#but i'll take a break here -- it's like half past 6 in the evening

[tmf-confessions]

confession #236

"daisy defender-" what are you defending daisy for??? being a sweetheart??????? being the unproblematic peace maker????

[winterzsurprise]

Change My Mind [6]

Pairing: BTS x reader

SUMMARY: As a make-up artist, you were expected to glamorize your clients with brushes and products that cost a week-worth of food, not to befriend them outside of work, let alone have them save you from dates yet here you are five years later as one of their closest confidants.

Being a stylist of the world's biggest boyband is no easy feat, someone is doing flips, someone can't stay still and one's asleep but its fine, you can work around their chaos but then one day, you find out they're all your soulmates, a whole different can of chaos you don't think you can handle.

Tags: Soulmates AU, Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, Not Beta Read, Slow Build, Polyamory, Attempts at Humor

Words: 6.9k

If you weren't able to catch the author's note, update will be very slow due to my campus enrolling us to a government extracurricular that spans for three months so updates with be VERY slow until then. Sorry this one took long, had to remove one chunk out of this chapter so I could have it posted as soon as I could. Also ik the last chapter's ending was so rushed, I'll try to fix it once I get the time so for now, ignore that mess ;-;

EDIT: plenty of details edited out but nothing too important, also fixed a few mistakes.

Please vote Jimin in Visa Choice in MAMA voting and push Namseok to the top 10 for Fan's Choice award! STREAM I'LL BE THERE

<<Prev || MASTERLIST || Next>>

________

“Noona, please… Just turn around…”

“I would if I could, but I'm at my limit here!”

“I will break your fingers if you don’t move.”

“Try it and I’ll tell Namjoon you were the one who spilled alcohol on the book he was reading the other day!”

“Just turn around damn it!”

“I already am! I'm not gonna take a fucking peak!”

You're living through a nightmare.

Never in your life did you think working as a make-up artist for an up-and-rising boy idol group would eventually lead you to where you are now; with half of your body out of the bathroom with an arm stretched inside to hold Jimin’s hand that's also reaching out for yours while he stands in front of the toilet.

What are you, Bangtan's—The current biggest boyband in the world—makeup artists doing, holding onto one of the member’s hands while he’s in the bathroom exactly?

Soulbond strain, that’s what the doctor had said. That's what caused the constant fatigue you and Jimin were feeling yesterday which eventually caused you both to pass out from exhaustion. Due to how ill-informed they are of both your marks, they weren't aware of how fragile your new bond was and how much touching should be involved for the first few days.

So now, you are sentenced—sentenced because having to hold your soulmate's hand while you piss, and eventually, shower and shit is the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to you—to nonstop skinship with Jimin for a week. Though after a few days, your body could withstand not holding his hand for almost a minute and you hoped it goes past an hour when the week finally ends.

Today marks the last day you both will be confined to the hospital as they've finally cleaned up one of the spare rooms in the dorm so you could move in.

You were so glad you could finally eat something more nutritious than bland soup. It should be a talent to be able to cook a soup so tasteless it would even make a white person frown despite the numerous vegetables and meat on them.

Since Jungkook's Birthday, you found yourself more often than not staring at the ceiling after eating, dreaming about eating other food so intensely it's like you could taste them in your buds.

A few days have passed since you found out you were soulmates with your best friends but you still couldn’t wrap your head around it.

The thought that these five—possibly seven depending on Seokjin and Hoseok’s test results later today—down to earth, aphrodite-blessed men with even more beautiful traits were tethered to you is bizarre. The idea never fails to short-circuit your brain every time you think about it. 

And it's hard not to, not when you wake up sleeping next to the peaceful face of South Korea’s IT boy—with his arms wrapped around you and his head nuzzled under your chin; Its something you’re still trying to get used to as you’ve never dared to sleep while cuddling with your friends, no matter how tired you might be. It was far too intimate of an act, reserved for those who are romantically involved and for someone with feelings as fickle as yours back then, it was inappropriate.

Not that it mattered much now but it's still difficult to be comfortable with the domesticity of it all.

Save for Taehyung and Seokjin, everyone else has continued working, although you had advised a weary looking Hoseok to take a break, he insisted that he's fine whilst practically dragging himself out of the room. Namjoon had assured you that he'll watch over his hyung but you had threatened Yoongi for extra measures. 

Speaking of work, your friends have been blowing up your phone since Jungkook's birthday, asking why they were required to sign a whole different NDA and you told them about your soulmates. 

All of them reacted positively, Minhyuk had even pleaded to hear about how you discovered and had asked to be informed of all the latest happenings, from the courting, dates, and even the bedroom—something you had promised to hit him for once you're back to work.

But for now, you were stuck with a foot out of the bathroom and body turned to the opposite with an arm stretched far out to hold Jimin's hand as he finished his business. 

So far, there's been no accidental flashing, to which you've been thankful for. The whole ordeal is already awkward as it is with only having to hear each other pee.

Jimin couldn’t even jokingly flirt with you the whole time, far too mortified with the idea of both parties being able to hear the stream of piss to even bother coming up with jokes to lighten up the situation, nor could you dare look into his eyes after the first few times you both had to go through this. You had refrained from eating too much in fear of having to shit during the week but you knew it would eventually happen.

Especially since you both have been greenlit to eat take outs and Seokjin had generously offered to buy you both food—bless that wonderful, handsome man—and dragged Taehyung out with him. 

You had been hesitant to make a few demands at first because do you even deserve the kindness Seokjin is showing you after hurting him for years? But the man proved himself devoted once more when he listed down the food you’ve been craving desperately for without hearing it from your lips.

(Tae had joked that maybe it's the soulmate mark manifesting a little late and Jimin elbowed him for that.)

You didn’t even get to tell him not to bother when he began to loudly chant gibberish as he pulled Taehyung out of the room with him.

After all the babying and princess treatment you've been receiving in the short time of knowing you were soulmates, it's hard not to feel frustrated having your best friends become your beck and call when they—save for Yoongi—hadn't been doing so for the past few years. It was somewhat pressuring that you could ask Jungkook to brush his teeth and immediately drink orange juice and he'd do it without question, if not gargling the juice for a little while longer just because you asked him to do it. 

From living alone and getting used to doing things by yourself, to suddenly having five people who'd follow your whims almost blindly, was overwhelming and slowly becoming more annoying than it is helpful.

If it wasn't for the guilt from getting irritated, you would've blown up on the first day when most of your soulmates had refused to let you stand up and walk around the room in fear of having you collapse.

Sure you had passed out from the soulbond strain but that same bond rendered you invulnerable to most things, you're not about to die walking around the room with Jimin, Yoongs.

You couldn't fault Jungkook and Tae for wanting to baby you. Jungkook never had someone to pamper and spoil, and Taehyung only had Jungkook; Even then, it wasn't in a romantic way and Jungkook was also being taken care of by the others so he didn't need to do much. His ex and him didn't last long enough for when BTS’ fame had skyrocketed and he had more money than he could ever spend in his life and is quickly running out of things to spend it on.

Still, it was hard to take all the coddling. It was better when they treated you with the distance platonic relationships had granted you.

The sound of a zipper broke through the awkward atmosphere before the flush of the toilet came. With a tug on your hand, you stepped back into the bathroom to follow Jimin to the sink so he could wash his hand, eyes still refusing to meet.

God, how did a friendship where he could literally strip off to his underwear in front of each other could turn so awkward like this?!

After spraying his hands with an overloading amount of alcohol—”Noona that’s overkill, I’ve already washed my hands.” “That’s just water, I’m not letting you touch me with a hand only washed with water!”— you and Jimin returned to the bed, huddled next to each other as you both scrolled on social media with both your bare legs thrown over his.

There's been comments left on your instagram page asking for Jimin's health and you decided to reply to one comment to say that he's fine and recovering. Silencing the app, you move to twitter when the door suddenly opens and in comes Seokjin holding up two plastic bags of takeout, flexing them as if they were golden medals and you sit up.

“Your handsome savior has arrived with fries and actually good food!”

“Hi noona!” Taehyung greets as he steps out of Jin's shadow.

“Jin you're actually the most good looking man I've ever seen in this forsaken planet, did you get me cheese and sour cream flav—”

“Of course I did,” He scoffed, putting down two paper bags and one drink carrier on your bedside table before placing the rest on the table near the bathroom door. “Who do you think I am?!”

“He almost ordered it all in cheese until I reminded him that you wanted sour cream too, noona.” Taehyung chimes in with a grin as he closes the door, a hand hidden behind his back while he holds a covered cup in the other. 

Seokjin snapped his head towards him with an indignant ‘Ya!’, to which Tae only giggled at.

“You bought that heinous, god awful sweet tea with my money! How could you do this to me?!”

“I offered to pay but you—”

“WITH MY MONEY!”

Everyone only laughed and Jin trudged over with Jimin’s lunch in hand, offering it with an outreached arm and he took it. At least, he tried to. Jin suddenly raised his hand over his head. You watched as Jin continuously teased Jimin whose reach is limited due to the need to be holding your hand. 

Jimin then finally got a grip on the plastic bag’s bottom and suddenly, their fishing game became a tug of war.

“Wait wait wait! You're going to tear it! It's going to spill!”

“Just fucking give it to me, hyung!” Jimin grunt, tugging one last time and the side of the bag rips, immediately Jin lets go.

“Why would you pull that hard?!”

Jimin ignored him in favor of pulling out his container, which he realized is overwhelmingly little compared to your three packages.

“Hyung!” He screams with his bottom lip jut out, dragging out the word. “How come I only have one food package? I'm also a patient, you know?!”

“You didn't request anything.” Jin says nonchalantly, shrugging.

“We've been together for years hyung! You should've known what I wanted like you did noona! This is blatant favoritism hyung!”

Seokjin ignored him, handing you a large bowl of mixed flavored fries, a large boba tea, and a plastic container where an aroma of caramelized fried chicken is leaking out of it the moment it leaves the paper bag. Next to you, Jimin scoffed, incredulous as he crossed his arms.

“She gets fried chicken, fries and boba but I only get Jajangmyeon?!” 

Once again, he ignored the younger man, rolling his eyes as Taehyung bounds up to his disgruntled best friend to reveal the half occupied half empty paper beverage carrier hidden behind his back, grinning widely as Jimin’s face morphs into disbelieving betrayal.

“Wow, so this is how we do things now, huh? I can’t believe you’d do this to me when I’m a patient!” 

“I’m so sorry, you poor poor thing.” Taehyung pouts as he offers out the food and Jimin spared no time in swiping the bag from him.

With their bicker finally coming to an end and Taehyung comfortably sitting crossed legs at the foot of you and Jimin’s bed, you turned to your food.

After eating nothing but bland, runny soup since the night at Jungkook’s birthday, tasting the cheddar almost made you tear up. You had taken advantage of the privilege of tasting far too long, being able to finally ingest something else felt euphoric, as if you were given the chance to walk through the garden of eden.

Exaggerated much but it's the only way you could explain the feeling.

Wasting no more time, you dug into the french fries bowl. 

You hear Seokjin whisper something underneath his breath, sounding incredulous. You watched as he crossed over to Taehyung and snatched his cup, ignoring the younger man’s indignant yelp and took a sip.

Instantly, the mixed taste of cheddar and sour cream was washed away by the familiar taste of Taehyung’s heinous tea preference of illegal amounts of tea and milk. The harsh difference of the three flavors along with the texture of fries gliding on your tongue makes you gag. Your soulmates react, Jimin placing his food down to place his cupped hands under you as if trying to catch your puke while Tae flinches, about to reach over until he sees his brother already positioned to help you and turns to fetch you a glass of water instead.

“You ate too fast noona, try to chew it first.”

“You ate too fast noona, try to chew it first.” You mimic in a tone far too high to be his and Jimin rolled his eyes.

“Why are you being so annoying today?”

“I’m sorry I’m getting cranky after someone disrupted me eating—” Your words abruptly end as Jin suddenly surged in to hug you.

You look at Taehyung who’s staring longingly at his tea still in Jin’s grasp behind you before turning to a similarly perplexed Jimin mid-bite of his tteokbokki. Raising an eyebrow at him, he responds with a shrug before continuing to stuff food into his mouth.

But as you rested both hands on his shoulders, Jin suddenly sniffled.

“Jin?”

Alert, you gently push him off and your eyes meet with his misty pairs, matched with a teary smile stretching plush red lips. Your heart leapt to your throat as both his hands cupped your cheeks and kissed your forehead in under a second. But instead of getting a seizure or being struck with an overwhelming amount of pain, nothing happened.

Instead a warm feeling, akin to what the rest of your soulmates caused you, wrapped around you like a thick blanket and you froze.

Then, Jin stands with an excited yip and excused himself out of the room, leaving you and the others confused.

What?

You didn't need to look at Jimin or Tae to know they all had huge question marks hanging over their heads as they stared at where they last saw their hyung disappear out of the room.

Why didn't your body react from having someone kiss your forehead while your bonds were still unsettled? From what you've read, there's always a chance of it happening, yet even if your relationship with him stretched over years, there shouldn't be any reason why he's not causing you and Jimin pain.

Unless he's also a soulmate.

Immediately you were reminded of the time he had carried you and wondered why no one ever questioned why nothing fatal had happened when he had done that in the DFA. Even if it had everyone in a flurry of panic, someone should've noticed and questioned it right? Yoongi should have at least.

There was also that one time Hoseok had held your hand in the car, it was brief but it should've done something still with a Nexus bond as complicated and huge as yours. Yet like with Seokjin, nothing happened.

“What did I just watch?” Taehyung began and you wish you had the answer. “Did I just witness my soulmate get stolen by Seokjin hyung?”

“No,” Jimin says, eyes thoughtful as he looks at you before turning to the bathroom door. “I think we just discovered that hyung is also tethered to her.”

Both your head snapped to the man next to you.

In the small amount of time you stared at your soulmate, the pieces began to click as the cogs in your mind whirs with all the possibilities before it took you back to the moment the horrendous taste of Taehyung's tea violated your tongue. Your mouth falls into an ‘o’.

“Shared Tastebuds.” You mutter.

Jimin opens his mouth to ask you to elaborate when Seokjin reenters with a doctor following behind him, red faced but the blinding wide smile he wore was enough to make you forget he was crying not a second before. The doctor next to him looked ecstatic, eyes a little crazy at the newfound discovery.

“Congratulations, it seems that also Mr. Kim here is a part of your Nexus bond!” He says a little cheerily as he hugs the clipboard close to his chest. “It would do you all well to inform the rest of the group of this finding. From a professional standpoint, I do think that Mr. Jung has a huge chance of also being a part of your Nexus.”

To say you never had doubts that the other two members were a part of your nexus would be a lie, you had hoped they were but the absence of mark manifestation symptoms made it hard to believe they’ll be one of your soulmates.

Who knew all it took to find out if you and Jin were connected was eating while in the presence of each other? If you hadn’t fainted from the lack of food and the Soulbond strain, would you have found out about it earlier?

Was he the reason you’d taste the savory taste of a well-seasoned grilled meat or the sweet fizzling taste of a soda late at night yesterday?

Or is the bond you both have will allow for long distance sense sharing? There are two types of Shared Tastebuds after all.

“The results are due today right?” Jimin asks and the doctor turns to his watch.

“This afternoon I'm sure just before you both are discharged. But,” He turns to Jin. “For now I'll be taking Mr. Kim with me to register his soulbond and involvement in your Nexus.”

When they left again, the three of you remained unmoving, stunned. 

It must be Jimin’s touch that had kept you calm throughout the revelation because you didn’t know how to react. There’s no doubt joy in the hurricane of emotions swirling in your chest, as well as the pacifying effect from both your and Jimin’s touch overwhelming the rising stress and conflict at the back of your head, forcing and pushing them back into the shadows.

You knew you should be stressing over the possibilities of having seven soulmates and how you’d divide your time to be able to equally spend time with everyone, it was already difficult having five these past few days. More often than not, you found yourself suffering a headache caused by the constant noise and overwhelming sensations each individual soulmarks gave you. 

From the constant sounds of Namjoon’s heartbeat at the back of your head, and Jimin’s touch making your skin thrum, even the Amoneuron in your blood is having a hard time keeping you away from soulbond hyperactivity.

Someone’s phone erupted into a shrill scream, it was Taehyung’s. Picking it up, he automatically puts it on speaker and holds the end of the phone close to his mouth. 

“Is it true? Please tell me it’s not true! I’m already competing with most of my hyungs for noona’s time!”

“This isn’t a competition, gguk.” Yoongi drawled in the background. “Didn’t we already establish that? No fighting for her hear—”

“What soulmark do they have?!” 

“Manager Sejin is already on the way with a lawyer to handle the legal side of things, how are you guys doing right now? Is noona good?” Namjoon asks, sounding closer to the mic.

“She didn't faint if that's what you're asking about. If anything,” Taehyung turns to you. “She looks a little out of it.”

“How did it happen? Is it the test? Is it out already?” Hoseok's voice came through, nervous.

“Yeah we'll deliver it to you later also, remember hyung complaining about tasting something weird? Apparently he was tasting the hospital special soup—”

_______

On your dismissal, the doctor had handed the eldest their test results. Seokjin had thrown him out since he already knew what it'll entail but held on protectively on Hoseok's envelope.

Jimin had proposed a small celebration for the mark's manifestation for everyone, nothing too grand, just a few take outs appropriate for tomorrow’s dinner—because Jungkook and Tae had requested pancakes and waffles for whatever reason—and a small cake. 

With five—not counting Jimin as he insisted that you both sit the activity out and Hoseok who visited his sister but promised to return the next day to read his result at dinner—men at your disposal, boxing up and moving your items into their dorm was easy, even if Yoongi has noticeably slowed down the stairs carrying the same one box he’s picked up since earlier; not that you’d call him out on it but you knew Seokjin and Jimin would to do it instead.

If it wasn't for Jungkook's eagerness to have you move in, it would have taken you all longer than you had today.

It was surreal seeing the items in your home slowly decrease, the mass on your shelves and all the personality of every room disappear with every box filled. You had been staying in the same apartment since you were 21, to have its familiar sights and spots be slowly stripped off of its glow felt sadder than you thought it would be.

BigHit had requested your company friends do all the basic packing such as your clothes and products while you were at the hospital, it wasn't forced but they acted like it was anyway. They (read: Minhyuk and Nabi) had jokingly complained about being tasked with doing things your soulmates should’ve been doing, Minhyuk going as far as threatening to sneak off something into one of the boxes and you feared for your life for what that something might entail.

You offered to buy them anything they want the next time you all visit the mall in exchange for their full cooperation and Minhyuk had vowed to run your bank dry with a sly grin.

“It's not like you’d even need them anymore when you’ve got the world’s biggest boyband as your soulmates, might as well spend your hard earned money on important things; friends, especially me though.”

You wouldn't deny the fact that you tried dating Guwon with the hopes of living lavishly without lifting a finger but the world would have to bathe in fire and water before you'd let them buy you expensive things outside of food; that you accept because you'd be able to taste and experience delicious dishes. Not to mention, it's practical.

Having your furniture moved out as well was out of the question after an hour of argument with Jimin and Jin who insisted on having you buy new decorations, except for the books, trinkets, and plethora of BTS collection you were given by the members themselves every comeback.

You argued that you didn’t need them to buy new furniture when you already have working ones.

But that argument was easily disproved when the maknaes (plus you as an unwilling participant and Namjoon because: "hyung you’re big, we need to weight test it!") had jumped into your bed and the frames creaked and trembled.

He was right, as much as it pains you to accept it.

But just because he's right doesn't mean you agree with him.

In the end, with one against eventually all of them, you were due for furniture shopping with Jimin, Yoongi and Namjoon the next day. Today though, you were bunking with Jimin due to the need for constant skinship and the lack of bed in your new room.

You spent the better half of the afternoon unboxing and filling your closet with your items which barely filled two shelves out of six that were bolted onto the wall of the small well-lit room.

“Noona, your closet is a bit… barren.”

“The closets are just huge, I have plenty.”

“I’m concerned that you think this is plenty.” He says, thumbing the material of your cream cardigan.

“Don't you fucking dare Park Jimin.”

He smiled. “Who says I'm the one who'll do the buying? I don’t gift clothes noona, you should know that.”

After finding out your and Jin’s soulmark, you had thought deciding what you ate for dinner until the bond settled would be a hassle or until you both learn how to disable it. But Jin had simply agreed on your choices that night with a shrug of his shoulder.

And that amount of trust in whatever you’ll pick scares you in ways you never thought it would.

It's just a simple decision, one would say, but the ugly voices at the back of your head wondered if you even deserve this amount of consideration from him when you hadn’t noticed his lingering feelings for you for years.

But it seems like that fact has long been swept under the rug when the maknaes bounded up to you with mischief in their eyes.

Upon the realization that their Jin hyung would agree to almost anything you’d eat for a while, Jungkook and Taehyung wasted no second running up to you to propose the idea of ordering you a strawberry ice cream for dessert, claiming it was the only way to test their hyung’s love for her.

“You see noona, if hyung really loves you like he said he does, he would suck it up like the man he is.” Jungkook had reasoned to you with Taehyung nodding behind him and Jimin grinning mischievously next to you.

Fortunately for Jin, you don’t think forcing him to taste strawberry flavored things on the day he found out he wasn’t untethered would be a good decision despite the loud voice at the back of your head goading you to follow through their plan for fun.

But you promised the maknaes that you’ll do it someday.

Dinner was surprisingly uneventful with a few talks about the schedule changes and the rumors Jungkook had read and heard from his small friend group outside his brothers. If it wasn’t for the soft glow of gold at the edge of your vision from where your foot is resting on top of Jimin’s under the table and the faint outline of the red string of fate stretching across to Yoongi’s right pinkie, you would’ve tricked your brain into thinking it was a normal dinner with your friends.

