#forgot to color the cigarette in oops

[melanodis]

back to work.

[ayamari-no-goshi]

Don’t Forget to Write (6)

.... I apparently forgot to post the last chapter when I released it months ago. Oops.

AO3 -> first, previous

Fandoms: DC (Batman comics)

Summary: From Dick’s POV.  Damian happened to win a contest to illustrate a new book by an up and coming author. Being the good brother he is, Dick decided to check the book.He quickly realized he was reading a  very first hand account of one of Jason’s old cases, and deciding to act like a normal person would, he decided to read some of the author’s other works. What he found shook the very foundation of what he thought  was true?  

Warnings: rated T - mostly for swearing and questionable mental health. Amnesia

Parings: none

Notes: originally uploaded to AO3. Cross-posted to tumblr

“Stop grumbling for a moment. It’s about to start,” Dick teased as Jason continued to pace. After almost two months of preparations and another three weeks to convince Jason, they were finally having the press conference to announce he was alive.

His brother shot him a look as he messed with his tie yet again. While it was clear he was nervous, most of his discomfort came from the prosthetics he had to wear to make it look like nothing suspicious happened, and he was doing his best not to touch them. Over time, they would be changed to make it appear as if he’d healed either on his own or through some treatment. They were currently leaning towards the latter as an explanation, especially with how severe the damage to his hands used to be.

Deciding messing with his clothes wasn’t getting him anywhere, he reached into his suit jacket, pulled out a cigarette, and placed it to his lips. They were working on breaking him of that habit again, but at least he had no desire to light it. With the return of his memories, there was now an understanding why he couldn’t tolerate the smell of the smoke. It subconsciously reminded him too much of what happened.

“I thought Pennyworth searched your person for those.” Damian seemed moderately impressed.

Jason gave a mischievous grin. “He did.”

“You’re going to have to teach me how you did that. Nothing gets passed Alfred,” Tim stated as he double checked the prosthetics on Jason’s hands. Those were the ones most likely to come loose.

“I’ll think about it.”

It warmed Dick’s heart to see how his younger siblings interacted. While they were still getting used to each other, things were going relatively well.

One of the first things Dick did was make sure he gave Jason a summary of the others’ histories. It ended up being the right move as Jason admitted he had very conflicted emotions over the fact there had been other Robins after him. The one thing he couldn’t seem to reconcile with was Bruce allowing any child back in those colors. He didn’t think that kids truly understood the risks of playing hero, and that was something he was still coming to terms with himself. Dick made sure to tell his brother that it was his death that brought that to light for him too.

But as a result of that conversation, Dick noticed Jason’s protective streak towards his younger siblings. At one point, he had a nasty argument with Bruce after Damian came to his apartment to get away from the Manor for a night. Since it was a fight with Bruce that triggered his flight and eventual death, Jason was not going to tolerate Bruce’s inability to articulate his emotions and cause another catastrophe. It was amazing to watch, and in its own way, started changing how they conversed with each other for the better.

It also opened the door for everyone to start randomly crashing at Jason’s apartment. However, his apartment wasn’t really large enough for the constant influx of siblings and pseudo-siblings. So, they were working on getting Jason a much better apartment that was up to Bat standards near Crime Alley. It was supposed to be a surprise. But seeing as he stated that if anyone spent an exorbitant amount of money on him needed to make a donation of an equal amount to the charity organization who helped take care of him while he had no memories, he clearly already knew. In Dick’s opinion, that was a fair request.

For the most part, they were going to leave the decorating up to Jason. But they were all working on finding more bat and bird plushes to match his other ones. Damian had been the one to announce it wasn’t appropriate he only had ones that represented Dick, himself, and Bruce. They were still trying to figure out if Steph’s and Alfred’s should also follow that pattern or be different animals.

They were also working on sprucing up Jason’s old room. While he didn’t want to give up his independence, Jason had begun staying over the Manor some nights. It thrilled Alfred to have him back home, and soon the two started baking together again. And if he wasn’t doing that, Tim, Cass, Steph, or even Damian had begun commandeering him for various activities. Usually it was related to movies, but Dick did once catch Jason assisting Damian with some of his English homework. Even Babs, once she’d gotten the okay to come visit, had started stealing Jason away on some days.

Alfred even reported he found Bruce and Jason playing chess together. Dick could remember his brother venting about how Bruce always beat him at the game when he was still in the Manor. While it didn’t mean that everything was good between them, it showed they were working on it.

In Dick’s case, he decided to wait for Jason to reach out to him regarding bonding activities. Sure, he made suggestions of various activities he’d like to do with him, but they were just that, suggestions. Not only was Jason overwhelmed with everything, but there was also the distance there had been between them before his death. That was something he couldn’t just erase. While Jason hadn’t yet taken him up on any of his offers, he had rather shyly asked if Dick could help him get back in shape. And to him, that was a huge victory.

Even though Mask was finally back in jail, the likelihood he’d be back out on the streets sooner than later was high. So, retraining himself made a lot of sense even if he had a wicked swing with his tire iron.

They still weren’t entirely sure if Jason was going to rejoin the vigilante life. While it had come up in a couple conversations, Jason’s answer was always vague. However, he was willing to start being their ears on the streets. He already had a good rapport with the regulars of Crime Alley so sending them information he happened to learn wasn’t too much extra work. Babs had also started training him on her system, just in case.

The other aspect that was up in the air in Jason’s life was his writing career. His stories were an unconscious attempt to put back together the pieces of his former life, and he’d accidentally given away a lot of hints towards their lives and secrets. With his memories back, it was unlikely he’d be able to write in the exact same way which could raise some alarms. For now, he was reviewing what he had almost finished to see how much he needed to change and whether or not it was salvageable. He also wanted to write some short pieces in different genres to see how they’d be received.

There was also upheaval happening at the publishing company. After it was revealed Amy was Black Mask’s assistant once he was finally caught, the GCPD finally got involved. While most of the recent disappearances of writers were directly related to Mask and his paranoia, there was evidence it had occurred in the past if one of the Families were involved with the company. Trying to save face, the company gutted itself out and was in the process of rehiring, which put most of their projects on hold. At least Jason currently didn’t have to worry about any of his projects getting him into any more trouble for the time being.

The only thing he seemed certain of was that he was going to continue working with the organization that helped him out so much over the years. Now that he would have a proper identity again, he would be able to support them in ways he couldn’t do before. Well, that would be after he dealt with any outstanding bills or taxes he owed over the years. He was also going to go for his GED. Once that was squared away, he was going to consider college since it had been something he always dreamed of, even when he was on the streets trying to care for himself.

“Cass, seriously! Stop stealing them!” Jason snapped. Coming out of his thoughts, Dick watched as their sister gracefully kept just out of reach while laughing. It had become something like a game between them.

“Since we’re getting close to show time,” Dick stated after glancing at the clock. The press conference was to begin in just five minutes, “Let’s go back over the basics.”

“I didn’t start getting my memory back until I met you guys after the interview with Vicki Vale, which is mostly true,” Jason stated, almost bored, as he gave up on getting his cigarette back. They had reviewed this several times by that point. “But it wasn’t until Black Mask got interested in me which got Batman’s attention that revelations were made.”

“If asked, we are to state that Batman recognized him due to previous interactions with us and started the process of verifying his identity,” Damian continued. “We are to let Father answer any questions regarding the non-existent body in his grave.”

“Bruce stated he’s going to phrase it as a misidentification that had only recently come to light,” Tim continued. “He’s going to do what he can to help the GCPD to identify whoever is in that grave. I’m still not entirely sure exactly how he’s planning on that one. I thought he was going to ask J’onn to play the role, but it seems like he has something else in mind. He also has some story regarding how the switch happened and how you returned to Gotham.”

“I thought he was going to play the ‘we have no idea, but we’re going to find out’ card. At least that’s what he told me,” Jason huffed. “Thankfully, I can’t really contradict whatever bullshit he comes up with. The time between coming back and waking up in the hospital is thankfully fuzzy. Are we certain someone got hold of my medical records?”

Dick nodded. “I think Bruce did that on purpose to help prove how bad of a condition you were in. It’ll at least take some of the pressure off of you, but I don’t doubt some idiot is going to try to push some buttons.”

“If they want to go after me, that’s fine. I’m not going to be happy if they decide to take digs at anyone other than me or Bruce.”

“Wouldn’t that be a headline? ‘Lost Wayne son fist fights reporter’,” Tim teased, though there was no doubt in Dick’s mind that it could happen.

“Let’s try not to do that. But I think both Lois and Clark are in the audience. They’ll hopefully be able to keep things under control.”

Outside their family, the first two people Bruce let know that Jason was alive ended up being Clark and Diana. They had asked to see him as soon as he was willing. After that, it was only a matter of time before the rest of the hero community found out. Dick was partially responsible for the leak after he let it slip to Donna, who told Wally, and it just snowballed from there. Soon other heroes were visiting just to see Jason. It had the unintended effect of allowing him to start making friendships he never had a chance to while being Robin. It was easing the loneliness he’d been harboring for years.

Someone knocked on the door of the room they were currently borrowing. “Guess that’s our cue,” Dick stated as he gently pushed Jason towards the door.

…

“Are you sure you’re ready?” Dick questioned as he watched Jason do his double checks on his gear.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” he answered as he pulled up his hood.

It had been almost eight months since he’d recovered his memories, and he was finally going out on the streets under a new persona. While he hadn’t directly agreed to it before the previous months, he had started back into his training with gusto almost immediately after he got the okay. Unlike the rest of them, he was going to predominately stick to one area as he eased back into it.

He hadn’t picked out a name just yet, but that was fine. He was half willing to let the people of Crime Alley come up with a name for him, but for now, he was going to act as more of a shadow than a directly seen force. To start, he was going to target the pimps and the drug dealers in the area. Once that was better under control, he would branch out to targeting the gangs. They were hoping he’d be able to keep out of the sight of the major rogues until he was in a situation where he was better established.

While he didn’t want to say it, Bruce was uneasy about letting Jason back in the field. His protectiveness had come out in full force as he helped Jason construct his outfit. And interestingly, unlike the rest of them, Jason wanted to make his outfit look less traditional hero and more akin to a civilian. Dick once asked if he wanted to appear as something like a ghost, especially with how Jason wasn’t going to show most of his face. While Jason didn’t directly answer, he just smiled.

In a morbid sort of way, it made sense for him. He’d already died and crawled his way back from the dead. If anyone had the right to act like a ghost, it was Jason. And knowing his brother, he was going to milk it for all it was worth on the streets. Jay always did have a flair for the dramatic after all.

“You better come home in one piece,” Dick warned him. “Seriously, don’t be afraid to call for help.”

Jason stared at him for a moment. While Dick couldn’t see his face well, with the hood up all he could see in the shadows were the red tints from his domino mask, he could tell his brother was smiling. “I lost everything once because I thought I wasn’t wanted. You proved me wrong and helped me find a different ending. I’m not going to risk giving that up again.” He patted his shoulder. “Besides, I still have to get you back for that prank you pulled last week. Can’t do that if I’m dead.”

Dick couldn’t help how he momentarily froze. Jason had begun making jokes about his death. They seemed to be a coping mechanism for him which meant the rest of them had to get used to it. As distressing as addressing it could be, it was something that happened, and they couldn’t get around it. Some days, he wondered if that was why he made those jokes.

“That’s true, but you still need to be in one piece to enact your revenge.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I bet I could get Tim to help me.”

“Pranks can wait until after Patrol.” Bruce gently touched Jason’s shoulder. Concern was barely visible on his face. “It’s time.”

As they took to their respective vehicles, Dick couldn’t help the excitement that raced through him. His brother, the first one he taught how to properly be Robin, was finally going to fly with him again. It had been a long time coming, but they were finally all together again.

Who knew that a simple book, written by a young man without a memory, would have been the key to it?

[lostloveletters]

What’s in her bag? The Gloria Edition

This totally isn’t me putting off making an intro post for her

You can tell a lot about a woman by what’s in her bag, so here’s a glimpse at Gloria’s🖤

Scarf - leopard print, of course. Sometimes used as a fashionable neck scarf, but more often than not, she uses it to put her hair in an up-do

Newspaper - never actually fits in the purse, but damn if she doesn’t try. Usually ends up tucked under her arm

Lipstick - typically a shade of red, but goes for darker colors as she gets older

Coin purse - it barely closes

Scraps of paper - usually with reminders she’s written for herself and then promptly forgot about

Perfume - a little travel-sized one, just in case

Sunglasses - self-explanatory, but she loves a cat-eye

Compact, mascara, and eyeliner - the essentials

Cinnamon Altoids - she chews and crunches on them, which drives Michael insane

Address book - she marries into a big family and needs a way to keep track of addresses, phone numbers, and birthdays (she also makes personal notes about her extensive in-laws…some are nicer than others)

Cigarettes and matches - Michael bought her the case as a gift for her 23rd birthday, and she usually just pockets matchbooks from restaurants. She never buys her own cigarettes and steals Michael’s Lucky Strikes

Gloves - typically leopard print, though she has a few similar pairs in different colors

Hand lotion - she prefers an unscented one so it doesn’t clash with her perfume

Keys - to her car, her house, her parents’ house, and the one for the Las Vegas hotel room where she and Michael used to clandestinely meet which she forgot to return (oops)

[somehwere-between]

witching hour + curly 💛

I honestly forgot what a witching hour even meant so oops. Also this one will be long lol

Curly’s digging the heels of his palms into his eyes and trying hard not to lose it on Tim. Tim was having one of those weird episodes where he can’t even get out of bed, let alone try to raise a fucking kid. Curly was used to it, somewhat, but the kid part was new.

“Fucking Christ, Tim, jus’ get the hell up!” He’s halfway to praying and halfway to strangling Tim. “You know I ain’t ever changed a diaper in my fuckin’ life an’ now ain’t the best damn time.” He was supposed to be out with some “friends”, you know, the ones you call friends but you would kill them if it meant saving your own skin.

Tim rolls on his side but has this glaze over his eyes. He looks dead, and probably feels fucking dead too.

“What, you and Winston change places?”

Tim doesn’t respond for a second. “Get me a cigarette.”

Curly kicks the shitty bedframe. He won’t actually get out of bed, so it’s up to Curly to change Jay. “I’ll get ya one if you teach me how to change a diaper.”

“Alright.”

That’s the weirdest fucking trade Curly has ever made. A cigarette for a diaper-changing lesson. Not exactly enviable— or whatever that word is that Ponyboy Curtis used to be obsessed with years ago. Something to do with jealousy. Or rich white assholes. Something like that.

xx

Curly’s digging through the ice box for a couple of beers and maybe a stray Kool box hidden under an empty can. It should’ve been there, unless Angela or that bitch Tim got suckered into marrying stole it. When he finds it, he pockets it and kicks the ice box again for good measure.

Jay’s still crying. He doesn’t want to admit, but hearing his nephew’s cries actually hurt. A sort of felt-in-the-soul hurt. Right now it’s just annoying, but when it’s genuine, it hurts. Curly drops off the beers in Tim’s shambled room and heads across the hall.

“Shh.” He tries rocking Jay. It’s not soothing in any English meaning of the word. “I know you’re tired of sittin’ in your own shit but I need to learn how to help ya before I actually help ya.” He glances back down the hall. “Hang tight, bud.”

xx

Curly’s pulling everything out of the hallway closet looking for that damn foldable table that Tim was talking about. He could’ve sworn he saw one really fat-ass rat, but it might’ve just been a preexisting stain on the tacky carpet that he’d never noticed. “Fuckin’— Hey! Tim! Is it s’posed to be white an’ blue?”

“Yeah,” Tim yells back. “that’s the one.”

Curly yanks it out.

“Okay, here. Can you set it up?”

Tim shrugs. He still has that glazed look, but at least his face has some color. That’s better than yesterday at least. “Sure.”

“Where are the diapers?”

“Kitchen cabinet with the fucked-up handle, near the ice box.” Tim takes a drag on his Kool. “Should have a label on it, in Sharpie.”

It doesn’t take long, and Curly comes back to the room with a diaper. “Is this it?”

“No, you need powder.”

“Powder?” Curly pauses. “You’re plannin’ on givin’ your kid cocaine?”

Tim flicks his ashes at him. “No, fuckin’ moron. Baby powder.”

Curly lights a cigarette for himself. “The hell does a baby need powder for?”

“Helps with rashes or some shit, I don’t know.” Tim sighs. “Should be in the same box as the diapers.”

“Well, it ain’t.”

“You haven’t even looked.”

Curly groans. “I did look, an’ I didn’t see any powder earlier.”

Tim shakes his head. “Fine. Whatever, just grab some paper towels an’ we’ll figure it out.”

xx

“Like this?” Curly has his nose covered with his shirt and is trying to put on a fresh diaper. Tim sits on the edge of his bed, staring.

“Yeah. You’re doin’ alright for a first-timer.”

“What, your wife say that to you too?”

Tim sighs, and Curly grins. Jay, despite not understanding a damn word of the English language, laughs too.

“Who woulda guessed, your kid has a better sense of humor than you.” Curly’s still smirking when he attaches the sticky part of the diaper down so that it’ll stay. It’s a bit lopsided and ugly, but Jay doesn’t seem to mind.

“Hilarious.”

“Good job, Jay, you’re already pissin’ your old man off an’ you’re not even one. Carryin’ on the family legacy.” Curly scoops up the now-clean Jay. He looks at Tim. “You wanna hold your kid?”

Tim shrugs. “Sure.”

Jay immediately squirms away from Curly as soon as he sees his dad. Tim’s not exactly smiling, but he’s happier now. “What were ya doin’ up at the witching hour, pal? You’re s’posed to be asleep. You know, like what you do all day.”

Curly bites back a laugh. Sometimes Tim’s dryness can be funny. Sometimes.

xx

Curly’s sitting on the couch at some lousy motel because Tim’s slut of a wife kicked him out and his mom won’t let him in the house. It’s a real damn drag. He calls Tim.

“Hey, wanted to check in on ya. I know you’re havin’ one of those episodes again.”

He stops, unsure of what to say. He wishes that Ponyboy was still in town so that he could tell him all the answers just like he did in high school anatomy class. The only class, outside of gym, that he actually got an A in.

“Jus’ wanted to say, uh… that you owe me a beer. That diaper was a goddamn nuke all by itself.”

