#bus stations designed so cute

[beyourselfchulanmaria]

Waiting for bus and I like the bus stations where's the bird parent on top to protect their baby eggs. 好可愛的公車站 😍 bus stations designed so cute. ( and I was twittered with the birds and eggs lol) Lan~*

[leonw4nter]

There Are No Cute Officers In The Station!.. save for one

RE2R!Leon x Teacher!F!Reader

“Tehila Kaufman.”

“Here!”

“Antonia Lange.”

“Here!”

“And… Sherry Birkin.”

The lack of a response caught your attention instead of her voice. You call her name again, looking around in the bus for any sign of the blonde 12-year-old. You observe each seat, counting and checking each student for any sign of Sherry.

“Sherry!” A classmate of hers calls out, shifting in her seat and pressing her hands into the foggy windows. You remind the class to stay put in their seats and be on their best behavior as you exit the bus to greet your pupil and her guardian, who looked a little frazzled.

“Sherry! Good morning, I was looking for you,” you say with a soft smile as you ruffle her hair which is styled into a braid paired with a strawberry clip near her temple.

“I’m really sorry, miss. The taxi we rode on the way here got pulled over by cops and it took us quite some time to find another one,” her guardian Claire apologized with a meek beam.

You smiled and nodded, understanding her situation; you have enormous respect for Claire, juggling an odd job along with college while also taking care of a 12-year old. Despite all the odds stacked against her, the teen always managed to make sure Sherry was ready for school, which included making sure she had complete supplies and was sent to school before the school day started. You reassured her that all is fine before informing her that Sherry should board the bus now since the bus is scheduled to leave for the Raccoon City Police Station soon to begin the whole-day trip.

“Bye, Claire! See you later! I’ll try to bring home a souvenir if I can afford some!” She excitedly beams, to which she chuckles brightly at. With one more wave and a hug, she finally hops on the bus and goes to her designated seat.

After doing one final headcount of all the students and asking any of them if they needed to go to the restrooms, you give the driver a go signal to hit the road. Since the elementary school was just 15 minutes away from the museum-turned-police station, you advised that the students take a quick nap before they arrive at the destination. You look back and see some students already taking their naps, though some were talking with their peers or snacking on some energy bars. With a small smile, you turn back to the brochure you were sent and go over the paper. The program would start with a quick greeting by the lieutenant Marvin Branagh before he hands over the main task to officer Leon Kennedy for the rest of the afternoon before ending the tour with a quick video presentation and an essay-writing activity on their experience. Since you went over everything that needed to be checked and there would be some moderate traffic on the way, you decided to also catch a nap of your own.

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After that short nap, you spent most of the time reminding the children not to touch anything they weren’t given permission to touch and to avoid bothering the other officers there since they had work to do. You also reiterated rules once more which included asking questions respectfully, asking permission to go to the restroom, and no rough playing. You considered it perfect timing when your reminders came to an end, the driver announcing that the class had arrived at the RPD. All the students pressed against the windows nearest to the station’s gates, oohing and aahing at the sight in front of them.

“That’s so cool! Look at that!”

“I can’t believe this place is a police station now. It still looks fascinating!”

“I wonder if there’s going to be any cute officers in here,” you hear a pupil giggling to her friends. You chuckle at her outlook on the situation before responding to her, her cheeks burning pink like her sweater.

“There won’t be any cute officers, Clara. Admire the art and not the cops, okay?”. She responded with a giddy grin and gave you a thumbs up, still giggling with her friends. Well, that was as much as an adolescent girl can promise but you didn’t mind too much as long as she didn’t get in trouble. After all, it’s not like you could judge her when you’re out on a personal mission to find a worthy bachelorette for your coworker Lilia’s affections; she could really use some help in rekindling her love life.

After a few minutes, you instructed your students to leave the bus in an orderly manner before lining them up by girls and boys in order to enter the beautiful station. The last thing people expected a museum to transform into is a police station and the RPD did a damn good job at it. Although much of the museum has been changed to fit a more police station feel, there were still remnants of the past museum that stayed like puzzle mechanisms, the statue up front, and the library that still stood according to the contractors involved in transforming the building. Those were only what you’ve read somewhere so of course, there’s going to be more locations within the precinct that were left unchanged during the renovation. Now that all your students have finally calmed down and straightened their lines,  you begin leading them inside the gates and eventually into the precinct proper. The entire way to the large brown doors, your students quietly observed the various red and green herbs near the fences along with other ornamental flowers but occasionally oohed and ahhed some more, especially when officers started coming out of the door to welcome the eager students. The giggles and excited chuckles increase in volume, the electric excitement sizzling in the air– even the officers were excited, some of them also giggling and beaming widely; it seems like they’re just as excited as the kids are. Now that the class is right at the entrance of the precinct proper, you give them the cue to quiet down before greeting the three officers ‘good day’.

“Good day, officers!” They all greet in unison, genuine smiles on their lips. Their greeting pulls gleeful laughs from the officers before one of them speaks up.

“Good day to you as well, students. I’m Marvin Branagh, the Lieutenant for the Raccoon City Police Department but you may call me Officer Branagh. Here with me are officers Jill Valentine and Brad Vickers. They will help me in explaining the history of the museum up until recent renovations and then we’ll hand over the task to Officer Kennedy, who is waiting inside. He will act as your tour guide around the station– he may be a rookie but he’s well-versed in the rooms and artifacts in here so I trust that he will be able to execute his job well.”

The students nod, most of their gazes now peeled on the door instead of the officers. Jill chuckles and looks at you, giving you a kind smile.

“I guess you guys look ready to head in. Do you wanna head in now?,” she asks with a bright beam.

“Yeah!” Your students respond all together. Brad chuckles, giving Jill a friendly smack to the back.

“Hmm, I don’t feel the energy. Are you guys really ready?”

“YEAH!” They respond even louder, some of them cupping their hands to their mouth. Jill looks pleased with the hyping she’s done, giving Brad a confident look before she directs them in. “Alright. Let’s head in.”

With a small grunt, she and Brad open the doors to reveal the interior of the station. As soon as the kid last in line enters, you follow and take a look around for yourself. Your gaze falls on the ceilings and the wooden accents on the walls, stairs, and pillars before you really drink in the sight of the marble statue right in front of you. The Statue of the Winged Goddess is a lot taller than you thought, pictures now seeming to not capture the breathtaking marble sculpture. Even your students were stunned into silence, quietly appreciating the statue and the rest of the station’s wonders. “Wow, it’s so pretty” you think to yourself. “I should visit here again by myself sometime.”

“I see everyone’s got their breaths taken away by the beautiful Goddess in our station,” Brad’s voice snaps everyone out of their trance, you included.

“I get it, I was like that too when I first got there. Couldn’t stop staring and marveling at her, she’s a beauty isn’t she?”

The students murmur some “uh uh”s, unable to really tear their eyes off. You managed to snag your attention away from her, a little surprised at how your students were more enamored by the statue than the remnants of the museum that remained in the form of wooden accents and carvings on the Roman Tuscan columns.

“Alright, class. Eyes on Officer Vickers, he’ll be explaining the history of Raccoon City and the museum before it got renovated and reworked into a police station,” you say. They lead the students towards a room and they take their seat, sitting with their friends though you reminded them not to be too noisy.

“I advise that you take out notebooks and pens because you will have a written reflection activity by the end of the trip.”

The news of an essay activity due soon drew groans and complaints from your pupils but they still brought our paper and pens, ready to listen to the presentation.

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After the 30-minute long presentation on various facts and information regarding the city and the station’s history, Brad finally wrapped it up. In the first half of the presentation, Marvin left the room and went somewhere to go look for someone, Officer Kennedy you assume. Jill and Brad took turns presenting, the pair doing their best to make this as interesting as possible for the children to keep their attention hooked on the slides and the short video that will be shown later on. Jill and Brad shared stories about how they came to work at Raccoon City, their younger years, their experiences when they were rookies, among many others.

“Jill here nearly got crushed during an investigation up there in the Arklay Mountains, carried around the ‘Jill Sandwich’ nickname for a bit,” Brad reminisced with a wicked grin while Jill was in the corner, arms crossed with a smirk while she tilts her head down and shakes it, brown strands swaying along to the motion.

Some students giggled, laughing along to their jokes; though it was easy to make them laugh, you’d bet that their cheeks would hurt by the time they got home due to how wide they were grinning. Sherry was talking amongst her friends, beaming and whispering every now and then. She seemed a lot more excited than the rest, if that was even possible; she kept looking towards the door where Marvin left but you didn’t really mind since it didn’t look like Sherry was too bothered by anything yet you made sure to still look after her well.

“That is it for our presentation, how was it?” Brad asked. “Anyone got questions? Clarifications? Insights?”

“Calm down, Vickers. Let the kids choose what to answer man,” Jill teased.

Casey raises his hand, waving it in eagerness to share what he possibly has to say. Jill nods to him, giving him the go-ahead to speak.

“It must be so cool working here! I mean– you got cool lookin’ statues and puzzles everywhere!”

Brad nods, smiling sincerely at the boy. “Yeah, it’s cool working here but it gets boring sometimes. Sometimes the day is slow and police work isn’t all going on missions and shooting guns– there’s times where we just sit at our desks and read mountains of reports but I love my job.”

Jill agrees, sharing an experience of her own for a few more minutes before officially wrapping up the presentation. “Now that everyone’s run out of things to say and ask, it’s time for the station tour to be led by our own rookie, officer Kennedy.”

You hear the door slightly creak along with the shuffling of shoes, soft taps of the soles of their footwear against the marble floors. You turn your head to observe where the sound is coming from and you swear you saw the sun walk in clad in blues and RPD badges. You try to stop staring at him shamelessly, to not gawk with your jaw parted but you fail; the longer you stared, the surroundings blurred into insignificance and all noise died down, the cheesiest romantic song you know seemingly playing in the distance the more he walked. It seemed perfect that this tall glass of water walking towards the front of the class worked at a building that used to house the finest pieces of art; this man looks like he was sculpted by a maestro. He didn’t say or do anything but his presence commanded your eyes, drawn to him like a moth to a flame. He must’ve really had you under his spell since you didn’t notice your grip loosening on your tumbler, the metal bottle falling and creating an irritating clanging sound. The pretty officer whips his head towards your direction, his gaze aimed straight for your eyes before dropping down to the tumbler on your foot. Before you could bend down and pick it up before mumbling an apology to everyone, he rushed towards your direction to pick it up for you. Neatly trimmed nails and long, slender fingers wrapped around the bottle to hand it to you. As he stood back to original height, he locked eyes with you before extending his hand.

“Here. Cute stickers, by the way,” he softly whispers with a small smile. A warm gust of air escapes your lips, exhaling a breath you didn’t know you held. You could simply nod and look dumb in front of who is possibly the most gorgeous man you’re ever seen, what a way to create a first impression. You take the bottle from him, the tip of your finger brushing against his hand causing your finger to feel an electric tingle on where skin met.

“Thanks,” you mumble with a wonky smile. He nods at you before heading to the front to really start the tour.

“Leon!”

You crane your head to where Sherry is standing– or, was standing. She shot up from her area and ran towards Leon, giving him a big hug with her arms wrapped around his waist. Leon looked pleasantly surprised, returning her hug with a hug of his own, his hand around her shoulder. “Don’t worry guys! We know each other,” Sherry explained coolly. Leon chuckles, nodding along and confirming her statement. He gives her kind pats to the back, the room looking a lot brighter every time he chuckled; the way his eyes wrinkled when he grinned big reminded you of a golden retriever puppy, down to the color of his sun-spun hair and his overall aura. You had to blink away the trance he unknowingly set on you, turning your attention back to the students and the other officers in the room, acting as if your heart wasn’t rattling at the rib confines of your chest. You hoped that your cheeks weren’t a vibrant red, standing out from the rest of your appearance.

“Good day, students. I’m Officer Kennedy and I’ll be your tour guide around the station. Although you are free to look around and take pictures, I’m going to set some rules down for the class, does that sound great?” He throws up two thumbs up, looking at the children for confirmation. You swore that your nails would dig into the paint of the tumbler, causing the paint to chip away a little bit due to the sheer force you were exerting into holding on that tumbler just to stay calm. You couldn’t possibly have a crush on an officer in a station you visit for a trip! You’re not even sure if you’re going to come back here anytime soon! Now that the kids had given him confirmation, he puts his hands down, and chuckles a little more before continuing on with the explanation.

“As I’ve said earlier, you can take pictures and take sketches but please do not place your hands on the display, draw on any surface, or play with the artifacts. Most of these are old and possibly even the only of its kind so we advise you to proceed carefully. Everything clear?”

The students once nodded again, some students repeating “clear” back to the man in front of them.

“Okay. Now that that’s done, I would like to ask you to form a line outside the briefing room before we start.”