With the words streaming out of Jungkook’s mouth, Tae and Jimin’s additional information and the scandalous gasp and widened eyes around the table once the pieces began to form a picture, you almost thought it was an average weekly dinner with your bosses.

But soon enough, plates are taken into the kitchen and Jimin is already pulling you up to your room, saying how he wants to take a shower and that you should take your toiletries.

Something you had dreaded since you heard the doctor had sentenced you to be in constant skinship with Jimin.

Why are you even nervous?! You had seen him and his brothers in their boxers from being one of their make up artists yet your heart had been thudding loudly in your ears the moment you had entered his room with your travel bag in hand.

Turns out, there was a truth in the saying “Ignorance is bliss” in the fact that knowing something could alter the way you think and perceive even the smallest of actions. In your case, knowing Jimin's your soulmate while facing the dilemma of showering together had you completely fucked up.

On the verge of a breakdown, half a foot on the ledge and the other hanging over the fall.

You had swam in public pools with him before but it was always with the presence of others, to be alone in a small room in nothing but your undies while maintaining skinship with your soulmate—

Isn't that a bit too intimate?

Will you even survive?

To stand half naked in a minimal space alone with Jimin, your heart might just collapse.

Seeing him in his underwear shouldn't faze you as much as it should. He and the others has stripped in front of you in a haste of changing into the next costume for the next performance but in the minimal space of his bathroom where you both are secluded away from the other dwellers of the building and he's already topless and is now unbuttoning and sliding the zippers of his jorts, the mass in your throat kept on thickening with the tension in the air.

Your eyes roamed the soft, flatness of his stomach; from up his lightly freckled bare chest and down to the thin trail of hair down his abdomen. The prominent bones of his adonis belt had your throat drying up.

Seeing him topless shouldn't affect you the way it should yet you found yourself heating up at the sight of them.

When he begins to remove his pants, you force yourself to look away, cheeks burning hot as you thumb the top buttons of your—Taehyung’s—polo before beginning to undo them all with your heart thudding loudly in your ears.

The string tied to your finger lights up in a rhythmic beat, persistent and hurried. Wrapping your fingers around it, Yoongi's loud concern immediately washes over your body. You respond to him by pushing down reassurance down the lane and the thread dulls from one side.

“Did hyung contact you?”

You turn to Jimin, already stripped down to his boxers.

God is really testing you today, putting a handsome man in his underwear in front of you and tempting you to let your gaze fall down for a glimpse of his thick muscled thighs you always saw through the fabric of his skinny jeans.

“Ye-yeah, nothing to worry about though. Give me your foot, I need to remove my shirt.”

Obediently, he puts his foot forward and you step on it before making quick work of your shirt. You feel his burning gaze roam your skin and you shiver from its intensity.

By the time you had your pants pooling on the floor alongside his, your heart is thudding uncontrollably in a way that might concern Namjoon at how fast it's going.

Why is the calming effect of Jimin's touch absent when you need it?

“Ready to go?” 

You almost jumped at how hoarse his voice had gotten but recovered quickly and nodded, stepping first into the shower and twisting the valve towards the hotter temperature. Jimin hissed the moment the water touched his skin, breaking the stifling tension for a moment.

“How are your skin not burning off?! It's so hot!”

You rolled your eyes. “You're being dramatic, it's not that hot.”

“It is! The mirror is literally steaming!” He exclaimed, pointing at the long horizontal mirror above the sink which is indeed, fogging up. 

Jimin then leaned over, his naked chest touching your back. Goosebumps prickled your skin and you barely stopped the urge to shiver as he manipulated the valve until he was satisfied with the temperature. When he steps back, you finally let out the breath you didn't realize you were holding.

Hearing your exhale, he laughed lightheartedly. The fucker did it on purpose.

Trying to ignore the thumps of your racing heart, you busied yourself with the task of washing your hair. You reached for the shampoo bottle and popped open the cap, body still facing the wall.

“Noona.”

You looked over your shoulder and Jimin was scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

“Can I wash your hair for you?” He shyly asks, his sly attitude from earlier nonexistent. “I've never done that with someone else before. I-I’ve always wanted to do that now and now that we're soulmates, I was–I was wondering if maybe I–we could—”

“Not even with that girl you’ve dated before?”

He shook his head. “We were too busy to do something like that, noona. Idol lives and all that. It's one of the reasons why we broke up.”

“She was pretty nice though.”

His lips quirks up. “Don’t get jealous noona, you’re my soulmate after all.”

You hit his shoulder and he brought his arms up to shield himself, giggling. “Do you want to wash each other’s hair or not?!”

Despite your agreement, you were beyond nervous as you handed him the shampoo and turned around to shut the shower off. The string on your finger thrummed once more, still concerned as your heart leapt up to your throat when Jimin's fingers began to thread and scrape his nails against your scalp.

A thrill of pleasure shoots down your spine and you hold back the urge to mewl as he begins to put more pressure on his motions.

It stayed like that for a while and you reveled in the pure domesticity of it all. 

When Jimin retracts his hands, you reach for his shampoo and order him to turn around.

“What if I don't want to?” He challenges with a mischievous smirk.

“If it gets in your eyes, it's your fault.”

He giggled and shrunk down to your height, to which you hit his shoulder for and he laughed, standing back up. 

“Can you even reach the top of my head like this?”

“Fine but don't complain about your knees hurting, you wanted this.” You jokingly say as he bends his knees once more, a playful lilt in his eyes.

Once you lathered the shampoo enough, you began. 

You’ve seen multiple couples on screen shower together and had once wondered how it’d felt having someone to help reach the spots you couldn’t as well as do those domestic things such as brushing your teeth together and just washing each other in general. The actors always made them natural and romantic, with the soft lighting bouncing off their skin and their laughter ringing in the small space.

But showering with Jimin is anything you’ve ever thought of.

Against the other members, Jimin is easily dwarfed by them, matched with the constant jokes about his height, it's easy to forget that the man is still taller than the average man. He towered over you, his eyes intense and lit with a playful sultriness. His lips twisted into a mischievous smirk as he bent his knees low enough where you could touch the top of his head without risking a stiff neck or standing on your tiptoes.

He’s peering up at you yet you feel smaller under his gaze.

He had always done this, getting into your face while you retouched his makeup. In a way, it was nice that you’re slowly regaining the normalcy 

But it's not appreciated when he’s doing it when you’re already fighting demons trying so hard not to ogle at his body and explode from how flustered you are.

“Are you seriously getting flushed now noona? We’ve done this plenty of times already, why now?”

Is he seriously asking you that?

He laughed. Your thoughts must’ve reflected on your face.

“Didn’t know you’d be affected by something as normal as this. Don’t you see us naked at least every other day?” He asks with a quirk to his eyebrow and you narrowed your eyes further at him.

“You know damn well why,” You say, slapping his shoulder before turning to open the shower once more. Laughing when the water burst open above him, cutting him off from replying.

With the tension dissolving with the shampoo on his hair, a playful grin replaced the coy smirk and with his newly washed hair, he grabbed your arms in an iron grip and began to shake his head at you, flicking water from his hair and onto you.

When he was done, he then pulled you into the stream with a bubbling laugh as he watched the shampoo suds dissolve with the water. But with both your arms pinned in place, you weren't able to wipe your eyes and had them closed the moment he had you under the shower head.

“I'm—I’m going to put chili in your fucking water, I can't see!”

With sorrys in between fits of giggles, Jimin reached up to wipe your face for you when he realized this.

Shower with Jimin sailed smoothly from that point on. After his teasing, he made no more attempts to fluster you, even when he was scrubbing your back a little longer than it should've taken. 

He had, however, made comments on how many steps there are for you to shower.

“Why do you need to shampoo twice, use soap AND body wash? It’s not like you’d ever get sick anymore when I’m here.”

You just rolled your eyes and told him to leave if he’s going to complain about your routine. Eventually though, you speed through your routine due to him whining about how he’s starting to feel cold, lightheaded—to which he dramatized by leaning his hurting head on your shoulder—, and is suddenly sleepy.

Changing into your pajamas was a little hard as you attempted to do it all under the safety of a towel while also maintaining skinship with Jimin every other ten seconds who's also doing the same.

You managed somehow and soon enough, you both situated yourselves into the bed, with your legs thrown over his and backreading the bangtan gc that had awakened the moment Jimin had his phone.

Surprisingly, even Jungkook was active.

           [21:24] Mimi: It's so weird tae            [21:24] Mimi: I’ve never seen someone use soap AND body wash THEN washes their hair t w i c e            [21:24] Hoba: I do that…            [21:25] Mimi: That’s expected hyung, you’re a neat freak.            [21:25] You: Why are you so weird about me being clean?!            [21:26] Mimi: ITS PSYCHOPATH BEHAVIOR            [21:26] Jinnie: hoba I think he just called you a psychopath            [21:26] Hoba: 🙁            [21:27] Ggukie: NOW YOU MADE HYUNG SAD            [21:27] Hoba: 🙁            [21:27] Hoba: you think im weird jimin-ah?🙁            [21:27] Yoongs: why is this even a conversation            [21:27] Joonie: Jimin just because you don’t do it, doesn’t mean it's unorthodox.            [21:28] Minnie: you’re one of them, are you hyung?!            [21:28] Tete: I still cant believe Jimin just showered with noona…            [21:28] Tete: why are we breezing through that information?            [21:28] Jinnie: ok so lets not talk about that            [21:29] Jinnie: what do you want for breakfast, beautiful?

Reading his message felt like cold water dousing you awake and you’re suddenly attacked by a wave of guilt.

Is it okay for you to even make demands like this? Do you even deserve being Seokjin’s dearest?

“Ask him for waffles, I'm craving for them.” Jimin says, his voice slicing through your thoughts and you turn back to your phone.

           [21:29] Ggukie: ask me too hyung!            [21:29] Jinnie: alright I’ll bite            [21:29] Jinnie: what do you want brat?            [21:30] Ggukie: noona’s love :DD

You watched as Jin’s profile pic pop up and came down multiple times, and each time they do, your and Jimin’s giggles multiply.

           [21:32] Jinnie: I’m blocking you            [21:32] Joonie: I should have you kicked out for that stupid, corny ass joke oh my god            [21:32] Yoongs: that activated my fight or flight            [21:32] Yoongs: don’t do that again            [21:32] Ggukie: hyung ask me again            [21:32] Ggukie: promise I’ll respond properly this time :]            [21:33] Jinnie: Y/N?            [21:33] Ggukie: HYUNG            [21:33] Minnie: she says she wants waffles :>            [21:33] Jinnie: I don’t believe anything that comes out of your mouth, Park Jimin            [21:34] Minnie: D:            [21:34] You: I want scrambled eggs and pancakes :D

“Betrayal!”

“You shouldn’t have played around earlier then.” 

“You shouldn’t have played around earlier then. Give me that!” You stretch your arm away from him but Jimin was faster, managing to pluck your phone from your grasp and moving to place it on his side of the floor.

Without hesitation, you launched yourself at his hand making him yelp before it dissolved into giggles when you managed to catch him and had curled up around his arm, fingers attempting to pry him away from your phone.

It was how Tae had found you both in and immediately lept in, taking your side the moment he had seen you and Jimin tussled for your phone. 

With Tae’s help, you were able to take back your phone only to see that it had locked itself from the many times the screen had picked up on both you and Jimin’s palms and had typed in the wrong combination after the other. For that, you slapped his arm.

“What did I do wrong?! It’s not my fault the stupid phone couldn’t differentiate between palm and fingers!”

“If I wasn’t required to touch you, I’d have you kicked out of this room.”

Jimin pushed himself up, face incredulous. “This is literally my room.”

“Next week you should sleep in my room instead, noona. I’d love to have you there.” Taehyung says, pulling you to his chest and side-eyeing his friend. “I wouldn’t be as mean as Jiminie.”

“Why am I getting disrespected in my own room? Is it gang up on Jimin day?!”

“When is it not gang up on Jimin day?”

“Why you—GET OUT OF MY ROOM!”

TAGLIST: @wildestdreamsblog @canarystwin @prettywheenicry @jmnscutie @sassy-snassy @misuguru @11thenightwemet11 @yoongibaybee @rinkud @bri602 @igetcarriedawaywithyou @marvel-potter-1d-korea @comingupwithacoolnameishard @sooha-neul @juju-227592 @coffeewanderer @x-uno @diamonddia-mond @eggsysstuff @dearmyfavoritepeople-bts @sld88 @katsukis1wife

[chrissv4mp]

★ OLD FARM, NEW FACES

INTRODUCTION reading now...

WARNINGS: none!

NOTES: so.... just got reminded that billie can ride horses & who doesn't love a cowgirl au? finneas is also starring in some chapters :)

SUMMARY: After a long year of struggle, your parents decide to move back to the place you spent most of your childhood years: the old farm that they never had the heart to get rid of. However, after leaving a decade ago, they hired some help who you were never aware of until your arrival.

WORDS: 1,263

NAVIGATION ; SERIES MASTERLIST

COWGIRL!BILLIE EILISH × F!READER

"You guys are doing this just to spite me!" You'd yelled at them, specifically your father who was the one who always pushed you. Your eyes were teary, like you would break if they said anything else. It was already bad enough that you had to move. It'd only be worse if they tried to say something in their defense.

Your mom only sighed, frowning in sympathy, "Honey, you know we don't want to leave either. We'd stay if we could, but... it's just too expensive living here anymore, and your father got a great job back in Redrock."

Your eyes widened in disbelief, huffing in exasperation as your eyes moved to your father for any kind of backup. None, just a firm nod from him, "You're not serious, Mom. We're really going back to that shitty tow—?"

Your father was quick to jump in, his eyes wide and his finger wagging at you in disapproval, "Don't speak to your mother like that, Y/N! You are one of the reasons we're even leaving in the first place." What?

His words hit you like a bullet. Your whole body frozen in shock as you exhale quietly, the tears in your eyes threatening to fall right then and there, "Dad—I—What?" He wasn't serious. He wasn't serious, right? It was just something he said in his fit of—

"Don't act like that, Y/N. Your grades have been dropping rapidly and you're always so caught up with your friends and that fucking phone of yours," He says sternly, his voice more calm than previously, "Pack your things, we're leaving at 6 for the airport."

'WELCOME TO REDROCK RIDGE' A street sign read, one of many that you had to pass by on this more than miserable car ride to the old farm you used to call home. (When you were quite literally 7.)

Music blasted from your earbuds into your ears, drowning out any sounds of rocks hitting the exterior of the car and, more importantly, your parents' voices. They were the last people you wanted to talk to right now, or better, even look towards at all.

A gentle song played into your ears, soothing your nerves temporarily as you tapped your thigh in rhythm with the beat of the song, the guitar playing quietly in the back sounding almost euphoric.

A few long strums of the instrument brought the song to an end, and when the silence enveloped you, your mother spoke, breaking your peace and the only escape for your time here, "We're here, hon," She gives you a half-assed smile in an attempt to get you to talk, but all you do is nod, unbuckling your seatbelt and swinging your door open.

"I'll get your bags, go inside the house." Your father spoke as he rounded the car to stand in front of you. He stared down at you expectantly, but you only gave him a raise of your eyebrows, huffing before you moved past him and stomped towards the house.

Your mom yelled something inaudible to you as you opened the door, scoffing at the knowledge that it wasn't locked after all those years. You expected the house to be in shambles the whole ride here, but now, as you look around, it's quite clean and seems to be running perfectly.

It smells of fresh flowers, a clear contrast to the awful smell of manure just outside the front door. You don't understand how your 7-year-old self liked being around the horses. It probably smelt worse in the barn after all these years.

Nobody was even around to take care of the place, and it hit you hard knowing that the animals hadn't been fed in forever. You thought your parents would've cared enough about the place and animals to hire some help, but, you guess not. What were you expecting?

You find yourself taking your earbuds out, stuffing them in the back pocket of your jeans as you walk up the old staircase. It wasn't dusty, not even a spec in sight as you run your fingertips along the railing. What the fuck?

Brushing the weird feeling off, you walk down the hall, finding yourself standing right in front of your childhood room. You chuckle softly at the piece of paper taped to the door, "NO BOYS!! (except dad)"

It seemed as if your room was the only one left untouched, your door being the only one shut on the upper level of the old house. Your hand shakes in the slightest as you turn the doorknob, pushing forward and watching as your past is revealed once again.

Your lips curve into a smile as you notice the stick toy horse lying against your bed, remembering the times you and your father used to have imaginary horse races. You were closer with him then, what ever went wrong?

Your fingers slip off the door frame as you enter the room, eyes moving all around the small space as you approach your bed. You take a seat on the edge, feeling the mattress dip underneath your hands as you lean back.

Memories flood into your mind as you look around, noticing even the smallest things like the name of a boy just behind your desk. You smile again, giggling quietly.

"Y/N!" Your mothers voice breaks you out of your short trip down memory lane, your head turning in the direction of your bedroom door, "Come down here!"

How were you already in trouble? You just got here. God, they always had to pick at any little thing you did. You sigh, standing up and taking one final glance before you walk out, shutting the door behind you softly.

Grabbing your phone, you unlock it, noticing that you had no bars. Seriously? As you swipe on your phone, trying some apps, you descend down the stairs, "Hey, what's with the—"

You cut yourself off, almost dropping your phone as you look up from the screen. What. The. Fuck.

There stood a (rather short) black-haired girl, a cowboy—cowgirl, in this scenario—hat sat atop of her head, her hair in a messy ponytail. She wore a black wife-beater and baggy light blue jeans, a red flannel thrown over her shoulder. Her arms were muscular, like she'd been working. A lot. Oh my God.

"Hey there, pretty," She spoke, flashing you a gorgeous smile as she tipped her hat. Her chest rose and fell with each breath she took, a thin layer of sweat coating her beautiful face, "I'm Billie. Ts' nice to meet'cha,"

You only stood there and gawked, eliciting a sift chuckle from Billie. She placed her hat back on her head, snapping you out of your trance as you stepped down the last of the stairs, "Hey—Hi, I'm Y/N. Nice to meet you as well, Billie."

Her name rolled off your tongue perfectly, almost like it was meant to be spoken by your pretty lips. Your mother and father stood on the right side of the girl, exchanging forced smiles.

"Pretty name," The cowgirl commented, winking at you as she offered you a hand. You took it nervously, feeling the callouses on her fingertips as she tugged you closer playfully, "Can't wait to have some company on the farm. You seem interesting."

"You—You do, too," You mutter, your face feeling hotter than usual as you stare into her beautiful blue eyes, smiling softly. She was prettier than anyone you'd ever seen.

"The barn, 6AM, Y/N. I'll see you soon,"

@livialifesblog @her-favorite @mseilishmwah @mxqdii @hrtsdollie @rainbowcakepop111 @tan1shere @xoluvx @wiidfi0wer33 @loving1dsworld @fallingforfalll2 @slutforsturnioloss @devynscomet @sophloveswomen

COMMENT ON THIS POST TO BE ADDED TO THE SERIES TAGLIST

COMMENT HERE TO BE ADDED TO ALL BILLIE FICS

[writingforstraykids]

I owe you a kiss - Pt.6

Pairing: Minchan x femReader

Word Count: 5362

Summary: Once you're back home, your husbands try their best to support you, but the circumstances are taking their toll on you. It all goes well until you find out who was the one driving that night...

Warnings/Tags: mention of amnesia, angst, tiny mention of blood, fluff, cuddles, anxious!soft!min, caring!soft!channie, domestic stuff, husband!min, husband!chan

A/N: I know, I know it looks like shit in the beginning but trust the word count, it'll get all good, soft and domestic🖤

PART FIVE | PART SEVEN

Minho slips out of his shoes and stands still for a moment. Chan closes the door and hesitantly slips his hand into Minho's. “Kitten?” he asks quietly but gets no response. “Min, look at me, please.”

Minho does, looking at him with wet eyes, still not saying a word. Chan gently rubs his shoulders before cupping his face and flashing him a small smile. “I know I should be happy,” he finally says. “I know I should be relieved that she's awake and talking. I know I should be happy that we finally got her back. I know I shouldn't still be feeling like shit,” he rambles, and Chan soothingly fondles his cheeks. “But you know how much she hates losing control. You know how scared she gets of change,” he hiccups helplessly, and a few hot tears slip down his cheeks. “Once it'll all settle in, she'll hate me, and I-I can't even blame her because I did-didn't do anything else those p-past two months a-and-.”

“Hey,” Chan says so softly it makes him shut his mouth. “I won't let that happen, baby. It was an accident and there was nothing you could've done,” he says firmly and pulls him in close. “I'm so thankful you're both alive, you know? I don't know-” his voice breaks, and Minho's heart sinks at the sound. “I don't know what I would've done if…,” he stops himself, not daring to put his deepest fear into words. “I get it, Minnie because it would've been a lot easier without the memory loss. I'm terrified of hurting her because I'm not fully feeling well yet. But as long as you won't let go of my hand in all this, I know I'll be okay.”

Minho carefully pulls Chan's hands off his face and intertwines their fingers. “I won't let go,” he says.

“I'll always have your back, okay?” Chan asks timidly, and Minho nods quickly. 

“And I'll have yours,” he promises and squeezes his hands. 

“I could really use a hug,” Chan admits, and Minho doesn't hesitate, pulling him close and kissing his cheek. He gently sways them from side to side and exhales softly. “I love you, Min.”

“I love you too, Channie,” Minho whispers back and squeezes him tightly. 

-

Minho gently helps you out of your jacket and hangs it up for you. Neither Chan nor Minho had remembered that you only moved in here one and a half years ago, so the house was another factor. He watches you glance around the hallway timidly and swallows softly. “Anything familiar?” he asks gently. 

You swallow hard and shake your head. “Not besides…some of the interior,” you tell him. 

He notices how anxious it makes you and carefully slips his hand into yours. “Let me give you a tour, come on.”

