#like if thats truly the last we’ll ever see or hear from him again thats rly fuckin disappointing :[ what a lame way to send him off

[arcadeghozt]

trying soo hard to shut up abt the way barry’s character was handled in the post-coma seasons but the more i think abt it the more pissed off i get what in gods name were they thinkingggg

[celestialrry]

call me baby

psa: this might have a part 2 if anyone wants it, ik its a shitty ending lol but I wouldn’t know what to write after this. also I have another angst piece in the works but its literally taking so long to write 😖

1.8k

summary: Being hopelessly in love with your friend isn’t ideal, especially when Harry doesn’t even seem to see you as more than a therapist. 

warnings: angst, pining, cursing

You looked over at your phone, now vibrating against your bedside table, lit up with his contact photo, a picture of him sticking his tongue out. “Hi.” You picked it up, wrapping your free arm around your torso, sitting up a bit straighter out of instinct even though he couldn't see you.

“Hey, love. Can I get some advice?” He asked through the phone, his voice a bit gravely and deep as always. You silently sighed, biting your lip in hesitation. Everytime you’d get a call from him, he would either rant about his current partner, get advice about them, or just want you to be there when he needed someone to talk to.

Of course you would always be there for him, regardless of time, space, and anyone he gave his heart to. He was Harry Styles for god's sake, your friend since forever, the man who treated everyone like they were the best thing in his life, most of the time at least. He lit up any room he was in and when you’d see him it would always be fulfilling, even if the two of you sat in silence in a room of just four walls.

“Of course, what’s up?” You asked after a brief moment of silence. It was currently 4 in the morning in your single room flat in London and you didn’t think Harry knew that, but you weren't going to tell him.

“It’s just, Ana’s has been so clingy lately and we’ve only been together officially for 3 weeks. It’s making me want to end things.” Harry admitted into the phone. You almost rolled your eyes at his words. Not once has he called you to ask about you in months, but that's just how things were. You weren’t sure why you expected anything else.

“If you aren’t happy with her, end it,” You spoke up after a while, unsure if you were giving him the advice because you were desperate to be with him or it was genuinely what he should do.   “There’s no point in being with her if you’re considering ending it over her being clingy.”

You heard him sigh into the phone before speaking up. “Yeah, we’ll see, thanks,” He said your name. You smiled a bit at that. It was crazy how he could make you feel so special by just the tone of his voice, absurd, really,

“ ‘Course. So-” Before you could say anything else you heard the beep of the phone being hung up. You took a deep breath, trying to think of how Harry and you were before everything changed.

2 years ago

“I can’t believe you’re officially moving to L.A.” You said as you stood in his bedroom doorway, watching him pack up his last few clothes.

“Me neither.” He simply said.

Before you could stop it, you felt a salty tear roll down you cheek. As you wiped it away, he turned around, his face dropping all previous joy, concern flooding his features.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He used the nickname he gave you 11 years ago when we were 10. It was crazy how the two of you had known each other so long, and now you were both 21, and he would be living in the city of angels.

“Just gonna miss seeing you as often as I usually do is all.” You laughed, the tears flowing more freely now. One Direction had just gone on hiatus and after spending some time at home, Harry decided to switch it up a bit. You didn’t understand why he couldn’t just switch it up by not wearing skinny jeans everyday, but it seemed he wanted something bigger than that.

He pouted and walked over to you, giving me a hug before mumbling in your ear, “I’ll call you everyday. Promise.”

Promises were made to be broken, it seemed. He only calls you when he needs a hand, and only answers if he’s alone. You wish you found it more frustrating than painful, maybe that way it would be easier to move on, but you have yet to do so. You’ve asked yourself why you were still silently pining over him, with no answer in sight.

The last time you saw Harry in person was almost a year ago, when he came back to visit his family. Up until that trip he called you everyday, or close too, wanting to know about you day or he just “wanted to hear your voice”. Then when we were together it was like no time had passed while he was away.

1 year ago

“Oh shut up.” You scoffed, lightly punching his bicep.

He just laughed in return, rubbing his arm acting like you had actually hurt him.

“I feel like you just got back and now you’re leaving again,” you said after a bit, knowing he was leaving the next morning. “Plus,” you added, gently playing with his hair. “I’m gonna miss your hair, it’s so fun to braid.”

He looked over at you as your hand fell to rest on his shoulder, running your fingers through his curls. “I know, but I’ll come back soon. I’ll try not to cut my hair for you, don’t worry.” He smiled at you, leaning over and pulling you into a hug.

You just returned his grin and hug, and stuck your fingers through the ringlets, having way too much fun with his hair. You noticed he was looking at you the entire time you were messing with his hair, but you convinced yourself it was because he had nowhere else to look.

Eventually, you were so close to him you could see freckles you never had before. Your breath hitched, not knowing if you should backup or not, your hand still resting on his shoulder in his curls. Then all of a sudden he was far away again, and it was like nothing had ever happened.