Not quite what he wanted to say, but fuck it. Can’t go back now.

“Call me back when you can.”

He bites back what he wanted to say— I love you.

[tsukishumai]

Hii. Can I please get 21 with akaashi? :)) also L O V E your work

+ Oops forgot to say my pronouns are she/her (for the 21 Akaashi) have a good dayy

Thanks for the request ! And tysm I love you <3

send me a prompt + ur fav character here :)

21. “I haven’t seen her/him/them smile like that in ages.”

Tags: mentions of alcohol/cigarettes, & meeting the parents lol

Word count: 1.5k

A/N: IM SORRY THIS TOOK ME SO LONG I was having the worst case of writers block but anyway I’m kinda back I’m not sure if I like this one but I hope you do! Lmk ur thoughts <3

Akaashi put the finishing touches on the wooden board he laid out on the table, placing star-shaped fruit in empty spaces to make everything look vibrant and colorful.

“Whoa, where’d you learn how to make that?” you asked as you walked into the kitchen, two wine glasses balanced between your fingers in one hand and a large bottle of Cabarnet Sauvignon in the other.

“I saw a few posts online,” Akaashi stood back and admired his charcuterie board, nodding in satisfaction at how the salami river looked traveling between the mountains of brie and cheddar. “Do you think your parents will like it?”

You smile to yourself, wanting to point at that that’s the seventh time in thirty minutes that he’s asked if your parents would like something. But you figure the beads of sweat forming on Akaashi’s forehead indicated just how nervous he felt, so you placated him with, “I think they’re going to love it, Keiji.”

His lips twitched in some semblance of a smile for just one second before he brings a knuckle up to his lip.

“Or maybe I should put out fig jam instead of raspberry jam? Fig jam goes really well with brie, but I like the color of the raspberry jam better…”

Akaashi’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell.

“Too late, they’re here,” you practically giggled with excitement, setting down the wine glasses on the dinner table. Akaashi quickly started adjusting his shirt, pulling at the collar and tugging at the hem before you stepped in front of him. You gave a soft kiss on the tip of his nose, and said, “Don’t worry, Keiji. I just know they’re going to love you.”

The two of you opened the front door of your shared apartment in tandem, Akaashi standing back and smiling nervously as you threw your arms around your parents. He knows how much you’ve been missing home lately; Tokyo was nothing like your hometown, and he knows all too well the suffocating air of loneliness.

Akaashi liked to think he did everything he could to keep those demons at bay, but even he understands that he could never truly fill the void the same way family could. So when he mentioned inviting your parents over for dinner, offering to pay for the bullet train tickets himself, the excitement you had shown all over your face made him wonder why he didn’t suggest doing so any sooner.

Now that he was standing here, palms sweating as he stood under the scrutinizing gaze of your father, he thinks he maybe could have waited another couple of weeks to meet your parents.

“This is Keiji,” he heard you introduce, and he automatically bent over into a bow.

“It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Akaashi-kun, none of that, get up and give me a hug,” your mother reached over to set Akaashi straight before wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Akaashi’s eyes widened in surprise, looking over to you in a slight panic as you simply shrugged. “I’ve heard so much about you!”

“I just have to warn you, my mom can be kind of a handful,” you mentioned one evening while you were cooking dinner. Akaashi stood a few feet away from you, diligently chopping the vegetables you had given him.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, she’s really affectionate, for one. That alone is enough to throw some people off,” you mumbled, giving the beef in the pot one last stir before transferring it to a plate, “She likes to tease a lot, and you can never take what she says seriously. She laughs at her own corny jokes, not to mention she’s loud.”

You extended a hand out to Akaashi, and he promptly handed you the cutting board full of vegetables. You added them back in the pot, sautéing them gently.

“That sounds exactly like someone I know…” Akaashi quipped, and you threw your kitchen towel at him.

“Shut up and hand me the curry cubes.”

Before Akaashi could even think to bring his arms up and hug your mother back, she quickly let him go and diverted her attention to the stunning display on your dining room table.

“Oh my, what do we have here,” she exclaimed, moving over to examine the variety of crackers, meats and cheeses that Akaashi so artfully placed on a wooden board he bought at the local grocery store down the street.

“Yes, mom, it’s called a charcuterie board…” you quickly went over to show your mom, and Akaashi was left alone with your father.

Akaashi turned back to the stern-faced man, bowing deeply before uttering out his second, “It’s nice to finally meet you, sir.”

Much to Akaashi’s relief, your father didn’t throw his arms around him, and simply returned Akaashi’s bow. Akaashi discreetly wiped his sweaty palms on the side of his jeans, waving a hand out to motion to the kitchen, “May I get you anything to drink?”

Your father didn’t reply, simply giving Akaashi a soft grunt and walked passed him to where his wife and daughter were laughing. Your mother and you both had a wine glass in hand, sampling different combinations the charcuterie board had to offer. Akaashi observed the way your dad didn’t reach for a wine glass of his own, opting to making himself a bite of salami and gruyere. Akaashi made his way to the refrigerator, grabbing a can from the emergency six pack he bought.

“My dad, on the other hand,” you set down the plate of katsu curry at the head of the dining table for Akaashi, and plate for you in the seat directly to his right, “He doesn’t really say much, but I promise you, he’s a total softy at heart. Don’t let the scowl fool you. He’s like, the total opposite of my mom.”

Akaashi came out of the kitchen carrying to glasses of water, setting one in front of you and one in front of himself before taking his seat at the table. “I guess opposites really do attract, huh?”

You picked up the glass to take a sip, smiling into the rim, “Yeah. I guess that explains me and you.”

Akaashi paused. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Akaashi nearly gleamed at the nod of acknowledgement from your father when he handed him a beer, nearly laughing at the discreet thumbs up you had given him from behind your mother.

Dinner went by without a hitch. Your mother made it easy, asking Akaashi about the details pertaining to his life, and offering him stories about your childhood. He chuckled at your frustrated groans whenever she whipped out her phone to show him baby pictures, asking her to forward him the one where you’re missing your two front teeth.

Your dad hadn’t said much the whole evening, but the crinkles formed in the corners of his eye all the same when Akaashi said a joke that made his wife and daughter howl with laughter.

“Akaashi,” your father grunted, standing up with a beer in one hand as Akaashi collected the dishes from the table, “Why don’t you join me on the balcony for a moment.”

Akaashi audibly gulped, and you fought a snicker from your throat as your grabbed the plates from Akaashi’s hands. “Go on, I got this.”

Akaashi nodded, feeling like his shoes were made of lead as he followed your father through the sliding door that lead out to the balcony. Akaashi promptly slid the door shut behind him, your father immediately leaning over to prop his elbows on the railing.

“That’s a good view,” he mumbled, waving his hand and motioning for Akaashi to stand beside him.

“Thank you,” Akaashi answered, taking his place next to your dad, “It’s part of the reason we chose this apartment.”

Your father nodded, taking out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He brought the white stick to his lips, lighting the end before inhaling a deep drag.

“I brought you out here because I wanted to thank you,” your father started, catching Akaashi by complete surprise. “I haven’t seen her smile like that in ages.”

Akaashi was stunned, staring at your father dumbfounded as he continued to let out puffs of smoke. A couple of heartbeats pass between the two of you, Akaashi searching for the words and trying hard not to let the tears further cloud his vision.

“I’ll do anything to make her laugh like that,” Akaashi said a little too quickly, coughing over his last word, “Sir.”

Just then, your father laughed, and Akaashi found himself smiling with him.

“That’s a good man. One last thing,” your father put the cigarette out and tossed it in the empty beer can in his hand, “Don’t tell them about this cigarette, okay? I told them I quit.”

Your father gave Akaashi two pats on the shoulder, leaving Akaashi on the balcony feeling like he could just about rule the world.

[aenngelic]

I will protect her at all costs (chapter 2)

Disclaimer: please don’t hate me for it, if you don’t ship them please just don’t read it ok 🥲

contains: slow burn, Sniper falling in love with Kuon, Snipers view/thoughts, sexual fantasies, nudity, lemon stuff overall

It is a very long chapter I’m sorry

Note: please feel free to message me if you have certain romantic moments to include in the story! (Already running out of ideas oops)

It did not take long for us to find a bag of supplies. It was on a coffee table in some sort of lobby area. It seemed as if this building probably was meant to represent some kind of hotel, which I thought was a good thing, because that meant that there would be beds and showers to be found here as well. To our surprise, the bag contained mostly candy, which I wouldn't interpret as a balanced meal. However, the girl seemed to like this finding. It was only a matter of minutes before the chocolate residue stained the corners of my companion's mouth in a brown color. However, I preferred to smoke a cigarette at first and watch the girl devour her own body weight in the form of chocolate.

" This is fantastic! It feels like forever since I last ate chocolate! I faintly remember dieting before I entered this world too, so this must have been probably weeks since I held chocolate in my hand." Kuon said with delight. It was amusing to watch her enjoy sweets. Kuon's carelessness may be a burden at times, but her innocent character makes up for it.

" you partly remember your life prior to this, don't you?"

" Yes, not much to be honest. I'm sorry you can't," Kuon replied in a concerned voice.

"Tell me about it."

She gave me a visibly puzzled look before straightening her back so that she was sitting as straight as a candle on the sofa across from me, staring at her hands somewhat lost in thought. She seemed uncomfortable that I had now brought up this topic. Unfortunately, I could not take back my question. "Well," she began, "to be honest,the life I remember has not been the greatest, I guess." Kuon abruptly shook her head. " That's not true either. I was born into a rich family and had many privileges. My father owned a large company and had very high expectations of me from the very beginning. One day I was supposed to take it over. I was probably pretty lucky compared to other people. I was probably a big disappointment for him. My character was just not strong enough in his eyes. I also remember not really having any friends either, because I was privately educated. And anyway..." I could literally hear the lump in Kuon's throat as a tear began to stream down the girl's cheek.

" i'm sorry. You know, I didn't really mean to end up crying."

I felt my heart break once again, watching the girl grieve. I was surprised now, though, to find out that this yet seemingly uncomplicated high school student was actually carrying a lot of emotional baggage. I did not hesitate as I jumped up from my seat to calm the blue-haired girl. I really hated it like the plague when she cried. Trying to preserve my Coolness, however, I grumbled, "oh girl. What's wrong?"

I placed myself to her left, and pressed her against my shoulder while running my hand over her hair a few times. There was no way I could bring myself to face her, though. It would be too embarrassing and, after all, I was far from being the Prince Charming who would dry her tears with a silken tissue. Besides, I could not withstand the sight of her teary eyes. So there I sat, a weeping teenage girl wetting my blazer with salty drops of grief on my right, awkwardly staring off into the distance.

"It's, it's..." she stammered, not being able to form a word. "You're the first person I've been able to trust, and because of that, I'm kind of..."

She took a deep breath, "It makes me so unbelievably happy."

Almost for the second time that day, a cigarette nearly got stuck in my throat, but this time I was able to suppress my urge to cough. The girl seemed to really like me. But did I like her too? I would be lying if I said I did not care about her. And if she got killed, I could never forgive myself. It was astonishing how one could form such a strong bond with another person in such a short period of time. However, pouring out my entire feelings in front of her would not come close to the cool lifestyle I was pursuing.

" i'm also happy to have met you, Kuon.", i finally decided to answer after a moment of figuring out how to respond.

Kuon's face, which was still streaked with tears, started to smile again, which made me feel much relieved. However, it took her a while to completely stop her wailing . We remained in this position for a while, until at some point I realized that the girl had fallen asleep. Her head had lowered in the meantime even further toward the ground, so that after some time she was no longer leaning against my shoulder but much rather against my belly. When I noticed this after some time and looked down to the girl, a cute sight presented itself to me. Admittedly, on the one hand it felt nice to act as this girl's pillow. On the other hand, it triggered an immeasurable amount of embarrassment in me. But cool guys do like to take care of girls' comfort, don't they?

Therefore, I decided I'd rather not wake her up and hardly moved at all. I looked out the window to my right, watching the sunset and reflected on certain issues. I was thinking about Rika as well as the two girls we were trying to find and, of course, about Kuon and so many other things until my eyes started to close.

When I regained consciousness, the night must have settled in. Before I could even perceive my surroundings properly, I swiveled my head once to the left and once to the right and let my gaze wander through the room. Because the moon was particularly bright this night, everything around me had taken on a deep blue tone. It was so quiet around me that I could have heard a pin drop. In the next second I realized that I should not have fallen asleep in the first place. Somebody would have had to keep watch, after all! Crap! If an enemy would have come along the way, it certainly would not have been good for me and Kuon. I looked down to my thigh where the blue-haired girl was supposed to lie. I felt her place her head on my thigh at some point during the night, but when I looked down at my thigh, I could not find any girl. Where the hell was Kuon? A rational thinking person, as I was one, could of course assume that my companion did not necessarily have to be in danger, but could also have simply visited the toilet, for example. Nonetheless, my alarm bells started ringing immediately. Kuon was, after all, a young girl who, apart from the "rail gun", did not posses many possibilities for self-defense. So of course I was worried.

Without thinking much, I hopped up from the sofa, on which I had been napping a few moments before. In quick stride I wandered through the poorly lit hallway without really having a clue where I was heading. My head was foggy from the idea that the girl might be in serious danger. A few days ago, I probably would have accepted the fact that she was suddenly nowhere to be found and continued my journey. And now my stomach was already twisting at the thought of her getting in trouble.

Nevertheless, a short moment later, my heart pounding madly from the ever-repeating scenario in my head, I heard a noise at the end of the corridor. A soft, high-pitched humming was heard, drowned out by the pattering of many drops. Light emerged from the crack of a door on the left. Was she taking a shower? The feeling of relief spread through my chest, followed by some degree of annoyance. Why did the girl not wake me up? I took a few steps towards the door, but before I was about to reach for the door handle, I remembered that I should not do so. A gentleman never violates a lady's privacy. So I decided to wait.

I leaned against the local wall, one leg bent. Then I let my thoughts wander, while the pattering of the raindrops in the bathroom right next to me showed no indication of stopping anytime soon. A lady of high society must spend quite a bit of her life showering, I thought to myself. And before I knew it, the image of Kuon suddenly popped up in my head. In my imagination I pictured her body, wondering what it looked like completely naked. A bar of soap running over her plump breasts, leaving traces of foam on her soft, wet skin. A body swinging under the hot rainfall like a leaf in the wind, presenting its vivid buttocks. I wonder if she was shaved? Hardly had I been able to finish this dirty thought of mine and get mad at my filthy thinking when my ears picked up the sound of footsteps in the distance. And they were coming ominously closer.

Damn, I thought to myself and was about to reach for my rifle, only to realize that I forgot it next to the sofa where I had been sleeping. I had been so upset about her disappearance that I could seriously forget the most crucial item for our survival.What was I going to do? For a brief moment I was at a loss. Escape proved almost impossible at this point, since I was at a dead end and I could not force the approaching enemy down with any surrounding objects. Besides, if I escaped, it would only be a matter of time before the enemy would track down my helpless companion. In the next moment, almost instinctively, I reached for the door handle that led to the bathroom that Kuon had still claimed. Perhaps there were objects in the room that were suitable for fighting, or perhaps we could be lucky and not be found, I speculated in the heat of the moment. So I tore open the door and rushed into the bathroom, greeted by a hot haze that took over the entire area.

"Kuon!" I called out in a hushed tone.

Without hesitation, I pushed my way through the door that separated the shower from the rest of the bathroom as if I was walking through nothing. Until that moment, I had hardly given a thought to the circumstances of this situation. But at the latest, when finally the naked body of a schoolgirl jumped into my field of vision, I quickly realized this again. I was just about to violate Kuon's privacy. An obviously shocked girl looked towards me, that from 1 second to the other tried to cover herself desperately.

"Mr.Ma-", she was about to say, but I interrupted her raised voice by pressing my hand to her lips as quickly as possible.

While I was still in the act of stepping into the shower, I flicked the light switch in the same movement so that no sign of our presence could escape from the room. Maybe they would not find us here, I hoped at this point.

"There's someone out there," I whispered to the naked girl in front of me.

" if we are quiet, maybe we won't be found. If we are, then..."

Kuon replied to me with an unintelligible "Mmm" , which resembled the sound of a frightened gasp. My body had pressed so close to hers by now that I could feel the wetness of her skin soaking through my shirt. I had directed my face facing away from her so that I could sharpen my hearing for the footsteps I could hear. Furthermore , I did not want to add unnecessary tension to the whole situation. It was uncool enough to interfere with a naked girl taking a shower even if it was an emergency. My hand was still resting on her lips and even though I was wearing gloves and looking away, I could clearly feel the warmth building up in Kuon's cheeks. She was obviously blushing in this moment. But having her pressed against the bathroom wall while forcing my hand tightly onto her lips and not even keeping a distance of not 2 inches, I could not blame her.

For quite a while, we did not move at all. We listened closely to the footsteps, which came a little closer and finally slowly moved away from us again. Temporarily it was even so quiet in this bathroom that we could hear each other breathing. Kuon's breathing was fast and almost verged on hyperventilation in this situation. Because there was hardly any distance between our bodies, I could literally feel her chest rising and falling in short intervals. With each rise, her breasts brushed my upper body a slight bit. I tried, as always, to keep my composure and block out the fact that Kuon was completely naked. Only when several minutes had passed did my posture loosen and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, we should be safe for now," I stated and let go of the girl.

I flipped the light switch and had to swallow.

Kuon had been naked before too, but it was only now that the danger was gone that I could really comprehend this fact. She had tried to cover her breasts with her hands and had simultaneously crossed her legs, looking down with a shameful expression on her face. However, the concealment attempt seemed to be unsuccessful for her. Although I only caught a glimpse of her appearance before I turned away from her as quickly as possible, I saw her entire beauty for a moment.Her breasts were in relation to her otherwise so petite body, large and plump. She had a narrow waist and perfectly shaped legs, in combination with her smooth, fair skin. And so she shaved, I could still tell. What remained most imprinted on my mind, however, was the look on her face.I of course preferred to see her friendly smile a thousand times more than this face that expressed pure shame. But I could not help but adore the sight of her big sparkling dog eyes looking at the ground helplessly.

