#like i think if someone did this about some regular guy who hadn't been made famous for any reason

[apomaro-mellow]

Wrong Number 1

Eddie kept up a texting chain with Steve while making himself a breakfast of coffee and cereal. He hadn't felt like this in a long time. Not since, well, when he thought of it when he was a teenager up all night in chat rooms and forums. When you found someone who you just clicked with.

[11:30] Any advice on how to fry an egg with a perfectly runny yolk?

(11:32) You like runny yolks??? 🤢 (11:33) It's scrambled or nothing for me (11:33) Cant help ya even if I wanted to

[11:35] I just want an egg on my avo toast

Normally Robin fried the eggs for breakfast. Her yolks were always perfect. But unlike Steve, she'd actually scored last night and was still with whoever she'd gone home with last night.

Eddie couldn't help but roll his eyes at the cliche. A guy who jogged and then came back home for some avocado toast with an egg on top? He just had to let his stance be known.

(11:35) Next ur gonna tell me bout your acai smoothie bowl rite? (11:36) Avo toast? Really???

Steve realized how he was coming off and had to quickly amend it.

[11:38] It's not what you think! We only got the avocados to make some guac the other day. There was one left and I wanted to use it before it went bad. And I'm all guac'd out. Hence the toast.

(11:39) At least you didn't use the avocado to make like ice cream or some shit

Finished with his own, normal, regular, average citizen breakfast, Eddie cleared his place and started to actually get ready for the day. His shift went from 2 to 10 tonight, so he needed to prepare for the long haul.

While brushing his teeth, getting dressed, and making something for his lunch later, he and Steve kept up the texts. Through their conversation he found out Steve's favorite ice cream (peanut butter), that he could cook eggs just about any way except sunny side up, and that he lived with a roommate named Robin.

Eddie got to his place of work and in a place like that you need to have some semblance of focus and attention, so he told Steve he had to get to work. He realized he was basically saying 'busy now, text you later?' to a stranger he'd only started talking to last night. Steve was completely in his rights to end the conversation there.

He could've ended it at any time really. What obligation did he have to keep on talking to him?

[2:01] Okay. Talk to you later

Steve stared at the message, already in the middle of agonizing over it when Robin finally came through the door of their apartment.

"Good afternoon. I wanna feel offended that I didn't get any texts or calls asking if I'm okay but I'm gonna choose to think it means you trust me and are a great judge of character."

For the first time in a while, Steve checked the time and actually realized how long it had been.

"Shit, Robs, I'm sorry." It had been over 12 hours and he hadn't checked in on her. All because he'd been texting a random number. "So you had a good time?"

Steve had been sitting on the couch and Robin plopped right down, laying her head in his lap.

"It was magical. Like something out of a movie."

"Aren't you glad I made you go and talk to her?", Steve smiled smug.

Robin smushed his face with her hands with a groan. "Don't look at me like that. You were right, okay? Me and her hit it off like, like uh, one of your sports metaphors."

"Robin you were in a soccer league just last year, stop acting like you don't know sports."

"Anyway, something grand must've kept your attention off me. Things go well with that girl you were talking to?"

"Umm, yeah."

Robin sat up, eyes narrowing. "And you came back here with her? Gross! Steve! Did you do it on the couch?!" She shot up immediately.

"I didn't", Steve rolled his eyes.

It was one of their main rules. No sex in the common areas of the apartment. Steve wasn't gonna tell her about the wrong number given to him. And he especially wasn't going to tell her he kept talking to it. The following lecture would have been unbearable.

"She gave me her number and we've just been texting back and forth."

Robin slowly sat back down on the couch. "Just texting? That's all you did?"

"That's all."

"Wow. You usually move faster than that."

"Well, I want something a little more this time. But enough about my snail pace romance. Let's talk about you and that girl, what was her name?"

He and Robin sat a long while, talking about her night, eventually going out for lunch together too. Not-Misty had said they were at work, but Steve couldn't help himself when he saw that Robin had ordered a burger with avocado on it and Steve had gotten a taco salad that came with, you guessed it, avocado.

[3:14] image.jpeg [314] Okay me and Robin might have a problem. But I swear it's not on purpose!

"Did you just send a picture of our lunch to someone?", Robin asked.

"Yeah to uh, to Misty. We were talking about avocados earlier and I figured she'd get a kick out of it."

Robin smiled through her chewing. She teased but she was glad that her friend had made a connection last night.

Meanwhile, Eddie saw the message, but didn't have a chance to reply, even on his lunch break. Through all the texting, he had forgotten to charge his phone, so it was on the plug and he was leaving it alone for now while he talked to his co-worker, Grant. He went through the rest of his shift, thinking about Steve.

What did he look like? How old was he? Where did he live?

He got off and made his way back home, stopping off somewhere to get dinner. It was a sandwich shop and he honestly contemplated getting avocado on his just to see Steve's reaction but he resisted.

'I can't be that down bad that I'm overthinking food now', he thought to himself.

When he got back home, he turned the tv on and took out his phone to reply to Steve right away.

(10:31) Back at home now (10:32) Work was crazy (10:34) And the 1st step to recovery is admitting u have a problem (10:36) But thru hard work we can get you addicted to a sensible veggie (10:37) Like broccoli

He thought since he kept Steve waiting for so long it might take some time for a reply to come, but his phone pinged almost immediately.

[10:39] First of all, avocado is a fruit. Second, I eat plenty of other vegetables. And third, what happened at work?

(10:41) It may be a fruit but I dont want it in my smoothie (10:42) And some guy came in and started throwing axes at the wall

Sunday evenings were usually more relaxed. It was why Eddie typically didn't work Friday or Saturday nights unless he needed some extra cash or they needed someone on deck.

[10:44] Hold the duck up someone was throwing axes!! [10:44] *duck [10:45] *FUCK

Eddie snickered through his eating and had to take a moment to swallow before something came up. He always enjoyed telling people what he did for a living.

(10:46) Cool your jets man (10:47) I work at an axe throwing range (10:48) The problem with this dude was he didn't have an appointment (10:48) Just came in and started throwing an axe at the wall

[10:50] Are you okay? That sounds dangerous

(10:50) My uncle handled it (10:51) Eventually the dude left

[10:52] Oh wow. Well I'm glad you're okay. Axe throwing tho. What an interesting job for someone of your age? 🤷

Steve was lying in bed and he buried his face into his pillow as he sent it with the shrug emoji. It was so transparent, he knew it. But he needed to have a better idea of who he was talking to. That way when Robin did eventually find out, he'd be able to tell her something, anything.

(10:53) Smooth (10:53) I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours

Eddie knew now was the time to be cautious. But he was also curious as to how much Steve would tell him and just what he wanted to know. He wasn't disappointed.

[10:54] Male, 23, 5'11

It was like the bare minimum of information and yet Eddie was already aggressively tamping down any hope that he might have a chance. Without his permission, hope bubbled up anyway

(10:55) Male, 24 going on 25, also 5'11

Steve stared at the text with the mystery person, mystery man's information. It seemed like so little and yet so much. He still hadn't an idea of what he looked like. But now he could at least get a general silhouette.

(10:56) Ur not one of those guys who lies about his height are you?

[10:57] Robin says my hair gives me two inches but she has no idea what she's talking about.

Eddie was thinking about how Steve must wear his hair. It could be in a sizeable pompadour, or maybe a nice afro. Maybe it was in a bun all the time? That was not what he typed out however.

(10:59) You know what they say (10:59) It's not the size but what u do with it

Okay this was it. This was where Steve stopped texting him. You can't just say that to guys you don't know-ping!

Eddie bit his lip and only had one eye open as he looked at Steve reply, preparing for the worst.

[11:01] Oh I know how to use my inches

Eddie dropped his phone onto the table and had to get up and pace, touch his face, his hair, throwing his hands in the air. Was this flirting? This felt like flirting. He wished he knew for sure. Maybe it was the lack of emoji. Had Steve put a winking face, he'd know for certain. Eddie leaned against his fridge, staring at his phone, sitting innocently on the table.

On the other side, Steve was burying his face into his pillow, pretending he didn't just say that. Would it come off as playful? As flirty? As casual? Should he have sent a wink? The seconds ticked and it felt too late. Like coughing after saying something awkward.

God, he was so desperate. Why was he even still texting? He had work in the morning. He should start preparing for bed so he had any hope of getting up on time. Steve pushed off the bed and went to his closet when he heard the notification sound and instantly returned.

(11:05) Let's get out the measuring tape (11:05) image.jpeg

Steve felt his heart skip a beat. The picture attached was of the very top of mystery man's head. He was holding up a lock of long, curly hair into the air. Steve studied the picture like he was getting paid to do it. He couldn't see any lower than the bangs on his forehead but there was still plenty to see.

The rings on his fingers for one, how his curls went this way and that. Steve quickly saved it and then replied with a similar pose, holding some hair by the fingers as far as it would go above his head.

[11:07] image.jpeg [11:08] I think you have me beat

They texted for about an hour more before Steve finally decided to be an adult and put himself to sleep, bidding mystery man good night.

Part 3

Fun fact, years ago I worked at an axe throwing place and yes, what happened to Eddie did in fact happen to me! On like my first week too I think

Tag Team

@anne-bennett-cosplayer @estrellami-1 @newtstabber @omletlove @ifyoudonlysurrender @rehfan @morganski-19 @corvidcantina @dragonmama76 @just-ladyme @tinyplanet95 @lolawonsstuff @goodolefashionedloverboi @idoquitelikebread @kittydeadbones @manda-panda-monium @rhapsodyinalto @paintsplatteredandimperfect @keylime-green @ihavekidneys @samsoble @honorarybrit81 @swimmingbirdrunningrock @420-hun @aizawa-emma @deleataecount @thesuninyaface

[hipstergecko]

Okay people! DP X DC idea time!

This hit me like a trainwreck and I must release it into the wild. Will I write this properly one day?

Anyway!

Let's think about sensory deprivation tanks. Danny phantom. What if the thermos acted like one? It was only meant for short term storage. What if the Fenton's built a coffin like one meant for long term? 

And they caught Danny first?

—---

The Fenton's newest invention "ghost in a box" had caught him. It was a dumber bigger heavier version of the thermos and somehow they managed to catch him right as he was falling to earth after a nasty hit to the jaw from the latest ghost of the week.

He propped himself up on his elbows and hissed through his teeth. Better to get out of this box quickly. His parents probably couldn't handle this guy. Using the bright glow of his eyes, he examined the inside of his new holding cell. It was fairly big. Big enough for him to roll about and prop himself up on his elbows. There was 10 inches or so of watery ectoplasm sloshing around him as he moved and shifted. Surprisingly comfy too. At least compared to the cramped space of the thermos.

Without the glow of his eyes it was dark. Completely dark. The kind of dark that makes you wonder if you really had that hand on front of your face. And it was quiet. The only sounds were the faint sloshing of the ectoplasm and his own breathing. 

He saw the faint line of the lid and tried with all his might to push it open. His ghostly strength didn't seem to do much. He was panting by the time he decided to try to phase through it instead. He ended up with a sore head for his efforts. Airtight, watertight and ghost proof. 

There was no way out. 

He tried his phone which had luckily enough survived the fight.

No service.

Danny sighed heavily and lay back in the water, staring at his phone with a tired frown. So much for luck. Hopefully, Tucker, Sam, or Jazz would break him out before school tomorrow.

The silence was so strange. He'd never been somewhere this quiet before. Even the ghost zone at its most peaceful had the sounds of flowing ectoplasmic winds. He felt his eyelids fall shut as he slipped into a doze. He was frankly exhausted from everything that had happened that day and needed a nap. So he took one as he waited for someone to open the box.

But Nobody did. Nobody could. Apart from his friends and sister, nobody cared to.

You see, immediately upon his capture, the elder Fentons rushed the box back to the lab for testing. After several hours they had declared the invention a success. As long as no one opened the box, the ghost couldn't escape. 

Meanwhile Tucker, Sam, and Jazz were consumed with worry. They hadn't seen Danny get captured, but after Jack and Maddie proclaimed Phantom was caught the next day on the news, they feared the worst.

Jazz confronted her parents about Phantom in the box, but she was kindly and lovingly dismissed. You see, they had given it some thought and finally agreed with their daughter that ghosts too dangerous to be studied should just be caught and dealt with humanely. A compromise. Sure they couldn't do all the tests they wanted, but they would rather have their town and family safe.

The "Ghost in a box" was equipped with noise canceling movement dampening ecto-sustaining technology. In essence a sensory deprivation tank. The ghost would be kept safe until they were docile enough to be released for study or simply turned back into base ectoplasm to be recycled for something else.

But they didn't know about cores.

And they didn't know about Danny.

Cores would not dissipate like regular formless ectoplasm. They would remain even as the physical form of the ghost melted away as their consciousness faded into everything and nothing within the box.

But Danny wouldn't. Jazz knew that Danny couldn't.

A core wasn't made to house a human. A ghost, who was the personification of a person's emotions the moment they died, a being made of obsession, could be condensed and made dormant inside the fragile safety of a core. But a human flesh and bone body? A heartbeat? He would always be there. Able to be sucked in a thermos, yes. Ghost in a box, yes. His ghostly abilities made him pliable enough. But into his core? Never going to happen.

His heart and core were very different, but worked together in harmony. Neither could exist without the other. Neither could be taken out without issue. (The ghost catcher notwithstanding. Freaky duplication personality splitting weirdness) Should his heart vanish into the core, it would die. Hearts do not take compression and dormancy well. Should his heart be removed, the core would have no filter and overtake the body, burning it into pure ectoplasmic fire.

Danny was the perfect balance. His heart strengthened his core and his core energized his heart. He could not be easily shattered or dissipated. But this meant he also could not retreat into his core when his mind or body failed him. 

He had to remain fully formed. Fully in ghost form. The ectoplasm that was being cycled through the box made sure he was stable, but he would suffocate and starve if he became human.

He was well and truly stuck.

Jazz begged and pleaded with them to let him go. The psychological damage would be so severe if he stayed in longer than a few hours. But their success had blinded them to the point of pride. Instead they praised her for her empathy and willingness to study the obsessions ghosts were known for.

They only really started listening to her after Danny had been missing for an entire week. And even then it was just a call to the police and a search to hunt "they ghost who took our baby boy".

(Did Jazz ever break down and tell her parents the truth? Who knows.)

Perhaps the worst part was that his loved ones couldn't even get to the box. It had been locked up in some government facility almost immediately after the Fenton's announced their success. The patent was sold to the government for a truly amazing amount of money.

Danny was out of reach.

It was only after months of petitioning and rallying and absolutely threatening Vlad with ruining his political reputation, Sam was able to gain access to the box to "see for herself if they were truly as humane as the Fenton's claimed". She had 20 minutes with the box and she and Tucker did everything they could to open it. 

Nothing worked. No hacking or code they tried could open it. They had no power tools or weapons to try attacking it with. For 20 minutes they tried.

For 20 minutes they failed.

There was nothing they could do. They were escorted from the premises kicking and screaming.

Meanwhile the product went viral. Some opposed it, some praised it. The Fentons became famous for the "ghost in a box". Soon they were available widespread. Ghosts were being caught left and right and safely contained. most of whom were peacefully living out their afterlives in their chosen haunt.

Many ghosts were caught actively seeking Phantom. Skulker, Ember, some invisible ghost kid, a great hairy looking wolf man, and more. Ghosts were being caught all over the country. None of them could escape once they were put in the box. And none of the other ghosts knew what was truly happening to their kind. They only knew that if you went into the human realm, you didn't come back. 

Surprisingly enough, Vlad was eventually the one to put a stop to it. By forcibly closing the portals. The Fentons were too busy with their manic search for their son to rebuild their own portal. (And even if they tried after jazz told them the truth, would it have even worked?) His own portal was hardly ever used anymore. Mostly because alongside the "ghost in a box", the Fenton finder and ectoplasmic tracker were also extremely popular tools for ghost catching. It was too risky to activate his personal portal. If he was caught, he was as good as dead. 

But he too was eventually caught.

Somebody had finally looked into his shady dealings. Suspicious of him, and not wanting to rule out anything ghostly, they opened a box on him during a packers game.

He never saw it coming.

Eventually almost every ghost people across the world knew of were caught. The U.S. government paid for the boxes and had them categorized and stored deep underground in a ghost proof facility that slowly faded from history.

But what about Danny?

Let's ask a different question. Do you know what happens when a human stays too long without sensory input?

The hallucinations started when his phone battery gave out.

