#gonna start the year nice and warm and sketchy

[caelanglang]

the days are getting warmer…

[hopeymchope]

My SPOILERY thoughts on Rain Code: Pre-DLC Edition

I've now finished everything that's available to us before the DLC cases start dropping in one week beginning with "Chapter Desuhiko: Charisma Killed the Cat." I'm totally down to learn more about the supporting detectives in this manner, so that should be a nice treat.

But I've completed the main story, every side quest, unlocked every "Gumshoe Gab," and read through How to Be a Master Detective: A Yakao Furio Case. I've done everything I can do for now.

As such �� since I already shared my SPOILER-FREE thoughts over here — let me offer you my SPOILER-HEAVY reactions under the cut below.

So click on for EXTREME SPOILERS regarding things I have questions/misgivings about, things I feel are teasing future sequels, things I adored overall, and more.

By the end, I feel like it's practically impossible to dislike Yuma OR Shinigami. After Chapter 2 makes Yuma AND the player really start to feel like the contract is a burden and Shinigami is unworthy of any trust, the game brilliantly gives us Chapter 3 — the chapter where Shinigami starts to chill the fuck out and they get to confront the most unambiguously evil culprit plot in the whole thing. Kodaka and co. did well to make us start warming back to the partnership right after pointing out the obvious concerns. Our heroes reach their lowest point and then climb back to their best. Shinigami becomes less hyperactive and more sensitive and caring. And of course, Yuma goes from being a weak, frightened little fawn and shifts into The final scene between them is genuinely heartstring-tugging.

The repeated hints about the darkness that Yuma has unleashed, the blood that's on his hands, and the talk from Vivia about the extreme dangers of the Book of Death and how the Book of Death "will destroy the world"... that obviously never went anywhere. I guess we're saving that plot thread for a possible sequel, most likely? (Though I suppose it might be discussed in the DLC... but I personally doubt that.) Because they worked so hard to make us go from "Shinigami is untrustworthy and extremely sketchy" to loving and accepting her at the end, making us revert back to fearing and distrusting Shinigami is going to be emotionally difficult to endure. ... And I live for that shit. :D

I also think there's still merit in my earlier prediction that in an eventual sequel, Yuma will have to face the music for his crimes of repeatedly reaping criminals' souls... and maybe even get reaped himself. The game regularly reminds us of the death on Yuma's conscience. That's gonna come into play somehow, at some point.

Another bit from that earlier post that I still stand by is that, if this series continues, we'll definitely see a case where the person we're trying to exonerate is actually TOTALLY guilty of the crime.

By the way... I once mused that I didn't think Shinigami's "ghost/spirit" design was very distinctive. But after playing the game, I totally embrace it and accept it now. Even though my partner kept calling her "Dollar-Store Gengar," there's a certain genius to her design. She couldn't be too visually distracting if she was going to be flying all over the screen for the sake of quick gags while accompanying you, so making her both a relatively simple design as well as primarily transparent was VERY wise. And purple has come to be associated with notions of poisonous presences and/or ghostly appearances pretty heavily in the past 30+/- years. Very clever.

Another unanswered question: What's with the animal ears on Zilch Alexander and the angrily aggressive nun? They twitch like they're alive! Are these people some kind of human/animal hybrid? Or, wait... since Zilch wears a hat and the nun wears a habit, is this just a little bonus feature of their headgear? Battery-operated fake ears? Whatever the case, Yuma clearly didn't think it was worthy of noting or mentioning, so it must be a fairly common sight in the future.

I predicted "Makoto looks exactly like Yuma under the mask bc of the homunculus experiments" VERY early. Like, literally when I first met Makoto at the start of Chapter 3, I was already there, LOL. But from that moment, I always thought the twist would be that Yuma was the homunculus-copy and Makoto was the original version of him. So I got that backwards. And I definitely didn't think Yuma would wind up being Number One or turn out to have identity-swapped with a minor background character. That was TOTALLY left-field shit for me.

On that same topic... when Chapter 5 began, I was so EPICALLY disappointed. Like, after all the teases about homunculi and what that terminology implies, we get... zombies. Just fuckin' ZOMBIES. The most overdone thing in video games for the past 20 years now!! But as the chapter continued on and the truth about the city became obvious to me, I was really excited by the reveals. I knew something was off about the "meat bun" obsession, but I had no idea where the hell this was going. I mean, why WOULD I? "Homunculus" has never before meant "zombie" :P And of course I had ZERO idea that everyone in town was actually a homunculus replacement for a dead citizen until the game started dropping those HARD hints during the Chapter 5 investigation.

How amazing was that "pink blood" twist in Chapter 5? Brilliant little meta-mystery that really fucked with DR fans' beliefs and expectations. BRILLIANT, I tell you!

One thing that sadly fell flat for me about the conclusion was exactly WHY Yuma went from "I give up, Makoto is right, I need to let him win" over to "NO! I must FIGHT BACK and expose the TRUTH!" It kind of felt like the only reason he did the latter was because Shinigami really wanted him to and was sad that he was giving up, and Yuma clearly cares about Shinigami by then, so he just.... goes on with it. Is it because he realized in that moment that he could successfully expose the truth AND still make everyone happy? Because how the FUCK could he have known how that'd turn out?!? Especially after Chapter 2's conclusion, Yuma had no reason to believe that exposing the truth was going to always be a good thing for everybody. ... Personally, I thought they really needed to make Yuma a lot angrier about Makoto grinding up criminals for meat. That mass-murder would've been a GREAT reason for him to get up and fight back, and it would've made a lot more clear sense as a reason for him to keep going than some vague desire for an idealized world that has every fucking reason to NEVER work in practice. I just... I don't get it.

Back to positive stuff: Chapter 4's murder mystery is one of the best Kodaka has ever put together. Just... no notes, great job, loved it.

I wonder if Vivia really is immortal somehow. The possibility isn't ever strictly denied when it's brought up...

Desuhiko has to be my least favorite of the Other Detectives/Temporary Partners. He's such a damn tool. :P

I hope they eventually give us some DLC or other side modes that let us learn more about the lost Chapter 0 detectives. They have/had so much potential to run deep. I'd be down to play a "Danganronpa S"-style side story that runs like a simplistic board game if it means we'll get more info on them.

[pale-cheezit]

Long post!!! Personal story- do you think this guy was being creepy or friendly??? Do you think he had any fucked up intentions???

So i have this seasonal job i work for the city every year during winter where i just sit and supervise the warming houses for the ice rinks at some of the parks around the city. It pays well and i dont have to do much and its a nice way to bring in extra money. Im usually working at nights until around 8 p.m (it gets dark around 5 this time of year) and often times, theres no skaters around, especially once it gets later into my shift. So im usually alone and theres not a lot of people hanging out at parks during this time of year. Ive always made sure to do all i can to stay safe and have pepper spray and shit on me. Ive had a few people say weird shit to me and had to kick kids out for being loud assholes when theres little kids and families around, but never anything alarming. The last year i worked this job was before the pandemic started and i think it was like one of my last shifts before it started getting too warm out and i had one alarming, red flag situation happen. BUT i still dont know to this day if it was a guy being friendly or being creepy. It was around 7 at night and i was alone and these 2 guys, probably late 20s, early 30s came in and they were normal and said hi to me and then went about getting their skates on and they went and played hockey for a bit. When they came in to get their stuff put away, one of the guys started asking me questions. He started asking fairly normal things like "so you get paid to just sit there?" And "how long are your shifts usually?" Which is stuff i get asked pretty regularly while working because people are surprised that the city actually pays someone to literally just sit there and supervise the building. Anyways, this warming house had like 2 rooms- with a sort of half wall in between. I was on one side and he was on the other so i couldnt see his face or anything during the conversation. So he starts asking me more questions like "are you usually alone when you work? Do your friends come to hang out with you?" "What times are your shifts?" "What time do you close?" "Do you always close at 8 p.m?" Yeah....very sketchy questions. So at this point, my brains going RED FLAG RED FLAG WHAT THE FUCK WHY IS HE ASKING ME THIS STUFF IS HE BEING FRIENDLY OR IS HE TRYING TO DETERMINE IF HE CAN COME BACK AND RAPE ME??? Sounds paranoid typed out like that but im a woman alone and unarmed in a fairly vulnerable situation, so yes my mind is gonna go there. So i immediately started lying and saying shit like "oh yeah, my friends are almost always coming to hang out. Im usually never alone like this. My boss comes to check on me all the time." Just trying to signal to this man as much as i can that im not completely alone and vulnerable. Eventually they left cause i dont think he was gonna try anything with his friend with him (thank god) but yeah, as soon as they left, it was still like 30 mins till the end of my shift but i packed everything away as quickly as i could and just got the fuck out of there. Because he knew what time my shift ended and i had no idea what was going through that guys mind and why he was asking me those creepy questions. I knew my boss would tell me to leave right away and that id be justified in doing so. Hes always very protective of the girls that work this job at empty parks at night like that and never wants us to feel unsafe or anything like that. Even if that guy had no weird intentions at all, i know i made a good choice in leaving right away and i would do it again in an instant if that happened to me again just cuz i trust my instincts and better safe than sorry and all that. So yeah, if anyones actually reading this, what do you think? Do you think this man was being "friendly" or do you think I was possibly in danger that night and he was actually fishing to see if he could come back and get to me?

[cuquitalocita]

a secret valentine- percabeth

AN: hi! yes, hello, i haven’t written in a HOT MINUTE but today i put on a timer for half an hour and forced myself to write so here are the results! happy valentine’s day everyone and i hope you enjoy this little bit of percabeth fluff! also! a shoutout to the people who are also single but more importantly shout out to my favorite human being in the ENTIRE WORLD @alaenawrites​ i HIGHLY?? recommend following her?? thanks for beta reading it and... yeah... i love you so please enjoy!

Part Two

~~

“Gods, isn’t that enough?” Annabeth shot a venomous look at the boy next to her who now held a massive pile of books for her. She had just stacked on another one and he glared at it in disgust as Annabeth ran her fingers along the spines of the remaining books on the shelf.

“If you have an issue Jackson, feel free to leave,” she snapped, knowing he wouldn’t because of their group of friends who were wandering around them through the book store. Jason had convinced Percy to hold her books for her as she shopped, saying something about getting on her good side and Annabeth had merely snorted, muttering something about the chances of that happening. It had been an hour of annoying comments and him following her around the store while Annabeth picked specifically heavier books to shove into his arms one by one.

“A man can dream,” he muttered and Annabeth rolled her eyes as Piper watched them. Piper opened her mouth to say something when both her and Percy looked up at her, their matching glares directed for each other but instead being projected onto their innocent immediately had her snapping her mouth shut.

“You know what? Never mind. Jase!” she called to her boyfriend who was sitting in one of the comfortable looking chairs at the front of the store. He pushed his glasses back up his well shaped nose as he looked up at his girlfriend, a charming smile beginning to bloom on his face. He stood up and Annabeth swore his massive frame cast a shadow over her books. 

“Ready to go ladies?” he asked and the girls nodded, heading over to the register, Percy trailing behind them. 

“Got enough books Chase? Or have you not gone broke just yet?” Annabeth stiffened and rolled her eyes although he couldn’t see her and spun around with a glare, gray eyes flashing. He padded up next to her and dropped her books unceremoniously onto the counter for her to pay.  

“Got enough brain cells Jackson? Or have you wasted too many of them making stupid comments?” Percy Jackson only smirked back at her, a cold thing unlike what he gave most of their other friends. She hated admitting how attractive he was. Percy was easily handsome, with pretty golden skin and disheveled black hair. He opened his mouth, clearly ready to snap something back at her when another voice interrupted them.

“Chicos, chicos!” Leo came up behind Annabeth, throwing his arm around her shoulders with an easy grin. “Let’s not fight guys! It is almost Valentine’s day after all.” Annabeth resisted rolling her eyes at the mention of the ridiculous holiday and turned back to the register, ignoring the burning gaze of the blue-green eyes she knew were following her every move. 

“Speaking of,” Percy said, clearly no longer addressing her. “I better head back home. We’re finishing moving Mom’s stuff out of the apartment by tomorrow.” 

The group smiled at the mention of Sally Blofis, the newly married mother of their group and even Annabeth couldn’t hold back a twinge of her lips. She absolutely adored the woman. Annabeth guessed her adorable four year old daughter didn’t hurt either. Her son was a different story. 

“See you tomorrow though?” he asked to the group. Piper snorted.

“Nice try, Percy,” she laughed. “But tomorrow’s Valentine’s day so I’ll be stealing your boyfriend for the entire day.” Annabeth turned around in time for Percy to fake a pout and ignored what it made the butterflies in her stomach do. “So he’s off limits.” 

“I’ll be your valentine, Jackson. As long as you’re okay buying the chocolate,” Leo called over from where he was leaning on Annabeth. Percy rolled his eyes.

“Please. The only person stupid enough to be your valentine is you.” Annabeth laughed a little and Leo frowned, pushing himself off of her.

“I wouldn’t be laughing if I were you, Beth. Last I checked, you’re flying solo too.” Annabeth rolled her eyes and smacked Leo over the back of his head with a book.

“See if you can find where I care, Valdez,” she snapped back.

Piper snickered from across from them. “You and Percy should be valentine’s Annabeth, since you’re both single anyway.” If Annabeth had been drinking water, she would have spit it out all over her friends in shock. Piper could clearly tell and was doubled over laughing, clutching at her stomach where Jason held her by the waist, rolling his eyes fondly. 

“As if,” Percy cut her off from responding with a roll of his eyes. “She couldn’t take her nose out of a book long enough to give me the time of day.”

“And he couldn’t get his head out of his ass long enough to listen to a thing I say,” Annabeth added on, shooting the boy a glare that he gladly returned. 

“Don’t flatter yourself into thinking you’d say anything worth listening to Chase,” he sneered and Annabeth shoved one of her books back into her bag. 

“Don’t you have some movers to go annoy? I’m sure they’d appreciate your company much more than we do,” Annabeth snapped back. They held fiery eye contact for the next couple of seconds before Leo cleared his throat awkwardly. 

“On that note,” he laughed nervously. “We should probably go meet Frank and Hazel at the cafe.” Percy muttered something about no longer wanting to be in a room with ‘that know-it-all blonde’ and exited the book store, not looking back. 

Annabeth glared at her boots as Piper came to stand next to her.

“You could try to get along with him you know. It’s been years of this, and it’s seriously starting to get bad.” Annabeth straightened her shoulders and looked her friend in the face, her eyes blazing with determination. 

“The day I get along with Percy Jackson is the day I die.”

~~

Annabeth had just finished pinning her hair up with the owl pendant she had been gifted for her birthday last year when she heard a knock at her door. The cheap apartment she had rented for her stay during college was sketchy to say the least, and she could hear the knock all the way from her room. She didn’t know who would be coming to her house on Valentine’s day. Wasn’t everyone with their person? Glancing at the bathroom light that was still on she walked to the living room, smoothing her hands over her white jeans as she walked. 

She swung the door open to see none other than her best friend, flowers and pints of ice cream in tow.

“Piper?” Annabeth asked incredulity. “What are you doing here?” Piper rolled her eyes and let herself in.

“Please, Annabeth. You’re much too smart not to know what I’m doing here.” She stopped at her couch and sat down, her eyed twinkling with mischief. “Jason and I decided that we could push our dinner back to next week, considering he’s busy studying for midterms right now anyway, and you said you were gonna be alone this Valentine’s day, so I figured we’d make it Galentine’s day.” 

She smiled and something inside of her warmed at the gesture her friend had made for her. Another part of her blared red flashing lights. 

“Pipes, thank you so much but you really didn’t have to do that,” she reasoned, hoping the nice words would convince her friend to get her ass off of the couch and leave. “I’m not feeling too good anyway and I think I might be coming down with something. You should go before you catch it,” she smiled. “Maybe there’s still time to find Jase and go to dinner.” 

Piper shook her head, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV. “Come on Annabeth, I think your pride can take this one. You’ve been alone on Valentine’s day before and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. So what do you think? The Notebook or Message in a Bottle? You should change too,” she added, glancing at Annabeth’s fancy jeans and pretty gray top. She hoped Piper hadn’t noticed the extra makeup she had on that she usually forgoes.

Her heart pounded in her ears and Annabeth tried once more what she knew was impossible.

“Pipes, I really think that-”

“Hey Wise Girl? What time is our reserva...” Annabeth’s eyes slammed shut in defeat as the voice carried out from her bedroom and her shirtless boyfriend walked out to the living room, his sentence trailing off as he took in the girl on the couch. His green eyes widened in shock and his mouth formed a perfectly shocked ‘o’ shape. Annabeth mirrored the sentiment. They were screwed.

Piper was off of the couch in a flash her eyes wider than she had ever seen them and Annabeth pondered exactly what was going through her best friend’s head. She clearly decided to say the first thing that came to her mind.

“Bullshit.” 

Percy burst out a laugh and Annabeth glared at him, effectively shutting him up for the time being. He ran out of the room and came back seconds later, now wearing a shirt.

“Before you say anything,” Annabeth started. “Let us explain.”

“Explain what exactly?” Piper cut her off. “How you’ve been dating the boy you’ve been claiming to hate for the past seven years? Or how you’re a much better actress than we give you credit for?” Annabeth winced at the statement but Percy was there in an instant, his arm wrapping itself around her waist in a comforting hold.

“Easy Pipes,” his voice was a warning and Annabeth squeezed the hand that rested on her waist, shooting the boy next to her a thankful look. He only pressed his lips to her temple in response and Annabeth melted a little bit.

Piper caught the act, her eyes widening even more somehow. “Damn. So this is real?” The two nodded and Percy’s hand squeezed her waist a little bit. Annabeth gazed at her friend warily, her nerves dissipating when Piper’s face broke into a massive grin. 

“You know what this means?” Percy had dropped his head to Annabeth’s shoulder and was playing with one of her curls.

