#both games seem to be going with a blue butterfly theme here

[coffeeandtoastforbreakfast]

Currently suffering from Lies of P brainrot…mix that in with my ongoing Hollow Knight obsession and we get something like this.

Just thought it’d be fun to draw them, but as little bugs :)

[flooffybits]

Loona the Tam

Idol: Loona

Season one is being filmed in Everland. The girls are understandably excited to be there, along with the two members who have come from out of the country. It's just a day full of excitement and happiness, and everyone around can tell it's an endearing sight.

Word count: 6.1k

A/n: this took wayyyy too long but i hope you guys enjoy! :D

☕buy me a coffee☕

“Hello! We are Loona!” You all greeted happily before Haseul clapped her hands.

“And where are we?” She asked, throwing her hands in the air before the other girls answered. “Everland!” You and Kahei were just smiling since you didn't exactly know what was in there to begin with.

The moment your manager had explained where you were going, the girls were a hundred percent awake and excitedly got ready, whilst you looked confused as they all ran around the dorm. You had asked them about it, but no one would tell you until Kahei brought you to sit by her while she pulled up a page for the place.

Right now, all you knew was that it was a theme park and that it was quite popular. Seeing that there were a lot of pictures, you looked through them, and could understand why the girls seemed so happy to go.

“Since this is Vivi unnie and Y/n’s first time here, we hope that this becomes something memorable for both of them.” Heejin explained while you smiled at her. “I haven’t really been to a theme park where I fully remember. I think I was five when I last went to one.” You tell them before Yerim was hugging you. “Then we’ll make this super duper fun!” She cheered while throwing her fist to the air.

"Before we start, we need everyone to separate into three teams. One of which will be having five members." The producer explained and you all looked at each other before deciding on playing a game to see who would go with who.

"But I suck at these things." You groaned when you put your hands together at the center and then watched as the leader line, along with Jinsol, formed one team already. When you all put your hands together again, Heejin glanced at you and giggled before she subtly leaned closer to whisper in your ear for your hand to stay face down just so you would be in one team together.

You made no objections and did as she said, smiling when you saw that you were also with your three little musketeers - Chaewon, Yerim, and Hyeju.

“Will we be using our own money?” Jungeun couldn’t help but ask when you all entered the theme park, knowing that there were various things and food around that you all might like.

“Aside from relaxing, we will be giving you a mission.” The producer explains and you all look confused, so he explains further. “We will be giving you money, but you all have to take a picture of you with your representative animals for you to claim them.”

The response was a mix of groans and cheers when you all made your way inside. Jinsol was pouting as she walked beside Yeojin. "How am I supposed to find a Blue Beta?" She whined while Jungeun laughed and patted her back. "There are cats everywhere, so this will be easy." Hyunjin grinned and Chaewon pouted in your direction. "Dogs, too. That's not fair."

You blink at her in response before smiling and shaking your head. "I'm sure there are a lot of butterflies around, Gowon, it's impossible not to." You assure her. "I'm pretty sure you'll even be the first one with a picture." You tell her, instantly making her smile despite how she’s trying to fight it off.

“You’re just saying that!” She playfully pushed you and Hyeju looked around. “No, I think unnie could be right. This place tends to have butterflies flying about.” She states before grinning. “You just have to catch one for the picture.” You smirked playfully while high fiving the younger girl and Chaewon huffed, pouting at you both.

At the sight of it, you immediately looked away and made Hyeju giggle, knowing how you were incredibly weak to their pouts and puppy eyes. It didn't even matter if they were your older members or younger ones. Everyone who knew you was aware that you were just that weak for all of them and that you could barely say no whenever they pulled that on you.

You did your best to look at something to possibly distract yourself, but the blonde was deliberately sneaking into your peripherals just so she could make eye contact with you. And while the three of you played around, none of you noticed as the camera panned over to you three to record the interaction.

“You have to help me!” Chaewon whined while she began to shake your arm in a child-like manner and Hyeju burst into a fit of giggles with how ridiculous you both looked. Haseul ended up looking over due to the volume of your voices but only shook her head with a fond smile on her face.

“But Olivia Hye is the one who’s good at catching things!” You retorted without making an attempt to pull your arm away. “It’s because you were teasing her.” Hyeju piped up in between laughter. “Plus, unnie and I are already teaming up. It’s only right you team with us, too.” You’re dumbfounded by how naturally the younger girl speaks because you have no recollection as to why you should be teaming up with anyone, but at the same time, it was amusing how they wanted you to stick by them for the whole thing.

“Are you trying to trick Y/n into something again?” Hyunjin came up from behind you, draping her arm around your shoulders and you sighed in relief as Chaewon finally detached herself from you, playfully sticking her tongue out. “Hey, we weren’t the ones who tricked her last time.” Hyeju defended and the older girl lightly rolled her eyes while you laughed. “Excuse you, but you all tricked me into thinking I had to do aegyo when people told me to do it.”

“But you don’t put up a fight when we ask you to do it, either.” Hyunjin countered while poking your cheek. "That's none of your business." You quipped, sticking your tongue out as she laughed and then shook her head.

Upon entering the gates, you could see that the whole place was much larger than pictures alone and your eyes widened. There were so many people and there were a range of rides that you felt your excitement suddenly spark when you began to look around, subconsciously moving away from the group right before Yerim could latch onto your arm.

"Unnie, where are you going?" She giggled when she saw you nearly bouncing on the balls of your feet. Her smile had widened when she came closer, seeing the way your eyes sparkled with pure joy at being somewhere that you failed to remember from your childhood.

"Cheorry! Look at all the rides! There's so many!" You gasped when the younger girl finally took your hand and tugged at you to join everyone else. "I know! We can get on some of the rides so don’t worry!” Her energy matched yours so well as you both giggled to one another and Jinsol faced the camera with her brows raised. “Everyone, please look forward to this side of our maknae line.” She says playfully and in the view, Haseul could be seen watching both you and Yerim with a fond smile.

Heejin took your hand with a bright smile on her face. “I don’t think I’ve seen you this excited before.” She commented when you wouldn’t stop shaking, the enthusiasm seeping out of you and visible to anyone who saw you.

“Our Y/n is so cute.” Jiwoo cooed and you ignored the teasing smile Sooyoung was sending you. “Can we really go around?” You questioned and Heejin nodded her head. “Of course, but we have to stay together as a group.” She reminded you and you quickly nodded your head, making her giggle at the determined expression you were displaying.

The start of the show, you would all be together to see if you would all be able to get a picture with your representative animals. And being the person you were, the first place you could think of with finding a dog was the souvenir shop, and since Heejin didn’t want to end up losing you, she made sure to hold your hand, lacing your fingers together. Since there were various stuffed animals and hats, she figured it was best to look for a rabbit as well for herself.

“Do you think the others are doing fine without us?” You suddenly ask when you stepped into the shop and Heejin hummed lightly, shrugging when she began to swing your hands back and forth. “We were given the time to look around. But I think everyone went with at least one person. I know I saw Yeojin with Jinsoul unnie earlier while Olivia Hye and Gowon stuck together.” She replies when you crouch down to check one of the shelves.

If anyone looked, you were like a child clinging to their parent’s hand with your face pressed up against the glass. Heejin’s free hand went through some of the keychains that were hung on the counter and some pins, too, before she felt your fingers slip from her own.

Her head swiveled around to look for you, but you had already ducked between some of the shelves that she had only caught a glimpse of your hair before disappearing from sight. “Y/n?” She called out, moving over to where she last saw you, only to see you hunched over one of the glass cases and peering at one of the items. “Did you find anything?” She asks while walking over but you had already called a staff and asked for whatever it was that you found.

Surprised, the younger girl grabbed hold of your jacket and looked at the item you took from the employee. “What are you doing? You have money with you?” She asked in surprise and you blink at her before nodding your head. “I brought my card with me.” You answer cluelessly, though you were grinning and then placing the rabbit hat on top of her head. “Perfect! A bunny for our bunny.” You clapped whilst the younger girl stared at you in disbelief.

“Is this allowed?” She asked while looking around, spotting one of your managers outside the store. “They didn’t say we weren’t allowed. And I didn’t really know.” You tell her with a playful grin and Heejin stares at you for a moment before laughing heartily when you begin to tug at her hand. “Come on! We have yours, I still have to get my animal.” You exclaim and Heejin giggles while she allows you to pull her along.

Right after claiming your things and paying for them, you both exit the store and earn a shocked look from your manager when he sees the hats sitting comfortably on your heads. “Oppa! Picture!” You didn’t even give him time to say anything when you handed him your and Heejin’s phone.

You’d taken your individual pictures just for the challenge, but afterwards, the two of you began posing together just to have pictures in your phone.

When you were done, you thanked your manager and began to head to the meeting place that was by the roller coaster.

“Yah! Yah! What is that?” Sooyoung demanded when everyone started to gather around.

All eyes are on you and Heejin when you both smile toward your members, hugging each other as you do. "Y/n got me a souvenir. She was so excited about being here." The girl boasts, a cocky grin on her face before she's sticking her tongue out.

"That's not fair!" Yeojin complained while stomping her feet. "How come Heejin unnie gets something?" She soon pouted at you and you just smiled at them while shaking your head as Heejin giggled. "Oh, relax. We've already been here before and Y/n was just doing something she wanted to do. We're here to have fun!"

"You're just saying that because she bought you that hat." Hyunjin rebutted, her face blank when the latter shook her head. "Of course not! I'm really happy to see Y/n so excited for this trip." Heejin protests and then squeezes your arm to show that she meant it.

You just smiled at the rest of your members as they cast looks of betrayal before Jiwoo is bouncing over and clinging to your other arm. “Y/n, don’t you want to spend time with me?” She asks innocently but Hyeju is already pushing her away and wrapping her arms around your waist. “No, go to your own team.”

“But we don’t have to go by team until after!” Jiwoo protested, her cheeks puffing up as she pouted. “Then I’ll be with Y/n.” Jinsol grinned while flipping her hair, only to have Jungeun shake her head. “You’re just going to get her to buy you something, too.”

"Okay! Why don't we keep going?" Haseul cut in before the whole film would be all of your members arguing about who stayed with you.

But eventually, you were stuck between Yeojin and Yerim as you all headed for one of the rides as a start.

From afar, it didn't seem as intimidating, but once you were close enough, you couldn't help but widen your eyes as you stared up at all the people being lifted in the air. "Are you alright, Y/n?" Kahei calls you and Yeojin squeezes your arm to assure you that everything will be fine.

"You don't have to go, if you don't want to. I'm actually thinking of whether I'm getting on it or not." Haseul quickly comforted you, but you were determined to enjoy this trip because who knows when you would be allowed to visit a similar place again with how busy you were and how strict the company was.

Shaking your head, you grinned back at them while lacing your fingers with the two girls next to you. “I want to!” You answer, earning a mix of a few giggles and concerned looks from your members. “Are you sure?” Hyunjin wanted to be sure that it was absolutely your choice and that you weren’t being pressured into doing so.

"Chuu and I aren't going to join. You can stay with us." Jinsol tells you, but you shake your head firmly to signal that you weren't going to back out. "I'll be okay! Plus, I have these cuties with me!" You pulled the two younger girls closer into a hug and they both giggled while reciprocating the embrace, squeezing you in their arms as you patted their backs.

"What about me? I'm cute, too." Sooyoung butted in with a pose and you looked at her for a brief moment, only to ignore the girl and laugh while she watched in disbelief. “Yah!” Jiwoo patted her on the back, almost consoling the latter while she hid her smile, but Jungeun made it apparent to tease her friend as she laughed right at her face. “You’re not cute.”

As you all got on the ride and strapped on, you could feel your heartbeat pick up due to your nervousness. But as promised earlier, Yeojin and Yerim held your hands to assure you that things would be fine and that there was no reason to worry about the ride. Once you were lifted off the ground, the rush of adrenaline spiked through you, and you soon found yourself screaming every time the ride moved a little too quickly.

“Kim Lip and Yves are out of their minds.” Jinsol said to the camera and Jiwoo nodded her head. “I actually thought Haseul unnie was crying.” She added before they saw all of you exiting once you had put your shoes back on.

“My heart hurt from the pressure, but I wasn’t scared.” Yeojin tells them before she looks back at the ride. “I did the v, a normal heart and even the Chuu heart.” She said proudly before the camera turned to Jungeun and Sooyoung. “They’re still a bit out of it.”

“How was it, unnie?” Hyeju asked you as you swayed a bit despite the wide grin stretched across your face. “That was fun!” You exclaim before latching on to Chaewon and hugging her. “I’m a bit dizzy though. Everything is spinning.” The pair giggle as Chaewon can feel your weight on her smaller body, but she holds your arms tight to ensure that you won't topple over.

"Do you need to sit down?" Hyeju asked while chuckling, but you waved to tell her that it wasn't necessary. "I'm fine! I just need to gather my bearings… and as long as Gowon doesn't let go of me."

Patting your arm, the blonde reaches behind, locking her hands behind you so that she has a better hold of you. "Better?"

You grin before giving her a kiss on the back of her head. "Very. Thank you."

When you're all gathered in a less crowded area, it was time to see who was able to complete the mission given to you and who didn't. Being called one by one, you and Heejin had no problems with the task after your trip at the souvenir shop, so the staff had given you envelopes with money in them, the same with the rest of your members minus your leader and maknae.

“As punishment for failing to complete your mission, you will have to show off your aegyo.” By that, Haseul looked just about ready to have the ground swallow her, but you gently patted her back and grinned encouragingly. “You’ll be okay, unnie.” She shot you back a smile of her own before asking how long they would have to do it.

“Maybe ten minutes?” Sooyoung asked teasingly before Jungeun interjected. “Ten minutes is too long.” A few of you agree, stating that they didn’t want to waste more time just so they could start roaming around. “Then a minute?”

After finally agreeing on the time, Haseul and Yeojin stood in the middle as you all waited for the aegyo battle to begin. However, as soon as the leader began to copy the maknae in her baby voice and actions, all the other members, including yourself, were at a loss at the unusual sight.

Chaewon covered her eyes after turning away from the sight while Heejin clung to Jinsol as the latter continued to watch with an amused glimmer in her eyes. Junguen did her best not to look as Jiwoo ran into her arms, hiding her face so as to not continue watching your two members. You looked extremely baffled by what was happening and Sooyoung had to pull you closer to herself and shield your eyes while Kahei looked in absolute disbelief at Haseul’s display. Yerim wasn’t sure whether she wanted to cringe or laugh at the situation whilst Hyunjin was hiding her face behind her own envelope and Hyeju looked like she did not want to be there at all.

At the sound of the timer, Jiwoo quickly cut in to end their suffering and Yerim finally burst into laughter. “We really… didn’t want to keep seeing that.” Jungeun tells them, but Jiwoo took a different approach with her signature smile spread across her face. “You were both so good at it!”

After fulfilling their punishment, Haseul and Yeojin were finally given their envelopes and you could freely roam around in your respective groups.

"If we run out of money, unnie could always use her card, right?" Hyeju questioned as you nodded your head. "That's right. We can eat all the churros that we want!" Chaewon squealed, along with Yerim and Heejin.

"That's so unfair."

"I could always get everyone something that they want?" You had suggested while fishing for your wallet, but as soon as your hand landed on your pocket, your eyes widened as you turned to your manager. "I forgot, oppa took my card…"

"Why did you give it?" Majority of your members yelled, whining and complaining as you rubbed your forehead. "He told me he would hold onto my things when we got on the ride!" You squeak, pouting as you eyed the man who hid behind the other staff members and smiled apologetically.

Yeojin puffed her cheeks while crossing her arms and Haseul smiled encouragingly. "It looks like oppa managed to deceive you." She laughed before Heejin patted your head affectionately. "That's okay. We can make do with what we have so don't worry about it. I think we'll have enough." 

Though you feel like maybe you could get more for your members, you accept your leader's words and nod your head. "Okay, but can I still get some stuff when we finish filming?" The shake of the staffs' heads makes you pout but Sooyoung is quick to sidle up next to you before her arms looped around your waist.

She wears that same comforting smile as she shakes you a little. "Don't worry about it. When we have more time, we can come back here so you can enjoy it more." She promises while patting your head, even lifting her pinky to your face to show you that she meant it.

So with a smile, you lock your pinky with hers and nod your head, making her own smile widen. "Good, no more pouting, okay?"

The producer calls for all of your attention and is quick to explain that you would all be separating into groups this time, giving you the freedom to do whatever you wished to do.

And by the sparkle in Hyeju's eyes, you could already tell what her priority was.

"Churros!"

The giggle passed your lips before you could even realize it. Yerim latched onto your arm while your group walked to the stalls, being extremely careful not to lose you since this was a very big area with many people. There were a handful of people who had already recognized you, so your managers didn't want to risk having you whisked away somewhere.

Before you separated, Kahei was quick to check on you again and started to give instructions, making Yerim giggle as she listened.

"Stay with the group, okay? Don't stray away from Heejin and the others." She tells you and Yerim wiggles a bit while holding your arm. "I have her, unnie, it's okay."

The eldest smiles softly and nods her head. "I know. I just want you guys to be careful." She claims and you both sport matching grins while holding each other closer, if that were possible. "We will!"

Kahei giggles at the two of you before gently patting your cheeks. "Alright. Have fun!"

"Unnie, come on! I'm hungry!" Hyeju called out with a whine and you and Yerim quickly waved goodbye to join the rest of your group. But before you could leave, Jungeun managed to snatch you out of her subunit maknae's grasp and swung you from side to side, earning laughter from you and a groan from the wolf.

"Yah! Go to your own group!" Chaewon shook her head at her friends and Heejin beamed happily. Jungeun merely laughed before setting you properly on your feet. "You better come back with the others, you hear me?"

"Heejin is in charge." Jinsol appoints and Hyeju pulls a face while you pout. "But I'm the eldest out of us!"

"You don't know the place." Hyunjin explains and Sooyoung pats your shoulder. "Don't worry, it's only for today. Later in the dorms, neither of you are in charge." She says with a teasing smile before Hyeju interjects. "Why can't I be the leader?" 

"Because you're too cute!" Jiwoo cheers happily, earning a glare from the younger girl and Yeojin had to pat Jiwoo's back when she shrank from the latter's gaze. "Yeah, Hyeju can be a cute leader!"

"I don't think you need a leader, but it's best to have someone looking out for you." Haseul insists and you pout one more time before finally accepting your defeat and nodding your head. "Okay."

"I don't want to wait for someone else to remind us to take care. Unnie, let's go." True to her words, the youngest in your group is quick to latch on your arm and starts to pull you away, Chaewon follows suit after waving goodbye and Heejin and Yerim are quick to run after you while Hyeju casually follows.

"Should we be worried?" Haseul's question is directed to your staff, but they all share reassuring smiles and shake their heads. You had some of the staff with you, so they would make sure nothing bad would happen.

Plus, it wasn't as though the girls would let anything happen to you with this being your first time here.

They wanted you to enjoy and have fun.

..

"Was it really okay to leave the girls alone?" Jinsol asks worriedly when they reach the line for the ride. Sooyoung was glancing over her shoulder from time to time, almost as though she were hoping to catch a glimpse of all of you despite being so far away.

Jiwoo waved a hand dismissively while she clung to her friend's arm. "Olivia Hye is with them so I'm pretty sure that they'll be safe." Jungeun can't help but laugh at the comment. "She's the youngest in their group but you're more confident with her."

"Olivia Hye can be scary!" Jiwoo argues, eyes wide, and Sooyoung only giggles at her remark, feeling a little more at ease with the banter, masking her nervousness when she's facing the camera again. "She can just intimidate anyone who thinks they can come over."

"But if you think about it, Y/n can take care of them and herself." Jungeun chimes in, making Jinsol quickly agree. "Y/n is like a mother hen sometimes, too, but taking care of herself… I'll leave that to Heejin and the others." Jiwoo's face scrunched a little at the comment and nodded her head in agreement.

You did have a bit of struggle with your selflessness.

Soon, the conversation shifts to a different subject right before they reach the front of the line. Sooyoung was waving the camera around after stating they would be making a music video and the rest of her companion were quick to jump in even though the camera wasn't able to capture their faces.

Meanwhile, the rest of Loona 1/3, or Cutie Leaders as they liked to be called, were busy grabbing their own food before checking out some of the animals that were nearby.

"How are you liking it so far, Vivi unnie?" Yeojin asks the older woman after the bird took off from her hand. Said person only smiled as she hooked her arm with the other. "I'm enjoying it! Even though we have a schedule, I'm happy that we're still able to go on rides, see the animals, and just walk around." The happiness was clear as day on her face and voice.

She had even encountered a few fans earlier and was even more than happy to see them.

"Was seeing Haseul unnie's aegyo worth the trip?" Hyunjin asked with false seriousness that Haseul had to slap her arm. "Don't bring it up!" She whined, but Hyunjin merely ignored her while Kahei giggled. "Don't worry, I've wiped it from my memory." She promises and the leader knows that she won't ever live that moment down.

Yeojin, on the other hand, wasn't too fazed with her constant use of aegyo. She'd easily do it again and maybe pull some of you to join her if she could. But right now, as she looked around and munched on the snack that Haseul handed her, she wondered how the other teams were doing.

"I'm sure Y/n unnie is enjoying herself. She has Yeri unnie and the others, so I'm sure they'll do just fine." She calmly tells the camera. "Do you have doubts about them being separated?" Your manager asks and she shakes her head. "They're all reliable. But I guess they have to be careful with Y/n unnie and make sure she doesn't wander off." She replies before hearing Haseul call her over.

The leader smiled at the staff before gesturing to the bumper cars they decided to spend their time with. "I would actually love to do this with the rest of the kids." She comments with a grin and Hyunjin snorts a little at the thought of thirteen girls all yelling and crashing into each other. "That's going to be a mess. Are you sure about that, unnie?"

"You know that a handful of us can be competitive." Kahei reminds her, but Haseul doesn't falter as she nods her head. "Exactly! It's going to show a whole side of us and everyone will still have fun." She explained before an idea popped into her head.

"Is there a place where we can rent one of these?"

..

"Unnie!" Yerim called from afar and Heejin squinted, attempting to see better despite only having one eye at the moment. Hyeju was too focused on her food to bother calling out and Chaewon was making sure that their food wouldn't spill.

The four watched you walking towards them with a sheepish grin on your face, manager right behind you after you had walked off without realizing.

"We told you not to go too far!" Heejin scolded as you rubbed the back of your neck. "I'm sorry! I thought you were still next to me. I didn't realize it with this many people around." You apologize, clasping your hands together before Chaewon just handed you the ice cream she was holding. "We promise not to tell the others if you promise not to wander off again."

You pout a little at her words while taking the sweet treat. "But they're going to see it anyway." You whine and Hyeju tries to bite back a smirk. "I'm sure PD-nim won't add it." She's well aware that they would, but it would be fun to watch.

Yerim gave her friend a small shove while giggling and Heejin just smiled as she hooked her arm with yours again. "Don't worry about it. Let's just keep going and enjoy the rest of our day." She's quick with making you forget about the scolding and teasing you would most likely receive later on, but at least right now you could focus on having fun.

"Is there anything else you want to buy?" Chaewon asks when she offers you the shake she's carrying and you take a quick sip before looking around. "I'm not sure. I haven't even finished my churro." You answer, holding out a quarter of your snack right before Yerim takes a bite. "Do we still have enough money?" She asks while chewing on the stolen bite, but you don't mind before checking the envelope since you decided to hold it for them.

"Yup! Still have a lot." You show them the contents and Hyeju looks around a little. "I'm still hungry." She grumbles out and you giggle before giving her a tiny nod. “Then let’s get you something else to eat!” Her eyes sparkle at your words and her hand finds yours, handing the nearly finished churro off to Yerim before she begins dragging you away. "Wh- hey! My food!"

But Hyeju just grinned as she led you to another stand. "Don't worry, we'll get you a new one." She promises. And taking a quick look around to check if the cameras were looking, she presses a swift kiss to your cheek that manages to wipe away your pout. "Okay, fine."

Grinning victoriously, it's not a surprise that the younger girl purchases another churro for herself. But you are a little surprised when she hands you a pretzel that looks much bigger than you're used to. And by seeing your expression alone drew a giggle from the latter before she was leading you back to the group.

"How is it this big?" You stare, a little disbelieving at what you were seeing, but as you tore a piece, Heejin laughed to see your eyes go wide and one cheek full. Yerim giggled before lightly pushing at your arm. "You're so cute, unnie!" She cooed before you offered them some, feeling as though you might not be able to finish it all on your own while also thinking that they might want to try, too.

When you notice Chaewon with her hands full, you opt to feed her and she happily accepts it. "It's really chewy." She remarked when you take another bite. "Where did you get it?" You quickly pointed to the wolf as she was close to finishing her churro. "Hyeju bought it with her churro."

Of course, she would know where to get it. And even without saying anything, Chaewon knows that her friend wanted you to experience the best, food included.

"It's time for you all to head back." Your manager soon announces and it's obvious that all five of you weren't too enthusiastic about leaving so soon. "Already? I thought we could still walk around some more." You pout and your staff offers you apologetic looks before they begin to lead 

you to the rendezvous place.

