#kinda hope the admins give her some kind of send off

[sagesparrow394]

… Do you think Cellbit and Baghera know?

Do you think, after the explosion, they found Jaiden’s body on Egg Island? They know she chose to stay, chose to die?

Do you think, when they finally returned to the island after the reset, reunited with everyone, they saw the faces of these people who knew and loved Jaiden? Her best friend, excited with grand ideas of building a new town. Their fearless team leader, seeming tired, just wanting to settle with his children in a quiet house, without stress. Her old co-parent, acting a bit strange, but now busy caring for a new child, seeming relatively okay. The child with her name on its birth certificate, excited and nervous to one day meet their final mother.

Do you think they know and made the conscious decision not to tell anyone? To save the news that she would never come home for another day? Maybe to wait until they return back to the main island, and the unfinished house by the ocean and the silent home at Bobby Hills makes it impossible to repress any longer?

[ciaossu-imagines]

So I’m finally responding since you said not to send anything while you were finishing off your old requests and then I forgot so now finally I’ll send in a response to your admin chatter. Here I honestly have no idea what to say about the series apart from the fact that I’m glad I found it. It’s so fun and interesting and I’m looking forward to seeing what more the author has planned. And so true to what you’re saying about the manga and I really love it for that and wished that all anime also paced things like that. So yeah, same.  

Cool. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts when the time comes. And sure thing. Thank you. And I see. If I remember correctly, my friend also mentioned the Undertaker but I can’t remember anymore what exactly she said. Thank you so much. That’s really sweet of you to say. It did take me some time to remember the names and sometimes I still have to look up where I know them from so there’s that as well. Or I’ll do what you do and look up the character, then the voice actor’s page and then see whether I’ve heard them somewhere else.

Honestly same. Like I used to send so many messages to my friend because I’d want to share any kind of exciting news or fun pictures with her but she told me it was quite overwhelming so I always wait until she’s responded and then I’ll add the new stuff on. Though sometimes there are images that I feel like I need to send and then I do, hoping she doesn’t mind. I’ll use a recent example. To celebrate the Haikyuu!! movie release, the author of the manga released a special chapter and I got to see some of my favourite boys grown up and it was so nice and beautiful that I just had to send it to her. A part of the scene also kind of had to do with something we were talking about before so there’s that as well. And now it lives rent free in my mind so yay to that 😅 Though literally I am happy about it. I can’t say much more since I don’t want to give anything away but just know I’ve been blessed. Though I’ll also say beautiful smile, beautiful man. And it’s concerning the character I recently info dumped to you about. And I feel the same way about long replies so truly is a win-win here. You didn’t disappoint and I don’t think you ever could. And I’m looking forward to reading your Ever Young story and anything you post on AO3.

I hope you got your radio silence and that things are going well.

Yeah, this bitch caught up in pretty much a week 😅 And thank you so much for saying all that 😭

Yeah, really. And that information should be, especially since it’s info about the patient themselves. Oh gods. That’s so much. I see. I’m also kinda jealous of people who don’t have to wear glasses since I’ll be in my house and someone will tell me to look at something on the TV and I’ll have to go really close to it or will have to tell the other person to wait while I grab my glasses from my room. Even though, yeah, I got my glasses a few years later than you.

Oh that sounds so cool. And thank you. Though it’s more like that since I always finish my stories in Word before I post them, all I have to do afterwards is copy and paste the chapters afterwards one by one so it’s nice to listen to music while doing that routine thing. And I’m actually one of those people who can’t listen to music while writing since I want to be able to fully concentrate on my ideas and what I’m writing. Sine I do tend to let the music take up most of my brainspace while listening to it. And that’s nice 😃 It’s really cool that you have specific playlists like that. For me it’s just a whole bunch of songs that I like all together. Though I don’t add all songs that I like anymore since my mind is used to those songs and I like it that way.

C

Hey there! It’s nice to see you back in the inbox and thank you so, so much for waiting for me to finish off everything and open the box up again. I love seeing the response and getting to talk to you, especially since like I mentioned, I’m still waiting to finish catching up  on Servamp to finish up my dm replies to you – got sidetracked with a lot of things, haha. I love the fact that you’re enjoying the series so much! It really is an absolutely amazing story, the characters are engaging and fun, and I’ve always said that Servamp is almost criminally underrated. I’m going to be happy if I can introduce even one more person to the series, honestly!

I look forward to sharing my thoughts and then talking all kinds of things out with you when I get the opportunity! I’m busy at the moment building a solid queue here on the blog (after the event, I had 150 actual requests and, like I said I would, I used all the unrequested prompts for all my fandoms, so I have a little over 500 posts to write and queue…should have plenty to keep the blog going for the next three or four months, even if I bump the queue up past 1 a day and I’ll have a shit ton more time for chatting and writing passion projects that way, though that means you guys see unrequested headcanons and fics quite often sorry) but I’m so looking forward to taking the time to not only write, but read and watch things again! I have decided to go manga for Black Butler, just because I can breeze through a couple hundred chapters in two days so it’s quicker for me to get caught up. I’m hoping it’ll live up to how good everyone keeps telling me it’s gotten! Aww, that’s awesome! And I have to do the look up to see where I know them from not just with voices I recognize but actors and actresses all the time too because I’m terrible at names! I think it’s so cool that you put the time and effort into remembering voice actors like that because yeah, they definitely deserve fans and all the respect!

I’m horrible for not sending messages until I know I have everything I want to say out so I can sometimes hoard messages for a good couple days or a week so my replies can get overboard! And I’m sure your friend has so much fun, getting the add on messages and pictures because I know when you do that in our messages, I always love it! That’s so exciting about Haikyuu! movie release getting that special chapter! Was it an interesting and good chapter? Did the boys you saw grown up look like you figured they would as adults? Were their lives what you thought they would be? I’m curious as to your reaction to it all! I’m glad to hear I don’t disappoint and thank you so much for saying that 😊 I look forward to sharing but the delinquent! Shouhei story will definitely be coming out first. The Ever Young is so dear to my heart that I want it perfect and several chapters to be finished before I post them.

As far as radio silence, it did get better. I got one ask after that outside of the box being open, but it calmed down a lot, both for dm’s and for the ask box. I really appreciate everyone giving me that time and space and being so patient and supportive of me while I work on things both on and off the blog. I really do consider myself super lucky to have such amazing readers! And you did get caught up really quickly! I have thirty more chapters to read before I’m completely caught up on Servamp, and my manga app updated Nanbaka to chapter 355 so I think that will be the next one I work on getting caught up on after Servamp!

And yes! A lot of people don’t know this but at least here in Canada, a patient can legally request a copy of their medical file and history from any of their doctors at any point and the doctor has to comply. It’s just a little known thing and most of the time, patients aren’t really kept up to date on their information, which bothers me greatly. And I am so jealous of people who don’t have to wear glasses. Not only can they easily see, but it’s annoying to have your glasses fog up when you wear a mask, something I’ve had to do at work since I came down with a bad cold. Mask and medical grade non-latex gloves for 7-8 hours a day…not fun, but at least it keeps people safe and healthy.

And that is cool to learn! I’ve been wondering, since I haven’t messed around with it yet, how the formatting of stories goes on AO3, so it’s good to know I won’t have to mess around with a lot of formatting or html codes to post stories on there, if you can use copy and paste! I completely get that – everyone’s different and I know some people simply cannot concentrate on their writing if there’s music or a lot of noise around. I need the background noise because all the little sounds bother me in complete silence and throw me off – dripping taps, the click of the baseboard, the hum of the refrigerator, the sounds of the neighbours and things like that. I love the way you worded that by the way, that your mind is used to those songs because I know the exact feeling you mean and it’s a pleasant-unpleasant feeling all at once haha.

[hurricaneonanesthesia]

hiya! i would like a claude x reader from fire emblem three houses. reader gets hypnotized by a flame merchant in the middle of battle and attacks her classmates. claude finds a way to get her to stop, the spell breaks, the battle ends and she panics. kinda like an angst to fluff thing. reader is not byleth. my pronouns are she//her but i don’t mind they//them either :)

thank you so much ! - 🤍

This is oddly specific but okay lol, hope you like this! ~Admin Hurricane

Warnings: none

Word Count: tba

Genre: fluff

Pairing(s): Claude x GN!Reader

You oddly felt like you were floating, kind of like an out-of-body experience. Were your friends yelling your name? You couldn’t tell, everything seemed so far away. You weren’t in control of your movements but it wasn’t really your problem.

Meanwhile, Claude was desperately trying to take out the mage that had pulled you under their control, while also trying to not hit you with his arrows because the freaking mage was using you as a meat shield so they could try to get away unscathed. He always has a plan, even if it’s on a whim and formulate mid-battle, but at the moment, he’s so panicked that he couldn’t think straight.

How the hell did things even end up like this? One moment you were fine, the next you were hacking and slashing at your fellow Golden Deer, your eyes glassy and your movements sluggish, almost as if you were being tugged along, like a puppet dancing to strings.

Byleth is trying their best to keep the group together but they’re not having better luck than Claude because everyone is disorganized and scattered all about the battlefield, the best thing that they can do to not be overwhelmed is to just keep taking down the enemies that rush at them

Flying above the enemies on his wyvern and curb-stomping them while he’s at it Claude manages to get a clean shot off on the mage. Unfortunately, it only knocks them back, but it’s enough to snap you out of the spell you were placed under.

“Claude?” you look around confused, as carnage and bloodshed happen around you. Swiftly, Claude swoops down on his wyvern and picks you up and out of range of the mage. He checks you to ensure that you don’t have any injuries, his brow furrowed with concern.

“What happened?” you questioned, your tears welling up in your eyes. “Shhhhh,” he pressed his forehead against yours, trying to soothe you, a familiar cheeky grin on his face, “Don’t worry about that right now, just hold onto me alright?”

After regrouping, Byleth, Claude, and the rest of the Deer manage to swiftly clean up the battlefield, causing any stragglers to promptly run away panicking.

You’re completely disorientated, Claude knows you’re probably going to beat yourself over this, but instead reassures you that it wasn’t your fault. You were under the control of some stupid mage who thought it would be a smart idea to mess with one of his fawns.

He holds you close and gives you lots of reassurance, but mainly to try and calm you down from your ordeal earlier.

Reminder that my requests are open! Be sure to send something my way if you’re interested! Requesting Rules are here!

Want more of my writing? Be sure to check out my masterlist. Wanna know what else I’ll write for? Here you go!

Thanks for reading and have a lovely day!

[allyreactions]

Dating Wayv | Lucas

- masterlist requests : OPEN 

⚠ read my guidelines before requesting ⚠

____________________________

♡ pairing ; Lucas x fem!reader

♡ genre ; fluff, smut, angst 

♡ word count ; 1.8k

____________________________

~ A/N : this wasn’t a request, but I just had to write this.

                 ~ Admin Ally

* gif credits to the owner *

♡ how you meet : 

you met Lucas at a restaurant downtown

he was at a team dinner with his members and manager 

you were out celebrating your best friends birthday with several of your girlfriends

“two more bottles of soju please” 

you decided to go all out tonight 

treating your friend to bulgogi and soju, and whatever else she wanted 

shot glasses clinked at the table 

“happy birthday!” you all cheered 

as you were eating your meal

you and your friends kept glancing over to the table filled with cute boys 

it seemed as if they were celebrating something as well 

one of the guys in particular caught your eye

or well ... ear 

you kept hearing an infectious laughter fill the small restaurant

every time the boy laughed, you and your friends would giggle at how cute it sounded 

you turned your head towards the sound 

and your eyes were met with the giggling boy 

it seemed as if he was aware of the giggling coming from your table 

you quickly turned your head back 

your cheeks flushed a light pink 

after you all had finished your meal

your best friend wanted to go to the club a few blocks away 

as you and your friends filed out of the restaurant

gathering by the curb 

you fumbled through your purse, looking for your phone 

“hey guys, I left my phone inside. I’ll be right back”

you turned around to head inside

and almost bumped into the crowd of people exiting the restaurant 

you walked back over to your table where one of the employees was cleaning the dishes you and your friends had left 

“did you see a phone by chance?” 

the lady shook her head and continued piling the dirty plates 

you felt someone tap your shoulder from behind 

“is this your phone?” 

it was the boy with the infectious laugh 

“yeah, where’d you find it?” 

“you left it when you were paying your bill. the lady at the counter found it.” 

the floppy haired boy handed you your phone 

“thanks” 

you replied, nodding your head with a smile 

your cheeks beginning to turn a light shade of pink again 

you weren’t quite sure if it was because he was so cute or if it was the alcohol in your system 

“you’re welcome” 

you left the restaurant and rejoined your friends on the sidewalk 

before you and your friends left for the club

you unlocked your phone, just to make sure nothing was messed with 

and you noticed a new number in your contacts 

“Lucas ♥ ”

♡ first date : 

your first date with Lucas wasn’t anything too fancy 

he seems more like the laid back type when it comes to first dates 

he believes it’s more about the connection and the getting-to-know-you portion of the date that matters 

not how much you can spend on the person 

so instead, Lucas invited you out for a walk along the Han River at sunset 

he picked you up from your apartment around 5pm 

the two of you grabbed some street food before heading down to the river 

you walked side by side on the path 

you discussed basic things about each other 

like your jobs, your hobbies, your family, and your friends 

Lucas’ hand brushing against yours every few steps 

he really wanted to hold your hand 

but he was too nervous

he wasn’t sure if it was appropriate yet 

and he wasn’t sure if you were comfortable with pda 

as the night went on and the sun began to set 

Lucas found a bench for the two of you to sit on and enjoy the evening sky together 

he swung his arm over you, resting it on the bench behind you 

your heart felt like it was gonna pump out of your chest 

Lucas looked over at you with kind eyes 

you smiled back at him shyly 

“you’re really pretty, you know that?” 

your cheeks turned bright red in response to his comment

your face felt hot

a smirk spread across his face 

“no really, I think you’re adorable” 

Lucas leaned in closer to you 

his words were sweet 

“I think you’re pretty cute too” you said in reply 

it wasn’t until 11pm that you had returned home 

Lucas walked you back to your apartment 

he wanted to make sure you got home safe 

you stood in front of your door

you played with your fingers behind your back 

picking at the skin around your nails due to the tension between you too 

“I had a really good time tonight” Lucas said 

he looked down at you

his height making you feel small under him 

“I did too” you replied looking up at him 

“I hope I can see you again,” 

he ran his fingers through his hair, 

a nervous habit of his 

“I’m sure you will”

you smiled up at him 

the two of you stood in silence for a moment 

the tension only growing 

“goodnight, Y/N” 

Lucas gently placed a kiss on your forehead 

your eyes fluttered closed 

you enjoyed the feeling of his soft, pillowy lips on your skin 

he pulled away and looked you in your eyes 

his ears were bright red with embarrassment 

it was cute 

“goodnight, Lucas” 

you stood on your toes and kissed his cheek 

♡ living together / couple stuff : 

living with Lucas is interesting

not in a bad way, 

just that there’s never a dull moment 

the two of you are always giggling over something

Lucas is kinda clumsy 

his long limbs are always knocking stuff over 

or he’s tripping over something 

or he’s knocking you over and causing you to trip 

he sometimes forgets his size and his strength in comparison to you 

but it’s not a big deal 

any accidental bruises caused by his clumsiness is followed by lots of kisses 

Lucas is kinda clingy when he’s around you at home 

mainly because he tries to spend as much time with you as possible while his schedule is free 

if you guys are ever just chillin on the couch, watching a movie 

Lucas is snuggled up next to you 

bedtime? 

he’s the big spoon, with his arms wrapped around your waist 

he’ll probably run his fingers through your hair, humming against your ear as you fall asleep 

when he’s not home and he’s away on promotions, 

he loves getting on a video call with you 

it doesn’t matter if he can only speak to you for a few minutes or a couple hours 

as long as he can see you and hear your voice 

and if he can’t video call you, he’ll send you texts 

especially when he misses you

he’ll send a lot

I can see Lucas being the type to send you a funny meme that Hendery sent him

or text you the joke that Yangyang told him

showers / baths with him are always nice 

I feel like he’s into bubble baths 

I’m talkin’ like the tub is overflowing with bubbles kinda bubble baths 

those kinda baths end up in the two of you blowing bubbles in each others faces 

and making bubble beards and laughing at how goofy you look 

but bath time can also be relaxing

Lucas will have you lean back into his chest while he gently splashes water on your naked body 

he’ll wash your hair, gently massaging your scalp 

and you’ll wash his body, swiping sudsy washcloth over his chest 

Lucas isn’t the most romantic all the time 

but he does try to do something special for you every now and again 

whether it’s a big or little gesture 

tbh I think he’ll get some tips and advice from his members 

if he knows he’s gonna be late coming home from practice, he’ll bring home your favorite take out 

he also loves taking you out to fancy restaurants, treating you like the queen you are 

also because he loves seeing you dressed up 

and he loves showing off the fact that you’re his 

♡ arguments : 

the two of you don’t get into arguments a lot mostly because Lucas isn’t a fan of confrontation so he tries his hardest not to mess up or do something stupid just to avoid any sort of disagreement between you two

if you ever get into an argument with Lucas,

it’s probably because of how messy he can be 

he’s not a slob, but he isn’t the most organized person 

and that can bother you sometimes

you’ll get upset because whenever he’s home from promotions, you’re always picking up after him 

or he’s sleeping in too much,

which doesn’t allow the both of you to spend time together while he’s home 

those kind of things get sorted out pretty quickly though 

Lucas realizes he’s in the wrong, and he’ll do anything to fix things between you 

he’ll look at you with those puppy dog eyes, and suddenly all’s forgiven

he’s is such a sweetheart

such a gentle soul

so when he knows that you’re mad at him, it crushes him 

he’ll try his best to distance himself from you

giving you some needed space

he knows you’ll come to him when you’re ready to discuss things 

but whenever he’s mad at you 

(which isn’t often)

he tends to be passive 

Lucas is more of the silent treatment kind of guy 

because he doesn’t want to raise his voice at you 

or say something he’ll regret

♡ sexy time : 

Lucas is a switch, but he’s more dom than anything 

a playful dom, at that 

I think he mainly subs when he’s in a lazy mood 

and it’s just easier for you to take control in those situations 

he also has pretty good stamina

so two rounds isn’t unusual for him 

also he just has a lot of energy overall 

going along with his stamina, he’s also into over stimulation 

giving and receiving, but mostly giving 

he loves watching the way you fall apart in front of him 

climaxing over and over 

it boosts his already big ego 

Lucas has a size kink 

he loves knowing how big he is in comparison to you in every way 

his loves wrapping his long arms around your body 

holding you close to him while you make out on the couch

his huge hands leaving bruises on your hips 

holding your hips in place while he goes down on you 

his long, thick fingers pumping in and out of you 

marking you is his favorite thing 

you’ll be showering together 

you’ll stand in front of him with your back towards him 

and he’ll be washing your hair 

he’ll peel your wet hair from your shoulder

“oh, look at that” 

his finger will brush over the purple mark on your neck 

he loves looking at the marks he leaves on you and reminding you of the moment in which he gave it to you 

[ruhrohimrorny]

What Subjects I Think LOK Characters Would Teach:

Lin: PE, obviously. Dating Kya and all the kids are happy cause there’s a noticeable shift in Lin’s mood once they start dating. She no longer forces kids to run a mile every day and instead does it once a week now, so the kids are hoping her and Kya stay together. She also coaches Golf and Lacrosse.

Kya: Waffled between MILF Math teacher, MILF Science teacher, and hippy/chill Music teacher, but decided on MILF Science Teacher. Getting strong Biology vibes. Very fun labs and not strict at all. Her and Zhu-Li are super passionate about leading the Science Bowl team. Seeing these young people be so passionate about STEM and helping their fellow teammates makes her hopeful for this young generation.

Tenzin: He kinda gives math teacher vibes, but a large part of his character in the show is about him keeping his history alive, and teaching others abut learning and respecting history, so I feel like he’s a History teacher. His class is a lot of notetaking but he plays quiet music and does a five minute meditation in the middle of class to encourage kids to relax, so students really like him and actually listen to him. Also, he’s kind of gullible so they make up fake trends to tell him. He once spent a week addressing people as “brony” cause students told him thats what people say now instead of bro. Kids got a good laugh out of that one. Him and Pema are another favorite teacher couple.

Bumi II: Def gives off eccentric/unhinged English teacher vibes. Very interesting and informative conversations in his class, but things get off topic very quickly. Whenever kids ask about Bum-Ju, he gets distracted and will talk the entire rest of the period about what to dress Bum-Ju up as for Halloween. Probably plays a lot of videos. And students don’t worry about if they read the books Bumi II assigns cause they don’t think he’s even read the books he assigns. When having discussions about the books in class, sometimes kids will make up stuff and say it’s in the book and for the most part, Bumi II goes along with it cause he doesn’t know what actually happens in the books.

Varrick: Also gives off eccentric/unhinged English teacher vibes, but because he’s a businessman/war profiteer, I’m gonna have to say he teaches Econ and gives students lots of unsolicited financial advice. Also supervises the Engineering and Robotics Club.

Zhu-Li: Science teacher, probably Chemistry. She’s very good at explaining and getting kids to follow her instructions. Not only is she a co-supervisor for the Science Bowl team, she helps Varrick run Engineering and Robotics Club, cause if it were only Varrick running it, no kids would come. His intensity and eccentricity scares them.

Iroh II: He’s definitely the young Math teacher everyone has a crush on. Very chill and doesn’t give a lot of homework. Kids love when he shows pictures of his dog to the class and eventually he brings in the dog cause admin think the dog is too cute to say no to.

Tonraq: Resident DILF History teacher. Kind of a hardass but also a nice dude so most everyone passes his class. Probably that History teacher that is also a football coach, so during fall he doesn’t give a FUCK about whether anyone actually turns anything in. Him and Senna is the teacher couple that seems like opposites but actually are pretty similar and balance each other out.

Senna: That English teacher that every mentally ill student becomes emotionally attached to. You know what I’m talking about. She’s so sweet, funny, and chill so all the kids love her class. Tries to include memes in her presentations to seem “with it” but they’re like, doge memes from 2014. But the kids appreciate the effort.

Pema: Definitely the sweet English teacher that occasionally has a mental breakdown when the students test her patience. Otherwise very chill. Also teaches the Childhood Education and Development class. Her, Senna, and Bumi II run the school newspaper.

Bataar: Drafting. Pretty chill, very skilled, and def smokes on the weekend. Also, him and Suyin are that teacher couple that everyone likes.

Suyin: Dance. Super nice and always has like to of those smelly plug in things going so her room smells good and has a “good vibe that evokes emotion”. Always plays EDM or weird 80s rock to get the kids moving. She runs the school dance team. When Bataar has prep period, he sometimes drops in to see Su dance, cause she’s mesmerizing to watch. All the kids think that, coupled with the fact that they eat lunch together every day, makes them the cutest couple ever.

