#i have to walk and entire block to my bus stop in this crap

[x688plsloveme]

Time to do a very tough exam that I will most definitely fail

[lovemeian]

seijoh 5 inky thoughts—

not me headcanoning crap just because i have so many thoughts on men with tattoos, like. yes, sir. you’re right. you’re absolutely valid and right.

iwa calls you ‘doll’ + issei calls you ‘pretty girl/boy’ + tani’s an absolute sweetheart <3

masterlist.

tattoo artist!oikawa— an absolute flirt. biggest revenue of their shop is his instagram and wild thirst trap posts of his artists & piercers. has on sense of personal space or ‘privacy’ when it comes to them; they’re flexed arms + serious expression is free real estate. always booked to the brim months in advance, likes doing colourful works; dainty but intricate pieces are his speciality. talks you through the pain, very chatty, very flirty. it’s kinda hard not be attracted to him while your in his chair because he’s charisma is just wild. king of terms of endearments and praises— “breathe through your nose, pretty baby, you’re doing so well for me.” and like, he smells sweet and soft? like fresh laundry? and sandalwood and lavenver? and he’s so close that if you don’t end up simping for the man, i applaud your self control. & if you both vibe well and are comfortable with each other, mans might actually kiss your hand and end it with a wink.

tattoo artist & piercer!iwaizumi— mate, if your mouth doesn’t water the minute you come for your appointment idek what’s up. i just. see this black muscle shirt, sweatpants, and his face curled in concentration when he’s bent over you like sir, how rude for my poor heart. his arms flexing to control the machine, and he’s so close, he smells like fresh shower and musky body spray that mingles with sweat soon because its hours later, and he flexes and smiles at you, half apologetic about his state. but! also kind of baby powder??? if that makes sense??? and despite his very gruff stature, his voice is very calm and low like, if you’re scared and it’s your first time getting tattoo or pierced— “it’s okay, look at me. just look at me. you’ll be okay.” won’t call you pet names unless like, it’s sessions later and he’s gotten closer to you that he greets you with a smirk and a, “so what’s it this time, doll?” WOOF. his work is prided more on the critical details. takes lesser bookings because he does a lot of big or intricate pieces. incredibly patient and bonds well with his clients that if you’re down to be friends, the best (sexiest) friend to have.

piercer!makki— likes getting tattoos than giving them, but he’s an absolute joy to have as a piercer. will test your mood and make jokes to ease into the scariness of it all. breezy flirter, it’s just how he is. very casual with it, that even uses the most obnoxious petnames like ‘aye, honey bun, what’s up?’ ANNOYING but adorable. if he’s concentrating, then you’ll see his pierced tongue and if he catches you looking, man is winking, going, “like what you see, huh? can’t blame ‘ya.” annoying, but super cute— that’s his entire brand deal. will take so, so much care in telling you how to deal with aftercare so you don’t get it infected. likes recurring customers and is just so at eased that you just. . . relax right back. unconsciously draws circles on your skin while he hums while he works. he smells like coffee. just. fresh brew. and some fruity, minty candy that he’ll probably offer you if you’re too panicked. distracts you when the piercing’s about to go, like, will do one-liners like an idiot to keep you distracted.

tattoo artist!issei— ah. the sexiest tattoo artist you’ll probably meet. ngl, very intimidating even before you’re booking lol, his slots are at the oddest fucking hours that people wonder if his ass is an actual vampire from oikawa’s rude photos— sexy tol man in black clothes and so many silver accessories and smirks? to having a slot at 12am?? are you okay sir?? but his office is nice, superiorly wipe-cleaned from top to bottom, some moody rock song or croony jazz one, playing in the background. his odd hours are usually easier for him, because he’s a night owl. despite it, theres a long list of clients wanting to booked, always need to be months in advanced because he takes the fewest slots. he does more intricate, thick pieces. from pattern tattoos to really big ones. every single tattoo is worked on damn near for hours because he likes jotting as littlest of the details as possible. issei smells like body spray, gum, and kind of the really fresh humidifier smell shshsh, and lightly of smoke and leather. he can do long stretches of silence, sometimes humming along to the music, but will chat with you if ya wanna. he’s just more. lowkey. will call you ‘pretty girl/boy’. if a session gets really late, he’ll probably walk you to the station/bus stop? if you’re ok with it.

piercer!kyotani— poor bby, he looks intimidating, but he’s so soft and patient. it doesn’t help that some people piss him off— makki or oikawa — so you may sometimes hear him shouting, half growling when he slaps on latex gloves. and he looks so serious, listening to how/where you want your piercing, and the minute he speaks— answering any questions or the like, his voice is low and calm, and you can see how patient and knowledgeable about it he is. he would make you choose the songs to play, not back-biting on how much it might hurt, and to tell him immediately if anything feels wrong/too painful. his aftercare notes after are bulleted pointed, and telling you his number/social media is always free in case you have more questions or how the healing is doing. he’s the most concerned about his clients, asking for updates, and feeling satisfied from another satisfied customer. he’s actually such a sweetheart, best piercer this block of the gang.

made by lavi <3

taglist: @asaitashi​, @jadasz​, @encrytpta​, @kenmaslov3r​, @wuyaiscrow​, @sakusasimpbot​, @omiikeii​, @jesssobs​, @uhhkims​, @iworshipyelena​, @fiona782​,

[thessalian]

Thess vs Shopping Trips

Once again, ill-advised trip to Peckham for sundries. Didn’t help that the bus stop near my house was closed. Still, I needed some bits and pieces that I can’t get in this area on the weekend, and yesterday was bus strike, so...

Two separate pharmacies got a visit. One of the chain pharmacies in the area is cheaper than the other, but the cheaper one doesn’t have a pharmacy counter, so I couldn’t get mallet-meds there. So to the cheaper one for cold meds (I have a cold and it is doing my sinuses a misery), face wash, and something to deal with the insect bites that seem to have cropped up on my right middle finger. It was crowded, and people were not paying attention to how they were blocking aisles, and it was kind of miserable. The other pharmacy for mallet-meds was worse; the queue was awful and they only had one guy working the checkout, so ... yeah. Still, at least I got everything I needed.

Then, local grocery store. I’ve been looking up easy fudge recipes - ones that don’t require constant stirring and a candy thermometer - and picked out a couple for making over the next few days. This mostly because I figure I would be in zero shape to do the regular fudge-making when I got home from today’s excursion. Thing is, first thing I found when walking into big grocery store was ... you know those hugely oversized fleecy hoodies that are basically like wearing a fleece blanket? I’ve wanted one since the weather got overly cold but all the ones I were seeing were mega-expensive. But right at the front of the shop was a rack of particularly warm sweaters and ... some of those hugely oversized fleecy hoodies that are basically like wearing a fleece blanket. At a reasonable price. Fine, the quality isn’t going to be as good, but needs must, y’know?

(Note: it says something about the situation about heating bills in this country when shops known for selling cheap essentials are putting heavy sweaters and fleecy-blanket hoodies right up front. Not particularly a good something, either.)

Anyway, shopping really only involved the fleecy-blanket hoodie, two different kinds of chocolate, some espresso powder, and strawberry preserves, which I will turn into sauce for the making of strawberry fudge. Which made a fairly interesting bundle to take to the checkout. (I would have done the self-checkout but clothing item, wanted to ensure the security tag was taken off.) Thankfully I found a till with minimal queue, and amusingly, when I looked at the lady at the till ... she bore a nametag with the same name that turns up on my official paperwork. Y’know, the one my parentals use, which isn’t generally the one I use these days. Still, rough-looking very busy day, not much heating in the supermarket, I figured it might be nice to flag up that we share a given name, skipping over the fact that I don’t generally use it much. She was very amused by that, so it was a nice transaction for both of us, and that mood seemed to have carried over to her interaction with the next customer, so go, me!

...And then on my way out, someone not looking where they were going bashed past me and kicked my cane out from under me in the process. I managed to keep my balance, though that was painful, and the guy kind of looked over but with a very annoyed look and no apology whatsoever. The world may not be entirely made of jackass, but the jackasses are really disruptive.

Finally made it home, and now there are a bunch of kids stomping around in the corridor while I have a massive sinus headache. But I am in the warm fleecy-blanket hoodie and two pairs of socks, so that’s helpful. I also have some really good sherpa fleece slipper socks coming soon, as a sort of a Yule present, since while my shark slippers are cute, the soles are crap and have twisted in really uncomfortable ways. Still, fleecy slipper socks will make all things better when they get here.

I just wish the kids would stop...

[lightasthesun]

I hope you feel better soon 💙 11, 20, and 25!!

Thank you Kasey💓

11. thank you — what is the nicest thing someone has done for you lately?

Well life hasn't really been easy lately, so it's the simplest things like regular phone calls and enjoying a good laugh <3 that can easily make your entire week! :')

20. party invite — what is the best event you have been invited to?

Not really an event but my friends and I camped in the garden of the friend that lived closest to our graduate school and so the day before graduation we 'partied', ate a bunch of crap and pizza and just enjoyed the night and the next day we biked thru the city in our pj's, picked up the certificates and went to brunch 💀🤭

25. getting soaked — ever gotten caught outside in a big storm?

I was about to deny this when I remembered that we get really bad storms in October on the coast and one time after school, a tree fell on the road in front of my school bus and blocked the way home and me and a boy from my class were picked up from his dad (they were also kinda my neighbors) and he let me out at the junction next to my house where my mum waited for me and if she hadn't idk what would've happened. It's like a 3 minute walk but it was a struggle and if she hadn't held on to me I might've blown away jsjdjd. Mind you I was like 15 I think! And I already stopped growing at that age lmao.

Heartstopper asks

[danny-chase]

Warnings: violence, blood, realism in comics, me mentioning things stans want to ignore to make a point, you don't have to consider them canon, I'm just making a point don't hurt me

Right. Been seeing dialog about Jason's decision to give up guns that i feel is missing a few points.

1. Bruce is traumatized by guns. Yeah he jumps in the line of fire every night but that doesn't mean he isn't scared of/triggered by them:

[Image ID: Oracle!Babs and Robin!Tim roll/walk through the clocktower. Babs: (about guns) Hates them. But doesn't fear them. Tim: Not the way he jumps in the line of fire night after night. Babs: Line of fire... Babs: I was afraid of them for a long time. I'd go faint at the sight of a gun on TV. Tim: You have reasons, Barbara. So does Batman. Babs: But I. worked through them. Babs: Maybe Bruce hasn't. Maybe he's not the rock we thought he was. Tim: He bought a gun as therapy? Babs: Look at the facts. He bought it just like any other citizen. Like he wanted to experience it as someone else would. Tim: I don't think- Computer: Keyword media search alert. Tim: What's that? End ID]

Birds of Prey (1998) #40

Bruce's opposition of guns is partially based in trauma - it's not completely a moral stance or completely logical rule. Jason giving up guns is for himself, but it allows him to be closer to Bruce and for Bruce to be more relaxed in his presence -> can make their relationship closer.

2. [X] weapon isn't even lethal. Getting cut/hurt + no health care = possible death from infection -> shooting a henchman with regular bullets in the foot can be lethal. Or cutting them with a batarang.

[Image ID: A girl walks home getting off the school bus. Girl: "Mama, I know you don't want to hear this, but --" She opens the door to an empty run down house. Girl: "Mama? Mama are you --?" She opens up the bathroom door, revealing her mother sweating and bleeding out on the ground, trying to press a towel to a wound on her side. Her mom is wearing a henchman outfit for the H.I.V.E. Girl: "Mama!" Mom: "Why -- Why are you home so soon?" The girl holds her mom in a sitting position. Girl: "This isn't the flu. You said you had the flu." Mom: "I -- I will be better soon. I just need to rest." Girl: "You need a hospital, mama." Mom: "No. If they find out -- they'll take you away from me. Send me back to Guatemala." The final panel shows a wisp of Ravens cape, the view zoomed out. Girl: "I know you want to protect me, but you need help now -- no matter what happens later." Raven: "Maybe I can help." End ID]

Titans: Titans Together #4

Similarly could ppl stop acting like rubber bullets are non lethal, everything the batfam uses can be lethal and cause scenes like above. Literally none of them can claim moral high ground they've all thrown batarangs in people's faces (off the top of my head, Jason nailed Dick with one in the face in BoC and Bruce got Jason in the neck in UTRH so there's the two characters at odds).

3. Jason/Bruce has never hurt an undeserving person. Jason isn't a mass murderer and you're slandering him. Bruce is the best dad ever you're an idiot for thinking otherwise.

...did you miss the times he tried to kill Tim? Or sprayed Dick with fear gas? Or shot Damian in the chest (not rubber bullets mind you). All of this happened in Battle of the Cowl. He poisoned 82 prisoners indiscriminately in Batman and Robin (2009) #23, went around killing random "thugs" in Brothers in Blood arc of Nightwing. Is it slander if he did it? Idk. If anyone can answer that lmk but everything is canon now so the point is moot.

And let me also say if everythings canon Bruce has also hurt/hit/abused his family (i don't have the specific issue numbers but runs that I've seen bad dad Bruce in are The New Titans, Batgirl (2000), Nightwing (1996), Tom Kings crap, RHATO rebirth, etc. I don't feel like going into detail but if hard pressed i will) don't try to paint me as a Bruce or Jason apologist/hater please

Also literally see the panel above 💀 the mom is an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala with an engineering degree she can't use because the US gov is literally fucking flaming garbage, so she had to take that job to provide for her daughter. Quit thinking extrajudicial murder/vigilantism is a woke take. No. Stop. Bad. Criminals have rights for a reason.

Can you choose to call the above things Jason and Bruce have done ooc and bad writing. Yep. Go ahead, be my guest. Just it's weird to me that ppl always seem to do it for one character and not the other. Like... that's not productive dialogue? And yeah both Jason and Bruce stans do this i just happened to see a post from a Jason stan so he got to be shamed first. If you think i think my fave is wrong, i literally made a post publically shaming him at one point, and wrote an entire fic dedicated to me pointing out why i think characters would hate him the most 🤷‍♀️ if someone read a comic that shows your fave in a bad light don't call them stupid for not liking that character just point them in the right direction and if you don't want to. Don't. Just block them. I'm tired of watching ppl act like their better than each other because they don't consider things canon (unless you stan a minority character and don't consider their racist/sexist writing canon in which case, same, you're the best ppl in this fandom)💀 or referencing fanon as canon and telling ppl to go read more comics 💀

Anyways the takeaways I've come out with are, this debate between the two is more than just morals, they've both wronged each other, and trying to simplify it down into victim and abuser is just - missing nuance and ignoring their full histories in my opinion and kinda just ends up flattening both characters and making both of them less relatable

[nadisabug]

Anything You Want

Pairing: Tsukishima Kei x reader

Warnings: reader is kinda depressed, idk she convinces herself that no one (Kei) could like her, so warning for that, no spoilers though, ooc Tsukki, I am so sorry this was a one am fever dream im sor-

Summary: As old childhood friends of Yamaguchi and Tsukishima, it doesn’t make sense why Tsukishima and you fight so much.

A/N: Ahh I’m so sorry I woke up out of a cold sweat to write this whole thing in one sitting at one am im just 💛love💙 him!! Also!!! I hit 150 followers!! So excited!!! I love you all so much!! Thank you!!!!! (ps requests are open pls send some in)

Haikyuu!! Masterlist

"Kiss me Kei!"

"What? Tch, no that's gross."

"But I'm the mommy!"

"So?"

"You're the daddy! You gotta!"

"I don't even wanna play this dumb game."

"It's not dumb! Pleeaaasseee Kei-chan! For me?"

"Fine, come here."

The slap of the ball hitting the gym floor startled me out of my daydream. My eyes snapped up quickly to the game before me. Did we score? It took me a minute to even register what was going on and who I was looking at. I looked to the referee on his stepladder, waiting for him to call the point.

The whistle blew. He raised his arm. Boys in black and orange jerseys shouted. I clapped and cheered.

It all felt so robotic. But then I looked at him. Then the world shifted into slow motion and began to flow more naturally.

