#he gets them from one specific stand at the beach and nowhere else. because the guy greeted him in portuguese the first time we went there

[shoyoist]

it's june 21st for me and so! i need all of you wishing my beloved hinata shoyo a happy birthday !!! and i also need yall to know that when he came home from his morning run today i greeted him at the door all dressed up, wished him a happy birthday and then got down on one knee & kissed the back of his hand before giving him the bouquet of flowers i had prepared for him — because i like seeing my baby all shy and flustered. me giving him the princess treatment overwhelms him <33

[risingoflights]

Hmm, you don't feel comfortable talking about it unless someone asks your opinions? Then this is your official ask!

I've never played the critically acclaimed- er, you know. And I have no idea what the Ilsabard Region is or what its story and tone are.

So! What is it, and how does it compare to what you've experienced of Rebirth so far? What do you get from one that's missing in the other? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each narrative, and which do you feel, at this point, will have the most replay value?

(Plus anything else that's crossed your mind!)

ah friend, you should know better than to ask, but thank you for asking <3

leaving xiv out of this for a moment, i can tell you exactly why chapter 7 specifically of rebirth is the one to have caused me to openly gripe.

and, as you might expect, it's to do with hojo.

i was always going to judge the entirety of this game by its handling of hojo, and so far i've been sorely disappointed. standing by what i said in my previous post about nostalgia and fandom goggles, i still believe there was more written into hojo in og than, say, scarlet and heideggar. and since remake did a decent job rounding out president shinra, i was hoping hojo would get similar treatment. so far though, it seems like they've gone the opposite way.

i try not to make too many comparisons to og because many characters are pointedly deviating away from their og characterisations (rufus seems a standout so far), but this point in og was importantly where hojo started shaping up to be more than the trope he began as. it was crucial that as soon as sephiroth reappeared, hojo abandoned shinra. in fact if memory serves, someone (heideggar or rufus?) even points this out in og - hojo's 'disappeared'. then when you see him in costa and cloud asks why he's there, hojo admits 'the same reason as you'. cloud was chasing sephiroth, so was hojo. and he was doing it without shinra because finding sephiroth wasn't on shinra's agenda - at least not at that point.

i was actually so hopeful and happy at the end of remake where the camera pans across the executives lined up in front of rufus, and hojo is decidedly missing - off laughing to himself...! excellent! that defiance seems to have led nowhere in rebirth!

you could argue that in rebirth, hojo decided to continue using shinra resources to go after sephiroth and he's still playing his own long game. doesn't change the fact that rufus was openly out to kill sephiroth now - so what did he tell hojo to make him stay, if hojo had wanted to leave? i mean, you could argue a lot of things to make things make things deeper. and maybe things will get deeper - i'm only halfway through rebirth after all - but rebirth hojo was still on the beach to capture the robes and study them. that single-minded drive and obsession with sephiroth just isn't present. it felt like the icing off the original cake. the bikini girls fawning on him, really fun! him throwing off-handed remarks about recruiting them for his sephiroth breeding program, noooooot... as fun! the whole shinra bigwig come to town, johnny being made to carry his briefcase and push crowds on the beach out of his way? ish! sort of a... dazzling superficial picking of what that scene originally was? did i laugh? yes! was i let down? also yes!

the other thing that really grated on me was the optional aerith dialogue, but that's no surprise - the whole aerith situation has been one big headache for me so far and promises to continue to be so. talk to aerith on the beach and she says a bunch of things about hojo culminating in 'i hate him'. oh. oh, like we really needed this explicitly said? you know, what i really loved about og here is twofold - 1. hojo doesn't appear to even remember aerith's name, which is such a good demonstrating of him not registering her as worthy of ifalna, compared to rebirth where hojo literally yells this at her during battle. this was one of the neat little consistent touches about og hojo - he didn't give a shit, but passively and dismissively - like, it's not so much he deliberately chose to harm others as he just didn't even register harming others as a concept, which made the few people and times he did choose to be sadistic stand out more. and 2. og aerith, instead of... any of the ugly things she could've said to and about hojo, asks him about her lineage and connection to sephiroth instead. how loaded does that make their relationship? that no matter what he did to her and her mother, she still registers him as a source of knowledge and felt pressed to ask him despite the subject being a particular sore point for her?

og aerith probably also hated hojo - i mean, that just makes sense. but the way that scene played out really sets precedent for more questions... what more? what else? which. i guess summarises a lot of the issues i have with rebirth so far. that whole sense of wonder is just not there. the game likes to hand you everything, tell you exactly what to think. this is often done at its detriment, because real complexity simply cannot be spoonfed! BUT - i have to keep reiterating - nostalgia and fandom goggles. they're grafted to my face and i can't take them off.

....so after all that, would you still like to hear about ilsabard? i realise i've just completely failed to answer all your questions but, thank you for allowing me to vent a little!

[therealvinelle]

in the “everyone is in love with Bella” scenario, what about the wolves? Wouldn’t it be really fucked up for Sam to fall in love with her? Would it make the wolves try to redefine imprinting? how would Leah react to the whole situation?

Anon is referring to this post. For the record, I didn't get into them in the post because the plot would veer so far off-course in Twilight that Edward never leaves and Victoria never becomes a threat to Bella, meaning Bella and Jake don't get close and she doesn't need their protection.

But, let's do this.

First encounter

Bella arrives in Forks, and Billy and Jacob are there to hand over the pickup.

Boom.

They fall in love.

Jacob, having never had a real crush before nevermind something so powerful as falling in love, is overwhelmed by these new feelings. He blushes and flushes and stutters, and fails to say anything reasonable or even intelligble to Bella. Too mortified to function, he decides to hide in La Push until the embarrassment fades. Which very well could be never.

Billy, meanwhile, is unable to cope. He just fell in love with Charlie's daughter. Charlie's 17-year-old daughter who used to make mud cakes with Billy's daughters.

This is bad.

This, to a good man like Billy, is unforgivably bad.

He goes from being Charlie's best friend to suddenly being very distant, not wanting to ever cross paths with Bella again.

But, you asked about the wolves, not just Jake and Billy, so let's take this scenario further.

Bella's friends, all of whom are hopelessly in love with her, drag her to La Push

Jessica, Lauren, Mike, Angela, Tyler, Eric, Ben, the whole gang, they're all going to La Push for the weekend.

And it just won't be the same without Bella. She's just so great, you know?

Everyone looks at each other and nods. Yeah, it's just not fun without Bella. Bella's great, someone should invite her.

They all invite her, one by one, all of them with wide, adoring eyes. "It would be so amazing if you came, Bella," Jessica says dreamily, twirling a lock of Bella's hair around her fingers. "Your hair is really pretty," she giggles.

Angela and Ben are each blushing too hard to really say anything to Bella, so they end up running away from her. Bella is left feeling like some kind of freak. She later receives two notes in class, one from each, begging her in cramped writing to come to La Push. Yeah, not helping her feel like less of a freak.

Mike, Eric, Tyler, and Lauren all corner her, each worse than the last.

By the end of the schoolday Bella doesn't know what's going to happen at La Push but she does know that she doesn't want to go.

She complains about this to the Cullens (remember, her and Edward became an item much earlier in this timeline), and they all fawn and coo over her and act like she just went through a warzone. If she wants to go to the beach, she could try Isle Esme Bella. Would she like that, an island vacation? Or an island?

Bella is pulled out of school for a romantic two-week totally-not-a-honeymoon.

La Push never happens.

But surely Bella and the wolves must meet at some point

Billy catches wind that Bella Swan is dating Edward Cullen. As in, the girl he has fallen so deeply in love with is now being preyed upon by a blood-sucking demon.

Billy's own sense of propriety or honor be damned, he has to save this girl's life.

He tries to speak to her, just as in canon, but just as in canon this goes poorly. Bella is a savvy 17-year-old who doesn't need no warning, and besides, the Cullens are all so sweet. They're like hobbits, really, obviously she's not in any danger. She tells Billy as much. Vampires are lovely, does he know they gave her an island?

(Billy did not know this, and yes, that's weird. Doesn't mean they're not evil, though.)

Billy gets nowhere with his would-be intervention.

Time to bring in the big guns.

Sam phases around this time, and imprints on Emily. Break-ups with Leah, maulings, and tragic lovestories all around are had.

It is around this time that Billy brings Sam up to speed on the Bella situation, although leaving out the part where he's hopelessly in love with the girl because that would not be received well. Could Sam go speak with her about this, see if maybe she will take his warning seriously? The situation is dire.

Sure, Sam can do that. No one wants a human girl to get eaten or turned, after all.

Sam goes to see Bella.

And promptly falls in love just as he did Emily.

Emily, who is currently in the hospital from Sam mauling her, which happened specifically because Sam had imprinted.

It's official, Sam thinks, he's the greatest scumbag there ever was.

The Emily and Leah situation was awful enough as it was, breaking all three of their hearts and causing irreparable damage both physically and mentally. Sam wronged them both colossaly, and he can never amend that.

But he imprinted. He wasn't just being a douchebag, actual magic made him do it.

Now, though...

Either Sam imprinted on multiple people, in which case his happy ending is now polygamy. And how would that be a happy ending for Emily and Bella?

Or, possibly even more terrifying yet, he didn't imprint on either woman.

Breaking up with Leah, mauling Emily, making Emily fall in love with him after that and ruining her relationship with her cousin, in short putting these women through hell, all of it- it was for nothing. Sam's just a horndog who sees supernatural intervention where there's really just hormones.

Why couldn't he just have imprinted on Leah?

Sam can't go on a sabbatical to figure this out, his tribe needs him. So he takes to living in the woods alone, where he is alone, to try and figure this out.

But it gets more painful yet, because he can't just disappear on Emily.

So, he tells her. He owes her that much. And it's not goodbye forever, either, just- goodbye until he can figure out how to be the man she deserves. A man anybody deserves, really, because right now Sam's not it.

Emily has no idea what to make of any of this, but she knows her heart is broken.

She has to see this woman all of this is about.

Naturally, she falls in love as well.

The plot thickens

The next time Sam drops by, Emily gives him the news. They're both in love with Bella now.

Sam no longer knows what to make of anything.

Is the universe trying to tell them to form a polycule?

Nothing like that has ever happened before, but not much is known about imprinting. There's a first time for everything..?

At this point they're both giving themselves headaches trying to figure this out. It's a mess.

More, Bella hasn't even met either of them. Sam and Emily can't just walk up to her and say "Hi, be our wife".

Or can they?

If Emily fell in love at first sight, maybe it'll work in reverse. Maybe Bella just has to look upon them, and she'll fall in love.

Sam is dubious, but at this point let's just do this. Let's just do this, see what happens.

They walk up to Charlie's to deliver some of Harry's fish fry. Bella opens the door.

"HIIIII" Emily says, trying to act normal.

Sam's not saying anything.

"Hi," Bella says back, nonplussed, and looks at the bag Emily is clutching with white-knuckled fists.

All three of them are silent.

Bella is starting to wonder if there's something with the town water supply. She is also wondering if these people are planning to say anything, or if they just really enjoy knocking on doors and saying hi to people. Is there something Bella should be doing?

Eventually she clears er throat and asks if there's anything she can do for them.

Sam and Emily glance at each other. Bella's not looking starstruck with love, but she's not acting normal either. Who stands in a doorway and stares at people for almost a minute before talking?

It's inconclusive.

Emily hands over the fish fry. "From Harry," she says, and introduces herself.

Bella nods, remembering Charlie's friend who all but ran out of the door when he saw her and hasn't been fishing with Charlie since. None of Charlie's friends have. Charlie is going nuts. Maybe she should try hooking him up with Carlisle, vampires are lovely, they'd get along so well.

Bella, noting Emily and Sam aren't saying anything else, says bye and moves to close the door.

"Wait!" Sam yells, at the same time as Emily rips a piece of paper from her pocket, and sticks it into Bella's hand.

Bella looks down on it. It's two phone numbers.

She looks back up at Sam and Emily, who by now feel quite certain that this girl hasn't fallen in love with them and that this is the most humiliating moment of both their lives.

Just in case, though...

"Call us," Emily says flirtatiously, winks, and runs away.

Sam follows.

Bella never calls them back, and they never speak of this again.

A few months later, Leah who’d been shopping in Forks happily tells Sam and Emily that she's fallen in love with a girl, she lives in Forks, she's amazing, her name is Bella Swan.

"I took one look at her, and I knew," Leah says dreamily.

[mieohmy]

𝖶𝗁𝖾𝗇 𝖨 𝖲𝖺𝗐 𝖸𝗈𝗎 | 𝖧𝗎𝖺𝗇𝗀 𝖱𝖾𝗇𝗃𝗎𝗇

PAIRING: huang renjun x temp blind! reader

GENRE: angst (with a happy ending), fluff, humor, strangers-to-lovers, shared dreams! au, soulmate! au, college au

WC: 7.6k

NOTES: reader is temporarily blind, cursing, mentions of a car accident, trauma, slight anxiety and depression, mentions of injuries/hospitals

SUMMARY: dreams are your place where you feel alive -feel like yourself. the only place you can still see. which means you don’t want to share them. not with this random guy who keeps appearing in them, and especially not since he seems so real -almost like he actually exists in the real world outside of your dreams, but that couldn’t be possible... right?

oof this is late- anyways, it’s this beautiful soul’s birthday today <3 

hbd to our fairy renjunnie ! 

Three months. Three months stuck in that space.  

And all because of a reckless driver. Like they all say, it happened so fast. A single glance of the road. It seemed clear, the pedestrian sign flashing even. 

Then was the rush of a car engine coming closer. 

You suppose it was also your fault. Whoever it was that caused a notification to ping on your phone. It was an almost natural instinct to take it out and check.

But you were never able to find out. 

One of the scariest things in the world is to wake up and wonder why the world is an empty canvas. 

Why you have so many questions that can’t be answered.  

Why you can’t see the spring anymore.

The doctors said it was temporary. Some kind of head trauma from the accident caused whatever nerves to swell in your eyes. 

And that’s why you could no longer see the day. or night. anything. 

“It’ll eventually return to normal, and you’ll be able to see again. Just give it time.”

So why has it been three months and nothing except dark moving shadows and pain?

“I’m sorry, we’re not sure how long it’s gonna last. Let’s just wait and see.”

But how much time did you have to give? 

You were sent home in the end. The other injuries were much more minor, and you were just prolonging your stay. 

Only because you wanted to know. You wanted to know it would all go away. That it would be okay.

You just so desperately wanted to see once more.

They only gave you ambiguous answers. Answers that only made the scratchy and uncomfortable sensation inside you grow bigger. 

And here you were now. Four months after the incident and barely living on your own. Sight not improving in the slightest bit.

You lived separately from your parents, far away because of college. They helped you with all the hospital and stupid complicated health stuff, but there wasn’t much else they could do. There was no choice for them but to work hard and earn money instead of assisting you since bills were shit expensive.

You assured them it was fine, you would learn how to deal with everything. 

Friends were a different issue. The thing was, you didn’t have very many considering you just moved to a new school, but the few you did were kind and understanding. 

Except you never told them about the incident. Maybe because you were in denial. Maybe cause you were ashamed of yourself for ignoring them and cutting them out of your life. Because they got to see and experience everything they wanted while you were stuck behind.

And then you were truly alone. Alone with the faint light and shadows you were still sort of able to see. 

Siri basically became your best friend. You never realized how helpful it could be. Just ask, and it would tell you everything you needed to know.

To be honest, there wasn’t much to do. You weren’t able to attend your classes for the time being, and there wasn’t much you could to do without seeing. 

It was hard to adjust to life without your sight. There were a lot of things you couldn’t do without your sight. A lot of things were knocked over. A lot of bruises on your body from bumping into obstacles. That’s probably why you barely went out, only ever leaving your place for necessary resources to live.

This is not permanent. It’ll all go away soon.

You constantly told yourself that, repeating it in the morning. At night before you went to bed. But deep inside, you knew the real reason for everything. The denial, stubbornness.

The answer was clear. 

Fear. 

The fear of a permanent life without being able to fully experience the world. 

The fear of what your life would become without having the chance to achieve all your dreams and goals. 

You knew you should be grateful. For being able to see from birth until now.  You survived your accident with mostly minor injuries. Occasionally, you would get intense migraines- one where you could barely move- but you truly didn’t want to go back to that place to get it checked. You didn’t even want to leave your home.

At least you could still move and function properly for the most part. 

But it didn’t mean it still didn’t hurt. 

There was one thing. When your eyes closed for the day- when everything was okay. 

Because there was no need to feel any emotions asleep. 

But also because of the dreams. Mainly because of the dreams.

It wasn’t every day. You would absolutely love to dream every night, but if you did, then something must not be right. 

The power to dream and be able to recall everything in the world before you lost it all would be your one wish if anyone asked. 

Sure, you could just close your eyes and remember whatever you wanted, but it wasn’t the same. 

Dreams were like a story. A story you wanted to read. And you could only do it because of your memories. 

Thank the universe for memories. Ones that allowed you to still remember and see again in dreams. 

They were the one thing connecting you to the real world. 

The weird thing is, sometimes you would dream and be able to choose what you wanted to say and do. It was just like playing a fun game where you could do whatever you wished.

But it didn’t always happen. it only occurred on occasion. Why? You had no clue. 

But even so, you’ve never had a stranger appear in one of your dreams before.

ꔫ

You couldn’t recall everything that happened in last night’s dream, but when you woke up, a strange face was the only image stuck in your brain. 

You’re sure you’ve never seen him before. 

Can brains make up random faces? Or maybe you just made up a fictional character because of loneliness? 

Either way, he’s the only thing you can clearly remember.

Your eyes flick open, and it’s the same nothingness.

But his face lingers. Pretty and delicate eyes. Brown hair that flutters in the wind and a gentle smile that sucks you in. 

Who are you? 

Whoever this person was, you hope to dream about him again. 

ꔫ

And he does show up a few weeks later. Or has it been a month? You were really losing track of the days, especially now more than ever.

This time, the image of him is stronger in your head, burning into your skull. 

And you curse yourself for not remembering any more than his face. 

You rack your brain, trying your best to just think. 

Why do some people forget their dreams immediately when they wake up? When it feels like you’re just in one, but your mind starts up again for the day, and the dream vanishes just like that?  

You so desperately want to know. 

You can faintly remember images of a grassy meadow? Flowers? You don't recall any field that you’ve been to, but maybe it’s just somewhere you’ve forgotten about... Perhaps your mind just made your dream to be located there. 

As you get up for the day, you still wish to dream about him. A dream where you can fully control yourself and find this imaginary character you created in your head. Whoever he is.

ꔫ

And the world grants you that one wish. 

It’s been a while since you last dreamed. But of course, you never forgot him. 

The setting sun is the first thing that catches your attention. 

Immediately, you smile, standing up and brushing yourself off. 

The place is faintly familiar, a beach. You know which one. The one your parents used to take you when you were little. 

It looks exactly the same as you remember, but this was the first time you’ve ever dreamed about this specific place before. 

Then sounds of footsteps approaching make you look up.

It’s him.

The fictional character somehow procured from basically nowhere. 

What’s strange is that you didn’t even notice how the two of you were now sitting by the shore, watching the waves flow in and out. 

What’s even stranger is that you don’t question it, and neither does he. 

But you do take the chance to look at him, admiring his face.

“What’s your name?”

He looks startled like he never expected you to speak.

“Oh. Uh, R-Renjun.”

“Renjun,” you pronounce. The name feels unfamiliar on your tongue. 

Now how did your mind come up with a unique name like that?

You shrug, letting the dream continue on its own. 

But wait, you realize, if you were able to ask and think your own thoughts not according to the dream’s... that means you can control this-

Your eyes snap open. You can see nothing. And feel an oncoming headache.

Damn it.

ꔫ

You want to know why you’re so curious about this ‘character’. Why you want to see him over and over again without ever getting bored.

It’s just a dream. Or, several dreams that he’s appeared in by now. 

That could be it, you suppose.

You usually didn’t have about the same person, or in your case, the same ‘character’ appear in your dream three times in a row. 

But for some reason, you appreciated having your own imaginary friend in your dreams. 

 He wasn’t a real person. He wasn’t someone you had to watch out for. You could act however you wanted to him and he probably wouldn’t care. 

Wait-no, you correct yourself. He has a name. A name that seems so far but so close at the same time. 

Renjun. 

You go to sleep chanting his name in your head over and over again. 

ꔫ

“Wait... Renjun!” 

A satisfied grin appears on your face from having remembered his name. 

You stroll along the forest path, an unfamiliar one that you don’t particularly remember ever going to, but you shrug it off and continue towards him.

It’s been a while since you’ve last seen him, not having dreamed for a while. 

His eyes widen, taking you in. “Whoa. You’re here again?” 

You frown. “Um... yes? It’s nice to see you.”

Renjun nods hesitantly. “You too, uh....”

“Y/n!” you beam. You’re not sure why you’re so happy to see him, but any company is still company, so no complaining.

Since you figured you were able to control yourself in this dream, might as well take the opportunity. 

If your brain was able to give him a name and a *cough* pretty *cough* face, he must have a personality. And what better than to get to know ‘renjun’ while you still had dreams about him?

“Do you want to walk together?”

He shrugs. 

And since it’s your dream, right? you start on the path, knowing he’s gonna follow you anyways.

You reach an opening overlooking some city. It’s unfamiliar, but the sight is too pretty you don’t think much of it.

You can’t take your eyes away, the view one you’ve never seen before. One that wasn’t from your memories, and it almost blinds you. Especially since you haven’t been able to experience anything new in a while because of... everything at the moment. 

“It’s beautiful,” you breathe.

“It is,” Renjun agrees. 

Why is it so natural for you to sit next to him, get along with him?

“I haven’t been able to go out like this for a while, so it’s a lot to take in at once.”

He glances at you.

“Really? Why?”

Suddenly the air feels tightening. 

“Um. Health stuff. I guess.”

Renjun nods. “That’s understandable. But going out might be good for you. It’s nice to get a little fresh air every once in a while.”

His words hit differently. It rings inside of you, making you sit up. 

“You’re right, Renjun. I should go out more.” Your voice is quiet but smooth. 

Suddenly, he laughs. It’s a beautiful sound flowing out in a beautiful place. 

