#hahaha a little late. its not midnight here yet!

[sluggybunny]

cybertober day 2: scrap

[bunji-enthusiast]

Heyyy! I was out of town the whole day and came back just now I'm exhausted so this request might be short or too dumb XD

Sonic x reader

A Halloween night and reader was out trick or treating but it's midnight so time to head home, and sonic exe decides its funny to try and scare reader on the way back chasing them around doing his best to scare them

But reader is just pretending to be scared of him and hides, and when exe least expect they jump out from behind a tree and jumpscares him!

The Scariest Halloween (If that’s true)

Note || ohhh! This is such a fluffy fluff idea ❤️

WC || 729

“Oh this was such a great haul!”

Letting out a hum of agreement, you nodded. All the candy looked real tasty, but there were a few you didn’t have a particular liking too – so you handed those off to your friend. 

You wondered if the streets were still open, but few here and there were already settling down into the night. Even with some that are actually already done with all the trick or treaters, you could recall a few good costumes you found during your extensive time as one of the few who actually decided to go out for halloween. 

“Yeah,” Your friend says, “I gotta head home now, my mom set a curfew and I can’t be late.” They sheepishly said. You raised a knowing brow, but shrugged, you can understand their situation; “Don’t worry, I will be fine by myself. I need to go home too anyway.”

They smiled with relief, feeling as if a burden had been lifted from their shoulders. They waved you goodbye as they shouted, ‘Thank you! You're the best as always.’ You let out a long sigh, feeling a creeping anxiety set into the pit of your stomach. You didn’t like being alone by yourself at night on the streets, especially not for long. Regardless, you could manage in your unfortunate circumstances. 

Though, all those costumes you saw were simply so comforting and dazzling. 

Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, Clowns, and a few. You couldn’t remember them all exactly, but they were very precious. There were pictures as proof, as you did ask for permission to take them. You thought they were nice people, having even exchanged contact information with one of them. Your friend from before was that person, you just clicked with them instantly. You wished they would have stuck around a little longer. 

“Well, gotta get home.” You sigh, walking down the street as you keep your head held high. Not letting any little sound or misstep scare you. 

Sounds of footsteps resound in your ears, reminding you to keep walking. It was your own fortunately, but something eerie sounded beneath your own. You certainly didn’t want to find out the source of that sound. So on forth, you continued walking. Up ahead you could see trees appear, laying in a row in front of the sidewalk you were walking upon. For a moment, the muscles in your ear spasmed, alerting you to something. It was random at times, but this appeared to be worse. 

An all too familiar laugh resounds in your ear, glitchy yet affirming your silent suspicions. “You have to be kidding me.” You raise a brow, then continue walking, shifting into a hunched over stance as if to display to your pursuer that you were indeed scared of the situation you were placed in. For the most part, you could feel as if it worked. Sensing steps creeping up behind you, you jolted, shifting fully into running away. You didn’t want to stick around for his antics, you’ve had enough of them. But you could play into them for his sake, this felt fun for once. 

“HAHAHA!” His laugh resounds once again in your ears, but it was as if it was stimulating. Yes, that was the word. Silly as it may sound, but his laugh was reassuring, that you weren’t actually alone. 

And for a few minutes more, he chased you around the neighborhood. Having only lost sight of you once you dived behind somewhere, causing him to look around in confusion. Normally he had such good sight, so he looked around more, eyes glazing over the environment with careful trepidation. 

‘No way I’m gettin old’ the demonic hedgehog thinks to himself, then shakes the thought off. “Hide And Seek huh? You may have chosen the wrong game.” He says, laughing once more as he looks around for you. His path was set and predetermined, so it wasn’t hard for you to angle your way around him, staying out of sight in the process. 

Once you felt he was cornered, you snickered to yourself. 

You could finally get the jump on him!

Carefully you stepped out, maneuvering your way toward him from behind so as to not alert him to your presence. He was still clearly very much looking for you, but it was in his unlucky state that you were actually-

“BOO!”

[softomi]

Overdue

prompt:  I know I’m running late – I’m sorry. Things haven’t worked out the way I planned. But believe me when I tell you I am on my way.

- A Postcard by Lang Leav

pairing: atsumu x reader (ft. osamu)

general taglist: @graykageyama

Being the older brother, even if by mere minutes, Atsumu always felt that he had to look out for his sibling. After all, his mother instilled into him that no matter what, he should always be there for Osamu and vice versa. On many occasions Atsumu took that to mean that he could take his stuff, as long as he returns it (which he never does), because after all, they’re brothers.

On other occasions, it meant that Atsumu had to learn to be the first to set his pride aside. He reasons its because he’s the older brother, but Osamu knows that Atsumu is just too clingy to stay mad at his brother for a long time.

But there were many times, many days, many fleeting moments where taking care of his younger twin made him think “I wish I didn’t have a brother.”. Yet, the moment something happens to Osamu, he’s quick to act as the third parent.

“Why are you so stupid!” Atsumu screams at his brother’s back, “You shouldn’t have climbed that stupid tree.”

Osamu turns on his heels, gritting his teeth, “Shut up! You did the same thing last week!”

“Yeah! Well!” Atsumu is balling his fist, their mother entering the room due to the commotion, “What if something happened to you? Huh? Mom would blame me for not watching you!” The young Atsumu begins to blubber, “What if something happened?”

Osamu learned at the young age of ten, just how much being the older brother put a toll on Atsumu. So on their eleventh birthday, Osamu decided to give Atsumu a birthday present.

“I’ll be the older brother this year!” The young boy declares, “So it’s my turn!” He points at his confused brother, “To take care of you as the older brother.” For something so seemingly simple, Atsumu was star struck with the idea.

And every year following, they took turns being the big brother.

They even drew up a contract, the big brother responsibilities contract. As the older brother, you must take care of the younger, you will take responsibility for the younger brother’s actions no matter how stupid, and above all else, the older has to sacrifice things for the younger brother. Signed by both Miya Atsumu and Miya Osamu.

When they were thirteen years old, Osamu took care of Atsumu when he caught the flu. When they were sixteen years old, Atsumu used the last of his money to buy pizza for his hungry brother. When the clock struck midnight, signaling their seventeenth birthday, Atsumu asked for the money back. During their twentieth year, Atsumu took a month off school and training to help Osamu set up his business.

“You don’t have to.” Osamu tried to reason with his brother.

Atsumu lifted a box from the back of the rented van, eyes staring up at the glow of the restaurant sign, “It’s what big brothers are for.”

Osamu stops Atsumu by the shoulder, “We’re not kids anymore, who cares about the big brother crap.”

“I do!” Atsumu scowls.

Osamu realized at the later age of twenty, that Atsumu clings to the title of older brother. As he watches his brother carry the box into his new restaurant, Osamu wondered if there would ever be a point where Atsumu would stop being there for him. But he also wondered, if there would ever be a moment where he could finally grant Atsumu release from the title.

At the age of twenty-three, you waltzed into Atsumu’s life.

Atsumu likes to say that it was a meet-cute. You like to say that it was the day he tried to take your head off. You interned for the Black Jackals as a sport psychologist. On your very first day, as you walked the sidelines towards the coach; you heard a mere shout. You ducked out of reflex, just barely missing the ball as it smacked against the ground behind you. Atsumu jogged with an apologetic expression and a compliment that your reflexes were killer.

Throughout your internship, you refused to go out with Atsumu. Even though the first time you bluntly rejected him, Atsumu says that you never truly said that he didn’t have a chance.

“You said.” Atsumu liked to push your buttons sometimes, “I remember.” He’s got a silly grin on him, “The first time I asked you out, you said ‘Sorry, I don’t date athletes I work for.’” Atsumu looks at the time on his phone, he takes your badge off you, “Your internship is officially over. You no longer work for the Black Jackals. One date, it’s all I ask.”

It truly wasn’t the romantic date. He was shamelessly taking you out to eat at his brother’s restaurant. You were no stranger to his twin but when you two sat in the booth, Osamu coming over to personally take your orders; Atsumu wasted little time in announcing, “Order anything you want, the most expensive item even. My big brother is paying.”

“I thought you were the older brother Atsumu?” You vaguely recall Atsumu mentioning Osamu as the younger twin.

Osamu rests a hand onto his brother’s shoulder, his grip causing Atsumu to yelp, “Yeah, we like to do this thing where every year we switch off being the older sibling. I just can’t wait! For our twenty-fourth birthday. I’ve been eyeing a new set a knives that’ll match the new dish machine I’m planning on getting next year.”

“Hey hey, we promised a limit!” Atsumu shouts.

That was the first date of many and loving Atsumu came easily. He kissed your fingers with eagerness, held you like you were the most important person in the world, and gave you all of his undivided attention. Atsumu followed you like a map leading to hidden treasure that was your lips.

You were perhaps everything he could have ever wanted, everything he ever wished for. For the first few months of the relationship, you wondered why previous girlfriends of his would ever let him go. He reasons that they all said he loved many things, but they were just simply not one of them.

Atsumu knew that when he loved something, he was always there. He attends every volleyball practice, he attends the family Sunday dinners, and he attends your college graduation.

But just like Atsumu had mentioned, he loved many things.

“Hey. Where are you?” You were shivering, hands wrapping around your arms.

“Shit.” Atsumu speaks, “I’m so sorry babe, I was helping Samu pack his things. He’s moving apartments and you know how he is, he does things last minute so I’m making sure he’s starting early.”

“Okay.” You breathe out, “But did it have to be today? This was really important to me.”

“It’s just a gathering. Samu really needed my help.” Atsumu clears his throat, “But if you want, I can head over there right now.”

“It’s fine.” You speak, “Just, next time, be here.”

“Of course!”

Osamu looks up at his brother, “Were you supposed to be somewhere else?”

Atsumu grabs some of the empty boxes, “Yeah, y/n was getting together with some of her friends. Something about introducing me to them I think.” Atsumu’s foot hits some of the book he’s stacked on the floor, “Dammit Samu, how many cookbooks do you need? You’re such a hoarder.”

“You should have gone.” Osamu watches him stack the books neatly into a box.

“Then no one would be here to help you.” Atsumu clicks his tongue, “Mom and dad are out of town, the guys are all busy, even your girlfriend isn’t over here helping; good pick there Samu.”

A book smacks Atsumu on the head, “You’re so stupid!” Osamu throws another book at him, “You ruin my life.”

Atsumu grins, sticking a tongue out to his brother, “You ruin my life too.”

If volleyball was his first priority, Osamu would be his first, first, priority and you concluded, you must fall behind both. That night was the first of many, and loving Atsumu became harder.

“Just go!” You threw your hands to your side.

Atsumu was hesitant, a jacket in his hand, “Look, I’ll make it up to you. I promise.” He takes a step to you. You turn your head away when he leans in for a kiss, instead, he presses a slow peck onto your cheek, “Samu just really needs me right now.”

“Yep.” You state bitterly.

“I’m sorry. Happy birthday.”

It’s the last thing he says before he runs out the door. Instead of eating the cake with you that night, he spends it taking a drunk Osamu home, patting his brother’s back as he vomits into the toilet bowl. Even though they were twenty-seven, Atsumu took responsibility to make sure his brother was okay.

“I think we should break up.”

Atsumu thought you were joking, “Hahaha, very funny babe. You have my full and undivided attention.”

“I’m serious.” Your expression didn’t falter.

The cheery sound of the restaurant didn’t match the way Atsumu’s world was crumbling. He was still in disbelief, “What?” He tried to put up a smile, “Stop joking.”

The brief tune of happy birthday is played in the background, the workers clapping along as they sing.

“Atsumu, I just feel like I didn’t know what I was getting into when I entered this relationship.” You were trying to keep him calm, you’ve known him for five years, you’ve loved him for five years; just as hard as he loved, it was hard to let go.

You gathered your things. Atsumu slammed a hand onto the table, “Stop!”

The restaurant quietens, a spotlight on you two as you sit back down, “Atsumu.”

His phone rings. You raise a brow, his brother’s contact showing up. Atsumu picks up the phone, “What?” Atsumu frowns, “Now?” He hangs up the phone, “I have to go.”

You rub the back of your neck, “Of course.”

You two walk out of the restaurant together but you leave alone.

“Samu?” Atsumu walks into his brother’s restaurant, “Everything good?”

“We’re getting married!” The two in front of him wave their hands in his face. It was almost taunting, “I proposed this morning.” Osamu can’t help but stare into his lover’s eyes, “I wanted you to know first before we tell mom on Sunday.” When Atsumu doesn’t answer, Osamu checks the way his brother’s fists are balled, lips in a scowl. Osamu knew the telltale signs, like they were ten years old again, Atsumu was about to break, “Tsumu.”

“Couldn’t this have waited!” Atsumu, quick to anger but quicker to tears, “Couldn’t you just have told me on the phone.”

“I thought you’d be excited to be the first one to know.”

Atsumu uses his hands to push away stray tears, “I have to go.”

At twenty-eight, Atsumu feels as though the weight of the world was on his back. The silence of the apartment was like a gunshot wound and you packing your things shot another bullet into him.

“Let’s talk.” He’s refusing to let you leave.

You set the suitcase onto the ground, “Atsumu.”

“Don’t call me that.” He wants to sound strong, because he has to be strong, “You never call me that.” But he can’t sound strong when it feels like he’s losing everything he’s ever wanted.

“Atsumu.”

The more you said his name, the more it hurt, “I can fix it, whatever is wrong, I can make it better. I can be there more, I’ll stop being late, I’ll clean the whole place for the rest of our lives.”

“Let me ask you something.” He’s hopeful at your words, “If we got married, if we had kids; would Osamu still be your priority?” Your words felt like a blow, “Because I’m okay right now, as your girlfriend, I am okay. I understand that he’s your brother and you absolutely love him to death. You run to him when he needs you and he runs to you. But when I look to our future, why do I still see you running to your brother.”

“We don’t need to worry about that.” He takes your hand into his, “We just have to worry about right now.”

“But even right now, it’s always later.” Palm rested onto his cheek, “I’m sorry Atsumu.”

He holds you by the wrist, “Give me one chance. One more time to prove to you. It’s all I ask.”

Maybe it was the way he was so sincere, just like the day you fell in love with him, “Okay.” His shoulders are lifted when you whisper, “Next month on the 20th, I leave for Tokyo. 4pm. Send me off.”

“That’s it?”

You nod, “That’s it.”

He marked it on his calendar, set reminders leading up to the day and for the days in between, he was there. He was at every lunch, always home early, wrapping you in his arms to remind you of the bliss. But the closer the day got, the more anxious you felt. The more you wondered if he would remember that the 20th was a Sunday.

“I’ll meet you out front.” He kissed your lips, “I promise I’ll be here to send you off.”

You kept your arms wrapped around his neck, “Okay. I’ll wait for you.”

Atsumu was on edge the entire day. He checked his phone constantly; it didn’t help that his phone went off every hour to remind him. Nothing, he was thinking nothing would ruin the day.

“What’s up Samu?”

“Hey, so did you want to take the same car to mom and dad’s?”

“What?”

“It’s Sunday.” Osamu spoke, checking the calendar just in case, “Yeah, it’s Sunday. So you wanna take the same car or what.”

Atsumu looked at the time, four hours until you were to leave, “I don’t think I can make it this Sunday Samu.”

“Why not?”

“There’s something important I need to do today.”

“Okay, but you know you’ll have to make it up to mom.” Osamu sighs, “Her precious boy missing will be like the end of the world to her.”

Atsumu laughs, “Yeah yeah yeah. I’ll see you guys next Sunday.”

At two hours left, Atsumu was prepared to arrive earlier. A bouquet of flowers in his passenger seat as he drove down the highway, ready to greet you, ready to keep you in his life. Then his phone rang.

“Samu, seriously, I’m not coming.”

“Atsumu.” This wasn’t the voice of his brother, it was his fiancée, “We won’t be able to make it to the dinner either, are you sure you can’t go?”

“It’s fine babe, it’s not that serious!” Osamu’s voice heard lowly in the background.

“Not that serious? You’re in a hospital bed.”

“I just bumped my head.” Osamu yells.

“You have a concussion!” She shrieks back at him. Her tone lowered when she turns back to the phone, “Atsumu, you still there? Samu said you had something important to do today and it’s totally understandable if you can’t go to the dinner; but maybe you could stop by the hospital; they want to keep him over night, I could go to the dinner and explain to your parents.”

An hour and thirty minutes until you leave.

Osamu’s fiancée ran out the door the moment he stepped in. Atsumu scowled at his brother, “What stupid thing did you do this time.”

Osamu is happily eating a jelly cup, “Climbed a tree.”

“Of course, what if something happened Samu?” Atsumu lightly pushed Osamu’s head, “You’re so stupid.”

“So,” Osamu tosses the empty cup into the trash, “What’s so important today that you are skipping dinner?”

Atsumu looks at the time, “Y/n is leaving for Tokyo, she’s got some work to do there for a few days.”

Osamu notices the way his brother looks pressed for time, “So romantic, you’re gonna send her off.”

