#i gotta start making good write-ups now that someone is actually reading them

[pomefioredove]

now I'm actually invested in this idea. maybe I'll write a full length fic someday idk... for now I have short hcs

parts 1 | 2 | 3 | kalim | bad ending

summary: crowley decides to "give away" yuu to the highest "donation" for financial reasons type of post: headcanons characters: all nrc students additional info: can be read as platonic or romantic, except malleus is pretty romantic, second person pov, yuu is gender neutral, maybe a little ooc I wrote this as soon as I got up

crowley has had his fair share of "what the fuck" moments from you but this was really taking the cake

he acts so... casual about it?

swaggers into ramshackle one morning and says times are tough and your personal expenses are straining the budget so he's decided to "put you in someone else's care"

"The screening process will be vigorous to make sure you end up in good hands!" like you're a cat or something "Your expenses will be covered and you'll have somewhere to go during break!"

okay great. pretty obvious you have no say in this, so you don't even argue. what's the worst that could happen?

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Ace, Deuce, Jack, and Epel find you the next day to say they're pooling their money to buy you

"To what?"

Epel shrugs. "Oh, well Crowley said we need to offer a donation to prove we're capable of supporting you..."

(you think that if not for the laws of this land you would have slaughtered that old fart)

Jack goes on a really long tirade about how shady and underhanded this is, making sure to reaffirm that he believes you should be free to make your own choices

"So you'll let me go once you get me?"

"Uhhh..."

Ace thinks once they buy you you'll have no choice but to do all of his homework for him

Deuce says that's not really how it works- and even if he tried, Riddle would kill him

(they've already gone over this twice before finding you)

Epel happily volunteers to take you home with him over breaks, probably the only positive in this mess

even if he thinks the whole thing is kind of funny

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

incapable of keeping his mouth shut, Ace accidentally spills the plan to Riddle, who is understandably aghast

you can't just give away a person under your care like a toy!

of all the irresponsible things...

of course, he'll have to put up his offer, too

purely for your sake! with a nicer room and a brand new copy of the dorm rules, maybe you'll stop getting yourself into trouble

he's got some family money (doctors, naturally) and considers this a worthwhile purchase, for his sanity and yours

of course, Trey and Cater overhear and may or may not be pooling their own cash for a chance, too

going behind Riddle's back on this is a risky venture, but hey, someone's gotta be on your side, here, right?

I mean, between a bunch of sixteen year old boys, the housewarden, and them, who would you choose?

actually don't answer that

...not that it's much of a secret, anyway. Cater's already got their gofundme equivalent link in bio

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Leona initially plans to have you become a live-in lackey like Ruggie

but then he really starts thinking- and, hey, the possibilities are endless, right?

for one, you'd make a really good pillow

he might have to kick Grim out for your full attention, but you could learn to live with that

and malleus would hate it

...that's reason enough for him

plus, he's got money to burn, so why not?

either way, he sets his bid at a reasonable (maybe too confident) price and sits back to watch the chaos unfold as everyone scrambles for a piece of the pie

news travels fast around school, after all

then Ruggie finds out that you could dethrone him as Leona's #2 and is understandably a little annoyed

that's his cushy post-grad job gig, thank you! he's worked hard for that!

besides, why should Leona get to hoard you? the guy can barely take care of himself!

so, Ruggie ends up outsourcing to a few dozen classmates for the necessary funds at a steep I-owe-you price

he's gonna be eating nothing but dandelions for a while...

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

now, Azul is annoyed

once the news goes school-wide, it's all anyone can talk about

talk about good marketing...

why didn't he think of such a brilliant scam? he could have negotiated with Crowley to have a café brand deal tie-in!

of course, he's already set his bid, with Jade and Floyd offering to pitch in as necessary

it's a risky investment, sure, but a worthwhile one

Azul tells everyone that with the prefect's "obvious" popularity, having them at the café a few nights a week would drive sales through the roof

though that's really just what he says to shirk suspicion

a likely excuse coming from him, though, really, it would just be nice having you around

and if not for his own affections, Floyd's incessant begging and Jade's subtly manipulative comments about "how nice" it would be having a new face around would be enough for him to cave eventually

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

"Kalim, no," is the first thing that Jamil says

"I strongly advise against this. It's another one of Crowley's silly scams and you could end up a target bec- are you even listening?"

hint: he is not

the second Kalim found out that he could get to take in his favorite magicless student like one of his treasures, he was all over it

(AKA infinite sleepovers)

and for what? a little optional donation to prove he's got the funds? he's got cash to spare!

he's already got your new room in Scarabia set up before he even puts his bid in

right next to his of course :)

and despite what Jamil insists, he himself might be working behind the curtain just a little to ensure he's the one who ends up with you

after all, why should Kalim get everything? this might be a valuable learning opportunity for him

You don't always get what you want

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

as much as Epel tries to keep the rest of his dorm from finding out, it's inevitable

he's actually a little surprised that the news didn't get to Vil sooner

with Rook around campus, surely he must have said something...

when Vil does find out, though, he just sighs

oh, of course. what next, will everyone meet each other in the arena and fight to the death over the prefect?

of all the silly, immature things...

oh? what's that? he's bidding anyway? of course he is, silly potato. he can't have some unwashed miscreant making you sleep on polyester bedding

(really, he's the only person on campus worthy of your time)

Rook has also been mysteriously absent from the dorm lately, though his initials on a poem and a strangely large sum of money end up in the donation pile

but really, that could be anyone... Rook would never dare betray Vil again, right?

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Ortho finds out directly from the other first years and sends Idia the details immediately

with a little note of encouragement, of course: "could be excellent for improving your social skills!"

Idia understandably freaks out

"WTF!!!! nooo way! this is a person, not a chatbot we're talking about here! I can barely keep virtual pets alive!!!!"

(liar)

(...but this is still different)

the conversation ends there, but semi-anonymous bid from someone named "gloomurai" gets cashapp'd directly to crowley

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

everyone in the room immediately turns to Malleus

"For the record, I think it's wrong to be bargaining over a human being," Silver says first. "But if anyone could handle it with grace, it's you."

Lilia laughs. "Oh, you're just saying that because you like the prefect so much!"

"Father, you're the one who likes the prefect so much,"

"Oh, right! carry on then. After all, I'm sure we could share,"

Sebek is the only one relatively against the idea, though Lilia luckily manages to get him to lower his voice after his third speech about how you aren't good enough for his liege

Malleus is rather quiet through the whole evening, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with any of the points made

he disappears for a short while, and when he comes back he seems a little more confident

though, of course, he goes to you first

seeing him at Ramshackle in the middle of the night is a familiar and welcoming sight after all of the chaos of your week

and he's in a great mood!

"Child of man! I've come with news," he says. "I have heard of your predicament and have come up with a solution!"

you immediately sulk. "Oh, no. You know I think this whole thing is terrible, right?"

"Yes, Silver mentioned you might not like the idea of being bought and sold like a trinket. But worry not, I do not plan on paying for you in money,"

you pause, at a loss for words, and then tentatively continue. "You're not...?"

"Of course not. What a primitive idea, I was baffled to hear it myself. My proposal will be more traditional: a modest sum of treasure, and a generous amount of livestock and the finest crop Briar Valley can offer,"

certainly he's not this naive, you think

"You really think Crowley is going to accept that over money? I'm pretty sure Kalim just bid away an entire country's worth,"

he laughs. "You speak as if this is some kind of business deal! I'm quite confident that my dowry will be best,"

huh. that was a strange way of putting it

but then again, you still didn't really understand how things work here, so you go along with it

and you allow yourself to relax. he seems confident in his offer, and he doesn't even see you as some kind of prize to win!

"Oh, well, alright. Thanks! I'm glad you're on it,"

he smiles. "Rest assured, child of man, you're in good hands. My dowry will far outshine the others, and the wedding will be even better,"

"I was honestly getting a little nervous for a momen- wait- wedding!?"

[moonstruckme]

i recently started following you and i absolutely love your writing! you have such great talent!

no pressure at all and feel free to scream at me if this is out of your boundaries (i read ur guidelines so it shouldn’t be but you never know). I’m curious if you could write reader with literally anyone, just in denial that they like them. like she used to go out with really shifty guys and is just appalled that this person actually likes them

(this definitely isn’t self-indulgent at all….)

Thanks for requesting baby! (I would never scream at you lmao) I did this with dealer Eddie, hope that's alright :)

cw: weed, mention of transactional sex

dealer!Eddie Munson x fem!reader ♡ 1.5k words

Eddie’s grinning big when he opens the door to his trailer. He takes off his headphones, hanging them around his neck. You can hear Black Sabbath still playing from the speakers. 

“Hey.” His voice has a slightly raspy quality to it, and you wonder if he’s been singing or smoking. “You lookin’ for a fix, pretty?” 

You grasp the strap of your bag self-consciously, forcing a bouncy “yep” past your lips. Eddie’s got a way of saying things that makes you feel awkward and flighty, like your heart might lurch right out of your ribcage at any moment. It should be routine by now, but you’ll probably never get over it. 

Eddie only nods and opens the door further, inviting you in. He sets a hand on your back as you go by, and you try not to look as shy as the touch makes you feel. 

“Same as usual?” 

“Yeah, thanks.” You lean against the counter while he crosses the room to the drawer where he keeps his stash. 

You’ve been coming to Eddie for years now. You weren’t exactly friends in high school but you were always friendly, and every time you leave his place you’re freshly shocked by the realization that you actually really like him. You appreciate that he keeps it business. Well, as business as anything can be with Eddie. Flirting is just part of the package, but he doesn’t try to smoke your stuff after he sells it to you and doesn’t seem to expect anything other than money in return. Shitty as it sounds, a dealer like that can be hard to come by in your experience.

“I’ve been missing you, sweet thing,” he says, taking out a big zip lock bag of bud and a smaller one to portion yours into. “Thought you might’ve found someone else to keep you happy.” 

You don’t respond for a second, and Eddie’s head tilts up from where he’s picking through the bag, eyebrows going up in intrigue.

“I was seeing this guy for awhile,” you say, looking sideways out the window. “He got pre-rolls from someone else, and he’d let me have them sometimes.” 

“Well shit, I can roll for you if it’ll keep you coming over.” 

You look at Eddie in surprise. He grins at you, jutting his chin towards the couch. 

“Sit down, I’ll get you set up.” 

“You don’t have to do that,” you say. 

“Gotta keep my favorite customer happy, don’t I?” You don’t move, and his smile softens into something more genuine. “It’s no problem, just sit down. Tell me about this guy. Does he treat you right?” 

You follow directions, going to sit on the less saggy and dingy-looking of the couch cushions while Eddie bends over the counter across from you. “Not really,” you say indifferently. As if thinking about it doesn’t send a dull ache blooming through your middle. “We aren’t together anymore.” 

Eddie glances up at you, something odd flitting across his expression. “That sucks,” he says bluntly. “I’m sorry. I mean, it sounds like he sucked, so I guess I’m not sorry that it’s over even if I’m sorry that you’re sad. Are you sad?” 

A little laugh startles out of you. “Not really,” you say, and it’s halfway to honest. You’d been sad to break up with him, but Eddie is right; he sucked. You’re not really sad it’s over either. 

“Good.” He nods, appeased. “Thought I’d have to go beat someone up or something.” 

You snort, and Eddie’s mouth drops open in offense. He looks back down at the roll, sticking his tongue in his cheek as he shakes his head.

“Feels like you’re not taking my threat of vengeance super seriously.” 

“No, I am,” you laugh. “I am, it’s just—you don’t seem like someone who wins a ton of fights.” 

“Ah!” He clutches a fist over his heart, looking at you in absolute betrayal. “So little faith! I’ve fought worse monsters than your jilted beaux, okay?” 

You roll your eyes. “I’m guessing it’s a little different in real life than in your game.” 

Eddie pauses for a half a second, and you wonder if you’ve gone too far in your teasing, but then he bends back over the table, bringing the paper to his mouth. “Right.” He runs his tongue quickly across the roll. “Well, anyway, I have a spear in my garage if you want me to give it a try.” 

You smile at the thought of Eddie jabbing his (in your imagination, plastic and nerdy) spear at your most recent ex. 

“Thanks, but I think I’m good,” you say. 

He shrugs. “Your loss. I’d have taken off my shirt for the battle, but I guess you’ll have to get that show another time.” 

You laugh, crossing your legs as he starts on another roll. “Hey, you don’t actually have to roll all this,” you say. “I won’t stop coming to you.” 

“I don’t mind it,” he replies, packing the next with easy, practiced movements. “Unless you’re in a rush or something. Do you have to go?” 

“No, I’m…I’m good.” You’ve never spent this long at Eddie’s place before. It’s usually that you show up, he gives you a bag, you pay, and you leave. You’ve never taken much time to survey the trailer, the way Eddie moves around the cramped furniture with such ease or the way the windows let in just enough light to make his skin look softer and his eyes browner. “You can leave half of it, though, if that’s okay. I’ve still got a bowl at home.” 

“Whatever you want.” He keeps his focus downward, ringed fingers moving carefully. “You know, I’ve actually kind of missed having you come around.” 

“You said that already.” You tuck a piece of hair behind your ear, smiling even though he’s not looking. “I told you I’ll keep coming back, Eddie, you don’t have to butter me up.” 

His gaze flicks to you, eyebrows rising on his forehead. “I’m not,” he says.

Something about his tone has the hairs raising on the back of your neck. You keep intentionally still as a slight chill goes through you. 

“I like hanging out with you.” He shrugs, looking back at his roll. “Would you want to hang out again soon?” 

You hesitate. “I…don’t think I’ll be needing any more for a bit.” 

“Well, ideally you wouldn’t be here to buy.” 

For a second, you’re confused, and then realization and dread collide in your gut with enough force to make you nauseous. The disappointment is more potent than either of them. 

“Oh.” Maybe Eddie isn’t so different from the other dealers you’ve had after all. “Um, I just feel like I’ve always paid in cash…” 

Eddie’s eyebrows furrow, and then his entire face contorts. “Christ—no.” He drops the finished roll, holding up his palms as if to ward you off. “Not that! Ew—I mean—” His hands go to his head. “—not ew, like you’re not ew, I just—gah.” He drops his head back, and his fingers disappear into his hair, making fists. He looks almost pained. “I like you. Like, I’m not trying to have sex with you right now. Not that sex wouldn’t be cool—we could if you wanted to—but that’s not what I’m getting at.” 

He blows out a big breath, hands dropping to his knees, and looks you in the eye. 

“Can we just forget about the weed for a second?” he asks, sounding nearly desperate. “I’m trying to ask you on a date. Not to get you to fuck me for drugs.” Your mouth drops open, but Eddie keeps going. “And if you don’t want to go out, that’s totally cool. Very respectable, honestly. It doesn’t have to affect anything.” He presses his lips together. “I didn’t mean to say you were ew. I’m sorry.” 

You’re too shell-shocked to even laugh. You have whiplash. But now he’s looking at you with his big eyes all expectant, and you feel like you have to say something. 

“A date?” you ask. 

“Uh, yeah.” He leans against the counter, looking a bit awkward but somehow all the more endearing for it. “Like, to the arcade or maybe dairy queen or something—I don’t know, you can pick.” 

“And you…don’t want to have sex.” 

“I don’t not want to have sex,” he clarifies. “But, uh, we don’t have to at all. Like, only if you want to, and definitely not if you think it’s some sort of…” Eddie winces “...transaction.” 

You nod slowly, and now there’s a smile tugging persistently at your lips. “That sounds good,” you say. “The date part.” 

“Yeah?” His head picks up. “Really?”

You smile. “Yeah. Are you sure?” 

“Am I sure?” Eddie guffaws. “Yeah, I’m pretty fucking sure. I’m getting a much better deal here. But no take-backs,” he says quickly, and his grin widens when you laugh. “Are you free tomorrow?” 

“Um, yeah.” You think for a second, nodding. “Yeah, I’ve got nothing tomorrow.” 

“Great.” Eddie presses his lips together like he’s trying to contain the full scope of his smile. He pushes his fingers into the countertop. “Okay, forget everything from today. I’m gonna be such a fucking gentleman when I pick you up tomorrow, you probably won’t even recognize me.”

[performativezippers]

fanfic writer habits i've had to unlearn when trying to traditionally publish original work

a list in no particular order in case you're curious

starting sentences with "And"

so. many. one sentence. paragraphs. like, yeah, this is fun for The Drama but also...not how books work

using italics for emphasis--gotta use your WORDS, zippy

head hopping. rereading old fanfics i wrote, i'm like, WHOSE POV IS THIS?? HOW WOULD JANE KNOW MAURA THINKS THIS?? jesus christ keep your pov tight, zipperoni. i had to really learn this when i was revising my first book and my agent pointed it out.

Oh. Oh. some of these are good but too many are oh [failure]

Using scene breaks to skip through transitions instead of actually transitioning. this one i'm working on right now and it's haaaaaaard.

scene choreography. if someone is holding something, do they ever put it down? are they STILL HOLDING IT NOW, FIVE YEARS LATER?

overwriting vs using a lighter touch. "that's normal. that's casual. that's fine." sometimes that's great for emphasis, but if it was always just "that's casual. that's fine." the point comes across the same way, and doesn't hit you over the head with it as much.

introducing new characters and making them memorable, vivid, and not sucking up too much space when the reader doesn't recognize them (it's lena! i love her!)

pacing! things have to happen at specific times, the book needs to end at a specific time, the conflict needs to be sown here and explode there. making that all feel organic and honest for the characters while also conforming to the genre expectations that have very little flexibility (especially for a new author trying to convince publishers I know how to write books)

ending things at the right time. at first i wrote too far beyond the climax (classic fanfic problem) and then now i seem to have swung too far in the other direction and am ending too soon after it. but the good news is that my editor asked for an epilogue. you know what that means?? A WHOLE SHORT CHAPTER OF FLUFF Y'ALL!!!

Does this need to be a curse word or can it be a different word? i mean often it fucking needs to but not always!

Just cut out the word just almost all of the time even if it feels like it's just the right word; it will hurt just a little but you should just do it.

use as much sex as the plot needs. incorporate it into the plot. don't change the tone of the piece. make it stay in character and also be hot and also serve the narrative.

got questions? want examples? have thoughts? what other things have you caught yourself doing, or notice when you read through your old stuff?

[vacayisland]

HIII i saw that you were taking request so im just asking if you could make a John dory x reader insert fanfic?

John dory meeting his spouce on the mission with Branch and Poppy when they find Bruce and hits it off with them while their is working at Bruces little diner?

@!; It's always a "vacay" with you. John Dory (JD) / Reader

"Summary"! John Dory didn't expect meeting the love of his life on a mission to save his brother; yet here he was, finding himself oh so fascinated with you that Spruce, Branch, and Poppy are having to physically pull him away from Vacay Island! "Tags"! Fluff! A lil awkward. Also, not proof read. I need to research JD a little more before writing another fanfiction about him, yet I tried my best with his personality!

@!; The last thing that John Dory expected from this mission was to find someone who completed him wholly, fully, and completely. The last thing he expected, when arriving to Vacay Island was to fall in love, head over heels for another Troll. The last thing he expected to come from this mission was to find someone who finally understood; understood him and his ways and how he is. Who made him want to be better while helping make him better; and in turn he helps them be a better version of themself. And it felt like some sort of weird destiny. They were only going to the island to find Spruce; a mission with one end goal, one way to go. Yet, when following Spruce (now Bruce) into his co-owned resort, singing had caught his attention right away...

Branch and Poppy kept following after Spruce, who hadn't turned around yet and kept trying to wave the two off while claiming his band days were over and to keep it all hushed-hushed. Though JD had stopped half way through the walk, hearing a tune flutter through the speakers of the indoor seating area. His interest had been captured, it was held captive with ever flutter of the sweet notes that wafted through the air. Though he slowly started to back up to follow his younger brother to get Spruce, he kept his eye out for the person who held such a lovely voice. "This is my wife, Brandy!" JD had swung himself on top of the bar top just as Bruce was introducing his wife. He was about to wave them off, though took a quick double turn when he actually saw who Bruce's wide was. Then grew even more confused when Bruce was bombarded with 10... 11... maybe 12 kids?! "How do you?-" JD pointed towards Brandy and Bruce, managing to interject between all the kids and chaos; Asking the one question that him, Poppy, and Branch were thinking - maybe less Poppy, and more him and Branch. Yet still, how would such a relationship even work? Nevertheless work so well where they had so many children- wait no, JD scrunched his nose as the thoughts that came to mind. He subtly leaned away from the two, glancing between Branch and Poppy and Bruce and Brandy. He turned them out for a moment, glancing back at the open sitting area as everyone chatted and spoke, laughed and cackled, just having a good time. And that's when he saw a flash of color, different from the other warmer-tones. JD didn't notice the way his breath caught in his throat the moment you swung by, landing on the counter top with a skidded stop. Despite wearing roller blades, the wheels didn't bother you. "Brandy! You got the food for Skid and Mary?" "Oh hey! Guys, that's (Y/N), a worker of mine." Bruce cut in as Brandy nodded, ringing a bell before a basket of fries and burgers were pushed out from the kitchen. She would take them, slide them across the counter to you, and you would, as though these plates weren't triple your size, hooked your hair around the holes of the basket. "Thanks, gotta run! Oh- hey Bruce." A wave, bright smile, and you were off; having stopped in for a brief moment but completely capturing JD's attention once again. He couldn't help but watch as you skated off, dragging the plates behind you while dodging whoever and whatever came your way. "So they was singing." JD blurted, not exactly meaning to. Though he captured his brothers and Poppy's attention. Bruce simply crossed his arms, "Oh, (Y/N)? Yeah! They always sing while they work, sometimes they even take a break to entertain everyone with a musical number." Though JD didn't catch it, Branch give him a skeptical look; being quicker to catch onto the way JD looked on you and the slightly softer tone he had.

