#i accidentally responded SO inappropriately to her thanking me

[bhaalsdeepbat]

i just told a customer that i'm clearly not very well socialized

[rottenfyre]

Do you think Bruce would introduce y/n to the justice league? I could totally see her simping over the flash (Or conner Kent 👀).

The first time you meet Conner, you’re immediately smitten. He’s tall, gorgeous, and has that perfect blend of confidence and awkward boy-next-door energy that you thrive on.

You don’t even bother introducing yourself properly. After the initial “Hey, pretty boy, wanna fuck?” incident, you lean into your new role as his unsolicited sugar mama.

Conner, tries to respond, but you’re already calculating how much of Bruce’s money you’ll need to spoil him.

During one mission, you dramatically announce, “Conner deserves everything! Clothes, gadgets, vacations—all on Daddy Bruce’s tab!”

Once, you bought him an entire motorcycle. When Bruce found out, he dragged you into the Batcave, his voice dangerously calm.

“Explain why my credit card statement says you purchased a $50,000 bike.”

“It’s for Conner. He deserves nice things.”

Bruce’s eye twitches. “Conner can fly. He doesn’t need a bike.”

You shrug. “But he looks so good on it, Bruce. Don’t be stingy.”

You’re constantly “borrowing” Bruce’s money for ridiculous things.

“Bruce, I need a million dollars.”

“For what?” he asks, already exhausted.

“To buy Conner a pony. He’s always wanted one.”

Bruce pinches the bridge of his nose. “I’m not giving you a million dollars.”

“Fine,” you huff. “But don’t come crying to me when Conner’s sad and pony-less.”

You have a love-hate relationship with Diana. You’re in awe of her beauty, strength, and grace, but you’re also deeply insecure.

During one mission, you stop mid-battle to dramatically compare your boobs to hers, much to everyone’s horror.

“Diana,” you sniff, clutching your chest, “I’ll never be able to compete with perfection like yours. It’s not fair!”

Diana, ever graceful, reassures you, “You’re beautiful in your own right.”

“You’re just saying that because you’re perfect,” you reply, before glaring at Bruce. “He never says anything nice to me.”

Bruce, utterly done: “Because you don’t deserve it.”

During a training session, you randomly grab Diana’s hand and place it on your boobs.

“Feel that, Diana. Am I Amazon material yet?”

She humors you, nodding seriously. “You’re getting there.”

You: “If I bulk up, can I join Themyscira?”

Barry finds you hilarious. He loves how unfiltered you are, even when it gets way too inappropriate.

Once, during a mission, you casually said, “Barry, do you think you could vibrate fast enough to—”

Barry, cutting you off, flailing: “DO NOT FINISH THAT SENTENCE.”

You just smirk. “I’m just saying. There’s potential.”

He starts speed-dodging your flirting, but you’re persistent. “One day, Speedy, you’ll come around.”

You have exactly one question for Hal when you meet him:

“So, hypothetically, could you make a functional dild—”

Hal, already holding up a hand: “Nope. Don’t even finish that thought.”

You pout. “Why do you even have the ring if you’re not going to use it creatively?”

Clark tries his best to remain polite and patient, but you test his limits.

“You must’ve been sculpted by the gods,” you tell him once, blatantly checking him out. “What’s it like being perfect, superdaddy?”

“I… um… thank you?” Clark stammers, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck while Bruce glares daggers at you.

You immediately give Arthur the nickname “Aquadaddy” and refuse to call him anything else.

“Look at those arms, Aquadaddy. What’s your bench press, a blue whale?”

Arthur smirks, clearly amused. “Something like that.”

You: “Bet you could throw me across the room.”

Arthur: “Why would I do that?”

You: “For fun. And because I’d enjoy it.”

You’re also obsessed with his tattoos.

“Did it hurt? Can I touch them? Are you planning on getting more? What if we got matching ones?!”

He indulges you for about five seconds before realizing you’re just trying to find an excuse to grope his arm.

“You’re worse than Barry,” he mutters.

During an underwater mission, you accidentally blurted out, “Do mermaids exist? Be honest.”

Arthur: “They’re… complicated.”

You: “Complicated? Are they, like, your exes?”

Arthur groans, swimming away while you cackle.

You’ve made it your life’s mission to torment Bruce.

When the League gathers for a meeting, you always find a way to embarrass him. One time, you slid into the room dramatically, pointed at him, and declared, “That man is the reason I’m not married yet!”

Bruce: “How is this my fault?”

You grin. “Because I’ll never find another man who looks as good in a suit. You’ve ruined my standards.”

You are Bruce’s biggest headache. Every time he turns around, you’re doing something wildly inappropriate.

During a League movie night, you plop yourself on the floor between his legs, resting your head on his thigh.

“Your thighs are so firm, Bruce. You ever think about becoming a leg model?”

Bruce just stares down at you, utterly done. “Go sit somewhere else.”

You grin up at him. “Nope. This is my spot now.”

As unhinged as you are, everyone in the League has a soft spot for you. You make them laugh, even if it’s at Bruce’s expense.

And while your antics are embarrassing for Bruce, they all know you’re a fierce fighter and incredibly loyal. When it matters, you’ve got their backs—and they wouldn’t trade you for anything.

Except Bruce. Bruce would absolutely trade you for five minutes of peace.

[infiniteeight8]

Desperate for those final few Can’t Find Out! So excited! So here is a prompt for one of them!

I'm sorry I made everyone wait so long for this! It's, like, three weeks past when it came up in my queue. But it needed some extra brain energy, so I had to wait for the right moment. I hope it lives up to expectations!

Edit: As usual, I forgot to link the rest of the series. Here it is: https://archiveofourown.org/series/3953044

-

Tony has brought Stephen food again. Not just take out, this time; Stephen is almost certain that Tony made this pasta himself. Possibly a family recipe. Tony hadn’t said so, but he was masking nervousness when he handed it over, and when Stephen made an involuntary noise of appreciation at the first mouthful, Tony had looked pleased in a way that you just didn’t when you were supplying take out.

The take out itself had been inappropriate, given their dynamics and mating status. This meal… This meal would be grounds for bond dissolution in some places. God only knew what Pepper thought of it; Stephen was certain that Tony hadn’t been hiding anything from her. Most likely, she’d rolled her eyes at Tony’s blithe disregard of social mores. 

Stephen, for his part, has long since abandoned any shame he’d once felt for accepting these gestures as if they were real. What harm does it do to pretend for a moment that Tony is courting him? Stephen is the only one who knows, and he’s careful to accept, but not respond. 

“That was incredible,” Stephen says when he’s wiped up the last of the sauce with a bit of bread and finished that off, too. 

Tony still has food in front of him; he’s been watching Stephen eat. “Thanks,” he says. “It’s been years since I made it; I was a little afraid it wouldn’t come out right.”

He had made it himself. “Years? Why so long?”

“Busy, mostly,” Tony says. Stephen waits, because it seems like there’s more to it. “The longer I went without making it,” Tony eventually goes on, “the more it seemed like I should save it for a special occasion.”

Stephen’s mouth goes dry. “I guess you gave up on that.”

Tony shakes his head. 

Oh God. Stephen knew he should have cut all contact after Thanos. He was going to tear Tony’s life apart without even trying, how could he have been so selfish? “Tony—”

“Have I ever told you how Pepper and I got bonded?” Tony breaks in.

Stephen snaps his mouth shut. “No.” He doesn’t particularly want to hear this story, but he probably deserves to.

“I had this big interview scheduled,” Tony says. “We were in the green room getting ready. Pepper was going over this endless list of questions with me. What they’d probably ask, things we’d told them were off limits, that sort of thing.” He pauses and Stephen nods for him to go on, confused. This doesn’t sound like a romantic story. “Probably three quarters of the questions on the list—expected and banned—were about my relationship status. I was supposed to be talking about Iron Man and clean energy and the expansion of SI’s medical technology division and all they wanted to know was who I was dating and what I wanted out of a marriage." Tony snorted. “So I complain to Pepper, of course, and she says, ‘At least they don’t shut you out of meetings because unmated omegas are ‘volatile.’” Stephen winces. He’s heard that one, too. Tony continues, “So I say, ‘Hey, if we got bonded, we could kill two birds with one stone.’”

Stephen waits for a long minute for the story to continue, but Tony just waits. “I… don’t understand,” Stephen says. He can’t understand. It can’t be what it sounds like. His heart starts pounding anyway.

“Stephen, Pepper and I were never a love match,” Tony says carefully. “We’re friends, but we got bonded for the convenience of our careers, not because we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. I don’t consider myself mated, and neither does she.”

It feels like the world has dropped away from Stephen, like he might have accidentally slipped out of phase with reality. “But you love Pepper,” he says helplessly. “Fourteen million futures, Tony. I know you love Pepper.”

“Yeah, I do,” Tony affirms. “She’s my best friend. She’s been with me through everything. Of course I love her. I’d be wrecked if I lost her.” He had been, more than once, in those futures. “But that doesn’t mean our relationship is romantic. We’ve never seen each other that way.”

Stephen looks at his empty plate. He touches the edge of it with a trembling hand. “A special occasion, you said.”

Tony smiles. “Well. I’ve never initiated a courtship before.” He pauses for a long moment, then smirks. “Unless you’re still carrying a torch for your mystery alpha.”

That smirk. Stephen laughs—maybe just a little too sharply—and shakes his head. “When did you figure it out?”

“Not me,” Tony admits. “Pepper.”

“Of course it was Pepper,” Stephen sighs. He really should have been more discreet around her, but it’s hard to regret it now.

Tony stands and comes around the Sanctum’s kitchen table, standing next to Stephen and holding out both of his hands. Stephen pushes back from the table and takes Tony’s hands, letting the alpha pull him to his feet. Tony’s grip is gentle, but not at all tentative. 

“So what do you say?” Tony asks. “You’ve already had god knows how many lifetimes with me. You up for one more?”

As if there was any doubt. “Always.” 

Tony pulls him into a kiss, and Stephen finally comes home.

[vladdyissues]

Hi! First time asking... sorry if I did or say something inappropriate. Sorry for the anonymous as well.

But I really want to know your opinion on this idea I have, whether it aligns with their personality or if it's even possible.

I was thinking something like, it's the usual where Vlad was beaten by Danny and he became frustrated of all his fails especially the last one where Danny humiliated him, perhaps by manipulating his feelings for Madeline. So he decided to have a payback in the same nature. Planning for several days and night without sleeping he came up with a plan to screw Danny over by possessing Paulina and seduces Danny only to reveal that it was Vlad all along, thoroughly humiliating him.

So he went and donated the newest state of the art air conditioner to Casper High to be put in every class, hall, to mask the boy's ghost sense like it did with Spectra. Of course he also had a contingency plan, he is a genius after all, so he made something that would supres his ghost powers and presence in a form of a collar.

In the end Vlad possessed Paulina, Danny was over the moon that Paulina, the most popular girl in school was into him. But as time went by and he noticed that Paulina seemed different, she gave of the air of a spoiled, beauty obsessed rich girl before. But now she seemed thoughful, still a bit haughty but she seemed genuinely interested in Danny's conversation and could catch up with him even when he accidentally said something about his parents experiment.

One time there was a ghost in school he accidentally transformed in front of her, and she didn't even run, scream, or hide. She protected him by leading the others away. And Danny fell for her instantly.

(I just have to add, Vlad's brain at that moment: You fool, why did you run here to transform!? Will this thwart my plans? Don't you know everyone else is also running here? This fool!)

So Danny confessed everything to her, his identity, his family's situation and finally his feelings for her. He knows that he is not worthy of her since she is rich, popular, has a stable family and all he could offer her was himself. Danny had grew to love her.

Vlad too, ever since Danny looked at him with those sparkling puppy dog eyes and the way he and the boy could have a decent conversation without tearing each other's throats out. How whenever he tries to think of Maddie instead his through fell back to Danny. He wanted Danny to fall for him and humiliate the boy, but his plans backfired, he was the one who fell hard for the boy.

Danny was leaning if for a kiss when Vlad couldn't take it anymore and decides to tell the truth. He came out of the girl and showed himself as the unconscious girl fell into Danny's arms. At first Danny was angry that Vlad was possessing Paulina, ruining his confession when Vlad admitted, he was possessing the girl for a long time, the first time she tries to seduce Danny, it was Vlad.

The information was too much and Danny had tears in his eyes. Vlad wanted to comfort the boy but the boy had looked at him with such hatred in his eyes. "You win, Vlad. You got what you wanted so stay away from me." He left while carrying the unconscious Paulina to safety.

Vlad stood there, right hand was reaching for the boy but he placed it back to his side. He regretted his actions. He thought that as long as he explained things Danny wouldn't look at him with that much hatred, he would beat him up in frustration, yell at him but things never worked out in his favor. He should've known that he destroys every relationship he has. He could never make any intimate connection with anyone. It's his curse.

I only though of things until here but I would love to see Vlad and Danny making up. Danny realises how the one he fell for was Vlad, forgives Vlad and probably chase after Vlad who now stubbornly pushes people away after getting hurt (by his own actions)

I know its not much but If you read this or respond to it, thank you!

Not much? NOT MUCH?

Anon, you just sent one of the juciest, most fantastic, well-constructed story ideas I've ever read. It's intriguing. Compelling. Clear motivations, a stellar twist. True to character, because Danny does have a crush on Paulina in canon, and Vlad is known for being so monomaniacal that he fails to consider the consequences of some of his actions. Also he's ruthless, petty, and uses people for his own personal gain. To see that come back and bite him in the ass with the added bonus of opening his eyes to his own past mistakes is just—utterly splendid. And Danny learning the painful lesson that appearances aren't the end-all be-all of a person, that the fantasy of dating a pretty, popular girl is nothing compared to the reality of loving—and being loved by—someone who understands you deeply and truly.

It's all just 😤💪😭😘👌 so good. What you've got here is pretty much the first half or two-thirds of the story, with the climax being Vlad's reveal and Danny storming away. Then that plot rollercoaster plummets down to the abyss where Vlad deals with the repercussions of his charade and only begins to climb once Danny starts to come to terms with his feels. That resolution, when it happens, is going to be so delectably satisfying. I can almost taste it 🤤

[smolwritingchick]

The Bangtan Gal Chapter 61- Tense

Chapter Summary: Still shooked by the dream Jennie begins to feel awkward around Jungkook and her unusual behavior does not go unnoticed

Words: 6,000+

Author's Note: D.E.N.I.A.L lol. Also, If you played Cards Against Humanity (highly recommend), then you know things get suggestive so if you are not about that life, just skip it. Also there is foreshadowing at the end! :)

-------

Jennie didn’t get much sleep that night, still shaken from those events that appeared in her dream. This was not good and she kept mentally kicking herself for letting her mind imagine something so inappropriate about her best friend.

Near morning, she was the first to go into the kitchen and sought to distract herself with a bowl of cereal and games on her phone.

“Morning, sweetie!” Jin’s voice was heard as she looked up with a timid smile.

“Morning.”

“You want me to make you anything?”

“Nah, I’m almost done with my cereal. But I’ll help you cook breakfast.” she got out of her seat.

Helping him fix a big meal for the members, they set up plates around the table. Before she knew it, Taehyung, Namjoon, and Hobi made their way into the kitchen to eat. Gathering her dish after eating another bowl of cereal, Jennie advanced her way to place the bowl in the sink.

“Hey, morning!” Jungkook’s cheerful voice filled the room. 

Flinching, she inadvertently dropped her bowl on the floor, causing the glass to shatter.

“Crap...” she quickly kneeled to try to carefully pick up the pieces.

“Aw, hyung! Another thing broke?” Jimin walked in, complaining.

“It wasn’t even me! It was Jennie!” Namjoon exclaimed, pointing at her.

“You all right?” Hobi asked, earning a soft “yeah” from Miss Bangtan.

“Hey, I got it.” Jungkook quickly went to help her. 

Her hand brushed against his, causing her to flinch again. She immediately stood up and cleared her throat. 

Jungkook shot her a worried look. “Hey, you all right?”

“Y-yeah, yeah. Just accidentally cut my finger,” she responded quickly. “I need to use the bathroom, I’ll be right back.” she hastily left while he cleaned up the mess with Hobi.

Walking into the hallway bathroom, she shut the door and placed her hands on the sink, exhaling slowly. She wished she didn’t feel so clumsy around him because of a dream.

‘Should I just tell him?’ she thought to herself. Shaking her head, she added, ‘No way. Keep this to the grave. It’ll take some time but I’ll get over this.’ 

At least, she hoped she did.

After washing her hands, she sat on the toilet seat. She can’t hide in here forever. She’ll have to leave sometime. She just needed some time to regroup and put on a fake smile.

“Ennie, are you all right?” Taehyung knocked on the door.

“Yeah, you can come in,” she answered.

“Let’s take care of this.” he grabbed the first aid kit from under the sink and kneeled in front of her, taking her right hand.

“I could’ve done this.”

“I was worried.”

“It’s just a little cut, Tae.”

“Still.” he placed some antibiotic ointment on the cut and placed a small band-aid on her right middle finger. “There, all better.”

She chuckled as she watched him cutely kiss her bandaged finger a few times. “Thanks, Tae.”

“Now let’s head back to the kitchen.”

“R-right. The kitchen.”

Where Jungkook was...

Strolling back into the kitchen, she locked eyes with Jungkook, who waved. “Jennie, I saved your seat. Sit next to me!” he gave her one of his cute bunny smiles.

“Thanks,” she murmured and sat next to him with the rest of the members around the table. 

Boy, she wished she could hide right now as her cheeks warmed up.

While the members were immersed in conversation, Jennie tried to distract herself by going on her phone. But it was short lived when Namjoon grabbed it and placed it on the table. She shot him a ‘What the hell’ facial expression.

“If Jin had to take my phone away, your phone would be taken too. No phones at the table. We’re both suffering,” he responded.

Jungkook had been watching her the entire time. She seemed...off today ever since she dropped her bowl. 

“Hey, are you all right? You seem jumpy today,” he murmured to her.

“O-oh, I’m fine. It’s just that time of the month.” she laughed nervously.

“I thought it doesn’t start until the following week. We’ve been keeping track, remember?” Jin called out.

‘For fuck sake! Really Jin?!’ she complained in her head, struggling not to glare at him. “It’s irregular today. Must’ve been something I ate. It’s okay.”

“Maybe it was the beef? Does that happen? Females eat something and their cycle acts up?”

“Jesus...let’s stop talking about periods, it’s too early for this.” she rubbed her temples.

For the next few days, Jennie proceeded to be on edge as the members started noticing her change in demeanor. Her voice would go up an octave and she often laughed nervously at the most basic things. There was one time when Hobi had brought a box of pocky and asked if she wanted some. She yelled a loud “No!” unexpectedly, causing him to yelp. She had apologized profusely for it. She couldn’t even look at Pocky because it made her think of Jungkook.

Following dance practice, Jungkook had decided to address her. He regarded that she wasn’t as chatty with him and spent even less time with the other members, remaining quiet. He began to feel jealous of the lack of attention, poking the inside of his cheek when he watched her avoid conversation all day.

“Hey, did I...do something wrong?” he asked, watching her place her bag over her shoulder.

Jennie took a small step back, feeling intimidated by their closeness. “Huh? What you mean?”

“Something is bothering you and it’s starting to bother me. I don’t like seeing you so troubled.” he crossed his arms. 

Concern was clear in his voice and facial features as she nervously looked at him in the eyes.

“What makes you think I’m troubled?”

“I dunno you just seem kind of...distant...I hope I didn’t do anything wrong. If I did, I’m sorry.”

Her eyes softened. He truly was a sweetheart. She was being so unfair to him and she didn’t want him to be upset like this. 

“Y-you didn’t do anything wrong. Don’t worry about it. I’m just a little tired. I’ll be fine. I uh, watched this horror movie, that’s why I’m a bit on edge.”

“What movie?”

‘Crap...’ she thought. “T-The shining. It’s an American movie. Y-you know, hereeeeee’s Johnny!” she started laughing anxiously as he raised a brow.

'Something is definitely off.' he thought but decided to let her slide.

He chuckled and shook his head. “You’re so goofy today. Maybe you should stick with action movies. I also think you ate too many smarties.”

“Yeah, smarties. That’s it.”

The next day, Jennie had tried to get her mind off things by going to a private gym, early in the morning. Wearing her Nike jacket zipped halfway, over her sports bra, she also had the sneakers and leggings on. She sat on the bench, wrapping her hands in a pair of MMA gel hand wraps.

After stretching and running on the treadmill for a warm up, she switched to the weights. Once she was done, she turned to the punching bag to take out all her frustration by punching and kicking aggressively.

“Get! Your! Act! To! Get! Her! Stop! Think! ‘ing! A! ‘bout! Him!” she muttered after every punch and kick.

“How come you decided to go to the gym without us?” Jimin whined, walking in with Jin.

Stopping her punch, she turned to them, trying to keep her nervousness in check. "I-I sorry. I wanted a head start,"

She noticed that almost two hours had passed and her entire body was perspiring and aching. Grabbing a towel, she sat on a bench and wiped her face. Jimin and Jin had begun using the weights while she watched them, occasionally speaking while in their conversation. After her little break, she went to do squats with dumbbells in her hands. 

She shouldn't still be working out for this long but anything to distract her from her mind wandering back to her best friend in her bed.

Jungkook was also located in the gym, finishing up his set of chin-ups on a bar. Looking up, he noticed Jennie, catching a glimpse of her bending down for another squat. His gaze lingered on her rear, watching closely. He didn’t know how long he was staring for but he couldn’t look away.

“Hey, Jungkook!” Jimin patted him on the back, causing the Maknae to jump. “Whatcha staring at?”

“N-nothing.” he stuttered, feeling his face get flushed.

“Staring at her again, eh?” he teased.

“N-not at all.”

Jennie turned around and widened her eyes in alarm when she saw Jungkook speaking with Jimin.

‘Time to go!’ she yelled in her head, gathering up her things hastily.

“H-hey, where are you going?” Jin called out, getting off one of the machines.

“Something came up! Gotta go! See you in the dorm!” she raced out of the gym.

“W-we just got here! I thought we were going to do Zumba!” he yelled, catching the attention of Jimin and Jungkook.

“What happened?” Jimin asked.

“She just left out of the blue...now, who is going to teach us Zumba?”

“I can!” Jungkook raised his hand.

“Jennie does it better than you, though.” Jimin dismissed him, causing the Maknae to playfully hit him

After working out, Jungkook had gone back to the dorm, to lay on his bed. He couldn’t get that image of Jennie out of his head as his mind began to wander.

--------

It was a summer afternoon in the dorm with Jennie chilling on the couch, in the living room, on her phone. He noticed that she was in her gym clothes and he was too, so he assumed they’d be working out together. Her hair was down, which he always liked. Whenever she put her hair in a bun, he always had the abrupt urge to take it out.

“Hey! There you are. Before we go, I’ve been itching to play this game. It’s called Cards Against Humanity, ever heard of it?” she beamed.