You follow him through the house and recognize some bits of your old home. He tells you where to find the most important things, and seems like he's afraid to say anything wrong. It makes you sick seeing your husband try so hard to make you comfortable in a suddenly so unfamiliar place. “I-I'll go use the bathroom real quick,” you tell him, and he nods, telling you again where to find it. 

You close the door and take a deep breath, hugging yourself tightly. “Fuck,” you whisper and sit down heavily at the edge of the bathtub. If you wouldn't know Minho and Chan had been your boyfriends for four years and then husbands for another five you would've freaked out at the hospital. You couldn't remember the past two years of your marriage, but the seven years before are enough to trust them. Still, it all feels so weird. You don't notice how much time has passed until Minho gently knocks at the door and lets himself in. He sits down next to you, and for a moment, you're both quiet. “Minho?” you ask timidly. 

“Yeah?” he asks gently, turning to look at you. 

“Have I been a good wife to you and Chan? Did we have fights? Did I hurt you? Did you hurt me?” you ask, and he inhales deeply. “I know this sounds weird, but…I have no idea where we left off.”

Minho fidgets with his wedding bands and hums thoughtfully. “I can't remember anything big concerning the two of us, we usually get along very well,” he tells you, a small smile on his lips. “We were on a date before the accident. I was very tired, was fighting with Chan over the phone, and…you said you'd take me out for dinner. You were trying to cheer me up, and you did, you always do,” he says and gently clears his throat, pushing away the images of what happened after. 

“What about Chan?” you ask timidly, sensing something off. 

Minho straightens up and pinches his nose, trying to figure out where to start. “About…six months ago, Channie wasn't feeling very well. He was overwhelmed with work and had no resources left for either of us, including himself. He pushed us both away, and one night, when I was abroad, he called me, saying he got into a fight with you and something was seriously wrong,” he tells you and chews on his lower lip. “I called you, asking you to go back and check on him as I flew back home. Chan was feeling numb for quite some time, and we did our best to support him figure out ways to make him feel again. After a while, he decided to visit his family in Australia, take a break, and everything. I stepped in for him at work, and it was killing me,” he admits. “I missed him like hell. I had to lead our team, and I felt lost without him, but you never gave up on me,” he says and his hand subconsciously slips into yours. “He caught me on a bad day, we got into an argument, and well…then we had that accident. Channie got onto the next plane and came back home as fast as he could.”

“Is he still struggling?” you ask hesitantly, and Minho smiles weakly. 

“I don't know, Y/nnie. This whole thing has taken a huge toll on me. I broke down repeatedly and Chan took care of me as best as he could. He even got me a therapist, imagine that,” he laughs, and you can tell he's not really doing well with any of this. “I don't think he had much time to figure out how he truly feels. I should've been there for him more, but I…I could barely get myself out of bed sometimes.”

“I'm sorry,” you apologize timidly, squeezing his hand. “I'm so sorry, Min.”

Minho shakes his head firmly. “None of this is your fault,” he says and searches your eyes. “None of it, okay?”

“Okay,” you nod hesitantly. 

Minho inhales shakily, a suspicious shimmer covering his eyes. “I know this whole memory thing is shit, honey. I feel selfish for saying this, but I'm just so glad you're alive and back home.”

You smile weakly and squeeze his hand firmly. “As long as I have you two, I'll be okay sooner or later.”

Minho gently squeezes back and looks up as Chan steps into the doorframe. “Oh my, am I interrupting something?” he chuckles. 

“Hey, Channie love,” Minho says softly and Chan leans down to give him a kiss. 

“Hey, kitten,” he smiles, gently caressing his cheek. Chan turns to you and gently brushes back your hair, kissing your head, unsure if you feel like kissing. “You're okay?”

“More or less,” you nod, and he sits down on your other side. 

“We're always here if you need someone,” he tells you and gently pats your knee. 

“Thanks,” you nod tiredly. “I really appreciate it, this can't be easy for you either.”

Minho remains quiet this time and glances at Chan. “We're just glad to have you back. The rest we can figure out together,” he assures you. “Just let us know, okay?”

“Okay,” you nod gently. 

-

You turn onto your side heavily and are met with a sight that used to bring a smile to your face. Minho's asleep next to you, his hair hanging into his face, lips parted, and his bunny teeth showing a little. His lashes throw their shadows on his cheekbones and you once more notice how beautiful he is. You've been home for a week now and Minho took another two months off to keep an eye on you. You like being home with Min because he's there when you need him but lets you be when you don't. He doesn't push, he doesn't talk your ears off, and he tries his best not to handle you like you're made out of glass. Still, you can tell he doesn't see you when he looks at you. He doesn't see his wife. He sees the accident and the woman he lost due to the memory loss, and the guilt in his eyes suffocates you sometimes. 

You haven't dared look up the accident yet, but slowly, you can't fight the urge to see what really happened that night. Minho doesn't like talking about it, and Chan wasn't there. 

You slip out of bed and grab your phone, leaving your husband on his own. Locking yourself in the bathroom, you start researching and soon find article over article. Pictures of the crashed car send shivers down your spine. Investigating some further you can tell how worried your friends were about Minho during their interviews, who looks nothing but truly exhausted. You can tell he hasn't been sleeping much; his eyes look glassy in most of them, and Chan never leaves his side.

-

Minho looks up as you come downstairs to join him for breakfast and gets up, putting some waffles on your plate. “Thought you'd like something sweet,” he says and flashes you a smile. 

“Who was driving?” you ask, making him freeze for a second. 

“What do you mean?” he asks, but the slight tremble in his voice tells you he knows exactly what you mean. 

“The accident. Who was driving?” you ask again, stopping in front of the table. 

Minho carefully puts the plate down in front of you. “Does it matter?” he asks timidly. 

“It does,” you nod, tilting your head at him. “Will you be honest with me, or do I have to ask someone else?”

He stares at you, wondering what you're aiming at with that question, but gives himself a push. “I was.”

“Were you drunk?” you ask, and Minho's frown deepens. 

“No.”

“You said you were tired, was that it? Was that what made you miss something?” you ask, and he subconsciously takes a step back. “Were you so upset about Chan that you weren't paying attention?” 

“Y/nnie,” he pleads quietly. “Don’t do this.”

“Min,” you say firmly. “I can't remember the past two years of my life. I don't know what happened and no one can tell me because that'll only be your version of every day,” you say and take a shuddery breath. “Chan hasn't kissed me once since I'm back home, and you look at me like I'm something broken you're too attached to to get rid of. That hurts, Min. I just want my fucking life back!”

Minho raises his hands in defense and steps closer to you. “Honey, I'm sorry, you're right. I can't make up for all that time. But she said they'd come back to you in a few months, at least that the chance is very, very high,” he tries, but the way your eyes darken, he knows you don't want to hear any of it. He tries to brace himself for the emotional outburst that's about to happen, but he can't prepare himself for what you say next. 

“No, you really can't make up for it. Not if you're the one causing this whole mess,” you say, noticing the fear flickering in his eyes, but you don't care. “You were the one driving, you're the one feeling guilty, and now I know why. My whole life went to shit because of you!” you snap at him. Minho doesn't say anything, simply stares at you as your words sink in. His body trembles, his stomach tightening painfully, and his eyes filling with tears. “You fucked everything up, and you're trying so hard to make up for it by staying home with me. Now I know why you so desperately try to make me feel better, and I thought it was because you loved me!”

Minho looks at you as if you just hit him right in the face. A soft whimper leaves his lips, snapping you out of your rage, before tears start running down his face, and his body shakes with a sob. “I know, okay?!” he snaps right back at you. “I know it's all my fault! I-I know I fucked up, and I-I'm the one to b-blame,” he hiccups helplessly, taking a few steps back as you reach for him timidly. “I'm sorry, Y/nnie, I swear, I did-didn't want this.”

“Min,” you whisper guiltily, but your husband shakes his head firmly, biting back a sob. “I'm so sorry, darling, I didn't mean it.”

“Don't lie,” he says, voice cracking. 

“I'm sorry, please,” you try, but Minho pushes past you and goes back upstairs. You let him, knowing he can't handle you, seeing how badly you just hurt him. Helplessly, you grab your phone and call Chan. 

“Hey, baby girl, I'm on my way home. Is everything-.”

“Channie,” you whimper. 

“What's wrong, baby?” he asks worriedly, putting you on speaker. 

“I hurt Min,” you tell him, hugging yourself tightly and sitting down on the sofa. 

“Hurt him how?” he asks nervously, taking a turn left. 

“I said some dumb stuff about him being responsible for my life turning to shit and that the accident was his fault,” you say, and it's quiet for a moment. “Chan?”

“Ynnie…please tell me you didn't,” Chan says lowly, heart sinking to his stomach. “Please tell me you didn't.”

“I'm sorry, Channie, I didn't mean it,” you whisper timidly. “I was just…I don't know what got into me.”

“I…fuck, okay, I'll be home in a bit,” he tells you, swallowing down the lump forming in his throat. 

“Thank you,” you sniffle. 

Chan stares at his phone as you end the call and slams his hand on the wheel. “Fucks sake Ynnie, not when I finally convinced him otherwise,” he curses and finally reaches your street. “Shit, shit, shit.”

Chan quietly pulls the front door closed behind himself and swallows hard as he meets your anxious eyes. “Where is he?” he asks. 

“Upstairs,” you tell him. “Channie, I'm sorry,” you tell him, tears filling your eyes. “I'm so sorry.”

Chan sighs softly and opens his arms for you, pulling you into a tight hug as you get up. “I know you are. I know you're struggling, and I know we can't take that pain away,” he says, soothingly rubbing your back. “But baby girl, you can't forget Minho is a victim here too. He might have been the one driving, but he's also the one who saw you unconscious, covered in blood, and not knowing if you'd ever wake up again,” he tells you gently, without sounding like he's blaming you even a little. “He still feels guilty because he'd rather be the one getting hurt. He's been having nightmares and panic attacks and had a really hard time believing that it isn't his fault, you know?”

“I just fucked that up, didn't I?” you ask timidly. 

“I don't know,” he answers honestly. 

“I asked him if he was drunk,” you admit shamefully. 

Chan bites back a sigh, trying to be patient with you. “Okay, come on,” he says and pulls you to the sofa. “The police provided us the security camera footage, where you very clearly see who's at fault,” he says and grabs his phone, showing you the clip. 

You can see your car pulling up at the crossroads. Suddenly, a car races down the street from the right and crashes right into your side. It's raining heavily, making the road slippery and causing both cars to slide to the side a few meters. Once the video is over, you look at Chan horrified. 

“That other driver was drunk,” he tells you gently. “He was speeding, ignored a red light, and honestly, looking at this, it's a miracle you two are still alive. So please, don't blame anyone else but that guy, hm?” 

You nod quickly and chew on your lower lip anxiously. “Channie angel?”

“Yeah?” he asks gently. 

“Can you tell him I'm sorry? I don't think he wants to see me right now,” you say timidly. 

Chan nods and kisses your temple. “I will. We'll fix this, okay?”

“Okay,” you nod, relieved. 

“I'll go check on him, alright?” he asks, and you nod bravely. Chan grabs a blanket and wraps you up in it, flashing you an encouraging smile. “We'll be okay.”

You timidly grab his hand and search his eyes. “I love you.”

Chan's face softens. “I love you too, baby girl.” 

-

Chan opens the door to the room he uses to work from home, suspecting that's where he'll find Minho. His heart breaks a little as he sees him sitting on the small sofa there, his legs hugged up to his chest. Minho's wearing a sweater of his, burying his face in its sleeves as he takes shaky breaths, clearly trying to calm down. He silently closes the door and walks over, kneeling down in front of him and soothingly rubbing his thighs. “Bunny?” he asks so softly Minho looks up with wide, teary eyes. It's a term reserved for their most private, intimate moments and it never fails to make Minho feel so safe and loved. 

He doesn't say anything, body moving on its own as he slips from the sofa and crawls right into his lap. Chan welcomes him with one of his most loving and healing hugs, nuzzling his nose into his hair. 

“I love you,” Chan whispers, cradling his head. Minho slumps against him, burying himself into his arms as deeply as he can, growing so small it breaks Chan's heart. 

“I'm so tired, Chan,” Minho says, voice raspy from crying. “I'm so fucking tired.”

“I know,” Chan says and turns with him in his hold, leaning against the sofa. “How can I help?”

“There's nothing you can do,” he answers quietly. “She hates me. I fucked up her life.”

“You really think that?” he asks patiently. 

“Doesn't matter. She does,” he says. 

“Do you?” he asks. “You think you fucked up her life?”

“Apparently, I'm not exactly making it easier,” he answers. “Since I'm the drunken, heartbroken, distracted fuck who got us into that accident.”

Chan mindlessly rubs his lower back. “Apparently…so you don't believe it.”

“I-” Minho grows quiet before pulling back and searching his eyes timidly. “Does that matter if she does?”

“To me, it does,” he nods. “You've been blaming yourself for months, saying the most hurtful shit about yourself…I think you made some progress,” he says calmly. 

“Not really,” he shakes his head. “The minute someone throws it at my face, I agree with them.”

“Bunny, can I tell you something?” he asks, and Minho nods tiredly. “She called me the minute you left, saying she fucked up. She asked me to tell you she's sorry because you probably wouldn't want to see her now.”

Minho's eyes fill with tears. “Really?” he asks timidly, and Chan nods. “I really thought she hated me now.”

Chan gently cups his face and plants a tiny kiss on the tip of his nose. “She doesn't, I promise.” 

Minho messily wipes his cheeks with the sleeves before stopping in his movement and groaning at himself. “Fuck, I completely messed up your sweater.”

“That's okay,” Chan giggles softly. “We can wash it.”

Minho hums and smiles shyly. “Just really needed you close after that,” he tells him. 

“You're so cute,” he smiles happily. “Also-” he gets interrupted by the door opening. The two of them look up and see you standing in the doorframe, shaking with sobs. 

Minho moves before Chan can fully comprehend the sight and wraps you into a tight hug. “Shh, honey, it's okay.”

You hug back tightly and shake your head. “Nothing is okay,” you sob. “I hurt you. Just be-because I can't cope with what's happening.”

“It's okay,” Minho whispers gently, caressing your head. “I promise we're okay.”

You timidly grab his sweater a little tighter and bury yourself into him. “I'm sorry, Min. You didn't fuck up anything,” you hiccup. “I love you so much.”

Minho buries his face in your shoulder and shakes his head. “I know,” he whispers and squeezes you gently. “I love you too, my pretty girl.” 

“I just wanna feel normal again,” you whimper, and Minho's hold on you tightens. 

“Try and give yourself some credit, honey. You went through some shit, and you're still dealing with the aftermath,” he says softly and kisses your hair. “Try being a little more patient with yourself.”

Chan smiles sadly, remembering himself saying something so similar to Minho only weeks ago when they went for a walk. So he did listen. 

Two weeks later

You anxiously meet your reflection in the mirror before staring down at your products on the sink. Chan said he'd take you both out to dinner, and you just wanted to look nice but you had trouble remembering your routines. You talked to your doctor about it, and she told you it's completely normal to get confused easily by those things at the moment. 

Minho walks into the bathroom, buttoning up his shirt, and flashes you a gentle smile. “You're alright, beautiful?” 

“Yeah,” you nod quickly and stare back down at your things. “I…I think I need help,” you tell him, glancing up at him as he fixes his hair. 

“Sure, what do you need?” he asks, not quite picking up on your struggle yet. Minho grabs your concealer and carefully hides the dark patches beneath his eyes. He's still not sleeping well, and it shows. 

“I uh, I forgot what I usually do,” you tell him, waving at the various items displayed at the sink. “Like…did I have some sort of routine? Because if I did it's nonexistent in my brain right now.”

“Oh,” he nods and puts your concealer back down. “Uh, I'm not sure, but I can still help,” he tells you, and you smile relieved. “One second,” he winks at you and leaves the room, coming back with a chair. “Alright, take a seat, honey.”

You giggle softly and do as you're told. Chan joins you, chuckling in confusion as he sees you. “Min's helping me, my brain is letting me down right now.”

“Oh,” he laughs and watches Minho grab some of your things. “Yeah, it's good you asked him and not me.”

“I had a feeling,” you tease him lovingly.

Chan chuckles and turns back to the mirror, adjusting the collar of his shirt. He fixes his hair that frames his face in those beautiful curls you love so much and you can see the frown forming on his face before it’s fully there. It’s beyond you how both of your husbands were this stunningly pretty and still had their trouble believing so, Chan much more than Min. “Channie?” you ask gently, and he hums in response. “You look very handsome.”

Chan meets your eyes through the mirror, face softening. “Thank you, baby girl,” he says with a sweet, shy smile. Minho turns around, taking in the sight of his husband, and hums agreeingly before slapping his bum. Chan snorts and fondly rolls his eyes. “Typical.”

“That’s your own fault wearing those trousers,” he smirks before getting started with helping you. “Who even allowed you to leave the house in those, huh? Surely not me. No one else should be allowed to see how well-.”

“Minho,” Chan whines in protest, blushing heavily. “Shut up, will you?”

Minho smiles softly and then you realize he must’ve noticed Chan’s insecurities getting the better of him as well. “Only because it’s you,” he tells him fondly. “So, I think you started like this,” he tells you. He talks you through it, checking in with you if what he’s doing makes sense, and tries his best to make you satisfied with the result. Only a little later you’re ready to go and thank him happily. “Always, princess,” he assures you kindly. “You need help with your hair as well?”

“No, thank you, darling,” you smile at him. “I’ll be done in a bit.”

“No rush, honey,” he tells you and kisses your cheek before leaving you some space. He joins Chan downstairs, who’s standing at the kitchen island, bent forward on his elbows as he checks his phone. Minho smiles at the sight and steps behind him, wrapping his arms around him. Chan gently intertwines their hands on his stomach and finishes his message to Lix with one hand. “You’re alright, kitten?”

“Yeah,” he nods and nuzzles his face into his neck. “Ah, you put on my favorite cologne,” he smirks, burying his nose deeper into his skin. 

Chan hums, agreeing, and turns off his phone, turning in his hold. He smiles as their eyes meet and gently nudges his nose with his own. “Pretty boy,” he whispers, and Minho blushes softly. “I miss you.”

“Miss me?” Minho frowns gently. “I’m right here, love.”

“No..like,” he leaves the sentence unfinished, gently squeezing Minho’s hips. 

“Oh,” Minho laughs brightly and kisses him sweetly. “I can stop by the company tomorrow, just make sure Sungie and Binnie aren’t around.”

“I think I can arrange that,” Chan chuckles, gently cupping his face.

“Don’t start anything you can’t finish now,” Minho warns him, and Chan rolls his eyes, kissing him lovingly. Minho kisses back sweetly and pulls back soon, knowing Chan could get lost in kissing way too quickly. They really didn’t have time for this now. Not with you coming downstairs any minute, still finding your way back into your marriage. “Channie…is that place you picked in walking distance?” he asks. 

“I figured there’s a chance she doesn’t feel safe to drive yet, so yes,” he nods, and Minho hums, relieved. “Also, you aren’t exactly keen to sit in a car yet, either.”

“Not really,” he chuckles agreeingly. “Thank you, Channie.”

“For what?” he frowns softly.

“For being so considerate and caring,” he smiles, shaking his head as Chan is about to respond. “Don’t you dare say it’s nothing now, I will kick you.”

“Oh,” Chan nods, holding back a laugh. 

“Idiot,” he giggles fondly, poking his side.

“I’m ready,” you interrupt them gently, standing a little away from them.

Chan smiles at you sweetly. “You look beautiful, baby girl,” he tells you, and you mirror his smile. 

“Our beautiful girl,” Minho agrees proudly, taking your hand and pulling you closer. “We should probably leave, right?”

Chan checks his watch. “Yeah, we should.”

You swallow softly and glance at them timidly. “Can I sit in the back?” you ask.

“I thought we could take a walk, it’s close by. If we’re lucky, we can see the stars on our way back home,” he says, watching your eyes brim with tears. “Or we can take the car?” he asks nervously.

“No,” you shake your head and laugh weakly. “I would prefer walking,” you assure him. “Thank you, Channie angel.”

“God, you two sometimes,” he breathes out, squeezing Min’s and your hand. “It’s nothing, really an-ey!” he breaks off in protest as Minho punches his shoulder.

“I told you, it’s not nothing. It means a lot, my love, and we’re very happy to have you,” he says. “Also, be glad I didn’t kick your pretty a-.”

“Okay,” Chan laughs and pulls you both with him. “Enough of this now, you’ll make me get all sappy, let’s go.”

-

You enjoy your first evening out immensely. It makes you feel less like something’s wrong with you. Both Chan and Minho focus mostly on you, making sure you’re alright and comfortable. The many smells and loud noises are overwhelming at first, and they try their best to distract you. Once you allow yourself to relax, things get easier. Dinner is delicious, but what truly makes your evening is the laughter, gentle touches, and the way they make sure you’re part of the conversation. 

On your walk home, you indeed see the stars painting the dark canvas of the night sky. You’re walking between them, holding onto their hands, and feel a lot closer to Chan as well. Minho occasionally points out constellations, sometimes playfully bickering with Chan about the correct name. You find yourself smiling, genuinely smiling, for the first time in a while. You think about your day and suddenly stop in your tracks, leading to your husbands turning in confusion. 

“Y/nnie?” Chan frowns as your eyes fill with tears. “Are you okay?”

“I remember that place,” you breathe out, and they both stare at you with wide eyes. “We had dinner there the week we moved in, didn’t we? Channie, you spilled your drink all over Min’s pants. Min, you wouldn’t stop cursing because it got all sticky and-” you break off in wonder as your mind forms such vivid pictures of that day. 

Minho laughs wetly, a hot tear falling down his face. “Yeah, yeah, that’s exactly what happened.”

Chan still stares at you in wonder before laughing weakly. “You remember?”