“I can finally stop pretending to hate my girlfriend?” he asked into Annabeth’s neck and she laughed as his wild hair tickled her. She kissed his cheek and turned back to Piper, who’s grin was now positively victorious. 

“No,” she replied, reaching for her phone and dialing a number, her smile never leaving her face. “It means Valdez owes me fifty bucks.”

~~

“Person A doesn’t know Person B and Person C are together until Person C walks into Person B’s room on Valentine’s Day without knocking.”

~~

that’s it. also can someone please give me prompts cause i wanna try to write more :)

[leossmoonn]

chemistry part thirteen

part twelve | part fourteen | masterlist

zuko x fem!reader

avatar: the last airbender

includes - you, zuko, suki, katara, toph, sokka, and aang

special appearances by - iroh, azula, and appa

warnings - mild language , makeout scene

you put your phone in your purse, getting up to go to the bathroom. you washed your hands and looked at your makeup and outfit for the 100th time.

your makeup was pretty minimal. well, it looked minimal. you did a very natural look with winged eyeliner and a red lip. since it was cold and zuko had told you to dress warm, you had wrapped up in warm, but cute clothes.

you had put on solid black jeans, a black belt, a red turtleneck sweater, a red scarf, and a coat. you had paired the outfit with black, one-inch heeled boots and curled hair. you were wearing a gold necklace that katara had given you a long time ago, and the charm bracelet that zuko had given you yesterday.

you hoped he liked your outfit. you’d never been on a real date before that didn’t consist of friends being with you. you were nervous, to say the least.

a knock sounded at the door, making your heart race and palms sweat.

“time to shine,” you muttered to yourself as you walked to the door.

you swung the door open, smiling once you met zuko’s smiling face. you took a look over his own outfit.

he was wearing jeans, a dark-blue sweater, a black coat, and black boots. you noticed silver rings on every other finger on his hands, and a silver chain around his neck. they made him ten times more attractive. his hair was fluffy and looked soft, going down past his eyes, covering up most of his scar.

“you look beautiful,” were the first words he spoke to you.

a light blush arised on the tip of your ears and cheekbones. you put your head down, smiling shyly. “thank you. you look really handsome.”

zuko smiled brightly at you, thinking how cute you were when you got shy. “thank you. are you ready to go?” he asked, holding out his hand for you to take.

you looked up at him, a big smile sitting in your red lip. “yep,” you said and took his hand.

goosebumps ran up your arm at the skin contact. you felt all warm and tingly. a feeling you only felt when you were with him.

you closed the door, locking it and heading out to his car. you got in the passenger’s seat, sighing happily as you and zuko made eye contact once again. you couldn’t help but get lost in his ember eyes, they were so pretty.

“so, where are you going?” you asked.

“um, somewhere not warm,” zuko answered, starting the car.

“hm, gonna keep it a secret from me? this isn’t a good way to start a relationship,” you joked.

zuko chuckled, “i think you’ll like it.”

“me, too,” you smiled.

as he drove, you two talked about the rest of your plans for christmas break. you were planning on heading back up to see your parents for the rest of the break, and he was planning on having a new year’s party with his family. he had invited you, to which you had happily accepted.

“you sure it won’t interfere with your family plans?” zuko asked.

“nope. i usually come back here a day before new year’s eve because the girls and i also plan a party,” you reassured him.

“ah, i see. well, good. are you girls still planning a party?” zuko asked.

“hm, probably not. and if they do, they’ll just have to have to without me because i’ll be at a much cooler party,” you chuckled.

“yes, you will,” zuko smiled.

you hummed, your hand making its way to his subconsciously. his hand was on the gear shift, per usual. you set your hand on his, liking the warmth that he provided.

zuko smiled at your gesture, happy that you two have grown close and were comfortable enough with each other to do those types of things. he loved feeling your skin on his. whether it was with hand-holding, cuddling, or kissing - which you two hadn’t done yet, but he had thought about it many times.

he drove for another 10 minutes, finally arriving at the date place.

“you brought me to a dark parking lot?” you chuckled.

zuko sighed, “yeah, i know i look sketchy right now, but i promise you’re safe.”

you smiled, “i know, don’t worry. i feel most safe with you, anyways.”

those words made zuko’s heart flutter. every guy liked hearing that they made a girl feel safe, especially when it was a girl who the guy had been crushing on hard for almost 3 months, which was you for him.

“i’m glad,” zuko said and got out of the car. you followed in his suit, seeing him go to the trunk of his car. he pulled out a small picnic basket.

“a picnic in december?” you asked.

zuko shrugged sheepishly, “aang said this was a cute idea. plus, we aren’t staying here.”

“alright. well, lead the way,” you smiled.

he nodded and slid his hand into yours, intertwining your fingers. you walked close to him, puting your head on his shoulder. you were grateful he radiated heat, otherwise you would be freezing.

you two stopped in front of a bunch of trees. zuko turned to you.

“close your eyes for me, okay?” he asked.

you nodded shutting your eyes tight. zuko put his arms around you, your body stiffening from his touch, but almost immediately relaxing. zuko walked you forward slowly. you were nervous, but extremely excited. you couldn’t wait for what zuko had planned.

“alright, open your eyes,” zuko said softly.

you opened your eyes slowly, the cold air hitting them immediately. your jaw fell as you saw a beautiful scene in front of you.

zuko had taken you to a light show. it was in a part of the city where they would put up all types of christmas lights in the shape of a tree, abominable snowman, snow, stars, snowmen, children ice skating, etc. you remembered your parents would take you here when you were a little girl and drive around so you could see the lights. it was one of the most fondest memories you had of your childhood, and now, you were spending it with the greatest guy on earth.

“do you like it?” zuko asked.

you looked at him, smiling. “i love it. how did you know about this place?”

“aang told me you loved this place as a kid, and that you hadn’t been to it in a while. i thought it would be nice to take you here for our first date,” zuko said.

“i love it, thank you. this is such a cute date idea. you are perfect,” you said.

“thank you. let’s sit at the gazebo,” zuko said, pointing to the building across from you. you nodded excitedly, taking his hand in yours and running to it.

once you got to the gazebo, zuko set out the picnic blanket that he folded into the basket. he got the food he prepared, too. he had made noodles, egg tarts, jasmine tea, moon cakes, and roasted turtleduck.

“hm, smells so good. you made all this?” you asked, sitting down.

“yep,” zuko smiled proudly.

“wow, he’s romantic and cooks. what more can a girl want?” you teased

“i know,” zuko chuckled. “my mom and grandpa taught me how to cook.”

“that’s really cool. i can’t cook for shit. i swear, i always end up burning everything,” you laughed, cutting yourself a peice of the duck.

“i can teach you,” zuko suggested.

your mind immediately went to a cute, very romantic date where he would teach you two how to cook, then after when you got to desert, you two would go back into your bedroom.

“that sounds very fun,” you smiled.

“i think so, too,” zuko smiled, taking a sip of tea.

you two talked while eating. after you finished, zuko and you had decded to lay down and admire the lights.

you had cuddled into zuko’s side, his arm around you, holding you close. your head was on his chest, tucked under his chin. your legs were intertwined with his, too. you sighed contently, you couldn’t remember a time where you had felt this happy.

zuko looked down at you with a love-filled look. he pulled you to him impossibly closer. he couldn’t believe you were with him in this moment. after mai, he wasn’t sure he would really like or trust anyone else. but you made it easy. you were kind, funny, so sweet and smart. you didn’t try to act tough like mai, and you definitely were not afraid of showing your feelings. you also had good intentions. you were the perfect girl for him.

“thank you for taking me out tonight. i’ve had lots of fun,” you said, sitting up and looking into his eyes.

“me, too. i’ve been wanting to ask you out for a while,” zuko said.

“well, i’m glad it happened when it did,” you smiled.

“me, too,” zuko said.

you looked at his face, not being able to stop yourself from staring down at his lips. he noticed this and put his hand up to your cheek, running his thumb slowly along your skin. his rings felt cold, but good against your face. his eyes traveled down to your lips as well, going back up to your eyes for permission. you looked back up to his eyes, leaning forward.

you weren’t sure what was happening. well, you did, but your heart was racing a mile a minute. the way his thumb was rubbing against your skin had your stomach knot up. the fact that there was barely any space between you and him made your mind a little foggy, and made you figet with your thighs.

“i’ve never kissed anyone before,” you said breathlessly.

“just go with your instinct,” zuko said, his other hand finding your waist, squeezing reassuringly.

you nodded, leaning in more. before you knew it, you two were kissing. you two took it slow, savoring the feeling. his lips were soft and very good at kissing. the way they moved with your’s, the fact that his lips fit perfectly with your’s, put butterflies in your stomach. you couldn’t think of another perfect moment.

for someone who hadn’t kissed anyone before, zuko thought you were amazing. your lips moved with his expertly, making him imagine fireworks shooting off in his brain. his hand on your waist pulled you impossibly closer, wanting to feel you right against him. you took the hint and swung your leg around his waist, climbing on top of him without breaking the kiss. your hands wrapped themsleves in his hair, pulling slightly.

zuko ran his tongue on your bottom lip. you opened your mouth almost immediately, taking in a shallow breath of air. your tongues clashed, you quietly moaning in response. zuko’s grip on your waist got tighter as you two fought for dominance while kissing.

it wasn’t too long before you had to pull away for hair. once you two did, big smiles rested on your faces. zuko admired the way you looked in the dim light. you hair was slightly messy from laying down and running your fingers through it. your cheeks were flushed and lips wet and a little swollen from kissing him. your lipstick was also smudged slightly.

“that was um... amazing,” you panted.

zuko took a deep breath, his going up to your hands. he intertwined each of your fingers together.

“wanna do it again?” he asked.

you giggled and leaned down, “definitely.”

————

note - hope you guys read and enjoy this as new parts are added! if you wanna be on the taglist, message me and/or reply to this post :))

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[shimmershae]

My thoughts on Episode 3--Hunted.

 Most of you lovelies already realize this, but my thoughts tend to zig and zag quite a bit, lol.  So.  To save some of you the headache and spare you from seeing spoilers you’d rather not see yet, I’m again placing them behind a cut.  

First things first.  I have totally turned into Yvette Nicole Brown with her TWD notebooks, lol, and I’m not even sorry.  I just felt like it would be fun to go back when the final episode is in the books and see how well my thoughts from these early episodes line up with what I’m feeling when we say our (not-so) final goodbyes.  

But that’s enough about that. Let’s get to this thing.  

It really is insane how very much I love Melissa McBride.  Just hearing her doing the previously on TWD recap voiceover makes me ridiculously happy.  

Cole!  Dude!  We hardly knew ya.  

Not gonna lie.  That first shot of Maggie in all the chaos reminded of a shirt I’ve seen.  It says--”Well, well, well.  If it isn’t the consequences of my actions.”  

I have to hand it to Angela and the rest of her team.  These opening scenes--on all 3 episodes--have been BOMB so far.  They really hook you in right away.  At least IMHO.  

I realize I’m behind the game on this little tidbit, but how much do I adore the fact that Dog is now in the opening credits?  

Okay.  Alexandria might look like it’s been on some kind of post-apocalyptic bender but all our girls are looking beautiful as ever.  Maybe it’s Maybelline, lol.  

I love to see Kelly and Carol still gravitating toward each other.  It really speaks to each woman’s heart.  Carol wants to make amends so badly and Kelly just has the most lovely, warm, forgiving heart.  

Carol’s point about Alexandria still needing the horses to help with the heavy lifting and pointing out the walls and rebuilding won’t matter quite as much if they’re limited by their  hunger and what they can physically lift on their own isn’t wrong.  But I’m sure the same viewers that were okay with Daryl and Co. going out on Maggie’s suicide mission (using the same reasoning) and saying it made sense for the bigger picture will pretend not to recognize that the same element is there in Carol’s desire to go out there and look for the horses.  You know.  Because it was Carol’s idea and not that of their fave(s).  

Aaron, Man.  Or maybe I should say Angela.   You just had to put a pit of dread in my belly mentioning Buttons like that.  RIP, Buttons.  You deserved better.  I’m still traumatized.  

Look at all the babies bonding.  Look at RJ getting to sit at the big kid table.  

“My mom always comes back.”  She damn well better.  Those babies need her.  Until she does, though, Uncle Daryl and Aunt Carol (and Aunt Rosita and everybody else) are going to be there.  

Anyway.  Poor RJ.  He barely ever gets any lines, lol.  

Hershel and Judith are obviously the mini-adults in this group and baby Rhee is already more cynical and jaded than his sweet daddy was until they reached Alexandria and the wheels started to come off.  

So.  Does Maggie just think everybody’s already dead here or what?  Hmm.  

You know.  Any building can be creepy AF when the lights are off and it’s dark, lol.  Any building.  

So much darkness so far this season.  I’m going to have to invest in some blackout curtains.  I just know it.  

Where are all those stairs leading?  Why am I thinking of Hitchcock?  Am I mixing up my scary, suspenseful movies?  Probably.  

Of fucking course, Maggie dropped her flashlight.  Thank goodness she had that lighter at the ready just before Ghost Face Reaper took a swipe at her.  

Is that Father G with a screwdriver impaled in his thigh?  Listen.  These people deserve a Mega Bottle of pain killers and a week just vegging out in a soft, luxurious bed.  

All these horror movie tropes.  Some of them are cheesy, yes.  But I’m totally here for it.  

LMAO.  That’s it, Maggie.  A good old punch in the nuts works every time.  

Alden really is having a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day.  

Negan is still Negan.  Self-serving and looking out for number one.  But I believe the man really does feel the group is his group too.  He’s like that long lost, sketchy uncle nobody wants to acknowledge much less invite to the dinner table, but that bond?  However thin?  Is there.  

I am both hating that Maggie is being forced to work with the man that murdered her husband (my baby Glenn) and finding it fascinating the lengths she’s willing to go to survive.  This your plan, Angela?  

Rosita and Carol!  How sad is it that the last really significant scene I can remember the two of these women sharing was way back?  Before Rick and Co. attacked Negan’s outpost and Maggie and Carol were subsequently taken?  If only the show had done more of these kind of scenes.  

How much do I love all the girls working together?  Gimps would never.  They’d all be stuck back at Alexandria minding the kids and the community.  

Shallow aside--Rosita is so pretty in this scene.  

Rosita being worried about Carol honestly makes my heart hurt, because it’s about damn time more of them actually did.  Her saying Abraham is trying to tell her something in her dreams is interesting.  Angela sure loves her dreams, doesn’t she?  

Where are Daryl’s dreams, hmm?  No.  Seriously.  I guess they want to give some viewers plausible deniability until the bitter end.  

“Really?  We’re just gonna go toward the screaming?  Cool.”  Hahaha.  You know.  Even the smart people in horror movies sometimes bite it, Negan.  Just saying.  Maggie really does need to “stop running up the staircase” when she could just run out the front door though, lol.  

Poor Duncan.  I think you could have been another Tyreese, Jerry type for me.  

WTF does this show have against horses?  Those poor creatures.  

Kelly is totally me right now.  I’d be freaking inconsolable.  

Carol needed that hug.  Thank you, Magna.  From the bottom of this tired fangirl’s heart, thank you.  

Why give us that beautiful, golden shot with the horses when you’re planning to stab us through the heart later and twist the knife.  Oh.  Yeah.  That’s exactly why.  

Oh snap!  Father G’s delivery when he tells that Reaper “I’m not.  God isn’t here anymore.”  Cold as ice.  

Judas.  That the Reapers’ work.  Or.  Damn.  Either way, that’s harsh.  

Back to what Alden was saying.  All these oprhaned children.  Who’s going to take on Adam if he dies?  That poor kid has had a rough go of it.  Knowing that, makes you wonder what Alden was thinking volunteering for the suicide mission.  

Omigosh.  There went Agatha.  Terrible way to go.  Right, Beatrice?  

I’m sobbing.  Carol with the horse.  That hurt my baby so much but she hurt herself for her family the same way she has been doing since the Prison.  Melissa Mcbride?  When she cries, I cry.  Every effin’ time.  Aaron being there just made it hurt more.  But at least someone was there to see how and really take in how she continues to break pieces of herself off to keep her family as whole and safe and happy as she can.  

Rewinding a minute--that Magna and Carol conversation.  I get Magna’s reasoning too.  I do.  But Angela is just making everything so dire right now so that the sun when Connie is ultimate found shines a ltitle brighter.  

Those babies know they’re eating horse.  I could never.  

That’s got to be a different Coco.  She’s even smaller.  But she’s gorgeous.  

Fucking finally.  Angela having the other characters notice after an eternity of being blind to it, just how much Carol sacrifices of herself for them.  It’s so long overdue and I imagine Rosita’s even more worried for Carol now.  It’s a shame it’s taken 11 seasons.  My baby’s had blood on her hands trying to keep her family safe and whole and happy and fed for a long damn time.  So heartbreaking watching her try to scrub the blood away.  

Sweet, sweet hug that Kelly gave Magna.  She’s such a sweetheart kid sis to all of them, isn’t she?  

Interesting place of refuge.  A gutted church.  A visual symbol, Angela, of where Maggie and the rest of our people are now perhaps?  

“It’s easy for you, isn’t it?  Being reckless with sombody’s life...”  Maggie.  Maggie.  Those words would have hit so much harder if we hadn’t spent the majority of the last 2.5 episodes watching you ignore sound advice just because it came out of the mouth of somebody you (justifiably) hate.  

But will Alden be there when Maggie and Negan get back?  That is the question.  Or will he eventually Lucille himself?  

That little bit of lineup Negan music to remind the audience of Negan lovers and sympathizers that he once took great pleasure in murderously swinging a bag at people’s heads was a nice, subtle touch there.  Like agree with her or not, Maggie  is literally left to rely  on the hope, however small it is, that Negan has changed just enough that he won’t try to finish a job he taken on years before--killing what’s left of her.  

