#fun fact i almost forgot to even draw my piece because i was so distracted by the new april fools event

[billo-wingwaves]

hiiai week day 1: cuddling <3

[kyotarou]

title: a little more noise

pairing: kyōtani kentarō x gn!reader

synopsis: in a world of constant silence, he’s the noise you need in life, even if he’s a bit quiet.

warnings: fluff, angst, mutual pining, slowburn, strangers to friends to lovers, lotta tropes and cliches, two swear words if i counted correctly

word count: 4.8k+

a/n: i wrote this in two days which i’m very proud of, go me! always wanted to write a kyōken fic and here it is. kinda scared to post this bc he’s quite tough to characterize imo and i’m terrible at writing longer pieces. oh well :,) no indentation because that’d be such a pain. hope you like it, feedback is always appreciated! (this is also my first time writing slowburn so please lmk if it’s still too fast)

Your parents were not bad people—that was a fact. They were kind, and you did everything an ordinary family would; eat dinner together, go on trips, attend school events. Things were quiet, a little too quiet for comfort. It never felt… right. You heard stories of parents arguing, nasty divorces, and custody battles. They tore your friends apart, made them feel a pain you could never understand. You knew how terrible it was, yet sometimes you wished you went through that to fill the silence in your home. The same monotonous, “good mornings,” and “hellos,” became sickening to hear. You told yourself to push on until after graduation where you’d escape. As the years dragged on, you weren’t so sure you could keep your sanity intact.

It was how you met Kyōtani Kentarō, a second-year from your school who was in a different class. Your friend told you of a gym nearby that was secluded at night. With a sly grin, he said he met up with students from other schools to smoke, and sometimes as a hookup spot. You wrinkled your nose at his comment and flicked his forehead. These were the people you hung out with; not so bright, but easygoing and fun. They were the ones who satisfied the need for noise, the bit of excitement in your life.

You snuck out after your parents had gone to bed. It didn’t hit until halfway through your walk that several things could happen. You were alone with nothing to defend yourself with except your phone and bare hands. Looking down at your outfit, an old dark hoodie and some sweats, you hoped it was ominous enough to ward people away. Besides, the last thing you wanted was to go home and wallow in its emptiness.

To see the lights on in the gym was a surprise. Upon closer inspection, you heard the squeaking of shoes and the cannon-like sounds of balls slamming the floor. You peeked your head through the door. The only person inside was a boy, no older than you. The first thing you noticed was his oddly dyed hair which resembled a tennis ball. The second was his piercing gaze as he turned his head and stared at you. You jumped. He looked as though he was going to charge at you. Instead, the boy huffed, walked to the other side of the gym, and picked up the ball. You spotted a familiar white and blue jacket on the ground.

“Seijoh?”

The boy turned to you again. “Yeah.” His voice was low, but powerful enough to rumble the earth.

You swallowed. “I go there, too.” This was a waste of time, you thought. You should’ve gone home, and you almost did until he spoke again.

“Never seen you before.”

The ball flew into the air with the boy tailing it. His body bent in a way you didn’t think was possible, face pinched in concentration. It hit his hand then the ground with the loudest smacks you had ever heard. It was incredible, but also scary. He picked up another ball behind him and did the same, and again, and again, until his side was empty and yours was strewn with several blue and yellow volleyballs. The more you watched, the more mesmerized you became.

“Can I stay?” You felt stupid for asking, but if he was trying to concentrate, you didn’t want to disturb him. Surprisingly, he nodded. You sank to the floor with your knees to your chest and listened to the constant thwacks and smacks all night.

You only learned his name a little while after. It was by accident. You were walking by a group of boys at school when one of them called him Mad Dog-chan, and you bit your lip to stop your laughter. Luckily, they didn’t notice. It was kind of cute the more you thought about it. It fit his appearance quite well, too. That night, you found him at the gym once again. Instead of a curt nod, you waved.

“Hey, Mad Dog-chan!”

You immediately regretted your words when he stopped bouncing the ball and flashed you a murderous look. You muttered a hurried apology and sat on the floor in your usual spot. He whacked a ball a couple of times then came over to grab his water bottle. After a few quick gulps, you expected him to get back on the court, but he stared at the spot beside you.

“It’s Kyōtani. Kyōtani Kentarō.”

Some nights, he didn’t practice. You sat in a playground nearby with soda and snacks from home. Originally, they were meant to replenish his energy when he overworked himself. Now, you were the one eating most of them, with Kyōtani nibbling on a custard bun as you wolfed down chip bag after chip bag. One thing you could say with confidence was Kyōtani was a great listener. At first, you sat in awkward silence. Then, you started rattling off all the things you did that day. It led to you talking about anything and everything, including the funny-looking dog you saw on the street last week. You hoped he didn’t think he reminded you of it.

Talking to Kyōtani was equivalent to talking to a wall. If anything, you were talking at him. He barely looked your way, and if you asked a question, he responded with a grunt or a simple, “Yeah.” Even though you wished it was two-sided, it felt good. You could finally break the silence that shrouded you for years, something you yearned to do but never had the confidence to. With Kyōtani, because of how quiet he was, you felt you could say anything without judgment. You did this for a while, rambling to him in the playground while he sat and listened.

Together, you sat on the swings with fruit sandwiches you made earlier that day. Your feet dragged against the sand and dirt as you swung back and forth. It seemed like Kyōtani enjoyed it. You noticed him eyeing your sandwich while licking his lips. You laughed and handed the rest to him. You started your daily tangent; woke up, ate a meat bun for breakfast, went to school, did homework, then came here. Somewhere along the way, you mentioned how you were home alone since your parents had lots of meetings to attend. You wished it was a little more lively. It was why you left the house every night, to find some noise in the suffocating void of it all.

You talked some more about your family, which you never did. You were too distracted to see Kyōtani’s head perk up. He stopped munching on the fruit sandwich and leaned forward, trying to look at your face. You continued to ramble, feeling your irritation slowly rise.

“Am I a bad person? I mean, they’re really nice, and I adore them. But it’s unbearable sometimes, and then I end up feeling like an asshole.”

You let out a dry laugh, ignoring the pain of the metal chains holding up the swing as they dug into your palms. You pressed your lips together in a thin line, unsure of what to say next. You chose to draw circles in the sand with the tip of your shoe.

“I understand how you feel.”

You looked at Kyōtani in surprise. You waited for him to say more, but he didn’t. The night felt a little brighter.

The last thing your “friends” expected was for you to ditch them for him. “Looks like a tennis ball,” one of them said. You chuckled since it was your exact thought when you first met him. You were relieved but also disheartened when they didn’t seem to mind too much. At least you knew where they stood. 

Hanging out with Kyōtani was much different compared to your nights at the gym or the playground. You got lots of stares from the third-years who never thought he could behave like this. Some people in your class whispered about the two lone-wolves banding together. You pretended not to hear.

“You’ve been cheery lately.”

You stared at your mother, trying to process her words. They never asked about you, which you grew to appreciate. It meant not having to force out a conversation. You almost brushed it aside until she spoke again. Your chin rested in your palm as you picked the vegetables on your plate, stomach full with snacks.

“I met a new friend.”

Your mother raised her brows, impressed. “Oh? Tell me about him.”

“How do you know he’s a boy?”

“Just a hunch.”

You sighed, continuing to stir your food. “He’s quiet. A little weird, but he’s nice. I can talk to him about anything.”

“That’s good.”

Your father glanced at her, and she shot him a strange look. Don’t, it said. He backed off and ate as if nothing happened.

You managed to weave yourself with the other boys from the volleyball team. They were a scary bunch at first, most of them glaring at Kyōtani the moment he walked through the door, but they were nice to you. He had left his jacket at the playground one night, and you made a mental note to return it to him the next day. Except, like Kyōtani, you also forgot about it. When you saw the boys flood to the gym for practice, you raced home then back to school and shyly followed a group of girls to the gym who were there to gawk at the captain.

During their break, you nervously approached Kyōtani and poked his shoulder. They watched you return his jacket but didn’t expect his, “Thank you,” afterward. When you left, Oikawa bugged him to invite you back. Kyōtani shrugged. He usually ignored him at all costs. Oikawa took it as a good sign.

Hanging out with them was a lot more fun than you anticipated. They were better than your previous friends, and even though most of them didn’t like Kyōtani, they seemed to be warming up. Your favorite moment was the movie night at Oikawa’s house. The living room was packed, with little room to wiggle, but it was comfortable. That night, you laughed so hard your stomach hurt, and the tensions between you, Kyōtani, and the rest of the boys dissolved. You belonged here.

Yahaba caught him staring at you outside your classroom. You sat across from another classmate, helping her with a few assignments for her art class. You posed and let her take pictures. Some were silly, but the others captured your features perfectly. In one of them, you rested your cheek in your palm with the tip of your pencil wedged between your teeth. You looked at the camera through your lashes as your classmate continued to snap more shots.

“Cool it.” Yahaba clapped him on the shoulder.

“I’m not jealous.”

“Never said you were.”

You helped your classmate pack her things. While you followed her out the door, she twirled a lock of hair around her finger and fiddled with the hem of her skirt. You bid her goodbye as her friends called her over, then turned to Kyōtani and Yahaba. 

“Ready to go?”

Yahaba nodded, as did Kyōtani. You walked ahead of them, listing off that day’s menu. Behind you, Kyōtani’s eyes zeroed in on your moving form, the shift of your hips as you took each step. From an outsider’s perspective, it looked like he was honing in on a kill. Yahaba prodded his arm.

“Don’t be a pervert.”

You swore you heard a slap.

Friday after school, your parents were home from work much earlier than anticipated. A game show played on the television. They barely noticed your arrival until you called out. The TV turned off, and your mother looked over the back of the sofa with a wry smile. Your father drummed his fingers on the arm of the sofa. His eyes stayed glued to the empty screen.

“Welcome back,” your mother greeted. She glanced at the boxes in the kitchen, filled with old plates and cutlery you hadn’t touched in a while. You assumed they were throwing them out.

“So…” she drawled. “What do you think of Tokyo?”

“Tokyo?”

Your hands shook as you set your school bag down on the kitchen table. The boxes made more sense. You remembered your father talking about a school his friend’s son attended. Nekoma, was it? He told you how great it was there, that it’d be easy to make friends in such a populated area.

“Tokyo…” you repeated. A heavy lump formed in your throat. “It seems… nice. Why do you ask?” You couldn’t stop the waver in your voice. Your mother caught on too.

“Dad’s company moved areas. It’s a big shift, but it’s too good to lose. So-”

“We’re moving.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“But you were about to.” 

Your head hung over the table. There was a crushing weight in your chest. Of course they wouldn’t tell you. They never did. It was too much to not expect this betrayal. If you told them how happy you were at Seijoh, maybe things would’ve been different. I could’ve prevented this. You shook your head. You couldn’t stop an entire company from moving, nor could you convince your father to find a new job in Miyagi. You had to follow them like you always did.

“If we can stay, we will, but most likely-”

“I’ll start packing.”

You grabbed your school bag and stomped to your room, vision obscured by your tears. Why now? Why did it have to be when you were starting to fit in, when you found real friends who made you happier than ever? Just when things looked like they were turning around, you were back at square one. You’d be there for a while, stuck in a new city far away from Seijoh. If you were with your old group, you wouldn’t have been this upset. But to not see them again—Yahaba, Hanamaki, even Oikawa.

You opened your phone and stared at the lock screen: a picture of you and Kentarō from the movie night at Oikawa’s. His arm was slung over your shoulder, a scowl on his face, but the peace sign he held up made it worth it. You remembered taking it and everyone gasping that Kentarō would even allow anyone to take a picture of him, let alone save it. Your heart fluttered. When did he stop being Kyōtani and become Kentarō?

Kentarō faced the empty playground. He sat in the right swing as he always did, scanning the area for any sign of you. In his hand was his attempt at a fruit sandwich, messily covered in cellophane with whipped cream oozing between the bread. A bandaid wrapped the tip of his finger where he accidentally cut himself. Damn those strawberries.

Kentarō kicked at the dirt. He waited, and waited some more, but after twenty minutes, you didn’t show. He pulled out his phone and sent you a quick text. Your absence made his skin crawl. His phone lit up with a response. Sorry, was all you said.

He couldn’t shake the heaviness as he trudged home.

The view outside the window gave you an excuse to be distracted. The voices of the boys were loud, but you chose to focus on the birds circling the courtyard. Two of them swooped down and landed on the thick branch of an old tree. They ruffled their feathers and nuzzled their beaks. You saw your old friends walk out of the main building. The one who introduced you to the gym glanced up. His eyes met yours momentarily. He went back to talking to someone you didn’t recognize and led them to the other side of the campus.

You stared out the window until Mattsun shook your shoulder. You turned and put on a faux smile. Your classwork was still strewn across your desk even though it was lunch. A few drops of chili sauce had landed on your math homework. You scowled at Hanamaki, his face stuffed with food.

“Oops.”

You wiped it off with an eye roll then stuffed it into your bag along with your other notebooks.

“What’s buggin’ ya?” Mattsun asked. 

You shrugged. “Nothing. I’m ready for the day to end.” It was the last thing you wanted. There was a bit of time before you left for Tokyo, but the countdown moved fast. You ignored Mattsun’s opposing look and ate. They couldn’t know yet.

Kentarō knew there was more than what met the eye, but he bit his tongue. He was paranoid, he told himself. The guilty look on your face as the boys laughed, unaware of the shift in attitude, said otherwise. He threw his arm over the back of your chair. You relaxed, but the sad look remained. Remembering the fruit sandwich he made, Kentarō grabbed it from his bag and slid it across your desk. You raised your brows.

“What’s this?”

“I made it.”

You unwrapped the sticky mess of whipped cream and strawberry jam. Kentarō watched you take a small bite, followed by a bigger one.

“This is delicious!”

He showed you the tip of his finger. “The price I paid for it.”

Your knees knocked against his under your desk. He flinched. You pressed your finger to your lips, then to the bandaid. “Thank you. Hope it feels better.”

Your cheeks swelled as you took more bites than you could chew. Pink syrup stuck to the corner of your mouth. Cute, Kentarō thought.

“What was that?” you mumbled. A crumb lodged itself in your throat. Mattsun rushed over and slapped you so hard on the back it echoed. A handful of other students looked over. Hanamaki scolded you for gulping down your bottle of water without taking any breaths. Kentarō cheeks turned a darker shade than the strawberries when you gripped his arm for support. You didn’t ask again.

“Cute,” he whispered anyway. He knew you wouldn’t hear over Mattsun’s teasing. “You’re cute.”

Kentarō invited you to the movies. He planned on having it at home, but his parents occupied the TV, and his laptop was too small to enjoy anything. He met you at a plaza a walking distance’s away. He let you pick the movie, curious about your tastes. Action? Romcom? When he looked at his ticket, it was for the latest horror movie. Critics raved about it, calling it the best of the decade. Impressive.

The movie started a while ago. The critics were right, it was scary, a lot scarier than he expected. You enjoyed it like a comedy movie, clapping your hand over your mouth when the entire theater shrieked at the killer, including Kentarō.

“You’re a sadist,” he whispered.

“Am not, just think it’s funny.”

He shook his head. Another jumpscare happened, this time worse than before. Several people jolted in their seats and bits of popcorn flew into the air. Kentarō didn’t realize he had sank into his seat—your seat, actually—until you nudged his foot with yours.

“Scared?” Your breath was warm against his ear.

“Sorry.”

You patted his hand which clutched the armrest with a vice grip. Kentarō’s heart beat faster.

“It’s okay,” you said. “I’m right here.”

The movie ended and the lights switched on. People left the theater with wobbly legs and pale faces. You headed to the exit holding your empty cups and popcorn bags with Kentarō in tow. He wished the movie was longer. Not because he enjoyed it, but because the smile on your face made it worth it.

Your room was bare besides your bed and desk. Most of your stuff was packed neatly in the many cardboard boxes piled inside your now empty closet. It’d been a few weeks since that Friday, and you still hadn’t told Kentarō or any of the boys. You weren’t sure how to break the news. He noticed how clingy you became, tailing him wherever he went at school. Not that he minded. You talked less at the playground. It was him who filled the silence instead, though his daily recaps weren’t as interesting as yours.

Next week was the last with Kentarō. In your shaky hands was an envelope, the edges indented from how hard you gripped it. You took out the letter inside, read it over, then slipped it back in. You thought about sealing it for the umpteenth time that day. Before your tongue swiped against the flap, you quickly scanned over the letter once more as if the words would disappear. You’d seal it later, you told yourself.

Your over-the-top cheeriness was so evident it was painful. They asked what was up, and you said you were simply having a good day. Kentarō knew better than that. At lunch, when you were away from everyone else, he prodded your shoulder and asked what was wrong. You frowned at him, then smiled.

“Everything's fine.”

Before he could probe further, you grabbed his wrist and led him to the cafeteria.

“There’s chicken! It’s your favorite, right?”

Something slipped out of your pocket. Kentarō thought it was your school notes. He bent down to pick it up and saw it was a white envelope, unsealed. You were already gone, dragged away by his teammates. He didn’t want to pry, but curiosity got the best of him. Turning the other direction, he grabbed the note inside. His name at the top caught his eye.

Dear Kyōken-chan,

He snorted.

Sorry for not telling you this sooner. I’m still trying to process this too.

A crease formed on his forehead as he squinted. The letter was quite long, the handwriting messy. He repeated the phrases in his head over and over, but he couldn’t fully understand what they meant. He flipped it to the back and sighed when there was more. He decided to scan it this time, except a handful of words made him reread it in depth.

“Kentarō!” In your arms were several wrapped buns from the cafeteria. He tried to stuff the note into his pocket, but you already saw.

“Oh.” The buns fell to the ground. “Oh no.”

Kentarō’s face was a mix of frustration and hurt. The hand holding the letter shook, the other balled in a fist. You wanted to run, but if you moved, you swore you’d collapse.

“(Y/N),” he murmured. “What is this?”

A weary laugh escaped your lips. “Um. Can we go somewhere else?”

Not waiting for an answer, you grabbed his wrist and led him to the school’s courtyard.

“One week,” he huffed.

“One week.”

You sat beneath a large, shady tree in the farthest corner away from the main building. Kentarō rubbed his temple and sighed. He held onto your letter. You fiddled with your fingers in your lap.

“For how long?”

“Probably forever. Not literally, but it’ll feel like it.”

“So you’re graduating from Nekoma?”

You nodded. Kentarō tapped his knuckles against his cheek.

“Wished you told me sooner.”

You blinked at him wearily. “You’re not mad?”

He shook his head then turned away. You grew quiet for a moment. He took it as his chance to butt in.

“So, you like me?”

“It’s all in the letter.”

“I want to hear you say it.”

You looked away. Your hands were clammy, and the air felt ten times hotter. The word you used was stronger, much stronger than he anticipated. It made his cheeks burn and a smile threatened to pull at his lips. He wanted to hear it come to life.

“I love you, Kentarō.”

It sounded sweet, almost tooth-rotting sweet. Kentarō chewed the inside of his cheek. He liked you, he really did. He just wasn’t sure if it was the right moment to say it. Would there be a right moment? After this week, you’d be in Tokyo in another school—a rival school, to make matters worse. He wanted his words to hold weight, and in that moment, they didn’t. Not as much as he wished.

“If you don’t feel the same, I understand.”

“I do.”

You opened your mouth to speak, but the bell cut you off. Kentarō hoisted himself from the ground then held his hand out. His palm was rough under yours, but his touch was gentle. Once you got to your feet, you let go, but he kept his pinky locked with yours.

Friday arrived quickly. Sadness filled the air as you said your goodbyes, thanking your classmates and teachers for the short, but pleasant year. After school, the team led you to the gym with your eyes covered. The boys’ gym was decorated with a banner and a table with food. There was even a cake, the word Seijoh iced and crossed out on top. You let out a hearty laugh before inviting the boys to dig in.

“Of course,” said Oikawa. “I paid for it.”

On one side, Mattsun smeared frosting over Hanamaki’s cheek. On the other, Oikawa tried to spoon-feed Iwaizumi only to be smacked on the head. You sat on the floor next to Kentarō and looked around with a big smile. His thumb reached out to wipe a dollop of frosting from the corner of your mouth. The phrase, “Time flies when you’re having fun,” held up its end of the bargain. When you looked outside, the sun had begun to set.

You thanked your friends, took one last photo, and managed to hold in your tears until your walk home. You promised to visit and to cheer them on at nationals, even if you were on Nekoma’s side. They laughed, waved with sad smiles, then watched you leave.

Kentarō caught up with you a third of the way home. His hand slipped into yours, a habit he recently picked up. It wouldn’t last much longer. You stopped a few houses down from yours. You didn’t want to let go, not yet.

You learned many things this year. One, life wasn’t fair. It never was. Two, people weren’t as shitty as you thought, proven in your new friendships. Three, seeing Kentarō cry made your heart ache in a way you never wanted to feel again. His head fell against your shoulder with a hard thump, tears soaking through the uniform you’d wear for the last time. You rubbed his back and pressed your lips to the top of his head.

“Stay,” he pleaded.

“I wish I could.”

“Please don’t go.”

“I have to.”

Kentarō looked up through his watery lashes. Your lips connected. Who initiated it was a mystery. His kiss was slow but fervent. You leaned in, deepening it until you swore your teeth clashed. Kentarō’s hands rested on your hips, yours on the nape of his neck. His kisses were magnetizing, drawing you closer with each movement. You broke apart for air, foreheads pressed together. He still had tears in his eyes, and so did you. You stayed like that for a bit, wrapped in each other’s arms until you knew you had to let go.

“Call me everyday, please,” he whispered.

“I promise. I swear on my life.” 

You kissed him again. 

“Goodbye, Kentarō. I love you.”

“Goodbye, (Y/N). I’ll be waiting.”

“So will I.”

Kentarō didn’t say it, but he didn’t have to. You knew he loved you, proven by his daily text messages and calls thereafter. Even if it only lasted a couple of seconds, you never missed a day. Sometimes, you heard his teammates' voices in the background. The audio would become crackly before a new voice replaced your boyfriend’s: Mattsun, Yahaba, Oikawa, and even Iwaizumi. 

Boyfriend. The fact made your stomach fill with butterflies. Kentarō was yours, and you were his.

It’d been months since you last saw him in person. You finished your second-year at Nekoma, a school that welcomed you with open arms. You met lots of people, found new friends, but the boys from Seijoh never left your mind. The picture you took hung on the wall of your new bedroom, a space you were still getting used to. Summer vacation was here, and you promised to come home to Miyagi for a week or two. On the train, you checked your phone to see how many kilometers were left. Just a few more minutes.

When it came to a halt, you burst from your seat, duffle bag in tow. You sent Kentarō a text, only to be face-to-face with him the moment the doors opened. You leapt into his arms, knocking him back a few steps. His chin rested on your shoulder as you hugged, swaying side to side.

“I missed you so much, Ken.”

“Missed you, too.”

Your fingers clasped around his, resting perfectly in the dips between his knuckles. Hopefully, he hadn’t dropped his habit. The months you were apart flew by, but they were also the longest you had ever witnessed. Seeing Kentarō for the first time in a while felt like a breath of cool, fresh air.

You tugged on his wrist, ready to head to town. He stayed put.

“What is it?”

“I love you.”

He grinned shyly at you. Kentarō brought color into your dull life, your source of noise in the thick silence. The summer wouldn’t forever, and you had another year left to endure. But as long as he was there, even kilometers away, you’d get through it together.

[toujoursmiraculous]

Thoughts and Reaction to Lies!

It's another long one because so much happens in this episode! The episode starts with Marinette trying to figure out a "secret" within the grimoire. Literal first thought was that this "secret" may be the key to waking up Emilie. It's obviously going to be of huge significance later, anyway. By looking at that piece on Adrien, it does appear Adrien has an amazing life. And really, that's what a lot of people think. That's the point of featuring him. A life of a celebrity is pretty amazing, really interesting and fascinating. But it's also filled with a lot of stress, chaos, loneliness, etc. But viewers rarely ever see it. As for Marinette, while Adrien has said things about what his father allows that makes him sad, we haven't ever heard him complain to her in any way about that lifestyle. To her, he's a guy whose father has him busy with activities (interesting ones at that) and very rarely ever lets him spend time with friends. I love how this episode parallels Truth! But Adrien's POV. My boy has an episode centered around him, finally!

