#it’s not a concussion or anything lol but I’ve had so many head injuries in the past that this is a reoccurring fear of mine

[prehistoric-megafauna]

Uh oh! This user hit their head and will now be afraid to go to sleep tonight!

[taasgirl]

blue light - lando norris

summary: y/n is a professional footballer for arsenal, and takes a quick pitstop to the australian gp! her and lando end up taking a liking to each other, and reunite on a night out.

warnings: mentions of acl injury, nothing too bad

word count: 4.2k - sorry if there's any typos lol

I would be lying if I said that I knew how this worked. I also would be lying if I said that I found this enjoyable. I’ve spent too long concentrating on my career, that I never really cared to watch others; especially not Formula 1. But here I am.

The Australian Grand Prix, my ‘home tournament’ some would say. Growing up in Sydney, no one cared for motorsports - it was more about football, all variations of it.

I was sitting with the girls in one of the many stands. We had been followed around for majority of the day, there were a lot of people asking for photos. But honestly, I didn’t mind, in fact I really loved when I was recognised.

Steph attempted to explain how the races worked to me and the other girls, but we couldn’t get it.

The flag was waved and the race begun. There was a lot of commotion, everyone was buzzing to be watching a Grand Prix. “So what time will this finish?” I asked Steph, “Just watch it Y/N.” The other girls laughed at her focus on the track - the cars weren’t even there anymore.

After a few laps I started to get hungry. “I’m gonna grab food. Any of youse want any?” The girls shook their heads; they were as focused as Steph.

I walked through ‘The Paddock’. The passes we had allowed us to be there and I could tell that they were expensive. There were drivers left right and centre.

I made my way to a hot chips stand and ordered four portions. “A bit hungry yeah?” I turned around and was met with the face of a boy. Well maybe a man. He was fully decked out in the Mclaren gear. Either a driver or a huge fan.

“Nah for my friends.” He laughed and after ordering his food stood by me as we waited.

“I’m Oscar.” He lent his hand out, and I shook it in response, “Y/N.” He smiled at me “I know.”

“So what’s a footballer doing at the races huh?” He recognised me. “Honestly, I have no idea. My friends dragged me along.” He laughed. “Maybe my team can help you out.” He smirked at me. “And what team would that be?”

“Mclaren.”

“So some guy offers his exclusive lounge to you, and you believe him?” Katie was looking me up and down, very obviously unimpressed. “I think he’s a driver. Steffie is there someone from Mclaren called Oscar?” She looked at me immediately.

“You met Oscar Piastri?” I nodded. “And he invited you to the Mclaren lounge?” I nodded and then stopped, “Well all of us.”

We were all sat very lavishly at a bar. Oscar had met us outside the Mclaren suite and brought us inside.

“So if you’re a driver, why aren’t you out there?” I pointed to the TV that was following the cars. “I had a crash a few weeks ago, and I’m still not cleared to race yet.” I winced. The idea of crashing at the speeds that the men were going irked me. “It wasn’t anything bad. Just a concussion.”

“So who’s out there now?” Oscar smiled at me. “Lando. Lando Norris.” His smile was cheeky. “He’s gonna be buzzing when he sees you after the race.” I looked at him nonchalantly. “Honestly, he’s a huge Arsenal fan. You’re his favourite player too.” A smile creeped across my face. I was intrigued by this ‘Lando Norris’ person.

“Do you have a photo of him? I wanna know what he looks like.” Oscar scoffed. “Take a look around. His face is everywhere.”

Oscar wasn’t lying. There were posters everywhere of Lando Norris. Him celebrating, him posing, him and Oscar. He must be a big shot.

“Good looking guy right?” I laughed almost uncomfortably.

But I did find him attractive. In fact, as soon as Oscar had left us for his team, I was already searching up Lando on instagram.

By the time the races had finished, it was a bit past four. After getting the rundown from some of the Mclaren workers, I had kinda figured out what was happening.

Carlos Sainz won the race. Lando came third, and everyone was stoked. “But isn’t third just kinda bad?” Steph smacked Caitlin. “It’s different in racing now shut up.” The rest of us snickered. We had a perfect view of the podium, and all the guys on it.

“He’s cute.” Katie nudged me, earning an eye roll. “You should talk to him. I know you like your English.” Katie was one of my closest friends, she took me under her wing when I signed for arsenal, and for that I will always be indebted to her.

Once the boys had finished celebrating their win, we were brought back to the Mclaren suite.

“Stay here, I’ll bring Lando over.” Oscar held my shoulder before he went looking for the driver. As we were waiting, I was lightly tapped. Turning around, I can face to face with a journalist.

“Hi Y/N how are you?” She was beaming. “Would you mind doing a quick interview with us, it’ll only take a minute?” I smiled at her and agreed.

We were pulled into a less busy part of the room, and she handed over to me a microphone. The camera was directed at me, so I quickly touched up my hair.

“How are you enjoying the races, big fan?” I rubbed the back of my neck and responded.

“Yeah it’s been great. I don’t know too much about the whole motorsports scene but a few people from Mclaren have been helpful in explaining.”

The reporter flipped her paper.

“Speaking of Mclaren, do you have an affiliation with the team? You’ve been in the suite all day!”

“Honestly, I bumped into Oscar while getting chips and he invited us over.” She smiled, signalling for me to go on. “Everyone’s been super welcoming, especially to the dumb questions I’ve been asking.” The camera crew around us laughed.

Finishing up the interview, I made my way over to the girls. “Okay miss popular.” The girls laughed at Katie’s remark.

“Oh that Lando guy is looking for you by the way.” I looked straight at Steph. “Don’t look at me like that. He came around to us and left straight away when he realised you weren’t here.” I took a seat next to Caitlin.

“Y/N, come!” Oscar shouted from across the room. I could see his hand waving over to me, and so I got up.

“This is Lando.” Lando had an arm thrown around Oscar, very obviously tired. “Hey.” We reached our hands out and shook.

“Listen, I’m a huge fan of yours.” I smiled at him thankfully.

“Yeah he’s got about fifty jersey with your name on the back.” Oscar chimed, but was immediately shut down by a light kick to his shin, Lando’s doing. “Okay I’m not that weird.” We laughed together, until the silence turned awkward.

“I never picked you for a F1 enjoyer, who’d you support.” Oscar laughed, earning a concerned look on Lando’s face.

“Would it kill you if I said that I don’t watch it. Like at all?”

He clutched his heart sarcastically.

“I’m sorry! I’ve just never really been into it.” Oscar shook his head. “Ok ok, if it’s you two racing, then I’ll consider watching. It’s the least I can do for a fan.” Lando clutched his chest again.

“Gosh Y/N, you really know what to say to get a man’s heart pumping.” We laughed it off again.

“You should probably get back to your team. Celebrate the win?” It was less a statement than a question. “I’m just gonna shut up before I end up giving you a heart attack.”

He took his hand in mine, and pulled me in for a hug. “There’ll be a party later. You’re all invited to join if you’d like.” I nodded. “I’ll let them know.”

“So what’s the dress code?” Steph walked into my room, taking a look at the clothes still in their suitcase. “Not formal I don’t think. Just like a normal party.” She began picking up my clothes and placing them on my bed.

“You should wear a dress.” She threw me one of my green dresses. “This one. I bet he’ll wanna take it off later tonight.” I laughed. “Yeah not happening Stephie.”

Oscar had given me his number and sent the details for tonight. It was gonna be a party with almost all the drivers, and a shit ton of people.

The girls were already done getting ready, it seemed that I was the only one rocking up in a dress. They were all in skinny jeans. God I really needed to help with their wardrobe situation.

“Hurry up Y/N we’re gonna leave without you.” Katie called from the hallway.

“Holy shit.” We were all stood in front of an elusive door. We could see the lights sparkling from the windows of the home, music blasting. “Now who the fuck gave up their house for a rave?” I questioned, earning an embarrassingly loud laugh from Steph.

Once we had walked inside, it was quite obvious that we weren’t gonna be finding Lando or Oscar anytime soon.

The house was packed. Bodies were everywhere, dancing, kissing, just straight up passed out.

We made our rounds of the party, figuring out our bearings before coming to the kitchen.

“Y/N?” I turned around, my name was almost whispered, but I could still hear it.

I had come face to face with my ex. “Oh my God, hi Jay.” He hugged me. A hug that I had known too well.

“What’re you doing here? I didn’t even know you were back home.” He was holding a red cup. Classic. It was probably filled with beer considering how he smelt. “Just a quick trip back home. We were invited to the race.” He nodded, taking a swig.

Jayden and I hadn’t exactly ended on the best terms. He was my first serious boyfriend and we lasted two years. Until I had to move to London. He was angry at me for choosing work over love. But I had to. I loved football more than I loved him.

“Do you need somewhere to stay? I’ve got rooms in my hotel.” I immediately shut him down. “You’re too kind, but nah, I’m staying at Steph’s house.” As soon as I mentioned the name I could tell he cringed. He never liked Steph, he said she was too protective over me.

“Y/N!” I spun around and saw Oscar. “Having fun?”

“Watch it mate.” Jayden stepped up to Oscar. “Calm your tits. Just saying hello to a friend.” Jayden scoffed at his response. “Yeah well, leave my girlfriend alone.” He spat.

“The fuck Jayden?” I made eye contact with Oscar, "Ex. From a long time ago." I emphasised the 'long'. Oscar nodded, and signalled for me to follow him.

We walked further into the house, and had stopped at what I assumed to be the living room.

Lando, arms splayed over the head rests of the couch he was sitting on, looked me up and down. “Look who decided to show up!” He stood up and gave me a hug. “You look great.”

His cologne was strong, a vanilla scent.

"This is insane." I referred to the house and the people around us. "Yeah in all honesty, I have no idea whose house this is." We both laughed, still standing close to each other.

For some reason, I felt as if there was no one else here. Like it was just him and I. "You know I should probably get your number. Just in case you wanna come to more races." While he reached for his phone, I responded. "Hmm are you sure this isn't actually your attempt at scoring free arsenal tickets?" He passed me his phone, unlocked. "Me? Never." I smiled and created a contact in his phone.

"Message me, Lando Norris."

We had finally landed in London, after way too many hours cramped in a plane, I could finally stretch my legs. "Welcome to London." Katie looked out of the window, rain pouring from the sky. "Is it too late to go back?" I questioned.

Lando still hadn't messaged me, and in all honesty, I gave up on him ever reaching out.

After our conversation at the party, I was drawn back to the girls and didn't see him at all afterwards.

"Anyone for Nandos?"

"I'm gonna find you a hot English guy." Steph was sat at my vanity, fixing up her minimal makeup while I was sat on the floor, deciding what shoes would match my outfit best.

We were going out for a team dinner and I was knackered from training this week. Friday night out just didn't seem that appealing to me. "I'll pass." I settled on an old pair of sneakers. "Not even Lando Norris?" I didn't reply. The girls hadn't stopped going on about Lando since Australia, and were confused when he hadn't messaged me after the party.

"Oh come on. You're telling me that if you saw him you wouldn't immediately jump in his pants?"

"Firstly, ew don't talk about him like that, and secondly, I doubt he'd even remember me. We talked for what? Five minutes at most." She walked over to me and picked me up off the floor. "Come on, we'll be late."

Once we arrived at the restaurant, I took a seat next to Leah and checked the menu. I ordered a well-done steak with a side of salad, along with a glass of red wine.

"How you feeling for the weekend?" I asked Leah. It was her first game starting since her ACL injury, and I could tell that she was beyond nervous. "I'm scared. Like I want to be out there so badly, but I'm so afraid I'll do it again." I smiled at her sympathetically.

"If there's anyone who can bounce back, it's you." I paused, "You know, what I find weird?" She shrugged. "I haven't told you this, but before I came to Arsenal, I had posters of you in my room." She looked shocked. "Are you actually serious?"

I nodded in response. "You are seriously my favourite footballer. I remember when I got the call from my agent, all I could think about was the fact that you'd be my teammate. Not that I was playing in the WSL, or even Arsenal. It was you." She smiled, I could see her eyes glisten a little.

"Every single day you inspire me, and I promise, when you walk onto the pitch on Sunday, you're going to inspire a whole load of other people too." She hugged me.

"You're too sweet Y/N. Thank you." When we detached, I was met with a stunned Steph. "What?" I asked.

"Turn around." I looked behind and saw Lando sat at the bar. "Oh my fucking god." I faced back at Steph.

"Go up to him." I shook my head aggressively. "Absolutely not."

"If you don't, I'm gonna call out to him." I looked her dead in the eyes. "You wouldn't dare." She smiled, "I so would."

No one except Leah ad caught up on what Steph and I were talking about, until I heard my name shouted out from the other end of the table.

"Y/N look!" Katie pointed towards Lando, who had turned around at the crazed woman screaming.

We made eye contact and he smiled at me, getting up from his seat. I quickly got up too, and met him halfway.

"What are the chances?" He hugged me as I responded. "Wow this is really weird."

"How you been?" He asked, his hand on mine. "Ah yeah I'm good, just out with the girls for dinner." I turned around to draw his attention to them, only to be met with the eyes of every single person at that table. "Oh god don't mind them." He chuckled.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Monaco?" He raised his eyebrow at me. "How'd you know I live in Monaco?" My cheeks turned red. "Have you been googling me?" He questioned, smiling down at me.

"I'm so embarrassed oh my god." I took a breath. "Hey, you never messaged me." I looked at him sternly, while he looked at me confused. "You are aware that you gave me the wrong number right?" He took out his phone and opened up his texts.

I cringed, and tapped on the number. "Oh my god, I did give you the wrong number, see I put 6 instead of 7." I pointed at the digits. "Why didn't you just get my number off of Oscar then?"

He put his phone back into his pocket. "Well as much as I didn't want to believe it, I thought you purposely gave me the wrong number. You know, to let me know you weren't interested." My jaw dropped. "You know, if my memory serves me right, I'm pretty sure I told you to message me."

"Hey, I didn't want to cross any boundaries, plus Oscar pointed out your ex to me, and I definitely was not gonna get on his bad side." I cringed at the thought of Jayden. "He's so gross." Lando agreed.

"I'm sorry about everyone staring too." I referred to my teammates, still looking over at Lando and I. "They're a little bit too interested in my love life." Chuckling, he sent a wave over to them. "Love life huh?" He smirked.

"Come sit with us." Katie (of course) yelled out at him. "Don't listen to her, I should probably let you get back to whatever you were doing."

He scratched the back of his head. "I wasn't doing much, I'd be happy to sit down with you lot." I looked back at the girls, Steph was beaming. "Maybe not, she looks a little creepy right now." He laughed. "Well if you really don't want me around your friends, why don't we just go for a walk then?"

"Why not?" He ushered for me to start walking and soon enough, we were out on the London streets.

"I heard that you have a game coming up." I was looking down as he looked to me. "Uh yeah, Sunday." He was about to speak when I cut him off. "You should come. I'd be happy to get you some tickets."

"Yeah actually that'd be great. I might just have to bring my Y/N jersey." He nudged my shoulder with his as we continued walking.

"You never know, maybe I'll even sign it."

"So what were you doing in a restaurant by yourself? Waiting for a date maybe?" I questioned, making his cheeks turn red. "I wish. I'm here for a few days before I have to fly to Japan. Just wanted a nice meal."

"Well come on, let's go find somewhere to eat." I grabbed his hand and pulled him along. "Don't you need to get back?" I shook my head "They know I'm in safe hands."

"Nah you're having a laugh, are you serious?" Lando and I had found a hole-in-the-wall pizza shop and were sat opposite each other. "No I'm serious, I got my permit like a year ago, but I refuse to drive."

"I don't know Y/N, that might be a dealbreaker. I mean, my whole life is driving." He was laughing. "Yeah well then you can just drive me everywhere." His smile was warm, comforting. "I'd like that."

Once we had finished up eating we started to walk back. Steph had texted me to say that she and the girls had left. "How are you getting home?" He asked me. "Probably an Uber." He tutted and shook his head. "Let me drive you."

"Thank you Lando. I really enjoyed this." I was standing outside his car as he dropped me off to my house. Through the rolled down window, I couldn't stop looking at him. "It was my pleasure. I want to see you again, soon." I started to blush.

"Wait, let me give you my actual number."

He immediately responded, "No need. I just need to change the 6 to a 7." I smiled, he remembered.

"I'm expecting some tickets by the way. And don't you dare put me up in the nosebleeds." We laughed together. "I'll see you later Lando."

"Get off your phone Y/N." I quickly dropped my phone into my bag, and looked up at Katie.

"There are no excuses today. We're giving it our all. These points are ours." The changeroom erupted. Today we had Chelsea, and it would absolutely decisive for us in the title race.

I was unlike most of the girl on the team, I preferred to sit and relax before games rather than getting energised early. "Are you messaging who I think you're messaging?" Steph slid in next to me.

"Shut up Steph." She grabbed my shoulders and lightly shook me, "And to think that you didn't want to go to the race." I shooed her away before picking my phone up to play some music.

I shuffled my playlist, and let saturn by sza start playing.

"You alright?" Leah tapped on my shoulder, to which I pulled one of my airpods out. "Yeah, just trying to concentrate you know?"

It was a pain in my knee. It hurt like a bitch. I fell to the ground immediately and clutched my leg. "Fuck fuck fuck." Steph ran straight to me, followed closely by a few of the other girls.

"Shit." Steph held my right knee. No one wanted to say what we thought it was. The dreaded ACL.

"I'm okay, it's fine." I tried to calm the girls down. I had stuck my leg foolishly into a tackle and twisted it slightly.

The physio who had come to aid me, placed a hand on my knee. "Where is it Y/N?" I pointed to the top of my knee. "Okay, you'll be right. Do you want to come off."