You direct the students to get up and form a line of two but surprisingly, Leon helps you even if the task doesn’t seem to be bothering you. He shoots you a small smile as he continues to assist you in arranging the students, which didn’t take much. Now that everyone was arranged accordingly, he began to lead the class around the station while receiving smiles and thumbs-up from his coworkers who seemed to be hyping him up while Marvin looked on proudly. You smiled at the thought since it was nice that they all seemed to have a bond closer than you thought. Leon was just about to look ahead again, turning his head back to face the corridor ahead when he caught your gaze.. He held eye contact for a little bit before breaking away and you swear you left behind your soul downstairs. This is going to be one interesting trip, especially with a charming officer charming his way into your heart.

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All went smoothly until you noticed the line looking a little too odd. Well, that’s because someone happened to be missing. The moment you realized that someone had managed to slip away and wander into the myriad of rooms in the upper floors of the station. As soon as you noticed, you made the children neaten up their line before giving Leon a tap on the shoulder.

“Officer,” you whispered. “I’ve got a missing student! I don’t know where they are, probably in one of the rooms. I swear I saw them just a few moments ago, must’ve slipped away.”

His eyes widen but not before he takes one more glance at the line of children, curious as to why the productive tour suddenly stopped. Some students seemed to have picked up on a missing student, asking where their peer might’ve gone off to. Leon places a reassuring hand on your shoulder before reaching into his walkie-talkie to radio to the other officers to look for a missing student, giving descriptions of their hair color and clothing. The tour had to be put on hold, Leon directing them back to the holding area and making sure no one else slipped off. Leon took your hand and looked into your eyes, determination and hope shining bright in those eyes of his. He gave your hand a gentle squeeze, instructing you to stay with your students for the meantime.

“Don’t worry, miss. We’ll find them in no time. In the meantime, please ask officer Bass to reach into the drawer to my right and get the bags of mini donuts. The kids deserve a snack.”

He nodded and began to walk off before turning around to face you again. “Help yourself to some too. It’s been quite the morning.”

As soon as he left, another officer came in. “Bass”, his patch reads. Leon must've called his attention before he left, telling him to come in. You told the officer about Leon’s directions, disappearing through the door before coming back in with bags of mini donuts for the class. You open up bags and instruct students to take what will satisfy their hunger, making sure that there’s other pieces for other students. You decided not to have some, anxiety disabling your ability to feel hunger at the moment. You can only hope that this issue is resolved before parents get involved.

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“Miss Y/N. Found them,” Leon says. His large hand is on the student’s shoulder, the student looking a little sheepish after realizing he got the class worried. They were fiddling with the straps of their bags, gaze downcast towards the ground as the officer walked him towards you. “Found them in the entomology room, was sketching some beetles.”

You walk towards your student, checking around if they lost anything or appeared injured even if they were just sketching some insects.

“Are you alright? When did you slip away from the rest of the line?” you softly ask. “Why didn’t you ask permission?”

Your student stayed silent, a little too shy to answer any questions for now. Eventually, they spoke up but in a hushed voice.

“I got a little distracted with the longhorn beetle display and forgot to tell everyone else that I was there at the insect-display room,” they explain. “I didn’t mean to make everyone worried and I’m sorry for causing a fuss all over the station.”

Leon chuckled softly and bent down to his level, a kind smile displayed on his face. “Hey, it's fine. Just make sure to tell your teachers or any adults if you’re going to go somewhere, okay? Nice drawing back there though. You’ve got a knack for art.”

The student smiles a little bit though they’re still stiff. You lead them to the rest of the group, the tour day ending. Some students pass a few mini donuts in their direction. You finally call up the driver to come pick everyone up and go back to the school, where their guardians will fetch their children.

“I don’t think you had a donut,” Leon asks with a boyish grin.

“Yeah. I didn’t,” you softly respond.

“Anxious?”

“Yeah. Well, I was because that’s my student and how could I be so careless to let something like this happen?”

Leon stays silent, standing right beside you as he observes the kids along with other officers deployed during the incident earlier.

“They’re here now, safe and sound too. I guess this is a learning experience for all.”

His comment pulls a small grin from you. What he said wasn’t even remotely funny but it somehow made you smile. God, were you all sappy for him already? Well, it is easy to make you smile. Maybe you’re subconsciously using smiling as a way to calm yourself down and try not to be too overwhelmed with the incident from earlier.

“Well, since you didn’t have a snack earlier… What if I take you up on a donut run one of these days? Next week, maybe– or any time you’re free?” He asks. “I know a couple places.”

His cheeks flush to the shade of cold watermelons on a hot summer day, the sudden burst of color a contrast to the pale skin of his face. You noticed him fidgeting with a loose thread of his pants, a little nervous on asking you. You beam wider, accepting his offer and setting dates, exchanging numbers. Just as you finish writing down the last digit of your number, the bus arrives. Quickly, you arrange your students again and begin leading them out the station, reminding them to thank the officers for their patience and time.

“I’ll walk them out,” you hear Leon say to his superior as he accompanies you to the bus and helps the students jump up on the steps, reminding them to be careful and to have a safe ride back home.

"You too, miss Y/N. Have a safe trip back home.”

“Will do, officer.”

He takes your wrist and gently helps you up even if the height isn’t even that great to begin with. You give him a thumbs up before waving him bye. You’ve already made a mental note to come back there and sign up on an itinerary tour as soon as you arrive in order to take some time admiring the architecture for yourself but turns out you’re going to be coming back to admire someone who you wish will be all to yourself soon.

NOTE - This was supposed to be posted 3 days ago in time for my birthday but I was busy with so much school work, I wasn't able to post this on the date I set for myself 😭😭 My birthday was cool actually: I almost got lost in another town, I passed an admission test that I got sick and miserable for, and my best friend got me a Chris Redfield capcorom!!!!! Taking Chris wherever I go now like I'm out here greeting him good morning or good night before I go to bed 😭😭 I forgot to ask my mom if I can get a birthday cake so I was unable to print my Leon, Dante, Vergil, and Nero cake-toppers BUT IT'S FIINEEE. I was losing motivation due to being unable to work on this because I have requirements due and this fic was marinating in my document for 2 weeks so... yeah :| Fic releases will be less frequent since I've got so much things to do lately. I'm also still accepting requests so feel free to drop by in my asks. OH RIGHTT my team for our sports festival on dodgeball won despite having absolutely ZERO practice so I'm proud of that :) Anyways, that's it and thank you so, so, so much for reading my fics!!!!!! I <333333 UUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!

The dividers are from @plutism , the images are made by me (sourced from Pinterest).

[amara555555]

The blonde man:

Warnings: Jaegyeon’s car.

Daniel park x reader:

Ah yes the country side.

“I don’t like this.”

You step over a slug as Daniel walks infront of you, resisting the urge to haul ass out of excitement. Chiang liang, if you had any words to describe it, they would be hot, eerie, and occasional nature smells of poop. You and Daniel walked side by side before he stops and dramatically looks back at the chiang liang station. You were about to speak before a few deeper voices interrupt you and turn to a horde of gangster pass by coming out a bus.

“……uh-“

Daniel pulled you close.

“They use jeong la do accents.”

You blink.

“They do-“

“Kids.”

A gravelly voice made you both jump and you turn to see a bald gangster with scars.

“Move it will ya?”

Both Daniel and you start spotting gangsters EVERYWHERE- coming out of buses and the ones out of cars where most likely higher in rank…….aw they care for traffic laws-

Daniel and you both remain close as the gangster all walked past you, occasionally bumping shoulders.

“Woa- what is the need for all this-“

You step back and do does Daniel before a car’s engine turned off behind you two.

You turn to see and what the fuck is that? The most tacky hot wheel, lightning McQueen stickers looking chocolate wrapper designed car parked behind you two.

Daniel held you closer out of instinct before the car door opened.

“I’m sor-“

“You scratched it.”

You blink after someone with a deep voice had the gall to interrupt Daniel.

“Uh- who scratched who?”

You ask confused.

“Sorry?” Daniel asked now also confused.

“I said you scratched it. You’re gonna have to buy this car now.”

“WHOSE BUYING WHAT NOW?!”

Were you going insane or was this guy having a hernia? You and Daniel exchange the most baffled faces before you blink owlishly. You both turn back to the talking ugly car.

“What kind of logic is….”

Daniel gets interrupted, AGAIN.

“Don’t try to wriggle your way out of this.”

The door open upwards, like that adds any value and you blink in confusion and annoyance. Who the hell was this Ken doll?

Expensive sneakers and some very nice pair of jeans you had saved on your asos basket.

“Kid I got everything recorded on my dash cam, you scratched it after I got a new wrapping.”

“It’s a ugly wrapping and we would’ve done you a fav-“

Daniel shook you to stop talking as he stepped backwards with you in tow. This pressure was overwhelming and overpowering. Oh shit. Was he also a gangster?

“So what’s it gonna be kids, will we stop by the police station, or will you two buy this car?”

……….

“I told you coming to country side was a bad idea.”

Daniel huffed.

“Well how was I supposed to know we’d get conned?!”

The blond man with his titties exposed and pearls dangling over his chest, his shirt collar open down to his mid chest like a man you’d find in a tropical resort drinking Angel shots, a gucci belt and g those cute jeans he wore. But you couldn’t deny, he was fucking cute.

He shook a wavy lock out his eye as he kept his sharp eyes on you two…. You fell into a 8 year old one direction stare as you dreamily stared at the older man infront of you……………..and then Daniel shrieked-

“L-LETS GO TO THE POLICE STATION! BECAUSE WE’VE DONE NOTHING WRONG!”

Daniel pulled you close again and you joined in.

“we were literally like 2 feet away!”

The blonde man blinked.

“Brats, what police station? I’m not the type of person who makes big issues out of small problems.”

“….HUH?!”

You were right. This beautiful man is having a hernia.

Daniel grew pissy.

“I SAID LETS GO! WHATS WITH THE CHANGE IN ATTITUDE?! YOU’RE NOT SURE EITHER ARE YOU???”

At this rate you just began laughing.

“Whats so funny? You laughing at me? Punk? Oi. Both of you, stop making a ruckus and just buy it, since we’re close I’ll sell to you two for cheap.”

You wipe a tear.

“With what? Universal credit?”

The blonde man almost agreed before Daniel interrupted.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN CLOSE?! WE JUST MET!”

The blond man put his hands in pocket and resumed the sass stance 101.

“Then what will you do about this scratch?”

You scoff and pull out your fake protective UV light glasses from Temu, Daniel joined in the search.

“WHERE EXACTLY IS THIS SCRATCH?!”

“Please just buy it-“

You glare and Daniel and huffs frustratedly.

“We’re not buying! Why would we buy such a childish car?!”

“Yeah?! I’d rather take that bus that smells like fe-“

Suddenly Daniel was 2 centimetres away from having his face smashed into the floor and you gasp. Pulling out your finished pepper spray.

“BACK, BACK I SAY-“

“What did you just say?Shitty car?”

His voice now cold. You shiver from the underlying ferocity in his voice and his cold eyes locked on Daniel. You put the spray away and grip his shirt, aiming to pull him off.

“Get off him! Why’re you harassing city kids?!”

The man’s eyes widened.

“Hold on. Your minors?”

You nod aggressively and Daniel answers.

“Yes.”

The man now blinked.

“19 years old?”

You both frustratedly whine in unison.

“18!!!!”

He drops Daniel and you push him out the way to get to your friend.

“Are you ok?!”

He nods vigorously.

“I can’t sell you both the car then.”

“WE DONT WANT IT!”

The blonde man began walking away.

“Relax I wasn’t gonna sell it to you two today anyways.”

You dead pan Daniel who just deflated before the blond spoke again.

“It’s just that kind of day. A sad day.”

“…….THAT DOESNT EXEMPT YOU FOR HARRASSING US?!”

He leaves and you pull out a sharpie.

“Y/N NO!”

“…….biscuits-“

[daphnefisherofficial]

bugna: TAKIPSILIM | destiny's twilight

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Pairing: MCU Moon Knight System (Marc/Steven/Jake) x Avatar Fem!Reader

masterlist | previous | next chapter

CHAPTER FOURTEEN - THE HIDDEN PROTECTOR.

Marc Spector watched with a mixture of amusement and concern, his bemused grin in place as the two of you stumbled out of the cozy pub, the warm embrace of alcohol having worked its magic on you both. You swayed slightly, your gait unsteady, but your spirits were high. The hour had crept past midnight, and the streets of London were bathed in the soft glow of streetlamps and the distant hum of city life. He, along with Steven Grant inside their shared consciousness, walked a few steps behind you, ensuring you didn't take a spill or tumble headfirst on the cobblestone streets.