Amon: Drama. He loves directing kids on how to totally live a role. If you can imagine, he sometimes gets a little overdramatic about drama, forgetting that these are just highschool kids, not Oscar winners, but his passion makes the class more enjoyable. Runs Drama Club with Tarrlok.

Tarrlok: Probably Physics. A difficult class, but he’s pretty good at explaining so most kids don’t struggle too much. His main focus is running student government, which he takes pretty seriously. Sometimes too seriously.

Unalaq: Teaches Psychology. The most pretentious teacher on campus. It’s literally so bad, that even other teachers avoid him. Amon abandoned his coffee still being brewed in the machine in the staff room cause Unalaq walked in and he didn’t want to be in a room with Unalaq again after he said that Amon’s outfit “looked like something stolen from the lost and found of a funeral home”. Unalaq sees it as “telling it like it is”.

Zaheer: Government and Politics. Tries to teach the class very well but also injects his own opinion into teaching a lot. The students find him scary but some also kinda think he’s hot. Also does Yearbook. Him and Senna run Mock Trial. Replaced the old Government and Politics teacher Hou-Ting after she retired. She was that one old teacher that made it a hobby to harrass students and constantly reminisced about when you could smack students.

P’Li: Math teacher. Much scarier than Zaheer. Plays her trash ass music very loudly while the kids work. Def yells at kids. She’s kind of funny when she’s in a good mood tho, and when she roasts kids it’s really funny cause it’s usually dead on. Her and Zaheer are those teachers that flirt a lot and you know they’re sleeping together.

Ming-Hua: Art. Loves drawing and, you guessed it, watercolor painting. Very chill and plays soft music but lets you listen to your own music. Super sarcastic and all the students eat it up. Literally a universal favorite. She runs Art Club and Fashion Club.

Ghazan: Guitar. Pretty cool teacher that definitely has some weird stories. All the students know he has a crush on Ming-Hua cause they flirt constantly, but he denies it. Runs E-Sports Club. Idk why I think that, it just feels right. Him and Ming-Hua are also the kinds of teachers kids become emotionally attached to.

Kuvira: Government and Politics also. Seems calm and reasonable, but is a total ass. Makes kids give up their phones, allows almost no talking, gives out more detentions a week than most teachers do in one year, and doesn’t allow for much discussion. Everyone wants her class cause she’s hot but most drop within the first week, to the point that counselors have to say no to some kids so they don’t have to get rid of the class altogether.

Bataar Jr.: Computer Lit teacher. None of the students respect him so they’ll play Minecraft the whole time or play inappropriate videos really loud. Doesn’t really put much effort into teaching, which for some kids is a dream, but for others is an annoyance. Him and Kuvira are the teacher couple that makes everyone say “wtf”. Literally no one knows why they’re together.

Izumi: Secretary/Attendance. Pretty much remembers everything and is super organized. She is the glue that holds the school together. Most students don’t know her name though cause she’s super quiet and works mostly behind the scenes. Whenever Zuko sends anyone her way though he reminds them of her name and to say thank you cause he recognizes how hard his daughter works to keep everything running smoothly. Izumi catches on to this and always manages to thank her dad with a nice tea and a hug.

Toph: Vice Principal. Scary as fuck. Doesn’t ever call kids’ parents cause she efficiently scares the shit out of every kid, so they never do whatever bad thing they were doing again. When she has to work dances, Katara always tries to get her to dance with her. She resists every time, but she always gives eventually. She’s happy to though, cause although she’ll never say it out loud, seeing Katara this happy at her old age warms her heart.

Katara: Health Clerk. Very sweet and everybody loves her. Sometimes kids pretend to feel sick just to talk to her. She doesn’t mind though cause a kid that has a tummy ache and a kid that needs to talk are both kids that need help, and she’s happy to offer whatever support she can. She also always offers to supervise dances when the school has them and always manages to bust a move.

Zuko: Counselor. Wants to be to students what his uncle was to him. Aang and Sokka were counselors too, some years ago. And while they could give some good nuggets of advice and offered the kids amazing support, they also would totally fuck up student’s schedules by accident cause those numbskulls were exactly that- numbskulls. So usually Zuko would have to fix that. He misses fixing their messes and, more importantly, he misses them (they aren’t dead, just retired). He hopes to retire soon too, cause he’s getting too old for this, but he secretly doesn’t want to retire just yet cause working at school allows him to see and spend time with Izumi. Since they’re both working, it’s not like they have too much time together, but even just her popping into his office to bring him tea or check in on how he’s doing that day brings a smile to his face that doesn’t leave for the rest of the day.

Raiko: Principal. After Toph stepped down cause she’s “too old for this shit” (her words), Raiko stepped in. The students aren’t a fan of him but he’s not terrible. And since Toph is still Vice Principal, she keeps him in check.

[daily-dose-of-imagines]

Meeting the parents

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Anon asked:  Hi I was wondering if I could request tanaka and noya (separate) going to watch his girlfriend's volleyball tournament cuz shes on karasunos girls team and after a really close match where the point go into the thirties and everyones ecstatic about karasunos win they run down to the court to give thier girlfriend a lift in the air hug and kiss only to realise that her parents hadn't met them yet and saw the whole thing and get to meet them and absolutely love them. FEEL FREE TO IGNORE THIS ASK. |  Hi again sorry I left this out but can the tanaka's girlfriend's position on the team be libero and she's just as talented as noya if not better. AGAIN SORRY IF THE ASK IS TOO LONG FELL FREE TO IGNORE IT IF IT'S STUPID love ur writing btw hun💖💜💕💖❤️💜💜💖

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Hi  and thank you for requesting with us, I know you weren’t anon before, but I forgot to tag you, so I hope you see this! This is a cute concept and I’m glad that you asked us to do it, it’s not stupid at all! It will be a collab between Admin Ko and I, so I hope you like it!

>Admin 𝕋

Thank you so much for requesting with us~! This is literally the cutest thing that we both decided to pitch in! ;; We hope you seriously enjoy these as much as we enjoyed writing them~!

» » Admin Ko

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★ 

The game was at match point. Both teams were sweaty and panting, the number going into the thirties, and it was becoming tedious to even try to run for the ball. But (y/n) didn’t want to give up, not yet, they were so close to winning, just one more point and they would have the game and the tournament. And with shaky legs, and a thundering heart, (y/n) watched as the ball fell into their court, dropping at a fast pace, but not fast enough for her to miss it, and with a gust of energy, (y/n) launched herself across the court and managed to bump the ball back into play, then watched her teammates spike it onto the other side’s court floor, thus gaining a point.

The whistle blew. They had won.

The crowd roared with noise, clapping and screaming loud. Getting up from the hardwood, (y/n) joined her teammates in a winning circle, jumping up and down in triumph. The audience got out from the bleachers and joined the players that had won, some others joining the losing side, giving them a pat on the back for their best efforts.

As (y/n) clapped and laughed with her team, she heard her name being called. Turning around, a boy just a little bit shorter than her crashed into her chest, wrapping his arms around her midsection and spun her around excitedly.

“Yuu--”

“You did it! You won! I’m so proud of you, you were so freaking cool!” Nishinoya exclaimed, setting his girlfriend down and taking her face in his hands, staring into her eyes with mirth. “I knew you would win!” he then started pressing light kisses all over face, from her cheeks to her forehead. 

“Yuu--”

“No! Let me have this, I just want to keep kissing you for all eternity!”

“Do you really want to do that in front of my parents?” she said. Nishinoya instantly stopped his incessant kissing and pulled her head back from his lips.

“Uh no? That would be incredibly weird. What kind of kinks do you have?” 

“I believe she means that we’re behind you.” a voice Nishinoya didn’t recognize; it send chills of fright up his spine. He let go of (y/n)’s face and quickly turned around to see a man and a woman, older, one with a smile and the other with a grim frown.

“Yuu, these are my parents. Parents, this is Yuu,” she told them, taking a hold of Nishinoya’s shoulders tightly so he couldn’t run. Sweat dripped off his temple as he smiled nervously, bowing slightly.

“N-nice to meet you Mister and Misses (l/n).” he greeted, stuttering a bit. He could hear (y/n) giggling quietly behind his back. 

“It’s nice to finally meet you Nishinoya. (y/n) had told us so much about you.” her mom announced, taking hold of Nishinoya’s hand and shaking it gently. (y/n)’s father, on the other hand, kept glaring at the boy.

He felt like he was turning into ant, small and could be easily stepped on, with the way he was staring him down. “Yep! Boyfriend, he is! Great, he is!”

“What are you Yoda--Ow!” Nishinoya got jabbed in the ribs by (y/n).

“How about lunch, so we can get to know each other?” her mother suggested, looking to her husband for an agreement. He was silent for a moment before grunting an affirmative and leaving, most likely to the car. “Okay! Let’s go! Nishinoya, you come with us, and (y/n) will meet us there!” Miss (l/n) said, and walked away.

“Am I okay going to be okay?” Nishinoya asked (y/n), her laughing at his scared expression. 

“You’re going to be fine. Just-- don’t talk a lot until I get there.” she warned him, pushing him on the back to make him follow her mom.

“I’m going to die.”

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • · 

Adrenaline pulsed through her veins. Her gaze sharp and unrelenting as (e/c) hues bore deeply into the yellow and blue ball flying around the court. 

“One touch!” 

The call that was cried out had her shifting on her feet quickly as she settled in her position before bumping the ball over to their setter. A bright and obnoxious cheer radiated through the roaring crowds as a little grin graced her sweat matted features. 

“You really need to tell your man to take it down a notch.”

“I’ve tried to tell him to, but he kinda just...has a mind of his own.”

A light laugh escaped her lips as she apologetically smiled at her captain before turning back to give the chaotic duo a stern glare. The male in question, who was just as loud-- if not louder than his partner in crime-- gave a cheeky grin in return as he flashed her a thumbs up.

“That’s my girl! Kick their asses baby!”

“Orrraaaa!!!! This is the power of Karasuno!!!”

Another sigh left her lips as she couldn’t help but fondly shake her head at her boyfriend and his best friend. Though as the sharp squeak of the whistle resounded throughout the air, her focus returned tenfold as found her body moving on it’s own to properly prepare for the receive from the enemy team.

»»————-　♡　————-««

“Shit...”

Fatigue plagued her as her adrenaline high began to wear down on her. With the scores in the double digits and nearing the thirties,she wasn’t sure how much she could hold out before her legs gave out on her. Yet the determination that burned in her gaze gave none of it away as she focused on the ball once more. 

Suddenly, she couldn’t hear anything. Her gaze soley focused on receiving the damn power serve from the opposing team’s setter as she prepped her body as everything around her vanished. The blue and yellow ball being the only thing in her sights as she let out a slow breath before cleanly bumping the ball to the setter. The roar of the cheers almost deafening as her arms stung at the blow dealt to them.

Though she couldn’t focus on the pain as she rushed around, her eyes never leaving the ball until the chirp of the whistle echoed throughout the court. Her body relaxing as she turned to look at the score before she felt a pair of arms wrap around her tired form.

“That was so fucking amazing! My girl! My baby!”

“Ryu...you’re crying.”

“These are tears of joy! I’m so proud of you!”

The smile that graced her features had the wing spiker of Karasuno’s boys team blush as he tugged her in close. His gaze nothing but warm and loving as he grinned at her before the pair found themselves kissing one another. Her teammates cheered while cooing as Noya merely cackled. A look of pride on his face before he gulped as the libero tapped his best bro on the shoulder.

“Uh, look I don’t wanna ruin your kissing time, but I think her parents are glaring at you.”

“H..Hah?”

“Oh shit-- Babe I forgot to mention that my parents were at this game..”

“......It was nice knowing you both, tell Asahi to pray for me.”

“Babe! It’s not that bad! We’ll just explain to them!”

“I’ll be sure to give you the dopest funeral man.”

“Ryu! Yuu! It’s not that serious! I promise it won’t be that bad!”

“(y/n)! You have some explaining to do~!”

The sound of a body hit the floor as she couldn’t help but sigh exasperated at her dramatic boyfriend as Nishinoya simply prayed.

“....Nice kill.”

[discoveringenterprise]

“RYAN WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU GO?!” and other shit you might wonder

First off: I am so sorry for disappearing off of the face of the earth oh my god

Second off: I’m going on an indefinite hiatus as of Sundayish. Yes, you read that right, an indefinite hiatus. All the content on the blog will stay for our enjoyment, and I fully authorize use of my gifs anywhere and everywehre

Third off: if you’re struggling rn, shit gets better, PLEASE trust me on this.

TLDR of this post; I got better, so can you, and I’m heading out.

ENT GC: let me know if you want admin. Do what you want with the blog, and if you wanna make a new group chat, please do so since I won’t be around to add people.

How can I contact you/get your contact info before you go? Dallyn and Daphne have my contact info so if you ever need to reach me and I’m gone... yeah. Like I said, I’ll be heading out Sundayish, so I’ll periodically log in here if you wanna talk to me/get my info before I go.

What’s your actual name? That... that’s a long story, too. LMAO. Especially if you know me. DM me for the story if you know me.

Why are you leaving? So, as you guys know, I started college, which is completely and utterly whack. Everything is changed, everything is different and I have friends now? Like, WTF. I’ve been so wrapped up in work it took me forever to get on here after Dallyn texted me “your account got hacked” so... oops. I let everyone into the ent gc (oh my GOD i look back at that and have a love/hate relationship with it!) and let me know if you figure out a way to make admins on it??? I’m confused AF.

I’m going to be focusing off college and staying off Tumblr for a while. It was 2 am technically today and I was reading all my old posts like “jfc I was so depressed???” and now I’m just... not. I made friends, real friends, over the summer. People who understand and get it (and yes some of them are ent stans.)

Why did you disappear in May and why are you leaving again? Shortly put, and I don’t mean to sound mean, I made real friends. Real as in I will physically interact with them in real life (aka college friends). I kind of weaned off Tumblr slowly, and only kept going back for the ent gc (I LOVE YOU GUYS THOUGH!!!). And it kinda became a drag.

When I came back to Tumblr, it was like late January and early February. I’d just got out of the Instagram rping world and was so tempted to start one here, but I was scared and intimidated, and I’m glad I didn’t. Breaking off rp was the best thing I’d ever done for myself, and the best thing that this toxic girl ever did for me. My shitty mental health had been kinda dependent on this rp, it’s hard to explain, but I was being a jerk and kinda had been since freshman year with projecting my feelings onto my character’s and blurring the lines far too much between me and her. She was (and is!) still hella overpowered, hella perfect, and something that would absolutely never happen in canon.

Honestly, this whole situation was basically the lyrics to the song Clarity ft. Foxes by Zedd. I love that song, go give it a listen.

Point being, I got myself off of that once I realized. The problem had started in January 2017, ran through October 2017, and then took a hiatus until junior year but only started to really manifest itself in February 2019. And honestly, mainly when school started back, in September/October 2019 and lasted until January 4 when she and I had our last fight. (She messaged me again, later- here- and since making that post, we’ve ended things on neutral terms.)

So I came here. Tumblr. I’d been here in 2017 right after the OTHER rp ended, and I think Tumblr became my new outlet then, too. I was a baby in the middle of my freshman year then. And then there I was, coming full circle. As a senior in high school. I read all of my old posts about how I’d never make it, and there I was. I’d made it. The end of HS was in sight.

I straight up vibed through all of May. Now, I was slowly making friends in college already, but it only really took off in April and May, which is when I left. I focused more on those, building those connections. I loved you guys on Tumblr, I still do, but I was definitely going to meet these college friends. And as I pulled my head out of Tumblr, I got a job, an actual paying job , in June- and I was already gone.

As I looked back on my posts last night/this morning I was thinking “oh my GOD what the fuck” because jfc, Tumblr had turned into the place where I vented. And then as I got through the months, I became happier. The pandemic was around, duh, and I didn’t have as much school stressing me out, there wasn’t as much craziness around. I was free, I didn’t have people from high school to deal with, and I got better on my own.

YEAH, I was talking to a college guy. And yeah, that was nice, but it was more of a side thing. He was my friend, and he played me, but I learned to be myself. Learned to love Enterprise wildly and give absolutely no fucks.

And it is oh so nice to give zero fucks. It’s an amazing feeling. I hope everyone gets there someday. And yeah, I’ve had moments where people don’t like me, and moments where I’ve felt down, depressed. That’s not saying life is always perfect 100% of the time.

But what I’m trying to say is: it gets better. And to me, Tumblr was like a crutch. Sometimes you need it to help you stand, but when you think you always need it, and can stand on your own, that’s where the problem is. In May, I became confident enough to let the crutch go. And I’m thankful that I did that.

I still love you guys, everyone reading this post, the people that know me and are going to miss me. It’s not that I hate this website or anything- I just stopped using it as a crutch, you know?

Where can I read this crazy fanfic? DM me, haha. It’s the classic “self-insert but NOT a self-insert” fanfiction originating form a fifth grade idea, reformatted by my depressed fourteen-year-old self. And I wouldn’t change it for the world. Yes, it’s Star Trek.

I also have one for the girl’s relative, too, which IMO is much better. She’s less overpowered, more of a real human being.

So why mention the fanfic and RP? It’s weird; I’ve come full circle. I wanted to be this perfect girl, and then I planned how she’d finish her story (and I’m finishing it. I am, I promise, because she’s a part of me that I wouldn’t trade for anything). As I’ve taken a break from the E/AP-verse (my public nickname for it haha, someone found out here) I’ve realized again, I came full circle.

All I wanted back then was to be happy and I thought a guy would do it. Popularity, a bunch of friends, a “hot body” (btw FUCK BODY SHAMING and you’re all perfect) and all that BS that the media tells you. What really gives you happiness (or at least me)? Confidence. The fact that I know I have friends I can count on here. Yeah, a relationship is nice, but complete yourself before you get into one.

And when I planned my OC’s ending back in February, that’s what she got. She’s married in my head now, to her (and my!) perfect guy, but the important part is that she’s happy, and she’s herself before she got married. Before she got in her relationship.

So, yeah. I think that covers it. In all honesty, if you have more questions, send them to the ask box and I’ll tag them and all this as “ry’s goodbye” and update my nav page. It’s 12:39 AM so please excuse any typos!

Bye, guys. For now, at least.

I love you.

[kikis-writing-world]

Hey 👋👋 congrats on your milestone 🎉🎉

I was wondering if I could maybe get a ship with a pedro character?

I can be a quite shy person when I first meet someone but once I feel comfortable with them I can be my true chaotic self with out the fear of scaring them away 😂 I'm the oldest of 3 so I'm usually everyone's go to person and I work in the care sector so I think I would love someone to take care of me, even if it just for a couple hours. I'll deny it to the hilt but I'm a secret romantic and I would swoon at the though of someone writing me a love letter 😍😍😍 I love to read especially thrillers/ horrors and going to see new places. I love quoting and singing along to movies.

I think that's everything 😂😂

Thanks 😊💛

Thanks hun! I was secretly wondering if you were going to send one in when I saw you liking many of the other ones. I’m glad you did! You’re such an avid liker/reblogger of the work you read on here, you deserve a little something. I hope you like what I come up with for you!

I ship you with Marcus Moreno! Both of you work so hard to help other people, so you both understand intimately just what a toll that takes on you. The two of you would take turns caring for each other when you need it. One night he’s going to draw you a bubble bath, pour you some wine, light some candles, and sit next to the tub switching between massaging you, helping to wash you, and just keeping you company, chatting softly about your day. Another night, you’re cooking him his favorite meal, sending Missy to a sleep over at Abuela’s, and giving him a full massage and then some. He’d love sitting next to you in bed each night, both of you reading a bit before going to sleep. And family movie nights? I’m sure there’s always at least one of the 3 of you that are quoting the movie unless it’s a new release.

Okay so I think this might almost be the plot of a Halmark movie I half-watched this Christmas, but I want to put you in a secret Royalty AU. You work in a hospital and there’s an older woman there who was admitted after a bit of a health scare. She’s going to be okay, but they need to keep her for a bit to run some tests and observe her before releasing her.

While she’s there, her son - who admittedly is gorgeous with a killer smile - visits often. He’s very nice to hospital staff, and not in that “I’m being fake nice so we get perks” kind of nice, he just genuinely seems like a decent person. You strike up a conversation a few times with him while you’re able. When you’re with his mother when he’s not around, she’s always boasting about him and talking about what a good man he is. And can you believe he’s single?! She’s not so subtly talking him up to you.

One night when you’re short staffed and he notices everyone is working their asses off, he brings in some food for everyone. Literally, everyone working. You’re flabbergasted and kinda call him out like “what’s the catch?” But honestly he was just trying to do a good deed. His mother is so important to him, and he knows how much you’re all taking care of her, and the other patients.

About a week of this and his mother is ready to be released. You’re happy for her health, but you’re admittedly a little sad you won’t be seeing him around anymore. He’d started to be a bright spot in your dreary days, something to look forward to. You wish her all the best and have a lingering goodbye with him.

You think about him quite a lot in the next few weeks, but try to push it from your mind, try to focus on work. You’re told by the admin that some rich people are coming through to tour the building and possibly donate a large amount of money. You’re kinda annoyed because this is a hospital, not a tourist stop, but you’d be glad if they donate. Little do you expect to see Marcus and his mother walk in.

Turns out she’s the queen of some foreign country that had been on a diplomatic visit when she had her health scare. They’d kept her identity hush-hush on purpose to not worry anyone. Marcus is a freaking prince. They both personally thank you for your wonderful care and your company while she was in the hospital. You try to reply but you’re totally tongue-tied. As Anita and some of her people walk away, Marcus pulls you aside.

He asks if he can have your number. He admits he wanted to ask before they left the hospital, before you knew who he was, but he was talked out of it by advisors. He’d been thinking about you since, and he told himself if he saw you on this visit, he’d ask. He promises that it has nothing to do with the donation, and they’ll still be donating if you refuse. He also explains that it’s no picnic dating a prince, but from what he’s seen about how you handle the stresses of your job, he thinks you’d be up to the task. He’s giving you these big brown puppy dog eyes and how can you refuse.

Post with the rules and possible tropes here. Join in the fun!

[boymeetsweevil]

(Welcome to) Camp Lonely Heart

Grouping: Camp Counselor!Reader x Camp Counselor!Taehyung

Word Count: ~15.6k lmao 

Warnings/Themes: walkie talkie sex + masturbation, graphic public sex in a field, descriptions throughout of breast play, 69ing, riding, fingering, creampie sorta, some bullying, some angst, concerned older brother Minho, OC is kinda flaky

Summary: It’s possible to find love in all sorts of places: In bars, in school, on apps. But what about through a walkie talkie?

Part of the Masterlist for Group 2 of the @btssmutclub Summer Project

A/N: sorry its late! tagging @classickei and @chimchurro

A noogie from his older brother is the first thing to welcome Taehyung when he arrives at the admin building for the first weekly counselor meeting. He sits through it patiently because he knows Minho means well and it’s better than those times where he just cups Taehyung’s face tenderly and says absolutely nothing. But this is why he insisted they arrive separately.

