#everything's fine i'm talking to queue

[scribblesofagoonerr]

Don't give up yet, I'm not letting you | Inner Demons

⟫ Alphabet Challenge, D- Don't give up yet, I'm not letting you.

Pairings: leah williamson x teen reader, arsenal wfc x teen reader

Back again with another part, I've had a really shitty day if I'm honest and so, umm, writing this now has sort of helped, I guess?

Once again nothing has been proof-read so yeah, it won't make any sense maybe and this ones' a bit longer than the rest but once I get carried away I just can't stop so this is definitely going to have a few more parts to this one. I just don't know how many that will be, so I guess we'll see what happens.

Thank you each and every single one of you for the response to this small fic series so far, I'm so glad that people are liking it so much.

The confession you have made leaves the room feeling a tense atmosphere, the girls will not let you give up so easily so they make a decision on your behalf to help you on the right path to get better.

tw: heavy angst, mentions of SH, MH, suicide and death.

"What... What does that even mean?" Katie furrows her eyebrows as she looks at you for a more logical answer.

"I'm tired, I'm so tired and I can't keep on fighting this battle anymore" You speak quietly, afraid to meet their eyes.

Each one of them really did mean so much to you, they all look heart broken with the what you had confessed.

Steph, the Aussie girl that made you feel so loved

Kim, your captain who always talked sense into you

Jen, the brave Scots' woman who you can rely on

Caitlin, the second Aussie that you love despite how annoying she is

Katie, the Irish girl who acts all tough but is a total softie

Beth, the blonde who gives great advice when you need it

Viv, the dutch who you cheers you up when she sneaks you ice cream

Lia, the swiss girl that gives you the best hugs sometimes

& Leah, the one who stuck around and made you feel at home

Your family, you would really miss them all.

However, you knew it was time.

It was the only way, you couldn't do it any longer.

The battle was too hard, it needed to end.

"Y/N, you're awake!" Vic burst into the room and broke the sudden silence before she spins and looks back towards the door. "Less! Kyra! Lotte! Laura! Y/N/N is awake!" she shouts loud enough to get the attention of the three remaining girls not in the room.

As right on queue, the rest of the girls all run in and smile widely when they see you awake and sat up in the hospital bed.

"Y/N/N, you're awake!" Laura says as she grins at you before she walks over and hugs you.

"Hi Y/N/N!" Alessia smiles brightly, glad to see you're awake.

"Y/N/N!" Kyra shouted aloud, right down the blondes' ear beside her.

"Ow, Kyra. That was right down my ear" Alessia grumbles as she glares at the Aussie girl before she shakes her head and walks over to your beside to exchange a hug with you.

"Glad that you're awake, Y/N. You gave us all a scare" Lotte came over and gave you a gentle hug before she ruffles your hair.

None of them 4 girls had caught the glum expressions on the older girls' faces.

"So how long do you think it'll be before your back on the pitch and we can prank everyone?" Kyra questions taking it upon herself to plop herself down on the end of the bed.

"Hopefully not too long" You take the chance to put a front on in front of the girls in the room. "I'll be back before you know it and thrashing you out there!" you give her a grin to hide the deep pain inside.

"How're you feelin' kid?" Lotte glances at you concerned.

"Oh you know, fabulous. Just had the best 24 hour nap" You can't help but joke with the girls even with them all looking so distraught. "Ah come on girls, cheer up. I'm not dead yet, you know?" You tell them.

"I'm sorry no I can't do this. I can't sit here and pretend that everything is okay and fine, when it's not... It's far from okay" Leah spoke up as she goes to move off the bed from where she sat beside you.

"What's going on?" Vic asks confused, having not been in the room previously.

"Y/N/N is tired of life, she wants to give up on it" Leah tells them as her bottom lip wobbles at she tells the rest of the girls what you had said.

"W... What do you mean?" Laura asks, confused and not understanding what the blonde means.

"Y/N wants to die" Leah drops the bombshell before she presses a kiss that lasts longer than usual and then starts to walk away.

"What?" Alessia gasps as her eyes widen in shock as she looks at you.

"Wait, Le... No!" You shot up as you try and latch onto her arm. "Le, don't leave me... I need you-- Please, come back!" you shout aloud as you thrash your arms around.

"I'll go and find her" Lia is quick to follow her, leaving the rest of the girls all still staring at you.

"Y/N, you need to be careful of your bandages or there'll rip" Steph says gently as she looks concerned about your well-being now while she moves to stand by your beside.

"I don't care, I don't... I don't care! Leah! Don't go, come back!" You continue to put up a fight to get out of the hospital bed. "Please, please, c... come back!" you scream at the top of your voice.

What have you done? You made her so upset.

You've made them all so upset, your a horrible person.

Why did you have to blurt it out like that? Your so stupid.

Stupid, selfish... You're nothing but a huge let down.

The voices inside your head was taunting you, you just needed them to stop.

Watching the one person that's always stuck by your side, walk away, it hurts you more that you realise.

More than any pain you currently feel, why did you go and say that?

"Calm down Y/N/N. You'll make yourself sick if your not careful" Beth tells you as she moves to stand on the other side of the bed as she pulls you into her arms for a hug as you just break down into sobs.

"I... I don't care, I don't... Leah! Come back!" Your now sobbing as you still try and do your best to get out of bed to go after the blonde, although it wasn't any good when you had so many different wires and monitors attached to you. "Le, please... please, don't leave me!"

Why did it hurt so much for her to walk away like that? You really were so selflish.

"Deep breaths, Y/N. Just keep on taking deep breaths" Steph adds in, trying to make it to the point where you didn't get yourself too upset that you were physically hurting yourself again.

"I'll be back" Kim eyes you wearily as she exhales a sigh before she also leaves the room to go and find the two girls.

"Leah?" Lia found Leah sat slouched down against one of the walls outside of your hospital room.

Leah peers up to look at the Swiss women, "I can't be in there right now" she mumbles quietly. " I... I just can't do it, I can't sit there and listen to crack jokes about death and be so optemistic when she... when she said something like that, I just can't" she explains to the older girl.

"I know" Lia replies in agreement and moves sit beside her.

"She said that she wants to die, Wally" Leah states as she stares straight out in front of her.

"I... I know" Lia repeats as she exhales a sigh and wraps her free arm around the blonde.

"She said she wants out of life... I... I-- Why?" Leah asks in disbelief as the tears threaten to spill.

"I don't know, Le" Lia mumbles and bits her bottom slightly.

"S...She said she wants to die, Wally" Leah voice quiviers as she repeats what they heard. "She's a teenage girl, s... she has so much more to achieve, so much more-- H... How can she be so depressed about life that she would rather be dead instead?" she questions distraught.

"She's suffering Le" Lia swallows the lump that forms in her throat as she hugs the blonde in her arms. "She's been suffering for a long time and we just didn't know, but we can help now" she tries to speak positive about it all.

"I... I thought she was doing better, she... she was doing better. I don't get it, what happened that made her do this?" Leah wonders numbly as she roughly wipes the tears away and shakes her head. "We can't let her die, we can't let her give up just so easily. She needs to fight... She has to fight!" she adds in.

"We will help her, we won't let her suffer in silence anymore" Kim speaks up as she joins the two of them as she exhales a shaky breath. "Y/N is one of our own, we'll be there for her and she'll get better" she tells them honestly.

"But how can we do that when she doesn't even want the help?" Leah questions as she shakes her head in disagreement. "You heard her in there, Kim! You heard what she said, she doesn't want to live anymore, she did what she did on purpose. H... How can we help her?" she questions as her voice breaks even more.

"We need to make a plan, we can come up with a way to help her... Even if she doesn't want the help" Kim declares with determination in her voice.

"But how do we do that? We can't keep an eye on her 24/7, when we have training and stuff, can we?" Lia glances at the Scots' woman in confusion.

"We keep her in hospital where she'll be safe" Kim tells the two of them.

"And how do we do that? I imagine as soon as she gets the chance then she'll bolt out of here" Leah scoffs and shakes her head, knowing you all too well and you were stubborn when it come to some things.

"We don't let her have the chance to do that then, still is still a minor remember? Technically that means, that you, Leah, since you're her guardian so too speak, you can make that decision for her and notify the doctors of your concern for her own welfare" Kim explains to the blonde, which was somewhat true now since you had moved in with her.

"Keeping her here against her own will? She'd hate me then for sure" Leah mutters as she rubs her hands down her face, feeling the stress of everything even more when the decision was resting on her shoulders.

"She might do at first, but soon enough she'll realise that you're only doing this to help her because you love her just like we all do" Kim gives the blonde a sympathetic smile.

"Kim is right Leah, this will be the best thing for Y/N" Lia speaks up after she had been quiet for a bit.

Leah glances between the two girls that she is sat with. "Is it, really?" she asks, still unsure about it all.

"You know it is Le" Lia states, knowingly.

Okay, maybe Kim has a point there then.

This would be the best decision to make right now.

"Alright, but how do we get here to stay here?" Leah asks, not knowing how to even go about this.

"First things first, we-- you speak to the doctors, you tell them that she cut herself and has admitted that she intended to do it. That's validation for the doctors to detain her for up to 72 hours at least" Kim explains the logical side of it all.

"That is something that I don't think she will like very much" Lia frowns, shaking her head as she listens to the older women.

Leah frowns and shakes her head. "A psych hold? I don't think she'll like that very much" The Swiss women tells her captain

"No, she won't but she won't have much choice if the doctors believe she's at risk of hurting herself again" Kim confesses to them as she exhales a deep sigh. "The doctors will run further assessment to determine whether they need to keep her in for longer and in the mean time, it gives us chance to talk to Jonas and the medical staff, fill them in what's happened and create a proper plan going forward" she adds in.

"And what if you determine that she needs to stay for longer than 72 hours?" Lia questions the Scots' woman.

"Then we cross that bridge when we come to it" Kim replies to the blonde as she moves to crouch down beside her.

"I know that it'll hurt to walk away and leave her here in the hospital Le, but you know as well that this is the right way, it's the only way for her to get better" Lia says honestly.

"Remember that Y/N is our family and we will always be there for her even if she will be mad at us about this" Kim adds in.

"Oh yeah, she is definitely going to be super mad about this" Leah chuckles in realisation about it.

Sure enough you would probably be mad with her, but Leah wasn't going to let you try and kill yourself again, not on her watch.

You were her family even if you were a complete pain is the ass sometimes, but you were her pain in the ass to deal with.

[writingwisterias]

(I don't speak English, I trust Google Translate, please don't treat me badly like other writers 😔) Seeing that on your list, Piers and Jake are very empty, and I don't know if you can do this type of writing where each character reacts to X situation.

In this case I would like to know the reaction of Piers, Jake and Chris (Leon optional) if Reader gets her period in public, in case it is uncomfortable for you to write that, maybe a simple writing of the RE guys reacting reader snuggling tightly against them and hiding her face in the middle of their chest

If you don't know how to write everyone's reaction, I'm fine with just Chris (my favorite) I hope you pay attention, if not, that's fine, thank you.

Thank you the request! I trust google translate too so don't worry I have to use to talk to some of my non english speaking coworkers! I hope you enjoy this! ~ Mads <3 (Not proof read)

Warning: Periods, Cramps, Blood, Period accidents in public, Comfort

Masterlist

Chris Redfield

Chris had taken you out to brunch with his friends, all of them enjoying the one rare moment of peace they all go together. You spent the time getting the office gossip from the girls that Chris never bothered to get whilst he was at work. You were having a good time until you felt the familiar stabbing pain in your lower back. You suddenly straightened your back in response accidentally knocking Chris' arm. Chris turned to you thinking that you were trying to get his attention, his brows furrowed in confusion as he looked at your pained expression. "Everything alright, Love?" He whispered leaning in close. You shook your head slightly, "My period has just started, I'm having some cramps" Chris laid his hand on the small of your back and began to rub small circles in hope to ease some of the pain you were feeling. "Do you want to leave?" he whispered again before placing a small kiss on the crown of your head. You shook your head again leaning into his arm. "I'll be alright if you keep doing this" you joked, you posture loosened as he continued to rub your back. Chris chuckled and moved his hand up your shirt so you could get the heat of his palm too. You smiled at him, giving him a quick kiss before returning to the conversation with Jill and the others.

Piers Nivans

You had somehow managed to persuade him to take you to disneyland. You had spend the day meeting all the characters, eating all of the expensive themed junk food. Piers even treated you to your own lightsaber which you repaid him with lots of kisses and thank yous. However you were both now stood in the que for a rollercoaster ride, Piers was just ahead of you looking over the heads of people to try and see the board displaying the wait time. You were absent mindedly scrolling through your phone at all the photos you had taken during the day favoriting any of the one you wanted to post or print out. The girl behind tapped you on the shoulder, you turned to look at her with a smile. "I just wanted to let you know that you are bleeding through your jeans, do you need any products? I have some spare" she asked you, her tone was comforting and she held out a few tampons. You smiled taking the products she had held out to you and put them in your bag, you were too far in the queue now to be able to see the damage. Instead you tapped Piers on the shoulder causing him to turn and look at you with a smile. "Can I borrow your hoodie please?" You asked him innocently. Piers nodded not even hesitating to pull it off and hand it to you. You took it and wrapped it around your waist to cover the stain. "My periods bled through my jeans according to the girls behind us. I'm just using it to cover it up" You said sheepishly as you tried to gauge his reaction. "No worries Love, it's getting kinda hot anyway" He said kissing you on the head before he leaned round to make sure that the hoodie covered up the mark.

Jake Wesker

You were in the ladies toilet at the grocery shop as you silently cursed the world for the timing of your period. You couldn't leave the stall without making a mess of yourself and you didn't have any products in your purse to use. So you had to call your boyfriend who was waiting for you outside. "Hey babe, I need you to run to the female hygiene section and get me some pads please" you asked him. Jake stood by the entrance of the doorway almost like he was buffering. "Uhhh sure, What type do you need?" he asked as he began to walk over to the correct aisle. "just the basic ones please" you responded down the phone silently praying he would go a bit faster so you could actually finish the shopping and return home for cuddles and junk food. Jake stood there for like 5 minutes staring blankly at the wall of products trying to think about the ones you might have had at your house. "what brand?" he asked nervously. "just always jake, it should be a pink packet" He didn't respond for a while but you could hear the chatter of the other customers at the store as well as the beeping of the cashier. He eventually spoke as he approached the bathrooms. "I've got them" he said looking at the packet that was in his hands. "You'll have to come in" There was a beat of silence as you assumed Jake was taken aback by your statement. "There's no one in here, just come in, I'm in the last stall" Jake didn't reply instead you heard the door open and the packet landed at your feet. You muttered a thanks through the phone laughing at his delivery. Once you had finished and walked out the bathroom you were met with a scowl which made you chuckle as you finished the rest of the groceries.