—————

The justice league had been an entity for quite some time now. Long enough that they felt secure in digging down into the underbelly of various world governments to root out world ending threats at the source. Especially after what had been going on with CADMUS and their government sanctioned cloning operation.

Someone (the flash? Batman? TBD) finds old records of a bunker buried deep under the earth full of something called "ectoplasmic" radiation. For the safety of the nearby town of Amity Park, they felt the need to dig it up and clean it out.

Upon entering the bunker in full OSHA approved hazmat, they find strange looking boxes. Boxes upon boxes stretching for at least a mile, maybe more if there are sublevels. Each box is labeled with a number. The first one they find is marked 3278 (or some other arbitrary number). All the boxes are sealed tight with no known way to open/dispose of them.

Most of the heroes agree just to let the bunker be. It was sealed and doing no visible harm to anyone or the environment.

But Batman (or other super? Dealer's choice) decides to do a bit more looking.

He stalks through the boxes, noting the numbers, the lights saying 'occupied' and 'dissolved'. Many of the boxes are buried deep. He can really only observe the ones close to the walkways.

He walks all the way to the very bottom. The very end of the bunker. Where there is a solitary box set on a raised platform. It is labeled number 1. The lights flash 'occupied'.

'Corporeal'.

He takes it back to the watchtower for analysis.

——————

The justice league cannot safely open the box. Any attempt to break it open could compromise whatever is inside. Scans do not indicate what could be inside.

More research is done into these boxes. Nothing digital is found. Eventually someone looked through some old offices stationed outside the bunker and finds patents for the boxes. Dr.s Fenton describe in detail what the box does and how to use it. It was meant to never be opened by anyone without the proper DNA match.

Apparently Jack Fenton, understanding that ghosts can possess people (read overshadow) coded the box to reject anything that had human DNA in it. He had to manually override the security to open the boxes. Which included several (read 100) security questions and passwords pertaining to Jack directly.

So only someone completely non human and non ectoplasmic could open the box.

Good thing they had aliens on payroll.

—————

Superman pressed his thumb to the scanner. There was a light beep and a sudden rush of pressurized air. A cheery voice rattled out of a small speaker embedded in the box's control panel.

"Wow! I don't know how you found an alien, but well done! Please enjoy your docile ghost or ectoplasmic goo! Thank you for using the Fenton GHOST IN A BOX! Patent pending please don't sue."

Superman, startled by the sudden voice, took a step back. The lid of the box opened slowly the inside dark. Toxic looking green mist sluggishly broiled out of the box. It spread almost like fog across the floor.

A black hand with abnormally long and skeletal fingers stretched slowly rose out of the mist, rising to grip the side of the box.

All the superheroes were immediately on edge. Hands flying to weapons and dropping into fighting stances. Superman himself jumped back to guard against whatever was coming out of the box.

What emerged was frankly horrifying to look at. A black mass of bulbous limbs and... Tentacles? Were those tentacles? Claws and teeth scrabbled at the edges of the box until the entire bulk of the thing fell from the edge, squelching with whatever liquid had been inside. It hit the floor of the watchtower with a wet sounding thud.

There was an immediate reaction among the heroes.

"Oh gross!"

"That... What IS that?!"

"Eugh..."

"It's not human, that's for sure!"

"Someone find a member of JLD!!"

"Get Constantine up here!"

Amidst the noise the thing on the floor writhed about. All over it's amorphous body, eyes opened. Countless eyes appearing all over it's form. They were the same toxic green color as the mist, but brighter.

The eyes rolled about and winced. The thing shuddered as if in pain and the eyes squeezed shut back into the void. Instead, teeth appeared, countless mouths inside mouths and razor sharp teeth upon teeth. It scrabbled on the floor and opened it's countless mouths.

And screamed.

Heroes threw their hands over their ears in an attempt to stop the sound. Those with enhanced hearing took it the worst. Superman himself was forced to kneel, hands pressing to the sides of his head desperately. It sounded like the screams of the damned. Of someone dying. Of thousands suffering. He couldn't move, couldn't react. It was going to drive him mad if it didn't stop.

It came almost in waves, battering against the triple reinforced windows protecting the inhabitants from space. Lights above their heads popped and broke as sound crashed about the room. Coffee mugs shattered, fuses blew, and the watchtower was plunged into darkness.

With the darkness came a panic. The screaming was unending, debilitating. Some curled into fetal positions, uncaring of their peers. Others tried to run, but with the power gone, doors wouldn't open.

Not many paid attention to the thing on the floor.

It is important to note that in attendance that day alongside batman were a few of his brood. Namely Red Robin and Black Bat. It is also important to note that Black Bat is a hero who is hearing impaired.

So of the heroes in the watchtower that day, Black Bat was the only one to focus on the amorphous thing despite the noise.

She watched the Eldritch horror even as the watchtower fell to darkness. It had too many mouths. Too many eyes. It's form was barely recognizable in the darkness, but as she watched she could see the makings of something humanoid.

It had a discernable head.

She watched it try to open its eyes various times only to see it shriek louder and shut them swiftly. It was in pain? Even though the lights had gone out? She looked at batman and the other heroes. They were screaming and yelling and trying to figure out a course of action.

She looked back at the thing. The sound beat at her ears in waves. Growing ever louder as those around her screamed in pain.

In that moment, Cass had an epiphany.

She lunged across the room, reaching Red Robin almost instantly. She allowed the sound to reach her ears as her hands left them to dig around in Tim's utility belt. She knew he had them, she'd seen him wear them often enough.

Ahah! She triumphantly pulled the headphones from a side pouch. Dick and Jason teased Tim about the headphones when he first got them for working on casefiles. They were the big chunky kind. Designed to fit over the entire ear.

Designed to be noise cancelling

She turned and sprinted towards the thing on the floor with her prize. The closer she got the worse the sound was. It beat on her brain painfully, she could feel a nosebleed trickle down her lip. Still she darted forward. She leapt ito the air, flipping upsidedown as she did. She aimed to the beings... Head? What could've been it's head... And deftly slipped the headphones onto it.

There was a flailing of... Limbs?... In her direction as she sailed through the air. She landed a bit ungracefully as the sound crashed over her again. She covered her ears with her hands and retreated, turning to face the entity as she backed away.

There were hands... Or hand like things... Clutching the headphones. Slowly the screaming dwindled. Soon it was quiet save for the cursing and crying and relief voiced by the heroes.

"Oh thank god!"

"It's over!"

"Ugh my head..."

"Is everyone okay?"

"I understand why they had that thing locked away now."

"Black Bat." Cass turned to see Batman holding his head in one hand. "What did you do?"

Cass mimed putting the headphones on. "Overstimulation." She said simply.

"What do you mean?" Batman looked to the entity. His eyes narrowed at the way it clung to the headphones. His gaze swiveled to the inky darkness of the box. An idea swirled in his brain and he nodded. "Extreme sensory deprivation."

Cass nodded, pleased.

"Batman! What happened? Are you alright?" Superman approached the pair. His voice was raised slightly. Blood dripped from his ears.

"I'm fine Superman." Batman faced him fully, moving his mouth in exaggerated syllables. "But you're not."

Superman smiled sheepishly. "I see you noticed. I can't hear anything right now." He turned towards the entity. "What do we do now? It's clearly too dangerous to simply let free." He turned back to Batman. "With the watchtower out of power the best option we have is to put it back into the box."

"Hnn..." Batman frowned. "I don't think that would work well. Based on how it reacted to light and sound, we can assume that the box was some sort of sensory deprivation tank."

"Sensory deprivation tank?"

"It's a box that cuts off all stimuli from the outside." Red Robin pulled himself off the floor with a groan. "It's a form of extreme isolation. Do you think that's why it was screaming?"

"What?"

Batman ignored Superman. "I believe so. Black Bat was the first to notice."

Red Robin squinted. "Are those my headphones?"

Cass grinned at him. "Useful."

He huffed and passed her a handkerchief from his belt. "You owe me new ones." She giggled silently and took the handkerchief, wiping away the nosebleed.

Batman grunted, gaze shifting back to the writhing mass of black in the darkness. "We'll have to quarantine this room. I don't believe trying to handle the entity would be wise."

"No kidding." Superman winced, putting a hand to his head. "But we won't be able to do much until Cyborg restores power. He was in the control room when the screaming started, right?"

Not a moment after Superman had finished speaking the backup lights came on.

And the shrieking started anew.

Heroes were once again forced to their knees as the sound hit them. Cass wasted no time and ran towards the entity. It was no longer a roiling bulbous mass, but rather had a partial humanoid form. A clear and present head and shoulders, thin long arms with hands clasped around the headphones.

She didn't know where it's eyes were supposed to be, but she didn't bother taking the time to figure it out. She ripped her cape from her shoulders and flung it over top of the entity. There was an immediate flailing of limbs and tentacles as it tried to get the offending object off.

Cass worked quickly. Pulling a blindfold from her belt, she wrapped it swiftly around the "head" of the thing in front of her. The knot was tied equally as fast, but before she could pull away, her hands were caught.

Long, impossibly long fingers held her hands in a vice grip. They were icy. So cold that it felt like her skin was burning.

But the screaming stopped.

"Black Bat!"

Cass ignored Red Robin's cry and Batman's frantic run towards her.

The entity had stilled.

It's limbs shrunk instantly, leaving almost normally proportioned arms and legs. The tentacles shrank away to nothing. The claws and fangs receding with them. The grip on her hands turned gentle, the fingers shrinking to a normal, proportional size.

Cass's eyes darted to Batman, stopping him just before he reached her. She shook her head minutely. This thing was not hostile.

It was scared.

Cass turned her gaze back to the thing and watched, tense as the fingers slowly ran up and down her hand. It felt her wrist, palm and fingers.

Slowly, the blackness faded into color. Blinding white hair fluttered with an unseen breeze. Skin tan underneath the headphones and blindfold. A tattered jumpsuit in black and white stained green.

A nose peeked out from under the blindfold. A pair of lips, thin and chapped. Freckles dotted what she could see of the cheeks.

It looked young. A young humanoid. It probably wasn't human at all but, the similarities were there. It looked like a boy. Younger than Tim, but older than Damien.

He looked thin. She traced the line of his ribs with her eyes. She would see where his hip bones jutted out. He was emaciated. Or very nearly. He looked as of he'd been starving.

She head Batman shift as he knelt beside her. She knew he'd seen it too. This boy had been tortured in extreme isolation. What had happened to him?

He didn't speak. She didn't really expect him to. He searched her hands for a moment more, before his hands stilled. Then, slowly, carefully, his fingers intertwined with hers. He gave a gentle squeeze.

She squeezed back.

The blindfold covering his eyes grew wet. The wetness seeped down the blindfold and dripped to the floor.

The boy was crying.

"You're real." Came a raspy whisper.

There was a flash of bright white light and suddenly a very starved human boy was collapsing into Cass's arms.

—————

(Cass looked up at Bruce with wide eyes, cradling the boy to herself. He now had pale skin, tattered blue jeans and a worn T-shirt. His tousled black hair was grimy with filth. Dark circles shadowed long dark eyelashes and hollowed cheeks.

Cass was suddenly sure. Whatever he was, he was hers now.

"New baby brother."

Batman sighed heavily.)

————-—

Aaaaaand I have more? Maybe? Like the idea that he has gone crazy and lost his senses for a time really appealed to me. Cue rehabilitation and him trying to free the other ghosts/Vlad and get them back to the ghost zone. Maybe try to go back in time to stop it all from happening? Idk.

I felt the need to post this before I dedicated too much time to it and wrote a multi chapter fic but never actually post it anywhere. 🫠

Tell me what you thiiiiink.

[the-badger-mole]

Worst Cooks in the Nation

It was strange having a school rivalry somehow spin out of control and become fodder for a reality competition series, but that is exactly where Katara and Zuko now found themselves. After culinary school, they had gone on to become big names-Katara with her globally popular online cooking show and Zuko with his first restaurant earning three stars in it's opening year. They were prepared to never see each other again after graduation, but someone-Katara suspected her friend and Probending promoter Toph, while Zuko smelled his uncle's interference- had gotten into the ear of the executive of the food and travel network who had approached Katara to syndicate her cooking show. She had somehow gotten word of the intense rivalry between Chefs Katara and Zuko- along with some video that neither of them had known existed- and it had given her a brilliant idea.

The woman talked fast, and neither Katara nor Zuko knew how, but by the end of the meeting, they had agreed to two seasons of Worst Cooks in the Nation. The regret set in immediately.

"So..." Katara said, as they walked through the parking lot towards her car.

"Yeah..." Zuko agreed. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Who even took those videos in the first place?"

"Probably Chan," Katara said scowling. "That guy would mind any business that wasn't his own."

"I remember," Zuko's face twisted into something like a grimace. "Still, who records an onion chopping contest?" Katara stopped walking and looked up at Zuko incredulously.

"Chan!" She rolled her eyes. Zuko gave a weak chuckle.

"I guess he's the one who filmed you dumping that salad dressing on my head," he said. "Or that time I let your stone lobsters loose."

"Yeah, why was that guy so obsessed with filming us?" Katara made a face. Zuko shuddered and shrugged. This was new, he mused. Just having a regular, if slightly awkward conversation with Katara.

It had been years-five of them to be exact- since they had seen each other face to face. The bitter rivalry they'd let simmer through 4 years of culinary school had at the end boiled over in a frothy mess. They hadn't spoken a word of the mess they'd made at the end. The small bit of awkwardness between them was a nice surprise, all things considered.

"We're going to keep this competition friendly, right?" Katara asked. She looked up at Zuko with her wide, earnest eyes, tugging at her lip with her teeth. Zuko drew his hands behind his back and clasped them together tightly.

"We're almost thirty," he said. "I think we're past food fights and insults...right?"

"Right!" Katara agreed with alacrity. They walked along in silence for a while, passing row after row of cars.

"What about... that other thing?" Katara asked. She didn't meet Zuko's eye this time. She kept her gaze firmly on the ground a few feet ahead of them.

"The...other thing?" Zuko was grateful for the dim lighting of the parking lot. He could feel the back of his neck heat up.

"You know...we never talked about it, but..." Katara glanced up at him from the corner of her eye. Zuko was glad that she was walking on his left. The scar on his face would make the spectacular blush on his face less noticeable at least.

"We rarely talked about anything," Zuko said with what he hoped was believable nonchalance. "It was shouting matches or silent treatment with us."

"Then why did you kiss me?" Katara asked. Zuko froze midstep. He swallowed once, twice. Three times before he could form words.

"If I recall, you kissed me first," Zuko said. Katara's head snapped up, all the shyness was gone. She scowled at him.

"No," she said. "You definitely kissed me. I remember you were all up in my space, and I was against the counter at my work station and then you leaned in and kissed me." Zuko remembered that almost the same way, only in his recollection, Katara had leaned up to close the space between them. Then his arms had gone around her waist and hers had wound around his neck.

"I remember you holding onto me," he said quietly. "And pulling me back in when I tried to pull away."

"Are you saying I forced you?" Katara demanded. Zuko smirked at that. He could see the flush on her dusky cheeks, and realized maybe the red on his own face wasn't as unnoticeable as he'd hoped.

"No," he said. "I don't remember kissing you first, but I remember wanting to." Katara's eyes went wide, and her blush got hotter.

"Oh," was all she said. Zuko took a breath, shut his eyes.

"It was a long time ago," he told her.

"Yeah," Katara looked down at the ground. "I-I guess it was. I'm not even sure why I brought it up. It's just...if we're going to be working together, we should be on the same page, right?"

"Right," Zuko agreed.

"So...we're doing this?" Katara asked. "Reality TV competitions can get ugly."

"I promise, we'll keep it clean," Zuko said. "No food fighting. No below the belt insults. No...doing anything unfair."

"Smack talking's still allowed?" A half smile tugged at Katara's mouth, and Zuko resisted the urge to catch it with his own. There would be no doubts who would be the initiator here.

"I insist on it," he said. "I can admit it now, but your smack talk is pretty funny. It'll make for good TV." Katara's half smile grew into a full blown grin.

"Alright," she said. "Let's give them a show."

Based on the Bot Plot AU I wrote in Part 1

[ryomens-vixen]

VIIIIXXX I have a request if I may?

I wanna know what Yandere head cannons you have for Suguru. Because I know you have them, and I'm /dying/ to hear them

😌🤍Ofc I have some Yandere head canons of my boyfriend Suguru! And yes you can send a request anytime pookie!

YANDERE!Suguru Headcanons

Summary: Your friends dared you to do this trendy break up prank on your boyfriend...but he's not taking the joke to well.

