, two one.”

"Oh, um, hi,” Kendra waved at the camera sheepishly, “I’m not sure who is going to have see this, but this guy is actually helping me. If you could lend him a hand, that would be great and I could get out of here much faster. Thank you!”

Ronodin then changed the view of the camera so that they were both in the picture, and gave a little wave. “Anything for Kendra.” He placed a quick kiss on her cheek and caught the start of her blush before he stopped recording.

“There, that should be convincing enough,” he said, pocketing his phone.

“I assure you, that kiss was unnecessary,” she said, folding her arms, still red.

He grinned back, “And I assure you, my caterpillar, that it was completely necessary. Another one for the road?”

Kendra stood up rather than let him take another kiss. They had had a good moment, she wasn’t going to let him ruin it. He stood up as well.

“I’ll probably arrive back while you’re asleep,” he said. “Can I see how you’re doing with that amulet? You chose another weakening one?”

“I’m not ready to permanently blind my misguided family,” Kendra said, handing over the amulet.

Ronodin nodded, “Well, you’re progressing. A lot more magic took in this one than your first try. It’s well on the way to making fatigue hit anyone who lays a hand on you.”

Kendra frowned, “I was going for proximity, still not enough focus?”

Ronodin nodded, “The applied magic isn’t strong enough, nor is the craftsmanship. You accidentally cut all the way through one broken link, making one of your four chains whole, and you really oversanded the top. Don’t worry, we’ll work on it some more when I get back. This is a skill like any other, it’s going to take time. You’ll get better at this, I promise.”

Kendra nodded, sighing over the flaws he pointed out. “Is ‘have fun’ the wrong response for the task of faking my death?”

“Oh,” he said grinning, “After the stunts you pulled, I’ll be having lots of fun. Don’t go crazy.”

“You’ll be the first to know if I do.”

Mendigo stepped out of the shadow of the doorway as Ronodin approached, “It’s fine Mendigo. Ronodin can come and go as he pleases.” Kendra said.

Mendigo stepped back and Ronodin stepped past and closed the door without a backward glance.

Knowing she lost the fight, Kendra returned to the craft room. She took that feeling, and turned it into the desire to weaken those that would make her lose with every paint brush stroke.

The second medallion was certainly more than just wood and paint when Kendra was done with it. It felt…expectant. Waiting to fulfill its purpose. A spiked trap, waiting to fall. It was kind of exhilarating, knowing what she had created had force and abilities beyond her.

Kendra had wielded magic.

Kendra looked back over the amulet that Ronodin has suggested she make, then ran to one of the books she had referenced that morning about how to build in a command. A dual check, the person had to want to harm her, and she had to want to curse them. She could make that curse.

All it needed was a second circular border with a notch, and Kendra would have to hold it and intend to activate it before it would blind someone. The pattern was more complex than what she had attempted before, but after all her reading, she felt ready. She switched to a block of wood called stiltseia, because the description indicated that it’s flowers alternatively flashed darkness or bright light each time the flowers bloomed. It felt right for this project.

Kendra worked though lunch, snacking on the bread and cheese that populated their kitchen. This time she made sure that if her carving tool was touching wood, she had her magic gathered and turned towards blinding enemies. The emotions feeding this purpose were vengeance, ambition, and desire to lash out. She didn’t have strong vengeance on her own, but Lady Kuychia wrote the book on vengeance, and Kendra had read it. Towards the end of Lady Kuychia’s life, when her husband found out about her shadow charmer abilities, he accused her of being pure evil, stole their children, and put a ‘kill the witch’ order throughout the entire countryside surrounding them. Vicariously, Lady Kuychia’s burning vengeance took shape in the amulet, to permanently blind those that would harm her.

Lady Kuychia had never gotten vengeance herself, if the handwritten note in the back indicating that the conquistadors pillaging the area around her village had hung her, after she kept putting out the fires meant to burn her. They caught her when she had sacrificed herself in a distraction to give her children a chance to run away from the Portuguese raid. Her husband had spat at her on his way out with their children. The children were captured and killed the day after their mother had died by hanging. Those emotions fueled the carving.

Except the outer notched circle. Following instructions, she focused on her need for control. The battle to control her negative emotions took place outside her body for the first time, as she ordered the power of the amulet into the circle, and into where she said they should stay. There were two different types of magic under her hands, the negative emotions of the amulet and the unyielding neutral control being pushed through her tool. Building a wall around the fire pit.

Kendra added a coat of paint right away, it didn’t feel bound tightly enough without it. This time she selected a dark purple paint, phantom tears and harpy blood. She was going by instinct, but tears also came from the eyes, and harpies seemed like the kind of creature more than happy to take out your eye for taking their blood.

It came out a color so deep, it was almost black, but the purple seemed to highlight around the cuts of her design. She hung it on a hook over the fire, next to the one she had made that morning. Three amulets down. No way to safely test them.

Crafting two amulets was exhausting enough that she wanted to take a nap. First, she had to clean up the mess she had made in the library.

Unfortunately, she had to guess at the places she had taken the books from. She had a vague idea of the organization: magic books left of the fire, histories and biographies on the right, and close to the door were the reference books, but without being able to read all the languages, she was mostly guessing.

Kendra scooted a space a little wider to make room for where she thought a book was supposed to go, and a yellowed piece of paper fell from between the spines. Kendra put the book away and picked up the paper.

To the current occupant,

You’re probably like me, someone whose abilities can only be used voluntarily, so they are keeping you locked up here until they can convince you to do what they want. I have no hope for rescue, and I refuse to do what they ask. I expect to die here, but I have hidden notes written in Silvian, and hidden them around the library to pass the time. If there is nothing else to my life, maybe these notes will make the duration easier for the next occupant.

So far I have discovered a single secret tunnel going out of here. Twist the head of the goblin statue and the wall will become permeable. I won’t survive outside this room, but maybe a prisoner better suited for this environment could use it to their advantage.  

Peace,

Maykrill of Anksonling

 Not what she expected to find, but she was wide awake now. It took a little bit of digging, but the goblin statue was directly diagonal behind her favorite reading chair. What kind of prison cell has a tunnel in it?

The tunnel probably didn’t lead outside, there was no way she was that lucky, but ‘anywhere else’ still ranked pretty high on the places she wanted to be.

The statue was a little taller than her palm, and currently being used as a bookend. The goblin made an icky sound when she twisted the head, like she was killing a living thing, and the small stretch of wall between bookcases became hazy. More gas than solid, and while she had to turn sideways to fit, she made it through just fine.

Unfortunately, she could barely see in front of her face. With how good she’s gotten at hiding her light, there was practically nothing. Should she un-dim herself? It would let things know where she was when she probably didn’t want them to, but she was probably already glowing a little anyway.

Kendra reached out and touched a wall, which immediately lit torches filled with the same blue fire that haunted her own apartment. Hiding wasn’t an option. Should she go back? But what was she waiting for?  Ronodin wouldn’t be back for a couple of hours yet, it was mid-afternoon. She might not get a better chance to figure out more about where she was.

If someone asked her what she was doing, she would just head back. And she’d stay out of the dragon invested grotto. A quick check showed that the wall was completely permeable from this side, meaning she wasn’t going to be locked out. Unless the twisted head operated on a timer. But she wouldn’t be able to test that theory without it being too late to do anything about it. Her best bet would be to make the most of this current foray, but if she didn’t leave for long periods of time and she didn’t get locked out, she might be able to keep this secret until they were cleared to leave this place. She grabbed her second amulet on her way towards the tunnel.

So much for Ronodin winning their battle of wills. Ha.

Kendra crept along the corridor, her bare feet quiet along the ground. It sloped downward, and she thought there was a very subtle switchback before it opened another fuzzy wall. Fuzzy on her side, hopefully solid on the opposite side. Stepping closer, she tried to get a good view of the room before she set foot.

The room seemed large, enormous even. It was dimly lit with sporadic torches, the stone darker than in her hallway. A neutral jean blue darkened into marbled navy, made to look even colder by blue flame. Kendra glanced down at her bare feet, and really hoped the ruby necklace actually warmed her up and didn’t just shut off her perception of cold.

There were large structures scattered about the room, and Kendra narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out the nearest one through the wall.

“I know your mother taught you better manners than to skulk when you know people can sense you, Ronodin. Please do leave me be, I’m not telling you anything else, and this constant taunting is rather irritating, even for you.”

Her eyes adjusted as the boy spoke. Because he was a boy, and based on his voice, couldn’t be much older than her, probably Ronodin’s age. She could catch the outline of bars, bent in around a circle, like a bird cage. Almost appropriate, given that this boy’s voice was the most melodic she had ever heard. Beautiful as Ronodin’s, but in a different way. Clearer, somehow.

“Fine, I will simply annoy you in return. I don’t think High Sylvian has ever graced these halls, join in if you remember the words:

 Follow the wind,

The one that blows of honey and rose

A caress, a brush, steady and slow

Follow the wind to Asamelle

  Trail the stream,

Of cerulean and lily pads green

It bubbles laughter and splashes song

Trail the stream to Asamelle

  Chase the light,

It hovers and flickers at the edge of sight

Whiter than ever beheld, brighter than ever-ever lived,”

The boy’s voice cracked here, and the imperfection in the perfect song made her throat grow tight. When he started singing again, it was just a little more raw, and Kendra had to cover her mouth.

“Chase the light to Asamelle

Chase the light home.

  You followed the wind, and trailed the stream,

chased the light, found the dream,

Home, to Asamelle.

  Moonlight blossoms, viridian forest,

Wave to the naiad, dance to the Djini lyre

Unicorns race and run through the mire

You have come home to Asamelle

  Beneath the tiger sky, follow softly,

Pass tree-grown houses, and beds of petals new

The final rise gives way to Heartsworn

The crowning jewel of Asamelle

  There’s so much light, it’s too bright,

Push forward; the sun was brought to house,

The virtuous beings of Asamelle

  An orchestra of birds, winds, and strings

Elf and Phoenix dance with the grace of falling leaves,

Step forward, part of the dance, the moment, the chance

Asamelle sings you home.”

 A tear slid down her cheek. An honest tear, her payment for the song. It was so full of love and longing; it would have been a sin to not be affected.

“Hang on, Ronodin would never have listened to me sing that,” the boy said, “Who are you?”

Kendra fled back to the library. She banged her hip on her way through the secret passage, and curled up in her armchair.

Her heart was thumping, pounding, her face hot. What was wrong with her? She just…all she needed was a moment to calm down and collect herself. That prisoner revealed a lot, she just needed some space and time from his voice to be able to process it.

The prisoner was so sad. How could anyone keep him jailed away like that? Was Asamelle his home? Why did he ever leave? It sounded beautiful, in a way that looks fragile but is more solid than anything else. A sculpture that appears to be made of glass, but is actually of ice or diamond.

And the part she didn’t want to think about: Ronodin is his jailor. He seemed to know Ronodin quite well, well enough think he could tick Ronodin off. And considering Ronodin’s relationship with his home, that song probably would. The boy thought she was Ronodin, there to question him some more. What could Ronodin want with him? How many more of her schemes would Ronodin tolerate until Kendra was in a cage next to the boy?

If she was trapped down there, would he sing for her if she asked?

No. The goal was to get out to the sunlight, not end up another bird in a cage, one much more unpleasant than her current residence. Why was he in a cage? Ronodin was all about freedom, and making sure people had the space to make their choices. He seemed to hate that Kendra was in a cage, Ronodin wouldn’t imprison someone else without reason.

Things weren’t adding up. Should she wait to confront Ronodin about it? Should she go talk to the trapped boy? Kendra thought she could make another trip before Ronodin came back tonight. Who would be more likely to lie? The boy or Ronodin?

Kendra needed facts. Evidence. Mendigo was under her full control. She had a brother named Seth. She chose to give up her memory. Ronodin loved her. She was fairykind and could use magic to make enchanted objects and see in the dark. Everything else she knew came from Ronodin’s story.

Kendra wanted to talk to the boy. And when Ronodin came back, she didn’t know when he’d leave again. This could be her only chance.

The goblin’s head was back to normal, and she broke the neck again. Kendra also took her second amulet, to weaken those who would harm her, not the blinding one. If the boy had the intention of harming her while she was down there, her curse would strike. Possibly. Not that he could do much from inside a birdcage.

The hallway had darkened, but lit once again as she touched the wall. Surer than the first time, Kendra hurried down the secret tunnel to the half-there wall. Once again, Kendra stopped.

“I know you’re there,” the boy called, much softer this time.

Gathering her courage, Kendra passed through the wall, halfway. She spotted an identical goblin statue, this time part of the brace holding up a torch, and went through all the way.

She walked forward, and a light sprung from inside the cage, small and dim, it illuminated the boy.

He was handsome. Unbelievably handsome. Kendra couldn’t remember seeing the cover of a magazine, and only knew that they depicted pretty people. She felt like she wouldn’t ever need to see a magazine; the boy in front of her screamed that kind of impossible perfection. White hair, blue eyes, unblemished pale skin, cupid’s bow lips that had fallen open at the sight of her.

Too late she remembered that she was currently wearing the stretchy red dress, a ruby medallion, a white cursed amulet (luckily that eyesore was tucked under her neckline), and her hideous orange cardigan. Her hair had been brushed and tied back before she started crafting, and she certainly wasn’t wearing the makeup in her bathroom. She felt a thousand times grungier than she had before.

The boy’s face changed, hardening, and he turned to speak to the general space around them, “Nice try Ronodin. I’m not going to lie and say I expected you to send a fake Kendra,” she jumped when he said her name, “but she really needs some work. This one barely glows, much less radiates like the sun. I’m honestly more surprised you let through such a bad copy.”

“Oh, um, Ronodin didn’t send me, I’m kind of here without him knowing, so I’d appreciate it if we could keep this a secret,” Kendra said nervously, tugging at her cardigan, hoping to turn it into something less ridiculous. “And I can shine brighter, but it seems to bother people, so I dim it.”

The boy raised his eyebrows in disbelief, “Kendra could never be dim.”

She unclenched the mental fist halfway, removing part of the block on her light, and immediately things became easier to see. One of the nearby cages started grumbling, so she dimmed it again.

He stared at her, and Kendra blushed and shifted under his gaze.

“Um…, I came to ask you some things,” Kendra tried, eyes drawn to the floor. This was not how she expected this to go. “But mostly, I really liked your song. Is Asamelle your home?” That was not what Kendra meant to ask him about, and blushed. Hopefully he couldn’t see in the dim light the way she could.

“Asamelle was the capital city of the old Fairy Realm,” he said, with disbelief. “Kendra, look at me.”

It clicked in her head, “Oh, you know me, don’t you?” she said, doing as he asked and looking at him. “I’m sorry, but I’m having some trouble remembering you at the moment.”

“And I’m still having trouble believing you’re the real Kendra,” he said. “Not knowing who I am isn’t doing you any favors.”

Kendra shrugged, “Don’t take it personally, I don’t know who anyone is. My oldest memory is turning a key that made me lose my memory. My brother Seth was there, and Ronodin, also an angry guy that claimed to be the King of the Dragons, and a magical dwarf. We were all fighting over a stone and my brother kind of won, I think, then I faked my own kidnapping and brought myself here. I really am sorry I don’t remember you.”

He was shaking his head slowly.  

“There are so many things wrong with what you just said, but I’m still having some trouble believing you’re Kendra and not some Ronodin knock off sent here to torture me,” he said, “Do you mind letting me confirm your story?”

“How?” she asked cautiously.

He held out a hand through the bars, “It’s not bad, just touch my hand, and give me permission to see if you are telling the truth. I can’t see anything you don’t want me to, and you won’t feel a thing.”

Kendra pulled back a little. “I don’t know your name, and I don’t know who or what you are. I’m sorry, I really don’t feel comfortable doing that.” Could all unicorns do what he said? She might be in a lot more trouble with Ronodin than she thought.

“I’m Bracken,” he said, retracting his hand and backing away, “We’ve done this before, if you really are Kendra. I’m a unicorn, and the Fairy Queen herself vouched for me.” His eyes softened, looking over her again, “I’m sorry, whatever is going on, I don’t mean to frighten you. I won’t do anything you’re uncomfortable with, though it will make trusting you a little more difficult. Please don’t be afraid of me.”

Oh, he was kind. Why would Ronodin imprison someone like him? Being a unicorn the same age as Ronodin explained the comments about Ronodin’s mother and the polite dislike. The name Bracken also sounded familiar…

“Oh no,” Kendra said, covering her mouth. It all came together. Bracken was Ronodin’s cousin, the one she was engaged to while secretly seeing Ronodin.

Bracken’s eyebrows raised, “I will admit that’s the first time my name has evoked that reaction. You remember something about me around your mysterious bout of amnesias?”

Kendra wanted to run away again. No wonder Ronodin knew it wasn’t safe for her to leave yet; people from her old life were already tracking her here. Why hadn’t Ronodin told her? Of course, he didn’t tell her, she spent so much time fighting him. Was Ronodin worried she would leave, or demand to leave until she hated him? This was all wrong and not fair, and Kendra didn’t know what to do.

“I’m so sorry for what old me did to you,” Kendra said. “I don’t know why I led you on, I’m sorry.” Kendra put her hand over his, which was suddenly gripping the bars of his cage. “I give you permission to see the truth of my words.”

Bracken closed his eyes, and his forehead creased, “It’s…blank. I can sense your memories for a time, then its just gone. You gave them up, but it is your mind,” he said with disbelief. “You are really Kendra.”

Bracken frowned, “There’s something awful here, dark, but nowhere near strong enough to block your memories. Do you remember any other curses? Or maybe you have a cursed item?”

“Oh, um, I made it today, to protect myself from people who would do me harm? It’s a little new, but it might be what you’re talking about,” Kendra said, pulling out the medallion.

“You did what? Kendra, you don’t make curses. That’s dark magic,” Bracken said, clutching the bars of his cell, “Listen to me closely, whatever you do, stay away from crafting curses. How can you even do that?” Which verified Ronodin’s words. Her crafting had been a secret, he did think she was evil, as was her art. There was just one more thing to check.

“Are you familiar with Mendigo?” Kendra asked.

“Your puppet? Kendra, I feel like you’re not listening to me. Whatever Ronodin said —”

“Does Mendigo only do what I say or not?”

“Well, yes, Mendigo, as I understand it, is keyed into the commands of you and your brother, and whoever you tell him to listen to.” Bracken said. “I don’t see why that’s important. Look, Ronodin is evil, you can’t trust anything he says —”

“What about my family?” Kendra asked, “Do they really imprison dark creatures against their will?”

Bracken’s eyebrows rose, “What? In a manner of speaking they do, because nothing else would have the chance to grow and flourish if we let them out. Demons, the unbound undead, dragons, they would destroy everyone and everything if given a single chance. You helped put so many of them away. They’ve killed your friends and family. It isn’t an unjust prison sentence if that’s what Ronodin told you. They all chose darkness and destruction, or it’s their nature and life sentences over huge tracks of land to roam seem more humane than killing everyone in an effort not to die ourselves. You and your family are the best people I know. Good people. Ronodin is twisting the truth for his own ends if he says differently. You are a good person Kendra, you don’t craft curses. You don’t chose evil, you can’t. It isn’t who you are. Don’t listen to Ronodin’s lies.”

“Ronodin said the exact same thing,” Kendra said sadly, and Bracken went quiet, “Except, he knows something you don’t, something we couldn’t share with either of our families because yours hates him and mine wouldn’t understand. I’ve been enchanting magic objects for a while now. I met up with Ronodin in secret, and fell in love with him. I ordered Mendigo to kidnap me from my home so that we could be together.”

“Wha-no, no, no. That doesn’t make sense,” Bracken said, hurt crashing through those beautiful blue eyes as he drew back. “That can’t be true…I…you let me into your mind a week ago. Please believe me. You met Ronodin for the first time this past week.”

“He’s a little rough,” she defended quietly, looking away, “We’re learning our way around each other again over my memory loss. He hates that we have to stay cooped up, but he knows who I was better than anyone else.”

“That’s a lie,” Bracken insisted, “He doesn’t know anything about you. He doesn’t know that falling rain makes you think of your friend Lena. He doesn’t know that your favorite way to travel through the air is being held by the Dragon Raxtus. He doesn’t know that your cousin Warren would die for you, after seeing you die once already and being unable to stop it. Ronodin knows you less than you know yourself right now. I get that you-you might not be able to believe me right now, but find Seth, find your grandparents, they’ll be scouring the earth for you. They love you so much, and you love them more than anything in return.”

Bracken’s voice was low and sincere. His voice had cracked again, like it had during his song, his tell that the emotion was just too much. So utterly certain he was right. But Kendra didn’t know a Lena or a Raxtus or a Warren. And she couldn’t ask Ronodin about them, because then he would know she went wandering.

Why couldn’t the old Kendra have fallen in love with Bracken instead?

“Why did Ronodin imprison you?” she asked. “Was it…was it because of me? He and Seth mentioned that we were…intended.”

“Oh, um…I mean…That’s not...we’re, um,” Bracken said, flustered. He wasn’t blushing, but unicorn blood was silver, could he blush? Did he sparkle more in the light when blushing? Pooling silver instead of red? “I would have come for you, I swear, but uh, Ronodin got to me first. I’ve been here a week-ish. Hard to tell the days, the guards aren’t regular on feeding us. I’m not sure what he wants to do with me. He was helping overthrow preserves and trying to set dragons on the world to massacre humans, so I was sent to stop him, but he got the jump on me.”

Ronodin would try to negotiate better circumstances for the dragons, and starting them from a place of freedom is something he would do. Keeping Bracken for no reason? That didn’t sound like something he would do. Bracken being sent off to stop his cousin? Bracken looked fit, but she would probably bet on Ronodin in a fight.

What was the truth in all of this? Where was it? Except she knew where it was, locked away with her memories. This was the first time she felt like she needed her memories. Kendra had missed them before, but if what Bracken said was true, then Ronodin was brainwashing her. If what Ronodin said was true, she had purposefully led Bracken to believe the way he did, and she had escaped from the consequences of the harm she caused someone who seemed so honest and sincere. Why couldn’t she just know. Like a normal person.

“Would I give up my memory so my brother wouldn’t have to?” Kendra asked.

His eyes were soft, awkwardness leaving, “In a heartbeat. Seth has suffered much, often by his own folly, much because he was a child in a world too dangerous for someone with his curiosity and kindness. He has trouble knowing who to trust. You supported him, gave him strength, pulled him out of his misery, helped clean up his mistakes, but you wished you could bear some of the burden for him. If given the chance to spare him pain, to keep him from messing up without his memory and creating new guilt, Kendra Sorenson wouldn’t hesitate to give up her memories.”

His hand raised, and she noticed a piece of hair falling in her face, he hesitated just short of her, and then pulled his hand back to the bars.

“Sorenson,” she said, fixing the loose hair on her own, because she’d start crying if she didn’t speak, “Is that my name?”

Bracken nodded, smiling, “Kendra Marie Sorenson. Your first name came from a book your father loved, your middle name is the same as your maternal Grandmother’s middle name.”

“I want to believe you,” Kendra admitted. “But from the things I know for certain, you’re probably a victim of my own lies.”

“You are goodness,” Bracken said simply, “Goodness and light. Ask yourself if what you’re doing feels right, feels good. If it makes you a better person who helps people and creates good things. Don’t listen to Ronodin, don’t craft curses. If you find a moment to escape, take it. Take it and don’t look back. Head to upstate Connecticut, ask for the Sorensons. You’ll find people who can help you.” Bracken tensed, “My jailor is coming, hurry away, don’t stop.”

Kendra rushed to the goblin statue, twisted the head, and hurried back up the hall.

Back in her little apartment, she took off the amulet and held it up. It had felt good crafting it. Honest. Part of who she was before that she had reclaimed. What was true and what was false?

[misfitjohnnys]

unintentional; i just have to live my life

You’ve worked hard for everything you’ve gotten and Mark Lee is a soft twist in your busy life, but you know hiding part of yourself eventually always bites anyone in the ass.

Word count: 12k - part 5/5 

Reader x Mark Lee

(M)

masterlist // warnings

You drafted up a text, debating on whether or not you should actually send it, but ultimately decided that you couldn’t exactly screw things up any worse.

Hey! How’s everything? Good luck with this leg of tour, I’m wishing you the best!

You knew it was much too happy and formal, but you definitely didn’t want to scare him away again, that was the opposite of what you wanted to do. You took a deep breath before hitting send, not expecting an answer back but hoping for one. Your phone vibrated much sooner than you thought it would, nearly gasping when you saw his name pop up and it was him responding to you.

Thank you!

You frowned at the two words, but at least it was something, but then you saw three dots to notify you that he was typing.

How is everything? Are you doing okay?

Your chest was pounding, and you felt like you could easily go into shock, because right after that, you got yet another message. There was literally no way you would’ve predicted that in any way, shape, or form.

I’m sorry I’ve been MIA, my head’s a little off lately 😅

You felt like crying, it was as if the surprise trip was the answer you needed, and you didn’t even know how to respond. It had been months since you got a double or even a triple text, but when Mark was in America, he really seemed like a whole different person and you felt guilty for wishing he could be like that always again, but it was the industry he was in and you had to deal with it.

Oh, it’s okay!

You responded, even though it definitely wasn’t okay, and you felt like tearing your hair out daily for the last two months. Normally you could get past someone like this, but the unresolved issues between you and Mark felt so wrong that you just wanted to keep holding onto hope.

I just missed you and saw that you guys were here again, so i wanted to say something at least. Don’t be a stranger, okay?

The last part was meant to be joking and you knew he knew that, but you hoped that he’d take it as a hint to talk to you more. It was killing you not speaking to him all the time anymore and it felt like it had been so long since you talked to him that you felt your chest get warm and your face got hot. You didn’t want to lose him and with the way time was flying, it hadn’t even felt like two months. Christmas and the new year had even flown by with just simple texts back and forth between them. The time felt like it was lost, and you were just focused on Mark and work. You hated that he did that to you, but something was obviously begging to mend fences.

Yeah, I’m not very good at that lately apparently

You furrowed your brows, wondering why he’d say that. Had he actually been paying attention to the fact that he was ghosting you, or was it all just the business of scheduling?

What do you mean?

I’m apparently being a stranger haha

Well at least he knew, but the worst part is that he wasn’t doing anything about it. If he noticed, why hadn’t he said anything? You had so many questions and you wanted to talk to him so badly, but you knew you’d ruin it. You had a bad habit of ruining relationships like that, so you’d let him be at his own pace. You frowned, biting your lip as you tried to find a decent way to respond.

Well, hi it’s nice to meet you!

You snorted at your own response, hoping you at least made him giggle. You quickly got another text back. It was like a switch flipped as soon as he was back in America and you were starting to think you were just crazy for not understanding what was going on and he really happened to just be too busy to respond to you. You felt a little weird about the conversation, but it didn’t seem to be going badly.

😂 I missed your humor

Your heart was racing again, wishing you could calm down just a bit. You took a breath but got yet another message.

I miss you

God, he really was the only person who could get you riled up like that and have your chest aching. You longed for Mark and you desperately missed him so badly. You wanted to hold him and be held, shout how much you loved him from the rooftops, and it made you sick to think that you were so smitten for him because it was so unlike you. In your “break,” as you called it, you definitely realized how strong your feelings were for the boy and of course it made you feel silly, but you were trying to ignore that and just speak to him because texting felt so good in that moment, you didn’t want to lose it.

I miss you too. Are you free tonight to call me possibly?

You bit the bullet and pressed send, biting your lip in hopes for a decent response. You hadn’t heard his voice in anything but videos for the last two months and it was starting to get to you. You missed your phone conversations. He felt like he was lightyears away and you were stuck at home with work wondering how he was every single day. It was getting dangerous, but you anxiously awaited a response that left you slightly disappointed.

Not tonight, we’re all going out for drinks but I’ll try to call you tomorrow after practice okay? Hold me to it lol. Miss your voice

The vibe he was giving off was odd, but you didn’t care. You were getting texts and quick responses and you were going to revel in it. You decided to stop playing it as safe, maybe just sprinkling a tad more onto your conversation.

Okay! Try to be careful 🥰 Call me if you need something, I’m only an hour away!

You bit your lip, hoping you hadn’t gone too far, but the push might make him think. Maybe if he knew you were so close, he’d ask you to come visit, but you didn’t get your hopes up.

Okay 💚

It wasn’t the response you were looking for, but it was fine. You smiled at it, nonetheless. He hadn’t sent a heart in his messages in so long, so you felt good, much better than you had been feeling. Your mood was instantly lifted, and you hated the hold he had on you, but part of you loved it.

You guys going out now?

You asked with a grin, wondering if you should leave him alone or not. Chances were, he was probably already there considering it was well past dinner and they’d only just flown in that day. You liked that they were already deciding to hang out and you wished you could join, but maybe distance was key to fixing things; giving him the match but hoping he would light it on his own terms.

Yeah! We just took some shots and are about to head out, so I’ll talk to you later?

You grinned again, hopeful to continue the conversation later. At least he was confirming instead of ignoring you, it meant the world.

Okay! Have fun!

You didn’t get a response back, but at least you felt whole enough to sleep that night, sighing happily and knowing you’d be leaving tomorrow night to see them anyway. You still weren’t sure if you should tell him, but the answer would come with time. You relaxed in bed, wishing Mark was there. You wish you hadn’t experienced the excitement of talking to him again and get your hopes up, but you couldn’t help it. You felt your whole body tingle with the idea of seeing Mark in two days, possibly even the next day.

-

Good morning!