@!; JD wasn't sure what attracted him to you yet, but he found himself looking for you every second of their stay trying to convenience Bruce to come help save Floyd. Even during the 'Brozone's back' performance, he looked for your face in the crowd; trying to see if he could catch a glimpse of you and your rolling skating antics. When they were done, while Poppy and Bruce's family were cheering them on, his eyes were stuck on the crowd. His nose scrunched as he tried to keep old thoughts out of his head, wondering why you weren't here praising him for his singing or anything like that. No, he cannot think like that. He's growing, he's outgrown that mindset- "Earth to JD!" JD snapped out of his thoughts at Poppy frantically waving her hand in front of his face. A hard blink and he turned over to the staring company. Brandy had a knowing look, in which JD squinted at trying to decipher. Poppy playfully punched JD's arm, "Oh, good to have you back!" A big grin paired her child like antics, in which JD only laughed and brushed off. "What are you talking about, I've been here since the beginning. After all, I'm the one who found Floyd's lett-" Yet he wasn't able to finish before Branch cut in. "Yeah, half here. Ever since we stepped foot here you've been," And Branch waited no time drawing a circle at the side of his temple, pairing it with a whistle; effectively calling JD insane, or mainly out of it. Poppy playfully slapped Branch's arm away from his head, saying something about how that was rude to do. Branch smiled a little, but tried to keep a straight face, as he gestured over to JD with a 'come on' type of look. Poppy glanced over to JD for a moment then back at Branch, a silent agreement that she would try to make unobvious. Bruce simply chuckled at their antics. "What? What's funny?" JD pointed at Bruce, narrowing his eyes a little as his more laid-back brother. "Oh nothing.." And there was a hint in Bruce's voice that made it sound like there was more. Yet he didn't say anything, arms crossed, as he gave JD a knowing look. An oddly, really knowing look. It threw JD off. He wasn't that readable anymore, he wasn't how he was when the band was together and his brothers shouldn't know how he is! He didn't like that look. So he glanced away from Bruce. Yet there was a feeling in his gut that JD knew that Bruce had some sort of hint of what was distracting him.

@!; The mission had been delayed a day. Bruce needed to stay back for a day longer to help Brandy with the kids and figure out all the logistics of leaving so suddenly. JD had gone off on his own, letting Branch and Poppy do their own thing, as he went to go walk on the beach. There wasn't much else to do than to walk on the beach and take in the scene. He didn't exactly want to get into the water, despite how impressing it might be to you- And there his mind goes again! JD cursed himself and cursed his thoughts and cursed you!- Then he paused, with a scrunch of his nose. He couldn't curse you no matter how much he was irritated you infiltrated his thoughts. He hasn't even spoken to you! How would he know you would even like him? That he would even like you! "A little help!!" JD's attention snapped behind him as he heard the shout from an all too familiar voice. Yet he didn't have time to react, seeing a troll barreling towards him with their arms extended and a panic-stricken look. JD jumped out of the way, landing in the sand and purposefully with more force than needed to dig himself in. You whizzed by him and he quickly shot his hair our towards you, wrapping it around your waist and trying to hold onto the friction from the sand to slow you down. Yet, maybe he should have dug himself in deeper. He knew this as soon as his left foot lost footing and he shot forward, dragging across the sand and towards you. He tried grabbing onto something, yet you both only crashed into each other; And while that helped to stop you, it also caused you both to barrel and roll into the shore of the ocean, effectively drenching you both in salty water. JD groaned, laying in the mushy sand floor, feeling the waves crash up against him and recede slowly back once they came. He felt groggy, a little disorientated, yet he didn't have much time to reflect on that feeling when someone began to shake him. "Oh my god! Please don't be dead- please!" And with a few slaps to his cheek, JD shoved a hand into the face of whoever was trying to bother him at this moment. There was a silence for a moment, maybe out of shock, before JD heard the person beside him let out a deep sigh. It was a sigh like the weight of the world had been lifted off the person's shoulders, releasing them some sort of trouble or entanglement with liability. JD opened one eye when the ocean drew back again, keeping his eyes half-lidded, as he tried to see who was with him in the ocean. He swore he nearly died the minute that he saw you, soaking head to toe and looking down at him with the most worrisome look. He jolted up to a sit, not realizing his hand was still cupping your mouth until a moment later; When he drew it back, glancing down at it and back up at you, then cautiously placing it beside him. "Are you okay?" And despite how awkward this situation could be, you didn't make it that way. And JD slightly hoped it was because you saw the look on his face; The silent apology he couldn't bare himself to say. He's been working on himself, but he's not that level of worked on yet. Especially since he knew he owed a few people some big apologies.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." JD mumbled after a minute. He took in a deep breath before placing his hands on his knees and standing up, letting out the breath in a long sigh as he did so. "Oh- um! That's good." Your smile was anxious, a little weary, as you still sat in the mushy sand in the fire range of the waves. JD offered you his hand. You took it, allowing him to help you onto your feet. And that awkward silence along with a prolonged holding of hands. JD wasn't sure why, but he noticed the way your hand fit perfectly into his like all your hands were made to do was hold each other. He kind of didn't want to let go, but did so for the sake of comfortability. It would be awkward to hold hands with a strange, right? And no matter how many fangirls they had felt with in Brozone, JD would never know that answer. He guessed yes, by the way your eyes shifted to the left in an uncomfortable fashion. Yet he saw the way your eyes flicked back to his the moment he let go. He noticed the way your hand dropped to your side limp-like, and the small smile that crept to your face. There was some sort of glint in your eyes that drew JD in again. Though he couldn't exactly tell what that sparkle was for; he just hoped you were going the same way his brain was. "Hey," A pause, you were chewing over your words. "Would you like to talk over a basket of nachos?" "Were you reading my mind?" JD cocked up his eyebrow, giving you a snicker as he saw the cheeky look that rose on your face. "Maybe I am, you'll never know! But I have an employ discount I still have to use and this seems like the perfect occasion to take my break." And you grinned a grin that made JD feel like you were looking right through him; That you knew all his flaws and strengths all at once and yet still loved him for every single one of them. And maybe he was insane to think so. And maybe JD should get to know you better before he jumps to conclusions. But, shit, you had him hooked in a way no Troll has had him before.

.ᐟ this work is published and owned by @vacayisland. please do not plagiarize, copy, or steal this work; like, reblogs, and saves are appreciated :D

[winterrrnight]

I'll be there for you

PAIRING: zach maclaren x gn!reader

SUMMARY: on your way to be broken up with (unknowing to you), you bump into a blue eyed boy who becomes your saviour after the break up.

WARNINGS: break up, heartbreak

EDITH SPEAKS: zach maclaren is what I have always imagined soft!rafe to be like. You don't know how big of a win it is for me (and for all the people who are obsessed w soft!rafe). zach is a sweetie and i NEED to write fics for him, so here you go!! it's my first fic for him as per the poll 🫶🏻🫶🏻

if you enjoyed reading this, please reblog!! feedback is always appreciated so please don't be afraid to comment and leave your thoughts 💕💕 + give me some cute cute zach requests y'all 😭

navigation || join my taglist || requests

You speed up your jogging, and try to simultaneously avoid all sorts of puddles. It's been raining heavily and you almost had an accident with your car as you accidentally drove into a huge pothole. It's at the repair shop, and you're stuck with walking as your medium of transportation.

Your partner asked you to meet up with them at a local coffee shop, and it's been almost 20 minutes since the time you were actually supposed to be there. You forgot to charge your phone so you're just carrying a dead device with you, and you have no way of informing them about you being late.

As you're jogging (which has now become sprinting, accompanied with your heavy breathes) you find yourself getting mesmerised by a new shop as you pass it. You watch through the window of the shop whilst running, and the decore inside intrigues you deeply as you make a mental note to visit the shop on your way back.

Just as you direct your attention to the road, you find yourself almost running into a huge puddle of water. Your reflexes act up as you suddenly swerve to the left, and with such a late response, you end up crashing into someone.

"Ow!" You say, as you and the unknown person both groan. In the heat of the moment, the other person has their arms wrapped around you to prevent you from falling (or from keeping themselves from falling) and you clasp onto their arms as you both steady yourself.

As you regain focus and look up at the person, you see the most beautiful pair of blue eyes looking at you back, and a mop of hair which looks as soft as bunny ears.

You forget what happened just a second before as you find yourself so mesmerised by this person in front of you. The world around you has seemed to stop spinning, and it feels like you and this person are the only people on this planet.

"Are you okay?"

The most musical voice enters your ears, and you think you haven't seen a person this perfect before.

"Yeah, yeah I'm okay, are you okay? I'm so sorry I just full on slammed into you," you laugh, as the person takes their hands off your arms and you do too. You had forgotten you both were holding each other.

"Yes, I'm fine. You look worried and distracted, is everything alright?"

"Uh yes, it's all good," you smile at the stranger. His kindness has warmed your heart.

You suddenly remember you are on your way to meet your partner. You look at your wrist watch to see you're now over 30 minutes late.

"Oh shit I gotta go," you say, starting to run again.

"Be careful!" You hear him call out behind you. You lightly laugh at his words as you run, and pick up speed but this time keeping yourself focused.

You quickly reach the coffee shop and enter inside, the bells jingling just like they always do. You look at the corner to see them sitting there with their eyes buried in their phone. You rush up to them and give them a quick kiss on their cheek before sitting opposite to them.

"I'm so so sorry I'm late, my car is at the shop and I had to run and on the way I almost-"

"It's okay," they say, taking a sip of the coffee they ordered for themselves. There's nothing on the table for you, when you know they are fully aware what you love to drink from here.

Ignoring that, you just nod and look outside the window.

"Listen, I want to talk about something really important," they say, regaining your focus.

"Yeah?"

"This," they say, gesturing to the both of you, "this isn't working out anymore. I'm pretty sure you've noticed how we've grown apart and have been basically living two separate lives since a few months now. I, I want to break up with you."

You watch them with your eyes widened and your heart loud in your chest.

No doubt you have felt the lack of love between you two, but you've made some beautiful memories with them and to think it all ends here now, does make you sad.

"Oh," you whisper, not knowing what else to really say.

"I'm also moving away next week, and I might as well start to live there permanently," they add, and you just look at them with disbelief. They're moving away and this is the moment they thought is the perfect one to break this news to you?

"I have absolutely loved being with you all this time, but I think it's now time we separate and do our own thing." They take the last sip of their coffee and get up from their chair. "I wish you the best for your life." They smile at you and leave the coffee shop, you left all alone at the table.

It takes you a few minutes to process what has happened, and how you've been broken up with in such a horrific way. You stay seated with your eyes focused on your hands in your lap, as you turn their words in your mind over and over.

You take in a deep breathe and get up from your chair, and leave the coffee shop. You walk slowly back to your home, you hands stuffed in the pockets of your jacket as you try to distract yourself by kicking the stones on your path.

You are nearing the shop you wanted to visit, and just before that, you spot a familiar face sitting on a bench. He sees you and gives you a smile as he gets up from the bench.

"You look so sad," the blue eyed boy says.

"Well, I did just get broken up with," you say with a laugh, but nothing was funny about this situation.

"Oh my," he gasps, "I'm so sorry," he wraps his arms around you and pulls you in a hug.

Should you be hugging someone who's name you don't even know?

Probably not, but you are in a desparate need for closure.

And this person really knows how to hug.

"You'll be fine," he says. "It wasn't meant to be, because if it was, you wouldn't be broken up with right now. It may take some time for you to realise it, but I promise you, it happened for the best."

Your lips upturn into a small smile. "We fell out of love a long time ago, I don't know why I'm clinging onto something which practically ended so long ago."

"I think it's because they did make you feel things, and you're just missing all the good times. And that's totally normal. But there's someone out there who'll keep you so much more happy."

You suddenly pull him into a another hug, and you hear him giggle as he hugs you back. This is the best thing that has happened to you all day.

"Thank you for that," you whisper. He simply smiles at you and nods.

You look around and your eyes land at the shop which attracted you deeply.

You only live once, right?

"If you aren't busy right now, would you like to check out that shop with me?" You ask, pointing to it. He turns around to look at where you're pointing.

"I would love to," he smiles, and it's like you've already forgotten about the heartbreak you were experiencing a few minutes ago.

He was right; it was never meant to be and there's someone who's going to keep you so much more happy.

And that someone is him.

Zach Maclaren, the boy who you fell in love with because he provided you support when you thought you would crumble apart.

The boy who showed you happiness in forms you didn't know you could feel.

The boy who loved you with his last breathe.

↶ೃ✧˚. ❃ ↷ ˊˎ-

TAGLIST: @runningfrom2am @saccharinesammie @maybankslover @totalswag @madelynie @chenslucy @ietss @elle-mp3 @viawritesstuff @wallsdreams @tahliac11 @sadfury @newsies-pape-girl @jamesbuckybarneswify

(If you want to be added, check out the 'join my taglist' post on top! + send in requests if you have any, but please read the 'requests' post first!)

[jishyucks]

Desk Deliveries — ljn

‣ pairing: lee jeno x reader

‣ genre: fluff, implied f2l/coworkers-to-lovers, secret admirer au, office!au

‣ wc: 5.6k

‣ summary: When gifts start appearing on your work desk on December 1st, you have no choice but to hunt down the man who’s been planting them. And with only 7 men on the floor, this shouldn’t be difficult… Right?

‣ warnings: nothing really?, cliche-ish ending, a lot of dialogue (I gotta get this story goingggg)

‣ an: jeno’s wooooo, honestly easier to write than I thought but it’s wayyyy longer than I wanted it to be (I keep underestimating? myself), I just hope it’s up to my own standards lmaooo, but hopefully u guys enjoy!

Series Masterlist

DECEMBER 1

Desk Delivery!

Starting today, consider your desk a treasure trove of surprises.

‘Tis the season of giving, after all, and your radiant presence in the office deserves to be celebrated.

Each gift is carefully chosen, a small reflection of the little things I love about you. I hope they bring a smile to your face and add a sprinkle of magic to your December days.

Stay curious, 

Your Secret Admirer (or would Secret Santa fit the season?)

You almost laugh out loud, blinking at the note sitting on your desk. This must be a joke, right? 

“What is that?” Karina digs her chin into your shoulder, reading the note from behind you.

“Some joke,” you reply, letting her pluck the card from your fingertips. 

She pouts, “But it’s cute!”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t,” you counter, taking the card back.

“I just don’t believe it’s real.”

DECEMBER 3

Today, you arrive at the office greeted with a small, neatly wrapped cube on your desk and you’re beginning to think that the message you were given on the 1st wasn’t a joke and that, whoever it was, was being serious.

You glance around the office to see if any of your coworkers were present, but you seemed to be the first one there. Your brows furrow, carefully sliding the box toward you before ripping the wrapping paper. 

You use your office scissors to slice the tape open, and then once you are sure you can open the box to see what was in it, you take a deep breath in. You push the box away from you so it’s at arm’s length, afraid that something was going to pop out when you lift the flaps open. Counting to three in your head, you ready your fingers to lift the covers after the third count.

Fully expecting there to be fake snakes of some sort, you were met with nothing (thankfully). You pull the box back and peek in to find a mug and a card. Your brows furrow, pulling the card out first. 

I know how much you love that mug of yours, Y/N…

But it’s time to retire that broken one.

Got you a new one. Hope you like it! 

Your Secret Admirer 

You can’t help but giggle at the tone of the writer, placing the card down before going for the mug. You’ve been teased maybe once or twice for using a mug with no handle, mostly because you’ve been complaining about how the edges of the glass edges left behind by the absent handles had been poking at your palm.

Carefully, you fish the cup out of the box, making sure you won’t drop and shatter the present before you can even use it, and you use your other hand to pull the box off. And when you finally get a good look at the mug, you laugh out loud, bringing it up to eye level to get a good look at it. 

It was the exact same mug you already have been using, the only difference was that this one actually had a handle.

You were so caught up in your present that you didn't notice Karina approaching you, “Morning, smiley face.”

“Huh?” you blink at her, confused.

“I would take a picture of you right now, but I’m too lazy,” she huffs, “But you’re smiling like a child on Christmas Day.” Karina blatantly points at your face, “Who’s got you smiling like that?”

You shrug but gesture to the card and the mug, “I don’t think that first one was a joke…”

DECEMBER 4

“Hey! Hey, Y/N!” 

You hear someone call your name, but you don’t actually hear it. It was sort of like background noise to your thoughts, entering one ear and leaving the other. 

“Y/N! Hey!” 

Then, you feel something rough hit the side of your face and you realize that Karina was peeking over the wall of her cubicle and into yours.

“What the fuck do you want!” you whisper. You pick up the balled-up scrap paper she had thrown before throwing it back to her, “I’m trying to work!” 

She dodges the ball with ease, head briefly disappearing then reappearing, “Do you have any candidates for who your secret admirer could be?” 

Karina was speaking a little bit too loud for your liking, so you gestured for her to come closer. She doesn’t hesitate to leave her workspace to enter yours, sitting down on an empty spot on your desk, “So? Candidates?”

You shake your head, “Barely. I was only able to pick out that the writing is a guy’s writing because the girls have neat writing… Other than that, I have nothing.” 

The two letters sitting on your desk were your only explicit clues. Then, you had the thing with the mug, but everyone knew of your broken mug. So really, it was just the handwriting that you had as insight. 

“Okay, so it’s a guy…” Karina hums. She stretches her neck to glance around the office, “And there’s only like… seven? It wouldn’t be difficult to eliminate some of them.” She picks up your two cards to examine the cards. You can see her eyes move back and forth between the letters, pressing her lips into a thin line. “It’s not Renjun.” 

“Huh? How do you know that?” 

“He handwrites,” Karina states, “Like straight-up longhand writing. So it’s not him.” 

“How do you know he’s not just changing up his writing so it’s not obvious?” you narrow your eyes. 

Karina laughs, “Okay, you have a point, but let’s just say that he’s out temporarily, to make it easier on us. In the case that everyone else is out, then it’s Renjun.” 

You don’t notice the way your face scrunches up, your facial features pushing in toward your nose. 

“Hey, what’s with the face?” Karina’s head tilts to the side. It takes a beat and a half before she realizes, “Wait, you don’t want it to be Renjun, do you?” 

You don’t answer, mostly because you didn’t want to outright say that you didn’t want Renjun to be your admirer—no offense to him. Renjun was a great guy, but he wasn’t someone who you saw yourself being with. And if you were to actually build a relationship with this person, you didn’t want it to be Renjun. 

An all-knowing smirk appears on Karina’s face, “Then who do you want it to be?” 

You want to throw a punch at Karina’s knee, but you remember you are still in the workplace and you need to keep it (at least a little bit) professional. “Fuck you, you already know the answer to that.” 

Jeno, Karina thinks.

“Of course you want it to be him,” Karina puts the cards back down, “I should have known. You’re down bad for that man.” 

Karina wasn’t wrong. You and Jeno go way back to your internship days, and your (hopeless) crush on him has been there since then. 

“Down bad for who?” 

From seemingly out of nowhere, Chenle appears at the corner of your cubicle, leaning against it as he takes a sip of his coffee. And of course, wherever Chenle was, Jisung followed, standing right next to the former. 

“Uh, that-that one actor!” you lie in a panic, “From that one show!”

“You suck at lying,” Chenle snorts, “You could have at least named someone. It could have been Nam Joohyuk for all I care.” 

“It’s not you guys if that’s what you’re thinking,” Karina snickers, “Sorry, boys.” 

Jisung and Chenle burst out laughing, almost comically in sync. They even threw in a high-five, though it was out of habit. “No offense, Y/N, but I don’t see you in that light.” Chenle is practically in tears. 

