#have the Option to flip my whole life upside down at any time even if i doubt i'll ever be brave enough to try

[neige-leblanche]

It’s totally normal to not be with someone who has different ideas on wanting kids from you. I know people who never mentioned their feelings on kids till after marriage and it destroyed the relationship when it came out that one really wanted kids and the other really really didn’t. I could never be with someone who felt strongly about wanting kids, cause I’d either feel pressured to change my mind or feel bad I was holding them back from something they want

thank u :') its hard bc im like. mostly aromantic and the thought of going out to search for someone who does fit all my ideals is not something i can really picture myself ever doing; i suppose it hurts when one has special feelings that rarely ever happen but they're for someone with whom a lasting future isn't really feasible

[dotmander]

How To Get Your Character Models Out Of A Game: Tips And Tricks For Bitches That Have Never Used Blender

(it's me, i'm bitches)

(also ignore how messy that lighting is it's 1am and i should have been asleep hours ago. he's there for proof of concept 💕)

a couple people (specifically @forsaken-constellation and @ratasum) asked for a tutorial on how to rip models out of the game. this is not that, but it is a compilation of resources i used to learn about ripping, blender, and 3d modeling in general. i desperately wanted a post like this to exist when i was trying to figure this out, so here we go! all the resources below are completely free, with the exception of a link to the patreon of the person that created ninjaripper.

disclaimers:

there are probably more efficient ways to do the things i am doing. i watched a tutorial to learn shortcuts and then skipped to character models. if you have tips to add, corrections to make, or other thoughts, please feel free to share! i'll link to your post here. ^^

i do not know if any of this will get your account banned. i've ripped several models, so i'm going to assume it's fine as long as you don't try to make money off of it. use your best judgment, be an adult, etc etc etc

last updated: june 30, 2024

PROGRAMS & WEBSITES

ninjaripper 1.7.1 - there's a newer version on the creator's patreon, presumably with support for newer versions of blender and fewer bugs, but i haven't tried that

blender 2.79 - the import addon that comes with ninjaripper 1.7.1 is outdated for the current version of blender (3.5 as of this post), so 2.79 is needed to combine the .RIP files into a .BLEND (blender) file

noesis - ninjaripper saves your textures as .DDS files, noesis lets you view them and export them as .PNGs

blender 3.5 (optional?) - i just like it better than 2.79. if you're completely new it might not matter to you. all of the tutorials linked later are for later versions, though.

mixamo (optional) - rigs your character for you and lets you put them in Situations (like my guy above.) there's a whole library of free animations and poses you can try!

TUTORIALS

how to use ninjaripper - most of what you need to know about actually ripping the files and using ninjaripper is covered here. do not skip this one.

how to use blender 3.5 - full disclosure i haven't finished this series because it's uhhhh many hours long. but if you are a complete newbie to blender, i do recommend at least the first few videos; you'll learn about shortcuts that will make your life easier, how to unfuck your model when it fucks itself for no reason, and different terms that will help you google things you don't know later on. possibly he even covers some of the things i'm about to link! anyway.

what's a uv map?

how to apply textures

how to apply bump maps (note: for our purposes, you wouldn't add a color ramp node, you would add an image node with your bump map, and attach it to the bump node as the person does in the video)

there should be stuff here about weight painting, cloth physics, emission maps (makes your sylvari glow), and other stuff, but um. i haven't figured those out <3  

TIPS

TURN UP YOUR GRAPHICS BEFORE YOU RIP - if you don't, you might end up missing certain textures/glows/etc. HOWEVER, you should turn animations down, because apparently high animation can make your meshes misplace themselves

rip from the character select screen, rather than an instance, because you will have 100 meshes to sort through instead of 1400. i am not exaggerating either of those numbers. if you are new to blender, please love yourself and start with character select.

your textures will be fucked up the first time you try to apply them. this is because the UV maps (the things that tell your textures where to go) of your models are flipped upside down in relation to the texture image. you can flip them back over manually, ooooor you can just flip the entire texture file in something like CSP or photoshop.

for some reason all eyes are red in the texture files. i have not figured out why. i recommend editing the .PNG to have the correct eye color before applying the texture.

that's all i can think of for now - if you have other questions, feel free to shoot them my way, although i can't promise i'll have a straight answer ^^;;

mixamo only works for humanoid characters with tight clothing (or without clothing at all). if you try to use it to rig a charr or asura, or someone with a skirt or big sleeves, you will most likely be disappointed.

2024 edit: sometimes parts of hair meshes just...disappear. i have no idea why. if you can figure it out please let me know LMAO

information from bookahlogy about character proportions, fixing normals, and other fun tips

[jojoturnip]

It's the first kidney stone I've had since living with you.

I realized after moving out that they had much less to do with my diet and much more to do with stress. Living with you hurt me in a lot of ways, especially at the end.

And, I'm not saying it's all you, obviously. I made a habit of piling my plate so full that I wouldn't have too see past the mountain of things to do to the work of healing and rebuilding myself. Our third roommate, the fleas, transitioning from college to working full time. That was all stress.

But, in my last few months of living with you, I was getting stones regularly. Something that had never happened before. And I'd had those busy-body habits most of my life.

It's heartbreaking, you know? Because I really did love you. I really did want to be your friend forever. I really would've lived with you again.

But, I was hurting myself.

I don't think you ever noticed it. I want to think you didn't know you were hurting me.

The first time I really cried after leaving was when I found out that you weren't narcoleptic. I'd always imagined that you couldn't get out of bed and do it yourself. That it had to be me by default, not by your choice.

I'm not so certain anymore.

That's not to say I don't believe you can't be chronically ill and struggle to get out of bed in another way. Of course you can.

But I was passing fucking kidney stones the whole goddamn time, and I still carried myself and then part of you, too.

Today was the first day I've taken off sick at my job. I really haven't felt sick much at all--a rarity for me in through the winter months. The latest stone came from stress, I invited my grandparents over after not speaking to them for three years.

I was so scared and nervous and just out of my mind. I did everything I could to distract myself, but I felt terrible. I knew I had to do it, before August rolled around. Sooner rather than later. I'd promised.

It makes sense that they're coming stressed me out enough to give me a stone. It makes sense that I've had more nightmares keeping me up recently.

What doesn't make sense is that they handled everything better than you did.

I spoke the truth to them. Not about everything, but enough. They don't need to know my whole story. We just have to find neutral ground. For my sister. For her daughter.

It hurt, and I cried so much the whole time, and they didn't even remember some of the hardest parts of my life. They tried to argue they had done more to face my father when we were kids, to get him to be a better dad, but they claimed he was out of their control. Claimed that he still is.

We're not on friendly terms. I doubt we ever will be, but they took it all so much better than you. They recognized I had my own life, and that I wouldn't be taking abuse or staying silent about it any longer. I'd felt my ted-talk communication skills kick in, and I'd expressed understanding for their side, too. It would be hard to accept your son is a shit father.

They can't deny it much anymore. He's scheduled a cruise for when his granddaughter is due.

Things haven't been easy lately. Hell, I've met so many of my darkest fears head on since the end of last year. My world has flipped inside-out, upside-down. But, I've been pushing through it okay. I'm so much stronger than I thought I was.

It breaks my heart again after meeting with my grandparents to know there was an option for a different reality. You could've been there, beside me, carrying our own loads but lifting each other all the while. We could've grown closer. We could still be friends.

I miss you a lot. I'm not afraid to say that. I can hold the contradictive love and fear in my hands. Do you still have nuance, even though she detests it?

Sometimes, I wish you were still around. I have so many stories to tell you, so many questions to ask. Sometimes I wish my therapist would tell me that I had done something wrong so I could grovel at your knees and beg for forgiveness, beg to start again.

I'll always miss you. But, you weren't healthy for me. And I know you aren't safe for my loved ones now.

I have to live with missing you. And the fears you've left behind.

At least there are fewer kidney stones.

[incarnateirony]

So during my life changes, my setup is essentially like a studio apartment and 4 x 8 of it is taken by a grow tent, leaving mostly bed, desk, bathroom and back corner.

I brought both my cats with that took to it differently. Velcro, who I call Bebe because it's the only thing she answers to, gives no fucks. She's like 7, obese, and an indoor cat her whole life.

On the other hand Trouble is about a year old and some change. And for half his life during adolescence I had chucklefuck roommates that heard "please be mindful to keep the cats in and close the door" and heard it as, "leave door gaping wide open any time you're not looking so I chill on the porch? For some reason? Leave unscreened windows open?" and admittedly went half feral. Bebe would try to wander but 6 years inside had her come running back before reaching the edge of the yard.

So this little box of a place was NOT IT, and he gravity checks everything for fun, to the point today I took a second bloody injury that could have been fatal an inch over just dealing with his shit while he flipped everything in the place upside down. Literally. He somehow launched my dishware and all my herbs today for example, its still strewn all over the fuckin floor, that shit flew like eight feet.

So, I messaged my friend like GET THIS CAT OUT OF HERE BEFORE I TURN HIM INTO A FUCKING PURSE because atop everything, he gravity checked my debit card into a void and I've had to order ANOTHER, last time it was kidnapping my glasses into his carrier. He is too young too male too feral to contain in a box apartmnent.

Friend is involved in the grow op and is like we can't have this cat destroying our operation even if I believe in forever homes but at this point he's risking four people's livelihoods, I can take him for a few days while we figure out options on placement.

So friend gets him in the car and

[alyjojo]

Love Reading 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 - November 2022 - Pisces

Singles:

Overall energy: The Chariot

How you will meet: The Tower

How they will treat you: 5 Wands

Long-term Potential: 9 Pentacles & Temperance

This is most definitely an lgbt read, two Queens and a little gay message. I like when it’s blatantly clear like that. If you’re not, you could be dealing with a fire sign, but for the most part this is for someone that resonates. You’ve been on and off with this person for awhile, they’ve said something that flipped your whole world upside down, pulled the rug from out under your feet. You seem to have several options, this is just one of them. You like to toy with their emotions. You seem to like the drama they bring to your life, maybe it’s confused with passion. You find this person very attractive, and they’re the type to argue about everything, they’re petty, kinda mean, unnecessarily hurtful and yet…you like it? You don’t seem bothered. Your goal is to continue messing with this person, so their arguments may be totally valid.

Future potential is continuing the mind fkery. You want to be alone, but you want to mend the fence and make it better. You want to reunite and you want to end it for good. You’re not sure what you want, it changes all of the time. You don’t want anyone upset with you. I’m going to guess it’s probably not going to be them, because this is long term potential, which has you at single and thinking of reconnecting, but single regardless. Maybe trying to be friends, just to keep them around.

Messages -

Their side:

- Excellent cook

- Going in different directions

Your side:

- I want to have my cake 🍰 and eat it too

- Could be a little gay/straight 🏳️‍🌈

Signs you may be dealing with:

Aries, Scorpio, Cancer, Leo & Sagittarius

Couples:

Overall energy: The Hierophant

Current: Knight of Pentacles

Challenge: 5 Cups

Potential: Page of Cups

If you’re not actually separated, you are emotionally. The Hierophant can show a commitment, so either you’re married, have a child, living together, there’s some contract or purpose for the connection, but not necessarily anything going on between you. At least right now, you’re pretty pissed at them, and every card here has Spirit backing you 100%. I don’t see what they’ve done, just how you’re handling it, and money seems to be your go-to method of handling it. You could be exhausting yourself with work, working overtime even, mostly to avoid and ignore this person you’re committed to. You could be working for yourself, removing your funds from a joint account if that applies, possibly saving up what you can. If there is any forced interaction with this person, it’s slim to none and you offer nothing to them.

While you’re doing this for not great reasons, you’re actually very patient and happy with yourself, which is great. You’re taking good care of yourself, doing things that make you happy, you’re not in an ick state of mind. Possibly overdoing it with work, but you strive for balance when it gets too much. The challenge here is your sadness & disappointment over being alone, when you’re alone you’re in Hermit mode, questioning the deeper meanings of your life and where is it all going, what happened, etc etc. It’s too much and you’d rather work and not think about it. You try to avoid doing that as much as possible, but sometimes it’s inevitable, like nighttime right? Good news is on the way to you, though it may take some time, it could be about something you’ve been saving up for. You could get a sweet message from this person, possibly an apology, but that too will take time. This message is nothing but vindication for you that this person was wrong and everything you’re doing is the right thing.

Messages -

Their side:

- Stalker 👀

- Selfish 💯

Your side:

- BOSS

- You hurt me first.

Oracles -

Their side: Don’t blame others for what you don’t like about yourself.

Your side: Face your fears. When you do, you’ll realize that they’re not real, but only what you’ve created.

There’s never an easy way to do anything worthwhile; through hard work, you learn.

Signs you may be dealing with:

Taurus, Virgo, Gemini & Pisces

[sukirichi]

— just the two of us

request: I almost read all of your jujutsu kaisen writings and I love it. Your writing is really good! I do not know if a request about a fics🥞 about satoru gojo who is really in love and not very possessive with an oblivious reader. It will be fun to see Satoru try to flirt with her and she doesn't get it🤣

pairings: gojo x oblivious! reader

notes: THIS IDEA IS SO CUTEEE I absolutely loved every second of writing it! thank you for the request and I hope you like this! 🥞 breakfast has been served!

word count: 3.3k

warnings: none, other than this is unedited and written humorously rather than seriously~

masterlist !

Gojo doesn’t know whether he’s lucky – or completely cursed – over the fact you’ve got no idea he’s so in love with you.

It’s a bright sunny morning, perfect for outdoor training, and he walks with you all the way to school with his hands shoved deep in his pockets. You stretch your arms out in the sky to bask in the morning glow and warmth of the sun, sleeves pushed up to your forearms to “get that vitamin D.”

Satoru snickers at your statement, because you’d totally be getting a different kind of Vitamin D if only you’d notice him. Sometimes he wonders, if maybe you’d inherited the Six Eyes instead of him, would you finally be able to see him – or would you still remain unaware?

He doesn’t even know where it began. A year ago, Yaga introduced you as the newest staff member. You’d been so fidgety and nervous then, unsure of what to do and worried if maybe the kids wouldn’t love. They did, of course, how could they not. Not only were you extremely fun to be with, you’re also caring, fretting and even crying whenever one of the students got injured over a mission.

Shoko reminds you all the time that this should be normal for you by now, but you always cry every time, sobbing that they’re still only kids and should be out having fun.

Yeah, maybe that’s where it began. Your kindness struck a chord in Satoru’s heart, and before he knew it, he was falling for you. Hard. Next thing you know, he shows up five minutes before you leave for work, mock-saluting you before inviting you to breakfast. He does this every damn day, and you still don’t get a single thing.

“That café was really good,” you muse, fingers stretching outwards and giggling as the sun peeks through the spaces. Satoru sighs beside you, wanting nothing more than to slip his fingers through those softer ones. “We should go back there sometime. Maybe even take the kids with us this weekend so we can all have breakfast together!”

Satoru masks a snicker with a cough. It reminds him of the time Megumi called you mom and dad by accident, to which you happily responded with before tackling the boy in hugs, while the strongest jujutsu sorcerer only flushed in embarrassment.

Him being him though, Satoru played it off cool, flipping his hair before striking a pose. “Huh, a dad?” he smirks, “The only person who gets to call me daddy would be no one else but Y/N.”

The raven haired first year student immediately recoils in disgust. Meanwhile, the innuendo flies straight through you, and you peer up at him innocently with your head tilted to the side. “Daddy? Why would I call you my dad? My father is still alive and well, and I don’t see you marrying my mom or anything,” Just as Megumi nearly howls in laughter – another evidence that you’re really something else to get the usually stoic boy to lose his composure like that – you snap your fingers, the light bulb above your head practically shining. “Oh, I get it! You prefer younger women and you want them to call you that! Kind of like the hype for onii-chan nowadays.”

Hopeless, Satoru wants to say, you’re absolutely, utterly hopeless.

“Hmm, I don’t know,” Satoru shrugs nonchalantly, sending a smirk your way. It usually drives everyone crazy, but you only smile back up at him in the same way you smile with everyone, and he tries his best to not show his shoulders are deflating. Nevertheless, he doesn’t give up. “How about you and I go out somewhere this weekend? The movies, perhaps?”

Say yes, say yes – please say yes.

Really though, he’s waiting for that ‘no’ already. Satoru knows you always go out of town during the weekends to visit your family in the countryside, only coming back on Monday the next week with a basket of fruits and traditional goods that isn’t so easy to find in the city.

But then you clasp your hands together in excitement, lashes fluttering delicately as you beam up at him. “Really? You’d like to go to the movies with me?”

“Of course I would,” Satoru tries not to stutter, hiding the fact that he’s completely taken aback. He’s the Gojo Satoru for heaven’s sake, he shouldn’t be this affected by anyone’s presence. “What makes you think I wouldn’t want to?”

“Oh, nothing, I just thought you were busy. This Saturday, then?”

Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, it’s actually happening – his mind was barely functioning at this point, and he even slapped his cheeks to snap him back to life. “I thought there was a fly,” he lied with a chuckle, “But yeah, Saturday. I’ll pick you up?”

“Yeah, sure!”

Satoru wouldn’t stop smiling the whole way to the school. Even when Yuuji had face planted into the ground and Megumi sprained his ankle from training, he wasn’t able to get rid of the ridiculously big smile that stretched across his lips. He’s floating in cloud nine, flowers erupting from his ears and heart-shaped emojis bursting in his background.

“Well, you look creepy,” Shoko commented in the faculty room the moment you excused yourself, “Did you land a date with her or something?”

“That I did,” he stated proudly, even banging his fist on his chest like a deranged form of King Kong.

“I can only hope Y/N makes it out alive,” Nanami announces from behind the newspaper he’s reading, legs crossed over another before he peeks above the paper, narrowed eyes dead set on the blindfolded man. “Don’t be too wild with her, Satoru. She’s a gentle soul despite being a sorcerer – I humbly suggest you don’t mess with her feelings.”

“Are you kidding me? She’s the one messing with my feelings by being so fucking cute all the time!”

“Who’s cute?”

Shoko nearly spits out her coffee the moment you enter, glancing around the room and sitting down next to a shock-still Satoru. Nanami only huffs in his seat with a shake of his head. It doesn’t take long before Satoru regains his confidence and recovers from his shock – he’s turned to you with his torso completely facing your way.

You bask in the attention, mimicking the gesture until your faces are mere inches from one another. The fact you’re so responsive and attentive to him yet still painfully naïve strikes a mental war of himself debating whether he wants to kiss you or knock your head upside down. Satoru chooses neither options as he leans closer, his smile growing wider when you don’t pull away, and he doesn’t stop moving until his lips are right beside the shell of your ear.

“You’re cute.”

Shoko shudders at the same time Nanami just gives up on everything, folding his paper and lying that he’s got someplace to go with Ichiji. Satoru patiently waits for your reaction; for you to crumble this time around.

You’re silent for a moment, brows almost right across each other when you register his words. Satoru ends up holding his breath for your next words, wondering: is this it? will she finally understand what I feel for her now?

Even Shoko ends up sitting at the edge of her seat, silently watching the exchange with interest barely hidden in her sparkling eyes. Satoru watches as your lips open, his eyes transfixed on the way the soft flesh moves. They tilt upwards, revealing a set of a wide smile – the smile he can never get enough of. “Thank you!” you giggle at his compliment, “You and Shoko are very cute too! And the kids too, especially Toge! Not that I’m saying he’s my favourite—”

“He’s definitely your favourite student,” snorts Shoko who is ignoring the way Satoru turns completely gray beside you.

It turns out you still haven’t figured it out after all.

