#goose by potted plants

[xlntwtch2]

MOSTLY SILENT BIRDS...

(c) three photos by @xlntwtch2 ...old & current summer photos '24

when there are few flowers, there are still bird ornaments

top to bottom:

goose guarding foliage

birds on a wire

duck stands tall by the door

[artbyblastweave]

I've never made any connections between Worm and the Captain America mythos before. Spill some ink?

Okay, so from a purely aesthetic perspective, the gimme is Miss Militia. She's the most obvious "Captain Patriotic" in the roster, she has the power of GUN, she's the only one who actively buys into the mythology of America specifically. She's a Kurdish woman occupying an aesthetic niche generally held by a rugged squinty white guy. She's an output of the melting pot narrative. She's sort of a rendering of what a grounded superhero who somehow became very aesthetically into America might look like. Not in the craven marketing-driven way of Homelander or Comedian, not in the jingoistic maniac way of USAgent or Peacemaker. She buys it in the broadly left-liberal (USamerican connotation of that term) safe, friendly, reclamative way. Why, what a great rehabilitation of the archetype!

She's also deeply, deeply afraid of rocking the boat. She's got a deepseated childhood trauma related to the bad things that happen when she puts herself in a leadership role. She goes along to get along. When she's proactive, it's usually to point a gun at Tattletale to stop her from upsetting the status quo. She sits through a lot of situations where Steve Rogers, as commonly modeled, would probably plant himself like a tree by the river of truth and go, "Hey, this is fucked up." She more or less capitulates to Undersider domination of the city, in a way that predisposes us to think of her as a voice of reason after all these total nuts that Skitter's been up against- but would Taylor "to relinquish control is a form of ego death" Hebert really be willing to leave someone in charge of the local Protectorate branch who she thought couldn't be corralled? She looks like a beacon, but doesn't- indeed, probably can't- ever truly behave like one. I mean, you can debate the on-the-spot morality of any given one of her judgement calls, that's actually one of the less exhausting Worm Morality Debates to have- but in aggregate, a person in American flag garb who actually meaningfully criticizes the paramilitary organization they're part of is not gonna survive long in that role!

So again, she's the gimme from an aesthetic standpoint. But what I don't really see a lot of discussion of is how Cauldron plays into the riff.

Captain America is institutional, but in a comically morally uncomplicated way. The serum was originally mana from heaven, granted to a living saint, conveniently divorced from any nitty-gritty sausage-making process and even-more conveniently divorced from the horrible consequences of giving the, uh, the U.S government a replicable super soldier process. And in fairness to Captain America, this is 100 percent something the overall mythos eventually patched to my satisfaction; the sausage-making process eventually revealed as prototypical government fuckery driven by human experimentation on black servicemen, the overall Marvel Setting littered with failed attempts by the U.S. Government to recreate that golden goose so they can have their fun new jackboots. (In Ultimate Marvel, this is how almost all contemporary superhumans were created, and this is a state of affairs with a body count in the millions or billions.)

Cauldron draws you in with the same noble rhetoric about greater goods, the same one-off proprietary irreplicable formula- but you don't get the luxury afterwards of representing nothing but the dream. You aren't partnering up with a plucky crank scientist with a heart of gold. You're selling your soul to an organization with an agenda. The narrative makes no bones about the fact that everything you do is fundamentally tainted by the fact you opted into an end product created through torture, kidnapping and human experimentation. You don't get to pull a Kamen Rider by going rogue or opting out or making good use of the fruit of the poisoned tree; you are owned, and everything you do has this Damocles sword hanging over your head- when are the people who bankrolled this going to come to collect?

So that's the question of "who would willingly dress like that" covered, and the question of who creates a serum like that. What about the question of who takes a serum like that? I'd argue that Eidolon is the examination of that. Pre-Cauldron David reads to me like pre-serum Steve Rogers viewed through a significantly bleaker lens. They're both sickly kids desperate to serve, rocketed to the pinnacle of human capability by an experimental procedure. But for Steve Rogers, the crisis was that he had a specific vision of the world and was frustrated by his inability to carry it out. Before the serum he picked fights over what was right and wrong and got his ass handed to him; afterwards he picked those same fights and just started winning instead. The serum neatly solved a problem he had, and to the extent that his mindset is influenced by his pre-serum experiences, it's generally constructive; a desire to protect the weak, help the helpless, an appreciation for people who stand up for what's right even when they're clearly gonna get pancaked for their trouble. So ultimately there's no dark side, downside, or underlying neurosis ascribed to his initial impulse to take that serum.

But with David, it's not a tragic case of the spirit being willing but the flesh being weak. He isn't a preternaturally-noble soul, out to represent the best elements of the American ideal- he kind of represents the inverse, a guy who's been failed at every level while utterly convinced that he's the problem. He's actively suicidal because he's a wheelchair-bound epileptic in an economically-depressed socially-backwards rural town in the 1980s, and he's spent his 18 years of life internalizing the idea that he's worse than useless unless he can somehow find a way provide value to something larger than himself. Doctor Mother finds him in the aftermath of a suicide attempt spurred by his rejection from the army- and he didn't even want to join the army specifically, necessarily, he just needed his situation to be literally anything else, and he took what he thought he could get. And then he finds himself in a position to become a superhero, so he does that, molds himself into that, subordinates himself to that, builds his entire sense of self and values around the value he can provide in that role. No grand design or sacred principles carried over through the metamorphosis. Just relief at finally, finally having something that looks like an answer to the question of what he's supposed to do.

And you know, you know that if Steve Rogers was facing down the barrel of being depowered, he'd smile and nod, he'd Cincinnatus that shit. It's happened before. But for David, the emotional trauma and self-worth issues that caused him to roll the dice on a Steve-Rogers treatment never really went away. When would it? He's been Providing Value as a ten-ton Hammer Against Evil for thirty years. No family, no social life. Certainly, no incentive on his handler's part to lance his Atlas complex. So he barrels towards atrocity in the name of remaining useful. Admittedly, this is where the comparison breaks down in a significant way; Captain America is much more of a symbol than he is an irreplicable powerhouse, so it's not catastrophic if he's taken off the board. Eidolon is so unbelievably powerful that his myopia and self-centeredness actually do align with a real problem everyone else is gonna have if he loses his powers. But in terms of the starting points- I think that Steve Rogers embodies the myth about why you'd want to join the army that badly. Eidolon is, I think, much more closely modelling why you'd actually want to join the army that badly.

[kwanisms]

taglist | playlist

summary: Everything seemed to fall into place for Y/N. She had a loving boyfriend, her dream job, and the bestest friend in the universe. She never thought her life was missing something until she was introduced to Seo Changbin, the town's newest tattoo artist who happens to be harboring an unimaginable secret.

pairing: tattoo artist!Changbin × fem!Reader

genres/themes: angst, fluff, smut, 18+ (minors dni. I mean it. go away), slow burn, “forbidden” love, strangers to lovers, supernatural au, tattoo artist!Changbin, werewolf!Changbin, established boyfriend!Joshua

warnings: adult dialogue, alcohol consumption, Joshua being an asshat

permanent taglist: @yoonguurt @wonderfulshinee @candidupped @dejavernon @violagoth @tigermoonbiss @katsukis1wife @luvsooby

stray kids taglist: @cixrosie @hoeforcheol @beomgyusbabygirl @lovestayskzxx @flowerboykun @smhlino @cutiespaghetti @peterparkoure

series taglist: @snow-pegasus @brownieracha @hobi-is-golden @avyskai @i-say-choco-you-say-ice-cream @biribarabiribbaem @mchslut @spicxbnny @hgema @likeaboss-duh @oiminho @slut-for-dabi @ughyeka @honey-lemon-goose @skidsflowers @fixation-dump @meadowyin @sleeplessdawn @bristidutta @changbinnss @racha-enthusiast @phobia0922 @sanjoongie @nattisbored @kimseungminsprincess @chrollosforehead @typicalcuriosities @tai-loves-skz @labyrinthonmymind @spookyauthorspopmusictrash

Red strikethrough means I cannot tag you. Check your visibility settings.

And if you change your url, YOU are responsible for telling me.

a/n: It's finally here! I have been looking forward to this series for a while. I really hope it's as well received and that you all love it. I will warn you all that it's a slow burn fic and I do mean slow burn. Something to note is that Y/N never cheats on her boyfriend. I want to make that known now. Cheating is not included in this series. A couple things before we get started:

A huge thank you to my wife, Sky☁️, for this entire story idea. Without her late night thoughts and ramblings as well as her constant hype and support, this series wouldn’t even exist.

Also a massive thank you and huge shout out to @icybluehosh for her professional input on all things tattoos. You are a saint, my love and I thank you so much!

Edit to add a massive thank you to @playmetheclassics for beta reading and helping me edit this hunk of words. I'm so sorry I forgot to tag you earlier Indi 😭😭😭

To everyone else, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy this series and what I have in store for these characters!

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𝗰𝗵 𝟬𝟭 - 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿

wc: 16.5 (she's wordy and I'm not sorry lol)

masterlist || next »»

The faint sound of soft jazz played overhead, occasionally drowned out by the sounds of forks and knives clinking gently against ceramic plates. The air filled with the smell of coffee, muffins and other baked goods, making you wish you'd gotten something to eat.

Coming to this cafe had been your boyfriend’s idea, not yours, but you found yourself enchanted with the small, cozy atmosphere. The light, almost white, wood of the floor and tabletops contrasted against the black painted brick walls of the small space.

Huge rectangular windows dominated the storefront, allowing in as much natural light as possible. The pale wood was accompanied by black painted metal in the legs of the tables and in the chairs and the few bar stools that stood under the white granite countertop.

There were a few potted plants behind the bar and in the corners giving a little life and color to the otherwise nearly monochromatic palette. You glanced down at the mug in front of you. A simple vanilla latte had been your order when you accompanied Joshua up to the counter.

The sprinkling of cinnamon that lay on top of the steamed milk foam couldn't mask the aroma of the coffee that invited you in to take a sip. Although you didn’t want to mess up the foam design, the moment you took a sip, sighing in contentment as the sweet vanilla bean flavor hit your tongue, you knew you’d made the right call.

You heard a chuckle and glanced up across the table, eyes settling on your boyfriend as he smiled at you, having just taken a sip of his own coffee, an iced americano, his go to as of late.

You couldn’t understand why he loved such a bitter drink. You remembered trying it weeks ago and gagged. It was just too strong and bitter for you. You liked cream and sugar in your coffee.

You liked things that tasted sweet. Joshua said sweetness reminded him of you, which is why he asked for an extra two pumps of the liquid sugar in his drink earlier.

“What?” You asked softly, setting your mug on the table. Joshua shook his head, his smile widening ever so slightly as he set his own cup down. “Nothing,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders but the smile remained. “Are you taking the mickey out of me?” You asked. Joshua laughed and shook his head. “That was awfully British of you,” he said and it was your turn to laugh.

“You’ve been watching too many of those BBC shows again, haven’t you?” He asked, cocking an eyebrow. You shook your head. “No, I’ve just been rewatching Doctor Who,” you admitted, looking away and out the window next to you.

The street outside was bustling with people, most of them enjoying the pleasant end of summer weather. Sejong was a smaller town near Daejeon and it was the town you happened to call home.

The quaint small town atmosphere greeted you the moment you pulled onto the main street. The smell of pine and fresh mountain air greeted many travelers who picked this town as their vacation spot, and for good reason.

The town offered a wide variety of activities, from mountain climbing to camping and hiking. It was also close to a lake that was popular with tourists and residents alike.

A hot spring was rumored to be in the area, though you'd never set sights on it, and you'd lived in Sejong all your life, explored much of the forests, and seen many things under the sun and moon alike.

But no hot springs.

You used to enjoy summers in Sejong, especially when you were younger. Spending all day with your friends, going to the lake and relaxing on the shore by the swim beach. You had spent many summers of your youth at the lake, both at the swim beach and exploring the lake's edges with your friends.

Seungcheol and Joshua always led the adventures with you, your best friend Lilah, and Jeonghan trailing behind. Sometimes Wonwoo would join you but most of his summers were spent interning at his father’s publishing company.

When your friend group wasn’t at the lake, you could be found at each other’s houses, or for you and Lilah, you could be found at what the two of you called your ‘secret place.’ It was a small clearing in the woods near the edge of town that was full of wildflowers during the spring and summer months. You’d meet up during the day and sometimes just the two of you at night. It was a pact that only you girls would meet there and that no boys were allowed.

You had so many fond memories of summer you weren’t sure when you started dreading the hotter months of the year. Maybe it was a subconscious thing once you became an adult.

When you’re a kid, summer is a time for breaks from school. Time for friends, staying up late, and partying. When you became an adult, summer didn’t stop the daily grind. You still had work to do. It made you appreciate your parents more the older you became.

“Y/N?” You heard Joshua speak, pulling you out of your thoughts and turning your attention to him once more. “You alright, babe?” He asked, brows knitting g together in concern. You nodded, giving him a smile. “Yeah, just thinking,” you said, picking up your mug and taking another deeper sip of the hot coffee.

Though it was technically summer, you were glad it was ending, and autumn was beginning to settle in. The mornings were cooler, the days were getting shorter, and the nights were getting longer. The leaves barely started to change color, but you already caught little glimpses of yellow, orange, red, and brown amongst the green.

“What are you thinking about?” Joshua asked, and you turned back to look at him. “Just the past,” you said with a shrug, resting your hands on the table before you, fingers wrapping around the warm mug. Joshua shifted in his seat, leaning forward and resting his elbow on the table. “What about it?” He asked softly, resting his chin in his hand.

“Just how much easier things used to be. No worries, no bills, no rent, no traumas.”

Joshua’s expression changed, a frown settling on his face before he reached out to take one of your hands softly in his. He rubbed the back of your hand with his thumb, studying your expression before he spoke. “You know it wasn’t your fault,” he said suddenly.

You glanced up at him, eyes meeting his gaze. “You didn’t do anything wrong,” he added. A small smile formed on your face. “I know,” you replied, voice barely above a whisper.

The tender moment was interrupted by your phone buzzing on the table top. You didn’t want to answer it, almost glaring at it for ruining your precious time with your boyfriend. He glanced at the screen, picked up the device, and turned it towards you. Your eyes read the name that flashed across the screen as the phone continued to buzz in his hand. You sighed and pulled your hands away to take the device from him.

You slid the lock to answer and held the phone to your ear. “Hey, Lilah,” you greeted your best friend. On the other side, you could hear her breathing heavily and the sound of objects being moved quickly. “Y/N!” She gasped. “Ohmigosh, I’m glad you answered!” You looked up at Joshua who was looking out the window, his expression unreadable.

It was no secret Joshua wasn’t fond of your best friend. More than once, he’d said he thought she was a bad influence on you which you didn’t understand because Lilah has never once pressured you to do anything you would consider bad. Sure, she was covered in tattoos and piercings, but to you, that didn’t change the fact that she was still your best friend underneath all the ink and metal.

Lilah was the loud, outgoing, energetic one between you. You'd met in primary school when she offered to share her brand new crayons with you and declared you her new best friend.

In middle school, the two of you met and befriended Wonwoo and with him came the others. Joshua, Seungcheol, and Jeonghan were a year older than Wonwoo but still as close with him as they were with one another.

“I’M FREAKING OUT Y/N,” Lilah nearly shouted. You cringed, pulling the phone from your ear slightly.

“Calm down,” you said into the receiver, noticing Joshua glance at you out of the corner of his eye.

He’d never understand why you still associated with Lilah. Especially after what happened between her and Jeonghan. To Joshua, you were too good for Lilah. When she started covering herself in tattoos and getting facial piercings, Joshua knew she’d gone off the deep end and he feared she would take you with her.

“What’s wrong?” You asked, looking away from your boyfriend. “I need you here. Please Y/N it’s an emergency,” Lilah said, voice sounding panicked. You nodded, despite the fact Lilah couldn’t see you. “Okay, calm down, Li. I’ll be right over,” you added, glancing up at Joshua, who glanced back at you as you spoke. Lilah thanked you profusely over the phone until you hung up. You looked up at Joshua, a grimace on your face.

“I know,” he said, giving you a small smile. “Lilah emergency,” he added. You sighed, nodding and turning to grab your bag. “I’m so sorry, Josh,” you said as you got up, Joshua following. You quickly drank the rest of your latte, not wanting it to go to waste. Joshua chuckled as you set the mug back down and turned to him.

He pulled you into a tight hug, resting his head against yours. “Be careful,” he said softly in your ear. You nodded, hugging him back. “I will,” you answered, pulling back and pressing a quick kiss to his lips. You tried to pull away, but Joshua wouldn’t let you. “I’m gonna need a bit more than that,” he said softly, hand moving to cup your cheek and pull your lips back to his. You giggled, the sound muffled by his lips.

The way he kissed you always left you breathless and wanting more. That was how Joshua always was. He always left you wanting more. “Josh,” you murmured against his lips. “We’re in a coffee shop.”

Joshua hummed and pulled away. “Okay,” he sighed. “Fine.” He pressed one more kiss to your lips before letting go of you. “Text me when you’re done with Lilah,” he said, moving aside so you could walk past him. “I will,” you said, giving him one last smile before walking towards the door and onto the sidewalk.

The walk to Lilah’s wasn’t long as she didn’t live far from the city center. The two of you had almost moved in together but thought better of it as you lived somewhat different lifestyles. You had a day job, whereas Lilah was a night owl, becoming most active once the sun went down and the moon came out.

You, on the other hand, were a day person. You preferred the sunlight to the moonlight. You were a lot like Joshua in that respect. He preferred the daytime over the nighttime. He felt that there was more to do during the day.

Unlike Joshua, you didn’t see anything bad about the nighttime. Sure, you preferred the sun over the moon, but you couldn’t deny there was a certain beauty to the silvery glow of the moon that contrasted with the golden one of the sun. They were opposites, but then again, so were you and Lilah.

Lilah was your moon, and you, her sun.

You found yourself outside her building after a brisk walk and climbed the steps to the front door, punching in the code and pulling open the door. Lilah had given you the code to her building ages ago. She said for emergencies, of course. You had also given her your code, again, for emergencies.

Climbing the steps up to her floor, you wondered what could be so important this late in the afternoon that she had interrupted the already small amount of free time you got with your boyfriend.

Of course, Lilah didn’t know you were with Joshua.

It was more of an impromptu thing, meeting at the cafe. The same one he’d taken you on your very first date. Your order hadn’t changed since then, but Joshua’s had changed a handful of times in the last two years.

Standing before Lilah’s door, you brought your hand up and gave the wood three sharp knocks. Behind the door, you heard a commotion as heavy footsteps made their way to the door. A smile spread over your face as Lilah threw open the door. Her panicked expression morphed into a smile as her eyes landed on you. “Oh, thank god!” She said, reaching out to grab your arm and pull you into her apartment.

Lilah’s apartment was small, a studio with a partition wall separating the living area from her bed. The walls were a very pale lilac gray with white crown molding and baseboards.

There were two large windows in the living room area, allowing larger amounts of natural lighting in. The view from her apartment was the main downtown square. During the day, it was a somewhat boring sight, the buildings, the people, even the square, but at night, everything came to life according to Lilah.

Her kitchen was small but big enough for her. A pair of folding doors off the kitchen opened to a pantry where her washer and dryer sat. The furniture in the living room was mostly gray and black, matching Lilah’s personality perfectly. The light walls were adorned with numerous posters of bands and movies.

Several framed paintings also hung on the walls, a few of them being Lilah’s own art, but one small canvas that hung on the wall separating her bedroom was one you had done.

A small floral piece you remembered from a wine and paint party your mother had hosted. Lilah and her mother had attended, and you weren’t too pleased with your painting, so you opted to toss it when your mother wasn’t looking, but Lilah took it instead and hung it proudly next to hers.

The normally very tidy apartment was in a state of disarray, as if a tiny tornado had wreaked havoc.

As Lilah led you into her bedroom area, you were convinced the tiny tornado was in fact your best friend. Clothes were thrown all over the place, littering the floor and the bed. Shoes had also been tossed carelessly around the room and you looked around, shaking your head.

“What is going on?” You asked, turning to look at your best friend.

“There’s a party tonight. Chris invited me. You remember Chris, right?”

You, in fact, did not remember Chris. Since Lilah and her boyfriend, Seungcheol, broke up, Lilah had seen a variety of different men. Testing the waters, she called it. You shook your head again.

“I don’t think I do,” you admitted, moving to sit on her bed, pushing some of the clothing aside. Lilah groaned. “Yes you do,” she answered. “He’s the really cute one with the naturally curly hair. Dimples, pointed chin, chiseled jawline,” Lilah prattled on as she searched through her clothes.

“You just described like half the guys you’ve introduced me to,” you joked, watching her. Lilah clicked her tongue in disapproval. “He’s the Australian one!” she added quickly and then it dawned on you.

'A-ha.' Come to think of it, you did remember Chris.

Lilah was right, he was really cute. His accent is what really sealed the deal for Lilah. The moment he opened his mouth, she was smitten. You could remember almost seeing hearts in her eyes as she watched him speak. He’d been there with some of his own friends whose names you couldn’t remember.

You knew the other reason Lilah liked Chris so much was that he was covered in tattoos. Not full sleeves, but you knew that the work on his arms cost at least several hundred.

Tattoos weren’t cheap, and despite trying to convince Joshua of that, he still thought people with tattoos were unemployed and lazy. It irked you to no end because you knew how expensive it was. You’d accompanied Lilah to more than one tattoo and piercing appointment and nearly died upon hearing the cost.