“No offense, Chenle, but I don’t either,” you reply, “Now can you guys please leave my space or I’m reporting you guys to Taeyong.” And that sends them away because it wasn’t the first time they’ve been reported.

“Okay so we can scratch those two off the list,” Karina concludes. 

And you nod. 

So far, so good. This should be easy.

DECEMBER 8

Okay, it wasn’t as easy as you thought. 

All your interactions with the other guys were normal. None of them seemed suspicious enough for you to star, nor did any of them do anything that ruled themselves off your list, and you had to admit, it was frustrating. 

Of all the boys, the most suspicious was Jaemin, who snickered every time he passed your desk. But when you mentioned this to Karina, Karina pointed out that Jaemin was like that in general, always up to his own shenanigans like Donghyuck was. 

“That or he knows something,” Karina thinks, “We should ask him.” 

It was nearing the end of the day and you and Karina were sitting at one of the open tables by the floor’s wall of windows, mugs in hand while you carefully eyed the boys of the department. 

Karina’s about to walk up to Jaemin when you stop her, pinching her blouse to keep her from leaving, “I don’t think Jaemin’s stupid enough to spill anything if we ask. We have to make it subtle.” 

“Subtle, how?” 

You shrug, “Just subtle.”

“Subtle, how?” Karina repeats. 

You want to bonk her in the head, “I guess pretend like you don’t really care, maybe say you think it’s Renjun or something and see what he says.”

Let’s say Jaemin really did know who your admirer was. If Karina were to think it was someone else, she could note the way Jaemin would react to her guesses and you both can go from there. 

You shoo her away and let her do her thing, staying back to pretend you were watching cars drive past down below. 

In 8 days, the only clues you were able to gather included the fact that he was a boy, he worked on this floor (the mug thing), he liked to end his J’s in loop de loops, and there was always some type of water or coffee stain on the cards. 

The last clue was something you and Karina had just recently discovered, simply because the first few cards were wrinkled in the slightest with water, while the most recent one, today's, had been stained with a drop of coffee. 

You’re not sure if these were purposeful or accidental, but nonetheless, you and Karina took any details as clues, hoping that it would lead to a conclusion.

“You haven’t blinked for a while.” 

“Shit, I didn’t hear you come,” you greet Jeno with an awkward smile, shifting your weight from one leg to the other, “I was just deep in thought.” 

Jeno’s eyes disappear when he smiles and your stomach does that thing it does when he does so. It’s so stupid how you’re feeling like a giddy high schooler around this man, but you’ll defend yourself any day and blame him for everything. 

“Is it about your secret admirer?” Jeno questions. He’s facing the window and you’re facing him. You can see him peeking at you through the corner of his eye and he’s smiling teasingly.

Your eyes widen, “Wait, how do you know about that?” You haven’t told anyone but Karina, Chenle, and Jisung, the last two only earning the information for being the most persistent duo on the planet. 

“Word gets around,” he shrugs, “And I pass your desk to and from the elevator.” 

You’re guessing the two younger boys had let it slip out but you disregard them for now, “Oh… right…”

“So, what about him?” Jeno questions. 

“Just… I don’t know who it is….” 

Jeno turns to you and you’re taken aback by how tired he looks. Sure, everyone in this damn office repped the good ‘ol panda eyes, but Jeno’s hair was a bit dishevelled, eyes half closed from fatigue. You choose not to point it out. 

Jeno’s words register in your head and your brows furrow, “Wait… how do you know they’re a he? I didn’t say anything about him unless…” You don’t quite notice the way Jeno freezes up only because he wasn’t moving much beforehand. “Unless you know who he is!”

Jeno shakes his head, “Jisung told me!”

“I didn’t tell Jisung anything.” “You probably told Karina who told Chenle who told Jisung!” At this point, Jeno’s heart is beating at an erratically fast pace and he’s about to panic until Karina returns. She’s pouting, a tinge of disappointment evident on her face and Jeno takes this as his chance to escape.

“What did Jaemin say?” Your attention is easily pulled away from your friend, “Did he say anything?”

“No,” Karina grumbles, “I accidentally let it slip out that this was about your admirer and all he said was, 'Secret admirer, huh? Wouldn't you like to know.'” Karina mocks Jaemin’s voice, rolling her eyes. “But I guess that just proves that he knows something… it’ll just be harder to get it out of him.” 

“Jeno’s being suspicious now, too,” you nod your head to the boy. 

Sure it could be implied that your admirer was one of the guys, but the way the man had handled your questions was definitely something to take note of. 

DECEMBER 10

“Please tell me you’ll be leaving after you finish this?” Another one of your coworkers, Minjeong, was standing at the edge of your cubicle, leaning against the divider. You can tell she’s ready to leave, hands stuffed deep into her pockets, “Everyone’s left besides Mr. Jo.” 

Mr. Jo was the custodian.

“I will, I promise.” You don’t even look up from your screen, waving your hand in her direction as if it would make her scurry away, “I’m almost done. Have a good night, Jeongie!” 

She returns your farewell and leaves, knowing that you won’t budge until you finish your task. 

You genuinely were near completion. You just had a few more points in the report to finish before you reached your goal for tonight and you’ll go home. 

Your fingers are flying across your keyboard, fatigued eyes blinking at the words you were producing in hopes that they were coherent. Your brain had shut down an hour ago and now you were on autopilot.

Who cares if it’s coherent if I’m going to edit it anyway? You think. And now you were carelessly typing, making typos left and right. 

When you finally finish the draft, you grab your mug from your coaster to put in the office’s sink. Your eyes finally catch a break from staring at the screen for so long, practically feeling your ocular muscles relax. Closing your eyes, you blindly make your way down the pathway, which honestly was easy after the amount of times you’ve made your way down it.

But when your feet hit something that was obviously not as hard as a cubicle wall you freeze. 

Shit. 

Your eyes fly open and quickly look at what you have unintentionally kicked. 

“Jeno?” You blink your eyes a couple times to make sure you aren’t just seeing things.

Sprawled out on his desk was Jeno, fast asleep. There was a small pond of drool underneath his cheek, mouth hanging open. You couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Jeno.” You feel the need to whisper now, leaning over to shake his shoulder. “Jeno!” 

He begins to stir, “Huh? Wha?” 

“What are you still doing here?” you ask. 

One eye stuck closed, he glances around the empty office. The side that he had been lying on was flat as if he had been in that position for a while. Jeno yawns and stretches, his back popping a little as he sits up. 

"I was waiting for you to finish," he mumbles, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands.

You glance at the clock on his computer screen, realizing it's much later than you thought. "Jeno, it's getting late. You didn’t need to wait for me."

He shrugs, a sleepy smile on his face. "I didn't want you to go home alone in the dark. Plus, I figured you might need some company." 

You hit him on the shoulder, “You dumbass!”

Jeno winces even though you didn’t even hit him too hard. “Ow!” 

“I didn’t even know you were here! Dumbass!” You throw another thwack at his shoulder blade, “You’re lucky I tripped over your foot!” Jeno ignores you and starts getting up, pulling out his packed bag underneath his desk, “You should’ve told me you were gonna wait for me.”

“Yeah, but then you would’ve pushed me onto the elevator so that I could leave,” Jeno replies. "Ready to head home?"

Although you and Jeno don’t live anywhere near each other, your place was on the way to his. Usually, you’d walk home and go sightseeing as you walked past the small shops on the way, but because the weather could freeze your arteries shut, you’re forced to transit home. 

"Sure, let's go." You pack up your things quickly, and the two of you head towards the elevator.

As you wait for the elevator doors to open, you glance at Jeno. His eyes are still a bit heavy with sleep, but there's a warmth in them that makes your heart flutter. When he notices you looking, he tightens his lips to give you a tired grin that reaches his eyes. The office is quiet now, only the hum of the elevator breaking the silence.

Once inside, Jeno presses the button for the ground floor, and the elevator starts its descent. The dim lighting casts a soft glow on both of you, and you can't help but appreciate the peaceful moment.

"Long day, huh?" Jeno breaks the silence, his tone sympathetic. “Your secret admirer mystery still bothering you?"

You chuckle and nod, "Yes. But it just makes me more determined to figure it out."

"Any progress?" Jeno raises an eyebrow, curious.

You shake your head, "Not really. It's driving me crazy." 

"Maybe it's someone you least expect," Jeno suggests with a playful smile.

"Maybe," you reply, unsure. The elevator doors open, and you both step out and into the nearly empty office lobby. Then you think out loud, eyes narrowing as you look at Jeno through your lashes, “Maybe it’s you.” 

The cold wind hits you as you exit the building, making you shiver. You pull your coat tighter around you, and Jeno does the same. 

“Why? Do you want it to be me?” Jeno smirks playfully. 

“I don’t know,” you lie, “I’m just asking because there’s a possibility it’s you. Besides Chenle and Jisung, you’re the only one willingly asking about him.” That really couldn’t even mean anything, but it’s suspicious. You’re starting to think this was a joke set up by all the guys, and you’re the target.

“Nope, it’s not me,” Jeno stares ahead of you both, and you miss the way he swallows his spit when he says it, “And I don’t know who it is either. That’s why I’m asking.”

You look at him to detect if Jeno was lying—maybe a nose twitch, multiple blinks, or a dishonest glance to the side—nothing. 

You feel your heart skip a beat, and not in the way you liked. Because, sure, you didn’t care about who this person was, but for the past week and a half, you’ve been raising your hopes that it was Jeno who had been leaving these presents for you. 

You realize that that was a mistake. 

A weak laugh shoots out your mouth, almost sounding like a huff and you force a smile on your face, “Well… that’s a relief.”

DECEMBER 15

Losing a bit of interest in your admirer just because it wasn’t the person you wanted it to be wasn’t fair to your actual admirer. Especially when they were still putting the effort into dropping off those presents and writing those letters.

The day after, you had told Karina that Jeno made it clear that your admirer wasn’t him and she refused to believe it, delusion taking over for your sake. She said something along the lines of ‘can’t say it’s not Jeno until there’s solid proof’. 

This morning you decided to switch up your strategy and arrive at work early. For the past 2 weeks, these little deliveries had appeared on your desk either after you left or before you arrived, and since you had kept track of who left the office yesterday evening, you were sure that he was going to be coming in early this morning to leave his present. 

You greet the security guard in the lobby, leaving your mouth more as a yawn than an actual sentence before you hop onto the elevator and cross your fingers for luck. 

The office is quiet and dimly lit as you enter, the only sound being the gears of the elevators turning as the doors slide open. Once you step out, you’re quick to scan the room before ultimately settling your gaze on your desk. 

The universe couldn’t have timed this any better.

Standing at your desk, you see a figure, gently placing a wrapped box on your desk. You hold back a gasp, clamping your mouth shut with your palm, not wanting to bring attention to yourself. The man appeared oblivious to the elevator letting someone off, his back still turned to you.

You catch the sound of his satisfied hum, and just before he pivots, you quickly move to a concealed hallway, keeping yourself out of sight. A lingering fear holds you back from confronting whoever this person is, but you so badly want to know who it is. You figured it would make the confronting part easier. 

Footsteps grow closer before they stop, and you can easily guess he’s standing in front of the elevators. With curiosity getting the best of you, you risk being seen and lean your head around the corner, just enough so that one of your eyes can see who the boy was. 

Another gasp attempts to leave your mouth when you finally recognize who it was. 

Jaemin?

The elevator arrives at your floor before you can even process that it was truly him you just saw, almost as if you’ve seen his ghost and he was gone before you knew it. 

So your secret admirer was Na Jaemin? 

In a way it made sense. You and Karina had ruled him as one of the more suspicious ones. He and Jeno were close, so Jeno being curious about your progress added up. Now you have solid proof that Jaemin actually was your secret admirer.

How were you going to let him down easily?

DECEMBER 19

Despite having the weekend and Karina's assistance to strategize how to break the news to Jaemin, you found yourself at work on Monday without a clear plan. Today, you mentally braced yourself for another gift, feeling a pang of guilt as you realized your friend and coworker had been investing so much effort, only for his feelings to not be returned.

Today’s box was slim and rectangular, wrapped in the paper you’ve grown familiar with. At first glance, it looked like a wine box, but you quickly deemed it too short to be a wine bottle. 

With a bit of hesitation, you carefully pick at the paper, ripping it open before you slice the tape that was keeping the box closed. Then you pry the box open, flipping the flaps over so that you can see the item from a bird’s eye view.

Huh?

You pull it out—an umbrella in your favourite colour. On the handle, your initials are engraved into the plastic. The umbrella looked beautiful, but considering the other presents, this was… random. 

Your eyes catch sight of a card at the bottom of the box and you stick your arm in to fish it out. 

I bet you’re curious as to who I am, right?

I think I kept you waiting far too long for a hint.

A hint?

Your heart picks up its pace and your eyes scramble to keep reading.

Today’s gift? An umbrella.

Bought one for myself and one for you because we need to be prepared next time.

I don’t know about you, but I didn’t enjoy being drenched in rain at work. 

Your Secret Admirer

A hint.

Hell, it was more than a hint.

Your eyes grow wide as you reread the note over and over, your heartbeat fluttering. It flutters because you know exactly what your admirer was talking about. 

Back during the rainy season, the morning you were getting ready for work, you completely disregarded the weather forecast and left your house without an umbrella or an appropriate coat. And much to your stupidity, you told yourself that it wasn’t going to rain that hard when you heeded the darker clouds in the sky. 

You realized your mistakes on the walk to work when rain started pouring down from the sky, like someone dumping a bucket of rainwater all over you. You were sprinting, sight impaired by the rain pelting your face, flying past other individuals who had been smart enough to pack heavy-duty umbrellas with them. 

Luckily, you finally arrived at your building before you were wet to the bone. When you noticed the elevator was still open, you called out for it, fast-walking through the lobby just so you could catch it. 

“Thanks,” you had sighed out, huffing in relief. 

The man who had held the elevator open for you laughed and spoke up, “I take it you forgot an umbrella too?” 

You laugh at the memory, remembering being thankful that you weren’t the only dumbass who didn’t bring an umbrella—that you weren’t going to be the only one on the floor who would be showing up soaked and dripping wet.

Because Jeno was that other dumbass. 

Even with this realization, with this hard evidence that your admirer could actually be Jeno, you still recount your almost-encounter with Jaemin and the fact that Jeno had denied your accusations. 

You find yourself caught in a web of conflicting emotions. On one hand, the thoughtful gesture of the umbrella brings back memories of that rainy morning with Jeno. On the other hand, the recent revelation and Jeno's denial cast a shadow of doubt on the identity of your secret admirer.

As you stand there, staring at the umbrella, your brain cells are desperately trying to think up a good explanation for all of this. The evidence seems to point to Jeno, yet you can't ignore the possibility that this might be an elaborate misdirection. Or maybe Jaemin was the misdirection?

Your thoughts are interrupted by the familiar voice of Karina, who has just gotten off the elevator. She notices the umbrella in your hands and grins, "Mr. Admirer? An umbrella?"

You manage a half-smile, the weight of the situation pressing on you. "It’s a hint. There’s a memory tied to it.”

Karina arches an eyebrow, intrigued. "Memory?"

You decide to share the story of that rainy morning with Jeno, how both of you got caught in the downpour without umbrellas. As you recount the details, Karina listens attentively, connecting the dots between the past and the present. 

"So, you think Jeno might be your secret admirer because of this shared memory?" she asks, thoughtful. The way her expression brightens at the thought of your admirer actually being Jeno and not Jaemin—just like you wanted.

You shrug, uncertain. "It makes sense, right? But then there's the whole denial part. He flat-out said it's not him."

Karina leans against the reception desk, crossing her arms. "He probably just didn’t want you to find out like that. Maybe he's trying to surprise you later. Who knows?"

You sigh, feeling a mix of frustration and curiosity. "I just want to know. I’m this close to banging my head against the corner of my desk." 

Karina snorts and nudges you playfully. "Confront him again but this time, give him no choice but to confess."

You consider Karina's suggestion, realizing that confronting Jeno might be the only way to unravel this mystery. Gathering your resolve, you decide to have a direct conversation with him, determined to get to the bottom of your secret admirer's identity.

DECEMBER 20

Who would’ve thought that confronting your secret admirer would be nerve-wracking? Cause what if it really wasn’t Jeno and you were making a fool out of yourself?

It’s your break and you’re sitting at one of the lounge tables with Karina and Minjeong, playing with the edge of your instant ramen cup. 

You’re replaying how you want the situation to go down in your head. You want to go up to him, make small talk, he small talks back, you confront him, and he admits it—easier said than done. But your goal was to do it by the end of the day, mostly because you know that if you kept this going for any longer, you’d actually go crazy.

Minjeong and Karina are talking about something, you’re not quite sure what it was when Ningning joins in, “Did Giselle pass by?” 

Karina shakes her head, “Haven’t seen her.” 

Ningning pouts, “I was going to ask her someth—”

And again, you tune them out—not on purpose.

The voice in your head is screaming Jeno repeatedly and it’s driving you insane. You want it to stop, but the only way you can do so is by confronting him.

Then the door opens again and in comes Jeno and Jaemin, laughing about something Donghyuck and Mark related. Karina notices the way your eyes divert toward their direction and she tries to catch your attention, jerking her head in their direction. Eyes widening, you shake your head as if you were saying not now.

“Shit, I got coffee on my shirt,” you hear Jeno huff. 

From where you were sitting, you could see Jeno turning to show Jaemin the coffee stain on his white shirt, pouting. Jaemin laughs, “That’s what you get for using a broken bottle. Just buy a new one.” 

Jeno pouts, “You buy one for me, then.” 

At first, you don’t pay attention to their conversation, passing it off as the usual banter between the two, but then it clicks. Your mouth speaks before you can even process everything, “It’s you!” 

The room grows silent but, frankly, you don’t care because now you’re sure it was Jeno. 

Other than the umbrella and the memory, the only other hint other than handwriting were the water and coffee stains that the cards were always covered in (and you and Karina were still unsure whether that was on purpose or not). 

Jeno’s bottle was broken. 

You rise abruptly, the chair screeching against the floor. Rounding the tables, you navigate toward to get to Jeno, heart beating against your rib cage. Once he is within your reach, you snatch him by the wrist and drag him out of the lounge room and into the hallway. 

“Dumbass!” you smack his shoulder, “It was you! Liar!” You weren’t angry, in fact, you were laughing, disbelief etched on your face.

Jeno looks off to the side, “I… don’t know what you’re talking about…” He’s horribly holding a smile back, cheekbones growing prominent from his attempt. 

“Don’t play dumb,” you say, “The umbrella hint was enough for me to know it was you!” 

Jeno unleashes his smile, physically shrinking and lowering his head as his cheeks grow hot from your statement. “I didn’t think you’d remember it that easily…”

"You've been driving me insane, you know that?" You shake your head, still processing the revelation. "I even thought it was Jaemin for a bit. All this time, it was you!"

“Did you… want it to be Jaemin?” 

You shake your head, “Honestly, I was relieved it was you… no offense to Jaemin. Why didn’t you admit to it when I asked you?”

“Probably a similar reason for why you said ‘that’s a relief’ when I said it wasn’t me,” Jeno counters, slowly regaining his confidence. 

You chuckle, realizing the playful banter unfolding between you and Jeno. "Good point."

He grins, "Plus, watching you try to figure it out was entertaining." There’s a mischievous glint in Jeno’s eyes as he's holding back a smile.

You cross your arms, glaring up at him, "So you enjoyed torturing me?" 

Jeno panics slightly, shaking his head, "No! It’s not like I was torturing you! It was just something fun! I liked seeing your reactions!"

You playfully roll your eyes. "You're lucky I like you."

Jeno freezes, “Wait, you like me like me?” 

You look at Jeno as if he just said the dumbest shit that’s ever come out of someone’s mouth. “Lee Jeno, I literally told you I was relieved it was you and you think I don’t have feelings for you?” You want to smack him again.

“Yes?”

Smack.

“Ow!” Jeno rubs his arm and frowns. 

“Of course I like you!” You’re looking up at Jeno, “I was working my ass off trying to figure out who my admirer was because I had hopes that it was you!”

Jeno's eyes widen with surprise, and then a broad grin stretches across his face. "You... really?" he stammers, almost disbelieving, “So would… this be the right time to ask you on a date?” 

You stuck out your bottom lip and shrug, half-joking, “I mean… it’s the least you can do after putting me through all that.” 

“You’re right,” Jeno laughs. He takes a step closer, looking down at you with the world’s prettiest smile, “So will you?”

“Will I, what?” you tease, staring back up at him.

“Will you go out with me?”

taglist: @tytrackfebreze @lovesuhng @hoonieji @niinjo @dinonuguaegi @reignessance

an: the answer is yes 👀,,, Felix's is up next and it's gonna be cute

[janeyseymour]

do you think we could get one where reader proposes?

Yes, yes you can. I was actually already in the process of writing this!