"No." He nodded and helped me stand up. "How's it feeling." I put pressure on it. "It's good." We walked off the field and I signalled to Jonas that I was fine.

After a quick treatment of cream and tape, I was ready to join my team again. The fourth official waited until the referee allowed me to come on, and I sprinted back into place.

"You got it Y/N." Leah shouted to me.

"And you're alright yeah?" Katie came around to me after the match ended. We finished strong with a 2-1 win, the goals from Alessia.

"Honestly, I feel fine. The physio said it was probably just a cork." She nodded in understanding. "Rest up, we need you." We walked towards the bench, smiles everywhere.

I looked out beyond the bench and saw Lando. He was standing up, cheering us on, a smiled crept across my face.

Jonas pulled us in for a group talk and, in all honesty, I couldn't focus on anything he was saying. My attention was completely on the fact that I could talk to Lando afterwards. I wasn't sure on how exactly I could go up to him.

"I'm so fucking proud of you girls." Once we were done congratulating each other, I was able to make my way to the seats above the bench.

I took a plethora of photos and signed many jerseys, still waiting for Lando to appear amongst the fans. Once I had finished with the section, I looked up in search of him.

"Y/N!" My name was called out from behind me. I turned around, and after seeing who it was, I walked over.

I threw my hands over Lando's shoulders, as he held my waist in for a hug. "You scared the shit out of me." He looked at me sternly, but it looked my friendly. "I scared the shit out of myself." He laughed. "Hey, look." He stepped slightly away from me and lifted up his hoodie.

Underneath it was our pink Stella McCartney kit. He pulled his hoodie off completely and showed me the back. My last name stood above the number 10.

"It's nice right?" He questioned. "Mhm." My only response. "Only mhm? I spent 200 quid on this!" I laughed at him. "I think I'll do you one better." I pulled the shirt I was wearing off and handed it over to him. "Matchworn, gotta be worth something." I smiled.

"Oh wow, are you serious?" He asked, holding the shirt in his hands. "You don't wanna keep it?" I shook my head. "Nah, I have plenty. Plus now you can start an official Y/N collection."

"Guess this means I'll have to give you my helmet after a race huh?"

"You're already inviting me to a race?" I asked, batting my eyes.

"Well the British GP isn't for a few more months so-" I cut him off before he could finish. "What about Japan?" He looked down at me confused. "What do you mean love?"

"What if I came to Japan? I'm sure they'd let me go down for a day or two." I couldn't help but replicate the smile that was on his face.

He didn't say anything, and instead leaned in.

His lips met mine as he held my face. I kissed him back passionately. Who would've thought that going to a silly race would end like this?

We pulled apart. "You better come to Japan."

lmk if you guys liked this!! i love lando and football sm, so why not mix the two??

say something is coming guys!! i'm in a bit of a slump :/ but my exams will be over soon thankfully

[woahiexist123]

So I have a ton of stories that I absolutely LOVE telling people whenever I get the chance, and I realized that I have a place where I can just blabber all I want and no one can stop me so here’s a story of mine

Tw: injuries

Every day after school I would hang out with my friends at my bus stop. One of my friends owns a skateboard, and sometimes I would ride it short distances. Now it is important to know that the most I can do on a skateboard is go forward. That is my limit. I barely know how to stop, so essentially I don’t know how to ride one.

The thing is I’ve always wanted to be able to ride a skateboard, so one day I decided to try something a bit harder on it. You see, there is this big hill that evens out at the bottom right next to my bus stop. I figured whatever speed I gained on the hill, would be lost on the flat part. So, obviously I took the skateboard and began skating towards the hill.

Immediately my friend began chasing me, because I took his skateboard. I reached the hill and without a second thought began going down it. My friend tried to catch up but couldn’t.

Half way down the hill I realized 3 things. 1. There was a car turning onto the road which freaked me out. 2. The skateboard is shaking because of fast I was going. 3. I don’t know how to stop.

Being faced by these challenges my brain just kinda turned off. So, in an attempt to either bail the board or slow down, I placed my foot in front of the board.

Now if your this far into the story I’m sure your thinking “how could you make so many stupid mistakes in a row” and my answer to that is I have no idea. Something came over me that day, and Jesus Christ it was weird.

Putting my foot in front of the board sent me flying straight to the ground where my right hand caught me, but my left was too slow. Thats when my left side of my face hit the ground instead.

Now I’m on the floor. Immediately I get up, and start repeating “fuck” out loud, trying to catch up with myself and figure out what to do. My friend who was chasing after me ran right past me and saved his board from running into a sewer drain (I don’t blame him for a second lol).

I remembered that my other friends at the bus stop were still somewhat near me, so I began going towards them. My friend saved his board and ran up to me right after. He asked me if I was good and all I could say was “fuck” and started to laugh.

Eventually we made it to the rest of the friends and they gasped. I don’t remember who explained what happened to them, but I’m sure someone did. One of my friends gave me his beanie to put against my head, because apparently my head was bleeding enough for that. I couldn’t really do anything but laugh at the situation, because I knew it was my fault and I wanted to reassure the others that I was not in a lot of pain, but I’m pretty sure I just made them more worried. I held the beanie against my head as we walked to my friend’s house to get medical supplies.

At this point I had noticed my hand which had taken most of the fall, hurt wayyy more than my head but still manageable. So, we made it to my friends house where we walked in and made our way to the bathroom. My friend began treating me while the others watched.

She ended up using like 5 bandaids on my face and wrapped my hand with gauze and a bandage. I was quite impressed.

In the end I was fine. If I had a concussion, I never went to the doctor so I guess we will never know. The reactions of people at school were funny though. One guy believed me when I said I fought a homeless man. That was fun. My teachers on the other hand did not think it so funny lol.

So my life lessons from this story is:

1. Learn how to ride a skateboard or just wear a helmet if you are going to ride one without knowing how

2. My friends are awesome, like wtf did you read what they did??? I mean I could not ask for better friends

Sorry if parts of the story don’t make sense or if there are any grammar issues or anything. I tried to make it as clear as possible.

Thank you for reading!

[houseofhollows]

photograph

pairing: Theodore Nott x reader

genre: angst LOL

notes: haven’t written in so long… sorry if this is bad but i really wanted to upload something. i’ve missed it <3

One week ago Theodore Nott did the worst thing imaginable. One week ago Theodore Nott did something he never thought he would have to do. One week ago he broke up with Y/N. 

It was truly the worst pain he had ever felt. He’d dealt with his father’s attitude and cruel punishments. He had endured the bruises and injuries he’d acquired through Quidditch. He’d suffered broken limbs and concussions. Yet, the worst pain he had ever felt was having to break up with his girlfriend. The one person he deeply trusted, who understood him, who always made him feel like he could do anything–be anything. 

And he had broken her heart to pieces. And he pretended he didn’t care. 

He felt the pain on both an emotional and physical level. He usually prided himself in not showing vulnerability to anyone but Y/N. Still, that night the dorm was filled with the sound of his broken sobs, his stuttered breathing, and the insults he threw not only to himself, but to his father, Voldemort, and even Draco. If it weren’t for them, it wouldn’t have had to happen. He could be sitting beside her in the common room, whispering things to make her giggle. A sound that made him look at her in awe. 

He had unwillingly become a Death Eater, being forced to follow in his father’s footsteps. He tried to object, which only resulted in his father sending him a multitude of angry threats. The Dark Mark was inked into the skin of his forearm the following day. It was done at the Malfoy Manor, where Draco suffered the same. It was clear that Draco would oblige to everything asked of him, but Theo was more reluctant. He skipped the first two meetings, not believing it to be a big deal. But when it was Voldemort instead of his father threatening to kill him, he had no choice. 

What he wasn’t expecting was a lecture from Draco. He went on and on about how important their duty was, how important it would be to have the Dark Lord’s praise. That he mustn’t disobey. 

They were being asked to do dangerous and illegal things; things the entirety of the Death Eaters would be punished for once caught. 

Y/N couldn’t be involved in this mess. He knew ending things was the only solution. The word no kept replaying in his head. He didn’t want to do it. But he had to. To protect her. 

Everything felt cold, dark, absent. It was like the world was being covered in shadows. 

For days she rested in pain, unable to move. She had never felt a loss quite like this. No, he didn’t pass away, but knowing that she couldn’t touch him, kiss him, feel him, was the worst thing she had ever felt. She didn’t sleep. The curtains around her bed were closed, keeping her in a constant state of darkness. She was overwhelmed by the feeling of numbness. The sadness went so deep into her heart that she no longer cried. 

It had been almost two weeks without Theodore when she finally got up. At first, her friends left her alone to be sad. However, they soon began to truly worry about her. She couldn’t stay in bed forever.

“Please Y/N, get up. You have missed so many classes and you’ve barely eaten,” Pansy said softly while pushing a strand of hair from her friend’s face. Despite Pansy’s rude reputation, she was very caring when it came to her friends. 

“Not to mention that she’s only showered once,” Millicent said with a face of disgust. 

Y/N groaned and shifted her position, “I’m tired.”

“Get out of bed before I levitate you to the Great Hall,” Daphne interjected. 

Unsurprisingly, Y/N leapt out of the bed and made her way towards the bathroom. Her pridefulness would never allow her to be seen like that. She also didn’t feel like being the talk of the school when the break up had already surely made its way around. 

After freshening up and getting ready, she began to feel anxious. She knew she’d have tons of work to make up, and unfortunately a break up was not a good enough excuse for missing the amount of classes she did. She wondered if Theo was feeling the same way, and whether or not he missed any classes. 

Her friends said they would meet her in the common room. Packing the last of her things, she noticed the small polaroid photo of her and Theo; it was taken at the Three Broomsticks, and the Y/N was talking while Theo looked at her intently. She had never seen the picture before. Turning it around, Theo’s handwriting sprawled the words, “Wait for me to come home.” 

Her eyes became clouded. How long had that been sitting there? And what did he mean by those words? Taking a deep breath, she pocketed the photo. She didn’t have time to cry now. She left the dorm and made her way down the stairs. 

Upon entering the Great Hall, she could feel the stares of not only her housemates, but those of other houses too. What were they saying about her?

She sat down at the Slytherin table and immediately made eye contact with Theo. She held her breath until he looked away. When he broke up with her, he had told her of his reason; being a Death Eater. She hadn’t been expecting him to be there. There was an ache in her body, one that had been there since that dreadful night. It devoured her, consumed her. It had worsened once she saw him, knowing that he’d been okay the whole time, he’d been going to class, hanging out with friends, while her soul was wearing thin with each passing moment. 

She felt his stare. It was the only one she cared about, the only one that didn’t make her close in on herself. But that was before. Now she wanted him to look away, and that only hurt more. And all of a sudden she felt really tired. Her body felt heavy. Her eyes closed and she felt Pansy shaking her. 

“Come on, Y/N/N, you can’t sleep now,” Pansy said with a hint of desperation. It surprised her. Pansy had never been one to show emotion, or that she cares for that matter. Y/N wanted to be better, if not for herself than for her friends. She opened her eyes and looked to Pansy, whose eyes held so much care it almost brought her to tears. She felt her hand on her back, rubbing it softly. She nodded, and for the first time in days, she smiled. 

The day dragged by. Y/N did her best to avoid Theo and his stupid staring. As expected, she had an overwhelming amount of work to make up, and she was actually thankful for it. Hopefully it would distract her from everything else. As soon as the last class ended, she made her way to the library to start tackling the abnormally large pile of work. 

She sat at her usual spot in the corner, where she was obscured by the bookshelves, blocking her from the prying eyes of other students as they tried to get her side of the story. She just wanted to feel invisible. 

From the corner of her eye, she saw something white amidst the dark shelves. It was another polaroid of her and Theo. This one showed the two cuddling on the dark leather sofa of the Slytherin common room. She wasn’t sure who took the picture, or who left it in that specific part of the library. She turned it around as she had with the first one, and found the words, “We’ll be together again.” 

So much for being distracted. Was it Theo who put the photo there? He knew where she liked to study when she wanted to be left alone. But he had broken up with her, why give her photos of them? It only made her feel worse. Still, she put it in her pocket and returned to her work. 

She felt sad the next day. And the next. It never stopped really. The distance between her and Theo felt physical, as if the universe had bounded them together. 

The war was approaching faster as each day passed. She was scared. Not only for herself but for her friends, whose parents were going to be the ones to kill; for the innocent bodies that will lay throughout the castle, their souls being carried to an unknown place, where they will be told that it wasn’t their fault. Y/N felt lucky that her parents never listened to the Dark Lord and that they didn’t force his ideas onto her. 

More photos landed in her possession, each with hopeful words written on the back. She hated herself for still hoping. Hoping that he’d show up at her dorm one night and apologize, beg her to forgive him and get back together. She would forgive him. She would forgive him a thousands times. She needed to. Because she needed him. 

And she knew he needed her. That’s why she hung onto that hope. She knew there was a chance that once the war was over, he’d come back to her. But there was a chance he wouldn’t come back. Because he might be nothing but another body among the rubble and ash. And it terrified her.

Harry Potter had shown up. That meant it was really time. Time to fight for their lives; for a boy most of Hogwarts doesn’t even know. It was stupid. 

The Slytherins were sent to the dungeons. Y/N was relieved, but then Pansy dragged her out of the common room and through the halls of the castle. 

“Where the hell are we going? Why did you leave the dungeons? We were safe there,” Y/N asked, feeling real fear for the first time in her life. How could she not? There were Death Eaters everywhere. 

“I’m not going to sit in there and be protected while the rest of our classmates die,” Pansy replied angrily. Her hand tightened around Y/N’s. She was afraid too. 

“Since when do you care about everyone else?” 

“Since always. Be quiet.”

They were hidden behind a pillar, multiple Death Eaters striding across the hall. There was a look on their face that Y/N couldn’t point out. They looked almost happy. Happy to be killing children. 

And as Pansy and Y/N walked through the castle, it was made clear that they weren’t only there to kill those who weren’t purebloods. Lavender Brown lay on the stone ground, her face dusty, her eyes open. Y/N didn’t know her well, but she knew that Lavender had one of the purest souls. She didn’t deserve to die like this. No one did. 

Y/N heard a whimper and realized she had made that sound. Her body ached for the loss of everyone. She thought she’d gotten over that feeling. But it had come back so strong that she just needed to sit down. Her knees collided with the stone and she sobbed hard. 

“No, no. What are you doing? Get up, we have to go,” Pansy pleaded, trying to pull her best friend off the floor. Pansy had tears falling as well, but she knew she needed to stay strong, because Y/N couldn’t. 

Y/N breathed hard and nodded her head. Lifting herself up, she was met with Draco, who looked just as horrified as her. His hair was messy and his face was sad. She had never seen him look so vulnerable. 

“Whose side are you really on?” she asked him as she stepped closer. 

“Yours,” he whispered. “I can’t do it anymore.” 

The three of them stood in silence for a while, not sure what to do, what to say. Draco moved first. They followed. The staircases were filled with students running around. She wasn’t sure where they were going. If they were trying to find somewhere safe. Or trying to find one of their friends. She couldn’t imagine losing someone else, even if the first one was technically still alive. Hopefully. 

All she wanted to do was find him. But she knew he might not even be in the castle. Draco had told them he wasn’t supposed to be here, that his parents had left him at home. She hoped Theo was safe. 

They had done it. It was over. Harry Potter had killed Voldemort. 

Y/N and Pansy sat in the Great Hall and watched people come and go. Some found their friends and sighed in relief, others were told news no one wanted to hear. She saw Fred Weasley’s family huddled over him, clutching one another, emitting the saddest sounds. 

Footsteps sounded closer to her and she turned, eyes meeting Theo’s. She didn’t care that they weren’t together anymore. She leapt up and ran to him. She held him tight and cried into his shoulders, grasping him. He returned her hold, stronger than he ever had before. They clung onto each other like their lives depended on it. Because they did. 

“I was so scared, Theo,” she sobbed.

“I know, me too,” he whispered. He was almost hesitant. “I have this for you.” He pulled a photo out of his pocket and handed it to her. They were at a Slytherin party, standing alone in the corner, holding hands and talking. They went to every party but rarely partook in any of the activities. 

She looked on the back, where the words, “We keep this love in a photograph,” were printed in her handwriting. She looked up and saw his sad eyes. 

“I want you to know that I only did it to protect you. To keep you away from everything,” he paused to take a deep breath. “It’s over now. Come back to me. Please.”

“Always,” she replied. 

He kissed like he never had before. Desperation and relief flooded from his lips onto hers. He needed her to know and feel every emotion he has felt for the months he spent without her. He needed her know that she had a place in his heart that no one else has ever or will ever have. It was only her. Forever.  