Your heart ached with the love you had for Harry, and it seemed nothing could cure it except him and when you woke up the next morning and instinctively checked your phone, you frowned as you noticed no notifications from the one person you truly wanted to hear from.

You weren’t sure when your hurt extended from the pain of practically losing a friend to the pain of not being able to be with someone you love. You weren’t sure when you started seeing his lips as kissable and not something to put lipstick on for fun. You weren’t sure when you started looking at his hands as something to hold and not as a blocker for your playful punches.

You weren’t sure when you started stealing glances more than you usually did or avoiding eye contact because it made you nervous. You weren’t sure when your stomach was no longer empty and then filled with butterflies. You weren’t sure when he stopped calling just to talk, or when he stopped picking up. All you were sure of was that you were hopelessly in love with someone who could never feel the same.

                                                            ✧˖*°࿐

He called a few more times about the same girl, Ana. You had spoken to your friend about it, and you were slowly getting over him. Each time you were getting cut off and hung up on, and it took a really long time for you to know you deserved better. He hadn’t called you since he attempted once and you didn’t answer. It went on for a few months, he would call you almost everyday, alongside texts like “Hello?”, “Pick up, please?”, and the text that came last before you blocked him, “Are you okay?”. He didn’t deserve to know, and sure maybe you shouldn’t have just cut off all contact, but there was no other way to get over him.

A month after you blocked him, and you were no longer sulking when you checked your phone and no longer crying to sleep. You were becoming happy thanks to your self control, and finally learning that just because Harry didn’t love you, didn;t mean you shouldn’t love yourself.

You were sitting on your couch when there was a knock at your door. You looked up from the book in your lapa and stood up, scurrying to the door, not wanting the person at the other side to be waiting.

You swung it open, met with the last face you expected to see. He looked concerned almost, and almost immediately you were wrapping in his arms, after over a year he was holding you once more. Except this time you didn’t want it. You pushed him off of you and stepped back. “What are you doing here Harry?” You asked, a scowl on your face.

“I-y’wouldn’t answer me and then nothing went through, god, I was so worried, love-”

“No,” You shook your head. “Don’t call me that, you can’t just come here after being an asshole to me for over a year. You are not allowed to be worried about me, not when you haven’t bothered to ask how I am after all this time.”

His mouth dropped open in shock, you were always so calm, you never had yelled at him before. “I’m sorry-”

“Sorry doesn’t cut it.” You pursed your lips.

“Just let me explain,” He said, hesitating like he was trying to find an answer to this, but you knew whatever he told you, nothing would change. “I-when we saw each other last, we almost kissed, or at least I almost kissed you, I love you, I was so scared that y’wouldn’t feel the same, and I guess I got caught up in trying to make you jealous. Please, m’so sorry.”

He took a step towards you and you took two steps back. There was no way he felt the same as you did- you had. And even if he did, you always knew he was shit at handling feelings, but there was no excuse.

“No, you can’t do that, say that. I don’t care if you mean it or not,” You began, tearing up. “That-thats’s so fucking terrible to do to someone, especially if you love them. I’m tired Harry, I’m done with you, I’ve been done with you for months.”

“What?” He asked, like he couldn’t believe you.

“Please leave.”

Your heart broke at your own words, but you couldn’t forgive him. Not now, and maybe not ever.

“Please I-”

“I said leave, Harry.”

You could see his watery eyes as he opened his mouth to protest once more, but then closed it. There was nothing he could say. Not anymore. He was always leaving, but this time, for the first time, you wanted him to.

[creamupuffuu]

✿YOᑌᖇᗴ KIᗪᔕ ᖴᖇIᗴᑎᗪ ᑕᗩᒪᒪᔕ YOᑌ ᗩ ᗰIᒪᖴ 😕

KᗩᖇᗩᔕᑌᑎO:

(Daichi, Tanaka,)

ᗪᗩIᑕᕼI:

❥It was around 3:25 o'clock—you had just started preparing dinner for your 15 year old son and your FIREFIGHTER husband (cause you sure as hell wasn't cookin' for no cop) when you heard the door open. Placing the roast in the oven you bent down—mits on your pretty hands and ass damn near presented to the world in the pretty sundress you wore.

"Hey Ma!"

"Hi honey!" You called out as you stood up discarding your oven mits onto to counter you turned around tilting your head. "Whose this?"

"This is Takashi, we have a project to work on so I figured it was ok if I brought him over for a bit, is that ok?"

❥ While your conversating with your son you failed to notice the way Takashi's virgin eyes took in your pretty (slim/lean/plump) body—eyes racking over your subtle bust that noticeably sat upright and nice around the ruffles of your dress—the same dress that hugged your curves just right, a nice and frilly apron tied neatly around your waist. "Well it's nice to meat you Takashi" you giggled sticking your hand out for him to shake—blinking the boy rubbed his neck.