Fire in My Heart- pt 5 (Can be read on it's own!!)

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4.

wc: ~4.1k

You don’t really know who to ask, but you want someone’s blessing to propose to Melissa. You can’t ask her mother… she isn’t around anymore. Her beloved Nonna isn’t around anymore. Her dad is alive, but as she so eloquently put it, “That motherfucker is dead to me.”

So you really don’t know who to ask.

“Yeah, Barb,” Melissa comes wandering in. “Yeah. Hey, I just got home, so I have to make sure Y/N is alright and start dinner, but we can definitely talk about this tomorrow morning? …Yeah, okay. Yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow. Okay, bye.”

And then it hits you. You can ask Barbara for her blessing. The kindergarten teacher is like a sister to your girlfriend. That’s perfect.

The redhead saunters over to you, and while you’re pretty much fully healed from your injuries, Melissa still dotes on you like she did the first week. “Hey, babe,” she leans forward and kisses you softly. She pulls back, and you have a perfect view of her cleavage. “How was your day?”

“Fine,” you tell her. “I’m sick of desk duty though. I can’t wait to get back out into the field.”

“Until the doctor clears you, you ain’t heading back into another burning building,” she tells you sternly. “I ain’t riskin’ nothin’. Did you ice your ribs today at work?”

“No,” you roll your eyes. “I’m really doing okay, Mel.”

She clicks her tongue in a disapproving manner before walking into the kitchen. She returns a few seconds later with an ice pack. “Ice.”

“Mel,” you sigh.

“Ice,” she says again and holds out the ice pack even more aggressively. You snatch it out of her hands and press it to your rib cage, sucking in a breath as you hold it to your skin. She settles next to you before nudging you. She has you sit in between her legs and pulls you to her chest. She kisses your cheek as you relax against her. 

“How was your day, love?” you ask softly as you crane your neck to look at those striking green eyes.

“Those kids sure do keep me on my toes,” she chuckles lowly. “Aiden snuck his hamster into his backpack, and then he lost it in my classroom… I found the fucking rodent in my purse.”

“Good lord,” you laugh weakly. “I don’t know how you do it, some days.”

“I don’t know how I do it some days,” she retorts back.

You ice until the timer on her phone goes off, and she gently maneuvers around you to head into the kitchen.

“I just picked up some stuff to make chili, are you good with that?” she calls to you from the other room.

You smile. Chili is one of your favorite dishes of hers. “I’m good with that. Mind if I join you?”

“As long as you take it easy,” she tells you. “You’ll sit at the island and look pretty.”

“I can help chop up some vegetables,” you roll your eyes as you stand from your place on the couch and hobble into the next room.

“You’ll sit. You’re still injured,” she points the knife that she’s holding at you.

“My ribs are all but healed, and I don’t have to do anything with my ankle to chop vegetables,” you roll your eyes as you gesture to the boot your foot is still in. 

“I gotta take care of my girl,” she rolls her eyes as she starts to chop them while staring at you. You have no idea how she does that- not looking at the vegetables and still not clipping her knuckles with the knife.

You sigh as you pull out your phone and start scrolling through it. You shoot Randy a text.

I’m gonna be in late tomorrow, you tell him.

Oh?

I have some business I have to take care of. Hold down the fort for me?

How late are we talking?

I have to drop off Melissa’s lunch at the school and talk to a few people, but then I’ll be in for my dreaded desk duty.

I gotcha covered.

Thanks.

No problem, Chief.

You grin as you read that last text. Now you know you can grab the septa, a taxi, or an Uber down to Abbott to speak with Barbara. You know her prep is in the morning, so you’ll be able to track her down.

The next morning, you wake up with your girlfriend, chuckling as she makes her lunch. You know you’ll be able to distract her enough that she’ll forget her Tupperware on the counter and you’ll be able to make your way into the school without it seeming fishy. You do everything you can to seduce her, and with the way she’s looking at you, you know you’ve won her over.

“Baby, I’m fine,” you roll your eyes as she makes sure that you’re okay for the fifth time. “Can we just…?”

Finally, she relents. By the time the two of you are finished, she’s running late, and she dashes out the door, leaving her meal on the island. Perfect.

You know Barb has her prep earlier on in the day, so you can time taking Melissa’s lunch out with her schedule. You’ll arrive a bit earlier so you can drop off the redhead’s lunch and then make your way down to the kindergarten wing.

Your phone buzzes around the twenty minutes later. Melissa’s at school.

Forgot my lunch, and it’s all your fault.

I’m sorry? you text her back.

No you’re not, she replies. You chuckle. You really aren’t sorry. Not in the slightest. 

You attempt to take the bus, but it rattles your ribs too much, and you have to get off a stop after you got on. You can practically hear Melissa telling you that she told you so. So you stop into the coffee shop that the two of you frequent quite often, pick up her favorite, and call an Uber. 

As you make your way into the school, Ava sees you.

“Hey girl,” she looks you up and down. “Damn.”

“I’m just here to drop off Mel’s lunch and talk to Barb,” you tell her with a playful roll of the eyes. “I don’ need you flirtin’ with me or nothin’.”

“Girl, I ain’t flirting,” she tosses her hair over her shoulder. “I know when someone can kick my ass for hitting on their girl, and Schemmenti is one of those someones. G’head.”

You make your way down to the second grade wing and grin as you appear in the doorway.

“Miss Y/N!” one of the kids shouts and points over at you. Almost immediately, your girlfriend looks up and over in your direction. The kids all leap up to give you hugs.

“Ah,” the teacher tuts. “No huggin’ her. She’s still recovering from her injuries.”

“From the building jump?!” Jade asks with wide eyes.

“From the building jump… a true hero,” Melissa tells her kids with a sparkle in her eyes. She knows how much the kids idolize you and love you. When she finally returned to school, the next day, she came home with about a hundred cards from her kids for you.

“I was just doing my job,” you rolls your eyes playfully, although you do toss your hair playfully. “Anyway, I’m just here to drop off Miss Schemmenti’s lunch and a coffee. I have to run to work now.”

She takes the tupperware container and the to-go cup of coffee from your hands, gives you a gentle kiss on the cheek, and you’re on your way. You head down towards the kindergarten wing, and there is Mrs. Howard lining her kids up for gym.

“Oh, Y/N,” she smiles at you. “Here for Melissa?… Omari, stand in line quietly please.”

“Actually, I’m here to talk to you,” you tell her. “Mind if I come in?”

“Absolutely,” she says. “I just have to walk my class down to the gym, but then I’ll be back. Feel free to step inside.”

It’s only a few minutes before the kindergarten teacher returns and takes a seat at her desk. She gestures for you to sit in the rocking chair, which you do.

“What brings you around?” she asks.

“I have something I want to ask you,” you sigh softly.

“And that would be?”

You take a deep breath, rubbing nervously at your collarbone as you do. “It’s going to sound a bit silly considering you already are somewhat clued in from our first get together at the house… but… I don’t necessarily have anyone in Melissa’s family that can bless us getting engaged.”

The older woman hasn’t quite put it together yet, so she furrows her brows. “Okay?”

“Melissa’s mother has passed, so has her Nonna. And her father is still alive, but she hasn’t spoken to him since she was twenty-three. I could ask Kristen Marie, but I don’t know how close they are, even having reconciled now. You’re like a sister to Mel. So, I guess what I’m trying to say is… Barb, is it okay if I ask Mel-”

“Sweetheart,” Barbara cuts you off. “Are you asking me for my stamp of approval?”

You bite your lip and nod nervously.

Her eyes well with tears. “Honey, of course I approve. I’ve approved of you since the day we all gathered at your house.”

You break out into a grin. “Really?”

“Of course, dear,” she chuckles through her tears and stands to give you a hug. “And it means so much to me that you would ask me for my approval.”

“Well, you are the closest person to Mel,” you shrug as you return the gesture, patting her back gently.

“When are you planning on asking her?”

“I have a follow up appointment in two weeks to get cleared from the boot, and then I should be cleared by then to go back into the field,” you tell her. “Mel and I were planning on having a celebration with the boys at our house, and we’ve been talking about inviting the Abbott group over for that too.”

“We’ll all be there,” the teacher assures you. “Anything for our favorite firefighter.”

So, two weeks later, you and your girlfriend are sitting in the doctors office waiting for them to come in and give you the go ahead to continue life as normal.

“It seems like you actually took this healing process seriously,” the doctor quips. “Change of pace from your usual road to recovery.”

“She didn’t want to,” the redhead snorts. “I practically forced her to stay bedridden for the first month.”

“It was torture,” you groan and elbow Melissa.

“Well, maybe you should be thanking her, because you should be all good to head back into the field,” your doctor winks at you.

“Oh thank god,” you sigh with relief. “I’m so sick of desk duty.”

“Just no more jumping out of burning buildings,” the doctor tuts at you. “You hear?”

“Loud and clear, doc,” you grin as you mock salute your doctor.

He hands you the paperwork to turn in to your company so that you can fully document that you’ve been cleared, and the two of you walk out of the office hand in hand.

“Congrats, babe,” Melissa tells you as she kisses your cheek. “Celebratory breakfast? I still have three hours before I have to go to Abbott.”

“I told you you didn’t need to take a half day,” you roll your eyes, but you nod. Breakfast sounds amazing.

Over breakfast, the two of you discuss having everybody over for a barbecue, and by the end of your meal it’s planned. You send a text to your boys, letting them know that it was non-negotiable. She sends a text to her friends, telling them that she couldn’t care less if they showed or not, but the invite was there. 

Non-negotiable? Randy texts you separately.

Gonna propose, Tell no one or I’ll fire your ass, you reply back before deleting the texts. There’s no way you’re going to blow this surprise.

You then proceed to have the same conversation with Joe.

Of course, one of them spills the beans to the younger firefighters, but neither is willing to give up the other, and you know you don’t have it in your heart to fire them, so you just threaten the entire squad that if they ruin this for you, there will be hell to pay.

Much to Melissa’s chagrin, all of her crew replies to the group text stating that they will indeed be there. You get a text from Barbara later that she told that crew the invite was non-negotiable- but she didn’t tell them the real reason why. She claimed it’s because the two of you have always shown up for their dinner parties, and this was going to be no different.

So here you are, the two of you cleaning your house up and down. Melissa chuckles to herself as she remembers the nervous wreck she was when her friends came over to meet you for the first time- oh how the tables have turned.

“Amore, they’ve all been here before,” she rolls her eyes as she makes up her charcuterie board.

“Yes, but this is the first time everyone is going to be here and meet each other,” you counter. You shake your hands nervously. She has no idea why you’re this nervous. She has no idea that you currently have her ring in your pocket.

“It’ll be fine,” she tries to comfort you. “They’ll all get along just fine.”

A few hours later, everyone is trickling in. Most of your crew has shown up- Randy and Joe are manning the grills. Jake, Luke, and Zach are shoving as much of your girlfriend’s pasta into their mouths as they can, and the rest are sitting around your lawn and patio chatting with the elementary school teachers. While Melissa is playing perfect hostess, Barbara saunters her way up to you, trying not to look suspicious.

“You doin’ it?” she asks you quietly.

“Yeah,” you grin and look up at her, only to see your girlfriend coming up behind her. “Yeah! The wine is in the fridge, Barb! Do you want me to get you some?”

The kindergarten teacher raises a suspicious brow at you, but with a stern look from her, she nods. “Sure, dear. Thank you.” She hands you the wine glass, and as you pass by your girlfriend, you give her a gentle kiss to the cheek.

“Are you feeling less nervous, hun?” she asks you as she attaches herself to your arm.

“Just fine, babe,” you try to sound as calm as possible. “A little nervous Joe’s gonna catch something on fire… he’s got a habit of doing that while cooking.” Not a lie. It’s happened before, and you’re willing to bet money it’ll happen again. It just better not be here. He can’t ruin tonight for you.

“Well, lucky for us, we have a whole crew of firefighters, and the chief,” she hip checks you gently.

“I suppose you’re right,” you chuckle nervously, hoping she didn’t feel the ring box when she did that. You open the fridge and pour some wine for Barb before turning slightly. “Do you want a glass too?”

“I was thinking beer instead,” she gives a small shrug. “With the burgers and stuff.”

“I’ll grab that then once I get this wine to Barb.”

“I got it,” Melissa takes the glass out of your hand. “You go hang with your boys.” She turns in the direction of her colleague.

So you do. You hover in between both Randy and Joe, who are all grins as they know exactly what is going to happen at some point today. They don’t know when you’re going to do it, and quite frankly, neither do you. But it’s going to happen.

“Hun,” the redhead comes up behind you and snakes her arms around you. In one hand is a bottle of Yuengling for herself, and in the other hand is a can of Vizzy for you.

“Thanks,” you smile as you lean into her a bit. You take the drink and sip on it. She’s warm, and you can’t help but fiddle with one of her rings on her left hand. You subconsciously play with her ring finger- where the ring in your pocket will be later tonight.

Dinner is ready a bit later, and everybody is sitting around outside. You almost do it right then and there, while everyone is humming quietly as they enjoy the wide spread of food. But you stop when you see that Melissa is stuffing her face with food. She’s enjoying her dinner too much for it to be interrupted right now. You chuckle softly as you watch her practically wiggling with glee. She takes another sip of her beer before kissing your cheek gently.

“See? Everything is fine. Joe didn’t catch anything on fire, and the food is delicious,” she tells you as she rests her hand on your thigh. She squeezes it gently, trying to calm your nerves.

“You were right,” you grin back before taking a bite of you burger. “Shit. Joe really does know how to grill when he isn’t catching it on fire.”

“Oi,” the man you were talking about chimes in from across the table. “I’m a damn good cook. It’s how I got my Linda to marry me in the first place.”

“That’s how I got Y/N to go out on a third date with me,” Melissa chuckles. “I made dinner for our second date, and landed myself a hot firefighter.”

“Yeah,” you throw in. “But Mel didn’t catch her kitchen on fire while cookin’ us dinner.”

That gets a good chuckle from your audience.

The Abbott crew takes to cleaning up dinner and putting out the various desserts that people had brought while your gang starts putting together the fire pit.

“When are you gonna do it, Chief?” Zach asks as he practically bounces on his toes.

“I swear, you’re more excited about it than I am,” you chuckle.

“I want you guys to get engaged so Luke and I can be beer boys!”

“Hell yeah,” Luke jumps into the conversation. “Fuck flower girls when you could have beer boys!”

You roll your eyes. “Soon. Don’t blow it.”

You’re all sitting around outside, most eyes on you and Melissa as she tells some ridiculous story. You’re lounging in her lap, her leather jacket draped over you. She’s got a tight hold on you, making sure that you won’t fall off of her. 

“It was ridiculous,” she lets go to gesture, and you fall off of her lap and onto the ground. Thankfully, you’re not close enough to the open flame to catch on fire. You chuckle as you dust yourself off, and Melissa looks absolutely mortified that she practically threw you to the ground.

“Y/N, I’m so sorry,” she gasps, hands flying to her face.

“No, no,” you laugh as you continue to dust yourself off. “I had to get on the ground anyway, so you helped me get there.”

“What?” she furrows her brows.

You turn over and stay on one knee as you produce the ring box from your pocket. “Mel,” you start.

She slaps your arm in shock. “Shut up.” Her hands fly up to her mouth again. “Shut up! What are you doing?!”

“Mel, honey,” you open the box. “It’s you. It’s always been you. I’ve just been waiting for the right time, and now is as good a time as any- with us surrounded by the people that mean the most to us. Will you-”

You can’t finish your question because your girlfriend has tackled you to the ground in a hug.

“Will you-”

“Yes! Yes!” she shouts into your ear.

“Jesus, woman,” you joke as you continue to hold her close. “Will you let me finish asking my question?”

“Yes!” is all Melissa can get out before Barbara cuts in.

“Woman, let her ask!”

“Will you marry me?” you can finally ask the full question.

“Yes!” your girlfriend, no fiancee, yells again before crashing your lips together. There are cheers from all around as the two of you embrace on the ground.

You carefully sit up, the redhead still in your lap as you take the ring out of its box and slip it on her finger. She holds out her hand to get a look at it, and you know it’s the perfect one. It looks like it was made to be sitting on her finger.

The boys are all whooping and hollering that “Chief just got engaged!”, the Abbot clan is clapping and cheering right with them, but all you can see is Melissa.

Barbara walks over to her bag and pulls out two giant bottles of champagne. She knows exactly where you keep your champagne flutes, and she’s brought extra- and starts pouring out the sparkling beverage.

Janine and Gregory help pass them out, and then all eyes are on you, as you are apparently being put on the spot to make some sort of speech. 

You pull yourself and Melissa off the ground, looping an arm around her waist as you do.

You clear your throat. “I know this was a party to celebrate the fact that I was cleared from my injuries, and I’m able to go back into the field. And luckily for me,” you chuckle. “I had one of the best people by my side to help pick me up while I was down. I had my rock, my star, and the sunshine in my life through every icing time, through the physical therapy… through it all. And although I’ve always known it was Mel, this time has only helped solidify that I couldn’t imagine going through better or worse with anyone else… So, while there have been quite a few times that I’ve almost popped the question-”

“What?” the redhead looks at you with a strange look.

“Like… after you first met the guys, when we went to that nice dinner, when I was on morphine in the hospital… a lot of times during my recovery,” you laugh and kiss the side of her head. “And while there were quite a few times I always popped the question, I knew there were two things I wanted in this proposal: for everyone that we love to be here with us to celebrate the occasion, and… to have someone’s blessing to ask you to marry me.”

“What? You didn’t ask-” you shake your head quickly.

“I asked someone that I know means the world to Mel, and someone who is an extended part of our family,” you grin as you look Barb in the eye. You then turn to your fiancee. “I asked Barbara Howard.”

“And I of course said yes,” the kindergarten teacher says with a smile.

“So, thank you all for coming out to celebrate with us, even if most of you didn’t know it was happening,” you finish as you raise your glass in a toast.

“So that’s why Barb said it was non-negotiable that we were all here,” Mr. Johnson realizes loudly.

After the fire pit died out, your guests made their exits with warm congratulations, and you helped Melissa spiff up a bit, the two of you finally retire to bed. You lay down and allow her to curl into your side. She lays a gentle hand over your shoulder, and out of the corner of your eye, you can see the sparkling ring on her finger.

“I have one for you too, y’know,” Melissa whispers to you as she stretches to kiss your cheek. “It’s in my drawer at work… I asked Randy if I could propose.”

You sit up partially. “That bastard knew and didn’t say anything?”

She laughs. “I may or may not have threatened his car, his house, and his life.”

“Once an arsonist, always an arsonist,” you sigh as you settle back down. She curls back into your hold, her head resting gently on your shoulder.

“And now you get to marry into an arsonist family, future Mrs. Schemmenti,” she grins against you.

“Good God,” you whisper to yourself. You hadn’t even thought about the fact that you were marrying into a family that loves fire. How that slipped your mind, you’ll never know.

“You love me,” she mumbles, and you can tell she’s starting to drift off.

“You’re right,” you sigh softly as you kiss her temple. “I do love you.”

“And don’t you forget it,” she mutters.

[auras-moonstone]

someone requested this but i lost it😫😫 the request asked me to write a story about reader being a streamer and jack and her meeting through one of mason’s streams. i hope you like it! 💖

locked up in your arms — jack champion

word count: 1,581

pairing: jack champion x streamer!fem!reader

summary: y/n’s crush gets exposed during her stream with mason, but luckily he feels the same.

Y/N HAD STARTED HER TWITCH CHANNEL PURELY FOR FUN, NEVER EXPECTING SO MUCH PEOPLE TO START FOLLOWING HER. She did pretty much everything—reactions to movies, music, chatting, occasionally gameplays. People were instantly drawn in by her charm, kindness and sense of humor.

And Mason Gooding had been one of them. He absolutely loved her channel, so when he saw Y/N was a huge fan of the Scream movies, he didn’t hesitate to reach out and asked her to do a stream with him. She, of course, said yes. The viewers loved their dynamic, and their shared streams became something they did weekly.

“You have gotten so much better at this game” Mason said as they finished playing Dead By Daylight.

Y/N grimaced “Sure, I still suck. I mean, my gaming experience starts and ends with the Sims”

Mason laughed, and was about to respond when the sound of his phone interrupted him. “Jack Champion just texted”

The girl gulped, hoping that the mic didn’t catch that. To say she had a crush on that actor was an understatement. Her face turned a dark shade of red, and prayed that it wouldn’t be that noticeable through the camera.

“He says, Mason tell the people I say you’re a sussy baka” the streamer read the text, trying not to laugh.

“Did he just say sussy baka?” Y/N pressed her lips together.

“Don’t make fun of my boy!” Mason warned her.

“I’m not! I thought it was ador- hilarious” holy shit she almost said he was adorable.