You woke up to Mark’s text. You slept like a baby that night, weirdly cuddling your phone and just excited for the day. You had a wonderful night and were more than excited to get a good amount of sleep, you even slept in a bit before your shift of checking in on the store before your trip as you always did. The restaurant thankfully was perfect and totally ready for you to go, as it always was, and you had yourself and Irene to thank for that. She was right, you’d done a good job hiring and it practically made you unnecessary at the location, but you liked to pop in. Work made you happy. It stressed you out, but it did make you happy to have a steady hand on something. Your plan was to head out Thursday afternoon and make it for dinner, relax, and mess around the city, so you were going to try your best to stick to that unless Mark decided to tread water and contact you.

You started that day off on the right foot, heading home to finish packing. You had barely walked in the door when you got a call from Irene, who seemed much too excited to consider she hated packing or really leaving to go anywhere. She did way too much outside of her comfort zone and you couldn’t be more thankful. You answered with a sharp, “Hello?” before her loud voice was speaking to you.

“We’re going to go to a club when we’re down, I found this great place that serves a wine I want to sample for the store.” You almost choked in laughter.

“Did you just call me to talk about work, excitedly?” You snorted, hearing her sigh over the phone. It almost made you laugh again.

“Yes, I did. You should be excited too.” She said matter-of-factly. “Also, I noticed you neglected to get an Airbnb, so I booked a hotel right near the concert venue. You’re welcome!” You sighed. Shit, you knew there was something you were forgetting. That’s why you had Irene and she never did disappoint.

The drive down to San Diego was easy, you took your car, so it was much simpler than other times and you had a good feeling in your gut. It was a nice new vacation away from worrying about the new store opening, which was moving along much quicker than you would’ve ever expected. You had never taken so many vacations before and before the setback, Mark was really pushing you to try and care about yourself more, which was nice. You had been thinking about the openings the whole drive, taking notes and focusing on that and finally Irene stopped you from planning and documenting how you officially wanted the store to look by pulling away your sketches and closing your notebook with her left hand still on the wheel.

“Hey, come on.” She snorted. “You’re here to have fun, stop working so much.” She constantly had to remind you, rolling your eyes in response and sighing.

“You’re always pulling me away when I’m at a really good point in planning.” You heard her groan loudly, turning the music up. You giggled and watched her sing along to the radio as she drove. She was right though; you didn’t need to be focused on work. Irene’s voice was gorgeous and all you had to be focused on was the highway and how things were going to go with Mark, which reminded you that you needed to respond to his text.

So what are you up to today?

You couldn’t help but to smile like an idiot as you read over the word ‘today’. The messaging had been so consistent since you texted him the last time and you only dreamed of being so close with him again for what felt like forever. You wished he could stay in America just to be happy and responsive, but you knew it wasn’t at all realistic because he was doing so well in his idol life.

Me and Irene are taking a little trip, we’re going to go do some wine tasting thing she’s really excited about! What about you?

You asked with a bitten lip, hoping he wasn’t going to get suspicious, but part of you wanted to.

Haha man Johnny doesn’t ever stop texting her! how is she?

You widened your eyes at the message, grinning again. You had a feeling she’d been talking to him, but you didn’t know how serious it was or if it would even get serious because she was very private with her dating life. It was nice to have the confirmation.

She’s good! She’s driving now, so I’m just relaxing and listening to the radio. Trying not to die mostly!

You loved teasing Irene. She wasn’t the worst driver, but she definitely wasn’t great, and you didn’t know why you trusted her with the car, but your nerves were a bit too high to drive yourself and you wanted to work on plans anyway.

Yeah, definitely don’t do that! Where are you driving to?

You bit your lip again, wondering if it was a good idea to tell him, but you decided against it. You planned on surprising him again and you were going to go through with it.

We’re going a little south of LA!

At least you didn’t lie, giggling when you saw that he responded even quicker.

We’re south of LA!!

Maybe we could meet up if it’s not too far?

It was risky of you to ask, but you wanted to throw at least some kind of hint out there and see if he grabbed onto it.

Maybe 💚 We’re in San Diego now, we just drove from LA this morning, so after the show maybe we could set something up, yeah?

You could’ve screamed, excited to see that after so long he still wanted to possibly meet up. He hadn’t said anything about meeting up before and didn’t mention any plans for the night, so you wondered but wouldn’t ask if he was busy. It was easy to get drinks in California underage in comparison to other places he’d visited, so maybe they were having another boys night, you thought. You sighed in your seat, relaxing and you felt like a schoolgirl talking to her crush. It felt good to be considered, even if meeting up didn’t happen, but you were going to make sure it would. You had good seats for the show, it didn’t matter if they saw you or not, but seeing him was more than exciting to think about.

The hotel was nice, much roomier than you expected but Irene didn’t care much about amenities and you were only supposed to be there for two days, so there wasn’t much to unpack. You and Irene decided it would be a good idea to take to the town, relax a bit. You’d been texting Mark all day about nonsense and how his life had been going, so you were in a good mood, dressing up to go ahead to eat and make your way to a bar where some group was playing downtown. The music was nice, you’d had a couple weak drinks in your system, but you were genuinely having a nice time, relaxing and enjoying yourself with Irene. You liked traveling in the state, you never really did much of it since you moved there, but you were enjoying yourself more than you thought you would. San Diego was a good mini-vacation close to home. You sighed happily, sitting back and watching the crowd sing along to the soft music

You turned your attention to your phone, seeing a couple playful messages in the 127 groupchat, mostly of Taeyong updating everyone of the fun he was having. You thought it was cute how much he liked keeping in touch and the couple of you all still talked a bit. You’d gone kind of silent in the chat, but they didn’t seem to mind. You giggled at the pictures he’d sent of his new hair color, it was a nice pale blonde that you thought fit him perfectly. You’d seen Mark with a few hair colors, but he never properly updated anyone on his changes you’d just see pictures of him online. You liked the surprise, you had to admit. You were smiling at your phone and reading through the conversations when you felt a light tap on your shoulder near the crowded bar.

“Well, well, well, fancy meeting you here.” The voice was familiar, and you whipped your head around to see Ten with much longer hair and an adorable smirk on his face.

“Ten!” He reached out his hand that didn’t have a drink in it and welcomed you into a hug. You yelped a little, hugging him tightly. You couldn’t believe you’d seen him there. “I can’t believe you’re here!” You shouted once your embrace finished, seeing his warm smile made your chest flutter and it felt like you were talking to an old friend, excited because you hadn’t seen him in months and you’d hardly talked, but he seemed inviting as always.

“Yeah! The group playing is someone I’ve always wanted to see! I heard they were in town and I absolutely headed my ass over here. What are you doing here?” That seemed exciting, at least he was enjoying himself while they were all back in the states. You knew they didn’t take much time to spend when they were there the first time after they separated from you. You felt a little embarrassed at your answer once you registered what he’d asked you, shrugging.

“Hm, I don’t know.” You laughed, trying to shrug it off.

“You’re here to see Mark aren’t you?” He asked with a raised brow. You blushed shyly, tucking your hair out of your face as you tried to come up with a decent response. Ten noticed your hesitation and snorted. “Oh, come on, this can’t be a coincidence, the guy’s been talking about you for the last two days.” You blushed even harder, shocked to hear that being thrown at you. “You came here to see him?”

“I-well, maybe.” You laughed, not wanting to give yourself up so easily, but he gave you no choice. “I heard you guys were playing, thought I’d stop by.” You shrugged again, trying to seem nonchalant. “You guys put on a good show, maybe I wanted to see it?” Ten snorted softly, shaking his head.

“Well, I’m certainly glad you’re here, he’s going to lose his mind!” He stated excitedly.

“Who’s going to lose his mind?” You heard from an overly excited voice, accent familiar and you saw Taemin walk up with two drinks in his own hands, gasping when he saw you. “Oh my god, it’s you!” He said again, quickly setting his glasses down on the bar and pulling you into a hug. “What are you doing here?” Taemin giggled excitedly.

“I actually live near here! Well kinda. We drove down about an hour ago.” You defended, but quickly Ten exposed you after your statement.

“Someone’s here to see Mark!” Ten teased with a shit-eating grin.

“Ah, Mark! He’s been talking about you non-stop!” Ten shoved him a little, laughing himself. “Seriously the guy is going to be so excited, have you talked to him?” You groaned with a laugh, shaking your head. The fact that they both seemed so excited, but you weren’t even sure if Mark really wanted to see you had you confused in what you should even do.

“I actually haven’t, I’ve, uh, been giving him some distance.” You defended shyly. You didn’t know if they knew anything about your argument, so you wouldn’t push the subject. “I was going to surprise him.” You bit your lip, hoping they had some advice to give.

“Oh, so he doesn’t know?” Ten asked, shocked and getting the same surprised reaction from Taemin.

You playfully groaned, confused on if it was a good idea. “No.” You pouted and got laughs from the other two. “He has no clue! God, I’m so nervous!” You laughed again, rolling your eyes at yourself. Maybe it was a bad idea, but you hoped not. “Does he have any idea?”

“I don’t think so, but I know he’ll be excited!” Ten explained quickly to you, taking a sip of his own drink. “He’s actually out with Taeyong and the other guys right now, we decided to slip away and have a date night. Might cheat on Taemin tonight with the singer of xLovers, who knows.” Taemin offered a groan and Ten was laughing harder, getting shoved by Taemin, who was standing confidently with blonde hair and a different haircut from the last time you saw him. It was a nice look, you had to admit, but you always liked him with shorter hair anyway.

“You like me more than them, don’t joke.” Taemin pouted playfully, wrapping his arm around his boyfriend.

“Ah, so I see you guys are still going strong.” You offered with a tease, seeing Taemin giggle and grin happily.

“No, he’s the worst.” Ten grinned, leaning into Taemin’s grip. It was nice to see them again; you were so glad they were happy. At least everyone else seemed to be holding up well. Lucas and Yeri, Johnny and Irene, Ten and Taemin. You and Mark seemed to be the only ones having trouble, but you’d try not to think about it.

“I really am.” Taemin was laughing again, grabbing his drink from the counter and taking a huge sip of it. “I’m also a lightweight, so don’t let me end up on the floor tonight.” He shrugged, grinning at you. “So, are you coming to the concert tomorrow?” He asked excitedly.

“I actually am!” You saw them both gasp, grinning happily. “I’ve got tickets with my friend Irene, who is currently playing cards at the table with some girls we met in the crowd.” You snorted, all looking over at them.

“Oh my god that’s the girl Johnny won’t shut up about?” Ten offered, making you roll your eyes.

“Yeah, that’s my fault.” You snorted again. “Sorry guys, I swear she’s the best though!” You promised, hoping they didn’t mind. They both gave you a shrug, so it seemed to be fine.

“We could honestly care less, Johnny’s hot and deserves it. She’s hot too, go him.” Ten spoke seriously, checking Irene out himself. You scoffed, seeing Taemin roll his own eyes.

“You’ve really got to compliment everyone don’t you?” You asked with a laugh, seeing Taemin nod intensely. You remembered how much he hyped you up the last time you met, so you had to thank him in your own way.

“He strokes my ego too much. He’s gotta balance it out by hitting on everyone else.” Taemin was teasing, seeing Ten shove him slightly. “So, when are you going to tell Mark you’re here?” Taemin asked, widening his eyes and you definitely thought he should stop drinking. You snorted, grabbing his other drink from the bar and sipping on it yourself as you earned a small pout from the boy. He didn’t oppose the action, though.

“I don’t actually know yet, he said we could probably meet up after the concert.” You shrugged with a sigh. You didn’t want to push him until he was ready and if he wasn’t, then you’d have to be okay with it.

“Well, that’s fine I’m sure! We won’t say anything okay?” Ten smirked with a giggle, kissing his boyfriend’s hand as he grabbed the other glass from him. You both had the same idea because Taemin’s eyes were glassy and Ten seemed perfectly fine, so you were okay with stealing his drinks. “Tell him at your own time, baby.” Ten was looking around the room. “But it’s my time to do a meet and greet to see my future husband, so I will catch up with you later, honey.” Ten grinned, hugging you again as he finished off Taemin’s drink. “Text me if you need, okay?” It was nice that he was offering, and you nodded, sighing happily.

“I’m glad I got to see you guys!” They both pulled themselves away. Taemin waved excitedly at you as he followed Ten, going to meet the guys and you loved seeing how Taemin happily watched his boyfriend, even taking pictures of him with the group. You loved their relationship, you did, and you hoped that everyone could be as happy and carefree as those two, you envied them. You sighed again, leaning against the bar again, alone. You really wished you had someone there with you, mostly Mark, but with time you were sure it would happen.

You sighed, scrolling through Twitter and trying to relax through the few drinks you had. You saw pictures of the boys in California and it was refreshing, it comforted you because they all seemed all smiles, especially Taemin and you were so glad he was happy, but you weren’t really seeing any pictures of Mark, so it worried you slightly. On the same hand, he was actively texting you, so reasoned that it was fine.

Speak of the devil, you got a text a minute later from him.

heeeeyyyyyy

Weird. You noted, furrowing your brows. Maybe he was just having an off night. Ten mentioned had gone drinking again and you’d never experienced his drunk texts yet, maybe it was the time.

Hey!

You responded eagerly as normal, waiting to see what you’d get back with a smirk because you’d had a little alcohol in your own system, and you assumed you’d be entertained for the night if he was in fact drunk. You got to thinking for a moment. God, you hoped Ten or Taemin didn’t say anything, this wasn’t how you wanted him to find out you were there, it would only seem suspicious and you didn’t want him to think that.

wgats up?????

You snorted. Mark absolutely had to be drunk. Your suspicions were proved true when you got another message right after

i m drunk and

i miss you!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You giggled out loud, smiling and shaking your head at the text. You had to admit you were more than happy to receive your first drunk text from Mark, squealing internally at the fact that he thought to text you first. Maybe he hadn’t been told after all, which made it even more exciting that he was just deciding to text you at the time.

Ah, someone’s enjoying loose alcohol laws in california?

You snorted at your own message, giggling and taking another sip of Taemin’s drink. You glanced over to see the two of them back in the crowd, talking to the group and seemingly having the time of their lives.

Yes.

You laughed again, sighing happily and hoping he was okay. You bit your lip, sighing and continuing to drink. You were glad the alcohol hadn’t really hit you yet, but you were taking it slow. You weren’t out to party, you were trying to have a good time and yet your phone was the base of entertainment at the moment.

Are you being safe, sir?

You smirked, knowing he liked it when you were formal with him. He was kind of weird when it came to that, it made him blushy and excited, so you were glad to give into his wishes even if you weren’t normally like that. You didn’t get a response for a while, frowning but you couldn’t be mad, knowing he was probably trashed with his friends and you liked that he was having fun. You sighed and watched the clock pass by, going over to have some casual conversations and catching up with Ten and Taemin. Part of you wanted to leave early, but Irene still seemed to be enjoying herself and you didn’t want to interrupt. You looked at the clock again, sighing when you realized it was only a bit past midnight and you wanted to go back to the hotel and sleep, but you weren’t going to rip the fun out of everyone. Mark was obviously busy and so was everyone else, so you were starting to feel lonely and your feet were starting to hurt.

Your phone buzzed on your hip, confused as to who would be calling at that hour. You pulled it out, furrowing your brows with concern when you saw who was calling.  

Taeyong🐱 — Facetime Audio

You gulped, blinking and wondering what he would be calling you for. Was someone hurt? Should you be worried? You bit your lip, deciding to answer.

“Yong?” You heard a sigh of relief.

“Oh thank god you answered. Hey, where are you right now? You live in LA right?” He sounded worried, extremely worried and you could hear constant rumbling in the background. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem good. “How far is it from San Diego?” He sounded even more panicked.

“Taeyong, what’s going on? Is everything okay?” You asked, extreme concern in your own voice.

“No, it’s not, how fast could you get here? I’ll pay for an Uber but can you please possibly get here in any way?” He sounded so worried and you felt horrible for him. You didn’t want anyone to be that worried about anything and you knew the stress he was always going through and it panicked you.

“Um.” You started, sighing because that’s not how you wanted them to all find out. “I’m actually in San Diego right now, what’s wrong?”

“I-um,” He sighed again. “You’re here? Oh my god where at? I’m sending a cab for you.”

“Taeyong wait, wait, what’s happening?”

“It’s Mark, he- He’s hysterical right now, can you come here? I don’t remember what the hotel is called but we’re next to a bar and I’ll send you my location and-“

“Taeyong!” You stopped him, hearing him whine and you hoped you could get him to stop freaking out. “Calm down, calm down, please tell me what’s happening.” You were even more worried about Mark now, freaking out fully and stepping outside of the bar to hear him properly. “He’s drunk as hell and I don’t know what to do, I’m freaking out because I can’t calm him down, he’s having a full on crying panic attack and he wants you here right now and I didn’t know what to do. He literally threw his phone off the top floor and I normally always know what to do, but-“

“I’m coming, send me your location, Yong, but you’ve got to stay calm.” You stopped him again. “Everything’s going to be fine, let me grab Irene-“

“Don’t bring anyone else, please.” It was an odd response, especially from him. “If you can at least, he’s going to freak out more. He’s been sobbing out for you for the last thirty minutes and he’s inconsolable, I’ll buy you lunch, concert tickets, tour merch, anything please just, get here.” He was finally sounding more calm. You were extremely confused as to why he would mention that, considering your history and concerns of being so close to them, but then you remembered that Baekhyun could be with Mark as well and Taeyong knew about it all and you were suddenly freaking out, but you needed to be there for Mark, you knew you did. You took a deep breath and considered the situation.

“Taeyong, please, I’ll be there in a second.” You heard a shaky sigh over the speaker. He was slightly muffled, and you assumed he was biting his nails again, which made you more worried for him.

“Okay.”

“Yong?”

“Yeah?”

“Is Baekhyun there?” You bit your lip, hoping for a no, but you felt weird asking either way.

“No, It’s just me, Lucas, and Mark. Lucas is trying to cheer him up and it’s going very poorly, just, please get here, okay?” You heard him get quieter, trying to steady his own breathing. You did feel better that Baekhyun wouldn’t be there and it was one less worry, so you felt better about it. “I just sent you my location if you can get here as fast as you can, please.” He was begging and it made you wonder exactly if he was exaggerating due to stress, but you didn’t want to be inconsiderate.

“Yeah, um, let me-let me tell Irene.”

“Okay, thank you. I owe you the world.” You snorted at that once you heard the phone cut off, sighing heavily as you made your way back inside. You walked up to the table to see Irene still excitedly playing cards. She had a huge pile of cash sitting in front of her and you hated to cut her short but were also extremely impressed at the same time.

“Hey, ‘Rene?” You tapped her on the shoulder, biting your lip and getting an excited smile in response.

“Hey! What’s up?” She asked, glancing back at her cards.

“I’ve got, um, a Mark emergency.” You sighed, carding through your hair. “Are you ready to go?” You bit your lip again.

“I’m actually not.” She laughed. “But honestly, if you need to go, I can get a cab back to the hotel, it’s no biggie.” She offered, giggling and throwing another card down. There were multiple people crowding the table and Irene was really good at whatever game was going on. “I’m really enjoying myself, go ahead and tend to your guy.” She shrugged lightly.

“Are you- are you sure?” You asked, glancing over to still see Taemin and Ten chatting amongst themselves. At least you had someone there to make sure she was okay. “Taeyo-“ You started and quickly realized you should probably not be name-dropping in a public area just in case. “One of the guys called me panicking and they want me to go over there right now. I’ve got some friends here if you need anything, but I have to tend to them and-“ She cut you off, that was normal.

“Yeah, I’m sure! tell them I hope everything goes well!” You snorted a little, seeing her so focused on the game.

“Well, hey, okay, my friends are over there by the dj booth, the two guys over there.” You pointed and saw her glance over. She snorted, shaking her head.

“Isn’t that the guy you always used to show me when we were in college?” She laughed excitedly. “Oh man, your life is wild.”

“Yeah, yeah it is.” You laughed, shaking your head. “I’ll tell them you’re here. Love you, I’ll call you later, okay?” You rushed outside, quickly calling for a cab and stepping in to give him the location. You shot a quick text to Ten, hoping he would help you out with getting Irene home.

Hey so Taeyong called me to go check on Mark, so please can you make sure my friend is safe?

You quickly sent him her number, hoping she wouldn’t mind because you just wanted to keep her safe.

Yeah sure thing! We’ll be here for a while!

Thank god, you appreciated him every time you hung out, glad he was on your side in the constant push and pull of you and Mark. He’d been there since the beginning and encouraged you both to hang out the first time, so he was a godsend in your life. You’d be sure to thank him even more later.

The location Taeyong sent you wasn’t too far away. San Diego was a city you didn’t know too well, so you were a bit nervous, but you made it there quickly, stepping out and handing the driver extra cash because you’d gotten there safely. With your shoes in hand, you quickly got on the sidewalk and made your way inside, heart pounding in your chest. You gulped as you stepped into the doors, seeing a pacing Taeyong in the lobby of the hotel in front of the bar. You gulped at how nice the place was, wondering where the hell Mark was and where exactly was he crying? Taeyong walked quickly up to you, grabbing your arm gently and hugging you tightly.

“God, thank you. He’s in the hallway on the top floor.” He told you quietly, pulling you into the elevator. He was bouncing slightly on his toes and his shirt was extremely disheveled, untucked and his shoes were nowhere in sight. “You got here really fast.”

“Yeah, I was in an area cabs are readily available, so I got lucky.” You explained. “Ten and Taemin are going to make sure Irene’s okay, we saw them at the bar.”

“H-how is she?” He asked, trying to shift the conversation because you could tell how nervous he was.

“She’s good, normal Irene, playing cards.” You snorted. “She’s really good at it.” You got a shy nod from Taeyong and a soft smile.

“Good, good. I’m glad those two can take care of her for you.” He offered with a sigh. You were starting to get more and more worried about Mark as he talked. “God, I wish this thing would hurry.” He groaned, leaning against the wall of the elevator.

“Is he alone?” You asked, slightly freaked out at the situation. Him being alone isn’t such a good idea, you thought.

“No, Lucas is still up there.” He offered with a sigh. “Not much help, the guy barely takes care of his own brain.” He frowned slightly.

“Tell Lucas he can go back, I’ve got this.” Your heart was pounding as the elevator opened, definitely not wanting to see Mark like this. It wasn’t what you pictured, but you were at least glad to see him, even if he was intoxicated in a hallway. You followed Taeyong down the hallway, trying to focus your breathing and get yourself ready to see Mark again. It had been two months and you wished it hadn’t been so long. You didn’t even know if he wanted to see you, but Taeyong was deadset on you being there. You went closer and heard angry grumbling from who you could only assume was the boy in question. You gulped when you rounded a corner and saw him on the floor, one sock on and his shirt hanging open, head against the wall and his face extremely red. He was wiping his eyes with his sleeve and you almost panicked.

“Hey, hey, look who’s here.” Lucas offered, trying to smile and saw Mark shake his head. Lucas offered a shy wave to you and a bright smile. “Thank you for coming, thank you, thank you!” He told you, backing away from the smaller boy. Lucas looked massive next to Mark and he truly looked so sad. You couldn’t help but to smile at seeing him again. Lucas stood up, walking back over to Taeyong.

“I-don-I don’t want any-b-body to see me like,” Mark hiccupped. “this.” He covered his face, shaking his head and you almost started crying yourself, rushing over to sit by him. He groaned loudly, gently pushing you off with no strength backing it. Taeyong was biting his nails again and looking at the situation in front of him, helpless. “S-stop it hyung..” He sniffled again and you felt your heart breaking into a million pieces.

“Baby?” You swallowed, reaching over to gently pluck his hair from his wet forehead. “Mark, it’s me.” He sniffled again, wiping his eyes before picking his head up to look over at you, his face full of confusion and he had to blink to realize who was in front of him.

“Wh-what the fuck?” He asked, shaking his head in confusion. “Am-am I dreaming?” He asked with a hiccup, tears still softly streaming down his cheeks. “What are you doing here?” He asked, leaning over to lay his head on your shoulder. “You’re not su-supposed to be here.” He pouted softly.

“I came for you.” You told him honestly, reaching up to gently thumb over his face. You heard him sob once again, a little harder this time and decided to wave Taeyong and Lucas off, both getting thankful, scared smiles in return. “Someone drank a little too much.” You teased playfully. You hadn’t really dealt with extremely drunk Mark yet, so this was a new zone you weren’t quite sure you were comfortable with yet. “You okay baby?” You wanted to do your best to comfort him even when you thought you weren’t the best person to do the job.

“Mm,” he groaned. “No.” He sighed, picking his head back up to look at you, eyes glazed over. “Are you really here right now?” It was the first coherent sentence out of his mouth, the only one that sounded half like Mark.

“Yeah, I’m here, I’m here, okay?”

“I asked them hours ago to-to make you come.” He said with a laugh, drying his eyes again with his sleeve that was currently covered in makeup. You didn’t mind, you were just glad you could be there with him at least to lighten the blow. It wasn’t what you pictured, but things never went exactly to plan. You opened your arms, pulling him close to your chest, his arms wrapped around your waist as he sighed in relief. “They didn’t listen to me.” He was laughing softly, rubbing his face against the exposed area of your chest. You didn’t mind, Mark had done worse to you, you just felt so sad for him. You sighed heavily, just wanting to console the boy. He looked so helpless, limp in your arms.

“Mark, baby, what’s wrong?” He sniffled again, picking his head up to look at you.

“I’m-I’m so drunk.” he laughed, wiping his nose on the collar of his shirt. “I got really-really f-fucked up, thinkin-g about-about you.” The words rang in your ears, but you had to be calm. You were here to take care of him, not focus on yourself. He was giggling. At least he was smiling, a stark difference to the state you found him in. You hummed, trying to get him to relax against you again, your gentle fingers playing on the back of his neck to relax him.

“It’s okay.” You promised him, just trying to make sure he knew it was fine. It wasn’t exactly the best situation, but you wanted him to feel better. “I’m here now, I’m here baby.” You sighed, sitting in silence for a moment, his breathing steadying and only little sniffles came from him, his eyes still closed as he laid against your chest.

“I” He started with another grumble. “I love you, you know that?” He spoke louder, the tone almost frightening you, but you knew you had to remain calm. “I fucking love you! And you-you make me happy!” He spoke matter-of-factly and you had to jeep your head on straight, your thoughts roaming around and you wanted to say something, but you didn’t know what to say. “Fuck everyone else!” He grumbled again and you had to stifle a snort. “Fuck Baekhyun!” You widened your eyes at that, taken back at the phrase. Your head felt heavy with the curiosity as to how he’d gotten to that point. You had to shake it off though, that wasn’t the point of you being there and Mark was much too hammered to give you any explanation.

“Hey, hey, calm down.” You shushed him, pulling him closer and you hoped he didn’t notice the elevated heart rate. “I love you too, okay?” You admitted, trying to get him to quiet down even when your chest felt like it could crumble.

“He-he’s so mean about you.” You swallowed. He was pouting. You couldn’t get into that right now, you didn’t want to even explore what he was talking about from his own view but your gut wrenched at the confession. You still had a sore spot in your heart from the fact that Baekhyun disliked you so much, but you remembered that you deserved it, keeping secrets from him. You still wanted to know exactly what happened, but you’d been too scared to dig deeper. Maybe you’d make up later, but the only person that mattered in the situation was Mark. You sighed heavily, shaking your head.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” You promised him, getting another soft groan. “I promise it’s okay baby.”

“Mm, I like-I like it when you call me baby.” He giggled again, pressing his head into your neck and his hot breath felt so good, but you had other things to focus on. You closed your eyes and felt him gently kissing at your soft spot, making you gasp softly, but you couldn’t give into that at the moment, he was so drunk. You pulled away softly.

“Not here, baby.” You told him pulling his face up to look at you, sweetly thumbing at his cheek. “Not now, okay?” You told him and he lunged forward, kissing you hard on the mouth. He tasted like alcohol and it was usually gross, but Mark was never gross to you. His lips felt so good, his tongue sloppily shoving itself in your mouth and you almost enjoyed it, the taste of his tongue felt so wet and hot and you wanted the hard kiss to last forever, to move forward and make up for lost time, but you wouldn’t do it. You slowed his kisses down with your own, pulling back and pecking him gently. He didn’t push any further, just letting you peck his lips until his slowed down.

“Miss-missed you.” He said against your mouth, pulling back to softly look at you. He reached his hand up to run through your hair, much more aggressive than you liked and it was a bit uncomfortable and rough, but you didn’t mind letting him have the moment. You sighed, smiling at him. “I’m glad you’re here.” You saw him stupidly grin at you, his eyes fluttering shut.

“Me too.” You nodded. Suddenly the room felt hot and you wanted some air, hoping that Mark felt the same. You tried to calm your nerves because of the weight of the conversation. It was more than you’d gotten from him about it since the original fight and your chest was aching for some kind of relief. “Hey, let’s step outside.” You told him and got a happy nod back, seeing him pull away and try to stand on his own, stumbling to his feet as you stood up as well. You were thankful he was willing to follow you. Your alcohol had definitely worn off and you just wanted a cigarette, trying to pull yourself back down to earth from what planet Mark made you feel like you were on. You tangled your arm in his, guiding his fumbling body down the hall and to the balcony door.

“Mm, I threw my phone out here.” He said confidently, laughing. You furrowed your brows, sighing when you realized that was what Taeyong was talking about. You shook your head, you’d worry about it tomorrow. That’s why he hadn’t texted you back. You wanted to laugh, but it definitely wasn’t funny. “Right down there!” He pointed toward the street and laughed once you stepped outside, walking him to the chair sitting by the door.