You nod happily, messily wiping your cheeks. “Yeah, I know that’s not much, but-.”

“No, baby, this is huge,” Chan smiles through tears, wrapping you into a tight hug. “That’s your first breakthrough after only three weeks, baby.”

You giggle happily and beam at Minho, who’s still frozen in place. Reaching out for him, he takes your hand and lets you pull him into your hug. Minho cups your cheek and kisses your forehead softly. “I’m so happy for you,” he tells you genuinely.

-

Back home, as you prepare for bed, the weight of the day slowly settles on your shoulders. For the first time since you got back home it doesn’t feel like the burden of another wasted day but a blanket of comfort. It reminds you of the love and care that surrounds you in the presence of your husbands. Minho brushes your hair as Chan takes off your makeup for you, both as gentle as they can get.

As you lay in bed between them, the events of the past few weeks replay in your mind. The argument with Minho feels like a very distant memory now, simply a hurdle you’ve all overcome together. His forgiveness, his understanding, and his undying love for you feel like a balm for your wounded, anxious heart. Chan’s patience, kindness, and unwavering support for the two of you remind you of the strength of your bond.

In the quiet of the night, with Chan’s steady breathing on one side and Minho’s warm presence on the other, you feel a sense of peace lull you in. The road to your recovery would still be a long one, and you weren’t naive enough to believe that there wouldn’t be any more challenges.

You whisper a quiet “I love you” into the darkness, and in the soft murmur of their responses, you find a promise—a promise of healing and a love that will never leave you. You don’t know why, but right here, you understand that no matter what comes your way, you’ll face it together as a family. With that thought, you drift into a peaceful sleep, knowing that with Chan and Minho by your side, you’ll be okay. You would talk to Chan about the distance you feel another day, and you’d work through your shared trauma with Minho another time, supporting him through his share of the deal as well. For today, you’re glad to be able to fall asleep between the loves of your life.

PART FIVE | PART SEVEN

MASTERLISTS | PROMPT LIST | GUIDELINES

Taglist: (Please let me know if you want to be added to/removed from the taglist!)

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@atinyniki @galaxycatdrawz @silverstarburst @kailee08 @aaa-sia @lilmisssona @kthstrawberryshortcake @channieaddict @soullostinspaceandtime @rebecca-johnson-28 @lixie-phoria @kibs-and-bits @xxstrayland @ihrtlix @pheonixfire777 @mellhwang @palindrome969 @michelle4eve @ontito0icongirls @furiousheartpoetry @bluesiebirdie @scarlet789 @ziipzeepzop-eez @harshaaaaa @lost-in-avoidance @dprkbyn @bear8585 @lee-knows-cats @mintchip17 @zdgx1 @lost-in-avoidance @rylea08 @heeyboooo @manuosorioh @gisaerlleri @andassortedkpop @lailac13 @bbokari711 @kazuuuaaa @rssamj

[missvelvetsstuff]

The Situation Room

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: After a mission almost gone wrong, Tony brings back Bucky's former assistant, who is also Bucky's ex. Can they work together without hurting each other? Will the whole truth about their break up finally come out?

Avengers AU where Thanos never happened.

Chapter 9

Warnings: swearing, angst

Radar tossed and turned all night, the session with Raynor had brought back so many memories that she had worked for years to bury.

Even Bucky didn't know many of the details of her past, just the major plot points.

She still believed deep down that she bore some responsibility for all of her troubles. That she could have done something different, or not done something, to have a better outcome.

Bucky didn't know that either and Dr Raynor had only reinforced that belief, making her feel like she was weak and a coward for leaving when things went bad.

At 3am she gave up and took a shower before going to the kitchen for something warm to drink, hoping it would help her relax. Of course, Bucky was already there.

Without a word he poured some of the cocoa he made into a mug for her, topping it off with some whipped cream.

Once she sat down and took a sip, he broke the silence "Are you ok, doll?"

Radar looked at him sadly, shrugging as she nodded "Sure. I'm still here, sometimes that's the best I can do."

Bucky nodded in understanding "Nightmares?"

"Yeah, your shrink is kind of a bitch and brought back a lot of memories I've tried to force down."

"I'm sorry, doll. She's got some tough love act that seems to make things worse before they get better. I shouldn't have asked you to come with me so soon."

Radar shook her head "It's not entirely on her, I have a lot of baggage. Most that you don't even know about."

She sighed "I don't know, it's stuff I've never told anyone else about but maybe that's part of my problem."

He nodded, "I understand, I'm not good at sharing my shit either, don't want to be a burden. But I'm here and I'll listen, anytime you need me. I know I fucked up taking John and Sharon's word about what I thought happened and I won't let that happen again."

She gave him a small smile "Yeah? I guess that's a start."

Then proceeded to fill in all the blanks that he didn't know about her past.

***Flashback***

Her father died in a terrible car accident when she was 7, or so they said. When she got older she realized there was something off about the whole situation, they said his brakes failed but he'd just had his car serviced.

It didn't take long for her mother to finish mourning him and find someone new. Not even a month.

Her half brother, Christopher, was born less than 6 months later. Y/N didn't understand the implications of the details until she was older.

The abuse from her stepfather, Rick, was just as much emotional as it was physical. Until she was 14 and it all came to a head.

It was a Friday night, her mother having a girls night out with her drinking buddies. Rick was working, he was a bartender at the local police watering hole. Her little brother, Christopher- 4 years old, was asleep in his room.

Y/N had a friend sleeping over, Diana, and they were hanging out, listening to music and talking about the boys they liked, Dave and his friend Will. When there was a knock at the front door, Y/N looked thru the peephole and saw the boys in question, making her giggle. She looked over at Diana, nodding with a grin on her face before opening the door.

The boys entered the house, hugging both girls.

"I'm not supposed to have boys over when my mom isn't home but you guys can hang out for a little bit."

They talked and Y/N danced with Dave while Diana and Will chatted on the couch. Dave leaned in to kiss Y/N when the front door slammed open, making her jump. It was Rick, spoiling things like he always did.

Rick looked at them and started yelling at Y/N before chasing Will and Dave out of the house.

When he came back inside, he pushed her up against the wall "Just wait, you little bitch. I'll tell your mom about this and you'll be grounded until you graduate."

He then went into a rant, telling her how awful her father was and how she'd be a loser like him.

Y/N was near tears as Rick threw every vile name and insult he could think of, at her "Why can't you just leave me alone, Rick?"

Rick laughed "I'll leave you alone when you get the fuck out of my house."

She shook her head "It's not your house, my dad bought this house!"

He scoffed "Details. I'm the man of this house now and you goddamn well better listen when I gave you an order. Now. Get. Out! Or I'll pick your ass up and throw you out."

She went to her room and filled her duffle bag with her clothes and her favorite items from the bathroom, she didn't have much. A plush Winnie the Pooh that her father had given her when she was little and a few pictures of him were the most precious. Then she drew a crayon stick figure picture of her and her brother with a heart around it and hid it in his favorite toy truck.

Diana's dad was waiting out front for them, having hurried over when his daughter called him.

Y/N spent the night at her friends house and woke up to hear Rick yelling at Diana's dad, Ernie. Ernie let Y/Ns mom inside to talk but stayed outside with Rick. An hour later her mother left with Rick, after telling Y/N that she wasn't welcome in her home anymore.

After that, Diana's parents took her in and took care of her until she finished school. She graduated high school and completed an associates degree online before enlisting at 19.

She hadn't told Bucky the whole story. He knew she had an abusive stepfather and enabler mother and that she enlisted to get away. She had told him bits and pieces of her childhood but said they had all died in the crash that killed her little brother, Christopher.

Her mother and Rick were still alive, still together to this day. His drinking and cheating were all out in the open because after he had served almost 10 years for DUI manslaughter in Christopher's death and her mother had been waiting for him he knew she would stay no matter what he did. Besides she had a decent job and it was hard for an ex-con to find work. He stayed home drinking and watching TV except when he was out drinking and taking random women to cheap motels. Often returning home reeking of alcohol and other women but his wife said nothing.

Radar's friends back home always gave her the local gossip and her parents were always one of the top 10 subjects.

Her dreams had been full of her little brother and the accident that killed him.

Her mother had been holding Christopher in her lap in the front seat, no car seat, and the airbag broke his neck, killing him instantly. Somehow her mother and stepfather had survived barely harmed but she only hated them more. There had been charges filed and her mother spent a short time in jail but nowhere near what Radar thought she deserved. The jury fell for her crocodile tears, even though Rick went down for it.

It would have been bad enough if the trauma ended there but she often felt like it followed her around, her own black cloud.

Y/N hadn't told Bucky all of the cruel and humiliating things John had done that lead to her leaving the Army. Drugging her wasn't a new thing for John when he helped destroy her relationship with Bucky, except it had been worse.

When they were together, he would drug her, then take advantage of her and let his friends have a turn. She didn't know until she found the pictures, that were so much worse than what Sharon showed Bucky.

John insisted that if she loved him, she would do whatever it took to make him happy.

Their C.O. had waved it all off as normal couple issues that were being exaggerated by a hysterical woman.

Then Radar had been passed over for a promotion that was promised and past due, and another, making her realize that making a complaint about her unit's golden boy had put a target on her back.

After they broke up, she received orders for her new assignment in the Arizona desert and had enough. As soon as she moved there, she spoke to the C.O. about resigning when her current enlistment term ended in 18 months. Her new C.O. was a woman and understood, regretfully accepting her letter of resignation and writing a recommendation for the CIA.

The CIA had been great for her, feeling like she was still serving the people and being useful, until her back injury. She wasn't made for desk duty and hadn't intended for her friendship to become romantic but the thrill of keeping an affair with her supervisor secret gave a similar rush to putting herself in danger in the field. Until they were discovered.

Of course her supervisor was given the opportunity to keep her job and title but Radar, being lower in the pecking order was let go.

Looking back she knew she was lucky that her service record kept them from blackballing her completely and she was recruited by Nick Fury to help rebuild SHIELD into SWORD.

***END Flashback***

Radar was exhausted after spilling the details of her past but she felt somehow lighter for having shared that burden.

Bucky held her as she cried, rubbing her back and murmuring softly into her hair "its ok, doll. I've gotchu. I'm right here."

He pushed down the rage inside him, wishing Steve hadn't pulled him away from Walker. He didn't want Rader to feel it and put it aside to deal with later.

When her crying calmed, Radar looked up at Bucky with red eyes "You see? Raynor is right. I'm a coward who runs away when things get rough."

Bucky shook his head "No! That's not true. You tried to fix things, make them better and when it didn't work you were brave enough to walk away and start over. Sounds like real courage to me."

They talked for a short while longer until Radar fell asleep against his shoulder. He tried not to chuckle when he heard her soft snores and stretched his legs out before falling asleep himself.

@unaxv @calwitch @buckitostan @cjand10 . @vicmc624 @sandrab02

[leviraaaaaa]

Just go to fucking sleep. (Levi x reader)

"Oi, brat."

You opened my your slowly, groggily. Someone was shaking you.

"....huh?" You mumbled, still half-asleep. Mind hazy from the slumber, you blinked a couple times, trying to clear your head. The stranger's face finally came through, familiar silver eyes scowling down, brows furrowed. You squinted in confusion. "..captain?"

"Go to bed."

You raised your head from the pile of papers you were resting on, which you were supposed to work on instead. They were all wrinkled now, the smooth surface had folded in the edges, all credits to you falling asleep on them. You stared at the stack, then looked at Captain Levi, trying to process and remember where you were and how and why you got there.

Oh right, you were at the library. You realized as you looked around the room.

But why were you at the library?

Then it hit you.

"Oh, shit. Did I fall asleep?" You groaned, horrified. "Captain Nanaba will kill me."

"Why the hell are you sleeping here? How did you even get in the library? It's way past curfew."

"That's fine, I got permission from section commander Hange." You rubbed your eyes. "I got sleepy while working."

"No shit, do you have any idea how late it is? Why are you still working?"

"Because I have to copy these reports for tomorrow's meeting." You internally let out a frustrated groan, staring at the stack in front of you that you were supposed to make copies of, handwritten. Each document were about 6-7 pages thick. "Hell, this isn't even supposed to be my job, it's Roy's. But then he was suddenly bound with other errands and I just had to be the first person in captain Nanabas's sight. Now I'm stuck here and I'm not even halfway finished."

Levi listened silently with a blank stare, his eyes scanning your exhausted face and slumped shoulders. "...just go to fucking sleep. You have dark circles."

"Pretty, aren't they?" You stretched gloomily. "You're one to talk."

"Must you retort to every word I say? You look like rotten shit, get your ass to bed, " He narrowed his eyes. His voice though sharp as it was, just beneath it was a softness barely noticeable. "I'll talk to Nanaba, she can't expect you to finish all these by yourself."

"Don't," You yawned, waving his concerns away. "It's an important meeting. I can't just not do it. It's fine, morning's still a few hours away."

"It's almost 4."

"Shit, for real?" You cursed under your breath, glancing back at the looming sight of the spread out files in front of you, wishing you could burn fucking holes in them. "...it's fine. I'll manage it. I still have 3 hours left. I'll finish it in an hour or two, then get a half hour nap"

"Like hell you will, go to sleep."

"Jeez captain. This is important. Just let me do my work, you do yours. Why do you care anyways?"

"You're insufferable when you don't get enough sleep. I don't have the energy to deal with your moods in the morning." He said flatly.

You would have laughed had you not been so tired. Such a levi thing to say of him. Instead you sighed, an emptiness taking over your head as fatigue tugged your mind.

"Captain, seriously....just..go away."

Your reached forward to the pen in front of you and you pulled a paper towards yourself, flipping it open.

"No way." His hand shot out, grabbing your wrist. "I'll break your fucking hand."

"Charming."

"I'm serious. This is unhealthy."

"Break it...after..after I'm done.." Your words slurred, eyes fluttering shut as you dozed off right there, deep sleep pulling your underneathe in seconds. Your head dropped forward. His reflexes worked before his mind, his hand shooting forward and stopping you from hitting the table just before.

"Idiot." He muttered under his breath, watching you with wide eyes as you fell asleep, right there on his hand. Then he slowly lowered you down on the table, gently pulling his hand underneath your forehead, making sure your head doesn't bump. You fell against the table softly.

The next morning, when Moblit shakes you awake, you find yourself wrapped in a certain green scouts cloak, all the papers done and stacked neatly in front of you, just perfectly.

[spooniechef]

Slow Cooker Beef Pot Roast (0-1 spoon)

I know it's been about half-past forever. Between work and some home issues, I haven't really had the spoons for much. But that's kind of perfect because it means that I do have things to say in this particular bit of journal. Yes, mostly I was doing my tried-and-true regular recipes, but this month I decided to further explore the possibilities of my multicooker (Instant Pot kind of thing but without the brand name recognition). The pressure cooker function is great if you want soup or stew, but this month, I tried the slow cooking function. Honestly, this was a bit of a revelation for me, for reasons I'll go into in a bit more detail once I'm done with the recipe. It's all going to be approximates, mind you - but the best recipes generally are.

So, here's what you'll need

1 good-sized chunk of beef (see notes; somewhere in the 2-3lb range)

1 onion, quartered

3 cups of chopped root vegetables (carrots, parsnips, turnips)

Whole garlic cloves (to taste)

2-3 cups beef stock

1 cup red wine

2 bay leaves

Other herbs and spices to taste (see notes)

Here's what you do:

Sear the outside of the beef - you can use the browning function on your multicooker to do that, but doing it on the stove is quicker

Add the onion, root vegetables, garlic, bay leaves, and other herbs to the multicooker

Place the beef on top of the vegetables; add liquid

Cover and cook on low setting for 6-8 hours

Take out the beef to let it rest for 20 minutes

If you want gravy, strain the remaining liquid into a small saucepan, simmer on medium heat to reduce and gradually stir in maybe 1 tbsp cornstarch to thicken.

FEAST

A few notes:

The best thing about the slow cooker is that you can put everything together the night before. While you're putting together one night's dinner, you can just chop a couple of extra veg, spend another five minutes or so searing the meat, then put everything together in the inner pot of your multicooker and leave it covered in the fridge overnight. Just take it out of the fridge 20 minutes or so before you start cooking it.

The other good thing is that this literally needs nothing else done with it. No watching, no stirring, no nothing. You can switch on your multicooker or even set it to switch itself on at the appropriate time, go to work or whatever, and not only come home with dinner sorted, but you will come home with your whole home smelling wonderful. Then, all you have to do is make gravy if you want to.

Yet another good thing about the slow cooker is that it encourages use of the tougher, and generally cheaper, cuts of meat. The slow cooking breaks it down very well - as an example, I used silverside in mine (nearest to the rump, generally known as a drier and tougher cut) and when it was done and properly rested, it was so tender it fell apart when I so much as tried to get the binding string off. So you get several days' worth of lovely meals at a halfway reasonable price.

As to the beef stock and red wine, looking over several slow cooker beef recipes has led me to believe that as long as there's a certain amount of liquid in there for your beef to soak up, you're good. So experiment with whatever liquids, herbs and spices you want. Honestly, next time I'm going for less beef stock and a half-cup of A1.

I'm going to be doing other things with the slow cooker, so I promise there will be more to watch on this space. If nothing else, I'm having a vegetarian friend of mine over to dinner next month and I figure I should share recipes for things like the planned butternut squash risotto and the no-bake gingerbread cheesecake. Also, Sunday will see me take delivery of a small air fryer, which I feel like will very much improve my quality of life and certainly inspire me to new heights of cookery. And hey, running one of those is cheaper than heating up a single portion of tater tots in the oven.

So ... not dead, just reeeeeeeeeally lacking in spoons. But now I've found some ways to save a few, and this is as good a place as any to spend them.

[the-priestess-of-dawn]

it's not love but i still want you: a toxic chrima playlist

Tracklist + thoughts under the cut

1. L.A. LOOKS - HEALTH

I want another life (Don't hold your breath) I want to try again (But you can't swim) But it's not love It's not love It's not love, but I still want you It's not love, it's not love It's not love, but I still want you (It's still us)

2. Suffer - Hurts

Touch me and make me feel your misery And play me like you play your twisted little symphony 'Cause I'm just addicted to you, I'm just addicted to you I'm just addicted to the way you get the worst of me

3. Fight for Me -AlicebanD

I'll make you cry for me and lie for me (I'll make you cry for me) And bleed for me and die for me (And die for me) But most I'll make you right for me I'm sure I'm right for you

4. Follow You - Bring Me The Horizon

Show me what I can't see when the spark in my eyes is gone You got me on my knees, I'm your one-man cult Cross my heart and hope to die Promise you I'll never leave your side

5. Hate That You Know Me - Bleachers

Sometimes I, I hate that you know me so well Some days I, I wish that I wasn't myself No luck! And I hate that you know me so well

6. My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys - Taylor Swift

My boy (My boy), only breaks his favorite toys, toys, oh I'm queen (I'm queen), of sand castles he destroys, oh, oh 'Cause I knew too much, there was danger in the heat of my touch He saw forever, so he smashed it up, oh, oh

7. Shadows - Red

There's a hate inside of me like some kind of master I tried to save you but I can't find the answer I'm holding onto you, I'll never let go I need you with me as I enter the shadows

8. Get Away - CHVRCHES

I'll be your guide so you can see The other side and I will never let you get away Never let you get away

And so they continued on eternally, partners never to be parted.

So yeah, I'm back with another mini playlist curated from my main one, this one focused on toxic chrima inspired by Fell Exalt Chrom and his Forging Bonds, but not staying 100% true to that canon because that Grima is able to send Chrom away to have a better time in Askr, and we're not having any of that nonsense in THIS playlist, oh no. The invisible ties that bind them have been dyed red in blood, and there is no escaping fate when they'd both choose ruin over breaking that bond.

The songs I used here aren't necessarily in a particular order in a narrative sense, though they are grouped in pairs corresponding to Grima's POV followed by Chrom's POV. I did take care to make sure that My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys was paired with Hate That You Know Me because of the "I knew too much" line—in my mind, this ties into Grima trying to harshly distance himself from the past he shared with Chrom, insisting that the Robin Chrom knew is dead and that Chrom will never be reunited with him, because he thinks that it would be less painful for Chrom to believe there is nothing human in him left than to be constantly looking for signs that his partner is still himself... even though the signs are all there and not too hard to pick up on for someone who knows Grima well.

I also deliberately ended the playlist with Get Away because it's a sort of... lighter note than the rest. It also pairs particularly well with Shadows just before it because "I'll be your guide so you can see" is a perfect response to "Caught in the darkness, I go blind/Can you help me find my way out?" Even though this is toxic chrima, there's still relief from their despair to be found in each other. This also plays nicely with Follow You from earlier in the playlist, "Crossing your heart and hoping to never let you get away" serving as a callback to "Cross your heart and hope to die/Promise me you'll never leave my side" and "Cross my heart and hope to die/Promise you I'll never leave your side." I really like the way that worked out. Grima, you are never getting away from your other half, and that is both a threat and a promise.

[sonkitty]

Earthly Objects Study - Windows Part 2 (Good Omens 2)

Below is a post that I wrote about The Window Trick without fully recognizing it for being a Threshold Trick. It is one of my favorite posts I've written on Good Omens 2, so I am saving it for posterity. Feel free to read it, but here is a more updated take on The Window Trick: The Window Trick

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...

...

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, it’s best to start with my main post:

Good Omens 2 - Earthly Objects Main Point of Reference

And the windows post:

Earthly Objects Study - Windows Part 1 (Good Omens 2)

Let me start by saying I do not understand the simplified window looks that Crowley does during episodes 5 and 6. He has several compared to any other character in the show, including Aziraphale (I think).