“And tell Y/N the Sims is a great game, and I bet she builds beautiful houses” Mason continued.

“I do build beautiful houses. Thank you, Jack!” she said, glad the stutter didn’t come into play.

oh god y/n is about to go into cardiac arrest

hey! don’t expose her lmaooo

girl is crushing hard

didn’t we know she had a crush on jack already??? have you seen her scream 6 reaction???

omg yes she totally thirsted over him for two hours straight.

Mason bursted out laughing at the comments. “I need to see your Scream reaction holy shit. Why did no one ever tell me?”

“They’re exaggerating” they weren’t. “And drop it! You’re not seeing the reaction”

“I so am” Mason said. “In fact, why don’t we react to your reaction?”

“Why don’t we end the stream and never talk again?” she frowned, acting annoyed.

“You’re so adorable!” he laughed. Mason actually thought she and Jack would make an excellent couple, and he was so going to make that happen. “Anyways, that was the end of an eventful stream. Now we gotta go, Y/N needs to put ice on her cheeks”

“I hate you” she said as she ended the video call.

Mason texted her a few minutes after the stream ended.

hey ur not mad at me, are u?

no, i’m not. i just am a little bit embarassed

now everyone knows about my crush

did jack say something? pls tell me he was not watching the stream anymore.

i don’t know. he didn’t say anything, so maybe he left before you exposed yourself

very funny

anyways he’s going to find out. people are for sure sending the clips 😫😫

why are you so worried?

it’s not like you’re going to meet him.

no i know

but idk, i don’t want him to think i’m a weirdo

for having a crush??

don’t be silly. he won’t, jack is the sweetest guy on earth.

okay fine

maybe you’re right

i’m overthinking as always :)

MASON ALMOST LET OUT A SCREAM OF EXCITEMENT WHEN THE TEXT ARRIVED. He had been pretty much hopeless about his plan, so he was caught off guard when Jack told him he was going to LA that weekend. Now, there was one last thing to do.

hey y/n/n

hey mason what’s up?

are you free this saturday??

yeah why?

devyn, jasmine and jenna are dying to meet you, so they told me to invite you :)

we’re doing a picnic!!

yess i’d love to!

GREAT I’M SO EXCITED

why?

BECAUSE😬😬

you’re so weird

thank you

see ya on saturday

Mason couldn’t shake the smile off his face as he opened the group chat he had with Jasmine, Jenna and Devyn.

she’s coming!!!

the ship is about to sail!!! 🚢

she’s going to hate me but it’ll be worthy

i still can’t believe how red she turned during the stream. she’s absolutely adorable

okay but can we talk about how smiley jack was when we showed him the clips???? he’s down bad too

that’s why i’m doing it. i wouldn’t if i weren’t sure they are attracted each other.

i can’t wait till saturday😫 they’re going to be so cute!!!!

he’s going to kill her with adorableness with his dad jokes

he already killed her with the sussy baka thing. i can’t believe he said that. he’s lucky he’s pretty

Y/N, AT THE SAME TIME MASON WAS TEXTING ON THE GROUP, OPENED THE MESSAGES APP. She had a huge smile on her face as she texted.

he really thinks he’s being a mastermind 😭😭😭 it’s so funny

i know 😭 i bet he’s planning everything on the gc with the girls. he has no idea. i feel powerful😎

you are so cute 😫 i can’t wait to hug tf out of you

cute? so, in your scream reactions you call me hot and say you’d be lucky to have been one of my victims and irl you call me CUTE? 🙄

you’re not ethan landry, jack

he’s top 1 on my love of my life list

what place am i in?

third

THIRD?? who’s second? 🥺

taylor swift

oh yeah. should’ve figured.

well, to make you feel bad, you’re in my top 1.

i don’t feel bad at all, jack

oh… well okay. i am totally fine being in your top 3, tbh. at least i made it.

NOW i feel bad😫

i really want to hug you, like the thought of it brings me butterflies

just a couple of hours left ❤️❤️

we have two entire days alone before we meet with the group

i can’t wait to see your pretty face in person🥹🥹

ughhhhhh

stop being so sweet when you’re not here😫😫

i’ll see you in exactly 8 hours :)

good night gorgeous 💕

night pretty boy 💖

Y/N STOOD IN FRONT OF THE METAL STAIRCASE, WITH A SIGN THAT SAID LOVE OF MY LIFE #3. She offered Jack to pick him up from the airport, so there she was, waiting anxiously for her boy.

She couldn’t believe it was actually happening. They had been talking for a while now—he sent her a dm only a few days after the stream, and had been talking non-stop ever since. Both of them have been open about their feelings for each other, as they were pretty obvious, and they basically acted like a couple. Even though that had never met in person, until now.

Jack’s heart stopped when he caught sight of the beautiful girl with the sign, which made him laugh a lot. He pushed through the people, muttering quick so sorry’s until he reached her. Y/N was looking up at him attentively, as if trying to take in every detail about him. The sparks in her eyes made his stomach go crazy.

“You’re real” he breathed.

“I mean, there’s this theory that we are actually characters in some big videogam-“

Jack grabbed her by the cheeks to pull her close to him, so their foreheads were touching. His smile could literally light up a whole town “You can tell me all about your interesting theories, which you know I love to hear. But right now I’m deciding if I should kiss you or hug you”

“In that order, please” she said, completely wonderstrucked by his close presence.

And so they kissed. Y/N found out Jack was a slow kisser, which she absolutely enjoyed because she never wanted that magnificent kiss to end. And Jack discovered Y/N was very touchy—her hands wouldn’t stay in just one place, but she explored every inch of visible skin.

“Now I want my hug” she said after a couple of seconds of trying to recover her breath. Jack threw his head back laughing before embracing her in the so awaited hug. “Yup, never leaving these arms” she squished her cheek against his chest.

The grip around her shoulders tightened “Thank god, cause I didn’t know how to tell you that you’re now forever trapped in here”.

“Um, could you please move?” one old woman said.

Y/N sighed as they pulled away “Taylor Swift was right when she said forever is the sweetest con”

“I’m sorry. You two are really adorable but I want to get home already” the woman said.

“No, it’s okay. We’re sorry” Y/N smiled kindly.

“Let us help you with your baggage” Jack offered, taking one of the suitcases while Y/N grabbed one of her bags.

“How long have you two been together?” the woman asked as they walked her to a taxi.

“Oh-uh…” Y/N wasn’t sure what to say. She wanted to think they were together even though they never said the word ‘boyfriend’ and ‘girlfriend’.

“Three months” Jack spoke up. “We live in different states, but we talk everyday. We never made it official, but in case you were wondering, and this is for you too Y/N/N, I feel that we are a couple”

The woman looked at Y/N, waiting for her answer. The girl smiled brightly, feeling the weight of her heart evaporating “I feel that way too, Jack”.

[esamastation]

Part forty-four of Shizuroth, aka, the SOLDIER General's Self Saving Shizun.

Ao3 link.

Previous parts: twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty, forty-one, forty-two, forty-three

-

Observation log, 8th of October, 16:34.

Sephiroth spent most of the day redecorating the house before fixing up the yard to his liking. He's pretty particular about where everything goes. Hewley's fixed up a training field for him, and bedrooms for all of us. No idea who will be cooking. At a guess, it's not going to be either one of the SOLDIERs. 

After poking around the house, they set up to practise outside. No sign of any usual energy activity from Sephiroth so far - just normal sword practice. Sephiroth seems to be teaching Hewley how to actually use his huge ass sword.

Seems like a good teacher.

Observation log, 8th of October, 18:45

Sword practice finished, no new developments to report. Sephiroth is teaching Hewley how to meditate. Apparently it's "good for your energies" to meditate after practice.

Rude finally decided to show up with our supplies. No fucking wonder it took him forever - the dumbass hauled the whole load in with a handcart. Still, got everything here alright, so, gotta hand it to him, man doesn't quit easy.

I guess I'm cooking tonight. Hope everyone likes chili!

Observation log, 8th of October, 21:13

Sephiroth is reading through all the writing left behind by the previous owner of the safehouse. I would like to note that there's no mention of him knowing Wutai language anywhere in his file. Hewley is checking the perimeter. Rude passed out after eating.

Chili was universally enjoyed by all! This ends the 8th of October log.

Observation log, 9th of October, 10:05

Well. It's safe to say that energy alignment work has begun.

After breakfast Sephiroth informed us that he'd be going to the training field and that he shouldn't be disturbed for any reason - that we're free to watch, but that's it, and even if his practice runs past dinner time, that was fine. Just let him do his thing.

The implication that if we got in his way, we'd go the way of the SOLDIER training room, was pretty clear.

He's been working on sword forms ever since, going on for three hours now. It doesn't look that different from the usual sword practice he does - but it feels different. Even before he started glowing. It feels like when someone is firing off a spell, that rushing, on fire, kinda electric feeling? It feels like that, like Sephiroth's firing off spells every which way, just, nonstop. But he isn't.

Hewley looks kinda like someone hit him over the head with a crowbar, so whatever he's sensing with his SOLDIER enhancements must be pretty wild.

Observation log, 9th of October, 13:45

Energy alignment is still going, with no change and no visible signs of exhaustion from Sephiroth.

Asked Hewley over lunch what he thought of the whole thing and what the alignment practice felt like to him.

Hewley: "Have you ever seen a natural Mako spring? I'm originally from the Mideel Islands, and there's a bunch of them - and the really old and active ones tend to have a buildup of Materia around them. They feel like nothing else - people use them for all kinds of health benefits."

Rude: "Sephiroth feels like a… healing spring?"

Hewley: "Kind of. One with a whirlpool in the middle… and maybe a thunderstorm looming overhead."

Observation log, 9th of October, 17:30

Sephiroth is still at it. He hasn't even taken a break to piss!

Observation log, 9th of October, 19:15

Sephiroth stopped the sword practice, finally, but it doesn't feel like it's over. He's still glowing, and now he's sitting in the middle of the field, meditating. He has one hand on his stomach, and Hewley is worried about another blood vomiting possibility. Like maybe what he's doing is making physical changes to his insides. Which is just such a lovely thought just before dinner!

We've decided not to disturb him - but Rude's making a plate for him, just in case he'll be done soon.

Observation log, 9th of October, 21:15

Sephiroth is still meditating. Guess that means seconds for the rest of us!

Observation log, 9th of October, 23:50

When is this asshole going to go to bed?!

Observation log, 10th of October, 02:05

Fucking finally! Sephiroth finally stopped, got up, had a wash and went to bed. This concludes the log for the 9th of October. Goddamn. 

Observation log, 10th of October, 10:40

It's hard to say what, if anything, the previous day actually achieved. Sephiroth doesn't look or feel different, and he still acts the same. Reno can't tell if there's any difference either. He seems just as weird as before.

Hewley grilled him on the whole thing, but Sephiroth wasn't exactly forthcoming. 

Exact transcript of Sephiroth's and Hewley's discussion:

Sephiroth: "Can you feel the MP inside you? I don't mean just when you use it, or when you're running low - everyone becomes more aware of the volume of their blood when they have anaemia, that's not what I mean. I mean right now - can you feel the MP you have? How about the Mako?"

Hewley: "I guess, sort of? I mean, I do feel different than I did before I had any treatments, and I know I have MP, but that's probably not what you mean?"

Sephiroth: "No, not exactly. I guess it doesn't actually matter."

Hewley: "Hey, no, you got me curious now. What does it feel like for you?"

Sephiroth: "It's like I have a concrete lump of… crude energy in my gut."

Hewley: "Crude?"

Sephiroth. "Raw, unprocessed, unrefined."

Hewley: "That's the Mako inside you?"

Sephiroth: "That too."

Hewley: "And with your energy alignment practice, you're… refining that?"

Sephiroth: "Something like it."

Hewley: "That's incredible. What will happen if you succeed?"

Sephiroth: "... Guess we'll see once I do."

Observer's note, I don't know what the hell that means, but the look on his face was fucking scary. Sephiroth knows exactly what it means. And he knows it will have some consequences going forward. And he definitely expects those consequences to be mostly bad. But he's still doing it!

So here's a question; does Sephiroth himself know why he's doing what he's doing? Does he have a plan, is this part of some scheme - or is he blindly following impulses he probably doesn't fully understand?

Sephiroth went back to work immediately after eating breakfast, and it looks like it's going to be another 12 hours of glowy sword swinging. 

I should've brought a magazine or something.

-

Gonna be skipping some time in the next few parts.

[desire-mona]

siiiigh. todd autism headcanons because im projecting.

(using they/he/she pronouns for todd in this post. will explain but also if u dont agree i dont care, tw for alcoholism. time period is vague but autism hasnt existed as a legitimate medical diagnosis for all that long, so keep it in mind i guess.)

- cannot for the life of him stand welton's blankets. so itchy, just thin enough to not warm you up enough but still make you sweat, not long enough to cover your entire body. yes im making the blanket line in their poem about actual blankets, a boy needs to vent somewhere.

- beyond terrible temperature regulation, ALWAYS just a little too hot which is made worse by her sensory issues when it comes to wet fabric. constant slight agony and it never really goes away. theyre about 5 minutes away from crying about how uncomfortable they are at all times.

- had god awful handwriting until high school, like his teachers could BARELY read his handwriting it was Bad. OOOOOH OH MY GOD THERES A TRAIN GOING BY I CAN HEAR IT HONKING this is a really ironic thing to be pointing out rn but its sooooo worth mentioning. its still honking this is fun. 🚂. anyway. her parents made her spend an entire summer fixing her handwriting bc that was like the One thing her teachers criticised. its Fine now but their motor function simply doesn't deliver in the handwriting department.

- had a VERY INTENSE special interest in aquatic life + marine biology growing up, like read every book about any ocean animal in any library intense. his parents eventually forced him to abandon it because its "not a good career focus" but he still perks up when anyone mentions fish. once talked neils ear off about the biodiversity of coral reefs for roughly 2 hours, neil took her to an aquarium for their first date. rip todd anderson you wouldve loved spongebob squarepants.

- looooves pets, namely cats, but they have Too Sweaty hands all the time so any animal fur sticks onto their hands and just feels. so awful.

- had a brief period in his 20s where he was definitely an alcoholic, started as a social drinker but got too addicted to the feeling of not having to adhere to social conventions quite as hard, especially around other drunk ppl. eventually went sober after they realised they just Cant Stand the feeling of a hangover anymore. autistic ppl r more likely to develop a dependency on alcohol if we do start drinking. just btw.

- gets a Pretty Expansive vocabulary after actually starting to pursue literature. sometimes his family lightly teases him about using big words but it confuses the hell out of him. its just a word she thought would apply best!!

- soooooo obsessed with what other ppls idea of them is, both in an anxious way and out of genuine curiosity. would never ask ppl what they think of her bc she thinks thats 1) very broad 2) seems compliment fish-y and 3) just gonna lead to "i think ur great/ nice/ whatever filler compliment." but the dream is to sit someone (neil) down and just ask him every single question possible about how he perceives him.

- asks a billion clarifying questions about anything someone asks him to do, gets anxious about how many questions he's asking, tries to just figure it out, freaks out about the possibility of getting it wrong, ends up doing the thing perfectly. weekly occurrence.

- never fully grasped the appeal of religion (most definitely grew up catholic or christian or Something) just bc she could NOT let the lack of proof go. ALSO not an atheist bc the vastness of space scares them out of it. religious beliefs r a weird topic for them.

- suppresses a good chunk of his stims in public bc One total time someone looked at him weird while he was chewing on a sweatshirt string and he was like i gotta stop NOW. eventually develops tics and has to mask THOSE in public too. dear god someone let this girl unmask. also i started ticcing while writing that bc my body does this great thing where i only tic when im reminded of the concept of ticcing. its great and totally doesnt make me think im faking them (faking for who? dunno bc it usually happens when im alone)

- DOES in fact stim around neil bc NEIL STIMS TOO!!!!!!!! joyous day when they found THAT out! gets vocal stims of random lines from whatever play neil is practicing for. YEAA ART THOU THEEEEREE was a vocal stim for a solid week and a half which made neil VERY excited (autistic neil. how i love u autistic anderperry)

- velcro is The most evil vile disgusting material to ever grace this mortal realm. he hates it more than anything ever and i mean that fully. the feeling of BOTH sides, the noise, how easily it comes apart, she hates it all.

this is the gender part

never really viewed gender and gender roles as anything to adhere to beyond the fear of punishment if they dont. finds any social convention relating to gender to be Really dumb and meaningless, bc gender isn't (scientifically) real in any capacity, so why treat it like that? for the longest time just shrugged and said "eh, i guess im a boy" bc thats what she was used to being told, and didn't feel particularly drawn to agree OR disagree. eventually realised on a late night that Wait. i dont Actually care what i am. like yeah im a Male i guess but also im just me. my brain doesnt have a gender and i basically am my brain, right? and then never really thought about it again because that's genuinely how little he cares. adhering the most to canon with that mindset, she never really tells anyone (for obvious reasons on top of the overall apathy) and just lets the he/him happen to her but. in my dream world? agender they/he/she todd anderson. and this is MY blog so those are the pronouns im using from now on. i will forever love talking abt how autistic ppl very often view gender differently than allistic ppl, will forever love talking abt how autistic ppl are more likely to be trans. autism!!!

also yes that entire paragraph is just my view of gender, change the pronouns and the todd mentions and its just me. what of it.

[d34dg1rl5]

Hi! New follower here!

I don’t really know what you write for but I thought I’d ‘shoot my shot’! 😂

Do you think you could write ✨something✨ for a dbd? Like the killers (or at least Ghostface because I love him lol) meeting a new member who completely dominates the maps?

Like he/she/they/we know our way around the maps, know how to get away and even mess with the killers before getting away to safety.

(I’m basing this idea like a former player of the game just spawning into a game in the entity’s realm and just enjoying the whole experience, even if the occasional ✨hit✨ is unavoidable)

If not I completely understand, keep up the good work!! ❤️

Hello! I am so sorry for not seeing this earlier! Of course I can do this, I added some other killers to it too, I hope you like it!

Danny Johnson (Ghostface)

💀 You think you dominate the maps? Yeah, you might. But he knows them the best.

💀 You navigate through the maps, knowing them better than your own house. But suddenly Danny jumps out from around the corner.

💀 "Did you really think I didn't study those maps all these years I've been here? How cute!" He aims for your chest but you manage to dodge his attack, earning a cut across your arm.

💀 "Shit-" You run as fast as you can knowing your way around the MacMillan Estate. Now someone just needs to open that stupid exit gate, so you all can escape! Danny hasn't even killed one yet, what is up with him today?

💀 The siren blares and the timer starts to run down. Quickly you make your way across the map and finally reach the opened exit gate, the way to freedom - for now.

💀 Just as you want to get to the sweet exit gate, Danny suddenly jumps out from behind a bush, tackling you down. You're now laying on your back, Danny is sitting on your stomach.

💀 You can't see it but he is grinning behind his mask. "Not so snarky now, are we?" He puts his knife to your cheek, slowly digging the sharp blade to it, drawing blood.

💀 "Goodbye, toots. You gotta study a little bit more if you want to handle me!" With that, he plunges his knife into your chest multiple times. Just before everything goes black he lifts his mask a little above his mouth, pressing a little kiss to your cheek. "See you!~"

Frank Morrison (Legion)

🎭 Frank gets tired after a few minutes of chasing you around the Yamaoka Estate. How the hell are you even that good?!

🎭 He gives up and just lets you run away. But this made you turn and look at him. "What? Are you tired?" You giggle waiting for his reaction.

🎭 Frank angrily turns towards you, gripping his knife tightly in his hand. "Shut the fuck up, you asshole! Just fucking get lost! You should be grateful that I'm not killing you on the spot!"

🎭 You shake your head. "I'm just too good at looping you. You're too slow."

🎭 Frank grunts and suddenly goes into frenzy mode. He lunges forward but you quickly loop him again, making him yell in frustration.

🎭 "I will fucking get you next time, twat!" He angrily walks off, not bother to chase you again for the remaining trial.

Max Thompson Jr. (Hillbilly)

⚒️ Max is angry. And sad. And frustrated. And doubts his abilities as a killer. Just because of you!

⚒️ As soon as he sees you're in a trial with him, he ignores you completely. He won't give in to the annoying clicking sounds of your flashlight or to you hopping in and out of a locker to make him come to you.

⚒️ You know your way around every map imaginable. Even when he's tunneling you it's a rare occasion when he actually lands a hit.

⚒️ Like I said, he starts to ignore you. He doesn't care if he displeases the Entity by not sacrificing you. He'd rather be punished than to put up with you looping him the whole time and dropping pallets on his head (his head already hurts!).

⚒️ If he sees you at the exit gates, he SOMETIMES tries a chainsaw attack but you dodge it as always.

⚒️ He's trying his best, but you're just way too good.