He raised his arm to wipe the sweat off of his brow, the movement mesmerizing. Even the jerk of his body when a teammate patted him on the back seemed graceful. Elegant. He pushed his glasses up a bit and glared at the offender. He turned to say-

"Y/n?" Once again I was startled from my thoughts. My head snapped to the right side where Yachi was standing next to me. She had a concerned look on her face. I swallowed, my dry mouth only producing a lump in my throat. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," I responded quickly and looked back to the game. "Just focusing is all." This time I fought not to look at the boy. I didn't want to look at him anyway. I didn't. I didn't.

Finding my eyes drifting back to him, I launched into conversation to pull my mind from him.

"How's the girls team going?"

I was on the girls volleyball team as a first year. I only made the team because I was the only libero and, being honest, I was the best at receiving. I was abnormally short, so I knew I couldn't pull off many other positions.

Well, maybe I could.

I watched as the short, orange haired boy flew across the court and landed an impossible to receive spike. I still wasn't used to that combo no matter how many games I watched. Then again, I only had reflexes, not the raw power that that boy had.

I sighed and tore my eyes from the game to look at Yachi. I slumped onto the railing a plopped my head in my hands. "We need more practice games, honestly. The way we're going we're not going to win our match."

"Don't say that Y/n!" Yachi cried.

I shrugged and looked back at the game. My eyes found blonde hair naturally. "Its true. The girls don't practice enough. I think getting our asses completely handed to us will turn the team around. I just feel bad for the third years who will suffer from it."

Yachi didn't have a response to that. She changed the subject quickly and we chatted until the game ended, the whole time I focused on the freakish number ten instead of the boy I knew deep down in my heart I really wanted to watch.

"Nice net drop, broccoli brain," I smirked and clapped my best friend on the shoulder.

His shoulders slumped and he sighed. "I didn't even mean to do it," he bereaved.

"Fucking who cares?" I snorted. "Got us a fat point and they never saw it coming. Just remember how it felt and do it again."

"Y/n," Yama whined and tried to shake me off.

"Y/n giving you crap again?" A rich voice came from behind me, sending shivers down my spine. "That's rich coming from Pipsqueak."

"Says Mr-cant-block-for-shit," I shot back, turning around so that I could stick my tongue out at him.

"I'd like to see you try to pick up a real serve, not that-"

"Hey, hey, cut it out!" Yama stepped in between us, putting a warning hand on us both. "We're all friends."

I glared at Tsukishima but backed down. I didn't want to upset Yamaguchi. I knew how much he hated it when we fought, seeing as it was his two best friends.

I had known Yama since elementary school, when I saved him from some bullies. One day when we were clearly out matched, Tsukishima saved us in his aloof, roundabout way. From then on we were inseparable.

That is until the second year of middle school when Tsukishima and I started fighting all the time. Despite that, we still hung out together. Who knows why he put up with my constant antagonism, but he always reciprocated and never complained.

We got on the bus soon after the game, headed to the school. I was on the girls bus, them on the boys. When we got back to the school we met up again.

When we came to the usual splitting point, Yama spoke up.

"So I'll walk Y/n home," Yama offered like always. I was about to accept when Tsukishima spoke up.

"Nah, I'll do it." Yama cocked an eyebrow. "It's out of your way, Yamaguchi. She lives closer to me."

We all knew this, but the point had never come up before.

"Okay," Yama said warily. "Are you sure you don't want me to come anyways?"

"Tch, we're fine, I don't need a babysitter." Tsukishima rolled his eyes.

"Okay," Yama shrugged. He took a few steps backwards before he said goodbye and started off in the opposite direction.

Tsukishima wordlessly took off in the direction of our houses, so I followed. I was wondering why he suddenly offered to walk me home, but he offered no clues as to why. He used to walk me home before we always fought, but after that he stopped. This was the first time he walked me home in years.

So we walked in complete silence.

When we reached my house, we stood there awkwardly for a moment, looking at it. I wasn't sure what to say, but before I could figure it out, he spoke.

"Why do you hate me?"

I was startled by both the question and the sudden shattering of silence. I turned to look at Tsukishima. He wasn't looking at me, just straight ahead. I tried to read his facial expression, but like always, it was stone cold.

"I don't?" I answered uneasily.

Tsukishima sighed. "Yes you do, you always act so pissy towards me. You even tense up when I'm near."

"I do not," I frowned. I tried to think if I have ever done anything like that, but I drew blank.

"Yes you do," Tsukishima sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes. "We..." He paused. He brought he other hand up and rubbed his eyes, pressing his two fingers into his eye sockets. After a moment he threw his hand down, clearly having made up his mind, and turned to look at me. I felt hot under his intent gaze, his eyes searching mine for an answer I was afraid I didn't have. "We used to be close when we were little. What changed."

It wasn't a question. It was more of a statement. It was like he meant to say something different.

So I said it for him.

"We changed."

He scoffed, his face twisting into his signature cynical look. "Bullshit."

"No, that's the answer. Maybe you're not asking the right question," I shot back, confidence fueled by his venom.

He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it soon after. His brows furrowed and his lips pressed together. It was more emotion than he was exhibiting earlier, and for some weird reason, it made something in me happy.

"Why are you so mad at me?" He finally asked, face relaxing a bit. He seemed genuinely curious as to the answer.

His sincerity almost made me explode with anger. How could he not know? He was the most insufferable person in the entire world, what wouldn't I be mad about.

But then again, that was wrong. He never mad me mad with his snide comments and dirty looks. It was all in play and it never really bothered me, ever since we were kids, and he knew that too. So I couldn't lie and say it was his personality because I loved his personality. It was something else. Something I was afraid of admitting.

I grit my teeth. What did it matter if I said it or not? It's not like he'd understand anyway.

Once I made up my mind I met his eyes.

"Because you will never give me what I want."

"And what is that?" His voice was soft, wispy, breathless. Afraid.

Your love.

I couldn't say it. Bile rose in my throat and tears prickled at my eyes. I opened my mouth but quickly shut it. I wouldn't say it. I was too afraid.  My eyes fell to the ground, and with them, all my confidence.

All at once my mind began to barrage me. He will never love you, he could never love someone like you. He-

He laughed.

He fucking laughed.

My mind was thrown to a complete and total standstill by the absurdity of it. I looked back up at him with watery eyes in confusion.

"I thought you were smarter than that," he grinned, one corner of his mouth charmingly quirked upwards. "Than to decide what I think."

"What?" I mumbled nearly incoherently.

"We both know if you ask I'll do anything for you, so quit your crying, Pipsqueak."

I opened my mouth, completely surprised by his confession. He'd do anything for me? That couldn't be right...

But the more I thought about it the more I realized it was true. He had always done everything for me. Whenever I needed him he was there. It was me that started the fighting, all because I let my mind tell me that he could never love me, that he never would.

I met his eyes once again, this time brimming with happiness.

"Kiss me, Kei."

"Fine," he dramatically sighed, hiding a small grin. "Come here."

And he did.

Taglist:

Taglists are open! Shoot me an ask or a dm with what fandom you want to be tagged in and I’ll do it right away! :)

[teenwolffan-with-nolife]

The Witch and The Wolf Pt.44

Word Count: 2,497

Characters: Derek Hale, Isaac Lahey, Rafael McCall (mentioned), Chris Argent (brief), Demon!Reader

Pairings: Eventual Derek Hale x Witch!Reader

Warnings: angst, some minor characters death, actual shitty writing

A/N: this is like third-person omniscient sort of but not rly i guess

A/N 2: blech, I still have writer’s block so sorry for this one :/

Masterlist    Series Masterlist

“(Y/N), it’s me, again. Call me back if you get this,” there was the 10th voicemail left by Derek, calling you once again.

Stiles was at Eichen House, Scott, Isaac, and Allison were trying to look for some sort of scroll, talking about exorcising the nogitsune out of Stiles. Derek and Chris sat handcuffed in cells, while the entire police department was out looking for you. The two of them stayed there for the day before being released. Derek still had no idea where you were. 

Your cellphone soon became out of service, no way of contacting you at all. 

“Derek!” Isaac ran into the loft frantically, snapping Derek’s attention away from you for a brief moment.

“What? What is it?” 

“(Y/N)’s a demon,” he started.

“What?” Derek tensed up, clenching his jaw as he uncrossed his arms.

“How do you know?” he asked, running to Isaac.

“Because Agent McCall sent deputies out to go look for her, three of them supposedly died from a heart attack,” Isaac explained.

Damn it, Derek thought.

“Well, we need to trap her,” Derek said.

“How?”

“Help me find her spellbook. There’s a way to trap her until we figure out something else…” Derek started, before frowning.

“What book?” Isaac watched as Derek ran across the loft anxiously, looking for an old book of yours. The only possession of yours left.

“(Y/N) planned out a way to trap herself, until we found a cure. It’s in one of her old spell books, but I can’t remember where it is. It has to be somewhere here,” Derek shook his head.

“Well, let’s say we find the book. Do you have an actual plan?” Isaac crossed his arms.

Derek paused, leaning against the counter in distress before frowning, hearing his phone ringing.

“Hello?” he answered.

“I've been trying to get in touch with (Y/N) for some time now. I found a cure,” Derek tensed up, picking up the call from Deucalion.

He looked at Isaac, before putting the phone on speaker.

“What do we need to do?” Derek asked.

“Here’s what needs to happen…”

---

You walked alone in the woods, humming a soft melody as your eyes were black.

You stopped in your tracks, sensing someone behind you and you raised an eyebrow, turning around.

“Yes, officer?” you recognized his badge.

“(Y/N), you have to come with me,” he started.

“Praefoco,” you rolled your eyes, watching him stop in his words, gasping for air as he fell to his knees.

You laughed softly to yourself, walking away from the collapsed body on the floor.

You had killed four more people, experimenting in different ways you could kill people, with your heightened powers. Everything felt better, everything felt free. You didn't have a single care in the world and you loved it.

You stood in front of the Sheriff’s station, using your magic to listen in as you tried to make out who was in there.

“Just find her. I don’t care what it takes,” you heard his voice, hearing him put the phone down.

He was all alone inside. Half the department was out, looking for his mysterious masked stabber, while the other half was looking for you and other missing deputies. A shame they’d only find their bodies.

You could feel more and more anger flood your veins as you took a step, walking into the empty station.

You spotted Agent McCall, sitting alone on his desk as he looked at the paperwork.

You opened your mouth before taken by surprise, feeling some wrap their arm around your waist, pulling you back.

Your eyes glew black as you pushed him off of you, seeing Derek standing behind you.

“Come with me,” he said.

“Oh, you found me. Great,” you said sarcastically.

“Yeah, I did. Now come with me,” he wrapped a pair of handcuffs on your wrists, pulling you out of the police station.

“What the hell are these? What the hell are you doing to me?” you tried to use your powers, trying to break free, but finding yourself unable to do so.

“Yeah, they're spelled. We’re gonna cure you, (Y/N),” he held onto your arm tightly, walking with you as you laughed bitterly.

“Yeah, not possible,” you rolled your eyes.

“Yeah, well Deucalion found something,” Derek said.

“You’re boring,” you sighed.

He ignored your remarks, taking you to the woods.

---

“You killed four people?” you sat in a chair, your hands and legs tied up behind you. There was a devil’s trap on the ground.

“Is that judgment in your voice, babe?” you scoffed.

“Those four people were innocent,” he shook his head.

“Oh, don’t give me that crap. Like you've never ruined an innocent life before,” you rolled your eyes.

“That's-” he started.

“That bus driver was innocent. That witch was innocent. Paige was innocent. Erica was innocent. Boyd was innocent. Don’t judge me for killing when you’ve killed too,” you glared at him, seeing his face drop slightly as he turned his back to you.

“That’s different,” he said.

“No, it really isn’t,” you made a fake pouty face as he walked over to you, holding a syringe in his hand.

“What the hell is that?” you asked.

He put his hand on your head, pulling it to the side as he stuck the needle into your neck, while you screamed out.

“It’s blood. It’s holy blood, and it’s the only way to cure you,” he replied.

You breathed heavily, slumping in your chair as your eyes glew black.

“You’re gonna regret that,” you yelled.

“Yeah, okay,” he crossed his arms, leaning against the wall as he sighed, looking down at you.

Several thoughts brown through his head, praying that this would work and that you would be okay. He already knew what would happen when you came to, all the nightmares, remembering all the people who you killed as they haunted your dreams.

“Derek,” you whispered.

He looked up at you, raising an eyebrow as he frowned, seeing your eyes water.

“(Y/N)?” he asked softly.

“Derek,” you sniffled.

He tensed up, seeing a tear slip down your face as he ran to you, putting his hands on your shoulders.

“I-I didn’t… I thought I’d need to do that a couple of times, i-is it… are you okay?” he immediately asked.

“Just get these off of me,” you said.

He stroked your cheek softly, before frowning.

Crap, he knew

“Derek, take these off of me,” you said.

“I almost fell for it,” he scoffed, before walking away from you.

“Ugh, I was close, wasn’t I? But really, that’s all it took? A tear? Weaker than I thought, Hale,” you smirked.

He picked up his book, leaning against the wall once more.

It was going to be a long night.

---

“Why do you care so much about getting me back? New and improved right here,” you laid back in the chair, leaning your head back.

“Improved? People are dead,” he walked to you, holding yet another syringe in his hand.

It was obvious that he wanted out of there. Tired of putting up with your tormenting remarks about him. You never seemed to give him a break, continuously insulting him. He tried to tell himself that you didn't mean it, it was the demon talking. You loved him and you would never say that stuff to him. As time went on, it became harder and harder for him to convince himself. But he still wasn’t going to leave you to suffer.

“Everything that you claim is wrong with me, is entirely your fault,” you said as he froze.

“What do you mean?” he stiffened.

“I lost control because of you. I killed my dad because of you. This whole thing started because of you. Don’t you remember that night? When I came to your loft? Don't you remember what you said to me?” Derek felt instant regret in his heart, remembering.

“You told me you never loved me, we only got together because we were lonely. Well, you were right, Derek. I never loved you. I never forgave you. We weren't meant to last.” 

Derek ran his fingers through his hair, trying to hold in his emotions as he tried not to let your words get to him.

“I didn't mean what I said. I was under a spell,” he started, lowering his voice.

“That spell cost lives. That spell widowed a woman and orphaned her children,” Derek frowned, slightly confused.

“What the hell are you talking about?” he asked.

“Oh, right, I didn’t tell you. Yeah, my dad got remarried! To someone else, and he had some more kids. He left us in the dust, all alone, all fucked up,” you laughed softly.

“You didn't tell me that-” he started.

“Probably because I don’t still don’t trust you,” you shrugged.

“That’s not…” Derek was at a loss for words as he looked down at you.

“You broke my heart, Derek. You broke me. I won’t be able to trust you again,” you looked at him, giving him an annoyed look before smirking.

“Oh, I’m getting to you, aren’t I? You know I'm right, Derek,” you laughed bitterly.

He clenched his jaw, grabbing your head as he stabbed the syringe into your neck, hearing you scream out in pain as he dug his nails into his palm.

He pushed away from you harshly, immediately leaving the room before a tear fell from his eyes, letting out a shaky breath.

She doesn't mean it he tried to convince himself, but it didn't matter. Deep down he knew you were right, he never wanted to admit it to himself. You would be better off without him. 

---

Derek’s head shot up, hearing a loud noise of something crashing. He ran into the house, immediately running to you, hearing someone yelling.

Isaac, he recognized.

You stood over him, as he dropped to his knees in front of you, struggling to breathe.

“(Y/N)!” he ran to you, grabbing the handcuffs before you pushed them away from him.

“I warned you,” your eyes were pitch black as Isaac whimpered softly, falling over to his side, unconscious. Derek could hear a faint heartbeat, knowing Isaac was alive.

You whispered something softly, as Derek struggled to move, finding himself pinned against the wall.

You grabbed the pocketknife, which sat on the table as you walked to Derek slowly.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for so long,” you held the knife against his throat as he clenched his jaw, looking down at you.

“Don’t do this (Y/N). I know you’re still in there somewhere. The real you, not this demon bitch,” he took a deep breath.

“I am (Y/N), Derek. This is me. I’ll save you the trouble of having to see me like this anymore,” he winced softly, feeling the blade break into his skin, drawing blood.

“Yeah, maybe not,” Derek heard Isaac’s voice, as he took a needle, stabbing it into your neck.