“You’re not gonna die are you?” Atsumu’s leg is bouncing.

“No.”

“This is why I said you gotta be careful Samu.” Atsumu’s phone goes off, he stops the alarm.

“Look, if you need to leave then go.”

Atsumu crosses his arms, “I can’t always be there for you!” His voice was starting to get louder, “I can’t always be responsible for taking care of you!”

“Okay!” Osamu’s growled, “You didn’t have to come here!”

“If I didn’t then who else would be here!” Atsumu began to weep, his lips in a scowl, “I’m older. I’m the older brother, through and through, if I wasn’t there for you, who knows what would have happened.”

“You act like you’re ten years older than me!” Osamu barks, “You’re only 4 minutes older! Stop treating me like I’m a burden! You’re the older brother, so what!” Osamu falls back onto the bed.

Atsumu’s phone goes off again. An hour left.

Osamu looks at the anxiousness in his brother, “Just go.” Osamu waves a finger, “Whatever it is that’s going on between you two, it’s more important than me. Just go.”

Atsumu doesn’t waver, “But.”

“You wanna sacrifice for me, get out of here.” Osamu catches the way his brother’s lips twitch to a smile.

“I’ll bring you back food, whatever you want, just text me.”

Atsumu is running out the door. Forty-five minutes left when he enters his car. He curses when he hits a red light. Fingers finding your contact, your voicemail plays in his ear.

“I’m on my way!” He’s shouting, heart beating out of his chest, “Please, believe me, I’m on my way. I’ll be a little late.” He’s heavy breathing, “but I’m coming.”

Fifteen minutes left but he’s still twenty-five minutes away. You listened to his voicemail, waiting patiently on the sofa. You have to start getting ready to go. You wish the elevators would move slowly, maybe get jammed for a second. Even as the taxi pulls up, you linger outside of the car door.

“I’m sorry, could we just wait a few more minutes.” You say to the driver.

Five minutes passed.

“Do you still want to wait?” The driver asks.

A sigh leaves your, “No.” You were already behind schedule, “Let’s go.”

You stare at your phone screen, hoping for a message from him. The sudden jolt of the car makes your head collide with the passenger seat. Your hand rubbing the throbbing part of your head as you hear the driver yell about a lunatic.

“I’m here!” Atsumu ignores the driver, banging on your window, “See, I’m here.” He’s pulling the locked handle of your door, frustrated that it wouldn’t open.

When you unlock it, he swings it wide open. Out of breath, he’s pulling you by the back of your neck; the kiss making your head spin. Before you can even register it, the sunlight bounces off his fingers; a gold band sitting between his index finger and thumb.

“And I will always be here.”

“Oh my god.” Your jaw is dropping, “What are you doing.” He’s getting on his knee, your breath caught in your throat, “Don’t.”

“Will you marry me?”

Your palms are pressed together, your fingers pressed to your lips. There’s a long pause and you take his hands into yours, “No.” The way his smile falters makes your heart clench, “Not like this.”

“What do you mean? This is what you wanted right?” He holds the ring out to you.

You run a hand through your hair, “I only wanted you here and you did that. You’re here.” You take the ring, settling it against his palm, “That’s all I ever wanted, that’s all I asked.” You pull him by the cheeks, squishing his face with a smile on yours, “You proved to me that you can be here; I mean you’re late but we can work on that.” You peck his lips quickly, “We can talk about marriage another time, but I wasn’t asking you to propose to me. It’s a really cute but very extreme gesture.”

His eyes are brimming with tears, “I thought I’d lose you forever.” Atsumu was truly soft hearted.

Your phone goes off, the alarm breaking the air between you two, “Shoot.” Your hands fall from his cheeks, “I’m late. I don’t think I’ll make it to the train.”

“I’ll drive you.” Atsumu perks up, “Right here, right now.”

“You’re kidding.” You laugh but the thin smile on his face says otherwise, “You’re literally so busy. You have volleyball practice tomorrow, it’s Sunday you’re parents are expecting you for dinner, and what if something happens to Osamu while you’re gone.”

“Practice doesn’t start until nine in the morning, I can make it back if I don’t sleep; my parents aren’t expecting me today, and Samu is in the hospital with a concussion plus he has his future wife. He doesn’t need me anymore.” Atsumu rests a smirk on his lips, “Give me something harder.”

“Wait, Osamu is in the hospital?”

Atsumu blinks, “Yeah, that’s why I was late. Oh yeah, I borrowed this from Samu too.” The ring twirls on his finger.

“You were going to propose to me with your brother’s ring.”

“Hey!” Your gaze shoots behind your shoulder, the cab driver pressing his horn, “Am I taking you or not?”

Atsumu is apologizing to the driver, grabbing your bags from the back of the car, he still pays a hefty tip to the driver for the inconvenience. As the driver leaves, Atsumu lifts your bags with one hand, the other extending out to you.

“Shall we go on a road trip.”

You take his hand, lacing your fingers with his, “But first, we should stop by the hospital; you need to return the ring.”

“You’re right.” He nods, “It’s too ugly for you. You need something big, something grand. I’m thinking diamonds.”

You cackle while settling yourself into the passenger seat. Two hours into the drive, Atsumu peeks at your sleeping figure. His thumb rubbing against the back of your hand. He presses a kiss your fingers. He knew all too well that diamonds would never suit your taste. You were about simplicity, less was more, actions louder than words. How he was going to propose, what ever ring he was going to choose, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was you; that you were with him and that with one phone call, he’d be running to you.

[xuseokgyu]

very true about seventeen concepts... i appreciate the no cringe...

i have a friend that has over 100 playlists..... shes very serious about them too...

Idk if I would call like A-teen and 9-teen ballads lol but yeah generally osts are more ballad-y... warrior is so good tho so unexpected!! it starts with piano so you are not expecting it to just drop into that beat suddenly lol

Oh those Ben Platt songs are good!! Hm i remember listening to Ateez debut song(s)? there was two songs.... and then i kinda forgot about them lol but people keep mentioning them to me lately... i liked good lil boy the most out of those three!!

For me... i've been listening to a lot of A.C.E lol their most recent album was so good (Chasing Love is probably my fav off that album... tho I seem to like Atlantis more with every listen...) it finally propelled me to go and actually seriously listen to their music instead of skimming through it like i have been for years lol (even though Goblin (Favorite Boys) was on my current fav playlist for like 6 months...that apparently still was not enough lol) plus the ost Spark that they did... ugh im so obsessed with Spark... i love that song...

also have been listening to a lot of enhypen lol and was really into onewe - Rain To Be and Veronica, N.Flying - Flashback, and NIve - escape and tired. (also obviously svt and lucy most recent albums lol)

on the non-kpop side of things... been into the song Real by Great Good Fine OK - i get this song stuck in my head constantly... and also Look Up To Yourself and Left Behind by Wave Racer. I've also been really into Sparrow by Lemaitre....

...wait actually the best song of all time is Boys & Girls by Weaver lol I was scrolling through my liked songs and im contractually obliged to listen to that song every time i see it... mmm speaking of j-pop i recently also caught back up with some Kenshi Yonezu's songs i missed... current favs would have to Pale Blue, Shinigami, and Campanella. hm hm ok to round this all off heres a c-pop song i like rn. Xenogeneic/Alien by The9 .... "i am the freaky girl~"

i spent... too long listening to music and now its midnight lol i started typing this ask around 7pm....... how about you just pretend i asked a question lol talk about whatever you want.... oh wait actually i do kinda have a question, do you have a song where like you see it and you just have to listen to it? (love how these asks have become only like 10% svt related lmao i just like talking about music lol)

Hahahaha is the natural course of things to drift away from the original subject 😂😂😂

I love that we haven’t properly made playlists but we basically gave playlists to each other, week assignment completed ✅ hahahahha

I love all of this, I’m such a noob to the world of kpop so I’m taking all recommendations to heart! I hadn’t heard any of ACE yet and I think I’ll look more into it... Also, knew absolutely nothing about jpop so yet a new universe for me to explore hahaha

Ateez for me was funny cause my sister was already a casual listener so I knew who they were, but then seeing them in Kingdom I was ssooo mesmerized I basically had to see more!... Started watching other little shows with them and absolutely fell in love... I’m going through all the content I can find recently

About your question.... I don’t think that there’s one song that does that to me, but I definitely have waves of obsession haha I’ll listen to a new song, I’ll love it, I’ll learn the lyrics and then I’ll keep listening and singing along to it non stop for a month or more haha Not necessarily on loop, but whenever I stop to listen to music I’ll start with that one.... the latest obsessions that I can remember were Insecure by Bren Joy, then Here’s Your Perfect by Jamie Miller and now is the Ben Platt one haha (tho I can feel myself starting to get on this cycle with Written in the Stars by John Legend and WENDY)

What about you??

[sarah-blue-eyes]

2020 In Review

Hoo boy, here we go.

[Ok just before I begin. I had this queued to post in the first month of January but it doesn’t seem like that ever happened haha. Better late than never I suppose!]

So I am a nostalgic bitch, and since 2011, have loved to make memory boxes for each year, where I put trinkets and memories into a shoebox. This year I have continued that tradition, but I have also kept track of my happy memories throughout 2020 in my planner. This was done with the intention for me to upload a year-in-review sort of thing in hopes that maybe like, 3 people max on this god-forsaken site will read it. This sort of reminiscence was inspired by my friend @a-lbeit​, who has done these for a few years now and me, as a slut for nostalgia, was encouraged to do the same back in January (I think? What even is my memory at this point?)

2020, as it has been for many, was a very shit year, and I am no different. I would safely say that this year has undeniably been the worst I have lived through. But I am here. I am present. And I have made it through some of the darkest times to face 2021 with a new sense of hopefulness. Keeping track of my happier memories has been something that has truly got me through this clusterfuck of a year, so I am glad that I can finally go through them all again and share them with you.

Read it, or don’t, I don’t give a shit what you do with your time, but if you do, I hope that you aren’t bored to tears. And I hope to keep myself accountable to continue to do this for years to come.

Buckle up, grab a hot drink and a snack and get comfy, because this is a JOURNEY.

January:

· Kicked the new year off with hosting a 1920’s themed party with some of my closest friends at my family home at the beach. Had fun with drunk SingStar, playing What Do You Meme, creating a playlist with everyone’s top 3 songs of the decade (it was a bangin’ playlist I must say), and just overall drinking too much and having a riotous time

· I remember going to the beach New Year’s Day (as is tradition in Australia) and playing ultimate frisbee in the shallows and completing a crossword puzzle on the sand (I am a 75-year-old woman, it is just a fact of life)

· I also had my friend Kirsten from South Australia stay with me for the New Year’s period and it was lovely to have a guest over! I haven’t spoken to her much this year, she sort of fell off the face of the planet, but I hope she is doing ok.

· Went town to Torquay (a beach town in Victoria) for the 6th time for Beach Mission, which is essentially a holiday program for kids in preschool-year 9 where we run activities for them. It’s a Christian-based program but the aim isn’t to convert the kids or anything like that, it’s more to show God’s love to them through our actions and how we as Christians live our lives. It’s also a convenient way for parents to dish their kids off for a few hours too haha. This was my final year of being a part of this program, and I am so pleased to have made so many memories and (hopefully) impacted many children’s lives during my time there

· I remember going on a late-night beach walk with my boyfriend Josh, talking about what the year had in store for us. We were just sitting on the beach, as you do, and I saw a shooting star. I can’t remember what I wished for (if anything) but in that moment, life was a dream.

· The week after beach mission I started at my new internship! It was for a place called KidsCo, who run school holiday programs at workplaces, so parents don’t need to take time off work to look after them. I helped with client relations and a lot of behind-the scenes stuff. I really loved it there

· On the very first day of my internship I remember there was torrential rain, and the train home was delayed by like, an hour or so lol

· One of the best parts about interning at KidsCo was that they were the official child-minding service for the Australian Open. I make an effort to go each year, but I was lucky enough to get free ground-entry for me and a guest for the duration of the event. I went quite a few times and got to take my mum and Josh along as well.

· Saw my only concert of the year, The Veronicas, at the Australian Open. When I say the moment the violin riff at the start of Untouched absolutely went the fuck off is an understatement. Grade 5 me would have cried (and 23 year old me did a little bit too tbh.) Yet another of one of my “all-time-favourite-songs” that I’ve had the pleasure of hearing live. (I also went through the year feeling sad that this was the first time in 11 years I hadn’t gone to a concert, but this one certainly fell through the cracks)

· Started planning my trip to the UK to see my twin sister, and best friend, Jess

· Went away to Rye for the Australia Day weekend #changethedate. An excellent time with excellent mates, and went to the beach pretty much every day and got mindlessly sloshed every night

· Listened to the Triple J Hottest 100. I think 4 of my picks made it in, which was pretty good

· Continued my job as the office manager/events coordinator at my church

February:

Basketball started back after the summer break for my two different teams, The Vikings and The Wildcats (honestly such a highlight of this year with how the rest of it ended up going)

As a team-bonding activity at KidsCo we hired a boat for a few hours and I got more drunk that I had been for a while. It was a very fun time jetting down the Yarra, waving drunkedly at the people jogging by

For Valentine’s day Josh and I had an indoor picnic with our favourite food! The weather was shit for Feb, hence the indoor nature of the picnic

Saw Shrek the Musical with two of my closest pals, Bec and Katie (I honestly forgot that this happened in 2020 hahaha) but it was ICONIC

Had a Jackbox night with The Boys

Had my cousin Amy from England over for dinner! I hadn’t seen her in 5 or 6 years, so it was so lovely to connect again like no time had passed at all

Went to Healesville Sanctuary, a lovely conservation park which focuses on preserving and educating its visitors about Australian animals, with Amy

 Went to mini-golf for a friend’s birthday on the leap day. He technically celebrated his 6th birthday which was excellent

Saw Cody Ko and Noel Miller live with Bec and Katie

Finished working at the church office to make room for the potential job opportunity at KidsCo

March:

Ahhh March, you shitstorm of a month. This is where everything started going downhill.

The first thing of note that happened this month was me injuring my ankle at basketball, which had me out of action for a few weeks. It was especially bad because I was nearing the end of my internship and was hoping to do my best work so that I would be chosen to stay on as an employee, but had to take a week or so off to rest my ankle. My ankle would continue to be tender and sore for most of the rest of the year

Went away for the Labour Day long weekend with the family

Finished up my internship at KidsCo. Honestly was lead to believe that I would be staying on as an employee and felt sort of betrayed after all the work I did for them, but whatever

 Had a party at Bec’s house to listen to Triple J’s Hottest 100 of the Decade. One of my favourite songs was number 1 which was a pleasant surprise

Went down to the holiday house for a few days just to have so me time and sort myself out

Animal Crossing New Horizons came out haha. Honestly was one of the highlights of this year though. I stayed up until midnight so I could download it as soon as it was available because that’s the sort of person I am  

Mum’s birthday dinner with Dani, one of my best friends, and her girlfriend Amy

Went for a hike at Sugarloaf Reservoir with Josh and got spooked by a mob of kangaroos

April:

My mental health started really taking a downward spiral this month for multiple reasons which I won’t get into here, but this is more a note to my past self to say that it will all be ok I guess? Idk I just felt like this needed to be here

Did my ankle badly again on Good Friday

Watched the Overwatch League live with my friends and just memed in the livechat lmao

WARNING - this is a bit TMI but I am going to share anyway since it was a big part of this year, and if you are reading this you are either a stranger or a good friend so I really don’t care lmao: This month I also started to get bad pains in my uterus, like, not period pains but deep, stabbing pains. This continued on for the next few weeks without me doing anything about it, except for increasingly getting stressed about it, although I will talk a bit more about this later.

Josh and I celebrated our 6th year together which was ~wholesome~

Called my friend Ashley from the US and just caught up. It was nice to see her face again. She is a good egg. I haven’t talked to her since but I really hope she’s ok.

May:

Watched Star Wars with Josh and his family for “May the 4th”

Started a volunteer job at Kivuli, a non-for-prophet that is based in Kenya, and started helping out with their website and social media stuff

Zoom movie time with my friends, we watched How To Train Your Dragon I think? Athough everyone was talking over the movie so I didn’t really get anything out of it

Played Scattergories (one of my favourite games) with Bec and Jess on zoom and just wrote really stupid and funny answers and I remember this being just what I needed

Went for a long walk with mum and one of her friends and her daughter on a track we don’t usually go on, which was a nice change of scenery

Went down to the holiday house for the first time in forever since restrictions were eased, at least for a little while lol, with the fam

Went to Portsea for a walk along the beach with Bec and her husband Trevor

Did an online trivia night that night with a big bunch of friends

Had a doctor’s appointment to see what was goin’ on down there. Honestly freaked that it could be something REALLY bad. Got booked in to have an ultrasound the next week, so at least I’d be finding out what was wrong soon.