“You’re a mess.” You snorted, sighing heavily and pulling your own phone out, your free hand still holding Mark’s as he laid his head back in the chair. You pulled out a cigarette, quickly lighting it up and looked up to see Mark staring at you, a soft pout on his face.

“Why do you smoke?” He asked, frowning even harder.  You had to laugh. He had no right to be judging you then. You’d had him ask before, but this time was much more comical.

“Maybe because my boyfriend is piss drunk in a hotel and I had to get a cab to come save him.” You snorted. Boyfriend. The word fell from your lips faster than you could stop it, but it felt good to say. Maybe it was wrong, but Mark only offered a smile at the word.

“Mm, bo-boyfriend. I’m your boyfriend, huh?” He giggled, seeming to like the word as well. It made you giddy to hear him not correct you. You snorted, biting your lip and looking out on the city. “Hey,” He stopped you, whipping your head back to look at him. “Can I try it?” He asked, blinking slowly.

“What? A cigarette?” You laughed, raising a brow.

“Yeah, I’ve never like, tasted one before.” He spoke softly. “Can I?” His voice was more focused now and you could tell he was serious.  You took one drag, sighing before handing it to him.

“You’re not going to like it-“ You warned before he tried breathing it in, his face scrunching up and coughing immediately. You tried not to laugh as he handed it back, but you also felt bad that he seemed to hate it so much. He had asked you though, so it was technically his fault.

“That’s-that is really gross.” He coughed again, shaking his head.

“Yeah, I definitely don’t love it.” You snorted, shaking your head and soothing over the back of his hand with your thumb. “You okay?” You asked as he tried to stop his coughing, sighing and relaxing back into the chair.

He was silent for a moment, looking out over the city. “Yeah, I’m-I’m just glad you’re here.” He nodded, letting his eyes flutter closed. You knew it was time to bring him back inside, finishing your cigarette as you sat in silence before standing up and trying to make your way back in. You held him up yourself, his broad frame not making it at all easy and his baby steps were making it a little harder, but as you made your way down the hall, you saw that Taeyong finally looked a little more relaxed, standing in the hallway outside of their room door. Lucas was with him and he was standing in the doorway, an arm on Taeyong’s shoulder.

“How is he?” Taeyong asked with concern. “I got his phone, but it’s really smashed.” He spoke regretfully, showing you the destroyed screen before putting it back into his pocket. It looked like he could get it fixed, but you weren’t sure.

You laughed softly, shaking your head and trying not to be upset that Mark had no way to talk to you for a while, but pushed the thoughts to the back of your mind. “He’ll definitely have a hangover tomorrow, but I think he’ll be fine.” You told Taeyong, seeing his face visibly looking more relieved.

“You’re amazing, I love you.” Taeyong told you, finally smiling shyly. “Do you possibly want to sleep over?” He asked, biting his nails again.

“He’s sharing a room with Ten and Taemin, poor guy.” Lucas snorted, shrugging his shoulders and you had to roll your eyes. “I’ve got their key card.” He said, stepping in and grabbing it, your brow quirking up at how much they still trusted you. It was a little more than a shock considering what you’d been through with Mark.

You sighed, eyeing over the card and hoping you weren’t intruding on someone who couldn’t really have an opinion on what you should do. You bit your lip, thinking it over for a moment. “Yeah, I’ll stay.” You told Taeyong and they almost looked like they were going to cheer. You quickly texted Irene your whereabouts and she responded and wished you good luck saying she could watch the season finale of The Good Place in peace and you were definitely thankful you had brought her with you.

Taeyong and Lucas moved to each side of Mark, who seemed like he was going to fall asleep standing up. They gently walked him into the room, Lucas returning quickly outside of the door to put the card in your hand. Taeyong walked out behind him. Lucas had a huge cheesy grin on his face before opening his mouth to speak. “So, your friend Yeri-“

“Lucas, not now.” Taeyong shook his head and shoved the boy, pulling him back into their own room with Lucas laughing loudly. Taeyong rolled his eyes and stepped back into the hallway. “Sorry, he’s drunk too. Thank you.” He spoke quietly to you, embracing you one more time as a moment of gratitude. “Tell me if you need anything.” You nodded softly, eyeing the key card in your hand with a sigh.

-

“Oh, holy fuck. Too bright.” You woke up from the loudness of the phrase and groaned at your boyfriend’s sudden outburst. You were still wearing most of your outfit from last night aside from the sweatpants you had on. You remembered Lucas had found you a pair that fit okay after you texted him from the room that night, you weren’t exactly sure who they belonged to, but you were glad you had them. You looked over to see Taemin and Ten sitting on the bed next to you sharing a plate of breakfast food. You could hear Ten stifling his laughter and Taemin dramatically imitating the show they were watching with his mouth full. You tried to turn over and realized that Mark’s leg was thrown over your bottom half and anchoring you down. You snorted, gently removing it and seeing him sleepily cuddle into the blanket, covering his head with it. It felt normal. The phrase had come from Mark, who was trying to get away from the brightness of the room and you had to imagine the hangover he had. You turned over and looked over at Ten and Taemin, who were glancing over when they heard the sheets rustling. You sat up on your elbow.

“Good morning, you two.” You snorted, seeing them smiling and waving back at you.

“Morning!” Ten said brightly, Mark groaning at the noise. You rolled your eyes and sat up. “He’s going to be fucked all day, poor guy.” He shrugged, turning his attention back to the television. “We’ve got soundcheck in 4 hours too, bless his heart.” Taemin nudged him, shaking his head.

“He’ll be fine, I’m sure.” He nodded proudly. Taemin was very confident in Mark and it made you happy. “But did you sleep okay? Did you want some breakfast?” He asked, holding his fork out with eggs on it.

“No, I’m fine.” You laughed, not wanting to take it from him, you appreciated the offer though. “If I move Mark might cry.” You teased, hearing him groan once more. “You okay, babe?” You looked over and saw him still under the covers, his green hair peeking out from under it and he shook his head no. You had to admit it was kind of adorable that he was holding so hard onto the blankets. He normally was out and trying to spoon so early in the morning. You had been woken up so suddenly that you didn’t really feel tired, just trying to stay in bed for a while before you needed to be up. “Does anyone have a t-shirt though?” You asked the other boys, noticing that your shirt from last night was slightly clinging to your skin and was feeling uncomfortable.

Taemin quickly jumped out of bed and jogged over to his suitcase, pulling out a big shirt and tossing it to you. You looked down at it with a grin, seeing his usual black and white striped shirt in your hands. You quickly pulled it on over yours and took your own off underneath, throwing it on the floor with your bottoms from last night. You definitely needed to wash them soon because you were sure they were covered in the beer Mark accidentally spilled on you when he was fighting to pour it out the night before. “We’ll try to be quiet.” Taemin told you with a giggle.

He was so messed up last night, you hoped he remembered everything, but you weren’t going to get your hopes up. You cuddled into the blankets again, smiling to yourself when you snuggled into his back. You could feel his warmth and it was comforting, laying your head on his shoulder. You got a little restless after what felt like forever laying there and listening to Ten and Taemin’s commentary. You gently pulled the covers off of Mark’s face, seeing his grumpy expression made you giggle. You pressed a small kiss on his cheek, sighing happily when you saw him crack a smile, his brows still furrowed. “Good morning.” You whispered softly into his ear, nuzzling your face into his neck and pulling the covers back over the both of you. Part of you wondered if he would be confused as to why you were there, but hoped he remembered at least something. You spoke too soon.

“Oh god, this is weird. You’re here. Woah.” His voice was quiet and sleepy. You felt guilty for a moment but felt relieved when a small smile was on his face, looking back at you. He tried to laugh, but winced at the feeling. “Mm, good morning.” He groaned, reaching over to gently pat your hip that was flush with his back. “I think I drank too much.” He said quietly into the covers.

“You think?” You snorted, sighing happily. “Your hair’s green.” You teased, reaching up to play with it softly. You heard Mark chuckle in his spot, and you felt him mentally rolling his eyes, offering a sigh.

“I look like a swamp monster, don’t I?” He asked with a soft voice, slightly turning to look at you with a dopey smile, eyes squinted into slits. “So, can you remind me why you’re in bed with me?” He asked, blinking softly and the slightest tint of pink on his cheeks.

“Well,” You started, a slight giggle leaving you. “You threw your phone off of the balcony.” He groaned at that, reaching an arm up to put over his head. “Taeyong begged me to come because you wanted me to.” You shrugged a bit, seeing him scoot up to the headboard. You sat back up to lean against him, reaching down to softly run your fingers over his hand in a soothing motion. “So now I’m here.”

“Makes sense, actually.” He shrugged, still squinting at the brightness of the room. “Well, I’m glad you came.” You bit back a smile, sighing of relief.

“Me too, because I don’t think you would’ve made it back to bed if I hadn’t.” You snorted, laying your head back on his chest. “You were crying and all, everyone was really worried.” You teased him, seeing him finally smile wide. He shook his head playfully. “But you were fine after I got there, I got you to get your ass up. A real hero move if you ask me.” Maybe it was too early to crack jokes again, but that didn’t stop you.

“Ah, yes, the eighth member of SuperM returns.” He teased, reaching over to gently grab your hand, your fingers playing together as he let his breathing soften. You looked at each other, smiling softly and sat in silence, just glad to be back by each others sides. “By the way, why did you drive all the way here just for me?” He asked with furrowed brows, a small smirk playing on his face. “Isn’t LA like, an hour away?”

You shrugged. That was it, the final break, your chest holding all the hostility in your heart. “Because I love you.” You could’ve sworn you saw his blush deepen, his lips quirking up into another smile. You bit your lip and thought about the fact that you wanted to be as honest with him as possible, sighing and smiling before speaking. “And because I got really good tickets to see you guys, so I’d been here all night.”

“There it is!” Ten shouted, laughing loudly and Taemin slapped his knee playfully to get him to quiet down. You couldn’t believe they could hear you, but you had a feeling they were listening in. “We got told before you, how does it feel?” He egged on, grinning.

“Shut up, Ten!” Mark shouted playfully, giggling to himself and sighing happily, his headache seemed to be dissipating along with his grumpy manner at your confession. “You know, I uh, actually had a feeling you’d come to one of the shows, it seemed like a you thing to do. I actually mentioned it a couple times, but I didn’t want to say anything.” He said proudly, nudging you with his side. “God my head hurts.” He was laughing, shaking his head. “I’m very hungover.”

“Yeah, we all thought you’d be, Taeyong said you downed like an entire fifth of whiskey and kept asking him to get you beer.” Taemin added in, giggling to himself and Ten was trying his hardest not to laugh more, just enjoying his breakfast when you looked over. “He was actually very worried, we should go check on the poor guy and let him know you’re alive.” Taemin nodded shrugging.

“Yeah by the time we got here we saw you guys passed out and for some reason you were in Lucas’s sweatpants he took from Kun.” Ten added in, giggling teasingly.

“So I’m wearing Kun’s sweatpants?” You snorted, lifting the blankets to look at them. You saw Mark glance at them himself, snorting. “They’re huge.” You added, a bit concerned, but you weren’t going to ask any further questions.

“This is such a weird day already.” Mark added, laughing and you saw him grab a bottle of water from the bedside table before downing it. He looked over at you, a softness in his eyes and you felt like melting. “I’m hungover, they’re watching Zootopia and eating breakfast in bed, you’re wearing Kun’s sweatpants. What the fuck.” He snorted, placing a hand back over his face and rubbing his eyes slightly.

“Okay Zootopia is iconic and I need you to shut up right now, drunkypants.” Taemin added with a snort, setting the tray of food on the bedside table. “You don’t get to judge anyone today, okay?”

“Got it.” Mark added with an eye roll, glancing back over at you. The eye lock felt like it lasted forever, your heart pounding and you couldn’t help the smile pulling on your face. He sighed softly. “I love you; I did tell you that last night, right?” He added with a slight squint.

“Yeah, yeah you did.” You nodded with a laugh. You sighed, your heart racing at the soft confession and you heard a quiet ‘get a room’ being chanted by the two boys in the other bed repeatedly, followed by snickering. “And I love you too, so would you like to order breakfast and take some Advil or something?” You offered, seeing Mark nod quickly, then flinching when his head was hurting again. It was a weird messed up relationship you had and it was so early on that the rocky start felt so wrong, but you hoped it could be worked through, especially with the way he was looking at you. You felt bad, but you liked that he needed you and wanted you to be there with him. It felt right, you felt important again as you dug through your bag from last night and pulled out a bottle, handing it to him. “I always carry it with me, just in case.”

“You’re perfect, you know that?” You rolled your eyes, snorting and leaning your head in his lap, followed by him taking a few pills before running his fingers ever so gently through your hair. Mark was much too out of it to think about your situation and how you landed back with him yet again after what you’d both been through, but maybe you’d talk about it another time when there weren’t other people in the room.

“Mm, not quite perfect.” You shrugged, feeling him gently stroke your arm.

You both parted your ways after a breakfast in bed and some nonsense conversations with the other boys. Taeyong eventually joined you and couldn’t stop his thank you’s and remind you how much he appreciated it, but Mark being happy you were there was a thank you enough. You felt good again and it was more than enough to get your mood back to normal. You spent the next couple hours with the boys and made your way back to Irene when they all had to leave for soundcheck and Mark seemed to feel better. Your hotel room was still perfect with a relaxed Irene in bed watching Zootopia on the television and you had to laugh, sighing as you made your way into your bed to pull yourself back together, still wearing Kun’s sweatpants and Taemin’s shirt.

“So how was it?” Irene asked with a laugh, stuffing her face with snacks and keeping her eyes on the screen. “You seem happy. Got laid?” You groaned, rolling your eyes.

“No, actually. Nosey ass.” You teased, feeling a chip being tossed at you. You ignored it, flipping over to stare at the ceiling. “It was nice actually. Mark was really drunk, and we talked a little, but I stayed over and we just kind of.. relaxed.” You shrugged. “He seemed happy and was really glad I came.”

“Well, that’s good.” She offered with a nod. “So you guys are gonna be okay?”

“I think so, yeah.” And that felt so good to say, all of your worries from the last few months were out of your head and all you needed to be worried about was yourself. You and Mark seemed to actually be in a good place and it felt more than amazing. “He’s hungover as hell, but things ended on a good note, we’re going to meet up tonight after the show and have dinner.” You giggled like a child, seeing Irene nod.

“Good, because I can’t take another vegetable disaster in the middle of the night over Mark Lee.” She snorted, hearing you groan in response.

“You’re always going to bring that up aren’t you?” You got another chip to the head for that one.

The performance went on perfectly and Mark seemed to be enjoying himself on stage, no sign of a hangover but you knew it took a lot out of him. After the concert was over, you made sure to meet up with Mark and unfortunately you had to say your goodbyes because he was due to leave early that morning, but it left on a good note and you were happy he seemed to be in a better place than the night before. Everything seemed to be perfectly fine. He still didn’t have a phone and that made you slightly worried, more concerned for Taeyong than anyone because he already had a hard time rounding everyone up with phone communication, but Mark promised to be at his side, and he wouldn’t go off the deep end. Thankfully, he didn’t have a reason to get wasted and beg for you to make up again, so you felt confident about that one.

It was going to be frustrating to want to talk to him without a phone, but Taeyong was insistent on him getting it fixed soon, so you were hopeful. You said your goodbyes and headed on your way home after one gentle kiss in the airport parking lot and you swear the smile didn’t leave your face on your entire way home. You and Mark were going to be fine; you had that feeling. They were still in the country for the next few days, so you were hopeful to talk to him more.

You were drawing up the final renovations for the New York location a few days later, hair pulled out of your face and you had an entire table in a corner of the man branch of your restaurant full of blueprints and decisions on deadlines and you felt a little in over your head. You sighed softly, watching Irene go over the paperwork that was set in stone when you heard the door chime, looking over and you couldn’t believe your eyes. You gasped, blinking and wondering if you were just seeing things or if what was happening was real.

“Mark?” You swallowed, standing up and walking over to him, his hair a messy green shade under his hat and his grin was to die for. You pulled him in for a hug, breathing him in and for once, he was surprising you. “What are you doing here?”

“I, um, wanted to drop by and come see your place before we flew to Seattle, something didn’t feel right about leaving yet.” He laughed softly, kissing your cheek and rubbing your back in tender soft circles. “And you guys have a really nice Apple store.” He teased, giggling when you laughed. “Plus, I kind of needed a bite to eat, but that’s, uh, that’s beside the point.”

You snorted, hearing him finally talking like he usually did, rambling when he was nervous. You pulled away from the hug to look at his dopey grin, happiness taking over your entire face. “You wanted to see me?” You teased, quirking a brow.

“Yes, that’s, like, exactly what I’m saying.” He laughed, shrugging playfully. “So, are you going to seat me, or do I need to make a reservation or?” He was teasing and you couldn’t help but to roll your eyes. You looked over to see Irene, shaking her head with a smile and offered up a ‘we’ll finish this later’ look and you were thankful.

“Yeah, yeah, you can come sit over here, I’ll get you a menu.” You bit back a grin, seating him and going to grab the menu book, your heart pounding excitedly. “We’ve got good food, I promise, mostly all my recipes, so that’s pretty cool too!” You were more than excited; you were buzzing and couldn’t believe he’d shown up out of nowhere. You took his order and ran to the back to make sure his plate was perfectly done, having your best server run it out to you, promising to tip her well. “So, why did you really come here?” You asked, relaxing into your chair at the table. “You obviously just flew here from San Jose out of nowhere. That’s a lot of effort just for me.” He rolled his eyes in response, shaking his head.

“Just wanted to, like, see what you do. Um, Baekhyun actually, uh, sent me here, he said I should visit you again. Weird, but I thought he was right.” He shrugged playfully, looking around and taking a good look at the place. He seemed impressed, so it was a good sign. “Speaking of, you and I have some unfinished business to discuss.” He added as he reached over to gently touch your hand and you knew everything was going to be fine. Your hearts were in the right place and Mark looked happy. “Can we talk here?” You knew you still had the argument to talk about and that was okay, you both had questions and you were happy to discuss the situation.

“We absolutely can.” The smile on his face was enough to reassure you that it would be fine.

[t0ngue-tech]

Up All Night

“Out of all the friends Seokjin made online, you were exceptionally precious to him for many reasons. One, you carried metal straws with you everywhere. Two, you both were majoring in the medical field. Lastly, to be frank, he liked you.”

↠ fluffy nonsense huhuhu, universityAU ↞

word count: 4.9k

↠ oneshot ↞

A/N: happy new year everyone! 2019 was a ROUGH year for me for so many reasons. i hope this new year will do me good. as a gift for the new year, here’s a little seokjin fic huhu. i hope your new years eve was a fun and safe one (im still hungover a little but im alive lmao) i also hope to put out more fics for you all to love! i love you guise so much! o and there’s a few maplestory references in this fic lol.

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Eatjean: I have no idea why it stopped working. I got this watch last week

Y0urnam3: i think you should just give it some TIME

y0urnam3: get it??????

Y0urnam3: cuz it’s a WATCH!!!

Seokjin slapped a hand over his mouth, but failed to stifle the broken laugh behind his hand. He ultimately released a squeaky laugh that almost had him in tears.

“SEOKJIN. I swear to--”

“Okay! Okay! I’ll log off, Yoongi. Relax.”

Besides studying for hours on end at his desk, Seokjin also spent hours playing an online game called Maplestory. He played for years and even if he was juggling his job, social life, and college, he always made time to play. Seokjin made a lot of friends all around the world through Maplestory and even a handful of his friends in college played. 

“Dude, you’ve been playing since 8:30. I have to solidify this lesson plan and I can’t concentrate with you laughing and slapping your desk every ten seconds.” Yoongi, Seokjin’s roommate, took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes.

“Sorry, but y/n has been busy with school and we haven’t played together for a while.” Seokjin explained.

Out of all the friends Seokjin made online, you were exceptionally precious to him for many reasons. One, you carried metal straws with you everywhere. Two, you both were majoring in the medical field. Lastly, to be frank, he liked you.

Seokjin met you online through the Monster Carnival Party Quest around four months ago. Being in the last room of the party quest meant having a larger party with characters that had buffs and skills that could be beneficial to the entire team. Seokjin’s party was in need of a healer and happened to choose you, a cleric, to join the party.

For five rounds, Seokjin’s party dominated the party quest and when everyone came to the mutual decision to call it quits, everyone sent each other a buddy request and it all started off from there.

For the next few days, Seokjin found himself logging on around the same time you were online and the two of you spent time farming for mesos, helping each other out with quests, or doing rooms three and four in CPQ because the rooms only required a two-person party. This allowed you two to chat for hours, getting to know each other little by little. Of course, you both took precautions because it was the online world, anyone could be behind their screens and pretend to be someone they weren’t.

After almost a month of chatting as much as possible, you eventually began to trust Seokjin with more personal details of your life. You opened up by venting to him about how your ex-best friend decided to hook up with your newly broken up with ex-boyfriend. Seokjin easily related with you with the same story however, his story happened in high school and he found out himself because he found one of his ex-girlfriend’s blouses in his ex-best friend’s room. Seokjin understood your pain and became an emotional sounding board for you.

Even if Seokjin was your listening ear, the only other information that was shared was each other’s names and major. Honestly, Seokjin was curious about what you looked like, what your voice sounded like, but those things were privileged information that couldn’t be shared that easily. Looking each other up online probably wouldn’t be much help either because there could be a lot of people who had the same names and there would be no way to figure out for sure who was really you and vise versa.

No matter how curious he was, Seokjin respected your privacy and didn’t want to ruin the friendship he had with you.

“You make like you haven’t spoken to her in years.” Yoongi quipped as he typed away at his laptop.

“Just do your lesson plan, Mr. Teacher’s Assistant.” Seokjin laughed and launched a paper ball towards Yoongi’s direction. “I’m packing it in anyways. Y/n has an early class tomorrow.”

↠↞

There were multiple places you could’ve been and your 8 am class was definitely not your first choice.

Your professor for medical terminology had an optional 8 am course which you stupidly decided to attend. It wasn’t because you were failing, your future wouldn’t allow for that. Focusing and studying hasn’t been in your mind for a few days and you needed a refresher.

“Y/n, tell me, why am I even here right now?” Irene dropped her folder on top of the desk next to you and groaned. “I swear my bed was caressing me and begging me to stay.”

You yawned and tapped her desk. “Trust me. I also almost pressed snooze on my alarm but you promised you’d go with me and a promise is a promise.”

“Yeah, yeah, and you promised you were going to treat me to breakfast after this soooo…”

Fifteen minutes felt like four days. Your professor stood at the front of the class rambling on, clicking through his slides while everyone stared back at him with hollow eyes.

You glanced over at Irene who had half-lidded eyes and lazily swung her pen in between her fingers. She was probably daydreaming about the french toast and hot coffee from the diner across campus.

You found yourself doodling in the corner of your notebook with rough sketches of orange mushrooms, slimes, and a family of snails. The corner of your paper was starting to look like a miniature version of Henesys hunting grounds.

Forty-five minutes dragged on by and your professor finally let the class go. You and Irene both had a 10 am class which was why you promised her breakfast; to pass time and to have girl time.

“Are you sure I can order the french toast and waffles? We’re both broke ass college students, you know.” Irene handed her menu to the waitress and smiled.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s fine. We haven’t hung out in a while, so it’s okay.” You assured her.

“That’s because you’re always playing Maplestory.”

Irene wasn’t wrong.

You didn’t mean to spend the majority of your free time cooped up at your desk with your eyes glued to the colorful images on your laptop screen. Some days your logged on to bust ass and level up, but other days you actually waited to see if Seokjin was going to log on as well.

“So, anything new with that Seokjin guy?” Irene sipped her coffee. “Did you ask for each other’s social media yet?”

The answer will always be no.

“I told you, Irene. There’s something about the ‘not-knowing’. Plus, it’s a mutual agreement between us.” You explained for the thousandth time.

“Yeah, but what if he’s a creepy dude trying to hit on you!”

Of course you thought of that, which was also a hidden reason as to you why you didn’t expose too much personal information about yourself. Seokjin only knew your first name, your major in college, and you were sure to change the names of any personal stories that your shared with him.

You made sure to be careful. Always.

“Seokjin has been catfished before on Maplestory and he said it was so embarrassing and painful that he never wishes anything like that one anyone.” This was a story that Seokjin hesitated to tell because of how embarrassing it was, but he knew he had to tell you because he didn’t want you to get the wrong idea about him. This was his way of showing you that he trusted you.

“Well, alright y/n. You’re a smart girl, don’t forget that.”

Classes seemed to fly by after breakfast and after a draining study group, you were eager to have some quality time with yourself.

When you fully logged into your Maplestory account, Seokjin was quick to greet you in the text box.

Eatjean: Y/n!!!!

Eatjean: How was class?

You smiled stupidly at your laptop screen.

Y0urnam3: seokjinnnnnn! classes were just as annoying as yesterday

Yournam3: my energy is at 5% right now

Eatjean: I think it’s bedtime for you

A pout formed.

Y0urnam3: nooooo i waited all day to talk to you

Your feelings for Seokjin wasn’t exactly subtle. You weren’t shy to type out things like “I love talking with you” and “I missed you, sorry I couldn’t play yesterday”. It took a lot of courage for you to do so, but you were sure the courage came from not knowing Seokjin face-to-face. If you were to see him in person after saying all of those things, there was no doubt you would shrivel up into an embarrassed raisin.

Seokjin took a little longer to reply than usual. Instead of seeing his screen name, a spam of a character selling a level 200 weapon for warriors filled the chat box instead. Maybe this was a sign that you needed to stop being so forward with him.

/

“Awww, okay then stay uwu.”

Seokjin scrambled around a blocked his screen with his hands. He whipped his head to the side and found Yoongi peering over his shoulder.

“Y-Yoongi, when did you get back?” Seokjin stammered.

“Just now. Aren’t you going to press enter?” Yoongi stepped away from Seokjin’s breathing space and took a seat on his own bed. “And what the hell is an uwu?”

“It’s a way to express, uh, extreme ador--no, just google it!” He learned the phrase from you a few weeks ago and at first, he was just as confused as Yoongi was.

Seokjin took another quick glance at Yoongi who was struggling to kick his converse off his feet and hit the “enter” key on his laptop. 

Within minutes, you replied.

Y0urnam3: OMG YOURE USING UWU ALJDFLKDJ

Eatjean: MY FIRST AND ONLY TIME

Y0urnam3: UWUWUWUWUWUWUWUWUWU

Y0urnam3: btw can you help me farm for some mesos? I still can’t believe i got scammed yesterday

Seokjin didn’t do anything to hide the smile on his face. Why was the word “uwu” so amusing to him? It was probably because it made you seem a lot cuter than what he originally thought.

In the next hour, Seokjin met up with you help you gain back the mesos you lost. After everything, the two of you circled back to Henesys and stood at a random spot in an empty channel.

Eatjean: Brb ya boi needs a snack lol

He stood up from his chair and retreated to a small table in the room that he and Yoongi dubbed as the snack corner.

“Still playing?” Yoongi asked from behind his laptop screen.

“Yeah. We’re waiting for a few friends so we can LPQ.” Seokjin ripped open a bag of sweet corn balls, sending a few flying to the floor. Just as he bent down to pick up the pieces, he caught Yoongi’s eyes staring at him. “What?”

“I have literally no idea what you just said, but go off I guess.” Yoongi went back to typing away on his laptop. “Oh yeah, before I forget, you’re coming this weekend right?”

Seokjin took a quick second to think about what plans he possibly had this weekend, but nothing came to mind.

“What’s happening this weekend?”

“Dude, Jimin’s party? Penthouse in the city?”

It finally clicked in his brain that Jimin’s uncle lent Jimin his penthouse for the weekend as an early birthday present. Seokjin was invited last week along with Yoongi and they were given strict instructions by Jimin to clear their schedule for Saturday night.

Was it selfish for Seokjin to want to stay back at his dorm and talk to you all night? There was no doubt that Yoongi would agree to go because he has been complaining the entire week about “needing a fucking drink because fuck this lesson plan”. With Yoongi gone for that evening, that meant Seokjin could laugh to his heart’s content all by himself.

“I--” Seokjin dragged on. “I don’t know. I might just stay here and relax.”

“Relax my ass.” Yoongi said in a joking tone. “Seokjin, you’re going. It’s just one night out. Y/n is not going to disappear all of a sudden.”

Of course Yoongi was right. It was just one night off campus and having a drink with his friends was a plan that was long overdue. But Seokjin liked you too much, so it was normal to want to talk to you as much as possible.

Seokjin sighed quietly. An unnecessary battle between the two choices flooded his mind. Going to the party was obviously the answer that settled at the tip of his tongue.

But y/n… ugh but Jimin...

“Fine, okay. I’ll go, I’ll go.” Seokjin lifted his hands in the air in defeat. 

There was no point in telling you about the party because just as Yoongi mentioned, you weren’t going to disappear into thin air. Plus, Seokjin wasn’t your boyfriend. He had no business in telling you every single thing that he was going to be doing.

Eatjean: Okay, back

Eatjean: Sorry my roommate was just telling me about his day

Seokjin waited a few minutes before receiving your reply.

Y0urnam3: ohhhhh this is the teacher’s assistant right?

Y0urnam3: how was his day?

Y0urnam3: and how was yours too!! i forgot to ask lol

He smiled and danced his fingers along his keyboard.

Eatjean: That’s the one! And he’s in desperate need for a drink

Eatjean: My day was alright. We’re already preparing for midterms so that’s a bummer

After hitting “enter”, Seokjin pressed the F4 button on his keyboard making his character have a crying facial expression.