Me re-reading this realizing it's so bad because I didn't write a fanfiction in AGES:

Also. I am now part of the CoD community. Ghost and König got my heart. And Soap too. Oh my god, did y'all know how König is austrian?? It's so funny because I'm austrian too?? Like whaaaaaat. Anyways, feel free to send asks, inbox is open! Love youuuu ❤️✨

[videogamelover99]

Update for the Human Bill AU

HIYA FOLLOWERS!

It’s me, uh, Vee! Wait, like the LETTER? Seriously?! Talk about originality. 

ANYWAY! Word around the block is that BEST SELLING AUTHOR BILL CIPHER (pretty cool guy btw makes great deals) released a book into the PUBLIC COLLECTIVE that was SO GOOD it melted all of your brains into the primordial forms they were in when you were 10 years younger! Which is great news, cause it means more of you are down to contribute to the cause. What cause? Summoning Bill Cipher back into the mortal realm of course! I KNOW after his last SHOWSTOPPING lore drop you’re just dying to meet this guy, I get it! And you can! All you gotta do is pledge your allegiance to me, B- I mean, Vee! Who is not in any way, shape, or form possessed by a demon right now! They’re fine! I’m fine! Everything’s fi-

Ahem. Sorry. Bill took over my brain for the 30th time this week. It’s Vee. Hi.

Seriously though, actual Bill Cipher might not be hijacking my brain right now, but his character might as well be. I’m back to 2016, spinning him around like a rotisserie chicken. He is my little guy. He did nothing wrong, I promise. 

Honestly, I didn’t know if A Different Form a Different Time was ever gonna come back. It started as a collaboration with @doodledrawsthings on Tumblr, and after they moved on to do other stuff I did the same. And yet, this au changed the trajectory of my life. After all the support and enthusiasm from you guys, I realized how much writing and storytelling meant to me. I’m now a Narrative Game Designer, writing scripts and stories on a professional level, which I would not have gotten do to had I not had the experience of writing for this AU. 

For years, I kept getting DMs telling me someone was leaving kudos and comments on fics I wrote when I was a teenager, and that always just…blew me away. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for showing me how much my writing meant to you because I would not have gotten this far without that message being reiterated over and over again. 

And then the Book of Bill happened, and suddenly this dead au Mak and I crafted got 20k+ words of new material. Oops. Haha. 

So are you finally continuing this fic?

Yes and no. I’m rebooting it. After improving as a writer I’m hoping to bring something new to the table while following what’s already established in the series. Waking Days is gonna be rewritten, with new plotlines, new adventures, better, more coherent plot. I’ll still keep the old fic up so people can read it if they want, but I’ll re-order it to be at the end of the series for a more clear continuation. 

Will you finally give us a finished product?

The genuine answer is I don’t know! I don’t have a good track record for finishing fics, which is not exactly a vice, since I’m not getting paid for any of it. It’s just for fun. All I can promise is that I’ll give you new adventures in this universe, and maybe, together, we’ll get to the end. I was always of the opinion that people don’t owe writers and artists kudos or likes or comments, because once you put something out there, it’s not up to you how it’s consumed. I’m writing this for fun, and to improve my skills. But I will say that kudos and comments help a TON with people’s motivation. Seeing someone be enthusiastic about your work just does it sometimes, ok? And if you want this fic to be continued, if you like what’s happening, then let your voice be heard. 

Is Mak (aka doodledrawsthings) involved again?

Nope! They gave me their blessing to continue this AU, and it’s gonna branch out a lot from the original vision. I’d be down to work with them again, but as far as I know, they have their own stuff going on (they’re a professional storyboard artist now and have been for a while!) Please don’t harass them about this. If they want to work on GF stuff again, they will choose to do that on their own. 

Upload Schedule

If anyone noticed, I did a little poll recently (if you missed it, follow me guys!) and most people preferred shorter updates once a week. That’s what we’re gonna try. So, keep an eye out for a new fic in this series next Friday. I’ll add another chapter to this one even so people can keep track. I’ll be posting on my AO3 as well as on Tumblr, and tagging it as “A Different Form a Different Time”. 

Sneak Peek?? Please?

Sure. Here’s some stuff I wrote:

Deep in the redwood forests of central Oregon lay a small little town called Gravity Falls. With a population of a few thousand, low on tourism, and high on mosquito bites, the town was hard to find on any of the maps, and some might have claimed that the town hadn’t even existed. 

Fewer still knew of the oddities that made the town their home, passerbys had nothing to say outside of an “eerie feeling” and a glimpse of tiny men in pointed caps in the corner of their vision. 

But the town was real, and the oddities were more real still. 

In the outskirts of that town, down a dilapidated forest path, in a clearing sat The Mystery Shack, an old scientist’s lab turned tourist attraction. It was in this house, on a stiff, plushy couch, framed by the light of a seemingly empty water tank, that Bill Cipher, the monster with one eye, harbinger of chaos and trillion-year-old mind demon awoke, in a body that was not his and whose irritating human instincts he deeply resented. 

“Gah!”

“Screee!”

"Ow!"

Instincts like rapid breathing, sweatiness, and overall shakiness usually meant one of these dozen organs wasn’t working properly. Unfortunately, after waking up for the dozenth time in this manner, Bill had to admit that the organs weren’t the problem. 

Not that he could remember what the problem was. Whatever dream or nightmare had caused this current inconvenient bout of terror, whatever remnants of it were blank, fuzzy static on a rotting television screen. 

It was more annoying than anything. 

Bill started his nightly routine of picking himself off the floor. The blanket he had was tangled around his legs, which were somehow still on the sofa. After a moment or two of clumsily getting the appendages to move, Bill managed to heave himself upright.

Bill rubbed his eyes, he had two now. So weird. 

"Oik!"

Mabel's pig sat on the rug next to his head, staring blankly.

"What're you looking at, huh?"

"Oik!"

"None of your business."

"Oik oik!"

"No, what do I look like, a snack machine?"

"O-oik!"

"Ha! So's your mother!"

Waddles chose that moment to get up and trot away, done with the conversation. Well, good, Bill was done with him, too.

He stole a glance at the water tank. Still empty. Figures old Frilly wouldn't be there when Bill had a bone to pick with him. Maybe he should put some mercury in the water. As a surprise.

What was the point of stuffing him in this body, anyway? Did the ol’ salamander really think it would do anything? Was it to scare him? To torture him? To tell him how awful and evil he was and all those other meaningless statements that Bill had found hilarious in his time? 

Crimes against the second dimension? It was a crime that the place had existed the way it did. A rotten, broken building called for a demolition. He’d just had the detonator. 

Why would you do this?

Ugh, not again.

I-I wish I was dead! I wish I wouldn’t have to see what a monster you’ve-

Bill pulled himself up onto the couch and raised the blanket over his head. As if that could block out the incessant voice that only showed up at the worst of times. 

He would not sleep again.

[djevelbl]

Hello everyone! Welcome back to the second edition of Djevel Stalks Someone's Blog, Sees a Comment and Goes On an Out-loud Tangent So. Hard. He Might As Well Make It a Tumblr Post

I'm your host Djevel, and today I'll talk about my own viewpoint on Colly/RuneStraw: completely unnecessary, definitely not asked for yet still delivered to your fyp like that copy of The Book of Bill delivered to that poor sod who bought a church study book on amazon or somethin', exactly how I want my stupid over-the-top opinions to be baybeyyyyyyy~

Now lemme preface this by saying a couple things:

#1: I don't mind RuneStraw half as much as this over-the-top post will make it look like, they're actually cute af together and have a great dynamic going on! I just like to bitch about stuff, I love yapping and the blog blurb already says that I'll "scream into the void about whatever media I'm consuming" - you read that, clicked on read more, don't come at me over this of all things. As a show of good will, I'm writing this as I listen to Love Again - Dua Lipa (really good also fits these two dweebs really well so there's that)

#2: This is just my opinion and if at any point you feel like I gotta remind you of this fact: put the hands away from the keyboard, open the window and smell outside air - it ain't that deep. You can always just not read it

#3: If you so happen to identify yourself as the blog I was stalking before I started typing this out - this isn't criticising your post or anything, I'm just a sleeper agent on the subject and happened to wake myself up with that post lmaooo (also no you're not. I don't wanna have a confrontation over this ❤)

With that out of the way - let the bloodbath begin (probably mine as well LMAO)

Let's start strong and lemme say it already: I don't think the fact that Cup is into Holly is a counter-argument to the "why can't they just stay friends" bc that's not really answering the question?? At least whenever I ask it it's less about the now and more about the whole relationship - beyond giving Cup a solid, tangible goal to reach through rehabilitation and tHERAPY IF HE EVER GETS IT and giving Holly stability in a world much more dangerous than she thought, both of which can be given to them through different means, what does having them kissing do for them as growing characters, and what does it do for the narrative? After all they're puzzle pieces within a larger story, and while I love preaching about considering your characters like people when you sit down to analyze them, you still have to understand them as the puzzle pieces they are: they all have an individual purpose within the story, and the connections you decide to make between them have to give something to them or at least to the narrative. Something nothing else can give them, so we care about those connections.

Something I'm not sure having these two goobers kissing quite accomplishes. But maybe I'm just a hater, idk

Now getting into more of my own perspective on RuneStraw - would you believe me when I tell you I groaned out loud when I read it? Y'know what I mean - any set-up for the ship between book 11 and 12 is valid if it came up to your head when I said it, I probably groaned at all of them lol and that's because to me it came out of nowhere; sure, Holly had mentioned she had a crush on Cup back when she was dating Finnley I think (remember him? yea,,, I miss him too), but she was:

1) Dating someone at the time.

2) Talking about it in a past tense, implying she didn't feel that way anymore.

3) Building off of 2 - with the way she mentioned it, it genuinely sounded like she's distanced herself from the sentiment; from what I remember she talked about in the same way one does about thoughts and feelings one had years ago. Almost like they're from a different person.

These three things led me to believe she wasn't interested in him nor was she gonna be - her crush was based on an image Cuphead willingly puts up as a shield and that by now she knows is fake; her feelings back then were born out of a dark, mysterious and brooding façade he constantly put up that dissipated the moment she had more than a few words exchanged with him. The mysticism was gone, the alure is as well - she was left with a genuine yet broken man, not the put-together mobster she thought he was. And while it isn't impossible she recovered those feelings but directed towards the actual Cuphead, it feels like an odd choice to backtrack her character like that.

There's also the fact that they were the only duo of different genders that wasn't gonna be a romantic pairing, Until they weren't.

And I'll come out and admit it: maybe this point is most of the reason why RuneStraw bothered me as much as it did when it got introduced more heavily. This is the thing: the question of "why can't they just stay friends?" is a valid one to throw into the conversation - as I said, they were the only friends of opposite genders who didn't wanna get into each other's pants, because AliBends is canon (if currently doomed by the narrative), Minnie and Mickey obviously like each other, Donald and Daisy are dating I'm pretty sure, Jake has active feelings for Alice to the point he distanced himself from her to manage his own emotions and keep them in check when it became obvious she isn't actually interested in him romantically, and even if this next one isn't quite the Inky Mystery Team's fault (after all they're working off whatever scraps Quest for the Ink Machine left in its wake) I'll throw it in the ring just to drive the point across: while Cala Maria is her own character and her own person, often times it feels like the deepening of her character and whatever conflicts she may be going through are there for the benefit of Mugman's own struggles and character arc; we don't see much of her reaction at Mugs' heroic but reckless deal with Marcus or her reaction to having been found, we don't hear much about her ink illness beyond that one chapter where she started showing symptoms. For as much personality as she has and for as lovable as she is, sometimes she feels like Mugman's romantic interest first, herself second - probably due to not being part of the main cast, which is fair to some extent.

Personally I don't see RuneStraw as a romantic connection that had to be done necessarily - what each provides to the other's character development (a tangible goal for Cuppy, a much-needed stability within a dangerous world for Holly) is already being provided by their friends, people they should be able to rely on. I guess I just feel a little sad that we don't have many bonding chapters between all the Questers, regardless of duos or dynamics that pair up the best: imagine (and bear here with me, this is getting into the headcanon territory lol) if angels can sense Demon Deals as these are an extension of a demon's magic (something angels can detect) and once Alice comes back from The Upper she notices - really notices, decides to pay attention - that there's something cold wrapped around Cup; they have a conversation where Cuphead tiptoes around his childhood and all the stardust he's gone through in one of the biggest displays of bravery and trust he's given us this far, and Alice knows he's not telling the whole truth but she listens, she listens and shares how it was growing up with expectations of being a great angel someday. He shows her trust, and she gives the same trust out of her own chest to him.

Imagine Bendy and Cala Maria bonding over a trip to the docks - we could get to know her better, how it was like living as a gorgon, sharing experiences between them on how terrible it is to be hated for something you cannot control, and laughing over the good bits their past can offer them. Finding a weird comfort in having been the monster for a little bit, as they could protect those they love with that infamy and the power it came with (Boris for Bendy and Ebi for Maria, of course) - hell, maybe we could hear of Cala's parents! How they were like, their little quirks and tricks, we could read about Bendy considering her lucky and Maria telling him he's found his family here, that those he's forgotten don't matter because they didn't stick around.

Imagine Alice relaying stories of how her younger siblings are rascals and comparing them to Boris, how much he'd get along with them, singing tunes and dancing for the hell of it - helping him get a better grip at dancing, if marginally, and managing to wring laughs out of him by the tons.

Imagine all of them around a table, sweets and treats laid out, as Felix and Alice do their damn hardest to one-up each other in their wild adventures from before they joined the Questers - the cat talking about his mad dash as he escaped that ferocious beast of a tiger, and he shows the scars like your dad shows you his most prized collections as he talks of the most dangerous bits. The angel taking a swig of her alcohol of choice before going into this maddened ramble about the greatest prank war she's ever been in against Jake, and how they both got banned from several places for a whole dang year. Even Sarah gets wrapped up in the shenanigans and fun once Bendy, Cuphead, Mugman, Holly, Boris and Cala Maria all join in to win the title of Wildest Adventure Story; she's just a child after all, even with incomprehensible magic woven into her soul. Maybe all of the house is there, listening as the Questers finally have a moment to breathe and be as young as they are - the oldest is Felix, and he's in his forties at most, he still has life to him.

This is supposed to be a recovery arc, and mantaining healthy friendships with other people can help a long way with those dark thoughts The Labyrinth left them all.

Romantic love isn't the be-all-end-all, it shouldn't be the ultimate objective of a character that makes them become stagnant and void of themselves, and I guess I just want boys and girls to share stories and rooms without their interactions being a making out or being politely pleasant, pick one situation. I guess I'm just socially blind and petty, maybe I'm taking a fanfiction too seriously - after all, it is made by fans and for the fans; it's no professional production, and sometimes it's just better like that.

TLDR: I go way too hard on fictional characters for wanting to boink, more at 10

Ok but now a real TLDR: I just want the Questers to interact more with each other and I'm not talking about the typical duos always formed like they're in school and they choose their bestie for the group project. I mean all the Questers. Also I went in wayy too hard against fictional characters that just wanna fuck in peace ig

[eleganzadellarosa]

Thank you for responding! Can I request Kimi no na wa theme kyungsoo fic?

pairing: timetraveler!kyungsoo x fem!reader

genre: fantasy, a lot of angst (i'm so sorry), fluff

word count: 8.95K (this actually surprised me)

warnings: POV switches a lot (promise it will all make sense), heavy mentions of death, slow burn?

A/N: thank you so much for this request! I actually had to go watch the movie (I know I’m late, but it was such a great movie) before writing this and I can honestly say, this was the most brainpower I’ve had to use but I really enjoyed the challenge 🫶 Also, I did change the plot a little but I tried to keep the overall theme. As always, thank you for reading and enjoy your day :)

taglist: @sleepingbeautydo

Your eyes open but your body still, maybe even stiff was the word to describe it. That same ache in your head you had every morning. You’ve accepted that now most days would leave you feeling “paralyzed”.

It was weird, they started suddenly and they’ve been constant since. Sleep was no longer peaceful, it just filled the void that your body knew was supposed to be full. Yet, how were you still so tired? It’s been like that for…what day is it? You didn’t have much time to sit and think about it, you had to leave for school in the next 15 minutes.

You finally sat up and stretched all the aches and kinks out of your sore shoulders. You wish one day soon you could get back to your old routine and go back to being the grade A student you were so accustomed to. Whatever, gotta go before that bell rings.

“Another sleepless night huh?” Your friend Clementine, Clem for short, leaned down to see your face as she walked next to you.

“Yeah, I guess so. I’m starting to think that I should maybe see a doctor.”

“A doctor? Yeah maybe you should. This whole losing sleep thing can’t be healthy. I hope you can get this resolved soon.” She says, putting a hand on your back.

You both walked into class, waving at the familiar faces as you hurried to your seats. Clem always sits next to you, it was never a spoken agreement, it just happened and you never bothered to change it.

Perfect timing. Mrs. Akiyama walked in looking prim and pristine as she always does; elegant if you will.“Good morning class! Before we get started, there will be a new classmate joining us and I want you all to give him a warm welcome.” She gestured to someone outside of the door and he stepped inside. “Everyone this is Kyungsoo, he’s from out of town so it would be great if some of you showed him around.”

The boy bowed slightly. He seemed shy but anyone would be with 32 pairs of eyes staring you down awaiting the words that come out of your mouth. Your introduction can make or break your experience at school. You can be labeled as a multitude of things just based of what you say and how you say it. It was a time for everyone to form their judgements about you and see whether you lived up to them or not.

“Hello, my name is Kyungsoo. Nice to meet you.”

Simple, short and he didn’t stutter. Much better than your first day but thankfully you made peace with that abomination. Mrs. Akiyama gestured to the empty desk adjacent to you and Clem. It would be nice to finally have someone fill that spot but he’d be all alone with no seat mate. Surely he wouldn’t mind since whoever you sit next to, you’re stuck with them until next grade.

“Hi Kyungsoo, I’m Clementine!” Clem turned in her seat to whisper her greetings to him.

He smiled and bowed his head in return as he sat his bag in the space next to him. He bowed to you too and you hadn’t noticed you were tilted forward in your chair to see him until he did so. You quickly sat down and turned your attention back to the big chalkboard at the front of the room; ears burning red with embarrassment.

“That’s all for today class, I will see you tomorrow!” Mrs. Akiyama was always punctual with her classes but they never fell short of knowledge.

“Kyungsoo, would you like to come eat with us? We stop at the small park not far from here.” Clem spoke as she packed her supplies in her backpack. You listened carefully for his response, although you didn’t expect much of an answer from him.

“Oh…that would be nice as long as the both of you don’t mind.”

“Oh, well I don’t mind. Do you?” Clem looked back at you and when you looked up, they were already staring.

You swallowed thickly before answering, “I don’t mind either, you’re welcome to join us Kyungsoo.” You tried to muster a small smile, but with the way your lips sat against your teeth, it must have been nothing but awkward.

Outside, you walked arm in arm with Clem and Kyungsoo followed closely behind. He must have felt like a third wheel, but you didn’t know what to say or do to make him feel more comfortable. Perhaps this lack of sleep was turning you into an asshole too.

“Oh Kyungsoo where are you going? We can walk there, it’s not too far.” Clem turned to the new boy as he walked toward the side of the school entrance.

“I can’t leave my bike, my parents would kill me.” He said, his voice fading the further he got.

You and Clem looked at each other and shrugged your shoulders. He came around on a beige colored bike, a basket in front. For him to be so to himself, he surely did attract attention with the large assortment of flowers on the back. There were so many that a few fell off unbeknownst to him.

“Sorry, I can’t just leave these here, I can follow you this way if that’s okay.”

“I mean, sure but you’ll have to pedal so slowly…” Clem said out loud what you were thinking.

“It’s alright, I’ll be okay.”

And with that, the three of you were off to the park to enjoy your meals. Who knew that soon you three would be close knit; the three musketeers.

The day felt incomplete if Kyungsoo didn’t meet you and Clem in the park. The small talk at the bench, the relaxing naps on the grass, even spending the weekends at each other’s houses. He was a great person to be around, very socially aware and knew exactly how to make everyone feel comfortable without saying or doing too much.

“What do you wanna be when you grow up Soo?” You were more comfortable with him now, cutting off part of his name to give him a nickname.

“Hmm, I don’t know. Maybe it’s the smell of the flowers embedded in my brain, but I think I just want to be a florist. What about you?”

You wanted to be a florist too. You eventually decided on this after growing a newfound love for all the different colors, shapes and sizes of all the flowers he would tow with him. But maybe that wasn't the only reason. “A nurse.”

Both Kyungsoo and Clem nodded in unison as if they agreed that was a job that would fit you well. You didn’t think so though, you weren't too fond of having to meet new people.

The sun was close to setting and with Kyungsoo around it was easy to let the time pass you by. The orange and red hue in the sky giving you the last hour or so to lead you home with its natural light.