“The kids this – the kids that,” the tall, lanky man whines, his head falling back on the back of the leather couch. He looks so utterly defeated you can’t help but lean over him to check if he’s okay, but Satoru pouts and hides his face under his uniform instead. “Why can it never be just the two of us?”

“Sorry, what did you say?”

This time, you’ve kneeled on the couch to hover him. You even pluck one side of his blindfold off to see how he’s doing, and suddenly thankful you can’t see the way his cheeks are absolutely flaming right now. 

“Nothing,” he assures, his smile hidden behind his shirt. You look absolutely adorable hovering over him like that – eyes wide and lips pouty – what he wouldn’t give to kiss those lips right now, but it isn’t the right time, and Satoru just needs to find a better way to tell you how he feels. “It’s nothing.”

It’s absolutely not nothing.

Saturday couldn’t come faster.

Satoru finds himself willing time to go faster. Once the awaited day finally comes, he wastes no time in choosing his best outfit; an oversized black shirt tucked into black skinny jeans before styling his hair up the way he likes.

He winks at his reflection in the mirror, going ooh and aah at how hot he looks. It’s another reason why he can’t comprehend why you don’t like him yet, when, uhm, he knows he looks damn good? He’s pretty funny too – and his strength and power is already a no-brainer. Satoru can’t wrap his head around any possible reason why you wouldn’t like him; it’s basically a life or death mission at this point.

With that end goal in his mind and a spritz of perfume later, Satoru sashays out his apartment. Even though it’s already dark outside and he spent the whole day walking back and forth in his room trying to come up with ways to confess to you, he acts coolly all the way to your apartment.

This time around, he’s more than confident. He’s going to have you wrapped around his pretty little finger, “Wow,” is the first thing he says, pulling his blindfold down just to look at you.

Satoru feels blessed in that exact moment to witness how the heavens took their time with you, creating only the best out of the best and birthing the most magnificent person ever. Suddenly, he grows an urge to run to the countryside and thank your parents for going funky one night and creating you, because you’re an absolutely magnificent gift and it really baffles him how you’re real.

“Wow,” he repeats again, and you chuckle when he shakes his head. “You look beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.”

“Thank you,” you look him up and down, smiling in satisfaction. “You look very handsome yourself.”

Satoru’s been called handsome a million times before that it’s gotten too much in his head already, but hearing it come from your lips hits different. If he was excited before, it’s nothing compared to what he feels now when you loop your arm through his, dangling off his arm like you were a lover.

He knows it’s not real and this is probably just a friendly date for you – something he intends to clear up later – but it doesn’t stop him from puffing his chest up a bit, almost as if bragging to everyone around you that he was the one you’re with, and that he was the one you’re going to the movies with.

All your babbles about everything goes straight into one ear and out the other. He wants to listen to you, he really does, but he’s so intoxicated with your voice that he just ends up nodding at everything you say; his attention mostly on how sweet you sound and smell.

His feelings only intensify a hundred times more when you finally make it to the theatre. Not only is it dark, but you’re sitting right next to him, arms and thighs brushing against each other. He takes note of every little movement you make, smiling to himself when you don’t pull away from his thigh flush against yours.

In this close proximity, your perfume overwhelms his senses. He finds himself leaning closer just to get a little more taste of it, his arm resting on the armrest beside him and placing his cheek on his open palm.

He doesn’t even know what the movie is about. All he can see, hear, feel and recognize is you – nothing and no one but you. Just as he wanted, it’s just the two of you.

Satoru reaches out to the bowl of popcorn in his lap to distract himself from the need of kissing you already. He was so smug that he’s on this date with you; now he feels like the world is laughing and mocking at him because you’re so close yet so far away. The last thing he wants is to say something weird and have you running for the hills. It’s clear you don’t like him, after all.

You end up reaching for it the same time he does, making your fingers brush. It sends a jolt of electricity down his spine and he immediately retracts it.

Looking up at him with an apologetic smile, Satoru knows he’s messed up. “I’m sorry,” you blurt out, raising your hands in surrender with a nervous chuckle. “I should’ve gotten my own bowl instead.”

Satoru stares at you through his blindfold. You’re close enough that he can count your lashes – both top and bottom row – and he’s so stupefied at this point that he just says the first thing that comes to his mind; absolutely anything just to get your attention. “Cold,” he shows you his hand, “I’m cold.”

“Oh,” you nod and slip your fingers through his. Satoru nearly gasps at how electrifying the sensation is from having your smaller, softer fingers collide with his, your hands fitting perfectly in his bigger, calloused ones. Then, you close your intertwined hands and smush your cheek with it to transfer your heat – completely unaware that Satoru feels like he’s floating in his own Infinite Void right now. “Feel warmer now?”

“Yes,” he replies. “Extremely.”

Something beast-like wakes within him after that. Now that he knows you don’t mind touching him at all, Satoru can’t help but want to take out all his playing cards and just go fuck it. So he does – and he might regret, he might not – who cares? It’s just the two of you, and you’re the only one he ever cares about this much that he’d pretty much let you do anything at this point.

“You know,” Satoru begins, shifting until your joined hands are resting on top of his chest. His heart is just about ready to burst through its confines at this moment, but he holds back. It’s now or never. “Shoko and Nanami are annoyed that I talk about you all the time.”

Your eyes widen at his statement. “Really? Do you talk badly about me or something?”

“No,” he nearly groans in frustration, “You’re really pretty and cool. You’re amazing during missions, too, when you fight, it’s like I’m witnessing a warrior princess. So cool.”

This makes you laugh until the person sitting behind you rudely shushes you. You bow your head in apology, turning to Satoru with a softer smile this time; one that looks reserved and private compared to your big grins. “Oh, no,” he closes his eyes even behind his blindfold, “Don’t smile at me like that. I don’t think I’ll still be cool if I end up stuttering over my words.”

“Satoru!” you whisper-hiss, although your chest is filled with so much giddiness too that you’ve both forgotten about the movie; unaware that the entire theatre was crying over the main character’s friend’s death. “What are you going on about?”

He wants to laugh so damn hard. He thought confessing his feelings for you would end up in a pitiful heartbreak that you’d be weirded out and push him away. For a moment, he forgets it’s you, and that nothing is ever difficult or painful with you – other than, of course, you being oblivious, but that isn’t something he can’t fix. He’ll get you on the train one way or another.

“I have a confession.”

“Yeah?”

“I was practicing how to ask you out for a whole hour in the mirror,” Satoru whispers, careful to not ruin the melancholic mood of theatre. It doesn’t even surprise him that his world is filled with nothing but sunshine even if the world around you has descended into grief and loneliness. “I also called Nanami on first date tips.”

“Nanami?” you echo with a gasp, “Why Nanami?”

“Because he’s married, that’s why. Mans know some tips for sure.”

“Wait, so,” you chuckle nervously, and Satoru waits, waits for you to pull away or push him back – anything that would indicate discomfort. He’s patient the whole time, watching carefully as you only squeeze his hand and gesture to the both of you with your free one. “This is a date? Our first date?”

“Only if you want to be,” Satoru shrugs, grimacing afterwards at how sappy he sounds. “Well, I actually consider this our first date and I’ve been waiting for this for like forever now, so I sure as hell hope you want this too. I didn’t dress myself up today only to come back home crying.”

Satoru’s heart – if possible – only beats crazier and sings the syllables of your name when you start laughing harder to the point you have to muffle it by burying yourself in his bicep. He feels like his muscles and nerves could erupt at any moment. It’s crazy – absolutely insane – how you have him wrapped around your finger like this. He doesn’t complain though; he never will.

“I’m glad,” you mumble through his shirt, your erratic heartbeat matching kiss when you take the first tentative step of kissing his jaw.

Satoru stiffens underneath you, a low growl ripping from his throat. He’s feral, wild, drunk at the sight and scent of you. You make him feel like he’s fluctuating between dimensions, all the planets just crashing on one another until the stardust is left in your eyes because what else could be an explanation for what he’s feeling other than a supernova collision of hearts?

“You always make me feel so happy when you’re around that I still can’t believe you feel the same way. I was so worried that maybe you wouldn’t get my hints.”

Satoru groans, “What the hell? How long have you liked me?”

“I guess when you started bringing flowers to Megumi randomly just to piss him off.”

Satoru wants to rip his hair out. That was just a few weeks after you’ve started working with him, meaning you both have liked each other this whole time and he’s been suffering and feeling stupid just for nothing?

“God, Y/N,” he mutters to himself, “You really do know how to make a man go crazy, huh?”

That innocent smile on your face lets him know that as usual, you’re oblivious of everything. Satoru is right; he still can’t decide whether he wants to whack you in the head upside down. With a sigh, he ends up choosing the latter, nearly falling over his seat when you let out a surprised yelp at the feeling of his lips on yours.

It doesn’t take long before you grab onto his shirt and cling to dear life, laughter bubbling through your lips as you kiss. The sound is so precious he wants to bottle it up and keep it treasure for the rest of his life, but Satoru doesn’t rush anything.

With you and only with you is he ever capable of feeling like it’s just the two of you in a world filled with chaos and destruction.

[starmieknight]

Trust: Priceless

Summary: Jeongguk's new owner decides to take him out shopping and he comes closer to changing his opinion of her.

Contents: Hybrid!BTS, Jeongguk is a bit of a brat (he has his reasons), Mavis is out of her element, RabbitHybrid!Jeongguk(?)

Mavis poked her head into the living room and peered silently at Jeongguk.

 The hybrid continued watching the TV like he didn’t notice her presence, only the twitching of his long ear betraying him. Mavis still hesitated, her face an unreadable mask as she observed the situation.

 Jeongguk looked bored out of his mind, no doubt tired of only having television to watch after three days in her new home. As a kid, Mavis had gotten a thrill from being able to watch cable when she visited her aunt instead of just satellite TV, but she had been an easily entertained child and not as energetic as Jeongguk seemed.

 When she asked, her hotel manager, Dobbs, had told her that Jeongguk had yet to use any of the hotel facilities Mavis had told him he was free to at any time, no questions asked. Mavis personally wanted to use the indoor pool, but hadn’t found the time or energy to head down there. But even if he wasn’t interested in the pool, there were basketball and tennis courts, bike trails, a hedge maze and an entire arcade in the hotel for Jeongguk to use.

 As far as Mavis could tell, the only thing holding Jeongguk back from finding something to entertain himself was the fact that other than himself, there weren’t many hybrids to be found in the Mountainview Hotel. And even then, not many of the guests brought their hybrids along with them when they vacationed or took their business trips. If Mavis was being honest and allowed her professionalism to lapse some, the hybrids brought along by the higher class guests were rather… bratty. In the way that some spoiled children seemed.

 She was sure that they weren’t all bad, but the way your actions are perceived by family and friends often differs from the way you’re seen by strangers.

 Even Jeongguk probably seemed bratty to everyone else.

 Mavis had to admit, the way he was grouching reminded her of a preteen determined to not have fun on a family trip and trying to make everyone else as miserable as he was.

 But she couldn’t fault him for it. She’d be angry too if her whole life was flipped upside down and she was told she now had to live with a stranger and abide by their rules if they wanted to live. For Jeongguk, her ownership could be considered the equivalent of prison while she only felt like she had custody of a child that would need a lifetime of her care.

 But even so, life went on and he had to interact with her some time.

 And going grocery shopping and clothes shopping was the first way they were going to have to do it.

 “Jeongguk,” Mavis called finally, making the hybrid freeze as he waited for her to speak. His eyes remained on the TV even as his ears tilted towards her. “We need to go out. I want to stock up the kitchen and we’ll need to fluff up your wardrobe. I’m sure it’s got to be tiring recycling the same plain clothes every day.”

 “White T-shirts are my style.” Jeongguk said flatly. Mavis could only see a fraction of his face from that angle, but she could easily make out the scowl that marred his features.

 Internally she winced. Outwardly, she only raised an eyebrow.

 “Then I’ll buy you however many you like. But that doesn’t change the fact that the constant wearing and washing is going to wear them down to rags before long.” She walked in between him and the TV, forcing him to look at her. She offered a quirk of her lips in lieu of a smile. “Besides, we can try somewhere new to eat while we’re out. You can pick the place.”

 Jeongguk looked put out with her presence, but seemed interested in the idea of food. "Fine."

 Mavis smiled encouragingly and offered him a jacket, thankful that she had preferred to buy jackets from the men's section when she still lived in the city. They always seemed thicker, even if they didn't always match the rest of her outfits' styles, and Mavis loved to wear her clothes with sleeves a size or three bigger. They were comfortable and offered her a bigger sense of protection somehow.

 Besides, she thought the whole sweater paws concept was very cute.

 Jeongguk scowled but accepted the jacket. His hybrid side wasn't exactly built for cold weather, even if he was in denial even to himself about the truth of his species. He loathed to wear anything that carried Mavis' scent. The cabin was barely bearable,  only the fact that she had just moved in and spent little time there since putting him at ease. Jeongguk had secretly been going around the cabin and scenting what he could, keeping in mind the fact that Mavis informed him that there would be more hybrids coming at some point. He wanted all of them to know that he was the original, even if he didn't care for their owner.

 Jeongguk stayed silent for their short trip to the garage, making Mavis feel a bit nervous. She always hated having people walk behind her where she couldn't see them. It made her self conscious and messed with her sense of security. Typically, she would have slowed down her pace to match his, but thought it would be a bad idea to force Jeongguk to be too close to her. Plus, he didn't know where the garage was and she did.

 And again, going into the garage made Mavis' brain short circuit for a moment at the extravagance of it. Had her grandfather really needed so many vehicles?

 Jeongguk let out a long, low whistle at the sight. His expression finally changed from indifference to awe.

 He knew his new owner was loaded, but this was a rich chick for sure. 

 Mavis hid her smile at the look of awe on his face and considered her options.

 She wanted to take her own car. She was familiar with it and loved it, having bought it all on her own. It wasn't anything new or flashy, but there was pride in driving something you worked hard for. But she knew it wasn't going to be large enough to hold everything they were out to buy today.

 Mavis eyed the collection of SUVs, immediately disregarding the ones meant for show or mud riding and decided that the plain, white one with a hatchback was her best choice. Surely they could lay the seats down for more room.

 "Do you have a driver's license, Jeongguk?" she asked, noticing his fascination with a bright blue sports car she was too afraid to even think of driving.

 "I'm a hybrid."

 Mavis shrugged. "That doesn't mean you can't have a driver's license. Independent Hybrids are capable of obtaining them and Owned Hybrids are as well, though I'm sure there's quite a bit of paperwork to go through. We can get you one, if you like, and I'll add you to my insurance so you can drive any car in here that you like."

 Jeongguk stared at her like Mavis had been speaking a dead language instead of offering him more independence. He frowned, unsure of her motives. Did she want him to run off and disappear so she'd have a reason to give him up and not feel guilty over his death. "I'd rather not." 

 Mavis sighed, but allowed the matter to drop. Instead, she moved over to the peg board where all the keys were stored to get the keys to the SUV. If she liked the car well enough for grocery shopping, she might even add its key to her key chain.

 She was a bit surprised when Jeongguk tried to climb into the backseat instead of the passenger side and forgot herself for a moment when she reached into the backseat to stop him. They both looked at her outstretched hand incredulously.

“We’ll need the space for our groceries.” she said quietly, clearing her throat in an attempt to also clear out the awkwardness of the moment. She felt a bit guilty at the close call, having promised herself that any contact the two of them shared would be on Jeongguk’s terms. She never wanted to pressure him, even if it meant they never got more than a foot closer to each other.

 “You… want me to ride in the front seat? With you?” Jeongguk sounded unsure for once. He eyed her hand like a rabbit facing a snake, making Mavis realize that she’d never dropped it.

 She stepped back, avoiding his eyes. Instead, she looked for the button that would lay the backseat down. “Of course.”

 Jeongguk looked like he wanted to argue, but merely followed Mavis’ lead and pushed the button on his side, the two of them working together to transform the backseat into a better storage area.

 When they were done, he climbed into the passenger’s seat silently, buckling up and fixing his eyes on the window.

 The SUV was really too much for her to handle at first, especially the fact that her key… wasn’t really a key and more of a fob.

 It took her a moment to actually get the car started, not used to having to press a button instead of turning a key. Jeongguk even turned his head from the window to look at her judgmentally.

 “Doesn’t your chauffeur usually pick you up?” he asked, unable to help himself from asking. He wondered if she was trying to show off for him by taking him out herself. It wasn’t working.

 Mavis’ brow furrowed as she tried to figure out the car’s features, carefully trying to get the Bluetooth to work before she tried to drive. She wasn’t familiar with the good radio stations in the area yet and couldn’t stand driving in silence, let alone the awkward one that always came with Jeongguk’s presence. “I’m sure that Cooper would have one waiting if I asked, but I’ve never used a chauffeur before.”

 Jeongguk stared. “I thought rich people never drove anywhere themselves.”

 Mavis snorted and shrugged. “I dunno about that. I’m new to all this, myself. I didn’t really see my grandfather all that often after my great-grandparents passed - there was never a reason to - so my lifestyle was much more humble than all this.” she frowned. “It’s rather unsettling if I’m being honest.”

 Jeongguk wanted to ask why she had little reason to see her family. Did someone need a reason to go see the people they were supposed to spend their lives surrounded by? But it wasn’t his business and he didn’t want to know about her personal life. Really.

 Even if the question as to why she was unaccustomed to this life was a burning one. She seemed like she had a handle on things and carried herself like a strong and smart business woman with a flourishing hotel and lavish life behind her. He didn’t wonder what she was like before, what she might have been if she didn’t suddenly drop into his life as his newest owner.

 Jeongguk turned back to the window and swallowed his questions.

 After getting her phone connected to the SUV’s Bluetooth (which took more brainpower than she was willing to admit), Mavis opened her Spotify and handed her phone over to Jeongguk.

 “You can play whatever you like.” she told him as she pressed the button on her keyring to open the garage door. “I may need to pull up the GPS to find the grocery store after we get into the city. Though, I think I can use the car’s map system instead of my phone…” Mavis frowned thoughtfully at the display before pulling out of the garage. She paused briefly to shut the door again before heading down the driveway and towards the exit to the hotel grounds.

 She couldn’t help but slow down to give the sprawling building a worried look as she passed, much like a new mother leaving her newborn with someone else for the first time.

 The hotel wasn’t on fire and would still be intact when she got back. They’d managed without her there before and they could do it again.

 … now if only she could convince herself of that.

 Mavis waved at the security guard as he let them out, and Jeongguk finally settled on a song as they left the gates.

 A low, bass beat began thrumming through the SUV and its passengers were silent, only the voice of the track’s vocalist filling the space between them.

 Fortunately for Mavis, the car system’s GPS pulled up easily enough and getting on the highway to the city was simple enough. If they were only going for grocery shopping, Mavis would have headed in the opposite direction for the little town that was a bit closer. She had passed through it the first time she’d made the trip up the mountain to the hotel and found it to be very similar to her own hometown, if a bit newer.

 But today she had lots of things in mind to get for the cabin - for both her and Jeongguk - and so they would be getting their groceries from a large chain grocery store instead.

 When the music came to a sudden stop, Mavis and Jeongguk both looked at the Bluetooth display in bewilderment. Jeongguk checked Mavis’ phone and frowned at the name. It seemed strangely familiar to him.

 “It’s Cooper calling.” he told Mavis flatly, trying to hand the phone over.

 She waved him off, not confident in driving and holding the phone at the same time, and accepted the call through the SUV’s Bluetooth.

 There was a beat of silence after the phone connected.

 “Hello? Ms. Attmore?” Cooper’s slightly staticky voice filled the cab. He sounded nervous.

 Mavis hid her amused grin even though Cooper couldn’t see her. It was still funny to her that she was intimidating now. Especially after leaving a job where the people in her care screamed and swatted at her all day long (she missed her toddler class dearly).