[whentherewerebicycles]

ugh we had a rough start to the morning… one of our new neighbors has a huge dog that really freaks ruthie out. it seems to be a really nice, placid dog but ruthie is super leash reactive, especially at close distances, and the woman who owns the big dog seems to be really interested in pushing all of my dog’s buttons at every possible opportunity lol. I know I’m projecting onto her but it is driving me nuts. she knows my (very small toy breed) dog is reactive yet whenever she sees us, instead of giving me a minute to get ruthie out of the way she’ll walk her dog very briskly directly at us in a way that unfailingly triggers all of ruthie’s panic meltdown instincts, and when I’ve finally managed to wrestle ruthie out of sight, she’ll IMMEDIATELY follow us at a close distance as if to make a point that she’s not going to alter HER walk plans at all to accommodate my feral demon child. and I’m meanwhile saying things like “oh my god I’m so sorry, she’s leash reactive, just give me a minute” as I try to haul ruthie to a safe enough distance that she can calm down, and the neighbor doesn’t say anything just gives me this judgy as hell look like she thinks I’m the worst dog parent she’s ever seen (and then of course she doesn’t give us a minute she just follows directly on our heels, further confirming ruthie’s panicked sense that THIS DOG IS HUNTING ME IT COULD EAT ME IN ONE BITE HELP HELP). anyway I usually try to actively take a diff route or scan the horizon for this woman so I can ~manage the environment~ and keep ruthie far enough from the stimulus to avoid triggering the meltdown reaction, but today the woman (who MUST have seen us passing based on the way our units are laid out, like there’s NO WAY this encounter was a surprise to her) came abruptly around a corner so ruthie was literally face to face with her big dog with zero warning. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa okay it’s fine it’s stressful for me but I know most people just don’t get it… like before I got ruthie I thought pip’s easygoing nature with other dogs was like, the Default Dog Setting, and now I understand that no it’s just because I took him a ton of public places when he was a puppy and he met lots of dogs of all sizes. whereas ruthie was clearly a pandemic puppy who spent most of her time at home and had few Public Experiences.

anyway sigh we continue to work on it. but man okay the last 15 or so hours have been kinda rough lol… my favorite player (who has a history of Very Very Bad Life-Altering Concussions) got deliberately elbowed in the head to take him out of the game last night & prob has a concussion… many sports fans are garbage humans who are outright gleeful about seeing a person already at high risk of CTE receive another brain injury… the league almost certainly won’t do anything about it to the player who elbowed him in the head which fucking sucks… and THEN unrelatedly I keep having this series of extraordinarily realistic nightmares about aliens who take over or invade the bodies of human women and then destroy the woman by shucking her consciousness from her body and consuming it, leaving her an empty husk body (clearly my subconscious is hard at work processing The World)… also I read this poem about war crimes against women in the atlantic yesterday and it has fucking haunted me since I can’t stop thinking about it/about war crimes in general/about the vulnerability of women’s bodies… also I think that getting upset about sports last night unlocked the inner compartment where I have been aggressively repressing all of my roe v wade + Ukraine mass rape grief and rage and now I’m just swimming in that toxic sludge… also I’m just tired from bad sleep and not in a great headspace today friends.

sigh. okay. I’m going to drink coffee and lounge in bed till 9:30, then I’ll get up and shower and get ready for these student meetings. here’s the day:

9:30-10:30 shower, breakfast, emails

10:30-11 SO mtg

11-1:30 write scenes (my goal is three today but also I’m going to be gentle with myself today I’m feeling destabilized by the world)

1:30-2 AZ mtg

2-2:30 see if ML will switch to this time

2:30-3 ML mtg

3-5 write some more

evening: walk the dogs for an hour, do a bit more writing, or just do whatever. try not to doomscroll it won’t make you feel better

[ccinagalaxyfaraway]

Wolffe being like 😳 when he sees Plo divert/use lightning for the first time but also being like actually star struck by him lol

There is fire all around them. Wolffe shoves Comet’s head down behind cover and skid-slides behind a fallen chunk of concrete himself, clutching his rifle to his chest and sucking in air as fast as he can. They’ve been in a running retreat for three hours now. The battalion encampment is another hour away, along with all the reinforcements that entails. Goddamn Jedi and their goddamn luck, Wolffe grouses, popping up to provide cover fire while Plo relocates to a better position, Sinker’s arm slung across his shoulders. The two of them duck into a door frame, with Boost joining them, rifle retorting, and then there’s finally time to catch a breath.

“Medical’s gonna have your hide,” Sinker slurs, thoroughly concussed from his introduction to a steel wall via grenade. “Walking on that leg.”

“I won’t tell if you don’t,” says Boost, whose thigh had been grazed - had a chunk shot off, really - by a droidika. Despite the din, their voices come through clear in  Wolffe’s helmet, along with the other tactical feeds he recieves by satellite. Things like unit positions and enemy movements, which would be useful if there were more than one way to get back to base - through the hundreds of battle droids between them and the pass.

“Any ideas, General?” Wolffe asks, checking his charge pack. It’s nearly empty; he doubts anyone else’s is in much better condition, and unless Plo develops a sudden affinity for Force-disassembly, replacements are unlikely. Movement catches his attention, and he fires on a group of droids attempting to flank them. Plo deflects a few shots in their direction.

“Nothing you would approve,” says Plo. “Unless you’ve reconsidered your stance on splitting up?”

“I don’t know,” Wolffe says, “have you reconsidered yours on taking Comet and going on ahead of us?”

“Not particularly,” says Plo. He thumbs the switch on his lightsaber, the blue vanishing in an instant, and starts levitating pebbles instead. At speed they can punch clear through a battle droid’s neck, and once or twice had even caused super battle droids to malfunction. It has the added advantage of not lighting up his position, as lightsabers tend to do. Droids can be tricked into turning away if attacks appear to come from another direction. While he flings his makeshift projectiles, Wolffe and Comet join them in the deserted building, each taking hold of an injured brother and venturing inside. Behind them, there is rumbling as Plo shifts concrete to block the entrance.

“What an unpleasant situation,” says Plo, squatting beside Wolffe where he is seated.

“This sucks, you mean,” says Comet. Sinker mumbles something incoherent from where he’s laid out on the floor.

“Quite,” says Plo. “If we could clear a path -”

“Not with that many,” says Wolffe, watching the shifting mass of red dots on his HUD. “Not even a Jedi could get through that many. Not even General Unduli’s perfect defense.” And Plo was definitely not Luminara Unduli. Wolffe remembers Geonosis all too well, and pulling his future General onto a lartie. The odds now are even worse. “They’re clustered at the entrance to the pass, with secondary groups roaming. Go after one and the other groups will overwhelm us in minutes.”

They might be overwhelmed anyway. If they were more mobile - but Plo refuses to leave his troopers behind, and Wolffe refuses to leave Plo behind, so they’re at an impasse. The droids will flush them out eventually by accident or design, and they’ll be hunted to exhaustion.

“So we need to take out a large chunk of their force at the same time,” says Boost. “Wish we had the Wreckers around.”  Their knack for improvised pyrotechnics would be handy.

Wolffe glances over just in time to see Plo’s considering expression. “General,” he says warily.” What are you thinking?”

Plo taps his claws together. “Parlor tricks,” he says. “On a large scale.” He faces Wolffe fully. “Based on what you have seen so far, could you predict when the various groups will be closest to the main force?”

“Sure,” says Wolffe. It’s a shiny’s exercise in pattern recognition.

“Let me know a minute in advance,” says Plo, standing. Wolffe cranes his neck to look at him, and Plo drops a hand onto Wolffe’s shoulder. “Have faith.”

Wolffe covers Plo’s hand with his own. “Always.”

He watches as Plo begins to pick his way to the upper floors of the building, hopping from perch to perch with his usual understated efficiency until he is at the very top, crouched on the ledge overlooking the last hundred yards between them and losing a droid army in a densely forested mountain. His robes are tucked tightly around him, though in the still, dry air they wouldn’t have fluttered anyway. He too is still, like a garboyle overlooking the city, like a hawk surveilling its prey.

“One minute,” says Wolffe, his eyes fixed above.

“Make sure no one is touching anything conductive,” says Plo. He rocks forward.

Wolffe’s eyes narrow, and he scrambles to his feet. “What are you -”

“Have faith,” Plo repeats, and launches himself off the building.

Wolffe makes it to the window on the third floor in time to see Plo’s final descent on the droids, feet first, an ambush from above. As he crash-lands, lightning bursts from his frame, streams of gold arcin through every scrap of metal around him. Some of the droids explode, starting chains of destruction radiating out from the epicenter. Others, apparently better insulated, jerk and jolt from the interference and fall over smoking from their overloaded circuits.

From his viewpoint, Wolffe can feel his hair stand on end, and then a loud crack splits the air and the destruction is complete. The smoke slowly begins to clear, and from the tangled, smelted remains, Wolffe can just make out the form of a cloaked man, stumbling towards them.

“What was that?” Comet hisses when Wolffe rejoins them on ground level, wide-eyed and scowling. He can’t decide if he’s awe-struck or irritated. Moments later, the doorway opens itself, and on the other side is their General, slightly singed about the robes, still smoking, and leaning heavily on the closest appropriately sized piece of rubble.

“You call that a parlor trick?” Wolffe asks, going to him to look for any obvious injury. Plo tiredly shrugs him off.

“I’ve never used it on that scale,” says Plo. “Sparks, usually. A bolt, when I first discovered it.”

“Di’kut,” Wolffe growls.

“Not one of my brightest moves,” Plo agrees, though for that moment, he had outshone the sun. He seems done with the topic and bends to pull Sinker up again. “We’d best move before any more trouble comes to find us.”

Wolffe follows, an eye on Boost beside him and the other on Comet on point, very carefully not staring at Plo, his very own force of nature, the scent of ozone marking his path ahead.

[lancermylove]

BSTS Theory (Part 3)

Part 1: here Part 2: here

I’m sorry for taking forever to reply, @that-otome-potato! ><

​The card that MC got had the address to the old Starless. That’s why Kokuyou was shocked when he saw the address to old Starless, and that’s when he started to believe MC is connected to something deeper (and Kei didn’t keep MC around for no reason). After BL2, there are SO many theories floating around: Zaku being a clone, this Zaku not being the real one, real Zaku missing. Main reason for this the trailer at the end of the BL2. The man standing with Zaku is theorized to be either the current Zaku, Takami, Yoshino, or Nekome. I want to lean more towards Takami because that would answer the question about how Taka got the Blackstar cd in the first place. Here are two possible explanations for Zaku. One, he is an imposter and is saying he has amnesia. Two, the guy standing in the BL2 end photo hit Zaku over the head, giving him a concussion or injury that resulted in memory loss.  

Zaku and Taka haven’t really interacted in the “I’ve info to share with you” way, or Donuts hasn’t showed us that part yet. Oh, so idk if I mentioned this, but Kasumi also seems to know things. I really do wonder if ALL the cast members are linked to this. That would be one hell of a storyline to make up. O_O HAHAHA omg, it would be so hard to get info out of those guys. They would play mind games with you and leave, after which you would realize they never answered any of your questions. XD 

Ran knows more about MC than he’s letting on. I doubt that he knows everything, but he know more than most. Not quite sure how he fits into all this, but it’s almost like he came to Starless because of MC. Ah, I kinda wish we knew which teams these guys were on! Team Hurt MC or Team Protect Mc. Donuts sometimes makes me want to pull out my hair and cry. T~T Starless gets the award of “Most Suspicious Place in the World”. 

YES! Donuts, give Kongou more screen time, please. OMG no...no Kongou older brother lol. I doubt they would be related because Kongou has a shyness around MC...and we’re NOT going the incest route. Kongou helping MC/Heath could work, but I don’t remember any scenes with Heath saying “omg, it’s you” to Kongou. So, it’s safe to assume that they didn’t know each other before coming to Starless. Also, Kongou was already part of Starless before MC arrived. He was part of the kitchen staff, so he didn’t come out of the kitchen (until his character was made into an official cast member). 

Yeah, that could be possible. We know that Kokuyou is def connected to all this, so it makes sense that kid him knew kid MC. Hm, if we look at the original story, Lohengrin didn’t take the blame for anything, but he wanted to prove Elsa innocent. Going by that, I think MC was blamed for something, and Kei returned to prove her innocent. Maybe MC lost her memories very recently...she may be fresh out of the hospital. Cause why would Kei come back now of all times? 

Kokuyou def knows the Mikis because they brought him to Starless. Other than that, we don’t know much. Ginsei was close to Koharu and said she was a nice person, and none of the members have said anything bad about them. So from the members POV, the Mikis aren’t bad. We don’t know much about Iwami though, aside from Kei disliking him, and Haseyama saying he met him once, I think. 

 Oh, Iwami wants her to remember for sure. Kei said that straight up when MC was in the hospital, but we don’t know if Iwami asked Sin, or if Sin played the CD out of free will. Blackstar (the song) feels like a means of brainwash that allows MC to remember the past. That’s why Kei didn’t want to let her hear the song, but now we know there are two version: one that makes MC faint, and the one that Mc is okay with. Taka...how in the world did you know which part to remove? Also, now we know that Taka is aware that Taiga is spying on Haseyama, AND Taka is currently helping out Haseyama. They’re brewing up something suspicious, seems like it’s something against MC. 

I REALLY hope that Kei is lurking around, but I’m sure he went back home. Remember Kasumi checked the overseas news and saw new articles about Kei? That means he did go back...leave it to the media to stalk the celebs and reveal their whereabouts. Saying that, I will say that Kei seems to be powerful enough to have a private jet of his own. If he did, he could leave US and return to Japan without getting spotted by the media. Also, he could totally hire people to spread rumors about him being in US but still be in Japan. I’m pretty sure Kasumi isn’t the only one who stalks overseas news for info about Kei. 

Rindou is super stressed out, but he’s open about his stress to an extent. Kei, on the other hand, will not show his stress. He knows there are people just waiting to hurt him if they learn he’s in a weak state, so he can’t show it even if he wants (which he most likely wouldn’t lol). Menou, please give these guys a spa suggestion...they need to take a deep breath and relax. And I would be more than happy to go with him. ^/////^

[maxxineminx]

So I went to a doctor Tuesday basically saying “hey I think I have a concussion I’d like to make sure its not too serious or whatever” and waited 45 minutes in the waiting room (I was the only patient In there) before I just had to leave bc my lunch break was over so I cannot confirm that I have a head injury.. but I mean I don’t remember anything about any of the past however many nights, I’ve been nauseas and have had a headache for the past whatever the fuck since I hit my head, and I’m dizzy as shit with no sense of direction. It’s so weird and like better not be permanent bc it’s scary and the job I start Tuesday is at night primarily lol

If it doesn’t start to resolve like I’ll go again on a day off but holy fuck it shouldn’t be that hard to see a doctor

[iliketoreadstuf]

newbie (spencer reidxOC!) part 3

a/n: sooo some angst in this one & learning more about delaney’s past ooooohhhh and some fluff w spence of course

warnings: death, angst, sadness lol

part 1 part 2

chapter three:

When Delaney woke, she heard a heart monitor gently beeping and her head was pounding. She looked around and found an empty room. Her heart dropped to her stomach with disappointment. Hadn’t Spencer stayed with her? Had she hallucinated everything? Did the team leave without her?

As her mind was whirring with possibilities, a familiar head of curls walked into her room. He was holding a cup of coffee, of course. When he noticed that Delaney was awake his eyes brightened.

“You’re awake! God, Delaney, you seriously downplayed your injuries. You thought you were going to get away with pain meds and some gauze? They had to use 9 stitches on your arm and you have a mild concussion. Three of your ribs were badly bruised and your lower back is bruised.” Spencer rambled, his voice disbelieving at her behavior.

“There’s no way that’s true.” Delaney scoffed.

“Oh, it’s true, pretty girl.” Another voice said from the doorway of her room.

Morgan was standing there, that smirk on his face. Behind him was the rest of the team, all of them wearing smiles. They walked in and took different spots around her room. Delaney sat up in her bed and held down a wince. So, maybe she had hurt herself a little more than she’d thought.

“You are one tough cookie, Wilmer,” Rossi said from her left, a smile on his face.

“Yeah, yeah, enough about me. Please tell me you guys caught that son of a bitch while I was unconscious.” Delaney said, looking around at all of them.

“Oh, we got him soon after you left. He trailed blood after him to a small motel where he was trying to tend that huge gash you cut on him.” JJ said with a wink.

“Oh, good. That’s good.” She paused and looked around. “So, can we leave? I really don’t like hospitals.” Delaney said, fidgeting with the IV in her arm.

The team laughed and Delaney did too, though she wished she could get some meds for her head. And her back. And her ribs.

“They’re discharging you as soon as they give you some pain medication. Aren’t you in pain right now?” Spencer asked from the chair beside her.

“I can overlook the pain if it means getting out of here.” She said truthfully, her eyes wide and pleading.

“You’re insane,” Emily said with an amused glint in her eyes.

Thankfully, a nurse came in soon after that and prescribed Delaney with some medication for her to take for the next couple of weeks. She informed her that she would need to come back to a hospital in Virginia to get her stitches removed in a few weeks.

“I trust that you’re all smart enough to keep an eye on her and make sure she’s staying hydrated for the next few hours. Her concussion needs her to stay rested and hydrated. Miss Wilmer, you need to take those meds twice a day. Once in the morning and once before bed. I’ll bring the discharge papers now.” The nurse said to the group.

They all nodded and looked expectantly at Delaney. She held her hands up in surrender and took the meds the nurse gave her. She gulped down an entire bottle of water and the nurse came back in and took out Delaney’s IV. She signed the papers and smiled victoriously at her team.

“Let’s get out of here please,” Delaney said, pushing the blankets off her and standing from her bed.

She was still in her dress from the bar and she felt goosebumps rise on her skin. Why did hospitals have to be so cold? Before she could take another step, a sweater was being placed around her shoulders. She looked up and found Spencer putting his brown sweater on her with a kind smile. Morgan smirked at Prentiss as they watched Spencer and Delaney. Morgan mouthed ‘whipped’ to Prentiss and she covered her grin with her hand.

Delaney looked down, feeling heat rise on her cheeks as she picked up her heels and meds and walked out of her room. JJ and Emily came up to either side of her, both of them hooking their arms through hers.

“You’ve got him wrapped around your finger, Wilmer,” Emily said with a knowing smirk on her face.

“Who?” Delaney asked cluelessly.

“Oh no. Em, she’s as oblivious as him.” JJ said amusedly.

“What? Guys, what are you talking about?” Delaney asked desperately as they got into a car.

“No, we’ll let you come to it on your own. Better if we don’t interfere.” Emily said.