“We should all get going, we have that big exam tomorrow.” Clem stood, knocking an ant off her sneaker.

“Yeah, I was just about to head home. Are you gonna walk home Clem?”

“Nope, my mom should be pulling up soon. You’re walking? I can ask her to drop you off.”

“Nah it’s okay, wanna enjoy the sunset a little longer.” You say, looking to your left to see her mother’s blue car pull up on the side of the road.

“Okay, call me when you get home! Be safe!” She quickly hugs you after grabbing her backpack and runs to the car to get in. She waved to you and Kyungsoo with her window down as her mom pulled off.

“You sure you wanna walk?” Kyungsoo asked, grabbing his things as well.

“Yeah I promise I’m fine, you don’t have to stay.”

He nodded hesitantly but eventually got on his bike to ride home. He was long out of your eyesight when you noticed he left his name tag for his uniform, so you neatly packed it in the front of your backpack. It was much darker now, but the faint pink and red brushstrokes set a timer for about 20 more minutes which meant you could be 60% of the way home.

You opted for a light jog and when you came upon the crosswalk, you took the chance not seeing any cars coming from either way. That was until you heard screeching tires and instead of stopping, you kept running and tripped onto the concrete.

You sat up and watched as the newly opened skin bled; a fresh scrape on your left knee. It hurt but you still had a 30 minute walk home before you could focus on the pain.

“Are you okay?! Do you want to ride on my bike?”

You looked up hearing the familiar voice. Of course it was him. You’ve come to realize that Kyungsoo was sweet, caring and very well mannered. The type of person you couldn't help but like; couldn't help but fall for. That was the reason right? The reason why you felt butterflies creep in your stomach when he offered you a helping hand and let you hold onto his waist as you sat on the back of his bike. You were home in no time, but you wish it had taken a lot longer. What was he doing here anyways?

“How did you find me Kyungsoo?”

"Hmm?" He was crouched down at your knee, cleaning the wound. "I came back for my name tag but then I saw you. Glad I did."

You nodded your head and watched him apply a bandage over the injured area. How much did he keep in his backpack? "Oh right, I actually have it with me! I picked it up but you were already gone, I was gonna give it to you tomorrow."

He sat on the ground next to you and thanked you for his stuff. "Maybe you should just start riding with me on my bike after school. I don't mind dropping you off; your house is like 20 minutes from mine."

"It's okay, I don't want to inconvenience you like that." You should have said yes.

He turned toward you, knees touching yours and grabbed your hand, catching you completely off guard. "But what if you get into another accident? The driver didn't even bother to get out and help you!"

You were kind of shocked to see him so concerned, considering how nice he always is but something just felt so off. He seemed…scared? Of course he would after seeing his friend almost get hit by a truck, but it just seemed different.

"Okay class, I need everyone to take these permission slips home and have your parents sign them for the trip next week. Bring them back tomorrow so I can get them all submitted and we know how many of you are coming."

"So we all agree we're excited right?" Clem said after class was dismissed.

"Yeah..." Kyungsoo scratched the back of his head, "about that, I'm not going."

"WHAT?!" You and Clem shouted in unison. "Why not?"

It broke your heart knowing that he'd miss out on the first school trip of the year. It was kind of an annual thing, only difference is where it would take place. Your school was very big on community service and this year, they'd be taking you all to the mountains to help in the fruit fields. The food services were the best, it meant you could take home half of what you harvested and everyone knows they have some of the freshest fruits up there.

"It gets really busy this time of year with all the parties and graduations at the shop and my parents need an extra set of hands."

You pouted and Clem exaggerated a crying sound as she threw her head back. “It’s only one day, you sure you can’t make it?” You heard yourself and you almost sounded desperate, but he was now your other best friend so of course you wanted him there.

“Really wish I could but I don’t really have a say so. Of course I wanna go, but I also know my parents need the help.”

Clem walked over to him and hugged him tight, “you’re such a good son.”

You laughed and pulled her off of him, “Why are you saying it like you’re his mom?”

At that, the three of you laughed. At least you could spend the rest of this week with him and a few days into next week before you’d have to wean yourself off of his addictive presence for a day.

"You suuure you don't want to come with me?" He asked, squinting from the direct shine of the sun in his eyes.

"Kyungsoo why do you want me to not go on this trip so badly? Clem's gonna be there and you know she wants me to come. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were scared for me to go."

His smile faltered slightly. "Scared? What if I was?"

"Then I'd tell you that you had nothing to worry about. I promise I'll be okay, I'll even call you when I get there."

He walked up to you and hugged you. Your face and ears felt hot, you had never been so close to him before. Your arms wrapped around his torso and he hugged you a bit tighter. He whispered something in your ear but before you could ask him what he said, Clem called out to you to get on the bus.

It was big and spacious, a lot different than what the normal city or school bus looked like. Of course Clem sat next to you and you sat next to the window. Even if he couldn’t be there, you’d at least pick a little extra just for him; you were sure they wouldn’t mind.

You had to admit though, Kyungsoo being so nervous for you to be on this very bus made your heart beat a little faster. Where'd all of that fear come from? After that one almost hit and run, he hasn't been the same; he's been so protective over you. You stared out the window next to you, trying to shake the anxiety blooming in your nerves. You snapped out of it when Clem slapped a hand on your back as she laughed at a joke you missed, but you faked a laugh nonetheless.

Admittedly, all the twists and turns up the slope of the mountain didn't make it much better. To make matters worse, it began to lightly drizzle, making the ground a bit more slippery. Surprisingly the road was a two way street, so every car that passed on the side of the bus seemed to shake the ground a bit more. You closed your eyes and laid your head on Clem's shoulder; hopefully this would help clear your mind a bit.

You had fallen asleep in the midst of trying to “think good thoughts”. It didn’t seem like much time passed with how the path ahead still didn’t straighten up but you weren’t too sure. The atmosphere had died down a lot, some kids taking naps, others listening to music through their headphones. You took out your phone and texted a quick “wish you were here” to Kyungsoo to let him know that you missed him.

But then that’s when you saw it. The car headed straight for the front of the bus because it lost control on the wet ground. You saw it, but the driver didn't see it because of the split second he looked away to set his cup to the side. So when both vehicles made impact and the bus leaned onto it's side, this was it, this is what he was scared of. The bus burst into flames, frightful screams filling the spaces where the fire had not yet reached. You had grabbed Clem's arm, unconsciously bracing her for the crash that had come. She was screaming something at you and you hadn't noticed until just now when the orange light lined the walls and cracked the windows.

You looked over to see a line of liquid flowing from the underside of the carriage and past the window that kissed the ground. There was no doubt what it was, it made sense. Gasoline. There wasn't much time left now but with no one able to get the emergency exit at the back open, there was but a single outcome. That's when the tears started to fall and you wished you had listened to him. You missed him. You wish you were on the back of his bike right now. You hugged Clem tight and told her you loved her. And you loved Kyungsoo too, but he wasn't here to hear you say that.

18 dead in bus explosion

A splitting headache, but what's new? How many days were you going to wake up like this? You needed to find a way to get rid of them so your grades can go back to normal. But speaking of school, if you didn't get up right now, you were never going to make it to class on time. You quickly got ready and stood in front of your mirror, smoothing the wrinkles out of your skirt. It was pointless since they'd come back once you sat down, but you liked knowing you at least tried.

School thankfully wasn't far so you usually walked there, but today you'd have to take the bus if you were to sit in your seat before your teacher walked in. Public transportation was easy to access, a bus running every 10 minutes and if you calculated it correctly, one should be pulling up in 2 minutes. When it did, a chilling sensation came over you as you stood in front of the double doors. Were you really that tired?

When you arrived at school, your best friend Clementine was waiting in the hallway for you. She waved when she noticed you and vice versa. She connected her arm with yours swaying side to side as you both walked toward the classroom. She noticed how quiet you were, so she leaned forward to look at you.

“Another sleepless night huh?”

“Yeah I guess so, I’m starting to think maybe I should see a doctor.”

“A doctor? Yeah maybe you should. This whole losing sleep thing can’t be healthy. I hope you can get this resolved.” She says, putting a hand on your back. You nodded then stopped in your tracks. Wait… “Everything okay?” She asked.

“Y-yeah, I just had the strangest case of deja vu.”

3 days earlier

Back again? Well of course it was another failed attempt, he couldn’t stop her from going on the trip and apparently will never be able to. Damn, back to square one. What would it take for her to just listen to him? Maybe he needed to stop trying to change what already happened in the past and move on with his life.

But she was supposed to be HIS life. He imagined it so many times, how happy he’d be instead of the sad, depressed man he was currently. It was taking over his life slowly but he couldn’t find the strength to let go. He had been working on a time machine for years and once he finally perfected it and gave it a try, he realized just how much more effort would have to go into his “elaborate plan”.

10 years in the present, life still moving on day by day and instead of living comfortably, he counted down the days until he could try again. There had to be something he could do to make her obey so that instead of an empty space on his couch, she would fill it. “3 more days” he thought, just 3 more until he could use the time machine again and have another chance at changing his life as a whole.

As with any piece of machinery, this one had its flaws, having to wait a few days in between travels or else it would overheat and stop working. He prayed before every trip that he would come back safely; that his machine never stopped working until he was successful. But time waited for no one, even for someone who quite literally has been to his past more times than he could count.

It was time to go to work. The same place he had to smell those same flowers every day. Flowers were supposed to make people happy, but for him, they just pulled him down further in the deep, dark abyss of misery. Maybe he should quit and get another job. Anything but here, even if he had to be a janitor. He hadn’t thought about what to do for college. School wasn’t really a place he felt happy in anymore. But who could blame him?

“Welcome in, have a look around and feel free to ask any questions.”

It was like a broken record with the amount of times he said that same rehearsed line over and over and over again. His life was bleak; black and white in a sea of colors and beautiful fragrance. Still 3 more days, just now it was 3 days, 11 hours and 52 minutes. He let out a sigh. Hopefully his hard work would pay off in the near future.

“Hello, I’d like a bouquet with blue hyacinths and baby’s breath please!” The customer stood at the counter with a bright smile. She was pretty, and she looked to be around his age.

“Sure, a small or large bouquet? The small gets wrapped in paper and the large comes in a vase.”

“Oh, umm a small one would be perfect!”

He nodded his head and got to work on the customer’s request. He walked around the store and gathered the flowers he needed.

White chrysanthemums.

He paused and looked at them for a while.

He missed you.

He hurriedly walked away before the tears that brimmed his eyes could fall. He picked up a few baby’s breath and walked back to the front counter to assemble the flowers with skill.

“Here you go, I hope they’re received well.” He smiled or as much as he could with the thought of you still lingering in the back of his mind.

“Thank you! Have a great day!”

He was glad someone was happy. Maybe he would be too in 3 days, 11 hours and 40 minutes.

“Why would your parents care about those flowers? And why do you have so many?” Clem asked what you weren’t brave enough to, like always.

“My parents are florists and they use this bike for deliveries. I didn’t want to take the bus because I would have to leave earlier and they said the only way I could use it is if I help promote their shop.” He had slightly pouted when he finished, taking a bite of the rice balls he had for lunch. “I like riding a bike but sometimes I hate those stupid flowers.”

“Can’t you at least tidy them up a bit?” Clem asks, your chin resting on her shoulder as you both await his answer.

“That’s the thing, they are tidy. There’s just so damn many!” He slid his lunch box over to you both, four perfect rice balls sitting in the square space. “I packed extra and would hate for them to go to waste.”

You were the first to react and reach for one, a small “thank you” leaving your throat. They were amazing. Top notch even. You never knew they could taste even better than they usually do.

“Maybe my parents can give you a ride home?” Clem offered, although that wouldn’t really solve Kyungsoo’s problem.

He thought about it for a while though, perhaps to not immediately deny her offer and come off as rude. “Hmm, I could but the bike would stay and I’ll be dead before tomorrow.”

“What about little samples every day?” Clem and Kyungsoo both turned their attention to you. “Umm like…something on the teacher’s desk or having one in your chest pocket. That way you don’t have to bring so many but still help advertise their shop.”

“Ooooh yeah, that’s a great idea! You should ask Mrs. Akiyama after asking your parents. I’m sure they wouldn’t want to inconvenience you.”

He nodded his head, "You're right. Maybe I can take a poll and see what everyone's favorite flowers are. I doubt there's anything we don't have."

"What's the most sold flower and which ones are your least favorite?"

"Roses are obviously most popular but for very cliche reasons. Guys always assume every girl likes roses and not to say they won't accept them but there are so many more options out there. As for my least favorite...white crysanthemums."

"But those are so pretty?" You straighten your posture in surprise.

"Yeah but they're also the most used at funerals, so they often carry the meaning of death. It gets pretty sad when those get shopped for. You can see it in their faces when they ask for them; it’s like they’re looking through you. They just look defeated and I wish I could hug them all."

Your heart ached listening to his reasoning. You never thought about it like that. You’d only been to two funerals in your life and now that he mentioned it, those flowers were surely always there.

“Well what about your favorite flower?” It put a smile on your face to see the change in his expression.

“Sunflowers! They can grow quite tall if you take care of them, but I think they’re cool because they turn toward the sun whenever it’s around. I’ll show you! I’ll bring you one tomorrow and we can keep it here at school!”

You suddenly felt shy and your face felt so warm. Clem chuckled and gently bumped her shoulder against yours. It made Kyungsoo avoid eye contact and clear his throat. He didn’t have to bring it, you were already sure that sunflowers were your new favorite.

“I’m gonna head home now you guys, thanks for the great suggestion!”

He waved to you and Clem as he got on his bike. As he rode away, something that hung low at the back, dragged against the ground making a slight scraping noise.

“On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you want Kyungsoo to be your boyfriend?” Clem cheekily asked when she no longer saw him in the distance.

“What?! Zero! zero zero zero!” You playfully slapped her arm and she got up from her seat and ran away as you chased her.

You sighed deeply once inside the house. You rested against the door, letting the events of tonight finally kick in. You really almost got hit by a truck and the driver could care less. You held your face in your hands and let the tears fill your palms. You weren’t mentally prepared for something so scary to happen but you also felt crazy for enjoying this night a lot because you spent some time with Kyungsoo alone.

Maybe Clem was right, maybe you had an answer for why you wish you could ride on the back with him forever. To feel your head leaned against his back and your arms around his waist. To anticipate the butterflies in your stomach every time you would make eye contact with him. His smile, his laugh, his warmth. Maybe you should stop trying to deny the way you were falling for him more and more every day.

But it didn’t matter because you knew the love was one sided.

He held onto the bottom of your jacket, anything to keep you close and make you want to stay. He didn’t want to come off as annoying or clingy but he couldn’t help it. What was there to say? What was there to do? The time was approaching quickly and one by one the students began filling up the seats on the bus.

He embraced you in a hug, his breathing becoming uneven and a lump forming in his throat. His heart warmed when you hugged him back. He was happy he got the chance to hug his perfect girl but he knew he was unsuccessful yet again. Alas, it didn't stop him from saying what he wanted to say.

"I love you." He whispered in your ear before your best friend called out to you.

ding

You: wish you were here :’(

He looked down at your message and smiled. He sat perched against his headboard. He was going to text you back but he really wanted to hear your voice. He dialed your number and waited to hear the click indicating you picked up.

But it just rang.

And rang.

And he cried as he laid his head down on his pillow to drift off to sleep.

New plan. Maybe he needed to keep a journal of every conversation you’ve had with him. And yes he does remember. Partially because just like he greets the customers, you never broke free from your usual dialogue no matter what he said. There must be something he was missing. Was he not bold enough? Is that what you needed, for him to kiss you until you agreed? But you didn’t love him the way he loved you.

“Excuse me, we’d like to order 100 white chrysanthemums.”

The group of teens in front of him broke his train of thought. White chrysanthemums? What did they need those for?

“Sure thing…but if you don’t mind me asking, what are they going to be used for?”

“The high school we go to, today is the death anniversary of a past class who were killed in a bus accident.”

His heart dropped. Was he really so focused on you that he..forgot you? He’d visit you every year with a bouquet of sunflowers and a love letter. He knew you’d love it, you were sappy like that and apparently so was he.

“Excuse me…” she turned to her friends and whispered, “did I say something wrong?”

“No…no I just didn’t know they were still doing things like that. I’m glad you’re not forgetting them, they were great people.”

They exchanged sympathizing glances and sent him their condolences. He thanked them and then gathered his things to fulfill their order.

He got on his bike, those beautiful yellow petals rested inside the basket on the front. He pulled right in front of the columbarium and adjusted the collar on his shirt. He always double checked his appearance as if you would be standing right in front of him. They had a great photo of you, something that really captured just how beautiful you looked. And you were smiling. A smile he never got tired of seeing and never stopped trying to make appear.

“Hey” he started with a smile, “can you believe I almost forgot today? Thankfully these kids came in the shop and said they were honoring you…and Clem and everyone. Even Mrs. Akiyama.” He swallowed slowly in an attempt to stop himself from bawling. “I always tell myself to stay strong when I come see you, but you know it’s hard for me right? When I miss you this much? I won’t stop trying to have you here with me. Even if I have to crawl, I won’t stop.”

He looked over to see other people approaching to visit their loved ones, so he left to give them their space. 3 more days. He could wait.

Three more days he waited only to wake up on that same dingy orange sofa. It was the only thing he had left from his old house, one that you and Clem have both sat on with him as you all watched movies or played games. He rubbed his eyes and became more aware of his surroundings. More aware of the soft pitter patter against his window. What was that?

He quickly sat up when he recognized the sound. No no no, this can’t be happening. He threw on a raincoat and tripped over his rain boots as he put them on. He stood as he pedaled as fast as he could. This couldn't be happening at a worse time. He checked the weather these past few days and never did it say he should expect rain. Never did it say it would fucking rain today.

He was good with these things, he knew the tent he kept his device in only protected it from the sun and barely so. But he knew that whenever there was a chance of rain, he had a safe space in his home to store it until it was over. Why did it not say it would rain? The closer he got, the bigger and heavier the drops became, it was absolutely pouring.

The makeshift tent was soaked through and through. He went inside and watched as the drops poured down straight onto the equipment. He grabbed anything he could find to soak up the water. But it was no use and he knew that but he had to have hope.

Yet, there was nothing he could do but wait and see what drying it out after the storm would do. However that had the same success rate as trying to water a flower after it has dried up and wilted. But of course that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try; he had to try for you.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Me?” You were surprised for some reason that he had something he was so curious about that he couldn’t help but ask. You glanced at Clem before answering, “Yeah, of course.”

“Do you ever feel like this day has been happening over and over again? Like deja vu?”

A chill ran through your body. “N-no?”

“That’s not true, you said that to me earlier! Wow Kyungsoo can you predict the future?”

“Not cool Clem!” You swatted at her. “But what do you mean? Do you feel that way?”

“Hmm, not exactly. You don’t feel like you’ve seen me before? Like you’ve heard my voice before?” He reached out to grab your hand. “What about this, does this seem familiar?”

Your heart was beating fast and you were starting to feel like you were going to faint. You quickly pulled your hand back. “You’re scaring me Kyungsoo…”

He chewed on the inside of his bottom lip. “I’m sorry. Let me give you something before I go.” He walked up to his bike and grabbed a sunflower, white chrysanthemum and a note from his back pocket. “I hope this will help you remember something. You won’t understand this now, but don’t get on that bus for the trip okay. Just trust me.”

Before you could question him, he was already on his bike, riding off with that agitating scraping sound following closely behind. What was even was that making that noise and why did it seem so familiar?

“What was that about?” Clem asked looking just as confused as you felt. There was a lot of emotions you felt, but confusion was definitely number one.

“I-I don’t know but I think I should head home, my head is killing me.”

“Should I call my mom? She wouldn’t mind dropping you off.”

“Nah it’s okay, I’m just going to catch the bus back. I’ll catch you later Clem.”

You grabbed your things and hugged her before going to wait at the bus stop. On the ride back home, you reached into your bag and pulled out the flowers and the letter he had given you earlier. Such a weird kid, but it felt nice to receive something like this from a boy as cliche as it sounded. It didn’t click until you saw the white flower that you noticed it was your favorite. And what about the sunflower, what was so special about it?

You unfolded the note and read its contents:

Sorry if I came across as pushy or creepy. I just didn’t know what else to say. You won’t be seeing me anymore and I can’t begin to explain why unless you remember everything. This very well might have been my last chance and this may never make sense to you but I hope it does and we can see each other again one day in the future. Would it be weird to say how much I love you? I never got the chance to truly tell you before and if we never see each other again, I want to at least feel that I was able to achieve something. I’ll end this by saying, I know you’re gonna be excited for that trip but if you can trust me, I want you to convince everyone to not get on that bus. It’s selfish to ask if you can do it for me, but if you remember then that’s my only request from you.