So we know her standing Chat Noir up is because Luka came by reminding her of a date she forgot she rescheduled. You know she's extremely distracted and stressed when she can't remember a date with Luka or a patrol with Chat Noir, or remember that she planned them at the same time. It's really not her fault, and I feel so bad for her that things are becoming so difficult. "No messages, but don't forget my cheese!" LOL this is perfect. Plagg has to get that reminder in wherever he can! The Chat Noir appreciation was so wholesome to see awww, I bet so many boys in Paris look up to him, so sweet x33 Mr. Banana, Chat Noir, and the man who frequently is Mr. Pigeon just chilling on a bench in the park together. What a scene! lol But Chat wanting them to be akumatized so he could see Ladybug. Big oof. He's going to get his wish, a few times over. Careful what you wish for, Kitty! "A glass of milk as usual, mister Chat Noir?" Okay so when Chat's down, he goes to that bar and has a glass of milk. Or more if he's having a bad day. Awwwww. If you think about it, Adrien probably isn't allowed to have milk. With the fat content and all. :/ Kagami lying to her mother and Nathalie/Gabriel just to spend some time with Adrien. Considering how difficult their lives are, that's pretty impressive to be so brave. Not too fond of the lying part though, since there's not a noble reason for doing so. But I can understand it. We found out Kagami's real passion: drawing! Which is pretty cool. That's one thing Kagami and Marinette have in common that'd make them good friends. Very sad how her blind mother tells her she's not good enough. That just tells you what she thinks of her daughter and what she wants her to do with her life. She's afraid she'll pursue the arts rather than something practical, so best shoot down any thoughts of being an artist now. And then, like with all episodes that have Kagami in them, this is where I start to dislike her. "I want to draw the real you, on the inside." Adrien makes various model poses, none work for her as she knows they're just him being a model. Then he actually poses as himself. A silly, goofy cat having fun and being happy. Adorable. "What do you think of... CAT?" deathglare "No, this is absolutely not natural." "Yes it is. I promise, this is really me!" "NO! This is you when you're acting like a clown!" Adrien looking hurt, "But maybe when I act like a clown, it's really me." Then she takes his hand, (gently) pushes him back up against the wall, her hands on his chest, "That way, that's who you really are." What way? Her telling him how to be is who he really is? He stammers, looking very uncomfortable. "But are you sure?" "Yes... you are perfect." Then she leans in to kiss him, while he's still looking uncomfortable. Right here, she's trying to tell him who he is. What kind of relationship is healthy and a good one one at that, when one side is trying to tell the other who they are, how they must act, etc? That's toxic. Keep in mind, after this scene, during Truth's attack. He found out that Ladybug actually in fact loves (said she prefers) the humorous, "clown" side of him. Yes, she only knows it as Chat Noir for now, but she actually appreciates and loves Chat for who he is. Kagami doesn't love nor appreciate that side of Adrien. Which is a very big and important side of him. We knew this in Ikari Gozen, she couldn't stand the thought of Chat Noir being compared to Adrien, pretty sure she even seemed offended by it if memory serves. But it's laid out more in Lies, it's more direct. (Marinette's done this too in the past, but when she's done it, her tone's more like pssssh please! while she looks off to the side, like she's mostly just telling herself that, to convince herself, rather than believing it.) Kagami thinks she knows Adrien, knows that him being funny and a clown is not the "real" him. Acting like she knows him better than he knows himself. Thinking he's perfect. That was a very hurtful thing to have said and you can see it in his expression the same kind of pain and hurt

he gets a lot. I also want to talk about how watching her back Adrien up against the wall like that and leaning into kiss him made me feel particularly uncomfortable. While they might have a little thing going on, he was clearly not comfortable by it and it just did not sit well with me. This entire scene was riddled with red flags. Adrien smiled at the end of that on his way out, yes, but having someone tell you you're perfect would seem like a compliment to you, wouldn't it? The one you like thinks you're perfect, thinks the facade you put up is perfect and anything less isn't okay with them. That'll end up so well! The almost kissing scenes this episode literally had me like

I'm sorry, I just feel so very uncomfortable by them, I can't help it. xD Just before Chat Noir sneaked up on Ladybug, he almost kissed Kagami right? And yet here he is, being a bit flirty, saying he's missed her on patrols. I also want to point out she tells him to stop with his stupid jokes, because she doesn't want to accidentally hurt him! She could've hurt him by scaring her like that. While she likes his humor, they're only problematic if it puts himself in danger or distracts them from fighting an akuma. "I promise I won't forget our patrols anymore." The looks that passed between LB and CN here is just so cute! OOOF as Luka walks away sad because Marinette had to run off, here comes Adrien, about to do the exact same thing as Marinette to Kagami... Now Kagami's not as accepting of him running off as she was just a little while ago.

Even Andre's like, what the heck was that?! His expression watching Adrien run off made me laugh, I had to share it. I was wondering how Adrien got to the boathouse before Marinette did, as it made it seem like Adrien was there long before Marinette was. He just ran in and started playing along where they were. Good lord, he has a lot going on too, doesn't he? Only difference from Marinette here is Adrien has a built-in and believable excuse he can tell his friends. Kagami's forceful "Adrien, it's time." "Five little minutes?" *shakes head sternly* Who does this remind you of in Adrien's life already? Is this what a good girlfriend, what a good friend would do? And here again is the pattern we see a lot with Kagami. She manipulates situations so that they can spend time together. Adrien wants to spend time with his friends AND girlfriend at the same time. Rehearsing for their band, it looks like. He rarely ever gets to spend time with others, be a normal kid. But no, she drags him away early, making it sound like they had to leave, but it's just her wanting him to herself. When he couldn't go to New York, oh well that's unfortunate you're sad, but we can spend more time together now, isn't that great? It's about what she wants, not what he wants or what's best for Adrien. She spends more time with Adrien (not counting Ladybug spending time with Chat Noir here) than anyone else does by the looks of it, and she doesn't even know him at all. It's really sad. Adrien still carrying around Marinette's lucky charm bracelet in his pocket x3333 This never fails to make me happy. But oof that boy's seriously going to lose it one of these days if he's not careful! There's something different about seeing the Ladynoir scene on the roof that we got in Truth, but from Adrien's perspective. Something about it feels like it means more to me, idk. Adrien gets caught in a lie, saying he lost something but found it. Kagami asked what it was, holding Marinette's lucky charm behind her back. He says it was the lucky charm Marinette gave her, as he's scrambling in his pocket to pull it out seeming a bit frazzled, but realizes he actually in fact lost it (again! he says). But Kagami caught him in that lie, showing him that she actually had it.

I'm not sure if he's so shocked because she actually had it and wonders how she got it, or if he looks like that because he just got caught in a lie. But the way his eyebrows raised a little makes it seem like he's surprised she had it after all and was testing him the whole time. I've always hated the way sometimes someone when in a relationship will test the other one like this. Really not fair in Adrien's case at all. Things aren't always as they may seem. And here's the thing, she's admitting to him that she's lying just to be with him. She lies all the time. Adrien caught on that she was lying, but didn't really understand why I don't think. Earlier in the episode he says, "What are you hiding, Kagami?" he didn't know her purpose for it. Now she says, "We're both liars, the difference is I lie to be with you. You. You lie to get away from me." Which is a yes but actually no situation. It's not that he doesn't want to be with her, it's that he needs to get away temporarily. It just looks really, really bad. Getting off track from that conversation briefly, but that scene where the akuma goes off into the night, with the blurred city lights that becomes clear. Just wow. That shot is beautiful, I can't help myself from playing it back and admiring it. I'm also totally digging the new transformation music! it gives me 90s vibes and makes me happy. Seeing Jagged after Truth is just completely different xD "I fear nothing, I am an artist! I still hold to my fans." Both Roth: "Wrong, you lie to them about your age!" "That's not Rock and Roll!" Had me rolling!! Jagged sure is something XD Chat just up and about to cataclysm the sphere, thinking he'd be okay because he doesn't lie. Except he lies all the time to protect his identity and get himself away from people so he can transform. xD Silly Kitty. The drone as a Lucky Charm is super cool! In Truth, Chat Noir said a truth about how he felt about Ladybug. In Lies, he tells lies to Lies to get her attention. "My name's not Chat Noir! I'm not a superhero! I hate Ladybug! And I think Hawk Moth should've called himself Panfly! It's funnier! Oh, I was about to forget: my favorite dish is cabbage with white sauce! Yummy!" Cabbage...with white sauce... as a dish. Is this like, a real fancy dish or something or is this boy being completely starved? o.o CN: "There are only two more liars left in Paris, and one of them knows how to turn his attention." LB: "No, wait! Don't do that! What if I'm mistaken?" "You know what? I trust you." he lets go, sacrificing himself again "Chat Noir, no! Don't do that! You're crazy!" "Yes, crazy for you, m'lady." Says softly, sadly, "No, you're just crazy unconscious." This ENTIRE scene right here. The love, the trust, the pain in this scene. It's so beautiful and well done that I can't stop getting emotional from it and gushing! Everything's on the line from that decision, and the trust he has for her, the faith he has in her really helps her know she can do what she needs to do. She's always doubting herself, and he's always there to say he doesn't feel that way at all, and it gives her that confidence and courage she needs. The moment Chat Noir is okay, the first thing Ladybug does is run up and smack him, grabbing him anxiously saying "Seriously, you need to stop doing this to me!" The girl is stressed seeing her partner sacrifice himself time and again! IF THIS BOY DOESN'T REALIZE JUST HOW MUCH SHE CARES ABOUT HIM AT THIS POINT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY. Any fan that still thinks Ladybug doesn't love Chat Noir and thinks poorly of him, clearly does not understand it at all. My Ladynoir heart is SO HAPPY! I was thrilled with them in Truth, but this is a totally different level. I'm almost in tears with how happy I am. And then I noticed something. I don't know if it's anything or not. But Chat Noir says to her, "Yes, but it's because I find that angry look of yours irresistable." and Kagami turns around to look at him, only him and never Ladybug. Just watching him. Which is a bit... odd. "Ahh, Ladybug..." he sighs. After what

just happened, I don't blame him! x3 These two are honestly fire. When D'Argencort has to step in to keep Kagami from hurting Adrien during fencing... Doesn't matter how upset she is, that's gross to physically take it out on him to the point a teacher has to intervene. Kagami tells Adrien she knows he's hiding something, but that he's sincere, too. But when he asks if they can't be friends then, she responds, "How can you trust someone who lied to you?" and finally gives him back the lucky charm. Ever since Gorizilla, I've been worrying of him losing it for good! Glad she gave it back to him. I've said it already, but he's really going to lose that thing if he's not careful! "When I'm ready to see you again, I'll let you know." and she just leaves. I get she's upset, he's been lying to her to get away when he's with her and all that. But this is worse than what happened with Lukanette. Luka wanted to actually know what was going on, he asked Marinette about it directly. She told him honestly, it's the one thing she can't tell him. Kagami on the other hand never actually asked. During one of the scenes when he was spacing out, she asked what was the matter is all. All she's cared about is that he's lied, and now that he's lied she can't trust him. Doesn't even want to hear him out, not that he'd explain it to her. Kagami doesn't even want to see Adrien for awhile now. At least Luka's more understanding and isn't as harsh being in the exact same situation. This poor boy... But it's also for the best. Marinette and Adrien both after breaking up with Luka and Kagami, decided to transform and meet up to just be in each other's company. They're both sad, but not especially so. "Do you know what the difference is, between us and the rest of the world, m'lady? We can't be completely honest with each other. We have our secrets, and sometimes we have to lie." Ladybug frowning hums in agreement. But at the same time, they both turn to each other and say happily "But we know we can trust each other!" finishing with a pound-it! IT'S JUST SO BEAUTIFUL AND MY HEART IS HAPPY After Truth, where Luka and Marinette were so sad and having a hard time, I really needed such an episode with such good Ladynoir! It really looks like the story is going in a really good direction, in my opinion. x3

[jpegjade]

Shake My Hand - Spencer

hello friends and ferns! it’s another day of dispair and i’ve got a fluffy fic for you! it came out of me riding in the car doing nothing so...

gender: neutral

type: fluff

summary: when spencer gets back from vacation to meet the new tech assistant, he’s met with an interesting predicament. 

______________________-

A smile on his face, Spencer Reid rode the elevator thinking about how happy he was to see his mom smiling. The two of them recently went on vacation to get away from his hectic work environment and relax for a few weeks. Unfortunately, it was time to get going back to work while his mom went back to the clinic. 

The doors slid open as Spencer was looking down at the tips of his converse. He was only able to take a few steps forward before he almost ran into another pair of Converse. There were small smiley faces at the toes of these shoes, causing Spencer to look up. 

“Dr. Spencer Reid, I presume?” You asked, holding your hand out. 

“I am.” Spencer said, looking down at your hand. 

Instinctively, his left eye subtly twitched. All he could think about was how many germs were on your hand, that was just touching the phone you were putting in your back pocket. Considering phones were some of the dirtiest things on the face of the planet, Spencer was nonplussed about the idea of shaking your hand. 

You slightly lifted your hand, renewing your smile, as the good doctor looked up at you. 

“Actually, Welsh scientists have previously discovered and proved that kissing transfers 80 million germs between two people, all in 10 seconds, while handshakes transfer 124 million germs.” Spencer said, straight faced as ever. 

“Dr. Reid, are you thinking about kissing me right now? We’ve only just met.” You said, tilting your head slightly as you dropped your hand to your side. 

Spencer was speechless. In all the times he presented that fact, not one person had responded to him in such a bold way. He could feel his cheeks growing red. 

He couldn’t say you weren’t cute. You were very attractive but he didn’t typically think about kissing someone he just met. 

“I mean… Not that I…” Spencer was sputtering, quickly losing his mental footing.

“It’s okay. You’ve got very kissable lips so I wouldn’t mind.” You winked before turning around, opening the door for him.

Spencer walked through the door, numbly trying to figure out how he was supposed to respond to the first statement, let alone the second. Were his lips really that kissable? He numbly put his hand toward his mouth before he dropped it. He felt a smile threatening to cross his lips. 

***

“Morning my sweet baby llamas.” Garcia said as Spencer sat down in his usual seat. “Today, we have another horrifically horrible case for my crimefighters to solve.” 

Individually, files were placed in front of each team member, although Garcia wasn’t handing them out. Everyone else got to work talking about the case while Spencer was distracted. He kept glancing at you, wondering how he could possibly miss the memo. Who were you and why were you handing out files? Derek would’ve told him about a new profiler. Maybe you were taking Garcia’s place? He hoped not. Garcia was an integral part of the team. He didn’t know where they would be without her. 

“Reid.” Hotch said, drawing Spencer’s attention to the case. “You take the lead on building a geographic profile. Y/n will help you.” 

You looked over at Spencer, giving him a curt smile. There was something so different about how you were now compared to when you met him a couple minutes ago. You stood differently, your body language screamed submissive and insecure. Before, you were confident and in control. What happened in a few minutes that changed? 

“It’s a local case so let’s get the victimology done quickly and thoroughly.” Hotch said as everyone went to their respective stations. 

Spencer waited a moment before he stood up, watching everyone move to their respective stations. 

“Dr. Reid, can I assist you in any way?” You said, pulling up a seat next to Spencer. 

You put the map on the table for Spencer but your map was on the tablet Garcia gave you on your first day. Twirling your stylus in your hand, you looked over the map and started talking. Spencer responded in off handed thoughts, going back and forth with you. 

“I think we got the basic geographic area down but what are we missing…” You said, thinking hard about every possible step the unsub could’ve taken. 

Spencer was staring at the map, his mind going hundreds of miles an hour at once. It didn’t take long before you figured out what you were doing wrong: you were looking at it like an adult. The unsub was far from a functioning adult after the team put the pieces together. 

***

By the end of the case, you were completely exhausted. You got shot at by a kid, which wasn’t fun but you were the perfect distraction because at the end of the day, Derek was able to tackle him without seriously getting injured or injuring the kid. 

“Good work today, agent.” The town sheriff came waddling by as you sat in the ambulance.

You were getting checked out for shock and any other scrapes but you were fine. You insisted you were fine many different times but all you could think about was how much you wanted to be home. As the newbie, you were in more shock than you wanted to admit after being shot at. You were much more comfortable behind the computer. 

“Are you alright?” Spencer came breezing up to you. 

“Hey doc. I’ve had better days but we were able to save a kid, even if he did manage to kill 12 people…” You got a far away look in your eyes and Spencer noticed. 

“So are you the new profiler?” Spencer asked, trying to bring you back to the present. 

“Oh god no. I’m the on-site tech analyst. I help out Penny… I mean Garcia but I have field clearance. It’s a weird situation but Agent Hotchner was clear that I…” You trailed off again, something distracting you. 

Spencer turned around and watched as a mom sobbed into an officer’s arms when the kid was being put into the squad car. You weren’t used to this. You didn’t sign up for this, the live reaction. You missed your desk, you missed Garcia’s figurines, you missed the feeling of home and comfort in a dark office. 

“You did a good job today.” Spencer said, stepping in front of you. 

You looked up at him as he blocked the sun from your eyes. He was wearing sunglasses with his back turned while you forgot your sunglasses at home today. You always regret it on the days when the sun is the strongest. 

“Thanks, doctor.” You said, squinting up at his face. 

It was hard to see his eyes so you just focused on his lips, again. 

“You don’t have to call me doctor every time you talk to me.” Spencer put his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels. 

“You earned it, didn’t you?” You asked, entranced by watching his lips moving. You could watch him talk forever. 

“I did but my friends call me Spencer. My coworkers call me that or Reid.” He said, adjusting his stance so the setting sun wasn’t shining into your eyes. 

“What do your girlfriends call you?” You asked Spencer with a smirk. 

Spencer was speechless once again. You hopped off the back of the ambulance, walking past Spencer to go to the car with paramedic clearance before Spencer could come up with something. 

Once again, Spencer didn’t know what to say. 

“What’s on your mind, pretty boy?” Derek said, walking up to Spencer. 

“Nothing.” He muttered, walking towards the second vehicle’s back seat. 

In truth, Spencer was trying to think of something to say to you tomorrow because he was determined to say something. Anything was better than leaving his mouth open every time you code switched.

[softjeon]

Falling for you | Pt. 3

• Pairing: Jimin x Namjoon • Genre: fluff, nsfw-content | Rating: Mature | Christmas!AU / Curse!AU • Words: 12k | AO3 • Disclaimer: mentioning of blood, accidents, alcohol

written with @cassiavioletblue​

↳  Everyone told him that love was the highest aim, that it was what completes you and made you happy…but he was never lucky like that. It just took a piece of him and left scars on his heart every time. He was done with that. He had given up on love a long time ago so he should stick to it or else not only he would be affected.

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It was a beautiful winter evening; a crisp cold breeze blew around him when he hurried into the massive building again, shaking himself as if he could get rid of the cold like that. With a smile, and a nod towards the doorman, Jungkook went up to Namjoon’s apartment. In his head, he went through their ‘to-do-list’ again, making sure he wouldn’t forget a thing.

“Merry Christmas!” He yelled happily, when the metal doors opened, and he walked in with an even bigger smile. “Or almost Christmas!”

Namjoon just looked up briefly, not really bothered by Jungkook's vocal proclamation of his love for Christmas because he was used to it. “What’s up with you, you don’t even have your reindeer antlers on yet.” He commented dryly - which was not something he had made up. Jungkook did actually own a pair of small, velveteen, light brown antlers that were fixed on a small headband that was decorated further with bits and pieces of dried wintery flowers and moss. 

The headband easily vanished under his fluffy hair and so it looked as if the antlers and flowers were sprouting from his head. He’s head business partners who didn’t know Jungkook do a double take on him and then carefully ask if he was a hired actor in some winter play.

“I knew you liked that one!” Jungkook laughed happily, as he joined Namjoon at the kitchen table. “I should get you a pair as well. You’d look so cute in it.” Placing a few folders in front of Namjoon, he leaned his chin on his hand, blinking at his boss dreamily. “Reaaaally cute.” He cooed, before adding a little more seriously. “Those are the ideas from your team for the summer designs.” They were always two steps ahead of the others and while it was Christmas they were already planning their summer releases, the decorations for the stores or the color schemes. Namjoon was a perfectionist.

When Namjoon took the folders without even looking at them, but kept doodling on his tablet, Jungkook leaned in a little more. “What are you drawing?”

“Nothing!” Namjoon flipped the tablet shut so quickly he hit himself on the hand with it. Initially he had started a design for a new couch, but his mind had used ‘couch’ as cue to wander into different territory… like how Jimin had fallen asleep in his arms completely and how he had wished he could stay like this all night but had to get up because of the driver and the fact that he just couldn’t stay there without having been invited by Jimin before. So, he had moved carefully to the side, inch by inch until he could place Jimin down softly and then had walked into the bathroom on his tiptoes to get rid of the waste and get a soft, damp towel to clean Jimin up. Jimin was apparently a heavy sleeper because he hadn’t even woken up, just sighed comfortably and curled a little tighter on the couch. Namjoon had placed the blanket that they had been laying on in the beginning but had fallen down somewhen over Jimin’s body, amazed by the fact that he could wrap Jimin up in it completely. The younger had looked so soft and tiny curled up there on the couch that Namjoon had leaned down and stolen one last, sweet kiss.

Then he had left the apartment with heated cheeks….

Somehow his hand had started to transfer those memories onto the screen, and he had started to draw a person onto the sketch of his couch - luckily not detailed enough for it to be recognized as Jimin.

Jungkook leaned back, confusion written all over his face when Namjoon reacted like that. The other always shared ideas with him. When Namjoon got up, he hurried after him, a million and one questions on his mind. And he couldn’t wait to squeeze the answers out of his boss or snatch his tablet away. There was definitely not ‘nothing’.

…

Jimin took a deep breath but no matter how many times he did, his heart didn’t seem to calm down. He had spent twenty minutes worrying and wrecking his mind whether he had a fever dream or if it really happened – but the bruises around his hips (and his shin, from where he had slipped) showed the truth.

He had slept with Kim Namjoon.

The Kim Namjoon.

His boss.

Hayoung’s Boss.

A curse slipped from him when he pushed down the button of the elevator. He still had a job to do and even though it was only a couple more days, Jimin was really worried. Couldn’t he just stick with the invitation for the Christmas party? Or spending Christmas together? Why didn’t he just marry him right away? Jimin groaned, hating his thoughts for spiraling so fast, making him even more nervous.

What if this was just a onetime thing for Namjoon? No big deal, where he just moved on? Jimin bit his lip. The ring of the elevator sound signaling that he was on his level. When he walked in, he could hear faint noises coming from Namjoon’s office and Jimin’s heart skipped a beat. Quickly, he turned around, putting his own belongings aside to get out the cleaning supplies.

“Oh, I need your signature for the check.” Jungkook’s voice startled Jimin effectively and he hit his head on the cupboard lightly, when the younger one came out of the office, followed by Namjoon. Neither hadn’t seen him yet. “It’s for the Christmas party. I booked a karaoke machine and ordered all kinds of Christmas shaped cookies. You should really come this year. It will be even better than last year!”

“I actually might...” Namjoon murmured, trying to ease himself into it and hoping that Jungkook wouldn’t yell at him in surprise right away. He was focused on holding Jungkook clipboard with the check while singing and walking at the same time that he only saw Jimin when they were pretty close. He froze up. He hadn’t expected to have Jungkook by his side when he’d see Jimin again. Should he pretend that nothing happened so that Jimin and he had the option to talk later in peace? Did Jimin even want to talk about it?

Jungkook, always quick to pick up on mood changes of his boss eyed him warily. What was even more suspicious though was that Jimin behaved strangely as well. “Is... everything okay?”

Jimin was all ears, when Jungkook made it sound as if Namjoon hadn’t been at the Christmas party the years before, remembering their conversation in the elevator. He was still rubbing the back of his head, when they both stared at each other, a little too long for it to seem normal.

“H-hi,” He finally managed to say. “I’m cleaning the floors!” Jimin was about to smack himself hard for that stupid statement, when all of them knew he was there to clean. His cheeks were red and hot, and he quickly turned around to fill up the bucket with water, glad for some distraction.