My breath stopped for a moment, but then I quickly cleared my throat, my gaze already averted from her, scanning the room for a towel. I tried to hide the fact that I actually wanted to slap myself for the thoughts I was having. Luckily, my embarrassment was not visible through the mask. I had to change the subject immediately before the situation became even more awkward:

"Sorry, Kuon." , I mumbled. I was surprised myself by my harsh tone. It took me a while to recollect the words.

"You should let me know next time you decide to go somewhere else."

"Oh yeah right. I didn't mean to cause any trouble.", Countered the girl who also seemed to be a bit embarrassed. So it wasn't just me who was feeling uncomfortable about this situation. Without giving my companion another look, I threw a towel right over my head at her. I had a precise aim.

" I'm going to get my rifle. I forgot it in all the hurry near the sofa."

Just as I was about to open the door to step out, the girl interrupted my process by grabbing my arm with unusual intensity.

" can you come back here afterwards? Please?"

"That's what I was planning on doing anyway. I'll be waiting right outside the door," I replied, a bit puzzled by this question.

" but I have -." she interrupted herself, shaking her head slightly before continuing.

Then her facial expression regained its former composure, whereupon she gave me her typical, beaming smile. I could tell, however, that she did not mean it honestly. How I could tell that, I had no idea myself though. But did she want me to stay here with her?

" no you're right. I'll hurry up and be done in a few minutes," she said. While she was talking, she wrapped the towel around her body in a quick movement, fastening it in front with the help of a knot.

I had meanwhile turned my gaze back to her. Although Kuon was now dressed, it was difficult for me not to inspect her from top to bottom. Her entire body was still drenched in a hint of wetness, so that her skin was reflectingthe bright bathroom light. It was also slightly red from the hot shower water. I wondered if the red tint to her cheeks was also caused by that, or if I was responsible for it.I could not help but notice the way the towel just managed to hide all the places it was supposed to cover and yet was far too tight. If she bent over, a special view would present itself to me. Immediately I dashed this disgusting thought from my head. If I continued to reduce myself only to her appearance this could end in negligence on my part and I would not be able to protect her properly.After all, that was the most important thing. I also discarded this thought. Had this strange girl really become so important to me? Nevertheless, there was no place for interpersonal relationships in this world.Before I could get any further into this train of thought, I turned away again and finally walked out of the room. I was in need of a cigarette.

[olivinesea]

A Mixed Blessing

Chapter List

chapter eight: starting to rust

a/n: Just barely coming in at under a month, oops. I think I’m going to take a break from this one for now, it seems to be a little too much while my thoughts are occupied with school things. When I planned this all out originally, this chapter was a possible ending point but then I got ambitious and there’s quite a bit more plotted out after this. But it might be a while before I come back to it, we’ll see. Anyway, thanks for coming along for all the torture, I know it wasn’t a pleasant time but the hurt can be nice occasionally? I’ll try to write something a little kinder in the future. Warnings for all the same things —substances, abuse, some very dark thoughts and themes. ~5.7k

Aaron tries to keep it all together but the world is indifferent.

He tried to stay away, he really did. As if he could see into the future, he could imagine how quickly he would tarnish her smile, could picture it fading right in front of him. He had nightmares where Haley sat, unresponsive and slowly dissolving. But she was insistent, seeking him out, towing him along with her through her day. She’d find him at lunch and push half a sandwich at him once she realized he hadn’t brought anything to eat. Brought him along after school to loiter in the sun with the other theater kids killing time between the end of class and the start of rehearsals, loudly asserting their presence on the world. Aaron hung back, uncomfortable around such casual chaos, everyone moving too fast, speaking too loudly. Compared to his world, Haley’s life was bright, unrestrained, and viscerally present. He didn’t fit there. He stuck out in his silence, dressed in his dark clothes, still too big on him though he was finally starting to grow.

The other kids eyed him suspiciously, muttering quietly about him when they thought he couldn’t hear. Only Haley’s position at the top of whatever social apparatus they operated by kept them from outright excluding him. He didn’t mind too much, he’d heard worse, what did he care what these kids thought of him anyway? What did they know with their golden lives, their excitement, their expectations for the future? Haley’s people believed that the world was for them, would provide what they wanted when they wanted. He found it odd, watching them as they screeched and tackled each other, a blur of color so jarring he had to squint.

He could feel how his difference was noted, their eyes making the back of his neck itch. More than once he tried to disappear but every time Haley slipped her hand into his, squeezing gently, pulling him back toward the group. She’d smile, encouraging, her belief that it would all work out, that he could assimilate given enough time, was unwavering. Her optimism baffled him, sometimes even irritated him. He would inevitably feel guilty about that. Surely it was ungrateful for him to find fault in this girl who had welcomed him when there was absolutely no need for her to do so.

Not everyone was tolerant of Aaron’s presence. The drama teacher regarded him with suspicion, allowing him to stay but making it clear that she was doing him a favor. It helped that he was able to sing, shoring up the weak lower register of the female dominated cast. He was given a minor role, nothing too complicated, nothing that would embarrass them if he failed, as she assumed he would. Some of the other kids caught on to this disapproval, emboldened by it they became less subtle in the ways that they mocked him. Aaron tried to mind his own business, even skipping out on rehearsals when the attention became too much. But Haley inevitably found him, running to catch him after school as he tried to escape out a side door. She dragged him back again and again, refusing to give up on him. Insisting she had seen something special, something she thought she could coax out if given enough time—like a stray dog, so used to mistreatment that he bristled when people came near but still craved affection.

He followed reluctantly, acutely conscious of the growing dislike, mutiny thickening the air. Everything was too sharp these days, he’d lost his sources for getting high. All he had were his cigarettes, too afraid to steal alcohol from his father. He desperately wanted to go back into the woods, to fall back under the quiet spell of muffled words about nothing, watching the light filter through the branches, sparkling as the leaves moved with the breeze. He hated it here, in the building, surrounded by these people with their constant need to be heard, each louder than the last. The smells of the theater, new paint and old fabrics and so much dust made it hard to breath. The too bright lights, unnaturally hot against his skin, and the way every sound echoed made his head ache. He’d be long gone if it wasn’t for the way Haley’s touch made his heart skip, her fingers lightly brushing across his arm to get his attention. Or the way she looped her arm through his as she caught him in the hallway and insisted on walking with him to class, leading him along her sheltered path.

Aaron wondered at the lightness of her head rested against his shoulder as they sat in the grass, sticking her tongue out at something stupid another kid said, then smiling when she heard his smothered laughter. He let his attention drift, eyes wandering until he saw a group in the distance. He watched as they moved away from school, easily guessing where they were headed. He felt a pang of longing as he watched them leave, wishing he could still be part of that. He wasn’t sure he had been happy with Cole but he had at least felt like he was in the right place, like he had found someone who understood him. No one here was like him, no one less so than Haley. He was attracted to her in a different way, fascinated at how she viewed the world and how the world viewed her. He’d never known anyone who moved so easily through life, who was loved and desired by everyone she met. He couldn’t begin to imagine what that felt like though he agreed with the rest of them, she was something special. He didn’t understand why she wanted him around but he wasn’t going to contradict her. Still, he wished to be gone with the group as they sought out unobserved spaces.

“Aaron?” Haley squeezed his knee, drawing his attention back.

“Hmm?” He had no idea what she had been saying.

“Do you want to come to Mike’s house after rehearsal tonight? His parents are out of town.”

Aaron looked dubiously across the group at Mike, someone who was clear in his dislike of Aaron.

“Please?”

Aaron shrugged a shoulder, shifting uncomfortably and causing Haley to sit up.

“It’ll be fun. And it’ll be good for you to get to know everyone a little better. You’re so quiet all the time.”

“I don’t think he likes me very much,” Aaron murmured, watching as Mike narrowed his eyes in their direction.

“Don’t be silly,” she said as she hopped up. “C’mon, let’s go inside, it’s almost time.”

He looked up at her, now standing above him. Their eyes met and she smiled. She was pleased with how much he’d been softening. It had only been a few weeks and already he seemed more comfortable, at least with her. She congratulated herself a little, privately, on her success. People had gone out of their way to warn her when she started hanging out with him, bringing him places with her. He was bad, he was dangerous, he would hurt her. But she knew, had known from that first time she saw him looking at her, he wouldn’t hurt her, not ever. He wasn’t so complicated, she reasoned, they were all just scared away by his dark features, his perpetual scowl, the whispered rumors about his family. She, Haley Brooks, was better than that, deeper and more sympathetic. He wouldn’t be the first broken creature she’d healed, but he would be her biggest project yet. She didn’t imagine it could be that hard. Everyone was always happier around her, she could fix this.

He sighed, shaking his head and stood up. Sometimes he could see her watching him and he wasn’t sure he liked the look on her face. Like she was assessing him, marking his progress along some scale she had in her mind. Noting when he ate, when he was rested, when he laughed. He felt a little bit like an animal in a laboratory. But then she would smile at him and he forgot all his hesitation, forgot how he disliked being watched, how much he hated people thinking they knew what he needed. No one had ever cared like her before and he wasn’t sure what she expected in return. But he let himself forget all that and follow her where she led for another chance at that smile, another chance to hear her say his name, sounding so different coming from her lips that it might be a different name entirely.

One of her friends, already halfway back to the building, called Haley’s name and she skipped over to her, confident that Aaron would follow. He watched her go before turning back to pick up his backpack. When he straightened up, Mike was standing very close to him. Aaron wondered at how he’d moved so quickly.

“I hope you don’t think you’re coming to my house, loser.”

Aaron stared at him, debating what to do. He didn’t particularly want to go to this party, he’d really prefer not to go. But Haley had invited him and he didn’t like the way this guy was always looking at her possessively, then looking at Aaron like he’d like to strangle him. Not exactly subtle.

Mike stepped in closer. “Did you hear me? Or are you too high?” He turned to his friends and forced a laugh, “Maybe you shouldn’t have fried your brain with your little homo boyfriend.”

Aaron didn’t think, he just reacted, fist swinging up and punching the other boy in the jaw. He stumbled back, holding a hand to his face, eyes frozen wide in shock. Aaron didn’t pause, only advanced on him, swinging again. It felt good, the anger that was always simmering in his chest, the anger he only barely distracted himself from, finally had an outlet. It probably wasn’t a fair fight, Mike had been expecting Aaron to quietly take the insults as he’d been doing, pretending to ignore them as they needled him whenever Haley was out of earshot. But this insult was too far. More of a mean jab in the dark than an actual accusation, his words had hit a nerve and unlocked a force within Aaron.

Once he landed the first punch, his vision clouded over with anger and he continued to swing at the other kid. The other boys quickly jumped in, once the surprise of seeing Aaron actually fight back wore off, once they realized he meant to do real harm to their friend. He already had Mike pinned on the ground, lip bleeding, hands covering his face, before two more of his friends managed to drag Aaron off. He swung at them too, no technique but plenty of experience on the receiving end. He knew what would hurt and he had enough rage to power him through a dozen opponents. One of the others pulled him off balance, using his grip on Aaron’s wrist to fling him to the side. They blocked his path to Mike, who was scrambling backward on the grass, putting more distance between himself and this suddenly rabid opponent. Breathing hard, Aaron glared at the group, realizing he didn’t have enough strength to overpower them all, despite his murderous desire. He spit in their direction, then grabbed his bag and stalked away.

He didn’t have to think about where he was going. There was only one place to go. He’d tried to be a part of the regular world, a part of a world where time continued evenly, where lights turned on when it was dark and spotlights burned brightest on those with merit. He’d tried to fit himself into that space for Haley’s sake but he had only been fooling himself. They’d known he didn’t belong and he’d finally overstayed his welcome. It was time for him to retreat to the unlit corners of the world, return to the margins of society where people could avert their eyes, where it was easier for them to pretend they didn’t see the wrongness of the boy in front of them. He’d go back to the place in the woods and hope there was someone there that could give him what he wanted, could help him disconnect from this too bright reality. He was as sick of it as they were of him. He allowed himself a brief flicker of hope that he might find Cole out there, with his understanding and their shared history he didn’t have to think about his walls so much. But he stomped down hard on that desire, reminding himself how he had still ended up alone. No, it didn’t need to be Cole, it didn’t need to be anyone in particular, as long as they had something to get him high he didn’t care. It wouldn’t matter for very long anyway.

He crashed across the grass, his anger making his steps heavier, his thoughts louder. He didn’t realize he was being followed, that someone was calling his name. He didn’t notice until there was a hand tugging at the elbow of his jacket. He spun around fast, ready to fight. Haley shrank back at the anger in his face, the wildness in his eyes. He clenched his fists when he recognized her, trying and failing to pull back the storm of emotion that had been knocked loose. He never wanted to scare her but she was following where she didn’t belong. He only had so much control.

“Go away.”

“Are you hurt? Where are you going? Why’d you attack—”

She didn’t even have the question fully formed before he turned and started walking again, unwilling to be accused of something that wasn’t remotely his fault. He didn’t like the way it stung him, hearing that she assumed his guilt. He didn’t like that he’d let her get so close, let her have such influence over him. She ran a little to get ahead of him, taking a deep breath to steady herself. She was frightened by his fury, but she wouldn’t let him go this easily. Not after she’d spent so many hours persuading him to join her world.

“Aaron.”

He stopped short when he heard his name, looked at her with some of his anger melting into sadness, feeling betrayed even though he knew he had no one to blame but himself.

“I didn’t start it,” he could barely get the words out, hated how much he wanted her to believe him, hated that he had to explain himself.

She rubbed her face, trying to think as she pressed her palm against her lips. She found she was more frightened of this new emotion than she was of the anger. He looked so hopeless.

“I’m sorry, I just…” she didn’t know what to say now that she’d gotten him to stop, now that she could see past the heated front of anger and could see some of the broken edges he did so much to hide. Wasn’t this what she’d been asking for?

He watched her struggle with what to say, saw the moment the pity started to creep into her eyes. Before she could say anything else, before she could make him feel worse, he started walking again, pushing past her. “Just leave me alone,” he muttered. He didn’t bother to check if she followed.

When he reached the clearing it was empty except for one person stretched out on a broken down couch. At first all he could see was the back of their head, the dirty blond hair sticking up in places. The recognition was a visceral feeling, clawing through his chest. He almost couldn’t believe it was real, that he was getting exactly what he hoped for. Cole sat up when he heard Aaron’s heavy footsteps cracking through the dead leaves and sticks littering the ground. He remained seated, looking at Aaron idly, as if no time had passed, as if he’d only been waiting for Aaron to turn up after class. Aaron felt so many conflicting emotions, had so many things he wanted to say that he could only stand with his jaw clenched against the flood of words he knew he would regret. Cole twitched the corner of his mouth in a slightly mocking smile and Aaron snapped. He grabbed Cole by the collar, pulling him to his feet, unsure whether he meant to strangle him or kiss him. Cole’s gaze shifted to look behind him.

“Why’d you bring your girlfriend with you?”

Too caught up in the charge of the moment, Aaron didn’t understand what he was talking about. Cole pulled away and lifted his chin in the direction he was facing. Aaron turned and saw Haley. She’d continued to follow him, concerned about what he was planning on doing, haunted by the hollowed out look in his eyes. She stood, apprehensive, eyes darting between the two.

He scowled. “Go back to school Haley.”

“But—are you okay?” She stumbled over her words, staring openly at Cole. She’d seen him in the distance, even noticed how Aaron sometimes watched him when their paths crossed. He looked even more menacing up close.

“I’m fine.” His mouth pressed together, biting his lower lip to keep his composure. He didn’t understand why she was being so persistent, why she wouldn’t just go away like everyone else. When she still hesitated he got impatient. There were things he needed to handle and he didn’t need her here getting in the way. He waved his hand at her, brushing away her attention. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

From behind him Cole fluttered his fingers at her with false sweetness. She hated the way he was grinning at her, his obvious confidence that he was the one in charge of the situation. She glared at him and he laughed.

She looked one more time at Aaron, who was no longer paying attention to her, had turned back to Cole entirely. She shook her head. Fine, if he wanted this it was hardly her problem.  What did she even know of his life anyway? Trying not to feel like she’d lost, she retraced the path back to school.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Aaron started in on Cole. His thoughts were disorganized and barely coherent but he’d spent weeks trying to understand the sudden distance. He needed Cole to explain, to know his reasons for turning on him so quickly after all that they’d shared.

“What the fuck—” He hadn’t finished his question before Cole clamped his hand over his mouth.

“Shut up.”

Their eyes met and there was a mental struggle for the upper hand. One thing that had changed in the past few weeks was Aaron’s strength. No longer constantly submerged in a haze of intoxication, he felt everything more pointedly and he was ready to direct that pain elsewhere. He wanted to bite Cole, to scratch at his face, to scream at him for way he’d been abandoned, the sickness and shame he’d had to endure on his own. But the warmth of Cole’s palm, the familiar smell of his skin, the muscle memory of being in this exact position was too much. He relented almost instantly, sinking into the couch, pulling his knees up against his chest and waiting to see what Cole would do next.

Cole watched him thoughtfully, interested by this new spark of resistance but also pleased that he hadn’t made it too far on his own. A little fight kept things interesting, staved off the boredom Cole so often felt. It was probably that girl he’d been with, giving him ideas. He could see he’d have to do some damage control to bring Aaron back completely.

“I’m sorry,” he looked down, measuring drops of sincerity. “My grandma, she saw…she said she was going to report you.”

Aaron was confused, he didn’t know exactly what she could report about him but he heard the edge in Cole’s voice, knew better than to dig deeper. Cole sat down beside him, pulling one of his hands loose from where he’d wrapped it tightly around his legs. He traced Aaron’s palm with his thumb, looking into his face again.

“You know I didn’t mean it right? I didn’t have a choice.”

Aaron recoiled, sickened by the number of times those words had echoed through his life. Worse though was how easily he was willing to give into them if it only meant he could have back a little of that warmth he had found. He ducked his head and shrugged.

Cole squeezed his hand. “Good, cause I think I’ve got something you’ll like.” He let go and dug around in the couch cushions, pulling out a crumpled paper bag. When he smiled at Aaron, that familiar greedy smile, Aaron admitted to himself that he wasn’t here to fight with Cole, that he had never been coming for that. This was all he wanted, was all he was good for: to be lied to and to be led astray. He didn’t mind as long as he didn’t have to be fully present for it. He sat up a little straighter.

