#but y'know. I like making things harder for myself so it's now also a study

[daily-odile]

odile with a gun perhaps

gun

[vinnival]

I think I will now drop my Jonah HCs !!

Buckle in, boys, there's a reason why I call myself the CEO of him/hj

Things he likes

Drums!! He used to always sneak to the band room in high school in order to practice on them. At least, before he got a set of his own and all.

Honeybuns! Always loved them. He in general has a sweet tooth (blame weed brownies) but always catered to honeybuns. Any time he shoplifts you'll most definitely find him pocketing a honeybun somewhere.

Weed. This is canon, yes, but he's also tried out many of the other drug methods and hated them, simply stuck to weed.

Physical affection. He's prone to hugging and cuddling. He will hold his friends' hands if they're cold, or flop on top of them if they're stretched out on a bed (all strictly platonically). This is more pronounced when he's high.

Things he dislikes

Authority. You've never seen a man be so spiteful towards the law before/hj

Going back on promises.

Cats. Not even in the funny cat alternate way he's just allergic.

Littering. He always makes sure to pick up after himself and will make sure no one he knows/sees litters.

Social

Whenever he meets someone- unless in a formal or professional setting- he will make a nickname up for them almost immediately. Nicknames include Ads, Sar, Eevee (Adam, Sarah, and Evelin respectively), and so on and so forth.

ASK HIM ABOUT ANIMAL FACTS.

He has DEFINITELY learned some whale facts as a kid just to spite his namesake. So y'know. If you ever happen to find yourself swallowed by a whale--

"Trust me on this. You get eaten by a whale. End of the world, right? NO. Curl into a ball, reduce your surface area. That way, those whales with teeth won't chomp you as easily and you'll just make a harder time for the whale."

He has a wonderful ability to make friends, but most times he chooses not to in favor of hanging out with the ones he cares for most.

Fiercely cares for his friends. This one's a given.

Sceeeene !! Of course, in order to avoid standing out in the era of Being Wanted By The Fucking Feds, he toned down his fashion taste and looks to dark greys and blacks. But before then, he was very much an eyesore. Taste the rainbow mothafuckaaa

He's the type to goof around a lot, so he will poke-poke teasingly or start impromptu pillow fights. This gets even more pronounced when he's high.

Easy-going.

Very... dog-like in personality. Golden retriever of a man/hj

He can and will start impromptu road games while on a drive. Expect him to spot a Volkswagon Bug and LAUNCH A PUNCH—

Mental

He has anxiety. This causes him to overthink... a lot.

He has a tendency to try and blanket his negative emotions or play down bad situations by joking about them. Sometimes it helps him process it! But most times this essentially turns into bottling up his frustrations, which... well. We all saw how that turned out in v2.

He's convinced himself that most times it's just better to walk away than to face things head-on. I repeat, we all saw how that turned o

Educational

Fucking LOVES biology. Always had an interest in animals and plants. He went to college to study biology :)

Keeps a few bugs at his place. Names them after celebrities so he can say shit like "Beyoncé's new roommate Madonna arrived yesterday. They immediately started fighting." and not provide any context to it.

His dad (mentioned up next) wanted him to go to law school. He just ignored that

Familial

His father, Mervin, is a lawyer. He was rarely home.

This left him with his mother, Clementine (OC), who was... eh. She was the bare minimum.

One fateful day, she ran away from them with 50k from Mervin's savings and never returned. In a panic, Mervin sent Jonah off to his grandpa to live with him while the lawyer strained himself to regain the money.

This left Jonah essentially without proper parents, only his abuelo. This is where he learned Spanish, at least!

He has a younger brother he doesn't know about, named Lucas (OC).

Miscellaneous

Peruvian. Obligatory

Will always be overtly dramatic about going to lay in bed. He'll usually do some extravagant dive onto it or something.

Bouncing off the last one, this man LOVES to sleep.

He's always had a hyperfixation on ghosts and the phenomena of spirits, even before he met Adam. Of course, any time too much fuckery happens, you bet your ass he's out of the place and back in their vehicle/observation area, on the cams for other evidence (ghost orbs, etc), or reviewing spirit box recordings.

He shoplifts. He knows all the good tips and tricks of stealing small items.

He's a goddamn furnace. He can have a simple t-shirt and sweatpants on and he'd still feel like he just hopped out of the Sahara.

Very proud of his hair! He loves it. In my HC it's a silver-ish, with just a hint of purple in there.

Has read the JJBA manga.

His favorite movie is The Lion King! He's basically adopted the hakuna matata ideology for his own

He's a big optimist. He'll always try and see the good in things, because... well, it's gotten him this far, hasn't it?

Whenever he listens to music he finds catchy, you'll likely see him tapping out a drum beat, whether it be with his hands or feet.

Likely has ranted before about how common 2/4 beats are in music and how annoying it is.

Likely has ranted about many other things- silly and serious- relating to his interests. He can just do that. Good for him <3

He can and will find ways to always joke about things, whether it be good or bad

Listens to a variety of music, he likes stuff ranging from breakcore to metal. Anything with a good beat.

He usually drives the car but sometimes he takes shotgun so he can watch the scenery fly by.

Demisexual+biromantic, he/him+they/them (when he feels more fluid.)

Started smoking weed because of getting MAD as a kid. He's since forgotten why.

Convinced himself Always believed alternates didn't exist.

Ended up dying via alternate.

[oh-hush-its-perfect]

how the hoo characters would react upon being asked about taylor swift

PERCY: She's pretty good. Yeah, I listened to the new version of Speak Now and it kinda went harder than I thought it would. I'm not, like, a "worship the ground she walks on" kinda guy, but I guess I like enough of her songs to consider myself a Swiftie. Guilty pleasure, I guess.

ANNABETH: Oh, gosh. People always ask me this. Uh, long story short— oh, right, that's one of her songs. That's kinda funny— I liked her music a lot when I was younger. Like, "Better than Revenge" was my thing when I was fifteen. And, yeah, I've listened to most of her albums. I liked Midnights and folklore and evermore. But I was never in love with her as a person. I just relate to some of her songs. Oh, gods, I couldn't count how many times I've cried to "Would've, Could've, Should've." But I heard someone call her the "greatest songwriter of our generation," and that's just... That's a bit bizarre for me. I think she's good as an artist, though. So... I guess I like her music, but I'm definitely not a Swiftie.

PIPER: Uhhh, I don't know. Like, her music is terrible or anything, but it's not really my taste. But as a person? I don't know, the whole Matty Healy thing just rubbed me the wrong way, and... I mean, she's a rich white lady doing rich white lady things. My dad asked me if I wanted her at my birthday party once. I said no, but I also said no to the Regrettes, and I'm literally in love with Lydia Knight. I'm happy for her with the tour and all, but not really my scene, no. But Jason likes her so I try to be supportive.

JASON: Oh, my gods. She's like... I don't know if she's my favorite artist, but she's up there. I mean, like, she's just so classy and her music is just so good. The way she uses synths is like... it's like magic. And her lyrics— I mean, you can't get much more relatable than that. My favorite album is probably... Lover? Or maybe Red. Then again, maybe it's 1989. It's so hard to pick. I guess I'm kind of a hopeless romantic at the end of the day.

LEO: Taylor Swift? Well, like, she's hot.

THALIA: Not really my style. But if she did a punk-pop or metal album, I'd be down for that. Like, I heard a metal cover of "Look What You Made Me Do" once, and it went so hard. She's really got a good voice for punk, too. Saw a video of her doing a vocal growl on that one song— uh, what's it called? "We are Never Getting Back Together" or something like that? Anyway, that sounded really good. But I don't really like her environmental impact. You could ask Rachel about that. I bet she'd have a lot to say.

RACHEL: Taylor— Listen. Don't get me started on Taylor Swift. Her music is mediocre at best, and her carbon footprint? Holy Hades! I saw somewhere that that one study that said 8,000 tonnes was wrong and it's actually more like 1,000 tonnes, but that was taken from half of a year during a global pandemic. She wasn't even touring or anything. The woman's a multimillionaire. With that kind of money, you would think that she'd be more environmentally conscious, but no. Not at all. And I guess it's cool or whatever that she pays her people well, but, like, that's the bare minimum. Taylor Swift. I didn't like her before all that about her environmental impact and stuff came out, and I definitely don't like how she dates racist guys, and I hate the way people worship her and follow her like lemmings, y'know?

HAZEL: Who?

FRANK: Oh, she's good, I suppose. Never got super invested in her or her music or anything. I don't really know anything about her except that people love her, and her singles are fine, I guess. I liked that one song "cardigan."

NICO: Uh, I feel like people shouldn't really ask me about music. My music taste kinda sucks. But sure, Taylor Swift makes some good music. Annabeth played me a few songs once. I really liked "Haunted," I think it's called.

REYNA: I don't follow her life and I haven't listened to any of her albums or anything. I mostly listen to Latin music, to be honest. But she's a woman and she's extremely successful, so I suppose I'm happy for her.

[Coach Hedge immediately starts singing "Shake It Off" when asked and did not provide any further comment.]

OCTAVIAN: I can't believe some people call that trash "music." It's so low-brow and vapid. Only eleven year old girls actually like that kind of thing. Me, I listen to real music— the classics, like Mozart. My favorite song by him is definitely "Canon in D."

[kristakittyfish]

I'm participating in a comps study group which is great, y'know, preparation, that's good, but I am also so painfully aware of my own deficiencies and angry about my dumb brain that doesn't work right and just how much harder it will be

my own feelings on the matter are irrelevant and I need to get over it but for today I am angry. I'm mad that I have to spend time babying myself and reminding myself that hey, actually, living is good and dying would be bad, when that time could be spent learning and improving and preparing. I'm angry that I will have to sit in front of my committee and be drilled for hours on ecological knowledge while pretending that I'm fine with talking to people and making eye contact and not doing stupid things with my hands and being normal. I'm angry that these will have to be conscious choices that I make and take up thoughts that will interrupt my focus on the task at hand. I will do it, I will study and pretend to be normal and composed and probably cry anyways, but for now I am angry

this is coming on the tail of a weekend where I was being angry about how being queer is a political statement and how every little thing becomes more difficult because of it, and what will I do when I have a job? especially in the south, interacting with landowners and potentially students, who will I be? how will I have to present myself? being safe and censoring myself to be palatable to others are so difficult to differentiate and often overlap. this compounding with thoughts on how to form meaningful relationships when I am generally just like this

anyways I spent this weekend being sad and now I am angry and I sometimes wish I were normal but even more than that I wish I didn't have to pretend to be

[helloalycia]

teenage dirtbag [three] // wanda maximoff

summary: Wanda's boyfriend continues to be an aggravation in your life, causing some distance between you and Wanda

warning/s: none

author's note: i really appreciate the feedback you guys gave in the last part – it’s always motivating to read your reactions/comments 🥰

part one | part two | part four | part five | masterlist | wattpad

Sorting things out with Wanda made everything return to normal in no time. So much in fact that she decided I was worth inviting to her and her brother's birthday party.

Never in a million years did I expect the most popular girl in our grade to know who I was, let alone invite me to her birthday party, so to say I was surprised was an understatement.

"It's not a big deal if you can't make it," she said when she handed me the invitation in class. "I mean, I'd love it if you could, but yeah, no pressure."

I was in awe, accepting the invite and reading it quickly. It must have been a pretty expensive party if she was giving out special invites, that's for sure.

"You want me to come?" I asked, still unsure whether this was a joke or not.

"Only if you want to," she said quickly, eyes darting around the room and anywhere but at me. "Like I said, you don't have to. It's not a big deal and– I– yeah." She pressed her lips together and stopped rambling, offering me a small smile.

"Thanks," I said quietly, slotting the invite in my notebook. "I'll, er, I'll think about it."

She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and faced forward, nodding. "Yeah, sure, no rush."

After that awkward conversation, I discovered she'd also invited Y/BF/N, the two of them developing a little friendship the more she'd hung out with me. He didn't mind going, but only wanted to do so if I went.

"I feel like I kinda don't wanna go," I admitted to him after school as we were studying in the library.

"Oh?" He rose an eyebrow. "And why's that?"

I played with the pencil in my hand. "I don't know, it's just– it's gonna be full of all of her other friends. And they don't really like me. Plus, her dick of a boyfriend is gonna be there. I just think she might have invited me to be nice. Like she might have felt like she had to because we sit together, y'know?"

"I think you know that isn't true," he said knowingly. "Maybe, just maybe, she actually wants us there, wants you there, to celebrate her birthday."

I chewed the inside of my mouth, giving it some thought. But the idea of going to Wanda's house party and seeing a bunch of people I didn't care about getting pissed wasn't comforting. Besides, even if I went, I'd probably see Wanda once before she'd get scooped away by Nate. What was the point?

"Nah, I don't think I'm going," I decided. "She won't notice. I'll just get her a present instead."

Y/BF/N sighed, clearly not impressed with my answer. Nonetheless, he said, "Okay, suit yourself."

"You can go if you want," I added, knowing his presence wasn't linked with mine.

"No Y/N, no party," he said with a dismissive shrug, and I couldn't help but smile.

"Such a good friend," I said teasingly, but there was truth to my words. And I knew he knew that. 

When I saw photos and videos of Wanda and Pietro's party all over my social media the day after, I knew I'd made the right choice in not going. It was the same visuals of everyone getting drunk, doing stupid shit and making a mess. Call me a loser, but that wasn't really my scene. Pietro and Wanda both seemed to enjoy it though, judging from the pictures.

Instead, I bought her a birthday present, knowing I didn't have to but I kind of wanted to, and planned to give it to her when she turned up to class. It was her birthday today, despite throwing the party over the weekend, so I hoped it would make up for my absence (thought I doubted she noticed).

She showed up and settled beside me as I was writing the date in my notebook, making me look up to see she'd made an extra effort to dress up for her birthday, looking fancier than usual. I couldn't help but smile at the giant '18' birthday badge pinned to her jacket.

"Happy birthday, Wanda," was the first thing I said when I saw her. "You look amazing."

A bashful smile appeared on her lips. "Thank you, Y/N."

"I hope your party went well," I said, giving her my full attention whilst trying not to drool over how beautiful she looked.

Surprisingly, her smile faded and her eyebrows knitted together. "Yeah, it did... could you not make it? I tried looking for you and– yeah..."

I opened my mouth to speak, admittedly a little embarrassed that she'd caught me out. I was sure she wouldn't notice – the pictures made it seem like there were loads of guests, I'd definitely have blended in if I were there – but clearly I was mistaken.

"I just thought–" she began, before shaking her head. "Never mind."

"Sorry, I thought–" I started, but like her, didn't know what to say. "Parties aren't my thing," I admitted truthfully. "But it looked fun. You enjoyed it, right?"

She nodded, a small forced smile on her lips. "Yeah, right. It's cool. No biggie."

I swallowed awkwardly. It seemed like a biggie and now I felt bad.

"I, er, got you a gift," I blurted, hoping to change the subject. Reaching into my backpack, I pulled out the terribly wrapped present and held it out nervously. "I hope you, er, like it."

Her eyebrows raised as her eyes flickered between the present and I. "Oh? You didn't have to. I wasn't expecting anything."

Was it hot in here or was it just me?

I pulled my collar away from my neck, hoping to circulate some air. "I wanted to. It's not a big deal."

She accepted the gift, fingers brushing mine and making me even more nervous, before opening it up. Her eyes sparkled with delight as she revealed a brand new leather paintbrush carry case.

"The one you always carry around is tattered and falling apart, so I thought I'd get you a new one," I explained, feeling like I had to. "I mean, unless the other one has some sort of sentimental value, then in that case, I can just return this."

"Are you kidding? I love it!" she exclaimed, looking to me with a grin. "It's beautiful, Y/N. I don't even know what else to say."

My shoulders relaxed, a relieved smile tugging at my lips. "Good. Th-that's good. I'm glad you like it."

Without warning, she moved forward off her stool and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, pulling me in for a hug. I was startled, unable to think straight with her body pressed so close to mine and her floral perfume wafting into my nose. Why did she have to smell so good?

"Thank you," she muttered, pulling away but not quite letting go. Her eyes were glowing as they watched me carefully, accompanying her weak-in-the-knees smile. I was sure I'd melt. "It means a lot."

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak for fear I'd say something stupid. I resisted the urge to look down at her lips, which were pulled into a small, appreciative smile. She let go of me, looking to the case again and unravelling it. I caught my breath meanwhile, my senses still on override as her perfume lingered.

She was just so damn beautiful.

—

"Okay, how about this – robotic or organic aliens. Which would you rather invade our planet?" Y/BF/N asked.

I chuckled at his question. "Definitely haven't thought about that one, but let's see..."

We were hanging in the bleachers out near the football field as we waited for football practice to end. Y/BF/N had a Film project to do and needed to film the field, so I offered to help like the good friend I was.

"Probably organic," I answered as I balanced on the bleachers, standing up and tiptoeing down them like steps. "At least we could reason with them if they tried to kill us because they'd have a conscience. Robotic aliens would just be programmed to take over and that's it."