“Yeah...that’s...kind of obvious?” Jungkook looked back to his boss who seemed still securely rooted to the floor and back to Jimin who was blushing brightly. “Oh! Uhm, boss, I’m really sorry but I just remembered that I forgot something on the second floor. I’ll catch up with you later?” He patted Namjoon on the back, hoping it would encourage him to do something other than standing around silently and then he hurried back to the elevator. It was really difficult to fight the instinct to look over his shoulder to see what they were doing or to hide in the next office to listen in on them.

“So, is this your first year or…” Jimin filled the water up with some soap to clean. “The Christmas party…” His voice was quiet, a little unsure as he turned around to look at Namjoon – only for a few seconds before he averted his gaze again. Taking the filled bucket, he placed it on the kitchen floor, glad that there was his job that he still needed to do and kept him busy.

The Christmas party. That’s what Jimin was curious about. Namjoon wasn’t quite sure if he felt disappointed or relieved that they weren’t talking about what had happened between them. “It’s not the first year, no, Jungkook organizes them every year.” He answered vaguely, leaving his part in it deliberately out of it.

“You said that” Jimin leaned his head aside, “I just wondered if you were going for the first time this year. He made it sound like that and…” He looked down, shrugging his shoulders, “And it made me curious if you want to go for a different reason this year.”

“It’s... yeah, I kind of... I haven’t been there before. Thought I’d let my people have a fun night without their boss, but... Jungkook’s been asking me to come so often now I figured I should attend at least once.” He carefully straightened his tie because lying made him nervous and he needed to do something with his hands.

“Oh,” Jimin had expected a different answer. Something to do with him and Jimin gave him a quick smile before they were back to staring at each other like before. There was the kitchen counter between them, enough space to not feel closed in but Jimin felt it, nonetheless. His heart was racing. “D-do you want to…like talk about what happened?” He awkwardly held onto the stick of the mop.

Namjoon swallowed hard and his heart stumbled as it skipped a beat. “Only if you want to talk about it. I mean... I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable, we can... talk here or in my office or we can just...” He didn’t want to pretend it never happened because it did and he was so glad that it happened he would deal with ten times the awkwardness just to be able to remember the taste of Jimin’s lips and the feel of the younger’s skin against his. “Whatever you need...” He finished quietly, careful that no one who wasn’t supposed to hear them could accidentally overhear what they were saying.

Jimin breathed out, putting the cleaning supplies aside, as he stepped a little closer to Namjoon. He looked up at him with a shy smile. “I liked it,” It rolled quickly over his tongue, making his cheeks blush even more. “D-did you like it?” Jimin pushed a string of hair out of his face and behind his ear. “It’s only a few more days until Christmas and...when Hayoung is back...I know we talked about Christmas and the party, but....I’m not sure if it was just us joking because of the situation or because…” Jimin didn’t dare to ask if there was more, if Namjoon felt the tingling feeling inside his stomach too and if he wanted to explore what else there was. He really wanted to know, the curiosity making his heart flutter.

“So, you’d still want to cook for me on Christmas?” If Jimin’s would have been sex then he had no reason to still try and get to know him. A comfortable warmth spread through him at the thought of not being alone on Christmas and even better, spending it with someone who’s company he’d immensely enjoyed so far. “Yes, I liked it a lot. I’d like to repeat it some time. After dinner maybe.” And in a bedroom, staying the night, cuddling... there was so much he suddenly wanted.

“For you?” Jimin raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he pouted his lips. “I thought I’d be cooking with you.” He blushed at Namjoon’s words. It sounded like a date and a lot more than two people just spending time together. And he couldn’t wait to do so.

“Oh, well.. then I have to warn you, I’m not used to people standing in my kitchen while I’m there, I might accidentally run into you.” Or pour something over Jimin’s shirt so that he would have to undress. “Do you have a special menu that you like to make on Christmas? Then I’ll make sure to get all the ingredients.” At the moment his refrigerator was pretty empty.

“I’ll think of something tasty,” Jimin winked, soothing over Namjoon’s arm fleetingly before turning back around to get his supplies. He still had a lot to clean.

…

Downstairs, Yoongi walked in the office complex with confidence, not even answering the security who asked for his name or who he was there for. His gaze fell onto the numbers appearing on the board over the elevator and he smiled. When the metal doors opened, Yoongi didn’t step aside but walked in without looking up, bumping right into someone.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Jungkook immediately apologized out of reflex even though the other had run straight into him without looking. When he finally did Jungkook was sure he had never seen him at the company before. He would have definitely remembered a face like that, soft and pale but with eyes so dark and burning they reminded him of coals after a bonfire when the glimmering heat still lingered. He shook himself out of his daydreams, a little confused as to why he had lost his focus. “May I help you? This is Kim design. I don’t think you’ve got an appointment here.” He would know because he would have put it into Namjoon’s schedule.

“Oh, you may…” Yoongi’s eyes changed from surprise to a pleasant expression. The young man he had bumped into was the prettiest human he’d ever seen. And his voice sounded like honey, the sweetest tone he ever heard. “Oh, I sure have an appointment.” He smiled pointing at Jungkook’s book that seemed to be a calendar. When the younger lifted it, still adamant on not knowing about an appointment, he tapped the cover twice, leaning in just a little. “Are you trying to tell me Mr. Kim forgot our appointment and isn’t here? I’m pretty sure we have an appointment. Why don’t you look?”

Jungkook swallowed down his remark that there was no way he had an appointment because otherwise he would know - but he had learned pretty early on that smiling and doing what Namjoon’s business partners wanted was the better decision if he didn’t want a grown man in a suit yelling at him. Not that the other was wearing a suit...

He carefully eyed the man’s clothes, something dark and shimmering hidden under his coat that looked pretty interesting. Too bad he would have to send the other away in a moment. As requested he opened his calendar with a smile, opening the page for today and pointing at the space for right now. “As you see there’s..” His voice faltered. There was an entry. In black ink. For right this moment. Jungkook stared at it in total disbelief. He could have sworn that the space had been empty five minutes ago and he also knew that he had never ever heard the name Min Yoongi before. But apparently he must have because it was written in his own handwriting. “I’m… I’m... so sorry Mister Min, I didn’t... I must have confused the dates...” He stuttered, still staring onto the page as if he couldn’t trust his own eyes.

“I know, I know it’s pretty late for an appointment but I’m a busy man.” Yoongi grinned, pushing down a button, then another one before pressing almost every single one of them – because he wasn’t quite sure which floor his office was and also he loved peeking.

He hooked his arm under Jungkook’s almost gasping out loud, when he felt the muscles strain against the suit, but he could restrain himself from groping the younger more. “You can call me, Yoongi or love. Babe is fine, too. Whatever you prefer.” He winked at the startled Jungkook, nudging him slightly. “Relax. If you keep me company until Namjoon arrives I’m sure I’ll have a great time, Jungkook.”

Jungkook tensed up right away. Yoongi wouldn’t be the first businessman to try and flirt with him like that but he could always count on Namjoon to make sure that people who overstepped the line would not stay with the company. “I’d like to keep it professional, Mr. Min as I’m sure Mr. Kim would prefer.” He furrowed his brows when he realized that Yoongi knew his name without him mentioning it. He must have told the other when they had spoken about his appointment? It made him feel crazy that he really couldn't remember it at all!

Yoongi furrowed his brows, giving Jungkook a little more distance. “Oh, no…I’m not really a business partner like that.” He chuckled softly, reaching into the pocket inside his jacket. “I’m more of a… consultant. I help Namjoon with decisions on his business or his life. Whatever he needs me for.” He was happy with his quick lie, taking out what seemed to be a simple stack of cards. “You really don’t have to be professional with me or have to be afraid.” When the doors opened again and they arrived at the office, Yoongi began to shuffle his cards delicately. “Tell me Jungkook, do you believe in magic?” He turned around with a warm smile, walking a few steps backwards.

Jungkook definitely knew one thing: Yoongi was…special. He had never heard of Namjoon asking someone for advice about his business and he was pretty sure Namjoon would never let someone mess with his personal life and yet there Yoongi was, talking about Namjoon as if he knew him inside and out, joking around and playing with cards. “I.-. I like the thought of it being true..-” he confessed before he could stop himself. Somehow the words poured out of him without his permission so he quickly added. “I can distinguish between dreams and reality of course!”

Yoongi hummed, drumming his fingers on his cards. “That’s good.” He walked ahead as if he knew right where he needed to be, just taking the route down to the biggest office he could find before walking in and letting his instincts lead him. There was a conference table right beside Namjoon’s office desk, so Yoongi took a seat, motioning for Jungkook to follow him. “You can call him, if you want…” His eyes were piercing right through the youngers and yet, they were warm and inviting, placing the cards out in front of them.

Jungkook hesitated, drawn in by the beautiful cards. He had placed them front down on the table as if he were ready to pick one, like a fortune teller ready to tell him his future. “What do you need them for if I may ask?” The backside of the cards was decorated with intricate symbols, some highlighted in a shimmering golden color.

“I need them to answer your questions.” Yoongi leaned his head aside, liking how the younger was intrigued, finally following him, and sitting down at the other end. “Or usually Namjoons, but he isn’t here right now.” He sighed deeply, letting his fingertips hover over the cards. “Do you want to try?”

“You help Namjoon make choices by using your cards?” Now he was hooked. “He never told me any of that! How long do you two know each other?” He leaned forward reaching out but then withdrawing his hand. He had heard that touching the cards just for fun before actually asking a question would mess them up. “I’d really like to... but I don’t have any questions at the moment. At least none that the cards can answer.”

“I help in many ways.” He winked, before Jungkook hesitation made him raise an eyebrow. Leaning his chin on his hands, he locked his eyes with the younger. “Tell me your questions if you’re comfortable with them. Maybe I can answer them anyways.” Yoongi didn’t even mind that Jungkook had completely forgotten to call Namjoon, yet. He enjoyed their encounter way too much.

Jungkook chuckled, “I can but I don’t think you can answer them. I’d like to know if the Christmas party will work out and everyone will have a nice time. I would like to know if Kim design will have a great year again next year and if Namjoon will finally be able to take a bit more time for himself instead of working all the time. I’d like to see him smile more often...” Did he really tell all that to a man he had just met for the first time? His cheeks blushed as he kept his eyes trained down on the cards.

“You really care about him, hm. He really is lucky to have you because he needs more people like you.” Yoongi began to mindlessly push the cards around, sorting them differently, putting a few back into the stack of cards. “I can ensure you; your Christmas party will be amazing. I heard Namjoon talking about it. He really wants to come this year, I think. Do you feel like he’s changing?”

“I do. And I really hope he does.” Jungkook cocked his head, “Not really changing, no, but there is something different about him. I think he might have finally found something else to put his heart onto and instead of being completely consumed by his work he starts to see past it. There are so many more reasons to get up in the morning than just because your work schedule tells you to. I feel like he’s finally starting to get a glimpse of that.”

“You are right,” Yoongi nodded, adding the reason ‘Jeon Jungkook’ as another one on his own list, because that man was the sweetest, kindest person he’d ever talked to. He could feel the warmth and passion radiate from him, the positivity that was surrounding him. He wanted nothing but to make all the people around him happy and Yoongi could feel it resonating within him. But there was something else that made him worried.

“You said he found something…you’re not really talking about a hobby, right?” He didn’t really look at Jungkook, as he turned around three of them. There was a wheel of fortune, but it was reversed, and it was making Yoongi bite his lip, while his eyes flickered to the next card. All of them seemed to be upside down; the second card was showing a hermit and the last one was the chariot. “Oh…”

“What is it?” Jungkook leaned over to get a better look at what Yoongi had picked. To him all the cards looked really pretty but he knew that they could all have different meanings, a pretty picture didn’t necessarily mean a good thing and the other way round.

“I’m not sure what they are referring to exactly…it’s not clear, but this one…” He pointed at the wheel of fortune. “Turned upside down like this, it means someone is losing control. And this one, the hermit, it kind of stands for isolation and loneliness. While the chariot emphasizes the lack of control again. It seems as if Namjoon is quite directionless. Or he will be.” He took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose, mumbling something about him telling Namjoon so as he shook his head.

Jungkook shook his head in denial, getting out of his chair. “It’s not fair to read Namjoon’s cards when he isn’t even there and I’m sure the reading would be way better if he was present. Or there was a mistake. Namjoon is fine. I’ll… I’ll get him for you now. Sorry for stalling.” With that he went out the door to call Namjoon - and explain to him why he had an appointment that late that he hadn’t told him about before.

Yoongi looked after the younger, sighing softly as a smile stole it’s way on his lips. He turned around another card, the smile turning brighter when it showed the symbol of the sun. Flipping the card back around, he pushed it towards where Jungkook sat before and began to collect the rest.

…

Carrying the laundry, Jimin crossed the living room again, when his eyes flickered over to Namjoon who was deeply immersed in his work at the kitchen table. When their eyes met, he accidentally stumbled over the end of a rug, giggling the embarrassment away before vanishing into the laundry room.

Just when he was gone the telephone rang and Namjoon picked it up automatically. On the other side of the line was Jungkook, explaining very sheepishly that there had been a mishap and he had forgotten to tell him about the appointment his consultant had made. Namjoon was quiet for a moment. “My what?” There was absolutely no one that deserved that title. He had consultants when he tried working with different materials or when he was trying a new marketing strategy but right now there was no one like that who he needed to meet up with.

“Your consultant? Or...or friend I think. Yoongi?” Jungkook sounded small, the mistake still nagging him and Namjoon’s bewildered reaction aiding further to make him contrite.

“Yoongi… he’s at the company? With an appointment? Right now? And you... you talked to him?” He felt like he had ants running all over his skin. This was the third time Yoongi showed up when normally he only came by like once a month at most. Had he told anything to Jungkook? About the start of the company? “Okay, you can.. you can get off early tonight. I’ll be there in a second.” As much as he hated the thought of leaving Yoongi alone at the company he figured that the other could walk to wherever he wanted anyways with his magic and he rather kept Jungkook away from him. Who knew what kind of deal Yoongi would try to make with the younger.

Opening up the dishwasher, Jimin began to sort the clothes, quietly humming a song to himself. He was lightly dancing, singing a little louder. Leaning back down, he got out another shirt, when Namjoon’s sudden enthusiasm to get up and to his office startled him effectively and he shot up, hitting the back of his head on the edge of the cupboard. He yelped in pain, blinking his eyes because for a moment he saw nothing but a few spots dancing around in front of him.

“Jimin?” Namjoon froze at the younger’s outcry of pain. “Are you alright?” When he didn't get an answer right away he immediately went into the laundry room where he saw Jimin rub the back of his head. “Did you hit your head? I have to get back to the office, but I can get you some ice first. Please don’t hurt yourself again while I’m gone, can you do that?” He teased him a little.

Jimin hummed in response, the pain too evident on the back of his head. “I’ll try not to.” He wondered why Namjoon had to run to the office out of a sudden again but promised that he wouldn’t hurt himself anymore. He was almost done with cleaning anyways, although he had hoped to stall his time a little at the end with Namjoon.

Only when Jimin was taken care of did Namjoon call himself a car. On the ride he was fidgety, trying to calm himself down and not rack his brain about why Yoongi was there, what he might want and what he could possibly do to make him comply.

Yoongi was bored out of his mind, staring at the wall as he swirled around in Namjoon’s chair. He had tried out every single one in his office but this one turned the smoothest.

That's how Namjoon found him.

He was a little out of breath because he had walked as fast as he could to get there (without actually running because running would mean he was desperate and Yoongi might see him with his… third eye or something) “Are you having fun? I hope you didn’t make Jungkook ask me here just because you wanted a new chair.”

“Oh, there you are!” Yoongi came to a halt, motioning for Namjoon to take a seat as if it was his office and not the other way around. “We had an appointment, right? It said so in his calendar. That’s why I’m here…” Leaning over the desk, he let his gaze wander around. “I really like what you made out of our deal, Namjoon. Are you happy with it?”

“You can’t fool me, Yoongi. And please don’t mess with Jungkook again, the poor boy will double check every appointment now and blame himself for it when we both know that it wasn’t his fault he had no idea of that ‘magical appointment’. If you want to talk to me you can just call me.” He took a breath, trying to find a hook in Yoongi’s statement but there was none. “Yes, thank you, I’m happy. Why, do you want to terminate our contract?” He had often wondered how or when it would end - and what would be the consequences. It wasn’t like he was being lazy and letting Yoongi do all the work in his company so even without magical help he should be fine... right?

“Where would be the fun in that?” Yoongi pursed his lips, getting up to look at the designs that were hanging on the pinboard of Namjoon’s office. “I just wondered…you really made a lot of what I gave you. You build an entire empire and dare I say, I couldn’t be any prouder.” Yoongi turned around waving Namjoon off, “Oh no, please. I’m fine. I don’t need to terminate anything. I’m just feeling sentimental this Christmas.” The witch sighed deeply, taking out the three cards he had picked earlier and giving them to Namjoon. “They were turned upside down. I like you, Namjoon and sometimes I worry…if this is really what you wanted.” He patted the other’s shoulder, passing by him.

Namjoon took the cards. There were pictures on it, and he knew that they were probably tarot cards but other than that he had no idea what they were supposed to mean. He only realized that Yoongi wasn’t just walking around in the room than out when there was silence. He turned and Yoongi was nowhere to be seen.

“Wh…wait! What does that mean? What do you want? Did you just call me here to give me those cards? Am I supposed to do something with them? I’m not magic!”

A/N: Happy third Advent! We hope you enjoy this little story until now :) 

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[slimy-vore-bog]

A Betrayal of Trust (But a Necessary Evil)

Right, I decided to post this! I kinda forgot... because I’m working on drawing more werewolf Amity. (non-vore) So I got distract, but it’s done now.

Contains: prey Luz and Pred Amity, very unwilling prey... You know it’s easier to just say it like this. This is non-fatal vore, but the whole thing about this is Amity trying to convince Luz she’s eating her to kill her. So it’s not cuddly or fluffy. If that’s not your thing, don’t read.

But something different about this is that I switch perspective. This story is very experimental for me and I don’t really like it that much... But my friend wanted to read it, so I’m posting it. Also the reason for the weird title. It goes from Luz to Amity back to Luz and so on. It’s also cringe, but I don’t care. I post owl house vore, so it’s not like I’m not cringe already. Let me act like an edgy teen if I want!

Special warning: I’m horrible at writing adults, so here’s your warning that every bit of dialogue coming from one of Amity’s parents will be toe-curlingly cringe. Luckily, I don’t have them speaking much.

Word Count: 5.7k

***

This was not how the day was supposed to go. She was just going to visit Amity’s house, but, not long ago, she had been shrunken down to no more than three or four inches, and now Amity was holding her tightly in her fist.

Luz squirmed in Amity’s grasp; she didn’t know what she was trying to do, but she knew it wasn’t going to be good. “Let go off me!”

She glared at her, meaner than she ever had. “Why should I, Luz? You didn’t seriously think I cared about you, did you?” She bared her teeth at her, as her glance flicked from Luz to her parents then back again. “I hate you! I hate you so much I don’t think I’ll ever find the words for it!”

Luz wasn’t sure what was going on, but the words pierced her like a knife to the gut. She felt herself lose the ability to speak, as her throat closed up. It didn’t take long after the burning in her eyes began, before she was crying.

Amity squeezed her eyes shut, and gritted her teeth. “I want to bite you in half!” Her voice broke as she spoke. Luz could tell that Amity took a couple deep breaths after that. “But that would be too kind of me; you don’t deserve a quick death.”

Luz eyes widened and her voice returned, “NO!” she screamed, and tried desperately to writhe her way out of Amity’s grasp. “Amity, please, you don’t have to kill me!” Luz’s breathing sped up even more, as she had to say the words herself. Amity was going to kill her. Her friend was going to KILL her! “I promise I’ll leave you alone, just don’t hurt me!”

Luz watched Amity with fearful eyes, watching her gaze as she looked away from Luz and back to her again. Amity’s angry look changed to cold and uncaring for a moment, before it changed back to anger. “No, I don’t want to see your face ever again!”

Luz couldn’t believe her ears; did Amity really hate her that much? Enough to murder her? Why had she never… Why had she never said anything? Amity had hung out with her, and Luz would never had thought that Amity actually wanted her dead. “Don’t you think this is a bit extreme? I don’t want to die!” She didn’t quite realize what was happening yet, despite what she had said. But the panic was quickly building up in her.

Amity’s face turned neutrally cold again, but something else seemed to break through from behind it too; there was pain in her eyes for just a second. Everything about her seemed disorientated after what Luz said. “No,” growled Amity, baring her teeth again, but it didn’t seem completely authentic. “I’m going to be the one who kills you.”

Luz couldn’t figure out what was going on. Was Amity okay? She didn’t seem like this was what she wanted either. “Amity…” whispered Luz in horror. Something was off, but she couldn’t figure out what. “Please… I really don’t want to die!” She squirmed and kicked in her hands again. The thought that Amity wasn’t in her right mind scared her more than the fact that she was about to die. At least in that moment.

Though, Amity quickly snarled at Luz. “You think I don’t know that?” Her glare returned harder than before. “Little happy naïve Luz really doesn’t want to die?” she mocked, shifting her grip on her to dangle her from her fingertips. “This is exactly why I don’t like you; you’re so incredibly stupid.”

Luz’s gaze fell to the ground below. Was Amity about to drop her? If the fall didn’t kill her, what was Amity going to do? Luz finally realized the danger she was in and that appealing to Amity’s pity wasn’t helping.

She writhed and kicked in her grasp, trying to get away, even if it meant she was going to fall from as high up at she was. “Don’t hurt me!” screamed Luz, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I have done so much for you! Did it not mean anything?”

Amity squeezed her eyes shut in a hard to read expression, as she took in a deep breath. “None of this matters!” yelled Amity, as her eyes got glossy. But she quickly shook her head, and grasped Luz in her fist again. “I’d suggest you stay still for your own good…” Amity smiled cruelly, but despite everything that was happening something seemed fake about it. “Or don’t; I wouldn’t mind feeling your last struggles for life.” The smile cracked a bit, as a bit of disgust shone through. “I can’t believe I have to eat something as gross as you.”

Luz was so caught off guard by Amity’s words she stopped her struggling. “You’re going to eat me?” Luz couldn’t believe it; she thought Amity had said she wouldn’t kill her like that. “But you said-” She was cut off by Amity, before she could finish her sentence.

“I said I wasn’t going to bite you in half; I never said I wouldn’t eat you.” Amity took another deep breath. “Do you know how painful of a death it would be to be swallowed alive?” Her malicious grin returned as she spoke. “You’ll spend your last minutes in unbreathable air, while acids slowly burn away at your body; doesn’t that sound like the perfect death for the person I hate the most?”

Luz tried to squirm out of Amity’s grasp, but she knew something wasn’t adding up. “Amity! Please, you’re lying; I know it!” Why would Amity hate her? She had clearly forgiven her for how she had messed up the first few times they met. Luz’s gaze fell on Amity’s parents, as the last puzzle piece clicked into place. “It’s your parents making you do this!”

Amity’s parents must have seen her as lesser and decided that she wasn’t as important as a witchling or another native sapient creature on the Boiling Isles! But were Amity’s parents bad enough they would force their daughter murder her, while she pretended to hate her?

Luz watched Amity’s eyes; they turned from a scowl to neutral with a small hint of shock.

Yet Amity didn’t put her down or even loosened her grip. She smiled menacingly, “Wouldn’t that just be perfect for you if I was acting?” Amity waited a few seconds. “As fun as it has been seeing you freak out and cry, I’m starving… So I think I’m just going to end this now.”

Luz could only watch in horror, as Amity opened her fanged mouth wide, ready to ingulf her entire body. “No!” She writhed, as she screamed at Amity. “Please! Stop! I DON’T WANT TO DIE!”

 ¨¨

It was hard to think that just a few days earlier, Amity had been stuck thinking about Luz. She couldn’t get it out of her head how amazing Luz was. She never thought she would have had a thing for risktakers like her, but there was just something so appealing about all the stupid things Luz did...

She had brought out her crown from grom night just to stare at it. It still hurt that she hadn’t confessed, but at least she and Luz had a good night together, even if it was just as friends. She smiled a bit before there was a knock on the door to her room.

Her ear twitched anxiously, before she put the crown back in her box. It was only her parents that knocked.

“Come in,” she spoke clearly, and made sure to keep her tone polite. She was not going to make their moods worse than they already had to be.

