#if they didn’t have this guidance counselor with him. just because its too late to introduce new characters you know? just have gerard be th

[yandere-sins]

Hello! Can i request a yandere bully! Bakugou, locking a darling in the locker? I may leave You there for a while, and comfort you when the reader is begging you to

Continuation of this one here! Thanks for requesting ^-^

»»———————— ♡ ————————««

You couldn’t deny that the feeling wasn’t new.

Being roughly shoved into the barely big enough locker, you both felt scared and, at the same time, knew what to do. Braking your fall with your back, you kept your head forward so you wouldn’t hit it again, the mild concussion you had last time having been learn-experience enough. You had closed your eyes out of instinct when Bakugou gripped your shirt, but they snapped open immediately, trying to help you. However, Bakugou, too, had honed his skills, slamming the door close before you could squeeze your fingers in its way.

You’d rather have a broken finger than suffer this ordeal again if you were honest.

“No!” you screamed at the top of your lungs, knowing it was futile since no one else was around. Still, a part of you hoped that you might be able to intimidate Bakugou to think this over. “Shut. Up,” was his angry reply, his fist hammering into the locker door with every word. You had to fear he might actually break through the door by force, but it would have been in your favor.

It was so damn frustrating. You always thought you had done something to Bakugou, apologized over and over to him, so maybe he’d stop his bullying. But after finally talking to someone about it, you had decided that you wouldn’t engage with him anymore, and well... it just so happened you found comfort in the arms of the new student who finally treated you well as the only person ever since you came to UA. Everyone had always been too scared of Bakugou once he started targeting you. Of course, you couldn’t blame them either...

You and the new student started to hang out at any time, so you could avoid being targeted, and you spent some of the most wonderful hours by his side. The bullying did seem to stop now that a witness was always around, and you were so sure it was finally over, and you could move on. What could have caused Bakugou to explode the way he did? Not only did he punch your new boyfriend - and possibly broke his nose - no, he also carried you off without permission, bringing you to your most hated place on planet earth.

The annex had always been sparsely visited by students and teachers alike. There were just some clubrooms around, but since it was already late in the afternoon and a sunny day, most members were out in the fields or back in the dorms already. But strangely enough, even the weirdo Bakugou had a locker here; one big enough to fit a person in it.

“You can’t-- Ah, damnit, Bakugou! Stop locking me in this damn locker! It’s not funny anymore! What did I ever do to you?!”

Perhaps you were feeling especially feisty that day. You never had screamed at him like this, except if you were pleading for mercy. But ever since your boyfriend convinced you to see the guidance counselor, you had started to come out of your shell. Everything had been so good. Why was it coming back to bite you in the ass now?

Bakugou didn’t respond. No mocking comment, no snide remarks. Not even threats or insults belittling you, even as you started hammering your fists against the door. Out of experience, you knew someone would come. You were sure your boyfriend already contacted the teachers and people were searching for you, and latest when someone passed by, you could reach out and ask for help. But were you really going to fall back into old behavior and just sit it out? Wait for the time to pass and life to go on like before?

“... like you,” you suddenly heard from outside, a tiny voice compared to the usual boom and vibrato that Bakugou had. “What?!” you hissed, annoyed that once ‘his majesty’ decided to talk, he did it so you couldn’t understand. A long groan escaped him, furious and raging. “Just listen, you idiot! I said I like you!”

This time, the ‘What’ echoing in your head was left silent. Your mouth hung open as you stared at the blonde tuft of hair through the slits in the locker, Bakugou standing there with his back turned towards you. “... the fuck...” you finished your thought, accidentally saying it out loud and quickly realizing it, but it was already too late.

“What’s your problem,” Bakugou grumbled, annoyed, and part of you was glad not being able to see his face. You wouldn’t have known how to come to terms with him blushing or nervously fidgeting around like someone who just confessed usually would. “Just tell me what your fucking answer is.”

“No,” you replied instantly, without even a moment of hesitation. Perhaps it would have been a good idea to think it over before blurting it out but never. You could never imagine yourself at the side of your bully, the person who made your life a living hell. Someone who’d lock you in a locker to confess to you. What kind of joke was this?

“No?” he mumbled, suddenly turning around, you two staring eye to eye through the slits. “What do you mean ‘no’?!”

“Is this a joke?!” you barked back. “Tell me it’s a joke, ’cause there’s no way I could be together with you!”

Bakugou opened his mouth to say something, but instead, his eyes only grew redder, expression growing mad and furious, and you heard the unexpected crashing of fists against the metal, making you flinch back. The whole situation seemed so surreal, but it was very, very real. Standing up for yourself made you feel strong, but when uncomfortable silence befell you two, you started to overthink again.

“Bakugou...” you mumbled, placing your hand against the door. You were back to only seeing his hair, but you knew he was leaning forward, probably starring daggers into the ground. Maybe not everything was too late. Perhaps you could fix this, appeal to him one more time. “Just let me out, okay? You and I... that doesn’t work, but we can stop being children and scream at each other and just go our separate ways.”

You couldn’t think of a better way to talk to him. After all, you couldn’t understand what was going on inside of him at all. He had been bullying for god-knows-how-long, yet, he thought he liked you? Couldn’t he see the contradiction in his statement and actions? But this cruelty had to end at some point and now was as good as any. Going different ways would help him too, you were sure.

“Children?” he whispered, finally snapping upwards again to stare at you with a mocking expression. “Do you think my feelings aren’t real?”

Weirded out by his behavior, you only shook your head.

“I don’t think you know your position in this. There is no ‘no’ when I ask you if you like me.”

“Bakugou...”

“It’s that guy, isn’t it? He’s in the way, right? He’s been stealing you from me, taking up all your time that you should spend with me, isn’t he?”

“Bakugou, please, we’re never spending time together--”

“He’s making you say no because you’re guilty, am I right? I can take care of that, you know?”

“Wait!” you interrupted his speech, sudden panic rising inside of you. You were well aware of Bakugou’s strength, but attacking your boyfriend wouldn’t make any of you happy! “If you go, I’ll scream! They’ll find me, and I’ll tell them what you’re doing! That’s criminal! Aren’t you studying to be a hero?!”

Your appeals were met with a cocky grin, his eyes shining as if you just challenged him. “Who says I can’t be a hero and still beat the shit out of that bastard?”

“Everyone! Everyone will know what they did! I will tell them!”

“Try it,” he hissed before pushing away from the locker. You threw yourself against it, but the door must have jammed when he kept bashing into it. Slapping your palm and hammering your fists didn’t help as you had to watch him walk away after looking at you in this typical, belittling way he used, always looking down on you. “You can have some time to think about your answer while I’m taking care of some business. Remember what day it is?” Bakugou yelled back over his shoulder, and you could hear the smug grin on his lips.

“What day...? Friday?” Your eyes widened suddenly as you realized that there were no clubs on the weekend due to the new regulations for safety, and you began to panic and scream Bakugou’s name after him. If you’d just have to spend the night, that would be manageable, but with the strange mood he was in, you couldn’t bring yourself to trust him to come let you out anytime soon. A whole weekend inside the locker would kill you for sure, and tears rolled down your cheeks as his footsteps slowly faded.

What a monster.

How could you ever like him back?

What more would you have to endure because of him?

But truth be told, what else could you do but tell him you liked him? You just wanted to get out of the hell that was this locker. Save yourself from the embarrassment and torture.

"I like you! Bakugou, I like you!" you screamed.

But the footsteps didn't come running back.

[cmtwimagines]

Hidden Love

EMILY PRENTISS X READER

SUMMARY: You were relatively good at hiding your feelings, until the one you were hiding your feelings from gets in a sticky situation.

WARNINGS: Season 3, Episode 2 spoilers, but nothing triggering!

WORD COUNT: 3.4k

PROMPT: Can I get a Prentiss x reader where Prentiss is in danger and reader like pushes her out of the way or something without thinking and gets hurt and then angst ensues ending with a feelings reveal and fluff I guess?

The team was growing desperate during this case. The unsub had managed to already kill four women, and we knew as much that he already had a new victim. Your brains wracked trying to figure out the connection between the victims, seeing if you could figure out where he’s grabbing them from. A policeman walked into the room we were in, letting us know that another lady had been taken.

“What do we know?” Derek asks him.

“Her name was Claire Thompson. Her husband tried to reach her on the cell phone, and when she didn’t pick up, he drove to the department store. Her car’s in the parking lot, but she’s not inside,” The policeman filled you all in, letting us know that the husband was in the other room. Spencer grabbed J.J. and the two of them left the room, going to talk with the husband to see if they can figure anything out with what he knows.

“I had the department store uplink the security footage to you analyst in Quantico,” He finished. Hotch nodded at him, dismissing him before we all turned to each other, knowing we’re one step closer to figuring things out. Derek quickly called up Garcia, hoping she had found something on the tape that would be useful.

“Hey baby girl, tell me something I want to hear,” he speaks, getting a small chuckle out of me and a weird look from the chief of police we were working with. She clearly said something flirty back by Derek’s reaction, before he got a bit more serious.

“Did you locate the missing girl on the security footage?” he asks. Within seconds, footage was pulled up on the computer in front of us. We all studied what was going on within it, looking for any minor things that would help us get closer to finding the unsub.

“She doesn’t seem to be on anyone’s radar,” Spencer inputs.

“Look,” Derek speaks up, “Who’s the kid?” We watch as a kid approaches her, concluding that the lady only has a two-year-old daughter and not what looks to be a ten-year-old boy. The boy looked to be lost and asking her for help.

“Garcia, this all you got?” Derek asks into the speaker phone.

“That’s it, and then they turned down a hallway without any security cameras and we lose them.”

While the chief of police thought maybe the kid was genuinely a missing kid, Hotch was quick to jump in saying he believed that the kid was not a missing child, and instead a kid that’s doing whatever necessary to please his father.

“All the abductions and disposals have been timed around school. I thought the unsub might work in the system, but what if this guy is actually using his own son to lure his victims?” he questioned. We were all silent after that, letting the information sit in. It would make sense and with the physical footage of it happening, it sort of put the pieces together. 

After figuring out the abduction and dumping grounds, on top of what kind of vehicle the unsub might be driving, the team set out different ways to try and catch this guy. You’d noticed Emily hadn’t been too vocal throughout any of this, and all you wanted to do was ask if she was alright but you knew now wasn’t the time. 

“Alright, tell me if I’m in the wrong here, but we’re not getting anywhere focusing on the unsub, maybe we should try focusing on the son?” J.J. inputted, “If he really is using his son, wouldn’t the trauma manifest more clearly on the boy?” 

You were quick to call up Garcia after bringing up to the team that you may need a list of all the children in area that we’re targeting.

“Talk dirty to me,” she answers, and for some reason you couldn’t help the flush that ran through your face. Emily smirked at your red exterior, everyone else finding it just as funny.

“Garcia, I need a list of every grade school in the third ward and Wauwatosa,” you requested. You could hear her typing in the background while telling you all that the third ward has one public grade school, but four private schools that draw from that area. In Wauwatosa, there were nine public schools and 3,200 students.

“Can you also get me a list of every guidance counselor that deals directly with the student body in that area?” She agreed, saying she would send it over as soon as possible, both of you hanging up your phones, “We need to present these counselors with the profile of the troubled kid,” you determined. You all split up after that. Hotch and Derek went with each other, J.J and Spencer went with each other, leaving you and Emily to be partners in literal crime.

“You know you’re really cute when you blush,” she compliments you out of nowhere as you walked from your car to the current elementary school that you were at. You couldn’t help but blush again at the compliment, making her laugh a bit as she held the door open for you to walk in. You thanked her, not knowing whether you were thanking her for the compliment or for holding the door open.

You both quickly made your way to the guidance counselors office, flashing your badges at her and quickly beginning the question process.

As soon as you got back to the police station, it was made aware to everyone that there was a lot more work to do, considering the amount of kids that fit our profile. As much as your mind wanted to be fully on the case, it was also running wild at how closely you and Emily were sitting to each other. You’ve been trying to harbor a crush for her that formed just a few months into beginning to work with the BAU which was just over a year ago. You’d done well, not making any noticeable efforts or moves that would throw suspicion to anyone on the team that you were growing more and more in love with her. It was hard, to say the least. Every time she got hurt or would need to miss a case due to her own issues, you wanted to bail and only focus on her, but you couldn’t. Relationships were deeply frowned upon between coworkers, for obvious reasons. Almost like she could feel your constant gaze flashing between her and the case files in front of you, she turned her head and looked you in the eyes, sending you a questioning gaze.

“Are you alright?” she whispered out, leaning even closer to you to try and keep your conversation private. You nodded quickly, your cheeks burning at have been caught, insisting that you were just thinking.

“Claire Thompson has been found dead,” a policeman announced while peaking his head into the conference room we were in. All of your shoulders fell, feeling a bit defeated that you hadn’t figured the unsub out before he was able to kill her. He dumped her in an abandoned alley surrounded by trash and overgrown weeds, her heart carved out like the rest of the victims.

“This is a different area than the dumpsites of the other victims, isn’t it?” Emily questioned.

“He’s getting smart. He knows where all our manpower will be so he’s changing locations.” Spencer offers up.

“Well how long before he changes when and where he abducts them?” Morgan comments, obviously asking a rhetorical question that none of you would be able to answer.

You all quickly made your way back to the station as Spencer began to map out all the abductions and dumpsites. It was determined that where the bodies had ended up, the unsub needed to know the area pretty well, because they sure as hell didn’t end up where they did by accident.

“So we go back to the schools, we eliminate the third ward, and we target problem kids whose fathers have held blue-collar jobs over the last ten years,” Hotch spoke up. Spencer was quick to cut in, letting you know what he was thinking.

“What if it’s not a problem child? Sometimes when a parent is unstable, especially if the other ones out of the picture, you’ll do anything to be the perfect child.”

“Like help your father abduct women?” Emily asked with a frown on her face.

“They’re never late for school. Even with the abductions, the disposals of the bodies, it’s always timed perfectly so the kid will be on time to school. I don’t think the killer would care, I think the kid would.” You thought about what he was saying. It was true that someone as out of control as our unsub was, he wouldn’t care about schedules, but if the kid was trying to please his parent in any way, he sure as hell would care. You instinctually looked at Emily to see what she was thinking, just to find her already looking your way. You nodded at each other, understanding that you were thinking the same thing.

Before you knew it, you and Emily were at one of the Elementary schools that the unsubs child could be attending, and you were back sitting in the counselor’s office.

“He’s a kid that’s a model student,” You start off the profile to the lady.

“Not just straight A’s, though. It’s someone who tries to please in a way that teachers have probably talked about.” Emily offered up.

After a bit more profile description you were given one name, David Smith. A kid with just his dad in the picture due to his mom leaving after the dad was diagnosed with a terminal illness. It explained the anger the father might hold, and the need for David to feel he needs to prove himself to please his dad. You both quickly thanked her, calling the team and filling them in before calling Garcia and asking for an address. You were close to their house already, and didn’t hesitate to make your way over there. The team were, if anything, only ten to fifteen minutes away from you so back up was on its way.

“We need to go in right away. You stay back and I’ll go in, okay?” Emily ordered off. You stumbled on your words, hating her plan. She was willingly going to go in the house by herself when you both know just how angry and temperamental the dad is?

“Are you crazy, Em? I’m not letting you go in there by yourself.” You bark back. You couldn’t help but hold your breath at the feeling of one of her hands caressing your face, thrown off a bit at the feeling of her skin on yours.

“I’ll be fine, I have a plan, and we know he already has a victim so he’ll be distracted. Please trust me on this.” You nodded, not even thinking about what you just agreed to, only being able to focus on the feeling of her hand on your face and the coldness that swept over your cheek once it was gone. 

“I’ll give you a signal the second I have probable cause for you and the rest of the team to enter the house, but until then I need you to just keep the perimeter secured,” she ordered. The feeling in your gut made a wave of nausea float throughout your body, but you hid it and simply nodded, “I’ll be fine, y/n.”

Before you knew it, Emily was knocking on the unsubs front door and you saw the boy in the security footage answer it. You both knew that the father and his current victim were most likely in a secluded room where none of the neighbors would be able to hear any screaming or calls out. Your heart rate sped up as the door closed behind Emily, and you couldn’t help yourself from getting closer to the house to look through the windows, keeping an eye on her no matter what. 

The team still wasn’t here and your nerves were going crazy. The second you lost sight of her as she walked down a different hallway, you couldn’t stand it anymore. You quietly made it to the front door, opening it and closing it behind you. You saw the boy sitting in one of the living room chairs, watching tv. You snuck behind him and followed the hallway that you last saw Emily walking down. There was only one door slightly open, and peeking through you could see her sneaking down the staircase. You could also see the wide eyes of the victim as she shook her head no at Emily, like she knew something neither of you did. You quickly stormed in behind her, just in time to see the unsub leap at her. Without thinking, you threw yourself on him, both of you toppling onto the concrete. The feeling knocked the wind out of you, and he gained control, able to land a hard hit to your face. Emily quickly got control of the situation before anything more could happen, and your unsub was in handcuffs with a shot to the foot quicker than you had time to fully gain your breath back. With Emily’s focus being on the unsub, you finally gained the strength to stand up and begin to untie the victim. You still felt a bit dizzy, but knowing you had saved Emily from a harsh attack made you feel better.

The rest of the team barged through the door just then, relieved to see both you and Emily were fine, grabbing the unsub and pulling him outside. You let yourself fully grasp the situation that just happened as Spencer consoled the victim and lead her outside too.

“y/n, what the fuck was that?” Emily asked, clearly distraught, “You were supposed to stay outside and wait for backup!” 

“Em, he was about to attack you!” you exclaimed, upset that she was mad at you, “what would have happened then if I hadn’t have come inside? You would’ve been on your own and hurt with a distraught murderer!” just the thought made you wince. Things could’ve turned out way worse than they did. Instead of Emily being harshly attacked, you were just left with a bruise on your cheek and a small backache.

“I hate that you did that. I hate that you didn’t follow my instructions,” she expressed, coming up to you and gently tracing the redness on your cheek from the punch.

“I couldn’t stand the thought of you getting hurt, Em,” you whispered out, “I’ve already had to watch for close to a year, a fair share of times where you’ve gotten hurt and every single time it’s like a chunk of my soul chips away. I hate seeing you hurt, especially if there’s something I could’ve done to prevent it,” you admitted. By the look on her face, you could tell she was still upset, but taking your words to heart. Before you knew what you were doing, you leaned forward a bit, kissing her quickly before backing away and instantly regretting your actions. She was surprised to say the least, but your heart was beating out of your chest. Why did you do that? It was almost like your body fully acted out without consoling your mind. It was truly a heart over mind situation.

“Fuck, I’m sorry Em,” you whispered, quickly backing away and heading back out to the SUV you both came in. The team had tried to ask you questions, but you couldn’t fathom talking to anyone at the moment. By the look on your face and your ability to walk past them without acknowledging your questions, they could obviously tell something was wrong. You looked back towards the front door of the house just in time from Emily to walk out, her face staying neutral as she answered all the questions that you were probably asked to begin with. 

Your heart ached thinking about how she looked after you kissed her. She didn’t necessarily look upset, but more surprised and distraught. Have you ruined everything now? Is she mad at you? Is this going to make things awkward now? It was ten minutes later when the drivers’ door opened, and you fully expected it to be one of the other team members, but sucked in a breath at the sight of her settling into the seat and closing the door. 

“Are we going to talk about what happened?” she asked, not even a tremor in her voice.

“I’m sorry, Em. My emotions just got ahold of me and I acted without thinking,” you admitted, your eyes filling up with tears as you thought of the repercussions you could face. You jumped a bit at the feeling of her hand on your thigh, getting your attention to turn back to her as she looked at you with soft eyes.

“I like you, y/n. Believe me when I say that. I have liked you for months now, and I’m nowhere near upset that you kissed me, I was just surprised,” she said. Your eyes grew wide at the confession, your heart doing a happy skip as you took in her words.

“Really?” you asked, still unable to believe that any of this was actually happening. A small smile crossed her face as she took the lead this time, leaning in and kissing you, but with more intention this time. You separated and could feel the blood rush to your face for the thousandth time today, a small smile gracing both of your faces. 

“So what does this mean?” you asked, the worry growing a bit when you thought of the grand plan of how your relationship would work.

“I may have had to tell the team what happened due to them seeing you as distraught as you were,” she whispered, still gently holding your face in place so you wouldn’t look away. You scrunched your face up at the sound of that, “Hotch said it took us long enough to realize we both liked each other.”

Your eyes grew wide as a laugh escaped her mouth. They had known? You thought you did such a good job at hiding your feelings!

“I say we can talk about details later, maybe over dinner?” she asks. This time you couldn’t hold the large smile from forming on your face as you frantically nodded your head.

“I’d love that,” you whispered out. You regretted wasting all the months not telling her how you felt, but now that you know it’s mutual and there’s a large potential of being in the relationship that you’ve wanted so badly, you’re thankful that you hadn’t listened to Emily’s orders earlier or you wouldn’t have all of this. You were finally able to express your feelings and having her express hers back was a surreal thing. Your mind settled, along with your body as you both buckled up and she began to drive back to the station so you could grab your things and head back to the jet to get home. You smiled the whole way, excited for what was about to happen. You were finally going on a long-awaited date with the woman you loved, and you couldn’t be any happier.

[thegeminisage]

teen wolf anon here!!! sorry it took so long for me to watch the episode, this week has been crazy. so sorry to hear about all the bad times with your car :/ but you fixed it!! and now hopefully derek hale will return tonight in a not shitty way. brett is gonna die right? thats his name right the werewolf that the guidance counselor shot? maybe I’m just bitter but like i don’t care about these characters?? i just want the mains to have more airtime??? ahh theres gerard! I think Id enjoy him more

if they didn’t have this guidance counselor with him. just because its too late to introduce new characters you know? just have gerard be the big bad on his own i know you like the dynamic of him teaching her the ropes but like this isnt a “there are 10 episodes left” storyline ahh mason is he gonna be something too? or is he just traumatized? if he is its about time they deal with these kids seeing all these horrible things. ok scott asking how she knows its bretts blood is dumb bc SCENT

melissa continues to be the best and bravest loml. man theyre really pushing the gross out factor arent they? between this and the spiders just blargh LYDIA MY DARLING is she going to be in more than two minutes this episode? this season does not have enough lydia or scott and i am so sad about it scott making decisions & getting ignored :/ lol @ this product placement im still sad that melissa isnt getting with the sheriff but there is something poetic about allison and scott's parents 2gether

who are these kids in the library i dont care about them?? wheres danny why are there so many randos and danny is gone. where is kira. why does jeff davis hate me personally. also im sorry but brett's sister is not a good actress? also why isnt scott doing his alpha howl why is liam doing his? MELISSA MCALL, THE LEGEND THE HERO. wtf why is scott getting hurt why are they going to leave him there why is bretts sister so dumb LISTEN TO THE ALPHA IT IS SCOTT this is infuriating.

im glad to see gerard is as extra as ever his delivery is hilarious. i DONT CARE ABOUT THESE KIDS IN THE LIBRARY? cant they just mind their own business why cant they have brought danny and kira back instead of these random white boys what thE FUCK. alpha scott mccall figuring things out with malia is giving me emotions tbh. this dude not drooling over lydia talking to him is the most unrealistic thing. liam buddy what r u doing. lol to hunt. them. ALL.

FUCK OFF THIS CALL BACK TO ALLISONS DEATH? NO? ITS OKAY?? GOOD GOD WHAT THE FUCK. yeah i think its time to call stiles back malia, ok this is really cute im getting on board with malia and scott even tho its getting shoehorned in and KIRA SHOULD BE BACK AND MALIA SHOULD BE GOING TO FRANCE TO KISS SOME FRENCH DUDES AND ALSO MAYBE ISAAC? melissa mcall still the love of my life this is also growing on me they are so awkward its endearing is it just bc she has chemistry with everyone is that it

laurie is dumb and causes brett to die was predictable. is liam gonna get murdered too!? why arent they killing him i dont get it theyre right there? or are the people in the car just randos? oh i see gerard is turning beacon hills against the supernatural kids and stuff. ok. idk liam maybe dont keep howling at these people? idk how i feel about this.

tbh i was sad about brett and lori like out of the new characters i liked them the most - i tend to attach myself to dumb bg characters, see @cambionverse for proof - but it's weird because when they show up too much they become like the new kids, and i don't care as much, i like the VERY background characters if that makes sense? and yeah liam's not being very subtle this season lol

also i know im frankly so glad that they're finally addressing the like...fucking trauma these poor kids go through i hope it plays in to them fighting their own demons bc that would be ABSOLUTELY sick

my feelings re: melissa and argent is like...i prefer her with the sheriff, and i didn't like that they dumbed her character down at first to make it happen, but i like to see him happy, and her happy, and it IS kind of poetic, it works well with him being one of scott's like father figures now, so i'm ok with it. teen wolf is one of those shows where i can easily ship 1000000 different things yk?

[mkkhaikyuu]

Autumn Skies: Chapter 2

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Autumn Skies - Chapter 2

The Beginning (Part 2)

Warnings: some swearing, anime and manga spoilers, possible nsfw 

Genre: angst, fluff, romance and comedy, smau

Word count: 2.9k words

•°O°• Flashback continues •°O°• 

The days grew shorter as November started to roll in around the corner. Leaves of scarlet and gold fluttered to the school grounds and made crunching sounds beneath your feet as you ran off towards the gym. You should have already been at practice about an hour ago, but the meeting you had with the school’s guidance counselor went on longer than you had expected.

The entrance to the gym comes into view, and you paused right outside, bent forward and clutching at your knees, panting. As soon as you managed to calm the racing of your heart and get some air back into your lungs, you walked in. The team momentarily paused their drills to look over and shout greetings to you to which you merely responded with a nod.

You have never been late to practice before so this rare occurrence had some of the boys wondering what held you up. After all, as the manager, you always made it a point to set the best example for the team. You didn’t even have the time to change into your gym clothes. You apologized profusely to coach Nekomata, knowing how crucial these practice sessions were going to be for the upcoming tournament. Fortunately, he let you off the hook easily, or so you thought.

Over the past several weeks, the team has been really busy preparing for Tokyo’s Spring Interhigh Qualifiers which would take place in mid-November, and most of your weekends since then ended up being spent at the school gym. The boys were determined to snatch the chance to play at the national tournament in January next year and so, practice sessions have been longer and more grueling than usual. You and Kuroo haven’t had a proper conversation in a while – what with the both of you being so busy with things besides preparations for the tournament. He devoted his free time to Hana, while you… you had bigger things to do.

You halfheartedly watched as the team went over their drills. You deliberately tried not to look in Kuroo’s direction unless you had to. He was supervising the team’s training a little ways away to the side, occasionally yelling at Lev to get his blocking right.

Your thoughts went back to the conversation you had with the guidance counselor earlier and sighed wearily.  You decided to distract yourself with your own work instead, finalizing some things you needed to get done for the tournament. It seemed to have worked for a little bit, at least.

“Alright, let’s call it a day!” Kuroo suddenly called out, clapping his hands together to get the team’s attention. You check the time and was surprised to see that it was almost 8 pm.

You all gathered around coach Nekomata as he remarks on the team’s performance and gave reminders for tomorrow’s practice. Your thoughts, however, were somewhere else, drowning out the coach’s voice. You don’t notice when he suddenly turns to look at you and asks “Y/n, is the paperwork for the tournament done?”

A few seconds passed, your mind processing his words as you look back at him blankly. Finally coming back to yourself, you blinked and answered, “Oh! Not yet, but I should be able to hand over the last bit of requirements to the coordinators tomorrow.” The old coach hummed and bobbed his head in satisfaction.

