#had the day off and nothing to do bc it’s still snowy and cold here so. a doodling/writing day

[gaylittleguys]

Btw. Vanco werewolves 👇

if u even care

[shippergirl-14]

Hii, even though this apps had been on my phone for months I have no idea how to use it, but here have a South Park one shot I wrote.

It’s Creek bc they are adorable and btw I don’t fluently speak English so I‘m sorry for any mistakes

Clyde isn’t always wrong

" I'm sorry, Craig. I don't feel the same."

Blue eyes filled with guilt and other undetectable emotions were glued to the snowy ground. Tweek bit his tongue, stopping himself from apologizing over and over again. He shouldn't be apologizing in the first place, yet the little voice in his head was messing with him. He knew exactly what this was about, so there was no point in feeling bad. Without sparing his classmate another glance, the blonde left him in the cold.

Craig hasn't even noticed that he was alone now. His heart was still racing from the adrenaline rushing through his veins. The loud beating reached to his ears, drowning out any sounds around him and it hurt. What hurt even more was the fact he had got rejected by the boy he had fancied for the past year.

How could he not like Tweek Tweak ? He was perfect and would remind the stoic boy every time he stepped into his view. Would he still smile at Craig whenever they passed each other in the hallways ? Would he still turn around in his seat to have a little chat once in a while ? Had he completely ruined his chances of getting closer to the coffee addict by confessing to him ?

" Yo, dude. How did it go ?" An arm wrapped itself around his shoulder and the face of his annoying best friend Clyde came in view. This had been his idea. How could he be so dumb and listen to Clyde ? " I got rejected", he stated bluntly, still in shock over this realization. " Wait ! What ?" The grin that graced the brunette's face turned into a frown. " You're messing with me. There is no way." Craig rolled his eyes.

" Better believe it. You were wrong. He doesn't like me." Jimmy and Tolkien, who were standing right behind them, exchanged a worried glance. " I'm sorry, Craig. Is there anything we can do to make you feel better ?", the latter asked, stepping closer. " It's fine. Just leave me alone for a bit", their friend mumbled, freeing himself from the tight grib of the idiot.

Craig wanted to kick himself in the ass for confessing right before school started. Now, he was stuck with Tweek for the whole day. It would be awkward. God, could he get more stupid ? Hesitantly, he dragged his drained body to the building, hoping this day would be over soon. You couldn't blame him for wishing nothing more than hiding under his space themed blanket and ignoring his problems by sleeping until he couldn't anymore.

Maybe he would even cry, but what use would that be ? Crying was pathetic and it wouldn't magically change Tweek's mind. Clyde had always told him, it lifted a heavy weight from his shoulders after bawling his eyes out, but there was no way he would ever take the crybaby's advice seriously.

The hallways were as noisy as every morning. How could kids be that active at this ungodly hour ? Craig didn't have the energy to flip the kids, playing football, off as he was walking to class. Spotting the familiar mess of blonde hair, his heart clenched and he averted his eyes from the hurtful sight that would always remind him of the pain in his chest. Of course, an angel like the blonde wouldn't like a rude motherfucker like Craig Tucker! How could he have possibly thought that it wasn't this way ?

Tiredly, he fell into his seat far in the back as soon as he reached his class. If he was lucky enough the teacher would leave him alone for the day and if Mister Garrison wouldn't he always had the option to show him his middle finger. Maybe he would be sent home, escaping this hell hole, however he would rather avoid his mother's wrath that would come at him for being disciplined again. Skipping wasn't a possibility either, therefore he had to suffer in silence the whole day.

Stretching out his arms over the small desk, he placed his head on the table, not able to keep it up. All his energy had left his body the moment his ears had picked up the pitying tone of Tweek's voice. " Crushes are stupid", he told himself while playing with the eraser that had seen more colors than his actual notebook. Did everyone have the habit of drawing on the white little thing ? Philosophizing about everything and nothing might keep his mind at bay.

Unknown to him, bright blue eyes were fixed on him as the owner was biting his lips in the same nervous demeanor excepted from him.

The loud noises of the annoying bell couldn't rip Craig out of his trance. Had his teacher tried to talk to him ? Was this the end of the first period ? Why did people tend to cling to the tiniest string of hope, even though it was pointless ? He had no answer to any of those questions.

" Yo dude, aren't you getting up ?" A hand shook his shoulder violently, trying to stop the boy from drowning in his thoughts. Blinking confused, the space enthusiast managed to sit back up in his chair, analyzing the faces of his three friends. " It's time for lunch, come on" Tolkien pulled the energetic brunette away from the shell that used to be his classmate. It was no secret how hard Craig had fallen for the paranoid kid, which was only further proven with this kind of reaction. None of them had expected him to be rejected. It was just so weird.

" Oh", was the only thing that left the ravenette's dry lips before he rose from his place and followed the others to the cafeteria. Why would he even come here ? His stomach refused any food and the seemingly tasty tacos on the tray, that's been pushed into his arms, wouldn't change that fact. " I'm not hungry." A sentence his group had ignored, informing him how important a healthy diet was and that he shouldn't skip meals.

In the end, his plate hadn't been touched and the tallest wasn't even listening to the on going conversation. That wasn't surprising. Tolkien couldn't bare seeing the usual unaffected guy so heart broken. Even though he would rarely agree with Clyde, he had been just as convinced as him that Tweek would reciprocate his feelings.

It was so obvious. Shy glances whenever Craig wasn't looking, bright smiles whenever they had a lively conversation, baked gifts that he claimed to be too much for him to eat. The blonde even was calmer around him ! What did they miss ? Were all of those things just their imagination ? There was no way.

In the corner of his eye, Tolkien spotted said blonde disappearing into the hallways and decided to follow him. Excusing himself from the table, he quickly jump to his feet and sprinted after the person that could give him clarity. Fortunately, he witnessed him entering the bathroom, which should be empty around this time. Without hesitation, the dark haired boy opened the door and called out, " Tweek !"

" Gah !", came in response. Only, after the name holder was able to recover from his mini heart, he backed away, eyes widened in fear. "

Ahh, what do you want ? Kill me ?" His blonde locks were the first victim of his anxiety outburst as he grabbed a handful and yanked it. He had been on edge the whole day.

" What ? No ! Why would I even-", the other yelled back defensive and surprised, yet quickly came back to his senses, " look, Tweek. I'm just here to talk to you." The words seemed to have an effect on his classmate, as he was loosening the grib on his hair and was more willing to listen. " You're not gonna kick my ass for rejecting Craig ?"

" No, I wouldn't do such a thing, but I want to know why you rejected him." Tolkien kept his distance, observing his every step. The way he was now biting his finger nails reminded him how uncomfortable the other boy was under his piercing gaze. " Gah ! Why are you looking at me like that ? This is too much pressure !"

The coffee addict didn't have a glue how to handle this situation. Why would Craigs friend stare at him like that ? Was he mad ? Would he actually kill him and was hiding his true intentions ? Why were they targeting him anyway ?

Considering the fact that Tolkien hadn't backed down, his best choice was to answer his question. " Because I don't like him." That was a good enough reason to not get together with someone, right ?

Something was definitely wrong here. Everyone was aware that the anxious teen struggled with holding eye contact, yet he would occasionally met his conversational partners' gaze. However now, his eyes were fixed on the dirty floor as if it was the most interesting thing on earth.

Then it finally hit him. " You're lying." There was no other explanation for his increased anxiety and fidgeting. The blonde always had trouble being untruthful as he was too worried about getting caught. Only one question remained, though. Why would he say he didn't like Craig if he clearly did ?

" Gahh ! I'm not lying ! I don't like him", Tweek yelled, facing his classmate for the first time since he entered the bathroom, " you can tell your friends, too ! I don't like him and I'm definitely not falling for your bullshit !"

" What do you mean ? What bullshit ?" The older male was beyond confused. Nothing the younger was spouting made any sense.

" Don't give me that crap ! I know exactly what you were trying and I'm not falling for it again !" He pointed a finger accusingly at Tolkien. " I know Craig doesn't actually like me ! He can stop pretending to be sad."

" Tweek, take a deep breath and listen to me." The rich boy cautiously stepped closer, avoiding startling the already freaked out kid. With a calm tone, he carried on, " I still haven't figured out what this is all about but Craig really does like you and he isn't pretending to be sad."

" How do I know you're telling the truth ?"

" Well, for instance, Craig sucks at acting. Do you remember that one musical in seventh grade ? That should speak for itself." He chuckled remembering the embarrassing performance of his friend, also attempting to cut the tension by joking. " He is also always looking at you and trying to get close to you, thinking he is sneaky, but it's actually super obvious."

" Oh", was the only thing that left the blonde's mouth, clearly trying to process this information. Suddenly, he gasped, breaking the silence. " Oh my god ! He really sucks at acting ! Does he actually like me ? Oh god, I'm so stupid. Why do I keep messing up ?"

" Woah, Tweek. Calm down." Gently, Tolkien placed his hands on the tense shoulders of the shaking male. " Can you tell me why you claimed to not like him when you actually do ?"

" I thought you were pulling a prank on me, but now I messed up badly and made Craig sad. He probably hates me now. What do I do ? This is too much pressure !" How could he be so cruel and accuse Craig of playing with his feelings ? Again, he had proven that he was nothing more than a paranoid freak.

" Just talk to him. I'm sure if you explain whatever had stopped you from accepting his confession he will understand." Tolkien smiled encouraging, hoping it would help to ease the other's nerves. The notification sound of his phone forced him to release his grib on Tweek and checked the noisy device. " Oh, Craig is leaving", he read the message of Clyde out loud.

" I need to fix this !", the anxious male stated, clearly not convinced of his abilities, yet he would do whatever it took to not have Craig hate him. " Thank you", he showed his gratitude to his classmate, running out of the door immediately, before his mind could tell him this was a bad idea.

Arriving outside, he quickly caught glimpse of a blue hat, whose owner was walking towards the bus stop. " Craig !", he called out, rushing over the fast he could. The ravenette spun around, not expecting to be adressed, far less from Tweek himself.

Regaining his composure, he crossed his arms and glared at the boy, that was bending over and panting heavily in front of him. " What do you want ?" He didn't mean to sound so pissed and make Tweek flinch, but he wasn't in the mood for talking. What could he possibly want now after breaking his heart ? Apologizing again ? No, thanks.

" I lied", his classmate blurted out between breaths, not providing any further explanation. " What's that supposed to mean ?"

" I lied about not liking you. I do like you", he admitted, feeling a bit relieved to have finally been able to confess as well. If he hadn't been so scared from the start he would have spilled his feelings. Another reason to hate his overthinking mind.

" What the actual fuck, Tweek ?!", Craig raised his voice in utter disbelief what he had just heard, " is this some sort of joke ? Dude, you literally rejected not five hours ago ! Why the fuck did you do that if you like me ?" On the one hand, he was furious. Did Tweek just wanted to make him suffer even more ? His classmate wouldn't intentionally hurt others, yet he couldn't be entirely sure at the moment. His words reminded him of the aching pain in his chest that he couldn't get rid of. Even though his admission might be fake, it made his heart jump. Nevertheless, he wouldn't let himself cling to the silver of hope solely to be rejected again.

On the other hand, he was confused. If his love wasn't unrequited, then why wouldn't the coffee addict accept his invite to a date in the first place ? His mind couldn't come up with any possible explanations, so he just kept on glaring angrily at the nervous boy, expecting him to deliver a really good reason for his behavior.

" I thought you were playing a prank on me and-" Tweek was immediately interrupted by the offended male. " Do you really think I would do such a thing ? Play with your feelings ? Do you really think I'm that kind of person ?" He couldn't even be mad anymore. He was just sad. His crush didn't saw him as more than a stoic asshole. That stung.

" No, no ! That's not it ! I'm always super nervous whenever you talk to me and then you suddenly confessed your feelings and I was like " no, Craig is way too cool to like you" and then I spotted your friends hiding behind a tree and then I panicked more and just blurted out that I don't like you", the anxious kid started rambling on. The words were leaving his mouth too fast to be understood, yet Craig magically comprehended the mess of a sentence. Only when a shaking hand reached out to yank at his hair, he dared to step closer and gently take the hand in his.

Ignoring his pounding heart and the warmth that washed over him, he interlocked their fingers, hoping to prevent the dreading panic attack. It worked better than he had expected. Even though Tweek was still trembling, he had relaxed his body the moment they had touched.

" You think I'm cool ?", Craig suddenly questioned, remembering what the other previously said.

" Of course, I do. You literally know everything about space and star constellations, you're so good at math and physics it's insane. You almost always keep your cool", Tweek listed merely a few things he admired about his crush, however he could go on for days. " I never thought anyone would consider this things cool", Craig responded bashfully, before regaining his composure and clearing his throat, " I still don't understand why you thought I would be pulling a prank on you and what it had to do with my friends watching."

Shifting uncomfortably under his gaze, Tweek bit his already abused lip. " Okay, I will tell you", he spoke quietly, eyes darting to the ground, " two years ago, I had a big crush on a regular costumer of our coffee shop. He would always strike a conversation and I thought he might have been flirting, as well. I was so obviously in love with him. It's embarrassing. One day, he was waiting outside for me and claimed that he wanted to tell me something. I failed to see his friends hiding behind a car"

Blue eyes were shut tightly as he inhaled to brace himself for the next part of his story. " He confessed and I was overjoyed, so of course I accepted. The moment, I said "yes", he started laughing with his friends joining in. He told me the confession was only a dare and that it was too easy to fool me. When you confessed this morning, I had flashbacks of this day", he finished his story, too ashamed to look at Craig.

" I know you aren't like that, but I'm always assuming the worst because I'm always so god damn anxious and annoying." The ravenette shook his head and squeezed his hand reassuringly. " You aren't annoying. Don't spit nonsense about yourself." His tone was soft and his eyes displayed the love he felt for the blonde. " and now I understand you better. If something like this had happened to me I would have been suspicious, as well. I'm really sorry that this asshole broke your trust. This dude deserves a beating."

" You don't hate me anymore ?", Tweek asked, still afraid that his crush might be still mad. " Tweek, I never hated you. I was just upset", Craig eased his mind with a small smile, " would you now like to go on a date with me ?" This time, the blonde didn't hesitate to answer, " Of course, I would like that. Tell me when and where." Both of them had a big grin planted on their faces as they we were gazing at each other.

" How about right now ? Let's go to the cinema", the taller boy proposed, giving the smaller one another heart attack as he started pulling him in his desired direction. " But what about class ? We're gonna get in so much trouble", Tweek interjected nervously, yet let himself be dragged by his ecstatic date. " Who cares. We're already too late anyway, so why not skip." The blonde was quickly convinced since he would rather spent time with him than listen to Mister Garrison talk. As long as Craig was by his side he would be fine.

Even though the day started out awful for him, everything seemed to have turned around for Craig. Maybe he should listen to Clyde more often ?

———————

Hii, if you enjoyed that you could always look at my other works on wattpad or ao3 ^^

[archived-junkissed]

finals season

day one of junkissed's svt seasons greetings event

member — tutor!seungcheol x student!reader genre — fluff, mild angst, hurt/comfort ?, college au  word count — 2k synopsis — getting a degree isn't easy. fortunately, your tutor that you maybe have a crush on is here to help. warnings — frat president!cheol, mentions of math (yes this is a warning), mutual crushes but they’re both kinda idiots, friends (?) to lovers, really awkward confession scene oops, there's 2 screenshots at the beginning bc i wanted to! notes — lowercase intended; honestly idk how this happened i promise the rest won’t be angsty like this sjdgkfs it was supposed to be cute but then my brain just kept chugging so. um enjoy !

one reblog = one snowy frat party

you sigh and stand up off the couch, wrapping your scarf around your neck. as much as you hated doing math, you always seemed to jump at the chance to study with seungcheol. the weather had made you reluctant to leave the comfort of your home, but the promise of coffee (and your unfairly attractive tutor) was more than enough to lure you out of the house for a couple hours.

even though your major had almost nothing to do with math, you’re still required to take so many credits of the subject to meet your requirements.

you shrug on your coat and grab your backpack in the dark, shoving your laptop and charger in with notebooks and folders. turning to take one last look around to make sure you aren’t forgetting anything, you shut the door quietly and lock it.

the lady working the shift at the front desk smiles and waves as you walk through the lobby of your apartment complex. “where are you headed?” she asks, setting down her nail file.

“tutoring,” you say, pulling the strap of your backpack higher up your shoulder.

“ooh, that hot guy that comes through here every thursday?”

you giggle. “yeah.”

“well, good luck, baby,” she grins, giving you a very indiscreet wink. “have fun with you man!”

“no– we’re not together,” you explain, feeling your cheeks start to heat in embarrassment. not that you don’t want to be together. you don’t even know if he’s single or not.

“not yet! you never know!”

“i’ll see you later,” you laugh, walking out the front door with a wave behind you.

seungcheol’s house is on the other end of campus where the fraternity houses are. it’s not a far walk, but with the snow still coming down heavily you decide not to risk showing up at his door looking like a total mess. so instead of walking like you usually do, you wait at the bus stop outside your apartment, rushing to find a place under the overhang with a crowd of other students waiting to get to class.

fifteen minutes later, you step off the bus, trudging through the quickly growing piles of snow on the ground up to the door of cheol’s apartment.

it’s only friday afternoon, but lambda phi epsilon is already gearing up for whatever party they’re hosting this weekend. you can hear faint music playing from one of the houses across the street. you wonder why cheol, the current president of the frat, isn’t over there with them, but you don’t dwell on the thought.

you smooth down your jacket and check your hair in the reflection of your phone screen, then take a deep breath and knock twice.

the door swings open immediately, revealing your tutor dressed in his… pajamas. you almost choke, your eyes falling to his flannel pants and collared pajama shirt, the top buttons undone revealing an expanse of smooth skin. the material looks soft, so soft, and you have to physically restrain yourself from reaching out to touch him.

“hey! come on in, it’s cold out there,” he smiles warmly. you snap back to attention, drawing your gaze back up to his face.

“thanks,” you manage, stepping inside. “you look, um. comfortable.”

“i love the snow,” he explains. “perfect weather to stay inside and get cozy for the weekend.”

you raise your eyebrows. “you’re not going to the party later?”

“no?” he questions. “why, are you going?”

your cheeks flare. “no, i’m– work,” you laugh awkwardly as the entirety of the english language disappears from your brain.

he smiles. “cool. you can stay as long as you want, then, i don’t have plans. we can work until you have to leave.”

“sounds great,” you squeak out.

oh, it’s gonna be a long night.

but the night isn’t as long as you thought it would be. it actually goes by pretty quickly, once you sit down and start working. as distracting as seungcheol is, you’ve really gotta learn these concepts before your final.

after many tutoring sessions you’d already figured out that cheol is insanely smart, but it never occurred to you before just how smart he is. not only does he understand the material, he understands it enough to explain everything in a way that makes sense to you— something your teachers could never do. everything just seems to click in your brain when he tells you things like why the angle of elevation is below the shape and not above it. hell, he’s even made his own practice problems for you that aren’t in your book, and after hours of teaching you get them all right, all on your own.

“try using this equation,” he says, gently nudging your elbow.

“huh?” you realize you’ve been staring at him and you whip your eyes back down to the workbook in front of you, embarrassed to be focusing on him and not the actual reason you’re here.

what is the reason you’re here? you wonder, your mind wandering. you went to the math department and signed up for a tutor, and a week later you met him in a private corner of the library to get help before your exam. and after a while, you started meeting him at your apartment, because your sessions ran long after the library had closed for the night. and now you’re sitting in his living room, contemplating every life decision you’ve made up until this point and wondering how the hell you ended up studying triangles with him in his pajamas.

he calls your name again, and you turn your head to look at him. but when you make eye contact, you suddenly feel the overwhelming urge to cry.

“do you wanna stop for now? we’ve been on this for a while, we can switch to something else if you want,” he asks. his eyes are full of concern at the sudden way you’ve stopped responding.

how did you end up falling in love with him?

“i… i think i should go home now,” you choke out. your throat feels like it’s closing up from the effort it takes not to burst into tears in the middle of his house.

“oh,” he says quietly. “are you sure? i have more practice problems for you, here, you can take–”

“why are you so nice to me?” you say abruptly.

he pauses. “i– what?”

“our study sessions go way past the hour set by the university, you make practice problems for me, you invite me to your house in your pajamas. you don’t have to do any of that. you get paid no matter what. why?”

his gaze shifts around the room, from the workbook still lying open on the table to the posters on his wall behind you. “i’m sorry about… this,” he says finally. “we can meet in the library again if you don’t like meeting here. and i would’ve changed, if i knew the pajamas made you uncomfortable.”

“it’s not the pajamas,” you whisper.

“sorry?” he says, not hearing you.

“it’s not the pajamas,” you repeat, louder this time. “it’s you. i… i don’t think i need a tutor anymore,” you say.

your vision begins to blur with tears when you hear him say softly, “okay.”

you grab your things and pack your backpack in record time. cheol holds the door open for you as you shrug your bag onto your shoulder.

“i’ll, uh, talk to the tutoring advisor and tell her you don’t need help anymore,” he says awkwardly as you rush out the door.

“goodbye, cheol,” you say, and turn down the steps to leave.

the sound of the door closing quietly behind you is what finally breaks you. tears stream down your face, burning your skin in contrast to the freezing air.

the snow had stopped while you’d been in his house, slowly turning into slush. you plop down on the sidewalk, not even caring that you’re sitting in a puddle of dirt and ice. not only had you just lost your free homework help, you’ve lost a friend who might’ve maybe been something more, if you hadn’t panicked and run off at the first thought of him.

your nose starts to run and you cry harder, wiping your nose against your sleeve, but it does nothing. you sit on the curb outside in the cold for so long you start shivering, but you don’t have the motivation to get up. a part of you doesn’t want to leave, and you don’t know why.

without the extra practice from cheol, you’ll probably bomb your final, which means having to take even more classes for even more credits next semester.

you hear a squeak behind you, but you don’t look back. whatever it is, it doesn’t matter.

“are you okay?”

a familiar voice calls out, and you force yourself to turn around.

“i mean, you don’t look okay,” he adds. “you’re sitting in front of my house, in the snow.”

you hadn’t even noticed it had started to snow again. “oh.”

“do you want to come inside?” he asks gently.

“no,” you answer immediately, but the cold is starting to get to you. “yes.”

he smiles, and just that makes you feel better. he moves out of the middle of the doorway, leaving room for you to come inside.

you stand up, trying to wipe the snow from your backside, and walk back into his house.

a pot of coffee is already steaming on the countertop, and he pours a mug and hands it to you. “why were you sitting in front of my house, in the snow?” he asks after a moment, giving you a minute to warm up.