Y/BF/N seemed against the idea as he played with his camera. "Yeah, but if they were robotic, all we'd have to do is launch a missile at them and they'd explode. You can break metal. It's harder to break organic matter."

I stifled a laugh. "You've given this much thought, I see."

He gave me a knowing look. "You telling me you don't think aliens exist?"

I stopped tiptoeing and stood still as I looked down at him with humoured eyes. "You know I know aliens exist."

He waved his hand like that was enough reasoning. "There you go then!"

I laughed, wondering how he thought of this stuff, then continued to balance as I walked down the bleachers. Probably the wrong choice as when I heard a voice call me, I looked up, saw it was Wanda, then proceeded to miss a step and fall onto my arse.

"Oh God, Y/N, are you okay?" she asked, moving forward to help me.

My face heated up as Y/BF/N laughed his arse off beside me. I accepted Wanda's hand and let her pull me up, before letting go immediately when I could handle it myself. Her presence always made me nervous, but this was just terrible.

"Yeah, I'm good," I said, glancing at her and freezing at her piercing gaze and suppressed smile.

"You sure?" she asked, glancing at Y/BF/N, before trying to hide her own laughter.

Fuck me, why was I such a mess whenever she was around?

"Very sure," I said, though my back began to ache from where I hit it. "What's up, anyway?"

Y/BF/N finally shut up, to my relief, and Wanda minimised her laughter before scratching her head.

"I'm waiting for practice to end so I can take Pietro home," she said, nodding to the field. "I saw you both sat here and thought I'd say hi. Are you guys watching practice?"

"Not really," I answered, before tilting my head to Y/BF/N. "We're just waiting for it to end so Y/BF/N can film for his project."

"Ooh, that sounds interesting," she said, intrigued and looking to him now. "What's that about?"

As he caught her up on it, I found myself checking Wanda out without realising. She was animated as she listened to Y/BF/N talk about his assignment, eyes giving him all of her attention, and a permanent smile was fixed on her lips as she listened to him. Though it wasn't directed at me, I felt butterflies swirling a storm in my stomach and clutched it, hoping they'd go away. I loved and hated the feeling all at once.

Breaking me from my reverie, a football flew past all three of us and hit the bleachers, startling us all. We looked in the direction it came from and saw the football team looking back at us, some laughing and some disgruntled. Two players ran towards us and when they got close enough, I made them out as Pietro and Nate.

Nate was laughing as he looked between us all, before his gaze fell on me. "It's Y/N, right? I feel like I'm always throwing that thing at you. Sorry about that."

But his constant laughing and lack of guilt refuted his words. I merely clenched my jaw and narrowed my eyes his way, not that he seemed to care nor notice. I was a mere fly in a world that revolved around him. He'd never notice.

"Babe, I'm sorry, I didn't even know you were over here," he added, looking to Wanda. "You okay?"

Wanda crossed her arms and seemed frustrated. "I'm fine, Nate. Just get your ball."

He shrugged and grabbed his ball. Before leaving, he pressed a kiss to Wanda's cheek which made me wince, but she made no attempt in enjoying it. He didn't seem to care as he took off running back to his team. Pietro smiled apologetically at the three of us.

"I'm sorry," he said genuinely. "He can be such a dick sometimes."

That was the understatement of the century.

With that, he turned and ran back to his team to finish up. Wanda sighed, running a hand through her hair, as Y/BF/N and I exchanged glances.

"I should get the car running," she said awkwardly, pointing a thumb over her shoulder and towards the car park. "Good luck with your assignment, Y/BF/N. And I'll see you tomorrow, Y/N."

Waving goodbye with an awkward smile, I watched her leave and wondered the same thing I always did whenever Nate decided to make an appearance in my life.

How could she be dating such a dick?

—

Apart from the birthday party I didn't go to, I'd never been invited (or had a reason to go) to Wanda's house. I'd seen it, rode my bike past it, but never actually been in it. So, when she invited me to her place to work on a project we'd been assigned in class, I was unsure how to feel. She was adamant though and I had no reason to say no, so the only thing left to do was say yes. Even when she offered to drive me there after school.

"This is your car?" I asked with disbelief.

I knew absolutely nothing about cars, but I wasn't blind. Hers was a gorgeous deep red colour with a convertible roof that was currently lowered so anyone in it would feel the sun on their back and wind in their hair.

"Yeah, you like it?" she asked as she got into the driver's seat.

I gulped and sat in the passenger's seat, throwing my backpack at my feet. "It's so nice. You sure you don't mind me drinking in this?"

I had a Pepsi bottle in my hand and was deathly afraid of opening it now in case I spilt it and the cleaning bill would be more than I made in a year at the pizza parlour.

She laughed, already pulling out of the car park. "Of course. Don't be silly."

I glanced in her direction, trying not to get distracted by how good she looked in the driver's seat. She was wearing a red leather jacket, funnily enough, matching the exterior of her car, and she had dark eyeliner around her eyes, accentuating the shape and colour of them and leaving me speechless whenever she looked my way.

"There's CDs in the glove compartment," she was saying as she focused on the road. "Or you can mess around with the radio. It's up to you."

"CDs?" I asked, it piquing my interest. I reached into the glove compartment, adding, "What is this, the 2000s?"

She rolled her eyes playfully, accepting my teasing, as I flicked through the small stack of albums.

"I don't know, I guess I just like having the physical version," she said with a shrug. "It's kind of like a collection."

I chuckled at her need to explain herself, watching the way she rubbed her neck nervously, smiling with embarrassment. Looking back to the albums, a particular one grabbed my attention and I plucked it out with raised brows.

"Oh my God, you like Paramore?" I asked, looking to her with surprise. "Now it's definitely the 2000s."

Her cheeks flushed as she grew flustered. I nudged her in the side gently, getting her attention briefly.

"I'm kidding," I reassured, tilting my head her way playfully. "I actually love Paramore. They're my favourite band."

"Really?" she asked with surprise as I put the CD in her car. I hummed in response, to which she continued, "Have you ever seen them live?"

As For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic played quietly in the background, I nodded my head. "Yeah, once. It was a few years ago, but the tickets were shitty and I could just about make them out on stage in the distance."

Wanda laughed, the sound making my heart skip a beat. "No, that's so sad!"

I chuckled in agreement. "Yeah. It was, but oh well. They have a tour coming up this summer, right? Maybe I can get better tickets this time 'round... what about you? Have you ever seen them live?"

She hummed, making a turn at some traffic lights and chewing her lower lip as she focused on doing so. It was definitely the wrong time, but I found myself admiring how attractive it was, especially when her jaw tensed and her defined jawline was on display.

"Yeah, I saw them a few times," she finally responded, pulling me from my stupor. "Some really good seats, some really shitty ones." She giggled at the end, making me smile. "Maybe we could go to that concert in the summer. If you're up for it?"

This seemed like one of those times where you made plans with a friend that you knew would never happen, so to not cause an awkwardness in the conversation, I nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, maybe."

She glanced at me and I mirrored her smile, the flash of excitement in her eyes knocking me breathless.

When we reached her house, I was awestruck at how big it was from the inside. I mean, it looked huge from the outside, but the inside was even better. Her family were rich, I knew that, but this was some other level of rich.

"Here, c'mon, I'll get you a drink, then we can go into the dining room to start," Wanda said, failing to recognise my amazement and instead leading me to the kitchen. "We have tropical juice, apple juice, water, Sprite, Cola... which d'you want?"

I settled at the island, taking a seat and subtly admiring her kitchen. "Er, apple juice is fine with me."

She smiled brightly before pouring me a glass, whilst pouring herself some Sprite. Standing opposite me, we both took a moment to have a drink, but didn't get chance to exchange words as her mum entered the room and noticed me instantly.

"Y/N, it's so lovely to see you again!" she said kindly, patting me on the shoulder before heading to the fridge. "You girls hanging out? Studying?"

"We have a project," Wanda filled in as I nodded in agreement. "We alright to claim the dining room?"

After grabbing some water from the fridge, Wanda's mum pressed a kiss to her daughter's cheek. "Sure thing, sweetie. If you need anything, just let me know." Smiling once more at me, she said, "It's good to see you, Y/N."

"You too," I said with a friendly smile before she left.

"Come on," Wanda said, motioning for me to follow. "We have tons to do."

The next hour and a half was spent with Wanda and I planning out our project, our work sprawled along the dining table messily. We were making progress, until she got a call suddenly. It seemed serious as she gave me an apologetic glance and excused herself. I let her go and leaned back in my seat, wondering what I could do as I waited for her to return. That thought was resolved quite quickly when Pietro popped his head in the doorway and spotted me.

"Y/N! What an honour to welcome you to our humble abode," he exclaimed, entering the room fully. "What brings you here?"

Pietro's presence always brought an amused smile to my lips. "Wanda and I are working on a Chemistry project. She's just nipped out for a phone call."

He tutted dramatically, crossing his arms. "Well, well, well. We can't have that! Wanda needs to learn to entertain her guests. C'mon. I was about to head to the gaming room and could use the company."

I was visibly surprised. "You have a gaming room? Dude, that's awesome!"

He laughed. "C'mon."

Joining Pietro, the two of us headed to this so-called gaming room and I was not disappointed. There was a huge TV with a PlayStation and Nintendo Switch connected to it, a snooker table, a foosball table, a dart board, some old arcade games – it was amazing, any gamer's biggest dream.

"What you feeling, princess?" he said with that flirtatious smile of his.

I rolled my eyes playfully. He was being overtly flirty, more so than his sister was – was it a Maximoff personality trait or something? – and I wasn't sure whether he meant it or was just being his usual self.

"Are you flirting?" I deadpanned, tilting my head curiously. "I can't tell."

He pocketed his hands, swinging back on the heels of his feet. "That depends. Is it working?"

Despite my lack of interest in him like that, I felt my face heat up at the attention. "Pietro, I must tell you that any moves you attempt to make kind of won't work."

"And why's that?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the snooker table with a cheeky smile on his lips. "Am I not your type?"

"Unless you change into a girl, then no," I played along, making him flush with embarrassment. "Hate to break it to you, but I'm gay."

"Okay, I guess that makes sense," he mumbled to himself, before sighing and meeting my eyes. "We can still be friends, right? Or is that forbidden since you're already friends with my sister?"

I laughed and approached him. "Friends works. I don't think Wanda will care. I certainly don't."

He grinned. "Awesome! Well, d'you wanna play a round of foosball?"

"Sure," I said with an amused expression. "Bet I can kick your arse."

He pushed himself off the table and feigned surprise. "Oh? Game on, Y/L/N."

I didn't realise how long Wanda had been on the phone until I managed to get through three rounds of foosball and was in the middle of a snooker game with Pietro.

"You may have beat me at foosball, but you're terrible at this," he pointed out with stifled laughter.

I'd missed my third shot and it was more funny than it was embarrassing.

"Your talking distracts me," I said dismissively, before lining up the next shot with my cue.

He watched as I tried to take my shot before sighing loudly. I glanced at him with a quirked brow.

"You have a thought you'd like to share?" I asked playfully.

He hesitated, moving forward to correct my posture. "Look, if you just aim it like this–"

"Don't even think about it, Romeo," I said jokingly, standing up straight and pushing him away gently. "I know what you're thinking."

He laughed. "What? I was just going to help you aim!"

I gave him a knowing look. "So holding me close is just a bonus?"

"Fine, take your shot without my help and see what happens," he said dismissively, waving his hand.

"I'll do just that," I said with confidence, before bending down and taking my shot. The ball hit the other and neither were pocketed, which was an achievement as I'd got the cue ball in several times before, but still pretty shit as I didn't score any points.

Pietro smiled with satisfaction, leaning on his cue. "You happy with that?"

I held in a laugh as I looked to him. "Shut up."

He chuckled before bumping me out the way. "Now for the professional."

Bending down to take his shot, he pulled back his cue before hitting the balls. They rolled around on the table and one ball was about to go in, but I quickly grabbed it before he could get the point.

"Y/N!" he shouted between laughter. "That's cheating!"

"Technically we didn't establish rules," I pointed out, before moving backwards as he tried to grab it from my hand. "What do you say to calling it a draw and playing something else?"

"I say that's a childish way to admit you've lost," he responded, before moving forward quickly. I dodged his attempt and he pursed his lips. "Y/N."

"Pietro."

He smirked. "Seriously?"

I grinned.

He tried to grab it again and ended up chasing me around the room as I avoided giving in. Taking the piss out of Y/BF/N enough times had prepared me for moments like this, so I was able to avoid Pietro long enough to run into whoever walked through the door.

"Shit, Wanda, I'm sorry," I said between laughter, steadying both me and her.

She smiled with confusion, about to speak, but Pietro caught up to me and lifted me up, throwing me onto the couch before I could protest.

"No more cheating," he said sternly, as I lifted my head from the pile of cushions on the couch to look up at him.

"You're an arse," I said, pushing myself up off the couch.

"And you're a sore loser!"

We had a mini staring competition before the two of erupted into laughter.

"You're not half bad, Pietro," I complimented as he helped me up.

"Thank you, princess," he said, the flirtatious smile on his lips again.

I shoved him in the shoulder playfully before looking to Wanda, who was chewing on her lip as she looked between Pietro and I with an unreadable expression.

"So, what prompted you to leave Y/N alone for an hour?" Pietro asked, wrapping an arm around my shoulder, making me shove him away. He grinned at me before looking to Wanda.

"Nate called," Wanda responded carefully, arms crossed as she continued to look between us. God, I hoped she didn't think Pietro and I liked each other. That would be embarrassing.

Pietro scoffed from beside me, making Wanda sigh with annoyance.

"Don't start, Piet," she said and gave him a look which he seemed to understand.

By the sounds of it, Pietro didn't seem to like Wanda's dick of a boyfriend either. That was strange since wasn't impressing the brother the first part of being in a relationship with someone? And they were on the same football team, so I figured he'd at least tolerate him.

"Are we alright to get back to studying?" Wanda asked, directing her stare to me. The annoyance she held for Pietro was still present in her eyes and I suddenly felt nervous when she looked my way.

"Yeah, of course," I said, before giving Pietro a half-smile. "Rematch at snooker next time. Sound good?"

"Try to keep the balls on the table and we'll see," he teased, before nodding to Wanda. "You should get back to your project before Wanda kills us both with her deadly glare."

I smiled awkwardly, looking back to Wanda as she was indeed glaring at her brother. Clearly there was some sibling rivalry going on here, and I definitely didn't want to get in the middle of it, so I headed to Wanda, signalling I was ready to leave.

The two of us headed back to the dining room in an uncomfortable silence. I felt like I'd done something wrong and she was giving me the silent treatment which was strange. Then I figured it was probably something with Nate that made her annoyed, so didn't question it too much.

We sat back down and I looked at what we'd done so far to try and pick up where we left off, but then she spoke out of the blue, taking me by surprise.

"Do you like my brother?"

It was so abrupt that I took a moment to acknowledge it, blinking. "What?"

"Pietro," she clarified, saying it with such dismissiveness like it wasn't a big deal. Her attention was on the books before us as she continued, "Do you like him?"

I tried not to laugh as I shook my head. "No, Wanda. I mean, don't get me wrong, he's a great guy. But yeah, no, I don't like him like that."

She chewed her lip, nodding, but I swear I saw a hint of a smile on her lips. I hoped it wasn't the thought of Pietro and I that made her annoyed. I wasn't that bad, was I? I know she cared about her brother and was probably overprotective, but me being his girlfriend couldn't have been that bad, right?

We got back to work in no time, getting a lot done. I didn't realise how late it was getting until Wanda's mum poked her head in, asking if I wanted to stay for dinner.

"Dinner?" I asked, eyebrows raising with surprise. I checked my watch and realised how long I'd been here. "Damn, maybe I should head back."

"Nonsense, you must stay," her mum insisted. "Y/M/N won't mind. A daughter of hers is a daughter of mine."

"You can even sleepover if you want," Wanda offered, and I almost choked on my own spit. "It's getting pretty late."

I shook my head, forcing a small smile so they wouldn't get offended. "Honestly, it's fine. I can head back."

"Please?" Wanda asked with a hopeful expression. "It's the least I can do. I kinda wasted your time for an hour earlier..."

"I should ask my mum," I said, chewing on the inside of my mouth.

"Oh, I'll ring and let her know," Wanda's mum said breezily, before looking to Wanda. "D'you think you can clear your things up? Your brother is gonna set the table."

"Sure, mum." Wanda smiled her way as she left, before looking to me. "I've got clothes and a spare toothbrush you can use tonight."

I smiled awkwardly, nodding. Sleeping over at my crush's house wasn't how I thought I'd be spending my Wednesday evening, yet here we were.

[t0shii]

hq boys when you're feeling anxious or stressed

suna rintaro, hinata shoyo, oikawa toru x gn!r

!warnings! mentions of anxiety, reader comparing themselves to others, mentions of food & hunger, driving. this is like all fluff no angst rlly tbh.