 The power was a little intoxicating.

 “Good morning, Cooper.” Mavis said, sliding into her Boss Lady voice. Even her driving smoothed out, her shoulders straightening and her confidence growing.

 Jeongguk did a double take, having grown used to a reserved and almost timid Mavis. This person in the car with him now was the same Ms. Attmore he had met the first day she arrived at the Mountain View.

 His ears perked up and his nostrils flared, becoming more attentive of her instinctively. He was curious about this side of her personality.

 “Good morning, Ma’am!” Cooper said more brightly. “I was just calling to check in with you. Has the cabin been to your liking? I know it’s been a few days and I was wondering when you’d like me to send the housekeeping service out?”

 Mavis tapped her fingers against the steering wheel thoughtfully. “I suppose today would be fine. I’m taking Jeongguk out to pick out some clothes and things for his room.” She glanced over at the Hybrid in question. “Would you like them to straighten your room up a bit, or would that be too uncomfortable?” Mavis lowered her voice a bit to keep it off the call.

 Jeongguk hesitated, not used to having so much agency over his own space.

 After spending so long in the underground fighting rings, having privacy and personal belongings of his own was a foreign concept. He knew to leave Mavis’ belongings alone, but had just expected her to do as she pleased with the things she had given to him.

 “I can clean my own room.” Jeongguk said slowly, watching for any adverse reaction.

 Mavis just nodded and raised her voice to address Cooper again. “Have them skip Jeongguk’s room for now. And can you ask them to skip the floral scented stuff? It gives me a headache…”

 “Would a citrus scent be more preferable, Ma’am?” Cooper asked anxiously.

 “That’s fine. But no coconut or pineapple or mango, please. They make me feel ill.”

 “I’ll tell the housekeeper to use an orange or lemon scent from now on, Ma’am.” Cooper promised. Mavis could almost see him in her mind’s eye, scribbling furiously in his planner to keep her preferences marked down for future reference.

 “Thank you.” Mavis allowed a small smile to cross her face before it was replaced with a thoughtful frown. “One more thing, Cooper - would you mind adding another smartphone to my plan?”

 “Of course, Ma’am!” Cooper said eagerly. “Do you have any preferences for color or brand?”

 Mavis shrugged. “It’s for Jeongguk. I’ll have to let you ask him.” She nodded at Jeongguk, wordlessly telling him to go ahead and give Cooper the word.

 The Hybrid froze, looking at Mavis like a frightened rabbit.

 She offered him a more sincere smile, trying to be as encouraging as she could. “It’s okay.” she whispered. “If you don’t know what you like best yet, you can get a phone like mine in whatever color you want.”

 “... the same phone as Ms. Attmore.” Jeongguk said hesitantly, voice just barely loud enough for the phone to pick it up. “In purple?”

 “You catch that, Cooper?” Mavis asked, wanting to make sure Jeongguk got exactly what he wanted.

 “Should that be a light purple or a dark?” the assistant clarified.

 “Either is fine.” Jeonggiuk said, a bit more confidently this time.

 “I’ll have it waiting for you when you return home!” Cooper said brightly, happy to finally have something to do for Mavis. “Is there anything else I can help with?”

 “I think that covers it for now, Cooper.” Mavis reassured him. “I may need your help arranging deliveries for our bigger items when we get to the store.”

 “I’ll be waiting for your call!”

 “Thank you,” Mavis reached over to end the call. “Have a good day.”

 Jeongguk continued to watch her, no longer trying to ignore her, even after the music resumed on their way to the city.

 She was tolerable for the moment, maybe even agreeable after a long period of time, but he would still keep an eye out for any signs that it was all an act.

 After all, a hybrid still couldn’t trust a human.

_________________

CHECK OUT MY COMMISSIONS INFO HERE (WRITING COMMISSIONS AVAILABLE)

[writingblock101]

Puppy Dog Eyes (Jason Todd x Reader)

Word Count: 1,300

Tags: @idkmanicantenglish @mayahoelland2013

Request from Anon! Enjoy and I’m glad you enjoyed my stuff! 

Yeah, I’m surprised too. I was able to keep it gender neutral without it sounding awkward which I was very excited about. Enjoy! 

When you started dating Jason, you were very upfront with him about what dating you entailed because it wasn’t just you. As a single parent, re-entering the dating scene is daunting to say the less. You’re not only finding someone you’re compatible with but someone who also works with your 7-year-old son, Eli. While whoever you date could be the greatest person in the world, if they didn’t work with Eli, you’d kick them to the curb because your son is the priority. 

Many failed dating apps passed by because people didn’t want to be involved with someone who already has a kid. At first, it bothered you, but honestly, you get it. Committing yourself to someone else and their kid, it’s a lot to ask for. 

Ironically enough, when you met Jason, you weren’t looking to date. You’d figure you’d put the dating thing on hold for a while when starting a new job and getting Eli situated at his new school. Really, you met Jason by chance in the grocery store and only have Eli to thank. 

Eli had wandered away from you, as bored five-year-olds in the grocery store do. You eventually found him sitting in the skimpy book aisle, listening to a handsome, rugged man read The Giver to him. At first, you were a bit embarrassed by the unintentional babysitting, but the man smiled and introduced himself as Jason (and promised he wasn’t a creep). 

It turns out, Jason volunteers at local orphanages doing the same thing he was doing for Eli, so it was familiar territory for him. The longer you two chatted, the more smitten you found yourself. As five-year-olds do, Eli got bored again, so you needed to take him home, but you managed to get Jason’s number. Two years later, you two are now happily dating and raising Eli together. 

Things didn’t necessarily end badly with Eli’s other biological parent. They weren’t ready for parenthood, and Eli wasn’t planned. So you stepped up, became Eli’s primary guardian, and your partner signed over their parental rights. You split on relatively friendly terms, but it’s all in the past at this point. 

Current day, Jason has been such a huge blessing in your life. He makes you happy, and he’s fantastic with Eli, although he does tend to spoil him a little too much. 

“Please,” Eli begs, hanging on your leg as you chop vegetables for dinner. “Just one more!” 

“I said no, Eli,” You tell him, not even bothering to look down at his puppy dog eyes. 

“But I promise I’ll eat all my spinach!” He tries to bargain. “I just want one more! That’s it, I swear!” 

You roll your eyes and glance up at the bag of truffles, purposefully put out of Eli’s reach. You gave him one after school as a treat, and a few hours later, Eli got hungry again. Instead of any of the other snack options you offered, Eli decided he wanted another truffle. You told him no more until after dinner, but that went in one ear and out the other. 

“One more what, you little bugger?” Another voice cuts in, then suddenly Eli is being pulled off your leg. 

You look over to see Jason, who just got home, tossing a shrieking and laughing Eli over his shoulder. 

“One more truffle!” He exclaims, shrieking when Jason blows a raspberry on his stomach. 

“One more what?” Jason asks again, flipping him upside down. 

“Truffle!” Eli exclaims, happily swinging his arms as Jason holds him up by his ankles. 

“Truffle?” Jason asked. “Well, that’s gonna cost you something. Gimme all your lunch money, kid!” 

He shakes Eli a little as if he were a bully shaking down a cowering kid for money. It makes Eli laugh even more while he holds his shirt up so his whole chest isn’t exposed. 

“I don’t have any!” He insists through giggles. 

“You don’t have any?!” Jason questions. “You don’t have any money, but you want truffles?” 

Jason slowly lowers Eli to the ground headfirst until Eli is lying on the kitchen floor. 

“Please?” He asks, making his eyes big in a way that he has learned is Jason’s weakness. 

Jason glances at you, looking a little pleadingly. 

“Don’t you dare look him in the eye,” You tell him quietly, knowing Jason’s weakness for Eli’s puppy dog eyes. “I already told him no more truffles until after dinner,” You say loudly, looking down at Eli pointedly. 

“But that’s so far away!” Eli whines. 

“Ah, yes, a whole hour away,” You deadpan. 

“I just want one!” He begs, then sits up and grabs Jason’s leg, looking up at him pleadingly. “Please, Jason?” 

Jason looks down at Eli, his hand stroking Eli’s hair, then he glances at you, giving him a pointed look. 

“Not just one?” Jason asks. 

“Oh my gosh, you are such a sucker!” You laugh. “It’s those puppy dog eyes!” 

“I mean, will one more truffle really spoil his dinner?” Jason points out, not even bothering to try to dispute your claim. 

You look up at Jason. 

“No,” You tell him, then kiss his nose. 

Jason sighs and looks back down at Eli. 

“Sorry, buddy, the boss said no.” 

“Aww,” Eli exclaims loudly as he slumps dramatically onto the floor. 

“I know, your life is so hard,” You tell him, smiling at his antics. 

Eli doesn’t throw tantrums, so you know his act right now is him trying to be cute and make you laugh. (And it’s working). 

“Ah, come on, you drama queen,” Jason scoops Eli off the floor into standing position. “Why don’t we help with dinner. What are we making?” He asks you. 

“Parmsean chicken fingers.” 

“Chicken fingers!” Eli’s whole face lights up. 

Jason laughs, kissing the top of Eli’s head. 

“Alright, bud, go wash your hands, and you can help me bread the chicken.” 

“Okay!” Eli sprints off to the bathroom to wash his hand. 

“With soap!” Jason calls after him.

Eli shouts an acknowledgment back, giving you and Jason a moment of alone time. 

“Hi,” He greets, pulling you into a sweet kiss. 

“Hi,” You whisper back against his lips. “You’re such a softie,” You tease. 

“Yeah, he gets those puppy dog eyes from you,” Jason insists, pulling you against him. 

“Mmhmm, I’m sure,” You roll your eyes. 

Jason grins and leans down, kissing you again. As you’re about to deepen the kiss, Eli scampers back into the room. 

“Gross!” He exclaims at the sight of you two kissing. 

Jason breaks away with a grin, kissing your nose. 

“Gross?” He asks, stepping around you to scoop up Eli again, who squeals with delight. “Gross?” He exclaims again, blowing another raspberry on Eli’s neck, which makes Eli laugh loudly. “I’ll tell you what’s gross, not washing your hands with soap!” 

“I did!” Eli insists as Jason shifts him to cradle him like a baby. He holds his wet hands in Jason’s face. “See?” 

“You promise?” Jason asks.

Eli nods vigorously. 

“Alright, well, now that your hands are clean, let’s get them messy.” 

You smile fondly, watching Jason direct Eli in how to bread the chicken fingers. Eli loves the egg wash and in his excitement, he manages to spill it all over the counter.  Jason patiently teases him as has Eli help him wipe it up. 

As you continue getting dinner ready with Jason and Eli’s help, Jason leans over Eli’s head to sneak you kisses, each one met with loud exclamations by Eli. You and Jason just laugh, usually flicking something onto Eli to distract him from the grossness of his parents kissing. 

Your life hasn’t exactly gone to plan, but you’re okay with that. You have an amazing son and an incredible boyfriend. What else could you ask for? 

When you started dating Jason, you were very upfront with him about what dating you entailed because it wasn’t just you. As a single parent, re-entering the dating scene is daunting to say the less. You’re not only finding someone you’re compatible with but someone who also works with your 7-year-old son, Eli. While whoever you date could be the greatest person in the world, if they didn’t work with Eli, you’d kick them to the curb because your son is the priority. 

Many failed dating apps passed by because people didn’t want to be involved with someone who already has a kid. At first, it bothered you, but honestly, you get it. Committing yourself to someone else and their kid, it’s a lot to ask for. 

Ironically enough, when you met Jason, you weren’t looking to date. You’d figure you’d put the dating thing on hold for a while when starting a new job and getting Eli situated at his new school. Really, you met Jason by chance in the grocery store and only have Eli to thank. 

Eli had wandered away from you, as bored five-year-olds in the grocery store do. You eventually found him sitting in the skimpy book aisle, listening to a handsome, rugged man read The Giver to him. At first, you were a bit embarrassed by the unintentional babysitting, but the man smiled and introduced himself as Jason (and promised he wasn’t a creep). 

It turns out, Jason volunteers at local orphanages doing the same thing he was doing for Eli, so it was familiar territory for him. The longer you two chatted, the more smitten you found yourself. As five-year-olds do, Eli got bored again, so you needed to take him home, but you managed to get Jason’s number. Two years later, you two are now happily dating and raising Eli together. 

Things didn’t necessarily end badly with Eli’s other biological parent. They weren’t ready for parenthood, and Eli wasn’t planned. So you stepped up, became Eli’s primary guardian, and your partner signed over their parental rights. You split on relatively friendly terms, but it’s all in the past at this point. 

Current day, Jason has been such a huge blessing in your life. He makes you happy, and he’s fantastic with Eli, although he does tend to spoil him a little too much. 

“Please,” Eli begs, hanging on your leg as you chop vegetables for dinner. “Just one more!” 

“I said no, Eli,” You tell him, not even bothering to look down at his puppy dog eyes. 

“But I promise I’ll eat all my spinach!” He tries to bargain. “I just want one more! That’s it, I swear!” 

You roll your eyes and glance up at the bag of truffles, purposefully put out of Eli’s reach. You gave him one after school as a treat, and a few hours later, Eli got hungry again. Instead of any of the other snack options you offered, Eli decided he wanted another truffle. You told him no more until after dinner, but that went in one ear and out the other. 

“One more what, you little bugger?” Another voice cuts in, then suddenly Eli is being pulled off your leg. 

You look over to see Jason, who just got home, tossing a shrieking and laughing Eli over his shoulder. 

“One more truffle!” He exclaims, shrieking when Jason blows a raspberry on his stomach. 

“One more what?” Jason asks again, flipping him upside down. 

“Truffle!” Eli exclaims, happily swinging his arms as Jason holds him up by his ankles. 

“Truffle?” Jason asked. “Well, that’s gonna cost you something. Gimme all your lunch money, kid!” 

He shakes Eli a little as if he were a bully shaking down a cowering kid for money. It makes Eli laugh even more while he holds his shirt up so his whole chest isn’t exposed. 

“I don’t have any!” He insists through giggles. 

“You don’t have any?!” Jason questions. “You don’t have any money, but you want truffles?” 

Jason slowly lowers Eli to the ground headfirst until Eli is lying on the kitchen floor. 

“Please?” He asks, making his eyes big in a way that he has learned is Jason’s weakness. 

Jason glances at you, looking a little pleadingly. 

“Don’t you dare look him in the eye,” You tell him quietly, knowing Jason’s weakness for Eli’s puppy dog eyes. “I already told him no more truffles until after dinner,” You say loudly, looking down at Eli pointedly. 

“But that’s so far away!” Eli whines. 

“Ah, yes, a whole hour away,” You deadpan. 

“I just want one!” He begs, then sits up and grabs Jason’s leg, looking up at him pleadingly. “Please, Jason?” 

Jason looks down at Eli, his hand stroking Eli’s hair, then he glances at you, giving him a pointed look. 

“Not just one?” Jason asks. 

“Oh my gosh, you are such a sucker!” You laugh. “It’s those puppy dog eyes!” 

“I mean, will one more truffle really spoil his dinner?” Jason points out, not even bothering to try to dispute your claim. 

You look up at Jason. 

“No,” You tell him, then kiss his nose. 

Jason sighs and looks back down at Eli. 

“Sorry, buddy, the boss said no.” 

“Aww,” Eli exclaims loudly as he slumps dramatically onto the floor. 

“I know, your life is so hard,” You tell him, smiling at his antics. 

Eli doesn’t throw tantrums, so you know his act right now is him trying to be cute and make you laugh. (And it’s working). 

“Ah, come on, you drama queen,” Jason scoops Eli off the floor into standing position. “Why don’t we help with dinner. What are we making?” He asks you. 

“Parmesan chicken fingers.” 

“Chicken fingers!” Eli’s whole face lights up. 

Jason laughs, kissing the top of Eli’s head. 

“Alright, bud, go wash your hands, and you can help me bread the chicken.” 

“Okay!” Eli sprints off to the bathroom to wash his hand. 

“With soap!” Jason calls after him.

Eli shouts an acknowledgment back, giving you and Jason a moment of alone time. 

“Hi,” He greets, pulling you into a sweet kiss. 

“Hi,” You whisper back against his lips. “You’re such a softie,” You tease. 

“Yeah, he gets those puppy dog eyes from you,” Jason insists, pulling you against him. 

“Mmhmm, I’m sure,” You roll your eyes. 

Jason grins and leans down, kissing you again. As you’re about to deepen the kiss, Eli scampers back into the room. 

“Gross!” He exclaims at the sight of you two kissing. 

Jason breaks away with a grin, kissing your nose. 

“Gross?” He asks, stepping around you to scoop up Eli again, who squeals with delight. “Gross?” He exclaims again, blowing another raspberry on Eli’s neck, which makes Eli laugh loudly. “I’ll tell you what’s gross, not washing your hands with soap!” 

“I did!” Eli insists as Jason shifts him to cradle him like a baby. He holds his wet hands in Jason’s face. “See?” 

“You promise?” Jason asks.

Eli nods vigorously. 

“Alright, well, now that your hands are clean, let’s get them messy.” 

You smile fondly, watching Jason direct Eli in how to bread the chicken fingers. Eli loves the egg wash and in his excitement, he manages to spill it all over the counter.  Jason patiently teases him as has Eli help him wipe it up. 

As you continue getting dinner ready with Jason and Eli’s help, Jason leans over Eli’s head to sneak you kisses, each one met with loud exclamations by Eli. You and Jason just laugh, usually flicking something onto Eli to distract him from the grossness of his parents kissing. 

Your life hasn’t exactly gone to plan, but you’re okay with that. You have an amazing son and an incredible boyfriend. What else could you ask for? 

I’ve been trying to write this request for a while now and wasn’t happy with it then ran across a prompt list that gave me the perfect inspiration. I’m surprised by how quickly I was able to get a new fic out so we’ll see about the others. I’ll be posting an update about plans for the future rather later today or tomorrow!