“Yeah, never played it though.” he sat next to her.

“It’s simple, I’ll show you. Seijin isn’t coming to drop us off at the gym for another hour, so you want to play to pass the time?”

“Yeah, why not.”

He watched her get up and get the box of cards from her room. Sitting back on the couch, she shuffled the cards.

“All right, this game can get sexual and inappropriate. It’s not your average kiddy game,” she informed him. “And it can be offensive. It’s been a while since I played this and I’m really bored, so do you mind? Only if you’re comfortable with it.”

Jungkook nodded. “It’s fine.”

“This game is supposed to have at least three players, but let’s just have fun and see what crazy combinations we can come up with. And be 100% real with me. It’s just us. No judging. Let’s have fun, and get our teenage minds flowing. What happens here, stays here. And be as random as possible in this game so I can have a good laugh.”

“All right, you’re on.”

“The black cards are the question cards, which is basically a statement. The white cards are what we can use to answer the statement as you can see there’s a word to fill in for it. Usually, the person with the best white card answer will win the black card.”

She placed a black card on the couch and it read ‘There’s an app for that’

Jennie placed down, ‘Feeding Rosie O’Donnell’ while Jungkook put down, ‘bitches’

“Really...?” she deadpanned.

“What?” he smiled sheepishly.

“That’s a dry answer, Kook. Don’t give me these wack answers.” she playfully scolded.

As they continued to play, their combinations got funnier as Jungkook loosened up and enjoyed himself in the game. Their answers were so random that they had to google what some words meant because they hadn’t heard of them before.

‘And the Academy award goes for...goes to...’ said the black card with two white cards that needed to be placed for the statement.

Jennie placed down ’72 virgins’ and ‘Batman’ for her answer, while Jungkook suddenly placed down, ‘Firing a rifle into the air while balls deep in a squealing hog’ and ‘sperm whales’

“What the actual hell?” she cackled. “Jungkook, what is going on with your mind today?”

“N-nothing!”

“I dunno about that.” she teased.

‘Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s...’

Having terrible cards, Jennie decided to get rid of her ‘Hot Pockets’ card for her answer, while Jungkook chose ‘Sexual Tension’

“So, how does a girl be born with sexual tension?” she asked.

“I guess when she automatically gives the guy sexual tension?” he shrugged.

“Fair enough.”

‘I drink to forget...’

Jen put down ‘Horsemeat’ while Jungkook put down ‘Pulling out’, causing her to stare at him, surprised.

“Wow, Jungkook.” she shook her head as he let out a shy laugh.

‘Why am I sticky?’

Jennie chose ‘Judge Judy’ and Jungkook placed down ‘Fingering’ for the next card.

“Wow. You have a very dirty mind, Kook.” she asserted, checking out her white cards.

Jungkook had felt his face warm up at her statement. 

Well, she wasn’t wrong. 

As they continued to play, Jennie laughed again when Jungkook had put down, ‘Doing the right stuff to her nipples’

“You’ve been hanging around Namjoon too much.”

“It-its just a game! I’m trying here!” he stuttered.

“That’s what they all say. I guess that mouth of yours doesn’t just sing and rap, huh?”

‘If it’s for you, I’ll do whatever you want.’ he thought to himself.

“You wanna kiss?” she asked out of the blue.

“Yes,” he answered immediately.

Taking out a small bag of Hershey Kisses, she handed him a few in a small ziplock bag. “Jeez, you’re really eager for chocolate, aren’t you? Well, I don’t blame you. We all need a little chocolate in our lives. It’s good for the soul.”

‘Oh, this was what she meant.’ he examined the candy. “Let’s eat the chocolate later. We’re going to be going to the gym soon. Don’t want to upset our stomachs.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

While the game continued, Jungkook had randomly placed down the ‘Reverse Cowgirl’

“Huh. You appear to be familiar with that position, Kook,” she spoke in a serious tone, meeting his gaze. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

“U-uh...” he averted his eyes, hearing her giggle.

“I’m just messing! I don’t judge.”

“Y-you need to stop teasing me with the answers I choose.”

“Or what?” she taunted, raising a brow. “What are you going to do Jungkook?”

Part of him was tempted to just say screw it, toss all the cards aside and kiss her but he refrained himself.

Getting back into the game, he put down, 'Bouncing up and down.'

Jennie, out of nowhere asked, “On what exactly?"

Jungshook appeared as he shifted in his seat, unable to look at her in the eyes.

"What? Is it a bed? A trampoline?” 

“Ah, is Seijin here?” he grabbed his phone to change the subject. 

Jungkook sensed something thick in the air and felt flushed all over. As if on cue, Seijin did arrive and the 97 Liners were dropped off at a private gym where they wouldn’t be disturbed. After stretching and warming up, they stood on a series of mats to practice wrestling. Although ISAC was over and she dominated in wrestling, she still wanted him to teach her a few more moves, just in case they have it again.

With the both of them sweaty and trying to pin each other down, they got up close and personal. After their sparring, Jungkook went to go bench press, laying on his back while Jennie told him she would be on one of the machines.

Placing the bar back, he took a break, resting on his back. Promptly, Jungkook felt pressure on his lap. Widening his eyes, he realized it was Jennie straddling him.

“W-wh-at are you do-ing?!” he stuttered.

“I’m aware of what’s going on here,” she responded, placing her hands on his chest, and getting comfortable. “I’ve seen you staring.”

He was so tongue-tied that he couldn’t speak anymore as he stared at the enticing view. Whatever she was starting, he hoped that she’d finish because his self-control was slim to none the longer she sat on his lap.

“I-I’m sorry, I shou-”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“A-aren’t you angry?”

“Who said I was mad?” her hands slowly moved up his shirt to take it off. “The only thing I’m wondering about is why you haven’t taken the initiative yet.”

He watched her unzip her jacket and place it on the floor.

“So, I guess I have to be the one to make the first move,” she added. 

Feeling her move against his lap, his breathing quickened.

“I’ll admit, this is a nice view,” she remarked, watching his face scrunch up in pleasure. She grabbed his hands and placed them on her hips. “But it’ll be nicer if you’d relax and tell me what you want me to do.”

-------

And he did and Jungkook woke up, on his bed, drenched in sweat. He regarded a tightness in his pants, quickly making his way to the shower, to take care of himself and clean himself up.

The next day, Jennie managed to avoid the weird dreams of Jungkook, distracting herself with other things to keep herself occupied. 

Unfortunately for her, Jungkook began to notice her distance and spoke to Namjoon about it.

“Jennie is acting strange. I dunno what is going on. She’s not herself and I feel like I did something wrong. Could you...maybe talk to her, Hyung?”

Namjoon had fulfilled his request when he found Jennie in her studio.

“Hey...what’s up?” she asked, taking off her headphones.

Namjoon even noticed she wasn't acting like herself, especially with the way she greeted him.

“Jennifer, I want to talk with you,” he spoke in a serious tone, closing her door and grabbing a seat next to her. 

From the tone of his voice, she knew that she was in trouble with something. 

“What did I do, now?”

“Jungkook approached me today.”

‘Oh God...’ she cringed at his name as all the thoughts came back. ‘I thought I was doing so well.’

“He says you seem on edge about something,” Namjoon added. “We all see it. You've been acting strange. I want to know what is going on. Are you all right?”

She hesitated. “Why is everyone so worried about me? I’m fine, all right?”

Namjoon frowned. “You know you can always tell us what’s wrong. No matter what it is. We’ll work through it together.”

“I know and I will if there’s a big problem. I promise,” she responded truthfully.

Jennie decided to keep it to herself because she wanted to speak with Amber, Hyuna, and Hayoon about it first when she went to meet them. Get a girl’s perspective before taking that risk to tell Namjoon if she feels like she really should.

“Llama~!” Jennie jumped right on Amber’s back, holding onto her like a koala while Amber laughed loudly. 

She met up with her outside of her place. After getting off her back, Amber picked her up and spun her around.

“Smartie~!” she copied the way she greeted her and set her down. “We are gonna have so much fun today. I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too. So, where to first?”

“I want ice cream. Oh, I’m also filming for my YouTube channel, so I want you to be in it.” 

“Okay, fine by me!”

Once Amber started rolling the camera, they walked around. “Ahhhh it’s such a nice day~! Everyone! Guess what!? My best pal, Jennie is here~!” Amber grabbed her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

“Ayeeee! What up!?” Jennie waved.

She always loved speaking with Amber because they could speak English freely and she felt like she could express herself better when speaking in her native language.

“We all know Jennie from BTS, isn’t she amazing?”

“Isn’t Amber amazing?”

“Awwwww.”

“We’re going to get ice cream.”

“Yeah, because we’re very sweet people.” Amber removed her arm from her.

“My body is sore.”

“What did you do prior?”

“I went to the gym.”

“I need to go to the gym more. I’m out of shape.”

“We’re both out of shape. Let’s plan to go sometime together.”

“Sounds like a plan. Ah, have I told you guys that I really love my friends?” Amber asked on camera. “They are my family.”

“I’m your family?” Jennie asked in an emotional voice

“Yes, you are my family, I love you.”

“I love you too~!”

Arriving at a local ice cream shop, they ordered a big banana split with some fruit on top to share. Jennie carried it over to the booth they sat in.

“Oh yeah....get-in-my-belly~!” Jennie stared at the ice cream with love while Amber giggled, filming her. Eating a big spoonful, Miss Bangtan moaned in delight, savoring the taste. Raising her arms, she looked up at the ceiling. “Hallelujah!”

Amber mocked her moan and yelled, “Hallelujah!” which caused the duo to giggle wholeheartedly.

“We’re weird, we know,” Amber said to the camera, setting it down.

“So how’s the upcoming album?” Jen asked with a smile as they shared the ice cream.

“4 Walls is getting together. I love it. It’s going to be great. We have this song called Papi, I want to send you the instrumental so you can practice it to help your DJ skills.”

“Oh snap, that kind of song, huh? Okay, I’ll do that, thanks.”

“How’s Bangtan’s album going?”

“Slowly but surely we’re getting things down. We’ve been recording and stuff. I think this is going to be my favorite comeback by far. Our title song is called Run. I’m not sure what our music video is going to be about yet, it’s too early to tell but the song is really good.”

“Awesome, can’t wait to hear it. Any goals for this comeback?”

“I hope we get to have some wins for the song. And maybe some awards for it. That would be great. Either way, I’m proud of our work so far for it.”

“I’m rooting for you.”

“I should’ve had some rocky road with this. There are no nuts in this ice cream.” Jen pondered about ordering the ice cream flavor.

“Oh, I have some nuts.”

“Where?”

“Deez nuts.” Amber started giggling while Jennie deadpanned, shaking her head.

Grabbing the plate of ice cream, Jennie started eating it by herself while Amber tried to pull it back to the middle of the table. 

“I am so over you,” Jennie called out

“I thought you loved me!”

“Not at the moment!”

“Guys, she doesn’t love me anymore.”

“We’re getting a divorce.”

Amber pouted to the camera. “We will find a way to work this out.”

After finishing the ice cream, there was one piece of strawberry left on the plate and they aimed to grab it with their spoons. They grabbed onto each other’s arms while trying everything they could to take it.

“Hey! Hey! Mine! Mine!” Amber exclaimed.

“Come on, let me have this one, it’s a strawberry.”

“No way, I saw it first.”

They ended up giggling, moving around as they tried to grab the fruit. In the end, Amber leaned down and grabbed it with her mouth

“Weak!” Jen complained while laughing, setting her spoon down.

“Better luck next time!”

After they left, they rented bikes to ride around the bike trail. Amber was standing next to her, continuing to film as they prepared.

“Hamster and Llama ready for biking!” Amber dramatically announced.

“Yeah! That’s how we do!”

“Wow, look at the beautiful view.”

“Me?” Jennie placed a hand over her heart, touched by her words.

“No, the sky.” Amber deadpanned. 

Miss Bangtan dropped her jaw and Amber couldn’t help but snicker at her reaction.

After their banter, Amber set her camera down. “Let’s go, rawrrr~!” she made a funny sound effect as they began to ride around.

“Woo hoo~! When Captain America throws his mighty shield, all those who chose to oppose his shield must yield~!” Jen yelled out, over Amber’s laughter.

Once they went back to her place, Hyuna and Hayoon arrived to spend some time together. The four girls shared stories of what had been going on with their idol lives and Jennie shared the funny stories of Bangtan’s current prank war.

“I plan to numb their toothpaste this time,” Jennie announced.

“That’s evil! I love it! If you can, film their reactions!” Amber laughed.

“I will! I will!” Jennie turned to Hyuna. “Girl! Your comeback! What the hell?”

Hyuna giggled and covered her face. “I’m happy you love it. Roll Deep is so fun. We still need to figure out a date so I can teach you ways to improve your charisma on stage.”

“I’ll keep you posted.”

“Are you ready to go back to school?” Hayoon asked Jennie.

“Honestly, I am a little bit. I kind of like school. The main thing I’m looking forward to is my guitar class.”

“Me too. I found out that Jungkook is in my math class, this semester. Hopefully, the class won’t be too hard.”

Hearing Jungkook’s name caused Jen’s stomach to drop again. As the girls talked, Jennie became tense again.

“Hey, are you all right? You seem distracted.” Amber nudged her.

“Uh...a little. A lot on my mind.” Jen murmured

“Share! What’s going on?” Hyuna asked.

“I hope it’s nothing bad,” Hayoon responded.

“Have you guys ever had...weird dreams about someone close to you?” Jen asked.

“I’m pretty sure we all have weird dreams,” Amber reassured her. “But what’s the deal? Who’d you dream about?”

“I had a dream about Jungkook...”

“About...?” Hyuna gestured for her to continue speaking.

“We were...making out...on my bed and it was very physical,”

“O-oh...oh! Oh dear.” Hayoon widened her eyes, while Hyuna and Amber were just as surprised.

“We did some...sinful shit man...” Jen went on. “I feel so dirty. I don’t even wanna know what would’ve happened if I didn’t wake up when I did.”

“This escalated quickly,” Hyuna murmured.

“Yeah, this was not what I thought about when you said weird dream,” Hayoon added.

“Wow...that is awesome!” Amber called out, applauding.

“Awesome!?” Jennie stared at her with fear. “That’s not awesome! I am freaking the frick out!” she grabbed a hold of Amber and shook her rapidly while she giggled in response.

“Are there more details to this? I want to know exactly how this came about.” Hayoon spoke.

“Yoon, what the hell!? You’re encouraging this!?” Jennie yelled.

“I mean...maybe it’s a sign. Right, Amber?”

“Yep.” Amber smiled.

“Ah...I-I don't think so. I don’t know what to do.” Jen exclaimed, shaking her head. “I should not be having those dreams. It just came out of nowhere and I don’t know why. I’ve tried my best to avoid him-“

“D-don’t avoid him!” Hayoon scolded. “That is unfair to him.”

“What else am I gonna do?! I can’t face this guy! Every time I see this guy’s face or hear his name, I think back to when he was smooching up on me. That is not an image I should have of my best friend, man! Ugh! What is wrong with me? Dirty! This is so dirty!” she covered her face

Hyuna and Amber started laughing at her comment.

“What is so funny!?” Jen called out.

“The way you said smooching up on me.” Hyuna giggled.

“Ugh! He would never do that, that is so not like him.” Jen mentioned.

"You sure about that? You sure about that?" Hayoon asked.

“I mean, you never know what Jungkook is capable of,” Amber claimed. “People shouldn’t underestimate him. He is called the Golden Maknae for a reason.”

“I agree,” Hyuna replied. “I’m sure when he’s good, ready, and comfortable with someone, he’ll be golden in that department of activity, too.”

“There was always this saying that I hear...” Hayoon remarked. “What was it? Oh, yeah, it’s always the quiet ones-“

“PLEASE for the love of smarties! Stop! You’re giving me weird thoughts!” Jennie covered her ears.

“I think you should speak to him about it,” Hyuna suggested.

Miss Bangtan shook her head vigorously. “No. Absolutely not. Hell no.”

“Jennie...do you think you like him?” Hayoon wondered.

Miss Bangtan hesitated. 

No...? 

Right?

Jennie averted her eyes for a moment, thinking about the question. "N-no...why would I?"

Hayoon and Amber glanced at each other with knowing looks before giving Hyuna the same look.

“Say, Jennie do you think the dream meant something?” Hyuna inquired.

Jennie hesitated again. “I-It meant nothing. It was probably just some silly dream. I just wish I could stop thinking about it.”

“I’m gonna say it. I think you are in denial.” Amber announced.

“Wh-what!? No! N-no way! I’m not! I am not in denial! Nothing is going on between us! Okay!?” Jen’s sudden yell caused the three girls to glance at each other, surprised.

“Whoa. Relax.” Amber put her hands up in defense.

“I am relaxed!” she argued.

“Your voice doesn’t sound relaxed.” she giggled, trying to calm her down. “We get it. Nothing is going on yet-“

“Oh my gosh, c-can we just drop it? We’re friends. Always will be. Maybe I just went to bed before my food was digested and a weird dream came up. I don’t like him, okay? We’re friends. Best pals. I gotta pee.” she stood up and went to the bathroom.

“D.E.N.I.A.L.” Amber murmured, taking a sip of her water.

“Yeah...looks like she’s in the denial stage. Sooner or later she’ll realize and accept these feelings.” Hyuna guaranteed. “What do you think we should do?”

“We should plan accordingly.”

“Jennie and Jungkook...it’s going to happen. We just need to remain patient.” Hayoon said. “I know it’ll be worth it in the end but let’s also make sure we don’t force it and let nature take its course. It’s happening but at a very slow pace. It will progress. They will be together soon. So, let’s tread lightly on the matter. She's in denial now...but sooner or later something big is going to happen that will make her see that these feelings are real.”

“Duly noted.”

--------

After the week went by, Jennie proceeded to feel more like herself as she decided to dedicate herself to her work, getting her mind off things. After working on some covers, she jammed in the studio, practicing the guitar notes for Charice’s Before It Explodes, humming the song.

A series of hard knocks on her door made her place her guitar down. 

“Who?” she called out.

“It’s your golden best friend,” Jungkook murmured against the door.

Her stomach dropped at the sound of his voice. Of course, it was him.

She couldn’t avoid him forever. It wasn’t right. But she just couldn’t face him. She felt so ashamed and awkward.

But she knew she had to confront him sometime. Might as well do it now.

Clearing her throat, striving to act as normal as possible, she responded, preparing for the worst, “You can come in.”

Jungkook had stormed into her studio, upset. He noticed that she didn’t even say her trademark, ‘Enter my realm’ comment, which made him angry because something was definitely up.

“What is it-” she was cut off when a sharp breath escaped her lips once Jungkook vigorously grabbed the back of her chair and turned her around to face him. 

He slammed his hands on the armrests, making her flinch and widen her eyes.

“J-Jesus, Kook, what is your problem?” she stuttered, feeling her heart rate quicken.

“My problem?” he scoffed, shaking his head. He grabbed another chair and sat in front of her with a frown. “My problem is you and I’m not leaving this room until you tell me exactly what is going on,”

Averting her eyes, she murmured, “Nothing is going on-“

“Don’t lie to me.” he firmly cut her off. There was a brief pause as she couldn’t bring herself to speak. “Look at me.”

‘Don’t say that please.’ she thought to herself, thinking back to the dream. After a while, she reluctantly met his gaze. “L-look, nothing is going on-”

“You’re avoiding me.” he cut her off again.

“I’m not avoiding you.”

“Please don’t lie to me,” he said softly with a hint of sadness.

“Let’s just drop it. I have some work to do.” she spun around in her chair to face her desk but he turned her back around.

“What did I do so wrong? Tell me. Did I miss something? Was there a special anniversary for us regarding our friendship? Your birthday didn’t pass yet so that’s out of the question. Is something going on back at home? Are your sisters all right? Is your family okay? Did someone try to hurt you? Did another guy try to say something inappropriate? Did I say some-“

“Stop, stop, you didn’t...you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Then what happened? Just tell me!”

She exhaled loudly. She might as well just say it. 

“Look...I uh...ugh, this is going to be so random but have you...ever had weird dreams about a friend?”

“What do you mean?” he raised a brow.

“I have this friend...she uh....dreamed about making out with someone close to her.”

Jungkook nodded, figuring it out. “So, you dreamed of making out with a friend.”

She widened her eyes and shook her head frequently. “I-I didn’t say it was me!”

“It was you,” he responded calmly.

“No, it was not!”

“I know you. I can tell when you lie to me. I see it in your eyes.”

Jennie felt her embarrassment intensify as she couldn’t say that he was wrong. 

“You need to stop paying so much attention to me,” she complained.

A smile came across Jungkook’s lips briefly. “Can’t help it. So, this is what this is all about? A dream about a friend? Is that it?”

“Well...do you...think it’s weird to have that type of dream? I mean, have you...dreamed of someone like that? The dream was pretty intense. Out of character,”

Jungkook, averting his eyes, shyly looked down as his anger went away. 

‘If only you knew...but you would probably think I’m creepy for thinking of you that way.’ he thought to himself.

His mind drifted back to that dream he had. When he first had a crush on her, once in a blue moon he would dream about what it would be like to date her. Going on arcade dates, picnics, the whole thing. As he got older, falling in love with her, the dreams turned to kissing and more kissing. And then things went way further.

He thought about her in many ways, including the intimacy. A lot of fantasies came to mind. Back at Yamen TV, when Jimin called him the golden perv, he knew exactly who Jungkook was thinking about when he watched those videos that Namjoon would download. Like Jimin had said, he couldn’t help himself. The way his body reacted when he thought of her that way. Jungkook freaked out big time when Jimin caught him months ago. He felt guilty about it but Jimin had reassured him that things were fine and that there was nothing to be ashamed of.

Jungkook wasn’t ready for that type of activity and neither was Jennie he was sure about. However, he always hoped to be her first, doing everything he could to make her feel cherished once he grew more confident in himself.

“Well?”

His thoughts were interrupted by her voice.

Getting his thoughts together, he chuckled awkwardly. He should be honest with her. 

“It’s...not as weird as you think.”

“Have you...”

“Y-yes, I have.” he could feel his face warm up as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Really?” she asked, surprised. “Wow, I’m not the only one?”

She watched him nod in response. It made her feel much better but she still felt a little weird for dreaming of him in that way.

“Do you think your dream meant something to you?” he asked her.

“You know...my mind is saying that it didn’t. But something else is screaming that it did. I think what frightens me most is I get this lowkey feeling that it did mean something, no matter how much I don’t think it should.”

“Who did you dream about?” he asked curiously. 

His question made her hesitate. She just couldn’t tell him. 

“I...don’t want to answer that, Kook. I’m just...confused, right now. My mind is all over the place.”

Jungkook decided not to pry her about it. He wouldn’t be able to tell her that he dreamed of her anyway. Jealousy crept up on him again as he thought about Kevin and Bam Bam being the person she might’ve dreamt about. He hoped she wasn’t catching feelings for either of them. While he was in his thoughts, he noticed that she was rambling.