"A-Ah, it's nice to meet you too Mrs. Sawamura..." he uttered, seemingly very focused on they way your breast bounced with each shake—(Your son's name) nudged him noticing the way his eyes lingered. "Anyway, we'll be on our way Ma—let go of my mom's hand ya freak" he grimaced causing Takashi to chuckle sheepishly as you waved them both away.

❥ "Dude," (Y/S/N) whispered as they sat in the dining room "What?"

"Don't what "what" me—why the hell were you starin' at my ma like that?" Looking around Takashi made sure you weren't paying attention as you stirred the mashed potatoes. "Dude your mom's a total milf." Your son pulled one of the most disgusted stank faces he could muster as he stared at his friend in utter disgust. "Mf wha...?"

"No dude, I'm serious—like look at her, she has the whole milf persona down pact. She's sweet, kind and has a baggin' bod man."

"You've literally just met her..."

❥ Any other time you were a force to be reckoned with, a hazard to society—this just happened to be one of the days you felt generous enough to grace the house with your charitable contributions. (Y/S/N) recognized the dangerous tint your eyes held when he told you he invited someone without your permission and expected you to be cool with it—what you were merely doing was putting on an act as the "Sweet milfy mother" and it was working out wonderfully.

Too wonderfully

"Naw man, your mom's a milf."

"Dude..."

"Like—she gave me this look dude—you know "that" look" the poor boy, he had no idea what was approaching upon him.

"Bruh..." (Y/S/N) tried again, but to no avail as Takashi continued on.

"No no no, cause get it—if given the chance bruh, I'd fuc—oh my gosh, what happened to the light?" with a choked gasp the boy could only stare in pure shock at the sight of your towering husband—expression stoic, but the way his eyes flared into the child made him piss himself he was so scared. (Imagine a 5'9–hell maybe even taller—beefy man staring you down with the most meanest ass look)

"I'm sorry, You'd what to my wife?"

(Y/S/N) lifted a few papers and patted them against the table to straighten them as he watched his friend get chewed out by his father. "A-Ah...M-Mr. Sawamura, I didn't...that didn't come out right—I meant uh, yeah y-you know...."

"No, I don't know—why don't you explain to me what exactly you'd do to my wife given the chance—cause I'd love to hear it." Daichi hadn't felt so pissed in his life (aside from when he was made a meme on several social media platforms—put thats a different story for a different time) and honestly it was disgusting having some brat in his home—his sanctuary, a place where he comes to feel relaxed and loved to sit here and try to explain to his own son how he'd fuck you if given the chance—where the hell was the damn belt when you needed it?

❥ "Daichi—is that you babe?" You're sweet voice rang from the kitchen as you glossed your cornbread with your honey and butter mixture—turning his attention back on the boy Daichi glowered at him.

"If I ever hear something like that come out of your mouth in my presence I'll make sure you never step foot in this house again."

And with that he smiled, turned and caught you as you leaped into his arms placing a nice kiss on your cheek. "Hey love, dinner smells great." He grinned, guiding you both back into the kitchen, a giggle escaping your pretty lips as you go on to ask about his day.

❥"Yeah, yo ass most definitely ain't invited to the cookout." Your son snorted taking in his friends pissed scared expression.

—————

TᗩᑎᗩKᗩ:

❥It was actually your daughters girl best friend who called you a milf and Tanaka winded up agreeing with her 💀

Here's how it happened, you and Tanaka had planned a trip to a nearby water park since the last few days had been hot as a bitch—so you allowed your daughter to invite her friend and of course she agreed—as long as your daughter and her had been freeness she had never gotten the chance to officially meet you, she'd always been around your husband since your daughter was a daddy's girl.

"Ryū, do you have everything packed?" You asked as you poked your head out from the side door of the house—your lean husband packing what looked like unnecessary junk in the back seat of the car. "Yeah, Yep baby—" he nearly slipped trying to shove four lounge chairs, the picnic basket and several other things in the car. "I've got everything packed—just waitin' on (Daughter name) and Naomi to come."

Nodding you poked your head back into the door to change—a nice bikini and thin shawl to go over it—it's better if I show it to you—

❥ Now before I see any comments sayin' "My stomach said no" "Tits, ass and thighs have left the building" I want y'all to know that Tanaka does everything in his power to make sure you feel happy and loved, it's what made your confidence boost since high school and the self love you had for yourself only skyrocketed the longer you stayed with him and you truly understood the true value of yourself. You felt happy and comfortable in your own skin, that didn't mean you didn't have days where you felt off about being in your body, but those thoughts would simmer down when your adoring husband cane into view.

Stripping from your pajamas and bunny slippers you placed the bikini on and folded the shawl in front of you as you made your way downstairs to sit in the living room.