SUNA RINTARO.

he could tell something was up but conviced himself he shouldnt pry as he had already asked you twice if you were feeling alright, to which you reasurred him with a "yep" both times, it was suspicious but he thought maybe you just wanted to be left alone. meanwhile you weren't sure why you lied him, you obviously were not doing okay at the moment. currently he was driving you home and your anxiety was going absolutely crazy from the amount of school work that was piling up on you, it's unfair you thought to yourself, looking out the window. not only were you stressed from work but trying to keep up with your friend was hard, to say the least. they were phenomenal students, straight As in their transcript and though your grades were just fine, you couldn't help but feel inferior and insecure. it's unfair how effortlessly smart they are and how i'll never be able to catch up.... oh boy if your thoughts weren't running wild before they definitely were now, you hadn't even realized your boyfriend pulling into your driveway until he slightly tapped your shoulder. "are you sure you're alright? i don't wanna pressure you ofcourse but, you know you can tell me anything right?" ... and there were the water works! the little string holding you together had snapped just like that. you sat there in the passengers seat sobbing into your hands and suna rintaro hadn't a clue what to do in the moment.

"give me just a sec" you heard him mumble but not before he gave you a kiss as light as a feather on the top of your head. somehow you didn't notice him exit the car and rush to your side until he opened your door and hugged you so tight you honestly couldn't breathe. after a few seconds your boyfriend let go of the embrace which, to his dismay, only made you cry even harder. now, he knew he was known for being quite... stoic but he was definitely panicking on the inside and it was really difficult to remain calm on the outside. your boyfriend carefully reached over you to unbuckle the seatbelt that you had yet to unclasp. "lets go inside baby." his voice was so gentle it would've taken you by surprise had you not still been crying. you nodded in response and he helped you carefully out of the car, holding your hand all the way to the door, "d'ya have your key?" you nodded trying your best to unlock the door, after a few struggled and shakey attempts you finally had your door unlocked but not without rins help because he couldn't bare to watch you struggle any longer.

stepping inside rin helped you take your shoes off, removing his own after, "bedroom?" having calmed down a little you whispered "yes," with a small nod. he nodded with you in response and took you to your bedroom. after helping you change into comfy clothes he helped you into bed, crawling in right behind you. your back was snug against his chest and he held you super tightly, it was silent for a few minutes until finally he spoke up, "please tell me how i can help" you could feel your lip quiver. "well... you don't have to say anything right now, you know i can wait. i'll even leave if you want, i just wanted you to know that you can tell me whenever you're ready and that i'll listen." neither of you were sure when you'd be ready to admit what had gotten you so upset but you felt comfortable knowing suna rintaro would be there whenever you were ready, whether it be minutes from now or even months.

HINATA SHOYO.

your silence on the walk home was starting to concern him.. maybe im just talking too much... he thought, "hey... im sorry if im talking your ear off.. how was your day angel?" to say he was disappointed with your response would be an understatement. not thar you HAD to talk but usually you were talkative with him and the worry in his tummy was only growing more. a simple, "oh.. my day was alright sho," simply woundn't cut it! "hey, are you feeling okay?" it was silent for a few seconds before you answered a mumbled "i think so, are you feeling alright, sho?" he simply nodded with a "mhm" and you told him to continue on with his story from earlier.

he complied but only to fill the silence. hinata decided to trust you when you said you were okay because you know your own feelings and he knows for a fact he's made it clear before that you could and should let him know if something was bothering you. though you enjoyed listening to hinata's stories you only found yourself getting lost in your own mind whilst he rambled on.you could tell he was suspicious of your behavior but was grateful he had left his curiosity behind because you were sure you would snap if he had asked you if you were okay again, you really didn't want to cry in front of him. truth is, your thoughts were running wild, stressing over the smallest things; assignments due at the end of the week, what you were gonna get your boyfriend for your anniversary, how you were gonna make time for your friends surprise birthday party and helping sho with his studied all the while trying to take care of your own self and keep your own grades afloat. "y/n..? we're at your house.. are you sure your alright? you look a little pale, are you ill?" crap! how had you not noticed you were approaching your own driveway you wanted to slap yourself for being so clueless. you couldn't help but feel horrible for not listening to your boyfriends story also.

"yes sho i'm fine really, i just didn't have time to eat lunch today but i have food inside so don't worry m'may?" he looked at you suspiciously and you knew he was onto you, "y'know y/n, i'm not gonna force you to tell me what's going on but just know i'll always be here for you, okay?" he gave you a small smile before engulfing you into a tight hug, it honestly melted your heart. surprisingly, you didn't start crying on the spot. "y'know, i wanted to trust you when you said you were okay but now i'm not so sure if you were telling the truth," he mumbled into your shoulder. you sighed, giving up the facade. "sho.... i just don't know what to do honestly, i have alot on my plate right now and i'm really stressed with all the responsibilities ive piled onto myself," you admitted. he nodded lifting his head from your shoulder, giving you the brightest smile, "well, i can always help out! i might not be the mooost helpful person ever but i'll try my best, and if anything i'm good moral support!" you giggled at that but suddenly you felt your lip quiver from the sudden guilt you feeling, "i'm sorry for lying to you sho-", "hey! its alright! you dont need to apologize. especially dont need you crying on me now!" he smiled cupping your face in his hands, wiping away a few stray tears of whom managed to escape.

OIKAWA TORU.

you smile back at him and thought of how silly it was that you tried keeping your feelings a secret from your boyfriend of two years, hinata shoyo, feeling glad that you confided in him. he knew you were upset as soon as he saw you that very morning, he could read you like and open book and you knew that fact very well. still though, you tried your best to hide yourself from him, though it was hard considering you sitting right next to him in the passenger seat of his car. finally after a whole day of being worried sick, he was tired of leaving things left unsaid "babyyyy," he sang for you from the kitchen, "please come here a sec!" he yelled for you louder. soon you came trudging down the hallway, blanket wrapped around your body, he couldn't help but smile at how adorable his s/o looked.

"c'mere quickly," he said will a grin, opening his arms for a hug, which you gladly accept, wrapping your arms around his waist tightly. "now, i know you know that i know that you're not feeling well, so please tell me what's got my angel so upset?" he said softly rubbing his hand lightly over your back, his voice a little muffled from his cheek being squished against the top of your head. you let out a breath you hadn't even realized you were holding, "'m sorry tooru, i don't know what's wrong with me today.... just not feeling well." you felt him nod against your head in response, "well good thing your amazing boyfriend is here to make you feel all better huh?" you let a out small giggle at that. "you know you can tell me when you're feeling down right? you shouldn't keep things bottled up inside", "i know tooru... im sorry, i just dont really know wbat i'm feeling so down about though," you admitted shyly. "hey that's okay! there absolutely no need to apologize for that, here, look at me, angel," he tilts your face so you're looking up at him, his big soft hands holding your face, thumbs stroking your cheeks lightly, "i'm here whenever you figure it out, hell, even if you dont figure it out or there just isn't any reason at all. you know i'm always, always, always here. i promise you that, m'kay?" he finishes his little speech with a smile, smothering your face in kisses. you could only feel relieved, thankful and loved. because you knew that you would always have your soulmate, oikawa toru by your side.

( a/n ; ahh so im sorry if this has any spelling or grammatical errors it's sort of late as i'm writing this! and im too lazy to proof read.... also it might just all be word vomit and if it is im so sorry 😩 ++ i'm positive ive kept the reader gn throughout the whole thing but if there are slip-ups i promise i'll do better next time! i rlly wanted to write some hq boys when ur feeling anxious and beyond stressed because i have been MEGA struggling with my own anxiety lately, especially bc of school so i just needed to let my feelings go! anywhooo i hope everyone who reads this has an amazing day or night! ) p.s. im new to writing so be nice 2 me or whatever 😩🙄😌👍🏻

[lazarettta]

Misthios VI

Pairing (Spartan! Reader x Mother Miranda)

Word Count (1.4k)

Rating (T)

“Yeah, life was more intense before the world became so modern and technology dependent. It was simpler back then...but it wasn't always so great.”

“But you were a mercenary, right?” Daniela asked, staring up at you wide bright eyes and too morbidly fascinated with the conversations current topic but you figured out a while ago that these women weren't at all human, looking like one didn't count in your books, and that they were not saints, “A Misthios? Did you ever lose a fight?”

“Oh yeah, lost a couple,” you laughed, glancing at Alcina for a moment but like her daughters she was listening raptly to your stories though she was far more regal and less obvious about her own curiosity than her daughters were. “Most of those were when I was younger and for a merchant to kill a kid was just bad for business, so I usually got a good beating and yelled at before I was let go.”

“That's...” Daniela made a face, not impressed, “Lame.”

You chuckled, shrugging because she wasn't wrong, “It was, but when you're hungry...you take risks like that, had too.”

“So...how did you end up surviving the streets if you were caught and beaten all the time?” Cassandra asked, speaking for the first time in a few hours or so—being the most reluctant to fully interact with you but even she couldn't deny that it was nice to talk to another immortal that wasn't in the village. Not that the other Lord's really talked to them anyway.

“I said I was beaten, never said I gave up. Taking odd jobs all the time for drachmae teaches you things...I used those skills to survive and eventually I was making a name for myself—and then the villagers just came looking for me with their monies. Help me this, help me that...I had to learn a hard lesson that not everything could be solved with words, y'know?”

On the other side of the door, Miranda stood and listened as your voice carried over the roar of the fire as you answered any of the questions the Dimitrescu daughters asked while their mother remained steadfast and quiet in her chair closer to the fire. Miranda had been standing outside of the study for close to an hour now, just listening to you reminisce and never shying away from a question and more than once Miranda caught herself smiling behind her mask every now and then. She too remembered a few of those stories, ones that you've told her plenty of times...others she has experienced right by your side.

It stung a bit when you omitted her from those particular stories, how flawlessly you did so really—Miranda hated it, really. She hated how persistent part of her thoughts were, reminding her that she could've had this with you with children of your own shared between the both of you. And more than once did that vision lay itself out for Miranda—for her to have everything she's ever let slip between her fingers. Those pesky intrusive thoughts weren't new but harder to shake off now that she physically had you...but could she keep you?

~~

You were in the middle of telling the story about being hunted by a albino bear when you saw Alcina tense up from the corner of your eye before the Lady of the castle was rising to her feet and that was the only warning you received before the double doors were opened and Miranda walked in, wearing her robes sans her gold encrusted ravens mask. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun but there were a few strands loose in the back. You hadn't even realized you were also on your feet until Miranda stopped a few inches away from you, closer than you expected and it amused her to make you squirm a little.

“Hello again.”

“Hi.”

Miranda held your gaze a little longer, hers eyes flickered around your face as if trying to commit it to memory before she turned to the Countess, “Lady Dimitrescu.”

“Mother Miranda.” Alcina nodded, her eyes flickering to yours momentarily before she addressed her daughters who were watching everything and everyone closely, “Alright girls, story time is over. Go finish your tasks for the day.”

You weren't surprised by the complaints and grumbling from the three daughters but you weren't surprised when they didn't outright protest—Alcina didn't seem the type to put up with backtalk, especially not from them. However, when Alcina herself stepped out of the room, you were surprised not expecting to be alone with Miranda this soon. You weren't sure if you were ready to do this with her yet, but time hasn't always been your friend lately, has it?

Once the doors soundly clicked shut, emphasizing that you were both alone, you had no idea what you should be doing. You rubbed the back of your neck, a nervous tick that you've carried with you since you were a teenager, “Ah, there's still some tea left, do you want any?”

Miranda glanced at the tea tray sitting on the coffee table, shaking her head, “I prefer coffee.”

“I don't think this castle knows what a coffee maker is, to be honest.”

Miranda shared your small smile, hoping to put you at ease for what she was about to say next, “No, but my house does.” Miranda's smile grew a little when your shoulders tensed beneath her heavy stare.

“Oh, you took care of that problem already?”

“It took care of itself, really.” Miranda shrugged, shifting her wings slightly catching your attention and this time it was Miranda's turn to tense, but whatever she was going to say next was caught in her throat when one of your hands came up to her shoulder, at the bend of her wing.

“They've grown,” you murmured quietly as you have a better look at them, you saw the night before but you were distracted. But you couldn't bring yourself to actually touch her—you didn't have that right anymore, and you wanted to slap yourself for forgetting that. You cleared your throat, shoving both of your hands in your pants pockets and took a step back—but Miranda followed you, causing you both to freeze. Her expression mirrored the surprise you felt to some degree and you knew that she didn't mean to do that and it furthered convinced you that it wouldn't be a good idea for you both to be completelyalone.

“I think it would be best if we talked here.”

“No.”

“Why not? We're already here and alone—”

Miranda sighed heavily, her eyes narrowing slightly, “Because I'd rather have this conversation in the privacy of my own home than someone else's. Preferably not where it echoes either, or have you gotten quieter when you're upset, hm? Do you want the entire village to know our business?”

Eyes downcast you licked your lips and you didn't see Miranda's glare waver, but she had a point—there were things you'd rather not have overheard. You exhaled heavily, get your shit together (Y/n)! “You're not carrying me.”

Miranda's grin was predatory and smug, “It'll be quicker. I won't drop you, I promise.”

“The last time you made me a promise, you ripped my heart out. Do you remember that?”

“(Y/n)...”

“I gave you everything, Miranda! And you threw it back in my face by marrying some bastard Prince behind my back?! I was fucking humiliated and broken because of you! So, no...keep your promises, Miranda. And no, you are notcarrying me.”

The words were out of your mouth before you could stop them but you couldn't find it in yourself regret them—the relief of getting them off your chest felt too good. You weren't sure were that flash of emotion came from as you'd been relatively good at keeping your cool but Miranda had always made you emotionally charged whether you wanted to be or not—both good and bad. And right now old memories were resurfacing and old feelings were warring against the new ones.

“There's so much you didn't know, (Y/n)! I—”

A tray was dropped down the hallway outside of the study startling both of you and reminding Miranda where she was.

“...right,” Miranda clasped her hands together in front of her to keep from fidgeting with her rings, “I'll speak to Alcina and see about you procuring one of her horses for a few days.”

You didn't verbally respond and you watched Miranda cross the room back to the door. She paused at the door, poised to turn as if she wanted to tell you something but after a second or two, you were alone. You sat down on the edge of the coffee table, combing one hand through your hair, “Fuck...what am I doing?”

[apenapaperandadoofus]

Tis the long await fic....

First time (Jumin x MC, NSFW, FLUFF)

Summary: What happens when you put two horny virgins in a room, the two of them not even knowing how to put a condom on? Chaos. Absolute chaos.

.......

"Mm Jumin I think I'm ready." You said between kisses, looking at your boyfriend straight in the eyes. He stopped and looked at you, caressing your cheek.

"You're sure?" He asked, and you nodded, smiling up at him shyly. Jumin smiled lovingly back and cupped your cheek, kissing you passionately, his hands unbottoning your shirt. You helped by taking his shirt off (today he didn't have to work, so thankfully it was just one layer of clothes.) And you ran your hands through his bare chest. Jumin sighed happily and started taking your bra off, while you slipped down your panties.

After a few tries Jumin pulled away and gave you a confused look. "Love, could you please help me out? I can't seem to work out how to remove your brassiere...."

You giggled as you looked at your boyfriend's adorable confused face and he blushed.

"It's just harder than I thought it would be....." He mumbled, and you chuckled, quickly pecking him on the lips.

"It's fine Jumin, I got it!" In a few seconds you had taken your bra off. Jumin looked in awe. Mostly because of your beautiful body, but also because he couldn't believe how you managed to take that thing off in a matter of seconds and just with one hand.

You blushed and started to cover your body a bit, but Jumin gently grabbed your hands and began kissing all over your neck and made his way down your chest. You shivered at the feeling of his cool lips against your skin. Jumin smiled and gently pushed you down for you to lay on your back, taking his pants off.

You pulled him down to kiss him while he took his undergarments off and was now laying bare on top of you. You were both blushing and panting. But Jumin had this look of love and adoration that you found adorable. He kept kissing your neck and then glanced up at you.

"Are you ready?" He asked, and you nodded, closing your eyes. You waited to feel him finally be inside of you, for the two of you to become one for the first time.

You heard him let out a shaky breath and you braced yourself again. Maybe he was nervous, he could take his time.

So you kept waiting.

And waiting.

You opened your eyes and decided to speak up when you heard him mumbling to himself.

"Jumin...?" You asked, and he looked at you, surprised.

"Yes love?"

"Is everything alright?"

Jumin stared at you and then sighed, a slight trace of red on his cheeks.

"I'm afraid I do not know what to do now. I expected something to happen, but it's been a few minutes and nothing has. I thought the process of penetration began automatically, but it seems we have to do something to get it started. I just don't know what."

You felt your eyes widen and slowly sat up, Jumin quickly moving to sit beside you.

You found it adorable as heck that he was nervous and didn't really know what to do., You tried to answer him and give him instructions but then.....you couldn't reply.

And that's when you realized that you had never really paid attention to the video they showed you in the sex education class and had never really talked about it with anyone else.

You were stuck.

"Jumin.... I'd love to answer your question but uh....I don't think I....I don't think I know...."

