#i didnt even edit the pauses down he did it that fast

[canon-gabriel-quotes]

Transcript -

Out of character : What do you think would happen if you gave Gabriel a coin if his armor had a coin slot?

In character : Mmh!

Out of character : And I don't have any further commentary on that.

Audio Source

[the-winter-spider]

Good Guy Part 2 - S. Harrington

Word count: 2k

Warnings: angst, swearing

A/N: Long awaited part 2, I’m sorry it sucks. I just don’t have that spark anymore, feel free to give me any ideas on how this story should go! Not edited or proofread sooo if theres any crazy mistakes be kind lemme know? 😅

MASTERLIST

Part one

—

“Why didnt you say anything?!”

“We, uh didn't know yet” Your voice was quiet, timid. You felt this pit in your stomach, ashamed maybe? Most likely guilt because now you had added on the pile of crap you and your friends had been dealing with for years, you could see the tiredness in their eyes. You wanted maybe even needed to tell them not to worry about you, to focus on saving Max. But you couldn't find your voice with the way he was looking at you.

Steve ran his fingers through his hair, he was kneeled down in front of you, he was so close his hands on your knees, squeezing gently, you could almost see water threatening to spill over his lash line “It's been 2 hours since we found out” his voice was softer now “Why?”

You shrugged “It's easier to save one of us instead of both”

Steve blinked his eyes going wide “Were you just not going to say anything until it was too late?”

You sighed “I dont know”

He scoffed, his heart shattering, his mood shifting from how nonchalant you were being, he couldn’t believe you would be so reckless, so selfish. He pushed himself off the ground laughing “You don't know” he tossed his head back, he spun around looking at everyone else in the room “She doesn’t know! That's just great, so great, she wasn’t going tell me” He paused briefly “She wasn’t going to tell us that she was cursed” He placed his hands on his hips, moving to look at the ceiling to stop his tears from spilling over “This day just keeps getting better and better”

Nancy took a step forward, her voice soft, her eyes softer “Why?”

You dragged your eyes away from Steve to meet hers, your vision blurring “How many times can I truly escape death” Your memory playing like a timelapse of all of the close calls, from the first time in 83’ when the demogorgon had you pinned to the ground his claws dragging across your stomach, if it wasn’t for Steve that would have been it. To the second time in 84’ at the junkyard when you were too focused on the demodogs in front of you forgot about the possibility that there could be some behind you, which of course happened and of course again if it wasn’t for Steve who knows what could have happened. And to the most recent one of 85’ the summer that this thing between Steve and you finally happened, god you didn't even need to be saved that summer because he was already always there protecting you just in case you got reckless which you always did. “Third times the charm right?” you gave a shadow of a smile trying to make a really bad joke to lift even the tiniest bit of weight off of the room.

“You have got to be shitting me” Steve through his hands up stomping towards the basement door “I need some fucking air” he grumbled before slamming the door shut behind him.

As Steve slammed the door shut, everyone in the room was left speechless and stunned. The room went silent, only the sound of Steve stomping upstairs and the sound of the screen door closing a few seconds later pierced the air. The room was thick with tension, and everyone was exchanging looks, unsure of what to say or do next.

Nancy was the first to break the silence, her voice soft, but filled with anger.

“What the hell, Y/n?”

“Im sorry, i just….” You paused not knowing what to say, all eyes on you. The room now felt heavy, like it was closing in on you, you pushed off the couch, pushing past everyone and making your way out the basements side door. You needed fresh air. You could longer breath in there.

As you pushed past everyone and headed outside, Robin, Nancy, and Max followed after you. You were walking quickly, moving your legs as fast as you could, trying to put as much distance between you and everyone else. You could feel their footsteps behind you, their eyes on your back, and the tension that still hung in the air.

Finally, you stopped and turned to face them, your breath ragged and heavy. They stood there in silence for a few seconds, waiting for you to say something.

The fresh air filled your lungs, you took a deep breath. Hands still shaking “So how does this change the plan?” you sighed

Your friends exchanged glances, clearly surprised by your response. They were expecting you to break down or apologize, but instead, you were still as calm as ever.

It was Max who spoke up first, her voice soft but firm.

"Change the plan? Seriously, that's what you're Focusing on right now? What about the fact that you could die”

You ran your fingers through your hair “Yeah, but so could you! You’re young, you have more to live for, we focus on you first”

Max's eyebrows furrowed, and she took a step forward, her expression laced with anger.

"What do you mean 'more’ to live for'? Do you think your life means less? Do you realize what you sound like right now?“

“A self sacrificial asshole?” You smiled lightly trying to break the tension “You have people who love you Max, who need you” You gestured to Lucas who was inside with Dustin, giving you girls a minute.

Max's anger softened slightly, but her voice was still firm. "And what about the people who love you? Do you think we want to lose you? Do you honestly think we'd be better off without you?“

“One less problem, one less life to worry about” you shrug “Ill be okay if i know your okay”

You slightly leaned on your left foot, your eyes looking between Robin, Nancy and Dustin, you cleared your throat “Someone should go check on Steve, we need to stick together right now”

Nancy nodded, her expression solemn "I'll go talk to him"

She glanced at the others, silently giving them a look that said "stay here. I'll handle this" before heading off to find Steve.

“We should head back inside to talk about this” Robin suggested, gesturing to the situation, your situation.

Max reluctantly nodded, her expression still laced with concern as the group made their way back inside, heading back down the stairs toward the basement.

—-

Nancy found Steve sitting in his car on the street, his head in his hands. She knocked politely on the window before getting in “You okay?”

Nancy nodded, full understanding the situation that was at hand, the one that escalated from just Max being cursed but now you to “She should’ve said something sooner, i get that but we didn’t full understand what the symptoms were till last night Steve, with everything going on im sure her headaches and nightmares seemed normal given the circumstances” Nancy tried to reason with Steves anger towards you

Steve let out a frustrated huff, his hands moving up to run through his hair, pulling on the ends slightly in frustration. "That's just it, Nancy. I thought her being on edge and having headaches was normal too, but I should've known better. I should've been more observant, more attentive. I should have noticed something was wrong even before all this Vecna crap!” He paused taking a deep breath, his voice cracking “I’m with her everyday, I should’ve noticed something was wrong, maybe I could have helped her, no I know I could have helped her and maybe she wouldn’t be a target”

Nancy nodded “You care about her a lot dont you?” she smiled softly

Steve's shoulders slumped and he leaned back against the seat. "Yeah, more than I probably should. It's just... We have a history, y'know? We've been through so much together. And now this...” He gestured towards the house, towards you. "I just can't lose her, Nancy. I don’t what I would do if I did."

Nancy straightened up “You wont” she reached out placing her hand on Steve’s shoulder “Were going to do everything to save both of them Steve, Max and y/n, i promise”

Steve let out a shaky sigh, his shoulders drooping. "I hope you're right, Nance, I really do. But every time we think we've got a handle on things, another curveball gets thrown our way. It's like for every problem we solve, three more pop up in its place. I just feel like we're fighting against the goddamn universe here."

Nancy nodded full understanding “I get it i do. But right now we should be in there” Nancy gestured to her house “With them, brain storming a plan to keep Max and y/n safe.”

Steve nodded, reluctantly agreeing with Nancy. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down before speaking. "You're right. I know you're right. We need to focus on the task at hand. Max and Y/N need us, and we can't waste time moping around." He opened the car door and stepped out, looking back at Nancy with a determined expression on his face. "Let's get to work."

Nancy jumped out “Steve wait” she spoke while shutting the passenger door

Steve paused, turning to face Nancy with a puzzled expression. "Yeah, what is it?"

“I know you said you should push your feels aside but just in case” Nancy crossed her arms “You should tell her how you feel” She smiled softly “Just in case”

Steve's heart skipped a beat, and he felt a pang in his chest at Nancy's words. He had been struggling to keep his feelings for you hidden, trying to deny them even to himself. "I... uh" he stumbled over his words, his heart racing a mile a minute. "I don't know,..Do you really think that's the best idea right now? I mean, with everything going on..."

“I do Steve, Maybe not right at this very moment” Nancy joked “But i think you’ll both regret it if you dont, especially if something happens” Nancy was insinuating in case something went wrong which meant in case Vecna got you.

Steve nodded slowly, his expression turning somber. He knew deep down that Nancy was right. But the thought of confessing his feelings in the midst of this chaos and danger was a scary one. What if you didn’t feel the same way? What if his feelings just made things more complicated?

"Yeah... I get what you mean. But how, and when, am I supposed to do it? Feels like the worst possible time for me to bring all of this up."

Nancy smiled softly walking towards her house “You’ll know when Steve” she paused with her hand lingering on the front door handle “Maybe something good can come out of all this bad” before turning it and walking in her house, heading to the basement to come with a plan to kill Venca and save you and max

Steve stood there for a moment, his mind racing with Nancy’s words. Maybe something good can come out of all this bad. That thought echoed in his mind as he watched Nancy disappear into the house. He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself as he made his way back to the basement, ready to face whatever lay ahead.

You sat there quietly on the couch at the back of the basement while the kids and robin started to put together a half assed plan. Nancy hit the bottom step before catching your eye and smiley softly before joining the group a few feet from you to come up with a plan to stop Venca.

Robin, Lucas, Dustin, Max, and Nancy huddled together, quietly brainstorming and discussing ideas. Every now and then they would glance over at you, checking to see if you were listening or had anything to add. You could see the worry etched on their faces, their expressions clouded with concern and fear for your well-being.

But you remained silent and still, your mind filled with turmoil and anxiety as you sat at the back of the basement, listening to their hushed voices.

Steve finally joined the rest of them. He sighed when he seen you there by yourself, he could tell you were trying your best not to cry. He glanced over at Robin who was with the other group, she nodded her head in your direction. Gesturing for him to go talk to you.

Steve caught Robin's silent message, nodding his head slightly in acknowledgment. He knew that she was right. He couldn't avoid this any longer. He needed to talk to you.

He glanced over at you once more, noticing your attempts to hide your emotions. His heart clenched tightly in his chest, and he took a deep breath before slowly making his way over to you.

“Hey” He mumbled softly “Can i sit?” You nodded still not looking up at him

Steve sat down next to you, leaving a small gap between the two of you. He fidgeted uncomfortably, unsure of how to start the conversation.

He let out a small sigh before speaking again "Listen, I... I wanted to talk to you about something."

Your head felt heavy lifting it up to turn to Steve “Yeah?”

Steve's gaze met yours. His eyes were intense and filled with a mix of emotions, but also a hint of vulnerability.

"Look, I know we're in the middle of a goddamn mess right now. And I know that you've got a lot going on in your head. But I need to say this."

He ran a hand through his hair, trying to find the right words to say, this was something he truly didn’t want to mess up, he couldn’t.

Your heart was picking up, this was it you thought. You could see the nervousness in his eyes, his hand was plucking the seams of the old work couch. You watched his mouth open before you heard the clock, you tensed. You turned back to Steve something felt off, his eyes were now dark, he laughed, but it was different it was dark, evil, sinister sounding “Steve?” You questioned

“Steve” He mocked “Did you really think i loved you? Did you really think i could love someone like you?” He chuckled “Your pathetic, i cant wait for you to go, to leave for him to take you. It would be a relief”

Tears were now rolling down your cheeks as you got up from the couch backing up “You dont mean that” He was taunting you, as you looked around you realized this wasn’t real, it couldn’t be. Then you heard it, the low growling.

Vecna.

[azumasoroshi]

i have no idea what episode this is part 2

part 2 of this post i think?? tbh i found the clip in some random youtube video i have no idea if this takes place directly after or not and im just judging based on the time of day/setting

(i actually did search through like. the last few episodes of season 1 and the first few episodes of shou and i couldnt find shit so i'm assuming that this episode happened in one of the places i didnt check. not for lack of trying but because the website i was using straight up died on the spot trying to load them all so quickly)

(edit: it's episode 16 of durarara season 1 ty @/pineapplething)

this screenshot is killing me actually. i had to pause instead of doing the 0.25 speed thing because i need his hands to be on his hips so it looks like he's just. staring down at the thing judgingly. izaya's pose is so funny because right before that he's like

'what the fuck are you doing shizu-chan'

i forget the context of this scene too but like. why wasnt he pointing the knife at shizuo?? what were they doing. bro i love not having ANY context whatsoever and being too lazy to look up the actual episode

anyway babygirl looks so ugly in those shots god bless

bro why you arching your back like that 🤨

in front of izaya too. god

the way they have four separate reaction shots for izaya. bro the things that must've been going on through his head were NOT safe for work on god.

the way he says 'seriously' and then remembers to point the knife like bro had to take a second. he was processing. he almost looks enamored in that first shot actually (<- delusional)

izaya's rectangle prism ass never ceases to amaze. glad he keeps that in both art styles

shizuo looks so funny from this angle i bet you could get the most unhinged smear frames every time he goes rage mode

can we get like an angry shizuo aesthetic moodboard except it's all either low quality or smear frames. it'd be really funny trust

also incredible how shizuo can extend the length of the guard rail to like. twice its size. it was not that big in the previous images. i wonder if that's a metaphor for something

god these SUCKED to get pictures of because celty comes in so fast and there's no indication of when the frames will switch but i do it for you (im doing this for me. im obsessed. i have a final on tuesday for the class i have a B in but actually i think it's a D now)

these would probably be much easier to screenshot if i just downloaded the videos but why would i do that when i can press the back arrow key 50 zillion times and listen to the crunchy 0.25 audio explode every time shizuo opens his mouth

this image gets me every time ugh they almost look like they were having a casual conversation or smth (<-delusional)

just. arch enemies both being distracted by something long enough to stop beefing with each other does something to me. i dont even know it doesnt have to be romantic i just like watching it (although it's usually romantic because im a sucker for enemies to/and lovers if you couldnt tell by my usual ships)

that's the end of this scene (or at least the youtube clip of it. you cannot ask me to load all those anime episodes again) but like man. good shit ill be replaying this in my brain for the next week or so

[almalvo]

STAR TREK: DISCOVERY | S1E7 "Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad"

[I will react to each episode individually and in full, raw reception and then post as is unrevised here onto my tumblr for the full span of every and all NuTrek episodes and series that have been and will be released. If this falls under your field of interest - I welcome your company in joining me. Enjoy the ride.] -------

man the intro just continues to remind me fucking ingenius the Star Trek introduction was period. Love it. forever. and always. wonder when we will see these scenes play out when we will see that big plant tentacle monster from the intro or when we will see the two hands touch etc

things are flowing so fast rn in burnham's evaluative speech at the start of this episode. even though not much has happened. and no offence but, i do not think shes earned this kind of audience? because theres like. still hardly much to like nor connect with these characters? imo. idk. idk if its just me, maybe it is. but i definitely dont really have much investment in any characters yet. actually, the one character i resonated MOST with was mega-sized space waterbear, no cap. (oh mossie i miss you i hope we can see you again) trek party lol. ok ill say this one thing DISCO has a lot of filming inconsistencies between shots. like, lets say burnham's hands will be up holding her face. but then next shot, her hands are down at her seat. then switch back and her hands are back up. that sort of thing. happens a lot all the time. stamets. happy drunk. lovey dovey. cute. ash and burnham? idk. every time lorca says saru, i just catch myself thinkning "sulu" cute mega-organisms gormagander wow. space whale sounds. amazing. is it prego. … who ANDORIAN?/ IS THAT AN ANDORIAN OML ITS HELMET SO CUTE oh nevermind its scarier. MUDD. but yes that is an andorian helmet wow so cute give me one. stella.

MUDD is so vengeful. what interesting implications for TOS. DUDE WTF the end of DISCO. man a time plot huh ok lets see how this goes a remix of stayin' alive runners said left. let me guess. burnham will later predict them coming from behind her. and then be like "huh. why did i already know this" there is something off about the delivery of these lines from so many of the actors lorca's actor feels pretty grounded same as saru which is good. something feels so weird with the line delivery. idk if it sthe actors or if its the way the filming is that just makes it feel less effective acting?? idk i think its cuz theres a lot of organic quality missing in a lot of the actors getting a decent amount of screentime? i dont want to sound rude ofc i just feel something is off yeah. man. a time jumping Mudd. now THAT'S terrifying. Poor stewart. he didnt deserve to get thrown. "went his own way"? u sure you didnt kill him. Mudd's actor is also pretty grounded. the lines roll off well and not awkwardly. Nice Stamets. this is too fast. Muidd gets shot in the back and then Stamets has a comedic line delivery that seriously needed a pause or soemthing, but we switch imediately to ending the scene and returning after what felt like a commercial break or seomthing.

yeah the pacing of the show is just RUSHING so much like WHY. it just eats up so much of any weight this show couldve had in even its smallest things. i know i sound so critical but its built up a lot and its already the 7th episode into the 1st season. Stamets actor feels pretty good too but i think its just awkward screenplay and awkward lines and weirdo af pacing/film style that ruin things. they need to let this show BREATHE more. it s such a shame they didnt. maybe not the best director. also too many zooms. the show feels so experimental, but i dont know if necessarily in a good way. i sound so pickky but bro im saying what im seeing,. ok sorry this just now, stamets talking to burnham when he says hes the one "missing from mudd's timeloop" is actually pretty bad. bad editing super inconsistent between shots and why are there like a billion camera cuts? we dont need THIS many angles to talk about one single conversational exchange no offence. this scene was pretty bad. weird screenplay, weird delivery, bad editing stamets even sounded like there was a shot with his mic off i could hear the environmental reverb why is this happening. with such a beautiful visual and constume budget such as this. also yes. that is A GORN IN LORCA'S OFFICE. oh my god that means maybe the gorn from SNW DO look humanoid fully matured. ugh cant wait to see what that means. mudd is so merciless. man lorca died like a bug so many times. wtf. why is stamets out of focus- WHAT. WHAT IS THAT. THE FUCK WAS THAT im sorry no this wasnt funny cuz it was supposed to be funny in that way im sorry but just now

when stamets tells burnham that "shes never been in love" at the party in the time loop, she says in the WEIRDEST most… sry ngl, badly acted type way, replying "why would you say that to me" that i had to actually PAUSE the episode and rewatch that again to confirm what i saw. just finished the rewatch of this one scene. wtf was that. sorry that was so poor. its soooo awkwarddddd. and flatttt. what is this ADR though. stamet's ADR in this episode is some of the worse. also sorry that lens reflection of that one green party light that hit right onto burnham's face during this exchange, its almost as if i HEARD the cameraman's thoughts going "ah shit this stupid light" as the camera moved downward to get as much of that green spot out of the direct line of her face. okay, Mr. God-Named-Stamets. is that an apron that isnt a one sided dress. dance in the hallway. ok. this wa so fast. this tone feels very not in sync with the course of this plot? where did this dance thing come from. i think im feeling such a dissonance rn when stamets is on screen because he feels like hes NOT stamets. idk its like, i get that charcters/people are hopefully more than 1-dimensional, and that we get to learn about them more as time passes, but like this kind of feels like stamets just wasnt properly developed and we the audience just didnt get enough proper exposure to him to recognise who really is his person? if that makes ANY sense to anyone. ok no offence, this episode probably is the most trash in terms of script. harry mudd, time loop, saving the ship from destruction, but then also stamets is an omniscient constant, while also flat cardboard af awkward love revelations between ash and burnham?? idk. maybe in a different writers' room, this coiuld be made compellingly and cohesively. but right now. this episode is NOT. IT. im sorry so why does it feel like its deterioriating a bit. the show had me in the beginning cuz how freaking DIFFERENT and UPGRADED it looked (gorgeous btw) compared to ALL the series that came before it in Prime-Timeline. but no matter how i fought it, my emersions been finally broken by the consistently questionable factors that keep loudly making themselves known in this show. too frequently bad deliveries from actors weird af editing bad cinematography even my great efforts to ignore it all and benefit of the doubt, it was too much. which is, based on everything ive ever watched ever, a BAD thing. also, oml lorca is so small in this episode - which actually i like. he feels so insignificant in this episode haha, small fry dying every single time. also i hope i see more creative deaths in this show, cuz everytime someone dies is them dissipating in dusty colour. come onnn, we can do better than thattt.

also just fyi, understand that i am NOT advocating for a super "serious/dire" star trek, weve had a bit of that in random episodes thoruhgout the franchise and moveis too - so no, i also absolutely love silly mad crazy trek plots too, but like. DISCO i think is probably handling this in a way that is the worst ever in Star Trek so far, even among its whacky insane moments. I am keeping to the series and going to stick it through all the way to the end of course. but yeah, i was never here to just be some blind non-insightful talking head that just admired this show unconditionally. if you thought so, then you should try again. i will say whats good, but likewise whats bad. and right now, the good things are things that i have already said, but the bad is really kicking up a storm right now. captain mudd. amazing. its so off-balance, this show. some deliveries are great, pacing is great. but then its like so sporadic and everywhere too often etc yes. delivery is REALLY weird and super weak in too many scenes. idk. maybe construction of the show itself is just weak in too many areas. so so strange. with a show that LOOKS genuinely this good. im just so perplexed. the shows construction feels so amateurish i guess? in not a very good way. "nobody beats Mudd, huh." a businessman is correct, lorca. these camera zoomes are really distasteful. like lorca over here making some consistently really solid deliveries, and the stupid camera cuts and zooms and unnecessary movements just cheapen it all. it makes me so angry. this show needed a better writers' room and better directing. and terrible ADR. its liek they use different mics every 2 lines. i can HEAR the discrepancies, even without my audiophile headphones.

im so mad and sad by this. because the threads of the issues i was sensing since episode 1 are now kind of unforgiveable. i can no longer look over them. so im here really speaking about them in this reaction this time. no offence it kind of feels like nothing much happened this whole episode. and im literally 3 minutes away from finishing this episode. im sorry im not impressed with this ending in how mudd was caught. i feel like this show didnt know how to quite handle the crazy nature of Trek. Bad editing yeah. i keep consistently seeing how for example Mudd is talking, and the camera cuts to a different angle shot of the same line delivery that has to get repeated and edited in, but i can physically see Mudd's jaw still moving in speech despite his dialogue halting from the ADR of the other camera shot. THIS ^ stuff KEEPS happening. and it shouldnt. its super BASIC stuff relatively speaking. and there wasnt this much of an obvious degree of this problematic editing in even older series of trek. so strange. 'i hate how it lifted me out of immersion of this show, this list of issues. you know, id LOVE to see ANY scene of conversation withOUT the stupid slow-creep zoom. listen, i KNOW that this is very often used everywhere in media, but it doesnt mean "always'. in this case DISCO does it poorly. ok episode over. i am not convinced over ANYTHING that just happened. its a 44 minute long episode, but it felt brief as fuck. it didnt feel like it had much substance at all - and im NOT talking some kind of "moral message" shit - things do NOT have to have a real message to be good. and this episode was actually not. it felt so criminally underwhelming. like ok, stamets had augmentation that let him resist the time loop.... and? so what. so what about that. nothing significant happened except apparently blossoming love story between Ash and Burnham, which- Ash x Burnham?

bullshit.

bro that was terrible. and they got zero chemistry no sorry no. get outta here.

burnham had more chemistry with the fucking captain than ash. (i dont support either one dw.) ok. well. ima continue the trip ofc. but mmmmm stupid peripheral things are really not doing this show justice. i fear that DISCO is a show that couldve been great but just wasnt even good. bad writing, bad directing, bad editing, bad delivery - i am far from being sold than I was in episode 1. i gave the excuse of the first episode feeling so brisk because it was an exposition….. but the show quickly tired out my benefit-of-the-doubt with how i see that ep 1 wasnt so much a mere exposition, but that its kind of ACTUALLY what this show IS. i cant lie. im p nervous for this show. SNW was fucking good, so i just hope that this show improves to SNW's level where all these questionable issues resolve at some point, more or less.

guess i'll see.

[flowersbby]

Drawn to You | Corpse Husband x Fem! Reader

Warning:  Makeout, This is a lil long (I got carried away)

Word count: 3859

It was a typical night for you. You had your music playing faintly in the background while you were writing notes for your anatomy & physiology class when you felt your phone vibrate violently on your desk, which caused your French bulldog, Royal, to wake up from his snoring slumber on your lap. With an annoyed huff, you pick up your phone and notice your best friend Rae had texted you numerous times.

Rae 😴

Hey!

Among Us!

Now!

Need 10th person!

Pleaseeeeee

You stared at the messages for a minute. You were confused on why she asked you of all people. You were the opposite of the many streaming friends she had who were loud, funny, and all around GOOD at games. Your shy character would not fit well on her stream and you knew that. Plus, the only games you’ve played are Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing, which requires no communication with people and you preferred it that way.

You

Why me? I’m in the middle of writing notes.

Rae 😴

There’s this person I want you to meet!

He’s really nice and you’ll warm up to the group in no time, I promise!

I won’t let them be mean to you 😤😤

They’re nice ppl anyway so they wont be mean lol

You

Okay.. let me load up my discord

Rae 😴

Yayy!

I already bought among us for you last time I was over so you’re good to go!