[themadlostgirl]

When It’s Cold (7)

*I have a vague inclination of where this story is heading. I went into this without an ending in mind so we’re letting go of the wheel and seeing where it takes us.*

~~~

After I showered and got changed I went downstairs. Felix had made an easy lunch of sandwiches and popcorn and set up the living room to play whatever movie I wanted to watch. I chose a nice comedy and sat down next to Felix.

Images of what we had done this morning still danced shamelessly in my head. How could Felix sit there so calmly? All we were doing was watching a movie, something we did quite frequently, and yet I couldn’t keep my thoughts straight. Even the slight touch of his thumb mindlessly stroking my arm was sending me into a tizzy.

I was hoping that after our escapades this morning that I would be cooler and more collected around Felix but it was ten times worse. I had gotten a taste and now it was all that I wanted. All I could think about. So again, how was it that Felix was sitting there so calmly? How was he not as infuriatingly turned on and jittery as me?

I kept my focus on the movie and my mind moved away from anything dirty as I started laughing at the group of dinner party guests running about a huge mansion in a paranoid craze on the TV. I made a joke to Felix about how if we ever hosted a dinner party it would most likely end up just like this. Hopefully with better food since that entree looked like a creamy, lumpy mess.

“Naturally,” Felix said, “I mean what kind of dinner was that supposed to be? Barely an hors d'oeuvre, a bland soup, skipped salad and appetizer completely and then served a gross main course, then no one partook in dessert. It’s a complete disaster!”

“You seem very passionate about this.” I chuckled. “Is there a guide to big fancy dinners in those cookbooks of yours?”

“Yes actually,” He shrugged, a tint of pink in his cheeks, “I get bored easily so reading about dinner etiquette is a step up from nothing.”

“Oh, so you know a lot about big fancy dinners?”

“Am I to suspect that you want me to make you a big fancy dinner now?”

“Well why not? I’ll even take a bit off your plate and make dessert so you don’t have to.”

“So all I have to do is make the other five courses, is it?”

“Yes.”

“Does this mean you’ll dress up for me too? Since it is supposed to be such a fancy feast?”

“Want to see me in a dress?”

“That one Yvette was wearing would look very nice on you.”

“You mean the maid uniform with the short skirt and stiletto heels?”

“Or something,” He laughed as I hit him upside the head.

“Would you get dressed up too? I think you’d look rather nice in a suit.”

“I don’t know, those ties look awfully constricting.”

“Yet the bust that pushes my boobs up to my ears is less constricting?”

“Okay, how about this,” Felix pulled me into his lap, “You buy a nice dress that you like, I get to wear something comfortable, and one of these nights I’ll make you that big six course dinner.”

“Candlelight and rose petals too?” I teased.

“Don’t push it,”

“Fine, fine,” I kissed him.

I wouldn’t go on about how excited I was at the thought of having a grand dinner. Sometimes Felix flourished on meals but this was going to be a whole event. It even gave me an excuse to buy a pretty dress. Something I didn’t really need but secretly kinda longed for. I know that per our arrangement that Felix was going to be dressed more comfortably which no doubt meant casually but I still would have liked to see him in a suit. I’ve seen him in his Neverland clothes, I’ve seen him in modern era clothes, and I’ve even seen him naked at this point. Dress clothes were the only thing that was missing. Maybe I can cram him into a suit a different day.

We cleaned up from lunch and I decided that the day was still young, I was going to go into town and look at dresses. I wasn’t gonna buy anything but I was gonna peruse. Try some things on. Figure out what I like. Cause I’ve never had a need to buy a dress before, I certainly didn’t have the funds for it before. But now I had to find out what I liked and what looked good on me.

I rode into town on my bike and entered the clothes store Felix and I had gone to the day after we found the mansion. I headed over to the dresses and started looking at the different styles and colors they had. There were a lot of options and I wasn’t sure where to start. I decided to just grab whatever was my size and headed to the dressing room.

I have no idea how long I spent trying on dress after dress and contemplating how I looked in all of them. I didn’t like anything too tight or short and with any low cuts anywhere. Big bold patterns also weren’t really my style. I like the skirts that swished around me when I spun and hit near my knee. I know I said I didn’t like anything low cut but I was finding that I liked anything that showed off my shoulders and collarbones and if it happened to dip in the front a bit that was fine too.

If I got something off the shoulder though then I’d need a bra that could be worn strapless which were none of the comfy ones I had at home.

I put all the dresses back on the rack and made my way over to the underwear section. As I was looking for a good strapless bra, just in case I decided to get a strapless dress, I accidentally wandered into the lingerie section of the underwear. I had never understood the obsession with these flimsy things of satin and lace. I guess they were more for looks than practicality.

Would Felix like if I wore something like this?

I shook the thought from my head and dropped the panties back with the others. I need to get out of here before I fall into the horny mess I had just crawled out of. I left the store without buying anything and got back home. Felix was sitting in the dining room with three different cookbooks and a notepad spread before him as he scribbled down dinner ideas.

It was cute to see how seriously he was taking this dinner. I came up behind him and looped my arms around his neck. “How is the meal planning going?” I asked.

“Well enough. There are a lot of recipes in here and I’m having a bit of trouble organizing it all. I’ve already bookmarked five recipes just for soup that I have to choose from.”

“Want my help?”

“Thanks darling, here, look at these recipes and tell me which sounds best to you.” He slid the notepad over to me.

“Hungarian Mushroom Soup,” I circled it, “Sounds different and like I might like it. I know you also really like mushrooms so how about that?”

“Mushroom soup it is.” Felix flipped the page over, “And now I have about a dozen ideas for appetizers.”

“Oh dear,” I laughed. I sat down next to him as we filed through recipe after recipe. We had to call a quits as it got late and we needed to get dinner for tonight. We decided to order out and Felix left to pick up some pizza. We didn’t trust anyone to deliver to us since we were still worried that someone would force us out of the mansion if they found out we had commandeered it.

The house felt entirely too big without Felix around. That was expected since it was a huge mansion but still. Without Felix then it was just me in a big house with nothing to do and no one to talk to. I went to the window and looked at the sky. It was quickly growing dark and I could see stars start to peep out as the sun set. I found the star that lead back to Neverland. My time as a Lost Girl seemed so far away now.

I wonder how much Felix misses Neverland. I know we talked and he said that he would stay with me whether I chose to go back to Neverland or not if the choice was given. But that didn’t mean that he still didn’t miss it. Neverland had been his home for years. Then he gave it all up because I asked him to follow me.

I will forever be thankful that Felix came with me. I don’t know if I could have survived this world with my sanity if he hadn’t been along. It was in these moments when I was alone in this house and it was so painfully quiet that I came upon a realization. I like quiet but I do not like silence. I enjoy being left alone but I do not enjoy solitude. This house, this mansion, as grand a blessing it may be, would be just as cold and harsh as the forest if I didn’t know that Felix also resided within.

It is such a strange thing to be so attached to someone. I never feared loss. My whole life had been plagued by it. Lost my family. Lost Pan. Lost Neverland. And yet, not a one of those bothered me as badly as the thought of losing Felix did.

Felix came home and with his return my troubled thoughts ran away. We sat down to eat our pizza and watch another movie. I was starting to nod off but Felix made sure to get me up to my room before I fell asleep this time. Felix bid me goodnight with a quick kiss before returning to his own room. It pained my heart to watch him leave. I guess I thought that after this morning we could have spent tonight together again. Seeing as how embarrassing the wake up call had been though it was probably for the best that we were separated. We were just starting our intimate relationship after all. I didn’t want to push too far by demanding we sleep in the same bed together.

One day though. One day.

~~~

Today had been amazing as far as Felix was concerned. It had started rough but the rest of it had turned out far better than he could have ever imagined. He thought that things between you and him had taken a bad turn that morning when he explained that he desired you. It was one thing to know that you desired him in private but it was another to admit it directly.

Then you showed up in his doorway. You opened your heart up and told him that you wanted him too. You didn’t want to run away from this growing intimacy between the two of you. Then you said you wanted to give him a handjob and he nearly popped a blood vessel. You and your wide eyes full of trust, lust, and curiosity.

It took every ounce of his remaining brainpower to help guide you along his body. The feel of your small soft hand wrapped around him, your lips on his chest, your voice softly pleading for him to cum. He was lost to you.

As nervous as he was having you touch him in such a way it was nothing to the pure excited terror that occurred when it was his turn to please you. You trusted him so easily to make you feel good and he wanted nothing more than to meet, maybe even exceed your expectations. Inch by inch your body had been exposed to him. Something he had envisioned a hundred times before finally laid out before him and he was allowed--nay--encouraged to touch all of it.

Listening to the noises you made as sparks of pleasure lit your body was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. His hands shook slightly as he held you and he prayed that you didn’t notice how nervous he truly was as his hand slid beneath the band of your panties. The feel of your slick arousal as he rubbed your clit was nothing compared to how it felt to have your hot, wet, cunt clench around his fingers.

He was making you feel good. You were moaning his name and begging him to do more. It was far better than any fantasy he had created in his head. He watched your face closely as you came and made sure to burn it into his mind. You were just so beautiful when in the throws of pleasure. He would have kept you there in his bed all day but after your reaction to his comment about devouring your pussy he figured he should slow things down.

It was hard not to show how much he wanted to drag you back to the bedroom while you were watching the movie but he knew that you probably needed the breather. He said he was gonna go at your pace so he wasn’t going to try anything until you told him it was okay.

The dinner planning helped take his mind off of it. He had been thinking about making a fancy dinner like he had seen in his books for you one day. Seemed that day was coming sooner than expected. If he was gonna make you a fancy meal then he was gonna do it right. You had been gone for so long in town that you had missed his initial frenzy as he tore through the cookbooks and combed over every recipe at least three times trying to figure out what you would most like, what would impress you.

It felt like there was a lot riding on this. He was able to whittle down his ideas a tad and that’s when you showed up again with your innocent smile and warm laugh. His anxiety eased and he breathed easier having you next to him again.

When night fell and he said goodnight to you he meandered back to his room. His big, dark, cold, and lonely room. He thought of how it felt to fall asleep next to you and wake up beside you. He didn’t realize how big his bed was until you weren’t next to him and in his arms.

It wouldn’t be a big deal if he asked you to sleep next to him, would it? It wasn’t like he was inviting you to his bed for anything explicit. He just wanted to fall asleep next to you again.

After about an hour of tossing and turning unable to fall asleep Felix had enough. “I am risking looking like a desperate idiot,” Felix muttered to himself as he swung out of bed and went to his door. He pulled it open and was shocked to see you waiting on the other side.

“Oh hi,” You said, the hand you had raised to knock quickly dropped back to your side, “I was um...I was wondering if you were still awake.”

“I am,” Felix said. No shit! She can obviously see you are awake, genius. Felix’s mind chastised him. “Did you need something?”

“I was--well I had been thinking--I was wondering if you--” You were stammering, your gaze lost to the ground as you tried to find the right words to say.

“Do you want to know why I am up?” Felix asked, deciding to take pity on his poor girl.

“Uh...yes?” You said, finally peeking up at him through your long lashes.

“I was coming to see you.” He told you, “I couldn’t fall asleep and I was wondering if I could tempt you to spend the night with me.”

“Really?” Your eyes widened in disbelief and glee.

Felix smiled. “Yes, really,” He laced his hand with yours, “Was that something you’d be open to?”

“Yes!” Came your immediate reply. “I mean um, yes, that sounds very nice.”

“Come here little girl,” Felix pulled you inside and gave you a kiss. He tugged you along over to the bed and let you nestle yourself in. He got under the covers as well and reached out to grab you and pull you next to him. Your head tucked under his chin and your body melted against him.

“Goodnight, darling,” He whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

“Goodnight, Felix,” You sighed happily. It wasn’t long after your soft snores filled his ears that Felix fell asleep as well. The warmth of your body curled against him banishing the loneliness of his big empty bed once and for all.

---

(Previous) (Next)

[duhragonball]

Battle Tendency Liveblog: JJBA Ch. 71-76

Let the joy of love give you an answer

And I will hold you when you're lost Just walk on to the light 1938 Bizarre Summer Every road will lead us to a memory of

Great Days

When I started reading the Battle Tendency Manga, one of my goals was to find connections between Part 2 and the others, because I feel like Part 2 is sort of isolated from the rest.   You never hear anyone talk about the Pillar Men in Part 3 or 4, and Joseph Joestar never appears again, save for an entry on a genealogy seen in JoJolion.

But thematically, there’s a lot of connective tissue here.   I already pointed out the scene where Smokey steals Joseph’s wallet in his first appearance, echoing Joseph’s final appearance, where Josuke steals his wallet in Part 4.   And I already mentioned the Italian connection.    Hirohiko Araki’s love for Italy is pretty well-known in the fandom, but only two JoJo parts have the distinction of taking place on Italian soil: 2 and 5.

But there’s other, subtler connections.   Joseph’s Clacker Volley relies on angular momentum, much like the “Spin” techniques used in Part 7.    But then you also have this moment in Battle Tendency where Caesar explains Hamon to Joseph, and compares it to the way a discus thrower spins around to gain distance on his throw.   In the same vein, the fictional Ripple techniques used by all the good guys is just an extension of something natural.    Everyone gains energy from respiration and blood circulation, but Hamon users can amplify that many times over to do amazing things with that energy.    It’s very similar to the lessons Johnny Joestar learns about “Spin” in Part 7.   I never really thought “Spin” had much to do with Hamon, and conceptually they may not be related, but the way they’re presented to the audience is very similar.

More Part 5 connections, you ask?   Well how about a trip from Rome to Venice?  No assassins on the train this time, so Joseph doesn’t have to steal 100 cars to finish the journey.

And how about a meeting with a mysterious person wearing a strange disguise...

Who turns out to be a lady?  What’s weird about this is that when I went through JoJo in order back in 2017, I never noticed the Lisa Lisa/Trish connection.   There was just so much crazy stuff happening in Parts 3 and 4 that I forgot all about how Lisa Lisa debuted.  

So yeah, let’s get back to the main plot.   I mean, I was going to talk about some connections with Part 6, but I seem to be drawing a blank.   Joseph’s parents died when he was very little, so there’s no way for him to have a contentious reunion with an absent parent.    There’s no way for his mom or dad to reveal that they were looking out for him this whole time, but they couldn’t tell him how or why.    I mean, Lisa Lisa kind of reminds me of Jotaro.   They’re both stoic badasses who smoke cigarettes.   But that’s kind of a stretch.  

Anyway, Joseph convinced the Pillar Men to let him live for another month so that he could give them a better fight later on.   To hold him to that promise, they implanted poison rings in his body, which will kill him in exactly 33 days, unless he defeats the Pillar Men and receives the antidote.   Caesar realizes that they both need more training to face the Pillar Men again, so he takes Joseph to Venice to meet his Hamon Master, for more training.   That’s Lisa Lisa.

I’m confused as to why Lisa Lisa wasn’t brought in a long time ago.   The plot progression of Part 2 implies that she only heard about this crisis when Caesar contacted her for more training, but we’ll soon see that the Ripple Clan has known about the Pillar Men for thousands of years, just as the Pillar Men knew about them.  

Actually, now that I think about it, why didn’t Straizo recognize the Pillar Man in Mexico then?   You’d think he would have taken one look at the guy and said “Oh shit, these dudes are back,” and forgotten all about his dreams of becoming a vampire like Dio.  Maybe Straizo had just lost all perspective by then.  Well, we’ll see if that gets explained later.

Anyway, Lisa Lisa starts the training immediately, by putting a mask on Joseph to control his breathing, which is a vital component of Ripple/Hamon stuff.  One thing Caesar explained to Joseph before they left for Venice is that their Hamon powers were about equal.   The only reason Caesar’s seems stronger is because he’s learned to concentrate it into smaller points, like his fingertips.   Joseph, on the other hand, has to express his Hamon power through his entire hand, which reduces its effectiveness.   Caesar compares this to the spray of water from a water pistol.   The smaller the nozzle, the more powerful the stream.

As for Speedwagon, well he just flew back to New York.   Joseph forbade him from telling Erina about the bind he’s in, so Speedwagon simply tells her that he’s bumming around Italy for a month.  Meanwhile, Lisa wants the boys to climb the Hell Climb Pillar.

So the Ripple Clan has this island castle off the coast of Venice, which they built in 39AD to train their students.   This was after the Pillar Men wiped out most of their guys, so I guess they wanted to really ramp up their training for the future.   Lisa opens the front gate and the first step inside takes you into this big pit full of oil, and she just kicks them inside without a word.   Ha ha, Lisa Lisa is awesome!

So the object of the Hell Climb Pillar is just to climb out of the pit.   Except the only way to do that is by clinging to a sheer pillar in the center and ascending 24 meters (about 79 feet).  Oh, and there’s some sort of fountain built into the pillar that keeps it covered with oil at all times.   The only way to make this work is by using Hamon power to cling to the oil and work your way up.  

Caesar is familiar with this test, and he at least has a general idea of how to do it, but he’s never attempted it before, and he knows a lot of students have died in the attempt.   The first thing he figures out is that it’s such an exhausting process that if you fall off part way, you won’t have enough stamina to start over, so you really only get one try at this.  

He spends most of his climb, however, worrying about Joseph, because Joseph’s Hamon skills are so rudimentary that he doesn’t even know how to cling to the pillar in the first place.   Fortunately...

Hermit Purple?   In my Battle Tendency?  It’s more likely than you think.   Joseph tries ripping his shirt and fashioning a makeshift rope for himself, but Lisa cuts it with a dagger before he can even try to use it.    I’m somewhat skeptical that this would have worked anyway.   She may have only foiled his attempt for his own benefit.   Joseph might have wasted a lot of precious energy trying to use this trick before giving up and doing it correctly. 

So, after all other options are exhausted, Joseph finally follows directions.  He watches Caesar for a while, then realizes that Caesar has been clinging to the oil with his fingertips, and not his palms.   It looks precarious, but Joseph remembers what Caesar told him about the water pistol and figures out that this is an application of that concept.    So he quickly catches up to Caesar, only to discover that the pillar gets harder to climb around the 18 meter mark. 

Around that elevation, the Pillar “protrudes”.   I think that means that it gently widens as you go up, something you can’t really see until you’re already climbing up there.    So now you’re not climbing straight up any more at a 90-degree angle to the ground, you’re more like 95 or 100 degrees, making it that much more of a struggle to hold on.  

But things get even worse when Joseph discovers a small crack in the pillar.   It’s the only handhold on the entire pillar, so he figures he can get a firmer grip on that and rest a bit.   Big mistake, because it’s booby-trapped, and when he touches the crack, it turns on this high-pressure stream of oil at the 20-meter level.   Oil just spews out from all sides of the pillar, and the pressure is so intense that when Caesar sticks a pen into it the oil stream cuts it in half.  

Joseph thinks Caesar is angry at him for his blunder, but Caesar’s actually worried for Joseph’s safety.   He only knows one way to get past the oil stream, and he isn’t sure Joseph has the skill necessary to pull it off.    See, you can use Hamon to cling to the oil, but you can also use it to repel the oil, and protect yourself from the high-pressure stream.   But Caesar now has to use use both of those principles simultaneously.   He has to cling to the pillar while moving through the stream.   He ends up doing this mid-air jump thing, and it works, but now he has to haul ass to get to the top of the pillar.   It’s not just for his own sake, but Caesar feels that he has to convince Lisa Lisa to call off the test to save Joseph’s life.   He doesn’t know how to do the trick Caesar pulled off, and Joseph’s the kind of guy who might get desperate or frustrated enough to do something drastic and get himself killed.   But when he reaches the top, there’s no one around.

But he needn’t have worried, because Joseph’s drastic idea actually works.    He apparently can’t repel and cling at the same time like Caesar, so instead he just clings.   Instead of passing through the oil stream, he clings to it, sliding across the flow of oil to the edge of the current, then flipping over it, where the pressure is low enough that it won’t hurt him.   Then he bounces off the top side of the oil stream and clings to the outer wall of the pit.  

Everyone is impressed, except the walls of the pit are even harder to climb than the pillar, and Joseph can’t quite make it to the top.    Caesar saves him with just 10 cm to go.   

Joseph is still sore at Lisa Lisa for putting him through all of that, but she tosses him an upside-down glass of water and Joseph is surprised to find that he can hold the water inside the glass with his Hamon, something he couldn’t do back in Rome, when Caesar told him they needed to train.    So now Joseph’s finally on board with all of this, and Lisa introduces the boys to he assistants, Messina and Loggins.   They put Caesar and Joseph through a grueling three weeks of training montage, until finally...

...They go shopping!  Some guy with a pompodour tries to steal a necklace from Lisa, but she catches him and lets Joseph deal with the guy.   Joseph covers the dude in mustard and then he complains about her carrying around a bright red stone like that for pickpockets to see.    Wait... red stone?  Yeah, it’s the Red Stone of Aja.

On their way back home, Lisa explains the backstory of the Pillar Men.    They created the Stone Masks to improve themselves, and tested the technology on humans.    No one knows how the Stone Masks work, but the “bones” that jut out of them somehow bring out “latent power” in the human brain and it turns them into vampires. 