Oh lawd.  Next episode sees the return of a character literally nobody asked for.  How excited am I not?  

Dog better not be harmed or so help me.  

Now for Angela’s weekly explanations of WTF she/there were thinking because they been doing this plausible deniability thing so long some people out there watching with biased, muddy stan glasses can no longer separate head canon from canon.  

Is Maggie worried at all about Daryl or does she just assume his superhero powers are in full effect in this episode?  

“You can’t really say it wasn’t going to happen anyway.”  Not Angela pointing out that simply laying the blame for literally everything bad that ever happens at Carol’s feet isn’t the answer.  Say it louder for those in the back.  Alpha was going to do what Alpha wanted to do.  

“There is love there.  There is respect there.  However, there’s also frustration...”  You damn skippy.  Friendships and human relationships are complex AF.  Like Carol. She’s honestly one of the most complicated characters on this show and any show, IMHO.  That’s what makes her so memorable and such a lightning rod for discussion.  

I know I might be in a minority, but I really feel like they need more of those little scenes between the kids to keep things real.  

Kang saying she always feels like she’s going to get murdered in a staircase or parking lot is relatable, funny, and sad all at the same time.  It’s a girl thing.  

Why is Carol’s story giving me Dark Knight vibes?  Like I feel like she’ll gladly shoulder the burden of their distrust, their hate, or their judgment as long as the hard choices she makes keeps them safe.  And she’s still ultimately going to come back to save their asses even when they forsake her.  Just like Bruce Wayne/Batman.  Am I reaching too far, lol?  Because sometimes I do that.  

Anyway.  This is the third episode of the season and the third episode in a row that I mostly enjoyed.  I don’t know if I’m just so relieved and happy to have all the characters and my show back or what, but overall?  I’ve been pleased with the episodes and found something to love in all of them.  

There’s a much stronger horror vibe woven throughout Season 11 so far.  I feel like it’s a return to the roots of the show and I like that.  Literally none of the characters are making perfect choices and this viewer is here for it.  My only complaint so far is there hasn’t been enough Carol but what we’ve been given has felt like a gift and significant in a way that Gimps’ version was not.  Also?  I really hope the trend of the ladies working together and supporting each other continues because they rule the TWD world, lol.  

Hope you enjoyed at least some of my TWD word vomit.  

Until next episode.  

[staywritten]

All In│Bang Chan «Chapter Thirteen» ◄Back «Masterlist» Next►

Chan had been staring at his ceiling for almost an hour. You soundly napping in his arms, unknowing of the emotional turmoil he’d been dealing with since his talk with Felix. He’d been racking his brain on how to tell you, but there wasn’t anyway to put it without it sounding sketchy. The two of you kinda just fell into this perfect rhythm and he didn’t want to disrupt it. You were everything he’d ever wanted. He’d never been able to open up, and feel so comfortable before. Sure, he had his friends and he could tell them anything, but he was always the big brother. He never wanted to burden them. But with you he didn’t feel that weight. You welcomed everything with open arms. 

He smiled seeing you pout in your sleep. You still had another thirty minutes set on your alarm. He brushed your hair out of your face, placing a tender kiss on your forehead.You relaxed almost instantly to his touch, cuddling into his chest. 

He waited a couple more minutes to make sure you were comfortable before quietly slipping out and heading to Felix’s room. 

“What’s up Man?” Felix opened his door letting him in.

“Can I vent? I think I just need to talk it out first.” Felix could tell just how disheveled Chan was. He just looked so mentally exhausted. Felix sat on his bed watching Chan pace. “I don’t want to hurt her… I’m terrified of hurting her”

“Then don’t. Just be honest”

“Honest? If I’m honest I’ll lose her...and I don’t want to lose her Felix I think I’m in love and I don’t want to let it go”

“Noona is understanding, and she loves you too I can tell. Friends don’t look at each other like that” he chuckled “I mean I love you, but I’ve never stared at you the way she does.”

“Felix I’m serious.” he groaned “If she asks me about Rosie what am I supposed to tell her? Hey this is Rosie, technically my long distance girlfriend but don’t worry we’ve been on a break for like three years but everytime I go back to Australia we always pick up where we left off, sleep together and go on dates and stuff. But we’re on a break” his tone sarcastic as he rolled his eyes, crossing his hands over his chest. 

“See! It’s that right there. Girlfriend. You need to call Rosie right now and break up properly, that way you don’t have to lie" He grabbed his phone, getting ready to call Rosie himself. “You can just break up and that way you don’t have to tell her anything because-”

Chan watched as Felix’s eyes widened, trained on the door behind him. It’s like he knew before he even turned around. His shoulders slumped in guilt before his eyes met yours. “I-”

“...You have a girlfriend…?” your voice breaking, tears already spilling from your eyes. “I was so stupid…” you shrinked back, you couldn’t even look at him. “A girlfriend…” you sniffled, wiping the tears furiously from your eyes.

“It’s not…” he reached out, his body reacting before he could even form a sentence. “Baby please...”

“Don’t touch me!” you stepped back immediately, hugging yourself. 

“I never meant to hurt you” his eyes widened, panicked. He knew he was losing you and he didn’t know what to do. “Please… just let me explain everything and… I know you hate me right now but-” 

It was like suddenly you were in your sophomore year again in the same toxic cheating relationship. All of your anxieties about opening up, trusting someone, loving someone. It all came rushing at you. Suddenly you were that same, weak, naive sophomore that let a guy manipulate you. All of your insecurities about Rosie that your friends tried to brush off, were justified. 

Your body stiffened, Chan reached for your cheek to wipe your tears away. “I’m so sorry”

“I said don’t touch me!” you pushed him back keeping your distance. 

“Baby please…” he held his hands up, approaching you slowly; Like you were some frightened animal. “Let me explain...I-” 

Your body panicked, your anxiety rising. Your fight or flight instinct kicked in. You felt cornered, heart broken, deceived. You bolted down the hall, not even bothering to grab your things. You shoved your foot in your sneakers, stepped on the backs of them and ran down the stairs from the apartment building. 

The cold night air hitting you hard in your thin t-shirt and sweatpants. There was almost an immediate regret once you got down to the main street. You regretted not wearing a sweater, you regretted not grabbing your phone first, you regretted being in an area that wasn’t within walking distance from your house, and most importantly you regretted ever giving another person your heart. 

You ran at full speed for as long as your legs could manage, your lungs screaming for a break, your feet in pain from the rubbing of the sneakers on your bare foot. But you couldn’t stop because stopping would mean thinking. 

As long as your body was in some sort of visceral response mode, crying and overthinking became second priority. 

“Chan you gotta give her some space” Felix grabbed him, stopping him from going after you. 

“I can’t! Felix she’s crying and out there in the middle of the night! She doesn’t have her phone- I-I gotta go find her!”

“Hyung! You’re the last person she wants to see right now. If you find her she’s gonna run again.” he took his keys. “I’ll go find her. You stay here in case for some miracle she comes back.” he ordered before heading out. 

It was rare that Felix ever took initiative like that but Chan was falling apart. 

He drove down the block, looking for you, the only good thing about the whole situation was that they lived in a rather nice area, it was well lit and close to the college so you should be familiar with it, but it was still dangerous for you to be out there alone. 

Felix drove the entire path from his apartment to yours, even stopping at a few shops along the way. But still nothing. Chan was blowing up his phone wondering about an update, but there was nothing to tell him. He couldn’t find you. After driving back and forth twice he was starting to worry. But he needed to hold it together because if he panicked Chan was definitely going to lose it. 

Somewhere along the way you’d gotten lost, it was bound to happen. It wasn’t like it was a straight shot from North to South campus, and you weren’t even thinking straight. It just hit you how alone you really were. It wasn’t like you had anyone's number memorized, you didn’t even know where you were. You couldn’t even remember the last business you saw, the few you passed were closed for the night. This was as good as it was gonna get, because your legs couldn’t manage a step further. You finally stopped running and collapsed to the ground of what looked to be a park. At least it was decently lit. You hugged your knees panting heavily,, your legs exhausted from the sudden sprint.

Was this your fault? The only reason you got up early from your nap was because Chan wasn’t there. Maybe you should have just stayed asleep. Living in this warm, blissful ignorance, slowly falling more in love with something you knew was too good to be true. You scoffed, sniffling into your t-shirt. Your heart was filled with regret, because deep down you convinced yourself that you didn’t get happy endings, at least not in love.

Felix drove to your apartment once more. It’d been over an hour since he started looking for you. Even if you walked straight home, you should have made it there by now. He hesitantly knocked on the door. 

A very groggy Momo opened the door, yawning and wiping the sleep from her eyes. “Felix? What in the world? It’s like 1am I have practice tomorrow morning.” 

He nervously looked up at her. “I...Is yn-Noona home?”

“What? No, she’s at your place” she laughed at the silly question before reading his face. “Wait...Why? Where is she?” the worry was rising on her face.

“She...Kinda got upset at Hyung and ran out...she left her phone and stuff at the house…”

“What?! She left your house on foot? Felix! When? I- What did he do to her!?”

“I’ve been looking for her for like an hour.” His shoulders slumped “Momo, focus here, I’ll tell you that later but we gotta find her I’m getting worried…”

“An hour?!” She grabbed her purse and phone to call Hyunjin “Drive me back toward Chan’s house, I’m getting her stuff. And tell me every single thing that happened.”

Felix and Chan called everyone they could gather to go and help look for you. It was still too early to file any form of police report, especially being that you left willingly, and it’d only been a few hours but they called just in case. 

Chan paced back and forth, he’d had to explain the situation more times than he could count, and there was never a gentle way to put it. He fucked up. He completely and wholeheartedly fucked up. The whole swim team and anyone else he could gather was out looking for you, and all he could do was wait.

Momo walked inside the apartment to get your things. Walking passed Chan without a second look. She grabbed your phone, books and bag packing them up in a furious silence. “Momo I’m so-”

“Save it.” she glared at him. “My best friend is missing because you cheated on her. And if ANYTHING happens to her I swear-”

“I deserve it…” his head hung low. “This is my fault… I.. I should have…”

She gripped her small hands, almost shaking before taking a deep breath “I don’t give a shit about this pity party you’re throwing yourself. This whole woe is me, this is all my fault, I deserve this self hate thing, it’s a little pathetic given the situation. My friend is missing. Our friends are out there looking for her in the middle of the night, and you are doing nothing”

“She doesn’t want to see me”

“You pick a hell of a time to start being considerate for her, where was this when you forgot to tell her you had a girlfriend.”

“Momo you don’t know the whole story”

“And I don’t care to! You are full of excuses!” She let out a breath, visibly shaking. “You know-It doesn’t matter. There’s plenty you could be doing. You could be calling places, calling people, getting out there and looking for her anyway. Yes, it’s your fault. But it’s also mine, I should have never encouraged her to talk to you. I should have never said you’d be different and that you were a nice guy. But I’ll have plenty of time to blame myself after we find my best friend and that she’s home safe.” She rolled her eyes “But hey, if you wanna throw your pity party help yourself. But I’m gonna go find my friend” she grabbed your bag before leaving his apartment. 

Chan knew Momo was right, he was falling apart from the guilt. It was like everything he feared was coming true and he felt helpless. He just wanted you to be safe. He took a deep breath. 

To Be Continued…

Hi friends! （ﾉ´д｀）I’m sorry, I had to plot ;_; 

All In│Bang Chan «Chapter Thirteen»

Synopsis: After a messy break up your sophomore year, you decided that the best thing for you was to finish off your college career single. You wanted to focus on yourself, grow as a person and finish off your degree strong. There’d be plenty of time for love after college. But after losing your camera you become friends with the seemingly perfect boy that threatens to ruin your plans.

Genre: SocialMedia!AU, College!AU, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Smut

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[shuwuwua]

with you [mark]

in which anywhere is fine, with him. [friendship/romance/fluff]

word count: 2k

“dude, let’s go outside. i’m going crazy,” mark announces as his busts into your room which may as well be his room from all the times he doesn’t bother to knock. quarantine had you two, like many other people, cooped up at home. while you didn’t mind the downtime, you have to agree with his sentiment. you’d seen too much of your tiny apartment in the past half year. you wonder if you’ve seen too much of each other in the process.

you look up from your phone. “do you actually want to hang out with me or do you just need me to drive because you can’t?” 

mark scoffs in mock hurt. “don’t ask me stupid questions.”

you weren’t actually going to deny his request, in the end. there’s not much you wouldn’t do for him, but you’re never going to let him know. you roll off of your bed, glance at yourself in the mirror to make sure you don’t look too unacceptable, and grab your keys. you two make it all the way down to the parking lot and in the car before you think to ask, “where are we going?”

mark fumbles with the seatbelt. “literally anywhere. just go. i’ll tell you if i see something.” you roll your eyes but smile a bit to yourself. he never has a plan. but you trust his gut, so you start the ignition.

you two don’t live right in the city, it’s a bit of a ways out. you’re familiar enough with the few coffee shops and shopping centers nearby, but you won’t be stopping in to those today. seems like this late afternoon is going to be a time for exploring. you head towards the city. on the drive up, mark rambles over the hum of the car about some class stuff, some total nonsense, as he usually does. he's the talker in this friendship. sometimes you bicker with him, most of the time you just listen, because you love everything he has to say. everything that funny little noggin comes up with. 

“... like, they’re so cute, oh my god dude do you think we should get one? does our apartment allow—wait, turn here,” he cuts himself off suddenly. you lift the blinker to turn. “why, is something down here?” you ask. “no, i just... i have a good feeling about this right turn.” you snort. “yeah, ok.”

a few minutes later, he decides to turn right again. then left. “mark, you better remember all these turns.”

“don’t worry, i’ve got it. i’m a natural at directions.” (no he wasn’t, but it’s fine, you’ll GPS the way back.) 

eventually, it seems you have made it to the edge of the city, but a side neither of you have seen before. by some miracle, you manage to find free parking. (albeit in a sketchy location, but something tells you towing management has long forgotten this area) the sun sits lower than it did when you left home, colors deepening into an warm pink and orange. sunset doesn’t seem far off. mark takes note of that. “let’s find a roof and watch the sky.”

“couldn’t we have done that at home?”

“i don’t know, something about being lost when the sun is going down in the city hits different.”

“oh, so you are planning to get us lost?”

mark gives you that cheeky grin of his. “i never plan for it, but even if it happens i’m not worried. we’ll find our way.” you believe him. he’d never actually put you two in crazy danger.

you two head off, commenting on the displays of the small shops that are closing. the outskirts of the city have a personality you can’t put a name to. quirky? unseen? the center of the city has urban outfitters or whatever, but here where the sidewalk is cracked and the brick is several decades old, the shops look timeless. there would always be a time and place for antique toys and custom stationery.

“yo, let’s come back here during the day. i need to see you wear that hat.” he points to some white, lacy monstrosity.

“i’d look so stupid.”

“that’s the point.” you shove him lightly. “i’m joking. i think you’d look cute.” he says things like that sometimes. you can’t ever tell if it’s just because you two are best friends and have that level of honesty with each other, or something else. you have never allowed yourself contemplate the latter possibility. 

you pass a few more blocks before finding a parking garage. you regret not parking here, but it’s okay. the walk was nice. it’s not the tallest structure in the city, but it’s tall enough to have a nice view. you two take the elevator to the top.

“damn, it’s windy up here,” mark says once you step out. the setting sun seems brighter, more intense here. you glance over at him. it was indeed windy, the breeze tousling his bangs and exposing his forehead. he squints as he scans the area for a good place to sit. it should make him look silly, but you should realize by now you’re whipped for him, because all you notice is how prettily the sun highlights his cheeks.

“over there!” you’re jolted from your thoughts as he turns to face you. his eyes glow, a warm brown that shapes into crescents as he smiles. he grabs onto your sleeve and pulls you to sit on the ledge. it’s wide enough to stretch your legs out, but you’re thankful for the short railing. during construction had they considered activities like looking off at the sun from this ledge?

the two of you settle yourselves, sitting thigh to thigh and leaning forward onto the railing. it’s getting a little chilly, but his leg is warm. tints of blue have joined the pinks and oranges in the sky, sun continuing its descent onto the skyline.

you sit in comfortable silence, because even though it is mark, he’s not talking all the time. he knows how to appreciate the mood. still facing the sky, you glance over to mark at your side, and you admire how admiration looks on his own face as he looks out. he’s so in the moment. when he's focused, he develops a stillness that you’d never find from him any other time. when he’s focusing on work or studies, he has a furrow in his brow and his jaw is set, but in this stress-free sort of focus his features lack tension. his eyes are glazed over as his mind stirs with thoughts. he looks like he’s forgetting to breathe. (he probably is.) you poke him in the ribs. he turns to you slowly, raising a brow. 

“you must be thinking up a storm, you haven’t said anything for like ten minutes,” you say, leaning back onto your crossed arms and peering at him over the folds of your pullover. he smiles gently and mimics you, faces not far apart, eyes open wide enough to see into each other’s souls, if you so desire.

“hmm... i dunno, like...” he glances up in contemplation, minimizing his need to say “like” five times. but he can’t help letting out another one. “like... i’ve just been thinking about the future, i guess.” it’s your turn to raise a brow, prompting elaboration. 

“you know, like, after we graduate, what's life going to be like? i probably won’t be able to talk to all of the other guys like i do now.” pre-quarantine, he had a pretty hefty friend group he would hang out with, some he was closer to than others but he still really loved them all. some of them would still come over nowadays, but he has a point that things would be different in the real world. “i know we care about each other, but i noticed when you get older you kinda have to focus more and more on yourself. so then... we’re not gonna be able to talk to each other as much. and maybe i’ll never see some of them again.” his mouth settles into something shy of a frown.

“whoa there, don’t be dramatic. whenever you get married—if you do—” he pouts at you and you grin. “—you can invite all of them to your wedding, you can look forward to that at least.”