“I say that, but honestly, I’m also holed up inside all day. I need to go out more too.”

You don’t get what he means by that- why does it matter to a non-existent person how often they go outside?- but the feeling of just being here is incredible. You can’t waste your time in this dream pondering on pointless thoughts. 

“You should take advantage of it. You never know what could happen one day. Never take things for granted.” You finish, voice suddenly serious.

He looks surprised. “Oh. I suppose you’re right. Thanks, y/n.” 

Instead of responding, you sit back on the ground, looking at the dream -but still beautiful- sky.

Your hand pats around for a second before landing on its target. Your fingers wrap around renjun's, pulling him back so he plops down next to you with a grunt. 

“Geez, could’ve given a warning.”

“There’s no need for warnings here,” you sigh. 

Sure, the clouds aren’t real, but you’ll take any chance to see something you can’t in reality anymore. 

“Y/n,” he starts.

And when you turn to look at him, his face is a lot closer than you thought.

There’s a pause. 

The last things you remember are his long fluttering eyelashes and alluring brown eyes- ones that look so realistic and strangely familiar? 

That morning, you wake up with the scent of the woods still lingering in the air and a little more ease in your heart.

ꔫ

Over the next couple of months, Renjun keeps appearing. And you’re completely fine, even delighted with that. 

Now you’re always excited to go to bed, hoping each night that you’ll dream about him. 

Even as the days get hotter and your a/c is definitely getting overused, you find yourself thinking about him and imagining if he was next to you. 

You had to keep reminding yourself that Renjun wasn’t real. No matter how much you wished he was. 

But you still considered Renjun your friend. Technically, your only friend.

And each time you met in your dreams, you felt happier and more content. You felt alive next to him, your heart that always beat faster around him only confirming it. 

Sometimes you’d spot Renjun in a place from your memories, and sometimes he would appear in a completely unfamiliar area to you. 

You didn’t care enough to think twice. A new place with new sights was a highlight to your encounters. 

And today, it was no different. A colorful park. You know you’ve never been here before, but it feels like you’ve seen it somewhere..... perhaps somewhere online? 

Ever since the second time you met him, you noticed a theme with the unknown places you sometimes ended up in. 

Mostly in nature, surrounded by fresh air and plentiful green. You were confused, but I mean, who cares? They were beautiful, peaceful. Places that made you forget everything. 

You find Renjun sitting down at a nearby bench, messing with his hands.

“Hi.”

He looks up, attempting to smile, but it falls short. “Hello, y/n.”

That’s interesting. Renjun always seemed happy to see you. At this point, you can tell when he’s acting strange or not.

You decide to play along. “What’s up?”

“Oh. It’s nothing. Just really stressed about upcoming school stuff.” You cock an eyebrow, amused. This isn’t the first time you’ve felt weird when he says something like that.

“You know, for being an imaginary character, you sure act like a real person.”

“What did you just say?” Renjun stands up.

You follow, getting up and looking at him, confused. “What?”

“What the hell do you mean by imaginary?”

“Imaginary? You don’t exist -like you’re not real?”

“No way.”

Your eyebrows raise. Why was he getting so defensive over this?

“I’m not an imaginary character- you are.”

A scoff escapes your lips. What the fuck?

“Stop talking nonsense.” Even though you’re trying to stand your ground, you can’t help but reevaluate everything. You look at him, panicked but still staring straight into his eyes as if to say, stop the joking right now.

Renjun only stares at you, fighting back with a headstrong expression. “I’m not. So you should stop too.”

You place your hand on his arm, inhaling.

Renjun tries to pull away, bewildered, but you keep your grip.

His arm feels warm, veins partially showing through. Almost like a real.....no way. But there’s even a faint scar on his wrist. Your brain couldn’t possibly be so meticulous as to add such details to a fictional person.

Your eyes flick to Renjun, studying him, memorizing everything you can about him.

Your breathing is heavy as you step closer to him, almost in a daze. “If you’re not just an imaginary person I created in my dreams,” you whisper, watching as he swallows and his adam’s apple bobs up and down-

“Then who are you?”

But before he can say anything, the world fades to black. 

You wake up with an immense urge to scream in frustration but also hide away to just think everything over.

You lay in bed for what feels like hours. Contemplating. Panicking. 

This was a joke, wasn’t it? 

He’s lying. 

Just a dream? 

But this time, you can’t say that it was “just a dream..”

Your hand punches the bed in defeat.  

You don’t understand. How are you able to see another living and breathing human in your dreams? 

All the things and places you were able to dream about were because of your memories. But Renjun... Renjun was a complete stranger. 

So how are you able to see him perfectly fine?

You think back to all the previous times you met him. 

If he truly was real, then he must’ve been dreaming too? Since he believed you weren’t real either? 

And all the unrecognizable places you saw -they must exist in real life? 

That means.... you and Renjun must be sharing dreams.

There were a lot of questions. All that were making your brain pound. 

More importantly, how the fuck are you even able to share dreams with another person? 

ꔫ

You spend every night praying that you’ll fall asleep and see Renjun again. 

Renjun? Is that even his real name?

Oh my god, you don’t know anything about him. 

But for some reason, it isn’t hard for you to wrap your head around the fact that he exists. 

His reaction seemed so real -he couldn’t possibly be faking right? 

You smack your head on the pillow. Many times. Repeating, “Go to sleep. Dream. Go to sleep,” over and over again. 

Until eventually, you do. 

And when you find yourself at your old middle school- gross- you immediately start. 

Getting up, you navigate throughout the old place. Everywhere’s blurry and hazy though, you suppose it’s because you haven’t been here in a while and forgot.  

Where is he? You know he has to be here somewhere. 

You spot his familiar silhouette. Target acquired. 

He must’ve felt your presence too, since he turns around to face you. 

You’re about to say his name, but then you remember the whole ‘he’s actually a real person thing’ and then you can only splutter out an accusing “you!” with an accompanying point of a finger. 

“Me?” His eyes widen. “No-you’re not supposed to be a real person. So who are you?”

“I’m y/n.” You repeat yourself again with more force. 

“This is my dream, and you’re in it. Look,” you gesture around. “This is my old school. If I wasn’t real, could we be here at a place like this?”

Renjun falters, and you exhale. “I’m not joking. I swear. My name is y/l/n y/n.”

He holds his hands out. “B-but how? How can you-?”

You shake your head wearily. “I don’t know. I don’t even know you!” 

He sighs in defeat. “My name is Renjun. Huang Renjun. And I promise I’m not joking either. I truly thought you were just a figment of my imagination.” 

You nod, fidgeting before holding out a hand. “Well then, I believe you. Nice to meet you,” you look into his glittering eyes, “Huang Renjun.” 

When his hand touches yours, you feel a rush of emotions. 

You think he does too, judging by his tightening grip on yours. 

He quickly takes his hand away, making you frown. “And just to prove it, you know the forest we were at once?”

You nod, recalling the pretty leaves. You haven’t seen leaves in a while.....

“It’s near my city in the real world. And that mountain too.”

Then it hits you. You glance up at Renjun, surprised. 

“No way. I know where you’re talking about. You live like, a couple of hours away from me.” 

“Wait, really? Where do you-“

You sit up, feeling the familiar sensation of a blanket around your legs. 

And then let out a loud screech of frustration - while also internally apologizing to your neighbors.

ꔫ

When you meet Renjun in the next dream, you pick off where you left off, and move into telling each other about your actual lives.

“You study plants? That explains why we’re always near grass in your dreams.”

“Hey!”

“I’m joking. It’s really nice. I like it more than you may think..”

“Seriously,” you look up from your position on his lap, “savor it while you can.”

He nods dutifully. To others, it may seem annoying or strange that you’re constantly telling him to enjoy when he still has the time, but Renjun appreciates it. 

It’s always a nice reminder.

He assumes something must’ve happened to you before, but nevertheless, he doesn’t pry. 

“What about you? What are you studying?”

Suddenly, you can’t look at him. You're unable to tell him that you don’t even attend school anymore. 

“Um, I’m still deciding... it’s hard, you know?”

“I get it. Comfortably take your time. You don’t have to rush, do what you want.”

Your heart warms. 

“Can you cook?”

“Eh.”

“What about roller skating?”

“I’m a pro.”

“Bet I could beat you.” 

“Oh yeah? Just wait, one day we’ll go together in person, and I’ll kill you at it.” 

“What about aliens?”

Your eyebrows raise. “What about aliens?”

“What- what do you think of them?”

“Oh. Aliens are cool.” 

“Do you think they’re real?

“Sure. I mean, if we’re able to share dreams like this, then why can’t aliens exist too?”

You miss the growing smile on renjun’s face. 

“.... is this what you really look like in real life?”

“What- yes! Why would I look like someone else in my dream?”

“I dunno, you’re a lot more handsome than most guys I can remember..” you trail off, hoping he doesn’t catch the rest of the sentence. He does. 

That goes on for a while, asking each other random questions. But while you’re still here in the dream, you should take advantage of it. 

Standing up, you brush yourself off. 

“Huh, what’s up y/n?”

“The sky.”

Renjun scowls. 

“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you.”

And then you sprint off, yelling, “first one to the tree gets bragging rights!!”

Renjun falls halfway, and you have to help him and his dramatic ass. 

ꔫ

When Renjun brings up the prospect of possibly meeting each other in real life, you’re both really excited at first. 

But then it hits you. That’s right. You’re kinda blind at the moment. 

You never once told him about your... sight problems, probably because you first thought he wasn’t even a real person, and it never seemed important. 

As Renjun sits there, excitedly listing off ways to find each other that actually while you’re awake, you can only absentmindedly nod, a storm brewing inside you. 

It makes your insides churn. Should you tell him? 

You hated lying, but there was that growing insecurity rising up. 

What if he finds out everything and doesn’t want anything to do with you anymore?

What if Renjun doesn’t want to be your friend? 

What if... 

He leaves you?

“Y/n???” He waves a hand in front of you. 

You blink. “Yes?”

“I was just talking about how it’ll take around 3 hours to take the subway to your city or, yours to mine. When we both have a free day, we should meet up!”

He looks so excited and cute, but you still cringe. When was the last time you took the subway? 

You nod uneasily. Renjun must notice your expression because he turns concerned, “Are you alright?”

You hastily smile. “Fine. Just really stressed about upcoming school stuff,” you joke. 

That answer must be good enough because he drops the subject. 

What have you gotten yourself into?

ꔫ

And for the first time, you’re scared to dream. 

Scared to see Renjun. 

Stress and anxiety gnaw at your head, swirling thoughts constantly floating in and out. 

Renjun won’t like you anymore. 

He doesn’t want to be with a liar.

And after he excitedly mentions that he obtained an internship near your city in the spring, your guilt and frustration grow more.

Since that one conversation, you’ve been having more and more headaches, most likely because of the lack of sleep from stress.

Renjun’s probably sleeping peacefully hours away from you as you stay up, plagued with concerns.

You shake your head, wanting to get rid of bad thoughts so the pain doesn’t overtake your brain again. 

Think of happy things. Happy memories when you were young and carefree. 

Like.... the one water park you went to with your friends years ago. That was a good memory.

You rack your brain.

Wait a second -what did it look like again?

ꔫ

As the air turns colder, you have to bust out the old heater that hasn’t been used in years-the dust floating in the air lingered for days. 

Overtaking your breathing, your brain. 

Just like your thoughts. 

You’re still constantly worrying about Renjun.  Because of Renjun.

And yourself. 

You and Renjun. 

Renjun and you. 

All those thoughts weren’t good for you. Why you may ask?

More thoughts lead to overthinking. 

Overthinking leads to stress. 

Stress causes the agonizing headaches. 

And those headaches are the bane of your existence.

Because it makes you unable to recall. 

The headaches weren’t a big deal at first. After the car accident, the doctors said your brain seemed clear for the most part. 

But obviously- it wasn’t- since you were here now with daily migraines- the pain multiplied from anxiety. 

And that caused your memory loss.

It was simple things at first, just like what you ate for the day and where you put your stuff. (It was already difficult since you couldn’t see, and the forgetful memory was making it so much worse) 

And then it was the more important recollections. 

Like what your parents' birthdays were. Your favorite restaurant. What schools you attended.

You don’t want to admit that the only thing left perfectly clear in your brain is yours truly, Huang Renjun. 

This isn’t happening. 

Pigs can’t fly and.... you can’t remember. 

Why? Every time you try to think of something, your brain pounds like crazy.

You really don’t want to believe it’s an effect of the accident. And the stress. 

You don’t want to think about it at all. 

But sadly, you were still human and had to sleep. 

Which meant eventually dreaming sooner or later...

“Y/n!” 

Wait. What?

“What’s going on?”

No. What’s happening?

“I know people don’t dream that often, but three months and nothing from you? I went to bed, happy at the thought that we might meet again, but it’s like you’re purposely not sleeping and avoiding me or something-!” 

There’s no way you heard everything he just said, even his irritated tone that you’ve never heard before didn’t faze you. 

Due to the fact that everything except Renjun himself was a blur.

Basically- you couldn’t see shit. 

Your heart rate begins to pick up. You swirl around, squinting and rubbing your eyes like crazy. 

Why? Why is this happening? Why can’t you see the dream world around you?

But you know the reason- it’s quite obvious. 

Since your memory disappeared just like that. And without your memories, everything has crumbled to nothing. 

Ironically, you forgot about Renjun who was still standing there, perfectly fine.  

“Y/n? What wrong?”

He snaps a finger in front of you, and you barely react.

“No, nothing’s wrong.” Your voice has been reduced to a whisper.

“Listen-I-why are you lying? I thought we were friends. I thought we trusted each other enough to talk honestly.”

It’s too much. Renjun’s growing anger plus everything you’re experiencing at the moment is overwhelming. 

“Just stop-!” You screech, arms held out in front to protect yourself from everything. 

He freezes. 

And you collapse on the ground, hands shaking as you look around. Look for anything you can clearly see. 

There’s nothing.

The worst pain ever runs through your brain- the feeling to curl up in a ball and stop everything is strong. 

“Y/n- please. Please talk to me.”

He leans in front of you. 

“I- see-“ you splutter, collecting your thoughts.

Your mouth forms the words but immediately comes to a halt.

He doesn’t know. 

You stare at him, helpless. Your eyes flicking all over the place, pupils dilated. 

Renjun does the only thing he can think of at the moment. 

He places his lips on yours, and your eyes automatically close. 

Your heart steadies, adrenaline slowly fading. 

He just feels... right. 

And then his hand brings your body closer to his, making- 

You sit up in bed, breathing heavily. 

All you can think is, 

what a dream. 

And as much as you still feel the ghost of his soft lips on yours, you can’t get over the fact that everything else was blurry. 

You could only see faint lights and shadows. 

You couldn’t remember. 

ꔫ

No. 

What does the sky look like again? 

No.

Why can’t you remember the day anymore?

You spend days- weeks maybe even- trying to recall as much as possible. And spend less time attempting to sleep for the chance that you’ll have to see Renjun again. 

Your mind is in shambles. One part of you is yearning to see him -find Renjun in the dreams again and explain everything. 

But the other part is scared. Extremely terrified at his reaction. His feelings. 

Will he still- you dare to say- like you? 

I mean, that kiss had to mean something, right? 

Right?

You smack the nearest object in exasperation.

I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore. 

Can everything just stop? 

Your poor pillow has been punched into oblivion by now. 

Either way, you fall into what could be considered a slump. 

A slump in life. 

The uncomfortable sensation grows bigger and bigger each day since the only thing you can do is stay at home and dwell on the fact that your life is basically over now.

There's no recovery in sight -ha- of your future. 

Each night is spent exerting your aching brain to recall. 

The only thing that comes back is Huang Renjun.

But once again, you’re only human. A human that occasionally passes out from the lack of sleep.

Renjun would be nagging at you. Your heart automatically drops at the thought of him. How long has it been since you last seen him?

More importantly- how long has it been since you last properly slept? 

You can’t even see yourself but you know the eye bags you’re carrying are bigger and brighter than your future. 

You call out for Siri. 

“It’s currently 3:21 AM.“ 

You sigh, so desperately wanting to chuck your phone across the room even though you know finding where you threw it would take hours. 

Pathetic. 

And then you figured you must’ve fallen asleep. 

Because you open your eyes. And at first, it just seems like another day of barely making it through life, but no- this is different. 

You’re not in your bed. You’re on a blank, hard surface.  

You realize where you are right as a familiar voice calls out your name. 

The fear that courses through you is a feeling to laugh at.

“What the fuck, y/n.”

There’s no way you’re getting out of this. 

“What’s going on? I just wanna know why. You ghost me for months without saying anything. I deserve an explanation.” Renjun’s fists are clenched at his side, anger barely seeping through. 

You sigh wearily, partly from him and partly from the fact that you still can’t see anything else except his face. 

“I know. I’m sorry. I’ve been going through stuff, okay?” You hope your tone is enough to tell him that you don’t want to talk about this anymore.

But it isn’t. 

“What things? You can tell me, y/n. I thought we were close enough for that. I thought we trusted each other.”

As much as your heart clenches at his words, it isn’t enough to suppress the frustration building inside you. 

“This isn’t about trust, Renjun. It doesn’t matter if I trust you or not. What does it have to do with me telling you about my life? It’s my privacy.”

His eyes burn into yours. 

“So you don’t trust me?”

“What- of course, I do! Why are you so stuck up on that?”

“Cause I care about you,” he groans, running his hands through his hair. “I care about you- a lot- but clearly, you don’t seem to return the feelings!” 

“What? What makes you think that!?” 

“Because you act like this!” He forcefully gestures. “Because you push me away without any explanation and don’t show any sign of your feelings! Don’t seem affected like I am when I haven’t seen you in months and miss you, okay?”

You pinch your nose bridge, annoyed. “Well, I’m different. If you cared about me that much, wouldn’t you have noticed?”

You know your words mean nothing. They’re just randomly produced from the deepest, darkest insecurities that are pent up inside and need to escape. 

“What’s so different about you? As far as I’ve known and seen you, you’re just another human like me-“

“-Because I can’t see fucking anything, okay?” You yell, forcing yourself to take a breath. 

“I’ve been blind for what seems like forever, and at first it was all okay, but now I can’t remember anything except you, which means I can’t see shit. Is that a good enough answer for you?”

You feel your body trembling, barely able to look at him. 

A good silence lasts for a couple of minutes. 

You turn around, anywhere away so you don’t have to look at his face anymore- since he’s stupidly the only thing you can even see. 

You don’t know what to feel. Perhaps relief for finally saying it? Exhaustion from keeping everything pent up and finally letting it all out? 

Then you recognize the sensation. 

You’re waking up. 

You think Renjun calls your name at the exact moment. But it’s too late. You’re already gone at that point. 

And now you don’t know what to do. 

ꔫ

After that, you get the best sleep in your life.  There’s surprisingly no more stress about lying to Renjun, you already spilled everything. 

On the other hand, there is his whole response. But you bury those worries deep inside. 

Maybe it’s for the better, you think. After the fight, you couldn’t the guilt go. The angered lies that slipped from your lips won’t leave. 

Renjun doesn’t deserve someone like you. 

But for once, you decide to go out. To get some needed fresh air like someone once advised you to, and also because you’re running out of food to eat. 

Before you leave, you grab the sunglasses on the counter and put them on. Most people would just think you’re avoiding the spring sun, which is exactly what you wanted.

You didn’t want them to see your blank stare and then realize that you had lost your sight. It was simply more comfortable for you and others. 

It was always a challenge to go out. Strange how normal people would never think twice before closing the door behind them and entering the outside world, but it became something you had to prepare yourself for. 

Taking a deep breath, you close the door behind you and navigate as best as you can to the nearby cafe. 

Sure, you barely left your place, but it didn’t mean you couldn’t enjoy a refreshing drink outside every once in a while. 

Two people bump into your side, and you barely spare them a second, continuing on. 

An apology is given, but you brush it off, hiding your face and quickly continuing on. 

That’s strange. One of the voices sounded really familiar, but it was too quick, and you barely heard the voice enough to pinpoint it. 

It happened all the time- if not always- running into another person. But this time, it was different. After touching the stranger's shoulder by accident, it felt like a flame burst inside of you. Intense enough to make your head spin a little and set your body alight. 

And the sun wasn’t making it better. 

Gosh, why is the sun so bright today? 

You brush it off, opening the door to the cafe and taking your sunglasses off to be polite and not seem weird or suspicious. 

You squint at the board, cautiously walking to the register and ordering. 

After they confirm your order, you find a nice spot alone in the corner. 

It’s not too busy or slow today, you note. But soon boredom overcomes you, and eventually, you find yourself staring at the entrance door whenever someone new enters for no reason in particular. 

The entrance bell rings, and your eyes subconsciously flick to see who it is. 

Wait. 

No fucking way. 

It can’t be. 

Huang Renjun?

 in your city?

Entering the same cafe you were currently at? 

You suddenly remember. One dream, a long time ago when he excitedly rambled on about that internship he got. Located where you lived. That’s right, he said it was in the springtime. And here he was now. 

A string of curses run through your brain, your heart beginning to pick up its pace in panic. 

You debate just leaving. But your order..... oh god, what if he sees you? 

Will he recognize you? Stupid, obviously Renjun would recognize you. 

What if he comes up to you? 

Shit, you have no clue what to do. 

Maybe if you just look away and hide your face when he passes, then he won’t see you. 

You look down, pretending to be occupied with your shirt and shuddering when you hear his voice get closer.

You let out a tiny sigh of relief when he passes with someone else, you suppose a friend. But it’s not over. 

“Order for y/n!”

You unleash more curses internally. Of course, they had to call your name. Of fucking course. 

You desperately hope Renjun isn’t paying attention.  

Exhaling, you try to act as normal as possible walking up to get your drink. But before you even make it there, you can feel eyes on you. It burns the back of your head. 

You scream into your mouth, teeth gritting to barely muffle the sound. 

It’s okay, just pretend you can’t see him -you already yelled at him confessing that you were blind anyway, so maybe he thinks that you can’t see him. 

It’s fine. 

Act normal. 

You obtain your order and take one step carefully at a time. 

Oh no. 

Oh no- he’s coming towards you. You can just barely see in your peripheral view Renjun approaching and getting closer. 

“Y/n.” 