Leon Kennedy

Leon was tucked underneath one of the many throws you insisted of having whilst you were out drinking with a few of your friends from work. He was scrolling through his phone as the crappy late night tv was on in the background. He was waiting for you to eventually call him to be picked up but it was rather early on in the night. He felt his eyes begin to close until he was scared awake by his phone vibrating in his hands. You were calling him. "Hey Sweetheart is everything alright?" He asked. He could hear you crying on the phone which made his heart beat fast as he tried to think of what could have possibly happened. "My period started and it's down my legs, can you come and pick me up please" You whimpered as you looked down at the blood streaks. You felt disgusting and just prayed for the earth to swallow you up whole so you didn't have to stand here like this. Leon quickly got up and raced to his car, taking a small towel and one of his hoodies with him to give you. When he arrived he gently guided your form towards the car, allowing you to hide behind the door as he wiped your legs down as best he could. He then passed you his hoodie to slip over your form knowing it would fall at least mid thigh and hide the mess. "The seats, I don't want to ruin your car" You spoke quietly. His heart broke at how small you looked as you stood there, he couldn't wait to just snuggle with you when you got home and hopefully try to ease the symptoms. He put the towel on the chair and sped home as fast as he could to make sure you got comfortable and forgot about this as quickly as you can.

[justwearthegoddamncardigan]

hi I’m obsessed with your Maze Runner stories and was wondering if you could do a fem!reader x Aris set during scorch trial. Where reader is really shy and has trust issues so when their at WCKED the only person she talks to is Aris and once they escape the others thinks that she’s just stuck up so one night when reader is asleep they mention it to Aris and he defends her and tells them about her past. That’s all I’ve got I hope it makes sense. But don’t stress if your not able to write it🫶🏻

First aris request!!! <3

It's you and me

Aris x fem!reader

Set during scorch trials (movieverse)

Warnings: injury including a twisted ankle and Crank bite, language/swearing

"So we know there's something off about this place," says Aris, voice hushed.

"I mean, yeah," you say.

For days now, you and Aris have watched the continuous cycle of scientists wheeling new bodies in daily, into a room you can't even access through the vents.

The two of you sit at the top of your bunk; the bed you've been sharing since the other girls from your Maze have been gradually taken away, supposedly to a safe place.

"I think we're in danger here," you say quietly.

"Yeah," agrees Aris. "Listen, we need help."

"Help?"

"I saw this guy today, Thomas. He's from Group A. I think he might be able to help us."

You frown. "You think we can trust him?"

Aris squeezes your hand. "We're just two people, we'll need more if we want to do anything. I think we have to trust someone."

You sigh, flopping back in your bed. "Fine, you're right."

Aris lies down beside you. "I'll talk to Thomas tomorrow."

"Okay," you say, turning to him. "Just- be careful."

⭒----⭒

It's a couple days later that you're standing outside a storage room while Aris picks out a new shirt, and someone starts walking towards you.

"Hey, it's Y/n, right? You're with Aris?"

You blink at the guy, confused. "Yeah," you say cautiously. "Who are you?"

"Minho," he says with a friendly smile. "Thomas told me about you and Aris."

He swings his gaze around the corridor before leaning forward to whisper to you, and you instinctively take a step back.

"Listen," says Minho, voice low. "These bodies you guys saw, any ideas on what they actually mean? Cause Thomas is going a bit crazy about it, and we wanna-"

"I'm sorry," you cut him off. "I- I don't really know you, and I'd rather not talk about..." you trail off, ducking your head.

Minho blinks in surprise, and you turn to peek into the clothes room. "Aris, got something yet?"

"Yeah, hang on." There's a few muffled sounds from the changerooms before; "Okay, I'm done. Let's go."

"Uh-" You turn back to Minho, who's still standing there awkwardly. "It was nice meeting you," you manage to say, before grabbing Aris' hand and tugging him away.

"What was that about?" asks Aris as you're lining up for checkups.

You shrug. "He just wanted to talk."

You eye his new shirt, a dark grey abomination with both horizontal and vertical stripes (but somehow not checkered?). "Really?"

"What?" huffs Aris.

"Nothing, I just thought- given that you were in that room for ten minutes, you were trying to pick a really nice shirt."

"Hey, I like this," says Aris in mock-indignation.

"I'm sure you do..." your gaze drops to the uneven white hem. "Did you pick an ugly one on purpose to annoy me?"

Aris answering grin is the only confirmation you need.

You roll your eyes and prop your elbow up on his shoulder, leaning on him as you wait in line. "You're making me miss that cursed hoodie."

"Don't lie, you always loved that hoodie," replies Aris, nudging you with his shoulder.

You snort, ducking your smile into your sleeve.

You spot Minho across the checkup queue, and think back to the conversation you had with him.

Look, you know you're not always the nicest to people, you've just had some trouble... trusting, in the past.

You gaze at Aris, the only person left from your maze, your rock and the one person you trust with everything.

He turns to you as he senses you looking, raising his eyebrows. "You alright?"

"Yeah. Just- thanks, for everything. The person you've been for me this whole time."

Aris huffs out a laugh. "Where's this coming from?"

You shrug. "Just wanted to say it. I've been lucky, to have you."

"You'll always have me, Y/n. Always."

⭒----⭒

"Hurry, this way!" yells Thomas.

It took about ten minutes for whatever Aris and Thomas' plan was to go sideways, and they'd come rushing back into the rooms telling you and the rest of Group A to run, get out.

You managed to find their friend, Teresa, and now all of you are sprinting towards the main doors.

WCKD guards chase behind you and one of them manages to kick out your leg.

You trip, and pain shoots up your leg as your ankle twists. "Fuck!"

"Here, come on, come on, quick!" A Group A boy, Frypan, punches the guard behind you and grabs you off the floor.

"Don't touch me," you hiss, smacking his hands away.

"Here, I got her." Aris loops your arm over his shoulder, his other arm going around your waist.

You run as best you can, before stopping at a massive door. Thomas reaches forward and turns down the handle, wind gusting in as you step out into the desert.

"This way!"

You run until you're sure your too far for WCKD to find you, ducking down into some covered abandoned-looking place.

You bend you inspect your ankle, the others' arguing going over your head. It's swollen, and twinges with pain when you move, but you follow the group as they pull up a door into some storage room.

"Looks like people lived here," says Minho, rummaging through some supplies.

Around you, lights click on as the group finds torches and lamps.

"Here," says Newt, tossing one to Thomas. "Y/n, want one?"

You turn in surprise. "Yeah, thanks," you say, catching the torch.

"Pack up some stuff," says Thomas, to the group. "Anything you think you might need. We'll split up, meet back here."

You move into another room, sorting through some clothes. "Oi, Aris."

"Ye- woah," he catches the shirt you toss towards him.

"Get out of that sweater," you tell him, grinning at his responding laugh.

You turn away as he gets changed, finding a jacket to pull on over your shirt. You uncover a box of supportive boots, thinking of your twisted ankle. Perfect.

You find a chair nearby and sit to put the shoes on. You hiss softly in pain as you tug off your old shoes, jostling your ankle.

"Here."

Aris kneels down, helping you slide the boots on.

"It's fine, I can-"

"Just let me help," he insists, shooing your hands away.

You let go of the laces, sitting back. You watch as he ties the shoes for you, carefully tugging the sides of the boots around your injured ankle.

"How's it feel?" asks Aris, looking up at you.

"It's good," you say softly. "Thanks."

He gives you a smile. "You're welcome."

You hold his gaze for a second, until you hear shouts coming from nearby.

You jump up, feeling oddly shaken as you snap out of the weird haze you'd felt.

The shouts draw closer, and you realise what they're yelling.

"Run," breathes Aris.

You grab the bag you packed, throwing it over your shoulder.

"Is your leg..." Aris reaches out to support you.

"It's fine, just go!" you urge him.

The two of you catch up to Newt and Frypan, looking over your shoulder to see Thomas and Minho being chased by...

"What are those things?" exclaims Frypan.

"Go!" shouts Thomas. "Move!"

The group runs through the building, ducking through enclosed passages. You start to lag to the back of the group, keeping on Teresa and Aris' heels as Newt runs just behind you.

"Watch out!"

You smack into Teresa's back as the group skids to a halt, three Cranks blocking the way.

"Other way, other way!" yell Thomas.

"Y/n, look out!"

You duck at Minho's warning as a withered arm swipes at your head, but you shout in pain as you feel teeth sink into your forearm.

"Y/n!"

The Crank goes down as you kick it, and you scramble back as Aris jumps in using a metal bar to beat it back.

"Here, this way!"

Aris grabs your uninjured arm, pulling you in Thomas' direction away from the Cranks. You run until you escape the building, finding shelter under some crumbled buildings in the desert.

"We should be safe here for the night," says Thomas, voice slightly unsure.

Everyone is equally doubtful, but too tired to object, so you settle down, using backpacks as pillows.

"You guys need to wrap your wounds," says Newt, passing bandages to you and Winston.

"Thanks," you say.

"I'll help Winston," says Frypan.

"Y/n, want a hand?" offers Teresa.

"I-" you hesitate, before nodding. "Yeah, okay. Thanks."

⭒----⭒

"Winston's getting worse," murmurs Newt, eyes clouded with worry.

It's been just a day, a day of inching slowly across the desert towards mountains that seem to get further every day.

"Have you checked your arm, Y/n?" asks Thomas.

"No," you respond, running your thumb across the bandage.

Thomas leans forward, and you instinctively pull your arm in, holding it protectively to your chest.

Slowly, Thomas reaches to grab his bag, raising his eyebrows at you slightly.

You mentally shake yourself, embarrassed about how jumpy you seem.

You turn as Aris squeezes your shoulder, giving you a comforting smile. It's fine, don't worry. "Get some sleep, Y/n."

You're asleep within a minute, exhausted from travelling.

"Hey, Aris," says Thomas, voice low.

"Yeah?"

"Does Y/n... not trust us?" asks Thomas.

Aris shifts slightly, flicking his gaze over you and seeing you're sound asleep. "What do you mean?"

"It's just- I always feel like she thinks we're gonna hurt her, or something," explains Thomas. "Like just then."

"Really?" Thomas and Aris look to Minho, who's lying down but apparently still awake. "I'm gonna be honest, I always thought she was just kinda stuck up. ...sorry, Aris."

"It's not something to be sorry for," says Aris steadily. "But if you're sorry you should be talking to Y/n, not me."

"Well I-"

"What Minho means," interrupts Newt, frowning at his friend. "Is that it's hard to connect with her. I'd think she's just not a people person, but she seems close with you," says Newt, nodding to where you're pretty much leaning into Aris, sleeping in a half-slumped position.

"We're not trying to insult her," clarifies Thomas. "It's just that we're gonna be a team from here on out, so it'd be nice to get to know her."

"I mean, okay, look," begins Aris. "That's great, and you should get to know her, cause... well she's the best person I know. But you've gotta respect her boundaries. She does have a few trust issues, and you're gonna have to work through those. But if you put in the effort she'll meet you halfway, cause I think she's really trying.

"It... it's hard for her to even be here, with you guys." Aris looks down at you as he speaks, voice soft.

"What do you mean?" asks Thomas. "If you're okay with, uh- telling us."

Aris takes a deep breath. "Alright, I don't know how it was in your Maze, but for our group the first few months was hell. They sent thirty of us in at once, with a Box full of weapons and resources. People saw the weapons and got the wrong idea. So many people were hurt and killed in those early days."

"Dark days," murmurs Newt, staring into the ground. "It was the same for us."

"Yeah," says Aris. "You could hardly trust anyone. Everyone ended up broken into groups, mostly small groups since no one really felt safe with other people. We only had five in our group.

"There was this girl in our group, and she and Y/n were close; really close, practically bonded like sisters at that point. Until this girl betrayed us for the largest group. We had resources they wanted. She practically led us to be killed," says Aris, eyes clouded.

"Y/n got pretty fucked up, cause of that," he continues quietly. "That scar on her shoulder? It's from just barely dodging her best friend's knife to her heart."

"Jesus," mutters Minho.

"Even after all of us got our shit together and started working with each other, Y/n only really trusted our old group. But WCKD's got Rachel now," says Aris, gaze dropping. "And Harriet and Sonya just disappeared."

Aris trails off, lost in his memories, until-

"Alright Aris," says Thomas, sitting forward, voice resolute. "This is what we're here for. We're getting away from WCKD. We'll find our own peace, in a safe place. You and Y/n, and anyone else we meet, we'll protect you. Cause we're a team, and we're gonna look after each other. I'll talk to Y/n later, of course, but that's the promise I'm making you now."

Aris grins at Thomas' intensity. "Thanks," he replies. "And if you do get Y/n's trust, she'll protect you too, all of you. The embodiment of ride or die, that girl. Trust me."

⭒----⭒

The group stumbles upon an abandoned supply area the next morning, and you pull Aris away to collect water alone.

"I heard you guys, last night," you tell him.

Aris turns to you, not nearly as surprised as you thought he'd be. "Yeah? How much?"

"Just the end of it," you say, capping a water bottle and passing it to him. "I wanted to say thanks, for explaining for me. And I'm gonna try, you know, talking to the others."

"That's great, Y/n," says Aris, smiling.

"I can tell they're good people. And I want... I miss having people, I guess. Friends. You know."

"What, gotten bored of me already?" Aris quirks an eyebrow at you.

You huff out a laugh, shaking your head. " 'course not."

"Good," says Aris. "Cause I'm planning on sticking around your stuck-up, traumatised ass for years to come."

"Thanks," you say flatly, hiding your grin.

Aris' expression shifts. "Speaking of years to come... and generally living,"

He reaches out, pulling your arm into his grasp. "Can I?"

At your nod, Aris unwraps the bandage from your arm, revealing the Crank bite marks, present as ever but visibly healing and uninfected.

"How does it feel?" he asks, hope clear in his eyes.

"Fine, honestly," you say softly. "I'm okay."

Aris lets out a breath. "Thank god."

"Yeah," you say, smiling.

"So you're Immune," says Aris.

"Right... Okay, listen," you say, finding your own voice tight with emotion.

You swallow. "If I hadn't been Immune, I would've been... content, happy even, to just have lived this way- with you."

Aris blinks at you.

You frown in thought, quickly ducking around the tank to check on the others still gathering supplies.

"So I-"

"I wouldn't be," interrupts Aris.

"What?"

"You're saying you would've been fine to die, just cause we've had a few years together? Fuck no, Y/n."

"I don't-"

"I want a long, peaceful life," Aris barrels on. "And I want it with you. Because I love you."

What? You take a breath, barely daring to hope. "...platonically, or-"

"Jesus, Y/n. I'm in love with you. Idiot."

"Hey, I'm just making sure," you protest.

You duck your head, kicking the sand lightly. "I was- I was trying to lead into a confession," you tell him.

"I know, I figured," huffs Aris. "But you were struggling, very cutely by the way, and I had to beat you to the punch."

You snort, shaking your head. "I'm unbelievably lucky to have you."

"Nah, I got all the luck," he says, voice soft.

You look into his eyes, the corners crinkled with his smile, and lean forward to press a kiss to his cheek.

"We should get back to the others," you say quickly, grabbing his hand and marching towards the group.

You glance over your shoulder to see Aris looking straight at you, cheeks dusted with pink, before he leans forward.

"I think you missed my lips."

You grin back. "Next time."