“...and that dream was too fast-paced.” she met his gaze. “Ah, I dunno why I’m thinking about it but with making out with someone or whatever, I’d want to take things slow. I’m not used to this kind of stuff. I’m not even ready for any of that type of intimacy. But when I am ready, I just hope it’s special.”

“I’m sure you and your guy will learn a lot about each other together once you begin dating,” he responded. “He’ll be patient with you and I know that you will be with him, too. Don’t worry about it too much. You’ll be fine.”

“Thanks, Kook. I’ll trust your words. I just hope that whoever I end up with...he’ll wait for me until I’m ready.”

“He will,”

A chuckle escaped her lips. “You’re so confident with your answer, Kook.”

“Nine times out of ten, he probably will want the same thing you want. He’s probably not ready for that either and wants to go slow, too.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. He’ll wait for you.”

She smiled softly and nodded. “And what about you, International Playboy, you seem to be interested in anyone these days?”

She regarded his body language change and noticed his face getting pink. 

She widened her eyes and playfully hit his arm. “You do! Tell me!”

“Ah, I will when I’m ready. Not today.”

“Do I at least know her?”

“Yeah...”

“Is she pretty?”

“Pretty isn’t even the word to describe her.”

“Does she have your heart like IU does?”

He smiled softly. “She has my heart more than IU.”

“Wow, this is serious then. Nothing comes in between you and IU. I have to wait to know who she is? Why not just tell me? What’s the problem?”

“I just...think about your reaction when I end up telling you.”

“Why?”

“Because when I tell you, it’ll change our friendship forever.”

She looked at him earnestly. “Kook, I’ll be happy either way for you. Nothing is going to change. What can you possibly say to me that would change our friendship forever? You’re fine, don’t stress over it, too much.”

As much as he wanted to tell her right then and there, he didn’t think it was the right time and he thought about rejection. He feared it. There would be times when he felt like he wasn’t good enough to be her boyfriend or ruin a great friendship because of his growing feelings for her. He didn’t want to lose her. He cherished her so much.

He had negative thoughts about her reaction. And if she did reject him, it’ll just be awkward and it’ll take a while for them to act normal again. When he was ready, he wanted her to take time to think about it and not give him an answer right after he told her how he felt. He knew it wasn’t going to be like it was in the movies.

With Jennie, deep inside, she felt a bit...disappointed that he was becoming interested in someone. It also bothered her that she felt this way because she shouldn’t feel this way. She should be happy for him. 

Another part of her felt hopeful because she thought maybe this could help her get over that whole dream situation.

They were great friends and she appreciated that in the group. She felt as though she should not be dating anyone around here. She should stay professional and focus on BTS. Jen thought it would never work if she had dated anyone in the industry. And with these crazy “fans”, she didn’t want whoever she ended up with to deal with any drama. The way “fans” reacted to Kai & Krystal dating, Baekhyun & Taeyeon dating, Tao’s departure from EXO and various other breaking news on K-Pop sites that were claimed as ‘scandals’, it’ll only be ten times worse for her, she assumed.

She wouldn’t even call them fans because they were so ruthless with their reactions to idols dating. It made her angry because fans should be happy for their beloved idols. And when she does date, she vows to never apologize as some idols have done for dating someone.

What was there to apologize for? 

For being happy? 

Never would she bring herself to do that. Idols are human and deserve love.

Jungkook noticed her expression change into a frown while deep in thought. “Hey,” he grabbed her hand as her head swiftly turned to him, surprised.

“Huh?”

“You okay? You look angry.”

Her pondering about those negative fan reactions had gotten her worked up. “Sorry, deep in thought again.”

They sat in a comfortable silence, pondering about random things.

“I wonder when you’re ready for that stage with whoever you’re interested in if you have any idea how you want it to go...” Jen blurted out randomly, thinking out loud. She looked up and shook her head. “I was just rambling. You can just ignore me.”

After a pause, Jungkook spoke after looking up at the ceiling. “Yeah...I thought about it.”

“It’s not how it would be in the movies,” she recalled as they locked eyes.

“Yeah, nothing like the movies. Thinking about it, I just...want it to be special for the both of us. Away from the Hyungs that's for sure. A nice place alone...with a comfortable bed. I would want to plan it all out. Decorate the room nicely. I'd want it to be romantic if I could. Maintain eye contact when I’m with her. Take my time for sure, let her know how much she means to me with my actions, not just my words.” he said, thinking about it with a smile. "I hope that one day, I’ll grow more certain in myself and can show her how manly I am when we’re both ready. When we are, everyone can continue calling me a baby but she’ll know that I’m far from that when we’re together behind closed doors.”

Jen looked at him, astonished. For a second she thought he was speaking to her directly.

She lowkey wished that she could have something like that one day. She even tried to fight the little thought in her head that she wished it was her he was talking about.

They don’t seem to make guys like Jungkook anymore. He was always so sweet and respectful. She never wanted him to change. She adored everything about him.

“Do me a favor...” she spoke.

“Anything.”

“Don’t ever change. For anyone. If someone can’t accept you for who you are when you’re not portraying your stage persona, then that person doesn’t deserve you. You are great just the way you are. Your shyness included. We’re all a work in progress, sprinkled with unique traits. Your future girlfriend will appreciate you for who you are. I’ll admit, I’m lowkey jealous.” she spun around in her chair, going back to her computer.

Jungkook let out a soft chuckle, smiling as he watched her.

‘There’s no need to be jealous of yourself, Jennie...’

[winderlylandchime]

Thank you so much. We are all doing much better and in true fashion of my family we somehow have managed to turn it all into laughter. But I do come bearing gifts! Aka random updates about the man that according to my parents I am related to even though I have doubts.

-He burned down his kitchen… twice…in 1 week. All is good, he is good but he did learn a valuable lesson that noodles need water. And that lighting a candle with a paper on fire is NOT a smart move. He is on first name bases with the fire department already though because last year he got his hand stuck in a vase and walked to their station with it and then proceeded to ask if he can go down their pole (he was allowed)
-He made 3 of his (new) friends watch qaf (prom ep and first 4 of s2) and it was INSANE! I felt like I was watching straight men watch Super Bowl. A lot of “WHAT THE FUCK MAN?! GO TO THE FUCKING PROM!” And my all time favorite his friend going “I can’t fucking believe I am rooting for a 30 year old man to crash a fucking prom to get his 18 year old boyfriend back” and my brother screaming at him “STOP USING YOUR FUCKING LOGIC WHEN WATCHING THIS SHOW! IT WILL RUIN IT!”

-Brian the cat had to wear a tiny shirt because he had to have surgery (nothing serious all is good!) and of course my brother made him his very own Brian shirt. My mom said that the vet was very confused by the “I have more balls than the other Brian” shirt… Which, I for real had no clue he put that on the shirt until my mom sent me pics

-he is still very very obsessed with QAF. Any time he or anyone in my family makes an inappropriate comment, he immediately follows it up with ‘Bri Bri would love that one’

-he made our mom and dad watch it in June and he only got into an argument over Brian 1 time. He stormed out and then 10 minutes later came back bc he realized it’s his apartment

-mom and dad both hate Craig. And Mikey. And Ben. And Lindsey and Mel pissed them off too. Dad felt bad about that one bc i was there (i was confused bc im not a fan of them either tbh) so he donated money to a lesbian org to make up for his guilt to which my brother responded by calling him a bitch and saying ‘gay rights! But fuck those two’

-He joined a painting club. He sucks at painting but wanted to try it out and “plus it can’t hurt, worst case, I make some new friends” he forced me to go with him (he’s been very lovely during this grieving journey) and we walked into a painting class full of senior citizens. He thought the “seniors painting club” meant 18+. He made friends with all of them by talking shit about politics. Except the lady named Susie, he got on her good side after he snuck alcohol in and tried to ID her for it.

-he got a tattoo of a duck with a knife and a speech bubble that says ‘duck around and find out’ dad stopped talking to him for 4 days bc of it

-He tried 3 times in May to quit smoking and failed each time because “the world is pissing me off, it’s either this or murder and we all know im crazy enough” however he succeeded it in July due to the next update

-The man went on dates!!!! That’s right plural!!!! It was a mess! But a lovely mess. And a whole ass story that I got to witness first hand because I stayed at my parents over summer. honestly this was the one thing that I was SO excited to tell you guys about if he allowed it (which he did and im typing it up as we speak)

-oh and he also had to have another small surgery on his leg in September and was on crutches for a month but somehow (see update above) he was a lot more chill about it (not really, he was still his usual chaotic dumb self but he actually slept/ate/rested when told (you guessed it due to the above update)

-and last one he said i have to share if I want permission to share the story, which is that the Shrek playlist works. His date found it hilarious on their official real first date and couldn’t stop laughing once the realization kicked in that it’s accidentally in love over and over.

Dear sweet anon!! I am screaming because you have been so missed! I legit had people who would say to me "remember anon and brother anon?" and we would wish you both well. I am so excited to have you back.

HE BURNED HIS KITCHEN DOWN NOT ONCE BUT TWICE AND THE FIRE DEPT ALREADY KNOWS HIM. Of course. Of course. Why would this not be true?

Imagining a group of straight men watching QAF and responding like it's a sport is... well, an image. And your brother is very correct, we can't think too long about some parts of the show otherwise the ick is there.

I am cackling about your parents watching the show and your dad feeling so guilty for hating the lesbians that he donated to a lesbian cause. It's okay Dad Anon, the lesbians hate Mel and Linds. They're written horribly and there's so much biphobia. It's cringe (again one of the things we can't think too hard about).

Your brother joining a seniors' painting club is giving Ted on Schitt's Creek dancing with the old ladies. The pun in his tattoo would be one that Ted would be proud of too. Sorry Dad Anon. (My parents hate my tattoos too and none of them make any reference to a curse word)

Listen, I got spouse to quit smoking when we were still in our flirting stage. We were in grad school in one of those long seminars that require a break and they said "Do you want to come have a smoke break with me?" And I responded, "You smoke?" with alllllll the judgment in my voice. And they literally never smoked again. Things people will do for the horny.

Okay I'm leaving dating to the next update because I've read ahead (my spouse hates that I love spoilers but here we are - they have healthy lungs and are married to someone who will read the end of a book first).

YALL IT'S A DOOZY.

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Angel of God, My Guardian Dear Chapter 6: Reader

Rating: Explicit (18+, MINORS DNI)

Pairing: Matt Murdock x F!Reader

Story Summary: While speaking at a local school for visually impaired youth, Matt runs into his childhood best friend, with whom he lost touch almost 20 years prior.

Warnings/Tags: Mentions of p in v sex, praise kink, dirty talk, tiniest bit of D/S undertones if you squint, Matt is a little shit who likes to turn Reader on at inappropriate times 😈

Word Count: ~3,100

A/N: None.

"...The Mass is ended. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord," the priest at Clinton Church intoned at the end of Mass a couple of days later.

"Thanks be to God," Y/N -- along with Matt and the rest of the parishioners -- responded automatically.

"Please join us in singing the closing song, 'On Eagles Wings', number 280 in the Gather songbook," the head of the church choir stated. "Number 280, 'On Eagles Wings'."

Y/N sang along as the recessional proceeded, waiting until the priest had passed before gathering her purse and following Matt out of the pew. 

"I'm kind of nervous," Y/N admitted as they headed towards the back of the church.

Matt took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Having flashbacks to our youth?"

Y/N huffed out a breath. "More like I'm about to see your mother -- who is a nun , mind you -- for the first time in 20 years, especially after the things we did to each other last night… and this morning."

Matt chuckled. "Trust me, angel, my mother knows I'm no saint. You, however, she might be surprised to find out has a dark side…"

He leaned in to whisper in her ear. "... My good girl. "

Y/N's face heated as she sucked in a breath. While their first night together had been soft and slow, the previous night had been wild and passionate. Y/N had encouraged Matt to 'let the Devil out' , and boy , had he -- in the best possible way. 

He had whispered filthy praises into her ear while he had taken her from behind, the hand that had been carefully wrapped around her throat restricting air to her lungs also holding her upright against him as he had thrust up into her. "Fuck, you're a dream, Y/N, taking me so well," he had murmured. "Such a good girl, moaning so prettily for me, letting me know how good I'm making you feel. Used to imagine us together just like this, angel -- on our knees in the library at St. Agnes, having to keep you quiet while I stuffed you full of my cock so Sister Bernadette wouldn't overhear and know what we were up to..."

Y/N had let out a breathy moan and clenched around him in response at the thought of Matt's long, thick cock dragging slowly in and out of her, his hand over her mouth muffling her whimpers of pleasure as he whispered what a good girl she was being for keeping quiet while they waited for Sister Bernadette to pass by...

Matt had chuckled darkly and slightly tightened his grip. "Oh, you like that idea, don't you Y/N? You like the thought of possibly getting caught down on your knees with my cock deep inside you, my name the only prayer on your lips while I'm filling you up? Want everyone to know who makes you feel this good, huh angel? Want to show everyone that you're mine and mine alone?"

The delicious pressure inside of Y/N had built up to a pinpoint, shattering as she came with a weak croak of Matt's name.

Matt had continued to thrust into her in just the right spot, quickly triggering a second orgasm before spilling inside her with a groan.

After they were both spent, Matt had immediately switched into protective mode, making sure that he hadn't squeezed Y/N's throat too tight and accidentally left bruises. "Never want to hurt you," he had murmured as he rained gentle kisses where his fingers had been minutes before. "Wanted you for so long, so fucking lucky that I finally get to be with you. Love you so much, my beautiful angel, want to be with you forever."

Y/N had sighed blissfully, boneless from the back-to-back, earth-shattering orgasms Matt had just given her. "Mmmm, me too. Love you, Matty." 

Matt had then cleaned her up and made sure she drank some water, then had pulled her into a cuddle as they had fallen asleep together.

That morning Y/N had woken up to Matt latching onto her like a koala and snoring softly into her neck. She had kissed him awake then stroked him to hardness before taking him into her, still slightly sensitive from the previous night.

They had made love slowly again, Matt's hands gripping Y/N's hips as she rode him into oblivion.

Y/N quickly looked around to make sure that they hadn't been overheard by any of the other exiting parishioners. "We are in church, " she hissed.

Matt gave her a kiss. "It'll be fine. Like I told you, my mother will be absolutely delighted to see you again… no matter what sort of kinky fun you got up to with her son the previous night."

"Matthew!"

Matt chuckled and planted a kiss to the side of her head. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, angel. I'll stop."

They exited the church and headed around the back of the building to the church offices.

Y/N waited as Matt knocked on the door of the inner office where Sister Maggie had told him to meet after he had called her and said that he needed to speak to her.

"Yes?" Sister Maggie's voice came through the door.

Y/N stepped out of the doorway so Sister Maggie wouldn't spot her as Matt opened the door and walked in. "Hi."

"Matthew, it's good to see you. Is everything okay? It sounded urgent on the phone." Sister Maggie sounded worried.

Matt cleared his throat. "Yes, everything is fine. Great, actually."

"Then what did you need to see me about? It's not like you to just pay me a social visit."

"Well it's more like someone else needed to see you…" Matt's voice grew louder. "You can come in now."

Y/N took a deep breath and opened the door, then walked in. 

Sister Maggie gasped. "Is that -- Y/N ?"

"Hi, Sister Maggie," Y/N replied.

Sister Maggie walked over and wrapped her in a hug. "It's so good to see you, my dear."

Y/N hugged her back. "It's good to see you too. How have you been?"

"Oh, same as usual for the life of a nun." Sister Maggie stepped back. "Look at you, all grown up. How have you been? Are you back in New York?"

"I'm well. And yeah, I moved around a bit for work after college but I finally made my way back here about 5 years ago."

Matt grinned. "Y/N's a librarian at the Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library." 

Sister Maggie shook her head fondly. "I'm really not surprised that that's the career path you chose. You were always in the library reading -- even more so after Matthew came along. I used to be able to hear you reading aloud to him when I would pass by."

Y/N smiled. "Yeah, those were some of my favorite memories and really influenced my decision to go into library science -- and special services in particular."

"See?" Matt added. "Despite what Sister Bernadette always said, I actually was a good influence on Y/N."

Sister Maggie huffed out a laugh. "You were both good for each other. So is that how you reconnected? Through the library?"

"Sort of," Y/N replied. "We bumped into each other at White Cane Day at the Lavelle School for the Blind on Wednesday -- I was there promoting our library services and Matt was a guest speaker. We talked for a bit then wound up having dinner together that evening, and well, it's been like no time has passed."

Sister Maggie smiled softly. "You two were always inseparable. I'm glad to see nothing's changed."

Matt smiled and took Y/N's hand in his, giving it a tender kiss. "Actually one thing has changed. We finally admitted how we had felt about each other, and luckily -- for me at least -- still do."

A bright smile spread across Sister Maggie's face. "I always suspected you two had feelings for each other."

Y/N laughed and gave Matt's hand a squeeze. "Yeah, Matt did say that you had expected that I'd be your daughter-in-law one day."

Sister Maggie's eyebrows raised. "You know I'm Matthew's biological mother?"

Y/N nodded. "Yeah, he told me."

"I told her everything," Matt added. "Even about me being Daredevil."

Sister Maggie looked even more surprised. "And you're okay with him going off and fighting criminals almost every night?"

Y/N shrugged. "I'm less okay and more understanding about it, although I did tell him to not do anything too reckless or stupid and actually get himself killed."

Sister Maggie sighed. "Hopefully he'll listen to you. Murdock men are so damn stubborn." 

Y/N huffed out a laugh. "Oh, don't I know it."

Matt shook his head, a playful smile spreading on his lips. "I knew it was a bad idea getting you two in the same room again."

Y/N gave him a gentle nudge. "Oh, hush, you."

Matt chuckled and gave her a quick kiss on the temple. "Love you."

"Love you too."

Sister Maggie smiled at the two of them. "I'm really happy for you both. I couldn't have chosen someone more fitting for either of you." 

Y/N nodded at her. "Thank you." 

"We should probably get going," Matt said as the church bells chimed the half-hour. "We're Zooming with Y/N's aunt in a little while."

Sister Maggie nodded. "Okay."

Y/N gave Sister Maggie another hug. "It was really good to see you, Sister Maggie."

"You too, dear," Sister Maggie replied, giving Y/N an affectionate squeeze. "I'm so happy that Matthew found you again. Take good care of him for me, okay? And come see me again soon so we can catch up."

Y/N nodded. "Thank you, and of course I will -- on both fronts."

She and Matt bade Sister Maggie goodbye and walked back to the front of the church so they could hail a cab back to Y/N's apartment.

As soon as they made it back, Y/N got her laptop from her bedroom and set it on her coffee table. "Ready?"

Matt nodded, although he looked somewhat nervous.

Y/N gave him a quick kiss. "Love you."

"I love you too, angel."

Matt moved out of frame while Y/N sat and started the Zoom meeting.

She smiled as her aunt appeared on the screen. "Hi Aunt Ruth." 

"Hi," Aunt Ruth replied. "How are you?"

"I'm good. How's your wrist doing? Did you wind up seeing the doctor for it?"

Aunt Ruth nodded. "Yes, it just wound up being a touch of tendonitis, so she told me to take it easy for a few days and prescribed some medication for it. I'll be fine soon though."

"That's good to hear."

"How was your week? Didn't you say you were exhibiting at a library conference? How did that go?"

"It was at a school, and yeah, actually…" Y/N looked over at Matt, who gave her an encouraging smile. "It went well. Really well, in fact, because I met someone -- well actually, it's more like I found someone. An… an old friend, someone I've missed terribly."

Aunt Ruth gasped softly. "You mean…"

Y/N turned towards Matt. "You want to join me?"

Matt took a deep breath and sat next to Y/N on the sofa, taking her hand in his.

Y/N gave Matt's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Aunt Ruth, this is Matthew Murdock, my best friend from while I was at St. Agnes. Matt, meet my Aunt Ruth."

"It's nice to finally meet you, Ms. Y/L/N," Matt said politely.

Aunt Ruth nodded. "It's nice to finally meet you too, Matthew."

"Matt and I ran into each other at that school I was exhibiting at on Wednesday," Y/N explained.

"Quite literally," Matt added with a chuckle. "Never been so happy to accidentally bump into someone though."

Y/N smiled over at Matt. "Me either."

Aunt Ruth nodded. "Well now, Matthew, I've heard a lot about you as a child from Y/N, but why don't you fill me in on the rest of it."

Matt cleared his throat and sat up a bit straighter. "Well, ma'am, you already know that I grew up at St. Agnes with Y/N, but after I left there I went to Columbia University, where I graduated with my Master's degree in law, then I opened my own law practice with my college roommate here in New York."

"Matt's handled some pretty high-profile cases over the years," Y/N added. "He and his partner helped take down a mob boss a few years ago, and he's gotten several people exonerated after they were falsely accused of some pretty serious crimes."

Matt nodded. "My partner and I believe in helping the innocent rather than taking cases from whichever client has the most money -- although we do also take on cases that will pay the bills, of course."

"Hmm." Aunt Ruth looked impressed. "So Y/N said you ran into each other at that school event? Do you have a child who's a student there?"

Real subtle, Aunt Ruth, Y/N thought.

Matt just smiled and shook his head. "No, ma'am, I actually don't have any children. I had been invited there to give a speech to the students on not letting their visual impairments define who they are and to show them that they could do anything they want to do and be whoever they want to be as long as they work hard and put their minds to it."

Y/N gave Matt's hand a squeeze. "That was a beautiful speech, by the way."

Matt shot her a smile. "Thanks. Anyway, when I read Y/N's name in the list of exhibitors I knew I had to go talk to her, and in my haste I accidentally bumped into her." 

Y/N let out a light laugh. "I still maintain that I bumped into you, but the point is that we talked for a minute but since the exhibits were about to open we decided to have dinner together so we could catch up."

She took a deep breath. "We had a nice, long talk, part of which was about how we had felt about each other as kids and the fact that even though we had both grown as people and had had other relationships over the years our feelings for each other never went away." 

Matt squeezed her hand encouragingly.

Y/N smiled up at him. "So needless to say we've decided to see where this goes."

Aunt Ruth nodded, a soft smile on her face. "Well then, I can safely presume that you'll be accompanying Y/N when she visits me next month, correct, Matthew? I'd like to get to know the man who has had my niece's heart all these years."

Matt nodded, relief visible on his face. "Yes, ma'am. I can definitely do that."

"Good. Now, I have to run -- I've got my pokeno group in an hour and I still need to make something to bring -- but I'll see you both soon."

"Have a good time, Aunt Ruth," Y/N said. "Love you."

"Love you too, dear. Matthew, looking forward to meeting you in person."

"You too," Matt replied.

"Bye now."

"Bye." Y/N ended the call and turned to Matt. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Matt shook his head. "Actually, it went way better than I expected."

