#at which point he's so far in the lead you've got trouble

[possiblyawesometmblr]

when it comes to scott smajor and his apparent inability to lose the life series: it's not that scott's good at minecraft. it's that scott's good at Minding His Own Fucking Business

[ladykailitha]

Never Hold Back Your Step... Part 15

So... just one more chapter to go. I've experienced a wide range of emotions with this fic and to be honest, I'm grateful it's nearing the end.

I still will do the final book, just not sure when. As always keep an on the #boy with a bat, tag.

We finally get the moment you've all be waiting for. Robin and Steve on the floor of the bathroom.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14

~

Eddie spotted the Russians in military gear first. Two beefy guys with huge fucking guns and looks that would absolutely kill. Then he spotted two little blue sailors ducking into the theater. As far as he could tell, the soldier boys were looking for his friends, which meant the little idiots found their secret base.

“Found him,” Eddie hissed into the walkie talkie. “Only there are bad people looking for him. Please advise. Over.”

“You two together?”

“That’s a negative,” Eddie whispered. “Subject has ducked into the theater and the two bogies are in the food court and little ole me am stuck in the middle.”

“Is there a way you can lead them away from Steve without putting you in danger?”

Eddie chewed on his lip a moment and then said, “I don’t think so.” His lip quivered and a little sob escaped.

“Hey, hey,” Wayne said soothingly. “It’s going to be fine. I want you safe just as much as I want Steve safe, all right?”

Eddie breathed in deep and then let out a shuddering breath. “Yeah, I’m really worried now. Even though I’ve seen him, it’s somehow worse than not knowing.”

“It only feels that way now,” Wayne murmured gently. “Just keep an eye out for both our boy and those Russkis, you hear?”

“Yes, sir!” Eddie replied weakly.

“I found out our beloved chef of police hasn’t been in town for the past couple of days either,” Wayne said, his tone grave.

“Shit!” he hissed. “This is beginning to look like an actual fucking conspiracy and I hate those.”

“I’m heading to the Sinclairs next,” Wayne said, “There has to be something–” there was the screeching of tires and then, “Holy fuck. I nearly ran over the younger Byers boy and the Sinclair kid. It doesn’t look good, Ed. They look like they’re gearing up for war.”

“Get them here as quick as possible,” Eddie said, “I have a feeling that what those shitheads are up to, it has to do with what’s going on here.”

~

Wayne let out a long piercing whistle got all the kids attention. “You need to get to the mall, I can get you there faster than on foot.”

“Excuse me, sir,” Lucas said politely, “I don’t think you want to be involved in this.”

Wayne scoffed. “Look kid, I’ve see a lot of horrible shit in my time, and I don’t know much, but I do know that Steve is in trouble and you guys are the only ones who can help him. So maybe cut the bullshit and get in the god damn truck.”

They all looked at each other and then nodded.

Mike pointed to El. “She’s hurt, can you help me get her in the truck?”

Wayne immediately hopped out of the truck and walked over to her. “I’m guessing any suggestion to take her to the hospital would met with resistance if not outright hostility?”

El and Mike looked at each other for a moment before El said. “I like him.”

Wayne laughed and bent down to pick her up. “I’m going to lay her on the back of the bed of the truck, you can stay with her if you like.”

Mike nodded and hopped up to the truck to help him get her situated. Once he was sure they were comfortable he hopped back into the driver’s side.

“Um...” Will said nervously, “how did you know they were at the mall? Dustin just contacted us, we just found out.” He left out the part that El had read Dustin’s mind to find out he was there.

Wayne glanced at him sidelong. “Your answer is on the other end of that walkie talkie.”

As if on cue the walkie talkie squawked to life. “Uncle Wayne, I just spotted the subjects going into the bathrooms by the theater and the bogies have moved off past the carousel. I’m going to make contact.”

Wayne grabbed the walkie talkie. “Sounds good, Ed. I have the sheep and am on my way back to the mall.”

“Eddie!” Will exclaimed excitedly.

“Baby Byers!” Eddie cried back. “I’m guessing things are freakier than Russians under the mall.”

Will went on to explain what was happening in town and what the plan was.

“Yeah, that’s pretty freaky,” Eddie said solemnly. “But between you and me we can deal with freaky, right?”

Will smiled and Wayne fought down a smile of his own. It was good to see his boy make Will feel better about the situation around his disappearance. Will had been called a freak a lot after that, and that was what they called Eddie too. But Eddie learned to own up the moniker and now he was helping Will feel the same.

~

God Steve hated puking. It was the worst. Right after concussions and being told by your very drunk girlfriend that she never loved you.

“Let’s see if the drug is still in us,” Robin suggested, leaning up against the wall.

Steve slid under the stall wall and into hers. He looked at her and breathed a sigh of relief. She was shaken but unharmed.

“When was the last time you peed your pants?” he asked, going for silly instead of trauma mining or secret finding.

“Today,” she admitted and then let out a gasp. “Yup! It’s still in there.” She covered her mouth with a giggle.

Steve’s eyes went wide. “Wait, what? You peed your pants today?”

Robin held up her finger and her thumb and put them close together. “Just a little. When they were interrogating you.”

That made sense he supposed, with a wince. He was pretty terrified himself. He nodded and then waved at her to ask him something.

Her expression got soft. “Have you ever been in love?”

Steve was little surprised by the answer if he was honest. Which considering the drug running through his veins, he had to be.

“Twice,” he admitted softly. “The first was Nancy Wheeler.” It actually physically hurt to say that. He had loved her. Despite what she thought about her cheating and his sexuality.

“Seriously?” Robin said with a laugh. “Miss Priss?”

Steve huffed out a laugh. “Turns out, not so much.”

She was fierce and tenacious and everything Steve wished he could be, but wasn’t.

“The other is this most amazing, weird, talented person imaginable,” he muttered. “I never thought I’d fall for them, but fuck I thank whoever every day that I did. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without their support.”

“Steve...” Robin muttered. “I appreciate it, but if you really knew me, you wouldn’t like the person I am.”

Steve blinked at her for a second and then tilted his head. “Huh?”

“There was a reason I was so mad at you when you first started working at Scoops,” she murmured. “Last year in Mrs. Click’s history class. You would come in late, make a mess of the stupid bagel you ate, and all the while, she was looking at you instead of me.”

“Who? Mrs. Click?”

“No!” Robin huffed, kicking her foot against the toilet. “Tammy Thompson. She was looking at your stupid hair and your stupid smile and I would just go home and scream into my pillow.”

Steve blinked for a moment and then burst out laughing. “You thought I was talking about you?” He laughed again. “God, I thought I had terrible taste! Tammy Thompson is a dud.”

Robin’s mouth dropped in shock. “No she’s not. She’s going places. She can sing.”

“No she can’t,” Steve teased and broke out into song.

“You sound like a Muppet!” she hissed, kicking at his thigh instead.

Steve snapped his fingers. “Yes! That’s it she sings like a Muppet!”

She burst out laughing again. “All right dingus, if you weren’t talking about me, who were you talking about?”

Steve picked at his nails for a moment. “Eddie Munson.”

Robin’s eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. “If we weren’t under the stupid truth serum, I would tell you to fuck off. Are you gay?”

“Yeah,” he said not looking up from his nails. “He was so kind to me after the whole shit with Hargrove and Nancy and he just makes me feel like a full person again. And he knows about all this bullshit, too. Because I told him.”

“So you and Eddie, huh?” she asked softly.

Steve nodded again.

Just then the door to the bathroom swung open and standing behind Dustin and Erica was Eddie.

“Hey, darlin’,” Eddie said, leaning against the door frame. “We’ve really got to stop meeting like this.”

Steve blinked up at him with a dopey smile. “Like what?”

“You puking your guts out.”

Steve’s smile broke out into a wide grin.

~

Eddie blinked at the flying car. Of all the things that he’d heard about, that was definitely not one he ever thought he would ever see. Not that he was complaining about the rescue. Of course not, that would be rude. And Uncle Wayne did not a raise him to be rude.

Then Super-girl collapsed in pain and a wiggling, squirming thing could be seen under her skin. Jonathan bent down and was going to cut it out but his hands were shaking too bad.

“Out of the way,” Eddie bit out. He grabbed the knife and pushed Jonathan to the ground. He turned to the brave girl. “You ready?”

She nodded once.

With the flick of his wrist the thing burst from her skin landing a couple of feet from them. Thankfully the opposite direction Jonathan had fallen but still gross.

Eddie turned green and scrambled to get away. Everyone else froze at the sight of the thing as it tried to get to El again.

BANG!

Eddie looked up to see Wayne with the rifle and Hopper and Joyce flanking him, with a small weaselly looking guy, peering around Joyce.

“Jane!” Hopper cried and ran to her.

She held him close and whispered, “Why didn’t you kill it?”

Hopper chuckled and turned to face Wayne and Joyce. Then he turned back to her. “I’m a good shot, sweetheart, but Wayne is the best and there were just too many people around and I didn’t want to hurt no one.”

El thought about it for a moment. “Thank you.”

Wayne nodded slowly and lowered the rifle.

Everyone filled everyone else in. Mind Flayers were real. Cool. Cool, cool, cool. And by cool he absolutely meant terrifying.

Dustin and Erica offered to show Joyce and Hopper to the Russian base.

Hopper looked down at Dustin with the absolute despair of an adult who knows the answer to the question but absolutely has to ask it anyway.

“Why does it have to be you and Erica and not Steve and the other girl?” he asked after drawing his hands down his face.

“Because Robin, that’s the girl by the way,” Dustin said cheerfully, “were drugged and really don’t remember anything about how we got out.”

Hopper lifted his eyes skyward and put his hands on his hips, pursing his lips. Yup. That was the answer he thought he was going to get.

Murray stepped up. “You can do it through a walkie talkie kid,” and handed him his. “I’m not going to let a couple of eight year olds walk into that mess. Especially now that we know what’s going on.”

“I’m eleven you bald headed freak,” Erica sassed back, hands on her hips.

“Besides,” Dustin said, looking smug as hell, “we know walkie talkies don’t work beyond a certain point so they would be absolutely useless.”

“Yeah,” Erica agreed. “We only went down in the elevator and the walkies wouldn’t work.”

Dustin rubbed his hands together. “What you need is someone who has seen their com room, has a communications tower big enough to get to you below the mall, and knows the way there.”

“Oh wait,” he said with a smug grin. “You have me!”

Eddie and Steve shared a glance and they both rolled their eyes as Hopper ran his hands over his face again.

“We’ll need a head start,” he said ignoring all the groans around him. “And a car.”

Steve held up his hands. “Don’t look at me, the Russians took my keys.”

Hopper shook his head. “Now that we know it’s Billy, your car would stand out too much.”

“I’ve got my van,” Eddie said, raising his hand.

Hopper scratched his chin. “And do you think that Billy would recognize it?”

Max scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah...”

“Do I want to know?” Hopper asked with a raised eyebrow.

Max opened her mouth to reply but Eddie cut her off with a hard, “No.”

Hopper looked Eddie up and down and then nodded. “Right, you’ll take the car I ‘borrowed’ instead.”

He tossed the keys to Steve who caught it one handed.

Everyone went their separate ways, with the five of them, Robin, Steve, Eddie, Erica, and Dustin, heading out to find this car.

Steve threw out his arms and sighed. “This is more like it.”

It was a suped up yellow hot rod convertible with the vanity plate of TODFTHR

Robin raised an eyebrow and sneered, “The Todd Father?”

“Steve’s her daddy now,” he purred.

Eddie started laughing. “Honey, we aren’t playing who’s your daddy right now, but we are sooo going to talk about that later.”

“What does that even mean?” Dustin asked, scrunching up his nose.

Eddie grabbed the keys out Steve’s hands.

“You probably have a concussion and at least double vision,” he huffed before Steve could protest, “I’m driving.”

Steve sighed and let him take the keys.

“Back seat, Buckley,” Eddie huffed, sliding into the car as Erica got in and Dustin hopped over the door.

She rolled her eyes but did as she was told, sliding next to Erica as Steve hopped into the passenger seat.

~

Part 16

Tag List: THREE SLOTS REMAINING

1- @mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @zerokrox-blog

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @kultiras

3- @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog

4- @justforthedead89 @irregular-child @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @blondie1006

5- @anne-bennett-cosplayer @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon

6- @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @angels-of-hades

7- @mugloversonly @y4r3luv @greeniebean911 @birbsauce @acingthecounts

8- @cryptid-system @counting-dollars-counting-stars @ravenfrog @dreamercec @sadisticaltarts

9- @clockworkballerina @bluelightsinthevoid @blcksh33p1987 @i-go-pink-in-the-night @mamafaithful

10- @w1ll0wtr33 @samsoble

[mollywog]

Oooh tell me how what you find interesting about the “I don’t know how you survived this long” line from Peeta. Now that I think about it’s so interesting to me that Peeta thinks lying is a necessity for surviving, and actually says a lot about how he was raised?