Jumin raised an eyebrow and, after thinking nodded. He quickly grabbed his phone and started typing something.

"Jumin, what are you doing?" You asked, looking at his phone.

He kept his eyes on the screen, scrolling through, but still answered.

"Normally I prefer to use books instead of the internet, but it's the closest thing we have right now. I'm trying to figure out how to have sex."

Your eyes widened and you let out a laugh, and then covered your mouth. As funny as it sounded, Jumin was actually right. The internet was the only solution right now.

"Oh, hey read this one! It has steps!" You pointed to an article and Jumin clicked it.

"Step number one." He read. "Maintain physical connection. Engaging in cuddling and kissing is essential for maintaining an emotional and physical bond."

"We've been doing that right? Check!" You said, and Jumin nodded.

"Use lubrication. Often the vaginal dryness that-"

"Jumin next one!" You didn't exactly want to hear while trying to have sex, about how your vagina worked. Besides it was definetly killing the mood. You decided to change the subject and look at the next step. "Practice touching."

"Love, it says here that I should ask you where and how you like to be touched. I apologize I did not do so sooner." Jumin said sincerely, and you smiled, resting your head on his shoulder.

"It's alright. I'm sorry I didn't ask you either...could you tell me what you want?"

Jumin ran a hand through his hair and looked at the ground. "I'm afraid I've never really thought about it, so I can't give you an answer. What about you?"

You chuckled. "Me neither I have no idea. Does this article even explain how to have sex? How are we supposed to- oh wait!" You gently took Jumin's phone from his hands and typed something. Then you clicked on a link and gave him a triumphant smile.

"Porn!!" You said. Jumin looked at you, taken aback for a minute and then nodded understanding what you meant.

"That's right....if we watch pornographic content then we should be able to understand how it works. That was a really good idea love." He smiled porudly at you and kissed your forehead, and then got closer to you to look at the screen, making your bare shoulders touch.

You two spent the next twenty minutes binge watching some....questionable porn videos. You had to admit that some of them were....well....you were not prepared. Not only that, but you two couldn't help but comment at a few of them.

"Is that really how it works?" You asked at one point.

"This actress is not giving enough emotion. Someone should have really given her acting classes." Jumin commented on the second video.

"Yeah that's true. I just don't feel like she's feeling it you know? It looks way too fake."

After a long time, Jumin decided to give up and put on his pants and quickly walk over to look for a certain thing on his bookshelf.

You decided to watch a bit more porn but found out it wasn't as fun with Jumin by your side judging the actor's performance, so you scrolled through social media and saved some cat videos to show to Jumin later.

Meanwhile, Jumin was stacking up all his Playboy magazines and started studying. He read through every single magazine, studying the pictures, absorbing every drop of knowledge.

And then finally....he was ready.

He walked into the room and you looked at him excitedly.

"Did you figure it out?!" You asked, and Jumin smiled, nodding.

"Yes. I believe I've read enough in the matter to understand what to do. Would you want to continue?" He looked up at you and you excitedly nodded. He took his pants off and walked over to the bed, kneeling on top of you and moving a strand of hair away from your face.

You blushed and kissed him. The room becaming hotter and hotter in a matter of seconds, the kisses were now rough and passionate. As Jumin nipped and sucked on your chest (something he found out you really enjoyed) you felt a warm feeling begin to spread across your legs. You whimpered and Jumin stopped sucking, looking at you.

"Would you like me to put it in now?" He whispered, and you nodded. He placed a hand in between your legs and then kissed you, smirking. "It seems we won't need the lubricant. You're wet enough for me to put it in. Let me just get the condom." He started moving but you grabbed his hand and shook your head.

"I-its fine, I'm o-on the pill. P-please just do s-something....my body it's...it's so hot...please do something Jumin....I need to you..." You pleaded, and then, before you could say anything else, you gasped as you felt Jumin quickly thrust his hips against you, inserting himself inside you. You felt tears form in your eyes and Jumin kissed them and wiped them again with his hand.

"Sorry love...I just...you were being so adorable and I couldn't help myself...does it hurt?"

You whimpered, but then shook your head.

Jumin began gently thrusting, the two of you gasping and moaning everytime he moved his hips. You wrapped your arms around his neck and then let out a yelp as you felt him hit a spot that felt amazing. Jumin stopped, alarmed, and glanced over at you, asking if he should continue.

You nodded, unable to speak, and then kissed him.

"Y-you can keep going... j-just...please be gentle..." You managed to whisper.

You saw Jumin's expression change and gasped as you felt him harden inside of you. Jumin's eyes were filled with lust, and he kissed you deeply before saying, "I'm sorry love, I can't hold back anymore. Bear with me for a bit now..."

You moaned as you felt him thrust insanely hard inside you, his movements now quick and rough.

"J-Ju-Jumin! A-aah!!! I- ah, it's...I...mngh I...ANGHHH, toooo...too faaaa-ast! Mmmph agh, it's so-o-o.. good! It's so good, ah! Ah!"

Jumin kissed you, cupping your cheeks.

"L-love...mgh...you're...you...you feel amazing.....ahhh, I think I'm going to....mmph, I'm going to come soon...." He said between kisses and you nodded.

"M-me too! MNNNGH, Jumin!"

"I love you..." He whispered as he nuzzled your nose.

"L-love you...t-too..."

The two of you quickly reached your climax, letting out a pleasure filled scream, and when you were done you were both left panting. Jumin didn't move yet from his spot, not wanting to hurt you. When you looked up at him you smiled, and he smiled back. The two of you kissed each other softly, humming happily.

"That was fun." You said, and Jumin chuckled.

"It was. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Those playboy magazines did end up being useful huh?" You joked, and Jumin chuckled.

"It seems like it. Although the videos did help too."

"I'm glad at least now we know how it works. For next time y'know?" You said, and Jumin kissed your forehead, smiling.

"I know. Although I am a bit more curious about the other things you could do when having sex. It's actually a very interesting topic, it's really diverse. And there are a few things I'd like to try out, especially about positions. Then there's also this other part of the subject that I found fascinating, people usually call it something like bd- "

You quickly kissed him and pet his head, giggling. "Alrigh, alright buddy, let's take it slow. Why don't we go take a shower and then we can talk about this later? As much as I enjoyed it, right now I feel really dirty....and sticky..."

Jumin laughed. "Of course love, as you wish." He started carrying you bridal style towards the bathroom.

Although in the end you did a bit more than take a shower, so you lasted there a bit longer than usual.

Even if the two of you were new at this, it was great!

And you had to admit that for beginners? The two of you didn't do bad.

[idontwanttospoiltheparty]

when/how did you realize beatles music was amazing and something you couldn't live without?

I'm trying to not start off every answer with "OOF" but you people do keep sending me loaded questions lol. That's fine though, I enjoy it, keep it coming! My close attachment to the bug boys (both their music and them) is new. It more or less started at the beginnng of May of this year.

I've always known about them and known a good handful of songs. We sang Yellow Submarine and Hello Goodbye in school, I have memories of playing Beatles Rockband once at my cousin's house and also the Love album used to be relatively regular car music for my family. Also, I was in class with someone who was obsessed with their music and sometimes she'd be playing songs. My opinion on the music for most of my life has been kind of… middling. There were songs I really liked or loved (like Help! or Eleanor Rigby) songs I thought were fine but didn't take much note of (something like Being For The Benefit of Mr Kite) and ones I just really didn't get the hype for (A Hard Day's Night comes to mind [I love it now]). But I have a sort of kneejerk sceptic reaction to people hyping stuff up for no discernible reason sometimes, and so the more I'd hear older people with little knowledge of music theory and history call them the be-all end-all of music, the more I sort of developed a kind of aversion to them. I just hate being told to respect and/or like things without knowing why, y'know?

PSA to older Beatles fans: you will NOT convince younger people to listen to your music by telling them their music taste sucks actually.

On the other hand, I had also sort of gotten the idea I should maybe go through their entire discography and get behind the myth of it all. I sort of attempted this a few times over the years, like I started listening to Sgt. Pepper once and then for some reason had to stop halfway, and I listened to the This Is The Beatles playlist on spotify a few nights in a row in 2019 lol.

What actually made me commit to doing it was 1) I had seen a LOT of backlash against Taylor for breaking the Beatles' records for 3 number one albums within the least amount of time in the UK last April, and like the sheer stupidity of some of the arguments being made why "Actually She Didn't Break This Record" really set me off (for example talking about it being "more effort" to buy an album back in the day… But the Beatles weren't competing for number one against anyone who had it "easier" to sell their albums and Taylor wasn't competing against anyone who had it "harder" than her. Or talking about absolute pure sales numbers when that's not what going number one means?) and 2) in a Discord I was in, someone shared a link to an 8-Bit version of Sgt. Pepper at the beginning of May, which I decided to listen to cause it seemed like good study music and I rather enjoyed! I found it really let their talent for creating good melodies shine through.

WHY DO I KEEP COMPLETELY EXPOSING MYSELF IN MINIATURE ESSAYS WHEN ASKED STRAIGHTFORWARD QUESTIONS

Anyways, so all of that made me go okay! I'm gonna go through this motherfucking huge discography then I will know this music better than a LOT of the people who hype it up and then I will be able to be objective about all of this.

So I listened to Sgt. Pepper and Please Please Me and then the White Album. The first was enjoyable but I didn't really ~get the immense hype, Please Please Me bored me at first (I think their early style is something you kind of need to get into and need to hear a few times to fully appreciate. But also Love Me Do sucks and why a record label thought it would be a good debut single is absolutely BEYOND ME) and the last one REALLY caught me off guard. There was stuff in there I loved (Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da is actually possibly my very first favourite song that wasn't a kids' song. I used to have to go to these psychomotor education classes and that song played there often and I adored it. Also Piggies slaps, send tweet) but also like a lot of stuff I found pretty weird and off-putting. And I still haven't warmed up to Yer Blues and Why Don't We Do It In The Road. That album did, however, get me very interested in the band. I think the weirdness of the album really just invited me to look into their history. I wanted to understand why they had broken up. That sent me down the rabbithole of the India trip history and I just kept reading more and more wikipedia articles related to all of it.

It was around this point I sort of came to realize that I'd had a lot of wrong preconceived notions about them, especially John. I was never someone like roaming around twitter, yelling for him to be cancelled, but he had simply never seemed sympathetic to me. For instance, IDK if I misunderstood what someone told me or if that person had misunderstood, but the story of John learning chords with Paul left-handed to follow him better (and maybe also Stuart not letting Paul change around the strings on his bass) had somehow been morphed into John finding Paul's left-handed playing off-putting and forcing Paul to play right-handed?? And I was like "Wow, what an asshole!" Also all the 1970 narrative that the two didn't like each other, plus I projected boomers' and gen-xers' Beatle snobism onto them and just got the impression they were pretentious narcissists. (I mean they were kind of that, but not to the extent or in the same way I imagined)

So I think learning these things opened me up to them more. Like I realized Hey! They were my age! And then at some point I found out about the Christmas albums and thought that was so fascinating, that that existed, (a huge part of my initial interest was my fascination with the marketing around them, which is why I watched AHDN and Help! super early on) so I listened to those and was like "Fuck! These guys are endearing!" and then I remember lurking on bug-tumblr and seeing that "Well that was very observant of them, because we aren't American actually" quote and I wanted to find the video of it and ended up finding this legendary video. And starting to actually like these guys and realizing they took all of this ten times less seriously than their Boomer fans do made me more excited to keep listening to the discography and look up more of the stories behind the songs and just kind of… Come to understand them better. I also found that once I accepted that some Boomers are just gonna hype up their fave music too much I'd enjoy it more. Like I'd listen to I Want To Hold Your Hand and get a bit defensive like "why do you love this so much??? the lyrics are so dumb??" but when I just kind of accepted that fact I realized no! It's an amazingly structured bop, which yes, has weak lyrics but it's fine!!! It's the Call Me Maybe of its day and that's NOT a bad thing!!

And in the end they have an amazingly versatile catalogue that covers most things you might be in the mood for. It is kind of hard (for me) not to like it.

There are still sort of two bands in my head: the archetype, the myth, the pretentious group of people who hate each other that I just sort of instinctively want to dislike and the band who sang all those songs I had NO IDEA existed and came into my life without any baggage or expectations from my part. I've pretty much never listened to say Hey Jude in the past months, even though I don't find it bad the outro is too fucking long because it's kind of got too much of that baggage to me still.

This was SUCH a ramble but I hope this makes sense to people to some extent. Anyways I'm a new fan, drag me, but maybe drag me more for how much I seem to know after three months. Seriously, this is a curse.

[alirhi]

random snippet again

as promised, @feralgoblintea here's the (temporary) scene where the two sisters meet for the first time since one went missing as a child

note about the nickname: Rachel's middle name is Miranda; everyone has called her 'Andy' from that since she was a little kid. it's explained in her story, but not in this scene, so I just wanted to explain it here lol

"Your parents are very eager to know where you've been and what you've been going through all these years," the doctor told her, deep voice oddly gentle and soothing. Rachel smiled sadly; his voice reminded her of Amadeus. "Most of all, they want to know that you're alright."

She knew he thought she was crazy. Her parents definitely shared that opinion, which was why she was here to begin with. Still, she couldn't help asking, "And, in your professional opinion, am I?"

He caught her lightly mocking tone and snorted, leaning back in his chair to mirror her pose. "In my professional opinion," he shot back, though the sarcasm left his tone before he even finished his sentence, "you've been through Hell, Rachel. The trauma you've suffered is very, very real. If you're asking, do I believe in demons and portals and time travel, I'd have to say no. But that pain and fear came from somewhere... I'd like you to come back in for regular sessions, if you're up for it; see if we can cut through the fantasy, see past the demons and find the real monsters who hurt you."

"That's why I'm not coming back." She stood, shaking her head a little. "I'm not surprised you don't believe me - I probably wouldn't believe it, myself, if I hadn't lived it - but it's a bit frustrating. What I told you isn't metaphors or delusion. It all happened, and I'm not interested in having someone rip it all apart and try to make me doubt my own memory."

"They call that 'gaslighting' these days."

Startled, the blonde whirled around to face the source of the new voice; a woman she sort of vaguely recognized was standing in the doorway, hand on the knob, smiling at her. After a long moment, her brain helpfully edited the image before her to make it make sense; wild red hair to dirty blonde, violet eyes to mismatched green and blue, face younger and body smaller and more plump. "...Beck?!"

Rebecca's smile widened and she stepped forward with a nod. "Hey, Andy."

"Oh my god!" With a laugh and a delighted screech, she launched herself across the room and threw her arms around her little sister. "What are you doing here?"

Nearly squeezing the breath out of her, the younger woman murmured, "I heard you were back and had to see you. Stand your ground, Andy. Don't let them make you forget or doubt that it was all real. We know the truth." She released her, only to bring her hands up to grip the sides of her sister's head. "Magic is real."

Rachel froze, staring at Rebecca's mouth long after it closed and the two long, wicked fangs that had drawn her attention were hidden from view. "...What happened to you?"

"Not here. I'll tell you everything, but not here."

"Okay." Without so much as a backward glance at the shrink, she followed the redhead out of the office, past their fretting parents, and out into the bright sunny day that made Rebecca hiss.

She cringed and immediately donned a beat-to-hell baseball cap and a pair of dark sunglasses. "Fuck, I hate sunny days."

"You always did." Rachel couldn't help smiling faintly; so many years had passed, more than anyone in the world around them could ever understand, and yet so little about her baby sister had changed.

"Yeah, well... I've only gotten more sensitive to it."

Once they'd made it deep enough into the woods behind the Industrial Park that there was no risk of anyone overhearing, they stopped, and Rachel asked her point blank: "You're a vampire, aren't you?"

Rebecca laughed, gratefully leaning back into the shade of the nearest tree. "Only in our lives is that a casual conversation starter. And yes. Thankfully I'm old enough that daylight won't kill me. It's just unpleasant."

With her own accidental time travel in mind, the blonde asked, "How old are you?" Thirty-seven, she knew, in the eyes of the people around them; to them, Rachel herself had only just turned thirty-nine, and yet both sisters looked at each other with exhausted, haunted eyes millennia older than they could ever hope to make anyone else understand.

"As a vampire, or in general?" She smirked, shrugging off her own question before her sister could answer. "In general is harder to pin down, but I've been a vampire for about six thousand years, give or take a few."

Leaning against a tree roughly opposite Rebecca's, Rachel mirrored her smirk and crossed her arms over her chest. "I was Queen of an entire planet, and then POW and slave on a second, then a fugitive... I managed to send my older daughter home, before I got stuck on a third planet with my boys and little girl. It's been about ten thousand years."

"You have kids?" Rebecca grinned, once again showing those distractingly long fangs. "Me, too! I have two daughters, Madeline and Alice."

"Senna, Kieran, Caspian, and...Cassie," Rachel told her in answer to her unspoken question. She couldn't help blushing as she listed her children's names; she'd since learned what senna was, and hadn't actually given her younger two children names beginning with the same sound on purpose. It had just sort of worked out that way.

"Twins?"