You dropped the knife, as Derek gasped for air, falling to his knees. Your eyes reverted back to their natural color, as your body went limp, falling over.

Isaac reached for Derek, helping him up before wrapping his arms around him, taking Derek by surprise. He stiffened first, before wrapping his arms around Isaac’s shaking body.

---

You squinted your eyes, groaning softly as you sat up, looking around cautiously.

Memories came flooding as your eyes watered, remembering everything.

No

“(Y/N),” you heard Derek’s voice as you jumped slightly, looking back at him in shock.

A son escaped from your mouth, before he wrapped his arms around you, pressing his lips to your head, trying to calm you.

“I-I’m so sorry,” you cried.

He remained quiet, his eyes red as he felt a tear stream down his cheek.

“I’m sorry.”

---

Your mind drifted off, remembering the events from the past day as you sat on Derek’s bed, wrapping your arms around yourself.

He lent you a shirt, seeing as all your other clothes were gone.

“Derek,” you said softly as he walked into the room.

He inhaled softly, sitting down next to you.

“Please, just say something,” your voice wavered slightly.

“I have nothing to say,” he whispered.

“I know you do. Just, please,” you begged.

“I just…” his voice drifted off as he shook his head.

“Derek,” you put your hand on his shoulder.

“We need to stop this,” he said, running his fingers through his hair as he turned to face you.

“Stop what?” you said, although you already knew the answer.

“This isn’t good for us anymore, I think we should call it,” Derek’s eyes watered slightly as he stood up, looking down at you.

“Derek, no-” you started.

“I love you, (Y/N), you know that I love you. But, I don’t… I don’t think you’ve ever loved me as much as I love you,” his voice was low as he looked away from you.

“No, Derek, I-I swear that’s not true,” you shook your head.

“(Y/N),” he started.

“It’s not true, you have to believe me. E-Everything I said, I didn't mean it, I swear,” your voice wavered as you looked up at him.

“You didn't say anything that wasn’t true,” he rubbed his eyes as he looked back at you.

“Derek,” you started.

“J-Just listen to me, (Y/N),” his voice broke as he looked at you.

“We don’t work together. We always argue, there’s always something in between us. We tried to tell ourselves we could get past it, but we can’t,” he said.

“We can get past it. We just have a few problems to work out,” you sniffled.

“Do you trust me?” he asked softly.

“W-What do you mean? O-Of course I do,” you let out a soft chuckle, trying to hide your tears as you frowned.

“Don’t lie to me, please (Y/N). Do you or do you not trust me,” he asked again.

“Derek, I do,” you replied, more and more tears streaming down your face.

“Then why didn't you tell me any of this before? About your dad and his family? That it was my fault you killed him in the first place?” 

You bit your lip, holding back your cries as you shook your head, putting your hand over your mouth.

“Exactly. You need to… You need to go,” he whispered, looking away from you.

 You could feel your heart aching, feeling your head pounding as more and more tears rushed to your eyes, blurring your vision.

You pushed yourself out of his room, running away.

---

You knocked at Chris’ door softly, blinking back your tears as he gave you a concerned look, opening the door.

“(Y/N)? Where have you been?” he asked.

Your vision blurred as more tears came to your eyes

“C-Can I stay with you?” you cried softly.

He nodded his head, wrapping his arms around you before leading you into the apartment.

[thekisforkeats]

The Joys of Fandom, or, how TMA helped me rediscover my love of tea

So among the many (many) good things The Magnus Archives podcast has brought to my life, none has been quite so profound as remembering how much I love making a good cup of tea. I’ve got a whole post about how it’s helped me categorize the anxiety cloud I live with on a constant basis, how it’s gotten me writing again, and writing poetry which I haven’t done in forever, how identifying with so many openly queer boys going through so much crap has helped me figure out that I want to transition.

But.

Tea is the reason we’re here today, because making a pot of tea has become a daily ritual since I started listening to TMA, and it’s been one of those tiny things that’s changed my life profoundly, and I have TMA to thank for this almost entirely.

I did not grow up drinking tea. I am from the Seattle, Washington area, and I’m just old enough Starbucks was a popular local coffee shop when I was a kid. My parents both drank a TON of coffee, my mother basically runs on the stuff, and by the time I was 6 I was drinking coffee too. Tea, growing up, was Lipton, sometimes iced or sometimes not. I didn’t even realize herbal tea was tea. Green tea was a thing one drank at Chinese restaurants. I was not at all informed.

When I got my first job, I would stop at Starbucks during the bus layover (as once does in the Seattle area) and one day in a fit of teenaged desire to be “cool” and “writerly” because I’d seen a tin of “Writer’s Chai” in the store I bought a chai latte. I loved it, and that became my go-to Starbucks drink.

I still didn’t really get tea, but I at least started learning how to boil water in the kettle and waiting for it to actually boil, pouring it over the tea bag, etc. I didn’t put in milk or sugar because I drank coffee black unless it was a latte or a mocha. I would just sort of... boil the water and pour it over and wait a few minutes and drink the tea with the bag still in the mug.

It wasn’t until I moved to Toronto that I sat down and had a good cup of tea. The woman who hosted the social group I was part of had her particular tea-making rituals, and she encouraged me to try it with milk and sugar, and it was... amazing. Life-changing, even. My perseveration drive kicked into full swing and I had to know everything about tea and its history and how to make a proper cup and so on and so forth. I learned all I could from our hostess, and then turned to the internet.

I bought a kettle to make tea at home but my ex wasn’t really supportive of my desire to brew tea on the regular, so loose leaf and teapots and “does the milk go in in cup before or after the tea” had to wait until I moved out and got a place of my own.

Then I moved to Tallahassee.

In Tallahassee, the coffee was atrocious unless it was from a couple of specific places, mostly serving cafe con leche. But I had my own place and my own dishes and I could have a teapot and make tea and nobody could stop me. So I did. Mostly for myself, while I was contemplating things, and it was really nice to sit and stare out at the ridiculously heavy Florida rain--which hit, in Tallahassee, right about 4:15 in the afternoon all summer so perfect for tea time.

I moved back to Seattle with my spouse, and we moved into my mother’s house. For a long while we didn’t have a kitchen of our own and we had small children, so tea wasn’t a thing I did any more. I had leftover coffee (or canned/bottled coffee) for the caffeine fix, but rarely tea. When my grandmother died and we moved into her old apartment we didn’t have a stove, and I despise heating water for tea in the microwave.

So for the better part of a decade, I barely drank any tea at all. I did discover Oi Ocha in this time, which is bottled green tea from Japan, which is amazing and I love it, but again--it was in a bottle. Not a thing I was personally making.

Then I started listening to The Magnus Archives, and I really identified with Martin Blackwood, because of reasons too complicated to get into here. But it inspired me to want to make tea again, and so I started getting K-cup pods, but it just... wasn’t... right. It wasn’t the same. I mean, it was tea, but it wasn’t... tea.

So I went and bought an electric kettle, and a teapot, and a strainer, and ordered regular deliveries of loose leaf tea, and started making tea for myself and my spouse. I developed my own ritual: cold water in the kettle, put hot water into the teapot (so it doesn’t crack), put three scoops of loose leaf in the strainer. Pour out the water in the teapot when the kettle boils, put in the strainer, pour the boiling water over the strainer. Wait four minutes or so, and while you’re waiting put a splash of half-and-half in the tea mugs (milk goes first so it doesn’t scald and we like the taste of half-and-half best). Then pour the tea into the mugs. The mugs are big enough that I take three spoons of sugar and my spouse four, so put all the sugar into the mugs and then increase the entropy (aka stir) until the sugar’s dissolved. Bring the tea out into the living room, enjoy.

The first time I got it all right, and made a good cup of tea, I literally cried, I was so happy. It was like seeing the sun after it had been dark for so long I’d forgotten what the sun looked like.

The thing I have come to realize about what tea means to me is something that Jon says in the trailer for Season 5 of TMA. Martin brings him a cup of “tea” and Jon goes “that’s not tea” and, indeed, it turns out to be some weird skittering thing. The following exchange really crystallized things for me:

Jon: This is no longer a world where you can trust-- Martin: Tea?! Jon: Comfort.

And that was it, right there. Coffee is fuel, for me. Coffee is “Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There.” (Quite literally; part of playing Persona 5 was remembering how much I love trying out new coffee blends.)

Tea, however, is comfort. Tea is slowing down. Tea is caffeine, yes, and therefore focus for my poor ADD/autistic brain, but it’s afternoon focus. It’s contemplation. It’s sitting and breathing in the aroma and thinking about things in a way that isn’t spiraling or catastrophizing. Whether it’s breakfast tea or Earl Grey or green tea, or an herbal like peppermint or chamomile, tea for me is self-care.

Taking those few minutes to get up and go make a pot of tea in the afternoon, to stop the business of the day and just stand there waiting for the kettle to boil, is something I’ve desperately needed. Coffee is easy to sort of make as “fire and forget,” to the point that I’ve gulped down cold or lukewarm coffee I’d forgotten about just because I need the caffeine. Tea, though, if you’re doing it right you have to stand there and wait for the water to boil and wait for the tea to steep. If you walk away to do something else you’ll ruin the whole thing. I completely understand why Martin is running around making tea for everyone in Season 2 all the time, because everything is falling apart in slow motion and it’s a chance to stop, to focus on making the tea, and then to take the time enjoying the tea itself.

Making tea for others also means love to me. I make tea for my spouse alongside myself. I included one of my teenaged children in tea-making for the first time yesterday and my youngest keeps getting the last bit of tea in the pot, and it’s such a joy to see their faces light up. Bringing someone tea means bringing them a mug of love and care. Another reason I identify with Martin--I often don’t know what to say to help someone, so I try to be sure they’re fed and hydrated and cared for. And I, too, had to learn to stop setting myself on fire to keep those people warm. I had to learn to be sure I was fed and hydrated and cared for, so I could care for them. But even now as I get older and wiser and grumpier I still run around making sure everyone’s fed and has had their mug of tea, I just don’t do it at my own expense anymore.

One of my next crochet projects is a tea cozy in the shape of a green owl, in honor of the Magnus Institute owl, because my little tea-making ritual is always going to be connected to TMA in my head. Also I have a “Fifteen Fears” mug and my spouse has a “Magnus Archives” owl symbol mug, so it’s literally just this really intense connection between TMA and tea, for me.

It’s funny how much comfort a horror podcast has given me since I’ve started listening. There are a few fandoms that have profoundly changed me--Star Trek was the first big one, Babylon 5 was the first that directly inspired me, Mass Effect helped me get out of suicidal depression, Persona (specifically Persona 5) inspired me to take responsibility for myself in a way therapy never quite managed.

And here I am with TMA, figuring out how to navigate anxiety and pain and grief in a world that feels like it’s falling apart around my ears. The concept that what we do matters; that right or wrong you should be making a decision instead of just reacting from fear or surprise; that sometimes you screw up and there’s nothing to be done, that “sorry” doesn’t fix everything, that sometimes nothing you do will fix anything and you can’t let that paralyze you... it’s all been necessary, and helpful, and I’ve been terribly grateful.

Thanks to TMA I’m writing again after years of terrible writer’s block. I’m facing my own fears and accepting that despite (because of?) my terrible arachnophobia I’d probably serve the Web if I served anything (although Eye and Lonely would also get a look in--I did say I identified with Martin pretty strongly). I’m recognizing dysphoria and dealing with it after years of trying to deny the elephant in the room.

I’m also making tea again. And for that, I am eternally, profoundly grateful.

[rockofeye]

hey, any chance you can give an overview of what's happening in Haiti? i've been trying to follow the news but it's difficult to put together.

Hi there,

I can do my best, but I will tell y’all upfront that the situation in Haiti is multi-layered and multi-faceted with no easy answers or solutions.

The flashpoint for the most recent visible upheaval in the country is related to the current president, Jovenel Moïse. The runoff election he ran in was in 2015 and the results of that election were heavily contested; he was one of the final nominees that would move forward to the presidential election with just under 33% of the total vote but exit polls had him at less than 10% of the vote. Huge protests started and so the final vote was postponed until late 2016. Moïse was declared the winner with less than 25% of the vote, and was sworn in on February 7, 2017.

This is important because presidential term is 5 years, and this is the crux of the current debates and protests. The opposition party and Moïse’s critics maintain that his term ended on February 7, 2021 according to the original election mandate from 2016, and Moïse maintains he is to serve until February 7, 2022 according to when he actually took office. 

There are a LOT of different opinions (legal and otherwise) about this. Haiti’s highest judicial body (Conseil supérieur de la magistrature) ruled that Moïse’s term ended on February 7, 2021, and popular opinion is kind of mixed; split very evenly along class in Haiti. Folks who are upper class are generally believing Moïse when he says he will leave on February 7, 2022, working class and folks who are poorer say his term is over. Outside of Haiti, it seems like many Haitian think that he will leave in 2022 or that he needs to leave now to prevent further issues, whether his term is over or not.

Of course the US had to weigh in and Biden recognized that Moïse’s term ends in 2022, which is not helpful at all...the US has meddled enough in Haitian politics via sponsoring various coups and generally occupying the country. Biden’s administration has said that there need to be lawful elections to transition a president out of office, which is a a nice ideal...but what happens with the system is totally broken?

Moïse has not been a super popular president and in many ways has been downright ineffective. He ran on a platform with a lot of big ideas and a falsified folksy background to appeal to the common population in Haiti (many Haitian laugh when folks bring up that Moïse was a banana farmer...). He *has* brought electricity and fresh water to a bunch of communities, but that definitely doesn’t make up for his bullshit.

He’s done enough awful things that, in the eyes of many Haitians. He essentially destroyed Haiti’s parliament (sort of like Congress in the US...Haiti’s government systems are very Napoleonic in origin) by not allowing elections and has ruled by decree since 2019 (I believe), meaning no checks and balances in place. He has thrown the prime minister under the bus any time he receives criticism, and has had numerous prime ministers...he just fires and hires, and since the parliament is essentially hamstrung, he just appoints them.

In late 2020 and early 2021, he started looking more and more like a dictator. He had political opponents and high ranking officials arrested and jailed (senators, a supreme court justice, and the head of the national police, among others) and has made accusations of plots to assassinate him that are super suspicious and likely non-existent. He fired 3 supreme court justices, which is unheard of, and has doubled down on maintaining the office. He’s called for a re-write of the Haitian constitution which, if undertaken at any other time, could potentially be a good thing but right now it sure seems like a grab for power, as some of the proposed re-writes give the president’s office more power than it has right now. The referendum vote is scheduled for late June, and has a LOT of opposition.

So, that’s some background.

In late January, the opposition issued a statement that if Moïse refused to leave, the country would be locked down on February 7. There were already a lot of protests with a lot of shutdowns happening, but when he didn’t step down things, stuff got really hot.

Gangs in Haitii are serious business; they run neighborhoods and many of them are government or opposition sponsored with the goal of creating chaos to drive people to supporting one or the other and to create fear. Kidnappings skyrocketed, both of Haitians and foreign nationals. Folks may have seen the footage of folks walking into a church livestreaming a service and kidnapping the pastor and two others live on camera. It’s been serious and blatant. My step-son was at school when armed gunmen walked in and just grabbed two kids right out. 

Gangs have also been used to really instill fear. In poor neighborhoods, they have done things like break into people’s homes, drag them out, and kill them in the street, or burn a block to the ground. Gang leaders say it is in response to various other things happening in the country, but that’s crap...gangs are used as tools to control. 

In response to the heightened violence and the kidnapping of at least two lawyers, the entire judicial branch of the government--all of the courts and associated offices--went on strike on February 15, which halted all legal proceedings in a legal system that is deeply broken already (up to 90% of people held in Haitian jails have no charges filed against them). There was a massive prison break in the capital in February where close to 500 people escaped and around 50 were killed during it and in the aftermath, including a gang leader shot at a police checkpoint. A group of police responding to gang violence in a neighborhood in the capital were massacred and the gang responsible refused to turn over their bodies. It’s been a lot.

In the last week, the large gangs (400 Mawozo, the G9 alliance, etc) have agreed to stop kidnappings, which is a huge deal. It’s possible that this is in response to veiled threats coming from the UN and a Caribbean nation alliance about peacekeeping forces to address violence and ensure elections. It seems that Port-au-Prince is the most volatile area (which is pretty average honestly), with much of the other parts of the country not experiencing the same level of violence.