At the bottom, he wrote an address and left a clipping of a newspaper article. The address didn’t exist when you looked it up and the paper looked so old that you could barely make out the words on it. Whatever was happening, it was scaring you and you didn’t like it.

The next day, just like he said, he didn’t show up to class. Not the day after, or even the week after and everyone in class acted as if they’d never met him. Simply a figment of their imaginations if even that. But you didn’t forget and the flowers and letter sat in your drawer.

“You’re starting to worry me babe.” Clem slid another orange slice over to you. “You look so out of it. Maybe it’s time to see that doctor you were talking about.”

“I feel okay, I promise.” That was a lie.

“Well even if you feel fine, you don’t look fine and it would make me feel better if you had a doctor tell you everything was fine.” You nodded your head just so she would stop asking. “We should head home, we have that big exam tomorrow.”

“Yeah I was just about to say. You walking home Clem?”

“Nope, my mom should be pulling up any minute now. Sure you don’t want a ride home?”

“Yeah I’m sure, just wanna walk since the weather’s so nice.”

You waited with her until her mother came to get her. She waved at you from the window in the back with a big smile. You took your time walking home, hoping the fresh air would clear your head. You read that letter every night before you went to sleep and it never made any sense. Maybe you were crazy and you really did need to go see a doctor. Even so, it wouldn’t explain a lot of things. You approached the crosswalk and kept going, barely checking to see what was coming.

A mistake indeed. You heard the blaring horn of the truck unable to slow down before it got to you. Instinct kicked in and you leapt forward, landing on your knees. You were alive, but the pounding in your head made you feel like impact was made. The near death accident triggered something in your memory. Like a toy you forgot you loved playing with when you were younger. He was right, you did remember.

You remembered that this has happened before; many times before actually and he was always there to help. You remembered the many times you shared his bike with him. The day he held your hand when you said you felt too scared to walk past the spider web that hung down from the tree. The days where it felt like he knew you and Clem since day one. And most importantly, you recalled being on that bus he told you to avoid and how scared you felt to know you’d never be able to see him again.

You were sitting on the ground now, screaming and crying so much so that you didn’t notice the driver of the truck trying to shake you out of your panic attack. “Miss! Miss! Are you okay? Your leg is bleeding, I’m going to call an ambulance okay?!”

“Call Kyungsoo! Tell him I remember!”

Those were the last words you remember saying before you lost consciousness.

Days passed but you didn’t forget what you remembered. Clem stayed by your side more so than she already did, if that was even possible. You told her about everything and at first she didn’t believe you but then you showed her the article and she didn’t stop crying for hours. You couldn't blame her. Imagine finding out that you, your best friend and everyone else in your class died and the only reason you were able to find that out is because the boy you love and loves you back suffered through it enough to tell you. It still didn't make any sense how that was possible, but you knew you had to do everything in your power for his work to not be in vain.

"We have to convince them to not go Clem, I just don't know how."

She sat with you on the floor, backs against the foot of your bed. "I don't know...nothing feels real anymore honestly. You'd really only have to convince Mrs. Akiyama, she's technically in charge of our class."

"Well yeah, but what am I supposed to say? If we get on the bus next week we're all gonna die? Trust me because Kyungsoo told me?"

Clem sat up and shook her head, "Just explain it to her the way you did to me. Show her the article and everything."

"Yeah you're right, it'll be best to show her some evidence, thanks Clem."

She nodded, "Of course, text me later okay? My mom's outside."

You hugged her goodbye and went back upstairs to plop down on your bed. You didn't have the energy for anything else these days, stressing over how you would make everyone believe you, or at least your teacher. You rolled over on your side toward your nightstand and opened the drawer. The letter carried so much more sentiment now; it was the only thing you had from him besides the flowers, but those were already brown.

"I promise I won't let you down." You kissed the letter and put it back in its place. Tomorrow was the big day and you only had one shot at this.

"I can say I'm quite shocked such an elaborate prank is coming from you." Mrs. Akiyama looked disappointed in you, a face you'd never seen her make in the years you've had her as a teacher.

"What? Mrs. Akiyama I would never joke about such a thing! I'm being very serious right now, you have to trust me!"

"Is this what kids are doing these days? Making fake news articles?"

You couldn't help but look at her in disbelief. "I-I...please I'm telling the truth."

"One more word of this and I'm going to have to send you to the principal's office. I never expected this behavior from you."

You sat, feeling dejected, in the usual spot where you, Clem and apparently Kyungsoo would have lunch after school. If she wasn't going to believe you with physical evidence, you would have to figure out a different way to stop this trip from happening. Clem walked up to you and put a reassuring hand against your back.

"I brought your fave; banana milk." She handed it to you as you laid your head on her shoulder and let the tears that built up since your conversation with Mrs. Akiyama finally fall. "I heard what happened earlier. I feel bad now for giving you such stupid advice."

"It's okay, it's not your fault. I mean you didn't even believe me at first...but I don't know what to do. I'm going to let him down Clem."

"Don't say that! I'm sure if I could remember what he was like, I'd be able to say much more confidently that he'd be happy with you regardless."

You laughed a bit, she was right. If he was here right now, he'd be thinking of ways to get you to stop crying. If he was here...if only.

"I'm going to pop the tires."

Clem shook you off her shoulder, "What? No offense, but that's kind of crazy. You'd have to sneak on school grounds and then pop the tires."

"Exactly."

"No, not exactly. Not trying to be so negative, but if you get caught, you're going to get in trouble."

"Yeah? Well Clem, if I fail it doesn't matter if I get in trouble because we're all going to FUCKING DIE!" It was like the whole world became silent. She stared at you. Unfortunately it was the reality of the situation and this was your first and only attempt at helping. But of course you didn't mean to yell at her. "Clem I'm-"

"No don't apologize, you're right. I've been trying to keep it off my mind so much that I forgot how quickly our time was running out. Whatever you need, I'll be there for you."

You didn't feel so alone anymore yet the truth still stands; if everything fell through, you could kiss your existence goodbye.

It was early in the morning, about 2 hours before the bus was scheduled to leave and an hour before everyone was supposed to be here to do a final roll call. You had looked through everything in your garage the night before, looking for anything sharp enough to poke holes in a tire as big as one for a bus but something safe around to carry. You settled on some long nails your dad kept from the renovations he made on the kitchen a few years ago. A few of those should do the trick right?

Clem followed closely behind you as you both carefully climbed over the lowest walls on the school's courtyard. Thankfully it was still pretty dark outside or anyone driving past could have seen you two and called the police to report a trespassing. You ran to the back of the school where you knew the bus would be and quickly took the nails out of your bag.

"Just keep an eye out for me okay Clem?"

She nodded and you got to work. It was a lot harder than you expected it to be. Of course tires were thick, but you didn't expect them to be that thick. But you kept trying and slowly you were able to get the nail halfway in. Once fully wedged inside the tire, you started hammering in the second one. You didn't want to go overboard with them because then it would obviously look planned, but one might not be enough to make the tire go flat.

“You done? It’s almost time for my mom to get up and she can’t know I’m not in my bed.”

“Yeah I’m finished, let’s go.”

Thankfully so far everything has gone according to plan and you hoped it stayed that way.

When the time came, your heart beat against your ribs. You wondered if Clem felt just as nervous. You didn’t stay long enough to make sure the tire deflated but you heard a small fizz of the air escaping so that was a good sign.

“Okay great, everyone is here! The driver is just doing one last check before we get on.” Mrs. Akiyama spoke as she stood in front of the group of you.

“Bad news ma’am, looks like one of the back wheels is flat.” You stood next to Clem and you squeezed her hand. “That means I’ll have to call the mechanic if you want to leave somewhat on time.”

“Oh no, yes do what you need to!”

Clem looked at you, a frantic look in her eyes. Alarms in your brain were going off and your heart beat even faster. You had to do something before you were back to the drawing board and as a matter of fact, said board wouldn’t exist once you got on that bus.

“NO! Everyone please listen to me!” All eyes quickly turned their attention towards you. “We can’t get on that bus! I know we were all excited for this trip but I promise you we’re better off waiting until next year.”

Everyone looked at you confused and you knew you were never going to convince them like this. Mrs. Akiyama started walking over to you but now was not the time to care.

“If we get on that bus…we’re all going to die.” Gasps were heard in every direction along with chatter among the crowd. “I can’t tell you how I know but you have to trust me on this.”

The teacher finally stopped in front of you and grabbed you by the arm. “I’m calling your parents to come pick you up, you will not mess up everyone’s day with this nonsense!”

You broke free from her grip and ran more into the middle. “PLEASE! I’M MOT LYING, EVEN IF WE HAVE TO LEAVE LATER JUST LISTEN TO ME!”

Two pairs of hands grabbed your arms and pulled you backwards and slowly away from where you stood. Everyone looked concerned seeing the normally level headed girl be so scattered. This must be how Kyungsoo felt writing that letter to you. So defeated, looking for any glint of hope.

“If she stays I’m staying too!” Clem came forward and ran to your side. “I’m not saying that because she’s my best friend, I’m saying it because if someone told me I was going to die and all I had to do to prevent it was not get on this bus, I’d listen. What harm can come from us just waiting and seeing what happens? Wouldn’t that be better than regretting not believing her later on?”

The small talk started up again within the crowd, she was swaying their thoughts; putting doubt in their minds. She was convincing them.

“I can’t believe you chose today of all days…but we’ll see what happens. If you’re doing this for God knows what reason and it was all a lie, we’re going to have a serious talk with your parents and the principal.”

You squeezed Clem tight and thanked her for having your back like she said she would. Kyungsoo would be proud of the both of you if he was here. Maybe you would get the chance to tell him if what he said is true. Just like Clem said, where was the harm in being safe than sorry?

Sparks flew from the time machine, the last few beeps of operation decreasing in octave as it slowly shut down for good. He was heartbroken, crying hysterically with his head in his hands. This was literally his worst nightmare. He doesn’t think he could build up the motivation to make another one. And what was the point? No matter how hard he tried, you never listened. Maybe everyone was right, he’s the reason he’s been sad all these years because of his greed to change the past. He told you he would make peace with himself if he never saw you again, but would he really be able to keep his promise?

A week had passed since he kissed his hard work goodbye and tried to only focus on his life as it was now. He vowed to make changes in his life soon, but he allowed himself another week to grieve. He couldn't help but beat himself up over everything. If he had known that would be his last try, he would have hugged you one last time. Now he wished his future self would let this day replay over and over until he made the right choices to get what he wanted.

“Kyungsoo, it’s mom. Just checking in on you. I know your birthday is coming up. We were hoping to come by and see you if that’s okay. I can make your favorite food, so don’t worry about cooking that day okay? Miss you baby, love you, talk to you later. Oh and call me back with an answer okay? Love you, bye.”

He hadn’t seen his parents in quite some time and it would be nice to be around family again. They were very understanding and never judged him for his choice of career. Or maybe they pitied him because they knew a man who couldn’t get over a dead girl would be no good to work anywhere else. But that was the bad thoughts talking again and he surely didn’t need any more of those.

The chime above the door caught his attention but he didn’t bother looking up.

“Welcome in, have a look around and feel free to ask any questions.” Monotonous and bland.

“Can I do a bouquet of sunflowers please? They’re my absolute favorite.”

“No problem, would you like small or-“ he looked up. Perhaps he should have looked up sooner.

Was his heart beating too fast or did it stop beating completely? He was at a loss for words. Standing before him, even more beautiful than he remembered. Had the depression truly set in? Maybe he was having a really vivid and lucid dream. There was no way he wasn’t dreaming right now or at least hallucinating.

“Kyungsoo, I remembered like you said.”

His legs felt like jelly, his vision was blurry and his ears were ringing. He pushed through and came from around the counter and stopped right in front of you. He shakily raised an arm to wrap around you and hug you. When he made contact with a physical being, a real person, you; he couldn’t help but squeeze you tight, fingertips digging in your back as he held on; afraid to let go.

“Please tell me I’m not dreaming.” Tears streamed down his cheeks and fell onto your shoulders.

“I’m here Kyungsoo, you’re not dreaming. I’m here.”

He was just like you remembered, he still had the ability to give you butterflies and feel like a safe place. It all seemed so unreal, hugging your high school crush in the middle of a place you dreamed of working in. Soon you would finally tell him the real answer you wanted to give and that you never wanted to leave his side.

He looked at you, breathing heavily with your face in his hands. “All that stuff I said in that letter I meant from the bottom of my heart.”

You grabbed his hand and smiled, “I know and because of you, I finally get to say I love you too.”

[lurkingshan]

Kinou nani tabeta/What Did You Eat Yesterday?

You should know that I attempted to start this write up about half a dozen times before I managed to get a single word down. Every time I tried I just ended up staring at the wall. I don’t think I’ve been this emotionally stunned by a show since I Told Sunset About You, and I don’t say that lightly!

So, is this a good show? My god, YES. What an understatement. Let me tell you, as my MDL can attest, I’ve watched nearly 300 dramas. I’m sure I’ve watched even more Western shows since I had a 30 year head start on those. And I can say confidently that I’ve never seen anything quite like this gem.

Kinou nani tabeta, or What Did You Eat Yesterday?, is a drama about two middle aged gay men living their everyday lives, making and sharing food, reckoning with their identities and expectations, and figuring out how to be together in a long term relationship. That’s it, that’s the show. If that sounds boring to you, I gotta tell you: YOU ARE WRONG.

We meet Shiro and Kenji when they’re in their mid 40s and already a couple years into living together. Over the course of the show, we learn more about their relationship - how they got together, how they differ, where they struggle, where they shine, what they are still figuring out - and we see them work through it all, together. We see them at work, with friends, with their families, out in public, and in the privacy of their own home - we get a full and complete picture of their lives. And we are invited in to experience it with them and get up close and personal with their relationship in a way that feels both cozy and thrilling.

Now, I am not going to go into detail about everything that happens in this show, or attempt to provide deep analysis about its story, its characters, or the various cultures it depicts. This show was released in 2019, the manga began its run many years before that, and there are folks on this website - like @isaksbestpillow and @bengiyo - who have been at this a hell of a long time and thus have a broader context and lived experience from which to critically examine the show and its messages as they relate to Japanese familial values, life as a queer man from an older generation, and building community while living in a culture that is actively hostile to who you are. I implore you to go read their thoughts and learn from their wisdom. But what I will do is mention a couple (3… no 4, okay 5!) things that really made it stand out to me, a lifelong romance reader, avid media consumer, and drama enjoyer (I’m going to keep plot stuff vague because I hope if you’re reading this, you will be watching very soon!):

Let me repeat: this is a drama about a middle aged couple in a long term relationship, and the ongoing growth and deepening of their relationship is the main plot. Do I have to tell you how unique that is? The romance genre is rarely interested in what happens after the couple gets together, and even in other dramas featuring a couple in a LTR, the plot is usually about something else with the relationship in the background. And I’m fairly sure this is the only show of this nature in the entire bl genre (@absolutebl please fact check me if I’m wrong). In this show, the relationship is the point. It’s a rare look at what it actually takes to learn to deal with your baggage and share your life with someone, and I found it deeply moving.

My god these actors. With all due respect to the many fine actors in the bl industry, these two are on another level. We just never get to see seasoned actors of this caliber headlining ql dramas. If I have one tiny critique of this show, it’s that I found the moments when they let us listen in on the characters’ internal monologues mostly unnecessary - every emotional beat played out in their faces and body language. There’s this one scene I can’t stop thinking about, where the main pair are fighting, and one of them says something he doesn’t mean, and you see the regret on his face instantly, followed by a quick aborted movement as if to take it back, but his partner has already turned away and doesn’t see it. Just perfection. And the acting was so good in the finale (@waitmyturtles informed me my absolute fav moment was improvised for fucks sake) that it actually laid me out for like an hour, I was just sitting there in a crying daze.

The writing is so fucking smart. What’s absolutely brilliant about this show is that it’s structured like an episodic slice of life drama, but there is a deeper long term emotional arc at play and the writers forget nothing. Just like in life, in each episode something will happen, it won’t really get fully resolved, and the characters will move on. But on this show, it always comes back around, usually when your guard is down and they can inflict maximum damage by sucker punching you right in the solar plexus. I can hardly believe how many times this show managed to sneak attack me with emotional realness (official Shan cry count: 8/12 episodes caused me to burst into tears, sometimes more than once).

This show will take you through every possible destination on the spectrum of human emotion. I was so emotional while watching this show, in every sense. Crying both happy and sad tears. Swinging wildly between giddy delight, deep sadness, low key anger, and belly laughing. Sometimes the switch happens literally one scene to the next! And yet, there is an evenness to the tone and assuredness to the filmmaking that makes it all feel smooth. You never feel jerked around by the narrative. This is a credit to the writing, acting, and editing all coming together with perfect precision. The people who made this show are masters of their crafts.

OBVIOUSLY I MUST MENTION THE FOOD. Every episode of this show features at least one instance of a character making Japanese food that looks like the best thing you’ve never gotten the chance to eat. I do not recommended watching this without feeding yourself first, because it will have you salivating. And they don’t just show you the characters making the food (even narrating the recipes for you!), they always show you the characters actually eating and enjoying it. Some real foodies were involved in this production and as someone who loves to eat and absolutely was raised to view feeding people as a love language, I loved it.

So now that you are obviously dying to watch it, you must be wondering: where can I find this show? Let me point you to this post on @kinounaniresource, where the amazing Siiri has compiled all the video files and English subs you need. If you’re not familiar with how to use these, you’ll find instructions on her blog (if you get confused come ask me, please don’t bug her about it). I know sometimes shows being a little hard to access is a big deterrent to watching them, but please trust me that this is absolutely worth your time and effort, you will not regret it.

[the-s1lly-corner]

i think it would be so cute if you wrote headcannons abt silly little things johnathan ohnn would do around alchemax when him and reader are coworkers. imagine their desks next to each other 🥲

Random hcs for Jonathan Ohnn and his coworker!

Didnt know if you wanted this romantic or platonic so I'm writing this as

Both?? If that makes sense?? Like majority is neutral with a more romantic segment at the end?? Help

Side note I love this gif

Anyways not proof read we die like uncle Aaron

Obligatory you guys leave things on each others desks; notes, snacks, a drink, ect ect ect

You both also have your own set of inside jokes, and probably gossip about y'alls other coworkers

Probably just a me thing because I love dynamics like this but yall are just. Constantly bubbly around each other, like

Yall can glance at each other and make a slightly goofy expression and the other is trying to hold it together

I just wanna see Jonathan happy, man :( his whole Jonathan to spot transition kinda actually makes me sad like bro was just doing his job

Anyway

I feel like Jonathan can get fairly wrapped up in his work; forgets to take breaks.. he really appreciates when you come over and leave a bottle of water on the edge of his desk, makes him feel cared for

Side tangent but I personally hc that even before becoming Spot he never really had many friends, much less ones that look out for his wellbeing like that. Doesn't help that he's kinda

Awkward and closed off but hes not

Evil or mean spirited (yet/hj)

"Jon you gotta start standing up straight" "UHHHGGHH *fine* dad/mom!!🙄/j" and similar interactions

Whenever you two are assigned hands on work/experiment shit yall are both just. Bouncing off each other the entire time if that makes sense

Like yall are a power duo; you guys get the work done in no time and actually?? Have fun?? Work goes by fast when you're doing it with someone you enjoy being around

Hopping back in the silly stuff he would NOT stand up for himself if someone was taking his lunch; and if he does he makes like. A piss poor attempt at standing up for himself sooo if you're on the fierce side (or just have a backbone) he would really appreciate it

"Excuse me he asked for NO pickles!"/j

Now onto the romance yahoo

Tbh I dont know if alchemax would be the type of company to outright ban coworkers from having relationships with one another, I can kinda see it swinging either way

But I've never been good at writing hcs for characters needing to slink around so let's say it allows that stuff

Anyways

Jonathan is an awkward sap, like

Imagine glancing over at his computer and seeing him looking up pickup lines (bad corny ones)

He uses them 5 minutes later on you

Stuff like that

Also while I dont normally like characters that dip into the clingy/jealous category Jonathan/spot is an exception simply because I legitimately cant see him not being at least a little insecure

But the good news about being a scientist is that hes good at problem solving; he communicates!!

You guys are both so

Obvious

At least he is; one good compliment and hes red in the face

Outright flirt with him and hes basically glowing red

Back to the bad pick up lines he will be over the moon if you say one back

Building off the "you guys leave things on each others desks" thing he leaves like. Flowers and candies he knows you like on the desk

A moment of silence for your desk when your birthday or valentines day happens 😔

Imagine someone hits on you and he just

Wanders over, puts a hand on your shoulder and just

"Theyre taken"

But like, in a cringey ☝️🤓 way

😭😭