Ooo thank you for the ask @mage-chocolate!!

"You're such a bad liar, Katniss. I don't know how you've survived this long." He begins to mimic me. "I knew that goat would be a little gold mine. You're a little cooler though. Of course, I'm not going." He shakes his head. "Never gamble at cards. You'll lose your last coin," he says.

Three different levels here: Living in Panem in general, surviving the Games, Peeta’s home life (this is more HC stuff)

In Panem

You’d expect Katniss would need to be a good liar with all her illegal activities, but fortunately she’s recognized this and has found other ways to stay out of trouble:

When I was younger, I scared my mother to death, the things I would blurt out about District 12, about the people who rule our country, Panem, from the far-off city called the Capitol. Eventually I understood this would only lead us to more trouble. So I learned to hold my tongue and to turn my features into an indifferent mask so that no one could ever read my thoughts. Do my work quietly in school. Make only polite small talk in the public mar-ket. Discuss little more than trades in the Hob, which is the black market where I make most of my money. Even at home, where I am less pleasant, I avoid discussing tricky topics. Like the reaping, or food shortages, or the Hunger Games. Prim might begin to repeat my words and then where would we be?

Not to mention, she says the peacekeepers are among her best customers (don’t execute bite the hand that feeds.)

In the games

Let me start with a kudos to @cutpaperbleedswater for their point from this ask

The idea of putting on a facade and pretending to be something for the sake of strategy is everywhere- from Katniss slipping her mask of indifference on and not crying as soon as she volunteers to her interview prep struggles:

"All right, enough," he says. "We've got to find another angle. Not only are you hostile, I don't know anything about you. I've asked you fifty questions and still have no sense of your life, your family, what you care about. They want to know about you, Katniss."

"But I don't want them to! They're already taking my future! They can't have the things that mattered to me in the past!" I say.

"Then lie! Make something up!" says Haymitch.

"I'm not good at lying," I say.

"Well, you better learn fast. You've got about as much charm as a dead slug," says Haymitch.

…

By the end of the session, I am no one at all. Haymitch started drinking somewhere around witty, and a nasty edge has crept into his voice. "I give up, sweetheart. Just answer the questions and try not to let the audience see how openly you despise them."

I’m also thinking about Katniss hiding her tears over Thresh’s death because it won’t play well for sponsors.

In Peeta’s home life

We know Peeta’s mother physically and verbally assaults him at least once in the past and it’s suggested it wasn’t a one-off occurrence.

So moving into the stuff of HCs: I imagine that Mrs. Mellark is sort of unpredictable - that she can be loving and charming (Peeta’s charm comes from somewhere and Mr. Mellark is often described as quiet), but she can also turn on a dime. And as a result the family walks on egg shells and Peeta, from a young age becomes accurately perceptive of moods (and then by extension others’), and learns to anticipate reactions and lie convincingly - skills he applies beyond just his home life.

[gatitties]

Just wondering but I would be pleased for you to write some platonic straw hat headcanons with a male s/o who had eaten a speed fruit that allows him to move at extreme high speeds but it also allows him to survive falls from heights and collisions that would kill a normal person and maybe to further explain this devil fruit I'm just gonna have to send a link here bc it's much more easy: https://shipoffools.fandom.com/wiki/Soku_Soku_no_Mi#Strengths_and_Weaknesses And about s/o's personality is that he's similar to sonic, quick witted, free-spirited and easy-going, and likes to go on adventures with the crew. although he has a short temper and is often impatient with slower things and at times he just likes to show off but also has a bit of an ego. Other than that, he is pretty much loyal to his friends and will protect his friends if they're in trouble.

─ Strawhats x male!reader (platonic)

─ Summary: just some headcannons about you being a menace to society most of the time

─ Warnings: none

Part two / Part three

I hope this is good enough 🫠

─ How you came into the life of this crew was curious…

─ You were just on a random island and you decided to go for a run, the problem is that you activated your fruit and you just fell down a ravine, luckily there was a ship right below.

─ You fell on top of poor Usopp who was working on some bombs for his slingshot, the poor boy just thought he was dead when he opened his eyes and was lying there looking at the sky.

─ But his mind began to work and luckily he didn't have much more than a few scratches and bruises, nothing serious, however his eyes bulged to see how you calmly got up, removing the splinters from your clothes, "HOW are you still alive?!" "It was a small fall, I wouldn't die for it, I'm sorry I wrecked whatever you were doing by the way."

─ And you just wanted to get out of there, but a sharp sword made you unable to go any further if you didn't want to be beheaded.

─ After some threats, some insults and hitting from Nami, you decided that you should at least fix the mess you've caused.

─ And you know, one thing leads to another and maybe they got attached to some of your ways while you were helping them, of course you did too but you wouldn't say it out loud.

─ You used to travel alone but now you have some friends to turn to if you have problems, Luffy doesn't ask for many requirements for you to be in the crew either.

─ And speaking of Luffy… he will be one of your greatest contributions so that you don't get bored, although Nami will scold you two because your tag game sometimes goes too far.

─ You will inevitably have a lot of arguments with Sanji at first, but he doesn't see you as an 'opponent' like Zoro.

─ Which leads to you being in arguments between these two, like you're the little brother and you have to choose one side or the other, "I'm telling you that he prefers to cook with me" "that's stupid, he always enjoys training with me" "Who would you rather go with?" "Franky"

─ And despite enjoying time with the two of them, Franky always had interesting things to look at, and you were trying to talk him out of it in order to make the ship go much faster, you know, speed is your thing after all.

─ "For the tenth time, no, I won't put those thrusters to go faster, it would waste a lot of energy" "I can give you that energy!"

─ The only moments of more tranquility that you have are with Brook, Robin and Nami, because normally you are someone a little restless when you are with your captain, however these three manage to bring out the calm that you can not have while playing.

─ You are also someone somewhat reckless who tends to underestimate the capabilities of your opponents, that's how your ego works sometimes and you end up wearing yourself out in battles to the point of exhaustion.

─ Chopper is always so worried, because he sees you bump into things while you run and you just go back to walking like nothing happened, "Time to get checked out!" "But yesterday you did it?" "I never know when you can get really hurt so it's daily check ups for you" "Oh come on…"

─ You are probably one of the youngest in the crew, so they will surely see you as someone to take care of and protect.

─ That doesn't mean that they don't know that you know how to take care of yourself, they trust you but whenever they can help you in your battles they do.

─ Usopp is probably the one to calm you down when before a fight the villain starts describing their evil plan or harsh life, "Just sum it up dammit, we don't care about your filthy life!" "P-please calm down, we don't need any more trouble with a guy like that…"

─ Something about you is that you don't give a shit about what people talk about you, but if it's towards someone you appreciate, you'll just lose it.

─ Jinbe is probably like a second father (or the father you never had), he is the one you feel the most respect for and the one you joke with the least, plus you like to learn some karate and you are a quick learner.

─ They all appreciate that you care about harmful comments or actions towards them, but they also won't let you kick a guy at 200 km/h for saying something bad about them, "Just let me hit them, they'll see how pretty the stars are if they don't die from the impact!" "You can't just go around hitting random people for giving us dirty looks!"

[the-heart-of-a-monster]

Wh-

What the f-

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HELLO EXCUSE ME WHAT-

Yeah. This is fine. This is great, even! I'm just scrolling around on Tumblr, havin a good time, then I see some asks talking about the new page and I get excited. I riot in my head, even! I squeal with joy because I absolutely adore your art!

Then Sonic pushes Shadow away and my heart breaks in half.

wtf /pos and /lh

I wanna psychoanalyze this so fuccin bad so I'm gonna try my best but everything is so clear and easy to see so idk how obvious this will all be. I'll have a TLDR at the end that will hopefully be shorter idfk

Also before I do that I just wanna say that I absolutely love THOAM and I'm so glad I've been along on such a crazy journey for this long. Love seeing your art evolve throughout the 2 years I've been here!

ok let's get on with it already-

---

Okay so the first thing I noticed is Sonic's demeanor in this entire chapter so far. Sonic wasn't necessarily pissed at Shadow before coming here, (I still fail to remember the name of their location) but he was a bit... He seemed angered to some degree. This obviously has to do with the lack of sleep he's been getting due to his incredibly painful transformation, and uh side note here, transforming on its own would be enough to make someone feel out of sorts. I totally understand why Sonic is acting odd, in this case.

Anyway, the point I'm making is that Shadow has slowly been testing Sonic's patience throughout this and the last chapter. In the last one, Shadow said something incredibly rude and impulsive, which lead to Sonic staying behind in the dorm while Shadow and Chip were getting mawled. He only came back because he knew they were in deep trouble. The hug he got from Shadow didn't really help all that much, even if it was a kind gesture and something the Ultimate Lifeform wouldn't typically do. Because, y'know, it's just a hug. People hug others all the time, and it's not even close to a real apology.

Then Chip stayed behind with Tails. And... Suddenly, Sonic took a complete 180!

Without Chip around, without Sonic's emotional support buddy, the blue blur is left with all these pent up emotions that he's been refusing to let out for a long time. The last time he cried was days ago when he accidentally attacked Amy, and for us, that was probably like 3-4 years ago at this point. He's hardly had enough time or room to really feel anything, and that leaves him all constipated and icky. Sure, he had to kind of mellow his real feelings when Chip was around because he's just a kid in Sonic's eyes, and when Sonic lashes out it impacts Chip in a bad way. This doesn't mean Sonic feels any better without Chip, because without him, there's no hype man to make him feel better. There are no comforting words or small chit-chats for the road and no pit stops to get snacks... It's just him and Shadow now, and since they're on a pretty important mission to, you know, fix the entire fucking world, there's like no time for breaks.

Combine all this with the fact that Sonic is stuck as a Werehog for this entire chapter, and for the entirety of this specific mission... Yeah, you've got a pretty cranky hedgehog. And here's the sad part in all of this: Sonic doesn't like feeling this angry and this alone, but no one seems to really understand him anymore. Not even Shadow. They don't know what it's like living two whole lives at once, having to go through all this pain and agony for so long and not able to tell a soul. They couldn't possibly comprehend!

So how should he feel when his closest companion makes an effort to understand, even just by a little bit?

---

TL;DR

Sonic is confused and angry at the world. He doesn't understand what to do or how to act, and without Chip's support and unintentional therapy, he's just kinda... Left to his thoughts. Shadow suddenly trying to help after being not very helpful for a while made things even more confusing, and the fact Shadow never told Sonic about the constant nighttime thing... Yeeeeeaaahhh, Sonic's not doing too hot.

Hope this wasn't too long and I hope Tumblr doesn't eat this up due to its length. Thanks so much for reading to the end and thanks for just being you. Because if you didn't exist the world would explode-

<3

NEVER TOO LONG i think others also appreciate the theories ♥

[beforeitrains]

Do you have any Kai and Hiyori headcanons you've been thinking about that may not necessarily fit into the fic you are writing?

Wow, thank you so much for asking this! I’m gonna ramble a bit about how their story plays out in my head. Hopefully, it will make sense in the end. Sorry, this is long.

Alright, so after watching Kai’s story, I’ve got the impression that Asunaro has some cult-like qualities. Like they’ve got science, but there’s also an irrational religious element to their hierarchy. Spiritual leaders can do almost anything, group mentality keeps everyone in check. So I would guess that the Hiyori clan is Asunaro royalty, while the Satous are from a more humble assassin class. These families were never equals, but the relationship between them was polite and civil in the beginning. Momdori would pay Gashu regular visits, and sometimes little Sou would tag along. Whenever that happened, Gashu would bestow Kai with the utmost important task of entertaining the young guest. Even at the age of 8-9, Kai was an extraordinarily obedient, calm and patient child. Unlike other Asunaro kids, he was able to handle Sou’s (~6-7 years old) violent tendencies and intrusive curiosity, considering this challenge to be a part of his assassin training. He introduced Sou to different games, dodged an occasional knife attack aimed at his back, even stopped the younger boy from chopping off a finger or from setting himself on fire.

Sou never caught on that Kai was mostly being nice to him to win father's approval. He adored the older boy to the point of drawing the two of them holding hands, getting married, dissecting people together. Occasionally, Momdori would find those pictures, and her eyebrows would furrow in parental concern. But mostly she’d tell herself that as long as she followed the will of the organization, God would guide her son.

The play dates soured after Sei became part of the Satou family. Sei had zero patience for Sou's antics. And since Sei was older and stronger, their very first game ended with hurt feelings and knocked out milk teeth. Subsequently, Sei perished during the Assassin Game. Gashu's mind started to crumble under pressure. And Kai was faced with the reality of who the Hiyoris actually were and just how much power they wielded. 