“Alright, let’s do it.”

They fell back in with one another but it remained uneasy. Aaron was still not allowed back at Cole’s house and he was afraid to miss too much class. Lately his father had been grumbling about sending him away and he wasn’t entirely sure he meant away to live somewhere else or away from life entirely. There were no peaceful interactions between them, only lucky days where Aaron successfully avoided being seen. A sudden increase in truancy calls would not work out well for him. If he had been a little more mature, a little less caught up in his own teenage drama, he might have noticed the changes in his father’s face, the way the lines grew deeper as his frame grew thinner. As it was he only noticed as much as he needed to know to keep himself out of the direct path of destruction. He once might have cared to notice his mother crying more, even when his father wasn’t there to be the cause of it but he was long past feeling any sort of connection to her. If she was troubled, she could find someone else to support her. She certainly hadn’t done anything to help him all these years. Nothing that he could see.

At school Haley continued to pester him. She stood up for him against the accusations that he had attacked Matt for no reason so he was still allowed at play rehearsals. He went grudgingly, only because he couldn’t shake the way he felt bewitched by Haley. Now he tried even harder to stay out of any social situations, to keep things strictly professional with the group of theater kids. However, he couldn’t help but enjoy Haley’s company at lunch and in between classes. Much as Aaron had disliked her friends, he couldn’t resist the brilliance of her personality. She made him feel like being a whole person was possible, made him forget for a few moments what he really was. She may have made him a little uncomfortable but she was relentlessly kind, and he was more than expert at keeping things hidden so he let her think she was doing some good as she badgered him into eating more and forced him to study. Even if it was only pretend, they were both getting something from it.

Only after the school day was over would he would slink away to the woods where he’d meet Cole. Cole still wasn’t speaking to him on campus, too aware of how their obvious closeness before had been risky. He hadn’t changed in their time apart either, his mood still swinging wildly from affection to disgust. It didn’t feel great but Aaron needed him, needed what Cole could give him. Attention and a steady supply of drugs. He didn’t have to worry about his insufficiencies around Cole, they were too similar for him to care about hiding the difficult parts of his life, didn’t have to worry about being pitied, about someone trying to fix him. They’d dragged more furniture into the abandoned shed, found an old metal trashcan they could burn things in to warm the place as the months crept deeper into the dark end of the year.

By the time Aaron’s sixteenth birthday came and went he felt like he was leading a completely fractured life. At home he was a ghost at best, a target when not; with Haley a treasured curiosity, constantly examined and prodded into a more acceptable shape; and with Cole, he was himself, angry and violent but self-medicated to the point where none of it mattered. Any gentleness that had existed between them over the summer was gone, every interaction was rough and scrambling, followed by a shame that only dissipated once the high kicked in.

It became harder to hold all the pieces together. He would look at himself in the mirror and struggle to remember his own name. He started smoking pot during the day again, just to ease some of the jarring transitions. At lunch, Haley talked and talked and he wouldn’t notice when she asked him a question until she poked him in the bicep and he jumped like a startled cat. When she tried to ask him about it he got annoyed, snapping at her and walking away from school, not caring that it was the middle of the day and that this bad choice was sure to come back to him that evening.

The show opening got closer as he missed more rehearsals. He missed so many that he didn’t know what he should be doing when he was there, very obviously sticking out when he went one way while the rest of the corps moved in the other direction. The drama teacher pulled him aside, giving him an ultimatum that he needed to be present at every subsequent rehearsal or he would be cut. Not so secretly hoping this would be enough to get him to leave. He started to say he didn’t give a shit about her stupid play when he saw Haley anxiously watching their conversation and swallowed his insults, only nodding, looking away so the teacher wouldn’t see his contempt for someone who could think something like a high school play mattered at all.

He made it to all the rehearsals but he was sure to be high, not enough that he would be caught but enough to be clear that it didn’t matter to him if he did. He wasn’t sure why he continued to come, why Haley had such a pull on him. It didn’t make sense that he wanted so badly to make her happy when she was so different, so far removed from everything else in his life. Maybe it was that he knew that without her, there was nothing tying him to the regular world, the place of school and society and jobs and futures. She was the only person that seemed to care if he was around, an emotion he was long past feeling for himself. She was the last reminder that he was a human being, that he mattered to someone. It was the only thing standing between him and completely giving in to the destructive force that had been whispering promises of an easy solution to his problems.

It was just enough to keep him behaved around these people who hated him without knowing anything about him. They hated what he represented, hated the way he forced them to see that the world could be ugly and painful. They were offended that he dared to show himself among the normal people when he so clearly belonged to the underside. He kept quiet and kept close to Haley when he was at school, when he was in the theater. He wore the stupid costume, the silly hat, followed the directions barked at him, sang just loud enough to carry the rest. Then he slipped away as soon as he was able.

The week of the opening performance was a bad one. Cole, having recently gotten his hands on some speed, was off on a manic high. Aaron had tried it once but hated the way the uppers spiked his anxiety, the way he felt every eye on him like his skin had turned inside out. After that first time he had declined, preferring to find oblivion in whatever downers were available. But Cole liked it quite a bit. It made his already unpredictable nature even worse, even more dangerous. He’d spend these highs running all over town, breaking car windows for fun, stealing anything worth a couple dollars. Aaron hated it and did his best to hide from him while he was strung out like that.

The afternoon of the show’s opening he’d gone to an old, private hiding spot after school with the intention of getting so stoned he couldn’t feel anything that might come his way later. He succeeded only to remember belatedly what day it was. Haley had tried to remind him several times during the day but he’d been too high, too distracted to listen. Swearing, he ran back to school, not sure what time it was or what time he was supposed to have been there.

The house lights were already off, the audience quiet as the opening bars played. He raced to get into his costume, having to re-button his shirt more than once as the tiny objects refused to line up properly. He gripped his hat as he stumbled into the wings to the sound of the chorus coming in—the chorus he was supposed to be a part of. He thought he could probably just slide onto the end of the line without attracting too much attention. Unfortunately, he found his path blocked by the drama teacher, her face dark and angry, completely out of patience for this mess of a teenager. She stared at him, his eyes red and glassy, skin pale, insultingly obvious in his intoxication.

“No.”

He looked at her unfazed, barely registering her as more than an object to move around. When he tried to step past her, she blocked him again.

“Go home Aaron,” her voice was quiet but unfriendly.

He shook his head, “I’m going to miss my cue.”

She frowned, surprised that he was aware enough to even know when his part was. “You’re high, you can’t be on school property.”

Aaron glanced into her face now, paying attention. No teacher had ever mentioned being able to tell he was not sober before.

“If you don’t leave now, I will call the police.”

He stepped back, narrowing his eyes, gauging how serious she was, if she would really draw that much attention to the situation. Her expression didn’t change and he could tell she meant it. He looked past her once more, seeing Haley step forward into the spotlight to begin her solo. His heart twisted, thinking about how disappointed she’d be that he couldn’t make this happen for her. He’d tried, tried so hard to keep it together for this. She’d been so excited and even though he couldn’t feel any of that, he liked the way it lit up her face when she talked about the performance, about how her parents and her sister would be in the audience, about how she wanted them to meet him. He’d never planned on staying for that but he’d wanted to at least be part of the show, to at least give her that.

“Now, Hotchner,” she insisted, voice cold and unsympathetic. He shrugged and tossed the hat on the ground by her feet before turning and walking out.

He headed straight for the shed, knowing there were supplies there that he had slowly siphoned away when Cole was too high to notice. He’d been saving them, watching his little stockpile grow larger. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was saving it for, exactly what his intention was but now seemed as good a time as any to find out. He hoped Cole wasn’t there, at least not until he could get his fix. Nothing would matter then.

Once inside he turned on the camp lantern he’d stolen and climbed onto a rickety chair to reach the seam between the roof and the wall. He pulled out his supplies, examining them as he settled back down on the dirty old cushions on the floor and wrapped a blanket around himself. It was an old army surplus thing, scratchy and smelling of smoke but effective against the chill. He considered his options. There was a good amount in there, probably enough for two people if he waited for Cole to turn up. He could maybe ease him out of his frenzy, bring him down to Aaron’s level, to the place where they could float through time without moving, without worrying. He thought about the last time he’d seen him, the way his eyes had moved past him without any real recognition. He thought about the dark purple bruises on his wrist where Cole had grabbed him, twisting his arm and insisting Aaron give him whatever money he had.

Fuck him, he decided.

Cole would probably be angry if he came here and found Aaron high without him, would be suspicious of how that had come to be. He would probably regret not leaving any for him but just at that moment he didn’t care. Hurt and love and shame and desire were all the same to him, all more than he wanted to feel. He just wanted to feel nothing. He set himself up quickly, well practiced and sure of his movements. He glanced around the shed once, really seeing his surroundings, seeing how far he had sunk and he laughed as he pressed the plunger down. Anyone who heard him would have been alarmed, the sound more like an animal caught in a trap than an expression of human joy. His last thought as he sank back into the ground was that it really was too much for one person. Too much to be doing alone. Then he got what he wanted and everything was just black.

[shit-posts-and-fanfictions]

an ask game? what fun! how bout' 7, 20, and 28?

7. Someone I want to meet

I've always wanted to meet David Bowie, Freddy Mercury, and Tina Turner. I grew up on these singers and Tina's story has always been a motivation to work towards my dreams, what a queen. But fictionally i think Abe sapien, Clancy gillroy, and Spinel. Smoke sum weed with clancyyyy. Plus read a good book with Abe. And i kin Spinel hardcore, oop-

20. Eye color

They change, usually a steel grey or sky blue. It's so weird, ngl

28. Favorite songs

I could make the longest list but let's go with these

Somebody to love - Queen

What you know - two door cinema club

Decode - Paramore

Blood - In this moment

Coming undone - Korn

Dead mans party - oingo boingo

Sweet sacrifice - Evanescence

The ballad of Sara Berry - 35mm: musical exhibition

Orange skies - Whitney myer

Affection - cigarettes after sex

505 - Artic monkeys

Still feel - Half alive

Im not ok - Weathers

As the world falls down - David bowie

Rules - Hoosiers

Your ex lover is dead - Stars

Blow my brains out - Tikkle me

I want it - Blue October

Lets dance - David bowie

Underground - David Bowie

Angel of small death - Hozier

Banana pancakes - Jack Johnson

Escapism - Steven universe

I lived on the moon - kwoon

Dead bite - Hollywood undead

Papaoutai - pentatonix

Edit: i cant believe i forgot fucking David bowie

I cried for a whole week when i found out he died, holy shit, my teacher had to send me home from school bc i wouldnt stop crying

[piarelei]

Soulmate au💁🏼‍♀️ tada that is all I have

“Oops sorry for the soulmate au is Harringrove, I like totally forgot to write that🤦🏼‍♀️” 

So, I took forever, but this au somehow grew and grew... So... Have a little preview, and the link to the ao3 at the bottom. 

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Cali was fucking beautiful. Great slats of burning white blinding him as the sun ricocheted off the ocean. Billy used to look upon the waves and know that this peculiar shade of gray was called blue. Remembered how his mother pressed the word, her smile, against his ear to tell him. Knew by the tilt of her voice alone that it was her favorite color.

Knew that it was a secret between them. That his mom wasn’t supposed to see colors. That his dad lives in shades of monochrome. That maybe he hoped to beat the colors out of her.

Billy doesn’t know what happened to his mom; one morning, she simply wasn’t there anymore, her hair bright in the white sun. Doesn’t know if she joined a world of colors or if Neil pushed her back in the dark.

His dad never talks about it, treats him to the back of his hand every time he asks. Billy has stopped asking a long time ago. He still gets a slap for his efforts. So, he bows his head and takes it; what else is there to do, now that his mom isn’t here to shield him from the worst of it? When his father remarries, he doesn’t think that anything is going to change.

He is right. His mother was one of a kind.

Susan came into their life, meek and quiet, muted by a life of gray, dressed in all white from dawn till dusk. She had told him “because you can never go wrong with white, Billy” when he had asked, at the beginning, when he still talked to her. But he had caught something else in her voice, the shrill of uncertainty maybe, as she wasn’t sure she would agree with this situation for long. Almost as if she expected to get a ring at her finger, readied herself to drop Neil and the wallowing life of self-pity they shared as soon as she met her other half and discovered red, white and royal blue.

Sometimes, back in Cali, he saw her watching through the living room window, the tilt of her head wistful. She and Neil go through the monochrome like robots; they’ve stopped trying so long ago. But in those moments, those interludes where he could draw the curtains and see the young woman that she used to be, hopeful and radiant with the possibility of love, he can almost see her as human. Almost feel like she hasn’t quite given up yet. And it makes something uncomfortable clench in Billy’s stomach, the need to find colors, to see the blue of the ocean, quick, fast, away from here.

Indiana, in comparison to Cali, is dark and cold, makes his shades of gray seem ten times more bleak.

His step-sister is an annoying constant in his passenger seat, hair too long and tangled by the open windows. They don’t talk, stare at the road, the trees, the dark, above, around and under. Billy can’t see shit; he pushes on the pedals all the same, feels the slap of the breeze on his cheekbone and the smell of rotten leaves high in his nose.

Maxine slides further in her seat, Billy sees her hands clench around the leather, he feels her fear like a tangible presence in the car; he doesn’t care. The quicker he gets in this shithole, the quicker he can get back out.

He doesn’t look at Maxine when she gets out of his car and bags it in the general direction of the high school, without a word; rude but he doesn’t need to be seen with that troll anyway.

The parking lot is crowded and he feels the sharp gazes of dozens of girls at his back. Cows, the bunch of them. He certainly won’t find his soulmate here; not when his soulmate is back in Cali, sun-kissed and eager to show him the cerulean ocean.

Billy throws his cigarette to the ground, doesn’t bother to stamp down on it. He doesn’t mind setting the world on fire, burning them all, turn them into charred silhouettes and blow them away with a breath. He probably wouldn’t get arrested; who the hell cares about Hawkins, bumfuck Indiana?

The air smells different up here; clean and sappy, and he misses the rotten smell of exhaust and piss like a phantom limb, tries to count the day until his 18th birthday when he can take his car and go. Meet his soulmate. See the colors. It’s a whole plan.

He hasn’t even started unpacking yet. Hopes he doesn’t have to. Hopes Neil fucks shit up at his new job, can’t keep his hands off the secretary like last time.

Billy sneers. Hawkins High cheers. Losers.

People talk to him all day long, burly dudes in need of a shower swing an arm across his shoulders and he pushes them into a row of lockers. Pissy girls breathe bubble-gum all over his face and he jeers and snaps his teeth; they laugh and disperse like a flock of geese. They think it’s a game; but Billy feels like he could hurt them if he wanted; he never did it before, but he could bite one, just to make an example. Then, he wouldn’t be able to fuck them, so where’s the fun in that.

Billy is getting kind of tired of all the attention, thinks of skipping the afternoon to find a place to smoke around town. Then there is this guy, ugly and short, who steps beside him and follows him between periods, waves a ridiculous paper in front of him.

“Halloween party, man. Loads of booze and pussy.”

Billy takes it and bobs his head; maybe he’ll go. Maybe he’ll drink lots of booze and manage some pussy.

Read more. 

[theravencawsatmidnight]

Inferno Chapter Two

Part Three 🔥

Yandere! Dabi

A/N. This is kinda long oops. This series is more of a build up to the big picture unlike Ice Box. Thank you for reading! (All parts under Inferno tag! Chapter One can be found under the Icebox tag! )

The chips Dabi gave you were heaven in a bag compared to the hospital food. Youre stomach was satisfied and youre eyes were watering from the taste. You were so content, even if it was for a brief moment. Nothing mattered right now. Not the pain youre arm was giving you , not the distance from youre family and peers , nothing. It was bliss.

The rest of the day was pretty boring , except youre nurse seemed a little more distant than usual. She asked how old you were and if you sign some papers . You refused and the look on her face changed from false concern to annoyed. She explained that it was important but you did want to sign without reading first. She left the room in a huff and you tried to forget about it . Night time rolled around and you laid in bed rubbing youre arm watching the moon shine outside. Little did you know though , that youre door was open slightly and someone was watching you.

The next morning youre nurse came and dropped off youre pills and left. You tried to stop her to tell her youre arm was hurting but she ignored you slamming the door. You flinched looking at youre bandage . The cloth under it had dried out and itched a bit . Should you do it youreself? Whats her problem? She forgot youre breakfast again tio. You sighed down at the pills before taking them and looked outside, forming little ice cubes in youre hand.

Youre stomach was angry by the afternoon , you could feel the pills and water sitting in youre aching empty stomach . You did not want to call the desk but... you were feeling light headed with little to no food besides the chips. Where was Aizawa? Did he not care......did anyone care....

The door creeped open and you smelled WacDonalds. Instantly youre head turned and youre stomach ached. You heard the door shut and a ‘click’ sound. It was Dabi , the nurse from the floor under you. He had a bag of food with him.

“Dabi!!! “ you sat up feeling youre mood skyrocket to the moon. He cared, he was the only one who cared.

“Hey Y/N , hungry?” He chuckled holding the bag up walking over to you. He pllaced the bag next to you and went to the other side of the bed inspecting youre bandage. It was turning a ugly red color and leaking under the cloth.

You dug into the bag whining in total bliss. The fries the burger the soda... all of it was euphoric to you. You looked up at Dabi thanking him over and over he only smiled behind his mask and pat youre head.

“Of course Y/N, but you seem awfully hungry. Did youre nurse get you breakfast? And this bandage looks.. not good.”

“No she.. started acting weird when i would not sign a paper for her yesterday. After that happened she got more distant with me. “

“Y/N, ill explain after you eat so just enjoy youre food. Im going to check youre mark.”

He sounded.. angry. Like he was gritting his teeth. But you paid no mind to it as you dug into youre delicious food. Dabi cut the bandage off and had to pry the dried cloth off of youre arm. The mark looked worse now , it was irritated and imflammed again. You looked at the mark and you felt youre mood drop and you had flashbacks for a second..

That laugh.. his grin.... “Youre doing so good Y/N! Im almost done...”

You whined and Dabi looked at you, he cupped youre cheek gently turning you towards him . “Ill clean this up for you. But you cant have it wrapped till tomorrow.”