Yandere!Suguru x (f)YN

CW: Yandere tendencies, Stalking, Kidnapping, NSFW, gaslighting, blood kink if you squint, knife play if you squint, breeding kink.

Word count: ion fuckin know 🤷🏾‍♀️ Reblog & ❤ good luck!

Yandere!Suguru whom you happened to break up with as a joke, except he did not take the joke very lightly at all. You see your boyfriend was absolutely infatuated with you, obsessed even. So this "joke" was not funny to him at all- You have no clue as to how far he would actually go to make sure you're his even though his calm and level headed demeanor says otherwise.

Yandere!Suguru who after that joke would follow you to and from work making sure you hadn't been talking to someone who wasn't him.

Yandere!Suguru who would check your phone while you were in the shower when you'd come over his place to spend the night.

Yandere!Suguru who would "jokingly" tell you to go talk to your other hoes, but whenever you joked back with a nonchalant "Okay, I will" it made his chest tighten and burn with anger. Did you actually have another behind his back? We're you going to go see him after you left? All while faking a small chuckle, you really don't know what you've done, have you?

Yandere!Suguru who would go weeks without talking to you after that night, you never questioned it. Maybe he was busy with work or caught up with Suguru. No- no he wasn't. He was a lot closer than you thought.

Yandere!Suguru who turned off his location so you wouldn't know that the whole time he wasn't speaking to you, he was actually stalking you throughout the day and night. Did you forget already that you gave him a key to your apartment?

Yandere!Suguru who memorized the times where you would eat and take a shower so that he can sneak in each night and hide underneath your bed.

Yandere!Suguru who would listen to you giggle to your girlfriends about this new guy that's become your regular at the café you worked at each morning. Was this the guy you were seeing behind his back? No, he has to REMIND you that you belong to him only and he'd do that tonight.

Yandere!Suguru would wait until you were good and asleep to duct tape your mouth and hog tie you tight enough to get you in his car, all the fighting you did with him really tired you out. Might as well sees what your DARLING boyfriend has in store for you. At least getting kidnapped by some hot guy with dark circles was definitely on the bucket list.

Yandere!Suguru who would later violently toss you onto his couch rather than taking you to his bed, no no that was too good for you.

"You know this IS your fault? Thinking you could EVER find someone better than me- Are you stupid? Answer me, Y/N!"

How on earth could you possibly answer his question...with tape over your month?! But it was so hot seeing him pace around like some crazed lunatic- which is exactly what he was.

"You think you're too good to answer me, huh? It's okay, because I'll show you would actually owes you- NOBODY. And I mean NOBODY. will ever, ever love you as much as I do, Nobody will ever know your body like I know it~"

Man you hadn't a clue what he was going in about, but you knew one thing. That aching in your core was really nagging you with how much Suguru was turning you on. Maybe you should make him act like this more often, Nah because then he'll know you're doing it on purpose.

Yandere!Suguru who would come back with the sharpest knife he could find just to throw himself on top of you. Taking each piece of fabric that covered your delicious body and cutting it, no matter how sloppy the cuts he didn't want to take his time with you at all. You were his and he was determined to remind you of that, he was determined to bury his cock deep into the depths of your insides no matter what.

Yandere!Suguru who accidentally cut your inner tight while trying to get your pajama pants off. All he could hear was the squeal you made followed by a pained whine.

"Oh... I'm so sorry, mamas. Maybe if you didn't drive me crazy like this I wouldn't have cut you, but that's your fault too now isn't it?"

Of course it's not entirely you fault I mean how were you suppose to know that a harmless little prank would cause him so much distress? Goddamn it was hot, but you also didn't enjoy the pain that came with it- what is he doing? Is he liking the blood? What other crazy shit is this man into, you wondered?

"Mmmf, Mamas... You know you taste so good- I bet he's never tasted you before like I have. It almost tastes as good as that pussy of yours, look at it so soaking wet for daddy... Yeah she knows who she belongs too."

Is he- talking to your pussy?! Oh yeah you thought Suguru was crazy before, well he's definitely insane and man was it a little concerning.

Yandere!Suguru who would rub the bright pink tip of his cock onto the would that was left on your inner. The way his breath would hitch at the sight of some of your blood getting in his cock turned him as stiff as a brick he just had to be inside you.

Yandere!Suguru who would run his cock up and down through the folds of your pussy getting all your juices on it.

"I'm going to make you mine all over again, look at pretty pussy, just calling my fuckin name. Shhh.. Shhh. Shhh... Daddy's gonna make that pussy real full in. A. Minute-"

Yandere!Suguru who enunciated his last few words with a sudden thrust. Slamming his cock straight into your cervix- it was so sudden you barely had time to even adjust to his size before your eyes started to roll back.

Yandere!Suguru who threw your legs over his shoulders, ripped the tape off of your mouth, just so he could press his full weight onto you as he leaned down to sloppily kiss you.

"Say it's mines, mamas. C'mon, c'mon, c'mon say who this good pussy belongs too. This pretty pussy that I'm going to impregnate.. You'd like that wouldn't you? Me getting you pregnant, you having MY baby- just say it pretty girl, say it, say it, say it-!"

"I-its yours, AaAah- S- Su- Fuck-"

"Atta girl.. That's right, my fuckin pussy, nobody elses~"

Yandere!Suguru who made you call off of work so that he could properly breed you for the rest of the day so he can make sure you're well fertilized with his seed.

[adaptacy]

Hear me out-

Johnny with a very stoic, silent reader who is actually really really deadly if that makes sense?? Maybe they met while she was sitting at a bar and ended up getting into a fight with some guy who was bothering Sissy or something, OOH maybe she’s a bouncer, love me a woman who can fight ngl 💕💕 (and very psychotic men but that’s not important-

OOO okay!! honestly i was expecting johnny to be the strong silent stoic type i was so surprised when i played the game and he was a chatterbox douchebag who cant stop talking shit

so i think a stoic type partner could be fun >:)

He and sissy didn't go out very often-- Well, at least not together. Once sissy moved back into the Sawyer house, she remained there most of the time while Johnny was the one to go out and have all the fun.

But, whenever he was absolutely exhausted of her constant nagging him to take her out, he'd let her ride along to a bar while he scouted. He'd immediately regret it as she loudly sang along to the radio, off-tune without a care in the world.

She'd had a lot more experience in the outside world than him, so while she remained at home a lot, she didn't lack social skills. Sissy loved chatting up guys at the bars, and sometimes, once in a blue moon, they'd each bring back someone to the house.

This day was no different. Johnny wasn't having any luck finding girls he deemed interesting, so he excused himself to go to the bathroom as Sissy drank his wallet empty and chatted a couple of guys ears off.

While he was in the bathroom, washing his hands, he heard some kind of commotion outside, and he frowned, assuming that sissy had made some awful mistake that would get them banned from yet another bar. there was a reason why he hated letting her come along.

Yet, when he returned to the bar, sissy being problematic was not what he saw. Instead, it was a woman he'd seen before, but wasn't familiar with. He'd seen her around this very bar a few times, but hadn't ever paid much attention to her. she always had an expression that made her seem busy.

Sissy was sitting in a different bar stool than when he'd left, and she seemed almost startled, but an eerie grin spread over her face as she watched this woman beat the absolute shit out of a guy that Johnny remembered had been talking to her before he'd gone off to the bathroom.

The guy was draped over the bar, and the mystery woman slammed her fist into his face one more time, earning a groggy, blood-strained gurgle from the man before she grabbed him by his collar and dragged him out of the bar.

Whether he wanted to admit it or not, johnny was still a little concerned for Sissy, seeing as how it seemed something had gone terribly awry.

"What the hell happened?" he'd ask, visually checking over the brunette for scratches or bruises or anything, and she'd drunkenly explained that he'd tried to slip something in her drink, even a little too loudly joking about how he was using their own tricks against them.

"Did you drink it?" no, of course she didn't. she didn't have the option to. the woman, who Sissy identified as a bouncer, had stepped in almost immediately and taught the guy a lesson.

Well, Johnny couldn't let that go unseen. So, he left Sissy again, this time to go outside and try his shot at getting to know more about this bouncer. He thanked you, and all you gave him back was a nod. it was your job, after all. why the hell else would you be here?

he'd try to ask more questions, like how you'd noticed, or how long you'd worked here, and you gave him short, one or two word answers, which he found both frustrating and intriguing.

rest assured, he made sure to regular that bar frequently, and would consistently try to get to know you.

Also, he would not try and pull girls from that bar again. not after he saw what you did to that one guy. Johnny wasn't necessarily intimidated, but...

well, if he got kicked out of the bar, he wouldn't get a chance to see you again, and that didn't sound like much fun.

[autistic-danieljackson]

So I've just finished season 9 of SG-1 and it definitely has different vibes than the rest of the show so far. Not bad! I didn't think it was bad at all which I feel like a lot of people write it off. But it almost feels like an SG-1 spin-off, if that makes sense? Like SG-1 2.0, it's not quite the same as the first 3 seasons but you sort of need to know the history of how we got here. Anyway, some quick thoughts before I start the last season. Cannot believe I'm here already but also feel like I've been watching for so long even though it's been less than a month.

First, I need to apologize to Vala Mal Doran. I'm so sorry I was too boring at 10 years old to appreciate her, she is such a fun character and I think naturally brings the silliness that's kind of missing with Jack gone. I'm very excited for her to be a series regular for season 10, cannot get enough.

Second, I'm really not sure what I think about Cam. I hadn't seen much of season 9 or 10 before now, when I was first watching it was before streaming and I'd come home from school and there were 2 episodes of Atlantis and then 2 episodes of SG-1 on each night so I just had to watch what was on(I'm not that old but god did writing that make me feel so old 😂). Anyway all this to say I'd seen Cam before but I didn't really know his character. I think Ben Browder did a great job but I think they tried to make Cam younger Jack 2.0 and I wish they would've just made his character more original. They could've made his character more interesting but I also get that they were probably trying to appease fans who were probably upset that Jack was gone. I think it could've been handled better but I don't actively dislike Cam.

The only thing I do dislike about his character is that it feels like he's undermining Sam a lot. Obviously the in-universe reason for why he's in charge of SG-1 makes sense now, Sam left to work at Area 51 and Cam was brought in to lead the team. But like...it just feels like so much bullshit. Again, they could've just had Sam in charge and had Cam come in as this young hotshot. It just feels so disrespectful to her character and being with the team for 8 years to now be second chair to the new guy. Also I know it was the early 2000s and there was a fair share of casual misogyny everywhere but it just felt extra gross coming from someone who just stepped in and basically took her spot. Like in the Kassa episode when Cam's insisting that he be the one to go collect information and he calls Sam 'Mary Poppins'? What is that even about?? (To be fair, the writing of that whole episode was not great, that's the only episode where I was like okay yikes yeah this is not super good) I just think more could've been done with both of their characters and I really would've liked to see it play out differently.

Don't care for Landry. Never did, that hasn't changed. I feel like he's unnecessarily mean a lot of times and I just don't like him.

Carolyn Lam, however, I do really like. I like that they finally got a steady replacement for Janet and although no one will ever truly replace her, I think she does a solid job. Not sure how I feel about her being Landry's daughter, I feel like that plot time and energy could have gone to other parts of the story but it's also not bad.

It definitely feels quite a bit different from earlier seasons, with a cast change and a totally new villain that hadn't even been heard of before I don't think that's a surprise at all. But I think it holds its own well enough and I'm definitely glad I didn't write it off without giving it a chance. Very excited to start season 10 and then start on Atlantis!

[vimara00]

Hi everyone, it's Vi! ✨ Today I decided to write something with the trope "she fell first but he fell harder" because I can. Also, I wanna wish u a Merry Christmas!!! 🎅 🎄

Hope you enjoy! ❤️ (Again, sorry if there are any grammatical mistakes, english is not my first language 🙈)

Pd: It's gonna be a part 2

All characters reservations to Horikoshi

Warnings: jealousy

Too blind to see (Kirishima x F!reader)

(Image created with AI)

Kirishima and y/n have known each other since birth as both of their mothers were friends. They dreamed of the two of them getting along and, in an ideal future, getting married and giving them grandchildren, but it was too early for the last part. They became inseparable and did everything together; They went to the same kindergarten, same high school, and even managed to enter the UA. However, because of y/n "sanation" quirk, she was at another class. But that wasn't an impediment for seeing each other every day. And when she wasn't with Kirishima and his friends, she would be helping on the nursery as part of her training. Her mentor, Recovery girl, always said that she'll take her place when she retired, so y/n needed to work extra hard if she wanted to be able to save heroes' lives during battle.

Kirishima was y/n's number one fan; she was his muse, his rock, and his 'best friend' while for her...he was way more than that. She was in love with her best friend and came with the realisation, at a very young age, that he didn't see her as a potential partner so she kept her mouth shut for all this years, scared of rejection.

However, lately, Kirishima's been more protective than normal; At first, she thought it probably had something to do with the LOV's recent attack, but certain actions made her think otherwise...

The other day, Deku came in with new injuries, and because he was a regular patient, he talked a lot with y/n while she treated his wounds. They became very good friends as she was one of the few who knew of OFA. Kirishima hadn't noticed how close they were till he came in later that day to check on Midoriya and found them siting next to eachother (shoulders touching and being VERY VERY close for his liking) reading and talking about his notes. He was standing at the door annoyed by the scene happening in front of him, and suddenly, a new sensation came with it, one he couldn't put into words, but it felt similar to fear. Of what? He was yet to find out...

He decided enough was enough and entered the room, making his presence known. Izuku might have noticed the intense look Kirishima was giving him cause he tensed and moved a little so his body wasn't touching hers at all; He knew that, even though the redhead was such a great guy, when it came to her, he sure as hell would beat someone up just because that person looked the wrong way (Midoriya has seen it many times). Y/n didn't think much of it as she greeted him with a kiss on the cheek and kept doing some reports that Recovery girl has left for her. After she was done, they left so Izuku could rest, but not before she gave him a quick hug and said their goodbyes. Kirishima was rather quiet all the way to her doorm, and once they arrived, he said 'You are really close with Midoriya, ah?' 'Yes, he's a really nice guy! He comes almost every day so he's my favorite patient by now' His face turned into a frown to that and respond 'Is that so?' He hadn't stopped looking intensibly at her, and it was making the e/c girl nervous. <Why does he sound like he's jealous?> The girl was wondering when suddenly, he grabbed her forearm gently so her body was now facing him. His eyes were no longer on her but the floor, and he whispered 'I don't like you being that friendly with him. I'm supposed to be the one who receives your hugs and the one you tend their wounds of!' He paused for a few seconds and finally looked at her as he continued 'I don't like sharing your attention or you affection. I know it's selfish but lately, when I see you with others, it hurts and it annoys me...I feel kind of left out and I don't like it one bit' Someone would of assumed this 'sensations' Kirishima was having were of pure jealousy or envy because of the threaten of her finding someone else and that this might have been his confession but no. He's convinced himself, and her, that it was his mission as a 'big bro' that he needed to be sure the guy she settled for was a nice one. That night, both of them went to sleep with a huge weight of their hearts. Y/n because she realized that nothing has changed and that she'd always be his friend no matter how cute she dressed or how mature she acted, she'd never be his first option. As for him... He felt his chest tighten at the thought of her being with some other dude.

The next few days, he did everything in his power to not let Midoriya or any other of his friends near y/n, but he couldn't control everyone for too long, could he? It wasn't long enough until UA most handsome guy, had to pay a visit to the nursery and even took the chance to invite her to endeavors agency to work with them. She was very excited to tell him about what happened and that she accepted their offer, but Kirishima had to pretend that he was happy when he actually was feeling sad)?

Since then, mister cute face has spent too much time with her and did everything together; from eating lunch to going on missions alone and then having dinner at his house (Midoriya and Bakugou were there too but still) The redhead was going crazy to say the least. However, he began to wonder if these emotions were similar to the ones a brother would have for his little sister or more like a boyfriend would have for his girl. The word 'jealousy' came along with those thoughts and so he understood why he got so annoyed and anxious whenever she was with someone else or how worried he got by just the idea of her having a boyfriend or even marrying someone; marrying someone who wasn't him. He was in love with her! All this time, he actually thought he was doing the right thing by being protecting her from praying eyes but he was just keeping her to himself instead. He realized how mistaken he had been and needed to make his intentions clear for her even if she rejected him. He just needed to find the right time

....