“i don’t know,” you admit, sniffling. he hands you a tissue. where did he get that?

as you start to calm down and take in your surroundings, you notice he’s changed into jeans and a sweater.

“you didn’t have to change,” you say quietly.

“i know,” he says. “i, uh… i decided i’m going to the party later.”

“oh.”

“yeah.”

the tension in the room is almost unbearable, but you purposely ignore it, bringing his mug to your lips to drink with shaky hands.

“what did you mean, ‘it’s me’?” he says finally. “what you said earlier.”

you swallow. no running away this time.

“well. um. because you’re too good. at everything.” you close your eyes and sigh. “you’re good at math and you’re good at tutoring and you’re a good person.”

“oh?” he asks cautiously. “is that… a bad thing?”

“i don’t know,” you say,. “i don’t know. you’re too nice to me. i can’t figure it out.”

he smiles, and his hand moves at his side, as if he wants to reach out and touch you, but he stays put. “i–” he swallows. “i think you’re really great. and nice. and i wanted to, i guess, get to know you better. that’s why i suggested meeting outside the library. and why i help you so much. because i do want to help you, but, uh…” he trails off, staring at his feet. “i also want more than that.”

“you do?”

he looks up at you nervously, waiting to see if your reaction is good or bad.

“i also want more than that, i think,” you say quietly.

"do– do you wanna stay for a little while?" he asks, glancing out the window. "it's started snowing again."

you smile. "yeah."

his face brightens. "we can order food or watch tv, or– we could keep studying, whatever you want," he says shyly.

"i thought you were going to the party?"

"nah," he grins. "i’d rather stay right here.”

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thank you for reading, i hope you enjoyed! if you liked this, reblog or leave an ask or a comment, it shows me you enjoyed this so i know to write more like this in the future!

[nancywheelxr]

i'm not sure if you prefer more specific prompts but if you have any interest, something canon-era (compliant or divergence) in the realm of "ye baiyi & every- or anyone"? whichever characters you wanna include; a moment or moments where he feels like maybe there is a little more to the rest of his life than duty and death. it's not only warm food he's been starved of for decades. your writing is great, i hope you're having a good day!

hi! thank you sm! i love getting prompts regardless, honestly, the only difference is that more specific ones tend to get done faster if only bc I already have a loose idea where to go with it! anyway, this somehow turned into a fix-it. that being said, I hope you’re having a lovely day too!

*

i.

They’re so painfully young.

A bird chirps in a tree somewhere nearby and around the fire, Qin Huaizhang’s disciple throws the blanket on the Wen brat’s face. What set off his sensibilities this time, Ye Baiyi doesn’t know, it might have been the perceived coddling, it might have simply been the fussing– either way, it’s pointless. Does he not know the brat will simply wait until he’s asleep to cover him? Does he not know their ridiculous dance around each other is nothing but time wasted?

How do the young ever get anything done?

Foolish. Have they ever been that foolish? Changqing, he knows, was a most ridiculous man with even more ridiculous ideas– who’s the bigger idiot, then, the fool or the one who loves him? 

“Ye-qianbei,” the boy appears at his side, wide-eyed like a newborn deer and with legs as shaky as one too, “if you’re cold, we have more blankets.”

The absurdity of the situation– to ask Ye Baiyi if he’s cold! What’s the night chill compared to the snowy grounds of his mountain? To him, is this not warm weather? “Little fool,” he says, shaking his head even as he laughs, “you’d do better worrying about your idiot master and his idiot friend.”

The kid looks across the fire, grimaces. “I don’t dare, I don’t dare! My brothers used to tell me not to get in the way when my parents were arguing!”

What a ridiculous child. Ye Baiyi laughs again. “They’re not arguing, they’re being dumb. Watch this,” he flicks a little rock at them, hitting Qin Huaizhang’s disciple in the forehead and earning an outraged glare from the Wen brat. “Qing Huaizhang’s disciple, your disciple is freezing off while you’re fooling around. Is this how you the two of you are going to raise your child?”

Beside him, the kid makes a startled little noise like a scared little rabbit before launching into a stuttering denial, but it’s too late, Qin Huaizhang’s disciple has already turned to focus on him as if smelling blood. “Chengling, are you cold? Why didn’t you say so?”

“Ah, no, no, I’m really not,” he tries, but he is, he wouldn’t have known to worry about others if he hadn’t been feeling the chill himself. “Ye-qianbei! Ye-qianbei–”

“Ah, ah!” Wen Kexing interrupts, shaking a finger in his direction, “why are you calling him? Come here, have this blanket since your Shifu is being stubborn.”

The boy goes obediently, shuffling around and nearly tripping on the log, and allows the Wen brat to wrap the blanket around his shoulders. Predictably, once he’s tucked in, the kid beams, pulling it tightly around himself. 

“Chengling, if you’re cold, you have to tell us,” says Qin Huaizhang’s disciple as if that’s a scolding, as if he’s not fussing over the child himself, stoking the fire and throwing in more kindling. 

A silly child with even sillier parents. Ye Baiyi snorts, shaking his head, and for a fleeting moment, he imagines walking this path alone– searching for the truth on his own, a silent forest stretching all the way to Longyuan Cabinet, only his footsteps left behind to prove he was even there at all– whatever. Picking up Qin Huaizhang’s dumb disciple and his dumb companions might not have been his worst decision so far. 

Maybe he could have found the place already if he were on his own, but at the very least they’re entertaining. Ridiculous, he thinks fondly, shaking his head at the blanket the kid has left folded at his feet.

*

ii.

What a mess.

Rong Xuan, you little brat, he thinks. How long has it been since the boy had first toddled up to him, little hands grabbing fistfuls of his robes? Too many, an eternity, and now nearly all of the boy’s friends are dead, all but one, and Ye Baiyi has to pay his respects to this freshly dug grave in his place. 

What a mess.

If you were in trouble, why didn’t you come back? Questions, questions, it’s too easy to ask them now. Why didn’t you ask for help? Why didn’t you send for us? Why did you think it would accomplish, running away? Stupid child, did you think we would turn you away? 

No, there’s no use asking them now, no point in dwelling in the past. What is there to change, after it already happened? Life is a very long road and the past is a land too distant to travel back to; Ye Baiyi would rather focus on the now.

Avenging their child had not been part of the promise he made to Changqing, but Ye Baiyi found the truth of this matter as he told him he would and the truth of it is that someone poisoned his disciple, his child. This cannot go unpunished, so for a while longer, he’ll live.

Further still, a little ways down, is Wen Kexing, whose parents died for Rong Xuan’s mistakes. A child growing up in a harsh world on his own. This debt, he’ll repay too.

For all that he gives his promises away like currency, Ye Baiyi is not sure how he feels about the piling of them– they stretch his finally numbered days, always pushing the deadline further. After the Heroes Conference, he’ll be done with the Ghost Valley. After he finds Rong Xuan’s murderer, he’ll be done with this mess. After he repays Wen Kexing, he will be at peace. 

And then–

Well. And then wine. Warm food. That was the plan, was it not? Heavens, he’s beginning to sound like Qin Huaizhang’s silly disciple, isn’t he? This won’t do. Changqing, even you would laugh at them. Tell me, then, if you were here, what would you do? Ah, something nonsensical, most likely, like go watch the plum trees bloom.

Ye Baiyi shakes his head, laughs. Changqing ah, won’t you tell me what to do? Maybe this time I’ll listen to you.

*

iii.

What kind of nonsense is this?

In all fairness, as much as his opinion of Wen Kexing has been as changing as the seasons, his uncanny ability to be an annoying nuisance has never flickered. He was annoying when he was staring down Ye Baiyi’s sword and he was annoying when he kneeled on the forest bed in apology and plea. 

Surely, it’s no surprise that he is annoying now, allegedly dead.

And yet, Ye Baiyi had not anticipated this level of stupidity from him: the brat did not tell Qin Huaizhang’s disciple of his plan.

Children, honestly. 

Now, the hem of his robes is wet and a few feet away, Qin Huaizhang’s disciple is wasting perfectly good wine in an unnecessarily dramatic manner. “Whatever stupid thing you’re planning,” Ye Baiyi says, eyeing the broken jar by the rocks, the dullness around the brat, “don’t.”

Zhou Zishu whirls on him with all the grace of a dying wet cat as if he’s in any condition to be fighting anyone, as if his hands weren’t shaking and his steps didn’t falter. The sword, once elegant and proud, wavers. Stupid boy. “Ye Baiyi, you–”

“Have you lost your manners down that jar? Or just your common sense? Put that away before I knock it off your hand myself,” he sighs, shaking his head. He should have stayed in his rooms, like planned, until the Heroes Conference; none of this has anything to do with him, his role in this play is mostly over, he just has to wait it out the intermission. And yet. “What kind of nonsense were you thinking? That fool, Wen Kexing, ran around for days like a headless chicken trying to save you and for what? You to throw it away?”

“What’s the point?” Qin Huaizhang’s disciple laughs, cold as the mountains, “what’s the point if he’s not here? Tell me, qianbei, why should I care to live if my soulmate is gone?”

His sword is dragging up the mud and Ye Baiyi wants to call him disrespectful for it, but the sight of it alone dredges up a well of grief that drowns the words in his throat. Why, indeed. This terrible emptiness, Ye Baiyi knows well– the hollow silence that comes where once a familiar voice called your name, the cold where once there was warmth, a hand never reaching back. Snow, all through summer and spring.

“Because that dumb disciple of yours will not last a day on his own,” he tells him, watching the water run towards the cliff’s edge, “because Qin Huaizhang has only you to pass on his legacy. Because that ridiculous hairpin on your head.”

“That’s not fair,” Qin Huaizhang’s disciple says, sounding exactly like he had been about to do something incredibly stupid earlier that would render this entire charade pointless from the start.

Truth be told, few things are, least of all, fate. Ah, but Ye Baiyi had unchanging decades to come to terms with that, perhaps he should spare the boy the heartache, unfounded as it is. “It’s not, but enough is enough. What are you crying for? Did you think it’s that easy to get rid of that pest? He should be ashamed if a little tumble is all it took.”

“Qianbei… you mean?”

Ye Baiyi heaves a pointedly tired sigh. “Yes, yes, the brat is alive. Probably holed up somewhere in that blasted valley of his.”

Qin Huaizhang’s disciple is as wide-eyed as his baby-deer disciple and if he actually starts crying, Ye Baiyi will drag Wen Kexing out of hiding kicking and screaming just to push him down the cliff again for making him witness this. He’s too old, he has little patience for the dramatics of the young, and he’s supposed to be drinking the best wine from the Yueyang area. 

So before he’s pulled even further into their nonsense, Ye Baiyi turns away, back to town and his quarters where he can drink and meditate in peace and really, Qin-xiaozi, your disciple is even sillier than you. 

At his back, he hears Zhou Zishu call, but his voice is lost to the waterfalls and Ye Baiyi makes no real effort to catch the words. What’s there to say? Pah, he’s already done more than his share on this, at no point did he promise to intervene on their pointless little dance. Once this is all over, that brat has better pay for all the wine in the land. And make those dumplings, too, for good measure.

*

iv.

Nobody told him whose wedding this is.

Considering they are in this thrice-damned place, he’s assuming it’s one of the ghosts, but Ye Baiyi figures the brat would be more annoying if it was his and Qin Huaizhang’s disciple’s. Then again, his own presence here is unfathomable, as is the insistence with which the little idiot had asked him to come. What on earth has Qin Huaizhang’s disciple told that child? Give someone an inch and they’ll take a mile, truly– now that boy is running around thinking Ye Baiyi cares about these lunatics.

“Who let him in!” Wen Kexing is screeching from somewhere, and Ye Baiyi mourns his peace as the brat approaches with his purple shadow trailing after. Had she been there this entire time? He squints. No, he would have noticed it, she’s very loud. “Old toad monster! Why are you still here? Who allowed you past the gates?”

“Who are you to tell me where to go?” He scoffs, flicking his sleeves as he crosses his arms. Nearby, a ghost hastily scurries away. “And it was your dumb disciple who begged me to be here. For what? Will there even be a banquet? And you call that decorations? That lantern is so crooked, it’s offensive!”

The purple child bristles. “Ah! And who does that silly boy think he is, inviting people to my wedding! Old man, you! Of course there’s gonna be food! Master and Luo-yi have been–”

“A-Xiang!” The brat cuts her off, closed fan tapping her forehead, as if everyone and their grandmothers don’t already know he’s been running around making preparations. What face is there to save, shameless as he is? If Ye Baiyi was a lesser man, he might have rolled his eyes. “Stop running your mouth, what is your husband going to say? And you! What crooked lantern? You’re going blind in your age!”

Still, even as he speaks, a pointed glare sends the ghosts scattering like mice, rushing to check on the decorations. Ridiculous. “No wonder the girl has no manners. What, you only know how to be polite when asking for something?”

Wen Kexing grumbles. “This one apologizes, qianbei.”

Well, that’s certainly worse. Unsettling. If even Wen Kexing starts being deferential, then what has the world come to? No, Ye Baiyi finds he’d prefer the brashness. Stupid child, what’s the point in changing his tune now? Pah. “Girl,” he says to that purple wisp of a thing, “your master is a pest. Where’s the wine?”

Baffling enough, the girl laughs, tugging at her master’s sleeves. “Master, master, Zishu-ge was right! You did make a friend!”

“What nonsense is this! Don’t you know when A-Xu is teasing? Friends! As if–”

“What rubbish have you been filling these children’s heads with?” He shakes a threatening finger in their direction. Not that it matters, considering the girl has already stepped back, giggling as she sidesteps Wen Kexing’s fan. 

Leaving them to their childishness, Ye Baiyi slips out of the crowd, picking a jar of wine as he goes. The alcohol is good, burning down his throat, and he hadn’t thought he’d step foot in the Ghost Valley, not like this. Something in him will always recoil at this place, always lay the blame at the valley’s mouth, a yawning jaw that’s swallowed whole the people most precious to him with no mercy. 

And yet, Changqing ah, you bastard, look at it. They’re holding a damned wedding, and here Ye Baiyi is, drinking their wine. Are you happy now? Did you become a bodhisattva yet? Fate makes fools of them all, there’s no way around it. He pours the wine over the rocks, lets it spill and run like blood. Xuan’er, did I not tell you not to climb so high? That shifu wouldn’t always be there to catch you if you slip on the ice? Ye Baiyi laughs at the memory– always clear in his mind, suspended in time, unfading, even if his sight blurs with tears– that boy, always scaring them half to death, climbing up the frozen mountainside as a child, then crying in fright once he looked down. 

“Look at the mess you’ve both left me,” he says out loud, downing the rest of the wine, and the silence is never quite as loud as in the hollow space where another would speak. For so long, Ye Baiyi knew to leave room for Changqing’s teasing, for their child’s incessant questions, even Rong-furen’s tired voice. Then, nothing. “What do you have to say for yourself, hm? Typical. I’ll drink for all of us this time, then, how about it? Changqing, I’m keeping my promises, so you’d better keep yours or I’ll–” 

The jar breaks where it falls from his fingers and he shakes his head as if dispelling the murky thoughts from his head. Perhaps, coming here was a mistake. The ashes have already been sent back to Changming, so what business does he have in this place? To see it closed with his own eyes? Besides, a wedding or two, a handful of people, are not worth the bloodshed creating the valley has brought, no matter what Changqing might say. 

Is this a comforting story to be told later, if– by the bridge, in case– 

His thoughts grind to a halt, veering off suddenly into attention to his surroundings. Someone is coming. Indeed, from his place near the entrance, Ye Baiyi can see in the distance a mob climbing up the path, silent as thieves in the night, with only a blue streak of disciples in plain sight at the front.

So much for avoiding bloodshed. Did they even wait for the dust to settle after the monks left town? And what kind of harebrained scheme is this? Has this generation been born with no brains? Such a reckless, petty move! No honor, agreeing to something and then plunging the knife behind their backs. 

There is little time to curse their dishonesty, though, with their numbers fast approaching, so Ye Baiyi swipes a last look at the desolate landscape and slips back inside to sound the alarms. After all, heaven knows that little purple girl will be terribly loud if she doesn’t get her wedding, and Ye Baiyi is not looking forward to remembering what headaches feel like. Honestly, if these people would stop nearly dying for five fucking minutes–

*

v.

Today, the mirror showed a new patch of white hair, faint lines at the corner of his eyes. 

Time, it seems, is catching up to him.

It’s exhilarating.

The plum trees have already lost their blossoms, winter gone as swiftly as it came, the cold melting to the lingering warmth of spring. Today, he walks past blooming azaleas, purple and red radiant against the blue backdrop of the sky.

It brings him to little Qin Huaizhang standing beside Rong Xuan, trying so very hard to impress his friend’s seniors with all the desperation of youth. The poetry he had waxed about his sect’s gardens– Four Seasons Manor, blooming all year round! Ye Baiyi had found him so silly, blabbering while Rong Xuan beamed, so quick to pick the fights Rong Xuan dropped. 

At the time, had he not thought history was repeating itself, if kinder? The Baiyi sword, gifted with the promise to keep his dumb disciple out of trouble? He still remembers Changqing’s face, the hypocrite. So exchanging swords for cursed books is fine, but anything else and you draw the line? At least promises were as reliable as the person making them. 

Now, he has to admit, the silly boy had not been wrong– Four Seasons Manor stands in more color than Ye Baiyi had thought possible. If he’ll have time to witness all its blooms, he doesn’t know, but this spring, he’s here, and isn’t that enough?

At the gates, the young disciple lets him in without a word, bowing respectfully like his seniors have never done. Good. At the very least, those two good-for-nothing brats had the decency to forewarn their juniors of his arrival. How long has it been since Qin Huaizhang’s disciple woke up from the procedure? Aiyah, Ye Baiyi can’t remember, he had been traveling south at the time. 

Well, it’s long enough to be past the need for coddling, that’s for sure. “Qin Huaizhang’s disciple, what kind of Sect Leader are you that you won’t come greet your esteemed guest?”

“Not really a Sect Leader,” comes the voice from his left as Zhou Zishu rounds into view, his silly disciple trailing faithfully after him. He looks better now, death no longer draped over his shoulders like a shroud, smiling like he found peace somewhere in the months since that disastrous wedding. “Qianbei, this one is honored to welcome you to our house. You’ve come at a good time, A-Xiang is visiting with her husband too.”

“Who’s an esteemed guest here? All I’m hearing is a bunch of freeloaders!” says Wen Kexing from somewhere inside the building, just as loud and brash as always, and following his words, the thundering footsteps of children. 

Ye Baiyi snorts, shakes his head. Changqing ah, wait a little while longer, will you? I’m on my way, but I have some places to visit first. Meet me by the bridge, I’ll tell you all about it in a bit.

[problematicfavesareproblematic]

On Days Like This (Part 1)

Carwood Lipton x reader

Carwood Lipton never once doubted that you were good at what you did.

If anyone were to ask, he’d go as far as to say that you were brilliant- your skills as a mechanic having saved the Company’s collective ass several times when Lip had been positive the lot of them were doomed. 

Just yesterday he’d seen you dodge enemy fire while running to siphon gasoline from a wrecked civilian car to the Jeep had enough gas to get the injured men to the aid station, his heart in his throat the entire time and every bone in his body wanting to do something to help you. 

He’d have provided cover fire, run into the open as a distraction to the gunmen who seemed determined to end your life, anything to make sure you didn’t get hurt.

No, he knew how lucky he was, they all were to have someone of your skillset- you’d gotten your German down well enough that you could pass for an expat of some kind. 

And, because of your gender you had the unique position of being able to wander into occupied towns in advance of the company and confirm that all of Nix’s intel was correct. 

Without you, Carwood had no idea where they would be (or, more importantly, how many more of them would’ve been dead by now).

But Carwood still didn’t like that you were there.

He loved you more than he’d initially allowed himself to think possible, your very presence  a healing salve to the aching hopelessness that tried to eat away at the warmth in his chest. He couldn’t imagine a world without you in it, he didn’t even want to entertain the notion. 

A secret, guilt-filled part of him wished you’d get a little sick or lightly injured, just so you would be taken out of rotation and spirited off to relative safety- even if it was just for a night. 

He’d insinuated, not too gracefully, that you take some time to rest after you  had nearly got yourself killed for gasoline, and you’d looked so disappointed in him that he’d begun to apologize before he’d even finished speaking. 

You’d just nodded sadly, and Lip knew he’d really stepped in it this time.

“Well, I’m sorry you feel that way, Sir. Maybe next time you’ll get lucky and I’ll be out of your hair.”

That had been a week ago. You’d disappeared while out looking for Dike the next day.

Six days, and no one could find any trace of what could’ve happened to you.

Six days. Six goddamned days and Carwood didn’t even know if you were dead or not.

He didn’t want to think about that possibility too much.

The forests of Foy were cruel and unforgiving, with trees seeming to explode like random pressurized volcanoes and shrieks of explosives rattle his bones and swallow his screams.

He’d thought of his home and his ma and how’d he’d ever be able to look at fireworks without wanting to cry.

He thought of you.

He thought of you, lost in the woods in the middle of enemy fire and all alone. He thought of how your hand had felt in his when you’d first introduced yourself at Toccoa. He could see you laughing and smiling and screaming in sorrow when you’d thought he wouldn’t survive Carentan.

“Don’t you dare make me spend the rest of this war alone with these boys, Carwood. I swear to God I will Frankenstein you back to life just to kill you myself if you start talking like this is goodbye…!”

“—No fucking way!”

Carwood startled out of his worried thoughts, eyes instantly scanning for signs of a threat at Liebgott’s exclamation. “What? Tanks?”

Joe kept looking through his binoculars at something across the snowy field, along the edge of the clearing- the part of the forest closest to the town of Foy. The young man was making sounds of disbelief as he leaned forward as if to get a better look.

“Got your fucking binoculars, Lip?” he asked, and Carwood quickly got to work pulling them from his pocket and bringing it up to his eyes.

“‘Where you looking—?”

“Two ticks past one o’clock,” Joe said with an undercurrent of adrenaline, nervous energy rolling off of him in waves and crashing over Carwood. “By the stone fence with the moss on it…”

Lipton got his lenses to focus and pointed his binoculars to the place Libegott had directed, at first seeing nothing but muted earth tones and white snow.

But then an SS officer steps into his line of sight, turning and pointing to the ground beside him like he’s directing something to the spot.

Any fear Carwood had felt seeing you shot at before now seemed insignificant compared to the absolute terror he felt when you stumble forward and reluctantly stand before the German officer, your hands bound and your stride hitched.

“No fucking way.” 

This was worse, this was MUCH worse than the gasoline scare.