You try not to stiffen at his voice. Just act like you’re blind and can’t see him. 

Turning around, you pretend to act blank. “Yes? Who’s talking to me?”

“Y/n,” Renjun says more insistently. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t recognize you. Who are you?”

And then his hand reaches out to yours.

You panic, swatting it away. 

You hear renjun's breath hitch. “Wait- how did you do that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Y-you,” he stutters, “you blocked my hand. B-but how? I don’t-“

You frown. “Cause I saw it?”

Your hand raises up to cover your mouth. 

You saw his hand. 

You can see. 

What- when did this happen? 

How did this happen?

Why didn’t you notice? 

There are so many things swirling in your mind, but Renjun calls your name again. 

You look back at him, truly look at him, and suddenly it’s like all the puzzle pieces fit together. 

He’s breathtaking. It’s so different seeing him in person and not in your dreams. If anything, you’re jealous of how much prettier he seems in real life. 

You’re not sure how long you stare at each other. Seeing those eyes that once captivated your soul right in front of you. 

“The last time I saw you was in my dream,” you breathe, “but it feels like the first time I’m meeting you.” 

Renjun doesn’t say anything, and abruptly you find yourself in his arms. 

You don’t care that you’re hugging in the middle of a public place, it just feels so right. 

You bury your face in his shoulder, unable to speak.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry that I didn’t tell you. I was just so afraid at what you'd say, and I just liked you too much and I’m sorry-“

Renjun pulls back, staring at you like he hasn’t seen anything more magnificent before. 

“It doesn’t matter. You can tell me everything you want now.” 

ꔫ

“I’m happy to report that the swelling in your optic nerves has gone down. It’s like a miracle occurred,” the doctor remarks.

Luckily, renjun’s internship lasted for a couple weeks, and you were able to spend as much time as possible with him. The only time you weren’t next to his side was when he was working or you were at the doctor's to check up on your condition. 

There was no more blankness. There were no more headaches. It’s like Renjun brought a breath of fresh air into your life. It’s almost like he was meant for you. 

You simply smile and laugh at the doctor as you think, 

Yes, a miracle did happen. One where I met the person who seemed only like a dream and learned the most important lesson in my life. 

That dreams really can come true.

Bonus : 

“Renjun, you’re going the wrong way.”

“Well excuse me for not having ever been to this place before.”

“Okay, you’re excused.”

Renjun rolls his eyes, and you grin cheekily before taking his hand. 

“C’mon, we still have to get to the top.” 

“Did you get the blankets?”

“Yep.”

“And the snacks?”

“Yeah, yeah. I got your favorite.” 

It’s been so long since you came here. Your favorite spot to stargaze. The one you went to all the time before the accident. The one you were going to when the car accident happened. 

But this time it was different. You had Renjun next to you. 

After ten minutes of hiking and Renjun complaining, you finally make it to the top of the secluded hill, the night sky seeming so close and yet so far. 

Renjun takes everything in with a breath. “Wow. I can see why you love this place.”

You feel a rush of emotions. How long has it been since you were able to come here and see the stars? 

You two set up the blankets and sit back, embracing the sight. 

He sits down on the blanket, and you automatically lie down next to him, placing your head in his lap. 

“Doesn’t this remind of you that one dream where we saw your city from above?”

Renjun grins. “I remember that. I still thought that you were just a fake simulation or whatever. And now look, we’re together in real life.”

You hum thoughtfully. 

“Thank you, Renjun.”

He looks down at you. “For what?”

Suddenly you can’t look him in the eye. “For everything. For being my friend and never leaving,” you gulp, nervous. 

“I... I love you.” 

Renjun jerks a little, eyes wide. “What did you just say?”

You breathe in, out. “I love you, huang renjun.”

He starts laughing for some reason, leaning down to kiss your forehead. 

“I love you too.”

After that, you enjoy the peaceful silence and the buzz of the insects. 

“...don’t you think this would be a hotspot for aliens to come to? This field is so vast and secluded -if I were an alien, I would come here a lot.”

You shrug. “I don’t know. But I guess I would too.”

Renjun suddenly looks at you with an accusing glare. And you catch on, smacking his side. 

“Don’t even think about it.”

He feigns ignorance. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Okay sure. You totally weren’t gonna say something about how I could be an extraterrestrial creature from another planet since I come here so often.” 

“Well-”

You stuff food in his mouth to shut him up. 

He chews for a minute or two before talking again. 

“.... what if we get abducted by them?”

You roll your eyes. “Don’t be dramatic. I’ve been here so many times, and nothing happened to me.”

“Maybe that’s because you are a-“

“Oh my gosh. Just stop. And trust me, if I were one, you would already be abducted with that face,” you joke.

You look up from your spot on his lap, staring up at the twinkling lights in the dark sky. 

“It doesn't matter, I’m not scared.”

Renjun looks down at you with a curious smile. “Why?” 

“Because everything got a little better when I saw you.” 

And the stars seem to agree, twinkling in the background when your lips reach up to meet his.

You had so many questions that couldn’t be answered. 

But maybe it would all be okay.  

Because you could suddenly see the spring again.

a/n: if you made it to the end, thank you for reading :) 

also i tried my best to research as much as i could on all related topics to this work yadaddaa but if there are errors and inaccuracies, i apologize! 

taglist: @elcie-chxn @dearseungie​ 

unable to tag: @flower-lise  

[tyb1]

If It’s The Right Thing To Do (2)

Part 2

Series List

Words: 2849

Character: Seth Clearwater

Dialogue prompt: I nearly jumped out of my skin, I turned around to see an angry Sam walking towards me with murder in his eyes. He grabbed me then began to shake me violently. “Why didn’t you tell anyone (Y/N)! I’ve been searching for you all morning!” 

*idk how to feel about this writing* :(

@anndaydreamer​

I awoke to Seth's body pressed against mine. I haven't felt this feeling in a while and yet it was so comforting. As much as I wanted to stay and wake him up with my morning kisses I couldn't. I needed to be home before Sam got up or else we would be in a warzone.

I tried to unwrap Seth's arms from around my waist but he only held on tighter. "Seth wake up! I have to go."

"No, two more minutes I promise."

I rolled over so I could have a better view of his face. He only placed his head on my chest snuggling deeper into the blankets. These were the moments I missed the most. The days where Seth would stay over while Sam was on patrol and him leaving early in the morning so Sam wouldn't catch him. I'd laugh every time he got caught and Sam would always have to give us "the talk" which made me laugh even harder.

"I miss these moments (Y/N). Sometimes I wish things could go back to normal."

"Me too Seth but now we have to keep our distance for our own safety."

Seth groaned, "I can't keep my distance from you."

"I know it's hard but we have to for now."

Seth lifted his head giving me a long passionate kiss. It was one of those kisses where you got lightheaded and it felt like you were in a trance. "I love you (Y/N)."

"I love you too."

Those were the last words I had said to him before I left. He watched me get dressed and walked me out to the front door. Seth even volunteered to take me out to breakfast but I had to decline for my own sake.

I sat in my car for a few moments before I made my way into the house. The house was spotless; there was so much sign of rage from Sam. Everything was in order from the kitchen all the way to the living room. I found this weird because if the guys were over the whole house would smell like muffins and chicken. It was so strange it almost gave me chills to be in here.

"Where were you last night (Y/N)!"

I nearly jumped out of my skin, I turned around to see an angry Sam walking towards me with murder in his eyes. He grabbed me then began to shake me violently. "Why didn't you tell anyone (Y/N)! I've been searching for you all morning!"

"I didn't tell you because I knew you wouldn't have allowed me to see him!"

Sam scoffed, he still had his firm grip on my arms. I glanced behind him to see Quil and Embry with guilty expressions on their faces. It had finally clicked in my head. Both of them had told Sam where I went off before the sun arose. They knew that I was going to see the Cullens. They just waited it out so they could tell Sam that I was with Seth.

I somehow managed to get out of Sam's grip. I walked up to them violently pointing my finger in their face. "You guys really stabbed me in the back like that!? I would jump in front of a bullet for you and yet you still snitched!"

Embry dropped his head lower and began to kick the pebbles on the ground. I could tell from his gestures that he didn't want any parts in the whole situation. Paul walked into the living room with a smug grin on his face"You're the one who went to sleep with the traitors so who really stabbed who in the back?"

I shot a nasty glare at Paul, I wanted to rip the ugly grin from his face. "Go to hell Paul."

Sam grabbed me again pulling me into the house. He sat me on the couch while he began to pace and forth. I watched as he muttered curse words from his mouth, all I wanted was for Emily to show up and get me out of this mess.

"So...you went to the Cullens just to sleep with Seth?" He leaned against the wall while crossing his legs and arms he reminded me so much of a Dad. I always felt like that was his problem, Sam was always too busy trying to be my dad that he forgets how to act like an older brother.

"No Sam! Jake called me and told me that Seth got hurt so I went over there because of how they screamed on the phone. I thought he was dead!"

"Why would you go over there (Y/N)! You could have been labeled as one of them. I had to convince everyone that you weren't anywhere near them. I tried to tell them that you were at a friend's house but no, you were at the Cullens!"

"For a good reason Sam."

"Just like Jacob, Leah, and Seth! They claim that they're over there for good reasons."

I jumped from my seat but quickly sat back down when the vein in his head began to protrude. I sat there quietly. He was speaking the truth and that was a tough pill to swallow. I snuck out of the house without informing him of my whereabouts. I also went over to the Cullens when he specifically told me not to. Sam had every right to be mad and worried about me.

"I'm sorry."

"You have two choices, you can either obey my rules and respect me or pack your bags and be with the Cullens." He left without saying another word, no eye contact or remorse. Emily appeared from the kitchen whispering "I'm sorry."

Once she left I threw my head into a pillow then screamed. Not once but twice, it seemed like nothing in my life was going accordingly to plan. I heard footsteps enter the room, without looking up I had already known who it was.

"Was the sex even good?"

"Paul go to hell with gasoline underwear!"

I brushed past him making sure that I made contact with his shoulder. I walked upstairs towards my room. I fell on my bed screaming into my pillow. "You have two choices, you can either obey my rules and respect me or pack your bags and be with the Cullens" those words kept ringing throughout my head. I loved Seth. He was my whole world but the pack is my family. You never turn back on your family. Sam taught me that at a young age ever since dad turned his back on us. I had to force myself to go to sleep. I didn't want to hear Sams's wrath anymore. It seemed like nowadays I had to force myself to go to sleep to cope with the pain.

I awoke to someone shoving me against my headboard. I opened my eyes to see Emily standing above me with a phone in her hand. "Is it Santa Claus?"

Emily laughed, "No it's someone by the name of Marie. They said you told them to call."

I gave her a questioning look while taking the phone from her head. The numbers that appeared on the phone nearly made me choke on my saliva. It was the same number that was used to call about Seth. I quickly ushered Emily out of the room so I could confidently speak to "Marie"

"Are you freaking crazy Seth? Are you trying to get me on Sam's bad side again?" I placed my back against the floor before I slid down to the bottom. I could hear him laughing from the other side.

"I swear I'm not but I really want to see you. I really miss you (Y/N)."

My heart began to flutter. I got those butterflies again, I've always hated those things they constantly made me act out of character. "I miss you too Seth but I can't risk it again. Sam would have both of our heads."

"Meet me at LaPush beach. I'm on my way right now."

"What!? Seth, I can't!"

"I'll see you there. I can't wait, I feel like Romeo and you're Juliet."

"You know they both die at the end right?"

"Huh, I forgot about that. Well, we're more like beauty and the beast except for you're the beast, and I'm the beauty."

I started to laugh, it was an actual genuine laugh. I haven't laughed like that since we were all together. I hated the fact that our family was so torn apart. I threw my head on the wall trying to stop myself from crying. I couldn't bring myself to speak another word, if I did I knew I'd end up crying on the phone like I did every night since he left.

"(Y/N)? Are you still there?"

"Yeah, I'll meet you there in 10 minutes." I stood up from the floor while hanging up the phone. The door of my room flew open causing me to nearly crack my head open on my desk. I turned ready to fight the person behind the door only to see Emily standing there.

"Were you listening to my conversation?"

"Yes, but I want to help you. (Y/N) I know how you're feeling right now. Your brother is so invested in the treaty and keeping them away that he hasn't taken your feelings into consideration."

I looked up Emily, at first I didn't want to believe it. She'd always picked Sam's side when we argued not once had she taken my side. I was always close to Leah, I hate to admit it but she was more of an older sister than Sam was an older brother. Now Emily wanted to take over which is completely fine but I look at her more as a mother figure than a sister.

"How can I trust you? You're probably like the rest of them."

"When you guys were arguing today I could tell he was really stressed so I offered him a stress reliever." She began to wink at me. I almost threw up the bile that was in my stomach. As much as I didn't want to believe it Emily actually had my back. He'd be too busy with Emily to think about me.

"You're literally the best!" I wrapped my arms around her giving her a big hug.

"If you want to meet Seth you better go now."

I nodded my head then opened my window. I jumped into the tree then quickly made my way down. There was no way anyone would spot me. Collin and Brady were on watch for the night so that meant I could get away with this. I went to my car cranking it once again. This could be really good or really horrible.

The drive to LaPush was very frightening. I kept looking in the woods to see if someone was watching me. I put all of my faith in Emily, she needed to play her part well in order for the plan to work out smoothly. I couldn't afford to be on Sam's bad side again.

I parked near the trees so no one could notice. In Lapush everyone knew everyone so I had to make sure I kept my guard up. I walked onto the beach looking around for Seth but he was nowhere to be found. "Clearwater," I said in a whispered yell.

"(Y/N) I'm right here!"

I turned to see him standing near the edge of the woods. I ran towards him jumping into his muscular arms. My nose immediately engulfed his hazelnut scent. "I missed you."

"You saw me this morning silly." He wrapped his arms around me making sure to support me as we held one another. There was a comfortable silence between us. Neither of us dared to speak another word.

I playfully smacked him against the head. "That's for calling me a beast earlier."

"Ouch (Y/N), You can't get mad because I'm the beauty and the brains of the relationship." He engulfed me in another hug. I began to squirm when he placed kisses on my cheek.

"Seth stop now your saliva is on my cheek." We both laughed at our antics.

"What a cute reunion!" I shot my head up from Seth's neck to see Paul standing near a tree clapping his hands. Embry, Quil, and Jared soon appeared behind him. They gave Seth a disgusting look as if he just murdered someone.

"This isn't your territory anymore Clearwater," Paul said, he stopped with his childish antics and now was serious. He started to walk closer to us slowly sizing Seth up.

Seth placed me behind him taking guard. 'How did you find us?"

Jared laughed, "Your scent couldn't get past me. We thought it was one of those bloodsuckers on our territory. Luckily it was only you and (Y/N)."

I stepped in front of Seth glaring at them. I had never back down to them and today would not be the first. "Just leave us alone. You guys are always ruining something."

Jared and Paul ignored me, their only focus was Seth. "You know what we do to traitors right? We rip them into shreds, ask the Cullens, one inch away from being one with the ground."

Seth scoffed, "You don't scare me, Paul."

The tension in the air grew, I knew deep down that there wasn't going to be a good outcome. Someone was going to get hurt tonight and it wasn't Paul or Jared. Seth had a target on his head and Paul being the hot head that he was wanted to take that target down.

"Mommy isn't here to stop me now Seth." Paul walked even closer to us.

"Paul we should just scare them. Now let's not take things to the extreme." Jared tried to stop him but at the same time, he didn't want to be caught in Paul's wrath.

"Jared, he's a threat to us now, he could go back and tell those bloodsuckers everything." Paul pulled me to the side out of his way then pushed Seth roughly, "Now do something Clearwater."

He winced, that was a red flag in my eyes. Seth still wasn't healed from yesterday, he was still sore. Seth wasn't here to fight he wasn't a fighter he was a lover and yet Paul was still here nagging him.

"Come on Paul just leave us alone. He'll leave!" I jumped in front of Seth once more so Paul wouldn't push him again. This time he pushed me hard into a tree. It knocked the breath out of me, I fell to my knees gasping for air. Seth caught me in time before my head hit the ground.

"(Y/N)! Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine" I actually wasn't fine. My back was killing me. I didn't want to say anything to trigger Seth into phasing. If he phased right now he could pose a threat and that could give Paul the green light to kill him.

"You're not fine. There's blood on my hands and it isn't mine." I reached back to my back and there was a minor cut which caused a lot of blood. Seth glared at Paul, his body began to shake violently. I reached up to caress his cheek. I even tried to turn his head in my direction so he could look into my eyes.

"Seth calm down it's okay I swear." Before I could stop him he phased in front of me and so did Paul. I always hated when Seth would phase. He wasn't a person to just get angry out of the blue, you had to push him there and that's exactly what Paul did.

Jared held up his fist motioning for no one to interfere. Paul and Seth's life was on the line and they weren't doing anything about it. They were trying to rip one another's head off. There was a difference between when they'd fight on the reserve and right now.

"Are you guys crazy!? You're just going to let them fight to the death!?"

"Go stop them (Y/N)."

It was already too late; they were too deep into the woods. There was only one way to stop them and I knew this person would have my ass. I ran from the woods to my car, I needed to get to Sam before one of them got hurt. I sped down the road back to the house as fast as my car could take me. My back was aching and my head was throbbing from the impact. The reserve wasn't that far all I needed to do was make it back home without killing myself.

I jumped out of my car as fast as I could. I left the car running not bothering to cut it off. The front door was locked so I had to make my way to the back. I ran to Sam's door and tried to open it. It was locked so I started to bang on it.

"Sam! He's going to kill him! Please Sam he's going to fucking kill him." I began to sob everything started to hit me at once. I started to punch, kick, and even scream at the door anything to get Sam's attention.

[fiddlepickdouglas]

Viva Las Vegas, Pt. 14 - Unexpected Meeting

Summary: Sunset Curve Alive AU, Willex, who will they run into?, 3.2k

@trevor-wilson-covington is the bestie who makes these lovely edits, we stan supportive friends

WARNINGS: death mention, emotional trauma

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13

“Man, I need a break,” Reggie was saying as he strolled with Alex down an unfamiliar street in the early evening, stretching his arms. “I mean, being in the studio all the time has been good, but on top of everything else it’s just so much!”

Unsure where they were headed, Alex walked a few paces ahead on the sidewalk, casually navigating for both of them. He squinted as he looked at Reggie.

“Reggie, you dropped, like, all of your classes once we signed on.”

“Nope!” his friend exclaimed, tilting his head in a proud manner. “I just needed two electives to graduate. It’s okay, though, man. Not everyone finishes their math requirements as a freshman.” Reggie patted Alex’s shoulder, as if it were any sort of consolation.

“No, good for you Reg,” Alex said. His parents had paid for all this private tutoring and even gotten him to take some college credits early. Of course, his only serious plan after high school had been the band so it was all wasted effort, but then all of their attempts with him amounted to that. He was learning to feel less guilty over it. It wasn’t his fault they never cared about what he wanted.

“How long do you think Luke and Bobby are gonna be workshopping their parts together?” Reggie asked.

“Long enough. Where are we going, exactly?”

“Oh, I was just kind of keeping an eye out for anywhere interesting.”

Alex blinked. “I thought we were headed somewhere specific.”

“I’ve only been to this side of L.A. like, once, so I don’t think I’d make a good tour guide,” Reggie stated.

And just like that, Alex’s mind thrust itself back into remembering Willie. He was getting better at not crumbling completely in the moment, but it still felt like his heart was temporarily dunked into a dark ocean of misery. It would remain waterlogged and heavy inside his chest for a while.

“Alex?” Reggie was saying, looking at him with concern. “You okay?”

Snapping his thoughts back to the present, Alex sighed as he looked back at Reggie.

“I’ll be fine.”

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jean jacket and pressed his arms against his sides. Shoulders hunched, he continued through the crowd. Focusing on walking would hopefully help it wear off. He made every step purposeful, trying to get the weight in his heart to fall through his feet. Reggie’s hand on his shoulder made him turn.

“It’s still rough, isn’t it?” he asked gently. “If I said something - ”

“It’s not your fault,” Alex tried to assure him. “Sometimes it just comes out of nowhere. Besides, I can’t make you and everyone else walk on eggshells.”

“Maybe not, but we’re in this with you. It may have been different for us, but we all met Willie. I’d never seen you warm up to anyone that fast. Even after a few months, it’s still fresh; don’t force yourself to be better for us.”

Pausing on the sidewalk, Alex looked up at Reggie. He tried to smile as gratitude edged its way in, relieving most of the heaviness in his chest.

“I appreciate that, Reg.”

“Of course, man.”

“So,” Alex took a deep breath to let everything else wash away as they kept wandering. “You made it sound like you had a lot going on. Is everything at home okay?”

Reggie shrugged. “Eh...no change there. My mom went to stay with her sister after the last fight, so my dad’s been trying his best to take care of everything, but he’s too upset to handle it well. My little sister has just been sleeping over with friends anyway, and I can handle myself, so - ” he shrugged again, “ - you know, I do what I can.”

Alex nodded. He had nothing really to comment, and Reggie knew he was always there to support him. This wasn’t anything unusual for him, but it still wasn’t right. Neither of them spent much time at their own homes, so wandering through the city like this kept them occupied when they weren’t with the rest of the band. Looking up at the store signs around them, he saw a record store about a block ahead.

“Hey, why don’t we check that out?” he suggested.

“Yeah!” Reggie said, dropping any ounce of gloom from the previous subject and skipping along to catch up with Alex.

A small bell rang as they came through the door, and they immediately began filtering through shelves of records and CDs. Peeking toward the back of the store, Alex could see a counter that offered a menu of food and drinks, some tables, as well as the smallest stage in the world. This seemed like a neat little place.

“Oh,” Reggie started after a while. “I got us a gig playing at my cousin’s wedding.”

“A wedding?” Alex said skeptically, turning from the Pansy Division vinyl he was checking out. “When we’re trying to finish a record and go on tour?”

“It’s Conrad, okay, he’s family! And he said we could make the setlist.”

Alex shrugged, considering that was fair.

“...with his approval.”

At that addition, Alex could only sigh and shake his head.

“And then maybe, you could, I don’t know, finally ask Bobby to be your date?”