In episode 5, Crowley looks from outside the bookshop toward Aziraphale when Aziraphale brings down the chandelier. The camera starts from outside and behind Crowley before showing his front from inside. He later looks out from the window inside the bookshop with the demons outside and surrounding the place. That particular one can at least be a standard 3-points earning in the game because of his hand visibly touching a flat surface, the window panes and wooden lattices being the simpler window look touch (if such windows grant such points).

In episode 6, there are multiple cuts of him looking from outside the bookshop toward Aziraphale though the camera is from inside the bookshop to see Crowley looking. He smiles. A strange little thing that happens is that when he later passes the open broken window, most of his body has already passed it.

If these things have a deeper meaning in all of this other stuff I'm about to say, it's beyond me at the moment.

Likewise, if the nightingale song adds anything to what's happening with the windows or thresholds, it is well beyond my capability to analyze.

I'll also acknowledge past theories on one point of what I'm going to talk about have been "He's shut the door on another level. That's so sad!" and "Maybe its' an after-effect of the stillness." So, minds do change, you know.

Now, we're going to focus on the latter half of episode 6 and the format of more complex window scenes.

If you've read the previous windows post, the latest version, you'll catch that I found what seem to be three requirements for earning earthly object points by looking through a window in these more complex scenes.

Simplified steps:

(1) The looker looks

(2) The window sees

(3) The looker is seen clearly behind the window pane. Possibly, this requirement also wants the window's physical threshold, such as a window frame, to be partly visible.

If you're not familiar with my basic rule-breaking theory for episode 6, it goes something like, Crowley and Aziraphale are intentionally avoiding touching earthly objects as much as possible. The kiss is something exceptional in it all between the two of them, but they are otherwise doing a lot of not touching things. There have been other extended conversations between them with no touching but this one is different. There's no three objects at the start like in Before the Beginning. There are no goats at the end like in the Job minisode. There's no chair at the end when deciding to leave Aziraphale on his own. And so on.

Some semblance of a visual physical touch on something they aren't wearing is not what happens during the bookshop scene at the end of episode 6.

Even so, we're actually going to start just before that with the Metatron.

After the Metatron talks to Muriel, his gaze suggests he is looking toward the bookshop, possibly even into the windows of the location, meaning he might be watching the intense conversation that's about to happen.

The story does something important here. It doesn't show step 2 for a complex window scene. We do not see what the window sees.

Not only that, every time Aziraphale or Crowley seems to look out the window during the bookshop scene, step 2 still does not happen. We never see what the window sees. We can see some stuff from within the bookshop through the window. It's not the same as a shot of what's happening outside and a window frame or something from within the structure to tell us that's the window seeing things. The story never tries for that specific step to reach that specific type of earthly object touch with step 2.

That is to say, it never tries during the bookshop scene.

The truly startling thing is that after Aziraphale has left, we actually do see step 2 is reached when Crowley looks at Nina. Step 3 is not reached, but step 2 is. He's allowed a faint differing touch on the door threshold with movement in his fingers. Then he looks at Maggie. Again, step 2 is reached but not step 3.

Those are two threshold-only touches onto windows.

The Earthly Objects game loves the number three.

Is there going to be a third threshold-only window touch and if so, how?

Yes, and not only that, it's going to be a 3-in-1 to reach #3.

What?

Am I sure?

Goodness no. Reaching this conclusion was unbelievably hard. It would be so easy to just tell you that Crowley is a demon so of course the windows at use here are just plain not earthly. Look at those supernatural-indicator long sideburns! I have some other excuses too, but let's focus on the hard answer for now.

Earlier, Crowley touched a threshold within itself by already touching a door before the camera saw it and then touching that door again when the camera wasn't looking. There are actually more touches in their own complex format, but the point is he touched the door while touching the door.

If we want the same thing for a window, how is that done? Greatly simplified, again, without accounting for thresholds and step 3, the idea is: Look through a window while looking through a window.

The first two windows we'll focus on are the lenses on Crowley's sunglasses. They are going to be an inner layer for the look, so the second "window" in the above stated sentence for the concept. The lenses are the windows on Crowley's door to himself. They present quite an issue for preventing step 3 since they are small, and Crowley is always behind them when he wears them. The third window is the driver's window on the door to his car—specifically in season 2, this car is also his home. That's going to be the outer layer, and the major assist to get it all done.

The first threshold touch that initiates the whole thing is the one for our inner layer. It is theoretically the two little dots of white light that appear in Crowley's sunglasses after he looks at Maggie.

Crowley's sunglasses don't usually reflect anything, but when they do, the most common type of reflection is light.

That is our very much theoretical step 1 for our eventual 3-in-1 threshold-only touch. For now, it is only 2-in-1. We aren't at the third window just yet.

The dots disappear as he starts to move and enter the car.

When steps 1-3 happen for a complex window scene, there isn't a threshold cross through a door in between, in the scenes that I've taken the time to analyze.

Presumably, that means that this threshold cross bears some significance. It also brings us to window #3 of this particular set. By now, step 1 is done through both together. We are at the threshold for our window set. Crowley is looking.

Now that we're layered further in, we can finally start on step 2. We must see what the window sees.

The outer layer of the look is deliberately blurred. It is blurred in a way that one would assume means the car window is actually closed, not open. It is incredibly difficult to find that the story at least intends for this to be a blur for its game that's passing or sharing the look with the sunglasses. The story is also trying to deceive us after all.

The biggest clue is the lacking bullet-holes sticker, which might have disappeared during episode 5 around when the demon invasion was starting. If that sticker just plain disappeared, I have found only one other ridiculously tiny clue.

Before Crowley closes the door, one of the people to his right is wearing a white shirt and orange over-shirt or jacket. The blur level looks the same for below the upper part of the door frame and for above that upper part of the door frame. Below the door frame is where the window is. Above the door frame is not where the window is. There is a person right before the one I'm describing who has a similar color scheme, but it's much harder to gauge if that's the same blur level happening. As such, the main clue is the person with the orange jacket or over-shirt. The blur level should be different if the window is closed.

I suppose the little lights that are presumably from the coffee shop are also about the same blur level.

The window behind Crowley also looks blurred, and you can't really tell it's blurred as closed instead of open because the blur levels look so similar to each other. I assume that's part of the deception and deliberate.

We, the audience, see what the window sees from the inner layer. The sunglasses have reflections of what is happening outside the door to the car as reflections. These are very unusual for Crowley at all and not direct. They seem to be slightly ahead and to the right of where Crowley's eyes would be looking.

Are they all the way up until the front of the window that we can't quite see? The story won't tell us directly. Instead, it's going to tell us nothing to his left is reflected, and when we get anything resembling the front, it changes significantly from what's outside the door to his car. When Crowley turns his head to turn off the music, those car door reflections disappear. They are not gone completely for every single frame, but they are gone completely for a significant amount of those frames. The main reflection that becomes visible looks like some combination of light and darkness that can't possibly be in front of him at all (or if it is, I can't figure out how or what it is).

Crowley's sunglasses rarely reflect people, and when they do, it's usually a person deliberately showing him an object they are holding.

That said, we are at step 2 of our 3-in-1 threshold-only touch for window #3.

The next cut is where step 3 is canceled out. The reflections are gone, and that window to the door of the car is more clearly shown as open. The blur pass or share from within is gone. There is no window pane, but there is a completely clear full window frame for it. Crowley was not behind the window pane of the outer layer, just the inner one. That's enough for his 3-in-1 threshold-only touch on window #3 before finally driving away.

That requires a lot of faith in the deceptive blur and the necessity of a lacking outer window pane to reach this conclusion.

A few other things worth mentioning are that my initial logic was suspecting it was related to how carefully he put his sunglasses on back in the bookshop. His thresholds for those are the end pieces, but he touched the areas around them, which I've taken to mean the thresholds of his own thresholds. I took that to mean he was protecting himself, possibly for what happened in the scene.

The main thing that changed my mind to this layered window concept was that as I was drafting my post, I would ask, "How do you tell the audience that this thing is happening?" and at least part of the answer was within the given scene itself (two dots of white light for step 1, reflections for step 2). I had no answer for what you can find within the scene on how to mitigate step 3 until I focused in on that car window.

There's probably some meaning to the fact that the window threshold-only touches were reserved for humans. The humans in the story have a fake dimension to them. Maggie and Nina do not have last names. They don't address Crowley by his name. The extras have some disturbing patterns in their repetitions and suspicious cuts throughout various scenes. So, while that rather sours what I believe is the story's intent, in my own opinion, I think the intent here is to show Crowley's love for humanity in whatever is really going on. Such thinking, besides the structure overall, comes from the music and David Tennant's acting.

Another question that might arise from all of the above is to ask what it means for Crowley's own sight. He senses people and things with his eyes to the point it very much looks the same to an outside observer as how seeing works. The story puts effort into what is and is not reflected in those sunglasses to indicate it's still not quite the same thing as seeing.

So, do the reflections mean Crowley can see, as in the more understood form of seeing, if he wants? Or just that he needs this specially created scenario to do it? I have no answer. Until the story says otherwise, go with the answer you like best. If you want to know my personal preference, it would be that Crowley just does what he wants. He could see, but he doesn't because he uses his own snake eyes in a way that suits him. It might even be to his advantage. Analyzing him as a character, for season 2 at least, shows a deep precision and strategy in his choices.

Plus, you know, those snake eyes are part of why I love the actor-character combination as much as I do.

The end.

I actually hope I never have to drastically change my mind and update this post. I'm rather proud of it because of the challenges involved, but past posts have suggested that's simply not going to happen. Sorry. So, please keep that in mind. I do update things if I feel I've figured more out though I usually make a post to say so and link the post that is being changed.

[petitelepus]

FOX'S WEDDING, PART 15

KITSUNE!RENGUKO KYOJURO X FEM!READER

Summary: Senjuro is doing well in school. So well that he has friends that he invites over to your place.

Warnings: Kissing, little arousal at the end

A/N: Female Reader, Kitsune Kyojuro, Kitsune Senjuro, Kitsune Rengoku, Monster Musume!AU, Tanjiro Kamado, Inosuke Hashibira, Zenitsu Agastuma, Jigoro Kuwajima

PART 1 II PART 2 II PART 3 II PART 4 II PART 5 II PART 6 II PART 7 II PART 8 II PART 9 II PART 10 II PART 11 II PART 12 II PART 13 II PART 14 II PART 15 II PART 16 II PART 17 II PART 18 II PART 19

September came and trees' leaves started to turn orange, yellow, or even bright red, depending on the tree. You and Kyojuro had been planning your wedding for a week now and you never expected a wedding to be so hard to plan.

You had begged Kyojuro to not get a job until you were married because you appreciated his help and opinion when it came to deciding something for your wedding.

You were both taking a break from planning and enjoying some tea and cookies when Senjuro came back from school. He called his usual, "I'm home!" as he took off his shoes and he joined you and Kyojuro in the kitchen.

"Hi Senjuro," You greeted the young Kitsune, "How was school?"

"Good." He nodded as he took a seat and reached for a cookie, "I was wondering if my friends could come visit us tomorrow?"

"Your friends?" You and Kyojuro glanced at each other and Senjuro bit his cookie, "We have an exam coming and we would like to keep a study group at one of our places. I offered to ask if I could host the group for the first time?"

"Of course!" You smiled happily, "Can I offer you guys treats?"

"If you want to, but you don't have to!" Senjuro smiled and you felt your heart almost burst in your chest as you clapped your hands, "Then it's settled! I will prepare you guys something to eat so you can focus on your studies!"

"Really?" The young fox smiled, "Is this okay with you big brother?"

"Hm!" Kyojuro nodded proudly, "I'm happy to see my dear brother and bride doing their best!"

"Then it's settled! What time will you come tomorrow?" You asked and Senjuro reached for another cookie, "School ends at 2pm so we are here maybe half past two?"

"Alright, I'll make sure that you guys aren't missing anything!" You said and you meant it. You were honestly so happy when you heard that Senjuro had managed to make friends so soon and you wanted to make a good impression on them for Senjuro's sake!

So when the next day came and Senjuro was walking back home with his friends, the said friends gasped when they saw the huge house he was living in.

"You live here?" A young man with dark hair asked as he and his friends took in Senjuro's home.

"What, is your family rich or something!?" A young man wearing a boar's head asked this blond man scowled, "C'mon Inosuke, a house doesn't define a person."

"I don't mind." Senjuro smiled a little shyly as he and his friends entered the house.

"I'm home and I brought my friends!" The young Kitsune called and the boys heard footsteps as you rushed to greet them from the kitchen.

"Welcome welcome!" You greeted them happily, "You must be Senjuro's friends! It's so nice to meet you all!"

"Good day, ma'am!" The young man with dark hair, round ears, and a raccoon's tail greeted you with a bright smile, "My name is Tanjiro Kamado! I'm Senjuro's friend and as you can see, I am a Tanuki!"

"I'm called Inosuke Hashibira! King of the Mountain!" This young man with a boar's head over his declared proudly.

"My name is Zenitsu Agatsuma and I'm a Nezumimi!" A blond boy with a mouse's ears and tail greeted you and smiled, "You're very pretty!"

"Aww, thank you!" You smiled happily, "Would you boys want some snacks?"

"Yes please, big sis." Senjuro smiled, "We'll go to my room to study."

"I'll bring the snacks soon!" You smiled as the boys made their way upstairs to Senjuro's room which was the house's biggest bedroom. The boys took in Senjuro's huge room as the shy boy closed the door, "Make yourself comfortable guys."

"Whoa, you have a Nintendo Switch and Playstation 5?" Inosuke immediately went to see the consoles and Senjuro smiled, "We can play later if you want to?"

"Awesome!" While Inosuke took in the impressive collection of games, the mouse boy turned to look at the fox boy.

"Oi! Oi oi oi!" Zenitsu grabbed Senjuro, "You didn't tell me your host family is a total beauty!"

"W- what?" The fox blinked and the mouse was on the verge of tears, "You get to live with a beauty like her?! How is that fair!?"

"Calm down Zenitsu!" Tanjiro said, "You enjoy living with Grandpa Jigoro, don't you?"

"I do love living with Grams, but it's not fair…!" The blond young man cried out and Senjuro gently patted his back, "Don't worry Zenitsu! She is my big sis only and she is engaged to my older brother."

"That doesn't make me feel better-!"

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and you called, "Boys? Is everything okay? I brought snacks!"

"Coming!" Senjuro quickly went to open the door and it was a good thing he did that because you were carrying a huge tray filled with food, such as both grilled cheese and grilled ham sandwiches, apple slices, and chocolate. Your fiance followed behind you, two huge bottles of soda under one arm and one holding a bowl of potato chips.

"Greetings boys!" Kyojuro greeted his little brother's friends as he put the soda bottles down, followed by the bowl, "I'm Senjuro's older brother Kyojuro! Thank you all for being my brother's friends!"

"Brother!" Senjuro blushed, but Tanjiro smiled, "You don't need to thank us! We all like Senjuro very much! He is really kind and we are happy to be his friends!"

"Hm!" The older fox nodded, "Hearing that makes me happy!"

"We will leave you boys to study." You smiled as you put the tray of food on the bed and you and Kyojuro let the boys be. As you were making your way downstairs, you smiled.

"Did you hear? Me?" You blushed as a smile rose to your face, "Me a beauty?"

"I always call you beautiful!" Kyojuro exclaimed.

"I know, but-!" You covered your smile with your hand and turned to look at your fiance, "Are you jealous?"

"No!"

"You are!"

"Nope, I'm not!

"Why?" You asked and he smiled as he gently held your face and kissed your forehead, "Because I know you love me as much as I love you and I love you and you only."

"Aww," You smiled as you placed your hands over his and moved them so you could kiss his knuckles, "It's healthy to be a little jealous, you know that right?"

"I do." He kissed your forehead again, "But I also know that you are loyal to me so I don't have a reason to be jealous."

"You sweet talker," You grinned, "Wanna help me make some cake?"

"Yes, my beloved Hime!"

While Senjuro was upstairs studying and enjoying treats with his friends, you and Kyojuro focused on making a simple strawberry and cream cake. You hadn't baked that in ages, not since you moved in together with the Kitsune brothers and strawberries happened to be on sale the last day when you had visited the store to buy stuff for Senjuro's study group.

The cake was easy oven tray cake and easy to make and while it was in the oven, you whipped cream and let Kyojuro cut strawberries. Once the cake was done, you let it cool down so the whipped cream wouldn't melt as soon as you would put it on. So while it cooled, you and Kyojuro thought about your wedding a little.

Half an hour later, the cake was cool enough for the cream and you absolutely smothered it with cream and strawberry slices. It wasn't the prettiest cake but it tasted so good when you one bite as a test and you moaned out loud.

"This is so good…!" You smiled and Kyojuro nodded, "Everything you make is good!"

"Should I make some tea and coffee and ask boys to join us?"

"I think that sounds marvelous!"

"Okay, just a second!" You put the electric kettle and coffee maker on and went upstairs to get the boys.

"Boys?" You knocked on Senjuro's room door. "May I come in?"

"Yes!" You heard Senjuro call and you peeked inside and saw that they all had their textbooks and notebooks out as they studied. Over half of the treats you had brought had been eaten and you blinked as you saw this beautiful young man sitting there. Who was he and where did he come from?

"Oh, who is this handsome young man?"

"It's Inosuke," Tanjiro replied helpfully.

"I see!" You nodded as you noticed the boar's head resting next to him.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but when you want to, would you like to come downstairs for some cake, tea, and coffee?"

"Cake!" Inosuke cheered and the boys looked at their friend.

"Oi, you ate most of the sandwiches, how can you still eat?" Zenitsu asked but Inosuke had made up his mind and he was eager for some cake.

Senjuro smiled as he looked at you, "We will come there in a second. Thank you, big sis."

"No worries!" You smiled and closed the door as you made your way downstairs and just in time as the electric kettle and coffee maker were done.

You put the cups on the table and cut generous pieces of the cake on plates that you put on the table next to the cups. Kyojuro took a seat at the head of the table and you smiled as you placed a huge piece of cake in front of him.

"Thank you, my beloved bride!" He thanked you but you gave him a look, "You're welcome, but wait until boys get here."

"I will!" He nodded and soon enough the boys joined you guys in the kitchen.

"Thank you for inviting us for cake," Tanjiro thanked you and you had a feeling that he was the polite one in the group. You smiled, "It's no problem! Please, enjoy some cake and tea or coffee if you like?"

The boys nodded as they poured themselves some tea and you noticed that no one took coffee, so you poured yourself some so it wouldn't be wasted. You watched them take their first bites of the cake and you absolutely beamed in joy as you watched their eyes widen after one bite.

"TASTY!" Kyojuro shouted, followed by Inosuke shouting, "SWEET!"

"It's so good!" Senjuro grinned.

"I wish my future wife could bake this well…!" Zenitsu smiled happily as he took another bite of the cake.

"It's really good cake!" Tanjiro said with a smile before looking at you, "Could I possibly get a recipe for this?"

"Of course!" You were so happy they liked your simple cake. Tanjiro smiled, "Thank you! I think my little sister and host father would love this also!"

"Oh yes, you guys are in extraspecies program also?" You asked and the boys nodded, "Yes, I live with a Tengu called Urokodaki. He is taking care of me and my little sister Nezuko."

"How nice!" You grinned, "If you ever want, your sister is welcome here also."

"Thank you!"

"I live with Grandpa Jigoro. He…" Zenitsu smiled a little, "I love him. He took me in when others wouldn't and I owe everything to him."

"Aww…!" You smiled happily, "I'm glad you have someone so important in your life. We all need someone like that."

You were about to ask, when suddenly Inosuke exclaimed, "More cake!" before shoving his empty plate at you. You blinked in mild surprise but smiled, accepting this plate, and went to fill it.

"How about you Inosuke?" You asked as you gave him the full plate back and he barely spoke as he started to stuff his face full of your cake. "I live with old grandma Hisa! She is a good cook!"

"I see," You nodded and your confusion must have been clear on your face because Senjuro smiled and replied, "Inosuke is a human."

"Ooh, I see!" You nodded harder this time as suddenly it made more sense to you. You noticed movement from the corner of your eye and turned to see Kyojuro offering his empty plate to you, "May I have more, my Hime?"

"You ate it?" You blinked in shock, "But you were quiet?"

"I'm sorry big sis, but I used my magic a little," Senjuro admitted and you nodded, understanding and taking the empty plate, "Okay, a second round of cake coming right up! Who else wants more?"

Senjuro, Tanjiro, and Zenitsu raised their hands and you smiled as you filled their plates and as they ate, you listened to them tell you about their lives and such.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and you blinked, a little confused about who it could be. You glanced at Senjuro, "Are we expecting someone else?"

The young fox shook his head and you got up and went to answer the door to your shock, you were greeted by this smaller older man with a wooden cane, a white mustache, and a scar on his cheekbone… And he was missing a right leg.

"Hello?" You blinked and the man smiled, "Why, hello there young lady. I heard my son is here for a study session?"

"Son?" Now you were confused, but the man smiled, "A little mouse boy called Zenitsu. I'm his host family Kuwajima."

"Ooh, you must be Grandpa Jigoro!" You smiled, "Zenitsu was just talking about you!"

"I see!" He nodded, "Bad I assume?"

"Not at all." You looked over your shoulder, "Zenitsu! Your grandpa is here!"

"Gramps!?" You heard and the mouse boy came to the door in record time, "What are you doing here?!"

"I'm making sure you don't bother this young lady!" The older man snapped and you shook your head, "Please, you have no reason to be worried. Zenitsu is an absolute delight to have around!"

"I see, I see." Jigoro nodded, "Well, I think I'll take my leave then. I was just passing by."

You had a feeling that was a lie and that he honestly wanted to check up on his foster child.

"Remember to come home on time Zenitsu!"

"I will, I will!" The blond boy nodded and you felt your heart break as you watched Grandpa turn and leave, and you-!

"Grandpa Jigoro, wait!" You called and the old man turned to look at you in confusion, "We were just enjoying some cake, tea, and coffee! Would you like to join us?"