‘What? When did she find the time to buy the game for me? We were literally together the whole time she was here.’ You thought, but quickly dismissed it and loaded up discord. Right as you got online, you got an invite from Rae. You quickly grabbed your headset and adjusted your mic before joining the call. You petted Royal in an attempt to calm your nerves as you saw 9 peoples profile pictures appear in front of you. You only recognized Rae’s, of course.

“Hey, (Y/N)!” Rae exclaimed, “Guys, this is my best friend (Y/N)! Introduce yourselves!”

“Hi, I’m Toast!” Said the man with the toast icon. You smiled at his profile picture. You found it cute.

“I’m Jack!” Said an Irish voice. You know Jack. You used to watch his videos a lot.

“I’m Poki!” Said a girl with a really sweet voice, “Nice to meet you!” You were about to say hello back when someone else chimed in.

“Hello, I’m Felix!” You recognized that Swedish accent. He was the most well known YouTuber, of course.

“Nice to meet you!” Said a really soft voice, “I’m Sykkuno!” His voice reminded you of an anime boy. You smiled to yourself.

“Hi, I’m Lily!” Said a really cute and high pitched voice. 

“Hi everyon-” You went to introduce yourself properly until you got cut off.

“I’m Corpse.” Said a deep, attractive voice. Your eyes widened for a second, his voice catching you off guard.

“H-hello,” You attempt to say hello again but this time you’re a little shaken up by Corpse’s voice, but you get it together by petting Royal once again. “I’m (Y/N). It’s nice to meet you all!”

“Your voice is so adorable!” Says Lily. You smile at the fact that someone who’s voice is equally as adorable complimented yours.

“Thank you!” You respond, “Your voice is adorable too, Oh my God!” 

Lily giggles at your compliment. “Alright!” Exclaimed Rae, “Ready to play (N/N)?” You quickly realized you forgot to load up Among Us before hand. You were silently kicking yourself for not doing such a simple thing. Now they’re gonna have to wait longer to play because of you and they already waited long enough for you to join the discord call.

“Um..” You stall as you hurriedly click on the Among Us icon. “I’m so sorry. I forgot to load it up.. but it’s loading right now!” Your eyes are glued to the screen as if it’ll make the game boot up faster. 

“That’s okay.” Said Corpse in the most kind voice. “It won’t take that long.” You feel heat rushing to your cheeks just by hearing his voice. Who is this man and why is he making you feel like this?

They all agreed with Corpse and continued chatting about whatever they were chatting about before you joined the call. You were half listening as you were trying to figure out what to do as the game loaded up. Just as you were about to ask Rae, Corpse sent you the game code through a private message. You typed “Thank you!” as you quickly entered your name and then the game code.

“Woo! (Y/N)’s here!’ Said Rae happily. “Choose your color and your hat!” ‘Where do I do that?’ You thought to yourself but quickly found it. You wanted to be pink but it wouldn’t let you choose it.

“Why isn’t it letting me choose pink?” You asked. 

“It’s because Corpse is pink.” Explained Lily. “He took it from me too.” She said with a sad, but funny, tone.

“I can be a different color.” Corpse said and quickly changed his color from pink to white. 

“Oh, Thank you!” You said happily and picked a flower to match it.

“No problem.” He said and you could hear the smile in his voice. It made butterflies appear in your stomach.

“Are you kidding me?!” Said a laughing Lily. “I literally ARGUED with you about letting me have pink!”

“I sense something happening...” Cooed Rae in a sing songy voice. The whole group then erupted in “Ooooo’s”. This made you blush. You covered your face even though they couldn’t see you and Corpse chuckled, which only made you blush more.

Before the game started they all explained to you how to play so you wouldn’t be lost. This calmed your nerves a bit and when the game started you were happily going around the ship completing your tasks. Watering the plants was your favorite so far since you found it satisfying how the plants grew. You saw Corpse run up to you and you made your character step away a bit because you didn’t want to get killed. He instead ran circles around you and you decided to follow him for the rest of the game for safety. You both encountered Rae and Toast by the vending machines but didn’t think much of it and waited for Corpse to finish his task. Until Rae killed you and Toast killed Corpse. “A double kill?!” You shouted to yourself, causing Royal to wake up and slowly get off your lap. “I’m sorry buddy..” You said to him as he laid down in his dog bed. You turn your attention back to the screen as someone found you and Corpse’s dead bodies.

“Um, bodies found by the vending machines.” Said Felix who didn’t sound all too confident. “Jack where were you?” He asked.

“I was in..” As Jack was about to explain himself you heard a ‘pop’ emit from your headphones and saw a red dot by the messages icon. You clicked it and saw it was a message from Corpse. You completely stopped caring about the arguing going on through your headphones as Jack was trying to claim innocence.

“I like your flower :)” It read. You smiled big and immediately typed back.

Your fingers hovered over the keys thinking about what to type back but you settled on a simple “Thank you :D”.

After two games or so everyone got tired and decided to head out. You all said your goodbyes and watched as each person slowly began to leave the call. You didn’t want to leave until you were sure everybody was gone. Everybody left but Corpse. “Hey..” He said, sounding a little shy but it was probably just because he was tired.

“Hi!” You said a little too excited. You immediately wished you could reword what you said a little calmer.

“So, uh..” He began, “Could I possibly get your number? For Among Us games I mean?” He didn’t sound too sure of himself but him asking this made you beam with excitement.

“Of course.” You said calmer than before, “But I don’t know what help I’d be as I’m terrible at this game.” You giggled.

You typed in chat your number, your fingers shaking slightly. “Nah, I liked playing with you.” He said more confident, “You make it more fun. Even though I haven’t ever spoken to you before.” He chuckled. You smiled at his words. Butterflies formed in your stomach hearing him laugh.

You and Corpse chatted a bit more until he decided he should go, but you wished you guys could have kept talking the whole night. You felt this connection with him that you couldn’t put into words. It felt so easy for you to talk to him and you didn’t feel as nervous around him as the others you met today. There was something so calming about him that washed your fears away. You shook your head from the thoughts and told yourself that you just met him today, you shouldn’t get ahead of yourself but it was hard not to.

You were laying in your bed scrolling through twitter when you got a text.

xxx-xxx-xxxx

hey its corpse

is this (Y/N)?

Your heart skipped a beat. You were excited Corpse texted you so fast, hoping you two could continue talking.

You

That’s me!

I thought you were going to sleep?

Corpse���🖤

nah i hardly ever sleep i just left because i didnt want to keep you up

i really enjoyed playing with you

You

I enjoyed playing with you too

We should play together again soon

Corpse🥺🖤

definitely

You’ve begun to become really good friends with Corpse over the past week. You and him would facetime each other whenever you could. You always were on facetime with him, actually. Whenever you were studying, you guys were talking. Whenever he was editing, you guys were talking. When you were about to go to bed, you guys were talking. 

Right now, you guys were facetiming as you were studying for an upcoming exam and he was trying to stay awake. You liked having him around when you were studying even if it was through a phone. You didn’t feel pressured to talk or have to worry about an awkward silence with him. It was comfortable silence.

You started to worry that you were keeping him up, though. “You can go to bed if you want,” You said softly as you looked up from your textbook to the black screen propped up against a few books. “ I don’t want to keep you up. You need some rest.”

“No..” He muttered, “I like having you around..”

“I like having you around too Corpsie but we can talk when you wake up.” You told him a little sternly in an effort to convince him to go to bed.

“Can I ask you something?” He asked out of the blue.

You paused before answering and shifted your gaze to the black screen once again. “Yeah sure, go ahead.” 

“Do you want to maybe stay over here for a bit?” He asked, “Whenever you’re free, I mean. If you don’t want to I get that too I just feel so drawn to you I want you closer to me. Is that weird? I’m sorry if that’s weird. Actually, forget I said-”

“I’d love to come over.” You told him with a smile. “When would you want me to be there?”

“As soon as possible.” He said in his raspy, tired voice. Butterflies formed in your stomach and you felt your heart skip a beat. This man was something else.

“I can be over there in the morning..” You start, “I just have to pack and everything. Is it okay if I bring Royal? I don’t want to leave him with my sister.” You look over to Royal sleeping peacefully on your bed, snoring away.

“Hell yeah!” Corpse exclaimed, “I love animals! Bring him over.” You giggled at his excitement.

Corpse ended up falling asleep soon after and you ended the call. As you were getting ready for bed you began to think of what Corpse’s place would be like and what you guys would do. You were definitely going to show him Stardew Valley, that was for sure. You pondered the thought of you finally confessing to him that you wanted to be not just his friend, but girlfriend. You’ve been wanting to do it for awhile now but you get too scared and end up chickening out, so you figured if he liked you like you like him, he’d make the first move. You started to make up scenarios in your head about finally hanging out with Corpse in person as you drifted off to sleep, hearing Royal snoring peacefully in the background.

It was the next morning and as soon as you woke up you changed into your favorite outfit and began to pack. You didn’t know how long you were staying for but you decided to pack about 2 weeks worth of clothes just to be on the safe side. Royal was sitting on the floor watching you as you hurried from your closet to the suitcase on your bed. You were happily humming as you were excited about the day. You heard your phone buzz and you quickly grabbed it from your bed as you saw the name pop up on the screen.

Corpse🥺🖤

hey :) 

heres the address:

You

Thanks! and hello 😊

You two texted until you were ready to go. You were definitely NOT looking forward to driving two and a half hours from LA to San Diego but you were so excited to see Corpse that the dread of the long car ride washed away.

You put Royal into his harness and plopped him in the back seat. He looked at you confused since he rarely ever gets to go for rides in the car. “We’re going to see a friend!” You tell him while petting his head. He then laid down and began to close his eyes.

After what seemed like forever you were finally outside Corpse’s apartment. You grabbed Royal and attached his leash to his harness and then proceeded to grab your giant (and heavy) suitcase out of the trunk. You struggled getting the suitcase up the apartment building stairs but you managed. You felt a sense of relief that his apartment building had an elevator so you didn’t have to deal with more stairs. The ones at the entrance were enough. While you were waiting for the elevator to take you to his floor you took this opportunity to text him.

You

On my way up!

Almost immediately after you sent it he read it. He started typing but the three dots quickly disappeared. Before you could question it the elevator doors opened to his floor. “Come on, Bud!” You said to Royal and motioned for him to go ahead. Royal got up from his sitting stance and lead the way. After passing 2 other doors, you were at Corpse’s. You knocked two times.

You heard shuffling on the other side and the door knob turning shortly after. Before you knew it, Corpse was in front of you. His eyes were looking at yours. You immediately smiled. “Hi.” Corpse said with a slight smile as well.

“Hi..” You said shyly. You didn’t know how to react now that he was in front of you and not behind a screen. He stepped aside and motioned for you to come inside. You entered his apartment and set your suitcase by the couch. Royal was pawing at Corpse’s leg, begging for pets.

“Aww, hi buddy!” Corpse said excitedly. “He’s so well behaved.” Corpse was talking to you now.

“Yeah, it took work though.” You laughed slightly. “Your place is really nice.” You said as you looked around. You noticed all of his mirrors were covered up, but you decided not to ask him about that. He probably had his reasons.

“Thank you.” Corpse said as he looked at you. “You look pretty.”

You blushed and turned your head away from him so he couldn’t see your pink cheeks. “Thank you.”

Corpse cleared his throat, “So uh, I don’t have a guest bedroom so I’ll take the couch for however long you want to stay.”

You quickly shot your head at him. “No no no I’m not letting you sleep on the couch in your own apartment.” You argued with him.

“Well, I’m not letting you sleep on the couch.” Corpse stated.

“Then we’ll share your bed.” You said with a shrug and headed towards his room to set your suitcase down, Royal following closely behind you. You didn’t see anything wrong with it. You and Rae share one whenever you guys sleep over at each other’s house and you thought this was no different

“O-okay.” He responded and quickly followed after you, “So, this is my room.” he said as you and him both entered.

“I like it!” You exclaimed as you looked around. You liked how dark it was in there. You smiled at him and he smiled back at you. That smile.. You thought and quickly fumbled with your suitcase as you set it down by his closet. Corpse came closer to you.

“Can I give you a hug?” Corpse said a little shyly, as if I’d say no.

“Of course!” You said and wrapped your arms around his neck. He was taken aback but quickly put his hands around your waist. You caught a whiff of his mild cologne which made you want to stay in the hug a little longer. You didn’t want to be weird though and pulled away from the embrace.

“I’m really happy you’re here.” He said as he looked into your eyes. I could kiss him right now, oh my God. Your mind raced, but you managed to get out some words.

“I am, too.” You said.

It’s only been about a day since you’ve been over at Corpse’s. Sharing the bed seems to be no big deal as he barely seems to sleep. You so far liked being there with him.

Right now, you were on the phone with an overly excited Rae.

“You’re at his HOUSE?!” She yelled excitedly in your ear. Your face cringed a little bit from the yelling.

“Yeah,” You told her, “He has a really nice place.” You said as you scanned his living room.

“I knew you guys would hit it off!” Rae said, “I should be a matchmaker or something.” You blushed at her comment.

“Nothing’s happened yet.” You said quietly, not wanting Corpse to hear you.

“Girl, you’re at his house.” Rae said in a obvious tone. You rolled your eyes.

“This could just mean he likes having me over as a FRIEND.” You told her. You were hoping that wasn’t the case though and Corpse did have feelings for you. You smiled at the thought.

“You are so oblivious.” Rae said with a sigh, “Anyway, I gotta go workout. Love ya! Hope everything goes well!” She said the last part in her sing songy voice.

“Love you too!” You said back and ended the call. What do I do now? You thought. Corpse was streaming so you couldn’t hangout with him right now and your physics class isn’t till a few hours. You were hungry, though, and decided to cook some lunch for you and Corpse. It’ll be a nice surprise for him. You smiled at the thought.

You made your delicious Dorito taco salad that you love so much. You made a bowl for Corpse as well and took it to his room where he resided. He didn’t seem to be streaming anymore and was just scrolling through Twitter on his computer.

“I come with food!” You say as you place the bowl down in front of him. You seem to have startled him as he jumped slightly when you spoke. He examined the bowl suspiciously.

“What is this?” He says cautiously of your creation.

“It’s Dorito taco salad.” You explain, “It has crushed up Doritos, of course, shredded chicken, lettuce, olives, and sour cream in it.” He seemed to be skeptical of it, which was a given every time you made it for someone new, but people ended up loving it when they tasted it. You were confused as to how many people found it weird since your mom made it for you when you were a kid a ton, so you were used to the delicious lunch dish.

“Okay.” He said and took a bite of it. His eyes lit up. “Oh my god, this is so good!” He exclaimed and took another bite. You giggled with excitement that he loved it like you did.

You both ate together and laid down on the bed as you talked about random things that were going on in your lives. You guys were laughing at a joke Corpse said until Corpse got serious.

“I have to tell you something.” Corpse said and looked into your eyes.

“Okay,” You said confused, “Go ahead.”

He took a deep breath. “I like you.” He confessed, “Like, romantically. I have for awhile now actually and I don’t know what it is about you and I thought I was done with love but you make me feel so happy and different from anyone else I’ve talked to. You don’t have to feel the same way but I couldn’t keep my feelings in for any longer.”

You paused for a moment. Is this actually happening? Are you in a dream? “I like you too, Corpse.” You say softly. His eyes beam with excitement..

“Really?” He asks.

You laugh at his bewilderment. “Yes, really!”

He tackles you in a hug on the bed. You giggle from his excitement. He’s on top of you and he lifts his head up from your neck to look you in the eyes. You get a rush of emotions as you see the care and love in his eyes as he’s looking at you.

You blurt out what you were thinking in that exact moment. “Kiss me.”

He leans in and kisses you softly. One hand is holding him up on the bed as the other is cupping your cheek. You take one hand and tangle it in his hair. This causes him to deepen the kiss with you. The kiss turns rough. You’re both so in the moment you don’t want to come up for air but you guys manage to keep going by taking in air when your lips part for brief moments. The hand that was cupping your cheek is now next to your head, taking the responsibility of holding him up. The other hand is trailing up and down your thigh, squeezing your thigh tightly ever so often. You eventually break the heated kiss and look up at him. You were hoping he could see the love you had for him in your eyes.

“I liked that.” You say smiling.

He chuckled at your words. “I like it too.”

[czenzo]

food (and a kiss) is the best medicine

[ao3]

summary: Genda falls ill and Sakuma visits to cheer him up with some company and comfort food, only to be hit with the realisation that his feelings for Genda are slightly more than that of a normal friend.

words: 3,585 rating: G

note: I was overcome by gensaku feelings then some kind of inazuma eleven fic writing deity possessed me and blurted this out in one go in the space of like two hours. this fic is so unbelievably self-indulgent and I have no shame >:)

edited 01/05/23 – revisited this fic and realised that when I wrote it, I completely forewent Japanese naming conventions and had Jirou refer to Koujirou by his surname for the whole thing. whoops! that's been fixed, now.

Koujirou was sick.

In all the years Jirou Sakuma had known him, Koujirou Genda had never fallen ill, and they’d put it down to him having a strangely strong immune system (perhaps it even had something to do with his German genes; his mother and her side of the family were a particularly resilient bunch).

Up until now, that was.

Jirou hadn’t realised just how much he’d become accustomed to his everyday school routine until it was suddenly shattered by Koujirou’s absence; even Kidou, who prided himself in rarely letting anything shake him, seemed to have been thrown off-kilter throughout the day, thanks to the lack of Koujirou’s tall, comforting presence beside him.

Teikoku Academy, unsurprisingly, banned the use of mobiles throughout the school day, and every single one of Jirou’s attempts to sneakily send a text to Koujirou asking if he was okay were thwarted by an eagle-eyed teacher coming around the corner or a goody-two-shoes who spotted the glare of his phone screen under his desk. The need to know where Koujirou was, if he was okay—oh, God, what if something awful had happened?—and the fact he couldn’t find anything out until the end of the school day was eating at him, gnawing at his brain more than unexpectedly losing to Zeus did when the defeat was still fresh in his mind.

The relief of leaving the school grounds and finally being able to send a text without the fear of getting caught was unimaginable, and in his desperation to quickly click send, Jirou’s fingers flew too fast over the keyboard and resulted in a barely decipherable message:

  Jirou Sakuma >>> arebyku ok?? didnt see yiu t school tosay i was worrekd

  He took a breath, steadied himself, and typed out a second message.

  Jirou Sakuma >>> sorry, typed too fast. meant to ask if you were okay, we noticed you weren’t in school today :(

  Koujirou had never been one to be glued to his phone, so the lack of an immediate reply shouldn’t have concerned Jirou—but it did anyway, and Kidou eventually had to convince him to put his phone back into his bag for a while instead of staring at the screen until a reply came. Kidou had a knack for commanding people both on and off the court, and in this instance, although Jirou was thankful for the intervention, his hands still itched to be holding his phone so he could read and reply to Koujirou’s response as fast as he possibly could.

It was as he was removing his shoes at the front door to his family home that his phone buzzed, and Jirou almost flung the shoe in his hand across the hall in his hurry to dig through his bag and find his phone.

  Koujirou Genda >>> I’m ok. Caught some kind of bug, I’ve spent the day in bed.

  Oh. Koujirou was never sick.

“Everything okay, Jirou?” his mother called from the kitchen. The smell of her cooking wafted through the house and Jirou paused to inhale it, almost groaning at the realisation that she’d cooked one of his favourite meals. Fennel and tomato shorba—a recipe passed on to her from his father’s side of the family, and a meal that was always well received no matter the occasion. She’d made it for Diwali the previous year when they'd invited Koujirou and Kidou to join them in their celebrations, and Kou hadn’t shut up about the shorba for weeks afterwards.

Maybe he could take some to Koujirou in a flask—sure, it was spicy, and probably wouldn’t be wise to eat with an upset stomach, but surely he would appreciate looking forward to eating it once he was feeling well again. Or was that just Jirou trying to come up with an excuse to visit him?

He’d become so lost in thought (his mother’s cooking often had that effect on him) that he’d forgotten to respond quickly as originally planned, though this time, Jirou carefully considered his words as he typed.

  Jirou Sakuma >>> sorry to hear that :( I could bring round some shorba to cheer you up??

  Koujirou Genda >>> I’d be too tempted to chug it all the second you got here. Don’t think my stomach could handle the power of green chillies right now.

  Jirou felt his heart sink, but his rapidly developing misery paused as he saw Koujirou begin to type again.

  Genda Koujirou >>> (Bring it anyway.) :)

  Success!

“Could I have half of my portion to put in a flask for Genda?” Jirou said as he popped his head into the kitchen. “He’s ill, and you know how much he loves your cooking.”

“Oh, sweetheart, that’s so thoughtful of you,” his mother smiled as she prepared the rice to be served as part of the family’s meal. “But won’t the spices make your friend feel worse?”

“He likes spice,” Jirou replied quietly, before adding at a volume his mother would hear, “it’d be for when he gets better. Something to look forward to.”

“Alright. If you can quickly stir the pot for me and find a flask somewhere in the cupboards—I really need to organise those—you can take some to your friend.”

  ◇

  Jirou could count the times he’d visited the Genda family residence on just one hand; when they weren’t playing soccer, the two of them, along with Kidou, often chose Jirou’s home to hang out at. Kidou’s father was filthy rich and owned a home with many valuable, breakable objects, and the Genda household was the exact same, with the addition of servants who seemed to watch your every move.

Jirou’s home was the only one that didn’t feel like a museum.

  Jirou Sakuma >>> I’m outside!

  Koujirou Genda >>> That was fast. Did you run?

  Jirou Sakuma >>> maybe.

  Genda Koujirou >>> Ring the buzzer at the gate. I’ve already let Yamato know to let you in.

  The large iron gates that loomed at the end of the path leading to the Genda home set the bar for how intimidating the residence was. Jirou pressed the buzzer attached to the intercom and was greeted by the familiar voice of Yamato, the head servant in the household.

“Name and reason for visit.”

“Uh… Sakuma Jirou. Visiting Genda Koujirou,” he replied, with so much uncertainty that his response sounded like a question. It always slipped his mind just how filthy rich the Genda family was. Don’t get him wrong—Jirou and his family were comfortable, comfortable enough to afford Jirou's attendance at Teikoku, comfortable enough for him to have no qualms mingling with the rich kids that also attended, but the Genda family were on a whole other level.

Jirou still hadn’t wrapped his head around the concept of house servants. Despite Koujirou rarely talking about his home life, Jirou knew he had always hated it, the way he was raised more by Yamato and the other staff than his own parents.

The gates slowly opened, and once Jirou made his way up the path, Yamato greeted him at the door. He gave him directions to Koujirou’s room (directions, the house was so large and labyrinthian that he needed complex directions to find the right bedroom), but Jirou managed to get himself lost along the way anyway.

  Jirou Sakuma >>> kou.

Jirou Sakuma >>> I’m lost inside your house

  Koujirou Genda >>> Where are you right now?

  Jirou Sakuma >>> in a hallway with a fancy bathroom on one side and some kind of guest room on the other

Jirou Sakuma >>> on the second floor

  Koujirou Genda >>> Walk the opposite way and go past the stairs. Turn right, first door on your left.

  Jirou Sakuma >>> thanks

Jirou Sakuma >>> it should be illegal for houses to be this big

  Jirou lightly rapped his knuckles against the door and prayed that it was the right one, his other hand tightening its grip around the silver flask he’d procured from the depths of his kitchen cupboards. If the house hadn’t been dead silent (further proving Jirou’s theory that it was basically a museum or an art gallery of some kind), he probably wouldn’t have heard Koujirou’s raspy voice telling him to come inside.

The sound of it made Jirou wince. Koujirou sounded awful.

“Hey,” he said quietly as he entered, taking care to close the door behind him as soundlessly as possible.

He’d seen the inside of Koujirou’s bedroom even fewer times than he’d visited his home, but it was still as lifeless as he remembered. The decor matched the fancy guest bedroom he’d been lost beside just moments before, and Koujirou’s mother’s strict no-posters-or-other-miscellaneous-wall-decorations rule meant the walls of the vast room looked bland and characterless, aside from the soccer ball sat tucked away in the far corner. The desk, nightstand, and wardrobes were all made from the same lavish wood, and the sofa in the corner of the room that sat in front of the large TV on the wall looked immaculate, as if it was rarely ever used (which was no surprise, considering Koujirou tried to spend as much time away from his home as possible). The grand four-poster bed that sat directly opposite the door was the second most interesting thing about the room. The first was the boy lying in the middle of it.

Koujirou was by far the tallest of Jirou’s friends, and easily one of the strongest, but as he lay surrounded by a sea of bedding, skin pale and blotchy with illness, Jirou wondered if he had imagined all of his strength. How could this weak, tired boy be the same boy who would defend Teikoku’s goal until his dying breath, who gave the strongest and most comforting hugs out of anyone Jirou knew, who was resilient and determined no matter what life threw at him?

“Hey,” Koujirou croaked, shuffling to sit up in his bed. Jirou was quick to stop him, rushing to his side and ensuring his friend didn’t strain himself too much.

“Kidou wanted to visit too, but he had some… family thing, tonight. He didn’t say much about it.”