Reggie put down the Mötley Crüe album he’d been examining and looked up at him in shock. Alex realized he’d possibly been too blunt. But immediately Reggie began to cover it up, laughing and shaking his head.

“What?” he said, his denial completely transparent. “Was that a...was that supposed to be a joke or something?”

Giving him a look of pity, Alex put his hands on his hips.

“You’re really gonna try to pull the wool over the eyes of your gay friend?”

Caught, Reggie looked back at him in defeat and bowed his head.

“I’m gonna guess you noticed a while ago?”

Nodding, Alex tried to soften his demeanor. 

“There’s been something up with you two for months. How come you haven’t tried to talk to him about it?”

Reggie knit his brow and began fiddling with his fingers.

“Well, I’m a little confused by it, to be honest. Cuz, I mean...I like girls, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“But I like Bobby, too.”

“Okay.”

His friend looked up at him, expecting more of a reaction. Alex leaned against the shelf and folded his arms.

“Do you think there’s something wrong with you? Because you’re talking to the king of wrong feelings.”

“Well, sometimes I feel like that, but not really. It’s something else,” Reggie said.

“Like what?”

“Well...we’ve been friends for years. It just sort of crept up on me and I don’t know what to do. What if he rejects it? He’s one of my best friends.”

Thinking for a moment, Alex looked down at his feet. He didn’t blame Reggie for being worried. He’d had a mini crush on Bobby for a couple weeks back in ninth grade and had the same dilemma. It was easier for him to get over, though, simply because it had faded quickly.

“Well, I wish I could say if it’s meant to be it’ll happen, but sometimes…”

Sometimes it dies in a fire before there’s any chance of knowing.

He shook his head to get rid of the awful thought and ignored Reggie’s look of concern.

“But if I know Bobby, I don’t think it’s going to harm anything. I think you should go for it, Reg. I truly, honestly, will back you up on that.”

A smile spread wide across Reggie’s face.

“Thanks, man!”

Without fretting over it for another second, he turned back to the shelf of CDs he’d been perusing, and Alex did the same. There was a crazy good selection, and Alex wished he could get his hands on a record player. Playing CDs on a boombox worked for some things, but there was a level of charm in playing something on a vinyl record that appealed to him even more. He made a note to get a small notebook to carry in his fanny pack, hoping to return to this store and make a wishlist of sorts to work toward.

“Do I see Alex and Reggie of Sunset Curve?” A familiar voice said from behind.

Both of them turned to find Flynn standing in the aisle, braids tied up into a high ponytail and eyebrow arched in her usual smart fashion.

“Hey Flynn!” Reggie exclaimed, pulling her into a hug. Alex went in for one afterward, happily surprised.

“Hey guys!” she said, grinning.

“What are you up to?” Alex asked.

“Gonna be performing in a bit,” she said excitedly. “Just a warm up before the main group comes on. I’ve been working on some of my own stuff; I think you guys would love it! Got time to stick around?”

“Sweet!” Reggie raised a fist for her to bump. “I’m down. Alex, wanna stay?”

“Yeah, sounds great!”

He had yet to see what Flynn was capable of. If he were to judge only on knowing she’d been in a duo with Julie, he expected it to be good.

“Also, you should try the burritos here,” Flynn told them. “They are to die for!”

The endless click-rollll-click-click-click of his board filled his ears as Willie moved through the street, feeling the wind pass over him in the way that made freedom feel like he could clutch it in his hands. He’d actually spent today not worrying about Alex. It felt good not to dwell on what little past he had access to. Of course, he still had repetitive dreams about the few memories that had come back, but the backwards one with Caleb in it hadn’t come back ever since he’d gotten to LA. Moving forward felt...nice.

He had spent the morning sketching at the beach, getting all sorts of practice in. The beautiful waves, seagulls, the different activities all around him. Somehow a group of young college kids had gotten him to join their volleyball tournament. Willie wasn’t sure if he’d ever played it before, but once he caught onto the game, he’d gotten surprisingly good. It felt nice to roll up the hem of his jeans and dig his toes into the warm sand while playing with a group of strangers. They’d nicknamed him Mowgli, whatever that meant. He liked the sound of it though.

Heading off to work after cleaning himself up, he realized he could spend all his free time that way. Peacefully sketching, meeting fun people, and enjoying his surroundings. Was that all it took to be happy? Willie chuckled at the thought of how much Caleb had stressed over rising to the top of his business game, never appearing to be satisfied with any of it. Leaving Vegas remained the best decision he’d ever made. Of course, he wasn’t always proud about his method of burning down the shed, but it had been one of those...heat of the moment things.

Willie skated up to the back entrance and shook his hair out after lifting off his helmet. Just a few short hours of making food, some chill entertainment, and he could peace out for the night. He headed inside the store and right into the small kitchen. Thankfully, the store didn’t fit too many patrons and it was never hard to keep up with orders, and Kyle had a system so he never had to leave the kitchen. This basically meant he could jam to the live music during the lulls between orders with no interruption.

Kyle entered the kitchen just as Willie was tying on his apron.

“Hey, dude, thanks for coming. We actually got two acts coming in, so it should be a full crowd. Katelyn can be the MC for the first bit, but do you mind taking over for the second half?”

A twinge of excitement came over Willie and he lit up. He’d never gotten to try being an MC before.

“Don’t mind at all!” he said.

“Alright, man!” Kyle exclaimed. “First two orders up: swamp style nachos and a bog burrito.”

“Got it.”

“We’re up for a big night with these performances,” the girl hosting hyped up the crowd. “Let’s give it up for our artist of the night: Flynn Taylor!”

Reggie cupped his hands over his mouth as he hollered along with everyone else’s applause. Alex clapped with a mouthful of nachos. Flynn stepped onto the stage behind a set of deejay turntables, smirking as she began flipping switches and turning knobs.

“Thanks for coming out here everyone,” she said into the mic. More applause and whistles echoed through the room. “We’re gonna make a lot of noise tonight, so let me hear you get pumped!”

As she began playing a beat, Alex bobbed along, immediately interested. He didn’t know a thing about mixing, so he was highly impressed with the different sounds she was using. Then Flynn picked up the mic and began rapping and the whole room cheered.

“...I’m a princess, I don’t need a prince, boy I’m priceless...I’m here to shut it down like a night shift…”

“Man,” Reggie leaned over to Alex. “She’s so good! I say we book her to open for us ASAP as possible.”

Alex merely snorted and chuckled at Reggie’s misuse of the acronym. He actually enjoyed the idea of having Flynn rapping to open for their rock shows. Gigs where all the bands sounded the same got a little flavorless sometimes.

“Also,” Reggie said as he took a huge bite into his burrito. “This is the best burrito I’ve ever had.”

“Lemme try some, you can try my nachos,” Alex said.

All Reggie could say was Mm! as he passed the burrito over.

The final beats of the first performer echoed in the kitchen where Willie had been dancing, waving various kitchen tools around. He’d thoroughly enjoyed the whole set, and wondered what sounded so familiar about the girl who was rapping. Before he could spend more time thinking about it, Kyle came in.

“Okay, you ready?” he asked.

“I just keep people busy and then announce the next group, right?” Willie guessed.

“Yeah, man, you’ve got this!”

“What’s the next group called?”

“Downslide. And they brought some merch, so it’s a good idea to mention that to the crowd as well.”

“Okay,” Willie nodded, slipping out of his apron. “Maybe I could put their t-shirt on or something, you know, sell the look?”

Kyle looked impressed. “Yeah! I’ll go see what they’ve got.”

He left the kitchen and hardly a minute later returned with a jacket.

“They said you could wear it for the night. Not gonna lie, I wish I could wear this, it’s a sweet jacket.”

Willie slipped it on, and turned around. He didn’t often wear jackets, but whatever it was made of was pretty soft.

“Guess I’m ready,” he said, giving Kyle a hand slide and fist bump before leaving the kitchen. He stepped up behind the microphone and looked out at the crowd, and further back, the empty store.

At that moment, he heard the bell of the store door ring and two guys walked outside. Through the window, a familiar leather jacket passed. Then, he saw a head of blonde hair follow, turning to look both ways to cross the street, and his heart grew to fill all the empty space in his chest. It was unmistakable. It had to be.

“Alex...” he breathed quietly into the microphone. Adrenaline immediately went out to his extremities. The crowd before him looked bewildered as they waited for him to announce the next group.

Glancing offstage, he saw Kyle give him a strange look. Willie shook his head, unclear what message he was sending but ultimately knowing he couldn’t stay at his current spot. Before he could think anything else, his legs were bounding out the door. It felt like every ounce of blood in his veins knew. The search was over.

Reggie and Alex had just reached the opposite corner. He wasn’t going to miss his chance.

“Alex!” he cried, running to meet them.

He immediately thrust his arms around a surprised Alex, gripping him tightly, burying his face into his shoulder.

“Oh my god, Alex!” he said, panting. “It’s so good to see you.”

He didn’t feel the hug didn’t reciprocate, and instead Alex grabbed his shoulders and pushed him away. The darkness of the street seemed to envelop him.

“What are you - ?” Alex started, staring back at Willie like he’d just been assaulted. Then shock wiped over his whole face. Then confusion. And then a pain came over all of it that made Willie’s concern grow.

“What - what is it?” he asked, all the excitement gone.

Alex wouldn’t look him in the eye, and he raised a hand to hold the side of his head.

“No, this isn’t real,” he whispered to himself, shrinking backward and shutting his eyes. “This can’t be real.”

Willie glanced over at Reggie, who also stared like he was seeing the impossible. He could see Alex shaking and heard a rattled breath, and felt tension grow thick in the air. Quickly, he went to take Alex’s face in his hands.

“Alex, hey, look, it’s me,” he soothed. He fought to get a look directly into his eyes. “It’s me, Willie.”

Finally, the green ocean gazed back at him, turbulent and restless. What once had been a grounding rhythm of waves had turned into a maelstrom of despair. Even worse were the tears welling up right before him. Willie watched the storm rage for a few seconds, seeking for a moment of calm.

“What’s wrong?” he murmured, lowering his hands. Alex looked so wounded it frightened him.

“How are you alive?” Alex begged to know.

Blinking, Willie sat back, astounded at those words. While he agreed it was a miracle he was still alive, he couldn’t fathom why Alex would ask such a question. He chuckled merely out of discomfort.

“I’m here.” Willie glanced at Reggie, looking for an explanation. “Flesh and bone. Why? What happened?”

Alex looked at him incredulously, jaw hanging open. He looked so tightly wound and so scattered all at once. 

“Caleb told me you were dead.”

Willie blanched inwardly at the mention of Caleb, but even more so at the rest of that sentence he’d been utterly unprepared to hear.

“He...he - ” he stammered for a moment. “When would you have even talked to him?”

Sharing a look with Reggie, Alex took a deep breath. Then he looked back at Willie hesitantly.

“We see him all the time. We work for him now.”

It was Willie’s turn to drop his jaw.

“We’ve been signed to his record label for a few months now,” Reggie pitched in.

Directing his gaze to the ground, Willie puzzled for a minute.

“Why would I be dead?” he asked, looking back up at Alex.

For a minute Alex simply gazed at him wordlessly.

“I don’t know,” he said. There was a pause as both of them finally looked at each other, fully aware that this was real. And then Alex threw his arms around Willie to return the hug. Willie had to raise himself up on his toes to avoid falling over, and he tightened his grip to remain steady. He felt joy spread through his whole torso and breathed a sigh of relief as hands tangled into his hair. “But that doesn’t matter. I’m so happy to see you.”

[tardytothepardy]

hm

Ok, so I've just finished reading through Gakuen Alice, the whole finale and everything, and I kinda feel like it was either rushed, or missing something. There were just weird elements to it, and stuff that doesn't make sense to me.

(massive spoilers for a lot of the series below, just an fyi)

So, in the finale, Mikan's been taken away from Alice Academy, and has been away from it for a couple years. She has no memory of anything from that time, though she sometimes still gets hit by intense emotions unexpectedly, most likely parts of her memory trying to get through. She's a high school student, she's 16 years old, and apparently there's recently been an incident of kidnappings in the area that seem to specifically target girls around her age.

So when she goes down to the beach with her two friends, simply called Sa-chan and Shi-chan, and a bunch of shit starts going down, there's reason to panic, right? Ahh, there's a bunch of men here that I don't know that are going to kidnap me!!! But then, another group of men that she doesn't know show up and beat them up! Whoa! Then, randomly, for some reason, one of her friends just smooshes up her face and suddenly she's an entirely different person. But that's not all. All these new strange men seem to know her, and they have crazy powers! There's one guy who just made all the kidnappers pass out with a wave of his hand! Another guy seemed to just make fire spring out of nowhere! What the fuck??

I just,, the way that Narumi and Tsubasa and Natsume and Tonouchi and fuckin,,, everyone else just seems to think it's so funny and wacky that Mikan, who does not remember any of them, is freaking out and thinking they are going to kidnap her, it bothers me. Like, imagine just going through your day, then a bunch of weird men who act like they know you surround you completely, then just laugh at you when you freak out. What the hell.

I just generally have gripes about how the characters act, basically. It's just fucking weird to me, idk. Could it be due to the fact that I read all of this within the span of maybe three days? Sure. But still.

Starting off, I just have to talk about how Natsume,,, acted? behaved? responded? something,, to Mikan. He fecking grabbed her wrist (and uh, again, she hasn't remembered who any of these people are yet) and just fuggin stares at her. Sure, that does trigger something in Mikan's memory, and she's starting to vaguely re-remember stuff, but then he just??? grabs her chest????? What????? WHy?? Would??? you??? do?? that????? I just,,, I know that he did do shit like that earlier in the series, constantly making comments about how flat her chest was (YOUR HONOR SHE'S FECKING TEN YEARS OLD WHAT'S YOUR DEFENSE) and looking down her shirt or whatever, but,, from around the first Christmas party onwards, he never pulled any of that shit. He never made comments about any of that weird shit, none of that. I (foolishly, apparently) thought that he had,, I dunno,, kinda moved on from that whole,,,, assault,,, thing,,, but no. Guess not.

And like, at this point, idk how old he would be, but probably around 17 ish years old. Wh-- why?? What,, what-- WHY DID HE DO THAT??? WHY DID HE THINK THAT WAS A CORRECT THING TO DO??? It was bad enough when they were younger and actually knew each other, it's fucking gross and uncomfortable now that they're both older and SHE DOESN'T FUCKING REMEMBER WHO THE FUCK HE IS. To her, he's just some random creep who groped her? Ah, teenage romance, what a dream~~

After that.... incident, a few other things happen, but he just fucking grabs her (she still hasn't fully realized what is going on or who any of these random men are) and fukkin yells at her for leaving the school before he woke up, all those years ago. Dude, buddy, pal, friendo, she didn't have any control over any of that shit. She wasn't the reason that Nodacchi brought him back a week or so after Mikan left, she didn't know any of that!! She was waiting that whole time, but she didn't have any control over when Nodacchi would bring back Natsume, I just,,, why. It annoys me immensely.

(i'm rereading through the whole interaction again and uh,, yeah that one panel where he's holding her and just starts talking about shit that she doesn't remember or understand and then fuggin says "You are mine"??? UH,, DUDE?? NO. STOP. Props to Mikan for not losing her shit bc I definitely would. I'd be having a panic attack or something, this is an intensely stressful situation and I just,,, The sighs that I am sighing are so intense. Disappointment is accompanying every exhale, I stg.)

It is only after Mikan absorbs that fragment of her first Alice stone that she even starts to remember stuff and I just,, I do not like it.

Moving on from that, Ruka. What's up with him. What's he been doing this whole time. Idk. He just feels weird to me. Maybe it's the fact that everyone's all grown up and all seem to be experiencing a particularly nasty case of same-face-syndrome, but he just seems so,,, bland? Empty? There's something off about it, I don't get it. I mean, at least Ruka doesn't try to do something to Mikan when she hasn't remembered who tf he is, so he has that going for him.

At least he has a purpose beyond just standing there: it's to give Mikan those earbuds that Hotaru made, and they allow for Mikan to hear Hotaru's voice which spurs her to become determined to find her. (Also apparently whenever this is all taking place, that is actually Mikan's birthday. Some point in the summer, I think? I can't say for sure without checking the wiki.) (ok so I looked at the wiki and it says her birthday is May 17th, so, yeah.)

But yeah I just,, after Mikan remembers everything and agrees that she wants to find Hotaru, the entire Class B from when Mikan was in the Alice Academy is suddenly transported there, and among the things that I saw, I saw that Nobara and Persona,,, had a kid??? What??? I'm confused. Never mind the fact that he's probably like twice her age, easily, but like,,, where tf did that come from? I don't get why that happened. It's weird. Why? Why was that a thing? I'm confused.

I'm not sure that I'm just underwhelmed, I think I'm also kinda disappointed, honestly. The series had been picking up so much steam, there were so many things going on, feelings were developing and growing, and I was completely caught up in it. But after the scene where Hotaru and Subaru sacrifice themselves so that Mikan can be with Natsume in the future I just,, wasn't really feeling it? I mean, I was crying all the way through to when Mikan was being taken out of Alice Academy, that was sad and stuff, but then the last few chapters just felt so rushed. So many things (but it also felt like too few things) were just piled on top of each other, one thing after another, I didn't feel anything. I was expecting to be elated once Mikan and Natsume were reunited, after all, that was the whole reason why Hotaru sacrificed herself. I fuckin watched him die, and I was screaming and rocking around in my chair and hyperventilating, I was caught up in all of that. But when Mikan did remember everything and stuff, I was fine. "Oh, cool. That's nice." I don't even know why, honestly.

I think, really, that (and this sounds questionable) I preferred everyone as kids. Because up to this point, they've all been kids. The way that they act are the ways that kids act (more or less, no kid should be through a fraction of what these kids were through), and I became familiar with them. But now everyone's grown up, they're almost adults, but since this is the finale, there isn't time to show how people have changed, and so they just feel one-dimensional. Like, I think one of the main reasons why Natsume's actions threw me off so much was that, like I said, it seemed like he had dropped that behavior (of um, groping, assaulting, harassment, stuff like that) kinda early on in the story. From at least the first Christmas party and onward, he never made weird comments, he just didn't do weird shit, and that's why it's so weird that that's what he decided to do. "Hey, how I can jog the memory of the girl that I fell in love with all those years ago? Well, I suppose I can grab her chest and comment on how it's bigger. That seems like a solid plan." Dude, what? No.

This whole encounter, of finding Mikan, was a thing that was thought about, almost certainly planned, for who knows how long, but it just kinda feels like they (the entire group) had like, a week, to come up with a plan to find Mikan, try to get her memories back, and then ???? something???

It's weird, I'm tired, and kinda disappointed. Which is really sad, because I really liked the story up until the finale. I almost feel like there's something else, to the story. That chapter 180 isn't the end, but that's as far as I could read it, so that's all I could get from it.

[dreaming-of-assclass]

Oooooo if 3-E were supernatural creatures who would be what 👀👀👀

Oooohh this is interesting to think about! I’m sorry, I don’t know a lot haha so I did some research to have more options!!

Karma: Demon

I feel like I don’t need to elaborate on this too much lmao. The boy is mischievous, LOVES to mess with mortals for no reason. When he’s feeling a particularly strong emotion, usually rage, excitement, etc, his eyes glow a shade of yellow-gold (like what canon showed)

Isogai: Demi-God

His crazy perfection in everything has to come from somewhere. His father was a God who left his realm and lost his immortality to be with Isogai’s mother, a mortal. Isogai only became aware of his heritage after his father’s passing.

Okajima: Half-Angel

LMAO I mostly picked this for the irony, but it kinda fits ngl. He’s generally a good, loyal, kind person and a very good friend. His perverted nature is his one big flaw and comes from the influence of his mortal father, who was his main guardian since his mother remained on Heaven.

Okano: Werewolf

I’m gonna credit this one to @greengargouille haha. They made a wonderful post about this idea that I still adore with my whole heart. But yeah, Okano being a badass werewolf with crazy athleticism and defying femininity expectations? Yes please.

Okuda: Witch

She excels in potion-making, of course. She comes from a long line of witches and magic-users in her family. So she feels quite a bit of pressure to be successful. She’s very talented but needs a tad bit more of control in her magic.

Kataoka: Mermaid

This one shouldn’t be a surprise haha. She’s a very strong and powerful swimmer...but where does all that raw talent come from? Surprise, Megu is a mermaid and she can transform between her physical forms at will. She loves the water because it’s her home and what she knows best.

Kayano: Part-Phoenix

I don’t know how this works and how someone can be part-Phoenix lmao, but it fits her way too well. A being that goes out in flames and starts a new life...isn’t that basically what Kayano did after her reveal? Her new life is her going by Akari again and showing her true colors to the class.

Kanzaki: Goddess

She’s apart of a very royal family of gods...all with ridiculously high standards and little respect for her. Kanzaki is very powerful and has so much raw potential but she’s never been able to show it. Her best skills are teleportation, invisibility, and a strong grasp on aerokinesis.

Kimura: Centaur

I’m serious about this one lmao. He’s a very fast runner and impresses everyone, and it’s thanks to his strong physique and raw energy in centaur form. Don’t worry, he can shape-shift back to a human form, but he hates it because he loses his height and is back to being 160 cm.

Kurahashi: Fairy

Of course, this bright, sunny, cheerful sweet girl could only be a fairy. She has a very strong connection to nature and wildlife, to the point that if they’re harmed, she feels the pain. Her wings are very tiny at age 14 can easily hide underneath her clothes. But by adulthood, they’re grown and able to use for flight.

Nagisa: Half-Ghoul

Surprise...this soft boy is actually half-evil :’). His father is actually a ghoul, and Nagisa was very much unaware of it for all his life. Hiromi kept it a secret and tried to suppress that part of him too. Basically I imagine what it means for Nagisa is that death draws him, and his physiology is why he has such a high bloodlust. When he’s pushed to his limits, he’s terrifying... (cough Takaoka cough)

Sugaya: Wizard

He comes from a relatively average line of wizards, who all moved to the mortal realm and own artisan businesses. Sugaya wishes to do something similar and follow his passion for art. He mostly uses his magic for that, levitating his brushes, enhancing his work, creating new things. He’s quite talented at conjuring.