“Good to know. But the deadline is still two weeks away, so there’s no need for you to rush,” he smiled softly at you, something you noted was very uncharacteristic of him. “Is that why you were late today?”

The boys eye you curiously and you feel yourself shrink from all the unwanted attention. “W-well, no but –” you spluttered, then stopped to bow instead.

“I’m really sorry, it won’t happen again.”

Now you’ve done it – earning the coach’s ire. You cursed under your breath, expecting to receive a good scolding from the coach for the first time – and in front of the whole team, no less. Your thoughts came to a halt, and you stood back up when you heard him hum instead.

“No need to apologize, y/n,” he said. “We appreciate the things you do for the team but don’t overwork yourself. If you need time for yourself, you can say so.” 

Without missing a beat, he then proceeded to dismiss the team.

The boys had begun to disperse around you but your feet kept you glued to your spot. What was the coach trying to say? Were you too obvious? You don’t remember making any mistakes while on your duties except for your tardiness earlier. Were you not acting like yourself and was it affecting your performance?

“Hey, y/n.”

You looked over to see Kuroo approaching, your walls going up on instinct. He had taken your bag from the bench and you held out your hand to take the bag from him, muttering “Thanks,” under your breath, refusing to meet his eyes. Kenma soon appeared behind him.

“You hungry? We’re all going out to grab dinner. You should come with us,” he said, thumb pointing to the gym doors.

“Oh. I think I’ll pass,” you answered, a forced smile making its way to your face. Kuroo frowned.

“What? Come on, it’s already way past dinnertime and it’s dangerous for you to be walking home by yourself. Just come with us.”

Outside, the rest of the team had already gathered and were calling out to the three of you. Suddenly, Kuroo’s lips curved into a smirk, and before you realize what he’s doing, he had already taken your bag back from you and swung it on his shoulder. You tried to protest but he only laughed at you.

“Let’s go,” he finally said as he started walking out of the gym. 

You feel your heart flutter in your chest, warmth creeping into your face and the back of your neck, as the corners of your mouth threatened to erupt into a dopey smile – the complete opposite of the jumble of thoughts that have found its way into your head. Kenma’s face scrunched slightly in concern as he looks at you staring at Kuroo’s retreating form.

“If you want, we can go home now,” Kenma offered quietly beside you. You shake your head, mentally cursing yourself for the moment of weakness.

“He has my bag,” you told him resignedly.

You watched as a soft frown graced Kenma’s face under the dim light. Those who didn’t know him wouldn’t notice all the subtle shifts in his expressions, but you knew him well enough to know that under that layer of indifference, he was deeply concerned for his friends. You feel a little sorry for him, being caught in between and having to deal with you and your feelings for his other best friend.

“Thanks, Kenma, but I’ll be fine. Now, come on,” you gave the setter a reassuring smile and pulled him along.

•°O°•

You sat on the train, leaning your head back against the cool glass with your eyes closed. Your calm external demeanor was a far cry from the turmoil that was going on in your head. In your head, you had already body slammed yourself twenty times for your own stupidity – for reading the signs wrong and causing your own heartbreak.

Kuroo and Kenma sat across from you, talking about the game Kenma was playing. You ignored them.

Dinner with the team at a nearby yakiniku restaurant didn’t go so bad. The boys were too hungry, mouths too full to hold a proper conversation – except for Kenma whose appetite was as small as ever. You could tell the poor setter wanted to run away when Kuroo won’t stop shoving food his way, telling him he needed to eat more. You hadn’t felt like eating either, taking it upon yourself to grill the meat instead, and putting the cooked ones onto the boys’ plates. Kuroo had noticed and called you out on it, asking you why you weren’t eating, and without even waiting for an answer, he started filling up your plate with a variety of the food that was served. Time slowed down in that moment as the realization hit you.

With a sense of urgency, you thought back on all the moments you’ve had with Kuroo – the ones that had made you fall for him – sifting through your memory as if your life depended on it, and realized that you had inevitably led yourself on. You thought he did things like that because he liked you. Had all those actions just been out of pure concern for a friend? Seriously, was he just being kind? A memory flashed through your mind, one from the last training camp. The tall, blonde first year with the glasses from Karasuno had asked Kuroo why he was giving them blocking advice, knowing they were rival teams. Kuroo’s words rang loud and clear in your mind.

“I’ve always been this kind,” he had said.

OH.

You were a fool for deciding to put meaning behind his innocent actions – seeing feelings that weren’t actually there. You set yourself up for false hope and you had no one to blame but yourself. But then why did it seem like he was flirting with you every chance he could get? And when you flirted back, why did he seem to enjoy it? You weren’t a stranger to his teasing and provocative nature, but you were sure the two of you had already gone beyond friendly territory. Unless…you read the signs wrong and jumped to conclusions again?  

“By the way, Y/n, why were you late to practice?”

You opened your eyes, slightly annoyed at being interrupted from your thoughts and by the person you’re moping about no less.

“There was just something I needed to do, is all,” you muttered, eyes closing again.

“What was it?”

“Nothing important.”

“Then why were you late if it wasn’t important?”

“Can you stop?” you snapped, tone coming out harsher than you had intended. This time, you sat up straight, arms crossed over your chest, glaring at him. Why was he asking so many questions? Why does he even care?

He looked genuinely stunned, like he hadn’t expected you to react like that. You froze, limbs going slack as you looked back at him with an expression that was just as shocked. Your mind finally caught up to your words, but it was too late to take them back.

Warily, Kuroo asked, “Are you okay, y/n?”

Fuck.

His tone was so gentle, eyes so sincere, that you automatically found yourself cursing under your breath, drowning in guilt.

“I’m sorry. There’s just a lot going on in my mind right now and – I really didn’t mean to snap at you like that!” you spluttered.

Kenma stays quiet, pretending to focus on his game and pressing buttons randomly. In truth, he had actually paused his game in case the situation escalated, and he had to intervene, not wanting to lose his progress.

Kuroo opened his mouth to say something but stopped to fish out his phone that was vibrating in his pocket, then raised it to his ear.

“Hana?” he spoke in a quiet voice, mindful not to disturb others even though there were barely any passengers besides the three of you.

“I’m on the train with y/n and Kenma.”

“Yeah, babe. I’ll call you back later, okay?”

“Love you too, bye.”

By the time Kuroo turned his attention back to you, you had already arrived at your stop. The three of you got off and walked to your respective homes as the weight of the unfinished conversation you had with Kuroo hung heavily in the air.

•°O°•Fast forward•°O°•

You rolled your shoulders and stretched, sighing as the tension dissipated from your aching body. The tournament would take place tomorrow and you’d just finished baking a cake for Kuroo’s birthday. That’s right, the tournament was happening on the same day as his birthday. You could have easily bought a cake from the bakeshop but you decided you wanted it to be more special for him – and you also hoped it would double as a peace offering for that one time you snapped at him even though you had apologized for it already.  

Now that you’ve finished putting the kitchen back in order, it was time to settle down for the night. You sneaked under the covers of your bed and fell asleep.

•°O°•

That morning, Nekoma lost to Fukurodani. Your team had almost won but Bokuto’s strength managed to overwhelm your defense, and Fukurodani ended up taking both sets.

Tokyo was a big city so there would normally be two teams representing it at the nationals. However, since Tokyo will be the host in next year’s Spring High National Tournament, a third slot was available to represent the city. The first two slots were already claimed by Itachiyama and Fukurodani. Now you can only hope that your team could claim the last one. They had one last game later in the afternoon against Nohebi.

Coming back from the washroom after having lunch, you meet familiar faces in the hallway.

“Hey, hey, hey! If it isn’t Nekoma’s manager!”

Bokuto ran up to you, lifting you up and spinning you around. You laughed at his antics, his boisterous energy effectively dissolving the nerves that were just threatening to swallow you up. After he gently set you down, you said hi to Akaashi, congratulating them for winning the game that morning. In the middle of your catching up with each other, something caught Bokuto’s attention and you watched as he called out to Kuroo and Hana passing by.

“Hey! Kuroo, bro! You’d better win against Nohebi later!” he laughed.

The couple went over to you, hand in hand.

“Ooh! Who is she? Your girlfriend?” Bokuto asks.

“Yeah, this is Hana.” Kuroo introduced Hana and your two friends from Fukurodani to each other.

“Oh, nice to meet you, Hana!” Bokuto said, before going back to Kuroo.

“But I thought y/n was your girlfriend,” Bokuto said with a laugh, “guess I was wrong!”

Akaashi frowned at that, making a mental note to hit Bokuto’s head later. Meanwhile, Kuroo laughed like a hyena and you forced a laugh yourself, avoiding Hana’s eyes.

“We’re just friends, Bokuto. I don’t know what gave you the impression that we were together,” Kuroo said. You nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, we’re just friends,” you confirmed.

“But I swear you two look and act like a couple someti-“ Akaashi cut off what Bokuto was about to say, as he swiftly came up with an excuse to leave.

Dragging Bokuto away from the scene, Akaashi yelled, “Good luck on your game later! Let’s see each other at the nationals!”

“But Akaashiii! OH, this means I’m free to ask y/n out!” was the last thing you heard Bokuto say before the two turned the corner and disappeared from view.

“So, anyway, I have to go see coach,” you managed to say before you too scurried away from the scene, not wanting to deal with the tension that had developed.

•°O°•

Later that afternoon, Nekoma manages to win against Nohebi. It was a close fight – Nohebi being a cunning team that had dirty tricks up their sleeves – but your first years exceeded your expectations as they proved themselves on the court.

Legs shaking, you rose from the bench, processing the fact that your team won. You did it. You guys were heading to nationals. Everything slowed down around you. You wanted to run to someone – to Kuroo. You wanted to jump into his arms, pull his body to yours and whisper sweet praises into his ears. But you could only watch as Hana and Kuroo ran up to each other, locking themselves in a tight embrace before their lips come together for a kiss.

A bitter smile pulls at your lips, and you turned away from the scene, having seen enough of it to haunt your memory for the days to come. You willed yourself to breathe through the tears that were starting to blur your vision and the tightness that was coiling at your throat. Making sure no one was watching, you discreetly wiped the tears away before they fell down your cheeks.

While waiting for the awarding ceremony, you went out to the gym entrance to meet your friend, Amari. She lived in an apartment nearby so you had asked her if she could keep the cake you baked fresh until after the team was done playing. You baked an extra cake for her, too.

After the ceremony, you were supposed to go out with the team for dinner to celebrate – the coaches’ treat. But you weren’t sure you’d be able to sit through dinner with Kuroo and Hana after what you saw earlier. So as the team was heading off to the bus, you told coach Nekomata that you weren’t coming because you needed to go somewhere.

“Where do you need to go? We could drop you off if it’s along the way,” he said.

“Oh, you don’t have to. I can just walk there, but thanks, coach.”

“Hmm. Alright. Take care of yourself, y/n.”

“Y/n, you’re not coming?” Kuroo had gotten off the bus, “but it’s my birthday and we won!”

He playfully pouted at you so you pinched his side.

“Like I’d forget?” you pulled out the box of cake from the paper bag you hid it in. ”Here, take this. I baked this for you. Happy birthday, Kuroo!”

You smiled up at him before turning to wave to the other boys inside the bus who were protesting your departure. You didn’t wait to see or listen to Kuroo’s reaction.

“Kuroo! Don’t let her leave!” you heard Yamamoto and Lev cry out, pressing their faces against the window. You started walking away, shaking your head at how loud the boys were screaming your name and begging you to join the team dinner.

Previous | Chapter 2 | Next | Masterlist

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💖taglist: @elianetsantana @literaleftist  @yeehawslap @starry-magicshop @atsunflower @saturnfarie @sakurahoshizora @kellyyween @donica95 @kyomihann​

a/n: This chapter was really hard to write because of how I set up chapter 1 lol. I’m not too happy with it but I hope it turned out okay. The next chapters will finally be set in the present so it probably won’t be as lengthy as this. And some things you might be confused by will be explained in the next chapters.

Disclaimer: Kuroo Tetsurou, Haikyu!! and other Haikyu!! characters belong to Haruichi Furudate.

[bnhablessings]

Hi! Can you do a headcanon of Aizawa, Kirishima and Midoriya’s reaction when they find out their fem s/o (student for Aizawa, but him being more like a dad and not his lover ? If it’s okay ?) has a quirk similar to Tokoyami (she has a monster that came from her back) that laughs at her, always puts her down and is really mean with her ? Knowing she lives with it since she’s a child ? Thank you so much if you do this !!! I love your blogs so much! keep the good work !

I’m so glad you like my work so far! Anyway, it’s on the short side but here you go Hon! I would apologize for being late but my whole existence is just late

I don’t think I really put any she/her pronouns in this so it can come off as gn/nb!

Warnings: A bit angsty, fluff

Aizawa Shouta (Dadzawa)-

At first, he thought this was good

Until he met and heard your very lively quirk

He became very concerned since you didn’t have much control over it

Still thinks that your quirk has potential but it’s a big risk to you mentally

He will take time to help you train and work on you quirk

Since it’s like Tokoyami’s he may pair you up from time to time

He’ll come up with a few plans to see what would be the best way to control your quirk

Will make you see Inui Ryō, the Lifestyle Guidance counselor

May have you say positive things about yourself daily

Will have you experiment with positive and negative words toward the monster

Eventually, it will work because if it doesn’t you wouldn’t be able to proceed with his course

But-

He’ll still be worried and check up on you from time to time

He’s lowkey really hovering whenever you go into battles or train

Kirishima Eijirou-

Honestly, he wouldn’t believe your own quirk was mean to you until he saw it

Once he sees it he’s absolutely heartbroken

You had to deal with that since childhood???

Poor baby will cry manly tears

He’s not quite sure how to help so he’ll just become more affectionate with you

Will definitely say ‘I love you’ more than usual

Will try and get you to work out and train with him so he’ll get in a positive mindset for a while

You bet your butt that he’ll put your quirk in its place no one harms his cutie without getting away with it

He’ll try and get some tips from Tokoyami or confide in a teacher of his worry for you

Overall, the boy is too sweet and would worry endlessly about it

Midoriya Izuku-

He cries all the time when he sees your quirk being mean to you

If your quirk is activated and says something bad about you once again, the crocodile tears appear but Izuku will come to your defense in a heartbeat

He will cling onto you and your quirk and make you both makeup somehow

Dedicates too many journals about you and your quirk in an effort to see why the heck it’s so mean to you

Because he’s friends with Tokyami, the other boy would be friends with you and the two would constantly try to help you

Dark Shadow and your quirk do not get along but Dark Shadow will try and help the best he can

Since he has a bunch of journals already he would be the cheesy type to write many good things about you that he absolutely loves and even about your quirk so you can feel better about it

[thestarwrites]

All Right, All Might: Ch 12

Word Count: 6,200

Rating: PG

Painting: Toshinori Yagi X FemOC

THIS IS A LONG ONE, FOLKS! at 6,200 words! Because Patho is not participating in the Sports Festival and it is mostly passive watching, I am going to try to get through the whole shabang in two chapters!

———————————— CHAPTER TWELVE: THE UA SPORTS FESTIVAL!

Part One...

“Where’s your girlfriend, All Might?” Nemuri purred softly as she leaned over to the lithe form of Toshinori where they all sat in the teachers box, waiting for the first year competition to start.

“Nemuri,” he blushed, “Aren’t you the Chief Umpire? Shouldn’t you be down there.”

Giggling she ran her whip over his shoulders, “I will be in a moment, now, where is that little darling you are seeing?”

Nezu looked over with a smile, “Yes, where is Miss Chairo?”

Toshinori blushed harder and cleared his throat, “I mean- I’m not her keeper,” he frowned and then spoke again, “Where do you think she is? She’s making the rounds with the kids, trying to help them to be steady and to calm their nerves… as if I could stop her from doing anything she was going to do.”

Aizawa grunted, “Stupid.”

“Why are you always so cruel to her, Aizawa?” All Might grunted, “She’s a great asset.”

“You’re just soft for her because you love her assets.”

All Might grunted, “Hey! That’s not true or fair,” he scowled, “She’s a great teacher and hero.”

“Listen. It’s like I told her a few weeks ago. She’s a second-rate support hero, and she’s coddling these children who won’t get that type of treatment in the field.”

His eyes widened, “You said that to her?”

“She didn’t run and be a little tattle tale?” He scoffed, “I really expected her to run and cry and tell you that I was mean to her.”


“No!” He glowered, “Aizawa, that’s a terrible thing to say to a coworker.”

“Truth hurts sometimes,” He shrugged, “I’m heading to the booth to sit with Mic. Have fun,” With that Aizawa turned and left, still mostly covered in bandages.

All Might sighed and rubbed his temples.

-----

“All the other courses, they’re coming for us with everything they’ve got,” Izuku grunted, “We’re all gonna have to fight to stand out. And I’ll be aiming for the top too.”

Shoto grunted, “Fine.”

“Tch.” Bakugo looked over his shoulder, staring daggers at Deku.

The door slid open once more, they were wondering who could be coming to see them at such a late hour before the start, when no one responded, she could feel more than the average worry or fear in the room, “Wow, the air is really tense in here!”

“Miss Chairo!” Kirishima grinned and stood up, glad someone was there to break up whatever was happening right now.

Izuku turned to look at her, “Miss Chairo, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with the other teachers?”

The woman chuckled softly, sending out pulses of calm energy into the room, “I’m sorry to save your group for almost last! But I had a lot of classes to visit this morning. I just came from 1-B those kids are… something.”

Some of the kids laughed, feeling a little better, “You visited EVERYONE?” Kaminari blinked.

“Of course, I did the same thing last year, I got a little caught up though, a boy named Tamaki almost threw up and passed out before he went out,” she gave a small smile, “Not that I think he’s doing any better this year but… we had some meetings last week to talk about it — ANYWAY, how are my favorites in class 1-A doing?”

“I’m a little nervous, Miss Chairo,” Mina squeaked.

“Well, first thing I want to tell you all is that you CAN call me Keri, you know. I’m not much older than you guys and I understand what its like going through all this.”

“Tch,” Rang out into the room, “No you don’t, loser. You didn’t go to UA.”

“BAKUGO! Not cool man! Thats so unmanly of you!” Kirishima chastised the blond, “I am SO sorry Miss Keri, he didn’t mean it!”

Keri laughed softly, “It’s okay, Eijiro. I meant I have experience talking to the teens last year, but thank you, Katsuki, no I did not. But I know that when I was in school, I watched the UA festival. So make sure you all do your best, and don’t be surprised when kids from other schools start to notice you.”

“Kids from other schools, oh god!” Miineta gasped, “I hope you mean girls!”

She chuckled, “Okay guys. I have to run and talk to 3-A quick, but you will all do great. No matter what place you come in, I am sure with how amazing you are, and the way you handled the USJ incident, that you will all get scouted for great internships. Just remember to breathe, and to be kind to yourself between games, hm? I’ll be watching!”

“Thanks Miss Keri!” Ururaka smiled.

She waved and left the room just as Kirishima was saying how manly she was to encourage them so well, before defending that being manly isn't reserved to being a man. Keri laughed and hurried down the halls to get to where the Big 3 of UA were awaiting their entrances.

Coming into the room she smiled, “Ah! I made it just in time!”

Mirio turned around and beamed, “Miss Keri! Hi! It’s really nice to see you before the big event!” He was the only one allowed to wear a stripped down version of his hero costume, since - he would be naked on live TV if he didn’t.

Nejire turned and gasped, “Hey!” The girl ran over to their guidance counselor and hugged her close, “I’m so happy you came to see us! Did you come to wish us luck!”

Keri hugged the girl back and smiled, “Yes of course I did, I’ve been running around like a lunatic trying to see how each class is doing, I just came from 1-A. Its tense in there.”

“Why wouldn’t it be tense…” rang out the shaky voice of Tamaki from the corner, “Everyones gonna be judging them so hard… after what happened at the USJ… Man I hope there aren’t villains watching…”

Mirio smirked, “Lighten up Tama!”

Keri smiled and went over to Tamaki, placing a hand on his back, her form glowing pink.

Nejire leaned over to the tall blonde and whispered, “I don’t think it’ll ever stop being neat that she glows pink.”

“Yeah!” Mirio whispered, “Like Tinkerbell!”

“Why do… do you waste your time on me, Miss Keri…. I… I never learn anything or… or get better…” he sighed softly, still anxious even though he visibly started to unclench all of his muscles.

She smiled warmly and turned his head to her, “You’re not a waste of time Tamaki, you’re just like a stubborn little cat, but you’ll get the hang of it eventually. I believe in you. I always have. And you have an incredible gift, Suneater.”

“I… Thank you…. Miss Keri… You’re too nice,” He sighed, “Definitely too nice to be talking to me…”

Chuckling she gently rubbed his back, “You’re going to do amazing today, Tama, don’t worry so much,” she pulled out something from her hoodie pocket, “Here, take this, its some electric eel - maybe you can get some of that electricity,” she smiled, “Smile, Tama,” she lifted his chin, “Don’t think about it. Get out of your head.”

“I- I’ll try…. Miss Keri… But…. But I’m probably just going to… to disappoint you,” he whimpered.

Smiling softly she rubbed his back a few more times, “You could not and would not ever disappoint me, Sunspot,” she smiled, “I’ll catch up with you after, okay?” He nodded, cheeks beet red, and she smiled, turning to the other two, “Okay guys! Show em’ what you’re made of!”

Once Patho left the room, with the festival about to start, Mirio smiled, “Man, she is just the nicest isn’t she?”

“Yeah!” Nejire smiled, “And she’s dating ALL MIGHT!” She swooned, “What a hunk…”

“H-hey! I thought I was a hunk!” Mirio whined.

Tamaki walked shakily over to his two friends and took a deep breath, “You know what… what I found out… about her….?”

The two looked over and blinked. It was a long moment before Nejire sighed, “Spit it out, Tama!”

He flinched and looked down, “You know how I…. I’m interning with…. With Fatgum?”

“Yeah…” Mirio looked at him.

Tamaki swallowed, “Keri and him… used to date when she was in college.”

“OH MY GOSH WHAT!” Nejire exclaimed.

Flinching from the outburst he nodded and wet his lips, “Yeah… he was telling me about her the other day. I mentioned…. Her or… something. I guess…. He dumped her…. He said he was a jerk about it…. He still… you know… feels bad… apparently….”

Mirio laughed a little, “Woah, I can’t believe it. They don’t seem like a good match at all, really… Also, Fatgum being a jerk? That’s weird.”

“HEEEEYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!! MAKE SOME NOISE YOU RABID SPORTS FANS…. GET THOSE CAMERAS PREPPED MEDIA HORDES… THIS YEAR WE’RE BRINGING YOU THE HOTTEST PERFORMANCES IN SPORTS FESTIVAL HISTORY GUARANTEED!”

“Oh heck! It’s about to start!” Mirio smiled, “You better eat whatever Miss Keri gave you, Tamaki!”

“O-oh yeah…” the boy started to eat, hands shaking.

“I’VE ONLY GOT ONE QUESTION BEFORE WE START THIS SHOW! ARE YOU READY!? LET ME HEAR YOU SCREAM AS OUR STUDENTS MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE BIG STAGE!!!”

Keri ran into the teachers box, out of breath as she smiled, “I made it just in time! I didn’t miss anything!”

Nezu looked over with a laugh, “I’m surprised you didn’t, Patho, you talked to what? All of our students today? Also… you aren’t in your hero uniform or dress clothes…”

She blushed, “Sorry sir…”

“No matter,” he sighed, “You never are in office wear so why would I start nagging now. Please, take your seat, its starting…”

“THIS FIRST GROUP ARE NO STRANGERS TO THE SPOTLIGHT, YOU KNOW THEM FROM WITHSTANDING A VILLAIN ATTACK! THE DAZZLING STUDENTS LIGHT UP YOUR TV WITH SOLID GOLD SKILLS. THE HERO COURSE CLASS 1-A!”

Moving to sit down, she mumbled, “At least I wear UA merch….” She took the empty seat next to All Might with a small smile, “Hi baby,” she moved to put her hand on his and gently ran her thumb over his large hand, “Hey… earth to Toshinori…?”

Looking over he took a breath, “Hey Sunflower - sorry, I’m just… nervous.”

“Don’t be nervous, honey, I just saw Izuku, he’s determined and he’s gonna be fine. He’ll make you proud.”

He nodded and moved to hold her hand gently, leaning into her, “You’re a wonder.”

“THEY HAVENTT BEEN GETTING NEARLY ENOUGH SCREEN TIME, BUT THEY ARE STILL CHOCKED FULL OF TALENT! WELCOME HERO COURSE 1-B!”

“Oh hush, you need to unclench yourself before you have a heart-attack Toshi, honey.”

He chuckled and nodded again, “You’re right. It’s out of my hands for now anyway.”

“NEXT UP, GENERAL STUDIES CLASSES C, D, AND E! SUPPORT CLASSES F, G, AND H! AND FINALLY BUSINESS COURSES I, J, AND K!”

“I just came from the Big Three,” she smiled.

“Oh yeah? I don’t know much about them except for Mirio Togeta. Remember I told you they wanted him to be my successor?”

She nodded, “Of course I remember,” Her fingers were deftly running over the skin of his wrist, “Mirio and Nejire are doing just fine, but Tamaki Amajiki is a wreck,” She sighed, “He and I have had counseling for the last two weeks about dealing with today. He is absolutely terrified. Last year he didn’t even compete he was so afraid.”

“He has an internship with Fatgum, doesn’t he?”

She nodded and took a deep breath, “Yeah, I’m going to have to speak with Taishiro about his insecurities and everything soon… I don’t really… want to.”

“Taishiro? You’re on first name terms with Fatgum? Why don’t you want to see him?”

“Shh! It’s starting,” she giggled a little and moved closer to him. Toshinori allowed himself to relax a little and throw his arm around her shoulders.

“SILENCE EVERYONE!” The sultry voice of Midnight cut through the speakers, “AND FOR THE STUDENT PLEDGE WE HAVE - KATSUKI BAKUGO!”

“ — Oh god,” Keri clenched her boyfriend’s hand, “Please… Please Katsuki say something not offensive. We talked about this,” she whispered.

“Maybe he’ll say something… uh - no he’s probably going to say something offensive,” All Might whispered to her, “Hun, you’re crushing my hand.”

“Sorry,” she tried to relax.

He leaned into the microphone and spoke in his even-keel voice, “I just wanna say, I’m gonna win.”

“Oh my god,” Keri slapped her forehead as the entire crowd booed, including the students. She watched as Bakugo descended the stairs cool as a cucumber.

“WITHOUT FURTHER ADO - ITS TIME FOR US TO GET STARTED…”

The obstacle course was fraught with dangers most of the first-year students have never faced before, but for class 1-A, they had already learned to fight. Even those students in 1-A without flashy quirks were in the leading pack. 1-B wasn’t far behind, but it was clear who was the probable Big 3 of the first years would turn out to be; Todoroki, Bakugo, Midoriya.

Keri looked around while Toshinori stood, clutching the edge of the box the teachers sat in with white knuckles. She could feel him practically vibrating with excitement and pride. A small smile graced her lips as she finally spotted who she was looking for - Enji Todoroki.

“HE WON!” Toshinori jumped up, as everyone stood to clap at the first place winner of the Obstacle Race. Keri stood to clap as well until the blonde picked her up and started spinning her around.

She laughed and yelped, “Toshi! Put me down!”

He did as instructed and the grin on his face was one unlike she had seen on him before. He felt complete watching his protege win and do as he asked - declare to the world that he was here now.