I never really considered that before, but I suppose the bony spikes in the masks are kind of analogous to the effect of being pierced by the arrows in Parts 4, 5, and 6.  Part 5 offers a partial explanation for the Stand Arrows by saying the heads of the arrows were carved from a meteorite found in Greenland, and there was an alien virus in the meteorite.   You get cut by this metal, and get sick from the virus, and you either recover with a Stand power or you die.   There was a text piece in Part 7 that tried to connect the Stand concept with Hamon, the Stone Masks, and “Spin”, suggesting that the latter three were attempts to achieve what Stands can do, and I guess that makes sense.    Maybe the Stone Masks were the Pillar Men attempting to invent whatever the alien meteor was supposed to do.   Except it’s not as advanced, so it can only do vampires instead of Stands.

Eventually, Kars’ experiments led him to the discovery of a particular stone that amplifies and focuses light.   He believed that if he could work that into his Stone Mask technology, then he could create a more powerful mask that would bring about greater improvements into his own body.   The problem was that he needed a bigger, more flawless stone than the ones that were available to him.   And that’s why they went to Rome to find one.   The 1st Century B.C. Ripple Clan couldn’t stop the Pillar Men, but they did manage to secure the stone they were looking for, and it’s been in their possession ever since.   Lisa Lisa holds it up to the sun and blows up part of her boat just to show off what it can do.

Joseph suggests that they just destroy the thing.    After all, it does them no good, and it means everything to their enemies, so why keep it around?   But there’s some legend that says it will be impossible to defeat the Pillar Men if the Red Stone of Aja is destroyed.

This seemed kind of hokey to me at first.   Lisa Lisa even admits that she doesn’t understand what that legend means, but she’s convinced that she has to protect the stone anyway.   But then I remembered Tonpetty, the leader of the Ripple Clan in Part 1.   He taught Will A. Zeppeli how to use Hamon, but warned him that it would lead to Will’s gruesome death.   Presumably, Tonpetty had some sort of gift of prophecy, and maybe it’s not far-fetched to think that others in the Ripple Clan had the same ability.   So maybe someone, a long time ago, foretold the ultimate fate of the Red Stone of Aja, and the Ripple Clan has been following that vague counsel ever since.

This might explain how the Ripple Clan knows so much about the Pillar Men in the first place.    It never made much sense to me how the Pillar Men would travel to Rome and this secret band of warriors would be there ready to oppose them.   It’s also kind of convenient that the Ripple Clan knows so much about the Pillar Men’s Stone Mask research.   I mean, the Pillar Men barely acknowledge humans as it is, so why would Kars deign to explain anything to them?   

Now that I think about it, this might be why the Ripple Clan turned to divination in the first place.   Their enemies were so mysterious and their motives so baffling that they may have had no choice but to consult fortune-tellers and psychics for insight.    And, one way or another, they managed to get some solid intel this way.   Kars really was doing R&D on Stone Masks.   He really did go to Rome in search of a “Super Aja”.    Will Zeppeli did die, as Tonpetti warned him.   Kars really did return in 1938, as the Aztec’s predicted.   And it really will be impossible to defeat the Pillar Men without the Red Stone of Aja.    Lisa doesn’t know how that works yet, but she knows it’s true.

But that’s not important right now.   For now, it’s time for Joseph and Caesar to complete their training by heading back to base for a final showdown with their instructors.   Joseph’s final test will be a battle with Loggins, so I assume Caesar has to take on Messina.   But when Joseph shows up for his test...

He finds two people on the battlefield.   One is Loggins, and the other guy is killing him.

And yeah, it’s Esidisi.  Who invited him?   Well, Joseph was going to fight him in a week or so anyway, so why put off tomorrow what you can do today?

[chloelucia13]

Chapter 14: Suzie, Do you Copy?

Pairing: none for the moment (currently Jonathan Byers x (kinda) Platonic!Henderson!reader)

Prompt:  You always thought Hawkins was the most boring town of all, stuck in a vacuum void of excitement and entertainment. Well, it seems that way until the world decided to flip upside down, literally.

Chapter Summary: Dustin’s return to Hawkins had overjoyed you, but other than that, there was no change to the normal routine of your summer. At least, that’s what you thought.

Warnings: Mostly fluff, spoilers (obvi), language, mentions of violence, injuries, pretty chill tbh

Word Count: 2764

A/N: AHHHH, I’m back finally! I’m so sorry I took so long to update this story! Hopefully I’ll be able to get back onto this series and update it regularly like I used to, but I can’t make any promises. For the time being, I hope you enjoy and make sure to keep an eye out for any updates! As always, my taglist and ask box is open! 

Tags: @just-my-fandom​, @nightbu-g​

You couldn’t recall a time you had woken up earlier than nine a.m. in the past month.

In all honesty, you had considered just sleeping in until the very last minute scramble to get dressed, rush out the door, and get back before Dustin got home.

Unfortunately that plan could not be executed as your mother woke you up, knowing you well enough that she could predict your plans.

And that was why you were at the mall at 10 a.m., your gaze focused on the floor as you made the trek over to Scoops Ahoy. Surprisingly, there was a small line in the shop, considering it wasn’t even lunchtime yet.

As you finally stood at the counter and lifted your head, Steve visibly relaxed, his “customer service” persona fading. “Oh thank god, it’s just you,” he sighed, leaning against the counter.

“Just little ol’ me,” you hummed, absentmindedly rubbing at your eye. “God, has the day already gone to shit for you, Steve?”

“Well, he’s already struck out twice if that’s any indication,” Robin piped up, peeking through the window that peered into the back area.

“Twice? Didn’t you guys open just an hour ago?” 

“Don’t rub it in,” Steve huffed, a frown sinking onto his features.

“Fine, fine.”

You and Steve had grown close in the past six months, sharing a special bond that you honestly needed. Though you couldn’t decide if the bond grew from him literally saving your life, or from your significant others (well, for Steve at least) dating each other rather than you two. Both, probably.

“Are you here to order something or just to bully me?” he spoke finally, pulling his ice cream scooper from his makeshift-holster. 

“Right, right. Just a pint of cookie dough and a pint of strawberry,” you instructed, pulling a ten out of your pocket.

He nodded and began scooping the two pints of ice cream. “Who’s the cookie dough for?”

“Dustin.”

He looked up at you, his brows furrowed in confusion. “He’s coming back today?”

“Yeah!”

He sealed the lid of the cookie dough pint. “No one tells me anything!”

You rolled your eyes. “Steve, I told you this two days ago.”

You heard Robin let out a laugh in the back room and Steve pressed his lips into a line. “Do you want ice cream or not?!”

You laughed. “Come on, you know you’d never deprive your two favorite people of ice cream.”

He rolled his eyes and finished up the second pint, sliding both of them over to you as you handed him the $10 bill. “Do you work today?”

“Unfortunately. I’m just hoping I’ll be home before dark tonight because they’ve been fucking keeping me for hours after closing.”

“Doesn’t the pool close at like five?”

“Yup,” you huffed, popping the ‘p.’ “And, to top it all off, I’m stuck with Heather  and Billy today.”

The two of you cringed simultaneously. “Can’t say I’d rather be you.”

“Thanks for the support.” You took the change from Steve and stuffed it into your pocket before cradling both pints of ice cream in your arms. “Well, I gotta drop these off at home and then sit in the sun for a few miserable hours. I’ll call you when I get home.”

***

Your soul nearly left your body when a chorus of screams erupted in the kitchen as soon as you stepped in the front door. They fell silent a moment later, though, and a voice echoed out, “Oh, it’s just you.”

With a hand clutched over your chest, you rolled your eyes. “Sorry to disappoint you guys with my presence, but can we avoid killing me the next time you see me?” you huffed, still struggling to take in a proper breath.

We thought you were Dustin,” Lucas explained, a party blower between his teeth.

“Yeah, I figured.” You brushed past the group and put the ice cream in the freezer. “Can someone make sure that Dustin gets his ice cream? I won’t be able to see him until later tonight.”

“I can,” Will spoke up, raising his hand in the air.

“Finally, someone I can count on.” You grabbed the drawstring bag that held all of your items and slung it over your shoulder. “How’s Jonathan enjoying his job at the newspaper?”

There was a small silence. “You haven’t talked to him about it?” Mike spoke up, and Max swatted his arm.

You shook your head, the healing scratch on your eye beginning to burn slightly. “No, not yet. We’ve, uh... We’ve both been too busy. We haven’t talked in a couple of weeks.” More like a month.

There was another silence before Will spoke. “He likes it. He has the dark room all to himself,” he explained, his voice gentle and hesitant.

“Good. That’s good. Tell him I said hi, or something.” You cleared your throat before turning to the group and giving them a smile. “I gotta head to work. You guys have fun, okay?”

***

God, you felt like vomiting.

Everything seemed to be going wrong today, like you forgetting to bring your sunscreen and sunglasses, Billy and Heather’s constant pestering and gossiping, Billy ignoring his job so he could flirt with Mrs. Wheeler, Mrs. Wheeler completely ignoring you so she could flirt with Billy, the dozens of kids that had coined multiple nicknames for you and your scar, and the 101 degree temperature that was unrelenting.

Luckily, though, the day was close to coming to an end. Most of the crowd had thinned, excluding a couple of kids who spent the whole day there anyways and adults who insisted on lingering until they absolutely had to leave. 

The shriek of a whistle startled you from your thoughts, your head slipping from your hand and making you lurch forward slightly. A group of muffled cackles sounded to your right, and you rolled your eyes. “Can I help you, or are you just here to make my life a living hell,” you grumbled, snapping your gaze over to Billy and Heather.

“Well, I was gonna ask if you wanted a water, but I guess not,” Heather huffed, stubbornly crossing her arms over your chest.

You gave her a doubtful glance. “Were you really?”

She laughed. “No. Now get up, It’s my turn on deck.”

With a huff you stepped down the ladder and tucked your book and raft under your arm. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Billy step closer. “Billy, if you push me in the pool you’re gonna wake up with no fucking mullet tomorrow.”

The pair just laughed behind you condescendingly, and you stomped away with a scowl etched on your face.

Ever since the... altercation that occurred months ago, Billy had kept his distance from you. It was a relief, knowing that he wouldn’t test your limits for the sake of his own health. But that didn’t stop him from sprinkling in some teasing every single time he spoke to you.

The hot concrete stung the soles of your feet, and you picked up your pace so you could get to the office before your feet blistered.

“Hey, no running!”  You froze at the voice, your eyebrows knitting together in confusion. Slowly, you turned on your heel to face the source. 

Jonathan stood behind the fence, his hands in his pockets and a shy smile on his face.

“Jonathan?” you whispered, tilting your head slightly as if you were a dog. 

“Hey Y/N,” he hummed, awkwardly shifting from foot to foot.

A small smile settled on your face and you walked over to the fence, a silent sigh of relief leaving your lips when your feet settled on the grass that bordered the fence. “Hey! W-What are you doing here? I thought you got out the same time that I did?”

“I do, I just uh... I wanted to go on a walk.”

You nodded. “Oh, okay.”

“And I uh, I wanted to see you. Just see how you were doing, I mean.”

You let out a small chuckle, hooking your fingers through one of the chain links in the fence. “I’m doing good. I mean, as good as I can be sitting in the heat for five hours straight with no sunglasses. How have you been?”

“I-I’m good. Isn’t Dustin back in town?”

“He is, he just got back today. I haven’t seen him yet, though. How’s your job at the paper going?”

“It’s good, really good. I’m enjoying it a lot.”

“That’s good to hear.”

The two of you stood silently, avoiding each other’s gaze except for the spare glances you’d risk. 

“I should get going,” Jonathan spoke finally, a hint of reluctance in his voice. 

“Right, yeah,” you hummed, clearing your throat. “It was good to see you, Johnny.”

“You too.” His mouth opened as if he wanted to say more, but he decided against it, giving you an awkward wave before walking away.

You lingered there for a moment, an all-too-familiar ache in your chest as you watched him walk away from you.

***

After rinsing off, getting changed, and making a final check of the area, you were finally off for the night. You could feel your shoulders nearly weighing your entire body down and your eyelids were extremely close to falling shut at any moment. Silently, you made the trek through the parking lot and over to your car. 

You hopped in the driver’s seat and fished your key out of your bag before putting it in the ignition and twisting.

And twisting again.

And one more time.

Shit.

You slammed your hands against the wheel and let out a groan, throwing your head back against the headrest. “Of course. Of fucking course,” you grumbled.

Then you began to weigh your options. The first idea that came to your mind was walking home, but you quickly decided against it as you were too exhausted and it was too far. 

Your next idea was to walk over to The Hawkins Post and see if you could catch a ride with Jonathan. But you knew that wherever Jonathan was, Nancy would also be. For a moment, you contemplated swallowing your embarrassment and fear and just do it, but again, you decided against that option.

Then you thought about using the phone in the office to call Steve, but you had no idea if he was even home.

And after running through all of the ideas in your mind, you last ditch plan walked past your peripheral.

You shoved all of your disgust down and hopped out of your car, rushing to try and catch up.

“Billy!” you shouted, trying to stuff your keys back in your bag as you jogged over to him.

He stopped and turned to look at you, part-confusion and part-annoyance wrinkling his features. “What?” he huffed.

“Can you, um...” You shifted awkwardly, the reality of the moment catching up to you. “Would you mind giving me a ride home? My car won’t start.”

He rolled his eyes, fishing a pack of cigarettes out from his leather jacket. “Y’know, any other night I’d love to, but I’ve actually got plans tonight. Call a tow truck or something.”

“Billy, please.” Your shoulders slumped. “I don’t live that far from you.”

“Who said I was going home?” 

Your jaw tightened and you pulled your bag higher up on your shoulder. “I’ll pay you $20. Just please.”

“Why don’t you ask your boyfriend to do it? I saw you talking to him earlier.”

“He’s not my boyfriend! Goddammit-” You cut yourself off, taking a deep breath and scrubbing a hand over your face. “$50.”

He stood there a moment, placing a cigarette between his teeth as he silently debated it. “Fine. But you’re paying me upfront.”

You bit your tongue and refrained from snapping at him, instead pulling your wallet from your bag and handing him a $50 bill. He snatched it from your fingers and shoved it in his back pocket before nodding his head over to his car and heading that way. 

Though the anxiety from asking him was gone, it was replaced with the anxiety of being in a vehicle with a man who very clearly hated your guts. Your brain was nagging you to just walk home, but you pushed the annoying warnings away and got in the passenger seat.

Billy had exited the parking lot before you even had a chance to put on your seatbelt, the engine roaring as he tore down the empty streets. The ride was silent other than that annoying engine, his godawful music, and your heart racing so loudly and harshly that you felt as if you were about to have a heart attack.

Whether it was your panic or your swarming thoughts, you had zoned out for the first few minutes of the ride. When you finally came to, you realized that you were nowhere near your house. “Did you take a wrong turn?” you mumbled, brows furrowing confusedly.

He scoffed, pulling his lower lip between his teeth. “No, I have an errand to run,” he explained as if you were stupid, as if you were already aware of his plans.

Oh my god, he’s gonna kill me.

You gulped, gripping onto your drawstring bag. “What errand?”

“Well, I had already made plans with Karen before you decided to ask for my help, so you’re tagging along.”

Your jaw dropped and you turned in your seat to face him. “You’re making me sit in the car while you hook up with Mrs. Wheeler? You said you were gonna take me home!”

“I did, but I didn’t specify when.” He was grinning from ear to ear, and you had to move your hands under your thighs so you didn’t smack that look off of his face.

“You motherfucker. Literally.”

He rolled his eyes. “Shut up and get in the back seat. I don't want her seeing you.”

It was your turn to scoff. “Excuse me?” 

“I said-”

His words were cut off by a large object hitting the windshield, making both of you jump and causing him to lose control of the vehicle. The car spun off of the road and collided into a tree on your side, making Billy’s head collide into his door and crushing your door into your body.

A slew of curses and grunts fell from your mouth as you worked your way out of the seat, feeling your ribs ache with each breath as you finally got out from between the door and the center console. You sat down on the center console and gripped onto the back of the seat for balance.

“Oh, no,” Billy grumbled from beside you, eyes wide as he took in the damage. The stereo still spat out a distorted and garbled sound that resembled the music that were playing earlier as Billy tried to restart the car, to no avail. “Piece of shit.”

You finally glanced over at him. “You’re bleeding,” you wheezed out, watching the blood drip down his forehead and into his eye.

He reached up and touched the wound, pulling away and glancing down at his fingers with disdain. “Shit.” He slammed his hand against the steering wheel before shoving his door open and crawling out. You followed behind him, collapsing to the ground beside his feet. You gripped onto his arm and heaved yourself up.

Billy left your side to attempt to pry the passenger door open, only for a spew of expletives to fall from his mouth. “Yeah, I’m good, thanks for asking,” you huffed, leaning against the car and clutching your right side as he stomped past you and over to the front of the car.

“Shut up,” he grumbled, leaning close to the windshield and gliding his finger along the spiderwebbed glass. “What the hell?”

A strange ooze clung to his finger, stretching between his hand and the windshield with a strong elasticity. “Fuck.”

A rustling in the shrubs near the building you stood by attracted both of your attention, your heart leaping to your throat.

“Who’s there!” Billy shouted, his body standing straight up.

“I don’t think it’s a who,” you grumbled, reaching for your pocket knife in your back pocket.  “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

As you opened your mouth to explain, Billy fell to the ground and was lugged away by a snaking vine. You screamed, but before you could move onto the car and off of the ground, a similar vine wrapped around your legs and dragged you through the dirt

[ruzek-halstead]

misery loves company

pairing: luke patterson x julie molina

everyone knows luke and julie are in love with each other, except them. when luke gets sick with the flu, it becomes the little push they need.

slightly au (boys are alive)

"you're not about to tell me something like that and walk out, julie. that's not how this works."

masterlist || ao3

requested by: @5sosmukefan​ 

They were an hour into their band practice, and one thing was becoming increasingly obvious.

Luke was losing his voice.

At first, they thought he was trying something new; he always liked to experiment with what he could do and he was always practicing the levels of raspiness he could use, like he did in Bright. But by the end of the last hour, it was clear that wasn't the case.

"Luke, I love you bro," Alex started hesitantly, twirling his drumstick in his fingers. "But what the hell is happening with your voice?"

Luke frowned. "I hear it too."

"You seem to be sweating a lot," Julie noted and Luke raised an eyebrow. "Much more than usual. Are you feeling alright?"

"Of course I am. I don't get sick," he scoffed. He took off his guitar and placed it back in its stand, grabbing his hydro flask to rehydrate. In truth, Luke was looking a little pale, but denial was a powerful concept.

Reggie snickered, blanking his face when Luke turned to him with a stormy glare. "Either way, I think we should call it. You're sounding rough, my man."

Luke rolled his eyes in defiance, but Julie truly didn't like his colour. She walked over to him, setting her palms against his cheeks. He went slightly cross-eyed trying to look at her and question what she was doing. She placed the back of her hand against his forehead.

"Not sick my ass," Julie mumbled, "Luke, sit down, you're definitely catching something."

Luke's eyebrows furrowed together; the coolness of Julie's palms did wonders for his skin. "But I don't get sick!" He repeated in a whiny voice. Julie solely rolled her eyes and pushed at his shoulder so he'd fall back on the couch.

"You two should probably go," Julie redirected her words to Alex and Reggie, who looked confused and slightly offended (Alex). "Don't give me that look. You three were the ones who refused to get the flu shot like I did, and now you're going to pay for it."

Reggie's eyes widened. "Luke has the flu?" They'd never seen him put his bass down so quickly. "Peace out buddy! I'm steering clear of you like the plague!"

"So, you're going to stay with him?" Alex asked Julie with a raised eyebrow; she nodded. "You hear that, Reg? Julie is going to stay and take care of Luke! Isn't that just the cutest thing you've ever heard?"