"What!?" Zenitsu gasped and his guardian shook his head, "Oh, I don't want to be a bother-!"

"Not at all!" You rushed out and gently helped the older man inside, treating him like he was made out of the finest porcelain. You helped him to take off his shoe and then escorted him to the kitchen living room area where everyone was enjoying cake by the table. Zenitsu took his seat while you helped his host.

"Please, sit here." You pulled your chair for Grandpa and he took a seat, "Thank you, you're a very kind young lady."

"Thank you," You smiled happily, "Would you like some green tea or coffee?"

"Tea would be marvelous, dear." He smiled and you nodded, immediately preparing a perfect cup of tea for the old man, "Would you like some cake also?"

"I would love some."

"Coming right up!" You rushed to get a new plate and meanwhile, Grandpa Jigoro took in Kyojuro's and Senjuro's fox ears and tails, "My, Kitsunes here? What a lucky omen."

"Thank you, sir!" Both brothers thanked the man who smiled as he glanced at the older fox, "Taken by the ring on the young lady's finger, you must be the one engaged to her?"

"Yes, sir!" Kyojuro nodded and Grandpa was about to say something but then you returned, "What are you guys talking about?"

"Oh, nothing dear, don't worry." Jigoro smiled and you nodded as you placed a cup of tea in front of him and an absolutely huge piece of cake before him. "Please, Grandpa! Have some cake!"

"Tea and cake?" He chuckled, "My, you're just the sweetest young lady!"

"Please, it's my pleasure!" You were absolutely beaming with joy and others could see it also.

"May I get another piece also, my beloved?" Kyojuro asked as he held his empty plate and you nodded, "Of course! Would someone else take more cake also?"

Senjuro, Zenitsu, and Tanjiro shook their heads and politely turned down your offer.

"Me!" Inosuke exclaimed and you took his empty plate also and skipped happily to the kitchen to fill the plates. While you were gone, Jigoro looked at the older fox, "You're a smart young Yokai, I can tell. Treat her well."

"Hm!" Kyojuro nodded, "I will!"

"What?" You called as you came back with cake and gave your fiance and Inosuke their pieces.

"I was just telling this fiance of yours what a kind young lady you are!" Grandpa said and you got even happier if that was even possible, "Thank you, Grandpa, it means a lot to hear that from someone as wise as you!"

"I have no doubt in mind that you will make a great wife for this young man!"

"Hm!" Kyojuro smiled, "She is perfect, isn't she?"

"Yes," The old man nodded before glaring at his foster son, "Zenitsu! Make sure to find a wife as good as her!"

"I'm trying!" The mouse boy cried out and Senjuro and Tanjiro laughed a little as they tried to cheer up their friend.

You all started to talk about random topics as you enjoyed your tea, coffee, and cake. You were all having such a good time that you all missed how quickly the cake and time went. As the Fall came so did the darkness. Before any of you knew it was time for the boys to head back home so they wouldn't worry their families.

"Thank you so much for the snacks and cake!" Tanjiro thanked you as he was putting his shoes back on. You smiled, "Thank you for visiting! I'm happy that Senjuro has friends like you boys."

"Can we come over some another time also?" The young Tanuki asked and you nodded as you glanced at the young fox standing by your side, "If Senjuro is alright with it?"

"I would love it! Next time we could play my video games?" He asked and Inosuke who put the boar's head back on nodded, "I want to play soon too!"

"Me too…!" Zenitsu whined as he helped Grandpa Jigoro to get his shoe on.

"Stop your whining Zenitsu! I'm sure you are welcome back here also!"

"I know, but I'm worried how you will manage without me around!" The mouse boy cried out and the older man smiled as a soft blush rose to his cheeks," Ah, what a good boy."

"You're all welcome back here." You said with a happy smile and Kyojuro nodded beside you, "Hm! All my brother's friends are always welcome!"

"Thank you for the tea and cake. They were absolutely delicious," Grandpa Jigoro nodded before looking at your fiance, "Treat her well, boy. She has a heart made out of gold."

"Aww, thank you!" You smiled happily, flattered to hear such pretty things being said about you.

"Hm!" Kyojuro smiled, "I will!"

The three of you bid farewell to your guests and after they left you went to clean the dishes and such into the dishwasher. Senjuro was the first to take a bath as he still wanted to go through some of his notes before bedtime so you and Kyojuro relaxed on the couch.

"I'm so happy for Senjuro for gaining such kind friends!" You said and Kyojuro nodded, "Me too!"

"And I was happy to meet Zenitsu's Grandpa! What a sweet old man he was!"

"Hm!" Kyojuro nodded, but you immediately noticed that his usual smile looked a little too tight… As if it was forced.

"Is something wrong Kyojuro?"

"No!" He shook his head, "Everything is okay!"

"Are you sure?" You frowned, "Are you… Are you mad at me?"

"No!" He looked at you, "I could never be mad at you!"

"Then what is it?" You asked, "I can tell something isn't right."

"Hm!"

"Wait… Are you jealous?"

"Hm!" He nodded, before admitting, "A little."

"Wait, hold on!" You raised your hands, "You aren't jealous of Zenitsu but you get jealous of his Grandpa Jigoro?"

Kyojuro nodded and you snorted a little, "I'm sorry, but that is just a little silly!"

"Hm!" Your fiance didn't appear to appreciate your laughter. You grinned as you gently took his hand and kissed his knuckles, "Don't worry, my beloved, because I have my eyes on you and you only."

"Hm!" He nodded, finally smiling a little more genuinely as he used the hand you were holding to move a strand of your hair behind your ear, "That does make me feel better!"

"Aah, my fiance is the cutest!" You squealed happily as you jumped so you were straddling his lap and you pressed the palms of your hands on his cheeks.

"I promise, I love you and only you." You said and that was the only warning the Kitsune got before you leaned forward and kissed him lovingly.

You felt him smile against your lips before he kissed you back, his hand going behind your head and grasping the back of your neck, holding you still so you wouldn't be able to escape.

The two of you pulled apart, but only an inch so you could gasp for breath. As soon as you got your dose of air, you both dove right back, kissing each other again and again…

You moaned softly against your fiance's lips, feeling his manhood hardening in his pants against your clothed sex. Finally, you pulled apart from the kiss and looked at each into your eyes, seeing all the love and adoration you held for each other… And the lust you were feeling.

Before you could do anything more, you heard steps coming and quickly jumped off and threw a couch pillow over Kyojuro's lap. Just in time, Senjuro came downstairs wearing his pajamas and holding his phone.

"Big sis?"

"Yes Senjuro?"

"I was going through my notes when others messaged me," He replied and smiled, "Thank you for feeding us today. Tanjiro and others are excited and want to come over soon again!"

"Pleasure was all mine!" You smiled as you waved your hand, "Just let me know when you guys are coming next time and I can cook a proper meal or bake something!"

"I will! Thank you!" He nodded and he was about to head upstairs but he stopped to look at you two, " Oh yeah, the bath is open if you want to take one!"

"Thank you Senjuro!" You called and the young fox went to his bedroom. You turned to look at your fiance and grinned, "Wanna make out a little before bath?"

"Hm! Yes please!"

[ehlnofay]

Summerfest Day 6 - MIRROR (part one)

this is the first excerpt of a longer piece. I'll post the complete story on the free day on the 19th :)

In the cave underneath the derelict white-stone ruin, just as they were told, there is a tree.

It’s not all that impressive, even by a tree’s standards. It’s big, granted, with sprawling roots, half set into the wall of the cavern and threading itself along and into the low ceiling; thorny brambles, or an approximation of them, have sprung up from the crooks of its base, and here and there it sprouts bouquets of dry leaves. It looks half dead – or at least, not really alive in the way trees are supposed to be, though nothing ever is, here. As sources of apparently mythically powerful wood go, it’s gnarled, sad-looking – altogether pretty underwhelming.

It's also growing firmly out of the far end of a dank little pond that spans the whole width of the cave, because even with the Mad God gone somewhere beyond reaching, its world still revels in tormenting them.

Pax sighs and drops their main pack on the spongy earth in the entryway, leaves it sagging there, half-empty. No point risking dropping it in the water, even if there’s not much in it worth saving. You move quicker if you pack light; you move quicker still if you take shortcuts, and Pax has gotten adept enough at going by the off-road wilds that she only really has to pack for the populated places. (The wild Isles have plenty to eat in them, it seems, and apparently love to share, because her pack is never any lighter going out than in and yet she’s never hungry when she comes back. Sometimes the food is spoiled, though. Not much loss – everything here is atrocious.) The cave – it, like the tree, had some pretentious name, but they’ve forgotten both – is small and cramped, lit only by the faint stripes of lichen crawling along the walls, reflecting faintly off the surface of the water, dark as ink. Besides the tree and the sludgy-looking pool, there’s not much there to look at. Pax takes one step forward, and then stops; stands still, arms loose, bow still in its case slung over his shoulder, and waits for the catch. (There’s always a catch.)

Nothing happens.

He wrinkles his nose – holds still a moment longer – gives in, and pads over to the pond, earth squashing under his shoes. Gumming up the studs in the soles. It doesn’t smell like anything – the cave or the pond or the mud or anything – which is weird, but things being weird can’t really be a cause for alarm anymore, and haven’t been since they came in months ago. Pax reaches down and balances on one foot to pull a shoe off; puts the foot back down, and, fuck, he forgot about the stockings and now there’s mud seeping through the webby fabric sticking to his legs. Whatever. Who fucking cares. He takes the other shoe off, too, and hangs them both from crooked fingers, standing at the edge of the pond.

Fuck, she’ll have to change the stockings after this or be wet all day.

(Boo-hoo, she’ll be uncomfortable. Shut up.)

And still nothing happens. It’s less terrible than it could be, and that is too good to be true. Normally something would be trying to kill her by now. But there’s a time crunch she’s working under, and standing around looking at ugly trees waiting for the other shoe to drop gets no-one anywhere. The shithead library man said they needed a stick, so a stick they’re fucking getting, however little they believe it could be as easy as taking it.

Pax exhales again, the sound jarringly harsh in this empty, half-dead cavern, and they step into the pond –

Their foot breaks the surface and then keeps going – hard to see with only the lichen-light but they’d thought it was shallow water – a bit too late to course-correct now, their centre of gravity has already shifted past where they can reach. There’s not so much as a splash; they are submerged and sinking and rising all at once, and then –

And then Pax is catching themself stumbling over dry, spongy soil, and the cavern walls are jagged bare, and they are not alone.

They look up to meet each other’s eyes.

(Across the now-empty floor, not a pool of water in sight, is something wearing Pax’s shape; ahead, the tree is gone.)

“Who the fuck are you?” the other one demands – which is some fucking nerve, and not a question they have any right to ask, but it does give him pause. Pax is no stranger to seeing his own face on someone else; it was one of Sheogorath’s favourite party tricks, even after he acquiesced to its incessant badgering and came close enough for it to talk to him in person instead of just through grubby mirrors and wobbling reflections in the surface of the Niben, and from the beginning to the end it could never mimic him properly. The lines of his face it could do, sure – the fall of his hair, the stains on his clothes – but it always gave itself away in the posture, in the expressions, in the quality of the voice. There was always something off or strange, his face incongruous with his motions. It wore him like a second-hand coat it hadn’t gotten around to altering. This, though – this is different, unsettling, in a way that scratches against his spine. This is familiar.

She said exactly what they would’ve.

“You’re not Sheogorath,” they say, slow, and Pax pauses.

(It was the Grove of Reflection. Pompous bloody name. More literal, maybe, than the library man had made it sound.)

They look back at the place where the tree was meant to be – where it isn’t, now, the whole world veering in towards its absence – and they grit out, “Oh, bloody hell, seriously?”

“What,” says Pax, with no small edge of resentment, “it’s not like you thought it could be easy.” The pair of shoes are heavy in her hand; she leans over to shove them back onto her feet. Her stockings are dry, now. Dusty. Whatever. Gift horses and mouths and all, even if it’s a pretty shitty fucking gift.

“What do we do now?” Face the truth, according to the asshole back in the echo of the library, if Pax has remembered his words correctly, but that’s just about less helpful than nothing. The tree will give them a stick after it shows them who they really are, or whatever other bullshit. Like they don’t already know who they are. They live as themselves every day.

More inane trials, then. Fucking whoopee. One would think, when the Lord of the realm is dead and soon to return in a less-than-friendly state of mind, the fire and the ritual and the trap and the Gatekeeper and every-fucking-thing else would suffice as enough.

(All hell, they hate the Shivering Isles. This place eats you alive.)

(Still better than Cyrodiil. At least the Isles relishes your taste. But it’s a fine bloody line, sometimes.)

Pax follows suit and steps back into their shoes, scattering dust over the leather toe.

And then they’re both just standing there, on empty dirt where the pond once was, and the tree is fully gone. And all of this is completely mad, obviously, but if that was going to worry them then they would have turned back months ago.

“You look like shit,” Pax says, because he does.

He looks back, flat-eyed, and says, “You don’t say.”

(He really, really does – hollows under his eyes purple as bruise, fringe uneven, face thin-sharp and distant. His clothes and leathers are stained with dirt and sweat and probably some blood, somewhere, and all of them hang strangely on him – the showy tailored garments foisted on him with the duchy were too much trouble to bring, so they’ve stuck with basics. Stockings with tears in them. Scabbed hands, the spiked bone of their knucks rubbing calluses into their skin. Their hair is halfway undone. Sheogorath in their skin always looked eccentric, ephemeral, not quite there; but Pax looks at this flesh-and-bone doppelganger tonguing the gap in her teeth and flexes their aching hands.)

(This is going to be bad, isn’t it.)

[what-is-it-to-be-pk-esque]

Omggggg so I'm only like 5 mins into the BG3 epilogue and I already love everything about it so far ❤️ I had to write out my current initial thoughts about each romanced spawn!Astarion option.

So of course I couldn't resist and saved right when Astarion asks about what's next in the relationship/what you want so I could see everything & ughhhh my Tav & him are so cute with every option. I am still SO TORN between the 2nd/3rd options of underdark or sun cure.

On the one hand i'm like yeah! My Tav is an optimist so let's go find you a way to be in the sun again!! but also I kiiiinda feel like we have a responsibility to go help out a bit with the spawn in the underdark even though when it was discussed earlier in my game he said he wasn't going to volunteer for that (another positive imo though is underdark = less constantly worrying about the sun coming up, outside of nights where we decide to go topside). It's a lil messy, but so is he, and it's also a way for him to deal with the consequences of his choices - a theme brought up frequently in his story.

His reactions are v. cute about the "let's be heroes" and "quiet life" options too but that seems less... fulfilling or a good fit for them imo?? Being heroes is fine, but either way that doesn't really address the very real problems that would come up while living with him (and felt like a weird fairytale ending cop-out) so I didn't want to do that

I love love love that most options say the next 6 months with Tav are a happy contrast to the past 200 years, but I'm sad you don't get that line if you go with the underdark option (but I do love that you get to make a fortress a "home" which is great cause he def enjoyed like... all of the ruins in the game haha). So i'm still sitting here like a clown debating on what I'll "officially do" 😭 Probably doesn't matter and you can headcanon whatever but still haha. I want to do both, why can't we live in the underdark but take little adventures in Faerun to go find leads on items or spells or whatever that might be able to let him go enjoy the sun!?! Also my Tav is a half-elf so she'll need to figure out how to expand her lifespan to better match his if they're gonna "have forever" like he says. There's no way they're just spending all their time down there just being leaders (and let's be real he'll have relevant input of course, but it's your Tav probably making most of the better judgement calls lol)

Lastly, I haven't peeked at his reaction to the last option yet but can I also just say @ Larian WTF stop offering me opportunities to break up with him!! I mean I'm sure some people do it and want this, but after everything you're telling me your OC is gonna wake up all adorably next to your sweetie & break up with whoever you romanced right after you saved the world!?? Nah, couldn't be me lol, no matter who I picked that is not the goddamn time for a breakup you heartless person lmao

[shinysamurott9]

2024 Games: Pokemon Sword

So this was a bit of a weird time. This is a pretty long read as after playing this game after so many years that, along with the borderline nuclear fallout that was the fandom reaction to it, was a major contributor to me kind of falling out of active interest in pokemon, my ultimate takeaway was that the game was actually not that bad. It was pretty fun, a little underrated even.

My history with this game starts around 2018ish. USUM had come out and I really liked that game. Gen 7 was an all around good time overall which I still appreciate today. The release that year was Let's Go, which I'll be real, I wasn't a fan of it in premise, I'm still not tbh. I could go into that but, in short, it was a game I had little to no interest in and I ultimately decided to skip it to see whatever was next. I bring this up because I think this was the start of me falling out of interest in pokemon, at least for a while. But while Let's Go may have planted the seed, SwSh was what solidified it.

Enter the announcement of Sword and Shield, my friends and I were pretty excited for it, the game looked pretty interesting, a region based on England? That's pretty neat. The new pokemon looked really cool too, we were genuinely excited about it. But if you're familiar with this game's history, you know exactly what happened. In the middle of the game’s hype cycle, GameFreak announced the titanically controversial decision to not include roughly half the existing pokedex in the game meaning that many pokemon would simply not exist in Pokemon SwSh. This was probably one of the biggest Internet shitstorms I've ever been witness to, and the whole thing, both the actual decision and visceral reaction, only made worse by bad actors in the community fanning the flame, just really turned me off SwSh and Pokemon as a whole in a way. In some ways it was a good thing, in the time I wasn't playing Pokemon I was exploring other series I was less familiar with like Devil May Cry, Zelda or Xenoblade or further exploring series I hadn't fully played yet like Metroid or Mega Man, most of which are series I absolutely adore today.

I still kept up with Pokemon to some extent, mostly playing the games while keeping my distance from the wider community. I played BDSP when it released and was not as disappointed as everyone else while still feeling fairly apathetic to it. Played Legends Arceus when it came out and genuinely loved it for it's fresh take on pokemon while also offering a ton of history and lore on Sinnoh that I really appreciated and I played Scarlet and dropped it a couple days in after discovering Pokeball warps and absolutely breaking the game letting me do a lap around the whole region and getting a lvl 40 starter before ever entering the school. Yhe vast majority of my time with pokemon was playing older games in Gen 3 or shiny hunting. That was til about 6 months ago. I had been playing Emerald and I wanted to take on the Battle Frontier and get the Gold Symbols. While I was prepping to do this I was watching a couple videos on the Ribbon Master Challenge and since I was already doing the Frontier and with the looming closure of Pokemon Bank, I thought that I wanted to take that on. And it's been something I've been working on the past few months. Massive shoutouts to CannedWolfMeat and SirToastyToes for their excellent videos that inspired me to do this. And now I'm here basically at the end,prepping to play through Scarlet for the the last few Ribbons in that game.

Of course though, In order to get the ribbons in Sword, I had to actually play through it for the first time. The playthrough, while really easy Leon and early Klara not withstanding, was extremely strong in terms of options for team members, especially with Isle of Armor options thrown in. I love pokemon games that offer a large variety of team members to use, it's a big reason I enjoy XY more than most. I found myself using 10 whole team members by the end of the playthrough. Would have had more but I literally never found Applin and Cursola is Shield exclusive. Many of these were new Galarian Pokemon which are for the most part fantastic. Galar imo has one of the strongest lineups of new pokemon in the series, though I feel Alola did regional forms better. Seriously though, I was using all these guys by the end.

Something thatvalso surprised me was the locations. While the Wild Area is a little boring, I found myself enjoying many of the locations. The two big cities, Hammerlocke and Motostoke are cool and feel very large, Ballonlea and the Glimwood Tangle are actually really great areas visually and Wyndon is imo, one of the best cities we've seen in a Pokemon Game in terms of both scale and looks. While I do like these areas, I will say progressing through them is extremely linear, it feels like there's very little opportunity to go off the beaten path. It's a pretty big shame when even more linear games like XY or Gen 7 had at least a couple of optional areas to explore.

I will say the main story isn’t great. I enjoyed some of the characters. Bede had a neat story with him basically trying to get validation from a father figure who doesn't seem to care much about him. Marnie was an all around good character with some fun interactions who genuinely is just doing her best for her home town and much of the dlc cast like Mustard, Klara and Peony were genuinely entertaining. I did enjoy some of the main game side characters too like Bea and Piers.

Where the plot falls is, well, the plot, not a lot really happens. The game does build up Rose's plan with Eternatus, but you're kept out of the action for most of the events leading up to it. The game basically doesn't have an antagonist until right at the end, where it just kinda feels forced. Everything with Macro Cosmos at Rose Tower only happens because Leon was meeting Rose and we didn't like that for some reason? And of course there's the climax with Eternatus, where as everyone and their mother has pointed out, Rose basically unleashes the apocalypse because he couldn't wait one day to solve a problem 1000 years away. I do like how nonchalant he is about it though, that's kind of funny and Eternatus is actually a pretty cool legendary, though there really isn't much on it storywise beyond the fact it crashed to Earth 3000 years ago and it is the source of Dynamax.

The DLCs though do have more interesting stories. With Isle of Armor focusing on Klara and her being humbled through the dojo and then bonding with Kubfu to raise him to his ultimate form. And Crown Tundra was actually really interesting as you have Calyrex be an actual character. The king of the land who lost his power over time, seemingly losing faith in himself and subsequently losing the people's worship and his steeds. Heck the fact that Calyrex properly talks to you really helps make him and his story stand out from other legendaries and is really neat I think.