With Minho’s arm tossed over his shoulder, Taehyung makes his way into the familiar conference room. Despite the fact that this is his 3rd year as a junior counselor, the fact that the conference hasn’t changed since it was built in the 80’s still surprises him every time. The people inside it change fairly frequently, though. There’s always a steady rotation of counselors for both the boys’ and the girls’ camps on their respective sides of Lake Lonely Heart.

A smattering of people are already seated and chatting amongst themselves before the introductory meeting starts. As more people trickle in, Taehyung acknowledges them from his corner seat. Some veteran staff from the boys’ camp naturally come to his and Minho’s side of the table, greeting Minho mostly.

“How was your trip up, son,” asks one of the senior staff, Cref.

“It was good,” Minho gives a genuine smile up at Cref before giving a pointed look in Taehyung’s direction.

“Oh,” Cref’s eyes dim noticeably, “And how was your trip, Tae?”

“It was fine,” Taehyung’s answer matches Cref’s in its lack of warmth.

“I see you kept that little ponytail thing you had last summer.”

“Yeah.”

“Shame,” Cref huffs before turning to some of the other boys’ staff that arrived while he was talking and gesturing to Taehyung.

“Cref can you really talk when you’ve still got that comb-over?” The comment sends the other boys’ staff who’d been listening into a tizzy and Cref scoffs before turning on them to compensate. Meanwhile, Minho gives Taehyung a covert pat on the back.

None of the girls’ staff seemed to be watching the exchange with the exception of one girl who must be a new hire. Taehyung doesn’t recognize her face from last summer and though she’d been snoring softly when Taehyung first arrived, she looks at some of the jeering boys’ staff with a bit of muted disapproval. The look is brief because almost instantly another one of the counselors near her pulls her into another conversation. The sour tinge her features had disappears and leaves a gentle and open expression on her face as she listens to someone tell her about what to expect with her sleeper cabin.

There’s something nice about her face even though nothing specific jumps out at him as super beautiful or sexy. The soft way she smiles is subtle, almost like the turn of lips could have been a trick of the light. He wants to know what a full-blown smile would look like. Taehyung likes to think that he would have gotten up to talk to her. Eventually. If it weren’t for the camp leader entering the room with the dreaded Talking Stick.

“Alright everyone,” the camp leader shouts energetically, halting all conversations. “Veterans don’t spoil anything. Newbies, one of you raise your hand and tell me what you think this is,” she grins and wiggles the bedazzled stick in a wide circle.

Taehyung sighs and settles back further into his chair, ready to endure yet another round of icebreakers and name learning games.

“Here’s your humble abode for the next few months,” Moe grunts as she pushes the door of the cabin in. She smiles shakily before mumbling something about the paint job being so new that the door wouldn’t budge. A few hits to the door with her shoulder help it swing open.

The cabin looks nearly identical to that of Moe and Moe’s roommates. A pair of bunkbeds sit across the main room from one another. There’s some simple wooden furniture and a nice view of forest on the girls’ side of the lake in the front window by the door. The bathroom has two shower stalls and two sinks. The cabin is clearly made to hold four occupants.

“Are my roommates on their way?”

You walk in and admire the posters on the wall. They must have been left by some other counselor some number of summers ago.

“So, uh, you actually get this whole cabin to yourself.”

“Huh? Like I’ll be sleeping here by myself?”

“Yeah. I know its weird, but it’s not on purpose. The rooming system isn’t the most efficient. People fill the first cabin and then we fill the second one and on and on. When we got your answer, it was late and we’d perfectly filled 3 other cabins before this one. And since your position was the last one we filled before closing the apps, there weren’t any other people after you who could have been placed here.”

You try your hardest not to look too dismayed at your lonesome living situation. But, truthfully, one of the things that made you consider taking the position was the friends you were hoping to make on he job. The job testimonies on the Camp Lonely Hearts website mentioned that some of the best times of being a counselor were the times had in the cabin with coworkers after dark. With you being new to the city and this being the first summer in a long while where you weren’t forcing yourself into a boring 9-to-5, you wanted to take a chance on something inspiring instead. And you really wanted to make friends because city life alone was taking a toll on you. The chance to be a ‘youth leader for the young women and men of Camp Lonely Heart’ seemed like just the right thing.

Now, though, it looked like you would have to work a little harder to make the lasting connections you were expecting to fall into your lap the first night on the grounds.

“I’m sorry sweetheart,” Moe says when some of the bouncy pluck in your shoulders seems to leave you with the sigh you let out. “You’re welcome to bring a sleeping bag and sleepover in cabin 3 any time.”

“Thanks, Moe.” She leaves you to unpack with the slow setting sun.

Everything seems clean enough under your quick inspection. You take over the bathroom with your toiletries and towels. The bunk bed is less uncomfortable than you thought it would be, and there’s an outlet near your little writing desk, so you’re able to plug in and set up your boombox. There’s no wifi at the camp, and while it’s an experience you’re looking forward to, you can’t live in total silence. You did, however, bid all your friends a temporary goodbye on Facebook after explaining where you’d be for the summer.

You switch the boombox onto radio mode and extend the boosted antennae. It picks up a classics station that you unpack to. The job is over quickly given that you only had to pack a few undergarments and pairs of shorts to rotate with the t-shirts that they give to counselors so people don’t confuse some of you with campers.

When boredom starts clawing at the edges of your brain, you snoop through all the little corners and crannies you ignored when you first arrived and were busy with settling in. You don’t find much. You find a shoebox with a bunch of office supplies under the other bunk bed, a supremely large beetle carcass on your window sill, and a solar powered walkie talkie in the bottom drawer of the writing desk.

The walkie talkie obviously is the most intriguing find out of all of your finds, but you don’t see its mate in the cabin. Surprisingly enough, it powers up, but it has a low battery. You fiddle with the channels and mumble a wimpy little ‘anyone there’ into the first one. Figuring that no one is there, you lower it from your ear and move to go make your bed when the device sounds.

“Hello?”

The voice is deep and smooth. You’re so spooked by the response that the walkie talkie slips from your hand and clatters to the floor with a loud clunk. You let out a curse and bend down to pick it up only to find that the transmission was cut off from the impact. With the hopes that you can revive the device, you stick it in the bathroom window where you know it will get the most sun during the day and pray it's not broken.

Before you head to bed early, you go over your schedule and how you’re going to present yourself to the kids the next morning. It takes a while for you to memorize your schedule because your mind is slightly preoccupied,  wondering what the person on the other end must be thinking of your sudden departure.

You were worried that it would take a while to adjust to your position and that the kids would be intimidating, but quickly you realize there was nothing to worry about.

You love your girls more than you could have predicted. They took to you instantly since you were the youngest among the counselors. Even the 17-year-olds, who are the oldest campers there, flocked to you too during parts of the daily schedule that you weren’t leading. Many of the girls in high school would drag you to their table in the mess hall during dinner or the free period before lights out to ask you for school advice and questions about the more mysterious parts of life. It instills in you a strong sense of responsibility that you didn’t think was possible. You didn’t think you’d ever find teenagers endearing.

The camp itself is kind of like a hazy afternoon dream. The nature around you is beautiful and the air is crisp. If you take a 20 minute trek away from the main grounds, you stumble into the camp’s medium sized lavender field. It’s your favorite place to be at any time of the day because the air is thick with the scent of the purple flower. The first time you see it, you’re joining one of the other junior counselors, Jade, to grab some plants for craft time.

“You’re gonna trap flies like that,” Jade gestures to your slack mouth.

“Sorry, sorry. It’s just that we barely even get grass on the sidewalks at my new apartment. And this is...so beautiful.”

You can’t help it really. The sweet scent that had been coating your nose and throat since you were halfway up the trail just increased ten-fold and has stolen the place of your breath.

“Yeah, it has that effect on people. But you get used to it after working here long enough and the smell starts to fade. You might even get a little sick of it.”

You shake your head to clear it and try to fathom the idea of being sick of lavender. The rows of plants are lush, huge, and neat. You walk through the small plowed paths between each bush looking for the most fragrant patch you can find. There’s what looks like a few other counselors from the other side of the lake wandering through some nearby rows, looking for the same thing you are. You tap Jade’s shoulder when their backs are turned to you and whisper.

“They’re from the boys’ camp, right? Do you know those guys? ” Jade turns and squints into the distance before straightening up immediately.

“Oh my god, yeah, that’s Minho. He’s the yoga instructor for the boys.” Her tone takes on a wispy, dreamy quality. “He’s so nice and so cool. And, like, really funny.”

The man in question has on a shockingly bright Tiffany blue t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up to beat the heat. And perhaps showcase his sculpted arms. He looks tall and broad from your vantage point, but he doesn’t seem extraordinary at first glance. Maybe he’s really great once you get to know him.

“What about the other one?” The slightly shorter man with the tiny ponytail and coke-bottle glasses catches your attention more. Even though he’s fairly far away, you can tell he has a nice profile. Jade squints again and hums in thought.

“Mm, I don’t know. I think he’s one of the newer guys. I don’t really remember his spiel from the intro meeting. Do you know him?”

“No,” you give him one last look before squatting down and getting to work. “Just curious.”

***

“—and then move this finger here,” Taehyung nudges one of the camper’s fingers until it’s sure to make the guitar in his hands sing that way he wants. “That’s the last part of the chord. So from there you can play that song we went over in musical hour. Did you take notes?”

“Yeah.” The kid in front of him is probably no more than 16, maybe a baby-faced 17. He looks too nervous for an impromptu guitar review during free time.

“Kook, what’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” Jungkook hangs his head a little in embarrassment. “Just...what if I suck at guitar?”

“Then you suck at guitar,” Taehyung shrugs. “It’s okay to not be good at things. Especially if you’re just learning them for the first time.”

“I know, but I really need to be good at this. I have to be able to learn a song in less than a week by the time camp ends.”

“That can be kind of fast depending on the song. Why do you need to learn songs so quick?”

Jungkook’s round cheeks heat up and he eyes his peers who are playing jacks at one of the dinner tables. “There’s this girl...”

Taehyung hums knowingly and smiles down at the kid. “I see. Did you tell her you could play guitar?”

“How did you know?” Jungkook’s are wide as he eyes Taehyung like he read his mind.

“Just a guess.”

The camper nods. “I told her I’d learn her favorite song and play it for her when she gets back from vacationing with her parents. But I obviously don’t know what I’m doing.”

“Well, I can’t promise you that you’ll become a prodigy before the end of camp, but I’ll let you borrow my guitar every day as long as you promise to practice like you mean it every time.”

“If I do that, do you think I’ll at least be able to learn her song?”

“I’ll personally help you learn the song.” Jungkook’s shoulder relax instantly once he realizes he’s in good hands.

***

“Star, it’ll be fine. Really,” you try your hardest to get the tiny middle schooler to stop shaking without drawing attention to her as you bring her into the admin building. “Once your mom picks up, I’m sure she’ll understand and she’ll bring your hormones over.”

“I know,” Star’s frame shivers with the force of her hiccups, her eyes pink and watery. “But I can’t believe I forgot them at all. She didn’t even wanna let me go because she was worried I’d lose them.”

“But you didn’t lose them, sweetpea. You forgot them. Kinda different.” The little sobs, now intermittent at best, halt as she processes your logic.

You show Star to the telephone used for emergency contact or extreme cases of homesickness before stepping away to let her have some privacy with her mother. In the meantime, you let the borrowed keys of Moe’s truck swing from your fingers while you explore the halls of the admin building.

It feels odd roaming the various wings of the building when you’re not there for your Wednesday morning staff check-ins. The layout isn’t any different from those days, but you rarely get to see the other parts since you usually just make a beeline for the conference room.

The white painted cinder block walls and the linoleum tiles give you flashbacks to your own adolescent days in school. As does the un-ironic use of retro inspirational posters—though you suppose they weren’t retro when they were first put up. A few doors leading to utility closets or other, smaller conference rooms. While hunting for the staff lounge, you find a counselor you recognize from your side of the lake talking covertly with a counselor presumably from the boys’ side. Your roll your eyes when they give a disdainful stare for breaking their private moment and keep snooping.

At the end of the hall is the communal laundry room. The lines for it are usually awful on Wednesdays. You peer in just to see what it is you don’t have to deal with since you have your own unit in your little cabin. In that moment, you catch someone holding up boxers. You recognize them as that Minho guy that all the counselors seemed to have fallen for.

“Did you find any extra detergent, Tae?” He turns to you then and realizes you’re not who he thinks you are and you’re out of there as quickly as possible.

When you get back to the phone, Star is waiting patiently with no more tears and news that her mom will be dropping off her hormones and some homemade fudge.

***

Breakfast is served to the counselors at asscrack od dawn so that they can get the mess hall ready for the campers and complete the first things on the schedule for the day. Usually it's not so bad, but today’s early rise is hard for Taehyung because Minho brought some of the other counselors into their cabin the night before and they didn’t leave until late.

So when Taehyung stumbles into the mess hall looking for pancakes, he hasn’t given any thought to his morning appearance. He fixes his plate and sits across from his brother since the spot next to him is taken by Cref.

Taehyung’s wearing an old t-shirt that’s gone through many of his more experimental phases with clothes. The previously white t-shirt is now a soft apricot color after a night he was practicing with dyes a few years ago and the sleeves are thin in the places he took scissors to the shirt.

“Nice lingerie,” Cref sneers down his nose at Taehyung while he picks at his breakfast meat sleepily. “You know, I think I saw something at the mall a few weeks ago.”

A few of the guys sitting on the side laugh, some even dumbly repeat the joke under their breath as they chuckle into their breakfast.

“Fuck off, Cref.” Taehyung’s sigh comes out deeply tired. More tired than one could be from one night up too late from a noisy roommate’s friends. “It’s too early for this.”

“Yeah, Cref,” Minho pipes up, eyes locked on Taehyung’s sleep-puffy face and messy long hair. “We all know you don’t personally have the ass to pull off anything in a lingerie shop. And you definitely don’t have anyone’s ass to pull them off of either. You just sound sad, man.”

Cref stammers at Minho’s comment, not missing the subtle way the jab went a little deeper than it normally does when the two are just ripping on one another for fun. He admits defeat and sends a little nod in Taehyun’s direction. The same guys who were giggling earlier look on at Minho with some awe and are quick to jump on Cref for his non-existent ass as well.

When Minho kicks him under the table, Taehyung gives him a small thumbs up before taking his now half-eaten plate away to dump.

***

Dinners are normally spent at a table off to the side with the campers because they want to be able to treat you less like an authority figure and more like a wise older sister. But tonight you’re eating with the other counselors because you’re missing adult company. It’s been hard to have any of the bonding moments you were hoping for and there’s not much time during the day to have them when you’re trying to patch up skinned knees and guide macaroni projects.

Even though everyone is friendly enough and does try to make sure you feel included, you can’t help but notice how peripheral you are. After a few weeks, everyone has their designated dinner seat, so you were forced to pull up a chair to eat. Once the plates were cleared, you still felt a little left out. Apparently everyone makes a habit of staying up a little later than you so they can have time to unwind and talk about the day together in the other cabins. Apparently, people even share bunks occasionally so that they can visit non-roommate staff for the night.

You know you’re really not part of the group when the conversation becomes 80% inside jokes and you can’t recognize or understand a single one. The girl next to you attempts to explain the first few, but it slows the conversation down and you can tell that people are losing their patience when a story has to halt for you to catch up on nicknames or events. She stops explaining after the 4th one and you don’t really blame her. Maybe you should have spent dinners with them more. Or maybe you shouldn’t have gone to bed so early; even on the nights where you felt the exhaustion in your bones.

While everyone laughs about something someone said one night earlier in the summer, you construct a mental pros and cons list in your head. You could stick around and try to scrape through every single thing everyone says until you get all the jokes and can understand why random things like the brisket you’re eating is so funny. Or you can accept that you’ll probably have to forge these connections individually and not feel bad about getting well-deserved rest when you need it.

You opt for the latter and genuinely explain to everyone that while you had a nice time, you’re feeling a little fatigued. No one looks like they’ve caught on, but no one looks too upset to see you go either. The conversation continues to flow as you leave the dining hall, no need to fill the space you left because you didn’t really leave one. The walk from the mess hall to your cabin is short and brisk and you feel as though you’re not sure you made the right choice. You hope sleep will clear your head.

But before you get to the little fork in the foot trail that separates the other cabins from yours, you get struck with a current of rebellion. If you’re going to be lonely, you might as well make the solo time as fun as possible. So you sneak behind one of the cabins, searching for the cooler you know is wedged under the raised foundation. The first night there, someone showed you the booze that they brought in behind the camp leader’s back during the strict luggage inspection. If you recall correctly, you remember this girl saying that her boyfriend drives up during the weekly meetings and drops off new cases of beers for her to scoop up under the guise of a “bathroom break”.

When you open the cooler, there’s several 40s sitting in a bath of ice. It’s not your drink of choice, but beggars can’t be choosers. You take two for good measure and skip off to go drink on your porch with the radio blaring from inside the cabin.

***

“Tae, come on. You haven’t pulled your trunks out once since we got here.”

Minho whines fairly well for someone of his stature and it’s convincing enough with the pouty lips and the puppy eyes that Taehyung really does consider it. ‘It’ being swapping his pajamas for some board shorts and heading out to the lake for a night swim. Apparently the water will be refreshing in the thick and heavy heat in the night air. One of the other counselors had promised a smuggled beer, but Taehyung isn’t really interested in tempting fate.

“I don’t think I’m up for it,” Taehyung says while pushing Minho out the front door of their cabin. His biggest fans Jay and Dan are waiting outside and groan when Minho turns back again.

“You sure you don’t want to come? Maybe you’ll end up having fun. You never know.”

Jay whispers to Dan then. “I don’t know why he’s always so obsessed with bringing him around to stuff. It’s not like he adds anything to the mood, you know?”

It’s loud enough for Taehyung to hear, though he doesn’t think it was supposed to be heard. Minho instantly shoves Jay into Dan, who both go stumbling off the steps of the cabin porch. A moment later his eyes admit defeat and he pats Taehyung’s shoulder.

“Do you want company? I can stay in and you can, like, teach me the color wheel again.”

“Really, it’s fine. I’m gonna do some reading. I brought a few books that I’ve been wanting to crack open. And I’m kinda tired. Don’t worry about me.”

***

By the time you’ve finished half of your second bottle, you’ve migrated back into your cabin. Drunk-you is a little paranoid and worried that the camp leader will show up out of nowhere and see you intoxicated. Although, as you flop onto your bed, you’re not sure that’s such a bad thing. At least then you’d have company, you muse.

The bottle hangs from your lax fingers and you take a look at your surroundings. The screen door is facing out towards the lake and the view shows that the boys’ side of the camp is still awake with the lights from their own cabins shining like small beacons back at you. Then you look back and there’s the four walls of wood. You wonder briefly if its pine or oak before realizing you’re a little too drunk if you’re trying to distinguish between types of lumber. You do appreciate the wood’s warm tone and the natural striations that add some intrigue to the otherwise bland walls. If it weren’t for the abandoned Kiki’s Delivery Service poster on one wall facing your bed, you might think you were in a wooden version of solitary confinement.

Your head turns to rest more comfortably on your pillow and you gaze up at the little writing desk below the window that faces the woods behind the cabin. A little blurry shadow obscures some of the view of the forest and you sit up to see it better. It’s the little walkie talkie you discovered on the first day.

Drunkenness and boredom compel you to leave the softness of your mattress and stumble over to the window. The walkie talkie spent several weeks in the sun, so you figure it can’t be out of battery. You also figure it can’t have actually been destroyed from the meter it fell from your hand to the floor that one day. So you flip the power switch with blind hope and squeal excitedly when it turns on. Pressing the ‘talk’ button, you hop around the main room of the cabin and hum into the first channel. The song you’re singing is a broken version of a tune your grandfather used to always have floating in the air of his house from his record player. The melody sloshes together at certain points like the contents of the bottle you continue to take generous swigs from.

***

Taehyung’s reading in his bed, trying to tune out the sounds of distant splashing and shouting coming from his co-counselors by the lakeside. When he picks up the sound of sloppy singing, he wonders if Minho has come back to the cabin for a towel or to try to convince him to come back out again. But the door of the cabin doesn’t swing open. Taehyung is confused for about 5 more seconds before he’s eyeing the dark space under his bed suspiciously. There, underneath a sheet that fell down the crack between the mattress and the bed, is the walkie talkie that’s been collecting dust since the night before the camp session started.

He shifts an arm down behind the bed and disentangles the device from the sheets and dust bunnies. Sure enough, the broken lilting of the soft tune is coming from the walkie talkie. To say he’s surprised is an understatement. A few weeks prior, he’d turned on the walkie talkie by accident and a moment later someone’s voice sparked from the speaker. He was intrigued enough by the voice to leave the device on during the day, charging it often in case whoever was on the other side would want to tune in again.

Now, the fog of sleep rises to make room for this little mystery. He doesn’t try to speak just yet. Instead, he lets your voice continue your rendition of a few songs mashed into one from a famous jazz album. When your voice putters out because you forget where the rest of the tune’s trail leads, Taehyung smiles to himself.

“I really—hic—wish someone was there,” your whisper crackles through the speaker.

He worries a bit about scaring you off again, but the urge to speak outweighs the worry. He holds the device up to his mouth hesitantly. “Someone is.”

“Oh.” You don’t seem nearly as startled as you were last time he spoke up. “The void speaks.”

“Believe it or not, I’m not the void.”

“Well,” you hiccup more into the walkie talkie and the sound is funny and tiny. “I suppose you’re not if you say you’re not. But who’s to say the void isn’t just a consciousness trapped in a reality that won’t answer back.”

“Wow. Do you normally philosophize in the midnight hour while drinking?”

The sound of you taking a large swig from your 40 washes into his side. “How did you know I’ve been drinking?”

“Call it a hunch,” he grins up at the slats of the mattress above his own.

“Well, what are—what are you doing?”

“Me?” For some reason the question takes him by surprise. “I’m just reading.”

“Reading what?”

“N-nothing.” He stares down at the book he was reading. “It’s just an art book.”

“What kind of art?”

“Uh, Van Gogh,” he trails off, waiting for your reaction.”Van Gogh’s art.”

“Oh, that kid. Nice one.” You let out a burp, but otherwise sound completely serious.

Taehyung can’t help the laughter that takes over him. It’s not that your reaction was stupid, but it was so unexpected and nonchalantly ridiculous that his brain can only react with laughter. You grumble at him through the speaker, but don’t actually take offense. He laughs for so long that you’re silent on the other line when he finally calms down.

“Sorry,” he wipes at his eyes, “I didn’t mean to laugh at you like that. I just...I’ve never heard anyone do something like that.”

“‘s okay,” your shrug is practically audible.

“Hey, you’re not a camper from the girls’ side, are you?”

“Are you asking if I’m one of Camp Lonely Hearts’ young women?” Your voice takes on a strange lisp in attempt to sound hauty.

“Yes?”

“Well, sadly I’m not. I’m a counselor over there, though.”