Julie's gaze flickered between Alex and Reggie, who were both wearing devious grins. "I don't know what your tone is implying, but your presence is annoying me. Make yourselves useful and go get some medicine or something."

"She's touchy today," Alex whispered in Reggie's direction. He narrowly missed getting hit by the pillow Julie lodged in his direction. "Fine, I'm going! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

Reggie snorted, "that's not much then." Alex smacked him upside the head. "We'll be back! Feel better Luke!"

Julie wasn't an idiot. She clearly knew something had changed between her and Luke recently. Since the very beginning, it was hardly platonic. There was always that chemistry between them; they just didn't know where it would lead. And to be honest, she still has no idea. Things between them hadn't progressed in the way she wanted in the slightest. The only difference was that everyone seemed to suspect something was going on between them (re: Alex, Reggie, Flynn, Carlos and her dad), which explained Alex's smartass comments. But the most that had happened were small touches here and there as they wrote new songs. And their songs hadn't changed much either; she had been writing more romantically charged songs on her own, but every time she came together with Luke, he steered them in the complete opposite direction.

She honestly didn't know where she stood with him.

Luke was currently laying face down in a pillow, shivering. Julie rolled her eyes, almost certain it was because he refused to wear shirts with sleeves. She grabbed a blanket from the back closet and draped it across his shivering form. He turned his head to the side and peeked open an eye, mumbling a soft, "thank you." She took this opportunity to feel his forehead again, and he was still burning up; he groaned at the coolness of her touch.

"I'll be right back," she told him. He mumbled something unintelligible in response. Julie pulled up Netflix on the television and chose the first show that appeared (Modern Family because Alex was obsessed with Mitchell and Cameron, naturally). She escaped back into the kitchen where she grabbed a bowl filled with ice water and some small hand towels.

When she entered the garage again, Luke was sitting up on the couch, the blanket wrapped around his shoulders. His hair was matted against his forehead from the sweat and the angry pout on his lips nearly made her drop the bowl of ice water. "Julie," he groaned, beckoning her to come closer. "Is this what dying feels like?"

"You are such a baby," Julie snapped, sitting down across from him on the coffee table. Luke shot her an affronted look. "If I can go on with my day while Satan's ripping apart my uterus, you can handle the flu."

Luke looked as if he was going to retort, but a small smile appeared on his lips instead. "Yeah, you're right," he replied, "you're a badass, Jules."

"Don't I know it," she sighed, taking one of the hand towels and placing it against his forehead. He instantly leaned forward with a satisfied groan, resting his palms against her knees. They didn't have much room between the coffee table and the couch, and their knees knocked together. "How does that feel?"

"Like heaven," his eyes literally rolled into the back of his head. "Thanks for staying and taking care of me, Jules."

Julie dipped the cloth in the bowl to avoid meeting his gaze. "Yeah, of course," she muttered in response. "I'd do anything for you, you know that." She wasn't sure what prompted that confession, but now it was out there.

Luke’s gaze narrowed on Julie’s face, even though she was looking everywhere but into his eyes. “Yeah. I mean, me too. I just — you’re my best friend. Couldn’t do this whole life thing without you.”

She wasn’t expecting to feel anything when she heard the word friend. It should have been fine, because they are, in fact, best friends. But her chest constricted and she squeezed the cloth absentmindedly, dripping water onto Luke’s lap.

“Shit, sorry,” Julie apologized, avoiding eye contact as she bit her lip. She wasn’t generally a crier, but she was unable to stop her emotions from displaying all over her face and she didn’t need him seeing that. She placed everything back onto the coffee table and hastily stood up. She knocked her knees against Luke’s and his hands fell from her knees as if his touch burned her.

Luke was confused. Julie flipped off like a switch, and he’s only seen that happen a few times before.

“Uh — what just happened? Did I say something?”

“No,” Julie forced out a laugh, “no. Everything’s fine.”

Luke frowned. He wouldn’t fall into the trap of basic girl talk. Again. “This seems like one of those situations where girls say everything’s fine, but it’s really not fine, and next thing you know, they’re cutting up all your clothes."

"You already do that," she shot back, pointedly looking at his absent sleeves.

"I know you're not complaining because you get to look at my amazing biceps every day. And don't think I didn't notice you're changing the subject."

Julie rolled her eyes, busying herself with grabbing the bowl and dumping it out in the bathroom sink. Luke followed her, groaning in pain. He looked like absolute hell; pale, sweaty and determined to get an answer out of her.

"Julie, talk to me, please."

She avoided his gaze, skirting past him. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Bullshit," he snapped. His eyebrows furrowed together and his signature pout adorned his lips; he was starting to get annoyed. "Are you forgetting I know you nearly as well as you know yourself?"

That small statement lit a fire inside of Julie.

"Clearly you don't," she fired in response and Luke took a step back in surprise. "Because if you did, then you would know what's wrong. You would know that being your friend absolutely sucks because that isn't what I want! I want more and shit, I thought you did too!"

Everything came spilling out of her at once.

In any other situation, she would rather choke on pure air than confess her feelings for Luke, much less like that. But it happened. And now he was staring at her with wide, bewildered eyes, and Julie didn't know how she should go about it now.

So, bolting seemed like the correct option.

She was halfway to the door, when Luke grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. He was still pale and looking ghostly, but his eyes were shining bright as they focused solely on Julie.

"You're not about to tell me something like that and walk out, Julie. That's not how this works," he told her in a serious tone. All traces of his usual goofy nature were gone and Julie cursed herself for ever saying anything in the first place. Everything was too serious and too real, and she just didn't want to deal with it. "Don't you want to hear what I have to say?"

Julie pursed her lips, staring at his collarbone, rather than up at his face. "Not really. Can we just forget I ever said anything?"

"What if I don't want to?"

At this, Julie looked up. She was surprised to see his eyes focused solely on her; they softened when they met her gaze. "Julie, you mean the world to me. I just didn't want to do anything that would make things weird in the band. Plus, it's hard to know what you're thinking."

He still wasn't being exceptionally clear, and Julie wasn't entirely sure what to make of his statement.

"Well, I wasn't intending to say anything now either," she admitted quietly.

"I'm glad you did," he replied quickly. His grip on her wrist travelled down to hold onto her hand. "One of us should have the guts to admit how we feel about each other."

She hesitantly bit her lip. "You know, I haven't heard much of anything coming from you."

Luke's smirk widened. "You're right," he conceded. "I should probably let you know that I think you're the most beautiful girl I have ever seen and I've been into you since I first saw you in school. And I'd really like to kiss you right now, but I'm not entirely sure your flu shot will protect you from whatever the hell I have."

Heat instantly rushed into Julie's cheeks and she resisted the urge to shy away, because this was real and this was happening. "So, what does this mean?"

"Well, I guess I should start with asking you on a date."

For someone who avoided talking about their feelings for so long, he sure was doing a fantastic job.

"Julie, would you like to go out on a date with me?"

"Yeah, I'd love that."

Luke broke out into an excited smile, wrapping his arms around her and crushing her into his chest. He couldn't kiss her right now, but he sure as hell could show his affection in other ways. He pressed his lips against her temple, enjoying the quiet. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and he could hear Julie's breathing start to slow. It's been a long time coming, and he still wasn't where he wanted to be, but they were getting there.

Their quiet moment was interrupted when the garage door slid open forcefully.

"Reggie! It's happening! It's freaking happening!"

Luke groaned at the sound of Alex's voice.

"Reggie! Get your ass in here now!"

Julie turned to the door, staying tucked into Luke's chest.

Alex was shooting them an excited grin, slapping Reggie's bicep repeatedly when he finally joined them.

"Oh, finally! Carlos, get in here!"

Julie let out a squeak of indignation at the sight of her little brother staring down Luke.

"Well, it's about time," he said coolly, surprising both Luke and Julie. "Boys, I want my money by sundown, or else."

Reggie stared after him as he walked away, scratching the back of his neck when Julie sent him a withering glare.

"So, we may or may not have placed a bet on you two," Alex explained. He didn't seem sheepish in the slightest.

Luke chuckled. "Who's 'we'?"

"Literally everyone," Reggie replied.

"Carlos, Flynn, your dad — literally everyone," Alex smirked. "Honestly, you two are pretty clueless."

Julie hung on tighter to Luke, enjoying his warm embrace. She thought it might feel weird in front of their bandmates, but surprisingly, it didn't. The proud and giddy expressions on both Alex and Reggie's face was enough to relax her and help her realize that this was what she was missing all along.

"Yeah, we are," she mumbled with an upwards glance to Luke and his bright smile.

"Oh my god! I need to call Willie! We're going on a double date!"

x

i hope i did this request justice!! i had a bit of trouble with the ending so sorry if it sucks tehe, but i’m a sucker for luke and julie confessing their feelings for each other!!! hope you all enjoyed!!!

stay safe everyone x

[iwantthedean]

Ma’lak

Summary: Dean helps someone close to him lock away her demons.  Pairing: Dean x Reader  Word Count: 3130 Warnings: Canon divergence, implied smut, mental health issues, exorcism, angst.  Square Filled: Late Night Call for @breakthezone Bingo (LOVE that I can tag now!) A/N: This was borne of a new thing I’m trying in trauma therapy. I hope you all can enjoy it, but please skip it if you think it might trigger you! This is a comfort for me, but I know it may not be that way for everyone. AKF/YANA. Huge thanks to @crispychrissy​ for making the ma’lak box GIF for me!! I appreciate it more than I can say!  A/N2: You may see this again much later in a saga I’ve had running for several years now; that wasn’t how I started out with this in my head, but it quickly turned into that. Just putting that out there ;) If you think you know, shoot me a DM!

“I have an idea. Can you come get me?”

Dean was up and out of the bed in record time. “On my way. Stay there.”

As he pushed his feet into his boots, Dean’s mind raced. It was after midnight; he had been deep in thought about a recent case and hadn’t even realized he dozed off until the phone rang. 

She had been on her own for months. Maybe even a year at this point? They talked at least once a month, but hadn’t seen each other since she left in the middle of the night — since Dean had let her go. Demons were dwelling within her and it took all of their strength and focus to keep them at bay. She had lashed out at all of them, more than once, and the last fight she and Dean had gotten into had almost come to blows; the thought of it made him sick to his stomach. 

He put those memories and the bunker in his rearview mirror. A stop at the gas station put coffee in his hands and kept him going for the next few hours. Well, the coffee, and a couple rounds of Metallica’s best hits. 

“Y/N?” he called after slamming the Impala’s door behind him. He walked carefully up to the isolated camper, catching that the door was slightly ajar. No lights were on and the place was deadly silent. He pulled the handgun from the back of his waistband and called for her again. 

Still no answer. Carefully and silently opening the door, he aimed at the driver’s end of the camper, then back towards the bedroom — and right at Y/N. 

“Fuck, Dean!” she hissed, pushing the gun away. 

He rolled his eyes and clicked the safety before placing the gun on the counter. “You always leave your damn door open at all hours, Y/N/N? Any psycho would waltz in here and —”

“Don’t get your panties in a bunch, Dean. Oh, and check your phone every once in a while. I texted you and told you I’d leave the door open and the hideaway made up so you could crash when you got here. You know, so you wouldn’t wake me up.”

With an exhausted, ironic chuckle, Dean held out an arm and stepped closer to her, but then immediately stepped back. “How are you with physical contact these days?”

“Ha. The last time I had physical contact was the last time you and I had physical contact. I keep to myself. Safer that way.”

Y/N flipped on a dim light over the sink and pulled a plastic cup from the small cupboard, filling it with water. She motioned the cup toward Dean after she emptied it, but he shook his head. She shrugged and left the cup upside down in the sink. She offered coffee; that he took her up on. 

As she moved about the camper, Dean now took notice of all the things the moonlight through the couple of windows hadn’t allowed him to see in the chaos of his entry. 

Her thin-strapped, cotton nightgown hung to her curves and conjured up memories of his hands running over her curves, his lips on her bare skin — was it possible for her skin to be softer now than it had been before? Her hair was longer and, maybe because he was tired, but Dean was having a hard time not carding his hands through it and tugging just enough to pull a whimper from her perfect lips. He had expected those demons swimming within her being to make her harsher, worn out, tired. Maybe she was all of those things, but it didn’t show when he looked at her. 

“Coffee’ll be ready in a few minutes.” She said, turning back to him from the small machine. “Dean? You okay?”

He nodded, clearing his throat. “Yeah, sorry. It’s just, you know — for hiding out for so long and keeping those demons maintained, you look — you look good, sweetheart.”

“You’re a sight for sore eyes yourself.” Y/N smirked and hopped up to the counter. She looked down at her hands as her expression grew somber; sorrowful. “I know that a lot of things have happened, that we said a lot of things. I said a lot of things. This whole thing has been … it’s driven me to be a person I never wanted to be or thought I would be. I didn’t think about the consequences before I did it, I only thought about keeping everyone else safe.”

Dean nodded. “Yeah, I guess me of all people, I can’t fault you for that.”

One end of her mouth tugged up. “Have you forgiven me for all the things I said to you? For how far I let it go before I left?”

He stepped up to the counter, gently pressing himself between her knees. He caressed her face with his rough hands — her skin was softer than he remembered — and pressed the ghost of a kiss to her forehead. 

“The only thing I’ll never be able to forgive is myself for letting you stay away for so long.”

Y/N’s head fell, as did her tears. Dean’s hands went to her shoulders, pulling her to him. The top of her head butted against his chest. His hands fell down her arms, his thumbs rubbing over her forearms; on her left arm, he felt the scar of The Mark, the thing that had pulled her out of life. Pushed her out. Whatever it was, she had been gone and he had missed her. 

Dean cupped her face again, forcing her to face him. Her eyes were red from the tears, but still the same color he had always been able to drown in. Even the quickest of looks from Y/N had commanded his heart to skip a beat, and he had missed that feeling, too. 

She sniffled. “I really missed you, Dean.”

“Missed you, sweetheart.”

The words were uttered against her lips, hanging in the air even as he pressed his lips to hers for the first time in too long a time. She whimpered, not the way he had imagined a couple of minutes ago, but in a way that told him she honestly had missed him as much as he had missed her. Maybe even more. The kiss quickly deepened under the pressure of the chemistry between them; the connection that had always been there. Y/N’s arms wrapped around his middle, holding tight and pulling herself against him as her tongue searched out his. 

The urge to touch her hair became a need Dean couldn’t ignore. His fingers slid into her hair at the root before his hands formed fists and he gave the slightest pull. Her whimper this time was exactly what he had wished to hear when he was imagining the scenario earlier. 

She gripped his jacket lapel again and used it to push him out of kissing reach. Her chest was heaving, one strap of her nightgown had fallen down one shoulder. Her eyes were wide, filled with both fear and lust. 

“What if I hurt you?” she whispered. 

“If this is how I die,” Dean replied, tucking his fingers under the strap and kissing the top her shoulder before replacing the strap, “then this is how I die.”

Y/N giggle and kissed his cheek. “Then take me back to bed, Dean. It’s been too long.”

Dean tossed off his jacket before lifting her from the counter. He kissed her soundly as he worked them toward her bed, thinking he couldn’t agree with her more. 

Their activities still allowed for a few hours of sleep before they were back on the road toward the bunker. Dean had pressed Y/N for what she had in mind, but she wouldn’t tell him. He didn’t like it, but memories of past arguments that had pushed her away stopped Dean from giving in to his tendency to push the issue. 

By the time they neared the bunker, the tension was radiating off Y/N like steam and smoke from an overheated engine. Dean pulled the Impala up to the front door and turned off the engine. 

“You ready to talk to me about this?” 

“Sam called me once since I’ve been gone. He was panicked.” She swallowed so hard, he could hear it. “When Michael was still possessing you, when you didn’t think you were going to be able to stop him, you went away for a while. To Donna’s cabin.”

Dean shook his head. “No. Absolutely not.”

“Is the box still here?”

“No. Jack’s soul was gone, we tried to put him in the box, Lucifer got to him. He blasted the box.”

She nodded. “But you could make another one? You know how.”

Dean drew in a breath and shook his head. “That box is not an option. All right? Me going into the ocean with Michael, that’s one thing. You spending eternity with these demons, with that Mark, is not.”

She licked her lips. “What if it was only the demons and the Mark? What if we could lock them away?”

“How’re we gonna do that?”

“Are you going to help me make the box?”

He met her eyes for the first time since the conversation had started. He pressed his lips into a thin line and reached for the door handle. 

“C’mon. Let’s get inside. Sammy’ll want to see you.”

Sam was just as perplexed as Dean as to what her plan was. Y/N was only sharing bits and pieces with them, promising that when the box was done and she was sure the plan could be executed, she would tell them more. 

Dean set to work right away. If there was something that was going to make this all go away, he wasn't going to be the one standing in the way of it. Y/N had promised him that if this worked, maybe they could put the whole thing behind them. She could come home and they could start new. He held on to that promise as he worked to complete the Ma’lak box. 

The assignment she had for Sam was less physically exhausting, but still exhausting nonetheless. As far as Sam could find, there was nothing that would allow the Mark or even solely its effects from someone to be locked away for all of eternity. 

“The Mark has to have a host.” Sam shrugged and pushed away the thick book in front fo him. “If there was an answer, Y/N/N, we would have found it when Dean had the thing. Before Amara, before — okay, well, a lot of things that you don’t need recounted.”

“Yeah, thanks for that. The difference, Sam, is that I didn’t take this. I — okay, you know how it happened, and I won’t recount that for you, either. Favor returned. My point is, if I didn’t ask for it, why do I have to keep it? Why couldn’t I force it out?”

Sam licked his lips. “I don’t think it works like that. And — and ‘force it out’? Listen, I want this to be over just as much as you and Dean do. I do. But I think you’re getting your hopes up about something that isn’t gonna work. I haven’t heard it from your mouth but I think I get where you’re going with this and I don’t think it’s gonna work. I don’t see how.”

Y/N looked around before taking the seat across from Sam and taking in a breath. She licked her lips and looked him in the eye. 

“You still feel the demon blood in your soul sometimes,” Y/N stated. “You have dark moments, especially moments of anger, when you want to pull from that power. You want that darkness to take root and grow. You want it to be a part of you still.”

Sam stood from the table. “Stop it.”

Y/N stood, too. “I live with that darkness, multiplied by numbers we don’t comprehend, every day, Sam, and I keep it at bay. I’m that strong — strong enough to command this darkness out of me.”

His shoulder’s rolled back before he turned to her. “But how?”

Y/N’s hand raised, palm up, level with her waist. She curled her fingers up, and Sam felt his soul squeeze. He could breath, his heart rate increased only a few beats, but he could feel the last effects of the demon blood leaving his soul, his veins, his muscles. His whole being. 

Black smoke started to appear between them, plumes shooting out in every directions. Sam’s brow furrowed, but Y/N’s face stayed calm and stoic. When he could feel no lingering drops in his system, Y/N still held the dark, polluted smoke between them, but pulled it closer to herself, until the smoke had disappeared into her body in much the same spot as it had been pulled from Sam’s body. 

His jaw dropped. “How did you do that?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. One I day, I was in town to get groceries. There was a dark streak in this little boy and I thought about everything we’ve all been through, and I wished that I could take it away. I saw him again in the parking lot, and I had the thought again and that streak started to draw out of him, like I did with you. I’ve been working with it, strengthening the ability. I can take in small darknesses, like that one from that little boy, and pull it out later. But I’ve been letting them back out into the open. My own demons, the Darkness locked within The Mark? I can’t let those out into the open.”

“That’s why you need the box,” Sam surmised, “to lock them away.”

“I don’t know how else to do this,” she returned. “I can’t keep living like this. I finally had a family, and this bullshit took it away from me. I’m not going to take that laying down.”