Sugino: Angel

Yes, I’m serious about this. Sugino is a very good person and always strives to lead others down the right path. He’s good at guiding, but even he wants to live for himself for once. So he learns what baseball is and grows a strong love for it.

Takebayashi: Wizard

Unlike Sugaya, he comes from a super prestigious line of successful and powerful wizards. His family is one of the top ones. He feels immense pressure to live up to them. His talents lie in fire magic, particularly creating explosions. And he’s a very skilled healer.

Chiba: Half-Dragon

Fitting considering his name 💜 He has the ability to change between his human and dragon form, but it’s very shaky for now. His eyes are a bright, terrifying shade of red, and it exposes his dragon heritage so he must hide it.

Terasaka: Half-Titan

His Titan physiology is the reason for his raw strength and physical prowess. He’s incredibly strong and has a high endurance, durability, stamina... He’s a talented fighter and will always use his advantage to protect his loved ones.

Nakamura: Siren

She hates being a siren so much. She has to deal with boring mortal guys all the time, who for some reason, love her voice. She gets a real kick out of fooling them though, and the pranks are always chaotic. Since she’s been having to sing and use her voice, she’s gotten the chance to learn many languages. She has an affinity for them, and wants to continue learning more.

Hazama: Witch

I know this is a little cliche. But in contrast to the potion-centered Okuda, Hazama excels in linguistic spells. She keeps a journal of every new one she learns, as well as images of herbs and such. She’s very interested in dark arts, but will only indulge in it with the presence of someone else, to make sure she doesn’t fall too deep.

Hayami: Witch

Wow I’m really repeating so many. Hayami is a very hardworking, talented witch. But she’s so focused on helping others, she tends to get taken advantage of unfortunately. She’s best at transfigurations, altering things to her (and others) liking. Her favorite test subject is Okajima. She’s quite talented in hand-to-hand combat and having kinetic vision, which helps in magic. She wants a cat as a familiar so badly.

Hara: Fairy

Hara says “fuck you” to the idea that fairies are traditionally small and frail. She’s proud of her physique and strength, and her interest in fighting. She’s still the sweetest fairy there could be, always looking after everyone and all of nature. She loves cooking and sharing it with as many people as she can find.

Fuwa: Ghost

Yep our crazy, lively Fuwa is a ghost! Specifically, she’s a poltergeist, the kind who try to create mischief in some way and move things around. The reason why Fuwa is kinda wild and open about her passions is so she can be noticed by people...if her presence isn’t being acknowledged, she loses her physical form and goes back to being a transparent spirit. It isn’t all bad though. Her favorite thing to do is read mangas in ghost form, so all people see is a floating copy of One Piece.

Maehara: Vampire

This one is a little cliche lmao, but he’s a vampire playboy who always ends up accidentally turning his girlfriends into vampires too with his bites. No one ever suspects him of being a vampire since he looks like sunshine incarnate. He’s quite reckless and has come close to being exposed multiple times, and Isogai always scolds him.

Mimura: Elf

Poor boy is a little insecure about being an Elf...he tries his best not to stand out, especially given his dad’s love for the spotlight. He is good at basic magic, slightly above average. His best talent and what he excels at is photokinesis. He uses it on his filming hobby, to change what’s on camera, adjust lighting, etc. He can go as far as even completely remove shadows from the sunlight.

Muramatsu: Alchemist

He comes from a relatively average family of alchemists that used their abilities for culinary purposes. He enjoys it a lot, and is very talented. He prefers to rely on physical prowess when it comes to fights, but is able to use his alchemy additionally.

Yada: Vampire

Yada is the hot vampire girlfriend we all wish we had 😔 Just kidding haha. But yes, she’s a vampire and no one would ever expect it with how good she is at hiding. She plans out her life and days to specifically avoid sunlight, garlic, etc. She’s a very busy member of the school community and has tons of friends and connections. She and Maehara, her fellow vampire, constantly compete to see who can get more dates.

Yoshida: Werewolf

This is slightly cliche since he’s the resident bad boy, but it fits. He tries to keep a tough image even in human form partly since his family taught him to do so, and because it is comfortable for him. But he’s a softie deep down, and is nowhere near as ruthless as he’s believed to be.

Ritsu: Magic Mirror?

Hmm this is kind of the only option I see fitting for her as it correlates to her role in canon. One classmate has to carry the mirror around for her to communicate, but she’s very powerful and helpful.

Itona: Mummy

Ok so storyline here: he was abandoned to die by his family centuries ago, and his 13 body was mummified against his will. In present time, Shiro awakens him, revives him, and uses him as a tool. He goes through a lot...but is able to live a peaceful life with 3-E once all that is over. He wears bandages almost everywhere, only exposing his eyes which glow yellow when he’s using his power.

Bonus:

Gakushuu is a Demi-God, of course. He’s pretty annoyed that his elemental magic only extends to hydrokinesis and cryokinesis, but he’s still amazingly talented.

Ren is a Merman who flirts with girls at the beach with sappy poetry. He’s gotten caught in a fisher net too many times.

Seo is an Ogre.

[queenof-literature]

Hey! Before anything I have to admit I found your stories and I LOVED them! And I just found out you were the author to those fantastic stories! I would love to read, from your perspective, how did our heroes met Wild! Or even better how all of them met! I’m sorry if this is a bother

Thank you that’s so kind! Not a bother at all! Sorry again about it taking some more time. I hope you enjoy!

Two months. It had been two months since a strange man introduced himself as Link and asked him to join him on an interdimensional quest. Because of course he did. The first few days it was just Link and him, and he realized he was the man that guided him on his quest to defeat Ganon, and therefore knew his secret. Link had jokingly taken to calling him ‘Pup’ so he growled and responded by calling him ‘Old  Man’. They stuck with those nicknames for a few days, until they were transported to another Hyrule. There they met the gentle Hero of Sky, as he introduced himself.

Twilight didn’t mention the way Time eyed the Master Sword. This new Link had called them the Hero of Time and The Hero of Twilight. Apparently the sword told him. At first, the newly deemed Hero of Twilight had no idea what he was talking about, then Sky had told them who had forged the Master Sword. Sky himself. And he had joined without a second thought, although he did seem sad when he mentioned leaving his Zelda. And now they were an official group of three, with official nicknames. The very night they found Sky, they were taken to another new Hyrule. Hylia wasn’t wasting any time, it seemed. 

Finding the next heroes was much easier. Apparently Time had had a hell of a time finding Twilight. Sky’s Master Sword seemed to whisper to him when they got too far off track, leading them through deadlands and tall trees. There they found the Hero of Hyrule. He was sweet and shy, not quite knowing what to do with his hands when he talked to them. It was obvious his Hyrule had suffered and he had grown up in the scars Ganon had left on the land. He joined, although he looked at all of them wearily. 

The next had been the Hero of Legend. Twilight thought he was an asshole. He was snarky and blunt and rude. Twilight had a hard time keeping his cool around him. Time had taken him aside and told him the Hero of Legend had been on more quests than all of them, and had most likely seen many horrible things. That made Twilight more forgiving. He still didn’t like him. 

Once again they were thrown into a different Hyrule. This time the Master Sword led them to a small blacksmith shop. There they met the smallest teenager they had ever seen. The Hero of Four Swords. They had no idea why the sword called him that, but they didn’t know the meaning behind each other's names at all really. Sky lived in the Sky, Legend had been on many quests, Hyrule saved Hyrule? Maybe Time saved a giant clock or something. 

An hour later they were in a new Hyrule. Hylia seemed to be getting more and more impatient. This time they found the Hero of Warriors, or as Legend called him, Pretty Boy. Twilight could see why. He seemed extremely popular with women in his Hyrule and he knew it. But he had a quiet power to him as well. Eyes that said he has seen war and triumphed. That explained the name. Hylia let them rest for a day this time, before tossing them somewhere else. How many Links were there going to be? Twilight didn’t know how much he could handle. 

They landed on a beach. More specifically an island, with a vast ocean that hit their noses with a salty smell. There they found the Hero of Wind. An enthusiastic and happy 14 year old boy. It sent a small stutter through his heart when he realized how young Wind was, but he seemed happy enough. Hopefully his adventure hadn’t scarred the boy too much. Warriors and Wind had gotten on like a wildfire, almost instantly gaining a bond that Twilight wouldn’t admit he was jealous of. Wind barley got to say goodbye to his family before they were thrown to another Hyrule. But this time, the sword didn’t speak. Finally they could focus on the mission Hylia was going to give them. They were a band of eight Links. 

It had taken two weeks to assemble all of the Links completely, and it had been six weeks since then. Over the few weeks they had managed to form some team dynamics. Time was the unanimous unofficial leader that no one really questioned, and that was fine with everybody. Twilight and Warriors would both try to assist him in leading when they split up or when Time was busy, which caused the two to butt heads on more than one occasion. No matter how annoying Warriors and the other boys got though, he still felt a strong kinship with them. Legend had taken a subtle shine to Hyrule, and Sky and Four had gotten close as well. Twilight shouldn’t be jealous, after all he has Time. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off, something was missing. He never mentioned anything, he didn’t know if the others felt the empty hole in their dynamic, and there was no way he would be the first to mention it. Twilight knew Time was aware something was going on, but what was he supposed to say? Twilight himself didn’t understand what was wrong. 

It’s not that Twilight thought he didn’t belong, the others had included him in conversations and he has befriended all of them to an extent. There was just a missing piece that he couldn’t explain. 

“Pup. I’ve been trying to get your attention.” Time stated, not unkindly, causing Twilight to shake himself out of his thoughts. 

“Sorry, Time. I was just distracted. What’s up?” Time gave him an incredulous look, and Twilight noticed all of the other Links were looking at him as well. It was then Twilight saw a dark swirling mass ahead. Oh, a portal. When did that get there?

“Seriously Goat Boy? You missed an entire portal? You really must be out of it.” Warriors teased, but Twilight could see a hint of concern in his eyes. 

“Yeah.” Twilight scratched the back of his head. “I don’t know what’s going on. I’m just having trouble focusing today.”

“We’ll go through the portal and see what’s what.” Time thankfully changed the subject, though Twilight knew they were going to talk about this later. 

The group gave affirmative nods and began cautiously wandering into the portal two at a time. Six weeks together had given them plenty of time to practice ehat worked best when facing a new world. Going two people at a time allowed them to better defend against immediate threats if they were right past the portal. 

Twilight held his breath as he and Time went through the portal first, he always did. The portals all reeked of strange magic Twilight couldn’t place, yet still somehow reminded him of Midna. A lot of magic did... 

What greeted him on the other side of the portal was slightly surprising. When he emerged, Twilight was immediately met with trees full of beautiful leaves, each a different shade of red, orange and yellow. Looking up, he saw they were directly under a natural arch beginning a canyon behind them. Looking behind them, he could see a brightly glowing blue structure on top of a tall rock formation that seemed to be a tower. What in Hylia’s name was that? 

As the others emerged behind them, they were also slightly taken aback by the colors of this world, especially Hyrule. Twilight didn’t know much about his Hyrule, but he knew since he first visited that something bad had happened. Each of their Hyrules were beautiful in different ways, and this one was certainly no exception. 

“Is this anyone’s Hyrule? Or are we in another strange one?” Time questioned, only receiving negative responses. “Guess we’ll have to find the threat in this one too.” Time ordered, but his voice was slightly wary. None of them had seen their Hyrules in awhile, and it was starting to wear on them a little. Twilight knew why it did with Time, he had a wife waiting for him. Wind had his family. And some of the others just missed knowing where to go and places of comfort. 

They were all interrupted from their thoughts with a massive roar that echoed through the small canyon. Snapping their heads in the direction of the sound, they were met with a terrifying beast in the distance. He heard Legend shout something about a ‘Lynel’. It had the body of the horse, a huge face with beady eyes and two horns, and a long, proud mane. Before any of them could react, or ask Legend for advice on how to handle the creature, they heard the sound of an arrow being nocked, and a beam of light being launched at them.

“Move!” Time shouted, causing the boys to roll to the side just as multiple flames burst up right where they were standing, the portal disappearing now that they were all out. 

“Run! We don’t have the supplies to take it on!” Legend yelled. The rest of the boys listened instantly, since Legend seemed experienced on the matter. 

“They stop chasing eventually!” Hyrule yelled. Ah, seems he had them too. 

They ran in the direction of the glowing blue structure, feet beating on the ground and hearts thumping with adrenaline. They heard the Lynel scream again, but this time it seemed out of pain. Looking back slightly, Twilight could barely see a yellow field around the Lynel that was… shocking it? Twilight stopped and turned around, the Lynel wasn’t focused on them anymore, it was looking around trying to find something, probably whatever had hurt it. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” Legend yelled as he stopped too, about to drag Twilight away. Twilight simply pointed at the Lynel. Right as the others looked at the beast, an arrow pierced its eye from the trees. Whoever was helping them was apparently a skilled archer. 

“Do we help? What if they get hurt?” Sky asked, looking on with worry. Before anyone could answer, a lean figure launched out of the trees with a gust of wind out of nowhere, using an odd cloth to glide down. In a blink of an eye, the figure shot one arrow, then two, then three into the Lynel’s shoulders and legs. The Lynel roared in pain and shot a flaming arrow right at the figure. 

“Look out!” Cried Wind. The stranger simply dissipated the cloth in a ripple of blue before landing directly onto the Lynels back. 

The group looked on in awe and horror as their savior summoned a weapon twice the size of him from the odd slate on his hip, and began cutting into the back of Lynel, avoiding being bucked off. The Lynel charged forward and the stranger gracefully flipped off its back and summoned a small colorful shield encrusted with bright jewels.  The group could now see him a little more clearly. He was relatively small and covered in a large cloak, hood drawn. His tunic was sky blue, a bit lighter than Wind’s shirt, and he wore simple brown pants and boots. His posture was powerful and elegant. None of them knew this man, but they could see he was in his element. This was a battle fought many times. At the moment he was just standing in a loose defensive stance. 

“What is he doing?” Sky whispered fearfully. He wanted to thank the man properly, but he didn’t want to jump in the fight and get in his way when he had no knowledge of the creature's weak spots. The rest of the heroes all looked on nervously as the Lynel raised slightly on its hind legs… a threw a ball of fire from its mouth?

“Holy shit!” Twilight yelled as he ran forward trying to get there in time. There was no way he would make it in time, but the stranger was just standing there! Did he give into fear and freeze? Before Twilight could make it even 10 steps, he froze in astonishment as the man parried the fireball at the exact moment of impact, launching it back into the face of Lynel, who screeched in rage and anguish. Whoever this man was, was absolutely terrifying. Wreaking elegant havoc on the battlefield without batting an eye. 

“Twilight!” Sky whisper-shouted, gesturing madly to the now unwrapped sword on his back. Twilight recognized the faint glow and looked on in shock.

“He could just be vital to our quest. We haven't met another Link for six weeks, I doubt we’ll meet one now. Wrap the sword back up though. We don’t want him freaking out if he has a connection to it and he sees you holding it.” Warriors told Sky, who nodded and wrapped the sword back in its cloth. They had found it was better to explain first, then show the sword. 

The stranger ran forward again, sending arrows forward ahead of him that exploded on impact, fire rushing all around him and the beast. The beast charged forward and swung its massive sword, which the man dodged at the last moment, sending an impossibly swift attack to the Lynel’s legs. The Lynel was only just beginning to weaken, and Twilight can’t help but imagine how it would have gone if this stranger hadn’t shown up. Once again the Lynel spit fire from its mouth. The man’s stance grew sturdier and he readied himself for another parry. Only this time, the shield shattered on impact, still launching back the blast to the Lynel, but burning the strangers arm in the process, pieces of metal sticking in his lower arm. The group shouted in worry, but the man didn’t even hesitate, pulling another shield from his odd device, and launching himself at the Lynel again. He shot a final arrow into the Lynel’s other eye, and swept himself onto it’s back to deliver the final blow. The Lynel disappeared with a final roar, and the stranger began casually collecting parts left behind. It took the group a couple of moments to process what in Hylia just happened.

An insane hooded stranger just rushed into danger, jumped on a Lynel, rode it while hitting it, burned all the area around them, and defeated the beast single handed. And destroyed his arm! Oh wait. He destroyed his arm!

“That was amazing but are you okay!” Sky yelled rushing forward. The stranger whipped around as Sky ran towards him, the rest of the group following him. The man whipped out a sword, and pointed it in front of him, causing Sky to skid to a halt a couple of feet in front of him. 

“Put the sword down. We’re just trying to see if you’re okay.” Legend huffed only to receive a slap upside the head from Hyrule.

“I’m sorry, sir. We didn’t mean to scare you. We are very thankful for you saving us, we just want to make sure your arm is okay.” Four placated. The stranger had a white knuckled grip on his sword. While he seemed confident in taking the Lynel down, this was a different stance. This was a stance that showed he was more scared of people than he was of a terrifying fire breathing monster ten times his size. The man simply gave a thumbs up and stepped back slightly. 

“Wait.” Time stepped forward from the huddled Links, but not close enough to cause any more aggression with the stranger. “We apologize for running to you so suddenly. Thank you for saving us. We grew up sheltered and are very new to this part of Hyrule.” The lie they used to not alert anyone of their unnatural presence in new worlds slipped off Time’s tongue easily now. “I’m sorry to ask this of you after you saved us, but is there a place to rest around here? Perhaps we could buy you a warm meal as payment, and help you with your arm if you would allow us.” Time had a talent of calming a tense environment, like a true leader, Twilight mused. To their shock, the man didn’t speak, only lifting the hand not holding the sword, now bloodied and burned from the fight.

‘I can take you to the nearest stable. I don’t need payment.’ The stranger signed simply, trying desperately to keep the shakiness of his hand at bay. 

“Thank you!” Wind called out, a beaming smile on his face at the idea of a place with a roof. Wind certainly didn’t mind being out in nature, but it had been awhile since they got to stay in a building. Maybe this stable had a place to stay along the road next to it! Maybe it was in a large town he could explore!

The stranger simply nodded and walked ahead. The Links sent questioning looks to each other and followed behind. Wind ran ahead to be next to the stranger to see his hands, but kept a respectful distance. “What’s your name?” Wind asked enthusiastically. Warriors smirked. That little shit was gathering intel. 

‘Link.’ The stranger fingerspelled shortly. Wind glanced back at Time to confirm he saw correctly. They all could understand some sign, but some were far more rusty than others, and only Time and Sky to an extent could physically do sign. 

“Hi Link! My name is Wind!” If the stranger saw the name as odd, he didn’t show it. Only nodding politely. He kept a brisk pace, still having a tense hold on his sword in his non-injured hand. 

“Um. Maybe we should stop and take care of your hand? If you leave those shards in, it could get infected.” Four reasoned. Link simply kept walking forward. 

“Just because you saved us doesn’t mean you can be rude.” Legend snapped. Twilight attempted to put a calming hand on his shoulder, only to have it brushed off. “Why don’t you talk to us? We’re not going to hurt you.” Legend knew it wasn’t that simple. To just reassure the stranger they wouldn’t hurt him wasn't exactly an airtight plan. But past experience made being ignored absolutely infuriating. The stranger’s grip on his sword only grew tighter as he continued to move forward. No matter how much the group tried to talk to him, the stranger wouldn’t respond unless absolutely necessary, and never verbally. 

After about two hours of walking at a brisk pace, they had emerged from the small cliffs surrounding them and were approaching an oddly shaped building. Along the way, Link collected any mushroom or plant that crossed his path. He was certainly an odd man. He seemed constantly on edge with the eight of them there, but had no qualms about gathering strange and brightly colored mushrooms and shoving them into his odd looking slate.

The building they were approaching had a large head that looked to be a horse, and had the structure of a large tent. It looked strange, but also very homey. As they grew closer, they saw some Hylians for the first time in this gigantic world. There was what looked to be a guard of some sort pacing in front of a man at a counter. He must have been the owner. Some other men and women were heading inside. Along with the Hylians was a soft brown dog trotting around some goats and horses. With the small gasp Twilight gave, the group of heroes knew they would have a hell of a time getting Twilight away from this place. Sky’s eyes lit up as he spotted two cuccos among the goats, dashing off to hold them as Legend retched in disgust. The rest of the group laughed at his excitement, but Time could see twilight barely restraining himself from rushing off to pet the horses and goats and hold the dog in his lap. 

The new Link pointed at the man at the counter, most likely gesturing to speak to him as he made his way to the fire with a pot placed above it. Time nodded and went to discuss sleeping arrangements with the excitable owner. Having no other job to do, Twilight calmly made his way to the small corral of animals, before losing all composure and sitting amongst the odd-looking goats and cooing at how soft they were. Looking back at the new Link, he was throwing something in the cooking pot, before making his way over to Twilight. Twilight felt excitement grow in his chest. Now that they were in a safe place, would this new Link finally talk?

But Link simply sat down in the animal pen a good six feet from Twilight, placing his sword on the ground next to him, and reached out to pet the excited dog who had all but tackled him as soon as he sat down. Once the dog calmed down slightly, Link began to remove shield shards from his arm, not even flinching at the pain of removing metal from his skin. Twilight was surprised, but figured he should be the one to start the conversion. 

“We have goats like this in my H- where I come from.” Hopefully Link wouldn’t pick up on Twilight’s mistake. “I helped raise and herd them.” Twilight finished, looking up at the new Link. Link shook his head, then signed something Twilight didn’t understand. “I’m sorry, I know sign but I don’t know what you just said.” Twilight apologized. Link froze in surprise for a second, perhaps not expecting Twilight to know any sign at all. Then pointed to the sheep Twilight was petting and fingerspelling what he wanted to say.

‘Sheep.’ The word spelled out. Twilight’s eyes widened in realization. 

“Oh! Are these sheep?” Twilight asked, continuing to pet the creature beside him. Link nodded. Twilight wished he could see Links face, the hood did a great job of obscuring it completely. He didn’t think asking Link to take the hood off would go very well, so he just paid close attention to the little head movements he could see. Link abruptly stood, seemingly finished with taking the shield shards out of his arm, and summoned a pink liquid from his slate thing, and drank barely enough to heal his arm. Twilight was surprised and slightly worried with how little he seemed to care about his own injuries, musing on this as Link made his way back to the cooking pot to stir whatever he was cooking for himself, perhaps a meal to further help his arm?