Talking to you was always easy. He never felt the need to force a conversation with you because you both shared the same interests and had an understanding school schedule. If there was a chance where he could meet you in person, he was so sure that it would also be just as easy.

For the next two hours, Seokjin aided you in farming for mesos until the party was full to complete a few rounds of the party quest. Even if his eyes may have gotten dry and his back was tight, he enjoyed the time he spent with you.

Y0urnam3: okay seokjin it is LATE and ya girl needs to sleep

Seokjin frowned.

Eatjean: Already T__T

Y0urnam3: i know in sory

Y0urnam3: im sorry****

Y0urnam3: ive been keeping all school related stuff on the back burner and i need to get accepted into the nursing program i told u about

“Ah..right.” Seokjin muttered to himself.

Eatjean: OH OF COURSE OF COURSE

Eatjean: Pls focus on school too!! Trying to become a cardiologist isnt a walk in the park either so i understand

Eatjean: Study hard and get some rest y/n

After receiving your reply filled with words of encouragement for Seokjin to also study hard, he finally shut off his laptop and flopped onto his bed. Since school was a huge priority for you, this probably meant you were going to spend more time hitting the books and using your computer for actual research purposes.

“If only we had each other’s instagram handles or something.” Seokjin groaned and waited for a response from Yoongi.

The room stayed silent and when he turned around, Yoongi was sitting in his chair with his head tilted backwards and had a red pen tucked behind his ear. His desk was cluttered with debris of papers and his laptop was wide open with what seemed to be an answer key.

Seokjin stared at his sleeping friend for a while. “Yeah. He needs a fucking drink.”

↠↞

“Okay, bitches. Clear your schedules. We are going to get crazy tomorrow..” A mutual friend of you and Irene, Seulgi, dropped her binder and textbook on top of the table where you and Irene were studying.

“Crazy?” Irene questioned. “Really?”

Seulgi dropped herself into the seat next to you and sighed. “No, I’m kidding. I just wanted to invite you guys to my dorm tomorrow to have a study session and a few glasses of wine.”

“Ugh. I’m in. I have been crazed this whole week and I need the alcohol.” You shut your textbook and rubbed your temples.

“Are you sure? You’re not going to isolate yourself and play Maplestory—and I mean that in the nicest way possible.” Irene reached over and clasped your hands with hers.

You laughed knowing there may have been notes of bitterness in her words. “Yes honey, I’m sure. Both Seokjin and I have mountains of work that we’ve been putting off so I don’t know when’s the next time we’re going to be online together.”

Seulgi raised her eyebrows and leaned closer to your shoulder. “And how is it going with Mr. Eatjean? Are you two going to get married in Amoria yet?”

You snorted and gently pushed Seulgi’s head away from your breathing space. To your surprise, Irene laughed along understanding what Seulgi was talking about; she never played the game but you talked about it so much with her that she caught on some of the terminology that was used.

Unfortunately, what you said was the truth. You haven’t been able to play Maplestory in a while and you really missed talking to Seokjin. It wasn’t easy being in the medical field, but you had to give your future career some of your attention at some point.

When Seulgi invited you two over for a study session, you imagined having a few glasses of wine while listening to jazz and getting a lot of work done. However, none of that happened.

Just when the three of you were settled in Seulgi’s room, almost ready to pull out the wine cork, Seulgi receives a very delightful phone call from a friend. Next thing you knew, you were carefully applying lip gloss in the backseat of an uber and Irene was racking her brain over whether or not she wanted to unbutton the first three buttons of her top.

“Ugh, just do it already! Jihyo is going to be there tonight that’s why!” Seulgi gently tugged on Irene’s hand who was holding onto yours. “And y/n, stop pulling the skirt down. That skirt was meant to be that short.”

“I know, but oh my God, the exposure!” You tugged at the end of the black pencil skirt Seulgi let you borrow.

“Sooyoung, should’ve let us know ahead of time about these plans.” Irene complained.

“At least this is way better than studying—hey, Sooyoung!” Seulgi called out.

Sooyoung met the three of you at the elevator and hastily rushed you all down the long hallway that was filled with gorgeous college students. You all entered a doorway that was also filled with students who were either already wasted or making their way towards that level. Some of the students were familiar to you and others were definite strangers; Sooyoung seemed to know most of them.

“Girl, where is your brother anyway? We have to at least greet him happy birthday first.” Irene tippy toed to get a good look of the people in the kitchen.

“He’s in here somewhere. Let’s just find him later.” Sooyoung began pouring vodka into shot cups while you poured sprite into four other cups.

“You know, I keep forgetting you have a brother.” You spoke over the mixed sounds of music and voices of people. “Why don’t you two just go to the same university?”

“Well, you know how it is. Siblings, different majors, scholarships, blah blah blah.” Sooyoung brushed passed the subject and handed out the shots and chasers. “Come on, you girls need to catch up, especially Irene because Jihyo looks hot as fuck tonight—to Jihyo!”

Sooyoung raised her shot cup and while you and Seulgi complied with the cheer, Irene begged you all to tune it down. Although she did mutter, to Jihyo, before gulping down her vodka.

You, Seulgi, and Sooyoung were huddled in one part of the living room to keep an eye on Irene who seemed to be a bit more confident in talking to her crush; all thanks to some liquid courage.

The entire floor was covered with people making it almost impossible to not bump into anyone.

“Oh! Sorry!” You yelled over music. “This place is so boujee! If I ever lived here, I would never leave.”

Seulgi laughed and nudged your shoulder. “Penthouse or not, you never leave your dorm anyway!”

“Ooh! Is it because of that game you’re playing? How is that dude-guy anyway?” Sooyoung slurred.

You scrunch your nose and helped your drunk friend sit down on a nearby chair. “How much did you drink before we arrive?”

Sooyoung gently tugged on your pencil skirt. “Answer me question. When are you and denim jeans getting married in Amoria?”

Seulgi threw a fit of laughter as she explained to Sooyoung that she said the exact same thing.

“We are not getting married in Amoria. We’re not even in a relationship.” You squished Sooyoung’s cheeks with one hand and took a sip from your mixed drink.

“But why not? It seems like you and sack-jeans are into each other. I say, date!” Sooyoung waved her red cup in the air and you and Seulgi did your best to calm her down. A drunk Sooyoung was something else.

“Honey, you need to relax. It’s only eight in the evening and for your information, his name is Seokjin and we’re just Maplestory buddies right now. We don’t even know what each other looks like.” You stroked Sooyoung’s hair and took another sip of your drink.

“Y/n, just listen to the poor girl and date him!” Seulgi let out a high pitch snicker and gave Sooyoung a high five.

Talking about Seokjin was definitely bringing your mood down. Maybe it was the alcohol messing with your emotions for than usual, but you really missed talking with him.

“Y-Y/n?”

You felt a tap on your shoulder and you spun around, making eye contact with one of the cutest guys you ever laid your eyes on. He wore a red t-shirt that hugged his broad shoulders and had jet black hair that was styled upward. If his eyes didn't catch your attention, his lips sure did. The only thing wrong with him was that he knew your name and you didn’t recognize him at all.

“Um and you are?” You questioned, readying yourself to perform some sort of self-defense.

“It’s me.” He gestured to himself. “Seokjin.”

↠↞

Seokjin weaved himself around the kitchen, trying to find a bottle of Grey Goose to refill his drink.

“Damnit, Jimin. How many people do you know?!” Seokjin grunted. “Oh, Joy! Pass me the bottle when you’re done.”

The already-drunk-sister of his friend gave him a thumbs up before filling up the last shot cup and slid the bottle down the counter. Seokjin tried to thank her, but her focus was immediately back to her friends.

“Dude, where’d you go?!” Yoongi bumped into Seokjin, almost making him spill his drink.

“Okay, I know you need this wild ass night, but please relax. This is my favorite shirt. It accents my shoulders.” Seokjin grabbed his friend’s cup to give him a refill.

“Hurry. Namjoon is freestyling in the living room and it’s fucking fire.” Yoongi nudged Seokjin’s arm to make him lead the way into the living room.

Seokjin was more than supportive of his friend’s desire to drink his stress away, but having to deal with Yoongi’s drunk ass plus a few more of his friends was making him wish he was back at his dorm, double clicking the Maplestory icon. But he had to admit, Namjoon was spitting bars.

“Oh! Sorry!”

Seokjin turned around to find one of his friends stumbling over, almost knocking down a group of girls.

“Good grief, Sandeul. Sit here, please.” Seokjin gently forced his friend to sit down on the couch in front of him.

Just a few more hours, Seokjin. Just hold out for a few more hours, then you can drag Yoongi back to the dorm.

“-getting married in Amoria?”

Seokjin chuckled. I guess there are other Maplestory players here.

He didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but he was trying to catch wind of the conversation behind him. However, the music and crowd was too loud to hear most of the conversation.

“-and for your information, his name is Seokjin and we’re just Maplestory buddies for now.”

“Y/n, just listen—”

Huh, Seokjin. That’s my name too- WAIT.

Taking the heavy risk of appearing as a creeper, Seokjin turned around and tapped the girl behind him.

Here goes.

“Y-Y/n?”

When she turned around, Seokjin was blessed to see the cutest girl he has ever seen.

“Um and you are?”

Seokjin braced himself and pointed to his chest. “It’s me. Seokjin.”

You widen your eyes and Seokjin could tell you weren’t as convinced.

“U-uh, it’s really me. Eatjean? I just helped you farm for more mesos because you were scammed the day before.” Seokjin’s heart was thundering in his chest. The alcohol could’ve also played a role in that, but it was also because he was extremely nervous that the girl right before his eyes was actually a different person.

“Oh my God. Oh my God.” You repeated. “Oh my God, you’re really Seokjin!”

The nervousness was slowly exiting his body once he saw the smile that grew on your face. Thank heavens, it was really you.

“Y-Yeah. It’s me! Wow, I just—I’m—w-wow.” Those words were the only ones that Seokjin could muster.

You let out a snicker and tucked a few strands of hair behind your ear. “I can’t believe—”

“Seokjin?! This is denim jeans?! Date her!” Sooyoung suddenly gripped your shoulders.

“Excuse her. Sooyoung get your shit together for a second please—” Seulgi tugged at Sooyoung to leave you two alone. “Continue!”

Seokjin chuckled and looked over his shoulder to check on his friends who were still invested in freestyling. He then took you by the hand to stand in one part of the living room that had a little less people.

“You’re friends with Jimin’s sister?” Seokjin questioned.

“Yeah! We go to the same university. Why the hell hasn’t she mentioned you to me before?” You sighed sadly.

“I’m actually closer to Jimin.” He explained. “I even forget that her real name is Sooyoung. Jimin only refers to her as ‘Joy.’”

You took a sip out of your drink and nodded your head. “What a small ass world.”

Seokjin stuffed his hand in his pocket and leaned in closer to you. “You wanna get out of here?”

↠↞

“I told you to not use the scroll! It only had a fifty percent success rate.” You shook Seokjin by the shoulders who was devastated by the choice he made.

At first, you were feeling hints of regret after quickly accepting Seokjin’s invitation because you didn’t know what his intentions were. But he was just as quick to assure you that he wanted to bring you to his dorm to have some pizza and help him with his character’s accessories.

Seokjin was the perfect gentleman, just as you imagined. He gave you some of his clothes to change into so you were comfortable, he even stepped out of his dorm so you could have privacy. He let you sit in his gaming chair while he took a random stool from inside the dorm. When the pizza arrived, he remembered how much you loved pizza crust so he gave you every single one from each slice he took.

If you knew this was the type of guy Seokjin was, you would’ve gave him your instagram a long time ago.

“Hey, cut me some slack. I took a huge risk here.” Seokjin spun you around in his chair. “And I remember a certain someone who spent almost nine hundred thousand mesos on a staff she ended up not needing.”

“Fine, fine. Touche.” You scoffed and jokingly threatened to leave his dorm.

You scanned Seokjin’s desk and saw nothing but textbooks, what seemed to be study guides, and a few empty coffee cups. Being under the same university major umbrella, you understood the mess all too well.

“How’s your studying going?” You asked, tidying up some of his papers.

“Ehhh. I put the dying in studying.” Seokjin joked and you playfully hit his shoulder. “I’ve been up all night for the past few days.”

“Awww, you poor baby.” You ran your fingers through his hair and his eyelids fluttered closed at your touch. “Well, I guess it’s sort of no different from when you’re playing Maplestory with me.”

“Hmmm, I beg to differ. I actually enjoy spending time with you online.” Seokjin sighed happily. “And maybe I can enjoy spending time with you in person this time around?”

You laughed and brought your hands to your face to hide the blush he caused. “Ohhhhh, very smooth, Seokjin.”

“Do you accept this quest?”

You studied Seokjin’s facial features on more time; his big eyes and pouty lips. After knowing each other through an online game, it was only right for you to finally get to know the real Seokjin. 

From what you already knew, he was a sweet man who enjoyed trying new food, doing word search puzzles, and taking every opportunity presented to him to make some sort of pun. He could be a bit cheesy and a bit dorky, but it was all endearing. And because of all the time you’ve spent reading his cheesy lines through your laptop screen, the next words that came out of your mouth was just as cheesy and dorky, but it fit the moment.

“Quest accepted.”

-

-

-

♡ rae jagi

[niccoxgiraffe]

Hello! This Elu fic is the English version of the one I posted a couple of days ago in Italian. Shout out to my friends Alex, who picked the prompts for me, and Marla, who proof read the English version. Hope you like it! <3

Prompts:

5. “I can't sleep, can I sleep here?”

13. “Are you cold?”

93. “You make me feel safe”

.

Lucas’ head was still spinning from the party at Emma’s. Not that he had drunk that much, but - at some point of the night - the house got so crowded that the boy could barely breathe. The air smelled like smoke and sweat, which didn’t help at all. And then there were some chicks of the first year who kept staring at him with lust in their eyes, making him feel even more uncomfortable. For the entire time, Lucas had wished for anything but his boyfriend to be there with him, but instead Eliott stayed home with a possible depressive episode incoming. So he had kept drinking, dancing, laughing with his friends and just not caring in general until he couldn’t take it any longer.

The bus ride back home, luckily, was long enough to let him collect himself. So at least the feeling of suffocation vanished by the time he arrived at his stop.

Once he got there, Lucas dragged himself to the door of his shared flat and looked for the keys in the pocket of his blue jacket. As soon as he managed to unlock it with a creak, he saw the living room and the kitchen sunk into total darkness. Lisa was surely sleeping, while Mika... Who knows. Mika could’ve been to bed as well, as much as he could’ve been at some party or he could’ve been having fun at someone else’s place. Anyway, Lucas put his jacket and his scarf in the closet at the entrance, trying to make as little noise as possible. Last time he woke Lisa up in the middle of the night by accident, he found a giant penis drawn on his cheek with a permanent marker. The girl could become highly vengeful if anyone dared to deprive her of her precious hours of sleep. He didn’t want to bother her again, thank you very much.

He went through the flat on his tiptoes, and as he got in front of his room, he noticed a dim light coming from inside. Weird: he didn’t remember leaving a lamp on unless one of his flatmates didn’t stick their nose in his bedroom and forgot to turn it off. He slowly opened the door and his heart started racing at the sight of the person occupying the room. He didn’t expect a visit at all. Not at such an hour, at least. However, he was so glad that he was there.

On his bed, Eliott was sitting with his legs crossed. He held a pencil in his right hand and a notebook was lying in his lap. Lucas knew pretty well what that meant: Eliott used his doodles as a way to communicate or express his emotions, especially when his head was too messed up to understand his own feelings. And judging by the way he drew hectic strokes on the paper, too many thoughts were clouding his mind in that moment. He seemed so lost in his work (and in himself) that it took him a while to realize he wasn’t alone anymore. From that distance, Eliott’s eyes looked like black pools, the shadows were sharpening his features so much that he appeared scrawnier than he actually is. It wasn’t the first time that Lucas saw him so dull, run down and lifeless. Nonetheless, he knew he would never get used to seeing him like that, neither to the feeling of powerlessness facing similar situations. Like it or not, he preferred having him around way more than not being with him at all and not knowing how he was doing.

The older one forced a tired little smile and broke the silence. “I can’t sleep, can I sleep here?”

Lucas felt a wave of heat spreading in his chest. Maybe this time his illness would’ve been mild to him. Maybe he was just sad and he was looking for support. Maybe this state of mind of his wouldn’t last long. Maybe, maybe, maybe... Enough. Did that really matter? For one reason or another, his boyfriend wasn’t feeling well and it was his job to make him smile again. He sat on the bed next to him, taking his free hand. The rings he wore on his long fingers created a sharp contrast with his soft and warm skin.

“Of course you can,” he answered in a whisper and kissed him on the forehead. “I’m gonna take a quick shower and I’ll be right back, okay?”

.

Five minutes later, when he got back in his room, Lucas found Eliott lying under the covers. The notebook and the pencil were forgotten at the foot of the bed, so the blonde boy gathered them and placed them on his desk. He glanced at the drawing for a couple of seconds: it was a raccoon (Eliott’s “spirit animal”) running from a dark cloud. Lucas felt a lump forming in his throat, so he swallowed and dismissed any bad thought that was taking form in his head. He had to be strong for Eliott, at that moment. He couldn’t afford to show how worried he actually was, otherwise the situation could get worse. Maybe if he told him about how Basile embarrassed himself earlier, he could’ve distracted him for a while. Or he could show him the video of Arthur and Alexia that he posted on Instagram. And what if he proposed to watch a movie together? Maybe he didn’t want to listen to his stories about the party. Lucas shook his head and decided to simply lay down next to his boyfriend. He lifted the covers as much as he needed to slide under, face to face with the older one. Eliott’s gaze was lost into the empty but, as soon as Lucas’ hand reached his face, he slowly managed to focus on him.

“Is there anything I can do?” Lucas asked cautiously, stroking his cheek with his thumb. Eliott didn’t say a word, but the boy noticed him slightly shivering under his touch. “Are you cold?”

This time he didn’t even dare to speak, but nodded. Lucas felt the hem of his shirt being pulled and it made him smile, because he understood what his boyfriend needed. So he adjusted himself better on the pillows to wrap Eliott in a hug. He was aware of the fact that his body wasn’t big enough to entirely shield him, but it didn’t matter. Lucas let one of his hands slide into the other’s messy hair and he sensed Eliott’s mouth curving a little onto his neck in a tiny smile. They stayed like that in silence for a long time, just listening to each other’s breaths. Lucas loved contemplating his boyfriend while he was asleep: if angels were real, Eliott would be one of them, he was sure of it. He had the hood of his sweater lowered on his head, which made him look even smaller and cuter, the skin on his face was relaxed, the lips slightly parted and his hands were still weakly clenching his clothes. He knew it was scientifically proved that human hearts couldn’t get bigger, yet he still felt like that, like his love for that boy kept growing to the point that his heart had to expand just to make room for that emotion. Every now and then, he left some kisses on his head or forehead, while Eliott kept snuggling even further against Lucas. The exhaustion that was weighing on him a couple of hours earlier had been replaced with the urge to stay awake to cuddle his boyfriend, to kiss him, protect him, reassure him. He would’ve kept an eye on him even if he were about to die. It would’ve been worth it just to see one of those beautiful smiles of his that he loved so dearly or to hear once again that laugh that turned his entire body into pure jelly.

“Lucas?” Eliott’s hoarse voice came out in a whisper, which became even less audible because of his face buried in the crook of the younger boy’s neck. Lucas, in return, kissed him on his temple. “Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

And, little by little, the two of them slipped into a quiet slumber.

.

“How is he doing?” Lucas huffed at Yann’s question. It’s been two days since Eliott crashed at his place without a warning, in the middle of the night. The boy seemed to have no interest in going back home, so he had to call his parents to tell them he was at the coloc and that he'd taken care of him. He never met Eliott’s parents but since they got together and Lucille decided to move on, he’s been the only one they could count on to keep an eye on their son. “Not good. But he’s been worse. He’s gonna be okay.”

“Of course he’s gonna be okay!” Basile chimed in, waving around his fork full of pasta with tomato sauce. “We’re talking about Eliott, guys. Also, you said he just looked tired, didn’t you? It’s gonna be over soon, trust me.”

Arthur, who was sitting next to him, moved some inches away from his friend. “We got it, but try not to throw pasta around the canteen, alright?”

Yann and Lucas burst into a loud laugh as the latter felt his phone vibrating into the pocket of his jacket. When he reached for it, his fingers caught also a piece of paper he didn’t remember to have. Luckily, the boys were too busy talking about the way Basile ate to notice the foolish smile that was blooming on his lips while reading the note.

It was a notebook page. At the top, there was the same doodle he saw Eliott drawing the night he surprised him in his room, but under it there were two new sketches. The first one represented a brave hedgehog who was standing in front of the cloud, attempting to protect the poor scared raccoon with fierceness. In the other one, there were simply pictured the two little animals hugging tight, along with a sentence that brought Lucas to wipe his teary eyes.

“You make me feel safe.”

[its-r-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s]

Call Me A Freak- Chapter 4: Playing Pawns

Words: 2,632

Warnings: manipulation, descriptions of injuries and scars, descriptions of violence and blood, physical abuse, nightmares

Ch 3 | Ch 5

~ ~ ~

Evie and I went back to our own room, leaving the boys to play their game in silence. It was going to be curfew soon enough, and no doubt someone was going to be watching especially hard tonight to make sure we didn’t disobey any rules.

Evie had practically made herself at home on her side of the room.  She planned her outfit for the next day and laid it out across the bed. Then, she began to set up her sewing equipment on the table.

I opted to just go to sleep. I wanted to be ready for whatever tomorrow brought me and I figured it would take me awhile to fall asleep anyway. My surroundings were new and completely unfamiliar. And I’d never had to share a room with anybody before.

As I peeled my jacket off, I heard Evie practically screech behind me.

“Mal! What happened?”

I swung around to stare at her, eyes wide. My jacket had fallen to my feet. “What are you talking about?”

“Your shoulder!” she insisted, rushing up to me. “What happened?” She tried to reach for it, but I backed away from her.

I knew what she was talking about. The tank top I was wearing put the burns across my back on full display.

The scars reached around my right shoulder and across my spine. They were bright pink, with pale stretch marks littered throughout, caused by overextension before the burns had healed.

I raised an eyebrow at Evie’s concerned expression. Everyone on the Isle had seen the jagged scar underneath my left eye. Everyone knew exactly where it came from. So, why wouldn’t she assume I had other scars elsewhere?

“My mother happened,” I snapped.

Evie faltered on her next response. “Mal, I… That doesn’t look very good. I’m worried it’s infected-”

“It’s just a scar, Evie,” I insisted. “The burn is from well over a year ago. There’s no need to freak out.”

I sat down on the edge of my bed, pulling off my boots. She stood over me a bit longer, but I didn’t say anything to her. There was no reason to.

Once Evie had gone back to her sewing machine, I kicked the bag off the end of my bed and laid down.

My mind kept drifting to and from one thought: how much would be revealed before we got back to our parents?

I was never hiding the way my mother treated me. But I didn’t talk about it with anyone. All that would lead to were deep and pointless conversations. I couldn’t get away from my mother. She was the most powerful person on the Isle. And it’s not like I wanted to. My mother taught me how to protect myself from the vicious life on the Isle. She taught me the pain was fleeting, so there was no use in letting it get to you. She taught me what true pain was. True fear. Those things never left you.

~ ~ ~

My mother’s fingers were like talons against my skin. Her grip was firm, as if she expected me to run any minute.

My feet were heavy. I stumbled as she dragged me down the short staircase to the back entrance of the castle.

Every sound was amplified down here. Noises bounced off the concrete walls like a rubber ball. Even slight shuffles of clothing could be distinguished clearly throughout the hallway.

The back door lead out to a small courtyard. It was surrounded on all sides by other buildings.

I never went out there, because it made me sick to my stomach. The courtyard was perhaps the only place in the whole of the Isle that didn’t smell like smoke. Instead… it smelled of iron.

When my mother shoved me outside, I froze in fear.

At my feet was a bloody pulp of a person. They lay in a fetal position, their bruised fingers just barely reaching over their knees. Their hair was matted with blood and dirt. And their face…

~ ~ ~

I jolted awake in a cold sweat, my eyelids still stained by the horrifying image. Luckily, Evie didn’t notice, fast asleep across the room.

I pushed myself out from underneath the covers and started to get ready for the day, quickly pushing the dream from my mind. It was almost too easy at this point to forget the horrors I faced during the night. As I walked around, I tried to figure out what would come next for the four of us.

Trying to find a way to get to the museum was number one, obviously. But to do that, we needed someone who had a car and we had to convince them to let us use it… or get them to take us there.

I racked my brain for people we could use as pawns in this plan. Fairy Godmother was the main one. If we could convince her to take the wand out for some reason, we would be golden. Probably not Audrey considering she hated my guts, but there was always the opportunity to start a fight with her if we needed a distraction. Doug was smitten with Evie and he seemed to know a lot about the school. Perhaps he could tell us where they keep the keys to the limo we came in.

As I went down the list, my mind kept jumping to Ben. But honestly, I didn’t know what he could do for us. There was no need for us to be nice to him unless he had some sort of use, but I couldn’t find it. All I could think was, we need him. We will need him.

~ ~ ~

The Headmistress Fairy Godmother had set up a black board with the title “Welcome to Remedial Goodness” ahead of us. As she listed off her obvious questions, I found myself distracted.

I began to sketch the wand from memory over a blank piece of paper in front of me. I wanted to make sure I’d be able to recognize it anywhere.

“If someone hands you a crying baby, do you: A) Curse it?, B) Lock it in a tower?, C) Give it a bottle?, or D) Carve out its heart?”

I was beginning to find Fairy Godmother’s fake and fabricated voice extremely annoying.

Evie gasped and threw up her hand, but I knew for a fact that she had no clue what the answer was.

As Fairy Godmother called on her excitedly, she tilted her head to the side with a smile, and asked, “What was the second one?”

“Oh, okay,” our teacher for the day responded. “Anyone else?”

She was disappointed, looking between us. That’s when she noticed my disinterest.

“Mal?”

“C, give it a bottle,” I replied, without so much as a look up from my work.

“Correct,” she said with a smile. “Again.”

“You are on fire, girl.” Carlos was leaning back in his seat, not retaining any of the information placed in front of him. Although his eyes were fixed on the board, I could tell he wasn’t reading anything.

“I just pick the one that my mom is least likely to do,” I explained, trying to get them to pick up on the class so I could get out of there. It felt like there were a ton of heavy coins in my brain and every time Fairy Godmother talked, she was shaking them around.

“Oh,” he responded, his eyes lighting up as he looked at the board again.

“That makes so much sense,” Evie mumbled beside me.

I wanted to make a snarky response to them all about being idiots, but I was distracted by a high pitched shriek to my left.

Scuttling past the four of us was a stout girl in a baby blue dress. She clutched a clipboard across her chest and continued to glance back at us as she approached the headmistress.

“Hello dear one,” Fairy Godmother cooed.

“Hi. You need to sign off on early dismissal for the Coronation.” She shoved the pen and papers into the woman’s arms.

“Everyone here remembers my daughter, Jane,” Fairy Godmother started and one thought went through my head: pawn.

“Mom, no!” she hissed.

“It’s okay,” her mother reassured. “Jane, this is everyone.”

Fairy Godmother put her hands on her daughter’s shoulders as she introduced us. She had this comforting sort of look in her eyes when she was around Jane that made my chest cave in, but it only lasted a minute.

Jane stumbled towards us, then froze. “Hi… That’s okay. Don’t mind me… As you were,” she finished off with a small bow and squealed once again when she walked by.

My eyes followed her down the hall as I began to think of ways she could get us to the wand.

~ ~ ~

“You are so smart, Mal,” Evie complimented as she watched me shuffle through my new locker. “You got all those answers right in goodness class today.”

I shook my head as I tore through my bag. I knew why I was better at remedial goodness than the rest of them, and it wasn’t because I was super smart or inherently good. I had learned the hard way to find out what other people wanted me to say. I had grown so used to listening to my mother speak condescendingly and picking up her true intentions.

But I didn’t admit this to Evie. I just muttered, “Thanks.”

Audrey laughed loudly as she walked down the hallway, stopping only when she saw us.

Evie turned almost immediately, hurried saying her goodbyes and I quickly turned into my locker so that she wouldn’t think to talk to me. She had been walking with her boyfriend and another boy named Chad, who I had been informed was Cinderella’s son.

I could hear them continue talking a few feet away, but I had no clue what they were saying, until Ben announced, “I think you’re wrong about them. I’ll see you later.”

I finished up switching out my books and shut my locker to find Ben standing on the other side.

“Hey!”

I did my best to subdue my startled look and quickly responded, “Hey.”

“How was your first day?” he asked.

I pretended to think about it for a moment. “Super.”

“You should really think about taking this talent off the locker and into art class,” he smiled. He nodded towards the design I had painted over the front of my locker. It was a quick recreation of the one I left of the Isle the day before. “I could, uh, sign you up? What do you think?”

Ben was a bit too observant, I thought to myself.

On the Isle, I spray painted walls to send a message. No one stopped to tell me how beautiful my designs were. Mostly because on the Isle you worried about yourself and only yourself.

Ben cared. He saw my art and thought I was talented. He asked if I wanted to study it more. He even offered to sign me up himself. It was attention that I didn’t want to have.

Lucky enough, at that exact moment, Jane walked by. She squealed in fear, then shuffled into the nearby bathroom. A smile graced my face and I held tighter to my spell book.

I flipped back towards Ben. “Way to take all the fun out of it,” I joked, before rushing after Jane.