As the fanfare died down, the students filed in, and soon there were only stragglers remaining. The first 42 students to finish would be the ones advancing. Mostly all from 1-A and B, though there were some support course and general studies students as well.

Toshinori watched, giving a silent congratulations to young Izuku, and Keri walked up behind him, running a hand over his lower back, “Toshi, I’m going to take a look around.”

He turned from his daze and blinked, “Keri - you’re gonna miss the next event.”

“I wont miss it,” she laughed, “I’ll still be in the stadium. I want to check out what pros showed up. I feel like snooping,” wrinkling her nose she smiled, “Is that okay, Toshi?”

The older man chuckled, “Of course its okay, besides, you don’t need my permission.”

She smiled and took his hand, “Give me a kiss?”

He blushed and leaned down to her, kissing her lips softly, chaste enough for the setting, “Happy?”

“Always when I’m with you,” leaning up she pressed another kiss to his lips, “Don’t get into trouble while I’m gone now!”

Blinking he called out, “You’re the one who needs to stay out of trouble, Ree!” He took a deep breath and went back to his seat as Midnight began explaining how the Calvary Battle would work. He groaned to himself to know Midoriya had such a high point value on his head, but this is what he expected - he after all had been through three Sports Festivals in his day too.

Keri walked around, saying hello to some of the pros and parents she already knew. She didn’t stop long because she knew who she was looking for; Enji Todoroki.

The cavalry battle was well underway, and Keri had found Shoto’s father and standing a ways away from him, she took some time to watch some of the game now that she was on the lower levels. It was certainly harrowing. She’d always watched the festival growing up, and every year into her adulthood. She had only missed it a handful of times due to clinic hours and exam schedules. She couldn’t imagine having to compete like this.

As a support course student at Ketsubutsu Academy, she remembered her own first meeting with the kids from UA, going to take the provisional license exam in first year. She first met Aizawa there. He was taking the test again as a second year - him and Hizashi both. She also had met Fatgum for the first time there, he had flirted with her and it was the spark going forward when they met again later. She was too bashful and unsure of herself at the time to do anything but smile politely and hide in the crowd. It was so strange to see these kids who she had seen on television.

She never actually had passed the provisional license exams. Which was just as well, she was never really trying to. Already on the path to researching how to get into a hero college for Psychology / Support Training. Keri never intended to do any hero work until she had met with principal Nezu to discuss her joining the staff.

Keri remembered that day fondly;

“Well, I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve asked to meet with you a third time, Miss Chairo,” the calm voice of the principal sounded out.

The young woman nodded, “Of course, sir, I am both excited and afraid to be here.”

The man laughed, “Afraid?”

“Of rejection, I suppose.”

Chuckling, he took a sip of his tea, “Well good thing for you a rejection isn’t something you will be facing today. I would like to offer you the position officially as our first ever guidance councilor.”

“For real!? Oh my god are you serious, Principal Nezu, sir?!”

“Oh yes, quite,” he laughed, “Some of the other teachers are wary about hiring a woman who not only did not attend UA, but is also Twenty- Seven and has no Hero License.”

Her cheeks reddened, “Well, I was always too focused on my goal of becoming a licensed therapist. Besides, you’ve seen my quirk and it’s not fit for hero work, I can tell you that.”

He smiled, “And why not?”

“I’m not the strongest, I know how to fight well enough to defend myself - but I’m not fast either, all I can do is manipulate emotions, sir. I would be a liability on the field.” She looked down.

He let that hang in the air a moment before beginning, “You know what a liability is in the field for heroes? People who are panicking, people who are out of control or want to run into a burning building to save others, instead of letting the heroes and fire department handle it. People who need to have a sense of urgency to leave a building - or to evacuate an area calmly.”

“I… I don’t understand, sir.”

“What I’m saying is, no your quirk is not flashy, and you’re no fighter - but, your quirk is powerful enough for you to be a first rate support hero. Think of the possibilities for crowd control, victim aftercare, hero aftercare…”

“You… really think so, sir?”

Nezu nodded and smiled, “So, this is the condition for your employment. You work here for me and the school, and I will help you to get your Hero License before the start of your first term.”

“Of - of course, sir!”

“Well excellent. Welcome to the UA family, Keri.” He stood and crossed to shake her hand.

Keri shook it and beamed, “Its such an honor sir, thank you! Thank you so much! I will work the hardest I can to realize your goal of having a functioning and productive guidance office for the heroes of tomorrow! In fact - I’ll go beyond! Plus Ultra!” She smiled.

She was interrupted from her reminiscing when she saw something she wholly did not expect; Shoto Todoroki got cornered, and in his haste - used his Fire quirk. She blinked and shot an eye over to where she remembered Enji standing to see the hulking red-head smirk, arms crossed. The action turned her stomach.

Walking slowly over she hummed, “Hello again, Enji.”

He tensed, she could feel the anger wafting off of him, “You really have never had any respect, have you, little girl.”

“And obviously neither have you, Enji,” she punctuated her sentence with his name once more, “And the name is Keri, if you have actually forgotten it. I find people should be on first name terms with each other, it makes for a healthier working environment.”

“We don’t work together,” He responded flatly, never taking his eyes off the field.

Chuckling she leaned on the wall beside where he watched, “No but we do work concurrently.” He made a soft sound, “Your son is doing very well today,” she smiled, “He is a great kid.”

“He could have done much better in the obstacle course if he applied himself.”

She didn't look at him, “If he used his fire, you mean?”

Turning to look at the insignificant support hero beside him, he grunted, by her tone he could tell that she suspected something was going on with Shoto, something going on at their familial home that was untoward, “I don’t like your tone.”

“I suppose you wouldn’t. Not as the number two hero who prides on having a son who has both his parent’s quirks. Though I have noticed that he doesn’t use the fire quirk, why is that?”

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” she smiled and finally turned her face to his, “Anyway, It was nice seeing you off the battlefield, Enji.” And with that she turned and walked away from him. An impish grin came over her face as she felt the older man seething behind her. She absolutely couldn’t stand Enji, and how defensive he became - she knew something was up.

---

Walking through the halls, the second event of the festival was over with the top four teams advancing - she smiled, knowing Izuku was in there with a lot of his classmates. She was greatly impressed by the fact that Ururaka was in there as well.

“There you are,” the voice of All Might rang out, “I was looking for you everywhere hon— Patho!” He beamed.

“Hey All Might,” she smiled warmly, “Enjoying the games so far?”

He chuckled, “Yes of course I am - why do you look like the cat that ate the canary?”

“Mmm… I may have just come from pestering Enji Todoroki.”

Toshinori raised his eyebrows and smirked, “My girl likes to live on the edge huh? Look at you, playing with something as dangerous as a live bear.”

Keri huffed a bit, “I just can’t stand that man, someone should put him in his place. He called me little girl.”

The mirth faded from his face and he put a hand on his hip, “Is that so? You think someone should put him in his place? Maybe that someone should be me,” the smirk he gave then was one unique to when All Might was pissed off. He was full of spite and contempt as he went to walk off.

Grabbing his hand she blushed, “Ah - Toshi, wait!”

Turning he looked down at her, “If your boyfriend can’t defend your honor, maybe the number one hero can,” he winked and pulled gently away from her, heading in the direction of Enji.

Keri blushed and tagged along after him, in case she needed to break it up - Enji was a dangerous man.

“Yo,” he started. Keri rolled her eyes, the straight up alpha male energy was off the hook, “Long time no see, let's catch up - Endeavor.”

The hulking redhead didn’t turn at first, “All Might,” he growled before turning and staring daggers into the blonde’s eyes. He didn’t even bother to notice the little rabbit at his heels.

“I haven’t talked to you since that press conference ten years ago! Been awhile - I saw you and figured I’d stop and say hi!” The smile never faltered from his face.

“Did you now?” He scoffed, “Well if that’s all you wanted then we’re done. Tch, chatting like we’re old friends - what a joke.”

Keri winced at the awkwardness of the brief interaction. It was very clear to her that he absolutely hated Toshinori with everything in him. She gasped as Toshinori started to laugh. It was so condescending. He suddenly launched himself into the air doing flips and spins down the stairwell.

He landed in front of Enji with another laugh, “Come on! Why the cold shoulder!?” He smirked, “You should be thrilled! Your son is doing very well out there only using half his power. You must be a great teacher!”

The men were locked in a tense stare as Toshinori’s girlfriend stared on. What was he getting at? Endeavor grunted, “Are you implying something?”

“NO! I want to know your secrets! How do we train the next generation of heroes?”

Enji scoffed, “Do you really think Id tell you anything Ive trained the boy? You’re all flash and no brains, as usual - out of my way,” he pushed past him, shoulder checking the man.

“Okay!” He sighed.

“Let me assure you of one thing, All Might. That kid of mine WILL beat you some day, I’ll make sure of it. That’s why I MADE him.”

Toshinori looked uncomfortable, “You did, what?”

The large fire hero grinned widely, wildly, “He’s in a rebellious phase right now, but he will take your place. I’ll make SURE of it,” Turning he moved to continue to walk down the stairs, “And tell your little groupie to stop meddling, got it? She’s not worth the dust on my boots.” All Might clenched his fists as he watched Endeavor disappear from sight.

Keri heard the confession of the man up on the balcony, covering her mouth as she held back a gasp. Thats why Todoroki wouldn’t use his quirk. She could feel herself tremble as absolute devastation filled her - she could only imagine what Shoto’s life was filled with as she fell to her knees.

“Sweetheart!” He moved to run back up the stairs when he saw her fall, “Keri - what’s wrong?”

She was glowing at this point, tears in her eyes as she covered her face, “God- Toshi - What has he done? He’s … he’s a monster… how can he even call himself a hero? Let alone the number two?” She shook her head, “Oh god - his poor children,” she put her head down and wept.

He felt his own tears prick his eyes from the effect of her quirk, “Shh… shh honey, calm down, it's okay Keri… it’s okay,” after he set her back on her feet he cupped her cheek, “Come on - lets go to your office and I’ll go grab some ramen and come back, we have an hour for lunch, hm?”

Looking up she wiped her eyes, trying to contain her quirk as people were starting to stare, “Tosh- Pull away from me, people are looking.”

“I’m doing no such thing. You’re upset,” he sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder, “Come along, let's get to the school and then I’ll get us some takeout. We can also talk about everything if you want.”

Nodding she allowed herself to lean into his side as he led her from the stadium with his hand on her lower back. She felt exhausted suddenly, “God I hate it when I go into overdrive like that…” She whined gently.

“I know exactly what you mean,” the pro smiled down at her.

As they walked, a few reporters ran forward, “All Might! Hey! How are you liking the festival so far!”

He looked up and smiled a little, not stopping, “THE KIDS ARE DOING INCREDIBLE THINGS OUT THERE TODAY! THEY’LL ALL MAKE GREAT HEROES!”

“And who is this you’re escorting? Do you finally have a girlfriend, All Might?” A female reporter crooned.

All Might looked like he was thinking of something to say, “Oh no,” Keri smiled tiredly, “I’m the UA guidance counselor - I used my quirk a lot today, kind of overdid it actually. All Might was just kind enough to help me to my office - he’s overly worried about his coworker passing out or something.”

He smiled, “Yes- and all of you should definitely know who she is! She’s Patho! The Support hero!”

“Oh yeah,” one of the other men commented, “That’s right, Principal Nezu did say he was trying a new program last year — Miss Patho, may my station come and do an interview with you some time? I’m sure everyone would love to hear from one of the first Student Hero Therapists.”

Blushing she smiled, “Of course - call the school and press five for my office, we will set something up,” she bowed slightly, “Excuse me please, I really need to go sit and eat something so I can make sure I’m of use the rest of today - and in case any students need me.”

The reporters all respectfully withdrew as the two of them continued. All Might smirked and leaned down a little, “Kitten, you’re a natural.”

Laughing softly she looked up, “I’m a guidance counselor, I act like this to everyone.”

“Not to me,” he winked.

She laughed, “Well because when I met you, I was shell shocked, and then we became friends so fast… but sometimes we get clinical together, you know. I’ve used my psychology powers on you.” She wiggled her fingers.

He laughed and continued on inside and up to the guidance office with her.

---

Closing the door and pulling down the privacy shade he knelt down, still in hero form, “Come here, Sunflower.”

Moving to turn and throw her arms around his large shoulders she sighed, “Oh Toshi… I feel so… devastated for Enji’s family… Shoto is so unwilling to talk. But I think he needs therapy probably more than any of his classmates.”

Holding her close he kissed the side of her head, “I know… I have never been very friendly with Enji - well, I have, but he won’t have it. And I know he mistreats everyone around him - even you, baby,” he gently rubbed her back, “Okay, I’ll go get us ramen - you want your usual?”

Pulling back to look at him, she stroked his face, “That sounds perfect,” leaning in she kissed him adoringly.

Humming into the kiss he slid his hands to her waist, “We should have a date night tonight.”

“Sounds good, hun,” she kissed his forehead, “Be safe getting our food,” he moved to jump out the window, “AND NO HERO WORK! WE ONLY HAVE AN HOUR FOR LUNCH!”

“Yes dear,” he winked, and with that he was off.

----

After lunch, Keri and Toshinori ran hand in hand back toward the stadium, “We’re late! We can’t miss this! Midoriya is first up!”

“Calm down Toshi - you have one lung for god’s sake!” She sighed as she was pulled along.

When they arrived, there was no time to go up to the teacher’s box, Toshinori pulled her right into an entry hallway and they stood at the mouth of it to watch the match between Hitoshi and Izuku.

“Oh no,” Keri raised her brows.

Toshi turned, “Oh no what!”

“Hitoshi - he’s from general studies. If he asks Izuku a question - and he answers - he’ll be bound to do what Hitoshi tells him. This match will be over before it even begins.”

“WHAT?!” Toshinori looked back out to the match with horror, “Come on, kid…”

“Poor thing… this is so painful,” Keri sighed, hand on All Might’s back.

Suddenly as a burst of wind came from Izuku both adults were absolutely gobsmacked, “WHATS THIS!? HE STOPPED JUST IN TIME!” The voice of Prezent Mic rang out. And in a matter of what seemed like seconds, the purple haired boy was body slammed out of the ring. Midoriya victorious.

All Might looked to his girlfriend, “What the hell was that?”

“Your protege won, what do you mean?” She smiled, “You can ask him later, don’t worry about it now, he’s advancing. I’ll have to make sure the kids in the finals all get appointments when school reconvenes, poor Hitoshi - he’s had such a hard time. He really should be in the hero course, he just doesn’t have the combat training… I know what that’s like.”

Toshinori looked down to her and sighed, “You know… I always forget that you weren’t in a hero course… to me you are a hero, but… you should know what kids like Izuku and Shinsou go through better than anyone.”

Nodding she patted his back, “Do you want to go to the nurse with him? Get some talking in?”

He nodded, “Come with me?”

“No no, you go on, I’m going to go find Hitoshi,” she smiled and padded off in the direction he had gone, while Toshinori followed Midoriya toward Recovery Girl’s temporary office.

“Hitoshi, wait up!” She called out.

He turned and let out a sigh, “Miss Chairo… I didn’t expect to see you so soon… Though, I should have known you’d talk to the losers.”

“Hey. Stop right there,” she sighed and put her hands on her hips, “I wanted to come and talk to you because you did an incredible job today. You know that I think you belong in the hero course, but it isn’t up to me, unfortunately. But even if you don’t, there are still ways to become a hero you know.”

“You think I did incredible?”

Smiling she nodded, putting her hand on his back and filling him with man echo of pride, “Yes. You should be extremely proud of yourself, Hitoshi. I know I’m proud of you - and your classmates are too. I’m sure the hero course students also think you are a wonder. And even though young Izuku won today, I’m sure he thinks of you with the utmost respect.”

He took a deep breath and nodded, “I’ll be a hero.”

“Yes you will, of that I have no doubt.”

The boy finally cracked a small smile, “I’m gonna go sit with my classmates upstairs, is that okay?”

“Of course it is, you’ll come see me when school starts up again?”

He nodded, “Yes Miss, I will… thank you for caring.”

“Thank you for giving it your all, Hitoshi,” she smiled and waved at the boy as he hurried off to sit with the General Studies students upstairs. Nodding she felt a little better about what happened, satisfied he would be alright, as she headed back to the stadium to watch the next fight.

Taking her glasses off and running her hands over her face, she sighed, “God, today is such a long day… I’m glad they only have these once a year…” Looking up she sighed, “Oh god, this is gonna be another short one… AH!”

She had to dive out of the way as ice shards came flying into the hallway she occupied. One of them cut through her pant leg, slicing her thigh, the other cutting her cheek, “Fuck!” She gasped as she covered her head from the rest of the blast.

When the dust finally settled she looked up, the entrance to the hall was blocked with ice, she couldn’t see anything, but she already knew who won. Sighing, she pushed herself to her feet and moved to head to Recovery girl for some bandages, “He must have spoken to his father,” she hummed tot herself, pressing a cloth to her cheek to stop the bleeding.

Knocking on her door, she called out, “Chiyo, it's me!”

“Come in dear!” She called out.

Opening and shutting the door she was met with a familiar husky voice, “KERI!? What happened to you!? Are you alright!?”

Looking up she smiled, “Just hit by some stray ice shards…”

“That’s what that was? Ice?” Recovery Girl blinked, “The whole building shook!”

She nodded, “I just need some bandages.”

“Here - let me,” Toshinori went and grabbed some supplies, “Sit on the bed, Sunflower.”

Doing as she was instructed, Recovery Girl couldn’t help but smile, “You know, you two are the cutest couple I have seen in a long time. I was hoping you two would realize you had feelings for one another, I just didn’t think it would take so long.”

Blushing hard, Toshinori gently stuck a bandage to Keri’s cheek, kissing it tenderly, before looking back at her, “Well… you know… with everything going on its hard to have time for a love life…”

Keri smiled and ran a hand over his cheek, “You take such good care of me, my hero.”

Chiyo chuckled, “Honestly, so sweet, don’t let that girl go, do you understand me, Toshinori? You two were definitely made for each other.”

Toshinori blushed harder and nodded, cleaning and bandaging her thigh, kissing that as well, “All better.”

Leaning in she kissed his forehead, “Have you been getting enough rest? Should we head back up to the teachers box? You’ve been in Hero Form a lot of today already.”

“She’s right you know, go watch the rest of the matches. Some of the others have been quick as well, but the second rounds will start soon.”

He nodded, “Come on, Ree, let’s head back to our seats.”

[goodnightyoongi]

[Yoongi x fem!reader] pt3

genre: hurt/comfort/fluff

rating: gen

word count: 2,5k

summary: Yoongi and you are childhood friends, but you’re overcome by inability to take care of yourself or your life, lately. He’s right by your side to help you, and you recently discovered there might be something more than friendship between you.

warnings: implied depression, some self-critical thoughts, alcohol, drunken kissing. 

Can be read as standalone, but this fic is part of a chaptered series:  

Part I: Catalyze

Part II: Flicker

Part IV: Release

Your arms were awkwardly clutched around your midriff as you watched Yoongi rummage around the crowded corner shop, throwing thing after thing into the shopping basket without much consideration. 

The two of you were probably a peculiar sight right now. One of you looked ready to hurl any second, uncomfortable about being out in public again, and the other one resembled a small-time burglar with his snapback, dark sunglasses and hoodie pulled securely over his head.

“Just want to remain incognito, is all,” was the explanation he provided you earlier, after you giggled at the sight of him as he picked you up. “Fangirls tend to recognize me a lot...not in the mood for writing a gazillion autographs today.

Your initial reaction to that statement made you inwardly kick yourself. You actually felt a tiny ounce of what could only be described as jealousy when picturing him with all these fangirls – before a rational, inner voice reminded you that you were, firstly, being very silly, and secondly, about to head out with him in just a moment.

Oh, how shamelessly smitten you had become. It had already been a week since he surprised you by kissing you before taking you out for coffee, but there had been no second one yet, and this fact pushed you back into the pit of insecurity.

Maybe you were hoping for too much. You were a commoner, dealing with an array of different issues, and Yoongi was Yoongi. Famous, while you weren’t, and even your friendship couldn’t change this fact.

“Alright, we're almost set...just need to get the – hey, what's up? Are you okay?”

Yoongi had noticed the sickly green pallor of your face, and now his dark irises were regarding you with concern. You forced a strained smile, quickly unfurling your arms.

“Oh, yeah, sorry...I just...I'm not really used to being around people, is all...”

Once again, you cursed the way your voice sounded so frail. And you cursed the way everyday tasks such as shopping were so difficult all of a sudden. 

Shopping. It should be easy as pie, but no.

Yoongi was quick to calm you, sneaking an arm around your waist in a bid to chase away the anxiety. 

“You're good, hun. It's all good. We're almost done, just sit tight while I pay.”

Some thirty minutes later he swung the door to his apartment in Hannam open, and you scuttled inside, grateful to escape the ruckus of the busy streets of Seoul. Yoongi's gaze lingered on you, wandering to your behind as you bent down to untie your shoes, and this didn’t go unnoticed by you. You were flustered as you straightened out, and he smirked apologetically.

“Oh god, I’m sorry...I was staring, wasn't I...you just...you look really nice today, sweetie. Well you always do, but...” 

He paused, stepping closer, and your ears instantly heated up. You’d finally washed all your laundry, and the neat combination of light jeans and a loose white top apparently caught Yoongi's eyes.

“You're the most beautiful girl I know, you know that?”

“No I'm not –“

“Y/N...what did I tell you?”

Yoongi dug warning eyes into you, his arms tight over his chest. You yielded with a sigh. This guy wasn't about to allow one single chunk of self-critical narrative escape you anymore, that much was apparent by now.

“Sheesh, okay, okay...I'll accept the compliment...thanks.”

Yoongi looked satisfied, and a while later you were seated by the kitchen island with a glass of wine in your hand. You sipped it casually, trying your best to seem relaxed and unbothered.

Come on. Pull yourself together.

But you felt on edge, even though you'd been in this exact same scenario with Yoongi a million times before. 

Yoongi had discarded his hoodie, and you discreetly watched his t-shirt-covered back as he prepared dinner – just like you had a million times before. And your lower regions stirred just a little as you witnessed the muscles in his arms tense, veins getting more prominent as he cut up some vegetables – just like he had a million times before.

But now was different.

Now your feelings might be reciprocated. You still weren't entirely sure, though, but your sky was illuminated by a big fat maybe.

You cleared your throat, taking multiple distracting sips of wine to calm yourself.

“So um...you guys are just on a break now, then? No shows coming up or anything?”

Yoongi swung around, grabbing his own glass of whisky and stirring the liquid slightly. “Had some stuff scheduled, but I canceled it. I’m taking a few months off, we’ve been working so much this year...so yeah. Have all the time in the world to spend with you, sweetness.”

“BTS taking a break. That's a first. Are you sure the charts can handle that?”

“They’ll have to. I should have taken one earlier. You've been lacking from my life...way too much the past year.”

A blanket of melancholy settled over his face. You wondered what he was thinking. Was he, perhaps, thinking the same as you – that so many years had passed, that so many hidden feelings were harbored and never acted upon, and now the two of you were here. 

And maybe about to change that?

Yoongi blinked cryptically, before returning to his vegetables, and your heart performed a series of double somersaults. The bubble Yoongi created for the pair of you was safe, and you never wanted to step outside of it.

Never. 

Being in here was easy, here in Yoongi's lofty penthouse, tucked away from the real world with all its scary responsibilities.

Unfortunately, Yoongi decided to poke a hole in the protective layers of said bubble, just a moment later.

“Anyway, so...sorry to bring this up, but...have you given any more thought to return to school...to uni...soon?”

Yoongi's face fell when he saw you turn gloomy following the touchy subject. It had been avoided like the plague the past week, but of course you were aware, even though you just postponed it. 

Your mail was overflowing, flooded with reminders of overdue assignments and missed schedules, your phone full of unanswered calls from the guidance counselor. 

You didn’t avoid it by choice, but it had just...happened.

“I have,” you answered, gaze lowered. “Well...no I haven't...but, I know. I know I need to take care of it. I'll get kicked out soon unless I do, but...it just feels so overwhelming.”

Your tone was brittle as you hung your head in shame. The truth was you had made attempts to deal with it daily, but it was hard.

“Hey. Look at me,” Yoongi requested when he noticed your dejection. “It'll be okay. You can do it, just need to start small. But you should go see your school counselor you know, explain the situation, and uh…”

He paused a moment, sounding uncharacteristically hesitant. You weren't sure you liked where this was going. You grabbed the glass of wine, chugging the rest of it in one go.

“...I think you should consider seeing a therapist. To talk about this, the struggles you're facing with your mental health and...everything.”

Yoongi's hand had sneakily crept into yours, and he sighed when you instantly ripped it away and pushed your chair back.

“I'm not crazy, okay, I don't need –”

“Y/N.” Yoongi's voice had a sharpness to it now, and it silenced you before you even had a chance to expand on that note. He continued, cautiously, with a hand brushing loose strands of hair out of your eyes as he moved closer.

“No one said that, pumpkin. It doesn't mean that. It doesn't mean you're crazy. But you might be...depressed. And there's help for you, ways to deal with it.”

“I'm not depressed,” you claimed, weakly. An uninvited tear clawed its way out, rolling down before you could prevent it. You angrily mopped your cheek dry, and Yoongi settled a hand on your neck, gently running it down your back.

“Y/N...I know it’s daunting. But you need to figure things out with uni, alright. I'll come with you, baby. You'll be okay. Don't worry about it, we'll handle it.”

You stared at the white marble of the kitchen island a moment, gratitude warming your chest because he said we. You managed a wordless nod, and Yoongi gathered you into a sideways-hug.

“Good. I'll give you a refill of wine, just a sec. Oh, and the stew should be ready soon.”

Yoongi was an excellent chef, but even despite this, eating wasn't the easiest for you, because your appetite had disappeared somewhere unknown the past few months. This fact was neither appreciated nor accepted by Yoongi.

“Come on, sweetheart. Need to eat,” he tutted from across the table, and you sighed, peering out the tall window. The sky was a periwinkle blue, a congregation of soft cotton clouds passing by in the distance, and the view was majestic from up here – it was perfect. You wish you could be too.

But Yoongi shushed you when unnecessary apologies started falling off your tongue, and somehow you managed. Half the plate, with the help of patient cajoling and encouraging nods.

Drinking wasn't hard, though, and Yoongi was the epitome of sweet and gentlemanly as he prepared fresh cocktails for you to sip on during the course of the meal. By the time you moved to the couch you had become charmingly flushed, slurring a little on your words as you thanked your host for dinner. 

“You seem a little tipsy, baby,” Yoongi observed, chuckling when you almost spilled your mojito down your chin as you attempted to take another sip. “Want to try a bit of whisky?”

“Oh, hell no. That shit is nasty.”

“It's an acquired taste. You're just too much of a kid still.”

You glanced at him, feeling your body gradually heating up to blazing temperatures. The comfortable buzz traveling through you thanks to the alcohol definitely didn’t help slow it down. Yoongi's lips looked so pink, so soft, his fingers so elegant and inviting when he raised the whiskey glass to his mouth.

You wanted those fingers to wrap around you.

Impulse overtook you, a coil of tightly packaged desire that spurred you into closing the distance between the two of you. The bitter taste of whiskey mingled with sour lime in your mouth as you pressed your lips against Yoongi's, and the kiss was sloppy, but tender. You half-expected him to jerk away, but he didn't – instead he wrapped arms around your waist, pulling you against himself with a possessiveness that made your downstairs regions scream at you to move this forward asap.

It had been ages since you’d been intimate with anyone. Ages. And this was your dream. Your longtime crush, your Yoongi.