The group could finally relax slightly. Sky loving on the cuccos, Time and Twilight paying attention to the horses and sheep, Legend and Warriors quietly chatting and bickering under a tree, Hyrule and Wind off running around and exploring, and Four reading one of his books, evening descended upon them peacefully. Twilight noticed a movement in the corner of his eye, Link seemed to be waving slightly to gain his attention. Twilight nudged Time and began walking over there.

“You okay, Link?” Twilight asked once he was next to the man. The man scooted away from Twilight, apparently deeming him too close, before signing a short ‘dinner’. That one took Twilight by surprise. 

“For us?” Time asked gently. Link nodded his head. ‘Rice.’ He finger spelled. “That’s very kind, thank you Link.” Time said with a smile. “Boys!” Time called, causing all of the Links to look up and Hyrule and Wind to come running back from the treeline. “Link was kind enough to make us rice for dinner.” Causing Link to sink deeper into his hood at the attention and thanks he received from the group.

“Wait.” Legend said, stepping forward.

“Legend.” Hyrule warned, but Legend ignored him.

“No, Hyrule. We don’t know who he is. We haven’t seen his face. He could be a sorcerer trying to trick us.” Although it seemed ridiculous for some of them, they could see where Legend was worried. Link’s hands twitched. He didn’t know why he wanted these men to trust him, but he did. So without letting himself think about it too much, he yanked his hood down and glared at Legend with as much force as he could muster. 

The first thing they saw were the scars. Twisting and webbing from his ear to across some of the right side of his face, before disappearing under his tunic, where the group could only imagine how horrible it was under there. The second thing they noticed was how young he was. Only a year or two older than Wind, far too young to have those scars. They had been calling him a man, but he was only a boy. Something seemed to click for them. This only confirmed it, this was another hero. Another hero they had not known existed. Why had Hylia waited so long? The sword singing in his head only grew louder,and without thinking, Sky unwrapped the sword from its cloth, and Link freaked out. Picking up his sword and backing away slightly, a hard look in his eyes.

“Wait! Don’t panic I can explain!” Sky rushed. Wild froze, but still kept his defensive stance.

“We are Heroes of Courage, just like you. We come from different worlds and different timelines. Hylia has sent us here to ask for your help. There is an unknown threat, strong enough to require multiple heroes. It’s an infection, spreading across timelines and Hyrules. I’m sure it will infect yours too. Please, join us.” Time figured that with this hero, short and to the point would be the best way of going about this, just like Legend. The boy looked skeptical, and didn’t put down the sword.

“I know you know this is the truth.” Sky said gently. “The Master Sword tells you it is.” Link froze. This man could hear the Master Sword? He had to be a hero of courage, no one else could feel it. Link lowered his sword, but kept his guard up. 

‘Can I touch it?’ Link signed. Sky nodded and reached the sword out, not letting go, but allowing Link to touch a hand to its blade. Instantly Link knew it was true. The sword spoke no words to him, but he could feel with all of his being that this was a part of his destiny. 

‘Okay.’ Link signed simply. 

“Okay you’ll join us?” Wind asked carefully, cheering loudly when Link nodded his head. The others smiled at him, although Legend looked slightly guilty. He could see the scars on the kid’s neck. Maybe that’s why he didn’t talk…

Time tried to put a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder, only to have him jump back as if he had been burned, and pull his hood up once again. Time looked upon the boy with sad eyes. This confirmed Link didn’t just not trust strangers. He didn’t trust anyone. After Link handed out the food, the group sat around the fire, Link staying far away. 

“Holy shit! He can cook!” Warriors cheered.

“Tbish ish amashbing!” Wild yelled with his mouth full, getting a smack on the head from Legend. 

“We’re keeping him.” Four stated simply. 

“Four, you can’t just claim someone.” Hyrule stated.

“I just did.”

“Guys. He’s trying to ask a question.” Twilight chided. Immediately the group swerved around to see Link with his hands up. 

‘Are you all named Link?’ He asked. 

“Yes. We all have nicknames based on our hero titles. The sword gives them to us.” Time answered. 

“Speaking of.” Sky held up the Master Sword as if preparing for a ceremony. The group of Links all leaned forward eagerly awaiting their new friend’s name. Even Legend perked up.

“Welcome, Hero of Wild.”

[theprinceandagcd]

I gave so many signs

Summary: “Something flashes in his expression, only a moment and then gone, but it renews a hope in her. Her Bellamy is still in there. He has to be.”

or some tapping into Clarke’s memory speculation. 

I’m not actually sure how good this is, but I spent a day or so on it and also wanted it to be posted before the episode soooo.... here ya go :) 

also on ao3

I think I’ve seen this film before and I didn’t like the ending you’re not my homeland anymore so what am I defending now?

------

The lights are too bright, and the memories come in flashes, each one moving so quickly that Clarke can barely keep up. The ache in her head pulses with each rapid beat in her heart. She cries out each time the machine whirs, the pain almost unbearable.

She only knows she has to protect Madi—the disciples, Bellamy, can’t know that she holds the flame’s memories. Regardless of where Bellamy may stand, he hasn’t yet given up that secret, and so it’s one that she pushes back with everything she has.

So, everything else flows freely. She can’t stop it.

She sees drawings from the Ark, Wells, Finn, Lexa, the hundred—they all flood past like a damn breaking. The noise that yanks itself from her throat sounds inhuman, and the hurt in her head leaks into her heart as she relives some of her worst memories.

Her father being taken away.

Her mother—or her face, at least—being sucked out into space.

“Together.” A hand over hers—she can almost feel his fingers covering her own.

“We need more information about the flame.” She isn’t sure who it is that speaks. “What do you remember from when it was in your head?”

The memories slow, and she’s back on the top level of Polis, opening her mouth to take the City of Light chip. Even though her Bellamy is not the one that stands off to her left, she remembers clearly the feeling of his hand in hers and it allows her to take a breath, to refocus.

But then she’s thinking of her Bellamy, of his hand on hers at Mount Weather, his arms around her on a dark beach as his tears drip into her hair, his hand brushing across her forehead in a laboratory. A sob escapes her, and she can feel the tears that drifts past her ears.

“Bellamy,” his name slips from her lips, almost a prayer. She stretches her neck, trying to meet his eyes.

Something flashes in his expression, only a moment and then gone, but it renews a hope in her.

Her Bellamy is still in there. He has to be.

She does her best to focus on how much she loves him, and the memories surface. She remembers the kiss she pressed to his cheek when she left after Mount Weather, how much it ripped her chest apart to leave him there. She thinks about his eyes, his smile, the way he’d looked at her when she had begged him to use his head to survive.

The sadness she felt seeing them take off in the rocket, but then the overwhelming happiness that they would be okay. The jealousy that she felt the first time he hugged Echo. Careful, she remembers how heartbroken she had been when he had betrayed her trust, but she leaves Madi out of it. The push that his voice had given her as she’d stared at Josephine, dying, in the mindspace.

The relief she had felt when she opened her eyes and saw him.

“She must be pretty important to you.”

“She is.”

His eyes don’t change much. They mostly seem sad, just around the edges. She can’t just show him, she knows.

She has to tell him.  

Swallowing past the sudden lump in her throat, she closes her eyes and focuses everything she has on a very specific set of memories.

“Hey Bellamy, it’s been 357 days since Praimfaya. Hopefully you guys are all doing okay up there. I… I miss you. I miss everyone, but I never realized how much I would miss you. I don’t even know if you can hear these, but if this is all I get, it’ll have to be enough. I’m trying to stay positive, but not seeing you is tough. I wish I knew… I wish I knew that you were okay.”

“Hey, Bellamy. It’s been 962 days since Praimfaya, and… I started telling Madi our stories. She loves them, of course. She already loves you. Her favorite story so far is learning about you and Octavia, and how you two survived on the Ark. Her other favorite is… She loves hearing about those first days. I’m sure you remember, when all we did was fight? Sometimes I wonder, if I had known how much I would come to care about you, if I would have still fought you so hard. I think maybe I would have, because I’m pretty stubborn, and you are, too. Anyway, I hope you’re okay. I miss you, every day. Obviously.”

Clarke strains, trying to meet Bellamy’s eyes as her voice continues to fill the room. His gaze meets hers, his face carefully stoic. Her tears are pooling on the headrest beneath her, soaking her hair.

“Hey, Bellamy. 1,548 days have passed now. It’s getting closer to when it’ll be safe for you guys to all come back. Today, Madi said something interesting. She was… she was looking at a picture that I drew of you, and she stared at it for a really long time and then she asked ‘Did you ever tell Bellamy you loved him?’ I didn’t really know what she meant, I mean, I’m sure you know how important you are to me. But she… she insisted, saying that she thinks I love you… more than I’ve admitted to her. She’s so smart, honestly. Because I do, of course. And I had to tell her that I never did admit how much I love you to your face. And God, Bellamy, I really hope you’re alive. Because one day, I would love the chance to tell you. But just in case, I’m telling you now… I love you, Bellamy. I love you.”

“We’re getting nowhere.”

Bellamy’s voice is rough, cutting through the end of the sentences as they fade.

Bill speaks then. “I think I may have underestimated how much you mean to Clarke, Bellamy. Did you know she was in love with you?”

The silence is brief, but heavy. “No.”

“Bellamy, please.” Her voice is quiet, but she knows he hears her.

“We aren’t making progress, my Shephard.”

“On the contrary, I think we have certainly acquired some valuable information today.”

Clarke feels sick as she realizes that in trying to protect Madi, she has given them all her other weakness.

Bellamy.

“Perhaps we should give her a break, once again remind her how all of her friends are alive, despite one of them killing a disciple.” Bellamy’s voice is dark, and Clarke closes her eyes.

Yet, the hand that wraps around her arm to help her up is gentle, and when she glances into Bellamy’s eyes, they’re troubled. “Come on.”

He leads her back to the room, alone, and she feels her feet tripping over themselves in sudden exhaustion. Bellamy seems harder now, out away from the confines of her memories of him. Her voice is echoing in her own head, faded.

“I didn’t know,” he says softly as they get to the door to her room. “How you felt.”

“I’m not sure how you didn’t.” She searches his eyes, imploring him to listen. “Bellamy, they’ll hurt you to get to me.”

“For all mankind, Clarke. You shouldn’t resist.”

She shakes her head, tears stinging the corners of her eyes. “This isn’t you.”

“Maybe it is.”

“I know you. I love you.” The secret it out now—no point in hiding it. “This isn’t my Bellamy.”

His eyes flash again, but it’s gone quickly. “You should get inside. I’ll probably be sent to fetch you in a few hours.”

When he hits the button to open her door and she turns back to him, he reaches up, brushing away a tear still lingering on her cheek.

“Get some rest.”

And then he’s gone.

Clarke’s back hits the wall and she slides down, vaguely aware of Raven asking her something. She doesn’t really hear the words, but she holds the image of Bellamy’s softened eyes as he had helped her up.

“They know I love him. They’re going to hurt him to get to me.” She speaks slowly, a new determination sinking into her chest. “I have to save him. He’s still in there. I saw him… for just a second. I think I know how I can get to him.”

Raven’s hand is on her shoulder, and Clarke meets her eyes. Her friend nods. “So let’s do it. Let’s save him.”

Clarke nods, pushing down her exhaustion.

Bellamy comes first.

[purplecatghostposts]

It’s finally finished so have some HLVRAI Pokémon Mystery Dungeon AU Information!

GORDON-

- The Second Human Turned People Case, though he thinks he’s the first

- Cubone

- Moves: Headbutt, Bonemerange, Fire Punch, Endure

- Ability: Battle Armor

- Apart of Team Sunrise, Partnered with Tommy

- Has no memory other than his name and the fact that he used to be human

- Was first found by Tommy, unconscious on the Beach

- Intially creates an Exploration Team with Tommy to both make Tommy happy since it’s his dream and to search for clues as to why he’s suddenly a Pokémon and how to change back

- However, Gordon ends up liking being in an Exploration Team since a part of the job is about helping others. Gordon’s natural protective nature means he fits the job like a glove

- Trying to find a reason to why he’s not Human anymore but Gordon’s starting to wonder... Does he even want to go back? He likes being in an Exploration Team with Tommy- is there anything for him if he returns to the Human World?

- Was trying to keep his whole ‘Human Turned Pokémon’ thing a secret from the general public but somehow, word gets out

- Doesn’t want to drag Tommy into it when people start searching for Gordon but Tommy won’t leave his side, no matter how hard he tries

TOMMY-

- Gordon’s Exploration Partner (And Just Might Play A Very Important Role In Saving The World)

- Pikachu

- Moves: Thunderbolt, Grass Knot, Agility, Swift

- Ability: Static

- Apart of Team Sunrise, Partnered With Gordon

- Has wanted to be in an Exploration Team since he was a Pichu. His adoptive mother is a retired Explorer who often told him bedtime stories about her adventures, inspiring him

- Now has his own place but keeps in touch with his mom. They’re pretty close

- Was also childhood friends with both Darnold and Benrey. Tommy and Darnold keep in touch while Tommy lost contact with Benrey after he suddenly disappeared- Tommy hasn’t seen him in years... Until now!

- Found Gordon unconscious on the Beach and instantly took him in, letting him stay in his spare room. Given Gordon has nowhere else to go, they’re now roommates!

- Loves being able to travel to new places and seeing all the beautiful places around the world as an Explorer

- Admires Team Wildfire a lot

- Promises to keep Gordon safe and help him figure out who he is and what happened. Will not break this promise, no matter what

BENREY-

- Not What He Seems...

- “Totodile” (Shiny Ditto who’s Very Good at Transforming)

- Moves (As Totodile): Surf, Ice Beam, Crunch, Shadow Claw

- Ability (As Totodile): Sheer Force

- Has no Defensive or Status Moves

- Not apart of any Exploration Team but hangs around Team Sunrise a lot

- Was childhood friends with Tommy (And aquatinted with Darnold)

- Was employed to someone he doesn’t like talk about for a good chunk of his life. Benrey doesn’t talk about what he was employed for either, but it might have something to do with his ability to transform very convincingly...

- Was acquainted with Forzen, though Forzen wouldn’t recognize him in his Totodile form

- Has a lot of secrets. Benrey’s not proud of who he used to be

- A lot more powerful than he looks

- Very few know that Benrey is actually a Ditto given he stays transformed so often. Even fewer can recognize him once he’s transformed

- Almost always on edge, no matter how well he hides it. There’s a high bounty on the head of one of his forms so he has to keep his head down, hiding as a Totodile

- Joins Team Sunrise on a lot of missions despite not being officially apart of the group

- Knows Gordon’s secret and is determined to keep him safe, at all costs

COOMER-

- A Very Experienced Explorer

- Breloom

- Moves: Seed Bomb, Brick Break, Dynamic Punch, Sword Dance

- Ability: Effect Spore

- Apart of Team Wildfire, Partnered with Bubby

- Has a big family and a lot of siblings though isn’t very close with them. Feels like he has to compete with his siblings just to stand out and not feel like a clone

- Was previously in an Explorer Team called Team Belladonna with his Ex, however they broke up and he stopped exploring a couple months before he met Bubby

- Found Bubby unconscious on a Mountain and his Explorer instincts kicked in, quickly helping him and having Bubby stay with him while he recovered

- Originally Bubby was only meant to stay until he recovered his memory but it ended up becoming a more permanent arrangement later

- Formed an Exploration Team both to help Bubby search for answers and because Coomer missed it as it was a big part of his life

- Has been Partnered with Bubby for years now. Would do anything to keep his secret safe

- Anything.

BUBBY-

- The First Human Turned Pokemon

- Charmeleon

- Moves: Flamethrower, Slash, Thunder Punch, Dragon Claw

- Ability: Blaze

- Has no defensive or status moves

- Apart of Team Wildfire, Partnered with Coomer

- Wears Wise Glasses both as a boost to his special attack but also because he has terrible eyesight without them

- Like Gordon, he has little memory other than his name and the fact that he used to be Human

- Bubby keeps the fact that he used to be Human under heavy lock and key. The only other person he told was Coomer, otherwise, Bubby is pretty distrusting towards others

- Initially became an Explorer with Coomer because of his determination to figure out why he’s a Pokémon but stayed because he genuinely enjoyed the work

- Despite his initial drive to figure out how to become Human again, Bubby no longer pursues this. He likes his life with Coomer, he doesn’t want it to change

- Would do anything to keep Coomer safe

- A n y t h i n g

DARNOLD-

- Inventor Extraordinaire

- Bayleef

- Moves: Magic Leaf, Solar Beam, Protect, Sweet Scent

- Ability: Leaf Guard

- Not apart of an Exploration Team but takes an interest in the work

- Childhood friends with Tommy, they still keep in touch

- Took an interest in Inventing and Creating given his Moms were really into it and he looked up to them

- Original creator of the Orbs, namely the Escape Orb and the Slumber Orb, both of which he uses to get through tough dungeons

- Still makes items and machines as well but Darnold’s true pride and joy is a drink shop called ‘New Leaf’ with a new menu every day. Darnold takes great pride in his juices and smoothies that he makes

- Likes to talk to one of his regulars at New Leaf, a Bounty Hunter who has plenty of interesting stories and is overall fun to talk to

- Recently got employed by someone who gives him a weird vibe. Darnold doesn’t know what it is but all they want is for him to make a machine that can open portals and... Well, it sounds interesting and harmless enough?

- Isn’t much of a fighter but will if he has to

FORZEN-

- A Bounty Hunter who’s very good at his job

- Mightyena

- Moveset: Ice Fang, Take Down, Sucker Punch, Swagger

- Ability: Intimidate

- All moves can be learned by leveling up, the only character to have this

- Is a Bounty Hunter, meaning he specifically goes after Wanted Pokemon for a living

- Took up Bounty Hunting as it runs in the family. Is not close with his family anymore

- Very good at his job, one of the best trackers out there and very rarely doesn’t complete the job he takes

- Used to be aquatinted with Benrey though wouldn’t recognize his Totodile form

- Truthfully has no idea what happened to Benrey but one day, he disappeared and a huge bounty was placed on his head. Forzen took the job, no hard feelings but it was a lot of money, but was never able to find him, one of his few jobs

- Often visits a drink place called New Leaf, both for the delicious drinks and to talk to the Bayleef that runs it

- Recently took up a job to track down a Human Turned Pokemon. Has no idea what they’re wanted for but the bounty is too big to pass up- every Bounty Hunter he knows is taking it

JOSHUA-

- The Kid Who Tends To Inspire Those Around Him

- Sewaddle

- Moves: Tackle, String Shot, Bug Bite, Hidden Power

- Ability: Chlorophyll

- Is an Orphan who lost track of his family and got lost for quite a long time before being rescued

- Is initially found by Benrey and sent to Tommy and Gordon, who takes him in and take care of him while they search for his family

- Benrey, Gordon, and Tommy all take on a parental role for him, though a lot of the people he meets tends to instantly shift into, “I would die for this kid” mode

- Thinks Exploration Teams are the coolest

- Greatly admires Team Sunrise, Team Wildfire, and Benrey, sometimes trying to imitate them

- A little easily frightened at first but his confidence gets built up once he’s taken in by Tommy and Gordon. Turns out to be pretty enthusiastic once he comes out of his shell

G-MAN-

- The Legendary

- Mewtwo

- Moves: ???

- Ability: Unnerve

- Has his own agenda but generally tries to help others and keeps the World’s balance in check

- Not much is known about him, least of all why he goes by ‘G-Man’ of all things. He keeps to himself

- Seems to watch over a certain Pikachu, sensing great things from him...

- Is very interested in finding out how a Human turns Pokémon

- Knows more than he says

SUNKIST-

- Ex-Explorer and Adoptive Mother of Tommy

- Arcanine

- Moves: Extreme Speed, Flare Blitz, Body Slam, Roar

- Ability: Flash Fire

- Full name is Sun Kissed but Sunkist is a shortening of it that she likes

- Is a retired Explorer and pretty highly respected and well known. Was apart of a Explorer Team known as Team Daylight

- Tommy was left at her doorstep a half a year after she retired. Sunkist worked to find his family, and when she couldn’t, raised him as her own

- While she’s a little out of practice, Sunkist is still very powerful

- Tough as nails but has a soft heart

- Can and would move mountains for Tommy

???-

- The Main Antagonist

- ???

- Moves: Psychic, Water Pulse, Blizzard, Drain Punch

- Ability: Own Tempo

- No status or defensive moves

- Highly powerful and has a bad vibe to her

- A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

- Employed Benrey, Darnold, and sometimes Forzen

- Seems to have her own agenda

- Is very interested in finding a Human Turned Pokemon and is willing to do anything to get her hands on one

- Knows Benrey very, very well

- And doesn’t let go so e a s i l y

Anddd there we go! Took a hot minute but I got it all down! Feel free to ask me about anything if you got questions!

[choquejuergas]

sally rooney, beautiful world where are you

“reading the book again now gives me such a strange sensation. was i really like that once? a person capable of dropping down into the most fleeting of impressions, and dilating them somehow, dwelling inside them, and finding riches and beauty there. apparently i was — ‘for a couple of hours, but i am not that person’. i wonder whether the book itself, the process of writing the book, caused me to live that way, or whether i wrote because o wanted to record that kind of experience as it was happening. i’ve tried to remember what was going on in my life at the time, in case that might help me to understand. i know i was twenty-three, i had just started working at the magazine, you and i were living together in that horrible flat in the liberties, and kate was still in dublin, and tom, and aoife. we went out to parties together, we had people over for dinner, we drank too much wine, we got into arguments. sometimes simon would call me on the phone from paris so we could complain to each other about work, and while we were laughing, i would hear natalie in the background putting away plates in the kitchen. all my feelings and experiences were in one sense extremely intense, and in another sense completely trivial, because none of my decisions seemed to have any consequences, and nothing about my life —the job, the apartment, the desires, the love affairs — struck me as permanent. i felt anything was possible, that there were no doors shut behind me, and that out there somewhere, as yet unknown, there were people who would love me and admire me and want to make me happy”

“and at the same time i was thinking of simon, the mystery of him, and somehow as i looked out the taxi window i started to think about his physical presence in the city, that somewhere inside the city’s structure, standing or sitting, holding his arms one way or another, dressed or undressed, he was present, and dublin was like an advent calendar concealing him behind one of its million windows"

“but do you ever experience a sort of diluted, personalised version of that feeling, as if your own life, your own world, has slowly but perceptibly become an uglier place? or even a sense that while you used to be in step with the cultural discourse, you’re not anymore, and you feel yourself adrift from the world of ideas, alienated, with no intellectual home? maybe it is about our specific historical moment, or maybe it’s just about getting older and disillusioned, and it happens to everyone”

“it makes me feel that rather than worrying and theorising about the state of the world, which helps no one, i should put my energy into living and being happy. when i try to picture for myself what a happy life might look like, the picture hasn’t changed very much since i was a child — a house with flowers and trees around it, and a river nearby, and a room full of books, and someone there to love me, that’s all. just to make a home there, and to care for my parents when they grow older. never to move, never to board a plane again, just to live quietly and then be buried in the earth. what else is life for?”