“I think this is the first time I’ve talked with one of you guys this whole summer.”

Back in your cabin, you have the walkie talkie resting against your ear after having fallen back into bed. Your feet are at the wrong end of the mattress, but you don’t care because the sound of the deep voice on your little radio is soothing and pairs well with your beer exhaustion.

“Mmm, me too.”

Your breathing slows and evens out, lengthening in Taehyung’s ear. He lays the walkie talkie down then, realizing that you’re probably on the verge of falling asleep. From the sound of it, you probably fell asleep with the ‘talk’ button still activated. He switches his walkie talkie off after mumbling an awkward ‘goodnight’ and lays the device down on the ground near his bed. He falls asleep quickly that night.

*** After waking up slightly hungover but not hungover enough to be without memory of the night before, you panicked.

Whoever this mystery person was on the other end of the walkie talkie, you had babbled dark philosophical nonsense at them for a good five minutes before doing who knows what else. You were so embarrassed you could hardly swallow down the overlooked eggs they served you for breakfast that morning. Being on kitchen duty didn’t help the upset stomach. You felt nauseated by your dopey antics and the smells of the meat and eggs you were frying for the campers’ breakfast.

The only thing that settled your stomach was the resolute plan you made to apologize to the mystery person over your lunch break. You hoped to all that was good in the world that the other person wasn’t a camper that was so scarred by your actions that they already reported you to the camp leader. Although, something about their tone when they asked you if you were a camper the night before made you think they were a counselor like you. It was the nerves and the hint of disappointment that even drunk-you picked up on. Nerves and disappointment about what, though?

With all your musing, you’re spaced out during physical education period and get brained by a volleyball. It’s actually a blessing in disguise because it means you get sent home and don’t have to work the dinner shift. The walk back to your cabin is full of you patting the tender skin of the back of your head while you practice your explanation for why your dignity is still actually intact and why you’re not as weird as you may have seemed last night.

But when you get back to your cabin, you find that you’re more nervous of the idea that no one picks up than the idea that they do pick up to give you a piece of their mind. Still, you switch the device on because you want to explain yourself. The first channel crackles to life again and you press the ‘talk’ button.

***

“I’m telling you, if these kids would just put their phones down, their spinal alignment would be so much better. You ever looked at their little shoulders? They looks like fucking mole hills. Makes me wanna cry.”

Minho is trying as best he can to remain still despite how much the topic of young people’s posture riles him up. Taehyung appreciates the effort, though, as it makes Minho’s silhouette much easier to capture on his canvas. On nights when there isn’t much to do, Taehyung takes out his paints and sometimes gets his older brother to be his model. In exchange, Minho gets to rant to a whole person about the dangers of office chairs on the coccyx or whatever the sexy new topics are in his chiropractors' digest.

Tonight is one of those nights and Taehyung’s managed to fill the canvas with three different poses and has also learned why he shouldn’t ever cross his legs for extended periods of time or diss nursing shoes until he’s tried them. But before he can ask Minho to find another position to hold, the walkie talkie by the foot of his bed fires up; on from when he turned it on as soon as he got back into his cabin for the day.

“Hello? It’s me,” your voice calls tentatively out into the air.

“Ooooh, who’s that?” Minho’s eyes turn into little semi circles as he grins at Taehyung. The mocking coos are inaudible to you because Taehyung hasn’t pressed the ‘talk’ button and he’s glad for that too. He quickly flips Minho the bird before scooping up the little device and leaving to sit on the porch.

Time stretches thin as you wait for an answer. The seconds are long. Long enough that your face is hot with unnamed shame and you’re reaching to switch the device off when—

“Hey. Sorry about the delay.”

“Hey!” You pull back automatically before remembering you’re the one who initiated the call. No backing down now. “So, I’m—I’m sure you remember the other night.”

“I do,” he snickers and recalls the way you’d bumbled around verbally. “Are you back for a repeat performance?”

“Uh, no. I actually wanted to apologize for being so weird yesterday. I was kinda drunk and I didn’t think about the fact that I might be bothering someone by turning this thing on and talking into it.”

“You didn’t bother me.”

“I didn’t?” You were just about to venture into the next part of your prepared speech, but now that you don’t need to, you’re at a loss for words. “That’s...good to hear. Are you sure? I can be kind of a lot when I’m drunk.”

“I really didn’t mind. It was a nice change from—I mean, it was funny. And nice.”

“Nice? I can’t remember the last time someone said I was nice.” The laugh behind your voice is subtle, but it sweetens the tone of your already pleasant words until Taehyung is smiling again.

“Glad to be of service, then,” he shoves a hand in his pocket.

“You sound nice too,” you blurt out. The sound of your feet hitting the floor in a little dance of embarrassment are thankfully too soft to reach Taehyung’s ears. “I mean—”

“Thanks. So,” he clears his throat softly, “do you like jazz?”

From that night on, you and Taehyung begin talking with one another via walkie talkie. Every night, a few hours before sunset, one of you will send out a little message to the other. Nearly like clockwork. Nearly because there are some nights where the conversation gets put on the back burner. Those were unusual nights, though. On one of those nights, the older counselors wanted to host an ABBA karaoke night with some of the older campers in the dining commons and you couldn’t miss it because 1) the 17-year-olds really like you, and 2) you can completely body an ABBA song despite the fact that you were never an avid fan growing up. Another one of those nights Taehyung couldn’t make it because Minho dragged him out of the room to play flashlight tag in the woods. He didn’t even have time to change out of his paint-stained shirt, much less shoot you a quick warning about not being able to talk. Although you didn’t like being left hanging, when he explained why he was busy the following night, you completely understood. Because, really, how often does an adult flashlight tag opportunity come up?

Even still—on nights like those you both miss each other’s voices.

99% of the time, though, you both make time for talking with one another. When you both are in, you talk about anything and everything. From family and life outside the camp to joke competitions that have Minho snorting to himself from under the covers even though he’s supposed to be asleep. The number of movie and book recommendations you’ve swapped only to find out that the other person was a fan is almost too high to not make you wonder if you’re actually stuck in some cliché young adult summer novel.

These days Taehyung’s cheeks hurt from smiling so much. Usually he doodles what he thinks you could look like in his Moleskin while ignoring Minho’s weird soft looks or wiggly eyebrows. Sometimes he’s not up for sharing his cool new digital pal with his brother and he’ll migrate outside, to the back of the cabin, and endure the bugs so he can enjoy your voice in peace. The only downside is that Minho won’t let him live it down. The countless jokes about his new lady friend only get worse when Minho slips up one breakfast and lets all the other counselors know that Taehyung’s been avoiding the group to talk to you. The raucous applause was one thing, but Cref’s fake pride that Taehyung managed to capture female attention was enough to have him kicking Minho under the table for his indiscretion. But it wasn’t all that bad.

You’re fairly content with the way things are as well. You’ve managed to get your boombox radio to play a local ‘best of’ jazz station and it reminds you of your myste when you’re not talking with him. It's only until you catch yourself trying to recall Taehyung’s appearance that you realize what you’re missing. That is, you don’t know what he looks like and that makes you feel odd. In theory, people don’t need to know what their friends look like. Pen pals and mutuals on social media sites don’t always know what their internet friends look like and still manage to talk for years and feel a real sense of closeness. But you keep wondering. Is he tall, is he brunet, is he pretty?

The thought keeps plaguing you until one day the question just tumbles out of your mouth. It’s a Tuesday, and you’re getting ready for bed because you have to be up earlier on Wednesdays for the weekly meetings. Taehyung had just been telling you about a flip that the arts director did that morning off the pier. It was a grisly story of broken legs and nose bleeds and how Taehyung  became both the arts and music counselor until further notice. You’d been trying to listen diligently but you couldn’t help drifting off. You’re trying to picture Taehyung’s face solely off the timber of his voice when that same voice blares a little louder than normal in your ear.

“Yo, did you fall asleep on something?”

“How tall are you?”

“Uh,” is all you get back from him. And it’s honestly an appropriate response to such a blunt change of subject.

“Sorry, that was kinda rude of me. It’s just that I realized that you’re probably the closest person to me in this whole camp and we’re not even on the same side of the lake...I just realized I don’t even know your name. And I definitely wouldn’t be able to pick you out in a crowd.”

“That’s—that’s true,” he gnaws thoughtfully on his lip and Minho raises his surprised and bespectacled gaze from a physical rehabilitation manual. “I’m Taehyung.”

He’s not sure how he managed to spend weeks talking with you nearly every night only to never ask for your name. When he was alert and talking with you, he felt no gaps, he didn’t even think to ask. But, Taehyung thinks, maybe the thought came to him when he was on the fuzzy border of sleep and wakefulness. When he was most open and sometimes the yearning slipped out. He doesn’t say any of that to you, of course. He just listens to you reply with your own name and repeats it to you until you’re praising him for the way it sounds on his tongue. Minho makes fun of him and whispers your name in a squeaky voice that’s supposed to be Taehyung’s.

“I like your name,” you chirp. You’re so happy to have one more piece to the puzzle that is Taehyung that you almost forget your original question. “So, Taehyung, what do you look like.”

“I’m 5’10.5,” he starts. “And I have...blond hair. All my friends tell me I have a perfect face–”

“Is that so?”

“–and a great chest-to-waist ratio. I don’t wear makeup, b-but if I did my MAC shade would be NW30.” Minho narrows his eyes at Taehyung, but the younger man simply turns away.

“That’s nice?” You sound a bit baffled by the description as well, but you try to take it in stride and picture it.

The resulting image in your mind isn’t exactly what you expected, but you guess you can’t be surprised that he looked different from how you imagined when you didn’t even know his name. You rattle off your own appearance, though not quite so awkwardly. When you’re finished, you wonder what he imagines with the description you gave. What does he think, you wonder. Do I sound nice?

Taehyung, on the other hand, realizes instantly who you are. You’re the girl that was falling asleep during the first meeting. He remembers watching your head lolling back and forth during the icebreaker and trying to contain his laughter when the camp leader shouted loud enough to wake you. He remembers your boisterous laughter at the third weekly meeting when someone thought it would be funny to round up 5 squirrels and release them into the conference room to watch the mayhem unfold. If he’s being honest, he’s actually more excited with the connection he’s made now. He’s glad it’s you. It makes sense.

“Well, I guess this will make tomorrow’s meeting a little more fun, right?”

“Huh,” he snaps out of deep thought. “Why?”

“Because now we can talk to each other in person.” Your voice is brimming with excitement and it’s easy to hear even through the half mile of distance and the static-y connection. “I’ll be able to find you now.”

“Yeah,” his voice trails off guiltily but you don’t catch onto it because you’re busy smoothing out your sheets.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Taehyung,” you bid him goodnight with extra giddy emphasis on his name now that you can actually use it. It’s cute and should probably bring a smile to his face, but as he turns off the device, he can only purse his lips in frustration.

The sounds of sheets rustling remind him of his brother’s presence and he lets out a sigh, waiting for the lecture that’s about to come.

“So,” Minho begins slowly, “How come the person you described was cousin Jin when she asked you what you looked like?”

“In my defense, I...”

“In your defense, what? I’m really curious about what your explanation is.”

“I didn’t want her to be disappointed. And no one’s ever been disappointed by Jin’s looks, so when I got nervous I just gave her his greatest hits.”

“I heard. The foundation thing was a little much.”

“Yeah,” he sighs.

“Why do you think she would be disappointed?”

“I don’t know. I guess if for some reason the appearance stuff was important to her, I thought it made sense not to leave things to chance. In case that would mess things up.”

“But what if, to her, lying is even worse than having an ‘ugly’ friend,” Minho asks with air quotes included.

“Then...I fucked up big time.” Taehyung holds his head in his hands for a few minutes before eventually looking up helplessly. “But I didn’t do it to spite her or anything.”

“Did you really just do it because you thought she would be disappointed? She doesn’t sound that shallow to me, and I don’t know her like you do.”

“Yes and no,” he groans and tosses himself onto the mattress. “I mean, I wanted to seem good in her eyes. Someone she might...like?”

“Someone she might like? She does like you.”

“Someone she might,” Taehyung eyes Minho softly, “want to be with.”

“Ah,” he nods sagely. “So it’s like that.”

“It’s like that.”

“Then you know what you need to do.”

“Yeah. I’ll tell her tomorrow. During the meeting.”

***

Taehyung figures that the idea of preserving his friendship with you being so important will make confessing his lie to you super easy. But when he lumbers into the meeting room the following morning at 6:30, the nerves take over. He grows silent. He stays silent when you come in looking too chipper for a normal morning meeting. And when you spend the majority of the meeting studying the face of every counselor from the boys’ side of the camp, looking for the man described to you on the phone yesterday and not finding him. And when the meeting officially adjourned and you’re standing around hoping for some sort of explanation. Silent when he eventually slips out while Minho is in the bathroom and someone has started chatting you up.

He knows that eventually he’ll have to face you—figuratively speaking. The floor will probably have a trench plowed into it from where he paces the area in front of his bunk anxiously. Sundown is soon and normally you’d be tuning in at this time to see what his plans are for the night and talk about each other’s days. But as the minutes tick by, his walkie talkie stays quiet. Minho pins him with an expectant look before mumbling something about going to go hang out in someone else’s cabin. Maybe he thought Taehyung would benefit from the privacy, but the empty space on the other side of the room just makes him more aware of how the ball is in his—and only his—court. He picks up the walkie talkie and presses the ‘talk’ button.

“You there?” When he gets no response at first, he presses again. This time, he just calls your name pleadingly. Surprisingly, you pick up.

“Is this Taehyung?”

“What? Yes, who else—”

“Or maybe this is Mr. tiny waist dorito face SPF 30. Can’t tell who’s who these days.”

He ducks his head. The smile in his voice is self-deprecating. “It’s me. Taehyung.”

“What can I help you with this evening?” Your voice is sharper than it normally is, but subtly so. He almost wants you to just yell at him instead.

“I just wanted to say sorry.”

“For friend-catfishing me?”

“Yes. For lying and for not coming clean at the meeting when I first saw you.”

“Why didn’t you say anything at the meeting,” your voice wavers a bit, traitorous in the way it shakes. “I was looking for you.”

“I know. I really was gonna tell you. You can ask Minho. But I just got scared all of the sudden. Like as soon as you saw me, you’d regret the decision to ever talk with me.”

“Tae, I wouldn’t do that. I really...I care for you. Something like that doesn’t just go away because what you pictured in your head isn’t 100% reality.”

Your words are simple, but he feels comfort from them. The grip he had on the plastic of the walkie talkie loosens significantly and he lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

“I still haven’t been completely honest with you, yet.”

“What is it now. Do you even work here?”

“No, no,” he chuckles and the sound drives you to chew on your thumb. “When you asked me what I looked like that night, I described my cousin to you.”

“Yes, ok, we’ve established that you’re not really Mr. Dorito head. What else is there,Taehyung, you’re making me nervous.”

“Hear me out.” You huff but otherwise settle for tapping your foot rapidly to channel the nerves productively. “I told you that I did that because I thought you wouldn’t want to be friends with me. But that’s not the only reason.”

“Okay,” you trail off.

“I did it because I thought maybe if you thought I was handsome, it would make it easier for you to, uh, return the feelings I have for you. I...like you. In a like-like way.”

“I see.”

Now it’s your turn to stretch the pause out until Taehyung’s fisting tufts of his hair in his free hand. The walkie talkie is probably going to leave a red imprint on his face from how hard he’s pressing it to his cheek, but he doesn’t even register the discomfort.

“I really don’t like that you lied to me,” you begin. “But, since I really like-like you, you can be on probation.”

The sound of exaggerated gagging sounds from the entryway of the cabin where Minho has been eavesdropping for the last five minutes. Taehyung doesn’t even bother to chastise his older brother for getting into his business and instead lets laughter bubble passed his lips.

Not too much changed after the night you both confessed to one another. Supposedly that’s a sign that you had a good foundation for your romantic relationship. But there are little changes and they’re noticeable. Much to Minho’s chagrin.

Most notably to everyone involved, since that night, the tone of the walkie talkie conversations shifted. Now your voices have become a little more hushed and Taehyung absolutely refuses to pick up the device unless he’s alone, whining until Minho leaves the cabin or is truly asleep. If the talks go on late enough, midnight moonlight lays a forlorn, whispered feel over you both and things become a competition for who can be the mushiest. The air is made of breathy laughs that bleed into sighs and unironic use of ‘No, you hang up first’. It’s all so rosy and the happiness you feel starts to stain your cheeks and smile. The other counselors notice too. A few give you meaningful looks like they’ve caught on. Moe, especially, looks proud to see that the dour cloud that was hovering over you has dissipated some. Others don’t quite have it right. They ask you if you’ve been sneaking weed into the camp. You don’t give up your secret for either of them. Mainly because you could face disciplinary action, but also because you don’t want the next time there’s a meeting to be turned into a spectacle. It’s not lost on you that you still don’t know what Taehyung looks like. But you were being sincere when you said that you didn’t need that to care for him.

Still, the curiosity wears on the edges of your consciousness every now and then. You can’t quite ignore the idea that you guys are sort of dating—that you may have a boyfriend at the end of this summer—and you still can’t tell when you’re in a room with him. Despite this, you feel a visceral attraction to him growing from what was a gentle simmer to a boil the longer you exchange pillow talk with him. At the right moments of the night, your hands itch to feel the solid weight of him, of any part of him. To have something other than the intangible rasp of his voice when he spills his feelings to you over the walkie talkie.

***

The Sunday night before the last week of camp finds you, of course, on the walkie talkie. Unlike all the previous conversations, there’s a bittersweetness that you’re trying to swallow down. You’ll both be busy with preparations for the end of the summer festival where both sides of the camp meet—this year on the girls’ side of the lake—to celebrate a summer well spent. This means you won’t have the time or the energy to talk to one another before the big day. If it wasn’t for the fact that you still hadn’t met up properly, you wouldn’t be bemoaning the brief absence so much. But with the end of the camp session rapidly approaching, questions linger in the air. It’s not clear what happens to what you have with Taehyung once you’re not close enough to use walkie talkies to talk with one another every night. So you cherish every minute you get with the man, even if its just his voice.

“I wish we could just keep talking forever,” you whine half into your pillow, half into the balmy night air. You’re trying your best to combat the heat with your sheets kicked down to your ankles and your lightest sleep clothes on. The tone you use is one you might normally be a little ashamed of, but you’re feeling extra needy.

“I wish we could have worked on the same side of the lake,” Taehyung counters after a quick glance toward Minho’s bed. Still unmade and empty because the man in question went to go smoke on the dock. “This whole separating the camp for the kids’ sake is dumb sometimes.”

“Yeah. I wish I could’ve seen you teaching songs to the kids on the guitar.”

“I wish I could see your face while you listen to the songs I rec’d you.”

“And I wish I could see your paintings.” Taehyung turns back to see the canvas he’d filled yesterday with paint swatches, trying to remember the exact hue of your skin from the first meeting in which he knew you were you.

“I wish we could just see each other.”

“Me too.”

“And touch each other.”

Your mouth drops open wide. He’s been flirty in his own way, but never so outright.

“Oh my god, Taehyung, are you drunk?”

“I don’t drink,” he replies simply. Your cheeks feel too warm and you have to pat you face to give yourself a semblance of control.

It’s not that you haven’t entertained the idea of being intimate with Taehyung, but it was a bit difficult when you still couldn’t match a face to his name. Perhaps that was just a ‘you’-issue, but it frustrates you and, until now, kept you from getting very far with your fantasies. But with his voice in your ear that night, you think maybe you could get there. Already your skin is taking on a feverish heat, sweat starting to prick certain areas.

“What would you do if we could. H-how would you start?”

He palms himself deftly over his shorts and lets his eyes fall shut in indulgence. “Are you in bed?”

“Yes.” Your breath is bated. A hand trails down the top you’re wearing to lift the hem up, exposing the dewy skin of your torso. You pick at the elastic waistband playfully, eager to hear what Taehyung’s plans are for you.

“What are you wearing?”

It’s a benign question, but it still speeds up your heartbeat. His voice is somehow silken in its depth while tugging raggedly at something inside you.

“Um. I’m wearing a camisole and some shorts.”

He hums appreciatively. “Well, first, I’d take off your top. I’d pull the straps off and push the rest down slowly. I’d kiss your neck and your skin all over. Until I get to your breasts.”

Your fingers slide under your shorts to find the crotch of your panties. A growing wet spot greets the searching pads of your fingers. “And then what?”

“Easy, easy.” He smirks. “I’d take my time on you. I bet they’d feel so nice in my hands. Probably soft and warm. I’d put my mouth on them, lick them, suck on them. I’d pinch your nipples until they’re hard and you’re moaning.” Sure enough, a moan floats up through the speaker on Taehyung’s end. “Then I’d kiss your stomach and your hips and then I’d get your shorts off. Are you wearing panties?”

“I am, yeah.”

“Shame,” he pouts. “I’d take those off too. I’d kiss your thighs and then I’d kneel between your legs and I’d taste you. Get you all over my tongue.” His erection throbs with the image and he has to squeeze himself at the base to keep his cool. With his words momentarily halted, you jump in.

“All that sounds nice, but I think I’d like you under me more.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. I want you on your back on the bed and I want you naked. And then I want to sit on your face. I wanna grind on your mouth for a bit and then I want to get you in my mouth too.” His breath hitches sharply in your ear. From the sound of it, he’s stroking himself slowly and leaning on and off the ‘talk’ button. “I want to feel you in my throat. I want to gag around you while I stroke you.”

Taehyung’s whines are high as he fights the urge to fuck into his hand quickly and chase the high he feels pulsing under his skin. “Are you—ngh—are you touching yourself?”

“Yes, but I wish it was you. I’ve got my fingers inside, but it’s not enough when I could have you do it. I want you to stretch me out. I wanna ride you after. I’m gonna ride you one day for real.”

“Can’t wait for that day,” he sighs, tossing his head back.

Taehyung spits into his hand to aid the glide. His hand moves quickly over his length, under the fabric of his bottoms. The slick sounds show up in the background noise of your cabin, egging you on. You bring your fingers to the apex of your lips and ghost them over your swollen clit. The first touch has so much anticipation behind it and has your back bowing off the mattress. Like a feedback loop, your moans set Taehyung’s hand in action and trigger his groans, which bring trickle after trickle of arousal down to wet your hand.

“I bet you’d feel so good. You sound so wet, god. You’d probably squeeze my dick so tight and good.”

“What would you do,” you gasp into the little radio, rolling a nipple under your satiny top. “Tell me what you’d do while I sit on your face.”

“I’d fuck you with my t-tongue. And I’d give some attention to your ass. It would probably look so good from where you’d be sitting. Bouncing on me while I fuck your mouth.”

“Fuck, Tae. I want you so bad.”

“I know,” he hisses through gritted teeth. “Add another finger for me and play with your clit with your other hand. I want to hear you come. Be loud for me.”