Noticing your pout, Heejin nudges you playfully. "Hey, we can always come back another time, and then we can do everything we want." She promises and the rest immediately agree. "We'll spend the whole day here and go on all the rides and eat whatever food we wanna eat." Hyeju says with a grin, and it's not unlikely that she'll do just that.

"Let's schedule that for next time." Yerim is practically beaming in excitement at the thought of a whole day with everyone, and you can't help but smile at your members' attempt of cheering you up.

By the time you're all reunited, you soon find yourself engulfed in Haseul's warm embrace. "I really hope you had fun." She says with a squeeze and you giggle while nodding your head. "Everything is so big and it's so pretty!" Despite all that you've done, the excitement still had yet to go down as you squirmed in the leader's arms. There was still so much you wanted to see, but unfortunately, it was time to go home for today.

"I'm really happy to spend this day with everyone." Kahei says once you were all wrapping up for filming. "Even though we split up, we still managed to have fun when we were all together." She adds as everyone agreed before Jungeun was gesturing for you to speak. "I don't want to go yet but it's time for us to leave." You say with a pout. "It was a fun day and I was really happy that I was able to experience this whole thing with the girls."

"I heard that you guys ate a lot." Sooyoung teases and you quickly agree. "You can't ignore your stomach when you're hungry." Hyeju quips as Yerim giggled.

"We had a really fun time today but, as we said, it's time for us to go." Haseul takes over while you find Yeojin and take her into your arms, chin resting against her shoulder. "We hope that you enjoy watching as much as we enjoyed our time filming. We hope to see you again, next time!"

After finally saying your goodbyes, you happily thank the staff before being escorted to the bus you had all taken to come to Everland. Though as soon as the girls reached their seats, they were all confused to see bags in their places while you quickly sat down and grabbed the pillow Jinsol had gotten you a while back.

"What's this?" You hear someone asking and your manager walks over to hand you back your card after you had forgotten that he took it before you split up. "You did a good job, kid. And I'm sure the girls will love their presents." Hyunjin perks up when she hears and you just smile at her when she peeked over at you. "Did you…" 

"Well, if you guys let me explain earlier, I bought something for everyone.” You giggled while putting your card back in your wallet and then sat back, your energy slowly depleting now that you were able to finally sit still and let the day’s events finally take over.

Smiles grew on each girl’s faces as they opened up the bags, spotting their representative stuffed animals, or as close to it as possible, along with a keychain with their names on it. Hyunjin, who sat next to you, gave you a playful little nudge before she pulled her gift to her chest then rested her head against your shoulder.

You definitely hoped that you could do this again with everyone, but they were only looking forward to spending more days together with you. Even without the rides and food stalls, you could all have fun as long as you had each other.

[kohakuhime]

i’ve sat on these long enough and so we have some of my YGO-DM next gen chara sheets! feel free to ask about them, and there’s basic info under the cut:

Yuko (peachship kidlet):

Has a younger sister (and possibly a brother, both who are currently still being worked on!)

While she loves dueling, she also loves karaoke and dancing games; she can play multiple instruments.

She’s socially awkward and a social butterfly all in one, haha! Yuko is one of those people who’s open and friendly with those she knows, but gets really shy when placed in large crowds.

Her deck is Magician Girls, with Quintet Magician being her ace monster.

The heart-shaped pendant on her bracelet is super important to her, even though it was an anonymous gift left on her desk one holiday. There’s a lot of care that went into making it, and Yuko can appreciate the craftsmanship. It’s also seems to be a puzzle locket too, but Yuko hasn’t figured out how to solve it without potentially breaking it; when she’s stressed, she can be seen tinkering with it.

Risa (polarship kidlet):

Currently an only child, but very much the Mom friend.

She’s very outgoing and confident, a perfect blend of her parents! That includes her temper too xD

She has known how to drive a stick shift since she was twelve, and she’s known how to throw a punch for even longer. Risa isn’t afraid to get into a fight if it’s to protect family and her friends.

When it comes to appearance, Risa is a girl who can do both. She’s your go to for makeup tips, but she’s also fond of ratty sneakers and casual clothes.

She uses a Red Eyes/Amazoness based deck, with her trademark monster being Red Eyes Slash Dragon.

She has been dating Tadashi since middle school and they have a surprisingly healthy (if not absolutely secret) relationship. In their friend group, there’s only one other person who knows they’re dating.

Tadashi (lol idk yet):

He’s an adopted kiddo, but no less loved! He challenged Kaiba to a chess match when Kaiba was visiting a KaibaCorp sponsored orphanage. Tadashi didn’t win, but Kaiba still adopted him anyways: “You could always stand to improve, and you obviously can’t do that here.”

Tadashi will NOPE out of any situation involving bugs. He can appreciate their function and their beauty, but he doesn’t like them at all and will quite literally speedwalk out of a room to get away from them.

Tadashi uses a deck that’s Blue Eyes themed, but he doesn’t have the actual Blue Eyes in his deck; his trademark monster is a version of what will one day become known as Azure Eyes Silver Dragon.

He’s fond of watching really bad sci-fi movies, but only with friends so that he can poke fun at them and laugh; he can’t watch them by himself without cringing.

He and Risa have their act down to a science and bicker quite a bit in public, but in private they’re actually super chill and can spend hours in each other’s company.

Rowen (fortuitship kidlet):

Has a younger sister, and possibly an adopted brother....but shhhh no spoilers yet.

Since his mom is friends with Mai (to Raphael’s dismay), Rowen practically grew up alongside Risa and Yuko. This is also how Rowen knows Risa is dating Tadashi, though he wishes he didn’t because Risa for the final time you don’t have to threaten me with forgotten secrets of my past, I won’t tell anyone.

Rowen’s archtype in Duel Monsters is Guardians, largely in part because of his father. He does in fact use copies of his father’s guardians in his deck (though not the actual cards themselves - those are too important to his father).

Rowen loves to craft and dabbles in everything from sewing to mechanic work to metal working; the necklace he wears has his immediate family’s initials on it, and he did that himself and maybe that’s a hint for something i mentioned earlier ha.

He’s very chill and personable, but if he has to he can be Serious and holds a Quiet Authority in times of crisis. Thankfully, there’s not that many instances we have to see Serious!Rowen.

[monsoonblooms12]

Kjæreste (King Liam x f!MC)

Summary: They have a day all to themselves full of love and cute moments of togetherness🧡

Kjæreste: (Norwegian) Dearest, Beloved One; Term of endearment for one's romantic partner😍

A/N: This is the giveaway prize for my lovely @parkdoesthings who won a place in my followers and birthday celebration giveaway. Wren, I hope you like it and the way I used the prompts you gave me. Writing them for the first time made me nervous as well as happy. Really hoping that you like this🧡

Prompts used: @parkdoesthings gave me the prompts "I missed you, so much" kisses + dessert. In addition to these, I have used Prompt 3, 14 and 16 from this prompt list by @creativepromptsforwriting. Feel free to send in more requests, I am always accepting!🧡

If you enjoyed the story, please like it, leave a comment or reblog. Your feedback keeps me going🤎

Pairing: King Liam Rys X f!MC (Odette Dawson)

Word Count: around 2K

Rating: General

Category: Fluff

Triggers: A few curse words (Just 1 or 2)

OTHER WORKS

The golden hues filtered through the strains of the satin drapes, filling the place like the aroma of a freshly brewed cup of coffee. The birds taunted each other playfully, all lost in their plays. A few of them beckoned her to join them.

She certainly would have, if she had those mystic spells, radiating sparkles on clicking her fingers, turning into an appealing blue jay, adorning herself in the summery blues and whites, just like the sky right now.

She had been lying awake for quite some time now, sleep being a long-lost pal. The silk of her covers ran like water under her fingers, and if it were someone who had not been accustomed to it, the sensation would have been enough to cradle them into a deep siesta.

Finally, she pushed herself to get up. The gentle sloshing of water around her as she gently placed down herself into the dreamy tints of the bathroom soothed her senses. Closing her eyes, she felt as if she was in a pond amidst a forest, all alone enjoying the tranquillity, as the woody scents dazzled her senses and the solitary rose petals caressed her skin.

It was unwinding and comforting, not to live by a schedule, blabbering all day around with stupid dignitaries or argue about some variety of apples.

Ugh, Apples! 

The only downside of marrying the king of Cordonia that she could think of. She could go on about her list of grievances she had with apples, but right now, if she thought about them for a second more, she would throw up.

And when in Loire Valley, never think of those gross little piece of mischief, she made it her motto.

Especially when they make you vomit.

The soft pink fabric fluttered in the merry breeze, the net covering her hands, making her look as elegant as the chandelier that now adorned her majestic room, every thread glowing like diamonds on a bracelet.

She gives a twirl, she wants to feel the fluffiness of the holiday, but yet she couldn't.

Not when there is someone she has been waiting for, eagerly, unabatingly.

Now and then, she would pick her cream-coloured cellular, glide to the balcony, leaning down to make out the appearance of a car, her chestnut brown locks dancing joyfully.

A shrill cajoled her out of her reverie, and her heart leapt to a beat of joy.

The soft music playing in the room seemed even more melodious to her as her feet lead her to the doorway with a swift dance-like motion.

She opened the door, the dazzling smile brightening up her face like a 100-watt bulb.

Only to find the waiter standing there with her breakfast.

Her face fell as if it was not a royal buffet, but trays full of apples in front of her.

And when the waiter blushed thinking that he was the reason for her joy, her anger built up like the pressure in a pressure cooker.

She knew a stream of rudeness would escape if she opened her mouth, hence she sealed her lips, put on the exercised smile and stepped aside for him to enter.

Breakfast was other-worldly. She had quite forgotten the sheer deliciousness a classic French breakfast carried in itself.

Her mouth was an adobe of butter, chocolate and coffee, and all her objections vanished with a bite of that melt-in-mouth croissant.

The weather showed a solemn change as the white were replaces by greys and the golden slowly muted down.

She didn't really love rains, any season for that matter, but she could deal with everything. She decided to go down for a stroll, deciding that she had little to do in this room all by herself.

The softness of the Earth under her shoes, the multitude of colours in front of her soft brown eyes, the splendid fragrances filling her nostrils, the melody of nature playing in a loop in her ears and the sweetness of the solitude making her heart flutter.

All her senses were enamoured as she twirled around the gigantic flower garden.

A golden yellow butterfly greeted her by landing on one of her fingers, wanting to hold her finger and take her on a tour around her adobe.

Both of them silently exchanged a few words, and Odette happily agreed to get enamoured by the fluttery beauties and silky petals.

But she hadn't taken a step when two palms softly covered her eyes. She was startled but knew better than to scream. Her heart told her that it was someone she knew and not someone who would try to harm her.

As if someone would even be able to get past the heavy security

Her ringed hand gently reached for the hands which were still placed on her eyes. She felt them, a metallic feel of a ring, gave her a serotonin boost. Her heart danced and the smile that was waiting for its chance finally spread on her face, making her look like a goddess.

With a gentleness equal to the one when they were placed, Odette removed the hands, didn't even bother to open her eyes and kissed the person behind her with so much love that one would have melted into golden honey by its power.

But he didn't.

Their love wasn't cancelling out each other, it was multiplying to become so powerful that it would engulf them forever.

Placing the foreheads together, Odette finally opens her orbs, which shone like brilliant diamonds, to look up at the person whose arrival she awaited. The blush that spreads on both of their faces is automatic.

He twirls the stray lock that adorned her beauty around his finger, his hand, the ringed one, tightly wrapped around her silk regalia.

"I missed you so much! You know how impatient I am, and yet, you made me wait." Odette whines lovingly, the smile never leaving even through her complaint.

"I am sorry, Ette! There was an emergency apple-themed event-"

Odette's eyes narrowed, and an unamused pout took the place of the preceding grin.

"Can we please skip the apple talks, please? I did not come here to escape about those vomit-inducing pieces of shit."

All the while, Liam chuckled, always amused by the thought that out of everyone, he fell in love with that gorgeous lady who hated apples.

"Soo... Now that you are finally here, what are we supposed to do? Just stand here staring at each other?"

"I mean, that wouldn't be bad either."

"C'mon, Li! I didn't travel all the way to here to stand and stare at you. I already do that, every time, at Cordonia." Even though she had spoken it matter-of-factly, it made him blush and grin.

Even more because he had been doing the same, every moment she had been with him, right from the day he met her.

But he had always been a hopeless romantic, she had not.

Whenever Odette told him that he was the one who had made her realize that love and soulmates actually exist, his heart would start running a marathon in his chest. He still couldn't comprehend how someone like him had ended up getting someone like her as his queen.

Every poem, every romantic song, pales in front of the hues of their love, and since words were not enough to express it, he made sure to show it to her, every day, every time, every moment of his life.

"We will do whatever you want to do! This vacation is all about you, after all." He said as she linked her arms into his, but not before she made a wordless promise to the butterfly that she would come back and go on the tour.

As Liam led them towards the car, Odette pulled him back.

"Not the car, Mr Rys. Loire valley has enigmatic forests, and if we are not doing a forest trail, we will seriously miss out on the greatest beauty, the beauty of nature."

And he was in awe, again.

This is the side of Odette that makes her the queen he wanted by his side. How much respect and appreciation she has for everything, especially nature. He happily gave in to her demand.

The soft crunch of some dried leaves and the earthy scents enveloped the area. It wasn't secluded, now and then, the excited chirps and melodious tweets of the feathered beings spread through the air.

Odette's eyes joyfully travelled all around her, the multitude of chrome spreading a happy surprise through her heart.

"My Queen"

She looked up at him, their browns dissolving into each other.

"You know what these hues remind me of?"

"What?" She asked in a silent whisper.

"You."

"Your colours. The multi-chrome of your attributes, and the elegance they add to your persona. They make you charismatic"

"Liam, Yours is the only colour I want to get painted in."

Their lips meet like muscle memory, without any initiation. It was a reflex registered in the record book of their cerebrum.

Their thoughts entangled, arm around each other, the trail ended before they realized. They were now standing in front of the eight o'clock café.

"It isn't eight o'clock yet, but there is something special I've got arranged in here for you." Odette winked, pulling him in.

A few silent whispers later, Odette took Liam to the secluded first floor of the café, only for him to get the surprise.

The arrangement was a large table with his favourite board games, Carcassonne and Scrabble, neatly arranged on it. If he had been a kid, he would have screamed up and down, and circle danced with her.

No one had ever done something like this for him, and he doubted someone ever would.

Well, except her.

The next hours were filled with mindless laughs, funny fights, fake waves of anger and joyful screams.

The voids between those were filled with delicious coffee and melt-in-mouth gelato that had been specially arranged, again by Ette.

She had ordered flavours he had not heard of, and with the constant consumption, he had become a fan of the chocolate fondente flavoured one.

Utterly tired of the endless rounds of gameplay, they finally took their leave while thanking the people their generously for bearing their shenanigans.

Who would have guessed that board games would be so much fun even after years of not playing?

Not them, definitely.

"Just one more spot, and then we will go back, I promise." Odette winked, again.

He doubted if he would ever be able to refuse to her enigma even if he wanted to. One look and he would do anything to make her smile the way he likes.

The surprise that emerged in front of him posed such a stark contrast to the one before that for a moment he felt like he had got a tour of the polar opposites.

His eyes travelled up to the dazzling Ferris Wheel, standing majestically up before them.

"Just executing my idea of experiencing opposites in a day, that's it."

He wanted to kiss her as his life depended on it. But before he could get hold of her, she was already rushing towards the ticket counter, and he followed.

It was the last ticket, and gladly, they had managed to get it. They rushed to enter their cabin, hand in hand, adsorbing the cheerful air around.

The view that met their eyes was heavenly, like a piece of God's adobe fixed neatly amidst the man's land. Their eyes shifted once outside, and the next minute they found themselves staring at each other, eyes sparkling like stars of the endless sky.

She was his flower moon, the happiness and love she brings to his life matching with the fertility and flowers May brings with itself, which is what the Flower Moon symbolizes.

She shines differently from everyone, a unique sight for anyone who lays their eyes upon her, dazzling brilliantly.

The brilliance that pales every obstacle, every pain with the power of her love, she was destined to stay with him forever.

The wordless promise he made holding her hand, that he would fight with the worst if it was to keep her in his heart's labyrinth.

She was the one who made his heart beat, after all.

PS: Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a great day ahead! Love, Manamee🧡.

Tags (Please let me know if you want to be added or removed or if I forgot you):

Perma: @gkittylove99 @neotericthemis @udishaman @aestheticartsx @twinkleallnight @schnitzelbutterfingers @sophxwithers @sweatyrysconnoisseur @nikki-2406 @choicesfanaf @trrfanaddict @starrystarrytrouble @gardeningourmet @parkbarks @mvalentine @lovablegranny @mercury84choices @jessiembruno

Liam x Odette: @anotherbeingsworld @ao719 @hopelessromanticmonie @kingliam2019 @bbrandy2002

[nomunamuinmybrain]

Work you out (M)

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Rating: M

Genre: Smut

Word Count: 2.4K

In collaboration with the lovely @alwaysdarkestbeforethedawn94

Disclaimer: if you are under the age of 18 please know that this contains heavy sexual themes and mature language.

Summary: Working for Hybe has been an experience. Being Jungkook’s manager is another story. His sharp eyes, firm jawline and snarky attitude was a deadly combination to begin with. The guy easily found his way to your heart and you simply couldn't take it anymore.

Thinking back to how I managed to land such an unimaginable employment opportunity must have been a miracle. Unquestionably, working for HYBE had so many benefits; I swore to never leave this place. Sure, I was a simple manager's assistant, but I was by the side of one of the managers that handled the most important talent in the stretch of South Korea, the entire globe to be honest, BTS. I was assigned the position of assistant to the manager of one of the guys, none other than Jeon Jungkook. I really couldn’t believe my luck. Not only was I a part of one of the most skyrocketing influential enterprises in the country, but I also had the chance to meet some of the most inspiring people in the whole world! Who would have thought?!

Did I have a crush on the guy by the end of my first month working here? Yes, but who wouldn't? He is the sweetest, always polite and courteous. I've met my share of self-boasting asshats; this industry is flooded with such. This guy is worth billions and he has remained ridiculously humble. Word got around about him being a wonderful young man and I could positively say he is so much more up close. Jungkook is ridiculously handsome that’s a given already, but his personality was the real deal-maker. He reminds me of a dark stormy thundery night where I cover myself with my favourite warm fluffy blanket starring out of the window a rich flavored hot chocolate in hand.

In general, I quite enjoy working at the company’s principled environment. Don’t get me wrong, nothing in this world is rainbows and butterflies, but overall, I can confidently say that it’s been a mainly positive experience. Thankfully, the department I am in is assembled by kind, funny people who like to get things done. There hasn’t been a day were I regretted coming here. As for my daily duties as an assistant, working for Jungkook meant keeping up with his appointments, helping him with anything at anytime, managing his schedule, making sure it matches with the other guys' and so much more. I was required to work around the clock and as a single independent woman in her late twenties who was trying to figure out the world around her that didn’t sound like such a bad idea, though I digress. Essentially, I was one of the employees responsible for pretty much anything and everything he needed. Our department was at his disposal 24/7 running around, living that busy life.

That's until the pandemic struck. That was the first time I thought to myself that this might be nature’s valiant plan to get back what man so forcefully took from her. Suddenly, everything was canceled; life got put on a hold. My dearest supervisor, Jungkook's manager, had to stay at home because he had kids. In fact, a lot of people had to stay at home. Abruptly, days became weeks and weeks became months. The desperation and frustration we were feeling was like nothing else ever experienced. Truthfully, it felt like something had been stolen from us and we could never get it back. In this manner, when the gears finally started grinding again I was assigned to be the on-site manager for Jungkook. That meant being in direct contact with him more so than before and of course, being responsible for a ton of other obligations.  

Not going to lie, the first months were slightly awkward for both of us and understandably so. We both were used to very different working arrangements. I might have been working behind the scenes before, but now I had to step into the spotlight becoming his own personal shadow, and I am sure he wasn’t really comfortable with that. Taken into account the current situation everyone looked like a volcano ready to erupt.  

Once, I happened to accidentally step in a not so common incident; maybe it was a circumstance I wasn’t supposed to witness. He was on the phone at the time, when I saw him. That’s why I decided it was best if I stayed behind the half closed door of the studio. I couldn’t hear what he was saying and it was none of my business after all, but I could tell by the minute I laid my eyes on him that something was wrong. Something had been bothering him; irritation written all over his face. He was pacing back and forth, phone still on his ear. He was clenching his fist so hard I wondered if his nails cut into his skin. He was breathing heavily, almost as if he would burst and his muscles grew tense.  

Then, in an instant, it seemed that the call ended and as he was putting the phone in his pocket he slammed his fists down onto the table a loud bang echoing in the room. After some consideration, I knocked on the door to make my presence known and he sharply looked at me. Without having the chance to say anything to him he let out a loud growl and left the room leaving me dumbfounded and unaware by the door. Soon after that, he apologized for the way he acted confessing that he had an unfortunate falling out with one of his closest friends and at the time he couldn’t process what was happening. I would never forget that day. It was the day I came across a not so familiar side to him.

From that day forward, things miraculously became easier and Jungkook was way more relaxed around my presence, we joked around often and he even texted me to ask about a variety of things outside of regular working hours. We managed to develop a teasing relationship full of endless borderline flirtatious banter. He had this other side to him that only a selected few got the chance to know. Jeon Jungkook was indeed a comforting raging night, but he was also an infuriating playful mischievous brat when he wanted to be. This in all honesty, made him a hundred times more irresistible in my eyes.

Life was going on smoothly until Jungkook decided that taking after midnight trips to the gym was perfectly acceptable, insisting that I escort him instead of his bodyguard. I cursed every single time but I went anyway. Forty-five minutes after midnight he was lifting weights, unbothered. Taking secret short glances towards him I contemplated what I had done in my previous life to deserve this torment. Don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t care less about the late hour, but to have this view in front of my eyes was causing me both mental and physical pain. The guy was clearly sculpted by the gods. With his broad chest, muscular arms and thick thighs he could have anyone he ever wanted. He even sported an hourglass figure; He is insanely unreal. That’s the main reason why I decided to sit there preoccupied with a silly game on my phone to kill time until the suffering ended. I was barely hanging from a string at the verge of blowing off the barrier between my personal and professional life.

Out of the blue, with a loud grunt, he dropped the weights, drawing me out of my contemplation. He looked annoyed for whatever reason. He tried his best to seem nonchalant but it was obvious, in his beautiful stern eyes. Could he be craving for an audience? Abandoning every rational thought I had, I put my phone away, looked in his direction as I got up to get water. I smirked at his clear annoyance. Surely, we weren't supposed to interact with the artists this way but I am cranky and sleepy, and for the first time ever, he was being kind of an ass to me. Was I perhaps the reason behind his sudden personality change? The thought kept floating at the back of my mind.  

This kept going on for about three weeks or so and I gave him nothing. His annoyance prominent in his expression, more and more as the weeks went by. He was hot but I am sure all he had been seeking was an audience given that he missed it, or so I thought. Thursday evening rolls around and I was particularly iffy tonight ‘because I was extremely frustrated, sexually. This one was making my situation worse, sporting a tight black tank top and skinny grey sweatpants which made him look like a treat. He could easily pass for a bodyguard with those broad well-built shoulders. As my eyes scanned his body I realized this was the first time his tatted sleeve was on display. I couldn’t help but let my eyes wander. By the time I was done his eyes were already fixed on mine and I turned away immediately, embarrassment written all over my face.  

Seeking solace in the women’s bathroom I tried to extinguish this ravenous yearning. The feeling of cold water did nothing to help the burning desire that was building inside me. Without warning, a knock at the door was heard, his sweet angelic voice following "Are you okay?" he asked, the remnants of a smirk could be heard still. "Jungkook you cannot be here, I am okay. I'll be out in a minute." I exclaimed, as calm as I could. "It's been ten minutes. I can't continue unless you're there." He insisted, I heard him chuckle after that.

With that, it was now or never, I pushed the door’s handle and made my way outside rolling my eyes in the process and he caught that, quickly moving closer, clearly annoyed, jaw clenched, eyes taking in my features, making him look not quite intimidating but definitely interesting. No, it was my mistake. Not just interesting, he looked ravishing. "As I said, I'll be out in a minute. Then you can finish up" I argued. But he didn't budge, moving even closer, if that was even possible, he was almost a breath away. "I don't feel like working out anymore" he declared like a child whose toy was taken away from him. As if I chose to play heads or tails with my career, I poked the beast further, "What is it that you want to do then?" I asked making sure he heard the annoyance in my tone. Coming even closer, to the point where he was completely pressed up against me, "You" he uttered calmly yet authoritatively. Before I could process what he had just said his soft lips crushed mine with a vengeance, thirsty. Pulling my lip with his teeth, he kept planting kisses from my lips to my jaw trailing down to my neck and décolletage; a surprised panting left my lips.  