Part 2 in a few days 😉

[itsevanffsbutspam]

one day i woke up feeling dizzy. ridiculously dizzy, for my standards, and i know my body can get real fucked up sometimes so that's saying something. breathing deeply or doing jumping jacks or running in place didn't help. biking to uni didn't help either, even though that should theoretically raise my blood pressure and heart rate. i did everything i could think of, and considering i wasn't registered with the local gp yet, after day five (!!) of persistent dizziness that was enough to make me feel like i could keel over at any moment, i finally bit the bullet and did what people were telling me to do; i went to the closest gp center for an emergency (spoed, it doesn't translate well) consultation.

the hours for those are from 17:00 onwards into the night, and during weekends; like, the hours that regular practices don't take patients. i went, waited until 17:00 exactly to go in. there was one guy in the same situation as me (had a problem (i think it was a broken leg), wasn't registered with a gp either, so he came here for a checkup). his friend was also there but that was just moral support. he was the only person aside from me in the waiting room the entire time i was there.

i told the lady at the desk what was going on, gave her my social security number, and she directed me to wait. i did, i think i got called in around 15 minutes after i sat down. went in for some tests, and everything came back fine. hemoglobin was fine, heart was fine, blood pressure was on the low end, 95 over 60 i think. something like that. they were extremely nice and understanding; the doctor attending to me was someone in training and her mentor, so i think that helped with them treating me like a person. they told me they'd talk about it and let me know if they thought i needed to see an actual gp, and i agreed, so back to the waiting room i went.

about 10ish minutes later i got called in by a gp, a man, who sat me down and asked what was going on. i explained everything again, and he told me he'd do some tests; blood pressure, hemoglobin, et cetera. at that point i thought i'd gone to the wrong doctor and misheard my name or something, so i told him i'd already had those tests done. he said 'huh' and scrolled down on his computer. turns out this guy hadn't even looked through the file they'd given him about me! great start.

he asked me some followup questions, to which my answers were all pretty much 'everything seems normal', and as we went on he got visibly annoyed. i'm autistic so it has to be visible if i can fucking see it, right, i'm shit at inferring those things. great sign. we did some neurological tests to see if my brain fucked up, and it hadn't, thank god, which made me relieved that i wasn't possibly dying or whatever. my main concern and such.

this guy sat me down, and then proceeded to tell me that i really shouldn't be there if it isn't an emergency. the implication was that i was 1. bothering him, and 2. that i was taking up the space of people who really needed it.

i can't really explain to you what i felt in that moment, but i am still really proud of myself for grinning and bearing it. but let me recap the situation i was in.

i had been feeling dizzy enough that i was having trouble standing for FIVE DAYS STRAIGHT. i had consulted the site for the nhs and friends and family, all of whom told me to go to the doctor, and so i, after five days of nonstop dizziness, mustered up the courage to go.

there was ONE person aside from me in the waiting room who was being treated already when i got called back.

the women who tested me earlier were the ones who chose to refer me to that gp. they made that decision based on what they considered necessary. if i'd been fine, they would have told me to go home and i would have gladly gone.

i was at the time not registered with a gp in the area. i told them this. i'm fairly sure my registered gp's location being on the other side of the country was visible on my file. i would have had to travel three and a half hours alone with a potential serious problem to reach a doctor, and then i would have had to wait a week or more for an appointment anyway.

i was not in the ER. there is an ER in that building but i was most decidedly not in the emergency room. i was in the off-hours gp center, which is by definition not an emergency room. for emergencies you call 112. for non-emergencies but things that can't be delayed several days you call the off-hours gp center. that is where i went. i checked. twice.

i always thought that it was a good thing to go to the doctor and find there's nothing seriously wrong with you, instead of not going and getting serious complications later. so why was it that this guy treated me like a burden and insinuated i was taking up space that, let's be real, wasn't being used anyway? all because i didn't have a real enough problem, in his mind, to warrant being there?

i could have been directed to go home twice before then; at the reception, and after the preliminary tests, but both people thought my symptoms were serious enough to warrant a further check right then and there. so why was i being told that i wasn't meant to be there?

i eventually did register with the local gp a few weeks later, and that took almost three weeks to complete. then i went and got an appointment, and on the site it takes almost two months to get one, but if you call it still takes---you guessed it---a full week. a month of delay in care when i can barely walk or stand straight is, let's be honest, time i'm not comfortable wasting. so i ask again. why the fuck was i being treated like i wasn't meant to be there?

this isn't the only time i've been dismissed out of pocket because my situation wasn't severe enough, or wasn't connected to a serious underlying problem even though it impaired my normal function, and i'm not the only person this has happened to. it's genuinely come to a point where i have to start defending myself before i go to the doctor, so i have arguments why i'm allowed to be there ready to go just in case this particular gp decides i'm not sick enough to warrant care, again.

i wait two weeks before going to a doctor, instead of going right away and inevitably being told 'come back in two weeks and see if you still have the issue'. i don't even go to the doctor that much, maybe twice a year at most (not counting follow-ups), but i've come to expect it. how fucking sad is that? i have to defend my right to get healthcare from the people giving it to me. and i pay to be able to access healthcare!

i get that this is better than some people have it, etc etc, but i'm not okay with calling this state of things acceptable. not at all.

but seriously, what was i meant to do? perform neurological exams on myself? test my own hemoglobin at home? measure my own blood pressure with a blood pressure meter i don't have? travel 100 miles by train and bus with a condition that could put me at risk of harm in the process just to see a gp who'd tell me to wait another week anyway? piss off.

[stars-mischief-archive]

I think i’m in love with your oc and its the darn puns. I’m a sucker for terrible jokes

aww, thanks, nonnie!

hehe~~

let me tell another one, just for you, nonnie!~

what does corn say when it gets complimented?

aw, shucks!~~

i'm glad you guys like my jokes!

but.. don't be afraid to tell me if i say too many, okay?

i'm all for having fun - but i don't want to annoy anyone.

SNIFFLES. THANK YOU so so much.

you really don't know how much it means to me to see people who actually like star.

on more than one occasion both he and i worry that everything going on here - with all the jokes and how much we interact with others - that it tends to get a bit annoying after a while.

with that in mind, if we ever sent an ask and you either a) don't feel like answering it or b) don't want to answer it - you don't have to! plain and simple.

i will never hold it against someone for choosing not to answer something (whether it no longer fits or you simply can't think of a response. i know there are only so many times you can say "haha, that's funny!" before it feels more like a chore than actually laughing at something..)

chances are.. we probably even forgot it was sent - to be honest.

star.. i don't know how to explain it but he's different from my other little guys.

i was so terrified to bring him forward and let him meet everyone

but, i did and.. i honestly think that was one of the best decisions i've ever made.

and, to think, none of this would've happened if it hadn't been for rott and his sam account. (honestly he deserves compensation for how many times star interacts on a regular basis LOL. rotts, if you're reading this, thank YOU in particular for putting up with us! gold star for you ⭐️)

i'm really grateful for everyone & their continued support and love of my silly guy.

there are moments when.. i get so caught up in my own head that i forget people CAN and DO view the things i make positively. reminders like this mean so, so much to me - yoj don't even know.

i know you probably think "oh, he just says this to everyone" and, sure, yeah, but that doesn't make it any less true.

i really can't thank you guys enough for the kind interactions you've shown star (he appreciates them too) and i know he loves each and every one of you so much.

the interactions - whether it be the platonic ones from anons/friends or the romantic ones from his partners - all mean so much to me (and him).

we get so excited to long onto this account and see all your asks - even if it takes some time to answer them. we really do appreciate everything that gets sent in or the little notes you leave in the comments or reblogs. you guys are great.

so.. i hope you guys love him just as much.

there's still so much that hasn't been uncovered about him and i really do want to share it with you guys, but you have to find the specific things that'll make them happen.

ANYWAY. you didn't come to hear me yap so.. i'll stop rambling now. but tldr: both star and i are so grateful for all of the love you guys have shown him. it means a lot.

love you guys /p

[yjano]

All of me.

Part 3.

Pairing: Jake x Mc.

Warnings: slow burn, swearing, angst, a little fluff, smut, violence and other pairings.

Words: 5.1k

Author's note: Although this story is not related to the Duskwood game, I will add some of our beloved characters. Please read it only if you're into angst prison stories, slow burns, etc. A little hint: You will get to see some similarities to Jake and his gang from "Never The Same" fic.

I and Jake were back in the laundry room once again. Our morning had gone by pretty easy and after the regular stuff we had to do everyday both of us had been sent to the laundry room once again to get to our task of folding laundry and putting it away once we were done. I did, of course, as I was told while Jake did the complete opposite. While I had already folded two complete baskets, Jake had just been looking at me the whole time from his spot behind the counter. His back sloughed against it, and his arms crossed in front of him.

He didn't look like he was gonna do anything, and so I had already mentally prepared for the five more baskets I had to do to avoid commotion at my station. I didn't mind it, though. It kept my mind off the fact that I had to stay inside this hell hole, and it kept me busy.

"Hey doll face, did you have fun with your mom last night? It looked like both of you were crying an awful lot." Jake had suddenly asked, but I decided to ignore the comment once again.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" He teased me and raised one of his eyebrows.

"I... Just missed her, okay? We were always very close. You might be used to being in here, but I am not." I whispered back, almost inaudible.

"Yeah, no shit sherlock." Jake laughed at my words.

I still kept on my task of folding the laundry when a question popped inside my head. I had no idea if I even had the guts to ask him about it, though. I still feared Jake in a way. Sure, he had his somewhat friendly moments, but he was still the guy who had killed his last cellmate. After fighting with myself for more than five minutes, I decided to take the risk and ask the question, curiosity getting the better of me.

"W-who was your visitor?" I stuttered almost inaudible without looking at Jake once. A short silence fell between us and I immediately started to think that I had fucked up big time.

"Just someone." Jake suddenly answered and a sigh of relief released my body, I hadn't fucked up. I didn't believe Jake's answer though. I had no idea who his visitor was but he wasn't just someone. You don't argue with someone like that and that someone don't give you things in secret under a table.

I didn't dare to ask any further, I knew Jake was lying to me but I also knew that I would probably end up dead if he found out that I had seen it all in the visiting room. I gave him a short nod and went on with my task without any help from Jake. He had a soft smirk plastered on his face the whole time.

After two hours all of us were released for lunch break and after completing our routine all of us walked inside the small canteen. I was once again presented with food that looked somewhat edible but nearly not as good as Jake's. To my surprise, Jake had joined me on my table just like yesterday. The guy had seated himself across from me, his plate once again filled with bread, fried eggs, and a cup of fresh orange juice.

Without any hint, Jake threw one of his slices with egg on my plate again, and just like yesterday, he got rid of the old milk in my cup and replaced it with half of his orange juice. With a soft thanks, I had eaten and drunk all of it in a heartbeat, thanking the gods for their help. I had no idea what I had done to get food for the second time from him, but I was glad I had done it.

Jake's food was a million times better than my own, and I loved every bite of it. After both of us had finished our food, we had made our way outside once again. Both of us took a seat at the wall beside each other while Jake lighted one of his cigarettes, taking deep heaves of it.

"Y-you know that they are bad for you, right?" I whispered almost inaudible at my cellmate. I had no idea where my confidence suddenly came from, but before I knew it, I had already said the words to the man beside me, and I hated myself for it. Jake started to laugh pretty loudly at my comment.

"Damn kid, you are too pure to be in here. Of course, I know that they are bad, that's why I started to smoke them in the first place."

I kept my head low, not daring to react to the comment. The short moment of bravery that had flooded over me not even two minutes ago had left me as soon as it had arrived.

"Why are you even in here? There is literally nothing I can picture you doing to end up in here." Jake suddenly asked while he took another heave of his cigarette.

A deep sigh left my mouth. There was no point in hiding the fact from my cellmate. I was pretty sure Jake would find out about it if he wanted anyway. Besides, maybe it gave me an advantage, and it would teach Jake that he shouldn't mess with me.

"T-the judge sent me here because I killed my sister." I whispered back at Jake, causing the male to fall into a huge laughing fit.

"You're joking, right? You.. Killed somebody? That's the best joke I've heard in a while." Jake laughed at me, completely not believing the fact I just told him.

"It's true, though." I whispered back, already being pretty sure that this was surely not something I could use in my advantage on Jake.

"Were they blind or something? You are way too innocent to have killed someone. What did you do to her, tickle her to death?" Jake still laughed at me.

"No... Why are you even in here if you know this stuff so well?" I suddenly asked back, another wave of bravery washed over me, and I was making use of it again. Jake slowly came back down from his laughing fit and looked with his eyebrows raised at me.

"You really have no idea who I am, have you? I'm in here for the usual stuff doll face. Armed robbery, murder, hostage, name it, and I've probably done it. Don't worry, though. I won't be in here for much longer." Jake answered in a calm and collected tone, once again taking a heave from his cigarette.

My eyes grew big at the things Jake just listed. My heart started to beat faster once again, and anxiety started to fill up my body. Who in the hell was my cellmate, and what did he mean by the fact that he would be out of here soon?They surely wouldn't let somebody go who did all the things Jake did, right?

~

I didn't forget the conversation we had that lunch break, but I never asked more about it either. There were a few things from that conversation that I had wanted to know, though. One of them being who Jake really was. He had said to me something about me not knowing who he really was, and it had sparked my curiosity ever since. Who was my cell mate, and why did he laugh about the fact that I didn't know him? I had no idea how, but I wanted to find out who I was actually sharing a cell with. I decided to let it rest for now, but one day, I would find out.

Another thing that had sparked my curiosity was the fact that Jake had told me that he wouldn't be here for much longer. I had no idea what he had meant by that. Was he getting released? Was he getting transferred? Was he trying to kill himself? What was is that the male had in mind and that I couldn't wrap my head around.

Of course, I was also shocked by all the things Jake had done to get in here, but I wasn't surprised. The male took hit after hit like it was nothing, so his life outside of this prison had to be pretty bad, too. A normal person could never do what Jake did.

With a soft sigh, I had finished our laundry for that day. I folded and put away every piece by myself while Jake had just been looking at me with a huge smirk on his face the whole time. At dinner, Jake once again shared his food with me. I was more than happy that I could eat something good for a second time that day. I was thankful Jake decided to share his food every time with me, and if I could guess right, it had something to do with the fact that I did his job in the laundry.

Ever since I started to do that, Jake had started to share his food with me and I would keep doing what I did right now, not wanting to take the risk of losing the good food again. Good food was rare in the prison, and I would do everything to keep it like it was now.

Dinner ended pretty soon, and all of the inmates were instructed to get back to their cells for the evening routine again. All of us lined up outside our cells like we did every night, hands in front of us, and heads down. Alle of us except Jake.

I hated it with every bone in my body. I knew that it was coming every night, but I still hated it. It was something that Jake had to do, something that he wouldn't give up, and I just had to deal with it every time he decided to do it.

"Everybody in formation!" The guard yelled, and he started to walk as he passed all of us to see if we did as we were asked.

My heart started to beat faster, and my breaths were becoming heavier with every step the guard set. Anxiety filled my veins once again, and I closed my eyes, not ready for the beating Jake was going to receive. I heard how the guard stepped in front of the two of us and halted his step right in front of Jake.

"Dalton! Why are you disobeying the routine once again?" The guard yelled at Jake. I shut my eyes from the heavy yelling in front of me, and my muscles tensed up. If I could go back in my cell right now and wrap myself up inside my way too small blanket, I would. Jake never gave the guard an answer, and it was clear that it pissed the man off even more.

"I'm so fucking done with this kid." The man grumbled low. "Maybe this will teach you that you should obey me Dalton!" The man yelled right in Jake's face. He grabbed him by his arm and shoved him forcefully in front of me. I had slowly opened my eyes to get a glimpse of all the commotion going on but I wished I had kept them closed.

"Officer Bloom, can I get some help over here!?" The guard yelled at his colleague that was probably one floor below us. I heard how the other man finished up his rounds below us, and with quick steps, he jogged up the stairs and walked over to the guard and Jake.

"Dalton again?" The man I now knew as Officer Bloom asked, and the other guard gave him a quick nod.

"We need to teach him what listening exactly is because Dalton here has clearly never heard of it." The guard laughed, and he gave Jake a harsh push forward, so he collided against the bars of the railing.

"Let this be a lesson to all of you! This is what happens if you keep disobeying the rules!" Officer Bloom yelled at the other inmates, and with a harsh shove, he brought Jake back in front of him. Without any warning, the officers baton collided with Jake's ribcage at full force. With a huge smirk, the other guard looked at them and grabbed his own baton, swinging it at full force at Jake's back. With a harsh push, Jake collided with the bars once again, followed by two new hits aimed at his chest and his shoulders.

.

Jake focus.

.