The door handle turned, and was exactly who she expected. Both of her parents with her mother having her typical condescending smile and her father with his almost neutral disappointed frown. “Amity…” her father began coldly. “We have been informed about your friendship with the human.”

Amity didn’t say anything waiting for her turn to speak. She briefly wondered who could have told them that. But she quickly realized it was probably through Boscha and her family; it wouldn’t be beneath her to try to “ruin” Amity’s reputation like that. She doubted her siblings would do it.

Her mother watched her with her faking caring eyes, as she spoke, “and we wanted to know if it was true.”

Amity straightened her back, now she could prove she was strong enough not to let stuff like this happen again. “Yes, it is, but I don’t see how who I’m friends with affects you.” But as soon as the words left her mouth, her confidence broke.

Both of her parents were staring coldly down at her, before her mother spoke up. “Do not talk back to us like that, young lady!” Her mother gave her dad a sideways glance. “Do you mind telling Amity why we came up here?”

Alador shook his head, “not at all.” He was about to speak, but Amity interrupted him before he could even get started.

“I’m not going to stop being friends with Luz!” she shouted, clinching her fists as she took a step forward. “You can’t tell me what to do anymore!”

Her mother’s condescending smile returned. “Sweety, you should really let your father speak, before you refuse…” She stared her down, watching Amity’s anger turn to confusion. “I think you’re going to find the difference it makes very… important.”

Amity’s gaze flicked between her parents. “Wh-what difference?” Amity realized her mother’s tone had been sly when she spoke; it had to mean something bad.

Alador spoke up again. “If you had let us speak you already would have known.” He took a breath, looking down at Amity with a relatively calm expression. “But we want you to invited the human over.” That… could end really badly. “It’s not important how you get her to come over, as long as she’s here.”

Amity listened carefully, trying to figure out where her father was going with this.

“We want you to make sure she never wants to see you ever again, and we already know how to accomplish that,” her father continued, before he summoned a spell book and gave it to Amity. “The spells we want you to learn should be on page fifty and thirty-four.”

Amity didn’t open the book, and her mother shook her head. “Trust us, it’s better if you look through it yourself.”

She hesitantly opened the book; it was a shrinking spell. Her eyes widened, as she quickly flicked to the page thirty-four. She had a gut feeling of what it was going to be, and that feeling was right… It was the protection spell that all witchlings had to learn since childhood… Except this one was to be cast for others’ protection.

Amity’s gaze once again moved back up to her father and mother, before her father spoke up again. “So we are going to give you two options; either you take care of the problem yourself or we will.” He stared down at Amity. “And we won’t needing the second spell.”

Amity got the instruction to act as cruel as she could. And that was what she was going to do as soon as she could find time to invite Luz over.

 ¨¨

Luz screamed at the sight in front of her, she tried to push herself away from Amity’s mouth, but she was already shoving her into her mouth. “HELP! Please help!” She was calling for anybody, but Amity’s parents weren’t stopping Amity and she had no clue where Edric and Emira were.

Luz kicked and squirmed, feeling Amity’s tongue slurp at her face. She tried desperately to push herself back out, but with Amity being so much bigger than her it wasn’t much of a fight. She had realized that when she first slipped down Amity’s throat that would be it. Dying in a way worse manner than what Amity had described.

It was harder to breathe than it had been outside her mouth, but it was only made worse by the fact that she was unable to calm down. She was hyperventilating and aware of it, but her panicked mind wouldn’t let her save her air.

She was already completely inside Amity’s mouth and she kept kicking against her teeth, hoping she could at least give her sore tooth. But she didn’t realize she was just pushing herself closer to Amity’s throat. She only realized when her head suddenly didn’t have any support, that she was about to shove herself downwards.

She screamed, before trying to squirm backwards again. She began trying to force Amity’s mouth open using her back, but all that happened was her splatting back onto Amity’s tongue each time she slipped.

Amity’s tongue squished her into her palate, locking her in place.

Luz’s eyes widened, as she tried to get free of the crushing pressure. Amity was serious about swallowing her alive. Luz knew that Amity wasn’t going to back out; she was determined to murder her.

Luz nearly couldn’t breathe anymore; her head was hurt and her struggling became weaker… She couldn’t do anything… She had never felt so powerless. Usually, she would be able to find some way to get out of there or she could somehow outsmart the threat. She had always been able to get away, but there was nothing she could do… Even just Amity’s tongue pressing against her was enough to restrain her enough that she could only wriggle uselessly.

Amity’s tongue lowered again after Luz stopped fighting against her. She couldn’t move another muscle; she didn’t want to give up, that meant certain death, but her body didn’t want to move anymore. Even she herself was starting to realize how pointless this was.

She lay down on her tongue, and began to sob. She wasn’t trying to escape anymore; she needed to cry. All the people that wouldn’t see her again… Her best friend Willow was one of the ones that hurt the most, other than Eda and King. And Gus… Her mom… She would have disappeared not only from her realm, but she had died in the demon realm… Her mom would never know… And the rest wouldn’t ever get to see her again either. How would they know that she had been eaten by Amity? Even if they suspected that the Blight family had something to do with her disappearance, how would they ever prove it?

It didn’t take long before Amity’s tongue lurched upwards again. This time clearly readying to swallow, as she tilted her head back making Luz slide towards her throat.

Despite being in complete darkness, Luz squeezed her eyes shut tightly. This was it. She was going to die in the gut of someone she had grown to consider a close friend.

Luz couldn’t move to fight against the swallow that pulled her upper body into Amity’s gullet. She was too weak.

Her body was pulled down by the throat itself, before Amity swallowed a second time. The slimy walls pulled her farther and farther down into Amity’s body, as a small cry escaped Luz. It was little more than a pathetic whimper, but there wasn’t anything else she could do. Amity hated her, and Luz was slowly sliding down Amity’s throat to her death. What else could she do but cry?

A couple more quick yet strong gulps and Luz was completely sealed inside Amity’s throat. Luz wanted nothing more than to get out of there, but at this point; there was no way that was happening… She was nothing but food to Amity, apparently.

Luz felt a strong chill run through her, as the thought registered. What was really happening finally clicked in her brain. She was going to die there was no way around it. She was quickly descending to her former friend’s stomach to suffocate, or possibly drown in acid. All while her skin and muscle and everything inside her would be broken down by the acid.

This was going to be her last moments alive.

Luz whimpered again and squeezed her eyes shut to the point that it nearly hurt. The shortness of breath that hadn’t disappeared since Amity shoved her into her mouth, became even stronger. Her breathing became shallower, as she began uselessly writhing again. But it was slow and Amity didn’t take notice of anything; her throat kept working her down.

Only a split second after Luz had begun fighting again, she slipped into Amity’s stomach. She fell down into the small pool of acid with a splash, before she scrambled to try and get back up from the stomach.

Of course, it was useless; she could barely sit up straight in the stomach without slipping, let alone make any moves to escape.

And not long after; Luz gave up. She hated that she couldn’t get out and how weak her body felt… She should never had agreed to meet up with Amity… Why did Amity want to kill her so badly? Luz was nearly convinced her parents were involved, but Amity had still, effectively, already killed her. Luz brought her knees up to her chest, whimpering, as the fear of whatever the afterlife was, or wasn’t for that matter, clung onto her.

She knew she was going to find out soon.

 ¨¨

The moment Luz had told her- and later screamed at her that she didn’t want to die- Amity wanted to back out. But she knew that would only result in Luz’s actual death.

She had checked with her parents, if they would accept Luz’s promise to just leave her alone, but they had both shaken their heads. Amity had to go through with this, unless she actually wanted Luz dead.

She continued to taunt and mock Luz, and had planned for it to go on a little longer, but to her surprise and horror; Luz managed to catch on. She didn’t want Luz to give herself death sentence, making the decide to get her down immediately. She would have to wait a while before she could let her out again anyways.

She made sure not to hesitate, even as the shrunken human screamed for help. She wasn’t going to let herself break her role as a murderer. As she shoved Luz in her mouth, she couldn’t keep herself from glaring at her parents. She quickly pretended it was a mistake, but she was sure that they didn’t buy it. As long as they didn’t hurt Luz everything was going to be fine… She didn’t care that she and Luz could never be more than enemies, as long as made it out alive Luz.

She felt Luz kicking at her teeth, but it wasn’t helping the smaller girl in the slightest. Now she could finally stop her angry act. Luz couldn’t see her face anymore and the act fell.

Amity could feel that Luz nearly shoved herself down her throat, before she scrambled back and tried to shove her mouth open. Which was useless, of course. Amity only had to hold her mouth closed. She waited for Luz to tire herself out, figuring that would make her seem crueler, since it could imply that she liked the feeling of Luz’s useless struggles. In reality; she hated it. Knowing that she had to swallow Luz soon only made it worse.

She let Luz continue her repetitive pushing on her tongue only to slip and fall for a while, before Amity held her in place with her tongue. Luz was tiring out soon anyways. Her wriggled was becoming weaker, before she gave up.

Amity lowered her tongue again. She needed to adjust Luz, before she could get this over with. But she froze as she heard Luz sob. She wasn’t just crying; she was sobbing. Amity wasn’t built for this.

Yet Amity had to do, because the alternative was so much worse. She tilted her head back, letting Luz slip down into her throat with a thick swallow. It wouldn’t take that long to get it over with.

It felt wrong and uncomfortable to have something blocking her throat and she quickly swallowed again hearing Luz let out a small cry.

Amity squeezed her eyes shut, not realizing that she was about to cry herself, before she let the first tears fall. She quickly dried them off, before swallowing the last of Luz down. It was eerily quiet from her after her whimper, but Amity knew Luz had to be alright. She just had to hope the girl hadn’t fainted. But Luz was tough, and Amity was pretty sure Luz wouldn’t faint like that.

She was right. Just as Luz was about to reach her stomach, she let out another whimper and began squirming again. Though it was obvious Luz was completely exhausted. Amity wished she didn’t have to do any of this. Luz was, reasonably, terrified, but Amity couldn’t tell her what was going on. Never, if she wanted Luz to live and that was the only reason she was doing this.

She hated feeling the panicked scrambles of Luz trying to get back up. She held her hand over her stomach, feeling like she was on the verge of tears. At least Luz wouldn’t have to die… But the effects this would have on her would be permanent. Luz cared about her and she really cared about Luz. Amity had broken that trust completely. At least if everything was going according to the plan.

Amity looked over at her parents, the only thoughts echoing in her mind was how much she hated them. But she kept her face emotionless as she thought that.

Luz had stopped moving after barely a minute of desperate attempts to move back up. The fact that Luz had to know it was useless before even trying, made it hurt so much more. Luz was fearing for her life, and it was all her parents’ fault. If they could have just minded their own business, none of this would have happened.

She sighed, letting her hand fall to her side again. “I’m going to my room now.” She had had enough of her parents for a life time, but they both shook their heads. “Why can’t I?” She was done now; she had eaten Luz, all that was left to do was to pretend she wasn’t going to let her out.

Her mother gave her an ominous smile. “Such a little bit of food can’t be enough for you.”

Nope, Amity was not eating while Luz was in her stomach. But she couldn’t verbally protest… She shook her head rapidly. Her eating while Luz was in her belly was not part of the deal. “Well, it is, so I’m going to my room.” She hated that she had to indirectly refer to Luz as food. The thought of what would happen to Luz, if she had been serious made her feel sick. If she had had any appetite; it was gone now.

She was about to turn around, but her parents wouldn’t let her. “Are you sure you don’t want anything to eat? You won’t get anything to eat later,” said her mom with a cold glare.

Was her mom seriously going to make her throw up more than just Luz to let her eat for real later? She was about to retort, but she remembered that Luz could hear her. “That’s fine with me.” She could wait the night to have breakfast. Or she could steal some food overnight. She’d rather go to bed hungry than put Luz through more. No matter how hungry she was going to get. Luz was scared enough not to want to ever see her again.

“You do get what I mean, don’t-”

“YES!” Amity shouted with a glare. “I won’t get anything to eat if I’m hungry later!” She had enough of her mother speaking to her like that. “Now let me go to my room!” She turned around before her parents could protest and ran to her room.

 ¨¨

Luz waited for her death, but nothing seemed to happen. She didn’t understand how she wasn’t hurt yet. It seemed like her air supply inside Amity’s stomach wasn’t running out anytime soon and the acid she was sitting in hadn’t even started to itch. Luz knew that she might not always make the smartest decisions, but she wasn’t an idiot. Amity wasn’t trying to hurt her. The shrinking spell wasn’t the only spell Amity had cast, when Luz was first shrunken down. She had noticed that, but she wasn’t sure what the others were for.

Why was Amity doing this? When Luz thought back on what happened, Amity had been on the verge of tears ever since Luz begged her not to kill her. If this was just to make sure Luz wasn’t going to be friends with her anymore; it seemed a bit extreme to pretend to eat her, if not just a waste of energy. Luz wasn’t giving up on Amity, if that wasn’t what Amity wanted.

She wanted to know what was going on, but she was pretty sure Amity wasn’t going to answer her… Amity already seemed frustrated enough with her parents, she probably didn’t want to know that Luz had figured her out.

Luz hesitantly let herself untense her shoulders and let her legs fall back down. Nothing was burning and she was seemingly able to breathe just fine. So either she had somehow become immortal or Amity had protected her with some sort of spell. And one of them was definitely more likely.

She heard Amity groan loudly above her, before everything shifted on its side, as she lay down.

 ¨¨

Amity dragged a hand across her face, before moving her hair away from her eyes. She had thrown herself onto her bed, now letting her other hand rest on her stomach. Luz reacted to her lying down more than she thought she would.

She felt horrible about the entire thing and now she wouldn’t even get to have something to eat later. What even was the point of her mom asking that? Treating Luz even more like food? She didn’t want to accidentally suffocate her. Or drown her, if she was going to get something to drink. Amity swallowed. Her throat felt a little dry.

She glared at her ceiling, as if it was its fault that all this was happening. She had Luz in her stomach, she was thirsty and she was going to lose her only real friend whenever this was over.

There was a small movement inside her stomach, before Luz yelled out at her. “Hey, Amity, can you hear me?”

Amity felt a new wave of anxiety crash in over her. Why was Luz trying to talk with her? She decided not to respond.

Luz just shouted louder when she didn’t give a response. “AMITY!”

“SHUT UP!” Amity sat up, feeling Luz lose her balance inside her belly. “Why are you still trying to talk to me?” She paused, acting like she was pondering over her next question. “HOW are you still alive in there?! I thought humans were fragile!”

It was quiet from her stomach for a few seconds. “So you can hear me, that’s good!” Luz voice was over cheery. “I was wondering the same thing, but I’m pretty sure it’s because you’re bluffing.”

Amity felt an icy chill run up her spine. “No, I’m not!” If Luz knew… “It’s just going to take a while!”

Another few seconds passed. “I just want to know why you’re bluffing.”

She couldn’t tell her. “You don’t have to be so stupid Luz; the process is just slow.” She took on her mean tone again. “It’ll take a while, but-” Luz interrupted her.

“I’m not stupid! You casted more than one spell, and I saw it!” Amity felt a halfhearted kick to her stomach wall. “I don’t get WHY you’re doing this. Making me fear for my life just to make sure that we won’t be friends again! You could have just asked me not to be friends, because your parents hate me!”

Amity sighed. It was no use trying to hide the truth. But maybe she should just stay quiet? But then when she let her go Luz could run her mouth… Where should she even begin to explain? “alright I’ll tell you what’s going on, but promise to never talk to me and especially not my parents ever again, okay?”

It was quiet from her stomach for a few seconds. “I promise never to speak to you and your parents again.”

Amity took a deep breath. “If I have to be completely honest, I don’t get why my parents asked me to do it this way either. I never really wanted to do any of this, but they said if I didn’t do it…” Amity had to compose herself for a moment. “If I didn’t do this myself, they’d actually kill you by eating you. And I couldn’t let that happen.” She felt that feeling of dread creep into her again. If her parents overheard any of this… “I never wanted to hurt you, but I had to pretend and I failed…” She had to take a couple deep breaths. “Luz, I don’t know if they’ll let you live…”

Again, the shrunken girl went quiet, this time for longer.

Amity thought over her words. This could work as another way to scare Luz… Just by telling her the truth. Maybe that would keep Luz away from her and her family for good. “I know that this is really disgusting, but I didn’t have a choice… and that was why I haven’t told you before now. They were going to kill you if I didn’t do this…” Amity took a deep breath again. “I know it’s stupid for me to be scared, I terrified you, but I’m really scared that my parents will see this as me disobeying.”

The girl remained quiet.

 ¨¨

This was way worse than Luz thought it was going to be. Amity’s parents did want her dead, but Amity didn’t and now she could possibly have sentenced herself to a slow painful death by being eaten.

She wasn’t sure what to think. “So you’re saying I might have killed myself by asking about this?”

There was a sigh above her. “I don’t know… I guess the only way to find out is if my parents come after you.”

Luz tumbled onto her side again, as Amity lay down again. Luz picked herself up to sit up again. “When are you going to let me out of here?”

Amity sighed again. “I’m not sure… before the protection spells wear off.” A few seconds passed, before Amity spoke. “I don’t get why you’re so calm about all this… You were eaten and terrified out of your mind and now you know that my parents want you dead. You’re taking all this surprisingly well.”

Luz lay down too, despite the pool of acid that reached her waist even when she sat up. She propped herself up against the stomach wall. “I guess I already thought I was going to die… It’s not like I’m worse off now. I’d say this is a good change, at least I don’t have to die right now.”

There was a small huff above her. “This isn’t anything to joke about, Luz.”

But Luz couldn’t stop herself from laughing. “I’m sorry; I’m just really confused on how to feel.” She was alive… She really did get to live. At least a couple day more hopefully. But she had just lost a friend. “How’s school going to be from now on?” She wouldn’t be able to talk with Amity, but would others being to question it? “Do you think people are going to notice that we aren’t friends all of the sudden?”

“No, we didn’t really talk in school… And if you don’t mention it, I don’t think anybody’s really going to care.”

Luz wasn’t sure what to think of that. “So I guess I can’t tell anybody about what happened today? Not Eda, or Gus or Willow?”

Amity’s tone was firm. “Don’t tell anybody about this.”

“Okay, I won’t… I guess all that’s left to do is wait?”

“I guess…”

 ¨¨

Amity let Luz back out outside the gate of her house. She had to pretend that she hadn’t talked about everything with her. “For some reason it turns out you apparently can’t die that way!” Amity snarled at Luz, but she couldn’t help feeling embarrassed that her parents ever thought that this plan was going to work. “If I ever see your face any where I’m going to find a way to kill you! You don’t deserve to live!” She returned Luz to her regular height. “I’m only turning you back, because I want to kill you later.” None of this made any sense… “But don’t test my patience! Get out of here!”

Luz stumbled up and away, running as fast as she could. Despite her getting a small amount of rest she was still exhausted.

Amity waited, before she turned around to face her parents. “Are you happy now?”

They both stared at her with cold eyes, before her father spoke up. “Can’t exactly say that, since you told her what was happening.”

Amity’s eyes widened. She had expected that they might have spied on her, but now she needed to do something. “Please don’t kill her! I got her to promise never to meet me again! And…” Amity had to collect her thoughts. “And I only told her because she had already figured me out!”

“You’re on really thin ice, Amity, but for now we’ll let it slide.” Her mother looked at her coldly again. “Though, if we hear any word of you still being friends with Luz; it’s over.”

Amity let out a small breath of relief. At least her parents had enough heart to let Luz live.

***

And that’s the end... Yeah, Luz and Amity can’t be friends anymore... This is probably my only story where lumity can never happen? That’s fine though, I had to write that eventually, I guess. Also I’m aware that I’m really bad at writing Amity’s parents. I know I’m going to be soooo off when s2 comes out. They are probably very grey characters, judging by an AMA by the creator. I just wanted to write this, okay? Even the characters point out how forced this was!

(this was my 40th post on here btw, just thought I would mention that)

Anyways! Thanks for reading and I hope you have an amazing day! Also remember to take care of yourself! Check if you’re tense or you need something to drink or anything of that sort C:

[mere-mortifer]

Valentine’s Day Exchange  🎈 Masterlist

Thank you to everyone who took part in the exchange! Some works are still being updated, and others will be posted in the next few days, but I didn’t want to post this too long after Valentine’s day itself. 

❧  Ships: 

Richie Tozier/Eddie Kaspbrak

Richie Tozier/Stanley Uris

Richie Tozier/Mike Hanlon

Mike Hanlon/Stanley Uris

Stanely Uris/Bill Denbrough

Bill Denbrough/Ben Hanscom

Beverly Marsh/Stanley Uris/Richie Tozier 

🎈 Ao3 collection 🎈 | Links and summaries after the cut! 

Richie Tozier/Eddie Kaspbrak

❧  by @illwriteyouatragedy

1. cherry cordial | E | 1/1 He’s staring down hard at his phone, scrolling aimlessly through Facebook without reading anything, when someone bumps into him. Whoever it is grabs the pole, their hands brushing against each other’s. Right in his ear, the guy says, “Fucking shit, you’re hot.” Eddie’s head jerks up, startled, and he meets the bright blue eyes of a man at least eight inches taller than him. The guy’s got a pink knit cap tugged down over his head and a spill of curls falling down from it, his glasses fogging up in the warmth of the train car. “What?” Eddie demands.

2. dark chocolate strawberries | T | 1/1 The way Eddie's looking at Stan— Richie’s been on the receiving end of enough of Eddie’s playfully-mad looks to know this isn’t one of them. His heart starts pounding again. He has to be overthinking things. There’s no fucking way he’s not. After all this time, how could he not be, since— Well. Then again, what the fuck does he have to lose? Maybe it’s the boxed wine talking, or the fact that his ability to keep in his own secret is hanging on by a fucking thread, or the way Eddie truly seems pissed that other people are kissing Richie like this, but— Regardless. Regardless, Richie wants to keep testing this theory.

❧ We reconnected by @kaspbrak-tozier-reddie | T | 1/1 Eddie had unexpectedly arranged a date for valentine's day with a guy who he had met online just to get over his nemesis, Richie. Richie owns a tattoo parlour right by Eddie's innocent flower shop but with Richie's loud music, Eddie is at a constant battle to keep his customers in the shop rather them leaving.

No matter how obnoxious and frustrating Richie is, Eddie can't help but wonder if the boy he knew before high school is still in there. Especially when he loses a fight with his store gate and Richie patches him up. If only Eddie could love his online friend as much as he loves Richie.

❧ You Don’t Even Like Boys by @tinyangryeddie | E | 1/1 The sign for the event looks significantly different than the invitation. “A Valentine’s dance?” Eddie squeaks at him, grinding his rolly suitcase to a halt. Sure enough, a loopy red cursive “after-auction Valentine’s Day dance” accompanies the ridiculous imagery. Richie wants to laugh - or maybe cry - it’s hard to tell the difference with Eddie staring at him like he personally assigned the theme and bought the tacky heart-shaped balloons to pile into the lobby. “I didn’t… know,” is all Richie can come up with.

❧ One for the money, two for the show by @mere-mortifer-writing | E | 1/3 Richie's not sure if he's about to get punched or something more pleasant, and as he's placing a bet with himself on which option is more likely, the stranger surges up to close the distance between them, and suddenly they're kissing. Or: Richie is a famous actor, and Eddie a college student who has never hear of him before. When they get papped arguing in public about a bad parking job, the media spins to story to make Richie seem like an homophobic asshole-nevermind that Eddie and him were already making out minutes after the photos were taken. There's one obvious way to clear Richie's name: pretend that Eddie and him had been dating all along.

❧ Sweet Like Sugar Venom by @sippingonsouthernrains | M | 1/1 Being Eddie’s sugar baby was nice. Being Richie’s was fun. Being both? Fucking exhausting. Or, the thrilling tale of one Stanley Uris acting as the human-embodiment of an eye roll as Richie and Eddie claim to compete for his affections. Of course, Stan recognizes that they’re only competing for each other’s affections, and it takes about two minutes for him to get completely tired of being in the middle of it.