Sam drew in a deep breath and gave a single nod. “Okay. Well, the lore isn’t going to help us. What else can I do?”

Y/N licked her lips. “If things go south — if I’m wrong about this — don’t let Dean came after me. Whether I’m alive or dead, you’ve got to keep him from coming after me. I don’t want him to come after me. No deals, no spells, nothing. This is my only option and if it doesn’t work …”

Sam stepped slowly towards her, remembering that sudden movements could sometimes trigger her. He reached his arms out, and Y/N accepted the hug he was offering. 

Dean ran his hand over a warding on the box, brushing away some dust. He licked his lips and stood back. 

“All right. I made the box. Now what?”

Y/N exchanged a glance with Sam, who gave her an encouraging nod. She told Dean about the little boy, about the dark pieces she had been pulling from people, and then from herself. 

He raised his brow. “So, you want to exorcise yourself?”

“Essentially, yes,” Y/N answered quietly. “I know that it sounds crazy. I know that but if this is even potentially an option, I have to try it. If I don’t try this, or hell, if it doesn’t work, I don’t know how much longer … I just have to try.”

Dean’s eyes glassed over as he considered the part of the sentence she had left unsaid. “So, if this works, we get you back?”

Y/N shrugged. “As far as I can tell. I’ll be back to being me, anyway, and if you want me back, I’ll come back.”

“If,” Dean snorted. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

“I need you to open the box. And to close it when I tell you.”

Sam nodded. “We can do that.”

“Okay.” 

Latin words dribbled from her lips in the form of a whisper as she placed her hands on the front of her ribcage, fingers sprawled. She closed her eyes as she continued to say the words. 

When the words stopped, Y/N opened her eyes and set her jaw. She moved her hands slowly forward, pulled plumes of black smoke from her body. Agonized screams and angry growling accompanied the smoking, growing louder the further her hands moved out in front of her. The brothers could see her struggling to stay with it, but neither of them moved for fear of hindering the process. 

She gasped in relief when the last plume joined with the others and she pushed the thick, black smoke into the Ma’lak box. The screams grew louder; Sam covered his hands with his ears to ward away the screeching. Dean stood firm at the lid of the box though, waiting for Y/N’s signal. 

“Now!” 

Dean let the lid slam shut before he quickly latched the locks. As soon as the box was secure, he turned to Y/N where she was on her knees on the floor. 

“Hey, c’mon, you’re all right,” he encouraged, pulling her into an embrace. “Y/N, look at me. Tell me what’s going on.”

She leaned into his shoulder. “They’re gone. They’re all gone.”

Dean took her left arm and checked; the Mark was still there. “Y/N …”

“I know,” she answered, pulling her arm away from his grip, “but The Darkness is not in here. If that box is opened, she’ll come back. In the meantime, it’s like — it’s like an abandoned house. As far as I can tell.”

Dean’s head fell back in relief as Y/N continued to lean on him while she regained her strength. Sam went for a glass of water, which seemed to help. 

“So where do we drop the box?” Sam asked. 

Y/N shook her head. “I don’t want to know. If I feel the pull, I don’t want to know where to go looking. You take it, make sure it’s secure, and drop it somewhere I won’t think to look.”

Sam and Dean both agreed, but they weren’t about to take the box anywhere until they knew for sure she was good. A quick call to Donna and Jody had the two sheriffs making plans to come get the box soon and drop it somewhere none of the three of them would know to look. 

Dean picked Y/N up off the ground, kissing her temple before pressing his cheek to hers. He knew that she might be able to walk by now, but, after everything they had been through, he needed to take care of her for a while, for his own sake if not for hers. 

The Whole Shebang: @illisea @ashleymalfoy @mrswhozeewhatsis @ravenesque @feelmyroarrrr @atc74   @blacktithe7 @moonlessnight14 @kitchenwitchsuperwhovian @smoothdogsgirl  @melbrandes  @emoryhemsworth @deansgirl215 @calaofnoldor @sleepylunarwolf @chances-and-miracles @sandlee44 @foxyjwls007 @deanwanddamons @carryonwaywardkansas​

Two for the Money: @jayankles @akshi8278 @adoptdontshoppets @jerkbitchidjitassbutt​

[botwstoriesandsuch]

I saw someone doing a fanfiction appreciation week and thought of you!! I really really like Parallel Phrases from you, so I thought I shall give you some appreciation!! - -Elsker virkelig arbeidet ditt!! <33

AAA! Thank you very much, I swear I am still working hard on it, as the plan is to post a song with each chapter. Anyhow, why not have a snippet?

"It's all really just...contradictory, isn't it?" Link rubbed at the words on his arm.

"How so?" Sidon eyed him quizzically.

"I......Well..." Link gripped the bottom of his chair, thinking over his words.

"Alright, so recently, I....remembered something. From my old life. 100 years ago, or even more...I dunno..."

"Mhm?" Sidon sat there with a patient smile, seemingly undeterred by Link's babbling, and the...very much unusual circumstances of his entire existence.

Link chewed his cheek. "Ugh, it's...Sorry, it's sort of embarrassing. It was just me and Champion Revali--at least I think it was him, although he acted completely different that how he is now. We were in the sky, he was showing off his gale..."

He was professing his love without any sort of hesitation. No biggie. No big deal.

He scratched his head, moving his fingers through the tangles. "I think....I think I remembered that I loved Revali. B-B-But he's! Y-You know!" Link shook his arm around wildly as if he was wrestling with a snake in his sleeve.

"He's dead! These clearly aren't his words on me! What's the point of me having a different soulmark if not because I have a different soulmate! And if I have a different soulmate, was Revali even....my....to begin with...What do I...? Which is the right option, if ANY of them?? Or perhaps I'm not meant to find satisfaction entirely?? Is he, or...who...them...you...when...R....I'm...."

Link hung his legs over one arm of the chair and rested his neck on the other, the cool metal providing a relaxing sensation.

"You'd think the whole tattoo thing would make everything easier to understand."

Sidon laughed cheerfully, while shaking his head.

"To think that the hero's greatest struggles would lie with a simple phrase. The sword doesn't quite rhyme with the word, as they say."

"Oh, trust me. I struggled plenty with Ruta and Medoh and--"

"Link." Sidon placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's not like that."

The hero gave a deep sigh, before sitting back properly in his chair. His boots squeaked awkwardly across the perfectly polished tile, and he cringed, shaking his head.

"Well, what is 'it like,' then? How'd you figure out things with Bazz? Or yourself? Or...is there some ancient Zora story that I can reference...?"

Now it was Sidon's turn to sigh.

"You know what the problem is, Link? I think you're far too concerned with finding an answer."

There was silence for a moment, Link allowing the rushing water around them to have their turn to speak.

"...Would you rather me find more questions? Cause if I find any more I might develop an addiction."

Sidon laughed cheerfully at that, but Link just crossed his arms. "I-I don't--What?! What are you even talking about? Of course I'm trying to find an answer! That's generally what one does when they have questions."

Sidon rose to walk around, still half chuckling.

"Forgive me, Link. I don't mean to tease you, so allow me to clarify..." He tapped a talon to his chin, thinking. "Take...me and Bazz, for example. I love him with all my heart. As children we had a sort of fake rivalry, but we grew and became the greatest of friends."

He waved both his hands around. "But when we found that the 'words of love' on Bazz were from me, we...I was a bit troubled for a time. I never saw myself as someone for romance, and starting something like that with my best friend made me...more sad than happy."

Sidon reached his hand out towards one of the waterfalls, letting the water rush down his fins. Link could barely make out the letter "W" etched in gold under his fin.

"So I simply didn't, uh, 'romance' him, for lack of other words. Was it the right decision? Was it the right answer? I wasn't sure at the time, but what I did know was that the decision made us both happy."

He let his arm fall, water dripping on the floor as he waved his hand again, cheerily. "And of course, now, we all know it was the right one. Muzu was a bit confused, but Father was all too supportive. Bazz is my soulmate. With him, I am happy. He is my treasured friend."

In the time it had taken Sidon to pace around, Link and flipped himself upside down in his chair.

"See, but that's what I'm missing, Sidon!" He tilted his head, his hair brushing against the floor. "How were you so sure what to do?"

"I wasn't. As I said, Muzu had always told me soulmarks were a marriage thing--"

"Then what do you do if you are wrong, then?"

Sidon crouched down on the floor to meet Link's gaze--which was a bit hard considering his giant figure nearly had to get on his hands and knees.

"Link, my friend, you're missing the point." Sidon's voice was gentle, but firm. "Our choices, our actions, it was in pursuit of making us both happy. Magic words, bound souls--they don't complete you. They don't make you happy. I found happiness and contentment with Bazz, not from him."

He picked a blue ponytail from the floor, and hung it on Link's nose, playfully.

"This drama you've constructed for yourself, as unprecedented as your circumstances are, isn't the issue. You want an answer from me, from Revali, from some unknown soulmate, perhaps even from Hylia herself. And unfortunately I must tell you Link, you won't find it. You're never going to find it. Because completion, and victory, and destiny and all the sort...it doesn't come from anyone else's word but yours.

Sidon rolled up Link's sleeve, presenting his soulmark to him.

"The 'whole tattoo thing' doesn't make everything easier to understand, because no one, in all the powers of Hyrule, will ever understand. In all honestly, my friend, it's a gimmick, and it would be foolish to lay all conclusions of happy ever afters upon it."

Link's eyes flickered between his arm, and Sidon for a moment. He frowned.

"Everything sounds uplifting coming from you, but out of context, that's kind of a downer."

Sidon laughed. "I suppose, although I truly see it as the opposite. There is no singular solution that will satisfy everybody for all time. That is true freedom, is it not?"

There was silence, as Link fiddles with the ponytail around his fingers.

"...Do you think...anyone would even want to be with me? After everything? Am I even worthy of an answer anymore?"

Sidon thwacked Link's chin and he bumped his head against the floor.

"GAH!? WH--"

"Link. I truly must get Father to hire you a literary tutor, since it seems you are incapable of comprehension after 100 years."

Link stuck his tongue out, and Sidon did the same. They both chuckled.

Shaking his head, Sidon picked Link up by his tunic and set him upright in his chair.

"Very well. You want the answer to your woes? How about this: There is no answer, there will only ever be the never ending journey. Your life is not as unique as you think it is. It is full victories and defeats like everyone else. Chase after what you believe will make you happy, then win, or lose. And when all that's done--Start the chase again."

[thedefinitionofendgame]

I Love You, Baby

Sullivan X Andy one-shot | Rated M | Canonverse

A/N: Amidst my Surrera breakdown tonight after reading the episode synopsis for 4x16, I wrote this to settle my heart rate. I have no idea how the Station 19 finale will go, but hints about a Surrera baby are running wild, so this fic inspired by those and everything else *Rated M for non-explicit sex/TW regarding the mention of George Floyd’s death (briefly)*

•

You can read this work on ao3 and fanfiction.net as well

Written & cover by @thedefinitionofendgame (aka me)

The cover is split between 3 different sections, just because :)

Alarms blared and sirens wailed but Lieutenant Andy Herrera heard none of them. Her thoughts were too crowded with her husband’s voice. No, not the way he whispered sweet nothings against her skin in the early mornings or the outrageously sexy way his voice deepened when he fought with her over control in the bedroom. Instead, it was the things he had told her over the last few months when the whole world had flipped upside down. The coronavirus started which put enough strain on a marriage alone. Then Andy’s husband, Robert, and a member of her Station 19 family, Dean, had wound up in jail mainly due to the colour of their skin. Robert had even had a gun pointed at his head, as he rushed to his wife who had been shoved to the ground. Less than two months later, a man across the country had died claiming he couldn’t breathe, filmed for the whole world to witness and make opinions about. None of it made sense to Andy, but then again she didn’t see things in the same way she had just half a year ago before she married her husband.

She loved his eyes. They were kind and held so much emotion. She loved the way his hands held her face when his lips brushed hers, no matter how gentle or rough their kiss was. His firefighter-status fitness level was a definite bonus; his hands were way larger than her own but she liked that they fit around hers like a glove. These were just some of the physical features she loved about her husband. Not once did she think about the colour of his skin and how that affected her love for him. It simply didn’t, at least not in a negative way. Robert was her husband; the colour of his skin never made any difference to her one way or another. Until it did matter, although not in a bad way. Suddenly, he was a target and Andy was thrust into a world that didn’t see a kind and dedicated man when they looked at Robert Sullivan. They saw someone that Andy would never compare to her husband, all for the colour of his skin.

Our marriage is the only good thing in my life, he had told her. The only good thing was her. They both had no one else, no parents or siblings. Sure, they had Station 19 who were basically family and Andy’s aunt, uncle and cousin. But in terms of immediate family, it was just them. Robert’s comment had left Andy’s head turning. Maybe it was the truth in his words, maybe it was the desperation he had said them to her in. Maybe it was because Andy wanted more than just their marriage to be good in his life. And maybe it was a little bit of all three.

Whatever it was, Andy was sure the problems couldn’t be fixed with what she had in mind. Although her idea wasn’t rational, it was the only thing she could think of. Robert and her had talked about the prospect of it before but it hadn’t gotten farther than that. The question remained whether or not it would break them up or make them stronger. At this point, Andy wasn’t ready to find out.

Yet somewhere in the universe, a light shone. A spark was lit, a flame caught on and from there, it was an inferno. One thing led to another and soon a giant ball of fire was heading for the only good thing in Robert (and Andy’s) life. It was only a matter of time before it crashed into them, leaving nothing but a mist of smoke behind.

“Hey, are you okay?” Robert’s concerned murmur washed over Andy, as she slid back into bed next to her husband.

Andy nodded, desperate to feel the warmth of his skin against hers again. The early-morning air was cold and the firefighter wasn’t ready to get up yet. “Just had to use the bathroom.”

“Mhm.” An arm wrapped around her shoulders, making Andy feel safe. Home was wherever Robert’s embrace was. “Some long trip to the bathroom you took. Also did I hear you throwing up?”

Andy’s heart thumped in her chest. “No, why did you think that?”

“Thought I heard it. If you didn’t, it’s fine. Just wanted to check,” Robert pressed a kiss to his wife’s forehead. “We have ten more minutes until the alarm goes,” he informed her.

“So kiss me.” Andy’s reply was quiet but Robert reacted immediately. His lips moved from her forehead to her eyelids, her cheeks, her nose and landed softly on her lips. Andy shifted so that she was more upright, and Robert’s hands moved to cup her face. The kiss deepened, and the sheets soon ended up on the unoccupied side of the mattress.

Morning sex was something Andy hadn’t really indulged in during her hookups with Jack and Ryan. Sure, it was a better way to wake up than turning over and hitting snooze on the alarm but she was mostly concerned about not getting caught by her father or anyone else at the station.

The alarm blared, interrupting the couple’s post-orgasmic bliss. With a sigh, Andy pushed away from Robert and threw on his discarded Station 19 shirt from the night before. “Cereal good for you? I’m not in the mood for French toast which is the-”

“Only thing you know how to make for breakfast, I know.” Leaning back against the headboard. Robert put his hands behind his head and smiled at her. “You tell me every morning.”

“Hey, I’m just reminding you what you signed up for when you married me.” She threw on yesterday’s jeans (her own this time), leaving the room.

“I married you for other reasons besides my breakfast options!” Robert shouted after her. He heard her infectious giggle from the stairs, which made his smile stretch even wider. Andy was going to be the death of him, but he would happily go if it meant the last thing he saw was her. The thought was cheesy, Robert knew, yet that was the state the ex-battalion chief was constantly in around his wife. She brought out a completely different side of him that had been hiding for the years between his first wife’s death and him coming to Station 19.

His first wife was probably watching from whatever afterlife she was in, happy for him. A day didn’t go by that Robert didn’t miss Claire, but he knew she would want him to find happiness again. Lucky for him, Andy was the woman he never expected to fall in love with and he did anyways. He was a very fortunate man to get two loves of his life.

After stretching, Robert rolled out of bed and trekked to the bathroom. Water was splashed all over the counter, which made him shake his head. While his wife kept a fairly clean locker at the station, their bathroom had no idea. He grabbed a small towel off the rack and mopped up the small puddles, then turned on the shower. Taking less than two minutes to get clean, Robert had a towel wrapped around his waist and was brushing his teeth while observing himself in the mirror. Clearly all the workouts he had been doing recently to deal with the emotions he had been feeling were helping tone his figure. Raising an eyebrow at himself in the mirror, Robert let out a laugh. He felt a bit stupid, so he quickly turned off the light, rinsed his mouth in the sink and went to change for the day.

A pair of Andy’s socks showed up in Robert’s drawer, so he opened up her side of the closet to put them away. But before he could move, something solid caught his eye amongst the squishy socks. He was about to investigate, then realized it wasn’t his. It was Andy’s and if he looked, it would be invading her privacy. So he closed the drawer and went back to putting on his own clothes. Yet Robert’s curiosity was piqued and the wheels in his head were already turning with possibilities. A surprise for him, perhaps. Or many it was a female-related object, one that she clearly didn’t want him to know about. Or maybe it was a- “Hey Andy, do you own a vibrator?” The question escaped Robert’s lips before he could stop himself.

Robert had never seen his wife appear in their bedroom so fast. “Robert, what on Earth have you been doing in here?” She asks, alarm lighting up her face.

Feeling like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Robert admitted to what he had seen in Andy’s sock drawer. “Do you own a vibrator?” He repeated, once he had recounted his story to his wife.

Andy let out a huff of laughter, as she turned towards Robert. “Um, I did, before I married you. But it’s long gone, so don’t worry you don’t have any need to get your feather’s ruffled.” She crossed her arms. “Would you have been mad if I did own one?”

“No way, I would’ve suggested we use it to spice up our sex lives even more,” Robert told her.

Andy smacked her husband’s arm, before turning to leave the room again. “You need to get dressed because we gotta go in like fifteen minutes. I got out the cereal.”

“Okay, thanks.” Robert listened to his wife, and joined her in the kitchen for coffee moments later. He offered her the coffee pot, but she shook her head. It surprised Robert as Andy wasn’t one to skip out on caffeine.

Andy could tell her husband was starting to get a bit suspicious, so she made her exit. “Gonna change, then we can go,” she said in a rush, then jogged up the stairs to their bedroom again.

Shutting the door behind her, Andy leaned against it, before sliding to the floor. It was getting a little exhausting trying to keep their teeny tiny surprise a secret, especially from her husband. Not that she wanted to be keeping secrets, but this one was too big to tell him yet. Andy wasn’t ready for him to know. Unfortunately, keeping it from him went against the main slogan of their marriage: no more secrets. Robert had told her that on many occasions, always with a kiss on her lips following. This was an exception, or at least that’s what Andy told herself to make her feel better.

The young woman shed her clothes and put on clean ones, then grabbed her purse and a pair of socks. She turned the hidden object over in her hand once, before slipping it back and smiling to herself. “Baby, you ready to go?”

“Yep, and I have coffee for you to go,” Robert handed Andy the travel mug, which she dutifully took. Hopefully she’d be able to pour the contents down the sink when her husband wasn’t looking.

They got in the car and drove to work. The streets were pretty empty, as it was barely six-thirty a-m. Andy silently prayed people would stay safe today, making their job easier but also keep people living. It also meant Andy wasn’t taking big risks, something she knew she should avoid for the foreseeable future. Robert didn’t think anything was different, as he reached across the center console to take Andy’s hand. She smiled at him, and he pressed his lips to her fingers. They were stupidly in love without a care in the world.

Once they reached the station, the couple changed into their work attire and headed up to the kitchen for their second breakfast. Andy realized she conveniently forgot the travel mug of coffee in the car, and sighed with relief. Except the second they came around the corner, Ben was offering a second coffee to Robert, and extended it to Andy.