I took in a deep breath, then entered. She was standing in front of the mirror, fixing up her hair when I waltzed in. I saw her eyes turn to circles as she recognized my purple and black attire.

“Hi,” I greeted with a kind smile. “It’s Jane, right?”

She didn’t respond, her mouth falling open. Perhaps she was surprised that I hadn’t threatened her or tried to kill her the moment we were alone. I mean, I knew she was terrified of us, so I decided to play that to my advantage.

“Sorry if I startled you. My friends and I can be a bit rough around the edges. I guess I was just kinda hoping to make a friend… You probably have all the friends you need though, huh?” I did my best to play the sympathetic card.

“Hardly,” she mumbled.

“Really?” I questioned, slowly getting closer. “I mean, with your mom being Fairy Godmother and Headmistress? I mean, not to mention your own… personality.”

I had to choose my words carefully. This was about building trust. If I showed immediate interest in the wand, then she wouldn’t care. But if she thought I was a friend, she’d feel more obligated to show me the wand when I brought it up later.”

“I’d rather be pretty,” she responded truthfully. “You’ve got great hair.”

Perfect, I thought. I know exactly how to get her to feel in debt to me.

“You know what? I have just the thing for that,” I giggled. I opened up my spellbook, flipping through the pages. “It’s right… Ah! Here.”

I sent her a reassuring smile, running my fingers over the spell.

“Beware, forswear, replace the old with brand new hair.” Once I had finished the words, I flicked my pointer finger just as my mother had shown me.

It threw Jane’s head around a little bit. I felt bad. It was no doubt startling. But once I was done, she lifted her head to find a longer, curly style that draped over her shoulders.

She ran her fingers through it, eyes fixed on her reflection.

“Wow,” she breathed out. “That’s so amazing. I wish I could use magic like you.”

I shrugged, nonchalantly. “I’ve been practicing, but I can’t do really big magic. Not like your mom! With her wand! I mean, one swoosh from that thing and you could probably do whatever you wanted!”

Her face saddened. “She doesn’t use the wand anymore. She believes the real magic is in the books. And not the spellbooks. Regular books with history and stuff.”

I rolled my eyes. “What a rip.”

This was my chance to persuade her. Convince her to give me the wand.

“You know,” I started. “You’ve got fairy blood in you. I’m sure if you used the wand you could do things yourself. Give yourself whatever features you wanted.”

Jane looked down. “Yeah, but I’d need her permission.”

“You know, she used magic on Cinderella. Who wasn’t even her real daughter.” I toyed with her emotions. “Doesn’t she love you?”

“Well, of course she does,” Jane said quickly. “It’s just… you know, tough love. ‘Work on the inside, not the outside’ That sort of thing.”

I was a bit shocked to find her defending her mother’s honor so much, but I wasn’t done with her yet. I had to think on my toes.

“That’s the face!” I exclaimed, gesturing to her disappointed expression. “Yeah! And then just look as if your heart is about to break.”

She wasn’t picking up on what I was implying, so I held a finger up to show her.

“‘Oh mother,’” I overdramatized. “‘I just don’t understand why you can’t make me beautiful, too.’”

I dropped the act and turned back to her hopeful expression. “You think it would work?”

I smirked. “Yeah. I mean, that’s what old Cindy did, right? And your mom bippity boppity boo’d the living daylights out of her.”

Jane chuckled, thinking it over.

“And hey,” I added. “I can totally help you with the magic part, seeing as I’m also the daughter of a fairy.”

She was grinning from ear to ear at this point. “If I can convince mom, you’re so there.”

“Yay!” I cheered.

“Bye!” she said, grabbing her bag to go.

I waved my fingers, cutely, “Bye.”

[psychosistr]

The Third Caballero- Chapter 5

Summary: A decade goes by as José and Panchito continue to search for their missing caballero. Their search (and an attempt to earn some money gone wrong) leads them to stay in a familiar building where they run into an equally familiar face.

Notes: Here’s another link to the sketches by @levtuve that inspired the fic, as those are the outfits they’re wearing in this chapter xD

-First Chapter-

<-Previous Chapter Next Chapter->

Hope, José learned, was a fleeting resource for many people.

While he and Panchito kept true to their promise of never giving up the search for their missing boyfriend, as time wore on, many others did.

The first to give up were Donald’s extended family members and more distant friends. It wasn’t that they didn’t care, per se, it was simply that, after the first year or so, they had to move on with their lives.

Another year went by and some of Donald’s closer family members stopped holding out hope for his return, too. They were sad, but they felt it was time to grieve and move on.

After a few years of searching, and against his will, Scrooge was forced to give up, too. He’d sunk billions of dollars into search and rescue missions, using his company’s money as well as his own for the search. He chartered deep-sea expeditions, set up underwater base stations and labs, and had even bought out entire fleets of ships to find his missing nephew. Unfortunately, his money began to run lower than his board of directors were comfortable with, and they forced him to stop the expeditions and focus on his company.

Giving in to that decision did not help the old duck’s relationship with his niece in the slightest, judging from what Panchito and José heard. She still blamed her uncle for Donald’s disappearance in the first place, and hearing that he was giving up the search for her brother just widened the emotional gap between them even further. She still talked to the other caballeros every now and then, even if they never had anything more than dead-end leads or false-sightings. She still hoped, however distantly, that they would be the ones to find her brother like they promised.

The years piled up, however, and their communications with the pilot became less and less frequent as time wore on. It wasn’t anyone’s fault that they drifted apart from one another, really, they just had different things to focus on. José and Panchito had to focus on finding their dearest friend, as well as a way to restore José’s magic should the opportunity present itself, which would ultimately aid them in their primary goal.

And Della…well…Della had to look after her kids…

After she’d been fitted with her prosthetic leg, Della slowly cut off her contact with Scrooge until she didn’t even speak to him at all. She resolved to raise the kids on her own, using her trusted plane, the Cloud Slayer, as a sort of mobile home. It allowed her the freedom of flight and gave her the flexibility to keep her work-life and family-life together, often working odd jobs delivering cargo for small companies. While she did still hope that Panchito and José would be able to track down her brother, over time, her smile became less and less genuine and more forced. After almost a decade, they stopped hearing from her altogether.

It seemed, José would often think, that time could wear everyone thin eventually.

Well, except for Panchito, that is. The rooster was ever the optimist, always talking about the first things they’d do after they found Donald. No matter how many dead-ends they ran into, or how many leads turned up short, he would just smile at José and say the whole ordeal would be another funny thing they could tell their third caballero about once they found him again.

There were no doubts that, had Panchito not been by his side, José may have also given up hope by now, too. Not because his feelings for their missing comrade had diminished at all over the years, certainly not- if anything, he felt that his feelings had grown stronger due to longing. He knew Panchito felt it, too, from the way he would gaze up at the sky at night and play his guitar while singing all of Donald’s favorite songs (he said he didn’t want to get rusty while they looked for him).

No, if there was any reason he would give up hope, it would be because the sting of loneliness hurt worse the longer they went without seeing the brave duck’s smiling face.

He had Panchito by his side to help lessen the pain, of course. Ever since that horrible night the pair had become practically inseparable from each other. Maybe it was because they both sought comfort to ease the dull, aching pain in their hearts. Maybe it was because they were all they had left to each other and didn’t want to risk losing one another. Whatever the reason, they were by each other’s side every step of the way as they searched their world and any others they could find for their beloved.

Unfortunately, while they could find comfort and solace in each other to ease the pain on their seemingly endless journey, there was one thing that became more and more difficult to deal with as time went on:

Money.

Living as vagabonds was nothing new to the pair, but doing so for such a long period of time with no set location to hold down a job in proved challenging. They would scrape by selling whatever treasures they came across, stretching the little bits of money they acquired out for as long as possible. Thankfully they didn’t need to worry about housing, as Della allowed them to keep Donald’s houseboat to aid in their search (she’d smiled so sadly at them while giving them the keys, saying that Donald promised it as their home, anyway), but they still needed money for food, water, clothes, their phones, and any building supplies and tools needed to repair the boat along the way.

To help supplement their meager income, José had taken up to one of his old methods of earning quick cash- being a con-artist. It was something he had stepped away from many years ago, even before meeting Donald and Panchito. Conning innocent people out of their money always left a bad taste in his mouth, often leading to an overly-guilty conscience that would compel him to donate as much money as possible to the first person who asked him for a few dollars (often leaving him broke). He hated himself for resorting to such tactics to earn money again, and hated himself even more for dragging Panchito into his scams, as well.

Panchito was never a very good liar. He was honest and blunt and trustworthy, all qualities that José adored about the sweet rooster. However, these qualities also made him a good plant in the audience. His genuine wonder at whatever fake product or hokey slight-of-hand trick or rigged challenge that José set up would get peoples’ attention and draw them in. He was also really good at the more physical challenges, so, when he won, people would believe everything was fair-and-square, not realizing that the only reason the rooster won was due to his impressive strength and skills honed by training as a knight and his many adventures over the years.

Some scams went better than others, though, hence their inevitable need for disguises. They would pretend to be foreigner travelers as often as possible (which, depending on the country they were in at the time, wasn’t always far off). They collected pieces of clothing over the years that allowed them to pass as a multitude of cultural stereotypes, helping to further sell the illusion they were creating.

It was why, on the day they ran into someone rather interesting, they were dressed up as Russian tourists in Panchito’s homeland…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Panchito and José ran around a street corner and headed for the beach, a mob of angry people chasing after them. Still dressed up from their last attempted con, which involved “genuine Russian circus bear training courses”, Panchito was wearing a simple pair of black pants with a heavy red overcoat and a black Russian ushanka hat while José had lost most of his outfit in the ensuing chase, leaving him in an opened brown button-up shirt with a white undershirt and a pair of thick dark blue pants.

José spotted a way out of their current predicament and pointed to a ship down by the docks and then to a tall building a few feet away. “I believe it is time we ‘flew the coop’, so to speak.”

Panchito looked up to where his partner was pointing and grinned, quickly grasping what the other bird meant. “Ohhhh, good one, Zé!” He reached into the thick coat and pulled out his trusty lasso. He swung the rope around and tossed it into the air, easily hooking the crow’s nest of the ship and wrapping the end of the rope around his own hand for a little bit of leverage. “Hold on tight!” He said while scooping the smaller bird up into his arms.

“!!” José held on as tight as he could, clinging for dear life when Panchito took off running before leaping into the air.

The momentum and the odd properties of the lasso allowed them to swing through the air, easily crossing over the ship before the lasso released its hold and they rocketed up onto the building. Thankfully, they’d done this sort of thing enough times by now that they knew how to properly roll when they landed as well as how to stop before they reached the opposite edge of the building.

“Whoo!” Panchito laughed and sat up after they stopped rolling. “That could’ve gone better!”

“Agreed.” José said while rubbing his eyes, trying to dispel the dizziness he felt. “What’s worse, we have hardly anything to show for our troubles..” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the few pesos they’d gathered during their last con.

“Aw, don’t sweat it, cariño.” Panchito said while patting the parrot on the back encouragingly. “How were we supposed to know someone would try our lessons out on a REAL bear?”

“Você está certo.” José sighed, putting the money away. “Still, I wish we could have gotten more- this will hardly be enough to patch up the boat, and I’d rather not sleep under that hole in the roof with the storm tonight.”

“Don’t worry about that- I know somewhere we can stay.” Panchito said with a cheerful smile as he stood, offering the smaller bird a hand up.

José smiled slightly in return and took the offered hand, letting himself be pulled up onto his feet. “I am certainly open to suggestions.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“This is not quite what I had in mind..” José said while eyeing his namorado’s suggested resting place for the evening and adjusting his overnight bag on his shoulder.

It was a large mansion along the coast, a twin to one that resided in Brazil. And, just like the one in Brazil, this one was in an equal state of disrepair. Originally, the matching vacation homes were set up as a bit of a joke- one located in Brazil and one in Mexico, both buildings located in areas called Veracruz. Well, part of it was a joke, at least, the main reason they were set up in such a way was so Donald could visit his boyfriends in their homelands easily while technically calling it a “work expedition” for his uncle.

Now, though, the unattended building and messy grounds served as a reminder that no one had visited or lived there since Donald’s disappearance. Apparently it was too harsh of a reminder for his family about what happened, so both locations were left to rot. Even José and Panchito had not stopped by to see the old buildings for a long time…

“I know, I know.” The rooster’s voice cut through José’s reminiscing. “But it’s close to the docks, plenty of rooms to stay in that don’t have holes over them, there’s no one here, aaaaaand-” He spun around so that he was standing in front of his partner, almost hitting him with the large hiking pack he wore on his back, and held up a single key that was by itself on a series of keychains. “It’s free!”

José could not help but chuckle slightly at his boyfriend’s cheerful demeanor. “Are you sure Senhor Scrooge will not mind?” He questioned. Even though dark storm clouds were already covering the sky and threatening to unleash their torrential downpour any minute now, he did not want to trespass on the property owned by one of their beloved’s relatives.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine!” Panchito encouraged while opening the gate and heading for the front door. “He hasn’t checked on the place in years. Besides, we’re just spending a night or two- it’s not like there’s any food for us to eat or bills to pay!”

“I suppose you are correct..” José conceded with a shrug, following the other bird to the front door just as he started to feel the air pressure shift- a sure sign of a heavy storm soon to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thankfully the lock only stuck a little when Panchito tried the key, allowing them easy enough access via the creaky, unused doors. They were momentarily distracted by the dust their arrival stirred up, and proceeded to open up a few windows to air the building out, forgetting to lock the door behind themselves due to their need for fresh air.

After the air was cleared and they stopped sneezing, the two birds took their time exploring the old mansion. It gave them a sense of nostalgia to finally set foot in such a familiar place after so long- it was almost like coming home after a trip, but with a sense of melancholy and longing that hung in the air.

Each hall they passed contained pictures of the Duck/McDuck family. Every smiling face from various people, most of which they hadn’t seen in years, left the duo with a growing pit in their chests.

A familiar emptiness that had not yet been filled…

José noticed that the unpleasant trip down memory lane was starting to make the rooster’s ever-present smile slip. To distract him, he placed a hand on his companheiro’s shoulder, startling the other out of his thoughts and making him look at the parrot with a curious tilt of his head.

“How about I prepare us some dinner, meu bem? I managed to get a bag of those tamarind candies you like so much.” The green bird asked with a soft smile.

That instantly brought a bright, excited smile to the other’s face, his hands clenching into fists in front of him as he practically buzzed with anticipation. “¡¿Chaca chaca?!” At a nod from his novio, Panchito let out an excited grito and scooped the smaller bird into his arms in an eager hug. “AAAAIIYYHAAA! Gracias, cariño!” He gave José’s face several kisses to show the depths of his gratitude.

José laughed merrily at his partner’s restored cheer and patted him on the shoulders, signaling he wanted to be placed safely back on the ground again. “You can have them AFTER we finish a proper meal first.”

Panchito set him down with a nod, his smile so big it practically split his face. “Okay!” He gave his boyfriend one last kiss on the forehead before finally letting him go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

José was pleasantly surprised to discover both the plumbing and electricity to still be functional in the old mansion (granted, he had to run the tap in the kitchen for a few seconds before the water came out clear, but at least it was working). He spent about an hour preparing an easy but filling recipe of galinhada, deciding he needed a taste of his own home after sampling so many of Panchito’s local favorites. He felt like he was technically cheating a little bit by using freeze-dried vegetables and meat-substitutes, but there wasn’t much else he could do- they traveled better than fresh ingredients, lasted longer between meals, and they didn’t have the money to get anything fresher at the moment. Then again, given that he’d seen Panchito eat a bowl of mud and snails before, he doubted the other bird would notice much.

After spooning the rice dish into two bowls, storing the leftovers in containers, and leaving the pot he’d cooked everything in soaking in the sink (he always made sure to bring some camping-style collapsible cookware and dishes with them, as it made preparing meals easier while they were away from the boat), José carried the bowls back to one of the upstairs guest rooms where he knew Panchito would be waiting.

He prepared to open the door and walk in with the food, but, hearing the other’s voice caught his attention and he stopped to peek in through where the door remained ajar. Inside, he saw Panchito sitting cross legged on the bare mattress (they’d taken the dirty covers off and tossed them in another room already, the smell was unbearable) with his back to the door. Over the rooster’s shoulder, José could make out something familiar that made his heart clench painfully.

It was an old picture of himself, Panchito, and Donald- a photo taken on their first official date to a nice pizza restaurant/arcade shortly after their second defeat of Felldrake. Many of their closer friends joked that the trio had already been dating long before that point, but that was the day they actually talked it over and decided to try going out. They had a fun day eating junk food, playing games, winning prizes, and just enjoying each other’s company. It had been a wonderful experience and a great way to mark the beginning of their romantic relationship. They capped off the evening with a walk to the park where they laid on the grass and looked at the stars. To commemorate the occasion, Donald had decided to take a group picture and, as he held his new cell phone as far out above them as he could reach to fit them all in the frame, Panchito and José decided to surprise him by planting a matching pair of kisses on his cheeks right as he pressed the button. The resulting image involved a rather red-faced duck with his beak hanging open, a grinning rooster, and a pleased parrot all looking at the camera.

José had a copy of the picture as well, framed safely and nailed to the wall in the houseboat. He wanted to preserve the memory as neatly as possible.

Panchito’s copy, on the other hand, was extremely worn and weathered. He often kept it tucked away in one of his holsters so he could pull it out whenever he pleased. This resulted in the once-glossy paper losing its shine, a large crease forming down the middle, the edges crinkling, and blurred patches to appear on the paper from the way the normally happy bird would gently caress the image of his beloved with his thumb, much as he was now.

“What do you think, mi patito?” Panchito asked the photo with a voice trying just a little too hard to sound genuinely happy. “It’s been a while since we had a nice vacation, huh? Don’t worry, though, we’re only staying a day or two, then we’ll be right back to looking for you, mi amor.” There was a pause for a moment, the normally high-levels of energy the rooster gave off draining from him as his shoulders slumped. “…We miss you, Donald…”

José frowned as he listened to the one-sided conversation. This was not an unusual occurrence, sadly. He’d walked in on such moments many times over the past decade. Every time he’d enter the room, Panchito would be startled, quickly scrambling to hide the picture and pretend he was doing something else. It was the one thing he refused to talk about and tried to keep a secret from his partner. José could not fault him for such a thing- it was likely his way of dealing with the constant stress and let-downs they endured as the years wore on.

To avoid startling the melancholy man, José walked back the way he came quietly before turning back towards the room and calling from further down the hall. “Panchi? Could you get the door, meu bem? My hands are full.” He waited a couple of seconds before walking towards the room again.

“Sure thing, Zé!” Panchito called back with his usual enthusiasm. He soon opened the door and greeted the green bird with a bright smile, sniffing the air with a delighted hum. “Mhhh, that smells great.” His stomach gave a loud growl and he laughed before taking his bowl and heading back to the bed. “Looks like my stomach agrees!”

José chuckled a bit as well, taking a seat next to Panchito on the bed. “I am glad to hear it. Your stomach will also be happy to know that there are plenty of leftovers waiting downstairs if it is still unsatisfied after your meal.”

They grinned at each other and ate their meal in relative silence, enjoying the peace and quiet as well as the taste of a good home-cooked meal. When they were done, they spread their spare blanket and pillows out over the bed and cuddled together while watching the rain fall through the window and eating Panchito’s favorite candies. It was a nice, calming way to spend the evening.

That is, until the deafening sound of something being knocked over downstairs echoed through the otherwise quiet house.

“?!!!” Both birds were startled by the loud noise and instantly shot up out of the bed and onto their feet.

“Did you lock the door?” José asked while grabbing his umbrella from where it rested by their packs.

“I thought you did..” Panchito admitted with a slight frown as he drew one of his pistols.

They shared a look that communicated their thoughts to each other perfectly: It was likely some burglar that wanted to ransack the old building thinking it was abandoned. Nothing they couldn’t handle, really- the crook would probably run off the moment he saw Panchito’s gun. If not, the poor fool would be taught a lesson they wouldn’t soon forget…

Armed and ready for a fight if necessary, the pair made their way back down the stairs as quietly as possible. They followed the sounds of things banging against each other and crashing to one of the downstairs master-suites.

They froze momentarily when they noticed which room the noises were coming from: Donald’s old room. At all of the vacation houses Scrooge owned, there were special rooms set aside for himself, Donald, Della, and one or two other close family members they would take trips with on a regular basis such as Gladstone or Fethry.

Righteous fury burned through the two caballeros at the thought of some petty thief rifling through their beloved’s belongings. With his gun raised in warning, Panchito kicked open the door.

“¡No se mueva!” He shouted first in Spanish, then repeated it again in English to cover any language gap. “Don’t move!”

They saw a white feathered duck on the other side of the room, standing in front of a large framed portrait of Donald with his uncle and his sister. The intruder had his back to them and had apparently been in the middle of picking up some fallen knick-knacks and miniature diecast boat figurines from the dresser nearby. He was dressed in a dripping-wet green jacket and a black cap that was sitting askew on his head.

José got an odd feeling looking at the intruder. Something about him felt..different..

“Turn around.” He said firmly, keeping his umbrella tight in his fist and preparing to lash out if need-be.

The intruder slowly turned around to face them, raising his hands above his shoulders to show he was unarmed. Once he was facing them fully, they could see two things.

The first was the rest of his outfit, which consisted of a simple but dirty (and equally soaked) yellow-brown sweater under the coat and a golden necklace with a purple glass center.

The second was that he seemed completely and utterly terrified. His eyes were screwed shut and his whole body was trembling.

Panchito’s previous harshness faded slightly at seeing how scared the duck looked. “Abre tus ojos.” He commanded while keeping an eye on the duck. “Come on, look at us.”

The duck hesitantly complied, opening one eye nervously just a sliver. “……” Unfortunately, that only seemed to frighten him more when he saw Panchito still holding his gun. “!!” He moved as if he was about to try ducking or running away, but he stepped on one of the small boats still littering the floor and slipped, his back and head hitting the wall and his hat slipping down over his face.

José relaxed slightly after witnessing the clumsy display. This intruder was clearly not a threat. He reached over with his umbrella and lightly pressed down so Panchito would lower his pistol. “I think it is safe to assume this one is not dangerous.”

“Yeah.” Panchito agreed while holstering his gun. “The only one he’s hurting is himself.” He looked at the duck across the room again and called over. “It’s okay! We won’t hurt you! Estás a salvo aquí! Can you…stand…uhh…”

Panchito’s concerned questioned died on his tongue as the intruder did just that.

As the duck stood up, his hat fell off to reveal the messy little tuft of feathers on the top of his head. He rubbed at the spot on the back of his head that had hit the wall and opened his eyes in the process. Once he was standing up straight again, he looked at the other birds across the room from him with a raised eyebrow, likely confused over why they were both staring at him with such wide eyes.

They couldn’t help but stare, though. Not with how, when looking at the duck in front of them and the photo directly behind him, they were looking at the EXACT SAME FACE.

“D..Donald..?” José’s voice shook as it left his beak, the grip on his umbrella going slack and causing it to fall to the floor at his feet.

It was impossible…

It couldn’t be…!

It was-!

“Donald!” Panchito shouted with tears already forming in his eyes. “¡Mi amigo!” Unlike José, who was still frozen in place from the shock, Panchito was already running across the room to scoop the duck up into his arms and hold onto him tightly. “AAAAAAH!” He pulled back just enough to look into the confused duck’s eyes, words firing out of his mouth a mile-a-minute. “Where have you been?! We’ve been looking everywhere for you! We got Xandra and the girls to help, and your uncle sent submarines, and me and Zé traveled all over and-!”

Then, with a confused frown and a voice that was so very different from the one they associated with that face- one that sounded deeper and far more “normal” and with a slight Spanish accent- the duck Panchito had been hugging so enthusiastically asked one simple question that caused their raised spirits to plummet once again:

“Who’s Donald?”

<-Previous Chapter Next Chapter-> 

End Notes: Just wanted to put in a quick description of the food here for those who’ve never had any of it before: Chaca chaca is a spicy tamarind candy- when I was little, my friends from Mexico would try to dare/trick me and my sister to eat it because they thought we would find it too spicy (my sister did, but I loved spicy food, so the joke was on them xD). Galinhada, on the other hand, is a Brazilian chicken and rice dish that you can mix in with vegetables like peas, peppers, or whatever you really want as long as it’s got chicken and rice- it’s a really tasty and filling meal that my Brazilian friend’s mom used to make pretty often and share with us as thanks for giving her some fresh saffron and turmeric (my grandfather’s sister’s husband was from India, so they would bring us some spices whenever they stopped by- saved us SO much money because that stuff’s expensive XP).

Translation Notes: 

“Você está certo.” - "You're right."

mi patito - my duckling (I just love the trend I see of them calling Donald duckling x3)

“¡No se mueva!” - “Don’t move!”

“Abre tus ojos.” - "Open your eyes."

Estás a salvo aquí! - You are safe here!

[yusuke-of-valla]

Akekita Week Day 5: Firsts/Lasts

Summary: It’s Oblivio but Akekita

Or-

In which the amnesia condition works a little differently

AO3

When he wakes up, it’s dark and his whole body hurts. There's shattered pieces of glass around him and a sliver of light that allows him to put together that he's in some sort of alley, but little else.

He picks himself up off the ground and hears movement behind him. Reflexively, he moves backwards into the shadows and watches someone else pull themselves off the ground.

In the dim light, it can be observed that the other person is a young man wearing a strange outfit and a kitsune mask.

He watches Kitsune look around and take in his surroundings, and tenses as steely grey eyes lock on him.

"I can see you." Kitsune says, "white isn't really condusive to hiding in the shadows you know."

He frowns and looks down at himself. "Why am I wearing this?" he mutters as he takes in his princely garb.

"Who are you?" Kitsune asks.

That's the first moment where he realizes he doesn't know.

Rather than give the stranger anything though, he straightens.

"Don't you already know?"

Kitsune frowns. "My apologies. I can't seem to remember anything."

"That's unfortunate."

Kitsune doesn't appear to be lying, nor to be doubting that- fuck he needs something to call himself- might know more than him.

Stupid. Naïve. Who the hell trusts someone they just met.

But, similar outfits, similar situations, there's a chance you know each other. It'd be more efficient to admit you don't remember anything either and work together.

The two voices keep arguing in the back of his mind until finally he relents.

"I'll admit I don't have any memories either. I woke up here just before you," he says.

"Then this is quite the predicament." Something moves behind Kitsune as he's thinking. A... tail?

Cute.

The thought pops into his head and disappears just as quickly.

... weird.

"Well, Kitsune, it seems we'll have to work together," he says.

"Kitsune?"

"You don't know your name either right? I have to call you something, and given your mask, it's the obvious choice."

"Mask?" Kitsune reaches a hand up to his face, and proddingly removes the mask, staring at it in awe.

Kitsune is a very pretty, that's clear even in the dim light of the alleyway.

"So, Prince, shall we look around?" Kitsune says after a moment.

"Prince?"

Kitsune cocks his head to the side. "Would you prefer Tengu? I'm just trying to go by your outfit."

"No, Prince is fine."

Prince, huh? It's something, at least.

The two of them poke their heads out of the alleyway.

They're behind some sort of casino, with brilliant lights flashing all over the place. Prince squints and looks up, just barely being able to make out a small window that looked shattered.

"I think we came from up there," he says. He goes back to where he woke up and picks up the glass, then points to the window.

Kitsune nods. "Makes sense. Shall we go inside then?"

Prince is hesitant to just walk in, but Kitsune has already strode ahead. As they round the front he notes a larger, stained glass, window that has also been shattered.

No sooner had they gotten in the front doors had guards spotted them and started running over.

Prince grabs Kitsune's arm and starts pulling. "We should go."

"Well maybe they're-"

"SEIZE THE INTRUDERS!"

"-nevermind."

The turn and run, Prince leading Kitsune by the hand, and sprint down the street. Prince doesn't take note of the strange sensation as they move further away from the casino, just slips into another alleyway where they catch their breath.

It’s only when he turns to chew Kitsune out for not being more cautious, that he realizes the outfit that earned that nickname is gone. Prince looks down and sees his own outfit has become a heavy coat over a school uniform. When he looks back, the lights of the casine, which should be visible given its size, are gone.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know, but I do have a wallet now!” Kitsune says, flipping through it. Eventually he pulls out a small card. “My name is… Yusuke Kitagawa. Looks like I’m a second year at someplace called Kosei.”

Prince pulls out his own wallet. “And I’m Goro Akechi.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Akechi.”

“Likewise.”

Next, Goro pulls out a phone. It’s sleek and modern, but when he turns it on, he finds a passcode prompt staring back at him.

“I don’t remember how to unlock this,” he sighs.

“Want to start going through passcodes?”

Goro rolls his eyes. “It’d wipe everything after the fifth wrong guess, and I doubt we’re that lucky.”

“Phones can do that?”

“...Anyway, what about you?”

Yusuke goes back to his own phone. “Well, mine isn’t locked, but it’s almost out of battery.”

Goro goes closer and peers around Yusuke’s shoulder, aware of how near they are and how it makes something flutter in his chest.

“I’ve got the address for Kosei. My ID says I’m boarding there, so we might want to head there to at least spend the night.” Yusuke says.

“Search your messages for the words ‘my room’ or something to see if you invited anyone up there.”

Yusuke nods, and with a few quick taps finds it. “I’m in the west dorms on the third floor.�� His hand moves to his side and he flips through a ring of keys until he finds one with a number stamped on it. “Right, I have the key, should we go there?”

Goro nods, and they make their way to the dorms. Once Yusuke gets them in, he makes a beeline for the closet tosses a red hoodie at Goro.