Lipton quickly drops the binoculars to rub at his eyes, wondering if this was just some strange waking dream and he was simply seeing things. 

But when he brought the binoculars back to his eyes he knew that even his imagination couldn’t concoct something as horrifying as seeing you captured.

“Liebgott, get Winters and Nixon.” Lipton was giving the order before he really thought about it, fear making his methodical, protocol following side take over while the part of him that loved you as a man loves a woman went into full-on panic.

“Should I get the Doc—?”

“I don't know, just get them here now—!”

If Liebgott took issue with the impatient tone Carwood had taken on, he made no mention of it. 

As much as Carwood cared for you, he wasn’t so blind as to not be aware that several other soldiers held you in high standing as well. To Liebgott, he knew you were  like one of his sisters- had been since the two of you had realized you were both from the Bay Area. 

If anyone could relate to the sickening fear he felt, it would be Liebgott.

It seemed almost cruel to have them be the ones to finally find you

Lip tensed as he watched you sneer at the Officer who was addressing you, and he was unable to help the pained sound that escaped his throat when he saw the man backhand you across the face and grab you by the hair when you didn’t immediately fall to your knees.

He could taste blood in his mouth as you licked your split lip, and in that moment Carwood made a promise to whatever higher power would listen.

Carwood Lipton promised that he would never raise an arm against another man for the rest of his life. 

He swore he’d finally settle down like his mother wanted and give her grandchildren to dote on. He promised he’d be the best man he could be, a better man than his father had been and a better father than he had been to his brothers. 

If he had to go to church every morning for the rest of his life he would do so gladly.

But only if I can do all of it with her. I don’t want it to be with anyone else. Please let me keep her.

Tightening his grip on the binoculars, Lip stares out into the cold.

You’d been alone for six days. Lip would try his damndest to make sure there wouldn’t be a seventh.

(YIKES A DOODLE, here yall go. Probably going to post part 2 even if no one likes this bc i’m an adult whoops)

[sapphosclown]

Snowball Fights - A Tyrus Oneshot

Cyrus loves winter and TJ Kippen.

———

———

Beams of sunlight poured through Cyrus’ blinds, causing his room to be lined with streaks of orange light. His eyes fluttered open slowly as the rays of light were lined up directly to where his eyes were. He softly grunted to himself and tossed himself onto his other side, facing away from the light. He grabbed his phone that was sitting on his bedside table with a charger hanging out of it and looked at the time.

8:53

Without a thought he put his phone back down and curled back up into his sheets. His comfort didn’t last very long though as he suddenly bolted straight up, wide awake.

8:53??

He had overslept. He was supposed to have been at school half an hour ago, why hadn’t his alarm gone off? Why didn’t his mom wake him up? The panic was starting to settle in as he scrolled though his notifications hurriedly. Just as he was about to abandon his phone and throw on the closest combination of clothes most readily available to him, he saw a text from his mom.

Mom: Snow Day!!! No school, I’ll be in my office if you need me! <3

He let out a breath of relief and continued to look at his notifications in a much calmer manor. He had texts from every one of his friends rejoicing about their day off. Cyrus jumped out of bed and ran over to his window like a little kid, pulling down on his blinds so only his eyes were peaking through. Sure enough, the ground had been coated with a thick layer of snow.

It was honestly kind of magical. The untouched snow glistening in the light of the rising sun, snowflakes falling delicately from the sky, tree branches covered in snow hanging above the roads, mimicking a tunnel of sorts. Cyrus loved it.

Frankly, Cyrus loved pretty much everything about winter. Well, he wasn’t too fond of the below freezing temperatures or midterms but other than those things, he loved winter. He loved the seasonal drinks, the holiday season, winter break, snow days. The overall energy surrounding winter never failed to put Cyrus in a good mood. 

A smile crept onto his face as he let out a small yelp of glee and pounced back onto his bed, phone in hand, messages already pulled up.

GHC + JB

Cyrus: be at the park at noon if you enjoy snow filled activities

The Buff ™: Slightly ominous, but I’m there!

Andi oop: count me in

JB: sounds fun :)

Cyrus smiled at his phone and bounced on his bed joyfully. He felt like a little kid again, it was a nice refresher from all the stress that had been swarming his brain as midterms approached.

His phone buzzed again.

Andi oop: is it ok if i invite amber?

The Buff ™: and Marty?

Cyrus: as long as they love snow filled activities

That reminded him, he closed the group chat and clicked on TJ’s contact.

Cyrus: happy snow day!! everyone is going to the park later for Snow Filled Activities™, you should come :)

Cyrus set down his phone and went to get ready for the day. He went downstairs and looked in one of the closets to make sure he still had all of his snow gear. He did, although he wasn’t totally sure how well it would fit considering he had grown since he last wore it, so he decided he’d be sure to wear extra layers. When he got back to his phone, he saw a message waiting for him.

Teej: sounds good underdog :)

Today was going to be a good day.

***

The cold air bit Cyrus’s cheeks as he slid down the hill again with Buffy and Marty following close behind. He had gotten a head start, kind of. Cyrus was just sledding down the hill on his own terms, his friends however appeared to be starting up yet another competition. Cyrus heard Buffy and Marty count to three in unison before they sped down the hill. He walked over to the swing set and laughed to himself as Marty accused Buffy of cheating. He took a seat on a snow covered swing and looked out at the park.

It really had snowed a lot that night, there was plenty to do. While Marty and Buffy continued to race each other down the hill, Andi, Amber, and Jonah were attempting to build a snowman. Well, Jonah was attempting to build a snowman, Andi and Amber were just wondering aimlessly around the park, occasionally picking up random items that could be used to decorate said snowman. Cyrus smiled sweetly at the sight of all of his friends enjoying themselves.

“Whatchya smilin’ bout there?”

Cyrus’s train of thought was interrupted as he swiveled his head to see TJ walking up to him, hands behind his back and an innocent smile on his face. Almost too innocent…

“Just enjoying the show,” Cyrus answered suspiciously, a giggle slipping through his words. “What about you?”

“Oh, no reason.” TJ answered, his innocent smile turning into one of mischief.

“Something tells me that’s not true.” Cyrus teased as he slowly rose from his swing.

TJ replied with a mere shrug and lowered his eyes to the ground, his grin still plastered on his face. Suddenly he looked up again. “Hey what’s that?” he pointed up past Cyrus’ head. The brown haired boy turned to where he was pointing, regretting it a moment later when he felt a thud against his arm.

He turned back towards TJ who was now sporting a large toothy grin, his gloved hands in front of him, dusting off snow.

“TJ Kippen, did you just throw a snowball at me?” Cyrus laughed.

“Maybe…” He shrugged, eyes pointed to the sky and a cheeky smile on his lips.

Cyrus felt a sudden warmth in his cheeks, despite the icy breeze, as he bent down and grabbed a fist full of snow, wearing a smirk of his own. He quickly hurled the snowball at TJ and by some miracle, landed him right in the chest.

The blondes face turned to one of playful shock whilst Cyrus plastered on his own innocent facade.

“Oh it’s on, Goodman.” TJ laughed as he bent down to grab another handful of snow, sending Cyrus running.

They chased each other around the park for a few minutes before finding their way to a clearing with no one around and nothing but a few trees and large rocks. Cyrus ducked behind an oddly large boulder and slapped his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are!” TJ sang as he crept through the field, snowball in hand.

Cyrus let out an involuntary squeak to which he cursed himself and prayed that TJ hadn’t heard him. When he thought the coast was clear, he sneaked a peak from behind the rock, but TJ was no where to be found. Cyrus stood up straight and looked around in confusion for a moment. His confusion turned quickly into fear as he felt a pair of arms being wrapped around him. The suddenness caused the both of them to loose their balance, a small yelp emitting from Cyrus as they fell to the ground. Before he could process what had just happened, TJ was laying on top of him.

They looked at each other for a moment before bursting out into hysterical laughter, tears forming in the corners of their eyes. Their amusement dyed down and they looked at each other again, smiles turning soft.

“Looks like I found you.” TJ hummed. 

“Looks like it.” 

And then Cyrus noticed how close they were. They were like, really close. Their noses were only a few inches away from touching. The smiles melted off of their faces, scanning every detail about each other.

TJ’s eyes look really pretty in this light. Cyrus observed. His eyes usually looked pretty, but the way the sun hit them today made them look glossy and gentle. Faint freckles popped up along the bridge of TJ’s nose and his cheeks were blotchy and red from being out in the cold. 

TJ looks really pretty.

He broke eye contact with Cyrus, his eyes flickering down to the brunettes lips for not even a second. Cyrus didn’t even realize he did the exact same thing. 

“I really want to kiss you right now.” TJ mumbled.

Cyrus couldn’t help the sheepish grin forming on his face. Feeling uncharacteristically bold, he whispered. “So kiss me.”

And he did. As if that day could not have gotten more magical, here he was, in the middle of the park, kissing TJ Kippen. Cliché as it sounds, Cyrus swore he saw fireworks. The kiss lasted for only a few seconds before they pulled away from each other and broke out into the dorkiest grins imaginable.

Just then, the cogs in Cyrus’ brain began to turn and an idea popped into his head. 

“Wait, what’s that?” He said, looking past TJ’s head.

The other boys face contorted slightly with confusion as he turned to face where Cyrus was looking, finding himself regretting that decision as he felt cold, damp snow pressed into his ear.

He turned back to Cyrus, who was biting back a prideful smile at his prank. A look of mock betrayal took over TJ’s face.

“I thought we were having a moment!” He pouted, only half serious.

“Oh, we were,” Cyrus deadpanned, “but before that we were in the middle of a war.” he smiled.

TJ smiled back despite himself. “Fine. You win.”

“Wow, I didn’t think you would give in so easily.”

“Well, if I’m chasing you around with snowballs I can’t do this,” He leaned down and once again connected their lips. Cyrus giggled when the pulled apart for the second time.

“Who would have guessed that TJ Kippen is such a sap.”

“What can I say, I enjoy a good rom com.” TJ shrugged, provoking a smile from each of the boys.

TJ clamored off of Cyrus and extended a hand to help him up, to which he gladly accepted. Once they were both upright, Cyrus kept his hand attached to TJ’s and they began to walk back towards their friends.

Today was a good day.

———

———

here’s some snowy fluff for this dreadful lovely winter season, you’re welcome.  winter tyrus is a mood i’m here for. full disclosure i wrote this story like back in august and then just now rewrote it bc i didn’t really like most of the first one. also i got this idea from a scene in Until Dawn but i made it soft and gay.

anywho i hope the 5 people still active in these tags enjoyed lmao. happy holidays :)

[hamonsurveysoverdrive]

Terrain

[Expect a lot of these today, I’m snowed in]’

Have you ever clicked on an ad on the side of your screen by accident? Yepp. When was the last time you were disappointed? Yesterday when my power never came back on and I had to eat stale nachos from 7-11 bc no one else was open. Do you like the smell of rain? Yes. What was the last thing you took a picture of? The lights outside of my mother's house, showing my bf she has power lol Do you know anyone that uses Sprint as their phone carrier? Probably? When you go to McDonalds, what drink do you usually get? Coke. What were you doing today at 2:15 in the afternoon? It's still just 10 am, but I'm sure I'll still just be stuck at my mom's house with nothing to do. What’s the nickname of your home state? Lone Star State. Have you ever thought about your wedding? Sure. What’s the worse type of weather in your opinion? THIS FUCKING COLD ASS SNOWY ASS WEATHER. Do you have a Kindle or iPad or neither? Neither. Would you rather read or write? Read, writing is straining now. When was the last time someone took a picture of you? Someone else?? Idek. Do you own a pair of slippers? Yes. Would you rather see Taylor Swift or Carrie Underwood in concert? If I'm not paying, I'll go to pretty much any concert lol. But if I have to pay, I'm not going to either of these. When someone screws you over, do you get back with revenge? No. Name something negative that you hate about yourself? I'm already pretty fragile mentally right now, I don't feel like picking myself apart today. Is your house currently hot, cold or just right? MY house is freezing, bc it's 7 degrees Fahrenheit and there's no power. Hence why I'm at my mother's. Is there a Dead End road near where you live? I'm sure... Do you roll your eyes often? Yes. All the time. Literally everyone in my life talks about how much I roll my eyes. Growing up, did you see your cousins often? Unfortunately. Where was your first job? Shitty retail job. When’s your birthday? November 2. Is life a party to you? No. Who are you tired of seeing in the news a lot (celebrities)? I don't care. When was the last time you flew a kite? Oh god I have no clue. How long have you had Facebook? Since 2010. Have you ever had to call and complain about a product you bought? No. Name something positive you love about yourself: I'm compassionate. Have you cuddled with someone today? No. Can you smell anything right now? Not really. Have you spoken to a relative on the phone today? I texted my best friend. I know she's not my relative, but she is my kids' aunt, so kinda? Do you use the toilet paper with the colourful designs on it? No. Do you wear your hair up or down most often? It's short, so it is never up. How does alcohol affect you? I'm a recovering alcoholic, so very badly. When was the last time you had a cold or flu? Beginning of January I had a cold. What was the first thing you ate today? Ritz crackers. Do you have anything more important you should be doing right now? Most likely lol. Do you still buy the paper or do you get your news elsewhere? You know, I kind of miss reading the actual newspaper. Have you ever eaten tofu and if so, did you enjoy it? I have. It really just depends on how it's been prepared. I've had it and hated it, and I've had it and loved it. Have you worn make-up today? No. I'm literally stuck inside. Do you ever get dizzy and nauseous when you’re extremely tired? Maybe a little nauseated. Have you ever tried lemon brownies? ...Do you mean lemon bars??? Can you hear anything right now? My niece is watching some stupid YouTube video. What was the last type of meat you ate? Sausage. What colour is your toothpaste? Blue. Have you taken any medication today? Just Tums. Have you ever been suspended from school? Yes. Have you ever inhaled helium? Yes. Have you bought something that was on sale today? I haven't bought anything. Are you a fan of Adam Sandler? I like his old movies. What was the last fruit you ate? Cranberries. Off the top of your head how many aisles are in the supermarket you shop at? No idea, don't care. Have you ever watched Parks and Recreation? Yes. Have you watched a movie this week? Yes. How far away is the closest McDonald’s from your house? Like, a 10 min drive. If that. Have you ever been to a wedding? Yes, a handful. What is your favourite kind of pasta? I like all kinds. Have you set an alarm today? No, I turned off my daily alarms lol Do you keep up-to-date with current news and events? Yes. When was the last time you visited relatives? Do the ones I see on a daily basis count? Because I'm hanging out with my dad, niece, nephew, sister, and step-dad right meow. Have you asked someone for advice today? No. What was the last website you were on, other than this one? My college site. Did you ever play Habbo Hotel? Idk wtf that is. Do you speak any languages other than English? Not fluently. Have you ever been to Hawaii? No thanks. What colour is your shampoo? It's pink. Have you watched more than an hour of TV today? No. Ever wake up early on Saturdays to go Garage Sale shopping? No. When was the last time you got a nose bleed? Like two months ago. How old is the mattress on your bed? It's brand new. Do you have any picture frames without a picture in them? Yes. Do you keep magazines by your toilet? No, but there's a couple books. The last time you got dressed up, where did you go? Out to eat with Justin for V Day. Did the one person who hurt you the most in your life apologize? Yes. Are you proud of who you are? Sometimes. Think of a random person, and give them a message here, no names: No. If you were a waiter/waitress, would you make good tips? I was a waitress ONCE and I made terrible money bc unfortunately my face is very telling when I think someone is an idiot, and I also have an attitude problem. What if there were two of you? Would the world be in trouble? It would just be annoyed. Forget about toppings. What type of CRUST do you like on pizzas? I like crust that has seasoning on it and is soft. I hate bland crust. Have you ever stolen a road sign or traffic barrier? I convinced my high school best friend to steal a construction cone once. Captain Crunch vs. Count Chocula: Who makes the better cereal? Captain Crunch. Would you prefer an ice cream sundae or an ice cream cone? Neither. Is chapstick a necessity for you? Rarely. What are the best kind of Girl Scout cookies? Lemonades or peanut butter sandwiches. If a cop was following you, would it make you paranoid? Yes. Do you watch movies with the subtitles on? Yes, I'm deaf in one ear.

[vrenaewrites]

CARAVAL thoughts:

FULL VIDEO HERE.

Confession: I DNFed caraval about 2 years ago. I even included this book in a video called “reading 5 star reviews of books I hate” (either screen record and insert the clip from that vid or link in the cards skip to like 6:40 or both)

 Chapter 1

We open with letters that our main character Scarlett has written to the caraval master Legend

She really wants him to come to her island but he hasn’t 

She finally gets one back with three tickets for her Tella and her fiancé 

Chapter 2

Scarlett’s feelings came in colors “urgent red of burning coals, frenzied yellow of a flapping bird’s feathers” 

She goes to tell her sister Tella and finds her making out with a dude lol 

Julian is his name 

The edges of the paper “blazed a shimmery gold, the color of magic and wishes and promises of the things to come”

Tella hates the count Scarlett is betrothed to but Scarlett wants to leave their home so bad she doesn’t care who she ends up with 

“Gods teeth!” Is the expletive…

The prize of caraval is one wish 

They have to leave the isle within 3 days which would be impossible before getting married 

Tella’s lips “shifted from broken to unbreakable” NO

Last time they left Scarlett’s dad did something terrible to her

Julian offers to smuggle them to the island for caraval on his sailor ship (pirate ship??)

“Goldenrod desire lit up inside her”

Wishes were about as real as unicorns

Their dad shows up with gloves “the shade of bruises” 

Tella accuses Scarlett of hooking up with Julian RUDE!!!!

And Julian agrees!

Ohh because the dad beats the other sister so they’re trying to protect each other by accusing each other 

Her marriage is 10 days away

Chapter 3

Her fathers perfume smelled like the color of his gloves 

Julian decides to take them off the isle for free after witnessing this 

Tella says if she leaves she will never return 

“Her world was a grand game board, and her father believed this marriage would be his penultimate move”

“More than your sisters face will bleed” is their dad assaulting them?? Did I just gloss over that when reading this the first time??

“Weather worn white archways” loved 

Governor dragna sounds like judge frollo 

Their mom disappeared 7 years ago - abandoned them 

They have priests and piety and the devil but they don’t use the BC AD calendar instead going by seasons and rulers...why

Chapter 4

She felt the lie from childhood “sneaking into her slippers and moving between her toes” no you didn’t

“A broken dock like a massive tongue jutted out to stones that reminded Scarlett if uneven teeth” 

It was nights like these she could smell the moon - I wrote taste at first and taste fits better imo

A friend tried to help them escape once and the governor drowned him for it, Tella didn’t know about this 

She meets Julian here at midnight and barters all 3 tickets to keep him from helping Tella escape 

Julian and Tella ambush her and knock her out 

Chapter 5

“A pock marked moon winked in the glass”

She has a dream about their nana telling them how legend got his name 

First of all, legend is a bad dumb name and you should feel bad about it, Stephanie Garber. Caraval is also a bad name. 

He was in love with a woman named Annalise and would perform at a coronation to earn her fathers respect, but he needed a witch to grant him a wish of talent 

He had to choose between fame and love

So his name is legend because his magic is legendary? How tf did John legend not sue over this?

“Behind her a cloud drifted over the moon, covering all but two tiny points of light, which hovered behind her silver hair like devil’s horns” love this visual 

I’m calling it now, we’re getting this flashback because somehow, the dragna sisters are related to Annalise or remind legend of Annalise and this is why Tella gets taken 

Chapter 6

She wakes up in a rowboat with Julian after 2 days which is always a good way to pass the 2 days journey it takes without having to make anything happen lol I respect it 

Julian calls her crimson instead of Scarlett - hated it then hate it now 

Trees “rose toward the sky like massive emeralds” and the waterfall “streamed down like melted peacock feathers” no it didn’t because that makes no sense 

Legends private island is called the island of dreams in Spanish 

Tella has set up a kidnapping so Scarlett can go back without getting In trouble

“The image of a purple fire breathing dragon came to mind, coating her vision with ashy shades of anxiety”

I remember stopping very shortly after this and now I remember why - I can do purple prose but DAMN 

Their mom had “vanished taking nothing with her, she disappeared like a broken star leaving the world untouched, save for the missing bits of light but no one would ever see again” Good purple prose 

We get some backstory on how her Nana was more involved after her mother left, and we get to hear again about how great her stories are, even though we just spent a chapter getting that first hand from a flashback

She barters with herself to stay only one day and then go home for her wedding 

There’s a hole in the boat so they swim but she didn’t take her dresses off so she starts to drown

“You deserve this” because of Phillippe, like hands the water pressed her down down down 

Julian saved her and cuts off her dress which she finds very intense 

Chapter 7

So much description of the snowy frosting sand pick one

I get that it’s a magical island but every descriptor up until the sand made it sound like a tropical paradise, and then suddenly the sand is snow and there’s ice and snow on the trees which were just giant emeralds so I’m confused

Because being wet and cold is more scary 

“ The snow on the rooftops rested like dust on abandoned storybooks“

A very diagon alley sitch where there are magical stores but none are open...because it’s caraval guys. They’re at the games 

They go into a clock shop where there are clothes waiting along with food roses and a note from legend 

They change and she sees awful scars on his hot muscly back 

Her dress is lame despite every YA trope about the heroine having a princess moment, that’s fun: just kidding it changed colors and shape to fit her perfect 

And Julian’s outfit is super hot 

He stole a pocket watch 

Scarlett was a pretty girl but she tried to hide it, her eyes were too honest, no one noticed girls in ugly clothes 

“Scarlet wondered if she had found a way to escape her fathers deadly games only to become a well costumed piece on a new game board” no shit Scarlett you came to the island for the game…

Also you were in such a hurry to find Tella and get into the game before it was too late and now you’re waxing poetic about how hot Julian is and how you’re hot but you don’t wanna be 

Chapter 8

“Sage shaded colors of suspicion” I really hate this device she’s using. I’ve used it to describe the colors my mind reading characters see in people's minds. But it’s like twice a book, maybe, to express extreme emotion. Not every time your feelings change. 

Some guy comes in and offers them a portal into caraval and Scarlett is like “sure thing” and Julian is like “ummm dumdum” and he leaves 

The guys like “oh you just gonna listen to that random guy?” And I’m like as opposed to you, another random guy?

He wants her voice okay Ursula 

“A passionate sky made of melting lemons and burning peaches” or say yellows and oranges…

“Until the door was no more” love this, sounds very fairy tale 

She leaves and it's like night already, she only has til midnight 

Scarlett and Julian get in by him pretending to be the count, her fiancé 

They take the path of the players, not the watchers

Chapter 9

“A panicked Vermillion moved inside of her chest as she thought of how specific legends letter had been”

Julian admits he’s played caraval before and Scarlett is like *gasp* but HELLO how did you think he knew all the shit he knew?