Harriet and Sonya were enemies to lovers, btw. Sonya was with Y/n's team, but Harriet was in another group in the early days.

Thanks for reading <3

[yeonmuse]

MINI SERIES | YANG JUNGWON

CAN YOU HEAR MY HEART?

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 : Jungwon falls for an antisocial girl with a passion for music and a love for the stars.

GENRE, fluff, slow burn , smau

( 𝐁𝐚𝐞’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 ) : I honestly have no idea where this came from I just thought of anti social Jungwon and Anti social reader coming together and this is where it got me

Previous Part | Next Part | Series Masterlist

𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 @jwonistic

Kikis delivery service

Jungwon stood outside, his hands shoved into his pockets as he stood beneath the magnolia tree waiting for yn to show up. He mentally cursed himself for not having brought out another jacket, the sun having set it was now getting chilly and he couldn’t walk all the way back to the dorms because then he’d have her waiting all alone. While he had been wrestling with his thoughts the crunch of the grass and leaves stole his attention away. It was then that he looked up and his eyes found her. Hair pulled into a bun and glasses sat upon her face with those same headphones she had always worn, sat around her neck. Of course she was pretty everytime he saw her but she looked even cuter this way, grey sweatpants and the university hoodie that swallowed her whole.

“Sorry if I took too long, I had to change since it's gotten cold out, I didn't make you wait too long did I?”

“I haven’t been waiting too long, it's fine, I’m honestly grateful that you agreed to help, we’ve been working on this project for months now and had no luck.”

“I’ll try my best to help anyway I can.”

Then there was a momentary silence and it seemed to sink in that the two of you were alone now. There was no Chaewon present to break the tension. She was starting to question why she even agreed to this in the first place knowing that she hated being around other people.

“Do you have anything in mind?”

“Huh?”

“You said you were going out for dinner, did you have a place in mind?”

“Oh, not really since I'm still new here. I thought that I’d just find a place during my walk but..”

“I know a place? If you’re open to trying it, I go there a lot when I need to work in silence.” Jungwon may not have known anything about her other than her name but he wasn’t oblivious, he could tell that she was nervous and anxious about this, he was no stranger to social anxiety so her obvious social queues didn’t go unnoticed by him. He was also nervous, after months of being curious about her they were standing face to face with one another.

As they walked yn couldn’t help but remember their first minor interaction in the library. She wanted to ask about it but then he would know that she had been thinking about it. Not that she thought about him often after that she was just curious as to what he wanted to ask.

“I’m sorry if this is kind of awkward, I didn't really get to introduce myself the first time we met.” Jungwon blurts without thinking.

“Oh you mean in the library?” It was as if he had read her mind.

“My film study group and I were working on a project at the time, I wanted to introduce myself then because I had seen you around a few times, but obviously I didn’t really get the chance.” He tries his best to play it cool, though everything in him was screaming at him to stop talking.

“Ah I see, I didn't really think anyone paid that much attention to me, I usually try to avoid running into anyone or any sort of confrontation.”

“I’ve just seen you around campus sometimes, I'm always curious as to what you’re listening to since you always have those headphones on.” She didn’t say anything she just went completely silent. he had seen her around enough to notice that?

“Ah not that i'm always watching you or anything I just- I’ve seen you around a couple of times and i can’t help but be curious since you’re always wearing them. You always seem so lost in the music.” He rambles on trying to clear the air before she thinks him to be weird or something.

“Jungwon, it's okay.” A soft laugh spilled from her lips and it was like music to his ears

“I’m just kind of shocked that someone has paid attention to me enough to notice that even when I distance myself. Let alone approach me because they’re curious.”

“Ah well.” He didn’t really know what to say, he had already said too much.

“I’ll lend you my cassettes and vinyls since we’re working on this project together and since you’re curious I’ll send you some playlists if you’d like?”

“I can’t wait to hear what music’s been swimming around in that pretty head.” He said it without thinking, the words just spilled from his lips before he had even thought about them.

yn on the other hand was completely short circuiting on the inside, her gaze that was once on him now directed elsewhere as she tried to completely register what he had just said in her own head.

“Ah we’re here.” As Jungwon stopped walking she was finally saved from her overbearing thoughts as her gaze shifted up to the building before them.

“Heartstring cafe..?”

“It's a cinema cafe, they have a main hall where they play movies for their guests and then private booths for those that want a more serene and private setting, there are books here too so if movies aren’t your favorite and you’d rather read the plot you can silence the movies and read instead.”

“Seriously? How did you find this place?”

“I got overwhelmed on campus one day and decided to go for a walk and I somehow ended up here, they had been playing old indie films and I couldn't resist when they welcomed me in.” She watched as he pushed the door open and held out a hand for her to enter first. His gaze was glued to her as she stepped inside, a subtle glimmer in her eyes as she took in their surroundings.

“Oh Jungwon, you brought company today.”

“Ah taehyun is the usual booth open?”

“It always is, they’re playing kikis today. Are you here working on a project today or…” taehyun’s voice faded out but Jungwon seemed to get what he had been implying.

“Oh no it's not like that, this is yn, she’s helping the film team with the tracks for the new project.” Upon hearing her name, her attention momentarily fell upon Jungwon and Taehyun. She didn’t mean to tune out what he has been saying but her thoughts shifted once again to what he said to her when they had been on their way here.

“I can’t wait to hear what music’s been swimming around in that pretty head.” She thought about it over and over, trying to figure out what he meant by it, what was his intent within saying that.

“Yn.”

��Oh hm?”

“Come on, the movies are starting, they’re getting ready to serve the menus so we arrived just in time.” She followed behind him as he led her down a vibrant hallway until they reached the last room at the end of the hallway. As he pushed the door open her eyes landed upon a subtly lit room, pictures on the wall and a bookshelf aligned the opposing one, a table sat in the middle of the room and a movie began, projecting onto the wall opposite of the one parallel to the door.

A proud smile decorates Jungwon’s face as he watches her enter in awe. His heart skipped a beat at how sweet and adoring she looked. From the moment they entered to the moment the movie rolled its ending credits he had paid no mind to the movie, he only looked at her.

“I’m sorry we barely got to work on your film tonight, I got pretty caught up in the movie.” yn apologizes as they make their way back to the campus.

“It’s fine, we have lots of time. Besides I'm just relieved you enjoyed yourself, I know not everyone likes that kind of stuff. So knowing you enjoyed yourself has made me satisfied for the night.”

“I’m free tomorrow, I don’t have any classes so if you’d like me to make a few sample tracks with you.” As her eyes fell upon Jungwon, her gaze shook up his heart. Something about the way her sweet gaze fell upon him made him want to melt right then and there. There was a purity and vulnerability hidden beneath them, but compared to how timide she had been upon these first few encounters she seemed far more relaxed.

“Sounds great, I’ll be working alone tomorrow to look over soft drafts and script changes so it’ll just be the two of us, you won’t have to worry too much about too many others right now.” Jungwon watched her visibly relax upon hearing those words leave his lips. Their walk came to a stop as they arrived back at their meeting place beneath the tree.

“Thank you for tonight, for showing me heartstrings, I’ll work hard with you from now on.”

“It’s no problem, you’re welcome to go there any time. I'm sure Taehyun would love to start seeing a new face that isn’t mine.” Jungwon chuckles and yn feels her heart skip at the sight of his smiling face, the dimple in his cheek and the sound of his laughter igniting a feeling in her that she rarely ever felt.

“Well I should let you head in, it's getting colder out.”

“Right I should head back before my roommate starts wondering where I am. Goodnight Jungwon.”

“Goodnight yn” he watched her disappear back into the night. The entire walk back to the dorms was far too quiet to him now. He wished that he had taken her hand and told her to stay just a little longer, but it was far too soon for that, she was still warming up to him.

Meanwhile yn thoughts had been occupied by him the entire walk home. His smile, his laugh , his voice , the way he looked at her, it was all becoming some form of intoxication for her. Her heart raced at the mere thought of him, a feeling that was so unfamiliar to her that she found it scary.

[halfmoth-halfman]

Leaving this blog.

With my mini-series finishing up soon, I've decided to leave this blog as well as my AO3 account once it’s finished. This is not a decision I've made lightly, but circumstances have left this a place where I no longer feel safe.

As of now, I won't be deactivating this blog and will be leaving my fics up for anyone who'd still like to read them. I can't say this decision won't change later, but right now I feel that I've put too much work into this blog to simple delete it.

Below the cut is an explanation of why I'm making this decision, and what has been happening on this blog since the end of last year. It's not required to read or anything to understand the gist of this post; it's simply for my own peace of mind knowing that I spoke up about it. There will be topics that are possibly triggering such as harassment, threats, and racism so please mind the warnings and tags.

The mini-series is queued to finish next week, but there will be no more fic polls or wip wednesdays. I'll still be on here to make sure the queue does its job, and maybe post some stuff from my old drafts as a last bit of fun.

I'll have dms tentatively open for the next two-ish weeks for those who'd like to follow my new account, however I will not be answering anything from empty blogs. After that, asks and dms will be turned off, and I won't be coming back to this blog very often, if at all.

I cannot say thank you enough to the wonderful readers I've had and the amazing people I've met. I don't think I would've ever continued writing without your support and friendship. There's nothing I can do to show my appreciation for all of you.

Maybe we'll see each other again. If not, I hope your inspiration is always flowing, and 2024 treats you kindly.

Mothie 💜

Again, TW: rape/death threats, violent racism, repeated harassment, and mental health.

Back in November, I started getting rude, mean-spirited anons. It wasn't anything I was too bothered with because it didn't happen often and, honestly, my inbox gets flooded for a week or so anytime I post about certain topics. I blocked, deleted, reported and moved on thinking whoever it was would get bored and leave.

However, what started as a few rude anons calling me a bitch or stupid turned into a lot of anons being vile and racist which only worsened over the next few months.

I spoke about it in this post (link) near the end of November. In that post, I mentioned that those were the nicer asks and that was not an exaggeration. I have gotten my fair share of shitty anons as seen here (link) when I had to take a break from my blog because of said anons, but I have never gotten the amount of vitriol that I saw in these asks.

When I turned anon off, I started getting even worse messages from empty blogs that would either be blocked or deactivate within a week. When I turned my askbox off, I started getting hateful DMs. When I turned DMs off, it jumped from Tumblr to my other social medias which I had to private, completely avoid, or outright delete.

I got messages attacking my writing, calling me slurs, threatening to find me and rape or kill me, sending me explicit porn and rape videos while insulting my sexuality, and going into gross detail about how much people I interacted with hated me or how I would never be as good as them. I tried to power through it, pretending everything was fine while I pulled away from this blog, from writing, from friends that I loved and talked to every day. Everything about this blog, the fandoms I enjoyed, the people I talked to, made me so anxious because of these constant messages.

I took several breaks while dealing with this in therapy, repeatedly trying to come back and get comfortable on this blog, but within a few days of coming back the messages would start up again, either here or on any of my social medias I tried to unprivate, and I couldn't deal with it.

Only in the last week or two has it started to slow down and stop on a few of my other socials, which is the only reason I even feel comfortable making this post. However, in regards to this blog and my feelings toward it, the damage is done.

I don't think I can ever truly convey how isolating this has been. So many of these messages were about how I've spoken about my struggles as a black woman in fandom, how much of a burden it puts on the people who interact with me, how inferior I am to them and that I am everything that's wrong with fandom.

I felt scared and anxious to talk to anyone about this, especially people mentioned in those messages, out of fear that this harassment would jump to them. There are friendships that I stepped away from that I will never get back because of that. There are friends that I've felt like I was betraying by never telling them about what was happening because I felt too ashamed about letting this get to me.

I constantly worried that making a post like this would feel like, "Oh, Mothie's whining and trauma-dumping into the void about fandom racism again", that those messages would be right and it would force people to feel like they had to support me. Or worse, that people would agree and it would only make things worse. I've wrestled with so much guilt trying to decide to make this post and figure out what to do to make me trust myself again.

Ultimately, I don't think I was wrong for talking about my issues in fandom, and I don't think anything I've said has warranted this kind of harassment. I don’t know the who’s or why’s behind of this, but I've come to terms with the fact that I'll never really know. Truthfully, I'm not sure it even matters at this point. In the end, I think moving on from this blog entirely would be the best thing for me right now.

But, man, does it fucking suck.

This was the blog where I felt comfortable enough to start writing again, to start posting my fics. It's the blog where I met so many friends, got the courage to join new communities, found new hobbies, new music, new things to enjoy in life. It feels silly to say about a blog, but this was a place where I felt like I was able to carve out a space for myself. I put so much work into making it my own, and now the only thing I feel about it is anxious.

Hate messages and threats and racism have always been a part of fandom, and the internet as a whole. I’ve known since I started participating in fandom spaces that it was going to and continue to happen. I've known that I had to have a tough skin, especially if I ever spoke up about problems I faced because no one was going to have my back if I didn't have my own. I thought I had learned how to deal with it, and how to make a safe space for myself. But this goes beyond that. I did not deserve this. No one deserves this.

In some ways, it feels like admitting defeat, like I'm weak or hypocritical for not being as strong as I pretended I was and leaving. In other ways, it feels freeing to start over, and I'm choosing to view look at this optimistically even if it bittersweet. I don't want to let this scare me away from writing or from speaking about things that are important to me. All I can do now is say I'm so incredibly sorry to those I've hurt by stepping away or keeping this secret, and make sure I'm able to at least leave this blog on as happy a note as I can have.

[thewayitalknj]

Still got Wicked on the brain. And lots of TheaterKid! fics have been popping up on my dash. Therefore, I give you this.

SLIGHT SPOILER for what's to come in Wicked Part II but I'm 99.9% sure the majority of you reading this knows the full story of Wicked, so it's fine LOL -

This was also written at like 1am, sorry for any mistakes!

***

Hawkins High is putting on a production of Wicked. The Drama Club is buzzing with excitement since the movie finally came out and everyone was talking about it. You have a lot of friends in the drama club, both performers and behind the scenes. You've always had a secret dream of landing a lead roll one day, but always too shy or scared to audition ; but this time was different. "Come on, you would make a perfect Elphaba!" "You have been putting this off for so long, you can do this!" "This is our last year, we're Seniors! Just try it out!"

You confide in your friends in Hellfire Club, brining it up mid conversation one day and they all encourage you to try it, you deserve it. Eddie tells you he has to volunteer for some extra credit in English and that he would be there every step of the way for you.

And that's when you decide, fuck it, you're going to audition. This could finally be your chance, and you have so much support your confidence was through the roof.

Mr. Roanan, the Drama Teacher, is shocked to see you're trying out for the show itself instead of staying behind the curtain. But you assure him even if you don't get the part you would still do your well known duties that you have helped with since Freshman Year. You addition, along with fellow classmates. Eddie, the rest of Hellfire and a few other select friends who could make it ensure you that you nailed it and will definitely get the part.

When the list is posted on the bulletin board a few days later, you see that you got the understudy of Elphaba, with Raquel Ripley landing the lead ; to which you weren't surprised at all, Raquel always got the leads in the school plays. You congratulate each other and she says she wouldn't want anyone else being her understudy, which you appreciate her compliment.