“this i suppose is what the enlightenment philosophers meant by aesthetic judgement, and it corresponds rightly enough to the kind of experience i’ve had with certain works of visual art, passages of music, scenic vistas, and so on. i find them beautiful, and their beauty moves me and gives me a pleasurable feeling. i agree that the spectacle of mass consumerism marketed to us as ‘beauty’ is in reality hideous and gives me none of the aesthetic pleasure i get from, e.g., sunlight  falling through leaves, or the ‘demoiselles d’avignon’, or ‘kind of blue’. but i’m inclined to ask: who cares? even if we suppose that the beauty of ‘kind of blue’ is in some sense objectively superior to the beauty of a chanel handbag, which philosophically speaking is a lot of ground to give, why does it matter? you seem to think that aesthetic experience is, rather than merely pleasurable, somehow important. and what i want to know is: important in what way?”

“for you and me it’s harder, because we can’t seem to shake the conviction that nothing matters, life is random, our sincerest feelings are reducible to chemical reactions, and no objective moral law structures the universe. it’s possible to live with those convictions, of course, but not really possible, i don’t think, to believe the things that you and i say we believe. that some experiences of beauty are serious and others trivial. or that some things are right and others wrong. to what standard are we appealing? before what judge do we argue our case? i’m not trying to tear you down, by the way — i occupy what i suspect is exactly your position. i can’t believe that the difference between right and wrong is simply a matter of taste or preference; but i also can’t bring myself to believe in absolute morality, which is to say, in god. this leaves me in a philosophical nowhere place, lacking the courage of my convictions on both sides. i can’t have the satisfaction of feeling that i serve god by doing right, and yet the idea of doing wrong disgusts me”

“outside, the air stirred the trees, sifted its cool breath over their faces. they climbed into the car together. lola pressed her nose to the window and left a tiny circle of powder on the glass. the church was squat and grey with long thin stained-glass windows, rose-coloured and blue and amber. as they entered, the electric organ played, the scent of incense touched them, damp and fragrant, and the rustle of cloth, the creaking of pews, as everyone stood and watched them processing together up the polished aisle”

“they looked at one another for a long moment without moving, without speaking, and in the soil of that look many years were buried”

“it’s making me think about what you wrote in your email about beauty, and how difficult it is to believe that beauty could be important or meaningful when it’s just random. but it brings some pleasure into life, doesn’t it? you don’t need to be religious to appreciate that, i believe”

“and the house around them quiet and solid with its nailed-down floorboards, with its bright burnished tiles in the candlelight. and the gardens dim and silent. the sea breathing peacefully outside, breathing its salt air through the windows. to think of alice living here. alone, or not alone. she was standing at the countertop then, serving the crumble out into bowls with a spoon. everything in one place. all of life knotted into this house for the night, like a necklace knotted at the bottom of a drawer”

“slowly the breath of the sea drew the tie out away from the shore, leaving the sand flat and glimmering under the stars. the seaweed wet, bedraggled, crawling with insects. the dunes massed and quiet, dune grass smoothed by the cool wind. the paved walkway up from the beach in silence now under a film of white sand, the curved roofs of the caravans glowing dimly, parked cars huddled dark on the grass. then the amusements, the ice cream kiosk with its shutter pulled down, and up the street and into town, the post office, the hotel, the restaurant. the sailor’s friend with its doors closed, stickers on the windows illegible. the sweeping headlights of a single car passing. rear lights red like coals. further up the street, a row of houses, windows reflecting the streetlights blankly, bins lined up outside, and then the cost road out of town, silent, empty, trees rising through the darkness. the sea to the west, a length of dark cloth. and to the east, up through the gates, the old rectory, blue as milk. inside, four bodies sleeping, walking, sleeping again. on their sides, or lying on their backs, with the quilts kicked down, through dreams they passed in silence. and already now behind the house the sun was rising. on the back walls of the house and through the branches of the trees, through the coloured leaves of the trees and through the damp green grasses, the light of dawn was sifting. summer morning. cold clear water cupped in the palm of a hand”

[emmy-writes-sometimes]

Quarantine

When Chris’s honeymoon gets cancelled and Scott ends up getting quarantined with them to avoid New York, their lives turn to absolute chaos. This ended up being SO long!

-

           “Can I, uh…?” Chris cocked his head at the door to their home office, where his wife of a full week was sitting at her desk. She nodded, turning off her microphone and getting up. She didn’t even know why they wanted her sitting in on that meeting.

           “Yeah?” She asked as she joined him at the door. He smelled like the shaving cream he had just used in his shower.

           “So, uh, Scott’s boyfriend might or might not be sick,” Chris started, eyes squinting like he was waiting for a blow. “And he can’t be around the kids, or Mom and Dad until he tests, so can we…?” She knew what he was asking before he even finished.

           “Yes, he can stay here,” she sighed. “But no funny business, okay? I still have to work until I finish this project.” Chris grinned like a little kid whose parents said he can keep the stray dog.

           “Thank you, I love you, and he’ll be here in two hours.”

           “New York is three and a half hours away,” she reminded him, tilting her head.

           “I know. I told him he could come an hour and a half ago.”

           “Christopher!” She chided as he chuckled. “You have to make dinner tonight, then, because I’m not doing it.”

           “Fine,” he agreed. “If you feed the dogs.” She rolled her eyes and went back to work. The next time she even looked up and out the window was when Scott’s car pulled up in the driveway and he began taking a suspicious amount of luggage from it. Chris ran to the front door, guarding Dodger and their puppy, Rex, from getting out. She stood up, ready to greet Scott from six feet away.

-

           “No, no, no, you have to read the definition!” Scott exclaimed to his brother, holding his cards against humanity game in his hands. “It’s in the rules!”

           “Because you go by all the rules!” Chris taunted back, shaking his head. “I’m not reading the definition of fuckin’ Bukkake in front of my wife.”

           “You gotta!” Chris rolled his eyes but took his phone out of his pocket anyway, his face turning as red as a tomato as he read.

           “A relatively common prono fetish that includes one sperm recipient, usually of the female variety, and at least 3 or more sperm donors,” Chris read, slapping his phone down on the wooden table. “There! Happy?”

           “Oh, very,” Scott grinned like a mad man, so much so that it made Chris get up and whack the back of his head. She realized what was happening and held her arms out.

           “Nope!” She said. “No fighting. Scott’s card is the winner, and…”

           “Ha!” Scott yelled. “I won!”

           “AND he has to go walk the dogs before they poop all over the house as punishment for making Chris read an embarrassing definition out loud when it isn’t even in the rules!” She finished, putting all of her cards down. Both boys exclaimed in disgust, but they stopped arguing. Scott stood up, and so did Rex, who was sitting under the table waiting for scraps that would never come.

           “Maybe I should’ve gotten sick,” Scott groaned as he walked over to where they kept the leashes. Chris’s earlier disgust turned to laughter as he watched his brother gather the plastic bags they kept for a very specific purpose. Within a minute, Scott had both dogs leashed and was walking out of the door, while Chris cleaned up the six pack and two extras they’d had and she picked up the box of cards Scott had brought along.

           “I can not believe you let him win!” Chris said as he poured the last few drops of a beer bottle down the sink drain. She smirk. “You literally married me last week!”

           “And if it weren’t for Coronavirus, we would be swimming with pigs in the Bahamas! And drinking for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! And it would be socially appropriate!” Chris chuckled.

           “It’s better to be stuck here than there, you know that.” He knew she was disappointed, and not just because she hadn’t moved her boarding pass from the dining room table. “But I was not about to have you getting sick and die of fuckin’ Coronavirus right after I marry you.”

           “But pigs on a white sand beach, Christopher. Pigs.” He put the last of the bottles in the trash and slid it closed, then walked over to where she was standing sorting cards. He grabbed her from the back, hugging her tightly to him, and kissed the exposed skin on her shoulder.

           “I’ll make it up to you,” he said, pulling her hair aside to kiss her again. She cringed at the feeling. “Give me about ten minutes.”

           “Your beard tickles.”

           “Get used to it. It’s a quarantine beard and it’s happening.” She giggled.

           “How long do you think this’ll last?” He shrugged.

           “I don’t know, but I can guarantee we’ll get stir crazy within a week.” She took in a deep breath.

           “It better not last long because I’m going to need, just, like, an hour at some point.” Chris chuckled again, hugging her tighter.

“I’ll finish up here. You worked hard today. You should sleep.”

           “And that’s why I love you,” she replied. “It takes minimal to no effort to get you to do things for me.” Chris scoffed, but watched her disappear up the set of stairs to their bathroom to take off the makeup she had been forced to put on for a meeting.

-

           “Please tell me why you thought this was a good idea,” she groaned as she pushed the heavy couch toward Chris, who was standing on top of the dining room table, as she and Scott moved every single item of furniture around until it was in the same place it had been for the past six months.

           “Because I thought the couch would look better exchanged with the loveseat and then the loveseat with the old armchair and the picture of the creepy sea captain with the sea shell thing you have?” Chris suggested. She just glared at him.

           “Chris, we’ve been here for two hours.”

           “You didn’t even let me have a water break!” Scott complained as he flopped down on the couch. Chris got down from the table, arms crossed against his chest.

           “Well, what if we switched the piano with the sideboard? Then it would be easier to find the leashes and-”

           “I,” she started to reply, “am not moving anything else in this house.” She sat down on the loveseat, putting her feet up on the coffee table. Chris leaned down to the floor to pet Dodger.

           “At least my dog loves me,” Chris said.

           “Dodger, come here!” Scott interrupted. The dog perked up his ears and left Chris’s lap for his brother, curling up against him immediately.

           “We’re not talking to you until you make us quarantine grilled cheeses,” she said to Chris as he stood up.

           “We’re going to run out of bread.”

           “Not if I go get the sourdough starter from Ellie.”

           “Ellie doesn’t live in this house.”

           “But I can get it without even touching-”

           “We will make our own bread!” Chris declared. “Nobody leaves this house unless it’s Scott because he’s sick.”

           “Dude, thanks for giving me up.”

           “Thanks for taking my dog.”

-

           “How much longer are we going to be in actual prison?” She asked Chris as he laid back down in their bed holding a cup of coffee in each hand.

           “How many mornings are you going to make me make this?” He asked in response, handing her the Dalgona coffee she saw on Tik Tok the day before.

           “It’s good, so….” Chris sighed and put his arm between her head and the bed’s headboard, trying to wake up enough to understand what the TV was saying.

           “… Has been extended through May 4th, 2020, with another possible extension…” Both of them groaned so loudly that Scott thought they were doing something else when he walked by. He walked into the room with his own cup of hot coffee, looking at the TV before his brother and sister-in-law.

           “I’m not fuckin’ staying in this house until May 4th,” she said loudly. “Chris, make it go away.”

           “What am I supposed to do?”

           “I don’t know, call the senators and make them stop it.” Chris rolled his eyes.

           “Babe. That is not what ASP is about.” It was her turn to roll her eyes at her husband, mocking him much like Scott did.

           “Don’t start with that again,” Scott said, “it’s great, but annoying.”

           “You’re annoying.” Chris shot his brother a threatening look until he went back to the guest bedroom. “I don’t wanna stay here until May 4th either.”

           “That’s Star Wars day.”

           “Oh, hey, we could watch the new one,” Chris suggested. “Unless you lied and watched it without me.”

           “Like how you took Miles and Stella and bought them lightsabers and didn’t get me one?” She pouted.

           “Are you still mad about that?”

           “As mad as when our honeymoon got cancelled because of Coronavirus.” Chris put his coffee down and hugged her close to him. “I wanted to fuck you on a beach.”

           “And you will. You… already did, that one weekend in the Hamptons. But my point is…” The two dogs jumped up on the bed, joining their parents in a cuddle. “We’ll go when the stay at home is lifted, okay? I really don’t want to get stuck somewhere else or get sick. This shit’s serious.”

           “I know.”

           “And at least we can still spend time together. And I don’t have to be in LA next week.” Chris pressed a soft, sweet kiss to her lips. She tasted like instant coffee. “I love you and I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

-

           It had been three days and she was waiting for the I’ll-make-it-up-to-you that Chris promised. He always made promises and always kept them, always, so it was only a matter of time before something was done. It had been two weeks since Scott tested negative at a drive-thru, too, so he’d finally gone to see his sisters and the kids. Rex and Dodger weren’t battling it out for some reason, instead on their respective beds on the floor on either side of the TV stand. She was on the couch, playing Animal Crossing for the third day in a row since she’d gotten it from Target drive-up. And Chris was, surprisingly, nowhere to be found. He’d been gone since he delivered her coffee that morning. Until she heard the back door slide open and Chris walked inside in the clothes he usually painted or cleaned in.

           “Come outside,” Chris instructed. “I’m not letting you negotiate, come outside.” He had a shit-eating grin on his face, one that said he knew exactly what he was doing.

           “Why?”

           “Humor me, baby, please?” He asked, walking up to her and offering her a hand. He smelled like chemicals. For some reason, she loved him so much that she was about to cooperate with whatever scheme he had come up with to entertain them for the day.

           “Why are you taking me to the backyard?” She was suspicious. The same kind of suspicious she was on the day that he proposed to her nine months ago. But Chris didn’t answer. He just kept holding her hand and leading her outside with a stupid smile on his face and a Patriots hat on his forehead to hide it. She reached the door and looked outside to where the pool had been covered since October, since Chris was too lazy to get it heated. But this time, he had opened the pool and balanced the chemicals and cleaned the algae out. He’d cleaned off the chairs and the tables. Her tan lotion and a towel was sitting on one of the chairs, Chris’s towel and water bottle on the other. He’d taken her old sorority cooler out and filled it with beer and White Claw. He’d tried to make the honeymoon they couldn’t have.

           “Christopher,” she said as he dropped her hand. Her heart melted into a million fucking pieces at the sight, and she just looked over at him.

           “Did I do okay?” He wasn’t playing – he was genuinely asking her if he did okay.

           “Yeah.” Tears started coming to her eyes, too quickly to stop, and she stood up and kissed him. “I love you,” she said.

           “I love you too.” He gave her a watery smile and a kiss on her forehead, pulling her in for a hug. “I promise we’ll go swim with pigs once quarantine is over. Now go put your swimsuit on so I can take it off.”

           “You’re a fucking child.” She stood on her toes to kiss his cheek, thanking him again, as she turned to go change clothes. That was when a certain SUV rolled up in the driveway and Chris’s demeanor changed.

           “No,” Chris said to himself. Scott was back.

           “Chris, it’s fine!” Chris didn’t listen, instead crossing the backyard to the gate and then the gate to Scott’s car, where he tried to wave him back inside.

           “No, no, no, no, you said you were gonna be gone all day!” Scott turned off his car and got out.

           “What?”

           “I made… Oh, come on! Go back to Mom and Dad’s!”

           “I was just there!”      

           “Then go play with Miles and Stella!”

           “Why?”

           “Because I made the Bahamas in the pool for my wife.” Scott scoffed. “I didn’t even show her the blow-up flying pig floatie I ordered off Amazon.”

           “That’s all you needed to say, bud.” Scott patted his brother’s shoulder.

           “What, I needed to say a flying pig floatie or…”

           “Go spend some time with your wife, man. It’s fine. God knows when this thing is going to be over. You deserve a little happy.”

           “Dude, I live here.” Scott shook Chris’s shoulder before slipping his sunglasses back on his face and slinking back into his car. Chris sighed happily, walking back to the backyard. She was standing there, phone in her hand, and only in the towel Chris had left out for her.

           “Hey,” he replied, “good news, Scott…” He chuckled. “Are you filming this?”

           “There’s a thing on Tik Tok where you go to your boys and drop your towel,” she said with a little sad face, thinking he wasn’t into it.

           “Oh. Then go ahead.” She held her phone in the hand, dropping the towel, and watching Chris’s face light up.

           “Thank you for making our Bahamas,” she said as she shut the phone off, having recorded his reaction. She reached for the towel on the floor, but Chris shook his head.

           “There’s no way that’s going back on. If all I had to do was this to get this, then what will doing the dishes do?”

           “Chris!”

[mimimimikkyu]

fuck it Rowan rambling

What is/are your OC’s nickname(s) and how did it come about? Ro. It’s a shortened version of their name so it came about kinda obviously. Leon and Hop are the only ones that really use it though. Their dad has called them little litten since they were a child. They were an active kid and acted a bit like a cat sometimes.

What is the color of your OC’s eyes/hair/skin? Brown eyes. Short side shaved hair with the top dyed purple and the side shave naturally black. Warm tan skin.

How tall is your OC? 5’5”, they’re not short but a lot of people they know are taller than them. Even if only by a couple inches. They find this really funny.

What is a noticeable physical attribute of your OC? Their hair and their pointy canines.

What does your OC normally wear? What would your OC wear on a special night? Normally they wear a black sleeveless turtleneck and high waisted pants or shorts along with black boots. Their battling/champion wear is about the same as Leon’s with a different cape. As for formal wear they would go with something like this or this

What is one word you would use to describe your OC’s appearances? Mess

Does your OC have any markings, such as a birthmark or a scar? They have a few knicks and scars from general farm work.. Nothing really stands out about those to the regular person though.

How does your OC talk/what does your OC’s voice sound like?I’d have to come back to this one. I haven’t heard anyone who gives me their vibes yet.

What does your OC’s bedroom look like? Their living area? somethin like this but with more color probably

What does your OC keep in a special drawer? Ask Rose :)

What is your OC’s relationship with their mother? Nonexistent/strained since she left. If they’re honest they’d prefer not to think about her all that much. They do have a step mother but they were older by the time their father met her and thus they’re closer as friends. However if they need motherly advice they’re not afraid to ask.

What is your OC’s relationship with their father? Good. He’s very open and supportive of them and would give up a fair bit to help them out even if they won’t say a thing. They look to him for advice and call him often now that they’ve left the farm/home.

How many siblings does your OC have and what is their relationship with them? They have none biologically. They do consider Hop like a little brother however and they get along just fine.

Who is the mother and/or father figure in your OC’s life? Leon’s mother was like another mother while they were growing up. Even when he wasn’t home they were over often. Either as friendly visits or to help watch Hop for a day.

What was your OC’s childhood like? They moved to Galar when they were 7 with family (their Father, his parents, and their mother) and onto a farm in which they lived and worked. From there on it was mostly normal but behind the scenes there was a fair bit of emotional abuse being thrown their way by their mother. It led to a lot of nights spent running over to friends' houses to get away or crying in the barn.

What is your OC’s strongest childhood memory? Why and how has that impacted him/her? There’s a few things. Firstly Leon’s introduction and want to include them in whatever he did. It sparked a lifelong friendship between the two. Even when he became champion they still tried to stay as close as possible. The other is when their mother started their abuse. Constant yelling at them, telling them they weren’t good enough, they weren’t smart, they never cared about anyone, no one cared about them, they weren’t enough of a “girl” for their her tastes. Things like that. None of that has left them since their mother left/ their father caught on and kicked her out. But all those things are still in the back of their head nagging them to this day.

What is your OC’s imagination like? Half the books they owned while growing up were action fantasy and the other half were picture books of places they thought were pretty. So a lot of their imagination is still things like that. Imagining what it would be like to be in those pretty places, imagining dragon and fairy types roaming around in adventures in those places. Going out and doing those adventures themselves. Sometimes a little bit of romance gets involved in there. They fancy themselves the rogue that charms a noble in those cases.

How many times did your OC move as a child? Which area was their favorite? Just the once, it was a big move that stuck with them but that’s all. Since they’ve known Galar and the farm longer than they ever did their first home it’s their favorite.

What does your OC think of children- either in general or about having them? They like them and they’re good at handling them too. As mentioned earlier on they’d babysat Hop and when they’d go back home to visit extended family they’d always be around the kids there too. Having them is a different story. It’s something they’re really conflicted on. They’re not entirely sure they’d be a good parent and they need to know that whoever they’re with they could trust them to actually parent as well.

What kind of parent would your OC be? Same as their dad; open, supportive, and would drop everything to help their child out. Also puts their entire being into storytelling and play time.

Who are your OC’s closest relatives? Their father and while they were alive their grandparents, grandmother especially. Their father and grandfather showed them everything they know about farm work and their father always encouraged them to try new things but know their limits. Their grandmother showed them everything she knew about cooking and passed on some sewing knowledge to them as well.

Who is/are your OC’s closest friend(s)? Both Leon and Sonia have been their best friends since they moved to Potswick. They confide in them both for different reasons but rely on them both equally.

Who are the people your OC surrounds themselves with? Close friends, family, their pokemon team, a lover. They like other people but it’s a bit harder now for them to hang around random people.

Who are the people your OC dislikes/hates? People who lose their temper easily, people who scream to talk, the press.

If your OC has a soulmate, who is it? Wouldn't you like to know, weather boy?

Why does your OC and their soulmate work so well together?Most of the people in his life tend to kiss up to him a lot or mince their words around him, not Rowan. Rowan, whether they actually thought their words through or just blurted them out, tends to be a bit more blunt and they are not afraid to be so what-so-ever. Grounds him a bit when he needs it. He grounds them as well. He’s quick to pick up on when they’re feeling down and while he isn’t quite privy to everything that happened to them yet he’ll swoop right in and quell any notion they have that’s negative about themselves. Also he's pretty gotten pretty good at telling when they're about to blurt something out and can stop and get them to think.