“Oh, that one,” you said, rolling your eyes playfully.

Lilah nodded furtively, holding up a black cropped shirt. “Yes, that one!” Lilah sighed dreamily, tossing the shirt in her hands aside and picking up a black and white striped shirt.

“He texted me earlier and invited me to a party at the old Firestation. You know the one. Station 6,” she explained as she continued to dig through her clothes. This you also did remember.

Station 6 was the old fire station that was sold after a new, more updated building was constructed. The old station was snatched up by some developer intent on turning it into apartments but found the floor plan weird so he resold it for much cheaper, and a younger team bought it and converted it into a nightclub.

“Apparently Minho told him after Ari told him about it and Minho has been trying to get with Ari for like three months now,” Lilah said as she held up a cute black short sleeve top with an off the shoulder neckline.

“I’m going to pretend I understood what you just said,” you said, holding in a laugh. You knew Chris. The other names were foreign to you, or at least you couldn't picture any faces. Lilah did laugh, instead continuing to dig through the piles of clothes on her floor.

"Just help me, please?!"

You looked around the bed where you sat and grabbed the first thing that caught your eye. It was black, like the majority of Lilah's wardrobe, so it was worth a shot. Whatever it took to satisfy your best friend so you could try and get back to your boyfriend.

“Well, why don’t you wear this?” You asked, holding up the article you'd grabbed off the bed. It was a black leather bodycon dress with a lace up bust.

Lilah looked up and studied the dress from her spot on the floor. “I wore that last time I saw Chris,” she said, shaking her head. “I need something else. I really wanna get Chris’ attention,” she added.

"Something to get his attention," you murmured as you looked around before your eyes settled on a flash of red. Leaning over, you snatched it and held it up. “Hey, what about this?” You asked, smiling as you held it up for her to inspect.

It was a red halter dress. There were three cutouts held together with three chain links extending just past the navel. The back was cut to about the mid back. Lilah sat up and walked forward on her knees. She took it from your hands and inspected it. You glanced around and grabbed a tangled mess of black elastic. “And this?” You asked, holding it up.

Lilah looked up at your hands and smiled. She grabbed the mess and got up, running to her bathroom to change. You got up and started searching through her shoes and pulled out a pair of peep toe mesh booties with lace up front and stiletto heels.

You knew Lilah well enough that if you hadn’t chosen a pair of stilettos, she would have been offended. You stood back up, turning to meet her at the bathroom door.

“So… how does it look? How did I do?” You asked through the door. “I gotta give it to you,” Lilah started, before pulling open the door to show you the outfit.

“For someone who wears exclusively pastels, you sure know how to pick out the sexiest outfits,” she said, adjusting one of the straps of the black harness bra.

She noticed the heels in your hand and smiled gleefully. You handed them to her, smirking as she looked them over. “I��m serious,” she added, stepping out of the bathroom and walking over to her bedroom area, where she began picking up her clothes. You helped, putting things back on the hangers and handing them to her.

“Now,” Lilah said, turning to look at you, a wide grin on her face. “We need to pick an outfit for you,” she added.

You shook your head. “Oh no,” you replied.

“I’m not going, Li,” you said, shaking your head. Lilah pouted and moved to kneel on the carpet beside where you sat on the bed.

“Come on, Y/N! Please!!” She begged. You shook your head.

“No, Li. You interrupted my time with Joshua when I wanted to spend more time with him,” you responded. Lilah stuck out her tongue.

“Please, Y/N? You’ll see him on Sunday, won’t you?” She stated, giving you her best puppy dog eyes.

She was right. You would see Josh on Sunday at church with your families. You only attended to keep up appearances, not because you actually believed.

Realizing she wouldn’t let this go until you gave in to her pleas, you groaned and fell back onto the bed in defeat. “Fine!” You grumbled. Lilah let out an excited squeak.

“I’ve got the perfect outfit for you!”

She got to her feet and rushed to her closet while you sat up quickly, mind racing with images of what she might possibly pick out for you. It was pretty obvious you and Lilah had very different tastes and styles when it came to clothing.

You shook your head furiously. “Oh, no. Uh-uh, Lilah!” You blurted out. “I’ll just run home and change,” you added, getting to your feet. “Nonsense,” Lilah said as she dug into the back of her closet.

“I keep a few dresses in here for occasions like this,” Lilah added as she pulled out a dress. She turned and held it up. It was a baby pink bodycon dress, with a ruffle trim around the top. The short puff sleeves also had ruffles around the cuffs, and the bust had a lace up that fell to the navel. The back was somewhat modest with a zipper.

You eyed it; mildly surprised Lilah had even an ounce of pink in her wardrobe that wasn't neon or hot pink. She held the dress out for you to take but you paused, glancing up from the dress to your best friend. "Come on, please, Y/N?" she whined.

You studied her expression before finally sighing in defeat. "You aren't going to let me leave unless I say yes, are you?" You asked, narrowing your eyes when she giggled mischievously.

"Fine! Fine," you said, taking the dress. "I'll be your wing woman tonight." Lilah danced excitedly, thanking you profusely as she moved to dig through her shoes and quickly pulled out a pair you’d borrowed more than once: white satin pumps with stiletto heels and a silver filigree design on the back.

As she handed them to you, and you took them as you shot her a look. “You were planning this the whole time, weren’t you?” You asked. Lilah ushered you to the bathroom and closed the door behind you. Sighing, you quickly slipped off your shoes, setting them on the closed toilet lid before undressing.

You pulled the dress on, zipping it up with some difficulty. It was a little snug but still fit. Shaking your head and gathering your clothes, you emerged from the bathroom and found Lilah waiting in the kitchen for you.

She smiled widely as you set your folded clothes on the counter and you tried to ignore the look on her face as you pulled out your phone, wallet, and lipgloss from your purse. “You look so hot!” Lilah said excitedly. “Oh stop,” you hissed, heat rising to your cheeks.

“You want to wear one of the other dresses?” Lilah asked, and you quickly shook your head. “No,” you answered. “This is fine,” you added, grabbing your compact mirror and reapplying your lipgloss. Lilah had quickly done her makeup while you were in the bathroom.

She'd gone with a blood red lipstick and dark smokey black eye makeup. “We should head out,” Lilah said, checking her phone. “Do you have a small bag?” You asked Lilah, who nodded and disappeared into her room. When she returned, she was holding a small silver clutch and handed it to you.

Opening the tiny purse, you slipped your things into it, adding Lilah’s phone and lipstick when she handed them to you. “Okay,” Lilah said, combing through her hair with her fingers. “Let’s go.” You slipped on your best friend's heels and followed her to the door.

Outside, the sun had started to set, falling below the treeline. The two of you walked, chatting animatedly, when your phone buzzed in the purse. You fished it out and saw a text from Joshua.

Joshy: everything okay?

You: yeah. Lilah just being usual Lilah

Joshy: dramatic? That’s so like her lol so you staying with her or would you like to meet up and pick up where we left off?

You paused, stopping in your tracks as Lilah chatted animatedly. She didn’t notice you’d stopped for a few moments. “Y/N?” She asked. “Everything okay?” You looked up at her, meeting her concerned gaze. “Yeah, let me just answer this text real quick,” you replied, looking back down at your phone and typing a response.

You: I’m gonna stay with Lilah. Girls night. Sorry babe

Joshy: it’s alright baby. Will I see you soon?”

You: of course. We’ll see each other on Sunday,

Joshy: at church?

You: and after, if you’d like (;

Joshy: Sunday suddenly can’t come fast enough

You giggled, slipping your phone into the purse and joining Lilah, linking arms with her as you walked.

“I think that’s the last box,” Jeongguk said, setting the box he was carrying down on the kitchen counter. Changbin looked up from his phone and back down, sending the text he was currently typing and pocketed his phone.

“Which one is that one?” He asked as he walked over to where his friend stood. “Uhh, kitchen shit,” Jeongguk said, tilting his head to the side to read the hastily scribbled words written in black Sharpie.

Changbin snorted and pushed his friend, who merely chuckled.

“I still can’t believe we’re actually here,” Jeongguk added as he moved to lean over the kitchen island. “Beats sleeping on the road and in shitty roadside inns,” he continued, giving Changbin a pointed look.

“Would you rather sleep in a shitty roadside inn or camp by the side of the road again?” Changbin asked, recalling the first and last time he went camping with Jeongguk. ‘Never again,’ he had told himself the following morning.

“Yeah, no. I’m never sharing a tent with you again,” Jeongguk laughed as Changbin joined him. “Hey, it makes for one hell of a story,” the younger man said with a shrug.

Jeongguk rolled his eyes. “Ah yes, I’ll be sure to regale all the hot babes with tales of how i thought I got bit in the ass by a snake, but it was actually a rock under the base of the tent I happened to roll onto in my sleep,” he said, a goofy grin on his face as Changbin burst into laughter.

“In your defense, it was like three in the morning, and I’m sure it felt exactly like a snake bite in your sleep,” Changbin retorted, making Jeongguk offer him a very rude hand gesture. “I’m just glad things worked out when they did,” Jeongguk finally said softly. “Who knows what would have happened if we didn’t get into this place before the end of the month.”

The smile on Changbin’s face fell slowly. Jeongguk was right. They were cutting it close, but he was lucky to even find this place to begin with. He would have to thank Sungjin again for the heads up.

Changbin felt his phone buzz in his pocket and took it out, heart beating quickly until he saw the notification was from Chris. He visibly relaxed, his muscles no longer tensing, something Jeongguk took notice of immediately.

He waited until Changbin finished texting before he spoke.

“When are you gonna stop doing that?”Jeongguk asked softly. He didn’t mean it harshly. It’s not like he found it annoying. More like it was concerning how his friend tensed up any time his phone went off.

“Huh?” Changbin asked as he slipped his phone back into the pocket of his black cargo pants. “Doing what?” Jeongguk could tell Changbin was trying to feign ignorance but he wasn’t having it.

“You really think she’ll be able to find you? All the way out here?” Jeongguk asked, watching how Changbin winced slightly when he mentioned… her. Albeit not by name. Still, any mention of her was enough to send Changbin on edge.

“You know she hates small towns like this,” Jeongguk continued. “I mean, hell, she didn’t even want to visit Daejeon when we came out for a tattoo convention three years ago!” Changbin knew his friend had a point.

“It’s been what? Almost a year since you’ve seen or heard from her, right?” Jeongguk asked, watching Changbin as he nodded. “Give or take, yeah,” he confirmed. Jeongguk nodded this time. “It’s time to let it go, man. You’re safe. There’s no way she’ll find you out here.”

Changbin exhaled slowly. Jeongguk was right. Changbin knew there was no way anyone from his past would find him out here. It was far from the city. Far from the life he’d lived before. The only thing he brought with him were his problems and one of the few people he could really depend on.

His phone buzzed again and he pulled it out. Chris sure was talkative today.

Chris was the new piercer he’d just hired a couple of months ago when the shop was still being renovated. Chris and Minho had come in, the former being all smiles as he walked in, a certain bounce in his step, while his friend was much more cynical and witty.

[two months ago]

Changbin stood up, admiring his handiwork as he checked the wall for white spots. He’d just finished painting the accent wall near the front of the shop while Jeongguk was working on the large tiger decal he’d started three days ago. Changbin turned to look at his friend’s work.

“Holy shit, dude,” Changbin said as his eyes took in the details and color. Jeongguk was resting on a ladder as if it were the most comfortable place to be, an artist's palette in his hand as he worked on the tiger’s face.

He looked down with a huge grin, one the girls he’d dated in the past said reminded them of a bunny rabbit. Changbin didn’t see what they saw, but that was probably because those girls were trying to woo his best friend, and he was not.

“Looks a lot better than yesterday, huh?” Jeongguk asked as he set the palette on the small tray holder of the ladder and climbed down, hopping past the last few steps and meeting Changbin in the middle of the room to look up at the tiger.

“Yeah, he has teeth now,” Changbin joked. “Doesn’t look like some weird gaping maw.” Jeongguk playfully swung at Changbin with a chuckle. “Fuck you, man,” he laughed as Changbin easily dodged him.

The two were continuing to playfully box at one another until the bell at the front door rang as the door opened.

Changbin turned as two men entered the shop. Both of them were taller than he was but still shorter than Jeongguk. One had dark brown, curly hair tucked under a black plain baseball cap. He wore a simple black tee shirt and grey sweats with black trainers.

He had partial sleeves, all in black ink, decorating his arms as well as a couple on the side of his neck. He also sported a silver barbel on his left eyebrow, a black ring in his septum and a single nose piercing.

The other man, the taller of the two, had longer just as dark brown hair and wore a dark gray shirt with ripped blue jeans and black high top shoes. He had full sleeves in partial color and a single vertical labret piercing.

“Hey,” Jeongguk said, stepping forward. “Sorry guys, we’re not open and still working in here.” The taller of the two raised an eyebrow as the shorter man smiled, dimples appearing on either side of his face.

“You’re hiring, right?” He asked, holding out the flyers Changbin had put up the week before. Changbin looked back up at the man. “Uh, yeah. What kind of experience do you have?” He asked.

He watched as both men pulled out their phones. The taller one showed him an Instagram full of his work. “Do you both do tattoos?” Changbin asked. The shorter one shook his head.

“Minho does tattoos. I’m still learning, but I do piercings,” he answered. Changbin nodded, watching as the shorter man showed him the piercings he’s done.

“You have your licenses and certifications,” Jeongguk asked as he looked over the two men’s Instagram portfolios. Both nodded, providing the necessary documents. Jeongguk looked over the two license and papers before he handed them back and tapped Changbin on the shoulder, nodding towards the front desk.

“Give us just a second,” Changbin said to the men and turned to follow Jeongguk.

“What do you think?” His friend asked, arms crossed over his chest. Changbin glanced over where the two men stood, looking around and inspecting Jeongguk’s tiger wall art. “This is really good,” the shorter man said, smiling at the tiger . “Your work?” He asked, directing the question at Jeongguk, who nodded.

“It’s really good, man.”

Jeongguk turned his attention back to Changbin after thanking the man.

“Well?”

Changbin looked at the two men, giving them the once-over. It was apparent they both knew what they were doing but he needed confirmation. “Let’s give them a test.” Jeongguk nodded and stepped forward.

“What are your names again?” He asked.

“Minho,” the taller man answered.

“This excitable short puppy is Chan,” he added, gesturing to his friend.

“Uh no. Chris,” the shorter man answered.

“Chan is my birth name. I prefer Chris.”

“Okay, Minho,” Jeongguk answered, nodding towards Minho.

“Chris,” he nodded towards the shorter man. “We’re gonna give you both a test.” Minho said nothing but Chris chuckled.

“Okay, but I didn’t study,” he joked.

Minho rolled his eyes.

“Ignore him and his dumb jokes,” he said softly. Changbin let out a low laugh.

“Jeongguk, take Minho to your station,” he instructed before turning to Chris.

“You come with me.”

Chris followed Changbin to his station. “Are there any piercings you aren’t comfortable performing?” Changbin asked as he dug through a box, pulling out a few supplies. He pulled a rolling tray over to him with the toe of his boot.

Chris shook his head. “I’ve done almost everything. Dermals, tongues, nipples, hell, I’ve even done a few genital piercings,” he answered as Changbin set up the tray. Changbin looked up with a raised eyebrow.

“You’re a braver man than me,” he murmured with a smirk.

“I don’t want anyone’s junk in my face.”

Chris shrugged. “It doesn’t bother me,” he said with a grin. “And the smell doesn’t bother you?” Changbin asked as he moved the tray over to his chair. Chris shook his head. “Nah. I always wear a mask and I get it done as soon as possible so I don’t have to smell anything.”

Changbin snorted as he sat on the chair. “Alright. I’ve set you up to do—” he started, but Chris interrupted him. “Nipple? Not gonna lie, I figured you’d already have them done,” he said with a sly grin.

Changbin untucked his shirt and pulled it off. “I just never got around to it. It’s hard to pierce yourself, and Kook doesn’t do piercings,” he said as he set his shirt aside.

Chris seemingly entered his professional mode. His cheerful demeanor didn’t drop as he washed his hands quickly, returning to put on the gloves.

“Kook?” Chris asked as he got to work. “Which side?” He asked, pointing at Changbin’s chest. “Doesn’t matter to me,” Changbin answered. “Right side is fine.” Chris started prepping the area, wiping it with an alcohol pad.

“Kook is my partner,” Changbin finally responded to Chris’ earlier question.

“Oh, business partner or…?” He trailed off. Changbin chuckled as Chris prepared the needle.

“Business. He’s a great guy and my best friend but I’m very much into women,” Changbin answered as Chris laughed with him.

“Hey, no judgment here,” Chris said, preparing the barbel before grabbing the small forceps. “How well do you handle pain?” Chris asked as he carefully clamped the forceps on Changbin’s right nipple.

“I’m covered in tattoos,” Changbin answered with an amused tone. “I’d say pretty well,” he added as Chris picked up the needle.

“You’d think people who are covered in tattoos handle pain well but Minho is the biggest baby in existence,” Chris whispered as he leaned in closer to see what he was doing.

“I heard that.” A voice called from across the hall, making Changbin and Chris both chuckle. “Deep breath in,” Chris instructed. Changbin breathed in. “And out,” Chris said and as Changbin exhaled, he felt the slight sting of the needle.

“You didn’t even wince,” Chris noted as he pulled the barbel through and carefully secured the screw ball on the end before wiping the area one last time.

Changbin picked up his shirt. While Chris cleaned up the used items and removed his gloves, Changbin pulled his shirt back on.

“So, do I get the job?” Chris asked as Changbin moved the tray aside and set the rest of the stuff to be cleaned.

“How are you with painting?” Changbin asked as he tucked his shirt back into his pants. “Uh, I’m no Picasso, but I’ve painted rooms before,” Chris said with a shrug. “And Minho?” Changbin asked as they walked towards the doorway.

“He’s the artist. Much better than me,” Chris answered, following Changbin into the room where Jeongguk’s station was. They turned and watched while Minho worked. Jeongguk had pulled his shirt off and was sitting facing away from Minho while the younger man drew a small flash tattoo.

It wasn’t anything intricate or fancy. The lines were clean, and his hand very steady. “You better not be drawing a dick,” Jeongguk said jokingly. Minho snorted but continued to work.

“Nah,” he replied, stopping for a second to wipe some ink and blood from Jeongguk’s skin, a smirk forming as his response formed in his head.

“It's a butt.”

In reality, it was a small sheet style ghost with a little balloon that read ‘dead inside.’

Changbin held back a laugh as a grin spread across his face. The style was cute and cartoonish, but the sad ghost eyes and the balloon really set it apart. “I know it’s supposed to be a flash tattoo, but you should totally fill that in red,” Changbin said as he leaned over, pointing at the balloon.

“Great,” Jeongguk said sarcastically. “I got a red ass on my back.”

His response had the other three men bursting into laughter.

When he finished, Minho cleaned up while Jeongguk managed to get a glimpse in the mirror. “Hey, that’s pretty neat. I like the balloon,” he said as he looked over his shoulder at the little ghost.

“I almost did the ghost with a ski mask and gun,” Minho answered as he finished cleaning up and washed his hands. “That would have been a good one, too,” Jeongguk replied, pulling his shirt on.

“So,” Chris asked again with a smile on his face. Changbin and Jeongguk exchanged glances. Jeongguk nodded at his friend, and Changbin turned back to the two.

“You’re hired.”

[present day]

The ringing of Changbin’s phone brought him back to the present, pulling him out of his memories. The caller ID told him it was Chris. He answered it, holding the device up to his ear. “Hey,” he answered.

“Alright, I know you said not to call you without asking first, but there’s this club. Minho and I are going. You remember Ari?” Chris said into the receiver.

Changbin did remember Ari. She was the blonde girl that often came to the shop to see Minho. He also remembered the way Minho looked at Ari whenever she was around. It was a fondness he’d never seen in the two months he’d known the man.

“Yeah, I remember Ari,” Changbin answered, ignoring the way Jeongguk looked up, listening in to his side of the conversation. Jeongguk mouthed at Changbin, trying to figure out what was going on, but Changbin waved him off.

“Well, her friend Hana has been in the shop lately, and she’s got an eye for you. She wants to meet you. So the task to invite you to come out with us has fallen to me. Would you kindly grace us with your presence, boss?” Chris explained, ending in an ask. “We would greatly enjoy your company.”

Changbin snorted. If Chris had asked this in front of him, he’d playfully push or swipe at him. “Yeah, I guess I can make an appearance,” Changbin answered.

“Great! What about Jeongguk? Is he free?”

Changbin told Chris to hold on, putting the call on mute before speaking to Jeongguk. “Chris and Minho are inviting us to come out to a club with them. Apparently one of Ari’s friends wants to meet me,” he explained.

Jeongguk bobbed his head from side to side before nodding. “Yeah, sure.”

Changbin unmuted the call and brought the phone to his ear with a smile.

“Yeah. We’re in.”

You’d never been to the old fire station. The brick exterior hadn’t been touched, even leaving up the old Station 6 sign. Heavy bass sounded from inside the building, muffled by the bricks. You followed Lilah to the door and squeezed your way in. Most of the original structure had been untouched.

The entry hallway was crowded with people moving to and from the dance floor, which was the old fire truck bay. You followed Lilah into the old garage and stood to the side while she looked around, no doubt looking for Chris. You instead took the time to look around at the decor.

The brick inside had been painted black, and there was now a second balcony above the dance floor. The floor where people danced was a step down with a raised DJ booth in the far corner from where you stood. The bar was packed, every seat taken. The tables against the railing separating the dance floor were standing only.