- - -

A few weeks fly by. Practices here and there, Eddie was a huge help with volunteering and you were happy to have a close friend with you at all times.

It was dress rehearsal day, and your first show would be tomorrow night. Just as you were going over cues and labeling the lighting desk, Mr. Ronan comes right up to you,

"You're on. Raquel has the flu." You're shocked, flabbergasted, was this real life? You run down to the dressing room and get changed as quickly as possible, green makeup and all. Eddie is shocked to see you when you make your way side stage. When the day is finished and Mr. Ronan is satisfied with everything, Eddie wastes no time picking you up and spinning you around. "Everyone is going to be so proud of you! Let's call everyone now!" And he was right, everyone was thrilled, saying they couldn't wait to see you perform your dream roll.

- - -

The day has finally come. But once you and Eddie arrive to school, Mr. Ronan is pacing the stage back and forth. Other classmates whispering sounding worried.

"What's going on?" You ask. "Damien caught the flu, he can't go on as Fiyero." "Yeah, and his understudy has the flu too. So we're double screwed."

"I just can't believe this! After all our hard work, I'm so sorry everyone. We can work this out. We can have one of the extras play the part, would anyone like to volunteer?" Most of the extras were freshman and sophomore's, too scared for their own good and not building up the confidence to step up in such an important roll.

Just then, the voice next to you speaks up, "I can do it." Eddie.

"Are you sure Mr. Munson? Will you, could you?" Mr. Ronan is appalled but intrigued. "Yes, I'm sure. I've been with you since day one. I know all the words, the queues, everything. I think....I know I can do this." Mr. Ronan nods his head, a smile on his face. "Well congratulations, you have your roll in a musical. Alright people, let's get to work!

A few more hours pass and it's finally showtime. Your family, friends and colleagues are waiting in the audience. You're making your way back to side-stage when you spot Eddie, dressed in a Shiz University uniform and staring out into the audience. You come up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder so he wouldn't be startled. He turns, smiling nervously when he realizes it's you.

"You okay?" "Yeah, just a bit of stage fright. I know we went through some stuff earlier but, it's still nerve racking." "I know, it's scary. Trust me I'm scared too, but we can do this. And this is a huge leap of faith you're taking for the Drama Club. Thank you, by the way." "Seeing how hard you guys work, I just couldn't not do anything, ya know?" "Well, just know it's greatly appreciated. Especially by me." And even with the stage lights beaming, you can see him blushing.

"ALIGHT EVERYONE THIS IS IT. PLACES!!!!!"

"You ready?" "Let's do this."

- - -

Everything went wonderful. Your friends were baffled to see Eddie take on a leading role so quickly but everyone assured him he did an incredible job and could have a career in Broadway if he wanted to, but he said he would stick to playing music himself. Of course everyone gave you their praises, "You stole the show!" "I can't believe your dream came true!" "You were amazing!" "HOLY SHIT THAT HIGH NOTE THOUGH!" After spending some time outside the auditorium, it was finally time to get out of your costume and the green makeup.

Getting back into your comfy clothes from earlier, you wanted to stand on stage one last time before heading out with everyone. But you realized you weren't alone, Eddie was standing on the stage just a few feet away from the ghost light that would soon illuminate the room.

"What are you still doing here?" "Waiting for you," he looks over "but also just wanted to take it in." "Hm, I came out here for the same reason." He held out his arms and you both hug, "You really were phenomenal." "As were you." "What was your favorite part Scarecrow?"

He muffles a laugh, holding you tighter. "As Long As Your Mine was pretty great." You roll your eyes, shaking your head looking up at him, "come on, let's go everyone is waiting." You begin to pull away when he grabs your hand, walking towards you in stride and bringing his hand to your cheek. And just as your lips are about to meet for the second time tonight, the doors open.

"THERE YOU GUYS ARE. COME ON WE'RE STARVING." Dustin yells.

This time it's Eddie rolling his eyes and looking back at you. "You know, the kiss during the show was okay but we....could use some...more practice?"

You smile nodding your head. "Oh for sure, should we meet up at your place after dinner?" "Sounds like a plan." "You're so lame, you know that?" "But like, cool lame right?" "Mhm, always." You kiss him quick, before running down the stairs and up the aisle to leave.

^^^

[pumpkinsy0]

I'm in tech week for a musical and I JUST NOW forgot a set change (Stage manager was NOT happy 😭) so that's how I'm doing... ANYWAY, hcs for Curly joining the Curtis brothers on a vacation?? Mix of Curly being a little shit AND him and Pony having sweet moments? Maybe cuddling by a fire or smth? Thank youu!!

i hope everything i smooth sailing from there and everything goes ur way anon,,,gods speed🙏🏽🙏🏽

•the curtis’ were going camping as mostly a gift to pony for doing so well, yknow to get away from everything!!! take it as the closest hes gonna get to the country side for now. and theres a LOT of things curly would do, but go camping??? not rlly one of em, but a week???without pony??? booooooo borriinngg

•curly QUICKLY rethought this bc when he said he wanted to come along, pony said that they werent going to like, a decently well known camping ground, they were just gonna go into some “apparently safe” forest, camp down for a bit, then go. and curly was NOTTTT rocking w that, if u have CURLY thinking thats not safe, triple check ur plan dude😭😭

•pony was saying “nooooo cmon its fine, i already begged darry u have to go now” plus curly already asked tim and had his things packed so he was way too far along to just back down and NOT look like a wimp so he accepted his fate,,,wherever that comes,,, if thise white boys kill him in the forest everyone knows who did it,,,

•ANYWAYS, the forest was pretty far, so there was a small roadtrip moment for all four of em!! curly and ponys hungry asses ate more snacks than they were supposed to but thats probably for the best bc in between kinda sugar crashing and play wrestling and talking, they just passed out and gave darry and soda much needed peace (and photo material)

•by the time they got there, it was almost night so they had to hurry and make their tents. u already knowwww there was a passive aggressive fight between soda and curly over who was sharing what tent, but bc darry just wanted pony to relax, he just let him choose and pony chose curly cause look, he always cuddles up to soda, he can change it up these few nights, also darry was kinda hoping pony chose curly always he doesnt wanna sleep next to curly that would b so awkward

•the whole night darry couldnt sleep bc he heard pony and curly playing 21 questions except they barely rlly played it bc all curly was doing was making shitty oneliners and innuendos. darry heard curly gearing up to tell a brokeback mountain sex joke and took that as his queue to just fall asleep

•pony and curly has snuck out to go swim ONCE, and pony was scared shitless and that was PERFECT for curly. he could pretend to b the #protector while his babygirl clung to him, he was thinking “JACKPOT!!!”, DID they get caught later on the next day when darry said he heard them??? yes but sooooo worth it

•personally i like to hc curly as a guy who loves insects, so when he sees them he starts ranting about the type theyre looking at. darry and soda r half paying attention while ponys thinking “yea im making out w this guy later”

•and then curlys the kinda guy who loves the night time, and he can finally see more stars without the light pollution,,,ik hes lovin it and ponys thinking curly AND the sky is pretty. bonus points if theres a shooting star they see

•during the day curly and pony tend to get a liilllll lost while on their walks, and curly tried doing that thing where u leave breadcrumbs but some stupid squirrel just ate the trail so they had to yell for help

•i like to hc that when they used to live in haiti, curly used to visit his family in the country side sometimes so he knows some #lifehacks to help make things easier, SO YKNOW WHAT??? darry and soda can call curly many things, but useless???? aint one of em, darry and soda had some new found respect for him

•ESPECIALLY when it comes to dinner, bc if his experience curlys good at fishing and can make himself a fire ANNNDDD cook the fish w it, not that the curtis bros couldnt do that, but it woulda took wayyyyyy longer,,,,thats ponys man right there,,,woaw,,,,

•had the fire going long enough to cook s’mores which rlly was one of the only things pushing curly to go camping w em, right next to the reason of being w pony, him and pony filled UP on those things and cuddled hung out near the fire after wards, they both fell asleep there and had to b semi carried to their tents!!!

•darry and soda even had the decency to manhandle them into cuddling FOR them, to b fair the night was cold but still, how sweet of em

[aiieera]

Rhythm of The Rain-chp.5

"One.. two." You and Maki lifted the table cloth in unison, spreading it over Yuuta's island table, and setting it up with food and snacks. "Good thing we got here earlier huh Yn? Yuuta has no idea how to set up for a party." "Right? You hardly had anything set up!," you laughed, elbowing him in the shoulder while he chuckled.

"Hey, It's not my fault I've never hosted a party before." "You set everything up soo boring," Maki adds, turning to pour a bag of chips into a bowl just as your phone lit up with a notification. "Oh, Yuuji says he's on his way now," "Oh shit," Yuuta frantically started looking around the room, making sure everything's in order, nothing out of place. "Relaxx, with me and Maki making sure everything's good your party's gonna go fineee."

Turning back around and throwing away the now empty bag, "How much do you wanna bet I'm gonna have to refill this bowl before anyone else gets here." "Awhhh, I love Yuuji but there's no way I can bet money against that." "Ughh boringg, Yuuta?" "I believe in him! $20!" "Wait! make it 40 so me and Maki can split it." "Yn!!" "what??" "Fine, but I'm telling Yuuji you made a bet against him."

"Oh wait," Maki starts going through the kitchen drawers. "Yuuta, where's your bottle opener?" "My what?" "Bottle Opener. The metal thing you use to take the tops off of bottles?" "Oh, I'm sorry I don't have one," he looks a bit embarrassed. "You don't?" "Noo," he let's out a short laugh, "I only drink canned stuff since I don't know how to open it with the thing."

Maki looks at him almost sympathetically, and you almost want to laugh at how she genuinely feels bad for him. "It's whatever, Yn could you go get my keys? There's a bottle opener keychain on it, It's in my bag in the other room." "Oh, sure. I'll be back in a bit." "Seriously Yuuta I can show you how to use it, it's actually not that hard.

When you come back with Maki's keys in hand, Yuuta's gone while Maki's back to the snacks, putting a pause on drinks. "Where'd Yuuta go?" "Oh, Toge just got here so he went out to greet him." "Oh, okay." After you handed her the keys, you thought it would be less awkward of an interaction between you and Inumaki if you were sat on the couch when he got there.

Moving to sit down, you decided to scroll on your phone a bit, at least until Yuuji got there. Soon enough, the front door opens and Inumaki walks in, by himself surprisingly. "Didn't Yuuta go out to greet you?" "Oh yeah, someone else got here so he's outside with them right now." "Oh alright," after that it was hard to hear what they were talking about so you tuned them out, well you tried to at least. Until you're met with the guy who's avoided you like the plague for the last three years standing awkwardly in front of you, with Maki nowhere to be found.

You look up at him, a bit confused, "Hi?" "Hi." Hard to work with but that's all he says, as if he doesn't want to waste his words on you. "Where'd Maki go?..." Not that you're surprised, but all he says in response is, "Bathroom." "Oh.. okay." How did you get here? You specifically went out of the way to avoid an awkward situation like this. Was he talking to you just to be nice? Or did he hate you so much that he'd go out of his way to make you uncomfortable?

Thankfully, your 'savior' (as he’d later call himself when you tell him about the encounter) walked in at just the right moment, prompting you an escape from the tense situation you were in. "Yuuji!" Without thinking, you immediately stood up and practically sprinted toward him in desperation, "Didn't Megumi come with you?" "Yoo! Yeah he's locking up the car, Yuuta's walking him in."

On queue, Maki walks back in with a curiously playful smirk on her face. "Oh, look who the cat dragged in. I'm surprised everything's still in tact in here." "Maki! Haven't seen you in a bit, hey!" "Hey." "I am gonna need to take these though." You laugh as he takes the snack bowl Maki was prepping and sits down onto a chair. Maki turns to you, laughing, "Tell Yuuta to hurry the hell up with my money." You join her as Yuuji looks at the two of you, still snacking cluelessly, "Does he owe you money or something?"

m.list || prev - next

fun facts☆

• yuuji is often times the one at fault when the trio’s pantry is bare bc he likes to snack while he does literally anything

• his contact in nobara’s phone is “resident muncher”

• maki and yuuji are almost like cousins-even though they don’t talk often, every time they do their conversation flows pretty well

A/N-

arguing w myself over which writing style i wanted to use the entire time i was writing this lolol hopefully it's not too obvious

@sereniteav @iamyujisbitch @sad-darksoul @scrappedup @taelattecookie @kenmakodz @lacrimae-lotos @lollygagger-s @lysaray @mellozhi @jayathelostdragon @nyxlai @danisuar @cre8inghavoc @sasfransisco @krazyotakunerd @k4sss133 @0range-juiceee @gumiiiiezzzz @c4ttheart @yinyinyinyinyinyin @fyodorisbbg @jjk-thef

from now on please send taglist requests through my inbox so it’s easier to keep track of them 🙏 ty <33

[irresistiibles]

plotting/starter call under the cut! they're lightly capped at four per muse but if you have a good idea and it isn't last minute i'm happy to add it. i'll also being doing memes at the start of the event, so don't feel like you have to go crazy. like and i'll come to your dms or reply with some starters and i'll get to queueing! glad to see so much love and hype for the event!