“I’m so close. I’m—”

As soon as you heed his instructions and add another finger, you’re able to re-angle your hand and hit a sensitive spot along your walls. The sudden onslaught of pleasure makes your volume increase by double. Taehyung’s erection jumps at the sound of your orgasm.

“Did you come?”

Your heaving breaths through the speaker are answer enough. He soldiers through, trying to catch up to you. So you help him along.

“If I were with you, I’d hold your dick right on my tongue so I can taste all of it when you come. Or maybe you want to come inside me. To fill me up and get me all sticky?”

“Fuck,” he grunts one, twice and then his mouth drops open as he spurts over his hand. The thick white of his orgasm leaks through the gaps of his fingers to make a mess. His body tenses with a few of the aftershocks before he flops bonelessly into his pillow. “I can’t feel my toes.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to walk for a while either.”

Taehyung pouts up at the top bunk. “If we were on the same side of the lake, we could have just done this in the same bed. Then at least we’d be immobile together.”

“How romantic.”

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with taking a lazy day off.”

“Maybe not normally. But with the festival coming up, I don’t think we really have that choice.”

“That’s true.”

“But,” the smile is audible in your voice, coy in its sing-song tone. “The next meeting is coming up soon. And we can maybe see each other there.”

“Yeah, we can.” Sleepiness makes his eyelids heavy, but he fights it as best we can. “I wanna see you so bad. Wanna hold you.”

“We can be really brave and hug in the parking lot outside the admin building.”

“I’d swim across the lake if it meant that was the fastest way to see you.”

“Aww. You’re such a sap when you come.”

“Only for you,” he mumbles. His cheek presses into his pillow as he loses his battle against sleep.

By the time Wednesday rolls around, you’ve been swamped with preparations for the festival. When you’re not busy avoiding paper cuts while designing decorations for the mess hall, you’re fighting off campers who want you to spoil the movie that the boys have chosen for the group as a whole to watch together. You go to bed at night without word from Taehyung, but you’re too tired and too familiar with the work he’s most likely doing to feel upset about it.

You’re so busy and your mind is so full that you don’t even realize that you should be looking for Taehyung when you go to sit down in the conference room. It’s only when you’re zoning out while the camp leader gets progress reports from the boys’ side that you realize you haven’t heard his voice in several days and you’re still not hearing it during the meeting. So you tap your fingers and wait for the meeting to adjourn. And as soon as it does, you make a beeline for Minho. Despite never having spoken with him directly, you’ve heard enough about him in and out of meetings to know what he looks like. Though, even if you hadn’t heard anything from your fellow counselors, you’d heard enough about him from Taehyung. If you listen carefully, you can almost hear similarities in the way that he and Taehyung talk. You suppose that’s what happens with siblings.

“Hi,” you greet him when there’s a lull in the conversation between him and some older counselor from the boys’ side.

“Hi, yourself.” Minho’s eyes widen as he registers your voice. It’s the only part of you he has direct experience with, but he has quite a lot of experience with it. He takes in your appearance with a grin, happy to finally meet the person who’s ensnared his baby brother’s affections.

“We’ve never met before, but my name is—”

“I know who you are. I hear Taehyung talk on the phone with you every night.”

“E-every night? Like even Sunday night?”

“Uhh,” his eyebrows raise at the sudden question. “No, actually. Not Sunday night. I was staying at someone else’s cabin. Why?”

“No reason. Listen, I just wanted to ask you if you knew where Tae was. I was planning on finally meeting with him face to face, but that...didn’t happen. And there’s not much time left.”

“I mean, there’s always after the summer. You both live in the city.”

You give him a non-committal noise that he doesn’t really like the sound of, but he doesn’t say anything. He’s not about to butt into his brother’s relationship just because he’s older. Even if it seems like you’re maybe not on the same page about what happens after camp ends.

“Well, he’s not pulling another fast one on you if that’s what you’re worried about. He told me not to tell you, but he got sick off bonfire weenies last night. So he’s probably still at home shitting his pants while he makes banners for the festival.”

“Thanks for that.” You blink away the image Minho’s words bring up and focus on the task at hand. “So I guess I probably won’t see him until the actual day of, then.”

“Probably. Since he’s covering the old art director’s tasks in addition to the musical stuff, he’s pretty swamped and this hot dog thing might set him back a bit. He definitely wants to see you, though.”

Minho tries his best again not to overstep and reveal too much. Not about the rampant diarrhea, but about the way Taehyung’s been scribbling frantically in notebooks for tasks that weren’t assigned to him for the fest. Nor does he tell you about the 3 a.m. guitar sessions. Or the tender way he sees Taehyung pick up the walkie talkie sometimes, holding it in his hand as thoughtfully as someone can when running on 5 hours of sleep.

                                                    (Festival Day)

“Come on, we’re gonna miss the concert!”

A camper pulls you by the wrist from the small station where face painting was being held to the center of the makeshift festival grounds where a stage has been set up.

People have been pulling you around since the wee hours of the morning. By now you’re used to just letting your body follow the person pulling you, but the slight twinge in your wrist is starting to worry you. You replace your wrist with your hand and the camper merely pulls you along harder. There’s already a large amount of campers and counselors from both sides of the lake surrounding the stage where some performances are about to take place. Somehow the 11-year-old holding your hand manages to weave you both through the bodies until you’re only a few feet from the platform.

After a juggling act done by two of your favorite campers, a lovely comedy routine where Moe roasted her ex-husband Cref, and a trio of high school yo-yo experts, the prep for the final performance begins. Apparently, Camp Lonely Heart had an anthem that all the campers learned in their music periods so they could all sing together during the final days of the summer. Since you were never present for the music sessions, you didn’t really know there was a song. Luckily for you, Jade gave you a sheet with the lyrics printed on them earlier that morning. You didn’t have any time to memorize them, but you got a good look and they seemed like pretty typical camp lyrics.

You spot Minho making his way to the front of the stage easily. He’s got a small glittery sign that says “That’s my little brother” and a few of the guys around him snicker when he waves it at the counselor and camper on stage. The words on the sign are slow to register with you, so it takes a moment for you to put two and two together to get Taehyung. But you do. And when you do, all you can hear is your own blood rushing in your ears and all you can see is him.

He’s seated with a guitar resting casually in his lap. His hair is long. Longer than you imagined it would be. It’s also lighter than you thought it would be based solely off Minho’s own dark chestnut locks. He’s handsome, though. With the honeyed skin and the large, expressive eyes behind vintage frames to offset the manly geometry of his other features. The young boy next to him on stage must say something nice or cute, because his whole face lights up. You marvel at the boxy shape of his mouth while he laughs.

In the background noise, you hear the camper, Jungkook, make a little speech about this summer and camaraderie and how long it took for him and Taehyung to prepare this original arrangement of the Camp Lonely Heart anthem you’re about to hear. But it all sort of washes in one ear and out the other. Instead you’re watching Taehyung bounce his foot with pre-show nerves and smile occasionally at what the other counselor says. Then he’s being handed the mic and he’s looking out into the audience. You lock eyes after a few beats, and he holds your gaze like he’s trying to see if you know who you’re looking at. Maybe it’s your awestruck expression. Or maybe it’s the stupid smile on your face when his voice comes through the mic and you’re hearing the voice you’ve grown to love pour through something other than shitty walkie talkie speakers. But either way, his back becomes a little straighter while he greets the crowd and tells them he hopes they like the song.

Everything after that is kind of a blur. You don’t sing along and instead watch Taehyung sing back up to Jungkook’s pretty tenor stylings. Minho was screaming when the song ended and threw some snipped sunflowers wrapped in cellophane onto the stage at Taehyung and Jungkook’s feet. In that chaotic moment of applause, you slip out the crowd after making sure Taehyung’s eyes are on you. The path you make is clear: a beeline straight behind the cabins on the trail that leads through the small foothills. With the festival going on and all the campers in one place, counselor supervision has to be tight. No campers allowed past these parts.

After giving him a few minutes to catch up, you can hear his footsteps are close behind you. The trek is short and you come up to step past the gates that open into the camp’s lavender field. It’s been a while since you last visited it, but the smell is just as fragrant and lovely as it was the first time. Your heart rate slows down slightly. Anticipation makes everything in you coil taut, full of sharp and tiny vibrations. You feel giddy. When his footsteps thud softly and finally behind you, you release your breath and turn around.

“It’s you.”

“Me,” he confirms with his palms open like an offering. An offering that you take immediately.

Your launch yourself into his open arms and he huffs as he takes the impact. The hug is tight like you’re worried he’ll turn into mist if you’re not careful. His arms are sturdy around you and he pulls you in even tighter so he can get closer. He runs the tip of his nose along your temple, revelling in the way the summer sun mingles with the scent of your soap and you. It’s a small detail but it’s exciting. Here you are, in the flesh, in all your glory. Your arms and bare legs are covered in small splatters of dried paint from the last minute changes you had to make to some of the decorations this morning. And your counselor’s t-shirt has a few rips and frays in the seams from all the wear and tear it got over the summer. The flyaways in your hair and the way you sway as you hold him are all catalogued. Even in this more life-worn state, he can’t stop looking at you.

You pull back after a long while with your heart still beating in your throat. There were so many things you planned on doing when you first met Taehyung for the first time, but now you’re overwhelmed. Perhaps it’s because, in the back of your mind, you’re worried about time. It feels very fairytale-like, the way you only managed to come face to face on a special occasion. Like a good dream that will come to an end at the beep of an alarm or a fantasy that collapses into tatters at the stroke of midnight. You try to remind yourself that you’re not in a fairytale. This is real life and you have more than midnight because you have the internet and public transportation. But is that enough? You shake the thoughts out of your head, trying to focus on the here and now because it may be all you have.

“I liked your song,” you finally say. Both his hands come up to cup your face.

“Thanks. I practiced a lot for you.”

“It paid off.”

He takes a deep breath and accepts your compliment robotically before letting his eyes flit back down to your upturned mouth. “Can I kiss you,” he sighs.

“Please.”

The kiss doesn’t actually start for quite a few moments. As soon as he has your permission, then he decides to take his time. Your eyes are nearly closed and he admires the pretty shadow your eyelashes cast on your cheeks. Impatience scratches at your nerves, but you try to go with the flow. He tilts your head in his hands like he’s calculating the best angle to kiss you from, knowing he’s driving you crazy from the little frustrated huffs you let out. Chuckling, he ghosts his lips over yours once before fully pressing forward.

As soon as your lips move together for the first time, you both let out twin sighs. Instantly, like a choreographed dance, arms and hands move in tandem to bring each other closer. You experiment with the long hair that flirts with the back of his neck before following its path and dipping your fingers beneath the collar of his shirt. He responds with large hands spreading over the small of your back, fingertips digging in before lifting and then digging in again like a game of  practicing restraint.

You press your chest to his in an effort to get closer to him and unwittingly tease him with the promise of more unexplored softness under your clothes. He opens your mouth up with his own and nudges a subtle rhythm against your tongue. You moan and he mirrors the sound earnestly.

“I don’t think we can make it to the cabins,” he mumbles against your mouth.

“That’s fine,” you lay both hands on his chest and enjoy the firmness you find before pushing him back towards the tall rows of lavender. “I don’t need a bed if you don’t.”

“You’re something else.” He pulls back then with a wet sound. His lips are slightly puffy and shiny from kissing you and you grapple with the urge to bite them. You lose the battle and he shivers at the feel of you nipping at him. “Fuck.”

Once he and you have stumbled far enough back amongst the fragrant bushes and you find a soft enough patch of flattened lavender, you lower yourself to your hands and knees. He scrambles to sit beside you before immediately pulling you back in. You straddle his waist and rest some of your weight on his thighs while you peel off your shirt and bra. His hands smooth over the curve of your side once the skin is exposed, noting the way you arch into his touch. With an inquiring look, your hands move to the fly of his cutoffs. He lays back and then lifts his hips, impressively with you still seated on his lap, to pull his bottoms down and off. You do the same with yours and return to your perch as fast as possible.

Taehyung’s fingers find the soaked center of your panties and you rock your hips against the heel of his palm when he wriggles a finger in experimentally. He lets out a low appreciative whistle at how wet you are. You get wetter still when he grinds up into your clit to get you to lose some of the control you’ve garnered since leading him to the field. The feeling forces you to lean your hands on his abdomen, fingers fisting in his shirt.

“I want you inside me,” your moan shudders with the rhythm of the little circles you gyrate onto his long fingers. “I wanna ride you like I promised.”

“Are you sure you’re ready? We have time until we need to go back for clean up.”

“I know, but I want you to fuck me a couple of times before that happens.”

“I don’t have a condom, though.”

“Are you clean?”

“Yeah...You?”

“Yes,” your mouth drops open when he scrubs at a particularly sensitive spot on your slick walls. “And I’m on the pill. If you want, we could...”

“If you don’t mind.”

“I want it,” you assure him.

He takes off his shirt while you massage your breasts and take in more of his body now that it’s on display. The long hair framing his face falls prettily in his eyes after the shirt displaced it. Once it’s off, he pulls your panties to the side to admire the crystalline sheen that coats your lower lips. You shoo his fingers out of the way and pull the fabric to a more ideal angle before lowering yourself onto his length. The skin of his erection is hot to the touch and parts your lips easily. Your hips move in stuttering pushes forward to bump your clit against the swollen head.

“Oh, fuck,” his hands fly up to comb through his bangs. “God, this—you’re so sexy.”

“You are too. I don’t think I can wait any longer.”

With that, you raise up just enough to grip his length and line him up with your entrance. Instantly you realize his girth is a bit of a challenge, so you’re not as quick as you’d like when you take him in. But the slick aids things and your pelvises are snuggly slotted together after a few moments and some deep breaths. Taehyung’s hand flies to the slight bulge in your lower belly, enjoying the way he seems to fill you already.

You rest your hands on his ribcage again and get your bearings. With an efficient readjustment of your weight so you can freely work your thighs, you begin bouncing on him with no pretenses. His answering moan is louder than he clearly intended because as soon as it’s out, he bites down on his tongue. It’s clear he doesn’t want to make it obvious where you are and what you’re doing, but he’s having trouble containing himself. There’s sweat already starting to prickle under the surface of his skin and his hands feel restless just minutes into your ministrations.

Taehyung settles for muttering quiet curses and gripping your rapidly circling hips with bruising force. He can barely keep up with the pace you’ve set, but he does manage. He thrusts up to meet your every downstroke, though it’s not without an obscene slapping sound. The fact that he’s so visibly affected by your movements gets you wetter every second until he almost slips out a few times. You adjust your rhythm so that’s not a problem, but your thighs are burning with the effort. Taehyung sees through hooded eyes that you’re losing steam and seizes his chance.

You’ve opted for sitting and grinding with him inside you when he starts to shift. His arms come to envelope you and keep you steady as he sits up. Then you’re suddenly on your back. You want to protest about the dirt, but the ground looked clean and dry and doesn’t make your back itch, so you let it happen. Taehyung repositions himself among your splayed legs, hitching one up to wrap around his hip. He grabs the ankle of your other leg and lifts it slowly, testing your flexibility and giving you time to tell him where your limit is. When your ankle is hovering level with his shoulder, you give him a cheeky smirk at his wide eyed expression. He punishes your silent brag by sucking a rough hickey into the skin just above your ankle before resting it on his shoulder. The very fact that he’s pretzled you like this turns him on and gives him a slight energy boost. He figures you must have stolen some of his life force with the way you rode him earlier.

“Little succubus,” he spits through gritted teeth as he begins pistoning his hips against yours.

You let out a shameless laugh that quickly devolves into a low moan with the way the new angle feels. He’s not going to last much longer if you continue to squeeze around him like you’re doing, but he’s fairly certain you’ll finish first. Certain because his hand moves down between your bodies to tweak at one of your nipples. He noticed earlier how your eyes fogged over while you played with yourself in the same way. Leaning over, he continues to thrust into you while pulling the nipple between his teeth. He rakes over it lightly and your leg tenses before falling back down with a thud. You don’t seem to notice and instead your abdomen spasms with the waves of pleasure that begin lapping at you without ebbing back. The feeling merely builds until it explodes the moment he minutely clenches his jaw and bites. It’s a small amount of pain, but it takes you by surprise and pushes you over the edge.

With your walls milking him, he follows your high soon with his own. His breaths come out in deep huffs in your ear, heavy with bass. You test your limbs and the shifting makes you aware of the come he filled you with. When he pulls out, the sensation grows and you’re moaning weakly as it leaks out. He takes his lower lip in between his teeth as he watches the evidence his orgasm drip from your puffy center. He kind of wants to push it back in with his tongue or his fingers just to watch it drip out again, but he knows you might still be sensitive. So he settles for stroking your hip bone lovingly.

Grabby hands creep into his peripheral vision. It’s you silently asking for him to come lie with you, and he does. He presses sweet kisses against your lips until you sling a leg over his hip and add tongue. His dick twitches with the promise of second round, rubbing against the soft skin of your inner thigh. Normally, he’d need more time between orgasms. But you’re kissing his neck and for some reason the smell of your sweat combined with lavender is a miraculous pairing and has the blood flowing back south. A quick glance at his wrist watch tells him that there’s still a good 45 minutes and he flashes the little screen to you. Your answering grin is the rest of the motivation he needs.

The festival day ended two days ago. Following your rendezvous, you both smoothed out your clothes and shook the grass out of them before sneaking back into the campgrounds smelling suspiciously of lavender and ‘something else’ according to Moe. You managed to somehow avoid her keen nose just like Taehyung avoided his older brother’s wiggly eyebrows.

Clean up was an absolute bitch that night, so you both went to bed without hitting each other up. And the following day was for making sure all the campers were packed up and shipped off to town or picked up by their guardians. That was somehow more exhausting even though there wasn’t any cleaning or sweaty sex involved. It was probably the giant bonfire you had and the 40s you threw back that night with your co-counselors. It was probably the most fun you had with them in a while. You were up into the wee hours recounting all the chaos from the last week and the shenanigans that resulted from having the counselors from the other side of the lake involved. No one mentions you slipping away for over an hour, and for that you’re thankful.

But the headache you wake up with the next day has you silently cursing the whole camp. You don’t need to spend a long time packing, and you’re out of your cabin in record time. Hitching a ride with one of the other early risers, you find yourself at the admin building with plenty of time to kill until you have to walk to the nearest bus stop. There’s donuts and bagels and a basic fruit plate in the conference room and you stealthily sneak some food out while the camp leader interrogates other counselors about how they felt the summer went. You even resort to filling out your evaluation form in the hallway to avoid the camp leader’s hawk-like gaze. You’re still seated on the floor, counting the dots in the pattern on the linoleum tiles, when Taehyung’s characteristic sneakers appear in front of you.

“You going home?”

It’s an awkward question, but it technically shouldn’t be. The last moments in the lavender field were spent with you skirting around his questions about where in the city you lived and what your plans for the fall were. It seemed pointless to tell him all that and act as if you were guaranteed to be able to pick things up where they left off once camp closed for the summer. With your back turned that day, you missed the way Taehyung looked at you after struggling with the feeling of not knowing you. Despite the fact that he felt deep in his soul not more than 3 hours ago that he knew you.

Couple this with the fact that you did have down time after the festival ended, but you said you were busy when you weren’t and you end up where you are now. Suddenly uncomfortable in front of the guy you’d been opening yourself up to for months because you never really got to breach the subject of what would happen when the summer ended. Now you’re realizing these are probably your last moments with what you had with him at Camp Lonely Heart.

“My bus is coming at 2,” you say eventually. He tries one last time.

“That’s hours from now. I can...I could drive you instead. I’m going into the city anyway.”

Yes, your brain wants you to say. Take me home, and then come in and stay with me. You want to utter the words, but your tongue grows heavy and clumsy. So instead you say something stupid.

“The ticket’s non-refundable.”

“Oh.” His head lowers to stare at his own shoes. “Yeah, that’s...I get that. Money, right?”

“Yeah.” You stare down at your shoes. You fight to find a redeemable moment, something lighter to end the summer on. “Hey, uh, look what I brought when I cleaned out my cabin.”

Taehyung stares down at your seated form while you fish through your little backpack for something. He’s not sure why the moment he was dreading before officially meeting you is happening now. The rejection he was hoping to avoid by remaining a nameless, faceless voice is now slowly rearing its ugly head.

“Look!” Your voice is a bit too enthusiastic to come off as 100% genuine, but the sight of the walkie talkie that started it all does make Taehyung smile despite himself.

When he pulls out a matching device from the side pocket of his messenger bag, the uncomfortable atmosphere lifts a little. Minho shows up then, keys jingling in his pocket. He calls for Taehyung and looks at you curiously.

“Are you coming with?” Before you can explain, Taehyung answers for you.

“She can’t. She’s gotta catch the bus.”

“The bus that’s going into the city? Where we’re also headed,” Minho asks with an incredulous smile that’s got none of the usual sweetness in it.

He looks at you for a better answer, one that makes more sense, but you don’t volunteer one when suddenly put on the spot. The slump in Taehyung’s shoulders betray the weak smile on his face. To Minho, the whole situation positively reeks of a similar situation his baby brother got into when he was younger and much less careful with his heart. He’s not 100% surprised at you, though. He saw this coming in the last few days when there were no calls from you and Taehyung’s eyes lost their summer shine. Minho pins you with a look of disappointment that you feel deep in your bones before he gives you a second chance.

“Tae, can you go start up the car?”

There must be something in Minho’s voice that you miss because Taehyung surprises you by only hesitating for a second before taking the keys and turning on his heel. You can feel Minho’s eyes on your face the entire time you watch Taehyung leave, but you can’t bear to face him until he’s gone.

“What the fuck is going on?”

“I don’t know,” you answer honestly. “I just panicked when he asked if I was coming, so I said no.” He sighs in what you think is understanding, eyes closing momentarily before opening again. This time, his face is slightly more patient. He thinks he knows what’s going on.

“Do you want to ride home with us? With him?” There’s something else in the question, and you see it and grab at it, even though the implications scare you.

“I think so. I want to spend more time with him before I have to go for good. We didn’t really...talk about how this would end.”

“Does it have to end?”

“I mean, you know what they say about summer flings. Plus, this all happened in a really weird environment. Who knows if all of this was only possible because we just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

“Mm, yeah. It sounds like you guys were lucky in that regard,” he crosses his arms. “But you can take luck and build on it with actual effort and make something solid.”

You open your mouth to protest, but you can’t think of anything to actually say because he’s right. So you pick up your backpack and zip it up and gesture for him to lead the way to the car. A tiny bit of prideful approval bleeds onto his otherwise grave expression. On the way to the parking lot, your mind swirls with thoughts about the ways that this thing could fall apart. About how a summer haze made everything possible or how the distance that can’t be covered by walkie talkies will be the end of you and Taehyung. You look up to catch Taehyung’s profile as he waits for Minho in the driver’s seat. You also catch the way his face goes from a flat mask of indifference to surprise to badly concealed joy at the sight of you trudging behind his older brother. He rolls down the window while Minho makes a beeline for the back seat.

“You’re coming?”