He keeps calling her crimson like every time he speaks to her, annoying 

“Julian’s smile turned seductive, all shameless curves and immoral promises” 

Chapter 10

“Soft golden lights licked her arms with gentle kisses of warmth”

I’m very bored when this house is supposed to be EVERYTHING

The guy who was giving them the rules says, “don’t let your eyes or feelings trick you” And then jumps off the balcony and Scarlet freaks out… He just told you not to trust what you see

Scarlett is the most annoying person

Their instructions are to get to the end by sunrise or they’ll be locked out in the streets, but she’s wasting time wanting to look for her sister - and Julian is telling her that her sister is probably staying at the same place and she doesn’t believe him despite the fact that he’s already done this game before, just trust him???

“A searing green door watched Scarlet like a glowing eye”

This just made me figure out why I don’t like that she’s using colors as an emotional device, because the main character is named after a color, and so it’s just way too many color descriptors

Julian got trapped outside noooo

Chapter 11

But it’s fine because she tells the innkeeper they’re guests of legend - which they are - and he’s let in. Great. Glad there are no stakes. They also used legends name to get the boat to the inn for free. 

The hallways in the inn “smelled like the end of the night, sweat and fading fire smoke mixed with lingering breath from words whose ghosts still haunted the air” no

Julian was “poison in an attractive bottle”

Their rooms are actually one room oops

Chapter 12

“But legend saw all during caraval”

She got a message from legend: it’s a key with tella’s name on it 

Lmao tella is having sex behind that door for sure 

“She felt five different shades of berry colored foolish” this is so stupid 

Every time something happens between tella and scar, we get a whole expository moment about how this is related to their mother or their father or the relationship between the sisters… We know. we can tell. we are not stupid.

“Warmth licking her cheek” this metaphor is too specific to keep using it

Some tattooed dude finds her - Dante - and is like “sleep in my room”

He asks her out but she declines because the count 

Damn her dress has transformed to be like see through which is why he was into her lmao 

She has a dream that legend is a creep lol

Chapter 13

Scarlett totally changes her tune re: enjoying herself 

She passes tella’s room and finds a wreck 

“Feathers covered the carnage as if a rebel Angel had gone mad” this is so dumb 

The key she got with tella’s name was a clue, that other people also got 

A pregnant girl offers to help scarlet, and a man steals scarlets favorite earrings from her mother 

Then the pregnant girl steals that stuff 

She realizes there’s a postcard in tella’s room that isn’t hers

Chapter 14

Tella only loved mermaids, and the postcard is of a castle, which was Scarlett’s thing 

The castle is a place on the isle that Julian recognizes 

Dante shows up and Julian is like hell nah 

Dante won last time Julian was here and it cost him a lot

“Shops wrapped in colors like a birthday presents, cerulean blue apricot orange saffron yellow primrose pink while the canals remained midnight dark” SHUT UP dude

This woman got like a color wheel or a color dictionary for her birthday the year she wrote this book 

Time moves fast in the castle 

What’s really annoying about this book is Stephanie Garber spends a lot of time talking about things that are boring, and one sentence on something like hummingbird-sized elephants and tigers

There’s a kissing tent and she’s like fuck yeah let’s go there

You’re engaged

Julian sees where she’s looking and is like yeah??

A tingle of periwinkle curiosity

Chapter 15

She goes into the tent of a half naked dude who could tell her fortune 

This is all very boring 

He has incense that makes people tell the truth and she admits Julian is the hottest guy ever 

She asks what’s the man she will marry really like? 

He’s not a good person 

She’s covered in only pictures he can see instead of pictures only he can see…

She had 2 questions but the way she asked used them up so she doesn’t get to ask about tella 

Chapter 16

He tells her to follow the boy with the heart made of black...obviously Dante, she thinks Julian 

She walks into a potion tent and finds an elixir of protectio

She mentions her father and feels “anise and lavender and rotting plums”

She describe the woman who works in the potion tent as having “bottle green” eyes, but this entire paragraph has the word bottle in it like 1 million times because shes describing a tent full of potions...all these colorful words you’ve used and this is where you use “bottle green”

I don’t mind the descriptor, my own eyes are bottle green, it’s very vivid, but badly placed 

She chases Julian to a decrepit garden with a fountain, and sees a glass button

She also saw a glass button in tella’s room...is this how legend spies on her? Is this where tella is being kept?

“Dreary yellow hopelessness” infected her

She sees the symbol of caraval inside the fountain and touches it, revealing a staircase 

Someone screamed as hot and bright as fire 

It’s madness tunnels 

The inn “smells of laughter and boasts laced with sweetened ale” this doesn’t make seeeeeennnnnnnnse

She finds Julian, but it’s actually Dante and he’s mean to her and she cries but it makes her mad at Julian?????? Stupid 

Chapter 17

Julian finally shows up, super bloody but he just had a head wound

She cleans him up and is getting super horny lol 

He got her earrings back!!!!!

The fire dies sending up a plume of smoke “the color of things better said in whispers” 

She tells him about the tunnels and he says legend treats his prisoners like guests 

Julian’s eyes are the color of “caramel and liquid amber lust”

He almost kisses her and then seems to wake up, leaves and “disappointment wraps around her in cool shades of forget me not blue” STOP

Chapter 18

She wakes up to white roses with red tips 

Julian is supposed to meet her but doesn’t 

A girl shows up “pretty as a watercolor and dressed as bold as a trumpet” DUDE

“Oh poor you, here you are on a magical island, and all you can think of is what you don’t have” get her!

Dante shows up and she realizes he has a black heart tattoo which DUH SCARLETT

chapter 19

The night is “brittle, crisp like the first bite of a chilled apple, smelling just as sweet with hints of burnt sugar weaving through the charcoal night air” THIS IS GOOD PURPLE PROSE! I can taste this!!!!!!!

She’s chasing Dante and finds a cider seller who’s drink will help her see things more clearly, the price is her last lie 

She drinks it and loses the color in her vision 

The game is constantly working against you?????? How?! You’ve stumbled across tons of clues without any work and there are no believable stakes to this game, this drink is the first time you’ve had a struggle…

Iko holds a journal that’s brownish green, “the color of forgotten memories, abandoned dreams, and bitter gossip”

Even in black and white we get this heavy handed color shit 

She realizes anything in color is important

She also sees the red roses on a carousel and the red cravat on a mans neck 

He makes her feel perilous shades of silky black - is Stephanie Garner an artist? Does she have synesthesia or something?? What is with this device!!!!

She looks in Iko’s book and sees pictures of her, the special guest

Sour shades of yellow green made her stomach roil with trepidation - HUH????

She’s like “why would he make the game about me?” You’ve been begging him to bring you caraval your entire life, why do you think? 

I think I remember the nana saying annelise had blonde hair, and so does tella...are they related to her? Is she nana? 

Iko tells her the notebook also holds all the true stories of caraval

Iko will give her the notebook if Scarlett will buy 2 dresses because the changing dress bothers her (??)

Iko takes her to a dress shop where the dresses are “the color of late night laughter, early morning sunshine, and waves crashing around ankles” 

The dresses cost nightmares or secrets or fears

She owes her worst fear and greatest desire, or she can pay 2 days of her life per dress 

It works but her greatest desire isn’t to find her sister, so she pays with 2 days of her life, not at the end of her life but at the end of caraval 

“Panic came in hemlock green, the color of poison and terror” 

“Something acidic and moldy and burnt bubbled up in Scarlett’s throat - the taste of death” like this 

Scarlett’s body dies but her mind will exist in a dream world 

Chapter 20

Dante finds her and drags her into the inn 

Julian hits Dante because he won’t let her go hell yeah

She tells him what happened 

Julian tried to give Scarlett a day of his life by having her drink his blood from his finger and she’s like “I wanna fuck this duuuude”

“His voice is so gentle, made of gentle” I liked this 

Then he drinks her blood from her finger, and the world shatters into a million shards of colored glass 

He lays down with her and holds her while she dies

Chapter 21

Death was the color purple.

She sees tella in the dream world, and tella has a huge dark book that swallows her and Scarlett 

They see young nana in a house similar to the one they entered at caraval, entwined with a young man

Her grandma is Anneliese DUH

Then she’s at the funeral of the woman who died at caraval before

Rosa was in love with legend and he rejected her so she killed herself 

Dante was rosa’s fiancée 

Legend is julian?!?!?

Loved This entire chapter but then it means nothing because none of this is real it’s all part of the game so it’s not really story development

Chapter 22

They both wake up 

Scarlett tries to convince herself the game is messing with her 

Then she remembers what the dream people said about legend loving to make girls fall for him 

She has a grey streak in her hair now 

Her dad is there!

She finally puts it together - her nana is anneliese 

“She could see the sting of her rejection in shades of stormy blue ghosting over his heart like sad morning mist” roll my eyes

But then she remembers that he gave a day of his life for her and is like why would he do that if he was legend 

 Now she’s changed her mind, so she goes after Julian to find him leaving Dante’s room and walking into tella’s 

She goes in after him to hide from her dad but the room is empty 

She finds another secret staircase like the fountain 

She trips over Dante’s dead body and finds Julian standing over it 

Chapter 23

Julian grabs her and is like “I didn't kill him, we were working together” 

He shows her a white rose tattoo he has, Rosa was his sister!!

She asks why he had been acting weird and he basically says he didn’t want to have feelings for her because that wasn’t why he had come to caraval 

Scarlett is like let’s get this fucker back, but she hears her dad’s footsteps in the tunnel  

Chapter 24

They start running, and they hide in a weird alcove from her dad that starts to squish them

She realizes it’s feeding off their fear so they relax and it lets them out

They end up in the sand tunnel and Scarlett is like how could you know I was going to caraval if you were already at our island when I got my tickets 

Julian explains that legend is punishing the descendants of anneliese and he invited her to caraval to stop the wedding

Legend had never responded until she signed her full name on the last letter, mentioning her wedding 

Julian is the fucking count dude calling it 

“His steady gaze reached out to the broken parts of her like a caress, a type of touch that moved through damaged flesh, past fractured bones and into a person's wounded soul.” WOW

Scarlett hears tella’s voice and almost runs straight off a cliff

“Tella loved danger the same way candle wicks loved to burn. It never seemed to scare her that some of the things she lusted for might consume her like a flame” Christ 

Julian knew tella would be taken during caraval 

Chapter 25

She had to find tella before legend consumed her like a flame burning a candle” you just used a candle metaphor like one page ago my dude. 

She gives herself one minute to cry and scream and Julian hears her so he barges in, worried 

He apologizes and she gives him the grace I’ve been waiting for as soon as he said he knew what would happen to tella: he had to avenge his sister. Everything they’re both doing is for their sisters, she should be more understanding 

Julian is “all kinds of tragic and lovely”

The box was “flat black, the color of failure and funerals” shut UP

Like if you wanna use the color device to describe your protagonists feelings stop being so fucking flowery with every single color in the book it is soooooooooooooooo distracting

It’s the other dress Scarlett has bought but now it’s white

Chapter 26

There’s a note in the box from legend that makes “invisible spiders crawl over her skin” ok 

She thinks the dress is the 5th clue - the buttons on the dress reminds her of the buttons leading to the hat store 

Chapter 27

They go to the top hat place and Julian is like “this is all wrong” 

Iko appears looking like “a teardrop the moon had cried” love it

She tells them not to go into the hat shop 

Let me guess, despite both of these omens Scarlett is still gonna go in 

“Scarlett had an emerald green premonition that she would make a discovery inside” sure why tf not gotta keep the story moving somehow 

She sees the store owner and was like LEGEND and he’s like nah dude I’m just wearing a hat 

But he is the guy that was wearing the red cravat and eyepatch from the day her vision went gray 

He is the count!!!!!

Chapter 28

Nicholas Darcy 

And her dad is there!!!!!!!!!!

Julian gets her out but the count chases her and they get on a boat 

She sees her dad and he looks afraid but she blames it on the rain 

They row to the castle and Julian convinces her to get inside to hide from the lightning 

And they argue about if she’s still planning marrying the count and she’s torn which hurts him 

He says “are you sure you want this?” Before kissing her and like is it a consent thing or is it him asking if he’s what she wants either way I love it 

“The boy who had saved her from drowning in more ways than one” explain…

They kiss and “every touch created colors she had never seen” that’s so anticlimactic 

Chapter 29

The stones fall through the hourglass like “drops of falling rose petals” that makes no sense but we have to include it because...

She finally realizes the roses that have been EVERYWHERE are part of the game duh 

She takes Julian to the fountain where the tunnel entrance is

She feels ochre shades of uneasy

Only NOW she’s giving pause at the idea of winning because she could wish them safe...shoulda been your goal all along. Should have been equally as important as finding tella since if you find her you win the wish….I’m signing heavily atm 

The governor and the count are there!!!!! 

Swear to god if Julian dies I’m going to fucking riot 

She wants to split up but Julian is like fuck no 

The count catches up to her and the governor pulls her by her hair up the stairs 

He punches her in the stomach to warn Julian and she gets back up, with the count trying to protect Scarlett

“A slick mud colored feeling coated Scarlett’s insides” because the governor is holding a knife to Julian’s throat

He cuts Julian’s face NOOOOOO

The governor takes Julian to his room and let’s the count sleep in Scarlett’s room because “he’s already paid for her, he can enjoy her a few days early”

Scarlett stands up to her dad!!!! And then she remembers tella’s words: what if the count is worse?

Scarlett tells the count if she makes her dad stop, she’ll be a good wife but if he doesn’t she will never be his obedient wife 

“Do you really want a bride who will only sleep with you because someone will be tortured if she doesn’t?” YES

Chapter 30

The count is like “listen I am NOT like your dad I’m sorry” and she’s like yeah but you’re not Julian 

The count starts undressing and Scarlett aims a poker at his eyeball lmao 

She finally remembers the elixir of protection in that dress from the tent and soaks the count 

The count is like “you’re playing into legends hands” and Scarlett is like “nah he did me a favor by getting rid of you”

Chapter 31

Julian’s cut isn’t that deep thank god but he’s still woozy 

“He tasted like midnight and wind”

Leap of faith - roses - it’s Rosa!!!!! She has to ask how Rosa died and Julian says she jumped off a balcony 

They decide to sneak out using the tunnels to go search all the balconies

Chapter 32

The town during the day looks like a “faded memory”

She hears music from the rose colored carousel 

The musician has been asking for coins the whole time but nothing else cost money

They jump onto the moving carousel and end up in the roses where Scarlett finds the caraval symbol

They have to jump, Julian gives her coordinates to a boat in case they get separated but they run out of time and she has to go in 

She lands in a river and lands at a staircase guarded with statues that are definitely frozen people 

Legend is there ofc 

Chapter 33

She’s a little star struck by legend 

His laugh is a rich spicy sound that echoes until he snaps his fingers 

Homeboy is mad 

Julian ends up there, dry, and...he’s working with legend...NOOOOOOO

Dante and Valentina were also part of the game 

Rosa was not his sister...DUDE

She clutches his pocket watch and legend opens it - Julian’s voice comes out apologizing for betraying her 

He does love her HE IS ENCHANTED!!!!!

LEGEND STABS JULIAN?!?!?!?!?!?

Oh fuck he is spitting blood oh fuck oh no 

Scarlett you got him killed you dumdum 

Chapter 34

I’m FUCKING FURIOUS 

she remembers that she gets one wish, and she wants to use it to bring Julian back and I swear to goooooddddddd if he doesn’t come back I’m gonna throw myself out the window 

Legend is gone, leaving a funeral invitation for tella set for tomorrow this guy is a MONSTER

Chapter 35

She ends up on a huge rooftop way high up 

“The air felt soft and poisonous” 

Tella is there feeling like “softness and sunlight and seeds for growing dreams”

We just used soft a sentence ago!!!!

Tella is like “you’re confused, the game is playing tricks on you”

Scarlett tells her about their grandmas history with legend 

She shows tella the invitation and it now says it’s to a party not a funeral

Chapter 36

Tella has met a boy that’s not legend...it’s a guy she met right before she got taken for the game…

She’s engaged to him??

Scarlett is like maybe tella is right and this is all part of it...Scarlett DUDE 

Scarlett has a bitter yellow puddle of dread in her stomach 

If Daniel is Dante or Julian I’m gonna scream 

Chapter 37

It’s legend of course 

Duh 

He tries to convince tella to tie Scarlett up you better NOT

TELLA

YOU DUMB BITCH

legend dares Scarlett to walk to the edge of the balcony to prove she loves her sister, so that he can feign worry to tella

They tie her up 

The governor and the count show up FUCK

finally legend admits to tella who he is and she just breaks poor baby 

Tella backs up to the ledge and says if the governor or the count touch Scarlett she’ll kill herself!!!!!!!

“Silver slippers sliding” toward the balcony 

Scarlett breaks free but tella FUCKING JUMPS

Chapter 38

So now who is Scarlett gonna use her wish on?!

Her father looks like “a dragon with no fire and broken wings”

The governor slaps Jovan and legend is like imma fuck you UP 

The governor killed Dante!!!!!!

She blackmails her dad with Philippe’s death 

She remembers her wish...but who does she use it on?! 

Which oof, oof, OOF

Tella is a brat lmao 

Legend won’t give her the wish!!!!!

He’s...fading?? 

Scarlett goes to give tella her blood 

She wishes her impossible wish but it doesn’t work

Chapter 39

She goes back up to get tella’s stuff and finds a caraval box with a letter inside from tella to legend that she didn’t know about 

Chapter 40

She goes to see legend and finds out he’s actually some dude named Caspar…that was why he couldn’t grant her wish 

There’s a stack of letter between tella and legend that basically illustrate that tella was willing to die for legend to get them to caraval 

Tella is alive?!?!?!?!?!?

This was all a fucking game?!

Her impossible wish came true, but she had actually died 

Tella orchestrated their dad getting to caraval so he could see her die, and so he would leave Scarlett alone 

Chapter 41

So Julian is not really dead, but tella wanted anyone who made Scarlett love them to be taken out, that way she wouldn’t get hurt by someone who was just pretending 

So she somehow warps this into meaning that Julian didn’t actually love her? Go...ask him??????? The fuck 

God poor Scarlett…

So people can die in caraval, but when the game is over, they come back...so there were no fuckin stakes except for tella’s death

Chapter 42

They go to legends party in the forest and Scarlett sees Julian 

Iko is there like go talk to Julian dumdum 

“Shades of the rich ruby love she’d felt mixed with deep indigo hurt turning everything just a little bit violet” I don’t care I want them to kiss Stephanie 

Julian is so hurt that she thinks she doesn’t know him

He’s related to legend…

Rosa dying changed his opinion of legend 

He tried to leave the game right before this caraval 

Legend is his brother!!!!!!!!!

He couldn’t leave Scarlett because she loved her sister like Julian loved his brother 

He stayed because of Scarlett despite how it hurt him to lie to her 

Yaaaaaay they kiss yay omg 

Epilogue

Tella is dancing drunk at the party and is dancing with a new guy who dances her to the edge of the party...then he’s gone?

He dropped something into her pocket...a coin with a note…

From legend!!!!!

You can see your mom soon if you keep up your end of the bargain!!!!!

[artificialqueens]

razorback, part 2/2 (branjie) - sheep

an: a lil late bc i was busy w/ grad stuffs, but here’s p2!! i’ve become unfortunately invested in this au and i’m tempted to write some more for it, if anyone is interested ^^

warnings for depictions of anxiety/depression/dissociation

—

The creature laying in front of Brooke is decidedly not Vanessa, and yet when she looks it in the eyes, she remembers stopping the girl outside the cafe.

She remembers the feral, panicked look in Vanessa’s eyes. It’s same thing she’s seeing right now but it makes no sense, nothing makes any sense. And, there’s blood on the doormat. Distantly, she thinks she’s going to need a new one.

The dog whines, and Brooke takes a shuddering breath as she tries to face the reality of the situation. Dog isn’t quite accurate, now that she really looks. It’s a handsome beast, lean and sleek and covered in thick, lustrous black fur. The midnight grays around the snout, and it- she- the wolf has the same golden brown eyes that Brooke has been crying for.

“Christ,” she chokes on her own voice, and when the wolf rises it takes every last drop of her willpower not to back away in fear.

The wolf whines again, high pitched and piercing, and presses itself against the door. Brooke doesn’t know she’s crying until the tears drip onto her legs. She just watched Vanessa die. She just watched Vanessa die, and now her corpse has risen as some creature of the night, like her life has turned into one of those cheesy horror movies she used to watch as a teenager.  

A laugh drips from her throat before she can stop it. The wolf whimpers, nosing the door knob. Brooke blinks out of her daze and tries not to think about how tall it is.

“I’m sorry,” she sighs into the quiet. She looks into its wild yellow eyes, and understands. “You have to leave.”

It breaks her and it breaks Vanessa.

The wolf cries low and long. Brooke rises on her shaking legs, opens the door, and lets Vanessa run off into the snowy void. The door seems to close on its own. Brooke replays every moment of the past few weeks in her head.

“I left without tellin’ her once.”

She feels sick to her stomach.

“And then, poof, you’re gone.”

She stumbles blindly to her room, phone in hand.

“You never even text.”

When A’keria picks up, she sounds like she’d just been asleep. “What’s the matter, girl?” she mumbles, sighing heavily.

Brooke buries her face in her hands, and sobs. “She’s gone.”

She spends a lot of time with A’keria, as the Winter marches on. They wait like attention starved puppies for Vanessa to come wandering back, and Brooke is hollow with the irony. A’keria watches holiday cartoons while mindlessly wrapping presents, and Brooke consumes every research paper regarding wolves that she can get her hands on.

They don’t really talk about it. Not after A’keria cries when Brooke admits Vanessa came to see her. Even if she could think of a way to explain it all, she doubts A’keria would believe her. So she holds it all in.

She spends Christmas Eve alone, and sets an empty plate on the other side of the table just to make herself feel better. Instead of sleeping, she listens to the night, hoping in vain.

At New Years, she gets more drunk than she’s ever been, and tries her first cigarette. Nina holds her hair back when she throws up, and Brooke says, “I love you, Vanessa,” without any shame as she’s lead down the hall towards a bed.

When January rolls into February, she’s drenched in the scent of tobacco. It’s the only time in her life she pays any attention to groundhog’s day, flicking through the various news feeds and livestreams, anxious for the verdict.

On Valentine’s day, she and A’keria are walking home from a trip to the library, and off in the treeline, Brooke sees her.