Ten minutes had passed and (Y/D/N) and Naomi had finally returned—greeting your husband Your daughter asked where you had wandered off to

❥ "Your mother? She's in the living room last I seen her, (Y/N)!! Come on love we're ready!"

"Just a second!" You hollered back slipping on a pair of slides and exiting out of the house—time seem to stand still as not only your husband, but Naomi too drunk in your form—the swimsuit definitely serving you justice. "You all ready?" You asked, "Y-Yeah hon...w'we're ready." Smiling cheekily you grinned.

"Yo, (Y/D/N)"

"What? What's up??"

"Your mom is literally hot as hell."

"..."

"Deadass, she looks like one of those hot ass milfs..." she muttered watching as you lightly scolded Tanaka for putting the sandwich iron into the truck. Turning around you bent over to grab the toaster—tits nearly spilling from your top as you made your way back into the house. "Yeah, a milf."

"You said it." Tanaka whistled placing his folded arm on top of Naomi's head. "M-Mr. T-Tanaka, oh my gosh I am so sorry...I shouldn't have—" Your childish husband barked out a deep laughter at the scared expression on your daughters friends face. "Calm down kiddo, I'm not mad—if anything I'm glad someone recognized it." He uttered whipping his head to stare at his daughter.

"I am not referring to mama as a milf."

❥ Tanaka smacked his lip, a low whistle coming from his mouth as both he and Naomi stared at the way your ass flexed through the thin material of the shawl

Up and down and up and down

And up and down and up and down

❥ "Damn," they muttered in union

"You two are literally disgusting."

—————

Chapter from my Wattpad account :p

Danish_Taco

[the-lady-of-stars]

In Another Life

Fives x Jedi ! Reader

Requested by: @marvel-starwars-nerd​ and an anon (I combined your prompts, hope thats okay!)  “I don’t want this to end” and “Whatever you do don’t cry, because if you cry I’ll start crying too”

A/N: Sorry in advance, troopers.

A traitor to the Republic. That’s what they’d called him. They had said that Fives was conspiring against them, accusing the Kaminoans of planting chips in the clones’ brains to control them.

The chip, which Fives had broken protocol to remove from Tup, was called an ‘inhibitor chip’ by the Kaminoans. Something to keep them from adopting Fett’s strong will and violence. Fives insisted otherwise, leading you to this very moment on the lower levels of Coruscant.

With Anakin and Rex by your side you slowly edged into the darkened warehouse, calling out for Fives as you went. The lightsaber ignited in your hands was merely standard protocol. You knew that Fives would never hurt you, but the Republic branding him as a dangerous individual meant you had to keep up the act. The excuse of Fives being your boyfriend wasn’t exactly something that could be put on the reports.

The deeper you went into the building, the more you could sense him. The force signiature coming off of Fives was something you would normally bask in and draw peace from, but not today. He radiated nothing but fear, anger and mistrust, still not showing himself to you and your companions. The boys all knew about the relationship between you and Fives. He wasn’t quite the most secretive man in the galaxy, and had the tendency to brag.

Anakin, clearly sensing the pure worry and unease radiating from you, sent you a reasurring look, although it never met his eyes.

“Fives,” you called out, trying to pinpoint his location. “It’s okay, we’re not here to hurt you. Just come out, everything will be okay.”

“Thank you, thank you for trusting me,” Fives’ voice echoed through the crate-filled warehouse, making it hard to figure out where it had come from. The three of you span slowly, trying to catch a glimpse of the rogue trooper. His voice was shaky, the notes wavering in his throat. “Have you come without troops?” He insisted, too nervous to keep his fear hidden.

“We have,” Anakin reassured, voice steady so as not to startle Fives.

“Put down your weapons then!” Fives sounded frantic, like a loth cat cornered by hungry varactyls. You felt your heart twist at the notion that your own boyfriend felt the need to defend himself against you, his brother and his friend.

Anakin, casting aside emotion to stick to military protocol, denied Fives’ request, still slightly on edge about his accusations about the Jedi and the chips.

“Please sir, please- I’m unarmed,” Fives pleaded. You turned to find Rex and Anakin both with expressions of sorrow that matched your own.

With a nod, Anakin sheathed his saber, and Rex set his pistols down on a nearby crate. You copied them, attaching your saber to its hilt at your belt.

“What are we here for, Fives?” Anakin pressed, knowing that every moment they wasted was a moment the Coruscant Guard gained on them, and he knew they wouldn’t be as willing to accomodate.

“I need your help,” he called, desperation thick in his words.

Anakin reassured the trooper that he was here to help, telling Fives that he understood he ‘wasn’t well.’ Clearly, this was the wrong thing to say, as Fives suddenly became upset, voice raising.

“I’m not crazy! Please- just hear what I have to say,” he begged, voice growing clearer, allowing you to pinpoint him behind two stacks of crates.