The day after I got my results was the 21st of May, the day my mum and I were meant to be flying out to the UK to see my sister and her boyfriend. It was already hard enough a month or so before when I had to cancel my flight, but this day was so SO difficult. I can’t remember the last time I cried so hard. I am so blessed to have a boyfriend like Josh though. He was by my side the whole day, and held me as I cried. Oh man I am crying as I write this now, it was such a hard time but I know I will see my sister again.

And then the day after THAT whole ordeal was my birthday, which was meant to be spent in London with Jess but it turned out to be the first birthday we’ve had apart. This day was also hard, but made better by being with loved ones and having dinner at my grandma and grandpa’s house. Grandma’s roast potatoes make everything better.

Went to Geelong to see the other side of my family, it was so good to see my nan again. I love her very much.

Went to the Briars with Bec and went on a lovely nature walk and saw a lot of little wallabies and even an emu

Had an ultrasound and my pain turned out to be a 10cm wide cyst!!! So fun!!!!! Thank the heavens it wasn’t a child. I was so relieved. It is still in my body so that’s cute tho.

June:

Applied for a bunch of jobs, and even got a few interviews! Still no job.

The absolute highlight of this month, and maybe even the whole year, was going away to Lake’s Entrance and Yarram with mum, dad and Josh. It was so good to go to the country, I love country towns so much and the wildlife and nature is so beautiful in the eastern part of Victoria. If you ever get the opportunity I recommend going there!

We ate so much nice food and just relaxed. It wasn’t a perfect replacement for not going to Europe, but it was something at least.

Did more work for Kivuli which kept me busy

Went to Bec’s house to bake a cake. She came out to me as bi this day too, and the cake was coloured like the bisexual flag!

Started a short course through the university I went to in Facebook for Business. It was a great way to build up my skills.

Played Animal Crossing with Dani’s little sister, Tami, a very wholesome time

Looked after Josh’s dog Jed while his family went away for the weekend (also went into the start of July) and was honestly the greatest time

July:

Halfway through the year. Thank fuck.

Had another job interview

Went on lots of walks

Was just generally cold

Did a lot of cleaning

Painted the downstairs rooms at church, which took a few days and a lot of back pain, but it’s cool to think that I was able to contribute my energy and time to something while I was not feeling good at all

The restrictions were tightened again, meaning that I couldn’t go further than 5kms away from my house, except to see Josh, so this was a really lonely time for me.

Really got into Masterchef with mum this season. They had all returning contestants from other seasons so that was really fun to watch.

Got and assembled a new couch upstairs that I can say I actually own myself. I absolutely love it.

More walks, despite the cold

This was a very uneventful month, but that’s ok!

August:

Had a call with the hospital I’ll be having my cyst surgery with. It was good to know that things would be started. I had to have a blood test and a second ultrasound then put on the waiting list for surgery. Still no sign on when that will be happening though 6 months later. Just so lucky to live in Australia where all of these appointments are free.

Went for a really nice long walk with Josh. Got shat on by a bird.

Did lots of stuff around the house, just tidying and watering the plants and sorting through my wardrobe to purge all the clothes I grew out of

Had an online Switch games night with some friends which was fun. We played Smash Bros. and Mario Kart and just had a great time!

Ok this sounds super lame but my favourite podcast, The Jenna & Julien Podcast, finished forever which came as a surprise and was just really sad. I really hope it comes back one day.

Did my tax return lmao

Baked rice puff/marshmallow bar things

Made an ASOS order to fill my happiness with material things. Did get some cute clothes and lingerie tho 😉

More games with Bec and Jess, we played Golf With Your Friends this time

Had a cocktail night with Josh, where we just made a bunch of fun cocktails and got drunk. I can’t wait to live with him so we can do this all the time.

Lots of Kivuli work, as we are planning for our 10th anniversary fundraising event

September:

Baked cookies, which was something I did a lot at the start of lockdown but sort of drifted away from. I absolutely love to bake.

Started working for Media-Wize, a small PR company that was started by someone I know at church.

Started playing Among Us at the start of the month

So many Among Us nights omg, just call me queen impostor please

Did my induction for Media-Wize

Got  n e r v o u s  because I kept getting things wrong in my new job. I always seem to fuck up the good things and opportunities that I get

Did a livestream reading of The Great Gatsby on my friend’s Twitch stream. It was really fun and something I had never done before. I voiced Tom Buchannan, which was interesting but cool to sort of get into the character. I hope to do something like this soon.

I burnt my hair while cooking dinner and had to give myself a haircut lmao. It was the first time since 2018 that I had cut it so it was a long time coming anyway.

So much Media-Wize work. It felt good to finally be getting paid to do a job

Got locked out of my bathroom so I had to climb up the laundry chute to unlock it from the inside, all because a fly outsmarted me (it’s a long story… and honestly best told by speaking it)

October:

Had the Kivuli 10th anniversary livestream. Lots of work went into it and it was so much fun! It’s incredible that a non-for-profit that has benefitted so many children and families is still going strong. Such a blessing to see.

Dad’s birthday, and we had a picnic with grandma and grandpa and saw them for the first time since lockdown was somewhat lifted

Walked to Beasley’s nursery with Josh and got a coffee. This was the first proper, not McCafe coffee I had had in months and it was SO good

Played Animal Crossing with Dani

More Among Us, a theme for the last few months of 2020

Watched the AFL Grand Final. Wasn’t super exciting this year tbh, especially since we couldn’t have a BBQ or party or anything, but hopefully next year will be different

Nearly moved out of home with a friend of a friend, but since I didn’t have a job, didn’t think it would be a wise decision. Would’ve been nice though

Did some more Media-Wize work. I haven’t been given anything to do since this time though, so I don’t know what’s going on with that? They really be ghosting me tho.

Applied for JobSeeker so I would at least be getting a little income

New Jackbox came out, and had a games night with The Boys playing all the new games

Voted in the local election

Went to Westerfold’s Park with Josh for a lovely long walk

Played lots of The Sims 4 (but tbh I have been doing this all year)

November:

This month things sort of started to turn around, as Covid wasn’t hitting my state hardly at all, so I was actually able to see family and friends again!

Went to my old primary school with Dani and played basketball and just shot around and talked. She also came over for dinner. It was so nice, and she is a true friend.

Had a picnic at the park at the top of the street with my dad’s side of the family, all together at last

Melbourne Cup Day, not that I really care but it’s nice to get a day off. Went on a day trip to the Dandenong mountain range. It was so, so nice and bought some lovely little things from local shops, went for a bushwalk and had a bakery lunch

Went to the park to throw the frisbee and kick the footy around with Josh and his friends, although they are my friends too tbh

Had a picnic with a group of friends that I hadn’t seen since January, so it was so, so good to catch up with them and have a delicious BBQ dinner

My favourite online comedy group, Aunty Donna’s Netflix series came out! Had a virtual watch party with a few friends and binge watched it all in one go

Had lunch with grandma. This used to be a weekly occurrence but for obvious reasons was put off for this year. I absolutely adore her and every lunch we spend together is so precious to me

Went to Kyneton with some of the family as another day trip

Christmas shopping time again. So weird to be at the shops and feel sort of normal? I went 4 different times in the span of a week and a half haha

Josh’s birthday! We went to this maze place with has a bunch of big mazes and other fun activities. It was such a perfect day. Then we had dinner with his family.

Got a letter from the IRS saying that I needed to provide them with proof of identity, so that was fun trying to sort that out. We love the outdated US tax system <3

Went to a bridal shower for my friend Katie

Went for another hike with Josh to the mountains

Drove down to Geelong for a friend’s wedding and stayed at my nan’s house

Had a pub dinner and Jackbox night while down in Geelong with The Boys

A good friend of mine was leaving to live in Japan for two years, so I went to her house one last time to say goodbye and chill in her pool and just hang out

God why is it so hard to get a job?

December:

Omg we have made it to December. It truly is a miracle with how this year went tbh. And if you have read this far, thank you but also, how little of a life do you have?

Went to my friend Katie’s wedding. Sort of surreal to go to a wedding during a pandemic but it was fun and I got to see a lot of friends I hadn’t seen in a while

Enjoyed the hot weather and went to the beach a number of times with a variety of friends

Went Christmas shopping, and just shopping in general since it was safe to and shops had finally opened again

Got a job at a talent agency where you get gigs as a paid extra in TV shows and movies, which was pretty cool! I even had a professional photoshoot to get headshots done, something that I had never done before. Glad that I could get some pictures to use on LinkedIn though haha. Still haven’t been cast in anything but here’s hoping.

Had dinner and drinks with Josh, Bec and Trev in the city for the first time since it reopened. God I love Melbourne so much. It is just so magical on balmy summer nights. This was such a special evening, and was so good just to be in the city again

Had a lovely day with Dani, starting with breakfast and then going on a hike before the weather got too hot. We went to Sherbrooke Forest, a place I hadn’t been before, and it was incredibly beautiful

Had a number of job interviews this month too, none of which got back to me which was annoying :/

Now it was heading into the time where every weekend is packed with Christmas do’s so I’ll just collate them in this point. Lots of drinks were consumed and many delicious roast dinners

Had our annual Christmas Carol’s service at church. It was a blessing to be back in the building for the first time since March, and to be able to do something I love (singing) with some of my best friends was the best

Christmas eve I went to my grandma and grandpa’s house (on dad’s side) to help them set up for Christmas lunch. Spending time together just the three of us is so special, and I am so glad I was able to come over and just chat and be in their loving presence. Then that night I went to our 11pm church service to bring in Christmas day. It was a great service and was great to see our kick-ass minister give a sermon face-to-face.

Ok here we go, Christmas was a doozy, let’s go. So Christmas lunch was, as I said, with my dad’s side of the family, which is always a great time. Cracking open crackers and fighting over who’ll get the bottle opener or nail clippers is always a highlight haha. But we had the fucking best roast potatoes I swear. I need to know what my grandma puts into them because I could genuinely eat 20 of them and still have space. Then the rest of the afternoon was spent in a food coma until I went to Josh’s house to spend dinner with his family. Another delicious meal and great banter was what I needed, although I can safely say that I put on at least 5 additional kilos after that day.

The next day the fam and I headed to Geelong to see my mum’s side of the family. Was a great drive down and I listened to all of The Avalanches new album which had just released. Easily the greatest album of the yeah hands-down. So we spent lunch there and absolutely stuffed ourselves with more food. Three Christmas meals really took a toll on me, but I am just blessed as it is to have a loving family and food on the table.

The next day dad, Josh and I headed to the beach to spend that weird time between Christmas and New Year’s. To get there we took the ferry that goes from Queenscliff to Portsea, which is always a fun time, since we don’t often go from one side of the bay to the other (if you don’t know the geography of Victoria I apologise lmao). Mum didn’t come with us as she had some symptoms of Covid, so went home to isolate and get tested. Thankfully she tested negative and she joined us the next day.

Once I got back home I had to prepare the house for my friend Jono who was visiting for new years from SA. Many last-minute chores and cleaning was done haha.

New Years Eve! Went to pick up Jono and my other friend Sarah from the airport and dropped Sarah off at her accommodation and ended up staying there with Jono for a while as this was where the New Year’s party was going to be. Although, in true Victorian fashion, our premier announced that there was going to be a limit of 15 visitors at any house from 5pm that night. Excellent. We love a last-minute change of plans. So we had lunch and spent the afternoon at my friend’s house before heading to a local park to chuck the frisbee and kick the footy around. We also had our second annual NYE trivia competition, which my team lost by 1 point!! Dang I get so competitive, but we will win next year, I can feel it. The new year came through uneventfully, we were in the middle of a game of Scattergories or something like that when someone changed the channel on the TV to see the Sydney fireworks across the screen and like, 4 second left of the countdown. I gave Josh a bog ol’ smooch and gave my friends a big hug. We had done it. 2020 was defeated.

Conclusion (damn this really be an essay tho)

This year was undeniably the hardest year I had ever been through. Going through unemployment for the majority of the year and having no sense of purpose hit me hard but I am entering 2021 with the hope and willingness to get on track with my career. And I think I will be successful. A lot of truly awful things happened around the world this year as well, with the devastating bushfires at the start of the year, the powerful BLM protests, Coronavirus absolutely destroying lives and many, many other global events but through it all, here we are. I hope you all keep well this year and that your 2021 is infinitely better than your 2020.

Song of the Year: Tangerine – Glass Animals

Album of the Year: We Will Always Love You – The Avalanches (I CANNOT stress this enough, but you absolutely must listen to this album!)

TV Show of the Year: The Mandalorian - Season 2

Movie of the Year: Bombshell (the only movie I saw at the cinemas so didn’t have much to go with)

Memory of the Year: Going away with my family and just enjoying time away with each other

Thank you for reading this, if you’ve made it this far, you’re a real one <3

[andaleduardo]

How to Break Your Heart and Make Sure It Stays Broken

Read the 1st chapter on ao3

Summary:  In which 15-year-old Richie confesses his feelings for Eddie on New Year’s Eve and they don’t talk about it for the next 4 years.

31st December 2010, Friday

 “Would you put that thing down for one second?”

Richie looks up from the phone screen to his mother’s eyes. “Mom, this is the future. Do you want me to put the future down?”

“I want you to get off that sofa and help us serve the champagne.”

“Don’t make us regret giving you the future, Richie.” His father added as he entered the living room with a bottle of champagne on one hand and one of sparkling apple juice in the other.

“Fine.” He pockets the phone as he gets up to clean up the dinner plates. “But I gotta text the losers at midnight, we have a group chat on Facebook now-”

“Yes, son, we know. That’s all you’ve been talking about lately.” Wentworth interrupts while fumbling with the cork on the sparkling juice bottle.

“One day I’ll figure out why adults hate technology!” Richie shouts as he enters the kitchen. He places the plates on the sink and grabs three champagne glasses from the special collection his mom owns before going back to the living room. These things look like they’ll break if you so much as breathe in their direction.

“We don’t hate technology.” Maggie complains as she tries to rub away a stain in the tablecloth. “You kids just love it too much.”

That makes Richie laugh. “You don’t even let dad teach you how to use his comput-

The juice bottle’s cork comes off with a loud POP! that startles Richie and sends one of the glasses tumbling down onto the carpeted floor. It shatters into a million pieces despite the soft surface.

“Richie!” His mom cries out loud.

“I’m sorry!” Quickly, he places down the two survivor glasses. He can hear his dad trying not to laugh.

“Your grandma gifted these to us after we got married…” She laments as she looks at the sparkling shards at their feet.

“I’ll clean this up, you two be careful not to step on it.” Went adds before going to get the vacuum cleaner from the bottom of the pantry.

“I am sorry.”

With a sigh, Maggie hugs him sideways. “It’s okay, I guess we’ll never have 10 people over at the same time.”

“Yeah, we probably won’t.”

 Once the carpet is clean, the champagne and false champagne are served and there’s only 5 minutes left till midnight, Richie takes his phone out and opens Eddie’s contact. He stares at the text he wrote probably 4 hours ago and reads it over and over again just to really make sure there’s no mistakes.

The thing is, tonight, Richie is going to fuck up his entire life. Or, at least that’s what it feels like.

You see, Eddie was the last of the group to get a phone. He got it on Christmas as a gift from his uncle, and needless to say Sonia didn’t like the idea. She only gave it to him one or two days ago after she figured out how to make it as “safe” as possible for his son. That means Eddie has exactly 3 numbers on his contact list. The number to his house, the number to Bill’s house, and Bill’s number. Because, apparently, that’s the only friend of Eddie’s Sonia trusts.

Stan’s Jewish, Mike is home-schooled (and black, although Sonia never admits that’s the real reason she doesn’t like the boy), Ben moved into town not so long ago, Bev is a girl, and Richie is Richie.

Bill’s family goes to church every Sunday and they’ve known each other ever since both boys were little. Hence why Eddie’s contact list is sadder than the life of their math teacher.

But Richie is weirdly thankful for this because that means Eddie doesn’t have his number. However, Bill texted them Eddie’s contact yesterday, saying they probably shouldn’t send him anything before school starts because Sonia will most likely check his phone.

Well, Sonia can go to hell because Richie is about to do something very stupid.

He’s a true romantic at heart, alright? Plus, he’s been in love with Eddie since he was twelve (or at least he realized it when he was twelve) and this secret is starting to claw up at his insides as if he had swallowed a dysfunctional cat.

In other words, it’s driving him crazy and he has to do something about it.

Now, he’s not mental. He’s not going to confess his feelings or anything. Right, as if. He’s simply going to become a secret admirer or something cheesy like that.

Yesterday, he sneaked into his dad’s computer while both his parents were taking an afternoon nap and searched for “romantic quotes” on Google. He typed down the one he liked the most, deleted the history, and then tried to convince himself this wasn’t the worst plan of his entire life.

It seemed like a very clever plan the closer to midnight it got.

“Alright, my loves.” Maggie gives everyone their respective glass. The non-alcoholic, sad-looking one for Richie, and the fun-looking ones for the adults. Bullshit, if you ask him.

“How come I never get to drink the real thing?”

“Well, you hate it.” Maggie shrugs. “You’ve said so the past two years that we’ve let you had one sip for the toast.”