The bar stools and the standing tables matched round black tops with black steel legs. The bar top was black quartz and shiny, catching the lights from above as they swirled and painted the dance floor and patrons in a shower of rainbow and neon lights.

“I see them!” Lilah said to you, leaning in to speak in your ear so you could hear her over the booming music. You nodded, showing that you understood. Lilah took your hand and led you past the bar, following the flow of the crowd until she managed to squeeze into a small booth in the far corner.

She sat down, pulling you gently with her, your butt landing on the cushioned bench next to her. You recognized the man next to her. It was Chris. He turned to look at her as she tapped a finger against his tattooed forearm. His shocked expression morphed into a huge grin, and he greeted her warmly and hugged her.

“You remember my best friend, Y/N?” Lilah asked, gesturing to you, and your attention was drawn from the old garage doors that had been left intact, but no doubt the wiring cut so they couldn’t be opened. Chris gave you a pleasant smile. “It’s nice to see you, Y/N,” he said, leaning forward to shake your hand. “Didn’t expect to see you here,” he added, reaching towards the table to grab his drink.

You shrugged your shoulders. “I didn’t know I’d be coming until about twenty minutes ago,” you replied, nudging Lilah, who gave you a sheepish smile. “I can’t come out without my best friend!” She said with an exaggerated shrug.

You rolled your eyes and turned your attention away as Lilah started to chat with Chris. Sitting in the same corner booth were some faces you recognized but couldn’t put their names to their faces. Your eyes landed on someone you’d never seen before. He looked to be about your age, with short black hair with bangs that fell into his eyes. His attention was focused on the girl sitting next to him.

He wore a black fitted button down with the sleeves rolled up, exposing his heavily tattooed forearms. You noticed the way the fabric of his shirt stretched every time he moved. This guy looked like he was born in a gym. You found yourself unable to look away from him.

He smiled, no doubt at something the girl next to him had whispered in his ear. He shook his head and leaned forward, grabbing his drink and taking a sip. He nestled back against the cushion, arm resting on top of the cushion behind the girl.

She was clearly enjoying the attention he was giving her. Your eyes wandered, taking in the tight black jeans and black leather combat boots. The man leaned forward to look at the guy sitting on the other side of the girl. He was equally as tattooed as the first with an eyebrow and lip piercing.

He had shorter brown hair, styled back to show off his forehead. He turned to look at his friend. You could see his mouth moving, not hearing what was being said. The second man, the brunet, nodded before turning back to the girl with purple hair he had been talking to.

The first man stood up and held out his hand to the girl, which she took it excitedly, letting him pull her up, the brunet man following with the purple haired woman.

You looked away quickly as the four walked past, no doubt heading for the dance floor. As you turned to look at Lilah your eye caught another man staring at you. You recognized him as one of Chris’ friends.

You were sure Lilah had mentioned his name before. Min-Soo? Min-young? Minho? You knew it started with Min. He was looking at you, a curious expression on his face. When your eyes met his, he raised an eyebrow and a smirk slowly started to form on his lips. You tapped Lilah quickly, catching her attention.

“I’m gonna go get something to drink,” you said over the music. Lilah held up her finger, telling you to wait a moment. She turned back to Chris to explain where the two of you were going. He offered to come with and Lilah took him up on his offer.

You soon found yourself squished between Lilah and one of the patrons sitting on a stool at the bar. You apologized to the woman but she just smiled and turned back to her friend.

“What are you drinking?” Chris asked Lilah. She glanced at the back of the bar as a bartender came by.

“Whiskey,” she replied. “Neat.”

Chris turned to the bartender to order two whiskies, both neat before he turned to look past Lilah at you.

“What would you like, Y/N?” He asked. Your head snapped to look at him. “Oh, uh…” you trailed off, glancing at the bar before speaking quickly. “Whiskey sour is fine,” you answered.

Chris nodded, turning to the bartender to add your drink to his tab. The bartender nodded, getting to work on your drinks. You turned around to look over the crowd of people on the dance floor, and somehow, your eyes found him again. His attention was on the girl he’d been sitting with, hands on her waist as they danced closely.

Feeling as if you were intruding, you turned away. A moment later, you felt the girl on the stool next to you slip away, leaving the spot vacant but only for a second.

“I’m surprised to see you here, Goody-Two Shoes,” a low but seductive voice said in your ear.

You turned to see the Min-something guy from before. You rolled your eyes as Lilah reached across to smack his arm. “Don’t call her that, Minho!” she said, frowning. His smile widened as he waited for the bartender.

“Enjoying the show?” He asked, and you turned to give him a confused look. He nodded over his shoulder.

“The way you were eyeing him so hard, I’m surprised someone like you would even be interested,” Minho said, voice low enough that only you could hear him. You looked away.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you answered. He scoffed. “I’m not blind, sweetheart,” he said patronizingly.

“I saw you checking him out earlier. What? Is your pompous asshole boyfriend not doing it for you anymore?”

You felt the heat rising from the pit of your stomach. Before you could answer him, your drink was set in front of you. You thanked Chris, who gave you a warm smile before you turned to look at Minho, a smirk still plastered all over his face.

Taking a sip of your drink gave you enough courage to bite back. “I suggest you get your eyes checked, Min-ho,” you said, adding emphasis to the last syllable of his name before Lilah dragged you away from the bar and back to the booth.

Back on the cushioned seat, you sat nestled next to Lilah as she spoke animatedly with Chris and the girl Minho had been sitting with earlier. You didn’t join in the conversation though you did listen in.

“Good eye, Ari,” Chris said, his eyes on Changbin and Hana as they danced on the dance floor. “She’s really cute. Totally looks like his type,” he added as Minho returned, sliding into the booth and cozying up next to the blonde who smiled.

“I knew the moment we walked into the shop, she’d fall for him,” Ari answered, lifting her glass to take a sip. “They do look really good together,” she added. Chris smiled, playfully rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, pat yourself on the back,” he said with a chuckle. Ari smiled again. “Thank you. I think I will,” she said, reaching over her shoulder to lightly pat herself on the back, making Chris and Lilah both laugh.

Minho set his glass down and turned to lean into Ari, whispering in her ear. She nodded and followed as Minho stood up. “We’ll be right back,” she said as she took Minho’s hand and followed as he gently pulled her along.

You watched as they walked past, having zoned out of the conversation halfway through. You felt pressure on your shoulder and turned your head to see Lilah resting her chin on your shoulder. She gave you a smile which you returned.

“You okay?” Lilah asked as a slower song started to play over the speakers. You nodded. “I’m okay,” you answered. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Chris down the rest of his drink before he placed a hand on Lilah’s shoulder.

She sat up and turned as he leaned in to whisper in her ear. She nodded before turning to you. “We’re gonna go dance,” she announced. You nodded wordlessly, taking a sip of your drink. “You should come with us,” Lilah added, looking at you with a peculiar expression. You shook your head.

“You came here for him,” you whispered as Chris stood up.

“I’m your wing woman, remember? Go dance with him. Sweep him off his feet,” you said softly, offering your best friend a reassuring smile.

Lilah nodded and leaned in, pressing a kiss to your cheek. “We’ll be right back,” Chris said over the music. You shook your head.

“Take your time,” you half yelled.

“I’m not going anywhere,” you added. Chris smiled and nodded to your drink.

“If you finish that, go get another and put it on my tab. It’s under Bang,” he said as Lilah got to her feet. You nodded as they squeezed past you but made a mental note not to do that . You felt bad if anyone bought you things.

You already had so much. You didn’t need anyone buying you things when you could buy them yourself. You continued to sip on your drink, pulling your phone out to see if you had any text.

Other than Wonwoo telling you he was expecting a package soon, there were no notifications, and it was radio silence from Joshua, leaving you to wonder what he was up to. ‘He’s probably reading a book or catching up on that anime,’ you told yourself with a smile. ‘My goofy weeb boyfriend.’

Once you’d finished your drink, you decided to get another and got up, heading over to the bar, squeezing between two tall men where a very pretty female bartender with baby pink hair smiled at you.

“Hi, hun,” she greeted you, leaning in to hear your order. You got the same whiskey sour and opened your borrowed purse to pull out some cash to pay.

“Let me,” a voice said, and you looked up to see a strange man beside you smiling down at you. He was quite handsome, and tall, with medium brown hair and very prominent dimples.

“I’m Dae-hyun,” he added as the bartender made your drink, eyeing the man suspiciously. “Y/N,” you said politely. “And thank you, but I've got this,” you added, pulling some notes out of your wallet.

“How else am I supposed to get your attention, though?” Dae-hyun asked. “Come on. Let me buy you one drink,” he pressed, but you shook your head. “No, thank you. Really, I appreciate it, but I can buy my own drinks.”

You turned to pay the bartender as she set your drink down, not missing the way Dae-hyun’s eyes scanned your body, a smirk on his lips. “Hey, you gonna buy a drink or just oggle my patrons?” She barked, making the man jump and grimace.

You turned and watched as the man slunk away and turned back to pay the bartender. She pushed the drink towards you and waved her hand. “It’s on the house, honey,” she said with a wink.

You thanked her, putting the bills instead in the tip jar and thanked her again before leaving the bar and returning to the corner booth that still sat empty save for the server cleaning up the empty glasses.

You thanked her as she walked by and returned to your seat, fishing your phone out again, trying to pass the time.

You could have left the moment Chris asked Lilah to dance with him. Your mission had been completed as Lilah’s wing woman, but you sat on the black cushion, sipping on your free drink.

As you scrolled through your Instagram feed, loud giggles announced the arrival of part of the group, and you glanced up to see the blonde girl, Ari, and Minho return.

“You’re still here?” Minho asked as he plopped down next to Ari, eyeing you suspiciously. “You can leave, you know.” Ari lightly slapped his arm. “Don’t be mean,” she said sternly. “If Y/N wants to stay here, she can,” she added, smiling warmly. Her kindness surprised you but you smiled back.

Minho leaned forward to grab his glass and grumbled something you couldn’t hear but Ari slapped his arm again. “Be nice!” She hissed as you turned your attention away as more footsteps approached.

It was the man from before and the girl he’d gone to dance with. You looked away as they sat down, feeling the guy’s eyes on you. You glanced back and met his gaze. This was the first time he’d acknowledged your presence.

You barely got a good look at his face before his attention turned to the girl next to him and you felt like you could breathe, your cheeks growing warm. You decided to chalk that up to the alcohol coursing through your system as Lilah and Chris finally returned.

“Is it just me or is it hot?” Lilah asked as she took her glass from Chris, thanking him before taking a sip. The girl whose name you did know nodded. “It’s really hot,” she replied, looking at the man beside her.

Her eyes moved past him to you and she gave you a blank stare, glancing you over as if she’d just noticed you existed before she turned away when Ari called her name. “Hana, do you want to go back out there? Minho won’t go with me!” Ari pouted. Hana shook her head at Minho and got up.

“I’ll dance with you,” Hana said, reaching out to take Ari’s hand and the pair squeezed past the rest of the group and headed onto the dance floor again. You looked away from them to find the black-haired man looking at you again.

His gaze didn’t feel scrutinizing or patronizing in any way. It was more like he was trying to figure you out simply by looking at you. You turned your gaze away but felt his eyes on you. Lilah and Chris were chatting animatedly next to you about his new job.

“Yeah, I just walked in and showed him what I’ve done. Then I had to perform an actual piercing,” Chris explained as Lilah hung onto every word. “Like, you had to pierce him?” She asked, jaw dropping when Chris nodded.

You glanced down at your now empty drink, trying to decide if you should get another. ‘Ah, fuck it,’ you told yourself as you set the empty one down and announced to your best friend you were getting another.

Lilah whipped around, gently grabbing your hand and stopped you before you could get up.

“Are you sure you can handle another drink, Y/N?” She asked, eyes studying your face, her expression full of concern.

“Oh, come on, Lilah. She’s a big girl,” Minho said as he slid into his seat next to Ari, who had returned with Hana before Hana pulled the man she’d been with up and onto the dance floor again. Minho was giving you a smirk but like Lilah, Ari had a look of concern. You weren’t sure why.

You narrowed your eyes at Minho, wanting to snap back but Lilah gave your hand a gentle squeeze. “Ignore him, Y/N,” she said, turning your attention back to her.

“You know your tolerance better than anyone,” she added. You looked at your two empty glasses on the table and nodded. “You’re right. I’ll just go to the bathroom,” you answered before getting to your feet and adjusting the hem of your dress.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Lilah asked but you shook your head, giving her a smile. “I’ll be fine, Li,” you said before turning and walking away from the booth.

You made your way out of the garage and towards the bathroom, only to bump into someone. The force at which they ran into you almost knocked you over. “Whoa! Sorry,” said a familiar voice as two hands steadied you.

You looked up into the face of one of Joshua’s best friends.

“Hey, Cheol!” You said excitedly, sharing a hug with him. He smiled brightly at you. “I didn’t know you were going to be here!” He said, looking around. “You didn’t come with Josh, did you?” He asked.

You shook your head. “Uh, no, I came with… Lilah,” you said, voice dropping as you said your best friend’s name. Seungcheol acted as if hearing his ex-girlfriend’s name didn’t bother him but you knew better. As far as you and Joshua knew, Seungcheol was still heartbroken over Lilah and Jeonghan’s drunken hookup.

It had been only a few months ago at a lake house party. Seungcheol, unfortunately, had work responsibilities so he couldn't attend. You'd gone with Joshua to appease "the party gods" as Lilah put it.

Halfway through, Lilah was much more drunk than you'd seen in a long time and Joshua offered to take both of you home. You went with him to get your jackets and when you returned to where you'd left Lilah, she was nowhere to be found and no one knew where she'd gone. You tried looking for her but Joshua said to let her be.

You felt like you should have looked harder.

The next morning Lilah showed up at your door, hungover and crying. She told you she waited for when you and Joshua went to get your jackets and during the time you were gone, she'd run into Jeonghan, who was also quite plastered himself.

One minute they were chatting, the next, they were stumbling into an empty room, and when she woke up the next morning, she realized they'd had sex. She was an absolute mess, beating herself up about how to break the news to Seungcheol.

When she finally did, she didn't ask for his forgiveness though he was ready to give it freely. She didn't cry, she didn't beg, she simply apologized and ended things, telling Seungcheol that there was no fixing this. What she'd done couldn't be undone or taken back.

According to Joshua, Seungcheol was heartbroken. He'd lost the love of his life and a best friend in one swoop. He didn't handle the betrayal he felt towards Jeonghan well and ended up giving Jeonghan a black eye. Joshua had felt conflicted about the whole thing, wanting to be there for Seungcheol but not knowing who was at fault .

You knew that Lilah and Jeonghan messed up but Lilah was your friend. Seungcheol was Joshua’s friend before he was yours. So you'd distanced yourself out of respect not only for Lilah but for Seungcheol as well, not sure if he'd even want to see you.

Judging by his response upon seeing you now, you knew he didn't hold you accountable . He was his usual cheerful self.

“Oh?” He asked, lifting his glass to his lips to take a sip. You nodded, unsure how to recover from the awkward silence between you. “You don’t have a drink?” He asked, noticing your empty hands. You shook your head.

“I just finished a second. I’m on my way to the bathroom,” you replied, gesturing towards the hall that led to the bathrooms. “Want me to get you one?” Seungcheol asked. You shook your head. “No, that’s okay,” you answered but Seungcheol cut you off. “Speak of the devil,” he said, a smile forming on his face.

You turned to look at who Seungcheol was looking at and your heart nearly dropped into your stomach.

Joshua was walking over, a smile on his own face, until he caught sight of you. His smile faltered for a moment before he turned his attention to Seungcheol. “We were just talking about you!” Seungcheol said, greeting his friend. Joshua looked from his friend to you. “Were you now?” He asked, to which Seungcheol nodded.

“I thought she came with you,” Seungcheol admitted. “No. She didn’t,” Joshua said, his eyes not leaving yours. “Well, I’ve got to use the restroom,” you said quickly. “It was nice catching up with you, Cheollie,” you said, giving him a smile before walking away to head for the bathroom.

Joshua muttered something to Seungcheol before following you, grabbing your arm a little too hard and turning you to face him. “Sorry,” he muttered, noticing how you winced in his grip. “I thought you were having a girls night,” he said, his voice back to normal volume since the music was now muffled as you were no longer in the same room.

“I am. I came here with Lilah,” you answered, eyes darting to the side where you saw another familiar face. “I thought you meant you were staying in,” he said, drawing your attention again.

“You know, a girl's night, like, movies and pizza or something,” he added. You shook your head. “No, Lilah wanted to come see Chris, and I said I’d come with her,” you replied. "Be her wing woman of sorts," you added with a laugh.

Joshua’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Who the hell is Chris?” He demanded, sounding suddenly angry that you were talking about another man. 'Oh boy, here we go.'

You didn’t like the tone of his voice.

“Chris is one of Lilah’s friends ,” you stated. Joshua crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t like it,” he said quickly. “Don’t like what?” You asked, also not liking the direction this conversation was going.

He was stalling you, and you really had to pee. “I don’t like the idea of you and Lilah alone with some strange man,” he countered. You rolled your eyes. “He’s not some strange man, Josh,” you retorted.

“He’s her friend and he happens to be a very nice man,” you added. Joshua scoffed, now his turn to roll his eyes.

“Nice people don’t hang around these places, Y/N,” he replied, and you had to give him a deadpan blank stare.

“Are you saying you aren’t a nice person?” You asked, making him realize his contradiction. He was getting frustrated with you. He pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes screwed shut as he breathed slowly. “You know what I meant."

You saw his eyes flicker from you to something behind you for a moment before turning his attention back to you. “So then I’m not a nice person?” You inquired, trying to get him to admit he was making bullshit up. Joshua rolled his eyes again. He was over this.

“You know damn well what I meant, Y/F/N Y/L/N,” he stated, clearly annoyed with the banter you were giving him.

“Oh-ho-ho,” said a voice as the owner slid up beside you and draped an arm around your shoulders. “Busting out the government names are we now, Joshua Hong?”

You glanced up to see Minho, a smirk on his face. Joshua glared at the younger man. You could see that the simple action of putting his arm around your shoulders nearly set him off.

Joshua didn’t like it when other men looked at, let alone touched you. He was about to grab Minho by the collar when you shook Minho's arm off your shoulder.

“What are you doing here, Minho?” You asked, looking at him. He tore his gaze from Joshua’s, giving you an uncharacteristically warm smile. “Lilah was wondering what was taking you so long,” he said before looking back up at Joshua.

“I volunteered to come retrieve you,” he added, linking his arm with yours if only to set Joshua off further. You pulled your arm from his.

“Well, I still haven’t been to the bathroom,” you admitted.

"Well, why did you say so?" Minho asked, gesturing for you to hurry. “I’ll wait here. I promised Lilah I’d retrieve you and retrieve you I shall,” he added, causing you to roll your eyes before excusing yourself and hurrying down the crowded hallway.

Minho looked back at Joshua as you disappeared, his smile falling quickly. “Who the hell do you think you are?” Joshua asked, gritting his teeth. Minho was not easily intimidated, especially not by men like Joshua Hong.

“No,” Minho said, taking a step forward and prodding Joshua in the chest with his finger. “Who do you think you are?” Joshua was taken aback. “What?” He asked incredulously.

“I saw that,” Minho stated. “The way you grabbed her like that. What makes you think you can act that way?” Minho demanded, his voice low so only Joshua could hear him. “She’s my girlfriend, Lee. I don’t think it’s any of your concern—” Joshua started but he was cut off by Minho once again, who jabbed him in the chest with his finger.

“She may be your girlfriend,” he repeated. “But that doesn't make her your property,” he added. “You don’t get to grab her and throw her around like some kind of rag doll." Joshua opened his mouth to retort but was cut off once again by Minho's external monologue.

"You know, I've always wondered where those bruises come from,” he added. Joshua’s eyes widened. Minho could see he'd hit a nerve. "It all makes sense now."

“How dare you accuse me of abusing Y/N,” he snarled. A hand came between the two. “Gentlemen,” a voice said. Joshua looked down and noticed a much shorter man with black hair pushing him and Minho apart.

“This is a public space,” he added, glancing from Minho to Joshua.. “Let’s not cause a scene.”

“Who the hell are you?” Joshua asked, albeit very rudely.

“Changbin,” the raven haired man replied. ��Seo Changbin,” he added, holding out his hand for Joshua to shake. Joshua looked down at the man’s tattoo covered hand and chose to ignore the gesture, instead looking at Minho and narrowing his eyes.

“Stay out of my relationship, Lee Minho,” he spat angrily before turning and walking back to meet up with Seungcheol and their friends, leaving the two men standing there. Changbin looked at his older friend.

“Okay,” Changbin said, jerking his thumb behind him in the direction Joshua had gone. “Who the fuck was that?” He asked. Minho held out his hand in a grand gesture. “Joshua Hong,” he replied.

“Sejong’s very own pompous asshole boyfriend,” he added, causing the younger man to snort and roll his eyes. “Wait… boyfriend?” Changbin asked, suddenly confused.

“Who’s his girlfriend?”

In the women’s restroom, you opened the stall door having finished your business and approached the sink, washing your hands quickly as you glanced up at your reflection in the water-stained mirror. Your makeup seemed fine despite the fact you had been crying just a few minutes ago.

You hoped no one would notice.

Your eyes caught sight of a red mark on your arm and glanced down at the spot where Joshua had grabbed you. “Shit,” you whispered, moving to dry your hands and inspect the mark.