“haha, yeah i guess. well, i mean, i know i’ll get over it once the time actually comes. life moves faster than we do, you know? so it’s ok, i’m just overthinking.”

“damn, you sound so profound today.”

“thank you, i know it’s rare.” even though he doesn’t share his serious thoughts too often, you know underneath the rambles and high energy, he’s so intentional about everything in his life. you’re grateful to be part of it.

you move one of your arms out from under your head to fumble with the cuff of your sleeve, staring at your fingers as you ask, “what about us?”

“what do you mean?”

more fumbling. “i mean... do you think we’ll inevitably grow apart too?” a moment passes with only the fabric of your sleeve making noise. you look up to him to gauge his thoughts, only to find him staring at you. there it is, the set of the jaw. you blink, unable to hold his gaze. 

“what’d i say about not asking stupid questions?” you thought your question this time was valid. his eyes soften. “well, i mean. i can’t imagine life without you. you’re always there. you’re always here. i never even had to consider it... the idea of us growing apart. so... if we suddenly don’t talk anymore, it’s your fault, because i have no plans on doing that.” he’s so confident in the two of you. it was just you afraid that he didn’t feel the same way. how could you have doubted him? 

the sky’s more blue and black than orange now, but the sun is still there, a sliver that permeates the horizon. the light has receded from mark’s face, the remaining shadows contouring his small, prominent features. another breeze cuts through the air that has shifted from chilly to cold, and you put your hands together, sitting up.

mark covers your hands with his, straightening up to scoot even closer to you, which you didn’t realized was possible. he rubs his palms over your knuckles then brings your hands up and breathes warm air onto them. he touches you delicately, like something precious. he knows you’re not fragile, but he only wants to show you tenderness at the moment. his thumb swipes back and forth over your fingers as he seems to be lost in thought again. 

making up his mind, in the last light of the day, he lifts your hand to his lips and presses a kiss to it. warmth spreads from the point of contact all the way to your toes. you hope your face isn’t as red as it feels hot. mark lifts his head to meet your eyes. even though the sun’s down, his eyes glow. you could lose yourself in them. you can’t help smiling widely at him, joy overpowering your shock and the palpitating of your heart.

mark looks out over the railing. he holds your hands to his chest, to keep them warm, or maybe just to have you close to him. “well, i guess the show’s over. should we go home?”

“yeah, okay.” the two of you hop off the ledge, mark still firmly holding your hand and your other tucked away in your pocket. once you make it to the bottom of the parking garage, there are only a few streetlights on and ahead the sidewalk is mostly lit by the moonlight. standing under one of the streetlights, you look at your intertwined hands and steal another glance at mark. you think that he glows in sunlight, moonlight, streetlight, anywhere. he’s simply always alight. 

“how are we supposed to get back to the car now, mark? do you even remember the way back?”

mark laughs and puts up his hand not holding yours to your cheek. “it doesn’t matter, as long as i’m with you.”

[knight-ingale]

Chapter 2, Seeing the Rain

A/N: Hey guys, hope you like chapter two! I wanted to write more in this one chapter, but I don’t have the first book with me right now, and I reaaally want Jessica’s quotes accurate, so this will be all until sometime next month! ✧･��: *✧･ﾟ:*---~---~---~---~---~---~--- *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Despite the unfamiliar noise of rain and wind against the roof and walls of the house you had managed to fall asleep before midnight. You slept much more soundly than you thought you would. Then again, you were much better at adapting to the weather changes during your summer visits than Bella was. All that being said, you were still anxious for the oncoming day as you fell into slumber.

You woke up to the thick, misty fog clouding the world outside the cold pane of your window. It almost looked like the cloudy sky had descended onto the wet terrain of your new world.

Getting dressed was easy since you had set out your clothes the night before. The clothes you had picked were warm, or as warm as you could manage considering your meager wardrobe, and as inconspicuous as you could manage. You weren’t one to wear neon-bright colors to begin with, so it wasn’t difficult. Thinking as you dressed, you picked back up on your train of thought from last night. How much attention would you and Bella attract? Usually, you and your sister’s presence wasn’t something to worry about. The beginning of the year brought new students, no matter what school year was beginning or where. The schools in Phoenix were always crowded and bustling, so two new students wouldn’t turn any heads. But here? Things were drastically different from Arizona. Like Bella had said, everyone here had grown up together for generations. There was already a complex connection between families and social circles that had remained unchanged for years! You almost had to forcibly shake the thoughts from your head as you slipped on your shoes and grabbed your backpack to go downstairs.

You took the short staircase two steps at a time, landing softly at the bottom without falling over. Bella and Charlie were already sitting down at the square table in the kitchen when you got all the way down, both with a plate of fried eggs in front of them with another in the empty spot in between them. You sat down with a small smile and hello before picking up your fork eating in the continued quietness surrounding the three of you. Charlie finished his eggs and stood up from his seat to wash his plate. He turns around at the sink when he’s done to face you and Bella. 

“Well,” he says, “I hope you two have a good day at school.” You swallow your eggs and smile, 

“Thanks, Dad. Have a good day at work.” 

“Thanks, Dad,” Bella says. Despite her thanks, you knew she was less than optimistic. Charlie nods to you both before patting all his pockets and making sure he has everything before leaving. Once he’s out the door, you continue to eat your eggs. You and Bella finish quickly, but Bella decides to stay a little longer. You were already early enough, so you decided waiting a little longer wouldn’t be too bad. Bella sat at the table, peering into the living room as you got up to wash both your plates.

“You ready to go?” you ask, drying your hands off on a towel as you turn around to your sister. Bella breaks her gaze from the pictures on the fireplaces mantel and turns to you, 

“Yeah, let’s get going. Don’t want to be late on the first day, right?” Her smile is more of a grimace, but you laugh at her attempt at humor. You grab your bag from the wooden seat as Bella flicks off the kitchen light. She takes a deep breath before opening the door, swinging the barrier open to the drizzling skies outside. 

You stepped out to greet the chilly air first, walking out from the cover of the overhanging roof to look up at the downcast sky and the peaks of the tall trees. The light rain on your face was quickly waking you up, the wet air filling your air with rejuvenating energy. Once Bella had locked the door, she hurried her way past you to the truck, pulling you out of your moment. Bella hops in the truck before you get to your side, unlocking the door for you. You climb into your own seat and try to close the heavy door without slamming it, to not much avail. On the upside, the truck was clean on the inside! There were a few faint, mysterious stains on the carpet beneath your feet, but that was all. The inside also smelled nice, like fresh peppermint and a little bit of gasoline. Unfortunately, the truck did have one draw-back, and that would be the roaring engine that nearly made you jump out of your skin. Both you and Bella jumped in your seats, sharing a surprised look. 

“Well, a vehicle this old is bound to have a flaw, I guess,” Bella grumbles. You shrug and reach for the radio. To your delight, the practically ancient device was functional! You let the radio play quietly as Bella drives.

 A plus to living in a small town, it was pretty easy to find the school. Of course, it’s pretty easy to find since it was just off the highway like almost anything that wasn’t a residential area. The buildings were so vastly different from your school back in Arizona, you almost wouldn’t have recognized it as a school building if it weren’t for the sign. There were no chain-link fences around the property, no metal detectors, not a single cop car. Bella decided to park right in front of the first building labeled ‘Front Office’. You hop out of the passenger side easily, leaving the warmth of the cab for the misty air outside. Bella followed with much more reluctance than you to follow the little stone path up to the doors. You stop with her right before, watching her take an anxious breath before opening the door.

Inside the office was warm and cozy, dressed to be a little waiting room with ugly orange carpet and only somewhat comfy looking folding chairs against the walls. And, for some reason, there were a bunch of plants. Why so many plants? Just set them outside, they’d never forget to water them that way. 

You followed Bella up to one of three desks, the one manned by a middle-aged, redhead wearing glasses that were slipping down the bridge of her nose. She looks up at you and your sister with a polite smile, 

“Can I help you?” 

“I’m Isabella Swan,” Bella informs her. You lean closer to Bella’s side to be in the woman’s line of sight, 

“I’m Y/N Swan,” You add. Immediately, recognition sparks behind her eyes.

“Of course,” She says. She turns her chair slightly to her side to dig through a spire of papers. “I have your schedules right here, and maps of the school.” She brings out several papers in each hand, addressing your sister first. When she finishes with Bella, she waves you forward to explain your schedule and draw some paths from class to class. She looks up to both of you when she’s done, “You two have a good day!” You smile back and thank her before turning to leave.

When you get back to the truck, other students were beginning to arrive. You both get back into the truck to follow the line of traffic to the student parking. You finally park and Bella immediately switches off the obscenely loud engine. Bella stuffs all her papers into her backpack before leaning back against the back of the seat’s head-rest, eyes closed and head tipped upwards as she sighs.

“Hey.” Bella turns her head to the side to look at you, “You can do this, Bells. No one is gonna bite you.” She scoffs at your encouragement, but you just grin, “Hey, if they do, you can just bite ‘em back!” Your joke gets her to chuckle. She takes a deep breath,

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” 

You both step out of the truck onto the black pavement. You have to steady Bella as you hop over the lip of the sidewalk since the nearly trips on it. Before you part ways, you pull her into a hug, 

“My first class is in building two. We meet up at the truck at the end of the day, right?” Bella nods in affirmation before letting go. “Alright, you later Bells. Try not to fall on anyone,” you jest mischievously. Your sister rolls her eyes, 

“I’ll do my best, later jerk,” she mumbles. You watch her walk away for a moment before turning to make your way to your own building.

Your first class was English, so hopefully, it would be an okay class to start the day off with. You had your hands shoved into your jacket pockets, anxiously fiddling with a gum wrapper you had forgotten about. As brave as you had seemed compared to your sister, someone could assume you to be fearless, which is a total lie. You’re anxious as all get out! Even as you walked to your class, you had anxious butterflies doing karate in your stomach.

Once you made it to your classrooms open door, you noticed how small the classroom really is. Since it was one of the classrooms closer to the middle of the building, there are no windows. The desks were set in clusters rather than rows and the teacher’s desk was in the front corner of the room. The few students who were already there were hanging up their jackets and parkas, but you bypassed them to speak to the teacher, a slightly short woman with light brown hair. 

“Um, excuse me,” you ask. The teacher looks up and stares in surprise. “I, uh, the front desk says you need to sign this slip?” You hold it out to her and she grabs it, 

“Ah,” she realizes, “you’re the new student, Y/n Swan, correct?” She scribbles her signature in the first-hour box and smiles as she hands it back to you, “I’m Mrs. Hannson, I hope you enjoy this class! I actually have some papers for you, the syllabus and all that.” You nod as she turns to a pile on her desk, pulling out a small and neatly paper-clipped stack of papers. She hands it to you and you smile, nodding along as she explains, “You’ll be sitting over there,” she points to a cluster of desks, “with group three.”

You sat down in your seat, greeting the one person already there, a girl with short, coppery-brown hair and freckles. She looks up at you through round glasses and away from her work, a sketchy drawing of a landscape. 

“Hey,” she greets you warmly, “You’re Y/n Swan, right?” You flush. You knew coming to a new school with such a small populace had the possibility of being news, but you had no idea everyone would know you before you even walked through the doors!

“Ah, yeah. It seems like I won’t have to introduce myself since everyone already knows my name,” you joked. She laughs, but it’s more in understanding than humor.

“Yeah, sorry. Small town, big news, you know?” You sigh and nod. “Oh, my name’s Alana by the way, but everyone just calls my Lana.” you talk as more students file into the classroom. That is until loud boys sit in the chair next to you. One is average height and had rusty auburn hair, paired with pale blue eyes and skin pale enough to rival Snow White, maybe even your sister. The other was tall, at least 5’9, and had curly brown hair on top with shorn-down sides. His eyes were dark brown, but they were alight with mischief and boyish energy, matching the pale blue irises of his apparent friend. 

“Hey there,” the brown-eyed boy greeted you, “You’re one of the new girls.” It wasn’t a question, more of a statement.

“Yup, Y/n Swan,” you answer. 

“Nice to meet you, I’m Cole,” he smiles at you. You politely nod before your attention is turned to the red-headed boy, 

“I’m Luke, by the way,” he states, sitting back in his chair. The four of you talk past the bell, only stopping when Mrs. Hannson begins the class.

The next class was History in building four, which went by fairly quickly, as did all your other classes. You were honestly just excited for lunch to hit. You were hungry! According to your schedule, you assumed all students went to lunch at the same time, given there was no labeling of alphabetical or numerical lunches. It seemed so strange. Could all four grades really fit in one lunchroom? Then again, your school back in Phoenix had a much larger population than Forks High School.

The bell to your fourth hour rang, and everyone started to pack up to migrate towards the cafeteria building. Luckily for you, Lana from your  first hour was in this class, sociology. The pair of you made small talk about classes and such as you walked outside into the drizzling rain. When you entered the dryness of the cafeteria, you looked around for your sister. You bid Lana farewell and made your way around the large eating area with no actual idea where you were going until you spotted your sister sitting at a table with a strangely large amount of people for her first day.

“Hey Bells!” you call out. Your voice wasn’t loud enough to call any attention to you, but it did seem to catch her attention. She turns her head and looks relieved to see you. Bella gives you a little wave and the girl she was presumably talking to earlier turns her head to look at you. Bella scoots a bit to open up a seat and you sit next to her, leaning forward with your arms crossed on the table to see the mystery girl beside your sister. “Hey there,” you greet with a friendly smile. She smiles back, 

“Hey! You’re Bella’s little sister, right?” You nod,

“Yup, that’s me. My name is Y/n, but it seems like everybody already knows that I guess,” you chuckled. The dark haired girl laughs,

“Yeah, it’s gonna be like that for a little bit. New people are exciting in a small town and all that,” she shrugs. You nod in agreement, “Anyways, my name is Jessica, nice to meet you!”

You and Jessica have barely introduced yourselves when you notice Bella looking away from the conversation, positively enraptured by something else. You look over to your sisters line of sight in confusion, 

“Bella, what are you looking at?” your confusion dissolves quickly into awe when you see what she sees. Five horrendously beautiful people walk into the room. 

[marvelatthehottotties]

James Buchanan Barnes - Chapter 1

A/N: Thanks for taking a peak at this! Don’t be afraid to give us feed back! Co-written by @keliza​

Prologue Masterpost for the series

Warnings: Second hand embarrassment, bullying, sketchy frat dudes

Words: 3,092

 A college freshman. Once again, the low end of the food chain. The bottom rung. Things tended to cycle like that, so you could stay humble. It was your job to learn from it and realize that there was no such thing as the top of the food chain. There was always going to be someone higher than you whether you realized it or not. The end of elementary school was the high end. Then it was middle school. Then high school. A never ending cycle that continued on. Once you finished college it would be you planting right back into the workforce on the bottom rung, like swimming upstream. 

Everyone was just a salmon, hopping those little waterfalls. The only issue was you were scared to jump every time that jump happened. You could see the waterfalls were so close and everyone was jumping. But you could also see the shadows of those grizzlys looming, waiting with open mouths to crush you and devour you. Bears didn’t care if you were a big or a small fish, which made being a small fish especially hard.

This was an exhausting process, but the fear of being left behind made you jump finally and you were free to swim again, comfortable now that the bridge was crossed. 

And here you were, this waterfall had appeared much faster than you had expected. 

Peter had dragged you to a college party. Apparently, he knew some of the people, which honestly blew you away as the majority of the kids here weren’t kids at all. Everyone here looked like they had credentials, like they were legally allowed to drink, not just kegging to get the alcohol. 

Peter. The scrawny pipsqueak that had grown up next door. The one your mother loved and your father hoped would one day be his son. Peter and you wouldn’t love each other like that. He’d always eyed the popular cheerleader. The perky homecoming queen. And you…. Well you just couldn’t tear yourself away from the fantasy men in your novels. You were rarely attracted to people. Well, real people anyway. The kind you had a chance with.

This battlefield was different. You need to jump this waterfall and just swim on but the anxiety of not knowing anyone was creeping up your throat.

“Excuse me,” an enormous, sculpted man with an accent chirps. He flashes you a flirty smile as he slides around you. In your horror (had your eyes seriously deceived you?), you stumble backward and away from the punch table, careful not to bump into the couple unabashedly making out in the corner. 

The man’s arms rippled as he made a few drinks and quickly returned the way he came, shooting you another overly friendly smile. A horde of drunk girls squealed as he returned to them, passing off the second drink to a dark haired guy nearby and the girls converged like vultures on him. 

You glanced around. The couple nearby wasn’t quite as desperate as the highschool students in their antics. It was softer, looked tastier. You darted your gaze away, feeling like you were intruding. Where was Peter, he’d been in the bathroom an awful long time now.

The pit of nervousness was filling you, sinking harder as it grew in your gut. You looked about for anything familiar, struggling to find something.

The Stark house was something straight out of a magazine. Perfect for the well off lawyer and his family in town. Nothing like your own family home. Soft and quaint, quiet even. This was loud and sharp and modern. It was too cold to be familiar in the way you wanted. It offered no comfort. 

Neither did these older people. Most of them couldn’t be more than five years older but you still managed to feel out of place. Like a child at a PTA meeting. You wanted to go home so badly, but Ned, who’d driven, also seemed to be missing. 

“Looking for a drink?” Someone asked, you glanced, because it was loud enough to hear over the music. You were surprised, however, to see a stranger making direct eye contact. A tall, dark and handsome guy with a crooked nose and an even more crooked smile. It made your gut drop nervously. 

“No, thank you,” you managed, politely. “Just waiting on my friends.” Your hands tighten harshly on your purse strap as the guy steps closer.

“You sure? I’m making one myself, it’s no trouble.”

“That’s kind, but I'm the designated driver, can’t drink,” you lie. The guy gives a shrug at you.