So when Sou appeared at Kai’s door with a smug smile, hoping to reconnect with his playmate, things did not go well. Kai summoned all the icy sternness he had inherited from Gashu, going so far as to let Sou know that he never liked him to begin with. Hearing this sent the younger boy running home in tears.

This is the part I’m not sure about. Kai and Sou could have just cut contact, which would have lead to misunderstandings and hatred in the future (1). Alternatively, their relationship could have become more detached and formal (2). I started off writing (1), but (2) would be more realistic, probably, since the two of them likely had classes and other activities together with the rest of Asunaro kids. So let's go with (2).

During the following years, Kai likely got to witness Sou's character go from troubling to monstrous. At school, Sou would scheme against older and more popular kids and use his younger, weaker classmates mercilessly for his own benefit. The influence of Momdori on Sou's character was probably huge during this period (we know from her convos with Gashu that she was deceitful and manipulative). Finally, if we’re to believe that Kai started his assassin training in elementary school, then it is likely that Sou was on his way to become an Asunaro businessman by junior high. 

Now Kai had lots of pain to deal with during his teenage years and early adulthood. His brother was dead. His father was becoming mentally frail and vulnerable. He was starting to question the system he’s been raised to honor. But perhaps he did try to reach out to Sou at some point, in hopes of stopping the younger man from spiraling. Hopefully, after many years apart, they’ve managed to regain some of the shattered trust. Nevertheless, for Sou, the process of “giving up humanity” was already under way, and he would not turn back. Somewhere a contract has already been signed, the date has been set, and the will of the organization was not to be questioned. Maybe, on the night before the operation Sou confided in Kai that he was scared. Maybe, Kai urged Sou to reconsider his decision. Still, the next day Sou was decapitated, and the doll/AI head was attached to his human body. I imagine it was presented as a sacred ritual, a rebirth of sorts, with some high-ranking Asunaro members present at the scene. Kai was too low-rank to attend. He spent that day cooking for his dad and playing board games with himself.

Ok, I’ll stop here. These are my rough thoughts rn. There’s probably lots of inconsistencies, and I might change my mind on some details later on, haha. But I do like the idea of them sharing some important moments, even though they wouldn't refer to each other as friends.

[brainshock-alpha]

For the fanfic writing asks: 7, 18, 26, 29, 78

7. Post a snippet from a wip.

so here's a short one that i haven't shown you before; after the readmore i'll add a longer one that you've already seen but i still wanna post lol

"Nice outfit." [Raihan turns and sees Piers coming around the corner.] "I didn't fool you for a second, did I?" [they say, grinning.] "You kiddin'? I'd clock those mako eyes of yours anywhere." [The reference gets a good chortle out of them.] "Hahaha! I'm a first-class SOLDIER, don't you know? Macro Cosmos enhanced me with Eternatus cells." "Oh my god, can you imagine?" [They share a good laugh together.]

(the brackets are supposed to indicate like, placeholder text or stage directions that i wanna edit later but in practice i end up bracketing most non-dialogue text on the first pass LOL,,,, it's fine,)

18. Do you enjoy research?  Which fic of yours required the most research?

most of the time i do! it's fun to learn new things, of course. but sometimes, man, i feel like i'm trying to roll a boulder up a mountain (labeled "executive dysfunction" like in a freaking political cartoon) and just not getting anywhere with it. as for which fics need the most research, uh, probably any of the ones where i have to write in a language i don't speak ^-^;;; which so far is just Merlin's Bairns and The Day To End All Days. and really the former was entirely in scots whereas the latter just has scots dialogue, so you might think the former unequivocally needed more research. but here's the thing... end all days has a single line of scottish gaelic... and having to come up with that seriously tipped the scales the other way i think. lmao

26. What’s your least favorite part of the writing process?

proooobably coming up with the first draft of anything... the process of putting ideas down on paper for the first time is always so strenuous for me. for some people, being able to just stream-of-conscious that shit into the text editor is a legitimate skill that needs to be developed, and i'm one of them 😔 not that doing the editing afterwards is always a breeze either... ahhhh

29. What’s something about your writing that you’re proud of?

i've gotten this question a couple times in the past, and let's see, i've already talked about my dialogue writing... and i think i've mentioned my fluff fics too... so how about something else? i like what i can come up with when i put a word limit on myself! i feel like i can convey a fair bit even when i don't have a lot of words to work with.

78. What motivates you during the writing process?

........... divine providence mostly LMAO. uhhh in general i have trouble staying motivated throughout a personal project, or any protracted endeavor. when it comes to creative works, though, i can usually get some fuel out of wanting to see something fairly-to-extremely specific come to life. if i wait for someone else to make things that cater to my niche interests i'll be waiting basically forever, so it's up to me to write about leon trapped in a time loop, or hop trying charcuterie with his new brother raihan, or an autistic grad student falling in love with an autistic himbo jock in a surreal post-post-apocalyptic world... well, you get the point! not to mention it's fun to see people's reactions to my fairly-to-extremely specific ideas :)

the longer wip excerpt that i said i'd post:

[context: gloria and victor just got their gym challenge uniforms, before the motostoke opening ceremony]

"Glo! Get a load'a this. Did you know that numbers with leading zeroes count as different to numbers without?" [he informs her, holding up the top to show off what's printed on the back: Victor 001.] "What!" is her first, honest reaction. But she recovers quick enough to jab at him, "That just makes you a discount Leon, y'know." "Shut up," Victor retorts cheerfully, taking the locker next to hers. "You're just mad you didn't think of it first." [It's a funny move, so she is a little jealous. But she's also pretty happy with her own number, 102, even if no one but Victor and Hop is allowed to know why she picked it.] "Positively fuming, aye. So is it pronounced 'zero-zero-one' or 'oh-oh-one'?" "Uhhh, it's just, 'one'. The zeroes are, uh, silent." He can't even finish his sentence without laughing. "Okay, sure. Whatever. You gonna catch a foongus and start saying 'let's have a champignon time' too?" [cackling] "No, you git! Hop's gonna think I'm a freak!!"

[pred1059]

Runaway Wind Chapter Forty Three

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Introductions after Xion’s question were simple enough, though they were mostly for her sake than anyone else. Afterward, everyone agreed they needed to set up some kind of camp close enough to the castle to keep an eye on it in case Maleficent came back. Donald and Goofy went out to see if they could find anything out in the fields while everyone else worked to set up everything for seven people.

But for once Riku was the one behind, still sorting through the pieces of his tent just as Sora, Kairi, and Micky had set up everything else. Work had left everyone silent for the moment, with too many questions to know which to start. At loose ends, Riku screwed his eyes shut and asked the one question that had gnawed at him from the beginning of their reunion. “You were looking for me this whole time?”

Stretching as he moved away from his tent, Sora answered, “Well, you and King Mickey.”

Setting down the hammer and letting go of the tent peg, Riku mused, “What if you just found me?”

Kairi came up next to Sora and tilted her head as she looked to Riku with a furrowed brow. “What do you mean?”

With a sigh, Riku clenched his fists as he found himself unable to look at either of them. “I worked for Maleficent and hurt you. Why do you want to help me?”

It was quiet for a moment. Riku couldn’t say how long. Did either of them really know why they went to all this trouble?

“Because you’re my friend. There’s no way I’m leaving you lost on your own in the universe.”

That answer was what finally got Riku to look at his friends. It was a simple answer, and on its face was just the thing Sora’d say. But even so, a friendship was more than a word given to a relationship. It was something that was built over time. The way Sora said it now, Riku could feel the years of their friendship behind it. While it was certainly hurt by Riku’s actions, it would take far more to destroy it completely for Sora. 

Even if Riku felt it was close to its last legs.

With him finally looking at both his friends, Riku could see Kairi’s firm nod at the answer. “Sora’s right. Even if you've made bad choices, I don’t think that means you should be punished forever because of them.” Riku couldn’t help a flinch at Kairi pointing out that he did wrong. That was something he would carry for a long time. 

But even so, there was a hope that he could make things right and come home. 

Home…

For the first time in months, his mind drifted back to Destiny Islands. His parents, his friends, the familiar sights. What he once was tired of now seemed to call back to him more than ever. Even the old play island…

With the cave…

And the door that he…

Gasping, he clutched his head as the memory became all too clear again. Sora and Kairi rushed to his side as he began to shake. Even Mickey noticed something was off and came over, joined by a confused and concerned Xion who asked, “Riku, what’s wrong?!”

“I opened the door,” Riku murmured as he realized what had happened that fateful night. “The door the darkness used to get to Destiny Islands. All because I wanted to leave!” 

Sora grimaced as he heard what Riku had done that night. Yet he knelt by Riku’s side and put a hand on his shoulder. “I mean, we all wanted to leave. To see what was out there. But are you sure you really did it? You seemed really out of it when I saw you that night.” 

The question brought back another memory. Of him staring at the door, as the man in the brown coat promised it would lead him away. If only he would open the door. But there was no spell, no coercion. Riku screwed his eyes shut and admitted, “No. I chose to open it even though I could feel it was dangerous.” Wrapping his arms around himself, he recalled why he reached out for that door to begin with. “I thought it wouldn’t be so bad. That whatever was behind it, I could handle. But…”

But it wasn’t, and he couldn’t. And what he opened that night was so horrible it left his mind in a blur. Sora sat next to him, hand still on his shoulder. Kairi was soon next to Riku as well, shaking her head. “Riku, I don’t think anyone knew what was behind that door.” Yet as she patted his shoulder, she couldn’t help but look aside and mutter. “There’s a lot we didn’t know.” 

Riku couldn’t blame her weariness, but there was something more to that tone. One that Sora seemed to pick up on as he looked over and asked, “Kairi, what’s wrong?”

Sighing, Kairi began to wrap her arms around herself as she recalled, “When I was in the castle, one of the men in the black cloaks told me something.” Kairi screwed her eyes shut, as Riku looked over in curiosity. 

“Ansem is my father.”

And with one sentence, he flinched back in shock. Almost everyone did, barring Xion who simply tilted her head in concern. Sora was the first to stand up and blurt out. “Your father?! How could he have tried to kill you if he was really your dad?!”

Looking aside, Xion began to rub her arm and mutter, “Yeah, not sure I would want to call Zexion dad either, after what he did.”

Still, it made some sense for Kairi to be related to the former ruler of Hollow Bastion. Given she was a Princess of Heart. Mickey’s eyes widened as he began to mutter, “Wait, if you’re really Ansem’s kid…then you’re…and he’s…” 

Yet Riku’s experience tied to said man left him baffled as he cut Mickey off,, “When Ansem was possessing me, I could hear a lot of his thoughts.” Looking at Kairi, Riku furrowed his brow, “But whenever he thought about you, he never even recalled you being family.” 

For once, a scowl came to Sora’s face. Riku could hardly imagine him, of all people, getting angry. But perhaps there was a limit to his mercy, one Riku had no intention of reaching. Kairi however, let go of Riku and held herself, still trying to come to terms with the truth of her heritage.

“Wait a minute! There’s something you ought to know about that Ansem!”

Mickey’s outburst interrupted the rumination, as Sora, Kairi, and Riku looked at him with widening eyes. Riku was the first to find some semblance of a voice as he blurted out, “That Ansem?!” His stomach began to churn at the idea of another Ansem running around. Especially one that was set on hurting Sora and Kairi for Kingdom Hearts.

Sora put his hands to his head as he exclaimed, “You mean there’s more than one?! Then who did I fight with Donald and Goofy?!”

Waving his hands before him, Mickey began to explain, “No! The one that tried to take Kingdom Hearts wasn’t the real Ansem. He was the heartless of someone going around saying he was.” Looking over to Kairi as she began to stand up, he confirmed, “And he’s definitely not your real father.”

Pursing her lips, Kairi mused, “So my father was the real Ansem?” Her eyes set on Mickey, she stepped forward and asked with a tone of worry, “Was he after Kingdom Hearts too?”

Mickey rubbed his chin as he began to recall, “No, he wasn’t the type to try grabbing power. He actually asked me…” Yet his voice trailed off as he continued to glance at Kairi.

Xion folded her hands behind her and managed to ask, “It sounds like you knew him really well.”

Shaking his head and shrugging, Mickey admitted, “Not too well, just—” 

“And you’ve been looking at Kairi a lot since they mentioned Ansem.” Xion cut him off as he pointed to her. Riku raised his eyebrows as he caught the implication. There was something that Mickey knew about Kairi and whoever the real Ansem was. Something he wasn’t so eager to share.

Sora’s lips were pursed as he stood up next to Riku and asked, “Your majesty, is there something we should know?”

Mickey clenched his hands at his sides before letting go and sighing. “Back when I first met Ansem. We talked about other worlds and about keyblades.” Looking over to Kairi, Mickey admitted, “And you were the reason we had to talk about them.”