He gave her a kiss. "So when exactly are we going? I'll let Foggy know that I'll be out of town."

"Labor Day weekend. I was going to fly out the Friday afternoon before and come back on Labor Day. Would that work for you?"

Matt nodded. "Yeah, that's fine. I don't have court scheduled for that week and the office is closed on the holiday."

"Okay. I haven't booked my flight yet, so we can just book together now if you want."

"Yeah, that sounds fine. Do I need to get a hotel or anything?"

"No, Aunt Ruth has a guest room. Any airline preferences or whatever?"

Matt shook his head. "Whatever you choose is fine with me."

"Okay." Y/N's phone buzzed with an incoming text. "Oh, wait a second."

She picked it up. "Aww." 

Matt tilted his head curiously. "What is it?"

Y/N shook her head. "Aunt Ruth. She said, 'I've hated seeing you so heartbroken all these years and have been praying for you to find peace. I'm glad you found Matthew again -- I'm looking forward to meeting him properly'." 

"Well that's nice of her."

Y/N huffed out a laugh as her phone chimed again. "Yeah but now she says, 'Also I can't wait to rub the fact that you're dating a handsome, successful attorney in Marisol Vaughn's face at Pokeno later. Might finally shut her up about the fact that her daughter's husband is a dentist.'."

Matt's face turned pink. "Ah. I see."

"Fair warning, we're going for her birthday, so don't be surprised if she winds up having a birthday dinner of some sort just so she can show you off."

Matt grinned. "That's fine. I can handle meeting your aunt's friends if it means I have her approval."

Y/N did a quick search for flights out of New York and pulled up the ones for Labor Day weekend. "Okay, here's one that leaves JFK at 4:30 Friday afternoon and arrives in Miami around 7:45…"

Matt nodded. "That's fine."

"For our return flight… afternoon okay? Leave at 11:30, back around 2:45? Or did you want to take a later flight?"

"No, morning is fine."

"Okay, one second…"

Y/N got their flights booked then shut her laptop. "Alright, that's all set."

She smiled. "Now I just need to meet Foggy and Karen and then all of the important introductions will be complete." 

Matt gave her a soft kiss. "They're excited to meet you."

"I'm excited to meet them too."

Matt stretched. "I've got some stuff I need to do before court tomorrow, so I should probably head out, but I'll call you later?"

Y/N nodded. "Yeah, okay."

She stood and walked Matt over to the door. "Hey, if you happen to go out as Daredevil tonight… Be careful, okay?"

Matt nodded and gave her a soft kiss. "I will, I promise. Love you."

"Love you too."

Y/N let Matt out and locked the door behind him, then went to change out of her church clothes and into something more comfortable before settling into bed for a nap, already missing the feel of Matt's arms around her.

[aprillikesthings]

I ONLY HAVE FOUR EPISODES LEFT oh god oh god I'm full of adrenaline ngl

okay

s5 ep10 return to the fright zone

before we start I just want you to know I posted another short fic, it's explicit, thank you

Also Saer made the pattern for the ears and tail of my Catra cosplay :D :D :D

okay

I'm so weirdly antsy and anxious about this

So this is why, last episode, I had trouble recognizing this as the spot where Glimmer and Catra had fought ages ago. The way Netossa was standing in front of it made it look TINY. With Sea Hawk and Swift Wind standing there right in front of the entrance it's clearer to me.

Netossa is explaining everyone's weakness, and I'm lol'ing because the illustrations in the notebook are so obviously Nate's art style

(I also roll my ankle sometimes, that hurts like A MOTHERFUCKER)

those drawings are so fucking cute help i can't

"whoa whoa whoa, that's like, really personal compared to fire" lolol

yeah this is just for my "accidentally inappropriate screenshots" collection

every possible screenshot I could take of this is perfection AHAHAHAHA

anyway roll intro

Scorpia apparently wreaked havoc on some town and then went back to the Fright Zone.

Perfuma: bc it's her home Catra: that pile of fucking trash isn't anyone's HOME Perfuma: okay but she could probably resist Horde Prime's programming

oof

but also: true

Anyway Catra points out: the chip is the important thing, not WHO is chipped

omg

Catra: "The only reason Adora, y'know....saved me or whatever....is that the chip got damaged first!"

look at how smug she is

Perfuma: "I know all about how you treated Scorpia back in the Horde!" Catra:

yeah that's not nice to think about huh

(I talk about finding Mean!Catra hot but the scenes where she's just viciously cruel to Scorpia are just...not. They're hard to watch.)

Perfuma: "Things are different now! Scorpia knows the kindness of a true friend."

bb has some regrets

(bb has a LOT of regrets)

look at poor Melog ;_;

Bow's dads haven't responded to Bow since they got back, shit. Glimmer offers to teleport them there to check on them.

I can't help thinking of the moment in Nate's fic where Adora runs into the bunk room to get some clothes for Catra and these two are cuddling and are startled, and Adora apparently just smirks at them before leaving the room again lol

Anyway, everyone else is off to see if they can save Scorpia

They use Melog to sneak into the Fright Zone

Man I wish it wasn't a pain in the ass to gif this stuff, because their faces are so good, but:

Adora: "It's weird, isn't it? Being back. So many memories here." Catra: "Most of them bad."

Catra: "Hey, I bet I can still beat you to the forge." Adora: "Uh, yeah, because you always cheat!"

look at them *sobs*

But yeah there's still destroyed stuff all over the place

"before we were taken by Horde Prime." LOL

Perfuma just starts shouting Scorpia's name to everyone else's horror, but electricity starts sparking everywhere before something blows up

and there she is!

Perfuma is still convinced Scorpia won't hurt her...and is v v wrong, and Adora has to tackle her out of the way

oh god

Catra starts apologizing but Scorpia just zaps her and she goes flying

Adora's "Catraaaa!" is very satisfying

She transforms to She-Ra in record time to keep a big chunk of machinery (that Scorpia threw) from crushing her.

Netossa: "Pretty sure she can tell it's us." Perfuma: "Yes, but I mean, it's Catra. Can we really blame her?"

LOLOL

Back at the library, Bow's dads are nowhere to be seen

There's a great line of Bow saying "They can't protect themselves! They're dads!"

PFFT they find a note left specifically for Bow. It has a dad-joke-level pun.

How smart is Melog? Is it like having a cat that can talk? Or is it like, A Person. Because Melog is clearly fine playing the role of Therapy Cat Who Can Also Make Things Invisible. But Catra and Melog are clearly having a conversation where Melog has some things to say!

One of Catra's ears twitches. It's so cute. Help.

OH SHIT (there's water aggressively leaking from nearby pipes)

wait wrong cartoon XD

but I'm glad I was able to find that exact gif because:

yeah

Adora in general is a Golden Retriever Girlfriend but this is so funny

"We don't throw tanks at our friends!" I mean she's got a point, they don't want to actually hurt Scorpia

Spinerella shows up and Netossa runs to chase after her

PFFT LOL

YAY

Anyway the Dads say they found something that might help things. I think I know what. Oh god.

Catra and Mermista get in a fight, and Catra realizes she can't just slash the chip out of Mermista because it's clearly like, putting tendrils/connections into the rest of her body. The moment of hesitation means Mermista gets the upper hand, and Catra barely escapes (riding on Melog!)

She-Ra and Perfuma are still trying to deal with Scorpia, and She-Ra gets banged into a wall and is just Adora again. She looks confused and unhappy about it.

Perfuma: "What happened to She-Ra?"

they end up running into Hordak's little throne room and OH SHIT FUCK

see this is why I made myself stop reading the synopses I forgot

Scorpia ties up Perfuma and Adora's hands with electrical cable things

Adora: well you still can't have She-Ra

Horde Prime: "Not anymore. My little brother's research has given me everything I need to know. The technology of this planet is familiar to me. Ancient, crude, outdated. It will be child's play to bypass its defenses and take the weapon at its heart for myself, with...or without you."

shit

y'know it's been a while since a random line in this show made me think of a song

and...oh no the lyrics kind of work for Catradora, in any case the vibes definitely do, and now I'm hella distracted, FUCK

🎵My hands are tied My body bruised, she got me with Nothing to win and Nothing left to lose And you give yourself away And you give yourself away And you give And you give And you give yourself away With or without you With or without you, oh I can't live With or without you🎶

*resentfully adds it to my spop rewatch spotify playlist*

(it's still a really great song tho, just saying)

OKAY back to Bow's dads

George: "We unearthed an ancient secret, long forgotten. A rebellion from the time of the First Ones, fighting against a powerful tyrant, just like we are. Watch. Eternia."

Anyway they bring up a huge globe kind of map thing?

Lance: "But then we remembered that message on your tracker pad and how it used coded language based on the star formations of the distant past."

George: "Friend of..."

"Mara wasn't alone!"

Hologram: "There is one recording available. Would you like to review?" Lance: "Play it." Serenia: "This is our last transmission. If anyone's hearing this, you need to listen."

AND I'VE HIT THE IMAGE LIMIT I'm surprised it took this long lol lemme reblob

[briamichellewrites]

9

For context: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Watkins_(Lostprophets_singer)

Ian Watkins. Linkin Park and Bria did not like him. They could not understand why. There was something fundamentally wrong with him. They were touring with him and his band, Lost Prophets. So far, they have not had any issues with him. At the same time, they were careful not to leave Bria alone with him. She had no objections to having them follow her around because she did not feel safe. They had no idea he was a paedophile or had underage girls "hanging out" with him in an inappropriate manner.

They performed a few shows alongside him and his band. Bria was accidentally left alone by the tour buses while on a stop in Cardiff, Wales. Joe had just left to retrieve his phone. He was not supposed to be gone longer than a minute. Ian spotted her alone and saw an opportunity. She was concentrating on her phone with her head bowed. As Mike and Rob approached, he appeared behind her.

They noticed him approaching her from behind and grabbing her buttocks. She let out a loud scream. She turned around and began punching and kicking him before they could respond. She landed elbow strikes, palm strikes, and groin kicks. The other guys showed up to the fight. Brad pulled her away from him.

As they escorted her away from him, he caught his breath. They boarded their tour bus, where she began crying. Why was she crying? She was so furious! Dave asked, "What the hell happened?" Mike and Rob described what Ian had done. She reacted after being sexually assaulted. They enquired about Joe's current location. He admitted that he left her alone.

"We will talk about that later," Brad replied.

He responded with a nod.

"Bria, we are extremely proud of you for standing up for yourself. How are you doing?"

"I will be okay. I do not want to file charges against him. I just do not want to see him again.”

"We will honour that decision. How did you learn to fight?”

"My father taught me. It was just in case I needed it. He did not want me to have to rely on a man to help me. No offence."

They were not offended at all. They would never have thought she was capable of fighting. She gave them yet another reason not to mess with her. Chester wrapped his arm around her shoulders while she wiped away her tears. Though they were upset that Joe had left her alone, they decided to be gentle with him. He had probably already started beating himself up. While the boys stayed with her, Mike and Brad summoned him outside.

Mike made it clear that they would not be punishing him. He nodded and apologised. What happened? He assumed it would only take a minute to retrieve his phone. She should have gone with him. Outside, Ian's bandmate came over to see how Bria was doing. He found out what happened from Ian. Mike explained that she was upset, which was understandable. He nodded and apologised on behalf of the entire band for his actions. They thanked him before he left.

Ian sustained minor injuries, but his pride was shattered. He was beaten up by a girl. The band hoped she would not press charges against him for assault. He was evaluated and found to be fit to perform. They saw her getting off the bus. She appeared to have been crying because her face was red. They prohibited him from approaching her.

Joe hugged her and apologised for not being there. She responded by placing her head against his chest. He placed his arm around her shoulders. Yes, he was punishing himself for walking away. They would have to discuss it later because they needed to start preparing for the concert.

“Hi, my name is Doctor Johnson. What brings you in today?”

The emergency room was very busy. Henry was moving between patients as quickly and efficiently as possible. He appeared to be working beyond his normal hours. He did not mind because he did not have anything to return home to. His therapist encouraged him to get a dog as a companion. Loneliness was one of the primary causes of depression. He was researching various breeds and what he could afford.

A dog would help him get out of the house and stay active. They were also helpful for trauma recovery. He wrote a letter to the girl who assaulted him as a way to clear his mind. In the letter, he explained what she had done to him and how it had affected him. Despite his many accomplishments in the army, he felt emasculated. It did not matter that she would been drinking. Alcohol did not give her the authority to touch him without his consent.

He had no idea at the time that what had happened to him was sexual assault. He kept the secret for years, and it gradually overtook his life.

Words cannot express how much you have changed my life. I was 16 years old. I do not want anyone else to go through what I did. Nobody, not even you. I am not sure where you are, but I hope to never see you again. I fell into a deep depression after you assaulted me. I did not realise men could be assaulted. I did not even realise it was assault until I joined the army. You have no idea how many nights I spent imagining you touching me. I was terrified of you entering my room and touching me while I was sleeping.

Since graduating from high school, I have joined the army. I got married and had a daughter. She is 19 years old now. My ex-wife and I taught her about consent, and I shared my experience with her. She is stronger than I will ever be. I never want her to experience what I went through.

You got drunk. You touched me. You followed me into the bathroom. You had me cornered. The assault only came to an end when Kenny arrived. I can only imagine what else you might have done to me. I am gradually coming to terms with everything you did. I pushed it down for a long time. But I can not go on pretending it never happened. I survived several tours in the army.

Others have died, but I have survived. But I am not as strong as I thought I was. The army does not teach you how to survive sexual assault. I was taught that I should not touch a woman. As a result, I found it impossible to defend myself. I could not push you away from me. As I continue to replay everything, I feel anger that I have never felt before. It is because of you. Maybe one day I will recover from my trauma and you will no longer affect me. Until then, I consider myself a work in progress.

Bria played her set in front of another enthusiastic audience. She moved around the stage as her backing band played behind her. Linkin Park was watching her from behind the scenes. The fans adored her! In the middle of her set, she sang Evanescence's "My Immortal." It was hauntingly beautiful. The crowd sang along with her. She was supposed to perform in front of a large audience on stage.

After the events of the day, they were relieved to have a distraction. Brad had a videographer record her so she could show her parents and George her performance. She thanked the audience for their support at the end of her performance. She then presented Linkin Park. Backstage, Joe embraced her. Before he went on stage, they kissed and said "I love you." She pulled up a chair and sat down after retrieving her camera. It was her turn to cheer them on.

@zoeykaytesmom @feelingsofaithless @alina-dixon

[punkscowardschampions]

Ruster pt.2

Buster: [do call and see, I really hope she’s at the shops like Johnny asked for peak inappropriate phone call timing]

Rio: [just in big tesco, nbd, you assumedly are and you should really remember that conversation and not pick up but is that who you are, no, to a fault, so we are answering but not saying anything, which is something I guess lol]

Buster: [Winnie says how many rings though sis, did she make him sweat even a lil before she picked up or were we blatant lol lol, also tell me why you can hear his smugness down this phone because she did answer even though he’s likewise not saying anything for a sec, I love y’all and your initial silences/ just breathing, the way his breathing is too steady so you know it’s a deliberate effort to be and not at all actually casual]

Rio: [Win says give me details gdi and he is right for that honestly, my apologies, idk how long phones ring if you just let them and the person doesn’t hang up, like can a mobile just ring indefinitely now? Who can say but we know you aren’t leaving it THAT long, it’s giving three rings or something like peeps do when they’re like lemme know you got in safe vibes; me like thank god you have shopping to be doing so you aren’t just staring at this phone with the !! you want to and would be if you were home because you need to at least sound indignant about and/or unaffected by his air of smugness that is palpable]

Buster: [eventually asking, after that BEAT of neither of them speaking has STRETCHED, ‘where are you?’ because he can clearly hear the supermarket background noise and hence is even more smug she answered if it’s possible for him to be any more rn haha]

Rio: [you love/hate a silence that says so much honeys, hence we out here holding out longer than necessary before we say ‘Johnny asked me to get [the thing(s) he did]’ to tell you where we are, likewise doing the most to sound so casual here like this is just a random call whilst you’re perusing the aisles and you aren’t admitting to a lot with answering]

Buster: [a sound that’s meant to be like mhmm/oh okay yeah that tracks but is forever less casual than that because he’s making it for her and giving daddy vibes always ‘you are on your best behaviour this morning’ like ofc that’s what you’re doing rn despite us having a serious convo prior to this phonecall but he didn’t have to phase it like that, except yes he did]

Rio: [doing a little omg choke back because ‘yeah he said that too’ and you didn’t need the reminder then and you don’t need it now, although you can see the funny side still you’re mostly 😳 of course ‘did you make sure you were alone first?’ because you took a while to respond]

Buster: [‘taking his daddy role seriously’ phrased like that because do you mean Johnny or do you mean you, heathen, shameless excuse to put the d word out into the world, we see you, but as if this is a casual convo letting her hear your (obvs quieter than a supermarket tannoy) background noise more clearly cos I imagine you’re likewise out and about whether you’ve been to boxing or football or whatever because he’s always busy with stuff and why not have the parallel of him being out and about and we haven’t specified whether this is a weekday or a weekend that St Paddy’s fell on so I can do what I want]

Rio: [‘baby will be a breeze compared to me’ said like it’s bants and what am I like but you are a little embarrassed how vulnerable you were with him, accidentally with the crying and then again this AM ‘but he must not hate me ‘cos he’s getting me a job’ because clinging to this job as something to distract you is all you have at the minute and you’re attempting to show Buster you are in fact trying even though you truly don’t want to because you still want him and you can’t tell yourself otherwise soz not soz]

Buster: [the way he was gonna say SHE’S a baby because he was literally still drunk (because such was the STATE he got in) until he did whatever exercise he’s just finished and sweated/vommed it out in a very undignified manner so being sober is a new concept but he is enough that he can stop himself but it was obvious he was gonna say something and it doesn’t take a genius so you might as well have just said it tbh sir, hear him running a hand through his curls instead as he shakes his head like no I must not, finally, asking ‘what job?’ because of the awkwardness and because he’s always failing the pretending not to care challenge]

Rio: [the expectant pause you do when you think you heard someone try to say something but didn’t hear what was said like oop sorry, go ahead but of course he is not going to go ahead and you can work out why if not exactly what he was going to say, eventually doing a little sigh like okay then and forging ahead like that moment didn’t just occur ‘don’t know yet, I just want to work’ because you aren’t opposed to anything truly, even if this wasn’t mainly an attempt to stay busy, you are a hard worker ‘maybe he’ll take me on his jobs’ with a lil lol because you know he absolutely will not and it is an amusing mental image]

Buster: [when it’s such an adorable mental image that when he joins the lol it’s so affectionate and so with her and not meanly at her that you’d forget he’s been an absolute dick this entire previous convo and know that it’s the audio equivalent of doing heart eyes so big at her rn, no notes]

Rio: [me and this girl here like why can’t it be like this always, as if we don’t know the answer because we don’t accept it thank you, doing the thing of not wanting to say anything because you don’t want this moment to pass]

Buster: [literally, the way it’s so effortlessly good when they let it be is what really fucks his head up because simply can’t let it be all the time and the injustice of that because they have the audacity to be related, catch him here eventually doing a sigh (after another pause for some more breathing post their shared lol) because of all the above and because he should hang up but as per he doesn’t want to]

Rio: [mhmm, oh lads, we really did you like that I’m so sorry, catch this girl always giving you an out because don’t have it in us to be cruel even when we could be ‘I know I shouldn’t have answered’ like I’m SORRY but there was likewise no way she was not going to]

Buster: [‘you wanted to’ not in an accusatory tone of yes hun it is all your fault bye but because she said he wanted to before he rang so it’s instead a way to acknowledge this is mutual without being like yep I/we wanted you to outright, the softness in his tone actually and the way it’s quieter will be the death of me, all traces of his earlier smugness totally gone]

Rio: [‘yeah’ using the exact same soft and quiet tone because we did, we do and we would again ‘you’re big on the truth’ because love to repeat someone’s words back to them always, and in this instance it isn’t in a sassy manner, just letting you know we were being honest]

Buster: [‘yeah’ to repeat her word back to her but also because he genuinely is and we hate so much that we have to lie to everyone rn, trying to lie to himself included, he wanted to tell his mum so hardcore and so many times nearly did, being even softer and quieter as a result]

Rio: [‘I know’ because you do know that about him and you know he’s only lying to try and make this possible in a way you should also be helping with but you find it so difficult ‘I’ll miss it’ in an almost wobbly small voice because you hate that you can’t even give each other honesty]

Buster: [‘I know’ in ref to how hard she finds it to be an arsehole unlike him, had to say it like that though so he could get another echo of her words in ‘I’ll miss you’ we all know there would’ve been a lil pause where he could have stopped himself from saying that but he did not because he wanted to give her that honesty, that tiny bit at least]

Rio: [trying not to immediately start crying again, because you don’t need to make this harder than it already is also you are in a supermarket but that’s far less relevant to you tbh but you can tell she is GATHERING herself by the way she’s doing dramatic swallows and nodding like okay, it’s okay, we’re okay ‘I’ll miss you too’ as a rush of words, as if you are being hurried but really you know if you try to think about it any more you’ll either be able to say nothing or say too much so you just gotta]

Buster: [‘don’t’ still softly but with a firmness that comes with daddy energy to genuinely try and stop her from crying because obvs you know she almost is, a daddy who cares if you will, speaking of, there’s nothing I’d like more than for her to cause a scene in big tesco and her new dad have to come and pick her up but alas he’s busy so we must find some chill, when you likewise wanna say a million things back but cannot so you just say her name with as much feeling as you’ll let yourself, pretending as if we’re remotely saying it like stop/enough of that/any kind of warning at all]

Rio: [very much doing sounds that are giving I’m sorry, I won’t as we continue to get it together because the kind of energy you appreciate, as well as appreciating the effort he’s going to to keep it together for himself as well as you ‘I’ll be better’ like I am so sorry for failing at being good right now, so sincerely too and the ‘really’ when he says her name like no I PROMISE]

Buster: [doing comforting sounds of his own which are lowkey unnecessary because she can and already is getting herself together but they feel very necessary to him in this moment, anything to focus on her so he doesn’t fall apart himself rn ‘you’re the best’ shamelessly blurted out as sincerely before he could stop himself even if he was going to which atm he clearly isn’t but we can’t care about saying too much cos we care more about saying what she needs to hear and giving her something to keep hold of because we all know that no matter what she is the best to ever do it and nobody does like her as far as he’s concerned so there’s no taking that back whatever else he may try to gaslight her or himself into thinking he never said/thought/felt]

Rio: [is clearly shaking her head ‘I make everything harder for you’ and scoffing so hard at yourself when you realise the double entendre because you did not mean it in this serious moment and are mad it just happened ‘it’s not your job’ softer, after this scathing energy directed towards her own self, because we know from what has been said that he feels like it is and you’ve said he has to, in saucier moments, look after you but you need to tell him he doesn’t because that’s the best you can do as far as letting him go for now]