“Are you even old enough? To drive? You look pretty young.” You give a non committal shrug and start glancing around, praying that Ned and Peter would appear. This man was making your skin crawl and you think it might be better to look for an out.

Nearby there are some college guys spinning someone in a desk chair. The kid looked like he was gonna be sick. Plenty of hollering sounds as he does hurl and give a drunken smile after. 

“Ew,” the girl from the couple behind you hisses. So, she’d managed to notice as well. She grabs his hand and drags him away, leaving you with the dark haired guy.

“Brock,” the guy offers, and moves closer. You dance away a bit, uncomfortable with how close he now was. “Hey, sorry. I’m not some bad guy, just making conversation.” He doesn’t step back. Dread is sinking in your gut and you pick anxiously at the sleeve of your sweater.

“I should go look for my friends,” you start, voice dropping to prevent from it shaking. 

The guy takes a step towards you, and you do the only thing you can think of as alarm fills you. You were not well known for being bold. You dart quickly only to knock into someone else so hard you nearly tumble back. You’re terrified as you look up into the face of another man. His eyes are hard as he glances over you quickly, then they dart to the guy directly behind you. 

“Brock,” rolls a voice from the guy who’s hands are now on your waist, steadying you. Despite the casual way he says the name, it’s got a warning to it. “Why are you over here trying to scare girls?” He was helping you? 

“I was just going to come looking for you,” you blurt before he’s even done speaking. Glancing up at this man, hoping he’d roll with your lie and focusing less on the fact that his hands were so warm. He adjusted immediately.

“Steve’s around here somewhere. Sorry for leaving you. Do you want to go sit?” He asks. His hands resting ever so gently on your shoulders now. You nod.

“Ain’t she a little young for you, Barnes?”

“My cousin is none of your business, Rumlow.” Brock looks pissed as he locks his jaw. You grasp the new man’s hand hard and without any hesitation, he leads you toward the stairs. “Let’s get some air on the upstairs patio, kiddo.” 

Kiddo! Kiddo! Your savior thinks he saved a kid! Not a damsel? This was straight out of a romance novel and the lead (who was incredibly handsome) just called you his cousin and kiddo. Oh, but he smelled like motor oil, and that made your toes curl. 

God was cruel.

“I’m eighteen,” you interject as he drags you up the stairs. When he flashes you a smile you catch your toe on a step and nearly die on those stairs. The guy hooks an arm under you to drag you up, however. Your cheeks heat as mortification fills you. But he’s so close…

“Mhmm. Focus on one foot at a time, okay?” 

Kill me.

And you manage to make it up the stairs without too much more trouble. He navigates around the bodies with ease, meandering away. Finally, he arrives out on a balcony with you. A few people linger around. You took a moment to take him in. Hair pulled up in a little bun on the back of his head, a wide jaw, cute nose and cool blue eyes. Not to mention he had grease streaked on his arm. Whatever vehicle he was working on before this, he hadn’t showered between and it gave him a delightful metal smell. Complete with his tattered tee shirt and stained jeans and boots, he looked like he’d rolled right out of a novel. 

“You’re gone five minutes and you’ve already got a girl?” Someone sighs. You snap your eyes to a tall, slim kid who’s lounging on one of the designer patio chairs. He brushes some of his soft blond hair from his eyes.

You were suddenly aware that you were still clinging to this poor man’s hand like my life depended on it. “Ah! Sorry, I-I didn’t… I didn’t mean to-”

“Relax, doll, you’re okay,” he chirped and lead me over. “This is Steve.”

“Hi, Steve,” You greet meekly. “Thanks for getting me out of there but I should be heading to find my friends Peter and Ned,” You try to excuse.

“Getting her out of there?” Steve repeats, and his awkward expression regresses into a stone cold one.

“Yeah, Rumlow’s ass was harassing her. Meet my cousin. I’m adopting her.” Your cheeks flare. Worse than being friend zoned. I swear. 

“Brock?” Steve repeats, eyes flaring. 

“Sit your ass down, Steve, it’s taken care off. Why don’t you sit down with us?” The last part is directed at you. “Your friends can come find you.” You almost deny it, but your savior… you want to learn more about him.

“I don’t want to intrude,” you offer.

“Non-sense,” Steve calls. “Sit.” You slowly sink down on a patio sofa, your hand relaxed in the guys hold. You notice the twitch of thick muscle beneath his shirt as he moves to settle beside you.

“So, what’s your name?” The cute guy asks.

“(Y/N),” you answer.

“Nice to meet you, (Y/N). I’m Bucky.” Your heart flutters uncomfortably in your belly. It was rare you reacted this way, but he’d been so kind. When Bucky settles beside you, his knee pressed against yours and you’re so caught up by it you don’t notice the knowing look Steve passes to Bucky. Or the grin that Bucky sends back to him.

“Have you graduated?” Steve asks. 

“Yeah, I start at Avalon College this fall, do you guys go there?” 

“Stevie does, I don’t.” 

The casual conversation ate away at the wild adrenaline that sunk your gut. The nervousness easing in the presence around. Only the bitter awkwardness was gaining on you. 

“So, what do you do?” Bucky glances down at the front of his tee shirt and you catch the name of the local mechanic shop. When he looks back at your embarrassed face, he flashes an amused grin and throws an arm over your shoulder. Being so close to the warmth of him. “Mechanic?” You manage to squeak. How had you not noticed the bright white lettering on his black shirt. It hid the grease stains pretty well. Probably do to his pearly white smile, or his sinful smirk.

He threw an ankle over his lap and twisted. “Yes, ma’am. What are you studying at school?” It felt so intimate how close he was leaning in. 

“Uh, undecided,” you offer. When you glance at Steve, he’s trying to hide his big grin, warm eyes gentle on you. 

“What are you doing at a party like this, it doesn’t seem like your normal scene.” He asks.

“My friends Peter and Ned dragged me with them. I’m usually the third wheel. To be honest they may have forgotten I’m here.” Steve frowns at me. “I guess Peter got invited by Tony earlier this week.”

“They don’t sound like very good friends,” Bucky rumbles, eyes narrowed coldly. It makes you gulp and retreat into the cushions a bit. 

“No! They’re wonderful. They support me as much as I support them. They’re just easily distracted, you know?” Bucky still frowns at this answer and shakes his head.

“And leave you alone long enough that Rumlow starts to follow you.” You shift uncomfortably. 

“You know, I’m going to grab a drink,” Steve offers awkwardly. “Do you want anything? Water? Juice?” He asks you. 

“Uh, juice if they’ve got it,” you reply. He stands and leaves, not bothering with Bucky’s. You try to push the thought behind you. That he’s getting you something non-alcoholic for you. You teeter between grateful, and irritated. Was he doing it because they thought of you as a kid or because he wanted to make sure you weren’t taken advantage of?

You start to squirm away from Bucky a bit, as Steve leaves. “I’m gonna check my phone real quick,” you offer. He gestures for you to go ahead and watches as you drag it from your back pocket. 

“Hey, Bucky!” You hear someone call. Light and airy, like a goddess. You lift your head from the lock screen to see a gorgeous blonde, approaching. Legs looking extra long in her leggings and heels.

“Hey, Lindsey,” You don’t like the twitchy nature she inspires in Bucky. His hand twitches by your shoulder, like he almost dragged it away as he moved to sit up straighter. Apparently he thinks twice about this move and sinks into a more natural position. She’s not even looking at him as she struts toward the chair on the other side of him.

A little voice nags in your head. They have history. You can see in the way he tries to act nonchalant. If you hadn’t seen that nervous (or eager, you can’t quite tell) shift, then you wouldn’t be able to tell. He keeps his voice even and his eyes never waver. You admired him silently for being able to hold his nervousness at bay like this.

“Who’s your little friend?” She smiles sweetly, a perfect facade to her real intentions. You briefly wondered if she was being sincere but the wording made your brain stutter with hesitation.

Bucky took a short intake of breath that you could feel against his shoulder as he switched from lounging next to you, to tucking you against his ribs. His expression chilled to something akin to the one he gave Brock downstairs. “What do you want?” He rumbles, voice still even. Her face flutters a bit, not expecting his reaction.

“Wha- excuse you? I was being polite!”

“No, you’re being passive aggressive. What do you want?” Her expression sours from offence. 

“I came by to talk to you, James,” she hisses the name and it only makes him roll his eyes at her. “Rumlow said she’s your cousin. Looking a little comfortable there to be a cousin.”

“You always listen to what Rumlow says, Linz?” He didn’t bat an eyelash even though you were squirming uncomfortably. She turns her eyes on you, they burn into your soul.

“Can you give us a minute, hon? You’re kind of intruding on a private conversation.” Her hand drifts closer, reaching toward Bucky’s knee.

“Me?” You squeak. You wish it’d been hissed out but your lack of confrontation, shoved you down. Never in your life had you felt so offended. Were there really girls like this still? 

Bucky’s hand tightens over your shoulder and his ankle slips from his knee. He doesn’t hide the fact that he’s sitting straighter now as you’re practically crushed to his side. His hand would be more exciting if the pettiness you feel rising in you wasn’t so raw. “Yes, you.”

“No, not her,” Bucky rumbles low. “She’s not going anywhere if she doesn’t want to.” To spite her, you deliberately bite back nervousness and place a hand on his thigh, near his knee. You hope it looks natural enough. You think it does as her hand falls away from where it hung in the air. 

“I don’t want to,” you promise, your voice still soft. You cannot believe you’re being this bold.

“This is between us!”

“She was here first.”

“Fine,” she sighs, and moves. She turns towards Bucky more. It sends a bolt of unease through you. “James, I wanted to talk about getting back together with you. Don’t tell me you don’t want to, too.”

“Lindsey,” he states, and for a moment, you fear he will cave. His arms draw away from you, he leans close to her. “After this, you can go fuck yourself.” He says softly. Too softly. He’s mocking her. A little thrill floats through you. Amazed at how good this felt. She shoots a shocked look at him. Then you. Then she became furious.

“JAMES BUCHANAN BARNES! YOU’RE A FUCKING PIG!” She squeals in absolute outrage. As she flies to her feet. He tilts back against the cushions, expression ever cool. You couldn’t read him at all. “I’M SO SICK OF YOU TREATING ME LIKE SHIT! SHE’S LIKE FIFTEEN! THERE IS NO WAY SHE’S FUCKING LEGAL!” She twists towards you and on reflex you snatch up Bucky’s hand and squeeze tight. “Don’t worry, he’ll break your heart and leave you just like the rest of us, sweetie.”

“That’s nice,” you manage to squeak. She fumes, deciding to storm away, you hear her as she flies down the stairs, screeching insults along the way. “Wow,” you whisper to Bucky, flushing from the onlookers. Your savior snorts and bursts into laughter.

“Sorry about her,” he chuckles. “Guess we're even now, kiddo.”

“Does that mean I have to leave now?” You ask.

“No! No, you can stay as long as you want.” He shoots you a beaming smile.

“There won’t be any more exes, right?” You ask, only half joking. The mechanic throws his arm over your shoulder and tugs you against him, ruffling your hair playfully.

“Don’t worry, (Y/N). I’ve got your back. You’re too pure to let anyone bully you but me.” You peek up at your new crush in surprise. 

“Yeah, but wait until the rumor mill gets ahold of the fact that we’re cousins and lovers,” you shoot back.

“Ah, fuck ‘em. Haven’t you heard, incest is in right now.” And his wink flutters your heart even as his words disgust you. This reminds you vaguely of the uncomfortable crush you had as a child on a distant cousin. The crush that you only ever spoke of once to Peter… when you were drunk. This crush would never be more than that, but for now, you’d let Bucky tug you a little closer than necessary, forgetting to check your phone all together.

tagging: @tomisbaeholland​

[heartbreakgrill]

Circles; Harry Styles Pt. 2

“Remember Frankie? From World History? She has a baby now,” you remarked, voice like lyrics over the rhythm of your white tennis shoes and Harry’s leather boots stepping in time on the concrete bike path.

Leaves occasionally fell, crunching under your feet, sticks and stones on the path being kicked or broken away. The fall wind blew gently, waving strands of your air in front of your face. You had decided against lipgloss, luckily because your hair was so unruly. Harry’s curls, a beautiful feature of his which you always admired, were flopping with each step. You found your eyes trailing from his cheek to his hair consistently, simply admiring. He didn’t catch on much, his own focus glancing between you and the ground beneath his feet.

Lunch had been wonderful. He took to you the local pub, where you sat in the corner, knees bumping against each other after every movement. You shared a basket of fries, ate your own sandwiches and drinks. You caught up on everything: Your studies in London, who your friends were these days, the last boy who broke your heart. He told you about Louis and Niall, and only a little of Liam and Zayn. He explained the sketchiness of his management, the stress of touring, but his excitement on stage. You admitted to have listened to his two albums the night before and told him Little Thins became a quick favorite. You told him about your plan to move to New York when you finished University in order to delve into the world of international journalism.

After lunch, you didn’t want to leave one another, lingering in front of the door, still chatting, when you remembered the local bike trails. (“Gosh, I haven’t been there in forever.” “Same here.”)

So, now, you were strolling along, hands in pockets and elbows bumping somewhat. He replied to your comment about a forgotten classmate with, “God, its strange to think about people we know having children. Were only 19.”

You shrugged, “That’s normal around here, I guess. People settle down straight away, let go of their dreams for simpler, easier things.”

“I could’ve done that,” Harry spoke with a whispery tone. “Sometimes I wish I would’ve.”

You didn’t want to poke and prod at a comment that could turn into something bigger and moved on. “You’ve got money. Be happy.” Of course, this was a joke.

Harry laughed, “Money cant buy happiness.”

“Oh, I’m sure it could buy mine.” He glanced at you inquisitively. “Well, Im constantly stressed in London because of work and school. Its stressful and exhausting paying for my apartment and class and food and life.”

Harry frowned somewhat, “That’s part of the reason I hate it sometimes. I’m so lucky and undeserving of all I get just because I can sing and I’m attractive. You work so hard for what you have and you still struggle. It’s unfair.”

You retrieved your hand from your pocket and pushed him lightly, “I’m just confused as to who said you were attractive.”

He blushed deeply, his eyes downcast and shy. Suddenly he met your eyes and shrugged his shoulders. “You did say I was cute.”

Your own cheeks quickly turned red. “I’m gonna avoid my problems.” Your pace quickened and you began to walk away from Harry.

He giggled, emitting a grin on your face, and walked fast. Harry reached out and grabbed you around the waste, spinning you around in his arms. You caught yourself on his shoulders, feeling his warm breath combat the cold on your cheeks. He grinned cheekily down at you, eyebrows raised.

“I didn’t lie,” you unashamedly spoke. “Ive always thought you were cute. Hell, the only reason I came to the bakery so much was because of you.”

“What about the muffins?” He mused.

“Harry, a girl gets sick of eating muffins every single Saturday for 2 years in a row.”

He chuckled, squeezing your waist gently. But, then, his eyes fell slightly, his lips molding into a frown. His grip loosened and he almost stepped back. But, he didn’t. “Do you wanna go on a date tomorrow? With me?”

“I’d really like it if you could get Niall’s number for me, but I guess you’ll do,” you whipped your head around in exclamation.

He scoffed, laughing loudly, before pulling you against his chest. You just stood there, hugging each other lightly, though you were shivering in the breeze. Soon after, he walked you home and even kissed your cheek prior to leaving. You giddily walked up to your bedroom, bare of much decoration because of your schooling situation. You closed the door and leant against like a heartsick teenager. You felt the same way you did two years ago, head over innocent heels for some stupid boy. You didn’t know if this would work, given your future career and his present one. You didn’t know what his favorite color was, but he did telll you his favorite way to drink tea. You didn’t know who his childhood cartoon crush was, but you knew that when he looked at you, your stomach was in flames.

You didn’t know what you would regret in the future, as no one does. So you decided to jump.

-

Harry had definitely gone on Pinterest.

When you opened your door (only knowing he would be arriving at the time he did because you spent the entire afternoon, night, and morning texting one another) you immediately smelled the sweet fragrance of men’s cologne. It was nice, slightly overwhelming, but nice nonetheless. He held a bouquet of red roses, your favorite because you told him you were a fan of cliches. He wore a jade green button-up, short-sleeve dress shirt. It was obviously new, given away by the fact that there were creases in his sleeves. (His favorite color was ocean blue, by the way, and yours was the color of his shirt.) In his other hand was a picnic basket, which he held up to you after he handed off the roses.

“It’s freezing outside, Harry,” you giggled whilst motioning him to step inside. He did, following you into the kitchen.

You set the roses up in a vase as he replied, “I know. But its okay because I have a really nice idea.”

“Okay, I trust you,” you spoke reassuringly. You turned towards him from your spot by the counter.

Harry’s eyes trailed over your figure, clad in a long-sleeve, ocean blue wrap top tucked into a pair of blue jeans which stopped just above your black ankle boots. Gold jewelry dangled above the neckline and from your ears, your hair tied up in a low messy bun which took too much effort. “You look lovely, by the way.”

“You, too,” you grinned, meeting his eyes. “Guess we both thought of impressing one another.”

“I went to three different stores to find this,” he spoke as you began to lead him back to the front door.

“Uh, me, too. Don’t act so special,” you grabbed your coat off the rack and slipped your arms through it. Harry laughed.

You bid farewell to your parents, who were watching television in the living room. They gushed over Harry, about to ask him a million questions when you said, “Dinner reservations, sorry, got to go!”

You grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door. You didn’t let go, and neither did he, but he had to in order to open your door. You hadn’t expected this and hesitantly slid into the passenger seat. “Thanks.” You told him once he started the car.

After a few moments of adjustable, comfortable silence, you piped up again, “So, where exactly are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

You arrived to a park two towns over after half an hour. It was massive, with lookout spots all over the hills. He parked in one with the trunk of his mum’s car facing out over the countryside. He opened your door for you, again, and led you to the back of the car.