achilles : unaware any change has occurred

achilles is technically a lord but is currently serving as a knight and thinks this has been his life forever. he's fine with it though he does think he deserves a higher up position than what he currently has and isn't thrilled he has to do this service as a knight for image or whatever it is that got him there. he is probably some sort of officer or commander not just one of the guys in the crowd. he spends a little too much time at the tavern starters (2/4): hades, patroclus

angel dust : aware things have changed

aware something happened but doesn't know how to explain it and is really worried he took something since everyone else is acting normal. he's also worried about how to find drugs here and will be very on edge all the time. starters (3/4): sir pentious, niffty, vaggie

asami sato : unaware any change has occured

working as a blacksmith and having a good time with it honestly. sure, it's less high tech than what she's used to back home but asami loves to learn new crafts and get used to new environments. actively involved in guild life and she's probably poking around with magic and monsters more than she should as well. starters (1/4): ben skywalker

ben hargreeves : unaware any change has occurred

honestly he's got no magic but would sign himself up to be a wizard's apprentice so fast. like that seems cool of course that's what he's doing. he likes adding ingredients to potions and chilling. absolutely will approach magical monsters even if he shouldn't starters (1/4): klaus hargreeves

clara oswald : unaware any change has occurred

she's happier now than she had been in modern washington. this is way more interesting to clara. she's working as a tutor but is absolutely getting too involved in nobility politics, and could get caught up trying to overthrow someone. also very interesting in the magical creatures all over the place starters (0/4):

deena johnson : unaware any change has occurred

a farmer who lives on the outskirts of town. she's really good with animals, and is probably one mistake away from being accused of witchcraft for one reason or another. she's not doing any witchcraft, but it probably way too comfortable talking to people who are. starters (1/4): rosamund du prix

emery anden : aware things have changed

he is very concerned with everything going on, especially in the medical field, and it's not making him feel great about the chances he's actually aware of his real life in modern washington also. get this man some help (not leaches please) starters (1/4): kaul hilo

fizzarolli : unaware any change has occurred

truly living up his best life as a jester for charlie. i would say they're a pretty well acclaimed jester in general, so even though he's a court jester they will come and perform in taverns when possible, and he's really just thriving in this sort of environment. starters (2/4): louise belcher, charlie morningstar

glinda upland : unaware any change has occurred

your local witch, but glinda has a very good reputation. she doesn't do any curses, just things like charms, good luck potions, healing spells, love potions, what have you. she's very chill and not worried about any accusations cause she's very good at keeping people happy and on her side starters (3/4): fiyero tiggular, lee hongjo, elphaba thropp

gu zi : unaware any change has occurred

you know what i'm committing. he's living as a rat catcher, and is honestly pretty chill about it. he absolutely also tries to befriend some of the bigger monsters and creatures running around washington even though he's got basically no way of defending himself. starters (0/4):

inej ghafa : unaware any change has occurred

she's actually gone from trying to work a respectable job in the modern day to going back to thievery and criminal activity. it's just easier and she doesn't trust as easily here with magic way more available and difficult to deal with starters (2/4): nimona, dom toretto

irina yang : aware things have changed

knows things changed suddenly, but has realized this is a great way to start scamming people. anything she can remember about the modern world she's selling as information, and they're also just kind of pretending to be a witch because she's got enough magic to get away with it, and when they ask for something she can't do, they're just putting drugs in potions. starters (0/4):

jang man wol : aware things have changed

she's working as an inkeeper but she's very upset to be back in the past. she already lived through this era! been there done that! where's her phone? her dramas? she will absolutely be complaining about this to anyone who will listen even if they think she's mad starters (0/4):

jin ling : unaware any change has occured

nobility. probably a whole king and very stressed and unhappy about it. made a ruler very young and has no idea what he's doing. he can't catch a break even when he's not home okay. starters (2/4): wei wuxian, jin guangyao

jonathan sims : aware things have changed

he's going to become fully aware after the event. right now he's still unaware of his real life but he's aware of his life in modern washington and knows this is not right. probably accidentally became a local prophet because of how he's just starting to Know things now, but he's mostly running around trying to figure out what the fuck is going on starters (0/4):

kyoshi : unaware any change has occurred

she's probably gotten herself involved with a local crime group because with her luck she would absolutely catch too much attention and get kicked out from her nice servant job. give her a crime group to join, she's got way too many morals and will be annoying but she's also good muscle. another one of my characters who's one wrong statement away from a witch hunt starters (1/4): jester lavorre

luo qingyang : unaware any change has occurred

living her best farmer life. she's got a bunch of chickens and is truly just chilling. is a good place to go to if anyone needs to hide from monster hunters or a witch hunt starters (0/4):

madoka kaname : unaware any change has occurred

give me a witch for her to apprentice under! she can't do magic but she can get ingredients, and help make potions, and bring a cat and some good energy along and she would love it a lot okay! she will also defend them as much as she can when the inevitable witch hunt comes along. starters (1/4): homura akemi

mei nianqing : aware things have changed

he's aware things are different but honestly he likes this better so he's kind of keeping his mouth shut i'm afraid. he's thriving as an astrologer/tutor/priest for the rich, and kind of hopes things will stay like this. don't mention how things were different he will gaslight you starters (0/4):

nico di angelo : unaware any change has occurred

he's a priest, does exorcisms and everything. obviously he still has his powers and knows who his dad is, but he just uses that to genuinely be able to help with ghosts and gain trust with people. he's living surprisingly comfortably here. starters (2/4): bianca di angelo, satana hellstrom

nie huaisang : aware things have changed

he knows things have changed but he's not really making that clear to anyone. sure, he'll talk in fantasy about a modern washington, but there's no need to stress everyone out by making them think he's more than just an airhead. he's a lower noble who spends his time chilling and painting. he's very interested in the mythical creatures and will try and adopt a baby dragon starters (1/4): nie mingjue

ning yingying : unaware any change has occurred

apprentice under shen qingqiu and learning about european swords and clothing. the problem with her being more confident and a little bit better at fighting in a world where duels and jousting are possibilities is she keeps considering it. girl is mostly living as a scholar but is ready to brawl do don't encourage her. starters (1/4): sha hualing

pearl: unaware any change has occurred

she's obsessed with the human concept of knights so this is great for her. she is of course serving as a knight, and though i'm sure she's under a specific kingdom but i would love to plot someone who she's specifically guarding. she's very protective and will be willing to throw herself in front of danger without hesitation pls employ. starters (1/4): sella palpetine

roronoa zoro : unaware any change has occurred

working as a bounty hunter/sword for hire again for both humans and mosnters, whatever gets him a paycheck. he'll work for whoever, but he's less inclined to work for people of power, he just doesn't really get along with them that well, and he's mostly looking to fight more than get a massive paycheck. starters (2/4): sanji, sgaeyl

shang qinghua : unaware any change has occurred

advisor to some sort of noble! overworked and a schemer, so if anyone's plotting against nobles he is a good person to go to. he's happy to do a lot of underhanded shit to get rid of people. give me a noble for him to work under. starters (1/4): kaul shae

shi qingxuan : unaware any change has occurred

honestly living a chill life as a barmaid/occasional beggar when funds are low. qingxuan is actually really comfortable and having a fun time with the common people in this form of washington, so it'll be a nice time for them. a good friend to have if you want cheap drinks starters (1/4): syala eren

toph beifong : unaware any change has occurred

technically somehow got herself stuck as a noble lady, and i think it would be funny for someone to plot being the poor knight/guard looking after her because i know toph is quite literally always running away from them and trying to get into fights or start trouble starters (4/4): katara, mai, jamie, zuko

yin yu : unaware any change has occursed

he's a gravedigger lmao, and not obsessed with it for obvious reasons. catch him sulking around in graveyards on the regular. he's staying away from most of the new mythical creatures and is trying to convince the people he knows to stay away from the dragons as well. starters (1/4): astrid hofferson

zagreus : unaware any change has occurred

he's a prince but doesn't actually like doing that and is working a small apothecary job on the side and just hopping he doesn't get recognized. loves going to watch jousting and see if he can get included somehow. starters (0/4):

[scummy-writes]

The hurricane went by me, but ended up going through and hitting where my family and friends live. My family is fine despite some issues in town, however the town they live in mainly just got hit on the side. But my best friend, who I've known since we were children, lost their home and car. They lost everything that they didnt bring when they evacuated.

Obviously, I am preoccupied trying to help them out, but realistically all the roads near them got damaged and I can't GO there and help them, and it will likely be Weeks until I can.

They have food and water and they're in a safe place with their polycule. So instead I'm focused on building up some stuff for them for when this calms down a bit, like homegoods and similar. I'm hoping FEMA will help them too, even if its limited.

All of this to say that I am stressed. Understandably so, I hope!!!!! I don't know what this will mean for writing, honestly writing is a stress reliever despite how I talk about it, but I may just be too busy for a little bit. Or, when I have downtime I'll go insane and write a lot.

I want to like. Apologize in advance if I seem Very Fucking Odd in the upcoming weeks, like sounding frazzled or sporadic posting or really odd fanfics/writing quality decrease/etc. At the end of the day its my blog so like, i'll post whatever, but like. Still. I'm not very worried about writing stuff moreso than accidentally misreading tone more often than usual.

I may end up uh. Stopping the @ikemen-daily-questions too? Unless i hit some sorta zen moment and write out a buncha new qs and fill up the queue for a while. Idk im not thinking too hard about it right now.

Edit: gonna queue this to post a few times

[accidentally-in-fictional-love]

Making it official: ⚡🩹🔞(<- always i just can't help myself) Feel free to use this if you want to, or write anything else really. I'm sure I'll love it regardless, Lightning has already taken root in my heart.

You Light The Sky, I'll Bring The Rain - Lightning/Reader

Warnings: No use of Y/N, gender-neutral reader, semi-spoilers for the movie but nothing actually main plot related, friends with benefits, one-sided pining (or is it?), lots of heavy talk, blowjobs, smut.

Wordcount: 8060

Summary: You've never liked Lightning. He was a bit of a snob, acted like he was too good for you, and always ever called when he needed something. No, you've never ever liked Lighting. But it was the man he used to be that always made you come when he called.

Notes: Switching up my queue just once because if I don't write for this man asap I'll explode. I fell in love with him at once, DD did such an amazing job as usual, I was smitten in the theatre once again and I can't stop thinking about him so here's a filled request for those who already love him~ I do plan on writing him a longer fic, but I need to settle on that plot first since I apparently love him enough to ship with /)w(\ so I gave that original idea to Addy, but I hope you enjoy this in the meantime 💗💗💗

You didn't know why you kept coming back to him. He was different now, much different than the man you knew back in college when you were stuck next to each other in your programming class, from his contacts to his clothes to even his haircut. He still painted his nails, that never changed, and he kept the ring you gave him the night you were walking around town and randomly found it on the ground. You still remember picking it up and trying it on, it was unwanted trash you could turn into something loved again; he seemed to latch on to what you said about it, and he'd gone quiet when you’d slipped it onto his finger and it'd fit him better than you.

That was years ago, he had a high paying job now and little time for you as a result, always busy with the meetings and parties and people surrounding him, so when he called you up one Friday night you expected it to be just another simple ‘hello,’ ‘I miss the old days,’ and maybe, ‘I miss you.’

‘Everyone's busy tonight, you wanna hang out or something? I know this new age tea place just around the corner from where I work, great vibes, you'll love their blends,’ came his soft voice from the other side, much softer than it used to be when you knew him before; he was too old to be talking like this, but you guessed this was another fake thing about him now, something calm and cool and easily approachable so his true self underneath wouldn't scare anyone else away.

‘Hey, Leo,’ you said instead of answering him, your phone placed on your desk while you typed away at your current project, which was honestly taking much longer than it needed to because your boss refused to listen to some nerdy coder trying to fix his company's website.

‘That's not my name.’

‘I'm not calling you Lightning,’ you replied flatly, you'd already had this conversation a million times before ever since he started his job and changed everything about himself. ‘If you’d just go ahead and give me literally any reason why I should other than, “AIA says all the kids nowadays are doing it,” then maybe I would, but I’m not calling a grown man Lightning because his artificial intelligence wants to brand him as cool, not because it’s something you actually chose for yourself.’

‘Can you at least call me that around my friends? I don't want anyone to be confused, or start calling me that too,’ he muttered, just a hint of his old self slipping through the cracks for a moment.

‘Fine, so did you actually wanna hang out or do you just want someone to get new age tea with you tonight?’ He'd done this before, on slow nights when there was no one else to turn to, there you always were, like a lighthouse in his storm of a life; maybe he was a Lightning, after all.

He went silent at your question, but this was all part of the conversation now, the casual exchange between you two that always happened whenever he needed you, and he took no offense to your tone anymore, just as you stopped hurting when you became the last resort instead of the first. ‘I… want someone with me,’ he admitted, he was getting faster with it since you started calling him out, but there was sadness in his words, it was another bad night, something his so-called new friends wouldn't know about. ‘I visited the hospital again today.’

You saved your project and picked up your phone, already heading to the bedroom to get changed. ‘Was it bad?’ you asked as you raided your closet, needing something to match his new style so he could at least feel comfortable, you wouldn't embarrass him by dressing the same way he used to this time, not tonight.

‘The job helps, you know the paycheck pays for all of it now,’ he started, not wanting to get to the hard part, and you didn't rush him as you found your nicest, hippest shirt you'd bought for work. ‘It's still progressing, AIA said the new treatment would help but she warned me-’

‘You're following the advice of an AI, remember that,’ you murmured so softly you weren't sure if he'd even hear it, but he did anyway, and you heard him clear his throat almost uncomfortably. 

‘She did the calculations, she’s smart, so much smarter than you know, it’s so much more advanced than everything we learned in class,’ he told you yet again, but you’d believe it when you stopped seeing posts online about AIs saying human things just because that’s what they were taught to do. ‘The meds help, but… it’s gotten to the point where I can’t leave the house without it.’

‘Please, just come with me to the oncologist who helped my uncle.’

‘AIA said Dr. Krill was the best in the field.’

‘AIA isn’t real, she can look online and give you all the answers you want, but this is a human being I know who helped someone close to me, he can give you more answers than she ever could-’

‘Can you please just get some fucking tea with me?’ he snapped, stopping you in the middle of pulling on a pair of too tight jeans because that’s what the kids today loved to wear; his voice was loud, brash, emotional, this was the real him again, the one only you saw nowadays, and you sighed and walked over to where your phone sat on your bed. ‘Please, I’m sorry I just… I don’t wanna be alone tonight…’

‘You know I’ll be there soon,’ you said softly, just as quiet as him, and you heard his sigh of relief. ‘Do you want me to meet you at your place, or at the shop?’

‘Work, I’m still there finishing something up, we can walk over when you get here.’ He hung up immediately, no more time to talk, but you couldn’t get annoyed when you couldn’t imagine what he was going through. This was something that’d started right at the end of college, you’d been there since the beginning, and whenever he got an update you were the only one he could tell. After he got his job he’d paid off his family’s home, he was stuck living with his parents because of all this, and now took care of them from afar, the both of you moving to Silicon Valley at his urging because of the job opportunities.

It’d only worked out for him, you thought bitterly as you finished getting ready, your phone in your pocket and your keys in your hand as you headed for your car. He’d been picked randomly out of a group of 50 to participate in a foundling company’s new alternative to Siri and Alexa, but you hadn’t, whatever you’d presented to them they hadn’t liked once they saw him. You hated him for a while after that, but you didn’t now, not when you knew this job was the only thing keeping him alive. You’d talked about it once, what you would’ve done if your positions were reversed and you’d been the one picked, but he’d gone silent when it came to him imagining you in his place.

You thought it’d been jealousy even though he was the winner, the idea of you having everything he had so unfair after a lifetime of being overlooked, so terrifying even in its fantasy, that he never even entertained the idea for fun. ‘Never change, just be happy where you are,’ he’d told you that night as you lay on the roof of his building, the thing a giant, sprawling cage where you were only allowed to enter the stairwell, that was it. You turned your head to face him, and when he did the same back, you realized that you didn’t recognize him anymore.

You pulled up to that same building, needing to pay the meter since you had no access to the lot as a visitor after closing, and you saw him waiting by the door for you; he was talking to someone else on the phone, his back slouched against the wall and his free hand waving around as he spoke, but his voice was still soft even in his apparent distress, enough so that you couldn’t make out a word he said. You waved to get his attention when he started to pace, and he quickly said goodbye to his caller before readjusting his earpiece and walking calmly over to you.

‘Partner troubles?’ you joked only because you knew he was single, he always made sure to let you know whenever he was sleeping with someone again.

‘Doctor,’ he answered stiffly, and your laugh died in your throat with a rough cough. ‘C’mon, they’re open late but they stop serving food around 10, I haven’t eaten today.’

‘Old habits die hard, even with all the money in the world,’ you sighed as he fixed his collar and made sure he looked presentable again, but he had nothing to say to that one. ‘I see you’re wearing glasses again?’