Buster: [unable to resist doing his own noise like true because despite the seriousness of the situation there’s no lie detected in that double entendre ever ‘I’ve had more than enough shit handed to me’ with some scathing energy directed his own way because baze have made everything too easy and he doesn’t blame them but he also doesn’t want that for himself and his future cos he simply isn’t Nancy ‘and I haven’t got another lined up yet’ because no part-time jobs for him but also a way to tell her that he’s always going to, despite everything]

Rio: [‘you didn’t ask for it’ because literally, you were just born into the family you were born into, none of us ask for those cards and how they’re dealt, we believe that and aren’t about to drag you for your privilege here and now ‘you’ve got America in [however many days ‘til that first excursion]’ to be like you can keep busy too but also like I remembered that detail because I care so much about you don’t forget]

Buster: [‘neither did you’ because likewise not just the incest though ofc that but everything else ‘we’re dealt our cards blind, the only thing up to us is how we play the hand’ because literally what he believes too, hence I must, a noise that’s giving omg you remember, that kind of not at all casual intake of breath and we all know he’s thinking about when they talked about her going with him and he wants to say it but doesn’t, it’s HANGING there in the air regardless girls, eventually after such a dramatic pause as a result ‘I’ll have a phone’ because they have done so many phonecalls, not you saying you’re around still if she needs you]

Rio: [doing noises of agreement because you do fundamentally agree with this because you two are compatible and on the same page, soz to say except I am not, these noises turning into your own noise that I could capitalise but you’re trying to not do all that even though it was involuntary so you can’t help the !! fully ‘can I have your new account?’ shamelessly even though you said you did not want to see because we know you in fact do because you need to know what he’s doing and how he is]

Buster: [the way he stops breathing when he hears her noise cos he feels it in his bones and he’s so !! ‘Give me yours, I’ll give you mine’ as shamelessly because not over the fact she has one and we don’t know how long it has existed for or what might be on there, the possibilities are absolutely thrilling and he couldn’t be more turned on by them]

Rio: [‘I will’ as excitedly because however much you should do the ‘right’ thing and are attempting to, you will always be thrilled at having connection to him, you can’t help it; we also all know this account is you testing the waters of what you eventually want to do so it will be exactly the sort of content this boy will want to see]

Buster: [doing such a big lip bite about this that it’s almost audible because the prospect of being dropped new bae content of any sort when he’s absolutely rinsed every second of her other insta/all her socials has him ready to make a NOISE that he’s barely able to stop himself from, hence ‘hang up and send it to me’ because he needs access to this rn IMMEDIATELY before he can talk himself out of it]

Rio: [doing it with your own hot lol because can’t give any time for this to become a no or a regret either, not to mention you avoid the goodbye neither of you ever wants to say this way so hang that call up and send him your sneaky 2nd account, on however many platforms you have one because it’s probably a few]

Buster: [add her and immediately post insta story content of you sweaty and flustered from your exercise (and her) and looking so indecent as a result so she knows it’s you]

Rio: [react in a private way whether through sending emojis or a DM, just shamelessly thirsting and heart eyes however we go about it because we can]

Buster: [catch him as shamelessly reacting to everything she’s posted, the same kinda way, however long it takes or how far he has to scroll back, we can’t and won’t stop, no fucks given to where he is, who might be around or anything else at first, but hopefully he’ll find some privacy somewhere because we all know he’s gonna and gotta be touching himself as this escalates and be blatantly letting her know it too with what he’s then saying in his comments/with his emojis]

Rio: [messaging him via DMs here for the foreseeable because feels like a loophole to say what you want at this moment in time]

Rio: Now I have to somehow checkout and get home without dying 

Buster: [likewise unless we otherwise specify because we can kinda pretend we’re different people/this is acceptable doing it here like this]

Buster: Or die at checkout because you can’t wait to get home

Rio: 🥺

Rio: Even at a self-checkout, that’s pushing it

Buster: You love pushing it, that’s what this account is

Rio: True

Rio: you aren’t going to judge me for it though, are you

Buster: Are you going to go as far as you can with me?

Rio: I really want to

Buster: Tell me

Rio: I want to take it as far as possible with you

Buster: [the number of miles from Dublin to London to Harvard not at all casually, love that you know that even in this state of !!]

Rio: [adding the miles to New York like I’m going to be there with you too]

Rio: That far

Buster: A little further, you need to add [a number of miles he hasn’t specified the meaning of and she wouldn’t necessarily be able to as easily guess teehee cos I can]

Rio: Where are you taking me?

Buster: To [insert somewhere where she’s said she wanted to go when she was a child and he’s not clearly remembered but keeps good enough tabs to know she hasn’t been yet, whether that’s her namesake place or wherever else we want, the point is he knows and wants to take her] and back

Rio: [ain’t no way Caleb is taking you in this lifetime so it’s definitely Rio]

Rio: You could leave me there and I’d only be mad at you for the one reason 😍

Buster: You know I couldn’t leave you

Rio: Promise

Rio: don’t ever leave me long, I need you to feel like me

Buster: I promise

Buster: tether me, I want you to

Rio: I’ll tie you to me, happily, always 

Rio: I’m tiny, I won’t ever drag you down 

Rio: and you won’t ever get tired, holding me close

Buster: Like a baby

Buster: I remember

Rio: You remember everything important

Rio: don’t you 

Buster: No amount of [whatever drugs and drink combo he was on to get blackout, using Dublin slang as per how he does when he talks to her] could make me forget 

Rio: but you’ll have some fun trying

Buster: But we have more fun together, don’t we?

Rio: And we could have so much more fun still, me and you

Buster: Are you buying yourself [something that’s giving an even more realistic replica of him because we all remember when, get yourself down the fruit and veg aisle lol]??

Rio: I would be if you told me to

Rio: *dared, sorry

Buster: I dare you to press them against you until you find one that’s [giving PRECISE details about his dick here to give her as vivid a mental image as possible and so she can get this right, whether that’s about thickness or a slight curve or both, we know the vibes] and makes you need to bite the inside of your mouth

Rio: Jesus fucking Christ, okay

Rio: how is LITERALLY every inch of you perfect, please?

Buster: Next time you’re in church, ask the question

Rio: You want me to think of you wherever I am

Buster: You will be whether I tell you to or not, you’re always thinking about me

Rio: How can I not

Rio: even if I’m trying not to, I’m concentrating all my energy on that

Buster: Like now, I can feel how hard you’re concentrating on avoiding detection, but you still have a dare to complete

Rio: [take a picture of your 😳 flustered face and have the background of where you are to show him you’re going through with it]

Buster: Good girl

Rio: If one has the [one of those PRECISE details] then it doesn’t have [another]

Rio: this is so hard

Buster: What are you going to do?

Rio: Keep looking

Rio: you’re perfect, nothing less is acceptable

Buster: Try until you succeed, exactly

Buster: which is why you’re perfect for me

Rio: You want me too

Buster: Truth, you can still dare me though, as you already knew it

Rio: You’re already touching yourself, which is all I really want you to do if I can’t

Rio: I’ll dare you not to block or unfollow this account though, no matter what

Buster: Keep looking and you’ll be able to touch me, however you want

Rio: Oh I’m looking, I feel like I’m about to be arrested for how I’m looking

Buster: I’ll bail you out, don’t worry

Buster: defend your honour, no matter what

Rio: Did I prepare you for your career?

Buster: You’re an angel, even now

Rio: Not right now

Buster: Especially right now

Buster: it would be criminal of me to deny you anything when you’re just doing what you’re told and behaving so well

Rio: You know what I want from you, it’s all I’d ask of you

Buster: And you know I’d only offer you what you deserve

Rio: You’re so good to me

Buster: We’re on the same level

Rio: We’ve never been like the others

Rio: you know I was bullshitting when I said you’d do this with anyone else, or that I would

Buster: I’ve always known we were more alike than different, deep down, where and when it’s most important

Rio: More twins than you and her, you said that

Buster: Yeah, you understand me better than anyone else

Rio: That’s why I worry about you

Rio: not because I think I’m incredible, but you need me

Buster: I think you’re incredible and I’m rarely wrong

Rio: [not you blushing more in the middle of this supermarket than when you were full-on shopping for replacement dick but of course you are]

Buster: Tell me you agree with my correct opinion

Rio: Only because you’re so sexy when you’re all demanding

Buster: Say it, I’m waiting to hear you

Rio: [you should be really damn embarrassed now but we know you’re also the most turned on so will do this regardless, enjoy that !! voice note] 

Buster: I bet the entire aisle agrees with us after listening to you

Rio: The entire aisle is going to know way too much if I don’t get to somewhere with some privacy immediately

Buster: I should demand you stay there, knowing you like that so much

Rio: Do you think I can touch you how I want to here?

Rio: [a pic of the thing you have eventually chosen up to your lips like you’re winnie pondering but you’re just showing that they are bitten, ofc]

Buster: I have faith in you

Rio: Hm, you know I would if it was really you, anywhere

Rio: I suppose it’s only right

Buster: You need to start somewhere

Rio: [now this becomes a game of you being progressively but stealthily inappropriate with this as you walk around the shop, which you can prove to him to a point because hand and mouth stuff is only suggestive but he’s just going to have to trust you or y’all are going to cross that line once more for the rest]

Buster: You really love pushing it

Rio: So do you

Buster: I told you, we’re perfect for each other

Rio: I know 

Rio: you push me

Buster: I want to, against every single shelf

Rio: You’re going to

Rio: it’s laughable how easy it will be to be alone

Buster: The world won’t end if I touch you, it’s ours

Rio: There’s so little difference in you telling me to fuck myself for you and you doing it yourself, to everyone else

Rio: it only matters to us

Buster: I’ll show you how much difference there is, babe

Rio: This doesn’t end here, at hypotheticals 

Rio: show me

Buster: It’s too real

Rio: We belong together, I won’t deny it

Buster: Letting anyone or anything else call the shots is bullshit

Rio: I only want you telling me what to do

Buster: You make me proud and happy and feel a lot of things only you can

Rio: I can’t picture my life with anyone else, not how I can with you

Buster: Don’t, you’re mine, no-one else can have you

Rio: I’ve never belonged to anyone else

Buster: You never will

Rio: I’ve never been without you, you were waiting for me

Buster: I saw you first

Rio: You put your lips on mine first

Buster: It’s my turn again

Rio: I don’t need any other friends if you’ll play with me again

Buster: I promise not to spin any more bottles, you’re who I want to kiss

Rio: I’ve never been able to kiss anyone and not think about the time it was you

Rio: and I wouldn’t want it any different, I love how stuck my brain and body is to that moment

Buster: I close my eyes and they’re all you

Rio: Open them and it will be me, it has to be me

Buster: If I say your name any louder I’ll be the one getting arrested

Rio: No, it’s only natural you want me, I am so needy and obsessed with you

Buster: It’s meant to be intense, remember

Rio: You’re so bright and hot, literally but in all my memories, compared to everyone else

Buster: Vivid, that’s what you are too, in every room, actual and metaphorical

Rio: God, we’d be perfect together

Rio: actually the perfect couple

Buster: I’m not interested in having a girlfriend unless she’s you, the first

Rio: When are you going to ask me?

Buster: When I can ask you in person

Rio: I don’t even need to tell you that any of my boyfriends have meant as little as your hookups, you know

Rio: but I’ll tell you anything you want to know

Buster: All I ask is you don’t ever lie to me

Rio: I won’t, not even to do the right thing anymore

Buster: Promise

Rio: I promise I won’t lie to you, Buster

Buster: Your lip is almost bleeding, you know what to do

Rio: Am I ready?

Buster: You tell me, are you?

Rio: [simply show him the evidence that yes, you are]

Buster: You need everyone to see what I do to you, what I always have

Buster: you were born ready for me

Rio: I’ll go insane if no one else ever acknowledges it, it’s so obvious, it’s just a fact to me

Rio: I was literally made for you

Buster: Your eyes get so fucking big when they look at me, ever since you first opened them

Rio: You’re a lot to take in

Rio: can say that with near certainty but I mean, look at you

Buster: Yeah, look at me

Buster: [and sending her the most indecent images rn because why not when you’ve already described yourself in all the possible detail]

Rio: OH

Rio: [when there’s no need to exaggerate how huge your eyes are rn]

Buster: Don’t blink

Rio: I haven’t taken my eyes off you since I first saw you, now is no exception 

Buster: I’m not letting you out of my sight when I see you again

Rio: I’m not letting you out of me

Rio: you’ll just have to live with me constantly attached to you I’m afraid

Buster: No further than [however many inches] apart

Rio: You deserve me at your disposal

Buster: And you deserve to be mine in plain sight, claimed in front of everyone

Rio: Why shouldn’t you get me, you’re the golden boy, it’s not just me that’s so proud of you

Buster: You’re a goddess and everyone but me is only human

Rio: They’d be happy for us, if they stopped and thought about it

Rio: how could they not, if you take me like that

Buster: If it wasn’t a family trait to prioritise your own happiness above all else neither of us would be here

Rio: Why break from tradition, what for

Buster: I don’t regret this

Rio: I never will

Buster: Neither will I, despite any bullshit protests I end up making to the contrary, you know that

Rio: This is the truth, whatever happens

Buster: Hold me to it

Rio: I’ll try my best

Buster: My eyes can’t lie either, try looking there

Rio: Your eyes are holy

Rio: there’s nowhere to hide when they meet mine

Buster: [show her that you’ve made her giant eyes your phone pic so that you can keep staring at it]

Rio: You really like me

Buster: You remember what I said

Rio: If I think about it now

Rio: I can’t

Buster: Find somewhere to hide and think about it

Rio: Can I have a picture too?

Buster: You can have anything you want

Rio: I need to be able to look at you too, whenever I need to remember

Buster: [send her one obvs]

Rio: [show him you’ve set it as your pic too because couldn’t be more in love]

Buster: When are you going to say it back?

Rio: I have, haven’t I?

Buster: Say it again, even if you have

Rio: [after you have clearly taken the time to get somewhere private like he suggested, sending him the audio of you saying he’s the love of your life because you have not said it exactly like that I don’t believe and you couldn’t sound more !! rn for all the reasons]

Buster: [send her your extra ass audio response because you will be absolutely sent by that and you need her to know it killed you despite the stop and start touching yourself you’ve been doing because she couldn’t and so you were clearly trying not to die many a time in solidarity and succeeded until this]

Rio: I barely made it into this cubicle

Rio: Damn

Buster: I’ll need a minute before I can leave this one

Rio: Understatement

Rio: but I’m glad I’ve got you alone

Buster: I’m glad you’re here too

Rio: I’ve hijacked your day

Buster: I’m the opposite of angry about that

Buster: not to mention, you often do, the difference was you didn’t know how much time or attention I devoted to you before

Rio: I’ll remind you how un-angry you are when you let me look after you

Buster: And I’ll remind you, regardless of what you’re planning, you can’t move more than [the length or his tongue] or [the length of his longest finger]

Rio: 🥴 no moving

Rio: Unless security comes but I’ll take you with me

Buster: If they show up I’ll protect you

Rio: It is only right you take all the blame for the state I’m in

Buster: Full responsibility is the least I can do considering what I expect you to take

Rio: You’re the opposite of scared of responsibility 

Rio: that’s how I feel about your expectations too

Buster: I know, it’s why you don’t let me down

Rio: If I don’t get [whatever you were getting for Ali/baby Maggie] home sooner rather than later I’ll be in everyone else’s bad books so I appreciate that

Buster: I appreciate you staying with me

Rio: I don’t want to be anywhere else

Buster: Commit this to memory, I want you to commit to me in every possible way there is

Rio: There are no substances to hide behind or muddy any of it

Rio: This will be vivid too

Buster: The high’s all you

Rio: How are you real?

Rio: how has this happened?

Buster: Because I’m sick of forcing it not to

Rio: It’s exhausting

Buster: Yeah

Buster: I’d rather put my energy to better use

Rio: You need to, to get where you want to be, if nothing else

Buster: I need to when where I want to be is with you

Rio: You can’t leave it ‘til August now

Buster: Tell me when I should come back

Rio: Assuming right now is out of the question?

Buster: You’re already late home, so for you it is, arguably

Rio: The sensible and serious answer is whenever your parents next plan to come over then

Buster: What happened to your happy medium?

Rio: When do you think you can come over?

Buster: [something sporty that you can pretend you really need to be in Dublin for as a spectator which will blow your mum’s mind because you were just basically telling her you hate Dublin, but needs must, I shan’t commit us to an exact date but it’s clearly closer than the next big fam function] 

Rio: You are so smart

Buster: Dad would typically come too but [insert some baze work nonsense which just means you know he’s busy then]

Rio: So

Rio: you can come alone then, no obstacles at all?

Buster: If my parents object I’ll launch a superior counter-argument

Rio: Nerd 😍

Buster: You’re welcome, babe

Rio: You’re serious

Rio: this can happen 

Buster: Trust that I’m capable of making everything happen, nothing’s impossible

Rio: I already knew that about you, no proving it necessary but I’m not going to be upset when you do

Buster: [send her the confirmation that you’ve already booked this flight despite not asking baze cos that’s how confident you always are]

Rio: Are you excited?

Buster: [call her so she can once again hear you breathing because yes you are and that’s therefore the only acceptable response to that question]

Rio: [just listening to him for ages, having moved your face away from the phone clearly so your own !! reaction isn’t interrupting, finally hitting him with the most intense ‘me too’ like you just said ILY you said it with so much feeling behind it]

Buster: [catch him doing the exact same thing when that me too hits with all it’s intensity so he isn’t even more extra fully down the phone because she’ll know damn well the impact it has anyway and it’ll take him a sec to ask ‘Where are you meeting me?’ cos we wanna hear if she’s !! enough to say immediately at the airport or if she’s gonna have more chill about this, cos he clearly has his own plan to take Fearghal to see this sporting event, which is presumably a boxing match as those are expensive and something he’d be the most into, to be his alibi but also as he is genuinely soz he missed st paddys and disappointed him, haven’t yet verbalised any of this plan to this gal though lol]

Rio: [‘when does your flight get in again?’ said in a casual jokey kind of way, with a little laugh like you’re not being serious about how you want to see him immediately at the airport but we all know you absolutely are but you just don’t want to risk anything because it still feels precarious ‘I can meet you wherever, I’ll make it work’ because we too are confident we can make this happen]

Buster: [tell her seriously because you’ve memorised these flight times already and you’re not about to pretend you don’t wanna see her ASAP when it’s this obvious cos you’ve literally engineered this trip so you don’t have to wait for the next fam function, he simply cannot do casual I fear, hence also tell her all your plans re taking Fearghal and the times for the boxing match starting and ending and the venue etc so she also knows exactly what you’re doing and can genuinely decide where and when she’ll be able to meet him because y’all both want it to feel like a real plan and not just a fantasy, despite his tone giving this is a convo you’d have with friends or fam discussing what you’ve been up to nbd because can’t be too !! when she isn’t]

Rio: [making aww sort of noises about his plans, but in a genuine fashion not a patronising one because you see the vision here and think it’s a sweet idea to make it up to Fearghal and thus you are not planning to get in the way of this and invite yourself along or anything like that ‘will your parents let you stay at yours alone?’ as a next move because you can meet him there/stay there, is your thought here]

Buster: [making your own dismissive kinda noises back like no no I’m not being sweet at all ever I’m just using him as a means to get what I want because he is used to his being a dick persona and that just comes naturally in this era I’m afraid, even though we already know this gal sees through it and always has ‘I don’t see why not’ because you genuinely don’t, as far as y’all are concerned you’re grown af lol and in fairness you’re not little kids, again with the unspoken confidence that if baze are for any reason unconvinced he’ll convince them because he’s 1000% that bitch]

Rio: [affectionately and unthinkingly hushing you here like boy I know who you are you don’t need to play but we don’t need to labour the point as far as actually saying this in words because not really where we’re focused, ngl ‘there we are then’ casual and breezy words like oh that’s sorted then but the pause that is filled with everything we’re not saying and the way we feel about being alone with you is palpable and unignorable, clearing our throat like that’s going to continue to stop the words or make them come, either way, the !! is real]

Buster: [likewise not where his focus is rn so he’s not gonna stage a hardcore protest to the fact he’s actually a dickhead, we all know he isn’t and the entire point is always that he isn’t trying v hard because he’d love someone to see through it but she’s the only one who is ‘there we’ll be, yeah’ letting it really hang there that y’all will not only be alone but completely so, in his house for as long as you literally decide to be, because UNHEARD of, you’re used to getting a snatched moment of tension at most so far in your lives, couldn’t be more thrilled about the possibility or the reaction it’s obvious she’s having to it, so you can hear the smug grin again in his tone even as he’s matching her casual tone]

Rio: [doing a laugh that is the audible equivalent of blushing down the phone at him because you are hardcore, as if the prospect of what him coming over alone means has only just hit you because honestly, it has and all at once too ‘I’m not scared’ as if he just accused you of being scared, very playfully combative like how dare you, crossing your arms which he’ll hear even if the pout is only heavily implied in your sassy tone]

Buster: [doing his own laugh at her pout he can basically hear too because it’s so apparent and we love to see it because ofc he doesn’t want her to freak out about this even though it’s a massive deal and they both know that on a million different levels, not just because of being related but because she’s told him she hasn’t done this with anyone else unlike him being a big slag ‘So what are you?’ giving big tell me energy because he always wants to be knowing how she feels]

Rio: [when you’re just beaming down the phone like he can see you because love when he’s laughing, love when he’s happy, don’t mind us, shaking your head like focus, try actually saying something and not just being heart eyes lol, doing a hmm like you’re considering what you are just to keep him waiting for a second before you reply ‘excited, like you, remember’ because y’all are in this together]

Buster: [when you know that because you know her and you’re shamelessly doing your own heart eyes as if she can see them in response, don’t mind them just falling deeper in love here and now ‘I remember everything’ because he does and we don’t need to pretend otherwise anymore when we can reaffirm that as being the truth instead ‘like you’ didn’t need to add that but yes he did because they are in this together and she hasn’t forgotten anything either] 

Rio: [mhmm, oh lads, we do put you through it but right now you are having a lovely time and as you should, we’ll be here smiling even harder somehow because of course you knew he remembered but he’s admitted it and that’s HUGE ‘I’m not going to forget’ said like that’s an impossibility because it is, even if we wanted to which right now we absolutely do not]

Buster: [enjoy it while it lasts guys because with y’all in this era there’s no telling how long it will, once again so aware exactly how happy this girl is because of what he admitted and living for it ‘it’s impossible’ being vocalised by him because it is and they couldn’t be more on the same page or connected than they are rn so shamelessly the easiest way to show that and I’m not above taking it lol]

Rio: [making dramatic noises of agreement because yes, exactly boo ‘good’ because never want to forget really and truly and we’re not about to wish that you could and let you off like that, no thank you ‘you’re mine’ quieter than how you are naturally speaking the rest of this convo but still, so assured and so confident]