Mickey sometimes had a hard time recalling his visits with Ansem the Wise.

To be fair, it had been a decade since then. Even the most tumultuous day might seem innocuous months down the line. Sometimes it was hard to recall something till it stared you in the face.

The memory pricked at the back of his mind as he saw Kairi, a face that was so much younger back then. But it wasn’t until she mentioned Ansem as her father that Mickey began to recall what happened all those years ago. 

There was discussion of the stability of worlds, and how Ansem’s experiments seemed to be unraveling his own with the coming darkness. A possibility the ruler was horrified by and tried to control the damage. But in time, there was talk on what might be done in the longer term to keep things safe.  

Mickey sighed in front of Ansem’s desk and began to pace. “Short of anyone with a keyblade keeping watch. I’m not sure there’s a quick way to secure things completely” 

Folding his hands, Ansem closed his eyes. “And your duties keep you from arriving too regularly.” Micky gave a sad nod. He had enough to deal with his own kingdom as well as any tasks from Yen Sid. Especially with so few keyblade wielders now. Standing up, Ansem rubbed his chin and asked, “How difficult would this task be?”

Mickey understood the implicit question, if it was an easy task that a new wielder could handle if they found one. “Unfortunately, making sure everything is in order throughout a world isn’t exactly a beginner's task,” he crossed his arms as he rejected the proposal. “If you weren’t trained, it would be a little too easy to cause problems down the road.” Having someone new manage this world when the darkness was in such an elusive state wasn’t wise, an over-zealous purging might be the catalyst for a flood of darkness to rise in response. That’s even if Yen Sid could be persuaded to find another to teach, let alone them finding a keyblade wielder to begin with.

Then again, Ansem was well aware how rare Keyblade wielders were now. So for him to ask about leaving the task to someone new…

“Ansem. Do you know someone who has a keyblade?” Mickey asked as he stepped forward. The universe was in desperate need of more with Yen Sid’s retirement and the disappearance of Aqua, Terra, and Ven.

Clenching his hand into a fist as he brought it to his chest, Ansem muttered, “There is something I have been meaning to discuss with you.” He walked to the door leading from his study and paused, “For everyone’s sake, please keep this secret.”

Mickey felt unease set in at the request. He’d impressed on Ansem the necessity of keeping Keyblade wielders hidden from the public. But for him to plead such secrecy now? 

At Mickey’s nod, Ansem led him through the castle. Making his way higher and higher through the halls and towers until they arrived at a door. A few knocks on it, and the voice of a young girl gave a muffled reply of, “Just a minute!” The knob turned, and the door was pulled back slowly by a redheaded little girl in a white and purple dress. “Papa! “Who’s your friend?”

“Call me Mickey,” he answered as he stepped inside slowly. Being this close, he could tell that the girl had an incredible amount of light. 

No…a pure light.

Closing the door behind them, Ansem looked to his daughter and quietly asked, “Kairi, could you show Mickey what you showed me a few nights ago?” The smile on the girl's face faltered, and she looked at Mickey and her father. Yet in time she nodded, and held out her arm.  

Mickey couldn’t help herself from stumbling back as a keyblade appeared in the girl’s hand in a flash.

[saunteringvaguelydownwards]

OP was pre-Hells so now I'm thinking about how their found family dynamic compares. We have another group of only children (as far as we know) with the exception of Dorian. But that leads to an interesting consideration of the effect of loss and abandonment on their party.

Laudna's and Orym's families were killed.

Fearne and Imogen were abandoned by parental figures and left to grow up in less-than-ideal/normal situations

Ashton and FCG both had found families before and lost them.

Chetney is kind of a wild card. We don't know much about his past, but he's probably outlived any he had.

So then we come to Bertrand, who, as the organizer/recruiter of the Hells acted in a paternal capacity. But then he was murdered.

Dorian apparently was the only member of Bells Hells to have a solid familial background, and thus could function as a sort of barometer for the group. I seem to recall him and Orym being the 'tired stressed dads' of the group when Dorian was still there. But then Dorian left.

Finally we had Ariks Eshteross who also filled the paternal role. He gave them security and support and direction. But then he was murdered too.

So we're basically left with a ragtag assortment of three codependent pair-bonds and a wild card. None of them want to be in charge (either as eldest sibling or parent figure), and most of them have no experience operating in a large and/or healthy family dynamic.

Actually, when you think about it, the two members that had a previous found family, Ashton and FCG, are the ones who do most of the pushing for group unity and conflict resolution. Ashton specifically laid out some ground rules for group functionality very early on in the campaign, and FCG is a somewhat aggressively outgoing TherapyBot.

And you've also got Orym, who does have family experience but in a more traditional sense, but I get the sense he is uncomfortable in a position of authority. He's used to taking orders, so he mostly functions as peacemaker and moral compass, which he also seems uncomfortable with. I really enjoyed the conversation he and Ashton had where Ashton was like "it must be really stressful to be the level-headed guy in a group of people who all consider themselves ticking timebombs that might endanger their friends." It may be weird to say, but I don't think they've quite gelled as a cohesive group yet. Don't get me wrong, they're all ride-or-die at this point, but it still seems like three groups of two plus Chetney. I can see where some fledgling relationships are trying to branch out (Laudna with Fearne and Ashton, Chetney with Ashton and Orym, FCG with Imogen).

I think the problem they're running into is there has been SO much plot up to this point and the ticking clock counting down the apogee solstice has been looming over them with a sense of impending dread since early days. They had a couple episodes of smaller adventures but this Ruidus stuff feels like endgame-level trouble and there hasn't been much time to sit, take a breather, and bond in an organic way. I mean, for fuck's sake, I did the math a little while back and Laudna was only resurrected two weeks ago in-game. This timeline is fucking wild.

Anyhoo, those are just some thoughts I had. They were in the tags originally, but, well... things kinda spiraled.

ok i know there’s a lot of debate about the m9 vs vm and what kind of family they are and the whole ~dynamic~ and everything, so here’s my take:

the biggest difference is that vox machina consists of enough siblings to form a pseudo-family dynamic, while the mighty nein is made up almost entirely of extremely awkward only children who are making up the whole dynamic as they go along.

in vox machina, you’ve got keyleth and scanlan, only children.

pike and grog, together for long enough pre campaign that they are essentially siblings.

percy, vax, and vex, all intimately familiar with the sibling experience.

the thing about vox machina is that the siblings can keep the only children in check (who are of course always demoted to youngest in a friend group setting) as well as each other–since percy is a middle child, the twins are twins, and pike and grog are of similar ages, none of them would ever allow anyone to usurp the position of oldest child. keyleth and scanlan both have enough of the confidence of only children to keep themselves from being knocked down too far. it’s a perfect system of sibling and nonsibling checks and balances.

the mighty nein, on the other hand, consist entirely of only children (or functionally only children in beau’s case), with the exception of caduceus.

which means that the m9 is entirely “how does found family?? hugging? relationships? i was flirting and then it was RECIPROCATED?? are we allowed to fight??? is….jealousy?? how does forgiveness? awkward? why awkward??”

they’re building a unique dynamic entirely from the ground up. beau and caleb were the first ones to figure it out wrt the sibling system of checks and balances.

and in the MEANTIME, caduceus, being a middle child suddenly in a position to seize the position of eldest child, has tricked all of them into thinking that he knows what he’s talking about, and none of them know any better because they have never witnessed a middle child grab for power before.

[theauthorlives]

@starsadored liked the starter call!

-

Yancy had been finishing up his shift mopping the floors when he was approached by the Warden. Ordinarily, that was never a good sign. In the moments leading up to the Warden opening his mouth, Yancy's mind ran at a hundred miles an hour as he frantically tried to think about what could have possibly landed him in trouble, but there was nothing. How could there be? He was keeping out of trouble! He was trying to get to things on time! He had even walked away instead of throwing fists on two separate occasions. Two!

Firm hands slapped his shoulders, and Yancy had to suppress a wince.

"Congratulations, Yancy! You've been picked!"

The greaser's panic dissolved into confusion. "F-for what?"

"For the nationwide penpal project! Happy Trails and a buncha other incarceration facilities have teamed up with schools right around th' country to encourage kids of all ages to get back into writing! An' you've been chosen as one of the participants!"

"Warden? Not to sound ungrateful or nothing, but I, uh, my reading an' writing's pretty shitty."

"Both of which are skills you'll need once you start looking into your future, son. Now," another slap on the shoulders annunciated this, "Off ya go back to th' cell. A letter writin' kit and the details of who you're writing to are all there waiting for ya."

Yancy sighed. There was no point trying to argue with the Warden once he had an idea to set in motion. A letter would have to be written.

-

to Cassie, i was told you is going to be my penpal for some sort of writing thing.

Yeesh. Already, Yancy felt awkward writing this. At least he could keep it short-ish. The letter would be checked by prison officials to make sure everything was above board, given the intended recipient, and all he could do was hope none of them would make comments on this later.

my names yancy. im an inmate in happy trails pennete pennyte prison down in texas. pretty far from illinois, right? whats it like there? i was from ohio but i had never been out of the state til i came here. texas aint worth the hype. its really hot. where we are is a place that dont get a lot of wind so you have to hope the shade wont be too hot neither.

Yancy paused, squinting at the information sheet left with the writing pack. There was a section provided for suggested topics to ask about. It might be a good way to finish the letter.

do you got a favorite subject? i liked music. dont feel you gotta write back straight away or nothing. its ok if you is busy. yancy.

Once the letter was sealed and addressed, he put it in the designated posting area. Who knows? Maybe the kid would think all this was a ridiculous concept and would never write back. That would be great!

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Heart’s Choice - Chapter 35 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Detective John Turner

"Ritual of Feasts, that's right. You heard of it?"

The tall woman who'd introduced herself as Freya Hunter paces up and down the sidewalk in front of the 'Perro Gordo' cell-phone pressed to her ear.

After being filled in on the situation and what we knew so far, she'd called her 'associate' Darius who she claimed was more likely to be familiar with the occult side of things and passed the information along to him.

The whole thing was very unorthodox and probably a breach of some kind but Chief Coleridge seems untroubled and I don't give a fuck as long as it helps me get Carlos back safely.

"All right, one second."

She holds her cell-phone away from her face and addresses me where I sit on the sidewalk bench with Becky and the dogs at my side.

"You got some paper and a pen? One 'a those little cop notebooks or something?"

"I do."

Becky, ever prepared, fishes in her purse and produces a small, spiral-bound steno pad and a ballpoint pen.

Freya takes them with a nod of thanks and goes back to her call.

"Okay, go ahead."

She makes markings as she listens, which look more like scribbles than notes and ends the call with a word of thanks and a promise to someone named Darius that she'll be careful and safe.

"Lucky for us, Darius has heard of this thing," she says.

"You wouldn't be surprised if you knew him. Anyway, he says if the three rituals aren't carried out in the same location, then they'll have to be performed in places that align with the points of an equilateral triangle, preferably with a power point at the center. The site of the final ritual marks the apex of the triangle. Now," she pauses, holding out Becky's steno pad and revealing the marks she'd made on it.

"We'll have to look at these locations on a map but we've got two, so finding the third should be a matter of simple geometry."

Chief Laura Coleridge nods, already on her phone and calling the station.

She passes along the information and request, then pulls up a GPS map on her phone.

My cell-phone pings as well, and I see two sets of coordinates.

"Why are there two?" I ask.

"Beause the third point could be on either side of the first two," Freya says.

"Where exactly did you see that van, John?" Coleridge asks.

"Near the bank on Crescent, heading north."

"Shit," Freya stabs at the paper with the pen.

"That's almost directly on the line we already have. They could have gone either way from there."

"What's at these coordinates?" Becky asks, leaning around my shoulder to look at my phone.

I check the map.

"One is outside of town on privately owned land... the other is in the historic old town area along Rail Street."

"Alright."

Coleridge takes a breath.

"We'll split up. You pick one, I'll take the other. McKenzie, Carter, you're with me. Turner, you've got Hunter. What'll it be?"

I study the four pins on the map, two in blue for the sites of the first two rituals, two in red for the possible sites of the third.

Remembering what Freya said about a point of power, I look at what lies in the center of each triangle as well.

"Just go with your gut, John," Becky says gently.

"Pick one. Either way, someone will find him."

Nodding, I choose.

~ ★ ~

Despite my best efforts to convince her not to, Becky insists on accompanying me with the dogs.

She rides beside me in the passenger seat as I follow Freya Hunter's motorcycle through town at top speed.

At first, I'd been too rattled by fear to tell if my instincts were leading me right but now I'm sure.

I can sense Carlos and sense that he's in trouble.

No, not just trouble.

He's afraid and he's in pain.

My foot gets heavier on the gas.

Becky grips the handhold on the door but she doesn't complain.