“If that’s okay.” And you do wonder. Is this okay? Can we really do this? Can we make it?

“Y-yeah, of course,” seems to be Taehyung’s answer to all your questions, even the ones unspoken.

While you make your way to the passenger’s side, Taehyung whips his head around to stare at his brother.

“What did you say to her?”

“I’m not telling you, but just know that you may owe me for life after this.”

“Alright,” Taehyung concedes as you get in and strap in for the ride.

Thanks for reading through these collab pieces with me. Plz also go check out the pieces @polaritae wrote on the masterlist link above!!

[theholycovenantrpg]

CONGRATULATIONS, EMMA! YOU’VE BEEN ACCEPTED FOR THE ROLE OF MAMMON.

Admin Rosey: There is something about Mammon that draws people in - but I know that they can be a very fickle character down simply because they are so utterly unique unto themselves. I really enjoyed the application because of the way they were outlined so meticulously, providing the exact understanding of Mammon that I very much longed to see. There was a certain disdain that was interwoven into everything, from the plots to the prose to the dialogue. The apathy that seemed to be teeming on the surface of things was absolutely delicious to eat up.This application was a fun read and I simply cannot wait to see how you develop Mammon along the way! Please create and send in your account, review the information on our CHECKLIST, and follow everyone on the FOLLOW LIST. Welcome to the Holy Land!

OUT OF CHARACTER

Alias | Emma

Age | 23

Personal Pronouns | She / Her

Activity Level | Decently active, at least once a week if I can get  my shit together!!! Always making the effort to stick and get replies whenever available! ( At the moment I’m pretty available but things might change in a couple of months depending on work and etc ) 

Timezone | EST

Triggers | REMOVED

How did you find the group?  | Rosey is a Queen and was like hey look I did something sexy and I clicked and I gasped and I agreed, she did do something sexy. And then I said wow and the rest of the team also did like magic and I was shook. And here I am now applying for the sexy. 

IN CHARACTER

Character | MAMMON 

What drew you to this character? | 

There is something so raw about a demon birthed from nothing - they are the epitome of emptiness, their existence almost synonymous to a black hole which I find extremely fascinating. They are greed, they are consumption, they devour all, eating away at others in physical tangible methods. Perhaps it is their cruelty that is ultimately a big part of what fascinates me - untangling the web of what makes them tick is yet another facet. I’d love to explore their mind and uncover the inner workings of their feral being. Their gluttonous ways and conquest to swallow those around them whole is chaos at it’s finest. The danger that glints in their eyes and the attitude that exudes from them is everything I could ever desire in a character. They’re also really hot. I mean Noma Han though. 

What future plots do you have in mind for the character? | 

& I EAT UNTIL ALL IS CONSUMED | Mammon is a fickle creature who thrives in pandemonium. They tread a questionable line of self indulgent anarchy. Their arms are extended like the angels in mockery, writing their own fanatical laws that no one else could truly understand. Their madness thrives in their mind - their motivation always geared toward their own personal satisfaction. But what if the scale was to tip? Perhaps someone or something will catch the gleam in their darkened eyes. What if they too could live for more than the tool that was once wielded by others. Long accustomed to opulent luxury and gluttonous sin, never had they batted an eye at the politics swirling within courts. Yet for someone as hungry as they, was such mundaneness enough? What if they were to crawl past the line of humdrum satisfaction. What if they dove deeper into their instability - their appetite always growling for more. In a dog eat dog world, they had always been the one to voraciously guzzle first. Enjoying what existed was mediocrity and they were far more than that. With sharpened razor teeth, they know they can bite off more. Nothing would be too much to chew, for eating and taking was what they did best. Take and take until there was nothing left, ambition spirals to the damned heavens itself. 

HOPE? WHAT A PECULIAR CURIOSITY |  Accustomed to eons past of old tales whispered in their name, there is something tedious of Mammon’s life. While they have long been accompanied by their gourmandizing, they too seek out a spark of new excitement. Their bones creak, their jaw snaps at the thought of a new conquest - a new game. Perhaps a pursuit that is unexpected by all others - especially of demon kind. They have seen much and heard much and curiosity is like temptation itself. They too wonder of things like hope - entertaining the concept. They do not understand it as they have long been an inhabitant of the same old Hell. Yet even they tilt their head in interest. What is this so-called thing of wonder that has kept civilizations afloat? And it is this same twisted intrigue that has left their lips parted in bemusement. Will they succumb to it’s enigmatic mystery? What shall become of the creature who begins to understand? 

MONARCH OF PILFERED GOLD | A thief with a stolen crown, it is hardly an understatement to say that Mammon’s a selfish bastard. Anything that caught their eye was plucked by their greedy fingers by the right of their own claim. The excitement that coursed through their being elicits an ecstasy like no other. They will never forget the seal of death against Morningstar himself, oh how delightful it had all been. The sweet taste of bloodied victory is ever so ripe and thus this addiction to capture the same sensation thrusts them forward to chase it all over again. It was never enough for a being like Mammon who was carved from hunger itself. The pupils of their eyes dilate, looking toward shinier prizes - bigger ones that would make tidal wave changes. In their proud arrogant veneer, they mark their target in the back of their mind. Names and faces never forgotten as they seek to take one treasure after another. And perhaps the thrill of the game is only ever more exciting when the opponent viewed them as an enemy. It fuels the maniacal cackles that rip through their throat because what is theirs will be theirs. It would only take a matter of time before they conquered again and again. After all they took down the King of Hell, at this point - what else couldn’t they take? More is more. 

CHARACTER CONNECTIONS & PLOTTING  EXPLORATIONS 

GABRIEL ;  HOW SWEET IT TASTES TO INCITE YOUR WRATH | I really love the potential between Gabriel and Mammon as there’s undeniable heated tension. With him, Mammon feels the very sensation they have long been addicted to. The palpable hatred that lurks beneath Gabriel’s eyes lures Mammon closer - curious to see what would happen if they pushed further and incited an infernal fire. Undoubtedly I can see this dynamic burgeon into something both intimate and unspoken. For Mammon it is their newest game, their newest thrill ride to feel something and be seen. They will not deny themselves of the attention and want to bear witness to Gabriel’s promise of their destruction. ( I’m also here to see the angst ) 

“Destroy me if you can, desire me if you can’t” - Mammon 

ROMILDA ;  FOR THIS ONE’S DEMISE SHALL BE DELICIOUS  | Mammon and Romilda appear to be playing some game of cat and mouse which offers for some spicy ideas. For Mammon, they remain closeby like a voyeur peering into the windows of another’s life - perhaps others would perceive it as a God complex. But it is not stemmed out of arrogance or superiority, rather just another form of amusement for a creature as bored as them. They follow at her feet to watch what will happen because she is interesting and they’re nosy and want to know more. Perhaps Romilda will get sick of it? Who knows! ( I could see them being lowkey kind of obnoxious to Romilda. ) 

“Tell me a story and I’ll give you a show.” - Mammon 

REVNA ;  COME CLOSER INTO THE DARKNESS O FRAGILE ONE | To Mammon, Revna is like the perfect three course meal - so deliciously melancholic and on the verge of hopelessness. They keep her around close to keep her entrenched in her misery. It is also like the finale of a play, they await to see what will snap and send her spiraling - an event that will certainly incite their wicked glee. But Mammon believes themself to be merciful, kind even - giving her a choice to do as she pleases. They just merely amplify what she already believes. And I can’t wait to play that out - this is pretty much a parasitic relationship except Revna gets nothing out of it really. ( They’re the world's shittiest therapist tbh ) 

“The closer to the edge you are, the grander and greater the fall.” - Mammon 

GADRIEL ;  KNEEL BEFORE MY FEET AND BEG FOR MERCY | Mammon has never forgotten the events that had unfolded, a sickly sensation that sticks to the guts of their stomach. It is both a disgrace and a dishonor to have ever allowed such a thing to have occurred. They are not one to bury the hatchet - rather they hold onto it with a grip. I would like to see Mammon and Gadriel perhaps duel once again, mayhaps to the death? If anything this too can make for some good drama. Maybe Mammon will make a friend - or just die, anythings possible! ( They’re in denial that they’re kinda pressed and acting like it’s no big deal but you know deep down it's a big deal ) 

“An outcome must be decided; to the victor go the spoils.” - Mammon

Are you comfortable with killing off your character? | Yes! But I would also think it’s funny if people keep trying to kill them and they just come back like, bitch you thought. Just imagine the meme potential. 

IN DEPTH

Driving Character Motivation | 

AND IT BEGINS ( THE ORIGINS OF IDENTITY ) 

Largely much of Mammon’s natural instincts seems to center around the concept of “hollowness” or “emptiness” and in turn, it would be likely that they would like to share this void sensation of others, a cruel goal but for them - it is merely how they live. Perhaps another reason to pull others into their sphere of vacancy is the twisted amusement of watching others suffer. They are wicked and have never denied it so, and to share in such pain only feeds into their own warped sense of pleasure and indulgence. However even so, their identity remains a translucent nonlinear jumble of messes, one that they do not wholly understand and seek to untangle. Simply put, they are beyond unusual, strange even and given their long years of existence, have become bored of routine.

THE CHANGE ( A NEW GAME ) 

 And upon a frivolous whim, maybe they shall change it - or not, for they are as volatile as a child. But should change come, perhaps this will force them to act differently from the habits they have long been accustomed to. However, perhaps there is potential within their sinful avaricious vice to fall even deeper into the pitfall of hell. They have always been greedy in their collection of treasures. And surely objects have immense value but what if Mammon were to take it a step further? Breaking past the limits of inanimate items, their eyes may be set on an ever steeper goal. Their nurtured sadism bears fruit to cruel intentions; maybe it's time to take from the essence of humanity itself. It is people they wish to take from now; their hearts, their minds and even their souls. 

DANCING TO THE FINALE ( BOPPING TO NIGHTMARES ) 

They want to carve out the creature that breathes their sweet drink of life. Through veiled grins and snide chuckles, they seek to pull the strings of those they deem of inconsequential value. Upon invisible puppet strings, Mammon will play until they tire once more. For it is all just a game to someone who’s never truly ever had a reason to care. ( Born in the void, they become just as senseless the place they call home - it is a cold cavity that is all they have known. ) They live in their own world of selfishness and conceit, the world just a playground for devils to play. So they shall dance in the dark, picking one human target to another, rejoicing in the cries of anguish. And when the song shall end and the old rickety monster becomes exhausted, they will crack their wrists. It is then they will break the fools until there is nothing left. Again and again the routine shall be repeated. Because Mammon hardly understood life in itself; only ever the depths of shadows and death. 

Every word of hope and moral goodness consumed until by the black tar tongued of hell’s devil; and that is when the being is slaughtered, becoming just a husk of what they once were.  

ABRIDGED : Ok so like to sum up, Mammon’s just a big asshole and just wants to screw up other people because they’re mainly 1. Bored and 2. Why the hell not it’ll be funny. 3. Collecting trash is their hobby. They’re so self absorbed in themselves that I feel like in order for Mammon to be pushed toward some outside motivation would require them to either 1. Get friends or 2. To give a fuck about someone else ( to care - WOW ) But as of the moment any sort of motivation or goal just stems from their own wants or needs which rules above all else. They don’t want much in life at the moment besides hoarding, stealing, taking new shit and playing fake God if they can. Or just be that third person ominous narrator that’s super unhelpful but is there to give unnecessary input. Demons gotta do something to pass the time, right? 

Character Traits | 

Positive Traits 

Observant ; They have long had sharp pointed eyes - ones that watched the slightest ticks upon a visage, the subtlest movements of one’s gestures, the rhythm of footsteps of others. Mammon is a particular being who has long been watchful with a gaze that is both frightening as it is dangerous. But it is through their observations that fan the flames of mania. They play their games regardless of their opponent, their whims self serving first. 

Strategic ; A good player must learn the ins and outs of any game and it is one of the first things that Mammon has long gravitated towards. They pick their wars keenly, sometimes even merely satisfied with the knowledge that things shall work as they had planned. Execution is what they have done best and it takes more than sheer luck and power to finesses such precision. 

Clever ; Far from a moron, Mammon has always prided themselves in their intellect. However, exercising such wit often was a choice rather than a given. For the gluttonous demon celebrated their flaws far more than any of their redemptions. Only in dire circumstances would they ever apply themselves with the extra effort of thinking. Perhaps when a worthy enough challenge came along its merry way, they would finally exert their mind once more. 

Negative Traits 

Rapacity ; Mammon has always had a large appetite for intemperance. Both physical and metaphorical, they celebrate in the excess. The more they devour, the more satisfied they become. To them, boundaries are just suggestions. Their overwhelming need to take everything from everyone fuels them to function. Nothing could ever be enough. More was always better, and they live by these words on a daily basis. 

Sadistic ; They enjoy the thrill of crawling under the skin of both friends and foes. It is amusing to watch souls tortured and in pain, the sound of shrieks and cries are like trumpets to their ears. They rejoice in the reactions, cackle in the face of desperate pleas - they have long been accustomed to cruelty. Perhaps it is the infliction of pain that they themselves can understand human emotions; something so strange and foreign. For they themselves have long lived null and empty. 

Manipulative ; Silver tongued and clawed finger tips, Mammon is shrewd in their approach and sly in their tactics. They enjoy digging beneath the surface of what is seen and plucking out the weakest part of a flawed creation. Behind a face that may mask friendliness lies a sinister creature full of mischief and mayhem. They speak with lies, wearing deceit as their second nature. The craze they exude glints beneath the murky tar colored eyes. 

In-Character Para Sample  | 

EXCERPT 01: LUCIFERS FINALE. 

WHEN SINNERS FALL, DEMONS SHALL RISE

T R I G G E R - W A R N I N G : Implications of Violence, Death / Murder  

Morningstar, the king of Hell, how arrogantly he sits upon the throne of bones and emptied carcasses. His face is marred with arrogance; of kingly conceit that is forged from his own inflamed hubris. How pompous Lucifer appears - but perhaps it is the lens that Mammon perceives that weaves the tale which whispers of their questionable truth. 

But rewind -- it begins from the beginning. The one object that sat like an artificial halo atop Lucifer’s head; oh glory to the shiniest trophy of them all. It was all they ever wanted, clenched fists with fingers dug deep into their palms. Such a beautiful crown wasted on the being they thought most undeserving. 

Mammon had arrived late, birthed in the pits only then. They were nothing but a speck in the universe. Thus they knew, to be worthy of such a precious coronet, they needed to become something. Someone. Their worth must be equal to the item they wished to pursue - or so they once believed. 

And so the fateful day came and Mammon strolled within the gates. Head held high, arms swung side to side as their eyes followed the audience. From one head to another - oh the looks of dissatisfaction restrained at the edges of the crowd’s ugly visages. Mammon sensed it, felt the dissent looming through the room - like fog itself, murmurs could be heard throughout. But all of them were cowards, their heads still bowed lowly before the demon king himself. 

They greet the false King, a cockiness in their stride as they stand with informality, a grin crawling up their knife like features. There is a nonchalance in their posture, an indifference that seemed to agitate his royal hellness. 

“I have returned,” the voice thickened and dark. 

Mammon sees the rage, understands the ticking bomb that lies behind the devil’s veneer. But they did what they did best - they poked and prodded. 

“The world is a pleasurable place beyond the frigid walls of this palace. It seems that you have been forgotten, your name abandoned, forsaken,” Mammon sighs - their pupils never moving an inch away from the Morningstar’s head. 

“I suppose your ‘greatness’ is nothing compared to the man residing upstairs,” they mocked. 

Lucifer is silent but his cool rage could be felt. The stillness that fell could stop time itself. It was then he stood, fingers gripped at the arms of his wretched throne. His voice is a hiss, fueled with laughable jealousy. Words that only Satan himself could ever conjure slithered between the flaps of whatever made his mouth. 

But Mammon remained themself. Unflinching as they awaited - beckoned the fury to light brighter and brighter. They took a step, accepting a dare with the fates. And it was then that they had crossed the line, the servants of Morningstar thrusting them upon their knees. 

They had trekked into uncharted territory - detonating the wrath of the top Devil. A small smile appeared on their face. It was all a joke. But the glee that curdled through their rickety bones brought forth the satisfaction they had gambled for. How sweet was the taste of Lucifer’s anger and jealousy - they could eat up more -for it was aromatically delicious. 

The pits of Tartarus were nothing for a creature like them. They would claw their way out as they had done once before. How amusing it all was, they had stepped on the toes of a ‘supposed king’ who’s envy entrapped him. It was confirmed in that moment that Mammon who had wandered the planes with a trail ablazing, they had become something more. They left once but they’d swore they’d come back for more.

A KING NO MORE 

And so they returned. Indifference worn upon the husk humans called a face. Their decision never came from a place of justice or hatred. No, it was the one fixation that they had long desired. And the only way for them to ever get such a prized possession was to chop it from the head of the wearer. 

It was a merry day for a remorseless killer. 

They spun to the tune that played in their head - the haunting whistle that made their feet tap to a jig. It was the mighty king of hell’s turn to have a taste of damnation. Perhaps somewhere the Angels would have sung for Mammon's praise. But whether the pasty holier than thou freaks did or didn’t, they didn’t give a fuck. 

Mammon wanted what they wanted. Blade in the grasp tightly, exposing the whites of their knuckles. Today was the day to claim their very first love. ( Love? Obsesion? No, it was just another whim, another aimless desire. ) 

Swiftly they cut, quickly they shredded. It wasn’t long before the Morningstar was beheaded. 

In the bloody mess of whatever made the black hearted creature, Mamon ripped the crown from his head. Their fingertips stained with the colors of death, they place the object upon their own head. In the reflection of the glassy floor - they bear a smile, teeth exposed to show their mephistophelian smile. 

And yet the feeling is fleeting - as it always was. They had come and conquered but it was never really enough. The agenda was completed and their excitement gone. They looked at themselves once more, the grin fading. Their fingers gripped the item and threw it on the dirtied ground. 

A sigh of exasperation exited their lips, their back turned as they walked away. Onlookers bowed before them but they did not care. They had their fun and as routine, it was time for Mammon to find a new toy to play with. But before they vanished from sight as they were long accustomed to, they glanced back once more. An itch to feel the euphoric sensations that rattled their ribcage and howled beneath their flesh. 

Alas. 

It was just another fucking crown.

____________________________________________________________________________________

EXCERPT 02: THE UNKNOWN. 

IN MY PRESENCE, ANGELS SCREAM

It was him that they found a fascination like no other, an unsettling sensation that felt akin to perhaps what the humans may call alive. Mammon lurks within the shadows - not to close, just enough to see them. Enough to feel something within that jostled, reminiscent of a beastly heart. 

“I know you’re there.” He blinds like the sun. 

Mammon says nothing. 

It is then that Gabriel makes his approach. Oh glory to a walking God. Each step ringing like the bells of divine retribution. But Mammon does not waver, nor do they run. They welcome it, their lips curling at the corners. 

“I am here oh sweet fair haired angel,” their words spiteful. “Vanquish me if you truly dare.” It is then that they too walk into the light. They should have burned. But darkness consumes all, absorbs all and takes all. 

Gabriel does not speak. But his gaze does not fall. 

LOVE AND HATRED ARE SAME SIDES OF PASSION

It is Mammon's turn to take the stage and so they do. They walk closer, enough to taunt the other. They delighted in the seething temper that boiled beneath. His hatred was like no other; he bears witness to Mammon’s full depravity. It is Gabriel who seems to understand the monstrosity of what they are. And it is in this fragile perverted supposed understanding that pulls Mammon closer. 

“You have cultivated your sainthood, your goodness,” Mammon remarks. “But isn’t that your purpose? The will of accursed God all too shitty. But you see Gabriel - I am like you too. It is just merely a difference in … design,” words hissed with pitch black mirth. 

Their finger is pointed at them. 

“For you, they strove for righteousness.” 

“They gave you light. Nurtured you with warmth.”

“Your existence was a predestined fortune.” 

There is ridicule dripping from their words. No bitterness, no care - just vacant rambles and little thought - a pretend of emotion conducted for theatrics. They raise their arms to the sky, their middle fingers pointed. 

“But I was made as an omen, an example of all things terrible.”

Their arms dropped as their focus returned to one of God’s original favorites.

“They made me hungry.”

“They made me wretched.”

“For all the love and praise you fucking angels sing, how imperious for your kind to judge.” 

Mammon closes the distance, their mouth upturned like a risen half moon. 

“Doesn’t it pain you to know that our fallen creator had us all cut from the same cloth? Despise me should you wish but do not deny that even you, pure and good, harbor something as foul as hatred.” They laugh - cacophonic delirious cackles of a madman facing death. 

Mammon stops - in the quietness their head tilts, a sneer pulling at their lip. 

“Kill me if you choose but it’ll make you no better than the Devil.”  

____________________________________________________________________________________

Extras | 

HEAD CANNONS 

WINGS : I’ve always imagined that Mammon would have wiry or metal looking wings? Like it would be sharp and mimic spare parts or just trash, almost as if they had made their wings by hand. I’m specifically picturing the creepy hand from the “Other Mother” in Coraline but imagine the material as wings ( reference here ) 

FOODIE : I think it would be funny that they’re somewhat of a fancy connoisseur of food. Well food and perhaps anything else that they can put in their mouth. I feel like their standards of what can be eaten really is at a low bar. They would be down to just chew on some dirt and be like “wow the flavor in this silt soil can not be compared to clay.” Seems like the type of thing Mammon would be into. Probably would overshare and even attempt to encourage others to try whatever the hell they’ve decided to swallow that day. 

TRENDSETTER : Given that Mammon likes to take a lot of shit and probably has the attention span of a child, I don’t think they’d be wearing the same outfit on repeat ever. I also feel like they’d be the type to put on a plastic bag and then call it high fashion and maybe people would believe them? Or not - I mean the choice is simple, nod or choose death I suppose. I also see them being a big fan of sunglasses just to be dramatic when they toss it off to really emphasize how crazy and fucking wild they truly are. Also I could see them just being dramatic for no good reason with a little bit of a flair for theatrics. 

WEAPON: Perhaps Mammon’s weapon of choice would be akin to something that looks like a Scythe? Or maybe they’re the type that would keep a handful of sharp blades on them, I could definitely imagine them playing with a butterfly knife and doing tricks with it since they’ve had hours upon hours to learn and fuck around. I could also see them picking up other people’s weapons and going like “well that's nice, going to add it to my collection. This one would be great for some good old stabbing.” 