You decided to walk backwards, your gaze locked on Marc, who followed your every movement with an indulgent smile. The alcohol had loosened your tongue, and with a lopsided grin painting your lips, you rambled on about anything and everything, your words a merry jumble of observations about the city and its people.

"Marc," you slurred, pointing at a passing black cab, "did you know these taxis look like big, shiny beetles? I swear, it's like we're in a giant insect parade!"

“Yeah, baby”, Marc chuckled softly, his Chicago accent tinged with affection as the inhibitions of calling you by his preferred term of endearment finally passed his lips with ease. "They do look a bit like that, don't they?"

“They do”, you continued your tipsy commentary as you continued strolling backwards, your laughter ringing out in the night air. “And you, my beautiful Marc, are like a shadowy guardian angel. Always a step behind, making sure I don't fall into the abyss of drunkenness."

“How poetic of you, sweet Mira”, Marc chuckled softly, the corners of his eyes crinkling in mirth as he mirrored your steps with ease. He grinned at your compliment, though it was clear you were beyond rational thought at this point. He'd learned a lot about you during your late-night conversations, but this was the first time he'd seen you in such a state.

As you approached a slightly secluded alleyway on your way to the bus station, you noticed a solitary lamp post still lit and a few meters away. A mischievous thought crossed your mind, memories of a pole dancing lesson you were forcibly enrolled in by your good friend Aleah, flashing before you. With a playful grin, you decided to give Marc a show.

"Watch this, Marc!" you exclaimed, twirling around the lamppost and gripping it with surprising grace. You swayed and spun, mimicking the simple moves you'd learned, your laughter mixing with the night breeze.

“Looking good, Mira!” Marc watched in utter amusement, his hazel brown eyes fixed on you as he exclaimed tipsily how much he liked your performance. "I’m so proud of you, darling"

You ended your impromptu pole dance with a cute, theatrical pose, earning a hearty round of applause from Marc. He shook his head, utterly entertained by your antics as he burst into a hearty, boisterous laughter for probably the first time ever in his turbulent life. It was a rare, carefree moment that he wished to imprint in his memory forever.

Unbeknownst to both of you, masked assailants had been silently tailing from behind, their intentions far from benign as they were concealed in the shadows of the alley. Armed with malevolent intent and their hands gripping wolfsbane guns, weapons specifically designed to kill those they were aimed at. They had been sent on a mission to eliminate you - a sinister plan that has already been decades in the making.

Two gunshots pierced the quiet London night, shattering the peaceful ambiance. Marc's eyes widened in sheer surprise and horror, time seemingly coming to a stop as he saw your top slowly staining with the gushing flow of your own crimson blood. Panic gripped him as he watched you crumple to the cement floor, a small crescent moon tattoo on his body beginning to glow with an eerie intensity.

The pain in his shoulder and lower back was searing, nearly unbearable, but he couldn't focus on that. He sprinted toward you, his heart pounding in his chest, as his mind raced to comprehend the unfolding nightmare. The world around him blurred, the relentless agony threatening to engulf him as his face contorted with both fear and anger.

Meanwhile, chaos reigned inside their shared headspace. Steven Grant, who was usually calm and composed, was now screaming bloody murder, his voice echoing through the confines of their mind. He was helplessly trapped, unable to do anything but watch in terror as events spiraled out of control before him.

Then, as if the universe itself was conspiring against Marc Spector, a sudden darkness overcame his vision. It was as if an unseen force was forcibly pushing him out of his own consciousness. Before he succumbed to the overwhelming pressure, his blurring vision caught a glimpse of a familiar crescent moon tattoo identical to the one on his own body, glowing brilliantly white on your jugular, the very spot where his most recent, mysterious tattoo had manifested.

...

Jake Lockley was only supposed to merely watch from the shadows of Marc Spector's fractured mind that Friday night. He silently observed you, the object of his secret fascination, from the dimly lit recesses of their shared consciousness. A small, crooked smile played on his lips as he watched you with a mix of amusement and adoration, seeing you twirling near a lamppost in a slightly secluded alleyway. Your laughter rang out, infectious and sweet, as you executed a mini pole dancing routine. Your movements were fluid and mesmerizing, and he couldn't help but be captivated by your beauty and your quirky charm. There was something about the way you carried yourself, especially when you were a little tipsy, that made him smile despite himself.

With a final flourish, you ended your short performance with a cute pose, leaving Jake grinning from the shadows of Marc's mind.

But that fleeting moment of contentment shattered when two gunshots pierced the silence. Panic immediately seized Jake's heart in an invisible tight grip, his world seemed to stop as he watched you slowly succumb to your knees to the cold cement floor of the London streets. The wolfsbane poison carried by the bullets took effect immediately, as the new moon further inhibited your innate avatar ability to heal and be impervious to harm.

Your limp form was a stark contrast to the vibrant, spirited woman he had known just moments ago as Marc instinctively caught you in his arms, his eyes now wide with shock and panic. Steven, trapped in the forefront of Marc's mind, was screaming helplessly to no end as he pleaded Marc to take you to the hospital.

Jake, however, was done lurking in the shadows and playing the silent observer. Fear and fury coursed through him, consumed by the guilt and the urgency of the situation.

And at that moment, he decided that he couldn't stand idly by any longer. With a surge of willpower, Jake forcibly pushed his consciousness to the forefront, relegating Marc to the backseat of their fractured mind. It was time for him to act - consequences be damned.

Jake’s senses sharpened as he finally took the reins. He could feel the cold London air against his skin, taste the metallic tang of fear and danger in the air. The masked assailants who had attacked you were still at large, and they had marked him, your companion, as their next target.

With a guttural growl of anger, Jake summoned his ceremonial armor that was once Marc’s with a swift and deliberate motion. The former white Egyptian old threads were now ebony black as it enveloped his arms and torso, the design intricate and etched with symbols of the moon god Khonshu. His dark cape billowed around him, forming a protective shield around you as the assailants continued their relentless gunfire assault. 

Jake's eyes burned with a dangerous intensity, his look crazed and borderline dangerous as he tried to shake you awake, calling your name in his heavy Spanish accent. 

"¡Despierta, Mira!" he growled, his gloved hand gently tapping your cheek repeatedly. "Wake up, cariño, please!"

The world around him seemed to slow down as Jake quickly assessed the situation. The assailants, their faces concealed by masks, were firing volley after volley of wolfsbane bullets in their direction. But he was not about to be a helpless victim. With a flick of his wrist, he wielded his cape with precision, deflecting the bullets back in the assailants' direction with deadly accuracy. The shock on their faces was palpable as they scrambled for cover. 

"Finish the job, Jake”, Khonshu's voice echoed in his mind, a dark and commanding presence. “I will make sure to protect Mira. Show them our wrath for daring to threaten her life."

Jake felt an unsettling mix of exhilaration and dread as he obeyed Khonshu's command. With swift, brutal efficiency, he closed the distance between himself and the assailants. His gloved fists were like sledgehammers as they started to strike with unrelenting force. The fight was brutal, a chaotic dance of fists, kicks, and the gleaming edges of his crescent darts. He moved like a shadow, striking with precision and power. 

Bones snapped, and bodies crumpled under his onslaught. The moonlight glinted off his ceremonial armor, giving him an otherworldly aura of power as blood stained the cobblestones beneath his boots with the assailants falling one by one.

But he wasn't satisfied with mere vengeance. He wanted answers. And he was about to get them when one of the assailants, bloodied and broken, managed to wheeze out a few vital information as he gasped for breath. 

"Die soon... Set... will be pleased."

"Who sent you?" he growled in his thick Spanish accent, his grip tightening around the assailant’s throat as he pinned him to the ground, a savage glint in his eyes. "Who wants her dead?"

“You’re too late, Moon Knight”, the assailant's lips curled into a wicked smile, blood trickling from the corners of his mouth. "Mayari's avatar will die soon. At his hands, victory will soon be ours.”

His words sent a shiver down Jake's spine, but he refused to let fear take hold. 

"Who is behind this?" he pressed further, his voice laced with menace. “Who is Set’s avatar?!”

The assailant laughed softly, his breaths growing shallower as life seeped away from him. "You'll find out soon enough," he wheezed, his eyes glazing over. With one final shuddering breath, he fell silent, taking his secrets to the grave.

Jake released the lifeless body before him, his mind racing with thoughts and questions. But one thing was clear—your life hangs in the balance, and he would stop at nothing to make sure you will not lose your life on his watch.

Despite his hardened exterior, Jake Lockley was trembling with panic as he immediately went by your side, watching your olive-brown complexion slowly pale due to the toxic effects of wolfsbane now slowly coursing through your veins. Blood continued to flow from your wounds, staining the cold ground beneath you. His fury was barely concealed as hot tears cascaded down Jake's face, his facade of stoicism cracking under the weight of despair.

He couldn't afford to lose you. He simply can’t.

"What can I do to save her?” Jake shouted at Khonshu, his voice filled with desperation. “Tell me what I should do!"

“Take her to Marc Spector’s flat”, Khonshu's voice was calm and composed, offering a lifeline amidst the chaos. "There's a way to counter the poison. But you must hurry."

Jake nodded resolutely, his alters still simmering beneath the surface of his mind as he cradled your limp form protectively into his arms. With a surge of power, he prepared to take flight and carry you to safety back to their London flat.

But before he could ascend, a powerful spell stopped him in his tracks. He turned to see a shimmering, ethereal presence materialize before him, divine and radiant. It was your patron moon goddess, Mayari, the fury unmistakable in both her luminous and blind eyes.

"You will go no further," she declared, her voice echoing with the authority of a divine being. “Let go of my fallen avatar, Jake Lockley”

“Goddess Mayari, please”, Jake’s voice trembled despite his rage and fear, unable to directly defy your patron goddess’s command. “We need your help, she’s dying”

“This is all your fault, Khonshu!” Mayari’s voice shook with fury as she faced Khonshu directly, who merely watched the ongoing exchange with barely concealed guilt in his facade. 

“We do not have time for this, Mayari”, Khonshu retorted as his own frustration grew. Despite your displeasure at him, the Egyptian moon god has treated you all your long life as if you were his own offspring. “Mira and my avatars share life forces, if you remember. He can save her, goddess”

“Yes, please”, Jake agrees, willing to try just about anything at this point. “I’ll do anything to keep her alive. Anything”

“Very well”, Mayari’s eyes bore into Jake's, her anger momentarily subsiding as she considered his plea. "I will come with you both, so do what you must. But you will answer to me for what has transpired tonight, Jake Lockley"

Relief washed over Jake as Mayari's acceptance of their plea offered a glimmer of hope. "Thank you, Mayari," he said sincerely.

As the London night continued to bear witness to Jake Lockley’s chaotic, stormy thoughts, he readjusted his hold on you as he pulled you even close and protectively in his arms. Mayari’s spell finally lifted, allowing him to finally take flight and bring you back to their London flat. In that moment, Jake's world shifted once more as your fate hung in the balance once again - the woman he had secretly admired and sworn to protect. 

And with the moon goddess watching closely as your intertwined bugna (true destinies) were being woven right before her ever-watchful eyes, Mayari realized then that she could no longer keep your looming tagna (prophecy) at bay.

END OF CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

masterlist | previous | next chapter

[hazbinextgeneration]

(John) Doe Eyed Ch5 Doe Date

Art of Smore by me

This was possibly the happiest point of her life. She's never felt so happy before. 

The next day she got up and ready for her date. It's been so long since she's actually gone out on one you know. And this guy was pretty cute. And she didn't sense any red flags from him, at least not yet. That's what dates were for y'know. To get to know someone else and see if you meshed well enough to start a relationship. He seemed nice enough and was honest when she asked him things. Which was more than she could say about others she went out with. Also she kinda promised him that she would give him a chance. Even if they didn't mesh them they could be friends, and she could definitely use some friends other than Rose in this new place. So she got up and got herself ready and headed out the door. Only to blink and pause.

Doe was already there.

He was right there at the bus stop outside her apartment. As soon as he saw her he gave a full armed wave. After a moment Fae shook her head moving a few long white locks of hers before smiling and approaching him.

"John! You're here! I wasn't expecting you so early! I thought you were going to call me first! I did give you my number!"

"I wanted to see you!," He gushed as she approached clasping his hands in front of him smiling widely, "Did you get the gift I left you?"

She blinked. "Huh? What gift?"

He suddenly looked a bit nervous. "Er... Nevermind. That'll probably come later."

She shook that off. "Well anyways, Im a bit hungry." She gestured to the left. "How about we head over to a small burger place near here? It has pretty good food."

He instantly nodded. "I'D LOVE TO!!"

She giggled again and grabbed his hand Which made his eyes go wide. "C'mon. I'll show you where it is."