❧ It’s not gay if you’re practicing to kiss girls! by @space-is-out-there | G | 1/1 Richie gets the losers invited to one of the biggest parties of the year! They’re prepared for booze, music, and lots of spin the bottle. The only issue? Eddie and Richie have never kissed anyone before and wouldn’t know where to start! Haha... unless 😳

❧ little pieces of nothing that fall by @spunknbite | E | 1/1 Eddie shook his head, lips quirking upwards in a confused half-smile that Richie was immediately drawn to. “You seem stupid familiar,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t think we know each other,” Richie replied, then added, like the moron he was, “I’d remember you.” This guy wasn’t the sort you forgot. Or, the one where it's 1998 and Richie sits down at the bar next to an asshole with a Palm Pilot.

❧ He loves me, he loves me not by Sirius_1910 | T | 1/1 With Valentine's Day coming and the Losers getting together to celebrate at the clubhouse, two boys try speaking feelings, but forget how messy they are on a daily basis. 

❧ Red washcloths and Bloody knuckles. by @toziersspaghettihead | T | 3/3 This shit should’ve been easy, y’know? You pretend to date your best friend so everyone else thinks you have found your soulmate. Richie had been praying for years that he would find the person made specifically for him. However at seventeen and he had yet to have his soulmark- It was concerning, He was starting to think that.. Maybe, Well maybe he was just one of the unlucky few that never found their other half. So the plan came along easily, One day- He was sprawled out on his bed, His best friend. It was late August and he was fucking melting in the heat, Eddie had his legs on top of Richie’s just laid out trying to cool off, With a Comic held above his face. Richie wasn’t as easily distracted that day, He was lost in thought, His music blaring- He prefered loud obnoxious songs any day compared to silence. Yet, His thoughts were running rampant. “Eds, Do you think I’ll ever find my soulmate?” The question had Eddie seizing. “Yeah, Obviously..Everyone has them.” He dropped his comic down onto the bed and sat himself up.

❧ simple words by @birightsrichie | T | 1/1 Eddie had spent his entire life dreading meeting his soulmate. Mainly because the first thing said soulmate was going to say to him was, "Do you come here often?" and Eddie did not want to spend his life with the type of person that would say something like that. He figured they would be extremely annoying and cheesy and probably a bit of an asshole, too. 

❧ Bolt by Satanders | T | 1/1 It's their first Valentine's day together and Eddie wants to surprise Richie, but Richie is not easily romanceable... 

❧ Fake It ‘Till You Make It by Jojosugay | G | 1/1 Richie takes Eddie to his managers valentine's day party pretending to be married.

❧  Welcome to the losers club by jack05writes | T | 1/1  Since bill had quit as the bassist of the losers club, he desperately needed replacing... Enter eddie kaspbrak.

❧  the townhouse by uhohcanteen | E | 1/1 richie snaps out of it faster than pennywise had anticipated. now, as richie rolls them both out of the way and start running away, they have got a lot ahead of them, including a night to remember. 

❧  Just Another Coffee Shop AU by @stardust-writer | T | 1/1 “You’re just jealous,” his friend Beverly would say. “You wish your lonely ass had someone to make out with today, but you’re stuck with me, a strictly platonic best friend.” “Correction, I was stuck with you,” Eddie says, holding up a finger. “Now that you’re dating Ben, I am, as you put it, a lonely ass.” Beverly laughs and then pulls him along, trying to appease her friend. And it’s not like she was wrong, Eddie just didn’t like to admit she was right. Because she tended to get smug when she was right and that was almost all the time. He already had to put up with it on a daily basis, he would rather it didn’t double on this godforsaken holiday. Or: It's Valentine's Day and Eddie is single.

❧  Illegal Moves by @northwindscookie | T | 1/1 Pizza plus beer plus our two favorite gay dumbasses equals a recipe for a Reddie's Valentine's Day. 

Bill Denbrough/Ben Hanscom

❧  butterflies and storms and ooey-gooey feelings by @lo-v-ers | T | 1/1 Ben Hanscom is the human definition of sunshine weaved into a warm heart and a generous soul and everything good that a person could possibly be. They met in their English 101 class freshman year, and they just clicked, and Bill has never felt as understood as he did when Ben looked him in the eyes and smiled and nodded and spoke with wisdom that an eighteen year old shouldn’t have. (Ben looks at Bill and sees the stars, glimmering and beautiful and breathtaking. He looks when Bill isn’t looking and he smiles and feels his heart flutter with joy and something else, but Bill doesn’t know that.) (At least, he doesn’t know it yet.)

Mike Hanlon/Richie Tozier

❧  head in the clouds but my gravity's centered by @queermccoy | G | 1/1 “There’s a situation,” he tells Eddie, who is sitting at his desk surrounded by textbooks and yellow legal pads filled with drawings of complex chemical and Matchbox 20 lyrics. “What is it?” Eddie asks, dropping his pen and turning in his rickety chair. There’s an edge of panic in his tone, like he isn’t there yet but could be in no time at all. “Mike Hanlon asked me to go see a movie!” Richie practically yells, hands in the air. He’s still huffing and puffing from running through campus and up the stairs. “So?” Eddie blinks, “We see movies with Mikey all the time. How is that a situation?” “Because he asked me to go out on Valentine’s Day!” Richie says and falls on his bed dramatically.

Richie Tozier/Stanley Uris

❧ making out is hard to do by winkyjinki | T | 1/1 With Valentine's Day coming up, Stanley Uris faces his biggest challenge since defeating an evil clown: getting his first kiss. 

❧ The Truth Is That I Think I've Had Enough by @reddie4thesinbin | E | 1/1 For the first time since Stan developed feelings for his best friend, Richie was finally single on Valentine’s Day, and Stan was fully planning on taking advantage of it. He invited Richie on a camping trip, just wanting one night where he could pretend, but Richie had different plans. 

❧  Moon Secrets by @the-ben-handsome | T | 1/1 When it gets to be a certain hour of the night is when everything gets all weird; truth or dare reveals secrets shared under the moonlight. 

Bill Denbrough/Stanley Uris 

❧  The Bluejay In The Corner by  @adore-affection | T | 1/? He couldn’t keep it in any longer, but he couldn’t just tell someone, it was too dangerous. When he got up to his room he pulled out a thick page of blue stationery and began to write. 

❧ Reasons Why I Want To Fuck My Student's Brother by @aleckisverygay​ | Not rated  | 4/4 When Richie and Stanley find themselves hard-pressed for money, they decide to go job hunting in order to afford their bills and keep from being thrown onto the street in the middle of January. Little does Stanley know, a tutoring job quickly turns to something more when he meets Bill Denbrough, his student’s charming brother. Shenanigans ensue, Stanley has a sexual awakening and Georgie is hell-bent on hooking his brother up with the cute tutor.

Who knew a story about rampant libidos could be so emotionally fulfilling and have, like, meaning?

Mike Hanlon/Stanley Uris

❧  Happiness and Love Revolve Around You by CoolestLemon | M | 1/1 A cute little peek into Mike and Stan's relationship, especially as they try to buy their dream home. 

Beverly Marsh/Richie Tozier/Stanley Uris

❧  Our Man-At-Arms by SevlinRipley | T | 1/1 Beverly is often the one to pull the trigger. 

[sope-and-shine]

Pregnancy Problems

-> Pairings: Hoseok x Reader -> domestic fluff // minor angst -> Word Count: 2.3k -> Summary: Don’t ask Hoseok if you need pregnancy advice. He’s still working on it. -> Warnings: mild language // pregnancy talk // talk about poop 

A/N: I’m so happy to post this one!

Hoseok didn’t understand a lot of things about pregnancy. He didn’t understand how a person could go from absolutely despising snap peas to wanting to eat them all day everyday. He didn’t understand how cooking one piece of bacon is enough to make your stomach flop and send you waddling for the bathroom. He didn’t understand how your body was able to just make room for another human being and still have enough room for everything else you’re holding inside of it. And he definitely didn’t understand how you were able to go from happy-go-lucky love of his life to a sobbing pterodactyl in .03 seconds. But what really caught him off guard was you staring at the wall in front of you doing nothing for the past 45 minutes.

Now, he was no stranger to watching others space out. He’d watched his members stop and stare off into space plenty of times - he’d even witnessed Jimin fall off of his chair after spacing out for 10 minutes - but this was a little extreme. He’d called your name a few times, waved a hand in front of your face, and he’d even turned on your favorite playlist and started dancing. Whatever was plaguing your mind, it had you in your own little world where you honestly didn’t know he even existed.

It was kinda freaking him out.

Hoseok sits himself next to you, taking one of your hands in his to rub soothing circles into them, “Baby…? Are you okay?” It seems to be enough to knock you out of whatever you were in, but you’re still down about something. You don’t smile at him when your eyes land on him, and you look away almost as fast as you had laid eyes on him.

“I’m fine.” You mutter. The hand he holds is limp, but the hand still placed on your lap is balled into a tight fist. Whatever it was that’s bothering you must be serious if you’re really not going to tell him. 

He hoped it wasn’t another fan trying to yell at you again, like when your pregnancy was announced to the world. Plenty of ARMY were so happy for the first BTS baby, but there were plenty that raged for weeks on end until he himself made a statement on the matter. He never intended to scold anyone - he wanted to leave it to BigHit - but when you were trying to hide that you’d been crying from him on multiple occasions, he refused to sit back and watch anymore. His statement in your defense was a huge deal on social media for weeks, and it even made headlines in international news! He’d felt bad about it after he’d posted it, wondering if he’d been too harsh or said something that shouldn’t have been said. But the hug that you gave him after coming to your defense, the joy on your face after reading the long note he’d prepared, and the kisses that you continued to plant all over his face was proof enough that he’d made the best decision for his family. If he had to do that all over again, then he was prepared to if it meant you’d be happy.

“Baby...are you being bothered by fans again?” He asks. It wasn’t like he didn’t know you still receive hate from time to time. He knew for a fact that you did, but you’d limited your social media habits to binging dramas on Netflix and Kocowa TV instead. He moves a hand to your hair and runs his fingers through it as a way to soothe the possible anxiety you may be feeling from it, “Just tell me. Whoever they are, they won’t get to keep saying things like that about you. I promise.”

“No, Hobi, i-” You try to defend them, the familiar protest right on the tip of your tongue. However, Hoseok wasn’t prepared to let you push the matter away. He wouldn’t let you fester in your insecurities because of others. Especially people that supposedly claimed to love him. He already had someone that loved him unconditionally; You. You were first and foremost his number one concern. 

“-Baby, no. You don’t have to defend them just because they’re my fans. I won’t encourage their bad behavior.” He goes to take your hands in his own as a way to comfort you, but you turn the tables around and grab his instead. You squeeze his hands and give a small, forced smile in an attempt to comfort him. “Okay, but Hobi, it’s not about the fans.” 

“It’s not?” Hoseok could feel the tension physically leave his body. He hated scolding his fans. He firmly believed that Namjoon and Taehyung were better suited for it and tried to let things slide when he could - save for the obvious. However, that didn’t take away from the fact that he still didn’t know what was bothering you so much. He was still in the dark about whatever had turned you into a wall of secrecy and solitude that wasn’t even penetrable to him. You were still hiding something from him. 

“Then what’s wrong?” He asks.

You cast your eyes down, once again refusing to look at him with your hands losing their grip on his. You shake your head, “I don’t want to talk about it…”

“You’re worrying me, (Y/n). Please, tell me what’s wrong!” His right hand moves from yours to gently cup the right side of your face, his thumb gently caressing your cheek. Hoseok has always made a point to be gentle with you - even when you aren’t in the most gentle of situations - because he’s always wanted you to feel cared for and cherished. It’s how he hopes his sister is treated, and if you’re to have a daughter, that’s how he expects her to be treated as well. But right now, you need his gentle touch the most. “This type of stress isn’t good for the baby.” 

You know he’s right. He’s always right. Even when he agrees that he’s wrong he’s usually right! That’s what you love most about him is his willingness to please you and make you feel validated. Of course, he’ll pull you back to where you need to be if you go off the deep end - what he happens to be doing now - but he knows you’ll always do the same for him when work gets complicated. He’s always loving and understanding and altogether the best boyfriend around, and you know he’ll be the best dad around when your baby is born. But it’s the uncertainty of the birthing process that’s getting to you, and thinking about it again just makes you melt into tears. 

Hoseok is surprised, “No...No, baby, come here.” He stands up from his crouched position to sit next to you on the couch and pull you into his arms. He wraps you in his warm embrace and guides your head to rest on his chest so you can hear his breathing as a way to help you come back down, knowing you like to hear him when you get stressed like this. It’s not often, but it’s definitely not his first rodeo. “Sh, you don’t have to cry. I’m right here. Tell me what’s wrong and I can help you.”

Even as he begins to rock you back and forth, humming a tune just for you to feel resonate within his chest, you can’t stop the tears that continue to pour down your cheeks and onto his shirt. “You can’t help me with this Hobi. There’s no way you could possibly help me with this!”

“Are you sure?” He pauses for a moment, feeling the way your head bobs as a ‘yes’ rather than answering him through shallow, broken sobs. He shakes his head, distracting himself from talking too soon by drawing circles into your back. His mother had told him several tips over the years of dealing with his sister that she claimed his father always forgot, and like father; like son he had too. 

“Sometimes it’s best to just shut up and listen than to continue talking to a closed door.”

So he waits, drawing his lazy circles and other various shapes into your back while your sobs slowly begin to shrink into hiccups. He lets you calm down again before he continues your conversation where it had left off, “You won’t know if I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.”

“I do know.” You huff, a cute little whine that makes him smile. You; however, are not as amused as he is, “You’re gonna hate me and the doctors are going to hate me and everyone is going to make fun of me-!”

Hoseok pulls away, both hands rest on your shoulders and his mouth and eyes are wide open in shock and mock anger as they look into your own. He shakes his head in disbelief, “Nobody will be making fun of my beautiful baby mama on my watch! There is absolutely nothing you could do that would have anyone make fun of you.”

And he firmly believed that. Anybody that even dared to make fun of the love of his life while she was trying to push out their love child that they were going to love and raise together for the rest of their lives was going to meet his fists! There was no way in hell anyone would be cracking jokes about her, not even Seokjin. 

But even with his declaration to protect your honor, your pregnancy brain didn’t give two shits. The thought in your head had plagued you for days, and there was no way he’d ever understand how you felt. But still, you could no longer hold it in.

“UNLESS I POOP ON THE TABLE!”

. . . 

Hoseok must’ve looked like a deer in headlights compared to how anxious you looked. Unless you what? Why would you poop on the table? Why would you get up there anyway? That could hurt the baby! 

“-I don’t want to be there trying to push a baby out of me with people standing in between my legs, and then I suddenly poop because I can’t help it!”

Delivery table.

That table.

That makes more sense. However, he really didn’t see the problem with the whole ‘pooping on the table’ thing. The midwife and the nurses were trained to deliver babies, they’ve already delivered babies, there was no way that if you pooped on the table you’d be the first one - or that they’d hate you for it. He thought that made sense. The hands that he’d left on your shoulders move to cup your face again, a tender look in his eyes. He wanted you to feel his love, and his eyes reflected what he had in his heart. 

“Baby, it won’t matter to anyone if you poop on the table, I’m sure you wouldn’t be the only one.” 

He meant well. He truly meant well. But anyone that has ever talked to or seen anyone talk to a pregnant woman would know that trying to reason the way he just did was a mistake. A big mistake.

“I don’t want to be one at all!” You pull his hands away from your face. The tears that had stopped are already threatening to come back again. There was no way that you were going to poop on the table, no matter how many women had done it before you! You refused! You’d never be able to live it down. “I don’t want to poop in front of everyone, Hobi! They’ll hate me, and then I’ll hate me, and then the baby will hate me because their Momma pooped on the table!”

Your stress was too much for him. If you started crying again, then he was going to start crying himself. Pooping on the table wasn’t a bad thing, but he obviously couldn’t tell you that or you’d actually break down in front of him! How was he supposed to just to convince you that no one was going to hate you for a normal bodily function?

With a leap of faith - and high hopes to whoever is listening to him - Hoseok takes what he hopes isn’t his last breath, “Baby, our baby is still going to love you if you poop on the table.” Your eyes bore into him with vigor, one that makes him want to move away but he knows the conversation will still need to be had even if he chickens out now. “They don’t need to know, so we don’t have to tell them.”

“Really…?” The way your eyes go from glaring daggers to softening like you’re looking at a puppy makes him take a deep, much needed breath. “Really. And the doctor’s won’t hate you because they’ve seen everything! You pooping on the table will be the last thing on their mind, because they’ll be taking care of our baby.”

You look away, suddenly becoming shy after your tantrum. You hated acting this way, especially when Hoseok did his best to assure you everything was fine when you thought it was the end of the world. “I guess you’re right…”

“And even if you do poop on the table, I’ll still love you.” He pulls you back into his arms once more, only now he’s much more relaxed whilst holding you against him. Pressing a kiss to your temple he asks, “Do you know why I’ll still love you?” 

“Why?” You mumble against his chest, pressing yourself as close to him as you can get to hide from the embarrassment you felt. Your hands grip his shirt tight, and he chuckles to himself that you’re so flustered in front of him. “Because you’re carrying our baby and making sure they’re ready to come and meet us, and I couldn’t throw away a love like yours over one measly poop.”

You may be emotional and unreasonable at times with the amount of hormones you’re dealing with, but he’ll be damned if he lets you go through it alone.

[dreamiesdotcom]

[7:35] Is it just you, or is the dinner lighting warmer than usual? Or maybe it was the ambiance that changed rather than the lights — the table is full of fancy dishes and everyone is placed on their respective seats, chatting. The extravagant glasses are shiny — if you look closer and focus hard enough, you could see the convincing smile plastered on your face. A sarcastic laugh rings inside your mind as you remember what you had said earlier in front of the mirror as you doll yourself up; Just pretend like you're happy until you eventually forget that you're pretending. A sigh almost draws from you, but you hear a call of your name, diverting your attention from the glassware and you meet a pair of eyes.

The Na's are back in town, and your parents being your parents, invited them over without even telling you that they would be coming until two hours before the whole deal. It's not like they had to tell you though, your opinion doesn't matter and it wouldn't mean, nor change, anything — not like it ever did.

The sound of your name sounded foreign. It has been so long since someone called you by your name that you almost forgot you even had one. To think about it, you believe that it was the way he had said it that was different — unlike others who called your name so blandly, his lips dripped with all sweet things and honey as he spat out every syllable of your name. Looking back, you remember sitting on the same bench for years, listening to the sounds of time passing like fast cars on highways, and the way that you tried to look for the sugar-coating on every cries surrounding you — the way you brushed everything off because of their plain and harsh realities until you finally stopped trying, and never listened to anything, or anyone, ever again. Nothing made you feel alive since then. Nothing was the same.

Not since Jaemin.

His gaze was still soft and it brings you back to years ago — despite not seeing each other for years, he still seems so inviting and his scent never changed one bit. His smile is gentle, kind, and it annoys you because of how much it reminds you of how you still completely, undeniably, stupidly miss him, and you're thinking that at this point, nothing is gonna change that. Alongside the memories, he brings back feelings you'd rather keep buried.

You want to run to him. You can't run to him. He left you. He left you like he said he wouldn't, like everyone else who he said he wouldn't be anything close to — he lied to you and you don't want to run to him who is a liar. But damn was it tempting.

"Oh, I remember our little Y/N and Jaemin running around the playground before," Mrs. Na smiles as if on cue before Jaemin tries to start up a conversation, "I still remember Jaemin asking about how to make flower crowns for his princess Y/N."

"Weren't you guys dating?" your dad cracks up alongside the whole table, except you who had your hands clenched, "I remember my little girl coming home to me and telling me that she has a boyfriend and is gonna be married, at five years old."

"We’re just friends," you say firmly, "Me and Jaemin, we’re just friends," you force yourself to push his name out of your mouth and it left your throat parched. You feel their gazes burn you and you look away, like you always did.

It’s usually not a lie. Usually. But this time, it's true, you're just friends. That was partially true because that's what you called it, but that was not how it felt like. Jaemin is your best friend. Or was. Maybe Jaemin was your best friend — although he was always more than that. Either way, the things you said as a five year old isn't supposed to make you that defensive, and you apologize about being so uptight when you're supposed to have fun with them. They brush it off easily, laughing about how adorable you are despite growing into such a woman.

This feels nice. Just your parents, Jaemin's parents, Jaemin himself, you and the wall you built around yourself. The attention given to you tonight was worth the attention your parents give you a year, and the compliments you got in a single night was equal to what you had in years and it frightened you how strange it felt. You dwell on it until you couldn't anymore, and your past is swallowing you up yet again.

It was a mess after Jaemin and his family moved, leaving you with his favorite hoodie and a snow-drop. You tore it all to shreds — or you wish you did. You didn't want to face the fact that it is still safely tucked under your pillow, and the flower pressed in between the pages of the novel the two of you used to read together. It's still there, marking your favorite chapter, as safe as the piece of clothe — wanting to forget but afraid to get rid of him completely. Jaemin was the only one who saw you. Jaemin was the only one who gave you attention and love your parents deprived you of, and Jaemin was the person who broke you more than all of the others did.

You were in too deep when he left and to distract yourself, you decided to do volunteer work because it kept you busy and the work gave you satisfaction — it made you feel as if you were needed. For the next months you tried to make everybody happy to fill the void in your heart, until it ended the way it's bound to end — you completely forgot yourself trying to make everybody glad, until it drained you, until you had nothing left, until you stopped.

You realized that sulking did you nothing so you eventually resorted to making friends — it was a wild ride. At first you befriended the nice ones, but all it did was make you realize that you were really a disposable person. You weren't there because anyone liked you, but instead they took you in because they didn't want to look rude. You were with them, but you didn't belong, and as you predicted, they all left you and all the blame was directed on you by your parents — they said, you were too uptight, too clingy, too emotional and you always over talked to people it became annoying and awkward.

In spite, you loosened up, isolated yourself so much that you hated affection, let yourself out in the cold too long that your heart froze. Being the good child didn't do you good, maybe you can get more attention with destructive tactics — it's not like there's much to destroy in you, anyway. You made up a lot of stories about your adventures when someone asked you about them, and always told people you're okay, you're fine, you're doing well, even when you're falling apart. Maybe it was partly because you didn't want anyone to know, maybe it was because nobody was interested about you to insist you talk about things because it's so obvious that you're not fine at all — and maybe because you knew that no one would be around long enough to figure out you were lying. As expected, none of your friendships worked out.

You never learned how to make and keep friendships. You did your best to be outgoing for years, but at the seclusion of your room, you can always just stay alone and be fine. As fine as a sad person could be. Whenever someone comes over, you do your best to help them be comfortable — you have to help them. You cook food, serve drinks and even let them have control on what to watch even if it bored you — 'If I keep helping them, they’ll hang out longer'. You just grew tired of it — chasing people who don’t want you for affection they wouldn't provide you with. You grew tired of being so easily led on. It never felt like you belonged anywhere else, and you like it. You grew to like it. You liked it so much it made you cry sometimes, or that's what you wanted to believe. At day you daydreamed of being the person everyone needs, and at night you thought of having someone cuddle you close and whisper assuring things in your ears — every second that passed, you imagined living far, far away.

"Hey," a voice snaps you out of your daze and you recognize your bedroom from the velvet pillows and lavander fragrance — you don't remember your room being this bright, you didn't find the sense of switching the lights on because it was just endless dark even with blinding lights, anyway. "You spaced out."

You settle down and he takes the space beside you before lying down, making a comment about how your room changed a lot but your bed frame didn't even move an inch (despite it being bigger now, he just became a giant). You remain silent through it all, still trying to comprehend that Jaemin is beside you.

"So, how's school going?" he asks you, trying to spark up a conversation. A bad start, really. "Any friends?" An even worst follow up.

"None," you focus your gaze elsewhere, as long as it's not his eyes, "I always transfer schools anyway. All the friends I make the past school year ends up leaving." Lies. You were just not that interesting to make them stay.

Still, you're not about to make yourself look like the broken hearted fool you are to Jaemin — you miss him, yes, and he's not about to know that.

"That's it? You just let yourself be alone?" he suddenly springs up in a sitting position, "Didn't I tell you to surround yourself with people before I come back, so you don't feel lonely?"

'And you also said you wouldn't leave, but I didn't question you about that, did I?' was what you desperately wanted to tell him, but you settle with the plain and boring "Well, it was just easier for me to be alone than to explain why I can't be what they want me to be."