She might not have my vampiric senses or share the bond Carlos and I have but she knows we're running out of time.

My car doesn't have sirens, so I can't safely run red lights and I grit my teeth every time I'm forced to slow down or stop.

Thankfully, there's very little traffic this late at night and once I'm sure an intersection is clear, I barrel on through, red light or not.

As we near the industrial area around the rail yard and the old theater building comes into view, my instinct solidifies into a certainty, Carlos is here.

A chain-link fence topped with barbed wire surrounds the old building, with a large gate on wheels, which is chained shut.

While Freya skids her bike to a halt in front of it and dismounts, pulling off her helmet and hanging it from the handlebar, I contemplate how to get over the fence without raising uncomfortable questions in Becky's mind.

Freya makes this a moot point as she runs straight at the gate, climbs it like a ninja running up a wall and vaults over the top without snagging so much as a curl on the barbed wire.

She lands in a crouch on the other side and looks back at me expectantly.

"You coming?"

"Uh... Becky's not..." I look at her helplessly.

She's staring at Freya as if she's not sure she believes her eyes.

Unperturbed, Freya strides back towards us.

"No worries. I got you," she says and takes hold of the padlocked chain keeping it shut.

Grasping it in both hands, she pulls hard.

A link gives, opening enough for her to slip it loose and break the chain.

She yanks it free and slides the gate open.

"There. Now come on."

Becky glances at me and the fact I'm not freaked out seems to freak her out more than anything else.

"Cheap chains," I say, by way of explanation.

"They don't make 'em like they used to."

"I guess not," Becky agrees but she's looking at Freya as she says this.

Freya draws a small pistol from a holster on her thigh and I ready my sidearm and gesture for Becky to stay back.

She doesn't listen, unsurprisingly and joins us as we break into a run.

The front of the theater is boarded up but that doesn't deter Freya.

Handing me her weapon so I can cover her, she grasps a two-by-four and tears it free, nails and all, tossing it aside.

Becky watches, mouth agape, as the other woman kicks right through a sheet of half-inch plywood, cracking it down the center.

She clearly needs no help but as she wrenches the pieces off, I join her while Becky hangs back at a safe distance with the dogs.

"Becky's not in the know," I say, keeping my voice low.

"She thinks you're a normal woman."

Freya stops what she's doing and turns to look at me, dark brows raised above unusual amber eyes.

"Excuse me?"

"Werewolf is my guess," I say.

"Am I right?"

She opens her mouth and shuts it again.

"Oh. Yeah, I thought you meant... something else."

"Like what?" I frown at her, wondering how else my words could possibly be interpreted under the circumstances.

Freya shrugs and gets back to work.

"I was born 'Frederick' after Frederick Douglas Hunter. Kept the first bit when I changed it."

"Oh."

I clear my throat.

"No, I meant Becky doesn't know about... things like us."

Freya casts me a glance.

"Chief Coleridge knows and you smell like a vamp, so I figured we were all on the same page. I'll be more careful."

Muffled gunshots sound from within the theater, followed by a high-pitched scream that cuts off abruptly.

A chill runs through my blood and I throw caution to the wind.

"Fuck it. I'll debrief her later," I say and kick in the door with my foot.

Vampires aren't as strong as werewolves, especially a half-turned one like me but fear and adrenaline make up for what I lack and the door splinters off its frame.

I step through, weapon at the ready, Freya at my back and Becky following behind with the dogs flanking her.

The scene that greets my eyes defies reason, momentarily stopping me in my tracks.

On the stage at the front of the theater, Carlos stands in a sphere of light, hands outstretched.

At his feet lies a body without a head.

I surmise this belongs to Rafael, as Rexi stands at the other end of the stage, gun drawn.

She aims her weapon at Carlos and fires twice but the bullets spark off his protective shield or rather, the demon's shield because as a terrible growl echoes through the auditorium, I understand it isn't really Carlos I'm looking at it.

He's possessed.

It appears the ritual worked but probably not in the way Rafael expected, given his lack of head.

"Holy fuck," Freya says.

"Darius is gonna be pissed he missed this one."

Gesturing for her to stay back and cover me, I jog down the aisle towards the stage, gen drawn.

"Police, Drop your weapon."

Rexi pivots towards me and fires but the shot is wild and strikes something high above my head, sending down a shower of sparks.

I duck behind a row of skeletal seats and take aim but I'm too slow.

Two more shots ring out but Rexi didn't fire them.

She drops like a sack of stones, probably dead before she hits the ground.

I turn, expecting to see Freya but it's Becky, stance wide and both hands steadying her weapon, who gives me a shaky smile and lowers her gun.

"What? She shot at you."

"She shot at all of us," I say.

"Never mind that."

Freya nods at the stage where Carlos still stands within the sphere of light, which appears to be emanating from a strange pattern of cracks in the floor beneath his feet.

"Even if we could shoot him, my guess is you don't want us to. So, what's the plan?"

I shake my head.

"No clue. Let me see if I can talk to him."

Slowly, I approach the side of the stage and mount the steps.

Carlos... or whatever's inside him... watches me with chillingly patient curiosity.

Whatever has him is powerful and I don't know if we can beat it or if there will be anything left of Carlos to save if we do.

I have to believe there will be.

Faith is what it takes to beat demons and while mine isn't exactly the sort of faith that's usually called for, it's the only kind that really works.

Faith in the man I love.

As if he reads my thoughts, Carlos smiles and a voice... his and not his... rings in my head.

'Hello, John. We've been waiting for you.'

[berryblosom]

PET NAMES 𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪

EREN: babygirl, My love

It is very rare that Eren uses your name, he always calls you babygirl no matter where you are. You've gotten so used to it now to the point you turn around when anyone says it thinking it's your boyfriend behind you. "Mornin babygirl." Eren greets you with a back hug in the early hours of the morning. You can see from the reflection in bathroom mirror that his long hair is a complete mess and that hes still asleep on your shoulder. "Good morning Ren, what you want for breakfast." He lifts his head off your shoulder and turns you around by your hips, soap was all over your face but that didn't stop Eren from pecking your lips until you had to push him off you "Anything you want. I don't mind." You swipe the back of your hand on his lips getting the soap off and smile up at your boyfriend. "Pancakes sound good?" He nods while leaving the bathroom. "Of coure babygirl."

When Eren is in trouble he know that calling your babygirl will not slide and will end up with him crying in the corner. He's always been erratic and hot headed which you didn't mind. It was nice to calm him down when he gets a little riled up, it showed you that he can trust and listen to you when he's in the wrong. However this time not even a tornado spinning towards him could've stopped Eren from beating the crap out of a guy who slapped your ass while the two of you were on a date. The guy was drunk and it normally wouldn't go past Eren yelling every curse word under the sun while you pull him away but the drunk man just had to run his mouth resulting in you driving home with a sulking baby beside you. "I don't get why you're mad at me, I was protecting you." He huffs resting his head against the window. "Which I appreciate but you went too far and you got hurt.” Your fingers lightly brush against his cheek, it was turning a nasty shade of purple and looked very painful. Eren leans into your touch understanding why you're upset "m'sorry my love, kiss it better for me will ya?" You chuckle at how easily his mood changed. "Nice try Ren."

Reiner: Beautiful, Angel

Reiner doesn't go a day without calling you beautiful wether as a pet name or just admiring you while you do mundane things. Recently you've been feeling a little down, worrying about your body and how you look. It normally didn't bother you but after a dress you purchased didn't quite fit it ruined your mood a little.

The door to your apartment opens up shaking you from your thoughts, you put the dress back in its bag and quickly run to greet your boyfriend. "Welcome home Rei.” You wrap your arms around his shoulders and pull him in for a kiss as usual. It was your favourite part of the day when Reiner comes home. "How's my beautiful girl?" Your shrug your shoulders telling him you were fine. This made him worry, his favourite part of the day was coming home to your stories of what you did, even if it was just watching tv. "What wrong?" He hooks his arm under your legs swooping you up with ease and leads you to the bedroom.

"Nothing really, I was just think I might need to start a diet." He softly plops you on the bed his brows furrowed in confusion "why you’re beautiful as you are." You giggle scratching the stubble on his chin. "You say that cause you love me." He shrugs his shoulders. "True but it's more, your kind, thoughtful and most importantly healthy that's what makes you beautiful. You do not need to diet.” Your heart swells at his words and your couldn't help but attack him with kisses "I love you too Rei."

Reiner couldn't believe it when you agreed to be his girlfriend and still two years later he thinks your an angel that came from above just for him. He calls you his angel and he is your protector. However when a guy follows you home one night when he wasn't there he felt like the opposite. You assured Reiner that you were fine and that the man walked away when you alerted the security in your building but that didn't stop him from letting his thoughts spiral. "Reiner baby can you help me." You couldn't reach the plates on the top cabinet which annoyed you to no end, you try once more to reach them but your hand slips sending one of the plates flying down onto the floor.

"Y/N what happened?" Reiner comes running out of the bedroom when he hears the crash and your little yelp. He sees the broken glass and immediately rushes to put you on the counter away from it. "What were you thinking you should've waited for me!" You flinched a little, Reiner has never raised his voice to you and it honestly suprised you.

"I thought I had it Rei, l'm sorry." You voice wavers a little which just shatters his heart. He checks you for any cuts and lets out a sigh of relief when he doesn't find any. "I didn't mean to yell angel I was just worried." He kisses the inside of your palms travelling up to the crook of your neck. You could feel his body shaking and he couldn't seem to look into your eyes. "It was just a little glass Reiner, I'm fine promise." You lift his chin and his beautiful hazel eyes meet your own "Im sorry I wasn't there when that creep followed you home, l'm sorry I couldn't protect you." You pull in his shivering body for a hug letting him nuzzle against your chest. "Oh big guy that's why you've been glued to my hip all week. You were visiting you mother Reiner it wasn't your fault." He pulls away looking down at you, even on the counter your couldn't match Reiners height. "I know but-" "But nothing. You protect me all the time, I always feel safe with you." You kiss his nose and jump off the counter away from the glass "will you help me clean this up?" He smiles once again questioning if you're actually an Angel sent to love him "Anything for you angel."

Porco: Babe, Love

Porco isn't too big on pet names opting instead for your name but there are times when he calls you babe. Especially when someone gets a little too close to you and his usual sharp glare isn't enough to ward them off and remind people who you belong to. "Hey babe." Porco appears out of thin air behind where you sat talking to a friend from class. His first instinct is to place a kiss on your cheek while glaring at the poor guy trying to avoid eye contact.

"This guy bothering you?" He questions with a raised brow and a protective arm around your shoulder. You send a quick apologetic look to your friend who looked quite ready to pass out under your boyfriend gaze. "No this is my friend from class." You get up from your seat taking Porcos hand in yours "I'lI see you later." You wave good bye to your friend and lead your boyfriend away from the campus and towards the parking lot. "You don't have to do that every time you see me talking to a guy." You words where laced with annoyance but the soft grip you had on your boyfriend hand indicated to him you weren't that pissed. "Sorry I can't help it." You get to your car and lean against the door, Porcos protectiveness was sweet but when he drives away any friend you make that's when you have to step in. "Is there someone in that big head of yours telling you I want anyone else, hmm?" He looks down in shame deciding to ignore your comment on his head. "No there's not." He mumbles. You take his other hand in your gently stroking his knuckles. "Then why do you act like l'm gonna get snatched up by some guy." You wrap both of his hands around your waist and he immediately pulls you into a hug. "I-I still think you're too good for me, I guess l'm waiting for you to find someone better." You gasp lightly genuinely shocked that your boyfriend had these thoughts.

"I could never leave you, you have no idea how much I love you." Your grip round his shoulder tightened almost chocking him. "I love you too babe."

Porco calls you love in the comfort of the apartment the two of your share, constantly being teased by Pieck about how whipped he is for you was honestly bringing him closer to wringing her neck. You normally spent your weekends alone doing some chores while waiting from you boyfriend to come back from work but today he took the day off to stay cuddled in bed with you tightly wrapped in his arms. "Pock baby we need to get up." He groans at the nickname you picked up from Pieck, it's horrible but he hates it a little less coming from you. "Not yet love, just a couple more minutes." His lips softly kiss the crook of your neck and you almost fall for the tricks he pulls when he wants to get his way.

"I'm hungry let's get up and eat then we can come back." You attempt to get up but are pulled back within seconds. His legs come over yours trapping and stopping you from making a move.

"Just a little more time, please." He pleads and tries to kiss you again but you don't let him, he huffs and removes his legs from yours but his arms were still circling. "You're lucky I love you." You warn him getting comfortable again. "I know love, I know."

Jean: cupcake, doll

Jean is totally and completely obsessed with you, in a good way. He's so in love and doesn't want to go even a second without you. It's great to have a boyfriend so sweet but at times maybe he's a little too sweet.