“Sure..” you were lost in his eyes . Those striking blue eyes.

You had finished youre food after a few minutes tossing the bag and empty drink in the nearby trash bag while Dabi cleaned youre mark. It stung.. a lot and you were really starting to think it would never heal. After Dabi finished he went to the other side of the bed sitting down, he was leaning forward, his elbows on his knees and his hands together.

“Y/N... they want to put you in psych ward..i heard the nurses. They think you are crazy, they dont believe you did not do this to youreself. “

You leaned towards him to fast and youre lungs did not respond well. You caughed hard and Dabi got up grabbing you. He sat down on the bed holding youre head to his chest .

You cried and dug youre hands into his scrubs shirt. “Im not crazy... it happened.. it really happened i... i dont know what to do.. no one even comes to see me anymore.”

Dabi pet youre head and lifted youre chin with his other hand, he stared in youre watery eyes and you moved youre lips closer to his. Dabi moaned pulling you closer squeezing you for a second .

“I know youre not crazy Y/N. .. “ he pulled away bringing his hand up to his mask slipping his index finger in at the top. “Listen Y/N. Im going to show you.. me. I dont want you to be scared.”

“Why.. why would i be scared?” You were flustered and aroused, you wanted more of this man and you could not think straight.

Dabi pulled his mask down revealing his scars and staples. He looked down . “Im a monster”

You grabbed his hand making him look at you.

“No.. no Dabi. Youre beautiful. A beautiful man.. who understands me. Cares....”

He chuckled pulling you back to him. He kissed you gently and lovingly.

Crack.

Did you just hear something? It felt like something broke off. Probably nothing.

Dabi hugged you , a very devilish smirk across his face.

Slowly Dabi let go of you getting up, you grabbed his hand and he fixed his mask. “I will be back tomorrow. Promise” He said soothingly. You frowned letting go and watching him leave. Tomorrow, he said he would be back tomorrow.

That night youre nurse was clocking out and going to the front entrance , she left going to her car and saw Dabi leaning on it.

“Uhm excuse me? Can i help you? Where did you get those scrubs?!, ive never seen you at the hospital before!!!” She asked scared

Dabi held his hand up , blue fire dancing in the center., “youve been neglecting my precious Y/N.” The fire shot to her instantly catching. He pushed himself off the car walking down the street and lighting a cigarette.

[zestycompress]

Ultimate Duo! CH. 2

Forgot to post it here.. oops

anyway chapter three is gonna come out.. probably today or tomorrow. i’m on a roadtrip with my family so i probably have more time to write now

AO3 Link

The car malfunctioned, giving the Japanese tourist some time to catch up with Giorno. Coincidence? Probably. Looks like he needs to get a new car. At least he was able to use Gold Experience and turn his luggage into a frog, he didn’t want to leave empty-handed. Too bad he lost money to the security by paying them to keep quiet. Of course, he could always get it back by pickpocketing some unlucky people.

The blond teen turned around to see a man dragging a shovel. One of his eyes was watery, and at that moment, he knew who that was.

“You’re Giorno Giovanna, right?”

So he knows his name.

Giorno nodded. The man turned around, gesturing to a bench with his head and walked towards it. “We haven’t met before, have we? Giorno, you have any clue who I am?”

“Leaky-Eye Luca. You were in a dispute a while back and when it turned ugly, you took a knife to the face but kept fighting and swinging despite your wound,” He replied. “The complications from that little scrap left you with a perpetually leaking eye, hence your moniker.”

Luca sat down while Giorno stood in front of him. “Here, take a load off and make yourself comfortable.”

The half-Japanese teen stared in silence.

“What’s the holdup? Pop a squat. Looking up at you is hurting my eyes.” He said, Giorno moved over and sat next to him.

“So, how old are you?”

“Fifteen and change.”

“What, really?! Haha! You’re a baby,” Luca grinned and laughed, but his face quickly changed. “Here’s the thing, Giorno, any true friendship has to be built on the firm foundation of the three T’s. You’ve heard of them, haven’t you?” He wiped his eye as he spoke while Giorno stared ahead. “In case you’re drawing a blank, the first one is truth, the second one is tolerance, last but not least you have the third T, tribute, and voila the three T’s of true friendship.”

Giorno turned his head to the older man and asked, “Was there something you needed?”

Luca quickly grabbed his shovel and pushed it right against the teenager’s cheek. “I wasn’t finished showing you the ropes so shut your face hole! Nobody said you could ask questions, as for what I needed, I hear you started a hustle at the airport, huh? Surely you can see how this would be confusing, after all, I don’t remember receiving any tribute from you-” Giorno could really use a distraction right about now. “-and without tribute, how could we remain true friends? Now hand over your wallet.”

“Signore, you’ve got it wrong. I’ve already paid your tribute. I don’t have any money,” Giorno said, only making Luca angrier.

“You talking about that guard?! You have to be a special kind of stupid to think I’m working with that old- huh?” He stared at the bizarre image in Giorno’s wallet of the one and only Dio Brando, but he didn’t know that.. “What the hell is this, a family photo?” He brushed it off and continued to shout. “I know you’re holding out on me, so fork over the cash right now blondie!”

“Signore Luca, I really hate having to repeat myself and as I’ve already said, I don’t owe you anything.”

“Huh?”

“Now please don’t make me say it a third time-”

Luca swung his shovel at Giorno, almost hitting him. A frog - the one that used to be that certain Japanese tourist’s luggage - appeared and was next to his foot. It then hopped onto his leg.

“Time out, kid. What the hell is that?” It’s… a frog… isn’t it obvious?

It continued to hop upwards on Giorno. “So he came back…”

“Flick it off!” The man shouted.

“No, the frog has nothing to do with this. Please don’t ask me to do that.” He responded.

Luca raised his shovel and pointed at the innocent creature. “That wasn’t a freakin’ suggestion, amico, and you still haven’t paid the taxes you owe! Are you seriously going to refuse both of my orders?! You’ve got some brass balls, kid! (more like steel balls haha am i right sbr fans) No one says no to Leaky-Eye Luca twice!”

“This frog is a living creature with the will of his own,” Uh, yeah, we know that. “He thinks and acts for himself. Let’s go our separate ways.” Giorno really wanted to go back to his place, even if that meant sitting in awkward silence with Kars. This guy was holding him up.

Luca swung his shovel at the frog despite Giorno’s warnings. The small green creature slipped out from underneath the tool. Unfortunately for Leaky-Eye Luca, he was dead, all because he tried hitting a frog. Should’ve listened, now the back of his head was caved in. The frog transformed back into luggage and Giorno walked away.

~~~

Kars tried on the clothes Giorno bought for them. To be honest, they weren’t that bad. Obviously, they could be better, the white collared shirt was too plain for Kars. He pulled out some other clothes that could be fitting. He examined a thin turtleneck sweater which was a wine purple color, similar to his hair color.

Good enough.

He already completed reading every book Giorno owned and he wasn’t planning on rereading them. Kars practically memorized every word written on the pages. Staying inside Giorno’s room isn’t something he’s going to do. If the blond teen returns before he does, he better be prepared for waking up in the middle of the night to see Kars entering his room by compressing his body to go underneath the door.

Obviously, it’s not going to be a pleasant sight, especially when you’re only half-awake.

As he walked through the streets of Italy, he received many stares from random humans. Kars either saw admiration or envy in their eyes and sometimes fear, he couldn’t blame them. After all, he was the perfect being. And he was pretty tall too, he towered over everyone else. Not only that, but the Pillar Man was also pretty intimidating, not that much of a surprise.

People scurried out of his way with their head down to avoid eye contact with Kars. If they looked up at him, he would send a cold glare and force them to quickly turn away. But not everybody was scared off. A few people politely waved and smiled, maybe even wink at Kars. Some humans were bold enough to ask him to dinner. Of course, he harshly declined their offer. It wasn’t the first time a human requested to have a meal with him. Kars is fully aware of how attractive he is compared to others.

Soon, the Pillar Man found himself near a beach, it was mostly empty. There was just one single person standing on the dock holding a fishing rod. Kars would’ve ignored them and continued walking, but a part of him wanted to go towards the person. He tried convincing himself that he only wanted to go near them because of their bizarre lime-green hair. Honestly, he wasn’t a big fan of it.

When Kars got closer, he felt the same kind of energy as Giorno’s Stand, Gold Experience. It caught him a bit off guard. This person had their Stand out… while they were fishing? Now he was confused, why would he need a Stand to fish? Did it help? Kars needed answers.

“You.”

The person shrieked loudly, dropping their fishing rod, turning around with a fearful expression and wide eyes.

“You’re a coward, aren’t you?” Kars sighed. “I can tell just by looking at you. Now, tell me your name.”

The person stumbled over their words a few times before blurting out “Pesci!”

By their appearance and the sound of their voice, Kars concluded that this human was indeed male. He stared at him for a while before asking another question. “Where’s your Stand?”

Pesci panicked, looking around to see if Prosciutto was nearby. He just left to go smoke, knowing full well that Pesci hates the smell. He probably needed to go buy more cigarettes and was now coming back.

...The blond man was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey! Answer me!”

“I-I, um, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” The only option he had was to play dumb. It wasn’t working.

“What kind of fool do you take me for? I can feel its energy, tell me, what are you using your Stand for?”

Pesci couldn’t take it, the man was just too intimidating! Hopefully, he’s not from another gang, a rival one to be exact, the whole team would get angry at him for revealing information. Even if it was about his Stand, weaknesses would be exposed and he would get taken out.

“My Stand is Beach Boy, it's the fishing rod! I’m only using it to fish, don’t hurt me!” He shut his eyes and tensed up, unable to bear staring into the tall man’s eyes.

Kars blinked. The damn fishing rod was a Stand? Did Giorno seriously lie about how only Stand users could see Stands? He picked up the dark blue fishing rod and examined it. It certainly was pretty odd.

“I thought only Stand users could see Stands, was I wrong?” He hummed, poking the skull on Beach Boy.

“...Well, that is true but… only for most Stands… there are some exceptions I guess…” Pesci replied, wincing when Kars turned his head to him.

“Is that so?” A smirk appeared on his face. Looks like he learned something new.

Before Kars could ask any more questions, the sound of footsteps alerted him. A blond man with a dark-colored suit stood there, frowning. The Pillar Man returned the same look. Pesci felt relieved that Prosciutto finally came back, he was probably going to get scolded and punished but that’s better than answering any more questions about his Stand.

“Who the hell are you?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

Prosciutto stepped closer, glaring into Kars’s eyes without a hint of fear. Despite the man being a foot taller than him, he wasn’t intimidated, or at least he didn’t appear to be. That’s something Pesci admired him for. The intense staring continued and Pesci started to get uncomfortable.

“Leave,” Prosciutto commanded. “Now.”

“Or what? What are you going to do?” He laughed. “You’re just a pitiful human. There’s nothing you could do that can hurt me.”

“Is that what you think?” The blond man hissed. “Fine, I’m sure The Grateful Dead will change your mind!”

Kars felt something grabbing onto his legs but didn’t look. He knew it was just his Stand, so why panic? He found amusement in Prosciutto’s bewildered expression. The Grateful Dead wasn’t working. Even though the Stand’s making contact with Kars, he isn’t aging. Was there some kind of Stand ability that canceled the effect? Prosciutto glared at his Stand as if doing that would start the aging process. Nothing happened.

“Well? I’m waiting,” Kars hummed, his smug grin grew wider which made the Italian man more frustrated.

“Impossible! You should be getting older, more weaker!” He growled, his Stand’s grip became tighter. “Pesci, do something!”

“O-Oh! Right!” He was about to summon his Stand before he foolishly realized that Kars already had it in his hand. What was he supposed to do, reach out and grab the damn thing?! The Pillar Man looked down at him, sending shivers down the young man’s spine.

...Surprisingly, he returned Beach Boy. Prosciutto eyed him suspiciously. Pesci hesitated, then quickly snatched his Stand back. He stared at Kars, trying to figure out if there was a hidden motive, but he wasn’t sure.

“Demonstrate your Stand’s abilities, I’d like to see how it works. Don’t keep me waiting, I can wait all day but I’d prefer not to.” He said.

The hook and fishing line was now inside Kars, he can feel it traveling up his arm. It was a strange sensation. However, he couldn’t see it moving. There was no outline of the hook and line in his skin. The hook found its way to Kars’s heart, but Pesci became hesitant. Was this all a trap? He glanced at Prosciutto, the man was silently encouraging him to use Beach Boy. Something was off about Kars. Instead of finishing off the two Stand users, he instead waited for their Stands to do something. Waiting for your foe to display their abilities can help with figuring out their weakness, but it can also put yourself in danger. Kars did not seem to care about that, he just seemed curious about their Stands. Prosciutto kept his guard up, you can never be too careful.

Pesci used Beach Boy’s hook to tear apart the beating heart, but again, Kars seemed to be unaffected.

...Or perhaps it just didn’t work.

There was simply no way to kill Kars. The sun was no longer his enemy, Stands were useless, even lava couldn’t do it. He was the perfect, undefeatable being.

Kars felt the hook desperately tugging on his heart as Pesci became more visibly anxious. Prosciutto was also getting quite upset. The Pillar Man has never been so entertained before. Chuckling, he walked away from the duo.

“That’s enough, I supposed. Pesci, your Stand has potential, you know that, right? However,” He glanced at Prosciutto with a bit of a frown. “What’s the point of yours? It doesn’t seem like it can do anything interesting.”

As he left, Prosciutto muttered curses and insults, not knowing that Kars could hear what he said. Pesci thought the compliment was rather nice, even though the man was strange.

If only he knew his name.

~~~

He ran into that Japanese tourist again, this time he found out he was no ordinary being. And he didn’t have to get a new car after all! Well, maybe someone took it after he ran away. But that didn’t matter, the tourist was a Stand user. He was the reason his car came to a stop. Luckily, Giorno got away again. The stranger didn’t seem so bad though. He had a good soul and Giorno felt a bit of pity for robbing him.

He opened up the window in the funicular and stared at the passing buildings. Before he could think about what he’ll do next, he heard a coin drop. A man wearing a white suit with oddly shaped black dots appeared and picked it up.

“This yours?” He asked Giorno.

[yoong-i]

CALM

Aside from Fine Line, me and Tee also went through CALM and pulled our favs from there. Same rules as always, lmk your favs if you want :)

“I’ve been asleep so long, I'm so far away Visions I see are strong, I hear what they say Won't you leave all your fears at the edge of the world? I’ll tell you again like I told you before I've been asleep so long, wasting away”

“What a blessing to feel your love”

^^ Red Desert

“Diggin' my grave to get a reaction Changin' my face and callin' it fashion”

^^ No Shame

“Had to fuck it up before I really got to know me”

“While I wondered if I'd ever, if I'd ever get enough And I did some shit I never should've done”

“Shout out to the old me and everything you showed me”

“I'm constantly reminded of all the compromises By the people from my past who have a hard time letting go” 

^^ Old Me

“But I know that I'm never, ever gonna change And you know you don't want it any other way”

“I love you so much that I hate you”

“You know we need it like the air we breathe”

^^ Easier

“Don't know if you love me or you want me dead”

“Blood on my shirt, rose in my hand You're looking at me like you don't know who I am Blood on my shirt, heart in my hand Still beating”

^^ Teeth

“You know you are my favorite fantasy A fatal love song”

“I see the color in your veins It makes me smile, it makes me shake”

^^ Wildflower

“I wasted so much time on people that reminded me of you”

“Past love, burned out like a cigarette”

^^ Best Years

“Hurricane insert name”

“I'm wakin' up to my mistakes again I know you love to point them out Baby, I'm sick of sadness and you're sick of Xanax”

“I know you think I'm bulletproof But you know how to hurt me too”

^^ Not in the Same Way

“Kaleidoscope mind gets in the way”

“I'll never give you away 'Cause I already made that mistake”

“When I take a look at my life and all of my crimes You're the only thing that I think I got right”

^^ Lover of Mine

“I don't think I like me anymore Can someone tell me who I was before?”

^^ Thin White Lies

“Your type of mind, so hard to find Native of mine, you're just my kind”

^^ Lonely Heart

“I hope you think of me high I hope you think of me highly”

“Today, I've called to tell you that I'm changing But I don't think you have enough respect to see me try”

“I need to stop letting me down”

“I know I'll never meet your expectations But the picture that you paint of me looks better in your mind”

^^ High

We forgot to do Kill My Time oops sorry

[illusionlockarchive]

Smile for Me Walkthrough Guide (Good End, Everyone Happy)

Hey there! My name's Romeo, and I'll be your guide as we solve the puzzles and riddles of Dr. Habit Kissing Simu-OOPS I MEAN - Smile For Me!

This will be a Good End run, as this is the ending I understand best how to get and was aided by my friend on getting it. I noticed a severe lack of any playthroughs that went further than the carnival, and pretty much no written walkthroughs, so I'm providing for that.

Without further delay let's begin!

The first day, talk to Nat, the person standing at your door. She will ask a series of yes or no questions, which you can nod or shake your head to, to keep the conversation going. After her last question, she will ask to see a flower. Show her the dawn blossom in your inventory. Grab the other flowers by the window with the hand she gives you, then select one and hold it out long enough for her to finish sniffing. She should be happy now.

Go out of your room and talk to the painter, Dallas. Once he's explained his situation with Mirphy, the photographer, go talk to her the other side of the room. After she's finished, back away a little bit, and pay attention to what she says to herself. Or just keep reading the walkthrough and I will tell you myself hehe.

Go talk to Dallas, nod when he asks if you figured it out. The clues are as follows: likes small canvases -> yes, likes to fill with action -> no, likes greens -> no, likes dogs -> no

If you do all this correctly you will get the Unremarkable Painting. Give it to Mirphy. She will give you her old camera in return. Go talk to Dallas. He will ask if she is into him or not. You can either nod or shake, as it should not affect your progress (although I feel it's more safe and genuine to disagree). Whatever your answer, he will move out of the way, and now you can go down the stairs. Dallas and Mirphy won't turn truly sparkly and blue until later, so leave them alone for now.

In the yard, you will find three characters. There is a path to the boilers, but they are blocked off by chains.