“His father’s always keeping him busy,” Koujirou said as Jirou pulled a chair to his bedside, voice just a whisper so as to not strain his throat, “it’s alright. I’ll see him when I’m back in school.”

“Do you know when you’ll be back?”

Koujirou shook his head. “Hopefully in the next couple of days. I can’t miss out on too much soccer practice.”

“Your health is more important.”

“Yeah, but how’s Teikoku going to practise without a goalkeeper?”

“We’ll manage. You shouldn’t push yourself until you’re completely ready.”

“Hypocrite,” Koujirou scoffed, and Jirou pushed down the sudden onslaught of memories of Shin Teikoku.

“Yeah, well, we were both going through it back then. But that’s in the past,” Jirou raised an eyebrow, “and you should have more sense now.”

“Okay, mother.”

“Shut up,” Jirou stifled a laugh and dodged a playful hit to the arm from Koujirou, who, despite still looking worn out, seemed to be gaining a few drops of energy. Jirou placed his flask onto the nightstand. “Hey, I brought the shorba, as promised.”

“Oh, I love you so much,” Koujirou rasped, and Jirou felt his brain shut down. The flush that rose to his cheeks thankfully went unnoticed by Kou, who was too busy reaching for the flask to inhale the scent of its contents to notice how his words had affected his friend.

Jirou kept his hands tightly clasped together in his lap, and prayed for his mind and body to sort themselves out.

“I can’t wait to have that. It’s taking every ounce of strength to not wolf it all down right now.”

“Alright, shorba boy,” Jirou laughed, “I’m moving this out of arm’s reach.” He took the flask from Koujirou's (weak) grasp and moved it to the desk on the other side of the room so that Kou would have to leave his bed to retrieve it, which, judging by his current state, wouldn’t be happening any time soon. (Although honestly, with how much Koujirou loved Jirou’s mother’s cooking, he wouldn’t put it past him to try.)

“You’re horrible. I can’t believe you’d revoke my food privileges like that.”

“You said it yourself earlier, your stomach wouldn’t be able to handle the heat of the chillies right now. You’d just throw it all back up.”

“I’ll take that risk. It would be worth it.”

“Don’t be dumb. Stick to water and plain foods for now.”

Koujirou groaned, and Jirou snorted at the emergence of his friend’s melodramatic side. Soon after, they fell into a comfortable silence, soaking up the comfort of one another's presence. The gentle breeze from the open windows toyed with the ends of Jirou's hair, and reminded him he needed to re-do his roots soon. He caught Koujirou's eye and exchanged a smile.

“Shorba aside,” Koujirou said eventually, "thanks for coming over. It’s sucked being stuck inside all day.”

“It’s no problem. I’d have come even if I didn’t have any food to give to you. It was weird, not seeing your face at school all day.”

“Missed me that much?”

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Jirou looked away. “Maybe. Just a little bit. Kidou did too.”

“Oh, you’d both crash and burn without me.”

Inwardly, Jirou agreed. Kidou would be fine, surely, but Jirou himself? He couldn’t imagine a life without Koujirou Genda.

“We’d be just fine, thanks,” he replied, though Koujirou grinned at the obvious insincerity.

From the back pocket of his jeans, Jirou’s phone buzzed, and Koujirou closed his eyes to grab a short moment of rest while he checked the notification.

  Mother >>> Dinner will be served soon. Make sure you’re home within the next 15 minutes.

  Jirou hissed a soft curse under his breath. It took at least ten minutes to walk between his and Koujirou’s house, which meant he barely had any time left to spend with his friend… who was, Jirou realised as he looked back up from his phone, now sound asleep.

Oh.

“I guess I’ll get going then,” he murmured, taking care to not disturb the sleeping Koujirou as he put his chair back at the desk. Jirou looked at the flask that sat there, then glanced over at Kou, who was still fast asleep with a serene look upon his face. His hair was loose and unstyled, and sat in its natural curls that Koujirou hated and consistently fought away with buckets of hair gel. A few stray curls had broken away from the rest and lay across his face, brushing against the tip of his nose.

He should move them. Koujirou’s sleep would be disturbed if he sneezed.

In a few quick strides, Jirou was back at Koujirou’s bedside, and with a feather-light touch he brushed away the hairs from his friend’s face. His forehead was warm to the touch; in that moment, Jirou was overcome by the sudden urge to kiss it.

And so he did.

It was an unusual sensation, one he at first enjoyed until he soon became overwhelmed with a horrible sense of guilt. He quickly turned on his heel to rush out of the room and get out of the unreasonably large house. It made Jirou feel so small as he passed through the halls full of artwork and descended the grand staircase, and quite frankly, he hated it.

Fuck. He shouldn’t have done that. Why did he do that?

The guilt ate at him so much that he didn’t enjoy dinner anywhere near as much as he normally would, and although his parents picked up on it, they didn’t pry, which Jirou was eternally grateful for.

That evening, he did as many things as he could to distract himself—throw and catch a soccer ball as many times as he could before getting bored, flick through his manga collection, scroll mindlessly on the internet, and eventually, when he became too sick of his own internal monologue, he texted Kidou.

  Jirou Sakuma >>> how was the family thing?

  Yuuto Kidou >>> Fine, thank you. How is Genda doing?

  Jirou Sakuma >>> still pretty rough, but he’s alright. misses soccer though

  Yuuto Kidou >>> That doesn’t surprise me. He would live in a soccer net if he could.

  Jirou Sakuma >>> he would.

  Jirou paused and wondered if he should bring up the thing that had been quietly playing on his mind. Slowly, he typed it out, then toyed with the sensitive skin of his lips with his teeth as his thumb hovered over the send button.

  Jirou Sakuma >>> there was no family thing, was there?

  Kidou was quick to reply.

  Yuuto Kidou >>> I don’t know what you’re talking about.

  Jirou Sakuma >>> you were so vague about it all. why’d you lie about being busy?

  Yuuto Kidou >>> I assumed you would prefer to visit Genda alone.

  Jirou stopped typing his reply just as quickly as he began it, and went through a cycle of typing and deleting for what felt like hours before he settled on the most eloquent response he could come up with.

  Jirou Sakuma >>> why???

  Yuuto Kidou >>> The two of you are close.

  Jirou Sakuma >>> but you’re his friend too

  Yuuto Kidou >>> It is in the past now. He appreciated your visit, didn’t he?

  Jirou Sakuma >>> yeah

  Jirou Sakuma >>> I feel like you know something I don’t

  Yuuto Kidou >>> Not at all. Goodnight, Sakuma.

  Jirou Sakuma >>> night kidou

  ◇

  Jirou almost had a heart attack when he looked at his phone the next morning.

  Koujirou Genda >>> Hey, can we talk about yesterday?

  It was a Saturday, so school didn’t interrupt his hour-long panic session, which was then proceeded by at least thirty minutes of him reading and rereading Koujirou’s message and frantically searching for more information between the lines. He was asleep when Jirou did that stupid thing, right? He couldn’t know about it—surely?

He wouldn’t know until he replied, but Jirou couldn’t handle the stress of waiting between replies in a text conversation, so he simply bit the bullet and called him.

“Hey,” Koujirou said when he picked up. His voice still had a rasp to it, but it sounded fuller, and slightly livelier, than how it did the day before.

“Hi,” Jirou replied, and was greeted by a bout of horribly uncomfortable silence. It seemed to last for aeons, but when Jirou eventually decided to break it, starting off with “So—”, Koujirou had already begun his next sentence.

“Why did you kiss me?”

Ah. Shit.

“I— I, uh, God, Kou, I’m so sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking—”

“Why are you apologising?”

“I—” Jirou stopped pacing around his room. “What?”

“Why are you apologising?” Koujirou repeated. “I only asked why you did it.”

“Because it was a horrible thing to do,” Jirou replied, slowly. “And I don’t want it to ruin our friendship.”

“Okay,” Koujirou said, before pausing to cough, “but I’ve been waiting for you to do something like that for a while, so I wanted to know why you chose to do it now.”

“Say that again, but slowly.”

“So I wanted to know why you chose to do it now..?”

“No, no. The part before it.”

“I’ve been waiting for you to do something like that for a while?”

“Yeah. What?”

“What?”

“Koujirou, what’s going on?”

“I thought it was obvious. I’m pretty sure Kidou picked up on it a while ago.”

“I’m coming over.”

  ◇

  “What have I missed?” Jirou said as he walked into Koujirou’s room, taking less care to be as quiet and cautious as he was yesterday in favour of quickly getting answers.

“Not much,” Koujirou replied, still in the same spot of bed. “I had a nap after you hung up.”

“No, no”—Jirou pinched the bridge of his nose—“both you and Kidou seem to know something I don’t. Why were you fine with me kissing you?”

“I told you,” Koujirou said slowly, as if it was blatantly obvious, “I’ve been waiting for you to do something like that for a while. I’d have made the first move myself, but I didn’t believe Kidou when he said you felt the same way.”

Jirou stood in the middle of the room, feeling completely and utterly lost.

“I don’t understand,” he murmured.

Koujirou sighed and hauled himself upright. “C’mere.”

Jirou complied and moved to the side of the bed, the same spot he was in the day before (back when things felt a lot less complicated).

“You can move away at any time, alright?”

“Okay?” Jirou's frown melted away as Koujirou held both sides of his face and kissed him squarely on the lips. It was slightly awkward, and a bit messy, thanks to neither of them having properly kissed anyone before, but it was everything Jirou had dreamed of and more, and he found he suddenly felt empty when Koujirou pulled away.

“Oh,” was the only response his brain could muster afterwards.

“Yeah.”

“Kidou’s known the whole time?”

“Well, I never told him anything outright, but you know Kidou. He’s freaky smart. Figured it out himself.”

“I can’t believe him.”

“He’ll probably be happy to hear we sorted things out.”

“Kiss me again."

  ◇

  When Jirou woke up the day after the next to find his head felt like someone had repeatedly slammed a soccer ball into it and he couldn’t eat any food without throwing up, he knew exactly what the cause of it all was.

But it was completely worth it.

  Koujirou Genda >>> Kidou’s ‘busy’ after school, so I’m coming to visit you on my own.

  Jirou Sakuma >>> :)

[offtopicoverload]

Whispers

Grateful whispers muttered in the dead of night, hushed and vulnerable.

replaying blades and i would die for Nia, so have a little ficlet

T Rating (i mean, theres the usual blades stuff of violence, but not any extra warnings)

Nia x MC (Cleo)

~5.6k words (i didnt edit most of this but at this point i dont care im sick of this)

-

“Alright, Priestess? Enjoying yourself?” Cleo asks with a grin, settling down beside the slowly dying fire while fiddling with her bowstring, gaze flickering between light eyes and the weapon in her hands.

Nia returns her smile, eyes briefly meeting amber and the orange light playing within them, “Yes, this pilgrimage has proved quite eventful so far.”

Cleo barks a laugh, eyes lifting to flicker amusedly at Nia, “That’s one way to put it.”

“It’s true,” Nia leans closer, her face lighting up in excitement, “I never expected to be face to face with an owlbear! It was so…” she trails off, lips contorted as she searches for a proper description.

“Big? Smelly? Stupid? Loud?” Cleo supplies, a small bemused smile on her lips.

“I suppose, though I was thinking more along the lines of ‘one of a kind.’”

“Owlbears aren’t one of a kind, Priestess.”

Red hair flies around Nia’s shoulders as she shakes her head, “The experience was one of a kind. This journey to the Temple is one of a kind.”

“That depends on if you plan to get attacked again, then it’s definitely not one of a kind,” Cleo leans backwards, her elbows propping her up as her gaze scans the eager Priestess before her.

“I assure you that I have no such plans.”

“Good, wouldn’t want you getting hurt.”

“No? Would that not give you another opportunity to showcase your abilities?”

“Yeah, but that’s - that’d be awful,” Cleo averts her eyes, fumbling upright once more and turning back to her bow, staring at the wood intently as heat rises in her cheeks.

“I believe the same could be said for you, putting yourself in danger for us.”

“I mean, I guess, but I’m getting paid for it, while you’re, you know,” slender fingers rise to tug at white dreads anxiously, words tumbling out of Cleo’s mouth without care, “You.”

“That’s -” Nia chuckles nervously, a neon blushing painting her skin, “You’re too kind,” she mumbles beneath her breath.

“Just, um…” Cleo jumps to her feet, dusting herself off before grabbing her bow, “I’m gonna head to bed, Priestess. Uh, good night,” and turns on her heel, hurrying away from the campfire.  

Nia’s eyes follow her retreating form, skating along her figure, “Hey, Cleo?”

Cleo spins back around at the last second, only a step away from her tent, but with a smile on her face, “Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.” Another grin, firelight illuminating exposed teeth before that bright smile slips into the shadow of the tent.

---

“Hey, Priestess,” Cleo stops beside Nia, leaning against the tree behind her, hands fisted together before her. The forest’s sounds are in the distance, echoes of an argument between Mal and Threep even nearer as Cleo’s honey eyes trace the shape of the trees. “Are you doing okay?” she asks softly after a long pause.

Nia gives a stiff nod, her gaze never straying from her hands as they lay knotted together in her lap, fingers fidgeting restlessly. Her shoulders are tense,  her brow is furrowed, and her jaw’s clenched as a million emotions flit through her mind.

“You sure?” Cleo prods, standing straight as her gaze inspects Nia carefully, “I’m, you know, here if you need anything. Promise.”

“It doesn’t really seem real,” the words come fast from Nia, hurried and tumbling over one another, like she’s worried if she doesn’t rush them, they’ll never make it out of her mouth. “That he’s gone, I mean. Just like that.”

Cleo nods in understanding, settling beside Nia on the grass, her legs folded before her as she picks at the foliage, “I know what you mean.”

“I’m sorry,” Nia blurts out, eyes wide and panicked as she takes in the sorrow on Cleo’s face, the waves of grief in her bright eyes and the mountains of loss weighing down her shoulders.

“Don’t be,” Cleo shrugs, shaking her head a beat later, “I should be saying that, I was meant to protect you.” She scowls down at her hands, tearing apart a piece of grass in frustration.

Nia’s palm rests on her forearm, squeezing comfortingly, “You couldn’t have possibly done more than you did. That was - We stumbled upon the Shadow Court.”

“Still,” Cleo shrugs her off, ripping a dead leaf into tiny remains, “They’re gone, and I’m the one with the weapon.”

“Only Scholar Vash is gone, Cleo, and there was no way to help him. We did all we could,” Nia reassures, finding Cleo’s forearm and squeezing again. “But we can get Kade back, and we will. Promise,” she squeezes again, pouring as much sincerity into the gesture as she can muster.

“Alright, Priestess,” Cleo manages a wavering smile, and this time she doesn’t pull away, doesn’t steal her arm back, just lets Nia’s hand rest there.

Nia nods, her thumb brushing along Cleo’s skin, “And - and thank you. For protecting me already, and everything else,” she whispers.

“Anytime.” Cleo’s hand finds hers, squeezing.

---

The ship tilts violently to one side, the interior of the hull sliding with it as a yelp sounds from above Cleo, quickly muffled a second later. She extracts herself from the bottom bunk, glancing around and finding the boys asleep throughout the space, and pokes her head up.

Nia’s back is to her as she grips the railing surrounding the bunk, the Priestess curled in on herself as Threep lays at the foot of the bunk, his tail tucked under his chin. “Nia?” she calls quietly.

The woman in question turns to face Cleo, Threep shifting slightly at the movement. Her hands are tucked beneath her head, eyes bright in the low visibility of night, shining and gleaming in the few stray rays of light, and blinking innocently.

“Are you okay?” Cleo asks as soft as she can, gaze even softer.

“Yes…”

“You sure? You seemed, uh, kinda startled.”

“The waves are startling,” she frowns, her features pinched as she props herself up on one elbow.

“Right, sorry,” Cleo fights a smile at the indignant glower staring back at her. “So you’re okay?”

“Yes.”

Cleo shrugs, muttering, “Okay,” as she sinks back to her bunk, laying back and staring blankly upwards. Her fingers tap against the back of her palm as her hands rest on her abdomen, knit together with fiddling thumbs.

“Hey, Cleo?” Nia’s voice hesitantly asks, curls falling past the edge of the upper bunk.

“Yeah?”

“I, um, I can’t sleep.”

Cleo smiles privately before flying upright again, pausing just before Nia’s face hanging over the edge of her bunk, “How can I help, Priestess?”

Nia darts backwards, cool air filling the space between them, so much cooler than it was for just a fraction of a moment, “Um, maybe with a distraction?”

Cleo beams, her teeth glinting bright, “On it.” She jumps, hopping the barrier surrounding the top bunk and landing beside Nia, hovering over the Priestess with a wicked smirk, hair creating a curtain to separate them from the rest of the world.

Nia squeaks, jolting backwards as a blush alights along her cheeks and ears, “Oh, Gods,” she murmurs under her breath. She covers her flushed face with her hands, fumbling to sit upright as Threep hisses at the disturbance of his sleep.

“We’ll be quiet,” Cleo whispers to him, sitting back on her heels with arms crossed over her chest as she glares at the nesper.

He glares right back from over his paws, hissing one last time in warning. Cleo hisses back.

“Alright, Priestess,” her frown drops away as she turns back to Nia, leaning forward with her palms spread on the bunk, “Let’s talk.”

“About - About what?” Nia’s hands lower, revealing still-stained, but moderately-less-so, cheeks.

“Hmm…” Cleo hums, low in the back of her throat, a deep, intoxicating sound like dark liquor. “Ooh,” her face lights up, eyes flying up to catch Nia staring at her, “What about the boys? What do you make of them?”

Nia clears her throat, sitting upright and attempting to ignore the blush on the back of her neck, “I think they’re quite all right.”

Another mischievous grin curves Cleo’s mouth, “That’s it? C’mon, Priestess, you’ve got to have more to say than that.”

“I assure you, I don’t,” Nia huffs, crossing her arms over her chest in protest.

“Not even about Tyril? And all his haughtiness? Or Mal and his ridiculous stories?”

“Well…”

Cleo crawls closer, turning until her back is resting beside Nia’s, “Ooh, the Priestess has something bad to say,” she elbows Nia in the ribs and wiggles her shoulders for effect.

“Not bad, per say…” Nia drawls, avoiding eye contact as the tips of her ears turn bright red and her hands fidget restlessly with the tips of her hair, legs crossing and uncrossing nervously.

“You don’t have to say anything, I’m just kidding,” Cleo’s teasing tone falls away as she puts some distance between them, gaze turning earnest in the dim cabin.

“I know, but -” Nia exhales with a tiny frown, “Tyril is so stiff, he’s like a statue!” she whispers loudly. “And Mal! He’s a thief and proud of it!” her eyes are wide, scandalized as she gapes at Cleo.

“Wait ‘til I tell you about mercenaries.”

Nia playfully slaps at her thigh with a scowl, until Cleo’s laughing and covering her mouth to avoid waking the others, her chuckles barely subdued as she leans against Nia for support.

“Do you mind?” Threep hisses once more, glaring up at the pair from his spot at the foot of the bed.

“I’m so sorry, Threep, my sincerest apologies,” Cleo turns mockingly serious in an instant, her hands clasped before her in a plea.

“Good,” Threep huffs, crawling into Nia’s lap and curling into a ball, his purrs resuming as Cleo scratches behind his ears.

“Such a simple kitty.”

His teeth gnash at her hand, “Never call me something so cruel again.”

“Got it, boss,” Cleo salutes him, her expression serious again as Threep sighs, dropping his head to his paws and burying his face in his fur. “You two are getting along, I see,” Nia hums, her palm skating along Threep’s back, a purr sounding in response.

“We’re the best of friends, right Threep?”

“Yes, indeed. Now can we go to sleep?”

Cleo nudges Nia in the side, her head cocked curiously, “Well? Think you can sleep now?”

There’s no expectation in her irises as she blinks, but Nia still dips her head to avoid Cleo’s gaze. She shakes her head, scratching Threep to give herself a distraction from the irritation she expects from Cleo.

“Alright, but we need something else to do, since you’re no good at gossip,” she slumps against the hull, thinking deeply as Nia blinks at her in surprise.

“Um, okay…” She mimics Cleo’s posture, sinking into the bunk and pulling Threep closer in her arms.

“Oh, I know! I could tell you a story! One of my favourites that Kade always told. Well, he’s probably better at it, but I can try?” Cleo offers, eyes glowing as she sits bolt upright, eager at the opportunity.

Nia smiles, whispering quietly, “I’d love to hear it, Cleo.”

Cleo sits beaming for a moment before coming to her senses and beginning her story. She speaks in hushed whispers, gesturing wildly as her smile grows wider at every giggle from Nia, “And then the troll just whacked the adventurer with his club! Just whack!” she mimics swinging a club in a wide, uneven arc. “And down the mountain the adventurer went, hitting his head a lot, too, I imagine,” she nods sagely, Nia stifling another giggle at her earnest expression.

“So the adventurer gave up?”

“Of course not, that’d be an awful story!” Cleo chastises. “He climbed the mountain again, but this time, he had a plan,” she carries on, detailing every step of the adventure and subsequent defeat of the troll.

“Thank you,” Nia whispers, the words barely there as she settles against the bunk, idly dragging her nails through Threep’s thick fur as she watches the tale further unfold before her.

Cleo pauses mid-sentence, her cheeks flushed from her vigorous storytelling, and turns to meet Nia’s eyes, “Anytime,” before falling back into the ridiculous tale with ease.

---

Cleo’s curled up in her bedroll, face pressing into it with eyes shut tight to block out the dying embers of the fire resting before her. Stars and swirling colours play behind her eyelids, a rainbow to watch as sleep evades her.

“Hey, Cleo?” Nia’s voice is gentle in the night, barely audible over the snores ripping through their camp.

“Yeah?”

“Are you awake?”

“Yeah.”

“... I can’t sleep,” Nia confesses, her cheeks heating as she stares at the stars glowing in the night sky.

Cleo rolls over to face her, bedroll pulled up to her chin as bright eyes peek out from it, “Me neither. Wanna… talk?” she proposes, eyebrows jutting upwards.

“Yes, please,” Nia sighs in relief, scooting closer and snuggling into her own bedroll.

“So… How about -”

“Do you think we have a chance?” Nia blurts out, cutting Cleo off abruptly, eyes piercing into amber.

“Like…” Cleo’s brows furrow as she runs through the question in her mind, before she shakes her head, clearing it of the fog, “What?”

“Do you think we have a chance to defeat the Shadow Court? Do you think we can do this? Or are we just making things worse? Has any of this been worth it since Scholar Vash died?” Nia’s words explode from her mouth, rushed and panicked and worried and mixed together.

Cleo rises onto her elbow, one hand escaping from her bedroll to gesture calmingly, “All right, I think you need to slow down and take a breath, okay?” she nods encouraginly.

“Okay.” Nia clamps her jaw shut to do as told, inhaling deeply and exhaling quickly a few times.

Cleo squirms closer, stopping directly beside the Priestess’ curled up form, “Nia, are you scared?” she whispers cautiously into the tiny space between them.

“Terrified.”

“Good, me too,” Cleo grins, relaxed and reassured as opposed to the mischief and excitement usually contained within it.

Nia gapes, mouth hanging open as she stutters for a response, “Really? You?!”

Cleo flaps her hand with a tiny frown, “Shh, shh, don’t wake up the snorers.”

“Right,” Nia nods, regaining herself, “Sorry. But… you’re scared?” she asks incredulously, her voice pitching high.

“Oh, yeah,” Cleo nods, her expression surprisingly serious, “Can I tell you a secret?”

Nia nods vehemently, hair stirring around her, “Yes, of course.”

Cleo sucks in a deep breath, “I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m a kid from a tiny village that met a pretty - That got caught up in all this Shadow Court stuff and is just trying to stay alive and get my brother back. I have no idea what I’m doing. Ever.”

“I don’t either, Cleo. I know I’m supposed to be good at this, being a Priestess and all, but this is very out of my depth,” Nia squeaks.

“I know, Priestess,” Cleo grins at the panicked expression on Nia’s face, “But do you feel better now? Talking about it?”

Nia pauses, eyes flitting around at nothing in particular, “Yes,” she nods resolutely, “Yes, I do.”

“Good. Now try to get more sleep before dawn.” Cleo rolls back over, her back to Nia as she wraps her bedroll tight around herself. She tunes back into the snores from across camp and the hoots and calls of birds, the purring of Threep a few feet away.

“Hey, Cleo?”

“Yeah?” she mumbles into her bedroll.

“Are you awake?”

“Yeah.”

“...I’m cold.”

“Uh,” Cleo’s eyes blink open before she glances over her shoulder, Nia’s gaze already trained on her, “Do you want me to restart the fire?”

“No, you’ll wake the others,” Nia whispers in concern.

Wiggling in her bedroll, Cleo faces the Priestess once more, “Do you want the extra blanket?”

Nia shakes her head with a small frown on her lips, “Imtura took it since her bedroll is too small.”