I will say, there may be something to be said about how many of the best parts of this game are locked behind DLC. I don't think that's inherently a bad thing, the DLC itself definitely justifies its purchase, but I do agree that the main game is a little lacking in some areas that the DLC does help make up for but that of course has the price tag attached. I also have to say the way the DLC is designed is a liitle strange. While Isle of armor does a decent job being something you can do at any point. Having access to the Crown Tundra as early as the Wild Area is extremely weird. The levels don't scale like the Wild Area or Isle of Armor so no matter when you go there you'll be fighting stuff in the high 50s or low 60s. While this does mean you can't catch anything in the wild, there is absolutely nothing stopping you from doing the Dynamax adventures and catching not just a massive variety of overleveled fully evolved mons but basically any legendary from the previous generations. And with that stuff, it's not unreasonable to be able to do literally everything in the Tundra after that except for catching Calyrex. While I would agree this is a fair decision, when you're already handing me literally anything I could want to steamroll the game, blocking off Calyrex and only Calyrex just seems weird.

For some other Miscellaneous stuff. The Battle Tower: It's pathetically easy, especially by previous Tower standards. The NPCs are limited to the Pokedex available at launch and you have no restrictions on useable mons. I'm not really complaining about this as it felt good to have a Facility that was basically just a victory lap after doing every other Tower in the past 6 months or so, and it is very worthwhile to do for rewards like Bottle Caps, Candies and the Nature Mints. 50 BP for one mint sounds like a lot but it's really not as bad as it sounds. But it is slso incredibly funny that shit like this is allowed.

Speaking of, the Nature Mints, those are a genuinely fantastic addition to the series. I'm very happy to see how accessible optimising pokemon has become since Gen 7. Between Hyper Training, Very easy levelling with jow many candies you can get through Raids, Nature Mints, easily accessible EV Training through the dojo and items like the Ability Capsule and Patch (Even with how expensive the patch is in SwSh), you can make pretty much any pokemon perfectly optimised for competitive use with, for the most part, not much time investment, it's genuinely great.

One thing I have to say as someone who enjoys a bit of Shiny Hunting, SwSh are kind of a slap in tge face with how many mons are shiny locked. Stuff like Type Null which was huntable in Gen 7, the starters which are a cardinal sin to shiny lock imo, and Cosmog who has literally no practical reason to be shiny locked when you can get Solgaleo or Lunala from the Max Lair with massively boosted shiny odds. It only really reinforces how little reason there actually is to shiny lock stuff imo and SwSh has among the most in the series. It's extremely annoying. Doesn't help that the game’s shiny hunting method is kinda eh, and wasn't properly figured out til ages after it's release.

So overall, I do think SwSh is a pretty flawed game, but I feel like it has a lot of strong aspects that get overlooked due to how initial reactions colored people's opinion on the game. Is it the best pokemon game? Not by a long shot imo. Is it still good though? I would say so yeah. I'd put it around B Tier I think. It has made me pretty interested to get to SV, which I'll have to do soon for the last few ribbons.

[oblivious-aro]

Friends in strange Places Ch. 6 Pt 2

What if Vlad was good instead of evil? Link to chapter 1:

Friends in Strange Places Chapter 1, a danny phantom fanfic | FanFiction

FANFICTION.NET

Summary: With a little encouragement from Vlad, Danny works up the nerve to tell his parents. Sam and Tucker realize they have some things to discuss.

Word Count: 8600

--------------------------------------------------

By the time Danny managed to get the thespian ghost into The Thermos and fly back home, Vlad had already left. Danny was disappointed to have missed him, but he did get a play-by-play of the entire visit from his parents over dinner.

"...and it turns out Vladdie hasn't had any luck designing an ecto-based adhesive either! But thanks to his input, we should be able to increase the efficiency of The Spectre Speeder tenfold!"

"That's fascinating Dad." Jazz deadpanned "So you and Vlad have been breaking the ice okay then?"

"Yup!" Maddie smiled "Oh, I'm so glad Vlad decided to open up to us. It's been so nice working with him again."

"Wow," Jazz said "Vlad sharing his secret with you two really seems to have made a difference in your relationship. Even if he was scared to do it, it certainly seems to have been worth the risk."

Danny glared at Jazz.

"You said it Jazzy!" Jack beamed, oblivious to the secret conversation between his children "Now that we know what's been going on with Vladdie all this time, we're closer than ever before!"

"You don't say." Jazz stared directly at Danny as she spoke.

"I'm done eating, I'm going to my room now." Danny pushed his chair back and began to walk towards the stairs.

"Sorry Danny," Maddie grabbed his shoulder as he passed her "You and your father are on dishes tonight."

"What? But I did them last night!"

"Yeah?" Jazz put the stack of plates in the sink "And who did them the last two nights in before that?"

"That was only because-" he'd had to leave halfway through dinner to deal with Skulker's newest (not to mention very destructive) 'toy'.

"Because what, Danny?" Maddie cocked an eyebrow.

"Nothing." Danny grumbled.

"See you in the lab, Hun." Maddie gave Jack a peck on the cheek "I want to get started on archiving today's data."

With that, she disappeared down the basement stairs.

"Come on, Danno," Jack gave the pouting Danny a pat on the back "The sooner we get this done, the sooner it'll be over. You washing or drying tonight?"

"I'll dry." Danny said. His father had an unfortunate tendency to put dishes away in the wrong places, and Danny did not feel like dealing with Jazz's complaining tomorrow morning.

"So," Danny asked as his dad handed him a plate "How are things going with Vlad? It's really not awkward with his whole, you know...'ghostly' situation?"

"Nonsense Danny!" Jack waved his hand "We barely even talked about it."

Danny wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"I mean," Jack continued "We did sit down and discuss the situation when he first got here, but it didn't take long for us to get back into the swing of researching together just like old times. In fact, the data we collected today has given me a great idea for a new weapon! I call it The Fenton Ghost Gooer!"

"You're not like, married to that name, are you?" Danny scrunched his nose.

"It's gonna be great!" See, your mother and I haven't had much success with ectoplasmic based adhesive in the past, but after studying its behaviour at high velocity under varying degrees of impact force..."

Danny rolled his eyes. It could be so difficult to get his father to stay on a topic that wasn't whatever his latest ghost invention was.

"Dad, would it bother you if you saw Vlad using his ghost powers?" Danny interrupted his rambling.

"What do you mean, Son?" Jack frowned.

"I know you and Mom don't hate Vlad or anything for being half-gho-"

"Of course we don't hate Vladdie!" Jack made an offended expression "He's our best friend!"

"Yeah I know, but I mean like, wouldn't it wig you out to see him flying around or sticking his arm through something? Like, how'd you feel when you first saw him transform?"

"Well I suppose it was a little startling." Jack said "But Vladdie had only really told us about his powers less than a minute ago, so you can't really blame me for being shocked. Your mother and you kids were pretty shaken too, if I recall correctly. Heck, you and your friends barely said a word the whole drive home!"

"Uh...yup! That's right! Totally shocked!" Danny laughed nervously.

"But once your mother and I talked things out, and I got a good night's sleep to think it over, I was able to...what's the word Jazz uses? 'Process' the situation. Sure, it's a little strange that Vlad's got ghostly abilities, but the fact is he does and he's our friend, so we're just going to have to get used to it. Simple as that. The lesson here Danny is that when your problems seem too strange and impossible to figure out, get a good night's sleep. That's something my father taught me. Your brain does amazing things while you're sleeping. Can't tell you how many times I've gone to bed thinking I'd have to scrap some glitchy invention, only to wake up knowing exactly how to fix it!"

Danny wasn't sure he believed his dad. How could Vlad turning out to be half-ghost be so simple for him? Seeing your best friend using the same abilities as the creatures you've hated and hunted obsessively for years had to be a weird, right? Like, at least a little?

"What's got you asking about Vladdie so much anyway, Son?"

"Oh uh, no reason. Just curious."

Jack smiled softly at Danny and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Danny, if Vlad's ghost powers freak you out, you should know you have nothing to worry about. I know he might have looked a little intimidating when he fought that lake monster, but looks are just looks, and despite how Vlad might have looked, he's isn't actually a ghost, so-"

"Ew Dad, you're soaking through my shirt!" Danny pushed Jack's soapy hand off of his shoulder "And I'm not scared of Vlad. I haven't even been scared of ghosts since I was seven."

"Well that's good to hear then." Jack gave Danny's back a strong pat before resuming his scrubbing. "Because there's absolutely no reason to be afraid of Vladdie. And there's gonna be absolutely no reason to be afraid of ghosts anymore once I finish The Fenton Ghost Gooer!"

Danny smiled as his dad started to explain his latest invention.

If nothing else, Jack Fenton was genuine. If he said he didn't have a problem with Vlad's ghost powers, then he meant it.

So why was some small part of Danny still so hesitate?

--------------------------------------------------

"Aim left! Left!" Tucker cried.

Their entire view was obscured by an explosion before a metallic skull appeared on the computer screen with the words Game Over overlaying it.

"Okay, that might have been a little too left."

"Y'know," Valerie said "I just don't think this game is for me."

"Aw come on, you were way better that time."

"Was I?"

"I mean, you almost made it past level one. That's an improvement!"

Valerie did not look impressed.

"You know, I really thought your ghost hunting skills would translate directly to DOOMED. It's basically the same mechanics."

"What're you talking about? Aiming a real blaster is waay smoother then trying to line up your sight with that thing." Valerie pointed at the computer mouse like it was something offensive.

"Aw well," Tucker shrugged "Can't say you didn't try."

"Indeed." Valerie checked her watch "I'd better get going. Sorry DOOMED didn't work out."

"S'all good." Tucker waved his hand "I still got Danny and Sam to play with. We've got loads of other stuff we can try doing together."

"Alright, but I'm choosing the next date activity." Valerie smiled.

"Sounds good." Tucker frowned "Wait, this was a date?"

"I'm pretty sure this counts?"

"Oh, if that's the case, I feel kind of bad making you spend a date playing a video game you didn't enjoy."

"I mean, I did enjoy watching you freak out every time one of those robot bat things showed up."

"They suck up your health! It's imperative to get rid of them as fast as possible before they become too beefy! Sure, they're pretty harmless if you kill them right away, but it's insane that the developers put an enemy that's capable of getting so powerful at level one!"

"See that," Valerie smiled as she swung her backpack over her shoulder "That's weirdly charming. Now I really got to go. See you tomorrow."

"See you!" Tucker called back. Valerie had officially been over enough times that he didn't need to show her out anymore.

And now that she was gone, it was time for DOOMED with Danny.

--------------------------------------------------

Pow! Pow!

"Oh my gosh it's satisfying watching an enemy actually get hit." Tucker said over the voice chat. His parents had gotten him a mic set for his birthday.

"I take it DOOMED with Valerie didn't go well?" Danny's asked.

"Dude, she is so bad! Uh, don't tell her I said that."

"Ha ha, I won't. It's weird, though. Considering her ghost hunting skills, I figured she'd be great at this game."

"I thought so too, but nope! It was like that time we watched my little cousin play Mario at my eleventh birthday party."

"Ugh, why'd you bring that up? That was a genuinely painful experience."

"So was watching Valerie play!"

They continued to play in near silence for a while, only talking to warn each other of an approaching enemy.

Just as Tucker was getting ready to call it, Danny spoke:

"Thanks for hanging out tonight, Tuck. I think I needed this."

"Hey, no problem man. Is something going on?" Tucker asked casually. He very much knew that there was a lot going on with Danny, but he figured between Sam and Jazz, Danny didn't need another person smothering him.

That being said, Tucker was still worried about his best friend. He could hardly help it.

"I'm just stressed about telling my parents." Danny paused to blast an approaching spider "I know they're gonna accept me, but the idea of actually telling them is still pretty terrifying. I know it's not a big thing, just two sentences or whatever, but it still feels like the most monumental thing I've ever done."

"Honestly, I think that's pretty reasonable. I know you know they'll be cool, but this is still the biggest secret you've ever kept. Makes sense you're wigged out about finally letting go."

"Yeah, ha ha. I'll figure it out eventually, though. Hopefully. Anyway, one more round?"

"Sure thing Dude."

They were interrupted by the notification sound effect of another player joining.

"Hey, poetry slam ended earlier than I thought it would. You two still playing?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, but we're just doing one last round." Danny replied.

"That's fine. Still gives me enough time for me to hand you both your own butts."

Tucker was pretty sure he could hear Sam's smug grin through his headset.

"Don't think your victory's so assured, Sam." Tucker said "I've been working on a new strategy that'll knock your socks clean off!"

"Ooh! I'm shaking in my rank three crusher boots with bonus spike damage."

Despite Tucker's trash talk, he'd gotten used to losing a while ago. It was just fun to pretend he might one day outrank Sam.

Mostly he was just happy that Danny was getting a break.

...and also the opportunity to test out his new poison upgrade.

--------------------------------------------------

Danny sighed with relief as he dropped the last of the rags into The Fenton Washing Machine. Not all of the ectoplasm from his parents catapult experiment had made it into the The Containment Tank, and Danny still wasn't having any luck convincing Jazz to swap chores with him.

Danny had just turned the washer on when his ghost sense went off. With a loud groan, Danny turned and glared at the portal. He felt every muscle in his body relax when Vlad floated out.

"Do you somehow just know when I've just finished cleaning the lab?" Danny was too exhausted to muster up a polite greeting "If you're looking for my parents, they're actually out right now. My dad realized we were out of fudge after dinner, and he almost died when he saw we weren't stocked up on baking ingredients."

"I can practically hear Jack's panicked voice." Vlad grinned "But it's actually you I'm after." Vlad said.

"Oh. Really?"

"Yes. Although Jack and Maddie seem relatively comfortable with my ghostly side, I don't think it'd be a good idea to just fly into their lab through the portal as a ghost. I don't think I'm ready for that yet."

"Fair. How'd it go with them yesterday anyway?"

"Rather well, all things considered. Being so open about my abilities with them has certainly been a...mental adjustment after decades of secrecy and hiding, but as I said they really do seem to have taken it rather well."

"That's good to hear." Danny smiled. Hearing Vlad say that made him feel lighter inside. "So what'd you want to talk to me about?"

"I wanted to inquire about your plans to tell your parents about your accident." Vlad said. The lightness in Danny vanished "I assume you haven't already?"

"Uh...no, I...have not done that yet." Danny hoped Vlad couldn't tell how dry his mouth was.

Vlad frowned.

"You seem rather perturbed Daniel. Do you...not want to tell them?"

"I do!" Danny said quickly "Really! It just...never seems like the right time, I guess."

"You guess?"

Danny sighed.

"You know, things aren't terrible right now." Danny rubbed the back of his neck "I guess it's just...I don't really know what will happen when I tell them. I mean, I know they won't banish me to The Ghost Zone or dissect me or whatever, but things are going to..be different, you know? And honestly, that kind of scares me. I guess I was too busy worrying about what could go wrong to think about what would happen if things went right, so I really don't know what to expect."

Vlad's eyes softened with sympathy.

"As they say, misery is comfortable."

"What? No, that's stupid. I hate being miserable, everyone does."

"Daniel you just told me that a part of you would rather live in a house with two people who are trying to hunt you, surrounded by hazardous devices, than tell your parents about your ghost part."

"No, that's- I mean...huh."

"I do understand how you're feeling." Vlad said. "Now that your parents know about my powers, I was more than a tad nervous to come down here yesterday, and there is a reason I stalled telling them until the end of the trip. But, as someone who's been where you are, I can confidently say things are better now that they know. Even with all the unknown elements."

"I know things'll be better," Danny said "It's just so weird to think how much one little conversation can change."

"Things are going to change. It might be a bit awkward with your parents at first, I won't lie. The idea of being in my ghost form around Jack and Maddie still makes me...apprehensive, and I'm not sure I'll feel comfortable with it any time soon. For all I know, I may never."

"Well that's comforting."

"But I'm not scared of my best friends shooting me anymore, so that's a plus." Vlad grinned "Kind of outweighs having to deal with the awkwardness, if you ask me."

"Yeah," Danny laughed half-heartedly "I suppose it would."

"You want my advice? Tell them tonight."

"Tonight!?" Danny almost had a heart attack

"Yes tonight. Not telling Jack and Maddie sooner has been my biggest regret. You know you want to do this. Save yourself the unnecessary worry and just get it done."

Danny thought about it. He supposed Vlad's logic was sound, and if there was anyone he should listen to for tips on telling his parents they were half-ghost it was him, but the thought of doing it so soon made him dizzy. He knew he'd been stalling, but he needed a little more time to prepare than that.

"I'll do it tomorrow night." he said, sounding much firmer than he felt.

"Well I say never put off till tomorrow what can be done today," Vlad shrugged "But the decision is yours. Good luck Little Badger!"

With that, Vlad flew backwards through the portal, leaving Danny alone with his thoughts.

--------------------------------------------------

Tucker had to stop himself from cheering as the lunch lady finished scooping the casserole of the day onto his tray. In his opinion, it was insanely cruel of the faculty to schedule his biweekly PE period right before lunch. As if gym class wasn't long enough!

He quickly found Sam in their usual spot and took a seat across from her.

"Where's Danny?" Tucker asked before shoving a large spoonful of casserole into his mouth. It was tomato and ground beef with macaroni noodle today.

"Give you three guesses and two of them don't count." Sam replied.

"Ah." Tucker swallowed "Was it The Box Ghost again?"

"Nah, I'm pretty sure it was Klemper. Danny said something about frozen toilets."

"Ooh, maybe Danny should let him keep going for a bit! I think they have to cancel school if the toilets don't work."

"Tucker, broken plumbing facilities in a building with over five hundred people could pose a serious problem. Do you know how many students here have bladder issues?"

"Okay jeez, I was only joking."

There was a brief silence as the two of them started to eat their lunches.

"I really could've used you with Danny the other day, you know." Sam said "It's like you don't even care that your best friend's about to tell his parents the biggest secret of his life."

"What? Sam, of course I care. I'm worried about Danny too, but there's no point in pushing him if he's not ready yet."

Sam was about to angrily retort, but she stopped herself, the conversation with Danny replaying in her head.

Why was she so angry at Tucker? Sure, it was kind of annoying he hadn't backed her up, but she had to admit his logic wasn't totally unreasonable.

"I guess." she relented. It felt weird admitting Tucker was right so easily.

Wait, why did that feel so weird? They were friends, best friends. It shouldn't take so much restraint just to agree with each other about something so minor.

Danny was right. Something was wrong.

Not that it was all Sam's doing, Tucker could be annoying and insensitive. A lot of the time, in fact.

But was Sam maybe...not always interpreting his intentions in the best light? Just maybe?

A lot of mixed thoughts were going through Sam's head, but one thing she knew for sure was that if they wanted to fix what was going on, someone had to start somewhere.

"Hey, um, I just wanted to say I'm...sorry I teased you about Valerie so much. You told me to stop and I didn't, even though I should have."

Tucker blinked, completely taken aback by her sudden apology. It probably didn't help that she'd been giving him the gears less than a minute ago.

Admittedly, that might have been a weird place to start, but it was the first thing Sam thought of, and Sam was the kind of person who liked to start fixing a problem as soon as possible.

She just hoped Tucker wouldn't make fun of her apology for revenge.

"Uh...no hard feelings." Tucker said, his shocked expression morphing into a grin "In fact, since you apologized, and I'm such a gracious friend, I promise I won't make as much fun of you when you get your embarrassing first crush." Tucker winked and did finger guns.

Sam felt a flash of annoyance. Of course, Tucker didn't know she was aromantic, chances were he didn't even know what 'aromantic' meant, so Sam knew it wasn't fair for her to be mad at him.

Well, she had just decided she wanted to fix the kink in their friendship, and an important part of friendship was being able to trust your friends with your secrets...

"Actually...I don't think I'll ever get a crush." Sam said.

"Aww, come on. I know being gloomy's your thing, but I'm sure someday you'll-"

"No Tucker, I'm aromantic."

"Oh. Um, what's that?"

"It means I don't get crushes, and I'm never going to fall in love. Ever." Sam crossed her arms "And before you try to give me another pitying platitude, I'm actually quite happy with this development."

"Okay, but how do you know you'll never fall in love?" Tucker asked.

Anger burned in Sam.

"Ugh!" she threw up her hands "This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you!"

She knew this would happen! She knew Tucker wouldn't take her seriously! She knew he'd-

"No no no no wait, I totally believe you!" Tucker threw up his hands defensively "I just meant, like, how'd you figure it out? I'm sorry, I didn't realize how that would sound! I didn't mean it like that, I promise!"

The fire in Sam instantly died.

"You...really believe me?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"Because people are never taken seriously when they say they aren't interested in romance. I've lost count of the number of movies I've seen where someone says they're happy being single, but by the end they've started a relationship with someone and everyone's acting like they're 'fixed' now." Sam unconsciously clenched her fists. She'd never realized that that trope bothered her so much until right now. "Plus you specifically never take anything I say seriously."

"What? Yes I do! What are you talking about?"

"Well you weren't exactly the most supportive of my menu update at the start of the year."

"Sam, you literally forced everyone in the school to change to a very niche diet. You gotta admit that's a little extreme."

"Okay fine, maybe that wasn't my best idea. But it feels like ever since then, you've never tried to help me with my world-improving projects. You don't even really listen to my ideas. Like, the world's on fire, and all my friends, family, and fellow students ever seem to want to do about it is laugh at me for trying to fix things!"

The passion in Sam's voice sobered Tucker's normally humorous attitude.

"I didn't think you cared what other people said about you." he said.

"I don't." Sam looked defiantly into Tucker's eyes "I'm an activist to try and make the world a better place, I'm not interested in this for personal glory." Sam gaze shifted away from Tucker's face and she crossed her arms over her body "But y'know, I...might care a little bit what my best friends say about me."

"Oh." Tucker looked away too. "I...I guess that makes sense."

There was a long silence.

"So...how did you figure it out?" Tucker asked "I mean, if you like girls then you figure it out by liking a girl and vice versa, but there isn't really a sign if you don't like anybody, so how do you know you won't like anybody ever?"

Sam raised an eyebrow at Tucker.