Yoongi's hands were all over you, his fingers threading through your hair, his tongue finding its way into your mouth – but when your brain finally caught up, you ripped yourself away, catching your breath as Yoongi's inky eyes blinked at you in surprise.

“What's up?”

“I'm...shit, I'm sorry, Yoongi...I shouldn't have thrown myself at you like that, like what the hell...I don't know what I was thinking...”

You turned away from him, lowering your head into your hands. Once again you’d just assumed that he was game for whatever it was you wanted...and one kiss meant nothing. After all, Yoongi had acted totally blasé since then, like it never even happened.

A hand settled on your shoulder, tugging in a request for you to turn around.

“Yeah you should, dummy. Why apologize, huh? I want to kiss you.”

“Then why haven't you yet?” You straightened up, glaring at him. You knew you probably sounded accusatory and like a brat and you might regret this, but you couldn't help it.

“Why haven't you, since...last week? I mean...I thought you shared the same feelings as me but then you just didn't make a move and I figured –”

“I didn't want to rush you,” Yoongi bit you off, his eyes radiating sincerity mixed with regret. “I wanted it to be your call, and not just...eh, screw it. That was a mistake. I care about you so much, Y/N. I want to do everything right.”

His lips moved impossibly close again. The backdrop turned into smudged colors and vague contours as his warm breath pumped you full of life again, woke your body from its slumber, made you limbs tingly with need. And you could do little to stop it.

The room around swam around you when you parted from him, roughly pushing him onto his back and settling on top of him, your movements jerky and hasty. You eagerly kissed him, arching your back and grinding against his crotch and smirking when you noticed the blatant hard-on forming inside his jeans. 

“Wait, hold up, hun...wait a second.”

Yoongi had a firm palm on your chest suddenly, acting as a roadblock, and you couldn’t help but feel wounded as you came to a surprised halt.

“What's wrong? Don’t you want me?”

Yoongi shook his head, violently, his hand moving up to cradle your heated cheek. “God, Y/N. I want you. I want you okay, I want nothing more. But...you're drunk, and I'm not. I don't want to take advantage of you, I need you sober. Okay?”

“You're not taking advantage of me,” you stated grumpily, and Yoongi pushed himself onto his elbows, tilting his head sympathetically. He scrambled into sitting again, but you shied away, still reeling from the rejection when he attempted to haul you in.

“Y/N...baby...don't get any funny ideas. I want you. Your mind, your body. But you've been cooped up at home a long time, okay, alone...and this is still new. We have to go slow, i don’t want to hurt you.”

You grumbled something inaudible in response, refusing to look at him. He moved the curtain of hair away from your eyes, his voice honest and pleading when he spoke.

“Please, hun...don’t take it the wrong way. You’re beautiful, I mean you noticed what effect you had on me, but...I just want to treat you well, and I need you to be onboard and completely clear-headed...because you mean the world to me. Okay, pumpkin?”

“Fine...okay, fine” You relented with a huff, but it transformed into giggling when Yoongi dragged you into his arms, peppering your cheeks with kisses.

“Good. Want to watch a movie? What do you fancy?”

You cruelly picked out a horror flick even though you knew your couch company hated them with a passion, and Yoongi agreed with a sigh, stating “anything for you, hun.” He threw a blanket around you, wrapping it around you snugly and collecting you into his arms as the opening credits rolled on the TV screen.

Silence followed as the lame plotline took off, but you weren't focusing on it. You were trying your hardest to still your beating heart, rays of warmth shooting through you when Yoongi drew you closer in, breathing hot air into your hair as he burrowed his nose into it.

It took a while for you to muster the courage to phrase the question lingering on your tongue, but you finally managed it.

“So...do you want to...”

“Be your boyfriend?”

You were stunned. You actually had planned on asking if he wanted to go for a proper date, but this was much better. Yoongi gripped your chin, turning you towards himself with an affectionate smile.

“Yeah, I do. I’ve wanted to be your boyfriend for quite some time,” he mumbled, before leaning in for a kiss that made you drunk. Drunker than all the alcohol you'd had during the course of the entire evening.

[leavetwn]

* AMANDA CAMPANA, NOBINARY + SHE/HER/THEY/THEM  | you know RAMONA GALLO, right? they’re TWENTY-THREE, and they’ve lived in irving for, like, TWENTY-THREE YEARS? well, their spotify wrapped says they listened to CRYING ON THE BATHROOM FLOOR BY MUNA like, a million times this year, which makes sense ‘cause they’ve got that whole COLD PIZZA AS A HANGOVER CURE, TALKING SHIT ABOUT CUSTOMERS IN THE BREAKROOM, LONGING FOR WHAT COULD'VE BEEN,  thing going on. i just checked and their birthday is AUGUST 17TH, so they’re a LEO, which is unsurprising, all things considered. ( claire, 22, est, she/her )

HEY , BESTIES ! happy new year (the way it’s 11:55pm here so barely) !! my name’s claire and i’m 22. i’m livin in the est timezone, and my pronouns are she/her. i’m bringing y’all a mess of a muse 😈 because well  ,,, it’s what i’m best at. if you’re feelin ramona & wanna plot, just go ahead and like this & i’ll hit you up. i usually plot on discord, but if you prefer the tumblr ims, that’s no problem at all. anyway, lemme stop waistin time and get to introducing you to ramona. * tw: mentions of cheating & alcohol. 

𝐈. ━━ ˟ ⊰ ✰ 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 .

full name: ramona gallo.  nickname(s): anything your muse wants to call her tbh. age: twenty-three. date of birth: august 17th. zodiac sign: leo. gender/pronouns: non-binary, she/her/they/them. sexual orientation: bisexual. romantic orientation: biromantic. hometown: irving, north carolina. current residence: irving, north carolina. occupation: employee at zoinkies currently,  a lifeguard during the summer. eye color: brown. hair color/style: had long hair up until her breakup then had one of those breakdowns and cut her own hair into a bob and then her own bangs. i bet it was a mess lol so she probably called her friends or went to a salon the very next day to get it fixed. also highlighted the ends red but her natural color is brown. height : 5′5″. clothing style: simple and comfortable. t-shirts, croptops, turtlenecks, all usually paired with either jean shorts or jeans in general. she prefers to feel cozy rather than cute. tattoos: yes. a small one on her wrist. wants more eventually. piercings: both ears peirced & a navel piercing that she did herself against better judgement lol.

𝐈. ━━ ˟ ⊰ ✰ 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 .

you were born on a scorching hot day in irving , your father says so, anyway. you’re convinced he’s being dramatic. your birth went smoothly; after two previous children, your parents had become disillusioned by childbirth. just another one to add to the bunch, and one that was meant to save a dying marriage. still, they loved you nonetheless. your father, to this day. your mother, until you were ten, and then she up and left without a warning. 

your father keeps food on the table by fixing cars. you spend your days in the hot sun watching him replace parts and continuously try to crank vehicles until they run. he fist pumps every time one does. ‘ how lame, ’ you think, but it’s inspiring how hard he works to take care of three kids. and he does a good job. 

therefore , you spend much of your early life trying to make him proud. you’re smart as a whip, and all your teachers have good things to say about you when it comes to academics. you’re a bit of a troublemaker, though. your father doesn’t mind that too much; he was the same at your age. and he’s proud  —  proud to see you work so hard. 

you spend your teenage years doing much of the same. though , you begin to come home a bit later than usual, and your excuse is that you’ve been at ashley’s or samantha’s, but really all three of you were out partying. you don’t think your father would care (your grades are fine & he wants you to live like a normal teenager) ,  but you still lie about it. why ? well, who knows, maybe you like the adrenaline rush it gives you. like most things, you do them for the thrill. 

you join the swim team. you’re kind of bad , but that’s okay. just like always , you work hard, and you realize that you’re kind of a natural. your father cheers louder than anyone else in the stands. it pushes you to do better. with your good grades and athletics , your guidance counselor tells you you’re a shoo in for a scholarship from whatever university you want. you apply to several. if it’s one thing you hate, its this town. you can’t wait to make it out, and you figure, this might be your only way. 

you’re eighteen, and you’re in love. it’s crazy how love can make you see things differently. suddenly , this town doesn’t seem half bad. all your friends find it cute , and you tell them everything. the things he tells you or the way he makes you feel. it’s a crazy feeling; you never want it to end. 

you throw your cap in the air. finally , high school is over. college is looming. you’ve been accepted to several & received scholarships from at least a few. you lie in bed thinking about it. now, you suddenly don’t want to leave so bad. don’t want to leave him behind. how could someone leave another they love so easily? it makes you hate your mother more.

for the first time, you disappoint your father. you don’t go to college. you don’t give a damn. you want to stay where love is. you’re addicted to the feeling. this lasts for three years. now, you’re twenty-one; you’ve gotten a job at zoinkies, and that keeps you away for most of the day. you randomly decide to visit your boyfriend during a lunch break one day. you find him in bed with someone else. suddenly , you realize love isn’t as addicting as you once thought. what once made the world beautiful now made it hideous. what once made you feel so high had somehow made you feel so low. it was horrible, and you’d realized your mistakes. 

you threw away your future for love. something as rotten and twisted as love. something you swore you’d never let yourself feel again. something that you put away in a locked box with no key. irving was the same place you’d always known it to be. boring, drab, familiar. at least you had your family. that was barely enough to keep you sane, though, and it was hard to feel normal.

you turned to the thing that help. alcohol, partying, any escape at all. you lacked coping skills   —  that much was clear, but you didn’t care. you blamed it on something else entirely. just as your teachers had said, you’re a bit of a troublemaker. you do anything to make yourself feel alive, to make yourself feel free of the hurt. 

it’s two years later now. you’re still not over it in some ways, as regret turns to anger and resentment. you’re bitter. who wouldn’t be? but you feel like you’ve had time to mourn. maybe it’s because you never acknowledged it in the way you should’ve ( it’s still locked away in that box. ) you still have your bad habits. you still work at your stupid job that you hate. you’re lost, but you’ll figure it out. you always do. so, you continue to float , seemingly stuck in the town that you never let go of, and you wonder what comes next. only time will tell.

𝐈. ━━ ˟ ⊰ ✰ 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬 .

still swims but doesn’t have as much time for it. probably not as good, but since she spends the summer lifeguarding, she uses that time to practice & try to get back to where she was. also kinda jaded asf so even if she says she wants to get back into it, she probably won’t lmaoo.

is a horrible driver. how did she get a license ?? not even she knows. def the type to like have a leg up on the dash board, hand out the window, and only one hand on the wheel while speedin idk how she makes it out alive

can take a car apart and put it back together again thanks to her dad. also changes her own tires so let her change your tires. im just sayin 

stays up way too late & would sleep until 2 pm everyday if she didn’t have to work. should probably work on being an adult and going to bed at a normal time but just half the time doesn’t give a fuck so she’s probably sleep deprived a lot. therefore also has a 

character parallels: alice ayres/jane jones (closer, 2004) , clementine (eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, 2004) , fiona gallagher (shameless, 2011-present) , more to be added.

𝐈. ━━ ˟ ⊰ ✰ 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 .

ok but plots really do be making my world go ‘round. 😳 i love em, so literally hmu with anything you’re feeling, and i’ll be down. just wanna plot & write with everyone 💕 but here’s a couple of wanted connections for y’all. i’ll prolly have a most wanted tag sooner or later & i’ma be make a plot page soon.  

* the unholy trinity  — these two are the friends she cherishes most. i’m assuming they’ve been friends since at least early high school , maybe earlier. they went through a lot together. these two were with her through all her relationship troubles. true ride or dies. she’s do absolutely anything for them, and she trusts that they feel the same way. they’re rowdy & wild, do whatever they want, and have a damn good time doin it. also have a gc where they just talk shit and send tiktoks idk just gimme this plsss 🥺

* friends with benefits / one night stands  —  this would probably be the extent of ramona. clearly not over what happened to her the last time 😭, so she’d have plenty of these tbh. she probably wouldn’t think too much about it, but it could be awkward for you muse maybe, etc. 

* unrequited love / crush  —  here’s a toast to the ones who crush on ramona. it would be an absolute tragedy lmaoo. she’s not really mean about it, but she is 100% certain she’s not looking for any type of relationship. could be really dramatic and messy and those are tha best kind. literally this

* former friends / enemies  —  she’s lived here her whole life, so she’s at least got one. these two just don’t get along/no longer get along for whatever reason that can be plotted out. 

* coworkers   — she works zoinkies throughout the year and picks up shifts as a lifeguard during the summer so your muses could know her from that. could delve into a close friend territory too lmao. they probably just sit in break rooms and talk about rude customers or bossy managers lmaooo.

* literally anything your heart desires — a lot could work. we could even just start from nowhere & have them meet for the first time if they’re newer/just to town. 

[mhdiaries]

Wave 4 Venus McFlytrap Diary

9*9

Today I got in trouble for not paying attention in class. It’s not like I wasn’t interested in what Mr. Hackington was saying but after a week of clouds and rain the sun was calling my name. Shouting it actually - “HEY VENUS - YEAH YOU MCFLYTRAP! DON’T JUST SIT THERE LIKE A POTTED PLANT GET OUT HERE!” I HATE IT WHEN THE SUN SHOUTS AT ME; SO RUDE AND STISTRTACTING. Plus Mr. Hack’s classroom is so cold and dank. Not exactly the kind of place where a ghoul wants to put down roots. Good thing I knew I knew the answer to the question Mr. Hack was asking, even if I didn’t hear it the first time he asked me. “Photosynthesis!” “That’s correct Ms. McFlytrap… did you know or guess?” What I wanted to say was, “Oh, was that the answer?” I though I was placing my lunch order.” Instead I just pointed to my notes, which seemed to satisfy him for the moment. Mom always says, “Be a flower not a weed.” Of course the difference between a flower and a weed depends on the gardener. Whoa. I’m not even sure what that means but next time mom tells me not to be a weed I’m going try it out on her and see what happens.

9*15

I went outside to eat lunch today and saw Operetta sitting under a tree playing her guitar. I walked over to ask if she minded me sitting down to listen and she immediately stopped playing. She looked up at me and wrapped her arms around her guitar like she thought I was going to try and take it from her, “This guitar was made for me by my best friend out of ah hard rock maple tree that blew down in a storm and I ain’t about to apologize or give her up for one made from recycled plastic bottles so you can just save your speeches.” She really hurt my feelings but I wasn’t about to let her see me wilt so I yelled back, “I don’t care what your dumb old guitar is made of I was just going to ask if I could sit here and listen to you play!” She looked surprised at first then she threw her head back and laughed! “All right, all right pull in your thorns ghoul friend and have a seat.” I sat down and she played. She is scary good. I told her being a plant monster means I get all my nourishment from the soil, air and water around me so living in a clean environment is important. I know it may seem selfish but I bet if other monsters saw garbage being dumped into something they were about to eat they’d be all up in claws too and it’s not like I want to build a big fence around the outdoors so no other  monsters can enjoy it cause that wouldn’t be fair either. But I don’t think it’s too much to ask for monsters to throw something that can be recycled into the recycling bin and not treat the environment like their own personal trash  can. Operetta said, “I reckon I see your point but I’ve also seen you do that pollen think to monsters who don’t agree with you an no monster wants to feel like they’re being manipulated into doing something even if it’s something good and that’s why some of ‘em run whey they see you coming.” Whoa. Then she told me why she doesn’t sing in front of audiences. “Monsters who hear me sing live will believe and do whatever I tell ‘em to just like they do for you – only they’ll keep doing it till I tell them to stop.” I almost laughed but I realized she was dead serious. “Now I reckon I could be the biggest music star in the monster world with that ability but I’d rather my music be listened to cause it really is the best not just because I tell monsters it is.” I guess I see her point too.

9*19

I guess I’m getting adjusted to Monster High but it hasn’t exactly been easy. Probably cause I’m really not very good at going along just to get along. Even when I was just a little sprout I wanted to do things my own way. Like one time these monster aphids infested my whole class but instead of using that nasty shampoo or letting my mom comb them out of my hair I totally pruned my head. I looked like a dandelion that had lost its seeds for a while, but at least I didn’t have aphids anymore. I even decided the pruned look was scary cool so I kept it that way on the one side. At my old school all the classes were taught outside so that we were always in our element so to speak. Being indoors all day was really making me droopy but I didn’t want any monster to think that I was some kind of fainting violet cause I’m not. Lagoona must have noticed though cause she told me that I should go talk to Headmistress Bloodgood and let her know I was having a problem. I was like, whoa. I didn’t really want to cause the last time I had to go see her was when she caught me using my pollens of persuasion to make Meowlody and Purrsephone pull aluminum cans from the regular trash and put them in the recycling bin. I got a very long lecture on the need for self-control, and assignment for an even longer paper on the ends not justifying the means, and I had to apologize. Lagoona kept bugging me until I finally made an appointment with the Headmistress. She told me her old assistant was a plant monster and she turned a supply cabinet into a special grow room with lights that mimicked the sun . Headless Headmistress gave me the key and said I could use it any time I was feeling droopy. Amazing,… just amazing.

10*2

I had my meeting with Mr. D’eath, the school guidance counselor today. He wasn’t there when I got there so I had to wait for him. I wasn’t really looking forward to it at all. He always seems to be sighing about something and he cracks his knuckles… a lot. It sounds like dry branches snapping which is like claws on a chalkboard to me. The other day I overheard Miss Kindergrubber telling Mr. Hackington that unlife had not been very kind to Mr. D’eath this year and that lately he was looking more gaunt than usual. I’m not sure how that could even be possible. Of course Miss. K. is always telling some monster to eat cause they’re just “skin and bones”. Guess it must be a prerequisite for her job. Anyway, Mr. D’eath’ss office always smells like herbal tea… can’t really even think about that… and his walls are covered with motivational posters. There’s one with this troll sitting on top of a bridge instead of underneath it that says, “Don’t be afraid of a new perspective.” Whoa. Deep. I’m sure they’re supposed to be profound and encouraging but they’re really not my kind of fertilizer. There was also a picture of him and some other teachers white water rafting down the River Styx. It would take a pretty penny for me to do that. He finally came in with my records, sat down and started flipping through them:

Hmm… okay… I see… oh ho! Well Miss Yelps I think you have a bright future and, if I may confide in you for a moment, over the years a job like mine can make one rather brittle. It gets so discouraging when students don’t listen to my advice especially after all my years of education and seminars which I am beginning to suspect are taught by monsters whose last interaction with students was back in the day of the quill and inkwell. You mention something as simple as an iCoffin and they look at you like you’re speaking zombie… no offense.

He went on about how according to my permanent file I, (Ghoulia), could go to any poison ivy league school that I wanted. He said some other really nice things about me (her.) and then gave me a bunch of college brochures. He told me it had been a real pleasure and that I could come back any time. I didn’t have the heart to correct his error so I just moaned and shuffled out. I’ll probably get in trouble for it later but I’ll sit on that bridge when I come out from under it.

10*15

I got some new art pencils today so I did some sketches of Chewlian who wasn’t being very cooperative. I think he was mad that I closed my window when I went to school. He likes me to leave it open in hopes that lunch will come creeping, crawling or flying into my room. I don’t like bugs nearly as much as he does though and sometimes I forget and close it. I finally had to tell him that I’d let him spend the day out by the compost heap if he’d be still. He was pretty good after that and I was happy with the results.

11*15

When I got called into Headmistress Bloodgood’s office, last week, I was thinking it was because she found out about my appointment with Mr. D’eath but it turned out to be an “opportunity for growth” that would involve me rooting myself in a face painting booth at the middle school carnival. So today I sat in a booth with Draculaura turning werewolves into zombies, vampires into skeletons, zombies into Dead Fast… okay that was just Ghoulia… and cute little ghouls into “scary” normies. Draculaura was happy to do all the kittens, bats with pink bows and the occasional full on mini-makeover although it was mostly the moms who requested those. It also gave me a perfect audience to talk about the importance of keeping the world around us clean. Then we got to watch Robecca, who is a wonder of sustainability, do an amazing stunt. Whoa. It was really scary cool. I think every monster from that time on wanted me to turn them into a robot. Lagoona and Gil even came by and Gil let me paint his helmet to make it look al steam punkish. Not sure I did any growing but I got to spend time in the sun with my beasties, use my art skills and maybe plant some seeds about taking better care of the world around us.

[mtvswatches]

10 Things I Hate About You

Obligatory soundtrack 

1) The late 90s/early 00s were filled with contemporary adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays - Julia Stiles starred in three of those, coincidentally - but, in my opinion, none has been more iconic than 10 Things I Hate About You. It’s been over 20 years since the movie was released, and it’s certainly become a teen/rom-com classic. It’s definitely a feel-good movie, and even though it obviously had great source material to work with, it did so in such a unique and fun way. And it was kind of woke for its time, too.

Disclaimer: I am a bit afraid this whole review will turn into me taking screenshots of the movie and just writing “iconic.” You’ve been fairly warned.

Anyway, let’s get into it!

3) I really love how they managed the “show, don’t tell” technique with Kat’s introduction. Her first scene really shows who she is – a jaded, kind of rebellious teenager, who marches to the beat of her own drum. Or to the beat of Joan Jett’s drum…

She’s shown as the opposite of the other girls, but it doesn’t feel like a criticism of the other girls' more cheerful, sunny disposition. We very quickly learn what she is like, but we have yet to find out why.

4) The next characters we meet are Cameron and the school’s guidance counselor. Cameron is the new student and the guidance counselor is just…

I love her. And Allison Janney proves how talented an actress she is by making the token counselor character both memorable and unique.

5) We also meet Patrick Verona, the resident Bad Boy who had “exposed himself” in the cafeteria. Oh, Heath Ledger, you are truly missed!

6) Michael Eckman  shows Cameron around and he basically delivers the token “school cliques scene”, and since I’m not American, I’ve always wondered if this is a real thing in schools? Like, are there really so many cliques that are so visually different from one another? Each group dressing in a particular style and hanging out at a specific spot? Anyhow, the cliques here are the beautiful people (or rather, the assholes), the coffee kids (?), the white Rastas (or white stoners), the cowboys (?), and the yuppies.

7) Michael’s tour gets cut short when Cameron spots Bianca, and he’s instantly infatuated with her. I’ve always found it hard to root for Cameron at first because I’m not really a fan of insta-love, and he ends up doing A LOT of shady things for a girl who he doesn’t know AT ALL. But more on that later. In fact, the movie kind of makes a point of how ridiculous it is for Cameron to be in instant-love with Bianca by having her deliver this little lecture on love:

BIANCA: Yeah, but see, there's a difference between like and love. Because I like my Skechers, but I love my Prada backpack.

CHASTITY: But I love my Skechers.

BIANCA: That's because you don't have a Prada backpack.

Bianca clearly grows a lot over the course of the movie, but it’s clear that Cameron was in love with her appearance and not her brains or personality, which makes his quest to sweep her off her feet misguided at best.

8) And then Michael presents the main plot point…

The question then is, how is Cameron going to get the girl? It’s his quest to get a date with Bianca that creates a domino effect that brings all the characters together. 

9) See what I mean? ICONIC!

And can I say that I just love Kat? Not only is she smart, but also, she didn’t take any bullshit from anyone, especially not males. She was a feminist before being a feminist was cool. And she does grow a lot. 

10) Okay, two things, A) I love Mr. Morgan, and B) foreshadowing? Sort of?

11) Iconic.

12) Michael seems to have a lot of preconceptions about Bianca – and most of them were kind of accurate, at least at the start of the film. She was kind of vapid and shallow and self-absorbed. For someone who believes that Bianca is not only completely out of Cameron’s league but also not worthy, he does get very involved in trying to get Bianca to date Cameron.

13) This is one of my favorite lines in the movie, probably because it sounds a lot like Buffyspeak…

14) This is so random…

And the movie does have a lot of these little moments of slapstick comedy that almost seem to belong to a different type of movie, but for some reason, they work?

15) And this reminds me of the Veronica Mars of yore, the one I used to love…

16) We meet Cat and Bianca’s dad, and he is very overbearing at first, but he truly grows on you once you understand where all his rules are coming from. And of course, he establishes The Rule, which sets off the movie’s shenanigans – Bianca cannot date unless Kate does.

17) Bianca does prove a lot of Michael’s preconceptions right during her interaction with Cameron, who asks her out on a date, and even though he has been tutoring her she can’t remember his name and after he reminds her of it, she calls him “Curtis.” Bianca very clearly sees in Cameron the solution to her dating problem, and she very obviously manipulates him when it’s clear she’s not interested in dating him. She’ll get him to do the dirty work, and then let Joey rip the rewards. On the one hand, this is wrong. On the other hand, Cameron sort of had it coming? He was only interested in Bianca because of her looks, and he was about to manipulate Kat with total disregard for her feelings, so...

18) So Michael and Cameron set out to find a match for scary Kat. And what do you know…?

They figure the only way to convince Patrick to date Kat is by paying him, except they don’t have any money. So they turn to Joey, who gladly agrees to invest if it means this will get her Bianca.

19) Patrick and Joey strike a deal, and let me tell you, this deal never made any sense to me? Like, after some bargaining Joey agrees to pay Patrick 50 dollars? And I might be daft but how would Patrick be making a profit here? If he took her out, he’d be spending most of that on the date, making the whole thing pointless if he’s not making a profit? And Joey was supposed to be loaded, so why not offer more than that, to begin with?

20) I really love how Patrick assumed all he’d need to do was say hello and Kat would be at his feet, and she gloriously turned him down and put him in his place. He tries again the next day and he gets turns down, again. And I can’t blame her, he was acting like an entitled douchebag and assuming she’d want to jump his bones only because he was hot and asking her to go out, like that’s all it’d take.

21) And Joey gets a little bit of what’s coming to him…

22) This leads to Kat getting into an argument with her dad, making a lot of valid points…

WALTER: Is this about Sarah Lawrence? Are you punishing me because I want you to stay close to home? KAT: Aren't you punishing me because Mom left? WALTER: You think you could leave her out of this? KAT: Fine. Then stop making my decisions for me. WALTER: I'm your father. That's my right. KAT: So what I want doesn't matter. WALTER: You're 18. You don't know what you want. And you won't know what you want till you're 45, and even if you get it, you'll be too old to use it. KAT: I want to go to an east coast school! I want you to trust me to make my own choices... and I want you to stop trying to control my life just because you can't control yours!

I can see both sides of this argument, though. He wasn’t punishing her because her mom left, I think he was just afraid they’ll get hurt again and that’s why he was so overprotective. And Kat had just crashed her car on purpose, so I really don’t understand how she managed to turn the whole thing against her father?

23) Patrick renegotiates the terms of his agreement with Joey, demanding a 100 bucks per date. He can’t have had getting something for Kat as his goal at this point, but I think he was just trying to screw Joey over as much as possible, which kudos to him.

24) Michael and Cameron approach Patrick and inform him that they’re actually the masterminds behind this date-Kat plan, and they agree to help him woo her. And I get that Kat was not the most agreeable person to begin with, but it’s still very disheartening to see that literally no one considered her feelings in this whole thing? Like, all of them were so proud they were playing Joey, but she was the one getting played the worst? And Bianca even allows Cameron to go inside Kat’s room and go through all her private things? Everyone was an asshole in this movie, is all I’m saying.

25)

26) And then…

Probably in spite of herself, he managed to get through her shell a little bit.

27) Bianca finally begs her sister to go to the party so that she can go, and what do you know? Kat does have a heart after all, and she agrees to show.