What are some things your OC admires about their soulmate? His smile, his deep laugh and the way the lines around his eyes crinkle during both those things. His smell is another bonus, they may have stolen a jacket from him just to wear it on nights when he’s not around because of it.

How did your OC and his/her soulmate meet? During the season, as a somewhat belated birthday gift Leon brought them out to Wydon to watch an exhibition match and hang out for a weekend. During which They happened to meet up with the uhhhh, the man. Didn’t go great according to them but it is a part of their story nonetheless. They didn’t get together or really see much of each other for about two years after that when Rowan finally started the gym challenge themself however.

What is your OC’s level of education? High school. They opted to work the farm instead of pursuing much else afterwards. That’s how they grew up, it’s what they knew and honestly they enjoyed it.

Did your OC participate in extracurricular activities, and if so, what were they? Not officially, however despite not taking up being a trainer they’d always ask Leon about it and he was more than happy to share the knowledge.

What is your OC’s opinion of school? What kind of student were they? Average. They just learned what was needed and did a boat load of reading.

What subjects did your OC excel at? foreign language but they cheated technically because they already spoke the language they took at home with their grandparents. Shh, no one has to know.

What subjects interested your OC? Literature specifically, they liked learning about classics. While they never took anything related to it, they admired theater from afar.

What is your OC’s dream job and/or current profession? Currently they’re Galar’s newest champion. In the past they worked on the family farm and would go back to it should they ever step down. In their dreams if they had to settle down they’d like to be a writer of some sort in a house in the middle of nowhere.

How is your OC working towards his/her dream job and/or achieved his/her current profession? For the farm work it’s not really a matter of working towards it. They’ll always have that place back home. For the writing They’d have to actually write.

What are your OC’s thoughts/opinions of his/her current profession? They’re conflicted and entirely unsure they belong in the position they’re in. Even during the gym challenge they weren’t sure they’d ever get as far as the final tournament. A lot of that inner turmoil has to do with their past but they’re good at putting on a show and hiding it. At home they slink into Rose’s arms and tell him the worries of the day and he does his best to give advice or just affirmation.

What is your OC’s biggest dream? Being on the beach, resting in the water, floating away, not a care in the world. That’s about half of what they did when they went back home to see the extended family so it invokes a good fuzzy warm feeling in them.

How does your OC react to and handle stress? Depends on the stressor honestly. If it’s something a bit beyond control they tend to get real quiet and frustrated.

How does your OC handle anger? Not well, they’re afraid of being angry. They’re afraid of being like their mom. And they’re definitely afraid of any anger towards them.

How does your OC handle grief? It’s a multi-step process. They withdraw for a while, cry a lot. They know it’s important to let other people in to help but at least for a few days they just feel the need to be alone.

What is your OC’s greatest fear? Being completely and utterly alone.

What makes your OC happy? Reading, playing or battling with their pokemon, hanging around their friends in a group or one on one, being around Rose.

What kind of sense of humor does your OC have? A bad one.

What are some things that greatly upset your OC? You want like a list? Like memories of their mother for one. The loss of their grandparents. Memories of the darkest day and how they felt during that.

What are some things that annoy your OC? Being asked too many questions, especially when they’re not really given time to think. They know speaking without thought isn’t exactly their strong point so they’re not too keen on being made to do it.

If your OC has them, what are some regrets they have? Being too afraid to tell their father or even their grandparents about what happened with their mother.

How easily does your OC forgive? It takes a bit. They have to be 100% sure the person they’re forgiving means what they say even if it takes a while to get to that point.

What are some of your OC’s vices? Sweets and homemade bread. Absolutely cannot resist.

If your OC experienced trauma, what was it? Emotional abuse. I would consider the Darkest Day and the part they ended up playing in it traumatic for them as well. The entire ordeal was a part of their nightmares for a while.

What secrets does your OC have? Even though they had unofficially broken things off with Rose when the incident occurred they never quite stopped thinking of him. While he wasn't their first, he was one of the first people they could genuinely say they’d fallen for and they’d always played with the idea of seeing him again before they actually bit the bullet and did. Whiiiich was also a secret along with their initial relationship at first as well for about half a year after they got together again. Although eventually their father and Leon came to learn about it before anyone else in that time.

What are some of your OC’s morals? Oh god I wish I knew.

What are some of your OC’s motivations? Family, helping others, bettering themselves

What is the health of your OC? Good, they’re fairly active and can do quite a bit of heavy lifting.

Does your OC think with their head or heart? Oh Rowan doesn’t think, are you kidding me? Haha oh god. Heart though.

What are your OC’s thoughts on death? They choose not to think about it for the most part. Yeah it’s gonna happen but they’re young they have plenty of time to not care.

What are some of your OC’s strengths? Will still do things despite being apprehensive about them. If they’re good they’re good if they’re bad, it weighs on them a bit but they’re learning to not hold it against themselves.

What are some of your OC’s weaknesses? They still haven’t learned to not hold things against themselves and they’re always afraid of someone close turning on them or leaving without a word to the point where they’ll show visible discomfort in certain situations.

How does your OC take criticism? Depends. If it’s constructive they mull it over for a while and try to incorporate whatever it is in any way they can. If it’s not, they’re a bit miffed and flat out walk away from it.

What does your OC think of themselves? Fluctuate between I’m a bad bitch you can’t kill me and oh sad little baby full of feelings.

If your OC could change one thing about themselves, what would it be? The fact that they just kind of Say shit.

What is the general impression your OC gives other people? People can see them as a bit crass. Sometimes a little lost.

How emotionally/mentally vulnerable is your OC with other people? Depends on the people. Totally with their father and often Rose now as well. Leon and Sonia are also people they can be vulnerable with as well but not to the same extent as the other two.

How does your OC display love? Physically. For someone they’re dating it’s little kisses on the cheek or forehead, hand holding, light touches, and cuddling up to them. For friends and family it’s hugs, leaning on them, and light hearted jokes. They also like to cook for the people they love as well.

What are some habits your OC has picked up? Leg bouncing when they’re impatient Twirling and playing with little strands of hair Overly exaggerated gestures when they’re excited Needing to have something, even if it’s just snacks, prepared for any sort of company. They'll pick up little inflections from people they're close to as well

What is your OC’s favorite drink? Juice… Like fruit juice, honestly. The sweeter the fruit the better.

What is your OC’s favorite food? Very very simple but homemade bread with a cut of some kind of salty cheese.

What is your OC’s favorite sweet? Chocolate, cake especially. Double especially if the icing is chocolate as well.

What is your OC’s favorite season? Winter. The crisp air and the clothes they get to bundle up in make them one happy baby. Also cocoa is a huge, huge bonus.

What is your OC’s favorite kind of weather? Bright, clear sky, sun shining down and a gentle breeze rolling through the fields during the day with a slow rolling storm moving in in the evening when they’re all settled in for the night.

What is your OC’s favorite book? Anything fantasy/adventure.

What is your OC’s favorite movie and/or TV show? I don’t know the deep lore on the full entertainment industry in the pokemon universe but I do know I sure do like to draw them as the Phantom a lot. So they get to be into The Phantom of the Opera as well.

What is your OC’s favorite kind music (and song if there is one)? Theatre music and jazz.

What is your OC’s favorite form of entertainment? It was game consoles with friends when they were younger, and admittedly they still play on those from time to time. But now it’s mostly reading and or cuddling up and watching a movie or an exhibition match that they’re not in.

What is your OC’s favorite color? Purple

What is your OC’s favorite scent? That aftershave Rose be wearin. The smell of a clean pasture. The salt on the air on the shore of a beach. Comfort foods as they're cooking.

What is your OC’s favorite animal? They can’t pick a pokemon that would be playing favorites and they don’t wanna do that. Variks

What is your OC’s favorite sound? Laughter, Variks’ little chitters, Thatch’s grumbles when he rolls in his sleep, wooloo and dubwools bleating, wind moving through an open field, waves as they crash on a surface, familiar laughter, and Rose's voice.

What is your OC’s favorite time of day? Morning. They love the still before the day truly starts and the colors in the sky as the sun rises.

What is your OC’s favorite kind of ice cream? Chocolate with any kind of sweet chunks in it.

What is your OC’s favorite dinosaur? Tyrantrum

Ask your own question. why

[nightowlfandom]

Shoto Todoroki- Valentines Day Special

Why hello there! Today we are doing some V-Day imagines for a few people...I won’t expose the lovely ask who requested this because they weren’t anonymous but...here we go my dude.

I also forgot to screenshot it and I’m to lazy to go back...sooooo heey

LEGGO!

...

“Why do I have to go to this thing anyways?” You asked your mother who was in the middle of putting on her earrings. “Last time I checked this was called The Heroes Ball.”

“Your father insisted the entire family show up.” she spoke. “Where’s my lipstick?”

“Right here.” you were sitting in front of the mirror. You grabbed your mother’s signature Blood Red. “Here you go.”

“Thanks honey. A few of your classmates will be there!” she tried to lift your spirits.

“Yeah, Uraraka is my only friend...remember?” you sighed. “Mom, do I really have to go?”

“Y/N....Is something wrong?” Your mother finished applying her lipstick and walked to stand behind you. “Did something happen at school today?”

“Forget it.” you shook your head. “...I guess I just-”

“Y/N...I’m your mother. You can talk to me.” she began playing with your hair. “Give me the comb.”

“...I embarrassed myself in front of my crush.” you murmured as you handed her the styling comb. “I tripped and landed right on my face.” you recalled the morning.

Everyone was talking about who was and wasn’t going to The Heroes Ball. You were walking with one of your friends when your eye caught a specific person. You hadn’t watched where you were going and that asshole Bakugou had tripped you, which sent you flying.

“Honey.” she sighed. “Why do you let those things get to you?” she styled your hair. “You should have told whoever did that to you to sit in a bed of needles.”

“You should have seen it.” you began venting to you mom. “He saw and he didn’t even flinch. I wanted to crawl up and die.”

“You know, had that been your father. He would have set a fire under his bully’s ass”

“Times are different now. This was basically social suicide.” you laughed dryly.

“Well consider this Social Resurrection.” she grabbed her eyeliner off the table. “You already have natural beauty...but it doesn’t hurt to enhance those features, don’t you think?”

“I guess.” You giggled. “It’s going to be weird surrounded by all the heroes, and me still be a rookie.” you stared at your mother in the mirror. “How did you do it?”

“When you come from a whole family who became heroes before you, you learn.” she winked. “See? Beautiful.”

Your mother didn’t do much, you were assuming it was because she wanted you to embrace your features. Everyone in your family one your father’s side had a diamond shaped birthmark under their right eye. You actively worked to hide yours, but you guessed that your mom wanted you to show it off tonight.

...

You lost count of how many hands you shook. Thanks to your father being an elite hero in the game. Everyone just wanted to meet Diamond Mine’s and Diamond Crush’s only daughter.

“Head up, chest out.” your mother whispered into your ear.

“Sorry, I’m just a little nervous.” you chuckled.

“Try to have fun.” she pat you on the back. “It’s the thought that counts.”

“Yes mam.” you nodded. You went to follow your mom somewhere only to be stopped by a familiar head of hair entering the room.

Shoto Todoroki crossed the floor, decked out in an all white suit. He looked so handsome. He entered the room with such grace and confidence that it almost blew you away.

“...I’m assuming that’s the crush?” you heard your father laugh from behind you, only to get shushedby your mother.

“Why don’t you go and say hi?” she whispered. “See if he wants to dance or something.”

“Mom, I can’t-”

One stern look from your mom was enough to send you away. You crossed the floor slowly, your dress swaying in all different directions as your walked. You noticed a few of your classmates along the way, all looking at you.

“H-hi Todoroki.” your voice was high with nervously, but it was enough for him to hear you over the chatter. He turned his sights on you.

“Hello Y/N. I’m surprised to see you here. I swore I overheard you saying you weren’t going to come tonight.” he greeted you. “You look beautiful tonight.”

“T-thanks.” You said sheepishly, looking down. “And my parent’s convinced me to, I thought you weren’t gonna show up either.”

“Change of plans.” he gave you a small smile. “I wanted to ask, are you alright? I saw what Bakugou did this morning.”

“Please don’t remind me.” you shook your head. “I’ll be fine. Nothing I can’t handle on my own.”

It suddenly grew very quiet between the two of you. It was awkward with every adult with their eyes on you. From the distance your mother and father were watching very close.

“I love this song.” Todoroki commented as the orchestra began to play a new melody. It was slow and romantic. You noticed a lot people getting onto the dance floor. “Perhaps you would like to dance with me?”

“Oh I would but...I’d probably trip and take you down with me.” you stared down at your shoes.

“Oh come on.” he playfully tilted his head to the side. “Just one dance, and if you don’t have fun...you can stop.” he held his hand out. “What do you say?”

You looked up from your feet to him. He was smiling sideways at you, hand still outstretched.

“Okay.” you slipped your hand into his.

He led you right to the middle on the dance floor where you two became the focal point of the entire room.

“Just relax...and let it carry you, like a wave.” he rested a hand on your waist. “Move from one side to the other.” You followed his steps, trying to relax. You were relieved at how easy it was just to move. “Perfect. Now for the fun part.”

“Excuse me?”

All of a sudden, you felt your body jerk and before you knew it, you were staring up at a smirking Shoto.

“Woah! D-did you just dip me!?”

“I believe that’s how you do the tango, Y/N.” he stood you back up. “If i’m going to sweep you off your feet. I’m starting with the literal approach.” You didn’t have time to ask what he meant because you were to busy trying to keep up with his effortless footsteps. You tried your best to look at seamless as he did, but it didn’t look as good.

After a whole bunch of spinning, lifting, and who knows what-ing, you were definitely swept off your feet. So much so you almost found yourself leaning onto his shoulder to stay upright.

“Y-you’re pretty light on your feet.” you commented.

“I could say the same about you.” he rebutted. Slowing down as the song switched again. “I’ve seen you during training sessions. You’re very graceful.”

“Yeah, but when I’m not using my quirk, I’m tripping over thin air.” you scoffed. “How adorable can that be.” you looked down. “You’ve seen me head-butt a pole...while trying to actively avoid said pole.”

“Believe it or not, I think that’s the most exquisite thing about you. You don’t try to act as if you and your power are one and the same. There are things about you that set you apart from everything else.” he spoke softly.

“Really? Because without my quirk...I’m pretty useless.” you looked away from him.

“Not to me.” he whispered. “....Come outside with me.” he tightened his hand in yours. “I hear the gardens are beautiful.”

You turned your head to look for your parents, they were nowhere in sight. “Sure, why not.”

...

He was right, the gardens were just as magical as the ballroom. You sat on a bench next to Todoroki, staring into the distance.

“Things seem so much more clear when there isn’t someone in your face to blur it up.” You commented.

“You’re absolutely right.” he commented. “...By the way, Happy Valentines Day.”

“Yeah, happy ‘let’s remind you that you’re single and worthless by making you show up to a gala that has no purpose other than to show off.’...” you joked, rolling your eyes.

“I’m assuming you don’t like the holiday.” he replied, partially amused.

“No, it’s okay. I just don’t have a lot of people to celebrate with.” you shook your head.

“...Well would you want to celebrate with me? I don’t neccesarily have a Valentine either.” he suddenly asked, making you look up in shock. “Maybe tomorrow when everything isn’t so busy, we could go to the beach or maybe I could take you to dinner.”

“But you have girls falling at your feet every day, surely one of them would be better than me.”

“Well that’s my issue Y/N....they aren’t you.” he hovered his over yours. “I like you.”

“Really?” you squeaked. “I mean...You really mean that? This isn’t some elaborate prank? You aren’t conspiring with Bakugou to make fun of me, right?”

“Would I do this if I were pulling a prank?”

Todoroki lifted his hand and rested his fingertips under your chin. You froze in place, wondering what he was about to do. Shoto gently pecked your lips. The small interaction was enough to take your breath right out of your lungs.

“So what do you say?” he asked after a while. “Spend the day with me tomorrow.”

“...mhm.” you nodded, not knowing what else to say.

“Great.” he stood up. “May I have this dance?”

“You can barely hear the music.” you replied, grabbing his hand and standing up anyways.

“Then just move with me to the silence.” he whispered. “Just enjoy this moment with me...won’t you?”

(OKAY RANDOM REQUESTER, Hope this was to your liking! She wanted it short and sweet, so I kept it that way like I usually do!)

[thosetwistedtales]

What’s with Higgs’ smelling & licking people?

I told some of you that I had thoughts and that I’d be sharing them sometime soon, and so--- now I am. 😈 And I think I’m gonna try to break this down into three parts cause Higgs... is a rather complicated man.

Conscious | External 

Starting with the obvious here in the reason why Higgs busts past these very obvious personal boundaries is because he’s an asshole with ISSUES. Listen---, Higgs spent his childhood getting the shit beat out of him by his uncle. He had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, no real means of defending himself when he was a child in comparison to his adult-sized ‘guardian’. He had no control over what happened to him. His life was literally in the palms of his uncle’s abusive hands... And he damn near ended it. Would’ve in all likelihood if Higgs hadn’t defended himself and eliminated the threat of him altogether. 

Point being in the aftermath from what we know of canon Higgs started off as a freelance independent porter, who eventually built up his own porter company, and later became partners with Fragile as Co-Ceo’s of their companies. Since teenhood, Higgs has never let himself be put in a position where someone else was in charge of him. And within the narrative of canon events its made CLEAR Higgs has a thing for flexing just how powerful he is, how little control those who come across him truly have.  “♪ I’ve got the whole world in the palm of my hand.~♪” & “The name’s Higgs. The particle of god that permeates all existence.”

Subtle right? 😂. The way he invades the personal space of others like those boundaries mean less than nothing to him, like social norms like polite space are unspoken rules that happen to other people but not him, how he literally licks people just because he knows he can, wants to prove it. Licks them because he knows just how damn unsettling it is. Licks people like---.                             “ I  l i c k e d  i t  s o  i t ’ s  M I N E. ”  a.) he does it cause he can b.) he does it cause he’s an absolute dickweed  c.) he does it cause he’s a fucking wacko weirdo who likes messing with people 

Subconscious | Internal 

“...We have five senses, but only two that go beyond the boundary of ourselves. When you look at someone, it’s just bouncing light, or when you hear them, it’s just sound waves, vibrating air, the way touch is just tingling nerve endings. Know what smell is? It’s made up of the molecules of what you’re smelling.”

...Ya’ll catch on to how Higgs is lowkey really into ancient civilizations and how the people of old as dirt times interacted with each other and the world around them? There’s his whole fascination with ancient Egyptians, we also get bits from his monologuing to Sam during that good old fashioned boss fight on the beach. He talks about the first tools of mankind but doesn’t get into the physical ones that we’re all born with. OUR SENSES. The ones he tends to use himself a lot specifically... Scent & Taste.

 As human beings, we use what we have to survive. We rely on our senses to navigate how to interact with the world. Because both scent & taste have to do with the stimuli involved in taking into the body these senses are often referred to as gatekeepers. As senses go both of these are extremely hard to lie to or manipulate. You can’t exactly control the concentration of airborne molecules or how your tastebuds experience oral stimuli. They are arguably our first line of defense, our natural armor. We use them as our personal alarm system (smoke, disease, other potential threats), component of flavor (quality of food before we eat/ingest it), physical communication (pheromones). I mean they’re the basics of survival. What smells/tastes BAD = not good/dangerous? What smells/tastes GOOD = good/safe!

As someone who had to use everything he had growing up to ensure his own survival, as a man who chose a profession that relied on his senses and instincts it makes every bit of sense to me that on a subconscious level at least..., Higgs would choose to continue to use them in how he interacts with the world around him, especially for those he has a keen interest in, or feels a connection to... He is a rather tactile individual after all.

Deep Dive | Intimate

Lastly, both pieces tie into this... Want & Instinct. Fragile was arguably one of the few people Higgs’ has ever connected with on a level beyond mere survival. Beyond what he NEEDED, and stepped into want. Into living. Partnering with her was a smart business move and while it may have been her DOOMS abilities that attracted him in the first place I think from an observer’s stand point just how he chooses to interact with her both in the flashback and their reunion.... 

We may never know the complexities of their relationship but Fragile clearly meant a great deal to him. Even if he hated her at one point, was jealous of her (her abilities, the childhood she had, the relationship with her loving PROUD father), you don’t look at someone the way Higgs’ looked at Fragile during the final moments we see them together on the beach, you don’t lean into their touch, and you certainly don’t leave them a personal note in your bunker asking them to forget you, to give up the bitterness and desire for revenge that’s clearly destroying them. The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. Something Higgs CLEARLY doesn’t have when it comes to his ex partner... For better or for worse Higgs cares about Fragile.

A similar argument can be made for how he may feel about Sam given the context of his actions within canon. Sure most of the non-lethal interactions we see between them can still be chalked up to Higgs being an asshole and having made a hobby out of fucking with everyone’s favorite porter just for funsies. But------ I doubt that’s all there was to it. 

As I’ve said, Higgs’ is a complicated individual. A grown-ass man with grown-ass feelings and given his journals and what context clues we’re given in scenes it's my opinion that Higgs was fond of both Fragile & Sam.  And with what limited experience he had making friends--- it’s not out there to think the oddity and the abrasive way he handles social interaction with them both is a might bit awkward. A tad CRINGE. Not unlike that of a youngster picking on the kids he finds fun and mayhaps develops a kind of crush on and wants to get to know better but doesn’t quite know how or knows what to do with his interest and feelings.

Yeah in that context the thing with the licking and smelling thing is still hella creep but makes a bit more sense no?

Keep in mind that scent and taste are the senses most closely linked to memory. The memories we get through experiencing stimuli through these senses tend to be the most vivid and easily recalled. Thinking about that, and thinking about how both are the only senses we have that go past the boundary of ourselves, that only occurs when we take in something other inside us, how in its way that’s a kind of connection is it not? And perhaps at the end of the day, in his heart of hearts, that’s something Higgs wanted from Sam & Fragile. And was willing to take it in whatever form he could have it. Even if only the mockery of one. The memory of it.

@team-trash-panda​ , @maskedprepperkid​ , @goldenbridgessss​ , @chiralcrystallization​ , @savage-rhi​ , @argetlam007​ , @chloe-3-price​ , @ruinerofcheese​