She shook her head. "Caspian's my stepson, kinda, and Cassie was named after-"

Rebecca flinched, remembering. "After Cassie Wade, right? I was so focused on figuring out what happened to you, and then fighting to survive, I'd forgotten she went missing with you."

"She..." Clearing her throat, the blonde squared her shoulders and pulled her strong front around herself like a familiar safety blanket. "She saved our lives; she didn't make it. And, yeah. I named my youngest after her. Anyway, they're all grown, and Kieran..." Jaw clenching, she forcibly dismissed thoughts of her rapist and merely said, "He's my perfect warrior prince. Well, King now. I love them all, and desperately miss Senna, but Kieran, despite his more questionable choices, has a special place in my heart."

Rebecca took her sunglasses off and studied her for a moment before venturing, "Y'know... I literally eat rapists for breakfast."

That got a startled bark of laughter from her big sister, who shook her head. "Even if my boy hadn't already killed him, I doubt his gross, rancid blood would sit well with you. He wasn't human."

The redhead shrugged, smirking again. "Doesn't have to be. I've eaten Fae, elves, one vampire that pissed me off royally..."

"Not such a picky eater anymore, huh?" she teased, grinning. "Was it some badass revenge on your sire or something?"

Laughing, Rebecca shook her head. "Nope, no sire. I'm the OG vampire, babe. The first of the species. My younger daughter, Alice, is the first of the natural born vamps."

"So, wait... You could still get pregnant after you were turned? What?" Rachel frowned, beyond confused. "And how the fuck...?"

"I'm not dead," her little sister explained with another laugh. "Everything's slowed way the hell down, but hasn't stopped. I can't have kids with a human, or probably most Fae, but a certain trickster God..."

"...God?"

She grinned and nodded, though her haunting violet eyes looked sad. "Loki. He's Alice's dad."

"Huh. So the Gods are real." Rachel snorted. "Go figure. And my sister banged one."

"I loved him," the other woman whispered, staring at the ground. She opened her mouth as if to speak further, then seemed to reconsider and closed it again, clearing her throat.

To spare her from some clearly painful memories, whatever they were, Rachel asked, "What's a Fae?"

"Fairy," was the simple enough answer. "Fairies are real, too. Maddie - my oldest - is Fae."

Is she Loki's, too? She didn't dare ask - Loki was clearly a touchy subject - but she was dying to know.

As if she could read her mind, Rebecca, still avoiding her gaze, explained, "I was still mortal when I had her. Her father was Fae."

As the light breeze shifted the leaves above them, making the light dance across Rebecca's ghostly white skin, Rachel finally noticed the scars. At first, they'd looked like tribal tattoos, done puzzlingly in a silvery-white. When she realized they were actually a complex web of ancient scars, she also noticed they covered every inch of her sister's flesh that she could see around her shorts and tank top. Her face was the only place free of the oddly beautiful swirling lines, though she did spot a faint scar on her forehead, running from hairline to cheekbone and through the outer edge of her eyebrow.

"Is Madeline's father why you hunt rapists?" Is he the one who tore you apart?

"He didn't rape me... Technically. But yes, he's the one who scarred me." At her startled look, Rebecca smirked; it utterly failed to reach her eyes, but it was a start. "I can read your mind. I'm trying not to - I find it unspeakably rude and invasive - but when you're actively thinking about me, it tends to cut through my shields. The scars are from a spell he worked on me; blood magic. It's what made Maddie's conception possible, and chained me to him for years."

"Kieran's father was my greatest enemy; Crown Prince of the people who'd been attacking and slaughtering mine. King by the time I escaped." She didn't know what made her suddenly share this, but it felt like the thing to do. Her sister had told her something deeply personal and troubling; it seemed only right to meet candor with candor. Besides, Rachel and Rebecca had been two peas in a pod as children, as close as two sisters could possibly be. There was no amount of time that could strain their relationship. "I was captured in battle and kept as a slave for around a year and a half."

"How did the other three come about?" She smirked again, shoving her wild red hair back off her face impatiently. "Even when we were kids, I'd have bet just about anything that you're gayer than a rainbow, so how do you have so many kids?"

Rachel laughed, rolling her eyes. "Political marriage gave me Senna - born in a dungeon, thanks to me being pregnant during the battle and not knowing it yet. She was smuggled home to her father after she was born. I made a friend in that Hellhole, Emil, and he'd been raising Caspian; he's not his biological father, but that never mattered, just like it didn't matter to me that I didn't give birth to him. That boy's just as much my son as Kieran. We were supposed to go back to my home when we escaped, but something went screwy and we ended up on Achlys, instead, where I met my girlfriend and we all decided to just settle and raise the boys."

"So you cheated on your husband?" Rebecca's grin was teasing - and, thank god, reached her eyes at last! - but Rachel still threw an acorn at her when she said, "You whore!"

"I never saw him again! And he wouldn't have given a shit," she explained with a laugh. "I was, like, his third or fourth wife. And like I said, it was purely political; I was Queen, he was my advisor, he wanted power and I wanted an heir. Enter Senna, who boosted Raziel from random noble to father of the next Queen, and assured that there would be someone to take the reins if I died."

"So..." Her sister began ticking points off on her fingers as she spoke. "Shrewd political moves gave you Senna, you're co-parenting Caspian with a friend, we won't speak of Kieran's origins... How and why was Cassie a thing?"

Rachel shook her head, gaping at her. "A thing? That's nice, Beck. Real nice."

"Gods, you've missed so many cultural shifts, dude." Rebecca shook her head right back, trying not to laugh at her. "Just answer the question, old lady."

"Emil and I, and my girlfriend Trinity, all talked and decided to hell with conventionality; we all love each other, so we'll all be together. Em's my exception, I guess; the only man I've ever been attracted to even after seeing him naked. Our boys were grown, Senna was long gone, we'd made a whole new life for ourselves, so we decided to have another baby. Enter Cassie." Rachel sighed, staring off into space. "And now she's grown, Kieran's back in that awful place trying to turn it around, married to a great girl, Caspian's there with them to help..."

Though she had a feeling she knew the answer, the vampire asked softly, "And your lovers?"

"...Dead. Cassie - Cassie Wade, I mean - died in prison, Trin and Em were killed in the second war." A bitter smirk tugged at the corners of her lips. "Kieran and Cas are running a third."

"There's always another fucking war," Rebecca grumbled. "I've watched so many of them come and go, fought in two, myself... It never really ends."

[lifewithlemons00]

Best Friends Peter Parker x OC

Synopsis: In which a girl falls in love with her Best friend, but he doesn’t feel the same way, Right?

Words: Around 1000

Triggers: Swearing, Angst

________________________________________________________________

The human brain was truly a scary thing. Jane had plenty of things to worry about, what with exams coming up, but the only thing she could think and ponder about, was how Peter Parker could be so incredibly dorky but also so cute at the same time.

"Jane, what do you think?" her green eyes widen as she realizes said curly brown haired boy was talking to her.

"Huh? I didn't catch the question, what's wrong?"

"How do you think I should ask Liz to Homecoming? I know I don't have much of a shot, but I think... It would be, y'know, kind of cool to go with her."

His gaze retreats as a blush creeps on his cheeks, and picks at the half eaten lunch in front of him. Jane couldn't understand why he thought of Liz like that. Sure, she was pretty, smart, sweet, and just an all around good person... the brunette sighs as she blows some hair out of her face.

'Of course he would like her, she's practically perfect.'

"Well, you could always send some flowers to her, I'm sure she would like that." his chocolate brown eyes widen at the idea and mentally takes a note.

Good idea, I'll do that after school, would you come with me, to pick them out? I'm sure you would know what to get better than me."

She puts on a fake smile, and nods eagerly at the idea. Sure, she had a huge crush on her best friend, but she could never tell him that. He liked Liz, it was plain and simple. He always talked about her, and she couldn't bear to make him upset with her petty jealously. After all, what are best friends for?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It had been two weeks since Peter and Liz were officially going to Homecoming together, and Jane couldn't help but feel less and less eager to be around her best friend. Sure, she always loved seeing, and talking to him, but when the only thing he could talk about was going to homecoming with a girl that wasn't her, she couldn't help but feel pangs of jealously. It was getting easier to have bursts of anger towards him. She felt horrible about it, he couldn't control his feelings for her after all, but between his new hangouts with Liz, and his 'Stark Internship' he didn't have any time for her anymore other than lunch break, and a couple classes they shared. Jane was becoming someone she didn't wanna be, and she didn't want Peter to see her as a jealous person.

So, she had decided to distance herself from him.

"He wouldn't miss me anyways." Jane thought as she locked her apartment, which was right next door to Peter's.

"I mean, he's probably texting Liz right at this moment anyways."

The door next to her opens, revealing said boy she was just thinking about.

"Well, this whole distancing thing will be harder than I thought."

"Hey, Pete.." she gives him a half smile, which he returns.

"Hey, I was thinking about what to wear for Homecoming, and-"

"I actually don't have time to talk, I'm on my way somewhere important." Jane says hurriedly as she stuffs her keys into her coat pocket.

"Oh, is everything okay?" She meets his worried eyes and instantly regrets lying to him.

'Yeah, just got... Um, a really important... Eye appointment." She doesn't keep eye contact with him.

"But you have perfect vision."

"Yeah, well things change. So... I'll see you around." the emerald eyed girl quickly walks to the stair exit as she hears Peter call her name from behind her.

- - - - - - - - - - -

"Does Jane seem weird to you lately?" Peter asks Ned a week later at school.

She hasn't been sitting with them at lunch as of late, and hasn't been answering the texts Peter sends her. And even when she does answer, it's all one worded answers. Peter couldn't help but feel worried about his best friends weird behavior.

"Not really, why?"

"Well, she hasn't been sitting with us recently, and she just seems... Weird, right?" Ned raises an eyebrow at Peter.

"Okay for example, she told me she had to go visit her aunt Quinn and help her before school today."

"Your point?"

"She doesn't have an aunt Quinn." Ned laughs at this.

Yeah, guess that is pretty weird." Peter rolls his eyes at Ned's response.

"It isn't funny, I'm worried about her."

"Look, I'm sure she's fine. She probably just wanted to be alone today." Peter's eyebrows furrow at this.

"I don't know, I'm still worried."

"Then why don't you ask her about it."

"Shes been impossible to reach for the last week, and every time I do see her, she's got something else going on so she can't talk."

"Well, she texted me before lunch saying she was studying outside on the bleachers, why don't you talk to her now."

"She told you where she was but not me?" Ned rolls his eyes.

"Just go talk to her."

- - - - - - - - - - -

So here Peter was, walking towards the bleachers where his best friend sat, alone, a book in one hand and a carrot in the other.

"Hey, Jane." her eyes leave her book, and widen at the sight of Peter.

"U-um, I actually was just about to pack up and go to class." the brunette says as she starts packing up her things.

"Class doesn't start for another 45 minutes."

"Well, you know me, I always like to be early."

"Can we just talk for a minute? Please?"

"About what?" Jane asks nervously, her heart beating faster as he sits next to her.

"About why you've been acting so weird the past week."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm acting like I always do." Peter's eyebrows furrow at this.

"We both know that's not true. You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" his sad, puppy dog eyes make their way to her emerald ones.

"I... Just wanna be alone." She looks away from him, guilt eating her.

"But why? Are you mad at me or something?"

"No! That's not why. I just want to spend some time by myself." Peter could always tell when she was lying, should would always advert her eyes, and fumble with her fingers, which she was doing right at this moment.

"I know you're lying, Jane. Look, if you're upset about me not having time because of... the 'Stark internship'. I'm so-"

"It's not that, Pete."

"Did I say something wrong then? Please, I just wanna know why you'v-"

"Can you stop grilling me and go back to your girlfriend? I'm so tired of this." Jane huffs as she finishes packing stuff in her bag.

"Girlfriend? what are you talking about?"

"It's nothing. I have to get to class." she quickly starts to walk away.

"Wait, are you... Jealous of Liz? You have good qualities too, there's no need to be-" this makes her turn around quickly, a dry laugh escapes her lips.

"You never know when to stop talking, do you Peter? You don't know anything, so why don't you just stop." anger was the only thing fueling her at this point, it was one thing to be jealous of Liz, but to compare her to Jane was one thing she couldn't handle.

"Then help me understand! I've been worried about you and I just want to know why my best friend's been ignoring me."

"You wanna know why I've been ignoring you? Fine. I'm fucking in love with you, and it feels like all you talk about is Liz. 'Hey Jane, what should I wear to Homecoming' 'Oh Jane, do you think Liz will like this?' I'm so sick of it, Peter. I just wanna be alone." As she realizes what she's just said, she huffs as she puts her head head in her hand and turns around so she doesn't have to face him.

It's silent between them for a few minutes, as Peter tries to take her words in. She loves Him.

"How long have you... felt this way?"

"I don't know.. Why does it matter anyways, you like Liz... Look, can we just forget I said anything. I'm sorry for yelling, I just. Don't wanna be around you right now." Before she could leave, Peter grabs her arm gently.

"Wait, can we talk about this? I just want to understand."

"Understand what? There's nothing to understand, Pete. You like Liz, I'm being an idiot right now. I shouldn't have said anything to you.." As Jane tries to retreat once again, peter speaks up.

"I love you too." Jane turns around quickly, her eyes wide.

"But.. You and Liz."

" I figured... Since we've been friends for so long, that's all you saw me as. So, I thought I could try to get rid of my feelings by going out with Liz. I would have never thought in a million years you would feel the same way as me." Jane's eyes water as she stares at the boy she'd liked for so long.

"Did it work? Are your feelings gone?"

"How could I ever get over someone like you? You're so smart, way smarter than anyone I've ever met. You've got the most beautiful green eyes, and when you smile at something you're passionate about... They just shine with this adoration and love I've never seen from anybody else before. I've fallen in love with everything about you, from the way you crinkle your eyes when you don't understand a question when you're doing your homework, to when you fall asleep at my house on the couch, and you've just got this... Beautiful, Peaceful look on your face. Everything you do makes me feel like I'm going crazy, and I can't help but love every little thing about you."

Jane's eyes turn into waterfalls as her tears cascade down her face, and embraces the one person in her life she cares the most about. His arms wrap around her instinctively, and he can't help but smile as she cries in his arms.

“So, I guess this means... You forgive me?" Jane chuckles as she looks up at Peter.

"Only if we can go to Homecoming together." he smiles down at her, wiping one of her tear stained cheeks.

"Sounds like a date."

[forkanna]

[AO3] [WATTPAD] [QUOTEV]

Chie was warm when she awoke the next morning. What a lovely feeling! She couldn't remember how long it had been since she last felt this peaceful — as if pure sunshine itself were wrapping around her, coiled like an affectionate snake. Even though that was a very weird mental image.

Speaking of which… the sunshine itself was just barely peeking in through the windows of the room, making her close her eyes a little tighter as she snuggled harder against her pillow. All she wanted to do was sleep in and forget the frightening, insane dream she had. Yukiko falling into the TV? Monster clones crawling all over each other — and worse still, Yu and Yosuke seeing them like that?! Horrible and crazy, even if the ending of the dream was a little less unpleasant. No, she would rather just think about sunshine and her best friend and let the nightmare fade into nothingness.

"Yukiko…" she breathed with a small smile.

"Hmm?"

The response didn't startle her. Not at first. She simply was too comfortable, too happy, for the reality of the situation to poke through that fuzzy blanket of contentment. However, she did start to feel like either her pillow was a little too warm, or her dog somehow knew the word "Hmm" now. And come to that, Muku wasn't an inside dog. Why was he in her bed today?

When she moved her face just a little to snuggle closer and hopefully fall back asleep, she could suddenly tell that there was hair covering her pillow. Not fabric, and not dog fur either… actual human hair. That was weird. Her brain finally put it together: the least weird thing to be covered in human hair was a human, not a pillow or a dog. So that meant…

That meant…

Drawing backward, Chie opened her eyes to observe a sea of silky black strands. Yukiko. She didn't need to scroll through some huge list of people it could be; she knew, even without seeing anything else. This wasn't the first time they had fallen asleep together and awoken in the same bed. Just the first time since finding out a shadowy part of her heart wanted to wake up next to her every morning.

Moving her arm a little showed her that it was around Yukiko's stomach. And it felt so good there… who wouldn't love to spoon the junior innkeeper? Flawless goddess that she was. Practically everybody who went to Yasogami High shared that opinion; with the exception of Ai Ebihara, who was gorgeous but as snooty and unpleasant as they came, she was most definitely the hottest girl in school. She had even overheard a couple of "If I were gay" discussions in the locker room that hinted Yukiko would be their ideal.

But now, Chie and Yukiko were gay. For real, not just hypothetically.

"Oh shit," she breathed when she remembered that particular detail. The shadows had been telling the truth. Sure, she knew she could put up a fight, try to pretend it was all a dream or they were lying, but the moment she accepted that other Chie into her heart she relinquished all right to deny it any longer. "Yukiko… I think we're in trouble."

"Hmm?" she groaned again, squirming a little in Chie's embrace. Her hand drifted up to rest on the back of Chie's, which made her smile. What a tender touch. "Prince? What time is it?"