The first few hits were easy for me, I could handle them, but my body was still sore from the beating at the laundry earlier this week. Normally, I would have been able to take the hits, but I knew this time it was gonna be a challenge. One guard I could handle, but two was a whole different story.

Another swing of the baton hit me in my stomach, and low grumbles started to come out of my mouth. I hated to show my weakness, but I had no choice at this moment. Another blow at my knees sent me straight to the ground, my legs were giving out on me. My knees hit the ground, and another hit on my back forced me to put my hands on the ground in front of me so I wouldn't fall over. I now on my hands and knees on the ground grumbled softly from the repeating blows that keep hitting my body.

"Look at me, Dalton. I wanna see the misery on your face." The guard laughed at my face, and he gave me a hard slap across my face. My head snapped to the left, making me look at Mc's knees in an instant. I slowly lifted my eyes, meeting her fearful ones.

She was shaking all over the place while she tried to keep in position. I could see that she was on the verge of crying, but I had my own problems right now. Another blow in my face snapped my head back to the front, breaking my eye contact with Mc. Two more hits against my ribcage were enough to send me now fully to the ground.

My knees and arms had given up on me, and my body felt like it had been run over by a truck. This didn't stop the hits, though. I didn't know how many more hits I got, but I knew that it had to be at least ten. My whole upper body was in pain, my breathing was heavy, and my eyes were struggling to stay open. I wasn't gonna pass out, though. No, Jake Dalton was not gonna pass out. I would not let them win.

Both guards started to laugh at me, and before I knew it, I was thrown inside my cell with a lot of force. I heard how all the other cells were also closed, and I tried to get up. The ground was hard and cold, and it didn't help at all with my sore body. I felt how a rush of wind walked past my head, and a soft hand was placed on my back. I immediately flinched away from the hand and tried to sit up a second time, falling miserably again.

"Jake, let me help you." Mc's soft voice whispered from above me. I gave her a soft grumble of disapproval and tried a third time to sit up by myself.

"Jake, please, you need my help. If you want it or not." Mc's voice spoke again.

"I...don't...need...your...fucking...help..." I struggled to say, and again, my arms couldn't hold me up. I fell back on the floor.

"You clearly do need my help. Don't be an idiot and let me help you." Mc said now with a little more force. She wasn't afraid of me right now. Probably because right now there wasn't much I could do to her in my current state, so she had no reason to be afraid of me at this moment.

She softly wrapped her arms around my shoulders, helping me up into a sitting position. Soft grumbles of pain left my mouth, but that didn't stop Mc from lifting me up and sitting me up. She ignored me when I tried to push her away, and she simply didn't give me any room to do so.

.

Mc focus.

.

"Jake, please, I can help you. I was a nursing student before I got in here. Let me help you." I pleaded with the male in front of me. It was more than clear that Jake was in pain, and I wanted to help him as much as I could. It was just how I was, always helping people who needed it.

I felt how Jake stopped his soft struggles, and the two of us gave each other a quick look. With a soft sigh, Jake admitted his defeat, and he gave me a soft nod, approving me that I was allowed to help him. My eyes light up at the little nod Jake just gave me, and my eyes dart through to the room to find something I can help the male with.

My brain now in full nursing modus fell on my own blanket and the cold water from the toilet and before I could fully register what I was doing I had already drenched my blanket in the cold water from the toilet.

"Put your hands above your head. We need to get rid of your shirt and cool the bruises. That way, they won't be as bad tomorrow. They will still be bad, but not as bad as they could have been." I rambled, and with great care, I removed Jake's shirt.

Bruises were already forming on his whole upper body, covering the ones that were already there from previous beating. I couldn't ignore the fact that his body looked really pretty. Heavy muscles lined his whole upper body, and the light tan complemented them all in the most perfect way. I shook my head a little, trying to focus back on the task at hand.

That wasn't the only thing that I noticed, though. Jake's body was littered in scars and old wounds. Whatever this guy did outside of this prison, it wasn't good. I softly pushed the cold, wet cloth against his chest, earning a disapproving grumble from Jake.

"I'm sorry, I need to add a little-" I started but got cut off by Jake in mid sentence.

"Just do it, don't think. Do what you have to do for fucks sake!" Jake ordered me while he shut his eyes. With a soft sigh I got on with cooling the bruises one by one. Being as carefully as I could be. I didn't wanna hurt him, but I also knew that I had no choice if I wanted to help him. Everytime I added or released pressure on one of the bruises, Jake would grumble in discomfort, but he never told me to stop. He let me do what I had to do.

"Please try to avoid any beatings for the following week. Your body can't take them anymore, Jake." I pleaded with him while I threw the wet towel in a corner of our cell.

"I can't help you properly in here, and you're gonna need more than just a wet blanket if you keep this up."

.

Jake focus.

.

I didn't answer her, I knew she was right, but I would never tell her that she was. I saw how Mc started to climb up into her own bed, but with a quick snatch of her arm, I had grabbed Mc's wrist. The sudden movement hurt me way more than I wanted to let on, but I knew Mc couldn't be fooled.

"Stay, you don't have a blanket anymore. It's gonna freeze tonight. It's the least I can do for you right now." I mumbled almost inaudible. I saw how Mc's eyes grew big, and for a second, I saw doubt in them. Without giving her a chance to think, I started to lie down, keeping a firm hold on Mc's wrist.

"Come on, I won't bite Mc. We both need the warmth tonight." I said while I turned on my side. With great hesitation, Mc climbed inside the way to a small bed beside me. Both of us now were lying face to face with a way too small blankets wrapped around us.

.

Mc focus.

.

I didn't know how I got myself in this position, but I was way too scared to get out of it now. Jake was still holding my wrist in a tight grip and had already closed his eyes. It wasn't much later that Jake had fallen into a peaceful slumber, and I was still awake. I couldn't ignore that he looked way less scary when he was asleep, and I even found him almost cute.

I also couldn't ignore that Jake had called me Mc for the first time since I had been here. Jake had always called me kid or doll face but never by my own name. I didn't know why Jake did it, though, but I liked it. A soft smile crept on my face, and it didn't take me much longer to fall in a peaceful slumber beside Jake. I could only hope that the next day, Jake wouldn't regret his offer of sharing his bed.

~

That morning, I had woken up in a cold and empty bed. The warmth Jake had provided during the night had left me way too early, and I was now shivering under the small blanket. A small jawn left my mouth, and I slowly opened my eyes with slight hesitation. It was still dark outside, but I could see the outline of Jake sitting at the small desk that stood in our shared cell. It looked like he was drawing something in one of the bibles that were provided to every prisoner upon entering the prison.

I could still remember the day I received my bible on my second day at the prison. Jake had looked at it with great disgust while scolding me about the fact that I even considered reading it. He had mumbled something about the book being a book full of lies and that he had stopped believing in it after someone had died or something. I had been too scared of Jake at that point to ask him what he had meant with the statement, so I never found out why he was so disgusted by the book. With a heavy sigh, I sat up in Jake's bed, the small blanket now only covering my lap.

"J-Jake, what are you doing?" I stuttered, still a little afraid of him. I could see how Jake stiffened, and with the speed of light, the male had closed the book and put it back on its original place on the desk.

"Nothing, go back to sleep it's too early to be up." Jake grumbled back lowly while he slowly turned around.

"But you are up as well." I mumbled softly, not really daring to go against the male in full force. "It's cold without you." I mumbled again but so softly that the other couldn't hear it.

"Just get back to sleep. Don't be stupid, Mc. We all know that you need your beauty sleep. Besides, it's phone call day today, and I'm pretty sure that your mother wouldn't appreciate it if her precious little girl would fall asleep while being on the phone with her." Jake whispered sarcastically with a slight grin on his face.

I had raised my eyebrow at the remark but decided to ignore it for the greater good. With a soft sigh, I had followed Jake's almost command, knowing that there was no way that I could win. It had taken me a good twenty minutes to fall back asleep, twenty minutes in which Jake never joined me back under the blankets.

Three hours later, I had been woken up due to the heavy yelling of the guards outside our cells, and the now familiar morning routine had begun. It looked like Jake had taken my advice for once. The guy did what was asked of him, and he didn't receive even one beating in both the morning and the afternoon routine. I was glad he didn't receive any, I was pretty sure that Jake would have been a goner if he had kept up his normal routine.

What I was also glad about was that Jake had once again shared all his meals with me in trade for the fact that I did both Jake's and my own job at the laundry. It was starting to become a routine for both of us, and both of us were more than fine with that fact.

After once again completing our routine, both Jake and I were allowed to grab a phone from the wall, making us stand next to each other with phones pressed against our ears. I heard how the typical dial tone made the way into my ear, and it was short. After that, I heard the soft click of someone picking up follow.

"Hello?" I heard the familiar sound of my mother's voice say, and tears started to make their way up into my eyes already.

"Mom, it's Mc." I answered softly while a soft sob fought its way outside my mouth.

"Hey, baby. How are you? Are they feeding you well there?" My mother started to ramble while I just listened to her. Hearing her voice was more than enough for me at the moment. I kept listening to my mother's somewhat ridiculous questions that gave me the idea that my mother really had no idea what it was like to be inside a prison.

I kept humming a soft yes or no once in a while to keep her going while my vision fell upon Jake and his conversation. The male looked mad while he was whispering into the phone at the person who was on the other side of the line. I couldn't help but overhear some of it since the male was so close to me, and it made me wonder what it was about doggies, bunnies, firetrucks, and birthdays that made Jake so angry.

It made me wonder even more what the male was up to. First, the weird scribbling in the bible in our shared cell and now the completely weird phone call. I saw how Jake looked up at me, our eyes meeting each others and without thinking, I turned my head quickly around. My breath stuck in my throat at being caught, and a shiver ran across my back.

Suddenly, the guard yelled that our time was up, and with a quick goodbye, I ended the phone call with my mother. We once again had to complete our routine before we were all sent to our cells for the night. I was being the first of the two of us to step inside.

I immediately looked at my bed. A sigh of relief left my body upon seeing the freshly new blanket that had been replaced for the cold and wet one from last night.

"You seem glad you got your own blanket again." Jake softly spoke behind me, and with a quick turn of my head, my eyes met Jake's. He was leaning against the bars of our cell, his arms folded and one of his eyebrows slightly raised.

"I guess that means that you won't treat my bruises tonight?"

My mouth fell open at the statement, and my eyes grew big. Was Jake seriously asking me for help again without complaining?

"I...No...Yes...What?" I stumbled full of disbelief.

"I said... That means that you won't treat my bruises tonight?" Jake repeated with a soft smirk on his face. My eyes flickered over his face, searching for any form of doubt or the fact that he was tricking me into something, but none of that was displayed on Jake's face. With a soft sigh, I turned around and walked to my bed. I grabbed the blanket from it, and within a few seconds, I had the blanket once again completely soaked in ice-cold water from the toilet.

"Sit and remove your shirt." I mumbled while I motioned with my hand at Jake's mattress. Without any questions, he did as I had asked of him, and not even two minutes later, I was busy cooling the bruises while Jake slightly relaxed at the soothing feeling.

"Who did you call? You were awfully quiet the whole time." Jake suddenly asked, and I looked up at him for a short second before I continued my task of cooling the bruises.

"My mother, there isn't anybody else I can call, so I don't have much of a choice." I softly answered with my eyes still on the current bruise I was cooling.

"Nobody? You seemed like someone with a lot of friends to me. That one kid that everybody liked in school and never couldn't do anything wrong." Jake laughed a little before a soft grumble escaped his mouth once again due to me changing the position of the blanket.

"I was to be honest, but being sent to prison for killing your sister does an awful lot to the friendships you've made over the years. Basically, everybody left me the moment I was charged with the murder and now it's just me and my mother." I answered. I hated the fact that everybody had left me without asking me anything, but I also understood it. If it were me, I wouldn't wanna be friends with a murderer too.

"Who did you call?"

"Nobody special, just a friend from work." Jake said vaguely without continuing the conversation. I removed the blanket from his body and threw it in the corner of our cell again. I inspected Jake's upper body one last time, my fingers slowly ghosting over the now cooled bruises. A soft shiver made its way across Jake's body, and I heard how his breath was shortly stuck in his throat.

"I think that's enough for tonight. You're cold. Let's go to bed." I offered, removing my fingers from Jake's skin. It wasn't much later that both of us were laying in bed together just like the night before. Not another word was said between us before Jake first fell asleep, followed by me shortly after.

[munsonology]

Well I need a new therapist lmaoooo

I told her I was uncomfortable regarding a certain celebrity.

I don't mind them as a person, though I feel they are v performative on certain topics and exploits things for money. My main issue is they don't tell their fans anything like they don't say hey no death threats. Maybe they have and then I would feel slightly better about the person, but the fans are moreso my issue.

Regular fans are fine, my sister is. But its the rabid stans who want to crawl in the celebrity's ribcage to breathe the same air as them. Crazy. True definition of stan. Like, I know someone who quite literally went to this celeb's concert not once but THREE times. Fine no big deal, enjoy, I've been to a concert more than once just not in the same concert season lineup thing. Except they then begged for money because they had spent their money for rent and their BABY who is going through a growth spurt has no clothes that fit- this person even said they spent the money on the concert in the comments. Like what???? I've seen fans doxx people for having a differing opinion. Just not people I feel comfortable associating with

Normally idc im not involved whatever, just avoid them. The REASON it got brought up to my therapist, wasn't because I just randomly dislike this celeb. That isnt the reason.

The REASON it got brought up is because Spotify wrapped happened and I mentioned that I was uncomfortable because two people who severely fucked me up mentally (one was emotionally abusive and the other harassed and stalked me) had this artist in their top 5. Also My ex friend who ended up posting pictures of my house when she knew I had a stalker (I had moved snd they hadn't found this place until they posted) also had this artist in top 5. (And yes if was malicious, we had an argument and then they posted the outside of my house, sure they deleted the post later but the guy had already seen it as she had a public account and he followed some of my friends on fake accounts. We weren't friends after this)

I made the comment that they all had widely different tastes but all liked the same artist, and I made a joke that I should have known it was a red flag (we had spent the therapy session discussing signs i should have noticed in these people and ways they were alike which made me even think of the artist WHICH is why it was brought up).

And to be fair the reasons I listed of the people who have done things to me are probably why I dislike the celeb.

But my therapist actually called me stupid and wrong because apparently the artist was in THEIR top 5. Which, uh, okay my bad. Started going hard against me, even cursed at me So I again point out that in my mind it's linked to my abusers and people who betrayed my trust, and my therapist went "the majority isnt like that" to which I mentioned the rest of the points about things I've seen online. I guess I could have just apologized but she was coming at me and I was already on edge talking about everything, then they called me stupid and berating me...

Well I was uncomfortable then but i thought "hey, you did insult someone they obviously like, it's normal to be a lil defensive" and was like well we can move past. But no, quite literally this last session sealed the deal, because instead of talking about my trauma or anything, she made me listen to their albums. Which wtf??? Who does that irl?? Explained all the nuances and the theories and shit I DONT CARE about. I tried to tell them, but ok I also infodump on things I care about. Then they told me that my abusers must not be THAT bad because they have good taste. I walked out. Still got charged for the full session, and I filed a complaint. I dont see how they have their license????

I'm pissed rn haha and it actually had the opposite effect and has solidified that I do not like this artist in my mind. At. All.

Aww bestie that sucks 😭 first thank you for sharing! Second, this therapist is completely unprofessional. They shouldn’t have let their personal like of this artist affect how they’re treating you during the sessions YOU pay for.

And the fact that someone spent their rent money and their baby’s money…where’s the priorities, where’s the values, where’s the morals?

For me, I’ve also disliked a celebrity because of their fans and fandoms. Especially on twitter. I could write a whole thesis on how dysfunctional this fandom is on twitter 💀

There’s good and bad sides to all fandoms, I think in general we all have to find where we fit and surround ourselves with people who value us as much as we value them.

Anon, you have every right to like or not like something. That’s what makes friendships beautiful. I hope you’re able to find a therapist that can support you properly anon 🩷😭 some of these people get their license out a happy meal

[vinter1sol]

In commemoration of me finally getting a new job and actually getting out of retail hell, I've decided to share some of my favourite moments with customers. Yay.

(For reference, I worked in a garden centre/plant nursery)

I was once called up to the register for this pointless question (that I am sure my college at the counter could have also answered ffs):

Lady: *points to her 8 pink hydrangea* How much soil do we need?

Me: *looks at both the lady and her husband, hoping for a clarification* ...?

Lady & Husband: *stares back*

Me: Are you gonna plant them in the ground..? Or in pots?