Also in the mix is the deeply disheartening situation with the Dominican Republic. DR continues to deport Haitians and people of Haitian descent regardless of their citizenship status, meaning that hundreds and hundreds of people are being forced to go to Haiti, even if they have never lived there before, do not speak the language, and have no connections to help them. It is an absolutely overwhelming crisis that there has not garnered much foreign notice. At least 200,000 Haitians and folks of Haitian descent have been forcibly removed, with that number likely being much higher. There have been a lot of rumors about extrajudicial killings by police of Haitians in the DR, but of course there is no official statement on that.

These actions by the DR are heavily rooted in colorism/anti-Blackness and anti-Haitianismo, and, if we are really honest, this is a type of ethnic cleansing that has been utilized long-term by the DR.

In all of this, COVID19 has almost been a non-issue. Haiti has not seen the level of pandemic the rest of the world has. Folks are paying attention to the lack of transmission and, when there is a positive case detected, non-symptomatic infection. A lot of folks I know in Haiti don’t know anyone who has had COVID or even heard of anyone having it. Of course, Haiti is well-versed in pandemic management (thank UN cholera-bearers) and folks are used to taking preventative measures so folding in things like handwashing and extra disinfection have been pretty easy for lots of folks.

All of these things have increased the reach of poverty, lack of food and basic needs, and general misery for many folks living in Haiti. Haiti has been dealing with the long-term effects of colonization and occupation since basically forever; Haiti struggles to remain independent in the face of crushing poverty, corrupt governments, and many-strings-attached foreign aid. 

So...that’s convoluted basics. I hope this provides some context; please let me know if I can clarify anything.

[jeonggukingdom]

splinters of love • day XVI [ksj]

pairing  �� kim seokjin x fem!Reader

summary  ⟶ a collection of drabbles (one for each day of April) based on prompts by an online prompts’ generator site. Specifically  ⟶  • day XVI ↳ in which you casually fall asleep on this stranger’s shoulder in the train and he has no idea what to do so he skips his own stop and waits for you to wake up until, crap, you’ve reached the terminal and now you both have to get out and figure out an alternative way to reach your homes.

genre  ⟶ fluff

rating  ⟶ G

word count ⟶  2.201 words

warnings  ⟶ none except Seokjin being an absolute angel, knight in shining armor, smooth boyfriend material random dude on a bus

series masterlist  ⟶ here  (links on mobile may not work, if you’re looking for all the works in this series, you can click on the “!splintersoflove” tag and you’ll find them all there!)

author’s note  ⟶ @cupcake416​ I don’t know who your bias is or what your favourite genre is but you mentioned that today was going to be your birthday so I wanted to dedicate this drabble to you regardless to wish you THE HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY EVER! I hope you’ll like this little story and if I can manage to put even just a little smile on your face I’ll consider myself happy, ah ah ♥

The bus is almost completely packed tonight and you huff as you climb the little stairs to help you inside. You miss the convenience of owning a car and not have to stand for an entire ride after such a long day at work but, alas, you don't own that luxury anymore and you won't for a little while.

Your lips form a little pout as you scan your surroundings and then, your eyes land on the only free spot in the entire bus and your eyes light up as if your eyes had just landed on the biggest treasure ever known to mankind.

With a smile stretched on your coral-tinted lips, you hurry through the corridor and very unceremoniously drop on the empty seat with a victorious grin.

Your cheeks heat up the instant you catch the stranger sitting next to you looking at you, a baffled expression on his features and the hint of a pending chuckle on his plump lips.

You offer him a sheepish smile, retreating inside your shoulders as if in a silent apology for startling him and disrupting his peace.

He gives you a gentle smile in return while shaking his head and then, his eyes shift back on the window to peer outside the busy streets while music plays loudly in his ears.

You exhale loudly, getting as comfortable on the seat as possible and fix your own gaze ahead of you as you usually do to get lost inside your own thoughts.

The stress of the day slowly washes off your body and you relax ever so slightly with each passing second until the motion of the bus turns you drowsy with sleep and then, without you even realising it, your eyes close and with a turn of the bus, your head lands exactly on that poor stranger's shoulder.

Seokjin jumps at the sudden touch, his heart missing a few beats in his chest before turning absolutely rampant. His eyes shift from the glass to you and his mouth opens in bewilderment as he realizes you have fallen asleep just like that and fell on top of him.

He would have woken you up if it weren't for the peaceful expression on your features, for the dark circles under your eyes that he hadn't noticed at first.

He bites his bottom lip unsure of what he's supposed to do, especially considering that his stop is the next one in line and this is the last bus he'll be able to catch tonight in order to go home.

He ponders and ponders and just finds himself unable to do anything about you and the way your entire weight is being supported by his shoulder.

He heaves out a sigh, curses himself under his breath and simply waits for you to wake up. Maybe, if he's lucky enough, you'll wake up soon and he will just walk a few blocks to get home.

Sadly, you do not wake up and minutes tick by and by until you are the only two passengers on the bus.

His heart drops in his chest the instant he feels the bus stop and realizes you have reached the terminal and now he has no choice but to wake you up.

He grimaces but shakes you awake as gently as possible, he offers you a gentle smile as you jump at the sudden contact and look up at him in surprise.

"You fell asleep," he says, barely above a whisper as his cheeks turn a nice shade of pink under your intense gaze.

Your cheeks feel as hot as the sun, instead, shame filling you up to the very core as you jolt backwards apologising over and over again.

"It's ok, it happens," he offers as a consolation but then you watch his eyes fill with doubt, his bottom lip suddenly trapped under his teeth as his eyebrows furrow.

"Oh! I just realised this must be your stop!" You get up in an instant failing to realize the bus is empty and that the driver is looking at the both of you rather unamused by the fact that you are wasting too much of his precious time.

Seokjin gets up then, scratches the back of his head as he shakes it lightly.

"Well that's... uh... we kind of reached the terminal."

"What?!" You finally look around and blood drains from your features as your mouth opens in utter shock, "Wait, why didn't you wake me up sooner?!"

Seokjin's mouth opens and closes, opens and closes as he looks at you completely baffled.

"Well, I didn't want to wake you up! You looked tired and like you needed the rest so I just..."

He seems to become smaller under your gaze and that's when you realize you are being incredibly ungrateful right about now and just as you open your mouth to apologise, the driver decides to chime in and not so kindly ask you to leave the damned bus and figure it out on your own outside his vehicle.

That's how you find yourself standing in the cold night against a stranger with absolutely not a single clue on what to do next.

"I'm Seokjin by the way," he says after a few minutes of very thick and awkward silence.

"Oh, I'm _______," you offer him a smile and your hand and he quickly grabs it which makes your smile deepen a tad bit more.

He seems to be just as lost and uncomfortable as you are as you stand there like two idiots, looking around as if the solution is suddenly going to pop out behind the corner and save you from this awkward and romcom-like situation.

"I'm sorry for yelling earlier I was just taken aback... uhm, thank you, for, well, everything, I guess."

You look at your feet as you say this, torture your fingers as your insides twitch uncomfortably inside of you.

If you could disappear inside the bitumen, you so would.

Seokjin, instead, hums at your words, shifts his weight from left to right while keeping his gaze trained entirely on you.

"So... how far away do you live?"

You close your eyes and heave out a sigh as you think about walking for such a long distance in the middle of the night and with bloody heels on.

"Definitely too far for a walk," you mumble, shaking your head as you start pondering over the idea of calling a cab or a friend to come to your rescue.

"Same," he says, chuckling at the predicament you've both fallen into because of, well, you.

"Maybe we can call someone?" You suggest, finally lifting your gaze to look at him.

"Yeah, uhm, I don't think my friends are going to pick up anytime soon... it's the weekend after all."

You nod your head a couple of times pretty sure that's the case with you as well, not to mention you don't even have an endless list of friends to choose from.

"We could call a cab?" He asks, tilting his head to the side as he pushes his hands inside the pockets of his jeans.

"Oh. Well, I don't... uhm."

How do you confess to a stranger that you cannot afford a cab ride that long? You grimace and evidently, he can see it pretty well under the moonlight because without you having to add more, he hums and offers you a meek 'me neither' as a response which, honestly, would have made you chuckle if your heart hadn't just dropped deep within your chest.

"So walking it is," you say then, heaving out a sigh as you finally decide to take the lead and walk away from the stupid terminal.

Seokjin follows suit in silence but this time it's more comfortable and it seems to ease up your nerves. He didn't even ask you where you live exactly, he's just following you blindly so you curiously look up at him trying to decide if you should be worried by it or grateful.

"So," you say after a while, "Your house is in the same direction as mine?"

"Not really," he confesses, making himself small inside his wide shoulders.

"Oh..."

Seokjin stops on his tracks, looks at you for a second and then, realization twists his features into a stupefied expression that prompts a chuckle to escape your lips.

"I'm not following you! I mean, I am but not because... I mean no offence because you can probably take care of yourself just fine but I wouldn't really feel at peace letting you walk home by yourself at this hour of the night."

"You are awfully nice, did anyone ever tell you that?"

Seokjin laughs, his eyes reducing to two adorable half-moons as he does so and soon enough, you are chuckling right along with him, unable to resist his contagious laugh.

That's how it starts.

You find out that talking to Seokjin comes pretty easily, that he is witty and funny and comfortable to be around to and so much so, he feels like someone you've known for most of your life and that have just met after years of being apart.

The only downside to it all is that your legs are killing you, not to even mention your feet. It is when you absolutely can not take it anymore that you stop to take the shoes from hell off of your poor feet and sigh at the sensation of your soles lying flat on the dirty bitumen.

"Oh no, you are so not going to walk with your naked feet! Do you have any idea of the dirt and thousands of germs that live there?!"

"Well, I can't walk in these stupid heels a second longer so this will have to do."

Seokjin shakes his head, sighs deeply and then he crouches down before you, offering you his wide back to hop onto.

"Are you kidding me? You are offering me a piggyback ride right now?"

"Well, doesn't look like I have much of a choice right now, does it?"

He looks at you from behind his back, his eyes pointedly fixed on your features as he urges you to hop on his back already so that he can safely you accompany you back home once and for all.

It's with all the shyness and insecurity of the world that you do this, allow his arms to wrap around your thighs and yours around his neck.

"You really are awfully nice," you whisper in his ear and Seokjin chuckles again, nodding his head because he realizes how absurd this all is and to be honest, he doesn't know himself why he is doing all of this for someone he has barely met but... well, there's just something about you that makes him want to help you and he can't explain it but it's there and he simply cannot ignore it.

You don't know exactly how long has passed since you left the bus' terminal but it might as well been days because that is how tired you are by the time you finally reach your apartment complex and Seokjin frees you from his grasp.

"I don't know how I can possibly repay you for all that you did for me tonight," you say as your feet land on the bitumen and you look up to him, your lips protruded forward into a little pout.

Seokjin smiles then, mirth shining in his black eyes as he tilts his head to the side.

He can't believe himself he is about to say this but, hell, this is probably his only chance so might as well try, no?

"Well, you could give me your number."

You look up to him in surprise, mouth slightly agape at the bold question you would have never expected to fall from his plump lips.

The most shocking part of it, though, is the fact that you don't even need to think about it to know the answer.

Maybe it was destiny that brought you together, maybe it was fate that decided you had to find that empty spot, fall asleep on his shoulder and no one else's. You don't know but a part of you decides to believe that, to take a chance for once in your life and that's how Seokjin ends up with your number registered in his phone and a grateful kiss on his right cheek.

Your hearts beat frantically in your chests as he walks the opposite way to finally reach his house and you run up the stairs that lead you to your apartment.

It takes Seokjin exactly twenty seconds to ring your phone after you turn your back on him and it takes just two for you to eagerly pick up while closing the door behind your back.

It takes Seokjin forty additional minutes to walk himself home while you keep him company by talking to him on the phone.

It takes three hours for you to end the call and close your eyes on this absurd days and well, it turns out that sometimes it takes a lot less than twenty-four hours for two people to fall in love.

Copyright © 2020 by jeonggukingdom. All rights reserved. Do not repost, do not steal, do not translate without consent.

[rennyforpresident]

Renny’s BBSim: Second Chances Week 10: When the Going Gets Tough

Welcome back to Biiiiiiiiig Brother!

@brentrobinson @cirie-sandra-michaela @flopbb-22 @flungevictee @kaysarswhore @maxdoesbb @music-obsessednerd @pawn2393 @paymeincashnottears @rennyforpresident @swampassthing @wheremy--demons--hide

Jury: @theminionjcfucked @fucklauryn @phylisisley @iantxrry

Previously, the house split became as concrete as it’s ever been. @cirie-sandra-michaela took control with his first HOH win of the summer, and took out @iantxrry, the biggest threat from the other side of the house. Can the underdogs come out on top this week?

After securing their spot in the final 7, @kaysarswhore and @cirie-sandra-michaela dissolve their alliance (i hate this simulator why does it make my life harder fdslkvjas). Both of them decide to focus on their own games, but their side of the house will still be in power until the end, know that.

With everyone’s game on the line, it’s time for the HOH competition

Houseguests walk into the backyard, only to be greeted by a special guest host for this competition!

“Hey guys! I won this on my season, so I wanted to come back and host again! But you all aren’t allowed to talk about me or look in my direction while I do it!”

Let the competition begin! Houseguests start out nearly vertical, but the ship slowly starts to lean forward as time goes on. If they can’t hold on, they’re done! 

After 45 minutes,

@flopbb-22 is clearly pissed that he’s the first one out. “Fuck this game!” he yells as he gets up to go sit on the side.

But he’s not alone for long! At 47 minutes, the next person to drop is

@maxdoesbb in the DR: “I am in a great position, and I don’t wanna ruin that by winning this HOH and having to pick a side. I just didn’t want to be the first one out and have it look like I threw it. Thanks @flopbb-22 for flopping!”

After that, there aren’t any casualties in a while. After an hour and 51 minutes, though, 

@cirie-sandra-michaela, who wasn’t allowed to compete in this challenge, falls to his knees angry at this point. @kaysarswhore: “Oh get up and stop being dramatic! You knew I wasn’t gonna win that crap!”

@cirie-sandra-michaela: “Fuck you! You could have tried harder! You know what’s on the line!”

It looks like that side of the house is riding on @pawn2393 to pull out his second win of the season.

@paymeincashnottears in the DR: “I need to win this. I need to cement my place in this house and let these people know that I am not to be messed with!”

@pawn2393 to the others: “I’m not letting go. Y’all can stay on the wall forever, I don’t care, because I’ll be right up here with you.

@swampassthing, who is positioned right next to @pawn2393, whispers to him, “Will you keep me safe if I drop?” @pawn2393 nods violently, saying, “of course, you’re not the target, she is” throwing her head towards @paymeincashnottears.

With safety assured, @swampassthing drops

Neither @pawn2393 or @paymeincashnottears are speaking. Both are laser focused, and hang on the wall for over 4 hours. Everyone on the bench is pissed that they have to sit outside for this long. Finally, after 4 hours and 21 minutes...

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@paymeincashnottears just can’t hold on anymore! Which means, @pawn2393, you have secured a spot in the final 6, and earned the right to nominate two of your fellow houseguests for eviction!

@pawn2393 happily accepts the key from his ally @cirie-sandra-michaela, and the two of them do a happy dance to celebrate in front of everyone. Meanwhile, @swampassthing goes over to comfort @paymeincashnottears as she’s lying on the ground, sobbing over her loss

@paymeincashnottears: “I’m fucking going home now! I cannot put up with another week of these people, and I honestly feel like jury house will be better than living here.”

Who will @pawn2393 nominate? Will she keep her side of the house safe, or will she decide to go rogue?

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@pawn2393: “I have decided to nominate you @swampassthing and you @paymeincashnottears. @paymeincashnottears, you came for me last week. You tried to get in my head and demean me, and I hope you know that I don’t feel bad about throwing you on the block as payback. @swampassthing, you’re the biggest threat in this house, and I’d be stupid not to put you up. On top of that, I’ve recently learned you’re a snake! You tried to make a deal with me on that wall to keep yourself safe and throw @paymeincashnottears under the bus. That’s shady as hell, and you deserve to be sitting there. This ceremony is adjourned”

@swampassthing in the DR: “FUCK! I wasn’t planning on being exposed like that. I wasn’t even planning on being on the block! I knew I should have sent his ass home when I had the chance. @phylisisley, sweetie, I am so sorry for voting you out. I fucked up.”