Fae pulled him along behind her..and his expression became more love struck almost melting in her hold and pupils changing into red hearts. She pulled him along with her a few streets over and stopped at the small food court. Sweet! They were already selling burgers! She bought two of them, one for herself and Doe. Both ended up just sitting on a nearby bench with said food.

"So John?" He looked at her in question as he ate, cheeks puffed out as he ate. "What do you do for work?" He tilted his head with a questioning brow. "Y'know. Work? I work at the gas station you met me. Where do you work?"

He smiled. "Oh! I don't work anywhere!"

"Oh...So you work from home? Or are you self employed?" 

"You could say both!"

"That's pretty cool! I dunno many people who are self employed. So are you like a web designer or a constructor?"

"I am..." he stopped to blink and gain a thoughtful look. Seeming to wonder how to say something before smiling again. "I am a collector!"

"Oh? Oh! You mean you work with collectables?" That was pretty good for a job. The right market for whatever collectors were looking for could be worth thousands of dollars if not more. "What kind of collections do you work in? Cars? Antiques? Figurines?"

"All kinds of stuff! I find lots of things!" He then took another bigger bite of the burger. Oh. So he dabbled in all kinds of things? Neat. 

"That actually sounds pretty cool. It must be pretty hard to find some rare items I bet! I had a few jobs myself. Before working at the station I was a housekeeper for a hotel but before that I worked at a Dollar T.J.'s for a bit. I wanted to be an artist but unfortunately money, time, and college really put that plan down the drain. I-I still do it professionally just..more freelance." Fae cleared her throat as she caught him staring at her. "S-Sorry. You probably don't like me rambling on about things." 

"Oh no!" She blinked as he smiled widely. "I like it when you talk to me!"

She blinked surprised. "Really?" He nodded. No one had ever told her THAT before. "Oh. Ok! Um...So why did you decide to become a collector?"

"I like finding things! You never know what you dig up!" Oh. That seemed like a good enough reason. He tilted his head at her. "What do you like?"

"Oh...Well I like lots of things." She rambled on counting on her hands. "I like mystery movies especially Sherlock Holmes movies, it's fun to try and guess who's the criminal. I also like drawing of course but you could probably guess that by now. Walking around and seeing everything is pretty good too I guess." She smiled wider at him. "I also like rabbits. I even have one back home. His name's Smore. What about you? And pets?"

He shook his head. "I like baby rats!"

Rats? ...Well some people had mice and rats as pets. She guessed it wasn't much too different from a hamster or gerbil. "Oh. .. Can't say I share that sentiment but everyone likes different animals. What do you like to do for fun?"

"Walks. And collect things!"

"What kind of things do you collect?"

"Anything I find interesting. Sometimes bottles. Sometimes furniture. It depends on if I like it." Seemed like he was pretty open to a lot of things. That was a good thing.

"I like collecting things too!"

"You do?" He lit up.

Fae nodded. ''I like collecting cute little things to decorate my room or murder mystery books or movies. I also like getting art supplies."

"AMAZING!!"

She ended up giggling at him which made him smile more. "I guess so. But I do have one question. What made you want to ask me out?" He again tilted his head as she gestured to herself. "I don't really get asked out a lot, usually people aren't very interested in my .. strange looks."

"I LOVE HOW YOU LOOK!!" She blinked back to him as he gushed. "You look so pretty!! And you're so nice to me! I like that!"

....Fae blinked. "You mean.." Her brow raised. "You .. Don't think my hair being white is weird? Or makes me look weird?" He shook his head. "Really?"

"Really! I've seen much, much, MUCH weirder things! And as a human you look so normal to me!"

As a human? Strange way of putting it but still..the message was so...nice. She hadn't ever heard someone else be so..Normal about her strange looks or the nearly constant eye bags she had. That was...so nice of him. 

"That... might've been the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

He blinked. "Really? I'm so happy to be the first one to say that!"

"Yeah..Um." she shook her head bashfully looking away. "So what exactly did you wanna do after this?"

He again seemed to think for a moment. "....I like TV! You like movies! Ms. Ivy once told me the library lets you have movies! Let's get some and watch them together!"

Fae's smile grew wider. "Y-Yeah! That's not a bad idea! I can introduce you to Snore too! You'll love my bunny! He's like super friendly!"

"I'D LOVE TO!!"

The rest of the day was so, so happy! She never felt so...heard out by someone before. It was nice to have someone who actually listened to what she had to say. They took that trip to the Library and got those movies. Although she had him pick out a few too. It wouldn't be fair if she picked all of them. He picked up a documentary on...rodents? And some cartoon of a cooking rat? Well different people had different likes. However there was one weird thing that happened when she lead him to her apartment. Smore had initially hoped up to said door, but had taken one look at John, squeaked out in terror, before running his way up the stairs back towards the second floor of the apartment. 

"Smore!? Hey, wait!...That was so weird. Usually he's really friendly." She turned back to John who blinked. "I guess he's just skittish being in a new place. I'll just go get some snacks. Why don't you just go ahead and put in one of the movies?" She gestured to the TV. 

He happily nodded and made his way over towards it as Fae smiled and went into the kitchen. She remembered she bought chips and stuffed them on top of the fridge. As she walked in a foul rotting smell instantly hit her making her recoil and stumble back. A hand quickly flew to her mouth and she nearly screamed when she looked around and saw the source of the smell on the floor. Some kind of.. rotten bloody meat mess was there on her floor.

"EW! What is that?! It smells so bad!" Oh gods she felt like she was going to vomit out the Burger she ate. "Oh gods. I think Im going to be sick."

UCK!! She..She must've accidentally left out some meat and forgotten about it and it went bad as a result. She coughed a few times covering her nose and stumbling to the cabinets for cleaning supplies. She needed to get it cleaned up first. It's amazing what some trash bags and bleach could do and after a while it was gone and all cleaned up. The smell faintly lingered in the air alongside the bleach but it was certainly better than what it was a few moments ago. Once done she was able to get the snacks and walk back into the living room where John was waiting for her. He smiled and patted the seat next to him and she smiled sitting down and handing him one of the bags of chips. Which he happily accepted it. The movie with the cooking rat was on and she relaxed back to watch it with him. This was nice. 

And it continued to be.

That date turned into agreeing to lunch next week. Which turned into going to the movie theater three days after that. Which turned into a movie marathon night a week after than. Which turned into a picnic two days later. He was honest and open and listened to her. It was...so refreshing! He was also so... Different. But in a way she loved. He seemed confused sometimes or didn't understand some things at first but that wasn't a deal breaker at all. He also seemed clingy and a bit too eager to hug and hold hands but she kept reinforcing her boundaries and he seemed to get it after awhile. Just resulting in holding hands and the occasional hugs or cuddling . It was..so nice. He was even nice enough to gift her something-

"This is for you!" She blinked as he held up an old slightly dirty glass cherry cola bottle. "You said you liked cherries!"

Fae blinked..but accepted it slowly with a smile. "Aw. How sweet. It looks pretty old too. Maybe an antique." She smiled wider holding it to herself. It'll be a cute little vase to put some fake flowers in after she cleaned it up a little bit. "And you remembered what I said I liked. That's so sweet of you."

She then leaned over and his eyes widened in awe as two soft lips pressed against his cheek. She smiled at him and watched as his hand slowly reached up to touch his cheek where she kissed him... Before breaking out into the biggest grin she'd ever seen on him and squealed out as he suddenly hugged her to him.

"I LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU!!"

"You seem happy."

Fae blinked out of her day dream and blinked back to her cousin whom smiled knowingly at her. Rose had stopped by her work on her way to make a delivery and Fae had spaced out happily for a moment. Typical Fae.

"What's got you smiling like that?"

Fae blinked before smiling wider. "Oh nothing much. It just might be that...Well.." she suddenly smiled wider and gushed out. "I MET SOMEBODY!!"

Rose blinked before she too broke out in a large grin. "You're serious? Who?!'

"His name's John!," Fae explained with a smile, "We met on the bus! Oh Rose! He's perfect! He's so sweet and cute! And he listens to me all the time and so thoughtful! I've honestly never met anyone like him!"

"Hey! That's amazing news! I'm so happy for you! I'll have to stop by sometime and meet him myself just to see the man who's making my cousin smile like a clown on laughing gas."

She'd love to introduce her boyfriend to her family! But she'd ask him first to see if he was comfortable with the idea first. They were supposed to meet up again that Saturday so she'd ask him then. However an unexpected storm rolled in. Rain thundered out. Lightning clashed across the sky. And dark clouds the sky. She hoped John was doing ok. She know he said he didn't have a phone but she wished he could call her, even from payphone to cancel plans or at least let her know he was ok. She's been waiting for nearly two hours now on the sofa waiting for John. She certainly hoped he wasn't caught up in the storm. Maybe he was just running late? Smore wasn't helping at all just cowering upstairs. ...Funny. He did that whenever John was around too which was strange. He was usually so friendly to everyone he met- She was pulled out of her thoughts as a soft knocking sound came from the door making her instantly look up. She barely heard it from over the ran and thunder.

"John!"

She lit up immediately and bounded to the door throwing it open only to see... Nothing? She blinked as nothing but the inside of her building met her. Dark but lit up whe

never lightning struck out lightning it all up briefly. But...no one was there? Was she just hearing things? Fae flinched when a loud prr like sound came from by her feet making her look down.

And she shrieked as a giant single eyeball blinked up at her.

[the-smallest-star]

The bus didn't show, so Sapphire is going by subway. She's gotten used to the Voxtec adverts, or the Camilla arms posters, and the Valentino club porn advertising that would play between announcements of stations.

Oh! A new magazine for cute jackets by Velvette designs? She'll like that post. Her own social has a few selfies and life updates. She's not an influencer by any means, but what young woman didn't update their pages these days.

[j-graysonlibrary]

Heartbeats; Paradise Chapter 1

Title: Heartbeats; Paradise

Author: Jay Grayson

Word Count: 112K

Genres: Psychological thriller, drama, sci-fi, LGBT+

Available on: Kobo and my website

Synopsis: Melvin Hardy and Kade Axel appear to be a match made in heaven. After a meet-cute in the rain, the two quickly find themselves in a burgeoning, wholesome relationship.

Yet, things feel…off. It isn’t the ghosts of their pasts that resurface to test the strength of their partnership—no—it’s something nebulous. Something indescribable. Melvin can’t put his finger on it but, the more time he spends with Kade, the more he starts to wonder what’s real and what’s pure fiction.  

Full chapter 1 under the cut:

Chapter One:

The sun sets.

I adjust the rod of my umbrella, cursing under my breath at the stiffness of the thing due to a long period of inactivity. It hardly ever rains here but I always carry the umbrella with me. Just in case.

Many of my colleagues rush past me, braving the drizzle before the storm really hits. They can have fun getting wet but I’m wearing one of my more expensive jackets. Probably not the best idea, in retrospect, to wear my designer suit on an overcast Thursday but I had needed some sort of pick-me-up this morning. And that just so happened to be dressing nicer to motivate myself to get to work.

My umbrella finally releases and the fabric pops open before me. I raise it above my head and step out from beneath the overhang.

With my apartment a few blocks away, I have time to think about what I’ll make for dinner as I walk. I wouldn’t say I’m a good cook but I have some staples under my belt—a necessity born from living on one’s own. A large portion of my meals may come premade but I still add a pinch of seasoning or a twist here and there. There are definitely some microwave dinners in my freezer which, at the rate this day is going, will probably be my answer.

After that, I think I’ll pour myself a glass of wine and relax some. It’s not the end of the week yet but it is close so letting loose, or, as loose as I allow myself to get, isn’t a bad idea. I’ll avoid the news stations and search for something more relaxing on the TV and, if not relaxing then at least mind numbing.

I could check my personal e-mail as well, I consider as the clouds darken and the rain pours down in sheets. The thumping against my umbrella lets me know they are big droplets and I’m even gladder that I always carry the thing with me. My mind quickly bounces back to my after-work agenda and I think of the possibility that my mother might have sent me something. It was my twenty-sixth birthday not too long ago and I have not checked my e-mail for a time.

I sigh instinctively when the woman comes to mind. She would probably have sent something vague and/or generic if she sent anything at all. With, perhaps, a slight passive-aggressive note on the state of my love life.

There is a far off rumble of thunder as the rain rages even harder and I’m forced to slow down next to a bus stop. My glasses are fogging and I have to either take them off or wipe them clean. I attempt to hold my umbrella in the crook of my elbow while I fish out my glasses case from my pocket.

I whip out the small cloth and run it quickly over the glass—it isn’t perfect but at least I can see in front of me again. I’ll clean them more thoroughly once I get home.

I check the road, finding little traffic between me and the pavement across the street where my path continues. There aren’t a lot of cars in town or, at least, there aren’t a lot of reasons to drive them. I, myself, have a car but it’s more out of want than need. My commute to work can easily be done on foot and more places in town can be reached by a bus or on bike.