Cleo’s lips twist into a frown as she stares at the stars, searching for a solution. Her cheeks heat as soon as she finds it, and she stumbles over her words, “Do you, uh, want to, er -”

She sighs as her tongue betrays her, scooting over and tugging her bedroll open in invitation, “Just,” she waves her hands awkwardly, avoiding looking at the Priestess as her face remains flushed dark.

And Nia’s blushing just as hard as she squirms into Cleo’s bedroll, attempting to keep some distance between them and ultimately failing in the small space.

Cleo lays still, arms set at her sides as she faces upwards, refusing to meet Nia’s imploring gaze beside her, “They’re going to make fun of us in the morning,” she mumbles.

“They always do,” Nia shrugs, light eyes wandering over the rise and fall of Cleo’s profile curiously.

“Yeah, but we don’t have to give them a reason,” Cleo huffs, crossing her arms and subsequently stirring the bedroll.

Nia cocks her head, frowning deeply as her eyes swim, “Are you kicking me out?”

“What -” Cleo’s eyes fly to hers, “No! No, I’m -” she bites her tongue at the sight of a smile spreading over Nia’s lips, mischievous and self-satisfied all at the same time. “Gods, you’re just as bad,” Cleo whines, dragging a hand over her face.

“It’s funny when you’re flustered. You aren’t often,” Nia hums.

“Yeah, ‘cause - Look, just go to sleep,” Cleo cuts herself off, turning her back to the Priestess and her amused grin and burying her face in the warmth of the bedroll to the warmth of her cheeks.

Nia slides closer, arms folded against her chest as her forehead presses between Cleo’s shoulderblades. Her head shifts with Cleo’s inhales and exhales, a gentle, hypnotic rhythm to lull her to sleep as the breaths slow, weighed down by the startings of dozing off.

“Hey, Cleo?” she whispers, the words hot where they soak through Cleo’s shirt.

Cleo grumbles out a response, “Yeah?”

“Are you awake?”

“Yeah.”

“...Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Cleo sighs out, sinking further into the bedroll as Nia’s own breathing slows gradually, a drawn out tempo to match.

---

The woods are relatively still, sounds of life echoing in the distance, bouncing off the trees and playing in the breeze in a faint melody for Cleo’s entertainment. She’s on first watch tonight, carefully sharpening her blade just to keep her hands busy and humming quietly to herself, a song from the Riverbend tavern.

“Hey, Cleo?” Nia pads over to the tree Cleo’s sitting at with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, taking careful, quiet steps, wary of the sticks and leaves beneath her feet and glancing between her path and Cleo.

“Yeah?” Cleo moves her bow from one side of her, leaving space for the approaching Priestess.

She stops at the trunk of the tree, peering down at Cleo with a smile, “Mind if I join you?”

“‘Course not, the more the merrier. Er - Sometimes.”

Nia drops to the forest floor, legs curled beneath her and blanket held tight around her body, “Why only sometimes?” she murmurs, shivering slightly from the chill of night.

“Don’t want the Prince getting any ideas,” she sneers in the direction of Baldur’s tent, quickening the pace at which she sharpens her sword momentarily.

“Mmm,” Nia hums, shifting closer.

Cleo’s eyes land on her, taking in the shaking of her body, “Cold?”

“A little.”

“C’mere,” Cleo wraps an arm around her back, pulling her into her side and her body heat. Nia sighs, her head falling to Cleo’s shoulder and eyelashes fluttering shut in contentment.

“I still can’t believe we saw a unicorn,” Cleo says after a long moment.

“I know!” Nia perks up, her head flying up to meet Cleo’s eyes, excitement overflowing from them. “It was magical! This whole clearing is magical,” her gaze rakes over the clearing, landing on the shimmering water a ways away.

“Know what else I can’t believe?” Cleo nudges Nia with her hip to earn back her gaze.

“What?”

“That Baldur hasn’t been punched back.”

“Cleo!” Nia lightly slaps her side in a scolding, but only succeeding in sending Cleo into a laughing fit, “He’s - He’s a prince!” she chastises, whispering heatedly under her breath.

Cleo’s chuckles begin to subside as she forces out a retort, “Exactly, no one else is gonna do it, it’s gotta be one of us!”

“Shh,” Nia waves her hand to quiet Cleo, “What if he hears?” she hisses.

“I can take him,” Cleo nods resolutely, raising her free arm and flexing to the amusement of a now-giggling Nia. “Prince Jerkface’s got nothing on me. I killed a drakna queen!” she announces proudly, chest puffed out.

“I’d rather you not fight the crown prince,” Nia’s head falls back to Cleo’s shoulder when her giggles subside, snuggling further into Cleo’s side.

“Hmph. Fine,” Cleo grumbles, her palm skating up the length of Nia’s back absentmindedly.

“Cleo?”

“Hmm?”

Nia’s cheek presses further into Cleo, “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Cleo’s head drops to Nia’s, a single red curl twisting around her finger.

---

The bedroom door open, slowly and loudly, the hinges’ creaks filling the room as red curls peer cautiously around the frame, “Hey, Cleo?” a hesitant voice calls into the room.

The woman in question shifts upright, glancing over her shoulder at the curious eyes staring at the back of her head, “Yeah?”

“You’re awake.”

Cleo smiles, “Yeah.”

Nia shuffles inside, closing the door behind her and cringing at the loud creaking. She stands awkwardly, shifting on her feet nervously before Cleo, “...I can’t sleep.”

“Do you want to hang out here?”

“Yeah.”

“Come here, then,” Cleo grins, scooting to make room on the edge of the bed beside her.

Nia crosses to her, dropping beside Cleo and folding her legs before her, picking at her gown as Cleo lays back, gazing up at the Priestess. “Well… she drawls after a long moment.

Light eyes flick up to meet her gaze, “Well what?”

“Well why are you up?”

“I can’t sleep.”

“Why can’t you sleep?” Cleo prods, circling a spot on Nia’s thigh with her index finger idly.

Nia only shrugs, turning back to pick at her gown to distract herself. Cleo sighs, sitting upright in front of Nia, cupping her jaw to draw her gaze, “What’s going on and how can I help?”

Red spreads across Nia’s skin, hot to the touch as she blushes furiously, but she refuses to look away from Cleo’s vibrant eyes. “I, um. The masquerade,” is all she manages, but it’s enough for Cleo’s palms to fall from her cheeks.

“Yeah,” she nods, “Going to a fancy party just to fight evil isn’t exactly the most calming thing to think about.”

“What if we fail? Or someone gets hurt? What happens if Kaya wins?” Nia rambles, her breath coming quicker as panic builds inside her chest, “What if - What if something happens and - and -”

“Hey,” Cleo stops her in her tracks, tone stern and eyes ablaze, “We’ve got this, okay?”

“But what if -”

Cleo gives her an exasperated look, silencing Nia for the second time. With a sigh, she offers her hand, palm upturned and fingers wiggling teasingly. A small smile illuminates Nia’s features as she slips her hand into Cleo’s, their fingers tangling together as Cleo’s thumb traces delicate knuckles. “We’ve got this,” she whispers, almost too quiet to hear.

“We’ve got this,” Nia repeats, squeezing the hand in hers for reassurance. “We’ve got this,” one last whisper as she pulls her knees to her chest, her head lolling against Cleo as she slows her ragged breathing.

“We’ve got anything they can throw at us. Promise.”

“Yeah. Yeah,” Nia murmurs reassurances to herself as Cleo’s thumb continues circling her skin, the presence grounding. “Cleo?”

“Hmm?” she hums, attention on their interlocked fingers as the plays with Nia’s.

“Thank you.”

“Anytime,” she whispers against Nia’s hair, pressing a kiss to her head while her eyes stay trained on their fidgeting hands.

---

The sheets are cold against Cleo’s skin, the warmth from earlier gone as she stirs, eyelashes gently fluttering open. It’s dark in the dead of night, moonlight noticeably absent as she shifts into a sitting position, rubbing the sleep from her eyes when she reaches it.

A groan spills from her lips as she slumps forward, every muscle protesting to just go back to sleep, but she fights the urge, slipping out from the bed and crossing the room to the massive windows and the cracked door, star and city light mixing to guide her.

She steps onto the terrace, carefully closing the door shut behind her, just to find Nia standing beside the railing, her arms folded atop it. A breeze lifts her hair from her shoulders, sending it flying behind her, curls swirling in a sharp contrast to the harsh dark sprawled before them.

Whitetower stretches out against the horizon, vibrant rooftops and candlelit windows providing a splash of colour against the black above them, only the peppering of stars shining in the sky tonight.

Cleo joins Nia at the railing, taking in the sombre expression on her face as she stares out at the city, warm lights reflected in her bright eyes. Only their dimmer tonight, blank as the sky without its moon, “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“What are you doing out here?”

She sighs, fingers fidgeting with a strand of hair, “I couldn’t sleep again.”

Cleo nods, letting silence fill the space as she carefully curls her arm through Nia’s, their bodies drawing closer together as they lean against one another. “It’s nice out,” she hums, eyes trained on the lights of the night market in the distance.

“It’s beautiful,” Nia echoes, breathless at the sight before, a gorgeous painting come to life, “I missed this,” she exhales slowly, some tension dropping from her shoulders. Her eyes flick up to Cleo’s, “Not - not that I regret anything, or wish I never went and met you, or -”

Cleo silences her with a soft kiss, only lasting a second before her forehead is falling against Nia’s, “I know. I know,” she murmurs with a smile, eyes drinking in the blush painted on Nia’s cheeks.

“Okay,” Nia nods, ears still red as another spell of quiet fills the balcony, the pair simply leaning against one another as a rainbow of brilliance shines in their irises, swirling and coalescing into perfect little slivers of the beauty before them.

Nia rubs her arms, attempting to force heat into them to counteract the cold winds blowing through the sky.

“Are you cold?” Cleo instinctively starts repeating Nia’s motions, running her palms over the lengths of slender arms.

Nia smiles sheepishly, “Freezing.”

“Let me fix that, then,” Cleo chuckles under her breath as she steps behind Nia, slipping her arms around her cool body, palms on the back of Nia’s freezing ones. “Your hands are like ice,” she groans, pulling them towards Nia’s core in search of further heat.

“And yours are like fire,” Nia giggles, even more when Cleo ghosts feather-light kisses over her jaw, her neck, her shoulder, just to watch her squirm. “That tickles!” Nia protests, writhing in Cleo’s arms.

Cleo grins against her skin, “Yep,” before planting one final kiss to Nia’s cheek, her chin dropping to her shoulder to stare out into the dark horizon.

Nia sighs, sinking into the warmth of the body behind her, wrapped around her, supporting her like always. Like in the woods or on pirate ships or in crowded ballrooms, against Shadow Court members and terrifying creatures and their own team members, like always. “Thank you.”

A soft smile illuminates Cleo’s features even more than the city’s lights as she squeezes the woman in her arms, “Anytime. I kinda like keeping you warm.”

“I meant for everything, Cleo.”

“Oh,” she pauses at the intensity in Nia’s voice, the sincerity and earnesty overflowing from the sentence. “Well, it still stands. I’m always here. Promise,” and drops another kiss to Nia’s exposed shoulder and squeezing her tight again.

---

Darkness swirls, shadows engulf the space in rolling, trembling vengeful waves as shouts and clashes of steel echo through the vast atrium. Bodies lay littered in heaps, blood is thick in the air, and anger and hatred crowd the hall. So, so much hatred, enough to drown in it, to let it rip you apart from the inside out, to become buried in an avalanche of pure, unending hatred.

Cleo’s legs tremble beneath her, the weight of the world resting heavy on her shoulders as tears cascade down the length of her face, blurring her vision until nothing coherent remains. Her blood pounds in her ears, drowning out the sounds of a vicious battle around her as she grasps desperately at the hands held in hers, fingers interlocked in a silent, desperate plea. A plea for everything to be okay, for none of this to be real, for the black in Nia’s veins to be nothing but a bad dream.

Through tears, she watches, helpless as Nia retracts her hands, clutching at her head and bending at the waist, pain painted across her features in a grimace. Her entire being quivers, shaking in her skin, trembling as everything she is tries to rip her apart from the inside out. Cleo tightens her hold on the hilt of the blade resting in her hand as sobs tear through her vocal chords, ripping apart her throat as she pours every ounce of her being into the only words she can summon, the only words that feel at all close to enough: “Forgive me.”

The bright, glowing blade buries itself in Nia’s sternum, her features contorting as shadow and light battle within her, as her eyes and skin and veins and everything burn with the force of the Light as it attempts to vanquish the darkness within her. And all Cleo can do is watch, can let the lump in her throat sit and grow as a body collapses before her, limp and empty and lifeless, all because of her, because she has to be here, she just has to.

She has to be the one, she has to do this. She has to be, she has to, she always, always has to, to be the one. She has to, to see her fall, has to, to see the pain, has to, to hold her, has to, to lose herself, has to, has to, has to. She has to suffer for letting her go, has to face her broken promise, has to accept her failures, has to, has to, has to, has to, has to.

Cleo bolts upright, her chest heaving as sweat drenches her clothes, hair sticking to her damp brow. Her eyes take a moment to adjust to the dark, to the familiar bedroom surrounding her, to the moonlight glinting through the open window, to the presence beside her.

Her knees press to her chest as her shoulders tremble, hands slipping into her hair to grip dreads tight in an attempt to steady herself. She squeezes her eyes shut, blocking out the moonlight in favour of the pulsing flashes of darkness and shadow as she counts each breath, weighing each inhale and exhale carefully, methodically.

Her pulse gradually slows from the thundering beat it once was, now a dull throb in the back of her skull, a thrum in her veins, an ache in her chest. The echo of her terror is gone, but likely not for long - it always finds its way back, snakes its way inside of her heart and eats away at her, devouring her with her own guilt until she’s bursting at the seams. It may have been years ago, but the memories of that day, of that scene, of that overwhelming, all-consuming loss that had gripped her feel far too real in the dead of night.

Cleo slowly unfurls from her hunched position, stretching back out with a steadying exhale, the tension previously held within her muscles disappearing as she stares at the ceiling, at the shadows and figures formed by stray moonlight. The branches of the fruit trees outside shift in the gentle breeze and along the ceiling, that same breeze billowing the curtains and sending a constant, calming scent of sweet fruit floating through the air.

The body next to Cleo stirs ever-so-slightly, heat slipping closer to her and soaking through her skin, settling within her bones in a manner more comforting than any campfire, than any hot meal, than any blanket imaginable. Cleo rolls onto her side, carefully slinging an arm over the rise and fall of ribs, fingers tangling in the very tips of long, soft hair and playing with them, relishing the well-known sensation on her fingertips.

Her forehead presses against the one before her, soft exhales slowed by sleep ghosting along her lips as eyes flutter beneath closed lids, the gentlest of movements. Stray strands of red tickle high cheekbones, inhales raise exposed chests, dim light plays off sharp contours and soft curves.

“Hey, Nia?” Quiet permeates the room, settles along the furniture like a layer of dust, reaches the farthest corners like a familiar companion. A companion that’s become far more common in the time since that awful day, a day followed by ones with less and less nightmares, less and less haunting memories, less and less sleepless nights.

She sinks further into the sheets, relishing the softness of the fabric and the warmth of the body beside her, her senses drinking in all of Nia. From shadowed features to delicate breaths to floral scents emanating from messy red curls, it’s all so perfect, all so carefully crafted as moonlight dances along her skin, “Thank you.”

[fydream]

44 | previous | next | m.list | main m.list |

a/n: hi yes! another differently formatted chapter! word count is 2.2k, so it’s not that long. also this semi-proof read sorry (meaning i did proof reading and editing while writing it but i didnt give it one last over view.. again, sorry) hope u like it! :D 

You sigh as you swing your legs back and forth from the countertop you were sitting on. Currently, you, Renjun, Chenle, and Jeno were all at Hyuck's house hanging out. Your sigh catches the attention of Renjun which prompts him to ask "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." You say, trying to brush it off.

He furrows his eyebrows. "It's not nothing. If it's bothering you this much why don't we talk about it?"

You pout at him, hoping he'll pick up a sign that you don't want to, but still he insists that you tell him what's wrong.

"Well.." You mumble. "Jisung said he wanted to talk to me tonight.."

"Sorry, what?" Renjun asks. "I didn't hear you."

"Jisung said.. he wanted to meet up to explain everything." You say, a little louder this time.

"Jisung what?!" Renjun exclaims, getting the attention of everyone else in the room.

You sigh in defeat as you watch Jeno tense at the name of his ex-friend.

"What's this about Jisung?" Jeno asks.

"Nothing." You mumble, trying to find something else to talk about.

"No no, it's okay. I won't be upset." Jeno reassures. "What about Jisung?"

"He wanted to clear up a few things with me." You answer, glancing at the clock propped up on Hyuck's kitchen wall.

Donghyuck seems to notice how fast your eyes move and asks "Tonight?"

"Yeah. In like an hour or so actually." You confirm.

"Are you sure you want to go?" Renjun asks you.

"Well.. yeah. I kinda want an explanation."

"Are you sure?" Chenle asks. "Like, one hundred percent sure?"

"Yeah?" You nod, confused on why they seemed so concerned with you meeting up with Jisung again.

"Why?" He asks.

"I literally just told you why." You answer, annoyance prominent in your voice.

"Okay." Chenle says, backing off, hands raised in defense.

"Do you, uh, need a ride?" Donghyuck asks, hoping to clear the air a bit.

"Yeah, sure." You agree, hopping off the kitchen counter. It takes him back a little, he wasn't expecting that kind of response, especially that quickly.

"Oh, uhh, now?" He asks as he watches walk towards his hallway.

"Uh, yeah?" You say as he looks at his two friends and his boyfriend confusingly. They shrug in response. You can hear Chenle say "Hey man, you offered to drive. Not us."

You pause in between the end of the hallway and the entrance to the kitchen to watch the four boys start to quarrel.

"Jeno, you'll come with me, right?" Donghyuck asks and Jeno shoots him a look.

"Are you insane?" Jeno responds. "I don't wanna talk to him."

"You're not going to talk to him. Y/n is."

"Okay, then I don't want to see him."

"Fine." Donghyuck scoffs, before turning his head to look at Renjun and Chenle who were already saying no.

"What are you gonna do?" He asks them.

"We're gonna watch your house. Duh." Chenle responds.

"Actually. They're gonna watch your house." Renjun corrects, pointing at Jeno and Chenle. "I'm going to watch Chenle."

"Whaaat!! That's not fair!" He protests.

"I trust Jeno more than you." Renjun retorts back.

Donghyuck sighs in defeat. "Fine. Just don't do anything stupid." He says, turning to walk towards you and you can see the three boys cheer behind him. It causes you to giggle, and Donghyuck is just happy you're happy.

Once out of his house and into his car he asks you where you're going. You tell him not to worry and that you'll just give him the directions on how to get there. It only worries him more.

"I dunno y/n. It seems kinda sketch."

"Listen I know you don't trust the guy, but you trust me, right?" You ask.

"Yeah.."

"Then trust me, that it'll be okay."

"Okay." He sighs. "You lead the way."

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" Donghyuck asks as you step out of the passenger seat to his car.

"Yeah. I'm sure." You sigh.

"Okay.. Just. Call me if you need me. I'll be nearby, okay?"

"I'll be fine, Hyuck. Don't worry."

"Whatever you say.." He mumbles before rolling up his window and driving away.

Walking to the only other human like figure around you, you start to wonder if Jisung is really worth your time. Sure you missed the time you spent together, all the hours in the library studying and having stupid debates over the simplest things like, the best ice cream flavor, or how to write the number eight. Yeah you missed it, but was it really worth going back to? You could do these with anyone, even the new friends you've made so far this year. But for some reason, it was different with Jisung.

Maybe it's because you did like him. Or maybe it's because he was really different from your other friends. Yes you love Hyuck, and Renjun, and Chenle to death but it was nice having someone else to talk to, someone who didn't know everything about you, someone you could make different memories with.

"You came.." He says. It's not loud, but it's not quiet either. It's enough to snap you out of your thoughts though.

"Yeah." You nod. "I wanna know.. the truth. And only the truth."

"Do you promise to believe me?" He asks.

You don't respond for a second, you just stare at him with a blank face. You can tell that his eyes are shaky and you can't tell if he's about to cry or not.

"I don't want to make a promise I can't keep."

Needless to say, you could practically feel Jisung's heart shatter.

"Okay." He nods. "Where do you want me to start?"

"I don't know? The beginning?"

"Oh.. Right." He mumbles. "Well um.. You- You see.. It started like- uhm- like."

"So are you gonna tell me or are you just going to keep stalling?"

"Uhh."

"I mean. I can wait, I do have all night for your information." You spit, crossing your arms. "Do you? Or do you have another date planned after this? Y'know, one where you lied to another other girl too?"

"I- What? I don't have another 'date' after this.." He defends. "I've.. I've been alone for the past month and a half.. What are you talking about?"

"So I've heard."

"Look." Jisung sighs, you notice that he looks tired. "I don't wanna fight. Can we just start over?"

"Okay Park Jisung, we can do whatever you want." You scoff. "Hi! I'm y/n l/n, I came to have a conversation. Are we going to have one, or not?"

"You want me to start at the beginning?" He yells. "Fine then! I'll start at the beginning. I'll tell you whatever the fuck you wanna hear!"

"It's true! In the beginning of the school year I was bored and was looking for someone to date. But then I met you! And you were different!"

"Oh yeah? Well I bet you tell that to every girl you meet!" You yell back at him.

Ignoring what you said, Jisung decides to continue. "For some reason something clicked with you. I don't know what it was and I don't remember when, but something just clicked. You really were different. I started enjoying your company a lot more and everything just felt right.. around you."

"This is bullshit." You mumble before turning to walk away. Part of you didn't want to leave because you knew what he was talking about, something clicking. The other part of you decided that this was probably all a lie. "If he's lied to me before he'll do it again." You think trying to convince yourself to leave.

"I'm sorry, Jisung." You sigh. "I really want to believe you, trust me, I do. But you've told me things before.. and you lied to me about them. So who's to say that you aren't lying to me right now?"

There's no response. He just looks at you and you can see the small bits of hope leave his eyes. "Okay." You sigh with a nod before turning to leave. You get pretty far away when you hear him yell your name in attempt to get you to stop walking away from him. "Before you go.. can I please just tell you something?"

You let out a tired sigh. "What is it?"

"You don't have to believe me." He starts. "But you remember that night we spent together? The one right here? In this exact spot?"

You nod. "You mean the night that you lied to me?"

Your words sting, but he decides to continue anyways, trying his best to not show how much that hurt him.

"I meant everything I said that night.. All those words I said were true y'know.." He whispers. "I miss you."

"I miss seeing how your eyes lit up.. And I miss seeing your smile.. I still see it every now and then, but it's not directed at me and it just hurts. I miss our silly disagreements and how we'd drag them on for what felt like ages. I miss driving you home because even though they were silent drives I felt safe and comfortable with you there. It didn't have to be loud like when I drove around with my other friends. I miss the little dates we went on, and ye-yes you'll never hear me say it again but they were all dates. I miss that day at the mall.. before everything went down. Do you remember?" He asks.

You nod again. This time it's smaller and more subtle.

"Y'know.. That's the day I started realizing I liked you." He admits.

Closing your eyes you whisper, "Stop talking."

But he doesn't listen. He just continues.

"You were playing some dumb game.. I don't remember if it was a claw machine or ski ball but it was something.. You were so focused. You even stuck your tongue out a little.. you got so into it."

"Stop talking." You say again, louder this time.

"You looked so pretty.." He sighs. "And you were so excited when we raised enough tickets to get a bag of candy for ourselves. They kicked us out because we sat on the air hockey table, remember? I don't know if they'll ever let us back in there, but it was fun while it lasted." He laughs.

"I said stop talking!" You practically yell, turning to face towards him.

"Why?" He asks, giving you a sad look.

"Because I don't want to remember that day." You sigh.

"Why?" He asks again.

"I don't wanna say why."

He takes a step closer to you. "You can tell me anything."

You sigh in defeat.

"Did you feel it too?" You ask him and he nods.

"So you know?"

"I do."

"Then why do I have to say it?" You ask.

"Because if you say it, then it's like you're accepting the truth."

"I don't like how you know what I feel." You mumble to yourself as he takes another step closer.

"What if I don't.. say it?" You ask.

"Then just give me a sign." He says.

"Do you miss me?" He asks. By this point the sun has gone done, and if weren't only you two here you probably wouldn't have heard him.

You nod. "I do."

"Are you mad at me?" He asks.

You nod again. "I am."

"That's okay." He says. "I understand."

This time, you take a step back.

"Do you wanna be mad at me?"

Instead of responding this time, you ask, "Why do you get to ask all of the questions?"

"I never said you couldn't ask any." He says while you shoot him a glare.

"Okay then." You start, deciding you were going to play this little game with him. Taking a step forward you ask, "Why did you choose me?"

He shrugs. "I dunno. You were new."

You scoff at his response. "Predictable."

Thinking of a better question to ask him, you say, "How can I believe you?"

"You can't." He responds. "You just have to trust me. Do you trust me?"

"I do."

He nods.

"Okay."

"Do you trust me?" You ask him, breaking the pattern you two have created.