"Just one more."

You push his face away from yours with your hand. Jean came home 30 minutes ago and hasn't left your side, he's been planting kisses on any exposed skin which was a lot since you were just wearing a top and shorts. "Jean please I need to cook, go get changed at least."

Your efforts were ignored and soon you were placed on the kitchen island with your boyfriend glued to your torso "can't get enough of ya cupcake." He comes up to your face softly biting your cheek. "Jean stoop, what's gotten into you today?" Jean is a little clingy which never bothers you, you love it when he wants to spend time wrapped up in your arms but when you're trying to get things done and he's all over you it make you wanna kick his ass. "I just missed you so much. Is that a crime?" You laugh and pull him back a little so he could see your face "well im holding a cleaver and you won't let me cook so It just might turn into a crime." Your boyfriend ignores your threats to kill him and sneaks in three more kisses before running off giggling like a child.

It is almost impossible for Jean to be upset or angry with you, he's either quick to forgive or genuinely can't see when you're in the wrong because he's love blind. However that changed today when you told Jean you met with an ex, he was actually getting married and you bumped into eachother and talked for a little while. Jean trusts you completely but didn't believe that your obsessed ex moved on that quickly.

"Jean will you just listen to me, I swear it was just a short chat. He's getting married soon."

You try to reach out for him but he keeps turning which you did not like, when you were upset having Jean just touch you made you feel better but the fact he wouldn't let you do the same hurt you.

"I trust you but not him, the guy was crazy obsessed with you." You sigh and finally succeeded in trapping him in your bedroom so you could talk properly.

"Youre crazy obsessed with me." Your boyfriend doesn't find you point amusing. "In a healthy way doll, I love you but I do not own you. He didn't get that and that's why you broke up remember." You look down at your feet, you couldn't stand Jean being upset with you. When you broke up with your ex you were scared to fall in love again but then Jean came and changed everything. You understand why he wasn't happy you were alone with your ex. "I'm sorry my love, can you come here now?" Jean wasted no time in taking you into his arms. He hated the way he acted but just wanted to make sure you were safe. "I'm sorry too doll, I just love you so much." You smile into his chest "I love you too jean-boy." This earns you a pinch on the hip. Jean hated that nickname.

Bertholdt: princess, sweetheart

Your relationship with Bertholdt is still pretty fresh but you decided that it was time you took it a little further and the two of you moved in together. Bertholdt is shy and it took a while for any intimacy to form so when you woke up and found him snuggled up so close to you your heart almost explodes. You gently trace the features of your boyfriends face with your finger until he wakes up, you curse yourself for ruining such a sweet moment.

"I'm sorry did I suffocate you?" Bertholdt is much much larger than you are but he's so gentle that you were sure it was impossible for him to hurt you. "Of course not Bertie, you were just so cute I couldn't help myself." His cheeks and ears turn an adorable shade of pink when you call him cute. "Please don't call me cute sweetheart." He wanted to be strong for you, he's often described as soft and timid but he doesn't want to be that way with you. "Sorry I forgot you hate that.” You prop yourself up on one elbow while you massage your boyfriends scalp. "I don't hate it." He mumbles quietly. "I just want you to think l'm strong. We live together now and I have to provide for you." You swoon when he looks up at you with his big brown eyes. "You don't have to anything my prince, just stay here with me." You get comfortable on top of your boyfriend who was still a blushing mess "I-I will."

Bertholdt is surprised when he comes home to a dark living room. It been three years since he first asked you to be his girlfriend and now the two of you are engaged. You usually stay up to wait for him or put on candles to light up the room if you've gone to sleep.

Bertholdt sheds his extra layers of clothing and quickly makes it into your room where he finds you laying on the bed facing away from the door. He wasn't as stealthy as he thought he was because the second his knee touched the bed you were up and looking around in the dark. "It's just me, calm down princess" the wave of fear quickly washes away when your fiancés hands come to your face. "Welcome home Bertie." You were exhausted, wedding planning was not easy plus you started your period so all of that piled together made you go to sleep earlier than usual.

"What's wrong?" You loved that he could tell that you were slightly off without even seeing you. "Nothing I'm just a little tired, it's been busy." Bertholdt feels bad for not being able to help today but you didn't mind and so you pull him down to cuddle before he gets into his own head too much. "I'm fine baby I promise, I just want your hugs." Your instantly squished against his chest and relished in the feeling of his hands travelling up your shirt to caress your skin. After three years together he's become more comfortable and confident in touching you. "You can have whatever you want princess."

[ryuzakemo128]

Sleep Specialist's Results

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Marianna (Female Reader)

Genre: Fluff, Horror

Masterlist: LINK

Trigger Warning(s):

Nightmares, Night Terrors, Bad Dreams

Swearing, Cussing, Cursing

Sequel to: Disassembled Creatures

Marianna's Point of View

The waiting room is eerie silence as I anxiously awaited my turn to see the sleep specialist. I fidgeted with the sleeves, wiggling around in my seat and my foot tapping. I couldn't help but feel like I was being swallowed whole by my nervous erratic behaviour. I have this issue for years.

Since I can remember, sleep has always eluded me. The countless nights of tossing, turning and then staring at the ceiling while Eddie slept peacefully beside me. The longing need to have great night's rest, to wake feeling like I didn't need more sleep and to feel like a normal functioning human being. After what it felt like an eternity until my name was finally called, a nurse came over and lead me to the doctor's office.

The sleep specialist's office was dimly lit, with soft ambient music playing in the background. The air felt heavy with anticipation as I took a seat across from the doctor's desk. Dr. Adams, a middle-aged man with kind eyes, greeted me with a warm smile.

"Good morning, Ms. Sokolova," Dr. Adams said, his voice soothing and calming. "I've reviewed your case history and conducted some initial assessments. It seems you've been struggling with sleep-related issues for quite some time."

I nodded, my hands tightly gripping the edge of the chair. "Yes, it's been going on for years. I've tried various remedies and therapies, but nothing has worked so far. It's affecting my daily life, my energy levels, and my relationship with Eddie. I have no trouble falling asleep that's not the issue, I have a sleep schedule which I do each evening before I get ready for bed." I handed him the detailed written form of my sleep schedule to him from my folder.

The schedule has things like exercising on a treadmill for an hour, drinking a herbal tea to help me relax enough to sleep through the night. Then I would have a pleasant warm shower. I have listed the medications I have taken in the past to help with sleep deprivation. Sometimes I even just stick to having three hour naps and just do work stuff I haven't finished yet until I'm tired enough to back to sleep.

"These nightmares also occur when I sleep on my back," I added as he went through the sleep schedule.

Dr. Adams nodded, studying the sleep schedule intently. "Nightmares can certainly contribute to sleep disturbances," he acknowledged. "Sleeping on your back may be triggering them in some way. We'll delve deeper into that aspect during our assessment."

I shifted uncomfortably in my chair, feeling a mix of hope and apprehension. Finally, someone who might be able to understand and help me. Dr. Adams continued, "Based on your sleep schedule and the information you've provided, it seems like you've been doing everything right to promote good sleep hygiene. However, there might be underlying factors at play that we need to explore."

The appointment went better than what I thought it would be and as soon as I got back home I called Eddie to make sure he knew what happened, what the plan was going to be and that he didn't have to worry.

Eddie picked up the phone on the second ring, his voice filled with concern. "Hey, Marianna. How did it go? Are you okay?"

I took a deep breath, trying to steady my racing thoughts. "Hey, Eddie. Yeah, it went okay. I saw a sleep specialist, Dr. Adams. He seems really knowledgeable and empathetic. He believes there might be some underlying factors causing my sleep issues, so we're going to delve deeper into it. There will be a few more tests run, but it's a lot more complex than just Insomnia like I thought it was. Don't worry you'll be the first person I'll call if anything happens or if anything goes wrong. Once I figure this out, we can talk about whether or not we still want to have kids of our own or go ahead with adoption."

We were talking about whether or not we wanted to adopt or have children of our own three months ago. I didn't know whether or not my sleeping problem would be something genetic and could be passed down, if that was the case we wanted to consider other options. Eddie remained silent on the other end of the line, and I could sense the weight of the decision hanging in the air.

"We'll talk more about this later, don't worry about needing to speak about right now and I know how much you would rather speak about it in person." I added before he said anything else.

Eddie sighed on the other end of the line, and I could almost picture the worried expression on his face. "You're right, Marianna. We'll discuss it in person when you're ready. Your health and well-being come first. Just focus on getting the answers and treatment you need."

A sense of relief washed over me as Eddie's words sank in. Despite the uncertainty surrounding my sleep issues and the impact it could have on our plans for the future, Eddie's unwavering support gave me strength. I knew we would face whatever challenges came our way together.

Eddie told me about what they planned to do with the tour and where they were going in America. By the sounds of it, a lot of work has gone into this and I am proud of him. As Eddie shared the details of their upcoming tour, my mind began to wander. I couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy as he talked about the excitement and adventure that awaited him on the road. While I was grateful for his support, a part of me wished I could join him on this journey, free from the shackles of my sleep issues.

"I'm really proud of you, Eddie," I said, genuine admiration lacing my voice. "It sounds like an incredible opportunity, and I know you'll do amazing things. Just promise me you'll take care of yourself while you're away, okay?"

Eddie's voice softened, and I could tell he understood my unspoken longing to be with him. "Of course, Marianna. I'll make sure to prioritize my well-being too. And hey, maybe someday we'll have the chance to go on an adventure together, without any worries or sleep troubles holding us back."

I smiled, the image of us embarking on an adventure together bringing a glimmer of hope to my tired soul. "That sounds wonderful, Eddie. I look forward to that day."

I smiled, the image of us embarking on an adventure together bringing a glimmer of hope to my tired soul. "That sounds wonderful, Eddie. I look forward to that day." I added. "I certainly hope you've eaten dinner, don't tell me you haven't."

Eddie chuckled on the other end of the line. "Don't worry, Marianna. I just finished dinner before we started talking. I'm taking care of myself, I promise."

"Did you take one of my jackets with you? I know you said you wanted to take one or two of them with you." I asked thinking about it more. "I added an oversized hoodie in case it gets cold."

Eddie laughed. "Yes, I did. I couldn't resist taking one of your jackets with me. It's like having a piece of you with me on the road. And the oversized hoodie sounds perfect for those chilly nights. I'll make sure to wear it and think of you."

"If you need anything else, I find a way to get it to you as soon I as I can." I mentioned thinking about it still. "Just because I can't sleep well, doesn't mean I can't make sure you have what you need." I added rather quickly.

Eddie's voice filled with gratitude. "Thank you, Marianna. I appreciate your support and willingness to help, even with your own struggles. You're incredible, you know that?"

"I can go on and on about how cool you were. I have a feeling one of us is getting rather sleepy and it's not me." I replied stifling a giggle.

Eddie chuckled, his voice filled with warmth. "Yeah, I think you're right. Tour preparations have left me exhausted. But I'll be fine. I'll get a good night's rest before the tour kicks off. You take care of yourself too, Marianna."

"I will. I'll call you tomorrow okay?" I replied sipping my cup of sleep tea.

"Sounds good," Eddie replied, his voice becoming softer. "Sleep well, Marianna. I love you."

"I love you now and forever. Sleep well and don't let the bed bugs bite." I replied with a contented sigh, I hung up the phone and set it aside. The weight of the day's events began to settle, and I knew it was time to take care of myself. Dr. Adams had given me a glimmer of hope, and although there were still uncertainties ahead, I felt a renewed sense of determination.

[not-your-fucking-kacchan]

♡︎𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐢 𝐁𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐠𝐨𝐮♡︎

Day 1 of Kinktober 2022

Summary: Katsuki takes what was just a joke as a challenge, and decides to get you off with just his fingers both as punishment, and to prove a point.

Props to my beta reader for today @sasualblxd - thank you so much! <3

-701 words.

He gives you a cocky smirk from his place between your legs, his hair tousled a little more than normal from your iron-like grip on it.

You had made the fatal mistake of making a passing jab at his skills in bed, and in your defense, you really were only teasing, but obviously Katsuki and his damned ego had to go and take it as a challenge.

"oh yeah? I'll make you cum with just my fingers~" He drawled.

You side eyed him as he gave you a hungry gaze, his eyes lingering over the curves of your body under your clothes. All you offered in response was a disapproving scoff as you tried to hide the baby pink dusting your cheeks.

He just loves to tease you, so you never really anticipated that the second the both of you got home from shopping with his credit card, he would pounce. The bags were dropped on the floor as you were pressed against the wall, your eyes widening at the sight of your boyfriend. He looked starved of you, like he was going to devour you whole the second you gave him the chance.