“I would usually be able to tell what you were talking about, but I just woke up from a concussion-induced sleep so I’m not as sharp as normal,” Delaney said, feeling drowsy from her meds.

Emily and JJ laughed and they all piled into the car, Spencer getting in the passenger seat while Derek drove. They all explained the details of catching Damien, Emily including the fact that his nose and stomach were still bleeding when they found him wandering the streets. He’d tried to put up a fight but he’d lost too much blood.

“All thanks to you and your knife-swinging glory,” JJ said, lightly bumping her shoulder.

Delaney laughed and sank down in her seat, pulling Spencer’s sweater tighter around her. It smelled like his cologne and coffee. It was comforting to have it with her, even though he was just a couple of feet in front of her.

They got back to the hotel and informed Delaney that they’d be leaving in an hour. She nodded and Spencer walked with her to her room. She unlocked her door and walked inside but Spencer lingered in the hallway. She looked back at him curiously.

“Are you coming in? I don’t really want to be alone right now.” She said, silently asking him to come in.

He quickly nodded, coming in and closing the door behind him. He walked in and sat on her bed as she crouched down to find some comfortable clothes from her duffel bag. She found a tank top and black work pants and glanced at Spencer.

“I’m gonna take a quick shower. Um, I would offer you something but I honestly don’t have anything here.” Delaney smiled nervously.

“No worries. I can entertain myself.” Spencer reassured her.

She nodded and headed to the bathroom. After quickly showering, she changed into her pants and tank top and looked at Spencer’s cardigan. Without thinking too much of it she put it on over her tank top. Delaney brushed through her wet hair and left her face bare, packing up all the things she had in her bathroom.

Spencer was still sitting on her bed when she came out. He eyed his cardigan but didn’t say anything about it. He’d packed her duffel bag while she’d been in the shower, all of it packed neatly inside, along with her meds. He held out a water bottle to her and she gave him a small grin, reluctantly taking it and downing the entire thing.

As she threw the empty bottle away, she took her bag from him, stuffing her toiletries in it. With a sigh, she put it down and sat next to him on her bed. She fiddled with her hands before finally gathering the courage to look up at him. Spencer was struck again by her beauty. She looked into his eyes and took his hand into both of hers.

“Spence, I want to thank you. You’ve been so incredibly kind to me this entire case and I haven’t been exactly easy to deal with. I mean, you obviously noticed this case was pretty triggering for me and then I managed to get myself beat up by the unsub and let him get away.” Delaney rambled, realizing how annoyed he probably was of her.

“Hey, that wasn’t your fault. You’re the reason we were even able to get the unsub, Delaney. And getting to work with you on this case has been so great. You’re so intelligent and are such a breath of fresh air. I mean, Delaney, you’re like the piece that this team has been missing. Don’t ever think that you’re a burden to us. You’re one of us now.” Spencer said, ducking his head to try to meet her eyes.

She didn’t want him to see her crying, though. He’d already seen it twice and that was twice more than anyone else had ever seen her cry. He probably thought she was so pathetic. Slowly, a hand wrapped under her chin and turned it to look up at Spencer’s face. A tear rolled down her face and his thumb caught it gently.

“I’m sorry. No one has ever seen me cry this much. Hell, no one has ever seen me cry at all. You probably think this is pathetic.” Delaney whispered.

“I don’t think you’re pathetic. I think you’ve kept your emotions bottled up for a long time and have put up a front for everyone else. I think you’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met and you’re just not quite sure how to be vulnerable. But, Delaney, I want you to tell me everything. Tell me what you’ve kept hidden away from everyone else. I promise I’ll understand.” Spencer whispered back, bringing his other hand up to cup both of her cheeks.

Her tears were coming quicker now but he wiped away every single one of them. Delaney didn’t know what it was about Spencer, but she trusted him enough to tell him everything she was thinking. So she took a shaky breath and met his eyes.

“When I was 17, I went to a party at another person’s house from my school. It was the first and only party I’d ever been to, and I let myself be a normal teenager for that night. I got drunk and soon enough, this boy was pulling me into a dark room.” Delaney looked down and Spencer’s hands moved to hold her own.

“He… he held me so tight that I couldn’t move and he… touched me. He kissed me even though I didn’t want to be kissed, hell, it was my first kiss, and then…” Delaney couldn’t say it, her voice catching on a sob and she could barely breathe.

“Shh, you don’t need to finish. I understand. I understand why this case and why the bar was so difficult for you.” Spencer said, bringing a hand to rub her back.

“I buried the memory for so many years and when I saw those girls the first day we were here… Everything just came rushing back to me. I haven’t let myself get close enough to anyone to be romantic with them until the unsub.” Delaney said.

“I understand. I am so sorry that happened to you.” Spencer said.

Delaney finally looked at him and wiped her tears with the sleeve of his cardigan, a disbelieving smile spreading on her face. Spencer slowly smiled back, his eyes confused.

“Sorry, sorry. It’s just that I’ve never told anyone that before. I’ve barely known you a week and I told you something I’ve never even told people I thought were my friends.” Delaney said.

“You can tell me anything. I’m glad you told me this. I know it’s been weighing on you for a while.” Spencer said, playing with a lock of her wet hair on his finger.

Delaney surprised Spencer by tackling him in a tight hug, cuddling her face in his neck and squeezing her hands together around his waist. He immediately reciprocated, wrapping his arms around her upper back and resting his cheek on the top of her head. She always smelled like flowers, to Spencer’s amusement.

“You’re unlike anyone I’ve ever met, Spencer Reid.” She mumbled, slowly pulling away from him.

“Right back at you, Delaney Wilmer.” Spencer smiled.

“Okay, well that’s enough crying for the next century. We should probably head to your room so you can get your stuff, right?” Delaney said, finding some black flats to slip into.

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” Spencer nodded as Delaney zipped up her duffel bag and grabbed her purse.

“Let’s go.” She said, gesturing for him to lead the way.

They walked down the hall and Spencer unlocked the door with his key card. Morgan was in there, packing up a bag. He brightened up when he saw Delaney and Spencer. Delaney braced herself for some Derek Morgan banter that would most likely involve some teasing.

“The pretty boy and pretty girl have arrived! I thought you guys were going to miss the plane.” He smiled teasingly.

“Yeah, yeah. How many mirrors do you have in there? 10? I would think you’d need that many to contain your ego.” Delaney shot back with a devilish smile, sitting on one of the beds.

Spencer laughed and quickly stifled it with his hand as he started packing his clothes in his bag. Morgan raised his eyebrows as if he were impressed.

“Even with a concussion, you’re just as sharp, Wilmer. Impressive. Just, tell me, who’s sweater is that?” Derek pointed to Spencer’s sweater that was too big on her.

“Oh, this? It’s actually Rossi’s. He came to visit me in my room a few minutes ago.” Delaney said with wide eyes, a teasing glint in them.

“Really? Cause I could’ve sworn I saw a certain pretty boy give it to you at the hospital.” Morgan said, looking at Spencer.

“Rossi is quite pretty, isn’t he?” Delaney replied.

Both of the boys snickered. Derek pointed his finger at her with a wide grin, his eyes light with amusement.

“You’re lucky I like you, pretty girl.” He said.

“Aww, Derek! I’m so touched.” Delaney clapped her hands together with a fake swoon.

They were all laughing at that point, Derek coming over to ruffle Delaney’s hair affectionately. Delaney had to admit, he was growing on her. She wasn’t sure about him at first, but she enjoyed their banter now.

“Alright, we should get going. Hotch is probably waiting for us in the lobby.” Spencer said when he’d finished packing.

They all nodded and headed out to the elevator. They met the rest of the team in the lobby and drove to the jet. They all boarded and Delaney slid into a window seat, Spencer coming next to her. He had a book with him and Delaney read the cover. It looked to be some sort of mathematics book. Delaney chuckled at him because of course, he would be reading a book about math.

“The genius never stops, does he?” She asked.

“This book is interesting.” Spencer defended himself.

“Oh, is it? Please, tell me what’s so interesting about it. I’m practically falling out of my seat!” Delaney teased.

Hotch and Rossi looked over at them with amusement as Derek slid into one of the seats across from Delaney and Spencer.

“She got you there, Reid. Hey, how about all of us play a game?” Derek wiggled his eyebrows.

“She should really be sleeping right now,” Spencer mumbled from behind his book.

“Reid’s right. Kid, you should be trying to sleep for this entire ride home.” Rossi said with a stern look.

Delaney sighed and reluctantly rested her head back against the seat. She felt herself drifting off fairly quickly and soon enough, she was dead asleep.

Spencer was still reading when he felt a weight on his shoulder. He looked down and found Delaney’s head resting against his shoulder. His cheeks were warm as he realized how close they were. He looked up and found Morgan smiling like a madman.

“Don’t even think about it, Morgan,” Spencer warned.

Derek put his hands up in surrender and put his headphones on. He looked back at them and winked at Spencer first, though. Spencer just rolled his eyes and closed his book. He was decidedly exhausted after watching Delaney in the hospital for most of the day. With a quiet yawn, he closed his eyes and started falling asleep, gently resting his head on Delaney’s.

The rest of the team watched in amusement as the youngest members of the team slept peacefully, heads resting against each other. JJ and Emily were practically squealing and Hotch and Rossi shook their heads at the young agents.

“Kid’s got game,” Morgan said to the team.

“Oh, give them a break. One’s got a concussion and the other’s been awake for 36 hours. They’re exhausted.” Rossi tried to reason.

“Fine, fine. Who’s gonna wake them up?” Emily asked.

“Allow me,” Morgan smirked and made his way to Spencer.

Morgan leaned down to Spencer’s ear and rubbed the top of his head.

“Wake up, lover boy.” He said loudly in Spencer’s ear.

Spencer’s eyes shot open and noticed the position he was currently in. Then he noticed the rest of the team smirking at him. Blood rushed to his face as he felt his mouth go dry. This wasn’t how he was expecting his day to go.

“Good nap?” JJ asked.

“Um, yep,” Spencer said, his voice unusually high.

They all laughed and started to disperse, leaving Spencer to wake Delaney. He gently tapped her shoulder and she stirred. Her eyes opened and she looked up at Spencer. She pulled her head up and off of him, her heart pounding in her chest.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Didn’t realize I fell asleep on you.” She said with a nervous laugh, avoiding his eyes.

“It’s all good. I, uh, fell asleep on you as well. The rest of the team saw us and woke me up. I’m just warning you cause they’ll probably tease us about it for a while.” Spencer stuttered with red cheeks.

“I’m pretty sure that’s their favorite thing to do. No worries, genius. I’ll stick up for us. Once I recover from all this.” She gestured to her head and then her arm.

Spencer chuckled and got up from his seat. He held his hand out to help her out and they got their stuff and made their way off the jet. They got back to the building and went up to the sixth floor. Delaney was impossibly tired as she slumped down in her desk. Morgan looked at her from his desk.

“Have a nice nap, sleeping beauty? Was Reid’s shoulder comfy?” He asked.

“It was actually. Much better than yours would’ve been.” She snapped slightly.

JJ and Emily snickered from their desks, all of them starting their reports. Delaney sighed and got to work on her report. She managed to finish it fairly quickly and walked up to Hotch’s office. She knocked gently and he told her to come in. Hotch looked up and gave her a surprised look.

“Wilmer? What are you still doing here? You need to go home and rest.” Hotch said.

“Oh, I stayed to finish my report. I was just letting you know that I’m heading out.” Delaney said, handing him her report.

“Wilmer, take a week off. I don’t want to see you until you have a note from a doctor that your concussion is gone and you’re cleared to be in the field.” Hotch said sternly.

Delaney sighed with disappointment but nodded her head. He took her report and told her to get better.

“Thank you, sir. I promise to sleep and go to the doctors this week. If I’m cleared in less than a week can I come in?” She asked hopefully as they walked into the bullpen.

Spencer listened to their conversation and chuckled at Delaney’s question. Of course, she wanted to get out of bed rest for a week.

“Call me if that happens and I’ll consider it. You need to have that doctor’s note, Wilmer.” Hotch said.

“Okay, okay. Goodbye, everyone. Have a good week without me.” Delaney said as she grabbed all her stuff.

They all bid her goodbye and Spencer gave her a small smile. She really didn’t want to be away from here for a week. She specifically didn’t want to be away from Spencer for a whole week. But Hotch would murder her if she came in without clearance from a doctor. So she sighed and went down to her car.

She drove back home, the memories of the week coming back to her. She was mentally exhausted and now she had to spend a week by herself in misery. With a sigh, she grabbed all her things and made her way into her apartment. She put her bags down in her room and looked around. That was the worst part of the day. When she was encompassed with the silence.

Delaney quickly slipped out of her flats and pants and put on a pair of sweatpants. She braided her hair back and walked to her living room. With a long sigh, she sat on her couch and put on her comfort movies; Harry Potter. Piling in with her blankets and pillows, she soon forgot about the case she’d just finished and was engrossed in the magical world of Hogwarts. Hours passed and she’d made it to Prisoner of Azkaban when her phone started to ring. She looked at it curiously until she realized it was Spencer. Her heart fluttered as she picked up.

“Hi, genius.” She smiled.

“Hey, Wilmer. How are you?” He asked.

“Watching Harry Potter. Trying not to think about the boring week I’m about to have.” Delaney sighed.

“Want some company?” He asked.

Delaney felt heat rise to her cheeks as a huge smile spread on her face. She instinctively brought the sleeve of his sweater to her nose as she kicked her feet excitedly.

“Yes, yes, yes, please. Will you bring some food with you as well? I didn’t really eat anything since… well, it’s been a while.” Delaney said cheekily.

She heard him chuckle quietly and it sounded like he was shutting a car door.

“Yes, I’ll get us something. From what I remember you like pad thai, right? And spring rolls?” Spencer asked.

“You are everything I could’ve ever dreamed of, doctor. You and your genius eidetic memory. Yes and yes. And maybe some sprite?” Delaney asked sweetly.

“You are a child, Delaney.” Spencer laughed.

“Noooo, I just don’t like alcohol. Come on, Spence, I can barely drink a glass of wine without feeling woozy.” Delaney defended herself.

“Alright, alright. Sprite, it is. Anything else?”

“Chocolate ice cream.”

“Delaney!” He groaned.

“Spencer, I am on bed rest. I would go get the ice cream myself, but couldn’t that be dangerous due to this concussion I have?” Delaney asked.

“You’re lucky I like you, Wilmer,” Spencer said.

“Byeeeeeeee!” She giggled into the phone, hanging up after.

She only then realized what was happening. Spencer was coming over. Dr. Spencer Reid was coming to her house to bring her food and hang out with her. She was still wearing his cardigan. She couldn’t bring herself to take it off yet because it still smelled so much like him. God, she was basically obsessed with him. But she still couldn’t take it off.

She decided that maybe she should try and fix herself up a little bit. Going to her room, she looked at herself in the mirror and took her hair out of the braid it had been in. It fell into its natural curls with a little more wave than usual. She dug through her duffel bag and put on some deodorant and her favorite rose perfume. She ran to get her makeup bag and walked to her bathroom that connected to her bedroom. Putting some blush, eyeliner, and mascara, she decided that she looked okay.

Delaney slipped into some bunny slippers and walked out into her living room. She straightened it up and cleaned up any mess she might’ve made. Delaney didn’t know why but something about Spencer wanted her to make sure her house was spotless. Satisfied, she sat back on her couch and continued watching Harry Potter. It was just a few minutes later that she heard knocking on her door. She shot up and ran over to the door. She opened it and found the familiar head of curls she liked so much.

“Doctor! My hero! Here, let me help you.” She said, taking some of the bags he was holding.

He just laughed and closed the door behind him. They made their way to the couch and Delaney set everything on her coffee table in front of the couch. Spencer put the remainder of the bags on there and sat next to her. He’d changed from his work clothes into some sweatpants and a hoodie. He looked so unlike his usual self that it made Delaney smile. He looked back at her and smiled back.

“I’m so happy you’re here. I know it’s only been a few hours but I was already lonely. Now I get to be with the one and only, Spencer Reid.” She smiled, bumping her shoulder into his playfully.

“I figured you wouldn’t want to be alone right now. So, what are we watching?” He asked, taking out the thai.

“Well, I was watching Harry Potter, but we can watch something else. I know it’s not everyone’s favorite thing. Especially such an esteemed genius like you.” Delaney smiled at him.

“I happen to love Harry Potter. What are we on? Goblet of Fire? Nice!” Spencer clapped his hands together excitedly.

Delaney gave him a grateful smile and took the ice cream to her freezer. She got some cups and utensils and brought them over, starting to pour the Sprite.

“Oh, wait, did you want this? I forgot to ask.” Delaney froze, looking at him with an apologetic smile.

“You’re fine. I like Sprite.” Spencer laughed at her expression.

Delaney nodded and continued pouring the drinks. Then she organized the food on the table and dug in. Spencer did the same and paid attention to the movie. He did actually like Harry Potter, Goblet of Fire being one of his favorites. He was usually pretty clueless with pop culture stuff but he really couldn’t escape Harry Potter.

Delaney was completely entranced with the movie, eating her thai food happily. She even quoted parts of the movie and kicked her feet happily when a good part came on. Spencer paid less and less attention to the movie and more attention to the girl beside him. She was still wearing his cardigan which hadn’t gone unnoticed by him. He found it endearing and quite honestly adorable. When the movie finished, she turned to him.

“What a masterpiece! I mean, wasn’t that just amazing, Spence?” Delaney said, her eyes bright with excitement.

“Yeah, Delaney, it was amazing.” He agreed with an amused smile.

She sighed in content and looked over at the man beside her. He had already been looking at her and she gave him a warm smile. Turning her body to fully face him, she squinted her eyes at him. He mimicked her and did the same, which made Delaney laugh.