Though I am sure the poor soul across the street wishes they hadn’t taken their bike out today. They have no coverage and the rain beats down on them without mercy.

As I rush over the crosswalk I notice something even more unfortunate. Their front wheel is loose and there is no way the bike is useable anymore unless the rider is less than fifty pounds. And, while they may seem petite, I doubt they’re that light.

I step onto the sidewalk and my presence alerts them. Their head rises, facing the rain, to look up at me and the world at large freezes.

Even if we aren’t the only two people on the sidewalk, it certainly does feel that way.

It’s hard to tell what gender they are but I do know one thing for certain—they are beautiful. Their hair, wet and heavy, falls past their shoulders and their eyes shine with the light of the nearby streetlamp. A pair of gorgeous blue-green irises, like the Mediterranean Sea, stares into me and I am struck by a feeling foreign to me.

“I could fix that,” I say without meaning to. While it might be true that I can fix their bike, I usually wouldn’t approach a stranger in such a way. Normally, I would think on how unlucky they were and continue my trip home but I am mesmerized by their face and I can’t seem to control myself any longer.

“You can?” They ask with a lower, almost boyish voice. Their eyes, somehow, get bigger at the prospect and their lips curl into a smile. Their pink, full lips that compliment the shape of their face as if they were created with the intent to ensnare me…

I nod eagerly. “I have a model similar to that so I have some spare parts.” I then realize what helping them entails and I worry they will be frightened by the idea. “I…it’s all at my apartment though. Are you okay with that?”

“Sure!” That brightness doesn’t fade and they look even more excited about the situation.

I lean my umbrella over their head and shield them from any more rain though they are already quite soaked. I keep my eyes on their face rather than the white shirt that clings to their body.

“Oh…thank you,” they remark cutely and inch closer. “I don’t want to get your nice coat wet though…”

“It’s alright,” I let them know, “I can get it dry cleaned over the weekend if needed.”

I keep the umbrella over us though my right arm is left out to get wet as well as some of my right side in general. My new companion drags their bike along and the rain becomes our soundtrack as we walk to my apartment, alone on the sidewalk. Even the volume of cars slows to nearly none as we get closer.

“So…” my company speaks up as if to fill the silence but maybe they are uncomfortable about long pauses. “Can I ask your name? I don’t want to keep having to refer to you as ‘handsome stranger’ in my head.”

We share a chuckle but I do feel my cheeks grow warm. This beautiful person finds me attractive as well? The odds maybe aren’t that bad since many people have commented on my looks before but still…it is a wonderful feeling.

“I’m Melvin Hardy.” I glance away, unbelievably shy at the exchange but I hope to hide it well. My heart is beating as if to leave my chest and my head is spinning just from this little bit of interaction. Just as I am ready to hear who it is I’ve become enamored with, I remember. While I feel it is obvious with one look that I am a man, I still say out of politeness, “Oh, and my pronouns are he/him.”

“Mine too!” he replies with a bounce in his step. “My name’s Kade. Kade Axel.”

So perfection has a name and it’s Kade Axel, I think. Somehow, I feel I already knew it but I’m happy to be told.

We come upon my apartment complex and I quickly lead Kade to the stairs where I can finally remove the umbrella. I shake it off and fold it back into it’s compact form while, at my side, Kade props his bike against the bricks under the stairs.

“My apartment is upstairs,” I tell him, “I hope I have a spare part…if not, you can just borrow my bike.” I add the last part and point to the bike nearby.

“Oh, no, I couldn’t.” Kade shakes his head and raises his hands in protest.

“Only if I can’t fix yours.” I offer a smile. Plus, I add mentally, if he borrows something of mine, he’ll have to come back to see me.

“Well…okay.” He bites his lip, pulling both the skin and my attention.

I have to snap myself out of it and lead the way up. I’m relieved, momentarily, that I cleaned not too long ago. Though, to be honest (and a little proud) my place never gets too dirty anyway.

I allow Kade inside first and I shut the door after us, turning only the deadbolt lock. My part of town isn’t dangerous though I can’t say any part of town really is. People truly keep to themselves here.

“I have a hair dryer if you need it,” I say when I notice Kade fussing with his wet hair. He looks genuinely upset to have tracked so much water into my home. And, if it were anyone else, I might be irritated but it also isn’t his fault he’s soaked. “…And dry clothes too…though they might be a bit big.”

A pink blush rises to his pale cheeks and my heart swells at the sight. Kade brings his hands together in front of his chest and asks, “Are you sure that’s okay? I feel like I—”

I don’t let him finish. “It’s alright. Really.”

He still looks a bit bashful but he agrees to take some of my old sweats and dry out his hair. Before he shuts himself away in the hall bathroom, I ask,

“Do you have any food allergies? I’ll make dinner while you’re in here.”

“Y-you really don’t have to.” He flushes even more and part of me wants to continuously offer him things to see just how flustered he can get.

But, I restrain myself. “Well, if you’re getting dry then you don’t need to go out in the rain until it’s slowed down at least. And, if that takes a while, you shouldn’t go hungry. I was going to make myself dinner anyway…what’s an extra serving?”

His stunning eyes blink a few times and his brow furrows together, forming only one, small crease between them. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

Well that’s a loaded question. I can’t even be sure myself and saying ‘you’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen’ already sounds creepy in my head—I can’t even imagine how it’ll sound coming out of my mouth. But if I say that he was in need and I help those in need I’ll be lying.

I open and close my mouth a few times before still, sort of, lying, “I’m not sure.”

Kade clearly isn’t expecting that as his eyes bulge and he steps back. “You…you don’t know?”

“It was an impulse,” that is a little more truthful at least, “Once I saw you there, I couldn’t leave you.”

This response brings his blush back and he avoids my eyes. Such a shame as I’ve found my new hobby in staring into his lovely irises.

“Well…t-thanks. I don’t have any food allergies, by the way. I’ll eat whatever you make.”

I leave him to head to the kitchen, worrying that I still, maybe, laid things on a bit thick. I adjust my glasses and then take them off entirely. My vision is a little blurry without them but I know my kitchen and pantry well enough to navigate it partly blind.

I settle on a simple rice dish and, while everything is cooking, I take the time to properly clean my glasses. In a way, I’m almost scared to see Kade without the streaks and water droplets in the way. How could he possibly be more gorgeous? And will I be able to handle it?

As I worry about possibly making a fool of myself even more than I already have, I check my hall closet to see if I have the parts Kade needs for his bike. I do, thankfully, but that also takes away his reason for coming back. Though, if I let him leave with my old clothes then that could be something?

I grumble to myself at how desperate I am. If Kade doesn’t want to see me again, it’s within his rights to. Just because I’m completely taken with him doesn’t mean he’s obligated to hang around. I’d be no better than a love struck teenager if I think otherwise.

Dinner is ready so I turn my focus to setting the table and making the meal look as presentable as possible. I’m slightly frustrated at myself for not asking what Kade wants to drink but I hope he’ll be alright with a glass of water.

I sit at the small table that straddles both the kitchen and the living room and I wait for a few more minutes. Maybe his hair takes some time to dry? It is quite long after all. I think on it and begin to feel anxious. There is no direction or cue so I simply wait a bit longer.

Finally, Kade emerges from the hall. He’s all but lost in my sweats but that makes him, painfully, even more adorable. His hair is shorter and blonder now that it’s dried, though it still brushes against his shoulders and looks so soft to the touch. He pulls the sleeves up on the shirt and his pace picks up when he sees the table. “Sorry I took a while—I had to call my sister.”

“Oh…no problem.” I swallow the nerves down and glance from him to the food as my mind whirls with questions and prompts. “…Do you live with your sister?” I settle on.

“I do,” he responds quickly and gets comfortable in his chair. “She’s letting me stay with her while I finish college and I help out at her café as payment.”

Finish college…he’s at least twenty-two in that case. Unless he graduated high school early, of course. He could also be older if he took a gap year or simply waited to go. It is hard to tell his age by his face as it’s so smooth and young looking—unlike me who has always looked like a grown man since middle school.

“That’s sweet of her,” I respond and urge him to eat with a simple hand gesture. After he takes a bite, I risk sounding like a creep to ask, “What café?”

Kade smiles and swallows before answering, “It’s actually the one right down the block from where we met today. Back the direction you came from.”

“Caramel café?” I question with doubt but Kade nods in confirmation. “I go there on my breaks all the time…I’ve never seen you.” If I had, I’d definitely remember.

But he laughs, covering his mouth and hiding his face. “I…it’s a new thing. I just started this past week.”

“Oh…I haven’t been this week.” I feel slightly embarrassed by my mini-outburst. I clear my throat and change topics, “So, what are you in school for?”

“Psychology,” Kade says as he drops his hand. He seems comfortable talking about this so I think it’s probably something he’s passionate about. After he takes another bite of dinner, he continues, “I want to be a grief counselor.”

“Wow.” I’m a bit taken aback. I had not expected something like that. “That’s a tough job.”

“But necessary,” he responds and, as swiftly as I had, he shifts the question onto me, “So what do you do, Melvin?”

“Nine to five office work. I got my degree in business so I went straight into the grind.” It’s boring to do and even more so to talk about.

Lucky for us, mother nature also wishes to move on from the topic. A loud crash of thunder shakes the building and a flash of lightning illuminates the room.

Kade jumps. “I guess I’m not heading out anytime soon…”

I shake my head. “You can crash on my couch if you want. I don’t mind.”

He smiles and pokes at the remainder of his food with his fork. “…You’re so nice. I’m almost waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

I raise one of my eyebrows. Does he think I’m hiding some horrible secret? Or that I’m really out to get him? I can’t exactly blame him with how odd the circumstances are and I truly do have no reason to be going out of my way to help.

“I’m not really a serial killer, I promise,” I say with a smirk, breaking some of the tension.

Kade laughs and shakes his head. “Well, I wasn’t thinking that…exactly. There just…there must be a downside to you. No way you can be so perfect. Handsome, nice, good cook, considerate, good and stable job…”

I’m thrown off guard. He had called me handsome before but I did not expecting to hear it again. “You like dinner then?” I decide to focus on that instead.

He chuckles again. “Yeah. It’s really good.”

Thunder crashes once more and I nearly jump myself this time. I use the shot of adrenaline to stand and collect our now empty plates. “Thank you,” I respond, “after I wash the dishes, I’ll grab you some blankets for the couch.”

I dip into the kitchen and quickly wash up, not wanting to leave Kade by himself for too long. My heart beats faster at the mere thought of him and I’m almost scared of how I’ll feel when he’s gone. This new cacophony of emotions can’t simply disappear, can it?

“Um…Melvin?”

His sweet voice spins me around and I take him all in. He truly is beautiful and more than a little cute bundled up in my clothes and nervously scratching at the side of his face.

“Yes?” I ask with a hitch in my voice.

He doesn’t notice or he doesn’t say anything about it at least. Instead, he starts to smile and he meets my eyes. “Thank you.”

It’s so honest and so warm that it fills my chest with a fuzzy, comforting sensation.

I don’t want him to leave.

[what-if-nct]

(you can reply to this one separately to the last post)

also omg i love your outfits! i’m also trying to grow my cute/kawaii and cosplay clothes to wear when going out, mostly so i could stand out in a crowd in cupsleeve events. i don’t usually wear those things!

one thing i really wanna try and pull off is the aliyahcore outfits. definitely one thing i’d do after surgery is to wear crop tops but i really love how the outfits makes you look kinda like a y2k video game character (idk if this is cringe to say or not lol) such as imvu or second life. i especially love the hello kitty outfits- (totally obsessed with sanrio stuff)

(oup here’s me rambling about sanrio)

my favourite character has to be my melody and cinnamoroll. my favourite cinna sibling has to definitely be no other than mocha. that is so damn obvious- i’m pretty sure every black/dark skinned sanrio obsessed person one they get to know about mocha would probably add her to their pfps because that’s the closest we may get to a official black sanrio character. she’s not really black, and i obviously understand why they picked mocha to be the way she is, but i just love her design to be dark skinned and has pink flowers instead of orange just because it “suits the complexion.” like- she describes me so well- and her birthday is 12 days after mine omgggggggggg

anywho- as you can see i REALLY love sanrio stuff- i even got my sister to go to artbox (a shop in london that sells sanrio, bt21 and other iconic kawaii toys such as pusheen) to buy me my christmas present and she got me a my melody blanket and a hello kitty calendar. i purposely didn’t tell her which character to give me as i wanted her to see the shop for herself. they literally have items in sections that it was so aesthetically pleasing, but i guess i didn’t think it through because it was almost empty (it was dec 24th) in which she had to ask someone who worked there for help, but she got it in the end. is it just me or learning about the story of how they purchased your presents are much more interesting than the item itself? like if you don’t tell me that you had to run into the store at 6am, push other customers, shove them to a nearby clothes rack, fought another customer over the last item, slamming them on the ground, paid to the cashier before realising you went over budget, paid the rest with the only cash you had, nearly ran over somebody because they tried to break into your car, just to be able to give me my present, i would most likely struggle to seem appreciative even though i am, but not sure how to express that. is it just me?

also, because i don’t gatekeep, here’s the address for artbox so you can go whenever you come to london!