With one last shared look, the three of you drew closer to Fives’ location. Before you could reach him, Fives entrapped you all in a ray shield, then finally emerged once he knew you couldn’t harm him.

Anakin, knowing this wouldn’t do Fives any good once the Coruscant Guard arrived, slammed his fist against the shield in anger. He already knew how low the chances were for his friend, the Kaminoans were fond of reconditioning for even the slightest misbehaviour, but this would only serve to make things ten times worse.

“I just need you to listen to me,” Fives reassured, raising his empty hands to show that he meant no harm. “Please!” he cried out.

“I’m not really sure we have any other choice!” Anakin snapped, worry for Fives turning into anger due to his lack of control in the situation.

Fives’ voice broke, almost whimpering as he yelled “I was framed- because I know the truth! The truth about a plot- a massive deception!”

Fives’ body was shaking, arms restless as he panicked, pacing fearfully, clutching his head and tensing his fists. He looked wildly overwhelmed, almost in pain at how he couldn’t get anyone to believe him.

“There’s a sinister plot,” he shouted, “in the works, against the Jedi! I have proof of it! I can prove- that everything that I know is true beyond a shadow of a doubt!”

“Fives, please-” you tried to speak calmly but you were nearly in tears over seeing your Fives like this, your voice trembling. His eyes raced from side to side, peeled wide in terror, desperation in every breath he took.

Anakin interrupted you, voice stern. “Show me the evidence.”

Fives dug his fingers back into his head, as though he were trying to rip the thoughts out of his brain. Pink marks crowned his head from the way he was scratching into it.

“The evidence- it’s- it’s in here-” Fives pointed aggressively at his brain, fully aware that the Kaminoans had injected him with something to make him lose his memories before he could speak to the Chancellor. His eyes held nothing but devastation, gleaming with unshed tears and pain. “It’s in all of us!” he recalled, desperately trying to explain, “every clone!”

“What is it?” Rex pushed, trying to extract clear words from his brother.

“Organic chips- built into our genetic code,” Fives said, defeat swallowing up his voice. He leaned exhausted to rest on a stack of crates, pressing his arm and forehead against them. “To make us do whatever someone wants.” Fives felt powerless in that moment. The Republic had always made him feel like a pawn, but this was the first time Fives truly understood what his older brothers meant when they spoke about being nothing but property. What difference could one clone make, especially one who had the entire coruscant guard and a Jedi on the hunt for him. “Even kill the Jedi. It’s all in here-” he repeated in a frenzy, poking his head again and again.

Anakin scowled, not believing Fives’ words. You turned to look at Rex, seeing how upset he looked. He ran his hand over his hair in stress, sending you a dejected look when he caught your gaze.

“Let’s just get you some help first then we can review everything,” Anakin spoke, trying to deescalate the situation. “It’ll be okay, Fives, we’ll sort this out.” Anakin said the words as though nothing major were happening, as if everything was fine.

Fives finally reached his limit, feeling shattered at the lack of understanding.

“You don’t believe me!” he howled.

“Fives,” Rex tried to soothe him, brotherly instinct overwhelming him. “We are listening to you. We only want to help.”

“How do I know you’re not tricking me?” Fives asked rapidly. “How do I know it won’t be a trap?”

You couldn’t stand back and listen any more.

“Fives, please, look at me. You know for a fact that not one of us would lay a finger on you. We all care about you Fives, and we want to hear everything you have to say. I mean it. We’ll listen,” you pleaded with him, pressing one hand up against the ray shield.

Fives shakily stumbled forward, lifting a trembling hand to press it against where yours lay on the other side of the shield. He looked deep into your eyes, the look he gave you making you want to sweep him away and hold him for the rest of your life. You wished more than anything that you could take him away from all of this. Why did it have to be your Fives getting caught up in this mess. If only you could take him to some outer-rim planet where you would never be found, and soothe all of his worries with tender kisses and soft spoken words.

----------------------------

“Princess?”

“Yeah, Fives?”

“You ever thought about after the war?”

“What about it?”

You lay secure on Fives’ chest in your bed, resting your eyes as he swept patterns into the skin of your back.

“What you’d like life to be like, I mean. Like, I d’uno, a family maybe?”

Maybe you were just tired, but you were sure you could detect a hint of hopefulness in his words.

“A family, huh? Yeah, I s’pose have. Is that something you’d like?”

“Y-yeah,” Fives felt himself flush. Get it together, trooper. “W-with you, I mean. Maybe a kid or two if you want. We could have a little house out on Naboo. It could be in the countryside. We could go swimming in the waterfalls. I’m sure General Skywalker could set us up with a place. Get- get married maybe?” Fives subtly wiped his sweaty palms on the sheets, hoping you wouldn’t notice how nervous the proposition made him.

“I’d like that.”