Lady: In pots.

There are no pots in sight.

Me: Do you already have the pots?

Lady: Yes.

Me: *positively boiling with frustration, but smiling* And how big are they?

Lady: *she makes a vague gesture as to how wide they are* Like this?

Me: And how tall?

Again a vague gesture.

Lady: Oh, and they're already half filled with soil.

I want to strangle you lady, do you know that? Do see that in my eyes? Can you tell that I hold nothing but contempt for you and your hydrangea? That I wish for nothing more but for all your plants to wither and die?

Me: *smiles in customer service*

Lady: So how much soil do you think we'll need?

...

So I apprenticed the same place that I've been working at, and let me tell you about that one time I got scolded by a rail thin and mean old lesbian.

It's a long one, so settle in.

Let me set the scene for you: it's 2020, covid is raging across the country, the state decides to shut everything down except for the essentials...

And we are still open.

...

We're still open.

Me? I was three (3) months into my apprenticeship. It's going as well as you can imagine it going in the middle of a pandemic.

You can probably guess how busy we were, given that most everyone else had been sent home from work and could only spend time outside in their gardens.

Business was booming.

Thing is, even if covid hadn't happened we'd still be understaffed. And I can blatantly admit that I wasn't a great help when it came to answering questions. But I did my best, and I usually told customers that I was an apprentice. If I really couldn't answer their questions I'd find one of my colleges who could.

Anyway, I'm watering as I get approached by the thinnest, most frail-like, snobby older lady I have ever seen in my life, who then asks me if I can help them (her and her wife) with picking a climber.

I tell them that I would not be the best for that and that I would find someone to help them instead.

No problem there, they'd go down to the climbers and wait there.

Cool. Great. I'm off to find someone, anyone, who can help.

Expect everyone is occupied. As in, they had people standing in small groups and ques around them, and when I go in to the register, my boss (the guy who's supposed to be my supervisor) is also occupied.

It's a bust. I most go help the couple as well as I can.

I find them and tell them the following, "I could unfortunately not find anyone else who could help you, so you'll have to settle for me."

Frail looking lady starts asking her questions, which essentially boils down to her wanting to know which of the clematis and honeysuckle will survive best in a "bad" soil.

Me, not knowing shit about it at the time, look at the little cards we've made with information about the individual varieties to try and figure it out.

They all say the same: needs good, regular garden soil.

Well fuck.

Snobby lady: I can read the signs myself, can't you tell me something else?

Well fuck.

Me: I'm sorry, but they all prefer good soil. There isn't one that likes "bad" soil.

Not good enough, therefore wrong answer.

She asks more questions and I eventually tell her that if her soil really is that bad, then it would be a good idea to dig a bigger hole so she could mix in some soil improver/mulch.

No she does not want to do that, she just wants a plant that can live in the soil she already has.

And she most definitely doesn't want my help anymore.

Guess I'll leave then.

I go back to what I was doing before she came - watering. (Because back then our watering system was broken... still kinda is.)

She and her wife pass me by, up towards the main plaza and the greenhouses (where the register is).

I shit you not when I say that not even five minutes pass by, when I can hear her talking and see her speaking to who else but my boss.

Fuck.

My.

Life.

They pass me by, down towards the climbers.

I hear her asking about me, and the last thing I hear as they walk away is my boss telling her that I'm their apprentice and that I've been there for about three months.

I am watering and freaking the fuck out thinking about what it is she could be telling my boss.

I'm thinking about all the ways it could go wrong for me, when I see my boss, who smiles at me as he walks on past, and the lady and her wife go back up. They've got some plants in their basket.

...

What?

Okay, he must've not seen a problem then? Or he's gonna wait until later?

Some time passes by, and by then I'm completely calm and still watering, when I hear that god awful lady again.

I tell her hello, because I am a polite person.

She immediately starts her spiel.

She tells me how I need to tell people that I'm an apprentice and that I haven't been there for that long, and that I don't know anything.

Good day, she says as she leaves.

I am flabbergasted. Completely blindsided. And still watering.

(And no, my boss never did mention it.)

...

I get to hear, "Do you know anything?", and questions followed up by, in the same fucking breath, "But you probably don't know that. Teehee."

I'm gonna force feed you fucking Monkshood if you don't shut the fuck up Karen I did not spend 3 years of my life on this education just for you think I'm nothing more than a little girl hired to tidy up the space

Just ask your question, full stop, don't add a little cheeky follow up. You're being a bitch, and I now don't want to help you.

...

Why do customers think waiting behind you, as you are working, is a good way to get help? It's not, it's fucking obnoxious. You can come up to me, preferably in my line of sight, and say hello like a normal human being thank you.

...

Also, just, this:

Why are you so bad at describing plants? Please just take a picture or bring some of the plant with you. Please, I am begging.

"Don't you know it? Everyone knows it." Apparently not this bitch, but maybe I would if you weren't so shit at describing it.

Which, I feel like, also leads into the ever famous plant every customer asks about, the ever so evasive plant-that-flowers-always-and-is-evergreen-and-can-stand-full-shade-no-sunlight- and-doesn't-need-any-care-at-all-don't-you-have-that?

Plastic flowers, NEXT!

...

You know how sometimes you just wish customers would google it themselves? Because it really is just that easy and would save us so much time?

Well how about they do that whilst you're talking to them! Fact checking everything you tell them, and not even listening to you! Doesn't that sound fun?

I hate you.

I actively hate you.

(They didn't even find the correct information. Ha.)

...

This only works in my language, but we have a word that means both bad/poorly, as in something is badly/poorly done, and dirt.

So you have a bunch of old men, who think they are the funniest fucking person on the planet, come up to you every time you sweep and say, "Well, you're sweeping poorly (i.e. dirt)."

...

Another thing customers love to say, "Oh? It doesn't have a price on it, then that must means it's free!" Que laugh.

Once told a customer that he didn't have a tag on either, did that mean he was free?

He got real quiet after that.

His friend laughed though.

...

People who ask, first thing, for a discount need to pay extra.

I don't care, that's the rule now.

...

"Where are you hiding the herbs?"

Have you looked right in front of ya? There's even a sign.

"That's not where they were last year."

No, but we needed to give you something to ask about so.

"Why don't you have this anymore?"

Because it's sold out.

"Why?"

Because you keep buying it.

...

...

...

Well... that was cathartic

There's probably so many more that I'm forgetting right now, but eh, if I remember any good ones I might add them though

(If I sound bitter... no I don't)

[angstfactory]

"You'd think so, but it's actually pretty rare I see any of you work magic," he reflected. "Real magic, anyway." Fitzroy had been to plenty of magic shows, which were just humans mimicking whatever they saw and only a shadow of what could truly be achieved. "I haven't seen even the boring, mundane things too often." He shrugged. Why the people of Raven's Peak liked to play as if they were regular, everyday folk without anything special to them, Fitzroy didn't know. Of course he would be impressed-- he'd never be able to do it himself.

"Oh, right," Fitz nodded. So, bit younger than himself. Made sense then, why they hadn't exactly paled around so much one-on-one. Not that he couldn't find common interests with anyone younger, they weren't even that far apart, it was just naturally... sometimes people circled around those they would get paired up with, usually those your own age. "Aw," he smiled some, "so you're a softy." That was endearing, to see that Asher cared about Banks. Brothers or not, not all family cared about each other the way they should. "Ah-- no." Fitzroy combed some hair back from his face and shrugged. "Unless you count 'heir' as a profession, I live a privileged life." He was only saying the obvious. While he wasn't necessarily ashamed of his trust fund baby status, the Brit knew that there were others out there not impressed or happy with folks like him. Because it wasn't anything he earned (or, they'd assume, appreciated), he merely lucked into the family lottery.

Whatever was going on upstairs, he would take Asher's word for it that things were fine. Kai's life was Kai's life, far as Fitz knew, he'd never been the man's keeper.

"Demisexual," the human repeated, a bit confused, as he wasn't very familiar with the term. "But you can love someone?" Fitzroy adjusted his arm, so he might grab his phone and check into the term itself right then and there. "And you can be attracted?" His gaze shifted up briefly as he questioned frankly, "Aroused?" The curiosity got the better of him, despite knowing it probably wasn't appropriate to pry so much. "Of course, you don't have to answer that," he murmured politely, reading through the definition of 'demisexual' on the phone. "So.. basically.. looks and intimacy don't necessarily matter to you? It's about the connection," he assumed. That's how Google made it sound, anyway. "Interesting." Fitzroy pocketed his phone. This was the first time someone had labeled themselves like that to him. "It's remarkable," he mused, "all the ways we can label ourselves." He still offered the other man a faint look of uncertainty. "How do you know you're demiseuxal, if you've never been in love?" Truly, he just wanted to understand the way Asher had come to this. "I think there are people who have no interest in this whatsoever.. if you've never been in love, maybe it's because you don't care for it?"

His parents would be ashamed, that he was over here prying into this poor guy's life. But, Fitzroy figured since Asher offered the information unprompted, then surely he wouldn't mind a few questions on it? He'd stop prying, if the other asked him to.

At least Asher hadn't seemed too broken up over the Celine thing. "You'll probably recognize it, mate-- one all over the radio right now." Normally, he might have done with something a bit older or even 80s, because those were classics he rather enjoyed. But lately, this one Fitzroy had connected with. Certain bits of it, anyway. And he only planned to go over the parts that did. The rest of it was about some girl and well, none of that mattered. Clearing his throat, he focused down at the chords and started up, though his version was a bit slower, "Ooooh oh," just to drop in on the parts of it that resonated for him most, "please.. don't.. take.. I found my mind, I'm feelin' sane, it's been a while but I'm finding my faith.." His accent fell away some with the strength of voice Fitzroy possessed, which he sounded confident in. "If everything's good and it's going great, why do I sit and wait 'til it's gone? Oh I'll tell ya I know I've got enough, I've got peace and I've got love, but I'm up at night thinkin' I just might lose it all.." Here the strums suddenly got louder, as did his voice, the more he got into it. "Please -- stay -- I want you, I need you, oh god, dont -- take -- these beautiful things that I've got," Fitz put in a couple of those ooh'ohs here, the crescendo lessening to a softer sound as he finished the last please -- stay -- I want you, I need you, oh god. A few more chords that eventually died off, his fingers coming to lay across them to cut the down suddenly.

Fitz shrugged, actually feeling his face a bit hot all of a sudden even though he forced himself to meet Asher's eye like that wasn't a thing. There was always some kind of nerves when playing in front of anyone. Adrenaline. "It's a neat song."

Asher flashed Fitzroy a grin. "I’m happy to captivate an audience. It’s the showmanship in my blood," he said with a playful twinkle in his eye. Unlike his family, Asher enjoyed being a bit of a show-off. Bianca kept her magic low-key, Ivan was more into his arcade games, and Banks never liked to talk about his gift. But Asher embraced his magic fully, using it as often as he could—maybe even a bit too much. He figured that if he had it, he might as well use it. Especially in situations like this, where he could put on a little performance. "I’m surprised you’re impressed after all these summers," he continued. "My little instrument show was the highlight? That’s just because no one around here has any imagination anymore. Magic is supposed to be fun, but everyone just uses it for boring, mundane things." He wished people would get more creative with their magic instead of just using it to cook or mend things.

"Twenty-five," Asher announced proudly. He was the youngest in their group of friends, not by much, but it seemed like everyone still saw him as Banks' little brother, even though they were only a year or two older than him. He didn’t mind it too much. He genuinely loved his friends and had always been used to hanging out with an older crowd, especially since he had skipped two grades in school. "My full-time gig is producing tracks for indie bands. I do some for my brother’s band, but I don’t charge them as much as I should. He really ought to be thanking me," he joked, laughing lightly. "Do you work, Fitz?"

Asher glanced up at the ceiling with a nonchalant shrug. "Who knows?" He had a pretty good idea, considering Emily had gone upstairs about an hour before Fitzroy showed up, and neither Kai nor Emily had made an appearance since. His imagination went wild, but he kept those thoughts to himself. He looked back at Fitzroy with a reassuring smile. "I’m sure it’s fine, though."

Asher swung his legs back and forth as he listened to Fitzroy talk about the importance of the smaller things rather than grand gestures. It made him think about his parents, who had a quiet but loving marriage. He nodded as Fitzroy spoke, agreeing with the sentiment. Asher had always thought that relationships were about the little things—like going out to get someone coffee at any time of day. When Fitzroy started questioning him about his statement of never being in love, Asher shrugged. "It’s harder for me than for most people," he admitted. "Sure, I’ve cared for people. I’ve had crushes, but only on a handful of people. I don’t feel any attraction or anything toward someone until I have an emotional bond with them. I’m demisexual. It’s only happened a handful of times in my life, so no, I’ve never been in love, but I’ve liked people enough."

Asher knew he was pushing his luck by suggesting Celine Dion, so he wasn’t too surprised when Fitzroy admitted he didn’t know how to play it. He figured that was the end of that, and Fitzroy wouldn’t play anything. But when Fitzroy offered to play something else instead, Asher’s face lit up with excitement. "Oh, absolutely! I’d love to hear it. What song are you thinking?"

[starrgaziinggg]

BEGIN AGAIN | hwang hyunjin

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Hwang Hyunjin messes with your head, unknowingly, for over a month. Until you can't take it anymore.

*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:

Growing up with Chris Bang as your best friend had it's perks - a permanent bodyguard, a shoulder to cry on... and seven other boys who also became your best friends as you grew up together.

Week in, week out, your routine stayed the same. Study, go to class and patiently wait to attend your regular Friday evening home cooked meal with your friends. You just couldn't wait to graduate and start working, to rid yourself of exams and finally start earning some proper money like the boys.

Desperate to put some light back into your mundane, studious life, Chris forces you to start blind dating. Two miserable dates down and ready to murder the man, someone completely unexpected appears and makes a mess of your orderly life.

And a mess he does make.

|fake dating|friends to lovers|slow burn|non idol au|

chapter thirteen

You see his name light up on your screen and you panic slightly inside. You really hadn't prepared for him to call you so soon, and your feelings about the argument were still fresh. You seriously debated leaving it and just pretending you were asleep, but you knew that would make things worse, so you answered it. There was silence for a couple seconds as you waited for him to speak.

"Hello?" Hyunjin said cautiously.

"Hi, Hyunjin."

You heard him let out a sigh. "God, I -" he started, not being able to get his words across without them sounding short and stressed. "I'm so, so sorry for what I said to you earlier. It was so stupid and not true at all and I can't believe I acted that way towards you."

You pondered his words for a minute. Hyunjin sounded so sincere, and you knew he was since it took a lot for him to apologise. He was always one that backed his actions when he believed he was right, so hearing him apologise this way meant you knew he was being honest.

"It's...it's okay, Hyunjin,"you replied, stuttering over your words.

"No, but it's not okay princess," he said back quickly, and once again your heart did backflips at that dumb nickname. "I acted like such a dickhead, and ruined your night over nothing. You didn't even do anything! I'm just..."

He trailed off. "What is it?"

"You want full honesty?" He asked skeptically.

"No, a big fat lie would be delightful right now," you joked, a weak attempt to make the situation more lighthearted.

"Okay, okay. Honestly, I think the fake dating thing is starting to mess with my head a bit. Seeing you with that other guy tonight, I - it just felt weird. But that doesn't excuse the way I acted towards you at all, and I really am sorry," he explained, and you understood exactly where he was coming from. It made you feel icky knowing that you had reacted negatively when you saw him with another girl, just as he had when he saw you dancing with that guy.

"We're going full truths tonight?" You asked him.

"I guess so."

"Well, the reason I didn't really talk to you all night was because I saw you talking to that really pretty girl earlier. And, like you said, it made me feel weird," you revealed cautiously. He didn't say anything straight away, which made you slightly worried.

"Oh her?" He must have been thinking about who you were talking about. "She's nothing to do with me, she's the girl that Chan's been seeing recently."

What.

The fuck?

"Chris has been seeing someone?" You said, evidently shocked. Why on earth didn't you know this? You and Chris told each other close to everything, you had done since you were young. Except the fact you were currently fake dating his best friend and hiding it from him, but that's extremely irrelevant.

"Yeah, you didn't know? He's been seeing her for almost a month."

You really didn't know how to feel. You'd been making jokes about how Chris sleeps around and he had been seeing a girl this entire time. Your head was spinning.

"No," you said with a sad tone. "I didn't know."

Hyunjin quickly tried to brighten the situation. "I'm sure he's just waiting for the right moment to tell you, you know exams and all."