A moment of silence wraps around the two of you and neither dared to breathe, neither dared to speak. He laid back down, groaning when his head meets a hard surface and your eyes widen at the realization — he already took away the pillow and revealed the old piece of clothe and the book way before you could even stop him, and your heart beated so rapidly and so slowly at the same time.

"Oh… you... you kept it," he says, in awe as he scrambles to get up and stand in front of you, "Y/N… You…"

"I didn't know what to do with it. Why did my parents let you upstairs in my room, anyway?" you mutter, eyes looking up at the ceiling, your voice quiet until you decide to crack up to a laughing mess, "If you wonder why I kept it, you said it was only an out of town trip for a week… so naturally, I kept it and waited until you came back to retrieve it. I got tired of waiting and forgot about it, until today. It doesn't mean anything."

Lies. Infact, you though about it everyday, every second that passes, every breathe you take. You whine silently when Jaemin moves to kneel in front of you so that you are at eye level, hands moving to grab yours and you couldn't see anything through the blur covering your sight. You found the tears that spilt pathetic. You almost forgot about them — you hadn't cried in years. Maybe it was Jaemin. You nod your head, yes, of course it's Jaemin. It always is. A hand presses against your cheeks to dry them, "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have lied, because it would've been so hurtful too if I knew someone was lying to me, but I didn't have a choice. I didn't want to break your heart that way."

"So you broke my heart another way, instead?", you chuckle sarcastically, and even if you want to push his hands away, you didn't. It felt nice. It felt cozy. It felt like many years ago, it felt like something you shouldn't get used to because of it's uncertain nature, "Leave." you say in a brittle voice, "Leave before we end up saying things we'll regret later."

"No. You're mad, Y/N, I know, but it wasn't meant to go this far, I swear. It wasn't supposed to," he grasps your hands tighter, "Do you trust me, Y/N? Do you trust me enough to know that I would never intentionally break your heart like that?"

"Why? Will that make you stay?" your tone was shaky and you couldn't help but sob, because hell, that's what you want him to say and that's what you want to hear. That he will stay. That he won't leave. That he's yours, and has always been.

He stands up, and you're just so ready for him to leave. You thought it was the best option for the moment, but the hug he tugged you into proved you wrong, and in his hold, you realized that you were content with being alone, but you didn't fancy being lonely.

This feels nice. Just Jaemin, you, and the wall you built around yourself that took itself down to let him in.

"I'm gonna stay. I'm here to stay." he whispers, and it was enough to open all the doors you locked away from people's reach. It felt weird but welcomed, being hugged by him, and the first time after so many years you felt safe — safe enough to let your guards down. You talked and talked until there was nothing to talk about anymore, until every little heartache was explained to him, until he confessed his love and until he claimed your lips, ever so gentle and dripping of the honey you craved for so badly.

This feels nice. Just Jaemin, you, and the home the two of you built for yourselves. Always happy, maybe facing little bumps every now and then but not any less content, warm, and never short of sugar, sweets and honey.

[yakumtsaki]

I taste just like ice cream, bitch I am so icy, heart cold like an ice queen, that's why they don't like me 🎵

-What the hell was that.

Traditionally I start Union updates with semi-relevant song lyrics.

-Why did you start an update at all.

Because it’s time, Shajar! I took a holy oath in my 2020 simming goals post to update Unions once a month, and I’m already a month late.

-But nothing interesting is happening. 

That’s never stopped me before. Now listen to Rico Nasty, cry some more about Sophie blowing you off, and shut up.

-Ugh please, I couldn’t be more over Sonia if I tried. I hardly ever texted her links to wedding pinterest boards and quizzes to determine if our parenting styles are compatible. 

Did she ever reply? 

-She did once and said ‘who dis’. Of course the letters unscrambled spell out ‘do wish’, meaning she did wish me to keep messaging her. I just don’t know where it all went wrong. 

-Hey there, 17 year old girl, maybe you’ve had enough neat whiskey for the night? We’re actually running out of bottles. 

-Beat it, ponytail, I need to dull my pain. I’ve just been stabbed right in the gut by the love of my life. Just like my style idol and general role model, space opera fascist Kylo Ren.

Shaj I really hate seeing you like this, and not just because the red neon light is super unflattering on your complexion.

-You can fuck right off too, I was perfectly happy with my dads who hate me and my imbecile sister and my brother who might as well not exist, noogie-ing people all day AND night long, but you had to be all ‘OMG IT’S SOPHIE MIGUEL SHAJAR GO TALK TO HER’. Life-ruining-moron. 

But I was totally right about you two hitting it off, I mean look how sad you are now that she dumped- yea never mind, that’s not a good argument.

-Look what I can do even though I’ve had 46 whiskeys!! How you like me now, Sophie???

-You’re paying for all these broken glasses, I’m going to need your name and a credit card.

-Yes, fair enough, my name is Cyneswith Union-

-I LOOK GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT

Yea, you really should eat something to soak up all the alcohol. And not to kick you when you’re down, but you should also disregard all those cliches about ~a smile being the most beautiful thing you can wear~ because MAN. Watch out Joaquin, there’s a new Joker on the prowl. 

-So.. 20 lobsters thermidor and our most expensive appetizers?

-Aha.

-Would you mind settling your bill now?

-Of course not! My name is Cyneswith Union and this is the credit card my parents got me when I was 6 because we’re super duper best friends! I love my parents! They don’t care about their other daughter at all, even when their other daughter is going through a really hard time because she got the emotional equivalent of a lightsaber wound in the gut. You know what, let me also get 20 bottles of your most overpriced champagne to go with the lobsters.

Feeling better?

-Well it’s hard to feel bad when you’re spending your parents’ money recklessly and with malice aforethought.

It sure is. Alright well, the sun is coming up, maybe we should head home.

-What’s the rush? What is going to happen if I don’t go home, my parents will get worried? LOL

God your life sucks. Ok let’s hit a couple more places.

-Greetings. Welcome to our establishment. I am a human employee from this planet.

Great, nice to meet you.

-I just want there to be no doubt that I am indeed an earthling, born and raised under the earth’s exosphere and not above it.

Leave us alone.

-And I’m the resident community lot sim with that one face template you hate! There must be one of us on every lot you visit!

-And I am here in my revealing outfit to use the dance sphere and make everyone uncomfortable!

You’re actually pretty, I need to keep you in mind for after Don Oates takes a wrecking ball to our genetics, but yea, let’s bounce, Shajar.

Time to visit the happiest place on earth, Deh'Javu Modern Art Museum, home to my favorite piece of art in any medium, The Toilet of Fire. Shove that Fountain up your ass, Duchamp. How we feeling, Shaj?

-This trash can reminds of Sophie :( She used to go around town throwing money she stole from charities in trash cans and then send them riddles for where to find them :(

Enough with Sophie, we’ll find you someone better! Like..

..your aunt! Get the hell out of here Brit Brit, you’re taking up townie space. 

-I won’t be long, Gunther’s amazing close-up portrait of my hair was rejected by the museum so I’m here to set this shithole on fire. 

In other words Gunther just painted a canvas black and called it a day?

-His art doesn’t cater to plebs. Yes, offense.

Our old friend Ugly Teen Townie is here so finally we can have some fun. Shajar had gone almost 12 hours(!) without noogieing someone and I was starting to worry for her health.

-Yes, yes, I’m starting to feel like myself again..

Good for you, Shaj!

-Hope you’ve made peace with your God, Ugly Teen Townie, this water balloon is filled with horse feces! 

-WHERE DID YOU EVEN GET HORSE SHIT

-I ordered it from some guy named Leod McGreggor.

-How about a another joke, MuRRAY?

-What?!

-Now you say, ‘no, I think we’ve had enough of your jokes’. Say it!

-No, I think we’ve had enough of your jokes.

-What do you get when you cross a mentally-ill loner with a society that abandons him and treats him like trash? Now you say ‘call the police, Gene!’

-Call the police, Gene!

-I'll tell you what you get..

-YOU GET WHAT YOU FUCKING DESERVE. HAHA oh man! Good stuff. 

Alright I’m starting to feel bad for Ugly Teen Townie, first he had to come to all the toddler birthday parties during the Victoria/Komei era and now this, he has suffered enough at this family’s hands. Time to go home, Shaj.

-Not so fast!

Wow, the Countess and Mrs. Crumplebottom on the same lot, top 10 anime crossovers.

-I have been sent here by the Limp Dick Vamps United organization to recruit Shajar Union.

Ugh you people are still around? Haven’t heard of you losers since the Count wouldn’t let Victoria bang him, which I’m still annoyed about. 

-Indeed we are, and it’s clear Shajar is ready to join us, dedicating her life to evil deeds without romantic distractions. I have no idea what Crumplebottom is doing here.

-I’m here to recruit Shajar to my own organization, Bitter Sims Worldwide Alliance. We’re always on the lookout for new members who want to spread their misery to their fellow Sim. 

It sounds like it’d be more effective if you guys just merged your organizations.

-I will NEVER merge my organization with someone who displays her bosom like a common whore. 

-Eat a dick, Crumplebottom!

-MAKE ME, FANGTOOTH

-Alright here I am, what the fuck do you want?

-Shajar, it is a pleasure to meet you! Ardent admirer of your work.

-What work, freakshow?

-Torturing everyone around you, what else!

-What? I don’t torture people around me, if anything they torture me.

-Why don’t you talk to me about it?

-I’d rather not, you look like a bejeweled snowman.

-Look deep into my eyes, Shajar..

-And now look deep into my razor sharp teeth..

-Ugh fine, let’s talk. 

-Is that Victoria and Komei’s teen granddaughter hanging out with a vampire?

Yes it is Kennedy, keep it moving.

-God, wtf is wrong with this family. 

Nothing now that you’ve been removed from our social circle, go away! Just kidding, you’re an icon and I’m marrying you in at some point. 

-Hard pass. 

Your loss, hombre. 

-It definitely isn’t.

-If I had known your turn on was vampires I would had set you two up!

STOP SETTING UP TEENS WITH ADULTS, LAKSHMI. And Shajar’s turn ons isn’t vampires, it’s fitness/fatness. Body positive queen. 

-Well, Shajar, you alphabetically listing all the people who have wronged you while I was trying to kill Crumplebottom telepathically has made for a very productive conversation. We’ll be in touch. 

-Thanks, Countess, it’s been real.

Shajar!!! Who cares about Sophie when you might bag a hot, rich vamp??

-Meh.

I’m gonna need you to be more excited about this prospect because a vampire spouse might just be enough of a draw to beat the comedic factor of fucking Don Oates turning us into an unintentional uglacy and I’m doing whatever I can to avoid my fate.

Ugh.

UGH

UGHHHHHHH

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOO VICTORIA

-GET FUCKED, BROKEN FACED WEIRDO

God I miss you Vic 💔

-Donnie-bear, not to be not-nice, but mopping your pee off my front lawn is not exactly what I pictured doing during this date.

This guy won’t even mop up his own piss, what a catch.

Wow, manipulative much?? You are a piss piece of work, Donaldo.

-Don’t think we forgot about you, you 10-nice-point disgrace!

-VICTOR NO

-GET THAT MOP READY

-Finally, some peace and quiet.. Just me, alone with my broken heart, pondering my hopeless, loveless future..

-💗💗💗OMG SIS THERE YOU ARE. DONNIE AND I MADE OUT!!! 💗💗💗 But then grandma’s ghost scared him into soiling himself. 

-Good for grandma, hopefully next time she gives him a stroke. Now shut up and let’s eat in silence while I ponder my hopeless, loveless future.

-Okie dokie! 💗💗💗

-Um, I think mine has vomit in it.

-Yea I did that, but it’s just whiskey and lobster, if anything it increased in value. 

-Awww thanks sis! 💗💗💗

-Stop patronizing me, you little bitch. God I want to poke your eye out with this chopstick so badly.

-I love you too Shaj! 💗💗💗

And I hate both of you. Where’s your brother, I haven’t paid attention to him in 3 days. 

-He went upstairs, I think he’s pusshurt we forgot his birthday LOL

IT’S HIS BIRTHDAY????

-Don’t feel bad, I forgot it too! 💗💗💗

GODDAMMIT. WULF! WULF WHERE ARE YOU

-I’m here, I just grew up and dare I say it could not have gone better! 

Really?? Finally some good news! Let me look upon you-

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA

WULF WHAT THE FUCK

-I was Mozart musical genius boy but now I’m a sk8ter boi! Character development!

Ok this is the most iconic birthday look since Gunther grew up in the pirate costume, we’re obviously keeping it. 

-Great! And as if the fact I’m a Wyatt face template with 0 Jojo genes wasn’t enough to make me unelectable, I also rolled family! :D I’m doing everything I can to ensure I live that sweet motherlode spare life! 

Honestly you should had picked another outfit cause now that you’re dressed like this I unironically want you to win. Hoisted with your own petard.

[babblingblondegenius]

You Can Take the Girl Out of Vegas (but you can’t take Vegas out of the girl)

Hi fam!  In lieu of doing a Mancrush Monday post, I decided to write a little something for Fictober.  My muse and real life have been uncooperative for quite some time and every word has been a struggle.  But I saw the prompt for ‘it will be fun, trust me’ and managed to string about 1500 of them together in a way that I hope makes sense and a fun fanfic.  Hope you enjoy!  :)

Fandom:  Olicity    Rating:  T   Warnings: Tipsy Felicity.  Also, no beta.          Plot:  LOL.  It’s Olicity and strip poker.  Felicity is winning, until she isn’t. Can she regain the upper hand?  (aka there is no plot.  Just good old banter and silliness with our favorite couple).  Set during Olicity’s summer of love world tour.  

"Take it off."

Felicity huffs a resigned sigh at Oliver's request as she deftly removes the stiletto heel from where her left foot is tucked behind her, dangling the silver strappy footwear from her finger before tossing it in his general direction.  

"Just so you know, you only won that hand because I was distracted by your...your..," Felicity slurs the words and gestures wildly at his half-naked body,"...ev-er-yyyyyyy-thing."    

Secretly relieved he has some tactical advantage against his girlfriend's superior poker skills, he gives a self-satisfied smile in response to her petulant pout.  Felicity is still slightly buzzed from her rather lucrative win at the blackjack table earlier, not to mention all the complimentary cocktails bestowed upon his high roller.  But that alcohol-induced impaired judgment hasn't stopped her from dominating every hand they've played since returning to their suite from the hotel's opulent casino and she suggested a 'friendly' game of strip poker.  “It will be fun, trust me,” she purrs in an attempt to be flirtatious but is just adorable when accompanied by her signature wink-blink.  Either way, he can’t ever say no to her and that’s an offer he doesn’t want to refuse.

The game started in his favor, or so he thought, since Felicity didn't appear to be wearing as many articles of clothing as he was.  Just the deep-vee neck curve-hugging like a second skin hot pink gown that has been driving him crazy all night and the shoes she referred to as her ‘lucky heels.’ She only gave a coy smile when he inquired about undergarments.  The vast amount of cleavage make him pretty confident that she isn't wearing a bra and lack of panty lines conjure up an image of her favorite black lace thong but he really wants to find out firsthand.  

Instead, her gown is still covering those luscious curves and he's only managed to get one shoe.  Conversely, she is in possession of both his shoes, along with his socks, suit jacket, bow tie, suspenders, and white dress shirt, leaving him barefoot and bare from the waist up.  

"It's your turn to deal," Felicity reminds him tersely, holding out the deck while trying to look anywhere but at him.  Taking the cards from her, he manages to not-so-accidentally brush his fingers along the soft skin of her inner wrist.  He can't help but notice the involuntary shiver and the goosebumps that skitter up her arm.  Her reaction to his touch only fuels his desire to win.

He shuffles the deck, showing off with a couple of fancy techniques, one of the few things he learned in college, and flexing way more than necessary.  She doesn't seem to be paying attention, still looking everywhere else except at him, but the lip bite is one of her tells and he knows she noticed the bulging of his biceps.  

Oliver deals the cards and peruses his hand.  As luck would have it, he has three sevens, the best hand he's had all night.  

He is so getting her other shoe.

Carefully schooling his features so Felicity won't see the excitement that is bubbling up in his chest, he casually glances at her, noticing that she is still worrying her bottom lip and studiously avoiding his gaze.  

Oliver has spent the last seven weeks since they drove away from Star City learning everything he didn't already know about Felicity Megan Smoak and every piece of newfound knowledge, down to the most minute detail, is embedded in his psyche.  

Seemingly forever, if their history is any indication.  Like the exact day they met.  What color pen she had in her mouth that day.  Her fear of heights, kangaroos, and all things pointy.  The way she would dance and spin in her chair when she didn't know he was watching through the glass partition at QC.  The sound of her loud voice when she's angry.  

The fact that he noticed everything and could never forgot anything he knew about her tormented him all those days, weeks, months, when he was struggling to deny his feelings for her, when he was convinced she was better off without him.  

But now, finally, today is the day his Felicity-centered eidetic memory is working in his favor.  

Because that particular lip bite, coupled with the subtle peeking out of her tongue to moisten that plump, kissable bottom lip, means that she is aroused.

He watches for a moment more, as she rearranges the cards in her hand and shifts her legs, seemingly pressing her thighs together under the constricting fabric of her long gown.  

Oh yeah, definitely aroused.

Bracing his elbows on his knees, he leans forward to get her attention.  "Fe-li-ci-ty," he murmurs in that special voice that is only for her, "it's your turn."  Not able to resist taunting her just a little, he smiles and asks sweetly, "Are you going to hold on to what you have?"  

She purses her lips and tilts her head, reminding him of the day he walked into her life with a bullet-ridden laptop and a bad lie that she saw right through.  When he thinks about that, it makes perfect sense that she is beating the pants off him, almost literally at this point, because she could always tell when he is bluffing.  She discards one card and draws another.  Seemingly satisfied, she waits for him to fold or hold.  He tries to build up some suspense but he only lasts about 30 seconds before declining to draw.  Felicity eyes him up and down and he feels the heat from her gaze inflame his skin. Her smile is a feral combination of sultry and smug as she lays down her cards and reveals she has two pair.  

Oliver nods in acknowledgement before he lays his cards down on the carpet in front of him, showing Felicity he has the winning hand.  Again. Her outrage, as evidenced by her narrowed eyes and heaving chest, at his second consecutive win does not escape his attention but he is more focused on her foot.  More particularly, how to remove her shoe from her foot.  There are only three straps holding it on but he can't find any buckles and the straps don't give an inch when he pulls on them.  

“Could you just…,” he pleads.  

But she just shakes her head.  "Okay, Cheaty McCheaterson, how'd you manage to stack the deck without me noticing, huh?  Were you letting me win earlier?  Was being naked part of your strategy all along? "

Wow, he’s not sure whether to be insulted or flattered.  But he loses track of her rant when she reaches for the back of her shoe and slowly unzips it, easing it off her foot.  He reaches over to collect his prize and can’t resist wrapping his hand around her foot, skating his thumb across the arch up to her toes.

"Felicity, I didn't--I wouldn't--cheat," adding under his breath, "no matter how much I want that dress off of you."

Her eyes widen at his admission and she licks her lips.  "That's it...you're going down."

Abruptly letting go of her foot, he chokes on her choice of words but she seems oblivious to her double entendre.  His throat is suddenly as dry as the Nevada desert they drove through just a day ago so he turns over on his hands and knees, crawling over to the mini-bar to grab a bottle of water.  

He doesn’t even have the cap off before he feels her hand on his ass.  She plasters herself to his backside and whispers in his ear, "This dress could be off in the next five seconds if you'll concede that I won."  

Oliver steels himself against the onslaught of her soft curves pressing into him and her enticing ultimatum. "Nope.  No way, not conceding.  We each have two pieces of clothes on.  It's a tie."

Felicity giggles and somehow manages to press herself even closer to him.  Her hands glide around his waist, leaving a trail of fire in their wake, and wrap around him in a makeshift hug.  Her warm breath tickles the nape of his neck, the words whispering across his sensitive skin, "It's only a tie if I'm wearing panties.....which I'm most definitely not."  

Desperately trying to tamp down the sudden surge of arousal at that piece of information, he grits out, "You do realize you just admitted that I'm actually winning and gave me incentive to keep playing, don't you?"

Felicity responds by stroking her palm straight down the middle of his abs, until her finger reaches the waistband of his pants, giving the button a tug.  "Or I just gave you incentive to forfeit this game for much more fun one. Dealer’s choice, Mr. Queen."

 FIN

So, fam, what do we think Oliver decided to do? ;)  Hint: if I could write smut, this would have been a lot longer lol.  Thank you so much for reading!  I <3 you all! Since I didn’t do Mancrush Monday, here’s a visual of shirtless Oliver staring at Felicity while she tries to ignore him.  

Also, here’s a pic of Felicity’s lucky heels.  They are very lucky indeed! ;)

[izzy-b-hands]

D-E-A-...

An incredibly silly Queen fic, inspired by how there is a lovely bit of confusion and wonder over how to spell John’s nickname. I personally don’t ascribe to any one way being the Golden Way, because as far as I know he’s never said, and I imagine the little shit might just like it that way, and I both respect and enjoy that.

Bless John Deacon, the adorable little shit. 

“You don’t remember?” 

“John,” Brian sighed. “I’m writing up a sort of roster-” 

“We know who all will be with us-” 

“I like to be organized, and normally you do as well-” 

“But we know who is on tour with us! There aren’t that many of us,” John continued to protest, even as Brian impatiently tapped the pencil in his hand against the paper in his other. 

“Just. Tell. Me. How. To. Spell. Your. Nickname. Or I swear to God, I’ll write out your whole name on everything, middle name included.” 

“Christ, calm down,” John spat, and then. It hit him. This could be fun, if he did this carefully.

“D-E-A-C-Y.” 

“Thank you!” Brian muttered, stalking off to bother the next person nearby so they could be notated on the upcoming tour roster. “Was that so fucking hard?” 

“Not at all,” John smirked. 

His next opportunity didn’t come until the next day, in the form of Roger. 

“I’m helping label the cases. Apparently there’s a fear we’ll lose all our shit if we don’t start labeling it more; I don’t know about that, but I certainly don’t want to pay for it all if it should go missing, so-” Roger waggled the wheel of yellow packing tape in the air. “I was just gonna put Bass Stuff on yours, but Freddie said that was rather impersonal.” 

“What did you put on yours?” 

“Nothing special.” 

“God’s drumming gift to the world? Roger!” Freddie’s voice echoed down the hall. “Your name would be just fine on these!” 

“I wanted to be accurate!” Roger shouted back. “So, anyway. Full name, nickname, something nice about your musical abilities, what?” 

“Nickname should be fine.” 

Roger stuttered, his marker against the blank tape. “Erm.” 

“Seriously?” 

“Don’t be that way; I don’t mean anything bad by it. Just don’t want to spell it wrong is all.” 

John rolled his eyes till they felt they might roll straight out of his skull. “Fine. D-E-A-K-Y.” 

“Thanks! I’ll draw something pretty by it.” 

“Oh? What have you drawn on everyone else’s?” 

“Just cocks on Freddie and Brian’s crates so far,” Roger said nonchalantly.

“...so it’ll be cocks on mine then as well?” 

“You figured out my theme!” Roger crowed as he walked back down the hall to the equipment crates. 

His next opportunity was even longer away, a week later as they boarded the train to their first destination. 

“Oh, John,” Miami carefully caught his shoulder before he stepped on. “The train staff are being rather...picky. They want name cards up on the trays near your seats, in case any of you wander while they bring out the food.” 

John didn’t blink. “It’s a train.” 

Miami looked at the train he was standing on, as if he’d just noticed it. “So it appears to be.” 

“Where on earth would we wander on a train?” 

Miami shrugged. “Another car? With you lot, can I really say for sure?” 

As if on cue, Roger popped out of one of the car windows, so far out it looked he might just fall. “Hurry the fuck up! Get on before they leave you here!” 

“Get back in the train! Are you a dog hanging out the car window?” Miami scolded.

“Maybe I want to see what they like about it! Maybe we’re all missing out!” Roger called.

“Get in the bloody train!” 

“Ooh ‘get in the bloody train, bleugh. No fun,” Roger mocked, but slipped back inside the train with only a wince as his stomach hit the edge of the window. 

“Anyway,” Miami sighed. “So, what do you want on yours? First name, just the last name, can be whatever you want so long as you don’t change it fifty times in a minute.” 