“Okay, Ted Bundy,” you giggled lightly, walking ahead of him.

“Oh, please, I dont want to kill you,” he scoffed, popping the trunk. “At least not until the nights over.”

“Why not?” You held his eyes, not yet looking to the trunk.

He shrugged, “Because I have to get a goodnight kiss first.”

He left you stunned, cheeks red and eyes wide. Harry sat down in the trunk, leaning back against the pillows and blankets decorating the small space. You grinned at him, as he was awaiting your reaction. He leant a hand and helped you settle next to him. You both crossed your legs in order for him to set the picnic basket down. He shut the trunk, the heater cranked up and the radio playing.

“Were wasting so much gas,” you laughed, shedding your coat.

Harry took it from you, folded it, and set it on the folded down back seats. He took off his own, “Dont worry about it. I’m rich, remember?”

You tossed your head back with a loud laugh. The hours flew by from there on: He had made finger sandwiches, which you ate with liberation, and homemade lemonade packaged in a thermos. His mother helped him melt chocolate and cover strawberries in it. He had even made a mini cake at the bakery and packaged it all nicely for you two to share. You talked about everything you hadn’t already discussed: Music, books, television, his supporting act on tour, your favorite professors. You told him about your dumb job waitressing, about the lady who had tipped you one-hundred euros.

Once you were done, you helped him pack up the trash. He set the picnic basket in the front seat before shutting off the car. The sunroof was closed, but the stars were visible through it. He laid down on the blankets, head smushing the pillows. You sat there for a moment, feeling slightly awkward, before he motioned for you to lay down, too.

You cleared your throat, face hot and body stiff, before doing so. There were barely a few inches between you, but Harry made sure there were none. He wrapped an arm around your shoulders and tugged you into him. You took the liberation to lean your head on his chest and lay your arm across his stomach. No words were exchanged, but they didn’t need to be. Everything that you could learn had probably already been said: Deeper stories, moments, could be exchanged later. A bond was now established and you already knew what was coming.

For now, you could only enjoy the moments that he was here: His hand in yours when he drove you home; hand in yours as you led him to the front door; lazily smiling down at you; a gentle, comforting hug; his eyes flickering between yours, your lips; his breath fanning closer until he stole his goodnight kiss.

“Guess you can kill me now.”

TAG LIST: @mantlereid , @boxofteenageideas , @dinosaursandsocks @ashhdaniellee95 @heartbreakcity @sadhwstudent

[marvinswriting]

dream

ITS HERE!!!! TINY DAMIAN IS HEREEEEEEEEE!!!!! GIANT JANIS IS HEREEEEEE (but also bear writes fucking bomb ass giant janis fics go check hers out)

Prompt: Damian has a (longish?) dream where the roles are reversed and gets a new appreciation for Janis I literally love this prompt thank you smallsoysauce ily drink water

Damian doesn't remember falling asleep but its the only reasonable explanation for this. What was he doing before he fell asleep? 

Maybe watching a movie with the group?

Whatever it was, he defiantly passed out.

This had to be a dream.

How else could he be standing on the tiny pick up zone in Northshore then? Not at the zone. On the zone. The same platform where he typically saw Janis was the platform he now stood on.

There was simply no logical explanation other than a dream.

Right?

It felt fucking real.

The hallways were huge. While they were typically wider and longer then other schools Damian had been in, they were enormous all around. The tiny 'hallway' Damian stressed about Janis using everyday looked all the more daunting at this size. Damian peered over the edge and immediately took a couple of steps backward. 

Holy fuck. That's high.

Janis sat up higher on his shoulder, how did she do it?

He leaned against the wall, glancing down the tiny hallway. He's seen it before. Janis gave him a tour on facetime once. It's sketchy all right. It almost made him want to stay on the platform.

What time was it even? It was day, Damian could tell from the window at the end of the hall. Is it after school?

Do classes even work in dreams?

As if to answer his questions, the bell rang, screeching louder then Damian recalled it being and-

Oh fuck oh fuck. 

Nope.

Nope.

Damian preferred the empty hallways. No way- nu uh.

He pressed himself against the wall as other tinies passed by, getting picked up like seemingly normal for them. 

What the fuck-

Damian stepped away from the wall slightly, glancing around at his giant fucking classmates as they walked past. 

"Hey, dude. You ready?" A familiar voice said from above him.

Holy fuck.

Janis, who normally could fit in his hand, now stood at the hight Damian should be at.

"What-" He exhaled.

"You okay? You look like you saw a ghost?" This new giant Janis clearly was unaffected by the size swap. 

Did Damian somehow fall into an opposite dimension? Was there a normally tiny Damian now giant and dealing with a tiny Janis? He better not drop her or anything.

"I'm-" It's just Janis. Why are you so freaked out? 

MAYBE BECAUSE I'M FOUR INCHES TALL.

"Fine. I'm fine."

Despite the rollercoaster, his mind was going on, Damian gave a thumbs up and stepped closer to Janis.

Half of him wanted to book it to the tiny hallway and hide but the other half knew that Janis wouldn't hurt him.

But now the reckless fucking tiny is a gia-

No.

Janis wouldn't hurt him. 

He felt guilty for even letting his mind wander to that.

Janis looked down at him with a look Damian couldn't quite read. "I don't believe that you're okay." She said. "But we have class to go to so I'll push later."

She lowered her hand to the tiny platform, and action Damian had done so many times before, but he couldn't help but step backward as a giant hand was placed next to him.

Holy fuck.

Is this how Janis felt every day?

Damian, despite himself, hoisted himself onto Janis's hand as she had done to him so many times before.

It felt weird, being at the other end of things.

When he held Janis, he could feel her weight, every change in position, every sudden movement. But now? 

Janis's hand was warm. 

It wasn't a bad thing, just- different. The heat radiating off her hand was nice. It felt like when he held Janis cupped in his hands, but this time the heat surrounded him.

Janis had always just run hot despite her shivering under layers of jackets.

Then, Janis moved her hand and- holy fuck. 

That felt new.

Like when a car hits the gas as soon as the light turns green and you kinda slam back into the headrest because your body didn't move as fast. 

Janis raiser her hand up to her shoulder and it took Damian a second before- oh.

Shoulder.

He hesitantly stepped off Janis's hand and onto her jacket. He got close to her neck so he could hold onto the jacket collar. 

Janis thinks Damian has done this before- maybe he should tell her "hey something wrong this is new please be careful when you walk", but before he could vocalize anything along those lines, Janis was off.

It- it wasn't actually that bad.

Janis walked briskly, but without a bounce. She weaved through crowds without bumping shoulders, something Damian always struggled with. 

"Janis! Damian!" A voice called out behind them. 

Janis spun on her heels with a speed Damian didn't expect and he gripped her jacket collar tighter. 

There stood a giant Regina and a tin- wait. Giant Regina? She had a tiny Gretchen on her shoulder. Were everyone's sizes just flipped in this dream, alternate reality, fucked up scenario?

As if to answer his question, Gretchen spoke.

"Aaron took Cady and Karen to their class. Walk with us?" 

"Of course." Janis laughed, waiting for Regina to catch up. 

Damian sat on Janis's left shoulder and Gretchen was on Regina's right so they were able to sit close to beachgoer and talk as the two giants-who-should-be-tinies-but-they're-not walked. 

Damian tried not to look at the ground. 

He was no one to be afraid of heights but he was starting to see how Janis got hallway anxiety. 

"So, Damian." Gretchen turned to him, beaming. "How has your day been?"

Damian shrugged. Since his 'day' has consisted of ten minutes of fear and confusion, he can't give a proper answer. "Its been pretty par." He lied. "You?"

Damian never held small talk with Gretchen. This new alternate universe was weird. Wait-

Was he, Gretchen, Cady, and Karen some odd alternate TSS? Is that why they were friends?

Gretchen went on about how annoying English class was and about a girl she found cute and- holy shit.

They were a Walmart TSS.

This realization was short-lived in glory as Shane Omen approached Janis and Regina.

Guess not everyone switched heights.

Damian could feel Janis stiffen underneath him. That was weird. Damian didn't know Janis could feel him get tense and relax. No wonder she was so quick to pick up when he got stressed.

"Hello, Regina." Shane smiled. "Dyke." He shot to Janis, smile gone. 

"I'm not here to pick a fight, Shane. Not right now, I have a class to go to." Janis said. Her voice was low and it made Damian want to leave her alone. 

Shane obviously didn't feel the same.

His eyes landed on Damian and Shane grinned.

Damian did not like that.

No matter what, Damian could never say he knew how Janis felt as a tiny. But after being literally looked up and down like a toy by Shane Omen- Damian didn't want to be able to know how it felt.

"Shane." Janis's voice was dangerously low. A tone Damian didn't even recognize. "You try anyhing and I'll-"

Janis didn't get to finish her threat as Shane shoved past her and Regina. Damian yelped as the shoulder underneath him jerked.

He could see Gretchen in the same situation out of the corner of his eye as he free-fell backward.

Flashbacks to the time Janis fell off his shoulder ran through his mind.

She had gotten so hurt.

Before Damian could brace for impact a hand scooped underneath him. 

Janis didn't even bother to make sure he was okay before gently dumping him onto Regina's hand next to a similarly disoriented Gretchen and storming down the hall.

"Shane Omen!"

"Where-" Damian shook his head as what just happened caught up to him.

He had fallen.

But Janis caught him.

He didn't fucking die.

And now Janis is gone.

"Where's she going?"

Regina shrugged. "Probably to break Shane's nose again."

Again?

Gretchen grinned. "Oh my god remember the video that went around from last week? I don't think I've ever seen Janis as pissed as when she found out Shane fucked with Cady."

Well yeah, who wouldn't be pissed.

Regina laughed, apparently thinking about this video. "It was so funny because Shane couldn't fight back. God forbid he hit a girl. He just had to take it."

"Probably the most satisfying video I've seen in a while." Gretchen agreed.

There were cheers from down the hall and Gretchen sighed. "We're gonna be late to class."

Regina shook her head. "I'm gonna have to call my dad and get him to pull strings again. Janis is definitely gonna get herself expelled one of these days. What would she do if my parents weren't major donors to school?"

This is a normal occurrence?

Damian knew Janis threatened to beat a lot of people up, but at her size (or, her old size) it wasn't very intimidating. Guess giant Janis follows through.

"I don't understand how its always Janis getting in trouble. Shane's done worse than broken a nose. Remember what he did to Karen last year?" Gretchen asked.

Oh god, what did he do to Karen last year?

Regina made a face. "Don't remind me. I think a broken nose wasn't enough punishment. I would have killed him. At least Janis has control."

Gretchen shook her head. "Dropping poor Karen five feet in the air. It's a miracle she survived."

Oh, what the fuck?

The bell rang and Regina shook her head. "I never liked study hall anyway. Let's go find Janis."

The second Regina started walking Damian learned very quickly that not everyone walks the same way. Regina swayed more, she walked purpose rather than speed. 

It felt so weird to be able to pick up on these things and notice. 

Regina didn't have to walk far before Janis emerged from the crowd, a red mark on her cheek. Regina gasped. "He hit back?"

Janis shrugged. "I can take a slap. You should see him. Fucking ass hole I was gonna kill him I swear." 

Her eyes lower to Damian and the anger in her features disappeared. "Hey," She said softly, stepping forward and gently scooping him out of Regina's hands. "You okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Damian asked, despite the adrenaline rush triggering his fight or flight.

"Because you've been acting off today. I was already worried about you before, I did not need you free falling to solidify it."

God, it sounds like Damian is just talking to tiny Janis.

Damian grinned. "I'm okay. Really." 

Janis nodded. "How about we don't sit on my shoulder for a while. Fuck Shane Omen, we can't trust him. It's nap time."

Damian only realizes what's happening a split second before it does as Janis lift shim to her jacket pocket. 

Damian slips in effortlessly. He's had Janis in his pocket so many times. This was all new.

He popped his head out and watched Janis pin something to the other side of her jacket. Upon closer inspection, Damian realized Janis has her own white pin. This one had a small heart painted on it. 

Damian's heart melted as he sunk back into the pocket. That's so cute.

He'd never been in a pocket before. Sure, he wondered what it felt like, but this was nothing like he expected. He could tell why Janis liked it so much. 

Despite what you may think, it's roomy. The fabric pushes down on him but not in an uncomfortable way. Like a swaddled baby. Janis's heart beat is astonishingly loud, but comforting. 

Between the adrenaline crash, the steady beating of his best friend's heart, and the sway of the jacket as she walked, Damian found it hard to stay awake. 

He didn't fight it. This was a weird dream that felt creepily real, but Damian was ready to be full-sized again. He doesn't know how Janis does it. Ten minutes and he's out like a light.

-

"Damian if you don't wake up right now I'm letting Regina push me off the coffee table again." A voice called out.

"I'm more then willing to do so! There are no pillows to break her fall though."

Damian groaned opening his eyes to see a tiny Janis standing on his chest, arms crossed.

"You sleep too long."

Damian blinked, trying to figure out what's going on. 

Tiny Regina and Aaron at on the coffee table. Giant Cady was messing with the remote and the TV, giant Karen and Gretchen were taking selfies.

So it was a weird dream.

"Damian?" Janis sounds a little concerned." You okay?"

Damian grinned, scooping her up as he sat up. "You're so small!"

"Gee, thanks."

"No! I love it!" 

"Janis, I don't think he's okay." Regina said.

"Helpful." Janis rolled her eyes. "Are you sober or not?"

Damian grinned. "Sober as fuck."

"Doesn't seem like it."

"I just missed you like this." Damian said.

"Like what? You just fell asleep. I've been here this whole time."

BONUS: "Damian wake up, the school day is over." Damian popped his head out of Janis's jacket. "Jan, I just had the weirdest fucking dream." "Shoot." The girl above him said as she made her way to her car. "I was big, and you were small. And Regina and Aaron were tiny too. Everyone who's tiny was giant and we all just watched movies and stuff." "Well, I take it since your imagination is back you feel better?" "What?" "You were acting really odd earlier. I was worried." "Oh," Damian thought for a second. "I don't remember that." Odd.

@realmisspolarbear @musicallygt @sourishlemons @smallsoysauce

[melancholicillusions]

How you two meet.

Tuesday, January 13 2018

"We are expecting a rather violent snow storm this evening. Its suspected to last a good three days. Infact its suppose to drop below freezing tonight and its expected to stay that way leading into tomorrow morning..." The women on the small television exclaimed.

"Ugh.. Of all days She could have made me work..." Y/n sighed, looking out the window which reflected no other color but white.

"Well what can you do about it?" You coworker Dokyeom chuckled, mixing the batter.

Rolling your eyes you walked over to the oven placing the empty pan inside and pulling out the cooked bach, setting it on the table turning off the oven.

"Well I could go home b-"

"Then go home, ill cover for you."

You smiled. "..but! You didn't let me finish. I was going to say.. I need this job."

Cocking his brows he reminded you, "y/n you dads a billionaire, you said it yourself he's given you more than enough to buy a nice car, house, and then just sit on your ass all day, for the rest of your life."

"Yes but he's also only a billionaire because of his father and his fathers, father. Should i go on?"

Dokyeom quickly declined your offer waving you off with his towel. "Blah blah blah."

"Haha very funny. Hey can you go tell them they need to leave? Its a minute till closing time."

"What?! Why can't you do it?" Dokyeom complained.

"Because, one I have to stay late anyways remember? Im on clean up duty. Also I dont like kicking people out.. Besides, I think they're homeless.." You trailed off.

Dokyeom sighed. "Fine. But you owe me.."

"대박! 감사해요." (Awesome! Thank you.)

"I see you've been practicing." He commented.

You smiled.

He made his way to the simi-empty dinning room where a young man and a child sat. The man had a smile on his face as he listened to the small child, who from what I could understand was telling him about her day at daycare. I couldn't help but feel guilty. Trying not to think about it, I began throwing out old samples and displays that once sat in the display case, though I over heard Dk politely tell them they had to leave.

"Excuse me, sir.." He started.

Trying my best to make it seem like I wasn't there I slouched down behind the case. Listening to the small conversation between the two men, peaking around the corner. The male looked up at Dk, worry on his face as he pulled the small girl closer. she looked to be around three while the male looked to be in his late twenties. He had short brown hair and what looked to be a faint beard growing. He was wearing an old torn-up off white sweater, ripped black jeans, and a gray scarf. The girl on the other hand had oily black hair that was pulled into a ponytail. She was wearing a hoodie that was three sizes too large for her, an ankle length navy blue skirt, and a red bennie.

"...I'm sorry to say that's its closing time and you'll have to leave." Dk finished.

"Ah, I'm sorry. We hadn't realized what time it was. haha!" The man said. Standing up to pick up the small child only to sit her down and begun putting her winter attire on.

"Okay. Stay safe." Dk smiled and started walking back to the kitchen putting the freshly made batter into the fridge for early shift staff tomorrow and begun washing the dishes.

"Daddy, are we gonna sleep under the bridge again?"

My breath hitched, and i slowly stood up looking at the child who was now putting on gloves while he wrapped the scarf around her neck. As she looked up to him warmly.

"N-no sweetheart we'll find somewhere."

Once his stuff was on he picked her up and made their way out into the harsh weather with one last glance into the kitchen, making eye contact with me for the first time.

_________________________

"Welp that concludes our shift.. I owe you one Dk. Again."

Dokyeom chuckled putting his coat on. "You sure do. Now if you'll excuse me I have a wife and daughter that are waiting for me. The wife especially." He winked.

"Gross, really Dokyeom? Really."

He smiled before clocking out, telling you to drive safe and walking out the door. I followed his steps only there was no one to tell drive safe and I had the extra step that included locking the doors.

"Shit, it really is cold out here... Doesn't help that my car is halfway down the fuckn' street." I muttered to myself.

Sitting in my car I couldn't help but think back to the man and his child. What she said to him specifically.