“But I’m older now, I can handle it.”

“You can try it again after you finish that.” Went tips his cup in the direction of Richie’s. Naturally, Richie throws his head back and drinks the apple juice in one gulp, almost cutting his lip in the process. Seriously, these things are that thin.

“Done.” He announces as he fills the cup with champagne. “Now we can have a real toast.”

Both adults laugh and soon the countdown begins. Richie screams the numbers along with his parents, keeping his thumb over the ‘send’ button at the same time.

“Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!”

He presses down, the text is sent, and he pockets his phone once again to click his fragile cup against his parents’. As expected, it tastes just as awful as he remembers. He spits it out much like last year, and they all go outside to see the fireworks.

  00:00 To: Spaghetti <3

And I just wanted to say that your smile reminds me that not all art is created with a pencil and a paintbrush.

  His phone vibrates at exactly 00:49, which means Richie is already in his bedroom because that’s how New Year works in his family. They stay home, celebrate till the fireworks die down, and then part ways at the end of the hallway.

He interrupts Charlie the goldfish’s dinner and checks his phone only to let the little container of fish’s food fall off his hand. Thankfully, it was closed.

 00:49 From: Spaghetti <3

Richie?

Did you steal that from your mom’s poetry collection, asshole? :P

 Charlie the goldfish fades out from his peripheral vision. Richie sits down before he collapses and bursts through the floor right onto their cold, lifeless basement.

 What the fuck?

Seriously.

What the actual fuck?

 With shaky hands, he types out a reply.

 Richie: what makes you think it’s richie?

 Spaghetti <3: Bill gave me everyone’s numbers

Spaghetti <3: I don’t have them saved yet because of my mom, though

Spaghetti <3: Why? Is this not Richie? Did Bill give me the wrong number?

 Fucking Bill. Now, Richie’s pacing the entire floor of his bedroom, knowing he’d walk right up to the celling if he could. He keeps staring at the small screen, wondering if he could save his ass by turning this shitty device off. His mom is right, technology sucks.

 Spaghetti <3: Hello??

 Shit.

 Richie: hahaha you got me Eds

Richie: c’est moi

 Then he hesitates for a second.

 Richie: sooo, are we good?

Spaghetti <3: Yeah, of course

Spaghetti <3: Why shouldn’t we be?

 Oh. Oh. So, Eddie didn’t take him seriously. He took it as one of his weird jokes.

Here’s a getaway, Richie. You can play it off as prank, Richie. You can still walk away from this without completely ruining a friendship, Richie. Please take the opportunity, Richie.

 Richie: you don’t get it

 Shut the fuck up, Richie.

 Spaghetti <3: What?

 Richie: well

Richie: actually

Richie: you see

Spaghetti <3: Richie, spit it out you’re stressing me

Richie: right

Richie: you see

Spaghetti <3: You’ve said that before

Richie: correct I see your point Eds

Spaghetti <3: Not my name

Richie: the thing is

Richie: jesus I hope you forgive me

Richie: okay so

Richie: i don’t have a crush on you

Richie: i’m pretty sure that I love you

 There’s about a million smooth ways to say that you love someone. But Richie doesn’t choose one of those. Fitting.

It takes a few minutes before Eddie says something back. In those minutes, Richie starts crying.

 Spaghetti <3: Oh

It’s as vague as it can get, but one can take the hint.

Richie: i’m sorry

Spaghetti <3: You don’t have to apologize

Spaghetti <3: How long..?

 Richie: uh, since March?

 Which is a lie.

 Spaghetti <3: That’s a long time…

 Richie wants to laugh, then scream, then he wants to be able to stop crying.

 Spaghetti <3: Can we still be friends?

 On second thought, he doesn’t want to laugh.

 Richie: only if you still want to Spaghetti <3: Of course I want to Rich

Spaghetti <3: Don’t even say that

 Well, that’s good.

Richie: well that’s good

Richie: i’m sorry Eddie

Spaghetti <3: Don’t apologize asshole

Spaghetti <3: It’s fine I swear

 And then a few more minutes.

 Spaghetti <3: Happy new year

  The phone gets thrown, landing somewhere along the end of the bed. The blurry digital clock on his bedside table says it’s already 1:13 a.m. and by its side lays Charlie the goldfish’s tank.

It’s small, but it’s not a fishbowl. Richie learnt that lesson with his first goldfish, Oli. Poor her.

He follows Charlie’s swimming around a rock. A fish’s life seems peaceful and blissful and delightful and wonderful and many other adjectives ending in ‘ful’. Except for Oli’s life, of course. At this moment Richie’s life feels pretty much like Oli’s.

He sighs through another wet sob.

“Happy fucking new year, Charlie.”

perma taglist:  @constantreaderfool   @mrs-vh  @eds-trashmouth @girasol-eddie  @reddieforlove @madi-personal  @cheekaspbrak​

Let me know if you want to be tagged for this!

[frangipanidownunder]

If you have one, what is your favourite trope to write? How many pieces of writing you have begun that you intend to finish? What are some of them about? How often do you write? What non txf are you writing? What was your most difficult piece to write/why? What fic/s (plus links please) are you most proud off. Who is your fav character to write/why? Post a passage (wip or posted) that you’re proud of. What is one thing you learned, through your writing process, you can pass on? Thank you 😘

Hey lovely. This is long, so it’s under a cut.

I think my favourite trope is friends to lovers because you can write it into any genre and throw in a dash of angst or smut too.

I am only have one fanfic WIP at the moment, and that’s the 1930s maid/master AU. I tend to only write one fic at a time. I pretty much only write to prompts so it would be unfair to start a fic for somebody else and not finish it.

In the non-txf world of writing, I have two short stories I’m editing for a competition. They’re both written, but I’m not totally satisfied that they’re ready yet. I will tweak them a little more before submitting. And then I’m starting on the hefty revisions of a YA horror novel I wrote during NaNo last year. That MS started as a few paragraphs in an xf horror workshop I held, then turned it into a short original story, then loved it enough to write a full novel.

The most difficult piece is the current WIP. It’s over 60K words and is historical, has a convoluted plot and requires research to get the details and setting right. I hate it, hahaha. Of my completed stories, Skin Trade was challenging because of its plot and structure.

I’m probably most proud of Skin Trade because it was a huge effort, but there’s not much pay off for casefiles. I wrote a Scully-focused multichap called Scar Tissue focusing on her recovery from the bullet wound in Tithonus that I felt was pretty good. And perhaps the other one that sticks in my mind that I always thought was a strong fic but doesn’t get much love is City of Souls. It’s late season six, the shadow of Fowley hanging over them, and Mulder takes Scully on a macabre drive.

Here’s a passage from the WIP ‘Midnight in the Garden of Dreams’ when Mulder meets Scully: 

The moon was a milky disc in the sky and there was a buzz of gnats at the windows. It was too warm a night to sleep, particularly with his mind whirring still. Led by stars and moonglow, he followed the path around the side of the manor house to where father was making plans for the new car garage. Further away, there was a small brick cottage that had been earmarked for his and Diana’s early years together. She’d already spent many hours telling him her plans to upgrade the building. He’d tuned out because he found the cottage charming. The married servants’ houses were similar in style, albeit smaller and terraced, their rooflines just visible beyond the cottage, limned in the chalky light.

Between his soon-to-be new home and the manor there was a walled area, an old kitchen garden, he recalled, long since unused. The gate was rickety and warped but he pushed hard and it creaked open. The smell was exotic, a heady mix of sweet and spicy and in the dim light he could see there were still plantings in rows. How long had they been here, just growing, life continuing despite neglect?

Bending, he plucked a leaf and rubbed it between his fingers. A minty aroma wafted under his nose. From behind, there was a shuffle. He swung round. Movement. A fleeting figure through the gate. He ran after it. Saw the red hair reflected in the moonlight.

“Wait! Miss, please. Come back.”

The figure slowed, stopped, turned tentatively. It was the maid with the linen. “I meant no harm, Sir.”

The accent, Irish, was unmistakeable. Her shoulders stooped and her hair, loose, fell forward.

“It’s okay, Miss…?”

“Scully,” she said, dipping her body into a curtsey. “Dana Scully, Sir. I’m a maid, but I’ve…”

“Been growing herbs in the walled garden, I can see. Come, I don’t bite, I promise, although, perhaps it is I who shouldn’t be consorting with mysterious red-haired Irish lasses. How do I know you aren’t the dearg-dur?” he said.

“If I were forced into a loveless marriage, I might do a little more than plant a garden.”

Her response surprised him in the best kind of way. “So you won’t suck the blood from my body if I ask you for a guided tour? It’s been a long time since I spent any time here.”

She hesitated, then lifted up her face. He saw a flash of something wild, something that he’d like to tame. He tamped the thought down. The date of the wedding flashed in his mind.

And one thing I’ve learned from writing that perhaps new/emerging writers need to practise is finishing your work. Even if you don’t love it, end it. Then you can revise it. You can’t edit a blank page.

Thanks for the questions, gorgeous.

[kaitoujokerscans]

Showdown in the Dark Night! Joker vs Shadow CH3

<3>Reunion

At the same time around the other end of the manor, patrol cars with their red lights and sirens were roving about, and searchlights whirled dizzyingly over the area. They were watching the sky so closely that not even a fly could slip by unnoticed.

A dark silhouette jumped down from the manor's roof into the bushes. It was Shadow, who had just stolen the golden hairpin. He seared the handcuff on his wrist with the heat from his umbrella tip and cast it off. "Blast, I can only escape on the ground." He gave up on an aerial retreat and sprinted through the courtyard. He had hidden his trusty bike "Black Speeder" in the garden for just this very situation.

He had finally gotten the treasure before Joker. All I have to do now is use it... Shadow put a hand to the hairpin in his breast pocket. Rose welled up in his mind. He hadn't told Rose about this venture. He had secretly come out by himself. Shadow passed through the courtyard breezeway and came out of the forest thicket. In front of him was a sizeable glass-walled greenhouse.

Just as he was about to go around it, he heard a voice from behind him. "Oniichan."

"!?" Shadow turned around in surprise. "Rose...!" There was Rose, breathing heavily. "Why are you here?"

"Same to you, Oniichan. Why did you go out by yourself? When I came after you, I heard a sudden explosion, so..."

"T-That was..."

"You're plotting something on your own, aren't you?" Rose prodded a little angrily. Shadow was weak against that look.

"N-No, well..." Shadow unconsciously put his hand up to his chest.

"That's where the treasure you stole is, right? What'd you take?"

"This is..."

"What? You can't show me?"

"Ur..." Shadow looked at Rose and tried to say something, but before he could--

"There you are, Shadow Joker!"

"!?"

When he looked around again, there was Oniyama standing imposingly and holding out a roped pair of handcuffs. "You're so under arrest!" Oniyama swung the cuffs around and ran towards him.

"Drat...!" Shadow quickly held up his umbrella and shot beams. "Bloody Rain!" But Oniyama was also quite swift. He jumped to the sides of Shadow's beams and kept dodging. "What!?"

"Ha ha ha, don't underestimate the police!"

"You cheeky-!" Shadow fired with even more intensity. Oniyama had not lost yet, however. He frantically evaded the shots and came ever closer to Shadow. "Ghh!" Shadow grabbed hold of Rose and jumped back.

"Oniichan, shall I?"

"Step back! I'm going to exterminate him here!" Shadow moved Rose behind him and turned to Oniyama with a death glare. He raised his umbrella to face level and pointed the end at Oniyama, gazing down it as if it were a rifle scope. "Snipe mode! Bloody Rain!" The beam fired towards its target more precisely than usual. It hit square on Oniyama's leg.

"Gah..." Oniyama held his leg and kneeled down.

"Heh, now he can't come after us. Rose, are you all right?" Shadow turned back, but for some reason, Rose wasn't there. "Rose?"

That was the moment.

"Ha ha ha ha ha hah!"

"!?" A familiar laugh came from above. The most despised, vexing voice in the world, and the one that riled Shadow up the most, rang through the darkness of night. Shadow looked up to see Rose floating in the air, Balloon Gum in hand.

"You're always so meek with your sister, Shadow!" Rose's body inflated and popped apart with a bang.

"Grrh...!" Shadow watched the boy who appeared from within with gritted teeth.

He wore a bright red suit and blue silk hat, with a brilliant letter "J" shining on his chest and shapely patent leather shoes on his feet. His purple cape billowed in the wind. His glossy silver hair was now neatly set, and a clear light shone in his goggled blue eyes. His high and loudmouthed laugh was bursting with confidence. He was no longer a pitiful excuse in pajamas. This here was indeed Phantom Thief Joker...!

"Rrrgh... Joker!" Yes, who he had thought was Rose was actually Joker in an Image Gum disguise. Image Gum is one of the phantom thief tools in Joker's arsenal. An image formed in the mind is transferred to the gum, and by blowing the gum, it can be formed into any shape. It can be wrapped around oneself as a disguise or be used to create a variety of objects. Behind him, Oniyama also expanded and blew apart with a bang. Hachi popped out from inside wearing an apologetic expression.

"You punk, you dared to pretend to be Rose... I won't forgive you for that!"

"Heh heh, sorry for being late. But you were a great help for stealing this in my place." Joker held the golden hairpin in front of his face and smiled.

Shadow's eyes instantly ignited with anger. He rapidly positioned his umbrella, aimed it into the sky, and fired without a word. The beam pierced through the Balloon Gum and Joker fell to the ground. "Waaugh! Say the attack name like you always do!" Joker called out as he hastily ran away.

"Shut your trap! I'm going to kill you right now!" Shadow threatened, firing a barrage of beams at Joker.

"Waah, hold it, Shadow!!" Joker hopped around and barely avoided each of the beams. He turned in mid-air and landed on the ground. The two faced off in front of the immense greenhouse.

"Quit scurrying around like a rat! That's always been the only thing you're good at! The only makeshift strategy you have is snatching and running away! You're still the same damn cowardly Jack!"

"Ma- what'd you say?" Joker's look changed at Shadow's outburst. Jack was the name Joker had as a child. Being called that made old feelings suddenly rise up again. Feelings from when the two of them first met...

Joker flapped his cape over and refocused. "Hachi, go back ahead of me!"

"Eh? But..."

"It's fine, just go! I'll finish things with him." Shadow's provocation seemed to have spurred Joker. Joker took a card out of his pocket and glared at Shadow. The light in his eyes was just as piercing as Shadow's.

"Joker-san..."

"Bring it on!"

"With pleasure!" Shadow spun around his umbrella, fixed his grip, and jumped above Joker.

"From above!?"

Directly above Joker, Shadow pointed his umbrella straight down. "Have a taste of my new technique! 𝓑𝓵𝓪𝓬𝓴 𝓗𝓸𝓵𝓮 𝓑𝓲𝓰 𝓑𝓪𝓷𝓰!"

"Wha- that's so lame!"

"Shut up!"

The umbrella was falling straight towards Joker. "...!" Sensing danger, Joker instantly moved aside. The next moment, Shadow's umbrella stabbed into the ground. There was a thunderous bang, and a crater formed around the area. It was as if a meteorite had fallen.

"What the heck, that's crazy dangerous...!"

"Bah, I missed!" Shadow switched his grip and flew towards Joker without a moment's delay. He brought his umbrella down on Joker like it was a sword. Joker quickly caught the umbrella with his card, twisted his wrist, and let Shadow's strike slip to his side. Joker had dodged the umbrella's violent swoop both swiftly and precisely. "Joker! Aren't you going to fight back at all!?"

"Ghh...!"

"Show me one of your ridiculous parlor tricks already!"

"'Parlor trick'...? Well then, let me show you!" Joker exclaimed, then leapt back and made an aerial 360. Keeping his stance, he fanned out five cards in front of his chest. "Straight Flash!" Joker yelled, and the Ace, Deuce, Trey, Cater, and Cinque of Hearts radiated a glaring light.

"Guh...!" The brilliant light bombarded Shadow's eyes. Joker's special move was to blind his opponent and make his move while they were down.

--But Shadow was already well aware. He had seen him use it countless times. He had already planned for the light. He instantly lowered the brim of his hat to block the light.

The bright light could indeed blind the enemy for some time. But the emanation of light was not just an attack, it was a weakness -- it revealed the location of the user. Which meant... wherever the light was coming from, there was Joker!

Shadow checked for where the light was originating and pointed his umbrella towards the exact spot. "Bloody Rain!" Shadow's red beam went straight up Straight Flash's stream of light and hit the middle dead on.

"...!" There was a reaction.

"Ha ha! How's that, Joker!" Shadow looked up as soon as the light faded. A hole had been left by Shadow's beam in the center of the five fanned cards... but Joker was not there. "!?"

Extraordinarily enough, the cards were hovering in midair. A tiny bubble of balloon gum stuck at the top was keeping them afloat. "What the...!"

"Hahaha, you were one step behind, Shadow!" Joker's laughter came from behind.