If Lilah didn’t notice the makeup, she was bound to notice this. According to Lilah, Seungcheol had done the same thing a few times, grabbed her by the arm much harder than he intended to.

‘He must be really mad, if he grabbed me this hard,’ you thought as you finished drying your hands. You quickly rid yourself of that bullshit thought and shook your head quickly. ‘No,’ you told yourself.

‘It doesn’t matter how mad he is. Nothing gives him the right to grab me like that.’

Giving yourself the once over one last time with a quick nod to your reflection, you pulled open the door and stepped out into the hall. As you wound your way through the crowd of people, you were knocked backwards into someone and turned to apologize profusely.

The guy turned, and you saw it was the guy from the booth. The one Minho had caught you staring at. “Sorry,” you muttered.

“Someone knocked me over.” The man looked over and noticed several much taller guys crowded nearby before his eyes returned to you and nodded.

“You alright?” He asked, taking you by surprise. ‘Why is he asking me if I’m okay when I’m the one who bumped into him?’ You wondered but decided against asking him that very thing. “I’m okay,” you answered with a nod.

The smile that formed on his face almost took your breath away. “Then no harm done,” he said softly, turning back to the girl leaning against the wall that he’d been previously kissing. You turned away as they went back at it.

‘Awkward.’

As you headed out of the hall, you saw Minho standing in the same place you’d left him. He was looking over the crowd, clearly agitated but you couldn’t discern what had him scowling like that.

‘He… actually waited?’

Minho must have sensed someone was watching him and turned to find you standing a few steps behind him, watching him with a peculiar expression. Perhaps you hadn’t expected him to actually wait for you.

After witnessing your encounter with Joshua, he wasn’t going to leave you to walk alone when that asshat was still in the building, probably waiting for you to appear so he could swoop in and do more pompous asshole boyfriend shit.

Minho’s expression softened as you approached him. You glanced around only after realizing Joshua wasn’t anywhere in sight. You wondered what Minho could have said or done to get Joshua to leave but thought better than to ask.

“Where did Josh go?” You asked as soon as you were within earshot. Minho shrugged his shoulders. “Why do you care?” he answered. You glared at him. “‘Cause he’s my boyfriend,” you retorted, your words failing and expression softening as he offered his arm for you to take.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” You asked suspiciously, taking his arm all the same. “Don’t get used to it,” Minho said as he led you back to the booth, stopping at the bar to get another drink. “What are you drinking?” He asked. You shook your head. “I shouldn’t have another,” you admitted.

Minho dramatically rolled his eyes with an equally exaggerated sigh.

“It’s not every day I’m offering to buy you a drink so pick something,” he urged, waving his hand. “Fine, a Singapore sling,” you answered. Minho gave you a once over before his lips spread into a wide and slightly mischievous grin.

“Oh, I think I’m gonna like this new you,” he said before turning to tell the bartender, leaving you to silent combust as heat spread across your face.

‘What does that mean? The new me?’

Once the drinks were made, Minho led you back to the booth. You thanked him again and sat next to Lilah.

“There you are!” She said, throwing her arms around you. “I was getting worried!” You patted her on the head, chuckling as you looked up to see Minho leaning across Ari’s lap to speak to Chris.

You noticed the urgency at which he spoke and that his eyes flickered to you and back. Chris asked him something you couldn’t hear, and Minho nodded quickly before speaking again.

Whatever their conversation was about ended as soon as Lilah pulled away from you. “Ooh, what’s this?” Lilah asked upon noticing your new drink, clearly not remembering that she suggested you not get another.

Not giving you a chance to answer, she took it from you and took a sip. Her face scrunched up as she swallowed, handing your glass back to you before she gagged. “What the fuck is that?” She asked as you rolled your eyes.

“A Singapore sling,” you answered, raising the glass to take a sip. “Well it’s disgusting,” Lilah answered. Minho snorted, but it seemed only you heard him. “It’s not that bad, Li,” you answered softly.

“Yeah, we can’t all have the taste buds of a child,” Minho quipped. Lilah and Chris both turned to look at him. “You? Sticking up for Y/N?” Chris asked, looking shocked but amused while Lilah looked just plain shocked.

Minho snorted again in laughter. He held up his drink in a silent cheers, directed towards you. “More likely than you think,” Minho said to his friend before sending a wink in your direction. Your cheeks burned in embarrassment as he took a drink and both Lilah and Chris exchanged glances as you took a sip of your drink.

“What happened when I sent you to check on her?” Lilah asked, turning to look at Minho again as he lowered his glass. “Nothing I couldn’t handle.” Chris looked mildly amused and surprised at the direction the conversation had turned.

“What does that mean?” Lilah asked as you glanced over to the dance floor, trying to ignore the conversation unfolding next to you. An RnB song with heavy bass had started playing, so only couples were on the floor now.

“Y/N,” Lilah said, drawing your attention away from the dance floor. “Huh?”

“What exactly happened that took you so long that I had to send Minho to fetch you?” Lilah asked. Your stomach dropped. ‘Shit.’ You tried to feign a smile and lighthearted expression but could see Minho looking at you from behind Lilah. The scowl you had seen earlier before meeting back up with him was back.

“Oh, uh, I ran into Cheol,” you answered softly, looking down to pick at the hem of your, well actually Lilah’s, dress.

“Oh,” Lilah replied, her curious expression dropping and a blank look crossing her face.

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Cheol,” Minho said softly, nodding along. “Oh, and Josh,” he added with venom in his voice. You glanced up to see he was looking out at the crowd with a sour expression.

Lilah laughed at the look on Minho’s face. “You look like he pissed in your cornflakes,” Chris said, nudging his friend with a laugh.

“What did he do to you?” Lilah asked, noticing his sour expression wasn’t going away.

Minho shook his head. “Not me,” he replied, eyes moving towards you.

He wondered what it was about Joshua that you loved so much that you shook your head as subtly as possible, clearly not wanting him to bring up what he’d witnessed. Something he’d sent guys to the ER for. Something he would gladly do to Joshua, given the chance.

It was then Minho realized Lilah was still waiting for him to speak. “Then who?” She asked. Minho inhaled and exhaled deeply before shaking his head, forcing a smile.

“Nothing,” he replied. “He’s just a prick.” He raised his glass to his lips and downed the rest of his drink.

‘A dead fucking prick if I catch him doing that again.’

You silently thanked him for not bringing it up as Lilah rolled her eyes.

“Oh, don’t be mean for no reason, Minho,” she said before turning to look at the dance floor. “I have my reasons,” Minho muttered, but Lilah didn’t seem to hear him as he stared into the bottom of his now empty cup.

A new song started playing, something more upbeat but still with a lot of bass. Lilah smiled, bouncing excitedly in her seat. “Y/N, you wanna dance?” she asked, looking at you with a smile. You looked up, eyes wide. “Uh… I don’t know Lilah,” you said softly.

But of course, she didn’t listen. Lilah never listened.

Instead, she took your drink from your hands and set it in front of Chris turning to face him. “Can you watch these for us, please?” She asked, bringing her hands together almost as if in prayer.

When Chris nodded, a fond smile on his face, Lilah thanked him and squealed with delight. “We’ll be right back,” she said before standing up and grabbing your hand. “Come on,” she said, pulling you out of the booth and towards the steps despite your blatant protests.

Once on the dance floor, nestled in the crowd, you finally let loose and danced with your best friend. She always knew how to cheer you up. One song turned into another, and soon, you were dancing to a third song. Lilah always brought out the best in you. She always knew how to have fun, no matter the circumstances.

You were holding her hand and dancing, swaying to the music when you felt two hands on your hips. You turned quickly and found yourself face to face with none other than Joshua.

“Miss me?” Your boyfriend asked softly, smiling when your surprised expression morphed into relief that it was him and not some creep.

“You weren’t there when I got back from the restroom,” you replied, pouting slightly.

'Oh god. Is that what alcohol did to you?'

You felt his hand cup your cheek and you leaned into his touch, your body following his lead.

“Sorry, baby,” he said, leaning in to whisper in your ear. “I had to take care of something,” he added. You pulled back, placing a hand on his chest and pushing him away a little. “Wait. No. I’m still mad at you,” you added, looking at him with a serious expression.

Joshua’s free hand came up to caress your other cheek. “I’m so sorry, Y/N,” he said, eyes flitting back and forth between yours. “Truly. I didn’t mean it.”

“Yeah, well, it really hurt,” you continued. He pulled you closer, closing the distance between your bodies. “I know, baby. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he replied.

Lilah moved to your side and looked between the two of you. “What do you mean you hurt her?” She asked, voice suddenly full of anger. “It was an accident,” Joshua said, turning to look at your best friend. “I didn’t mean to grab her so hard,” he added, gesturing to the red spot on your arm.

Upon seeing it, Lilah’s expression twisted into a scowl, and she reached between the two of you. “Hands off,” she snapped, trying to pull you away from Joshua and interject herself between the two of you.

“Lilah,” you started, but she cut you off. “No,” she said, pointing at you. “He doesn’t get to grab you so hard that he leaves a mark,” she said, nearly shouting the last part at Joshua, who glanced around nervously at the people around you.

A crowd was starting to form. “He doesn’t get to do that and then get off Scot free,” Lilah said angrily. “Lilah,” Joshua said, drawing her attention. “I know you mean well, but please stay out of my relationship with Y/N,” he continued.

“No,” Lilah snapped back. Joshua’s expression shifted from shock to anger. ‘Fuck,’ you mentally cursed. ‘This is not good.’

“Cheol pulled the exact same shit with me,” she spat, standing between you and Joshua. It had been a long time since you’d seen Lilah this angry, and you knew the alcohol wasn’t helping any.

“He’d grab me so hard that I’d bruise, and then he’d apologize, saying he’d never do it again,” Lilah continued as Joshua tried to interrupt. “I’ve seen plenty of bruises on Y/N’s arms to know the signs,” she argued.

You glanced around and noticed Minho and Chris had gotten up. The black-haired newcomer had also gotten up and was watching the scene from the railing. Minho tapped him on the shoulder and nodded. The newcomer stood up straight and followed.

‘Shit.’ You turned back to Lilah.

“Come on,” you said, trying to pull her away from Joshua. “Let’s not do this here.”

“Just because your relationship failed does not mean you need to involve yourself in mine,” Joshua snapped back angrily. “Oh, shut the fuck up, Joshua Hong. You think you’re so high and mighty,” Lilah spat back. You rushed between your best friend and boyfriend, using your body to block them from each other.

“Lilah, don’t do this here,” you pleaded, gently pushing your friend back and trying to break up the escalating fight before anyone got in trouble or seriously hurt. It was not above Lilah to start a physical fight when she was drunk and upset.

“No!” She shouted. “I’m so sick of this shit! He’s just like Cheol! He thinks he’s so goddamn untouch—!”

“Lilah,” Chris said, his hands gently grabbing her around the waist. “I think you promised that you and Y/N would go get pancakes with us,” he said in her ear. “We should go do that,” he added.

Minho, who now stood between you and Lilah, chimed in. “Yeah,” he added. “I think pancakes sound good right now, don’t you, Y/N?” Upon hearing your name, you glanced at him, confusion was written on your face.

As far as you could remember, neither you nor Lilah promised to get pancakes with them. Minho gave you a very pointed look. ‘Oh!’ You understood quickly and played along.

“They’re right,” you said, looking at Lilah. “We did promise”

Joshua stepped forward, moving to grab your hand, but a hand shot out, grabbing Joshua’s wrist. You glanced at the person standing on the other side of you. The man with the black hair and tattoos.

The same one you couldn’t help but stare at earlier and was knocked into outside the bathrooms.

“A promise is a promise,” he said, fixing Joshua with a calm stare. Joshua pulled from his grip. “Don’t touch me,” he snapped. The man held his hands up to show he wasn’t a threat. “My apologies. I just don’t like seeing guys mistreat their partners,” he said, making Joshua round on him furiously.

“Excuse me?” Joshua asked, fixing the man with a bewildered stare.

“Who the fuck are you to accuse me-?” The man cut him off.

“Not accusing,” he said simply. “I’m just saying what I saw.”

Joshua scoffed and chose to ignore what the dark-haired man said. “Yeah, whatever.”

“Y/N,” you heard your boyfriend call your name, attention turning to focus on him as he spoke. “Come on,” he continued. “I’ll walk you home.” You hesitated. ‘Should I really go with him? He’s pretty upset…’

You must have taken too long for his liking because Joshua called your name again. The tone of his voice didn’t sit right with you, so you shook your head. “I think you should take time to cool down,” you finally answered.

‘Fucking finally,’ Minho thought as he looked up from your face to Joshua’s. He had to say he was impressed with your defiance when all he’s ever heard is how obedient you usually were. Could it be the alcohol? Or had you finally had enough of Joshua’s shit?

“Don’t worry mate,” Chris said, the Aussie in him jumping out. “We’ll make sure she gets home safely,” he added, arms around Lilah as he kept her from lashing out at Joshua.

If Joshua was angry before, it was nothing compared to how pissed he was now.

“As if I'd trust any of you,” Joshua said with a scoff.

“I’d trust us more than I’d trust you right now,” Minho said with a shrug. Joshua glared at him, his anger building. The smug grin on Minho’s face wasn’t helping to quell his fury.

Before Joshua could answer, you spoke up, your voice broke through his concentration. “I’ll let you know when I get home,” you promised, no doubt hoping it would be enough of a solution, but Joshua shook his head.

“No,” he protested. “But I really want to get pancakes,” you continued.

“Then I’ll take you to get some,” Joshua replied, taking a step forward. You shook your head. “Another time,” you heard Minho say as he rested his arm over your shoulders. “Don’t worry, Joshy. She’ll be fine with us,” he added.

Joshua’s fist clenched tightly at how too cozy Minho looked with his arm around your shoulders. He’d punched men for lesser things.

“No,” he refused again. “Y/N,” he said, looking from Minho to you. “Come here, now.”

Now it was both you and Minho who didn’t like his tone.

“She’s not some dog you can command,” Minho spat, taking a step forward, but the dark-haired man stopped him. You decided to speak up.

“I’ll see you on Sunday, babe,” you said, reminding him that even if you went to eat pancakes with Lilah’s friends, he was still your man.

He glared at Minho. “If you try anything,” he warned. Minho rolled his eyes. “As if,” he said with a snort. “Don’t worry, Hong. Your precious little princess is safe with us,” Minho added. Chris began leading Lilah away from the group and towards the exit.

Minho’s arm over your shoulders pulled you back, and he wordlessly guided you away from Joshua and towards the exit as well. You glanced back at your boyfriend, and you could see he was more than upset.

He was outright furious.

The air outside the building was cooler than when you entered, and it felt nice after being in a crowded club with such an intense and heated situation. You walked silently beside Minho as you followed Chris and Lilah.

“Wait, are we actually getting pancakes or was that a cover?” You finally asked. “I mean,” Minho started.

“I wouldn’t say no to breakfast right now. There’s that 24 hour place by our apartment,” he added, looking towards Chris.

Chris had stopped walking and was still supporting Lilah’s weight. She was very intoxicated, the drinks she’d consumed finally catching up to her. The almost-fight and her anger probably didn’t help. Knowing her, you felt she would barely make it home before passing out.

“I’d love some breakfast too, but I think this one might be a little too far gone to make it there,” Chris said, nodding at Lilah, who was currently humming, eyes shut as she swayed to music only she could hear. You took a step forward.

“I’ll take her home,” you offered, moving to help support Lilah. “You sure?” Chris asked, looking at you as you took Lilah’s arm and pulled it over your shoulders, your arm going around her waist.

“Yeah. If you guys wanna go get breakfast, I can take her home,” you replied.

“What about you?” The dark-haired man said suddenly, prompting you to turn and look at him. All eyes were on him.

“What about me?” You asked.

“I think what Changbin means,” Minho started, eyes looking at the dark-haired man. ‘So his name is Changbin.’

“Is how will you get home?” Minho continued, turning his gaze to look at you. Shrugging, you looked back at him. “I’ll just walk,” you replied. “My place isn’t that far from Lilah’s.”

“And if your boyfriend is waiting for you at your place?” Changbin suddenly asked. Your eyes fell on him again, confused but also surprised. ‘Why is he being so… protective?’

“Then I’ll just—” you started but Minho cut you off. “I’ll walk you home.” Your gaze fell on him, now properly shocked. ‘Who is this? ‘Cause it’s definitely not the Minho I know.’

“Then I’ll take Lilah home,” Chris said, taking Lilah from you. “That way, you get home much faster,” he added. “But what about your breakfast?” You asked, eyebrow arching. “Eh, we can always get it some other time,” Chris said, shaking his head.

“I’d feel a lot better if I knew you got home safe,” he continued, starting to lead Lilah in the direction of her apartment.

“Wait,” you said quickly, running after them, pulling your things from Lilah’s bag and handing it to Chris. “I almost forgot I had her stuff,” you admitted. Chris took the bag and thanked you.

“We’ll get breakfast another time, I promise!” He called as he continued to walk, leaving you, Minho, and Changbin alone on the sidewalk.

Changbin looked down, checking his watch. “I gotta go,” he said quietly. “I promised Hana I’d be back to pick her up,” he added. Minho nodded before gesturing him off.

“Go ahead, tell Ari I’m sorry,” he said. Changbin nodded.

“I’ll explain everything,” he replied as he walked backwards a few steps. “I’ll walk Y/N home,” Minho said to which you shook your head in protest.

“I’m fine, really,” you replied.

“I can walk myself home.”

Minho rolled his eyes and waved Changbin off before walking towards you, gently grabbing your arm and turning you in the opposite direction.

“Where do you live?” He asked as you walked together. “Just a couple blocks west of Lilah’s apartment,” you replied. Minho nodded, pulling you along.

“Let’s get going then,” he added.

You glanced back as Changbin walked in the opposite direction, back towards the club and disappeared around the corner but not before throwing one final look your way with an expression you couldn’t read.

You and Minho were left in the empty street alone, walking down the sidewalk toward your apartment. Silence fell between you as you walked and you wondered if you should say anything to break the tension.

This was the third time he’d gone out of his way to do something nice for you and you felt you should at least acknowledge that so he didn’t try and use it against you later.

“Thank you,” you finally said softly, not noticing the way Minho looked at you. “For what?” He asked after a beat of silence.

You took a deep breath. “For back at the club. You didn’t have to intervene, you know,” you continued. “Joshua is always like that. He doesn’t pay attention to his own strength.” Minho scoffed. “I’m probably just as strong as him and I’ve never once grabbed anyone hard enough to bruise them, Y/N,” he continued.

“That’s not normal,” he added. “And you shouldn’t have to put up with it.”

You glanced up at him. “It’s not that big of a deal,” you muttered. Minho stopped, pulling a hand from his pocket to grab your arm carefully.

“Stop making excuses for him, Y/N. I told you before he’s a pompous asshole and I’m not taking it back.” You glanced down to where his hand was still on your upper arm. It was a right contrast from the way Joshua had grabbed you earlier.

“If someone loves you, and I mean truly loves you, they don’t hurt you like that,” he continued, his hand dropping from your arm. You said nothing, only nodding slowly. When he realized you weren’t going to speak, Minho let out a sigh shoving his hand back into his pockets.

“Come on,” he said quietly, nodding his head in the direction of your apartment and continuing down the road. You followed behind him, not even noticing how he glanced back at you, a small fond smile on his face.

‘If she wasn’t so up Hong’s ass… maybe then.’ He shook the thought from his head as you struggled to keep up with his long strides. It was almost cute. ‘In another lifetime,’ Minho thought as he glanced skyward briefly.

You must have regretted not bringing a jacket now that the sun had gone down and the temperature had dropped. As you brought your hand up and rubbed your arm, quickly following Minho down the street, he stopped and sighed. ‘Why does she have to be so helpless?’ He wondered, unzipping and removing his jacket.

“Here,” he called out, holding his jacket towards you.

You glanced from him to the jacket and back.

“Just take it before I change my mind,” he continued. You took it carefully from him and pulled it on. “Thanks,” you muttered, zipping it up. Minho said nothing, only humming in response as the two of you continued down the street, silence falling over you once more.

The moon had begun to rise over the tops of the trees, casting a silvery light over everything.

You glanced up, eyes taking in the few stars you could see in the inky midnight blue sky. You were so preoccupied with looking at the stars that you ran into Minho’s body, colliding with him and a loud ‘oof’ leaving your lungs. Minho chuckled, looking at you as he stood still. “You know,” he said softly, turning to face you fully.

“You really should watch where you’re going,” he continued, a smirk starting to appear. You rolled your eyes, thankful for the dark which concealed the way your cheeks burned.

“It’s not like I was expecting you to just stop like that,” you murmured.

“What were you looking at, anyway?” Minho asked, ignoring your words to look towards the sky.

“The stars,” you answered simply, glancing from his face to the shimmering white dots in the blackness of the night sky. Minho’s eyes fell to your face as you stared skyward.

“The stars?” He asked, the smirk on his face growing. You nodded. “The further from the downtown area we get,” you explained softly.

“The brighter they shine.” Minho’s gaze softened slightly as he watched you.

“Alright Galileo,” he sighed loudly, making you tear your eyes from the stars.

“I said I’d walk you home but if I had known it was going to take three hundred years, I never would have offered,” he groaned teasingly, turning to start down the sidewalk before glancing back at you, the mischievous grin back on his face. You hurried after him, following his path down the sidewalk.

Before long, your building came into sight as the two of you headed to the door. Upon reaching the steps, you turned and removed Minho’s jacket and handed it back to him.