MUSIC : Despite being kind of a silent type, Mammon secretly is the type to be into a lot of music??? Especially when they’re doing some dirty business or like kicking someone for being a buckethead, I could imagine them jamming to some sweet tunes while doing the ass kicking. Maybe they’ll whistle too. Here’s a scene from American Psycho whis is the inspiration I got behind this ( reference here // trigger warning: murder + violence + blood ) 

OTHERS

PINTEREST |  MOCKBLOG 

ENDNOTE: Thank you for reading through my application! Just wanted to say that you guys did such a great job with the roleplay. Whether I’m accepted or not, I had a lot of fun writing this & exploring the character so thank you! ♥

[goldtips]

okay so ya girl is back at it again. this was originally going to be a reply to someone but well. it got out of hand. i shat all over babylon the anime a while ago and honestly kind of feel bad. there are definitely things that the show does that makes it stand out, esp as a seasonal anime bc you dont expect dir. to spend much time on them!!!! like if we’re comparing this to shows like fanservice anime or any .. mediocre seasonal isekai then ofc this show is better lmfao. the only reason i shit on it is because i expected this anime to be Better ;;;;;;;

mind, i’m not rescinding my statement - as far as i’m concerned, babylon is still a hella frustrating anime because it tries to showcase humans as nihilistic, utilitarian robots that don’t seem to consider the topic of suicide emotionally even though thats supposedly humanity’s defining trait ??? and it deals with the topic of suicide with the care of elephants gallivanting in the fucking savanna :))) the whole show has also been pretty lacklustre in terms of characterization, trying way too hard to be intellectual and feed edgy plot points instead of giving any development - the plot feels reactionary overall and placid rather than exciting. also, the fact that the anime started as a mystery / politico-legal sort of show just makes the transition from that to abstract theory even more forced...........

HOWEVER im promised im going to stop shitting on babylon so lets talk about what the anime does right shall we. more specifically,,, the biblical imagery!!! is great !!!! : D

the show is called babylon. in the old testament (ot), babylon is humanized as a “brutal, callous and proud” woman who “believed that she would reign over the earth forever.” in the new testatment the phrase “she who is at babylon” refers to the new world culture currently at war with the covenant community. in such that rome, as a mistress or whore of the new world, is seeking to seduce and subvert people of god, enticing men to fall “drunk with the wine of her fornication.”

yes,,,, a whore who uses sex to entice innocent men into complying with new culture? who believes herself to be akin to god and also in this context, above the law and morality - im gonna say its not too far a stretch to say that magase was intended to symbolise the whore of babylon.

however, that’s not all - links can be made between the enactment of the suicide laws and the seduction of new culture. who exactly is leading the front? kaika itsuki ( 齋 開化 ), who’s name literally means culture. that aint a coincidence. also, that weirdly-placed reference to roman law / norms during the suicide debate as a way to convince the masses to revert / adopt roman ideology??? also not a coincidence. :))))

in addition, there are two other major biblical events related to babylon:

the book of revelations; and

the tower of babel.

its safe to say that both narratives are being pushed atm.

revelations:

in revelation 17, the spirit of babylon decends upon earth through the whore. she arrives on the back of a beast with 7 heads, “arrayed in purple and scarlet”, “drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.” “seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.” the revelations also prophesizes that she will be defeated by a beast, but it is unclear as to which. there are two beasts in book of revelations. the first beast comes "out of the sea" given authority and power by the dragon/serpent. the second beast comes "out of the earth" directing people to worship the first beast, a "false prophet".

in a similar vein, nomaru had secretly vouched for itsuki’s, providing itsuki with the necessary resources for him to rise up in ranks and become the new mayor. the kanji for ryuichiro nomaru ( 野丸 龍一郎 ) contains both the kanji 野 and 龙 which respectively mean field (i.e. earth) and dragon. they are key references to the beasts of revelation

plus according to nomaru, it was also purely because of magase that the political struggle turned out the way that it did, meaning that she is ultimately the one controlling the entire operation. this mirrors the way she is sitting on the heads of the beast (i.e. the proverbial brains of the campaign that itsuki is heading) 

we also see that when magase uses her powers her eyes and hair glow in a sort of purple/burgundy color to support the imagery as well! 

the book of revelations is the final chapter of nt. it is merely an allegory of struggle between good and evil and doesnt refer to actual people or events. kinda like the show huh. nyyy way, we see that the protag john the apostle writes down what is revealed to him through visions to send it to the 7 churches :))

kinda like how zen keeps on seeing magase through visions and has to document !! his findings and report back to admin? ik this isnt exact but there’s a bit where he has to write down her confession and it really struck me as weird until this bit popped up, maybe that was included to as a way of tying in :))

tower:

according to the myth, there were plans to build a city and tower high enough to reach heaven - god who observes this confounds their speech so that they can no longer understand each other. why? because “now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.”

while not entirely similar, we see recurring themes in babylon that deal with miscommunication and new ideology. the conflict mirrors the myth in that unity of language (or ideology in this case) and its subsequent discordance once differentiated. 

the interrogation scene in ep 4 deals with reconciling differences. magase asks whether those with different values should be accepted, despite them being contrary to norm. all this time, society has been developing an ideal set of norms - the entire country shares the same values and priorities with no deviation. growth has stagnated. in similar fashion to how god commands for many languages to be created, magase sows the seeds of doubt towards long-standing assumptions and moral values in order to create discordance and push japan into a state of new development

in the new campaign, itsuki proposes to apportion shiniki city from japan and instill new values. this confounds the population and sends them into disarray - the tower that they have created is crumbling, in similar likeness to the parable of babel.

SO TL;DR this show has a really cool starting concept i cant lie?????  i for one am not shitting on its supernatural elements (even though the flow was a little inorganic) in hindsight there’s no point in expecting a show called babylon not to delve into supernatural/biblical elements lol :)))

as a right hoe for imagery and philosophy/ethics, this gave me high hopes but the execution of everything else was way below average. why bring in a discussion about suicide that’s poorly researched + try to be edgy abt it and have the citizens to have support it so easily???? ruins the immersion so much

if the anime really wanted to focus on philosophy there should be some mention of ethical theory to justify his point. like, being aimlessly philosophical only ends up being flowery and pseudo-bullshit lmao. one of hte reasons why i was so frustrated with magase and zen’s discussion in the interrogation room. like woman what was your fucking point. its only wasting screentime if you don’t get anything from the conversation. the philosophy was so fucking unnecessary - babylon could have been executed as an in-depth political/psychological anime instead. WITHOUT THE SUICIDE.

this and the lack of good characters really bummed me out. i think that the show was expecting me to connect to some of the characters before they were fucking killed off but i didn’t end up giving a single shit about any of them so. :) the whole show feels more about the shock factor and gore than about interesting plot.

concept 10/10, execution 1/10

[kyouxa]

Amnesia Later: Translation (Part 02)

This took awhile, but I'm happy I finally finished another part. If you want to suggest me a route to start with, just put it in the comments ☆=(ゝω･)/

August 11th

Place: Maid's sheep — Entrance

Orion: ...Eh, I guess I said that but ...

Ikki: That's why, we should go and see the fireflies together tomorrow night.

Orion: Suddenly, we’re getting invited to go with Ikki ...

Maybe you didn’t promise to see the fireflies with Toma? Was it Ikki?

Ikki: You're off the next day, right? If so, we can stay awake the entire night and watch them. So?

You won’t be alone with me though, because Kent is also coming along.

Kent said he‘d be okay to drive us out...

Kent: Ikkyu.

The store manager is calling you. It seems that there is something he’d like to confirm for the shift next month. Please go to the office.

Ikki: The manager? Hah... I was in the middle of something important. Whatever.

Well then, please think about our talk before. I am expecting a positive reply from you.

*Ikki leaves*

Kent: The talk Ikkyu mentioned earlier is probably about the firefly hunting. To play around with such a thing as a grown man.

It was only three minutes ago when I was told about his idea. I was forced to be "invited" to go out together without any intention.

Orion: Is that so... well, that means Kent isn’t the person who you promised to be with.

Kent: ...But honestly, I also wanted to show you a firefly. So I’ll try to cooperate as much as possible.

Orion: Eh. Wai- Who is it now!?

Kent: That's why I also hope for a positive reply. Then.

Orion: But, we need to figure out more... ! We need to talk more! We need to know who you promised it to last year... !

*Costumer enters*

Orion: Ugh... we don’t have time to pursue Kent...

Whatever! Welcome back, master!

???: Hello. Are you free right now?

Orion: What, Ukyo? This person is definitely a regular visitor at this shop.

This is Ukyo. He’s a more regular customer of this shop... I sadly don't know more than this information...

I just know that he’s a pretty famous and good photographer. Other things... uhm...

He’s actually a really kind person but sometimes he seems kinda lost, he’s also sometimes acting weird when it comes to you.

I'm pretty sure he’s not a bad person in general, but I think he’d be useless if you trust him.

Ukyo sometimes even says "Don't trust me!" by himself.

Ukyo: Well, my order would be the Kilimanjaro. Besides, is your manager here now?

I want to show this pictures to him, because I’m sure he wanted to see them...

Waka: Is this, Ukyo?

It seems like you really visited our store again. I‘m grateful to see you here once again.

Ukyo: Waka-san, hello. I wanted to talk to you so I asked for you just now.

Waka: Oh? What did you need from me?

Ukyo: It is a photograph. Waka-san, didn‘t you want to see a picture of the fireflies?

Orion: Eh, the fireflies!?

Ukyo: When I slept in Kawahara on that Friday evening , I thought that it was a bright night so I took some pictures.

Orion: ... why was he sleeping in Kawahara anyway?

Ukyo: So when I got up and heard that tick, it was a firefly.

I was pretty surprised. There was a firefly in such a small city.

Waka: There has been a series of reports that fireflies have been occurring abnormally for two consecutive years last year and this year.

I wonder if that’s why they showed up there...

Ukyo: Ah, that might be right. I didn’t know about the news, I should’ve listened to them...

That is probably the only interesting thing in this world for now. I have nothing to do otherwise...

Waka: This world?

Ukyo: Ah, no. Thats not what I meant.

I always wanted to take a picture of the fireflies in Japan, so I noticed them and immediately took a photograph.

This is the picture I took. Please, take a closer look at it if you want.

Waka: ...This is... !

Ukyo: The big one on the wall, the small was flying around the star sky.

I was taking the picture of the fireflies with the night sky in the background while lying on the riverbank.

So the light of the stars and the light of the fireflies are mixed up.

Waka: ... how wonderful ... !

It's a wonderful picture... it's a scene where I couldn’t think it's reality.

Ukyo: Hehe, but it is reality indeed. What if you really could see it with your own eyes?

You can go with me to the riverside right away from here next time. Should I guide you there?

Waka: ... So it was in Kawahara... That's right, but...

I’ll give you my word to go there. I'd like to see this scene with my own eyes. Would you mind?

Ukyo: Not at all. I'd like to go there anyway, so why not going together?

Waka: Please wait for a second. I will confirm it once I looked at the working schedule again.

Orion: ... why does he want to see the fireflies so badly? Is it something we should think about?

Ukyo: .....

Orion: Oh, he left Ukyo alone! Let‘s show him his table.

Choices

1)— Master, I’ll guide you to your seat

2)— Ukyo-san, please follow me

— Master, I‘ll guide you to your seat

Ukyo: Yes, thanks for the offer.

— Ukyo-san, please follow me

Ukyo: ...Uh?

...You, just... called me by my name?

Orion: Uhm, I guess that was wrong. Were we breaking the mood... ?

Ukyo: ...That’s right... yes. That was not a mistake from you, right?

... Is that so? You... really remembered my name...

...Ngh

Orion: Eh!?

Ukyo: Ah... ngh, sorry, I‘m okay. Thanks for guiding me, I will sit there.

...Well then

Orion: ...What just happened. Why was Ukyo acting so strange... ?

Somehow ... that expression ... he felt happy even if he was close to cry...

... I don’t know. I can’t imagine what he could‘ve thought at all.

end Choices

Ikki: Hey, so this is a firefly!? They are amazing... those really are good pictures with only the fireflies and starlight.

This one, in what kind of angle did you take this picture?

Ukyo: I took all of them from below. I was lying on the riverside, looked at the sky, and then I saw the fireflies.

It happened to be a night when the stars weren’t coming out neatly, so it became a good picture. I was pretty lucky.

Kent: However, even if we as amateurs took a picture under the same conditions, it wouldn‘t be able to be taken so beautifully.

I don’t know where to focus on first, the distant stars or the near firefly. We wouldn’t be able to make such photographs at all.

Ukyo: That’s because I’m a little more professional.

But, recent digital cameras have good performances, so even amateurs would take good photos.

Ikki: I wonder, where you took these? I wonder how you found a place with so many fireflies...

Waka: He said it was a nearby riverbank. I’ve never seen it though.

Kent: ... The range is way too wide to know the exact place. Where in the Kawahara did you take them, will you tell me a little more about it?

Ukyo: Then, let's go there together. I don't mind it, if Waka-san has nothing against it right, isn’t that right Waka-san?

Waka: Hm... If so, how about tomorrow night?

It’s a good opportunity. Let's gather all the employees of our shop. We could make a comfortable trip while hunting some fireflies.

How does that sound for the three of you?

Ikki: ...I don’t mind. I’m glad we finally found a place. We escaped much trouble.

Kent: I don’t mind either. This would be better than searching for fireflies, without knowing a good place. I learned that from the previous year.

Ikki: Like this all three of us can participate in watching the fireflies without changing our shifts. Right, (y/n)?

I definitely want to watch the fireflies, so this would be the perfect opportunity for the three of us to go there.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow then.

Waka: Ikki. It would be nice if you’d also give Rika a call. She is also another one of our regular visitors.

Ikki: Thank you very much. I think Rika would definitely want to join.

...Ah, another thing. Hey manager, speaking of fireflies, shouldn’t we all wear a yukata?

(Admin note: a yukita is like a kimono, but it’s more for summer events)

Ikki: If we call everyone, I think we could all gather in a yukata at the same time. I’m sure the girls would look gorgeous in them.

Waka: Wearing a Yukita... it would fit perfectly for the summer. Then let's notify everyone to come with wearing a yukata.

5 o'clock in the evening. I’ll send out an e-mail about our meeting later...

Ukyo: Wa-Wait a second!

Waka: Ukyo-sama?

Ukyo: Uhm, does that mean that (y/n) also participates in this trip!?

Waka: Of course. Is there any problem with that?

Ukyo: It's full of problems... !!

Exactly! A lot of accidents could happen while we‘re at a river.

She could slide her foot and hit her head with a stone, or fall into the river and clash together with drifting driftwood.

She could suddenly start freezing, accidentally burn herself while touching the fireflies, hitting her head on accidentally falling blocks.

A prevention fence could fall over and hurt her entire body, or after she took a bath the hairdryer she brought could suddenly explode in her face...

In my eyes she definitely can‘t come with us!!

Orion: What the hell!!!!

What!? Who is this person!? Drown, burn or even hurt ourself like that!? What is he imagining!?

... but it is true that a lot could happen to anyone on such a trip outside.

Seems like he’s way too worried about your health... I wonder if Ukyo just wants to be close to you.

Ikki: Ukyo-san, such things can‘t happen. I think you‘re just way too worried about this trip.

Kent: I‘m agreeing with Ikkyu on this. You already went there, so you shouldn‘t worry about anything happening there.

Ukyo: But, isn’t there a high rate that she could make a mistake with a firefly or a burning cigarette that has fallen to the side of the road!?

Orion: ...Ah, there he goes again.

Ukyo: If she touched a firefly, it would probably burn her fingerprints and might hurt hurt forever!

I don’t want to make her feel like that ...!

Orion: ...Hmm.

I understand that Ukyo is worried about you so seriously but he‘s kinda focusing too much on it...

While listening to Ukyo talking about you there was a cute laugh escaping from his lips at first, I wonder why that was?

Waka: Don‘t worry so much about that. There are going to be enough staff member to accompany her.

Like this it won‘t pose any danger for a woman's body.

Ukyo: ...Ngh...

...I understand. I‘ll also help to prepare this trip.

I promise with my life, to try to end this firefly hunting trip as safely as possible... !

Orion: ... Is that something that should make you feel safe... ?

Place: Maid‘s sheep — Outside

Orion: Thank you for your hard work today~!

We need to wear a Yukato for tomorrow. But seems like you don't have a yukata, huh?

I don’t think you should go without one, but what should we do?

Besides, we still don‘t know who you promised to watch the fireflies with after all.

It seems that everyone will come tomorrow, so I just hope that they‘ll also approach from the other side...

Toma: Good job today.

Orion: Huh? This voice is...

Toma: Good, I still caught you. I knew it was already time for you to go home.

Shin: Out of anyone, why do you remember her working schedule? That’s pretty weird.

Toma: Excuse me. At least I’m not someone who doesn’t care about university. You even picked her up after you returned from your exam.

Shin: That’s not the topic...

Toma: You also put in an extra schedule the day before one of your important tests. It was during your final exams though.

The store manager who found out about it later made me get in the way of your undergraduate and your work schedule.

That's why I’ll look over all your shifts from now on so my little brother shin will pass all his final exams.

(Y/n) also helped me a lot.

Shin: ...Recently, I already thought that the store manager gave me strange working shifts, so you were behind all of this, Toma... !

Toma: If you regret it, make sure to pass your university. After that, you may be allowed to push me around like you want.

Shin: ....Ngh

I don’t want to talk to you anymore. Let’s get going, (y/n).

Orion: Eh, Wa-Wait a second. We don’t know where we’re going... !

Toma: Hey, Shin. Don’t try to take her away just now. You’re confusing her.

Shin: ...This guy, he’s as annoying as always.

Toma: Shin. Just wait for a second.

We got an e-mail from the store manager a while ago, we were all set to go watching the fireflies tomorrow night, right?

But, we don't even own a yukata, so I thought about buying a new one with all of us being together.

That’s why Shin, I’m sure (y/n) doesn’t own one either so we’re here to pick one with her.

Shin: ...ngh... be quiet.

Toma: Well, because the two of you just finished “working", why don’t we going shopping?

Let's go to try on some yukata’s from now on. The place where we could try them is right there.

There is no time and money to make a special one from the fabric, so we should buy an already made one, right?

Orion: What did just happened... I’m surprised that they came over to go shopping.

But, it doesn’t seem too bad. We should accept the invitation, (y/n)

On the other side, I wouldn’t even know which one we should buy for you.

I’m sure the two of them are going to be great help to pick one, I’m glad!

Place: Outside  — Shopping center

Shin: That's why, I said I’m tired of seeing her in such boring pastel colors.

Toma: You may say it’s pastel colors, but this is definitely a cherry blossoms red . There’s a huge difference in it.

Shin: It is definitely too naughty to let you choose what she wears. You normally don’t care what she wears anyway.

Toma: What’s wrong with me caring what she wears tomorrow then? Did you even confirm how expensive yours is instead of mine?

Shin: ...I also have this blue one.

Toma: Looks good, now we just gotta look for a bank to fix it, right?

Shin: The colors wouldn’t balance if she’d wear a pink band on a blue one.

Toma: What color band would match with the blue ground then?

Shin: ...Yellow?

Toma: ...Yellow...

Shin: ...Are you saying you hate it?

Toma: Because her yukata colors are already warm. Wouldn’t it be strange if everything matches?

Shin: What, that’s such a selfish opinion.

Toma: Oh, Shin. You gotta get one for yourself, you should change into yours too.

I think that this one would be too huge on your arms. I wonder if we should go one size smaller.

Shin: ...Shut up already... !

Orion: ...I was relieved that the two of them came with us, that’s what I at least thought...

They really have an amazing ego when it comes to you.

I wonder if tomorrow’s trip will work out completely fine...?

Place: Apartment — Your room

Orion: We... We’re... home... ngh...good work...today... ngh

They’re completely insane! It took us three hours to choose a yukata!

You shouldn’t go shopping with those two people again! It would’ve been way easier like that!

...Yes, it was tiring but pretty interesting. Toma is a very nice person, but also Shin is pretty nice even if he acts rude sometimes.

Ikki and Kent, also Shin and Toma... as well as the girls, the store manager and Ukyo...

Everyone is indeed pretty nice to you... I really do like everyone of them a lot.

But... I can’t help but wonder, who did you promise to watch the fireflies with?

[hurricaneonanesthesia]

Hello! I was wondering if you could write a Chamber x fem!reader

Where she is an assassin and has powers that could form into any weapon she wants, it doesn’t even have to be a gun it can be a katana to a spike ball to a stick, she is also incredibly fast. And a lot of people like chamber himself underestimated her and her ability. But with some time chamber and her got along extremely well.

Thank you!! This means a lot to me haha since there are barely chamber x readers out there, love ya have a good day!!

I see this blog is a haven for Chamber simps now /j

Aaaa this one was kinda all over the place, im so sorry ;-; I hope you like this!!

~Admin Hurricane

Warnings: none

Word Count: 250+

Genre: fluff

Pairing(s): Chamber x F!Reader

On the outside you don’t see all that intimidating, so what you can summon a sword, what’s that gonna do against his sheriff or op?

You end up shutting him up with the way you absolutely destroy Sova during training, the way you just silently manage to get Sova from behind, a knife in hand that hadn’t previously been there moments before.

If anything, he’s intrigued and maybe a little turned on by how you were able to do that cause it’s not easy to catch Sova that off guard

As soon as you and Sova leave the training room, he’s immediately tugging you off to the side to interrogate question you about how your ability works and if you’d like to help him out in designing weapons and such.

more under the cut!

He’s disappointed to hear that you aren’t just going to sell of your ability to a secretive con-man like him, but he’s not one to give up easily, so instead he tries to get to know you

Of course, you’re suspicious of his motives and why he’s being so friendly with you, and rightfully so. So as a result of this, you’re understandably hostile to him. But Chamber is persistent.

Over time, your hostility towards him becomes tolerance, and from tolerance comes friendship.

It kind of becomes a running joke between you and Chamber that he always wants to see you form all sorts of crazy weapons so he can take notes on it and also for you to be able to refine your ability.

Reminder that my requests are open! Be sure to send something my way if you’re interested! Requesting Rules are here!

Want more of my writing? Be sure to check out my masterlist. Wanna know what else I’ll write for? Here you go!

Thanks for reading and have a lovely day!

[girls-scenarios]

What We Want

Idol: Minnie ((G)I-DLE)

Prompt: Can I request a scenario with (G)-idle Minnie? In which the reader is a college student, so they can’t see each other really often, because of their schedules? So they drift apart for a while, but realize that they don’t want things to end. Kinda angsty, but with a fluff ending? Thank you

Writer: Admin Kiwi

A/N: So sorry I haven’t been active recently, school just started and I’ve been busy. Anyway, Minnie is such an underrated goddess I swear. I hope you all enjoy!

♡ Tip Jar♡

It’s not like it happened overnight. Had it happened overnight, you probably would have noticed it faster. But no, it happened slowly, gradually sneaking up on you until the damage had been done and you didn’t know what to do. Weekly dates had become monthly dates before disappearing all together. Nightly talks on the phone started to happen less and less, until you realized that you hadn’t talked to Minnie in so long that you could hardly remember what her voice sounded like through the phone. The two of you still sent each other texts, but they were few and far between, hardly anything substantial, and by the time that you realized what was happening, it seemed like it was too late. You’d already grown apart from the one girl you’d never wanted to lose.