"Ghh...!" Shadow turned around to see Joker looking down at him from the greenhouse roof. The searchlights reflected off of the glass and illuminated him. Shadow returned the stare from the darkness and grinned. "You're not bad... It wouldn't be any fun otherwise!"

"Yeah, things are getting interesting!"

The clock tower bell rang. Bong! Bong! Bong!... The midnight bell rang through the darkness. Hachi watched the battle from a short distance. The two youths faced each other in silence. Light and shadow-- the shadow eternally pursues the light, and the light snares the shadow. The two of them fought to test their skills. Neither underestimated the other's strength, each trying to read two and three steps ahead and constantly pushing the battle to a higher standard. It was as if they were on a summit that only they could see...

The clock tower's bell ceased. "..." Joker sensed something. He pondered for a moment as if he had realized something odd.

But his thoughts were interrupted by Shadow's yelling. "Here I come, Joker!" Shadow set upon Joker once again.

Fwish! Something shone from within the greenhouse foliage, followed by something rushing down from above. "...!" Joker looked up and saw a thin mesh-like object blending in with the bleak clouds. "Khh!" He immediately spun around and forcefully kicked the stomach of the approaching Shadow.

"Gaah!" Shadow's body flew some meters away from Joker and hit the ground.

At the same moment, Joker's body was wrapped in a giant net from above. The cold and hard lattice constrained Joker. "...!" Bound by the steel net, Joker fell off the greenhouse and onto the ground. "Guh...!"

"Hah hah hah! I've finally got you, Phantom Thief Joker!" Oniyama ran towards them, his short legs clacking. This one was the real Oniyama.

"Joker-san!"

Joker saw Hachi dash towards him and shouted. "Stay back, Hachi!" Looking over, he could see a swarm of police officers following behind Oniyama, carrying a large barrel-like thing. That barrel seemed to be the launcher for the net.

"B-But..."

"Enough, Hachi, just run!" At that very moment, the police fired a net at Hachi. Fwish! A lattice flew over Hachi's eyes and spread to cover his body. But just then, an arm wrapped around Hachi's body and lifted him up. It was Shadow's.

Shadow jumped aside while holding Hachi and quickly lifted up his umbrella, which spun around and flew up like a helicopter. Having dodged the confines of the steel net, Hachi and Shadow rose into the night sky. "Joker-saaaaan!" Hachi's pitiful cry rang through the blackness.

On the ground, Oniyama had reached Joker's side. He laughed triumphantly as he looked down at Joker writhing in the net. "Gahahahahahah! Phantom Thief Joker, you've been apprehended. You are so! So! Soooo under arrest!" Oniyama let out a bellow of delight more boisterous than ever.

§§§

Outside of the courtyard, at the edge of a quiet bridge where there were no officers, black Image Gum burst apart with a pop. Spade, Queen, and Rose appeared from within. Spade had made the Image Gum turn dark and wrapped it over all of them so that they would blend into the night.

Rose landed on the grass and softly gazed up at Spade and Queen. Needless to say, this was the real Rose. "T-Thank you, for helping me..." Rose murmured.

"I was surprised, what with your powers suddenly wearing off."

Rose was startled by her reply. "You were watching the whole time?"

"Yeah, we were."

"..." Rose looked down.

"Do you know that detective -- Hayami Kyoutarou?" Queen had never met him herself, but she was aware of Hayami. She knew that he was lauded as a genius high school detective in Japan and that he had faced off against Joker multiple times. She couldn't imagine where Rose could have met him.

"..." Rose kept her eyes averted as if she was distressed.

"...I won't force you to talk if you don't want to. We all have our circumstances." Queen gently told Rose, supporting her. The two of them were about the same age, but Queen might have considered the rather demure Rose to be like a younger sister.

"Thank you..."

Something had probably happened with Hayami. Queen switched to Spade. "Spade, it looks like either Joker or Shadow got the Gilded Chrysanthemum. What now?" But there was no answer from Spade behind her. "Spade?"

She turned around to see Spade pressing his hand against his head, his body shaking so much that even standing looked to be agonizing. "What happened!?"

"Spade-san!"

Without replying to either of them, Spade let out a low moan and collapsed on the spot.

[asheewrites]

Tavern Blues

A little story after this wonderful tavern banter: 

Alfyn: That should do ‘er! Now the ale’s ready for drinking!

Cyrus: And we’re all here, right on time.

Therion: …But I want everyone to know that drinks can be enjoyed all the same in complete silence.

Olberic: Come now. Where is the fun in that?

Alfyn: I now pronounce the Official Drinking Games underway! Gentlemen, you may begin!

Cyrus: …I…I concede.

Alfyn: Giving up early, ain’t you, Professor?

Cyrus: Indeed. You must forgive me, but I’d rather drink at my own pace, or not at all.

Therion: (Out, but not down, huh?)

Olberic: (He’s a man who likes to savor his drinks, it would appear.)

Alfyn: I’ve got to hand it to you fellahs. Guys back in the village would already be under the table. 

Therion: Thieves who can’t hold their liquor aren’t long for the business. 

Olberic: I, too, oft had need to drink in my younger days. Familiarity breeds resilience. 

Cyrus: …Indeed. But there are limits. Practice and familiarity can only take you so far.

Alfyn: Well, I ain’t done yet- another round!

Therion: …All right. I’m calling it quits.

Alfyn: Hahaha. You lily-livered milksop! I’m good for another cask!

Therion: I know when to cut my losses. But I’ve got to hand it to you: you’re stronger than you look.

Alfyn: That’s what they all say!

Cyrus: (’Tis a wise bandit indeed, who puts down his glass before his agility is adversely affected.)

Alfyn: It’s just you an’ me then, Olberic!

Olberic: Haha! Let the duel commence, my medicinal friend!

Alfyn: Uh-oh…

Olberic: Hohoho…

Alfyn: (By the gods, he’s like a bottomless barrel! He’s been smilin’ and relaxed like he’s only on his third mug- what’s it gonna take to knock him out!?)

Olberic: Hohoho… (Demons take me, but I cannot seem to stop giggling… I haven’t been pushed this far in a drinking game since my contest with Erhardt- a match that I lost.)

Alfyn: (I reckon the next glass will be his last, though…)

Olberic: (Have I met my match once more…?)

Therion: All right, that’s enough, you two.

Alfyn: Wh-what d’ya mean? I’m just getting’ warmed up…

Therion: Tell that to the tavern master. 

Cyrus: I declare a tie- you are both victors.

Alfyn: Ah, shucks. Well, if they ain’t servin’ no more, I guess we got no choice…

Therion: Exactly.

Olberic: Hahaha…ha…ha…

Cyrus: It appears Sir Olberic continues to be amused. Nevertheless, what do you gentlemen say to finding another tavern that’s still serving?

Therion: (In the end, none of us can hold a candle to this guy…)

 According to the barkeep, there was supposed to be another place willing to give a few wary travellers the time of the day, even after midnight. It wasn’t a long walk. So, for reasons only known to the gods, the party decided to follow Cyrus’ inane suggestion. And here some people still accused him of being the smart one.

Ignoring my glowering stare, everyone started walking. The fresh air giving everyone the false feeling of sobering up. Again. False. Cyrus talked even more than usual – about the history of taverns, as I figured. Alfyn tried to tell us all about the effects of alcohol on one’s body – the sentences sometimes started four times, and rarely ended. And Olberic, well, he seemed equally amused by both stories, chuckling during pauses and sometimes patting his neighbors backs – they stumbled forward and he excused himself every time.

I trotted after them, kicking stones. I didn’t look forward to the headache tomorrow – I knew it was coming - and helping Olberic home would not be an easy task. Here is to hope he wouldn’t lose consciousness.

But we did reach the tavern. Old building, someone who is sure to get an offending price for terrible ale behind the counter, the floor worn out and as creaky as the door hinges. Joy.

We still settled on a table, each with a glass in front of us – Cyrus took wine, the utter maniac – and listened to Olberic talk about his youth in the army and how he was constantly surrounded by other men, he likes having that again. Alfyn almost hit the table when he got a hand slammed on his back this time. The boy contered with his own adventures with Zeph, how they I watched them drain their glasses and listened and nodded sometimes, taking in the information – a force of habit, really.

I was glad I sat on the other side of the table, though. The safer choice for my back and my rattled brain, really. My own ale got drained only in fractions.

“… and you’re still a maniac.” I said, glancing at the wine glass in Cyrus’ hand.

“Ah, but I must protest. It is the finer choice of drink, sun filled grapes filled in a glass, distilled to a great aroma and better taste. Perfect to quench your thirst, especially while studying.” He said this with a perfectly earnest expression.

I stared at his cravat, at the cloak held together by a brooch, the root-decorated vest, the belted together, poofy sleeves and said: “… that explains a lot”

To his credit, he only thought about it for a few seconds. Then: “I’ll have you know it did not inhibit my deduction or reasonable thinking in any way whatsoever. It is a very common way to preserve water. Alfyn can surely tell you all about its disinfectant properties, isn’t that right, Alfy-“

There was a thud.

Alfyn had hit the table. Or at least his arm had. His head rested against Olberic’s arm. Snoozing.

“Oh, not again…” I sighed and stood… at least this time he would get back home.

“What do you mean, again? I wasn’t aware this happened before?” Cyrus asked, because of course he does.

“You don’t have to know everything, professor… you take Olberic. He’s useless, too” Evidenced by his giggling. He giggled and pat Alfyn’s head. It wasn’t a shining moment for anyone.

With an arm around my neck – Cyrus had to distract the big man so I could grab it – I paid the barkeep before he could get nasty on top of old. And then we started our trek home.

Alfyn told me I’m his bestest best friend in slurred words and bad breath while trying to choke me to death. And Cyrus – the bastard – got carried by Olberic. Who was wholly amused by the endeavour. There was some distress on the scholar’s side when all his words did not keep the big man from running against a wall, but at least I could join into the constant giggling that way. If only for a moment. Because Alfyn laughed, too. Carrying him did not get easier.

But we moved onwards. And somehow reached the Inn.

The girls told us we smelled had to get our own room. Ophelia should not be subjected to this. Primrose was a filthy traitor this moment. And she should be ashamed.

This truly, truly was not my day. I leaned my head against the door to have a moment of rest.

Cyrus still talked. Olberic still giggled. Alfyn still slurred. And I was still done with eberything. Great.

It was late. The innkeeper already asleep. I was frustrated. The lock of the next door was picked before I could even think about it.

There were six beds in the room. At least something went right. I put Alfyn in the one closest to the door, grabbed a water skin and went outside. Maybe taverns were just too work-related by now. Not much fun anymore. Especially in groups.

Get some water in, a bit more fresh air without weird breath and extra weight and I’ll be good. So I took a few deep breaths, standing in the silent street. Felt a little more normal that way. Finally alone again.

No one to take my mind off the next target. By getting overly excited about it. Or telling me it was of historical importance. Or how it would look good in her hair. Or taking it away to go and sell it for some medicine a kid needed.

They all were against stealing, too. But let me do it all the same. Even agreed to rob the house with me. Weird, stubborn bunch of people. Didn’t know an ambush from an opportunity.

…

I hadn’t put a bucket next to Alfyn’s bed. Last time had been ugly for both of us and-

The door to the inn opened.

“You left rather fast, Therion! Our compatriots needed care before they could rest! Is something the matter?”

Cyrus. Slightly rumpled, straightening his cloak when he came out the door.

“...” I took my hand off the dagger at my side. “… needed some peace.”

“Ah, well met, the taverns were rather stuffy, were they not?”

I looked to the side – he apparently did not catch my drift.

“Anyway, a diluted wine preserves the drinkability of water, it is completely normal and perfectly acceptable choice of drink” He said, nodding resolutely.

“… are you seriously starting this again? Now?” I was not sure if I was amused or annoyed.

“You seemed to think I can not properly study with a diluted drink of whine, but I assure you it has no effect on my judgement or mental capabilities whatsoever!”

“… like right now?” Because he could have judged to leave me alone, but instead, he came here. Which contradicts everything I ever told him, really.

“Right now, we all have imbibed more than that. A lot more” He even looked a little proud of it.

“But it explains your tolerance. Must have ‘hydrated’ a lot” I really wondered why it was so fun to rile him up. Maybe because it was so easy. Easier than usual right now, too.

“I did not *drink* while studying. The alcohol is a mere preservation! We can not drink bad water! Diseases happen from that, we had enough examples on our journeys!” Really, it was too easy.

“Mmmmhmh, this preservation might have made me less allergic to academia, too, I suppose”

“I must protest this wrong assumption, truly, you can’t-“

I interrupted him: “I came out here for some quiet, can’t you just leave it?”

“I didn’t mean to say you are unfit for academia. My recommendation still stands. Any and all steps to enter the field would be very welcome, I should not have formulated it this way. I apologise.” He even looked guilty. How did I ever deal with this man.

“If you aren’t going to shut up, I’m going to make you, I’m serious.” I was, too. He was in melee range, after all.

But he smiled. Brightly. Right next to me. And continued with: “This is an idle threat! You have shown great involvement in all our well-being. You are a good friend. And you give Alfyn more work than he already has now, would y-MH!“

I kissed him. Grabbed his stupid cravat and pulled him down and kissed him. The silence made me take a relieved breath. He smelled of burned fabric and cold winter nights and of broken revenants. I kind of wanted to pull him closer.

But I didn’t. I let go. And looked into a very confused, lightly frowning face. He was silent. Thank the gods.

I patted his shoulder: “Told you”

And walked back in, there was a bed waiting for me. I could rest easy with the knowledge that Cyrus actually put a bucket next to every bed. He was a good guy after all.

[australet789]

Fractal

Hi! I really want to apologize for taking too long to update this chapter. But uni was really stressful and i didnt have the inspiration to work on this chapter until a few days ago. It's not as long as the previous two but it's a regular one. I hope you enjoy it :D I finally wrote an interaction i wanted since the begginging

A shout out to @laney-of-the-stars (AO3 link here) for winning the mini contest i held here on tumblr!

Thanks to @lunalocura for being an amazing beta!

Summary: Chaos, besides its own natures, has a little order on it. Chaos, without order, leads to destruction itself. When the object holding the chaos of the world is damaged, maybe a little more than order is going to be needed to fix it. Abomination! AU 

AO3

Chapter 5

When the cold air of the morning hits Marinette’s face she notices that it was the first time in weeks that she is early to school.

It wasn’t normally a bad habit of her. Really, she was only late the days after a night battle with one of Hawkmoth’s akumas (‘apparently a side effect of his miraculous is making him an insomniac. Are you sure he isn’t a vampire, Tikki?’) . Add to that the responsibilities of being the president of her class, homework, keeping up her grades, working on her designs, being a good daughter and still being there for her friends, if it wasn’t for her good stamina (and the traces of magic running through her body), she would have slept for a whole year.

So usually, she was as early as a normal student could be.

Today, though, it’s different.

Her mind goes through Chat’s words. He had called her, Ladybug her, around midnight. She was in her pajamas working in some sketches when Tikki announced to her that Chat was trying to contact her. She clearly remembered (and blushed at the thought) how she shouted “Transform me!” the moment her kwami ended her sentence.  No one could had blamed her: it had been hours since she last talked to him and she had already lost hopes of him calling her back. She had already imagined all the worst possible scenarios.

She had been maybe a little bit too eagerly when she answered her yo-yo.    

The conversation went too quickly for her taste —and considering how Chat normally acted, it shouldn’t have been that short—: he accepted being looked over by Marinette (she had to reassure him that yes, Marinette still wanted to help) but only after school and if she was free to do it. He didn’t want to keep her from going out with her friends if she wanted to. And he would only stay until 9 in the night if needed. He ended the call promising he would behave for her because he was a gentleman and ‘you are the only woman in my mind, Buginette’ and, if anything, she would be the first to know if something happened (she had to invent an excuse of why Ladybug couldn’t be there as well when he suggested it. She went with the whole ‘two superheroes visiting a civilian would be too much. You can sneak out but I can be followed and we both know we don’t want that to happen’.)

She let out a sigh of relief the moment they both hung up and then she tried to sleep —after apologizing to Tikki, of course—. But she couldn’t. No matter how much she tried to clear her thoughts, there was something bothering her that wasn’t letting her rest. At 4 in the morning, she stopped battling against her lack of sleep and decided to take her time to prepare for school (and check some of her homework too).

In that moment she realized the cause of her insomnia: there was another blond she haven’t heard about. Not since Twinkle-Twister’s attack.

She promptly grabbed her phone and searched through her messages: the last message was one the day before Shockwave’s attack.

She really tried to not freak out about it. Surely there wasn’t anything to worry about. Adrien didn’t need to speak her every day. That’s what friends do, right? Something probably came up to him, something about his job. There wasn’t anything she need to be worry about!

But then she remembered how awful and sick he looked that day and how even with that he tried to help his friends. Sure she saved him from out of the dragon’s claws but was he really ok? What if something happened to him on that roof? What if his sickness was actually something worse? What if his father took him to a hospital and that’s why he hadn’t communicated with anyone?