“Thank you for letting me use it,” you said as you held it out for him to take. He gave you a rare warm smile as he took it. “I’d never hear the end of it if I’d let you freeze,” you heard him say as he pulled his jacket back on. “Hey, at least it’s warm,” he mused.

“Thank you again for this,” you continued, ignoring his remarks. “You really didn’t have to walk me home, but I appreciate the gesture all the same,” you added. Minho gave you another rare smile. “Meh, don’t get used to it, princess,” he countered. “I don’t exactly like you,” he reminded you.

“But I absolutely loathe Joshua Hong.”

You rolled your eyes. Whatever beef the two of them had was none of your business so you didn’t care about what he thought of your boyfriend. “Goodnight Minho,” you replied as you turned to head up the small staircase to your front door and unlocked it with your keycard, giving Minho a tiny wave before letting the door shut slowly behind you.

Once upstairs and inside the safety of your apartment, you started to undress, sliding out of your, well Lilah’s, dress and letting it fall to the floor.

You moved into your bedroom area and grabbed a clean sleep shirt, pulling it on over your head and letting the material fall to your hips before moving to climb into your oversized queen bed, practically diving under the covers and pulling them up to your chin.

Your eyes slid shut before you even had time to register your exhaustion and soon the room was filled with the sounds of your snores as you drifted deeper into slumber.

[sunshinevanfleet]

flower - j. kiszka

pairing: josh x reader

a/n: helloooo i'm back with my first josh piece since i came back from hiatus <3 promise i'm planning on updating oh, what a sin here soon, but i wanted to post some josh content because i've been neglecting him lately. so, josh girlies come get y'all's food <3 this one does contain some smoking of the devil's lettuce so if that's not something you're into, then this one isn't for you. also, idk why i can't write anything under 2k words here lately i guess i'm dedicated to setting the scene for my porn. anyways, hope u cuties enjoy! ok love ya.

genre: smut (18+ ONLY, MINORS DO NOT INTERACT), fluff

word count: 2.8k

summary: the reader and josh spend the morning smoking and spending time together. they find an interesting way to enjoy their high.

warnings: marijuana usage, swearing, explicit sex scenes, oral (f receiving), non-penetrative unprotected sex, etc.

A hum settled in your throat as you sat in the sunroom, legs crossed beneath you as you rested on the large cushion in the corner. Pillows surrounded you, cradling your form as you relaxed in the hazy room. Plumes of smoke billowed around your face, the room reeking of weed, sandalwood incense, and the numerous potted flowers surrounding you. A dreamlike state had overtaken you, your head swimming deliciously as you reveled in your high; Josh had gone back inside, grabbing a pre-roll out of the little baggie on the kitchen counter. He had always been able to smoke you under the table, but you gave it your best shot. Safe to say, you were on cloud nine. 

“Should I open a window out here?” Josh waved his hand in front of his face as he joined you, the unlit joint resting between his lips. He leaned over your perch in the corner, his shirt brushing against your face as he reached for the window above you to open it. You giggled, watching his shirt ride up to reveal a sliver of his lower stomach above his sweatpants. Reaching up, you trailed one finger over the soft skin. Goosebumps bloomed, and he swatted your hand away.

“Sorry,” you mumbled halfheartedly, still grinning like an idiot. “Couldn’t help myself.”

“All right, silly goose,” he laughed, “Whose idea was it to hotbox the sunroom anyway?”

“Yours,” you sighed. You closed your eyes and laid back on the cushion, feeling your boyfriend settle onto the plush area beside you after a moment. “Dunno how we even managed that, anyway. This room’s huge.”

You heard the smile in his voice, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Then came the click of the lighter again, and you smelled another cloud of pungent smoke floating past your face. Then, the subtle breeze of Josh waving his hand through the air. Blindly, you reached for him, fingers skirting past the plants on the windowsill above you, and finding solace in the feeling of his skin against your fingertips. You brushed over the back of his neck, hand entangling in his curls. He sighed contentedly.

“Lay with me, will you?” you asked quietly. You finally forced your eyes open, blinking through the fog around you to eye your boyfriend. The early afternoon sunlight framed his face, shining across the planes of his gorgeous face. You admired his side-profile, watching as his lips curled around the joint and took a long pull. He put it out in the ashtray, his freehand resting on your bare shin. Though his palm was warm, the touch sent a shiver up your spine.

“Your wish is my command,” he said, then leaned down to settle into the cushions next to you. You turned to face him, your other hand curling beside its counterpart in his hair. You stared at him, admiring every miniscule detail of his being. From the tiny bump in his nose, to the growth patterns of his facial hair, to each microscopic pore on his face, you wanted to memorize him. You wanted to burn the sight of him into your mind forever, yours alone to keep. No one else would ever be in this moment with him; he was completely, entirely yours. You brushed one hand over his soft face, leaning in to press your lips against his. The touch was feather-light, barely even there as you laid there. He met your mouth with an exact match in delicacy, his breath mingling with yours. 

“I love being close to you,” you whispered, blinking at the intensity in his gaze. You imagined your own expression matched his, blissed out by his presence in front of you. Your skin flushed as you felt his eyes examining you as closely as you had been him. You wanted to close your eyes, bashful, but you couldn’t force yourself to look away from him.

Josh smiled, dazzling you momentarily. “You’re so pretty, flower,” he brushed the back of his hand over your cheek. You moved one of your hands to grasp his, holding his soft hand against you. You pulled it to your lips, kissing his hand, his fingers, his palm. “Prettier than the sun, the moon, all the stars in the sky.”

You grinned at his words, your face flushing even more. Closing your eyes, you pressed his hand to your forehead, trying to hide your face. 

“Oh, don’t get all shy on me now,” he giggled, peeling your hands away from your face. He began to pepper kisses all over your face, soft lips tickling your skin. You burst into laughter, his mustache tickling you as you struggled against him. 

“You’re tickling me,” you breathed, writhing beneath him.

“Am I?” He nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck, still kissing you. You squirmed, running your fingers through his curls as your chest shook with laughter. He moved his hands again, trailing down your sides to poke at your ribs and elicit squeals from you. You were both thrashing on the cushions, pillows flying across the room as you tried to fight him off.

“You’re killing me!” Your stomach ached from the laughter; he was holding you down easily, his arm muscles flexing deliciously as he pinned you to the floor and continued his onslaught with his mouth. You wiggled desperately, your hands pinned above your head by one of his. It always surprised you just how easily he could overpower you.

“Oh, I’m not done yet…” A mischievous glint flickered behind those honey brown irises, and you knew you were in for it. He was practically straddling you at this point, holding you down so there was no possible escape. His free hand slowly slithered down your side; you were still giggling, shifting beneath him to try and break free. You hissed as his hand trailed over your lower stomach, and found its destination. The inside of your thighs, where he had quickly found out you were extremely ticklish. You screamed with laughter, bucking your hips and jerking to try and get out of his grip.

He was still amused by this, but underneath that there was a darker look in his eyes. 

“Hmm, okay,” he gasped after a second, “Ah, I think that’s enough…” You shifted beneath him, managing to twist your body so that your legs were now wrapped around his hips. But he no longer seemed as playful, instead his face was slightly pink and he leaned back on his haunches. 

“What’s wrong?” Propping yourself up on your elbows, you eyed him carefully. You still had your legs hooked around him, and you tried to use your thighs to pull him in. Then, you felt it.

“Oh,” you said, eyes widening as a small smile tugged at your lips. 

He flushed a deeper shade of crimson, pulling away from you. 

“Who’s getting shy now?” you said, amused.

“Hey, don’t tease,” he whined, wrinkling up his nose. He was so cute, sitting there blushing. You wanted to ravish him.

“I’m sorry, baby,” you soothed. 

Leaning up, you snaked an arm around his neck and pulled him back down against you. His skin burned against yours–coupled with the sun filtering in around you, you felt like you were on fire. Lips brushing his, you rolled your hips up against him. He was half-hard, though you could feel him stiffening as you kissed him, tongue darting out to greet his. He moaned softly against you. 

“Need you,” he muttered, already panting by the time the two of you parted for breath. “Need to taste you…”

You sighed at the thought, watching him with hungry eyes as his hands trailed down your sides and found the waistband of your shorts. His eyes skirted down your body, sweeping over the thin t-shirt covering your bare chest, your exposed midriff, his sights finally landing on the shorts that he was dragging down with agonizing patience. Finally, he dragged them over your ankles and threw them to the side. His touch trailed back up your legs, hands massaging and squeezing the flesh as he made his way back towards your center. His fingers pressed into the skin of your thighs, pushing them open to expose your slick center to the air. You gasped as you felt the cold air, sending a shiver up your spine.

“This okay?” he asked, looking up at you with those saccharine eyes. He trailed open-mouthed kisses down your calf, slowly making his way to your inner thigh. 

You nodded. 

“Need to hear you, flower,” he breathed against your skin. “Tell me what you want.”

“Josh, please,” you sighed, chest heaving with the effort of not pouncing on him. “Please, I want your mouth on me…”

His lips parted into that dazzling smile. The sight of him between your legs was intoxicating; that smile, his curls shining gold in the light, the unwavering eye contact. A flutter shot through your stomach down to your center. His tongue darted out for a second to moisten his lips, and then he gave you exactly what you were craving. 

A moan erupted out of you immediately; his lips wrapped around your clit, suckling softly. One of your hands found his hair, the other gripping one of the pillows below you. As he swirled his tongue around the bundle of nerves, your eyelids began to flutter.

“Oh my…” you breathed, unable to even form a sentence as he continued his steady pace. One of his arms circled around your hips to pin you down; the other joined his mouth, prodding at your needy entrance. He coated the digits in your arousal, before inserting them into you slowly. Another breathy moan broke through the air around you.

You forced your eyes open to look down at him; his eyes held your gaze as he devoured you relentlessly. White hot pleasure pulled in your lower belly, coiling up at an unprecedented speed; at this rate, you would be cumming in less than a minute. Your toes curled as he massaged his fingers inside of you, hitting your sweet spot. Your entire lower body clenched around him, your hand pulling at his curls with desperation. 

“You like when I hit that little spot, don’t you, pretty girl?” He watched you intently. “So pretty writhing and moaning like that baby… I could just eat you up…” He circled his tongue around your clit, flicking the sensitive spot without any hesitation.

“Josh–” you gasped, your hips jerking beneath his strong grasp on your waist. “Shit, I’m gonna cum…”

He grinned, tongue licking your juices from his lips. He continued the slow thrusting of his fingers into you, keeping you right on the edge. “You want to cum, flower?”

You nodded, unable to speak as he entranced you with his movements. The sight of his fingers entering you steadily, his chin and mouth dripping with your arousal, the want in his eyes. A tremble shot through your thighs. You were so, so close…

“Please, baby,” your words were barely audible. Nothing more than a whisper as you shook under his ministrations.

There was that smile again. He could never deprive you of anything you wanted, especially not something that you were so desperate for. No, he was eager to please you. Anything for his precious flower.

He removed his fingers, now using both of his hands to pin your legs wide open. The muscles ached dully, but that was the last thing on your mind as his mouth reattached to your clit. He licked and sucked it with renewed vigor, sending electricity shooting through your entire body. You screamed in pleasure, your voice cracking as you held onto his golden locks to ground you. It felt like you were flying, your entire body seizing and shaking as you came. The muscles in your abdomen and legs tightened so much that it almost hurt. You cried out his name, and felt him smirk against your center. He enjoyed every second of your undivided attention, was content to worship your body for hours and hours if only to hear the sound of you crying out for him. He reveled in it, bathed in it, burned it into his mind as best as he could. 

As you came down from your climax, he pulled away. One of his thumbs replaced his mouth, drawing slow circles over your clit. You jerked at the feeling; he placed a lazy kiss against your thigh, reddened by his hand holding you down. 

“You okay, flower?”

“Mmhmm,” you nodded, in a dreamlike state as you let your head fall back and closed your eyes. Your chest heaved as you struggled to catch your breath. “You’re too good at that…”

He laughed, the sound like music to your ears. 

“You always make me feel so good, Joshy,” you continued, humming gently as he moved to lay down beside you. “I love you so much…”

“I love you, flower.”

You turned on your side again, brushing your hand over his face. His lips had become raw and swollen, practically glowing red in the sunlight. You traced your finger over them, admiring their plump shape. God, he was too good.

Gently, you reached for the waistband of his sweats and pulled at them.

“Take these off.”

He obeyed instantly, kicking his sweats off along with his underwear. He flushed pink as you hooked a leg around him, and used your hand to grasp his length. A tiny moan filled the space between you. A smile graced your lips. You pressed your hand on one side of his cock as you brought it to your slick center, and began to grind against him. Your fluids slicked along the underside of him, the head of his cock nudging your sensitive clit. You breathed in unison, pleasure blooming through both of you even without his cock inside of you.

He hummed his satisfaction, pressing his face into your neck. “I could cum like this…” he admitted, his cock twitching against you.

“Do you want to?” You breathed, still rutting your hips against him. “Wanna cum all over me, Joshy? All over my hand and my pussy, hmmm?”

“Ahh–” his hips jerked against you. His length pulsed again, and you moaned into his ear. You loved making him melt, loved that you could have this effect on him without him even being inside of you. 

“Tell me what you want, honey,” you cooed. You began to stroke him as you rolled your hips into him. You were getting close again, too, the feeling of his cockhead dragging against your center was delicious. 

“Ah, Y/N, wanna cum just like this…”

You nodded, your free hand petting his hair as you continued your movements. You felt the muscles in his stomach clenching and releasing as you grinded against him. His breaths came shakily in your ear. His fingers found your waist, digging into the skin as he began to rut against you needily. Your combined voices were a chorus of moans through the quiet room as you both chased your release. Closing your eyes, you let yourself be taken by the sensation of having him close to you, the pleasure blooming through your body as the both of you held onto one another. 

“Are you there, baby? I’m so close,” you sighed. This seemed to invigorate him.

“Yes, flower, I’m there. Just need you with me… Need you close to me…”

“I’m close to you Joshy, I’m here,” you breathed against him, finding his lips and pressing yours against him softly, slowly. Your mouths moved together tentatively, contrasting with the desperate rocking of your hips against one another. He swallowed your moans as you tensed against him. Your orgasm overtook you, each wave rolling over you more intense than the last one. 

He groaned, then came your name in that beautiful voice as he found his own release. Sticky ropes of cum coated your hand and your center, mixing with your own release. You both continued rutting against each other, slowing your movements until finally you were both still.

“I love you so much,” Josh whispered. He kissed your head, stopping to breathe in the scent of your shampoo. A contented sigh left his lips as you shifted, him laying on his back and you letting your head rest on his chest. The steady thrum of his heart comforted you. The sound, coupled with the weed, and your physical exhaustion made you want a nap desperately.

“I love you, Josh,” you yawned. He brushed your hair out of your face, glancing down at your tired expression. A smile played on his lips, and he kissed your head again. “Can we take a nap?” you asked hopefully.

“You don’t wanna clean up first?” Josh inquired. 

“No,” you mumbled, fighting back another yawn. “Just wanna sleep…”

“Okay, flower… Nap time it is.”

[pointyhatspointyears]

🦋What is their favorite season?

Yasumi: It would have to be early winter. Yuusei would rarely be away on a mining expedition in the winter and would usually be exhausted anyway after last Saints' Wake season with all the youkai running about the realm and in her head. So she would stay home where Yasu gets to keep a closer watch on her. Also, it's when the surge of desperate clients coming in for protection and purification charms and horary readings to locate missing children would recede into the usual mundane requests; philters sweetened with honey from Fullflower Comb (by far her best-selling potions) and horary readings to locate the occasional missing earring. Nothing so terribly urgent as to disturb her work*.

Fyr would have potted and brought most of her plants indoors (except the ones he's instructed never to touch... that seem to.. migrate on their own?) and the kitchen would always smell of fresh rosemary, marjoram and belladonna, her bread and butter of spellcrafting. And let's not forget the smell of roasted Gridanian chestnuts on a campfire in the evenings.

*sleeping

-

Goose: Summer. She gets to see Amalthea in the least amount of clothing, which for a paladin and a dragoon who grew up in Ishgard is a rare treat. She's a simple girl with simple needs.

[richardmoonstreet]

They are BACK! 🦆

The long awaited return of my @hausofhonk mugs have landed today in many many many boxes and my arms hurt a lot 😵‍💫 thankyou SO MUCH for your patience, I've had these available on pre-order since January and I know there's some long awaited honkery on the way to many of you.

If you're new around here too, allow me to reintroduce what this army of ducks is all about! Haus of Honk is my ceramic spin-off where I design items but don't craft them myself. Unlike Richard Moonstreet (where everything is hand made by me 100% from start to finish) the Haus collection is factory-made to my design. Not only does this mean all the productions are dishwasher, food and microwave-safe, but crucially it allows me to get duck silliness out there to folk who may not always have the means to pay the higher prices that comes with more labour-intensive handmade buddies. Plus they are more useful too! You can't drink your tea out of a Silly Goose or a Quackson Pollock (well you can but he'd be cross)

I've put a website discount on all Haus of Honk goodies to celebrate the launch (because I also do plant pots!).Happy honking ♥️ and please feel free to tag a pal who may want a quack in the kitchen 💌

[thetargaryenbride]

Nail To The Coffin - S3 - Chapter 3

Warnings: none

Pairing: Steve Harrington x f!Byers!Reader

Word Count: 6469

A.N: Hello, dearest readers. This chapter is a bit different than the rest because there is no Y/N. Instead, we'll be focusing on Eddie and the others going on a goose chase. From this chapter on, Eddie plays a big role and you'll see him much more. I hope that's compensation for his absence in the season 2 plotline haha Also, I've tweaked the canon a bit regarding Eddie's knowledge and you'll find out what I mean soon enough. As always, please do make me know if I’ve written certain characters OOC and if you think there is something that can be corrected within the story. Thank you for reading. Hope you like it! 🖤 🥀

Masterlist || Chapter 2 || Chapter 4

Early Next Morning

“Harrington!” yelled Eddie as he pushed his way through the group of kids to get to the counter, eliciting all kinds of looks and reactions.

“Hey! There’s a line, you stinky jerk!” snapped Erika and he whirled to send her a nasty look before focusing back on Robin who was looking weirdly at him.

“Where’s Harrington?” he asked urgently and she shrugged.

“Somewhere in the mall,” she answered. “Why are you looking for-“

Before she could finish the sentence, Eddie was already sprinting away, leaving her and the group of kids confused as they looked after his retreating form.

He darted from one place to another, checking every store, every restroom, the escalators, and the benches, but he couldn’t find Steve anywhere, and his nerves were pulled as tight as guitar strings on the verge of snapping.

And then they did snap.

“Steve Harrington!” he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted at the top of his lungs, making people around him cease what they were doing and look at him oddly. He heaved as he lifted a hand apologetically.

“Jesus, what is wrong with you?” sounded Steve’s voice from behind him and he turned to see the boy he had been desperately searching for since stepping into the mall come from behind a big potted plant.

The people had resumed whatever they were doing prior to Eddie’s unhinged episode and he had to make his way through the crowd, with everyone throwing him looks to which he could only respond with a tight awkward smile, as he bypassed them while marching over to Steve.

“We need to talk,” grit out the boy as he grabbed Steve by the arm and began dragging him away.

“Hey, wait for me!” called Dustin as he followed them and Eddie turned to look at him and then back at Steve.

“Who was this kid again?”

“Uh, don’t you remember? It’s Henderson. He’s a friend of mine and Y/N’s,” reminded him Steve as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and Eddie let out an ‘aha’ as his mind went back to before Christmas when you had hosted that gathering and he had gotten to meet your friends.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Eddie hadn’t gotten the chance to hang out with the middle-schoolers after that because he had been busy with his own things but he did remember Dustin and how they had talked about Dungeons and Dragons. He thought that maybe he could recruit him into Hellfire Club once the kid gets to high school.

“Yes! So whatever you have to say to him, you’re saying it to me too,” added the boy and Eddie had to physically slap his cheeks to get off this train of thought and get back on the main topic at hand which elicited weird looks from Dustin and Steve.

“Alright. Alright, fine,” he let out a sharp exhale, nodding in agreement.

“Is it-is it something important? Is it about Y/N?” asked Steve quietly and Eddie hummed.

“Mmhm.”

Steve gulped before wriggling himself out of Eddie’s grasp and taking the lead. “Then follow me back to Scoops Ahoy. We can talk there.”

The trio walked briskly towards the ice cream parlor and ignored the questioning looks Robin threw them as they walked past her and into the staff room at the back.

“What is it? What’s wrong with Y/N?” stammered out Steve nervously and Eddie rubbed his face.

“I think she, uh,” cleared his throat the boy as he looked between Dustin and Steve a couple of times, evidently contemplating on whether he should speak his mind or not. “I think she went to…my drug dealer’s house,” he stuttered, “and stole all of his stash,” he blurted out and Steve and Dustin’s eyes widened in shock.

“What?”

“D-drugs!” stammered Dustin as he looked at Eddie in disbelief. “Holy-“

“He called me yesterday evening and told me someone broke into his house. They didn’t steal any money. Just the drugs,” explained Eddie. “Mind you, there are some people who know about him but none of them have disappeared mysteriously a-and Y/N hasn’t shown up since the other night, right?”

“Yeah, but that’s weird,” said Steve as he put his hands on his hips and Eddie lifted a quizzical brow. “I went to her house yesterday morning and yes, she was still gone and I was mad worried but Mrs. Byers said that apparently she got a call from a friend the night before and went to help them. It was an emergency, she said. So how could she be the one to have broken into your dealer’s house and stolen his stash?”