He looked down at his detachable glasses where they hung against his chest, and he lifted them up and reattached them so they sat on the bridge of his nose. ‘Got the surgery a while back, these are fake,’ he admitted, but he at least looked a bit more like his old self with them on, as dumb as they looked.

‘Now all you need to do is fix your bangs, then you’ll be recognizable again,’ you teased, reaching up to mess with his hair, but he leaned away seriously, he wouldn't let you make him look disheveled when he was out and about. It killed the mood a bit, and his glasses were placed against his chest again as you walked, the tea shop just a few blocks away like he promised but not nearly close enough all the same. You weren’t fond of places like this, everything was always way too expensive and bragged too much about their superior blends compared to other chain businesses, but they were always the same in the end. 

He gave the barista a small wave as he approached the counter, and she did the same to him, but there was no comfortable familiarity in their actions, just them going through the motions. You didn’t hear what he ordered, there were too many words and he wanted it way too specific for someone who used to down cup after cup of black coffee like it was water, so by the time it was your turn you weren’t sure if you should ask for the same and just accept whatever it was, or attempt to come up with something yourself. He gave you a nudge when you took too long, and you just smiled and glanced at the menu again.

‘I’ll just have a water for now, I’ll decide in a bit,’ you told her, and she rolled her eyes and got started on his order all the same. He wasn't happy with that, but you weren’t going to pretend you could understand the gibberish hanging above you. You examined it more closely, you were never much of a tea drinker to begin with, but he wanted the company, so by the time your small cup of overpriced and outsourced mineral water was placed in front of you, you downed it and asked for the only kind of tea you recognized. She rolled her eyes again at your simplicity, but you were there for him, by the time you came back she’d probably be working somewhere else, none of this mattered.

You took your order and grabbed a corner booth while his sandwich was being made, he never liked to sit near windows, and he surprised you again when he walked right past you and grabbed the empty table by the door. You let out a small breath and joined him without a word, and even though he picked his seat he still looked uncomfortable as he popped open the tab and took a sip. Your tea was still too hot so you just let it sit, preferring to watch him and take in all the other things he’d changed now that he was in front of you. 

You already knew it’d be weird to get used to him just never wearing glasses anymore, he usually wore them when he was around you to save a pair of contacts, the only piece of that part of him the fake ones hanging around his neck. You reached across the table and took them while he ate, knowing he’d be unable to stop you lest he risk wrecking his sandwich, and you put them on and stared through slightly smudged plastic lenses at him. ‘Give them back,’ he said softly once he’d swallowed, but he didn't look too in a rush when he saw the way they looked on you.

‘These are the same frames from before,’ you noted, taking them off to pull them apart and put them back together a few times to test the magnets within, ‘the ones you wore when we graduated.’

‘They looked vintage, it makes for a good accessory,’ he simply said before he took another bite, a small sip of tea just barely washing it down; maybe he didn’t even like the taste, like it was something else AIA had recommended to him as part of his cleanse to keep him as healthy as possible.

‘Well, you did graduate what, two decades ago? Pretty vintage now if you ask me,’ you stated, his age making him wince even though it was a testament to how he was still here, still breathing. ‘So, how much did the surgery set you back this time?’

‘The company paid for it, actually, I just had to fill out a few forms and explain why it was beneficial for me to be able to see without assistance, and I was booked the next day,’ he said as he finished eating, a slightly larger sip this time making the wince return, he truly didn’t like it.

‘Sounds nice, you know how long it took me to even see a doctor to fix my carpal tunnel.’ You weren’t bitter about it anymore, but he glanced at you all the same.

‘You know I would’ve been able to help had you come to me,’ he reminded you, he always did when you brought it up, and again you declined it even though it was long over and done with.

‘And you know I never would’ve been able to pay you back if you’d taken me to one of those fancy doctors who charge by the minute.’ You tried your own tea but it was still a bit too hot, it burning your tongue a little, and even then you could taste that it was more water than tea, flavourless drivel.

‘I’ve never once asked you to pay me back,’ he said seriously as he sat up, his relaxed posture changing into something more stiff until the wince returned and he sat back again, his hand going to his stomach. ‘Sorry- I apologize for raising my voice, that was rude,’ he corrected himself quickly, and it was almost frustrating to see him like this, maybe this would be the last time, for real. ‘But you know I wouldn’t have asked it from you, just like you never did from me.’

‘So that’s what this is, one big payback for all the times I flipped the bill, drove you into town for every appointment when you could barely stand, sat by you until they kicked me out for the night, is that it?’ His eyes met yours, and you saw him again in them as he reached for your hand; you didn’t move away, just waited for him to touch you when he stopped, glanced towards the counter like he was afraid of anyone seeing him be an actual person again.

He made the motion to push his hair behind his left ear even though it was so short now, his earpiece blinking to signal a call that he then silenced, and he distracted himself with more bad tea until he was ready to answer you. ‘It was never about that,’ he began, but he was looking at the table instead of at you, ‘you know I never kept tabs on any of it, so neither should you.’

‘Then why do we keep doing this, Le- fuck, Lighting? You’ve got a great life now, new job, new friends, new you, why am I still the one thing you hang on to? Because you can tell me the truth? Because I know the real you, and you know that I keep coming back whenever you need someone to talk to about the bad days? I thought AIA could do all that for you now, be your new therapist you can let all that bullshit onto, so unless you tell me why, I’m outta here.’ He was silent while you talked, just listening, and when he didn’t speak you just sighed and stood until he was babbling and reaching for you.

‘Stop, alright, just wait, can we- can I go back to your place tonight? We can talk there, just… not here, not where she can hear us,’ he muttered lowly, his hand covering his face and blocking him from view of the only other person, and you let out another sigh before picking up your tea and motioning for him to get up. He did, his tea brought with him even though he didn’t like it, and you switched with him and headed for the door before he could protest. It was awful, whatever blend he was praising was certainly not this one, but you drank it all the same for him as he caught up to you.

You didn’t speak on the way back to your car, and for a moment you wondered if maybe he’d follow you home when he sat down next to you, his earpiece off and tossed among the change on your dash when your teas filled up the cupholders. This was serious, he always had that stupid thing with him in case of any emergencies, and you didn’t comment on it as you drove back to your apartment. It was nothing fancy like where he probably lived, you still hadn’t gotten to visit him, that was yet another part of his new life you weren’t allowed into, but it was still decent and had a nice view of the water if you did say so yourself. 

You parked and he didn’t bring his earpiece with him, even his phone left behind on his seat when you got up to leave. ‘Hey, don’t you need that?’ you asked him before his door could close, and he checked the time before shaking his head and setting it back down. You weren’t going to argue, if someone decided to break into your car you wouldn’t lose much aside from the vehicle compared to his phone full of precious information, but maybe AIA really was that good, maybe she - it - would be able to save it all before anything got leaked. 

You pursed your lips and grabbed it after all, just in case, at least the headset would be ignored amongst the change.

He already knew the code to get inside and wasted no time in getting to the elevator, he was in an actual hurry this time, and you felt his phone vibrate in your pocket as soon as you approached him. ‘Oh, here, don’t want you losing your job over something stupid like a data breach if this gets stolen,’ you said as you tossed it to him, no photo under the caller ID as someone called Melody tried to get a hold of him, and he stared at it before hanging up on her.

‘I don’t want to talk to anyone else tonight,’ he whispered as he shut off his phone entirely and shoved it into his pockets, and by the time you reached your floor he’d asked you to do the same. Something felt wrong as you approached your door, he was never this disconnected anymore, and you only had a second to open your mouth to ask what was wrong when he pressed you against your door and kissed you urgently as soon as you shut it. 

You were used to this, every time it got bad he came to you for something no one else could give him no matter how much time passed, but you couldn’t ignore that pit in your stomach as you groaned uncomfortably against him and pushed him gently away.

‘Not tonight,’ you told him firmly, and he whimpered before trying again anyway, mouthing along your jaw in order to convince you. ‘Leo, please, I’m tired of this…’

‘Just once more, and if you hate me that much I’ll never come back again,’ he whispered desperately against you, the old him showing again and making your chest hurt; this was a part of him you didn’t miss, this part that said this to everyone who didn’t return his feelings, guilted them into a pity trap outside of his sickness, and you ran your hand along the back of his neck before taking him by the hand and leading him to your bedroom as you always did. He made sure to leave his phone and yours by the door though, he didn’t want to be disturbed, and honestly neither did you.

You didn’t let him start up again once your door was shut, but you did start to strip away everything that wasn't him, from his glasses to the fashionable scarf he didn’t need to the necklaces he’d bought at some local craft market because the gems promoted healing, all of these things not the Leo you knew and chipped off one by one until he was just in his shirt and pants. You went for the former next but he stopped you, instead helped you do the same, and when you both had trouble getting out of your too tight pants the mood was lightened when you collapsed onto the bed with them tangled around your legs.

He kissed you again while you laughed, and this time you didn’t argue against it, needing him just as much as he needed this, you always did, which is why you had yet to say no to him before tonight. His kisses felt easier again, this wasn't love but it was still something strong between you, something that he had yet to find a way to replace. His weight was comfortable over you as it always was, your legs wrapped around each other until you were pressed together again, and your fingers ran through his short hair as you let out a dissatisfied moan.

‘I miss your long hair,’ you whispered when you took a breath, and he sighed as he always did when you brought it up. 

‘AIA likes it short, says it suits me better based on my face shape,’ he finally explained after many years and many more excuses as to why he supposedly liked it better.

‘AIA doesn't see you like I do.’ He stilled in the middle of kissing from your jaw to your earlobe, and you saw the way his eyes shifted the way they always did when he was doing calculations in his head; you were getting too honest, you hadn’t been able to keep him back then and you knew you could never keep him now, but something about tonight was making you want to try. You played with the hair at the nape of his neck when he looked at you, just waited for him to say something to make this nothing but a mutually beneficial transaction again, just like it'd been that first time years and years ago, and he looked ready to speak when he instead sat up and turned away from you. ‘I'm sorry, alright? I know this isn't anything, I didn't mean to-’

‘They've got me on a stent now,’ he said to the comforter as he played with it, and you sat up next to him and just waited. ‘That's what I saw her about this morning, they just put it in today.’ He lifted up his shirt to show you, and you followed the tube until it disappeared back under the dark fabric. ‘There's a lot I can hide from other partners, but I can't hide this, now that it's this bad I need to do injections every day…’ He gripped his shirt until he pulled it back down, his expression contorting into one of anger instead of misery. ‘I don't get it, I'm better off now, I was able to take care of everyone but myself, why can't I fix myself?’

‘Because you're not broken,’ you insisted firmly, your hands finding his even when he pulled away.

‘Termical fucking cancer sounds pretty broken to me,’ he sneered, disgusted with himself for still being sick after so much money tossed at too many doctors to name over too many years. 

‘No, stop it, alright? Just stop, you know I-’ 

‘What? You what?’

You shoved him onto his back, your hands trembling over his shoulders as you stared down at the slight lift of his shirt where the tube traveled over his skin. ‘You know I've never seen you that way,’ you confessed to him, your honesty finally building up against the dam until it began to overflow, and for once you had his undivided attention without his phone or other people around to interrupt you. ‘Not even at the beginning, before you knew, back when it was just us barely passing that class; we always said it was gunna be us against the world, that if one of us got a job we'd help the other out since it was all so new, and then you… 

‘You just had to come out here, and start working for them, and I was so happy for you even when you couldn't get me in cause I knew you were being taken care of. But then, the haircut, and the outfits, and those fucking glasses- who are you? "Lightning”? Who even is that? Because it's not you, I'm the only one who still knows you, Galileo, and I never wanted you to change out here, you never should've had to just to get these people to look at you, because I always have, I always have…’

There it was, everything was laid bare and out in the open for him now, and you shifted so you wouldn't put too much pressure on him knowing that he was hooked up. He didn't speak for the longest time, still doing those calculations before finally he sighed, looked away. You felt cold, and you sat back fully to give him room to sit up again, Leo finding your floor quite interesting as he tried to figure out how to word his thoughts. ‘Changing into this is what's kept me alive for so long,’ he said after what felt like an eternity, and your fists clenched over your knees. ‘You might not like it, and think that I'm different, but ever since AIA helped me fix everything about myself I didn't like I've been happier, healthier, more social. 

‘I don't sit around alone anymore, waiting for you to pick up your phone because you've always been miles ahead of me, and I tried, I tried really fucking hard to get them to let you come with me, but you don't want to be where I am, not now that I know what this place is.’ He went silent a moment, gave you a small glance before returning his eyes back to the floor. ‘I know you don't like me anymore, I know it because I'm not stupid, but I never needed you to like me, not as long as you kept- we kept doing…’

His voice went quiet but in a new way, one that wasn't Lightning, but Galileo again, your Leo, and underneath it all you saw that he was still there, still waiting for you just like you'd always been waiting for him. ‘Why did you never say anything?’ you asked carefully, you couldn't mess this up now, and his hand rested over his stomach as he met your eye.

‘Why didn't you?’

You could only stare, he knew why you couldn't, and you knew why he didn't. 

‘What do we do now? Can AIA solve this one?’ you tried to joke, but at the mention of her name he steeled; his hands found your wrists as he pulled you back overtop of him, this was new, and your cheeks flushed as you both adjusted until you were sat on his lap for once. 

‘She can't solve everything,’ he whispered like he knew something, this was no joke to him, and you linked your fingers with his just so he'd stop frowning like that.

‘Then what do we do? Because if you're content with this, if we do this again, and then tomorrow I'm back to just being the last one you call when the party's over, then… I don't think I can do this anymore, not after what you said.’ You held him hard so he'd know you were serious this time, you'd almost ended it so many times before but it'd never stuck, but you both knew that this time it would if he just said the word. 

‘You were never the last one I called, not even tonight,’ he told you, and you felt your heart clench in time with your hands over his.

‘You didn't make that clear enough, y'know,’ you laughed with a small sob, and he reached up to bring your mouth back down to his. This kiss felt different from the rest, it was honest, not just desperate for whatever you had before, and you cherished it deeply as you started to rut against him, ready to continue what you'd started a little less miserably now. He groaned against your mouth until you moved a little too hard, the groan turning from something pleasurable to pained as he broke away to gasp. ‘Sorry, guess we might have to be careful for a while,’ you cringed as he rubbed his stomach with a wince.

‘Just until I'm used to it, they told me that it shouldn't be too obstructive in my daily life,’ he hissed, and you watched him before shifting down until you were parting his legs and finding a comfortable place between them. He watched you back as you toyed with the drawstring of his pants, your eyes fond of what you found as he lifted his shirt with one hand and threaded his fingers through your hair with the other.

‘I've always liked your tummy, but I thought it was too personal to say,’ you confessed as you kissed him just under his belly button, the soft hair there tickling your chin as he let out a nervous chuckle.

‘I know I'm not getting abs anytime soon with this,’ he muttered, he was always so self-conscious about the way he looked back then too, and you gave him another kiss before placing your hand over the one in your hair.