She takes off running even though A’keria is in the middle of a sentence. Even though she knows she’ll never catch up. Her bag full of books slams against her back, and she’s nearly tripping over herself, and none of it matters. A’keria calls after her, and it doesn’t matter. Her hat whips away into the wind, and it doesn’t matter. The tree branches cut her cheeks, and it doesn’t matter. She continues her chase, hyper focused, kicking up leaves and snow behind her.

It isn’t long before the uneven forest floor sends her crashing to the ground, but she catches a glimpse of a long black tail disappearing behind the pines.

Her phone blares in her pocket, and she vaguely registers A’keria calling her name in the distance. She doesn’t get up. She just sits, and lets the snow gather on her guilty shoulders. Movements languid, she lights a cigarette, and wonders if the scent of smoke will lure Vanessa back.

When the snow starts to melt, Brooke is starting to think she might die. Her body swims through the days on autopilot. Her mind sinks somewhere cold and blue. She’s empty yet full of longing, and whenever anyone asks, “I’m alright,” slips all too easily from her lips.

A’keria slings an arm around her shoulder, one morning, when they’re all out for coffee. “I know you’re worried,” she says, “but she’ll be back soon. She’ll be okay. She always is.”

Brooke isn’t sure whether A’keria is trying to convince her, or herself. Silky stands without a word, and goes to order coffee. Nina smiles, albeit shakily, and seconds the sentiment. She appreciates the thought, but she can’t believe it.

She can’t stop thinking about that night. She can’t get it out of her head. They can laugh like things are normal, and Brooke will be daydreaming about dribbling blood. They can talk like things are normal, and Brooke will be hearing the god awful screaming.

She drifts in the blue, teetering over a drop into the deep dark, where no creature resides. Where there is no golden sunlight to warm her. Where there is no Vanessa.

She starts taking a longer route home from work. It’s been raining for a few days now, and she revels in the rising temperature. She sings to the stars and ignores her phone as it buzzes in her bag, something she’s done quite often lately. She’s soaked down to her marrow, stepping in every puddle she sees, hoping one will open up to swallow her whole.

The first thing she notices when she opens the door, is the absence of her doormat. She never did replace it afterwards, she couldn’t bring herself to touch it. After kicking off her shoes, she shuffles into the living room. Her bag hits the floor, and stops her heart.

Vanessa stares back at her, half hidden in one of A’keria’s hoodies. “Brooke,” she whispers, throat rusty and raw, eyes unreadable. “You- You left your door unlocked.”

“You died,” Brooke answers back, sounding far away. She sways, body an unsteady sea, waves threatening to crash against the shore at any moment. “Y-You- I…”

Vanessa dashes to her side, leaping over the back of the couch like it’s nothing. She’s spry, glowing, and human, without a single scratch on her body. Vanessa touches her face, soft, but firm with purpose. “Hey, hey, relax sweetheart. I’m sorry.” The honey in her voice is pure heaven. Weight lifts from Brooke’s rain laden shoulders.

She grabs the girl’s hand, holding it against her cheek, head spinning. Vanessa’s fingers are warm against hers, sweet sunlight tempting her up from the depths.

“Stay with me, babe,” Vanessa calls to her, echoing through the blue. Brooke swims, reaching, crying, clinging to every word like it were driftwood. “I’m right here,” Vanessa shushes, “I’m right here.”

Somehow, that makes it worse.

Her legs crumble beneath her, but Vanessa keeps her steady, slowly lowering them both to the floor, gentle; as if Brooke might break.

“I’m sorry,” she murmurs again, and Brooke realizes that she’s already fallen apart. “A’keria told me you weren’t doing so hot.”

Part of her is upset that Vanessa went to A’keria first, but she knows it’s only fair. “I missed you,” she blubbers, squeezing Vanessa’s hand. Her voice seems to tumble from her lips without a thought spared for the words. “You were gone, and I- I missed you so much.” She covers her face with her still wet sleeves, shivering, filled with sudden shame. “You died,” she repeats, and wonders if Vanessa will still be there when she opens her eyes. “I watched you.”

Her hands are softly pried away from her face, and when she looks, all Brooke sees is wonderful, golden brown. Vanessa threads their fingers together, voice calmer than Brooke has ever heard it. “I’m okay,” she presses her lips to Brooke’s knuckles, “I’m here in the flash. The flesh. Whichever.”

She lets out a watery laugh, surprising herself.

“There you go,” Vanessa grins, and Brooke has never really noticed how pointed her canines are. “Can’t make you laugh if I’m dead, can I?”

“No,” she whimpers before her mind can run away with the thought. Vanessa kisses her forehead, and she breaks surface, gasping down oxygen; staring right into the sun. Something inside her sings.

Vanessa smiles at her again, eyes welling. “There’s my girl,” she hums, and Brooke melts. Vanessa helps her up, an anchoring rock amidst the still unsettled waters. “C’mon,” she rasps, tugging Brooke down the hall in search of her room. “Let’s get you into something dry.”

Brooke merely follows, too drained to question it, too lovesick to mind. All she cares about is the warm hand laced with hers. She can feel months of missed affection in the simple touch, and it slows her whirlwind brain to a crawl.

Impossibly soft, Vanessa pulls Brooke’s soaked sweater over her head. Under normal circumstances, she would fret over showing her body, but even the slightest brushes of Vanessa’s skin against hers are like a drug. She squirms her way into a clean shirt, whining when Vanessa turns away to look for pajamas. Her eyes flutter shut when the girl’s hand strokes through the tangled blonde mess she’s been calling her hair. Sensation is slowly returning to her, and she relaxes under the touch.

Vanessa chuckles, though it’s not a happy sound. She’s only been at Brooke’s place the one time, but it had been near spotless. Now, however, empty ramen cups litter the kitchen counter, and her room is a disaster scene of clothes and books.

“Look what I did to you,” she breathes as Brooke absentmindedly pulls on a pair of shorts, too foggy and distracted to hear it. Once she’s dressed, Vanessa lays her down, taking a seat next to her and smoothing the hair out of her face.

Brooke blinks up at her sleepily. “I love you,” she yawns, grasping the end of Vanessa’s sweater, weak and lazy.

A smile. Her voice cracks. “I love you, too. Go to sleep, sweetheart.”

Morning brings a headache, and fluffy, half-forgotten dreams. She’s dreamt about Vanessa more than once, so it doesn’t surprise her. She’s so caught up in her disappointment, in fact, that she doesn’t notice the missing mountain of clothes that should be next to her bedroom door.

She can hear the TV playing in the living room as she wanders through the hallway, figuring she must have left it on before going to bed the night before. Sighing at herself, she shuffles to go turn it off.

She’s passing the couch when the door opens, and in steps Vanessa, who lights up when she sees Brooke. “You’re awake,” she notes with a raise of her eyebrows, and whatever was going to come next gets buried in Brooke’s embrace.

“You owe me coffee.” She speaks hurriedly, rushing as if she only has a few more minutes with Vanessa before she disappears again. “Coffee, and a date, and- and-”

“Whoa, babe, slow down,” Vanessa mumbles, her familiar gravelling tone muffled in Brooke’s chest, but soothing nonetheless. “You’re forgetting to breathe.”

“Right,” she inhales, “sorry.” Her body screams for nicotine and she rushes over to her bag, pulling out a half full pack, turning to face Vanessa without looking at her. “Do you mind if-”

“Bitch, when did you start smoking?” Vanessa interrupts, incredulous. She gets this look in her eye that’s one part attractive, two parts worrying.

Brooke gives a half smile, slipping the pack into her pocket. “A’keria didn’t tell you about New Years?” she asks, voice small. Guilty. She was hoping she wouldn’t have to recount that herself. She barely remembers it as is.

Vanessa studies her for a long moment. Her expression calms into one of pain, and she sighs heavily. “Let’s go have a smoke, then. I need to talk to you.”

Fear pulls Brooke’s heart down to her stomach.

They sit together, shoulder to shoulder on her front step, cigarettes in hand. The sun blares above them; warm, bright, and different. Vanessa looks beautiful in the light, and Brooke watches her face more than her smoke when she starts to blow faded rings.

“What did you want to talk about, love?” Brooke tries not to let her anxiety take over her voice, taking a long drag to distract herself.

“Us,” Vanessa shrugs, eyes fixed on the concrete. “You.” She snuffs out her cigarette butt, and picks out another. Her words are stilted and spaced, a sign of nervousness that Brooke knows well.

“Us?” she echoes.

‘Us,’ is a very odd and unofficial situation. Brooke loves Vanessa, she knows that much at this point. And Vanessa reciprocates, to some extent at least. She’s said as much, shown as much, but right now the tone of her voice is making the phrase, “second thoughts,” spin around Brooke’s head at a dizzying speed.

“I’m no good for you,” Vanessa laughs, a bitter sound. “I didn’t even need to be physically present to fuck you up.” There’s a sharp edge in her voice, but somehow Brooke knows it’s not directed at her. Yet.

She swallows thickly, unsure of what to say or think. Vanessa continues.

“You shouldn’t be with me. I’m dangerous,” she growls on an exhale, “and I’ll always have to leave.”  Her voice is strained, and she refuses to meet Brooke’s gaze, lips twitching.

Brooke thinks. “Is that why you call it mysterious,” she asks, “The Vanjie charm?” It doesn’t seem as humorous anymore.

Still, Vanessa scoffs. She finally looks at Brooke, voice breaking. “You weren’t supposed to solve it.”

She’s crying now, and it fills Brooke with a twisted sort of confidence. “But I did,” she touches Vanessa’s face, stroking her thumb across the girl’s cheek. “I know what you are.”

Vanessa chokes like she’s heard it before, hurt written plainly on her face, a ticking counter hooked to a bomb. “What?” she whimpers, cigarette long forgotten. “What am I? A monster? You can say it.”

The edge presses against Brooke’s throat, and her mind swims with whispered jokes, gentle touches. Breaking bones. Sharp teeth.

She had led, when they danced that first night. Vanessa’s laughter was hidden under the pounding music, but Brooke could feel it as they pressed together.

She had made a point to sit next to Vanessa, whenever they all went out together. Sometimes, she even had the courage to put a hand on the girl’s leg as they talked, relishing even the momentary touches.

She had stayed up all night crying, when Vanessa left. She stayed up late for days on end, reading, watching documentaries, trying to fill a void. She became intimately familiar with wolves, aching for any sort of idea as to what she could do.

She had always loved those cheesy horror movies.

“You’re wonderful,” Brooke whispers, and no amount of blood can change it. She takes Vanessa’s face in both hands. “Strange, and wonderful, and I love you.”

Vanessa tries to bite back a sob, shaking her head. She looks small and scared, a frightened animal lost in the vast wild, claustrophobic despite the open space.

“I love you,” Brooke says again, even softer, if it’s possible. She knows she’s crying now, too, and “I missed you,” once again swells tight in her chest. Vanessa stares, lip quivering as she touches Brooke’s wrists.

“You’re an idiot,” she murmurs, a small smile lighting her face. “And I love you, too.”

They kiss under the morning sun, smiling.

[rrrawrf-writes]

🍄 for the whumpy prompts

for @hechiceria, bc ur having the worst week, and also for @gingerly-writing @thewinedarksea @she-writes-love @lux-scriptum @kclenhartnovels, bc u heathens love rembrandt way too much

this is not canon.

tw violence, poison

“I’ll try to get back in time, but the weather up here is terrible,” Rhiannon had said. “Just cancel the reservation, all right? If I make it back tonight anyway, we can go somewhere else.”

Winn had been disappointed, but he had agreed anyway. He really doubted the trains up in New York were going to become any less delayed, not with the winter storms pounding the city. He’d hung up, then hunched his shoulders and slouched into the animal shelter to start his volunteer shift, leaving the freezing rain the plagued Boston outside.

With the weather, it was impossible to talk any of the dogs out for very long. Winn let them out to run in the shelter’s kennel for a few minutes at a time; most of the rest of his time was busy cleaning them up after they got said run, and try to keep their restlessness contained. It infected him nearly as badly; by the time the end of his volunteer shift was nearly over, he was thoroughly sick of dogs and cats and everything else they had in the shelter.

“Hey, thanks a lot for coming in,” his supervisor said, but Winn had already slammed the door in his face.

The rain had stopped, at least, but now instead it was snowing heavy, fat flakes. The door opened again behind him, and Winn flinched away before his supervisor could grab his arm. “Someone dropped this off for you.”

He passed over a thin, square red box, labelled from a high-end chocolatier in a nicer part of town. Winn arched his eyebrows as he took it. He didn’t need to open the box to know that there was only one small chocolate inside - caramel - even though there were spaces for five others.

“Who delivered it?” he asked, frowning as he pulled a tiny envelope out from under the ribbon wrapped around the box. His supervisor shrugged, already heading back inside.

“It was some guy from the shop, I guess,” he said, then added jealousy, “Wish my girlfriend would give me something.”

Winn hadn’t even thought to do something like this for Rhiannon, and bit his lip. He knew where she was, up in New York, he probably could’ve gotten someone to take her flowers.

He’d get something ready for her tonight, at her apartment. The note inside the envelope was hand-written, but Winn didn’t recognize the penmanship, especially after a few flakes drifted onto the paper. He brushed them off and read, Happy Valentine’s Day! Follow the trail for a special treat at the end! -Rhiannon ♡

Winn didn’t realize he was was blushing for a moment. This wasn’t like her at all - but then again, it was their first Valentine’s together. And they weren’t even in the same city.

The paper didn’t say anything else. Winn stuck it into his pocket, then peeled the box open; he had to flip the lid over to find an address written on its underside, along with a cheery little, eat me!

Grinning, Winn popped the chocolate into his mouth. He’d meant to go home and let his dogs out, now that it had stopped raining, but they could wait.

–

The first stop made him laugh. Winn and Rhiannon had grown up together, but when he left for the States, they hadn’t seen each other until after he’d been released from prison. She was going to Boston for school, and Winn shivered at the change in air temperature as he stepped inside the laundromat they’d run into each other at, for the first time in nearly a decade. The next chocolate - hazelnut - was wrapped up very prettily in foil and a tiny little bow, and sat on top of another paper with another address. Winn bit into it as he read off the address, and frowned slightly at an edge of flavor that didn’t seem to belong - but then it was lost in the aftertaste, and he thought nothing more of it.

The next took him to Rhiannon’s favorite coffee shop, one of the baristas brightly handing it over to him (along with a mocha). Winn tracked the fourth to Rhiannon’s favorite spot on campus, where they often had lunch. He was freezing, by now, and his head pounded, and Rhiannon had to know about the weather down here. Why would she send him on some wild goose chase like this?

He recognized the address for the fifth chocolate immediately: Winn’s court-mandated group therapy that he was supposed to be attending was held there. He scoffed and sent Rhiannon a quick text, his mood souring further.

Fine i get the hint

Lol about what?

Winn was back at the bus stop when he got her answer. He snorted as he waited underneath the overhang, hunched up against the freezing wind. The sound of traffic only worsened his headache; he closed his eyes, and didn’t realize that the bus had pulled up until he heard the sharp hiss and squeal of its brakes.

He twitched, looking up in confusion. He hadn’t even noticed it coming.

Winn hadn’t even noticed it coming.

“Are you getting on?” the bus driver called crabbily. Winn blinked, shook himself, and stepped up. He slipped, and caught himself on the guard railing. The driver grunted and rolled their eyes, nearly invisible under the layers of hats and coats, as Winn fumbled his bus pass out to be scanned. He dropped into a seat as the bus started moving, and stared at his own feet.

He never slipped. He never slipped, and he never missed the bus - never even almost missed the bus. Scowling, Winn slumped in his seat, and didn’t move his feet from where they stretched into the aisle during the next few stops the bus made.

By the time his stop arrived, Winn felt like he wanted to throw up. He knew part of it was his claustrophobia, but even after a few minutes in the brisk, snowy air, his stomach wouldn’t settle. No one was in the building as he approached, and Winn thought, for one minute, about turning around and just going back home to lie down. Now he was starting to sweat, but the chill still drove him inside when he discovered that the front door was unlocked.

With his head throbbing, Winn pulled his power into a smaller radius than normal, trying to lessen the ache behind his eyes. His session met in an open gym space every Thursday; he hadn’t been to one in months, and squinted blearily across the open room as he pushed the door open.

Only the security lights were on, flickering in a corner. No one had put the plastic folding chairs away from their meeting earlier, and they stood in a circle in the middle of the floor. Muttering under his breath, Winn crossed the room, but he overlooked the foil-wrapped candy until he was close enough to visually see it on one of the chairs.

Winn paused, frowning down at the innocent chocolate. He should have known that was there. He should have known it from the second he stepped off the bus.

Was he getting sick? Head colds didn’t usually do this to him. Winn’s fingers shook as he unwrapped the chocolate, another development that made him pause. He was getting sick.

He stuck the chocolate into his mouth, pushing it into his cheek as he ran his fingers over the chair. There wasn’t a slip of paper with this one, and Winn frowned as he squinted at the foil. No clue there, either. Maybe he should text Rhiannon -

“Good evening.”

The voice startled Winn into yelping. He whipped around - no one had been there, he hadn’t seen anyone - fuck, he hadn’t sensed anyone -

And he didn’t sense the baton until it smashed into his face.

Winn reeled back, hit a chair, and toppled into another couple of them, tipping one onto the ground. He choked on the chocolate he hadn’t finished chewing, and a disgusting, half-chewed mess of caramel and sea salt spat out of his mouth. Winn tasted blood, and reached up to feel his nose. It had definitely been broken.

“Well. That has never been easier.”

The familiar, oil-slick voice sent chills crawling all over Winn’s skin. He pushed himself onto his side, and stared up at Rembrandt, backlit by the single security light near the door. Rembrandt wore a snake’s smile and an immaculate suit, idly twirling his electric baton in his fingers. Winn sucked in a breath, and pushed himself backwards.

“What - How’d you get in here?” he demanded, voice thick. Blood covered his lips, and Winn wiped it away with one sleeve. Rembrandt hadn’t been there a second ago. Did he teleport in? Someone had to have done it - Winn would have noticed him, of all people -

“I’ve been here.” Rembrandt grinned lazily as Winn stared at him. “You walked right past me.”

“No,” Winn said automatically. He put a hand on the chair nearest him, to push himself up. Rembrandt put his polished leather shoe against another chair two seats down the row, and shoved; the impact hit the one Winn was using for support, and he slipped off it and back to the ground.

Rembrandt rested his baton against his shoulder. “You’re a mess. Good to know that nullifier works.”

Winn’s ears were ringing. He rubbed his palm against his eyes, unconsciously smearing blood across his cheek. He didn’t understand - he was hot and then clammy in moments, fear uncoiling in his already-churning stomach. He tried to focus his power on the baton, on Rembrandt, on the door.

And there was nothing.

Winn’s eyes snapped open. Rembrandt was there - but Winn couldn’t sense him. He couldn’t sense anything. He was blind.

“What - What did you do to me?” Winn snarled. He pushed himself to his feet, and the room spun around him. Winn put a hand to his cheekbone, feeling a gash there from where part of the baton had hit him. Rembrandt was there, he was right there - but then he moved, before Winn even realized it, and slammed the baton into Winn’s stomach.

“I did nothing,” Rembrandt said, as Winn dropped to one knee, dry heaving and struggling for breath at his feet. “You were the one eating candy you just found on the street.”

Cocking his head, Rembrandt regarded Winn for a moment, and then he kicked him in the ribs. The impact dropped Winn to his side, and he rolled over onto his back. He’d just returned his gaze to Rembrandt when there was another impact, in the same spot. Winn cried out as he felt one of his ribs crack.

Winn’s vision blurred. He blinked once, hard, and then again, when his eyes refused to focus. He scooted backwards away from Rembrandt, bumping into the chairs again, and swore. “What did you put in them?” he demanded, and hated that he couldn’t hide the way the fear and pain broke his voice.

Rembrandt ran his fingers down the electric baton. Winn could feel the burn scars that marched up his ribs tingle in remembered pain, and swallowed back a whine of fear.

“Poison,” Rembrandt said, flashing Winn a grin that flashed in the dim lighting like fire. “I won’t bore you with the specifics, but there’s a fantastic little concoction that some friends of mine have been working on for, well - decades, really. A power dampener.”

Rembrandt took two steps forward, then crouched down in front of Winn, snagging the front of his shirt before Winn could get away. Rembrandt moved his fingers to tighten around Winn’s chin, forcing him to look him in the face, and smiled. “How does it feel to be just like everyone else, Winn?”

A sob tore out of Winn’s chest. He threw himself backwards, lashing out at Rembrandt. The other man leaned back and just let him go, still smiling. He stood up and waited for Winn to scramble out of the broken circle of chairs, stumbling to his feet.

“My friends wanted to do a little field test,” Rembrandt said easily. “And considering the date, I thought you’d be feeling a bit lonely. So I arranged a little gift.”

“R-Remy,” Winn said, wiping at the blood from his nose again. His side flared with pain from the movement, his broken rib grinding against itself. He swung his head wildly, trying to remember the exits - he couldn’t find an escape route - what if there were other people? He couldn’t find them, he couldn’t sense the building, he couldn’t know where everything was -

When he looked back at Rembrandt, the man was closer than before, and Winn swore, jumping back. He nearly fell over, and took another step back. “Stay - Stay away -”

Rembrandt paused, and held up his free hand. “My apologies,” he said, smooth as silk. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“The fuck you didn’t,” Winn retorted. He tried to focus, but his headache only intensified, edging closer into a migraine. He stuck his hands into his pockets - and his phone wasn’t there. “Get away from me.”

“Oh, well, if you insist.” Rembrandt shrugged, and even backed up a couple of steps. “Of course, you’re still missing a chocolate, aren’t you?”

Winn blinked back tears. “The fuck?”

“Six chocolates,” Rembrandt said. “You found five.”

“You poisoned them!”

“I only poisoned the first two.” Rembrandt flashed him a carefree grin. “They’re a little slow-acting, I’m told. Of course, the nullifier isn’t supposed to have so much of a physical impact. I thought I would… enhance it.”

“What did you do?” Winn’s breath came short and sharp, and he rubbed at his eyes again, as sweat stung the cut on his cheek. “Remy - Rembrandt, what did you do.”

“I put the antidote in the sixth one.” Rembrandt’s eyes glittered, and he shifted his feet to shoulder-width apart. “It’s on the roof.”

Winn’s thoughts immediately jumped there - except he couldn’t find a way up to the roof. His stomach sank.

“I’ll give you a headstart,” Rembrandt offered graciously. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Winn.”