It felt as if I had involuntarily awakened this beastly hunger within him. His kisses insatiable and his touch was possessive, "I've been thinking about this for so long" he confessed as he took my hoodie off. "Sitting there, not giving a word let alone a glimpse. If you think this is off-limits you're wrong" he growled pointing at himself. "I can guarantee that once we're done here you definitely won't be able to look at me, ever." As he said all that, he managed to get me in a compromising position against the sink, his slim waist in between my legs. He kept my gaze as he lowered his head between my thighs. Little shit kept giving me hickeys on the soft flesh of my inner thighs, so close to my now dripping core. He enjoyed tormenting me and it showed. I was helpless but oh, God was all of this hot. He licked a stripe over my soaked panties, "Oh baby, you smell delicious" and with one hand he took off my underwear completely.

He sank in my folds, letting a guttural moan that I felt vibrating through my core. Not being able to think about what was happening I let myself indulge in my carnal desire my hands tangled in between his luscious hair.  

He loved food and I've watched him eat before, but this must be one of his favorites ‘cause he was doing his best not to let a drop go to waste; he acted like a man starved. His hands held me in place, thankfully, ‘cause everything was too much; nothing could stop me from shaking, feeling everything deep in my core, he was too much. He just had to be good at everything. He kept a torturous tempo, from sucking my clit to his sinful tongue penetrating me, and as tears gathered around my eyes he decided to add his slender fingers in bringing me closer to heaven than I've ever been. "That's it baby, let go. Let go for me" he exhaled and just like that I had the most intense climax. My limbs felt numb, my whole body felt like rubber.  

Before I could register what was happening he was back at it, sucking my over stimulated clit, my thighs unconsciously closing around his head as oversensitivity hit. "One more, please, come on baby, you can do it" he begged. He kept pumping his fingers while sucking my clit, as if it was his only goal in life. My screams muffled through my own hand clamped on my mouth as I reached my high for a second time that night. I felt it take over me with such intensity I didn't register what had happened. He emerged from between my thighs, soaked from me squirting and with a proud look on his face he declared "Now I look like I had the workout of a lifetime".  

He helped me get dressed and pulled me close for a soft peck. He must have noticed my concerned look because he wrapped his arms around me in a warm hug and said "Don't be scared about this, we can work it out. I really like you and I'd like you to stick around". Starring into his eyes, I nodded and he pulled me close for the sweetest kiss, trying to tame my bewildered hair. He helped me get dressed and got out the door first to make sure that no one was around. I waited for a moment and then I got a text.  

[mx-metronome]

Hello, skyblr! Finally coming out and sharing my ideas/theories for Sky! This post is INSANELY long, but I hope you’ll stick around for the entire deal! Spoilers under the cut, just to warn you! (also I refer to the elders by the names given to them by the skyblr community)

tl;dr: It’s suggested even by TGC’s concept art that each of the realms represents a stage of life. I’m gonna take it a step further and say that not only is that true to the individual, but also the civilization pictured throughout the game.

 We’ll start from the beginning of the game and establish some evidence as we go.

Part the First: The Isle of Dawn

Birth. Nascence. The first establishment of existence. The Isle of Dawn is aptly named, being the first point of contact of the people that fell from the stars. They came on ships of stone, riding the newborn winds into this uncharted land, hoping to eventually settle. Pictures drawn of light can be seen carved out of the walls, a primitive method of documentation akin to cave paintings in the earliest times of our own society.

Remnants of the ships can still be found throughout a number of the lands, but especially so here, buried in the sands. The spirits that can be found here are identified as voyagers and stargazers - sailors making land for the very first time.

The elder of the Isle, Daleth, carries a cane, which is significant enough to make up the isle’s constellation. Perhaps they are like a shepherd, guiding the people to their new beginnings. Perhaps the cane just looks really, really cool.

The emotes learned here are directional, like pointing and following.

Part the Second: The Daylight Prairie

They locate the prairie, which signifies childhood. The flowers and the butterflies of light are in abundance here, symbolizing the purity and innocence of youth  still untouched by society.

Here, the society is still in its infancy. The people see the untapped potential in this land, and they begin to plant their roots. Any notable settlements are still small and scattered, but supply lines are quickly established via boats carrying large pots across the clouds. The pots seem to be full of light, a valuable resource that several spirits here can be seen gathering and transporting.

The elder of the Prairie, Ayin, is also pictured as a worker of some kind, and they are depicted with a pot of light, hence the constellation’s shape. The transporting of light is critical to the continued development of the civilization.

The emotes learned here are very basic (like learning to wave hello) or childlike (like charming butterflies or laughing), among a few others.

Part the Third: The Hidden Forest

The forest is a symbol of adolescence: it’s a seeking of identity and all the growing pains it entails.

This light painting (the last one the can be found in the game’s progression [I think], another sign of the advancement of this people) shows the population carrying themselves deeper into areas of richer resources to further expand. And expand they do!

Their structures grow larger and more sturdy. Additionally, the doors through each wall are made of iron and small crystals of....blue light? A similar blue to that of the strange plants that can be seen growing everywhere. These plants of darkness seem to be appearing in larger numbers now: there were zero in the Isle of Dawn, and few enough in the Daylight Prairie that they’re easy to miss. Here they’re not rampant, but they are starting to command attention.

The darkness isn’t necessarily an absence of light, but rather an antithesis to light: the two are opposites but equally powerful in their own unique ways, and both can be seen in the forests’ constructions. There is also some evidence that darkness literally spreads through negative emotions such as hopelessness and sadness, as shown in the memories of the Tearful Light Miner:

While their crew is mining, there’s a cave-in, and all of their friends are injured by the falling rocks. One friend survives the initial collapse, but they are mortally wounded by the affair. This scene here could be their friend resigning to their unavoidable death, and their hopelessness manifests itself as a darkness plant growing out of them. A small detail which is only symbolically important, but tucks itself into the meta quite nicely later.

Returning to the story, the big theme here in the forest is industrialization. Lumberjacks, miners, prospectors, and pioneers can all be found here, striking their claim on this new soil and its resources aplenty. Structures are larger and more numerous, but at the cost of deforestation and putting a lot of holes in the cliffs for mining. Butterflies are not as common now, so alternative sources of light had to be found (more discussion about the harvesting of light from the light creatures can be found here in this post, and it’s this post that in fact inspired this entire post of my own).

Both light and darkness are being harvested from the earth (and possibly even synthesized, if the negative emotions becoming dark plants is taken literally) and fashioned into tools and machinery. The elder of the Forest, Teth, is a blacksmith, and the constellation is a hammer and anvil, a testament to the people’s industrial revolution. Their temple itself is a massive piece of machinery, an impressive feat of engineering only indicative of a civilization accelerating its growth and advancing towards a golden age.

Coincidentally, this oncoming of darkness is also reflected in the emotes learned here, such as apologetic, anger, worry, and crying.

Part the Fourth: The Valley of Triumph

The Valley of Triumph symbolizes young adulthood and is the pinnacle of this society’s achievements. Buildings and structures here are HUGE: entire cities, castles, and the technological advancements are like nothing anyone’s ever seen.

Here the populace has put less focus into expansion and more into the development of its culture. The architecture is much more colorful and stylized. Sporting events such as the races down the slopes or through the clouds are means of entertainment. The citadel’s orrery could indicate a deep understanding of astronomy and mathematics. 

There are twin elders in the Valley: Sah and Mek, and they’re athletes! Whatever sport it is they play involves the use of long sticks, and it’s their two crossed sticks that make up the constellation, emphasizing the establishment of life’s greater pleasures and a thriving culture. A lot of the spirits found here are either athletic in some capacity or are out here living their best life.

The emotes learned here are of pride and athletic ability. Cheering is also noteworthy here, as happiness and enjoyment are highlighted in this realm.

The most curious part of this realm is that there are no darkness plants to be found, and I think the reason for that is that the populace is so swept up in its shows and studies that it’s distracted from its inevitable collapse that will soon follow. Perhaps these people don’t realize what is coming. So what is coming?

Part the Fifth: The Golden Wasteland

The Golden Wasteland symbolizes late adulthood, maybe even a sort of midlife crisis. It’s in this stage that the society begins to break down. The reasons for the upheaval are part of the game’s unsolved mystery, but there are some details of note to be highlighted in this realm.

The structures here are the biggest we’d seen so far, and many of them are a lot like strongholds: Huge, thick walls; pipes of awesome size; and what used to be giant columns dot the sandy wastes. The water is polluted beyond purification; bones of large, long dead creatures are scattered across a hunting ground; and not only are darkness plants in abundance here, but an entirely new embodiment of darkness is also introduced: the krill. 

Krill are a curious creature: not much, if anything, is known about their origins, but their presence as active seekers and destroyers of light could symbolize war and hatred, as an angry or upset individual would try to drag down others from feelings of happiness to the alternative. It is easier to succumb to the darkness and fall from light than it is to climb back out, and it appears that’s what this civilization has done.

In their pride and vanity, political disagreement had sprung into full-scale battles and skirmishes. Barricades pepper the land, especially just outside the temple. The people resorted to weaponizing darkness and blotted out light altogether (notice how fewer candles can be found here than in other realms). The world drowned in despair which only spread the darkness faster. It was like a nuke that left fear and anger in its wake with no chance for light to flourish again. All that remains now are the skeletons of stone and bone, memories of a dying people.

The elder here, Tsadi, is a warrior of renown strength, proficient with the constellation’s shape: a spear and shield. They likely fought along the barricades just outside the gates, desperate to protect any survivors that made it inside.

The spirits here are fighters, survivors, people that are struggling to stay alive in the chaos, and their emotes match that. 

So, after this civilization burned itself to the ground, what remained?

Part the Sixth: The Vault of Knowledge

The Vault of Knowledge symbolizes old age. With no more strength and no more people, all that remains is the collection of knowledge they had accumulated throughout their history, from the Isle to the Wasteland, and any lessons that could be learned from it all.

The realm itself is one giant structure: a tall tower packed to the brim with knowledge stored as light. Light is in abundance here: it fills the room as you climb it, and memories of mantas and other light creatures dwell within here as well. There are little bits of buildings, floating platforms, and large skeletons on display, almost like a museum of the world that once was. 

The elder here is Lamed, and the Vault’s constellation resembles a codex: one of the many lanterns found throughout the vault where texts are kept. In their cutscene, they appear tired and hopeless. The Vault is all that’s left between the source of the darkness and the rest of the world.

Scholarly spirits walked the halls and recorded as much history as they could before they too were wiped out by the impending darkness, vainly hoping that their mark on the world would be left behind in the stories they told so that they might not be forgotten. The emotes learned here are of praying and meditation, strongly suggesting the theme of pausing and reflecting on all that had transpired.

It is here that your journey begins to come to an end as you reflect on the realms that you’ve seen and the people you watched rise and fall. They weren’t forgotten because you witnessed it all. They succeeded, in a way.

The Vault of Knowledge is unique in that at the top of the level, not just one elder statue sits, but all SIX are there. This realm isn’t a part of the society’s story: it IS the story. 

As you progress through the level, the constellations are revealed to you, one by one.

In the cutscene where all six elders bow to you and thank you for guiding the spirits home, a song plays. What’s the official title of that song in the soundtrack?

“The Story So Far.”

Lamed and the other elders told you their story. About the rise and fall of their people, blinded by ambition and by a thirst for both light and darkness. In their attempt to balance the two powers, darkness ultimately won, and now no one remains.

Only a vault. The room of six statues is a new addition, as they all seem cleanly cut and without any wear. They were built intentionally, shortly before the darkness destroyed everyone, as a means to tell that story to whomever may find them.

This was the old room. Where Lamed’s statue once stood is now an empty pedestal. The light is now gone, and the soft blues and blacks of the rest of the level are now a dark, dull gray. The only decent source of light is from the occasional flashes of lightning from the storm beyond. The rest of the Vault was sealed off to protect its contents and its people who all died within, leaving this top chamber to be consumed.

Finale: The Eye of Eden

The most mysterious of the seven realms, Eden symbolizes death, an inevitability for all. I don’t have a lot to go off of for this part, but the red diamond that rests at the top of the mountain seems to be neither light nor darkness. It’s emitting a ray of golden light up to the heavens, but it’s also showering the mountain in a dark storm of rocks. So, which is it?

The scene shown from the Vault cutscene depicts the mountain with the diamond at the top. There also sits a monarch of some kind underneath it. Is this king the one that weaponized darkness and brought the fall of his people? There’s a lot of speculation behind this one.

I believe the diamond is death itself. Death is the most powerful tool a king can have, for there’s no threat to your power if all your competition is in the ground. But a warmonger invites violence to his doorstep, and he and all his people perished as a result.

But the diamond itself is not to be feared. Yes, it’s spouting darkness across the land, and that’s all a mortal will ever see. But on the other side of that dark storm is the beam of pure light shooting into the heavens, something only the deceased will embrace and understand. Death is an ending. Death is a release.

The spirits all needed a little light to find their way to that other side. So you lit them with your candle. You taught them how to feel love and happiness again, something that widespread darkness took from them. 

And when you fell and collapsed under the darkness yourself, some other sky kid came along and granted you their winged light so you may pass on too.

And you and the spirits, now freed from the suffering of darkness by way of just a taste of light, returned to the stars from whence you came.

....Uhh, the end? That’s my super hot take? Add to it if you like?

[lunarianillusion]

a change in fate

a maribat fanfic

Chapter 03

Timothy really wanted to know who thought it was a good idea to put Guy Gardner on monitor duty, because this was clearly not a prank.

Let’s backtrack a bit, the young alpha had gone out after having put all his stuff at his new loft, to go and gather information. He had done some research beforehand on the internet but the blog that had started out decently had turned into nothing but a gossip site. He had not been as thorough as he normally was since he was still a bit skeptical of the situation. He also needed to get a coffee machine.

He had just walked through a few blocks when a loud explosion penetrated the air and made his ears ring like a train conductor was whistling directly into his ears. It took a minute to stop but that did not stop him from scouting the surroundings for the source of the explosion.

He found it in the form of a horrendously colour coordinated person with a large neon orange helmet on top of a circle form glider a few streets away. An akuma. It was real.

He pulled up his hood before slipping into the shadows, like he was trained to and pulled out his hidden utility belt. The Bat pack ways will not be leaving him anytime soon. He then quickly took to the rooftops, applying a scent blocker and ear plugs along the way, towards the danger zone.

Upon arriving on the danger zone another explosion rung loudly through the air making Tim very grateful for the special function earplugs he put in. He took to perch on one of the higher rooftops to observe the situation. By the looks of it the two Parisian heroes had already arrived, but he was not impressed by what he saw. Rather disappointed if not disgusted.

First the akuma; The male threw golden balls, that he got from a metal backpack, that exploded upon impact. Though the explosions them self were small and would only leave any physical damage if they exploded a foot away from you. They had already destroyed some parts of the surrounding buildings though. The explosions were however very loud, as he found out himself and it would be a miracle if the bystanders weren’t deaf by the end of it.

Then came the heroes, if you could even call them that.

Chat Noir was acting like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum over not getting his favourite toy. He kept on trying to trip the new ladybug up while screaming and whining at her to tell were the real ladybug was. Or he was taunting the akuma, who in turn threw more bombs that the mangy cat dodged but then those bombs got dangerously close to the civilians that were still in the area. Did he not realize that his actions could get people killed like that? Was this a game to him and did not like the rules of?

Then there was the new ladybug at first, she had his sympathies for chat trying to trip her up on every possible occasion. That changed when he saw how she subtly led the akuma to the bystanders, bringing them into danger, only to ‘save’ them at the last moment. Oh, how that made Timothy’s blood boil.

He made these observations within a few seconds and he quickly sprang from his perch and into the action. He was not going to let the innocent bystanders become unnecessarily injured by their ‘heroes’ reckless actions, if he could help it.

The moment he safely hit the ground he bolted to a small group of civilians, that were desperately clutching their ears. He placed his hand on the back of the smallest of the group and gaining the attention of the surrounding people. They looked at him with utterly confused and scared looks. Likely they were tourists given by their attire. He motioned for them to follow him, since they would not be able to hear him over the explosions and ringing, and swiftly guided them away from the danger.

Once he got them far enough from the danger zone, picking some more bystanders along the way, he motioned for them to book it out of dodge. Then went to get any left behind stragglers out. There was only one left and the child had gone to hide behind some of the rubble. Looking around frantically and calling out for help as tears run down their cheeks.

He began to run towards the young pup, only to watch in horror as one of the bombs exploded at the base of the rubble. The bomb having been intended for Chat noir who had dodged to the side without a care and allowed the rubble to crush the scared pup underneath. The terrified look would be haunting Tim’s nightmares to come, as blood pooled from underneath the rock. A small hand was sticking out as if desperately reaching out for safety.

Chat noir should be eternally grateful that hawkmoth is only capable of akumatizing one person at a time without aid. Otherwise they would have a super-powered ex-robin on his tail.

It was time to stop this madness. His secrecy might become compromised but so be it. Taking out his grappling gun he took to get a better vantage and knock the immediate danger of his glider. Then he had to destroy the backpack to keep the Akuma  from getting or making any more bombs. Grabbing several explosive birdarangs he took aim.

“IN COMING!!!”

A blue blur of a person slammed feet first into the akuma’s back. Knocking the akuma off their glider and crashing onto the ground, creating a spiderweb patterning on the ground. A loud crack rang through the air as the metal backpack shattered.

The person clad in blue rolled upon impact over the akuma and then flipped backward creating some distance between the two of them, then taking on a battle stance and giving Tim the chance to examine them.

The female was clad in a dark blue tunic and matching leggings with thigh high boots. Around her waist she wore a silver cloth belt and light blue faded skirt that was open in the front and had a peacock motif, given by the fuchsia eyes at the tips of the skirt. Her blue tipped hair was pulled into a messy braided ponytail with two feathers sticking out. Her weapon, a fan, was poised and ready to attack.

The akuma stands back up and lets out a fierce snarl but the unknown female was unfazed by it. She only narrowed her rose coloured eyes into an ice-cold glare, that sent shivers down the spines of all who were watching. The akuma sent their glider to attack the blue clad female, but she easily jumped over it and used their fan too slice through the glider itself. Then she sprinted to her target with great speed. He tried to defend themselves but with their atrocious combat abilities, blue easily throws them over her shoulder before slamming the bud of her fan onto the helmet splitting it in two. Final someone competent has shown up.

A sickly looking black butterfly flew out of the helmet and the peacock themed person turned to the new L.B.  “Ladybug! Purify it!” she commanded shocking said ‘hero’ into action. The spotted girl stumbled a bit and had to throw her yoyo out for a second time before being able to catch the butterfly and then letting it go, now as a healthy-looking white butterfly. She only then then summoned her lucky charm, a bow, and threw it into the air calling out to her power. The bow transformed into a large swarm of ladybugs that went around restoring the wreckage back to its original state and brought back those that lost their life. Like in the videos from the tabloid blog.

Seeing the young child, that had just been crushed, alive and look around absolutely confused brought the Gothamite a certain feeling of wonder and overwhelming dread. Because if these heroes could reverse death how many had already died.

A strange black and purple goop surrounded the akuma bringing the hidden alpha’s attention back to him and the blue clad female. Once the goop receded in the place of the akuma now sat a teenage boy with mousy hair and a pair of round glasses on their face and was looking around completely confused. The peacock theme hero sat infront of the boy and began to talk to him. She seemed to be comforting the boy, but Timothy was too far away to hear what she was saying.

As he saw Chat and LB advance on the two however, he decided it to be best to listen in and gain some first-hand information. He also had a prominent theory running through his head upon having observed unknown hero’s combative skills and actions and needed to see if he was correct.

As the akuma victim was taking away to a therapist, hopefully, the blue clad hero turned to the so-called heroes of Paris. Before she could get a word out however Chat Noir lunged at her with a yell to call out his own power. Luckily though the peafowl easily grabbed the cat boy’s wrist and redirected him into destroying a nearby café chair. Before hurling him to the ground and knocking the wind out of him, but not letting go of his wrist.

“Are you going to attack every person that is not ‘your’ ladybug and is trying to help,” she spoke in a voice that sounded so done with the world. Chat let out a hiss. “I am not going to fall for your lies Mayura,” the blond snapped.

“Do not ever align me with the likes of Mayura,” the bluenette hissed in return, voice filled with a cold malice that made the boy feel a shiver. “I do not expect you to trust me right now, but at least give me a chance to prove myself,” She spoke more calmly now as she helped Chat noir back on his feet, before taking a few steps back.

“How did you even acquire the peacock miraculous?” Ladybug asked skeptically, her eyes glaring into the other girl. Who did not seem to care.

“It was intrusted to me and I was told to use it for the good of Paris. Which I intend to do, no matter what. Paris is my home and Hawkmoth has been tormenting it for too long,” She spoke with conviction her own rose-coloured eyes alight with fire. “Now I belief I should introduce myself. You may call me Blue Royal” She said while placing here fan over her heart and bow her head ever so slightly.

The other heroes wanted to interrogate her more, but a beeping sound stopped  them. A timer. “A month trial period, for both of you, at the end we will meet on Saturday at midnight on the top of the Eifel tower. We will decide how to proceed afterwards,” Chat Noir stated. Gaining an affronted gasp from ladybug.

“Why am I being put on a trial period!” She exclaimed.

“Because you refuse to tell us any information about what happened and where the real Ladybug is! If she were here, we would have no need for you or this hero wannabe,” Chat Noir yelled back in frustration. Tim’s eye twitched in annoyance. ‘You did not do much to help the situation either.’ Timothy thought bitterly and the sentiment seemed to resonate with Royal, given by the way she glared at the two when they weren’t looking.

The two children wanted to argue some more but the beeping sound interrupted them once more. Good they might have turned into an akuma themselves if they continued. Just as the news crew, along with miss tabloid, entered the area the ladybug and cat ‘heroes’ left the scene. They immediately tried to swarm to Blue Royal, but to everyone slight surprise her skirt unfurled from her waist into two large wings. The wings beet down as she jumped into the air leaving gobsmacked reporters and curious Gothamite in her wake.

Though Timothy could have gone in pursue, he decided it best to lay contact at a later time. He got some information to process and work on.

He also really needed coffee.

taglist:

@moonlightstar64, @iloontjeboontje, @mickylikesstuff, @scribblinggraveyard, @faunrasthewinterelf, @myazael, @incredulous-reader

Authors note: special thank you to @moonlightstar64 for helping me with how to tag people. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and happy holidays.

[milazka]

Distraction — Drew Starkey.

image found on pinterest

summary: the one where the quaterback of the football team helps you forget about your bad grade.

request: yes

content: fluff & smut

author’s note: it’s my very first story about a member of the cast of outer banks! i would like to clarify that all this is fictional, i only use the looks and the names of the actors and actresses. my masterlist will be linked at the end of this story if you feel like reading some other fics. this one is for my babe cort ( @pogue-writings ) because she is drew’s soulmate.

warnings: most of my stories may contain mature themes such as swearing, underage drinking, substance abuse, sexual language and scenes, fights and more. also, i do not intend to be offensive towards anyone who reads this blog, if anything written can be perceived as hurtful to any community or person, i apologize, it was never my purpose while writing it.

word Count: 1957.

The campus library has always been her favorite spot to study. It's quiet and the atmosphere is always soothing, the exact opposite of her dorm room where her roommate seems more interested in experimenting the male anatomy than studying it in her textbook. A few weeks ago, after catching her once again during the act, she had decided to find a new place to study. She had walked around the campus and eventually found this spot around one of the large hardwood tables that stand between the bookshelves full of old books about psychology. The perfect place to set her in a study mood. 

For the past few hours, she has been sitting in her usual place, her textbook open in front of her eyes and her black notebook on her right. She only has one midterm left in two days and it will cover all the topics seen in her subconscious psychology course, which is one of her most interesting courses, but also the one that requires the longest hours of study in order to pass the exams. 

The sound of a chair gliding on the floor makes her look up and she’s surprised to see Drew, a boy from her psychology of the subconscious class, sit on the chair in diagonal to her. Normally, the library is almost empty at this time of the night and she never saw him here; he seems like the kind of guy who spends more time on the football field than he does in front of his textbooks. They’ve been in the same class for four months, but she never really paid attention to him, except when he is disturbing the class with the two other musketeers, Chase and Rudy. She smiles nicely at him when their eyes meet and he raises his coffee cup which he pretends to drink all at once while they both laugh silently, hoping not to be warned by Mrs. Jones, the librarian who looks strangely similar to Roz from the movie Monster inc.

She tries to put her nose back in her book, trying to focus on the pages suggested in the study guide and highlighting important sentences from a passage about Freud and his discovery of psychoanalysis, but she can't help but look up discreetly at the boy. He is wearing a navy flannel shirt which, half-buttoned, reveals a white shirt that moulds his muscular chest. His trademark cap, which he always wears backwards, rests as usual on the top of his head, still letting a few strands of hair slip out of the hat. She particularly lingers on his muscled arms covered by the navy blue cloth, it's not surprising that he's the quarterback on the football team. The  studious look on his face and the way he’s chewing on the tip of his pencil while frowning makes him look cuter than usual, she can’t deny it. 

When she sees the lateness of the hour, she delicately puts her books back in her red bag, not noticing how intensely the boy is staring at her. He simply can't help but admire her sweet angelic face, her tired-looking little eyes, the thin, shiny layer of lip balm covering her lips that he would dream of kissing; he likes everything about her and cannot help but smile foolishly. 