“Dig at me!” Freddie leaned out of the doorway. “This is supposed to be fun, Miami. Loosen up.” 

“I have written over ten different, increasingly silly, name cards for you. We have been on tour for only an hour, and yet only five minutes worth of my patience remains,” Miami said. 

“That’s a lie,” Freddie said to John with a flick of his wrist. “He’ll be fine.” 

Miami sighed yet again, a deeper sigh, from the bottom of his very soul, as Freddie went back into the car. “John...” 

“Make it easy for you; just put my nickname. D-I-Q-I.” 

Miami frowned, but wrote it. “Have you always spelled it that way? Different from how your actual last name is?” 

John nodded. “A bit of fun, yeah?” 

“Of course,” Miami replied as he led John into the car. “My apologies for not remembering.” 

“No harm done.” 

It was at the venue that he faced his toughest challenge: Freddie. Who made incredible effort to recall each little detail about his band mates and friends, at the very minimum the correct spellings of names and nicknames. But he was ready; he could do this. He’d fooled Miami; he was ready for this now. 

“John, darling; we’ve got a card here for Miami’s birthday. I’ve been trying to get everyone to sign, or at least just admit they forgot it was his birthday in a few days, but-” Freddie shrugged as he paused in the application of his eyeliner. “Now, if you’ve not got time to sign that’s fine, just tell me if you want me to put John or your nickname, or whatever else.” 

There it was. His moment. He wouldn’t get another. “Oh. Just the nickname is fine. D-E-A-C-K-Y.” 

He was sweating bullets, watching Freddie’s face in the mirror. Looking directly at him would destroy the ruse. 

Freddie frowned, clearly puzzled. “Is that it? I could have sworn-” 

“Yes. How I’ve always spelled it.” 

“Really?” There were a good hundred more questions in Freddie’s eyes, but time was short, and he said nothing else as they finished dressing and readying themselves for the concert. 

In the aftermath, on yet another train, he let himself rest. They’d done well, put in a fantastic effort, and he was exhausted. Both from the concert, and from keeping an eye on Freddie after it as they’d packed. 

But he hadn’t brought up the spelling thing even once. His ruse had been successful, and it was a very warm sort of satisfaction that helped lull him to sleep as the train got on its way. 

“Odd question,” Freddie said, breaking the silence as he watched John sleep. “How do we spell John’s nickname? He just told me today again, but it didn’t seem right. And I don’t want to say he doesn’t know how to spell his own name, but...” 

“D-E-A-C-Y,” Brian replied. “Like his last name is, D-E-A-C-O-N.” 

“No, that’s not it,” Miami said. “He told me he specifically does it differently from his last name, for a bit of fun. D-I-Q-I.” 

“Q?” Freddie asked. “No, that’s almost certainly not right.” 

“That’s what he told me!” Miami protested. “Just when we got on the train, in fact.” 

“You’re both wrong,” Roger said. “It’s D-E-A-K-Y. S’what he had me put on all his gear, so that must be right.” 

Freddie’s gentle gaze upon the utterly passed out and now snoring John turned to a hard stare. “He told me D-E-A-C-K-Y, to put on Miami’s birthday card.” 

“You got me a card?” Miami asked softly. 

“Of course we did, your present will be along shortly as well,” Freddie said, waving away the distraction, sweet though it was. “Now, this isn’t funny though. How on earth is it properly spelled? Does anyone remember?” 

Silence filled the car, aside from John’s snoring. 

“I’ve got it written down somewhere at home I’m sure,” Brian murmured. “But that does us no good now.” 

“No shit,” Roger muttered. “But I’m in the same boat. I can’t think of a thing I might have on me now that might prove which one is right.” 

“We’ll ask him,” Miami said. “Soon as he wakes up.” 

“And then what? Have him try and convince us it’s actually D-E-A-C-K-Q-I-Y?” Freddie laughed. 

“Well no one would believe that,” Brian scoffed. “That’s ridiculous.” 

“Is it? Because that’s essentially what he got all of us to believe, just in separate bits and pieces,” Freddie replied. “He played us like fiddles, and he did it, I’d gather, while barely even trying.” 

“...so when his birthday comes round in the next few months, we all agree to spell it as oddly and differently as possible on all his gifts and cards?” Roger asked. 

“Oh, of course,” Freddie agreed, as nods went all round the train car. “Though you know that won’t bother him a whit, right?” 

“Yeah,” Roger admitted. “But how else can we get back at him?” 

“We can’t,” Brian said. “Could you imagine if he kept this up, with everyone, no one knowing one hundred percent for sure which version was right? And you know him, he won’t tell which is the right one if he’s having enough fun keeping everyone confused. Us, fans, everyone on tour, literally anyone he meets and gives his nickname to, even.” 

And so it was that it did continue, long after that day, that no one person alive or dead or in a coma or any other sort of state of being should be one-hundred-thousand-no-doubts-whatsoever-certain how to spell John’s nickname. And so it shall continue, time immemorial, until the heat death of the universe and all that reside within her. A mystery for the ages. 

Christ, it couldn’t ever really be Diqi though, could it?

[toasttz]

From the Tabletop #5

So, we arrived in Hell. With an opener like that, you know it's gonna be good. Or it would've been, had Hell not become the most boring place still technically within creation due to the last campaign. So Scarlet's personal mission (Admittedly fueled by some metaknowledge on my part and having like 3 new Solar ideas in line at this point) was to get in, get the clue for the One Piece, and then get the hell out of Hell. Magpie and Volkenstein kinda went along with my lead, but only because they literally knew no other way to exist by this point. Which kind of lead to their own downfalls over the next few sessions, courtesy of my willingness to just give PCs overly-generous trades in my haste. But let's slow it down a little. Our first mission was to head to the Veridian Plaza and the Pool of Drowned Poisons (our GM and Valentinian's player know way, way more about Exalted's frankly overly-dense lore than I, so I accepted this as part and parcel of being in Hell). Unfortunately, this got complicated fast by, of all people, Alabaster Albatross, back for her petty comeuppance against Scarlet and co. In a pretty big damn hurry to get on with it, Scarlet bartered Volkenstein away for a day's time in return for passage, which A.A. happily accepted, due to liking his muscles to a, frankly creepy, degree. So, enter we did, only to be told he were required to be in a bathing suit despite the fact that no one in their right mind would actually attempt to swim in the Pool of Drowned Poisons. The name alone should be dissuasion sufficient. Scarlet, of course, had a bikini on under her clothes and Magpie decided to stop by the gift shop which, also of course, they had. It is Hell after all. Inside, she met... well, Inferno Cop. Don't know who that is? Look it up on Youtube, you owe it to yourself. But, no, it was not Inferno Cop who then proceeded to just incinerate a demon, but Valentinian! In a rather badass sudden reappearance. Magpie, no doubt channeling aspects of Maxwell, asked Valley to become her mentor. Valley said "No" pretty damn quick. Scarlet had a rather amusing exchange when she followed in to see what was taking Maggie so long. Scarlet: Oh, hey, Valley. I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first? Valentinian: The bad, I guess? Scarlet: Maxwell's dead. I might have sort-of decapitated him. Valentinian: (100% monotone) Oh no. How sad. Scarlet: The good news is you get to be the Maid of Honor at my wedding! Valentinian: Wait... WHAT?! With Valley back in tow, we began shaking down anyone we could find for intel. This ultimately pointed us towards Master of the Eternal Golden Paradise's theme park - Super Happy Fun Land. So off we went! Unfortunately, it was guarded by a demon who, so long as he was in the light of the Green Sun, was unkillable. This posed a pretty significant problem on account, uh, the Green Sun doesn't... ever set. So we were initially repelled until Valentinian suggested we needed to make a dark deal to handle this. So we went to speak to the Ebon Dragon. A nasty piece of work, Scarlet initially offered herself for a "good time", but was quickly shot down, as the Ebon Dragon explained he preferred them "young". Pausing not for a moment, Scarlet offered him Magpie - 24 hours with him for 24 hours of darkness over the guard. Which he accepted with sadistic glee. The circle quickly changed the tune of the joke to "He's forcing her to play Super Smash Bros. Melee with tournament rules." Before long, the gate guard was dead (and we then joked Scarlet took an impromptu biology lesson after bisecting the poor bastard). For the next session, Valentinian's player was unable to join, so we agreed that he and the Oath Warriors went on to enjoy the theme park and take a load off for a time. Magpie and Volkenstein (who had returned from their respective times being sold off by Scarlet) basically scoured the park, but Scarlet ultimately found the clue (a statue of Master, pointing towards a particular star in the sky) which sent the trio into the Endless Desert. There, they found a bank, of all things. Just because the desert is ENDLESS doesn't mean there's not landmarks, apparently. Inside, we ask a random worker there to see the boss of the location. After revealing Master's journal, she was taken in to see the boss-man himself: Master's own son, Aladdin, the Dragon of the Desert Wind! It's important to note that if an Exalt procreates with a demon, the result typically ends up in a monsterous creature. In this case, a dragon, with his father's in-built desire to accumulate wealth. Which was apparent, as the room we met him in was flooded with gold and riches of all sorts. When Scarlet pettioned him for the next key, he explained that he couldn't give it to her, but she was free to take it... with the asterisk that if we chose the wrong thing, he would transform into his dragon form and devour us all. The only clue he offered us was "The thing most valuable to my father is the key". Magpie offered to take Aladdin, but he laughed her suggestion off and told us flat-out it wasn't him. I, with benefit of metaknowledge but still within the believable scope of Scarlet's ability, parse that it was money, but not just cold hard cash. Something that represented the full sum of his wealth. There, I found the first penny that Master ever made, on prominent display. Scarlet chose it and it was confirmed we chose the correct key. Upon returning and regrouping with the others, we learned the location of an Oath Warrior was actually nearby, in the castle of Zen. We met Ascendant Sword and Heavenly Sky, who also had a grudge against Zen, but the latter also had a bit of a grudge from an incident 2000 years prior, with Valley. This resulted in them having a few minutes of bickering before Scarlet stopped the problem by giving Valentinian a great big hug. I'll leave you to parse how that stopped the problem for yourselves. This resulted in Scarlet needing to return to the Black Turtle and sail it down to their current level. Hell is separated into different layers, which are dynamic and ever-shifting, adding to the omnipresent dangers of living or being in... well, Hell. TL;DR version, she got down in good time with the ship and its cargo of war mecha with little trouble. As the raid on the castle started, I PM'd the GM with a particular idea I had in mind and he signed off on it. So the battle opened with Scarlet, riding in her mech which was riding atop Gwyn's mech (almost forgot: Gwyn had left to escort an NPC back to her hometown, as his player resumed role as GM), belting out JPop songs from Macross 7 - Totsugeki Love Heart, in case you were wondering - as she rolled crazy well for her performance to draw all eyes up to her as she sailed in, smashing against the first wave and wall of the keep. This was all to allow Valley and Maggie the chance to infiltrate the castle with all the main defenses distracted. It worked beautifully, being one of my favorite moments in the entire campaign. Once inside, Valley found Orlando, one of his Oath Warrior fellows, under a berserk mind control curse - likely brought on due to the previously-mentioned "DO NOT TOUCH, THIS MEANS YOU, ZEN" sign. He was no slouch and Valentinian had to fight fiercely to down his raging friend. It even ended with me punctuating the battle by putting my blade tip-down through the cockpit of the rival mech, and Maggie... weirdly trying to engage in skinship with an unconcious Oath Warrior, no longer able to resist either his assaulters or the mind control he was under. It was uncomfortable for all of us. Afterward, we departed Hell and sailed for the South, towards Gem, where Master's first coin had been minted. This ultimately resulted in a complete and total clusterfuck. For context, Valentinian's player wasn't able to join this session, and Volkenstein and Magpie were just DETERMINED to drag the game to an absolute crawl. As we were barely heading through the pass to head into the desert proper (the non-endless desert this time), this conversation actually happened: GM: Okay, you guys need any last-minute things? Magpie: Yes! I want to get some snacks. GM: Um. Alright, you find the vendor. Magpie: I want caramel popcorn. GM (As vendor): Why are you asking about such high-fallutin' fancy goods there, girl? Me, OOC: They aren't going to have it, dude. It's the bronze age. Magpie: But it's my favorite type. GM: How would you have ever had it? Magpie: Well, Arilack... Me, OOC: NO! They wouldn't have it! That's a luxury good in this age, dude! Sugar is a luxury and they wouldn't have it here, let alone waste it making caramel of all things! The only viable alternative they MIGHT have is honey and they absolutely would not waste that on popcorn either. Hell, they probably wouldn't waste the corn either! Magpie: W-well, what about cheddar popcorn? Me, OOC: STOP! GM: Uh. Right. Let's get on the road. That more or less set the tone for the rest of the trek south. So, on that frustrated note, I'm going to pause here. Join us next time as the Seven Deadly One Piece campaign comes to a close and a new game full of crazies began. See you there!

[lyssala]

Stars

Pairings: Terra/Aqua, Slightly Implied Cloud/Tifa, Kingdom Hearts

Settings: Modern AU; Terra is the new kid at Aqua’s small private school

Rating: K+

Notes:  @mimiplaysgames sent me a post with some High School Aus and one was “Person A doodling on Person B’s arm while not paying attention in class” and I just had this sweet image of Aqua and Terra getting highly distracted in the middle of class. I also like to picture him as an artist sometimes so this captured that too. As much as I love them as childhood friends sometimes it’s fun to play with if they haven’t known each other since childhood too!

AO3

Stars

Aqua was very relieved she was a morning person when she saw her quarter schedule with organic chemistry right at the top. That was just mean to any teenager who couldn’t function before a certain hour.

Considering when she walked into the science lab most all her classmates looked like they were zombies even though it was two months into the school year seemed to prove her point. She peeked around the tables set up to face the front of the room, maneuvering down the aisle to her assigned seat. She usually stopped by to say good morning to Tifa but she wasn’t at her table yet; she probably begged Cloud to stop for breakfast making them late once again.

A few other classmates who were awake enough nodded or waved to Aqua which she politely responded to. As far as private schools went, hers wasn’t the worst but it was small. Classes were usually combined with other grades to make them a little bigger, but it also meant teachers were more able to help since the classes were so small. That she did like, though she could do without the strict dress code sometimes.

She stopped at her table, a smile pulling at her lips when she saw a body hunched over the surface, mess of brown hair sticking up from where his face was tucked onto his arms.

Aqua carefully sat down at the stool, placing her bag on the table as to not scare him but it didn’t work.

Terra popped his head up, sleepy blue eyes watching her.

“Didn’t mean to wake you up,” she said, trying not to laugh as she went to pull out her books.

“Better than an alarm clock,” he murmured. He leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms over his head and leaving the contents of what he was sleeping on out in the open.

She tried not to pry and respect her lab partner’s privacy but it was always hard not to want to see what he had drawn all over his chemistry notes. Sure, they sat together every morning in this class, but she really only knew him for about two months now. He was quiet and kept to himself more often than not so Aqua didn’t want to push it by getting too nosey. Terra seemed so surprised the first time she complimented his art that she thought maybe it was pushy of her to look without asking.

“Early morning?” Aqua asked, dropping her bag by her feet.

“That’s what I get for having a dad who’s a teacher.” Terra yawned slightly, dropping his hands back to the table.

“Oh, that’s right. I almost forgot. He teaches World History right? For the freshman and sophomores?”

“Yeah,” Terra said. “Probably because he didn’t wanna have to teach me again.”

Aqua was about to ask what it was like having to be taught by your parent but Tifa’s voice echoed slightly outside the door. Sure enough there she was half in the doorway, hands full with a coffee cup and a brown bag as she talked to someone still in the hallway; chances are it was Cloud who had a different class first period. Tifa smiled and waved when she caught Aqua’s eyes, scurrying in as their teacher walked in behind her.

“Morning,” Tifa said, checking over her shoulder to make sure Mr. Highwind was still setting up. “Here, snuck you something but eat it quick before he notices.” Tifa dropped the brown bag into Aqua’s hands.

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that, but thank you,” she said while Tifa was already walking to her table across from Aqua.

“It’s nothing,” Tifa waved her off. “Happy Friday.”

Aqua pulled open the bag to see one of her favorite treats sitting there. Her stomach growled just at the sight. “You remembered my mom is on a health food kick didn’t you?”

“I got you, girl,” Tifa said with a smile over her coffee.

Aqua reached in to pull out the chocolate frosted donut in all its sugary glory. It was a sight for sore eyes; what kind of insane person banned chocolate from a household? She was about to take the biggest bite humanly possible when she glanced over to Terra. Yeah, was probably good not to eat like a slob in front of probably the cutest boy in school.

He was looking back down at his notebook, pen in his hand as he aimlessly drew something on the lined paper.

“You want to split it?” she asked.

Terra looked up, a sort of smile on his lips. “And deprive you of much missed sugar? How could I.”

“I am a generous person, I can always share my sugar. Plus if I don’t shove this whole thing in my mouth right now, Mr. Highwind will take it.”

“Fair point.” Terra held out his hand as Aqua broke the donut in half, placing one piece in his hand.

As much as she wanted to savor the sweet tastes, she had to eat it in just a few bites or risk getting yelled at for having food in the lab. Terra on the other hand kept most of it on his notebook, just eating a small bite at a time.

Terra he was…he was something.

New kids didn’t come in too often, only a handful every now and then so it was a little bit of a surprise at the beginning of her junior year there was not only a new teacher but a new student too. Terra was a year older but he was in most her classes as seniors usually were. Most the time students flocked to the new kids as they were, well, new and shiny so to speak. Some of the more popular kids did try with Terra but he was a mix of unreceptive to social situations and also just sort of looked intimidating with his tall stature and sharp facial features that most kind of gave up. The more athletically inclined students tried too thinking someone like him was born to play football, but he never had any interest in that either.

Even Aqua who always tried to be accepting with everyone wasn’t sure what to make of him when she was assigned to be his lab partner for the semester. It didn’t really take that long to get a different opinion of him though.

He wasn’t frightening or intimidating at all; he was quiet. He didn’t really voice his thoughts very much nor did he really even talk back whenever she tried to talk to him in class but his eyes were expressive, he was listening to her and engaging even if he didn’t vocally say anything. She knew by the calluses, the dried paint, the ink smudges that showed up on his hands sometimes that despite the fact most people thought he had to be a jock, he was an artist.

In the two months she shared a table with him for 45 minutes almost every day she knew he was gentle and patient, thoughtful but still had a sense of humor. That he really only opened up to people when he felt comfortable and she hoped he did feel comfortable with her. Because she liked him…a lot; it was probably best not to think about how much.

“Is it not good?” she asked, watching him pick at the last bit of the donut.

“Hmm? Oh, no, it’s fine,” he said.

“Then why are you looking at it like it killed your dog?”

He snorted, smiling pulling at his lips enough so she could see his dimples coming out. She took a little bit of pride in the fact she was pretty sure most the school didn’t even know he had them, but she did.

“I’m not a big sweets person.” Though he did pop the last of it in his mouth.

“Is it too late to switch lab partners?”

“I don’t think difference in food tastes qualifies in swapping lab partners.” His smile always made his eyes look a lot brighter, made his face softer.

Aqua had no idea why the girls in this school weren’t throwing themselves at him, well, not that she was complaining. It was kind of nice not to feel like she had to compete with other girls just to get someone she liked to look at her; though it would be nice if she could finally convince him to sit at their table for lunch but baby steps. He had a comfort level just like everyone else.

“But it’s like I tell my brother,” Terra said, propping his chin up in his hand as he tapped his pen with the other. “More for you then.”

It was hard not to smile. “That is something I can get behind.”

“Miss Lockheart,” Mr. Highwind’s rough voice boomed in the room. “I do hope that drink of yours is covered.”

“Of course,” Tifa smiled, holding the cup up slightly.

“Alright, let’s get started then. We’re about to start a new section and no, I haven’t graded your tests yet so don’t bother asking. Open your books and let’s get a move on.”

Aqua admittedly did enjoy school and learning, but even chemistry first thing in the morning could be a little much for her. She followed along in the book, listened, took notes, asked questions when she needed to and sometimes she still couldn’t quite follow. Terra on the other hand would spend class occasionally looking up to write notes in his messy handwriting but usually filled his pages with more drawings than anything else.

She knew he paid attention and she knew he was smart as she managed to get him to study with her for the past test during a shared study hall. She just wished she had the ability to listen and absorb like he did.

It was also so distracting to watch him focus on the paper, biting his lower lip every so often as he finished another small drawing; mainly because it was much better than whatever Mr. Highwind was talking about.

“I like that one,” she whispered, reaching over to tap a small portrait of a boy. Aqua didn’t know who he was or if he was anyone, but Terra drew the boy with bright eyes and a toothy grin, hair sticking up all over the place.

Terra didn’t look too surprised when he glanced up at her, maybe he had gotten used to her compliments now. “Yeah? It’s my brother.”

Aqua clicked her tongue. “He’s a cutie.”

“I’m not telling him that,” Terra snorted softly, going back to drawing on the other side of the page.

“And why not?”

He shook his head. “Pretty girl like you telling him he’s cute? It’ll go straight to his head.”

Aqua blinked at Terra, her being the one unsure what to say for once. That was the first time he ever said anything about her looks, and he seemed to realize it too as he quickly looked back up to the board to see where Mr. Highwind was.

She did the same but it was even harder to concentrate now. Did Terra really think she was pretty? Would it mean anything even if he did? She certainly didn’t think she was, well, not compared to some of the girls here. It probably didn’t mean anything, how could it?

Aqua went back to try and take some notes but nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt Terra gently tap her arm. She looked over to see him watching her, pen still in his other hand.

“Can I see your arm?”

She must’ve looked confused because he gave her a smile.

“You always say nice things about, ah, you know, when I draw. I thought I could, well, um, do something for you.” He paused. “Helps me concentrate.”

Aqua wasn’t sure what to say so she just nodded, extending her arm onto the table. He gave her a small smile in thanks and carefully leaned over. She almost jumped again when she felt him put his hand on her arm but it was almost reassuring in a way.

The ballpoint of the pen was cool on her skin, she could almost feel the ink drawing onto her skin. Her mom would probably kill her but Aqua honestly didn’t care, not when she watched Terra’s simple lines turn into beautiful curves of her name. It wasn’t like she never saw her name written before, but not like this, not with such elegant script and not from him. While she was aware he probably knew her name, he never actually said it to her before. Seeing it spelled so gracefully on her made her chest feel a little light.

She thought that would be it when he reached the final curve of the last “a” in her name but he moved his hand about her name, drawing a quick half-moon, moving to some wispy clouds she wasn’t even sure how he could do with a single colored pen but he did. Then there were the stars. He drew them all around, different sizes, different shapes but it was mesmerizing to watch.

Aqua had zero idea what was going on in class, but she could care less.

“You wear them a lot,” he said, voice hushed as he finished another line. “The stars. Your bag, your jewelry so it makes me think of you.”

“It’s beautiful,” she breathed. Not even just the drawing, she never knew he noticed so much about her.

He snorted, like he didn’t quite believe it. “Just doodles.”

“You should be a tattoo artist, you’re really good at this.”

“Yeah, you tell my dad that, please, I’d love to see it.”

“Miss Queen, Mr. Hale,” Mr. Highwind’s voice echoed so much Aqua nearly fell off her stool while Terra looked up, pen slipping from his hand. Mr. Highwind was staring at the both of them, which meant so was most the class now. “Do either of you plan on paying attention at all this period or do you have more important things to discuss? Cause by all means, don’t let me get in the way.”

The snickers started and Aqua felt her face heat up; she could even see Tifa and that glint in her eyes knowing Aqua was never going to be able to live this down.

Mr. Highwind was clearly waiting for an answer but her stomach was sinking so much that she not only got herself called out but Terra too who probably felt more embarrassed than she was.

“No, sir,” he said, his voice surprisingly firm.

“Pay attention, please,” Mr. Highwind said because turning back to the board to continue the lecture.

There was still some giggling but mostly everyone went back to their own books and notes. Aqua risked a look over to Terra who had already let go of her arm.

“Sorry,” he mouthed to her, but still with that half smile of is.

She shook her head to let him know it was fine, but it was also the first time she got to see the drawing he did in full as she brought her arm back towards her. He might’ve just been doodling, but it was beautiful. The fact he picked up on so many nuances about her with just the small conversations they had spoke so much about him as a person.