‘Good, lemme keep just this, at least,’ you pleaded so gently that he had no choice but to agree, and when he nodded you took the drawstring between your teeth and pulled it until the small bow was no more. He sighed as you started to strip him in return, his clothes much more loose and relaxed than the outfit you'd chosen, and it was nothing but easy as you freed him of everything until he was bare before you. You got to see the full extent of his chemo like this, and it did hurt to see him still sick after everything he'd been doing to prevent this, but this had to be the final step, didn't it? You'd trust that AI if she was right about this, if her smart algorithmic brain really did do the calculations and found the exact path to the end of all this, because, as you pressed kiss after kiss to his thighs until he was a whimpering mess against your pillows, you didn’t want to imagine life without him.

He wasn't used to being loved, even when this started it'd been hot and heavy and fast until you were sweating in the backseat of his old car; there had been no passion there, just the two of you laying there in fear that you'd just ruined everything if the other didn't feel the same. To avoid that outcome entirely you'd just played it off, made it seem like this was just some drunken fun between two friends, and instead of an afterglow you'd slowly gotten used to him just smoking beside you while you held yourself under the covers and pretended it was his arms around you. You wouldn't let that happen again, not tonight, not tomorrow, not any other night you decided, he was always yours and you were going to make sure that Silicon Valley kept Lightning, because you were going to keep Leo.

You took him into your mouth and started to bob, careful to keep him pressed into the sheets so he wouldn't move around too much, and you enjoyed the view as you glanced up and saw the way his back slightly arched, his eyes shut tight in bliss. It was rare you got to do any kind of foreplay, he was always so busy you tended to get the call, go find him at work, or wait for him to show up so you could quickly fuck and get back to your lives. Only sometimes, when the night was late and his slight touches were getting addicting, did he let you take your time, but never like this. 

You'd jerk him off while you watched a movie, and he'd grind against you until you were panting and ready for more, but stuff like this? Where you could worship him slowly and really convey how much you wanted him through your touch, it was almost forbidden. You'd done it only once before, right after he'd gotten the job and you spent the night together to celebrate; he still drank back then, and you'd had too much as you got down on your knees and let him fuck your mouth until it almost came out, the only instance of, ‘I love you,’ that either of you had ever come that close to saying as he painted your tongue and smiling lips white. When he woke up the next morning not remembering the way he'd looked down at you with nothing but love in his eyes, you'd just rolled with it and pretended that you didn't remember either, just another fun night between friends, nothing more had hppened.

You moaned around him until he gripped your hair a little harder, his thighs tensing as he tried not to trap you between his writhing legs, and you lightly dragged your nails over goosebumped skin until his sighs grew louder. If this was really happening, if he was really going to stay instead of going back to his apartment to talk to AIA like she really knew him, then you'd make up for every second you pretended like this wasn't everything to you. You waited until he was just about to come, he was always easy to read in the way his hips would speed up and he'd hold you until you bruised, the only time he left his mark on you because everything else was too intimate, and you dragged your tongue up the underside of his twitching dick before pulling off with a pop. 

‘Wh-why’d you stop?’ he moaned as his hips jutted the air to find you again, and you smiled at him before pulling your underwear down your legs and going for the bottle of lube you kept in your bedside dresser. You didn't answer him with words, his hands kept at bay as you placed them on your hips and made him watch as you stretched yourself open, giving him a proper show so he'd really know how badly you wanted him. His eyes started to lid as he thrusted against your inner thigh, just enough to keep him hard, and you got ready to line him up when he stopped you. ‘The condom’s in my wallet, should still be in my pants,’ he let you know, and you just shook your head before sinking down on him until he was almost crying out. 

‘Tonight, you're mine, I wanna feel you,’ you whispered as you adjusted to his size, and he desperately clung to you as he felt your tight heat for the first time without the familiar barrier to keep you apart. The stent was still new, you couldn't take him apart the way you always imagined in your wildest fantasies where you'd been able to confess, and he couldn't fuck you as hard as he preferred thanks to the stress of work and pretending to be someone so soft and quiet in order to keep selling himself, but this would be perfect all the same you decided as you chose a spot on his shoulders and started to move. Your nails dug into his skin as you braced yourself on him, matching lines of red spreading out under his own hands on you, your breathing wild until you found a steady pace. 

Each time he tried to thrust up you'd slow until he stopped again, a silent warning that was just as torturous on you as it was on him, but no matter what he wouldn't stop to the point where it was making your knees burn from the effort not to move. You begged him to be careful, your voice giving out as he held you a little tighter and got you to slam down a little harder against him, but he just shook his head just like you'd done. ‘You really think… I'm gunna stop now… that I know you're mine?’ he asked directly into your ear when your head dropped down beside his, and any other time you would've shivered from his words but the feeling of the tube brushing against your own stomach was making you nervous.

‘I don't wanna hurt you,’ you whined, but one sweet kiss to your neck shut you up so fast it made your head spin.

‘You've never treated me like I'm fragile before, don't start tonight,’ he implored of you before kissing you again, and only when he sucked a mark that everyone would be able to see did you answer him. You felt him smile against your neck before one arm came up to wrap around your back, his hand sprayed over your neck and trapping you in place as he took a deep breath and started fucking you in earnest, his other hand guiding your hips when you couldn't move at all. You had to fight to keep yourself from laying flat against him, just the bare amount of space between you so you wouldn't shift anything or worse, force the tape to lift right now of all times, and you let him show you just how much he wanted you right back until his hips were speeding up and he was gripping you so hard it was making you keen.

‘Don't pull out, I want everything from you,’ you panted when you felt him slow just a little, he was thinking about it, and he let out the most delectable noise you'd ever heard him make in your life. He sounded like he wanted to argue against it, maybe AIA had filled his head with so much sex ed. that the thought of sleeping with you like this had given him pause, and you sucked in your own deep breath before grabbing on tight and using all your weight to drag him onto his side. This was more like it, you knew he couldn't resist being on top of you especially after your dual confession, and you wrapped your legs around him and forced him to face the fact that he was also starving for this just as you were. You grinned cheekily up at him before he hunched down to kiss your neck again, his stent safe and his core working hard while he finished fucking you.

His hips stuttered to a hard stop as he came inside of you, your entire body shifted up with each final jut of his hips until he was finished, the feeling of his warmth spreading through you while he held you like you were the only thing keeping him grounded enough to push you over the edge. Your fingers curled over his short hair as he shakily lowered himself onto you, your legs unhooking but not letting him go as you wrapped them around his own instead, a silent plea to not get up and start his usual ritual of pulling out his vape now that he also stopped smoking. He obliged not because of you but because he wanted to, his voice soft again as he pushed your bangs out of your eyes and whispered sweet nothings that didn't feel like Leo or Lightning as he said them, maybe there was more of him that he’d never let you see before.

‘Y'know, AIA told me never to tell you, she thought that I'd ruin things,’ he said so quietly you almost couldn’t hear even though you were so close. 

‘This is why I know you better than an AI, like how that tea you got tonight sucked ass,’ you finally told him, said tea now long cold on your counter, ‘so maybe you guys should work on making her a mouth so she knows what taste buds are.’

‘It's supposed to be great for my immune system now that I've switched meds,’ he explained, but you waved it off with a grimace. 

‘Start injecting it too then, cause I saw your face every time you took a drink,’ you grumbled on his behalf, and he actually laughed a little before he attempted to sit up. ‘No, please, not yet.’

‘It's almost 10, I'm gunna miss my dose,’ was all he had to say to get you to let go, and the feeling of his come running down your thighs was a little less appreciated than you wanted as he walked back to the kitchen. You wiped yourself off on the closet piece of clothing you could find before joining him, the two of you naked and waiting as he took out his meds from his coat pocket. You hesitated before walking over to him, and he looked self-conscious again before allowing you to see what he had to do from now on; you weren't put off in the least, you'd seen him inject himself with worse to numb the pain as his illness got worse and his self-isolation took hold, and when he was done you brushed your fingertips over the spot where skin turned to tape.

‘Don't be ashamed of this, I wanna see you get better,’ you said without looking up, and he let out a shaky sigh that sounded like he might be holding in more than shame. 

‘I'll have to get used to doing this at work, people will talk,’ he already dreaded, and you let your hands slide over his waist to his back as you pulled him even closer.

‘Then lie, say it's something new age that they'll easily believe, what's that dumbass thing people are saying now? Where they take like supplements and stuff and call it something stupid.’

‘Biohacking?’

‘Fuck that's so pretentious, just say that shit to anyone who asks and they'll buy it with that haircut, trust me,’ you promised dismissively, but instead of berating you for not only making fun of the people he knew but his hair again, or laughing because he knew it'd be true, he just remained silent. ‘Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to-’

‘You're the only one who's ever honest with me,’ he thought aloud then, and you looked up at him in surprise; for a second you swore you were staring up at the man you knew in college, one blink and he was gone again, but he wasn't gone, he was just older, and looked a little different, but he was still there.

‘It's LA, someone's gotta be a real person down here,’ you joked when you felt yourself get choked up, and you swallowed when his hand cupped your cheek and stopped you from looking away. He kissed you again, and there was no more desperation, no more lies, no more secrets apart from one, one you couldn't find the answer to on his tongue even though you could taste it, and when you heard a small ahem you jumped and covered yourself in a panic from the intruder. ‘The hell-?’

‘Sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to remind you that you have an early day ahead, so staying up too late doing strenuous activities will only delay your sleep and risk you injuring yourself in a most unfortunate manner,’ a stranger's voice from nowhere told you, and you looked wildly around before he walked over to his phone, covered the camera with his finger, and motioned for you to stay back. 

‘Thank you, AIA, we were just saying goodnight,’ he told his phone, and your eyes snapped to the device in confusion, hadn't he turned it off? ‘I should be getting home, we're meeting with new potential clients tomorrow and we need to make sure she's fully charged for the trip.’

‘What, no time for a vape session with me out on the balcony?’ You tried not to let your voice waver but of course you failed, of course something would steal him away again now that he was yours.

‘Lightning has actually quit vaping, as the toxins inside do more harm than good based on-’

‘Yes, thank you, I was just gunna say that,’ he cut in before his phone could teach you all about the health hazards of something you didn't even do, and you could see the apology on his face as he kept hiding himself from the camera like she was… watching. ‘Yeah, I don't… I don't do that kinda thing anymore, just drink shitty tea if I feel like torturing myself.’

You laughed, which made him laugh, and for a moment you forgot about his phone until AIA reminded him of the time in case he had no clocks nearby. ‘Y'know, you can always just, spend the night like you used to do, and then we can get up early, maybe grab breakfast at that greasy diner that always manages to make the most perfect bacon while still burning the hell outta their toast,’ you suggested nervously, and he looked down at his phone before shutting it off again, no goodbye to AIA.

‘I haven't had actual bacon in months,’ he revealed as he walked back over to you, and you patted his stomach and started to lead him back to your bedroom.

‘Sounds like you're due, I'll set the alarm, okay? No wakeup calls from nosy AIs needed tomorrow.’ You left him just a moment to grab your own phone, and he frowned at it before nodding, letting you set the alarm so you'd have time to get that breakfast even though the drive was long and he was bound to regret it later when all that grease met the abundance of healthy foods he'd been choking down. You were already looking forward to it, and you didn't notice the way your phone switched to your contacts for just a moment when you set it down, a new name adding itself before it went back to your home screen, your focus only on him as he finally held you under the sheets just the way you'd always wanted.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hello! Raven. I hope you're doing well. I'm the anon who sent the acotar and malleus related ask. It's been quite some time since I sent that ask I thought you were not going to reply 😅. Thank you so much for replying. So is it okay if a ask is not twst related but like fantasy, fairytale and fae related in general? Fantasy is my fav genre. Dragons & fae or both combined are a bonus. What kind of romantasy or fantasy novels do you like? Do you have any book recommendations? Also can I be 🐉anon

[Referencing this post!]

Welcome back, 🐉 Anon~

Please note that if I choose to respond to an ask, it may take several weeks for my reply to be posted 😅 This is because I may have as many as 30 to 60+ in my queue at any given time (with new asks coming in every day). I give priority to immediate TWST content updates and news. Casual asks and/or questions not immediately relevant will likely be queued to go up later.

I would prefer that most asks be related to TWST in some way. The occasional off-topic-but-still-related-to-my-interests ask is fine, I just don’t want people to feel like they can talk to me about anything and everything. This is because I don't want to give readers the false impression that I'm a close internet friend they can hit up to chat about whatever. It might make people too comfortable with me to the point where they start to cross my boundaries of comfort. In fact, it has happened multiple times before so I want to discourage this whenever possible.

When it comes to fantasy novels, I actually don't like high fantasy. It's hard for me to follow along with all the terminology and unconventional names. I like a world that's well-fleshed out, but the magic system doesn't necessarily need to be well-defined. I'd actually say I prefer a soft magic system since it lets me fill in the gaps with my own imagination and there are fewer restraints on what is and is not possible. This kind of magic also feels a lot more whimsical, which I, as a fan of Alice in Wonderland, adore. I can enjoy fantasy books with good vibes or pretty writing alone if I turn my brain off; there doesn't need to be an amazing story or characters (though I would prefer them all be present). The problem with romantasy specifically, however, is that the emphasis tends to be on the romance part and not the fantasy part, and that tends to fall flat for me when I struggle to find a couple I care about. Every Shadow Daddy feels the same after a while, and while that’s great for people who love Shadow Daddies, it’s not so for those who don’t.

My point is that even within a genre, there's a lot of variation and not all genre readers will like or look for the same thing. You might like high fantasy for all I know, or like or dislike certain tropes, so maybe whatever I'd theoretically recommend to you wouldn't click. I can already see that you're very into dragons and fae in your books, whereas I'm much more picky with their depiction. It's for that reason that I'm afraid I won't be providing any titles. If you're looking for a new book to pick up, I think it would be more beneficial to ask someone more familiar with your tastes and/or for you to pick something out for yourself.

I'm sorry if this isn't the answer you were hoping for, but I'm afraid that's all I feel comfortable saying on this matter.

[the-last-f2p]

teenager Reader who feels insecure about their scars for (yandere) oda ( yandere) ango and (yandere) dazai ( together platonic ofc and I would like for reader to be fem or gender neutral)

TW: Gender neutral reader, swearing, yandere behaivour, implied kidnapping, I feel like Dazai was close to manipulating reader but bbg Ango saved the day.

Oda has been increasingly getting worried about you. Maybe it was just a teenage thing? But Dazai never acted like you were doing so queue worried father figure.

Ango on the other hand could care less are you dying? No? Then it doesn't really matter. He does care though he's too sleep deprived to give any fucks .

Dazai knows exactly whats going on. He knows everything about you and it's absolutely not creepy! He just really likes you to the point of not obsessing over you.

So when they all gather around to figure out what the hell is wrong with you well Oda and Ango try and figure it out Dazai is trying to brainstorm ideas on how to off himself. But he'll occasoinally put in some input.

And after 1 painstaking hour Dazai finally speaks up

"Oh is that what you're trying to figure out? Oh they're self concious cause of their scars." Dazai just smiles like he wasn't messing with them and that he deffintly only figured it out at that moment.

Shock.

Absoulte shock and then aggressive calling of you they were practically screaming for you to come to the Lupin.