He let out a sigh.

“I’d like that a lot.”

If you had secretly been awake when Fives had whispered “gn’a make you my wife,” he didn’t need to find out.

----------------------------

Fives gasped, thinking about what would happen if the clones were ordered to take out the Jedi. Even the brief thought of him mindlessly shooting you caused him to jolt back. He began to explain how he thought everything linked back to the Chancellor, how every part of his intuition told him to believe it.

“He’s capable of it, I swear to you, General,” he tried to reason with Anakin, but before he could get another word in the Coruscant Guard leapt out from behind some crates, pointing their blasters at Fives.

Calls of “stand down, trooper” and “get on your knees” rang through the building. You watched in horror as Fives turned his gaze to Rex’s abandoned pistols.

“Fives, no- stop!” you screamed, but it was too late.

He lunged for the pistols, clutching one with a yell of “get away from me!”

Then silence, deafening silence. Your vision turned to slow-motion as Commander Fox fired a shot square into Fives’ chest. You felt a cry escape your throat but never heard it, feeling like you were about to faint.

Fives collapsed, hitting the ground in a position which allowed you to see the large short-range blaster shot staining the pure white duraplast of his armour. Rex beat his hands against the barrier, desperatley trying to break through to hold his brother. The second a member of the Guard shot the shield down you fell to your knees at his side, Rex at your side.

“Fives,” you sobbed, tears flowing freely. You reached over to cup his cheek, bringing his gaze to look at you. Fives was dazed, feeling the life force drain from him as he bled out on the duracrete floor. The blood loss began to make him dizzy, his thoughts no longer focused on the conspiracy, turning to you instead. You were crying. His girl was crying and he wasn’t doing anything about it. He’d always hated seeing you cry.

------------------------------------------------

“Hey, Princess, I’m hom- woah, woah, woah-” Fives froze, startled by the image of you curled up in a ball on the floor leaning against your bed while crying your eyes out. He immediately ran over, sliding to his knees by your side. “Hey, what’s the matter?” he cooed, reaching to pull your hands from your eyes. He felt his heart tighten at the sight of your reddened eyes, the tears clinging to your eyelashes. “Oh, shhh,” he soothed, bringing you into his chest as you sobbed wildly. Fives sat and rocked you gently in his arms until your sobs slowed into hiccups and gasps, murmuring sweet nothings tenderly into your ear.

“Feelin’ better?” he spoke softly, punctuating his question with a kiss to your cheek.

“Mmhmm,” you nodded, leaning into his touch as he wiped away your tears.

“That’s my girl. You’re okay, Princess. I’ve got you. I’ll always take care of you I swear. Now, make a promise for me?”

You hummed in agreement, waiting for him to state his promise.

“I need you to promise me that you won’t cry alone ever again. Next time you need to cry, come find me or send me a quick comm and I swear I’ll be right there to hold you. Promise?”

You smiled lovingly, “promise.”

“Thas’ my girl.”

-------------------------------------------------

“H-hey- hey, don’t you go crying on me now, pretty thing. ‘Cos if you cry I’ll start cryin’, you hear me?”

This only made you weep harder, clutching at his shoulder.

“Fives, no, no- don’t do this. Don’t. You’re gonna be okay, you’re gonna be fine. I’m here, Rex is here, we’ve got you,” your voice shook heavily as you barely managed to get the words out between choked sobs.

Fives chuckled after a gasp, shooting a beaming smile in your direction.

“C’mon, you’re a clever girl. You and I both know this is the end of the line for me. I’m not gonna be here too much longer, Princess, but you remember that promise you made me, yeah? When I’m gone, you’re not gonna spend your time cryin’ over me. You’re gonna go find a friend, someone you trust, and cry it out with them so they can look after you. Okay?”

You burst into tears again, unable to respond to him.

“I’ll look after her, vod. I swear it, you have my word. We’ll look after eachother,” Rex choked, tears flowing down his face. He reached over and grasped his brother’s hand tightly, squeezing it in reassurance.

Fives smiled, a look of peace overcoming him at the thought of his girl and his brother looking out for eachother when he wasn’t there to do it himself.

“Thas’ good. Mmm. Good.” Fives blinked, finding the idea of sinking into the darkness more and more tempting every second.

“Fives, no, don’t go. Please- I don’t want this to end. I love you, I love you so much Fives, please don’t leave me!”

Fives mustered up all the energy he had left to grin at you, the cheeky grin that showed off his teeth he’d always give you when he’d make fun of you.

“I love you too, Princess. I always will. I’m sorry I have to go, but I promise I’ll see you again some day. Even in another life, I’ll find you. You’ll always be my girl.”

And with that, Fives slipped away, succumbing to the peace that was sinking into his heart. He’d find you again. In another life.