'Daddy, are we gonna sleep under the bridge again?'

Resting my head on the steering wheel I sighed. "Why didn't i say anything..."

Once I was done pondering and beating myself up about the past I started on my way home. Though the road I usually take was blocked off so I had to take the Sketchy way, through the alley and under the bridge. When it was in sight I calmed my nerves with some low-fi music my friend Yoongi produced. As I was driving through I saw someone- no someones. A familiar red bennie was huddled into something. I couldn't help but pull up next to them, driving slowly. Rolling my window down only to be greeted by snow and cold air assaulting my face.

"Excuse me. Do you need somewhere to stay?" I had to yell just to be heard over the yelps and roars of the winter air.

Man stopped and so did I, the little girls grip remained tight on her fathers arm.

"Uh. No, thank you we'll be fine.." He responded looking down.

"Daddy I'm cold.." She said and as a response he begun taking off his coat only to wrap it around her small frame, because she had one of his arms he could only use one to keep himself warm.

"Come on, its suppose to drop below freezing tonight, and if she's gonna have your coat.. You'll freeze... You'll both freeze."

He sniffled before telling her to get in the car.

"Come one Haru, get in the car... Hurry sweetie."

You smiled unlocking the doors, he sat in the back with her.

"You can get in the front."

"No, its fine." He quickly responded.

_________________________

"Here, I'll go make you two some hot chocolate."

"Hot chocolate! Yay!" The child now known as Haru yelled in excitement.

"Here let me help you princess.." He said taking her shoes and wet clothes off.

When you came back you set the three cups on the table and warmed up some left over egg soup.

"Do you have some dry clothes? Haru's are wet.." He said sounding timid and a bit hesitant.

"Uh ya.. Um, can you keep an eye on the food? You know to make sure it doesn't boil over."

"Sure.. Come here haru, and stop bouncing around on her furniture." He said sternly.

You chuckled walking to your room looking through your night gowns looking for one that was, shall we say appropriate for someone of her age.

"Finally..." You sighed.

'to the moon and back.' It read.

You started looking through the stuff your late husband left behind, and came up with a shirt that said 'proud husband of a kick ass military wife!' And some sweats. Quickly folding them you made you way into the kitchen where Haru and her father waited.

"Oh you could have made yourselves a bowl.."

"Oh, sorry we didn't want to touch anything..."

Making your way to the cabinet s to get them a bowl. "No no its fine im sure you two are starving anyways.. Here are the clothes. I found some for you to..."

He smiled slightly, "I'm Jeonghan by the way.."

"Im y/n. So that's your daughter?" You smiled as he picked Haru up and begun to dress her.

"Y-yes, her mother died at birth and things went down hill from there.."

"Oh, I'm so sorry.."

Jeonghan looked at you "I saw a picture of a man.. Assuming by the shirt you cave me your married?"

You cleared your throat. "Um no he died 2 years ago.."

He stared at you before apologising profusely.

"Heh.. No its fine, I guess I'm over it anyway.. I didn't stop and cry when going through his stuff.." You chuckled.

"No one ever truly gets over the loss of a loved one..."

He looks at you. You shake your head. "That makes two of us.."

[ramblingandpie]

I had so much fun in a LARP I played last night.

The premise was that in a small medieval town, the evil liege has died, and now people are celebrating. Of course, all of the pre-gen characters had some kind of backstabbing or intrigue or had-to-do-sketchy-shit-to-stay-alive kind of thing.

I had so few spoons when the game started. I've known the GM for years so I let them know I was not up for playing. They did ask if I wanted them to pick me a low-investment character that was not plot-heavy, and I was like... no, 2020 is the year of listening to my body more. They mentioned that they were gonna be Random Peasant and that was also an option so I was like. Ok, yeah, that works.

And then as a reason for me to not be up and about, I was like... not just peasant. I'm Edel, the town beggar. My legs got kicked in by a horse when I was little and the tavern keeper lets me sit in my corner to stay warm and sleep in their barn. Ok cool.

So there is a reminder that there is gonna be the election for the town Alderman that night and a part of me is like fuck I know how this plot trope goes but I'm sticking to my corner.

People stop by, mostly when they need a low key moment, and give me a penny for my thoughts. I keep it simple. I haven't ever seen most of the nobles before and had no idea the liege was even dead, but now I guess he's walking around and I ain't ever seen nothin' like that before.

As the night progressed, I really played into it. People ask my thoughts, and I'm like "seein' so many people here tonight and talkin' to so many people has really learned me. Don't matter if you sleep in a barn or a fancy manor house. Everybody got problems and hardships. And loneliness."

Election time. Everyone who puts themselves in is... a blatantly terrible candidate. A character played by a good friend nominates Edel. I was given a chance to decline or accept, which also was the "have you recovered enough spoons?" Which I had so I used it to ask if, in order to be Alderman, you had to be able to read or do sums. Because I didn't know how. But they were like no we will help you with that.

I stood up for my speech and called a pause and was like "hey I know asking questions about disability is weird, but yes I have a significant limp and so does my character so yes that is in-game even if you see me limping out of character" and gave my speech which was basically "I'll do my best because I want to help people."

The vote was overwhelmingly in Edel's favor. Shocking. It's a trope for a reason.

Edel gets introduced to more of the townsfolk who will be helping her and then someone is like do you need help moving into the Alderman's house because that's yours now and she is like. Wait. That happens? And the old Alderman (who wants to get the fuck out of dodge because he was part of the group who murdered the now-resurrected Liege) is like yeah. I'm leaving tonight so it's yours whenever. Even the furniture. And I basically spent the next half hour freaking out about getting to sleep in a bed.

And then at the culmination of the evening, a bunch of people get stabbed (like you do). Edel's first order as Alderman, apart from calling the garrison, is to make everyone stand arm's-length apart. She scolds people for standing too close to each other until they know what is going on.

The only person she doesn't scold is the keeper of the hounds because a bunch of their hounds disappeared and they are trying to find out why because they loved those dogs. They're good dogs. We bonded earlier because a mutt used to stay in the barn with Edel and she was real sad when he passed on.

Houndskeeper is standing behind the Liege. The warlock was like "well, I mean, the Liege needs to kill things to stay alive and dogs would work."

And the Liege is like whatever, these are my lands, I can do whatever with whatever I want.

And the warlock is like That's nice. Who wants Edel as the Liege instead? Because that would be cool.

And Edel is like "Did yer kill the dugs?"

And the warlock is like. It would have been more like eating their souls.

"DID YER ET THE DUGS?"

And then the stabbing resumed, and Edel went from being a beggar to being the Liege in one evening.

[legendofzeldaalinktothepast]

Opalescent Tides - Chapter 8

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter 

(tw for drowning in the beginning) 

Pale fog surrounded Pearl. Her ears were clogged, her body suspended and light; she held her breath for an unknown reason, but feared what'd happen if she found out why. The fog thickened until she was surrounded in nothing but solid white. Pearl’s body trembled. Before she knew it, she could no longer hold her breath. She gasped for air and salty water filled her lungs.

Pearl clutched her chest and cried out in pain, but the water muffled her voice. With each passing second, Pearl’s consciousness slipped away until everything went dark.

Pearl bolted upright with a gasp. Her body clammy and drenched in sweat, it took her a moment to process where she was. She gripped the bed sheets tight, grounding herself as she steadied her breath, slowly returning to reality and assuring herself that, yes, she was in her room, and could breathe.

Once her breath was back to a steady pace, she flopped down onto the pillows and glanced at the clock on her dresser. 6:32. She had a couple hours until she actually needed to get up. Normally Pearl would take advantage of that… but the sweat covering her body made her feel sticky and disgusting, and the sickness from her nightmare lingered in her stomach, so she reluctantly pulled herself out of bed.

Pearl made her way across the hall, making sure to tread carefully in case Garnet was still asleep; but she heard footsteps in the kitchen and relaxed, continuing at her usual gait until she reached the bathroom.

As Pearl brushed her teeth, she refused to look at her reflection in the mirror. She knew she'd have those hideous bags under her eyes. It'd taken hours to fall asleep that night; at most, she'd gotten four hours of proper rest. Even without her sleep deprivation, she never found herself a beautiful sight to look at; with her nose too big for her face, a body so formless and flat chested she looked like a brick, it only soured her mood. Only once she’d finished brushing and rinsed her mouth did she look at the mirror, and even then, she merely glanced long enough to smooth out her hair.

Pearl grabbed a little silver box on the edge of the sink. Removing the lid, she retrieved a small, brown ring and slipped it onto her thumb. She stroked the smooth material with her index finger; Garnet had once told her it was made of solid tumbled sardonyx.

It had been a birthday gift from many years back, when Pearl was still recovering from her amnesia... Ever since then, a day hadn't passed where Pearl didn't wear the ring. The thought of forgetting Garnet again made Pearl sick to her stomach; but as long as that ring was on her thumb, she felt safe.

Pearl made her way back down the hallway. She could smell coffee brewing in the kitchen; as someone who preferred tea, she was never a fan of it, but the scent always made her feel right at home. Her mood immediately brightened just a touch as she spotted Garnet at the counter.

"Morning." Garnet said. Pearl opened the fridge and looked to see what she had to work with: not much, but they did have some fresh blueberries that Rose had given them the other day.

"Good morning." Pearl finally responded. "Do you want me to make pancakes?" The thought of food made her stomach turn… Normally she was bright and ready to eat breakfast upon waking up, but after that little nightmare -- even if it had mostly faded from her memory, and she could only remember the strange sense of anxiety that accompanied it -- food was the last thing she wanted. Still, Garnet was never good in the kitchen, and Pearl knew she’d probably enjoy a change from her usual routine of jam and toast.

"Always." Garnet said with a wink. She lifted herself up onto the counter and crossed her legs, taking a sip of her coffee. "I can't believe it's already Saturday. This week went by pretty quickly.”

"I think so, too." Pearl lied; in all honesty, this week had felt more like a month. She searched the fridge for pancake ingredients; blueberries, eggs, butter... 'I hope we have enough flour.' she thought, closing the fridge and heading over to the cabinet.

"Do you have any plans for tonight?" Garnet asked, setting her mug aside. "I want to go to the mall. Our sales have been decent this week, and I'd like to splurge on something nice..."

Pearl bit her lip. Throughout the week, she'd debated telling Garnet about her plans to meet with Amethyst... But every time she tried, a mixture of shame and guilt welled up in her chest. After how much Garnet had comforted Pearl these past few weeks, she’d started to worry she was asking a little too much. Besides, she had no way to even explain the situation without it sounding sketchy and incredibly vague -- which it absolutely was.

"I was planning to visit Amethyst, actually." Pearl responded as she stirred the pancake ingredients together. "But I won't be offended if you go to the mall without me. Maybe you could invite Bismuth?”

"That’s true… Or maybe all four of us could hang out together. I think Amethyst and Bismuth would get along pretty well." Garnet suggested.

"Hm, I think I'd prefer if it was just the two of us tonight." Pearl said, turning on the stove and greasing a frying pan with some butter.

"Ah, I understand." Garnet smiled knowingly, and Pearl’s cheeks flushed. Still, Garnet’s assumption was less embarrassing than the reality of the situation, so she let it be.

"D-do you want two or three pancakes?" Pearl hoped to change the subject.

"Just two." Garnet said. Once she'd finished her coffee, she slipped down from the counter and made her way into the living room. Garnet retrieved her comb and a couple of neon scrunchies, and stood in front of the body length mirror as she parted her hair into two sections.

Pearl poured a ladle of pancake mix onto the sizzling pan. With a spatula in hand, she leaned against the counter and watched as Garnet styled her hair in two puffy little pigtails. Pearl smiled; she always found it charming when she did cutesy hair styles like that. She normally kept her hair in a ponytail for convenience, but every now and then she'd do pigtails or braids, and would always decorate it with colorful hair clips, scrunchies, or bows.

Pearl remembered the pancake and quickly flipped it; thankfully, it was the perfect golden brown color she always aimed for. The more time that passed, the more the residue of her nightmare began to fade. By then, she’d almost forgotten about it altogether. 'Maybe I'll have some pancakes after all...'

* 

The sun descended over the ocean; as she waited, Pearl periodically checked the leather watch on her wrist. It was a few minutes past seven already. The more time her mind had to wander, the more her anxiety bubbled up in her chest, and she began to regret not bringing Garnet along.

"Hey, girly-girl!" a familiar voice called, snapping Pearl away from her thoughts.

"Good evening!" Pearl responded, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Where's Garnet?" Amethyst asked, shoving her hands into her skirt pockets.

"I decided not to bring her along..." Pearl fidgeted with the collar of her shirt. "She's had a lot on her plate lately, and she wanted to spend tonight with one of her friends, anyway."

Amethyst smiled in a way that made Pearl's heart flutter. "That's fine with me. Do you wanna go for a swim?"

Pearl glanced down at her purse. “Oh, uh, I hadn't considered that! I didn't bring a swimsuit or a towel, so..."

’Oh, right.’ Amethyst thought. She’d forgotten humans had special clothing intended specifically for swimming. Why exactly they were so particular about these things, she failed to understand. "No biggie. I was just gonna go for a quick dip. But I won't swim too far or anything.”

"That's fine with me." Pearl relaxed her shoulders. "Perhaps I’ll dip my feet in, though…”

“Nice!" Amethyst said. And with that, she waded into the shallow water, clothes and all.

Pearl gave her a puzzled expression. "You're swimming in your clothes?"

Amethyst snorted. "You want me to take them off?"

Pearl cupped her hands over her mouth. "No! Goodness no, I just -- don't normally see people swim in their clothes, that's all. But there's nothing wrong with it, I suppose... it's just... a bit strange?"

"Alrighty then. I'm fine with being strange." Amethyst smirked, continuing into the water until the surface reached her chin. She let out a sigh of content; maybe her transformation would be a little less painful this time around, now that she was surrounded by plenty of chlorine-free water.

“So…” Pearl removed her shoes and stepped into the water. It was quite warm, and far more pleasant than she’d expected. Rolling her jeans up as high as they could go, she stepped forward until the tides just barely grazed her knees. “There was something you wanted to talk to me about?”

Amethyst’s expression softened. “Yeah…” she said, scratching the back of her head. Amethyst glanced up at the dimming sky before she continued. “So… You remember what you told me about the other day? How you lost your memory a few years ago, and how last month, you saw something that wasn’t real?”

Pearl swallowed a lump in her throat. “I do.” she responded after a moment of hesitation.

“Well…” Amethyst paused for a moment, as if trying to figure out her own words. Pearl’s anxiety rose with each passing second.

"You... you aren’t the only one." Amethyst began. "I also lost my memory. Something happened around a month ago, and I can’t remember anything before then. Not who I am, or where I come from, or why I’m here… Just my name.” Amethyst said. Pearl’s eyes widened.

“But that’s not the important thing…” she continued. “What I really wanted to say is… What you saw last month was real. It wasn’t in your head.”

Pearl’s expression fell. “What on earth are you talking about?”

Amethyst glanced up at the sky once more. ’Why does she keep doing that…?’ Pearl wondered. It almost seemed as if she was waiting for something... She looked up, too, and spotted the full moon hanging in the golden summer sky.

“Fuck -- !” Amethyst yelped out, causing Pearl to jump. Before she could ask if she was alright, Amethyst fell backwards into the water with a splash.

“Amethyst?” she called. No response. ’Oh no…’ Her heart pounded. She’d never been confident in her swimming abilities -- so for a moment, all she could do was pray that Amethyst would return to the surface… But the longer she waited, the more certain it seemed that something wasn’t right.

“Amethyst!” Pearl called out again. Fearing what’d happen if she waited any longer, she plunged herself into the water.

It didn’t take long for Pearl to spot that head of lavender hair. Swimming closer, Pearl gripped her by the shoulders and tugged her upright and towards the surface. Once Amethyst’s head was above the water, she took in a gasp of air.

“Are you alright?” Pearl urged, cupping Amethyst’s cheeks. “What happened?”

“Sorry ‘bout that.” Amethyst said, brushing a strand of seaweed away from her forehead. “It caught me by surprise, and once I went under, the water felt so nice that I didn’t wanna come back up, heh…” Amethyst blushed, glancing aside. “Didn't mean to scare ya."

“What caught you by surprise?” Pearl urged. “Did you step on...” Pearl trailed off as she caught a glimpse of Amethyst’s hands, and her heart nearly stopped in her chest. Her fingers were webbed together, her nails resembling something more like talons; and as she cast her gaze downward, she spotted a very familiar, very beautiful, shimmering and opalescent tail.

Amethyst wasn’t sure what to make of Pearl’s expression; her skin turned pale, her eyes were wide, and her mouth was slightly ajar. Pearl looked at her hand and fidgeted with the brown ring on her thumb before turning her gaze back towards Amethyst.

“It’s happening again, isn’t it?” she whispered.

Amethyst’s heart dropped down to her stomach. “No - no no no no no, it’s not! I mean, it is, but it isn’t what you think.” Amethyst cupped Pearl’s cheeks, but the latter immediately jerked away from her. Amethyst clasped a hand over her mouth as she saw a slight claw mark on Pearl’s face. “I’m sorry…” she whimpered.

“T-this is some sort of joke, isn’t it?” Pearl backed away, balling her fists at her sides. “I-I’m not sure how you did it, but--”

“It’s not a joke! I swear on my life, Pearl!” Amethyst insisted, tugging on her hair. “I don’t know why I’m like this… I don’t remember anything. I don’t even remember what I used to be. All I know is that… I lost my memory like you did. So I thought… Maybe…” Tears welled up in Amethyst’s eyes. “I thought maybe you were… I thought you were a mermaid, too, okay?" Her voice cracked, and she buried her face into her hands. "I know that's stupid of me. A-and I think I knew deep down that you'd react like this... I really just wanted it to be true. So this is my fault."