“I don’t know, Steve, maybe that was just an excuse,” offered Eddie and Steve glared at him.

“Okay, hold on for a moment there Munson, are you kidding me right now? Do you seriously believe that Y/N, our Y/N, is someone who would break into a person’s house and steal from them? Much less drugs!?” Steve exclaimed scandalously.

“I’m just trying to see things from all sides, alright!?” snapped the boy as he lifted his hands in surrender and the other sighed in exasperation. Dustin looked between the teens, still in utter bewilderment, as he tried to process the whole situation – particularly the drug part. “And you didn’t think to go check again after work yesterday, Steve?” asked Eddie with an accusatory tone and Steve looked at him in distress.

“First of all, Mrs. Byers promised to call me if Y/N came back home so I decided to come back to work. Second of all,” he gesticulated with one hand. “She didn’t call me for the rest of the day and of course, I got worried and went to the Byers after work! But Y/N was still not there. I spoke to Mrs. Byers, to Jonathan, to Will. We’re all concerned, ok? We decided to go look for her if she doesn’t appear today. Why-why are you blaming this on me!?” bit out the boy as he pointed to himself. “Where were you yesterday evening, huh? Why didn’t you come tell me about this immediately after you got the call?”

“Because I was this close to becoming dead meat!” barked out Eddie. “I had to go to Rick and convince him I had nothing to do with the stolen drugs. Do you’ve any idea how long it took me to deal with this jackass?”

“Alright, you two, calm down! Jesus!” exclaimed Dustin while he extended his arms towards the two older boys as if he was trying to placate two aggressive animals. “I have a plan,” he said and the two looked down at him. “Why don’t you, and I mean Eddie,” he turned to look and point at the boy in question, “go to the Byers and check if Y/N hasn’t returned by any chance? Did it occur to you that maybe you’re just overreacting and jumping to stupid conclusions and maybe she just had to do something important and simply forgot to call you? Shit like that happens, okay?” he shrugged and gesticulated, scrunching up his face, as if stating the most obvious thing. “Calm the f down! Go look for her and call us here,” suggested the boy and Steve whirled to fully face him.

“No way! I’m not staying here. I’m going with him!”

“Steve, you have to help us with the Russians! You can’t just bail!” he yelled in disbelief and Eddie’s eyebrows shot to his hairline.

“Russians?”  

“Dude, Y/N is my girlfriend!” snapped Steve. “I’m not gonna stay here while he goes out there to look for her!”

“Hold on, care to tell me what Russians are you guys talking about?” asked Eddie in utter confusion and Dustin let out a sigh.

“We intercepted a secret, coded Russian communication, and now we’re trying to crack said code because we believe they are right here and are planning to do who knows what that will definitely, potentially harm everyone in Hawkins, and who knows, maybe in the whole damn country! So maybe, just maybe, you can go out there, find Y/N, bring her in here, so we can all go stop the evil commies!“ Dustin hit one hand against the other aggressively as he shouted the last words and the two teens could only look at him, frozen on their spots with Steve shaking his head lightly, face distorting into one of displeasure at the way Dustin had revealed everything.

Eddie was the first who snapped out of the stupor as he turned to face Steve. “Care to tell me just what the hell-“

“It’s all true, dude. Yeah, I know it’s hard to believe but, here we are,” exhaled heavily the boy as he threw his arm in the air before dropping it down in defeat.

“Okay, this is officially the strangest summer I’ve ever had in my life,” Eddie’s hand went down his face, rubbing his chin as he took a minute to think everything through and let it all sink in and process in his brain.

“Tell me about it,” muttered Steve as he looked at the tiled floor, hands on hips.

The three spent some time dwelling in silence and thinking before Eddie grabbed Steve by the arm and pulled him forward. “Come with me,” he said, now a bit more calmly, and began dragging the boy a bit further away from Dustin. “Look, stay with the kid, ok? You know better than anyone what’s going on here and… you’re good with that kinda hero stuff. I’ll just…I’ll just freak out and run away, okay? I’m not good at all that,” admitted the boy ashamedly and Steve looked at him with sympathy. “Besides, he doesn’t know me that well and… now he knows I deal with drugs. He’s not gonna trust me. But you two seem close. You can’t leave him all alone.”

“But Y/N-“

“I’ll go to the Byers. I’ll go check if she’s there and I’ll call you, ok?” he placed a hand on Steve’s shoulder and squeezed. “Maybe Dustin is right and we’re just overreacting and jumping to conclusions. Let’s not panic… Trust me.”

The boy didn’t look convinced at all, his eyes darting between Eddie’s and the wall before he finally nodded.

“Alright…I trust you.”

As much as it pained him and as much as he wanted to bolt out of the mall and go look for you, Eddie and Dustin had a point. So he chose to put his trust in the boy.

But he silently made a promise that if you were indeed missing, he’d abandon everything he was doing to help you because you mattered to him more than any country or person in the world did.  

A bit after Eddie leaves

“Hey, kid,” called out Robin and Dustin turned to look at her, taking a few steps closer. “What’s wrong with dingus over there?” she asked as she nodded in Steve’s direction who was sitting at one of the tables, leg bouncing nervously, fingers drumming against the wooden surface while the binoculars were abandoned on the table, away from him.

“He’s just worried about Y/N.”

“Why? Did something happen to her?” she furrowed her brows in concern and Dustin shrugged.

“We honestly have no idea. She stood Steve up the other night and hasn’t appeared since. I mean it’s been a day and a half so I get why he and Eddie are freaking out.”

“Jesus, you guys really think you’re the center of the world, don’t you?” she rolled her eyes and Steve looked at her over his shoulder, scrunching up his face in a “seriously?” manner and she lifted a brow at that. “You do realize that the world does not revolve around men, as much as you want it to, right? She may have wanted to spend some alone time, do some self-care, away from everyone.”

“No, I understand if she wants to do that but she’d tell her close people first,” said Steve as he stood up and approached the two. “After everything that her family went through with Will vanishing and the attacks, she always tells her mom if she’d be going somewhere for a longer period of time. Otherwise, there’s chaos, I’m telling you,” sighed the boy as he put a hand on his hip while the other ran through his hair, and Robin folded her lips, not knowing what to say to this.

“You know what, I’m going after Eddie,” Steve said suddenly before heading for the staff backroom to change out of his uniform and Robin and Dustin shared an incredulous look before following the boy.

“You can’t just abandon us like that!” exclaimed Dustin and Robin crossed her arms.

“You’re the one who started this whole investigation. You can’t back out and leave all the work to us two,” she reprimanded him and he furrowed his eyebrows.

“Well I’m sorry to break it to you but if you haven’t understood yet, Y/N is most probably missing and I’m not sitting here while Munson is out there looking for her alone. I don’t care about the Russians or whatever plans they may have! Okay!? All I care about right now is that my girlfriend is somewhere out there, missing, and I’m sitting here playing spy when I should be looking for her! Do you understand?” he yelled which silenced the two and sent them into a stupor as they stared at the boy who was breathing heavily, eyes filled with mad panic, face twisted in a sorrowful expression as stress oozed off him in waves.

They have never seen him in such a distressed state. He lifted a hand, tightening his lips, before dropping it back down in defeat as he looked at the two in utter despair and shame. Shame because he should have gone to look for you much earlier. “I should have gone out there immediately after-“

The ringing of a phone cut him off mid-sentence and Steve darted towards it like a lightning bolt, yanking the device and putting it to his ear.

“Eddie, what did you-”

“Steve?”

“…Y/N?”

Eddie was pissed and worried beyond belief.

He had gone to your house but not only did he not find you, he did not find anyone. It was empty and your whole family was nowhere to be found. He had gone to a phone booth immediately after and had called Scoops Ahoy but nobody had picked up.

“Damn it!” he slammed the phone shut as he ran his hands through his hair and let out a sharp sigh of frustration before rushing back into his van and driving away.

He checked every friend’s house he could think of.

He went to Tina’s, to Lorelei’s, to Margot’s, he visited each cheerleader’s house in search of you, and he even went to check the homes of his own friends – Gareth and Jeff – but there was no sign of you. It’s like you got swallowed by quicksand.

He grumbled under his breath as he parked at the last house he could think of – the Hargroves.

Now, he wasn’t sure if he could call you and Billy the best of friends. But he had seen you hang out at school and at the diner you worked at, and he had seen the way you put effort into communicating with the boy. He had seen you hang out with Billy’s sister on many occasions so the siblings were the last idea of connection to you he could think of.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, however, when he saw two girls walking to the front door, one of which he recognized as Billy’s sister. He quickly got out of the van and yelled at them to wait up, making them stop in their tracks and turn to see who was calling them. He ran to them and greeted them awkwardly.

“Uh, hey there. My name’s-“

“Eddie?” Max’s face lit up with recognition. “You are… one of Y/N’s best friends,” she snapped her fingers and the other girl let out a prolonged, quiet ‘Oh’.

“Yes, that’s right! And you are…Max,” he pointed and she nodded, making him look at the other girl. “And you?”

“Uhm, El. My name’s El,” she smiled.

“Nice to meet you! Um, I have a question that’s probably gonna sound like, super weird, but,” he drawled. “Have you seen Y/N, by any chance?”

“Y/N? I haven’t seen her since the other day when we went to see Dustin,” said Max with furrowed eyebrows as she and Eleven shared a look of confusion.

“Why are you looking for her?”

“Because no one has seen her since the other day. Not me, not Steve, not even her family,” he finally revealed and the two girls frowned in concern, eyes widening.

“You don’t think he-“ gasped Max quietly as she snapped to look at El, her heartbeat increasing rapidly.

“But what if he did,” the girls talked hushed amongst themselves and Eddie tightened his lips before snapping his fingers.

“Hey! Care to share with the class?” he asked as he crossed his arms.

“Hold on!” exclaimed Eleven before taking Max by the hand and dragging her away, leaving the boy to sink in confusion, patience wearing thin as he began pacing in front of the entrance of the house, untangling one arm and propping it on top of the other so his fingers could take a strand of hair and play with it nervously as anxiety gnawed on him.

“What do we do?” asked Max quietly and El gulped. “Should we tell him to leave? That we know nothing?”

“Maybe we should tell him about Billy.”

“Tell him what exactly? That we somehow suspect Billy might have done something to this girl and Y/N?” whisper-shouted the redhead.

“This is not a coincidence, Max. Maybe Billy really did hurt this girl and Y/N. Maybe Eddie can help. We need help,” stated Eleven worriedly and Max sighed, rubbing her forehead in frustration and worry.

“Well, I… guess we can…trust him. He’s one of Y/N’s best friends. And he’s older so…maybe he can be of use,” she admitted after a minute of contemplating and El nodded.  

“Yes.”

“But what do we say? How do we explain our suspicions? We can’t tell him we found out because of your powers,” scowled Max.

“We’ll just say,” drawled El. “That Billy was acting weird, then he disappeared, and then the girls went missing right after, so we suspect him.”

“Ok…ok, sounds like a plan,” nodded Max in agreement but deep inside she felt a horrible, unsettling feeling suffocate her. Her gut twisted and cramped as if someone continuously delivered punches to it.

It didn’t sit well with her that she and Eleven were suspecting Billy of something so horrible. He was a jerk, yes, but he wasn’t a kidnapper and a murderer.

On the contrary, he was beginning to change and it was visible. If she had to be honest, she really appreciated his efforts and she was beginning to fill with hope for the future – that maybe he could really become a better person and that the two of them could build a good brother-sister relationship.

She didn‘t want to believe in what El had seen last night. She refused to believe that Billy has reverted into something so low and horrible. She really wanted to convince herself that it was just some misunderstanding. But even she had to admit that there was something off to the whole story because Billy did sort of disappear. She hadn’t seen him at all in the past two days. Then Eleven had seen him standing above a wailing girl, and just now they found out that you had disappeared out of the blue two days ago.

It was too strange to be just a coincidence.

So at least for now, she decided to believe in Eleven and choose to put her brother as the main suspect even if it pained her to do so.

“We need to tell you something,” let out Eleven unsurely, interrupting Eddie’s pacing and getting his full attention.

“So, the great council did decide to fill me in,” he joked a bit, hoping to diffuse the tension and the two girls shared a look before leading him inside the house and telling him about their suspicions.

“Look, Mayfield, if your brother really ends up having something to do with the disappearance of Y/N and this other girl, I’m gonna enjoy watching Harrington beat his ass, ok? I might even join and lend him a hand,” commented Eddie offhandedly as Max opened the door of Billy’s room.

“Yeah, and I won’t stop you,” she muttered as she and the others entered the room and looked around. “Why do I get the feeling we’re gonna find all kinds of wrong in here?”

“Well, at least he has good taste in music,” Eddie let out a breathy chuckle as his eyes shot to the stereo which was playing metal, nodding impressed.

“Ugh! Gag me with a spoon!” exclaimed Max in disgust after opening a drawer filled with adult magazines and Eddie strolled to look over her shoulder, eyebrows shooting to his hairline as a smirk grew on his face. It faltered when Max’s disgusted, unimpressed look shifted onto him and he cleared his throat, moving away awkwardly.

Everyone moved to the bathroom then, taking notice of all the packs of ice in the bathtub after El had pulled the curtain.

“Max?”

“Ice. It’s just ice,” she said as she grabbed and lifted one of the floating, empty packages. “Probably for his muscles or something. He works out like a maniac.”

“Does he get hurt often?” inquired Eddie which drew the girls’ attention and they looked around to see him pointing at the cabinet under the sink which had blood smeared on it.

Eddie didn’t hesitate to yank open the cabinet and rummage through it, taking out the bin and slamming it on the counter, aggressively pulling out a couple of scrunched-up papers, a bloodied lifeguard whistle, and a fanny bag.

Eleven and Max’s blood ran cold.

Eddie left the objects on the counter and returned to Billy’s room, breathing heavily through his nose as he tried to contain his anger and growing worry while opening all kinds of drawers, cabinets, and doors to look for any other evidence. While he was rummaging through one of the bedside cabinets, he noticed a pair of jeans thrown haphazardly on the bed, with something in them that was shining on the light. He lifted the piece of clothing and inspected it, at first thinking the glint he saw was just the metal buttons and zipper but then he noticed that something was dangling from the pocket.

“What’s this?” he asked and Max furrowed her brows.

“His jeans?”

“No…this?” he clarified when he pulled out the glinting object and dangled it in front of the girls, their eyes widening. “Look familiar?” he asked but the question was rhetorical, leaving the girls to simmer in speechless silence and disbelief.

Because it was your necklace.

“I’m gonna kill him!” snapped Eddie as he threw the jeans away and bolted towards the door, clutching the necklace tightly in his fist as hot rage built up inside him.

“No! Wait! Eddie, wait!” yelled Max as she blocked his way and put her hands against his chest in an attempt at stopping him from going further. “Let’s be rational! We can’t jump to conclusions!”

“Rational? Conclusions!? What are you, blind? What more evidence do you need?” he bit out as he grabbed her by the arm. “I’m going to find the son of a bitch and I’m gonna bust his face.”

“Eddie!”

And suddenly, he couldn’t move. He tried his best to pull all his muscles and take a step but it felt like an invisible power was keeping him in place. He was barely able to shift his head, eyes widening when they landed on Eleven who was looking at him with panic in her eyes and a bleeding nose.

“What the hell?”

Eddie had fallen into a state of complete and utter shock when the girls had to begrudgingly tell him all about Eleven’s powers, Hawkins Lab, The Upside Down, and everything that had happened during the last two years.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” is what he had said after they had finished the whole story but then Eleven had used her powers to lift a can of coke in the air and crush it, causing some of the liquid to sprinkle onto Eddie. He sputtered as he wiped it off his face and looked on with wide eyes. “Alright, maybe I’m just high,” he had lifted his hands in defeat, eyes wide and brain going haywire, but then he had remembered that he hadn’t taken any drugs in the past twenty-four hours or so.

All in all, it had been quite the experience learning all this.

He thought he was going crazy at first or that the girls were just pulling a massive prank on him but at one point, things began making too much sense.

Your mysterious injuries every year for example.

Will’s vanishing.

You telling him “Once Will comes back home, we’ll spend more time together” right after you had buried ‘him’.

He had begun putting two and two together and their story had become more and more plausible by the second.

“Understand? We can’t go running like headless chicken and jump everyone we suspect. We have to be careful about this,” said Max and he nodded.

“Y-yeah.”

And now the trio found themselves at Hawkins’ pool. It was pouring rain outside and the sound of thunder rumbled throughout the darkening, cloudy sky. Max and Eleven pulled down the hoods of their raincoats while Eddie used his leather jacket to cover his head. He shook the clothing off the water droplets and tied it around his hips before his hands flew to muss up his hair to get rid of the moisture and then straighten it out.

“Excuse me.”

“No one in the water until thirty minutes after the last strike,” said one of the lifeguards casually as he chewed on his gum and browsed through a magazine, not even sparing them a look. “And don’t try and argue with me. You wanna get electrocuted, go climb a tree.”

“Yeah, we don’t care. We’re not here to swim,” sassed Max. “Or get electrocuted.”

“We found this,” added Eleven as she pulled out the lifeguard first aid kit fanny bag which finally made the guy look up.

“Does that belong to anybody here?”

“Oh, yeah. That’s Heather’s. I’ll get it back to her.”

“We could give it back to her.”

“You could, ‘cept she’s not here. Bailed on me today,” drawled the boy and the trio shared a look. “What is this? You guys want a reward or something?”

“No. We’re just being good Samaritans,” smiled Max tightly and the girl lifeguard shot her a look that made her scrunch up her face while Eddie curled up his lip.

The two’s attention shifted onto Eleven, however, when they noticed she wasn’t standing by their side anymore, and they followed her to the staff board where pictures of all lifeguards were hung on.

“Heather…Do you think you could find her and Y/N?” asked Max and Eddie’s eyes widened.

“She can do that too!?” he asked excitedly and Max hummed. “That’s soo cool! You’re like, a real-life Jean Gray!”

“So you’re saying she needs some kinda static sound to get her into this state?” asked Eddie after he and Max had turned on all the showers in the dressing room and she nodded. “Ok, then why not just go outside? I mean it’s raining and all.”

“Because she needs to focus properly and there are cars and people passing by outside, causing extra noise.”

“So-“

“Please, be quiet,” sighed sharply Eleven, and Eddie made a zipper motion with his hand over his mouth and plopped on the ground, crossing his legs and propping his elbows on his thighs, using his palms to rest his chin on.

She tied a cloth around her eyes and concentrated, easily falling into a meditative state and sooner rather than later she found herself in the familiar Void, looking for clues about the missing girl.

“What do you see?” asked Max after some time passed.

“A door… a red door.”

There was silence for a while as the two watched Eleven intently, perking up when her breathing began increasing.

“What is it?” asked Max tensely.

“She disappeared! She-she…was pulled underwater,” whined the girl and Max put a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s ok. We’re here. You’re ok… Try to focus on Y/N now,” encouraged her the redhead and Eleven tried to calm herself, taking a few deep breaths, before painting your image in her head.

And then you appeared in front of her.

You were sitting on the ground, rocking back and forth, creamy dress stained with dirt, hair a bit damp and messy.

She gulped as she took a few steps forward and circled you, coming to stand in front of you and get a better look. Her eyes widened when she saw how pale you were and how bloodshot your eyes were, holding heavy bags and dark circles. Your hand trembled a bit as you scratched the crook of your arm. She heard shuffling and whimpering and watched you turn your head to look at the source, lifting a finger to your mouth.

El furrowed her eyebrows in confusion before crouching next to you and reaching out for you, touching your shoulder.

Suddenly, your head snapped to look at her and she almost fell back in shock.

“El?” you breathed out and she gulped, eyes widening in stupor. “El!” you shouted as you crawled towards her but just like Heather, something pulled you under the watery surface and she could only watch you scream as you got dragged further and further down while pointlessly trying to grab your hand and pull you out.

“Y/N!” she yelled as she tried to reach for you but you were long gone and she let out a sharp gasp when she exited the Void and harshly pulled the blindfold down, making Max and Eddie stand on edge.

“What happened? El! What did you see?”

She could only pant as she tried regaining her bearings and fight back the welling of tears.

“I-I saw Y/N on the floor,” she stuttered out after she calmed a bit a minute later. “She…didn’t look well…She was…dirty and shaking and scared.”

“Where was she?” asked Eddie urgently and she shook her head.

“I don’t know…I couldn’t see…But there were some other voices I could hear. And…it looked like she was telling the people to keep quiet,” gulped the girl unsettled and Max and Eddie shared a look.

It felt like this left them with more questions than answers.

By the time they left the pool, it was already dark as evening had descended upon them.

Eddie had tried dialing Scoops Ahoy one more time but once again nobody picked up and he was going to pull out his hair from the way stress was escalating.

They had absolutely no idea where to begin looking for you so they decided to go to the place El had seen, hoping to find clues there before informing anyone else of their discoveries.

“Is this it?” asked Max as they looked through the windows of Eddie’s van and El nodded.

“Yes…It’s the same number I saw.”

“C’mon, c’mon!” ushered them Eddie as he got out of the vehicle and held his leather jacket above his head, the trio quickly running to the porch of the house.

The door was locked so Eleven had to use her powers and unlock it from the inside, letting it creak open and allowing them to enter. They slowly walked down the hallway, eyes widening when they saw multiple portraits of Heather and who they supposed were her parents.

“This is her house…It’s Heather’s house.”

They had expected to find an empty, dark house but instead were greeted by the sound of light music, laughter, chatter, and the shocking scene of no other than Billy himself, sitting at the table alongside Heather’s parents.    