@paymeincashnottears: “I honestly don’t even know how to feel? I want to feel sad at being nominated but I’m also mad for being abandoned like that? I just feel so fucking alone in this house, and I honestly don’t even feel like being here anymore.”

This veto might be the most important one of the season, so players are drawn as soon as possible

@flopbb-22 and @maxdoesbb are both drawn which the nominees are happy about, because both feel confident that they can beat them. When @paymeincashnottears gets the chance to choose, she picks @cirie-sandra-michaela over @kaysarswhore, because either way, she’ll have to pick one of her enemies.

Let’s get this veto started!

This comp is ROUGH, but it goes by super fast. Three houseguests struggle, and it’s not pretty to look at

@paymeincashnottears can’t find a single veto, and cries into the dirt for the entire competition. By the end, she’s covered in mud.

@pawn2393 can only find one! He’s PISSED by the end, and starts throwing dirt in other people’s bins to make their lives harder.

@flopbb-22, knowing he’s good this week, focuses on finding that silver one. Once he finds it, he finds out that he has won a ten-day all expenses paid trip backpacking through Europe!

These three are left. Can @swampassthing win her FIFTH veto and basically super glue that crown to her head? Can @maxdoesbb win their first veto? Or will @cirie-reyes win for his alliance?

Finding their golden vetos the fastest is...

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@maxdoesbb! You have won your first POV!

@maxdoesbb in the DR: “I don’t know why I did this! But now I have the power! If I wanted I could force @pawn2393 to nominate one of her friends! We’ll see what happens”

At the veto ceremony, @maxdoesbb stands and makes their decision

@maxdoesbb: “When I started this game, I couldn’t imagine making it this far in the game. But now that I’m here, I have to start playing the game. I need to pick a side. I’m sorry if this upsets some people, but I’ve decided...”

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@maxdoesbb at @kaysarswhore, @cirie-sandra-michaela, @flopbb-22, and @pawn2393:

Everyone is floored. @paymeincashnottears slowly stands and hugs @maxdoesbb as she takes her seat, safe for the week. 

@maxdoesbb: “ @pawn2393, because I have removed one of your nominations, you must name a replacement nominee.”

@pawn2393, slowly standing: “I wasn’t expecting to name a replacement nominee today, but if I have to, I guess...”

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@pawn2393: “ @flopbb-22, you just haven’t won anything, and I don’t feel like you’re pulling your weight. Plus you haven’t hit the block yet. It’s just your turn, everyone has to take theirs. Sorry”

@flopbb-22: “I feel safe knowing my alliance has my back. I know they don’t have the votes, and @pawn2393 will definitely break in my favor. I just have to chill this week and prepare what I’m gonna say in @swampassthing‘s goodbye message. Here, let’s practice: bye loser!”

(Okay y’all when I clicked on “House Events” this week i was FLOORED I apologize in advance)

After being saved by @maxdoesbb, @paymeincashnottears is in the DR

@paymeincashnottears in the DR: “I’m still shocked, but I think it’s sinking in that I’m safe this week! You know what? I should celebrate. These bitches thought they could get rid of me, but they couldn’t even beat @maxdoesbb in a veto comp!”

She leaves the DR and heads straight for the bedroom. I think y’all know what happens next.

@paymeincashnottears moves the mattress all the way to the bathroom and puts it in the shower. When @kaysarswhore comes downstairs and finds her mattress in the shower, she loses it. “Who did it? Who’s stealing my signature move?”

@paymeincashnottears: “Who do you think? That’s payback for you and little pet upstairs in the HOH room. Fuck both of you and I’m coming for your asses next week!”

@kaysarswhore and @paymeincashnottears get into yet ANOTHER fight, and this time, they start throwing shit off counters in the kitchen onto the floor. They scream for about an hour, until @kaysarswhore gets called into the DR.

@kaysarswhore: “I’m not fucking dealing with that bitch anymore. I’m gonna sleep upstairs tonight, fuck her.”

The side in power this week clearly has their haters, but what they should have figured out by now, is that the fans are also their haters

@pawn2393 is shocked. What did he do that was so bad that America hates him enough to fly a banner that says “Send @pawn2393 home! We hate him!” over the yard?

Upon seeing this, @flopbb-22 says, “I’ll get right on it, after he put me up this week,” under his breath.

But he wasn’t the only one who heard.

@pawn2393: “What was that? You want to take me out? You realize that I’m probably gonna be the vote that matters this week, right?”

@flopbb-22: “Mind your business! This is a game, you know it, I know it. You knew people were gonna have come after each other soon. It’s about to be final 6, grow up!”

The argument continues, but it doesn’t get too crazy. The two walk away still heated.

And now, it’s eviction night!

Julie: “Hello houseguests! We’re getting closer and closer to the end!

@maxdoesbb, who do you think is your biggest competition to get to the end?”

@maxdoesbb: “Julie! Put me on the spot, why don’t you! I really feel like everybody here is competition. It’ll be scary to see who makes it to the end with me *laughs*”

Julie: “That sounds like the safe answer! @flopbb-22, first time on the block! How are you feeling?”

@flopbb-22: “Horrible! The block sucks! I can’t wait to get off and start making moves again!”

Julie: “Well let’s hurry up and get those votes in to see who’s coming off the block!”

@swampassthing: “Hey everyone! I know that we might not have always gotten along, but I really feel like we are a BB family! We fight and yell but at the end of the day, we all went through this together, and we’re bonded for life. I hope you keep me here, but if not, I will be the best damn jury member this game has ever seen. Peace and love!”

@flopbb-22: “Tonight, I’ll keep it short and sweet. @kaysarswhore, @cirie-sandra-michaela, and @pawn2393, I’m banking on you tonight. Love you all. And @maxdoesbb​: you will always be Judas to me.”

Julie: “Now let’s see those votes!”

And the alliance stays strong. The most @swampassthing​ has to hope for is a tie. Will she get it?

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Unfortunately, @maxdoesbb​ and @paymeincashnottears​ realize that there’s no hope, because a tie won’t save their friend. 

Julie: “When I reveal the name of the evicted houseguest, they will have one minute to gather their belongings, say their goodbyes, and exit the Big Brother house.”

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Julie: “ @swampassthing​, come on out!”

Julie: “ @swampassthing​! Veto Queen! Were you shocked by that unanimous vote?”

@swampassthing​: “No, not really. @maxdoesbb​ and @paymeincashnottears​ both came to be beforehand to tell me what the vote was. It hurt, but I understood.”

Julie: “Who left do you think deserves the money? Who do you think doesn’t?”

@swampassthing​: “ @maxdoesbb​ is a legend for the move they pulled this week. I would love to see him take it all. But at the same time, even though @pawn2393​ threw me under the bus, he’s playing a fierce game. He could take it all the way, too. As far as who I don’t want to win... probably @flopbb-22​. He’s shady as hell and he hasn’t done anything except shit stir. I just don’t respect his game.”

Julie: “Well, thank you so much for coming back; you played a legendaric game.

Final 6! We’re getting down to the wire, and alliances will start turning on each other. What will happen next? From outside the Big Brother house, I’m Julie Chen. Goodnight”

YOU ALL ARE LEGENDS FOR THIS GAMEPLAYYYYYY. What a fucking sim, i love it here

[harryandhishook]

Thanksgiving Secrets

Fandom: Dream Daddy

Pairing: Background Hugo x Damien

Setting: Maple Bay

Warning: Erm … Coming out? Swearing? I have no idea

Summary: After going to College, Lucien is invited for Thanksgiving with his Dad, Hugo and Ernest, however, Ernest hasn’t been his normal self and some secrets are revealed 

Words: 4059

Requested: Nope, I wrote this last November in a book on a coach coming back from Walk Disney World Florida

Side note: Before I give my apologies, I AM A TRANS MAN, if anything in here sounds off or doesn’t sound like how you expect a coming out story is, just remember, everyone’s coming out story is different and I tried to do this the best I can.

Also I am so so sorry, I know I haven’t uploaded in ages and I know there is no excuse but University is a bitch, my mental health is not good and my Grandmother (Who raised me) is pushing me to my limit and I’m so close to cutting contact with her. Sorry to unload all that to you but I’m trying my hardest to keep myself together and not just quit everything.

Here, have a cute Gif of Damien stroking a cat :) And sorry for any errors in the writing, it’s long and I still don’t have anyone to read my stuff over for me :(

Growing up wasn’t as bad as people thought it was, it just … sucked. When people aged, they found their soulmates, got jobs, leave to see the world, people grow up in body and mind.

It was around the time that Lucien was in his final year of Highschool when his Dad and Hugo finally confessed their feelings to each other and became a thing, Ernest was still young and very much acting out.

Lucien was the quickest to accept it, he was a little hesitant at first seeing as it was just him and Damien through his entire life and his Dad wasn’t exactly a stereotypical person, he may not act like it but when it comes to his Father, he is crazy protective over him and well, he didn’t want to let him get hurt, however, over time, he realised just how much the two Cul-De-Sac Fathers loved each other.

Ernest on the other hand, he couldn’t bring himself to accept the fact that his Father was dating, he couldn’t accept that he could one day have a Stepbrother, he just couldn’t accept any of it. The boy did everything to try and stop it, he acted out even more than usual, tried to split them up, he did whatever he could think of but no matter what, Damien would always treat him like he was his own son.

Now, a few years down the line, Lucien decided to prove every one of his disapproving teachers wrong and leave for College, all the while Ernest was stuck in his final year of Highschool, now, the pyromaniac delinquent was still one of his biggest features, something he was still well known as but the young Vega boy was actually a lot calmer than before and actually tried his hardest to settle down.

Damien and Hugo knew that Ernest never really had much of a problem with telling someone, even if it was through anger, how he felt and both Fathers had come to think that maybe the boy had completely reformed himself, figuring himself out, growing up from the mischievous boy they had watch destroy himself with hate and they both hoped that the boy would stay that way.

This year, the family decided to host Thanksgiving together, Lucien agreeing to travel down and stay for two weeks with them all while Damien tried to get as much time as he could from work for his Son. Luckily for Hugo and Ernest, the school boiler had decided to explode quite abruptly, leaving almost the entirety of the upper school, Hugo and Ernest area, flooded, giving them both the opportunity to stay at home for longer.

The day Lucien arrived home, he two Dad decided to meet him at the bus station, they had asked Ernest who had politely refused which was not much of a surprise to them, he barely left his room recently, he didn’t say why but they expected it may have possibly been school work.

When they had arrived at the station and greeted Lucien very happily, they had both shrugged off his question of, ‘where’s the brat?’, stating that he was busy and found it difficult to put his stuff down, not wanting him to worry too much when he had only just got there.

When Lucien got to the house, he was more than happy to wave at all his old neighbours with a wide smile on his face, anyone from a mile away could tell he had missed Maple Bay. It took almost an hour before the emo was able to walk through the door, not only did he need help with bags, his neighbours that he had waved to, mainly Mary, Joseph and Brian, had taken it upon themselves to bombard him with questions … okay, mainly Joseph and Brian, Mary was just happy to see the little monster again.

Finally, Lucien was in the clear, bags in the hall, coat and shoes off, placed neatly in their respective places while Damien rushed off to make them all something special to eat that night. The bo-young adult moved through his old home without so much as looking where he was going, all perfectly memorised until he reached the room that he never really needed to go into, the room that was never used into recently, Ernest’s room.

With a soft knock, Lucien waited, he knew that even with Ernest being older and probably not bothered by the emos presence, he still needed privacy,

“Who is it?” came a quiet and tired sounding voice, to anyone outside of the family, they would have thought someone else had spoken but Lucien could recognise the little shits voice better than anyone,

“Oi, dickhead, you gonna open up for your favourite brother or not?” Lucien playfully replied, hoping his usual attitude and joking ways could coax Ernest out of his little hiding mood. It took a few moments but soon enough, the door creaked open, revealing a tired looking and very messy looking Ernest, his hair was a mess, his clothes looked like they hadn’t seen a washing machine in years from how crumpled and wrinkly they were and finally, even if the boy thought no one could see, Lucien wasn’t so easily fooled as to not see the dried tears staining his cheeks,

“Ernest, man, what happened?” the emo asked, pushing them both into the room so he could block out everyone else once the door was shut, “You look like shit, when was the last time you had a shower? What the hell happened to you dude?” he asked, well, more demanded to know as he continued to push the younger boy into the room, sitting him on the bed before shuffling around the piles of clothes and trash, picking up the laundry to move out into the hamper before picking up every single piece of rubbish and crap left on the floor,

“Nothings wrong, Luce, I’m fine, I’ve just been busy, you know how it is, final year of school and all that” Ernest protested, trying his hardest to sound normal but failing miserably to convince his best friend and brother,

“Yeah, bullshit, if you’re so busy with work then I’m the straightest man alive, you’re lies ain’t gonna work on me so either you tell me what’s going on or have a shower, you smell like death so pick one or the other” Lucien demanded sternly, giving him a pretty simple choice, now to see if Ernest would actually pick one.

Luck would have it, Ernest grumpily rolled himself from the bed and made his way begrudgingly to the bathroom that was opposite the boys room, causing the emo to smile in relief.

As the sound f the shower filled the hall and the grumbles of annoyance hit the older siblings ears, Lucien made his way downstairs, large bag of trash in one hand and the hamper in the other. The little chore was meant to go smoothly … if his dads weren’t being stupidly lovey dovey in he kitchen, at least he got to see both adults become exceedingly embarrassed at being caught, however, that changed to shock when they spotted that the rebellious emo they had grown to love was cleaning in the first few minutes of staying in the house,

“It’s not what it looks like, Ernests room was a mess so I cleaned his room while he’s taking a well needed shower” Lucien explained as he put the bag of trash by the back door, “O know there is something wrong with him and I’m going to try get it out of him … whether he likes it or not” the boy stated as he moved into the adjacent room to start the new load of laundry, he was so busy he hadn’t even noticed his parents enter the room after him,

“My darling, we didn’t want you to worry, Ernest has been acting quite peculiar as of late, normally we can easily piece together his dilemma but … as you saw, he hasn’t left his room in quite some time” Damien explained as they stood in the doorway, watching the emo boy start the washer before turning to look at the two men, he was about to speak when Hugo interrupted him,

“I don’t want to lose Ernest, not when I’ve just managed to get him to call me dad again” the eldest Vega whispered, sighing as the Victorian beside him gently laced their fingers together, “Lucien please try and get him to open up to us” years ago, Lucien would tell his parents to do it themselves but from the looks on his dads faces, it was out of their hands and unsurprisingly up to him,

“Fine but only because I love you both” the emo chuckled, walking in between them to escape the little room, “Anyway, who can resist my puppy dog eyes” Lucien smirked before pointing at Damien, “and one of Dads famous movie pamper nights” he finished as he vanished back upstairs,

“Damien, what is he talking about?” the teacher asked, absolutely confused but also very intrigued. Hugo turned his gaze to the side only to come face to face with a very ecstatic man next to him,

“It’s been so long, I will need many supplies, first, I’ll need to find a good movie, maybe comedy, oh how this brings back so many memories” the Victorian man rambled as he scurried about the rooms, writing a very long list, “this will surely help Ernest, why did I not think of this” he muttered before handing the list to the other man in the room, “I will need you to run to Walmart for all these things, also get some of those pizza rolls that Ernest loves so much, thank you” he instructed before also disappearing off upstairs, leaving a baffled Hugo still stood in the laundry room now holding a long list of junk food … way too much junk food.

Nightfall came, the living room had been transformed into what looked like a teenage girls slumber party; junk food, movies, nail kits, make up, face masks, everything a slumber party needed.

Hugo had been told he could enter if and only if he let someone do one little bit of pampering on him, to which the teacher quickly excused himself with the explanation of ‘papers to complete’, leaving Damien to sit in his very baggy and very comfortable … okay, maybe not his clothes but the wrestling shirts he ‘borrowed’ from Hugo looked so cute on him. Lucien sat beside him in some of his least emo pyjamas anyone had ever seen on the boy since they were covered in Mickey Mouse heads but who’s judging.