[starrysence]

Okay sooooo 8 and 19 with choice ship? (i’m sorry i’m kinda new and i feel like you would know more abt which ship would fit the best than i would)

OH THIS IS SO SO CUTE I LOVE IT THANK YOU also i chose jojo/race bc i love them and havent done content for them since the cookie dough fic SO 

8. let’s go walk around and look at all the lights and stuff

19. we were playing in the snow and you suddenly tackled me to the ground and now…we’re just…staring… at each other...

genre: floooof

words: 869

warnings: none, really! race says ‘kinky’ like once but thats about it

other stuff: this is modern era bc as yall know,, thats my jam

you can request oneshots with the prompts here, or, if you have your own prompts, feel free to send them in with a ship!

a stroll in the snow; jojo/race

“and we’re done!” jojo exclaims, shutting his laptop perhaps a little too enthusiastically. race laughs.

“you really wanted to get this project done, didn’t you?”

“you have no idea,” jojo huffs and falls back, practically sinking into the couch. “do you think al would mind if i crashed here for the night? would you?”

race smiles and shakes his head. “neither of us would. you’re always so fun to be around, jo.”

jojo feels a blush creep up his face at the compliment. “thanks, racer.”

“anytime!” race starts to grin. “hey, actually, since it’s the first night of december, they’re probably puttin’ up the prettiest lights and decorations. you wanna walk the block and check ‘em out? we could even grab some hot chocolate or something.”

are you asking me on a date? is what jojo would have asked if he’d had the courage to. he hopes, though, that it is a sort of date. it sounds absolutely perfect. instead, he returns race’s grin and replies, “that sounds amazing, racer. a perfect way to end a friday night. i’d love to.”

race feels his heart skip a beat at jojo’s smile. “awesome!”

•••

warm cups of hot cocoa long discarded, the boys walk down the street side by side, admiring the lights and the decorations adoring every building and lamppost in the city. 

“it’s beautiful,” jojo says with a soft smile. race looks over at him as he hums agreement and feels his breath catch in his throat when he sees the look on jojo’s face and the way all the lights seem to make him glow. 

he’s shocked out of his trance when he feels something cold hit his arm. he blinks rapidly and sees jojo standing there with a sheepish grin. “did you just throw a snowball at me?” race asks incredulously.

“you were zoned out! i needed some way to knock you back into your senses!”

“you could’ve shaken me by the shoulders or something! you’re in for it now, de la guerra!” race shouts, quickly bunching up a small amount of snow in his hands and chucking it at jojo, who has barely any time to react before the snowball hits his chest.

“hey, that’s not— race, that isn’t— fair!” jojo exclaims between wet, snowy hits. when he realises that his friend isn’t going to stop any time soon, he decides to try out an old childhood trick and runs at race, tackling him to the ground with a soft thud. thank goodness for all that snow.

“jo, hey! get off me, i wasn’t done!” race exclaims, pouting as jojo firmly pins his wrists to the blanketed sidewalk. 

“you weren’t gonna be done for another hour or so if i joined in or let ya keep goin’,” jojo chuckles, smiling down at race, who bursts into giggles.

jojo looks at him in adoration, wondering if the boy beneath him really is an angel. it takes him a few minutes to realise race’s giggles have died down and now they’re doing nothing but staring at each other.

“well...” he starts, breaking the silence. “this is something.”

“yeah, it’s something, alright,” race laughs breathlessly. “you’re still pinning me down. real kinky, jo.”

“antonio!” jojo practically squeaks the name out, yelping and quickly letting go of race’s wrists. he moves to get up before pausing at the feeling of race cupping the back of his head with one hand.

“sorry,” race responds with a lopsided smile before lifting his head to press his lips gently, lovingly to jojo’s. the new sensation of warmth feels even better than anything jojo could’ve imagined, and he melts against race, returning the kiss and placing his hands on the shorter boy’s shoulders. 

race breaks the kiss after what’s probably a few minutes with a quiet gasp. jojo smiles down at him with nothing but affection, and he can’t help but soften underneath the gaze.

“jojo,” race whispers, pressing his nose to jojo’s.

“yeah, race?” jojo responds softly.

“your lips are chapped,” race smirks. jojo snorts and begins to laugh, rolling off of race and standing up. he begins to walk towards the direction of race and albert’s shared department, and only a few seconds later he hears footsteps getting closer behind him. 

“you didn’t help me up!” race whines when he catches up to jojo, who only laughs harder and shakes his head.

“that’s what you get for ruining the mood.”

“oh, come on, sweetheart, i’ll just get you some lip balm!”

“i’m going to break up with you before you even ask me out.”

“no, wait!” race grabs jojo’s hand and places it over his heart. jojo blushes furiously at the adorable gesture. “don’t do that. i’m sorry. will you go out with me? i promise not to point out how chapped your lips are—”

“race!”

“what?! i was just—”

jojo stares at race with an unreadable expression on his face, and race falters, sighing dramatically in defeat. 

“will you just... will you go out with me? you’re the most amazing guy i’ve ever met and i’d love to be your boyfriend.”

this draws a grin from jojo, and he kisses race’s cheek, nodding. “i will absolutely go out with you.”

×××

IM IN TEARS I LOVE THEM SO MUCH WJDFKFHKS I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS

-sanj 💕

tag list:

@but-let-us-seize-the-day​

@one-candy-cane-please​

@intoomanyfandomstopickaname​

@be-more-chill-evan-hansen​

@aw-jus-let-em-try

@bencookisagod​

@well-the-kids-do-too​

@auspicioustarantula​

@spot-conlon-king-of-brooklyn​

@have-we-got-news-for-you​

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@newsiesgarbage​

@pineappapizza

@andthewoildwillknow​

@concrete--donuts​

@stopthe-presses​

@thomasbeingthomas

@i-love-loki-and-sherlock

@maxvanna

@spot-me50-papes

@and-i-lostmy-shoe

[if you want to be added to my tag list, please shoot me an ask or a message letting me know! i’d be happy to add you!]

[nightglider124]

RobStar Week 2018: Day 3

So, yeah, I’m a day late in posting this and day 4 will be up later but this one; I forgot to click post last night before I fell asleep -_-

Pft, most of this was written when I was at work XD

Just called me miss cliche bc all my oneshots for this week are just that tbh lmao. Hope ya’ll like it though.

Dance

Snowflakes floated down from the sky, joining their brothers and sisters as they stuck to the cold, icy sidewalks. The small flakes landed all over the city, coating the ground with thick layers of snow.

The snowfall was slowly but surely getting heavier as it was quickly turning into a blizzard outside rather than a passing snow storm as the news broadcasters had initially predicted.

The night skies was turning darker and bleaker, but with it so like a snowglobe that had just been shaken up; it was simply magical.

Starfire would usually be out there, sitting on the roof of the tower, watching the world tick by, no matter how cold or how snowy it became. 

But, not tonight.

Tonight, she was curled up on the sofa in the main room of the tower, sniffling and tugging her fluffy violet blanket over herself a little more, trying to console herself with the item as much as she could.

Starfire whimpered and rubbed her wrist against her eyes, attempting to ignore the dried tears that had now made her cheeks somewhat itchy. Her eyes refocused on the movie playing on the giant screen.

Titanic was not a winter movie, nor was it one of the happiest movies but Starfire felt drawn to it, choosing a movie that suited her current emotions.

She felt lonely; everyone else was out of the tower. Raven had been dragged to the movie theatre by Beast Boy who had been pleading for her to go see the newest Wicked Scary that had been released.

Starfire quirked a tiny smile. Raven would never let go of that sarcastic and nonchalant façade of hers but the alien knew her friend was actually very excited to go and see it with him but she was sworn to secrecy by the empath, of course.

Cyborg was over at Titans East for the weekend, helping out and fixing some of their failing technology circuits within their tower, as well as spending some overdue time with Bumblebee.

And, worst of all, Robin was in Gotham.

That was the one that really had her emotions in turmoil. They had been in a relationship for nearly 6 months now and they’d been inseparable. Since Tokyo, Robin had been so attentive and had been making so much more time for them; it was bliss.

But, his father, being the celebrity icon that he was in Gotham was hosting his annual Winter Ball charity event. It was splashed across newspapers and it was bound to be a glorious event with glitz and glamour.

And, she wasn’t invited.

Starfire knew it wasn’t a malicious dig at her from Bruce but it hurt when the invite addressed to Robin had a specific note of coming alone; after all, there was no record of Dick Grayson having a current girlfriend.

Disappointed as she was, Robin was the one who was more irritated by it all. He ranted and raved about Bruce and his playboy ways and how he tried portraying him in the same light which was so far from the truth of who Robin was. He was angry that he couldn’t take her with him and how he didn’t want to leave her for a short trip to Gotham.

But, she’d done what she always did. She smiled and shook her head, stating that it did not matter and that he should go and have a wonderful time. He was hesitant, which she knew he would be but with a deep kiss, she waved him goodbye a few days prior.

He had been gone only a couple of days and the ball was tonight. He would be home again soon but dark thoughts kept haunting her mind, wondering what he was doing and wondering how much influence Bruce had over her boyfriend.

Whether he’d be dancing with any pretty girls.

Starfire squeezed her eyes shut and felt more tears slip down her cheeks.

It was the first time that she had ever really been alone and she decided she wasn’t a fan. The last couple days, yes she had missed Robin but she had Raven, Beast Boy and Cyborg to hang out with and take her mind off things.

Tonight, she was on her own and there was nothing to distract her from her worries.

She wondered if he would be wearing that lovely tux she had seen him in only a handful of times before. He looked so very handsome in evening clothes and without that mask of his, it was even better.

Sighing, she blindly reached for another tissue to dry her eyes.

She felt miserable and all she wanted was for her Robin to be there with her rather than a number of hours away, probably being manhandled by some politicians daughter.

Dropping her head to her drawn up knees, Starfire made a small whining sound. She was not an overly jealous person but the thought of him being under Bruce’s command at such an event, her heart hurt. She knew how persuasive and manipulative Bruce could be.

Starfire swallowed the lump in her throat and lifted her eyes to the screen. It was at the part where Jack was holding and kissing Rose at the very front of the ship. Starfire frowned and felt about 100 times worse.

She just really missed Robin.

Suddenly, the already dim lights went out altogether, alongside the TV. She snapped to attention, raising an eyebrow in confusion. She sighed in frustration, realising the approaching snow blizzard had probably knocked the electricity out.

Oh, she hated going down to the basement for that infernal generator. It was so dark and eerie down there.

She exhaled loudly and started moving the blanket off of her body when soft music started drifting from the speakers surrounding the main room.

Freezing in place, Starfire furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head, perplexed. She got to her feet and spun around, suddenly hearing very light footsteps.

Her eyes widened and her shoulders slumped in complete and utter surprise.

“Robin?”

There he stood, in that gorgeous tux of his, hair slicked back in such a suave manner that she could have physically swooned. He had a small affectionate smile painted on his lips and he twirled a single red rose between his fingers.

“Hi Star.”

Her heart started racing both from shock and overwhelming joy,

“Wh-What are you doing here? You are supposed to be-” Starfire started, taking a moment to think about whether she had actually fallen asleep watching Titanic and this was simply all a dream.

“I’m supposed to be in Gotham, I know.” He replied and leaned against the kitchen island counter before he deeply sighed, “But, I really missed you.”

Her heart damn near exploded in her chest at hearing that but she was still a little apprehensive, “But… the ball… surely Bruce will be furious with you.”

Robin signalled her to come closer to him which she obediently did, drifting over until he reached his hand out and rested it against her waist. His touch was so warm and she felt so much better just from seeing him.

“I don’t care if Bruce is pissed off. I wanted to be home with you.” He murmured, making her blush.

His other hand snaked out and held her waist, Starfire instinctively wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Gently, he manoeuvred her and they started to sway in time with the soothing music.

“Did something happen?” She asked quietly, knowing how much he and Bruce argued,

Robin shook his head, “Not really. I got there and refused to crack a smile and when he pulled me up on my behaviour, I made it clear to him where I’d rather be.”

A sweet, bashful little smile erupted on Starfire’s face and she stared into his maskless blue eyes, “Robin…” She cooed,

He gave her a serene smile and brought her to him, her head resting on his shoulder as they swayed to the sound of the music.

After a long stretch of comfortable silence, Robin tapped her lower back,

“Star... why didn’t you say something if you had a problem with me going?” He asked,

She sighed and stayed snuggled against him, “I did not wish to make an issue of it. I also did not think I would have such a problem with it until tonight... I was on my own and... it left me to worry a lot about what you might be doing...”

He pulled back for a minute to look at her, “Don’t you trust me?”

“I trust you. I do not, however, trust Bruce as much.”

Robin nodded, understanding where she was coming from, “I wish you had been able to come with me. You would have loved the music.”

She smiled absently and playfully narrowed her eyes at him, “Did you dance with any pretty girls?”

He chuckled and rolled his eyes, “Of course not. The only pretty girl I’d dance with is you.”

“But, you hate dancing.”

Robin shrugged, “Not when it’s with the right person.”

Starfire laughed as he pulled back and made her twirl, before bringing her back to his chest to continue their slow dancing. She looked up at him from where her head rested against his shoulder and he gave her a tiny smile, before leaning forward to give her a kiss.

He was right of course; dancing was glorious, but only when it was with the right person.

[foxghost]

hi here’s another instalment of “I stayed up too late reading 鎮魂, edition chapter 13 - 26

Zhu Hong spends maybe 3 days a month being half snake (anaconda?). She keeps raw sliced meat in the office freezer, thaws it out in the microwave and “eats them like potato chips”

She also has snake pupils and a snake tongue. /this novel has all your monster needs

Zhu Hong: if you’re willing to sleep with me one night, I’d work for free Zhao Yunlan (totally seriously): …really? Zhu Hong: … (can’t believe he’s actually considering it)

The “black cloak envoy” in the show is named one-who-slay-souls in the book, and is exponentially more terrifying

take what prisoners? Send whom to jail? kills all the things

Zhao Yunlan: he’s kind of nice actually, but talks like an academic, uses too many words to say one thing

A “hungry ghost” is a shadow that is thin all over except for the stomach, with a mouth that opens 180 degrees, with arms like a mantis

Shen Wei’s first reaction on seeing it is to pick up a chair and BASH IT UNTIL IT STOPS MOVING

Shen Wei: shocked face that the cat is talking Daqing: Yes right but you just broke the head of a hungry ghost with a chair so why are you even shocked

Guo (repeats in his head): I am a cop Guo: is crying uncontrollably * Guo (to Shen Wei): I haven’t even had my first month’s salary — can’t i even SEE the money I won’t live to spend before i die? Shen Wei says nothing to this because laughing at him is probably improper Guo: Does professor Shen have wishes that has not been fulfilled? Shen Wei: Yes Shen Wei: There is a person, we are mere acquaintances, we have no relationship at all, in his heart, I am but a stranger he has spoken to a couple of times. But I still want to see him once more.

with a hungry ghost scratching at the door and Daqing promising rescue by Yunlan Shen Wei: Don't we have ways to save ourselves? Daqing: this is us — a common person, a garbage person, a vegetative person, and me — a lucky charm. Oh, ‘save ourselves’ you say. Do you think if we go into a hot steam wok, it would be enough to fill the gaps between a hungry ghost’s teeth?

amidst all this chaos, Guo is climbing Shen Wei’s leg bc he’s terrified, and Shen Wei’s priority is to HOLD HIS PANTS UP.

Lin Jing is … a monk? (fake monk, according to Yunlan)

Lin Jing: there are two men and a cat in there Yunlan: no way, Shen Wei wouldn’t abandon his student Lin Jing: … who is this Shen Wei Yunlan: mumbles nobody important Lin Jing: You only ever do that when you meet a beauty — is this Shen Wei a man or a woman? Yunlan: buddhist chant

when the hungry ghost is sucking up all the air + souls in a room, guo screams: I’m going to be sucked up!

and then somehow has the wherewithal to make up metaphors: i’m going to be sucked up like jello from a vacuum bag!

Yunlan cuts the energy between hungry ghost and guo, and guo starts falling — onto Shen Wei. Naturally, Yunlan rushes forward and catches Shen Wei into his arms and let Guo fall on his face

AND HIS FIRST PRIORITY IN THAT SECOND IS TO LOOK COOL

Zhao Yunlan holds onto Shen Wei’s waist and takes a halfstep the the side, and the lighter’s flame illuminates his face — handsome, cool, his features as chiselled as with a blade, gazing from the darkest place yet his pupils reflect the flame He successfully keep this act up like a big bad wolf, lowering his voice and looking into Shen Wei’s eyes, and like a hero protagonist saving a beauty in a movie, he asks quietly: Professor Shen, are you alright? At the same time, he completely ignores the whining intern on the floor.

Yunlan can hypnotise people and change/erase their memories of supernatural events, kind of MiB like

He does this to Shen Wei, carries him (like a bride, bc just before that Shen Wei’s leaning on his shoulder) takes him to his student’s hospital room, make sure he’s comfortably sitting, says a protective spell and EATS HIS TOFU

which is the chinese way of saying he took advantage, kisses the back of Shen Wei’s right hand and says: good night, sleeping beauty

of course, SHEN WEI wasn’t ASLEEP

he ‘saves’ the protective spell and leaves by the second floor window

i guess Shen Wei forgets about being human sometimes, only ghosts come and go by the WINDOW

Guo Changcheng GLOWS to someone who can see (like someone with a third eye) between worlds.

Apparently he’s been using his allowance to do charitable work for YEARS. There is so much merit built up in his ‘books’ he’s practically a saint

Guo Changcheng IS SO PURE

When the slayer arrives, the temperature drops below zero and the windows frost over

he has a black claok, doesn’t wear a mask. His face is just BLACK MIST.

He smells like winter. (and it’s nice?)

… like freshly fallen snow in the morning when one opens the door to it for the first time, that first breath you take on a snowy day — like endless and eternal snow that never melts, clean, yet extremely cold, mixed in with the scent of flowers dying in the frost — far and away, a fragrance like walking to the end of the world. But it’s only for a moment, because after that one’s nose feels frozen and can’t tell any smells apart.

Guo’s explanation in his head for this is: he’s from the southern hemisphere and it’s winter there. (omg)

And then the moment the slayer goes off with YUnlan he starts asking after his health seriously

the slayer is a motherhen (when it comes to yunlan anyway)

he uses the same tone of voice to kill ghosts as he does asking after ppl’s health and Guo thinks this is terrifying (it is)

Li Qian killed her grandmother, none of that heartwarming retconned stuff in the show

the Slayer finds out where the Reincarnation-dial is from Qian and Yunlan follows because he’s curious and finds the place … covered in bodies … of monsters and ghosts that the slayer’s just slain / beheaded.

Yunlan: What’s going on? We’re all responsible for the environment, your honour was only coming here to find a thing, how did this battle happen. tries to step around the bodies but there’s no place to put his feet (what battle? it was a SLAUGHTER)

So it seems Yunlan meeting Shen Wei in this life time was planned by the villain

Chu (old Chu from Zhao, Brother Chu from Guo) is thin as a moving skeleton, about the same age as Lin Jing

And they all slack off in the office MOST OF THE TIME

Yunlan pursues Shen Wei for 3 months, Shen Wei keeps on giving him excuses, the cat makes fun of him mercilessly

Yunlan is eventually reduced to buying a box of old books and stalking Shen Wei with his car on campus until the students are all staring and he has no choice but to knock on the window and asks WHAT ARE YOU DOING

so in the show they made this all about Yunlan being suspicious of him, but there’s none of that in the book, at this point he’s just pursuing the professor shamelessly

Yunlan: this is for you Shen Wei: … opens box No, this is too valuable I can’t take it Yunlan: makes up a bunch of lies my friend’'s emigrating they leave their books behind you take them Shen Wei: I — Yunlan: I what, we’re so familiar already, it’d be unconscionable to say no to keeping the books, see you, let’s have dinner this weekend drives off Shen Wei: is conflicted while suddenly standing on campus holding a heavy box Shen Wei: is happy Yunlan is being so lovely Shen Wei: is jealous that he may be like this with other people

So, Yunlan is an introvert

Yunlan’s heart is a little lazy, hasn’t interest in anything, there’s nothing of import at work right now, and aside from one important networking, occasionally harassing Shen Wei, he spends all his remaining time alone at home.

Yunlan lives in a studio apartment, ‘like a dog’, or ‘neither pig nor dog.’ in other words, MESSY

it’s Yunlan, apparently, that turned his role as ‘guardian’ / command of sealing the spirits(?) into a police department.

Yunlan has ended relationships (or have it ended on him) because he just doesn’t want to talk when he’s home

the reasons are “lack of communication”, “no passion” “Our personalities do not match, we don’t speak the same language” and “You have never loved me”

so he finally gets a date with Shen Wei on Sunday, and on Saturday he gets up at noon, eats bread and water and plays video games until he gets a massive stomachache

he stumbles out the door in his pajamas, a coat, and no socks in his shoes, to get food, and overhears a robbery taking place, and it’s SHEN WEI

they end up getting dinner afterwards and he eats like a starving man until he basically collapses from stomachache

Shen Wei takes him home and they trip over an open umbrella, it hasn’t rained in more than half a month

Shen Wei: Take off your clothes and go to bed Yunlan: But if I do you’ll say i’m improper Shen Wei: What Yunlan: is wearing pajamas under his coat has no socks Shen Wei: blushes Yunlan: shows off his chest You told me to take off my clothes Shen Wei: ZHAO YUNLAN WHY ARE YOU NOT WEARING SOCKS Shen Wei: WHAT HAVE YOU EATEN ALL DAY Yunlan: points at garbage can Shen Wei: the whole day? What’d you eat yesterday Yunlan: dunno, drank too much Shen Wei: Do you live like this everyday??? Yunlan: um, yeah? Shen Wei: about to die of anger

Yunlan, way to impress future husband, high-five

meanwhile, Yunlan’s thinking: he’s never angry, but he’s angry because he’s fallen for me. Because i’m handsome (NO JOKE)

Shen Wei: You’re not so young, and you’re established in your career, this is about time for you to find a girlfriend and make a home, ti’s best to have someone take care of you Yunlan: Are you seriously telling me that you haven’t noticed I’ve been pursuing YOU (looks depressed) Then fine, thank you for today, i’m alright, you can go home (fully expecting Shen Wei to feel sorry enough to come closer, Yunlan has a speech prepared and everything)

BUT HE LEAVES

And comes back the next morning 7am with groceries (gosh i love this trope) and takes care of Yunlan

Yunlan’s kitchen is full of kitchenware with the pricetags still on

Shen Wei preps food and heats his hands over the heater before touching Yunlan

to be precise, he strokes Yunlan’s hair and then kisses his own fingers (excuse the blogger. screams)

He feels as if he is a moth that has realised its fate, holding himself from the flame is painful

Yunlan comes out of his bath (in the afternoon) to find that Shen Wei’s cleaned his apartment, folded away his clothes, aired out his room, and made food

So naturally, he figures now’s the time to PROPOSE because wow he’s found THE ONE

Yunlan: Seriously, if you would agree, I will sell this place tomorrow, and buy a big place near your campus. Yunlan: I never thought about buying a big house before, it seemed like such a burden, but now I understand: if I want a person as my wife, then I must build a gold house to hide them. Shen Wei (thinks he’s making fun of him): Eat your food it’s getting cold Yunlan touches the back of Shen Wei’s hand: Even though it may not seem that way, but I’m perfectly serious

- queue requisite “i’m a man” and “you should have children” talk

Yunlan: I’m not obligated to propagate the earth for the sake of mankind, Teacher Shen, are you an ALIEN???