44-46 shelton street, wc2h 9hz

nearest bus/train stations: convent gardens station (piccadilly line) holborn station (central line, piccadilly line) holborn station (stop n and p): 1, 59, 68, 91, 188, 243 kingsway/holborn station (stop m): 1, 59, 68, 91, 188, 243

for those who chooses to go the holborn route, if you see a boots store, that’s where you need to cross over and take the first turning on the right. if you see a cafe, go straight ahead, take a left then straight down again. it should be on your left. it should be on the maps, not sure why i’m telling the directions- i just wanna be a show off lol (also ignore the bus numbers with N in them. those ones run during the night and the shop closes at 7pm usually. also, idk what that X bus is doing there either. maybe that’s elon musk’s bus.)

Aww, Thank you. I love aliyahcore it's like 2000s fashion with rave elements. It's so cute. And over the top I love over the top fashion. My goal with styling is to have who I am inside shown through with how I look on the outside. Like what you see is exactly what you get. Like when I dressed "sexier" it didn't feel like me I looked cute but it felt like a costume. So definitely go for it when you're ready to. That is so true I love mocha she's so cute and when I first saw her I was like "me!!!" I'm such a Sanrio girly and so is my best friend us giving each other gifts is just us giving each other sanrio merchandise. I have so much sanrio stuff mainly my melody and a few little twin stars things. if little twin stars was easy to find id have more. Those are my fave Sanrio characters. But that's such a cute story for how your sister got your Christmas gift and I think it just adds more excitement and adventure to the gift. But I love "It reminded me of you" or "I thought of you" gifts like you were thinking about little ol me?! it makes me so happy. It could literally be a pink piece glass for 50 cents and I would cherish it forever cause it reminded someone of me. And that sounds like such a cute shop, thank you for address and directions. If Im ever in London I'll would make sure to stop buy.

[birds-nest-on-the-roof]

Clint and the bird

Clint is dead set on impressing Emily and gets himself a pet bird. But it don't go as he hoped it would. So Clint is just making a fool out of himself, as usual. 

It's a slow night at the saloon. Most of the customers have gone home by now, but you still linger, aiming to finish your drink and then calling it a night. You sit by the bar together with Clint whom you had practically forced out of his designated seat in the corner. It had earlier  taken him a while (and quite a few drinks) before he could muster up to join you in conversing with Gus and Emily (the issue probably being talking with Emily).

But for the moment Gus had walked off to the back and Emily was having a chat with Pam, so it was just you and Clint at your end of the bar. You feel contempt in the moment, taking sips of your drink, when you hear whining coming from the left of you. You look over at your side and see Clint hunched over at the bar making strange sounds. 

"Eh, Clint? Are you alright?" Clint makes another strange sound and then shoots up from his hunched position. 

"I'm soooo looonly, I have noone." 

"Well, I'm here if you need to talk."

"No, that's not what I mean! I'll go home and have no one there waiting for me. How do you do it? You have no one either!" 

"I have my cats, you know! Ever considering getting a pet?" 

"If only…" Clint looks dreamily over at Emily who just in that moment turns around. Clint's eyes widen and his head makes such a fast turn that you think his head is going to fly off. 

"Soo, what are you guys talking about?" Emily comes back over to you with a cheerful smile. Clint must have sobered up slightly because he is back to a blushing and blabbering mess. 

"We were just discussing whether or not Clint should get a pet." You answer, side eyeing Clint.

"Oh you definitely should! I can recommend getting a bird! They are great company and you always have someone to talk to! Oh I know! I'm going to Zuzu City tomorrow. You should come with! I know just the right animal shelter.”

"You… and me?! Like a… just you and me?" Clint gulps loudly while being a blushing mess. 

“You should come too Y/N! The more the merrier!" Emily exclaims. 

"I'd love to.” You say and Clint lets out a breath of relief. 

"Oh well, my shift is over! See you guys tomorrow at the bus station!" 

The animal shelter definitely tugs at your heart a little more than you anticipated. The rows of cages with dogs, cats and many other animals looking up at you as you pass makes your heart ache. You hold yourself back to not adopt any more animals in need and decide that if you find an animal that looks all too sad you are going to force it on Clint. 

The lady working presents herself as Hazel, her bright orange overalls sticks in your eyes when she walks around telling you about all the different animals and how they ended up here. You, Emily and Clint walk past one cat in particular, an old white cat with only one eye, that you wonder if Clint might be a little interested in. Hazel tells you that this one comes from the streets and is old, no one wants to get old animals so he has been here awhile. 

"Yeaaah, awful isn't it! But were you looking for any animal in particular?" Hazel asks after a while of looking. 

"Uuuuhhh uhhhh…. Birds?" 

"Oh, that is just around the corner!" She shows you three over to a part of the shelter designated to different types of birds. 

"Oh what about this one? Clint, what do you think?" Emily points out one with gorgeous purple and blue colored feathers. 

"I'll take that one." Clint exclaims and the worker takes the birds out of his cage. She holds it in her hands before handing it to Clint. He lets the bird stomp around in his hands. 

"Oh! How cute you two are!" Emily pets the bird with two fingers and the bird chirps happily. Clint tries doing the same but he holds the bird a little too close to his face so the bird flaps its wings in his face in protest. 

"If you've never taken care of a bird before they could be a little bit getting used to. Especially that one." Hazel laughs. “His name is Blue.”

“Yeah, but if you ever need any help with Blue, you can just come and ask.” Emily offers and Clint blushes profusely. “Do you sell bird treats here too? I was thinking of bringing home something to my parrot.” 

As Hazel and Emily walk off, you hold Clint back. He looks back at you with a quizzical look. 

“Are you sure a bird is really what you should get?” You keep your voice down to make sure Emily and Hazel won't hear you. 

“Definitely, it's like Hazel said, it's just a bit getting used to. And Emily offered to help, this bird is a great conversation starter!” Clint whispers back to you. 

“Are you just doing this to get closer to Emily?” 

“No! I… I really liked the idea of having a pet and getting closer to Emily, it's a win win.” You sigh as you follow Clint back to Emily and Hazel so he can fill in his papers to adopt the bird.  

On the way out you start a discussion with Emily over the new second hand store that opened just around the block. You decide on a quick peak while Clint waits outside. While you walk around you throw an eye out the window and catch how Clint puts his finger in the cage and the bird pinches it. Causing Clint to flinch and pull out his finger. You sigh and hold back a laugh and wonder if getting him a pet really was a good idea. 

It has been a few days since going to Zuzu city with Clint and Emily. Whenever you have met him and Emily at the saloon he has talked loudly about how good friends and close he and the bird has become. So you figured your suspicions were uncalled for and decided to not check up on him and the bird since it's going so well. 

But to your surprise Clint stands outside your house one, all too early morning. It is still dark out as you rub any sleep out of your eyes looking back at Clint who himself is a total mess. He stands on your porch still wearing his pajamas, he has just thrown a robe on, venting about the bird. 

“You need to help me! I can't get anything done with that bird. It screams all night so I don't get any sleep. It lands in any food I make and who knows where that little rascal has been with his feet and if it can't get any worse it flies around like crazy so I can't get any work done. You must help me! I can't sleep, I can't eat, I can't work. I'm going insane!”

“Just return him.”

“I can't! What will Emily think!” 

“You know, this would have been a lot easier if you'd just come clean to her in the store to begin with and not made everything worse by professing your love to blue at the Saloon.”

“I know, I know. Can you take it? Just a little bit.” 

“Sorry Clint, the only way to solve this is to come clean and return the bird. I'm sure that if you explain everything to Emily she will understand. She wont hold a grudge against you, I'm sure.” 

"I guess… Are you free today? Can you come with me to return the little demon?” 

“Sure.” You say and sigh internally knowing your plans for the day are put on hold. 

Back in the shelter you find Hazel wandering around tending to the animals. But this time she has earbuds in and dont notice you at first. She continues to feed the animals and swaying her hips. When she spots you she stops and looks at you thinking for a moment. 

"Aha! You were here just a few days ago. Haha, didn't work out for you huh.” She laughs and points to the cage. 

“Nooo…It didn't.” You say slowly squinting your eyes at her, but she just wanders off. 

“Well, you're not the first to return him alright. Don't worry. Do you want to exchange him for someone else or just want your money back?”

“I want my money back. Don't think it's good to rush into something like this.” Clint admits. 

“Alright, I will just need to go to the back, I will be back in just a moment.” And with that she wanders off. 

You shrug at Clint and take a look around. Some new pets have come in and some are still here from last time. You walk over to the toy aisle looking for something for your cats. Just when you have picked out a remote controlled mouse you hope won't freak out your cats you hear Clint call for you. You follow his voice over to a cage with the same old cat you know Clint was eying last time. He wakes up when you get there and slowly looks up at you and Clint. 

“What do you think about him?” Clint eyes dart between you and the cat multiple times. 

“I like him! How do you feel about having a cat?”

“Better I think? He doesn't seem like he does much.” 

“Aha, looking at old Jerry over here.” Hazel comes back holding a few papers. 

“Yeah, what's he like?” 

“Slow, keeps mostly to himself. But he is a very good and kind cat, never scratches. Right old man!” She says and opens the cage door to scratch his head. He purrs loudly. She then takes him out and puts him on the floor for you and Clint to pet him. 

“I quite like him.” 

“Then get him!” Hazel urges and Clint gives you a look for your opinion. 

“If you feel that it's right you should get him.” 

“Alright, I'll take him.” 

“Then it's settled, I'll go and put together everything you need.” The woman walks off once again. 

“Yeah, after this we won't be back!” You shout after her.

“I sure hope not!” She shouts back. 

You decide to walk with Clint for a bit hoping the saloon has opened to go and order something. Traveling all day and missing lunch has taken its toll and your tummy is rumbling loudly. When you and Clint pass Pieres store you spot Emily walking in the distance on her way to start working at the saloon. You nudge Clint and nod in her direction. 

“Ah! Don't let her see me!” But just as he says that she looks up and you lock eyes with her. She looks a bit surprised but smiles. Before she has the time to get to you two you lean over to Clint and whispers: 

“Tell her the truth!” 

“Hey guys, what do you have there Clint? Finding another friend?”

“Actually, Emily, I returned the bird. It just didn't work out.” Clint says and puts his head down. 

“What really? Well, sometimes some things aren't just meant to be and his soul just wasn't connected to yours. It was a good thing you returned him! He hasn't found who is ment for him just yet.”

“Same applies to you Clint. Hopefully it's this little thing.” You say and look down at Jerry who has snuggled up in his cat carrier. 

"Oh, what a cutie. I get the vibe you two are a much better fit actually.” Emily smiles before she looks back at the saloon. “Well, I have to go.” 

“Yeah, I have an order to put in.” You say and Emily laughs. You part with Clint and his cat and follow Emily to the saloon. 

While you wait for your food you hope that the bird finds a home just like Jerry did with Clint, You with your cats and Emily with her parrot. There is always someone for you out there. You just never know when or how you will meet them.

[echantedtoon]

(John) Doe Eyed Ch5 Doe Date

(Art of Smore above by me)

This was possibly the happiest point of her life. She's never felt so happy before. 

The next day she got up and ready for her date. It's been so long since she's actually gone out on one you know. And this guy was pretty cute. And she didn't sense any red flags from him, at least not yet. That's what dates were for y'know. To get to know someone else and see if you meshed well enough to start a relationship. He seemed nice enough and was honest when she asked him things. Which was more than she could say about others she went out with. Also she kinda promised him that she would give him a chance. Even if they didn't mesh them they could be friends, and she could definitely use some friends other than Rose in this new place. So she got up and got herself ready and headed out the door. Only to blink and pause.

Doe was already there.

He was right there at the bus stop outside her apartment. As soon as he saw her he gave a full armed wave. After a moment Fae shook her head moving a few long white locks of hers before smiling and approaching him.

"John! You're here! I wasn't expecting you so early! I thought you were going to call me first! I did give you my number!"

"I wanted to see you!," He gushed as she approached clasping his hands in front of him smiling widely, "Did you get the gift I left you?"

She blinked. "Huh? What gift?"

He suddenly looked a bit nervous. "Er... Nevermind. That'll probably come later."

She shook that off. "Well anyways, Im a bit hungry." She gestured to the left. "How about we head over to a small burger place near here? It has pretty good food."