The two of you had made a promise not to let your busy schedules get in the way of your relationship. And at first, you’d been able to keep that promise. As a freshman, your classes weren’t that bad, and you had your weekends off, for the most part. Minnie, too, had some extra time on the weekends, since her group was still rookies. However, things didn’t stay that way. Quickly, you realized that your classes were going to take a lot more of your attention than you'd originally thought, and (G)I-DLE had started to blow up. And then, despite both of you denying that anything was happening, you’d grown apart.

Now, laying in your bed after your finals were finally over, you felt a wave of sadness and loneliness wash over you. Your roommate was gone, off partying to celebrate, but you’d told her that you were too tired. It had only been half a lie. You were exhausted, mentally and physically from the nonstop studying and writing you’d done the past few weeks. But you’d also had a dream about Minnie a few nights before, making you remember. And now you couldn’t stop thinking about her.

Rolling over, you checked your phone. Above the photo you’d taken of Minnie sending you a kiss, the time blinked at you, showing that it was already nearing midnight. Had you really been thinking for so long? The photo of your girlfriend made your heart squeeze, and you bit your lip, fighting back tears. Normally, you wouldn’t be so emotional. But you were tired, lonely, and you missed her terribly, so much so that you couldn’t bring yourself to sleep. It had been so long since you talked to her, did she even love you anymore? Did she remember about you? Did she know that you still loved her, even though you hadn’t been showing it?

Wiping at your face, you made your decision and opened up your messages, wincing at the date on the last text. Three weeks ago already. You were losing her, even as much as you had wanted to deny it. And you didn’t want this. With shaking hands, you typed in your message and pressed send, not expecting her to reply. Not this late at night. But you knew you needed to send it before you backed out, so you did, then placed your phone down and buried your face in your pillow, wondering where you’d gone so wrong.

-Hey, it’s been a while. I miss you.

-

You woke up the next day with a headache and a sore throat from crying the night before. Across from you, your roommate was still asleep, apparently having come back in the early hours of the morning, and you blinked at the bright sunlight coming in through the window, annoyed. You were still tired and miserable, and yet it seemed to be so early in the morning. Why had you woken up?

Your phone. It had buzzed. Sleepily, you reached over to check your messages, only to quickly wake up. Minnie had texted you back.

-I miss you too. I’m sorry. I’m free today, actually. Are your finals finished?

For a moment, you wondered if you were dreaming, but the headache and the pounding of your heart told you that you were indeed awake. Swallowing, you typed your reply.

-They are, I’m free too. Want to meet up and talk?

-I’d love to. Let me give my members a heads up. Where do you want to meet? Somewhere with not a lot of people, please lol.

You thought for a moment. Where around here didn’t have a lot of people? This was the city, after all.

-I mean. We could grab one of the study rooms at my library? No one will be around since classes are over.

-That would work. The same library I went to, yeah?

-Yeah. Want me to get you coffee?

-Sounds good. Just send me directions.

Closing your eyes, you put down your phone and took a deep breath. You were going to see her, finally. Relief and happiness mixed with nervousness and dread, and you didn’t know what to think. Would she want to break up? You wouldn’t blame her if she did.

“Let’s not think about that,” you muttered to yourself as you opened your eyes and climbed out of bed. You were going to get ready and walk into that library, no matter what might happen. You owed Minnie that much.

-

The nervousness you’d felt at your dorm only magnified as you waited in the study room, heart pounding and the coffee and bagels sitting on the table in front of you. The librarian had looked at you a little weirdly, probably because a) finals were over so you were one of the only people in the library and b) you were wearing sunglasses inside to hide how puffy your eyes were. That only made the nerves in your stomach worse, and as you looked out one of the large windows that looked over the campus, you felt your stomach twist, all of the worst case scenarios going through your head. Could you really do this? But then again, what other choice did you have?

The door opened, and as you turned around, you saw Minnie walk in, although it was hard to recognize her with her sunglasses, mask, and hat. Carefully, she closed the door behind her before walking up to the table and taking off her glasses and pulling down her mask. For a moment, the air was awkward and quiet. Then, you cleared your throat.

“Um, good morning.”

“Good morning.” Her voice was a little hoarse, and you wondered if it was just from her tough schedule, or if she’d been crying too.

“I got you a coffee and a bagel,” you said, for a lack of anything else to say, gesturing to the carrier in front of you. She gave you a small smile as she sat down across from you. It felt weird to be so awkward around here, and yet the air still felt weird. Had you really grown this far apart from her?

“Thanks. Sorry I’m late.”

“No, it’s okay. I just got here.” That was kind of a lie. You’d gotten there early. But she didn’t need to know, and the coffee was iced and still cold, so there was no way for her to figure it out. She took a sip and you looked down at the bagel on the table. You didn’t really have an appetite, not anymore. “How’s idol life been?”

“Exhausting. Exciting. A little bit overwhelming. Some fans just love us a little too much. It’s weird not being able to walk around without some sort of disguise. And some fans even see through that.” She took off her hat to run her hand through her hair, letting out a sigh, and you noticed the bags under her eyes. She looked just as tired as you felt. “I’m thankful for everything, but I miss being able to get a full night’s sleep, you know?”

“I think I can understand what you’re getting at.”

She gave you a little smile. “You probably don’t get much sleep either.”

“Yeah. Classes get more and more stressful each semester. But my schedule isn’t near as chaotic as yours.”

“True.”

Once again, an awkward silence settled into the room, and you played with your straw, trying to fidget to let out the nerves. “Your promotions for this last comeback have ended, right?”

“Right, we’re getting a small break soon, actually. Our manager wants us to do a little bit of brainstorming and stuff for the next comeback, but thankfully since we’re doing so well, we’re getting a break.”

“That’s awesome for you.”

“You’re on break now too, yeah?”

“Summer break just started, yeah.” This conversation sounded like something that two casual friends would have. Not like a conversation a couple would have. You tried not to think about it too much. “And I don’t have to take summer classes, so I’ll be pretty much free all summer.”

“That’s great.”

Once again, silence returned, and then Minnie let out a little sigh and locked eyes with you. “Hey, (Y/N)?”

“Yes?” You had a feeling that the conversation was about to get serious.

“What are we?”

Your heart dropped and you bit your lip, glancing away in guilt. “We’re a couple, but... I don’t know,” you said, voice soft.

“It’s been months since we last really talked,” she replied, matter-of-fact. “Can you really be a couple like that?”

“No. Not really. We’ve grown apart so much.” You swallowed around the lump in your throat and looked back at her. She looked on the edge of tears, and it was weird to see her like that. The Minnie you’d known was always so positive and happy. But then again, the you she’d known had loved talking to her and would have never let anything get in the way of your relationship or dreams. Both of you had changed. Both of you were tired, slightly stressed and a little bit lost on what to do, new adults with new challenges to face. But was that really enough to justify this separation? “I’m sorry,” you said truthfully. “I’m really, really sorry.”

“I am, too,” she said, voice shaking ever so slightly. “I didn’t realize how busy I was going to be. Every day just passed so quickly, and before I knew it, I looked up and... it had been months.”

“It was the same for me. I promised to keep time for you, and then I forgot all about it because I got too wrapped up in my own problems.” Mentally, you kicked yourself, but Minnie, as if sensing this, shook her head.

“It’s not just your fault. It’s mine too. Both of us. We got so busy and we didn’t know how to juggle that with our relationships.” She swallowed and took a deep breath. “Do you still love me?”

Your heart hurt when you heard the pain in her voice. “I do. Of course I do. I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to show it but when I realized how much we’d grown apart, it hurt. It hurt to know that I hurt you. I still love you, despite everything. But if you decide to break up with me because we grew apart and you don’t love me anymore, then I’ll understand.”The words came out a little more jumbled than you’d wanted them too, but there they were. And as much as they hurt to say, they were true. If Minnie wanted to leave you, you wouldn’t blame her.

But her eyes widened, and she shook her head, reaching across the table to grab your hand. “No! No, I don’t want to break up! I still love you too, so, so much. And I’m sorry that I didn’t try to juggle my idol life with my love for you. But I don’t want to lose you. I love you, (Y/N). And I never want to have to spend that much time apart from you.” She squeezed your hand. “I’ll learn to make time for you, I swear.”

You felt like crying in relief as you squeezed her hand back, coffee and bagels long since forgotten. “Oh. I don’t want to lose you either.” Tears welled up in your eyes. “I’m so happy you still love me. I’m relieved you feel the same.”

“Don’t cry or I’ll cry,” she said softly, making you laugh softly.

“Sorry. I’m just so happy and relieved. I felt so terrible about everything, and I really don’t know what I would have done had you decided to leave.”

“Don’t worry about that now.”

“Right. I’m going to make time for you, too. If other college students can have relationships then I can too.” You gave her a smile. “Although usually they aren’t in relationships with world-famous idols.”

“True enough.” She smiled back at you. “I’ve missed you so much. You don’t even know.”

“I’ve missed you too.” You looked down at your hand holding hers. “We’re going to have a lot of catching up to do. But I’m going to make all of that lost time up to you.”

“Same here. I’m not going to let us drift apart again without a fight.”

“Want to spend the day together today? And maybe spend the night at my dorm? Just like old times?” You asked, and her face lit up as she nodded her head and caressed your hand with her thumb, making you so happy you’d asked. It would be fine. Your roommate probably had somewhere to go tonight anyway, right?

“I’d love to.” She looked down at the table before looking back up at you with a soft smile. “Can I kiss you? I haven’t kissed you or held you in so long.” Technically, you were pretty sure that you weren’t supposed to make out in the library with your girlfriend. But nobody else was there, and you doubted the librarians cared too much right now anyway. Smiling, you nodded, and she quickly got up and moved around the table to sit beside you. Your heart jumped, just like it had when the two of you had your first kiss, and as your eyes fluttered closed and her lips captured yours, her hand gentle on your shoulder, you couldn’t help but think you were lucky.

This wasn’t going to be fixed overnight, and it would take work to make sure that this never happened again. But you were willing to put in the work, and you were so lucky that she was willing to try again too. This was what both of you wanted, after all.

“I love you,” she whispered as she pulled away for a brief second, and you had never been so happy to hear those words before as you leaned in and kissed her again, hoping that your actions could tell her that you were being true when you said “I love you too.”

[ijustreallylovezebras]

The Smell Of Books - Part Ten

Pairing: Loki Laufeyson x Reader

Summary: The reader works in a bookshop as a co-owner. Loki begins to work in the store after moving permanently to Midgard. They find love between the pages of second hand books

Requested: No

Warnings: Swearing, shouting, etc

A/N: sorry again for the long break before posting this part - but I hope you like it!!! Please remember to like, reblog, send asks and let me know what you think!! I kinda really like this part so please let me know!! As I said in a previous post, my tag lists have been wiped and started from scratch, please refer to the tag post I made before asking to be tagged!!

One of my favourite places to be was Ron’s coffee shop. It was a local cafe, an individual one similar to mine and Eva’s bookshop meaning that it was oftentimes rather empty, save for the locals.

The street on which mine and Ron’s shops resided was full of local independents like ours - there was Toby’s Record Shop, the Stevenson’s family bakery and Phil’s newsagents on the corner, to name a few of the stores I frequented on an almost daily basis.

And it was not uncommon for all of us store holders to bump into each other in Ron’s cafe. It was a favourite for anyone who had visited and Ron never forgot a face - he would ask customers he had met merely once about their life story, kids, husbands, wives, school. And people shared because Ron was that kind of person. And, if someone seemed down or having a hard time then Ron was quick to offer them an extra slab of cake or one of his coffee experiments by way of cheering them up.

It was Ron’s overwhelming friendliness that had attracted me to buying my little store on River Street.   

I sat at my favourite table in Ron’s cafe, a chai latte between my hands and a slice of coffee cake in front of me. I had brought a book, as I always did, but I had yet to open it, my mind preoccupied with other things.

Eva things, to be exact.

And Loki. Always Loki.

“You going to tell me what’s wrong or am I going to have to guess?” Ron asked, easing himself into the seat opposite me. I gave him a smile that I knew I couldn’t keep my exhaustion out of and shook my head, letting out a long breath.

“I’m fine, Ron,” I promised. “Just tired from all the shop admin.” Ron reached his wrinkled hand across the table and grabbed one of mine.

“I know when you’re not fine, Y/N,” he confided. “It’s in your eyes.” 

“Then my eyes are lying because I’m fine,” I insisted.

“Is Loki giving you grief?” He inquired. I looked at him for a moment, hesitating before answering.

“Not in the way you would think,” I paused. “Or hope,” I added with a laugh. Ron’s eyes crinkled with the smile I had grown to know so well over the years.

“You love him?” 

“Love is a strong word.” I countered.

“And yet...” Ron trailed off, looking at me expectantly.

“And yet,” I conceded. Ron nodded sagely.

“I suspected as much,” he looked at me hard for another few minutes before shaking his head again. “But that’s not what’s bothering you,” he decided.

“What gave it away?” I laughed.

“Because that’s never been the most important thing to you, has it?” Ron blinked a couple of times, clearly expecting me to cut in but I remained in silence, not wanting to admit anything that may make what was on my mind clear. “What’s going on with Eva?” 

Tears sprung to my eyes at his gentle tone and I turned my gaze to the table to try and hide my expression from the kind old man.

“Are you telepathic or something?” I laughed tearfully, bringing one hand up to cover my mouth. My eyes fell shut and I prayed to every God I knew - Thor and Loki excluded, they didn’t need to know what was going on - for my tears to remain unshed.

“I’ve seen a lot, Y/N, I’m old. I know when you’re hurting,” Ron confided, his tone was gentle and supporting and I wanted to hug him. 

“I don’t know how you do it, Ron,” I finally said.

“Do what?” Ron’s brow was creased in confusion.

“Get everyone to tell you their secrets,” Ron laughed openly at that.

His laughter was all the encouragement I needed to tell him what was going on. I confided about Loki’s first day, the books we’d shared, the notes we’d exchanged, the argument we had had. The argument itself seemed trivial in heindsight, yet at the time it had appeared to be the worst thing in the world. I got on to talking to Loki only yesterday and finding the hidden note in Eva’s room.

“What did he say in the note?” Ron asked, seemingly entranced by the tale.

“I don’t know - I haven’t read it yet,” I admitted. “I’ve been too scared - once I read it, that makes all of this real. I’ll have to talk to Eva, then to Loki and... I’m kind of content living in peace and obliviousness,” I told him. Ron shook his head disapprovingly, though the smile on his face was somewhat affectionate.

“You deserve better than content, Y/N. Whatever has been said in Loki’s note is clearly important - to him and, probably, to you. And even, at a stretch, to Eva.”

“How on Earth would it be important to Eva?” I asked incredulously.

“Because it seems to me that she’s scared of loosing you.”

“Eva?” I paused in the doorway to her room. I lent against the frame in my pyjamas.

“Yeah?” Eva asked, sat on her bed and pulling on some socks - how she wore socks to bed I would never understand.

“I have to talk to you,” Eva looked up, concern etched onto her features.

“Is something wrong?” I paused, debating whether or not to go through with it. I nodded hesitantly.

“Yeah - there is, actually,” I held up the piece of paper clutched in my hand. “Why did you have this?” Eva glanced up.

“What’s that?”

“A note that Loki wrote to me,” Eva froze at those words. “He put it in a book he was returning ages ago - and you took it,”

“Did you go into my room?” She asked instead.

“That’s not the point right now.” I argued, desperate to keep on track.

“No - did you go through my stuff?” Eva insisted, standing from her bed so she was face to face with me, a wounded expression on her face.

“Loki told me that he left me a note - I knew you had to have taken it. I didn’t go through anything. I picked it up from your desk,” I huffed in frustration. “Why did you take it?”

“Because he’s not good for you!” She finally busted out. I stared at her.

“I’m not a kid, Eva,” I hissed.

“I’m not saying that you are-”

“Then let me make my own fucking decisions!” I shouted.

“Not if it’s going to get you hurt!” She insisted.

“I’m a grown fucking woman, Eva.”

“And yet you don’t seem to know better than to become the whore of an arsehole who tried to take over the world!” She screamed. I stared at her and took a couple of steps back.

“Fuck you,” I spat, turning away.

“Where are you going?” She asked, following me out into the hallway, watching me grab my coat from the rack, taking my keys from the side table by the door.

“Away from you!” I screamed, slamming the door on my way out.

I rushed down the stairs into the empty shop, ensuring I locked it on my way out. I paused as I got outside and rested my back against the door, taking deep breaths as I slid down the wood coming to the realisation that I had nowhere to go.

It was a long shot to come here, I knew as much. I had never been before and, chances were, no one who I knew would answer the door. 

But it was the one place I could think of.

I pressed the intercom button and waited for a response, shivering in the cool summer’s evening. The intercom crackled to life.

“Hello?”

“Hi - my name’s Y/N Y/L/N? I’m a... friend of Loki’s?” I offered unsurely.

“A friend?” He inquired after a long pause.

“Well, he um, he works for me?” I suggested.

“Oh - the bookshop girl. Thor told us about you. Let me buzz you in,” two seconds later the gates to the Avenger’s compound opened.

I walked up the long drive and the door was open already, a figure standing in the light.

“Y/N?” It was Loki - dressed more casually than I had ever seen him before. “I didn’t realise Stark was being serious,” he admitted.

“Sorry,” I whispered, dropping my gaze to the floor.

“Are you - are you okay?” He asked. When I looked up at him the concern in his eyes was clear.

“I - I didn’t know where else to go,” it was then that the first sob of the evening ripped out of my throat. Loki didn’t hesitate before closing the gap between us and hugging me as tight as he could manage.

[vantekay]

thankful for you

its (almost) officially the new year! although I am writing this post in advance, its a new year and its time for some fresh starts.

I wanted to start this new year off by making a thank you post to my mutuals, anons, and followers; starting out with my mutuals. Also this will probably be pretty long and sappy so just a warning haha.

@peachyuns was the first mutual I made on this site, we met over the dora au that plagued Twitter and freaked out over it together, although we don't talk as much anymore she still helped me kick start this blog! she sent me some tumblrs who did the hex code layouts I told her I wanted to start and I will forever be grateful for that, never forget how talented and sweet you are, I love you tam 💕.

@couture-kookie was the second mutual I made on this site and helped me a lot when it came to understanding how to make a masterlist 😂 we would send each other memes and talk about how ugly twitter is and I always laughed when we would message. You are such an amazing writer and an amazing person! I love you court 💕.

@melonkooky was the next mutual I made and I am so grateful for her as well. She helped me with this blog a lot too, mostly just me spouting ideas out and her telling me I should go for it 😂 but it was the motivation I needed to get this blog to where it is now even if it isn't too big right now. You are so sweet and funny and just an amazing person, not to mention talented at writing. I love you mina 💕.

@bangtanmssg thank god I got the balls to message you about making your masterlist for you. I'm so glad we met, and I'm so excited to be an admin for you new blog! It makes me so happy to know that you have enlisted so much trust in me and I hope you know I trust you a lot too. you're such a sweet and caring person and I hope we can grow as friends. never ever lose the light that you possess, because believe me when I say you can make anybody's day better just by being you. I love you sol 💕.

@vantaeta we met through the new blog! I was very nervous when I first messaged you about the theme of the blog but you were so nice it melted all my worries away. We clicked pretty much instantly and I'm so grateful to be working with such a funny and kind person. You are super talented and I hope you have happy days forever. I love you rae 💕.

@triviamang , you are so so so sweet and caring its so endearing and makes me happy if that makes sense haha. you have such a pure soul and I'm so glad we became mutuals. You're so talented at writing and I'm so excited to see how your account continues to grow, hopefully our friendship can grow along with it :) I love you ness 💕.

@ethertae you are absolutely lovely and I love you. we don't talk much but thats okay! seeing your posts on my dash makes me so happy. You are an absolute sweetheart and I love being mutuals with you. You are incredibly talented and such an interesting person, I hope we can grow closer this year :) I love you kina 💕 .

@namiiy I am so glad we met, you are the brightest and most positive person I have ever met. You've made my bad days just those little bit brighter and made me hopeful for the next days to come. Thank you for always being so kinda and having such a beautiful soul. I love you nam (sorry idk what to call you ah) 💕.

@taes-strawberry we only just met but! you are so amazing and incredible and just all of it. I thought our first convo would be awkward but it was so easy to talk to you and that is so amazing to me. I love how alike we are and I really hope we continue to be crackheads together. I love you rahmah 💕

to all of you I just made little messages for, please never forget that you are loved and valued. and if you ever need someone to talk to I am here :)

to my handful of anon friends:

I really do love you guys a lot, your asks never fail to make my day even if it’s something as simple as a hello. I always thought it was kind of silly when I saw other and bigger blogs posting simple asks and saying that it made their day until I actually started receiving them myself. even if you think whatever you have to say isn’t important believe me when I say it is. please never hesitate to send me an ask- anon or not- and tell me about your day, tell me something good that happened to you recently or even tell me something you just need to get off of your chest. I’m the kind of person who loves to help others, I always give advice and I always try to help to the best of my ability and knowledge so please always know that I am here for you, and if you don’t want everyone on the blog to know about what you’re going through you can always just message me privately! I promise it will always stay between us. my messages are always open for anybody and any situation :)

to my followers:

thank you guys for being here for me and enjoying the content I put out on this blog. I’ve always somewhat felt bad about myself as a content creator (though I feel like I shouldn’t even call myself that cause I do the bare minimum compared to other really good art or writing blogs but thats just me) because I don’t put out things like fics or reactions but that’s simply because I don’t feel confident in my writing abilities and I would be afraid to make assumptions about the boys personalities and just all that stupid stuff but even still, I hope you guys can always find something you like on this blog. I’m a very indecisive person who changes their mind a lot and is always wanting to learn and explore new things so this blog will probably have a wide array of things on it within the next year or so, and I hope you guys will stick with me through all and any content changes I may decide on. I have never been confident in myself as a creator but through this blog I am starting to find worth in the things I put my time and energy into, and I will always be eternally grateful for that and the only way I can think of expressing my gratitude for this is by saying thank you.

I haven’t been on tumblr long- if I remember correctly I made a blog in june maybe but didn’t start posting my own content until around august but I can’t remember- but in the short amount of time I have been, I have made incredible friends and laughed so so so much. I haven’t really talked about it openly on this site, but this year was probably one of the hardest, longest and most mentally draining I have ever had. Life was rough, I went through a lot of hardships and found out more about my mental health issues and how to start coping with them, I moved from my childhood neighborhood and started a whole new life at the peak of my highschool career and faced (and still facing) a lot of anxiety issues because of it but thanks to this blog and the amazing people I have met through it and the people I follow I have been able to end this year with a smile on my face, high hopes for the future, and dreams I feel I can actually accomplish. I said it before and I’ll say it again although I feel as if it doesn’t really express how thankful I am, thank you all for everything. My experience on this site has been nothing short of joyful and I hope it stays that way for a long time. I hope you guys, no matter if 2018 was a good or bad year for you, can also go into this new year with a little bit of hope and happiness for yourself and whatever you wish to achieve in the future. thank you for an amazing end to this year :)