28) Which leads to…

29) Kat seems very happy to see Patrick at her door, although she quickly puts the bitch rest-face back on and pretends his keeping his word and coming to get her did not affect her at all…

30) So, now that she got to the party and gets to hang out with Joey, Bianca demands her sister do not address her in public, and I’m like, wtf?! Kat then begs her to listen, and again, Bianca shrugs her off and tells her to go off and “enjoy her adolescence”, which pisses Kat off and probably hurts her, too. So she decides to enjoy her adolescence the way everyone seems to do, getting trashed and embarrassing themselves.

31) Further evidence that Bianca was, indeed, an asshole… Cameron is the reason she got to go out at all – after he pulled off this elaborate plan to get her sister a date – and she manipulated him by feigning to be interested in him, and now…

But karma is a bitch because Joey might be the most popular boy in school – god knows why! – but he’s as dull as dishwater, and she quickly finds herself regretting her decision to brush Cameron off in favor of Joey.

32) Meanwhile, Kat is truly enjoying her adolescence…

And thank god Patrick was there to catch her because if he hadn’t, I don’t think anyone would’ve helped her.

33) I really love Patrick’s pep talk to Cameron…

CAMERON: It's off, okay? The whole thing's off. PATRICK: What are you talking about? CAMERON: She never wanted me. She wanted Joey the whole time. PATRICK: Cameron, do you like the girl? CAMERON: Yeah. PATRICK: And is she worth all this trouble? CAMERON: I thought she was, but, you know, l... PATRICK: Well, she is or she isn't. See, first of all, Joey is not half the man you are. Secondly, don't let anyone ever make you feel like you don't deserve what you want.

34) And Patrick taking care of drunk Kat is the sweetest thing ever…

35) Of course, now that Bianca no longer wants to hang out with Joey and her friend leaves her high and dry, she asks Cameron for a ride home.

36) On the way home, Kat actually opens up to Patrick, a lot. She admits she’d love to play in a band, and that her father wants her to be someone she’s not – her sister. Patrick admits that he doesn’t really get what everyone sees in Bianca, and Kat delivers what’s probably the greatest compliment you could get from her…

She puts herself out there… and gets shut down. Of course, Patrick was probably feeling remorse about the way he’d gotten to know this girl and the way he’d been playing her because now that he’d gotten to know her a little bit better, he could see that behind that badass façade she was extremely vulnerable and sensitive. Kat feels rejected and humiliated, and who can blame her? He’d been relentlessly pursuing her, and now that she’d opened up to him and offered to kiss him, he’d turned her down…

Anyway, Patrick’s behavior, later on, makes no sense after the way he acted here, but more on that further below.

37) Cameron finally confronts Bianca about her manipulative behavior, and to her credit, she is honest and owns up to being selfish when he calls her on it. And I guess she finally sees he’s worth it…

38)

39) This exchange is so silly and hilarious?

Like, Cameron’s answer seems silly, but what type of answer was Patrick expecting? Where could she have possibly kissed him? On the knees?

40) Kat is clearly not yet over the rejection…

41) See what I mean about the jokes in this movie?

And they just look over and go on talking, as if she hadn’t just nailed her teacher on the ass with an arrow...

42) Joey goes to Patrick yet again and offers 200 dollars to get him to take Kat to the prom. Patrick tells him he’s sick of this game, and Joey ups the ante and offers him 300 dollars, which Patrick somewhat begrudgingly takes. I just would really like to know if it was at this point that he thought he’d used this dirty money to buy something for Kate. Otherwise, he was still being a jerk...

43) This scene just gives me butterflies, okay?

And as charming as he is, Kat is still not over the humiliation of putting herself out there and being rejected.

44) Cameron returns the favor and gives Patrick some very good advice, the reason for that glorious scene later on…

CAMERON: Look, you embarrassed the girl. Sacrifice yourself on the altar of dignity and even the score.

This gets Patrick thinking…

45) And I’m just going to add the video here because this whole scene is just rom-com perfection and bless Heath Ledger again, okay? And why didn’t we get more of him singing in everything he did? His voice just makes me feel things, okay?

Seriously, how do you say no to that boy asking you to let him love you? You don’t say no, that’s how.

Same, Kat. Hard same.

46) Kat goes into detention and distracts the coach while Patrick attempts to escape out the window, and then…

And the teacher is looking directly at her tits? And while the distraction tactic worked, how was she not sent to the principal’s office? Patrick was sent to the principal’s office for “exposing himself” with a bratwurst while joking with the cafeteria lady, and Kat is literally exposing herself and she walks scot-free? Hmm.

47) Patrick and Kat have another heart to heart, and to be honest, it always melts this cold heart of mine…

PATRICK: So, what's your excuse? KAT: For? PATRICK: For acting the way we do? KAT: I don't like to do what people expect. Why should I live up to other people's expectations instead of my own? PATRICK: So, you disappoint 'em from the start and then you're covered, right? KAT: Something like that. PATRICK: Then you screwed up. KAT: How? PATRICK: You never disappointed me.

Same, Kat. SAME.

48) #SWOON

49) And this is the part that doesn’t make sense to me. They’ve just had this perfect date, and they’re growing closer, and they’ve kissed, and he clearly likes her. And the reason he didn’t kiss her after the party was that he was feeling guilty about the way he’d gotten her to go out with him and fall for him – through deception and manipulation. And now that they’re much closer and into each other, he tries very hard to get her to go to prom with him, pushing her in a way that makes her feel uncomfortable, and like, why? They’re clearly not the type of people who go to proms, so why not take Joey’s money and screw the deal? Why did he have to keep his promise? Why not be honest with Kat? Why not tell her, I like you a lot and this idiot is paying me to date you even though I’m honored to do that for free so why don’t we team up and scam him? I know the answer is “conflict”, but it’s always pissed me off.

50) Seriously, though, Cameron. Why?

51) In true teen-rom fashion, everyone needs to be paired up, right?

52) See what I mean about the jokes?

53) Loved the Dawson’s Creek reference…

Believe it or not, a lot of people thought DC was scandalous at the time. And DC was so naïve compared to its predecessors The OC or Gossip Girl…

54) Kat finally opens up to Bianca and explains why she has so many issues and why she doesn’t want to conform to high school’s social rules and expectations and stereotypical idea of “normalcy.” She’d had a less than stellar dating experience back when she was way too young and far too vulnerable with none other than Joey, who had slept with her and dumped her right after. Oh yeah, and it all happened right after her mom had left them. In an attempt to prevent the same thing from happening to her little sister, she had agreed to their dad’s rules, effectively preventing Bianca from experiencing anything on her own. It’s kind of a case of the pot calling the kettle black, considering she’d complained about the very same thing to her father.

55) Kat finally realizes she’s been unfair to her sister and decides to go to prom, to their father’s dismay. Kat even swallows her pride and actually apologizes to Patrick for questioning his motives to ask her to the prom, and he has the nerve to forgive her. Dude, you do have ulterior motives, and the girl you like is actually apologizing even though she’s done nothing wrong and you’re blatantly lying, and he doesn’t even bat an eyelash when he tells her “You’re forgiven.” I mean, I love Patrick, but still… not cool.

56) Bless Walter.

57) I guess they’re a thing, because why not?

58) And this is, among many other reasons, why I can’t hold anything against Patrick Veronica…

He got her favorite band to play in the prom.

59) Chastity is such a bitch for no reason? Like, she and Bianca were close friends, and then, all of a sudden, they aren’t? And she’s so mean to Bianca!

60) And leave it to Joey to ruin everything…

61) And I truly love that Bianca is the one to put him in his place…

62) See? He’s a good guy, he was just trying to protect his daughters the only way he knew how…

WALTER: Bianca did what? KAT: What's the matter, upset that I rubbed off on her? WALTER: No, impressed. Fathers don't like to admit it when their daughters are capable of running their own lives. It means we've become spectators. Bianca still lets me play a few innings. You've had me on the bench for years. And when you go to Sarah Lawrence I won't even be able to watch the game. KAT: When I go? WALTER: Oh, boy. Don't tell me you changed your mind. I already sent 'em a cheque

63) And I also have to include the video for this scene because it’s just… *chef’s kiss*… Julia Stiles absolutely nails this one, and it never fails to bring me to tears…

Same, Patrick. Same.

64) And while the fact that he doesn’t immediately run after her always has me screaming, he does make up for all of it…

KAT: A Fender Strat? Is it for me? PATRICK: Yeah, I thought you could use it, you know, when you start your band. Besides, I had some extra cash, you know. Some asshole paid me to take out this really great girl. KAT: Is that right? PATRICK: Yeah, but I screwed up. I, um... I fell for her. KAT: Really? PATRICK: It's not every day you find a girl who'll flash someone to get you out of detention. KAT: Oh, God. You can't just buy me a guitar every time you screw up, you know. PATRICK: Yeah, I know. But there's always drums and bass and maybe even one day a tambourine. KAT: And don't just think you can...

65) This movie is hardly a masterpiece, but it doesn’t intend to be either, and not every movie needs to be. It’s a feel-good movie, and it delivers on so many levels. It’s funny, it’s tropey, it’s cute, it’s romantic, it has a great soundtrack, and you just feel a whole lot better after watching it. It’s the 90s at its best, and that’s why it became a classic.

What I love the most, though, is Kat’s character development. We see this girl who is a badass and super smart, takes no bullshit, holds everyone accountable for their shitty behavior, and has a great wit. But she is not without flaws. She’s closed off because she has been hurt before, both by her mother and her first love. She holds everyone at bay because it’s easier that way. Throughout the movie, however, she shows empathy and a lot of vulnerability. And she soon finds out that she had been missing out on a lot of things by shielding her emotions. She’d missed out on having a good relationship with her sister and on finding love again. What is truly admiring about Kat, though, is that when she’s hurt the most and she has every reason to close herself off again, she does the exact opposite. She opens herself up not only in front of the guy she’s in love with but everyone. The shrew cries and bares her soul for the world to see. Regardless of the happy ending, I think that in itself s truly inspiring, don’t you? 

66) Bonus: bloopers!

67)  Hope you enjoyed my recap, and, as usual, if you’ve got this far, thank you for reading! If you enjoy my recaps and my blog, please consider supporting it on ko-fi. Thanks!

[huntertales]

Part One: I Say A Little Prayer. (I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here S09E01)

Episode Summary: The Winchesters are left in a frantic state after the reader collapses, setting off a chain reaction of events with deadly consequences. Out of desperation, Dean sends out a prayer and meets an angel named Ezekiel, both of them make a unorthodox benefiting both parties while the reader fights for her life. Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader Episode Warning: Heavy angst, mentions of childbirth, stillbirth aftermath, character death(s), hints of depression. Word Count: 5,025.

Previous Part | Supernatural Rewrite Masterlist

“The MRI shows massive internal burns affecting many of the major organs. Oxygen to the brain has been severely deprived...”

Sam could hear what the doctor was trying to say, but he couldn’t get himself to listen to  much of anything. He blamed it on the lack of sleep he had gotten since this ordeal unraveled. He was exhausted, his body felt heavy. Every part of him wanted to rest his eyes even if it was just for a few minutes. But his mind wouldn’t let him. He feared if he took his attention off of you for even the slightest second something worse could happen. Not that it already did. How much worse could this situation get? You were lying in a hospital bed apparently in a comatose state while Dean had to make arrangements for a human life that never got a fighting chance. To see what life could offer them. To see how much love their parents could give them. Sam tried to share the burden of the decisions, but each time he tried to help, his older brother butted him out. It was Dean’s child, it was his decision for what needed to be done. 

Sam was left with his thoughts as he sat in this hospital chair, staring...thinking about all the ways he let you down. He had been there with you every step of the way. How did he not see the warning signs earlier? And if he did, would have it made a difference? He watched as the months passed by and the effects of the trials slowly wither you away into the deranged, hopefully hopeless woman who just wanted to do good. Who tried her hardest to achieve that and some inner peace for all the past mistakes she made. In the end, no matter how good you had done, it never felt good enough. You always thought the choices you made were the wrong one. The people you love trusted you, just at arm’s length. Not enough for you to do a little heavy lifting and save the day.

Sam understood where you were coming from on a deeper level, more than Dean could ever try. He understood why you were doing this. It was more than just making a better future for yourself and the child that you were carrying. Somehow the trials messed with your head along the way and filled it with false hope that you didn't need to achieve. They made you believe all the damage you were doing to your body was somehow purifying you. Cleansing away the demon blood that was most likely gone by now. You could take the demon out of the girl, and she would still believe she was a monster. Sam felt like that a lot himself. He could save hundreds of lives and yet it couldn’t make up for the ones he lost. The people he hurt over the years after he trusted the wrong people. His decisions at the time might have made him happy, but it only hurts the ones he loved the most. 

Maybe if the roles were reversed, if somehow Sam caught on faster to what you were doing that night when all of you were trying to complete the first trial, it would be him lying in the hospital bed. Sam would have been the one standing in the church confessing all of his greatest sins. Letting the people he loved down. Letting his big brother, the man who was a pain in his ass at times...who spent his entire life just trying to make sure he was safe, feel like he couldn't trust him. He thought that was the worst feeling in the world. Not having your own flesh and blood, the person you spend every day with, not trust you with anything that mattered. He thought nothing could top that. Until he figured out you were going into labor three months early, and Dean had to deliver him the news. It made Sam realize he let the one person who had always been there for him down. He should’ve kept a better eye on you. But he didn’t. And because of that, this was the outcome.  

“...The coma is the result of the body doing everything in its limited power to protect itself from further harm.”

Sam was torn away from his thoughts when he heard the doctor finish up what he was saying about the patient in his care. He stood at the edge of the bed and overlooked the medical chart to see if there might have been any improvements from the last time he checked up on you. However, it seemed there was little progress, things were spiraling downwards at a faster rate than they hoped. Dean observed the x-rays the doctor ordered to have done to see the extent of your injuries. It a medical mystery as to what happened to you. The doctors were doing everything in their power to fix this, but they feared not even modern medicine could heal the damage that was done. Dean felt his heart sink at the months of stress and damage put on your body. While it things looked bleak, you were still in there fighting. Maybe there was a chance you could pull through. You’ve done it before. 

“This wasn’t supposed to happen.” Dean muttered time himself. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest, the guilt ridden expression on his face never left since he got here. It seemed to grow worse at the sight of things and more bad news being given to him. All he needed was a break, a little ounce of luck for him to believe things were going to get better.

“If your wife continues on this trajectory, the machines might keep her alive, but—“ The doctor’s voice was quiet as he told him the bitter future the brothers would have to look forward to. They would be burying two bodies. 

“She’ll be dead.” Sam cut off the doctor, finishing the diagnosis he had found. He slowly moved his gaze away from your body and to a spot on the ground. 

"Technically, yes." The doctor nodded his head. "I'm afraid so." 

"So there's—there's no recovery?" Dean found himself asking the question he didn't want the answer to. Hee needed to know in order to plan for future action. In case modern medicine failed him when he depended on it more than ever. "I mean, there's no bounce-back. There's no nothing." 

"I'm afraid that's in God's hands now." The doctor thought some comforting words in times of distress would have been helpful in this situation. Many families looked towards spiritual guidance, but it seemed his words only added fuel to the fire.

Dean found himself staring at the doctor for a long second before he spoke up, deciding to give the man a piece of his mind. "You're a doctor. You're a medical professional. You're trying to tell me that my wife's life is in God's hands? What, is that supposed to be a comfort?" Dean found himself losing his patience for the first time since he got here. He had been an eerily calm, but he couldn't take it anymore. He snapped at the man who was supposed to be taking care of the woman he loved. Who wasn't supposed to lying in that bed in the first place. Because it was your trust in God that that put you there in the first place. 

"Mr. Dougherty—" The doctor tried to apologize for the nerve he seemed to have hit, Dean didn't give him a chance. He was sick and tired of being saying sorry. He just wanted someone to do their damn jobs and save your life before it was too late. 

"That's not good enough. God has nothing to do with this equation. Do you think if God was here he would've let this happen?" Dean questioned the doctor. The man tried once again to defuse the situation, knowing well enough his outburst was caused by the grief. Dean still wasn't speaking. "I already lost someone. That's a life I can't get back. I have to live with that grief for the rest of my life. But she still has a fighting chance. I'm putting my trust in you to fix her. Not God. Screw him. Just do your damn job." 

Sam jumped up from his seat and mae his way over to his brother before the man could do something he would regret while he was in this stage. Both of them were hurting right now. Sam wanted nothing more than to act out on his feelings. Punch a wall. Violently shake the doctor to get him to do something. Sell his soul to the first demon if it meant he got you back. But it wasn't the time. 

"Dean, calm down." Sam mumbled to the older man. He placed a hand on Dean's shoulder in some kind of attempt to console the man, Dean violently shrugged off the man. Dean tossed the doctor a deathly glare before he stormed out of the room. Sam let out a heavy sigh from what unfolded and looked over at the doctor. "I'm sorry. It's..."

"I understand. I wish there was more that I could do." The doctor apologized. Sam could see the man's own guilt at the lack of resources he could provide. "What conspired is nothing short of a tragedy. Believe me when I say we're doing everything we can. We have grief counselors for you and your brother if you feel talking to someone might make this transition easier."

Sam could only nod his head at the meager offer. He watched as the doctor made his way out into the hall to check on other patients. The younger man made his way over to you and back to the same chair he had been sitting in since all of you got here. He found himself reaching out to grab your hand and place it into his own, as if he needed to be reminded that you were still here. You weren’t gone just yet. Every part of him wanted to believe you were going to bounce back like the other times before. But in the back of his mind he knew. He was stuck with a moral dilemma of what the right thing to do was.

The three of you would do anything for each other. And you have. You and Dean sold your souls for the chance of Sam to live. Sam said yes to the devil and threw himself in the cage as some kind of hope to save his family. Over the years it was a constant run around selling souls, tricking Death and so many other half assed plans to save you from this situation. One day it was going to have to end. The question was always when. Sam wondered if today was when you got off for good. Even though there was always a way out of this, he wasn’t sure how to get there. 

What was the right thing to do in this situation? Let the one person he loved like family since he was a kid have peace, or bring them back from the dead and force them to face the consequences? Miscarriages happen without reasons. It wasn't your fault, but he knew you would blame yourself. It would eat you up inside. There was no good choice. You either live and feel like wanting to die, or you let the people you love suffer without you. Sam didn't know if you would go to Heaven. He hoped so. Maybe your soul was marked for hell. Sam thought after Bobby died he was kicking up his feet and relaxing for the very first time. Turned out he was rotting in hell. Sam didn't want to give up. He couldn’t. 

In the back of his mind he knew what he wanted to do. Even though he knew if that was him lying in that hospital bed, teetering on the edge of death, he would have wanted to be put to rest. It was selfish and unfair to bend the rules while the rest of the human population suffered. But you and the Winchesters weren’t like most people. And Sam couldn’t turn his back on his family. Not this time...not again. Not ever. 

+ + +

Dean didn’t know what else to do, or where to turn. Angels were falling from the sky. You were close to the edge of death. He made funeral arrangements for his unborn child. He just wanted one thing to go right. Maybe that’s why he was sitting in the hospital chapel, his knees resting on the wooden bar to help him pray. He wasn’t sure he had formally done this before. He always said praying was like begging. No good came out of it. Because God wasn’t there to answer. He could say that to everyone in the chapel, Dean highly doubt they would care. Because when you have someone who’s sick and dying, the only hope you have is for the big guy upstairs and his angels. They hope that maybe they’ll have a miracle come their way if they prayed hard enough.

The man might have been here for the same reason, trying to reach out for a higher power, but Dean wasn’t trying to get in contact with God. He was getting in contact with his friend. Both of them might have bad a rough patch, but push comes to shove, Dean knew he was the only person he could count on during times like this. 

“Cas, are you there?” Dean quietly started off his prayer, hoping that the angel might be able to hear him. He wasn’t sure what to expect. For the angel to pop up right next to him and scare the crap out of him like always, ignore his call because of how things ended. Even if that was the case, Dean knew Cas would come when he told him what had happened. “Y/N’s hurt. She’s hurt...she’s hurt pretty bad. And, um...I know you think that I’m pissed at you, okay? But I don’t care that the angels fell. So whatever you did, or didn’t do, it doesn’t matter, okay? We’ll work it out. Please, man, I need you here.”

Dean waited a second before he opened up his eyes, part of him hoping that the angel would be here to save the day. But when he turned his head to stare at the pew, he felt his heart sink at the sight of the empty seat. He thought that would have worked. Cas wouldn't ignore his prayers, not after what he said. Something was going on. Whatever it was, he didn't have time for it. Desperate times call for desperate measures. What he was about to do was stupid, but he didn't care. Dean told himself he would do anything to get you back. And he was about to. He mumbled a “screw it” underneath his breath and got to work. 

“Okay, listen up. This one goes out to any angel with their ears on. This is Dean Winchester...and I need your help.” Dean would have never done this before. “The deal is this—Linwood Memorial hospital, Randolph, New York. The first one who can help me gets my help in return, And you know that ain’t nothin’. Hell, it’s no secret that we haven’t always seen eye to eye. But you know that I am good for my word, and, uh, I wouldn’t be asking if I wasn’t needing, so…” 

He found himself trailing off, not sure what else he could say. Dean had done a lot of things in his time to get back the people he loved. He let out a heavy sigh and pressed his fists against his forehead, wondering if what he just did was the right decision. Or he was just like everyone else here in this chapel. An idiot talking to themselves searching for that little miracle that might never come. 

+ + +

“You’re dying, Y/N.” 

The words felt out of place for the situation that you were in. Every part of you wanted to believe it was some kind of mixup that Dean was getting at. You weren’t dying. There was no way possible. You sat there in silence for a few moments, not saying much of anything. All you could do—all that you could focus on at the moment, was how different your stomach felt. You kept feeling it to see why it did. You found yourself patting your hand against the flesh as if you were trying to rouse movement from the particular spot in your body. It would suddenly feel heavier like you remembered, more rounder. The skin was harder to protect the new life inside of you that you had been creating over the past several months. 

Instead your index finger the stomach you had before all of this started. The body you had loved, the one who carried you for the past thirty-three years. The only soul living inside of your body. For a second your own question lingered on your mind, almost forgetting what Dean had said. 

“What happened to my baby?” You found yourself asking a question that felt more appropriate for the situation. You slowly were understanding why it felt weird and out of place. Because you were supposed to be six months pregnant. Far enough along to show, and to feel the baby’s movement. Your eyes shot forward to the front seat, staring at the two men who had told you that you were dying. But that wasn’t the most important thing on your mind right now. “Guys, what happened to the baby?”

An uncomfortable silence fell through out the car as your question remained unanswered. You frantically began trying to wrack your brain for any kind of clue as to what was going on here. You remembered getting out of the church, seeing first hand of all the angels being expelled from heaven...and that was it. You tried your hardest to figure out the missing details, but it was like your mind was blocking out the memory from you. "Look, this is for your own good—"

“Damn it, what the hell is going on?!” You practically screamed on the top of your lungs out of frustration from the lack of answers you were being given. A sense of dread came over at you from how they were acting. They only got like this when they were trying to withhold bad news for you. Tears began to prick your eyes from what it was. “What happened?”

The boys exchanged a look between one another before Dean adjusted his grip on the wheel, he loosened his fingers so he was gripping it so tightly. “You’re dying, Y/N.” Dean repeated the information once again. Your face scrunched up with horror at the words that came out from his mouth, this time you were understanding what he was saying. “Look, just because you’re dying doesn’t mean you’re…dead—not yet. We’re gonna fight this. I got the plan. You just need to hang on. You hear me?”

“If I’m dying...then why the hell are we still driving? Are we going to a hospital?” You bombarded the man with questions that demanded answers before he could say anything. You ran your fingers through your hair in fearful frustration. “And what’s going on with my body? Nothing’s making sense.”

“We need you to understand that you’re not really in this car right now? We are in your head, and you’re in a coma and are dying.” Dean informed you of the bad news. You slowly looked over at him, a sense of disbelief crossing your face. All of it felt like he was lying to you when you were hit with a sudden image that felt like more a memory. Screaming, crying...Dean holding your hand, telling you to hold on a little longer. You began to shake your head. “You slipped into one after you—”

“No, no. You’re lying.” You suddenly pressed your hands against your ears and shut your eyes to block out the information that was coming back to you all at once. You were doing everything in your power not to come face to face with the truth. “This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening—”

Before you could repeat the mantra again, you suddenly felt someone grab ahold of your wrists and violently shake you back into reality. You opened your eyes to see that Dean was leaning over the seat, hands off the wheel, forcing you to look at him. “Pull yourself together, damn it! Now is not the time to spiral.” 

“How…” You found yourself taken aback at what was going on right now, and how you were still on the road while Dean neglected the wheel. 

“Listen to me. We are in your head, and you’re in a coma and are dying.” Dean repeated back the information that you tried to ignore. “Do you understand me?” 

Slowly, you nodded your head. Dean let go of your wrists and got back into his seat, placing his hands back on the wheel as if it mattered. You found yourself sitting perfectly still for a few seconds as your mind began to wrap itself around the situation that was unraveling. "How...how do you know that? Me, dying."

"Because I'm you. Sam's you. You're you. All of this is you." Dean explained the details, gesturing a hand to the Impala itself. You furrowed your brow as you looked around the place. All of it felt so real. And yet it was starting to feel like a nightmare you couldn't wake up from. "We're in your head!"

"You're serious." You mumbled. Dean didn't respond, he kept his eyes on the road. Sam looked over his shoulder to give you a solemn nod. You felt yourself leaning back in your seat as you rubbed your face with your hands. "The whole reason why I stopped doing the trials was not to die. And I'm dying..." The baby was most likely gone. It explained why you didn't feel pregnant anymore. Because you weren't. 

"You didn't know, Y/N. None of us did." Sam spoke up before you could spiral again. An overwhelming sense of guilt and sadness hit you like you had never experienced before. You pressed a hand against your mouth to keep a sob from escaping. "It's not your fault."

“The next time we see Naomi or Metatron or whoever is to blame for this, we will get some justice, but for right now, we gotta fight this, sweetheart.” Dean snapped you, trying to focus your attention on the situation at hand. “This ain’t over for you or the baby. Not for a long shot. Got it?”

“Okay.” You inhaled a deep breath and composed yourself. He was right. This wasn’t the first time you had experienced death before. You knew people in all the high places to fix this. One you got your hands on that slimy little angel you were going to make him pay. You were going to make him bring your child back to life, hit the undo button. Everything was going to be okay. But in order for that to become a reality you needed to get the hell out of here. “What’s the plan?”

“I’m working on it.” Dean replied a few seconds later, his tone quieter, a little less confident than before.

“What does that mean? I’m sort of dying here, apparently.” You reminded the man. 

“It means that I’m working on it, all right?” 

“The thing is, if I am dying—and I believe you guys. I do. But if you’re you and Sam’s him...but the both of you are really me and you’re the part of me that wants to fight to live…” You were confusing yourself from the things that just came out of your mouth from trying to understand the complex situation going on here. And yet all of it made sense to you 

“Yes.” Dean said, completely lost himself at what the hell you were going on about. “I have no idea what you just said.” 

"Think of it like this. You're Y/N's logic. You're telling her what to do and focus on getting out of here. I'm the emotional side of her." Sam tried to explain the situation to his brother, in reality it was to yourself to make sense of the simulation your brain made up. "She needs to compartmentalize her grief. Long enough to figure out a plan to get the baby back.” 

“Well, you kind of slipped up earlier…” Dean muttered to his brother. 

“Okay. But if you guys don’t have any idea how I’m supposed to fight, then am I supposed to be fighting at all?” You found yourself posing an important question that felt right to be asked. If you choose to ignore what happened and give yourself a fighting chance to make things right. Even if it somehow worked out in the end...you didn’t think you would be able to live with yourself. The memory would haunt you for years to come. But you were jumping to conclusions. You still had no clue how to get out of here. You were stuck. 