Pearl’s expression softened. Her fear, and a small hint of anger, still lingered in her chest… Yet at the same time, seeing Amethyst like this broke her heart. Extending a hand, she cautiously approached her and grasped her shoulder. Her soft skin now had a slick, scaly texture. She fidgeted with the ring on her finger for a moment, taking in a long, deep breath.

“Well… I can tell you for certain that I’m not a mermaid.” Pearl began. “But… Perhaps there’s more to my story than I’d initially considered.” She sighed again. “You don't have to be sorry about this, though... I'm just more confused than ever, and a little shaken up, but... I think I'll survive."

Amethyst didn't respond. She feared that if she spoke, she'd be unable to hold back her tears anymore. Pearl seemed to pick up on this; she reached for Amethyst’s hands and gave them a squeeze, running her fingers across those sharp talons and webbed skin. It simultaneously intrigued and disturbed her. But the more she looked at Amethyst’s shimmering tail, the more her fear dissolved away. Pearl turned her gaze up to meet Amethyst’s eyes; only now did that alien look in them begin to make sense. Her heart racing, she suddenly pulled Amethyst into a tight embrace.

At first, Amethyst tensed; but then she allowed herself to close her eyes and melt into the display of affection.

“It's going to be alright.” Pearl whispered. “I promise, your secret will be safe with me.”

Another silence fell between the two. They simply held each other tight, listening to the lapping of waves and chirping of crickets.

“This is gonna sound stupid…” Amethyst finally spoke up. “But like… are you sure you’re not a mermaid?”

Pearl giggled against Amethyst’s hair. “I have no reason to believe that. I mean, I clearly have two legs now, don’t I?”

“Yeah, but…” Amethyst began, but decided against it. She wasn’t sure how to explain a lack of monthly transformation without bringing up Rose… “I guess I'm still holding on to that stupid idea that it might be true... I still don’t know what the hell’s going on, you know? I don’t know why I became a human… I don’t even know why I’m here.”

“At least you’re not the only one.” Pearl said, squeezing Amethyst even tighter. “Sometimes, I feel the same way. Even if it’s for a slightly less… mythical reason.”

Amethyst chuckled. “Yeah, guess so.”

“But now I can’t help but wonder…” Pearl pulled away from the hug and looked Amethyst in the eyes. “Rose knows about your secret, doesn’t she? Do you think you can trust her with it…?”

Amethyst blushed. “Oh, yeah, totally, pfft.” Amethyst waved a hand dismissively. Just talking about Rose right now was making her feel guilty. “Like, she was kinda freaked out when she found me, and I had a lot of explaining to do, but uh, she’s doing a good job keeping my secret. Greg and Steven, too. I actually kinda snuck out tonight. She didn’t want me getting myself in danger, but… I wanted to keep my promise to you.”

Pearl chuckled softly. “You know you could have just told me about this, right? You didn’t have to put yourself in so much danger… I might have believed you if you told me the truth in a convincing way.”

“I’ll keep that in mind next time.” Amethyst stuck her tongue out.

Pearl rolled her eyes. “Anyway.” she continued with a sigh, gesturing to her wet clothes. “I would like to head home before I develop hypothermia. Would you like me to take you back to Rose’s house?”

In all honesty, the thought of facing Rose right now made Amethyst’s stomach turn. “No, I uh, might spend the night here. Rose is gonna be pissed that I snuck out, and I’m not ready to deal with that.”

“Nonsense. I won’t let you stay out here where you could be seen!” Pearl shook her head. “If you don’t want to see Rose tonight, I could take you back to my apartment. Garnet is out for the night, so it’ll just be the two of us.”

Amethyst blushed. “Aw, geez… You sure? I don’t want you to worry about me.”

“I’ll worry far more if you stay out here overnight.” Pearl said. “I insist. Should I carry you to my car? Or are you able to… Grow your legs back?”

Amethyst snorted. “Man, if only. You gotta carry me if you really wanna take me home with you.”

“That’s alright.” Pearl said. And just like that, she scooped Amethyst up into her arms. With a grunt, she carried her out of the water and onto the beach, making her way through the woods and into the clearing where her car was parked.

As skinny as Pearl was, Amethyst had honestly expected her to struggle carrying a heavier woman like herself… Of course, the slight strain on Pearl’s face didn’t make it look easy, either, but they made it all the way to the car without stopping once.

She placed Amethyst in the front seat, adjusting her scaly fin so that it lay comfortably on the ground -- pausing for a moment to admire the way it shimmered in the moonlight -- and then buckled her seatbelt for her.

“Damn, you’re stronger than you look.” Amethyst remarked.

“I do a lot of lifting at my job.” Pearl winked. “I’ve lifted antiques far heavier than you.”

“I can tell.” Amethyst blushed a little.

Pearl shut the door and walked around to the other side of the car; after climbing into the driver’s seat, she shoved the key into the ignition and started it up. They made their way out of the woods and back to the road.

As Pearl drove, Amethyst noticed a little door in front of her. “What’s this?” she asked.

“Oh, that’s the glove compartment.” Pearl said.

Amethyst tugged it open and saw that it was filled to the brim with papers, tiny bottles of various liquids, and dozens of stray bandages… but not gloves. ’Weird.’

After she grew bored of her newest discovery, she closed it back up. Her attention shifted over to the little cardboard shape hanging from the mirror; it had a strong, floral scent, and was shaped like a cat’s head.

“Oh, do you like my air freshener?” Pearl said. “Garnet found it at Hot Topic last week. She really loves Hello Kitty.”

Amethyst only understood a fraction of that sentence. “Yeah, I like it. It smells pretty nice.” she said, leaning back against the seat again. That uncomfortable, slightly painful sense of thirst began to tingle at her throat… Hopefully the ride wouldn’t be too long. If she didn’t get herself in some water soon, she feared it’d be just as painful as her first transformation.

Soon enough, they reached the thrift store-apartment, and Pearl pulled into the parking lot. “Alright…” Pearl glanced outside to make sure nobody was nearby before she took her keys out. “It doesn’t look like too many people are out right now, so we can probably make it inside without getting caught…”

“Worst case scenario, we tell them I got stuck in a costume.” Amethyst snorted.

Pearl gave a huff of amusement. “True, but I’d rather avoid confrontation altogether. I’m a terrible liar.”

She slipped out of the driver’s side, hurrying over to Amethyst’s side and lifting her out of the passenger seat. She nudged the door shut with her hip, making her way across the parking lot as quickly as she could -- which wasn’t very quick, at least while carrying Amethyst -- and fumbled with the key in the door for a moment before it clicked.

“Thank goodness…” Pearl whispered. She pushed the door open and hurried inside, locking it behind them once they were both safe.

“Alright...” Pearl let out a sigh of relief, setting Amethyst down on the floor so she could catch her breath. “I don’t think anyone saw us.”

“I hope not.” Amethyst rubbed her neck as she felt a twinge of pain in her gills. She really needed to get some water soon. “So uh, not to rush you or anything, but where’s the bathtub?”

“Upstairs, unfortunately.” Pearl said.

“You don’t have to carry me anymore. I know you’re strong, but still.” Amethyst smiled reassuringly. “I can drag myself up while you get the water started, ‘kay?”

“Are you sure?” Pearl said.

“Positive. It’ll be faster than making you carry me up the stairs.”

“Well… Just call for me if you change your mind.” Pearl headed straight for the bathroom. Bracing herself, Amethyst gripped the edge of the stairs and began to heave herself up, step-by-step. It was, admittedly, more difficult than she’d thought it’d be… But soon enough she had reached the top, and could hear the distant sound of running water. Gritting her teeth, she made her way down the hallway and towards the bathroom. Once she was there, she lifted herself straight into the bathtub and flopped right in.

“Is the water warm enough?” Pearl asked.

“It’s perfect.” Amethyst slouched down as much as she could, and let the water run against the gills on her neck. The faucet had only been running for a minute or two, so she had to shift around to get her body completely damp. And like magic, the aches in her body began to fade. “Ahh… Thanks so much, girlie.”

“Of course.” Pearl said with a smile. “Is there anything else you need? Anything to eat or drink?”

“Nah, this tub of water is all I needed.” Amethyst groaned happily, flapping her tail against the side of the tub.

“Alright, alright…” Pearl sat down on the floor, tucking her legs beneath herself. She let out a long, deep sigh of relief, letting her head fall back against the grey tiled wall. “What a long day…”

“Yeah, tell me about it.” Amethyst said, resting her elbows on the side of the tub.

The two of them sat together in silence, listening to the sound of the running water. Amethyst noticed Pearl chewing her nails down to the nub. It was something she’d often caught Greg doing when he was nervous… Another weird human habit. Hoping to calm her down, she rested a hand on her shoulder -- making sure to keep her claws retracted.

Pearl glanced back at her. “Hm?”

“It’s all gonna be okay, girlie.” Amethyst whispered. “I promise. I’m gonna go back to being human tomorrow, so you’ll only have to deal with this for one night… And even then, we’re gonna try and find out more about… Whatever’s going on.”

Pearl smiled warmly. “Thank you, Amethyst…” She reached for one of her hands and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I know I seemed pretty shaken up earlier, but… I truly am glad I--”

Pearl tensed mid-sentence as she heard footsteps down the hallway. “Shit…” she whispered, rising to her feet. “I think Garnet’s home.”

“You home, Pearlie?” an unfamiliar voice called.

“...And Bismuth’s with her.” A blush spread across Pearl’s cheeks.

“Oh, shit.” Amethyst slouched down in the tub until the water reached her nose.

“Here, just -- ” Pearl grabbed the shower curtain and pulled it shut. “There. If anyone comes in, keep this closed and don’t make a sound.”

“You sure that’ll work?” Amethyst raised an eyebrow.

“Of course not.” Pearl huffed. “But what else can we do?”

“Good point.” Amethyst mumbled.

“Regardless, I’m going to say hi to Garnet and our guest. Hopefully neither of them need to use the bathroom…” Pearl wrung her hands nervously. She glanced back at Amethyst one last time before heading out and pulling the door shut.

[wongxiexie]

No matter what

Pairing: Kim Jongdae (Chen) x Reader (ft. EXO members) Genre: Angst, Mafia!AU Word Count: 1.654 words Warnings: Death, Graphic depictions of violence, Language Note: The photo’s from Chen’s Star1 photoshoot.

“Teleportation,” you grunt.

“What?” Jongdae asks shakily, his movements hurried and panicked as he tries to cover your gaping wound with his hands. He appears as if he is about to combust from the pressure when he sees blood still flowing through the gaps between his fingers.

“I--,” a pained cough escapes your parted lips. “Fuck, that stings like a bitch,” you groan when you open your eyes, blinking in irritation because of the sweat trickling down your temples.

“Invisibility,” another cough. “Ability to stop time...” a groan. “Whatever the hell it is we need to get outta here, that’s what I want.”

You curse again when Jongdae presses too hard on your wound, causing him to apologize right after.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he cries repeatedly. “I’m gonna get us out of here,” he says desperately but lowly, as if he’s trying to convince himself and not you.

“Those motherfuckers are too loud,” you grind out, hating the dominant sound of continuous gunshots that mark the death of every single one of your men. Even in your endangered state, the anger is still flowing off of you in waves. “I’m gonna fucking kill that mole, don’t you worry your pretty little head, Dae,” you hiss. “I’ll chop the head off that traitor myself.”

“I don’t care about them!” Jongdae shouts while tears stream down his face, and he has to angle his whole body closer to you just to be able to hear you.

The gunshots are getting louder and you’re sure the enemy is fast approaching. You wonder how many are still alive from your side, but if you have to hazard a guess, you’ll say not much because your best men are all in an overseas operation for the apparently false intel that mole gave you.

‘If only Chanyeol and Sehun were here,’ you think bitterly.

If thoughts could kill, then Kyungsoo would already be dead, and in fact, he’d be dead a million times over. You’ve always thought the kid was sketchy, but you didn’t think he’d have the balls to actually go against you like that.

Well, you realize he is part of that rival mafia all along which proves that he does have balls, the same mafia that the infamous Byun Baekhyun leads. Fuck, you’ve kept yourself away from your former lover for so long, even moved countries and continents just to avoid him because even though you are headstrong and stubborn, you aren’t stupid enough to deny power when you see it.

He can wipe out a country if he so desires and you know it. He knows that you know it too.

But the shivers that crawl up your spine aren’t for you.

You can imagine it already, the bloodthirsty eyes of his men flashing through your mind. Those lunatic Kim brothers, Minseok, Junmyeon and Jongin. You had a run-in with them a few years back and what you witnessed was on the opposite end of the spectrum of pleasantry. And can you even forget Baekhyun’s most trusted hunter, Zhang Yixing?

They kill without a second thought and without any remorse, but what truly frightens you is how they torture their captives. They enjoy it. 

Every. Single. Moment.

They get a high out of hearing their victims beg and let out harrowing cries of agony, and they thrive on it.

You aren’t thinking of yourself right now, in fact, your own safety isn’t even on your mind. You’re starting to lose consciousness, but you fight on because you have an important job. You have to save Jongdae.

You don’t care what will happen to yourself, but damn every soul on every dimension if you let them hurt Jongdae, the one person who had foolishly shown you what that blasted accursed thing is. 

Love, is it?

Whatever.

The point is, Jongdae’s safety is paramount. Fuck anything else, you think. You know it’s your fault, though. You shouldn’t have dragged him down this damned path with you. He’s too good to experience the horrors that your world carries.

Jongdae is still frantic, trying everything he can to save you, and as you look at his face, you grimace slightly when you see the frown that seems etched on his face.

Shame that it’s going to be the last expression you see on him.

Even with all the grim thoughts, however, your dark undeserving heart warms at the sight of him thinking about you and only you, that even amid everything, you are the only one on his mind.

Jongdae stops panicking and locks eyes with you. He feels as if calm has washed over his entire being when he sees you just looking at him with the most gentle smile he has ever seen on you.

He cups your cheeks and gives you a full kiss on the mouth, giving into his desires. You respond immediately, tearing up at the strong emotions Jongdae tries to convey through his kiss.

Closing his eyes, he rests his forehead on yours and tries to savor what he thinks is his last minutes with you.

A loud explosion sounds within the room, with Baekhyun himself bombing the heavy door to get to you. Jongdae jumps at the sound and diverts his attention towards the commotion, but you don’t even flinch when the door gives in, having already heard their rapid footsteps up the stairs moments before they brought the door down.

You place your hand tenderly on his cheek, enjoying the few seconds of just holding Jongdae, with him kneeling over you while you lay there bleeding to death.

But you’re not going to die soon, no. Baekhyun won’t let you die yet.

You bring Jongdae’s stare back to you as you smile at him, wishing with all your frozen heart for him to understand how much you really love him, and what lengths you will go to just to protect him.

You won’t let anybody hurt the only person you ever really cared about.

Baekhyun stalks through the door wearing a smile that tells you a thousand things that don’t even need to be said, and just as he says your name...

“I will love you forever, Kim Jongdae,” you give your one and only true love the final words you want him to hear, and a beautiful smile overtakes his features even with all the things happening around you.

And then--

*BANG!*

You let the gun fall from your hand the same time Jongdae’s lifeless body lands on yours.

His body is still warm, you think. He’s always so warm.

You hug his body close to you and you place a kiss on the top of his head. “I told you, I won’t let them hurt you,” you whisper to him.

You won’t ever let anyone hurt Jongdae, and if death is the only way to ensure he won’t experience any pain, then you will gladly bear the responsibility of his life with your own two hands.

“My, my...” Baekhyun’s mocking voice reaches your ears, obviously finding the situation amusing. “Didn’t know you had it in you, love.”

You sneer in disgust at his attitude.

“Such a shame, though,” he clicks his tongue. “I would’ve loved to have the opportunity to break every single one of his bones before he begged me for death.”

He stands before you and kicks Jongdae’s body to the side, causing you to growl in anger. “Imagine what Jongin could’ve done to him,” he says with an almost deranged smile. “Or Minseok,” he laughs, “My god, imagine how Minseok could’ve sliced him open without letting him die!” 

Kneeling over you, he holds your chin with a harsh grip, keeping your eyes locked with his. “Wouldn’t like that so much, would you?” The grin he wears sends shivers running down your spine.

You cough, already starting to faint because of the blood loss. “In your--,” you say with a wheeze. “--fucking dreams.”

Spitting blood at his face, you let a weak smirk touch your lips. “I would never let you and your men lay your filthy hands on him.”

Your vision starts to blur and you welcome it with open arms, but Baekhyun’s cold voice reaches your ears before darkness overtakes you completely.

"I’ll make your life a living hell, love.”

——

"Healing.”

You sent a non-committal grunt towards his way, prompting him to continue.

“If I were to have a superpower, I’d like to have the ability to heal.” This time, you turned towards him and raised your brows. Setting down the gun you were cleaning, you faced him fully and took in the smile on his face.

‘He always has a nice smile,’ you thought to yourself. He looked like a cat and you couldn’t resist the urge to pinch his cheeks.

“Why healing?” you asked him, releasing your hold on his face as he massages the area your pinched. “You’re so lame.”

“Ah wae!” he gave you his signature whine. To be honest, you used to hate that sound because it grated your ears horribly, but now? Now, maybe you hated it a little less... maybe even liked it... a bit. Just a bit. Although you’d never tell him that. Ever.

“I want to be able to heal so I can cure you of anything!” The smile never left his face, but you saw the slight tinge of wariness that graced his features when he tried to subtly eye your gun.

You snorted. “Lame.”

He whined loudly again, but this time he did so with a grin that stretched from ear to ear when he saw the small upward tilt to your lips.

“But you love me,” he teased before standing up to go to the kitchen, most likely to retrieve himself a snack.

“Yeah,” you whispered, and you knew he didn’t hear you.

“I love you, Kim Jongdae,” you stared at his retreating form. “And I’ll do absolutely anything to protect you.”