“Hey Y/n,” he whispers, catching her attention. “Me and the boys are throwing a party friday night, you should come.” 

“Oh, yeah, of course!” she smiles at him, noticing his blushing cheeks and the little spark in his gaze.

“Great! Good luck on your exam.” 

“Good luck to you too. I’ll see you friday.” 

─── °• ❀ ───

The room goes from purple to blue, then from blue to pink, courtesy of the spotlights that change the colour of the room's luminosity along the rhythm of the music. The parties hosted by the university football team always do justice to their reputation, no matter what’s the occasion. It's not the first time she attends one, but it's the first time she’s been invited by the quarterback. Her mind did not stop playing back the memory of the little sparkle in the young man's eyes when she had accepted his invitation. Maybe it meant nothing, but a part of her wants to believe it didn't. Plus, she really needs to take her mind off things after receiving her mediocre grade from the last exam. She knew her teacher was strict, but not this strict. 

As she makes her way through the dancing crowd, an arm slips around her naked shoulders, making her startles. She's used to being approached by boys at parties, but she hates it when they think they can do anything and touch her even if she doesn't want to. Looking up, she loosen up when she sees Drew's familiar face smirking at her and she's glad it's not a drunk who's asking her to blow him.

“I'm so glad you came,” he says to her as he hands her a red cup filled with beer. “How did your exam go?”

She pouts, taking a big sip of the golden liquid that tickles her throat.

“Really bad.” 

“That sucks,” she raises an eyebrow at the boy as when he takes back the cup that he just gave her and drops it on the countertop behind him. “C’mon, I have the perfect remedy for a bad grade.” 

Drew takes her tiny hand into his big one, guiding her to the backyard where several tables are set up to play beer pong. Small lights illuminate the yard where games have already started. People cheer each other up and yell like crazy when someone manage to get the ball in a cup. She recognizes Rudy’s familiar blond hair when he jumps into Jonathan's arms and she deduces they just won their game against Madison and Austin. Everyone laughs when the two boys lose their balance and crash into the grass, grunting at each other. Her hand is still holding Drew's firmly when he walks up to Chase who is sitting in a chair close to the fire pit with his girlfriend on his lap, grilling and eating marshmallows. 

“Yo Chase! Me and Y/n vs Maddie and you?” Drew challenges his friend, wiggling his eyebrows. 

“Game on, baby!” Chase exclaims as they both stand up and follow them to the table.

She and Drew make a fire team, throwing a series of winning shots and gradually getting Madelyn and Chase drunk. All the way through the game, she never worries about her bad grade, it's like it never existed. The alcohol in her bloodstream seems to be opening her eyes to Drew's attractiveness. The girl never really paid attention to how he is totally her type of guy. She bites her lower lip, obviously checking him out when he pulls off his hoodie and his shirt comes up, revealing the prominent V-shape above the hem of his pants. 

“Like what you see, don't ya?” he teases the girl, an irresistible smile on the corner of his lips. 

She blushes up to her ears, making Drew laugh, and he just adds to her embarrassment by putting his arm around her shoulders before throwing the last ball who lands directly into the last standing cup. Maybe it's the emotion of the moment for her, whereas he's been dreaming about it for months, but their eyes meet each other and suddenly their lips collide. The kiss doesn't last long, not long enough in his opinion. The flight of butterflies in the young woman's belly doesn't disappear when their lips separate, she needs to kiss him again, to feel him touch her. 

“I need you, Drew.” she whines close to his ear, making his heart skips a beat. "God, Y/n," he breaths out, pulling her closer to him. "Do you know how long I've been dreaming about you saying that to me?”

She just winks at him and grabs his hand, pulling him toward the front door as he pinches himself on the arm, not believing that this is really happening. He throws a murderous look at Rudy and Chase who make fun of him by pretending to make out sensually. They pass through the living room which is still full of people swinging their bodies to the rhythm of the music and climb upstairs where Drew guides them to his room. He slams her against the door, his hands grabbing her hips as he kisses her again. She bites his lower lip, making him growl against her mouth. Drew starts to place open mouthed kisses on her neck and she tiltes it to give him full access to her burning skin. He leads her to the bed, pinning her on the mattress and he removes her short as he is now hovering over her half naked body. His hand slides down her thigh, making her squirm under him as he gets closer to her core. He plays with the waistband of her panties, smirking against her lips.

“Drew,” she moans, looking at him with her eyes filled with desire. He grabs her waist and flip them over so she is now straddling him. She unbuttons his khaki shirt, slipping his hands over his muscular chest. She starts to grind down on his lap, making him whine and dig his fingers into her buttcheeks

“It's not about me tonight, I'm not the one who needs to be distracted.” he whispers to her ear before  flipping her over again so that he is now hovering over her. 

She lets out a few muffled moans as he leaves a trail of kisses between her breast and on her stomach. He sucks and nibbles at the skin on her inner thighs, only increasing her desire to feel him on her already wet womanhood. 

“You’re so pretty, all wet and spread out like this, just for me.”

“Drew, please…” she begs, but he cuts her short by placing a kiss on her clit, slipping her underwear off. He places an open-mouthed kiss just above her wet folds, making her buck her hips up. 

“So eager, baby, I like it.” he hums just above her bundle of nerves, sending vibrations on it. She runs her fingers through his light brown hair, pushing him closer to her heat. He finally licks a full stripe through her folds, making her back arch to the so desired feeling. 

“Oh fuck,” she groans as he inserts one finger in her, his tongue sucking on her clit. His hands are  firmly wrapped around her thighs to keep her spread open for him. She clenches the sheets between her fists, her eyes close under the wave of pleasure that runs through her body when he replaces his fingers with his tongue. His nose rubs up against her clit as he moves his face, pumping his tongue in and out of her.

“Fuck I’m so close, please don’t stop,” she moans, making him pumps his tongue faster. A few profanities mixed with loud moans leave her lips as she reaches her high, legs shaking on his shoulders. He licks her folds a few more times to clean her up, sending electric jolts through her body when he touches her sensitive nerves from the orgasm. He lies down beside her, pulling her towards him with his arms wrapped around her body.

“What about you? I’m no the type of girl who doesn’t give back,” she starts but Drew shushes her with a quick kiss. “I’m sure you’re not, but tonight it’s about you and only you.” 

“Fuck, you’re perfect, y’a know?” 

“It was about time you figured that out!” he mocks her and she giggles, burying her face further into the crook of his neck. 

─── °• ❀ ───

mila’s masterlist

taglist (send me an ask if you want to be added)

@milaonthemoon @spilledtee @pogue-writings @thebutterflyonhischest @ilovejjmaybank @bananasfromtarget @drewstarkeyobx @void-maybank @prejudic3

[ais-for-alex]

The Scars of Our Past Chapter 20:

So Ngl I love this chapter, I am a ho for a soft LeLo moment. Hope y’all enjoy 😊 (also you don’t have to listen to the song but I feel like it adds to the moment)

Logan paced the length of his room, back and forth, back and forth wearing a hole in the carpet. He had his lower lip pulled between his teeth, biting, worrying it until it was sore and swollen, his hands clenched and unclenched unconsciously cracking the knuckles over and over again.

He had to say something, he needed to say something. But god, what the fuck was he supposed to say? He hadn’t spoken to Leo aside from the occasional meme, since he ran and hid from him, it had been what? A week? And yet Logan felt like a vital part of himself had been ripped from his body and stolen from him.

Logan huffed an exasperated breath and sat at the foot of his bed, he needed a game plan, things were always easier with a game plan. Mentally Logan began composing a list in hopes that once he had an idea of what to do he would actually do it.

Step 1: Text him and hope that he responds

Step 2: Apologize for nearly accosting him, then running away, then ghosting him (god why are there so many things here?)

Step 3: Hope he accepts the apology

Step 4: …

Then what? Logan groaned at the thought and flopped backwards, what exactly was he trying to accomplish here? Get Leo back into his life as a friend? That didn’t feel quite right and made Logan's stomach clench uncomfortably, but the alternative option filled him with anxiety, all the unanswered questions that pulled up in his brain Logan couldn’t bring himself to put it into words. Well, at least it was the start of a plan, enough to take that first step.

Logan pulled his phone from the pocket of his jeans and pulled up Leo’s contact.

(You): Hey :waving emoji: whatcha up to?

The moment he hit send Logan dropped the phone face down on his chest, too nervous to watch and see if Leo would read the message let alone respond. Only a second late though it buzzed with an incoming message.

(Sunshine Giraffe): Just finishing up at practice

(Sunshine Giraffe): How about you?

Logan felt his stomach do that weird swoopy thing like it does whenever he goes on a roller coaster as he typed out his next text.

(You): Nothing much RN

(You): You want to go find something to do?

(You): Together?

There was a bit of a pause as he watched the typing bubbles pop up then disappear, in the near minute and a half it took for Leo to respond Logan nearly chucked his phone at the wall, but then he felt it buzz in his hand again.

(Sunshine Giraffe): Sure, that would be nice

(Sunshine Giraffe): You have an idea in mind?

(You): Nothing too special

(You): Meet me at the rink?

(You): We can go explore a bit; I can show you the area?

(Sunshine Giraffe): Sounds like a plan

(Sunshine Giraffe): See you in 15ish?

(You): :Thumbs up emoji:

Logan breathed in deep, step 1 done. He rolled up off his bed before snagging a pair of shoes from his closet and making his way up the stairs to the main area of the house.

“Hey Dumo?” he called out, peeking his head into the living room where Dumo and Celeste were curled up together on their couch.

“Quoi?” he asked looking up.

“Mind if I borrow your car? I’m going to meet a friend.”

“Hmm,” he hummed as if thinking hard about the request, “fine. On one condition though.”

“Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

Dumo chuckled as he grabbed the keys off the coffee table in front of him, “Stop moping,” with that he tossed the keys through the air for Logan to catch.

“I have not been moping,” he spluttered, making both Dumo and Celeste laugh at his expense.

“Sorry Tremz, but you kinda have,” Celeste said with a mildly sympathetic grin, “for like the last week at least.”

“I- no- I haven’t,” he stuttered at a loss of ways to defend himself, “alright I’m leaving,” he finally said before turning to make his way to the garage.

“Remember no more moping!” Dumo called after him, still chuckling.

When Logan pulled up outside the rink, he spotted Leo sitting on the stone steps leading into the main entrance of the building. At the sight of Leo all wrapped up in his jacket and scarf, beanie pulled low against the chill of the frosty air, Logan felt an odd warmth settle in his stomach. Somehow that warmth seemed to calm the fluttering butterflies inside him as he parked and hopped out of the car.

“Leo!” he called out as he got closer, making the blond glance up and lock his baby blue eyes on Logan.

“Hey,” he greeted softly, standing up from the steps grinning widely.

Jeeze, Logan always forgot how tall he was until he was right next to him, his face tilting upwards basking in the rays of warm sunshine Leo always seemed to radiate.

“So,” Logan said, a bit lamely not entirely sure where to take this conversation. He dug his hands into his pockets just to hide his nervous fidgeting, he knew he needed to apologize but it felt weird to just jump into it right out of the blue and the words seemed to stick in his throat at the thought. “Um, I thought we could walk around for a bit. I can show you some of the best places around here if you want.”

Leo chuckled and held out his hand gesturing to the sidewalk next to them, “well, where you lead I will follow.”

Logan laughed at the little self-satisfied grin on his face, “Did you really just reference the Gilmore Girls theme?”

“What? Who me? Yes, yes I did.”

“Come on, you dork,” Logan laughed again, rolling his eyes as he grabbed the sleeve of Leo’s hoodie and tugged him forward.

Together they began wandering down the sidewalk leading away from the rink, Logan pointed out all the restaurants with the best take out, the little book shop that Finn would always drag him to after practice, the music store where he bought one of his favorite guitars. He could feel the warmth of Leo’s arm brushing against his own as they walked, Logan could feel those soft blue eyes watching him and each time he would glance up Leo would smile tenderly at him.

The sun began to sink along the horizon as they walked,painting the frosty sky in cotton candy and orange sorbet turning the swirling clouds into sugar coated ice cream cones. Eventually the sidewalk led them into a hidden courtyard, a few people resilient enough to brave the cold were sitting at wrought iron tables outside a little Italian restaurant, a makeshift stage had been set up and a typical hipster looking guy with a guitar was strumming a soft tune his voice mingling with the notes to create a soothing melody.

“Hey,” Leo said, nudging Logan, “let’s sit for a bit.”

Logan nodded and followed Leo over to sit at the edge of a stone lined fire pit, the blaze was contained behind an intricately designed wrought iron cage but the heat still bled into their backs as they sat and watched the musician.

“Hey Leo?” Logan said softly, not looking up.

“Hmm?”

“I’m sorry,” he sighed and tucked his hands under his thighs to stop himself from fidgeting.

“It’s ok,” Leo replied, his voice sounding so earnest.

“No, it’s not,” Logan said, finally looking up, Leo was watching him again with that soft look in his eyes that made something inside his heart melt just a bit. “I shouldn’t have done that, that night. I held you down, took advantage of you. And then I ran away and hid like a scared little child. And then on top of that I couldn’t even nut up enough to text you back.”

“Logan,” Leo’s voice was soft as he reached a hand out and gently brushed a bit of hair off of Logan's face, the light brush of his fingertips made his breath hitch. “Please believe me when I say, it’s ok. You didn’t take advantage of me, I liked you being there. And I mean you’re strong,” he chuckled and glanced down at Logan's body, “but if I didn’t want you on top of me, I very easily could have gotten out of your hold.” Leo let his hand settle at the side of Logan’s neck, the warmth of his palm comforting,“and as for the rest, it’s ok to be scared. It’s ok to not understand the things that you’re feeling. Believe me it’s hard and confusing but it’ll be ok,” his voice tapered to a whisper as he finished speaking.

Logan felt himself crumble at Leo’s words, his eyes fell closed and he couldn’t stop the sigh from falling from his lips. Suddenly, Logan felt like all the energy had drained out of his body, he let himself lean forward to rest his forehead on Leo’s shoulder.

“How are you always so nice?” he asked, he felt Leo chuckle at the words as his fingers tangled into the soft curls that fluffed out under the brim of his snapback.

“It’s my southern charm,” he teased, Leo let his hand wander away from Logan's neck to wrap his arm around his body and tug him just a bit closer into his side.

The two of them sat like that for a while, comfortable in each other’s presence. They let the fire's heat fight away the winter chill as night fell steadily darker and darker around them. The soft music drifted closer on the frosted breeze but with Leo’s warm arms wrapped around him Logan was content to stay right where he was.

Eventually though they did have to leave the little bubble of that hidden courtyard but Logan didn’t want to leave Leo. He had been hiding from him for the last week but after finally finding stability with him again his heart was calling out to be with him as long as possible, so Logan walked with him back in the direction of Finn’s apartment.

“Well…” Logan said softly looking up at Leo’s face when they finally made it to the entrance of the building.

“This is me…” Leo replied, his baby blue eyes watching him tenderly.

“I guess I should get going, I’ll see later Leo.” Logan turned to leave but felt Leo’s hand reach out and grab his arm.

“Wait,” he said, “um… do- do you want to come up?”

“Oh, I don’t know…” Logan hesitated remembering that last conversation with Finn, him walking away. “I don’t think Finn really wants to see me right now.”

Leo huffed a soft little chuckle, “I don’t think Finn would ever object to seeing you. Come on, I’ll make dinner.”

“You’re gonna cook?” Logan laughed a bit disbelievingly.

“Why does everyone act like that’s such a surprise?” Leo said tugging Logan a bit closer to the door, “Come up. Please?”

Logan felt warmth bleed into him at the soft sound of Leo’s please , he was suddenly struck by the realization that if he asked it in that voice Logan wouldn’t be able to deny Leo anything.

“Alright, I’ll come with you.”

The smile that split Leo’s face lit up the entire street with sunlight.

Read on ao3

[yukidragon]

Mermaid Jamie - Family

So... I’ve made a chapter for the dark fantasy AU/canon divergent story of mermaid Jamie I’ve been playing around with for Our Life: Beginnings & Always by @gb-patch (which you really should play if you haven’t already, and I will never stop plugging it, never). Like an actual proper chapter instead of a teaser or snippits of scenes.

I still don’t have a proper title for the story in general, but if I was to title the chapter specifically, it might be “Family.” It seems appropriate to me since a certain theme has started to form between this and the teaser.

Standard disclaimer - my version of Our Life’s MC - Jamie Leimomi - aka Jamie Last - may differ from your interpretation of the character. This writing is also in third person rather than second. This writing is rougher than stuff I co-write on @dragonandtiger, and there are spoilers for the game. If none of these things bother you, then I hope you enjoy my splash of a bit of dark color onto such a bright and soft game.

...

Jamie had never planned to ask about her biological parents. She always rejected the idea whenever it flitted across her mind with the mercilessness of a hurricane tossing aside a butterfly. Yet, when faced with the question dead on, there was only one answer she could give.

“I want to know.”

The words came out distant to Jamie’s ears, as if someone else had spoken them with her voice somewhere several feet away. She at least hoped she was managing to look as calm as she sounded. At seeing her moms nod as one, she braced herself, preparing for the oncoming storm.

“Um…,” Lee squeaked out reluctantly. “I… I can leave… if you wanna have things be private.”

Jamie couldn’t draw her gaze away from her moms. They looked so sad. It tore her up inside. She tried instead to focus instead on the warm, bracing hand on her back.

She was fine. She could handle this.

“I want you here,” Jamie said, keeping her voice steady.

Lee gave Jamie a weak smile that went unseen by her cousin. “I can do that,” she said softly before shifting closer to Jamie. She gave the blue haired girl another part on the back, trying to channel all her love and support through the simple touch alone that she couldn’t manage with words.

Jamie managed to draw some strength from that support, and she straightened her back a little more. It was fine, she reminded herself. She could handle this. She had a loving family supporting her after all.

There was nothing to be upset about, no matter the answer.

It was obvious to Jamie that delivering this information was taxing on her moms. The looks they gave her broke her heart. It made her start to regret asking when she heard the way her ma’s voice wavered with heartache.

“You were adopted as a baby,” Noelani began, “but two years after Elizabeth. We used a different organization at the time, and you were adopted within the U.S.”

Not from the same family as Elizabeth.

But that was obvious, Jamie chided herself. The two of them had different skin tone, body type, hair, eyes… It was an absurd thought to have, and she banished it to focus on the rest of what her parents had to tell her.

Pamela sighed, closing her eyes for a moment as she drew in her courage. When she met Jamie’s intense gaze again, it was with tired eyes. “We’re sorry to tell you, Jamie… your parents also passed away, and no other family member took you in… if there were any.”

So that was it then. Not that much different than Elizabeth. Not as bad even - she got to be a U.S. born citizen at least.

“That’s why we wanted to wait until you asked,” Pamela continued before Jamie could process the information further. “We didn’t want to suddenly drop that in your lap. We wanted you to be prepared.”

Of course not, Jamie silently agreed. They had no idea that Elizabeth would do that for them.

“We’re sorry, Jamie,” Noelani said, and the way she said it twisted Jamie’s heart a little more.

Lee squeezed Jamie’s arm, but the blue haired girl barely felt it.

For a long moment there was silence as Jamie accepted the information about her birth parents. Countless thoughts whirred quietly in the background like static as she processed it all. It was such a small amount of information, a fraction of what she had to study for classes, and yet it felt so much more massive than anything she had learned before.

“Okay…,” Jamie began, more to fill in the empty space of everyone’s expectations, as they waited for her to react. She had to organize her thoughts, and that meant focusing on the most important things first. “Thank you for telling me.”

Jamie saw the way her parents looked at her before glancing at each other. Clearly, they needed a little bit more. “I did wanna know, and now I do.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Noelani managed a careful smile. “Thank you for listening, Jamie.”

“If there’s anything else you want to know,” Pamela added a little quickly, “all you have to do is ask. We’ll do our best to answer any questions you have.”

There was no chance for Jamie to stop to consider any before Noelani interjected one of her own.

“How are you feeling now?” she asked. “Are you going to be okay?”

Jamie could feel the way her parents were staring at her, and Lee too. They were worried, afraid of her flying off the handle like Elizabeth did. She couldn’t, wouldn’t yell at her parents in anger. Ever. 

Besides, there was too much misery in this house today already.

Jamie put on her best smile and nodded. “I feel fine.” She was certain her tone was convincing, pleasant even. Despite that, the sad smiles her moms gave in return told her that it wasn’t quite convincing enough.

…

“Jamie?”

Jamie snapped back to the present at the sound of her mom’s concerned voice. It had been over five years since that afternoon when she gathered the nerve to ask about her birth parents. She was an adult now.

Despite that, the news her moms had for her made her feel like she was thirteen all over again.

“Are you okay?” Noelani asked as she took a step towards Jamie.

Jamie shook her head a bit to clear it and forced her focus back into the here and now. Just like five years ago, she was in the living room looking at her moms’ grave faces. The only major difference beyond the advancement of years was that Lee and Liz weren’t involved this time.

“I feel fine,” she said with no small sense of déjà vu. “I just… I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Neither were we,” Pamela said, her eyes crinkled with worry. “I’m sorry for dropping this in your lap, but there wasn’t an easier way to tell you.”

Noelani nodded, her gaze sympathetic. “We were just as shocked when the orphanage called us to tell us the news.”

“Yeah,” Jamie muttered as she ran a hand over her eyes. “I get it. I mean…” She faltered as her gaze slipped from her moms to somewhere in the distance. “My birth parents are actually alive? And they want to meet me? It’s… a lot.”

That was probably the biggest understatement of her life.

As a child, Jamie had considered the possibility that her birth parents were still alive somewhere and, if so, they would likely want to meet her someday. That possibility disappeared five years ago on that summer afternoon. Now it was back, just like that.

And just like back then, Jamie felt as though someone had stolen the ground from underneath her feet.

Despite how concerned Jamie had been after her moms told her to come visit them, that they had something important that they could only tell her face to face, she didn’t expect anything close to this sort of world shaking revelation. It made her regret telling Cove he didn’t need to skip work to come with her; she needed him right now.

Noelani ventured to pierce the uncomfortable silence that had hung over them. “It’s okay not to know how to feel about it.”

“You don’t have to decide anything right now,” Pamela added. “We know you’ll need time to process all this.”

Noelani smiled gently, but Jamie noticed the sadness tinged in her eyes. “No matter what you decide to do, we’ll support you.”

Pamela nodded, her mouth set in a determined line despite her own clear distress at the situation. “One hundred percent, full stop.”

Despite the turbulent thoughts swirling around in Jamie’s head, she managed to smile sincerely at her moms. “Thank you.”

Five years ago, Jamie had chosen to leave rather than accept her moms’ comfort and reassurance. This time, she stepped forward, arms outstretched, and they eagerly closed the distance to envelope her in a warm embrace.

For a moment, Jamie just took in her mothers’ love and silently offered her own in return. “No matter what, you’ll always be my moms,” she said, her voice soft but earnest. “I love you.”

“We love you, too,” Pamela said, her voice cracking a little at the edges.

“More than words can say,” Noelani added, her voice thick with emotion as she gave Jamie an extra squeeze.

Although a part of Jamie wanted to remain like that for a while longer, she couldn’t help but start to feel overwhelmed. The air wasn’t quite stifling, but somehow there didn’t seem to be enough of it in the house. Reluctantly, she drew back from the hug and gave her moms an apologetic smile. “I’m gonna to go for a walk for a while… clear my head a bit.”

Both of her parents nodded, still smiling at their daughter despite the obvious concern in their eyes.

“Okay, kiddo,” Pamela said. “Do what you need to do for you right now.”

“Don’t worry about us if you want to go straight home after your walk,” Noelani added.

It was strange for Jamie to hear her ma say that her home was no longer the house she had grown up in all her life, but it was true - home was now an apartment a few miles away from here with Cove.

Jamie thanked her parents before leaving. She resolved to come back to give a proper goodbye before returning to the apartment, but it didn’t take long for her mind to wander as she let her feet carry her in no particular direction.

The sky was heavy with clouds, making the fall afternoon darker than it should have been. Although Jamie much preferred clear sunny days, it seemed appropriate that a storm was coming to match the one raging in her head.

As conflicted as Jamie felt about the whole thing, she knew she had to meet up with her birth parents. There was no way she could reject them, no matter how almost invasive their sudden return to her life felt. Guilt churned in her stomach for thinking that way, but she couldn’t shake off the feeling.

Jamie wondered if this was anything like Cove felt about his parents when he was younger. She vividly remembered the night he snuck into her bedroom for the first time and confided in her about how conflicted he felt over his mom coming back to live with him for a while.

This should have been good news. She should have felt happy to learn that her birth parents were still alive, that there had been an error with the orphanage’s records about their death, and they wanted to have a relationship with her, but she wasn’t. There was a sticky knot in her throat of sickly emotions too tangled together to make sense of them beyond knowing that the whole thing felt completely unwanted.

Jamie needed Cove right now.

She stopped walking to pull her cell phone out of her pocket and pulled up the conversation between her and Cove. She vaguely noticed that she had reached the beach in her mindless wandering and found it oddly appropriate.