“Are you serious?” Dean asked you in disbelief. 

“Hell yes she’s serious.” A voice you thought you were never going to hear again suddenly came out of nowhere. You turned your head to see none other than Bobby Singer sitting in the backseat with you. You blinked, officially wondering to yourself what in the hell was going on here. “And if you ask me, I think the kid’s got a good point.” 

“Y/N wants to die, and you think she’s got a point?’ 

“Okay, I don’t want to die.” You defended yourself from the words that Dean was putting in your mouth. “I asked if maybe I was supposed to be—”

“Shut it, Y/N.” Dean cut you off before you could say anything else. It seemed your mind was getting a fight with itself. The logical part of your brain with your heart. “You—go. Oh, and uh, before you throw me under the bus, you’re welcome for the hell rescue.”

“Hey, first of all, you didn’t rescue jack, half-wit. Y/N did. Second of all, Y/N,” You turned your head away from the front seat and to the man who was supposed to be the part of you that deep inside was okay with. Part of you that wanted to die. “You’re in a coma. Now, suck as they may, sometimes that’s just the way things go.” 

“What are you talking about?” Sam jumped into the argument. “There’s a way. You taught us that.” 

“Oh, you mean like the way one of you idjits does some ‘bass-ackwards’ crazy thing to beat death, like sell your soul?” Bobby wondered if that’s what they were talking about. 

“Exactly like selling my soul.” Dean defended himself. 

“Yeah, like that worked so well last time.” Bobby said. 

Dean scoffed at the attitude and dismissively waved a hand at the man. “Oh!” 

“Enough! All of you!” You suddenly snapped in frustration from the voices that were going on about nothing. You rubbed your eyes from everything that was unraveling quicker than you could process. “I can’t hear myself think!”

You never felt more overwhelmed in your life than you did right now. You felt yourself being tugged into two different directions, but you weren't sure which was the right one. Dean noticed your hesitance about listening to him. "Well, you're not actually buying this, are you?"

“Excuse me. Are you dead? Because I am, and maybe I’m here because I’m part of Y/N that actually knows what the hell she’s talking about.” Bobby shot back at the older Winchester, starting an argument that wasn’t defusing the situation. 

“Well, Sam and I are in the front seat because Y/N put us here because she wants to fight.” Dean said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. He looked over his shoulder to shoot you a quick glance to make sure. “Right?”

It seemed that wasn’t the case. Bobby found himself sitting in the middle of the brothers, squishing himself between the decision you were trying to make. "Well...that just got real uncomfortable." Bobby said. He didn’t want to stick around much longer for the argument that was going nowhere. The three of you had a chance to have a conversation, now it was his turn. He swung a hand over his shoulder and grabbed ahold of your wrist. "See ya, boys." 

“Y/N, don’t you dare—” 

Before you could hear the man protest for you to stay in the car, you found yourself somewhere else. Your eyes wandered around your new surroundings, a forest from the looks of it. The scenery was peaceful looking. The sky was a bright blue, the sun was shining. Sounds of wildlife all around you. For the first time since you got here you felt a sort of peace. You looked around for a moment before you settled your gaze on the man you saw once before back in hell after you rescued him. It felt sort of odd that he was part of yourself that you thought about when the situation called for it. When you took the deal for Dean to save him from hell, the apocalypse. Your death was to benefit everyone in the long run. But it felt like you needed to discuss it. 

“Yip, yip, yip. Am I right?” Bobby asked, cracking a smile from the debacle he saved you from. 

“Honestly, Bobby, I—” You let out a heavy sigh from the emotional conflict you were having inside your own brain. “I don’t know what’s right.”

"Let's walk, kid." Bobby placed a hand on your shoulder and guided you down the path deep into the forest, leading you to a reason why death wasn’t so bad. 

[Next Part]

Rewrite Taglist:

@deansquirreljerkwinchester // @everything-i-tried-was-taken // @starswirlblitz // @supernaturalismydrug // @we-are-band-sexuals // @angiewinchestercas // @kaylinfayezink  // @owhatshername1 // @kgbrenner  // @cleo-is-my-doggy // @eeyore1988 // @dakota-dream // @lilylovelyxo // @timetravelingginger // @holahellohialoha //   @quicksilver123456 // @natashacamillas //@lexi-anastasia //@kaylinfayezink //  @deanwnchstr @albot-eh // @rashinyx2002 // @shellybeans //  @icantfindacreativeurl //  @becs-bunker // @oreosatmidnight // @bands-and-shietz // @fabulousmustachesonapolarbear // @clarewinchester // @releasethekracko // @alex-zeppelin // @mega-mrs-dean-winchester // @theskytraveler // @notmoose94 //@assassinofmasyaf // @caswinchester2000 // @savannah-m-99 // @sunlight-dean // @strayrosesbloom // @that-slytherin-over-there // @1000roughdrafts// @its-medeanwinchester // @simplyhemmings

Message me if you would like to be added!

[musehelping]

hello, friends !! i believe it’s finally time to announce the surprise collaboration !! @ofmymuses and i are not only working on a character masterlist, but we are making them for muse inspiration for our brand new rp !! my half of the masterlist is premiering now, but her half should be arriving at some point today. @maskedfm​ is an appless slasher-themed rp following the lives of the rosefield residents as a possible copy cat killer strikes the victim of the first murders, gertrude green, and her daughter, georgie. with the original killer, identified to be gertrude’s ex-best friend, still locked up in prison, the new rosefield ripper can be anyone. so the question at hand is: how do you know who you can trust? we will be opening for apps in one hour, but i will answer any questions that come our way.

tl;dr: this character masterlist is a collaboration between amanda and i to help potential lurkers figure out any characters they might want to play in our new group !! however, it can also serve as stand-alone descriptions for any groups you might want to join !!

Tessa Thompson:

Name: Evangeline Campbell

Age: Thirty-Six.

Major: Community College Professor.

MBTI: ENTJ.

Hogwarts: Ravenclaw.

Enneagram: 1w2. 

Astrology: Aquarius Sun-Capricorn Moon.

Evangeline Campbell is a professor at the community college in her county. On a regular basis, she has to deal with grades and complaints. As a result, Evangeline has developed a bit of a dismissive attitude towards any unfounded objections sent her way. However, she wasn’t initially that way.

When she was younger, Evangeline took a very eager interest in anything she could get her hands on. She loved learning and as a result, her grades were always sky high. She was incredibly fascinated by school and loved trying her best to attend it every single day. The only problem is that she feels as if she peaked around that time. Will her attitude towards her life’s current situation turn around for the better?

Ludovica Martino:

Name: Mia Lombardi.

Age: Twenty.

Major: Photography.

MBTI: ISFP.

Hogwarts: Hufflepuff.

Enneagram: 6w5.

Astrology: Scorpio Sun-Cancer Moon

Mia has never been the type to have massive aspirations for herself. All she has ever been concerned with is enjoying her life and creating memories along the way. This did not please her parents, nor did it satisfy her guidance counselor, who had Mia in her office nearly every weekday in Mia’s junior and senior years. 

After a solid year and a half of attempting to break through to her that college is a necessity, Mia was convinced after she was told that photography is a great way to save created memories forever. She’s a beginner in the field, but she loves every second of it. She doesn’t see herself getting a career in the field, but she doesn’t aspire to be well-known anyway. She’s just having fun, but her parents are starting to pressure her to look into internships. Will she be able to figure out the road ahead, before it’s too late?

Tori Kelly:

Name: Marisol Jones

Age: Twenty-Four.

Job: Local Radio DJ.

MBTI: ESFP.

Hogwarts: Gryffindor.

Enneagram: 7w8.

Astrology: Sagittarius Sun-Taurus Moon.

Marisol has always been a small town girl with big city aspirations. From a very young age, Marisol would constantly use her family’s video camera and would use it to record herself talking about the burdens of her daily life. In elementary school, Marisol often found herself getting in trouble for talking too much or vying to be the center of attention at any given moment. In her mind, she couldn’t help it. The need to be heard was just a part of who she was and being the loudest person in the room was the easiest way to get that need met.

She didn’t see much of an issue with her behavior until she was twenty-one. This was when her boyfriend of three years broke up with her over it. Instead of yelling at him and telling her off, which was her go-to conflict-resolution plan, she became deadly quiet. One night after dark, she snuck into the studio of a local radio station. Even though the station was normally playing elevator music after midnight, she broke the non-stop stream of boring music by deciding to play You Oughta Know by Alanis Morissette as revenge, letting any listeners know that this song was specifically dedicated to her boyfriend. The potheads and insomniacs loved it and soon enough, she was hired by the station to work as a DJ and commentator. Town citizens love her witty banter on the local station, but she wants more. Her ultimate dream is to move to Los Angeles and pursue a radio career there. Will her dream come true?

Carlson Young:

Name: Emilie Woods 

Age: Twenty-Six.

MBTI: ENFP.

Job: Party Planner.

Hogwarts: Hufflepuff.

Enneagram: 7w6. 

Astrology: Gemini Sun-Pisces Moon

As a child, Emilie was frequently sick. Her immune system has always been very weak, so if there was a sickness going around at school, there was a ninety-percent chance that she would catch it and would have to miss another week of classes. She rarely had other children her age to give her company and entertainment. As a result, she often had to make up her own games and activities for entertainment.

Her favorite activity was planning parties for her dolls and stuffed animals. She would make up birthdays for each of them and would plan out all the little details of their individual birthday parties. Her eyes would light up and she would become incredibly giddy when she was able to see her plans come to life, even though she was the only one who cared enough to see it happen.

As an adult, Emilie still has a weak immune system, but she takes extra measures to still go out and socialize, in spite of it. Her neighbors often comment that she has a larger than life personality. That kind of joy is only strengthened at her job, where she helps to plan anniversary parties, sweet sixteens, and weddings for people in her town. She has a boundary where she doesn’t allow others to touch her, especially if they’re ill. However, people often don’t think twice about breaking her boundaries, because they don’t think it’s as serious as it truly is. Will Emilie be able to stand up for herself and put her foot down?

Orion Carloto:

Name: Luna Costa.

Age: Twenty-One.

Major: History.

MBTI: ISTJ.

Hogwarts: Slytherin. 

Enneagram: 3w4.

Astrology: Virgo Sun-Gemini Moon.

Luna Costa was born and raised in New York City. With her parents both being workaholics, she learned how to be at the top of her game from a very early age. As she grew up, her ambitious streak stuck and she was to be within the top five percent of her class.  

That was before the Costa family moved to the suburbs. Luna was forced to make new friends, look at new schools, and get used to a completely unfamiliar environment. It’s been around four years since then and Luna has found herself stuck at a lower-tier college. However, she still dreams of one day owning a fabulous museum of her own. Will her ambitious streak pay off?

Josephine Langford:

Name: Hannah Bradford

Age: Twenty-One.

Major: Musical Theatre

MBTI: ENFJ.

Hogwarts: Hufflepuff.

Enneagram: 3w2.

Astrology: Libra Sun-Cancer Moon.

Hannah Bradford is an optimistic, sensitive soul. From a young age, she lived to make others smile, due to her antics. When she found out that a stage was the perfect place to do exactly that, she was hooked. From then on, she vowed to join any theatre program she could, including summer camps and school plays.

When high school came around, Hannah often received lead roles in most of the school productions. However, while she was trying to make everyone else happy, she was miserable. Her parents had separated in her last year of middle school and even though the two parents initially had equal custody, her father left the picture shortly after. 

After four solid years of anger, she entered community college with a brand new mindset. She wanted to be a positive influence on everyone she knew, including herself. She painted the walls of her bedroom yellow, decided to take in more sunlight, and wanted to surround herself with positivity, as she felt that this would help her complete her goal. That goal seemed to be on its way towards completion until it was suddenly halted by the death of her father. She found out through her grandmother and she instantly felt as if she was back at square one.

Since then, Hannah has been diagnosed with situational depression and is taking life one step at a time, without any added pressure. Will Hannah’s situation get any better?

[lovehugsandcandy]

Eight Days a Week, Eight Seconds a Kiss (Part 7)  (Colt x MC)

A/N:  Part 7 of the RoD rom-com no one wanted. Ellie, girl, you are so so so so close. One more part after this....

Pairing: Colt x MC, ROD

Length: ~2500 words

Rating: PG-13 (Swearing, probably, because I swear a lot.)

Summary: Ellie wants to live her life to the fullest, starting with her first kiss. She just needs a little encouragement.

Friday: Girl, Don’t Treat Me Like a Stranger

I don’t like him.

Classes dragged and dragged and dragged. It didn’t help that, with every second passing by, all Ellie could focus on was the absolute worst person to be on her mind.

I don’t like him.

She didn’t think she would ever be able to leave this classroom and was counting the minutes, the seconds, until final bell. And then, once it rang, she still had to get through a Yearbook Committee meeting, a meeting with her guidance counselor about Langston, and the never-ending refrain that she tried and tried to convince herself was fact.

I don’t like him.

Once she was finally free, after she had retained nothing from her day and her endless meetings, she was out like a shot, sliding into her driver’s seat. At least she had her car, hood pristine and gleaming in the sun, allowing her some privacy while she drove so she could repeat the same four words over and over and over.

I don’t like him.

When she finally got to the shop, it was packed on the floor; Fridays were apparently a busy day. Everyone was out and working, even Kaneko, who was crouched under an engine to point something out to Logan. She was tempted to wander over to them, but they looked busy, intently focused. So did Mona and Ximena, huddled in the front seat of a souped-up race car, while Toby was working on the engine in front of them. She looked around again but didn’t see Colt anywhere, apparently MIA amid the din.

She leaned back onto a Maranello, watching the masses work, and was startled by shout underneath her. She looked down and there he was, rolling on a wheeled cart.

“You trying to drop this on me?”

“Sorry! I didn’t know you were under there.” His leather jacket must have been placed somewhere for safekeeping because he was clad in a grease-covered t-shirt, streaks dark on one arm and a cheekbone. Crap. I like him. “Need a hand?”

He considered her, pausing for a while before finally motioning to the cart behind her. “Grab the creeper and come under.”

She scooted it over and laid down, sliding underneath the undercarriage with Colt. The car was jacked up but there still wasn’t much room to spare underneath.

“Here.” Colt handed her a pair of pliers. “We’re trying to get the driveshaft out.” He stuck a flashlight in his mouth and reached up, hands delving into the parts above them.

“Uhh, Colt?”

“Mmmmm?”

“What’s a driveshaft?” She blew a stray stand of hair from her eyes, looking up at the car above her. She had no idea what any of the metal pieces above her were.

He looked at her, pulling the flashlight from his mouth to smirk. “Why did you agree to help, again?”

“Hey, maybe I just need a good teacher.” She shoved him, gentle, when he laughed.

“In more than one thing apparently.” He reached up, above her, and pointed out three wires. “Clip these.”

“Are you trying to electrocute me?”

“Ha. If I was trying to kill you, you’d know.”  

She smiled, clipping the wires he pointed out, fiddling with the pliers.

“So...did you get your kiss after I left the club? You and Logan?” The words came out fast; Ellie barely caught them before he put the flashlight back in his mouth, staring at the undercarriage above him.

She bit her lip, considering her response, considering him, as he balanced the light between his teeth and avoided her eye. “Not yet.”

“Huh.” He took the flashlight from his mouth, gaze still fixed on the car above them. “You’re still shooting yourself in the foot, then.”

“I told you...I’m not sure I want Logan anymore.”

He raised a dubious eyebrow. “That’s not what you said when we started this mess.”

“Maybe things have changed for me...” She trailed off, not knowing how to continue. “Maybe I realized what I want.”

He didn’t respond, just focused on the metal above them as she watched, waiting. It was quieter here, the noisy din of the shop muffled by the metal and plastic above them. It was its own kind of intimacy, down here, almost like they were alone.

Finally, Colt turned his head to meet her eye. She suddenly realized how close they were, side-by-side, shoulders almost touching above the ground. His eyes were open, unguarded. “And what do you want, Ellie?”

She stared above her, gathering her courage, gathering the ability to speak through the lump in her throat. “Ximena thinks there’s something going on between us.” She hazarded a look at him, between her lashes; he hadn’t moved at all. “Between you and me.”

An eternity passed, the glaciers melted, and Ellie died a thousand deaths before he spoke again. “Do you think there is?”

She couldn’t speak, couldn’t help but look away from the sharp gaze, away from his eyes to his lips, so close in the dim light. She couldn’t think. Slowly, so slowly, he reached over and brushed her hair from her face, hand tracing a slow, lingering path from her temple, down her cheek, ending at her chin. She couldn’t breathe.

His name was barely perceptible from her lips and she found herself moving closer, drawn in by the heat in his eyes. She pivoted, turning to face him, barely able to fit under the car, metal digging into her shoulder. He curved his hand around her jaw, touching her face with a gentleness she thought would be impossible for him; her heart stuttered as the softness hidden behind the rough edges, softness she had only seen for her. His eyes dropped to her lips as she edged closer, barely able to breathe. The creeper shifted as they were inches apart, millimeters apart, atoms apart, units of distance meaningless, and then-

“Ellie?”

She jumped at Logan’s voice and then “Owwwwww……” Her hand flew to her temple.

With that, the spell was broken and, before she could blink, Colt and his creeper had flown out from the underside of the car and she was alone in the dark. Crap.

Gingerly, she followed, rubbing her head where she had smashed it underneath the car. Logan was standing over her, shirt stained with grease. He crouched next to her, careful fingers sliding her hair away so he could get a look at her temple. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah,” she muttered, “I’m fine.”

Colt was already standing, too far away, watching Logan’s careful fingers feel around her head. She could tell it was going to bruise.

“Ellie?” Logan was studying her. “Did you still want to get dinner?”

“Oh yeah, dinner.” She was in a daze; she completely forgot about their conversation yesterday. This would have been her dream, only days ago; now, she didn’t know what to think and looked over his shoulder at Colt.

He looked sharp, dangerous, furious, arms crossed and tight against his chest; the angry set of his jaw as he looked at Logan faded when she caught his eye. He only inclined his head towards them. “Sounds like a date.”

He nodded at her before giving her a significant look at Logan and walking away. 

“Wait!” But it was too late. He was already out the door of the shop.

“Ellie? Hey, El?” Logan caught her eyes, concerned. “Are you sure you’re ok to go out?”