Buster: [doing another lol like oh okay that’s me told as if it’s a diva demand that he can’t ever forget either and that she’s never letting him off anything but we all know that’s exactly how he wants things to be too, hence he’s not laughing when she says that next bit, doing his own DRAMATIC noise of agreement because yes he is hers and couldn’t be more into the confident way she said so]

Rio: [‘yeah’ with your own smug vibe like you’ve been told tehe but you are way too about his agreeing with you for your next ‘yeah’ not to be closer to a moan than an actual word, clearing your throat again because damn, trying to hold on to some composure here ‘will you say it when we’re together?’ a pause between when and the last part of your sentence as you clearly take time to think how to word the fact you are going to be alone, together and together in a way you have never nor never thought you would be]

Buster: [his own ‘yeah’ which does manage to be an actual word but is said so indecently and with so much !! because likewise thinking about them being alone together and all the things he could therefore say and do, having to do so more BREATHING down the phone about this, bringing us full circle because the excitement is at an all time high]

Rio: [matching his breathing because you really do have to take a minute here and you don’t want to hang up to do so because you never want to stop talking to him ‘[the date/time of his flight landing] can’t come soon enough’ because sure wish you were here already, need I remind you that she’s still in the tescos toilets and that is just not the vibe for how romantic you are feeling lmao]

Buster: [god knows where this boy still is too, it’s giving as unglamorous and unsuitable because it’s probably changing rooms at football or something if not also a toilet, god bless the juxtaposition lads it’s very amusing, tell her the time of an earlier flight you’re suggesting you could get even though you know damn well that isn’t what she means and also that if you meet her before you won’t wanna leave to go to this sporting event at all but he simply can’t help but be more extra ‘I could come on the [whatever earlier time]’ as if it’s casual when it is nothing of the sort]

Rio: [‘you don’t have to do that’ said in the way that makes it clear you’d not at all be mad if he did because of course you wouldn’t be but you’re not going to ask him to do it either ‘how long are you staying?’ because now just thinking how long you will have together, how much time this sporting event is going to take up etc]

Buster: [‘don’t you dare me?’ because he absolutely will despite the money it would waste to change a flight he’s already booked without asking, always gotta make her ask for things he’s already gonna do haha, a noise like hmm which she did earlier as if how long he stays depends on her and not on actual other real factors, we’re also likewise enjoying thinking about time they could have]

Rio: [‘it’s not a dare if you want to do it’ but catching yourself like I know, I know, ‘cos that’s all y’alls dares are lol can’t pretend otherwise ‘okay, I do, come on [this earlier flight]’ doing a hmm noise back at him as if you’re now considering how well you plan on behaving]

Buster: [‘Okay, what if I leave on [the latest possible flight he could on Sunday without taking the piss about school on Monday because I’m imagining this boxing match is saturday night plausibly and so he was coming some time saturday day, because can’t push it coming friday night he’s not THAT grown, which is now even earlier lol cos he’s about to change that flight as soon they are off the phone and he can]’? Like hmmm? Imagine that sis]

Rio: [‘I’ll make sure you getting home in time for school is a pointless exercise’ like you might be there Monday morning but you aren’t going to be able to concentrate on your work AT ALL honey and again we mean it so seriously]

Buster: [‘If it’s truly pointless, I might as well make you return home with me’ said as seriously as if he’s gonna bring her to London and she’ll just never go to school or home again because it’s how we feel in this moment]

Rio: [making a noise that is part excitement part agreement like okay, yes, do it as if y’all can because in this moment you want nothing more ‘I could find plenty of reason to visit London’ because it’s true, at least you both live in/near these capitals because it’s not out of the question that you’d want to spend time in either place]

Buster: [‘there are a lot of sights you haven’t yet’ because true of London but more importantly he’s thinking of everything they haven’t done together yet that her visits would let them, entirely in a saucy context atm because that’s the mood y’all are in and his tone is making that blatant, so much emphasis on A LOT, as if we needed it]

Rio: [‘you gonna be my tour guide?’ and making the awh cute noises again but sounding so indecent with it this time because we know there is nothing wholesome about such an offer because we all know what is being said and THOUGHT about here]

Buster: [‘I’ll show you absolutely all of it’ because we’re not gonna pretend otherwise, everything is always the vibe, no less, letting that sink in for the both of you for a sec because he so sincerely means it about not holding back ever]

Rio: [doing a soft yet unhinged ‘oh’ because you are so 🥺 thinking about this and you don’t even know what to do with yourself rn ‘I need to be with you’ do we mean now in this moment, or perhaps, always, who can say but we know we MEAN it]

Buster: [‘I know’ as if she’s doing the 🥺 at his face rn because that’s how it feels with how blatant it is and how in sync they are, soft, but we can’t lie, unhinged comforting noises as the only thing he knows to do atm ‘we’re soulmates’ as if that’s a fact and something he’s said before to the point of being casual and not just a really intense thing to drop here because he’s clearly felt it for so long that it doesn’t come across as something he’s telling her for the first time]

Rio: [making your own unhinged baby noises back because what are words but then he drops that bombshell so off-handedly that the stunned silence that comes after is in dramatic contrast completely accidentally but unavoidably so, doing very shaky breaths as the first audible response he will hear ‘we are’ not as a question but as if you can’t believe you’re able to finally be saying it out loud]

Buster: [has never focused on anything as hard as he is this silence and waiting her to fill it either with breathing or words because despite things feeling the least precarious they ever have here and now, you know that was an extra ass thing to say, however true you also know it is ‘we’re meant to be’ because however hard you fight it you cannot]

Rio: [‘I’ll do anything to be with you’ with your whole chest, blurting this out because you can’t keep it in, it has never felt truer than in this moment ‘you’re the only one who gets me’]

Buster: [‘I did everything I could think of to try and keep you away from me’ because years of that nonsense and nevertheless here we are, it hasn’t worked and he’s out of ideas for going down that road, which is HUGE of him to actually admit when he’s never that boy who can’t think of another idea ‘you’re closer than ever’ because true in every sense, they are gonna be alone together so soon but also they’ve talked more lately and had more phone calls recently than all their other awks convos before combined]

Rio: [making a noise of apology but not being able to say the words I’m sorry because even if you are it’s so deeply uncomfortable to admit that you could have made it easier for him than you did because you’re meant to be good and give a shit and it is undeniably selfish of you in many ways and there’s no hiding from that fact ‘we can’t help it’ realising this sounds too much like just an excuse for your liking and correcting ‘we don’t want to’ because you do have agency here and there’s a reason y’all are talking this much]

Buster: [a noise that fully interrupts her noise of apology as the - stopping it dead equivalent of him saying don’t without needing to say it, because they’ve both been selfish in their own ways and he isn’t hiding from all the wrong he’s done with his flawed approach, changing to a noise of agreement though at her correction because this isn’t accidental anymore if we could’ve ever called it that, he’s literally booked a flight, y’all are being deliberate now ‘I don’t want any regrets’ because his mum doesn’t have any according to her (Ro doesn’t count not soz) and baze are his role models, Bea especially no offense Fraze, not calling you a flop but when Nancy basically called him a mummy’s boy she was so right lol]

Rio: [‘life’s too short for them’ because who does, truly, no one we know and that includes us ‘you’re sure?’ like let’s just check in and avoid this getting messy if you think this is going to be the regret, not that that’s where you think his head is but you’re giving space for the possibility]

Buster: [‘the years I’ve already spent without you were too fucking long’ because truly how we feel rn and that’s without taking into account the rest of his life he was trying to avoid her for ‘I’m sure I can’t keep this bullshit up indefinitely’]

Rio: [the noise like that actually physically pained you to even contemplate it for a second there is all the ‘I know’ you need but you’re still saying the actual words too ‘you don’t need to, whatever happens’ with the confidence of being able to work SOMETHING out even though you have no clue beyond what you want to and hope will happen lbr]

Buster: [stopping breathing v dramatically when that noise escapes because it pains him to hear her make it and know why and what it means never mind the rest ‘I need to be with you’ throwing back her words from earlier before he dropped the s word because we love to do that and also it’s just true so he has the same confidence in that being what’s going to happen now that he’s decided to change tact and commit to this instead of being a bastard, me like oh hun little do you know, prepare to flip flop again v soon]

Rio: [‘you’re with me’ like he is the one that needs soothing right now but also just to say it and to feel as if it is true because in this moment it is and soon it’ll be true in every way it could be meant, so soz for what we’re about to do lads but y’all have no idea]

Buster: [‘do the maths’ because she’s good at it and you’re both nerds so obvs he’s gonna tell her to now they know which flight he’s getting and leaving on and it’s easy enough to minus out the fight stuff to work out exactly how long they think they’re gonna get to spend together, they cruelly are not but jemily can take a lil comfort in him ordering her to do that as if he ordering her to do something way more indecent lol]

Rio: [do do that maths like an excited little nerd, whatever it works out to, it’s the most time you’ve ever spent ALONE ALONE because you’ve never and at most it would’ve been a few pretty unsupervised hours in a day as children, not since you’ve developed these intense feelings as you aged so this is a moment]

Buster: [do a countdown so you get to be an excited little nerd too because it clearly isn’t a far away visit way in the future when the point was being extra and meeting up before the next fam function, so it adds to the moment how soon this is actually going to happen]

Rio: [‘I can’t wait’ again, in the sincerest way possible, spoken like a wistful lil sigh almost because not just a platitude to get you off the phone here]

Buster: [‘neither can I’ as sincerely meant because he wouldn’t have put a rush on immediately organising this if he didn’t, however much we know he does also wanna make things up to his gdad he would’ve waited until his bday to do that lbr ‘hang up and I’ll change my flight’ because absolutely must make that earlier like he said before he even gets home and discusses it with anyone ‘book the return too’ like lest you forget I’ve decided exactly how much time we’ve gonna have and it’s the max possible, even though jemily (and mainly Winnie) have decided otherwise and I just know he’ll end up getting the earliest one he can in the AM after kicking her out as soon as he gets rid of mcvickers/fearghal that PM but y’all aren’t aware of the incoming cockblock so]

Rio: [excitable noises like okay, okay because you want him to do both those things too and you need a reason to hang up that isn’t sad so you’re gonna take it but first the ‘I love you’ flying out like he is one of your loved ones and you’ve always been able to talk to him like this and not even think about it, the slight pause after when you realise that you just did that and that was not actually the case]

Buster: [when you never want her to hang up after saying that but also immediately want her to because !! there is so much you could and want to say in response that the pause is just stretching because it’s overwhelming and also you know her so you know how she said it and that she didn’t exactly mean to so then it’s like do I ACKNOWLEDGE this or not, so much just being expressed by this boy once again breathing down the phone for a second having a tiny debate with himself which is only lasting seconds but feels SO long ‘say that again’ eventually, not in a tone of I’m pretending I didn’t hear you and giving you and out if you want one but v much like say it like you mean it if you 100% do]

Rio: [likewise the silent internal struggle between wanting to immediately press end call so neither of you need to address it to wanting to address it so badly and make a thing of it NOW but you’re doing neither, just living in this silence fully !! until he decides for you, of course you’re not going to back down and deny it when you do so taking your time and saying it with as much intention as possible]

Buster: [when he’s clenching his jaw SO hard not to make even the slightest sound that could interrupt her saying this a second time that she’d be able to feel as well as hear it because despite telling her to repeat herself he could not be less prepared for the effect it has on his entire body because they are sober and this couldn’t be more intentional and it hits different and so deeply]

Rio: [when y’all are both sober in the cold light of day for all of this, can’t just turn around and say otherwise now, we’re way too far gone hence you weren’t going to not say it, even if the way your heart is beating in your ears right now means you feel like you literally cannot and would not be able to hear him reply so you do hang up in pure AHHHHHH vibes]

Buster: [the way he’d immediately want to and almost does call straight her back knowing she’d pick up again as fast but hence he must resist because she was mid running errands and he has to go home eventually and face real life too however much neither of y’all want to and this way at least it is on that high of her ILY being the last thing said rather than a goodbye or anything so that feels too perfect for rn for him to risk changing, however much we all know he wants to say and how much we all know he LOVES having the last word, fight it sir, you must so it’s cinematic and peak romance lol]

Rio: [my boo says dare y’all to stfu challenge and that’s so real honestly lmao]

[no-one-at-all75]

Feelings? (Female reader) (pt.2 to New Toy)

KAY/O x Reader fluff

Ok I know what y’all are thinking, another KAY/O post? Welllll the main reason for that is because of these two amazing people who loved the last one. I’m not gonna lie, there isn’t enough KAY/O content on, well, anywhere actually. So we are back! This is actually kinda a part two to the smut fic I did last month, and @darkness4561 gave me an amazing idea to give it a part two.

@pleasefvckmekayo

@vigilanteagent

Words: 1,277

Disclaimer: mentions things that happened in New Toy but no detailed smut today :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

KAY/O and you have been doing his ‘classified mission’ for a bit now, and honestly he seems to enjoy it. Some days he just walks right into your room even asking if he could do the mission today or asking if he could come back tomorrow. You’d always be a blushing mess and nod as you clean your cum off of him so he looks just as he did when he came in. Sometimes he’d even hesitate to leave which always makes you curious as to what he is thinking, or what his code is thinking.

You were talking to Killjoy in the kitchen area as you grab a cup of coffee to start off your day while she was making breakfast for the agents that were awake. You two were currently talking about a mission that just happened that you both went on and you were talking about your perspective.

“I really need to take you out sometime KJ as a thank you for saving my ass. I swear I never saw Jett sitting there with an operator.” You shrug as you sip your coffee. KJ chuckles a bit to herself as she serves you a plate of eggs and toast.

“It’s really no problem (Y/N). We are supposed to look out for each other out there.” She proves a point as you give her a smile and start devouring your eggs. Out of the corner of your eye you see KAY/O accidentally run into a wall, shake his head a bit as to get his head on straight, then continue walking towards the shooting range. You look at KJ a little bit confused as she does the same to you.

“Hey does KAY/O seem off to you? You’d know you basically take care of him 24/7.” You mention as you grab another bite of your breakfast. She looks down at her feet a bit puzzled as she tries to come up with words to explain.

“He’s been a bit off lately. He would ask me weird questions that seemed to be off of emotions but it doesn’t make sense. He is a robot and doesn’t have the code to feel.” KJ responds frustrated.

“Like what types of questions?” Your interest was peaked, this was the robot you were essentially using as a vibrator and you really hoped he didn’t tell her anything. But from the puzzled look on her face too, it seemed like you were in the clear. She sighs and puts a hand on her forehead and walks back to the stove to make more servings for the other agents.

“He would just ask what happiness feels like and how to recognize it. He also asked some, very inappropriate questions as well like what does it feel like to be touched and all that sort of stuff. I really hope his code works it out.” She lets out another frustrated sigh as she continues cooking. This was your que to stop asking questions. You clean your plate and thank KJ for breakfast as you go and seek out the robot that has been destroying KJs brain.

You find him where you’d expect him to be, at the range shooting his own kind. You always thought it was weird that he was so willing to shoot other robots. Then again you shoot and kill other people for a living so you weren’t too far out of the scope either. You approach him as he gets perfect head shots on all the bots. You attempt to put a hand on his shoulder but since he is extremely tall, you settle for his forearm instead. When your hand makes contact, it seems like he shuts off for a moment, then comes back. His face was red with killing intent when you walked up but now it is back to his normal cool blue color. He tilts his head to the side almost like a puppy at your concerned expression.

“Hey KAY/O. Everything going ok?” You ask. You know he is a robot and you honestly don’t know what he is going to say. His arms drop from the aiming position as he places his gun on the ground making your hand slip away from his arm. Once he is back up from lowering his gun he grabs your hand and places it back onto his arm. You blush a bit at his actions and continue to look at his screen. You can see him look over you, over every detail that you have. You can hear his internal fans start to whirl as you see him try and come up with words.

“(Y/N), the missions you have been giving me have affected me in a way I cannot describe.” His voice rings out. You look down at your feet blaming yourself for him being confused and not knowing what is going on. You feel hot tears start to well up in your eyes as KAY/O brings his other hand you the side of your face, caressing it and lifting it slowly so you look up at him. Seeing the tears in your eyes illicit another reaction from him. He pulls away his other arm from your grasp to wipe the tears off your face.

“(Y/N) do not cry.” He begs. You close your eyes as more tears pour out.

“I’m sorry KAY/O. I feel responsible for the errors in your code and the confusion you feel right now. Maybe I should stop asking you for favors. I’m sorry.” Your voice breaks at the end of your explanation. KAY/O looks down at his abdomen where you sat so many times. He looks back up at your red crying face and attempts to soothe you more by wiping more tears away.

“(Y/N). I enjoy those moments we have together. Please don’t make me stop.” His voice for once sounds softer than his usual tone. The shock hits you like a train when you realize what is going on. It is a malfunction yes, but he is falling in love. You give him a small smile as you finally figured out what’s been going on with him.

“Do you get antsy to see me? Or want to see me all the time?” You ask hoping his answer will line up with your theory. He nods his head saying ‘yes’. Your smile gets wider as you ready yourself to explain.

“What you’re feeling KAY/O is love, or wanting to be with me. Humans have the same reaction with people they like or live in your case.” You explain as stand on your top toes to bring your forehead to his. You see his screen go pink almost blushing as you hear the fans work harder to cool him off. You let out a small giggle as you wrap your arms around his neck and give him a small squeeze. He knows that if he hugs you back he could kill you, so he brings his hands to the small of your back and keeps them there until you pull away. You both stare at each other for a while before he interrupts the sweet silence.

“If this is true then what do I do.” He asks confused. You give him a small smile and break out of the embrace as you walk away from him.

“Do what you want to do. I’ll be here for you and whatever you want.” You smile as you grab the door to leave. He quickly comes to your side and holds your other hand with his. You look up in almost disbelief but give him a sweet smile.

“I want to be with you.”

[alonezz]

AOT girls calming you down after a panic attack.

Includes: Mikasa, Annie, Pieck.

warnings: anxiety, panic attacks.

Mikasa

~ SO SWEET AND WORRIED. 

~ She will place her scarf around you as a way to comfort you.

~ She is worried as hell the entire time. She won’t leave your side for a while.

~ Will let you keep her scarf for the rest of the day.

Mikasa was walking down the hall when she heard whimpering from the supply closet. Her first thought was that some cadets where doing something inappropriate but when she heard a sob she stopped abruptly and made her way to the door. 

She opened the door a small gasp leaving her lips when she saw you on the floor shaking. Her heart broke at the sight. She immediately rushed to you, kneeling in front of you.

She placed her hands on your knees, rubbing them gently, her heart beating as rapidly as yours. 

“What happened, Y/N?” she says quietly placing her hand under your chin trying to get you to look at her. when your eyes meet hers, Mikasa felt a pang on her heart. You eyes were brimmed red and you were shaking slightly. 

You tried to respond but let out an involuntary whimper and her eyes widened as you watched her quickly undo her scarf.

She gently wrapped the fabric around your neck, in hopes of bringing you the comfort it brought her. The red scarf smelled like her, the soft smell of lavender. And you felt your breathing even out at the warmth it brought.

She sat down next to you and pulled you in for a hug, “its okay my love, you are safe now. No one can hurt you, kay? Im right here,” she whispers. Your face is buried in her warm neck as she hugs you and tenderly plays with your hair.

“Thank you, Mika,” you whisper after you’ve calmed down.

“No need for thanks, just let me know next time you feel like this, okay?” she says giving the top of your head a small, ghost of a kiss.

Annie

~ She is not the best at comforting people, but since it’s you she will try her best.

~ I don’t see her as talking much, will probably just sit with you and offer some sort of physical contact while she waits for you to be a little more calm. (this might be holding your hand or rubbing your back).

“Y/N?” Annie calls your name from the other side of the door as she quietly enters your room.

When she saw you sitting on the floor with a pained expression as you uncontrollably shook and sobbed she didn’t know what to do. Her heart broke at the sight and she walked hesitantly towards you.

She quietly sat down next to you placing her hand on your back and rubbing it gently. When you leaned into her she immediately wrapped her arm around you protectively. She pulled your head towards your chest, which was getting wet with you tears but she didn’t care. Her head was too preoccupied with you to care about a wet shirt.

“Is okay, Y/N, you are safe,” she whispers pulling you back a little so that she could look at your face. With red eyes and a quivering lip you stared up at her like a lost puppy and her heart shattered. In this moment she realized just how much she cared about you.

“What happened baby?” she whispered, her thumb gently clearing the tears from your cheeks. When you did’t answer she pulled you back into her chest, her heartbeat lulling you to sleep.

Pieck

~ This baby will see you crying and she will be worried as hell, she quietly approaches you before hesitantly sitting next to you.

~ She will know exactly what to do. Her protectiveness will be through the roof and the only thing on her mind is to help you feel better asap.

~ Pieck can make you feel better in a matter of seconds, she just knows you too well and is a master at stoping panic attacks.

She found you crying on your bed as your body gently shook, her soft smile changed into a frown as she slowly approached you.

“whats wrong princess?” she will ask and when you don’t reply she gently questions again, “can I touch you?” she whispers and when you nod your head she is immediately wrapping you en her warm embrace.

She will whisper sweet things in your ear while she holds you tightly. Her comforting smell intoxicating your senses and making you feel at peace.

One of her hands will be rubbing circles on your wrist while the other rubs your back gently. She will hold you until your shaking comes to an end, kissing your cheeks and temple often. 

This was originally a request but I accidentally deleted it! 

[signedeclipse]

Ren has returned from her slumber and from her 5 hours of bingewatching anime! I saw you opened your requests so I can finally tell you my idea for the kimetsu academy au👀 so I accidentally went down a rabbit hole researching about trains and I found out about the twilight express mizukaze, which is a very expensive and luxurious sleeper train in japan (it even has its own website if you want to see the prices and what it's like on the inside). So here's my idea: one of enmu tamio's biggest dreams has always been to go on a trip on the mizukaze but it's super expensive so he could never do that. But y/n has been secretly saving up money for a long time and now she can finally afford to buy 2 tickets. One day (maybe on their anniversary or smth) she surprises him with the tickets for a week-long trip on that train and ofc he's very excited about it. When they finally get on the train he's even more excited, taking pictures everywhere, looking at everything in awe, and ofc hugging and thanking y/n over and over again for her amazing gift. Then at night when they're in their room on the train he gets more clingy and decides to thank y/n for her gift with something special👀 soooo you know what that means👀🔞👀 ofc this is just something random I came up with but if you do decide to write it then make sure you take all the time you need and don't stress yourself over it!!💝 your mental health and wellbeing are more important than a random thirsty request!!!💝💝 drink lots of water and take care of yourself!!!💝💝

- 🌈

Worthy [Enmu X Reader]

Reader is Human Female | Plot with bonus nsfw

Recommended Song - Love Story by Indila

Several months of hard work, staying late and taking on heavier workloads had all been worth it. You managed to get your hands on two extremely expensive and terribly hard to get train tickets.