Jamie: hey

Jamie’s finger hovered over the screen as her mind went blank. She had no idea how to summarize what was going on. She didn’t even know when Cove’s next break would be. It wasn’t as though he was allowed to have his cell phone on him at work.

Despite this conflict, it wasn’t even a minute before she heard the distinct chime she had assigned to Cove’s texts and saw his reply pop up on the screen.

Cove: Everything ok?

Jamie couldn’t help but smile a little in spite of how crummy she felt. Cove must have been waiting for her all to get back to him about what was going on all this time, rules or no rules. He was always so considerate of her. It made her feel a little less guilty about asking him to ditch work for her.

Jamie: Could you come to my moms’ place?

Jamie: I need you.

Cove: Okay. I’ll be right there.

Jamie closed her eyes and sighed with relief, feeling a little of the tension in her shoulders slip away. She could always count on Cove to be there for her.

Jamie: Thank you.

Jamie: <3

Cove: <3

Jamie smiled at the little heart Cove sent her and left the conversation at that. Even that little bit of back and forth had been a soothing balm to her aching heart, but she held herself back from seeking out more. She knew he needed to talk to his boss and then focus on driving. Any further texting would just delay his arrival that much longer, and more than anything else she needed him with her right now.

After turning off the phone, she paused to idly trace the dolphin keychain attached to it with her fingers. Even after all these years, the material was still as soft and vibrantly colored as it was on the day Cove purchased it for her. It was her first present from him, an irreplaceable symbol of their friendship. Just looking at it reminded her of him and how much he meant to her, as well as how grateful she was to have him in her life.

A quiet rumble of distant thunder drew Jamie’s gaze up to the horizon. The waves of the ocean were choppy in front of her, the wind starting to pick up in earnest. In the distance, dark clouds were approaching the shore, and as she watched, a brief flash of lightning flickered with them, followed by another ominous rumble.

Jamie frowned at the sight of the approaching storm and turned to head back home, or rather to her moms’ home. She wasn’t ready to go back yet, her mind still too tangled with conflicted thoughts, but she wasn’t about to stay outside during a thunderstorm. If it was a sunshower, then she would have been all for basking in the thrill of it, but she had never been a fan of lightning and thunder.

Jamie closed her eyes with a sigh, her shoulders slumping a bit. At least Cove would be here soon. She would feel better then, she was sure.

“Siren!”

The sudden yell caused Jamie to flinch in surprise. Between the oncoming storm and it being the off season, the beach had been deserted. Now she had even more reason to leave when she noticed someone walking in her direction from further down the beach.

“Siren! Wait!”

Jamie hesitated at the almost frantic call of the woman who she realized was definitely approaching her, waving to get her attention. She wondered if the woman knew her. She wasn’t familiar with anyone with blue hair and pale skin… except… herself…

Jamie froze, her mouth going dry as a desert as the woman closed in on her.

The woman was beautiful, her slender, delicate figure giving her the appearance of a model, though she walked in an awkward gait across the sand. Because Jamie was just shy of six feet tall she had several inches on this stranger, who was more average in height for a grown woman. There were other more subtle details, ones Jamie couldn’t help but recognize as ones she saw in the mirror every day.

As the woman got closer, Jamie saw she had large pink eyes that practically glowed in the muted sunlight. Her smile was wide, her expression one of pure delight that didn’t waver as she closed the distance between them. She wore a short but flowing dress that not only bared most of her legs but also the fact that she was walking barefoot. Oddly, her pinned up blue hair and pale skin were damp with moisture while her clothes appeared perfectly dry.

It took Jamie all her willpower not to give in to the irrational urge to make a run for it.

“Oh Siren, my Siren,” the woman said with tears welling in her eyes. Her voice had a sweet quality to it and an accent that Jamie couldn’t place. “I finally found you!”

Jamie braced herself to greet the woman in spite of how her skin crawled, but when she saw arms open wide to welcome her in a hug, she stepped back quickly to avoid it.

That retreat was enough to halt the woman’s approach just outside arm’s length from Jamie. She blinked her wide pink eyes repeatedly, appearing genuinely baffled. “Siren? Do you not recognize me? It’s your mother, your true mother!”

The bottom dropped out of Jamie’s stomach as the woman confirmed her suspicions. She tried to force out some sort of response, but words failed to come.

Her supposed mother grew distressed by the lack of response. “Oh, my poor, poor Siren. Do not fear. Your mother has come to take you home.”

Jamie panicked when the woman tried to grab her wrist and jerked away. “No! I’m not going anywhere with you!”

The woman froze, her large eyes somehow growing even wider.

Jamie held her phone in both her clammy hands as she took deep breaths to calm herself down after that outburst. If this really was her birth mother, she had to try to show some empathy. It was only natural for someone who lost a child to get emotional over a reunion with said child after being separated for almost two decades.

That didn’t mean Jamie wasn’t also giving serious consideration to running for it.

“My name is Jamie Leimomi,” Jamie said, speaking more calmly but drawing an edge under her name. “I don’t know who you think I am, but I don’t know you, and I don’t know anyone named ‘Siren.’”

Surprise melted away quickly from the woman’s face and her wide smile returned to full force. “Oh, yes, yes, of course. I am Demetria Palinouros, your real mother. Siren is the name I gave you before you were stolen from me.”

“Stolen?” Jamie repeated, surprised.

Demetria let out a sigh that turned into an almost painful moan. “My traitor sister Maris, she stole you from me, lied that I and your great father Apollo were dead to those people who took you from her. She lied to us that you were dead, and I believed her lies for so many years!”

By the end of the tirade, Jamie found herself feeling sorry for the woman in front of her, despite her misgivings. The distress Demetria showed, the tears that spilled forth freely, those were real. It made her feel guilty for wanting to run away when it was clear that reuniting with her meant so much to this person, her apparent birth mother.

Jamie tried to stand firm despite the guilt gnawing at her gut. She could handle talking with this woman. She reassured herself that if things went wrong, she could run or fight if she needed to. Demetria was smaller than her and didn’t appear nearly as physically fit, nor did she seem to move easily on the sand. A quick look around verified that they were the only two on the beach and that the clouds hanging overhead had turned a dark shade of gray.

Jamie took a deep breath and braved the conversation just a little longer. “Do… do you have proof?”

Demetria blinked away large tears, the sorrow fading somewhat with confusion as she stared at Jamie. “Proof?”

Jamie nodded, refusing to budge on the point. “If you were able to prove to the orphanage that you’re really my… my birth parent, then you can show that proof to me too, right?”

Demetria sniffled, but nodded, smiling once again through her tears. “Yes, yes, of course, of course!” She reached out for Jamie. “Come with me, and I’ll show you.”

Jamie stared at the offered hand for a moment before she took a deliberate step backwards. “I’d rather not.”

Silence set in for a moment as Demetria stared at Jamie. She appeared genuinely oblivious to how suspicious she was behaving. “Why? You asked for proof, so come with me for proof, Siren.”

Jamie tried to be discreet as she turned her phone on and began to type without looking away from the woman in front of her. “I’m not comfortable going anywhere with you.”

“But I’m your mother!” Demetria cried, tears welling up in her eyes again.

“I don’t know who you are!” Jamie fired back, keeping her expression and tone rigid. There was no shaking the feeling that all of this was wrong and that she needed to get away as quickly as possible.

Maybe Demetria really was who she said she was, but that didn’t matter. To Jamie, she was still a stranger. Besides, just being biologically related didn’t mean the woman in front of her was safe to be around.

Jamie took another step back then another to increase the distance between them but made sure never to turn her back on the woman that claimed to be her mother. “I’m sorry, but I’m gonna go now.”

Demetria’s expression was blank as she watched her so-called daughter’s cautious retreat, tears trickling down her cheeks, mouth flagging open. She seemed truly at a loss, but not so much distraught as she seemed unable to comprehend why Jamie was leaving instead of going with her.

It only served to leave Jamie even more unsettled.

That was when the storm arrived.

Thunder tore through the air, causing Jamie to jump with a yelp. In the split second she took her eyes off Demetria, she realized that the woman had halved the distance between them, reaching out for her.

Adrenaline sent Jamie sprinting in the opposite direction when a deafening scream tore through her, but the scream did not come from her. A high pitched shriek erupted from the woman behind her, an explosion of noise that pierced her brain with a million bits of shrapnel.

Pain was the last thing Jamie knew before everything went dark.

…

Cove had been in the middle of driving when the rapid fire texts from Jamie came in. His phone had been tossed carelessly onto the passenger seat, and he had been too focused on the drive to notice it vibrate. When he arrived at their old neighborhood, he hadn’t bothered to check his phone when he scooped it back up, thinking only of meeting up with Jamie as soon as possible.

Her moms informed him that she had gone on a walk to clear her head, and that was all he needed to know before he was on the search. It didn’t matter that it was raining and the clouds rumbled with thunder. He had to find Jamie.

The first place Cove went was the hills behind the Leimomi house, but Jamie wasn’t there. It was then that he turned to his cell phone. Taking shelter beneath a tree to keep it from getting wet, he turned it on and saw the missed texts.

That was when the world stopped.

Jamie: theres a lady here

Jamie: at beach

Jamie: tryin to get me to go with her

Jamie: she looks like me but pink eyes

Jamie: says shes my mom

Jamie: thers something wring wit

That was all. The last text had been sent only twenty minutes ago.

Cove ran down the hill towards the beach, his heart pounding in his ears. He tried calling Jamie, but it only rang until it went to voicemail. He hung up and tried again and again to the same result. The frantic texts he sent asking where she was also went unanswered. He scoured the empty beach, screaming Jamie’s name all the while as he searched for some sign of her or any person at all.

He found nothing but empty sand and turbulent waves as the storm raged on.

[fandom-thingies]

This is an unfinished draft of a long, in depth analysis I’m planning of everything we know about Silksong. The final draft will have detailed analysis of enemies, areas, names, and many, many attempts to draw parallels with Hollow Knight. Without further ado, here’s the draft!

Will Hornet have her memories? Or will the winds of the Wastes have swept them away?

Prequel or sequel? (I’m thinking sequel, based on the implied presence of weavers in the trailer)

Lace fights Hornet (at least) twice, doesn’t call her by name, and knows things. IS SHE A HORNET PARALLEL AND HOW MUCH

What awful thing is going to happen to the flea-collecting village? Will they all die, or will they turn out to be evil? (My money’s on the latter)

Is the bell cult good, bad, or something else?

Who is the main villain?

Is Lace an antagonist or a Hornet parallel?

Lesbians???

Everything in Silksong seems much more vibrant than Hallownest. Instead of muted colors and effectively blank backgrounds, all of the areas we’ve been shown seem to be very saturated, and the design feels like everything is there for a reason. It’s a stark contrast to Hollow Knight’s busy backgrounds and dour themes, and is it possible the story reflects/is intended to reflect this?

Why does that one enemy look so much like steel soul Jinn?

Is Lace void??

Seriously though, she covers almost all of her body and her face is very similar to that of a shade’s. The existence of the shade trap room in the Colosseum of Fools implies the existence of other void creatures, though of course it could simply have been built for THK. We know void creatures are capable of having voices, as evidenced by the Collector, so IS LACE VOID???

That one area has a lovely juxtaposition between the white roses carpeting the ground and the industrial style pipes in the background, and knowing team Cherry, there’s definitely a reason for this.

Who kidnapped a Hornet and why?

Who sent the butterfly that breaks the seal of binding on her cage? Lace knows about Hornet’s imprisonment- could it have been her? Though she admittedly doesn’t seem to have much motivation to keep Hornet alive...

In Hollow Knight, the name of the game is also the name of the final boss. Could this also be true to an extent for Silksong? I doubt the boss would be named that explicitly, but perhaps someone who holds an association to both?

Multiple endings?

Will the final boss actually be the final boss? In Hollow Knight, the Radiance acts as a sort of hidden boss. Will this also be true in Silksong?

Will there be godseekers or the Grimm Troupe?

Will Ghost or THK be mentioned?

Will this focus more on expanding Hallownest’s lore or introducing Pharloom’s?

Points of interest:

1. Hornet appears to be performing a move similar to a great slash or dash slash here, which the enemy appears to be attempting (succeeding?) to deflect with their scissors

2. 2. In Hollow Knight, almost every fence or wall in Hallownest had the repeated motif of the king’s seal. This design looks a lot like a godseeker’s mask, as well as some of the enemies that have been revealed so far.

3. These appear to be at least four massive spools of silk. We know for a fact that there are weavers in Pharloom, and the sheer amount of silk here is more than we ever see in one place in Hallownest. Could it be possible that weaversilk is being farmed somehow?

4. It’s difficult to see, but this appears to be a massive control wheel, like you’d see on a valve. It’s much bigger than any standard bug could take advantage of, but we already know that Silksong is going to have some massive enemies, so it’s possible one of these also acts or acted as an overseer for this area.

5. This wall design heavily reminds me of both the walls in the Resting Grounds and the Birthplace. Are these corpses, or simply made to look like them? Either way, there’s definitely lore attached.

As well as all that, note how thin the support struts are, and how they appear wooden and cobbled together. I propose that what Hornet is climbing on here is the scaffolding around a massive silk related machine of some sort. Maybe an automatic loom?

Points of interest:

1. You’ll note that the enemy is holding a gilded pin, which is the same weapon Lace uses and is described as “the traditional weapon of Pharloom” by Team Cherry. I take this to mean that this bug has probably been in this place for a while.

2. This isn’t big or anything, but it’s very interesting to me that both Hallownest and Pharloom use lumafly lanterns for light. This implies some interesting things either about Hallownest and Pharloom’s proximity or the ubiquity of lumaflies.

3. This is clearly a graveyard. I find it very interesting that the stones seem to be entirely plain of embellishment or text except for the bell symbol. Also, I wonder if the graveyard being here means that we’re close to the Citadel?

4. This appears to be a fallen elevator. I’m not sure what else I could draw from it, but it definitely adds to the dilapidated and abandoned feel of this area.

5. This enemy has three golden straight pins. It’s very possible that you gain the ability to throw three at once after vanquishing one of these enemies. Another interesting thing to note is that the enemy isn’t holding these pins. If you look closely, their hand is at their side. The pins are instead seemingly fastened to their head somehow.

6. This is difficult to see properly, but the design on the fence here appears to be similar to the shape of the fallen elevator. It could also be read as a representation of the Citadel.

A few other things to note are that the colors here are almost identical to those of the resting grounds, including the enemies. This is unusual as far as Silksong goes, as most of the areas are far more intensely saturated.

These enemies appear to be wearing cloaks. It’s difficult to tell whether it’s the shadow of the hood that’s hiding their faces or whether that’s simply what they look like.

Also, Greymoor is a very interesting name and I’d like to explore what precisely a “moor” is, because I think this may give more clues as to the nature of the area.

Moors are defined as highland areas with acidic soil and low vegetation. The fact that moors are specifically highland areas makes me suspect even more that Greymoor connects directly to the Citadel, as Silksong appears to be a game mostly focused on going up, so where better to transition from the ground to the Citadel than highland?

1. We know from the Resting Grounds that this is how Ari draws mummified corpses. The fact that this corpse is walking around definitely implies some shenanigans. It brings to mind the description of Greymoor as “haunted”.

2. The fact that this corpse is lying on the ground makes me wonder if most of these mummified bugs will lie still on the ground until they notice Hornet, which would be an interesting enemy mechanic.

3. This lumafly lantern is tinted green, which I’m pretty sure we never saw in Hollow Knight. (Correct me if I’m wrong) It makes me wonder if something special was done to the lantern to achieve this.

4. Team Cherry has said that Hornet’s silk and soul are “inseparably intertwined”. It’s a very nice design touch to see that healing creates both kinds of particle.

5. See those motes in the air? They look very similar to the spores of the Fungal Wastes, and I suspect they may be the reason moss covers everything here.

What I lined in dark blue is the visible boning beneath the moss, and what I lined in cyan is the places where the moss grows too regularly, implying yet more boning just beneath.

I’m not sure whether this is deliberate or whether the moss grew over already existing structures to cause this, but another thing to note is that the way this moss grows is very reminiscent of moss balls, or marimo balls, an aquatic plant that grows in freshwater lakes.

The reason this interests me isn’t because I think these *are* moss balls, but rather because of how natural grottos form.

Most natural grottos are formed by water eroding soft rock like limestone into large caves. It’s common for them to either be flooded or to flood at high tide, which when combined with the aquatic vegetation in this area, could imply that it will be flooded for part of the game or at intervals. It’s possible Team Cherry would use this to echo the way that the Forgotten Crossroads turn into the Infected Crossroads, or it could be a way of gating the first area behind you until you get more movement capabilities similar to the Howling Cliffs.

Lastly, one of the root words for Grotto is the Latin word for “crypt”. Combined with the mummified corpses here, it makes me wonder.

Points of interest:

1. Confirmation that Hornet can look up! I don’t think anyone was worried about it, but it’s good to know we’ll still be able to do that.

2. You’ll note, first of all, that this is unusually bare for Ari’s backgrounds. The designs are smooth with little shading and there are massive dark areas. This leads me to believe that this isn’t the finished background, nor the one we’ll see in game.

3. The two strange objects at the corners of the screen are difficult to identify. Personally, I think they look like plugs of some sort, though I have no idea what they might be plugging. Maybe magma?

4. What is it with Team Cherry and throwing dead bodies everywhere? That’s litter, it’s illegal. Anyway, what might have killed these bugs?

5. You’ll note the massive misshapen mountain of bones in the background. Where did all of these come from? Also, the fact that they are bones means that this is probably Bonebottom. I’d like to call your attention to the fact that bugs don’t actually have bones, just exoskeletons, which makes the source of these even more dubious.

6. There are several ember particle effects, which I take to mean that there’s a whole bunch of magma nearby.

7. There are a few links of chain attached to each plug. Likely this is to allow them to be dragged open. I’m very curious whether this is just a design detail or whether opening these plugs will be used as a mechanic somehow.

Circled in blue are the (brass?) rings on Shakra’s arms as well as a similar ring on the ground. I’m not sure why one of her arm rings would be on the ground, but maybe it’s similar to Cornifer’s pages?

[mythgirlimagines]

Well, my good Anons! Tuesday is here and so is this new talentswap! Introducing Myth, the Former Ultimate Fanfiction Author!

———————————————–

BACKSTORY AND TALENT

Growing up, Myth wasn’t very good at expressing herself via facial expressions or body language. Because of that, Myth didn’t have many friends growing up, besides Wyre. She quickly turned to cartoons and video games to fill the hole left in her heart. One day, Myth’s English teacher advised her to use writing as an outlet for her emotions. By her high school years, Myth has already amassed a large fanbase for her vast amount of fanfiction that touches even the most obscure of fandoms. Although her fanfiction runs the gamut of subject matter, she primarily focuses on romance and shipping, with LGBT dynamics being a major theme in most of her romantic works. She is currently chaperoning this year’s batch of Ultimates and Jr. Ultimates on their journey to Kibo-Con Ultimate. They also happen to make excellent references for her fanfiction.

———————————————–

RELATIONSHIPS

Wyre Anon, Former Ultimate Moral Compass

As hard as it is to believe, this rowdy juvenile delinquent runs one of the strictest disciplinary committees in the country. Wyre would regularly prevent others from picking on Myth, and they remain the best of friends well into their college years. Myth regularly looks up to Wyre for her assertive and expressive attitude, and she reminds Myth of those anime student council president characters mixed with a shonen protagonist.

Anon Scar, Ultimate Idol

As the lead vocalist of the famously-elaborate pop-rock idol group DaTenshi, Scar embraces the whole “Fallen Songstress“ persona that got Scar her fame in the first place. As much as Scar tries to stay true to her persona, her persona regularly cracks to reveal an overly-concerned mom friend. Myth views Scar as this odd combination of a School Idol, a Team Mom and a Chuunibyou, which makes for a weird combination of anime tropes.

Fusion Anon, Ultimate Soldier

Myth has consumed a ton of media about the military and if the media proves true, there is no reason for Fusion to appear as well-adjusted and confident as he carries himself. Fusion regularly tries to convince Myth that he is fine and that the war was all in the past. But Myth is an observant soul, and can tell that Fusion is close to breaking. Myth is, to put it lightly, really concerned for this poor lad. Just what is under his Team Dad facade and his garish camo clothes?

Fusion Anon II, Ultimate Biker Gang Leader

With Fusion II’s sassy and flippant attitude, topped off by her fashion of tall boots, long skirts and popped collars, there is no mistaking Fusion II as the leader of “The Divergence”, one of the largest girl gangs in all of the country. It is also extremely clear to Myth that her cool-headed and sarcastic demeanour is all but a coping mechanism, caused by living in a harsh environment, surrounded by equally harsh individuals. Truly a shining example of both the Sukeban trope and the Deadpan Snarker trope.

Just Anon, Ultimate Affluent Progeny

As the scion of the “Lagomor Corp”, one would expect Janon to be cruel, merciless and hardworking. But while Janon could be described as cruel and merciless, he is definitely not hardworking in the slightest, preferring to shirk his duties in favour of catching some Zs, which was very clearly caused by everything in life just being handed to him on a silver platter. However, Janon has one weakness: adorable fashion icons. That did not go unnoticed by Myth, much to the dismay of the Tsundere magnate.

Sparkle Anon, Former Ultimate Programmer

When Myth was told that an Ultimate Programmer would be chaperoning the Ultimates with her, Myth was expecting an Introverted Shut-In NEET. So imagine Myth’s internal surprise when this aspiring thespian with a volume problem who calls herself “THE SPECTACULAR SPARKLE” claimed to be the Ultimate Programmer. Despite their contrasting personalities, Myth and Sparkle probably are the closest when it comes to their interests. The two girls very quickly bonded over their shared interest in JRPGs, DND and isekai anime.

Egg Anon, Former Ultimate Detective, and Wet Sock Anon, Former Ultimate Martial Artist

As crazy as it may sound, Myth actually forged quite the odd bond with both Egg and Wet Sock, aka. The Freak Twins. Despite their violence-obsessed personalities and their tendency to constantly stick cursed and well, freakish comments into otherwise normal conversation, Myth managed to look past that to find wise and strong individuals, which was helped by Myth’s interest in gory mystery series and martial arts-based anime and video games. In fact, both twins seem to have grown a thing for Myth, because she was the first person they met that could handle the two of them.

Curious Anon, Jr. Ultimate Fashionista

Ever since Curious was in diapers, they have been educated in the art of fashion and cosmetics by their family. Curious has been modeling for a variety of high-class brands. Whether male, female and unisex clothes, Curious managed to make even the most garish and tacky clothes work for them. Despite the completely different domains of their talents, Myth and Curious quickly bonded over their similar polite and stoic demeanours. However, Myth can’t help but sense emptiness in Curious’s eyes every time they do a photo shoot. A Stepford Smiler perhaps?

Anon Nerd, Former Ultimate Gambler

Despite being praised for their poker face in tournaments, off the poker table, Nerd is a short-tempered and callous jerk, who constantly overreacts to otherwise inconsequential slights. Unfortunately for Nerd, he fell for Myth and he fell hard. Myth is no dummy, so with a perfect poker face every time, she manages to constantly torment Nerd with mind games and lewd comments in an effort to get him to confess. Will Nerd use the poker face he perfected since he began the art of gambling, or will Myth’s eternal poker face manage to conquer even the most trained? Truly a Showdown of the Ages.

Eldritch Anon, Ultimate Swimmer

As the underdog of his school’s swim team, Eldritch Anon’s small and frail build belies a streamlined shape and a flawless and speedy technique while in the water. Eldritch also has a paranoid and cowardly demeanour, and can and will dive into random bodies of water to avoid interacting with others. Much to Myth’s dismay, Eldritch seems to be the most scared of her. Eldritch seems to under the belief that Myth isn’t even human, when that simply isn’t the truth. She is just a girl who has trouble expressing herself. Myth wonders what could have gone wrong in Eldritch’s life to make him have such a vehement distrust of other Anons.

Dream Anon, Ultimate Lucky Student

Acting like someone straight out of a sports anime, no matter how many times her luck puts her into trouble, Dream always manages to get out of them with her head held up high. She might not be the Ultimate Volleyball Player like she wanted, but she always tries to stay positive, regardless of her title. Myth can’t help but feel as though at least part of Dream’s optimism is merely a facade to combat her feelings of inferiority to the other Ultimates, who got in with actual skill. That definitely would explain her Passionate Sports Girl personality, along with her hardworking attitude to the point of overexerting herself.  

Iris Anon, Jr. Ultimate Baseball Player

The other passionate sports fanatic on the Kibo-Con roster, Iris is well-known by baseball fanatics for her fast and hard swings that earn her baseball team, “The Comets” their unparalleled winstreak, as well as her adorkable and optimistic personality when off the diamond. Because of her social butterfly personality, Iris tries her best to interact with and understand Myth, or at least, the Myth beneath the constant poker face. Myth can’t help but applaud Iris for trying to look past her robotic face and mannerisms and learn more about her. 

Purple Anon, Ultimate Clairvoyant

Having been raised by a traditional family skilled in the art of fortune telling, Purple is by far the most skilled of her family, with a 66% percent accuracy rate to her fortunes. Purple, similar to Myth, is a massive wallflower, regularly cowering behind larger Anons. When Purple actually manages to open her mouth, her prose and vocabulary is about as purple as her hair.  Luckily, Myth is well-versed enough in the language-arts to actually understand what Purple is trying to say to others. Because of that, Myth kind of functions like Purple’s personal translator, simplifying her vocabulary for the less-intelligent Anons.