"N-not saying you're wrong about saying you're aromantic! Or that anybody else is! I'm really just curious, I swear! Actually you know what, you don't have answer that. I probably shouldn't have even asked."

Tucker proceeded to shove an entire handful of tater tots in his mouth. Sam was pretty sure it was to stop himself from rambling any more. It was a very Tucker thing to do. She might've laughed if Tucker's question hadn't been making her think so hard.

Sam wasn't offended by the question, she knew Tucker was a curious person who meant it genuinely, it was just a difficult question to answer.

"I don't know." Sam admitted "It just...feels right. I don't know how to explain it any better. The idea of not falling in love feels like it fits better than the typical romantic ideas everyone's always pushing, and like, when I read about some of the experiences of other aromantic people I've found online, it just feels so right. Like someone finally gets it. I can't really explain it much better than that, but I just know it's true that I'm not going to fall in love."

"I guess it's like getting a crush." Tucker mused "You can't really explain it, you just kind of know."

Sam frowned. She didn't think it was exactly like that, but she could see that Tucker was trying to be understanding. Not to mention she had just told herself she was going to try and be more civil with him.

"Uh, maybe." she said "Honestly, the idea was kind of weird at first, but the more time goes on, the more I actually really like knowing I'm aro. It's great. Figuring that out feels like scratching an itch I didn't even know I had."

"I definitely get that."

"You do?"

Tucker felt his heart skip a beat.

"I...think I might be bi." Tucker said.

"Yeah? Good for you." Sam gave Tucker a small but genuine smile.

Tucker felt his whole body relax.

Wait, why was he so relieved? He hadn't felt this tense when he was telling Danny or Valerie.

Maybe Danny was on to something about him and Sam...

"You okay over there?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, just uh, thinking about some stuff. You don't seem surprised."

"Tucker, remember the drive in Danny's RV to Vlad's cottage?"

"Oh yeah. I kind of hoped everyone had forgotten about that nightmare."

"I mean, I had planned on never mentioning it again ever, but I don't think I could forget it if I tried. But hey, at least I figured out my romantic orientation. So that's pretty cool." Sam shrugged casually.

"I wish I felt as confident about being bi as you do about being...what was it?"

"Aromantic. Aro for short."

"Aro, got it. I mean, I'm warming up to the idea of being bi, but it's been quite the adjustment for my brain. At first it felt like I maybe wasn't even allowed to call myself that."

"Why not?"

"I mean, I for sure do get crushes on guys sometimes, but it really isn't a lot of the time. I'm really mostly into girls, so sometimes it kind of feels like I'm trying to claim something I'm not sure I have any right to."

"So what? You gotta like 'this many' boys to be bi? And who exactly is checking that?"

Tucker laughed a little before continuing.

"Yeah, I know it sounds kind of ridiculous. I have been feeling more comfortable calling myself as bi the longer I've thought about it, but I still can't quite shake this feeling that at some random moment someone's gonna jump out and call me out on it."

"Don't worry," Sam picked up her milk carton and drained the last of it "If anyone even tries to imply you're not 'bi enough' or whatever, I'll just have a nice little chat with them."

Sam finished her statement by crushing the empty milk carton in her hand, all five of her nails leaving gashes in cardboard.

Tucker was going to laugh at Sam's joke, but the carton-crushing demonstration ad actually been genuinely intimidating (Sam was pretty good at being intimidating), so the noise he ended up making was somewhere between a laugh and a yelp.

Sam nearly jumped out of her seat.

"How did you even make that sound?" she asked.

"I don't know, and I don't think I could make it again if I tried."

Sam laughed.

It was actually really nice hearing her laugh like that. Tucker couldn't recall the last time Sam had laughed at one of his jokes.

That might have had something to do with the fact that a lot of his jokes were made at her expense.

Like, a lot of them.

Tucker honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd really gone out of his way to be nice to Sam. Not since the meat incident.

This was not a comfortable realization.

"Hey Sam," Tucker wasn't exactly sure how to say what he wanted to say, but he knew he had to say something "I'm sorry I haven't been taking you seriously lately. I know I haven't exactly been the best listener. Don't get me wrong, some of you ideas are insane and I want no part in them, but I'm gonna at least start trying taking them seriously now. I'll start taking you seriously, I promise."

Sam was slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected an apology from Tucker, and she hadn't realized how much she'd wanted to hear that until he said it.

"Wow," she started to say "I really-"

"Hey, sorry I'm late." Danny suddenly appeared and sat down beside Sam. Tucker genuinely wasn't sure whether they just hadn't notice him approach, or if he'd snuck in ghost-style.

"It's all good du-" Tucker paused when he noticed the apprehensive look in Danny's eyes "You okay? You look like something's up."

Danny took a long breath.

"Are you two free to come over tonight?"

--------------------------------------------------

Walking down the basement stairs felt like walking through molasses. Not because it was slow, but because each step seemed to take a monumental amount of effort. The journey was actually over surprisingly quickly.

Danny wondered if there was any way he could have lengthened it.

His parents hadn't noticed his descent, both of them deeply absorbed in...whatever giant metal contraption they were working on. Danny didn't really care right now.

He walked up to his parents and loudly cleared his throat, causing them both to snap their heads up.

"H-hey Mom, Dad."

"Hey Danny!" his father set his wrench down to wave at him "How was school?"

"Uh, g-good. School was good."

"Did you need something, Sweetie?" Maddie frowned, sensing his nervousness.

Danny rubbed the back of his neck.

"Um yeah, I kind of...have something to tell you. It's...about the accident I had with the ghost portal."

Jack and Maddie's faces immediately turned serious.

"Danny," Maddie said gently "

"Yeah, I know, I know. That's not it though. It's..."

Danny took a deep breath.

And just jumped in.

"It made me...like Vlad."

"Like...Vlad?" Maddie raised an eyebrow.

"Half-ghost. The portal made me half-ghost. I have ghost powers like Vlad."

There was a beat of silence. Maddie and Jack looked at each other briefly and turned back to Danny.

"Now Son," Jack smiled "I know you two both had ghost portal accidents, but there's no way our portal affected you in the same extreme way. Sure, maybe you've been having minor side effects-"

"That you should have told us about earlier." Maddie cut in sternly.

"What your mother said. But there's no way you could have been affected as drastically as Vlad. You don't even-"

Jack was cut off by two blinding rings of light splitting around Danny's waist, turning him into the ghostly version of himself.

The sight made both of his parents go slack-jawed.

Maybe it had been a bit much to transform without warning, but after weeks of stalling and months of hesitation, Danny had run out of patience.

"I'm half-ghost like Vlad." he repeated, summoning the rings and transforming back.

It was shockingly easy to say. Although walking down the basement stairs had been torture, once he'd started talking, it had felt weirdly natural to just keep going, like he was just telling them what score he'd gotten on a math test. Danny had expected more resistance.

Telling Jazz had been harder.

"Y-you really are like Vlad..." Jack's voice was almost a whisper.

Oh right, their reaction. The beating of Danny's heart instantly washed away the peace he'd been feeling.

This was actually much worse than telling Jazz.

"Y-yeah?"

"Danny?" Maddie's voice was strained "How long have you...been like Vlad?"

"Since the first day." I...walked out of the portal looking like that. I just managed to transform back before you and Dad came back."

"Jack," Maddie put a hand on the work bench to steady herself "I thought you said you tested thoroughly for any mutations or contaminations!"

"Of course I did, Madds! I did a DNA test and everything and couldn't find any indication of..."

Jack suddenly stopped talking. He and Maddie snapped their heads to Danny as if they'd suddenly remembered he was there.

"All those months..." Maddie pulled down her hood, revealing eyes filled with horror "Listening to us going on and on about capturing and dissecting ghosts...oh! No wonder you didn't tell us! You must've been scared half to death."

Danny almost laughed at his mother's choice of words, but he was still too tense to move. He knew his parents weren't going to hurt him, but for some reason he felt like he was in trouble.

"Oh, baby." Maddie wrapped Danny in a hug. She kissed his forehead and rubbed his back.

"Y-you guys aren't mad?"

"Mad?" his father said. "Danno, I don't blame you one bit. I'd have been scared out of my britches too if I was in your position and I heard my parents talking about ghosts the way your mother and I do."

He came over and wrapped his arms around Danny and Maddie.

"We love you kiddo." he said "And we're both so proud of you for telling us."

Maddie squeezed Danny harder.

Danny felt his muscles relax and his heart slow back to normal.

He'd done it. He'd really done it.

Honestly, Danny didn't know how he felt right now. It was weirdly quiet in his head.

But one thing Danny knew for sure was that it felt good to finally have to stop hiding.

This was good.

Danny smiled and hugged his parents back.

--------------------------------------------------

Sam, Tucker, and Jazz all sat at the kitchen table, none of them daring to speak. They'd all been counting the seconds since Danny had gone down the stairs. It had only been two minutes, but it had been a very long two minutes.

The only sound being made was Tucker tapping his knuckles on the table. Sam very much wanted to ask him to stop, but she also didn't want to be the first one to speak.

"Do you think we should go down and check on him?" Tucker asked, his hand finally stilling.

"I'm sure he's fine, just be patient." Despite her grounded words, Sam's anxiety leaked into her voice.

"Sam's right." Jazz said firmly "We're all worried, but this is Danny's moment, so it's our job to be his support and remain fluid enough to react to what he needs depending on which way the situation goes. The best way to do that we have to remain calm and-"

The basement door began to open. Jazz was on her feet in an instant.

"Where's Danny?! Is he okay?!"

"Calm down Jazz, everything's good. Great actually."

Danny's voice was light and full of joy. He didn't even sound annoyed at Jazz's excessive worrying.

Jazz's shoulder's instantly relaxed and she went over to stand by her family. Sam and Tucker awkwardly followed.

"So they...all know?" Maddie said, gesturing to the room.

"Yeah." Danny smiled "No more secrets."

Despite how nice a moment this was, it was also kind of an awkward one. Everyone appreciated how hard it had been for Danny to get here, and they were all feeling the relief, but the question of 'now what do we do?' went unspoken amongst them all.

"I...brought a cake." Sam said.

"Really?" Danny asked, surprised.

"Well, if you don't want it..."

"No, I definitely do, I just...why did you get a cake?"

"Well I didn't really know what the proper protocol was for when your best friend tells his parents he's half-ghost, but a cake seemed like, maybe appropriate?" Sam shrugged.

Danny went over to the white box on the table and lifted the cover.

"Congratulations On The Thing With Your Parents?"

"Tucker's was in charge of the writing."

"I didn't see you pitching in any ideas for a tasteful message that would fit on a cake and not attract suspicion from the cake decorator."

"My contribution was paying for the cake."

"Aw, that was such a lovely gesture, you two." Maddie beamed "Jazz, could you get the plates out? Let's serve this bad boy up!"

"I call the first piece!" Jack said.

"Now Jack, considering the occasion, I think it's only appropriate that Danny gets the first piece."

"Oh, alright." Jack smiled at Danny and patted his shoulder "I suppose that's fair. But I get the second piece, since I called it!"

"Jack..." Maddie said disapprovingly.

"Dad can have the first piece. I don't mind, I know how he gets." Danny said. He was just glad that things were still normal. Sure, his parents probably still had some adjusting to do, but they still saw him as the same Danny he was before, and that was big enough of a relief. "But I'm getting a corner piece."

Honestly though, Danny could've had to give away the entire cake and it wouldn't have killed his mood.

It was finally over. He didn't have to hide or make his friends lie for him anymore. Not to the people who mattered, anyway.

Danny continued to stare at his mom after she handed him a piece of cake and began cutting one for his dad.

He was still nervous abut what the future held for his family's dynamic, but for the first time he also felt excited to find out.

But for now he was just going to enjoy his cake.

[sleepdeprivedsimp234]

Hello again, lovely!! 💙💙

I’m preparing to shove Gov and the States through the wringer (lots of self-sacrifice and tears, idk Gov just keeps jumping in front of anything presenting any form of danger to the States) so I need some dopamine to cope:

Last time Gov comforted the States, but do you think any of the States would protect Gov? (He’s a self-sacrificing idiot, could be missing two limbs, half his skull shattered and disemboweled and still trying to work smh) I just think the man deserves a break, even if he’s torn-to-pieces in the lead-up to said ‘break’ (most likely forced because he will still try to work tbh)

~💙💙💙

Hiiii!!! And yes I agree, Gov needs a break. A long one too. So why get the most assertive of the Main 6 to get him to take a break: Louisiana (haha I love him too much lmao-)

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(This may or may not have some Gov/Loui 👀)

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It was around 10pm when Gov snapped back awake due to hearing a teleportation chime. He turned around to see Louisiana standing behind him. He noticed that Loui wasn't in his normal attire (he had exchanged it for a black cropped hoodie, and Gov definitely wasn't blushing lmao), and he didn't have Florida with him. Which was oddly suspicious.

"What do you want, Mags?" Gov sighed.

"I came to check on ya. Also to tell you that I'm taking you on a walk in Baton Rouge. To y'know, have a break." Responded Loui with the smile that the Main 6 (and me 👀) adored so much.

"Listen, Honey, I would love to, but I'm very busy right now." Gov said, gently cupping the smaller's face in his hands.

"I know, but I think ya can take a break. You've been workin' all day for the past 4 days, and I'll bet you haven't slept either. Loui said, walking over to Gov's closet and pulling out a pair of jeans and a black turtleneck. 'Is this really all he has in terms of casual clothes- me and Yorkie really need to take im' clothes shopping at some point.' Loui thought to himself before tossing the clothes at Gov, who just barely caught them. He walked over to Gov and stood up on his tippy-toes to give him a peck on the lips before sitting down on Gov's bed. "Go change Cher. I'll be waiting here."

Gov just blushed brightly and just went to his bathroom to change with no questions asked (hehehe SIMP-).

A few minutes later, Gov walked out of the bathroom wearing the clothes that Loui had thrown at him. Loui looked up from his phone and smiled a bit before walking over and grabbing the taller's hand.

"Ya ready?" he asked. He waited until Gov nodded yes to teleport to the busy streets of Baton Rouge.

Gov looked around with nothing but pure amazement in his eyes. "Wow... It's beautiful...."

Louisiana chuckled a bit. "Yea... It ain't no Dallas, L.A, Miami, or NYC, but it sure is somethin'." He said with a bright, fond smile. "Now I'm gonna bet you haven't eaten anything all day, so I'm gonna take you to one of my favorite bars so we can getcha somethin'."

Gov didn't bother arguing, cuz he knew it was no use. He was absolutely WHIPPED for his boyfriend. He allowed himself to get dragged to a rather nice looking bar around ten minutes from where they had landed. As they entered, he noticed how Loui seemed to know every worker there. After a bit of looking around, he nearly ran into Loui, who had stopped at the counter where there was a bartender.

"Ah Loui, good to see ya again!! Who's yer little friend here?" she said with a friendly smile as she shook Loui's hand.

"Hey Chels! Nice to see ya too sha. This here is ma boyfriend, Gabriel." He said, returning the handshake and smile. He elbowed Gov, and gave him the look that said 'say hello'.

"Hello." Gov said with the friendliest smile he could muster.

"Hey Gabe, you can call me Chelsi. I'm assuming y'all are gonna want the regular, Lou?" She asked, turning to Louisiana.

"Yup. Thanks sha."

"No problem!! Go find yourselves a table and I'll be around in a lil bit."

"Aight." Loui said, shaking her hand once more before dragging Gov to a table somewhere in the back of the bar.

"So um... You seem to be a regular here." Gov said, trying to make small talk with the smaller state.

"Yup, I come ere' every other day, and trust me, aint nobody here gonna bite ya, they're all very nice." Answered the Pelican State.

"I wasn't really worried about that Mags." Gov said.

"Yea okay sha- you were literally shakin' with anxiety when we walked in here and you were lookin' at everybody like they were gonna bite ya."

"Well what if-"

"And don't bother sayin' that it was because ya were cold, cuz it's 80°F AND humid outside."

"I- fine. Whatever." Gov said, pouting ever so slightly.

"Good boy." Loui teased, smirking when Gov started blushing again. He looked up when he saw Chelsi standing there with their food. Now it was his turn to blush.

"Pfft- y'all are real cute together. Here's yer order, have a great night y'all." She said before walking back behind the bar where she worked.

The two personifications sat and ate for about fifteen minutes before about 4 or 5 tall guys walked up to their table.

"Can we help ya?" Loui said, keeping up his friendly smile and tone of voice.

"Well you most definitely can, cutie~" said one of the guys (he looked like he might be the leader of em all) as he seductively leaned on the wall next to Loui.

Loui looked like he was trying his hardest to not tell this guy to f*ck off. But still, he kept up his friendly attitude. "Ehhh- sorry not interested man."

"C'mon~ Why not?~"

Loui was starting to get a bit uncomfortable and his friendliness was starting to disappear slightly. "Like I said, I'm not interested. Now, please leave us alone."

"Y'know, funny thing is, I don't remember it being a question, pretty boy~" said the guy as he wrapped an arm around Loui's waist.

Okay- Gov's gonna intervene now. He stood up and said "H-hey... Guy, he said he wasn't interested. Now leave. And don't put your hands on him."

The guy that had his arm wrapped around Loui glared at Gov before walking up to him and grabbing him by the front of the shirt and pinning him against the wall. "What're ya gonna do bout' it huh?"

"I-I-I-" Gov started to say before he noticed that Loui's eyes were glowing a bright red. Well sh*t.

Suddenly, Loui jumped up from his seat and grabbed the guy that was pinning Gov against the wall and threw him head-first at an unoccupied table. He smirked when the other 4 decided to attack him. Good, more blood~

Gov watched as Loui proceeded to beat the living sh*t out of the other four guys. He flipped and broke one's arm, he knocked another out completely by smacking his head on his knee, and the other two also received a few kicks and punches before running away like absolute cowards.

Loui laughed a bit to himself, satisfied with his work. He turned back to Gov, who was staring at him with a wide-eyed amazed expression. He wrapped an arm around Gov's shoulders and pecked him on the cheek before teleporting them out of there while the people were distracted.

Gov wrapped his hands around Loui's waist and kissed him on the lips, Loui returning it. The two kissed for a solid five minutes before finally pulling apart, but still not taking their hands off each other.

"Where the hell did you learn to fight lie that??" Gov asked, still amazed.

Loui looked confused for a second before catching on. "O-oh hehehe uh... Well, ya don't live this long and learn nothin' sha. Especially when ya live in da hood. I guess that being friends with Texas, York and Mass helps ya learn a few things as well. Plus- I wasn't bouta let ya get beat up back there, sha."

"Mhm you are indeed my little knight in shining armour huh?" Gov teased slightly, bringing Loui in for a tight hug and nuzzling the top of his hair. Loui returned the hug, burying his face in the taller's chest.

"Yup I am sha."

[spottedenchants]

Chanse's Mix-n-Match C2 Fic Recs - Part 1

Never done one of these before, so I figured I'd give it a go :D No particular theme to these, aside from them occupying a corner of my brain.

~

eyes like coin of gold; lips a reddest rose by vietbluecoeur (vietbluefic)

T, F/M & Gen, Archive Warnings: GDoV & MCD, Complete (1 Ch, 15.6k)

Greyro Ace Yussa/Marion (btwn romantic and platonic)

In which a lady lives in a castle. In which a dragon soon moves in. In which they build a life and a love, together.

If you have been following me for a while, you have likely seen me mention this fic. Both delicate and visceral, eyes like coin of gold is a veritable Beauty and the Beast-esque tale of trust and intimacy, with imagery, sentiment, and a happily ever after to match. Every aspect is lovingly described in vivid, storybook detail, and this is one I wish I could read for the first time over and over.

~

letters to a figure on the horizon by vietbluecoeur (vietbluefic)

G, Gen, NAWA, Complete (1 Ch, 7.3k)

Aro Ace Yussa /& Marion

In which a lady known for her laughter no longer can, and a new friend helps her gain her joy again.

A mix between prose and epistolary, the first half of this one has a little bit of a mystery to it while the entire thing keeps with an overarching fairy tale feeling. I found Yussa's aloofness very, very funny, and it's very sweet to see him sway towards wrapping his care with it. Also Yussa and Marion are same town pen pals and I hold them to my heart.

~

Refusing Fortune's Favor by @catgirlthecrazy

G, M/M, NAWA, Complete (1 Ch, 1.8k)

Essek/Caleb (Pre-Relationship)

In which the wizards consider the memory of souls, and what future paths past decisions may make.

A conversation fic set in Caleb's tower while the wizards are on their independent Aeor adventure, this one hurts! And it's sweet! Perfect for the wizards if you ask me. What did Matt mean when he said Essek refused consecution because of dunamantic theories? Well, here's a look at exactly that.

~

Breaking Inertia by @futureshieldmaiden

T, M/M, NAWA, Complete (10 Ch, 31k)

Essek/Caleb (Getting Together)

In which Caleb and Essek get stuck in a time loop, and have to work together to get out of it.

A time loop Scourger AU! I'll admit, I read this one so fast that I completely bypassed the potential for some intense dramatic irony, so. Take that as you will. It was interesting seeing how the puzzle pieces fell into place, and very satisfying when they finally made it out!

~

the weighted thread of foresight by @essektheylyss

T, Gen, NAWA, Complete (6 Ch, 11111)

Essek & Abrianna Mirimm, Essek & Deirta

In which a young Essek receives a well-rounded education, with divination supplementary to lessons on life.

Set decades and decades ago, this Essek is not the once-Shadowhand we now know, and he quite certainly can be. It was fascinating to see the beginnings of C2-era Essek within the boy of this fic, knowing exactly where he will misstep and exactly where he will have the chances to grow. Perhaps the real diviners are the readers we are along the way. Also Abrianna is an absolute delight 10/10 no notes and Deirta has such a distinct presence even before we see her.

~

Okay that's all for now :D

(fic recs part 2)