“Doctor Reid, I don’t know a lot about you. I’ve seemingly shared some of my darkest secrets and yet I don’t know much about the infamous genius.” Delaney said.

“Alright, well… I’m from Las Vegas. I got into the FBI when I was 22 and I’ve been in the BAU ever since. Uh, I love… statistics.” He said with his eyebrows raised.

“The statistics thing I know, but Vegas, huh?” She said. “You a master gambler?”

“Eh, I’m pretty good. But it’s also because I count cards in poker.” He said with a sheepish grin. “I’m banned from basically every casino in Vegas.”

Delaney laughed, shaking her head in amusement. Of course that’s what he did.

“If you could have any superpower what would it be?” Delaney asked him with a playful smile.

Spencer furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head in confusion. He obviously wasn’t used to having a conversation like this.

“Superpowers? Hm, well it depends on what you would consider superpowers. Are you talking about mainstream superpowers like flying or being invisible or the ones focused solely on comic books like Spider-Man or Superman?” He asked.

“Let’s just say general superpowers. And you can’t say super intelligence because you already have that.” Delaney teasingly narrowed her eyes.

He blushed and nervously messed with his hair as he averted his eyes from her.

“I don’t know. Maybe being able to turn invisible? I could read in peace without ever worrying about anyone bothering me.” He said with a small laugh.

“But then no one would be able to see your cute face!” Delaney exclaimed, ruffling his hair with a giggle.

He blushed and looked away from her, thoroughly flustered by her words. He met her eyes and smiled softly at her, making Delaney’s stomach flip. His eyes reminded her of a teddy bear; wide and innocent while being warm at the same time.

“Well, what about you? What superpower would you want?” He asked.

“Um, I think I would want to be able to read minds. That way I would know what someone was thinking and if they were dangerous or not. And if not that then I would want the power to heal people. Mentally and physically.” She looked down when she talked about healing, thinking of her parents.

Spencer noticed her get quiet and thought of an idea.

“Well, how about this. I’ll tell you what I’m thinking about if you tell me what you’re thinking about. It’s not mind-reading, but it’s as close as you can get.” Spencer said.

“Alright. What are you thinking about?” Delaney asked with a small smile.

“I’m thinking about how shy people talk little about themselves, but they do this in a way that makes other people feel that they know them very well. I’m guilty of this and though you aren’t necessarily shy, you tend to do the same thing.” Spencer said.

“Well, I can’t argue with you there. You know I don’t really open up to people. I managed to get through high school and college without telling anyone about my parents or what happened to me at that party.” Delaney said, not realizing what had come out of her mouth until it was too late.

“Your parents?” Spencer asked gently.

“Shit,” Delaney muttered, her cheeks turning red.

“Hey, hey. You don’t have to tell me. Look, why don’t I tell you a little something about me?” Spencer suggested.

Delaney quietly nodded, looking up at him.

“My mom… she’s a paranoid schizophrenic. And she struggled with it my entire childhood. My dad left when I was young and then it was just me and her. She was so far gone in her delusions that I soon became the parent. Even when kids would beat me up and make fun of me cause I was the freak genius that was in high school at 12, she didn’t realize. It was really hard. I had to put her in a home when I turned 18 and she’s doing better now, but I still think back to the days when I had to take care of us when I was a kid.” Spencer said, looking in front of him.

“Spence… I am so sorry. That must have been so hard to not have a parent to take care of you.” Delaney said sympathetically.

He just looked over at her with a strained smile. She could tell the memories were still painful for him. She understood him a lot better than she thought.

“When I was 14, my parents were killed. Um, murdered, actually. By a psychiatric patient who’d escaped. He broke into our house and shot them with my dad’s gun. He didn’t realize that I was in the house so he just left when he was done with them. I called the police and laid in the bed with them until the cops got there and forced me to move. I was covered in their blood and they actually suspected it was me for a short period. My grandparents took me in after that, but my grandma is pretty verbally abusive. So I left at the first chance I got. Never looked back.” Delaney said.

She finally looked up from her hands and saw that Spencer had tears in his eyes. With a painful smile, she wiped a tear that slipped down his face. He caught her hand in his and pulled it to his chest.

“You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met.” He said quietly.

“And you’re the strongest person I’ve ever met,” Delaney whispered back.

With a sense of understanding between the two, they both embraced each other tightly. Spencer was rocking her back and forth while playing with her hair. Delaney inhaled the comforting smell of Spencer and clung to his soft sweatshirt.

“Thank you for listening.” She mumbled into his chest.

He pulled away and looked down at her. With a small smile, he held out his pinkie to her. Delaney furrowed her eyebrows but wrapped her pinkie around his.

“Whenever you want to talk, tell me. Whenever I want to talk, I’ll tell you. From here on out, we let each other know when everything gets to be too much, okay?” He said.

“Okay.” Delaney smiled.

[mcwriting]

starstruck (1)

Before anyone says ANYTHING, this is absolutely 100% no doubt about it inspired by @insane-less “Not a fan” because I absolutely loved the chapters that were written and Starstruck is one my favorite standalone DCOMs. Standalone, of course, meaning a film with no sequels and not based off a TV show.

There will obviously be some similarities to not a fan just because they’re based off of the same film, but I’m trying to keep it pretty original. I haven’t read not a fan in a while and did not while I was writing this to keep it authentic, though I did read over the starstruck plot a little bit.

Going to be multi part. I realized about halfway through writing that it was almost 4k words and I hate reading things that long in one sitting, plus I still have to finish it lol. As of now, it is half-written so this should be a quick release story. AND I’ll actually try to finish it (unlike a flight to remember rip)

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10

                                               Important info:

Fandom: Tommo Holland 

Ship: Tom Holland x Reader

Setting: LA in general

Word Count: 2185 (oof)

Warnings: some “bad” words. Very mild. Mention of an injury.

Rating: K+ now, maybe T later. Haven’t decided.

Background: um well it’s based on Starstruck (2010) and it's a Tom holland fic so yeah. 

B/f/n: your best friend’s name 

                              __________________________________

“I’m not going with you to see Tom Holland, and that’s final!” You exclaim to your annoyingly persistent best friend.

“Come on, y/n! I mean, what can you even have against him?” She pleads.

“Well for starters he looks like he’s 12, he’s not that good at acting, and he just rubs me the wrong way. I don’t know how to explain it,” you state.

“Uh first, he’s 22 and absolutely gorgeous, second, when have you even seen one of his movies, and third, he’s a great guy! Not to mention he’s a trained dancer like you!”

“Just because he happens to dance doesn’t mean I’m gonna suddenly fall in love with him. Plus, how do you know I’m not going out tomorrow?”

“Y/n, there’s literally no way you’re going out because I’m the only person you go to parties with,” b/f/n said.

“Okay fine, but give me one good, solid reason I should even consider going to this Spider-Man premiere,” you say, arms folded.

“Well it’s not like Tom’s the only star that’ll be there,” she explained, “Zendaya will be walking, too.”

You perked up a little bit and b/f/n waggled her eyebrows at you.

“Fine, I’ll go. But only for Zendaya.”

                             __________________________________

“B/f/n it’s like a million degrees out here!” you complained. Even though you wore the shortest shorts you owned and pulled back your hair, the LA heat on top of the millions of teenage girls squished up around you was making you uncomfortable.

The two of you had been able to get there early enough to be right in the front at the barriers, giving you a clear view of the action.

ugh.

While your friend rambled on about Tom and the movie and her excitement, you pulled out your phone and mumbled, “Tell me when Zendaya comes out here.”

You had tons of DM’s on instagram, solely from the fact that b/f/n had posted a video on her story (where you tastefully lowered your sunglasses at the camera before flipping it off) and people couldn’t help but comment how “lucky” you were and how you should be “excited.”

Finally, the time came where the cast and crew began walking, and you stood apathetically, only cheering and taking pictures when Zendaya came out. You even put your sunglasses on top of your head to see her in the plain light.

After her colleagues came to the theatre, a gorgeous Audi E-tron concept convertible came down the road slowly, cheers picking up as you realized that Tom Holland was riding in the back with a blonde guy you indicated to be named Harrison from b/f/n’s screaming. 

Seeing his features in person, you were still… underwhelmed. Sure you could see why people thought he was attractive, but he was just another guy. You didn’t cheer as he came up, waving to the crowd.

He turned to your side to wave when his eyes met yours. Undoubtedly, his smile faltered for a second before picking back up again, brighter than before. You leaned into your best friend and asked,

“Did you see that?” in an almost offended tone. Who was he to look at you like that? The only reply you received was more screaming and “HE LOOKED OVER HERE CAN YOU BELIEVE!!?!” to which you rolled your eyes.

He eyes met yours again and you looked away, annoyed that he seemed to be singling you out of all the people there.

After exiting the car, he ran down the line shaking hands and taking a few pictures. Next thing you knew, he was taking b/f/n’s phone to have a selfie. She threw an arm around your shoulder and exclaimed,

“Get in, y/n!”

You subconsciously smiled and with that he headed towards his cast, saying,

“Make sure to tag me in that!” as he left.

“I swear if you even think about posting that…” you threatened, earning a smug smile from the friend you were now prepared to disown.

                             __________________________________

Your instagram was blowing up as you headed to the dance studio. Unfortunately for you, the person you still chose to call best friend had posted the photo after all, tagging you and Tom in the selfie. It had been seen and reposted by fan accounts, and many of those fans were following and commenting and messaging you about it.

In your opinion, the picture sucked. Not because it was a bad picture or that you looked terrible.

The problem was that you looked great. 

It was somehow one of the most flattering pictures anyone had ever taken of you and it angered you to think it gave an impression that you even cared in the slightest about Tom Holland.

As you stared at it longer, you wished you had either covered your face or gone without smiling. SOMETHING to show how little you cared.

You finally arrived and went to a private studio, deciding to let dance drown out the thoughts and help you channel your frustration.

You warmed up and then decided to practice an emotional piece you previously choreographed for an upcoming show. As you danced, stress flowed out in the form of tears as raw emotion emitted from your movements. 

You finished the dance exhausted yet glad that you had been able to channel everything into it, until you heard a male voice quietly say,

“Wow.”

Your head whipped around and a flash of anger hit when your eyes once again met those of Tom Holland’s as he stood in the doorway. 

“What are you doing here?” you asked coldly, mad that the seeming bane of your existence had just watched you pour out your heart on the dance floor, crying and sweaty and vulnerable.

“I, uh, well… I was invited to tour the studio and happened to see you in here, and you were incredible, breathtaking, really. You’re the girl from the premiere, y/n?”

“Thanks but this was private. And why do you care who I am? I was only at the premiere because my friend forced me to go.”

He stepped forward.

“I’m sorry if I’ve caused you any problems. I figured you were a fan but I guess I misjudged…”

“Look man,” you began walking backwards towards your bag, “I was there for Zendaya and my friend. Nothing against you, but I'm just not one of your little teenage girl obsessors. Now if you’ll excuse m-”

And that's when you slipped and hit the floor. The wind was knocked out of you and your head had banged onto the ground, pain pulsing around the area.

“Woah, darling, are you alright?” Tom asked, rushing to kneel by your side.

“Don’t call me darling, and help me get to a doctors office.”

                             __________________________________

“Well, Ms. y/l/n, looks like you don’t have a concussion, but make sure to rest up for a couple days and take some painkillers and you’ll be in ship-shape,” the ER doctor informed you. 

You went to the check-out desk and walked around to waiting area, where a few people were pointing and whispering at Tom, who was nervously bouncing his knee. He stood up when he saw you.

“Y/n! What did they sa-”

“Just come with me spider boy. I’ll tell you while you drive me home,” you said, grabbing him by the wrist and dragging him out the door.

                             __________________________________

“Shit,” Tom exclaimed under his breath after a few moments of awkward silence. 

“Get down, now,” he commanded.

“Excuse me?”

“Get. Down. We’re being followed”

You ducked down before whisper-yelling a “what are you talking about? Are you insane?”

He asked what to do since it was obvious that whoever was behind you wasn’t planning on going away any time soon. An idea popped into your head.

“Do you trust me?” You pleaded, almost kind and soft for the first time to him, “I might have an idea.”

“Anything to get us out of this.”

You and Tom threw some sunglasses on and you made a makeshift headscarf with a ballet skirt for yourself. You had him drive near your neighborhood in circles for a bit when the car finally passed you, trying to get pictures to sell.

You ducked and Tom sped off onto a side street towards your house. Thankfully, your parents had recently installed garage doors that connected to your phone, and your car was in the shop, so Tom was able to pull into your spot and you shut the door behind him.

“That was close,” he breathed, putting a hand on his heart, and you too felt your pulse racing.

“Now, we wait,” you said. 

“Alright, do you want to go in so you can rest? You look exhausted.”

“NO. I mean, uh, we can’t. My best friend is supposed to be coming over today and she’s the one who’s like, obsessed with you.”

“Can’t you cancel? You almost got a concussion after all.” 

“I guess, but my parents might not be happy knowing a random guy is in their house. How about I check the security cameras and see if the coast is clear?”

It wasn’t. Sitting across the street was the same car from earlier, one that definitely did not belong to your street, either. 

After sitting uncomfortably in the car for a half hour, you couldn’t take it anymore.

“Let’s just go inside, but don’t make a big deal out of it.”

                             __________________________________

You yelled to your parents that a friend was staying the night as you snuck Tom up the stairs to your room.

“Staying the night?” he asked in his stupidly attractive accent as soon as you shut the door.

“Look, I hate this as much as you, but that pap or whoever he is probably won’t be leaving any time today. Since I’m being nice, I figured you could sleep on the floor or something. Don’t worry, I’ll find you blankets later.”

You sat on the foot of your bed and texted b/f/n, explaining that something had come up with dance and there was no way you could hang out. After a few minutes, you noticed that Tom hadn’t moved from standing by your door, and was quietly scanning the room.

“Are you gonna, like, sit down? You’re kinda making me nervous,” you stated awkwardly, glancing to the side.

“Oh, well, I didn’t want to be in the way and I know you don’t really want me here so I thought I’d stay over here. I’m fine, really.”

You rolled your eyes and patted the mattress next to you.

“Take a seat, bro. It’s gonna be a long night.”

                             __________________________________

You carefully carried some cokes and two plates of pizza into the room, where Tom was now seated comfortably on your bed. You had had the time to shower and change into clean clothes in the hour between coming home and dinner. He pocketed his phone and smiled upon seeing you.

“Here, let me help,” he offered, grabbing a plate and helping you set down the drinks.

“My parents were asking who was up here with me. I just told them you were a friend from dance and very shy.”

He chuckled and took a bite.

“Can I ask something?” You nodded. “Why exactly were you at the premiere the other day?”

You sighed and set down your pizza, explaining how b/f/n had coaxed you into coming.

“In all honesty, I probably would have said yes no matter what, I mean she’s my best friend after all, but I may have reconsidered if I knew this would be the outcome,” you laughed.

“Oh come on, you know you love me,” he joked back, prompting a look of slight disgust, another of many eye rolls, and a slight shove on the arm.

You continued talking well into the night, him explaining his story and you telling of your own life and aspirations. At some point you both lied back on the bed to continue talking and finally succumbed to exhaustion well into the early morning.

                             __________________________________

Sunlight streamed into your open curtains, blinding you as you awoke. You were confused as to why you weren’t underneath the covers and rolled over to find a famous person asleep on your bed. 

Your eyes widened and you moved to scoot out of the bed when he rolled over and inadvertently threw an arm over your side. Stuck under his muscular limb, you stayed still and closed your eyes, hoping he would eventually let go or wake up.

The faint remains of his cologne wafted to your nose and you couldn’t help but breathe it in. You relaxed further into his grip and stayed comfortable until you heard a buzz on the table next to you.

You decided to ignore it until it happened two more times. Finally, you decided to wiggle out of Tom’s grip and succeeded without waking him. You picked up the cell and noticed it was 10 a.m. and all three texts were from b/f/n.

                             __________________________________

Edited A/N: Omg I posted this once before then tried to edit my tags on mobile and it deleted EVERYTHING! Thank the Lord because I have the whole fic saved in my google drive (something I’ve never done until this fic) and I’m so glad it is. 

Anyways, there’s a part 2 linked at the top and part 3 is coming soon. Message me or ask to be in my tag list for this fic

[inevitably-johnlocked]

sup steph! can u plz recommend some short johnlock fics? (short as in 1-2 chapters) ik this is incredibly vague but just give me ones that you may like hehe thanks :D

Hi Lovely!

OHHHHH Gosh, I have so many short Johnlock fics… and I know single chapter fics that are 30K words LOL LOL! So I’ll assume you’re looking for a shorter wordcount fics, as opposed to chapter count, LOL.

First of all, you can check out these past “short fic lists” I’ve done!

Ten Fave Short Johnlock Fics (Easy Reads April 2018)

25 Fave Johnlock One Shots (April 2018)

Fics Under 2000 w.

I think I’ll take this opportunity to post up the next set of “Under 2000 w.” fic list, how about that? :) If you want something other than that, let me know, and I’ll look for something else for you :P As a side note, on every one of my personal rec lists, all my shorter fics are always listed first, so if you like the topic but just want a quick read, go ahead and check out the first few fics until you hit a word count too big for ya

FICS UNDER 2,000w. PT. 2

When Morning Comes by Youarethelightoftheworld (T, 423 w. || Christmas Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Lazy Mornings/Morning After, Fluff and Angst, Sleepy Cuddles, Domestic Fluff, Cuddling / Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort) – “Sherlock,” says John solemnly, “I’m not sure we can go anywhere today.”