"I do." He says, echoing your answer.

You nod.

"Okay."

"So.. What now?" He asks.

"What do you mean?"

"What do we do now?"

"Ah." You sigh. "That's what you meant."

"Well.. Yeah." He says. "I don't know if you know this but.. this is the closet we've been ever since.. what happened. Yet it's still the furthest we are from each other."

"Can you just shut up, for once?" You ask, voice playful in tone.

Jisung hears it and he gives you a small smile, liking the sudden change in atmosphere. "I dunno.. Will I?" He jokes.

"You're silly." You say, while a smile starts to form shortly after.

"..Can we start over?" He asks, and you can tell he's being serious.

He looks scared. Nothing like the same boy who you saw just a second ago, the one who was starting to be comfortable with you again.

"I'd understand if you didn't want to. Or if you don't want anything to do with me anymore after this. I just thought.. it'd be the right thing to ask."

"Do you promise not to break my heart?" You ask.

"Only if you promise not to break mine." He responds with a smile.

"No promises." You say, grabbing his hand and interlocking it with yours.

"Hey!" He exclaims. "You can't do that!"

"Yes I can. I just did."

"I'll take this as a yes then?" He asks, a giggle following afterwards.

"Yeah. You can take this as a yes."

✰ how to be a heartbreaker

↳ so what happens when park jisung, the school’s infamous fuckboy runs into the new girl at school? out of boredom he decides it’ll be fun to have someone new to play with, but little does he know, she’s learning how to be a heartbreaker.

[bnhaficsforthesoul]

idk if youre still taking requests but can you please do a toshinori yagi x reader where the reader shows up at his house with a 2 year old and he finds out that´s his baby, i need more toshinori x readers aaaaaa

I hope this doesnt suck I didnt edit it haha

Taking a deep breath, you knocked on the large door in front of you. You had come here on an impulse, more so for the benefit of your son than yourself. He was getting older, now 2 years old, and you knew he would need his father. Every time you looked at the boy - who bounced happily beside you as you told him you were taking him to meet the ‘superhero man’ of his action figures - you were reminded of Toshinori, those bright blue eyes being practically identical. 

You heard some quiet foot steps coming towards the door from inside of the large house, and braced yourself. What were you going to say? How were you going to tell him that the child in front of him was his? Should you tell him at all? 

Before you could answer any of your questions, however, the door opened, and the tall man stood in front of you - eyes immediately widening at the sight of you. “Y/n… hello…” Toshinori was obviously shocked at your arrival, having not seen you in almost 3 years when you decided that you would both be better off if you broke up.

“Toshi… hi… Sorry for coming so suddenly, especially after not reaching out for all this time. But,” You paused, wondering what to say as you saw Toshi’s eyes travel down to y/s/n, who had let out a small ‘All Might!’, recognizing even his lean form, “my son wanted to meet you. You’re his biggest hero - and I couldn’t say no to him when a friend mentioned that I used to know you.” It wasn’t a complete lie, a friend had mentioned to him that you used to know All Might, but he didn’t care as much as you’re making it seem.

“Your son? You had a son… Congratulations Y/n - Ah! Come in, I’ll get some tea.” He ran off to the kitchen before you could say anything, so you walked into the house, closing the door behind you. Your son ran in happily, waving the All Might plushie he carried in his arms around, “Mama - All Might!”

“I know baby, that’s All Might! Isn’t that cool!” He nodded, very excited at the situation, and Toshi walked back into the room with a cup of tea as well as a cup of orange juice for y/s/n, who took it gratefully. 

“I can’t go into my big form for that long, but I’ll play with him for a bit.” You smiled at Toshi, who was still watching your son as he sat down on the couch, swinging his legs and drinking his juice. “Thank you Toshi…”

It was so obvious that he had questions - probably how old y/s/n was, who was the father, and if that was really the only reason you came. You knew you needed to tell him, you only hadn’t before because you felt that it would put a brake on his successful hero life, but now that he was retired - maybe he could have more of a role in his son’s life. 

“Toshi, can I talk to you… In another room?” He nodded quickly, thankful that you were going to give him the answers he desperately wanted, and stood up to take you into the next room over as you spoke to y/s/n, “Mommy’s gonna go talk to All Might real fast, okay baby? Be good and drink your juice, I’ll be right back, then you can play with All Might.”

He nodded with a toothy grin, excited to play with All Might, and exclaimed “Okay Mommy!” You smiled back at him before turning and following Toshi into the kitchen, giving y/s/n one last glance to make sure he was okay before looking up at the confused man in front of you. 

“How old is he?” 

“He turned 2 last month. He’s growing up so fast…” You smiled softly, even though you weren’t necessarily expecting to have a baby when you did - you couldn’t be happier that he was born. Whatever happened, it was for him, y/s/n is what you’re worried about right now, so if that means telling Toshi that you had only broken up with him because you were scared for him, but now you want him back in y/s/n’s life, it was worth it.

“Who’s the father? Do I know him? You’re not wearing a ring… did something happen?”

Bracing yourself, you took in a deep breath and looked him in the eye, “Toshi, you’re the father.”

Luckily, he didn’t take it badly, and instead just sat down in the wooden chair behind him, silent for a moment as he collected his thoughts. “Is he why you left me?” You nodded slowly, “Ya… I didn’t want you to have to stop being a hero for him, and I know how you always worried that a villain would come and kill me - I didn’t want you worrying about him too. I figured it would be best for you.”

“Did you ever think that maybe I wanted to have kids with you? Or that I would love him regardless of my situation as a hero?” You were a bit taken back by this - of course you had thought of it, you knew he loved kids, but you acted through what you felt was best. “I did… I’m sorry, I know I acted selfishly, but I’m trying to make it right. You don’t have be with me again, but he needs a father... “

At this, Toshi stood back up and walked over to you, pulling you into a hug and placing his head on top of yours. “Y/n, I don’t think I ever stopped loving you… I don’t know how you feel about me, but either way, I want to know my son.”

Tears began slipping out of your eyes - you couldn’t help it, all these emotions that you had buried years ago were digging their way back out, and this could not have gone any better! But of course, before you could respond, you heard the little pattering of footsteps and then a tug on your pants.

“Mama, ‘m bored…” You looked down to y/s/n’s grumpy face, having deemed the 2 minutes you’ve been gone too long. He was waiting to play with All Might though, so you couldn’t be mad at his impatience - he had every right to want to hurry things up. 

“I’m sorry, but All Might is ready to play now, so how about you go out there and he’ll come in 5 seconds~” Once again, he nodded happily and ran back into the living room, and you smiled at Toshi who was still hugging you.

“Well go on, go play with your son.” He instantly smiled, nodding and pressing a chaste kiss onto your forehead before standing back and shifting into his muscle form, dramatically running into the living room exclaiming “I am here!” to y/s/n, who let out a scream in excitement. You didn’t know what the future held for your family at this point, but for now, y/sn had a father, and Toshi was back in your life. So, for now, you were content. 

[vanchlo]

The Assistant / Chapter Twenty Seven, “Meet Me in the Hallway”

New to the story or want to catch up? Find all chapters HERE! :-)

Ok I didnt forget this time :/

                           *  SNEAKYYYYYYYYY PEEK TIME *

“Why’re you annoyed I said that? Is it ‘cause that’s what you want? Did I expose your secret fantasy? ‘Cause ya know you can still go and date him, maybe it’s even easier now that you don’t work for him anymore.”

“Robbie, stop.”

“I can keep a secret. Scout’s honor.”

“No, you can’t! You always say that and it’s never true. And you were never in Boy Scouts,” I scoff, holding onto tufts of his jean jacket.

“I was too! Now, stop avoiding the question. Why won’t you give Harry another chance?” Robbie continues, veering back to the topic I so conveniently changed.

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Hmmm, I don’t think I believe you, Ree,” Robbie tsks. “But I’m going to get the truth out of you one of these times.”

P.S - I apologize for any spelling/grammar errors or stuff that should be bolded/italicized that I missed, I already edited this chapter on here a few times and Tumblr kept losing it ugh. 

Enjoy!

“I don’t know,” she replies, yanking at the corners of my heart. A sigh escapes my lips when I feel my heavy head fall into my hands. “M-my dad,” Becky continues, but her words collapse into tears before too long. 

I almost tell her that I already know, but my lips stop just in time. I don’t want her to get mad at Asher. And if I’m honest, our secret elevator meetings to talk about her are the highlight of my week. But my lips search for something to say. The sound of her tears is all I can hear, no matter how badly I ache to take them away. 

“He has c-cancer, Harry,” Becky says, her words tumbling out sloppily. They pull at my heart again, making it fall another notch. 

“Fuuuuuuuuck . . . . ’m so sorry, Becks . . . . Are ya okay?”

“No, w-why would I be? How could I be?” she responds, her words falling out fast. 

“Becks . . have ya been drinkin’, love?” I ask tentatively, wincing when I hear her groan. 

“I don’t wanna ‘ear it. Imma grown woman. I can bloody drink if I want t’ and-,” she argues, her voice steely. I’m caught off guard by the confrontation, and it only makes me feel worse. 

“Tha’s not what I meant, love. I jus’ . . . ,” I try, my train of thought fleeing me. All of my thoughts do, because I wasn’t expecting this. I don’t even know if I’d have any better idea of what to say if I’d had notice she was going to call. That she was going to remember who I was for the first time in 9 months. “Are ya atta pub? Cuz I jus’ wanna know yer safe. I can leave an’ give ya a lift home if ya need,” I finish, unsure of how she’ll take my words. 

She’s quiet and it only makes the scary thoughts buzz louder in my head. 

What if she gets the idea to drive herself home?

What if some drunk bloke bothers her and she can’t fend for herself?

What if she tries to walk home in the rainstorm?

What if she keeps drinking, not knowing when to stop?

What if-

“No, I’m at home. In me bed. I’m not st- dumb, Harry,” she slurs, showing me a side of her I’ve never seen. We’ve had drinks together before - in my office or rarely at a pub. But she never got drunk before. 

“I don’ think ya are, bug,” I counter, the nickname falling effortlessly from my tongue. “’m really sorry ‘bout yer dad. D’ya know how bad it ‘s yet?”

“Noooo, other than that ’s somewhere . . . like in uh Stage 2 . . or somefiing,” Becky answers, her words all over the place. “It’s t-the prostate. Ya know that fing that uh . . . is . . where ‘s it ‘gain?” One of her many words that don’t make much sense.

“Ya I know what it ‘s an’ where. I uh have one of ‘em,” I finish for her. I’m rewarded by hearing her decadent laugh. A sound I’ve craved and missed for so long. I missed it more than I thought I had, I realize as a smile pulls my cheeks upwards. 

“Oh ya. I uh kinda forgot ‘bout dat,” she titters, encouraging a chuckle from my now smiling lips. 

But her laugh fades first and mine follows. Because she didn’t call to laugh at my lame jokes, or to catch up on things we’ve missed in each other's lives. No, not really. 

“He’d been ‘aving pains. So bad he can’t eat, or use the uh loo . . He told me when we was there wit’ Robbie and . . . . he looked baaad,” she tells me, her voice catching on the last word. I feel my heart shudder in pain again, and suddenly I realize the validity of the second-hand pain phenomenon. “And I jus’ dunno ‘ow I’m gonna do dis. I wanna help him and take care o’ him . . . But I’m t’ree hours ‘way and . . . I just dunno how t’ do dis.”

“There’s no real setta rules, love. No guideline or brochure fer how t’ handle it . . Ya jus’ gotta do yer best, an’ love him . . ‘m sorry,” I tell her, not knowing what else to say. 

“You’re sorry?” she laughs, pulling my eyebrows into a knot. “Tha’s a firssssst.”

I listen to her laugh some more, savoring it. But I’m also confused and a little offended. But then it stops abruptly and I hear her sniffle. “I’m the one whoooo should be sorry,” she begins, tears lacing into her words. And taking all of mine with them. “You’re just trynaaaa help, and I’m bein’ mean and rude just like I always am to ya. Ughhhh, I dunno why I even called.”

“No, ‘s okay. Yer goin’ thru a lot an’ . . . I appreciate ya callin’. I jus’ hope ‘m helpin’,” I say quickly, dropping a hand in defeat. It finds its way to my pants and I pick at the loose thread that’s been bothering me all day. 

“But I am, Harry! I’m mean and I make no sense a-and I’m jus’ loadin’ onto ya. But I dunno who else t’ call, cuz ’m tryna t’ be strong forrrrr Robbie. And not worry Skye, an’ I jus’ dunno what t’ do, Harry,” Becky says, the last of her words dissolving into sobs. Biting my lip at the sound of her crying into my ear, I keep biting and biting as she cries. I yank at the thread and feel it dig into my skin, but I don’t let go. “I don’t wanna lose me dad afta I already lost you.” 

It takes a few seconds of telling myself, but I slowly release my bottom lip. I huff, swiping my tongue across my lips. I taste the metally blood coming from the stinging cut. And then the warm taste of salt joins it on my tongue. Pressing my lips together, the pain only intensifies. But I let it stay as tears roll down my cheek. My finger burns, but only for a few short seconds when I finally rip the thread from my pants. It doesn’t compare to the pain I feel inside of my chest, like a vice around my heart. Tightening and throbbing. 

The line grows silent, but I know she’s there. Because I hear her shallow breathing, and the occasional sniffle. And I know that she’s still crying, because I hear the whimpers that she tries to hide. Even if she is drunk. And the pain only keeps coming, because I hate that I can’t do anything to stop hers. Nothing at all. 

“I miss ya so much, Becks,” I whisper, not believing the words coming from my mouth. But they feel good. Freeing. Almost exciting. 

“I . . . I do too, b-but I can’t go down that road ‘gain, Harry. I- I can’t do this,” she rushes. I hear noises on her line, but I can’t get out the words before the it goes dead. Silence.

I feel my phone slide from my hands slick with tears. It falls to the floor with a thud, but I hardly hear it. Because her voice is drowning out the sounds of everything else. 

The thunder. 

The rain falling harder by every second. 

I press the pads of my fingers into my eyes and let my own rain fall. My fingers grow wet with every tear. Every single one I held in as her voice graced my ears. The tears that grew from the pain I heard in her voice. From when I heard about her dad’s diagnosis. And I think the ones I’ve been pushing away for a long time. 

The rain welcomes a friend, and I join the drops drilling against the glass until the storm passes. But I know that although the storm inside of me passed for a little while, that it’s only come back stronger. The velvety sofa cushions and pillow welcome my tired body. I fall into a fitful sleep with her comforting voice dancing through my head. The only place I can see her again, and where I didn’t fuck everything up.  

+

“Don’t worry, Becky. We’ll get this all figured out. You just do your best and take care of yourself and your father. Keep me updated on what you learn, and if you need extensions. Alright?” 

“I can’t tell you how grateful I am,” I reply emphatically. 

He nods before patting my arm and telling me to have a good day. I return it before leaving his office and feeling the slightest weight leave my shoulders. That was the easy part, I think to myself as I find my way through the twisty halls. 

Looping my arm through my other backpack strap, I turn a corner and keep walking. I feel my heartbeat start to slow down after that nervous meeting with Professor Alcott, finishing up my afternoon of meeting with my professors. I couldn’t even believe the words leaving my mouth to grace their ears. 

My dad was diagnosed with Stage 2 prostate cancer recently. We still don’t know a lot, but I wanted to let you know. I plan to still stay enrolled in the program and I’m committed to my courses. At the same time, I’m going to do what I can to take care of him. I will keep you updated as I learn more, but there are still a lot of unknowns at this point and . . . , I think, pausing the track I had on repeat for the last few hours. I had to figure out what to say, then rehearse it, and then say all of those words to the stern-looking expressions of my professors. Two of whom I’ve never even met before, because I’m taking their classes online. But my advisor, Sally, told me it would be best to meet with them in person. It’s more personal and shows your commitment blah blah, she said. 

I’m just glad to have that part over with, I sigh inwardly. 

The first fallen leaves of Fall crunch under my lace up purple Vans. The crisp air welcomes me. For a few seconds, I lose myself in the beginnings of the changing colors of Autumn. But the incessant worrying thoughts that have plagued my mind sit at the back, ready to pounce. I was rather numb for the first several days. I didn’t know how to function normally. Let alone inform my professors professionally and in person about the events that just rocked my life. I’m relieved that they were all very accommodating and kind to me about the news. But I know that the hard work is just about to begin. 

A U2 song pours from my speakers as I back out of my parking space and start my journey home. I try to lose myself in the beloved lyrics, but it’s hard. When they become too relatable and too nostalgic, I skip it and the stereo player whirs as it thinks. My Spotify chooses a song at random - a favorite by Vance Joy. I roll my windows down and try to sing along. 

I close my apartment door with my foot, sifting through the mail. 

A bill. An advert for Skye. Another bill. Another cosmetology advert for Skye. An advert from my uni. Something Skye ordered from Amazon. A random magazine subscription that I most definitely don’t want to subscribe to. A sheet of Domino’s coupons. And a square periwinkle envelope with my name scrawled across the front. No return address.

My feet stop in the middle of toeing off my shoes. The one falls to the floor with an echoing thud. I swallow and pad slowly over to the kitchen island. Pushing Skye’s mess over, I let the pile of mail fall with a slap. With one shoe still on, I soon find myself sitting on the arm of the sofa. Backpack still heavy on my shoulders. Keys still hanging around my finger. But all I can focus on is the periwinkle envelope in my hands. And that familiar handwriting. 

I hug it to my chest and tap my fingers along it as I think. 

I know what it feels like, but I don’t know if I want to open it. 

Because I know what will happen if I do. 

But I can’t deny the first bubbles of excitement rising in my chest. 

The first feelings of happiness I’ve felt in 11 days. 

11 days since my dad announced that he has cancer. The dreaded C word. 

My thumb does the first rip without me barely registering it. My excited heartbeat eggs me on. I try to rip it neatly, and leave the pretty envelope intact. But I’ve never been good at opening mail neatly. It’s just too exciting. I see the cursive word on the back first. The card company’s name. 

The card is a periwinkle purple, like the envelope. He remembered it’s my favorite. My eyes fall closed without warning when I feel the hard square inside of the card. A sigh escapes my lips. It only grows longer when I feel the tiny imprints the pen left from pressing down hard in the author’s hand. 

Exhaling slowly, I flip the card over and find a saying that I glance over. The cursive words made permanent by gold lettering tug at my heart. But I know that’s only the beginning. My finger pries at the opening and runs along the inside, feeling the bumpy impressions of the ink words. I rip the bandaid off and open it. But before I read anything, I grab a hold of the plastic square. I place it behind the card in my grip. 

One step at a time. 

The inside of the card is painted with sloppy black writing. At the sight of it, I watch my sight grow hazy. Starting at the beginning, I blink and feel the first tear fall when I see my name. 

Harry’s name for me. 

Dear Becks, 

I saw this card and thought of you. The little bunny on the front just screamed your name, and well it harassed me during my whole shopping trip to buy it. Isn’t it just adorable?  It made me think of the story you told me once about the baby bunny you found with your dad that was hurt. You both nursed it back to health before it hopped away back into the woods. Or your Dad called the animal services to take it to rehabilitate it. You said you couldn’t remember. Anyways, it made me think of you and the unimaginable pain you’re going through. You and your family. I never had the pleasure to meet your Dad but I wanted to extend my sympathies. He must be a pretty incredible man seeing how well you and Robbie turned out. You always spoke fondly of him. I know you’re very close to him, and because of that I know this is even harder for you. I’m so sorry. I’ve been thinking of you and your family often, and wishing there was something I could do to help. I’m so sorry, Becks. I really am. I don’t think there’s much else I can say to comfort you right now, or if there is I don’t know what it is. I’d just suggest doing what you can to be with your father during this time, and although it may be difficult to see him in pain, I think you’d be happy if you were there. No matter how things turn out, I think it would mean a lot to the both of you. I’ve experienced grandparents and loved ones passing, and it’s the shits but whoever said that it’s better to suffer together than by yourself was right. But please take care of yourself too. I don’t know what your plans are, but please don’t load your plate too full. Okay? I’m sorry, but you won’t be much help to your Dad if you’re giving yourself too much work.  I’m so sorry that this is happening to you, Becks. It pains me more than you could know to know that you’re going through this. You and your family will be in my thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. Please let them know that. Take care of yourself, please. For you and your dad. If there is anything at all I can do to help please don’t be afraid to let me know. In the meantime, I hope that this Visa gift card will help. I recall you said you’re from Madley and your dad still lives there, which is quite the trip. I hope this money will help pay for petrol, meals, hospital bills, and anything else that may help make you and your dad comfortable. Myles’ brother who’s a doctor knows of some good docs at The Royal London Hospital where he works - if you’re interested, just give him a ring. I’ll be praying for a hopeful diagnosis and outlook for your dad, and that he recovers from this. I hope you’re hanging in there, Becks. Just take it one day at a time.

Harry xxxxx

My chest shakes with a sob as I breathe in, but it’s so hard. And it hurts. Closing the card, I cover my face with it. And feel the warm tears paint my cheeks. I don’t know where they come from or how I haven’t ran out of them yet, but they keep coming. Without knowing it, I find myself sliding off the sofa and down onto the floor to rest against the sofa. Ugly sounds leave my lips and my body shakes with each sob. For the first time in days, there’s a feeling inside of me stronger than sadness for my dad. 

Longing. 

Missing. 

I miss Harry. And I let myself feel all of it. Like I haven’t been letting myself for months. I forgot how much I missed him. 

The way he could make me laugh. 

How he always knew what to say without worrying it being the right thing. 

His sunshine smile. 

His molasses like voice - deep, rich, and syrupy sweet. 

And most of all, the way his hugs fixed me like a bandaid. I feel my heart wrench with everything I miss, but it especially hurts when I think about how much I miss his hugs. And how badly I crave one right now. No, I need one. 

I cry harder at that, because apparently things can get worse right now, I think inside the chaos that is my mind. 

I miss my dad, even though I saw him yesterday when I went back home. And then I miss Harry, even though I kicked him out of my life. Even though I heard his molasses voice the other day when I mistakenly called him after drinking a bottle of wine. 

I miss him so much and it hurts.

I didn’t know that I could even hurt more than I already was. 

And I wouldn’t have guessed that his card warms my heart, and breaks it at the same time. 

+

My thumb wavers over the keyboard of letters, indecisive and lost. I groan and walk away, padding out of the room and into our main living area. 

“You better be getting a snack since you didn’t eat dinner,” Skye calls out to me from her perch on the sofa. 

“Okay, Mom,” I retort, searching the shelves of the fridge. It sounds bad, but it only took Skye a major life event to do a decent job at grocery shopping, I recount. Grabbing a yogurt from the drawer, an apple, and a spoon from others, I leave with my dinner in hand. 

The food falls to my desk with a clatter as my attention diverts to my phone. Waking it back up, I see the words I had typed out before. Without another thought, I press Send. With wide eyes and a shaky hand, I lay my phone face down away from me. I’ve only gotten settled and read a few lines from my textbook when my phone chimes. With teenage jittery excitement, I stare at it for a few seconds before daring to pick it up. My heart does a somersault in my chest at the sight of the name. 

Harry. 

I read over my text first, and then read his. 

Me

Hi. I can’t thank you enough for the incredibly sweet card. The gift card was more than generous. I don’t know which I cried more at. Just THANK YOU. A lot. I don’t know how many times I can say that. It was so kind of you to think of me and my dad. 

Harry

hi! stop it youre more than welcome. im glad you liked the card. i wasnt sure if it was 2 dorky. u better not have cried at it. im here if u need anything. have a good night xxxx 

My thumbs dance around on the screen. But before long, I set it down and try to immerse myself in my textbook. But it’s hard, because all I can do is think about him and our texts. I was texting him and we were talking, my over excited teenage-like mind thinks. But the adult part of it sweeps it under the rug, or tries to. Those two parts fight each other as I struggle to make sense of the chapter I’m reading. Because the teenage girl side wants to text him back, but the adult side argues there’s nothing to say. And that won’t I just get hurt again? I find myself nodding at that. Or more so, the argument it makes about there being no point in it. But the teenaged side reads into his words and grows excited at some of them. Talk about distracting. 

“Oh my god, just stop!” I mutter aloud, covering my ears but it doesn’t work. Groaning, I flip the page and read on. 

He helped and his card stands on my desk now, but I need to focus on my dad. And school. And this fricken boring chapter that I have an upcoming quiz on.

+

Voices carry down the tiled hallways. The sounds of footsteps sound like ghosts around me. So do the memories I have of these halls. Ones that stab at my insides as I walk further into them. I turn a corner and find the light at the end of the tunnel. He senses me and looks up. He shows a small smile as he crosses his arms over his chest. He’s continued to ignore the the circle of chairs in the waiting area. Instead, he leans against the wall nearby the door we’ve been staring at. 

“Is he done with his labs yet?”

He shakes his head no, narrowing his eyes at me. “You said you weren’t going to go and cry in the bathroom, you liar,” Robbie jokes, but I don’t laugh. He purses his lips and holds his arm out for me. 