You can do the first three characters' quests in the yard in any order, as they all depend on each other somewhat, but I'll give you my preferred order. Talk to Trencil, the blond man in the corner, first, and after a small conversation he will ask you to plant flowers for him. You should still have the flowers from before in your inventory.

Each flower needs to be in a specific pot so that they receive light at their optimal time to bloom. Their positions are as follows: Duskflower in the pot closest to the man, Noonbloom in the middle pot, and MorningDaisy in the pot closer to the door of the rooms building.

Leave them be until the next day. Talk to the little girl, Millie, and she will tell you to hit Ronbo, the clown, with a golf ball, using the pipes. To do this, simply align the pipes by turning the wheel on them, then telling Millie when you believe they are ready. You will eventually get them in the right position, allowing her trick shot to hit Ronbo, and she will be made happy. As a reward she will give you the Erythronium seed. Plant it on the flowerpot on your windowsill the next time you visit your room.

Talk to Ronbo, learn that he needs the locket. Align the pipes again, this time so they hit the locket that is hanging from the lounge sign. Pick it up, show it to Ronbo. He will tell you to get a picture of Tiff, however she is located somewhere else entirely. If you have already advanced to the next day and completed the flower errand, talk to Trencil. He will give you the shears. Use them to advance to the next area, the boilers. Find a small window that shows a bit of the lounge, and take a picture of the girl that is closer, Tiff. Go back and show it to Ronbo. The carnival should be open now.

Let’s head back to the boilers. Talk to the man in a scarf, Trevor, there, and he will tell you to get a confession from Trencil. Go back upstairs and use the locket to unlock the room with the padlock on it. Take the megaphone, you will need it for this quest and for later as well. Go back downstairs. Take a picture of Trencil and show it to him, and when he starts talking about how he hasn’t aged, put the megaphone up to him. Go back and talk to Trevor, and he should turn sparkly and happy.

Head to the carnival. Talk to the little girl, Putunia first, she will tell you to come back the next day. Then talk to the Broccoli Kid, and say no to his every offer, until he gives you the Item Finder for free. Use it to find and dig up three items: A shiny quarter, a pocket mirror, and a quick-translate, all of which you will need later. If you haven’t advanced into the next day yet, do it now. You will be able to in this next day meet Gillis, the strong man that was guarding the lounge before. Talk to him, then take a picture of him and hang it on the camera. Talk to him again. Next, go to the carnival. Play the button-pressing game, using the pocket mirror to cheat without having to physically look behind you. After you’ve won the bear, give it to Gillis, and he will give you his mask, and tell you the code to get into the Lounge: 3 knocks, pause, 4 knocks, pause, 2 knocks.

Take the mask and slap it against a crude red colored painting on the wall of the carnival, to make it red, then give it to Putunia next time you talk to her (she will not accept the mask in its original form). Next, walk behind the fortune teller tent, and use the shears on that small square patch, and you should get the cape you need to give to Putunia. In return, she will give you the boxing glove.

Go talk to the man holding a briefcase and standing next to the tire fire, Parsley. He will tell you how hungry he is, and to get some food from his father. Before you go to the lounge, look for loose bolts around the carnival, one will be on Martha, another next to Parsley, and the last at the fortune teller tent. Go to the lounge and talk to the bartender, Parsley’s dad. He will give you a recipe, and you can already put down the “mushrooms” aka the bolts. Next, go back and talk to Dallas. He will give you a new quest, find a home for three consecutive paintings. The first should go to Putunia, the second to Trevor, and the last to your own room, as there will be a nail on the wall indicating you can hang it there. After you’ve done that, talk to him and he will give you his palette.

Go back to the Lounge and place the palette in the recipe as the “meat” then the very recipe paper as the “cheese”. Take the finished result to Parsley, let him eat, and talk about visting his father. Go back to the Lounge, talk to his father, and he will become happy and sparkly, and give you the bathroom key. Go into the bathroom, open the locked door, take the fortune coupon, then flush the toilet and grab the toilet teeth. Go back to the Carnival and give the teeth to Broccoli Kid after he states he needs a favor from you, and watch him turn sparkly and happy. Check on Parsley, make sure that he will visit his father, remember to not agree to his father talking about girls or sports. The next day, Parsley will be at the Lounge, and talking to him will immediately make him happy and sparkly.

(EDIT: SPEAKING OF NEXT DAY, I FORGOT TO PICKLE BOY) Pickle Man spawns I think a day after the lounge. For him you can either give the pickle jar to Gillis so he can open it or just crash the jar into him so many times he gets coated in pickles anyway. So sorry.

(ANOTHER EDIT: SORRY TO TRENCIL) Around a day after the lounge as well you may go back to Trencil and do a new quest to fully make him happy. To do this, play a game of telephone: talk to Nat, then talk to him, then go back to Nat, then as she says “If you think I’m gonna be the bigger person...” put the megaphone to her mouth. Then go downstairs and talk to him and he should be happy.

Next, return to the rooms building, and to the flight of stairs where a moping woman, Lulia, is located. Talk to her, and learn from her she needs to see that she will have a good fortune. Go back to the carnival, and into the fortune teller’s tent. For the fortune telling to work, you need to wait until noon, when a ray of sunshine illuminates the crystal ball (thanks to the cut out patch). You can do this by accelerating time with the stop watch. When the sun is shining on it, touch the crystal ball with the coupon, and you will be able to get the Good Fortune Certificate. Bring it back to Lulia, and she will be cheered up as well.

Go to sleep, and in the next day Lulia will have moved. Go upstairs and talk to Borbra, the large woman with the binoculars, and she will tell you to get an Y’owl, as in exchange she gives you a glove over your hand. Talk to the purple child, Tim Tam, and they wil tell you to punch 20 people. Do just that, then come back to her. Grab the duck, then take the shortcut to the carnival by taking the shears, cutting the chains and opening a hole between the bars and jumping down. Give Gillis the duck. Go back upstairs, then talk to Tim Tam again. Staring contest. Then, get the two other lost items. Give the lipstick to Lulia, then go back down again and give the cigarettes to Ronbo.

Since you are already down, next attempt the Y’owl quest. To do this, it must be night, almost time to sleep, and you must stand with your hand out only a few steps away from the tire fire in the carnival. Wait for the Y’owl to spawn, and it will run in a circle. To catch it you must actually grab it. Once you’ve succeeded in grabbing it, make your way upstairs and sleep (inevitably). After you wake up, go back down, and talk to the fisherman in the pond. Go into the boilers, take a picture of the person in the hole, then put it over the camera. The fishermen should be happy and sparkly, and give you his fishing rod. Go into the carnival, and dig under the tree next to its entrance to find a hat. Go back to the rooms building, punch a hole into the “Habit Loves You” poster, and grab the toothbrush, then bring it back to the Lounge, go into the bathroom, and put paste on it by slapping it against the paste stuck on the sink.

Take the fishing rod to the roof, then among the umbrellas find the one spot that has a missing umbrella (you will understand when you see it), and put the fishing rod there. Before you go, talk to Tim Tam, have her turn happy and sparkly. Then talk to the sad girl with the strange language and give her the hat, and she will turn happy and sparkly. Go to the little building still on the roof, with the picture of a lily, and use the shears to cut the chains. Advance the story by pressing the button until you find the glasses.

Go downstairs, talk to Mirphy, she will tell you about how she wants a butt pic. Back away for her and wait for her to get distracted, then take the picture and give it to her. She will upgrade your camera, and now it has a flash feature. Go into Tiff’s bedroom, then take pictures of her contract until the ink is ruined. Go down to the Lounge, then talk to Tiff, let her know you already got rid of the contract, then talk to the tipsy woman, Jerafina, and give her her glasses when she asks for them. Next, take the kiss she offers. Both Tiff and Jerafina should also be happy and sparkly by then.

Go back to your room, and give the kiss to the plant. Then go back to the roof.  Next, go talk to the man inside the bars, Kamal, and brush his teeth, and after that take a picture of him. Go back down and to the boilers, then go talk to the person in the hole, Wallus, and show him Kamal’s picture. Agree to find the record. Don the gloved hand and listen to his instructions as you search the acid waters. Once you pick it up, show it to him. Go back to the Lounge, and if you haven’t used the quarter on the jukebox yet, use it now. Select the Pumpkin album. Go back to the boilers and talk to Wallus, and he will give you his ID. Take a picture of him with the new camera. Go back to the Lounge, use the ID to get a drink from the bartender.

Go back to your room, give the flower the drink, then as it smiles, brush its teeth. Take the Tooth Lily. Go back to Kamal on the roof, and show him both the ID and the picture of Wallus. If you’ve done everything right, he will ask if you want him to open up the tunnels. Say yes, although you might want to save first if you haven’t yet. Remember to have the Lily in your inventory. Then go back to your room and sleep (advance the time if it’s not late enough to sleep).

After you get out of bed, make your way outside, and into the boilers. Go through the door that was once closed, continue through the halls, until you finally find yourself in a circular room with an elevator to the side. Enter, then press the button to go up. Once it’s gone up and opened, walk out and walk around the waiting room until you black out.

Go through the cutscene. Once Habit leaves the room, you’ll be able to get control of your inventory once again. Use the hand to grab the teeth and mirror. Use either the smaller mirror or bigger mirror, and you will be able to see the code on the wall. Use the teeth and fling them at the correct numbers: 7 4 0 8 1. Once you’re free, climb the knocked over pillars and then use the hand to turn the wheel on top to open up the door. Walk out the door, and as Habit begins monologuing, show the Lily to him. Follow through the conversation with him. Agree to all his requests, to listen to him, be his friend, etc. He will turn happy and sparkly. Leave through the elevator and then go down, then leave through the main gate that should now be open.

OPTIONAL 1: If you play the Wack-A-Molar game in the carnival, you can get an additional diary page as a prize. It’s not required, but it is interesting.

OPTIONAL 2: If you want to kiss Dr. Habit, you may do so by taking another kiss from Jerafina before you go to sleep after you activate The End with Kamal. Then, when you find him monologuing outside the room, you may either kiss him before or after giving him the Lily. However be careful, because kissing him first and letting him fully talk and react to it will lock you into the Neutral End, so show him the Lily quickly after you kiss him.

[twilightvolt]

My Favorite Anime OPs and EDs from 2010-2019

No one asked for this, but i’m doin’ it anyway cuz there’s so many songs out there that i’ve never heard anyone talk about. like, y’all sleep on Yu-Gi-Oh! apparently. lmao

Going by release year, here’s all the OPs and EDs i can remember that i luv (and still do to this day). i may or may not have gotten all the years right. hell, i’m not even sure i got the OP and ED numbers right.

It’ll go by: Song Name - Artist (Name of Anime and Which OP/ED it is) an asterisk means i REALLY like it above the rest.

Hopefully this’ll help introduce you to some new jams you missed out on! ^  ^

2010

Going My Way! ~Road to Tomorrow~ - Masaaki Endoh (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds OP5)*

Close to You - ALvino (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds ED4)

Future Colors - Plastic Tree (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds ED5)

Gravity 0 - Aqua Timez (Star Driver OP)*

Never Give Up! - Sonar Pocket (Digimon Xros Wars OP)*

Period - Chemistry (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood OP4)*

Rain - SID (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood OP5)* THE. FEELS.

Uragiri no Yuuyake - THEATRE BROOK (Durarara!! OP)* Y’all remember this one? Lmao

Trust Me - Yuya Matsushita (Durarara!! ED)

Ice Cream Syndrome - Sukima Switch (Pokemon Zoroark: Master of Illusions ED)*

My Soul, Your Beats! - Lia (Angel Beats OP) WAIT HOLD ON, ANGEL BEATS WAS THIS DECADE? I THOUGHT THAT WAS 2009 OR SOMETHING. DAHEQ?

ChAngE - Miwa (BLEACH OP12)

Calling - FLOW (Heroman ED)*

SHIVER - the GazettE (Black Butler II OP)

2011

Samurai Heart (Some Like it Hot!) - SPYAIR (Gintama ED17)* And on this day I realized….SPYAIR is lit.

New World - Twill (Digimon Xros Wars OP2)

Masterpiece - Mihimaru GT (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL OP)

Boku Quest - Golden Bomber (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL ED)* I luv watching the actual ending sequence. It fits my cyber aesthetic to a T.

BRAVING! - KANAN (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL OP2)

Setsubou no Freesia (Longing Freesia) - Daizystripper (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL ED2)* I’ll be completely honest, this song has been my favorite anime theme over most, if not all others, ever since. It’s kinda held a special place in my heart as it’s got memories of what transpired during 2012 that i don’t think i’ll ever forget. From the summer trip we took down south to me creating my very first OCs, Takuya and his Charmander partner Drake, on paper, i’ll luv this song with all my heart. ^  ^

Lovers - 7!! (Seven Oops) (Naruto Shippuden OP)

Counter Identity - UNISON SQUARE GARDEN (Soul Eater Repeat Show OP)*

Ai Ga Hoshii Yo - Shion Tsuji (Soul Eater Repeat Show OP2)* WANTCHU WANTCHU, I WANT CHUU~

SHINING STAR - 9nine (Star Driver OP2)*

Crossover - 9nine (Star Driver ED2)

Sky's the Limit - Shihoko Hirata (Persona 4 the Animation OP)

We’re Not Alone - coldrain (Rainbow Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin OP)

One Reason - Fade (Deadman Wonderland OP) I can bet you right now half of y’all forgot about this show. I mean i did. Lol

Mayonaka no Orchestra - Aqua Timez (Naruto Shippuden ED16)

Hacking to the Gate - Kanako Itou (Steins;Gate OP)* THIS SONG CLEARED MY SKIN AND RAISED MY GRADES.

Ranbu no Melody - SID (BLEACH OP13)* That main chorus tho. N o i c e .

LISTEN TO THE STEREO!! - GOING UNDERGROUND (Katekyo Hitman Reborn OP8)*

Core Pride - UVERworld (Blue Exorcist OP)

2012

Mask - Aqua Timez (BLEACH ED30?)

Soul Drive - Color Bottle (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL OP3)*

Wild Child - Moumoon (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL ED3)* Whenever I hear this song, I either think of school shenanigans or, if school isn't a thing in their world, a high school AU. Lmao

Unbreakable Heart - Hideaki Takatori (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL OP4)

Artist - Vistlip (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL ED4)*

Stand By Me - Stereopony (Eureka Seven AO ED)* Ok I know some people don't wanna remember AO, but hear me out here. Lmao 

Brave Blue - FLOW (Eureka Seven AO OP2)*

Key Plus Words - Shihoko Hirata & Yumi Kawamura (Persona 4 the Animation OP2)

Harukaze - SCANDAL (BLEACH OP15)*

Crossing Field - LiSA (Sword Art Online OP) I like making SAO jokes as much as the next guy, but let's be real here. Crossing Field was still a pretty good song.

STAND UP! - Twill (Digimon Xros Wars Hunters OP)* Hunters sucked, but the OP slaps.

Kyomu Densen - ALI PROJECT (Another OP) This show gave me a temporary fear of umbrellas, but this OP is good.

Complication - ROOKiEZ is PUNK’D (Durarara!! OP2)

Light My Fire - KOTOKO (Shakugan no Shana III Final OP)

Mite Mite Kochichi - Memoiro Clover Z (Pokemon Best Wishes ED3)

2013

Dualism of Mirrors - Petite Milady (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL OP5)

GO WAY GO WAY - FoZZtone (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL ED5)

Challenge the GAME - REDMAN (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL ED6)* I swear to god, this should’ve been the final OP rather than Wonder Wings. I really don’t like that song.

Oh, and if you wanna hear more of the lead singer's voice, he's the lead singer of GIRUGAMESH. They didn't do any anime songs while they were still active afaik, but totally check it out if you like J-Rock.

Sakura Mitsutsuki & Genjyou Destruction - SPYAIR (Gintama OP13 and Gintama: The Final Chapter OP)*

After Cherry Blossoms (all quartets lead to the?) - UNISON SQUARE GARDEN (Yozakura Quartet: Hana no Uta OP)*

Non-Fiction Compass - UNISON SQUARE GARDEN (Yozakura Quartet: Tsuki ni Naku OP)

Sayonara Memory - 7!! (Seven Oops) (Naruto Shippuden ED)

BLOODY STREAM - Coda (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Battle tendency OP)* I mean, how could i NOT put this song on here? Lmao

Be An Arrow! - Rica Matsumoto (Pokemon Best Wishes! OP2)

Natsumeku Sakamichi (Summerly Slope) - Daisuke (Pokemon Best Wishes DA! OP)* While the Black & White series was absolutely terrible, I can thank it for spawning some nice OPs.

Egao - Ikimono-gakari (Pokemon Genesect and the Legend Awakened ED)

Take Your Way - Livetune adding Fukase (From SEKAI NO OWARI) (Devil Survivor 2 the Animation OP)* I swear I will never get tired of this song.

Be - Song Riders (Devil Survivor 2 the Animation ED)*

Watashi no Bara wo Kaminasai - ALI PROJECT (Rozen Maiden 2013 OP)

Moshimo - Daisuke (Naruto Shippuden OP)

Burn My Dread ~Spring of Birth~ & More Than One Heart - Yumi Kawamura (Persona 3 the Movie #1 Spring of Birth OP and ED)*

Eden - Aqua Timez (Magi: the Kingdom of Magic ED)*

Out of Control - Nothing’s Carved in Stone (Psycho Pass OP2)*

HERO -Kibou no Uta- - FLOW (Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods ED)

2014

Silhouette - KANA BOON (Naruto Shippuden OP16)* Everyone rise for the weeb national anthem.

BelievexBelieve - Bulletrain (Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V OP)

ENAMEL - SID (Black Butler: Book of Circus OP)

Masayume Chasing - BoA (Fairy Tail OP15)

STRIKE BACK - BACK-ON (Fairy Tail OP16)*

Burn! - Bulletrain (Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V OP2)

DAYxDAY - BLUE ENCOUNT (Gintama OP)* Before Polaris, there was this. lol

Goya no Machiawase - Hello Sleepwalkers (Noragami OP)* I swear Noragami has great taste in OPs. lmao

Fate is in Our Hands - Lotus Juice (Persona 3 the Movie #2 Midsummer Knight's Dream OP)* Y'all know Lotus Juice makes EVERYTHING badass.