"Hm," is all you said as a response. You both lapse into silence, not knowing what to say next, until Hyunjin spoke up again.

"Can I come over?"

You blinked a couple times. "What, right now?"

"Yeah."

You thought about it for a minute. He was clearly stressed, worried about the situation and you thought that maybe seeing each other face to face would help you decipher whatever was going on between the two of you.

"Okay," you said, and you both said your goodbyes. Within five minutes Hyunjin was knocking on your door.

You opened the door to reveal Hyunjin looking the most disheveled you've ever seen him. His hair was fluffy and ruffled rather than sleek like it usually was, and he was wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a blue hoodie. His face looked solemn, and the two of you just stared at each other for a second until Hyunjin takes a step forward and wraps his arms around you.

You were never the type of friends that hug. He isn't one to give physical affection easily, save for Jeongin. He viewed him as a younger brother and treated him as such. But you could only think of a number of times the two of you shared physical contact, except an arm round the shoulder or a ruffle of each other's hair. You could only think of a handful of time the two of you hugged properly.

He smelled of vanilla, clean sheets and rose, and you buried your face into his shoulder as he pulled you closer to him, placing a hand on the back of your head.

"I'm so sorry," he says again, into your hair. "Can we please just forget about it and be friends again?"

You slowly pull away from each other. Friend. That's all he sees you as, apparently.

"Yeah," you say, walking inside your apartment with Hyunjin following. "Friends."

The two of you settled on your couch. You knew it was late, but you didn't care and you weren't tired.

"So," you started, facing Hyunjin on the couch. You pulled your legs up to your chest. "Do you want to talk about what's been going on with you at work?"

Hyunjin looks down, as if he's ashamed. "I...yeah, can we?"

"Of course we can," you say instantly. "What actually happened?"

He sighs, leaning back into your sofa. "It happened on Tuesday. Word got to me about this manager who we only hired, like, last month that he'd been openly racist towards some of our trainees. At first I went about it the right way, you know, going to HR and letting them deal with it. But then, on Wednesday I was walking past some of the practice rooms and I heard someone crying, so I went to see what was going on," he started. "And I found Alexander, one of the boys from the group that's debuting soon, crying. Sobbing his eyes out. It took me ages to calm him down, and when I did he told me that manager had threatened to take him out of the group because he 'wasn't fully Korean' and he 'didn't belong in Kpop."

You listened intently, shocked. Alexander was one of the sweetest trainees ever - you'd spoke to him tonnes, and he didn't deserve to be threatened just because he wasn't fully Korean. He'd grown up in England, his mum was Korean/English and his dad Nigerian and they decided to move to Korea when he was young. He'd told you this one of the days you were getting to know the new trainees with Felix, playing ice breaker games so he could get to know them better.

"I just remember, sitting with him as he struggled to get the words out and being so fucking angry. I kept calm the whole time I was with him, but it was damn hard. I calmed him down, and made sure he was okay and got someone to get his members and take him back to their dorms, giving him the rest of his schedule for the day off. Then, I went up to my office and called for that manager," he continued, taking a sigh and pushing his hair back with his hands. "I told him he was fired. Straight away, without even talking to Chan, I fired him. He blew up on my face, asking why, what the fuck had he done. I told him he had been racist towards trainees and it was intolerable in our company. He said we shouldn't have even let them in in the first place if we didn't want him to act that way, getting all up in my face. And that's when I punched him."

You couldn't read his expression.

"I shouldn't have done it. I know that, but I couldn't stand the smug look on his face, the way he got defensive and angry instantly, and I just couldn't - it reminded me of...I just couldn't let him walk away like that. But I shouldn't have done it. He swung back at me, hence the jaw."

"And your lip," you said, instinctively reaching out to touch it. It was burst, but it had started to heal itself now, the only evidence being the dark red split down the middle of his bottom lip. "He busted you up pretty good."

You take your hand away and Hyunjin chuckled, shaking his head. "You should have seen him."

You give him a smile and an eye roll. "So what happened after that?"

"Chan heard us and barged into my office, breaking us apart. I wasn't listening to what he was saying, but he was just shouting at me, and at him. He dragged the manager out, and I walked out the building and sat by the river the rest of the day. It's been hell since then. The manager is trying to press charges against me, but it isn't as black and white as that so HR and the legal team are giving me the worst time and I just...it's not good."

You reach out and take his hands in yours. You don't know why, but the way he looks so ashamed and upset at the whole event breaks your heart. You know Hyunjin's not a bad guy - just did the wrong thing for the right reasons. You run your thumb over the back of his hand instinctively, and he looks up at you with a small smile.

"I'm sure things will work themselves out, Hyunjin. The manager is just as much at fault as you, and if anything I'm glad you realised what was going on with him until it got out of hand. I just feel terrible for Alexander," you say. "It hurts knowing how upset he was."

"Exactly. If I hadn't seen him crying, I wouldn't have gotten so angry about it. But I've been talking to him more recently and he's a great kid. We're setting up a group of staff that are available whenever the idols and trainees need someone to talk to, and he's been doing much better since he started going to that," Hyunjin explains, and you smile.

"Also, don't worry about Chan. He will be angry for a while, but you're one of his best friends. He will understand why you did what you did and forgive you," you say.

"I hope so," Hyunjin sighs. "I've never seen him so angry. And we've not spoke since Thursday, when he sat me down in his office and told me how disappointed he was of me."

Your heart felt heavy. You hated all this fighting and drama, and you just wished things would subside quickly.

"Jesus, it's so late."

You turn on your phone to check the time, and it shows 3:24am. You stretch your limbs out. "Yeah, it is."

"You know, I've just noticed there's no noise tonight," he says. You stay silent for a second and realise he's right.

"It's getting less frequent now," you say with a smile. "Half the time I don't even notice it anymore."

"Can I crash on your couch?" Hyunjin asks. "I don't...I just don't want to go back to mine yet."

You nod, not needing him to explain. You'd always be there for your friends when they need you, just like them.

"Of course you can," you said, getting up to get the spare duvet from the cupboard. You grabbed it and returned to the couch pulling Hyunjin's legs up onto it. He laughed as you placed the duvet over him and tucked him in. He stared up at you with adorable sleepy eyes and a grin.

"Goodnight," he said to you as you walked away to your own room, and you smiled back at him before closing your door and flopping down on your bed. It took you ages to fall asleep, thoughts of the night stirring around in your head.

You at least had some clarity about the way Hyunjin was feeling towards you. He'd gotten jealous seeing you dance with another guy. He'd openly admitted that part of him was starting to see your fake dates as slightly real, and you wondered what that meant. You went over it in your head for a while, before finally falling asleep.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN HERE!

[jboofan]

There's something wrong with Manager Kim Part 7

This isn't funny

Yoongi woke in a cold sweat, sat up and rubbed his face. He turned to his right and saw YN sitting next to him on her phone.

"Hurry up Yoongles," she smiled.

Yoongi grabbed his bedsheet and twisted up fell with a painful thud to the thinly carpeted floor. Hand still clutching the sheet, he poked his head gingerly over the mattress in the direction of his manager.

Did we..

He shook his head hard.

No way would I go for her. Not even in my nightmares.

Bravely he looked again, and saw no one was there.

"Oh thank God," he let out his relief, he hadn't been himself the last few days. The concerts had kept him busy and had in a bout of confidence reverted back to his old ways.

Almost.

He tried to pick up this good looking chick who had been sitting in the VIP area for one of the shows; he'd made sure to regular visit her corner of the stage, a little gyration here, a wink there. It had all gone to plan, just like it always did, until he froze. After simply saying hello.

In all his years of performing, Yoongi had never choked.

No matter what, Min Yoongi delivered. Whether it was a hit single or in bed. He did not disappoint.

She had a pretty face, and nice tits, but all he could think about was not being late for his morning rehearsal. That, and if he didn't go to sleep by twelve, he was gonna get it in the neck from the other members and Se-Jin Hyung AND finally the one person who got to him more than anyone: YN was in the back of his head, cussing him out, probably with a remark about his leaked nude pictures or his smoking habits.

He'd walked away, and the poor girl had been dissapointed, probably trying her luck with someone else, who actually might have given her some attention.

"I'm probably just hungry, why else would I hallucinate?" he told himself.

Jin and Hobi had met a slightly disheveled Yoongi downstairs to head out to get something to eat. 

"Hey you OK bro?" asked Hobi as they tucked into their eggs.

"Yeh, just thinking about YN," He rubbed has head.

"What about her?" Jin asked suspicious.

"Relax, I'm not going to call her. She's giving the work phone back, I know. I was just thinking that, you know," he shrugged.

"You know, what?" Hobi didn't understand.

"Look," he admitted, "I know it's not easy being around me, I know I'm cold, and a little bit rude.."

"—that's an understatement," Jin stated the obvious.

"And I want to be nice, but I don't know how to. She, she, she has this way of just pushing my buttons, and she'll just, like, poke and, poke me and then she makes me do crazy things like wanting to shake her! She calls me skinny. That I'm a weak dude," he pulled up his T-shirt, pointing to his abs.

"I am a man, but she makes it hard to think I'm not. She nags me and I swear to God I just want to just duct tape her mouth up."

He shook his head, rattling off something about seeing her even when she's not here.

He drank more coffee and carried on, "You know when that mugger tried to take her bag?"

He gulped hard, tapping his chest until he burped before carrying on, ignoring the looks of disgust.

"She didn't even get scared. She stood there telling him that she really liked her bag, and there was no way she would give it to him, and that there were better ways for this guy to live."

He put down his knife and stabbed his eggs with his fork.

"By the end of it, he was begging us, to let him leave. And her clothes are way too tight and revealing," Yoongi shook his head in disbelief, as Jin smiled as though he had just realised something.

"She has a flagrant disregard for authority, someone's position or status, she high fives Bang PD and the tech guys all the same. She knows the names of the make up noonas, or the food truck people. I don't get how she walks around like she hasn't a care in the world, and everyone loves her..I don't know how she does it," he sat there bemused. "No one is that nice. It's an act. I'm convinced."

"She's actually really cool, you'd know that if you took the time to get to know her," Hobi defended.

"I don't believe her. It's like magic, she can get someone to talk about themselves all day long, without revealing nothing about her. I have no one to compare the type of person she is to. I've honestly never met anyone like her. It's scary man. I don't know how to deal with her."

He looked to Jin.

"Hyung help me out here. What's her weakness? Or phobias? She must have some kind of kryptonite.."

"Dude why would I tell you any of that, you trying to be more mean to her than you already are? Don't even think about it. She means a lot to me, so don't get on my wrong side you get me?"

He carried on eating, as they listened to his continued monologue.

"She doesn't care for her own safety at all, which completely astounds me; that mugger could have had a knife, or a gun," he swallowed his piece of toast and looked up at them, reality dawning on him.

"I heard from the noonas that a few weeks ago they had all gone to a club somewhere, and that she left the club, by herself. She was standing outside waiting for a cab that night we stayed up waiting for her. Someone could have dragged her into an alleyway, raped her, killed her," thoughts flashed through his head of her lying dead in a gutter somewhere. Legs tangled, limbs injured.

Yoongi had somehow managed to work himself up, and found himself getting upset. "Does she not care? About the people who care about her, if something happened to her? What about how they would feel?"

Hobi looked at him concerned as people started to look.

"Hey, hey, calm down man. Just, just breathe OK? Everything is cool OK? I had no idea she affected you like this." Jin passed him a glass of water.

Yoongi was speaking loudly now, as Jin quickly threw down some notes, and bundled him out as people started to stare.

Hobi pushed him into their waiting car and they drove off.

"Four days Hobiyah, who goes away for that long when she knows I have concerts? I don't even know how to book a parking space at the office, or how to multi task anything. I couldn't understand why my pass wasn't working, and it's cos it expired but I didn't know. Like, how the hell am I meant to bloody function without her? I don't even know how I like my coffee. Not one call Jin, from your bff, not one to see how my interviews have gone, or what anyone has said."

Jin looked as him, "Now we are getting to the bottom of the problem." 

"She always brings up my nude photos. Yes, I'm not proud of it all but it was an accident, and I've learned from it. But she keeps bringing it up. Always mentioning it, making me feel stupid and then I get worked up, and angry and argh!" he raked his hands through his hair.

"Bro what's going on here​? Why does it matter what she thinks? Why does she get to you so badly? She's left, it's time to move on," Hobi tried to explain.

Yoongi fell back into his seat, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I wake up to find no piece of mind. I can't think, I imagine shit that's not even there. I'm losing my fuckin mind. I don't know why, but I care what she thinks of me. I'm not that guy. I'm not a two timer, or a bad guy. I'm human, I feel happiness, I feel pain. I know I can be cold, but I care about people too. I just don't know to show it."

Yoongi wasn't even listening to them, and carried on until they got back.

*

Yoongi tapped his phone impatiently. He had texted her over an hour ago, and she still hadn't replied. He couldn't wait much longer. He took a deep breath and dialled her number. He waited, almost afraid to hear her voice, at no reply he suddenly felt a sense of relief.

"Hello?" his phone spoke making him drop it.

"Er, hello?" he said picking it up off the floor.

"Yoongi?" she yawned.

"Were you sleeping?" he asked, it was barely afternoon.

"I wish." She stood, leaning against the reception desk as she massaged her neck. "What's up?"

"Huh?"

"You called me.."

"Er, yeah I just wanted to say hello," he said awkwardly. "Ok, then bye."

YN looked at her phone strangely. "What the hell was that?"

"Ms Kim?"

It took a moment to remember she was being spoken to.

"Oh, right. Yes. That's me." She gave her a quick smile, as she took the key cards, balancing a small box of donuts on her hip.

"Madam, your extra key cards for Mr Min as well."

"Yep, can't forget those," she said sarcastically as she headed up to her room, reminding herself to tell Se-Jin that he needed to give that job to the new manager.

The red eye was always a bitch, but it was worth it to spend the extra night at Seokjin's home, she thought as she looked at herself in the mirror and yawned. The last shows were coming to an end soon and that meant that although she needed to still run around like an idiot, it would soon be a thing of the past.

YN sat down on her bed, crossed her legs, neatly opened up a napkin onto her lap and puckered up to take a bite of her beautiful, crispy—

Someone knocked on her door loudly. 

Ignoring the knocking, she licked her lips again and bringing the donut up to her nose, inhaled its deep fried goodness.

"Mmm" she smiled. The knocks persisted. "Alright, I'm coming," she groaned rolling off the bed until her feet touched the ground.

She opened the door, "What the f—"

Yoongi ran into her room, YN quickly shut the door and looked at him. "Why are you standing there naked in the hallway?"

He stood shivering, his hair frizzy as it dried.

"Let me tell you something. The air conditioning out here, it is ffffreakin cold," his teeth shattered.

"OK, OK, just explain to me why you are here in your towel. You best have something on under that towel ya steamed bun. Please tell me that you have something on under that towel??!"

She turned away, grabbing the robe from the bathroom and turning her back to him, waved it in his general direction til he snatched it.

"Thanks. I had a shower and then I thought I'd move the food tray outside but the door closed on me. I couldn't go downstairs like this."

YN sighed, "Jeez, I leave you for one week. Not even one week and you can't do anything. You're a grown ass man-child. OK I am going to have to go get your clothes. The coach has already left, you were supposed to go to a press junket. If they start without you, we are both gonna get fucked up the ass."

His eyebrow shot up at her dirty talk.

"I meant it as an idiom, not literally yer nasty."

She grabbed her phone, his extra key card and opened the door.

"Do not touch anything, do not open the door and just sit there and don't move."

*

YN got off at Yoongi's's floor and swiped her card to get in. Next door, an older woman poked her head out slowly. "He was naked in a towel, are you his wife?" she told her.

"It's OK, it's my husband, he got locked out of our room putting the food tray out. Thanks anyways," she smiled as she opened the door to his room.

YN opened the door and saw how the whole place looked like a grenade had hit it. Managing to get to his wardrobe, she navigated the piles of laundry carefully. Eventually after enough searching she packed some clothes and then wheeled his suitcase back.

"All he had to do was get dressed and get downstairs. He doesn't need an manager, he needs his freakin mother," she grumbled as she got back into the lift.

Shaking her head, she texted the bookings team to make sure they put him on her floor in future. He was too much of a liability she was realising. It was only after she sent the message did she realise that she wasn't going to be with him anymore. She ignored the grating feeling and waited for her floor.

* 

Yoongi walked around her room in her dressing gown, the temperature in her room was a little warmer then his so he took the gown off but kept the towel on.