[windebris]

roman: princy or princess?

ok i know the title sounds like crack, but hear me out:

Roman’s whole deal is being a prince. Hes got the costume, he plays up the gimmick, he even has a fricking sword. We know this, we’ve seen the ups and downs of this in the series, and we know the black and white, prince vs evil mentality is about to explode in everyone’s face (more so than it already has, that is) because who everyone expects/wants him to be doesnt line up with his real self, and he’s still not at the point of truly accepting himself for who he isnt (a cookie cutter, perfect prince) and is (a mess) (via @beauty-and-passion bc i love their analyses so fricking much), but we’ll come back to that

Roman’s primary inspiration (via c! thomas’ perception) is disney princes, so lets take a look at their usual jobs in the films.

Vanquish evil 

Advocate true love

simple enough, right? just like roman, at first it seems that way. Im sure at the beginning of sanders sides we all thought he would be a showy, pretty boy prince who wanted thomas to be ‘good’. Because princes always get rid of the evil in the end, right?

but we know how thats worked out for roman. Mean to virgil, backfired awfully. Condemned janus, everyone’s against roman now. Separate from remus, it came back to bite thomas. And it was fine, roman would have put up with anything so long as it only hurt him, but because thomas got hurt everything is worse. (of course, this is the case with janus too, but i’ll come back to that)

everyone knows by now that there’s going to be a reckoning next episode. We’ve seen thomas costumed as remus, so he’s gonna be in there. Roman had a breakdown last ep, backed into a corner and a confrontation, so if he isnt there when his twin is i am going to riot. Janus is definitely going to be there bc the last ep saw jan fINALLY being accepted (also a part of that confrontation), and i’m just dying to know where virgil has been as well so he might also show up. The whole gang’s gonna see what chaos goes down if patton even sneezes in their general direction

where was i going with this, i had a point

RIGHT

So vanquish evil has failed every which way for roman. Whats left? True love. Now, in most films this refers to a princess, but i think roman’s focus always has been and always will be thomas. He was heartbroken when the whole ‘thomas was lying about roman being his hero’ (or at least roman interpreted janus’ nod that way), his whole theme is because thomas needed a prince to save him from the ‘bad thoughts’ ie remus (which is irrelevant to my point so we dont have time to unpack all that rn- /ref)

But because he failed to vanquish evil the ‘right’ way (even though literally everything patton ever said led him to believe he was doing the right thing-), he’s failed to show thomas the ‘true love’, hence he is no longer thomas’ hero. No longer his prince.

whaBAM, entire basis of his identity no longer exists

So what’s left?

disney is still there, its a core part of roman and no amount of anguish will lessen that it was a core part of c! thomas’ creative development

on that note, roman still has to be his core functions. creativity, passion, ego, hopes, dreams, etc

Thinking on it though, none of those ever fit neatly into the prince persona in the first place. A prince is there to serve his ‘kingdom’ (ie the sides + thomas) and to complete the above values, not to be an artist or performer or any of the things thomas dreams of. And there is no room for passion or ego in the life of a prince because he is always looking out for his people (what should be the others’ job). Which begs the question: why was roman a prince in the first place?

The obvious answer goes back to disney being c!thomas’ first forays into storytelling. the princes were perfect examples of ‘goodness’, which as we know is key to what thomas pre-the newer episodes wanted to be, and existing already in familiar stories with killer songs to match, it was an ideal match for a ‘good’ creativity

But deeper than that, i think roman is a prince because thomas needed a placeholder to be his protector. He wasnt yet aware of janus (the metaphorical protector, saving thomas from what he wasnt yet ready for), lying to himself about the dark other sides altogether, and virgil was too busy playing the ‘bad guy’ at the beginning to show his true colors (looking out for thomas is virgil’s purpose, as we now know), but back then? Roman was the one barricading virgil the most, ‘protecting’ thomas from his influence

Therefore! The reason roman was the prince was to ‘save’ thomas from the others, and unconsciously, the ‘dark creativity’. Without the ‘prince,’ thomas would have accepted the darkness all to easily (from roman’s perspective, which once again goes into the subconscious protecting from remus’ stuff)

But, returning to the point (i keep getting off track lol), now the prince is gone. He’s failed in his pursuits, there is nothing else to protect from (ignoring orange), he isnt thomas’ hero

I think, bear with me, he’s going to become more of a princess now.

✨metaphorically✨

Princes, in the typical disney movie, are black and white. Theyre either good (eric, phillip, etc) or bad (see hans). Fight evil, get the girl love interest, live happily ever after, or… dont.