But he didn't. He held back from giving you the satisfaction you were after in favour of torturing you for the sake of his ego. He didn't go anywhere near you except from with his fingers when he finally managed to strip your underwear off.

That leads you to where you are now, laying in a tired, sweaty heap on top of wrinkled sheets while your clothes lay discarded on the floor, having been flung there by the impatient ash blonde. Bright red, blown out eyes stare intently at your cunt, slick with natural lubrication since apparently he "didn't need normal lube". What an ass.

He licks his lips, voice heavy and low like gravel, vibrating deep in his chest and his fingers are buried deep inside of you, curled to hit your G-Spot directly.

"Am I shitty at sex now, baby? Can I still not please you?"

His eyes are half lidded with smug satisfaction as they're dragged from your most intimate parts and back to make contact with yours. He knows exactly what he's doing. He's still smirking at you as if he's won, which he most definitely has, but you can dream, can't you?

He pumps his fingers a little roughly a few more times to emphasise his point and your neck cranes back as a shaky moan is forced from you. Your hair is splayed over the pillows like silk, sweat dampening your skin and catching the light as a line of spit connects your top and bottom row of teeth. You've never felt pleasure like this before. He's never focused so intensely on your G-Spot because he thought it would end things far too early, but at this point, that's not a concern of his. Not at all.

He wants you overstimulated, and the brash blonde has a way of getting what he wants. By now you're well on your way to a fourth orgasm and your pussy walls clench and spasm around him instinctually.

Butterflies flood your belly while Katsuki tortures you, trying to break you so he can build you back up again, and all just to prove a point.

Obscene squelching noises echo off the walls as your final, back arching, toe-curling orgasm hits you, rippling through your body like electricity and Katsuki grins wider as he leans in to press a smug kiss to your thigh. The kiss doesn't stay smug though, and soon enough he's laying butterfly kisses all up and down your belly and your inner thighs, leaving the occasional hickey while you recover and catch your breath, sweat and cum rolling down your legs and onto the sheets.

The blonde trails kisses all the way up your body, not missing a single freckle or birthmark with surprisingly soft lips until he lays a final, far more passionate kiss to your lips. Teeth clash and his tongue invades your mouth to run across your own before he pulls back, wrapping his arms around your waist without trouble and speaking muffled into your neck.

"Don't doubt me again, idiot..."

© 2022 not-your-fucking-kacchan

◃ 𝐍𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 | 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 | 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 ▹

[angelic-vibez]

Jungkook x f!readers | Bully

Genre; Hella angsty but with fluff ending.

Warning; bullying, violence, Kisses....? I guess ..

Summary; Jeon Jungkook is your bully. But doesn't like the thought of someone else bothering you let alone hit you.

Jeon Jungkook. The man that feels like he's destined to make your life miserable and is actually successfuly doing so. You always thought he must be a psycho, out of his damn mind to bully people in college.

The man never cuts you some slacks. The classic smacking your books out of your hand and sending your papers flying around in the hall ways was his daily religious ritual. His assignments were yours to complete, no matter how exhausting. Whatever he orders, you're obligated to do.

You sometimes would wish you'd go back in time to change what you did even though it was the right thing to do. You stood up to Jungkook when he was bullying an innocent boy along with his stupid friends. Ever since then, it was never the same. And as much as you wanted helping that poor boy and you tried, you wished you had stayed hidden to avoid the never ending trouble you are still in to this day.

Libraries. The quiet place you get some peaceful reading aren't so peaceful anymore. He had dropped a damn living spider in your hair causing you to shoot up from your seat abruptly and tried to shaking it off your hair as you screamed on top of your lungs. Turns out, it was fake. He held his stomach, trying hard not to fall off his chair as he laughed so hard while you got kicked out.

Cafeterias aren't a safe place too. Like when he flipped the tray of food all over you as he walked by chuckling as if it was nothing was his normal routine.

Waking up everyday to go to class has been a dreadful experience so far. Or at least until you make it into one. The only time you feel like you could breath a little is when your in class. You were a freshman and he's a third year student so you never had the same class. That's why you started to spend a little more time in class just to catch a break and it was also the reason why Jungkook spread rumors about you sleeping with your professor to get the grades that you got for studying your ass off day and night. It was just traumatizing.

You had thought you'd live the aesthetic college life you dreamed of since highschool ended. But no. Not when Jeon freaking Jungkook was alive.

Gums he'd stick in your hair, trip you over so you'd fall face first, the lies he tells to get you in trouble. It was getting way out of hand but whose gonna tell on Jeon Jungkook? Unless they desperately have a death wish.

Half of freshman year has passed with you leading a horrible life so far. You've definitely decided to transfer to anywhere after the year ends at this point.

_

An ordinary day for you as you let you dark long hair cover you, books clutched in your arms tight, back pack slung over your shoulders as you walked down the hall head held down with your friend beside you continously ranting about something you quiet didn't hear.

*bump*

You crash into a big figure. You sighed thinking it's Jungkook. But you were terribly wrong. You looked up only to find another face. Infuriated one. You looked down to see he was holding an open soda. Which has also spilled all over his white shirt.

"What the fuck?" He spits at you.

"Im- I'm so sorry- I didn't- I wasn't looking"

He takes step towards you giving you a dirty look. "Hey, she apologized. Move along retard" your friend defends you.

"T'fuck did you just call me?" He turns to her and grabs her by the collar of her shirt.

"Hey! Stop it!" You tried defending but-

*SMACK!!*

One back handed slap right across your cheek sent you flying straight to the floor. You felt dizzy from the harsh blow you received. The hall way went silent after gasps where heard here and there. Your vision begin to blurr. Hot tears streamed down your cheek as the man finally let's go your friend and walks over you.

"What the fuck? What was his problem anyway? He got some anger issues or something? Who hits a girl?" Your friend says as you were both sat down in lecture hall waiting to begin the class. Your metal bottle of water on your cheek to ease the stinging pain and burning sensation.

"It's my fate" you chuckled.

"*tsk* girl shut up! We are definitely reporting that psycho. This stupid bullying needs to stop" she shakes her head and scoffs making a mental note for later.

Everyone stole glances at you at school that day as they whispered to eachother. They were surprised that you actually made it alive. You were at the cafeteria to eat lunch. You expected the same bullying there as you held your tray to make it to your table. You peacefully did and it was a miracle.

You did not glance at Jungkook to notice the unusual concerned look he was giving you. But then he was red. In boliong rage as he sat among he's group of friends who were unusually quiet. His eyes followed you as you sat with your friend, long black hair covering your small face and the trauma it has received earlier.

In the midst of your conversation you looked up when you felt a preense and you saw Jungkook towering over you. To say he was infuriated would be a completle and utter understatement. You looked at him back at your friend and back at him as you swallowed.

You were scared. You tried to think what went wrong. What you had done.

"Oh" you say as it clicked and fish through your bag to find the papers "I-Ive done the assignment" you say innocently handing him the papers. Just like always the paper went flying from your hands but this time it was technically his not yours. Frowning a little you got up to collect them but he sat you right back down as he also sits down facing you before pulling you closer to him. You thought you were going to recive another blow today and shilded yourself holding your hands up while squeezing you eyes shut.

"Let me see!" He growls grabbing your face and pushing you hair behind your ear to observe the giant red mark evidence of what he had been hearing the whole morning. His jaw clenched as your tears threaten to spill. His chest heaved with each breath he took and you were finally out of his grasp. Through your blurred vision you could see his figure storming toward the group of guys and picked the one that looked quiet familiar to you. And before you knew it, he was throwing his fists like there was no damn tmorrow.

Few seconds into the fight and a crowd formed around, some students jumped in to separate the two before they killed eachother. Or rather before Jungkook killed him because even though he did take some blows, it was nothing compared to the damage he had done.

You suddenly feel light headed, witnessing the incident that unfolded before you. "Oh my god" was the last thing you whispered before the darkness consumed you completlety and you fell to the floor.

It took your friend a couple of seconds to pull her eyes off the men. She looks to the side and you weren't there where you stood seconds ago. She looks down to see you laying lifeless on the floor.

"Oh my God! Y/n!"

_

You woke up feeling your head aching. You shifted a little before your eyes open to stare at the white ceiling above you. You blink a few times before you pull yourself up and observed your surrounding. Your eyes widen as you found yourself in a completley unfamiliar room, laying on a bed.

You looked around completley baffled by your current situation. You scan around the room. The walls were painted black and the room had a quiet dark aesthetic. But the question was, why were you here?

After ganing full conciouness, you pull yourself off the bed and got up to investigate.

"Careful" you hear a strangely familiar voice. Head snapping towards its direction. And..Jungkook? "You should seat down"

"Wait-What? Who- Why am I- Why are you-? " You couldn't form a proper sentence.

"You passed out, princess" he plainly says and walks toward you where you took a step back as you felt him get closer.

"Here's an idea, how about you spare my life?" You say with a nervous smile. But he only sighs and grabs your wrist. He pulls you towards the bed before he sits you down on the edge. "Do not... move" he says before he leaves the room once again.

So many questions left unanswerd as you sat there afraid and awaited for something to happen. Jungkook was back with an ice pack in his hand. He pulled his chair so he was sat right infront of you. He gently placed the cold pack on your head. The spot you hit as you fell to the floor.

You were utterly confused by Jungkook's sudden behavior. He was acting kind? Towards you?

"What happened?" You ask.

"I told you. You passed out" he says retrieving his hands away "I guess you couldn't handle watching me beat him to death huh" he smirked before placing the ice pack on your head again.

Your eyes widen as you begin to recall the whole situation. He actually did beat a man almost to death and you wonder why he sat here as if nothing happened and why he wasn't in any trouble at school.

"I- I need to leave" you say as he thought he might actually be a psycho.

"You're not leaving, baby. Not unless I make sure you're alright and that dumb fuck is taken care of" he says.

"And since when do you care? Last time I checked, you're not any different than he is" you finally muster up the courage to say which caused him to shot up from his seat and run his fingers through his hair, rage slowly building up.

"That's different, princess, I never lay a finger on you" He explains. As if that makes it okay for him to do what he had done to you all along. And you could've told him that but you were still scared of him so you didn't want to poke the bear.

"Have you eaten anything lately? You look so weak" he squats down infront you and places hand on your for head to check on your temperature then down to your cheek as his thumb rubs circles soothingly.

From some reason your heart skips a beat and your stomach forming knots "Come here" he says not waiting for your answer as he takes your hand in his and pull you out of the room.

He told you to sit on the couch while he brings you food. Minutes pass by and he was seated infront of you with ramen in his hands. "Open up" he orderd. He was actually going to feed you.

"How can I be sure you did not posion that?" You say squinting your eyes at him. Jugkook sighs and rolls his eyes before shoving the noodles on the chopsticks into his mouth. He then begins to feed you. He'd whipe your lips with his thumb whenever you got something on it. He'd push you hair behind your ear and observe you preety face.

Who is he and what has he done with Jungkook? You think to yourself as you were seated there feeling like you're looking at a whole new person. He was taking care of you. And he is your bully, who finds pleasure in making you suffer.

"What's wrong?" He searches for your eyes as you zone out into space "Y/n!"

You suddenly feel a wave of overwhelming emotions hitting you all at once and the urge to leave. "I need to l-leave" you get out of your seat and decide to find your way out of wherever the hell you were.

"Y/n , wait!" He chases behind you.

"Where's my shoes?" You asked but didn't waste another second to wait for his reply determined to leave bare foot if you had to.

"Y/n" he calls once again, softly as his hand grab onto your wrist and pull you back to him. You slammed into his chest.

"Kiss me" he says breathlessly.

"W-What?" You stutter.

"Please?" He pleads with doe eyes as his hand wrap around your waist to pull you more closer if that was even possible.

Before you know it, Jungkook leans down to capture your lips in his. And now he was kissing you? His lips were so soft as he desperately continues to glide them against yours. The lack of oxygen reaching your brain made you feel light headed and your knees weaken. If it wasn't for his strong arms keeping you in place, you would've fallen.

You pushed his chest a little, finally separating your lips and gasping for air. "I'm so sorry Y/n. I'm sorry for everything I put you through" he whispers eyes closed against your lips. Your small hands made their way to cup his face, thumbs dragging down his redden bottom lip.

"Jungkook...." You whisper and he almost let out a whimper at how right it sounded to hear his name coming from your mouth. "I- I can't do this"

He weaknes at your words. He was hurt but tries his best to keep himself collected. "Okay" he says and moves out of your hold before walking away hand gripping into his hair.

You stood there for a second, processing what had just happened and you turned to leave but you stopped at your tracks when you hear drawers being open and slammed shut. You wanted to leave again but you were concerned so you just wanted to check on him.

Walking back, you find him in the kitchen as he gulps down a glass full of alcohol like it was water.

"What are you doing? Are you crazy?" You question feeling a bit concerned at his behavior.