You rushed there obviously thinking that something horrible happened but oh? But the trio where all there looking perfectly fine well as fine as they usally are.

"Why didn't you tell us? Do you not trust us?" Ango started giving you a worried mom look what is he talking about.

"I-" You were slightly confused but Ango continued "Is it because of Dazai?" You mean depending on what it was it could be but you decided to just say.

"Why would it be because o-"

"If it's cause of me I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you self concious about your scars Y/Nnnnn..!" Dazai says in an over dramatic tone.

"Be quiet." Finally someones on your side "They're obviously not gonna tell us." You were about to thank Oda but you got bandages chucked at your head. Wait..

"Here. Maybe you can use these? Out of sight out of mind.. Oh that was stupid sorry.." Oda smiled at you awkwardly it was nice of him you guess?

"But thoughtful~" You add on to what he said. "GASP Y/N has bandages are you gonna match with me are you are you are you?" Dazai picked the bandages out of your lap and started to unravel them "Can I put 'em on? I'm an expert y'know?" Dazai grins.

"Well I haven't decided yet..." "C'mon pleeeaasssee.?" "LEAVE THEM ALONE DAZAI" "Pleeeaaassseee Ango?" You tuned out the rest of the conversation but you felt a little more comfortable now with yourself , your friends, your everything. That's great anything to make you feel comfortable in one of their houses unable to leave. For your saftey of course.

[rhapsodynew]

#On this day

Awarding The Beatles with The Order of The British Empire

George: "Brian was not invited to the palace. In my opinion, we were only allowed to invite someone from our family. He must have been annoyed in his heart. But he didn't show it."

Cynthia: "One thing was disappointing: the Beatle families were not invited to the palace for the ceremony. However, the guys didn't want that either: they were so nervous themselves that they didn't have enough to worry about their loved ones. We, their wives and girlfriends, really wanted to go with them, but the guys decided that it was better without us, since a real pandemonium of hysterical fans was expected at the palace. We watched everything on TV and were incredibly proud of them."

Tony Barrow: "The Beatles went to Buckingham Palace in John's shiny Rolls Royce Phantom 5 ("exactly the same as Elvis, but my windows are tinted")."

Barry Miles: "The group arrived at Buckingham Palace at 11 a.m. for the award ceremony in the Great Throne Room. Outside, about four thousand fans chanted "yee-yee-yee" and pressed the police, who tried to restrain them, and therefore could not prevent them from climbing the gates and lampposts at the palace.

John: "We were instructed in advance by some big guy, a guardsman."

Paul: "He took us aside and explained what we should do: "Approach Her Majesty like this, do not take your eyes off her, and do not speak to her until she speaks to you." And all that. It was pretty funny."

Barry Miles: "On this day, 189 more people were awarded, including six who were knighted."

George: "We were standing in a long queue. There must have been hundreds of people there."

Paul: "We were the only band there. Everyone was friendly to us."

John: "We signed autographs for everyone who was waiting with us to receive their medals."

Paul: "None of them said, "This is for my daughter, even though I don't understand what she sees in you!"

Barry Miles: "The Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Household, Lord Cobbold, read out the names of the members of The Beatles."

Paul: "This dude shouted, "George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr."

John: "When the names were read out and we got to Ringo Starr, we almost burst out laughing."

Paul: "The word "Starr" was a signal for us to step forward with our left foot, as instructed. It was like some kind of performance."

Ringo: "Then we bowed our heads and went to the Queen."

Barry Miles: "The Queen shook their hands, talked to each of them and attached an award."

John: "I really wanted to laugh. We were giggling like crazy all the time because we had just smoked a joint in the toilet at Buckingham Palace. We were very nervous."

George: "No, we didn't smoke marijuana before the ceremony. Just regular cigarettes. I have no doubt that years later John turned those cigarettes of ours into joints. What could be more terrible before meeting the Queen? Get high! But no, we didn't do that."

Ringo: "I was so worried that I won't remember anything anymore."

Tony Barrow: "After the ceremony, they were inspired, but nothing in their eyes, voices or other signs suggested that they were under the grass. I doubt they even took her to the palace, which was swarming with security forces of all levels."

John: "Although we didn't attach much importance to the royal family, you can't help but be impressed when you're in the palace, when you realize that you're standing in front of the queen. It was like a dream. Fine.

The music was playing, I looked at the ceiling – and it's not a bad ceiling. It was a historic moment. It's like you're in a museum."

Ringo: "The Queen was great. Of course, I'm a big fan of hers now. Obviously, she tried her best to make everyone feel calm and not nervous. When she handed me the order, she said: "I'm glad to give it to you," and I said, "Thank you."

John: "She was much more beautiful than in the photos."

Paul: "A charming woman. Cool! She was very friendly. She was like a mom to us."

John: "Just like Mom. She was so warm and sweet. She really calmed us down. I think the Queen really believes in all these things. I've always hated all these social events. All these wild events, all kinds of awards that we had to attend. It's all for show. You can see through everyone. I despise them. Maybe it's a class feeling? However, no. In fact, these people are fake."

Barry Miles: "The Beatles were awarded the Order of the British Empire, the lowest of the five categories of the order. His title ranks 120th out of 126 in the ranking system."

Ringo: "I was wondering if Brian was upset that he wasn't awarded this order. But he was always really happy for us. I think if he wanted to, he would even be knighted.

Barry Miles: "Immediately after the award ceremony, a press conference was organized in the bar of the Saville Theater, where the band members discussed their award and made comments about the protesting statements of the award recipients addressed to them."

Tony Barrow: "Brian Epstein was pleased with the Beatles' remarks that he deserved such an order."

George: "I brought the order home and put it in a drawer, and later put it on for shooting for Pepper's envelope, and Paul did the same. The order remained pinned to my Pepper coat for another year, and then I put it back in the box and put it in the closet."

John: "I keep the order in the smallest room of my house–in my office."

And closer to Christmas, John will give his order to Aunt Mimi.

What a pity that it was impossible to take pictures at Buckingham Palace!

[en-geneisaxx]

Case: L̶0V̶3A̶N̶D̶R̶3V̶3N̶63

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞!𝐉𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖘: 𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖘 𝖔𝖋 𝖉𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖍, 𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖊, 𝖇𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖉, 𝖌𝖚𝖓𝖘, 𝖑𝖆𝖓𝖌𝖚𝖆𝖌𝖊, 𝖒𝖆𝖋𝖎𝖆 𝖆𝖚, 𝖒𝖉𝖓𝖎 (𝖒𝖙𝖇𝖆)

𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒔, 𝒓𝒆𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅/𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅!! ❦

𝐹𝑒𝑎𝑡. 𝐾𝑖𝑚 𝑆𝑢𝑛𝑜𝑜 𝑜𝑓 𝐸𝑛ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑒𝑛

ɴᴏᴛ ᴘʀᴏᴏғʀᴇᴀᴅ

Part 3:

"Oooh, she seems like a fiesty one- good catch, Jake!" Teases one of his teamates. Bad decision to ask Niki for help.

Jake hasn't been making progress, despite all his efforts. He was impressed, in a way, for the anonymous tip was very vague. A headstart of cat and mouse? He doesn't even know who he's searching for, who he's trying to catch. They were really testing Jake's ability, and they certainly pissed him off.

"Ugh, but like, who would have a connection with 'R3V3N63'?" He knew it meant 'revenge', but that's not enough to single it down to a few suspects.

"Pretty much anyone, even me! I want to get revenge on Heeseung for beating me in basketball." Niki jokes, unbothered by the whole situation. "Wel, I would think that the person would want revenge though, not that ordinary to use it as a secret identity." He continues on, "Just be careful, though, because now you're eventually going to meet up with them. You better not get abducted too!"

He was right: eventually, they are going to meet up with Jake, and he, possibly, might not know. He was in slight danger, with the possibilty of the appearance of the gang members. But why would they even want to get involved with him?

Ah, 𝐰𝐡𝐲? That's something he could work on.

"Hey, try to find out if this company has betrayed or just had a really bad connection with someone, because it's one of the things that can relate to revenge."

"Yes Sir!"

"Guys, I'm going out to town!" You announced, letting them know your location. To be honest, if you were attacked, you wouldn't need help. In just a few moves, you could beat them to a pulp.

Today, you decided to meet up with Sunoo, another best friend of yours. Although he isn't a mafia member, he does know what you do. Sunoo works at a cafe, a popular one in fact, all because of him. People say, "Even on the rainest of days, when I go to this cafe, I see the sunshine." And it's true, with his bright, bubbly smile of his, he certainly shines and takes many hearts- in a nice way.

You walk around in a comfy attire, perfect for walking around on a sunny day. Outside the cafe waits Sunoo, holding drinks in one hand and some pastries in the other. He was on his break, yet he was happily greeting people from time to time. Such a kind boy he is.

"Sunie!" You called, embracing him with open arms. It was nice being with him, he was so fun to be with.

"Ah! Y/nie! It's so good to see you!" He wrapped his occupied hands around you, "I kinda have a lot on my hands right now." He giggled.

You two just ate and talked away, each invested in the conversation. However, just as you were about to leave, a worker had to go somewhere for their own reasons. Sunoo tried to shoo you off, assuring you that they'll be just fine with one less worker, but having a strong will was a characteristic of yours, something that you've always got.

Everything was actually better with you helping out, serving the orders as quickly as possible with top quality taste. The costumer feedback gave the highest ratings, and it never got under a 5. Of course, it meant that the cafe earned more popularity, longer queues and a huge income of costumers. It went on for hours, but died down when the night gave a hint of its entrance, almost everyone returning to their homes.

The store closes at 8pm. You looked at your watch: 7:58pm. You assumed there would be no more costumers, seeing as to how dark and late it was, until you heard the bell ring.

"Uhh, do you still take costumers?" Asked the man.

Gosh, he was handsome, and he had such an alluring voice! His smile was the cherry on top.

You figured you could take one more, especially if it was from someone like him.

"Sure, it wouldn't hurt taking one more order. What would you like?"

He thought for a brief moment, still unable to get to a decision with the countless of items on the menu. "What's your favourite?"

You were taken aback, as no one really asked this, "Hmm, for me, it would be *enter your favourite drink*"

He smiled, liking how gentle yet outgoing you were. You felt welcoming, making him want to stay for longer. "I'll have that then."

You had to wait until it was finished, so you decided to make small talk with him. "Say, what you're name? I haven't seen you here much." His eyes gleamed when he looked at you, excited for no reason.

"Haha, I'm Jake, Jake Sim, or Sim Jaeyun if you want. And, yes, I haven't been here much. First time, actually. My colleagues kept on telling me how good this cafe was, so I wanted to have a taste, myself!"

Ah, we meet again, 𝑱𝒂𝒌𝒆. I haven't been up-to-date much, being busy with all the missions, but I didn't expect him to be this good-looking. However, he still looks like when he was a child, when the two of you met.

Should you give him a hint? After all, if you guys don't meet for another extended period of time, he'll probably give up on trying to hunt you guys down. What could you give him...

Ah! The sandwich when you two first met! If you say your name and give him the same sandwich, surely he'll remember you!

You looked around, hoping such a flavour would be in this cafe, and thankfully, it was. You fetched it, giving him the sandwich as casually as you can, before introducing yourself.

"I'm Y/n, Y/n L/n or L/n Y/n. Nice to meet you, Jake. Hopefully you'll like the sandwich! On the house." You gestured at the food.

He took a read of the label, "Oh, this is actually my favourite! Good choice!"

Y/n...that sounds familiar, not to mention the sandwich as well. How could she have picked the exact one? And it was the one I liked since I moved to Seoul with my dad...since I was ten. My heart was beating like crazy, I know her, I bet. My brain was trying to display the memory in my head, but it just didn't know what to grab for.

Who is this girl...

Why do I feel like I know her...

𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒅𝒐 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑰 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖?

𝑇𝑎𝑔𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔: @pockettwinzz @diorsyun @dollywons @hoonieshoneymain @heeslomll @emi-en @sungvrhs @potatohoon @rinbowaman @velvetkisscs @jaylaxies (lmk if you wanna be added through asks!)

[luvhughes43]

a new york city coffee shop | luke hughes x reader

luvhughes43 masterlist🌷

request: breaking up with luke when his season ends and then remeeting at a coffee shop in new york

word count: 0.6k

You and Luke had broken up a few years ago once he made the move from michigan to jersey. It was a bittersweet breakup. You knew you wouldn’t be able to make long distance work. You had a few years of school left to complete, and with Luke going to enter his rookie year… it just wasn’t meant to work out. That didn’t make it hurt any less, but you eventually got over your heartbreak.

You stayed in school, and moved to new york city as soon as your diploma was in your hand. You hadn’t really thought of how close jersey was to where you lived. You were busy, and you moved on from your past relationship. But that was until you saw said ex boyfriend at a coffee shop as you were making your daily stop before work.

You whipped your head around at the sound of his voice, and were startled to find that he was so close to you. It felt like ages since you had last seen him.

After what seemed like a minute of you staring at him, your name was called for you to retrieve your order. Luke looked away from his friend as he heard the name, and he looked just as shocked as you felt when he finally made eye contact with you.

“Y/N?” the barista called out again, and you quickly stumbled towards the pick-up counter, muttering a quick thank you as you turned around once more. 

Luke looked the same as he did all those years ago. He had the same crooked smile, the same messy hair. He was still staring at you. 

“Uhm.. excuse me,” you said, trying to brush past him and forget this whole thing ever happened. Despite the fact that you knew the breakup was for the best, It still felt weird seeing someone you had spent so long trying to get over.

“No wait-” Luke reached out, bringing a hand to your arm as he friend went up to the counter to retrieve his order. “How have you been?” Luke asked a little awkwardly.

“I’m fine, I'm just… I have to go to work” was all you managed to get out. You couldn’t believe how awkward this had gotten. I mean you used to tell him everything! It’s crazy how time and distance can make people feel like complete strangers. 

“Oh yeah of course. I’m just here with one of my buddies. We have the day off” Luke continued, bringing a hand up to his scalp to try to ease the awkwardness of their conversation.

“Thats nice-”

“LUKE!” the barista shouted as she held up Lukes coffee order. 

Luke looked over at her and then fixed his gaze back onto you, dropping his hand from his hair. “Can I see you sometime?”

“Luke i’m not sure if-”

“LUKE!” the barista shouted again as the line of customers increased.

“Wait, please just stay here for a second,” Luke basically pleaded before going to retrieve his coffee order.

You felt unsure of the whole situation. I mean you had finally seen your ex after years of not seeing him. It was definitely a little awkward, and he wanted to see you again? You had so many thoughts.

Luke came back less than a minute later, coffee and napkin and hand. His friend was also back now, and you were glancing at your watch wondering if you were still going to make it into work on time. 

“Call me, please!” was all Luke said as he handed you the napkin he had, his number messily scrawled across it. Before you could even respond, his friend was dragging him out of the small shop and more people started queueing up around you, making it impossible to talk to Luke again.

You grabbed a sugar packet, and then made your way outside of the bustling shop, debating on whether or not you wanted to call Luke and respark your relationship.