One Hand, One Heartbeat - Yumi Kawamura (Persona 3 the Movie #2 Midsummer Knight's Dream ED)* I swear I literally feel like crying every time I hear this song. It's just that powerful.

Unravel - TK from Ling Tosite Sigure (Tokyo Ghoul OP) Ok, lemme explain. I used to hate this song cuz I thought TK's singing voice was whiny as hell. But after a long, LOOOOONG time, it finally started to grow on me. I think it's because of all the song covers I've listened to and, after understanding the meaning behind the lyrics, I appreciate this song a bit more nowadays. 

V (VOLT) and MEGA V (MEGA VOLT) - Yusuke (Pokemon XY OPs 1&2)*

daze - Jin ft. MARiA from GARNiDELiA (Mekakucity Actors OP)

Monochrome - Dancing Dolls (Soul Eater NOT! OP)

2015

Saigo Made ii - Aqua Timez (Gintama ED15 i think?)

Kyouran Hey Kids! - THE ORAL CIGARETTES (Noragami Aragoto OP)* IN THIS HOUSE, WE JUST WANNA HOLD YOUR HAAAAAAND~

Getta Ban Ban (Mad-Paced Getter) - Tomohisa Sako (Pokemon XY OP3)*

XY&Z - Rica Matsumoto (Pokemon XY&Z OP)*

Raise Your Flag - MAN WITH A MISSION (Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans OP)*

Hello, World! - BUMP OF CHICKEN (Kekkai Sensen OP)*

Sugar Song and Bitter Step AKA the song everyone makes fan animated parodies of it’s opening sequence - UNISON SQUARE GARDEN (Kekkai Sensen ED)

Kirifuda (Trump Card) - Cinema Staff (Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V OP4)

Speaking - MRS. GREEN APPLE (Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V ED4)* before Great Escape from Attack on Titan and Inferno from Fire Force, there was this OP and ED. both of which i feel are better songs. lmao

Tweedia - Rei Yasuda (Pokemon Hoopa and the Clash of Ages ED)*

Diver - KANA-BOON (The Last: Naruto the Movie ED)*

Butter-Fly 2015 - Kouji Wada (Digimon Adventure Tri. OP)

Sono Chi no Kioku ~End of the World~ - JO☆STARS ~TOMMY, Coda, JIN~ (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders OP2)

Lapis Lazuli - Eir Aoi (Arslan Senki ED)*

Clattanoia - OxT (Overlord OP)*

L.L.L. - MYTH & ROID (Overlord ED)

Nazo 2015 - La PomPon (Detective Conan OP41)* Hearing this brought back memories of hearing the original during my childhood back when Cased Closed was still a thing.

Just Fly Away - EDGE of LIFE (Gundam Build Fighters Try OP2)

Flyers - BRADIO (Death Parade OP) Like Another, this was one of those where i wouldn’t have touched the show itself if my anime club didn’t watch it.

X.U. - Hiroyuki Sawano (Seraph of the End OP)*

Hikari - ViViD (Magi: the Kingdom of Magic OP2)

2016

DiVE!! - Amatsuki (Digimon Universe: Applimonsters OP)*

Ai - Ami Wajima (Digimon Universe: Applimonsters ED2)

The Day - Porno Graffitti (My Hero Academia OP)

HEROES - Brian the Sun (My Hero academia ED)

RAGE OF DUST - SPYAIR (Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans OP2)*

Believe in Myself - EDGE of LIFE (Fairy Tail OP21)*

CRAZY NOISY BIZARRE TOWN - THE DU (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable OP)

Chase - batta (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable OP2)* Screw the haters. This song is a bop.

Great Days - Karen Aoki & Daisuke Hasegawa (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable OP3) As you can see, i luv all of Jojo Part 4’s OPs. lmao

Kaze no Uta - FLOW (Tales of Zestiria the X OP)* Zestiria may have been the most uninteresting experience i’ve had in the Tales series, but at least it’s OPs are straight fire.

Dream Lantern, ZenZenZense, Sparkle and Nandemonaiya - RADWIMPS (Various themes from Your Name) I'm still miffed that they didn't kiss at the end. >:v

Re:Re: - ASIAN KUNGFU GENERATION (Erased OP)

Brave Shine - Aimer (Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works OP)*

Starting Over - Mr. Children (The Boy and the Beast ED)* Mamoru Hosoda never ceases to make me smile and/or cry, huh?

GO - BUMP OF CHICKEN (GRANBLUE FANTASY the Animation OP)

KINGS - angela (K Project OP) i don’t even know how i remembered this one. I watched K at my local anime club years ago cuz one of my friends suggested it. I barely remember what it was about, though. ^  ^’

Vision - Kusou Linkai (Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V ED5)

Light of Hope - Unknown Number (Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V OP5)

Pendulum Beat! - SUPER DRAGON (Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V OP6)*

2017

Peace Sign - Kenshi Yonezu (My Hero Academia OP2)* SURE IT’S POPULAR, BUT IT’S POPULAR FOR A REASON.

Datte Atashi no Hero - LiSA (My Hero Academia ED3)

Little Pi - Ange☆Reve (Digimon Universe: Applimonsters ED3)

Perfect World - Traffic Light (Digimon Universe: Applimonsters ED4)*

With the Wind - Hiroaki “TOMMY” Tominaga (Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS OP)* I’ll be honest, this one took some getting used to, but now i luv it!

Fake Town Baby - UNISON SQUARE GARDEN (Kekkai Sensen and Beyond OP)

Tonari Au - THE ORAL CIGARETTES (Sakurada Reset ED)*

Rain - SEKAI NO OWARI (Mary and the Witch's Flower ED)* I really liked the movie and I just luved the fantasy vibes given off by the instrumentals in this song.

Baton Road - KANA BOON (Boruto: Naruto Next Generations OP)* Y'all say Boruto is trash, but at least the theme songs still boppin'.

Boku wa Hashiri Tsuzukeru - Melofloat (Boruto: Naruto Next Generations ED3)

FEED THE FIRE - coldrain (King’s Game OP)* Thank you Fire Force for introducing me to this wonderful band. ;w;

2018

PAiNT it BLACK - BiSH (Black Clover OP2)* Never thought I'd ever find a band actually named bish. Lmao

Black Rover - Vickeblanka (Black Clover OP3)

Guess Who is Back - Kumi Koda (Black Clover OP4)* Now, if this ain't a bop fit for a triumphant return like "SURPRISE BISH I'M BACK." then idk what is. Lmao

Gamushara & Tenge Tenjou - Miyuna (Black Clover OP&ED5)* i’m mainly referring to Gamushara, but i luv Tenge Tenjou too.

ODD FUTURE - UVERworld (My Hero Academia OP4)*

Make my story - Lenny code fiction (My Hero Academia OP5)*

The Future is Now - Straightener (Digimon ReArise OP)* Yes, I know I'm cheating cuz it's a video game, but it's an opening sequence much like an anime, so yeah.

Breath - Porno Graffitti (Pokemon the Power of Us ED)

Katharsis - TK from Ling Tosite Sigure (Tokyo Ghoul OP3?)*

Here - JUNNA (The Ancient Magus Bride OP)

Renai Circulation - Kana Hanazawa (Bakemonogatari OP4) Imma be honest, i found this song through those Coldplay mashups and other memes. Lmao

I Wanna Be - SPYAIR (Gintama Shirogane no Tamashii Hen OP)

Hana Ichi Monme - BURNOUT SYNDROMES (Gintama Shirogane no Tamashii Hen ED)*

2019

Hana ga Saku Michi - THE CHARM PARK (Black Clover ED7)* I SWEAR NO ONE’S COVERED THIS SONG YET AND I’M SAD. I LUV THIS SONG.

Inferno - MRS. GREEN APPLE (Fire Force OP)

Veil - Keina Suda (Fire Force ED)* This ED gives me feels and i luv it. ;w;

MAYDAY - coldrain (Fire Force OP2)* This sounds like a song i’d hear at Hot Topic and i feel blessed. lmao

Nounai - Lenny code fiction (Fire Force ED2) I swear this anime doesn’t have a single song i don’t like. I’m not kidding. lmao

WILD SIDE - ALI (BEASTARS OP)* IN THIS HOUSE, WE DO NOT SKIP THIS OPENING I STG.

Le Zoo - YURiKA (BEASTARS ED)

Nemureru Honou (Sleeping Instincts) - YURiKA (BEASTARS ED2)*

Kawaki no Ameku - Minami (Domestic Na Kanojo OP)

Polaris - BLUE ENCOUNT (My Hero Academia OP6)* THIS IS THE BIGGEST BOP SINCE PEACE SIGN OML

Touch Off - UVERworld (The Promised Neverland OP)* This show was too creepy for me to continue, but I luv it for what it is. Also NAA NANANANANANAA NANANAAAA~

Sangenshoku - PELICAN FANCLUB (Dr. Stone OP2)* Sorry, but Good Morning World didn’t totally do it for me. I luv this OP way more tbh.

Suisou - Megumi Nakajima (Hoshiai no Sora OP)* The bits before the chorus are just so good.

1•2•3 - After the Rain (Pocket Monsters 2019 OP)

Dark Crow - MAN WITH A MISSION (Vinland Saga OP2)

MOTOR CITY - Kenichi Asai (No Guns Life OP)

Game Over - DATS (No Guns Life ED)

[kamino-ink]

Smoke | Hwang Hyunjin

genre ⌁ high school!au, strangers-to-lovers, angsty, fluff sprinkled in loves

summary ⌁ you’re an infamous school druggie, always coming to school with bloodshot eyes, purple bags, and cracked, bloodied lips. rumors are nothing new to you, and in all honesty you don’t fight them - you don’t want to waste time on meaningless drama, after all. everything starts to change, in a way, when a quiet, easily amused boy comes to your school - and you wouldn’t have had it any other way.

word count ⌁ 3.5k

warning ⌁ mentions of drug abuse, kinda heavy stuff - I can’t quite explain it without spoiling, but if you're sensitive to issues revolving around abortion, mentions of drug abuse, or anything of that matter - I highly suggest you go read another amazing fanfic in the community other than this one.

Check out my masterlist!

 It is quiet in your bedroom. The tiny music box with a shy ballerina in the center of the stage no longer plays the gentle tune that you had since memorized as a small child, her stage broken and cracked from years of not being touched unless it was to be thrown angrily against a wall or your bedroom floor. The pathetic excuse of a vanity set up by one of your uncles many years ago is covered in bits of stray dust, stains of colorful makeup dried on it’s aging white surface. A lonesome eyeshadow pallet rests dangerously close to the edge of the vanity with the shattered mirror, now going on its second year of being unused; the same can be said for the foundation, the lid seeping with now dry product and dotted with old fingerprints.

 It is lonely in your bedroom. There is no trace of happiness or laughter lingering in the open, chilly air being let in by the cracked window on the wall. When was the last time someone other than your dealer had stepped into that very room, now littered with blankets, papers, and old sentimentals? When was the last time you had a friend spend the night and build silly forts made of fluffy blankets and thin sheets? When was the last time your parents walked in to wake you up with a glass of water or a shake of your shoulder?

 Gray puffs of silky smooth smoke billow into the dank air of your bedroom, seeping out along with a few stray ashes that drop onto your carpeted floor. It’s only your first cigarette of the day, so it doesn’t exactly do much for you - and it’s just a smaller dose of nicotine, nothing that made your cheeks flush a deep red in euphoria. But it would have to do until the end of the school day.

 “-her eyes are so red, do you think all the drugs she does has made it permanent?”

 “You think that’s weird? Check out her eyebags - I can’t believe the principal let’s a wild panda roam around our school!”

 “Ew, look at her lips! I hope she doesn’t kiss her boyfriend with those lips.”

 “Isn’t she dating that Mark Lee guy that graduated last year? I heard he’s a biker in a gang downtown.”

 “No way, I totally saw her making out behind the cafeteria dumpsters with Jeno! Ugh, I would kill to kiss him-”

 Mark Lee is someone you used to call your best friend, back in the days where neither of you had been addicted. While he was a good year older than you, the Canadian boy had not once left your side - not even when you became friends with a little pack of boys in your year; in fact, he had become the unofficial “dad” of the ragtag band of friends, trying to make sure none of you got into too much trouble in school.

 That, obviously, had gone tumbling downhill when one of his older cousins introduced all of you to a drug called heroin. He said that it made you feel relaxed and totally stress free; and as naïve high school students who believed yourselves to be more mature than you really were at the time, each and every one of you tried it out. But only you and Mark kept going back to his cousin for more.

 And then it got so, so much worse in just a couple of months before his graduation. You both had gotten high in the wee hours of the looming night, sat on top of the bleachers standing proudly on the football field where no school cameras could capture your faces, or the smoke that poured out between your lips. Mark had been using heroin just for the thrill, he said, stating promptly that he felt like a real man abusing the drug as much as he did. On the other hand, you sought false solace in the drug after long days of school and three different part-time jobs, as well as the constant neglect in your very own household. You didn’t think of this as an excuse, because you knew heroin was hurting your body and making you weaker - you hated it, but you also loved it.

 After puffing out another cloud of stunning smoke, Mark subconsciously slid one of his larger hands onto your bare thigh, squeezing the cold flesh warmly in a sign of affection. It hadn’t been new to you at all, his touch - but then he inched it closer and closer up your skirt until his soft fingertips were just itching at the corner of your panties. You’d glanced at the senior in bewilderment, which made him blush and pull his hand back. He apologized, saying that his brain had been too foggy to think straight, and that he’d never meant to try and suggest anything more between the two of you. While you quickly forgave him, you noticed how he used that same old excuse for everything he did.

 Got caught getting a blowjob from one of the school cheerleaders? Oops, he was high out of his mind and it didn’t mean anything. Found in possession of a firearm even though he wasn’t of age, nor did he have a permit? Uh oh, he was a bit woozy from his last puff. Joined his cousin’s little gang in Busan? That...wasn't a mistake. The second he graduated, Mark Lee packed his things and took a train to the city of Busan and never looked back, a white cigarette still burning between his lips as you and the other boys watched him board the train.

 And Jeno - god he was like your brother, at one period in time, inching his way into what had been Mark’s space as your addiction got worse and worse with each passing day. He forced you to eat some of his lunch when you would pull out a miserable excuse of a sandwich from your bag, watching diligently to make  sure you swallowed every single bite. He would help you brush out your rat’s nest of a head of hair in the girl’s bathroom every morning before the bell rang, ignoring the squealing girls with a cheeky grin and bright eye smile - even though he knew he could be suspended or expelled for it.

 He sort of understood where you were coming from, as he himself was from a family of abusive parents that hit him so hard he’d come to school looking like he’d been in a car wreck. You would stay behind a few hours after the final bell each day, disinfecting his fresh scratches while he ranted about life at home. You didn't mind, because he was your brother, in a way - and you were his sister.

 Then he left for a couple of months, early on in your senior year of high school - not returning until the first day of November. Turns out his parents had been caught abusing him by his grandma, who immediately took them to court and filed for custody of her precious grandson. She won the case, of course, and helped Jeno adapt to his new life full of warmth and love until he was ready to face the rumors back at school. After such trials and tribulation, you found that Jeno had moved on from you and instead took the reigns as the new “dad” of the group of friends that had been drifting away ever since the school year started. You didn’t blame him for wanting to break off any and all communication with someone who had a bad reputation for being high almost every single hour of the day - after all, he’d just broke apart from one toxic part of his life, why did he need to stick around and see if you were the same?

 Now, you were completely and utterly alone, left to hang your head slightly as your fingertips slowly turned the locked dial on your steel gray locker.

 “E-excuse me?”

 With a small pop the door to your locker swung open, being caught from hitting your neighbor’s unsuspecting head at the last second. There wasn’t much use to your locker, since you barely kept anything in there besides a few extra textbooks that were rarely put to use inside the classroom.

 “I-I’m sorry to bother you miss, but - but could you help me find my locker?”

 You turn your head just enough to see a nervous looking boy staring down at you, and he jumped a bit in surprise when your gaze met his within those few milliseconds. “Yeah, of course. What number do you have?”

 “Oh-! Um, it says... 4419.”

 “That’s... actually right in front of you,” a snort of amusement escapes your lips while you point to the small sticker with his assigned locker number stuck to the middle of it’s rectangular shape, “did you maybe forget your contacts or glasses at home, new guy?”

 ‘New guy’ laughs softly at your teasing words, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. The sleeves of his pink knit sweater droop down to the tips of his fingers like paws and his plump lips twitch into a bit of a more relieved looking smile. “It looks like I forgot my common sense at my doorsteps, actually,” he hums, “my first day here and I’m already lost.”

 You wonder if that’s how Mark felt when he left for college - did he even stick to his plans after high school? “Well, I can help you... not be lost, if you want.”

 “Would you really? Thank you so much - erm, what’s your name?”

 “I’m Y/N Y/L/N, senior.”

 “Well - miss Y/N, I’m Hwang Hyunjin, also a senior and the resident new kid.”

 Creative writing is by far your favorite class in the whole wide world - you can let your imagination run free, touching the clouds and diving deep into the depths of the sea to your pounding heart’s content. What scribbles of your healthy brain are left untouched by the roots of heroine have bloomed into beautiful flowers of creativity and a love for writing. While your practice in the class is deemed strange to your other classmates, you find it peaceful and heart warming.

 “What’re you writing about, Y/N?” Hyunjin’s already soft voice comes out as smooth as fresh, orange honey. The boy leans over a little to look at your computer screen already jumbled with ideas and bursting thoughts - class had just started fourteen minutes ago and you were still brainstorming while he’d messily put together a web of ideas that were a bit lackluster, in his opinion.

 “I’m thinking of either writing a mafia alternate universe story about Park Jinyoung, or a cheesy romance ploy. Not too sure which one is better, honestly.”

 You write fanfiction - or, for lack of a better term, content that involve your favorite idols in the universe; ranging from the queen herself Hyuna to Park Jinyoung of a band called GOT7, there’s no one you won’t write about. The pieces you write so eagerly are published not in a book, but onto a social media website called Tumblr where everyone in the communities you write for can read your work. You were never ashamed of admitting that you were a fanfiction creator because it made you happy and proud of what you could do; your online mutual would shower you in silly praises and jokingly scream at you in caps lock for more pain-filled scenarios. Complete strangers would leave red hearts on your posts and send you anonymous messages that made your little heart soar in joy.