“Isn’t that cute, huh?” they heard the boy laugh and they approached a bit more, drawing the attention of the occupants. “Max?” Billy’s grin faltered a bit when he saw her and the others and they looked awkwardly at each of the adults.

“We didn’t mean to…barge in,” she tried to explain. “We tried to knock but… maybe you didn’t hear us over the storm.”

“I’m sorry, who is this dripping all over my living room right now?” asked Tom agitated and Billy finished chewing his bite before letting out a charming chuckle.

“I’m sorry. Janet, Tom, this is my sister, Maxine,” he introduced her before standing up and nearing the girl. “What on Earth are you doing here? Is something wrong?” he asked and maybe for the first time ever he sounded genuine, making Max blink and look in confusion.

“We just wanted to make sure everything was ok.”

“Ok? Why wouldn’t it be ok?” asked the boy with furrowed eyebrows and Eddie snorted.

“C’mon, man, don’t play around. Where are they?” he bit out and Billy glared at him.

“I’m sorry? Where is who?”

“Well, they’re a little burnt, I’m sorry,” came in Heather’s voice and everyone snapped to look at her in shock. She appeared to be perfectly normal as she entered the room, happily carrying a tray of cookies. She halted in her words and steps once she saw the trio.

“Heather! This is my sister, Maxine,” he introduced once again as he pointed at the girl before tucking his hands in front of him. “And, I’m sorry but I didn’t quite catch your name,” he turned to the other girl as he spoke but there was something biting in his tone that one could catch onto only if they listened close enough.

“El,” she responded flatly.

“El,” he repeated, eyes not leaving hers until Eddie stood in front of her, gaining his attention. “And you were…the Munson boy…Care to tell me just what are you doing with these two? They don’t look like the typical people you surround yourself with,” he asked with a tight smile and Eddie returned the hostile energy.

“I don’t know, man, maybe I happened to stumble upon your sister and El who were dead worried about our mutual best friend going M.I.A,” he said tersely. “And Max just happened to find her necklace in your room,” he whispered the last part and Billy’s expression fell.

“You went through my stuff?” he asked quietly as he looked at Max and she paled, eyes darting between Eddie and Billy. She was put in a tight spot and she wanted to gut Eddie for throwing her under the bus like that but she understood why he said what he said because it would’ve been even worse if Billy learned that all three of them had snooped through his stuff.

“I just wanted to turn off the music because you had forgotten the stereo on and it was distracting,” she stammered out a plausible reason. “I just saw it on the floor and we were wondering if you had seen her because we haven’t in the past days and we got worried.”

“Yes, I did see her,” Billy’s smile melted back into a charming one instead of a menacing one as he looked at each of the trio. “We met two days ago to discuss something. I can’t tell you much other than she’s planning a big surprise for everyone. She had to skip to Indianapolis to get some stuff and yes, she did drop her necklace and I picked it up,” he explained way too easily and crafted, making Eddie narrow his eyes unbelievingly.

“Oh…I see,” muttered Max as she sent him an awkward smile.

“And why didn’t she tell any of us that she was leaving town for a while?” snorted Eddie and Billy’s charming smile faltered, eyes hardening.

“I don’t know,” he accentuated every word as he stared unblinkingly at Eddie. “I don’t believe that I’m the person you should be asking this. Why don’t you ask her once she comes back?”

“Yeah…yeah, we’ll do that,” interrupted Max after picking on the rising tension and grabbed Eddie’s wrist warningly. “We’re sorry to bother you,” she apologized as she tried to take a step backward but Eleven moved from behind her and Eddie and came to stand between them, looking at Heather.

“But, I thought I saw-“

“-your manager. At the pool,” Max was quick to fill in the sentence with a smile. “He said you guys didn’t come in to work today so we got worried about you too,” she wormed her way through the situation and Billy hummed.

“Heather wasn’t feeling so hot today, so we thought we’d take the day off to nurse her back to health,” explained the boy with a tight grin. “But you’re feeling just fine right now, aren’t you Heather?” he asked as he turned to look at her and she nodded enthusiastically.

“I’m feeling so much better! Do you guys want a cookie? They’re fresh out of the oven,” she smiled as she offered them a treat and they all shook their heads simultaneously.

“Nope! No, thanks,” exclaimed Eddie as he waved and threw his hands in the air. “We, should keep our figures in check! Hah,” he let out a laugh as his lips twitched into a fake grin as he pointed at his body and put a hand over his stomach before he waved at the family and whirled around, walking briskly out of the house. He had seen too many horror movies and he was accepting no cookies from strangers ever in his life.

The girls apologized once again before bidding the others goodbye and following Eddie out of the house and into the van.

“I don’t know about you but I’m not very convinced,” grunted Eddie as he struggled to put on his belt and turn on the vehicle.

“I don’t know…it seemed plausible to me,” muttered Max as she stared out the window at the house.

“But then what was it that El saw? Y/N? The people with her? And did you see Hargrove’s expression and the way he spoke?” growled Eddie.

“He’s always like that. He has an asshole voice and intimidating expressions,” tried to explain Max.  

Everything seemed to fit and everything Billy had said seemed very reasonable.

But somehow Eddie wasn’t fully convinced.

[aancunin]

𝑇𝑌𝑃𝐸𝑆 𝑂𝐹 𝑃𝐸𝑂𝑃𝐿𝐸     :𝐷𝑈𝑁𝐺𝐸𝑂𝑁𝑆 𝐴𝑁𝐷 𝐷𝑅𝐴𝐺𝑂𝑁𝑆 𝐶𝐿𝐴𝑆𝑆𝐸𝑆   .

𝐵𝐴𝑅𝐵𝐴𝑅𝐼𝐴𝑁   ⚔    toothy  grins,  stories  around  the  campfire,  clothes  covered  in  pet  hair,  hot  temper,  old  jeans,  heartbeat  in  head,  potatoes  and  steak,  beaded  jewellery,  bruises  like  galaxies,  mementos, backpack  stuffed  full,  craigslist  furniture, spontaneous  road  trips,  air  ripped  from  lungs.

𝐵𝐴𝑅𝐷     ⚔     homemade  bread, white  lies, easily  excited,  trying  on  hats,  band  geek,  pep  talks,  no impulse  control,  sunsets,  vintage  fashion, long  showers,  selfies,  following  dreams,  rosy cheeks,  song  mash-ups,  pink  lemonade  with  tequila, loves  easily,  animated  storyteller, full  of  comebacks.

𝐶𝐿𝐸𝑅𝐼𝐶    ⚔    list  of  wishes,  biting  their  tongue,  band-aids  and  neosporin,  shoulder  to  cry  on,  morning  sun,  necklaces, trial  and  error, homemade  quilts, formal  clothing, astrology  fan,  messages  in  bottles,  pleated  braids,  speaking  up  for  friends, feathers, motivational  quotes,  vivid  dreams.

𝐷𝑅𝑈𝐼𝐷      ⚔       bird  watching, shy  kid,  wind  chimes, trying  to  whistle,  summer  camp, apple  orchards,  lost  in  their  head, glow-in-the-dark  stars  on  the  ceiling,  hoodies,  thrift shopping,  saving  worms  off  the  sidewalk,  pig  latin,  bare  feet, thunderstorms, numb  fingers, braided  hair,  naming potted  plants.

𝐹𝐼𝐺𝐻𝑇𝐸𝑅      ⚔     goose  bumps,  leather  jackets,  adventure,  chewing  nails, cares  deeply  but  can’t  show  it, bronze  locks,  no  sleep, taste  of  iron,  netflix  binges,  never  forgets, combat  boots,  stories  behind  scars, table  for  one,  official  soundtracks, sore  calves,  trusts  themselves  the  most.

𝑀𝑂𝑁𝐾    ⚔       always  trying  to  be  better,  wanderlust,  meditation,  sweat  pants, old   photographs,  yoga,  sleeping  in  hammocks, nostalgia,  minimalist  design, breath  of  fresh  air,  baby  animals,  volunteering,  perfectionist, doesn’t  care  about  fashion,  healthy  snacks,  noticing  the  little  things.

𝑃𝐴𝐿𝐴𝐷𝐼𝑁     ⚔      school  uniforms, thick  jackets,  sleeping  with  the  windows  open, logical  advice, scrapbooking,  compasses,  i  fight  for  my  friends, sculpture  gardens,  cold  morning  air,  big  soul,  likes  routine,  secret  romantic, last  to  get  jokes, sunflowers, practical  presents,  misty  weather.

𝑅𝐴𝑁𝐺𝐸𝑅    ⚔      herbal  tea,  smell  of  rain,  blinking  away  tears,  camping  trips, collecting  bones,  swiss  army  knives, first  impressions, anxious  thoughts,  bobby  pins,  burnt  marshmallows,  too  competitive,  clothes  lines,   messenger  bags,  holding  grudges, gets  along  better  with  animals  than  people.

𝑅𝑂𝐺𝑈𝐸     ⚔      flirtatious  sarcasm, candid  photos,  lost  phone  chargers,  adrenaline  rush,  picking  dirt  out  from  beneath  their  nails,  social  chameleon,  clashing  clothes, self-deprecating  jokes,  claw  machines,  sits  in  chairs  wrong,  smudged  eyeliner, has  too  many  sunglasses, eats  nothing  or  everything.

𝑆𝑂𝑅𝐶𝐸𝑅𝐸𝑅      ⚔     infectious  laugh,  family  trees,  shivers  down  their  spine, lipstick  and  roses, mood  swings,  clumsy,  believing  in  destiny,  high  expectations,  sleeping  in  darkness,  collection  of  nail  polish, passionate,  good  grades  but  never  studies, poetry  books, blowing  kisses,  not  knowing  their  own  strength.

𝑊𝐴𝑅𝐿𝑂𝐶𝐾      ⚔     knowing  everyone’s  secrets, backpack  covered  in  pins,  envy, being  in  walmart  late  at  night,  earl  grey,  selective  memory,  conspiracy  theories  and  cryptids,  keysmashing, need  to  know  basis,  can’t  cook,  bags  under  eyes, experimental  art, flickering  bulbs,  black  clothing  all  year  long

𝑊𝐼𝑍𝐴𝑅𝐷   ⚔     piles  of  textbooks, cat  in  lap, keeping  a  diary,  indecision,  scented  candles,  studying  alone  in  a  café,  lingering  touches,  museum  dates,  unanswered  questions,  taking  on  too  much  responsibility,  collections,  chalk  dust,  comfy  robes, unnecessary  apologies,  coming  home  after  a  long  day.

Tagged by: @thenetherese Tagging: Whoever wants to do this one

[emeraldxphoenix]

TYPES OF PEOPLE: DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS CLASSES.

BARBARIAN. toothy grins. stories around the campfire. clothes covered in pet hair. hot temper. old jeans. heartbeat in head. potatoes and steak. beaded jewellery. bruises like galaxies. mementoes. backpack stuffed full. craigslist furniture. spontaneous road trips. air ripped from lungs. BARD. homemade bread. white lies. easily excited. trying on hats. band geek. pep talks. no impulse control. sunsets. vintage fashion. long showers. selfies. following dreams. rosy cheeks. song mash-ups. pink lemonade with tequila. loves easily. animated storyteller. full of comebacks. CLERIC. list of wishes. biting their tongue. band-aids and neosporin. shoulder to cry on. morning sun. necklaces. trial and error. homemade quilts. formal clothing. astrology fan. messages in bottles. pleated braids. speaking up for friends. feathers. motivational quotes. vivid dreams. DRUID. bird watching. shy kid. wind chimes. trying to whistle. summer camp. apple orchards. lost in their head. glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling. hoodies. thrift shopping. saving worms off the sidewalk. pig latin. bare feet. thunderstorms. numb fingers. braided hair. naming potted plants. FIGHTER. goose bumps. leather jackets. adventure. chewing nails. cares deeply but can't show it. bronze locks. no sleep. taste of iron. netflix binges. never forgets. combat boots. stories behind scars. table for one. official soundtracks. sore calves. trusts themselves the most. MONK. always trying to be better. wanderlust. meditation. sweat pants. old photographs. yoga. sleeping in hammocks. nostalgia. minimalist design. breath of fresh air. baby animals. volunteering. perfectionist. doesn't care about fashion. healthy snacks. noticing the little things. PALADIN. school uniforms. thick jackets. sleeping with the windows open. logical advice. scrapbooking. compasses. i fight for my friends. sculpture gardens. cold morning air. big soul. likes routine. secret romantic. last to get jokes. sunflowers. practical presents. misty weather. RANGER. herbal tea. smell of rain. blinking away tears. camping trips. collecting bones. swiss army knives. first impressions. anxious thoughts. bobby pins. burnt marshmallows. too competitive. clothes lines. messenger bags. holding grudges. gets along better with animals than people. ROGUE. flirtatious sarcasm. candid photos. lost phone chargers. adrenaline rush. picking dirt out from beneath their nails. social chameleon. clashing clothes. self-deprecating jokes. claw machines. sits in chairs wrong. smudged eyeliner. has too many sunglasses. eats nothing or everything. SORCERER. infectious laugh. family trees. shivers down their spine. lipstick and roses. mood swings. clumsy. believing in destiny. high expectations. sleeping in darkness. collection of nail polish. passionate. good grades but never studies. poetry books. blowing kisses. not knowing their own strength. WARLOCK. knowing everyone's secrets. backpack covered in pins. envy. being in walmart late at night. earl grey. selective memory. conspiracy theories and cryptids. keysmashing. need to know basis. can't cook. bags under eyes. experimental art. flickering bulbs. black clothing all year long. WIZARD. piles of textbooks. cat in lap. keeping a diary. indecision. scented candles. studying alone in a cafe. lingering touches. museum dates. unanswered questions. taking on too much responsibility. collections. chalk dust. comfy robes. unnecessary apologies. coming home after a long day.

tagged by: @victoriousfidelity <3

tagging: @rvndrkhlme , @wildcxrds , @tempusetveritas , @spidersdance & anyone else who wants <3

[ripgray-moved]

𝑇𝑌𝑃𝐸𝑆 𝑂𝐹 𝑃𝐸𝑂𝑃𝐿𝐸 : 𝐷𝑈𝑁𝐺𝐸𝑂𝑁𝑆 𝐴𝑁𝐷 𝐷𝑅𝐴𝐺𝑂𝑁𝑆 𝐶𝐿𝐴𝑆𝑆𝐸𝑆

𝐵𝐴𝑅𝐷 ⚔ homemade bread, white lies, easily excited, trying on hats, band geek, pep talks, no impulse control, sunsets, vintage fashion, long showers, selfies, following dreams, rosy cheeks, song mash-ups, pink lemonade with tequila, loves easily, animated storyteller, full of comebacks.

𝐶𝐿𝐸𝑅𝐼𝐶 ⚔ list of wishes, biting their tongue, band-aids and neosporin, shoulder to cry on, morning sun, necklaces, trial and error, homemade quilts, formal clothing, astrology fan, messages in bottles, pleated braids, speaking up for friends, feathers, motivational quotes, vivid dreams.

𝐷𝑅𝑈𝐼𝐷 ⚔ bird watching, shy kid, wind chimes, trying to whistle, summer camp, apple orchards, lost in their head, glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, hoodies, thrift shopping, saving worms off the sidewalk, pig latin, bare feet, thunderstorms, numb fingers, braided hair, naming potted plants.

𝐹𝐼𝐺𝐻𝑇𝐸𝑅 ⚔ goose bumps, leather jackets, adventure, chewing nails, cares deeply but can’t show it, bronze locks, no sleep, taste of iron, netflix binges, never forgets, combat boots, stories behind scars, table for one, official soundtracks, sore calves, trusts themselves the most.

𝑀𝑂𝑁𝐾 ⚔ always trying to be better, wanderlust, meditation, sweat pants, old photographs, yoga, sleeping in hammocks, nostalgia, minimalist design, breath of fresh air, baby animals, volunteering, perfectionist, doesn’t care about fashion, healthy snacks, noticing the little things.

𝑃𝐴𝐿𝐴𝐷𝐼𝑁 ⚔ school uniforms, thick jackets, sleeping with the windows open, logical advice, scrapbooking, compasses, i fight for my friends, sculpture gardens, cold morning air, big soul, likes routine, secret romantic, last to get jokes, sunflowers, practical presents, misty weather.

𝑅𝐴𝑁𝐺𝐸𝑅 ⚔ herbal tea, smell of rain, blinking away tears, camping trips, collecting bones, swiss army knives, first impressions, anxious thoughts, bobby pins, burnt marshmallows, too competitive, clothes lines, messenger bags, holding grudges, gets along better with animals than people.

𝑅𝑂𝐺𝑈𝐸 ⚔ flirtatious sarcasm, candid photos, lost phone chargers, adrenaline rush, picking dirt out from beneath their nails, social chameleon, clashing clothes, self-deprecating jokes, claw machines, sits in chairs wrong, smudged eyeliner, has too many sunglasses, eats nothing or everything.

𝑆𝑂𝑅𝐶𝐸𝑅𝐸𝑅 ⚔ infectious laugh, family trees, shivers down their spine, lipstick and roses, mood swings, clumsy, believing in destiny, high expectations, sleeping in darkness, collection of nail polish, passionate, good grades but never studies, poetry books, blowing kisses, not knowing their own strength.

𝑊𝐴𝑅𝐿𝑂𝐶𝐾 ⚔ knowing everyone’s secrets, backpack covered in pins, envy, being in walmart late at night, earl grey, selective memory, conspiracy theories and cryptids, keysmashing, need to know basis, can’t cook, bags under eyes, experimental art, flickering bulbs, black clothing all year long.

𝑊𝐼𝑍𝐴𝑅𝐷 ⚔ piles of textbooks, cat in lap, keeping a diary, indecision, scented candles, studying alone in a café, lingering touches, museum dates, unanswered questions, taking on too much responsibility, collections, chalk dust, comfy robes, unnecessary apologies, coming home after a long day.

tagged by: @aintashes ty moan you're a real one, o fuck also @chaos--mode i just realised also did thank u bb tagging: @malka-lisitsa / @ripcvnningham / @cripplemagics / @wickedslip / @endlss-voiid

[aintashes]

𝑇𝑌𝑃𝐸𝑆 𝑂𝐹 𝑃𝐸𝑂𝑃𝐿𝐸 : 𝐷𝑈𝑁𝐺𝐸𝑂𝑁𝑆 𝐴𝑁𝐷 𝐷𝑅𝐴𝐺𝑂𝑁𝑆 𝐶𝐿𝐴𝑆𝑆𝐸𝑆

𝐵𝐴𝑅𝐵𝐴𝑅𝐼𝐴𝑁 ⚔ toothy grins, stories around the campfire, clothes covered in pet hair, hot temper, old jeans, heartbeat in head, potatoes and steak, beaded jewelry, bruises like galaxies, mementos, backpack stuffed full, craigslist furniture, spontaneous road trips, air ripped from lungs.

𝐵𝐴𝑅𝐷 ⚔ homemade bread, white lies, easily excited, trying on hats, band geek, pep talks, no impulse control, sunsets, vintage fashion, long showers, selfies, following dreams, rosy cheeks, song mash-ups, pink lemonade with tequila, loves easily, animated storyteller, full of comebacks.

𝐶𝐿𝐸𝑅𝐼𝐶 ⚔ list of wishes, biting their tongue, band-aids and neosporin, shoulder to cry on, morning sun, necklaces, trial and error, homemade quilts, formal clothing, astrology fan, messages in bottles, pleated braids, speaking up for friends, feathers, motivational quotes, vivid dreams.

𝐷𝑅𝑈𝐼𝐷 ⚔ bird watching, shy kid, wind chimes, trying to whistle, summer camp, apple orchards, lost in their head, glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, hoodies, thrift shopping, saving worms off the sidewalk, pig latin, bare feet, thunderstorms, numb fingers, braided hair, naming potted plants.

𝐹𝐼𝐺𝐻𝑇𝐸𝑅 ⚔ goose bumps, leather jackets, adventure, chewing nails, cares deeply but can’t show it, bronze locks, no sleep, taste of iron, netflix binges, never forgets, combat boots, stories behind scars, table for one, official soundtracks, sore calves, trusts themselves the most.

𝑀𝑂𝑁𝐾 ⚔ always trying to be better, wanderlust, meditation, sweat pants, old photographs, yoga, sleeping in hammocks, nostalgia, minimalist design, breath of fresh air, baby animals, volunteering, perfectionist, doesn’t care about fashion, healthy snacks, noticing the little things.

𝑃𝐴𝐿𝐴𝐷𝐼𝑁 ⚔ school uniforms, thick jackets, sleeping with the windows open, logical advice, scrapbooking, compasses, i fight for my friends, sculpture gardens, cold morning air, big soul, likes routine, secret romantic, last to get jokes, sunflowers, practical presents, misty weather.

𝑅𝐴𝑁𝐺𝐸𝑅 ⚔ herbal tea, smell of rain, blinking away tears, camping trips, collecting bones, swiss army knives, first impressions, anxious thoughts, bobby pins, burnt marshmallows, too competitive, clothes lines, messenger bags, holding grudges, gets along better with animals than people.

𝑅𝑂𝐺𝑈𝐸 ⚔ flirtatious sarcasm, candid photos, lost phone chargers, adrenaline rush, picking dirt out from beneath their nails, social chameleon, clashing clothes, self-deprecating jokes, claw machines, sits in chairs wrong, smudged eyeliner, has too many sunglasses, eats nothing or everything.