Now she burst into a full rosy blush like she never had before. Yukiko was calling her that in her sleep now? She had thought the shadow exaggerated that slightly, like they tended to do, but apparently it was no exaggeration. Before she could think through her response, it was out of her mouth and into the air.

"I don't know, Princess."

Yukiko's dark eyes fluttered open, staring at the wall bordering the window. Now she could see this was Yuki's room; her brain hadn't been firing on all cylinders before. Such a traditional Japanese room, complete with low tables and tatami, a bonsai on a small table in the corner, hanging calligraphy — and they were curled up in a futon that was luxurious for one person but very slightly too small for two. There was also a poster of a pop group Yukiko loved, but it was framed; probably a compromise on her mother's part.

"Chie-chan?" she breathed.

"Yeah?"

"It's you. Why… last night, what happened?"

"Nothing! Nothing happened!" That was her first instinct; cover her own ass, make sure Yukiko didn't think she was being a creep. Then she cleared her throat. "I m-mean, uh… I don't know. What do you remember?"

Her warm body shifted, and Chie felt her neck growing yet hotter. This felt too good in a way it never had before. "I remember… the castle. You saved me. I'm… oh."

"Oh?"

"I remember our shadows."

"Damn," she sighed. "I was kinda hoping you'd forget that part. So embarrassing!"

"I know! I've never… how could that other me be s-so indecent? I've never had thoughts like those before!"

Chie sighed, petting up and down her best friend's stomach. She felt the muscles twitch and shift in response. "Um… yeah, but… I have. And I think the shadows kinda, um, fed off each other? Or something, I guess. I don't know."

Finally, Yukiko turned just enough so she could look at her best friend out of the corner of her eye. "You've really thought about me that way?"

"Not… like the shadow said I did. I wasn't trying to…" She grimaced, and Yukiko's expression grew more concerned. "Never wanted to be with you… like that. It was just a thought or two, I promise. Because there's never been any guys I was really into, y'know? So after seeing that video, I… y-you're so pretty, and we're already best friends… so I had to wonder…"

"You had to wonder…?" When Chie didn't continue, she bit her lip for a moment before whispering, "If maybe you and I could be like the girls in the video?"

"Yeah! But then I was like, that's stupid, right? We're friends! And that's cool! You've been my best friend practically my whole life, and I love that. I don't wanna mess it up."

"Chie… why are we in bed together?"

Swallowing hard, she tried to scrape together two brain cells. "Well… you collapsed in the castle, and then I was trying to help carry you out… and after that… man, I really don't remember."

"If…" Yukiko rolled onto her back, and Chie felt even more self-conscious now that they could see each other. That perfect, angelic face, gazing up at her with concern and trust. She didn't deserve that. "Maybe Yu and Yosuke couldn't carry both of us all the way to both houses? So they just left you here."

"Maybe…" She sighed, looking away. "I'm sorry, Yuki-chan. I didn't mean to flake."

"Flake? What do you mean?"

"I should have been able to carry you all the way home, if I'm really your… well, y'know."

"My prince?" When Chie nodded, she let out the softest little chuckle. "You really think I don't still see you that way? You went to an entire other world for me. A-and you accepted your shadow, even after she told everyone that you… after she did those things to the other Yukiko."

"I couldn't hide from them anymore," she sighed, slumping just a little. "Not with it all out in the open, and… and it being the truth."

"No, that's not what I was trying to explain. I know the only reason you accepted that was to make sure I was safe. I could tell." Her hand drifted up to cup Chie's cheek. "My brave prince, risking her life, and then… her reputation in front of the guys. And all I did was be a victim."

Eyebrows furrowing, she leaned a little closer. "Don't say it like that. We were all victims — of whoever's behind this stupid stuff. How were you supposed to know you'd get kidnapped?!"

"But I couldn't protect myself," she insisted. "Couldn't stop them from catching me and throwing me into the TV. What kind of pathetic-"

"Stop! You have every right to just… be a peaceful, gentle girl, who likes to study, and laugh at stupid jokes, a-and… and I would die to defend that right!"

Yukiko's face suddenly grew deathly serious. "No. Please don't say things like that, Chie. I don't want to think about… well, I just don't want to think about that. Okay?"

"Okay," she acquiesced with a little nod. While Yukiko was breathing a sigh of relief, she kissed her cheek. "I'm just glad we got you back safe and sound."

"Oh," Yukiko breathed. Only then did Chie realise what she had done, but her friend was already smiling. "Y-yes. Thank you."

"S-sorry."

"No, no, it's alright! It felt very…" She trailed off, the bridge of her nose and her cheeks turning pink. "I can't believe this is real. We're… I didn't even know. How could I not know I had those feelings buried inside of me? Am I stupid?"

"Only if I am, too," she chuckled, and Yukiko grinned bashfully.

"I guess you're right. We can't pretend that both of our shadows weren't having a great time over there."

"We could," Chie hedged playfully. "Try to pretend the whole thing was just a big hallucination. But now that Tomoe is a part of me, I don't think it's gonna work very well."

"Tomoe?"

After blinking for a moment, Chie breathed, "Whoa. I just… knew that name. That's the other me; her name is Tomoe. How? She never told me…"

"Konohana Sakuya."

"Huh?"

"That's… mine's name," she explained, sounding just as confused as Chie. "They're part of us, but… also something else. I saw them change before we accepted them; do you think…?"

"I don't know," she admitted readily. "Seriously, I wish I did. But I remember Yosuke saying something about that when we were all talking about what happened when him and Yu went into the TV before. They used a word… I just can't remember what it was now."

"That's alright. We can ask them later." They shifted and felt their legs graze each other's, and Yukiko giggled a bit. "Wow, this feels very different from before."

"You bet. I'm… I don't know what to do."

"What do you want to do? We can get up now if that's-"

"NO! I mean, uhh… it's okay. We can chill for a minute."

Yukiko smiled sweetly up at her, even if her face was glowing crimson. "You don't have to do that anymore, you know. Hide your true feelings. If you do want to… be close to me, we can do that. It's a little scary since it's new, but I… don't mind. Not at all."

"Really? It's not too weird?" She moved her legs again. "I don't think, um… we're wearing very much. Under the sheets."

"Y-yeah. It's… don't worry, I'm sure it was my mother who undressed us, or one of the other women."

"It had better have been. I'll punt that Yosuke to the moon if he even took off one of my shoes!" They both giggled a little before relaxing again, even if they weren't fully relaxed. Too much excitement.

"Your legs are smooth," Yukiko commented out of nowhere. "A-against mine. Sorry."

"What are you sorry for?"

"Well… it's strange, isn't it? For us to be doing this, and… I want to tell you what I'm thinking, but I'm also ashamed of those things. It's silly; I just got done telling you everything is fine, and yet…"

One of Chie's shoulders rose and fell with a little shrug. "It's okay. Seriously, I'm… don't worry about me judging you. I'm pretty sure it's my fault we even saw our shadows doing that since I'm the perv."

"You are not a perv," she chuckled. "Unless you were lying about how often you go to watch those videos."

"I wasn't. Like, I only went on there once." Sighing, she forced herself to admit, "I did watch more than one video, though. Like, a few. But I felt so creepy afterward that I couldn't let myself go back."

"I see. Did you want to look at some together?"

Chie nearly lost her mind at that thought. Therefore, she was quick to assure her, "S-some other time! Maybe? I dunno, um…"

"O-oh, okay," Yukiko quickly agreed, nodding as she swallowed hard. "I didn't mean to upset you, or to suggest something… too unpleasant. Just trying to help."

"You are! I mean it, this is really… I'm so happy that you're not skeeved, or think I'm being a perv, or hating me for… being gross with that website. I just… got curious, and then it was super fascinating."

After debating internally for a second, Yukiko whispered, "And then, you pictured the two of us doing the same thing?" No answer. Yukiko reached up to pet along her cheek again as she added, "It's alright. I think… w-well, I don't like anyone thinking of me that way. It seems vulgar. Except, knowing you have… it doesn't make me angry like Yosuke does when he asks what my measurements are."

Chie's lip curled. "That boy is a real horndog. Not a bad guy overall, but like, he's sure got a one-track mind."

"Yeah!" she agreed with a musical laugh that made Chie melt in a way it never had before. She always loved it, sure, but now it had a deeper effect than could be explained away. "I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to get us into swimsuits as soon as the weather's warmer."

"Probably right! I mean, God, why is he like that?!" They both giggled for a few seconds, trying to relax against each other's bodies despite the electricity sparking between them. Then Chie cuddled a little closer, feeling Yukiko's arms tighten around her back. "Mmm…"

A tender mouth came to rest against the crown of her head, pushing into the hair a tiny bit — not quite a kiss. Just a tender gesture. "Chie… I don't understand a lot of this. I really don't. But I want you to know something."

"What's up?" she breathed.

"That you and I… we're friends. And not just 'I'll see you in class' friends, but 'I'll see you every day for the rest of our lives' friends. Even if we aren't… that kind, if our feelings aren't the same, that doesn't matter. I will never turn my back on this friendship."

Her heart felt like it could burst. "Y-Yuki-chan… I… for real? You and me, forever?"

"Sorry."

"No, no, I feel the same way!"

"You do?!" When Chie nodded, she embraced her even more tightly. "Oh, Chie… I've felt that way for a long time! I just wasn't sure if I should say it, or if it would be too strange. Since it sounded like…"

When she didn't finish the thought after a few seconds, she whispered, "Yeah. It sure does sound like… a love confession."

"Right. And of course, I love you. I'm just… not sure what kind of…"

"Hey, don't sweat it," she reassured her with a smile as she held onto her friend. Trying to ignore how warm she was, how good she smelled… how little they were wearing, even if it was underneath bedsheets. "We'll figure that out. Probably."

For a few minutes, they simply laid there, too afraid to continue. To misspeak and change the whole situation sooner than either of them were prepared for. Finally, Yukiko cleared her throat as she caressed up and down Chie's mostly-bare back, fingers tripping slightly over the strap of her sports bra.

"So… um… fingers can really… do that to a woman? And it doesn't hurt?"

Instantly, Chie turned back into a mess. It became a lot harder to ignore certain physical reactions when forced to think about that spectacle their shadows put on again — especially when she could feel a very warm hip pushing against the area in question.

"Y-yeah, I guess so! Not that I tried it, but I, u-um… looked like it to me."

"Wow…"

"I know, right? Crazy…"

Licking her lips, Yukiko whispered, "And you would want to try that with me?"

"NO! I uh, I mean… yeah? But we're not doing that kind of stuff, so it's fine! Really, I'm just… I feel a little light-headed, do you feel light-headed? Is it hot in here or is it just you?"

Yukiko had been laughing until the last part, which made her gasp. "Me? Hot?!"

"Yeah, you! Geez, haven't you ever looked in a mirror? Don't you hear how the boys talk about you in school?"

"W-well… I think boys just talk about girls like that all the time," she hedged, cheeks flaming red. "And of course, I know I'm not ugly, but I also don't think I'm particularly pretty. Or unique; I'm such a common girl. What about Ebihara-san? She's much prettier than me. And so are you!"

Chuckling just a little at her friend's modesty — which she knew was true and not a facade, thanks to their shadow-encounters — she kissed her cheek and whispered, "You're beautiful, ya idiot. And everybody knows Ebihara's a bitch."

"CHIE!" she cried out in shock, even though she started giggling a moment later. Chie allowed herself to relax into the embrace as her friend shook with mirth for a few seconds. "I… I can't believe you said that!"

"What? It's true! She's a huge bitch and nobody can stand her. I mean… she's probably just really insecure or whatever, but does that have to mean she takes it out on the rest of us?"

Yukiko nodded thoughtfully as they relaxed against each other. "I wonder… if she went into the TV with us… what her shadow would be like? Or my parents, or… anyone. Not that I want them to have to go through what we have, or what the reporter and Saki-san did, for sure — nobody else should die. I'm just curious what secrets are in their hearts; it might explain why Ebihara-san is so, um, unpleasant."

"Who knows?" she sighed, relaxing a little more as they both fell silent. At least they had the topic of the egomaniacal Ai to distract them for a few seconds.

What should they do now? Of course, they could just keep lying there, but given that she already felt the embers of need trying to catch the rest of her on fire, that was a bad plan if she didn't want to end up repeating what the shadows had done. Which neither of them was quite ready for. Could they actually just get up and start acting like everything was fine? No, that ship had sailed; actually watching part of their own selves acting out secret fantasies would not be so easy to forget as a slip of a tongue, or a lingering glance.

"Yuki-chan?"

"Yes?"

"Um… I'm sorry for how I used to think about you." There, perfect. This was something she needed to do, anyway, and it would help keep them from thinking too hard about other matters. "For thinking of you as dependent on me, o-or whatever. I know we kind of already went over that, but I wanted to formally apologi-"

"Shhh," she shushed her, kissing her cheek. "Chie, don't. I know… I know I put you on a pedestal, and you enjoyed the pedestal. We both could have been… smarter? Or more wise? Or maybe just more honest about our feelings with each other. A-anyway, I, um… I don't like you any less, and I don't think you're a bad person at all. So don't worry about those things."

Great. Yukiko was so kind and understanding that now they had nothing to distract them from the deeper worries about their sexuality. And since they had already admitted their feelings, more or less…

"D-does this mean… we're… dating?"

"Does it?" Yukiko asked, eyebrows shooting upward. "Wow…"

Grimacing, she hissed, "Don't just accept it like that! We're both girls, aren't we?"

"Well, yes. But I've read somewhere that it's becoming more and more commonly accepted in other parts of the world. There are countries in Africa where it's still punishable by death, but everywhere else…"

"Death!" she squeaked, clutching at her own throat.

"Stop," she snorted with a slight smile. "It's terrible, yes, but I don't plan on moving to Africa, so you and I should be safe."

Chie forced herself to breathe. Then she cleared her throat and followed up with, "Still, um… we're in Japan. It's weird here, right? They're going to look at us funny."

"Maybe…" She frowned a little, then she shrugged. "But how will they know we're not just friends?"

"Well, that- oh. Oh, I guess you're right, huh? Unless we make out in the middle of class, anyway."

"You want to make out in the middle of class?" Chie's brain short-circuited for a minute before Yukiko giggled. "Sorry, that was mean. I made you picture it, I think."

"N-not 'mean'! Nope! And what do you mean? I didn't picture anything!" When her friend only continued to giggle at her expense, belly shaking, Chie rolled her eyes and smiled. "You're such a goof. Do you know that? Like, everybody else is fooled by your cute 'proper lady' kimono-wearing facade, but not me. I see who you really are."

Her smile was coy as she gazed upward, the sun coming through the window in just the right way to sparkle in one of her eyes. "And who am I?"

What Chie had been going to say was something along the lines of "a nerd"; she actually wasn't entirely sure. But seeing her like that prompted a quiet, "Perfect."

"What?" Yukiko's smile disappeared, only to reappear smaller and alongside a rosy blush. "O-oh."

"What?"

"I didn't think… you were going to say something like…" Throat working to swallow, she looked away. "Wow. You really are a prince."

"A-ah, come on," she tried to laugh it off. "Just because I said that one thing?"

"No. It's the way you said it; the way you were looking at me when you did. There was this dreamy sincerity in your eyes, and… your voice was so serious. I got goosebumps." When Chie laughed again, she pushed down the sheet and raised up an arm. "No really! Look, I have them!"

However, Chie became distracted by something else other than the tiny scores of bumps along Yukiko's arm. There was no bra. She had still been expecting actual clothes, really, but even beyond those having gone missing, her best friend was topless. And unless she missed her guess, those peaks were erect — probably for the same reason her arm had blossomed into gooseflesh.

Because of Chie.

"Oh!" Yukiko suddenly gasped when she realised, her other arm sliding up to lay across her chest and conceal everything. "Oh no, I- I'm sorry, I w-wasn't… sometimes I can be such a ditz!"

"Yeah…" Once hearing she said that, she hurried to assure her, "Wait, hang on, you're n-not a ditz. I don't think that! I meant, um… it's okay! Yeah."

Both of them were red enough in the face that they probably could have cooked omelettes on their cheeks. Chie took a quick glance down to see if she was clothed, and she was — in her sports bra. At least it was something. Yukiko was probably either wearing no bra before, or hers was nicer and more elaborate, so the women who worked at the inn had removed it so she could rest comfortably after her ordeal. It made sense, even if it resulted in this awkward situation.

"...want to…"

"What?"

Yukiko was quick to shake her head. "Nothing."

"No, really," Chie insisted. "I missed what you said."

"I asked if you wanted… to… t-touch them?"

Licking her lips, she glanced around the room. "Okay, I uh… I know we said we'd do that whole 'honesty' thing from now on. But are you sure you wanna be asking me questions like that?"

"I am," she whispered. "Even if the answers might scare me a little, I could never be really scared. Not with you next to me."

Heart bursting with love, Chie smiled down at her and leaned in for a gentle kiss. Neither of them were really ready, but she suddenly knew that there was no point in depriving each other of the chance to experience this connection — one that had existed all along. They just lied to themselves about what kind of connection it was.