And that’s how she ended up in front of the school door —after Tikki calmed her down—, checking her phone every single minute. She couldn’t take the risk of missing any message.

“Wowowow, are my eyes deceiving me?” a masculine voice says besides her. “Maybe it’s the light of the sun that is making me see things?”

Marinette jumps, surprised at the sudden presence, but then rolls her eyes when she recognizes who is speaking

“There’s no sun since we are close to w-“

“She finally speaks!” The voice continues, which only cause Marinette to glare at him “and she is looking at me too! What a wonderful day! Ladies and gentlemen, Petit Pain in person!”

At the mention of the nickname, she can’t pretend to be mad at him anymore. Instead, a laugh full of fondness and old memories surrounds the two teenagers.

“What?” he says, a toothy smile crossing his features.

She shakes her head. “Nothing. It’s just…it’s has been so long since you called me like that.”

“It has been really long since we talked like this.” Kim says. Marinette tries not to flinch at the comment.

“Sorry.”

“Nah, it’s ok. We are both at fault about it. I never tried to look for you. I know that at least you did.” He bites his lip. “I should be the one apologizing.”

“You don’t have to.” She reassures him.

Brow furrowed, he shakes his head this time. “But I want to. I want to do things right. Having a maniac inside my head put some things in perspective for me, you know?”

A pang of guilt hits her again.

“Hey, don’t sweat it, Marinette. You and I both know it wasn’t your fault”, Kim reiterates. “You didn’t humiliate me to our classmates and you weren’t the one who possessed me with a demonic butterfly.” He pauses. “Because you aren’t Hawkmoth, are you?”

It’s Kim’s turn to flinch, but in pain, when Marinette hits his arm with her fist.

“Ow! I’m hurt! I’m very much hurt!”

“You earned that.” She hisses, but a smile teases the corner of her lips.

“As your self-proclaimed brother, I deserve some respect.” He mumbles, running his hand over his injured arm

“Beat me in arm wrestling and then we’ll see.”

Kim pouts. “Oh, c’mon, you know that’s never going to happen.”

“Precisely.”

His even bigger pout makes her burst into giggles and for the first time in days, she feels some of her stress leaving her.

“But seriously, you tried to help me that day, Marinette. Heck, you are always helping!” He exclaims. “In fact, if I didn’t know you better I would say that you are trying to beat Ladybug in which of you can help more people.”

If Marinette had been drinking something, she would have probably spit everything over Kim’s face.

“Hahaha, oh, Kim you are so funny!” She hopes for him to not notice the fakeness in her voice. “Me?! Trying to be like Ladybug? Please! I would never!”

She tries to change the topic as quickly as she could.

“So…uhm…” Marinette stutters, “w-what are you doing here so early?”

He hums. “I’m waiting for Max. I usually run around the school before classes and he measures my time. But he is a little late today. Weird.”

‘He is not the only one’, she thinks, running her thumb over the screen of her phone.

For a moment none of them says anything.  Marinette, for the sake of doing something, decides to check her messages once more. She feels Kim moving but she is too focused on looking at her mobile.

Nothing yet.

“Ahem!”

Marinette raises her head up and glances at Kim, who is sitting on the stairs, patting the spot next to him.

She cocks her head.

“C’mon! It’s pretty much obvious that something is bothering you. You can tell me.” He says, a smile still plastered over his face.

She hesitates for a second but then shrugs and sits next to her friend.

“There it is!” He exclaims, putting an arm around her shoulders and crushing her to his side. She lets out a little yelp. “Now, tell your dear brother what your problems are.”

“First of all”, she says, pushing his arm out of her shoulders, “I need to breathe.”

The young boy scratches the back of his head. “Sorry.”

“Anyway”, Marinette sighs, “I’m just…worried.”

“About?”

“Ehm…it’s…” ‘Would it be okay to tell him about Chat? Maybe not.’ ”…I have this friend…”

“Yeah…?”

“And like… we have been communicating for a while…”

“Aaaaaaaaand….?”

“And he…”

“Oh, a boy.” He interrupts.  “The plot thickens.”

“Shut up it’s not like that.”

“Sure, Jan.”

Marinette glares at him.

“One more interruption, and I will tell Alix the real reason why you didn’t come to the last bet.”

Kim pales.

“And, well,” she continues,” I haven’t known of him for the last few days. And the last time I saw him he looked so sick and tired…and I want to ask him if he is ok but I don’t want to pressure him, you know? It took me a while to speak to him and I don’t want to scare him away. So I’m just…yeah, worried.”

“I mean”, Kim says after a moment of thinking, “if you are worried you can send him a message instead of trying a direct approach.”

“But it has only been a few days…” she whispers.

“So?” He scoffs. ”Max has only been 10 minutes late and I already sent him 5 messages. He is your friend, isn’t he? Then he wouldn’t mind if you asked him if he is okay. If I was him I would be actually happy.”

‘That’s what Tikki told me too.’

In that moment Kim’s phone vibrates.

“See?” He says showing her the message he just received: it was Max apologizing for not communicating beforehand and telling him that something came up with his grandmother but that he was already close to the school.

Marinette smiles at this.

“Well that’s my cue to go.” He says, standing up. “Like my old man used to say: ‘Patience is a great virtue but a little initiative doesn’t hurt anybody.’”

“Hey!” Marinette calls him when he is leaving. “Thanks for everything, Patmol.”

Kim blinks but then lets out a big laugh.

“Nothing your big brother can’t solve, sis.” He winks at her and then runs to wherever Max is.

“And good luck with Adrien!” Marinette hears him scream to her when he is almost out of sight.

She stiffens at that but then shakes her head and laughs softly.

Tikki’s head pops out of her purse after hearing Kim’s departure.

“He is right.” She agrees.

“Yeah, h-“, Marinette starts, but is interrupted when her phone vibrates.

She quickly unlocks her mobile and looks at the message. It’s Adrien: he apologized for not talking sooner, but he was in New York with his father, helping him with the fashion show that was being hosted there. If everything came out right, they would be returning in 4 days.

“See, I told you!” The kwami chirps, excited.

A second message comes just when she finishes reading the first one. In that one Adrien says that he missed their night chats.

“Yeah, I know you did.” Marinette says, relieved that at least one of her problems was solved.

‘I know you did.’

“Plagg! Help me to check if everything is ok.”

‘Kid, this is the sixth time you’ve checked yourself.’

“It doesn’t hurt to check again!”

‘You are not even carrying anything! Just that stupid thing on your head.’

Adrien huffs. Today he is going to go to Marinette’s house and saying he is nervous would be understating things. The moment he ended his call with Ladybug, he started planning how their meeting would go, asking Plagg for advice and being awake all night when the kwami got tired. He didn’t want to scare her anymore, no matter how many times Ladybug assured him that Marinette wasn’t going to reject him.

“It’s not stupid. It’s for precaution.” He corrects him.

‘Oh, I’m sorry, you are right. The thing is not stupid. You are the one being stupid right now.’

“Wow, I can totally feel your love towards me.” Adrien says indignantly. His fists are clenched and a cold anger starts forming in his chest.

The kwami says nothing. Adrien closes his eyes trying to calm himself but it’s difficult. He then feels a low vibration in his throat and something running up and down his back, like if someone is rubbing it.

“P-plagg? Are you the one doin-?”

‘Shhh. Breathe first, then talk.’

He does as instructed. He tries to focus on the fresh sensation that replaces the painful cold in his chest and the soothing movements over his back. His breathing then started to regulate and his anger to dissipate.

“How…?”

‘Remember that I can feel what you are feeling. I am older and I know some tricks.’

“I…” Now Adrien feels guilty for doubting about his kwami’s feelings. “Thanks.”

‘Don’t feel sorry, lad. We both are in a situation that is uncomfortable and you are more sensitive now. Even I am more sensitive. But you can’t lose control or your powers will too.’

The flowerpot incident comes to his mind.

‘Kid…’ Plagg warns.

“I know, I know.” Adrien says. “I still need to apologize to her for that too.”

‘And, you know, for being late too.’ The kwami comments.

“WHAT?” He checks his baton and realizes that he is 5 minutes late. He clearly hears Plagg’s cackles in his head.

Ignoring his kwami, he promptly makes sure that everything is in order, that the door in his room is secured and then he leaps out to the rooftops.

It takes him another 10 minutes to reach Marinette’s house — he avoided as much as he could all the houses with flowerpots or something that could fall or hurt anybody—. He decides to hide behind the chimney over her balcony when he notices that Marinette is not home yet. He is relieved by that actually. That gives him the time to repeat to himself the speech he practiced all the morning and to check that the paper bag over his face is still there.

‘And here we go again with that thing.’

‘Plagg! I told you that the bag is-‘

‘For precaution and yadda, yadda yeah I heard you. But we both know that you are not doing it for that, but because of that dumb jok-‘

“Coo!”

Both Adrien and Plagg freeze at the sound. The former turns his head up and sees a pigeon over him.

‘Plagg, please tell me that my allergies were gone after I became this thing.’

‘You tell me, kid.’

The pigeon cocks its head.

Adrien’s throat aches.

‘Oh, no’

The pigeon suddenly launches itself towards him and starts pecking at the bag. Adrien gasps at the sudden attack but shuts his mouth quickly when the aches increase. The animal keeps pecking merciless, no matter how many times he shoo it away. He actually manages to brush its wings with his hand a couple of times.

‘WHAT DOES THIS BIRD WANT WITH MY BAG?!’

‘I TOLD YOU THIS WAS A DUMB IDEA!’

‘RETREAT!’

Desperate, Adrien jumps in the direction of Marinette’s balcony looking for cover, but his bad luck follows him, making him tangled with the white tarp that cover his friend’s balcony. He lets out a yelp and rolls over the balcony, landing ungracefully over the floor…

“Hey, do you hear something?”

…in the exact moment in which Marinette opens her trapdoor.

Adrien groans, both in pain and embarrassment. This isn’t going as it supposes to be. He looks at the girl in front of him and he feels his face reddening even more when he sees her standing there, eyes widened and her mouth forming a comical “o”.

Not for the first time, Adrien wishes for his destructive powers to make a hole in the ground and let it swallow him up.

“Well…” Marinette finally speaks, “…I knew you wanted to make a dramatic entrance but I think you went over the top this time.”

Adrien wants to cry and laugh at the same time.

‘Kid, remember…breathe.’ Plagg’s voice makes Adrien to finally compose himself.

‘Right, right…’

Clearing his throat, he carefully untangles himself of the awning, straightening himself up.

“I deeply apologize for the damages caused, Princess,” he says and to emphasize it, he bows to her. “But I must say, I was furiously attacked by a rabid animal.”

She looks back to where he came from and turning to him, she raises an eyebrow. “You mean, Jacques?”

“That thing has a name?!” He looks up at the chimney and glares angrily at the pigeon, who is distractedly cleaning one of his wings.

‘I can’t believe we have been defeated by a pigeon named Jacques.’

‘We are never going to talk about this, kid.’

‘Gotcha.’

“Ok but seriously,” Marinette’s voice interrupts his inner conversation, “is there a good explanation of why do you have a paper bag over your head?”

Adrien swallows and nervously rubs the back of his neck. “Heh, funny you ask! Uhm…erhmmm…well, you see…”

“Wait, wait, wait. Is this because of…of how you look like?” She inquires. “Because I- erh Ladybug told me already about it.”

He doesn’t answer her.

Marinette sighs. “Look, there’s nothing you need to hide, ok?” She takes a step forward, but Adrien gets nervous and takes a step back. She stops for a moment but then continues moving, decided. “I don’t know what exactly happened but I’m not going to get easily scared of a kitty version of Venom.”

“I mean it’s not exactly that but-wait-!” He begins saying but stops when he feels Marinette’s hands on his face.

Too quickly to stop her, she removes the paper bag…

“Oh my god.”

…To reveal a Chat Noir’s mask —that it was just a photo of a magazine stuck to a piece of cardboard- over his face.

The deadpanned glare she sends to him is enough to stop the laugh that was forming in his throat.

“Oh my god, Chat, seriously? A Deadpool joke?”

‘I told you this was a dumb idea, kid.’

“I just was trying to lighten up the mo- wait a minute how do you know it’s from Deadpool?” He asks.

She crosses her arms over her chest. “How do you know about it?”

“I asked you first.”

“I asked you second.”

‘Oh for the love of-‘

“My kwami told me it was a great movie but he only showed me certain clips.”

‘Don’t include me into this.’

“I asked my parents for permission and they said yes.”

“Young lady, you shouldn’t be watching that kind of movies, they’re not for your age.” He scolds her playfully.

She scoffs. “And are you? You don’t look older than me, kitten.”

‘STOP FLIRTING!’

‘Damn, she is right. I’m younger.’

‘You are totally ignoring me, aren’t you?’

‘What do you thin-no! Marinette, wait!”

But Marinette is faster again and the mask ends up in her hands in another fluid movement.

Adrien just closes his eyes, not wanting to see her reaction. He doesn’t want to see the same expression Ladybug had the first time she saw him.

“Chat…”

‘Kid…’

He lets out a soft whine and shakes his head.

“…please…”

‘…open your eyes.’

“…open your eyes.”

Adrien doubts at first but, slowly, he finally opens his eyes.

The first he sees in his reflection in her eyes. How the deformed features reflect into them. How the light of the dusk turns even creepier his aspect.

He feels horrified at himself.

But the eyes looking at him are not.

In fact, the next thing he notices is the smile on the girl in front of him. By the way her expression is telling him that he is not unwelcomed, that everything is going to be alright.

For the first time in days he feels safe.

“See,” she says, “I told you I wasn’t going anywhere.”

He has to repress the urge to hug her.

“Thanks, Princess.” He tries to give her the best smile he can in his condition.

She blinks but then laughs softly and mumbles something to herself. He catches something like “I missed that” but he isn’t sure.

“So,” she says after a moment, “would you…like to come in… I know my room is small and maybe a bit disorganized…well, disorganized in general,  but you can stay on the chaise, you know, take a nap…”

His eyes widen, surprised. He hadn’t thought about her asking to go to inside her house, let alone to her room.  Where there is stuff. Fragile stuff.

He can feel his heart throbbing in his ears.

“…unless you prefer going back to your house because I’m totally scaring you. I’m sorry!”

“Nono…it’s just…I m-mean…” He stumbles in his words and actually feels sweat forming on his hands, “I d-didn’t thought you were going to a-ask me that and I just…I need...I really n-need to think about it.”

“Right, right…”

“So, uhm…yeah I think I just…” He says, and jumps over the grills of her balcony.

“Yeah… you can…errr…” She licks her lips. “See you tomorrow?”

Adrien turns back and looks at her. He doesn’t want to hurt her and he is scared of what could happen if he can’t control his powers if he actually enters her room…

But at the same time, he finds himself not wanting to reject the girl who just welcomed him even with his condition.

“I…yeah,” he finally says. “See you tomorrow.”

He leaps off the balcony and quickly loses himself in the shadows.

When he enters his room, he lets himself fall over his bead. Putting an arm over his face, he closes his eyes and realizes that he is feeling lighter than ever.

‘Well,’ he hears Plagg talk again inside his head, ‘I think that went…not as planned.’

Adrien chuckles. ‘You can say that again.’

‘But it ended up pretty well.’

‘Yeah, I think so.’

‘But you know, you forgot to apologize to her for the flowerpot thing.’

‘…’

“Fuck!”

Later that night, Adrien finds himself unable to sleep.

‘Kid, you should rest. You need to keep your energies up for tomorrow.’

‘I’m not tired, Plagg.’

‘Yes, you are. You just don’t notice it yet.’

‘Maybe you need to tell me a bedtime story so I can sleep.’

‘Ugh, no, go to count some sheep or something.’

Adrien laughs, but it’s a short laugh.

‘Ok, something it’s bothering you. Spit it out.’

‘It’s nothing.’

‘Don’t lie to me, kid. Remember we share minds and sensations, so I totally know that something is eating you right now.’

Adrien hesitates, but he realizes is dumb trying to hide something from his kwami at this point.

‘I just…I was…’

‘Plagg, what if Ladybug can’t fix us?’

‘…’

‘Plagg-?’

‘Don’t think about that, kid. Of course Ladyluck is going to fix everything.’

‘B-but what if she can’t? What if what we have is incurable? The Miraculous Cure didn’t work the first time, what assures m-us that there’s something more powerful than that? I can’t even detransform and-‘

‘You can.’

‘What?’

‘What I said. You can detransform.’

‘Plagg, last time it was too painful and-‘

‘But you were able to. You were fine after that. The more time you keep with the transformation on, the more painful it will become later. It will almost impossible to try it, kid, it will ki-‘

When the kwami stops abruptly, Adrien doesn’t need to hear the rest of the sentence to know what will happen.

He could feel the sorrow coming from his friend when he talked.

‘What about you?’

‘What about me.’

‘You were melting after I detransformed. If I detransform again, what will happen to you this time?’

‘…’

‘Plagg, stop doing that silence thing, you are making me nervous.’

‘I can’t die kid, if that’s what worries you the most.’