He noticed a copy of Business World and Finance Weekly on the table, next to a neat row of high heels in order of colour. Everything seemed to be tailor made for her, and she even had monogrammed luggage.

He noticed a small diary full of appointments, post it's and dogeared pages of books.

How much was she making? and how was she able to afford all this on a manager's salary?

He'd never had her pegged as the studious type, but then again he barely knew anything about her beyond what she let him know.

It irked him that she refused to talk to him, he wanted her to talk to him. He picked the diary up, and a photo fell to the floor. Holding onto his towel, he bent down to pick it up.

It was a picture of her and Seokjin, the date was from ages ago, scribbled on the back, barely readable.

You did amazing! So proud of you my little berry x

He recognised the handwritten caption, it was Jin's.

Hmm I guess they really did know each other he thought.

*

Yoongi heard the door beep, and quickly slipped the picture back into the diary, and swiped her second key to her room, just in time for her to come in with a suitcase; his suitcase.

"Don't worry, I didn't pack your room up. It's just a couple of outfits."

Eyeing her suspiciously as always, but pleasantly surprised when he opened the case, he was intrigued to see just what she had chosen. She walked him through the outfits. 

"OK so press junket you need a suit, it's no Prada, but it's Louis Vuitton it's still nice. FYI get a Prada, in black, or charcoal. Not blue, it doesn't suit you. Black socks, never white and you had some cuff links so you need to wear those too. There's also a Fila session for you to model, so I got you a Fila polo, jeans with casual shoes."

YN finally took a breath, and looked at him, "anything you're not sure about?"

Yoongi smiled, "You have good taste."

YN swished her hair out the way, proud. "Course I do, I'm a Ba—Kim!" Clearing her throat she shoved him into the bathroom to go change.

*

He listened to her shout at him like a military officer about always planning ahead and having outfits out together, as she waited for him to emerge changed, as instructed and presented himself.

"Do I meet your requirements?"

She looked at him, "Meh, but you need to do one more thing, even though we need to be quick."

She smiled as she held up his beard trimmer. "You need to trim your beard. You look homeless."

Yoongi looked in the mirror, "I don't look homeless." He looked again, and it was a bit long, a week's growth but it didn't look that bad.

YN ignored him, and plugged in the razor.

"I'm not going to let you walk into a room looking like you've been living under a bridge somewhere. How you look reflects on me too Mr Yoongi," she told him, as he realised he had said something similar to her as soon as she had started work with him.

She pushed the trimmer into his hand and made him trim it, whilst she called ahead to inform Se-Jin she was coming in with Yoongi.

Yoongi brushed the trimmed hair away and looked up. "I need your help for under my chin, and please don't slit my throat," he asked her sarcastically as he sat on the edge of a chair in the bathroom and tilted his head up.

"I don't want to cut you," she said reluctant to take the trimmer.

She looked at her watch as the alarm beeped again, "Fuck we are gonna be cutting it close to get there. See how I did that," she chuckled at her own wordplay.

Ignoring Yoongi rolling his eyes at her cheesy words, taking the trimmer she evened out the edge of his beard then tilted his face slightly, and with a comb and the razor trimmed evenly the stray hairs Yoongi had missed.

She took a face towel, and dampened it and rubbed it on his suit, picking up the cut hairs. Yoongi was impressed at the military efficiency that she worked with, before she took another towel and wrapped it around his neck like a bib before coming back with some smelly oil, and squirted it on her hands.

"You look like Diana Ross," she undid his man bun, and rubbed her hands together, and delicately combed the oil through her hair and then rubbed the rest of his beard with the excess, before tying his bun again, but a little higher than he would have usually done.

"Voila. My work here is done," she dramatically replied as Yoongi grabbed his phone and they both ran for the lift, and then downstairs.

"Wait, how we gonna get there, I didn't order a car," he confessed, embarrassed and slightly panicked.

"I know you didn't, I did," she waved her hand, as their car pulled up. If she left it to him they would still be walking to the venue, so she called ahead to let them know they were on their way.

**

Yoongi got out first before the car had come to a standstill and grabbing YN's hand they ran through the arena quickly together.

Bang spotted them first and waved then over. Yoongi smiled, not seeing YN's frown.

"Finally, did you get a stylist? Looking good Suga, now get up there before they start."

"Wait!" YN tugged him back and pulled his tie that was wrapped around his collar. "Your tie!" she quickly held her phone in her mouth and tied it for him, before he got up on stage and sat down between Namjoon and Hobi.

Not really listening, have heard this at every venue they had visited she'd somehow managed to track down a Starbucks and arrived back just as the junket was finishing. Bang reappeared as she spotted him and came over to her, as they kissed each others cheeks.

"You made him look very good. Nice outfit, and the beard," Bang complimented her, "I know it was you."

YN laughed fakely, seeing the masses of cameras around the place, "Whatever it takes, right? But what I want to know is why the hell are you here and not at home resting as per the doctor's instructions? You are definitely not at home."

Yoongi answers questions perfectly, thankful for the prep she had drilled into him before they bowed and he stepped off the stage to find YN standing next to Bang PD chatting.

"Ooh coffee," he smiled as he took it out of her hand and took a gulp. "That is good coffee," he nodded giving it back to her.

"Er, firstly ew. And second, have you heard of COVID? A little something that's going on?? Don't do that again!"

Yoongi dodged a swat and grabbed it back again for another rushed sip.

"Yeah, but your taste in coffee is good. And thank you for helping me with this."

He ran off quickly.

YN looked to her father, "You need to get his head checked."

Before he could answer, Yoongi had ran back and held out a tissue with a donut in it. He held his in the other hand and smiled. "I'm sorry I had a go at you at the radio interview when you were being mugged. I should have been asking if you were OK. And I'm sorry I tripped you over in the lift, and put salt in your tea."

"You put salt in my tea??"

Bang watched him apologise, firstly a rarity until his brain caught up with his ears.

"Mugging?" He said looking at her, gripping her by the arm and pulled her away, "We need to talk."

*

Yoongi watched in horror as his usually soft boss dragged YN away.

"Excuse us," Bang cut off Yoongi before he managed to get a word out. Out of earshot he could see him laying into her, but YN?

He was astonished at the fact she just stood there talking the heat. Whatever he was saying, wasn't having the desired effect on YN from what he could see.

"You were mugged and didn't say anything?! What the fuck is wrong with you? No one is untouchable, he could have hurt you, you could have been shot or stabbed!"

"You're right, anything can happen. It's my bad. Why didn't you tell me that you had proxied me for your position ten years ago?"

"That has nothing to do with this conversation. You need to grow up, and realise that you are just one person, if he had hurt you, did you stop to think how it would affect others?"  

YN just stood there, those last few words were the straw that broke the camel's back. Yoongi watched her stand up to her full height and poke a finger angrily back at Bang.

YN laughed, "How dare you? How fucking dare you! I take responsibility for my actions more than any of you. And you know what, I am fucking sick to death from hearing about it. All I do is think of everyone else, their feelings, how everything impacts everyone. I do my fucking best to make everyone happy. So you listen to me for once, I'm not some teenager with issues, I am a member of the board, I am a stakeholder. The goddamn Vice Chairman. I am not someone beneath you. All I have done these past 10 years is keep out of the drama that is our family and try and pave my own way. I should have told you about it when it happened, but I knew you would do this. So I'm fucking sorry!!" she shouted back. 

Bang stood there shocked, dumbfounded not realising YN breathing heavily, a tear rolling down her face.

"You wanna go back to work cos you only care about your image or the money then you do it. I'm going back to my own life. I don't need to be your proxy. I don't want to have anything to do with this dumb place. I'm outta here."

YN pushed past him, shaking with anger. She ignored the pleas, the sound of someone calling her back as she carried on out the doors.

"Ban—Kim YN wait!" Bang shouted.

Yoongi shouldn't have gotten involved, of every situation like this he had witnessed, he had steered clear of it. But he he stood, watching Bang, who in turn watching the storm that was YN leaving devastation behind her as she exited.

Yoongi pushed the donuts into Bangs hands.

"What did you do?" he raised his voice.

"I'm still your boss Suga regardless of you working with YN You do not get to talk to me like that."

"What has me working with YN got to do with this? Just because her boss is you, doesn't mean you can upset her like that. What did you do to her?"

He ran after her, calling her name. Angrily Bang threw the donuts to the floor, smoothed down his suit and smiled fakely as he got back on stage for his closing speech.

"YN wait!" he found her near the front of the foyer. He grabbed her hand and spun her around to face him before she slipped through his fingers.

"Hey, what happened over there?" He grabbed her face to move it back to look at his, "PD nim dragged you off and then it looked like you were arguing? Are you OK?"

YN smiled, "It's fine. I didn't call in the mugging, so I deserved it. Nothing more," she cleared her throat, "You need to get back in there, they need to take photos. I have to go."

"Wait, go? He fired you!? No, come on," he took her hand and headed back for the conference. "Let's sort this out," he told her. 

YN resisted and shook her head, "Go back inside and take your damn photos," she said taking her anger out on him.

She stopped as she realised how out of character that was. "I apologise. Excuse me. I have an appointment."

"Suga come on!" shouted Se-Jin Hyung to him. "We need you!"

Conflicted, Yoongi looked between them both, "Listen, stay. I won't be long," he to her, as it pained him to walk away from her reluctantly.

It took only a few seconds to get to Se-Jin but when he turned back round to tell her one last time to wait, she was already gone.

**

It was very late in the evening when the boys had finally gotten back to their hotel, another night of performing ticked off their already very long tour list.

Hobi hobbled back to his room and after Yoongi had his room changed to one on the same floor as everyone else, he tiredly packed up his things and moved over.

"Right, well you owe me some steak tomorrow bitch," Hobi rubbed his back having helped him move his things in. "I'm going to bed. Don't do anything stupid and go to sleep hyung."

*

If you look up the word idiot in the dictionary, in any country it's likely that you would find a picture of Yoongi right there.

It took him precisely 2 seconds to decide that the best thing for him to do - the best thing for him to do at approximately one thirty in the morning was to use the key card he swiped from YN's room earlier to go check on her.

Now his intentions may have been pure, as pure as they could be with him; and he would argue later that his heart was in the right place but man, did his execution suck.

**

YN lay asleep, lights off bar the bathroom door left ajar as a night light just as she always did. She was not a fan of the dark at all, and this way she could sleep whilst still being able to see around her.

She'd fallen into a sugar laced sleep after getting a ride back to the hotel, ordering the most expensive things on the menu, and charging it back to father dearest.

Yoongi crept out of his room, a few doors down and got to the end of the corridor to YN's room. Sure she was asleep but he had been hoping she wasn't so he could find out how she was. Slowly he clicked open the door and walked in.

He could just about make out her lumpy shape in the bed, all swaddled up and it reminded him of young babies for a moment. He was soon at her bedside as he called her name.

"YN," he whispered.

No response.

"YN," he tried again. Nothing.

He called out her name one more time, causing her to open her eyes and spot a dark figure standing beside her bed.

**

Jin and Jungkook had just finished their VLive, thanked the fans and logged off. Taehyung had only just gone to bed a few minutes before, and Namjoon was clearing up the mess the pair had made.

It was a blood curdling scream that had them sliding out the room, falling over one another to get to her.

"YN," Jin's voice shuddered as he heard his sister scream at the top of her lungs. What made it worse was the screaming only lasted a few seconds and then everything went deadly silent.

Jin ran at the door, but Jungkook stopped him.

"Here," he handed him a golf club and held one too just in case.

Jungkook wasted no time in bashing the door open with his shoulder as Jin, all common sense leaving him ran into the room, switched the lights on and saw Yoongi standing at her bedside trying to wake her up.

Her face looked pale, her body limp and the sick inside Yoongi's throat was rising as he shakenly tried to wake her.

"YN it's not funny anymore. Open your eyes."

"What the fuck did you do?!!!" Jin shouted so angrily that Yoongi was taken back.

"I-I was just trying to scare her but she —"

Jin dropped the club with a clang and ran to her bedside. "YNah, wake up," he pleaded shaking her hard.

"Oh my God," Jungkook sprinted down the hallway and grabbed his groggy hyungs as they entered her room apprehensive at first till they realised their friend was injured.

"She passed out, I need the doctor now," Jin looked at Namjoon who calmly called for one, whilst Jimin, Taehyung and Jungkook waited to be instructed on what to do.

"You go wake the other managers quietly," Hobi told the maknaes, as Namjoon spoke to Se-Jin to explain what had happened first.

"Hyung is bringing the doctor," Namjoon blurted out before pushing forward to Jin.

"Why did she pass out?" Yoongi finally asked.

"She was almost kidnapped when she was young, you wanted to know her weakness, well now you really have gone and done it."

@craftymoonchaos @bbl32 @ireadthensuetheauthors @pb-n-juju @audreonne @larenelizabeth @kyle-told-me-whats-up

[illfoandillfie]

Can you give us some spicy and sweet headcanons of Roger from your AKoE universe? 👀

here you go anon! a handful of sweet and spicy headcanons that i wrote instead of working on the actual chapter lmao

Sweet:

Roger met Margo when they were in uni but only after Queen broke up. She was not into the grunge scene and sometimes still teases him about trying to be Dave Grohl.

Roger was 34 when Sylvester was born. Most of his friends already had kids so he defs felt a bit weird about being an older first time dad, but he'd also wanted kids for ages. He and Margo agreed to start properly trying for them after they'd been married for about six months but it was a few years before they were successful. In fact, they'd started looking into fertility specialists and adoption agencies when they found out Margo was pregnant. Roger counts his kids births as the happiest days of his life.

Reader first came to Roger's attention when she bombed an assignment. He had a fairly large cohort of bio students to teach so while he was previously aware of her it was only as one name among many. Her work had been decent up to that point, though not the best in the class, and he mentally pegged her as one of the kids who'd struggle as the bio content got harder and end up dropping the subject. Instead she buckled down and improved her work which very much impressed Roger. He was pleased to say he was wrong and see her back in his class in second year.

on weekends that he has his kids he makes sure they do any homework and chores early so that the rest of the weekend can be more fun. They usually pop to the video store on their way home from school and each pick something to rent and some fun snacks so that they can have a movie night (which sometimes includes building a blanket fort). Once when both kids had chickenpox he moved the TV into his bedroom and they all curled up in his big beg with ice cream.

His kids have been on multiple playdates with the children of other kinksters he met at munches, mostly when they were younger. There was a boy around the same age as Sylvester who's mum was a widow just starting to try and meet guys again. She and Roger hooked up a couple of times but it wasn't a regular thing. But they did take their kids to the park together and babysit for each other sometimes. Roger used to joke about starting a babysitting roster with some of the other parents to determine who'd watch all the kids while they others were having an orgy.

Spicy

Roger has had 3 serious/regular play partners since his divorce. Two of them he dommed (although there was a little switching sometimes) and one that dommed him. Be he's also done one off scenes with a few others, mostly in private but one or two public demonstrations at play parties.

As hed got older he'd found himself drawn to submitting more. In his 20s he and Margo started experimenting with it a bit and once he got into the kink community he found he really really liked it. It's nice being told what to do. Different to being a dad or a teacher where he's the one giving instructions. Letting someone else call the shots and look after him feels really nice.

His weekly sessions with Reader is the most regular sex he's had in a good six or seven months. His previous regular partner moved away for work and he hadn't found anyone else yet when Readder approached him with her proposal. He sometimes thinks it was the semi-dry spell he was in that made him say yes.

His fave position changes depending on the situation. If it's a bondage scene he likes having her standing with her arms tied above her head and maybe a leg tied up so he can easily reach her cunt. If it's another kinky scene with impact play or denial or DP - he likes doggy. With Margo their preference was cowgirl because she came best on top of him (and he could pull her into a kiss when he wanted). But with Reader he's not sure yet. Because their whole thing is about exploring different things he hasn't really had a chance to find a favourite. But he is a little concerned by how often his dreams of her end in very intimate missionary or spooning.

Roger finds it hard to pick the best sex of his life but a contender was the day Queen's one and only album was released. Roger took the CD to the local pub and showed it to the very fit bird who worked the bar. He'd been trying to get off with her for months and finally she let him. She gave him a blowjob in the back alley and then, when he pouted and said he wanted to fuck her she rolled her eyes and let him take her home. They did it twice and she left her underwear behind.

The sex he thinks about most is his first time with Reader. Partly because he knew he shouldnt have done it, partly because it was hot knowing it wasn't really allowed, and partly because of how stupidly easy he'd found it to give in and how much he wanted to make her feel good. He can't decide if it was a mistake or one of the best things he's ever done.