He instantly nodded. "I'D LOVE TO!!"

She giggled again and grabbed his hand Which made his eyes go wide. "C'mon. I'll show you where it is."

Fae pulled him along behind her..and his expression became more love struck almost melting in her hold and pupils changing into red hearts. She pulled him along with her a few streets over and stopped at the small food court. Sweet! They were already selling burgers! She bought two of them, one for herself and Doe. Both ended up just sitting on a nearby bench with said food.

"So John?" He looked at her in question as he ate, cheeks puffed out as he ate. "What do you do for work?" He tilted his head with a questioning brow. "Y'know. Work? I work at the gas station you met me. Where do you work?"

He smiled. "Oh! I don't work anywhere!"

"Oh...So you work from home? Or are you self employed?" 

"You could say both!"

"That's pretty cool! I dunno many people who are self employed. So are you like a web designer or a constructor?"

"I am..." he stopped to blink and gain a thoughtful look. Seeming to wonder how to say something before smiling again. "I am a collector!"

"Oh? Oh! You mean you work with collectables?" That was pretty good for a job. The right market for whatever collectors were looking for could be worth thousands of dollars if not more. "What kind of collections do you work in? Cars? Antiques? Figurines?"

"All kinds of stuff! I find lots of things!" He then took another bigger bite of the burger. Oh. So he dabbled in all kinds of things? Neat. 

"That actually sounds pretty cool. It must be pretty hard to find some rare items I bet! I had a few jobs myself. Before working at the station I was a housekeeper for a hotel but before that I worked at a Dollar T.J.'s for a bit. I wanted to be an artist but unfortunately money, time, and college really put that plan down the drain. I-I still do it professionally just..more freelance." Fae cleared her throat as she caught him staring at her. "S-Sorry. You probably don't like me rambling on about things." 

"Oh no!" She blinked as he smiled widely. "I like it when you talk to me!"

She blinked surprised. "Really?" He nodded. No one had ever told her THAT before. "Oh. Ok! Um...So why did you decide to become a collector?"

"I like finding things! You never know what you dig up!" Oh. That seemed like a good enough reason. He tilted his head at her. "What do you like?"

"Oh...Well I like lots of things." She rambled on counting on her hands. "I like mystery movies especially Sherlock Holmes movies, it's fun to try and guess who's the criminal. I also like drawing of course but you could probably guess that by now. Walking around and seeing everything is pretty good too I guess." She smiled wider at him. "I also like rabbits. I even have one back home. His name's Smore. What about you? And pets?"

He shook his head. "I like baby rats!"

Rats? ...Well some people had mice and rats as pets. She guessed it wasn't much too different from a hamster or gerbil. "Oh. .. Can't say I share that sentiment but everyone likes different animals. What do you like to do for fun?"

"Walks. And collect things!"

"What kind of things do you collect?"

"Anything I find interesting. Sometimes bottles. Sometimes furniture. It depends on if I like it." Seemed like he was pretty open to a lot of things. That was a good thing.

"I like collecting things too!"

"You do?" He lit up.

Fae nodded. ''I like collecting cute little things to decorate my room or murder mystery books or movies. I also like getting art supplies."

"AMAZING!!"

She ended up giggling at him which made him smile more. "I guess so. But I do have one question. What made you want to ask me out?" He again tilted his head as she gestured to herself. "I don't really get asked out a lot, usually people aren't very interested in my .. strange looks."

"I LOVE HOW YOU LOOK!!" She blinked back to him as he gushed. "You look so pretty!! And you're so nice to me! I like that!"

....Fae blinked. "You mean.." Her brow raised. "You .. Don't think my hair being white is weird? Or makes me look weird?" He shook his head. "Really?"

"Really! I've seen much, much, MUCH weirder things! And as a human you look so normal to me!"

As a human? Strange way of putting it but still..the message was so...nice. She hadn't ever heard someone else be so..Normal about her strange looks or the nearly constant eye bags she had. That was...so nice of him. 

"That... might've been the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

He blinked. "Really? I'm so happy to be the first one to say that!"

"Yeah..Um." she shook her head bashfully looking away. "So what exactly did you wanna do after this?"

He again seemed to think for a moment. "....I like TV! You like movies! Ms. Ivy once told me the library lets you have movies! Let's get some and watch them together!"

Fae's smile grew wider. "Y-Yeah! That's not a bad idea! I can introduce you to Snore too! You'll love my bunny! He's like super friendly!"

"I'D LOVE TO!!"

The rest of the day was so, so happy! She never felt so...heard out by someone before. It was nice to have someone who actually listened to what she had to say. They took that trip to the Library and got those movies. Although she had him pick out a few too. It wouldn't be fair if she picked all of them. He picked up a documentary on...rodents? And some cartoon of a cooking rat? Well different people had different likes. However there was one weird thing that happened when she lead him to her apartment. Smore had initially hoped up to said door, but had taken one look at John, squeaked out in terror, before running his way up the stairs back towards the second floor of the apartment. 

"Smore!? Hey, wait!...That was so weird. Usually he's really friendly." She turned back to John who blinked. "I guess he's just skittish being in a new place. I'll just go get some snacks. Why don't you just go ahead and put in one of the movies?" She gestured to the TV. 

He happily nodded and made his way over towards it as Fae smiled and went into the kitchen. She remembered she bought chips and stuffed them on top of the fridge. As she walked in a foul rotting smell instantly hit her making her recoil and stumble back. A hand quickly flew to her mouth and she nearly screamed when she looked around and saw the source of the smell on the floor. Some kind of.. rotten bloody meat mess was there on her floor.

"EW! What is that?! It smells so bad!" Oh gods she felt like she was going to vomit out the Burger she ate. "Oh gods. I think Im going to be sick."

UCK!! She..She must've accidentally left out some meat and forgotten about it and it went bad as a result. She coughed a few times covering her nose and stumbling to the cabinets for cleaning supplies. She needed to get it cleaned up first. It's amazing what some trash bags and bleach could do and after a while it was gone and all cleaned up. The smell faintly lingered in the air alongside the bleach but it was certainly better than what it was a few moments ago. Once done she was able to get the snacks and walk back into the living room where John was waiting for her. He smiled and patted the seat next to him and she smiled sitting down and handing him one of the bags of chips. Which he happily accepted it. The movie with the cooking rat was on and she relaxed back to watch it with him. This was nice. 

And it continued to be.

That date turned into agreeing to lunch next week. Which turned into going to the movie theater three days after that. Which turned into a movie marathon night a week after than. Which turned into a picnic two days later. He was honest and open and listened to her. It was...so refreshing! He was also so... Different. But in a way she loved. He seemed confused sometimes or didn't understand some things at first but that wasn't a deal breaker at all. He also seemed clingy and a bit too eager to hug and hold hands but she kept reinforcing her boundaries and he seemed to get it after awhile. Just resulting in holding hands and the occasional hugs or cuddling . It was..so nice. He was even nice enough to gift her something-

"This is for you!" She blinked as he held up an old slightly dirty glass cherry cola bottle. "You said you liked cherries!"

Fae blinked..but accepted it slowly with a smile. "Aw. How sweet. It looks pretty old too. Maybe an antique." She smiled wider holding it to herself. It'll be a cute little vase to put some fake flowers in after she cleaned it up a little bit. "And you remembered what I said I liked. That's so sweet of you."

She then leaned over and his eyes widened in awe as two soft lips pressed against his cheek. She smiled at him and watched as his hand slowly reached up to touch his cheek where she kissed him... Before breaking out into the biggest grin she'd ever seen on him and squealed out as he suddenly hugged her to him.

"I LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU!!"

"You seem happy."

Fae blinked out of her day dream and blinked back to her cousin whom smiled knowingly at her. Rose had stopped by her work on her way to make a delivery and Fae had spaced out happily for a moment. Typical Fae.

"What's got you smiling like that?"

Fae blinked before smiling wider. "Oh nothing much. It just might be that...Well.." she suddenly smiled wider and gushed out. "I MET SOMEBODY!!"

Rose blinked before she too broke out in a large grin. "You're serious? Who?!'

"His name's John!," Fae explained with a smile, "We met on the bus! Oh Rose! He's perfect! He's so sweet and cute! And he listens to me all the time and so thoughtful! I've honestly never met anyone like him!"

"Hey! That's amazing news! I'm so happy for you! I'll have to stop by sometime and meet him myself just to see the man who's making my cousin smile like a clown on laughing gas."

She'd love to introduce her boyfriend to her family! But she'd ask him first to see if he was comfortable with the idea first. They were supposed to meet up again that Saturday so she'd ask him then. However an unexpected storm rolled in. Rain thundered out. Lightning clashed across the sky. And dark clouds the sky. She hoped John was doing ok. She know he said he didn't have a phone but she wished he could call her, even from payphone to cancel plans or at least let her know he was ok. She's been waiting for nearly two hours now on the sofa waiting for John. She certainly hoped he wasn't caught up in the storm. Maybe he was just running late? Smore wasn't helping at all just cowering upstairs. ...Funny. He did that whenever John was around too which was strange. He was usually so friendly to everyone he met- She was pulled out of her thoughts as a soft knocking sound came from the door making her instantly look up. She barely heard it from over the ran and thunder.

"John!"

She lit up immediately and bounded to the door throwing it open only to see... Nothing? She blinked as nothing but the inside of her building met her. Dark but lit up whe

never lightning struck out lightning it all up briefly. But...no one was there? Was she just hearing things? Fae flinched when a loud prr like sound came from by her feet making her look down.

And she shrieked as a giant single eyeball blinked up at her.

[thenotsosecretdiaryofbiyu]

2024年7月28日-- The love of my life, Stationmaster Mikan! Plus a temple parade

GUESS WHO’S IN KAOHSIUNG? That’s right, it’s me!

But before we all got on the bus to get here, I ate breakfast at our hotel. I went alone today because I went super early (I’m sick and unfortunately when I’m sick, I can’t sleep for too long). And I had a super sweet old lady come up to me to chat a bit and she told me I was cute and pretty!! I also had her and the lady at the breakfast check-in counter tell me my Chinese is really good, which always feels good :))

But after breakfast, it was onto Kaohsiung! Our most important stop here was to visit the city’s resident celebrity, stationmaster Mikan– the adorable orange tabby!! What a little cutie, no wonder he had so many groupies crowding around to see him. So many people had shirts designed after him, and the station was even selling merch like washi tape and bags with his little face all over them! Apparently he only comes to the station once a month, and we got super lucky because the ticket people gave us the special opportunity to take a group picture with Mikan!! Poor little guy was a bit camera shy at first though, but he was a good sport and eventually we got a picture with him.

After our visit with Mikan, Brooke, Jasmine, Amy, and I got roped into a 拜拜-ing a random deity at a temple? There was a parade happening with tons of music, firecrackers, and free drinks. We were all watching it from the cafe next to the temple, when one of the men helping run the parade came up to us and asked us if we wanted free drinks. I said sure, but then after we went to grab them, they whisked us into the temple to 拜拜, except no one understood what was going on but me (and only kind of) because they were only speaking Chinese LOL. Next thing we knew, we were placing the food and drinks they gave us down at the altar to offer them to whatever deity the temple was there for and then we were all bowing, turning around and then bowing again. Then they let us off on our way. Brooke told me later that they recorded us, and I can only imagine how funny we looked.

There was also a karaoke event going on in the area as well, and Eli mustered up the courage to get up there and sing! We had some trouble figuring out the book at first though (I literally heard the lady basically tell the onlookers in Chinese “Sorry they’re foreigners, they don’t know what they’re doing” LOL). He ended up picking the first English song he recognized “Put Your Head on Your Shoulder” but he didn’t know the tune too well haha.

After that we went to our hotel to check in! That night, a lot of us went to get sushi and Andy refused to speak Chinese so I was the resident translator for the night lol. It wasn’t too bad, my Chinese is a lot better than I give myself credit for, and as long as I’m not nervous I do pretty well. The most notable parts of that experience were Iris accidentally pouring soy sauce into her tea (and her pranking Andy by giving him some to try haha) and my strangely sweet miso soup??? Apparently the actual sushi was good, but my food was very mid. It was a cute place though, and not too far from the hotel!

[lilliesforya]

2024

It is the new year! And I am back in my middle school teacher’s room. I am wearing three shirts. One of them is heat tech and I am still not warm enough. I am wearing my fleece jacket over them. Japanese buildings aren’t designed to retain heat and neither am I (lose-lose situation). Also, windows and doors are randomly open (for air circulation) throughout the school so the hallways are usually freezing. 