Soon, once the room was competed, Lucien hurried upstairs, knocking gently on the large door of Ernest's room to get his attention,

“Bitch, I need you to do two things, one, find some comfy clothes and two, come downstairs” the emo shouted through the door before waiting for a response which amazingly didn’t take as long as the door opened to reveal a grouchy looking mess,

“What are you trying to do, Goth?” Ernest mumbled, obviously trying to joke around even thought Lucien could tell he felt like absolute shit,

“It’s emo and I’m not trying to do anything, all I want to do is to try and help you feel better” Lucien explained before realising he was just going to have to reveal what was downstairs, “Me and Dad were talking and I found out that you like to sit and talk to him so, me, you and my Dad are going to sit downstairs, eat junk food and watch movies … sound good?” he asked, hoping it was going to work.

Lucien realised it definitely did when Ernest held up a single finger, closing the door in the emos face before appearing once again moments later in very baggy yet comfortable clothing,

“Well then, come on, I don’t have all day” Ernest grumbled, a small smile gracing his exhausted face as he obviously tried to crack another joke with his stepbrother. Slowly, he made his way down the grand staircase to the living room where Damien was waiting happily,

“Ernest, my dead, come sit” he said giddily, patting the stack of pillows and duvets beside him, allowing Ernest enough space to sit comfortably as he pressed play on the movie, one of Ernest's and Damien's guilty pleasures, Descendants,

“Descendants, junk food and being lazy … you trying to butter me up, pops?” Ernest chuckled weakly as he sat down, getting himself comfortable between his family, he knew exactly what they were doing for him but maybe a little treat wouldn’t be too bad to indulge in.

A few hours, three descendants films and a lot of pampering later, the three of them were laid back, heads rested against the sofa as they spoke, Lucien's nails were drying, Damien had a face mask on and Ernest was staring, his ears were almost deaf to the world around him as the other two people in the room chatted away but he couldn’t bring himself to look away and join in, his gaze couldn’t move from the one thing in the room that haven’t been touched, the make-up. The young boy was silent, burning holes into the bag of brushes and surprises, until,

“Pops…” A meek whisper but was caught by the man it was directed to, causing the two to stop talking and sit up, removing the cucumbers from over his eyes,

“Yes my dear?” Damien asked as he watched the young boy slowly turn his gaze over to his,

“I’ve heard that … well, some girls at my school have said that …” the boy stuttered, trying to think of the best way to describe his strange request but he couldn’t, making the boy sigh and ask, “Can it feel good to put on make-up?” he finally asked, trying not to make eye contact.

Damien's eyes widened a little, out of everything he had prepared himself to answer, that wasn’t one of them,

“Well, it can, especially the brushes, the make-up itself can feel strange though” Damien answered before reaching over to the table the bag was laid, bring it over to them.

Ernest sat silently, watching him reach inside and pull out a large fluffy brush, leaning over and carefully sliding it across the boys cheek, earning a soft sigh of joy,

“Would you like me to put some on you?” the Victorian man asked as he rummaged through the seemingly bigger on the inside bag, revealing a few different contraptions and what looked like small torture devices. With a small, timid nod, the young Vega answered,

“Y-Yes please … if it’s not too weird” Ernest whispered, shuffling closer to Damien, all the while, Lucien watched with a happy smile, he knew this is exactly what his brother needed, maybe not just to relax but it was a relief to watch Ernest finally calm,

“Let’s get started then and don’t worry dear, I have the perfect colours for you … I may have possibly convinced your Father to do this once too” Damien chuckled softly, reminiscing as he grabbed the correct pieces he needed. Ernest closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he felt a cool liquid and soft brush move over his skin.

A while later and make-up flung everywhere, Damien sat back to admire his work as Ernest scrunched his face a little to get used to this new and very strange feeling of stuff covering his face,

“You look absolutely darling, it suits you” the Victorian said as he started to tidy the make-up away just as the grandfather clock behind then chimed midnight, “Oh dear, it is quite late and I need to start preparing food tomorrow, well, I guess I best wash this stuff off of my face and retire to bed, you boys can stay up a little longer if you wish, as long as you don’t make too much noise” Damien said as he slowly stood, stretching himself out before kissing both boys on the top of their heads, bidding them a good night.

Lucien continued to watch his Father head upstairs to his room before turning back to Ernest once he was no longer in sight but stopped at the scene before him,

“Ernest? What wrong?” he asked concerned, in front of him was Ernest, a boy well known for setting fire to the bushes outside his Fathers home, holding a mirror and sobbing into his hand, “Ernest, it’s okay, you can talk to me, what happening to you?”

As Ernest turned his head to look at the boy beside him, Lucien noticed the slight little wrinkles on the edge of his eyes, the same wrinkles his own Father got, which was all he needed to know exactly what was going through his brothers head and no matter what, he was going to show him just how much he still loved him through it all.

A few days went by, Lucien and Ernest had barely been in the house which, even if they wouldn’t admit it out loud, made both parents happy but also quite concerned for their sons whenever Lucien shrugged them off with quick reassurance of, ‘They’ll tell you on Thanksgiving, don’t worry dads’, before quickly running which wasn’t what the two men were hoping to hear but it seemed to ease both their minds for a while, at least until Hugo restarted his usual pacing around the kitchen as Damien cooked.

The night came quickly, Thanksgiving, the food was almost complete, the house smelt of perfectly roasted vegetables and mouth-watering deserts, the table decorated to Damien's specifications while Hugo was banished to sit and wait at the table, only problem was, two people were still missing, however, not too far away as just upstairs behind a single locked door were their pair of siblings, whispering cautiously,

“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea” the young Vega questioned, obviously having a few seconds thought as they allowed Lucien to work his magic,

“It is a good idea … look, Dad and Pops aren’t going to hate you, they never could, they love you too much and anyway, I think your forgetting one vital thing and probably one of the biggest elephants in this house” Lucius argued, brushing through his siblings now unknotted hair, trying and praying to whatever deity out there to get it to style as the other sat quietly,

“And what’s that exactly?” they asked, watching in the mirror cautiously as Lucien spoke up with a soft chuckle,

“Damien” he placed the brush down as he expertly braided the surprisingly long hair in front of him and for the first time in months, the youngest Vega laughed,

Not too long later, Dinner was called, Hugo and Damien waited patiently in their respective seats just as footsteps descended the stairs but only a single pair of footsteps approaching the dining room. Both men turned curiously to see Lucien standing in the doorway but no one else,

“Lucien, where’s Ernest?” Hugo asked, seemingly becoming annoyed as well as worried over the whereabouts of his son,

“About that…” Lucien started, turning his gaze into the hall for a moment before quickly moving back to the stares of his parents, “Ernest won’t be joining us tonight … or ever again …” the young emo explained, quickly realising a long pause wouldn’t be the best option as he quickly stopped either one of his Fathers could protest, stepping further into the room, “Because someone new will be taking Ernest's place” just as he finished speaking, a tall figure walked into the room beside him, a long, tight fitting, pale orange cocktail dress swept the floor behind the person as their long braided hair lay over a single exposed shoulder.

The light of the room hit the persons face, capturing the perfectly applied make-up that sculpted their features beautifully and it was then they realised,

“Ernest?” they both asked, quite bewildered, watching the young Vega nervousness build up which did not go unnoticed by Lucien,

“Actually, may I introduce our newest addition to the Vega-Bloodmarch Family, Emily, Emily Dickinson Vega, my sister” he announced, wrapping a supportive arm around his sibling to give them some encouragement, “If it’s okay with her Fathers, she would very much like to join us for dinner?” Lucien asked softly, smile on his face as he waited for their parent’s reactions.

Unsurprising to Lucien, Damien was the first to move, wasting no time in in pushing his chair out from under himself to embrace his daughter,

“Oh, my dear, of course you can join us for dinner and for any other meals you want to” he whispered through tears he didn’t even know were running down his face, “now I understand the make-up, I’m sorry I didn’t see the signs sooner, I never wanted you to feel scared to be who you are” he whispered, the scene in the Bloodmarch home was one to remember when Emily wrapped her arms around his step-father, holding onto him as if their lives depended on it, however, there was still only one other person they needed to complete this little family moment, Hugo.

Everyone slowly turned their heads to see the larger man carefully rising from his seat, moving around the ornate furniture to move closer to where his child stood, arms back by her side as she stood tall and strong,

“Dad, I know this is sudden but I’ve been hiding for so long, I didn’t know who I was but I saw Damien doing so many things that made me think, he showed me how happy he was, I saw the life of someone who was truly happy, all this” she gestured to herself as she continued, “made me realize who I really am and I’m sorry for not being able to tell you sooner … I know I ruined your life for years with all the stupid shit I did but all the stupid thoughts in my head, I was scared, alone, I-“ her rambling was cut short when a pair of quite muscular arms pulled her forward and into a tight but comforting embrace,

“You are my child, my flesh and blood, you are everything to me and I love you, never forget that, no matter who you are, you are a Vega” he reassured, whispering just loud enough for Damien and Lucien to hear the loving exchange of words as they both smiled proudly.

Soon enough, two smaller arms snaked their way around Hugo as a small sob echoed in the large room causing any existing space in the embrace to disappear as it tightened,

“I was so scared you would hate me, I was meant to be your son, the man of the hous-“ her hurtful words were stopped as she was carefully pushed backwards, a hand laid gently on her cheek, forcing her to blurrily look up at a smiling Hugo,

“You have always been my daughter, even if we didn’t know that until now, you were and always will be my baby girl” he explained, his voice soothing any doubt the young Vega had before the wrestling nerd added just one more sentence, “And I think being married to Damien is an automatic law that I accept whatever part of the LGBT you realise you’re apart of … I think I’d be a bit hypocritical if I didn’t accept you as my daughter” the taller man finished and after a few moments of silence, the room filled with giggles from the man in question,

“Your Fathers right” Damien managed to say through soft giggles, “Excuse my French but … I’d kick his ass if he didn’t” he smirked before quickly pushing the three of them towards the table, “Now, if you children, yes, I’m also talking about you too Hugo, don’t get to the table to eat, the food will go cold and I’ll lock the refrigerator as punishment” the Victorian man threatened as the Family rolled their eyes but obediently followed his orders, spending the rest of the night laughing, talking and finally, for the first time in a while, being a family.

[lindalevanimamm]

Reality- Chapter 4

Ugh Mondays. They suck for everyone, and today was no different for me. I of course, had a super weird weekend. I’m so confused. Did it all really happen? Was Saeyoung Choi really here? Did he really come to meet me, ME, of all people? Did he really come to my apartment and clean? I mean, my apartment was cleaner yesterday, but I could have just imagined it. But then the chats yesterday were definitely off book. No where online does it say that chat room is supposed to happen. I mean I could type messages instead of choosing pre-made options. My life has gotten weird. Too weird. I’ve already been struggling mentally, and now I might actually be going crazy. No, I know I’m going crazy. There’s no way it was real. It’s not possible. There are no other dimensions, or worlds, or realities. There’s just this one where Saeyoung does not exist. I jumped at the sound of an alarm going off, stopping my train of thoughts. I had set an alarm to make sure I leave for class on time. Crap. I haven’t even showered yet I was so caught up in everything. Maybe I’ll take a day off...yeah right I’ll get so behind. I can’t be late. Too many stares for that. I guess I won’t shower and just hope for the best. I quickly put on a change of clothes and redid my hair into another bun. I’ll wash it eventually...maybe...it’s been a bit. I skipped breakfast and practically ran out of my apartment and to campus. I missed the bus, so I had to run the entire way. Thankfully, I made it to class just before it started.

I took my seat, the one in the very back in the corner, of course, and got to work. Or so I hoped. My mind kept thinking back to the past few days. How cruel can my brain be? I feel empty and anxious all the time, it reminds me of my failures and makes me question everything. And now it’s making me believe that Saeyoung is real. I’m just so stupid. Why am I even thinking about this? People would think I’m crazy. I started to feel eyes on me, so I looked up from my ‘notes’. People were moving into groups for an activity. Crap no. I knew I should have skipped. Did we already get groups or do we have to chose? I don’t want to chose, no one will chose me so I’ll either be alone or have to awkwardly ask to be in a group. I soon realized that two people were facing me. So we were assigned thank God. I began to sweat and shake, as I normally do when having to talk with new people. We got started on the project. Thankfully, neither seemed like talkers so we all agreed on just doing a portion of the work separately. The class seemed to drag on forever. Now not only was I thinking about my weekend, but now thoughts of how awkward I must have been talking to my group mates. They probably think I’m dumb. Did I stutter to much? Could they tell I was shaking? Did I seem weird? I shouldn’t have said that. Once again, I snapped back into reality to realize that our teacher had dismissed us. I packed up my things and quickly left. Thankfully, this is the only class I have today, my other was cancelled, right? I checked my emails to find the one saying the class was cancelled for the millionth time that day. I had checked before and I knew it, so why do I have to keep checking? I was starting to feel really hungry since I had skipped breakfast, so I decided to suck it up and go order something at a nearby fast food place (A/N: I don’t know pick your fav). Anxiety started to creep in. How stupid am I to feel anxious over something so basic? I never have to see the person ever again. They don’t care about what I say or do, but I still feel a bit anxious. I got into line and made sure to breathe. Once it got to my turn I ordered. Haha, I didn’t even stutter that time. Feeling proud of myself, I got my food and began walking to the bus stop. Somehow I managed to get there right before it left, so I got onto it, thankful I wouldn’t have to walk the entire way. I sat down on a seat away from everyone else. I felt my phone vibrate, another chat room. I had been trying to think about other things that don’t involve me going crazy, but that wasn’t working. I opened it up. 

Yoosung*: so you really got there?

707: yep! I think I fixed everything so I’m going to go again later today

Yoosung*: you sure (Y/N) would like that?

707: I don’t know...

It was then that I realized they didn’t notice I’d come into the chat room. He’s coming again? It’s really real? If I see him than it must be real, right? That doesn’t mean anything, I’m sure crazy people see and hear things too...how can I be certain? Maybe a picture? Pictures will only show what’s there right? Okay, if he comes, I’ll just try to get a picture of us and I’ll know for sure. 

Yoosung*: well I got to go theres amonters on LOLOL bye

*Yoosung* has left the chat

707: all alone T_T

707: I should go surprise (Y/N) now hehe 

*707 has left the chat

(Y/N): idiots lolol I’ve been here, it won’t be a surpise <3

I smiled and turned my phone back off. The bus had finally made it to my stop so I grabbed my things and left. I made the short walk to my apartment. I got on the elevator and started walking down the hall to my apartment. I stopped midway. My jaw dropped slightly. Sitting on the floor in front of my door was Saeyoung. Picture, my brain reminded me. I began walking closer, trying not to smile. I’m still mad he just left. Wait no this still might just be a hallucination. Saeyoung looked up when he heard someone coming and smiled when he saw it was me. “Surprise!” he yelled. 

“I was in the chat Saeyoung, I knew you would come. Or at least I knew my hallucinations would continue.” He frowned. 

“But I’m real,” he whined. 

“Mm as real as every other anime character. And if you are really real then I’m mad at you,” I crossed my arms. Well, tried to, it was hard to do so with the food in my hands. 

“Well I am real and why are you mad at me?” 

“Because you left...like everyone else,” I trailed off. Saeyoung’s head dropped.

“I know. I am sorry. I really thought I had figured it out, but I think I do now, so I shouldn’t be going anywhere.” I looked up at him and squinted at him, pursing my lips to complete the look. 

“Promise?”

“Promise,” he smiled. I went ahead and unlocked my apartment and let him in. 

“You know I’m surprised you didn’t just pick the lock,” I said. 

“I would never do such a thing!” he protested. He made his way to my couch and flopped onto it. 

“If you say so. Sorry I didn’t get any extra food. Are you hungry? I can make something?” I made my way to the kitchen, setting my food down. 

“Nah I’m good.” I went ahead and decided it’d be best to eat out in my living room for two reasons. Reason one, I don’t trust Saeyoung, and reason two, it would be more rude to just sit in my kitchen and eat. I sat down next to him. I quickly remembered that I needed a picture. 