- Yunlan literally tells him: if you really want children we can get a surrogate, it’s easy enough to have kids when you have money - Shen Wei then refuses to go to a movie with him the next week but it’s because he’ll be out of town for a week and Yunlan counts that as a WIN

back at the office: Zhu Hong: Xiaoguo is a good kid, fast learner, but he’s too cowardly, it took him this long to accept food from me Yunlan: That’s natural, he’s afraid of people Zhu Hong: … Yunlan: He’s not afraid of you, because he obvs doesn’t think you’re people

earthquake news play on television Yunlan: Why wasn’t it a bigger earthquake, I had no my arms open ready to comfort him and everything Zhu Hong: Who’d you seduce this time Yunlan: Don’t make it sound so terrible, spring must come to the world and flowers must bloom, its fragrance cannot be missing romance, you ppl must not insult other people’s pure love Lin Jing: buddhist chant Zhu Hong: HELP.

Wang Zheng suddenly appear in the office during the day (she is a ghost, they dissipate in the light) and everyone rushes to close the blinds and give her incense

Yunlan (takes out cigarette): YOU Wang Zheng (moves backwards): Don’t make me breathe your second-hand smoke. Yunlan: …you’re a ghost, madam Wang Zheng, you’re not going to get lung cancer. Wang Zheng: Ghosts can smell smoke and fire, if you keep doing that, you’re going to turn into a human shaped mosquito incense.

Yunlan calls someone sister-in-law over the phone

Zhu Hong: How come director Song is his sister-in-law? He doesn’t even have a sister Daqing: Who knows, he goes out drinking and gains sister-in-laws (?)

- The ‘red’ threads connecting Yunlan and Shen Wei are myriad and golden (and Shen Wei can see them)

[asexualzoro]

list of reasons I find zoro ridiculous

after my similarly titled mihawk post took off I decided to make a zoro post, since he’s my second favorite character and also arguably the most ridiculous character in all of One Piece. here we go

- I know what you’re all thinking. i’m gonna open this list with how he wields three swords, right? no. no, Zoro has done so much ridiculous bullshit, this doesn’t even seem weird anymore. i don’t even bat my eye at this. this is nothing. now that i’ve got that out of the way, let’s begin

- this dude has like, an obsession with cutting off his own limbs? and MAYBE i can understand trying to cut his feet off when they were stuck in wax—you’re trying to save your friends, i get it—but what about when he was sword shopping in loguetown? who’s first response when buying a cursed sword and testing if it’s really cursed is “i’ll toss it in the air n see if I get amputated lol.” plus there’s that old filler where luffy gets his finger stuck in a bottle and, when he asks zoro for help getting it out, zoro tries to CUT IT OFF. im convinced he lost that left eye of his bc he got dust or something in it and then tried to stab it out

- there’s like, several occasions where Zoro has been directed to head up a staircase and gone some other direction. it happened in enies lobby and in dressrosa? like, what’s the dude got against stai—... oh, wait

- his reintroduction post timeskip. get on the wrong boat? just cut it in half! who even cares! how’d you even end up on the wrong boat? you had to walk towards that boat, which means looking at the boat. that boat looked nothing like the sunny, wouldn’t zoro have noticed that? he also has to make an effort to climb on, which means, you guessed it, looking at the boat! he probably sees the crew members, maybe even gets helped up by one or a few. how did he not at any point in time notice that wasn’t his boat?

- also when they landed on sabaody the first time and zoro was like “i’m gonna go take a walk!” and both Sanji and Usopp tried to stop him, talking to him like concerned parents of a troublemaking toddler, like “Zoro you can’t go out there you’ll get lost!” to which Zoro replies “yeah but the grottos are numbered, I can find my way back if I just remember the number!” and Sanji and Usopp are like “okay, solid logic, even YOURE not dumb enough to mess that up” and what does Zoro do? what does he fucking do?

- I want to emphasize he messes it up because a bubble covers the 4 in “Grotto 41” so he thinks it’s grotto 1. BUBBLES. ARE. TRANSPARENT

- “sorry, I don’t pray to god” fuckin edgelord

- Zoro’s epithet is “Pirate Hunter” and it’s super lame. he could’ve been “Demon of the East Blue” but they went with pirate hunter, even though he became a pirate. even Chopper’s is better than his lbr

- THERES A SCENE WHERE SANJI THREATENS TO PUT RAZOR BLADES IN ZOROS FOOD N ZOROS LIKE “do it u won’t” SO SANJI DOES AND ZORO JUST EATS THEM? ODA EVEN GOT ASKED ABOUT IT IN AN SBS AND CONFIRMED YES, ZORO DID IN FACT EAT RAZOR BLADES. THIS 2EDGY4U BITCH JUST. STRAIGHT UP. ATE RAZOR BLADES

- in film gold he wears that black jacket under the white one. mind you he had no way of knowing he would be trapped in gold by tesoro or that they’d all have a dramatic coordinated outfit change once he was free so what the fuck was he doing? why did he wear that? who wears two jackets for no reason?

- “if i’m gonna be a statue I want it to be in this pose” “i’m glad I struck a pose”

- remember when zoro fought mr. 1 in alabasta and mr. 1 dropped a stone building on him and he was just like “this is a rocky day” or smth equally awful? i hate him

- the tarzan yell in skypiea

- actually, the goggles too.

- didn’t he try to convince someone he was fighting they were sunglasses bc they had some blinding light-based attack? I feel like he did but I don’t remember skypiea well enough to be sure

- Zoro vs the bird in skypiea. spent a fair amount of the damn arc running around skypiea getting messed w by a bird (which, according to Luffy, was more evolved than Zoro bc it had developed a sense of direction. burned by ur own captain)

- when asked why Zoro was able to speak with a sword in his mouth, oda said “IT’S HIS HEART SPEAKING”

- that colorspread Zoro where he reads a book about weightlifting while balancing a weight on top

- when Zoro fights that masochist guy in film gold (I think his name was dice?) and said some cocky ass one liner after the guy fell unconscious that went something like “What's wrong? Didn't it feel good? Aren't you gonna scream in pleasure?" awful

- Zoro almost gets murdered by Mihawk and then, later that day, tries to take on fishmen underwater. others r like “you cannot handle this, you will literally die” and Zoro doesn’t even care bc Luffy is in trouble

- he was sailing bc he left home to find mihawk and then couldn’t figure out how to get back

- remember that filler where Zoro taught Luffy how to skate but then forgot to teach him how to turn. I love both that this happened and the implication that Zoro is a person who knows how to roller skate and therefore has spent time roller skating. Zoro roller skating backstory when?

- when Zoro was fighting oz, a 500 year old corpse, he licked his sword. now, on top of licking his sword being ridiculous as hell because, listen, there’s NOTHING cool about licking your sword. you just look like a loser. but a sword that just came out of a 500 year old corpse? really? i know it was preserved by the cold and all but there’s no way it didn’t rot at all. that’s a rotted, frozen corpse. Zoro what in the HELL were you thinking. I hope you get sick

- i’m sure it probably wasn’t even the first time he licked his sword in a fight but I will say with absolute confidence he looked like a loser every single time

- I feel like he licked his sword while facing mr 1 but I can’t remember. if he did, that’s honestly iconic. stare down a dude that’s made of swords while licking yours? power move. only decent time to kick your sword

- Zoro, joining Luffy: “if you stand in the way of my dream i’ll kill you!” Zoro, a day later: “of course i’ll carry my captain in this heavy cage on my back to safety. oh this gaping wound in my side? nothing. who cares about bleeding to death, my captain needs me!”

- all those big weights he’s got. all of them.

- especially that time he was lifting weights post thriller bark after barely surviving kuma, still heavily injuries, complaining about how weak he is. buddy...

- that time in drum island where he decided to train by going swimming in the freezing ice-country water, then when he got out he got lost in the snowy mountains until he wandered into a random battle and took out some guy just to steal his coat

- this isn’t the only time he steals some random dude’s coat

- the chimney.

- that filler in smiles lobby where he gets, like, abducted by a bunch of children for a day and integrated into their family?

- Roronoa Zoro went fursuiting in dressrosa and that’s a canon fact you all must acknowledge

- speaking of being a furry anyone remember mugiwara theater?

- THE FUCKING MUGIWARA THEATER NAMES. mugiwara theater is a gift, alright? here’s some: nakamura hanzorou. zobear. ZOROMILK

- I FORGOT TO MENTION. THAT TIME ZORO N USOPP WERE HANDCUFFED TOGETHER AND ZORO TRIED TO CONVINCE USOPP TO PLAY ROCK PAPER SCISSORS WITH HIM TO SEE WHICH ONE OF THEM WOULD HAVE TO CUT THEIR HAND OFF

- also the fact that his logic was “it’ll be fine cuz chopper can just sew it back on”

- can we also talk abt how later that fight he uses Usopp as a sword because holy shit Zoro

- this isn’t technically zoro’s fault but the guy who sold him his sword to him in loguetown has a giant version of bounty image up above his bath, which........

- barto asked for zoro’s autograph and Zoro just wrote “sword”

- the grave of the rumbar pirates was finished right around when Zoro woke up from his coma post thriller bark and Zoro decided to walk over while Brook is sitting there mourning almost everyone he ever loved and just. plops his sword—an inanimate object—in the dirt by the grave of BROOKS ENTIRE CREW like “hey i’m gonna bury this here u don’t mind tho right? cool”

- he’s lucky Brook is such a cool dude cuz if I was mourning the death of MY crew and some fuck decided to plant a rusty sword there i’d just fuckin kill em

- in Zou they were talking abt whatever and Luffy mentioned how Sanji was as strong as one thousand men and Zoro, clearly jealous that Sanji got praised by Luffy, butt in with a stuttery objection on how HE was stronger than Sanji and worth TWO THOUSAND men, which luffy ignored, and Nami had to reassure him that yes, Zoro, we know you’re strong. toddler

- this is also not technically zoro’s fault but one time someone asked oda in an sbs which strawhats would eat ice in their drink and oda answered who would n wouldn’t (Luffy, Chopper, Brook, Usopp, and Robin would, if ur wondering). Zoro was on the wouldn’t list, and some fan sent oda a letter informing him of a panel where Zoro was shown eating ice to disprove this. someone pulled zoro ice eating receipts on oda and that’s a fact we all have to live with

- the first time Zoro meets mihawk—the strongest man in the world, the man he wants to defeat someday, and incredibly powerful and impressive dude—he cries like a baby

- zoro’s been crucified like 4 times now. once in his introduction than in three movies (6, gold, nebulandia). idk why this keeps happening but honestly? keep it up

- when Brook joined the crew, Zoro said he was sorry for Brooks bad luck as if one of the first things Brook ever saw Zoro do wasn’t to try and die for the crew via Giant Paw Ball of Pain

- speaking of, i’m pretty sure half the reason zoro DIDNT die in thriller bark is because if he died via smth as silly as a giant paw ball his injured pride would kill him again

- I was going to make fun of Zoro for wearing only a suit and a fake mustache in dressrosa as a disguise but then I realized, like, given how absolutely shredded Zoro was in Punk Hazard and how that suit somehow managed to squish it all down without zoro ripping the sleeves off? solid disguise

- when merry was burning and everyone’s bawling and remembering great memories on the ship and Zoro was standing there, 100% stoic, remembering a nap

- Zoro saw marines (Garp) coming to Water 7 while Luffy was still unconscious and ran off to warn the others but couldn’t find his way back to the hotel

- that G8 filler where he falls off a cliff in pursuit of his swords

- speaking of fillers, remember that amnesia one? (ha). highlights include Zoro trying to physically fight a small sea horse (plus Usopp doing a bad lip-syncing) and Zoro swimming through the Grand Line with his swords tied to his head by his bandana

- meets a dragon, eats the dragon

- it got mentioned once that Sanji and Nami canonly help Zoro and the other guys get dressed. so every time Zoro wears something absolutely ridiculous (which is often), it’s probably Sanjis doing

- “I can’t believe I cut a freaking booger!!”

- speaking of, remember that time Luffy flicked a booger into Zoro’s drink at the Baratie and Zoro tried to force him to drink it?? remember that?? I hate them both

- that time Zoro was trying to find the Right Eye in Skypiea, said that (though the path to get there was STRAIGHT AHEAD) all he had to do to find the right eye was just keep going right (even though that would just lead him in circles!). and then after that do you know what direction he went?? do you know?? he fucking went left

- the time Zoro got lost walking on a straight path in a filler.

- Zoro lost to a guy in a fight and just fucking let the dude cut him in half. like, yes, the baratie scene was all cool as all hell and I love it but Zoro did in fact basically invite a dude to cut him in half

- when they were hit by negative hollows and everyone else said stuff that was kinda funny but Zoro went straight up “I don’t deserve to exist” please honey talk to someone

- he was fighting Kaku and kept engaging in Kaku’s devil fruit bs and then berating himself for being uncool as if he wasn’t already fighting a giant giraffe

- to end this list, I want to get to Zoro’s absolute worst offense. remember when Zoro fought Kaku and he did that asura form thing? where he straight up grew four extra arms and two extra heads, all wielding swords? what the FUCK was that? and don’t tell me “fighting spirit” alright. that’s bull. people don’t just GROW EXTRA SWORD-WIELDING BODY PARTS because they’re just REALLY INTO a FIGHT. like I know this is One Piece and shit’s ridiculous all this time but this? this is too much. even for One Piece this is too much. this is so ridiculous. there has to be a line, even in One Piece, with what these guys are allowed to get away with. I can accept haki so good you can see the future. I can accept spinning so fast you set your leg on fire. I can accept being made of springs. I can accept booger bombs. I can accept all that and more, but this? this is where i take my stand. Roronoa Zoro cannot keep getting away with this! fighting spirit is just not an explanation. and the worst part? the absolute worst part?

- Zoro makes four extra limbs and two extra heads, all armed with swords, MATERIALIZE out of THIN AIR with absolutely NO REAL EXPLANATION and then pretty much NEVER DOES IT AGAIN! he did it once in sabaody (and once in strong world) and then hasn’t done it since! everyone else uses the power ups they got in enies lobby all the time but Zoro, somewhere out there, knows how fuckin sick this attack is (bc yeah it’s ridiculous as hell but like I still enjoy it) and he just won’t do it again. not once post timeskip has he used it at all. Roronoa Zoro knows what he’s doing and he is out there, right now, laughing

- roronoa zoro is one of my top three favorite one piece characters and I make this list entirely out of love. (feel free to add on more moments I may have missed and i’ll add them)

[sarahmaybank]

What do you think their first snow in paradise is like? (feel free to pretend Newt and Teresa are still around bc I know I do)

I hope you’re tucked in real nice and cozy!!!! this is more than four pages of notes!!!!! Lol.  Enjoy!!!!! I DID

This kind of went from first now in safe haven to skii lodge/winter cabin/Christmas AU lolllll anyways, [strums guitar] here’s snowy safe haven

When he first lays his eyes on the falling snow, Newt’s stomach swirls uncomfortably. An inexplicable dread washes over him. Thomas notices his sudden furrowed brows, taking Newt’s hand in his. “hey, you okay?” “…yeah.”

With his hand in Thomas’, Newt’s eyes would travel across the grounds, gravitating towards Sonya, who was sitting next to Harriet with the same confusion plastered on her face. Only to find, that she was already looking at him.

They both felt their chests tightening, fingers closing around their hearts like a vice. Sonya looked away. Newt…couldn’t. He didn’t know why, but when he looked at Sonya, he felt an urge to protectively wrap his arms around her and never let go.

Newt could see blurred faces. He could see white snowflakes floating, sinking, in the air through a small window. He could hear muffled voices, but no words could be distinguished.

Teresa would start a snowball fight, pelting Newt in the face and bringing him out of his daze.

She hit Thomas next while the two were trying to locate her, and soon a full on snowball fight was initiated.

Sonya and Harriet were using each other’s bodies for cover, giggling as they tried to throw their bodies in front of each other

Minho would THROW himself in front of Brenda with a dramatic “I’ll protect you!!” and she’d grab a handful of snow and shove it down the back of his shirt. 

They’d end up chasing each other across the beach that was now covered in a white blanket, throwing handfuls of snow at each other and not bothering to roll it into balls

 Chuck would make snow angels with Thomas and Teresa while Newt just stands beside them watching with a smile on his face.

Gally, Beth and Ben would help Chuck make igloos and snow forts with other kids

Minho would tease him about it and call him the safe haven Dad

Gally would shove him into a big pile of snow and walk away, but he’d be hiding a tiny smile because he secretly likes that title 

Frypan would make everyone hot chocolate

Thomas would spill his cup everywhere and Chuck would make a joke about how it looks like he klunked

Newt and Minho would l a u g h at the face Thomas made when he fell face first into the snow as he ran away from Teresa who was chasing him with a bunch of snowballs gathered in her arms

 “Looks like nothing’s changed, eh, Tommy?”

Alby would make snow people with the safe haven kids, stealing carrots from fry’s kitchen 

Fry doesn’t mind, he loves seeing how happy everyone is in this moment

Zart decorates his cactus with tinsel and one single bauble 

Zart pelts EVERYONE with snowballs, especially Gally. Zart has no fears. He is the last man standing. 

Newt wants no part in the snowball fight so he hides in one of the igloos Alby made (with Chuck’s help) until Thomas, Minho and Brenda find him and flush him out by throwing snowballs at him. Thomas and Minho let out a weird war cry.

 Thomas and Rachel sneak attack Aris, dumping heaps of snow on his head

Aris and Rachel find mistletoe

Aris reaches up to touch it and Rachel smacks his hand away – “NO touching the mistletoe. Leave it there.” “But I wanna.” She distracts him by kissing him under it instead.

Minho tricks Brenda into standing beneath the mistletoe. He tries to kiss her but she dodges it and he ends up kissing Gally.

Beth just bursts out laughing

That kiss was Gally’s Bi Awakening (because NO ONE IN TMR IS STRAIGHT DO NOT FIGHT ME ON THIS)

Gally sees the finished product of the igloo Beth was building with some kids: “that’s a…strong igloo.” “…it’s solid water that can melt from heat.”

Frypan watches them a few feet away like “hell no. i’m not dealing with you too.”

The ocean has frozen over because of the cold

Ice skating!!!

Sonya and Harriet are the best skaters, doing figure eights and other fancy moves while wearing matching mittens

Newt is SO UNCOORDINATED and Thomas tried to be a Good Boyfriend but forgets how clumsy he is and the two are falling all over the place

Thomas is crap at skating, but good enough to support Newt on the ice, who can’t be on his own because his leg doesn’t allow him. They just muddle around together closer to shore, laughing and in their own little world while Brenda laps them at speed

Brenda and Teresa hold hands and spin together

Frypan secretly teaches Newt to stake in the middle of the night. One morning at sunrise, Newt surprises Thomas.

Newt still isn’t great, but Thomas is so Proud of him and just kisses him when they’re a little further out from shore. They both fall and Thomas just sits there gazing at Newt lovingly and tearing up like wow

Jeff furiously curses the weather because he has to keep patching people up after they repeatedly get hammered by teresa’s snowballs, and because Newt and Thomas keep falling on the ice.

“How did you even get out there? Your leg–” “Just see if you can reach me without falling over, Tommy.” “Even with a gimp leg your boyfriend is better than you, Thomas!” “Minho, I will cut you with my skates.”

Brenda normalizes Newt’s leg injury on the ice and in any other activity because she knows how frustrating constant pity and concern is: “Come on, slow poke. Hustle a little!”

Zart brings his cactus on the ice and surprises everyone with how skilled he is at skating

Aris decided to eat a berry from the mistletoe plant he had found with Rachel earlier and now Jeff and Clint have to deal with that too

Jorge is Brenda’s personal cheerleader on the ice “esa es mi chica!” (’that’s my girl!” and calls her his hija (”daughter”) and mi corazón ALLLL the time [wow Jorge is the only dad i will ever accept as a Dad – AND VINCE. jfc]

After a day in the snow, everyone heads inside for the evening and cuddles up by the open fire that Gally and Alby built. They sit/sleep on whatever they have at their disposal from the times Jorge and Vince went scavenging for materials; their hammocks, rugs, maybe a few sleeping bags and worn mattresses

Frypan made hot chocolate for everyone

Thomas’ sleeping bag catches fire

Thominewt run outside and throw it in the snow. 

Newt makes Thomas sleep with him in his sleeping bag despite the very tight fit. “Newt there’s not enough room” ”Don’t be a twat about it, Tommy. Come on.” Newt gives him that same knowing innocent smile (LIKE THAT DAMN SMILE IN TDC WHEN HE WAS LIKE “lol you have no choice twat, we’re coming with you.”) while he sits in his sleeping bag in his pyjamas. Thomas slips in beside him and rests his head on Newt’s chest and they cuddle and aH

Gally spikes the hot chocolate

Newt drunkenly flirts with Thomas “guess we gotta share now, Tommy,”

Gally threw Minho’s right skate into the bonfire earlier

Minho calculated his moves carefully while trying to find it, growing annoyed at Gally and his stupid pranks

Ben saw Gally do it but didn’t say anything and just watched Minho slowly lose his mind over one missing skate

Minho started chasing Gally around with his left skate until Teresa pulled the safe haven Mom card and put them both in separate corners

Later that same evening when they went to light the bonfire, Frypan noticed something in it and tried to hide a laugh. “Min– are you still missing something?” “Gally – where is that shuckfaced Shank– I’m going to kill him.” “Minho no, wait! Someone stop him!”

Newtmas cuddling to stay warm

Snowflakes in Newt’s fluffy hair

Newt catches snowflakes on his tongue and Thomas just smiles at him

Rachel and Minho roll their eyes at everyone’s shenanigans and go get extra blankets

 Brenda and Jorge are both impartial to the cold

But Brenda tries to hide how much she is freezing

Rachel is used to the cold, but Aris isn’t. He gets cold easily.