‘But-‘

‘I’m a being made of energy. And energy cannot be created or destroyed…

‘…it can only be changed from one form to another.’ They both think at unison.

‘So like I said, you don’t need to worry about me.’

‘I’m not going to detransform, Plagg.’

‘Kid, I just told you-‘

‘I know. I know what you told me but we are both in this mess together and we are going to get out of it the same way. We are partners, aren’t we? So Ladybug will cure us both at the same time and that’s my last word.’

Finally, Adrien yawns.

‘Rest, kiddo.’

‘Yeah, yeah, I heard you –yawn- I heard you...mom.’

Plagg nothing says.

It usually doesn’t take much time until Adrien is asleep and today is no different. Plagg generally uses that time to think about the akumas, about his holder’s life, about his past holders.  The kwami can’t sleep either, but he is content on guarding his human’s sleep. He focuses on the constant rhythm of his heart, in the way his chest moves up and down because of his breathing.

It reassures him that he is still alive.

That there’s still time.

‘Once upon a time…there was a brave, curious kitten. And his name…his name was Léon…’

[hehebread]

i got tagged by the lovely @missbelgium to do this ask meme. Thank you so much!! this was a nice distraction for the evening! i promise to do the rest very soon.

LAST

1. Drink: just a glass of water

2. Phone call: my dad

3. Text message: “third wheeling intensifies” that or “YOU HAVE ALL MY LOVE”. 

4. Song you listened to: Addicted To You by Avicii

5. Time you cried: Monday. you would think it was bc i had to go to work but no. it was “A Dog’s Purpose”. watched it late afternoon. made me cry like a baby.

HAVE YOU

6. Dated someone twice: nah cuz i never dated before. 

7. Kissed someone and regretted it: i … dont think so…

8. Been cheated on: nah fam.

9. Lost someone special: yes, i have. more than i’d like to admit. sometimes it was my fault, sometimes it wasnt, but it all hurt the same.

10. Been depressed: i fall in and out of bad episodes. some days are more bearable than others. 

11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: i dont drink lol.

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS

12-14: uhhh thats a tough one. red and blue are my colors, but purple strikes a chord with me too.

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU

15. Made new friends: yesss, many!! here and irl. 

16. Fallen out of love: hhhh in a way i did. not with people but with ideas, concepts, and dreams.

17. Laughed until you cried: ye s tahnk god

18. Found out someone was talking about you: um yeah for sure, but its nothing im not used. it happens y’know. 

19. Met someone who changed you: i did actually. in the most subtle and discreet way. the thing is, i got close to so many people in the past year and just started picking up on their little quirks and mannerisms. and suddenly im swearing in spanish. puta madre  i outta be ashamed 

20. Found out who your friends are: sadly yah. wasnt too thrilled. 

21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: my parents?????

GENERAL

22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: all of them. thats why i semi-ditched fb. 

23. Do you have any pets: YESS!! three chickens and a rooster. two lovebirds. we used to have an african gray but we gave it away to grandma to keep her company. we also have this rat who’d been living in our garage for a while now. dunno if that counts.

24. Do you want to change your name: i kinda do. but i feel like i got too attached to it at this point.

25. What did you do for your last birthday: a few of my lovely flatmates and I went out for crepes. got many happy birthday wishes that day. I was on my own most of it but thats okay.

26. What time did you wake up: fucking 5:52am.

27. What were you doing at midnight last night: probably not sleeping. why u ask?

28. Name something you can’t wait for: …………………………………. havent looked forward to anything in a very long time. maybe deadpool. no clue.

29. When was the last time you saw your mom: a few hours ago.

30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: if i could, i’d give myself a better childhood. 

31. What are you listening to right now: Home We’ll Go by Walk off the Earth

32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: probably. my memory is shit at remembering stuff like that tho.

33. Something that is getting on your nerves: some of my colleagues utter inability to communicate their feelings or concerns. my utter inability to communicate my feelings or concerns.

RANDOM INFO ABOUT YOURSELF

35. Mole/s: two on my right palm. one on my left palm. another on the back of my neck. one higher in my forehead, and two others in places that shall not be named.

36. Mark/s: stretch marks around my thighs.

37. Childhood dream: a younger (and much happier) version of me wanted to become a neurosurgeon or a heart surgeon. idk about that anymore tho.

38. Hair color: ver y dark black.

39. Long or short hair: pretty long. down to my lower back. two years ago it used to not reach down to my chin. i keep changing my hair style quite a lot.

40. Do you have a crush on someone: uuhhh yeah kinda but im hopeless everything is hopeless.

41. What do you like about yourself: umm tough one. my perseverance, probably. 

42. Piercings: two in one ear and one in the other. might get more.

43. Blood type: O+

44. Nickname: Raz is actually my nickname, or rather, the english equivalent of it.

45. Relationship status: orders meal for two to have leftovers for later.

46. Zodiac: Aries

47. Pronouns: she/her or they/them but really it doesnt matter to me that much. anything goes.

48. Favorite TV Show: is this a good place to say i love drake&josh

49. Tattoos: nada

50. Right or left hand: right-handed 

51. Surgery: on my gums. 5 yrs ago.

52. Hair dyed in different color: i used to dye it with henna.

53. Sport: track & field all the way. i dont do it anymore but id love to. 

55. Vacation: yesss i love vacations. would love to travel around some more.

56. Pair of trainers: sketchers.

MORE GENERAL

57. Eating: nothin. i should go get some melon.

58. Drinking: water

59. I’m about to: go get melons. or go out for dinner in like two hours.

61. Waiting for: a sense of purpose or fulfillment in life… that or my fave author to update.

62. Want: my sister’s blueberry muffins.

63. Get married: maybe platonically but otherwise nah.

64. Career: im hoping to become a doctor. hoping.

WHICH IS BETTER

65. Hugs or kisses: HUGS. ALL KINDS OF THEM. but cheek/head/forehead kisses are also very very pleasant.

66. Lips or eyes: …eyes.

67. Shorter or taller: shorter. i dont like looking up.

68. Older or younger: than who?? than what?? 

70. Nice arms or nice stomach: nice muscular arms. on ladies. yes.

71. Sensitive or loud: loud for sure. i love people with energy.

72. Hook up or relationship: umm neither? but if i hadta choose then a relationship.

73. Troublemaker or hesitant: troublemaker. life’s too short.

HAVE YOU EVER

74. Kissed a stranger: as a greeting. yes.

75. Drank hard liquor: oh, no.

76. Lost glasses/contact lenses: to this day, no I have not, thank goodness.

77. Turned someone down: admittedly, yes.

78. Broken someone’s heart: i sure hope not.

79. Had your heart broken: yea </3

80. Been arrested: heavens no. not yet.

81. Cried when someone died: yes

82. Fallen for a friend: ……………………………………………..yea

DO YOU BELIEVE IN…

83. Yourself: i try. i really do.

84. Miracles: ofc

85. Love at first sight: not really. that just doesnt happen. love needs time, patience, and hard work. 

86. Santa Claus: hahaha nooooo. i dont celebrate the holidays.

87. Kiss on the first date: shrugs

OTHER:

89. Eye colour: dark brown

90. Favorite movie: for a very very long time, it was shrek, but then the memes happened so 

I tag @wandschrankheld @awkwardslytherin and @snark-sniper and @of-pasta-and-potatoes. you guys dont have to do it ofc. but if you do, pls tage me!! i’d love to see it.

[chickadee333]

Chapter 5: A Heartbreaking Discovery

Joker & Harley: Impossible Love (A Novella)

Author’s Note:

Please click HERE to read a little bit about my inspiration and motivation around writing this story. (Link is to my Masterlist)

Warning: This entire novella contains adult content (sex, violence, strong language).

Thanks for reading!

Xoxo,

D

*****

Harleen arrived at her parents’ house in Brooklyn with a bag full of gifts early the next day as happy to see them as they were to see her.

“Why don’t you visit us more often?” her stepdad interrogated her. “You’re barely an hour away!”

“Hey, Bob! You know it is... work, life, work...” she hugged him. “It’s so nice to see you. Where is everyone?”

“They’re all waiting around the tree ready to open presents! Get yourself in here!” he said with a happy smile on his face. Harleen was so glad to spend one day away from Arkham and really just focus on her family. She liked her job, she had a set schedule, and she didn’t have to work weekends, but—even when trying to focus on personal stuff at home like painting, exercising, listening to music, watching TV, going on dates—she found herself invariably drawn back to her work. She tried hard to keep it separated, but thoughts about her patients constantly infiltrated her mind.

“Merry Christmas, everyone!” Harleen announced to her family as she walked into the room. She was so happy to see her mom, her stepdad, and her brother and his family. 

She spent the rest of the day playing with her two nieces, talking with her brother about his job in the big city, and listening to her parents talk about retiring early and traveling the country. Her stepdad worked as a financial advisor and her mom was an interior designer, having started her own business over a decade ago.

After dinner, they got out the old photo albums and Harleen looked through them with her mom. Sitting on the couch, they reminisced over memories of her dad before his mental health took a dive. They didn’t talk about it very often as Harleen was only 15 when her dad committed suicide, but she could hear the pain in her mom’s voice when they spoke about him.

“Ha! Back when I had long hair like yours,” her mom said, referring to a photo from almost 20 years ago. “Gosh, I was about 40 then. Those were good times. I miss being a teacher,” she lamented. Her mom was a long-time art teacher at the local elementary school before she was forced to take an early retirement due to funding cuts.

“At least you’re still getting to do something you like, right?” Harleen asked, referring to her interior design work.

“You bet. I do like what I do,” her mom said, turning the page. “I’m lucky that I met Bob. You know how much he supported me in getting my business off the ground.”

Harleen smiled. Her mom always had such a good eye for art and design and she liked to think that she inherited the art gene from her.

“I would have loved to have been able to do some more adjunct work at the university, too. You know, if you ever get the chance, Har, you should look into that. That could be pretty lucrative,” her mom said, looking up at her. “I know you’re so busy at Arkham, though. I just don’t want you to be drawn too far into that world,” she said, thinking of her late husband.

“Oh, I’m not,” Harleen reassured her, which she knew was a lie. Her mind flashed to Joker’s almost lifeless body in the infirmary. She felt bad that he didn’t have any family to spend Christmas with and she felt that she should be there with him—in a therapeutic capacity, of course. Harleen paused for a moment, thinking about her mother’s work at Moraine University on Long Island. “Mom, refresh my memory, what did you teach at the university?”

“Hm, well, I did a bunch of stuff,” her mom pondered. “I taught the entry-level art courses, you know, ceramics, sculpture, painting, drawing… They also had me teach a class about writing for the arts, even though I didn’t have a ton of experience in writing. I learned a lot from that course myself.”

“I’d love to do something like that,” Harleen admitted. “I mean, I would love to incorporate arts into my field. Maybe something like arts for mental health. I could teach that!”

“I love the idea,” her mom smiled. “I know you’re upstate now, but there are plenty of universities and colleges near you that might be looking for someone just like you!” She gave her daughter a tight squeeze around her shoulders. “I’m so proud of you, you know that?” she told Harleen.

They spent the rest of the evening playing games and talking. It was past midnight when she finally left, almost opting to spend the night. But she was potentially on-call, she told her parents, and she wanted to be close to Arkham just in case. They exchanged their goodbyes and lots of hugs, and Harleen got in her car and headed back north.

*****

Patient remains stable, I’ll text u tomorrow with an update, one of the nurses had texted Harleen while she was at her parents’ house. She felt guilty that they had to work Christmas Day, but she was thankful for the update and for their dedication.

Harleen ended up sleeping in several hours past her normal wake time and it was mid-morning by the time she finally rolled out of bed. She decided go for a run and and return to eat a light brunch. She took a long, hot shower and thought about how she was actually happy where she lived. She didn’t want to live on Long Island where her parents and brother had their homes. She had a really beautiful apartment in a gorgeous area with views of the river and a jogging trail nearby. She could walk to the center of town if she wanted to. She was close to several parks and green spaces where she could just get out an enjoy nature—something that she didn’t see much of in Brooklyn.

She had made plans with her girlfriend Vanessa to meet for lunch at a café in her small town. She told Vanessa everything when it came to guys and Vanessa always countered, telling her that she was so picky—that her standards were unbelievably high.

“He should be well-educated is all I’m saying,” she defended herself to Vanessa with a smile on her face.

“Hahaha, right,” Vanessa chortled, “And have a hot bod, a big package, a refined palate, a respect for the arts, and money out the wazoo!”

“Exactly!” Harleen exclaimed with both girls filling the café with their laughter. They were quite a fashionable pair with Harleen wearing dark blue jeans, high-heeled boots, a pretty light gray knit sweater—a gift from her mother—and a green scarf. Not having enough time to straighten it, she left her long hair down, which formed beautiful waves in its natural state. There was no doubt that Harleen was a beautiful woman and could have her choice of virtually any man.

“So, is there anyone new?” Vanessa queried. She couldn’t believe that her best friend wasn’t taken by now. She had it all—brains and body.

“No, not yet. I’m still taking a big break since Dex,” she replied, referring to her last boyfriend. “That was... a disaster. I just need time to figure out things for myself.”

“Okay, hun, but that was, what, almost two years ago,” Vanessa reminded her. “Don’t wait too long or you’ll lose out on a lot of fun!”

“I know, I know! I’ll get to it!” Harleen promised. She didn’t dare speak a word about her growing affection for Joker. She would become an immediate pariah and she was sure her friends and family would insist that she be placed in an asylum. “I’ve actually been thinking about applying for some teaching jobs at a college or university. I think it would be a good break from the lunacy I experience every day at Arkham.”

“I like that idea. Maybe you’ll have some hot guys in your classes. You can wear your short skirts and flip your hair. You would be Miss Sexy Professor!” Vanessa erupted into giggles.

“Hey, I like that idea! I’m going to make it happen!” Harleen responded, thinking about the actual possibility of teaching. She might sit on a desk in front of the room with her long legs crossed and her blonde hair down… just like following in her mom’s footsteps.

Harleen stopped, her coffee cup poised at her lips, her mind frozen in thought. Oh, my God, she thought. Oh, my God!!! She was making connections in her head. Joker lived on Long Island at one point. He went to a university. He took an English class. Her mom taught English. He thought she was his professor. What if my mom was his professor?? What if I can figure out who he is?? The sudden realization sent tingles throughout her entire body.

“Hey Van, I gotta head back. My patient is about to be released from the infirmary today and I need to make sure everything is good with him,” she told her, trying to contain the excitement in her voice. “We’ll definitely have to do this again. I miss you!”

“Hey, no problem!” Vanessa smiled. “Duty calls! But don’t work too hard. I think I’ll hang around and do some post-holiday shopping, so text me if you’re still around later.” The friends hugged and parted ways with Harleen nearly sprinting to her car after she left the door.

*****

Harleen shuddered as the cold wind cut through her on her way up the library steps. She decided to head to the library instead of back home because she knew that she might have an easier time researching old news articles or looking through the stacks for information, even though most things were digitized by now. The library also held subscriptions to so many services that she couldn’t access at home, and she was hopeful that she could find something. Energized by her realization, she barely remembered driving and parking, being so lost in her own thoughts. She knew this was a long shot, but she couldn’t contain her excitement.

Arriving at the reference section, she took a seat a computer and logged in. Where do I start? She stared at the screen and began researching Moraine University’s Chemistry program. She knew Joker’s rap sheet didn’t begin until 10 years ago—2006—and her mom taught at the school from 1998 to 2008. Assuming that he was not an enrolled student while also committing crimes, she figured that she would look at 1998 to 2006 as her year range. This is doable, she thought. 

She searched for anything relating to chemistry lab explosion at the university, but had no luck. She searched for all Chemistry PhDs granted during those years, but there were so many—hundreds—that she couldn’t really pare it down easily. And, even then, the university hadn’t always published names of graduates online. She realized that this was the early 2000s and, though they certainly used the internet, the university didn’t keep all of its data online as they do now. She just wished she could have seen a roster of names from her mom’s class. I wonder if she kept that? She sighed. Probably not. Her mom was a clean freak and she only kept what was relevant. Plus, she would ask why Harleen wanted such a specific thing. Oh, I’m just doing research into the real identity of a patient, she would tell her mom. Oh yeah? What patient? She would ask, not realizing that her daughter couldn’t reveal her patient’s identity anyway. The Joker, mom. Harleen imagined telling her. And, by the way, I think I’m falling in love with him.

“Ugh,” Harleen grumbled out loud, rubbing her temples.

Her phone vibrated on the desk and the time flashed 3:15 p.m. It was a text from the nurse again. It’s Henry, patient awake, stabilized. No add’l problems. Sending him back to cell. Harleen sent a quick thank you text back to him. She really did appreciate them keeping her in the loop.

She was so anxious to find answers but kept hitting brick walls. She was about to start cross-referencing the list of Chemistry graduates on social media websites in order to rule them out when a thought struck her. He said he caused a lab explosion. Maybe… maybe they wrote about the lab explosion in the student paper. Her heartbeat quickened. She asked the reference librarian where she might be able to find old college papers.