I walk into them and rest my head on his chest. “Yeah well, you tell everybody that you’re the older twin when you’re not,” I quip with a sniffle. A laugh rumbles underneath my cheek. 

“That’s ‘cause I am.”

“No, you’re not. Dad only said that when we got in fights to make you feel better,” I reply, closing my eyes and listening to his heartbeat. For some reason, his hugs never fail to calm me down. After a fight we had whether we were 5 or 15, when I snuck into his bed at night when mom and dad were fighting, after a pet died, even after a bad day at school, and especially lately with dad’s diagnosis. It only strengthens my belief about the whole twin thing. 

He scoffs in reply and my lips find a laugh. “I want to see our birth certificates and settle this once and for all.” 

I giggle into his warm chest and close my eyes. But then the thoughts and not longer after, the tears arrive. Robbie squeezes me and tickles my back with his fingers.

“They sounded hopeful at least,” he says quietly.

“Yeah, but they want to do chemo before and after surgery.”

“I know, but they said they have to be sure. If things look good when they’re doing the surgery, like clean margins or whatever it was, then he might not need chemo afterwards,” Robbie points out and I nod, feeling the damp spots on his shirt from my tears. 

“He seems like he’s holding it all together pretty well.”

“Yeah he’s always had super strength. Remember in primary when we wrote that dad was our hero-.”

“And mom got mad,” I finish for him, adding my laughter to his. 

“Yeah. And even though we made that superhero poster about him, I never stopped seeing him as a superhero,” Robbie says, slowly trailing off when the emotions steal his words. 

“Bee, stop, you’re gonna make me cry even more.”

He laughs for a second, but then I hear him start to cry. His chest trembles underneath me. I give up and cry with him. 

“Harry sent me a card in the mail,” I sob, hiccuping in between words. 

“He did? I always knew I liked that guy. What’d it say?”

Something half-scoff and half-laugh is my response before I take a big breath. “I don’t know, it was just so sweet and kind. He said that he’s thinking of all of us, and told me to take care of myself. He said he knows it’s hard to see people you love suffering, but that it’s better to suffer together than on your own,” I choke out, tears drowning my words. “The card had a bunny on it. He said he got it because I told him the story of how Dad and I saved that hurt bunny. I wish he could’ve met dad when I still worked there . . And he sent a $150 Visa gift card to use for bills, petrol, and food.” 

“Wow, that’s crazy generous. Wait, what? You two didn’t save it, the animal control people did,” Robbie argues and I just shake my head. “And don’t say it like that. Dad’s too stubborn to die, you know that. And with how much you talk about Harry, I’m sure you guys are gonna get coffee one day and fall in love and get married,” he continues, his voice quickly turning mocking and girly. I laugh and shove him, stepping away with a laugh. 

“What?” he laughs. His voice is still under water, as is mine. “Why’re you annoyed I said that? Is it ‘cause that’s what you want? Did I expose your secret fantasy? ‘Cause ya know you can still go and date him, maybe it’s even easier now that you don’t work for him anymore.”

“Robbie, stop,” I reply, laughing with emotions fighting in my voice. 

“C’mere,” he says, pulling me into his arms once again. “Ya know you can tell me. I can keep a secret. Scout’s honor.”

“No, you can’t! You always say that and it’s never true. You blabbed to the whole 1st grade I had a crush on Johnny Turner. Then, when I gave you a second chance, you did the same thing again in 8th grade with Willie. And you were never in Boy Scouts,” I scoff, holding onto tufts of his jean jacket. 

“I was too!”

“Being it for one week and quitting because you went home in the middle of the first camp doesn’t count!” 

“I still think it does. I have the outfit, sash, hat, and everything still. I made dad proud, and you know it. Now, stop avoiding the question. Why won’t you give Harry another chance?” Robbie continues, veering back to the topic I so conveniently changed. 

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Hmmm, I don’t think I believe you, Ree,” Robbie tsks, his scratchy chin resting on top of my head. We hear the click of a door open, and I frantically wipe my eyes. “But I’m going to get the truth out of you one of these times.” 

I roll my eyes at Robbie as I peer up at him. He winks before sloppily kissing my head. 

“Come on, you rascals. Let’s get outta here before they try to poke me with any more needles,” our dad says, walking out of the room with his jacket folded over his arms. 

I know he knows we’ve been crying, but he doesn’t mention it. I think another secret language is already starting to form between us. With Robbie’s arm around my shoulder, I grab hold of my dad’s hand. He turns to flash a tired smile at me, before placing a kiss on my forehead. 

“Thanks for coming, guys,” he hums quietly as we stop in front of an elevator. His smile tugs at my heart. I’m just thankful to be able to still see it. 

Stepping onto the elevator, he squeezes my hand hard, just like he always has done. “Dad, don’t!” I yelp and he chuckles under his breath. 

After pressing the button for the lobby, I see Robbie’s lips bend upwards. This can’t be good. “Hey, dad, when we get home can you pull out our birth certs? I need to know the truth of who’s really the older twin.”

“Oh god. You two are 25 years old, when is this going to be over?!” my dad huffs, rubbing at his eyes, but with a smile. “Maybe I won’t take you with the next time, since it’s giving you existential crises,” he threatens, and we all fall into easy laughter. 

“I’m gonna have an existential crisis if I found out you’ve been lying to me for my whole life,” Robbie exclaims and we all only laugh harder. 

+

My backpack and coat fall to the floor with a heavy thud. With a yawn, I bend over to grab my things. The sound of chattering surrounds me. It slowly grows in volume as I sit there tiredly with my head down. I hear footsteps, laughs, and the scuffling of moved objects. 

“Wake up!” a voice nudges at me. I groan angrily in response and hear laughter in response. I peek through a crack in my arm to find Ruby’s crazy red hair bobbing next to me. My newest friend from Criminology. “Just ‘cause we have a guest speaker today, doesn’t mean you can sleep.”

“Oh, that’s today?” I reply excitedly, returning to the warm cocoon of my arms. 

“Yeah, but we still have to take notes. Ya know like last Wednesday when we had our first guest speaker? We had to write down questions for them, even if we don’t end up asking them. Alcott just wants us to get thinking and to well, pay attention. And not fall asleep like somebody! And then we have to write down 8 things that interested us, so get unpacking,” Ruby replies, her chipper voice drilling into my ears. 

“Noooooo,” I moan, scrunching my face in secret. 

I hear the door to the lecture hall close with a loud bang and Alcott laughs. “Alright, you lot, look alive. Our guest speaker has arrived and is ready to dazzle you this rainy Wednesday morning. Remember to be working on your page of ‘Ahas’ whilst he’s speaking. You’ll be passing it in at the end of class which is in 50 minutes,” Alcott announces. His Southern accent coming out in a few of his words. 

“Shitttttt. I think I might like this guest speaker. Look at him, Becky. He is fineeeeeee,” Ruby whispers, elbowing me hard in the arm. 

With a whimper, I sit up with a secret stretch. Combing my hair back, I rub at one of my eyes as they both struggle to focus. 

“What, who’s fine? What’s fine?” another voice blurts out. I squint and look over to find Simon taking the seat on the other side of me. The little Criminology trio back together again. 

“Not you being tardy, that’s not fine,” Ruby retorts with a smirk in her voice. I can’t help but smile. Simon flashes one at me as he combs a hand through his sandy hair after digging in his backpack. 

“So without further ado, I’d like to introduce our guest speaker today. Harry Styles from Styles and Lawson. Let’s welcome Mr. Styles with open arms and give him our undivided attention, please.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I mumble under my breath, coaxing a confused ‘what’ from Ruby and Simon’s lips . 

“Hullo, class. My name ‘s Harry Styles, but ya can call me Harry. Ummmmm as Professor Alcott said, ‘m from tha London law firm Styles and Lawson. Me mate, Myles Lawson, makes up tha otha half o’ tha firm. This year it’ll be 5 years since we started tha firm togetha, which ‘s bloody crazy t’ me. Before, it was his dad’s firm, and long story short, Myles an’ I got togetha an’ here we are. Anyways, I make me rounds in London talkin’ t’ law classes. I’ve always enjoyed speakin’ t’ tha incomin’ lawyers an’ tellin’ some o’ me stories. An’ me favorite part - answerin’ questions. I thought ‘d start with how I got into law, tho’.”

Shit. I really should’ve known this would happen.

“Nothing,” I reply. “J-just hand me a piece of paper and a pencil, please,” I say briskly to Ruby. 

The last thing I want is to make a single sound that will bring attention to me. But it seems like the universe doesn’t really care lately what I want. I’m already trying to figure out my odds of him spotting me in the sea of 50-so students. Amongst 35 or so ogling girls. Typical.

But the more my eyes focus and my ears attune themselves, I lose myself. I knew it wasn’t a dream when I heard the first word from his mouth. I’d know that voice anywhere. But when my eyes finally focus on the towering figure standing at the front of the room, my eyes struggle. Gone are his long curly locks, and replacing them is a short and curly quiff. I try to ignore the somersaults my insides are doing, but it’s terribly difficult. 

Taking a deep breath, I savor listening to the words fall from those smiling cherry lips. In that slow, calming voice. Never being able to remain in one place, he paces around the front of the room slowly. Clad in a gray suit with a black button down, I slowly melt next to Ruby. Who from her choice of words, is doing about the same. Just in a less graphically described way than her. I can’t blame her, because somehow he has only gotten more handsome over the last year. 

“Isn’t he just so nice to look at?” she croons. 

“Oh yes,” I reply without thinking, and she sighs happily.

Simon groans in disgust, shaking his head. I see him out of the corner of my eye playing with the lead in his pencil. He tries to take it out in one piece before putting it back in. Rinse and repeat.  

I bite my lip and somehow tear my eyes away and to the paper sitting in front of me. I scribble my name across the top. Numbering my page, I write down the first ‘aha’ I have. 

1. Renowned lawyer with his own firm at 28. Almost unheard of. 

Tapping the pencil absently at my thigh, I return my attention to the front. Playing with the rings donning his hands, Harry continues with the story of how he came to be a lawyer. One I can’t say I’ve heard before. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he starts to walk again. Changing his focus from somebody in the front row, it suddenly floats up. 

And lands on me. 

Not only am I surprised, but so is he. The pencil between my fingers halts and altogether falls from my fingers. He stops mid sentence when his eyes lock with mine. My insides grow bubbly as a sparkle gleams in his eyes. I watch a grin unfold on his lips before he composes himself. 

Clearing his throat, he asks, “I-I’m sorry, can somebody uh remind me what I was sayin’?” 

Nervously, he combs a hand through his hair. Laughing, he thanks an eager girl in the front row when she reminds him. And soon enough, he’s back on track with a new nervousness to his voice, or excitement. I’m not sure which. And his eyes trail back to me after a few words, making a smile tickle at my lips. 

Although hard, I look away and pretend to think of something to write. Feeling another pair of eyes on me, I look over and find Ruby’s hot on my cheek. I shrug at her jealous look and she just shakes her head. I laugh under my breath and she kicks me under the table. 

I lose myself in Harry’s words for the rest of his talk, his maple syrupy voice like music to my ears. 

He talks about starting his law firm with Myles.

Some of his favorite cases.

His first case.

His worst case.

His hardest case.

And then he goes on to answer questions. Ruby and I aren’t the only ones fawning over him, because most of the class is as well. Some girls are really flirting it up with Harry. He just relishes in the flattery, to no surprise. I try not to notice the few times he peeks at me when he looks for somebody to call on with a question. 

“Why does he keep looking at you?” Ruby whispers to me as I write down another ‘aha.’ Some random takeaway from another story of his. 

“How am I supposed to know?” I reply, twiddling with my pencil when I’m done. “Why don’t you ask him a question already? I can see the ants in your pants, Rube.”

“I don’t know, I think her question would be if he was single,” Simon jokes, garnering a few curse words from Ruby. I quietly laugh between their hushed argument. 

“Well, ‘m gettin’ tha eye from Alcott, so I reckon that my time’s up with you lot. Thanks fer havin’ me an’ hopefully I wasn’t too boring t’ listen to,” Harry concludes at the front of the lecture hall. 

I pretend I don’t hear Simon’s griping next to me. I can’t help but smile as I slide my backpack onto my shoulders. 

“Not so fast, everybody. What do we say to Mr. Styles for speaking to our class today?” Professor Alcott pipes up. I join in on the class-wide thank you as I hand Ruby her pencil back. 

“I bet you’ll be awake and ready for Wednesday lectures from now on,” she says, winking at me. 

I roll my eyes with a grin as I start down the steps beside her. “Like you’re any better. I saw you both drooling from the corner of my eye,” Simon remarks. 

“Maybe,” I say quietly, stuffing my hands into the pockets of my pullover quarter zip. The last syllable falls from my lips as my eyes pan over to find his head of dark curls.

Nearly at the uppermost row, my view wasn’t the best. As I near closer to him, his features sharpen and with the realization, my heart squeezes in my chest. Light stubble coats his dimpled cheeks as he smiles talking to a classmate of mine. 

I’m only a few footsteps from the bottom now, following the slow line of people who are leaving. The angel and demon, for lack of better words, argue inside of my head. Should I go and say hi? 

Yeah, why not?

No, why would you?

It would be rude if you didn’t.

It would be weird if you did. 

But there are a handful of girls around him probably already flirting with him. 

With an indecisive sigh, I clench my fists inside of my pockets. The two opposites inside of me clash, and I truly have no idea what to do. His card the other day was so kind and thoughtful. But I was a bitch the last time I saw him. I can’t believe it’ll be a year in two short months since I quit. Wow. 

“I dunno why they’re bothering, it looks like he’s taken,” Simon snickers, earning a flick on the head from Ruby. “Don’t be a bitch just because I pointed out the truth. Can’t shoot the bloody messenger, Rube.” 

I don’t intervene when Ruby chases after Simon to the door. Suddenly my feet stop around the corner from the stairs. Only a few more steps and he’d be out of my sight. 

Again. 

For who knows how long until next time. 

I can’t take my eyes off of him. He really looks like he’s enjoying himself talking to law students. Up close, he really has grown more handsome over the last 11 months. I never thought that could be possible. Smiles crease his cheeks.And light up his eyes. 

But when his left hand habitually goes to fix his quiff of curls, I see the gold ring Simon saw. He wore rings, but never that one. It’s like my heart is brought up from the bottom of the lake where it’s been, and takes another nose dive back down.

“Becky!” somebody calls for me. I blink and almost think it’s him. But when I look around for the culprit, I find Simon walking up to me. 

I find it hard to squash the disappointment weighing inside of me. That it’s not Harry. 

“Sorry, Si. W-what’d you say?” I reply, tearing my eyes away from Harry. 

“Don’t look so sad he’s taken,” Si jokes quietly, putting an arm around me and squeezing my shoulder. I force a smile and walk to the door with him. “Wanna go get a coffee? Maybe that’ll cheer you up,” he suggests happily, his voice echoing in the hall to the door. 

“Yeah sure,” I respond slowly, unsure of my words. I let him guide me out of the lecture hall and into the busy hallways. 

Wow, Harry, you moved on from Amber that quick, huh? I think to myself with knitted brows and self-doubt. Swallowing, I try to push the nagging thought away. But I can’t, and I find myself barely able to carry on a conversation with Simon. 

I thought seeing Harry in my lecture was one of the sweetest surprises. Instead, it feels like a happy dream that turned into a nightmare at the end.  

[th3okamid3mon]

La Liga de los 5, México has their own heroes [SPOILERS]

Superheroes are very popular now days, kids love them very much, so let Anima Studios jump into the opportunity to tell the story of group of heroes with unique and not orthodox superpowers. Mexicans have a new group of heroes and they are spicy! 

Sinopsis:

After their parents passed away, Chema and Dolores have been living together while hiding. After using her powers and getting the attention of the main villain, she gets kidnapped and is held to be used for a ritual that brings back the worst evil the world has seen. Now Chema has to look for his parents´ comrades to save his little sister before it´s too late. 

Art design and animation: 

Let me get something out of the way: people always talk shit about this studio and about any animated Mexican movie. Mexican movies tend to be either gross humor and obscenities when it comes to animated movies, at least the ones with Huevo Cartoon, even Mexicans talk shit about their own studio! I hate that. Animation here is complicated to take out, people get inspire and do try to give something, to tell a story they believe in and show their creativity. People inside and out of the country have to understand we dont have the same resources but we do try to make something good. Ana y Bruno might not have looked pleasant but what it doesnt have in animation it has in character development and story. La leyenda de la Nahuala might have looked awkward, but the story and the effects (at the time) looked and gave slight horror to the kids who watch it. It´s a try and fail, it´s been a REALLY long time for animation in Mexico and this creators are trying their best, the main things they are using to tell stories might be viewed as over the top but those are practically the main parts of our culture. Of course there´s more, there are legends and places and such but for the love of god give the studio and the creators a break. They are trying to entertain you, they are trying to tell a story of bravery, of family, of accepting one self. STOP SHIT TALKING ABOUT MEXICAN MOVIES AS IF THEY ALL SUCK. THERE ARE PLENTY OF GOOD MEXICAN MOVIES, OLD AND NEW. SAYING MEXICAN MOVIES SUCK IS NOT A PERSONALITY TRAIT, CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM EXIST, YOU ARE NOT COOL FOR HATING A MEDIA. 

Now where was I? Right. 

As always, Anima Studios amazes me with their different animation skills and artwork. Maybe for some people who are used to Pixar or Dreamworks this doesnt look appealing, but hey, it looks way better than I thought, this is actually an improvement from previous works. Their style is recognizable and distinguish. If you dont know which studio is Anima or what they´ve done, maybe you´ve heard of La leyenda de la Nahuala. No? How about Legend Quest? Yep. They made Legend Quest. 

The character design is always a treat, everyone look different from each other and always pop in their own ways. Even the background characters look different from each other, this people actually take care to make sure everyone looks unique. For some reason they didn´t use as many models as they used too, it look pretty empty in comparison to their other works but considering this is AN OPERA PRIMA from Maverick Núñez I think they did a really good job. 

The main protagonists also come in different shapes:

Just... Look. You can tell everyone apart. 

The backgrounds  are really eye catching to being waaay too different from the main characters animation, that´s like they common thing now. I dont really mind, they capture what A MEXICAN CITY LOOKS LIKE NOT LIKE OTHER USA OR WHATEVER OTHER COUNTRY PORTRAYS IT. I can´t find many pictures since it has been almost a week after it came out. 

The animation looked very fluid, one thing that is really awesome is that they use different types of animation, you have the main 2D and they mix up the 3D animation for villains and other models of backgrounds. Sure it pops up but it doesn´t do it as awkward as before, they made sure to blended a bit better. The effects are fitting and blend WAY better than other movies they´ve done. It looks part of the characters and part of the animation than a separated after effects thing. Anima Studios has improved a lot. 

Sound and editing: 

I don´t know if you know this, but sometimes some Mexican movies have troubles with sound, general sounds. Sometimes they are way to loud, other times way too low, then it has too much noise or sounds like a sound taken from the internet. This is one of the reasons some people don´t like Mexican movies, though the ones I´ve seen so far have improved more (And let me tell ya, Hollywood movies sometimes have sucky sound too. Really bad sound design sometimes, specially for horror movies and they HAVE A BIGGER BUDGETS! For example: The Conjuring used 20 000 000 dollars, Belzebuth, cost around 191 500 dollars. Like... Bruh). 

In this case the sound design was on well done, it wasn´t over the top and the sounds made sense. effects for the cars and the steps do sound like they were done. The designers really tried and accomplish, the dialogues were at the same volume and never were uneven. I liked they didnt use a lot of popular songs, Pachuco was actually a good song for the car chase scene. The music? BOI. I loved it. For some reason they have this whimsical and epic music and I have no idea where they got it. Even in La Leyenda de la Nahuala they always had this type of music: really well made, fitting to the scene, perfect between events and its not over used, letting the silence spaces to be silent and/or letting the background sounds do the job. 

The editing had a really fast pace. I´ve notice lately that a lot of animated movies are really fast now or feel really fast, this was way too fast. There´s not exactly enough time to breath, the events pass so quickly you have to pay attention to what´s going on. Even at moments where there has an emotional moment it passes so fast because of a next action. At some point they slow it down but then it makes it fast again. I think the main problem is the time, it is a 1:30 movie like many others but I feel this movie was longer than that so they had to reedit it to make it go faster. Plot is understandable, just fast. 

Writing and Characters: 

Ah, shit! Here we go again. I like this studio, I like the movies they´ve made (not all of them. Agente -P2? seriously, guys? That was a dark time...), but the writing has always been slightly awkward for me. Sometimes they have too many pauses or what they say doesn´t land correctly. I thought it was the voice actors but no, guys. The voice actors are really good, we have a lot of talent. In general is the writing. They did improve a lot, the pacing and the dialogues were cleaner and sounded natural but for some reason this one has the same problem in certain parts. It´s not like people dont talk like this I think its the pauses that make it weirder. Other than that, the story of the origins of the main 2 is not really original. Then again, as I said before, Originality is a lie. The characters and their powers are the original part. The tale of two siblings that become orphans and have to hide because the main villain is looking for them is old, its what happens around and how the characters act that matters. 

It could have used a bit more of a build up, maybe more interactions between the siblings to know them better. The opening scene and introduction was great, it shows you the characters, what happened to the parents and then you flashforward to the main two in their... teenage years? I think they are teens. It´s perfect, but other than that we don´t know Chema or Dolores that well, we know Chema is careful and gets worried a lot while Dolores is a bit more carefree and cheerful, and they interact and you can tell their personalities. i just think it could have used a bit more of their relationship. Dolores powers involve turning into a ghost, flying, going through walls and apparently, being a vessel to bring the evil Dr. Vampire. 

The other 4 characters are La Tuna, Catrina, Tetlepanquetzal and Tin Martin. 

Tin Martin is kind of annoying to me. He is smart and builds the different gadgets the heroes use, he is really useful and also the comic relief though he actually shows he cares about what I presume are his nephews. Its really competent in his area, all the gadgets he provides work perfectly which is odd to me, its usual for this type of guys to have something that doesnt work. It´s a nice change. 

La Tuna is a wrestler and has a goofy look, but this guy knows how to fight and really well. He is extremely strong, as strong or more than Tetlepanquetzal, and he actually has a soft side that isn´t shown as a weakness. He gives advice to Chema when he is down and encourages him to be brave and to believe in himself. Chema is really insecure because of his powers that are to make everyone get spiced. I´m not kidding, his power is to make the air spiced, like if you take chilli peppers and throw them in peoples faces, he does that without having any peppers around. Tuna tells him to believe in himself because his powers dont define him, Tuna had issues too because of his short stature and his powers are becoming prickly and secreting slimy substance (you know, like a nopal. Tuna is a prickly pear) but tells him his father told him that non of that matter, what really matter was who they were inside. Its a really nice and touching scene, Chema is a kid who had to grow fast and misses his parents and now he has a couple parental figures to help him with whats troubling him. 

Catrina is kind of a fresa? Like a rich queen or something, or its portrayed like that. Stylish and such, but she is loyal and does care about his friends and dont diminish them, she only teases them because they´ve known each other for a while. She is powerful, summoning bones to be use as armor and to kick the bad guys butts. Catrina has a strong personality, not taking shit and trying to focus on every situation, she is practically the glue that keeps the team on track. 

Tetlepanquetzal is the most left out character there is. He is silent, his expressions are ok but he doesn´t provide with any remarks. He does his job, his power is really cool too. He transforms into any animal he touches for a certain amount of time. He is the extra muscle, Tetlepanquetzal is smart but really goofy, due to having animals characteristics from the transformations he does  lot of goofy stuff but other than that its just like a silent wall. Strong wall that is. 

The villains... We have 2 which one of them I have no idea how it´s called. They never called him by his name in the whole movie. One of the henchman calls him boss so I will call him by that. Boss is a pyrotechnic mastermind, he controls the fireworks and uses that to destroy everything. He is the one that wants to use Dolores and open a portal to bring Dr. Vampire (which is the second villain). The reason? He used to have a daughter, and her daughter died in his house because of fireworks going off, she was burned or suffocated. The Dr. Vampire promised him he would bring her back if Boss brought him back.

Turns out the vampire lied and kind of turn his back on Boss, who now felt like an idiot and wanted to save Dolores. (There´s a point where Dolores enters Boss´ mind with the help of an obsidian mirror and sees the flashback of the daughter dying, so both characters do kind of have a mild bond) 

Dr. Vampire is the weirdest, dumbest looking villain I have ever seen. He looks like a edgy teenager but looks old as fuck. It´s super weird and is completely evil, bringing certain Mexican monuments to live and bring havoc to Mexico City. like... Holy shit, he has red messy hair, long face, nose and teeth, wears A FREAKING GOTH CLOAK AND BOOTS and has a trident. It´s a weird design for a vampire. We don´t know shit about this character, only that he was supposed to be brought back by Boss and that´s all. BUT HE IS PURE EVIL! 