“You can sleep in that, it’s yours.”

“How do you know that?”

“It was in one of the texts. Apparently you left it hear when you stayed over one night.”

Goro stares at the hoodie, then back at Yusuke. “I stayed over?”

“Yes.” Yusuke plugs the phone into the wall and begins to clear art supplies from the floor. “You can have the futon, if you want.”

Goro obliges, then quickly finds himself drifting off to sleep.

~

Goro isn’t sure what’s making his heart beat faster-- the knowledge that he’s so close to fulfilling his mission, the adrenaline of running from the guards, or the sheer weight of Yusuke’s hand in his as they turn a corner.

Yusuke pulls them into a supply closet and Goro is very aware of how close they are.

Close enough to kiss if they wanted to.

“I think they’re gone.” Yusuke says, interrupting that thought.

“Right.”

Goro opens the door, and they step out.

“Good, let’s meet with the others and-”

Suddenly there’s a shout, then a bright light, and Yusuke is thrown into him and they’re launched backwards-

~

Goro gasps awake. That didn’t feel like a dream… a memory? Even now, Goro can feel the exact details of what he saw slip from his mind, not helped by an insistent buzzing.

Goro looks over and sees his phone, still locked, but with a push notification that says he’s missed a lot of calls. There are a couple of messages he can read too, from which he gleans there was something he was supposed to do last night, but didn't.

Goro sighs and turns his phone off. It was useless if they couldn't unlock it anyway, and really how important could it be if Goro had decided to label the caller "Bitch"?

Even after his phone is turned off, there's still an incessant buzzing. He realizes that it's from Yusuke's phone, which is charging on the other side of the room. Goro gets up and carefully steps around Yusuke’s still sleeping form, and picks it up.

Goro opens the phone to find a truly ridiculous number of new message filling up the notification screen. Rather than the new messages, however, Goro’s attention is drawn to the conversation marked with his name.

He reads through the backlog.

Hey, want to grab lunch some time?

Thank you for taking me to the museum, I really enjoyed it.

Sorry I had to leave early this morning, work. I think I took your shirt by accident though.

That sort of stuff comes up again and again.

“Oh, you saw those.”

Goro jumps and nearly drops the phone at the sound of Yusuke’s voice.

“M-morning. Did you sleep well?” Goro asks.

“Fine. About those texts-”

Goro hands the phone back to Yusuke. “I had a dream,” he admits. “The two of us were together. I can’t exactly remember the details but between that and the texts I’m starting to think-”

“We may have been a couple?” Yusuke finishes. “I was thinking the same thing. There’s a sketchbook here, actually.” Yusuke picks the book in question and flips through the pages filled with sketches of Goro.

“Ah.”

There's an awkward silence where the two just stare at each other. Goro seizes the other boy up. Now that things are a bit calmer and he has a chance to really look at him, Goro can feel a pang in his chest when he looks at Yusuke.

It's Yusuke who eventually breaks the silence. "All that's in the fridge is some takeout curry, if you're hungry."

"Takeout?" Goro goes to the fridge to find it indeed barren, save for a container with a receipt attached to it.

He grins as he shows it off to Yusuke. "Looks like you bought takeout from this Leblanc place yesterday. If we want to figure out who we are and what we were doing, we should start there."

Yusuke smiles at him, and Goro feels like someone has sucked all the air out of his chest.

Was this how it felt the first time?

Goro coughs to give himself time to compose himself and offers a hand to Yusuke.

"Shall we get going then?"

[escapingreality1992]

Secret Pen Pals ch. 2

Keira's POV

My alarm went off at 8 a.m. sharp and I groaned as I scrunched up my face annoyed at the early hour. My hair fell in my face as I pushed myself up from lying on my stomach. Unfortunately, I couldn't go back to sleep because a client of mine was coming by to drop off her two golden retrievers to be watched for a week; She'd be here at 10 a.m. and I'd go over a couple things before having to leave the pups in the apartment two hours later in order to meet my friends for lunch.

An outward groan left my throat again, dreading the conversation I would have with them. If they had seen the advertisement for the pen pal event, I was sure that they'd have their own opinions about it. If they hadn't...well either way I planned to keep it a secret from them. I considered myself to be a romantic; to them, I'd be nothing more than a hopeless romantic, the idea that two people might fall in love through letters ridiculous in their minds.

My job was already a joke to them, a disappointing career to anyone close to me. The thing is I enjoyed what I did for a living. Dogs brought me joy to my life and today I planned on taking them for a swim at a local pool strictly for dogs. I released a content sigh thinking about it. In addition, I also wanted to stop by one of those unique specialty stores which sold anything from antiques to dolls, but more importantly the one I wanted to shop in had those instant Polaroid cameras. The reason behind this being that I had wrote Steve about sending him a picture of the coziness of my room, capturing the many blankets thrown across my bed.

Making a mental note to clean my room, I strode to the bathroom to take a shower in preparation for the day ahead of me. I let the hot water pour over my body, taking my time to cleanse it of the sweat that clung to it from the heat of the apartment. Fall came quick this year, meaning cooler nights and I had yet to make a thicker blanket to envelop me in warmth. Once finished with my usual routing in the shower, I stepped out into the coldness of the bathroom; I constantly let the fan run to avoid paint peeling off the walls from the steam that encased the entire room from the hot water. I wrapped a fluffy, light blue towel around my body - my arms and lower legs still exposed to the cool air - and ventured to the warm air of my bedroom.

Making my way to my closet, I chose an outfit consisting of a violet t-shirt, blue jeans and sneakers laying it across my unmade bed before grabbing undergarments from my dresser. Slipping those on, I dried my hair, leaving it slightly wet and pulling on the t-shirt and jeans before continuing the drying process. Since I had longer hair, it took a little while for it to get fully dry; I pulled it up in my usual ponytail and grabbed my current read and phone to sit on the couch while I waited for my client to arrive. At 10, a knock sounded at the my door, prompting me to put my bookmark in my book and set it aside to greet Andrea and Mark Peterson, the owners of the two golden retrievers; Jamie age 4 and Sherlock age 6.

"Good morning Keira. Thanks again for watching them. This trip to Paris is very important," Andrea greeted me. They were business partners who were trying to get word out for the wedding cakes they crafted from scratch. Andrea was a petite, 5'2" woman with honey blonde hair and brown eyes, while her husband stood at 6'3" with broad shoulders, dark hair and hazel eyes. They had no children apart from the dogs whom they sort of treated as such. They were humble and our first meeting involved picking out a cake for a friend's - well former friend's - wedding five years ago. They were a sweet couple and had seen my ad three weeks before that wedding, never needing to use my services until a month after; they went to travel to England for supplies for more extravagant decorations for their many delicious cakes. Now in the present, they became a regular client as their business continued to propel forward. They paid well, but it wasn't about the money for me. I loved taking care of each and every dog I watched.

"No problem. I enjoy having Jamie and Sherlock around. You said you were picking them up Saturday?" I told them, taking the leashes and walking the dogs to the couch, setting them loose once my apartment door was shut by Mark, who set down their dog bags.

"Can we pick up Sunday actually? Sunday night if possible. We'll be getting in pretty late Saturday and I have a feeling the jet lag is going to be horrendous," Andrea replied, pulling out her checkbook.

"Sunday is perfectly fine. Are you okay if I take them swimming? I'd be taking them to an indoor dog pool a few blocks from here,"

"Yes that sounds like a wonderful idea. I imagine they might enjoy that very much. If they stay until Sunday, how much more will that be?" Mark stated.

"Only 30 dollars more. Anything else I need to know about this week? Any questions about anything else?" I responded.

"30 dollars? Really? You know what, I'll give you a little more. I think 4000 should suffice," Andrea commented.

"Oh, but I only charge 2000 in most cases," I stated.

"We don't mind. You take care of them so often and so excellent that you deserve a big tip," Mark commented, smiling politely. I returned the smile and rubbed the head of Sherlock who had padded over to me and nudged the fingers of my right hand. Andrea ripped out the check and handed it to me, both owners waving goodbye to both goldens. My apartment door closed again and I turned to the pups.

"What do you say? Want to go for a walk before lunchtime?" I asked them. At this both dogs circled me jumping up to place their paws against my body.

"Okay, okay. First you two have to sit and wait so I can hook up your leashes," I told them, slipping on my sneakers. I grabbed a few poop bags, leashes and keys in the other hand before going outside for a walk. While walking, I couldn't help but wonder what Steve was up to at this very moment.

Steve's POV

Another 5 a.m. run, another training session, and another debriefing on the latest threat. That's how my day began. Not at all exciting, especially with debriefing, which wasn't even about a threat at all. It ended up being a report about the last enemy we defeated, a couple of paranormal entities, which we had to enlist Stephen Strange's help with. What followed the report was Tony discussing plans for an upcoming benefit we had to attend. As he droned on, I found myself aimlessly drawing on a piece of printer paper to stave off my boredom. Well, at least, I'll have something to send to Keira, I thought, focusing on the curvature of a ball of yarn I drew. Funny, I'm letting details of her first letter influence my sketches. Weird how it happened, I thought, a small smile creeping on my lips.

"What do you think Cap?" Tony's voice cut into my concentration.

"About what?" I answered, not even looking up, too involved in sketching out a dog's paw.

"I thought about showing up in my birthday suit and dancing all night," he stated. My pencil froze and I glanced up to see Tony grinning in pure amusement.

"I'm only joking. The theme, Steve, would be dark tones. Not necessarily black tie but shades of gray, black, maybe even white," he stated.

"No white. If you served red wine or colorful cocktails, there would be obvious stains should you spill anything on yourself. Shades of gray? Like the movies? Isn't that a little inappropriate?" I told him, my hand itching to get back to my drawing. Snorts of laughter went around the room as my friends glanced at each other.

"No, not the movies. The benefit is supposed to be formal. I didn't want it to be black tie again," Tony answered.

"Oh, alright. What is this for? Remind me,"

"Saving the world from total destruction and as it turns out paranormal beings. We're giving back to the community as well," Tony explained.

"Of course with a huge donation on your end," Natasha commented.

"We work hard and Stark Industries is doing pretty well in the technology department,"

"Maybe Strange is right. I don't see how that ego fits in..."

I barely registered Nat's entire quip at Tony, resuming my drawing as they bickered back and forth.

"You know Nat and Wanda could be having sex on the table right in front of us and you wouldn't notice. What's got you all distracted?" Bucky asked me, getting my attention by waving a hand in front of my face.

"Nothing. I hate these kind of debriefings. They're important but I find them dull and boring. At least the ones with missions have more excitement," I responded, flipping the pencil to use the eraser, correcting a mistake I made with the dog's body.

"Nothing? Seems like it's something since you've become super quiet. You must be really bored if you're drawing. What is it this time? More monkeys?" Bucky stated. He leaned over to see and I immediately moved another sheet over it to block his view.

"No. It's not finished. I'd rather not let anyone see it right now," I said, causing him to furrow his brows.

"What is it for anyway?"

"No one...I mean, it's not for anything. You know how I get when I'm bored. I doodle things instead of letting sleep take over. Especially in this meeting," I stated, a slight panic coming over me at revealing my pen pal. It's not like I didn't want to tell him but I didn't want anyone to poke fun at the idea. My friends wouldn't judge but I couldn't have them deter me from the exchange anyway. Plus, I wanted someone to talk to - write in this case - about anything I felt like. I wanted to have someone to interact with that wasn't involved in my world. Although I still had a recurring though of Keira already knowing who I am, though re-reading the letter it seemed like she didn't. If she did...maybe she hadn't revealed that fact yet, afraid to drive me away when she could have me to herself. Shaking my head, I tried to shove it away from my mind. Relax, Steve. Have some faith in this girl, I thought. Turning my attention to my best friend, I managed a small smile.

"Honestly it's a silly drawing. I wouldn't worry about it. I don't mean to be secretive about the beginnings of the sketch but I want to make sure it's perfect before I show anyone," I told him.

"That's understandable. That being said, are you sure nothing else is on your mind?"

"I'm sure, Buck. Thanks for your concern," I stated.

"That's a wrap everyone. On your way out of the room, grab a packet so you can review details of the benefit later this week," Tony informed us.

"This week? I thought it was next week," I commented, inwardly groaning.

"If you had been paying attention, you would have already known it's happening this week. Why the long face Cap? Afraid you can't get a date?" Tony mocked me. I frowned, standing up to approach the table where our packets lay.

"I'm not going with anyone. I forgot to purchase a suit to match the colors of this benefit. If you'll excuse me, I must go out and do so. Especially if I'm to be presentable for your taste," I remarked, almost hissing the last part. Tony and I had a different relationship, agreeing on some things, disagreeing on most. Today happened to be a day where the littlest of things could set me off. I could admit stress definitely was a factor, the only thing calming my mood being my pen pal and the eagerness of sending another letter growing in my heart. I picked up the packet, walking out in as much a calm manner as possible. I retreated to my room to place the packet on my desk before venturing out to a department store in order to pick up a suit for the benefit a few days later. After trying on a few suits and deciding on a charcoal gray suit with a tie that matched it, I chose to stop by a small jewelry store and purchased a birthday gift worthy for Keira. Unaware to me, Keira happened to be in the same area eating lunch; our paths wouldn't cross with each other on this day. I returned home to finish the small drawing of a dog playing with a ball of yarn and began constructing another letter for her.

Keira's POV

The golden retrievers and I returned from the walk tired and hungry; I also had sweat that accumulated on various parts of my body, deciding that I needed to take a final shower before meeting my friends. I set out bowls of dog food for Jamie and Sherlock before taking said shower, quickly going through the routine and drying off. I changed into a dark green, long sleeve blouse and black trousers remembering the restaurant we were going to was really nice. Not an overly expensive one you could see the elite dining in but one in which the prices were in a medium range. Pulling on a pair of heels that matched my blouse, I made sure my furry companions had water, giving them both a treat before heading out for lunch with my friends. Since the restaurant wasn't too far from my apartment, I decided to walk to it instead of taking a cab, the subway station out of the question being on the opposite side of where I needed to go. As usual, I ended up being 15 minutes early having to wait on the other three women to arrive. Thankfully, I always carried a book everywhere I went; the current read being about magic and wizards, the genre of fantasy drawing me into its fascinating world.

"Why is it whenever we meet up, you manage to have your nose in a book?" a voice interrupted my reading. The next to arrive was Charlotte Mathers with her red pixie cut, long legs, and green eyes. She enjoyed her job, which happened to be a general manager at a high end retail store. She got paid well, enough to live near Central Park in an amazing, huge, studio apartment, plus she had been born into a family that had a little more money than the average middle class. I smiled, trying not to be annoyed with her comment.

"Well Charlotte, I enjoy reading instead of having my face rooted to my phone," I answered her. Like she even heard me, her face locked onto her phone...this being a normal habit of hers.

"She never escapes from her fantastical world. How have you been Keira?" another voice stated. Oh good. Of course, Lena would be the next to get here, I thought. A woman with long blonde hair, a petite figure that mirrored mine and blue eyes was an accurate description of Lena Morrow. Lena had a job as a receptionist to a law firm. It was rare that she could out to lunch and we enjoyed her company whenever possible. She stayed busy exactly like Jana Elliot, who was the last to arrive. Jana was a nurse which is her schedule almost never matched Charlotte's and mine.

"I'm good Lena. I've got two dogs to watch this week which is pretty cool," I responded to the question, catching Jana's eyes as she walked in.

"Didn't you have one last week? What is it with you and babysitting dogs? It can't pay all that well," Jana greeted us.

"It pays pretty well actually. I keep getting requests from a lot of people who don't mind paying a lot. Plus, I charge 2000 for an entire week. Though for a few days it's only about 1500," I explained.

"Yeah, but you must not have enough to live anywhere nice," Lena commented.

"I live in Brooklyn. It's nice enough and save most of what I earn. Not to mention people give me tips after I watch their dogs. I even charge a little extra for training them if they need it. Sometimes I have the same dog or dogs for two weeks which gets me a lot of money," I stated.

"You're still earning money from doing book reviews right? What do they pay? 1300 per review?" Charlotte asked, looking up from her phone for the first time since she got here.

"Yes. It's more like 1500. Enough talk about my income. I'm hungry," I stated, feeling all the judgment from my friends. I loved them but there time I wondered why they bothered hanging out with me. Their comments seemed to get worse every time we met up, but I didn't want to seem like a hermit staying in my apartment, so I put up with it. They didn't bother me too much; occasionally someone would say something that rooted in me and stung a little but I never showed it until I got back to my apartment. We were seated and ordered spinach artichoke dip as an appetizer until we figured out what to have as a main course. Looking over the menu, I decided to go with a tuna poke, Lena, went with steak, Charlotte chose a salad and Jana went with a club sandwich.

"Did anyone see that advert in the bookstore downtown? An event for pen pals. Sounds ridiculous if you ask me," Charlotte said. My blood froze as Jana and Lena both nodded.

"Who would e-mail a complete stranger? What do they expect will happen? Someone falls in love with another person. Not likely," Lena replied.

"I heard it's supposed to be handwritten letters instead of e-mailing one another," I commented, nervously wringing my hands under the table.

"Oh good. Nothing like going back in time. I wonder if they had anyone sign up. Or maybe if they had any of the Avengers sign up," Lena continued, a scowl on her face.

"Maybe some might say it sounds kind of romantic. Having a connection with someone through letters of course. It doesn't have to be romance though. Some people could meet new friends," I stated. The three of them turned to glance at me; if I hadn't been judged before, then their expression certainly had judgment clearly etched out on their features.

"Did you sign up? You've always been a hopeless romantic. Sweetie, you should go out and meet someone real, not write to someone you can't even see," Jana suggested.

"No. I missed the deadline. As for meeting someone while I go out, it hasn't really worked for me," I snapped. Their eyebrows raised at the anger in my tone and decided to drop the subject. It was a quiet lunch, not much to say; I suppose my annoyance at them prevented anyone from speaking and for the first time I was happy to leave one of our outings.

Returning to my apartment, the retrievers greeted me by letting me scratch their heads, following me around while I prepared for our appointment at the dog pool. I changed into a black one piece, throwing on athletic shorts and a tank top with flip flops and leashed the dogs before exiting my home. This time, I loaded them in car and drove to midtown Manhattan, parking in the garage of the pool building, taking the elevator down to the pool. We would be the only ones there and I could eliminate the lunch from my mind as I swam around with Jamie and Sherlock. I had unleashed them and let them jump in while I pulled off my shorts and tank top, joining them immediately. We stayed there for two hours, swimming and playing, the tension I had melting away.

Packing up at the end of our session, I remembered to stop by the specialty shop that sold the Polaroid cameras for the purpose of keeping an old-fashioned theme to my letters. The shop in particular, accurately named Unique Peculiarities, allowed pets so I toted Jamie and Sherlock inside, browsing the various colors of the cameras, selecting a royal blue one and grabbing some film to prepare for my idea. I returned home and let the pups do their business before letting them loose in my apartment. I set to cleaning up and arranged my blankets in such a way to capture the coziness. I decided at the last minute to snap a picture of my bookshelves and added one of favorite books, Pride and Prejudice, for another picture. Once I got the pictures out the way, I sat down to construct another letter to Steve.

Four Days Later

Steve's POV

I spent most of the week preparing for the benefit and when it came, I still felt like something was missing, or rather someone. Maybe I was lonely and desired a companionship. Even now as I looked around at my friends, I wanted someone to hold, to kiss, to love. Most of my friends had someone; Natasha had Wanda - a surprise to all of us but we supported it - Tony had Pepper, Thor had Jane. The rest of us remained single but I couldn't help but to dream of having someone to care for. I didn't know if Keira would be the one for me. I hadn't even met the woman but still imagined what it'd be like with her.

"Can I get a beer please?" I asked the bartender, sitting down on the stools contemplating my decisions in life. I spent most days avenging the world and missed out on several opportunities to be fixed up on a date. Natasha had tried many times a few years ago but I rejected them all, set on working on missions. There was a brief relationship with Sharon Carter but it fell through pretty quickly and now I regretted not taking more chances with dating someone.

"Everything all right? You seem a bit down," Natasha's voice interrupted my thoughts as I sipped on my beer. I turned, managing a small grin.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just thinking about some things,"

"Relationships you mean. What? I know you too well. Besides, I've been watching you tonight. You look at the couples and there's a hint of sadness in your eyes. Why don't you ask someone out?" she commented.

"I don't know. Sure, I'd like to date but the people I'm around are caught up in this world, avenging it and I don't want someone in the same line of work. I'd like to come home to some who can take my mind off this job. Other people see me as Captain America, not Steve Rogers. It's hard most days, seeing happiness of those around me when I can't provide it for myself,"

"Who knows? Maybe it'll happen to you one day. Don't give up hope,"

"Thanks Natasha," I told her. As the night died down, I wandered outside to get a breath of fresh air, hands in my pockets, the cool breeze of Autumn ruffling my hair. I reached the end of the drive and stopped by the mailbox. Mailbox. We haven't checked it in the last few days, I thought. Keira's name flashed across my mind as I opened the metal box and pulled out a stack of mail. I rifled through it on the way back to the compound. I was back inside the building when I saw it, the letter addressed to me. I set down the other mail on the coffee table and disappeared into my room, my fingers quickly opening the thick packaging of the envelope. I sat down on my bed, unfolding the letter, three Polaroid pictures facing me. One featured a bed with a multitude of colorful knitted blankets, the thickness of the material making me want to bury my body among them. The second picture had a view of three large bookshelves filled to the brim with all sorts of books ranging from fiction to nonfiction to young adult books. At the bottom of the Polaroid she had written - in Sharpie - 'Can you tell I'm a book collector?' followed by a winking face next to the question. A smile crept onto my lips as I picked up the final picture featuring Pride and Prejudice. The the end she had written 'My all time favorite.' Putting the pictures to the side, I began reading, kicking off my shoes and lying back on the sheets.

Steve,

As promised, I've sent you a picture of my cozy blankets. Don't they make you want to climb under them? They're ones for fall but there are more that I'm creating for winter. Definitely needing to stay warm, especially in this city. As a bonus, I've sent you a picture of bookshelves and one of my all time favorite book. I know, these are Polaroids but I thought it'd be kind of interesting to keep an nostalgic theme going here.

Pride and Prejudice is one story I've falling in love with ever since the eighth grade. I love the dynamic between Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy and the love that happened to always be there. I read it every Christmas curled up in bed or on the couch, a cup of hot chocolate, or tea, in my hand. The blankets surrounding me of course. You'd think after a few years of living here, I'd be used to the cold, but I'm still a southern girl at heart and desire warmth.

In my last letter, I realized I forgot to tell you I'm originally from North Carolina. Greensboro to be exact. When I used to live there, we had crazy weather too, one day it'd be hot as blazes, the next cool and comfortable. During the winter, we'd freeze, not used to it. My parents still live there of course, but we don't get to visit each other much. I miss them and I'll be visiting the some time next month and for Christmas, so if you get a letter from North Carolina, that'll be why.

Currently, I'm watching two golden retrievers named Jamie and Sherlock. We went swimming earlier and as I'm write this, my hair is still a tangled, wet mess. I hope wherever you are, you're having a good day. I was until I met up with a couple friends of mine. I think I've mentioned I'm a total romantic. If not, then now you know.

Well that makes two of us, I thought. She already had me wanting to cozy up in that bed as well since I already viewed the picture. The only difference being I wanted to be under there with her. It's only the second letter. Am I starting to crush on her already?  Another thought popped up in my head as I continued reading.

Anyway, they saw the advertisement for this event and seemed to think it ridiculous. I rather think this is unique, a great opportunity to connect. Maybe all this could be is a friendship but maybe somewhere out there it could give someone to love. Is it silly? Maybe not ideal? Perhaps, but you never know. Things could miraculously happen.

No, it's not silly. I love the way your mind works,  I thought. I sat up to remove my jacket and tie picking up the letter again, settling back on the pillows.

If that wasn't bad enough, they sought out to judge me on my job. They don't think it pays well but you'd be surprised at the amount of people who request me to watch their dogs. Sometimes they also pay to have me train them. Not to mention a side job (which I forgot to mention last time) as a book reviewer. Apparently in this city, it pays well and it's a lot of fun.

The only things that calmed me today was the pool time with the pups and knowing I could come back write to you. I wish that we have met already; I desperately need a hug at the moment. For the time being, I'll just hold the goldens close and pet them. Maybe next week will be better. It'll be my birthday after all. Nothing can go wrong on your birthday.

Sorry for the complaining but I needed to get it off my chest and my mind. Writing and talking is the best way I know how to do just that and since I can't talk to anyone about this, writing to you seems to be my only option. It's the best option, trust me.

Looking forward to your letter,

Keira

I ran my fingers over her name, a longing in my heart starting to grow. I would've wrapped her in a hug so warm she'd never feel sad again. I sighed, getting up and placing the letter and the Polaroids in a box I set aside for this very purpose. I stripped out the rest of the suit, except for my boxers and turned off the lights in my room. I slipped into the warmth of my bed and fell into dreams of one day meeting Keira.

Keira's POV

My week with Jamie and Sherlock wasn't over yet. I spent more time sitting on the couch reading, taking them out on walks or just to their business when they needed it. We went swimming two more days and I collected the mail, letting it pile up, not checking it because I got busy training the pups a few times during the week. Today my phone rang while I sat on the couch, Sherlock in my lap, Jamie on the other end sleeping.

"Hello?" I answered, not checking the ID.

"Keira, it's Andrea. We need to stay another three days in Europe. We've been requested to head to London to check on the shop there. Are you okay to watch Jamie and Sherlock for a little longer?" Mrs. Peterson greeted me.

"Yeah, no problem. I don't have any other dogs coming until next Saturday," I told her her pushing my stack of mail over to get to my calendar. I marked down Jamie and Sherlock until the Wednesday coming up. The pile tipped over, spilling to the floor and I sighed, bending down to pick up the envelopes that fell; my hands paused when I saw the new letter from Steve.

"Great. We'll pay you when we get back. is an extra 3000 okay with you?" she commented.

"Uh huh. Sounds good. Have a safe trip," I said, ending the call and standing up. I hastily threw the other envelopes I picked up back on the kitchen counter, returning to the couch. I ripped open the envelope pulling out a sheet of notebook paper, unfolding it and started reading.

Keira,

I just finished up picking out a suit for a benefit I have to attend later this week. I forgot all about it until one of my friends told me about it during a meeting today. This meeting was dull and boring, not exciting like others. In the other letter you sent, you wanted to know a favorite memory of mine. I don't have many but I always remember the one when my best friend made me ride on a roller coaster at Coney Island which made me throw up. Gross, I know, but it's the one that comes to mind first. That and the engagement of another friend of mine. He had never been happier than in that moment. Another thing about me is something we both have in common. Reading is a favorite thing I love to do. Other than drawing. Speaking of, I sent you a drawing this time. I mentioned I doodle when I'm bored. So, this took place during the meeting.

I stopped briefly to pull out the piece of paper that got stuck in the envelope. I unfolded it and smiled at the pictured of a realistic looking dog pawing around a ball of yarn. He was definitely talented, the details standing out and catching the eye. I looked back to the letter and continued to read.

It's not much but it made me think of you. Your job sounds interesting and I'm pleased you're following your passion. Now, things I like to do for fun besides reading and drawing are going out with my friends to a bar. We tend to have a good time. I like running and going to the movies, even though I'm behind on a lot of them. I love the smell of coffee in the morning and the smell of rain whenever I go out in it. The rain is almost tranquil and I feel I can escape among those tiny droplets. You should see my mood during a thunderstorm. I'm very calm throughout it. I love watching the lightning in the dark with the curtains drawn.

Oh, we'd definitely get along then, I thought, touching my free fingers to my lips.

The description of your blankets makes me want a creation of yours. No pressure though. We're still strangers after all. Your description of yourself, however, makes me want to see that lovely face. You're beautiful, though I haven't seen you yet. If we ever get to the point where we'd want to see each other in person, I know I'd have my breath taken away. That's only my opinion though. I hope this benefit goes well. I'm not going with anyone but sometimes I get this lonely feeling. I want someone to hold and to love but I haven't found the right person yet and the people I'm around are in my line of work. I;d love to come home to someone who doesn't deal with the same things I do. I would love someone who could pull me from it, to distract me from it, if only for a few hours.

I don't mean to sound sad but I feel as though I can tell you anything and not get judged for it or at least not pushed into anything. This a good way to open up indeed. To tell someone about things you wouldn't normally share with even your closest friends. I want to hear more from you. Your favorite movie? Your ideal date? Your ideal day? Maybe your favorite memory? Anything. Everything. I hope the drawing brought you joy today.

Write to you soon,

Steve

My smile spread wider at the words on the paper. A thought popped in my mind that very instant. The thought being that I might start to like him only not in a friendship way. Though the friendship was off to a good start, other feelings began to dance around in my heart. Try not to fall in love with him yet. It's too early for that, I thought to myself. I folded up the letter and the drawing, sliding them into the envelope carefully and set it aside, continuing my book well into the late night, Steve on my mind. I made a mental note to get a frame for the drawing as I got up from the couch, allowing both dogs to join me in my bedroom. I changed into pajamas and slid under the coziness of my sheets, drifting off into dreamland.

[crankpendletonplays-blog]

The Playbook- Jughead Jones

Pairing: Jughead x Reader

Description: Chuck asks Reader to homecoming, Jughead thinks its a bad idea. Turns out, he was right.

Warnings: Swearing, reader has sort of a mild panic attack, but nothing too serious. This was a request from an anon who liked one of the headcanons in the non-asexual Jughead list. Hope you guys like it!!!