“Hey, can I get a picture with you?” I asked suddenly. He looked up at me confused, but then smirked. 

“Why? You can’t get enough of this face?” he asked and then stuck out his tongue. 

“No,” I rolled my eyes. “I want to make sure I’m not hallucinating. Pictures can only show what’s here right?” He laughed. 

“A picture wouldn’t be enough proof. Even if nothings actually there, you could just hallucinate it when looking at the picture!” 

“Oh yeah...well you did not just help your case any. How am I supposed to figure out if I’m going crazy or not,” I frowned. 

“You’re not going crazy. How many times do I have to tell you I’m really here?”

“That’s exactly what a hallucination would say!” He frowned. “I’ve been so depressed my brain is now making me think that you’re here! There has to be some way to prove that I’m right!”

“Well there is one way.” he mumbled. 

“What is it?” I asked, desperate to know the truth. He looked up at me and I almost missed the slight pink dusting his cheeks. He leaned closer and reached out for my chin again. What is he- oh... I didn’t have time to think before I realized his lips were on mine. Time sort of just stopped. I got lost in the feeling out it all. My hands moved to the back of his head, his moving to my sides. Before I noticed, Saeyoung was deepening the kiss, his tongue making its way into my mouth. It soon was getting hard to breathe, and we broke the kiss. I looked down, embarrassed. We sat in silence for a second before Saeyoung broke it. “Well, now do you believe me?” he asked. I tried to pull myself together.

“I-it was, uh, pretty convincing, but it still doesn’t really prove anything...” 

“Hmmm, does that mean I’ll have to try again?” he asked. 

“No...” I softly answered. I was conflicted now. Sure that all felt real, and I definitely wouldn’t mind another, but it truly doesn’t prove much. 

“Oh” he replied softly. I winced. He sounded hurt. I don’t mean it like that, really. 

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,” I began. 

“No, you’re right. I’m sorry I shouldn’t have pushed you.” There was another moment of silence. Both of us just thinking about what had happened. 

“I have an idea.” I broke the silence. He looked up at me, ready for me to continue. “I’ll go with you and you’ll order something or buy something from somewhere. If other people can see you, then I’ll know it’s not a hallucination.” He thought for a moment. 

“Yeah, I don’t see any holes in that logic...where to?” 

“There’s a convenience store about a block from here.” We both got up and made our way outside. After a few minutes, of a silent and awkward walk, we arrived at the store. “Here we are,” I said. 

“Any requests on what to buy?” he asked. 

“Nope I’m just going to stand back and observe.” He chuckled. 

“Normally I’m the one doing the observing, but okay.” We walked inside and I watched him disappear in one of the isles. I went to go find a snack to buy. I wasn’t just going to walk in and not buy something. As I walked down the isle, my thoughts started getting to me again. I can’t believe your life has come to this. So lonely that you’re making someone up. This is why people don’t talk to you. That’s why the walk here was awkward. You don’t know how to talk to people, so you just don’t. It feels real, but it’s not. No one would kiss you. Imagining your first kiss and making it feel real is really sick. You’re sick. No one wants to be with you. No one would want to be your first anything. You should just be leftovers...a hand on my shoulder interrupted my thoughts. I didn’t notice that I was tearing up. I quickly wiped them away. “You okay?” Saeyoung asked me. I kept my head down. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” 

“You don’t have to pretend in front of me you know?” 

“Yeah because you’re not real. You wouldn’t be doing all this, you wouldn’t be this nice to me if you were real,” I answer. He let out a small sigh. 

“I don’t know who would make you think that. But I still have to prove to you that I’m here right? Watch.” I finally looked up and I watched him walk away. I watched him go up to the counter, smile, and have a small chat with the cashier before paying and coming back to me. He smiled at me. “See?” he asked. Unable to hold back any longer, I threw my arms around him in a hug. 

“You’re really here?” I asked. 

“I’m really here,” he answered. 

“You really came for me?”

“I really came just for you, (Y/N).”

“Really though?” He chuckled again.

“Really though. I came for you, and only you. I’m here and I don’t intend to go anywhere unless you want me to.” I hugged him tighter. He pretended to choke. “Ack (Y/N)! I’m not going to be here if you keep holding on so tight!” I laughed. 

“I’m just making sure it’s real.” I finally let go of him and looked at him. How is this happening? Why me? I don’t deserve this. 

“You do,” he suddenly said. 

“What?” I asked. Can he read minds?

“You do deserve this. I’m the one that didn’t deserve you. I didn’t deserve your help with Mint Eye, and I didn’t deserve your feelings. But you, (Y/N), you really do deserve to be loved. You deserve to be happy. I hope to make you feel happy and loved and I don’t know if I’ll be enough, but I’m going to try.” I just smiled, unable to form any words or sentences in my mind. I don’t know how he knew what I was thinking. I didn’t know if I fully believed his words, but for now I was going to try. “Now lets head back so I can try to explain everything to you and answer any questions you have.” 

[crystalninjaphoenix]

MerMay Day Fourteen Family Reunion

A bus pulled up to the station, and two twelve-year-old kids stepped off. A boy and a girl, brunette with barely an inch of height in between them. The girl reached into her pocket and pulled out a city map, the kind of which could be bought at any convenience store for a few dollars. She unfolded it, and the two kids discussed where they were and how to get to their destination. After a while, the girl refolded the map, and the two of them started walking.

A few blocks later, the kids arrived at the beach, finding it full of tourists. Made sense, it was a hot summer day after all, and at noon with the sun high in the sky as well. The kids stood on the edge of the sand, looking out over at the ocean. Until suddenly the girl tapped the boy’s shoulder, and pointed at a part of the beach that was sectioned off by a chain link fence. She immediately bolted for it.

“Sereia!” The boy called, chasing after her.

The girl—Sereia—didn’t stop until she reached the fence. There was a danger sign pinned to the barrier, and beyond which the beach became rocky. She turned around as the boy caught up with her, panting. “You’re so slow, Muirin,” she sighed.

“I was trying to make sure the lifeguard didn’t see me!” Muirin hissed, pointing out the tall white chair. “You should too!” He glanced back at the fence, eyebrows drawing close.

“Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts now,” Sereia said. “You got on the bus with me. If you’re just gonna go back you’ll waste your entire day.”

“I didn’t know it would be blocked off,” Muirin said defensively. “How’re we gonna get around?”

Sereia considered this. “We climb over it,” she decided, grasping the links. She looked down at her feet, trying to fit her tennis shoes in the holes.

“What? No!” Muirin looked down the beach. “Maybe we can just go around—”

“I don’t think we can.” Sereia said bluntly. “C’mon, hurry before someone sees us.”

“There has to be another—”

“Muirin, why are we here?”

Muirin blinked. “I know why—”

“Yeah, but I want you to tell me,” Sereia interrupted.

After a moment, Muirin sighed. “We wanted to see the spot Mom always talks about,” he said dully. “Where she last saw Dad.”

“Exactly.” Sereia nodded firmly. “And it’s behind this fence, so we’re gonna have to go over it.”

Another sigh. “Fine, I’ll help you.”

After a moment of awkward climbing and flailing of limbs, the two kids were on the other side of the fence, landing on the rocky ground. Now they could see that there was an old wooden dock some ways down the shore, looking quite rotten. Sereia led the way, bouncing excitedly, and Muirin trailed behind.

“Mom’s gonna be soooo mad,” he muttered.

“Yeah,” Sereia agreed. “But we’re going out and doing stuff! Like we’re the Boxcar Children! You like those, right? Imagine we’re them. On an adventure! To solve a mystery!”

“I don’t know what you’re expecting to find,” Muirin muttered.

“Well, I just want to see it,” Sereia shrugged. “So we’re not just two kids with dumb names.”

“I like my name. It’s Irish. And yours is Portugese. Like Grandma.”

“I know, Muirin.”

The two of them came up on the old dock, a pier that extended out into the water. The shore wasn’t a gradual sloping beach here, it dropped off suddenly. Seriea peered down at the ocean surface, then stepped onto the dock, testing the old planks with her foot. They creaked, but held her weight. Muirin waited for Seriea to walk a few steps before following.

Seriea looked around at the endless ocean, stretching out into the horizon. She had to be honest with herself, she was expecting...well, more. But it really was just an old dock. Well...at least it was a little exciting taking the bus here, all the way from their hometown to their mom’s old town. She sighed, and was about to turn to leave, when she noticed something at the very end of the dock. She stepped closer, squinting into the sunlight. Was there...a guy at the end of the dock? A few steps closer. It was! A guy who was half-off the dack, half-in the water, an old, extremely faded cap on his head, his head lying down on his folded arms.

“Look at that,” she said, grabbing Muirin by the arm. “Do you think that guy’s dead?”

Muirin squinted at the guy on the dock. “Um, I don’t know.”

“We should go check.” Sereia straightened, and ran down the dock towards the end.

“Wh—Ser, wait!”

She reached the end of the dock. Maybe the guy was dead, he hadn’t really reacted to the sound of her footsteps. Or maybe he was asleep. When she was only a few feet away, she shouted. “Hey Mister! Are you dead?!”

The man started, and looked up at her. His eyes widened. And he pushed away from the dock and into the water.

“Hey wait!” Sereia ran towards the spot where the man had disappeared. Her plan was to stop at the end of the dock and look into the water to see if the guy was alright. But as she stepped onto the last bit of the dock, the plank below her feet suddenly—

CRAK!

She barely had time to yell before her vision was engulfed in bubbles, water stinging her eyes. Immediately, she started to thrash. She couldn’t swim! Her brother and her had grown up in a landlocked city, though the coast was only a few hours away, and their mother hadn’t let them go swimming. Yet here she was, fully immersed in water and sinking quickly. She flailed wildly. Her legs were starting to cramp and seize up. She had to get out!

But the surface was getting farther and farther away. She stared upward, when she started hearing this strange...clicking, chirping, babbling sound, interspersed with trills and whistles. It almost sounded like dolphins, but more...sophisticated.

Sereia couldn’t hold her breath any longer. She couldn’t help it. Instinctively, she inhaled deeply, water going down her nose.

The strange sounds suddenly changed. Well, actually they didn’t—but now, oddly enough, she understood what they meant. “—tiny little human! Just stop wiggling, I know that sounds counterproductive, but—oh gods, you can’t even understand me, but calm down anyway!”

Sereia gasped, and looked towards the source of the sounds. It was the guy who’d been lying on the dock. Except now she could see more of him. And—and that was a tail. That was a fish’s tail.

“Oh my god…” she muttered. And then it hit her. She wasn’t struggling to breathe any more. That was probably a bad sign. “Are you an angel?” she asked.

“Am I a…? Oh!” More of those chirping noises that she somehow understood. The man was definitely the one making them. “No, I’m a—” The man glanced downwards. And stopped. “What the fuck?!” He shouted, swimming backwards in the water.

Seriea looked down as well. And then she noticed it. Her legs were gone, as well as her shorts and tennis shoes. In their place was a long fishtail. White with golden stripes, ending in a golden fin with a black spot. She gasped, and looked at the rest of her. There were little yellow fins on her wrists! She touched her head. There were fins on the side of her head, sticking out from behind her ears. “Wh-what the heck? What the heck?!”

“Heck? Oh, I’m sorry, I-I meant what the freak earlier, just forget what I said!” The man was staring at her. “I—what—oh my gods, I’m so sorry for freaking out, I didn’t know you were a halfling.”

“I’m a what?! What’s going on?!” Seriea spun around in the water, doing barrel rolls. “Why am I a mermaid now?!”

“Oh. Uh, I guess you didn’t know, either.” The man laughed nervously. “What about your friend up there?”

“My—oh my god, Muirin!” Seriea somehow managed to direct herself upright, and swam up, bursting out of the water. She gasped at the sudden change from liquid to air, and how light everything felt now. She was still at the end of the dock, and she waved wildly with one hand, using the other to keep balance in the water. “Muirin! Muirin! Are you still there?!”

Silence. And then Muirin’s head peeked over the end of the dock. “Ser, oh my god,” he said, relieved. “I thought you drown—what happened to your face?”

“What?” Seriea touched her face. She found a stripe of something cool running vertically across her left eye...scales? “Muir, I’m a mermaid,” she said bluntly.

Muirin stared at her. And then he laughed. “So, um...how long were you planning this? I-I don’t know how you did it, but you got me!”

Seriea sighed. Her hand darted up, grabbed the collar of Muirin’s shirt, and pulled him into the water.

“AAACHK!” Muirin splashed into the water, and just like Seriea, began flailing about wildly. He wasn’t sinking, though, so Seriea jumped on him and pushed him under. She briefly wondered if maybe just she was a mermaid and she was about to suddenly become an only child, when Muirin managed to escape, and suddenly threw himself on her. She yelled as they both went under. “What is wrong with you?!” Muirin yelled. “Why did you—wait.” He stopped, eyes widening. “Holy fudge crackers, I’m breathing underwater!”

Seriea managed to swim a bit away to look at Muirin. He had a tail, too, now. His was black and white striped, though the fin at the end was still yellow. He also had yellow fins on his wrists and head, though there was an additional long white fin poking out of his back from underneath his shirt. “Dude, holy crap, we’re merpeople!” Seriea shouted.

“Actually, you’re halflings.” It was the man from before.

Muirin blinked in surprise at the guy. “Nemo?”

The man chuckled. “No, but I love that movie. Anyway, you guys didn’t know you were halflings? I mean, you’re only fries, but I figured your parents would tell you.”

“We’re only what?” Seriea asked, confused.

“Fries are baby fish,” Muirin said. He suddenly gasped, then coughed. “Ser, oh my god, what if Dad was a merman?! And that’s why Mom never talked about him!”

“Holy crap! Holy hell!” Seriea shouted. “He totally was!”

“Wait a second.” The man held his hands up, asking them to wait. “So, you two never knew this? And...you don’t have a dad? But you have...a mom?” His voice broke on the last question.

“Yeah, that’s why we’re here.” Seriea nodded. “‘Cause our mom always said she last saw our dad here. She even said that it was at the, uh, the old dock up there.” She paused. “My name is Seriea, by the way, and this is my brother Muirin. We’re twins. What’s your name?”

The man suddenly covered his mouth with his hands. He blinked furiously. Even though they were in the water, his eyes looked wet. “My name is Chase,” he choked out. “Is...is your mom named Stacy?”

“Yeah, why?” Seriea asked. “Do you know her?”

Muirin’s jaw dropped. He stared at Chase with wide eyes. “...Dad?”

Chase nodded. “I think I’m your dad.”

Seriea blinked, surprised. “...what?”

Chase laughed, wiping at his eyes. “I was nineteen years old and stupid. Or—nineteen years old for us, for humans I was only seventeen. I just, I saw a cool, nice girl and I wanted to know her more. I-I didn’t think we would end up falling in love—a-and when we, well, you know, I-I didn’t think there would be—h-how old are you two?”

“We’re eleven—no, twelve,” Muirin said. “Our birthday was in March.”

Chase looked up to the surface, eyes going distant as he did the math. “Nine months before that was June, and—oh my gods.” He laughed. “Oh my gods! I-it’s really—” The laughs started devolving into sobs. “I-I have kids. Halfling kids, o-oh my gods.” He rubbed his eyes again.

“We have a mermaid dad!” Seriea shouted. She twisted her tail and somehow managed to dart forward, ramming into Chase’s chest. He grunted at the force, but then softened when he noticed Seriea’s arms wrapped around him. “This is amazing! Oh my god, do you think that’s why Mom works at the aquarium now?!” She gasped. “Oh my god, is that why Grandma and Grandpa moved and took her with them? Not just because she was gonna have kids, but because she was gonna have mer-kids?!”

“I-I don’t think Stacy would’ve told her parents she was going to have halfling kids,” Chase laughed. “From what I knew about them, they were probably freaked out enough that she got pregnant. God, I never would’ve expected that—”

“Wait, so how does this work?” Muirin asked. Somehow, he’d managed to flip upside down. “Why are you a clownfish and we’re different things? How come this only happens when we go in water? Do we have gills? Where did our clothes go?”

“It’s magic, Muir, don’t worry about it,” Seriea said cheerfully.

Chase chuckled. “I might be able to answer a few questions, and I have friends who can answer the rest. Now, I want to know everything. How’s Stacy doing? Where do you guys live now? What do you like to do? You probably go to school, right? What’s that like?”