The Moment When by drekadair (K, 509 w. || TGG Fic, Friendship, First Person POV Sherlock, Introspection, Worried Sherlock) – Sherlock sees John in the pool, and doubts. Set during the end of “The Great Game.”

Do You Love Me? by whitchry9 (K, 641 w. || Friendship, Family, Epic Bromance) – John asks Sherlock perhaps the most important question.

New World, Old Words by thedeafwriter (G, 641 w. || Deaf Sherlock, Sherlock Whump, Pining Sherlock, Marriage Proposal, Fluff, Always John) – It was disconcerting to experience. One second, he was laying on the table, breathing in the gas that would make him sleep, the next, he was dragging his eyes open to look around the bright room, trying to wake up.

Promise of Sussex by LittleLongHairedOutlaw (T, 705 w. || First Person POV Sherlock, Sherlock Whump, Angst, Pining, Ambiguous Ending) – John tries to keep Sherlock conscious after he’s been shot on a case.

Promises Kept by grannysknitting (K+, 844 w. || John POV, Hurt/Comfort, Friendship / Pre-Slash, Sherlock’s Violin, Worried Sherlock, John Whump, Post-TGG) – When they were in hospital, Sherlock made a promise to himself. Now he’s keeping it. Set after ’Polygamous Marriage’ but before ’Back in the Saddle’

Possessive by Fang323 (T, 850 w. || John Whump, Hospitalization, Possessive / Protective Sherlock, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort) – His John did not belong. Not here. Not in this blasted hospital. It simply was not logical.

Concussions And Good Old Fashioned Awkwardness by Belldere (K+, 894 w. || Humour, Hospitals, Mild John Whump, Misunderstandings, Platonic Relationship, Concussions, Not-Gay John, Possessive Sherlock) – When John lands himself in hospital… again, all he wants is to just get out of there as soon as possible, too bad his doctor has other ideas about where John may be getting his injuries. Good thing concussions make everything strangely funnier.

Burn Burn by Jenn1984 (K+, 925 w. || Post-TGG, Angst, Worried / Panicked / Possessive Sherlock) – A week after the events of “The Great Game”, Sherlock returns to 221B Baker Street to find it empty.

Devil’s in the Details (Isn’t that what you always say?) by Rae Himura (K, 976 w. || Angst, Sarah POV) – It was the little things Sarah noticed. (Or, some things even the world’s only consulting detective can’t see.)

Sherlock Is Not The One You Should Worry About by AllesandraQuartermaine (K, 1,077 w. || Sally POV, Character Reflection, Praising John) – Sally Donovan’s eyes are opened about a certain Doctor John Watson.

Sherlock’s Mind Palace by Valkyrie Of The Dead (K+, 1,091 w. ||  Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Deaths, Self Reflection) – Sherlock needs to change his mind-palace once again. He had hoped he wouldn’t, he had thought he wouldn’t, because they were invincible, weren’t they?

Idiot by Anesthesiologist (T, 1,229 w. || Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Alternate TGG / Explosion, BAMF John, Sherlock Whump, Inner Monologue, John Saves Sherlock, POV Sherlock) – What the heck happened? He remembered the pool and Moriarty, but then what? Had he been dying?

The Simple Separation Will Not Come Between Us by The Circus (T, 1,278 w. || Hurt/Comfort, MCD, Violence, Heavy Angst, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Prose) – The choice is simple. Real, and No John. Or Not Real, and John. For a prompt that says ‘John dies and Sherlock loses himself in his Mind Palace’

God Save The Queen by Alice Day (K+, 1,398 w. || Humour, Mystery, Friendship) – Sherlock has a new case. John is petrified. The Queen is amused.

I Was Wrong by AllesandraQuartermaine (K, 1,496 w. || TGG AU, Friendship, Hospitalization / Injury, John’s Self Esteem, Sleepy Sherlock) – Sherlock and John have a conversation a few days after the pool face off with Moriarty. And John hears something quite surprising.

Left In The Ashes by zoltargirl (T, 1,497 w. || Angst, MCD, Angry Sherlock, Brutal Violence) – Rage is a unique quality in all human beings. In Sherlock Holmes, it’s terrifying.

Angel by MrsNoggin (T, 1,513 w. || Winglock, Friendship, Chromoesthesia, Drugging) – John is an angel. That can be the only explanation. A response to the challenging request for a realistic wingfic one-shot.

Together is What we Have, Together Protects Us by Phantom of the Black Pearl (K+, 1,566 w. || Post-TRF, Friendship / Platonic or Slash, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Sherlock, Worried Sherlock, Slice of Life) – After a case one evening in the flat Sherlock voices a concern that causes the pair to consider why they’ve chosen to stick together after all that’s happened.

A Long Way To Home by PeaceLoveAndCheese (T, 1,568 w. || Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Reunion Fic) – Human emotions are tiring, troublesome things. And Sherlock wants to be known as anything but that. No matter how hard you try though, you’re only human. And it’s been a long year.

Quite Contrary by Hollyesque (T, 1,805 w. || HLV Fic, Sherlock Whump / After Mary Shot Sherlock, Hallucinations / Flashbacks / PTSD, Hospitalization, Hurt/Comfort, Lestrade POV, ) – A short one-shot, alternate scene to Greg’s hospital visit in HLV. Instead of Sherlock disappearing, Greg is faced with an unexpected reaction to a hospitalized Sherlock and winds up figuring out something that he really would have rather not known.

BBCSH 'Poor Mary’ by tigersilver (M, 1,839 w.|| HLV Fic, Canon Compliant, Sherlock Whump / Mary Shot Sherlock, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Pining Sherlock, Hospitalization, Missing Scene, Sherlock POV) – As the tin says above, this is a missing scene, set directly after Sherlock awakens in hospital after having been shot by his best mate’s wife. Minor angst, some pining, nothing nasty; please don’t be alarmed unduly.

Like Euphoria and Scotch by FinAmour (M, 1,856 w. || Five and One, Alchohol / Drinking, POV Second Person Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Sherlock’s Imagination, Armchair Sex, Fluff, Happy Ending) – 5 different ways it all could have gone + the one way it actually works itself out.

One in Ten Thousand by Blind Author (K+, 1,856 w. || Post-TGG, Friendship / Pre-Slash, Discussions of Violence, Worried then Curious Sherlock, Scars/John’s Bullet Wound, Medical Anomolies) – John seems to have unusual mobility for a shoulder wound…

Caught by Salambo06 (E, 1,859 w. || Frottage, First Time / Kiss, Bed Sharing, Wet Dreams, POV John, Masturbation) – A hotel room. They’re here for a case, hadn’t planned to spend the night and ended up sharing a room. No, sharing a bed. Suddenly John is very much aware of his own hand closed around his hard cock and the ragged breathing next to him. Closing his eyes for the briefest second, John dares to turn his head just enough to confirm what he already knows. Sherlock, on his side, watching him.

Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil by PipMer (T, 1,895 w. || Deaf John, Mute Sherlock, Friends to Lovers, Romance, Fluff and Angst, Character Study, Morse Code, Love Confessions) – John is deaf. Sherlock is mute. There are no two people more suited for each other.

The Adventure of the Mysterious Appearance of Tissues by Gwen’s Blue Box (K+, 1,910 w. || Fluff, Humour, Sick John, Caring Sherlock, Hurt/Comfort) – In which there is a case, John has caught a cold and is not interested in investigating, Mrs Hudson is away and Sherlock does the shopping.

They’re Taking My Wisdom by whitchry9 (K+, 1,939 w. || Hurt/Comfort, Drugging, Dentists, Friendship, Anxious Sherlock, Humour) – Sherlock goes to the dentist. Of course, being Sherlock, things have to be complicated. Oh and drugs. They’re always fun.

[auncyen]

writing scraps from this year

- "Everybody's Fool" [...I'm pretty sure this had no context besides being an Evanescence song that I like and that sounds like it could fit Joker, especially in a Palace fic.]

- Ryuji worries--he messed up and killed Okumura's shadow, too aggressive, everyone is appalled at the thought, tells him no -Ren brought Futaba in on the significance of Akechi knowing about the Metaverse, upsetting Morgana [both these bullet points were for things in Shuffle Time, but I'm pretty sure I'd probably use them for independent fic if I used them now. Okumura goes down REALLY easily once you get to him himself, and I just had this stray thought that, especially since head injuries can be unpredictable in the real world--like, Ryuji in the boss fight, worked up for Haru's sake because shitty abusive dads, just winds up and absolutely slams Okumura's Shadow, surprised but satisfied that he instantly goes down--and the Shadow seems fine, if weak, in the conversation afterward, so all's well that ends well, and even after the mental shutdown Ryuji doesn't immediately think of it--but then one night he just happens to think of the way his bat connected and Okumura's head banging against the helmet when he hit the floor and concussions and sometimes they're fatal and oh god he ruined another team, it's his fault Okumura had a shutdown, he killed someone-- thankfully he goes to Ren about this before he goes to Haru or the police, but he's nearly having a panic attack and Ren is just like no. NO. This was not you, something else was going on, calm down. just hold on and we'll figure it out. I imagine this is while Ren is suspecting Akechi but right before he's sure enough to tell the team so like. HE'S EXTRA PISSED OFF BECAUSE NOT ONLY IS ONE FRIEND'S PARENT DEAD, ANOTHER FRIEND IS BLAMING THEMSELVES FOR IT the point of Ren telling Futaba about Akechi early on was just to add another little wrinkle to Morgana getting upset enough to leave the team, I think. He'd felt "special" as Ren's confidant at least, and he'd liked knowing that only he and Ren knew about Akechi even if he knew they'd tell everyone else as soon as he showed anything concerning. But Ren thought it might be prudent to know about Akechi's background, so he asked Futaba to look into it as well as why Akechi was a person of interest, and Morgana understood that it made sense to tell Futaba, it just...became another way that he was no longer needed/important.]

Ryuji & tutoring? Ren paying Kawakami to help him figure out study method for Ryuji--doesn't want her going directly to Ryuji because it might embarass him/make him stubborn - or Makoto tutored Ryuji when he was a first year--both found it frustrating, but he got acceptable grades before the Kamoshida incident happened--she wants to do better this time. (Sojiro helps them figure out what's getting in Ryuji's way, gives a mini-lecture to both of them? Tells Makoto that if she's going to be in charge of people she needs to help them achieve their best rather than forcing them to follow a method that doesn't work for them)

-Ren has a guess that there are PT-like people in hometown of Inaba, but for the completely wrong reason-- Adachi's sudden confession seems like a change of heart, as well as the oddities in the confession (which probably aren't public but Futaba would hack that shit as soon as Ren started talking about the odd midnight channel and weird murders and supernatural-seeming shit and everyone goes METAVERSE???) - Ryuji thinks it's a shame the group never went big, Ren points out that they couldn't really do much in sleepy Inaba - the overall thrust is that Ren is deeply invested in being able to continue Metaverse activities even after he goes home, and Futaba and Morgana both enable this instead of thinking more and becoming concerned about why this is so overly important to Ren

- Sae gets Metanav on her phone? [...This is...all I wrote down for this. as an aside of the whole interrogation room plot, Sae would theoretically be granted the app on her phone--at least, if Yaldabaoth thought she'd be useful to Ren. Since canon does nothing with this, I guess he didn't. BUT WHAT IF? idk]

- Mishima accidentally Metaverse with Ryuji [THIS IS ACTUALLY HOW I WROTE IT? lol the idea was he was telling Ryuji about a Phansite request while they were trying to verify its authenticity, so naturally he manages to hit all the keywords while they're in the vicinity of the Palace] - Ryuji panics, gets them back immediately, tells Mishima to NOT mess with any apps that might appear on his phone - tells the others at PT meeting -and Ren just...sighs. "now he's going to flip when he doesn't get the app" - hold up, Ren. How you know that? everyone pumps Ren for more info on Igor once he comes up, Mona is tipped off that something is wrong with Ren [this was...actually another thing that was supposed to come up in Shuffle Time! GEE, MAYBE THE ISSUE I'VE HAD WITH SHUFFLE TIME IS TRYING TO DO TOO MANY THINGS. basically this was playing with both the fact that Ren doesn't really seem nice to Mishima sometimes and that Ren knows more about the app than the others do and for some reason doesn't tell them. Ren is pretty sure Mishima's not ready to awaken to a persona, so he'd be useless in the metaverse, so he's not a candidate for the app. While he's right, at least within the timeline of the fic, the way he acts about it rubs Ryuji wrong and the fact that he knows things about the app and hasn't been saying rubs EVERYONE wrong. This was supposed to be set before the rank where Mishima is challenged to change himself and Ren acknowledges afterward that even if Mishima isn't ready for a Persona yet, he has more strength than he gave him credit for. He also apologizes to Mishima for holding a grudge about the leaked record and tries to be kinder to him afterward.]

KO Gamplay & Story integration -Ren gets knocked out in mementos, bad fight - cut to interrogation room: "...And that's when 'Ren' died." - Sae is not impressed & Ren needs to stop bsing. he smiles & tells her to be patient so he can explain...the crime she truly wanted to ask him about... - back to fic's main time: others manage to revive Ren, but he's acting strangely - his 'ego' has been wrecked & his personas are out of control. his friends can help keep him in check but only for a while, and even then he's not quite himself; whoever is with him gets responded to by a Persona of their arcana, so he flits wildly between personalities between meetings with confidants and pretty much needs to be supervised in public settings to make sure he acts...semi-appropriately (morgana being around means he's usually in Magician mode) - eventually, though, the matching arcanas is an issue with Akechi drawing out Justice personas that know 1) there is an assassin in the Metaverse and 2) Akechi has access to the Metaverse. Principality, which guards nations, waits until he is certain Akechi is the Black Mask. Then murders him in the real world. And that's why Sae is interrogating Ren in this timeline.

-Ren's POV of Stall & Crash -"warden" Arsene, punishment/handcuffed/restraint -"I know you're not real" "I am as real as your sense of self... ah, but you don't have a good grasp of that, do you". [u know how in p3 out of control Personas hurt their real selves and p4 is basically EVERYONE'S Shadow being pissed off at their real self? yeah this was basically Ren's guilt at considering selling out his team, albeit while heavily drugged, causing Arsene to manifest as an abusive warden who 'allows' Ren to still be able to use his Personas but makes it very clear he's not worthy and hurts him at times. I don't think I did this mostly because while it's proposed as Ren's POV of Stall & Crash, Ren being unstable to this degree beforehand wasn't really evidenced in that fic and I thought it might be fun to play with but also I would HOPE he wouldn't start Shido's Palace while like this. ...may work better as a completely separate fic?]

- Clean-Up the Heart - Ren calls Kawakami before realizing BAD IDEA - she gets suspicious and invents a reason for him to request her so they can talk - they have a heart-to-heart - that's it that's the fic [...lol. to add a bit more: the idea was to set this either while Ren is still playing dead, or right after he's allowed to come back to school. He really needs to talk to someone about everything that's happened but he doesn't want to place more stress on Sojiro or his teammates, so he thinks about the other confidants he knows and...Kawakami should be okay, right? He shouldn't tell her about any of the scarier stuff, but maybe he can just talk a little except he clams up as soon as she answers and hastily says it was a misdial Kawakami doesn't quite buy that as she can tell he sounds genuinely off, so she just...makes up on the spot that actually. she's a little tight for cash, and she knew she said she'd do things for him for free, but if he could hire her just one last time? and ren's just like "oh. okay. sure" she basically cleans up his room and then goes 'okay, one, I'm not actually having money problems, you don't need to pay me, and two, now I KNOW something is wrong because I lied and said I was having money problems again and you haven't been nosy about it even once. What's wrong?" and that's how she gets Ren to open up, at least a tiny bit.] holy cow this got long so I'ma do the rest in a different post I guess

[katoregama]

I write out full stories for all of my OC's. Since I've been asked about Terry's recently, I thought I'd share it, with a bit more detail here. The full synopsis is under the "Keep Reading" bar, because it's not a short story, lol.

Some things to know about some side characters:

 Beck Lawson - Runs the Paranormal Research Agency (PRA)

Zack Crimson - Co-Runs the PRA

Jamie Hendrickson - A 22 year old witch

Lucas O'Hara - An artifact-bound ghost of a Californian lifeguard.

 To start, my OC stories are grouped into either the Katoverse, or Enderverse. Katoverse stories are completely original. There is no Earth, no Earth Religions, no Mc Donalds, no Twitter, etc. Sort of like Star Wars. Enderverse however, takes place exclusively on Earth. While Katoverse has super sci-fi, magic, talking animals, and non-stop fantasy, Enderverse is a bit more grounded. That's not to say that the Enderverse lacks fantasy elements, but they're much more subdued.

 Terry lives in Detroit, Michigan in the "Enderverse". He's got problems with emotional retention. He has three older sisters who are all extremely successful. One's a doctor, one's an astronaut etc. Terry has felt pressured to live up to their examples, but his parents died before Terry could impress them. Of course, Terry's sisters' love their brother unconditionally, and support him no matter what. Terry knows this but also does not understand it. He feels he is not worthy of their affection, which only makes him frustrated. So, he turns to fighting as an outlet.

 As a wrestler, Terry was part of an unregulated independent circuit, which was borderline illegal. Terry was infamous for going too far in his matches, leaving other wrestlers with unnecessary injuries. During a Two on One handicap match against Bryan Soo, and Johnny Hendrix (wrestler name), Terry threw Bryan out of the ring where he hit his head and was knocked unconscious. Terry then beat Johnny down with his fists, giving Johnny a concussion, several cracked ribs, and other injuries. The injuries were severe enough that Johnny had to be hospitalized.