This Talentswap series centers around a stoic wallflower managing to become the Anon’s personal therapist. She came her for inspiration and references, and returned with a better understanding of her fellow chaperones and chaperonees.

———————————-———————

APPEARANCE

FicAuthor!Myth wears swirly opaque glasses to hide her eyebags earned from several sleepless nights. She wears her short dyed-purple hair into two short pigtails. She holds the pigtails in place with a pink scrunchie for the left and a blue scrunchie for the right. She wears a black hooded-jacket over a pink t-shirt, and has a matching pink backpack slung over her shoulders. She wears black sweatpants with a purple stripe on the opposite sides of each leg and purple sneakers. On her head, she wears a black beret that matches her jacket and sweatpants. On both the backpack and beret are pins from an assortment of fandoms.  ——————————————————

PERSONALITY

One of the major differences between FicAuthor!Myth and Romantic!Myth lies in her emotional range. While FicAuthor!Myth is fine-tuned when it comes to other people’s emotions, she isn’t very good at identifying or expressing her own emotions, whether through facial expressions, body language or tone of voice. FicAuthor!Myth’s face and vocal range is stuck in a constant monotone. The only way that FicAuthor!Myth can truly express her current emotions is quite obvious; via writing fanfiction that correspond to her current emotional state. However, beneath the monotony of her face and voice, FicAuthor!Myth is almost exactly like Romantic!Myth in personality; being kind, supportive and at times, a massive tease.  —-—————————————————

What do you think of FicAuthor!Myth, as both a talent and a series idea? I’d like to encourage other Anons to comment here with their opinions on it!

-Fusion Anon

—

Writing for my emotions is so accurate you don’t even know-

Anyway, love this version of me a lot!

[zwiezraczek]

Look who's back 😜😜 6 with Billy please! They meet for the first time and Y/N's quite bitchy (sarcastic, quick comments etc). But Billy know it's an act and she's actually quite nice and shy 🐼

Princess [Blurb]

6. “I like the good things in life, darling.”

 Note: Aaaaah I missed you so much!!! 💕 I hope you're doing well, lovely! 💕 I hope you don't mind me taking Billy out the Ghosts context and making of him a "normal" parkour expert - he's parkouring with Storror: law - and I hope you'll enjoy it!!! 💕

~~~

New Year's Eve was your favorite time of the year, as you could put glitter all over your body and face and nobody would care, everybody would admire your pretty face shining in the middle of the room filled with strangers as you danced the night away, along with your partner in crime. You would never feast without her because she made you feel safe and you could be yourself around her. You didn't have to please, you could be your quirky self. And when she invited you to a party one of her friend's held in a club for New Year you agreed immediately. And when she told you it was an seventies themed party you lost it all. You were already looking for a sparkling dress on the internet.

And when the day had come, you couldn't resist to put some glitter on your eyelid and a red lipstick to match your delicate skin and your peachy glittery long dress. Your friend's mouth went agape when she saw you standing in front of her as you opened the door when she came to pick you up. She clapped her hands in excitement and you couldn't take your eyes off her beautiful black glittery flare pants, her booty would rock the whole world tonight.

The club you came into had an immense disco ball on the ceiling, reflecting the purple lights all across the room between dancing bodies – often holding a flute in hand as they chatted carelessly. From all the parties you went to, this one looked the best so far, and you absolutely loved it just from looking. The music caressed your ears as you recognized the bands which were blasting from the loud speakers, and before you could dragg both of you on the dancefloor to dance forever and ever she captured your hand to bring you to a quieter place where – probably – her friend waited for both of you.

“Blaine,” your friend exclaimed joyfully as a black man turned himself to face her and immediately on his face appeared a smile.

“Lovely, you're here,” he replied before she jumped into his arms like a kid and you couldn't help yourself but smile. “I'm so glad you came, I was afraid you wouldn't!”

“Missing Blaine's party would be a sin and I know that! And I brought a friend,” she added excited before turning and stretching her arm towards you. “Y/n, come come! You need to meet Blaine!” And with a smile, a confident smile hiding your shyness, you came towards them. “Blaine, this is y/n, my bestfriend! And y/n, this is Blaine!”

“Your future boyfriend,” he precised and she just rolled her eyes. “Nice to meet you, y/n. I hope you'll have a great time here!”

“I don't doubt that my bestfriend's boyfriend organized a great party in here,” you teased and she hit your forearm as you giggled. “We'll discuss about hiding boyfriends later, you little snake!”

“I'm not a snake,” she protested, pouting and Blaine put his index on her cheek.

“Yes, you're absolutely not a snake,” you corrected with a smirk. “I'm going to make myself at home then, leaving the bird with the snake,” you stated and went away before your bestfriend's hand could reach your skin again.

And as you made your way through the dancing crowd, you looked back at your bestfriend being kissed on the cheek by Blaine: what a little snake she was! You were happy, but sad. You hoped that this year would be like the others, you spending your night with her, in a club or in a bar dancing together and laughing about the past year and hoping for a better new. Not tonight, your karma said. What a bitch, you replied before taking a shot while you sat at the bar.

You proceeded to take a few drinks, your fingertips circling on the edge of the glass as you looked for your bestfriend from time to time, right behind you. You finally decided to go and sit in a calmer corner, and began to scroll on your Instagram feed during a few minutes, sighing from time to time. Maybe not the best New Year's Eve party finally, maybe not...

“Darling, can I join you,” you heard a voice above your head and you saw a Latina girl with eyes as beautiful as stars in the moonlight wearing a silk night blue dress.

“Of course,” you babbled and put your phone away as you looked at her and she waved into a man's direction with a wide smile.

“I'm Amelia,” she presented herself as she sat right next to you.

“I'm y/n,” you replied with a faint smile.

“And this is Billy,” she said as a blond man came right after her with two drinks in hands before looking at you. Your eyes locked and you could swear that you saw a faint glow in his eyes. Under the club's light his eyes looked like pearls and you couldn't take yours from his. This moment could have lasted forever, or just a few micro-seconds. “He's a bit stupid, but I love him anyway,” she added with a quick movement of her hand before looking at him with a smile. “I love you Billy.”

“You always love me when you're drunk,” he teased before handing Amelia her drink.

“Can't a woman love her bestie just like that, what do you thing y/n,” she asked before dunking her lips into the alcohol.

“I think she absolutely can,” you replied siding with her as Billy just sighed. You crossed your legs and leaned forward a bit.

“You're not helping, beauty,” he said before attempting to catch his glass but you were quicker than him and you had your hand already on the glass. He looked at you, and with a smile you drank from his glass. Fruity. Delicate. Nice taste.

“Billy, I love her more than I love you now,” Amelia stated as she began to laugh when she saw Billy's expression when you drank from his glass. She put her hands around your neck, hugging you joyfully. With the corner of your eye, you looked at Billy and tried to guess him emotions. Anger? Pity? Was he impressed or vexed?

“Good for you, Amelia,” he snapped dryly. He was vexed, definitely.

“I'm so so sorry for drinking from your glass,” you cooed as Amelia let you go, with your eyelashes fluttering and making your eyelids shine even more than they did. “Poor little boo, do you want me to offer you a drink?”

“Unlike you, I can pay myself something without stealing.” He wanted to play, and you had nothing to lose.

“Who said I couldn't pay myself something, playboy,” you asked innocently and Amelia just rose her shoulders.

“You stealing my drink apparently.”

“I like the good things in life, darling,” you replied with a little smirk.

“This was all fun and games Billy,” Amelia intervened with a drunkish smile and Billy sighed even more. “Look at this angelic glittery face, y/n's an angel,” she stated with a little sparkle in her eye before she heard a song and began to clap. “An angel that will dance with me right now because I love this song!” She got up and grabbed you by your hand, leaving Billy and his empty glasses in the corner.

~~~

It became a little bit too hot inside for you, so you insisted to go on the terrace by yourself, leaving Amelia and your partner in crime inside. You had to think about... Things. And alcohol and the noise and the heat wouldn't help you. You didn't want to come in, but you began to feel the chills on your skin.

Here, you could calm down for a moment, not be the social butterfly you were in order to hide your shyness and everything that surrounded it. You developed this capacity to cope with loneliness, and it drained your energy away every single time but it gave you the opportunity to meet amazing people too. So it seemed to be worth it.

Suddenly, you felt a jacket on your shoulders. You immediately rose your head to see who tried to save you from a cold, and you saw Billy. The guy you teased during the whole evening. You couldn't put a finger on what you wanted from him, what your inner slut wanted and what your inner timid girl wanted, but all both of them knew was that he was just an adorable target to annoy because of the pouty face he made everytime you said something.But now, without any audience, your sharp tongue was gone.

“You're hiding here then,” he said before sitting next to you. “I was wondering where the thief went, and I found you here.” You looked at him and shyly smiled before sighing.

“Thanks for the jacket, I was freezing out here.” You felt his gaze on you, and your lips suddenly went dry.

“Don't steal my jacket,” he teased you this time and you rolled your eyes.

“I won't I promise,” you whispered. “So, Billy, what you're doing in general? Besides letting strangers steal your drinks and jacket.”

“I do parkour, I'm part of a team right now, we're not doing anything big but well... It's still fun and stuff.”

“That's so cool,” you said dreamily, and he looked right in your eyes. Oh shit, your inner slut stopped breathing.

“And what do you do,” his raspy voice caught you off guard. Dear lords. You lost it all.

“I'm an art teacher,” you babbled, you began to drown in his eyes. It was suddenly so hot outside.

“The only art I see here is you,” he replied as he caressed your cheek gently.

You couldn't quite figure how you found yourself pulling him closer but the collar of his white shirt to kiss you. Your lips burning red dancing with his, you could feel the warmth of his breath against your skin and slowly his lips against your neck as you closed your eyes with your fingers wandering in his blond locks. You gasped and he whispered into your ear.

“I also like the good things in life, darling.”

[jonghours]

ATEEZ “Crescent Party” spoilers

so ATEEZ said spoilers, and as usual I was summoned

let’s go then

first of all, as Hongjoong said at the end of the live, crescent symbolizes a new beginning.

The theme of the live is to look back into the past to correct their mistakes.

the first song they perform is WAVE. I believe the songs picked for this live have significant meaning, and is no surprise that the Crescent Party starts with this one, having in consideration that WAVE is the song that comes right before WAVE and ties with it. I have a theory about that, but I’ll leave it here.

also this might be a stretch, but Seongha is so usually related to “dreams” that the moment I read his tie my mind directly went to “fever dream” lol

as I mentioned before, they make it clear that the point of this is to look back on their past

now, the first segment is called All to Zero, which as you all know is their first album. Their album names have meaning (obviously) and in this case it means for all of them to go back to the beginning. as we all know Pirate King/Treasure is their starting point.

I’m just throwing this out there, but the moon will be on a crescent from the 25 to the 26 of July, so who knows, it just seemed very abrupt for him to mention it like that. but there is another thing related to this that shows up later, so let’s continue

maybe the next album will start with Zero following the Treasure Story dynamic?

I think what Seonghwa says here might be a hint at the theory that ATEEZ constantly travel back in time, turning the hourglass once again to make up for the mistakes they’ve made in the previous journey

the next segment is Action To Answer, the name of Epilogue. This time they show the crescent picture.

now, I just thought that this was funny. when the game props show up, they asked if they came from the sky, to which San answers with “I guess it’s a trend”. this could have to do with the Crescent promotional pictures all having place in space.

I already made a post about this, but Wooyoung accidentally let it slip that red and blue are connected which we all already had figured out tho this was an umprompted spoiler so thank you Wooyoung. 

these are probably lyrics or notes for their next song maybe?? not like we can decypher them or anything but I just thought it was interesting

now the next song is Say My Name. as we all know SMN is the prequel to Pirate King, and the story of how all of them came together. I think it’s important to remember the lyrics that say “Dream of being on top and the bottom can be changed with one difference”, wich ties into the past mistakes that were being mentioned before. also, the top and bottom part remind sme of ATEEZ’s new leitmotiv, the hourglass aaaaaand guess who shows up!!

it also shows up when the theme of the pictures is Seonghwa, who as I mentioned before here has some power over it

I don’t know who this belongs to, but you can clearly read “the beginning” on it

I want to point out that when they arrive at the last chorus, the lights turn red, which is usually a sign of Dark ATEEZ.

now, Dazzling Light. as I said I believe the songs picked for this are important. like many other ATEEZ songs, Dazzling light is about ATEEZ trying to reach for the light (their utopia/treausre), but being unable to: “Even if I dream and dream // I’m still curious // Another sparkle, find the light and reach for it” “Follow the light that unfolded countless times for a new beginning”

but the heaviest topic is that of lost identity and confusion present in other songs like Illusion and Precious: “In your eyes I see another me” “Let me know who you, who am I”

also, there is this line “A promise that lead to destiny, where is the end of our journey?” that has a key point in the choreography

and I immediately thought of WONDERLAND. it was weird for me that Wooyoung would do this when the lyrics aren’t even about promise, but who knows

now, as I mentioned before, the moon shows up again. this to me looks like an eclipse. there is an eclipse on July 5. the eclipse shows up again when they perform HALA HALA

now, I know people don’t care about this but ATEEZ stickers are my favorite to decode, and finally one has been cleared up! this si proof the eclipse/moon stuff has been here since WONDERLAND

now, HALA HALA. as I said, red is always related to Dark ATEEZ, and so this stage is covered on it.

now, the “clues” I found in the background

there were many numbers, but this 9/6 shows up again on it’s own

there are various words written downwards and reversed. I don’t know what “roll” could mean, but it shows up multiple times. the second one simply seems to say “finish”

another rmention to color? “help”? “split/splice”?

now, the numbers again. many show up, but this is the clearest one “156124″ I tried to see if it would work with a letter to number code but couldn’t come up with anything

then the next song is Desire, which is about being blinded and consumed by the  desire of reaching their treasure. the lyrics literally say “I’m blind(ed)” 

unrelated, but I think it’s interesting that the lyrics “couldn’t nobody else” that were already said in SMN are repated here, both times sung by Wooyoung. they also mention again “I do not remember anything // All the time so far, I’ve forgotten it” this stage is covered in red again

now, the butterfly thing keeps on showing up, more off stage that on MVs. Hongjoong constantly wears and uses butterfly themed stuff, and he’s the member most invested in the story so far, so I’ll trust him

about their new logos for their perfume, they obviously represent a rudder + the hourglass.

now, why is one of the hourglasses black and the other one white? who knows, not me

I loved this because as I said my favorite ATEEZ theory part shows up, the stickers!! the rudder, the hourglass, the weird tear, what I believe now is the moon/eclipse and the keyhole! 

now finally, the crescent moon at the end. the sand goes from bottom to top once again, just like the code in the Epilogue code says, and just like in that scene in ANSWER with Wooyoung inside of it

“The hourglass I saw in my dream wasn’t a dream?I looked through the sand and unintentionaly turned it around.The sand in the hourglass started to move from bottom to top”

and that’s all I’ve got. hope this was entertaining!

[flamehairedwritings]

The Fire In Your Eyes: Chapter Seventeen

Characters: Arthur Morgan x Original Female Character

Rating: The whole series will be E, 18+ ONLY for violence, gore, character deaths, animal deaths, parent deaths, swearing, grief, sexual themes and unprotected sex.

Summary: Saved by Arthur Morgan when her town is attacked, a young woman’s past comes back to haunt her when she has no choice but to join the Van der Linde Gang.

Some scenes and dialogue have been taken from the game!

Read on AO3

The Fire In Your Eyes Masterlist

Please don’t copy, steal or re-post my work; credit does not count.

— 

When Trouble Comes To Town, Men Like Me Come Around

“Hey, where the hell were you two?”

“Huntin’.” Arthur dropped the three turkeys they’d shot on the way back onto Pearson’s table.

Pearson grumbled something under his breath.

“What did you say?”

“I thought you’d gone.”

Arthur frowned as his hands went to his belt. “What?”

“After... what happened, I thought you’d both gone.”

His jaw moved slightly as he looked at him. “Well, we ain’t. We ain’t goin’ anywhere.”

Pearson nodded, and Ada thought he was going to say something else when his head bowed and he studied the state the turkeys were in. “So, uh, where did you get—”

“Oh, you’re a fuckin’ peach, ain’t you?”

“And you’re better than all of us, are you?!”

She turned with Arthur to watch Karen storming after Miss Grimshaw, coming up the path from the river. Both women looked thunderous.

“At least I didn’t fuckin’ shoot someone who didn’t even know what was goin’ on, you miserable bitch!” Karen yelled and Grimshaw turned sharply, halting and thrusting a finger at her.

“Listen here, you little ungrateful cunt, I did us all a favour!”

“You did yourself a favour, you’ve been wantin’ her gone since Dutch cast you aside and took her in!”

“They ain’t stopped since,” Pearson muttered behind them, and Arthur released a long breath.

Starting to move forward, he murmured, “I better—”

“No, Arthur,” Ada murmured, her hand settling on his arm making him stop.

It seemed Susan had had enough, though, her face red and twisted.

“You don’t know what you’re talkin about, you bitch.”

“Oh, ho, I don’t?” Karen’s hands went to her hips. “You get real fuckin’ sad when you drink, Susan, and you don’t fuckin’ shut up so I know what I’m talkin’ about.”

“You keep away from me!” Susan hissed, turning on her heel and striding towards the fire pit.

Karen scoffed, for once not looking delighted that she’d gotten the upper-hand. “Gladly.”

Turning, she, too, strode away, nearing Arthur and Ada. Lifting her head, she stopped abruptly as she caught sight of them, her gaze flicking between them. Her eyes settled on Ada and her lips pressed together. Then, she turned, heading in another direction.

Swallowing, Ada released Arthur’s arm as he turned to her, arching an eyebrow.

She gave a small smile as she lowered her voice. “It’s better if we just leave them to it, let them get it all out.”

He nodded, then his hand lifted and rubbed her arm as he sighed, his eyes scanning the rest of the camp. “Let’s find Sadie, see what’s been goin’ on.”

They found their friend down by the river, guarding the small path. Her features lit up at the sight of them, shouldering her rifle and striding towards them.

“Hey, I got a plan to get John, now,” she said before either of them could even open their mouths.

“You do?” Arthur didn’t sound particularly surprised.

She nodded, keeping her voice low. “Yeah, we can’t all go, though, it’ll be too suspicious. I’ve just had to talk Abigail out of comin’ with me, for Jack’s sake, and she’s mad as hell.”

“I’m comin’ with you,” Arthur answered instantly.

Ada pressed her lips together slightly but said nothing.

Sadie inclined her head at him. “All right. Now, we obviously ain’t tellin’ Dutch.”

Ada almost laughed. “Yeah, good idea.”

The older woman turned her gaze to her. “Can you stay here and just, make sure he doesn’t suspect anythin’? Say we’ve gone huntin’ or somethin’?”

“Yeah, sure.” 

Maybe we’ll just have another explosive argument, that’ll keep him occupied.

“Thanks. We shouldn’t take long but, just incase.”

“Of course.” She raised her eyebrows, releasing a breath. “Look after each other, please.”

“We will, I promise.” Her friend’s features softened for a moment before she was patting Arthur’s arm and heading back up towards the camp. “C’mon, we ain’t got a lot of time.”

“All right, give me a minute.”

Ada’s gaze shifted from Sadie’s back to meet Arthur’s, a light smile pulling at her lips. He returned it as his hand went to her arm again, squeezing gently.

“I’ll see you later.”

“Bye. Be safe, please.”

“I will.” His smile lingered as he pressed a kiss to her forehead, and then he was turning and following after Sadie.

Ada folded her arms as she watched him walk away, her heart twisting slightly. He was eager to get back out there, to be useful, to save his brother, she understood that, but she’d only just got him back, what if—

No, no, don’t think about that... He’s with Sadie, they’ll both be fine.

Occupied, she needed to keep herself occupied.

Blowing out a breath, she headed back up to the camp, reaching it just in time to see them riding away. No one looked up, unbothered. It was like she could feel the very life had gone out of the camp, and she knew it couldn’t all be down to Molly’s death, though that was still going to be raw.

She found her few things on Arthur’s bed, grateful that whoever had set it up had taken the initiative and grouped their things together.

It was a lovely, strange mile-stone, a quiet acceptance of what they were.

How long would that acceptance last, though? She glanced up, trying to find if anyone was watching her but, again, people were unbothered.

It’s in their minds, though.

Stop it.

She pulled a blanket down across the small space, the garment acting as a curtain so she could change in privacy. With Arthur having ripped most of the buttons off of her blouse, not that she’d complained too much, though she had complained as they’d dressed, earning a smirk from him, she’d had to just wear the flimsy corset and her jacket, buttoning it entirely and praying they wouldn’t be stopped on the way back. It was a crisp, almost cold day but she and Arthur had moved quickly, having no difficulty in hunting the turkeys and then cantering back.

She pulled on a light blue blouse, one that she’d bought from a group of travellers she and Sadie had encountered, the colour reminding her of a shirt Arthur had.

She’d worn it the day he’d returned, almost like she’d known. Then again, she wore it nearly every single day so she couldn’t really put it down to fate.

After buttoning it, she brushed the blanket aside and stepped out, tucking the blouse into her trousers. She left her gunbelt and jacket on the bed, not planning on leaving the camp due to her mission, and there were plenty of guns around if trouble came.

Her gaze drifted to Dutch’s tent as she straightened the sleeves. The opening of it moved gently with the breeze and she could just glimpse him in there, lying on the bed, napping, possibly.

That makes this a lot easier.

She was planning on just sitting on Arthur’s bed and keeping her eyes fixed on the tent when Jack’s faint giggle drew her attention away, making her heart twinge.

Abigail.

Rounding the wagon, she found mother and son a short distance away from the camp, Abigail sat up against her tree, hugging her legs as she watched her son draw in the mud with a stick. Ada glanced back over her shoulder to Dutch’s tent.

He won’t move, and if he does then, well, guess I could start up that argument.

Abigail raised her head at the sound of someone approaching, twigs snapping beneath boots. Ada smiled warmly as the woman’s alert gaze met her own.

“Hey, Abigail.”

She relaxed a little, letting out a breath. “Hey, Annie.”

Ada sat down next to her with a soft groan, wiping her hands against her thighs, watching Jack along with his mother. He was drawing random shapes and swirls, then occasionally stabbing the mud with the end of the stick and giggling at the sound it made as he pulled it back out. A smile pulled at her lips.

“I’m gonna have to wash all his clothes, again,” Abigail sighed, prompting a soft laugh from Ada.

“Can’t you just leave them? From how frequently and earnestly he gets them dirty, I think it’s a strong choice.”

His mother huffed out a sound, maybe a laugh. “Can’t have him being too much like his father.”

Ada turned her head to her, her smile fading a little. “How are you doing?” she asked quietly.

Abigail kept her gaze on Jack, gripping her legs. “Arthur’s gone with her, hasn’t he?”

“Yeah.”

She released a breath. “Good.” She nodded a few times then. “That makes me feel a little better.”

“That’s good.”

They fell into silence as Ada watched Jack, too, the boy now trying to squish leaves into the mud.

“How are you doin’?”

Abigail’s quiet, gentle question made her blink as her gaze returned to her.

“Me?”

“Yeah.”

She searched her features, finding genuine concern there, knowing there was more to it. So she took a chance.

“Abigail...” she began, lowering her voice even further, almost whispering. “... What Molly said, about me—”

Abigail took her hand, shaking her head. “It’s okay, we don’t have to talk about it here, now.”

She swallowed lightly as Abigail squeezed her hand. “Okay.”

The other woman nodded then released her, hugging her legs again. Ada gazed at her for a few moments longer before looking back to Jack, playing with her ring. The small act of kindness was threatening to bring tears to her eyes. She couldn’t tell if Abigail believed it or not, but the very notion that she would listen, in time, bolstered her.

They sat in silence for a little while, both women thinking about the men they loved and not saying so for fear of upsetting the other. It wasn’t until the boy raced after a butterfly that Abigail sighed and pushed herself up with a groan.

“Come find me later,” she murmured before striding off after her son, her skirt billowing in the breeze.

Ada watched her go as she got to her feet, trying to ignore the twinge in her heart.

If anything happens, I’ll get them out.

Don’t think about that.

She made her way back to the centre of the camp, looking to anyone who might be watching, which they weren’t, as if she was just getting herself something to drink. She poured herself some fresh water from a wooden jug into a tin cup, taking a long drink, her eyes fixed on Dutch’s tent. He was still in there, still sleeping.

This was turning out to be a lot more boring than she’d expected. Swallowing the last of the water, she placed the cup down and wiped her mouth.

What to do, what to do, what to do...

...

Guess I could take a watch.

No one had taken over from Sadie so it left the small lane unguarded and, after the last couple of days, she could do with just one day of no bad surprises. Returning to Arthur’s tent, she pulled her jacket on and then secured her gunbelt around her waist before taking one last glance at Dutch’s tent and then heading around the wagon to the path.