They weren't just a random pair of tickets; no amount of money could have prevented you from getting them because of how much they meant.

Currently, they hid tucked in your pocket where Enmu would not be able to see them. Not that he'd of been able to anyhow, not with the blindfold wrapped around his eyes.

He had just treated you to breakfast in bed to celebrate your anniversary, but only moments after finishing did you tell him to pack for a week's worth and be ready in an hour. He had made some slightly inappropriate comments when the blindfold came out, but he still clung to your hand for guidance like a lost puppy.

Neither of you had a life of luxury like this; the moment you stepped into the golden-clad station, you had to stop yourself from giving too much away.

"You aren't planning to get rid of me, are you?" Enmu teased after hearing the sound of a train whistle.

"Quite the contrary!"

From then on, you only responded to his quips with little laughs, smiling more and more as you found your cart and got your luggage settled in with you.

You pushed him back onto the bed so he could sit and let go of his hand for the first time since you left the house.

He felt the silk sheets and gripped the covers curiously, tilting his head with a soft smile.

"Well?"

It was hard to deny him the story when he tilted his head, all curious.

"You know how there are some trains you always talk about taking pictures of?"

He hummed in agreement, edging you to continue.

"Well…I think we can cross one of the priorities off that list!" Your hand tugged at the blindfold's knot, teasing it loose until it fell off his eyes.

The train whistle went off again when the train started to trot forwards slowly. He blinked to help adjust to the sunlight flooding his eyesight, but it didn't take long for him to jump up in excitement, even in his disoriented state.

"Darling!" His voice raised to an excitable tone while he raced to the window, looking back at the trail of carts in front of you. He couldn't mistake the train's distinctive green colour for any other.

"Welcome aboard the Mizukaze express!" You expressed with your arms outstretched, spinning and taking in the glory. Enmu engulfed you in his arms and raised you into his arms.

He looked as though he was going to cry from the overwhelming joy passing through him. He could not even begin to believe that you poured this much into an anniversary gift… let alone just for him. It was only now he felt a tad embarrassed for how much his gift paled compared to yours.

"You honour me, darling~" His voice purred with delight, and with one last squeeze, he let you land back on your feet.

He still had his arms draped loosely around your waist as though he didn't want to let go.

"As much as I just loooove all this attention you are giving me right now," you left a gentle kiss on his lips, "dinner is soon, and I am sure you don't want to miss out!"

Enmu would be bouncing right now if he wasn't already racing to tidy himself up. He was lucky you had thought it out beforehand and forced him into something nice. Not that he wasn't going to for your anniversary, but a comfy pyjama day was never deniable.

As you left the room and walked down the hallways, Enmu found it hard not to stop and admire every view you passed. Most of the walls were large windows that saw out the beauties of Japan.

It was nothing like the city trains, nothing fit for a thief, but you brought him here, and he has never felt more at peace.

The dining hall looked like nothing less than a frame from a novel. You found a table for two right against the window that overlooked the ocean and rolling sunset. The sun cast orange rays through it and left rainbow refractions when passing through the glassware.

As you admired the view, the flash of a camera brought your attention back to Enmu, who looked at the photo preview sheepishly.

"I want to ensure I capture at least one photo with you in it." His voice fell to a mumble while he handed the camera off for you to see.

Enmu had captured the exact moment your eyes lit up at the sunset, with the table, train and ocean all in the background. You exited the picture and pointed the lens right at him.

"Act like you don't see the camera!" Despite your warning, you gave him no time to react and snapped a similar image. He snatched the device from you before you could look at the photo, which prevented you from seeing how he looked past the camera at you the whole time.

With pictures out of the way, food was served not long afterward. The meals were unlike any you had ever tried, divine cuisine with a touch of home.

Multiple courses were served, all the while you and Enmu commented on the passing scenery and how it reminded you of things from your upbringing. Some towns and monuments were familiar, such as the Okayama Korakuen, where Enmu said he hoped to take your wedding photos.

"Thinking of marriage already? Never knew this ride meant that much to you!" You teased through a sip of wine, to which he shrugged.

"I've been considering for a while~" You almost choked on your wine and stuttered a mess of confusion. The photographer remained silent and smiled at your flushed face.

After another glass of wine or two, you both had your hands clasped together while returning to your room. Enmu couldn't decide between drinking in your laughs and appearance or the view surrounding you both.

Of every train he had ridden, he couldn't even imagine being on one so essential and caring more about the person he was with.

When you returned to the room, Enmu wanted to blame the wine for his actions. You had fallen back onto the comforting bed to let out a dragged sigh, but he had crawled right on top of you to pepper kisses all over your face.

You could feel his hands dragging down from your shoulders to your waist, where he held you down against the bed.

"Didn't know they served two desserts here," he joked while his hands worked on riding up your summer dress until he could pull it off in one fell swoop.

As you went to retaliate with another quip, Enmu covered your mouth with one hand, pushing a handkerchief between your lips to silence any whines.

"Oh please, I'll do the talking little dove~."

He pressed more kisses into your neck, trailing down between your breasts where he took one nipple into his mouth, lapping at it with his tongue.

The hand over your mouth moved to grip at both wrists, pinning them down into the comforter. He took this opportunity to let his clothed knee snake between your legs so it could carefully grind up against your heat. The friction between your undergarments and his dress pants leaves a tingling feeling between your thighs.

"Oh my…you just look so…" he pressed a kiss to the nipple he had just been abusing before moving to the other "hopeless."

It was hard not to; his attentiveness to every part of your body was almost overwhelming. You couldn't stop yourself from squirming beneath him in hopes of pressing your hips further down on his knee, heart pounding with a need for more.

Enmu smirked upon feeling your desperate movements, pressing his knee against your pulsing warmth harder just to hear how the cloth drowned your whines.

'So eager, so gorgeous.' He thought to himself while the hand on your hip pushed down to grab a string of your panties, pulling them down and tossing them aside.

Unfortunately, he had to remove his knee to do so, but it wasn't long before his rigid member pressed against your clit, rubbing it with slow strokes.

You were both terribly wet, and with every thrust between your folds and along your clit a sloppy swishing was heard.

At last, he used that same hand to push your legs up and over his shoulders so he could adequately align himself with your entrance. With one hand pining your wrists and the other holding down your waist, he waited for your nod before pushing himself inside.

His movements started slow, ensuring he was coated enough to fit into you comfortably, but eventually, he couldn't help himself.

Leant forwards until you were practically in mating press just so he could kiss and bite your neck; Enmu began pounding into you so hard your entire body bounced, kept in place only by his grip on your body.

His groans mixed with your muffled yelps, making a lovers symphony while all pressed together. His cock pulsed and twitched with every clench of your walls around him. If he hadn't practiced so much, he would have never lasted so long with your heavenly body pressed under him.

You unravelled below him in the first minute, clinging to the sheets bundled between your pinned hands as though it was the last tie to reality you had.

Your thoughts could barely keep up with the endless pounding to the point where your eyes couldn't help from rolling out, and your moans broke.

"Hold on for me, angel~ I know you'll want to feel it all!"

Enmu had a load or five of thanking to do; it'd be a shame if you broke so quickly.

 —————-

Author Note -  Every time u send an ask I always want to strike a convo haha I love trains myself and I researched this one sm ty for telling me about it! Please enjoy and take care of yourself Ren <3

Image Credit - おゆちゃん

Word Count - 1,671

[thedistantdusk]

Invisible Stranger

Written for @clarensjoy‘s Hinny Fic Fest! Prompt #28: “Just... talk to me. Please.” Thanks to Ina for the quick beta :D Summary:  When Ginny Weasley is eleven years old, Tom Riddle changes the course of her life. But she’s only eleven, so she doesn’t see it at first.  TW: Coded/implied assault. Mild smut (later excerpts).  ________________________________________________________ When Ginny Weasley is eleven years old, Tom Riddle changes the course of her life. 

But she’s only eleven, so she doesn’t see it at first. 

All she knows is that Tom talks to her when she’s lonely, although to say they merely talk would be a staggering understatement. She hears his voice more than anyone else’s. She sees his face when she sleeps. She cries to him, bonds with him, pines with him. She thinks of him so often — regardless of if they’re actually talking — that it doesn’t even occur to her that some of these thoughts might not be her own. 

She doesn’t even realize he’s entered her until it’s too late. Until he’s done it. Until he’s made her do things… shameful things. Things she’d been embarrassed to report to her parents. She knows full well she’d only be met with reprimands for making herself vulnerable in the first place. 

When she tries to ask her brothers for help, a tiny part of her is happy they don’t. How can she possibly explain this without feeling a hot, aching brand of shame deep in her soul? She’d have to answer some ghastly questions, ones that would make the whole situation even harder to believe. The thought of taking Veritaserum makes her shudder; she’d have to admit — perhaps to a Ministry stranger — that she did enjoy parts of this. 

She’d have to watch even more of her agency slip away, right in front of her eyes, as her body betrayed her yet again. The mere thought of the sort of mortifying confession that might slide off her tongue is enough to shut her up… enough to keep her from being even more persistent. 

Ginny just lies awake at night and grasps at the straws in her spinning mind until her head pounds from the exertion of trying. She’s desperate to remember something — anything — from the swaths of time that just disappeared. She eventually reaches the conclusion that perhaps she’s forgetting on purpose; perhaps she’s protecting herself. 

She just hopes and prays that the memories won’t slam into her sometime in the future with the force of a freight train.

She ultimately decides it’s a blessing, really, that she doesn’t get help. After all, she’s spent eleven years trying to convince everyone that she’s not a baby. It would be the worst kind of setback to ask for help now, just as she’s gained some independence. 

When she chucks the diary in the toilet, she’s confident she’s handled it herself. Her mother wouldn’t be thrilled that her only daughter found herself in this situation, but Ginny likes to think she’d be proud of her resourcefulness. Proud of her only daughter, who’s finally taken control. 

Still, Ginny keeps her head down, keeps her face impassive, keeps her cloak pulled tightly to hide the deepest blush of regret that crawls up her chest whenever she thinks of Tom.

Then the worst possible thing happens: Harry gets ahold of the diary. The second she sees it with his books, she can almost hear the entire world crumbling beneath her feet. 

She only has a single thought: No. She can’t let him. She can’t let Harry, of all people, have open access to the thoughts that have plagued her for months. The thoughts (the lurid, inappropriate thoughts) that she’s had about him. 

So she steals up to Harry’s room and snatches it back, her heart pounding in her throat. She’s long past the point of needing the diary itself to hear Tom’s voice, but seizing it again — letting him inside of her again — doesn’t exactly help. 

Because right from the off, this time is different. The diary hums against her fingers, throbbing in her palm; Tom hasn’t said a word, but she knows he’s going to punish her. She lets out a strangled choke, her eyes rolling back in her head. He’s going to make her regret her little stunt of chucking him in the toilet, isn’t he? Yes. He’s going to make her rue the stupid, impulsive part of her that thought she’d find a way out.  

Her last thought as she loses consciousness is that maybe death will end it. Maybe in death, she’ll truly be free.

Ginny doesn’t die, though — and to her surprise, she can’t even hear Tom when she wakes in the Chamber. All she knows is that Harry’s there. And Ron. And… Lockhart? Seriously? 

Shit, maybe it would’ve been better if she died. Then she wouldn’t have to endure the remnants of this mortifying, twisted nightmare. Then maybe she wouldn’t have to sit there and sob as Dumbledore and McGonagall explain this to her parents. 

She just lets the tears flow as her father yells, as her mother makes incredulous sounds. With every intonation and raised voice, a single word thumps against her skull: Weak.

Weak. Weak. Weak. 

She’s weak. 

But at least for now, she’s alone in her own mind. At least for now, it won’t happen again… not like it has. In retrospect, she reckons she should’ve known better to think he’d ever truly left. Because Tom Riddle has already become her past, present, and future. She just doesn’t know it yet. _______________

Tom takes a different form during her second and third years at Hogwarts. He isn’t entering her or forcing her to do things or beguiling her with his charm and feigned interest, but he’s there nonetheless. He’s dancing, taunting her in the edges of her periphery… crawling in when the weather changes and everything grows cold and dark. Whenever she does poorly on an exam — especially in the winter months, the anniversaries of when things went from Vaguely Bad to Horrifically Bad — she swears she can feel his sneering lips pressed to her neck as his high-pitched cackle resonates in her brain. 

“You’re a baby,” he jeers, his face split into a predatory grin. “I can’t wait to see how else you fail.” 

When Ginny catches a glimpse of the way Harry peers at Cho, Tom only reinforces how she’ll never compare. “Look at her,” he taunts, and Ginny can almost see the leer curling his lips. “She’s poised and beautiful and perfect. She looks like a woman. Why would Harry ever want a girl?” 

And he says it so much — and Ginny thinks it so much — that she starts to believe it. He’ll never want her, will he? It’s clear Harry likes girls, women, who don’t need rescuing. Why would he want someone who’s been tainted with darkness? 

So Ginny moves on… slowly. She finds strength in other ways. She uses quidditch to regain trust in her own body, the trust she had before Tom made her question her own muscles and movements. 

She even dates, as she feels a normal teenager would. Not that she breathes a word about Tom to any of her potential suitors. She knows they couldn’t handle it; most boys couldn’t, not that she blames them. She knows untainted boys would respond like her friends have: by awkwardly clearing their throats through a whispered, “Oh” or a strangled, “I’m so sorry.” Then they’d treat her like she’s made of glass, and it would ruin things. 

Because if there’s one thing she won’t tolerate, it’s someone making her feel weak. Weak gets you in trouble; weak ruins your life and makes you undesirable. No matter how much Tom loves to bother her in winter, she’ll never let anyone see the resulting weakness.

_______________

Ginny considers herself fortunate, really, that Tom doesn’t outwardly come up when she ends things with Dean. It’s an accomplishment that she escapes from that relationship relatively unscathed. Her darkness didn’t accidentally show itself or lay there, sprawling and naked, for him to pick apart. 

It’s different with Harry, of course. She knows it will be from the second he kisses her in the common room. He’s the first one who doesn’t need to see her in a mask of normalcy and constant contentment. He’s the first one who understands that she’s not asking for an apology or reassurance when she accidentally drops a sad piece of her backstory into a casual conversation. 

On the few occasions when she does say things like that (because, again, she doesn’t have to watch her words with him) Harry just holds her closer, her ear pressed to his beating heart, as he runs his calloused fingers through her hair. 

And Ginny thinks, for once in her life, that perhaps there’s an unspoken value in sharing that sort of darkness. 

_______________

She tells Harry the full details of Tom pretty soon after they start shagging. She knows the war’s over; she knows they’ve kind of won. She also knows a well-adjusted person would have left this bit behind… but she reckons neither of them will ever be well-adjusted, really. They’re the sort of couple who cries when they hear I love you but remains stone-faced at funerals of their friends. For Harry especially, she knows that love presents as something that makes him feel uncomfortably warm, almost smothered. It can be a prickly, painful, cloying sensation… one he doesn’t always know how to respond to. With everyone else, he’s afraid of saying the wrong thing. Of seeming either too flippant or too mindful. 

But as their bodies connect, as they rock together in the dying sunlight, his fingers digging into her hips as he pulses inside her, he doesn’t have to pretend, either. 

Harry’s angry when she tells him… but not with her. He’s angry Tom ever made her feel that way. He’s especially angry with the worst of what Tom said: that on the off-chance Harry did want her, he’d only want her for sex. 

Harry brings it up several months after her initial admission.

“You know what I think about a lot?” he slurs, his finger tracing the curve of her breast as she lies naked beside him. 

She quirks a brow; no, but it doesn’t seem like a rhetorical question. 

Harry sighs, flopping over to his back. “I mean, I know it’s horrible and everything,” he allows, raising his hand in warning, “but seriously, I can’t help but be confused that Tom thought I’d be good enough at sex to use anyone for anything in the first place!”

There’s a moment of silence. 

And then Ginny cackles, shaking her head against the threadbare pillow in her bedroom. Harry joins her, pressing her against his side.

“I’m glad we’re both fucked up,” she says, when the giggles subside. “I reckon normal people are boring.” 

“Probably,” Harry agrees, his hand unconsciously toying with her hair. “Guess normal isn’t really my type, though.”

“Oh, so you prefer funny and traumatized?”

Harry smirks. “I prefer you.”

_______________

Tom doesn’t come back in full force until she falls pregnant the first time. 

Maybe it’s because they hadn’t planned on this— and regardless of how misty-eyed and excited Harry is, they definitely hadn’t planned on it. 

Maybe it’s because she’s certain it’s a boy, which carries certain burdens as the son of the Chosen One.

Maybe it’s because she’s feeling a similar loss of control, like her body isn’t her own. 

But mostly, she reckons, it’s because she’s plagued with the near-constant thought that she’s doing something wrong. 

She had a glass of wine before she found out (strike one, Bad Mum). She trips on her trainers and lands on her bum (very, very Bad Mum). She starts spotting at 12 weeks after she goes for the only jog of her entire pregnancy (horrifically Bad Mum; utterly unfit to raise a child). 

And all of this spins around in her head, faster and faster and faster, until she sees Tom’s face again one night. “You’re fat now,” he mocks, his voice a cruel whisper that slithers into the space between slumber and consciousness. “The nerve of you, thinking you’d do something so selfish as staying in shape at a time like this. I can’t wait to see Harry’s face when you tell him you’ve lost the ba—“

She bolts upright in bed, her heart pounding, and throws the blankets off to peer between her thighs. A ragged chuckle of relief escapes her lips. Nothing. There’s nothing, the baby’s fine, and—

“Ginny?” 

Shit.

She bites her lip and turns to Harry. He’s peering at her, his expression exhausted but alert. She hates that look, she really does; it reminds her too much of when he’d woken from his own dreams, right after the war. 

“A nightmare,” she whispers, brushing his hair from his eyes. “Only a nightmare. Go back to sleep.”

Harry sighs and grips her hand. He knows better. “Just... talk to me. Please. You don’t even have—“

“—It’s Tom,” she cut across, biting her lip. She feels guilty enough for waking Harry when he’s got work tomorrow; she’d better make it quick. “It’s just… stupid pregnancy shit, taking the form of Tom. Or maybe it just is Tom, somehow. I don’t really know.”

She throws her hands in the air before settling back against the headboard. And then, in a small voice: “He just… he’s so great at making me feel stupid.” 

There’s a beat. 

Harry reaches up to cup her cheek; she leans into the warmth, unsure if she’s finding more comfort in the familiarity or the gesture itself. 

“Well,” he says slowly; she can tell from his tone that he’s biting his lip, even if she can’t see it in the darkness. “You’re not stupid. But it’s also not stupid that he still makes you feel like that sometimes. Does that… make any sense?”

Her lips twitch in a soft smile. “It does. It makes sense. I just... I hate feeling weak.”

Harry chuckles and pulls her against him. She sighs into the crook of his neck, her eyelashes fluttering against his skin. 

“I could use a lot of words to describe you, darling.” His fingers dance on the gentle swell of her belly; he always sounds so pleased when he touches her, especially here, like he can’t help but feel chuffed that he’s actually knocked her up. “But I’m afraid that weak doesn’t make the cut.” 

Ginny giggles. “I’ll just have to settle for mad, I reckon,” she manages through a yawn. What is it about his bloody heartbeat that always settles her?

“Mad it is,” he agrees, kissing her forehead.

_______________

“It’s him again, isn’t it.” 

It’s not a question. But if it were, the answer would be obvious. 

Ginny’s staring out the window, her whole body poised and anxious. Every fiber of her being is taut. If she had a bit more self-awareness, she might compare herself to a hunting dog who’s just sensed a pheasant. 

But self-awareness is the furthest thing from her mind. Not when she’s worried about her babies. And she’s worried about all of her babies, yes — but there’s something especially triggering about the involvement of her little girl. Her only girl. Her girl, who’s exactly the same age as she was, right when—

“He’s here!” 

Ginny scarcely hears the words leave her lips as Pig flies through the air and into their open window. Safe. She hasn’t even read the letter yet, but she can tell from Lily’s messy scrawl across the parchment, from the agreed upon symbol of a tiny dragon, printed in the corner, that she’s safe.

Ginny has to draw a deep breath to stop herself from bawling with relief.

“Told you she’d be fine,” Harry murmurs, wrapping an arm around her waist. He rests his chin on the crown of her head as Ginny rips the letter open, nonetheless desperate for the proof she knows she’ll flnd. Desperate for confirmation that her baby’s made it to school all right. Desperate to know another little girl — her little girl — won’t find herself violated and alone. 

Ginny reads the letter through a veil of tears and presses it to her chest when she’s done. Safe. Her baby’s safe. 

A few minutes later, she turns to Harry with an apologetic shrug, brushing the tears from her eyes. “Ready for dinner?” she asks, gesturing towards the door. “Or did you want to stay inside all day and mope about having an empty house for the first time in ages?” 

Harry rolls his eyes, but a smile plays at his lips. He mutters something under his breath that distinctly sounds like not sure which of us was doing the moping, darling. 

But Ginny’s happy to ignore that as she links her arm in his. She’s pleased to go to dinner and drink too much and laugh too loudly. It’s just another reminder of what she has… and how she almost didn’t have it, at all. 

Because while Tom Riddle might be her past, present, and future, Ginny will do everything in her power to ensure he never defines another little girl’s life like that. 

Ever again.

[edendaphne]

“Discordant Sonata” Chapter 19

>>Click here to read on Ao3<<

>>Click here to read on Wattpad<<

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CHAPTER 19: ATTACCA

Music glossary:        Attacca - "To attack at once"; used as a direction in music at the end of a movement to begin the next without pause

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(Mood music: "The Conversation" - Pearl Django)

Being mere months away from graduating lycée meant that their group of friends didn’t have as many classes together, due to their diverse individual interests and talents. However, they always made sure to make time to hang out after school before their extracurricular activities began.

And thus, Adrien, Nino, and Alya made their way to the classroom where the art club gathered to meet up with Marinette. From there, Adrien would make his way to either fencing lessons or Chinese, depending on the day of the week. Marinette would join him on days when he had Chinese (as she’d become determined to master the language ever since her uncle visited from Shanghai a few years back), Alya would go to her journalism club, and Nino would travel to his part-time internship at the local recording studio.

“–and the backlogs just keep piling up!” Alya spoke as they walked, voice full of vigor and excitement. “I’ve had to recruit yet another mod to help me keep order in the forums! Especially since the Ladyblog has started going international and we’ve had to organize servers in different languages. You wouldn’t believe how crazy it’s gotten in there recently!”

“Dang, babe,” Nino interjected. “Sounds like things are super rough for you right now.”

“Not really, more busy than anything. Especially because I have that big research article due next week, there’s just not enough hours in the day to try to read everything that goes on in there. But I have my mods report to me daily, ‘cause I always like to stay on top of everything that goes on in the chats!”