She didn’t even know what to say, how to respond; she just rubbed her temple and watched the door to the shop swing in the wind.

~~~~~

“Are you sure you’re ok?”

“If I eat one more chicken wing, I’m going to throw up.”

Logan laughed, gesturing to the table. “There’s still four sauces left to try. And your fries!”

“Oh God.” Ellie put her head in her hands. “I can’t. I’m dead. You have killed me.”

His laughter got louder. “That isn’t exactly what I meant, but you are not the first victim of the Kelso’s challenge. It’s not worth the free meal.”

“I thought the both of us could eat 40 wings! That’s only 20 a person!”

“And that’s how I know you’re new.” Logan shook his head ruefully. “No one ever finishes the Kelso’s challenge.”

Ellie groaned.

“But....this wasn’t really what I meant when I asked if you were ok. You’ve been off recently.” Ellie flushed as she looked at him through her fingers. “Ever since you started trying to kiss someone.”

Her hands dropped into her lap. “You knew?!?”

“Mona told me yesterday.”

She groaned. “Seriously? Does everyone know?!?”

“I don’t think everyone knows. Toby probably doesn’t.” Logan shrugged. “Even if you told him, he would just forget the second a new car rolled into the shop.”

“Maybe I should only tell Toby things, then.” Her palms to her cheeks confirmed that, yes, she was blushing. Badly.

Logan put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Hey, it’s no big deal.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“You know, I would have kissed you if you asked.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah. The crowds are just lining up for a pity kiss.” She blinked at the vision behind her eyes, Colt’s face just a few hours ago, cast in shadows underneath the car, eyes trained on her as she edged closer and-

She shook her head. What it real? It felt real. But Colt was also supposed to kiss her if she failed at getting her fist kiss by tomorrow, which was looking increasingly likely. Did he pity her too? Who even knew anymore? She dropped her elbows to the table so she could cradle her head. Urgh. Maybe she needed another chicken wing.

Logan leaned closer to wrap an arm around her shoulder. “It wouldn’t have been pity, Ellie, come on.”

She sagged against him with a groan. “Right.”

“I’m not sure your first kiss is that important. I think you have a lifetime of kisses ahead of you.”

Ellie sighed, heavy. “I just didn’t want everything to pass me by anymore.”

“But is it just a kiss you’re worried about passing you by?”

Ellie thought about her week, about laughing in a dive bar, about driving up the highway free as a bird, about hot dogs and Slurpees and the moments that weren’t kisses, but maybe meant so much more.

"I do think you should think about what you want though,” Logan pulled her closer, a comforting hug as if he knew her thoughts.

“What do I want?” She had to blink again, furiously, trying to force the memory of dark eyes meeting hers across a dance floor. “I don’t want a pity kiss. I want someone to want me.”

Logan dropped a kiss on her forehead. “There. Does that count?”

She had to smile. Even if she didn’t get her kiss, she had great friends who meant the world to her. Great friends who took time to cheer her up. And fix her car. And take her out. And agree to her cockamamie plans to get her first kiss.

She looked up at him, his eyes shining fondly. “I’m not sure if that’s what we had in mind but-”

“Fancy seeing you two here.”

Ellie spun in her chair, breaking out of Logan’s embrace, to see Mona behind her, devilish smirk on her face. Behind her stood Ximena and Toby, the latter with his hand raised in greeting. And behind them?

Oh crap. Ellie leaned further away from Logan, guilt roiling her gut.

“Is Kelso’s the only place anyone in this crew knows?” Mona continued.

“Hello to you too, Mona.” At least Logan was able to respond. All Ellie could do was stare at Colt as he stared at her.

She shouldn’t even feel guilty. She wasn’t doing anything wrong! But the look on his face? Ellie’s stomach turned.

“Oh no sweetie, did you try the wing challenge? No one ever finishes that...”

Ellie didn’t even acknowledge Ximena, was frozen on the spot, as she and Colt stared at each other. She leaned further away from Logan and, apparently, that was all it took as Colt turned on his heel and walked out the door.

Ellie jumped out of her seat, pushing through the crowd to follow, not even acknowledging Mona’s snarky “Are you just not eating, Kaneko Jr.?” as she darted out the door.

“Wait.”

He was already a block ahead, stalking forward, the set of his shoulders a taut line as he stormed away from her. She put on a burst of speed, flying as fast as she could down the streets of Gramercy Park, pulling closer as she passed graffitied storefronts and fluorescent signs.

“Colt, wait, wait!” She managed to get a hand on leather and spin him so they were face-to-face. She looked up at him, struggling to catch her breath from her sprint; the angry furrow of his eyebrows just took her breath away again

“What.”

“It’s not what it looks-”

“Stop.” He shook his head, gesturing back behind her. “I don’t care what it is. Just go.”

“No.” She planted her feet on the ground and exhaling a sharp breath. She could do this. “I think that-”

“I don’t I wanna be your wingman anymore.”

Ellie started. “What?”

“I don’t want to do this anymore. I think it was a bad idea to get involved.”

“Ok but-”

“I don’t want to kiss you.”

She froze. "What do you mean?" She couldn’t stop the flash of hurt, her face falling. “But I thought-”  

“You shouldn’t kiss on some stupid timetable anyways.” He was looking over her shoulder, avoiding her eyes. “You should kiss who you really want to.”

She nodded slowly. “Yeah, but-” 

“It’s almost been a week and I’m sorry you and Prince Charming haven’t made it work but that’s not my fucking problem.” He still wouldn’t look at her. “So you should just go.” 

Ellie’s mouth dropped and she just managed to catch his hand as he tried to turn away from her, again.

“Please stop....” She tried to keep the tremor from her voice but she was sure he could feel her hand shaking as it clutched his. Tears were starting to sting her eyes as she looked up at him, his face silhouetted by the streetlights. The anger had faded and he just looked drained, jaw clenched as his sad gaze cut away from her.

If it weren’t so quiet, she could have missed his words, barely a mutter, a breath, dissipating into the air around them.

“I don’t want you to kiss me just because you couldn’t kiss Logan.”

“What?” The word came out as a whisper, her heart in her throat. “Wait, you think that...? No, no, no, you don’t understand.”

He pushed away from her, taking two steps back. Even that tiny distance was unbearable. “I think I understand just fine.” And with a curt nod, he turned and walked away. She could only watch through blurry eyes as his back faded away until he was gone.

Tags:  @deimosensblog @alegria1580@choicesarehard@thefarrari@client-327 @moonlit-girl-wonder@going-down-downtown@soniadotalves@jolietmaraud @hazah@flowerpowell@poeticscolt@brightpinkpeppercorn @zaira-oh-zaira@desiree-0816@leelee10898@maxwellsquidsuit@liamzigmichael4ever@octobereighth@omgjasminesimone @waytooattuned @i-only-signed-up-for-fanfiction @emichelle @lovemychoices​ @mrskaneko @livedinawomansworld @lovemychoices

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Light of the Sun and Stars Chapter 13: Questions with No Answers

Summary: His whole life Marco Diaz has been raised by monsters, living under the cruel rule of their leader, Toffee. But one day Marco escapes into Mewni where he meets a magical princess and Mewman like himself, who begins teaching him all about her world. Together they will learn about life, love, and the lights within each of them, as they change their world forever.

Chapter Synopsis: Marco, now desperate for answers about the truth the Monsters hid from him, begins trying to find out what he can. That is until he learns of an odd word that everyone seems weird about discussing with him. So the big question is what is a “kiss”?

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Disclaimer: Star vs and all its characters are owned by Daron Nefcy and Disney. All rights go to them.

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“Mr. Candle?” Marco called, banging his fist as firmly against the door as he could in an attempt to draw the make-shift counselor out of his office. “Mr. Candle I really need to speak to you! It's important!” the boy tried again, but there was no response and Marco sighed in defeat.

“Where is he?” Marco asked himself, before noticing the note hanging above the door, reading : Gone away on important business. Will return indefinitely. The boy sighed loudly. “What does that even mean?” he asked, feeling at a loss of what to do now. He had really needed some guidance, his life feeling way too complicated right now without Mr. Candle's help.

First, there was the monsters and whatever checkered past everyone seemed to be keeping secret from him. It was getting harder and harder not to tell somebody about the incident, his mind almost constantly plagued by his troubling thoughts, always fearful someone would discover the truth. But the boy had no idea where to even begin to unravel the mystery and make sense of the disjointed puzzle pieces, his only hope being that somehow Mr. Candle might be able to help him out, the boy willing to include him in on his secret if it meant figuring all this out. But it seemed like it was a dead end, the boy now back to square one with no backup plan to go off of.

And then, there was Star. It had been a few days since the Orphan's Ball and the last he had really seen of the girl had been that long, disheartening confession about her past suffering, not exactly the most pleasant memory shared with his bestie. Though she didn't seem torn up over it anymore (which he was grateful for) she had seemed awfully distant of late, as she had seemed to throw herself into her work with raw determination, which Marco should be proud of her for, if it wasn't for the fact that if Marco didn't know any better he would swear she was avoiding him. Which he was starting to wonder if she was, the little time the two shared together Star kept herself at a distance, very rarely making eye contact and seeming like she was forcing her voice to sound more formal and uptight around him. He didn't mention it, partially because he thought it might all be in his head and partially because he figured if she was acting that way it was only because she was feeling awkward after telling him her darkest secret. So now Marco wasn't sure what to do or say or even if he should do or say anything, terrified he might set her off again or make it worse.

Marco sighed loudly as he walked off down the hall, looking defeated as he buried his hands in his hood pockets, his eyes glazed over with depression, that was until he spotted a girl a short distance away. She was leaning out a window, looking through a pair of binoculars with a smile on her face. Marco curious, decided to stand beside her, his eyes following her own lingering gaze, as he realized he was looking out into the lush palace gardens, feeling quite surprised when he spotted Star talking to the gardener about something. Confused, he tried to see any other points of interest below, but the girl was definitely watching Star, her gaze matching up with her perfectly. “Oh my gosh, are you Marco?” The boy swerved as he saw that the girl had finally noticed him next to her, lowering the binoculars enough so that Marco was finally able to get a good look at her.

The girl in front of him was not a maid or servant, at least not one he had ever seen. She was a teenager, about Marco's age, with short black hair done up in twin ponytails, a pair of obviously fake horns pocking up at the top of her head. She wore thick, red wire-framed glasses, her eyes shining with wonder as she stared at Marco with huge grin on her face, showing off her braces. Her face was covered in small heart dots, though Marco couldn't tell if they were stickers or some kind of Mewman-based acne, her real purple hearts contorting as she gave the boy a wide, creepy grin. She wore a plain purple t-shirt with fake wings glued to her back, a little star printed on the front, a blue skirt and dark purple leggings, matched with a pair of purple sneakers.

“Umm, yes. Who are you?” he asked, cautiously looking her up and down.

“Oh my gosh,” the girl replied, pulling a camera out of nowhere and taking a picture of Marco, rendering the boy blind for a moment as the flash made Marco flinch at the sudden intrusion on his senses. “I can't believe Star took another one of them in, I mean she's just the coolest!” she continued, looking at the digital render of the photo on her camera.

Marco rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his vision, before staring at the girl with a lost look. “What are you-”

“And look,” the girl said, turning the camera so Marco could now see the digital photos as she sorted through them. “I have a whole bunch of pictures of you with Star, like this one,” the camera showed a picture of Marco trying on one of his prized hoodies, Star giving him an approving smile, a sloth taking his measurements behind him, though part of the picture was obscured by what seemed to be a piece of fabric in the way.

“Wait was that in Quest Buy?” Marco asked in shock.

“Uh huh,” the girl replied, before flipping to another picture. “Oh, oh, here's one with you in it.” The girl was right, Marco was in this shot as well, collapsed into Star's arms holding her tightly as behind them a group of panicked guards tried to put out a flaming corn field. Again the picture was slightly obscured, this time by what seemed to be the inside of a bush.

But before Marco had a chance to comment the girl had already gone on to the next picture. “And here's one of you two hugging, and here's another one of you two hugging, and here's well... you're hugging in most of them.” Marco blinked as picture after picture flashed by on the small screen, every single one showing Star and Marco together (hugging mostly) and all of them either blocked by something or far out of range, as if the girl was taking them from odd locations.  

“How did you get all of these?” Marco asked, trying to recount ever seeing the complete stranger in front of him before.

“Oh I sneak in here all the time,” she said simply, never taking her eyes off her camera as she continued to flip through picture after picture.

“But aren't there guards and stuff?”

“Yeah, but I can sneak past them pretty easily, I have all of their routines completely memorized, as well as Star's complete princess schedule. It's really nothing for Star's biggest fan. I mean they don't call me StarFan13 for nothing.”

Star has fans, Marco thought. And one of them actually calls herself StarFan13? But what he actually said was, “Isn't that kinda dangerous?”

The fan girl shrugged. “It's worth the risk to get to see Star.”

Unfortunately, as strange as it was, Marco was inclined to agree, guards or not, he would do pretty much anything himself if it was for Star. Still this did seem a bit weirder considering Star wasn't aware of the almost constant presence following her all through her day it seemed. “Does Star know about this?” Marco asked.

“Of course! Star knows everything!” the girl replied with admiration, looking up some from her camera as her eyes twinkled. This did ease Marco's mind a little.

“Wait look!” StarFan screamed, grabbing onto Marco and pulling him closer so he could see what she was seeing, the two now watching as Star used her wand to try and repair a couple of flowers and plants that had apparently been destroyed, Marco noticing that the spot looked like the same one he and Star had been at the night of the dance. The girl took this opportunity to snap a couple of pictures of Star's incredible display, Marco's eyes just shining in admiration as his bestie confidently waved her wand, instantly repairing all damages done to the flora around her.

“Wow, Star is so amazing!” Marco sighed.

“Oh my gosh, yes! And now I have even more pictures of Star using her magic!”

“Can I see?” Marco asked excitedly, holding out a hand for the camera. StarFan nodded vigorously, handing over the camera.

“Sure just be careful not to-” There was a bright flash, Marco screaming as he went blind once again, nearly losing hold of the camera. “-blind yourself,” she finished needlessly.

Marco waited until his vision cleared, before looking over all the photos, impressed with how many shots he was able to take of his bestie. “Wow these are all really good, StarFan!” He paused, the name still sounding somewhat fake and strange to him. But he quickly snapped out of it, as soon as the next picture rendered. “Oooh, here's one of the dance!” Marco's eyes shined as he stared at a picture of him and Star all dressed up, twirling around the room, a bright light making both of them glow, the smile on Star's face, making Marco's whole chest flutter. “Wow, she looks so beautiful,” he said to himself, more than to the fan girl looking over his shoulder.

“That is one of my absolute favorite pieces,” StarFan said, proudly. “See everyone else got their pictures from their magic mirrors, but I actually got mine in real life.”

“Well, it all looks great!” Marco praised, handing the camera back over to the hyper girl. “You've got a picture of pretty much everything here.”

“Awww, that's so sweet of you to say,” StarFan said blushing. “Now all I need is one of you and Star kissing and my collection will pretty much be complete!”

Marco blinked. Kiss? “What's that?” Marco asked the girl, his curiosity peaked. He was sure he had never heard the word before, but it sounded like it was something he should be doing with Star.

StarFan's mouth dropped open in shock, leaning in super close to the boy, making him feel instantly unsettled. “Oh my gosh, you don't know what that is?!” she asked, unable to hide her joy as her eyes started to shimmer, Marco practically able to see the wheels turning in her head.

“Ummm, no...” he asked hesitantly, feeling put-off by the girl's bizarre behavior. “Should I?”

Before StarFan could respond, the two teens heard the sound of shuffling feet, echoing off the cold stone steps, and a voice yell, “I think she went this way?!”

“She's not getting away this time!” another voice shouted, sounding close. There was a short moment of silence between the two, as Marco and StarFan shared a quick look, the fan girl still ridiculously close to the boy, who was leaning back awkwardly. Then suddenly she shouted, “Gotta go!” snapping another picture of the boy, the boy going blind for the third time that day, rubbing his eyes as he tried to clear his vision.

Meanwhile, StarFan13 quickly ran over to the nearest laundry shoot, throwing it open and jumping down, sliding all the way to the subbasement, where no doubt Sir Lavabo would be awaiting her for three o'clock tea.

The guards finally made it around the corner, Dex (who was in the lead) took the opportunity to pounce the intruder, knocking both of them to the ground, the trespasser releasing a girlie scream on the way down. “Ha,” the guard gloated his victory, turning his captive over onto their back, grinning ear to ear with satisfaction. “We got you this time, you little- MARCO?!”

Dex did a double take as he saw not the face of their frequent girl intruder, but instead the princess' young hoodie wearing friend, looking dizzy and dazed from getting thrown uncomfortably to the ground. Jak and the rest of the guards caught up with their companion, Jak's mouth dropping open in shock. “Marco! You're the intruder!”

Dex sighed, face-palming. “No, Jak, we got the wrong person,” he explained, standing to his feet and helping the flustered boy up. “Sorry about that, Marco. We thought you were someone else.” He tried to dust the boy off as best as he could, Marco just blinking as he tried to get his still-spotty vision back.

“Ugh, what hit me?” he asked groggily, rubbing the back of his head tenderly.

“Dex did,” Jak explained, his fellow guard shooting him a glare.

“Did you happen to see a young girl pass through here?” another guard asked the flustered boy.

“Ummm...” Marco considered telling the guards the truth but thought better of it, not wanting to get the girl in any trouble. “No. Haven't seen anyone. Just been standing here, alone, in this hallway... all by myself.” He gave them a wide grin, chuckling nervously, every guard raising their eyebrows suspiciously, except for Jak who simply nodded in understanding. “Okay let us know if you see anything,” he said.

“Well,” Dex sighed. “Looks like we'll just have to continue our search elsewhere. Come on, guys.”

With that, the guards marched off, preparing to search another part of the castle, leaving Marco on his own. He looked out the window surprised to see Star had already left, the gardener returning to his normal tasks, the royal moving on to her next pressing matter. His thoughts were blubbing around in his head, trying to make sense of the new word the girl had mentioned to him. What was a kiss anyways? He felt a need to know, needed at least one of his pestering questions to finally be answered. If he couldn't learn anything else that day, at least he could find out what that word meant. Marco smiled to himself.

And he knew just the person to ask.

…

“What's a kiss?”

Jackie did a spit take, spewing her drink half-way across the room, Marco flinching at the strange reaction from his normally calm skater friend. She coughed for a second trying to clear her tight airways, her face the picture of startled. “W-What?!” Jackie managed to cough out. The two had sat down for a quick bite to eat at Marco's favorite restaurant, the hooded boy asking her if he could talk to her about something, alone. Or, more specifically, without Janna, the hooded boy concerned about how his creepy friend would react to his question, even though it seemed he should have been more concerned about how Jackie would react. Then again he had blurted it out the second the two had gotten comfortable, his bad timing putting Jackie half-way between a gulp of water, making her choke on her drink from the unexpected question.

“A-A kiss,” Marco repeated, leaning a little away from the white-haired girl, looking both confused and a little grossed out by her reaction.

“Umm,” the two turned to see Kelly standing over their table, holding a tray of food, giving Jackie a concerned look. “Is everything alright here?”

“Yeah, we're fine. Thanks Kelly,” the boy responded cheerfully, Jackie still too busy coughing to answer.

“Really?” Kelly said, raising an eyebrow at the boy. “Cause your friend just sprayed one of the other customers.” The girl pointed to a dripping wet Mewman behind her, both Marco and Jackie giving her sheepish looks.

“Miss!” the Mewman yelled to Kelly. “Towel please!”

“In a second, sir,” Kelly politely responded, shooting him a smile before turning back to her two friends.

“Sorry for the trouble,” Jackie apologized, having finally gotten her throat clear.

“Yeah, it was more my fault than anything,” Marco added, rising from his seat and grabbing his napkin. “If you want I can help you-”

Kelly silenced him, grabbing onto the boy's arm. “That's not necessary. Cleaning up other people's messes is my job. Just maybe be a little more careful next time, okay?” She eyed them both, questioningly. Jackie and Marco nodded, the boy taking his seat once again.

“Misssss!” the customer yelled rudely, quickly becoming upset at being ignored. “Towel?!”

Kelly rolled her eyes. “Unbelievable, some people,” she muttered under her breath, before turning back to the customer with a smile. “I will be with you in just a moment, sir. A little patience, please.”

“But I'm soaking wet!”

“And I'm in the middle of a conversation,” she responded, her voice losing some of its sweetness. “So please wait your turn.” The man crossed his arms, huffing with annoyance.

“Not much for customer service, are you?” Jackie asked, trying to hide her smile.

“Well it has been a day,” Kelly sighed, leaning against the table. “And despite the fact that both me and Tad technically work here, I always end up covering his shift for him.”

“Where is Tad?” Marco asked, looking around.

“Same place he always is,” Kelly said, her eyes jumping up to the top of her head, Jackie and Marco just now noticing the snoring face of Kelly's boyfriend.

“You could always wake him up, y'know,” Jackie pointed out.

“Yeah I know, but he's so adorable when he's sleeping,” Kelly said, with a loving sigh. “Besides at this rate, I'll be promoted to head chef in no time.”

“Wait, you're a cook!” Marco shouted, excitedly.

“Yep,” Kelly said, proudly. “Someday soon... hopefully. I'm not sure how much longer I can deal with rude customers like that guy.” She pointed behind her.

“I can still hear you!” the Mewman yelled with annoyance.

“Mind your own business!” the girl shot back.

“H-Huh?” Tad groggily said, all the yelling waking him from his slumber. “What's up, babe? Is our shift over?”

“No, Tad,” Kelly said sweetly, shooting her boyfriend a sugary smile. “Just some jerky customer.”

“HEY!” the customer screamed.

“Want me to take care of it for you, so you can talk to your friends,” Tad offered, the two ignoring the Mewman's outburst.

“Really, would you?” Kelly asked, with a relived sigh.

“Sure, babe. Anything for you.” With that, Tad floated off to try and console the angered customer.

“So anyways, what were you two talking about?” Kelly asked, taking the opportunity of a break to get a quick sip of water.

“Oh right,” Marco said, regaining focus on their conversation once again. “I was just asking Jackie what a kiss was.”

Kelly spit out her drink, coating the already soaked Mewman with more liquid, as Tad needlessly tried to dab it up with a towel. “Oh come on!!” the man screamed, rising out of his seat and sloshing out of the restaurant.

But the attention returned to the skater once again, as the door slammed shut and Tad went back to moping up the mess, both teens eyes digging into her skin, awaiting her answer. “Well...” Jackie started, trying to think of the best way to respond.

“Don't you think you're asking the wrong person?” Kelly pointed out, interrupting Jackie. The white-haired girl gave her a questioning look, until the other shot her a wink.

“What do you mean?” Marco asked, not seeing the little exchange between the girls.

“Well, no offense to Jackie or anything, but this just seemed like something you would be asking Star,” Kelly said with a shrug.

“You think?” Marco asked, cocking his head to the side.

“She does have a point,” Jackie said, playing along. “She would explain it much better than I ever could.”

“Well I was going to ask her,” the boy explained. “But she's been so busy lately.”

“Come on, she can't work twenty-four seven. Isn't there some time you two could just sit and talk?” Kelly asked.

Marco thought for a moment, before realization hit him, jumping out of his seat and slamming his hands down on the table. “What time is it?!” Marco asked, looking between the two girls quickly, who had leaned back away from the table and were giving him confused looks from his sudden outburst. Kelly partially recovered, as she pulled out her cell phone, checking the time. “Umm, almost seven,” she said.

“It'll be sunset soon,” Jackie added, catching on what Marco was onto.

“I gotta go,” Marco said hurriedly, excusing himself as he headed for the door.

“Wait, you haven't even ordered anything yet!” Kelly yelled after the boy.

“No time!” Marco shouted back, not even bothering to look back. The rushing boy slammed the door to the restaurant open, which accidentally knocked into one of the empty outside tables, sending one of the discarded drinks flying, where it landed directly in the face of the same drenched Mewman from before. Marco yelled a quick apology over his shoulder, his eyes on the darkening sky in front of him and his thoughts on Star. The victimized Mewman released a loud scream, yelling in frustration, “That's it! I'm going back to the Kingdom of Unlikely Spider Bites, where it's safe!” With that the frustrated Mewman stormed away, leaving a trail of liquefied footprints in his wake.

Meanwhile, inside Jackie and Kelly just stared at the restaurant door, Kelly in clear shock. “Well that was certainly strange, even for Marco,” Kelly said, trying to break the tension. “Where's he off to in such a hurry?”

“He and Star meet up every evening to watch the sunset together,” Jackie explained.

“Aww,” Kelly cooed. “How romantic. No one wonder he took off in such a hurry.”

“Yep,” Jackie agreed. “But do me a favor and don't mention our little conversation to Janna.”

Kelly hesitated before answering. “Wellll, that's gonna be a little bit difficult,” she finally said, shooting the skater a guilty look.

Jackie gave her hairy friend a blank stare, before saying in an unamused tone. “She's been here the whole time, hasn't she?”

“Yep!” Janna said, setting down in the seat next to Jackie's with a smirk, putting her feet up on the table and leaning precariously back in the chair. “She has.”

“You were spying on us,” Jackie said, in a scolding tone, which caused Janna to scoff.

“Not much spying needed. I could hear you three from the other side of the restaurant,” she said, munching on a breadstick.

“So I suppose you want me to give you the twenty bucks right now,” Jackie said.

“You could,” Janna said with an unamused shrug. “Or we could go see how our little set-up pays off.”

Jackie gave the smirking girl a level-headed stare, the two matching wits for a moment, before Jackie questioned, “Ours?”

“Who do you think told me to come over here in the first place?” Kelly pointed out, putting a hand on her hips, Jackie shooting Janna a glare. “Which by the way, about my payment?” Kelly added, with a hinting tone.

“No worries, Kells. I'll get you that forbidden recipe you asked for,” Janna said, shooting the green-haired girl a reassuring smile.

“Uh babe, little help?” Tad called, surrounded by hungry customers all begging and demanding supplement from the usually chill hair, who was now feeling overwhelmed with too much responsibility.

“Welp, duty calls,” Kelly said to the two, confidently pulling out her pen and paper with a flourish. “So will you be taking your order to go, ladies?”

Jackie and Janna shared a look, the creepy girl giving her reluctant roommate a shrug, letting her know it was her call. Jackie took a deep breath, before giving the young waitress her answer.

...

The sun had already begun to set as Marco made it up to the large balcony he and Star always met at, surprised to see the girl already there. Star seemed like she was in a daze, her eyes lost in the bright red of the evening sky, never even turning to indicate she heard him as he approached. “Hey Star!” he greeted, placing a hand on her shoulder. She screamed smacking his hand away and turning, wand already glowing with magic energy. But upon seeing the startled face of her bestie, she instantly dropped her guard, putting a hand to her pounding heart.

“Marco, please don't sneak up on me like that!” she managed to choke out, in between gasps of breath.

“S-Sorry,” Marco apologized, still slightly unnerved by Star's reaction. “Your getting better with it, though,” he added and Star gave him a quizzical look.

“Better with what?”

“Your wand,” he explained, pointing at the magical device. “You seem a lot more confident with it now.”

Star gave him a shy smile, immediately hiding the heirloom inside her cloud purse. “Well I don't know if I'd say that,” she muttered, her cheeks just barely tinted pink, giving a nervous shrug. But she was rendered speechless as Marco took her hands into his own, giving her a smile that sent shivers down her spine. “I would,” he said softly, his bright brown eyes staring deep into her own, making her whole heart flutter. Knock it off, Star, she mentally scolded herself. Before he catches on.

“Thanks,” she squeaked with embarrassment, trying to will her blush away, but it only made it worsen as Marco took the seat next to her, Star able to feel the warmth coming off of him, just the slightest bit of space between them... Stop, she reminded herself, trying to convince her heart to slow it's pulse to a more normal level.

She had been like this ever since the other night, since she realized her feelings toward her bestie, every little interaction from the boy leaving her a nervous, fluttering mess. She had done her best to keep a distance from him, well as much as she could from her super clingy Marco, still feeling unsure with all the new (or perhaps they were old) emotions she now had toward her best friend. Oskar's words never once left her mind, his suggestion to tell the boy outright making her feel lost. She did want to tell him, now that she knew her feelings for him were real, but she wasn't sure how. She was having trouble working up the nerve to do so, her constant blushing and fast-beating heart making it very difficult to say anything around him now, much less confessing she had a giant crush on him.

Still he didn't seem to notice, acting like his normal, cheerful self as he settled himself down next to her, his eyes shining as he stared at the red, fast-darkening sky before him, his hand absentmindedly landing on her own, making Star's whole arm tingle with the sensation of his soft skin. But she made no move to stop him, just letting herself enjoy the moment, her heart slowing a little as the two just watched the sunset in silence.

What Star didn't notice was Marco kept casting glances at her every so often, trying to work up the nerve to ask her the one question that was on his mind, wanting to avoid Jackie's reaction if at all possible, best to ease her into it gently. The problem was, he had no idea how to go about doing that.

Finally, he took a deep breath. “Star?”

Star jumped at the sound of her name, turning to see Marco staring at her with a questioning gaze and she felt her heart thump away in her chest once again, threatening to escape her small frame. “Y-Yes?”

“So, I met someone today, a girl, StarFan13, she said she knew you,” he started, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Oh yeah,” Star said thoughtfully, nodding, remembering her biggest fan who she often caught sneaking into the castle, she was sweet and well-meaning but she could come on a little strong to people who didn't know her all that well. Star hoped she hadn't been too much for Marco. “I do know her,” she hesitantly admitted. “She can be a bit...” Star bit her lip, trying to think of the best way to phrase it. “Crazy. I hope she didn't act too wild.”

Marco shook his head. “Nah. She was pretty cool, actually,” he admitted with a shrug. “Strangeee, but cool.”

Star smiled. Of course he liked her, Star thought, remembering that Marco was always friendly and open-minded, if a bit shy, towards others. Should have never have doubted him.

“Anyway, she said something to me and I wanted to ask you what it meant,” he continued slowly, looking anxious about telling the girl, Star able to feel his fingers nervously twitching from on top of her own.

Oh no, Star thought, feeling slightly concerned. Could she have told him about Star's crush? She did always seem to know everything about Star, a fact she would not hesitate to point out. Or worse, could she have told him something about the monsters? Though if she had, she doubted Marco would be acting like his usual, cheerful self. “O-Okay, shoot,” she said, with a tiny nod, a lump implanting itself tightly at the back of her throat. The boy took a deep breath, obviously preparing himself to ask the question, Star unknowingly holding her own.

“I was wondering what a kiss was?” he explained, keeping a close eye on her for any negative or strange reaction. But the girl had no reaction at all, her whole body freezing up, her eyes wide, but blank, and her mouth sealed shut. She was obviously not expecting the question, as her whole face grew redder than his hoodie.

“W-What?!” she finally stuttered, her face retaining its red hue.

“Umm, a kiss,” he tried again, sounding even less sure now than before. “She asked me if I had kissed anyone yet, and I wasn't sure what she meant by it.” He purposely left out the part about Star, unsure about mentioning it to her for some reason. There was an awkward pause as Star just stared at him blankly. “Sooo, do you know what it means?” he pressed, feeling awkward and impatient in a strange mix.

“Y-Yeah, right,” Star finally said, recovering some from her initial shock, managing to will her blush away some and form comprehensible words once more, trying not to act too thrown off guard by the unexpected question. “It's when two people put their lips up against one another,” she quickly added, mentally trying to calm her racing heart.

Marco's mouth dropped open, his eyes wide with fear. “Does it... hurt?” he asked, with concern and Star couldn't help but laugh at his cuteness, feeling some of the awkwardness fading some as a familiar warmth filled her insides.

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “It's supposed to feel good, actually. It's a way for people to show how much they care.”

“Oh,” was all Marco said, his brain trying to wrap itself around this new information. “Have you ever kissed anyone before?” he finally asked, his brown eyes studying her face quizzically, making it hard for her to breath.

Star hesitated, before answering. “No, I haven't actually.”

“Why is that?” Marco asked, sounding genuinely confused and Star merely shrugged in response.

“Haven't found the right person yet,” she answered, while in her head she added, Except for you, but I'm too afraid to ask. Star grew quiet after that, trying not to think of how much she wanted to kiss him right then, the urge almost overwhelming as her gaze remained trapped within Marco's bright brown eyes, feeling a pull toward him and his soft, smiling lips, already beginning to close the distance between them. But she finally regained control of herself, pulling away from him quickly and turning back out to the fast-setting sun, her smile dropping instantly, feeling anger at herself, though she was unsure what she was more upset about: the fact that she had just tried to kiss her friend or the fact that she hadn't had the guts to go through with it.