And Yukiko's lips were soft, sweet. Perfect like the rest of her. Chie found she never wanted to stop. Her hand drifted up to grip Yukiko's upper arm, and both of Yuki's hands rested lightly on her collarbone as the kiss deepened — just like a princess! This was crazy!

"Oh wow," Yuki breathed once they parted for air.

"Shit," Chie rasped in a voice husky with need. Then she cleared her throat to try again. "I m-mean… that was… I've never… shit."

Her friend giggled warmly, one hand drifting up to cup her cheek. "My eloquent prince."

"Sh-shut up." When she only giggled more, Chie bumped their noses together with a bashful smile. "But yeah, that was amazing. And I, uh, I wouldn't mind doing some more."

"Doing some more kissing? Is that a proper way to phrase it?"

"I don't even care, man. Like, I'm trying not to scream and roll around on the floor!" They both giggled this time, and Chie buried her face in her hand. "You're my princess. How did I not see… was I just really dumb?"

"I feel pretty dumb, too, so it's okay." Pillowy lips grazed her cheek and sent her heart skipping over a beat. "But um… we should probably take a break. Before one of us faints."

"That might be a good idea." When Yukiko started to stand up, she covered her eyes. "AH!"

"Oh! Do you… not want to see my body? I'm sorry…"

As fervently as she could, she shook her head. "That's not it! I'm just… like, if I'm kind of the 'boy' now, you aren't supposed to be showing off the goods, right? Like, u-um… maybe that's stupid. Sorry! I don't know what the hell I'm saying anymore!"

"It's okay," Yukiko laughed lightly. "But you're not a boy; you're just… my prince. Prince Chie. And if you want your princess to be more modest, I can be."

"That wasn't what I meant, either; it's not that you're doing something bad! You're great! REALLY great! B-but I shouldn't be a, um, a pervert-prince."

"Ohhh… okay, I think I understand. You want my permission to look? Instead of just, um, accidentally sneaking a peek?"

"Yes. Or like, um… well, yeah, pretty much. But I don't want you to give it right now just because I'm in the room."

The quietest little giggle almost made her look anyway. "You've already seen my body."

"That wasn't you. Probably my imagination's like, idea of what you would look like naked? But you'd have to tell me if it was, uh… accurate."

"How am I supposed to do that? I have no idea what I look like down there!"

"Like I would?! And it's your body!"

"Chie!" she gasped, a little embarrassed now. "Wh-why would I look at myself like that? I'd need a mirror, and… a-and I, u-um…"

Finally dropping her hands, she saw Yukiko had donned a kimono — not the somewhat ornate tsukesage she had been wearing when dragged into the Midnight Channel, which there would be no way she could get all that on in the limited time since getting up, but a simple pink-and-white chequed yukata. Chie felt her tiny flicker of lust turning to contentment and affection.

"You never got curious?" she asked as she got up. Now it was Yukiko's turn to blush and look away, and Chie made straight for the similar red-and-white yukata that had been hanging next to Yukiko's. She wanted them to both be comfortable instead of anxious. "I did."

"You did?!"

"Sure. I mean, I didn't do anything super crazy, just… when I learned to use a tampon…" Then she laughed awkwardly. "Maybe this is nasty to talk about, anyway."

"No, no, it's alright. I never…" Clearing her throat, she rephrased, "I use pads."

"Ohhhh. Yeah okay, I guess you wouldn't have." Then she tied the robe around the waist and approached her friend. "Well, I'm sure it's… nice?"

Flushed and squirming, she chanced a smile up at Chie. "I h-hope so. For you. Whenever we, u-um… not that we need to."

"Right! For sure! Nobody's holding a gun to our heads, telling us we have to bone!" At the last word, Yukiko flinched, so she grimaced and added, "Too far? I'm sorry, I know you're not real thrilled about people using-"

"It's alright. We're um… this is a very stressful and new situation. And I should probably get over things like that if I'm ever going to be a good wife for you."

Now it was Chie's turn to flush brick red, brain misfiring and leaving her stuttering and gaping at her. Wife. Was that where this was heading? Marriage?! But two women couldn't get married! Maybe they could live together, sure, but wouldn't that basically make them lifelong roommates? Who had sex? And kissed, and took care of each other, and…

"I guess you will be," she breathed aloud as the realisation hit her. "And I'll be a good wife for you, too! Like, so good, I swear!"

Yukiko reached forward to take up Chie's hands, holding them loosely as they gazed into each other's eyes. "Of course you will. I might be scared, and have no idea what I'm doing, but it's not about who you are. I know you're the best person in my life." They shared a small kiss — that still sent tingles along Chie's spine, despite how brief and chaste it was — before she added, "But aren't you the husband?"

"Hey, I draw the line at 'prince'," she laughed back. "You want a husband, you better ask Yu."

"No, thank you," she giggled. "He's very sweet but he isn't my Prince."

"Yosuke?"

"EW! That's so intolerable — he would be the worst!"

Chie cackled as they headed for the bedroom door to finally start their day, hand in hand. "Right?! He'd be better off with some girl like Ebihara!"

"Well, let's not go too far… I'm not sure who doesn't deserve whom in that scenario."

                                                        To Be Continued…

[gotmattitude]

plans, plans, plans

WHO: Elliott Gilbert ( @ellnaturae ), Santana Lopez ( @trickstersantana ), & Matt Rutherford.

WHAT: Matt comes to Santana and Elliott with a concern.

WHEN: 15-12-2018, we totally didn’t forget about this. 

WHERE: Sciron Square.

WARNINGS: Transphobia, dysphoria, needles/injections, illegality.

Elliott is sitting down on the hall at Sciron, some people went to rest while others came to the new turn, they were organized, but with people dropping out it was becoming harder to keep the shifts as good as before, he could notice people were getting tired in general. He looks down at the table where he is sitting, he is feeling a little discouraged, though he tries to concentrate to finish a paper on modernism, thanks to Blaine, who took the time to check for everyone's homework and get them into Sciron so they wouldn't lose their credits. He was amazed about how his friend could do that, how many hours in the day where there for Blaine to do things for himself and others so selflessly. He worried he may not be doing exactly that and putting himself second as usual. He frowns tapping with his pen "Maggrite..." he totally forgets what he was going to write. "Hmm... that guy with the apple on the face..." he says to himself though his thought process is interrupted by a familiar face approaching him.

Santana walks around, fakely positive and confident, but plotting on the inside, until she spots Elliott. "Just the person I wanted to see!" She says, getting closer and sitting next to him. She thought she didn't need to do homework or study for the shit that is NYADA, but she did it anyway so no one suspected about Her Plans. "Are you too busy? I think we have to make some plans for this to continue." She had to play the positive and encouraging card, the best thing to do to hide your future stabbing plans. "We have the money to get more food, we just need to get someone out and in back. And...we got a plan. Kind of."

Matt has been trying to "casually" look for Elliott to talk about his Issues and Concerns™, but not very successfully, and he knows it's because he's hesitant about it. Ell has been such a strong, steady and kind figure to look to during the tough moments, but he's only one of them too. It feels sort of exploitative to add another problem to the pile. Just as he's in the process of feeling guilty, Santana's voice catches his attention. His head twitches towards it, and he notices Elliott working on something. Well. Might as well. He approaches, hands shoved in his pockets, and greets them with a small smile. "Hey." He looks at Santana. It's not like he can't tell her what's going on, right? "We got a plan? For what?"

Elliott smiles at Santana, even in the worst moments she always seems confident, a lie or not, it is kind of comforting not being the only one pretending. He is about to say something  when Matt joins the conversation as well "Well, supplies are running low, people are tired, Santana seems to have a plan to keep things going" he explains quickly "I only wanted to use my powers if it was really necessary, thankfully with Sugar's help hasn't been necessary until now, I could easily teleport out and back in" he offers to Santana, even though he doesn't know her plan yet.

Santana is glad to see Matt too and greets him, but continues the conversation. "For getting enough food. Money isn't a problem, we just need to get someone out there who can uses grimoires to put all the food in there and then getting back here. I can use illusions to hide them getting in, sneaky style." She says making some exaggerated hand gestures and sparkles illusions to show her point. "Dani said Dave could go, and it shouldn't be too hard, right? Then we solve the food problem super fast!" She says, super confident about it. "Now, we could do a cool christmas and entertainment to keep people happy in here, I think the Nyada staff isn't holding it very good either. This isn't a good look on them."

Matt lets out a breath; it's relieving to know they're thinking of solutions, for some reason. "I guess we could also recruit someone who dropped out to bring us some food. It doesn't have to be Karofsky, I, uh," he scratches the back of his neck and drops his gaze. "I might have to drop out of this shit, sort of soon." He glances around, and kicks himself internally for being embarrassed. "I didn't really stock up on T before the barricade started, and it's getting to that point where I, uh, don't want to go without anymore. So I guess I could do that." And to cut up the embarrassment creeping up his cheeks in neck in the form of heat, he breathed in. "I agree with the Christmas, or holiday shit though. Some people are leaving just because of that. Not judging, I guess. But yeah. We gotta get some spirits up."

Elliott hides really well his surprise hearing Dave's name, he wonders why is that a good idea when probably he would be the most lost about buying stuff and where things are on campus out of every witch working with them, though maybe he is biased and he doesn't want Dave to be on the line, he considers Matt's suggestion but wonders if someone who had dropped out would want to help them anyway at this point, he doesn't want to sound pessimistic so he stays quiet for  while listening to what else Matt has to say "Well, if the food thing can be sorted out with Dave or other witch, and we also ask people outside, maybe Blaine could help out with that too... then I could help you out Matt" he offers "Do you get it from Penny or do you have to go outside campus?" he asks "Maybe I can teleport you somewhere in between, you get what you need, and then we meet up again and I teleport you back? Unless you really  need and want to drop out, if it is for your health I'm not gonna get in between that" he says very serious.

Santana shakes her head. "I don't trust lame drop outs. They would had do it already if they give a fuck, leave and take the chance and help from the outside, if they had to leave." She says. She didn't need capable people who wouldn't put any effort into it and do the classic of saying they would do something and then nothing. No more asking useful people with resources thing. It was time to give the useless people who were willing to do things a chance. She looks at Matt. "Dude, you can get it and for free! Motta invites. Just tell me what and where to get it and I'll put it on the shopping list. You got it." Santana is super judging everyone. She would do it too if she had like a nice plan but still she judges.

Matt can see that his idea about asking someone who dropped out is not being very well received. He gets Santana's point, though. He can't blame anyone for leaving, but it's one thing to drop out and another completely leave everyone else behind. He shrugs. "It was an idea. But you're right. They probably want nothing to do with the barricade." Nodding along to Elliott's suggestion about getting Dave or Blaine to help, he points to himself. "I have a grimoire too. I don't know how sneaky or quiet I can be, but I do have a physical one, and one on my phone. So yeah." 

And then they both start suggesting ways to deal with his shortage problem, and Aether, it takes him a long moment to react, because he's too busy thinking something along the lines of 'holy shit, these guys are fucking great.' But when he finishes processing that thought, he shakes his head. "I don't want to get you guys in trouble--especially you, with the teleporting shit," he adds quietly, but sort of like a stage whisper. "And I --um, the only time I didn't get it myself it was, y'know," this was becoming an increasingly common trend with them, "illegal. So I don't know--I could look it up, call Penny or some shit, ask if someone could pick it up for me. That should've probably been my first impulse," he chuckles, sort of embarrassed that he'd immediately jumped into panic mode. "Thanks, though. For offering to help and all that shit. I know you've both got a lot on your plate right now and... yeah."

Elliott shakes his head "It's not a problem, Matt, I would be glad to help out... there is a place where I can teleport to outside campus with trustworthy people, they are my friends... my family" he corrects himself with a soft expression on his face "If you need to get out of campus that's not a problem, or maybe I can take you to Avicenna... i mean if what we are trying is to avoid they stopping you from coming back... we just gotta be sneaky" he chuckles and winks "Aren't we team illegal magic?" he jokes "However, I don't know if Penny will tell on us..." he says a little more serious.

Santana points at Matt. "It was a idea. It's better to tell them all and consider them than just not say them at all." Santana crosses her arms and shrugs. "Yeah, you could go too, but you might get more trouble than a white cis non-doppel witch." 

Santana laughs a bit about the illegal part. "Oh my, doing illegal things, me? us? Never" She joked. "If you don't want Elliott to do it, we get it with the general supplies. Really, is not a problem for me." It might only be a problem for Dave if he is going to  get it but she doesn't care about him. "The thing is, we have choices." Then she smiled, with the full smile of hope and dreams. "Also, the having things on my plate? Worry not, my friend. I have the feeling finally good things is what I'm going to get on the plate of my life."

Matt shrugs and nods at Santana's statement. "You're right. Dave sounds like a safe bet." 

 He thinks about it for a moment. He really doesn't want to put Ell at risk, but he's also uneasy about leaving something as important as T to Dave, who didn't even know what potato chips were. Not that he doesn't respect the guy. Eyes fixed on Ell, he sighs. "We teleport somewhere private. A bathroom, or something. And if we get caught, I snuck us out. This was all my idea." As nervous as this makes him, there's a huge weight off his shoulders. "We go early in the morning, as early as possible, when there's less foot traffic around, and if you can get away with teleporting away from someone about to catch you using your illegal fucking powers, you do that, alright? No useless risky shit." A breath puffs out of his nose,  and his demeanor relaxes. "And thank you. Both. For offering. Penny shouldn't be an issue, I think. I think she'd rather I keep taking my shots than just... suffer in here without 'em." A smile pulls at the edge of his mouth. "It'd be cool to meet your family, though."

A tingle of suspicion starts building at the pit of his stomach when Santana talks about her plate, and all of its good things. He narrows his eyes for a moment. This aura makes it real hard to tell when he's actually suspicious of something she's saying in person. "Really? It's not like y-- What sort of good things? I'm glad you're looking forward to something. That's pretty good," he says, suspicious, and kicks himself internally. Maybe she was in love or something. "Are you in love or something?"

Elliott nods confident, maybe way too much, but he wants to transmit security to Matt, who seems really on edge, understandably, about the whole situation "There is no problem, we can do that, I don't think anyone will notice if we teleport to a bathroom, I will wait for you there, and you can just come and go" he smiles "I would love for you guys to meet too". After all, he now thought greatly of Matt as well, it would be like making some of his best friends meet, and that could never be bad. He wonders quietly about Santana's optimism, and even if she is lately constantly telling him about her plans and something good going on for her, now that she is telling them face to face, he feels those words aren't as truthful as they seem in text form "As long as you are happy, I guess..." he says partially doubtful "Are you in love though?" he joins Matt question.

Santana raises her two thumbs up to show her approval of The Plan of Matt and Elliott. And starts laughing when they mention love. "My my! You guys are too funny!" She sticks her tongue. "But I love to keep the mystery and to have people guess over the wrong things, so, let's leave it like that." It would be fun to give them the surprise.

[pucketknife-blog]

FIVE STAGES OF GRIEF~ self para [PG]

↪ TAGGING: Noah Puckerman ( @pucketknife ); mentions of Tzion and Calev Puckerman and Chevalier D. Syerus, Alderman of the SGA; ↪ LOCATION/TIME: NYADA Campus, Apeliotes #101; May 7th & 8th; Monday morning through Tuesday morning; ↪ SYNOPSIS: After the verdict, Puck has to figure out what comes next; ↪ WARNINGS: language and slight signs of depression, if any, but nothing major;

Monday morning starts just like any other day, before dawn with a quick run through the empty Campus, nothing but a few faces in sight (either drunk people still unaware the weekend is over or other runners, some people he recognizes from his slaying courses and people he sees on a regular basis, who wave or nod at him as he passes them by). Still, Puck doesn’t usually pay attention to anything but his music and the path ahead of him, the burn of his muscles and the rhythm of his breathing.

That's why he’s surprised when the music stops with the incoming call. He stops and answers as he walks to a water fountain and takes a sip, and it’s even more surprising to hear no one but Tzion Puckerman on the other end of the line. His uncle never calls, and his voice is stern even through his headphones, clearly unhappy to be having this conversation.

"What is it?" Puck asks, his breathing fast due to the jogging as he begins stretching, "Why're you callin'? Did someone die?" It’s not a joke. He couldn’t think of any other reason why Tzion would bother picking up the phone. For a moment, he thinks of his cousins, wonders if he should be worried, but his uncle is fast to blow him off, tells him everyone's okay and that there’s something else he’s calling about. 

"Then what is it? It's not like you're one of those people who just calls someone when they miss-"

"The Assembly's gonna call you in a moment," Tzion cuts him off, clearly not amused with Puck's little one-liners, "You're suspended without pay."

Puck freezes, and if the phone had been in his hand, he would’ve probably dropped it.

"The fuck? What the-"

"There was a trial,” he says, “something about a fire. You forgot to mention it, I assume. They said you killed some Lusus. I'd say good job, but, y'know. I'm not happy about the news."

He's most definitely not happy. Clearly. But neither is Puck.