“What’s gotten everyone so riled up in the Ladyblog lately?” Adrien chimed in. “I don’t recall it being nearly this busy last year.”

The trio entered the art club’s classroom and settled down at the table where Marinette sat, getting her various sketches organized. The art teacher was quite easy going, so they didn’t have to talk in hushed whispers and could come and go as they pleased.

“Well, to be honest, it’s because of Chat Noir,” Alya replied.

Adrien tried to contain his surprise. “R-really? What– uhhh, what do people have to say about him?”

He winced inwardly. He knew he shouldn’t ask. But curiosity got the better of him today. Maybe learning the news through the filter or Alya’s paraphrasing instead of reading the negative comments firsthand would lessen the sting of what people said about him.

Marinette whipped her head around at the mention of his alter ego. “Wait, what about Chat Noir?” she inquired.

“Girl,” Alya replied, her voice filled with renewed exuberance. “You would not believe how much we’ve had to censor and moderate all the inappropriate things people have been saying!”

Adrien flinched in his seat. “Wow… do people really hate him that much?” he asked, trying to conceal the dejection in his voice.

Alya busted out into loud guffaws. “Hate?! Dude, most people don’t hate him; they LOVE him! By ‘inappropriate’ comments, I mean the kinda stuff you wouldn’t want your grandma to catch you reading! There’s a whole giant section dedicated to his new fan club!” she said as she removed her glasses so she could wipe away the tears of laughter.

“WHAT?!” Adrien squawked in confusion, his face feeling hotter than the ovens back at the bakery. “A fan club??”

Marinette burst into uncontrollable snickering. “Has it really gotten that bad?!”

Nino joined in, “Bro! Adrien, I can’t believe you haven’t heard Alya rant about these rabid fans before! They call themselves the ‘Noir Nation’, and the kind of things they’ve been writing would make adult romance authors blush like schoolgirls!”

Alya nodded, thoroughly amused. “And that’s not including all the fanfiction people have been writing.”

“Wait– the WHAT?! There’s fanfiction?!!” Marinette gaped in shock, as if she’d been hit in the face with an enormous pie. “Alya, how come I never knew about this?!”

“Why? You wanna read em? Girl, you’ll get no judgment from me. If you wanna check ‘em out for yourself, just go check under the hashtag ‘Ladynoir’.”

Marinette stammered as her arms flailed in her bewilderment, accidentally knocking her phone off the table and onto the floor, her eyes bigger and rounder than Adrien had ever seen them. “They have a ship name?!” she screeched.

“Just mind the ratings though,” Alya advised. “Some of them can get pretty steamy. You wouldn’t want someone to catch you reading those in public,” she added with a wink.

Marinette continued to sputter incoherently. “NO, I am NOT gonna read it!! It would be different if they were fictional characters, but I could never read fanfiction about real people!”

Alya raised a skeptical eyebrow at her. “Mm-hmm… Sure.”

Marinette’s hands flew to her face, trying to hide how red her entire face had gotten, and released a long squeak that resembled a hamster on helium. As shocked as Adrien was about these rather unexpected news, seeing Marinette’s over-the-top reaction brought a wide grin to his face and he busted out laughing.

He bent over to retrieve Marinette’s phone, since she was too busy being mortified to notice it had fallen to the floor. As he was about to hand it back, the screen lit up and Adrien saw the lockscreen wallpaper: it was the same photo of Ladybug and Chat Noir that he himself had saved earlier that day. He smiled, not exactly sure what to make of it, but finding it adorable that she’d liked the photo enough to set it as her lockscreen.

He tapped her shoulder, waiting for her to respond. She emerged from behind her impromptu hand shield and turned her head, then her eyes widened once again as soon as she saw what Adrien was showing her. She jolted straight up, stiff as a board, and her eyes met his, cheeks turning tomato red. He winked at her, amused about this little secret between them, and handed back her phone without a word.

Marinette accepted it with a meek-sounding, “Thanks,” looking like she wanted to explain the photo, but not able to do so unless she wanted Alya and Nino to find out that she was potentially a… ahem– “Ladynoir” shipper.

Switching the conversation to something else (which Marinette seemed to be eternally grateful for), the group chatted until it became time for them to scatter to their next destinations.

With a wave, Adrien exited the classroom and headed towards fencing practice, one of the few activities he decided to stick with despite not being forced to participate. Fencing, along with Chinese lessons, were not only enjoyable, but were also quite useful. Sadly, he didn’t have access to a piano anymore, so he wasn’t able to pursue that hobby for the time being. Hopefully later down the line, when things had settled down and he’d found his own place to live, he’d be able to finance one.

Thinking about the future had become an exciting pastime instead of an anxiety-inducing one, and it was all thanks to his friends and those he cared about. He smiled as he reached the door to the locker rooms, continuing to daydream of what was to come.

(Mood music: "Recollection 3" - Shirō Sagisu (BLEACH OST, "The Diamond Dust Rebellion")

Adrien finished getting dressed for fencing, his head still blissfully floating in the clouds. He stored his belongings into his assigned locker, shutting it with a loud clang, which echoed through the empty room.

Huh...? Empty?

He swiveled his head around, surprised that there was no one beside him. He stood up and began walking down the large room, peeking down the other locker rows looking for his classmates; but there was nobody.

Where was everyone? There’s no way that every single one of them was running late. Had his lessons been cancelled and he’d somehow missed a text message or email? He began heading back towards his locker to check his phone for any schedule changes.

Before he reached his destination, however, heavy thudding footsteps broke the eerie silence. Adrien whipped his body around to greet whoever they belonged to.

The owner of those footsteps was one of the last people Adrien expected to meet here.

“Gaspard?!”

Adrien stood agape, face to face with his old bodyguard, whom he hadn’t seen in a couple of years; not since he’d resigned and moved out of the country. Nathalie had mentioned that in his resignation letter, Gaspard said that he’d become involved in an overseas business venture involving the market of rare action figures. Nevertheless, Adrien couldn’t help but suspect that his father’s ill temper and poor treatment of their employees was the true reason for his departure.

Adrien’s first reaction was surprise and joy, and he rushed forward to greet and embrace him. However, as he approached and got a better look at the man’s face, Adrien’s mood instantly morphed into confusion and apprehension. There was something odd about his eyes.

Something wasn’t right. Why was Gaspard here? And why now?

He came to a halt about a meter before reaching him. An oppressive weight seemed to press in all around him, and he had to suppress a shiver. “Wait. Gaspard, did–” he gulped, “–did my father send you?”

His old bodyguard did not reply, but took a heavy step towards him. Adrien stepped back.

“Please… I can’t go back. I live somewhere else now, and I’m very happy there. Whatever he told you about the situation, it’s a lie.”

His bodyguard continued to approach him, his stare vacant and unsettling.

Fighting the urge to panic, he pleaded, “You don’t have to do this. If he’s offered you compensation, I can match it; it’ll just take me a bit of time. But we can work something out, right?? For old time’s sake?”

He continued walking backwards until he bumped into something firm, but it wasn’t a wall; it was another person. Before he could turn around, they grabbed him by the shoulders, detaining him and preventing him from running away.

He was about to shout for help when something sharp jabbed him on the side of the neck, injecting a cold liquid. Adrien’s eyes grew wide in terror.

Shit.

Adrien swore as he jerked away, elbowing whoever was behind him and managing to break free. Rubbing at the spot where the syringe had stabbed him, he glanced back to take a look at his other assailant, only to see... another Gaspard?

Why are there two of him??

This was wrong. Gaspard didn’t have a twin; he knew that for a fact. He’d worked for the Agrestes ever since Adrien was a toddler and was too young to even pronounce his name correctly (hence the nickname “Gorille”, which stuck around for years afterwards). Additionally, there was something uncanny, otherworldly, even, about the way these two men looked and moved.

He shook himself out of his stupor. He didn’t have time to contemplate any possible explanations. He had to get out of there fast.

He sprinted towards the exit, but only managed to travel a few paces before he lost his footing and tripped. He fell to the ground hard, almost hitting his head on a nearby bench. As he struggled to get up, he realized that his fingers and toes had already gone numb.

Not good.

Time was running out. Adrenaline coursed through him and, with a grunt, he hefted himself to his feet and scrambled towards the exit, as fast as he could despite a heavy limp. Though his heart was hammering and his legs felt like they were filled with sand, he pushed himself, concentrating on reaching the door.

After taking a few steps, however, he realized that even if he did manage to exit the locker room, the area beyond was an open courtyard. Meaning he wasn’t going to be able to reach someplace safe before getting caught. He had no choice but to transform into Chat Noir, and hopefully Plagg’s powers and strength could help him escape and find somewhere to hide.

He’d scarcely uttered the first syllable in the transformation phrase when he was tackled to the ground. A giant hand swiftly covered his mouth and Adrien felt his hands get bound together with thick zip ties behind his back. A muffled scream of writhing frustration made its way up his throat as his limbs became more and more useless by the second.

No… This can’t be happening! Please, this can’t be how it all ends!

Just when his life had finally gained a semblance of normalcy and he’d found happiness again, it would get ripped away and he would disappear without a trace, leaving everyone to wonder what had happened to him. Leaving his friends to think that Gabriel had pulled him from school and they would never see him again. Leaving Ladybug to wonder if Chat had abandoned her forever. Leaving her to fight Hawkmoth alone. Again.

He couldn’t let that happen. He thrashed and struggled as furiously as he could, fighting the feelings of overwhelming helplessness that threatened to consume him. Nearing despair, he was too distracted to notice Plagg phrasing through the wall, away from the skirmish, in search of the only person who could save him.

(Mood music: "Run" - Ludovico Einaudi)

Marinette fidgeted with her pencil, her feet wiggled and bounced under her desk. She didn’t understand; when she’d arrived at the art club, her head had been filled with inspiration and ideas that she’d been excited to draw and execute. However, at the moment, her mind was filled with noise and disquietude.

Having had enough, she excused herself to visit the restroom. Once she’d walked far enough from the classroom, she opened her purse to talk to Tikki about her current dilemma.

“It’s the same feeling as last night, Tikki! Except that would mean one of three possibilities. Option A.) It’s nothing and I’m going crazy. And— don’t give me that look, Tikki! I can see what you’re thinking and I don’t have time for your cheeky sass right now!” The kwami snickered while Marinette cleared her throat and continued, “Option B.) that Chat is here, at this school, which is impossible because his school’s on the other side of the city, that’s why he always leaves the house super early for his long commute.”

Tikki opened her mouth and looked like she was about to say something, but then didn’t (...or couldn’t?).

Marinette resumed, “Or, C.) that my–– what do I even call it? My ‘Spidey sense’??–– that it’s got a long distance mode, and Chat is all the way across Paris and he’s in trouble! But what am I supposed to do about that from here?! I wouldn’t even know where to begin looking!”

Tikki shrugged. “Follow your instincts, Marinette. There’s no harm in taking a quick look around the school, right?”

Marinette groaned. “UGH! It doesn’t make sense!! Am I going to get interrupted like this all the time from now on?” She shook her head resolutely. “No. I can’t just go off on random field trips every single time I feel a random fit of anxiety. I’m sure it’s just leftover jitters from last night. I’m supposed to call Master Fu after school anyway; he can help me figure everything out. I’m just gonna go back to class and forget about it.”

Tikki frowned, not quite convinced, but deciding not to press further.

Marinette made her way back to the classroom in a frustrated huff. But as her hand reached to turn the handle, the feelings of danger and urgency multiplied tenfold. Without a word, she sprinted away in the opposite direction, not even knowing where she was running to, only knowing she had to get there immediately.

She reached the large common area of the school downstairs. Her head whipped around, frantically searching for something, anything. In her haste, she didn’t notice a small black creature zoom into her open purse.

A few moments later, she felt a frantic tugging at her shirt from below.

“Marinette!! Over there! Check the locker room, quick!!!” Tikki whisper-screamed as she peeked outside the purse, her tone uncharacteristically frantic.

Marinette nodded, then sprinted to the locker room.

“Wait! You should transform first!” Tikki added.

No time!

“Marinette, wait!!”

Despite Tikki’s protests, Marinette raced towards the double doors, tackling them open.

Three sets of eyes landed on her as she skidded to a halt, but only one pair consumed her entire attention. She gasped in horror, hands flying to her face as she stared at what was occurring in front of her. Adrien let out a desperate, muffled scream urging her to run.

His panicked voice snapped her out of her dazed shock; but instead of running, she stood her ground, eyes darting back and forth across the area searching for something useful. The room was remarkably barren except for a lone broom a short distance away from her. She grabbed it and leaped towards the closest attacker (the one holding Adrien down), swinging it like a baseball bat.

The man didn’t even try to avoid the hit; the broomstick merely bounced off the side of his face where Marinette had hit him. She frowned in confusion, then tried hitting him again, bringing the stick down on the top of his head like an axe.

SNAP.

The end of the broom flew off, and Marinette stared in shock at the broken broomstick.

“What the hell are you?!” Marinette exclaimed, shifting her grip on the shortened wooden stub.

She pounced at the second bodyguard, bringing her weapon down in a stabbing motion; but he swatted at her hand, disarming her. She yelped in pain, leaping backwards to get some distance between them.

She was outmatched. The only strategy available was to use their own size against them. With a feint to the side, she shot at his legs for a takedown, hoping to catch him off balance. He called her bluff and shoved her backwards with his giant palm, then kneed her in the stomach.

Winded from the impact, Marinette doubled over with a gasping wheeze, fighting with all her might to keep herself from collapsing onto the ground. She forced herself upright and attacked again. With a clumsy jerk, she lunged forward, swinging wild punches at her opponent. The shots connected but his expression barely changed; it was like beating a breathing punching bag.

The bodyguard backhanded Marinette across the face. Pain shooting across her cheek, she staggered, almost losing her balance. In her daze, she watched helplessly as the man reared his arm back. There was no chance to dodge. His fist connected with her abdomen, delivering a liver shot that shut down her entire body. She crumpled to the floor as if boneless. She tried to call out Adrien’s name, but her mouth merely opened in a silent scream.

Marinette could hear Adrien’s distressed screaming, but it sounded distant, like they were underwater. The edges of her vision grew black and fuzzy, the entire room dissolving around her. She had to consciously force her lungs to inhale, but couldn’t fill them all the way, as if a boulder had been placed on top of her chest.

Faintly, she felt herself getting picked up off the ground and carried away over someone’s shoulder. Disoriented and semi-blinded, the sudden movement and rough jostling made her head spin and gave her vertigo. She gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block it all out.

A few moments later, they stopped moving, and she heard a door burst open. Where were they? Before she could gather her senses, she was in the air, thrown several meters away, landing with a hard thud. A sharp pain traveled down her body as she rolled into the wall across them. The shriek that tried to escape her throat emerged as a strained, shallow whine.

The man stomped out, leaving her alone in the room. “Stop…!” she rasped out, managing to tilt her neck upwards, head pounding.

The bodyguard slammed the door shut, followed by a bang and a clattering sound that could only mean he’d broken the doorknob of whatever room she was in.

Marinette's vision became more and more blurred. At the verge of losing consciousness, she fought to keep her eyes open as tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.

No, she couldn’t pass out! She had to save Adrien! Stay awake, Marinette, stay awake!!

She bit down on her lip hard, focusing on the sharp sting, on the swelling that was already forming around her right eye, forcing herself to feel the pain her body was in. At this moment, feeling pain was better than falling unconscious. She concentrated on her breathing, slowly regaining her senses.

She reached down to open her purse and get Tikki’s help… only to be met with emptiness. Panic settled in her gut as she realized that sometime during the skirmish, the purse had slipped off her shoulder. She sat up, slowly, so she wouldn’t risk feeling faint again from the change in positions.

She squinted, adjusting her eyesight to the darkness of the room. It seemed to be some sort of supply closet. After a failed few attempts to stand, she crawled towards the door instead, careful not to bump into the crates and shelves that filled the area.

The girl eyed the broken doorknob wearily. She was pretty proficient at lockpicking and breaking into things, but not as good at breaking out. Her only hope was that Tikki would be able to find her… if she was even nearby.

She swore to herself. Why had she rushed in and attacked two grown ass men (who, incidentally, may or may not be supernatural to boot!) instead of hiding and creating a strategy?! Now she was useless, Tikki was gone, and Adrien was surely on his way to get auctioned to the highest bidder in the criminal black market and ransomed off for an enormous sum. Great job, Marinette. Adrien’s been abducted and it’s all your fault.

Gathering all the determination she could muster, she tried to call out for help. But her voice was still too hoarse, and only a weak croak came out. She clenched her fists, grumbling irritably. Time for a different approach. Somehow, she needed to make noise.

After a brief search, she found a hard, metallic object that she could use to hammer on the door. She tested it out; it was surprisingly effective. She doubled her efforts, making as big a racket as possible. Hopefully, it would only be a matter of time before somebody heard her, let her out, and she could go find Adrien.

She couldn’t let anything else happen to another loved one. Not again.

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I'M REEEAAAAALLY SORRY FOR THAT CLIFFHANGER JSHDKFJHSKDF ᕕ(╯°д°)ᕗ  I tried splitting up the sections differently but it didn't really flow as well.

But the next chapter is almost done, so I'll have it ready by next weekend!!

[1d-discourseoftheday]

💙 Tues 5 Jan ‘21 💚

Is today's biggest story really a pair of socks I mean WHY NOT am I right, that may as well happen! With impeccable timing, as the fandom and the world went bananas about Ho-livia WildStyle (a drag queen name for the ages right there), the first of the limited edition TPWK socks that people ordered basically on blind faith (you fully couldn't tell what they were going to look like at all on the website, and now we know why lmao) have arrived with a bang: they seemed to come with either blue or pink hearts, but in fact it turns out you get one of two color combos, either pink and white or, uh: BLUE AND GREEN HEARTS. I'm not one to carry on about like jeans and a green shirt or what have you but this is a CHOICE, and if the antis don't have performative burnings of their evil larrie merch honestly WHAT is the POINT; the resale market of the limited edition socks is already booming though so there's always that option, if either side can bear to conduct business across the divide. My question is, did they really time it to play out this precisely on purpose? Unlikely tbh, but if that's a thing they're capable of I have some THOUGHTS about the way other Harry merch takes like 4 months to arrive...

Larrie socks aside however, the real discourse continues to be about you-know-what, with the players out there fanning the flames wildly. There's too much nonsense to bother with it all (the quoted sources in the articles directly contradicting each other's stories also makes it difficult) so let's just... *spins wheel*....okay I landed on 'tabloids say Harry's wedding speech talked about his girlfriend Olivia' here goes. Sjksdfjks WHY would you be talking about your girlfriend of three weeks in a speech for your close friends' wedding, OMG, how uncomfortable and inappropriate is that?? Imagine if any of this were real, that Harry ('I'd take my time and make sure a thing was serious before telling people about it', end quote, I mean that's ALSO a stunt quote (oh the layers) but just pointing out that it's contradictory) starts dating his co-worker who just got out of a huge relationship and is also a famous person with presumably an interest in privacy, and immediately the two of you get to work setting up a big reveal to happen right away (even in a weird fantasy world where any of this is real the possibility that JEFF AZOFF'S WEDDING had the paps present for any other reason than to do EXACTLY what they were told is flat impossible- what pap or celeb outlet can afford to be on Jeff's bad list?!) and then he casually writes her into his speech (a guy who's so anxious and shy about public speaking and what to say that he begs people to write speeches for him and practices endlessly) uh huh, sure Jan. There are so many things about this that are ludicrous, but more to the point, none of the things they're saying hold up to scrutiny any better than this. There just isn't any point in taking them that seriously though; Harry is a closeted artist and, just like the many queer artists that came before him who he repeatedly reminds us are his icons, he both lets us know all day every day in a million ways that he's queer, and also plays the industry game and winkingly gives the press their Straight Guy Harry fodder. You don't have to like it, or indeed anything at all in this world, but people do need to accept that whether they like it or not is neither the point nor anyone (including Harry)'s responsibility to respond to or do anything about.

Like I said I can't cover every detail but! I always have a little space for the absurd: today, our best entrant is the possibility that the whole wedding we saw was a sham– fans ask, was this public spectacle Jeff and Glenne's actual wedding? Listen if anyone would be up for it it would be this crew, and if they did stage it I'm sure they had a good laugh! Suspicion has been cast on Glenne's dress (allegedly an untailored 2018 off the rack number), the small guest list (wouldn't they just wait and have a huge event?), and the fact that they invited paps there at all. It would make the no explanation robe pics EVEN FUNNIER though if you imagine that was for our benefit but left totally unadressed (undressed). ANYWAY Don't Worry Darling filming is back in business and Harry was papped some more today, out for a casual not at all pap walk hike with a work associate and multiple items of his own merch (including an unreleased hoodie design.) On the topic of DWD, sometimes a different perspective can be interesting-- for example considering whether Harry is the point of all this at all? Or is he but a bit player in the real DWD publicity drama, an elaborate and very public dramatic reconciliation between Olivia and her ex husband? Either way, he's neither a clueless dupe, a helpless pawn, or anyone's 'boy toy', so please: can we rein in the hand wringing and pointless Olivia bashing a bit?

Let's talk about something else shall we? For example! Liam's setlist, just released for the upcoming LP Show Act 4. Look at that song selection! Fireproof! Strong!! Through The Dark!! More exciting 1D faves! Plus Slow and Home With You off his EP, NICE, singles and more, it looks awesome. The Hugo Man fragrance relaunch is less exciting, featuring the dopiest possible articles full of chat about his skin care routine (oh shucks I'm just  manly man, I don't have one at all... *names two products and refers to 'multiple moisturizers'*), trademark accidental candor (“I’m quite tired!”), and of course trying to describe a fragrance, always an entertaining gymnastics (“every time I spray it, it kind of takes me back to being on that rooftop in Berlin”), but also there are manly new pics of Lia.

A new song Niall co-wrote is coming out! The JC Stewart song, Break My Heart, will be out this Fri! Charlie Lightening posted pics from a year ago on the Walls music video set, featuring an intent Louis in the sun (and fashion voter underrated excellent Looks), and Louis commented on Dave Allen's post (“top man!”)-- the famous boxer is offering to help friends through lockdown by facetiming 3or 4 people a day for home workouts, damn, and also aww. That shitty Doncaster secondary school turned out some really sweet dudes, against all odds tbh. With Los Angeles experiencing some of the worst COVID surges we've seen since the beginning of the pandemic, Grammys organizers have elected to postpone the (already limited) ceremony. Originally scheduled for Jan 31 it is now TBA, tentatively for March. Harry's stalker, who menaced him in and near his London home in 2019, is being charged with violating his restraining order by attempting to contact Harry via social media, Global Fund for Women thanked Harry for donating, and HLDaily and other accounts were suspended for posting pap pics, always a risk, but one trick potato Jeff is on the job; HSD is back up and running, cause they can't have a proper stunt season without their most faithful mouthpieces. Niall continues to vote for himself on twitter threads about what to listen to in the New Year.