For the next couple hours, the kids and Chase exchanged questions and answers. The kids were clumsy at swimming, so Chase tried his best to teach them. Eventually, though, Chase found out that the two of them had taken the bus out to the beach on their own, without telling their mother. He insisted that they go back, and that they tell Stacy about everything that happened. With his help, they climbed back onto the dock, and found that the tails faded back to legs, complete with shorts and shoes, within ten minutes. Seriea promised they would come back to see him. Muirin added that it might take a week or two. Chase just smiled, and waved as they left.

He’d wait to see if they came back again. But even if they didn’t, this was still enough.

[the-shadow-of-atlantis]

New Start

Summary: Andromeda starts high school and meets someone new

Tagging: @dilpickledd @melyaliz @coffee-randomness @speedypan

Read Earlier Parts Here

Andromeda wasn’t entirely sure why she felt so excited as she stood in front of the high school building. She looked up and took a deep breath, this was going to be a new beginning for her. Sure some kids from her middle school would be here but there would also be kids from different schools that she never met before. Letting out a small huff she headed off the bathroom to add some finishing touches to her look.

Luckily the bathroom she found was empty; the gossip girls hadn’t taken over the bathroom yet. She dug around her backpack for her makeup bag, smiling when she found her brothers encouraging note tucked into the small pouch.

Knock’em dead

Andromeda shook her head, folding the piece of paper and tucking it into the back pocket of her shorts. It was a new method he was trying to help build up her confidence. Checking her watch she quickly got to work on getting her makeup on. She nodded at herself in approval as she took in her appearance smoothing her hands over her black bodysuit. She adjusted her thin cardigan so it hung just right then packed her things and headed to her locker.

She took out the bag that had the clothes she had originally left the house in and stuffed it in her locker. A quick look at her schedule and she deposited the books she didn't need to carry before lunch. Just then the bell rang and Andromeda quickly took off to her first class.

Most of her classes had been pretty uneventful, the teachers mainly droned on about whatever their syllabus said they were going to do over the year. If there was time then they would make everyone do a meet and greet around the classroom. Andromeda's hope about making new friends seemed to dwindle over every class as some kids seemed to carry on friendships into high school.

By the time her science class rolled around she decided to stick to the back row of the class as the students started to file in. Andromeda was busy trying to get the rest of her band pins on her backpack to pass the time. She would probably need to invest in a different backpack if she wanted to decorate it properly.

“Is this seat taken?” Someone asked beside her, making her look up.

Andromeda couldn’t help but blink several times at the boy who stood by the stool that was next to her. His soft brunette hair was perfectly tousled; he had a kind smile but his eyes were hidden behind a set of visor looking sunglasses, which was a strange combination with what seemed like pretty boy clothing.

“Sure.” Andromeda cleared her throat realizing she had been staring a bit too long.

“Thanks.” He said, taking a seat. “I’m Scott.”

He held out his hand and Andromeda stared at it, was this guy serious? Still she shook his hand.

“Andromeda.” She replied.

“Andromeda?... that’s a nice name are you-“

“Nope parents like Greek things, just not the lifestyle.” Andromeda said, making Scott look at her curiously.

“Im sorry what?”

“Inside joke, never mind.” Andromeda shrugged and quickly pinned the last button she needed.

The teacher came in then and started the same speal as the other teachers. Andromeda doodled on her paper as the teacher talked, occasionally glancing over at Scott who seemed to be taking notes on his own syllabus.

“I suggest you get to know the person next to you as they will be your lab partner for the rest of the year.” The teacher said, taking a seat at their desk.

Andromeda continued to doodle but she felt Scott turn to face her after putting his paper away.

"That's pretty nice." He said eyeing her dragon that stretched along the border.

"Thanks." She said adding the finishing touches. "So how do you wanna do this? Play 20 questions? Just get basic information out of the way?"

Scott seemed to stare at her, his mouth opening and closing as if he couldn’t find the right words to say.

“You always this articulate when talking to someone?” Andromedas asked and Scott let out a small shy laugh rubbing the back of his neck.

“I’ll admit I’ve always had a difficult time talking to new people.” He said looking down, Andromeda nodded slowly.

“Well then we have that in common.” She said smiling softly at him he seemed to stare at her in shock but she wasn't quite sure it was a little hard to read him with those sunglasses blocking his eyes.

“Really?” He asked, still eyeing her.

“I’ve lived in Bayville three years and so far my only best friend is my little brother.” Andromeda admitted a small chuckle escaping her, however she noticed Scott's face seemed to drop.

“Hey sometimes little brothers can be the best of friends." He said softly.

"You have one?"

"Had."

"Oh." Crap things got dark fast. Andromeda looked at Scott and patted his arm awkwardly.

"So you said you moved to Bayville?" Scott asked.

"Yup."

"What for?"

"The company my dad works for wanted him to relocate." Andromeda simply explained her hands trailing back to the doodle.

"That must've been hard." Scott said, looks like he was trying to be the empathic one this time.

"It is what it is." Andromeda shrugged. "What about you? No offense but you don't really strike me as a Bayville local."

It was Scott's turn to be a bit reserved now. "I lived in Alaska up until a couple months ago when my new foster dad brought me here. So I'm pretty new.

"Well then." Andromeda said signing her name on the corner of her sheet and slipped the paper towards him. "Looks like we have another thing in common."

Scott looked down at the finished doodle. "Don't you want to keep the syllabus?"

"Nah, I'm good, keep it." Andromeda shrugged and got up as the bell rang. "See you later."

~~~~~~~~~

Andromeda smiled politely at all the lunch ladies and attempted some small talk as she grabbed her food. Rule number one of making it through school always befriend the lunch ladies and the janitor they tend to have your back if something happens. Andromeda scanned the cafeteria, this part is the one that always sucked, picking a lunch table to sit at.

Andromeda had quickly spotted Scott he was sitting next to a boy she slightly remembered from one of her classes. Hmm Andromeda wasn't sure if she should sit down with Scott or not, she couldn't help but still feel a little awkward. Why was making new friends so hard? Andromeda decided to leave them alone for now Scott said he was new and it be good for them to branch out and make friends. Maybe she could just sit outside soak up some sun, however as she made her way past the table Scott was at she spotted a boy sitting alone, his little sack of lunch looking as lonely as him. Everyone seemed to avoid him as they passed and as Andromeda got closer she had to admit she realized why, he didn't really have a pleasant smell. Still she sat down at his table making him look at her questionably.

"Hi." Andromeda said with a smile.

"Hi?" The boy said, still looking at Andromeda skeptically.

"I'm Andromeda."

"Todd."

Andromeda took a bite of her burger and eyed Todd's sack lunch.

"Whatcha got?" She asked.

"Just a sandwich." He said, pulling out a soggy looking sandwich.

"Want some fries?" Andromeda asked, she had gotten some extra courtesy of Linda who smiled when Andromeda complimented her on her hair color.

Todd was about to say something when they were interrupted by a blond boy that Andromeda was all too familiar with.

"Aw looks like dummie finally got a little boyfriend.” Said Duncan his friends snickering behind him

“Duncan.” Andromeda said looking up at him. “Shocker to see you here, what did mommy have to sleep with the principal to help you get in?”

A couple of his friends stifled their laughs and Duncan glared at her.

“Jokes on you, the principals a woman.”

“And that would stop your mother because?” Andromeda heard someone choke and she turned to see Scott and his friend trying to stifle their laughs

A woman then appeared in front of Andromeda making her stiffen.

“Is there a problem here?” She asked her eyes piercing as they stared at all of them through her glasses.

“No Principal Darkholme.” Duncan said.

“Then carry on.” She said making Duncan leave quickly, she looked down at Andromeda studying her carefully before walking away.

“Well she's scary.” Andromeda mumbled.

“You have no idea.” Todd mumbled.

“What classes you got next?” Andromeda asked, wondering if they’d have any together.

“Computers and P.E.” He said warming up to her.

“Cool, we got P.E. together.” Andromeda said, pushing her fries to him again and this time he accepted them.

~~~~~~~~~~

Andromeda cheered as she flew through the air that night feeling a rush like never before.

"St- in r-ng." Her brother, Adonis, voice cut through her thoughts.

Andromeda sighed and looped backwards and hovered.

"Better?" She asked.

"Perfect." He said.

"You really need to amp the range on these little things." She said flying in a slow circle.

"I'm trying." He said, looking up at her from his spot. "You seem in a good mood. I'm guessing school was fun."

"Yeah, I made a couple friends. I think… I definitely made one friend. I'm still unsure about the other one.” Andromeda said as she slowly began to descend. “I’m gonna need a new backpack though. I literally spent most of my day putting my pins on only to have to take them off on the bus ride on top of doing wardrobe change.”

"I'll add it to the list. Maybe I can convince mom to take us to the mall this weekend." Adonis said holding his hand out so Andromeda could hand him back the communication device.

"What about you, how was school?"

"I'll admit it's not as fun when you're not around." He said putting their things away.

"Aw you miss me." Andromeda teased ruffing his hair making him smack her hand away. "We should head back, I don't want to be tired for school tomorrow."

"You seem a little too happy about going to school." Her brother noted.

"And that's a bad thing because?"

"Oh my god." Adonis stopped and stared at his sister.

"What?" She asked.

"You're crushing on someone." He said.

"What? No I'm not." She defended herself.

"You totally are." He said laughing.

"I've barely been to school for a day how could I be crushing on someone already." She said matching his pace as he started walking again.

"Oh trust me you only have that face when you fly and you still have it now."

"I just had a pretty good day at school." Andromeda grumbled.

"Alright alright." Adonis said holding his hands up in surrender though that stupid smile hadn't left his face.

"I hate you." Andromeda mumbled.

"No you don't." Adonis smirked, he was definitely going to rub this in her face later.

[sereneskz]

police be mine | bang chan

• format: series

• pairing: bang chan x female reader

[part i] , [part ii]

“Y/N!”

“Y/N get your ass up!”

“Oh my gosh, are you dead woman?”

The exclamations of a pretty frustrated voice filled your eyes, even registered in your brain, however your eyes refused to open and give in.

Murmuring incoherent words, you rolled away from the source in an attempt to block the noise.

You weren’t very successful though as you soon felt two hands grip and shake your physique, turning you towards the person once again.

You let out a groan in protest and raised your hands to pry off the fingers clasped around your forearms.

“Y/N do you really want to be late on the first day of your first job?!”

Minho’s words turned a certain mechanism in your brain as your eyes fluttered open with sudden realisation.

‘Oh crap!’ You thought as you abruptly sat and ended up smashing your forehead with your roommate’s.

You and Minho let out a synchronised groan in pain as both your guys’ hands flew up to soothe the area.

“Jeez Y/N, way to thank me for waking you up,” Minho hissed, standing up to get off the bed.

“Hey, I got hurt too,”  You defended as you threw the covers off of your body.

“What’s the time?” You enquire, struggling to locate your phone although you swear you left it on your nightstand last night.

“6:45,” Minho held up the said object, the lock screen displaying the exact digits.

“Shit! I am so screwed!” You grab your phone and rush into the bathroom, only to re-enter as you realise you forgot to take your clothes.

Minho shakes his head as he observes you, wondering how on earth you would survive without him and leaves the room feeling rather pleased with himself.

Following the speediest shower you had ever taken, you rummage through your drawers to find your watch and head out after grabbing your bag and any other required items.

Upon entering the living room, you find Minho sprawled onto the couch on his phone with a random tv show playing in the background.

Clasping the watch around your wrist, you gather all your things and shove them into your bag.

“Eat something,” Minho’s voice interrupts your journey to the end of the hallway.

“There’s legit no time, it’s too l-,”

“It takes only ten seconds to go into the kitchen and grab something. Plus, we all know how you get when you’ve got nothing in your stomach,”

Minho’s reasoning has you contemplating before you turn back, concluding he’s right.

Being late and going to work on an empty stomach doesn’t sound like the most optimal plan.

Jogging to the fridge, you hurriedly grab an apple along with a bottle of water, all while balancing everything else in your hands.

“By the way, I’ve had actual jobs before this,” you call out as you make your way down the hallway.

“Working part-time at the convenience store around the corner isn’t the most popular career option, Y/N,” He retaliated, his smirk evident in his tone.

“Your really making me question my decision of sharing an apartment with you,”  

“If it weren’t for me you’d still be laying in bed and waving off your job before it even began,”

He was right but he won’t hear you admitting that anytime soon.

You rolled your eyes and skipped out the front door, struggling to cram your right foot into the shoe.

~ 7:21 am ~

“Way to make an impression!’ You thought as you entered the police station.

A rookie officer, almost half an hour late on her first official day of work. How admirable.

Luckily you lived close to a bus stop and got there, well, before it got any later than it already was.

“Oof, someone’s mistaken the police station for their house it seems. Coming and going at their own leisure,” Miyoung sneered as she moved past you.

Miyoung was also a junior officer and someone who you were clearly not on the best terms with. It wasn’t explainable, she just wastes no opportunity to get under your skin despite the fact that you’ve never really done her any harm.

However, that might change considering you both are going to be working under the same roof.

Ignoring her remark with a frown upon your face, you walk towards your desk and plop yourself down on the chair.

Although this was your first official day, you were toured around the station with some other junior officers beforehand, given an introductory brief and assigned your own places.

Because of the orientation, the environment didn’t seem uncomfortable and nor were you clueless about what to do.

But the mistake of being late on the first day was clawing at you from the inside.

“Y/n, you’re late,” A voice informed as you set down your things.

You turned to find Hyunjin, leaning forward on the divider that separated your side from his.

“Yeah, on my first day. Couldn’t get any worse could it?” Was your sarcastic reply as you began to organise your space to find that your nameplate was missing.

‘Where on earth is my nameplate?’ You inwardly question as you start to look for it.

“Actually, I wouldn’t be too confident,” Hyunjin drew out.

You looked up at him, confused, and halted your search with your hand still situated in the drawer.

“The senior officer checked on us this morning. During which, he obviously found out you weren’t here and ordered to have you in his office as soon as you arrived,” Your heart sank.

A sign left your lips as you cursed at yourself for not being able to fall asleep earlier last night. As a result, another person was going to taunt their way into your mind about how unprofessional you were acting.

Hyunjin grimaced seeing your distressed expression, guilt filling him.

“Hey, it can’t be that bad. Perhaps, he just wants to ensure your not going to be late next time,” He tried to ease your stress but to no avail.

Exactly how he was going to make sure you weren’t going to repeat your mistake, was what had you worried.

“That’s if there is a next time,”

You stood up and made your way to the chief officer’s workroom.

Standing in front of the door, you contemplated if your first day at your ideal job was going to be the last.

He wouldn’t possibly fire you without another chance, right? Maybe a warning? More paperwork? Overtime?

Your panel interviews were all held by various representatives of the police who were in charge of recruitment and the tour was given to you by them as well, so you had obviously never met this officer personally.

Although you heard enough about him to picture what he’d be like. He’s said to be very skilled at his work and belongs to the group of the most elite officers the police force has. No wonder he is a chief officer at one of the busiest precincts in the city at a rather young age. Apart from the work-related stuff, barely anyone in the work force is close enough to him to know what he’s like in his private life.

‘He’s probably never been late his entire life!’

‘I bet he’s a crank ass, as well,”

Thinking it’s do or die at this point, you knocked on the door to prevent yourself from appearing even more unpunctual than you already were.

“Come in,” A faint voice sounded.

Cautiously, you entered into the office, keeping your hands behind your back and stood in front of the large desk positioned in the centre of the room. Your heart drummed against your rib cage, a clear sign of your anxiety.

The first thing you saw were numerous files piled up on one side and a few opened up along with other papers scattered across the table.

The next thing was the mop of blonde hair but you were unable to see the face as his neck was bent while he tended to his work.

He looked up at the sound of your footsteps and you swear your heart stopped beating for a solid 5 seconds.

This was definitely far from the visual you conceptualised in your head when you thought of what the chief officer looked like.

Furthermore, you would’ve praised whoever in the universe created the very man sitting in front of you if it weren’t for the pair of eyes that looked like they could consume you whole with a single gaze or the twisting feeling in your stomach which told you that this wasn’t going to be an easy ride.