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

I sat at a table in the student lounge by myself, waiting for my best friend Jughead. I had my sketch pad out, messing around and trying to keep myself busy.I didn’t really like sitting alone, because usually Reggie and his gang of man-children would take the attention of the student lounge, and I would be subjected to the torture that is their awful and offensive banter.I glanced around the room, uninterested, until my eyes caught the gaze of another, Chuck Clayton.

Chuck was caption of the football team, formerly co-caption with Jason Blossom before he was killed. I had never heard anything bad about him, and he sat next to me in my math class. I helped him out a bit with his schoolwork once in a while.He was actually a really kind person from what I could tell. Chuck stood up, walking towards me. I froze, wondering why in the hell anybody like Chuck Clayton would give me the time of day.

“Hey, y/n.” Chuck stood in front of me, smiling brightly.

“Uh, hey Chuck, are you having any trouble with the geometry homework?” I asked him, beginning to pull out my textbook from my bag.

“No, uh, I actually wanted to ask you something.” Chuck stopped me.“I was wondering if, maybe you’d like to uh, go to homecoming with me?” I froze again, taken back at his question.

“Me?“I looked around the room as if he may be confusing me with someone else.

"Yeah, you.” Chuck confirmed, chuckling a bit.

“Uh, o-ok, yeah, I’ll go with you.” I blushed, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. I didn’t see the harm in saying yes, he was a nice guy, and it wasn’t like anybody else would ever ask me.

“Great! Uh, are you free tomorrow? Maybe we could meet up after school and hang out or something?” Chuck offered.

“Alright, yeah, I can do that.”

“Cool, I’ll see you then.” Chuck grinned, walking back to his group of friends. ——————

“Hey, Juggie.” I smiled warmly at my friend, sliding in to the booth next to him. I laid my head on his shoulder, his screen open as he typed.

“Hey, y/n.” Jughead pressed a quick kiss to the top of my head before returning his attention to his novel.

“How was your day?” I asked him, looping my arm around his and scooting closer to cuddle in to his side.

“Oh, same old same old.Nothing interesting.” Jughead hummed, leaning his head against mine. Jughead wasn’t huge on showing affection in public, but he put up with me always cuddling in to his side.“How was yours?”

"Well, it was…interesting, to say the least."I sighed, taking a sip of the Jughead’s root beer.

"How so?”

“Well, Chuck Clayton asked me to homecoming.”

I felt Jughead tense before looking down at me with a shocked look on his face.

“What did you say?”

“I said sure.” I shrugged, taking another sip of his root beer.

“Are you feeling alright?” Jughead placed his hand over my forehead, as if he was checking to see if I had a fever. I swatted his hands away and slid over to the opposite booth seat.

"Quit it, Jug."I warned.

"This is a big deal!"Jughead fired, his hands waving wildly.

"It’s not!” I shot back.

"It’s the captain of the football team!”

"And?”

"And?Y/n, he’s only one of the biggest players at our whole school!You know about The Playbook!”

"Jughead, that’s just a silly rumor."I argued.Jughead slammed his laptop shut.

"I can’t believe you’re actually going to go to homecoming with that….that….that imbecile!”

"Jughead!Just because "that imbecile” is on the football team, doesn’t make him a bad person!“ I stood up, grabbing my backpack.

"Wait, y/n."Jughead reached for my wrist but I pulled away.

"I won’t be here tomorrow, I’m seeing Chuck after school.“ I paced out of the diner, ignoring Jughead’s protests. ——————– I hadn’t talk to Jughead all day, or Betty, or Veronica.The girls, Jughead, and Kevin seemed to be on some kind of mission, and I wasn’t going to talk to them anyways. I was sure Jughead told them all about Chuck asking me to homecoming.

When school was over, I waited in the library, where Chuck had texted me, asking me to meet up with him. I sat at a table in the corner, working on a book report until he showed. 10 minutes passed, which turned in to 20, then 30, then an hour, and I soon realized that I had been stood up. I gathered all my stuff and compiled it in to my backpack neatly, before zipping it up and swinging it over my shoulder. I pushed the bridge of my glasses up my nose and began to make my way out of the library. Jughead was going to gloat in all of his glory when I told him about what happened.

As I turned opened the door of the library, cold liquid was thrown in my face, drenching my front from head to toe. I gasped loudly, my eyes burning as I wiped the slush-like substance from my face.

"How’s your slushie, freak?!” I opened my eyes to Reggie holding a slushie cup, with about 5 or 6 guys laughing at m, one of them being Chuck.One of the jocks was holding a phone, recording the whole scene.

“Do you really think Chuck would ever ask a weirdo like you to homecoming?"One of the jocks laughed.

"News flash, nobody would ask you out even if you were the last girl on earth, you frigid bitch.”I looked at Chuck, hurt in my eyes.Chuck just smiled, before opening his mouth.

“Don’t take it too personal, y/n, it’s just-” Chuck kicked off the wall he was leaning against, strolling over to me.He leaned down so he was eye level to me."Nobody would ever waste their time on you.You’re not worth it.”

I shoved past Chuck, tears falling down my face. I ran down the hallways of the school, shoving the front doors open and running home as fast as I could.I swung my front door open, running past my mom and up the stairs.I heard my mother shout for me, but I just wanted to take a shower and crawl in to a hole and die.

I stripped off all my clothes and got in, rinsing the sticky drink out of my hair. After I was finished, I threw on some comfy clothes and wrapped a blanket around me, sitting on the edge of my bed.

“Honey.” My mom knocked on my door, opening it slowly.“You’ve gotta get ready, the football game is soon.” She took one look at me and knew something was wrong, sitting next to me on my bed.“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?"My mom rubbed my back soothingly.I fessed up, telling her everything, from yesterday when Chuck asked me out, to Jughead and I’s fight, to the slushie incident.

"Oh honey, I’m so so sorry."My mom pulled me in to her chest, embracing me tightly."If you don’t wanna go tonight, I completely understand.” My mom ran her fingers through my hair while my tears stained her shirt.

“No, I have to go, I promised Josie I’d sing with her tonight.” I wiped away my tears, taking a deep breath and calming myself down. After a few more minutes and my mom making promises to call the principal and “kick Chuck where the sun don’t shine”, she left my room so I could get ready for tonight.

I threw on the outfit I was wearing tonight and grabbed my coat, setting it on my bed with my purse and doing my hair.I did only a little bit of makeup, enough to cover up the fact that I had cried alone in my room for 3 hours, and then I slipped on my boots and went downstairs.

Archie was sat on my couch, swinging his keys around his finger. I loved on the other side of Betty, so he always offered to drive me to games, since he would be heading there anyways.

“Hey, Arch.” I smiled. Archie looked at me sadly before getting up and hugging me tightly.

“Okay, who died.” I joked, hugging my friend back.

“I know what Chuck did to you.” Archie whispered. My fingers clenched around the fabric of his varsity jacket.

“It’s okay.” I moved away so I could look at Archie.“Arch, it’s ok.”

“It’s not ok, it’s-” Archie began to yell and I caught his face in my hands, turning him to look at me.

“I’m.Ok.See?” I stood back and twirled a bit.“ No bumps, no bruises, just a stupid boy who thought he could get to me.” He had gotten to me, but I wasn’t going to let Archie, or anyone for that matter, know.

“Alright, well, Jughead and Betty are doing stuff for the blue and gold with Veronica and Kevin. They said they would meet us at the game, so…”

“Alright, well let’s get going!” I hugged my mom goodbye before leaving out my front door and climbing in to Mr. Andrews truck. —————– It was the third quarter of the game and the rest of my friends still hadn’t shown up, contrary to what Archie had told me earlier. I had long since performed on stage with Josie and was sitting alone on the bleachers. “Wow, you’re pathetic!” A girl called out to me, laughing with her friend while she pointed at her phone. I saw a video playing of me getting slushied, except on a loop, and Chuck’s words repeating in the background.

“Nobody would ever waste their time on you” “You’re not worth it” “You’re not worth it” “You’re not worth it”

I stood from the bleachers, running down the steps as fast as I could. Apparently, Chuck humiliating me in front of half the football team wasn’t enough?

I started hyperventilating, feeling everybody’s eyes on me as phones started to beep, the same video being sent to the whole school. People started laughing and whispering as they looked at me and I couldn’t stop myself from bursting in to tears.My vision was blurred and I started to feel trapped in a hole that was just getting smaller, and smaller, and smal-

“Y/n!"Somebody gripped my shoulders tightly, and I saw Veronica standing in front of me. she looked at me with concern on her face, her eyebrows raised as if looking for answers.

"Chuck…he…he…oh god, Ronnie, the whole school knows.” I wrapped my arms around her neck, collapsing in to her arms.

“Shhh, I know, I know.” Ronnie hugged me back, running her hand down my hair gently to calm me down as my body racked with sobs.

“We gotta go, ok? I don’t think Kevin can hold off Jughead much longer, and-”

“Wait, what?” I gave her the concerned look this time.

Listen, the reason we’re late is because we found the playbook.Its real, and it’s got almost every girl in it, you and I the newest victims.”

“Who put you in it?"I asked her.

"Chuck and I went on a date last night, and he sticky mapled me."Veronica explained.

"Sticky maple? What’s a sticky Ma-”

“Listen, I can tell you all about it later, but right now w-”

“We gotta go, like, now, Jughead is pissed.” Betty came running up the stairs.“I’ve never seen him like this, like, ever.”I followed Betty and Veronica down the bleachers, to the football fence where Kevin stood, his back facing us and his hands wrapped tightly around Jughead’s shoulders.Jughead himself looked like a raging bull seeing red, his nostrils flaring and his jaw clenched.When he saw me, he shoved Kevin out of the way, jogging towards me.

“Why didn’t you tell me what happened right away?!?!” Jughead cried.His palms went to my cheeks, wiping away the tears still falling down my face.

“I-I don’t know, we had gotten in to a fight, and I had left it off bad, and I-”

“Y/n, it’s ok, it’s ok, alright?I’m always here for you, always, I-”

“Well, well, well, looks like you can’t keep the freaks away from each other.Let me guess, it was you that helped him hide the body, right, weirdo?” Chuck leaned against the fence, helmet resting between his hip and forearm.

Jughead wrapped his hands around my shoulders and moved me gently so I wasn’t in front of him anymore before walking calmly up to Chuck, pulling his arm back, and clocking Chuck right in the jaw. Chuck went tumbling down, falling on his ass.

“Hey, freak show, wanna tussle?” Reggie came marching over, seeing the commotion.

“Listen, we all know you get your sexist views from the 50’s, but can you not use their lingo too? It kinda makes you look like a-"Reggie punched Jughead and I gasped. Jughead wiped the blood now coming from his mouth, spitting the rest at Reggie’s feet.

"A tool.” Jughead finished.

Reggie shoved Jughead and I came running forward, trying to block Reggie from Jughead. Reggie pushed me out of the way and I fell on my back.Jughead was already knocking his fists in to Reggie’s face, Reggie trying to block him. I began to go in again and was lifted in the air by Chuck, being thrown over his shoulder.

“Time to take out the trash!"Chuck laughed, hauling me off.I started screaming and thrashing in his arms, kicking my legs and waving my arms.

"Put her down!” Veronica screamed, shoving Chuck’s chest. Chuck pushed her down and Betty yelped, running over to help Ronnie up.

Archie began pulling Reggie off of Jughead, and he turned around to see me thrown over Chuck’s shoulder.Jug ran towards Chuck, doing anything he could to grab me from his arms.He kicked Chuck in the stomach, which caused him to stumble backward, and took the opportunity to grab me from his arms and pulling me away from Chuck.

“You’re fucking insane!” Chuck screamed.

“Says the one who tried to haul off with y/n!” Betty screamed back. Betty, Jughead, Kevin, and Archie now stood protectively around Veronica and I.

“What the hell is going on?” Principal Weatherbee hollered from the football field gate, Coach Clayton and the Mayor behind him.

“Chuck, you are in serious trouble!” The coach spoke to his son in a loud tone.

“Dad, they were the ones who-”

“Son, I know about the playbook.” The coach interrupted.“ And I’ve seen the video of what you did to that poor girl.Come on!” The coach grabbed Reggie and Chuck by the shoulders, dragging them back inside the football field and towards the school.The mayor and principal Weatherbee followed. —————– After the whole commotion at the game, Archie was benched, because he had a bloody nose after the fight with Reggie. Jughead had it way worse, a black eye now adorning the right side of his face and a swollen lip, as well as a busted nose to match that of his best friends. He had a few cuts and bruises on his upper body, but nothing a little first aid couldn’t help.

Jughead now stood in front of me in his pajamas. Archie had drove everyone back to Betty’s, and I immediately dragged Jughead to my house to clean him up while the girls and Kevin set up an impromptu movie night/sleepover to make up for the shitty events earlier on in the night.

“You’ve been eerily silent."Jughead broke the silence as I wiped the cut on his chin with hydrogen peroxide.Jughead hissed at the discomfort.

"I’m just-” I sighed, setting down the napkin in the counter next to me.“I’m an idiot.”

“Y/n, you’re not an idiot.”

“I should have listened to you though.You were right about Chuck and I still went through with it anyways and-” I trailed off, not wanting to relive this afternoon.

“As much as I love hearing you say I was right.” Jughead smiled proudly. “What you need to know is that, everything Chuck said about you is a lie.”

“It’s wasn’t, Jug, he was right."I shook my head, beginning to cry once more.

"No, y/n, don’t say that.” Jughead rested his hands on the counter by either side of my thighs, capturing me in his lean and firm frame.I looked up at him, my eyes red and puffy.

“Jughead, I’m not worth it. None of this was worth it. You getting a black eye and a busted lip and a bloody nose wasn’t worth it!I’m pathetic! I’m a freak, I’m-” I waved my hands around wildly, and Jughead caught my wrists with my hands, holding on to them firmly but gently.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Jughead spoke softly, yet loud enough to get my attention.I stopped, looking at him.“You are worth it, ok? In my mind, in my..my everything, you’re worth it.You have always been worth it and you always will be worth it.” Jughead’s hands went around my cheeks, his thumbs stroking the sides of my face lovingly.

And then I was kissing Jughead.

My fingers were tangled in his hair, his beanie cap knocked off and long forgotten on the tile floor somewhere, his arms pulling me flush to his body. My legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him even closer, and the only time we stopped was to catch our breath for a second before kissing again.

A muffled shout was heard and I tore away from Jughead, to see the girls standing at Betty’s kitchen window, their phones in hand, taking pictures of us. Archie appeared behind them, two thumbs up being thrown in the air.

“We have an audience.” I hid my face in the crook of his neck, my nervous laughs muffled.

“I noticed.” Jughead flipped them off and they giggled, shutting the curtains quickly.

“When we get over there, they’re in for it.” Jughead mumbled, dipping his head back down to kiss me again.

[sweetnestor]

Story of Another Us | Week 7, Part 1

university au, platonic af, now on ao3!

this is the point where we (I, the lazy author) start skipping weeks, so donut fret for not finding weeks 5 and 6 bc they donut exist :)

previous chapter

Tell me if you wanted it at all

“Let me hear you,” Jack said.

I remained quiet, my face beet red.

“Come on, Bellers,” he coaxed.

“I don’t sing in front of people!” I blurted out, tangling my fingers together nervously.

“You sing in front of me!” interjected Mark, who was sat next to Jack on the sofa.

I hesitated. “B-But that’s different…”

“No, you always want someone to hear you sing before you post it on your channel!” he told me. “And it’s just me and Jack, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

I looked down at my keyboard. I was excited to sing for them earlier, but then the time came and I got cold feet. One of the few things I was proud of about myself was my ability to sing. I had perfect pitch since I took classes as a child. I could sing big vocals like it was nothing, high notes came easy to me. It was just intimidating every time someone heard me sing. I was being watched and judged and I was never good under that kind of stress.

But it was just Mark and Jack. I shouldn’t have been so nervous, but I was always nervous. I inhaled deeply and played the first few notes of the song I had chosen.

“I can still taste the ocean, like it was today…

You said ‘please keep on holding my hands’ and the rain it came too soon,

I will wait for you to love me again”

I kept my eyes on my fingers pressing the keys. In all honesty, I only wanted to sing this particular song to Mark because it made me think of him. I figured I would hint at it in the description box if I decided to be brave.

“Guess I was running from something, I was running back to you…”

Have you ever listened to a song and you just wanted to live in it? Or inject it into your veins? I had strong feelings when I heard this song, feelings similar to when I realized I really loved my boyfriend.

I took a quick glance at the two guys. They both had matching grins on their faces. I kept singing, slowly detaching myself from reality and getting lost in the music. And then came my favorite line:

“The darkest night never felt so bright with you by my side…”

That particular line always made me emotional. I was full of darkness, I was negative. But I had Mark, and he was my light in this mess that was my life. I hadn’t realized how down I was until I wasn’t really there anymore. I didn’t expect him to “heal” or “fix” me, I just needed his help.

“What did I tell you?” he said to Jack when I had finished. “She’s incredible, right?”

My face went back to red.

“Yes, she is!” Jack agreed. “You’re really talented, Bella!”

“Thank you,” I responded.

“They’re going to love you,” Mark told me.

The next time I sang Outer Space, I had my camera on. I did it one take and just uploaded the video. I did covers every now and again on my channel. Those, along with the occasional daily vlogs, were insanely popular compared to my makeup tutorials/rants.

Mark went back to his house after I posted my video. He was always busy with whatever projects he had going on. He was script writing, preparing sketches with Matt and Ryan, editing videos, and slowly but surely working on a tour. That was mainly why I barely saw him these days, even when I stayed at his house. The only reason why it didn’t bother me that much was because I had Jack to keep me company.

Once I thought of that, it dawned on me that he wasn’t going to be here permanently. The semester ends in May, then he would be going back to Ireland. What would I do then? He was the only friend I had. I never realized how alone I was until he came along. I had fun with him. He was slowly taking me out of my shell.

I mean, yes, I had Mark. But like I said, he was always busy, and it’s considered “healthy” and “normal” to have other friends besides your boyfriend. I didn’t know what I was going to do when I was alone again.

What did I do to distract myself from my future of crippling loneliness? I isolated myself in my bathroom and washed my collection of makeup brushes. When you’re a socially anxious makeup artist who uses online shopping as a coping mechanism, that takes up a lot of time. I had barely gotten through one brand of brushes before I heard footsteps out in my room.

“Baller!” Jack called. That’s a new one.

“In here!” I replied, reached over from the sink to open the door.

He came over and saw me, tilting his head. “What are you doing?”

“Washing brushes,” I said.

“All of those?” he asked in surprise, pointing to the giant pile on the counter.

I shrugged. “I’ve been putting off cleaning them.”

“Do you need help? Looks like you’re going to be here a while.”

“Sure, if you’re not busy.”

He happily approached the counter and stood next to me by the sink. I handed him a dirty brush and showed him how to properly wash it. It was simple, and now that there were two of us doing, things were getting done faster.

“So, what got you into makeup?” he prompted after a while. “Why do you like it so much?”

Oh man.

“Are you sure you wanna hear that story?” I asked in response.

“Yes!”

I sighed. This was a tough subject. “To put it shortly, there was a point in my life where everything sucked. I mean, there’s been plenty of times where everything sucked, but this one was pretty bad. I just wanted to feel good about something, so I bought a cheap little eyeshadow palette and wore that whenever I was down. Of course, that expanded and escalated, and here I am now.”

Jack nodded. “So you wear makeup when you’re sad?”

“I used to. But now I do it because I love it and it’s fun. I actually went to beauty school and everything, but I never finished it because of YouTube.”

“Well, that’s cool.” Jack put one brush aside and picked up another. “I didn’t know it was personal, by the way, I’m sorry if I was prying or anything.”

“No, it’s okay. I’ve wanted to make a video on why I got into makeup for a long time since I never talked about it, but I don’t want to seem depressing. Like… I want something like that to be helpful instead of just sharing my sob story.”

“It must be really serious then. Don’t worry about how you’ll sound. If you think you need to talk about it, then do it. If you think it’ll help someone, that’s even better.”

It was itching at me now that I had spoken out loud about it. I had never talked about this with anyone. Not Mark, not even my therapist. It was like a crying fit stuck in my throat and it refused to come out. Not that I particularly wanted it to, anyway.

“I’m still thinking about it,” I  concluded.

“Well, no matter what you decide,” Jack said, “you have my support.”

“Thank you.”

He was so easy to talk to. I was fighting myself not to just spill everything out and burden him with the things that I’ve done. I couldn’t expose him to how bad I really was, and I really didn’t want to tell him something that I couldn’t even tell to my boyfriend.

Ironically, Jack asked if Mark knew this deep, dark story, and I said no. I hadn’t told anyone.

“Do you think you need to talk about it?”

“Yeah, but not anytime soon.”

“Should I be worried?”

“No. It’s a thing of the past.”

~

Exams and midterms still took place. It was mainly for the students transferring to actual universities after YTU closed for good, but everybody attending still had to take them. I was never good at studying, or good at school in general, but I managed to get by.

One of my classes, English, required group work, and that was a nightmare. I was interacting with others, but I still remained friendless. My yoga class sometimes involved partner poses, but I had Jack there to help me. That was probably one reason why we got closer.

But alas, Jack was leaving soon and then things won’t be the same anymore. I had Sophie - kind of - she was more of an acquaintance. She would mostly talk and I would listen. She had plenty of other friends, and her best friend, who I had in my yoga class. I was easily replaceable.

I had Mark too, but he was spreading himself thin lately. As much as he denied it, he was slowly stressing himself out. I would try to help him, but I was afraid of making him snap. He was just busy all the time, practically leaving me alone with Jack. Maybe that was another reason I got close to him. But that’s what Mark wanted, right? He wanted me to have at least one friend so that way, he didn’t have to worry or feel guilty that he was away from me all the time. That wasn’t a bad thing, I did need friendship.

It was a typical warm day… well, it wasn’t warm to me. Jack was a bit miserable, claiming it was “hot as fucking balls.”

“This is nothing compared to the summertime,” I told him, amused. “In my hometown, it’s all desert, so you’d get the dryest heat of your life. Oh, and during the spring, it’s so windy that you’re pretty much eating dirt.”

We were both out of class early due to exams. We had extra time to kill. It was nearing five o’clock and the campus was particularly barren. I didn’t have any videos to film today, and Jack liked to film well into the night.

“Can we go to the Tube?” he asked. “I heard it’s good.”

“Really?” I asked in response, my stomach immediately flipping over.

The Tube was a diner/bar specifically for vloggers, and it was connected with the university. I had only been there once, and I ended up having a panic attack in the bathroom. That was the last time I went to a restaurant… until I started dating Mark.

“Yeah, I’ve never been there! Please?” Jack asked, giving me and exaggerated pout.

I had to give in. I didn’t want to ruin everything, even if it meant sacrificing my own comfort and mental health. We walked down the street to the diner, my jaw clenched shut from the nerves.

Jack went to order us drinks while I found us a booth. It wasn’t particularly busy today, but there were intimidating vloggers scattered here and there. Some of them were looking at Jack, who was far more known and respected than I was.

He came over to the booth with two beers and sat across from me. “I don’t know what you like, so I went with Coors.”

“That’s fine,” I said, accepting the bottle and taking a gulp. Alcohol helped me relax in social situations. “I actually don’t drink that much.” Because I never go outside, therefore I had no reason to cope-drink.

“How come?” he asked. “You strike me as someone who does shots and cocktails.”

I shook my head, chuckling a little. “Nope. The idea that a liquid can impair your thoughts and actions is a bit terrifying.” Yet it’s one of your maladaptive behaviors. Okay then, Bella.

Jack rolled his eyes, amused. “Are you a lightweight, Bellers?”

I was embarrassed by that little fact for some reason. “No…”

“Chug your beer, then.”

“iChale! No way!”

“Come on! I’ll do it with you! Look!” Without missing a beat, Jack took his own bottle and began to down it.

Fuck it. This bout of nerves and anxiety wasn’t going to go down by itself. I tipped down my beverage, though I didn’t feel any different once I finished it. Beer never really did it for me, I needed something stronger.

“You drunk yet?” Jack jokingly asked when he put down his empty bottle.

“It’s gonna take more than that, mijito,” I said back.

At one point, a waiter came by and replaced our drinks with new ones. Jack ordered some food as well, and we got settled in.

“So, how’d you meet Signe?” I asked.

“She made some art of me, and I started talking to her on Tumblr,” he replied. “There was this time where she was streaming, she was drawing a picture of me. I went onto the stream and watched a little bit, and I told her ‘you better draw me pretty.’ She told me to go fuck myself.”

I giggled. “How romantic.”

“Yeah… I really miss her.” He took another sip of his beer. “How did you and Mark meet?”

“It was here at YTU. We had some classes together, and we were partnered together on a project,” I said. “And you know me, I was super quiet and awkward. Except, when he tried to make conversation with me, I did not want to cooperate.”

“Same old Bella,” Jack commented, smiling. “So you were friends before you started dating?”

“Yeah, we only started dating in October, but we’re pretty close.”

“Do you not drink because he can’t?”

“It’s a personal choice. You’d think with all the shit I have in here-” I pointed to my head “-I’d be a raging alcoholic. But no.”

“That makes you a very strong person. I respect that.”

I smiled. “Thanks, dude! Wanna do a shot or two?”

“Sure!”

When the waiter came with our food, I managed to order two tequila shots. One bright side of my drinking-in-social-situations habit, I could do things on my own without shaking as much. However, I was still too polite and shy to say anything when we were presented with a whole plate of tequila shots.

Jack was giggling once the waiter had gone. “Is this what you ordered?”

I hesitated. “I did say a shot or two…”

“Oh, tiny little Baller. Ready?” He took one small glass and held it up.

I took a deep breath and held up my own. “Let’s do this. To… friendship?”

“To friendship!”

And down went the first shot.

It burned my throat, but not enough to make me want to throw it back up. It just made me want to drink more. I was feeling better and more free as the alcohol set into my system. More people entered the diner, and I wasn’t plagued with the urge to hide in the bathroom. But if I did feel that, then I had more tequila to help me out with that.

I looked through my phone at one point, some time after emptying two more shot glasses. I was making sure I didn’t receive any texts from Mark. As usual, I had no new notifications, so I scrolled on Tumblr, and my heart began to burst.

“Jack,” I said urgently. “I need to tell you something.”

“Tell me,” he replied, leaning forward in his seat. His cheeks were flushed.

“You fans are so fucking nice, dude. I love them.”

“I know! Thank you! They’re being nice to you?”

“They’re drawing fanart, and they say my makeup is pretty!” I could have cried in that moment. “They also have this funny idea that we should be together.”

“That's called shipping,” Jack pointed out.

“I know, I'm just thinking,” I said, “maybe the shippers are going to my head or something.” I hesitated. “Do you think if you didn't have Signe, and I didn't have Mark, that we…” I let my sentence finish itself.

He actually considered it, looking at his empty shot glass with a lot of thought. “I don't know. I can't imagine myself with anyone but Signe. You and me? Maybe… in another life probably.”

“Another story,” I added. “Una historia de otros nosotros.”

“I'm going to pretend like I understood that.” Jack chuckled. “Do you actually think we could work?”

I shrugged. “Maybe. I mean, we're complete opposites, but maybe that's not a bad thing. You bring out my happy, energetic side, and I…”

“You teach me how to shut the fuck up,” Jack continued. “No but really, you taught me more about anxiety.”

“You make me want to be a better person,” I said, my words slurring a little bit. “You’ve made me feel less lonely. God, you're such a nice, good person Jack! I don't deserve a friend like you!”

“Aw, you're so sweet, Baller!” he replied. “I'm glad we're friends on some level, y'know? Sure, in another story we could be more than that, but I'm happy where we are right now. Besties, and nothing more.”

“Exactly! We should get bracelets or something...” I could have cried, this was such a nice moment. I really did love Jack, as much as you can love a good friend.

“If you and Mark ever break up, I'm still hanging out with you,” he said. “That's how close I think we are.”

“Bros before hoes doesn't apply to me?”

“You're a bro! The best bro, queen of the bros!”

“You sound like Felix.” I giggled.

“Maybe that's a sign we've had too much to drink. Let's call someone, shall we?”

“Yeah, let’s do it.” I pulled out my phone, somehow managing to dial Mark.

“Bellaboo!” he greeted upon answering.

“Hi Markimoo!” I greeted back, giggling like a little girl. “My love, my life, my wife!”

He chuckled on the other line. “Where are you?”

“Me and the Jack decided to have special friend time,” I explained. “We’re having fun, but maybe too much fun. There was tequila involved.”

“Oh, I understand. Can you drive, babe?”

Everything he was saying was funny. “I don’t think so. Could you be the bestest, sweetest person ever and pick us up? Estamos cerca del universidad, si sabes?”

“English, honey,” he told me.

“Y’know that one bar, restaurant, thing by campus? That’s where you’ll find me and my son.”

“Jack is your son now?” Mark laughed.

“Yes, I adopted him, and we’re raising him together! Right, Jack?”

“Right!” he replied even though he didn’t hear what me and Mark were talking about.

“Okay, I’ll be right there, baby,” Mark told me.

“Thank yooouu, I love yoouu,” I sang before hanging up.

_______

next chapter

[thickasthievesrpg-hidden]

WELCOME TO THE HEIST, MARIE!