“I’m good, thanks Warren,” she said, avoiding Robert’s gaze and scurrying to sit with Maya and Vic at the table. “Hey guys.”

“Hey Andy,” Vic greeted her.

“We were just talking about Pru’s recent development in mobility,” Maya explained.

Babies, Andy thought, I can talk about that. “Is she still doing the butt-scootch thing?”

Vic nodded. “Yep. Dean’s been trying to get her to take a few steps because she’s more than ready. But she’s a stubborn girl.”

It would be awhile longer, but teaching a child to walk was something that thrilled Andy. “I can’t wait for that,” Andy accidentally burst out, before catching herself. “I mean, I can’t wait for Pru to start walking.”

“Same.” Learning back, Vic looked like a proud mother, despite the fact that Pru wasn’t her kid.

Maya waited a second longer, before pushing her chair back as the rest of the A-crew took a seat. “Okay, Montgomery and Herrera, you two are on aid car today. The rest of you guys, make sure the truck’s in tip-top shape.”

After a chorus of ‘yes-es’, the team spread out. Andy and Travis were called to a house regarding someone who choked on a piece of sausage (the Heimlich was performed swiftly and effectively), while the rest of the firefighters were sentenced to putting out a warehouse fire. A machine had caught a spark, which spread to all the wood materials lighting on fire. Not a great combination, yet Station 19 was prepared and managed to evacuate everyone in record time. Maya commanded the radio outside, as Vic, Robert, Jack and Dean did a final sweep. The aid care, with Andy and Travis inside, pulled up just as Maya was about to call her firefighters back. No one was hurt, but it was good to have the care on standby just in case.

The radio crackled, and Vic’s voice rang out. “There’s one more person in here! They’re trapped under a wooden shelf.” Static, then there was a muffled noise, before a shout could be heard. “Dammit!”

Instantly Maya had the radio switched on. “What happened?”

“The fire just lit up the entire back wall,” Vic reported. Andy’s heart beat loudly in her chest, as she feared for her fellow firefighters’ lives, and most of all her husband’s.

“Get the person stable, and then get out,” Maya ordered. “Gibson, Miller, what’s the status on the exit?”

“Clear. The direct path has nothing structural that could fall. But the smoke is thick. We need to start putting out the fire in the main area or else it has the potential to block off where we need to go,” Jack reported.

“Okay, good. Get out and you can help the other stations spray from the windows.” The warehouse luckily had a bunch of windows, which made access to the fire easier. Maya had had the windows smashed in earlier.

“Copy that.” Jack’s radio went muffled for a moment, then two doors opened at the side of the building. “Hey Herrera, Montgomery, nice of you to join us,” Jack said with a laugh. Travis nodded hello while Andy didn’t even look in Jack’s direction. She was too focused on whatever fate her husband had. Recently her emotions and hormones had been all over the place, leaving her wanting to cry one moment and incredibly turned on the next. Right now though, Andy was scared for her husband’s life.

“We got them!” This time it was Robert’s voice on the radio. “Heading for the exit.”

The seconds ticked away as everyone who wasn’t spraying water at the fire, had their eyes on the double doors where they expected Vic and Robert to emerge from. Maya was worried, and turned on the radio again. “Sullivan and Hughes, where are you guys?”

The only answer was static. Andy thought she head a shout but it was too muffled to tell. Then one door pushed open, and she rushed towards it. Vic called out, “Help me grab the guy!”

Andy held open the door as Vic stumbled through it towing a man behind her. She coughed loudly, as the smoke was incredibly thick. Robert was nowhere to be found.

While Travis did his job and checked over the man, Andy turned to Vic. “Where’s Sullivan?” She asked, remembering to use her husband’s proper title since they were at work.

Vic didn’t answer her. Instead she spun around and fixed her helmet back on her head. “I’m going back in there,” she said.

“No you aren’t.” Maya stopped her.

There was panic in Vic’s eyes. “Sullivan is still in there. A huge beam came down just as I was rounding the corner to the exit. Sullivan jumped back just in time, but we were separated. The smoke is so bad, and I had the guy with me. I could see the exit, so I thought I could just drop him off and the go back for Sullivan.”

“You left him?” Andy whirled on Vic.

“No, I couldn’t get to him. I had a civilian and I told him I’d go back. I have to go back,” Vic repeated to Maya.

“No. No one is going back in there.” Maya stated firmly. She picked up her radio and said, “Sullivan, do you copy?”

There was nothing, except for Vic’s voice apologizing. “I’m so sorry, I just couldn’t reach him and I had the civilian and-”

“Nothing. You made the call and it was what was necessary.” Maya attempted to contact Robert via the radio again, with no luck.

Suddenly, there was a huge crash and a section of the warehouse roof began to cave in. Andy watched in horror as smoke billowed out into the sky and there continued to be no response from the radio. “ROBERT!” A scream left Andy’s throat as she lunged herself towards the doors her husband was still trapped behind. Much to her dismay, both Maya and Vic lunged after her, stopping her from charging in after him. She struggled against the women but soon gave up. “Somebody do something!”

Maya shook her head sadly. “It’s up to him to get out, I can’t risk another firefighter. Andy, he’ll be okay.”

“You don’t know that!” Andy was practically in hysterics, which wasn’t like her at all. She was normally pretty put together, even when his life had been in danger before.

Jack came over and looked Andy right in the eyes. “I know he’ll make it out to you. He’s been a firefighter for a long time, and will be fine. Trust him.”

“Okay.” Andy’s voice was small as she nodded. Jack gave her shoulder a reassuring pat, then stood off to the side. He was worried about his friend because she was rarely this emotional while on a call. Sure, she had broken down from time to time, but it was rare for to lose it at the scene. Maybe she and her husband-it was still weird to say that after almost a whole year-had had a fight beforehand, and she didn’t get the chance to work things out.

Water continued to rain down on the building but the radio remained silent. Maya tried over and over to reach Robert with no response. The panic was just starting to settle in, when someone shouted that they saw movement through one of the broken windows.

Inside the building the air was thickening with smoke and Robert was losing air fast. But he had someone to fight for, well two someones actually. He was not about to leave his wife the way his first wife had left him. Claire’s death had almost killed him, and he would do whatever he could to save Andy from losing someone else. Up ahead, Robert saw the exit that separated him from the love of his life. With a last surge of strength, Robert burst open the doors and stumbled a short distance before he fell to the concrete. Cold, fresh air filled his lungs as he took in gasping breaths. He looked up and saw that the sky above him wasn’t smoke but clear and blue with the sun shining too. I’m safe, he thought. I’m safe and I'm alive.

Seconds later, two figures reached him. One was Travis, thrusting an oxygen mask into his hands for him to put on, and the other was his wife. Her arms engulfed him in a hug, and she practically lay on top of him on the ground. At first, Robert thought she was just happy to see him alive and well, then he felt her shaking in his lap. “I’m safe, it’s okay,” he told her, pulling back slightly so he could wipe the tears from her eyes.

“I thought I lost you,” Andy told him, as she pressed the oxygen mask to his face. Travis stepped back and gave them a few feet of space, as the rest of the group worked to spray the flames.

“You’ll never lose me, I’m too stubborn to die,” Robert reassured her.

Andy nodded, but she wasn’t convinced, She was just thankful he had made it back to her, and didn’t leave her all alone to raise their child. “I love you, baby,” she managed to get out.

“I love you.” His words echoed back and he hugged her tightly again. Moments later, Maya appeared at his side, and Andy moved to get up off of the ground. “Hey Captain Bishop, things were getting a bit toasty, huh?”

“Just a bit,” Maya rolled her eyes. “You okay Sullivan?”

“Fine.” The man in question had regained enough oxygen in his lungs and strength in his body, to rise to a standing position.

“You should head over to the aid car and rest; we can debrief later.” Maya glanced around, then leaned over to her fellow firefighter. “Hey, is Andy alright?”

Robert raised an eyebrow. “She’s fine, why?”

Maya sighed. “She acted overly emotional when you were struggling to get out of the building. I totally understand why, but it’s unlike her. I just wanted to make sure things were okay.”

“Oh, I understand.” Pausing, Robert hesitated how to approach the subject of why when he knew Andy didn’t even know he knew about her secret. “I’m sure she was just worried.”

“Right,” Maya said. She didn’t look completely convinced, but luckily thought Robert didn’t get questioned any longer. He made his way over to Travis at the aid car and got his head looked at. It was just a bruise, which would heal in no time.

The fire eventually died down and lost the war against the firefighters and water. Station 19 began to pack up, and Andy came over to give her husband a check up of her own, before getting back into the aid car. Vic apologized profusely to Robert for leaving him, and he told her that he would’ve done the same thing, had he been in her position. As Andy and Travis pulled away, Robert was leaning over to give Vic a reassuring hug; all was okay.

Once they got back, chores needed to be done, then people started heading to the showers or to crash in a bunk room. Andy slipped away and went back to the barn, swinging herself up to sit on the back of the firetruck amongst the many hoses. It had been a long day, even though it was barely eight o’clock. All she wanted to do was go to sleep, with maybe a little loving from her husband first.

Speaking of Robert, his voice carried through the barn as he spotted her. “Hey, can I join you?” He asked.

“Yeah,” Andy nodded, moving so he could come up too. She let out a loud sigh, and ran a hand through her messy curls.

Robert watched her, concern in his gaze. “Everything okay?”

“Today was a close call,” Andy began, looking at her hands instead of her husband. “I’m glad you’re safe.”

Robert wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. “Me too.” There was a moment of silence, until Robert decided it was time to rip off the bandaid. But first, he needed to tell her something. “I love you, you know that?”

Pulling away, Andy snuck a glance at Robert. “Of course, silly. I love you too.”

“Good.” Robert smiled slightly, then bumped her shoulder with hers. “Then I just wanted to tell you that I know.”

Andy whipped her head towards her husband. “You know what.”

“I know. Don’t try to hide it any longer.”

“What do you know.”

“I know.”

“I know you know, but what do you know?” Andy was very stubborn, and was not about to show her cards first.

Robert, who gave into arguments like this with her more often than she did, sighed and told her: “I know about the baby. That you’re pregnant.”

“Dammit.” She looked back down at her hands. “I was trying to keep it a secret for a little while longer. How did you find out? You didn’t look in my sock drawer, did you?”

“No, I wouldn’t invade your privacy like that,” Robert reassured her.

“Then what was it?”

“Well you’ve been acting funny the past couple days. Avoiding coffee, being way more emotional than normal-which there’s nothing wrong with but it isn’t like you normally-and disappearing to throw up at the same time for the past five days. You deny it but I know my wife.”

Shaking her head, Andy let out a sigh. “I can’t keep anything a secret from you.”

“So are you pregnant?” Robert wanted his wife to say it, to confirm his theory.

“Yes, I’m pregnant.” Andy nodded.

Robert didn’t hesitate. He leaned over and pulled his wife into the biggest hug, then began to press sloppy kisses all over her face. She laughed, swatting at him lightly. “I love you so much,” Robert gushed. “And I love you too, baby,” he said, looking down at Andy’s non-showing belly.

Andy took his hand and placed it where their baby was growing inside of her right now. “You’re not gonna want to miss this, ever,” she said.

“Never,” he agreed.

They were quiet for a moment, just breathing together. Then Andy spoke: “Before you tell me to lighten my duties, I planned on talking to Maya later this week. We have a girl’s night in the works, and I need to tell her before she suggests we go to a bar for shots.”

“Didn’t even cross my mind yet, but I’m glad you knew what I was going to ask in the future,” Robert said with a laugh. He pressed another kiss to Andy’s lips, then looked all around him.

“What?” Andy asked, as she watched her husband.

“I was just thinking, this is where it all started. Right here in the barn, when I was introduced as the new captain of Station 19. Who knew that we’d be here now, married with a baby on the way?” He lay back, pulling Andy down with him, and they tangled themselves amongst the folded hoses, snuggled together like they had lay that morning before getting up.

Andy confessed, “Not me. I hated you for a good while, before I realized I was using hate to cover up what I felt for you.”

Robert chimed in, “And I told myself I wasn’t going to fall in love with a firefighter half my rank. Look where that got me.”

“You love me.”

“I do.”

“And we’re going to be good parents, right?”

“The absolute best. First thing we’re going to do is teach them Spanish. After English of course.”

“Okay. Only if I get to teach them how to make French toast because-”

“It’s the only thing you know how to make for breakfast.”

[smokedfires]

@honeysuckleds​  said  :   “  i  wish  this  could  last  forever.  ”  /  ☢ send a symbol for a drabble about our muses.     currently  not  accepting.

i wish this could last forever.   though  it's  fabricated,  she  flashes  a  smile.  she  doesn’t  know  how  to  respond  to  him  without  lying,  and  she  really  doesn’t  want  to  lie  to  him.  as  soon  as  wyatt  looks  away,  her  mouth  relaxes  into  a  frown.  julia  came  here  with  the  expectation  that  in  three  months  she  would  be  out  of  this  hell  hole  and  the  memories  would  be  out  of  her  mind  quicker  than  she  can  down  a  glass  of  champagne.  by  this  time  next  year,  she’d  get  her  trust  fund  and  then  she  wouldn’t  even  be  able  to  remember  she  spent  a  whole,  dreadful  summer  at  camp  evergreen.  if  she  can  recall  it’s  name,  that  is.  and  yet,  it  grew  to  be  much  more  complicated.  wyatt  changed  everything.  god,  he’s  annoying.  he  had  encouraged  her  to  do  things  she  hadn’t  done  before  and  he  was  right  by  her  side  each  and  every  one  of  those  moments.  he  somehow  even  got  her  to  do  boring  camp  activities  because  with  him  they  were  anything  but  boring.  what  was  supposed  to  be  the  worst  experience  of  her  life  turned  out  to  be  the  happiest  one  she’s  had.  she  has  wyatt  and  his  inability  to  give  up  on  her  to  thank  for  that.

it  didn’t  have  to  be  this  way.  it  could  be  simple  again.  julia  has  the  option  of  picking  wyatt  over  her  parents  and  just  letting  the  rest  fall  into  place.  however,  she  still  has  this  little  voice  in  the  back  of  her  head  reminding  her  how  good  life  is  back  at  home,  how  perfect  it  is.  for  a  long  time,  she’s  held  her  past  on  a  pedestal  and  that’s  why  no  matter  how  extraordinary  being  with  wyatt  is,  she  has  to  return  home.  it’s  too  comfortable  not  to.  he  may  have  broken  her  out  a  shell,  but  nothing  can  take  her  from  her  lavish  lifestyle.  she  was  going  to  go  home  and  all  aspects  of  her  world  were  to  remain  the  same.  she  shouldn’t  have  been  so  stupid.  it’s  her  own  fault  for  getting  herself  mixed  up  with  some  random  guy.  it’s  like  she  told  ivy:  this  is  camp,  this  isn’t  the  real  world.  she  got  lost  in  this  daydream,  now  it  was  time  to  wake  up.

except  she  can’t  help  thinking  he’s  not  just  some  guy.  as  she  lay  next  to  him,  an  arm  around  her  shoulder  keeping  her  close,  this  doesn’t  feel  like  she’s  dreaming.  so,  maybe  she  can  reply  without  outright  lying.  she  does  want  to  stay  like  this  forever.  the  only  problem  being  that  she  knows,  deep  down,  it’s  not  going  to  happen.  the  truth  is  unavoidable  and  this  is  going  to  be  their  last  conversation  before  the  sun  rises  and  julia  breaks  the  news.  and  probably  his  heart  in  the  process.  it’s  kinda  sad,  he  has  no  idea  what  is  in  store  for  him  tomorrow  morning.  she  keeps  putting  off  their  goodbye  in  order  to  spare  his  feelings,  at  least  that’s  what  she  tells  herself.  honestly,  she  wants  to  spend  as  much  time  with  him  as  possible  because  she  did––––   does––––  like  him.  procrastinating  and  dragging  it  out  until  the  last  minute  had  been  her  plan  since  she  realized  how  she  felt  about  him.  and  also  a  little  part  of  her  believed  that  maybe  he  would  get  sick  of  her  and  finish  it  for  himself.  no  one  else  had  put  up  with  her  for  a  whole  summer  and  it  would’ve  made  their  situation  much,  much  easier  for  her.  but  considering  the  fact  they  were  currently  falling  asleep  next  to  each  other,  that  wasn’t  the  case.  it’s  going  to  be  awful.  sure,  hurting  others  is  second  nature  to  julia,  but  not  with  wyatt.  hurting  him  is  different.  although,  that  wasn’t  going  to  stop  her.

“     me  too.     ”

my muse tells your muse that they need to break up.   julia  didn’t  get  any  sleep  that  night.  she  spent  most  of  it  staring  at  the  ceiling.  the  thought  of  what  she  was  going  to  tell  him  in  a  few  hours  was  too  much  stress  to  even  keep  her  eyes  closed.  once  she  decided  there  was  going  to  be  no  sleeping  for  her,  she  snuck  out  from  under  wyatt’s  embrace  and  his  cabin.  it  was  far  past  curfew,  but  when  did  she  ever  care  about  the  rules  of  camp?  seriously,  what  were  they  going  to  do?  kick  her  out  on  the  last  day?  no  way  in  hell.  at  first,  she  believed  stopping  by  a  few  of  the  places  with  the  best  memories  would  be  the  best  choice  for  a  night  like  this.  like  most  of  julia’s  ideas,  it  was  a  bad  one.  it  ended  up  upsetting  her  more.  having  been  reminded  of  her  favorite  things  made  the  reality  of  leaving  tug  at  her  heart  strings.  all  she  ever  wanted  since  stepping  foot  at  this  place  was  to  go  home.  now,  not  being  here  seems  impossible.


the  sun  began  to  come  up  over  the  horizon  as  she  gently  swung  on  the  hammock  she  and  wyatt  had  fallen  asleep  at  on  a  few  occasions.  it  also  happened  to  be  the  place  she  very  aggressively  forced  him  to  make  the  first  move  between  them.  ew,  being  sad  is  not  it.  julia  quickly  rose  to  her  feet  and  took  the  usual  path  to  her  cabin.  there’s  no  better  time  than  the  present  to  start  packing.  and  it’s  going  to  take  a  while  to  put  her  ridiculous  amount  of  belonging  in  their  appropriate  bags.  that’s  when  she  reached  under  her  bed  and  came  across  those  shoes––––  the  same  shoes  one  of  the  nasty  campers  threw  up  on.  the  shoes  wyatt  cleaned  and  then  flipped  her  life  upside  down.

the  click  of  the  screen  door  causes  julia  to  jump,  slightly.  she  wasn’t  expecting  someone  to  come  in  so  early  and  the  sound  startles  her.  she  turns  to  see  what  monster  is  up  at  this  hour  to  bother  her.  wyatt,  of  course.  she  forgotten  he  woke  at  the  ass  crack  of  dawn.  when  he  asks  her  where  she’d  run  off  to  this  morning,  she  gulps.      “     i...     ”      julia  cautiously  places  her  jimmy  choos  on  top  of  the  luggage  and  shrugs.  pretending  there  was  nothing  wrong  is  starting  to  eat  away  at  her,  she  can’t  put  this  show  on  for  much  longer.  it  had  to  end  now.      “     i’m  sorry,     ”      any  signs  of  gratitude  disappears  from  her  features  and  she  takes  a  step  back,      “     i  can’t.     ”      there’s  a  pause  as  she  takes  a  deep  breath.  she  has  to  be  as  stoic  as  ever,  or  else  he’d  alter  the  decision  with  ease.      “     i  can’t  do  this.     ”

“     we’re  leaving  today,  so  i  think  we  should  just  stop  whatever  this  is  now.     ”