They manage to defeat the villain by fighting each of the monuments and then fighting against the vampire, Chema and Dolores have a special combination that not only provokes an explosion but also gives the other 3 characters a power boost. I dont know why that happens, there´s no explanation. If there´s more of it I WISH AND HOPE THERE´S A SERIES. THIS!!! THIS RIGHT HERE:

THIS CAN BE TURN INTO A SERIES. PLEASE, NETFLIX: YOU ALREADY TOOK LA LEYENDA DE LA NAHUALA, TAKE THIS ONE! PLEASE!!! PLEASE!!! 

(If you take a closer look you can see the aura is in a pepper form, its so funny to me. The big pictures at the movie theater glow at a certain angle if they are stroke with a light) 

There´s something I like a lot and that´s that there isn´t a separation moment, they never get separated because of ¨I have to prove myself¨ or ¨i need to do this alone¨. They get separated due to circumstances like following a truck while others take care of a fallen comrade, but Chema is never alone. He is with at least one of them, mostly La Tuna (that´s how we get their emotional talk) and IM SO GLAD THEY DIDNT DO THAT KIND OF CLICHE. Chema never fights with them for stupid things or misunderstandings, they all work whatever misunderstanding right then and there and always stick together because THEY KNOW HOW DANGEROUS IT CAN BE. AND THEY LISTEN TO EACH OTHER! ITS GREAT! THEY ARE GREAT! 

Also the last scene, which parodies marvel movies:

Tin Martin: OH NO! A giant snake is eating Trompa´s wall

La Tuna: Let the snake eat it. 

(People call Trump El Trompas, trompas has several meanings like trumpet but we use it to also refer to the duck face) 

Conclusion:

Superheroes are really overdone. Marvel, you are ok I guess but please just let yourself die (At least after you give me Black Widow and the next Guardians of the Galaxy). In México the close to a superheroe we had was Santos and Blue Demon, being really popular wrestlers and movie stars and all in the silver era. Sure, we also have Villainous that explores villains and heroes that TO ME ARE ALL MEXICAN UNTIL PROVEN THE CONTRARY, but this is a movie not a web-series (that has probably being cancelled ´cause Ituriel doesn´t seem to know how to administrate his company and properly treat his workers). 

Anima Studios took the chance with Maverick Núñez and they really made a good job. As an Opera Prima it looks and sounds awesomely, the writing could still use some work but other than that it is an entertaining movie. It has a nice message, the characters are really well made from design to voice acting and the story is interesting. From what I read it had a really good opening, but it didn´t quite made it in the box office. Still, I think you should give it a watch, not because it´s a Mexican movie, but because it´s a superhero movie that just takes place in Mexico. It´s different from Marcianos vs Mexicanos because that one was full on ridiculousness and comedy while this one is drama with comedy. If you followed Anima Studios, you will see how much they have improve and advance. This company was and is the start of animation in México and they are becoming better. 

Now I´m waiting for their next movie: Las Leyendas: El origen. And you know why I am excited? Because it´s 2 movies from the same Studio in 1 year, they are really becoming bigger. 

Animation has never been this amazing, and Mexican Animation is growing faster and better. Please, be objective but supportive. Don´t be destructive for the sake of being destructive. People are trying their best and it is paying off in my opinion. 

Sincerely, a Mexican with hopes for more animations in her own country. 

[rkkyg]

mnet global auditions callback ( the interview )  called out ; @rkkhg @rksuwoong @danielxrk @joohyunrk 

as the performances come to an end and the judges start their evaluation of everyone, yugyeom notices that people around him are being tugged out of the room. he didnt pay much attention to it though until hyunggu was the one who was being called out, and the not long after yugyeom was being called. 

ah interviews. he thinks as he’s guided to sit down in a setting that kind of similar to that of the initial audition. he figured something like this would happen. most survival shows tend to have a talk part where the contestants talk about what had been happening or how theyre feeling. these are the times when things tend to get edited and it’s when he knows he has to be careful to not say anything that could get edited badly. or that could be misinterpreted in a way he doesn’t want them to be interpreted. 

he knows this from watching the previous shows as well hearing about it from last seasons. 

that is to say that yugyeom has never been and probably will never be good at watching his own words. he hasn’t ever really cared--even at work he tends to be bad at it but luckily he hasn’t been in a situation where his words got him in trouble. there’s been a few close calls at work but the chicken shop ahjummas all love him to much to ever be really mad at him. he did get shoes chucked at him once but well... he probably deserved that one. he wished it hadn’t happened when he was working with dongmin. the ahjummas always do everything they can to ruin his image with the older male. how can he properly take care of dongmin if the other sees him getting beat by flying slippers. 

he shakes his head at the thought. 

he’s able to touch up his make up and hair before the interview starts which he’s thankful for. his lip tint having faded a bit since the beginning and he wanted to be a bit less shiny. though he only did one dance, he had sweated enough to make his face feel shiny. but that was taken care of. 

then he’s sat and settled, legs crossed knee over the other, and sitting as straight as he can without appearing stiff. a casual position that still looks like he isn’t slouching. 

"are we recording?” he asks, glancing from the camera to the interviewer who nods at him. and he blinks at the camera again before winking at it. 

how did you feel when you received the callback? 

the first question isn’t a surprising one, in fact he expected this. and he has an idea of what the other questions are going to be as well. his smirks though. “would it be cocky of me to say i expected it?” he asks in return, and maybe hyunggus dumb thing of always answering questions with questions has rubbed off on him. his tone comes off as kind of joking, but he seems serious at the same time. “i guess not expected so much as i hoped? i mean, i went in with all my effort and not to seem even more cocky but i know im a good dancer.” see, this is why he knew having the knowledge of watching his words would not be helpful. 

yugyeom just doesn't care about watching his words. he doesn’t care about sugar coating his thoughts. it’s better to just be honest, right? 

how was it seeing the set the first time? 

another question he expected, and boring one at that. though he keeps that thought to himself. “ah, it was really amazing to see! i thought wow this is an important place. and really wanted to be on the stage to do well.” he nods, still speaking honestly even if he didn’t care much for this question. and he supposes that it showed as he didn’t spend very long talking on it as he had the first one.

before they can move on though something comes to mind that makes him laugh. “actually, i didn’t really get to view it all at first. see, i came with my best friend kang hyunggu, and of course were going to sit together since we were allowed to choose. so we decided on the right side.” he laughs, raising a hand to pat his bangs in a small show of embarrassment. “but i don’t know why... but i ended up going to the left side and realize oh no i can’t find ggu. he was supposed to be here. i thought he might have not come which was ridiculous and all. thats when i spotted him across the way and realized i was on the wrong side.” 

a soft sigh leaves him, he looks very resigned with himself. “so i did the first thing that comes to mind and just boooked it full speed across the stage to his side. he didn’t say anything then but i now he won’t let me live it down.” 

this time he turns to the camera and points. “yah, hyunggu yah, don’t even think of teasing me for this, okay?”

what did you think when the judges were revealed? 

“i kind of expected something like that.” he responded, nodding as he did. “they were judges for last season too and this show is all about them finding new trainees and potential idols right? isn’t it better for them to be here to see the talent themselves? i didn’t think they would be there for the first episode but it’s really cool. it kind of shows how serious they are about finding people.” he hums, pausing his answer and picking absentmindedly at one of the rips in his jeans as he does. seeming to be thinking over his answer.

after a few seconds he raises his head back up and smiles. “makes me more excited to do well on the stage, like extra pressure and all but much more fun.” he nods again, agreeing with himself. 

how do you think you did?

his eye brows raised at the question, having expected them to get to these kinds of questions eventually and he finds himself leaning back a little. it’s hard to not smirk. to not let that overly confident energy bleed out because yugyeom has always been confident. he’s always been cocky and even though his personality has tamed a bit in the last year he’s still yugyeom. still the same guy who walks into a room and thinks himself the best. 

even sometimes when he’s with hyunggu who he acknowledges as a better dancer. 

“me?” he starts, tongue peeking out to wet his bottom lip before he shrugs. but the modest, nonchalant act is not something he’s good at. it’s not who he is. and there was really no reason for him to pretend any other way. so he decides to be true to himself. 

“i think--no, i know i did great.” he speaks with the confidence of someone who has the skills to back up his words. or that he at least believes he has the skills. “i can’t recall any big mistakes, or even any small ones. the dance was new to me, and it’s one i put together on my own, but i still felt comfortable with it. it was odd at first. normally i choreograph with hyunggu. he helps me out often enough, but this time we didn’t even talk about out performances.” he pauses, head tilting and eyes going up for a moment. 

“but i think the dance came out well. i felt good on stage. felt like i belonged. honestly, i didn’t want to step off the stage.” 

were there any performances you liked? 

“kang hyunggus.” he answers without a second of hesitation, and then he ends up chuckling due to how fast he had answered. though it comes to no surprise to him that he did as he has always liked what hyunggu does when performing. even back when they only vaguely knew each other in the busking circles he had been a mild fan. 

“he always brings so much to the stage. his energy and presence even when just dancing is so on another level. it makes people want to watch, draws them in.” he smiles. “thats how i feel at least. every time i watch him dance i always want to see more. i always feel so eager to see what hes going to do and it’s always so much fun to watch him.” his words are filled with so much sincerity, its’ very clear he holds a lot of affection for his friend. as well as admiration. if asked he would admit to looking up to hyunggu. “i mentioned earlier that we always choregraph together, and theres a reason i always turn to him for help with these things.” 

“he owned that stage-- knew he would--and i almost wish i could have seen him perform longer.” 

he takes a moment to think, tapping his finger to his chin before grinning. “i also really liked joohyun’s performance. i think she really showed her stuff. someone to keep an eye on for sure.” 

were there any performances you didn’t like?

“also kang hyunggu.”  again his words make him laugh, bit this time its more of a chuckle as he smirks. “see, while i really admire him for his skills i also acknowledge that he’s competition. this show is a competition, after all, right? he’s good. amazing even, and i’d be an idiot to not think of him as someone to watch out for.” 

“also suwoongs performance.” this time he crinkles his nose. the two of them are friends, and yugyeom enjoys taking any chance he can to mess with the other male. so why not here and now. “i’ve never liked trot--though i admit he did a good job with it. im still just like why trot of all things.” he chuckles. “sorry su, but maybe try something cooler next time.”

what did you think of kang daniel’s performance? we noticed you spoke very briefly with him at the beginning. 

“kang... daniel...” he says the name slowly, not because he doesn’t recognize it but because he does. and it makes him tense ever so slightly because of the history he has with said male. a history he really hopes doesn’t come to light should he make it onto the show farther than one episode. he knows his old drinking habits could come bite him in the ass.. but he really prays they don’t.

“i think...he’s got talent.” he continues in the same slower pace. as if weighing each word and being more careful with it than he had been before. “i remember seeing him on the last season but since he’s not signed now it goes to show he didn’t have the right stuff then. but well, it’s been almost a year since last season so who knows what kind of changes he’s gone through.”

“his performance was good--i think he kind of lacks in stage presence still. i thought that last season when watching. but i could be picky.” he shrugs, and the way he talks doesn’t give away if he likes or dislikes the other male. “anyway, i think he’s someone to watch out for if he makes it past this episode.”  he decides to leave it at that, not wanting to say more. 

is there anyone you are certain will move onto the next stage?

“i go back to my first question of would it be too cocky to say myself?” he smirks wider, sendin g a wink and a finger gun at the camera. that ever flirty, yet cocky attitude really making an appearance. and he knows it might not be painted well for him to be cocky like this as people tend to like modesty but well. someones gotta talk him up and who better than himself.

he’s here to get noticed one way or another. 

“i feel pretty safe.” he says a bit more calmly this time, letting himself relax. “i danced with energy and with confidence. i was comfortable on that stage and i think i was really able to show my stuff for the judges. even if i’m not the best dancer, i’m confident in the fact i was able to show a good stage presence. that’s important for idols right? a good performance is also about the energy as well as the skill, yeah?” 

“i feel comfortable in my ability for both.”

so yeah, maybe he’s going the cocky path for this. but well, he wouldn’t be kim yugyeom is he didn’t sound cocky as fuck. 

“i guess if im confident in myself then i should also be confident in hyunggu. im not scared to admit he’s more talented--or well, more trained than i am. if i’m moving on then he has to be moving on as well.”

anyone you think won’t be moving onto the next stage?

“there were a handful of performances that i felt were lacking--people who maybe had the skills but didn’t match it with stage presence. or those who just lacked in both.” he hums, tapping his knee before shrugging. “i’ll admit, i didn’t pay to close attention to anyone i didn’t know, especially if their performance wasn’t good. so at this point i don’t really have any names. i kind of didn’t notice names--i knew my friends and i took note of those who caught my eye but other wise i didn’t care as much.” 

“so i guess just best of luck to everyone.” he gives the camera a smile, a small show of the caring leader he has inside that keeps his stupid busking team alive, and looks after his friends who have begin calling him the mom friend. that cocky aura driiting away for the briefest of moments. “it takes guts no matter how good you are to stand on a stage like this and perform. i think every one who came today deserves a bit of merit for even coming. it’s intense, you know?” 

“but, well.” and the kindness fades back into that same cockiness he had displayed through the whole interview. “those who know what they’re doing will be the ones moving on, yeah?” he smirks again, really seeming to just bleed confidence right now. “if you don’t have what it takes you won’t move on. the more the cut the less competition to worry about.”

“not that i’m worried.” 

[klanceweek]

Red + Blue = Purple

submitted by autumn

Day 1

it’s my first fanfic/story, and it’s not as long as I would like but hope you enjoy!

--mod ana commenting real quick: i think i caught all the author notes for correction but if i’m wrong, please notify me thank you

Keith’s POV Yet again, we are fighting another Galra fleet. I can’t count how many we have defeated by now, and we have not had ONE break or relaxation time. It’s just been constant, eat, sleep, then fight. It’s like a never ending battle, which it basically is by this point. 

(More after the break!)

What gets me however- “Ring Ring! Schmoopsy poo! I’ve missed you!” - is Lance’s “girl friend.” “LANCE!” the team shouts for the umpteenth time. “Yeesh, sorry, I’m just talking to my girlfriend, no need to shout!” The first time it was fine, the second time inconvenient, the third annoying, and the twentieth time, in the middle of battle, is an major issue. 

“Lance, you need to tell your..girlfriend…to stop calling when we are fighting the Galra!” So please wait until we are back at the castle.“ Shiro replies clearly fed up with the whole situation.

Wait, did he say Schmoopsy poo? What the heck! I decide to voice my thoughts, “Schmoopsy poo, seriously Lance?”

“At least I have a girlfriend!” “Team! Focus! And Lance, hang up already!” They decide to form Voltron however they don’t even get a chance to fight because the Galra immediately flee when they see the giant robot. “Seriously!” Pidge exclaims,“We fight them for hours and they don’t even have the gal to finish the fight!?” “At least we can finally relax.” Hunk sighs. The lions head back to the castle. In the hanger everyone makes their way to the control room where Allura is waiting. They all head their, albeit very slowly, but eventually get there, whilst dragging their feet. They all have dark bags, frazzled hair, and look very worn out. Even the immaculate Lance looks tired. “Paladins, I’ve decided that we all need a break, so we won’t fight any more Galra unless it’s an emergency.” Allura states, looking quite worn herself. On cue, Lance’s girlfriend, cecilia, calls again. I head to my room intending to get some rest, when Lance bumps into my shoulder, too busy talking to Cecilia. I growl in annoyance and enter my room flopping on my bed. It feels like i’m sleeping in the clouds, maybe i’ll even get more than four hours of sleep. My eyelids start to get heavier and heavier, then bed swallowing me in it’s warm embrace, and blanket weighing me down further..“.lance…ove..ou….schmoo…”…ugh…I slowly start to wake up. The first thing I notice is that Lance is on the phone talking to someone. At 2 in the morning! Unfortunately, my room is right next to Lance’s, and he is talking so loud that I can hear him through the walls! I walk to his room and, politely, knock on the door,“Shut up Lance! Some people are trying to sleep!” Lance pokes his head out the door, whispering so he doesn’t bother the others, (yet he has no problem bothering me). “Shhh! I’m talking to Cecilia!” “And I’m trying to sleep!” “Then you should have thought of that before waking up, it’s not my problem, now shoo!” He waves his hand in a shooing motion. Something snaps… “Did you just…shoo me? Seriously! Are you fucking serious! I am so fed up with your shit! Why the hell are you even with her! You can’t possibly think it’ll last, she literally live on another fucking planet! Just break up already!” Keith yells. In hindsight he could have said it more nicely. “What do you know!” Lance shouts, “You have no right to tell me who I can or can’t date! I love her! Can’t you understand that?!” “This is not love, it’s just a little crush that is a burden to everyone.” Keith states calmly expecting Lance to understand. “What the fuck do you know! You’ve never loved anybody! You’re cold hearted and selfish! Hell, nobody loves or has ever loved you! That’s why  you’re an orphan!” Lance yells, then his eyes widen in horror as he realizes what he just said. He sees Keiths wide teary eyes, mouth slightly open in shock, looking at Lance in anguish. Keith lowers his head in acceptance, shadows covering his eyes as a tear slides down his pale cheek. Lance reaches out his hand feeling his insides twist in guilt, “Keith, I-” “You’re right, no one’s ever loved me, not even my parents.” Keith whispers, voice hoarse, then desperately runs off down the hall, tears trailing in his wake. “Wait, I’M…i’m…sorry…so sorry…i’m so so sorry.” Lance sinks to his knees leaning on the door frame. Eyes misty, he curls up and harshly tugs his hair in self-hatred. This is how Shiro finds Lance as he walks around the corner, probably hearing Lance and Keith earlier. Shiro kneels next to Lance features softening into understanding,. “If you need to talk about it, i’m here for you."After a small pause he asks, "Did you have a fight with Cecilia?” “No..I-I yelled at Keith and said..something…horrible. I don’t even know why!” “What did you fight about?” Shiro inquires softly. Lance quietly explains,“I think I woke Keith up and…a-and I yelled at him saying that he…h-he…he’s never been in a…relationship..so how could he understand!” Lance laughs hollowly, “What’s funny is that i’m not in a relationship, never was, I just….was jealous and I wanted him to feel jealous or something for once besides hate.” “Look, Lance, Keith doesn’t hate you, even now. He’s more sensitive than you know and doesn’t know how to interact well with others. He’s afraid of being rejected or hurt or hurting someone else, so he never even gives them a chance. But with Voltron, us, he’s finally opening up, and he has greater feelings for you than you know.” “Well, I just smashed those feelings into smithereens. I don’t know what to do Shiro, how can I possibly make up for what i’ve done? I told him nobody loves him, but I..I lied…I…what should I do?” “Well for starters we need to find him and you need to apologize and tell him how you feel.” Shiro starts standing up, taking Lance’s hand to help him up as well. “Okay,” Sniff,“I’ll do that, but where did he go?” Hunk and Pidge walk around the corner and see Lance and Shiro. “Hey guys, why are you up so late?” “Hunk, Pidge, can you help us find Keith, he’s very upset right now and i’m worried.” says Shiro “I saw him run down the hall a while ago.” Hunk yawns. “I’ll hack the cameras and see where he went.” Pidge states, pushing up their glasses. They watch on Pidges computer as Keith heads in a seemingly random direction, then enters a vent. The rest of the paladins decide to split up in order to cover more ground. Lance wanders aimlessly, thinking about his actions and where Keith could possibly have gone. Suddenly, he remembers one time Keith took him to the top of one of the towers saying how he sometimes goes there when he feels overwhelmed. The blue paladin sprints down halls ways trying to remember how to get to the tower. Finally, he finds a purple door painted with flowers. As he scales the long winding stair, Lance can’t help but think he feels like a knight rescuing a princess. He cracks a sardonic smile at that thought, he sure doesn’t act like a knight, and that is going to stop. He is going to admit his feeling, consequences be damned. Reaching the last step, he hesitates, then squares his shoulders and opens the door. He stands in awe of the beauty of the place. Purple flowers swaying without wind, petals floating on calm music with a tone of sadness.There, in the middle of the field, Keith is hunched over, head buried in his arms. The flowers almost glow around Keith giving him an ethereal beauty. However, Lance notices the shaking of Keith’s shoulders, and a chocked sob that wrenches at his soul. He has never seen Keith cry, and in his heart he resolves to make sure the red paladin never cries from sadness again. Lance slowly approaches, carefully avoiding crushing the flowers. He kneels behind Keith and reaches his arms around the black haired pilot, gently embracing him. Keith gasps as he snaps his head up towards Lance. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean what I said. I can’t tell you how sorry I am, and I don’t expect you to forgive me but, I wanted to tell you that people do love you. The whole team loves you Keith.” “How do I know you’re not lying. No one’s ever loved me before, as you said. How do I know you’re telling the truth?"Keith tries curling up tighter to distance himself from Lance. "Because Keith, I…I love you…more than a friend or brother…I love love you, I have for a while now, and i’m sorry I deceived everyone, but I was never in a relationship."Lance explains, wrapping his arms tighter around the other paladin. He can hear the others fast heart beat and erratic breathing. Lance sees how Keith’s eyes are red and puffy, but a glimmer of hope is there and Lance grasps the chance like a life line. He tilts Keith’s chin up, their lips meeting in a gentle kiss. Keith freezes in shock, then tears fall again and he kisses back with fervor. Lance brushes his tongue against Keith’s lips, and the later gasps allowing a deeper kiss. They stay there a while embracing the other surrounded in a field of purple flowers. They lay down and look up at the sky, stars reflect in Lance’s eyes as he softly grasps Keith’s hand. Feeling for the first time truly loved, Keith lets one more tear roll down his face, landing on the petal of a blue flower intertwined with a red. ~The End (sorry if it seems rushed or if somethings wrong, I wrote this in under 4 hours, although I have been planning this for a while. I also didnt edit it. I might go back and add much more some other time. Hope you enjoyed it though! I know I enjoyed some of the others!)

[typicalmidnight]

iron man 2 running commentary

okay so watching iron man 2 for the first time and i have a feeling im gonna have lots of commentary to share so it will all be under the cut! i’m gonna keep updating it as i watch!

*starts watching iron man 2 without watching iron man first cause it’s not on netflix and is only 2 minutes in but completely confused*

*questions my intelligence because i was able to understand the other marvel movies without watching other ones first*

*wonders if somehow i haven’t seen enough tony stark on tumblr to understand but i’ve somehow seen enough of other things to understand other movies*

*cue suprised and upset anon* sorry anon!!

okay anon!! help me pls! is the guy in the very beginning of iron man 2 someone from the first movie, and if he is who is he?? or is he new in this movie? edit: nevermind i looked it up

omg the first scene we see iron man is so cooool i love it!

holy sh*t he just landed on a stage omggg *freaks out so much because WOW*

im not even 7 minutes in yet but WOW IM SHOOK

i litterally just watched that first scene of tony/iron man in awe the whole time

“the possibility of world peace” BAAAAAHAHAHHAHAHAAHAHAAAAAA there’s a whole lot in store for the world, and i can guarantee it wont be peaceful lol

the stark expo is year long?!?!!?!!??? wow....

oooh oooh oooh that’s happy!

tony with kids awww

OMG THATS PETER PARKER RIGHT

STAN LEEEE OMG AWWWW

wait what did tony do??

AHHHHH pepper!!

does tony like pepper yet?? are they dating??

god tony. his sense of humor omg.

pepper isnt impressed lol

tony is so savage we stan a queen lol

you’re right, it isn’t canada cause we’re AWESOME and dont have ppl trying to get rid of iron man

rhodey!! i know who that is!

litterally everything tony says is amazing

oooooh whats tony up to?...

world peace? dream on tony

did he just say f**k you to tony stark? UM NO YOU DID NOT

oof the scenes with this bad dude are boring

wait i take that back HE JUST CUT A TV IN HALF!!

“wake up, daddy’s home” god i love tony

i think im getting too excited about everything lolll

tony insulting that robot arm thing gives me life

whats that thing in tony’s chest?? im guessing it has something to do with him being iron man and was part of the first movie

im confused about the relationship between pepper and tony

oooh shes ceo congrats to her!!

is this actually good tho?? the look on her face isnt great

oh okay its good she was just suprised

are those like fake documents or something?

OMG ITS NATASHA!!! AHHHHHHHH I LOVE HER SO MUCH SHE’S LIKE MY FAVE MCU WOMAN OTHER THAN MJ

i got way too excited there and hit my wrist on my wall and now it hurts

wait he doesn’t know nat yet??? HOW?!

also ummm natalie rushman?? that name kinda suits her?? ish idk

NATASHA IS A QUEEEEEEN!!!! I STANNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i also got so excited about nat that my eyes started to water

“i want one” okay tony nat could knock you out in a second and she for sure doesn’t need a man! also PEPPER!!!!!! LIKE WHAT ABOUT HER!

its the grand prix! it looks just like it does in cars 2!! lollll i was super shooketh about that when i made the connection

OMG ITS NAT AGAIN YAY!