"The fucking door is that way Y/n, leave!" He demands.

"What did you excpect? For me to forgive you so easily? Incase you haven't noticed you've made my life a living hell for half a year" You point out.

"Your absolutely right! I'm the monster here. Nobody argued so please just leave and I won't bother you again-" The man was boiling with utter rage. He did take hits for you, fought for you and took care of you even though It was for one day. But maybe that wasn't enough for your forgiveness. "-ow! fuck" he curses as the glass completley shatters to pieces in his hand from the way he had a grip on it. A piece cut his palm a little. That's how mad the man was.

"Jungkook!" You rush over to see his injured hand.

_

You were almost done cleaning up his wound. It wasn't that bad but it scared you. It also took you a few to drag his ass to the couch because he was so damn stubborn.

"Stop acting like you care Y/n" he says earning a deep chuckle from you.

"I didn't say that and you're my bully" you comment.

"Whatever" he rolls his eyes, head leaned back on the couch.

"There you go. All done. Make sure you don't hold glasses too hard next time" you say with a chuckle and placed a peck on the band aid. He cups your face and pulls you close.

"God you're so beautiful" he breaths.

"And you, my friend, are very complicated" you smile trying to maintain concerned look.

You felt the soft bed against you back as he slowly lays you down, hovering on top and not breaking the kiss. He was gentle and passionate with his kiss and was hard for him to separate from your lips for the past ten minutes.

He kept peppering your whole face with kisses whilst you giggled. You both spent the rest of the night talking while laying in bed. Just you and Jungkook and things you never knew about eachother. Every now and then he'd get close and peck your lips before he continues to talk. His heart would flutter whenever your eyes shined as you talked about things that you loved. You had never thought you'd connect deep to this level with whom you thought was your worst enemy.

"You're not a monster, Kookie" you whisper in a sleepy voice, your eyes closed and you laid there on your chest.

Jungkook beams with smile and turns to look at you, carefully studying your beautiful features and the way you look cute laying on the side of your face.

"What did just call me?" He asks but you were already going into a deep slumber. He leaned in to kiss you once more. "What are you doing to me Y/n-ah"

°

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© angelic-vibez 2022. Do not edit, repost, translate or copy.

[illuminiscentboba]

HELPING HQ BOYS WHEN THEY COLLAPSE

genre: modern day idol!au

summary: ok this sounds bad but it's actually them over practicing and getting really dizzy/passing out and they're alri just a bit out of it. tho some of them use that to their advantage to talk to you.

warnings: mentions of collapse, fatigue etc. but most fluff

feat: atsumu & suna

ATSUMU ೃ

"atsumu, come take a seat." his manager called, foot tapping the floor impatiently. 

‘tsumu mopped the sweat that formed an outline around his eyebrows and the creases of his forehead. He knows he's been dancing for a while but just one more go couldn't hurt right? 

He glanced around the semi empty room, going from one concerned, unamused face to another.

His gaze stopped at you, surprised to see you watching him practice. Though his heart sank when he noticed you unable to hide the concern creeping over your face.

You'd been watching him dance for a little while now, like you had the day before and before that. When you'd dropped by those last few days he'd been too engrossed in practicing to notice the side door open. 

But by now his actions were getting sluggish and he was making mistakes in area's you knew he'd do with ease on his normal days.

"One last time, don't worry too much guys." His gaze travels the group, returning to you. "Just one more and then I'll sit down, I promise." He sent you the best reassuring smile he could, holding in his breath to hide how much he was panting. 

The music cues once more as he crouches into position and it isn't far into his choreo that he starts to feel a bit woozy, nearly tripping over his own foot. Okay, maybe he should stop and take a break.  

He relaxes his tensed muscles and that was all it took for his vision to go dark and for him to come to a few moments later, people rushing around in the background. 

He's squinting against the lights above as you look back at him with worry, alternating between giving people orders and back at him. 

He's quick to recognize you in his daze. He's seen you co-lead the sub team many times from afar, and had to be physically held back from started conversation with you by his manager and his schedule. 

He's watched you laugh at his silly antics and jokes back stage, finding himself grinning whenever he noticed it.

His eyes have tracked you many times, watching you smile and chat with the security at the side of the stage and sing his lyrics with him in the crowd. 

He knew he had a crush on you but it became clearer with your eyebrows pressed together in concern, your cool hand cupping his forehead with the lights above casting you in a golden glow.

“Y/n.”

And he’s smiling one of those crooked smiles that become genuine as he places his hand over yours, engulfing it. It was terrifying to see him collapse like that, and you made a promise to be more strict about breaks. 

“You look good, worryin’ about me like this.” He hums, chuckling under his breath as you release a breath of relief. Of course atsumu would be able to joke so soon after collapsing. 

“I always look good,” and your fighting a smile as you call for the person behind you to dim the lights which thankfully makes the aching of his head quell a bit. “True, ’m almost intimidated.” 

When you raise a brow he laughs, red donning his cheeks in a rosy glow. “No really! Scratch that, 'm definitely intimidated by you...or is the word enchanted?" And with how troubled he looked at not being able to remember the right word, you can't help but wonder if he hit his head on the way down.

It's almost deceitful how good and attractive he looks gazing up on you like that though. Like he's been waiting so long to. And god he has, though its crazy that this was what it took. 

But back to the point-

"Right, but could I get you anything? And you've got to stop practicing so much without breaks!" He squeezes the hand resting on his forehead.

Now that he thought about it, his feet hurt, his body felt heavy and he felt a bit ill. Despite his body's alarm signals going off with rest as their goal, his mind and heart were elsewhere.

"I was actually wondering if you’d like to maybe go on a date with me? It’s not every day that I get to see you up close and talk to you. It’s unfair.” He murmurs, as the dizziness passes replaced by a heavy sense of fatigue.

Your quick to notice the dropping of his eyes, rubbing his side as a pillow and mat is placed by him.

“I’ll go with you on the condition that you take care of yourself and not overwork yourself. And…if you haven’t changed your mind when you feel better.” 

He catches your uncertainty and reaches up to cup your face, eyes soft. “I’m not one to change my mind so easily, sweetheart.” He lowers his hand, his vision going blurry bit by bit once more.

“I’ll just be taking a quick nap over here but if you can, could you come see me again? Y'know, to check up on me?” Now he was mumbling and maybe he was asking for too much, but he wanted to thank you. Which his idol friends would find ridiculous because it was your job.

But seeing your hesitation and concern fade into a half smile, he felt a thousand times more relieved.

“Of course, have a good nap.” You joke and he’s out. Probably dreaming about you too right now. And wondering what to thank you with, forgetting all about everyone else who helped.

SUNA  ೃ

Suna is already towards the end of his solo dance break practice when his co-director pauses the music. "Suna, I think it's about time you sit down."

"I'm almost done, just another minute and I'll sit down." He mutters but its so obvious that he's barely keeping up with how he teeters back and forth like a door stopper.

You trust Suna. Without a doubt. You respect him, and his decisions, even when he's just as goofy as the rest of his group (but good at hiding it). Though this time, it seemed he was wrong about his decision to dance over taking care of himself.

You broke apart from the small group huddled by the door, making your way over when he lurches forward and your heart drops as you reach out to catch him. 

Within seconds he's slumped over you, clutching his head, vision swimming as you struggle to hold him up. Everyone around you is rushing around in panic, when your finally joined by another person and together you guide him to the corner of the room.

Suna can hardly make out you telling people to grab water, dim the lights bring a chair and something else he didn't remember. 

He hated being fussed over and it was embarrassing to look so weak in front of someone he liked but maybe he did need the help, and a break. A few minutes wouldn't hurt, right?

Wrong.

He blinks and a moment later hours have passed. The room that had people running around it earlier was bare, area cleaned up save for the chair he was now sitting in and other equipment and medicine by him. 

He glances at the window furthest from him that were drawn open, oranges and pinks shining against the dimness of the room as the sun began to lower in the sky.

His eyes scan the area and when he finally understood what was going on, about to jerk upright, he finally notices you at the sink across the room, humming as you wash the washcloth by the window.

And he relaxes again. Relaxes until he thinks about how he draped himself on you after the second dizzy spell before you settled an arm around his upper back to guide him away. 

He's as red as a tomato just thinking about it. And he's trying to get it out of his head when he wonders where he's heard the song that you were humming.

It took him embarrassingly long to realize where. And by who.

You were humming his song.

And in the light of the sunset, humming animatedly, murmuring the parts to his rap, his heart began to beat out of his chest and he's smiling, much like a fool, almost as if he was the lovesick fan at a meet an greet and not an idol. 

 And he wouldn't have such a soft warm expression if it wasn't for you.

The one he found himself looking for, thinking about and wanting to make a good impression in front of (if only he knew how goofy you really were). 

You’ve always been a good co-lead/support in his life, respecting his boundaries, getting to know him to accommodate him, and being the friendly face in the crowd during his moments of anxiety, which meant the world to him on his first few gigs and even now he found himself wishing for more moments like this.

Moments with just you two with the world as your backdrop, moments in the future where your closer and smiling at him the way you are now-

He slumps forward hands over his face to hide his blush. He was staring. Again. And openly this time, after fighting so hard not to for so long.

You on the other hand are frozen in place, almost doing a double take at the sight of Suna no longer asleep.

"Hey," he says as if it he didn't get caught stuffing face into his palms and you weren't caught doing his solo. 

Your cheeks are flushed, coughing out an awkward, “how are you feeling?”

 “Good, but that was…a really great rendition of my solo. Cured my headache better than the nap did.”

Of course Suna would be so quick to tease you after a long nap. When you mock glared at him he laughed, waving a hand to show he didn’t mean it.

“Nah, but I actually like your voice and energy...which reminds me, we don’t really get many opportunities to talk, do we?”

You considered his words, “I don’t think so, but I thought that was because of you avoiding me?” Now it’s his turn to cough, thinking back to the times you caught him staring and the brief times he wasn’t busy being he immediately hurried out of the building after ‘tsumu tried to play matchmaker with you and him that one time.

”Right, but are we the only ones here?” He glances at the empty room where the equipment was off to the side just hours ago.

“Oh, yeah everyone else went home but we all cleaned up the station together before they left.”

“Oh, alright. But why didn’t you wake me up?”

His face is hard to read but with him suddenly so close staring down at you like that, dark locks dyed black after his most recent comeback tumbled messily over his olive green eyes that seemed to capture every detail of your face, you almost forgot how to speak.

When you did remember you ended up rambling.

”I probably should've but you looked like you haven’t slept well and so I figured that letting you sleep wouldn’t hurt. Oh and I cleared up your afternoon schedule so don’t worry about missing anything!”

And it’s true, suna wasn’t able to sleep after practicing so much and being too busy. It was actually insane just how much better he felt with that messy few hours of sleep. 

At least now with his schedule clear he could continue to rest at home. You hand him the medicine he regularly uses and he takes it.

“Thank you- oh, what’s that?” 

 He turns over the medicine in his hands, noticing the vitamins. “I stepped out earlier to get you some medicine…”

You took in his blank expression, “oh I know that you hate the multivitamin one that you talked about last time so it took me a bit to get the a different one.”

Now he felt even more surprised than before. He told you about vitamins a while ago when you caught him glaring at it because he picked up the wrong one but you remembered?

Why was he touched?

You smiled as you noticed his pleasantly surprised expression, his cheeks and heart warming at the gesture. 

And then that was that, you headed towards the door, expecting him to follow when he admitted, “I...don’t think I know you enough yet, what about we chat over coffee or maybe some games? I’ll pay since you took care of me today. And just about all of the time (tiny text).”

Was this him returning the favor? “Oh, you don’t have to, it’s okay-“

“No, I want to. I want to know more about you. And not just from a professional standpoint.”

He's blushing, not even meeting your gaze, glancing back at you quickly before a slow, warm smile adorns his face when he sees your pink but happy expression, slowly nodding with that cute grin on your face he thought about so much.

Then you remembered. "Oh yeah, your manager asked me to drop you off at your place since you did sort of collapse."

He hesitated, as you expected him to. "But I can call you a cab or your personal driver-" 

He clears his throat, waving a dismissive hand. "No, that's okay. I guess I'll get a head start on getting to know you then." He fixes you with a smile, that takes a turn for a coy grin.  

And 'tsumu said he was verbally constipated. Maybe he was too smug because now he's begging for the sudden jump in confidence to stick around as your car came into view.

Confidence that returned quickly when you started up the car, asking him if it was ok to quietly play music in case he still had a headache.

"But if I asked nicely, would you sing for me again? Or rap? I think your rapping is better than mine to be honest."

Yeah you'll never be living this one down.

-

a/n: inbox & requests are open ! feel free to drop by nd chat and I’m happy to deliver the suna food and present y’all w my idol Suna redraw 😭