It was quiet around here, almost eerily so sometimes, the only sound the rustling of the trees, some small animals, or the gentle rush of the river. Taking up Sadie’s position, she angled her back so it faced the camp and she could keep an eye on the other bank and the path that stretched ahead. 

It took all of two minutes before her mind began to wander.

When they returned with John, and they would return, she’d insist to Arthur that they make a plan. She knew he wouldn’t just leave, not unless he knew everyone would be okay. The gang would have to be in a good position... or not a gang at all.

Increasingly, it was seeming like the latter was the way fate was taking them.

If only they could get some people to leave, others would then go, too... maybe if they got John, Abigail and Jack away—

She fell forward with a sharp gasp as something blunt collided against the back of her head, and the world went black.

—

“... stop it, I want that...” 

“Nuh-uh, I gots my hands on it first!”

“That ain’t fair!”

“Shut up!”

Her head ached and her face felt wet. Slowly opening her eyes, she had to blink several times for her vision to focus. At first all she saw was leaves and trees, realising the wetness on her face was due to her cheek being pressed against mud.

“He said I could have what I wants!”

“He said we could have what we wants!”

Her gaze slid up to the two men sat nearby, one of them holding her jacket, the other her boots. Ah, that’s why she felt so cold.

Murfree Brood. They had to be. She’d never encountered them, but it was hard to not recognise them for who they were.

Something grabbed her foot suddenly and she gasped sharply, her head twisting to see what it was. 

A third Murfree grinned at her, spit sliding out of the corners of his mouth. He laughed gleefully, gripping her ankle tightly. “Hey, lady, you got pretty toes, I’m gonna cuts off one little toe first, then all the other pink little toes, then I’m gonna wear ‘em as a pretty pink necklace.”

Oh, fuck...

“Hey, hey, she’s awake!” one of the other men said, the argument swiftly ending.

Gritting her teeth, her heart and head pounding, she tried to push herself up before realising her wrists had been tied together tightly. Too tightly. Her fingers were tingling from the lack of circulation.

“Pretty, pretty toes...” The Murfree holding her foot sang, his other hand searching in the pocket of his overalls.

The other two men stepped closer, leaning over her.

The one holding her jacket, patches of long, thin hair on his head, grinned, revealing missing teeth. “I’m gonna cut your hair, it’s so bright and pretty.”

Her gaze darted down as she suddenly felt the cold flat of a knife against her foot. The drooling man giggled, waving the knife. “I can’t wait to get me a pretty new necklace—”

He yelled in shock as her other leg lashed out and her heel struck him in the nose, sending him falling back. Grabbing at his face, he howled in pain, sobbing, and she tried to push herself up. The man with thin hair dropped the jacket and grabbed her shoulders, though, shaking her hard and making her already sore head spin.

“That ain’t nice!” he yelled, and she could hear the other man trying to console the crying one.

“Fuck off,” she hissed through her teeth, feeling queasy and cold.

“That ain’t nice either!” He shook her again and she closed her eyes tightly.

Then he dropped her and she grunted as her back collided with the ground.

“You okay, Den?”

The crying man whimpered in reply, blood seeping through the fingers he held against his face. The man who held her boots, his hair dark and balding, glared at her, baring his teeth.

The man above her huffed out a breath before lunging down, his arm sweeping out, and he scooped the knife up. Turning back to her, his other hand gripped the front of her shirt and he tugged her upper body off the ground, making her groan.

His face inches from hers as he leaned over, spit landed on her cheeks as he hissed, “I’m gonna cut your hair off and you’re gonna apologise to Den for bein’ a nasty bitch and then you’re gonna make it up to him and—”

Short gunfire erupted.

The Murfrees barely had time to cry out. She stared at the man standing over her as a bullet tore through his face, spots of blood landing on hers, and his grip instantly loosened on her as he died and then his body was crumbling, falling on top of her as she fell back.

Gasping out her breaths in shock as she landed, her eyes wide, she felt panic clawing its way up her throat as the dead man lay on her, his features now unrecognisable. Gritting her teeth, she grunted as it took three attempts to shove him off of her completely.

Sucking in deep, harsh breaths, she then went to turn over, wanting to see who had saved her, when a shadow fell across her.

“Fuckin’ inbred trash,” Colm O’Driscoll tutted, his gun by his side as he looked down at the body.

In her peripheral vision, she saw men moving behind him, going to the bodies and their little camp, but she just stared up at him.

Oh, fuck...

Holstering his gun, Colm’s gaze then shifted to her and he smiled. Bending at the knees, he gripped her under the arms. “Come on, darlin’, don’t wanna be hangin’ ‘round here too long.”

Hauling her up with a grunt, she winced, finding that her feet were so cold she could barely feel them as she stood.

“Jesus, you’re shiverin’. Hey, Zach, hand me that...”

A tall dark-haired man with a large beard picked her jacket up and tossed it to Colm who caught it and then draped it around her shoulders. She just continued to stare at him, silent.

He hummed as he removed a knife from his belt with one hand and gripped her arm with the other, keeping her hands out so he could cut through the rope. It took a couple of attempts but then her hands were free, and she hissed out a breath as she started to rub at the red marks they had left, blood rushing back into her fingers.

“These yours?”

She glanced at Colm as he accepted her boots from Zach, arching an eyebrow.

She nodded silently.

“All right.” He dropped them near her feet and turned away, his hands going to his hips as he surveyed the small camp, watching his men search the bodies of the Murfrees.

After tugging her jacket on, Ada then bent down and pulled the boots back on, tying them tightly. Her gaze darted about the ground, trying to locate her guns and gunbelt. They were nowhere to be seen.

Fuck.

Once she’d finished tying them, straightening, she still felt cold so she folded her arms tightly, trying to warm herself. Her eyes lifting, she found Zach stood a few feet away, watching her.

Probably making sure I don’t go anywhere.

Wonderful.

She still felt queasy, too, possibly from the knock to her head... and also the Murfree’s destroyed face which she was very much avoiding looking at.

“All right, let’s go, boys.”

The men, seven of them, started to move at Colm’s announcement, and the man himself approached her once more, nodding his head in the direction they were heading. 

“Come on, darlin’, our camp ain’t too far away.” 

He held an arm out, gesturing for her to walk first. She paused for a moment, before moving with a long exhale. What choice did she have?

He fell into step with her and rubbed his hands together, glancing at her with a smile. “We heard all the hollerin’ and fancied havin’ a little fun. Who’d have guessed what we’d come back with, huh?”

She remained silent.

“Oh, you ain’t gonna talk to me, is that it?”

Silence.

“Ain’t gonna thank your uncle for savin’ your life?”

Silence.

... and she felt very, very queasy.

“Ahh, that’s all right, I didn’t do it for the—”

She stopped abruptly and doubled over, vomiting onto the damp grass. Her eyes were shut tightly but she heard Colm let out a whistle before feeling a hand rubbing her back.

“Jesus, girl... All right, get it out...”

She heaved again but this time nothing came out, so she spat to rid the awful taste from her mouth, sucking in deep breaths. She was shaking and she didn’t know if it was from the cold still or from how peculiar she felt.

“Zach, can you...?”

She just had time to wipe her mouth with the back of her hand before she was suddenly swept up with a gasp. Staring at Zach as he carried her bridal-style, she tried to push herself out of his arms, albeit weakly.

“What are you—”

“Don’t fuckin’ start, all right, just let the man carry you,” Colm sighed as they walked, Zach looking ahead and not saying a word.

She pressed her lips together, folding her arms, her body tense, but again... no choice.

The camp was only a few minutes away, and despite the current circumstances it felt good to have some time to try and breathe and settle her stomach. It gave her a chance to recognise the woodland, too. They weren’t too far away from Beaver Hollow, she thought, they couldn’t be, the sun was still relatively in the same position. She could escape, she could get back, maybe even before Sadie and Arthur returned. There’d be no need for him to worry, God, she didn’t want to worry him, not when they’d just got each other back.

The trees thinned out into a small clearing and the men broke off to either the fire pit or one of the three tents set up. Two wagons resided to the right and there were probably four or five men here, talking and laughing. She kept her arms folded tightly, her gaze darting between them.

“This way.”

Her eyes returned to Colm, staring at his back and watching him head to the smallest tent, Zach following him. A blonde man sat on a chair outside it, a small table next to him, though he quickly rose from it and trotted away as Colm neared, and as they approached Zach lowered her and set her down on it. She resisted the instinct to thank him, instead just keeping her mouth shut and staring at the ground. He turned and walked away instantly though, not waiting for gratitude.

Humming again, Colm picked up a cloth from the table and dunked it into a bucket of water, squeezing some out of it before turning to her.

As he gripped her chin with his free hand, she hissed as the wet cloth touched her skin, ice cold, which was the last thing she needed. He chuckled, continuing to wipe the specks of blood and mud from her face.

“I don’t think you could be any more pissed off with me, huh?”

She just looked at him, her features tight, jaw clenched.

He chuckled again, wiping hard at her skin. “Don’t tell me you’re the strong, silent type now, huh? I kinda miss you bein’ all loud and shouty.”

She didn’t saw a word, just let him clean her face, willing to make allowances now that she hadn’t been tied up again and he hadn’t demanded a ‘thank you’.

  “What happened to your face?” he said after barely two seconds, gesturing at her scar.

The gentle tone of the question surprised her. 

“Nothing.”

Damn it.

“Oh, she speaks,” he grinned, gentle tone gone, and tilted his head. “Dutch do that? Or one of his boys?”

She was already shaking her head, her brow dipping at the insinuation. “No, no... Pinkerton agent did it.”

“When?”

Well, I’m already talking and he’s not gonna shut up...

“When we had to escape from where we were staying, a place called Shady Belle.” 

“Ah, yeah, I heard about that.” The grin returned as he wiped at her chin. “How is Dutch doin’? Heard he’s just come back from a nice trip.”

Exhaling a weary breath, she moved her head away from his grip, his movements pausing. “What are you doing here, Colm.”

He raised his eyebrows innocently. “Here? Just cleanin’ up my wayward niece.”

She wasn’t in any kind of a mood for this. “I mean this far east.”

Colm grinned, placing his free hand on his chest. “I’m here by invitation, darlin’. You met him, didn’t you, Angelo Bronte? Italian feller, greasy as they come?” She gave no reaction to the mention of the man who’d held Jack and she’d once been hell-bent on killing, but Colm was continuing anyway. “He extended a little invitation to me some time ago. I’d say it’s been a very prosperous relationship indeed, despite Dutch killin’ him which I’m pretty pissed about but, hey, from it I got Dutch cornered, got me better guns and business here, got my niece back—”

  “You don’t have me back.”

He sighed, dabbing repetitively at her nose and making her pull her head back to try and get it away. “C’mon, join us, Adaline, it don’t make no sense for you to be runnin’ ‘round alone—”

She snatched the cloth out of his hand, wiping it against her forehead because it suddenly felt warm. “I’m not alone.”

He chuckled, folding his arms as he leaned against the table. “Ah, yes... your little affair with Arthur.”

She froze, her eyes darting to him. “What—”

He tilted his head. “That’s how we knew where you was campin’, darlin’, down at that big house, Shady Belle. Followed you back there after your stay at that fancy hotel. Kieran just decided to take a little walk at the wrong time—”

She rose to her feet, raging. “You bastard—”

His hand was already on her shoulder, easily shoving her back into the chair. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m a bastard. I ain’t any worse than Dutch, though.”

She fell silent once more, folding her arms and staring out across the grass.

He laughed, and she didn’t think she could hate him any more. “Nah, you can’t argue with that. ‘specially with all the time you’ve been spendin’ with him—”

“Where’s Thomas.”

He blinked in surprise as her gaze met his, then smiled. “You believe me, then?”

She released another weary breath. “I just want to know the truth, Colm. I’m tired of it all.”

Her uncle shifted his stance slightly, tilting his head. “Well, he ain’t here.”

That was it, then, finally, what she’d known all along, he is dead, he—

“He’s out with scouting groups.” Her eyes met his again as he smiled. “Tryna get rid of the last of these Murfree fuckers. This is good land.”

She stared at him.

It had to be lies.

“You’re a sick man—”

He just spoke over her. “We’re regroupin’ soon, though, west of here.”

She’d had enough, again. 

Standing, she smiled tightly. “Well, you can send me a letter when he gets back.”

She was about to stride away when his hand was on her shoulder once more and he pushed her back down, chuckling, it all too easy as she was still a little unsteady on her feet.

“Every time I forget just how damn funny you are.” He placed a hand on his hip, the other on the table as he looked at her. “You know you ain’t goin’ anywhere. Sooner you get used to it, sooner you’ll be happier.”

Smiling brightly, he then straightened and clapped his hands together. “All right, I’ll see if I can get someone to get you some food. Don’t you move, now!”

He strode away, whistling, and she stared at his retreating back, her lip almost curling into a snarl, her fists clenched. It had to all be a lie. Another game he was playing for his own, unknown amusement. It was all too convenient, Thomas not being here, meeting with him ‘soon’. What the hell did ‘soon’ mean, anyway? Well, she wasn’t going to hang around long enough to find out. Her gaze shifting from Colm, she played with the cloth in her hands, surveying the camp.

It was a mess in the most sparse of ways, if that was possible. Another table beside one of the other tents, what looked like it had maps strewn across it with a couple of tins and an empty glass bottle. A few blankets balled up here and there along with saddlebags, even more tins lying around. The wagons were half-filled with a few sealed crates and sacks filled with something she couldn’t identify, unevenly shaped. She could hear horses but couldn’t see them, they must be somewhere behind her or one of the wagons. The men sat around the fire, talking, sleeping or drinking. Zach was with them, watching her. Her eyes quickly left his and looked to the treeline. She could see a man there, guarding. If she just waited until it was dark then she could sneak out and hide in the trees and be back in camp by morning and then—

“Hello!”

She jolted, her head whipping to the side.

An Irish boy, well, young man, really, with shoulder-length, strawberry-blonde hair, possibly a few years younger than her, stopped abruptly, raising his hands as the grin faded into a sheepish smile. “Woah, hey, sorry. I forget how loud m’ voice is.”

She eyed him, still. “What do you want.”

His smiled widened a little more. “Nothin’, really, I just wanted to say hello.”

“Why.”

He was rather taken aback at that. “... Because it’s polite.”

She just continued to stare at him, trying to work out what his ulterior motives could be. He lowered his hands and took a few steps closer.

“I’m Peter, the camp doctor. And, well, I’m here for another reason, too. Colm wants me to have a look at ye.”

“I’m fine.” 

He nodded, taking a slight breath. “Sure, sure, he just wants me to double check.”

“I’m fine.”

He opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again, lowering his voice gently. “Look, I might be polite but I think ye know Colm always gets his way.”

Her jaw moved. Well, he wasn’t wrong there. Shrugging, she looked away, releasing a breath.

“Fine.”

Taking the granted permission, he took the last few steps closer and cleared his throat. “May I?”

She glanced at him and his raised hands and nodded.

“Thank you.” One hand settled on her forehead, the other on the back, feeling the small lump from where she’d been hit, which made her wince.

Fucking Murfrees. She hadn’t had time to think about it but now she did... what the hell were they doing so close to camp? Trying to take back their land? Shit, another thing to worry about.

“The bump should go in a few days,” Peter was murmuring, “Ye’re a little warm, too, but that could be from all the excitement.”

Lord, give me strength.

She raised her eyes to him. “Yes, because I’ve never experienced excitement before.”

He laughed sheepishly. “Yes, sorry, I bet ye have. Does ye’re head hurt?”

“It aches a little, yes.”

“I’ll get ye some water, you should be okay tomorrow.” He removed his hands and she looked at him, watching his nose wrinkle as he studied her. Smiling gently, he gestured at her face. “What’s this?”

She assumed what he was referring to. “A scar.”

He laughed nervously again and she probably would have felt guilty if she wasn’t so pissed off. 

“Stupid question. How’d it happen?”

“A knife.”

“Right...” He cleared his throat, then pointed at her throat. “And this other scar? How’d this happen?”

“From when a man held a knife to my throat as Dutch van der Linde killed my father.”

There was a pause. It went on so long her eyes rose to look at him to see what he was doing. His mouth was moving slightly, a sympathetic frown on his features.

“I know about that. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring it up.”

She just hummed, his sincerity finally starting to make the guilt creep in.

“Does anywhere else hurt?” he asked gently after a moment.

“No.”

“You sure?”

Go easy on him.

Licking her lips, her eyebrows rose slightly. “My wrists ache but it’s fine.”

“Yeah, that’ll just be from how they’d had ye tied, it should have gone by tomorrow. Let me know if it doesn’t. Ye’re shakin’, too, lemme get ye a blanket...”

She watched him duck into the tent and come out moments later with a thick green blanket, allowing him to drape it around her. She was about to ease up a little more and thank him when his hand went for the cloth.

“C’mere, ye still got some blood on ye—”

She moved her hand away. “I can do it.”

He instantly drew his hand back, smiling lightly. “All right. It’s just on ye’re left cheek there.”

She began to wipe at it, expecting him to make some kind of an awkward, drawn out goodbye, but he just stood there, his hands clasped together. 

“Can I ask ye a question?”

Guilt was still very much lingering so she didn’t want to abruptly turn him away. “Sure.” 

“What’s he like?”

She paused in her wiping, taking a moment to fold the cloth. “Who?”

“Dutch.”

Ada exhaled a breath, having half-expected it. “I don’t want to talk about him right now.”

Was this his ulterior motive? Had Colm asked him to gain her trust and then enquire about Dutch? See what state he was in? She had no love for either men but giving information to Colm that might hurt Dutch was something she’d never do. Hurting Dutch meant hurting Arthur, unfortunately.

Peter was all apologies. “Sure, sorry, I was just curious.”

I bet you were... but maybe he just genuinely is.

Glancing at him, she then looked away again, staring at the ground as she twisted the cloth in her hands.

“What do you want to talk about, then?”

Why isn’t he going... Lord, please give me all your strength.

“I don’t.”

“Oh, all right.” The guilt came again at his crestfallen tone, but he brightened a moment later as she looked at him. “I’ll get ye that water and maybe somethin’ to eat, yeah?”

“That would be nice.”

“All right. I won’t be long!”

Watching him walk away, she took in a long breath.

You can be back at camp by morning, just wait until it’s dark and most of them are asleep.

Just wait.

—

The tent was to be hers that night, Peter told her when he returned with a bowl of tasteless stew and a tin cup of warm water. He said it with a smile, like it was a lovely treat. Looking at the state of the camp, it seemed like it was, though.

Situated a little way from the camp fire, they could still keep an eye on her, and she sat on the ground outside it, the blanket still wrapped around her, staring at the grass as darkness fell, lost in her thoughts, mentally mapping out the area and, depending on which main road she was closest to, the quickest way back to Beaver Hollow.

No one approached her or said a word, even Peter left her alone, having finally taken the hint, hopefully, but every now and then she’d look up and find Zach’s eyes still on her. She’d just return her gaze to the ground.

To them she probably just looked tired, dejected, resigned, but she was just biding her time, waiting for them to relax a little more, to drink more, to sleep, to leave longer gaps between when they looked at her.

She did feel odd, though, hot all over, almost feeling hot inside, the sensation having overtaken her rather suddenly about an hour ago, but maybe it was just the blanket. She kept it on, though, the night cold. Her head pounded still, too, but, as Peter had said, that would go soon.

She glanced up at the men. Colm was sat amongst them, smoking a cigarette and drinking from a flask, quiet, smiling, looking at each man as they spoke. Zach was beside him and, thankfully, for once not looking at her, watching the flame of his match as he lit his own cigarette.

A loud laugh went up suddenly from the group and she took her chance.

Pushing the blanket off, she crawled under the table and around the tent. She hoped they would just assume she’d gone in the tent, but she knew that was just wishful thinking; one of them would check, just in case, most likely Zach. 

So, knowing time was precious and keeping low, she instantly ran to the trees, straightening only when she was several feet into the woodland. The density of the trees made it seem darker than it was but she hoped that would aid her.

Then she heard shouting from the camp. They had realised what had happened.

She kept running, bowing slightly as she went up an incline. It didn’t matter where she was going, she’d find her way back to Beaver Hollow, she had to, she had to get—

A bullet sounded, then more shouts.

“Don’t fuckin’ kill her!” she heard Colm thunder over the rest of the voices, sounding closer.

With a grimace, she tried to run faster, her leg starting to ache, head pounding, the odd feeling lingering no matter how many deep breaths she inhaled. The men were drawing near, though, she could hear them calling to one another.

“Here! She’s this way!”

Shit.

She was headed down the hill now, slipping slightly on the mud but she kept her footing. She could hear the river, close by, maybe only a few minutes away. If she got to it she could cross it, and then disappear into the trees there, or maybe even hide by some of the large rocks that were usually dotted along it, maybe she could bide her time and then—

Someone barrelled into her, knocking her to the ground.

Landing with a loud groan, her teeth slammed together, narrowly missing her tongue. The person was grabbing at her shoulders, trying to keep her down, but she was thrashing too much, trying to crawl forward as she hissed out sounds.

“Stop, stop it, okay, he’s really angry!”

Peter.

"Let me go,” she hissed, striking her elbow back and knocking him in the chest.

He grunted at the impact but was stronger than he looked, or was she weaker? She certainly felt weak, drained, even.

“I can’t, I’m sorry, please, the others are comin’, they won’t be as nice—”

“I have to get back,” she was hissing, still trying to crawl forward, kicking her legs back in an attempt to push him away.

Tears were pricking at her eyes as she thought about Arthur, imagined him returning to camp, unable to find her, no one knowing where she was, what he would be thinking.

I have to get back to him, I just told him I love him, I can’t leave him, I can’t—

Peter’s weight was suddenly off of her and she released a breath, but before she could surge forward, one hand gripped the back of her jacket and an arm slid under her and then she was hauled up and on to someone’s shoulder.

Zach’s.

He was instantly walking, heading back towards the camp, his arm like a vice around her lower back, keeping her in place. That didn’t stop her from trying to push herself up, though, her hands gripping at the back of his jacket, her legs kicking out again. He didn’t move or say anything, just continued walking, and her struggles were useless.

Why was she so drained?

She could hear the rest of the men catching their breath or coughing out curses, not entirely delighted at having been made to unexpectedly sprint through the woods. She ignored them, trying to blink the tears away because the last thing she was going to let happen would be Colm seeing her cry.

He was angry? Good. So was she, but she would bide her time until she got the upper-hand because, God help her, she would.

Zach halted abruptly and when he set her down, surprisingly carefully, she turned and found they were back at the camp, the fire glowing to her right. It didn’t have her attention, though, because a foot away stood Colm, flask in one hand, finger tapping against it, resting his weight on one foot, his other hand hanging by his side, cigarette resting between his fingers.

His gaze was fixed on her, hard, unreadable. She held it, her chin lifted, breathing even.

What had he expected?

His tongue ran over his teeth and then he turned his head to the side, hawking and spitting. Tilting his head, his voice was light.

“If you try that again I will keep you tied to a post, you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

Taking a drag on the cigarette, he nodded leisurely a few times before dropping it to the ground and pressing it into the damp grass with his boot.

“Well, all right, then.”

His hand suddenly lashed out, slapping her. It wasn’t particularly hard but the surprise of it was enough to have her already unsteady legs falling from beneath her. Zach caught her arms in time, though, holding her up, and she swiftly shook one of his hands off so she could raise her own to her stinging cheek.

Hissing out breaths through her teeth, shaking from what now she didn’t know, her eyes tracked Colm, the man having already turned away, watching him move back towards the fire to join his men.

“All right, where was we, then,” he called out loudly, resuming his seat as they continued their conversations like nothing had happened, their backs to her.

Zach was still gripping one of her arms so she wrenched it out of his grip, though she knew it came free more from him allowing it than her own strength.

“I think it’d be best if you went to sleep.”

She stiffened slightly at his voice, American, deep but quiet, and for some reason it made the tears return to her eyes. Sniffing, she dropped her hand from her cheek and swallowed hard. Without saying a word, she turned and moved past him, heading for the tent. If she’d deigned to look at the men around the fire she would have found Peter watching her, regretful, torn.

Stooping and entering the tent, taking the blanket she’d left at the entrance with her, she settled on her knees, letting the flap fall closed behind her. It was tiny, only enough space for her to lie down and maybe lay a few items next to her. She only had her jacket and boots. She just removed the jacket, and realised as she did so that her shirt was sticking to her skin, a light sheen of sweat covering her. Had the run been that strenuous?

Lying down on the bedroll, it was thin but it’d do, she pulled the blanket over herself, rested her head on her arm and closed her eyes, willing sleep to come quickly.

Tomorrow would be a new day.

Tomorrow she would come up with a plan.

Tomorrow she would leave.

—

The next morning she could barely move. Her entire body ached and she felt hot and cold all at once, shaking.

Peter, thankfully, was the one to come and check on her when she didn’t emerge, guilt still troubling him. Taking one look at her, guilt turned to concern and he placed the back of his hand against her forehead.

“Think ye got a fever,” he murmured, pressing his lips together. “Nothin’ too serious I don’t think, but we’re gonna have to wait for it to break.”