WAIT is tony gonna drive that race car??? is he gonna race??? OMG i hope he does

also my wrist still hurts

wait pepper is suprised?? tony you didnt tell pepper? TONY YOU DIDNT TELL PEPPER??? TONY COME ONNNNNN

OMG TONY WHY PEPPER IS CONCERNED NOW

also is nat working for tony or something

oof its 12 am i should sleep i have school tmrw

haha bish that reporter lady left cause ur boring and nobody cares about you

AHHHH TONY’S GONNA RACEEEE

omg tony is racing tony is racing TONY IS RACING TONY IS RACING!!!! TONY PLS DONT DIE OR SOMETHING

hello my name is leea and i’m a huge drama queen that loves and cares so much about tony stark

OMG ITS THE VILLAIN GUY ACKKK TONY IS GONNA DIE

im still super dramatic lol

and also 100% convinced tony is gonna die even tho i know that wont happen

IM GETTING SO MUCH ANXIETY FROM JUST WATCHING THIS AHHHH

THE VILLAN GUY IS GOING SOMEWHERE ONTO THE TRACK OR SOMETHING ACKKKK

i hit my elbow and my head (not too hard dont worry) and the elbow is the same arm that i hurt my wrist so now my arm hurts from my elbow to my hand

WHAT IS THAT GUY DOING HE JUST WALKED ONTO THE RACE CAR TRACK

i litterally pressed play and then pressed pause two seconds later ooooof

peppers face omg she is shooketh lol

WTF IS HE DOING??!!!!!! also wth is he wearing on his chest?

OOOOOOOOOMG he has his slicy electricity weapon thingies TONY IS GONNA DIE AHHHH

HE JUST HIT A CAR OMG I HOPE THE PERSON IS OKAY

^big example of me being a drama queen and innocent and sweet at the same time

HAPPY HAS WHAT IM ASSUMING TO BE IRON MAN SOMETHING

TONY IS ABOUT TO DIE!!!

i paused it right before he hits the car omg the suspense!!!!!

ANXIETY LEVELS RIGHT NOW

OMG TONY NOOOOOOOO

IM BREATHING SO DEEP AND FAST RIGHT NOW IM PANICKING FOR TONY (it’s called hyperventalating. future me remembered the word lol)

dude WHYYY would you take off your helmet??!!!!

there is a dude coming to kill you and i think a helmet would help protect you idiot!!

OMG THERES A CAR COMING AT THE VILLAIN GUY

WHAT IF IT HITS HIM AND THEN HITS TONY

THEY JUST EXPLODED OMG

i just choked because i was like WHAT JUST HAPPENED

there are cars exploding behind him and this dude just doesnt care!!

why have i started saying dude?

owww my wrist hurts

typing hurts

owwww

its actually really not that bad im dramatic

is pepper gonna save tony????

does the case have the rescue armor ive read about?????

HE JUST TRIED TO KILL TONY

*facepalms* tony WHY did you just hit him on the head with whatever that was??? what did you think it would accomplish??????? this dude just sliced your car in half and tried to kill you, do you think you can take him out by hitting him on the head??? just get tf out of there!!!

OMG HES GONNA KILL TONY

i just hit my head again (not hard it fine)

OMG DID HE JUST HIT TONY

I THINK HE JUST HIT TONY

IM NOT OKAY

AND I DONT THINK HE IS EITHER

AHHHHHHHHHHH

okay i’m going to bed cause its almost 1 am and i have school. anyway, this is the 100th comment which is kinda good to leave off at! i’ll finish watching tmrw and keep posting!

okay i’m back! about to start watching the movie!

ahhhhhh poor tony!!! i’m only a few seconds in but already panicking for him!!

omg hes getting ready to kill tony!! and tony is just lying on the ground!!!

pepper and happy come save him! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!

or nat!!!!

ahhhhhhhhh tonys gonna die!!!!!!!!!!!!!

with every second i freak out moreeeee

oh thank GOD tony moved!!!

that car just exploded omg tony almost diedddd!!!

AHHHHH TONY IS ON FIRE

how tf is he so calm!!!!????!?!?!?!?!?

i mean hes not that calm but way calmer than any normal human should be in this situation

is he just like used to people trying to kill him??

OMG thats soo saaaaaaaddddd

OKAY HERE COMES PEPPER AND HAPPY

please run over him!!!

OMG THEY ALMOST HIT TONY

but they hit the bad guy yay!!!

awww tony is bleeding!

well i mean thats kinda expected lol

oof tony is mad

OMG PEPPER IS SO PISSED

shes acting like a mom lol

OMG THE GUYS WEAPONS ARE POWERING ON

THEY’RE ALL GONNA DIE

TONY JUST GET IN THE CAR

OMG THE DOOR

TONY GET IN THE CAR AND HAPPY GET TF OUT OF THERE!!!!

tony just GET IN THE CAR

OMG THE AIR BAG

HE JUST CUT THE WINDOW

THIS SCENE IS SO INTENSE OMG

okay pepper i love you but JUST GIVE TONY THE CASE

tony your armor is taking WAY TOO LONG to get on!!!

AHHHHH LOOK AT THE ARMOR!!!!!

ITS SO OLD

like not old

but compared to his current suit

the “it’s nanotech. you like it?” one

its nothing

AHHH HE HIT TONYS ARM

AHHHH TONYS GONNA DIE

AHHHH PEPPER IS SCREAMING

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

#drama queen much? #yes thats me

AHHH COME ON TONY

love how i’ve only gotten 3 more minutes into the movie and i’m already at 47 comments

OMG HE JUST WHIPPED TONY TO THE GROUND

omg poor tony!!!!

can everyone just leave my dad alone PLEASE

YAY TONY!! NOW THE BAD GUY IS ON THE GROUND!!!

oh thank god tony is okay hes not dead he won for now

eww he just spat out a bunch of blood

“you loose” how??? like what???

ooooooooooh wait no is tony gonna get in trouble.......

i forgot to say this yesterday but this whole scene with the guy on the track and stuff and the exploding cars in kinda similar to cars 2

i guess you cant have a racing scene in a movie without a car exploding tho

what is up with that guy with glasses?? like hes weird i dont trust him

why arent there subtitles translating whatever language they are speaking in (french? idk)

ya its french

ofc tony talks about the technology lol

and critcizes the bad guy’s

tony this guy tried to kill you WHY are you sitting down next to him??!!?

that guy is weird and kinda creepy

okay just f off senator dude nobody likes you, your opinion isnt valid, and i wanna punch you

“these suits exist now”????? wtf b*tch no they dont!

wait what ever happened to nat??

pepper is really responsible shes great i love her

what does that note say???

omg is that a bomb or something??!

why do guards always help prisoners escape like seriously

is that guy gonna take his place or something??

also he kinda looks like haymitch from hunger games

omg wait WTF WAS THAT

ALSO GUARD WHAT THE HELL

i was right! it was a bomb!

why did they throw him in a truck??

omg why are they in an airport?!

are they gonna help him escape??!!

why is there a table and people....

is that glasses guy sitting at the table?

i was right it is glasses guy!

i didn’t trust him from the start

why is he helping him tho...

friend? fan? what is going on?!!!???

YAYYYYY theres nat!!!

“erratic behaviour”??? what are you talking about???? he just saved himself from being killed how is that erratic?????!!

awwww poor tony

i beleive in you tony, and i love you, but no honey, you don’t know exactly what you’re doing you need help!

“software sh*t” aaaaaaaaaaahahahahhaahhaaaaa

make iron man look like an antique? ya no way is that gonna happen

is nat his assistant or something im a bit confused

aww tony is like so depressed i feel so bad for him!!

stannnnn nat

back on watch? what does that mean...

omg tony is so drunkkkkkk nooooo

ohhhhh tonyyyyy noooo come onnnn

you’re so drunk dude stopppp

god tony you’re so drunk pleaseee

wait why is rhodey fighting him anyway?

wow this is my 101 comment today and i’ve only watched 20 mins today

omggggg people are recordingggg this isn’t gonna end well

*sighs* oh god tony dont yell at them whyyyyy

omg tonys in the fire place!!!

omg that just happened. they just fired at each other.

also just saying tony, he does have what it takes to be war machine cause he continues to be...

ohhhh is tony okay??

im confused tho why did they start fighting in the first place?

okay i just looked it up, it was because he was being irresponsible and drunk, and putting people at the party in danger, and he wouldnt stop

ngl its getting kinda tiring to keep updating this but i’m gonna keep going cause i want this record for myself, and i’m not gonna quit something

ok i’m gonna continue the movie tmrw cause its prob gonna be a snow day (lol i left off at 111)

[wannawrite]

혼자야 - forever rain 🌫

blog navigator !!

day6 masterlist~

group: day6

members: park jaehyung, kang younghyun

genre: platonic, brotherly "fluff" :">>

a/n: jaehyungparkian but written with no intention of making it gay HAHAHAHA i really love their relationship +++ I WAS IN SUCH A BIG WRITING RUT so this was birthed ¡¡¡ originally a reject of my youngk series (when you love someone) LOL

imagine that brian doesnt know jae well yet and vice versa yEA HAHAHA this takes place before congratulations era~

_________________________

Just as the clouds shrouding the city in mist had so subtly predicted, it had began to rain, and it had began to rain mercilessly.

The raindrops fell from the clouds, plummeting towards Younghyun's bangs at a lightning pace as if the seemingly harmless, rolls of white and grey had finally reached its breaking point and decided to offload their anger on the public.

Gradually, with each droplet gathering into one big puddle, and escalating into a waterfall, he could see the drops draping precariously on the rough tips of his brush shaped bangs, as if he was wearing beads on the tips of his hair.

Younghyun sighed as a song he held dearly to his heart, the song that spoke for their hustling generation, Forever Rain started to play, perfectly in sync with the now, unlike him. He had sighed a lot of times today, but that was most probably, his expression to life most of the time.

His songs, too, were sighs of his own. Younghyun's self written songs were never a voice of his own-they were simply a insignificant puff of hot steam, emanating tiredly into the air like a ball of wispy feathers only to disappear into thin air two seconds.

This song on his phone too, was a sigh.

A beautiful sigh.

Just like you

If I could

Just knock on somewhere

If I could kiss

The whole world so hard

Would someone welcome me

Maybe embrace my weary body

His pretty, gradually angled eyes looked up to the sky with the gaze of a baby lamb-innocent and demure. The world seemed to stop for him as he saw the beautiful teardrops of the sky pour down, knocking furiously onto his shoulder and asking for an invitation to come in.

The clouds were of white, grey, and dark grey hues, all layered vaguely together in a gently fierce gradient as their feelings oozed out onto the lamp posts, from the tips of Younghyun's raven locks to the edges of his tailor made black shoes, skimming to the depths of the drain.

The sky when it cried was so beautiful, and so unjudgemental to whoever it poured out its feelings to.

However, beneath the curtain of his clustered, jet black hair hid Younghyun's gentle sigh-in the knowledge that he'd never be able to do the same with his group members.

Still, for the first time since he had come to the thriving, fast paced city of Seoul, Younghyun felt raw, enveloping love drip through every vein in his blood as he stood upright amidst the care of the rain, and listened silently.

____________________________

"Younghyun! What the heck, why are you standing like that there? You're a soaking mess, get over here!"

Revelling in the quiet of the rain caressing his ears gently and quickly, Younghyun hadn't noticed anything amidst his little zone of peace until his ears opened before his eyes did. Standing across the road was a tall figure with a striking, red umbrella domed over his even more striking blonde bangs.

"Wait, I'm sorry, I just-" Younghyun struggled to gather his words, scrambled across the road like the rain puddles as he broke from his standing position, with rising fear of disappointing his friend in his chest.

"You don't have to apologise. I know you've always liked the rain, you told me that." Jae laughed in his low, boyish voice before placing a hand on Younghyun, who had finally came back to reality and started to approach his friend. Knowing very well that it wasn't the reason for him standing there, the younger boy couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt surface to his forehead as he nodded slowly.

As both of them walked to the venue with a sudden, yet somehow not so awkward silence hanging around them, Younghyun knew, with an uneasy feeling in his heart-that someone that took to socialising like a duck to water, would never understand the pleasure of having something as insignificant as the rain to accompany them.

"H-Hyung?"

"Yes?"

"Have you ever felt lonely before?"

The squeaky sound of Jae's rubber soles ceased with his question, and they stopped walking, in sync with the previous calmness that had soothed Younghyun.

Filling the awkward silence was the pattering of raindrops, crashing louder on the field of ridges in the pavement but a little softer on their umbrella.

Suddenly, the rain didn't seem so comforting after all.

"Lots of times." Jae suddenly spoke to break the silence, with an unreadable, blank expression on his face. Not being able to see a smile spread across his dashing, clear cut features felt very foreign to the younger boy, and seeing Jae feeling lonely, felt just as foreign to him.

Surprise was evident on Younghyun's face as he susceptibly raised an eyebrow.

"You're joking." he said disbelievingly.

Jae shook his head quietly. "No, I'm not."

He looked to the floor with an unusual maturity emanating from his gaze, and paused for a bit before speaking again.

"Just because I have a lot of friends doesn't mean I don't feel alone."

Instinctively and unconsciously, Younghyun's lips parted ever so slightly, gaze transfixed sharply onto the sad sliver of light skating across the curves in Jae's small, miniscule pupils.

He never really saw Jae this sad over something as small as being alone. Over being away from home, sure-over occasional fights with members, sure-but never, the hollowness of not having someone by your side.

Then, an uncheerful-maybe even condescending, maybe even bitter laugh slipped through the gaps of Jae's loosely clenched teeth.

"Ah, Younghyun, I really, really can relate to All Alone more than you think I can." he said, tone a lot more gentle than before before continuing, "It's funny, isn't it? When you have so many people surrounding you but it makes you more lonely than you were before."

Slowly recalling the sting of past incidents, Younghyun found himself nodding as he replied, "Yeah. It really just feels like...just feels like..."

"No one really cares."

The same words had come out from the mouth of two seemingly different people.

Then, with a brief exchange of glances, Younghyun started to giggle with an understanding, almost happy feeling in the crease of his eyes, and in turn, causing Jae to giggle back.

They both stood stupidly in the crowd, in the prominent presence of the storm clashing behind them-laughing, laughing and laughing, before reality hit their smiles like a brick and put a halt on their silly fit.

"H-Hey, Younghyun-or should I say, Brian-" Jae teased, with the corner of his smirk digging a small dimple at the side of his lips and earning a slap from Younghyun- "whenever you feel lonely, talk to me, yeah? We can be lonely together."

Casually, he hung a lazy arm around Younghyun's shoulder, eliciting an endearing, hearty laugh from the younger boy.

In turn, Jae's smirk softened to a smile.

"I'm totally cringing at myself for saying this, but-I'm always there for you."

Feeling the warmth amidst the cold weather beneath the laces and crosses of Jae's soft, red jumper, Younghyun's heart blossomed a small spark of warmth himself-a warmth he had never felt upon arriving in Seoul.

"I'm always there for you too, chicken-hyung." he smirked, masking his gratitude well and subsequently, arousing a strong reaction from Jae. "Hey, excuse you, since when were you-hahahahaha-allowed to-HAHAHAHAHA-tickle me?!"

In the rain, as two children played, beneath his squeals of laughter Younghyun thought inwardly-that if this was really the after effects of the rain, he wanted it to rain forever.

THE END

_____________________

forgive me for how absurdly cliché this story is, this is just a warm up LOL i was having writers block after church camp but ughhh i learnt sm and grew sm spiritually <333 my life has honestly changed forever and isjdjsjsjdjs im so SOOOOO thankful rnnn hhh

anywaY like this was originally supposed to follow up w my current youngk series but i didnt really write it w my emotions so i was largely unsatisfied ://// so it was an unfinished reject sitting in my notes for a while and i really never intended to publish it HAHAHAHA until i realised i hadnt wrote in ages and then liKe i felt so so empty nd i felt like i had forgot how to immerse myself properly whenever i tried to start a chapter so all of them came out really fake and it was like a 8 year old composition quality work LOL but anyway even tho im not that happy w this either i needed smth to write (without having to think up an opening LOL IM WORST AT STARTING A STORY) to help me grasp my emotions better again <33 so i started today at "H-Hyung" HAHAHAHHAAHA obvi it has to be about my 2 day6 biases uwuwuwuwuwu

IF YALL CLDNT TELL BTW THe sCOPE OF THIS STORY WAS LARGELY INSPIRED BY MY MANS KIM NAMJOON UWUWUWU stream mono guys he deserves it :3333 alt this mixtape has been getting a lot of hypE BUT hehehe idk ilh and forever rain especially :)

also i apologise if yall are getting sick of seeing so much day6 on this blog lol as u can see i have been SO SO hooked onto their music and knowing more about them so ;------; i will write whilst i have the most inspiration to do so !!

thanks for sticking by my shitty posting times rip :"""" this is also to revive the blog because l and i r on vacay watch it slowly die for the next few days iM SORRY :(

from your favourite chicken and briyani enthusiast ^3^

(WILL BE EDITED SOON)

[jamesniall]

Hey I’m not the anon that u talked about but I follow u on twitter and wanna let u know that don’t worry!!!! That happened to me a few days ago too djdnxjsn. Are you posting today?

ahhh HI OMG thank u for understanding :’)

IT WAS SO FRUSTRATING bc i got it all written but there’s lil things to edit and words to change a bit but it was basically done and then the power went out and refused to come back for 7 hours :/

as soon as it came back i got to it but im sleeeeepy and i have a family thing tomorrow morning (basically today wow it’s 4 am) so i can’t post it until the afternoon :( BUT YES TODAY IT’LL BE POSTED FINALLY. NOTHING WILL STOP ME FROM POSTING IT TODAY.

if u want, and for the other super patient and lovely anon as well, here’s a lil preview of it; the first out of the 5 + 1 things of this fic!

(as i said, it still needs to be proof read again so if u find mistakes pls pretend u didnt, im gonna get to them tomorrow sdkfhds but yeah there u have 1,5k of this monster of a fic that took over 2 months of my life lmao what started as a lil hurt/comfort fic ended up in a 18k monster of developing relationship hurt/comfort and angst with a cHEESY ending wow)

Having the night shift at the E.R onFriday nights it’s always a chore. Harry always tries his best to change itwith one of his colleagues, even if he has to take Monday’s morning shift whereeveryone comes with the silliest symptoms to get some excuse to get out oftheir jobs for a couple days.

This time, however, Liam has a familything he can’t get out of and Harry has to cover the night shift.

It goes as he expected it.

Drunk college students with alcoholpoisoning are the most common gig of the night, followed by guys withconcussions and broken noses that can only be attributed to bar fights.

It’s around 10 pm when he’s making a roundthrough the new arrivals when he sees a guy sitting in the waiting room withwhat seems to be a scarf wrapped around his left arm and a guitar tightlyclutched in his right hand.

He looks downright miserable. Soaked tothe bone – though Harry doesn’t recall it raining when he started his shift –hair plastered to his forehead and a bruise in his right cheek that he can tellit’s gonna swell and hurt as fuck tomorrow morning.

He takes a look around the room andfigures he’s the most interesting case he can get out of the night.

“Hello there, I’m Doctor Styles. Did thenurse give you the triage paper?” He asks, looking down at the brown hairedguy, who startles at his voice.

“Oh, hi, yes, uh,” he searches around hispockets for a bit, hissing when he disturbs his homemade bandage, Harry doesn’tknow if he’s hiding a broken, burnt or cut arm, but he’s sure the scarf it’snot wrapped up properly for none of those situations.

He finally finds a yellow crumbled uppaper in the pocket of his jeans, “thought the red papers got attention first.”He says, looking up to Harry and handing him the paper.

“Yeah, Friday nights are usually full ofyellow ones, though.” Harry says, scanning the paper quickly and seeing Niall J. Horan, 25 year old male, reportedbar fight, probable broken wrist, no signs of concussion, vitals on order, pain8/10. “How’s your pain right now?”

“Out of ten? It’s been simmering between 8and 9 for the last hour,” Niall replies with a shrug. “Nurse told me x-rayswere necessary but that I’d have to leave my guitar outside,” he continues, “Irefused, because have you seen the people around this place? They’re all drunk.No way I’m leaving it out here only to find it broken, so if you can tell mewhat to do or what to take for the pain I’d appreciate it so I can go home.”

“You could have a broken wrist, judging bythe pain I’m pretty sure that’s the case, isn’t getting the x-ray moreimportant than a guitar?” Harry asks, an amused smile making his way through asNiall splutters and shakes his head.

“’Course it’s more important, she’s one ofa kind. Actually my arm might be broken because I fell out of the stage toprotect her.” He states. A stubborn frown taking over his face.

“Alright,” Harry nods, “You can leave itin my office while we do x-rays and get you proper treatment. That way both ofyou will be safe.”

“Really?” Niall asks, “Hey, thank youmate! I hope it’s not a bother.”

“None at all, just follow me and we’ll getit done quick enough.”

-

Half an hour later Niall’s sitting in astretcher as Harry wraps up his broken wrist properly. His guitar restingbeside him. “I cannot help but ask, what did you mean you fell out of a stageto save your guitar?”

“Oh,” he laughs, “well, you see, I play inthis bar on Friday nights, to help a bit with the bills, you know? Being ajust-graduated-nutritionist doesn’t give you much, so I was there, justchilling, getting ready to finish the set, when a bunch of assholes startedfighting, throwing punches and chairs and tables went flying. My guitar was inthe direct line of fire.” He says, pausing a bit to swallow harshly as Harrymoves his arm to check the blood flow is alright and the bandages are justtight enough. “So I try to yell at ‘em to be careful but just as I was about toreach the guitar and leave a guy was pushed over, I can only guess he was deaddrunk, because he didn’t even try to slow down the fall, and I could only seehis ass was for sure gonna land on my guitar, so I jumped head first to grab itand he fell on me, I fell on the corner of the stage, thus the bruising.”

“Is that why you told the nurse the reasonof all this was a bar fight?”

“Well, technically it all started with abar fight, but as I was about to explain it all she just went and rolled hiseyes and gave me a yellow paper.” Niall says, a sour look on his face, “realrude of her, you know.”

“Yeah, you’ll have to forgive her,” Harrysays with a small smile, “we don’t get much of anything other than bar fightson Friday nights.” He continues, handing Niall a sheet of paper with hisprescribed pain medication.

“Do I have to come for you to take a lookat it again? Like, remove the bandage or something?” Niall asks, looking a bitforlornly at the piece of paper.

“Oh, yeah but not here, exactly. You cancall this number,” he says, handing Niall a small card that just says Liam Payne and two phone numbers. “He’sthe best orthopedist you’ll ever find in this hospital. He’ll do an x-ray,check everything’s alright and in about 4 weeks you’ll be bandages free.” Hefinishes, smiling despite the fact that Niall looks kind of sad. Disappointedeven. “He really is the best, you’ve got nothing to be scared of, he’ll takegood care of you.”

“Not as good as you,” Niall mutters underhis breath as Harry turns his back on him to open the curtain that wasseparating them from the rest of the E.R.

“What was that?” Harry asks.

“Oh, nothing, just. Thinking out loudabout whether I should try to find a bus or just walk home.”

“I can call you a cab if you’d like.”Harry offers. Helping Niall gather his guitar, papers and card without losinganything.

“No, that’s alright. I left my jacket atthe bar so I have no change with me, just my very loyal Oyster card and twowell-functioning legs.”

“It’s really late, Niall, really. I canlend you some, it’s no trouble.” Harry says, searching in his pockets for hiswallet, “I’d be no good of me as a doctor if I fix you up only to let you walkhome at two in the morning. Cab is the safest option.”

“Also the most expensive,” Niall remarks,“we’re in an alright neighborhood and I live like half an hour from here, it’llbe alright.” Then, with a bit more of spark in his eyes, he says; “If you wantyou can give me your number and I can text you as soon as I get home.”

Harry seemed too busy looking into hiswallet to notice, though, “Here, just a couple of bucks. Just in case youdecide your house’s too far and you’re too tired or cold to keep walking.” Hesays, handing Niall a couple of folded bills. “Or in case you have nothing inyour Oyster card. Can’t never be too safe.”

He’s just finished talking when a beepcomes from his pocket. Eyes opening wide when he sees a red alert from hispager.

“Well, look at that. You can have a couplered cases on Friday nights too.” Harry says, shaking his head, “Have a niceevening. Don’t forget to pick up your meds tomorrow morning. What I just gaveyou we’ll be enough for the night but it might get really achey if you movearound a lot.” Harry says, walking fast towards the nurses’ station. “No guitarplaying, for at least a week, let you hand heal nicely. If there’s moreswelling, your fingers get really cold, dark or you can’t feel them or there’sany fever at all, please come back to the E.R immediately.” Harry says in arush as he checks the new triage papers. “Any questions?”

“Thank you.” Says Niall. “Really, you werethe nicest doctor I’ve ever met and I promise when I come back for that check-upI’ll hunt you down and pay you back.”

“No need,” Harry replies with a smile,“I’ve got to run. Have a safe trip home!”

And with that he leaves, back towards theentrance of the E.R where an ambulance is pulling in someone in a really bloodystretcher.

With a shudder, Niall turns to leave, notbefore looking back at Harry for the last time and saying to himself, “nexttime I’ll get his number.”