“Some are just posted online on the college’s website, but the older ones are digitized. They started to post content online around 2001 or so,” the librarian told her with a British lilt to her words as she looked up from her computer. “I’ll show you the service we subscribe to so you can search any college paper. We also have a service for regular newspapers, too, if you need it,” she said, walking from behind the counter and following Harleen to her computer. She pulled up the search form and explained that she can search by date and keyword, but that the early digitized papers might only be searchable by date and maybe some by keywords that were tagged, but not by content.

“That’s no problem, at least it gets me in the right direction,” Harleen told her and thanked her for her help. She searched the Moraine Student Mirror for variations on chemistry laboratory explosion with no luck. Maybe he was lying or maybe he was confused, Harleen wondered. No, it was such a rare moment of conversation and disclosure. It was too raw to be fake, she concluded. Maybe it wasn’t even at Moraine University... maybe I’m on a wild goose chase...

She thought about searching the city papers, but thought that would be a daunting task and that the story would be lost in pages and pages of text. She decided to stick with her investigation of the student paper, looking at each weekly digitized newspaper starting in 1998. There were several missing chronologically, which worried her. She spent hours looking at the content headings for every paper... 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001… Apparently, Moraine U wasn’t on the ball with posting their student news online, she thought, as she realized that papers had been digitized up until 2005.

Clicking on the link for 2002, she began to continue her monotonous search when her heart nearly stopped. The headline from the paper dated Friday, February 22, 2002, burned its text into her eyes: Kennedy Hall Rocked by Chemical Explosion. “Oh, my god,” she said aloud, garnering the attention of the librarian. Her hands shaking, she scrolled down the page to read the article.

On Thursday, February 21, campus police with the assistance of local police and fire departments were called to the scene at Kennedy Hall where a chemistry experiment had gone wrong. Dr. Clarence Hodge, chair of the Chemistry Department, stated that no students or staff were injured during the explosion. The damages were extensive, ranging from rooms 214 to 218, causing structural instability to the east wing of the building. Currently, students are barred from the east wing and all classes will be rescheduled to different rooms. Dr. Hodge reports that, “[T]he explosion was the result of a chemistry experiment gone awry… One of our best students, Jack Napier, was conducting experiments for his PhD research. This was not intentional; just an unfortunate accident. In fact, he might even be able to incorporate it into his research.” Dr. Hodge and the campus police report that the university will not press charges against Napier. No students were in the rooms when the explosion occurred. For any concerns or questions about the building and the rescheduling of rooms, please email the student news desk.

Harleen could not believe her eyes. Jack Napier. The name sent chills through her whole body. Jack Napier. Is that his name? The Joker’s name? She couldn’t believe that she could be the only person to know the Joker’s real name. She wasn’t even sure if he knew his own name.

Her hands were trembling and she realized that she was starving. It was already past 6:00. But she decided that she couldn’t leave. She had to continue digging and finding more information on Jack Napier. She searched his name and found that he indeed received a PhD in Chemistry in 2003. Synthesis of Pyrrolizidine-Phosphinooxazoline Reactions Through Organometallic Processes was the title of his dissertation. Holy shit, this guy must be fucking brilliant, Harleen thought. Wow. She did some further research into his topic and found that he had focused on organic chemistry and what seemed to be potentially creating new compounds from plants and metals that could be used as very promising pharmaceuticals.

She continued her search and found that he had established a business with a partner, Nick Heusinger, in the city’s west side—ACE Chemicals, the business was named. She pressed on further and further with her search finally being led to a newspaper from April 2005 that contained Napier’s name. She scrolled through and found it buried in one of the final sections of the paper.

She found his name in the obituaries.

“Oh, my God,” Harleen swallowed hard. She closed her eyes to hold back her tears, but the pressure built up, stinging her nose and making it difficult to breathe. Jack W. Napier, the obituary title read… It was accompanied by a photo of a very handsome man. He had the same piercing eyes as the Joker and she knew without a doubt that it was him. He was gorgeous. He looked like a movie star. It was a black and white photo, but she could tell that his hair was dark brown and his eyes were bright blue. His hair was short but messy and he had a very slight beard. He was wearing a shirt and tie and looked so incredibly handsome, like he was a young college professor. His eyes were soft and kind, not sullen and gray like she had been so used to seeing. He was smiling a huge, lovely smile, as if he were on top of the world. It must have been a photo for the Chemistry Department or maybe a photo for his business. After staring at the photo for ages, memorizing every single detail, she finally read the obituary.

Jack W. Napier, age 28, of Gotham, formerly of Long Island, passed on April 15, 2005. Napier was an alumnus of Moraine University where he received his MS and PhD degrees in Chemistry. He worked with his business partner to establish ACE Chemicals where he focused on creating innovative drugs for pharmaceutical companies. Napier was preceded in death by his parents and three siblings as well as his maternal and paternal grandparents. He was also preceded in death by his fiancée Jessica and their unborn child. He is survived by many friends including business partner Nick Heusinger. Services will not be held. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Long Island Humane Society.

Unborn child… Harleen could not hold back her tears as a flood of emotion moved through her body. He lost everything he ever had in his life. His parents, his siblings, his fiancée, their unborn child… Tears streamed down her face. It makes so much sense now, she realized. He has nothing to lose. It’s no wonder why he was driven insane.

She searched more information about ACE Chemicals and found a blurb about how Nick Heusinger had been indicted for asset misappropriation and tax fraud, resulting in his ultimate conviction and imprisonment in 2009. She found an article from a newspaper in April 2005 about ACE Chemicals titled Man dies after industrial accident at ACE Chemicals.

A man has died following a late-night accident at ACE Chemicals, according to police. The man was reported to have fallen from a catwalk into an open basin of acidic chemicals, used to create pharmaceutical drugs. Police and other rescue personnel were not able to obtain the body of the individual as it is believed to have been dissolved. ACE declined to release more details at this time. OSHA officials say they were told the man lost his balance and fell into the basin. The victim’s name is being withheld at this time. The investigation is continuing.

Tears continued to roll down Harleen’s face as she was now openly weeping in the quiet library. He survived the chemical bath somehow. That’s why he’s so fucked up! I can’t believe… Her thoughts trailed off as she imagined his pale skin, his green hair, his teeth, his lack of facial hair. It must have changed him in some way on the genetic level, she speculated, resting her forehead in her hand and staring at her keyboard.

It was all making sense to her now. He died and no service was held. No one knew he survived. He reappeared on the scene in 2006. He probably had something to do with his partner’s death, she surmised. Maybe that’s how he started his empire, from appropriating liquid assets from his old company and setting up his partner for the fall… Maybe it was revenge of some sort… 

She tried to search for information about his fiancée, but just couldn’t find anything about her. Her heart cried out to him, knowing all of the pain he had gone through but never revealed to her in their sessions. His heart must be broken, she thought, feeling her own heart break for him.

She stood up, still sobbing and wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. I have to go see him right away, she thought to herself, looking at her watch. Almost 8:00. She gathered her things when the librarian approached her.

“Are you okay, dear?” she asked with a look of concern on her face, reaching out to touch her shoulder.

“I… uh… I’m okay,” Harleen stuttered, wiping tears from her eyes. “Thank you so much for your help.”

“You’re very welcome,” she responded. “I hope you were able to find what you were looking for.”

“I did, I really did...” Harleen said tearfully. She thanked her again and then quickly left the library with one destination in her mind, her feet not being able to carry her fast enough. All she wanted was to see the Joker—Jack—in his cell and… and… She couldn’t think of what she would even say or how to say it. She cried as she drove as fast as she could across the long bridge to Arkham just 20 minutes away, most certainly breaking a few traffic laws on the way.

*****

Click here for Chapter 6: A Manipulated Promise

If you liked this story, please show me your love! The likes, comments, reblogs, and messages make this all worthwhile and let me know that you are out there enjoying it, too! xoxo

[thepeculiarmermaid-blog1]

Our Isla De Gigantes Experience! (Narrative with Tips)

(This trip is definitely one for the books. For this post, I’ll be utilizing my instagram caption/narrative from a few months ago with random pictures from Isla Gigantes in between paragraphs.)

“This trip ended up being more than just a typical summer ender and stress reliever. To be honest, the planning and the entire trip was more stressful than fun.

Right when we knew about the cancelled direct route from Tabuelan to Estancia two days before our trip, we knew we were fucked. All the other alternatives were either too expensive or too time consuming. While option to cancel the trip and go somewhere else was beginning to look more attractive, I decided not to give up yet since we already paid the travel agency the non-refundable fee (the payment of which gave us its own contribution of stress) and being the frugal person I am, I didn't want any sunk costs.

The day before the trip, and after hours of internet searching, I realized that with the free time we have, we could never really get to the destination in time unless we buy a plane ticket. I finally decided let go of Isla Gigantes, the 300php downpayment (yes we only had to let go of 300php guys but it was a lot for me!!) and go to Cuatro Islas instead in Leyte. We were both okay with the idea and were okay with our plan B for the rest of the day. We even had dinner and went karaoke with the thought of going to Cuatro Islas tomorrow in our heads (we thought that it was a good plan B since it also had the word Isla. Lol) but a short conversation we had minutes before midnight made us think about the unli seafood the agency promised us and how the cheap the entire package was. We also thought about how we wouldn't get another simultaneous 3 day break from our schedules and we might not get another package as good as the one we found. So before we said our goodnights, the words finally found its way through my lips-

"Isla nlng ta?"

But wait! Around 3 in the afternoon the next day, 2 hours before our condemned bus trip to Bacolod, we received a message from the agency stating the possibility of a thunderstorm hence the likely cancellation of the tour. Guys are we really gonna go all the way to Iloilo and just entertain the possibility of a cancelled tour? Even if it won't be cancelled, we still had to endure light to heavy rains and gloomy skies. It was the question we had to answer before we leave for the terminal which would be in an hour. The answer was yes.

I finally found an option which was both cheap and time friendly- trip cutting. Basically we had to ride a:

-3 hour bus trip (Cebu to Santander) -2 hour barge (Santander to San Carlos) -another 3 hour bus trip (San Carlos to Bacolod) -a few tricycle rides (Terminal to Pier) -another 2 hour barge (Bacolod to Iloilo) -another tricycle ride, one jeepney ride (Pier to Terminal) -and one 3 hour van ride going to Carles.

Yes folks, we had to do all that in 17 hours!! This was a LOT more stressful and time consuming than the direct trip to Estancia (I still really hate Oceanjet for not making an official announcement that can be easily seen by everyone!!) but at least it would get us where we wanted when we wanted.  

It was not a comfortable trip. We even had to sleep in the bus terminal, (which is really nice by the way for a bus terminal!). Long story short, we arrived in Iloilo City at around 8am, which was supposed to be an okay time to start traveling to Carles. Big thanks to the van not showing up on time, we had to take:

- one 3 hour van going to Carles  one 3 hour van goin to Estancia - one 30 minutes tricycle ride  (which cost 300php for fuck's sake)

just to reach Bancal port a few minutes late. We thought that we'd rather spend extra than to waste all our efforts. Finally we arrived at the port just in time for our island hopping!!! The best part? The skies were so clear and the sun was cheerfully laughing at the weather forecast. The stress was finally over and it was finally time to enjoy ourselves.

The tour was very scenic and my eyes were filled with so much beauty. I found all the stress worth it. How could you not when you were able to see all these beautiful islands, go trekking, go caving, swim in clear waters, get tan, and eat unli scallops, crabs, fish and calamares? We ended up not taking a lot of pictures for we'd rather just enjoy the view and enjoy the time we have together before school and work and life in general. I thought all the struggle was just a little twist from the usual summer getaways and it would always find a place in my travel diaries.”

NOTES: (learn from our mistakes!)

- I highly advise you to buy a plane ticket or a boat ticket going to Iloilo if you're planning to go there via Cebu without any hassle (promo fares are everywhere guys!). If you'd rather take the road we took, then it's up to you. (well honestly its a bit fun! hahaha) For information and advise, contact me here or via my email in the description box.

- DO NOT WAIT FOR A VAN GOING TO CARLES if it's not yet available. If you're pressed for time, just ride a van going to Estancia right away. If you're not pressed from time, I suggest you ride a bus going to Carles or Estancia instead which would pass by near the Iloilo port. It would save you money and time because the port is nearer Isla Gigantes.

-If you're planning to go to Carles from Estancia (because that's where our agency wanted to meet us), just ride a bus. The tricycle is too expensive, but the bus will take a bit more time. Althoug according to internet articles, you could still go to Isla Gigantes via Estancia

- We booked our tour via Isla Gigantes of Facebook (click for the link). They are very nice and accommodating. We availed of the promo of 1700/pax 2D1N inclusive of everything from Bancal port and back (rates may vary). The rooms they provided are not airconditioned so just inform the agency if you prefer an airconditioned room.

-The tour included a trip to a cave which would require you a little hike to the mountains. It would take around 30 minutes one way so if you’re not too comfortable hiking with slippers, I suggest you bring shoes.

-Why did we not ride a ferry straight to Iloilo from Cebu? 1.) It was more expensive than the 2nd option 2.) They didn't offer a schedule that would get us there on time.

- P L A N   E V E R Y T H I N G  A H E A D

(June 2017)

[skelffricat]

Bath Blog

Today is the beginning of FunFreeFeb. I was just going to give up Facebook (Facebook Free February! I like alliteration) but then I decided to try no meat, booze, or (animal) milk and its derivatives. Sure, it's only 28 days. Or maybe I'll never want some of those things again? Who knows? And maybe FunFreeFeb is a misnomer. Maybe I don't need any of those things, to have fun... (and there are plenty of other social media. And fish. And eggs.)

It seemed a bit negative to just Give Things Up, though. Hence me writing the blog. In the bath. More alliteration. I could try and draw a picture every day, too, but I'm much slower, at drawing. I'm terrible at finishing them.

I'm writing this on my phone, using Swype. I used to think it was strange that we weren't taught how to type at school, but perhaps, like shorthand, it will die out, as it is now unnecessary. (Shorthand is a beautiful thing; yet I don't know anyone under 50 who can do it). Now we can just talk at our phones (they even understand Belfast accents, now! Mostly.)

Or we can run our fingers over their clever screens. I love Swype. I love how trying to type a word on a mobile phone has changed over the years. These days, there is no chance I'll get accidentally called Snow, or Pony. Technology has moved on, and Swype is here! I think perhaps I can Swype as fast as I can talk? Though it always needs fixed... I had to fix 2 words in that last sentence. And I love how, even if you randomly make shapes on the letters, it'll still make words. Accidental poetry. I shall demonstrate:

“Esbjerg ankh wants policy was TV oh es hi Slaidburn proud word ahead omagh puri please ward ugh our weds.”

Beautiful. Hahaha.

It's like that "game" you can play with pressing the predictions of your mobile phone. I shall demonstrate, once again: (this is a relatively new phone; I haven't actually tried this on it, yet. I'll do the middle button, first):

“and then I can use it to message and call you tomorrow to confirm the time for the interview on the phone at the same time as I am currently working on the same size as the one I sent you a couple of days ago and have attached it again so you can see what you have done so far and I hope you can help me with the kids and my mum all said thank you very much for the lovely presents you gave me yesterday and the kids are at home and it's really hard to get a job as they are you going to the cinema to complicate things with you and the kids are at home with you and the kids are at home with you...”

Eventually, it starts to loop.

Here is the left button:

“15...”

Is that it?! I wonder if it's because of the colon? I'll try without it

“is the first time last wk years of my head really hurt me and the kids were a little nervous and I have to go to work in the black area and have to go to work in the black area...”

Hmm. I DO have to work in the black area, tonight! And finally! The right button (can you still call them buttons?):

“the same time to say the first one in a couple weeks or weeks after that one of my cold ones has gone through and they will be missing something in a couple weeks to be a bouncer and I will not have to pay the bills in full in September or July next week and they said that the right one would get a taxi from a place in which I will not pay the bills until after midnight on Friday as I will have to go back for my shift on Friday was due for renewal at a later stage in my car and the car insurance is a complete and no deal yet as I'm currently away from home until after Christmas so hopefully I'll have enough to get a few more weeks notice before we go off for work but we have to wait until next month to pay for our first trip next year so I'll be working in a couple out for the first week and a couple weeks away to stay for the next couple weeks for my family to be a bouncer friend for the first week and a couple weeks away to be in touch sooner as I'm working at 6pm am for a couple weeks...” Jesus. I got bored of pressing it. Don't think it's ever gonna loop. I could do left - middle - right, but perhaps I should wash my hair and get out of the bath, instead? And stop writing the most boring blog post EVER!? Na, fuck it, here we go, last one:

“I am not a late license for all of us so please help me with this as soon as possible please so that I wasn't when he is going to be in the office for a few days and is going to see if I can do...”

Right. That's enough. If this was a Monty Python sketch, a policeman in a tutu would come and make me desist. Until tomorrow, then...

1st February 2019