Newt wears mittens

Thomas makes fun of him all the time, but when Chuckie (safe haven dog) accidentally bites a finger off of his glove, Newt give him his mitten and Thomas tries to hide how much he loves it but Newt stays silent and just gives him a knowing smirk

Sonya and Harriet don’t have gloves so they put their hands in each other’s pockets

Minho and Teresa hanging up mistletoe ALL OVER THE PLACE just to get everyone to kiss

Thomas and Newt give Chuckie one of Minho’s boots and tell him to hide it

Newt kisses Thomas under every single mistletoe

Newt drags Thomas under every single one, just so he can kiss Thomas repeatedly 

“Newt, come on i’m hungry” “There are only 7 more, Tommy, come on" 

Frypan is cracking up in the background. he keeps moving them so they LOOK like they’re new

Thomas is just rolling his eyes but he highkey loves it

Newt on skiis is WORSE than skates oh my GOD

Thomas on skiis is a recipe for disaster. He cannot control himself and in one go he takes out Minho, Brenda and Teresa 

Brenda and Harriet race down the slopes on their boards

Vince joins in after little persuasion from the two girls and Jorge

Jorge stands by, cheering his girls on and does not hide the impressed look on his face when he sees how skilled Vince is at snowboarding

Sonya and Minho are waiting at the bottom with hot chocolate and proud kisses

Minho totally snowboards like a pro. Someone gets whacked over the head with a ski. Someone mistakenly ends up on the DEATH LEVEL slope and four people end up wrapped around a tree

Gally sneaks off to the bunny slopes when no one is looking

Alby’s already there like “YOU TOO???”

Thomas and Newt share a ski lift

Thomas drops his hat. It smacks Gally in the face on a run down the slope 

Thomas kisses Newt and Minho from behind is all like “GET A ROOM!” Newt flips him off and doesn’t stop kissing him

Sonya and Harriet share a sled 

Being snowed in with a dwindling supply of food 

Game room in the lodge where Minho owns everyone at the dance games

Frypan finds two tennis rackets and says he’ll brave the wilderness to find rations

Christmas pyjamas

Sonya and Harriet wear matching onesies 

Brenda wears flannel. 

Sonya, Harriet, Aris and Rachel wear matching onesies with Aris’ fluffy boots

Christmas Morning - they can’t get Brenda to wake up. She sleeps like the dead. After 5 phone calls, 3 people knocking and 2 screaming her name, Gally climbs through her window from the outside ledge between their rooms. He shakes her awake. She punches him in the face.

She didn’t mean to - she’s saying that all morning. It was reflex. 

Gally’s black eye doesn’t believe her

Minho following Gally in through the window: “well consider me both scared and aroused.”

Sonya offers to add eyeshadow to the other eye to make it match. Harriet spits her drink out laughing

Gally threatens to lock them both out on the balcony

Sonya and Harriet share a look and shrug. They’re not mad about it. They go out there anyway

Newt and Thomas keep sneaking to the kitchen to steal gingerbread cookies. “NOT BEFORE DINNER!“ But Frypan sneaks Newt two of them that he made that are holding hands

Teresa helps Chuck rip his presents open and they throw the shreds of  wrapping paper at each other

Jorge takes a LOT of photos of everyone together

Jorge and Vince help Frypan prepare food – the two learn from him. 

Frypan has a soft spot for Brenda so he lets her have as many cookies as she wants, which she then splits in half and gives to Teresa

Teresa often supervises to make sure nothing chaotic goes on in the kitchen – Jorge and Vince try to tell her she doesn’t need to but she always counters with the time Gally almost cut Jorge’s finger off while subbing for Vince. Everyone vowed never to let Gally make food again after that.

Newt teases Thomas into wearing a matching christmas sweater with him: “You love ugly christmas sweaters, don’t you babe?” Thomas just grumbles. “Alright, fine, i look better than you would in it anyway.”

Later when Thomas comes down for Christmas dinner, he is wearing the sweater to match Newt’s, and Newt just melts. “So I do look better in it.” “Shut up,” Thomas tugs Newt over by his shirt collar and kisses him.

ALRIGHTTT that’s all I got so far, I may add more if I think of any! 

Huge thanks to my tmr fam for helping with this. 

Sorry it took so long (almost 3 months wow)!!! I hope you like these. 

Tagging: @glader-of-wicked @your-local-geek @newthomally @thomasnewts @comebacknow @seaselkie @demented-russian-empress-of-hell @harveylovesmike @museelo @abyssith

[fictionalarsonist]

ANOMIE: Children of Anarchism - Prologue (Re-vamped Ver.)

— ANOMIE:  a condition of instability resulting from a breakdown of standards and values or from a lack of purpose or ideals. — anarchism: a theory that advocates a society based on voluntary cooperation and free association of individuals and groups.

feat artists: bts (ot7), ocs content: angst, fluff, gang au, mature language, smoking, drinking, murder, character death, violence, blood, implied non-con, drugs, mentions of anxiety rating: PG-15 type: fanfic word count: 4K

premise: A story of a group of young men that despite the different background and hardships they come together as friends, discovering a new way to survive in a world that seem to turn its back on them.

...

a/n: I know the original prologue had major problems, specially bc it was written ages ago. So, here it is, a re-vamped version w/out major changes on the story. Huge thanks to @wenotes for helping me out w this! You’re amazing and I love you! I can’t thank you enough. (May, 29th, 2018)

「 mobile m.list | ask/request |  wip 」

[ prologue | chapter I | chapter II | chapter III | work in progress ] 

“It’s okay to be a little broken.

Everyone tries to hide it, but in all honesty, we’re all somewhat broken. Pained or not, there’s no one who’s more or less than others and being the individuals we are there isn’t a common point for comparison in that matter. It’s never the same.”

The streets are empty, including the highway. Only a few cars rushes by here and there with their high beam lights trying to show the way through the early morning fog darkness. The cloudy, dark sky and the icy, cold wind that makes the skin sting just from touch alone is about the same as being out in snowy weather.

In this scenario, no one would expect to see the figure of a slender boy walking along the highway, the poor lights on the sidewalk not being enough to see any distinguishing feature, but, aside from him and the random cars mindlessly passing by, there is no one else around. He didn’t seem worried about wandering around so early in the morning when the sun hasn’t even shown itself yet. Why would he, really? This a route he always takes. It’s his routine.

There isn’t sound from the last car that had passed by, nor any sight that another was coming. At the moment there isn’t even the sound of early morning birds yet as it’s much too early, even for them. Only the sound of the wind buzzing by any unprotected ear and the sounds of footsteps from the only figure of that boy walking by, echoing along the road that seemed to be as abandoned and as shadowy as a ghost town.

It’s a long way home, but Taehyung didn’t bother hurrying his pace, not even the stingy sensation of the ice cold wind on his skin bothered him that much. He simply pulls his hoodie over his head, partially hiding his face and protecting his ears the best he can from the buzzing sound of the wind. He pulls the zipper of his hoodie up just enough to feel a little warmer and the jacket he's wearing over his hoodie tighter against his body before shoving one of his hands inside the pocket of the said jacket, letting out a tired yawn - the side effect of a tired body that has been up all night.

That’s something Taehyung's used to. He has been working at many night jobs for too long and his body is somewhat used to it by now. Out of habit, he pulls his hair over his face a little more, hiding himself behind his fringe. His thumb and index fingers slide down to press over his tightly shut eyelids for a moment before scratching the bridge of his nose because the cold wind stings the skin there, then his hands are back in the pocket of his hoodie again. Both of his hands are protected from the cold, curled into fists inside the pockets, maintaining his jacket close to his body.

Just in case you might still be wondering, Kim Taehyung is the name of that boy. Except, he’s not exactly a boy anymore. He’ll be 22 years old soon, but for him that isn’t anything special like it is for most other people. To Taehyung another birthday means the same as the days for a convicted felon in prison do. The difference between him and such a person is not the barred windows and limited freedom, but the simple reason that there's nothing for Taehyung to look forward to. The silence surrounding him is decreasing as the sound of birds became more evident.

The sky is now a somewhat grayish color, a few hints of shades of blue that managed to be shown between the clouds as the dawn announces the morning. Taehyung takes his usual shortcut through an alley between two abandoned buildings, and as always, there’s that man sleeping in a cardboard and plastic improvised tent. The sound of the man’s snores are louder than the now distant singing birds and take over the alley so that Taehyung’s firm steps are the only sounds here.

A part of the city is being left behind him as Taehyung steps out of the alley and into another street as if the city is split in two different dimensions. Compared to the one behind him, this one is more modest and simple and, from then, it doesn’t take much time for Taehyung to reach the apartment building. There isn’t anything special about this particular place. Inside and out, the building doesn’t have any painting except for the graffiti the local reckless kids make every now and then and the landlord had given up in covering them even before Taehyung moved in. The walls are all simple cement and the few apartments that have any paint on have been carelessly left without any maintenance for too long. There are lots of scrapings and the color is barely seen over the parts of the wall that seems to be falling apart - that’s where Taehyung lives.

Even before reaching the small flight of stairs that lead him inside, a few drops of rain fall and rapidly the count increases. The sky turns dark and Taehyung jumps over the flight of stairs, straight to the building’s entrance, pushing open the gate. He simply ignores the high pitched creaking sound of the rusted hinges and doesn’t bother closing the gate again.

Being inside the building doesn’t mean he is safe from the rain though. The village-like building doesn’t protect the apartments from rain. There is only a half wall on each floor that protects people from any accidents, but nothing else aside from that.

The stairway is the only place, aside from the apartments, that could serve as protection from the rain and Taehyung hurries to reach them.

“Hey! You!” The loud and brusque voice resonates across the building. “Kid, come here!”

Taehyung is already halfway up the flight of stairs to the first floor, but turns around to look at the man who quickly runs up to him and stops right beside him. The man is shivering, wearing only pajamas under the long, padded coat that he hugs tightly against his body. His bed hair and the scrunched face tell him that the man had just woken up not too long before coming out. Taehyung notices his feet curled against each other as the man tries to keep them warm. Taehyung’s eyes then flicker up to look at the man’s face and even though they are on the same step, the man is shorter than him. This man is the landlord, a very unpleasant and antipathetic man.

“You~ The due date to pay your rent is in two weeks, don’t forget!” The man says in a hypercritical tone, looking up and down the boy in front of him.

“I know.” Taehyung holds a very monotone, yet somehow, polite voice while answering the landlord.

“Don’t think that just because you’re some kid that I’ll let you off if you don’t pay on time.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. I always pay on time.” By the end of his phrase, Taehyung is already turning to leave. The landlord takes a few seconds before he’s able to say something else.

“You’re the one who fixed the heating engine problem last time, right?” The landlord asks with uncertainty, almost as if he’s already regretting what he’s doing.

Taehyung sighs, licking the corner of his lips before turning just enough to see the man standing in the place he left him. For a second or two, Taehyung only frowns, looking at the man with slitted eyes.

“Yes.” He replies after a while.

The landlord hurries to where Taehyung’s standing while he simply stands there, following the man’s every movement with his eyes.

“Fix it again.” The man pants out as soon as he reaches Taehyung.

When the man blows out air through his mouth, Taehyung could smell the man’s bad breath and scrunches his nose, looking away and breathing fresh air in before looking at the man again.

“All right. I don’t believe anything has changed, so the price will be the same.” He states in the most simplistic way, shifting the weight on his feet.

“What?”

The landlord is slightly taken aback after hearing what Taehyung added, but recovers soon enough, let out a mocking, airy chuckle and the bad smell hit Taehyung again. His hand meets the uncomfortable icy, cold air after having been warm inside the pocket of his jacket to cover his nose and mouth, pretending to scratch his nose and look away again, this time as a cover for the disgusted expression on his face.

“You’re gonna charge me for this?” The man continues in disbelief, with a pretentious smirk. “You live here too~” He drags on the last vowel in a sing-song tone, as if to provoke Taehyung and persuade him at the same time. “If it gets cold in the apartments, yours is gonna be one of the worst. You’re gonna suffer too.”

Taehyung shrugged mindlessly in response, looking back at the older man, tilting his head a little.

“I don’t stick around the apartment more than necessary,” he starts to reason vaguely, his tone void of any importance he could give to the reasoning the landlord tried to inflict on him. “Whatever it happens, I can arrange myself just fine. You’re the one who will have to deal with the others tenants and their complaints.”

Holding his head up straight again, Taehyun tucks his hand inside the pocket of his jacket, looking in the man’s eyes even though his hair still partially covers his vision.

“My price is also much lower than any handyman would charge for what it has to be done. They’d probably make something else up to charge even more for their services.”

“How do I know you’re not gonna do the same?” The man asks, giving Taehyung a glare from the side.

“I don’t have the time to waste doing such thing.” Taehyung replies sharply and the man chuckles again.

“As if a useless kid like yourself would do anything else but to just party all night like this.” The man mumbles under his breath before clicking his tongue way louder than necessary. “All right.” He agrees, even though his tone shows how reluctant he is feeling about it. “You can discount the money from the rent,” he says, being pretentious again. “That’s what would’ve had happened anyway. I want it done by the end of the week, then. You better not delay it.” Taehyung only stares at the man who looks away, a little frightened.

Taehyung stares at the man who looks away, not bothering to reply at the insinuation and only turns around on his heels to take his way upstairs again when the man who stuttered a little calls him over again.

“Yo-You! Be careful with the red paint from the apartment on your floor, some loanshark made a mess, don’t get the place dirty! HUH!!”

Taehyung listens to him, but doesn’t bother turning around to look at the man who walks back to his apartment, mumbling something incoherent that Taehyung could care less about as he jump over the stairs, making his way to his apartment.

In no time Taehyung reaches the level of the apartment he lives on and indeed, on his way towards it, there is one apartment with paint buckets on the floor while the wall and surroundings are carelessly painted red. He jumps over the paint splattered on the floor and keeps on his way, his hand switching from the pocket of his jacket to the front pocket of his pants to grab his key. A small, heavy and old pendant dangles from his hand while he unlocks the door to the small apartment.

Once inside he makes sure to lock the door behind him. The sound of the heavy rain outside now isn’t all that violent, muffled by the walls, but the walls aren’t enough to give enough warmth. The landlord was right, his apartment is one of the cheapest and one of the reasons for it is the very poor heating system. Now that the engine in the basement is broken, Taehyung has no heating at all.

He takes off his shoes, but leaves his socks on before slipping his feet in a pair of slippers and stepping into his apartment. It’s dark and Taehyung doesn’t turn on the light, his eyes quickly adjusting to the different lighting and the ambience as he pulls the zipper of his hoodie all the way up, doing the same with his jacket right after. While making his way inside the small room, he sneezes involuntarily, sniffing a couple of times right after.

It’s a very small apartment. Following the small entrance, where Taehyung leave his shoes at, there is a small room that’s supposed to serve as a living room, but obviously is far from such a thing since it can barely accommodate two people at a time. A line serves as the border for the kitchen right next to it and across from it there is a sliding door that separates the next room which is as small as the first one, not enough to have a proper bed in even though it is supposed to be the bedroom. Right beside that there’s a narrow entrance with a closed door that once one opens it, reveals the small restroom.

Taehyung doesn’t feel the need to have more than that, looking around the place it is rather obvious that most of the furniture belongs to the house except for a few things like that old fashioned TV above a stool that isn’t even plugged in, the forgotten fan on a corner also unplugged, useless in this current kind of weather, and inside the cabinets, aside from the food, there are only a few utensils. Taehyung only has what he needs to get by so he doesn’t require much space and he doesn’t feel the need to have much more than that.

Making his way past the living room, he walks straight to the kitchen and searches inside the apartment’s cabinets until he finds what he’s looking for: a package of instant spicy ramen. He proceeds to make his food and soon enough it is ready. He leaves the steaming food beside the sink to let it cool for a while and makes his way to his bedroom. He slides the door open and it makes a squeaking sound, but it also doesn’t open all the way and, knowing that, Taehyung doesn’t force it to. He walks into the bedroom and turns on the light, setting up his mattress on the floor along with his pillows and sheets before walking back to the living room. He places the TV on the floor and carries the stool to the kitchen where he leaves it in the middle of the room. He fishes for a screwdriver inside one of the drawers in the kitchen before stepping on the stool.

Even though he’s tall, he needs that stool to reach the lamp dome above. Taehyung detaches the dome from the ceiling carefully to find a small bag containing money inside the gap in the ceiling. He takes the small bag out and attaches the lamp dome again, making sure the it won’t accidentally fall.

Placing the stool back in the living room and the TV on it like before, he takes the small bag along with his food and chopsticks back to his room, sitting down on his mattress. He makes himself comfortable, taking the lid off the pot and the scent of the food makes him smiles to himself. He licks his lips, biting down on his lower lip as his stomach growls in protest. Taehyung can’t avoid loudly gulping down the saliva that keeps pooling in his mouth, waiting for the food that is still steaming hot. He mixes it around, blows on it to try and cool down the noodles as much as he can, but in the end he shoves a big amount of it in his mouth, not being able to wait much longer to eat. It’s no surprise that he can’t seem to stay still as he tries to chew on the steaming, hot food in his mouth. Taekhyun hisses and blows air out, raising his head and moving the food in his mouth while trying to chew on it, but it still takes quite a while for him to swallow the noodles down. He runs to the fridge in his kitchen and pulls out a big bottle of water from it, hurriedly taking the lid off and starts drinking the water in big gulps, stopping abruptly to cough.

Taehyung takes the bottle with him back to his room and this time he decides to let the food cool down a little more. Placing the bottle of water aside as well, Taehyung now focuses his attention on the small bag filled with his money next to his pillow, he opens and takes the money from it, placing it in one small pile on the mattress. Shriveled notes and a small amount of coins gets separated by him as he starts to count them.

Dividing his time between eating and counting the money, Taehyung carefully divides the money, separating what he’s supposed to pay the landlord, discounting the money he would charge to fix the heating system later on that week, and leaving a small amount to be left in his wallet. The rest is put away. He leaves the money matter aside to focus on his food and shoves a huge amount of noodles into his mouth, having a hard time chewing on it. He pulls an old-fashioned phone from his pocket and stops chewing for a while as he types a message out with one of his hands.

He remembers to chew again while typing and sending the text, throwing the phone beside him. Taehyung doesn’t give himself much time between swallowing and shoving more food in his mouth, but he take turns between those to drink water, finding a more comfortable position by leaning his back against the pillow propped up behind him. He pulls the pot containing his food onto his lap, eating comfortably until his phone buzzes. He pulls himself out of his comfortable spot to reach for the phone and read the message.

seventy bucks for the job 8:30pm

He quickly types an “Okay” and presses send before leaving the phone aside, remembering to chew the food forgotten in his mouth as he reaches for the bottle of water again. Taehyung coughs, feeling his throat hurt a little for eating so hurriedly, but he ignores it, taking more food into his mouth. A loud bang makes him freeze, the hand holding his chopsticks midway to his mouth as his eyes shoot up towards the wall across from him where the sound came from.

Taehyung feels his throat tighten up, his heartbeat increasing with adrenaline pumping so rapidly into his system that he barely has time to adjust to the sudden increase of the said hormone in his body. He can feel his pupils dilate, but instead of moving, instead of doing something, he just stands there, his body frozen. And it doesn’t matter how much he wants to, his body refuses to move at all costs, like a dog who is told to hold still when all he wants is to attack.

A moment of silence and then the same noise again, louder this time. It seems like it is against the wall that separates his apartment from his neighbor’s. Now the sound is followed by several things falling everywhere, sounds of things breaking, loud voices, screams, curses, cries and things Taehyung doesn’t want to picture. He knows fairly well what it means, his body jolts forward a little, some, a fire spreads in his veins, but he feels himself being pulled back, restrained by invisible arms. His eyes sting when he refuses to blink, tasting the bitterness of every sound that echoes, there is a high pitched ringing in his ears and he doesn’t realize he is panting until he feels the need to gulp down harshly. The chopsticks have fallen in the pot with the noodles it was holding and the pot tilts on his lap about to fall, but Taehyung doesn’t pay any mind to it.

There is another moment of silence and he tries to relax, to sit back like before. His shaky hands grab the pot on his lap and places it on the mattress. All of a sudden another loud noise ringing out and this particular one can be heard by the whole building, no doubt. It is louder than the rain falling outside, practically deafening. This one makes Taehyung’s hand hold the sheets below him tightly as a reflex, as a second nature. He presses his back against the pillow behind him as if he wants to be swallowed by the wall behind it.

A loud cry, loud pleas, screams and curses, and beating, the sound of someone falling, things being thrown around and the back of Taehyung’s head hits the wall behind him in such a way it gives him a headache. His hands fly to tightly grab the fabric of his pants, his knuckles pale from the force he’s holding onto them. his nails scratch the material, his eyelids shut tight.

“You look at me! You bitch!” The loud, male voice comes from the other apartment and when suddenly all the sounds are momentarily silenced again, Taehyung’s eyes fly open in a second to look at the wall across from him, taking in a sharp breath as he licks his now dry lips.

There is a loud incoherent conversation and Taehyung looks around his own apartment and forces himself to stand up. His body is shaking and he doesn’t know how to act as himself. He wants to do something, he could do something, but would it be the right thing to do? Would she accept his help?

Without realizing what he’s doing Taehyung finds himself reaching for the key to the door, gripping onto the pedant and holding tightly onto the doorknob of the front door, but as fast as it started the sound vanishes, for good, and that silence is enough to make him wake up from his trance. Taehyung pushes the door closed once again - he hadn’t even known he had opened it - and slowly feels his body relax, a long breath escaping past his lips and his vision turns dark for a brief second as his body goes back to normal.

After locking the door, he returns to the bedroom and sits on the mattress. He licks his lips and stares persistently at the remaining food in the pot, but he has lost his appetite and can’t bring himself to eat  anymore so he puts the lid on the pot and takes it to the fridge along with the water. He also takes his time to hide his money back in its place, having a harder time with the screwdriver this time because his hands are still trembling a little and he hates it. When he goes back to the bedroom, Taehyung lies down on his back, the door shut and the place in complete darkness.

One of his arms is over his pillow and underneath his head. He’s really tired, but his eyes refuse to shut so he fights it, an unpleasant lingering feeling making him feel like he can’t let himself sleep. He just stares at the ceiling for what seems like hours until the tiredness takes over his body. The feeling of sand in his eyes, no matter how much he rubs them, won’t go away and his body forces him into a more comfortable position as he cuddles into his sheets in a way that would make him feel warmer. Finally, his eyelids are too heavy, his thoughts becoming more abstract and confusing before he’s drifting away to the back of his mind and for the time that he’s asleep, they disappear.

Chapter I - A New Bitter Day  ⇾