 Your schoolmates thought it to be super weird - I mean, writing fantasies about famous celebrities for anyone to see, quite possibly the celebrity themselves? They couldn’t wrap their heads around it, although you didn't blame them too much for their harsh critiques of your passion. You just enjoyed making up bizarre or somewhat realistic scenarios since it made you and so many other people happy - an emotion you couldn’t seem to grasp that often in the real world.

 “Mafia stories are the thing these days, why not go back to the roots of romance and write about like, a cheesy badboy and a good girl plot? Nothing wrong with clichés.”

 “Thanks for the input, Hyunjin.”

 “No problem, Y/N - hey, make sure I get to be the first to read it though, alright?”

 “Of course, don’t worry about it.”

 The next two weeks, once filled with something quite similar to nothing at all, was filled with a bright light called Hwang Hyunjin. Clad in mostly just oversized shirts that would hang comically low, all the way down to his knees, or pastel knit sweaters along with plain jeans, the senior would stick by your side as if he was stuck there. Sure he made a few other friends, but he never failed to walk with you to lunch and plop down beside you at the otherwise empty table. He would offer you some of his lunch, since his mom had a habit of giving him proportions that a whole family of four could eat.

 The second week of having Hwang Hyunjin around as a friend was... interesting, to say the least. He’d been a few minutes late arriving to your designated table in the corner of the cafeteria, leaving you by your lonesome to drown in your poisonous thoughts. Just earlier the same day, the vice principal had pulled you aside and expressed her concern for your disheveled hair - saying that it could be a distraction to other students. Pah, hair being a distraction? Why, you thought it was already bad enough to comment on clothes that showed shoulders - now this? Then again, you had an inkling of understanding, especially since whenever you tried to run your fingers through your hair like the blonde cheerleaders did they would almost immediately latch onto a nasty knot.

 “Hey, sorry for - Y/N, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

 You hadn’t even noticed the stray tears dribbling down your flushed cheeks, nor the trembling of your chapped and bloodied lips that you’d been anxiously chewing on since the confrontation just hours ago in the hallway. “H-Hyunjin, do you... do you maybe have a brush with you?” The question slips through your lips like a mantra while you hang your head low in shame and glowering embarrassment.

 There’s a pregnant pause, then you hear the boy shuffling in what you can only assume is his school bag. “Chin up, friend - I won’t be able to properly brush your hair if you let your pretty head droop so low.”

 “I can do it myself.” The short words sound like a harsh jab, but Hyunjin thinks nothing of it. Instead your tall companion chuckles softly and helps you turn around so your back is facing his chest covered in a pastel blue material. “Hyu-”

 “Shh, just relax and eat up. We only have thirty minutes, after all.” He hums cheekily, accepting your huff of defeat as a sign of encouragement to get started on brushing the tangles and knots out of your hair. His long fingers go to work first, carefully loosening up any problem areas so that when he brings a brush to your hair it won’t accidently tear any of the tendrils. “You know, your hair is really soft.”

 You utter an almost inaudible, “thank you,” to the black haired boy, enjoying the way his fingers thread through your messy and tangled strands of hair. From the corner of your eye you spot Jeno, now sporting frosty white hair, leading Donghyuck, Jaemin, and Renjun into the crowded cafeteria. Somehow his eyes meet yours, then they drift over to the peaceful boy brushing through your hair. You’re too far away to see the way his gaze glimmers in remorse, perhaps even guilt sprinkled with hints of regret - though you’re too busy sending him an awkward wave to notice. The two of you had left things on not so much as a sour note, rather a mutual awkwardness.

 But you don’t miss the tiny curl of his lips and the warm crescents of his eyes sending you a polite greeting back. While Jeno was likely to always stay in your past, you knew that deep down you both would always see each other as equals and something akin to true siblings.

 For the person in the present, however - you couldn’t pinpoint exactly what Hwang Hyunjin was to you. Still, you hoped and prayed that he wouldn’t be apart of your past; just the present and the future.

 “You know, my mom almost aborted me.”

 Only Mark Lee and Jeno knew that your mom had been a drug addict when she was well into her pregnancy with her first, and only, child. Neither of them had much to say, assumingly because they didn’t know what they could say without coming off as intrusive or awkward.

 But, of all people, Hwang Hyunjin knew just what to say - well, ask. “How come?”

 The sky is a reflection of your mood, displaying poofy gray rainclouds spilling over with cold droplets of rain that echoed on the roof of his car. Its sunset painted hue with streaks of calming oranges and pinks had been stained with the markings of a dark, looming storm. Strikes of stunning yellow lightning crashed miles away from where the car was parked on a stray mountaintop, though the bellowing roars of thunder were enough to make you jump in the passenger's seat just a little.

 “The doctors were worried about the fetus - me, since she was a heavy drug addict. Not much has changed in that aspect, I suppose.” You mutter mostly to yourself, even though you’re more than aware that the boy next to you can hear just about every single word being uttered from between your lips. A cigarette had been embedded in the crevice of your lips hours before, but you refused to smoke around Hyunjin, so before he picked you up from work you’d tossed it into the closest trash bin. “Low blood sugar, premature birth, all that jazz, you know?”

 “I ended up having some super shitty breathing problems for the first year of my life - from what I was told, I rarely got to go home that year. My mom wanted to abort me at first, since she didn’t even want a kid in the first place and kind of didn’t want to risk having a weak baby that she’d be stuck with. My dad talked her out of it. Now... I don’t even remember the last time either of them has made me breakfast or hugged me.”

 The boy next to you remains silent for a moment, his brain processing everything you’ve just told him. For just over a month he’s known you, calling you his friend and desiring in some cases for something more - but he had never pried too deep into your private life out of respect to your privacy. He had a hunch that life at home couldn’t have been the greatest of occurrences, since he made it his duty to help you brush your hair during the first class of the day; you were unmotivated to do just about anything. Depression, you said was what is was, ate you alive with every other passing minute in his eyes.

 He leans over the console, free of his seatbelt since the pair of you had been parked on the mountaintop (well, ledge filled with parking spaces for sight seers) for the past two hours or so. With one arm going to rest on your shoulder, he lets the other fall down nicely into your lap so he can intertwine his warm fingers with your cold ones that usually held a budding cigarette. “While it would’ve been the safer option to - to not have you, I want to be selfish and say that I’m glad she didn’t.”

 You feel the hand holding yours lift from your legging covered lap, just to brush under your jaw. “Why is that, Hyunjin?”

 His knuckles and your own are controlled by his larger hand, meaning that he was the one to tilt your head up towards his own, half of his body still leaning over the console of his car. “Because... I never would’ve met you, Y/N.” His face inches down closer to your own flushed one, his lips brushing against yours as light as a feather.

 Hwang Hyunjin has been your remedy to your heroin addiction for the past month or so since he entered your life. He didn’t judge you harshly, rather he’d come into your life with a nervous laugh and a warm smile tugged at his plump, pink lips. His reassuring words were enough to make you stop smoking every single morning before school. His words of encouragement made you realize that smoking twice a day only made your eyes even redder than before, to which you rounded down to just own measly smoke each day.

 And his gentle kiss was enough to make you want to stop altogether, because you didn’t want Hwang Hyunjin to remember your first kiss tasting like remnants of smoke and drugs.

[grownups-are-the-real-monsters]

(I'm stalking your tumblr oops) but Bev paints the rest of the loser club's nails (your choice on their colors) + theirs (and maybe others) reactions?

the six times Beverly painted her Losers nails and the one time they painted hers. 

+Eddie 

Beverly had been eagerly awaiting study hall, knowing she’d finally be able to chill outside and smoke for a while and maybe vent to Richie. She had her mind set on it all day and was biting into her cheek as she walked down the halls, tapping her fingers against her thigh to the beat coming from her Walkman. 

‘Cause I’m T.N.T. I’m dynamite…T.N.T. and I’ll win the fight….T.N.T. I’m a power load…T.N.T. watch me explode-’

“Hey Bev, Richie’s home sick so he told me to bring this to you and keep you company.” 

Beverly hopped back, she hadn’t even known she had made it past the doors yet and currently put a nasty grass stain on her converse. Her headphones fell around the base of her neck as she glanced down at Eddie holding out a cigarette. She took in the uncommon sight and smiled, sliding the stick from Eddie’s hand. 

“Thanks buddy.” She went to flick her lighter as Eddie sat across from her at the table and decided against it. She stuffed the cig into her shirt pocket as AC/DC continued to play against the sweaty skin of her neck. 

‘T.N.T. (oi, oi, oi), T.N.T. (oi, oi, oi), T.N.T. (oi, oi, oi)’ 

“You don’t have to not smoke cause I’m here…I could leave if you want-” 

“Nah, we’ll find something better to do.” Beverly shrugged with a grin and started to dig through her bag. Eddie eyed her with suspicion. It wasn’t something that never happened but Eddie didn’t usually spend too much alone time with Bev. 

Bev takes a few minutes but finds something interesting, a bottle of red nail polish and grins as she pulls it out of her bag filled with mounds of other crap. She unscrews it and twirls the brush in her hand before giving Eddie a wicked smile. “May I?” She practically begs. 

Eddie swallows and reluctantly holds out his hand for her. 

So Beverly spends her study hall a little differently than she’d expected she would’ve but the look on Eddie’s face when she’s done is probably the most precious thing she’s ever seen so she does not care at all. The boy wiggles his red nails and blows on them like she instructed him to. “You like them?” She asks and Eddie blushes slightly. 

“yeah…Is that weird?” Eddie puts his hands down on the table, spreading his fingers and Bev feels her heart tug. 

“No. not all, Eddie. You ever want to do it again, Tell me, yeah?” She re-screws the polish as the bell rings and helps Eddie put on his beg without ruining his nails, he smiles at her one last time before leaving. 

+Richie

“Bev my darling!” Richie cooed in some sort of British accent. Beverly glanced up from her yo-yo and gave him a smirk as he bopped down the way to the quarry area. 

“You bring your yo-yo, Rich? Cause I’m really in the mood to destroy you today.” Bev mocked from her spot chilling against the rock, water falling the yo-yo from her fingertip.

”Aye that ain’t very lady like, you skirt.”  Richie teased and she stuck out her tongue like a child as he began to feel up his pockets and sighed. “Oh crap, I forgot it.” He broke out of his British accent for a very normal Tozier expression. 

Beverly hopped down from her cool stance with a smirk. “You dipshit.” She smacks his back and chucks her yo-yo back on her bag. “How am I suppose to spend time with you that doesn’t involve crushing you in a battle?” 

Richie takes his turn to stick out his tongue and joined her to sit in the dirt. As they kept a very mild conversation up, Richie decided it was the best time to ask his lingering question he had for her. “Hey, did you paint Eddie’s nails the other day?” He pushed up his glasses as Bev glanced up from picking at her own polish. 

“uh-huh.” She answered simply. “Why? want me to do yours?” 

Richie cringed “What am I, your gal pal? No thanks.” He shook his head and Bev shrugged, opening her mouth to start a new conversation. “Though it really did light Eddie up like a Christmas tree.” Richie looked off in thought. 

Bev smirked. “Yeah, it suits him I think….” She began to dig through her bag again, fishing for something. She looked up at Richie with a glint in her eye. “I have peach if you’re interested?” She asked in a sing-songy voice. Richie frowned. She dug out a new one. 

“Ok Pink?” She waved the small bottle, Richie grinned.

“You know what they say, Go big or go home, am I right?” He smirked and slammed his fingers down on the rock for her. 

+Mike

“I’m gonna touch it-”

“Bev! You’re gonna scare her!!” Mike whisper shouted after a bounding Beverly Marsh, skipping directly over to a deer a couple feet away from them in the grass. He swayed like he might go after her for a few seconds before giving in and strolling over carefully. 

Beverly was petting a deer. Petting a wild deer. Mike was astounded. This was better than the time Richie got chased by that pack of geese in the store parking lot. She gestured for him to come over and he nervously put his hand on the animal. Beverly cooed as she softly pet her. 

“You’re actually Snow White.” Mike chuckled as they finally let the deer be. Beverly shrugged with a wide grin. 

“I try my best.” She giggles as they start going back to the original task of walking to the small diner to meet their five friends. Mike was a little tingly with excitement from petting the deer, he looked down at his hand and noticed the growing dirt built up under his fingernails and sighed. Bev cocked her head to the side and he raised his hand to show her. 

“This is what you get from working on  a farm all day.” He shook his head and Bev giggled, reach back for the bag over her shoulder. 

“I got something to fix that.” 

Mike quirked his brow as he watched her dig through her messy bag. 

“Blue or Purple?” She asked.

“For What-?” 

“Just pick your favorite.” 

“Purple.” He shrugged and Bev grabbed his hand and they went over to a nearby bench. She put her bag between them as a makeshift table and laid Mikes hands flat. She stuck her tongue out in concentration and started painting a lilac shade over his nails. 

“This ok?” She asked before moving to the next nail. Mike chuckled. 

“Sure beats the dirt that was there before.” He urged her to keep going so Bev did as she was told with a salute. 

When she finished up, she blew on them and brought them up to Mike’s face. “Thanks!” He smiled and they were back on their way to the diner. 

+Stan

“I think you’re all clean, Stanley.” Bev smiled genuinely and turned the sick off. She’d apologized twenty times over for messing up their chemistry projecting and causing the potion, as she called it, bubble over and spill all over Stan’s hands. He immediately became panicked and washed his hands more times than she could keep up with. She held out a paper towel for him with a guilty grin.  

Stan smiled back and took it. “It’s fine, Bev. I didn’t mean to freak like that.” He sighed as he balled up the paper and tossed it. 

“I know. I get it. I got carried away.” She chuckled as they were dismissed back to the regular classroom, leaving their class in the experiment room to finish without messing up and disrupting the class.

The pair sat down in the empty room and sighed. Stan kept looked down at his hands and scratching at them, leaving red lines over his skin and Beverly quickly laid her hands flat over his. “You’re gonna hurt yourself, Stan.” She frowned as he fidgeted. 

“My skin itches…I feel like I didn’t get it all off or something.” He shook his hands and she gripped at them to keep him from scratching anymore. 

“It’s all off Stan. If you want, I could keep your hands busy?” She offered, genuinely concerned and forgetting how weird that might sound. Stan looked at her with confusion so she smiled and pulled out a small bottle from her bag. 

It was a small bottle of baby blue nail polish and she went to work, gently painting his nails to keep his mind of that itch. Stan couldn’t have been more grateful. He watched her work with amazement. She was really good at it. He wondered how anyone could paint such a tiny surface. 

Once she finished, Stan had forgotten all about his panic and was simply observing her handiwork. “Thanks, Beverly..I really appreciate it.” 

“No problem Stanley. anytime.” she saluted and poked his side. 

+Bill

“Look! I got it this time!” Beverly shouted as she tossed a popcorn kernel into the air and caught it in her mouth, smugly. Bill looked on from across their small table in the food court in the mall with minor amusement. She smiled and shrugged. “I thought it was cool. Next time I’m bringing Richie when I have a coupon.” She pouted and Bill chuckled. 

“I-t-t was v-v-very cool Bev.” He reassured her and she kicked his leg from under the seat. “Have anymore s-s-secret talents?” He teased and she beamed, leaning down to throw open her bag. 

“Actually, I do. And you’re next Denbrough.” Beverly chuckled and Bill took a nervous sip of his pop from the corner of his mouth. She pulled out a tiny bottle, shaking it with eagerness. 

“Put your hand down.” She pointed and Bill did as she said, putting his hand flat on the table. Bill watched her un-cap the yellow bottle and begin painting his nails carefully. He wasn’t totally surprised, his friends had all slowly started appearing with colored nails. But Bill hadn’t really ever asked why. 

She had to stop him from wiggling his fingers every few seconds as she did her second coat. “Ok….Yes, I love it.” She tapped his hands and put the bottle away. 

“It is v-v-very p-p-pretty Bev but..”

“What?” She interrupted and sat back in her seat. 

Bill looked down at his soft pretzel bites on the table and frowned. “H-h-how do I eat now?” 

Beverly hiccuped into laughter. “I’ll get you a fork.” She launched herself out of her seat. 

+Ben

Beverly had her cheek flat against he desk, the prime position to make faces at Ben as he took his notes from across the room. He pretended not to notice at first, looking away quickly and blushing for a few seconds. But eventually, he gave in and started making faces back at her. 

At the bell, she strolled over and they interlocked hands as they left the classroom behind to find their friends that were scattered in different places in the high school. She was cocking her head to look down the hall when she felt Ben tug her hand. 

“Hmmm?” She asked. Ben gave her a shy smile and led her over to a bench. “What is it, you weenie?” She poked his side and Ben poked her back and gave her grin. 

“I feel left out, you have to do mine now, they all have colored nails.” Ben wiggled his fingers for emphasis and Beverly laughed. 

“Of course. Gimme your hands sweetie.” She laid his hands flat on her backpack like she’d done with Mike and picked out a color. It was a deep royal blue that she’d stashed just for him. She set off to work and gently painted as she’d done many times before. 

She finished and smiled. “Better?” 

“Much” He kissed her cheek and they started back to their task of finding their friends. 

+Beverly

Ben and Bev found their friends all sat around a tree in the courtyard. She glanced down proudly at their nails. Enough time had passed that Richie’s were already chipping a bit. Though shockingly, Eddie’s and Stan’s were still pristine. She giggled and sat down in the grass. 

“Are you proud?” Mike asked with a smirk that Beverly gladly returned. 

“So proud.” She leaned her back on the tree. 

Richie and Eddie’s hands were clasped together and Richie brought them up to everyone’s view. Their hands were interlocked, nails an aesthetically pleasing Red and Pink. “Eds and I look like Valentine’s Day threw up on us.” 

“Eddie scrunched up his nose at the comparison and pinched him.  

“I think it’s a good look for you guys.” She pointed her finger guns and Bill noticed her lack of polish and slowly began to smirk. 

“L-l-lets return the favor!” Bill crawled over and everyone soon caught on to his plan. Stan dug through her bag and gave each Loser a color as Bev chuckled nervously. 

“heh….Be careful you weenies!” She laughed as each boy tried to maneuver their brushes over her nails.

and that’s how Bev ended up with multicolored messy nails that she didn’t ever want to take off.