YOU’VE BEEN ACCEPTED FOR THE ROLE OF PENELOPE KANG

A note from Admin Tris: Firstly, I think I speak for all of us when I say how excited we were to see an application for Penelope in our inbox. As someone who once considered applying for Penelope in the starting stages of TaT, I’ve always wondered why she got so little interest. Certainly, her occupation isn’t the most glamorous, and being one of the babies of the Heist, I can understand why applicants would favor other roles -- but I’m so glad that you found something special in Penelope, Marie. You understand her, the shyness and the innocence, but you also hint to the fire of her personality. She’s a very soft character, naive in the purest sense of the word, and despite the loss of her father, she’s never really been forced to see the darkness in this world. I can’t wait to see what you do with Penelope -- and your request to use Komatsu Nana has been approved! Congratulations on your acceptance! You’ve been to the museums, the banks, the isolated manors with their black dogs and gilded keys. You’ve stolen their necklaces, their jewels, the prized heirlooms in their vaults and their safes. They’ll watch out for you. Please visit the after acceptance page and submit your account within the next 24 hours – we’re excited to have you with us!

Name/Alias + Pronouns:

What name/alias would you like to go by? Marie What pronouns would you like us to refer to you by? She/her

Age:

I’m 19. 

Timezone + Activity

At the moment, I am in CST (GMT+1). I’d say I’m a 5-7, depending on the week. I’m currently working and might take up extra hours if I have the opportunity to, but I’m usually done early regardless. I try to write every day, but as I am a slow writer, I might not produce more than one or two replies a day if I’ve got a particularly long interaction pending. 

One thing to be noted, though, is that I am moving to another country in March. This means I probably need a hiatus/semi-hiatus in the first week of March before returning to my usual activity. If this is a concern, please contact me and we’ll discuss it!

I. BASICS

Desired Role:

Penelope Kang. Often nicknamed Penny, or even Poppy at times.

Analysis:

sexuality/romantic preference — Penelope is heterosexual - well, that is what she assumes, anyway, having only ever been in love with one person. With that, it has to be said that her sexuality is largely unexplored, as she has kept her eyes and heart on Magnus since the incident in the Lee driveway. This means her assumed sexuality might very well change once she gets her chance to explore it, but at the moment that seems like an unlikely event as she is both very timid and completely smitten with Magnus.

birthdate — September 21, 1997. 

birthplace/hometown — Tokyo, Japan.

occupation  — Officially, she is a housemaid of the Lees. While she is told multiple times that she does not need to do the work of a housemaid any longer, she loves the people she used to work with and spends a lot of her time off helping them out. Especially around the time for important events or dinners, she is always there to deck the tables, clean the rooms or cut the carrots alongside the cook. 

criminal occupation  — Penelope is an excellent hacker. Her brain is analytical, numbers are her forte and she has a quick mind. She can find solutions and loop holes in code and security systems quickly and precisely. While hacking was originally just an experiment, she is grateful that it turned into a profession. It’s her way of being a hero without being directly involved in the action in the heist itself. She is confident in her abilities and sees it as a key opportunity to show people - and maybe Magnus in particular - what talents she has brewing inside her. 

pronouns: She/her

languages: Penelope knows quite a few languages. Japanese was the language spoken in her household until she was six, when Arthur Kang came into the family. With him came an accelerated learning progress of the Korean langauge - she wanted to understand her father’s mother tongue, after all, and it was also a language she was met with all over the Lee mansion. It remains a language she can speak alright, but she has troubles reading effectively. English was another language she heard all around her in the Lee mansion, but one she did not have much use for until she got older. While her English is good indeed, she carries an accent. Untimately, Czech is the language she speaks the most - or at least did before being welcomed into the Heist. After all, she grew up going to a school in Prague and formed most of her friendships and connections in the Czech language.

hobbies: Sewing, sketching, gardening, cooking, reading.

Four Characteristics:

List and describe at least two negative and two positive characteristics that you believe define your chosen character best. Please be as detailed as possible to show us how these traits fit into your perception of them. 

+ Observant: Penelope is an observant girl, which some believe might be the key to her compassion and cleverness. She is particularly sensitive to people’s feelings, noticing nervous gestures, the way people’s faces express false emotions in pressed situations and unusual drifts. While she might see through the masks of indifference people hide their emotions behind, she will not always comment on it even if she wants to, simply for showing respect to the person’s privacy. Spots, wrinkles and stains are also things she notice quickly, along with odd numbers or letters in clauses of code among other things.

+ Bright: There is no denying her bright mind. She is quick, clever and can solve most puzzles in less time than what people normally do. As her shy nature shines through the most, people might forget her razor sharp mind; she’ll come up with simple solutions to complex problems, speaking up from the corner of the room with a confidence they might not expect. 

- Shy: Another rather dominant trait you will notice when you first meet her, but one she tries to break out from and lay behind her. She wants to explore, to experience. She wants to be able to talk to strangers like they were her best friends – she has seen people do so, and their confidence is admirable. However, she sometimes finds it hard to gather the courage to talk to strangers at all and is generally not a girl of many words. When people get to know her, she will open up, and the trait fades a little. 

- Stubborn: Although appearing to be quite reserved, she can be described as stubborn by anyone who knows her. Once she puts her mind to something, it is not easy to make her thoughts stray from it. She usually stands up to what she believes, and this is where her shy nature seems to dim ever so slightly; she might interfere – though in a rather quiet manner – into people’s discussions or insert a quick comment about the case if she disagrees strongly. 

Other traits: optimistic, a little idealistic, gentle, perfectionist.

Expansion:

Expand on at least two connections that you see your character having, whether they were mentioned in the bio or not, AND/OR expand on any part of the biography that was left vague or nondescript. 

Camille Delacroix: Penelope, as a rather shy and timid girl who hopes to break out of her shell, is fascinated by people like Camille. While she does not know much about her, she knows she has travelled the world and surely she has been on more adventures than most. While her outgoing personality intimidates her somewhat, she wishes for nothing but to befriend her. Maybe even just make her aquaintance. Certainly someone like her would not settle for the boring everyday life - maybe she could bring her out on one of her adventures? She sees Camille as an opportunity to break out of her comfort zone, but also thinks it as a opportunity that won’t show anytime soon; girls like her doesn’t notice shy girls like Penelope in the corner of a room. 

Dominik Woo: Dominik is one of the people Penelope trusts the most in the whole wide world. She knows he would never laugh at her for things that were not meant to be funny; he is safe, and someone she feels she can tell everything to. She is relaxed in his company and does not feel the need to filter herself in such a way that she does with most other people, and her shy nature seems to dim even just a little in his presence. 

II. WRITING

Para Sample(s):

You may write as many para samples as you’d like

Your para sample(s) can be any length of your choosing.

In-character, third person, past or present tense are both acceptable. 

This is the most important section of the application. We are looking for a unique takeon the character, for you to show us that you really understand the character’s past, motives, and state of mind. Ultimately, we would like to see that you know the character better than even we do, so please don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty and delve into the depths of their story! It is highly advisable to include dialogue andinteractions with NPC or canon roles, so that we can see how your character acts.

The ballroom was large and awfully colourless to Penelope’s tastes. There were cream-coloured walls and marble floors. Women in pale, long dresses and men in black and white suits made up the masses – important people from important families. The high roof echoed the hundreds of voices within the hall, and worked as an enhancer for the classical music played by live performers at the other end of the room. She had gathered that tonight was a particularly important night, and with that she was sure Magnus would show up. They had hosted two galas previously after Magnus’ return – she did not see him during those, and heard whispers that he had only been there for what might have been half an hour. She had attended them too, of course, but had left them by the end of the night with a lingering feeling of disappointment. Ah, he might be back from his five-year journey, but she saw him now just as little has she had five months ago.

She was dressed in black and white like the other serving girls and boys. Her friend Mina had fallen ill in time for the occasion. “I will not allow you to go,” she had told her sternly when she visited her that particular morning, placing a cup of green tea on her bedside. She was met with little resistance, and suspected the tea had gone cold in favour for sleep and fever dreams instead.

Though she was not happy that her friend had fallen ill, she counted herself lucky as she took her mid-day duty to do the rooms. Saturdays was the day she were to do the heir’s, and Penelope could not help but feel a little giddy as she entered the empty room. It was stupid, and she knew it well, but… it was really his! It was clear he had not been there this particular night – she had heard he did not always spend his nights in the Lee mansion – but she took her time to smooth over the sheets once more. She placed a small box of chocolates on his night table, too, along with a glass of water with small hand-plucked flowers in bright colours from her father’s own garden. She was not sure whether he would like the chocolates or not, nor was she sure if he would care about the flowers at all. And he certainly would not notice where they came from, would he? She hoped he see it and maybe smile a bit at  the gesture regardless.

“Penny!” She turned to find a girl dressed similarly to her, with dark hair and a wide smile on her lips. “You shouldn’t be here. You’ve got enough important work to do as it is!” She held her empty hands out to take the tray with glasses of champagne that Penelope had taken upon herself to walk about in the room with.

She returned her friend’s smile. “Don’t be silly, Hara!” She turned away slightly as to move the tray out of her reach. “I am doing very important things. You need a break every now and then, you know. Mina is sick, besides. I’m taking her watch.”

“Ari is already taking her watch.” Her friend let her hands fall, though, facing her defeat.

She offered her a light shrug of her shoulders, smile playing on her lips. “I’ll take your watch too. I suppose you can take a couple minutes off, if you want.”

Turning to look over the room, she leaned sideways in towards her friend. “I also heard they were doing important business today,” she said, voice low. Hara nodded knowingly. She only said so because she knew every one of the girls had caught on on the news already, of course. They had talked about before the event, and they had agreed that important people demanded excellent service – and they certainly was not going to disappoint. “I heard both the Kanes and the Bulletts wanted to strike a deal of some sort,” Hara told her seriously.

“I did so, too.” She paused a brief second. “Do you think Magnus will show up?” Her eyes revealing a hint of curiosity mixed in with excitement.

Hara straightened up and let out a snort. “The heir? No way. Apparently, he finds these kinds of things boring, so he doesn’t care to. That’s what happened the other two galas.”

“But those were mostly for fun, though. He didn’t have to come.”

“He left us for five years because he thought it was boring. That’s what Mandy says. He won’t show up at some stupid gala when he hasn’t been doing so for the last five years.”

Penelope furrowed her brows. She moved the tray from her right hand into both, holding it steadily in front of her. “Oh, but you don’t know that. He didn’t leave just because it was boring. He has his reasons, Hara. I know it.”

The other girl sighed, then shook her head, the corners of her mouth moving up slightly, forming a pitiful smile that Penelope could not help but feel a little annoyed seeing. “C’mon, Penny. This is ridiculous.”

“Ridiculous?”

“Yes! You talk about him all the time! You deserve so much better.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” she insisted.

Another smile shaped on her friend’s lips. “Sure you don’t. Hey, I gathered you and Jaesuk are close. Give him a shot, come on.”

Penelope could not help but to laugh at that, though her cheeks felt slightly warmer than what they were before. “Jaesuk? No, no, no! We’re just friends, you know that.” She cleared her throat, threw a quick glance around the room, subconsciously searching for a pop of bright red hair among the black-and-white coloured crowd. Then she turned her gaze back to Hara and held the tray out to her. “Go take a break now. Take a glass too, if you will. They said I could, but I’m not going to.”

With a sigh, her friend seemed to consider it for a moment. Then, with a glass in hand, she offered her a smile and turned around to walk through the doors towards the kitchen.  

And he did show up that night. Of course he did – Penelope knew he would. Once Hara had returned, she offered her a triumphant smile from across the room.

Starter Example:

Provide an example of a mini-para starter that you might post on your character’s account. Feel free to include a gif if you’d like! You may also add a gif-chat starter or multi-paragraph starter if you feel inclined, though they are optional.

ONE:

A day off was not something Penelope was used to. Most days she would spent her time in front of the computer screen, typing codes and figuring out the keys to secret security systems. Other times, she did the beds with the housemaids or watered the plants alongside the gardener at the Lee manison.

While the latter was indeed done in her time off, it was nothing like this. It was nothing like walking down the streets towards the local park, with no tasks  in mind, other than to drink up the hot cocoa she had bought from the coffee shop on the corner.

Her eyes were fixed on the pavement before her, carefully tip-toeing around the edges of the puddles left by the rain two hours prior.

“Oh!” She instictively stepped back into the puddle she had intended to step across, not seeing the person before her. “I’m sorry.” She turned her eyes up towards the other person, an apologetic smile playing at her lips. “It’s the rain, you know–oh, I know you.”

TWO:

Penelope would sometimes help out in the garden surrounding the Lee manison. She was rather fond of the work, and the head gardener - an older Korean man with kind eyes - was talkative and seemed to appreciate her company. As time had passed, he trusted her with more complicated tasks than watering the plants - on this paricularly sunny afternoon, she was replanting small trees that would eventually grow into a hedge.

The sun was burning in her neck, and she had parted ways with the gardener to take a break. She made her way outside the property. Up on her toes, she looked over the large fences to see if she could spot the hedges she had planted from the outside. And would you believe it? From her position on the pavement, she could see some of the leaves belonging to the trees she had planted. A smile spread across her lips.

Another step backwards. Maybe she could see more of them? Another step– she felt the very end of the pavement beneath her left foot, the stones separating it from the highway; she stumbled another step backwards to catch her balance.

Her cheeks burned hot with embarrassment as she spotted the other person. “I was just… trying to look over at the hedges.”

III. FREESTYLE/EXTRA

Optional.Time to let out your passion & creativity! This is where you may list anything else that you see for this character that is not stated in their bios. Go wild! This is the section that will be examined in the case of multiple applications, so don’t be afraid to let your muse out. (videos, headcanons, facts, song lyrics, diary entries, letters, memes, etc.) 

1. Penelope’s fashion sense can be describes as cute, but fashionable. She loves everything that is quirky and a little different in a simple way. Simple fabrics and simple patters. Orange and rusty red are currently her favorite clothing colours, and you are sure to spot the colour in every other outfit she wears. As for her hair style, she likes to keep it shoulder-length and with bangs. She might pin it up or braid it every now and then, but generally keeps it down. 

2.  Penelope writes a diary. She might not write every day, but tries to. She glues in fragments of papers, stickers and pictures that she stumbles upon through-out the day to the entires. Sometimes the entires strech over several pages becaus of it, other times there are only a collage to describe the day. She carries the pieces in a small pocket of her jacket until she pulls them out to glue them in.

Here is my inspiration tag for her!

[read-red]

Portrait #5

Welcome back to an other episode of Portrait, This time i’m joined by someone i met on Instagram (find her links at the end)

She’s a talented artist from Connecticut, without further ado :

I’m Bryan, i guess i’m Bryan the girl, i’m from New Haven Connecticut and i’m 23 Years old.

When did you start drawing ?

I’ve been drawing on and off my all life but i didn’t really think of my self as an artist until after college when i had to decide on a career. I had tried a lot of different careers and none of them have really felt right. I was bored in them, so i set down and had a good long think about what i could really envisioned myself doing as a career, the only thing i could come up with was art.

The problem was that i wasn’t a very skilled artist at the time. The list of things i was afraid to even attempt to draw was very long and so tackled that list by doing a new year’s resolution to draw every single day for a year. So i did, and i started to share my work and i started forcing myself to post on Instagram twice a day which was a lot, and i would never do that nowadays [sometimes she still does tho] but i didn’t had job at the time so i drew and drew and over time i got good .

Then people started to seeing my started paying me to do art and buying my art. I think i went through and arc of not drawing at all, drawing a little bit, drawing everyday all day and now that it’s my job i don’t draw as much, because i’m doing a lot of business too.

How did you get into drawing ? (tho’)

I’ve done a lot of different types of art, I’ve done traditional figure drawing, some painting… They don’t really teach pen art in school, like in a traditional classroom, it’s not part of the foundations. I was always drawn (ha ha) to it but i didn’t have  chance to learn how to do it, so then i realized i would have to teach myself.

That’s what i worked on, i was figuring out how to make my drawings look like the drawings that i really liked in the old hatching and graving ways that i love in the renaissance…(a cute dog passed by and caught her attention:). So my challenge was to just teach my self over time, and that’s how i grew to love ink drawing : by learning out on my own.

How did you build yourself as an artist? Because there’s some construction going on. You can’t like be like « ok now i’m drawing , now i’m an artist » you know, there’s some kind of transition, like who am i as and artist, in what i do…

That’s a really hard question…

For a long time i felt so uncomfortable, saying that i was an artist. Because i either felt like i wasn’t legitimate , like i didn’t have the right to say that or like people would think that i was really egotistic or something. It feels lie saying you’re an artist carries a lot of weight to it.

And it feels like something you’re not allow to call yourself an artist, like you can’t call yourself a genius only other people can call you that and so i’m like i can’t call myself an artist other people have to decide.

But then at a certain point when it’s your career ad it’s all you do and earn a living you have to identify yourself as that. I will say that often times i will say that i’m an illustrator and not an artist. Because when you say that you’re an artist people think that you’re taking your cloth off on the street and screaming and like smearing chicken blood on your body or something but i’m just drawing so i think people get a clearer idea when i way illustrator.

How did you get your name?

Actually i used to be a musician and i remember i was on Soundcloud, way back this was like 7 years ago. I went by my full name, which is Bryan Schiavone ( Italian name ). It’s a very difficult name, and when people have name like that they somehow try to shorten them and nobody would ever be able to spell it or pronounce it so… One day i was on Soundlcoud i saw this person had a username that was whatever-Thegirl, and was like that’s so interesting i’m gonna do that for my name too. So when i started doing art i just kept the same name that i was using for my music. It’s so much simpler.

As a teacher, because you teach on Patreon and you have a podcast too, how does it feel like to teach ? You did some workshop too.

I’m still not fully comfortable with teaching because a part of me still think that in order to teach you have to be the best

A master ?

You have to be a master, and i’m not…i mean you just saw me struggling with my drawing earlier (she didn’t…she was so quick she was halfway through when i was still sketching….). I’m so afraid that i’m gonna be in this situation where a student turns to me and says how do i draw this tree ? And i go i don’t know that looks like a difficult tree… i can’t help you…. A part of being a good teacher is admitting that you don’t know how to do something and learning it with you students. It’s hard to know when to start teaching when you get to the point where you’re like : I’ve learned enough to share with people. I think it helped me just to have people ask me enough how do i do it and i started telling them and i guess that’s teaching.

And i think as a teacher you’re still learning, if you think that you’ve mastered and you’re not gonna learn from nobody any more then you’re closing yourself to new ideas and techniques.

And you’re a bad teacher and bad artist at that point…

Especially in art, you always have to learn something new, something new will always come to you.

When you began, how hard did you hustle ? How hard was it to get from Bryan to BryanThegirl ?

Oh my god, the hours that i put in , unpaid, over the past few years it’s just like… If i had known how much time it would take i would never have done it. Because i remember two years ago, i started selling my drawings for 15$ each. You know I’ve spent hours on these drawings and i was begging people to buy them every day like « i’m selling them i’m selling them ». I remember i made 100$ and i was like i’m making all this money… and even up after this past year i really couldn’t get any commissions and i kept advertising for them but nobody seemed interested. Even if they were interested they’d be so surprised of the cost which was incredibly low, like 30 dollars for a custom portrait. So they’d freak out and say « omg i don’t have money for that » and i would ask « how much money did you think you were gonna spend.

So there was a lot of just being rejected or not finding customers and then there was a lot of finding a lot of customers that would not pay me enough so i’d spend 10 hours doing something for 15$… Which is horrible and it made me unhappy but i guess i knew it was part of the journey, part of something that i had to do in order to get further along.

And then after working for hours and hours and not making money for years it all started to happen. Every body wanted commissions and i started saying no to people, i started raising the prices because i had to many request…

And you also you could afford to ask more

Because if they’d say «  i’m not gonna give it to you » then i would get more free time anyway. One time i got a commission request for a tattoo and i didn’t really wanna do it, i wasn’t interested in it so i told the guy this crazy price and he was like « OK, if that’s how much it costs » … ugh* so now i have to do this tattoo request, i’m getting a really good price but i don’t really wanna do it, it was so strange, but in the end its fine.

Nowadays after doing all this commission work, pet portrait Christmas gifts and everything i’m starting to focus more on personal projects, book projects which i find more rewarding and exciting.

Did you think that at some point you should have quit ?

I thought that every single day for about a year. It was a combination of « i’m so tired » « my neck hurts » « my hand hurts » and «  i hate this » and then also « this is crazy, i can’t do this i can’t just be an artist ». And everybody was telling me « you gonna have to get a normal job » «  it’s not realistic, you should give up ».

I was going to, but i think what happens is that the craziest people just keeps going,  all the reasonable people stop and then all the work goes to the people that stuck with it. If you can handle it financially and psychologically then you’ll probably be fine but the key is to not give up.

Yeah, i didn’t start any projects after my school so i can’t say I’m gonna quit because i didn’t do shit… you have to do this for like 2 or 3 years, get straight with your partner about it and then depending on how it goes you might wanna quit.

Yeah, you set a time frame and say « i’m gonna do everything i can in this time frame » and if i doesn’t work out then i’ll know I’ve tried everything and i don’t have to have any regrets i never have to have that dream anymore it’s dead so i can’t move on…

Even at a smaller scale when people come drawing with you and they quit after like 1 hour… that’s not it, i didn’t get here in 1 hour. It took me like 5 years and i’m not even good enough yet. So why would you quit (anything) after 1 hour ?

Everything that’s worth doing is difficult. That’s what i try to tell myself when i’m struggling with something. Would i want to do something that’s so easy that anyone could do it ? NO, the whole fun of it is knowing that you pushed through it.

Every great artist, Rembrandt like u mentioned, they did so many paintings you can’t really count the sketches and the little drawings just for fun, for learning and practice. In the end it was worth it.

What i love about these artist is that you can see their old sketches , like you can see Van Gogh, you an see his beginning sketches and say look he made « stupid » mistakes the same way i make mistakes and look at what he created…so it’s encouraging.

What feelings are you going through, right now, as an artist ?

Right now i’m at a transitional point, although i’d probably say that about every point on my career…hum

I got past the point of can i make it as an artist, can i earn a living. I answered it ; The answer is yes. So now that i’m out of that stress zone and i’m more confident on my ability to make money, the question for me is how do i wanna earn money ? What do i wanna do ?

And i’m starting to think about if i have the choice of doing commissions or working for and agency or doing publications or my own teaching/illustration, in a perfect world what does my life look like ? Because you start to be able to ask questions like that if things are going well. I’m starting to think i want to express myself more beyond just images. Like i wanna tell my story more i wanna talk about my life , i wanna talk about my feelings and i’m trying to find a way to do that. Part of it is done through being opened on social media. I also really wanna write more and illustrate things that are more personal to me and aren’t just still life and landscapes…i wanna share more of myself through my art.

Ofc that sounds like some hairy-fairy-lofty artist talk but I’ve been thinking about it a lot. How do i go from drawing apples and bananas to drawing how i feel inside?

Yeah, maybe that’s the goal we should all thrive to : expressing ourselves and tell a story.

Stories are like the heart of the human experience, it’s everything we do, all our relationships our lives…it’s all about communicating and telling stories. And i wanna contribute to that, i want my story to be a part of that because i love hearing other people’s stories.

At the end it’s tradition that i ask : if you could speak to you past-self or future-self which one would you choose and what would you say ?

My past-self. I think about that a lot because i had a really difficult childhood i was unhappy for most of my life until the past few years and….i don’t even think i would have said anything. If i had just seen as a young person that i would grow up and be OK and alive and have a career and be in love…if i just looked up at my adult self and knew that i was gonna be OK  i’d be like « i can get through this ». I don’t think anything that i could say would communicate that. When i was younger i felt so lost and alone i felt like it would never end…if i just knew it would get better then it would have been easier…

It was a very interesting evening with Bryan. I’m really glad she came to Paris, meeting her made me want to hustle more and travel more. Talking with her felt educating and inspiring. I came a stranger, with a camera and recorder, and i left with emotions and stories of an artist i now call friend.

https://linktr.ee/bryanthegirl

Thank you for reading this portrait, it was very dense but i hope you enjoyed getting to know Bryan more, as i did.

[unixcommerce]

How to Create Magnetic Content

I know I know: Content is king! You’re already sick to the back-teeth of hearing it.
 You’ve made your content, you know your target audience—you just want to build some links and get some darn traffic to that content, am I right?



Not to rain on your parade, but what if your content really is trash?
 Will anyone actually link to it? If it is subpar, then probably not, and trying to build links to it will be a colossal waste of time.

I’m borrowing this saying from a giant in the SEO field, Ryan Stewart:

If you don’t have anything of value to say, don’t say anything at all

Only create content which will be of real value to people. If you provide, true, honest value in your content the audience will love you. Don’t hold back! Don’t worry about things like “does providing free stuff devalue my service?” “what will people think?” or “but I’m embarrassed about appearing on video…”

None of that matters. 
The more value you can provide online, the more likely you can strike a chord with your audience and the more likely they’ll come back again and again.

And if you can turn your audience into a community of loyal fans it’ll work wonders for your company or brand.

Define Your Goals

Your overall marketing goal should be ranking everything you have on organic search. If you can do that, you’ll have a long term, steady stream of traffic going straight to your site—and once there, you’ll barely have to lift a finger to keep it there.

But before we can get there, here’s a few things you need to do first:

Why Do You Need the Content?

Is it for traffic? Reach? Customers? Branding?
 Depending on your answer, it’ll affect the type of content you create and where you distribute it.

For instance, if you want to rank on organic search, you’ll need large content pieces (1000-1500 words+) which are very insightful and informative. But, if you want to build a social following, this requires, shorter, opinion type pieces, which will be shared on social media.

So, define your goals to determine the exact type of content you need.

Who are Your Audience?

Make sure you’re creating it for the right people.

So think about:

Who are they? What do they do for a living, how much money do they make?

Where do they hang out online? What kind of sites do they read?

What does “value” mean to them? What kind of pain points need to be addressed?

Key Things to Bear in Mind

Whether it’s yourself, or you have a team in place, you need a good, streamlined way of creating content. In addition, some key points to bear in mind:

Narrative – your content needs to be able to tell a story, and engage with an audience.

Expertise – you really will have to inject some industry knowledge or be willing to do extensive research to create content that’s advanced enough.


Content That People Will Engage With

Not every content piece will be a hit, believe me, even I have experience of this.
 But the more content you make for your brand, the more you’ll learn about what works…and what doesn’t.

There are many ways to generate ideas:

What info is your audience looking for?
 Industry forums and Quora.com is great for ideas. Use the threads with the most views/comments and generate a list from this.

Have you/your company done anything cool? Could be any range of things, from developing a new product, to a charity event—it’s all content that people will want to read about.

What’s in the news lately? Is there something in the news, or some recent trend that you can relate to your own business or product?

Proper Keyword Research

Don’t overdo the keyword research part. A lot of people obsess over this and spend far too much time on it; 
it’s not as complicated as you may think. 
See where your audience hang out, the kind of words/jargon they use, subject matters they discuss, etc.
 Use this to generate keywords and even use Google’s suggested keywords to come up with more ideas.

The Keywords Everywhere browser plugin is great for finding the keywords with the most search volume.

And funnily enough, when you start writing truly valuable content, you’ll be naturally including these keywords anyway, so this part really won’t be the difficult part!

This ties into the idea of where keywords are now going: keyword intent.

In a nutshell what this means is, assessing if the intent of the keyword you’re trying to target, is actually going to be useful to your business, in terms of driving just the right type of traffic to your site. 
So in other words, optimize your content in terms of what the searcher is looking for, rather than trying to look for individual keywords.

Choose Your Content Types

The format you choose can play a huge role and you could have a mixture of any of the following:

Short Form Posts

E.g. Q & As, review posts. Even something as simple as a stickied forum post, or a Quora thread could be a method of sharing content and driving traffic

Infographics

Visually appealing way of displaying and summarizing content or sets of statistics. Also a quick and easy way for someone to display the content and attribute a link back to your site.

Videos

Great way to communicate with your audience, and if you want to utilize YouTube it’s a necessity. Also, the majority of your competitors won’t be using video content effectively. The reason is, it’s harder and requires more effort—but don’t let that put you off!


Long Form Posts

E.g. round ups, in-depth articles. A great way to discuss a complex issue within your industry. However, you need to have evidence and data to back up your claims.

Slideshow

Good for B2B marketing. Can also be embedded within posts and particularly shareable on LinkedIn.

Ultimate Guides

(Like this one!) Perform well in every single industry and in any channel. Rank well and (if written well) can earn you a lot of links.

Repurpose Repurpose Repurpose

And once you’ve created this content, there’s nothing to stop you using it in multiple ways to get the best use out of it and spread its reach.
 For example, if you film a video, you could create a PowerPoint and share the slideshow on LinkedIn. But you could also transcribe it into written format and create a blog post. You could then summarize all the main points and hire a designer to create an infographic.

Optimizing Your Content

I’ve said it once, but I’ll say it again: you definitely don’t want to ignore your on-page SEO. Make sure this is on point and you can capitalize on it even further when you do start building links to those pages.
 You also want to optimize the content in terms of improving the user experience. 
That means:

Keep your URL structure short, and with the keywords in it;

Make the content easy to navigate (should be able to navigate to it from the home page, in under 4 clicks);

Write good, enticing titles with your keyword;

Don’t make your content too wordy! Should be easy to read, and broken up with images when appropriate;

Keep the tone casual, keep sentences short and don’t write it like you’re writing a university dissertation;

Don’t be a robot, don’t be afraid to show your personality in your content—people will love it and will respect you for it;

And here’s a very key thing I want to end with: Don’t just write stuff for the sake of it, don’t write about something just out of necessity, write about things you are genuinely interested in and want to help people with.

If you write content with passion, your customer base will follow.

  Featured image via DepositPhotos.

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