Ada just nodded slightly, her throat too sore for her to speak.

“I’ll get ye some water and see what medicines I’ve got, all right?”

He smiled gently before exiting, and she just felt like crying.

Just let me go, just take me to a doctor in town, I don’t want to be here...

“She ain’t up yet?” Colm, stood right outside her tent by the sounds of it.

To no surprise, so was Zach. “Peter says she got a fever.”

“What? Awh, shit...” She heard him hawk and spit. “... We’re still movin’ on today. You and Peter look after her, do what you can, keep up.”

“Will do, boss.”

She heard Colm walk away, whistling to himself.

A tear leaked out of the corner of her eye. They were going to move on, taking her further away from Beaver Hollow. And with how awful she felt... It could be days before she could even sit up without feeling queasy. She’d had a couple of fevers before as a child, could remember how awful she’d felt for days, how her mother had tended to her, had tried to soothe her as she’d cried, wanting to play with her brother.

Peter returned then with a small bag and a skin of water, and she was suddenly struck with how young he was. Maybe even still a teenager. What the hell was he doing here as a doctor? Could he even look after her properly?

She licked her dry lips and swallowed, wincing with the motion. “Take me to the doctor in town,” she rasped.

He glanced at her, and she thought she saw guilt in his eyes before he resumed looking through his bag. “You know I can’t do that.”

“Please...” she murmured, and she thought she had him when he paused again, his eyes closing briefly.

“Ada, I can’t,” he whispered, placing his hand over her clammy one unexpectedly. “I’m sorry but I can’t and ye know it. But I will take care o’ ye and ye will be fine, I promise.”

She just looked at him, knowing her eyes were shining. She didn’t care, now, if she cried, she just felt so awful, every single part of her aching.

“Pete, we got ten minutes then we gotta go,” Zach called, and Peter’s hand left hers, quickly going through his bag.

“All right!”

He had her drink some kind of a tonic, the thick, syrupy, sugary taste of it nearly making her gag.

“I think you just got t’ sweat it out, all right?”

‘I think’ didn’t fill her with confidence.

She nearly burst into tears when Peter helped her sit up and shifted her to the mouth of the tent so Zach could reach in and pick her up. Her body hurt so much but she knew Colm wouldn’t make any allowances for her. Knew even if she hadn’t tried to escape last night that he still wouldn’t have.

She was placed in one of the wagons on a pile of blankets, another one placed over her, and Peter sat in with her as Zach drove it. She stared up at the white canopy of the wagon, feeling every stone and dip the wheels of it went over. It felt almost like a dream, to the point where when she closed her eyes and fell asleep and did dream, she was still lying in the wagon, but now her mother was at her side, fussing and stroking her hair from her face.

“You’ll be all right, you’ll be okay, Mama’s here, darling...”

Peter pretended not to notice when, after she awoke only a few minutes later, the wagon jolting her out of it, silent tears poured down her cheeks.

She didn’t know how many days passed, the fact they moved every day not helping. Whenever she was awake and somewhat lucid, she was either in the wagon with Peter at her side, or in a tent. It sometimes took her a while to work out if it was real or not as her dreams were so vivid.

Her mother came to her often, humming a lullaby like she used to, telling her she’d be all right soon, that the weather is improving. Sean came, too, asking her what the hell she was doing, why she was wasting a perfectly good sunny day when she could be out robbing, making him proud. He was always smiling.

Then there were the dreams she had about Arthur.

Sometimes, she thought she could feel his arm around her, or his voice was in her ear, murmuring to her that she was okay, she was fine, he loved her even though she was a sweaty mess.

Then sometimes he’d be at the other end of the tent, asking where she was, why she was here.

No matter who came, though, they always looked slightly off, like it was them but wasn’t them. Her mother’s eyes were a different colour, Sean smiled differently, Arthur was expressionless, his voice bland.

Several times she thought she’d died and was in hell.

What she wouldn’t remember was Peter sat by her side for most if not all of it, hearing her mutterings and murmurings, hearing her mumble to people who weren’t there, barely able to make out what she was saying. Sometimes he’d have to place a hand on her shoulder to keep her still as she thrashed a little, telling her quietly she was all right, she was okay.

Zach was the only other person to visit, bringing Peter food and water for him and Ada. Sometimes he could get her to eat, when she was having a lucid period, could get her to have half a bottle of a tonic then some water before she’d be out again.

He thought about changing her out of her sweat-soaked clothes, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. Instead he placed fresh garments he believed would fit by the opening of the tent, in case she woke in the rare times he wasn’t there.

And he kept watch, keeping his promise of looking after her.

—

When she awoke, she knew something was different.

She wasn’t hot or cold, just normal. She could see and hear properly, her body didn’t ache. She felt drained still but nowhere near as much as before. She was so thirsty, too, and hungry; she could feel her stomach groaning in protest.

Staring up at the roof of the tent, she just took in a few, even breaths, hoping this wasn’t a dream.

“Oh, hey.” Her gaze dropping sharply, she found Peter sat just outside the slightly open flap, smiling widely. “You’re awake.”

As he ducked his head into the tent, she swallowed, feeling like nails were in her throat.

“Water,” she croaked.

Peter paused, raising his eyebrows a little. “What?”

“Water.”

“Oh, shit, yeah, sorry...” His head ducked out before it returned again moments later, and he leaned in, offering her a skinful of water.

Pushing herself up, her arms shook a little but her head was fine. Accepting it, she took long sips, her eyes closed. She could feel Peter watching her, but it wasn’t until she finally lowered the skin that he spoke.

“You okay?”

She wiped her mouth with her fingers as she looked at him. “Little hungry.”

“Yeah, you’ve not eaten much, but this is good, means you’ve got ye’re appetite back.” He was grinning now, thoroughly pleased. “I’ll get ye somethin’—”

“How long?” she asked just as he started to turn away.

He understood what she meant, his features softening. “A week.”

She nearly felt sick.

“A week?” Her already hoarse voice cracked on the word.

Fuck... We could be anywhere by now.

Peter smiled sympathetically. “Yeah, ye... It wasn’t the worst I’ve seen but it was pretty bad.”

Ada just nodded, her eyes on the blankets covering her legs, trying not to cry. She heard Peter shift slightly.

“Do ye still want somethin’ to eat?”

Clearing her throat, wincing, she shook her head. “It’s all right, I’ll come out and get something. I could do with some fresh air.”

“Yeah, I think that’ll do ye good.”

There was a slight pause in which she met his gaze, and then she allowed a faint smile to lift her lips. “Thank you, for looking after me.”

He shook his head, returning the smile. “It’s all right, no need t’ thank me. ‘m just glad ye’re okay.” Pointing at a corner near him, he continued, “There’s clothes for ye here, they should fit. I’ll be by the fire.”

Before she could thank him again he was gone, the tent flap closing.

Closing her eyes, she ran a hand over her hair as her head bowed, feeling how dry it was but ignoring it for now.

A week.

They could be on the other side of the county, or in another one, miles and miles and miles away. It hurt her unbearably to think of Arthur, to think of how he must be feeling, what he was even doing. Would he be out looking for her? Would gang business keep him away? What if something awful had happened to them all?

She couldn’t cope with it, not now, not with how fragile she felt, so she shoved it to the back of her mind, focusing instead on something smaller; food.

She took her time changing into the odd assemble of black, pinstripe trousers and brown, faintly checked shirt. They were a little big, but once she’d tucked the shirt in and used her belt to tighten the trousers she deemed that they would do. Pulling her boots on, she then neatly folded her beloved blue shirt and her own trousers, and placed them on the bedroll. After running her fingers through a few knots in her hair, she took a breath, licked her dry lips, and moved out of the tent.

She was rather stiff as she straightened so she just stood for a few moments, rolling her shoulders and neck. As she did, grimacing, she surveyed the new camp. They were on top of a hill on a flat patch of grass, and for miles and miles all she could see was the tops of trees, nothing distinguishable anywhere. She took in a breath, fighting the faint feeling of panic that was starting to build.

It’s all right, you can find your way back to him, you will get back to him...

Is he even alive.

Stop it.

She didn’t want to think about that, that the mission to get John might have been unsuccessful. That any of them could have died.

Exhaling a breath, she looked towards the fire pit. She estimated it must be morning, a couple of hours until noon possibly, and the camp was quiet, a few men still sleeping. There were more blankets and saddlebags dotted around so she assumed they must have picked up some more O’Driscolls along the way, wherever the hell they were heading. She saw no sign of—

“Well, look at you, you made it.”

... Speak of the Devil and he shall appear.

Turning her head, she watched Colm approach, tin cup in his hand, the other in his pocket, a lazy grin on his lips. It wasn’t until she saw him that she remembered he’d slapped her. It shouldn’t have surprised her but it had; despite the man he was she’d gotten the sense that he wouldn’t lay a hand on her, yes, even despite the fact he’d had her tied up previously. She’d thought there was some part of him that really did care for her, in his twisted way. What a fool she’d been.

She eyed him warily now, grateful that he stopped a few feet away, sipping his coffee.

“I did.”

The grin lingered. “Good, I would’ve hated to waste time buryin’ you.”

You bastard.

“Come on, boys!” he suddenly called out, in such a loud tone that some of the men sleeping jerked awake and she flinched. “We’re goin’ west to meet with the others.”

His gaze shifting to her, he smiled over the rim of his cup.

She knew what the smile meant; Thomas was supposedly going to be there.

Not giving him a reaction, she asked flatly, “When is this regroup happening.”

He shrugged a shoulder, still smiling. “Couple days.”

Fine. Just a couple of days and then she would have the truth.

—

They travelled for another week.

She would have thought it was on purpose if they didn’t move on every single day. They were always moving, heading west she could tell by the sun, but still a week passed with no sign of a regroup.

And so Ada was forced to acclimatise to what life was like in an O’Driscoll camp. 

It was nothing like Dutch’s where there was community and cohesion; here there was no organisation, she was more than certain the men stole from each other, and they found food and drink for themselves. A few would go hunting together and share what they killed but beyond that, nothing. From eavesdropping she gathered they were conducting business as they went, trading, bartering and killing when they stopped at night. She never saw any of it or was asked to go with any of them, though; both not trusted and not allowed to do anything, stuck between being a captive and their boss’s niece.

So with nothing to do, not even a book to read, all she could do was sit and watch and stare and think. Sulking, Colm called it once with a laugh, which just made her press her lips together and made her look like she was sulking even more.

It felt like torture, left with nothing but her thoughts.

She asked Peter if she could assist with anything but he was so adamant that she rest, so polite that he wouldn’t allow it, that to save herself from screaming she just gave up asking. She did sit with him, though, needing something, anything, to do, and she learned from his never-ending stream of consciousness that he had just turned twenty one and only recently come over from Ireland, his father, now a doctor, having known Colm in a former life. So Peter had arrived here, with a letter from his father, and asked around until he found them, and had been welcomed with open arms; there was always limbs to be reattached and wounds to heal. He was excited to be in America, giddy, even, and he either hadn’t witnessed was the O’Driscolls did, ignored it, or was frightened because he didn’t say a bad word against them, didn’t even raise a minor gripe, even when a few jokes were made at his expense. It was nice to make conversation with someone, though, to distract her, and he had saved her life.

She spent all the daytime hours with him, and he eventually did allow her to roll bandages and repair them, though that was it. When they travelled she would sit in a wagon with him, almost bored to tears as they took turns pointing out things they saw.

Zach watched her constantly, even when she bathed in any rivers or lakes they came to, but he never leered, never stared, never even spoke, just stared at a part of the water near her so she was in his peripheral vision, and then above her head when she got out, even though she’d opted to keep her underclothes on. That was useless, though, as they just stuck to her body, but there was no one around to see; no one dared sneak a peek. She quickly realised the men both deeply respected and were kind of afraid of Zach, and she didn’t think it was just to do with how tall he was. He was silent, muscular, and had huge revolvers strapped to his belt and she didn’t doubt that he very much knew how to use them. He shared his food and drink with her, he seemed to have an endless supply of tinned goods, and they sat in silence together, which she didn’t mind one bit. She did murmur a thank you every time, though; she was her mother’s daughter.

His ever watchful gaze gave her no chance to slip away.

At night, tears would trail down her cheeks at knowing Arthur was out there, her heart aching unbearably. What if he thought she was dead, his heart breaking all over again. Would he give up? What if he was grieving her. Spiralling, doing stupid things in disbelief and anger. The darkest, cruellest parts of her mind whispered to her that what if he thought she’d gone, disappeared when she’d had the chance. She was aching to get back to him so much it hurt.

On the fifteenth night of being their captive, she was keeping count now, with the second week spilling over into a third, these insecurities and anxieties swirling in her mind yet again, she sat outside her tent, staring at the ground sullenly.

Zach was sat on a chair a few feet away, whittling something and smoking on a pipe. Peter was asleep a short distance to the right, snoring softly. A few men were talking around a fire some way off, but other than that it was quiet. That’s what surprised her most about the O’Driscoll camp; the quiet. She’d expected raucous laughter, copious drinking and shouting, insults flung this way and that but, no, the men spoke to who they wanted to talk to and got on with what they needed to. Part of her wondered if this was why Colm chose these men to be around him, for the quiet. Maybe they were just the best listeners, the ones least likely to disagree.

Her thoughts lingered on her uncle. He’d barely spoken to her since she’d recovered, only grinning when he caught her eye or bidding her a cheerful good morning or evening when he passed. Other than that, she didn’t see much of him and she liked that just fine. She was... apprehensive of his company now, knowing he wasn’t beyond physically hurting her if she disobeyed him. It made her all the more anxious for whenever there would be this regrouping; who better to make an example of than his own niece?

She couldn’t even think about it, the prospect of being around more O’Driscolls, ones she knew for certain would be rowdier than this group... and also finally knowing Thomas’s fate.

She knew it already, though; he was dead.

Once it was confirmed she was going to leave by any means necessary, but not before—

“Hey, darlin’.”

She caught herself before she flinched. Lifting her eyes, she found Colm sauntering closer, smoking. The apprehension grew; she’d learned that any conversation with him didn’t turn out well.

He coughed and then took a drag, blowing out a thin stream of smoke. “You better get some sleep, we’re all meetin’ up tomorrow.”

Tomorrow. Part of her believed he was actually telling the truth this time.

Her eyes followed him as he passed, smiling. “You’re gonna need all your energy for seein’ your brother.”

I hate you.

Her teeth were clenched so tightly. She didn’t believe it. It was a cruel trick he was playing. 

And she was going to kill him for it. 

—

Comments and reblogs make my day in a way I can’t describe.

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged or untagged in this series!

Questions?

Tagged: @belfry-bat​​​​​​​​​​​, @sistasarah-sallysaidso​​​​​​​, @ntlmundy

[lilibetts]

for Tricks and Treats of Riverdale Theme # whichever freaking one involves spooky shit like possession or whatever.

“So, what are you going to be for Halloween, Jughead?”

It was the question Jughead dreaded the most, especially coming from Betty. 

He had just gotten an afterschool job at the Twilight Drive-In and he’d been working as many hours as he possibly could on top of school and babysitting Jellybean to afford costumes for both of them. But then it turned out they were behind on the phone bill, so he spent most of his money to make sure it was paid up through the next month.

“Uh, it’s a surprise. What about you, Betty? Are you going as Nancy Drew again this year?”

She bit her lip and looked down at her shoes. “No, I decided to change things up now that we’re in high school. So I’m going as a medieval princess, kind of like Game of Thrones but not character-specific.”

Jughead was sure her choice had absolutely nothing to do with how last month Archie had announced he was going as a medieval knight. Then their indecisive friend had changed his mind and picked Spider-Man after Veronica Lodge wouldn’t stop waxing poetic about how yummy Tom Holland was.

“Cool. I guess I’ll see you later tonight?”

“You’d better!” Betty chirped, pontytail swishing violently as she skipped away. She didn’t mean that as anything more than her usual staunch commitment to kindness and friendship. And Betty was friendly with virtually everyone. Jughead sighed miserably as he watched her turn off towards her home.

Ah, the pangs of unrequited love.

He had been living with his crush on Betty Cooper for the better part of four months, which was an eternity in the timespan of a fourteen-slash-fifteen year old boy. And he’d keep living with his crush until it granted him mercy and faded. Or he died of old age. 

Whichever came first.

******************************

Betty stood before her bed, staring down at the costume she’d bought when she thought she would complement Archie’s own, and felt monumentally stupid. What if Archie hadn’t changed his mind and she showed up in this medieval princess gown? She’d look obvious. Everyone would be snickering behind her back about Betty Cooper and her pathetic crush on Archie Andrews.

There was no way she could do this.

Pulling down the ladder, Betty headed up into the attic and started going through the boxes, looking for something radically different that she could pull together at the last minute. It was in an old trunk of her mom’s that she found it: a black leather jacket. It was the last thing she expected her mom to have ever owned but her curiosity was dashed by the figurative lightbulb going off above her head. 

“Yes!” 

Back there, on the clothes rack, there’d been...yes, Polly’s Homecoming dress from last year! It was long, just a shade off-white, and perfect.

Crushes made teenage girls do stupid things, that was true, but that only made moments of determined defiance like this all the more sweeter.

**********************************

“That...is not a medieval princess.”

Jughead took in her outfit with raised eyebrows.

“Well spotted, Jughead.” She smiled even as she rolled her eyes at him. “For your information I am Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It’s actually perfect because her name is Buffy Anne and Buffy is a variation of Elizabeth and—”

“—and your middle name is Ann.”

“I didn’t think you remembered my middle name, Juggie.”

“Well I do. Not much escapes this steel trap here.” He rapped his knuckles against his forehead. “Interesting prop you have there, Buffy Cooper.”

She held the wooden stake aloft. “I didn’t have a crossbow lying around, but I did find enough in the garage to fashion myself a stake.” Then she looked him up and down. “You do look rather dashing, Sir Juggie.”

She didn’t mention that his costume had been Archie’s first, one of the many acts of charity from the Andrews family. He was mostly grateful that Betty had changed hers, so that he didn’t seem obviously, pathetically in love with her by matching. 

They were two years too young for couples costumes.

And y’know...not actually together.

************************************

Betty wasn’t entirely aware of it happening. One moment, she was laughing and crossing the street with Jughead, Archie, and Veronica, surrounded by dozens of other trick-or-treaters, the next she was holding her stake at the ready and keeping a careful eye on the four year-old vampire hissing as he ran at a shrieking fairy. 

She managed to fly away and the baby vamp’s mother grabbed ahold of him. “I VANT TO SUCK YOUR BLOOD! I VANT! I VANT!” He screeched as he kicked and struggled in vain to free himself.

A woman stood in the middle of the street, hysterically crying as she cradled a giant halved avocado. 

Demons, small skeletons, and ghouls of all sorts were running after confused and terrified adults, only for their attacks to be thwarted by a legion of mini superheros. A tiny Captain America with a star-spangled tutu flung her shield at a troll and knocked it out cold.

A bear wearing a blue-and-gold letterman jacket charged down the street and the strange boy crouched next to her...who was apparently Spider-Man...leaped away, slinging webs at the houses as he went. The bear continued to chase him and so Buffy shrugged and turned her attention to the zombies lumbering at a group of scared parents.

No sooner had she slammed one down into the concrete than a dashing knight with a black and gold cape and a sword came to her rescue and dispatched the second zombie. The third found himself floating in the air helplessly while a raven-haired girl with glasses, some kind of private-school uniform, and a purple/black tie pointed a wand at it.

Buffy spun her stake with her fingers and addressed the dark-haired knight wearing, of all things, a gray crown beanie. “Thanks. I’m not usually the damsel type, even if I’m frequently distressed. But if knights in shining armor look like you, then feel free to rescue me anytime.”

“You wouldn’t need to ask, my lady.” The knight bowed low. “If I may ask, what are you called?”

“Me? I’m Buffy Summers.”

“I wouldn’t dare be so familiar. I shall call you Lady Elizabeth.”

Buffy shrugged. “I don’t think anyone’s ever called me a lady, but sure, let’s go with that. And what do they call you, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Delicious?”

“Prince Forsythe Pendleton Jones, the third.”

She whistled. “Sounds like a mouthful.”

He sheathed his sword and gave her a wink and a charming smile. Butterflies erupted in Buffy’s stomach, and for once, it wasn’t monster-related cramps.

********************

Prince Forsythe could hardly tear his eyes away from the strange woman who looked like a princess and yet fought the droves of warped creatures at his side like a warrior. She was clever and very forward. 

“You know,” she said after sending a werewolf flying into some nearby bushes. “It’s kind of a thing around these parts for two warriors to share a kiss after emerging victorious in battle.”

Very forward.

After growing up around the palace and the constraints upon behavior between men and women, Forsythe found Buf- Lady Elizabeth refreshing. “That could be arranged, my lady.”

He tapped the pommel of his sword against the mangled gray skull of...hell, he didn’t have the faintest clue what that being was. But small as it was, it kept growling and trying to eat someone’s pet dog.

The witch with the indecent dress length stuck her finger in the air. “Merlin’s Beard, I’ve got it! I know who the Dark Lord is that’s casted a spell on all of us! You two, hold them off while I duel with Mr. Honey. You! Ginger girl with the candelabra? Keep on running across the lawns, lead the rest of them away!” 

Forsythe twisted around and spotted the lady with flowing red locks and an elaborate nightrail, rushing across the green holding a three-pronged candlestick aloft. 

Lady Elizabeth turned back to him. “FYI, I better be the only one you’re My Lady-ing, because I’m definitely a one-prince woman.” She executed a peculiar spinning kick that was all lethal grace and a sinister red-horned devil became entangled in an enormous spider’s web.

“Of course!” He shot back, insulted that she would think so low of him. “I’m no scoundrel!”

When Lady Elizabeth smiled at him then, it was as if the dark clouds that always followed him had parted, and there shone the sun.

They dispatched the last of the hostile creatures, with the assistance of other tiny, brightly colored warriors, and one very small princess with no qualms about using her scepter as a hammer.

The battle finished, Forsythe drove his sword into the ground and curled his arms around his Lady Buffy, dipping her backwards in a hard and exuberant kiss.

*****************************

Buffy curled her arms around her prince in gray beanie and kissed him back just as enthusiastically. Had she ever had a kiss like this before? Maybe it’d just been so long because of the pressures of being a Slayer. It was hard to have a normal dating life when you had to vanquish the forces of evil every other week, and then pass pop quizzes. 

His lips were so soft against hers, and she felt the tingling all the way down to her toes. Betty gasped against Jughead’s lips, her head feeling strangely fuzzy all of the sudden.

She froze.

Jughead’s lips?

Her eyes flew open, only to see equally startled blue ones staring back at her.

They sprang apart, gaping at each other as they tried to make sense of what had just happened. Betty wasn’t sure how to feel about this development���maybe she was still half in love with Archie, but right now she didn’t exactly feel horrified that she’d kissed Jughead Jones and liked it. A lot.

Jughead didn’t look grossed out either.

They were still staring at each other when Veronica came storming out of a yellow craftsman house down the street, fuming. “Honestly, if you’re going to go around calling yourself ‘Mr. Honey’ that’s pretty much a giant advertisement that the one thing that’ll defeat you is summoning a spray of vinegar!”

Archie limped over to them, mask in hand and his costume torn in several spots. An embarrassed Moose Mason, shirtless save for his ripped jeans and letterman jacket, was a few paces behind.

**********************************

Jughead was doing his best to not be too hopeful about the shy smiles Betty was shooting his way even as they were joined by their friends. Even Cheryl, who glared at them as she stomped past.

“Oh, Bettykins,” Veronica murmured, hugging her best friend. “I’ll never make fun of you and your love of sleuthing ever again.”

“Vindication!” Betty playfully hissed out.

Archie groaned. “I don’t know about you guys, but I think I’ve had enough of tricks. Let’s go back to mine and treat ourselves to more greasy pizza and fizzy pop.”

Everyone else readily agreed and they started the trek back to the Andrewses. Jughead fished his cell phone out of his pocket and called his mom to check in on her and Jellybean. Both were fine, but his mom was exhausted from chasing ‘Jelly-cat’ all over the Southside.

One block away from Elm street, Betty dropped behind the other three and linked arms with him. Something fluttered in his chest when she grinned over at him.

“So, Prince Forsythe, any regrets about your choice of costume?”

“You know, all things considered, I have to say none at all, Lady Buffy. And you?”

“I don’t know, I have a feeling I’d still have kicked ass as Princess Elizabeth of House Cooper,” she mused.

“No question about it. Shall we, my badass lady? I’ll share a cheese pizza with you.”

“Have more romantic words ever been spoken?” Betty giggled, her arm tightening in his. “Lead on, my brave prince.” 

All in all, it wasn’t that bad of a Halloween. Everyone was mad at the Daeneryses who had ordered their tiny dragons to burn a bunch of the candy (and some houses). The mayor blamed the incident on hallucinogenic drugs being leaked into the water system. Veronica did not handle the lack of recognition for her efforts well. Archie and Moose winced whenever the word ‘bear’ were so much as mentioned. 

And Betty? Starting the following Monday at school, she started waiting at the corner of Dillon and Main for him, so they could walk the rest of the way together. 

Maybe hope wasn’t just for fools after all, even ones named Jughead Jones.