Marco took a long look at his bestie, unable to stop himself from worrying over her and her strange behavior. Maybe it was just him, but a second ago, she had seemed like she was leaning in toward him. But before she could go through with whatever it was, she had instead turned away, pulling her hand out of his grasp and refusing to meet his eyes, staring out at the sun with a troubled look in her own eyes, leaving Marco concerned she was upset. “Star?” he said, trying to regain her attention, but she didn't even turn her head in his direction.

“The sunset is really beautiful tonight, huh?” she whispered nervously, giving a little awkward chuckle, obviously trying to change the subject, Marco instantly feeling his heart pound in response. She was upset. But why? Was it because he had asked about the kiss? Was she sad because she had never gotten one? It was obviously something special, considering how all the girl's had reacted at the mere mention of the act, was Star feeling hurt and unappreciated because no one had given her one yet? Marco definitely didn't want her to feel that way, she was so special and amazing, and she deserved to know that.

“Star?” Marco said again, softer than before, this time managing to capture the girl's attention as she looked over to him. And as the two locked gaze once more, Marco found himself lost in his friend's  bright, blue orbs, as a gentle breeze sent her golden hair tumbling behind her, the light of the red sky reflecting off of it beautifully, making his heart skip a beat.

“What is it, Marco?” Star asked, stunned by the determination she saw in his eyes. But he didn't answer, instead taking in a deep, shaky breath before he leaned in toward her, closing the distance between them completely.

Time seemed to slow as Marco's lips enclosed around Star's, the girl's eyes widening in surprise, unable to believe that this was really happening to her, that her best friend, her crush, her Marco was kissing her. It felt unreal, almost like some big dream. But dream or not, Star couldn't deny it felt amazing, loving every second of the breathtaking experience, relishing in the taste of Marco's lips against her own. And so rather than fight it, she gave in, closing her eyes and losing herself to the new and wonderful experience.

Marco as well, was loving every second of the kiss, that same, warm emotion that he had been feeling for weeks, now spread through him, making his whole body tingle and his heart feel like it might burst with joy. He felt amazing, his every nerve alive and super-charged, his brain sluggish and slow, unable to function as Star's lips began to move gently against his own. Both were so caught up in their combined act that neither noticed their twin hearts and suns simultaneously glow white, the bright light matching that of the forgotten sunset behind them.

Finally, after what felt to the two like a lifetime, Star pulled away, putting a hand to her tingling lips, her eyes wide and her cheeks still blushing bright red. As the two separated, their cheek marks returned to their normal hue, both too dazed by what just transpired to even notice. For a few glorious seconds, they just stared at each other, a million emotions flowing through both of their startled bodies at once.

But Star recovered first (kinda), asking in a breathless daze, “What was that?!”

“I-” Marco started, but found his throat too tight to continue, his eyes wider than ever, just staring at Star's blushing face, completely stunned, all his startled brain able to think, was how great that kiss had felt and how much he wanted to do it again. “You said you'd never had one, so I just thought...”

Star was stupefied, unable to believe that that had actually just happened. Marco had just kissed her! After all that time of fighting the urge, Marco had been the one to make the first move. It felt crazy, it felt insane, it had to be a dream. And yet, the tingling in her lips and pounding in her heart seemed to prove that all of this was real. Marco was her first kiss! She felt overwhelmed, her heart threatening to overflow with all the emotions running rampant through her fragile body. She needed to get away, needed time to think and work out her feelings and slow her racing heart and she couldn't do that with the boy's bright stare burning into her skin. Without even thinking, she jumped to her feet, keeping her eyes off of the boy as she muttered with embarrassment, “I-I have to go. It's getting late. See you tomorrow.”

Before the boy could even respond, the girl turned and ran, disappearing from view as she exited off the balcony, leaving the flustered boy alone with his thoughts.

He hesitated for a moment, maybe two, his legs so wobbly and unstable it took him a bit before he was able to stand again, as he started off after the girl, her reaction unexpected and slightly confusing to the boy. Was that a normal way girls acted after you kissed them? Regardless if it was, he needed to catch up to her and make sure everything was okay.

“Marco.” Marco froze instantly recognizing the voice behind him, as he slowly turned, shocked as he looked into the three familiar faces he had been sure he would never see again. There, hovering over him, was Beard Deer, Bearicorn, and Spikeballs, who were all giving him elated smiles.

“Guys!” Marco screamed, throwing his around the nearest monster he could find, which turned out to be Beard Deer, all thoughts ceasing in that moment, the boy just overjoyed to see his family once more. “I can't believe you're all here! How did you even find me?”

Beard Deer lovingly ruffled Marco's hair, as he simply answered, “We'd never let you go so easily.”

But the sweet moment ended, as Marco backed away, feeling guilty, the three monsters sharing a look of concern, upon seeing the Mewman's sad face. “Marco, are you okay?” Bearicorn asked.

“I'm... I'm sorry,” Marco muttered, keeping his eyes on the floor rather than them, trying to hide his rising tears. “Please don't hate me. I didn't mean to leave. I-”

“It's okay, Marco,” Beard Deer interrupted, putting a claw on his shoulder and bending down so he was level with the boy. “We're not angry with you.”

Marco sniffed, wiping the tears from his eyes with the back of his sleeve, looking up at the monster with hopeful eyes. “Really?”

“Of course not,” Bearicorn supplied. “It's not your fault Buff Frog teamed up with the Mewmans to kidnap you.”

Marco took a step back, pulling out of Beard Deer's grasp, giving all three a confused look. “What?” he squeaked, feeling a nervous energy begin to build inside him. What were they talking about? “That's not... what...” His voice drifted off, his mind tumbling as he tried to make sense of it all.

“Look it's okay, everything will be alright,” Beard Deer said with a reassuring smile. “We're here to take you back now.”

The deer monster took a step closer, reaching out a claw, but Marco stepped back, shaking his head, shocking the three monsters, Beard Deer freezing in place. “Marco?” Bearicorn whispered, his voice shaking slightly.

Marco flinched at the hurt tone, but made no move closer. He wasn't sure what he should do, suddenly overwhelmed with decisions he didn't want to have to make. If he went back that would mean facing Toffee, Marco felt his gut clench of the thought of seeing the lizard again. And if he left, he would never see Star or the others again, that realization followed by an even tighter twist to his insides. But still, he didn't want to hurt his family. They were important to him, he had been missing them so badly, more than he had even realized. They just seemed to have their story mixed up a little, maybe if he could clear all this up for them and help them realize it was just a big misunderstanding they would let him stay.

“Look, I appreciate you guys coming all the way out here for me,” the boy started, trying to keep his voice level and steady. “But I'm not in danger and I wasn't kidnapped. Buff Frog helped bring me here so I could meet the other Mewmans and now that I have I'm not sure if I want to leave. They're all really nice and... I met someone who I really don't want to leave.” Marco blushed at the last bit, his eyes twinkling like his bestie's namesake, as he thought of her and the kiss they had just shared. “Speaking of which I need to catch with her so...” He turned to leave, only to stop seeing Lobster Claws and Three Eyed Potato Baby behind him, blocking his exit. He felt his heart begin to pound in fear as his realized that the monsters had just purposely surrounded him, trapping him between them. But why? “Um, guys,” Marco said, trying to keep the nervous edge out of his voice. “What's going on?” He turned to Beard Deer for an explanation, but the monster in question refused to look at him, his eyes on the ground, his claws clenched into tight fists.

“So he was right after all,” the deer monster muttered and Marco felt his heart stop at the seriousness in his tone, all signs of friendliness gone from the group.

“Who was right?” the boy asked.

“Those rotten Mewmans actually hypnotized you with their magic, just like Toffee said,” Beard Deer continued.

“Hypnotized?” Marco whispered, his whole body trembling, taking a few steps away from the clearly upset monster. But the monsters just ignored the boy, all sharing looks with each other, an uncomfortable tension filling the area.

“What do we do?” Lobster Claws asked with clear concern, though he already knew the answer. They all did. Marco turned in the crustaceans direction, shooting him a pleading look, which the lobster did his best to ignore.

“We take him with us,” Beard Deer responded, his tone hard. Before Marco could even think about the statement, Beard Deer and Bearicorn surged forward, moving so quickly that Marco didn't even have time to scream before he was lifted off the ground held firmly up by the two strong monsters. Marco became frantic as the initial shock wore off, kicking his feet uselessly above the ground, trying to break free from their iron grasp. “Let me go!” the boy screamed, his mind screeching to him to get away and his heart pounding in agreement. Star. Jackie. Someone! Please come help me out of this!

The other monsters tried to shush the screaming child, looking around nervously, afraid he would attract the attention of the Mewmans. “Shhh, Marco, calm down,” Lobster Claws tried, but Marco was too panicked to listen.

“No! Help! Sta-!” the boy started to cry, but was quieted as Bearicorn reluctantly clapped a claw over his mouth, muffling the hooded boy's screams. The two tried to hold him as gently but firmly as possible without hurting him, but he was squirming so much they were having trouble keeping him in place.

“Marco, please,” Bearicorn begged the boy, feeling guilty for scaring him so much, even if he wasn't in his right mind. “Don't make this more difficult than it has to be.” But the boy continued to struggle, his muffled screams escaping from beneath the bear's paw as he desperately called out Star's name, hoping she would somehow hear him and come running, while in his mind he still couldn't believe any of this was real. One moment he had been sharing a blissful moment with his bestie, the next he was in a nightmarish situation as his own family turned on him, trying to kidnap him and forcefully drag him back to Toffee. With that thought, Marco struggled anew against the iron grasp that held him, as Beard Deer addressed the rest of the guilt-stricken monsters, trying to keep his own face from showing the hurt that was eating away at his insides, barking, “What are you idiots just standing there for, get that portal opened, asap!”

Suddenly there was a loud scream behind them, all the monster turning to see Spike Balls, collapse to the ground, as a beanie-wearing girl stood over him, her arms crossed as she glared at the group of monsters in front of her with no fear. The monsters were of course in shock at this new development, unable to believe that a tiny little girl had just knocked down their strongest monster in half a second, Marco stopped his struggling as he found himself unable to think of a time when he was happier to see his creepy friend, as Janna's eyes narrowed on the two monsters holding the boy. “Alright I'm gonna give you all two seconds to let go of my friend, before I start breaking bones,” she hissed, cracking her knuckles menacingly.

None of the monster knew how to react to that, the monsters holding Marco taking an uncomfortable step back, trying to keep their fear from showing, Marco feeling their grip tighten on him slightly. “Yeah, well, it's four against one, girlie, and you're outmatched,” Beard Deer stated, trying to keep his tone sharp, as he glared at the girl.

“Yeah,” Lobster Claws pitched in, side-stepping between the captive Marco and his rescuer, Three Eyed Potato Baby doing the same, as the crustacean snapped his claws at the imposing girl in a threatening manner. “So why don't you just turn around and pretend like you never saw us... or else.”

But Janna didn't seem at all frightened by the weak threat, as she clicked her tongue, shaking her head in disapproval, saying nonchalantly, “Guess I'm taking the 'or else'.” With that she began stepping closer, every step making the monsters more and more anxious. But their anxiety was quickly replaced with disbelief as the girl's body began to transform, her hair and fangs growing in length and her skin turning purple, her narrowed eyes glowing an alarmingly green color, digging into the monsters' skin and making them all shudder.

“She's an Impure,” Beard Deer said shakily, finally realizing the dire situation they had just found themselves in.

But Lobster Claws tried not to show fear as he surged forward with a yell trying to grab her with his pincers, but the girl side-stepped the attack, punching the crustacean right in the face, sending him flying backwards, the last thing the lobster thinking before he blacked was how strange it was that a girl that small could pack such a big punch. The other monsters were thinking the same thing, as they watched the lobster collapse to the floor, unconscious, the girl not even batting an eye as she turned back to the rest of the monsters with a hard glare, her eyes glowing a dark, evil green.

“Now let's try that again,” the half-monster hissed, her smirking, cocky nature fading as she glared glowing daggers of hate at the group in front of her, quickly losing patience with the annoying monsters. “Let Marco go or...” She  took a threatening step closer, every monster gulping in fear, but neither Beard Deer or Bearicorn released their hold on the boy, not even the threat of facing the terrifying Impure able to make them give up their young charge again.

Beard Deer looked over to Potato Baby, shouting, “What are you waiting for, idiot?! Get her!” The monster in question pointed at himself, with a look of fear, giving a confused garble. “Yes you!” Beard Deer barked, the intention in the monster's tone clearer than his words. “Keep her distracted so we can get Marco away!”

The potato-like monster turned to the girl with a new determination, willing to make the sacrifice for Marco. He stepped closer to the girl, vowing to not let her get the upper hand on him, giving a threatening and long-winded speech about protecting Marco and how he wouldn't fall so easily, which unfortunately only Marco could understand, Janna simply raising an eyebrow at the speech-inclined monster. “I have no idea what you just said,” she admitted. “But you're in my way so you need to move.” She got down into a fighting stance.

The monster gave a quick, declining garble.

“Okay that one I caught,” she said, before she took a quick swing at the monster, her opponent barely having time to duck out of the way to avoid the super-charged fist.

The fight continued, Potato Baby struggling to hold off the girl as she continued her assault doing his best to avoid her punches and kicks trying to stall for as long as he could, while meanwhile Beard Deer turned to Bearicorn in a panic. “Quick open up a portal, now!” he hissed and Marco started to struggle again, screaming for Janna from beneath the bear monsters paw, trying his best to stall for time. “Marco, please st- OW!”

Suddenly, Beard Deer felt a heavy weight smashing into the top of his head, releasing his hold on Marco as he collapsed to his knees with a scream. He turned, anger and rage fueling him as spotted another girl this one with white hair and freckles, determination shining in her eyes. But he barely had time to process this as she swung something at his face, the world disappearing in a flash of bright colors.

Jackie took a step back, panting, as the monster fell unconscious at her feet, trying to keep her nerve as she continued to hold her skateboard up like a make-shift bat. Bearicorn, who was now struggling to keep a good hold on Marco, holding the boy only by the paw clapped over his mouth, reached over and grabbed the girl's arm, pulling her closer and making her drop her skateboard. “Hey who do you think you are?!” he growled in anger, Jackie trying to pull her arm free from the monster's iron grasp, Marco feeling anger and fear as he helplessly watched his friend getting taken too.

The hooded boy didn't even hesitate as he stomped down as hard as he could on the unsuspecting monster's foot, ignoring the short spurt of regret as the bear cried out in pain, releasing both Marco and Jackie at once, grabbing onto his now throbbing foot tightly and hopping around the battlefield, all other thoughts forgotten as he continued to scream in pain, “Ow! Ow! Ow! Owwhh! My sensitive bear paws!”

The two teens seeing their chance, turned to one another as Jackie yelled, “We got to get inside!”

“What about Janna?!” Marco asked, his answer coming a second later as they heard a garbled, pain-filled yell behind them, followed by a crashing sound. “Never mind,” he corrected himself.

The two made a sprint for the door, Jackie only taking the time to grab her skateboard and tucking it securely under her arm. But this didn't go unnoticed as Bearicorn finally started to recover, the pain in his foot subsiding a little, as he spotted Marco and Jackie leaving. He growled again, about to chase after them, until he felt a tiny tap on his shoulder, turning in time to see the smirking Impure giving a little wave, her face almost friendly, her fangs gleaming in the starlight. “You don't want to do that,” she said, her voice hiding just a hint of a cryptic tone.

The monster panicked, cowering in front of her, begging, “I'm sorry! Please don't suck my blood!”

The girl sighed in annoyance, rolling her eyes, as she muttered, “Where did they even come up with that rumor? That's so disgusting.”

“Wait so you're not going to hurt me?” the monster asked, hopefully. But his fear returned as the girl gave him an evil smirk, leaning in a little closer to him.

“I didn't say that.”

Beard Deer and Lobster Claws sat up with equally pain-filled groans, both rubbing their sore heads tenderly, as they tried to make sense of their world once again. “Owww, did we win?”

Suddenly, they heard a loud scream, the two monsters shocked as the raised voice seemed to be getting closer, both turning to see Bearicorn hurtling at them, knocking into both monsters, all three laying in a pile on the floor, groaning in pain.

Janna wiped the dust off her hands, looking quite satisfied with the condition of her opponents, saying smugly, “Well that handles that.” She turned, checking on the condition of her friends, pleased  to see Marco and Jackie watching safely from the doorway of the balcony, Jackie making sure to keep Marco protectively behind her, before returning to the beaten monsters. “So, boys, round two or are we going to call it quits for tonight?”

Potato Baby who had finally regained consciousness, gave a quick persuasive argument via unintelligible garble. “What did he say?” Bearicorn asked the bruised crustacean currently crushing him with a strained tone.

“He said we should retreat for now,” Lobster Claws drunkenly relayed, his head still spinning from getting thrown about... twice.

“I'm with Potato Baby,” Spikeballs pitched in from his position on the floor, raising a spiked hand in the air to show his agreement with the plan.

“Okay fine,” Beard Deer said, pushing the other two monsters off of him so he could stand, rocking uncomfortably from side to side, as he tried to give the girl the most threatening look he could. “But don't think this is the last you'll be seeing of us. You can't hide the kid forever. Marco belongs to us and we will be taking him back.”

Janna said nothing, as the monsters hastily opened up a portal, shuffling uncomfortably through it, as they all disappeared within the swirling vortex, the girl not moving an inch until it closed for good. Finally, she turned, saying to her two friends as they approached, “So...” Her quizzical eyes landed on Marco who looked quite shaken by the events, his eyes filled with emotion, his face a guilty frown, keeping his eyes on the floor as tried his best to ignore both her and Jackie's equally questioning gaze. Finally he risked a look up, his eyes locking with Janna's as she raised an eyebrow at him. “Want to explain what all that was about?”

…

The five monsters panted as they all tried to catch their breath, all of them tenderly massaging their bruises, as they contemplated their failed mission. Beard Deer grunted loudly, slamming a clawed fist into the nearest wall. “Darn it! We were so close!” he shouted in frustration.

“What do we do now?” Lobster Claws asked, worriedly. “We can't just leave Marco there.”

“We're not going to,” Beard Deer said confidently, refusing to give up so easily, his fist shaking with anger.

“What do we tell Master Toffee?” Bearicorn asked.

The deer monster opened his mouth to respond, only to jump hearing a voice call from the shadows, “Tell me what, Bearicorn.”

Every monster turned in fear to see Toffee slither into view with a blank look, his eyes narrowing to slits on the monster he had questioned, who was becoming quite nervous with the killer's eyes on him and him alone. “T-That w-we...” Bearicorn stuttered, afraid of answering honestly.

“We failed,” Beard Deer finished for him, trying to keep his nerve as the lizard turned to him. “Marco refused to come with us, he's under their control just like you said.”

“Then why didn't you take him by force, like I told you you would need to,” Toffee said in a hard tone, Beard Deer almost able to see him smirking from beneath his passive mask.

Beard Deer kept his face emotionless at the comment, but his claws were clenching into fists as he answered, “We tried but some of the Mewmans got the drop on us.”

“One of them was an Impure,” Lobster Claws pitched in helpfully.

“Really,” Toffee said thoughtfully, before going silent, every monster holding their breath, afraid of what their leader was going to do to them. Finally, the lizard spoke. “Well in that case I obviously can't trust you with this mission alone. This is far too important and I can't risk another failure from all of you.”

Every monster flinched at the word 'failure' but Lobster Claws risked a question. “So does this mean we're going after Marco again?”

The lizard smiled, every monster shivering as the room seemed to grow colder. “Yes. Only this time... I will personally oversee his capture.”

[outernoah]

           ━━ ☆ jinkies! i just saw the journalist / nohyun ‘noah’ gyeon, the park jinyoung lookalike of mystery inc. they’ve always struck me as a little abrasive, but the others swear that they’re nothing but charming. in the group, they’re often called the chameleon, but it’s great that they bring an air of crumpled up lined paper, late summer thunderstorms and deep conversations in haunted places to the crew. given the recent drama, he’s out to prove to everyone that he will not end up like his deadbeat father.

hello everyone. my name is bee and i hope everyone is seeing this at 2 pm and not . . . like 5. i’m so excited to get started and, not to run the risk of sounding like a huge sap, i wanted to thank everyone for applying. okay okay, back to my dumbass son. he’s dumb but he’s trying !!! . . . but he’s dumb. like this post and i’ll come to you with plots and probably old jokes? we’ll find out.

BASICS . . .

NAME: nohyun  gyeon .

NICKNAME: noah .

BIRTHDAY: december  29  ,  1994

AGE: twenty  -  four .

FAMILY: jihoon  gyeon  ( father ) ,  eunyoung  gyeon  ( mother ) ,  soojin  gyeon  ( step-mother ) .

LIKES: curling up on a chilly day with a good book, comfortable sweaters, going to the zoo, learning new things, sneaking into abandoned places after midnight, writing letters he doesn’t have the nerve to send, iced coffe, cleaning the house & interviewing interesting people .

DISLIKES: hot weather, sappy movies, anything that is too cluttered / too messy, greasy food, people who are too secretive, being put on the spot, having to run, people with no sense of humor ( even though he’s often accused of being that way himself ), complacency, trashy gossip columns, lying for the sake of having a ‘good story’ .

TIDBITS . . .

he was raised by a single mother ( noah always thought his parents were in love because, well, why wouldn’t they be? however when he was 5, his dad just picked up and left one day. apparently he had confessed to his wife that he’d been having an affair since before noah was born and basically, he thought that noah would make things better between them but didn’t )

noah was born in seoul, south korea but his mother moved the two of them to crestle cove because she had an aunt who lived there and constantly sang its praises . . . but she neglected to tell them how haunted it was.

noah’s dad ran off with that woman, but still writes letters to the son he left behind every year for noah’s birthday. he hasn’t had the heart to open a single one of them.

his mother was a guidance counselor at crestle cove high school and actually helped to expose one of the teachers who was having an illegal relationship with one of the seniors. she was the whistle-blower after overhearing a conversation between the two of them; eunyoung worked closely with the investigators and the journalists to bring the guy down. this was the first time noah realized how much journalists can help people and he was only 9!

he hides behind his words and bad jokes . . . there are also lots of pop culture references.

dumbass gets really existential when he’s sad. :-(

he’s basically afraid of everything and that’s why he admires the mystery inc. gang so much . . . to him, they couldn’t possibly be afraid of anything. when he starts to notice all the smear campaigns and efforts to run them out of town, he wants to make their voices heard and help out.

PLOTS . . .

01. tell me : someone who noah is trying to get a good, concrete read on so he can learn more about them and why they are the way but they are. however, this person isn’t so keen on the idea of some dork coming in and sticking his nose in business wherein it doesn’t belong.

02. bad influence : the two of them are a complete wreck when they’re together. any good ideas fly out the window and they’re constantly just ... messing around. “should we go rob a bank?” “um no???” “why not?” “because i don’t want to go to jail” and they bicker about it a lot but they decide to just drive around and talk about nothing.

03. you know what you do : these two have no clue what to make of the other. maybe noah came on too strong when he was trying to get to know them and scared them off, or maybe they did something that rubbed noah the wrong way. regardless, they’re not the biggest fans of each other and, honestly, the stuff the papers write about this person is a little true ( and maybe he calls / writes it in.... the hypocrite )

04. maybe an ex? : yeah no an ex. they dated and it didn’t work out. maybe they dated for a week or maybe a year. for whatever reason, things fell apart ( tbh noah probably ruined it with his radioactive emotions or w/e ) but they still hang out because they have to. it’s hard because things weren’t ended on the best terms so maybe a lot of bickering, glaring, etc.

and ofc friends! noah takes the task of gaining people’s trust very seriously and ( not to toot his own horn lol ) but he’s very loyal! you know, like a golden retriever. 

BASICALLY . . .

he just wants to help out any way he can! he’s afraid of the repercussions and hopes that working with mystery incorporated will allow him to overcome that fear ( but will it? )

[summerspn]

Captain Marvel (2019)

Random movie review...(and rambling)

(Minor Spoilers)

It was great!

I can’t tell you how it feels to have a movie resonate so much with me... I suppose this is what it felt like for many people watching Black Panther.

It just...it was kind of beautiful.

People talk about representation but that’s only part of it.

It’s about getting it right.

I was lucky enough to have some strong role models growing up. My parents were/are great. My mom is independent and strong and vulnerable too. She shows me being strong can mean many things.

However, when see movie after movie of women being assistants - helping men & being secondary characters it does put a little nagging voice in the back of your mind that makes you questions things.

If in life women’s jobs are mainly second fiddle to men...and if they’re like that on tv & in movies then it must mean something. Right?

Growing up I’ve always been told what I can’t do - MOSTLY by men & boys. Women usually told me to ‘give it a shot’.

I guess these are some things I started thinking about after the movie. All the times I’ve been told I can’t do something just because I’m a girl.

I couldn’t play baseball. I wasn’t allowed to play with my brothers friends (my brother didn’t mind) because their parents forbid them from playing with girls because we’d get hurt. Never mind I later ended up on the school baseball team...

I was encouraged by high school guidance counselors NOT to go into design & technology despite the fact I had an A average and my highest grade was Drafting (at 98%).

I’m always told by random strangers to smile because it makes THEM feel good.

I’m always told that I need to help male coworkers out but they don’t help us. They talk over women all the time and don’t even realize it. Meetings go on for hours and we can’t take washroom breaks because the (male) bosses don’t need them (FYI women have 1/3 the size bladder than men do and holding it can result in various health issues...). Getting up and leaving the room would make us look weak and we could miss important information...

I’m not saying this to bring up a debate or to annoy. Simply that there are countless frustrations we go through our lives as women on a daily basis on top of the everyday frustrations everyone goes through.

One of these frustrations is that there was very little attention paid to the idea that a woman could be strong and even less that she could be a super hero. The past ten years things have been improving but at a slow rate.

I was lucky enough to have seen some female characters that are strong and intelligent on screen when I was in high school but I don’t remember any before that. Unless you count The Care Bears(but I never thought of any as having a gender) or Miss Piggy from The Muppets. But humans? I can’t think of any.

However, even in the 90’s these strong women often become damsels around men or have to have a romance going on. Why? Tons of movies with male leads don’t have those.

Even the show Buffy The Vampire Slayer (I still love it) had a massive focus on romantic relationships. It was forward thinking and progressive in many ways but it too had some flaws. It took several seasons for Buffy to show her intelligence and for the women on the show to stop competing for a mans attention (Buffy & Cordelia). Don’t get me wrong it was for the part really well written but I could never understand why there weren’t female characters that were smart AND strong. It was either nerd or soldier (slayer).

- While I am grateful for all the complex, layered & strong female characters out there they often fell short for me. Even back then...Decades ago.

- Why didn’t anyone do Wonder Woman until a couple years ago? The tv show tried back in the day but then there was very little effort until recent years. Why? And why were there no attempts at Captain Marvel before? I mean, how many attempts at Spider-Man have their been? Or the Hulk? Are there even female characters in the cartoons? (I literally have no idea but the commercials never show them...).

So, seeing this movie tonight I went in expecting the same entertainment as all the other Marvel movies and by the end I was thinking...

FINALLY!!!

Finally they get it. The creators, the powers that be, everyone who put this beautiful movie together. They get it.

From the subtle facial expressions that Brie Larson & Lashana Lynch has to the more obvious snippets showing the sexism women experience... to how the girl (Akira Akbar) tries to lift up & encourages her mother and embraces someone different. Showing the nurturing side of being a female as well as being brave, strong, intelligent & complex. It was done wonderfully.

Showing a few instances of Carol Danvers (aka Captain Marvel) rejecting the idea of being put into a box while trying to discover who she is can resonate with so many people.

I love how Danvers discovers she has power instead of being a tool to be used by someone.

And the fact that women can be strong, intelligent, brave and a million other things is great. But what many...many...MANY shows & movies have done lately is take power FROM men. They say they’re feminists and bash men. They become just as cruel as the people they want to take down or be equal to. That’s not right. This movie does not do that. It’s about discovering your OWN power with or without magical abilities!

I absolutely hate when I hear people say they’re for equality and women’s power but then bash men. I have a lot of great men in my life and I’d never want anything to happen to them. It’s unfortunate there are still old fashioned ideas that people have (even by men that love us) but hate is not going to lead to change.

I love how this movie treats the male-female interactions and relationships. After I saw this I let my brother know he should take both his kids to see it. My niece would love the strong female super hero since she hates the princess type movies (which at her age is about 90% of the movies female-led characters). And my nephew would find it funny and cool. He loves super hero’s. Plus it won’t make him feel bad.

Many of the so-called feminist stories/programs I’ve seen in the news, on TV, and even movies say men are the enemy. They’re not. My biggest pet peeve with that is...well, just think about it. How would you like to be watching a show and have the women bashed and told they ruin everything and that they’ve caused all the problems in the world? ...right...there’s an entire movement to stop that. So don’t do that for men either. Just lift each other up and pursue equality without trying to take power from anyone else. I’m very happy to say my nephew can watch something like Captain Marvel without having to feel any shame about his gender - and the EXACT same can be said for girls or any other pronoun one chooses to go by.

As far as plots go, it was good. Acting was good. The writing was good. It was entertaining and fun. The special effects were great.

I heard some bad reviews about this movie but that’s total BS. Ignore those. I find movies like this some people go in thinking it’ll make then run out of the theatre going ‘its the best movie of all time’ and it’ll never hold up to that hype. So some people will simply like it but still not consider it good enough 🤷‍♀️

As far as comparing this to other Marvel movies, yes you will enjoy it just as much, if not more than some of the others. It’s fun, entertaining, and has a couple twists. Don’t go in thinking it’ll change history or anything. It’s just a movie but it is a good one. Yes it resonates with me but that’s because the world was overdue for stories like this. Go into the movie to simply enjoy it.

I do however, recommend this to people with daughters & nieces especially. Especially if they don’t get exposed to strong intelligent and complex women or watch a lot of strong characters.

Do you have any idea how many shows are out there where the girls (characters) are idiots? Too many. And trying to buy toys for them - almost every box for toys about building, engineering, technology or science have boys on them. Boxes with girls are only for jewelry & perfume making. Hopefully this Christmas there will be Captain Marvel action figures instead.

So think about it. Why does girls’ confidence level dip as they get older? Maybe because a million messages telling us we shouldn’t do this or that while internally we want to. It’s an internal struggle that gets exhausting.

What am I trying to say?

Girls need to be exposed to good characters in different formats.

But seeing an intelligent, funny, female super hero right there on the big screen - magnificent and powerful...it’ll make girls feel powerful! It’ll give them ideas. Inspire them. Maybe they’ll want to be a pilot like Carol Danvers...maybe a soldier. Or maybe it’ll simply make her feel like she can go off and climb Mount Everest because she can do whatever she wants. She doesn’t have to listen to everyone telling her she can’t.

Seeing this as an adult I loved it because it was entertaining. My best friend also loved it but afterwards she said to me that it felt like they ‘got it right’ and she didn’t have to explain anything to me. I get it. For a thousand reasons I can’t seem to put into words.

One part of the movie near then end, I got teary eyed. I just felt a strong sense of pride. Not at the movie but at myself. After everything I’ve been through in my life. All my struggles - big and small - I’m still here. I get knocked down but I get right back up. I may not be a soldier, a pilot, or a super hero...he’ll, I’m terrified of spiders. But I am strong and I’ll always get right back up. Because I’m human. It’s what we do - all of us. And this movie is the first time in a very long time where it made me feel proud to be a woman.

And THAT is why Captain Marvel is going to resonate with girls & women everywhere.

Thank you to everyone who worked on this movie to make it happen. All the actors, the crew, & Mr Stan Lee (RIP).

FINALLY another step forward.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5