 After the match, Terry was confronted privately in an alleyway by Jamie Hendrickson, Johnny's younger sister. Jamie was a practicing witch with significant latent abilities. Angry at her brother's treatment, she accidentally cursed Terry with karmic retribution, and Terry was hit by a car moments later. The crash dislocated his spine, and Terry spent 5 1/2 months in a coma. Not so ironically, Johnny Hendrickson was discharged from the hospital on the same day Terry emerged from his coma.

 Since Jamie was at the same hospital to take her brother home, she met up with Terry to apologize for cursing him. She broke through enough of Terry's skepticism that he believed her but was in no physical condition to do anything about it. Jamie mentioned to Terry that she likely would never see him again as she was heading back to Redcliff University in Arizona to finish her 4-year degree. Much later, when Terry was well enough to function again, his wrestling career was over as long as his spine remained karmically cursed, so he pursued Jamie to Redcliff.

 - - - SIDE NOTE 1 - - - Terry's curse is localized. Anyone in close physical proximity is at risk of serious injury if they have been committing evil deeds. - - -

 Nearly a full year after his last meeting with Jamie, Terry was well enough to make it to Redliff University a week or so out from the Summer Session. He'd applied to the University online to take the Women's Studies course which he believed Jamie was guaranteed to be taking (she wasn't). On his first night staying in a dorm, he was attacked by a ghost and got tangled up with the Paranormal Research Agency (PRA) who were trying to catch the spirit. Terry's accidental interference got Zack Crimson, co-manager of the PRA thrown out of the dorm's 3rd story window by a ghostly scream. With Zack injured, Terry was forced to assist the PRA in capturing the ghost. With his dorm room demolished, the PRA offered Terry a room at their HQ.

 With Zack out of action due to an injury, Terry was coerced into being his substitute. Before Terry agreed, he joined the PRA at the local clinic mostly to apologize to Zack for accidentally getting him hurt. While there, Terry saw what he believed was his "nemesis" Jamie Hendrix. In truth, it was a supernatural creature called an Alp. The Alp got the upper hand and pinned Terry down, sharing with him a vision of an apocalyptic future. The Alp was captured and Terry was rescued by the real Jamie Hendrix who had just arrived with a mission for the PRA.

 As the Summer Session is about to start, Jamie brings up her concerns with the PRA over a known ghost that recently appeared to haunt the University Pool. The ghost is known to be violent, and the pool is extremely popular during the summer which makes it a high-risk phantom. The PRA is able to capture the pool ghost and, through the ability of one of the members to be possessed by ghosts at will, establish that the ghost was once Lucas O'Hara, a Californian lifeguard who drowned in 1992.

 - - - SIDE NOTE 2 - - - In the Enderverse, not all ghosts are bound by location. Some are bound to objects. Wherever the object goes, so too does the ghost. In Lucas's case, it's a necklace with a pendant that looks like a shark. Holding this necklace gives you control over Lucas. - - -

 With Terry's help, the PRA discover Lucas is one of many "Artifact Bound" spirits that have been imported into Redcliff. A different spirit tied to an old ceramic vase mentions "the coming of Zozo", which leads to the discovery of several arcane nodes charged with ghost energy in place with the intention to summon a demon. The leader of the PRA, Beck, believes Terry's vision was indeed a prophecy. To their fortune, Zack Crimson returns from the clinic, fully healed.

 While scouting another ghost attack Terry discovers Zack is a double agent working for STAR Corp, the mega-company who built Redcliff University in the first place. A demon cult (Children of Yan) within STAR corp intends to summon the demon Zozo to conquer/destroy the world. Zack was inserted into the PRA to keep them from discovering the cult's plans. However, Terry's wildcard presence put Zack out of commission long enough for the PRA's investigation to threaten the summoning.

 The demon cult decides to delay no longer and kidnap University students to act as human sacrifices to summon Zozo. Terry is able to beat Zack in a fight, and steals Lucas's artifact, a necklace, giving him control. With the PRA, Terry infiltrates the cult's sacrificial temple, but orders Lucas to kill cultists instead of students.

 The blood sacrifice of cultists is enough to summon Zozo anyway. Terry offers his body for Zozo to possess, but upon doing so, Jamie's curse immediately responds to Zozo's evil, temporarily paralyzing him. Terry fights Zozo for control, and through a force of extreme will forces Zozo out of his body and back into hell.

 Terry's good deed (saving the world) gives him a reprieve from his curse, though he decides he must quit wrestling entirely to avoid further injuries. He stays for the remainder of the summer session, during which he and Jamie begin dating. After the session is over he leaves Redcliff with Jamie, and ventures into a happy obscurity.

[ambitiousfeegirl-blog]

Interview with ME!

- What is your Full name? Include any maiden names, aliases, or nicknames. Serafina Lynn James. Sera, usually. Fee, evidently, as well. Thanks, UK. - When is your birthday? Do you know where you were born and at what time? May 10th. Born in Panama City, FL... I think at 10:20AM?  - What is your star sign? Do you know your Chinese Zodiac too? Taurus!! And Horse. :)

- What is your earliest memory that you can remember? Eating Shrimp Chow Mein with my dad. I think I was three, maybe? - Where was your childhood home? Was it more urban or rural? Not on the beach, but close. Definitely not urban, though. That’s not really how Panama City works. - How was your childhood in general? Did your parents treat you well? Did you have a lot of friends? I had a decent childhood, I guess. Parents divorced when I was young, but they were both good to me as a kid. I was sort of a loner, though, if I’m being honest. I had friends, but I was perfectly content just playing outside by myself.  - How was/is school? What is your favorite and least favorite subjects? What were your grades on average? School was miserable and I absolutely abhor the entire experience, with the exception of the internship it landed me and... eventually the job it landed me. The less said about it the better. I majored in business administration, minored in sociology. - Did you have a best friend growing up? What was their name? Are you still in touch? Amy Lynn. We bonded over a shared middle name and the fact that I accidentally made her puke on a merry-go-round. We are not in touch as much as I would like. She’s got a husband and a kid with another on the way and I’m... you know... working. We talk when we can.  - Were you in any cliques? I hung out with anime fans and comic book fans and tae kwon do kids? I don’t know, are those cliques? Probably not. - Best childhood memory you can recall? The first time I ever saw a live wrestling show. My dad took me to Fall Brawl 97, and at seven years old, it was the coolest thing I’d ever seen. The first match set me up for the rest of my life. Jericho vs. Guerrero. I never looked back after that. - Worst childhood memory you can recall? The day my dad moved out.  - Name an event in your childhood that has shaped you into the person you are today Uh... yeah, Fall Brawl 97. True story. - What is the dumbest thing you have ever done to impress someone? Were they impressed or was it all for naught? Probably taking this job all on my own. This is definitely a task for more than one person, but... I can do it. I know I can and I’m going to show Regal that he was wrong to waste me for so long.  - Did you ever have any sweethearts or lovers? Do you have a boy/girlfriend? Sweethearts, lol. Who even says that? I had boyfriends in high school, but nothing serious. And only one long term relationship that started in college. Four years down the fucking drain. Ugh. - Are you a virgin? Lord no. LOL - Do you ever plan on getting married in your life? Do you want kids? See above statement. I’m too busy for that ish. - Would you rather have your own kids or adopt? How many kids would you want? You know... if I DID decide to have kids... I don’t know. Adoption is a wonderful thing, because lord knows there are already so many unwanted babies in this world. Sad, but true. I think adoption is a wonderful option, really. - Do you think you'd be a protective parent or a relaxed parent? Uhhh, given how I am with the boys? Protective. Like... ultra protective. - How would you prefer to pass away? Surrounded by loved ones and at peace, or while doing something heroic? Having mindblowing sex with my mortal enemy. ‘Cause not only do I get to go out hatefucking someone (!), but it’s bound to ruin the experience for them and that’s not something they will forget EVER.  - Generally, how healthy are you? Do you get sick or injured easily or are you fit? Thanks to WWE medical, I’m healthy and chugging down vitamins like it’s my job. - Have you ever been badly injured before? Broke my wrist as a kid and I have a nagging ankle issue, but nothing SERIOUS, no. - What is the worst injury you have ever gotten? What was it and how did it happen? Were you ever close to death? Honestly, I’ve been really lucky. The broken wrist was probably the worst, but honestly, it wasn’t even that big of a deal. - How many times have you been to the hospital/doctor's? I avoid them at all costs. Let’s not even talk about it. - Have you ever had a concussion or brain injury? Have you ever had amnesia? Nope, though that’s surprising as hell since Coach Brookside decided I needed to learn how to bump once I actually started working for the company.  - What was the worst illness you ever contacted? Do you know what it was? How long were you sick? I just really don’t get sick. I think maybe I had strep a few years back, but I literally did nothing about it, so I don’t even know if it was actually strep or not. - Ever had any extended hospital stays? What for? Nope! - Have you ever had to give yourself or someone else emergency first aid? What happened? Yes. I have stitched up my dad when we went camping (not fun), I definitely had to put a hole in my toenail to drain the blood when I smashed it (extra not fun), and I have changed about a hundred bandages for various injuries to myself, my mom, my dad and a few of the boys. - Are you employed? Where do you work and who do you work for? What do you do?  I am currently a member of the WWE Talent Relations office, based in the UK just recently. Like literally three days ago. It’s still sort of surreal. Previously, I was a personal assistant to Mr. William Regal. I sometimes feel like I was sent here as a rib, because that’s one hell of a freakin’ leap, but... here I am, so. Make the most of it, right? - Are you happy with your current job? I literally couldn’t be happier. - Did you have any previous jobs? What were they and what did you do? Mostly small stuff, office management, retail BS, bartender... - Most dangerous thing you have ever done? I’m sure my mom would say something about texting and driving (which I don’t do, mom, and neither should any one else!) but honestly... probably insisting on WWE giving me something more to do, because we see how that turned out. - Do you consider yourself a more active person or a more relaxed person? Active? I mean, I’m not going out running every day... not that kind of active. I stay in shape, but I am literally always doing things. I am constantly working, so... active in that sense, I guess. - What is your dream come true? How about your worst nightmare? To be in charge of NXT. <3 Worst nightmare? Failure.  - What is the biggest and most important goal you have set for yourself? To be in charge of NXT. You’re only as good as the person you help to get a promotion, Mr. Regal... :) - How persistent would you say you are? How much does it take to get you to give up on a task? I’ve been told I’m obnoxiously persistent and it must be true, because here I am. And I don’t ever quit on any goal. I’ve always accomplished anything I’ve set my mind to. - Would you surrender yourself to your enemies or fight to the very end? Surrender is a tool of war that is either a signal of defeat or treachery.  - When do you usually do your shopping? What is currently on your shopping list? Literally, everything is on my shopping list. I am moving into my new flat on Wednesday, so like... ALL of the groceries. Mostly organics. - Top three things on your wishlist? To be in charge of NXT... though I can’t really buy that at the store and I’m pretty sure that’s what they were going for here...  1.) Body Shop Banana Shampoo & Conditioner 2.) Another Key Lime Pie smoothie from the place down the street 3.) And maybe it makes me a mark, but I want a Kenny Omega bear, damnit. (sorry boss!) - Currently, what is something you want but do not need? That damn bear, for sure. - Do you like shopping? What is your favorite thing to shop for? I mean, I guess? I don’t really get to just go shopping all that often. Just like... typical clothes shopping? Maybe?? Is that really a priority in people’s lives? - What is the most expensive thing you have purchased? Was it worth it? My old TV. 4K. It was nice. SIGH. I miss it. - What would you do if you were suddenly given one billion dollars out of the blue? Uhhhhh... wow. I’d do the typical stuff. By my mom a house, get a new car, by MYSELF a house, too, pay off my student debt, donate a shit ton of money to charity... start a wildlife rescue and refuge! - What would you describe your style of clothing as? It depends. I’m definitely business casual at work, but like.. more towards the business end. Outside of work, if I’m WEARING clothes, it’s gonna be a baggy tank and jeans, sandals, sunglasses. - Do you have any hobbies? Name all of them if you can. I used to sing a lot, but honestly work has consumed my life and I am a-ok with that.  - Do you like and appreciate art? What is your favorite piece of artwork? I DO! And I can’t put that on here, because his head will get exponentially bigger than it already is. - Do you like music? What is your favorite style of music? Oh gosh, I like everything. I’m currently wavering between Kenny Chesney and Kaleo right now. But I like a lot of different things. Bluegrass, EDM, Classical, Hip hop... if it’s good, I like it. - Have you ever seen any musicals? What is your favorite? PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.  - What are your top three favorite animals? What would you say your "Patronus" or "Spirit Animal" is? Hm. Top three favorite animals... Florida panther, giraffe, panda My spirit animal is 137% a bear.  - What are your top three favorite colors? Deep dark purple, Emerald Green and Maroon - What is your favorite season? Do you prefer hotter or colder weather? Do you like snow at all? Summer. Always summer. Fuck the cold. - What kind of flavors do you prefer: Sweet, Sour, Bitter, Spicy, Dry, or Umami (savory meat taste)? I like them all, but... I’m going with Sweet and Sour, baby. (12 LARGE). Damn, I just made myself sad. - Can you cook at all? Yes, though the quality of that cooking is always up in the air. - What is your favorite dish? Can you prepare it? Do you have the recipe handy? Shrimp Chow Mein. I’ve never even attempted to make it nor do I have a recipe. You know, I probably SHOULD try to make it, though. - What is your favorite fruit and vegetable? Fruit: Peaches Vegetable: Asparagus - What is your favorite dessert? What is your favorite type of candy/treat? Key Lime Pie. <3 Candy is always always gummi worms. - What is the best thing you have ever had the opportunity to eat? What is the worst? Frog legs, freshly caught and sauteed in garlic butter. Only really good if you catch them yourself, though.  Worst thing ever? Any frozen green tea things. Popsicles were the WORST. - Do you like to drink tea or coffee? Any favorite flavors? I love hot tea, Earl Grey or English Breakfast. And yes, I am a coffee addict. - Describe your sense of humor. Sarcastic. - What is one thing you are justly proud of? My persistence paying off and landing me the job of a lifetime. - Do you have any religious beliefs? If not, have you ever been to a church service? Not my bag, no. I have been to church and actually grew up attending a baptist church every Sunday for years. It was enough to kill any interest in religion. - What would you say is the worst thing someone has done to you? What is the meanest thing someone has ever said to you? The ex did some messed up shit.  - What is the worst thing you have done to someone? What is the meanest thing you have said to anyone? I also did some messed up shit, based on the ex’s messed up shit. - Share the latest entry in your diary/journal. Basically me whining about having slept 20 hours. Thanks, jet lag!  - What is the most precious thing you own? Is it valuable at all? My sense of self and my drive. It’s invaluable. - Talk about someone you know. It can be someone you either like or dislike. Hm. I think I’m going to save this question for it’s own little post someday this week. - FREE QUESTION NO! IMPRISONED QUESTION IS BEING HELD FOR JUSTIFIABLE REASONS AND WILL NOT BE FREED! 

[seongkiran-blog]

( i’m sobbing she’s precious )

hi guys, i’m jules and i’m so excited to be a part of this rp !! i just saw that my app was in all caps by mistake bc my phone likes to fuck with me like that and i’m cringing omg. so i applied a few days ago but life got super hectic and i only just reapplied now that i’ve come up for air rip. but this is my eternally fucked, lowkey honey girl kiran who thinks she’s stoic and intimidating af but more often than not has the smallest of smiles at the v least on her face. here’s some basic — & extensive, sorry lmao — info about her ( TW: death, self-destructive behaviour, adjustment disorder/situational depression ) :

born seong kiran/kiran diana seong on march 12, 1997

scarborough, canada born and raised to first-gen korean-canadian parents

the epitome of a bitter smol™ that’s prepared to fight over everything (stubborn brat )

has twin five year old siblings that she fucking adores, which is a big deal since she doesn’t care intensely for many people

her parents were both only kids that ventured into science-based careers; her mom was a pharmacist at her late grandparents’ small clinic and her dad was a neurosurgeon at toronto gen hospital, so they were upper-middle class you could say

s u c k e d at making friends in her formative years and when she did, they didn’t stay for v long

plenty of chances for her to find new friends though since the gta is huge and has a ton of other kids around so it wasn’t all in vain

also her vanity when she was a kid was prob a turn off for others lol

smart af, like english? a’s. math? a’s french? a+

eventually didn’t suck at the whole friend thing and had a small group of people she grew rather fond of

she ended up graduating as valedictorian and was accepted to mcgill to study pre-med and become a neurosurgeon just like papa seong

always wanted to follow in his footsteps, so it came as no surprise to her parents

( TW: DEATH ) during her midterm break in her first sem, her parents decided to take the family to their cabin near muskoka for a weekend away from the city/suburbs

they were a little over halfway there when her dad tried to veer the suv away from a moose in the middle of their lane, but wasn’t successful

kiran was conscious during the whole thing, though she sustained a concussion and the twins were unharmed in their carseats; however their mother died on impact and their father suffered from a cranial injury ( .. i only just realized how ironic and morbid this is after working with this muse for a while oh my g o d )

she went with the twins to the hospital and was inconsolable over the loss of her mother alone, while her father was in critical condition and the outlook was promising, though not certain

he was put in a medically induced coma after being operated on and she and her godparents ( who advised her on the whole thing since they were docs themselves ) decided to hold out hope for a recovery

the twins were put in her care and she was left to deal with the burden of their loss, her education and the obvious, her brother and sister’s newfound dependency on her

she withdrew from the few people she became close to over the years, her grades began to slip as well, and she was always weighed down by grief and anxiety

she tried to stay in school while taking care of the twins, but it was becoming more and more difficult to do so. she just managed to keep her head above water throughout the rest of the first sem though

moved out of res, into an apartment and relocated the twins for the time being to see if she could pull it off