"I didn't do shit," he replies through gritted teeth, adrenaline flowing through his veins, anger filling up his chest.

"Well, it's clear you didn't," Tzion barks back. "You didn't cover up your fucking tracks, Amram. And now it's our Clan that has to pay for your mistakes."

"That's not-"

Puck can't finish his sentence before Tzion is talking over him again.

"You were supposed to be better than this," he voices, low and dangerous. It reminds Puck of his own father. It makes him flinch involuntarily. "You were supposed to be the next big thing."

"Tzion..." He's frozen, unable to know what he's supposed to say, what he's supposed to do.

"Don't," the head of the Puckerman Clan states, and Puck can almost see the disappointment and anger painted on his face. "Don't dishonor our Clan any further with your excuses. Don't call us, Amram."

The call ends and the music comes back, but Puck feels like he's been beaten up with a bat, left bloody and broken in a ditch.

His life is over, and for what.

This cannot be happening.

He goes straight back to his dorm and checks the news, punching the keyboard keys loudly until the headline appears in the NYADAily.

"The end of an era..." It sure was.

Puck swallows hard as his eyes fly through the article, the monster inside him growing as he reads more.

Fuchs’ claimed that he had also been brainwashed by Lusus Naturae, a trickster who took advantage of his position to use his home as a “base for [their] illegal happenings.” Fuchs says he was also tricked into seeing his home as a “picture-perfect dollhouse. [He] was unaware of the decor or how it had been changed.”

Bullshit.

Defence lawyer Jennifer Walters, L.L.M, has acknowledged that Fuchs kidnapped various Lusus Naturae victims ranging from selkies to lamias, but successfully countered the prosecution’s claim that the defendant used enchantment magic and killed several victims in premeditated assault. 

Bullshit.

Evans and Puckerman had been charged with involuntary and voluntary manslaughter

Bull

Evans, under the prosecution, is getting off with a $20,000 fine for model behavior. The jurors believed it to be a honest mistake. 

Puckerman, however, has been demoted to an unknown rank in the Slayers’ Guild, has been stripped of his weapons and badge, and is on unpaid leave until further notice as internal investigations are underway.

Shit.

His knuckles go white as he holds onto the edge of his desk.

One trial member, who does not wish to be named, says it was “deserved… That brute was no different than a thug.”

His computer claps loudly as he closes it shut and he throws the chair across the room, feeling the tears prickling at his eyes, a painful yell toring his throat.

He should've never tried to help.

"You have to understand, Cal," Puck hurries his words, tries to find a way to explain himself to his cousin that calls as an official Secretary of the Guild to let put the final nail to his career's coffin. He tries to stop the unavoidable ending even when he knows neither of them have a voice in the situation, but he can't make himself stop.

"I don't know what happened. You have to tell your dad, it's not my fault." 

In other circumstances, he'd rather be caught dead than begging, but right then and there, he can't do anything but. "Please, Cal. I did nothing wrong. Nothing. I was set up by those fucking lawyers, I was protecting someone else! I was protecting myself! You have to know I'm not lying, you have to know, he's the one who should be paying, not me!”

"I'm sorry, A," he says, and even if his voice is warmer than his uncle's, more human and almost pitiful, almost caring, it doesn't make it any better. "There's nothing to do. One of the Aldermen is heading your way right now. Just hand him your badge and weapons. Don't make it harder than it needs to be."

Puck can't even reply, and he bites down on his lip hard.

"I'm really sorry," Calev repeats with honesty.

He feels the salty taste of tears on his lips.

"Yeah," he nods to himself, voice cracking only slightly. "Me too."

It's past midday when Alderman Syerus knocks at his door. Puck has finally managed to compose himself, but as he sees him there, his soul falls to his feet. The man asks for his things, and Puck is almost ready to plead his case, tell him exactly what happened in Fuch's house, tell the whole story again and again until he understood he was making the wrong call, he was punishing the wrong man for something he was forced to do.

He’s abotu to open his mouth when he remembers Tzion's words.

Don't disgrace us any further;

He remembers Calev's apologetic voice.

Don't make this harder than it needs to be;

So, he doesn't. He gives the Alderman his badge and his favorite gun, the first one his father ever gave him, the first one he's ever held, the first one he's ever killed with, and lets him know where his truck is, how he can get the rest. 

Just like that, his whole life comes to a halt.

Puck stands on the threshold long after Syerus leaves, eyes fixed on the elevator in which he disappeared as he tries to figure out his next step.

When he closes the door behind him, he still doesn't know what to do. He’s at a blank.

So he sleeps.

He wakes up in the middle of the night, the clock ticking loudly in contrast to the silence of the empty room. He's glad Finn's not here, that the school had chosen such a perfect moment to do their exchange program and that he won't have to talk about the result of the trial and his future for at least a week or two. His stomach is empty, growling, but he eyes the little fridge from his bed and groans, turning towards the wall as he curls into himself.

Maybe later.

He stares at the ceiling, eyes fixed in the white roof on top of him. His alarm had gone off a while ago, but unlike any other day, he's still in bed. The sun is up, shining bright, warm light through the open window, and Puck's gaze is blank as he replays the day of the Brownstone fire in his head.

He wonders what had been said about him in the trial; how he ended up without a future while Fuchs didn't get his magic revoked; how Sam had gotten away with a $20,000 fine while he had been punished for doing nothing but his job.

He had done everything he thought right, keeping a low profile after giving his statement, keeping cool and keeping to himself. He avoided all kinds of conflict and applied himself to school, studying hard and even getting good grades (at the very least, good for him). He had even rejected the few jobs the Guild had offered him only to keep a good appearance. Everything for a jury of people he didn't know, in a case he didn't care about, for a cause he didn't believe in.

If he had known how'd that go, he wouldn't have wasted his time in the first place. If he had let the Lusus burn in the fire, he wouldn’t be standing where he was right then.

A breeze seeps into the window, caressing his skin as he lets his eyes fall shut for a second, and he can’t help but wonder what comes next.

Puck doesn't remember a life before being a Slayer. 

He knows there was one. A place where he came from, somewhere he called a home, a kid he used to be, something that meant everything to him, a person he was supposed to be. 

But it’s all gone; he doesn't have it anymore. It was left behind when he met his father, and whoever he was then had died long ago.

He couldn’t look back. He simply couldn’t.

Yet the question invaded his mind, and the words seemed to glow up on top of him.

If I'm not a Slayer, then what am I?

It made him feel lost, like a faint memory of a previous life in which a kid called out for his mother in the middle of a supermarket as tears washed down his face. It made him feel useless and out of place, wonder what was he still doing there if there was a chance he would never become the person he had planned to be.

However, that was not all there was to it. Something brewed in his stomach, bubbling like a boiling cauldron, fighting to come out like an alien. It was something he had never felt before, or at least not with the same intensity, a question that was always there, but he never dared to ask.

If I can't be who I am, then, who am I going to be?

He can't remember the last time someone had asked him that and he had replied with anything but "the best Slayer ever known." Yet his response couldn't be that one anymore, at least not until he served his time. It only left an open door to a new answer, something he had never really asked his own self:

Who do I want to be?

He sighs and checks his phone to see it was just half past ten. He had never been in bed for so long. He had never slept for so many hours straight. He had never had so much time to just chill and do nothing. He had never had time to figure out what he really wanted.

A small smile formed on his lips as the realization dawned onto him.

Even after the trial, even after being suspended, even after being targeted as a brute and a thug, Puck was given something new, something he had never had before.

Puck had a choice.

The only downside to it was, Puck didn't have any idea what he was supposed to do with it.

[tothedarkdarkseas]

Y'know the way you said your version is an AU? Would you have tips on writing for it? I really love your characterisation, but find it hard to piece everything together. I was wondering if there's some way you see it. Like, if it were an AU, what type it would be

Hi! First, thank you very much for saying you enjoy my characterization, that's really kind and still means a lot to me to hear. To be quite honest, I'm unsure how to answer this, because I don't really think of it as an AU in my own mind. I honestly just think of my stories and my blog as being about "my take" on the characters, and it's about the specific characterization of these two people more than anything else; beyond that, the plot is mostly incidental to the character study, and the setting is "realistic" because I'm seeking to explore a "realistic" take on who these exaggerated cartoon men could have been. But I guess I also feel compelled to call it an AU sometimes as a sort of disclaimer. I can't help but look at myself and whatever I write through the eyes of someone who is... er, y'know, really critical of me, finds the writing and ideas completely out of character and finds me obnoxious. Frankly, I can understand why they feel that way, I can understand getting annoyed by me talking about these hyper-specific details as if they really reflect who the characters are in canon-- if it's something you really disagree with, you wouldn't want me to talk about my ideas like they hold any weight, and you certainly wouldn't want to see other fans hyping up the ideas you don't like. So I guess I'm just keeping that critic in mind when I say it's an AU, as a way of explaining that I'm not under any illusion that what I'm saying really comes directly from canon, or is canon-compliant enough to just fly under the radar. I understand that I've gone off-script in many ways.

It's indeed difficult to follow because I didn't really intend all the fics I've uploaded or all of my answers on this blog to fall along the same timeline, but I do broadly think of it as being the same "style" of characterization; I see them as roughly being the same characters, just in different "versions" of these moments in time. The characterization has evolved (or devolved, depending on your perspective!) in a way that wouldn't hold up to being a proper "alternate timeline" with actual planning. I guess as the person who wrote them, I take for granted that I have the stories mentally separated by the length of time between the actual writing, and by extension, I accept that the characters become more consistent later on because I've spoken about them far more and I've better developed my thoughts, while earlier stories feel a little inconsistent with that now because I was so new to writing and to the fandom. For instance, Stu in Midnight Coward seems like he wants to have an apologetic intimate conversation, while Stu in You In Your Memory is more defensive and accusatory about discussing what has just happened. It's also said that the two don't have a full-penetration sexual relationship in MC, while that's obviously not true in other stories like YIYM. If this were all one big shared plotline, that alone would be a continuity error. Even more nebulous things like how well the two get along, how unkind Stu feels toward Murdoc, how intelligent they do or don't seem, how comfortable they are with touch, where exactly a story falls into any given phase... even if I might explain that things change with the passage of time and some phases are separated by decades, I can understand how these things might not feel like they completely gel between stories. I'm not trying to make excuses, I often wish I'd been more ambitious and tried harder to create some larger narrative all along, but the truth is they just weren't meant to be seen as all existing in the same lifetime. They're more like... differently sized pieces of the world(s) these characters live in, slightly off-kilter from each other but similar enough to be recognized as the same "version" of Stu or Murdoc. Or even more accurately, you can tell I always wrote the characters strangely and favored certain themes, but the stories themselves were just what I wanted to write about at the time.

I have also called it an AU to friends before, other fanfic writers or people involved in their own fandoms who are therefore familiar with the culture of fandom, but not necessarily my fandom specifically-- I have awkwardly summed up what I've been working on by saying "I have this realistic Gorillaz AU." I don't know if that's actually helpful in any way, but to answer your last question, that's the phrase I've used when describing it! A "realistic" AU. I'm very sure there's better phrasing than that and I'm open to suggestion, but that's the best I can offer! I don't like thinking of it as a "dark AU" or something similar, I really just try approach it very character-forward and keep things grounded, and I don't personally have any issue with examining the bleaker elements without always giving a happy resolution. Maybe you could call it a "warts and all AU" or something, haha. Thank you for the question and your kind words, and I hope this was maybe helpful? I doubt it, but ah, these are just my stream-of-consciousness thoughts!

[kyunsies]

Hi mädch!!! I'm sending this after you said goodnight haha, but I'm glad you got to sleep early today :) you deserve a good night's rest!!!

I will definitely send you pictures of our plants soon so be on the look out for that 👀👀

About being a musician, I do have a degree in music and I studied for four and a half difficult terrible years to get it 🥲 but it was good, truthfully. It was difficult simply because college is hard. Listening to musical elements in mx or Mozart or soundtracks or t swift or literally any song isn't any harder or easier than another. Just different! Different layerings, sections, sounds, timbres, etc. It's very satisfying to be able to pick out sounds and point them out to my sister and maybe explain them a little bit! And I'll check out those shinee react video suggestions, I already know don't call me, so it'll be fun to watch that one!

I think it's really interesting that I've heard mx refer to All About Luv as a "US album" rather than an "English album". It might not mean anything, but more countries than just the US speak English, y'know? So it feels.. intentional? Anyway I will spare you from the extensive (and I mean super extensive) length of thoughts I'm having about their English songs vs Korean and just say a little bit skdjsh

From a musical stand point, Secrets (English song on a Korean album) is objectively just as or more simple than Middle of the Night (English song on the English album) or Sorry I'm Not Sorry (Korean song on a Korean album). Middle of the Night has lovely vocal harmonies and is very active rhythmically and has a lot of different textures. Secrets is just three chords, with a simple melody (a wonderful lovely simple melody), and a decent amount of clear layers with an acoustic feel with drums/guitar/bass/synths/sax/backing vocal ad libs, all of which are pretty active voices. Whereas Sorry I'm Not Sorry is so smooth and has such a chill vibe, with significantly less layers than Secrets (though just as clear) - it's just guitar and vocals at the beginning, and then some very simple drums and bass layer in, and a little bit of keys too (with some sweeet vocal harmonies in the second half that will melt my heart every time!!), but it's all very gentle. And then BEASTMODE (to stay on Fatal Love) has a much heavier feel (ALSO with some sweet harmonies in the opening "ohs" which are so so strong, and won't melt hearts in the same way the harmonies in Sorry I'm Not Sorry do), as well as stylistically different sections with a lot of different musical elements! Sorry I'm Not Sorry is just like.. one style the whole time, which they do beautifully!!! So like, there's already so much variety within albums, and within their entire discography! It makes being a monbebe so... rewarding and satisfying. Like, it feels like there's something here for everyone.

If you got through all that you deserve an award, it's a lot hsksjslsk I could go on and on and on about music, but I'll stop here for now haha. I'm considering doing a series of posts on my blog where I talk about music, but I'm a little nervous to go through with it 😅😅 my sister thinks it'd be awesome, but I'm not super confident to put myself out there like that hehe... we'll see...

Anyway long message!!!!!!!!!! I feel like I haven't told you lately, but talking to you is so so so nice 💖💖 I don't feel any pressure to say things or not say things, I can just.. chat freely! I feel so warm and loved when I read your replies 🥰🥰🥰 thank you for being such a wonderful sweet lovely amazing nice friendly superstar of a person 💖💖💖💖 dkbtho

HI PLS APOLOGIZE I TOOK SO LONG TO ANSWER THIS LKFDSJ but i'm finally getting to it, thank u for being patent with me <3 i've been getting good sleep ever since finishing those exams and getting back a good grade on that massive assignment yesterday so THANK U for checking in :)

about your education !!!! it just seems so hard ;____; like obviously when u are in a specific field for so long, the terminology makes sense bc you use it all the time (like how now one really knows what i'm talking about when i use medical terms lol) so i guess just from and outside perspective it looks hard !!! plus we were taught how to learn the basics of music reading in high school bc i was in choir for 1 semester and i was sooooo bad at it, it never really clicked for me ;_____; but i really look up to you for dedicating your livelihood for something you love !!! you seem to be very knowledgeable <3

and i know what you mean about them referring to all of their english stuff to 'US' stuff and i can understand how frustrating that might be bc there are many countries that speak english as well, not just the US ,,,,,,,,, to me it might just be bc their whole "english team" is from the US and everyone who works on their stuff is from the US, also i think the record label is from the US ? so maybe they're just so used to referring it that way bc those are the ppl they work with ya know? but i totally understand how isolating that must feel for a lot of other ppl, i can't really talk that much on it since i'm from the US myself lol but i totally get it and i think it's very valid if it irks some ppl !!!!

and ldskfjslkdjf i loved reading all of this <3 and i really agree with everything you say !!! and i'm glad u are able to pick apart the different styles for each song, for example i also think secrets is one of the more "simpler" songs on the album (not as simple as BEBE) but like, it works for me bc the sax has a nice improv at the end, and the song is pretty synth-y(?) which are elements that i like to a song lol ; you should really dig into mx's older discography tho!!!!! and although i love love love mx's new music (i think fatal love is one of their best albums) there is something that can be said about the timelessness of mx's older discography too <3 i know i've said this to you before, but one of my fav mx songs of all time is blue moon (composed by joo hehe) and like, ,,,,,,,,, i just still cannot believe that was on a DEBUT album ?????? the way it's layered and just the lofi vibes sound so sophisticated and honestly ahead of its time, and i'm not sure how much you've dove into mx already, but i would love to hear your thoughts on their previous music too <3 !!!!!!!

also you should def make that series on ur blog!!!!! i think it'll be nice for u to reflect on but also be a resource for ppl too <3 i think it's a great idea !!!!!! also , thank u so much for taking the time out of YOUR busy day to talk to me <3 it's been so lovely just chatting and im SUPER glad u feel comfortable enough to come here and spend some time with me bc it really means a lot <3 thank you !!!! and i hope u have had a great day today okay?? take care <3