My winter break was really fun and it felt much longer than ~2 weeks. For the week of Christmas, I was in Kobe. This is a loaded statement for sure but it was actually really fun and exactly what I needed to recontextualize my experiences there in the past. I was really excited to travel there but was insanely nervous about seeing my host parents again. I was scared my Japanese would be worse than before, my demeanor too shy, my wounds too visible, etc. They had very graciously invited me to come visit them for Christmas so despite everything I knew that I had to go. I got to take a bullet train from Tokyo down to Kobe. It only takes about 3 hours! The train moves so fast I can barely look out the window. It made me nauseous at random times during the trip but nothing too bad. The stop before Kobe is Osaka, and once I heard it on the announcements I was akin to a cut that would not stop bleeding. I could not stop crying and I wasn’t even particularly sure what was wrong. I was worried my whole trip would be me crying in various places (I did cry in at least 2 or 3 different places). However, when I got off the train and made my way into the station I was surprised by two of my friends who came to greet me. They were so excited to see me and were dripping with happiness about the week of break we were all going to spend together. I knew as soon as I saw them that this trip was going to go differently than I thought. They took me to Sannomiya (the main city) and we ate soup dumplings (Motomachi is the third largest Chinatown in Japan). I did not feel empty. I was not filling a hole. I was just at dinner with my friends. 

Later in the evening when I made my way to my host parents house I was incredibly on edge again, like my body was a livewire. Even in the dark, getting off at my old station and seeing my bridge (full of lights) was unbelievable. I thought I had missed the bus again too which would have been really funny but I had just made it. It pulled away quickly after I boarded. I found this symbolic but was distracted by not knowing if I would recognize my bus stop name. Luckily, the body remembers and as soon as the bus made the right turn I knew it was my stop (and I sort of recognized the name). I remembered where the house was too. I was crying which was embarrassing but I couldn’t help it. My thing has always been feeling too much, too big, and too often. My host mom just chuckled at me when she opened the front door and gave me a hug. My host parents have a little puppy now and that was really fun for me because I miss my dogs. The dog looks like a labradoodle puppy and his name is Kalia. Me and the other ALT who was staying with them, tried teaching the dog English the whole week. Things like “sit” and “You’re so cute”. It was very lovely to be in a house with other people. 

I managed a LOT of activities during my week. Seeing the Akashi- Kaikyo bridge and going on the observation deck, seeing Suma beach, going to the Kobe Herb Gardens (on Christmas!), eating my way through Motomachi (Chinatown), shopping in Sannomiya, visiting Konan University, seeing Kobe Harborland, having KFC for Christmas with my friends, going out to Alchemy (foreigner owned bar), and even a whole day for Universal Studios Japan. It was busy and fun and I spent way too much money, but the trip was special and very healing for me so what's done is done. Happy Grief is Over to all who celebrate!

[umichenginabroad]

Week 7 : Final Trip to Milan

Ciao! This comes a bit later than usual, but this week brought some fun experiences. I kayaked around the Ieranto Bay for my work experience and I went to Milan during the weekend! 

During my work experience, I had to visit the Ieranto Bay. This is a bay near the town of Nerano around 40 minutes away by bus. The hike takes around 40-45 minutes (a little longer on the way back up). Another intern and I were given a tour of the bay and helped sample algae. The hike up was difficult with the heat, but definitely worth it! 

This weekend was my only visit to Northern Italy and I was interested to see how different it is from the south. You can get to Milan by train or by plane, but we decided to go by plane as it takes less time and is around the same price.

Our first night in Milan, we got to see the Duomo at night and walk around the city. The city is a bit more modern than others I have been to in Italy, but there is an older part of the city as well. 

Our second day in Milan, we went to take pictures in front of the Duomo and visit the Galleria. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is one of the oldest malls and has various designer stores such as Louis Vuitton, Prada, and Gucci. While I definitely did not do any shopping there, it was still gorgeous to see! We also visited the Starbucks Roastery in Milan and grabbed a coffee.

We then went to the Santuario di San Bernardino alle Ossa, just near the duomo, and headed for lunch. We ate at the Terrazza Aperol, which has a beautiful view of the Duomo. Be prepared to pay a lot for your drink if you go here! I had a smoked salmon salad which was pretty refreshing to have after so much pasta! 

To move around the city we used the metro. It is pretty simple to use and you can get a three day pass for just 13 euros. After our lunch, we went to the Sforzesco Castle and walked through Parco Sempione. If you walk all the way through the park you will reach the Arco della Pace. It was intriguing to see how it was very similar to the arc that we had visited in Barcelona. 

Later, we went to the Naviglio Grande, a smaller area near a canal. There were a lot cute stores and boutiques to look out. We took the metro back and got ready for dinner. That night we ate at Osteria Da Fortunata. This restaurant is known for its freshly made pasta and it was delicious! I had the Fettuccine Al Rago, but I would also recommend the gnocchi.   

The next morning, we got tickets to go inside the Duomo and its terrace. The view of Milan from the terrace was so nice. The city looks never ending from the top of the Duomo! We then took the metro to the Milan Central Station and got on a shuttle to the airport from there. As this was our last trip of our time abroad, we were a bit sad to leave as we wish we could’ve explored around Northern Italy more.

Only three more weeks left!

Josefia Frydenborg

Environmental Engineering

Engineering in Sorrento

[dangans-ur-ronpas]

watched the playthrough. thoughts and spoilers:

ryuji is really sweet but the game does him so dirty. for real

also funny how ryuji's persona progression was pirate (ok makes sense) >> the monkey king (i suppose it works thematically?) >> diego (mr worldwide?)

i shouldnt judge personal progression based on pokemon evolution but it is silly to me. just a bit. like makoto's was a bike that became a transformer that went back to being a cooler bike...haru's was a lady -> skull lady -> big dress lady

i wish ann's persona fit didn't. look. like that...i get why it could be justified narratively but like. come on

makoto is crazy useful gameplay wise but an absolute shit driver narratively

it's so funny how every single big bad here can be traced back to the biggest bad, a bald man with a political agenda

actually how most of the bad people from behind the scenes are just old rich men. accurate i suppose

also funny is how akechi is depicted as ultra handsome but he's just a cookie cutter anime twink

the protag is also a cookie cutter anime twink but because he wears glasses he just looks normal. superman clark kent type physics

he doesn't even need those glasses. what's the point

the gameplay itself was fun to watch. it was overstimulating in its excess of anime and sometimes bewildering in its mechanics but the music was good and i like the menu ui design

the romance options piss me off. why does the protag have the option to romance his teacher and not ryuji. sigh

poor haru. her confidant line involves her admitting she may or may not have a crush on the protag and the options essentially boil down to 'i want you' to 'die'...is there not a nicer way to let her down please

i love futaba she is just like. me. i want nothing but the best for her she is like a sister tome. also her splash art is so cute

the voice acting is really good. like i was watching with the english dub but the voice acting is really very good, especially akechi's va

they never explain how a phone app suddenly started letting people into the mind palace system. was igor busy typing out java on his thinkpad. did development get outsourced

akechi???

also i dont understand how exactly shido's support team somehow manipulated the metaverse to make everyone forget about the phantom thieves...there was some stuff about a god in there and a big cup but i think i blanked out during this part. or maybe they had nothing to do with it and im just jumping the gum

mona gets three fakeouts about his death so everyone has to feel sad about him three different times. ryuji gets one fakeout and they all beat him up in the street can we give this boy some justice

i like how p5royal gives the protag back his annoying ass toxic boyfriend but also a mentally ill girlfriend yayyy <33 diversity win your polycule is fucked up

mona only just finds out he can turn into things other than a bus in literally the last arc before they all lose their powers for forever, further proving his status as the most useless player on the team

i like how the last confrontation with dr maruki involves just slugging him as hard as you can

dr maruki's hair looks way darker to me in the anime cutscenes than in the game

'me and my emotional support toxic tulpa situationship boyfriend'

i finally understand why i kept seeing heartwrenching yaoi fanart every february second now with themes around departure death betrayal and guns etc

the ending is very sweet. though im a little confused on why they had to take separate cars to get to the train station so they wouldn't get tailed...who is tailing you? and why?

akechi???????????????

fuck that cat

tl;dr: it was fun. i am now sick in the head

watching a persona 5 playthrough

[dykeomania]

a hinge/tinder date with ellie starts awkwardly. the realization that you, as wlw, have both succumbed to the dating network app craze is a hard, but inevitable pill that you both swallow. it's one that you get over once elllie meets you in the cafe, stumbling in, all haste and made of apologies. the red line ran late and because the red line was late, her transfer over to the orange line was also a bit delayed and then there was this guy who was being a dick and she had to yell at him a little and it took up so much time and she misread which coffee shop so she had to walk from point a to point b super fast and she is so, so so sorry, but honestly? you're kind of wrapped up in the fact that .. she's even cuter than her pictures. you can tell by how they're fading that her freckles have chosen to bloom a little bit differently this past summer, and that her hair is a little bit shorter. it's usually in a bun, or a half-bun, at least from what you've assumed from her pictures. but this time it's completely down. and she's got this brown corduroy jacket on, and blundstones, and loose jeans that have a carabiner attached to one of the loops (which really didn't make sense to you, in retrospect -- she took the train, why does she have her car keys? gay signaling, you suppose) and she's honestly a little bit shorter than you'd imagined, but like... she's so fucking cute. so you're like, it's okay. i was kinda late too. as in, i got here 5 minutes ago. and you give each other a smile because you can't really be mad at each other, and once you stand, she asks you if you've ever been to the cafe before.

she pays for your coffee, and takes you on the best goddamned tour of boston that you think you've ever been on. you base this not off of the amount of places that you go to, but purely just based off of vibes. you spend too much money in chinatown because the food is so good and so outrageously inexpensive. you sunbathe, bond, and pet dogs in the boston common. you get hot cider, and take a walk along the charles river, and chat shit for ages. you learn that she doesn't really know where home is, but her dad who isn't really her dad lives in wyoming with her uncle who isn't really her uncle. you learn that she's the first in her family to go to college, and originally, she chose BU, but switched over to MIT because the physics program is better. you're like, well what do you wanna do? and she's like, honestly? i have no fucking idea. but she tells you about how when she was little, she wanted to be astronaut and if the stars align and she gets her internship at NASA this summer, maybe she'll see it through. you make jokes about lesbians in space, and almost burn your tongues. the chill in the air tells you that it's probably time to get away from the water, so you get up and start walking again.

by this point, she's content with handing off her jacket to you and easily waltzes around in the black t-shirt she's wearing with some logo in the upper right corner and a design on the back. the hair has inevitably gone up in a bun. and by this point, you've kind of walked around the same circle, over and over and over again. so randomly you're like, it's such a flex, being able to go to mit or harvard. and she's like, well you could technically go there. and all the sudden you're giving each other looks and then all the sudden you're dipping into the nearest mbta station and she's bought your train ticket and now you're hopping from the orange line, to the red line (which is surprisingly up and running, thank fucking god)

ellie's actual dorm is a single, and therefore a shoebox. but the building, and mit's campus, is huge. you walk around a little just for vibes and she shows you where she cried over her midterm last week and where she did homework literally less than 48 hours ago. but the second the sun dips, you're back in her room, and the lighting is low. you talk music, and she plays you a couple of songs off of her mac -- some that she puts you onto, some that are so familiar to the two of you that you both wind up singing it to each other. you talk, and talk, and talk, and eventually you're like, you play guitar? and then she's playing you guitar when you sit across from her on her bed, and then suddenly, she's playing you your favorite song. and she's singing it in a tone that's a lot gentler. a lot shyer. and this is like, the moment where 12 year old you is looking at you now-age you and is like, this is your coming of age romance moment. this is it. and suddenly, it becomes so still. and suddenly ellie's complimenting the color of your eyes. and suddenly, you're close enough to realize that ellie's eyes are actually like 4 different colors. and suddenly, you can feel the heat of each other's faces, and suddenly you can feel the small bit of damage that the cold has done to her lips against your own, and suddenly you're reaching for each other's faces and she's got to move her guitar off her lap--

when you wake up the next morning, it's kind of a blur. ellie isn't there, but she didn't wake you. she instead left you a note. something about how she has a 9am. something about how she'd love to do this again sometime. something about texting her when you get home. there's a bagel and a green juice from her campus cafe with your name on it, and she doesn't necessarily imply that you have to return the shirt that you slept in.

your friends have your location and they notice you've been in one sector of town for far too long. on your way out of her dorm, you check your text messages. the main one that pestered you into actually going forward with the date asks you, so, how was it?

and you smile you sip your green juice, and text her back with one hand saying, it was good. but then you pause, hit the backspace key a few times and correct your phrase to, it was great.

[spectreleaders]

au where Rey is a hitchhiker with nothing but the clothes on her back and a small backpack of stuff, surviving on her own ingenuity & the goodwill of others

it’s a cold Thanksgiving, and Ben offers to take her to his parents’ house, at least for a bite to eat.