𝑆𝑂𝑅𝐶𝐸𝑅𝐸𝑅 ⚔ infectious laugh, family trees, shivers down their spine, lipstick and roses, mood swings, clumsy, believing in destiny, high expectations, sleeping in darkness, collection of nail polish, passionate, good grades but never studies, poetry books, blowing kisses, not knowing their own strength.

𝑊𝐴𝑅𝐿𝑂𝐶𝐾 ⚔ knowing everyone’s secrets, backpack covered in pins, envy, being in walmart late at night, earl grey, selective memory, conspiracy theories and cryptids, keysmashing, need to know basis, can’t cook, bags under eyes, experimental art, flickering bulbs, black clothing all year long.

𝑊𝐼𝑍𝐴𝑅𝐷 ⚔ piles of textbooks, cat in lap, keeping a diary, indecision, scented candles, studying alone in a café, lingering touches, museum dates, unanswered questions, taking on too much responsibility, collections, chalk dust, comfy robes, unnecessary apologies, coming home after a long day.

tagged by: @chaos--mode tyyy this was so cool and fun !! tagging: @painmon @afterdeaths @asaemi @bloodsalted @carltongrimes @florrentine @ischaron @jundlcndwastes @noblehigh @rayofsunshinc @rebuiltmyself and anyone else who wants it !

[disciple-of-frost]

Okie dokie then... (0 A 0)

Also! I'm just going to be answering these as a comprehensive list and not send out more. I'm really really sorry, I just don't want to send more to people I might have already sent this to. Just know I appreciate each and every one of you and my inbox/messages are always open if you want to chit chat more!

Also Also! I'm just going to be answering 12 things that make me happy, a nice happy medium also cuz my brain like to freeze up whenever I try to think about myself and my interests. (T _ T)

--

1.) My mutuals OCs! Seeing the love poured into each character and the unique takes everyone has done to fit MSQ/character dynamics to them is so cool! I know we aren't all a hivemind and we won't like all of the same characters, but seeing you all uplift and be supportive to one another helped me be more open and post about Ishi.

2.) Coffee. I am a caffeine fiend and I have done my damnedest to recreate a lot of the drinks Starbucks has released at home. And I will say, I make a mean Lavender Cream Matcha. If you think you can't make something like that I'd say don't be afraid to try. You might surprise yourself.

3.) Monster High. I was in high school in conservative, small town nowhere when they first released and my parents didn't feel the need to buy things that weren't necessities. So now that I'm an adult and enjoying things I never got the chance to when I was younger I have 5 Draculauras hanging up in my bedroom.

4.) My cats. I know I said Animals already in another post, but I don't care. I have four fur babies and they are so special to me, I'm currently living in a really small semi-beaten up apartment because any houses for rent where I am have pet limits and I am not going to abandon two of my cat's just so I can live in a slightly nicer but exceedingly more expensive house. It's not a perfect place to live by societal standards, but it's ours and my boys are everything to me.

5.) Music. I am expanding my music horizons, but for the most part I still listen to a lot of the music I did as a teenager. Linkin Park, Killswitch Engage, Sevendust, Breaking Benjamin, etc. But I do try to find more independent artists that emulate a similar sound to my old favorites; Mallavora, From Ashes to New, Aviators, Magnolia Park.

6.) Gonna move away from physical/material things for a sec. That feeling you get when you get done cleaning a room and you sit down, take a deep breath, and just smell the clean.

7.) The satisfaction of finding a new recipe and nailing it on the first/second try.

8.) Seeing people be kind. I know there are horrible things happening in the world right now, but seeing seemingly small acts of kindness get's me teary eyed. A person rescuing goose eggs from a pond and returning them to their nest. A man picking up trash from a forest creek. Somebody getting gifted a plane ticket to go see their family in another country or having a family member show up to surprise them. I'm honestly getting misty eyed just typing this out. I'm just a really emotional/sentimental person.

9.) The fact that I have been able to keep a single plant alive for more than a week. My partner and I got a potted plant at a baby shower for his boss almost a year ago and that little guy is still kicking.

10.) Giving compliments to people when I'm out in public. I never got a lot of positive affirmation as a kid so whenever I see someone being unabashedly themselves and just wearing their style proudly I like to let them know they look good and that they're killing it.

11.) Finishing a game that had me emotionally invested. Lookin' at you Persona 3: Reload.

12.) Seeing my friends in person after not hanging out in a while. Being an adult can be lonely and people have responsibilities in their own lives that they have to put first before leisure and friends. So actually finding time to be together with the people I love and being able to hug them is super important to me.

--

Okay then. That's about it for now, if I do get another one of these I'll try my best to list a few more.

Thank you to @paintedscales, @shadesofblades, @myreia, @draconian-empress, and @corsair-kovacs! 💙

[mskwtz]

TYPES OF PEOPLE: DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS CLASSES.

BARBARIAN.

toothy grins. stories around the campfire. clothes covered in pet hair. hot temper. old jeans. heartbeat in head. potatoes and steak. beaded jewelry. bruises like galaxies. mementoes. backpack stuffed full. craigslist furniture. spontaneous road trips. air ripped from lungs.

BARD.

homemade bread. white lies. easily excited. trying on hats. band geek. pep talks. no impulse control. sunsets. vintage fashion. long showers. selfies. following dreams. rosy cheeks. song mash-ups. pink lemonade with tequila. loves easily. animated storyteller. full of comebacks.

CLERIC.

list of wishes. biting their tongue. band-aids and neosporin. shoulder to cry on. morning sun. necklaces. trial and error. homemade quilts. formal clothing. astrology fan. messages in bottles. pleated braids. speaking up for friends. feathers. motivational quotes. vivid dreams.

DRUID.

bird watching. shy kid. wind chimes. trying to whistle. summer camp. apple orchards. lost in their head. glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling. hoodies. thrift shopping. saving worms off the sidewalk. pig latin. bare feet. thunderstorms. numb fingers. braided hair. naming potted plants.

FIGHTER.

goose bumps. leather jackets.adventure. chewing nails. cares deeply but can't show it. bronze locks. no sleep. taste of iron. netflix binges. never forgets. combat boots. stories behind scars. table for one. official soundtracks. sore calves. trusts themselves the most.

MONK.

always trying to be better. wanderlust. meditation. sweat pants. old photographs. yoga. sleeping in hammocks. nostalgia. minimalist design. breath of fresh air. baby animals. volunteering. perfectionist. doesn't care about fashion. healthy snacks. noticing the little things.

PALADIN.

school uniforms. thick jackets. sleeping with the windows open. logical advice. scrapbooking. compasses. i fight for my friends. sculpture gardens. cold morning air. big soul. likes routine. secret romantic. last to get jokes. sunflowers. practical presents. misty weather.

RANGER.

herbal tea. smell of rain. blinking away tears. camping trips. collecting bones. swiss army knives. first impressions. anxious thoughts. bobby pins. burnt marshmallows. too competitive. clothes lines. messenger bags. holding grudges. gets along better with animals than people.

ROGUE.

flirtatious. sarcasm. candid photos. lost phone chargers. adrenaline rush. picking dirt out from beneath their nails. social chameleon. clashing clothes. self-deprecating jokes. claw machines. sits in chairs wrong. smudged eyeliner. has too many sunglasses. eats nothing or everything.

SORCERER.

infectious laugh. family trees. shivers down their spine. lipstick and roses. mood swings. clumsy. believing in destiny. high expectations. sleeping in darkness. collection of nail polish. passionate. good grades but never studies. poetry books. blowing kisses. not knowing their own strength.

WARLOCK.

knowing everyone's secrets. backpack covered in pins. envy. being in walmart late at night. earl grey. selective memory. conspiracy theories and cryptids. keysmashing. need to know basis. can't cook. bags under eyes. experimental art. flickering bulbs. black clothing all year long.

WIZARD.

piles of textbooks. cat in lap. keeping a diary. indecision. scented candles. studying alone in a cafe. lingering touches. museum dates. unanswered questions. taking on too much responsibility. collections. chalk dust. comfy robes. unnecessary apologies.coming home after a long day.

TAGGED BY: @defenseonly TAGGING: @queencvbra @queenkarate @bonsaibadass @taughtpain @taughtdamage and you

[quohotos]

did u maybe also read guardians of ga'hoole? could i bother u for some of those owls?

YES! I did read all of them when I was like 11 or 12. Our school library had the full series. I don't remember if I liked owls before I discovered Ga'Hoole, or if I liked owls because of Ga'Hoole but either way it became like my THING for a couple years.

My favorite thing about them was that in the inner cover was all of the main characters illustrated with their names attached, and then in the back cover was four more characters illustrated who you hadn't met yet. I just thought that was so cool, and every time a new character was introduced I would flip back to the end cover and see if it was one of the ones shown off. I'm totally going to steal that technique if I ever get published.

I actually made a clay plant pot that had little (also clay) renditions of these guys pasted onto the side but I can't find it at the moment. If I ever do I'll post a picture of it.

oh, rant time:

I read ALL of the books, and then got two books into the wolf spinoff before I realized I just... didn't super enjoy Lasky's writing. I put up with it because owl but there were a lot of things that really baffled me as I reading. What the fuck was going on with gizzards? And magnets? Why were there always songs? Why did we get two expansion pack maps (wait, no that was cool I'm not complaining about that one)? Why was Soren's brother owl Hitler? I mean that literally, they say like "Hiel Kludd" and goose step and do a little owl salute. Why do all of the books I read as a child have animal Hitler in them??? Are the humans (sorry, others) all dead? Did the owls kill them? Trader Mags tears out the eyes of portraits and trades them, and laments the fact that she's never found violet eyes (is that a fucking Underland Chronicles Reference??? (I don't think it is now but I sure as heck thought so then). Why did it suddenly become first person but for like only one book? Why is Soren related to both Owl Hitler and Owl Jesus? Does Mist actually have magic powers or is she just like that? Why did Soren let his kids drink alcohol? Soren just starts a family off screen like welcome back he's a dad now? Am I allowed to make fun of the fantasy names that are impossible to spell and pronounce or are they actually Native names and I'm gonna appear super racist? God those were violent, like a lot of people died? What's all this shit about owls not pooping, they totally do poop in addition to dropping pelots? This book mislead me and I totally embarassed myself infront of the entire highschool biology class aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

I remember walking downtown and going past a local mini movie theater. There were posters up for the Ga'Hoole movie and I was like HOLY FUCKING SHIT LETS GO LETS GO YES YES YES.

And then I saw it and it was just alright. I mean I'm not gonna say it was bad or anything, I don't think Zach Snyder ruined my life or whatnot but it was just okay. I feel like British Soren was anoying but they at least got Twilight correct. Mad they recast the spotted owl because they're native to where I grew up and we love the representation. They rolled the first like four books into one and changed the lore to kind of merge the moon blinking (which just dissipated from the story after book 2?????) with the animal magnetism that brainwashes his sister (fucking magnets again, magnets in the gizzards, how do they work?). Why did they put owl city on the soundtrack? I mean it was obligatory, they had to, but also why?

I did read all of them religiously, and I do have a great appreciation for owls as a result... but I'm just not as attached to them as I am the Underland Chronicles. I feel like they were good books for me as a kid, but I have very little desire to go back and re-read them.

[jellyfishdoodler]

I know I dont post fanfics here but I'd like to try? If yall arent into it I can move them to my general shitpoat blog 💛

Drummer Boy

Requested by @vanessasepticeye who wanted a oneshot of Jackie playing the drums to get his emotions/ anger out, similar to Gwen Stacy.

TWs: Angry Jackie, mentions of his dad, mistreatment of drumkit

Word Count: 1,226

A small thought in the back of Jackie's head wants to kick himself for leaving his window unlocked, but right in this exact moment he could not give any less of a shit. Vaulting into his bedroom from the fire escape, Jackie pulls back just enough of his strength to not hurl his patched backpack through the drywall.

A small thought in the back of Jackie's head wants to kick himself for leaving his window unlocked, but right in this exact moment he could not give any less of a shit. Vaulting into his bedroom from the fire escape, Jackie pulls back just enough of his strength to not hurl his patched backpack through the drywall. He tears the blue mask off his face so the elastic no longer digs into his skin, crushing the soft material in his hand as he stalks around the room. He finds his drumsticks on the cluttered desk and trades them for the mask with a pathetic and unsatisfying throw. The piece of fabric flops from the wall to the table without a sound and Jackie can feel a scream burning in his throat, so instead, he stomps towards his lovingly beat-to-shit drum kit. It was half duct tape at this point but it still worked, and it's not like Jackie could afford a new set anyway.

Patrol was an absolute fucking nightmare today. First he had to skip breakfast due to an early call for help across town, then he got chewed out by an old woman for breaking her potted plant and was harassed into buying her a new one- which he then had to stop the plant shop from being robbed by some jackass who thought he was hot shit with a switchblade. He lost the comic book he was saving to read on his lunch break to the sewer drain, got completely soaked by a burst fire hydrant, was sent on a wild goose chase to track down a missing dog in the park where he literally got chased by geese. And to top it all off, when he saved the day and rescued two teenagers from a burning apartment building, he was the one who was blamed for the girl's broken leg, even though it was literally trapped under a solid wood bookshelf before he got there. But the girl's parents just wanted someone to sue so they could make some fucking money back like all of this was a huge inconvenience and not like they almost lost their fucking kids to a fire. 

Jackie worked really hard to keep his composure until he got home. He has many years of customer service under his belt before he got powers and managed to smooth talk his way out of a lawsuit. But that encounter was the final straw for him. Jackie knew being a hero was a thankless job most of the time, hell he understood that those people were just scared for their kids, but everything throughout the day stacked on top of each other and he was left with a gross itchy feeling under his skin. He had to get it out.

Slamming himself down onto the spinning stool, the young man wasted no time taking his frustration out on the drums. Using the double petals on the bass kick to set a fast beat as he practically wailed on the set. He loved the feeling of the vibrations of contact traveling up his arms, it felt like clapping mosquitoes mid-air and off your skin so they dont drink more of your blood.

That same voice in the back of his mind reminded him he's gonna get another noise complaint from Mr. Smith upstairs, but right now Jackie doesn't care. The rapid beats of the snare matched the buzzing feeling rolling from Jackie's core down his arms and to his drumsticks, the crash of the cymbals almost dents the brassy metal as it covers his urge to yell in frustration. 

He focuses on the patterns of his rapid fire set, picking up more pace and forcing himself to go faster.

Faster.

Faster-

Everything abruptly stops when his right stick snaps in half. 

"FUCK!!!"

Panting heavily, Jackie just stares at the now uneven sticks in his white knuckled hands. Everything in the apartment is still and quiet aside from his heavy breathing. In the distance he can hear the neighbor's dog- Patty- barking up a storm down the hallway. 

Jackie finally allows his shoulders to slump down as he unceremoniously lets the drum sticks drop to the floor with a deafening clatter in the now silent room. 

He always hates getting this angry, he knows it's not good for his public image or for his own mental health. Fighting bad guys helps with most of it, but it still sneaks up on him sometimes when he's not paying attention. It scares him.

The hero gently rolls his neck and shoulders, letting air escape from his nose in a silent laugh at a memory flowing into his head.

 If his overall deadbeat dad was good for one thing in his damn life, it was teaching Jackie how to funnel his emotions, primarily anger, through playing the drums. His dad said he was part of a shitty rock band when he was in school and that's where he learned to play. 

One day, Jackie's teacher called his dad and told him about an incident on the playground. Jackie stood up for another kid getting picked on but broke another kid's nose in the process of defending them. That afternoon when he got home, instead of yelling at him like Jackie thought, the man sat Jackie behind the drum kit that sat in front of him today and taught him how to keep a steady rhythm.  

"I had a similar problem to ya, kid." He started when Jackie was getting the hang of it. "Always letting my anger get ahead of me." Neither of them say that he still does sometimes, and he continues, "If you use these to just, yaknow, get what you're feeling out of your system, this way nobody around you gets hurt. You don't… go punching anybody you don't like 'cause you kept it in for so long." Jackie wanted to protest that he was protecting a friend but let his dad keep talking. 

"You exhaust yourself playing these so you don't have the energy to let it boil in your stomach for later. On top of all that, the world gets to hear your heartbeat. It might not be pretty, but they get to hear it go strong and loud even if you can't say what you're feeling in your chest. Even if it's hurting. You use this as a way to help you let shit go. Because at the end of the day, if you let it be, if you let it fester, that pointless rage will rot you from the inside out." 

Jackie does not know what to really say to all that. His dad isn't the best at pep talks but he thinks he gets his meaning. Even if the man is a hypocrite. He just counts the beats in his head.

It's one of, if not the only kind-ish memory Jackie keeps of his father. The man was a dick his entire childhood, but he did give Jackie this one thing that was good.

With that memory of a good Tuesday afternoon nearly 10 years ago gently floating in his chest instead of what was there before, Jackie picks up the busted drumstick and tosses it in the trash. Heading to the bathroom to finally shower away the long day's grime.

Tomorrow is a new day.

[elkenbulwark]

𝐷&𝐷 𝐶𝐿𝐴𝑆𝑆𝐸𝑆 ; //

[more 'highlights' in a section indicate who your character will vibe with more / would be best class suited for them if they weren't what they are now.]

𝐵𝐴𝑅𝐵𝐴𝑅𝐼𝐴𝑁 ⚔ toothy grins, stories around the campfire, clothes covered in pet hair, hot temper, old jeans, heartbeat in head, potatoes and steak, beaded jewelry, bruises like galaxies, mementos, backpack stuffed full, craigslist furniture, spontaneous road trips, air ripped from lungs.

𝐵𝐴𝑅𝐷 ⚔ homemade bread, white lies, easily excited, trying on hats, band geek, pep talks, no impulse control, sunsets, vintage fashion, long showers, selfies, following dreams, rosy cheeks, song mash-ups, pink lemonade with tequila, loves easily, animated storyteller, full of comebacks.

𝐶𝐿𝐸𝑅𝐼𝐶 ⚔ list of wishes, biting their tongue, band-aids and neosporin, shoulder to cry on, morning sun, necklaces, trial and error, homemade quilts, formal clothing, astrology fan, messages in bottles, pleated braids, speaking up for friends, feathers, motivational quotes, vivid dreams.

𝐷𝑅𝑈𝐼𝐷 ⚔ bird watching, shy kid, wind chimes, trying to whistle [and failing w/tusks lmao], summer camp, apple orchards, lost in their head, glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, hoodies, thrift shopping, saving worms off the sidewalk, pig latin, bare feet, thunderstorms, numb fingers, braided hair, naming potted plants.

𝐹𝐼𝐺𝐻𝑇𝐸𝑅 ⚔ goose bumps, leather jackets, adventure, chewing nails, cares deeply but can’t show it, bronze locks, no sleep, taste of iron, netflix binges, never forgets, combat boots, stories behind scars, table for one, official soundtracks, sore calves, trusts themselves the most.

𝑀𝑂𝑁𝐾 ⚔ always trying to be better, wanderlust, meditation, sweat pants, old photographs, yoga, sleeping in hammocks, nostalgia, minimalist design, breath of fresh air, baby animals, volunteering, perfectionist, doesn’t care about fashion, healthy snacks, noticing the little things.

𝑃𝐴𝐿𝐴𝐷𝐼𝑁 ⚔ school uniforms, thick jackets, sleeping with the windows open, logical advice, scrapbooking, compasses, i fight for my friends, sculpture gardens, cold morning air, big soul, likes routine, secret romantic, last to get jokes, sunflowers, practical presents, misty weather.

𝑅𝐴𝑁𝐺𝐸𝑅 ⚔ herbal tea, smell of rain, blinking away tears, camping trips, collecting bones, swiss army knives, first impressions, anxious thoughts, bobby pins, burnt marshmallows, too competitive, clothes lines, messenger bags, holding grudges, gets along better with animals than people.

𝑅𝑂𝐺𝑈𝐸 ⚔ flirtatious sarcasm, candid photos, lost phone chargers, adrenaline rush, picking dirt out from beneath their nails, social chameleon, clashing clothes, self-deprecating jokes, claw machines, sits in chairs wrong, smudged eyeliner, has too many sunglasses, eats nothing or everything.

𝑆𝑂𝑅𝐶𝐸𝑅𝐸𝑅 ⚔ infectious laugh, family trees, shivers down their spine, lipstick and roses, mood swings, clumsy, believing in destiny, high expectations, sleeping in darkness, collection of nail polish, passionate, good grades but never studies, poetry books, blowing kisses, not knowing their own strength.

𝑊𝐴𝑅𝐿𝑂𝐶𝐾 ⚔ knowing everyone’s secrets, backpack covered in pins, envy, being in walmart late at night, earl grey, selective memory, conspiracy theories and cryptids, keysmashing, need to know basis, can’t cook, bags under eyes, experimental art, flickering bulbs, black clothing all year long

𝑊𝐼𝑍𝐴𝑅𝐷 ⚔ piles of textbooks, cat in lap, keeping a diary, indecisions, scented candles, studying alone in a café, lingering touches, museum dates, unanswered questions, taking on too much responsibility, collections, chalk dust, comfy robes, unnecessary apologies, coming home after a long day.

[ Results - ]

6 // barbarian, fighter, ranger 5 // sorcerer, druid 4 // warlock 3 // bard, paladin, wizard 2 // cleric, rogue 💀(don't @ me ren and vesz-) 0 // (do not interact 😂) // monk

tagging: @apalestar , @illithidtouched , @burtai , @ehrendiil , @wildskissed , @gorethought , @doighnadair , @luneheir , @ode-of-odr , @halforc-mercenary , @bluescalearchivist , @ you!!