Aqua looked up to try and tell him how much she loved it but he was already grinning at her, toothy smile that she now knew his brother must’ve gotten from him. There was still so much she wanted to know about Terra, so much she wanted to just be around him and the type of energy he brought. Others might not see it, but she sure as hell did.

She picked up her pen and quickly wrote a few words down before sliding the notebook to him.

Will you eat lunch with us today?

She tried not to bother him and let him do things at his own speed but she just had to try. This was a person she wanted around so much more. He may not know it yet but she did; he was special.

Terra laughed lightly, but he picked up his pen and reached over.

Yes.

[blade-revolutions]

Beyblade | Human {Zeo Zagart}

A/N: This is a small piece for the art trade I did with @idrawprettyboys / @mangakamarie . I hope you enjoy.

I couldn’t post it on fanfic so here it is <3

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

EVERYTHING STOPPED.

Zeo's world came to a standstill when Cerberus came to a halt across him. His eyes widened, lips parted with bewilderment and disillusionment. His mind couldn't process this loss, this humiliating loss.

He had stolen many bit-beasts  -Kai and Max's included- some of the strongest beybladers in the league. And still, it wasn't enough to stop Tyson Granger from winning because winning was the only path for Tyson, Zeo surmised.

Tyson Granger...he was probably clueless as far as a loss is concerned. Heck, Zeo doubted if he had ever heard of it. Did Tyson know how it was to suffer? How was it to lose the once in  a life time opportunity of becoming a real boy. A carefree boy, a boy with feelings, a boy with veins underneath his skin, not mechanisms. A boy with a real life ahead of him and a beating heart. 

He would never know.

Zeo closed his eyes briefly before prying them open again. He was positive Tyson would boast about his victory in front of everyone and he tried to fight off the urge of rubbing his forehead. 

He shook his head.

It was in Tyson's nature to be cocky and he shouldn't blame him for that. He had the right to after his victory. He understood because that's the way he'd react too. He'd become real. Now, it was a fantasy turning into ash.

Zeo bowed his head, clenching his launcher. He couldn't continue like this. It was all over now.

When Tyson addressed him, he wasn't sure if he could handle the teasing. No, he definitely wouldn't handle it. Droplets of sweat formed on his forehead, the launcher almost slipping from his tight hold.

He wanted Tyson to be callous and mean, to make fun of him along with his friends for not being a blader to meet their standards because it would give him a reason to hate them and stay away from them, to cut all the strings of communication. However they weren't like the majority of people.

While most of them wouldn't spare him a second glance, Tyson and the Bladebreakers accepted him not only a friend, but as a member of their team, as a Bladebreaker. From that moment he knew he wouldn't find people with kindness anywhere.

"What's wrong with being a little different?"

Tyson's words had his gaze shooting up to his. There was mirth and mischief gleaming into the champion's eyes and Zeo had to purse his lips from spitting out a retort. How did he dare to say that? Everything was wrong. He wasn't as free as the people around him. From the moment he found out the truth about himself, he constantly carried the weight of not being a real boy on his back.

Unable to voice his thoughts aloud, he stared at Tyson with mild shock. Zeo's lack of response prompted Tyson to continue. "Think about it. There are probably one thousand things you can do that I could never do. It's true you know." 

Tyson's words dispersed the rage which clouded his mind. For once, he could think straight. Life wasn't over because he was different. Ever since he heard the truth he was stunned by the fact he wouldn't be capable of experiencing and feeling the same things with others, he wouldn't be able to grow along with others. But that's fine. 

Despite Tyson not saying the exact same words, he understood what he meant. That different isn't bad and definitely not something to be ashamed of. It was true his body possessed abilities his peers could never have. It was what made him who he is, he realized.

The knot in his stomach loosened. It was okay to be a little different.

It was okay.

                                                       ***

"HOW MANY TIMES I'VE TOLD YOU NOT TO BE STUPID?"

Hilary Tachibana slaps Tyson's finger with her spoon, distracting him successfully from having a taste of the whipped cream on her delicious cake. Tyson gasped before yelling shortly, blowing on his finger to alleviate the pain. Hilary didn't have to be so cruel. Besides, it wasn't as if he was planning it on eating it all by himself. If he even dared to do so, Hilary would not only speak to him again, but would break up with him.

Sheesh.

Okay, he was overreacting. She wouldn't break up with him but give him hell about not listening to her and acting childishly. It wasn't his fault though - she was a really great cook.

For a moment the thought of voicing the words in his mind aloud crossed and a faint smirk curved his lips. Hilary would blush, not entirely used to receiving compliments from guys -even her boyfriend of two years and best friend, Tyson Granger himself. He was certain this would make her forget any insults she had planted on the tip of her tongue for him, which suited him just fine.

He stared at the counter from his peripheral vision and his brow furrowed, his red eyes narrowing. The marble surface was tinged with flour here and there while most of the space was occupied by the ingredients she had used - sugar, milk, baking powder and so on. Pity he couldn't lift her on it and numb her thoughts completely, to the point she would be able to remember only his name.

He watched her thoughtfully as Hilary opened the oven, a rush of heat attacking her cool cheeks. She slid in carefully the second cake she'd baked today for the reunion party, hoping it'd be as good as the previous one. She then turned to him, one hand at her hip, the other gripping the table. "You know patience is an important virtue. One you severely lack."

Tyson's jaw dropped briefly. She didn't just say that. Damn she was so savage at times, he thought.

He was ready to fire back a retort when Hilary gave him her infamous 'done with your shit' glare. She placed her palm in the air, gesturing him to say no more.

"If you're even thinking of responding with 'patience wasn't my strong suit anyway' you better stop right there. So far, if calmness isn't your strong suit or patience, or being mature or God knows what else, then what is your strong suit? I'm saying this because I've been keeping a list of all your qualities and there's a serious problem here."

Tyson was searching her face for any traces that would indicate she was joking as usual. There were none.

This unsettled his nerves. His stomach was clenching and churning. Did she really see him as nothing special? Was he that plain or stupid - a stark contrast to her high standards?

Is she actually serious?

Is she planning to dump me?

Tyson is staring at her with both curiosity and anxiety. When he was fourteen, he had vowed not to let any woman have any kind of power over him, he wouldn't allow to any of them the ability to bring him on his knees. Not when they weren't worthy and a pain in the ass. And yet, here he was, hanging from Hilary's words, wondering how royally screwed up he was.

It was at that moment he realized how naive he must have been to be so sure -that there wasn't a woman worthy of his time to be serious about- and full of himself. Apparently life decided this was the right time to pay for all his cockiness.

Hilary glared at him for another full second before letting her lips turn upwards into a smile and bursting with laughter.

What the hell?

He continued watching her patiently, bewildered and lost. Realization began dawning upon him and his lips closed in a thin line. She was just toying with him and scowled, his fingers curled into a fist.

Who did she think she was to play with his emotions like that?

Hilary's laughs weren't helping the situation and as she approached to give him a reassuring kiss on lips - that this was all a joke to light up the tension from the last college exam in their lives since graduation is approaching soon. He swiftly pinned her on the couch, climbing on top of her, noting that the gloves she was wearing to protect her hands from burning had slipped off.

Hilary's laughter immediately died on her lips. "What do you think you're doing, Tyson?" she whispered, her breath shallow as she observed him. He may not be as strikingly gorgeous as Kai or other males she'd met in university, but he was handsome. There was no doubt about it. Plus, there was something about him that did her in every time. In the beginning of their relationship, she was stubborn and refused to admit it to herself, but Tyson's personality was her favorite thing as far as he's concerned. He was playful and kind, fierce and stubborn and a jerk sometimes, especially when he lost in a bey battle, but it was a part of his charismatic persona. After all they'd been through, she wouldn't want him to change one bit.

Tyson grinned mischievously and Hilary bit her lip, unwillingly drawing Tyson's gaze to it and increasing his hunger for her. He wanted her, he wanted to savour those rosy lips and do so much more but he was well aware that was not was she wanted right now. He was sure she wouldn't push him off if he ventured to remove her clothes but couch sex wasn't as comfortable as it was in the bedroom. He also remembered Hilary's habit of being precise and having everything well-time which included the cake. If she forgot it and it came out burned, she'd take away all kissing and sex rights.

Then again he thought she wouldn't have the heart to do it because even if she had trained herself to resist her wants, she wouldn't be able to resist him.

"I'm about to show you why toying with someone's feelings is cruel."

                                                       ***

"Man, I can't believe the sun is glowing with the intensity of July." Max notes, wiping a bead of sweat on his forehead. Even though he came back in Japan to reunite with his friends/former teammates and feel some sort of relief from the high temperatures of America, there was enough heat to make their bodies sweat. He was grateful they wouldn't stay outside for too long. 

New York wasn't bad, Max figured. He had made a lot of friends during university and kept attached with some of them, but they couldn't compare to his old teammates. They just weren’t the same. In addition, he needed a change of surroundings. He needed some time away from working many hours alongside Judy at the PPB centre, helping younger defensive type of bladers to enhance their skills and proving to them they didn't to purchase offensive type of beys to be equally strong with other bladers. Everyone was different and Max taught them to embrace that quality through beyblading. And in the end, would there be a point of everyone was the same?

"I feel like dying." Tyson complained, his shoulders slumping slightly.

Kai's eyes narrowed behind his black sunglasses. If Tyson considered putting on the drama queen act, he was out of here. "You're twenty one. Quit whining." He told him strictly.

"Aw come on Kai, don't tell me you expected Tyson to be serious or not dramatic, even after he's become an adult." Ray said to prevent any kind of tension from rising.

Kai sighed, his chest relaxing. "I guess not."

"Um, just a small reminder. I'm standing right here." Tyson pointed his index fingers at himself and scoffed. Such heartless friends.

"And what was it about me not being mature? Pssht I feel more open-minded than ever. I'm almost done with university and I'll begin lessons at the Dojo very soon." He informed them, pride lacing his words. He was looking forward to teaching kids the art of swords his Grandpa had passed down on him.

Kai smothered a smirk, the idiot left himself open for it. "There's a huge difference from feeling open-minded and actually being."

Ray and Max shared a knowing stare, covering their mouths with their hands. Kai's comebacks against Tyson were sometimes the moments they lived for. It was too entertaining to see Tyson's cocky attitude crumbling in front of him.

Sensing Max and Ray couldn't hold the laughter bubbling within them for too long, Tyson exhaled a sigh of defeat. "Okay, I give up. You got me at that one." He raised his hands in the air, an action which earned him a triumphant smirk from Kai.

Ray and Max exploded with laughter eventually and Tyson joined. However, Kai stopped walking, remaining a few feet behind them. He was positive someone was following them.

Ever since they stepped out of the BBA headquarters to sort out some files for the upcoming Bey Centre at the end of the city, Kai couldn't shake off the feeling of being watched. At first he tried to convince himself it was his imagination, that he didn't have to be as suspicious as he was in the Abbey. Besides, Boris was gone long ago from their lives, absent and unable to make it hell. Just as it should be.

Still, something was off.

Kai didn't want to share his thoughts with the group. They'd probably laugh it off and tell him to let loose.

It wasn't as if he didn't let loose though. After his years of torture in the Abbey, he had learned to open up slowly to those he deemed worthy, to his real friends, despite the fact he preferred to keep some things to himself.

"Hey Kai! Why did you stop?" Tyson called out to him while Max and Ray exchanged curious glances.

"I think we're being followed." Kai informed them, his eyes scanning their surroundings once more. His instinct had never fooled him.

"Ugh not this again." Tyson said exasperated. "We've been through past that many years ago because they were chasing us for our bit-beasts. But we're not blading anymore."

"Your point's invalid." Kai responded as he strode towards a shade hidden behind the walls at the turn on his right. When you step into adulthood, the reasons for being followed are increased. "However, I’ll leave it for the time being."

"What do you - ?" was the last thing he heard of Tyson's words when he took the turn and his mouth fell open momentarily.

Hugging his legs with his arms was sat down Zeo, his features not having aged during the years.

"Zeo?"

                                                        ***

"And that's the problem." Zeo told them truthfully. "I'm tired of being the same, not feeling a change in my body while others grow up and move on with their lives. Somehow I feel like that is preventing me from moving on and seeing things from a different light doesn't help like it used to a few years ago. You were all younger than and basically there weren't any differences, but now, look at me. Others stare at me questioningly, wondering what's wrong with me because all my friends have become actual adults when I'm just a kid."

Zeo took a moment to inhale and continued. "I know what I'm about to ask sounds impossible but...can you help me? It would mean the world to me."

Kai rested his chin on his laced fingers as Tyson ran a hand through his hair. As Zeo said, it sounds impossible indeed. This isn't Pinocchio. Although he may not be a real boy, the Bladebreakers weren't the good fairy with a shining wand to fulfil his wish.

Silence settled between them and when none of them uttered a word. Zeo lowered his head. "So you aren't going to help me," he muttered grimly.

Ray noticed the rest of his friends were reluctant to take the initiative. Since someone had to do it, he would. "It's not we don't want to. We simply don't know how."

Zeo opened his mouth, but Kai cut him off. "What you're asking is impossible. Not to mention unrealistic. I don't mind you've come here to see us, but did you think about your plan before asking?"

"Kai!" Tyson's voice elevated. "You don't have to be so blunt."

"No he's right." Zeo mumbled. "What I'm asking is unrealistic. Like a faraway dream." He stood up and made his way towards the door. "I shouldn't have bothered you in the first place."

Max remained silent throughout Zeo's speech at Tyson's dojo. There was something he could do, but he couldn't tell if he had the right to let others know just yet.

When Zeo placed his hand to slide the door aside, Max finally spoke up. "Wait!"

Zeo turned around and Max received curious looks from his friends. "What is it?"

"I think there's something. But I'm not so sure."

"What do you mean?" Zeo asked, his hand falling back to his side, a sliver of hope gleaming in his eyes.

Max closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "My mom and some of her colleagues have been working on a new project. After having studied and experimented cloning for many years, she thought it would be even more interesting to study the reverse procedure, see if they can discover a way to turn clones into real human beings."

Zeo's eyes widened, along with the rest of the group.

"Can she really do that?" Tyson asked, astonishment dancing in his red eyes.

"Not yet. They've been building the machine for the past two years and it was finished last month but with all the new bladers coming in to try out the latest training schedule, she hardly had the time to experiment with it."

"That's awesome! Zeo may not be a clone but I guess robots could work too?" At Zeo's hurt expression Ray added, "You know I didn't say it that way to offend you."

Zeo nodded and stared hopefully at Max. "Well, can I try it? I don't care if it hurts, I'll do anything if my wish comes true."

And that sounded way too childish, Kai thought.

Max closed his mouth. He was hesitant if he should go further.  At Zeo's pleading eyes though, he didn't have much of a choice.

"In all stories there's the other side no one wants to hear. But by not hearing it they remain clueless which is worse than being informed of the bad news. This one is no different. Although it sounds incredibly tempting, too surreal, the major disadvantage is that...you might be killed during the process."

"What?" Zeo's eyes widened. On the other hand he should've expected it wouldn't be too easy.

"They didn't have the time to test its workings and form conclusions from the results. So I'm not sure if this ideal."

"It's better from nothing."

Max looked up at Zeo, determination shining in the young boy's eyes.

"I'm tired of sitting with my hands crossed, unable to take matters in my hands and do something. Though the thought of being dead scares, I don't think I'd forgive myself if I let this chance pass. I prefer dying with having at least made an attempt at being real and of a certain age than killing myself on the inside for the chances I didn't take."

"Well," Kai placed his hands on his knees before lifting himself up. "What are we waiting for? If we have to visit New York, we don't have all day."

And at that moment, Zeo realized Kai wasn't so heartless after all.

                                                         ***

Travelling with a private jet is one of the perks of having a millionaire friend. Tyson surmised.

Surprisingly, none of them descended the steps with any jet lag and they would have enjoyed the flight more if it wasn't for the tension hanging in the air. All of them could tell Zeo was nervous, but Max was even more. They only hoped he wouldn't get in any kind of trouble for sharing the company's information.

They were as positive as they could be but when Max explained his intentions to Judy for bringing Zeo in the PPB, a heated argument started. However, they couldn't blame her. Max's idea and Zeo's willingness to go forward with it were the reasons why Judy rhetorically question if they were out of their minds. The argument may have lasted forever but Zeo jumped in and explained everything, how he felt, and how the Bladebreakers were the only people he could trust and would understand him.

Judy and the Bladebreakers were currently standing outside of the room, watching Zeo struggling, his body shaking viciously as he let out another scream.

"Do you think he can endure it?" Tyson asked worried. "Maybe we should get him out."

Judy shook her head. "There's no point now. By trying to get him out, we might get him killed."

Tyson nodded with comprehension. All they could do was wait.

                                                       ***

Two days passed and the Bladebreakers along with Judy were noticing the changes in him. His body was becoming more muscular, his facial features and angles shifting, robbing him off from his childhood traces.

They could still see him struggling, they could see he was in immense pain, but there was something different in his face. It had softened.

Ray was the first to point it out. "Maybe he's not suffering too much anymore."

"Maybe." Judy spoke, her eyes undecipherable. Even if everything went well and Zeo came out safe and sound, she still had to talk it out with Max.

"Hey look! The glass surface of the machine is opening." Max gestured to where Zeo lay.

The Bladebreakers went forward but Judy stopped them. "Not yet." she told them strictly. "He might be overwhelmed if you go at him all at once."

Time came to a standstill and the only thing they could see was Zeo - no that sounded wrong, the adult Zeo placing his hand tentatively to his heart.

Another machine in the room was brought to life once Zeo opened his eyes and Judy froze in place.

The life lines.

They finally did it.

[sebongie-loves]

dog cafe!junhui

enjoy! <3

junhui is literally the cutest thing but at the same he seems like the most oblivious person 

jeonghan still remembers his interview and it was not a fancy or an intellectual interview

it was just junhui being himself and all giggly and smiley 

so jeonghan is like ‘okay you’re handsome, cute, and friendly so you’re in. come tommorow i’ll tell you what to do.’

with his charms and him being all bubbly, he mostly takes the orders as a waiter 

the most relaxed when recommending orders 

“the chef recommends this but i like this the best!”

good thing the customer just laughs and orders what he recommend, who can resist his cute ass? no one

when he first came in and worked, no one actually knew he is chinese and after they knew their jaw dropped

“WHAT”

since junhui does not talk much about himself despite him being all mischievious and talkactive unlike minghao that forces everyone to call him minghao instead of his korean name

only minghao knows this fact but minghao doesn’t really talk much about this either

minghao knows this because he always helps junhui with his visa and other foreigner things ever since junhui found out minghao is also chinese

everyone thought junhui is simple but he’s actually more complicated than what’s everyone been thinking

once, seungkwan jokingly asked junhui about his reason why he chooses to work here during their breaks along with hansol, wonwoo and seokmin. without hesitation, junhui just replied that he saw jeonghan when he was putting the flyers and it seems fun so he said to jeonghan that he wants to work here

“....good thing he didn’t go near a club that day.”

junhui’s favourite thing in the cafe beside the friends he made and the cozy place itself is the dog 

almost everytime when he’s not taking orders or when the cafe doesn’t need that many staffs, he’d be around wonwoo with the dogs 

the dogs are the one that is making junhui excited and all bouncy everytime he’s going to work 

until you meet him

you draw, no one knows you draw however you’re really good with your drawing but silly you only making it as a ‘hobby’

the thought of people judging your drawing is scary and you’re just very shy that’s why you never show everyone your drawings

you do light sketches like people or scenery

sometimes you draw in your room, or on a park or in cafes

so this time you decided to check out this cafe that people have been raving about

the place is really comfy for your preference so you just sat down and pull out your earphone from your bag along with your sketch book and pencils

before you sketch something, a waiter walks toward you 

with a friendly smile, junhui opens up his little note that waiters usually use after handing you the menu book. “good evening, i’m jun! what can i get for you?”

since it’s your first time here, of course it’ll take more time because you don’t really know the menu. it’s not like you can pick something randomly and waste your money for a piece of cake. so all you do is flipping the menu book at the dessert section with a small ‘uum’ or ‘wait’ coming out from your mouth

“if you want a cake, the chocolate cheesecake is really good! like, there are little truffles on top of it. i don’t really know what it is but our patissier is wonderful.”

jun explained the excitedly, noticeably telling you about his favourite so you choose to trust him. ordering his recommendation along with a trusty warm rose tea before he left bringing your orders

you can’t help but find how cute jun is and how he’s leaving you such a good impression. it got you thinking, do all the waiter here act like jun? or is it just him because if it’s just him, it makes him even cuter

but you just brush your thoughts and sketch as you wait for the food to come with an earphone blocking every sounds

as time passes by, without you realizing junhui is bringing your orders. junhui figures out that you don’t want to be distrubed so he just put your orders on your table which makes you notice it

you look up and your eyes match his. you simply reply his action with ‘thank you’ and a smile, like how you handle most of the servers you encounter but junhui’s heart jumps around when he sees you smile and for him your smile is not ‘just’ a smile

“oh you draw? it’s so good!” he says, eventually crouching down and looking at your face which making your cheeks all hot and red

“thank you. but are you allowed to talk to me like this?” you ask, out of worries. you want to talk to him as much as he wants to but to think about it, he is working

junhui stands up and chuckles. “ah yeah, jeonghan would kill me if he sees this but can i know your name?”

but guess who’s standing behind junhui

it’s undoubtly yoon jeonghan himself, oh junhui and his terrible luck 

“is this a mating season or something, why everyone are flirting while working these days?” uttered jeonghan sarcastically with a so-done-with-you smile

‘i’m sorry for the unconvinient. i hope his rude-ass behaviour does not change your good opinion about the cafe itself. i’ll give him a lecture about it, sorry!”

“but can i still know your name tho?”

“wen junhui!”

“okay okay i’m sorry!”

what a peculiar experience but it makes you smile. well, jun makes you smile

so before you left, you take a piece of paper and write down: ‘tell the waiter jun, my name is y/n. see you soon :)’

before this, junhui rarely wanted to go home and just played with the dogs but now? he’s jumping around and running to his home. brushes his teeth and just jump to bed, hoping that you’ll come again tommorow with your big fat smile and that cute sketch book you bring around because you’re the best thing that happened that day

good for him because you think the exactly the same thing as him so you decided you’ll come again tommorow

so you do

and at this point, junhui probably wants to fly to you because how happy he is to see you. “hello! can i get your numbers? wait i mean your order!”

you two laugh and you just shrug it off thinking how can a cute guy asks your number 

“do you have any recommendation?”

“bread pudding! our bread pudding is beyooooond words.”

you know what? this boy is the cutest and you just won’t let the opportunities slip away right infront of your face 

“can i order a bread pudding with a vanilla latte and can i give your tips in advance?”

junhui looks at you confused. you asked him for his hands. even with that much of confusion, he still gives you what you ask because he finds you really cute. “what are you doing?”

he asked, when you’re writing on the palm of his hand. when he realized it’s your phone number he almost screamed but he keeps everything cool because he knew jeonghan is watching

“okay a bread pudding, vanilla latte and a text are coming up. wait!”

hence you and him started texting each other

he always greets you good morning, wishes you a goodnight and just trying to get to know you and your personality because he’s attracted with you, not just your physical appearances

everytimes you visit the place, junhui seems like the happiest person on earth 

what’s odd with you two relationship is that he didn’t ask you ‘will you be my girlfriend?” and you didn’t ask him ‘will you be my boyfriend?”

all you did is giving him your sketches, outside works of course. it’s a sketches of the puppies you get close with eversince you visited the cafe, a scenery that you always wanted to remember and him

“y/n i like you so much and you like me, so we’re a couple now okay?” 

and that’s how it happens. junhui takes your hand and lands a peck on it. “i like you so much that i wanted to take you on dates, raise a puppy together and just be together for the rest of my life.”

you’re as red as a tomato at this point and you just replied him with ‘i like you, too’

starting from that point, junhui is the cutest boyfriend you’ve ever had and junhui would take a star if he could for you. he loves you so much sometimes he forgot about his jobs and got scolded by jeonghan because he often got distracted with you that is playing with the dogs or sketching 

...... worth it 

THANK YOU FOR READING AND JUNHUI IS CUTE < 3