( TW: SELF-DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOUR ) add the fact that a part of her began to question if she could really follow in her dad’s footsteps, and that she let further anxiety from the pressures of making her parents proud get to her and she was soon on a downward spiral

she slipped away from her academics and was slowly becoming a poor guardian; soon, kiran was partying too hard and winding up in the hospital or a stranger’s dorm, skipping labs, and was generally a lost cause when the twins were under the care of a sitter

failed a couple of courses by the end of the second semester and had her godparents flying out to crack down on her dumb ass

felt hopeless and lost, but especially so when she posed the risk of losing the only family that she had left, realizing how selfish her actions were and trying to amend her mistakes

dropped out of mcgill for the time being and took up a job as a retail clerk to provide for the three of them ( despite inheriting their mom’s estate and all, as she put the money that came from it into the kids’ savings )

was soon in the clear in her godparents’ opinion and has tried to do right by her parents and siblings since then

after losing herself for a while, she found that she was right back to where she started with friend-making, but rather than it being her just not knowing how, it was that she didn’t want to let people in after everything that had happened

she didn’t remain a loner, but she didn’t have a ride or die by any means

for the sake of her a.d and bc of the bad memories that t.o and mtl held, she found herself relocating to greenville of all places

but deep down she knows mama seong would be happy about the kids growing up in a smaller town than near dt toronto

about four months after settling in, she began attending a nearby college in what would have been her fourth semester and has since maintained a high gpa after retaking the courses she fucked up in

her dad has since woken up, but he’s going through extensive forms of therapy to restore his motor, neurological, etc functions

she’d be back in t.o if her godparents hadn’t advised against it since it was still rly overwhelming for him and his three kids ( two of whom wouldn’t rly know him either ) coming back prob wouldn’t help ??

still has nightmares from the accident, the girl’s scarred for life and is thankful that the twins were too young to remember

sees a psychiatrist at the behest of her godmother bc she rly can’t cope by herself in all of this but she doesn’t like to burden others with her problems ( doesn’t like people knowing much about her regardless but )

now to her personality and extra facts ig ??? this has gotten so out of hand already, sTOP ME

the most stubborn chick alive, will never admit she’s wrong unless you weasel it out of her with some heavy guilt-tripping

she used to be a fucking NIGHTMARE to most people before everything went awry, still can be but it’s more or less an act with a little bit of it also being herself

a true instagram addict, which makes sense bc she can be p vain at times

rather intuitive tbh

can be insightful as well

feigns annoyance and boredom with people/their antics

some weird ass detachment method on her part that she didn’t shake, but question her on it and she’ll shut it tf down

but is still genuinely, easily irritated all the same ?? not even i understand this chick

curses like a sailor is she isn’t too curt in her responses

has a problem with trusting others, feels like she can only truly rely on herself so if you break through that barrier then congrats ig

she won’t make it obvious though, she’s a sociable being and will actually take to you if you pique her interest with free booze or a wild story

just don’t expect her to surrender much of her life story, but she’ll also get a bit offended if you don’t offer a bit of your own ??

the most annoying internalizer of emotions ever if you’re actually friends with her, 110% will not confide in you if you’re not one of four or five people in her life

also fears loss more than anything, so she isn’t close to many people for BOTH the trusting aspect, as well as wanting to spare herself the pain of watching more loved ones die or leave

but if you’re one of the v select few people she’s let in completely, she’ll never let you go. she’s the definition of loyal and will legit die for you

so so devoted to her little brother and sister, like she loves them more than anything and does everything so that they can succeed when they’re older

all of the sports acceptable for kindergarteners, music lessons, ballet, you name it, she’s got them registered

puts them before herself all the fucking time, her mom wouldn’t be impressed with her putting herself last as opposed to finding equilibrium

anyways, point is, you’ll never see her be more affectionate and joyful than with her family, godparents included

her being good with other kids though ?? she’s been working on it and she’s coming around

still can’t stand screaming brats though lmao

will be super polite to even her enemy’s parents mostly bc fuck that person.. unless their parents aren’t pleasant people either, then she’ll be unpleasant right back lmao

trust me when i say that she has a heart of gold and will do what’s morally right, is so so soft but will forever be in denial like i cannOT STRESS ENOUGH

defensive pessimism at its finest

fluent in french and korean

memes are lowkey the way to her heart

well, memes and food ofc

such a poutine hoe™

sci fi junkie

here for aesthetically pleasing everything

her place is almost never in disorder, oddly enough

quite the party girl, though not the same as when she was a frosh, is able to control herself when there aren’t too many stressors plaguing her

queer af, doesn’t know what her sexuality is but she knows she isn’t straight ( but for all intents and purposes, she’s pansexual )

she just needs someone else to take care of her honestly, she still doesn’t know what she’s doing with herself lmao

trying her best™ to be better in general but change doesn’t happen overnight so she’s not rushing into it, aka she’s still comfortable with being a bit of an asshole for as long as possible

you sometimes won’t know who she is from one day to the next, kind of the personification of a wild ride

so that’s kiran, if you’d like to plot just hmu or like this and i’ll come to you !! i’ll link some possible connections later bc my laptop’s about to die and i can’t find the charger anywhere ? @my mom, pls stop moving my stuff, it’s giving me more heart palpitations than my econ final last month

[prplpnk]

Letters

The battle against the Legion carries on. Caraenyl, who has been safely holed up at the Hall of the Guardian, only wants one thing.

This took me way too long to write lol. Please enjoy! <3

 My Dearest Kai,

 I hope this letter finds you doing well. Congratulations on being named Shadowblade, we have to celebrate that when you have the time. You must be very busy, with all this nonsense I hear coming from the Broken Shore; it feels like ages since you last wrote me, but I more than understand that you have very little time to yourself these days.

The Tirisgarde are keeping me busy with research; I’ve lost count of all the books I’ve read about Felo’melorn, but at least the fictional ones were a nice break from the monotony of facts and speculation.

This might not be possible to answer, but do you know when you’ll be able to meet up again in Dalaran? It’s alright if you can’t plan too far ahead, with keeping a strong presence on the Broken Shore, coming to the aid of people when packs of Legion randomly invade, plus setting up raids on the strongest Legion holds. I wish I could be there with you, fighting by your side, but nobody will give me permission! Archmage Hikoto says I’m not ready and that I’m most needed in the Hall, but I don’t really buy that.

Hardly a moment goes by when I don’t think of you. Please, please stay safe and don’t do anything too reckless or I’ll write El and Luu and ask them to drag you away.

I love and miss you, very much.

 All My Heart,

Caraenyl

After letting the ink dry, Caraenyl carefully folded up the painfully short letter, placed his love’s name upon it, and fed it into the magical portal upon the mailbox within the Hall of the Guardian, his home for nearly the last year. He sighed, hoping Kai wouldn’t be disappointed with how short it was.

Cara had been writing to Kai at least once a week since he’d been stuck in the Hall, a floating mage tower above Dalaran. At first, it was easy enough to fill up two or three pages, but of course back then had also included updates to his health and the wonders of being in such a magically-charged place; something the mage hadn’t experienced in years.

Now, with the charm warn off, his body fully healed, and his mundane job, Cara seemed to have very little to write to his fiancé about.

The mage sighed and made his way up to the sleeping quarters. It was getting late; most of the apprentices and those who maintained the Hall were getting ready for sleep, while others readied for the night shift.

Caraenyl’s bed was small and cold, sitting in a large room with many other similar beds, most already filled with softly snoring mages. Cara got beneath the covers, not bothering to change into nightclothes as they were never warm enough. Curling up tight, he knew it would be another night with little sleep. The large fire floating in the center of the room gave off a gentle glow, but little to no heat and the mage could never get warm enough.

He drifted off only to be awoken a couple hours later by a severe chill down his spine. Cara was freezing and he got up, keeping his blankets wrapped around him, walking towards the glowing fire. He almost thrust his hands directly into the flames, but it still took several seconds for him to feel the heat against his skin. The mage placed his slightly warm hands upon his face, a feeble attempt at transferring the heat.

Several minutes of this only managed to wake him up instead of really warming him and he groaned quietly in defeat. Tossing the blankets back onto the self-making bed, Caraenyl grabbed his long cloak and headed through the nearly empty halls to the portal that lead to the city.

Dalaran was only slightly warmer than the Hall, but still floated very high up; Cara was convinced it kept the chill from Northrend. The city was fairly quiet, the lanterns giving off a warming glow as towers stretched into the starry sky. Most of the shops were closed, save for blacksmiths and armorers; adventurers darted in and out of those buildings despite the late hour. The mage slowly walked the streets, letting his mind wander. He found it difficult to not think about Merekai and Elithuin, his dear lovers. It had been some time since he’d seen either of them; the Legion was keeping everyone on the front lines busy, including all of Cara’s friends.

Caraenyl sighed heavily, plopping down upon a bench near the bank on the Horde side of the city. He felt so useless; he’d been healed for many months now, but he still wasn’t allowed down into the Broken Isles.

It had been a mistake, poor judgement on his part. Cara had been so excited to actually defeat the Legion when they first returned to Azeroth (they were the ultimate force behind the destruction of Silvermoon, thus the true killers of his family) that he didn’t wait for the others. He had ventured into Val’sharah to first assist the druids with driving out the new kind of Nightmare that was poisoning the land. The Nightmare, as the mage found out, was vicious and unrelenting. Caraenyl had barely been able to get away from some kind of swamp creature and had been severely hurt in the process.

Twisted ankle, broken ribs, fractured wrist, broken arm, slight concussion, black eye and a myriad of bruises, bumps and lacerations; the healers at Dalaran were sure to point out every injury to Kai and El, who had both rushed to the mage’s side upon receiving the news. Neither looked happy and Cara couldn’t blame them. He promised to not do that again and to rest.

With Caraenyl not being in any condition to fight, the leader of the Tirisgarde suggested he help Edirah, the Tirisgarde Researcher, with looking into the full history of Felo’melorn. Cara found he didn’t have much choice and agreed, sitting at a table surrounded with books day after day. The mage quickly found that, while he did enjoy reading, doing research was extremely boring.

During the last year, Cara found himself certain of two things. One, Edirah was keeping most of the good books for herself and passing on the second-grade to crap books about the legendary weapon to Caraenyl; and two, Archmage Hikoto, leader of the Tirisgarde, had been asked by Kai and El to keep him safe.

The mage felt more than ready to be out on the field, killing demons and helping to destroy the Legion, all beside his lovers. All his requests to do so, however, had been denied.

He hugged his knees upon the bench; what he wanted more than killing demons was to just be with the men he loved again. He missed them so much; at least they’d see each other more on the front lines and could sleep together in tents between battles. Cara wanted to feel their warmth beside him again as he slept.

“Feeling sorry for yourself, are you?”

The mage jumped a little at the voice, looking up to see an undead woman walking up to him. She wore dark leather, her head hooded and face covered with a mask. Caraenyl could only make out the eerily dark sockets where her eyes should have been and he swallowed nervously. “E-excuse me?”

“You’re Caraenyl,” she stated flatly, standing beside the bench.

Cara glared a bit in suspicion. “How do you know my name?”

“I’m a member of the Uncrowned; Shadowblade Korveris talks about you all the time.”

The mage’s ears perked up. “You know Kai?”

“A little,” the rogue said, rolling her shoulders, “though I feel I know you more. The Shadowblade worries for you and that’s why I’m here.”

Sitting up, Cara smiled. “Kai sent you!”

“No, the stubborn fool doesn’t know I went looking for you. Doesn’t know a lot of things, that one.”

Confusion swirled around the mage’s head. “Well… you found me. What do you want?”

“You’re turning the Shadowblade into a tight knot of worry; he’s sending half of the Uncrowned to watch you when he should be sending them to spy on the Legion.”

“Why would—”

“Because of your letters!” the rogue snapped, her slightly hoarse voice sounding even more grated. “Every letter you send mentions how you want to go to the front lines in this war, but the Shadowblade knows you’re not ready and is fearful you’ll do something stupid.”

Caraenyl scowled, standing before the slightly shorter undead. “It’s been a year! A year of taking it easy, reading books, doing boring research; I am ready to fight!”

The rogue simply looked at him for a moment, Cara still not sure if eyes filled her dark, creepy sockets, before quickly striking. Her left foot swung out, scooping the mage’s right foot out from underneath him and he fell back, his right leg locking at the knee harshly, making him cry out as he hit the cold walkway. Pain shot from his knee and he reached down to gently rub at it, stiff muscles screaming at the touch.

“That injury is older,” the undead stated, crouching beside Caraenyl, “and it seems it never healed properly.”

The mage hissed, adding a bit of ice to his knee and choosing not to comment. It was an old injury, one incurred while invading Draenor. His right leg had pretty much gotten mangled while destroying the Dark Portal; once proper portals had been set up back to Azeroth, Cara had been escorted back home while his loves continued the fight against the Iron Horde. His leg took the longest to heal, but even then he had been warned that it might not ever be the same. The muscles healed too tightly around his knee and while Cara learned to walk without a limp, sudden movements that put too much weight or pulled the muscles taught across his knee would cause severe pain.

‘This time was supposed to be different….’ Caraenyl shook his head as the pain ebbed. “You got me with a cheap shot, I can handle myself.”

“Like you did in Val’sharah?”

The mage tried not to flinch as he sat up, slowly rubbing his knee. “I’ve admitted that was my fault. I should have waited for Kai and El to join me there.”

“You shouldn’t have gone at all!”

Cara glared at the rogue, starting to get annoyed. “If Kai had been there—”

“Then he’d been the one hurt, covering for you!”

“I wouldn’t let that happen!”

“How could you stop it? You couldn’t keep yourself from getting hurt, let alone protecting anyone else!”

Caraenyl’s hands curled into fists. “I nearly lost Kai on Draenor… I will never let that happen again.”

“He nearly lost you on Draenor! That’s why he’s keeping you away from battle now!” The rogue sighed, her next words soft. “He’s already gone through the loss of people he loves; Shadowblade Korveris doesn’t need to go through that again.”

Cara’s expression softened and he looked away, remembering Kai had been married many years ago and lost his wife to disease and childbirth, his child died only a couple years later due to a heart problem. That’s when he’d moved to Gilneas, abandoning the farmhouse he had.

Silence fell between them as Cara remembered his fiancé’s expression every time his past family was brought up, the sadness in his eyes and that spark of fear the mage could never understand. Maybe he did now. It was for him; looking back, the mage realized that fear was about losing another love. Caraenyl couldn’t blame him, he still had similar fears of Kai leaving him, although not as strongly as he once did.

Maybe… maybe the mage was being a bit selfish, wanting to fight beside Kai despite his knee. This undead rogue was right, he really was in no condition to fight properly and hold his own without putting those around him at a greater risk, too.

Caraenyl nodded softly in understanding; the rogue helping him to his feet. Her hands felt colder than his as she held them, again looking right at the mage’s face. “I hope the next letter the Shadowblade gets will ease his worries.”

Cara smiled a little and gently squeezed her hands in response, nodding again. His voice felt tight, his heart knowing what he should say to Kai but still not fully wanting to.

“The last thing I have to tell you is this: If you get yourself killed and put Korveris through that trauma again I will personally ask the Dark Lady to raise you as undead so I can kick your ass myself.”

The mage felt the blood drain from his face at the threat and he swallowed his fear to settle uneasily in his gut. “U-understood!”

The rogue stared for another moment before releasing his hands and walking away, cloak billowing behind her.

Caraenyl watched her back, confused for a moment before it fully dawned on him who he’d been talking to and he called out, “Avalina?!”

The undead woman stopped, looking over her shoulder. “That’s your only warning,” she stated and continued on the path, soon disappearing around a corner.

Cara stared after her, frozen in shock. Had that been Kai’s late wife? Would a member of the Uncrowned be worried or upset enough with how Merekai was behaving to come find the mage and talk to him about it? Cara had a feeling the person he’d talk to was in fact Avalina Korveris, but really had no way to prove it. Not that he really wanted to run to Kai and tell him; if that was Avalina, she would have told him, right? And if she didn’t, there was a reason for it and Cara realized it wasn’t his place to say anything. How happy would Kai be, anyway, knowing that his late wife was one of the walking dead?

Shaking off that revelation, Caraenyl returned to the Hall of the Guardian and climbed back into his small, cold bed. He no longer had any urge to sleep, but his still-sore knee needed to be put up for a few hours. He kept it iced as he stared out a nearby window, thinking about the next letter. It would have some finality to it and he wondered how his fiancé would handle it.

Several hours passed, sunlight was just starting to peer through the window. Cara’s knee felt better, but he was still careful as he made his way down to the desk he’d been occupying for the last year. He got out a fresh piece of parchment, ink, and his favorite quill and started to write.

 My Dearest Kai,

 I know I wrote you only yesterday, but there is something we need to talk about.

First, I’m sorry for the selfish way I’ve been lately. I guess you’ve always known that my right leg didn’t heal properly and I am no longer valuable in a serious fight. I see that now and I’m sorry to worry you. I no longer want to fight with you, not if it means I could be the reason behind injuries or loss of life. I was being stubborn.

Which brings me to my question; would you like me to go back to our home in the Hinterlands? I’ve learned the portal spell to Dalaran quite well by now so it wouldn’t be a problem to bounce back and forth to see each other whenever you get the time.

It’ll be hard being so far away from everything, but I’d rather be waiting for you to return safely than you constantly worried about my safety.

I love you, Kai. I look forward to your next letter.

 All My Heart,

Caraenyl

 The mage sighed, once again waiting for the ink to dry before folding the letter, addressing it to Merekai, and placing it into the portal upon the mailbox in the Hall. A small smile graced his lips when he returned to his desk.

Cara would wait; soon they could have their wedding and be together forever.