Living happily ever after by fighting evil has gotten roman absolutely nowhere; in fact, it got him ostracized and rethinking his entire self concept, so thats not an option now.

princesses, on the other hand, have gone through a fricking renaissance. Where they used to be as black and white as princes minus the possibly-evil bit and delicate as flowers, now they can be hard-working, law-breaking, dream-chasing, yet still people-saving girlbosses, which is essentially roman on a can label.

im mixing my metaphors, but what roman really, truly needs right now is that metamorphosis. He’s crumbling under the pressure his prince persona puts on him (ha, alliteration). Thomas’ moral dilemma is making his two creativities split at the seams even more than they already have, because if morality is such a spectrum, then why is his creativity so seemingly (forgive the overuse of this phrase) black and white?

If roman could shed the princeliness and take in more princess qualities (ie a certain disregard for the rules, doing whats right [for thomas, that is, which is being himself {a theme in many princess-centric films} despite expectations] by ignoring pre-set rules and expectations), he’d be so much healthier in the long run

Thats not to say he should be a princess aesthetically. Dude said himself- he is a manly man who is manly, but the free spirit so many disney princesses seem to envelop could better not only roman, but thomas

this way, roman doesnt *have* to be perfect to be ‘good’ (something thomas still values, but in a different way now as we see in SvS redux). He can be his truest self (ego, passion, dreams and all) without contradicting who thomas sees roman as. He can go back to being his hero, if he wishes -- just in a new way

Because all the things that dont fit into being a prince fit perfectly into princesses (and he still gets to keep the innate disney-ness for the aesthetic)

[ateezmakemeweep]

you’re the one that i want (part 4)

word count: 6k

angst, fluff

(part 3) (series masterlist)

taglist: @chogiout ; @seonghwaslut​ ; @psshwa​ ; @yeocult​ ; @seongghwaa​ ; @cherryeonii​ ; @chaoticbanqtan​ ; @8teenee​ ; @nczenniez​ ; @atinyarmyx1​ ; @mingtopiaa​ ; @chubsluda​ ; @myjiminmychimchim​ ; @mochibabycakes​ ; @jisungity​ ; @skz-on-my-mind​ ; @mingtopiaa​ ; @nlost21​ ; @myonlyaurora​ ; @closer-stars​ ; @kuaenam3g​ ; @byungaji​ ; 

by the fourth day of lessons, you’re convinced of two things: you will never ever be a professional surfer and seonghwa will be completely responsible for your heart short circuiting at some point this summer. because if he grips your bare waist one more time, you will not be able to handle it.

but thats what’s happened each and every time you flop into the water, grounding your feet on the board below you before the smallest wave sends you barreling off. and he’s caught you almost every time, a small smile on his face as he shakes his head at you.

“that was the farthest you’ve gotten,” he says encouragingly, seeing a considerable improvement from the first day you started. it took him almost five hours to teach you how to keep your balance, paddling in on your stomach before standing up on the board. 

“that’s not saying much,” you whine, rubbing the salt water from your eyes. you pull back and look down at your tanned arms, remembering how within ten minutes of your first lesson he nearly made you pass out.

“hi!” you exclaimed happily, walking out of your house with a beach bag and water bottle.

you hadn’t been able to sleep last night, excited but also nervous for today. you didn’t really know what to expect but the thought of seeing him again sent your stomach and heart fluttering. you were also still a little embarrassed about giving him that little turtle, wondering just how creeped out and shocked he truly was.

“hey,” he says, nodding his head toward you, “you ready?” 

you look up at him and smile, tanned face and slicked back hair already making you bothered. but then you notice him squint his eyes, looking over your slightly burnt face and arms before shaking his head.

“did you put on sunscreen?”

your face drops and the guilty look in your eyes causes him to groan. he drops his board and takes the black bag from his back, zipping it open and pulling out a bottle of sunscreen.

“here.”

and you already know better than to refuse, taking it with a wince and quiet “thank you.”

he watches you rub it over your arms and shoulders, feeling your cheeks warm as his eyes stay on you. “did you put some on?” you ask, in an effort to distract yourself from his piercing gaze.

but he only nods his head, picking his board up and dusting off some sand and dirt as his eyes remain on you. you squirt some more on your hand before giving it to him with a grateful smile, rubbing it in and then wiping the excess on your face.

“thank you,” you tell him. “i always forget to put it on which would explain why i’m a little-” 

“missed some,” he hums lowly, his hand slowly reaching out so his thumb can rub in the lotion on your cheek.

he does everything so smoothly and nonchalantly while you inhale sharply, your lips parting and watching him with wide eyes. it was the first indication that his touch was gonna be gentle this week, his hands softer than you expected. his eyes meet yours when he pulls his hand back, raising his eyebrow when he sees your face.

“you good?”

yeah, i’m good, you think, i just have a handsome boy touching my face about to put me in cardiac arrest.

“you’re good,” his deep voice says, hearing the way he’s holding back a chuckle. “you’re getting better.”

you look at the board skeptically and he can’t help but smirk, tapping the black foam encouragingly. “c’mon.”

you huff at his persistence, pouting as you regretfully try again. you practice on and off for the rest of the day, a particularly big wave causing him to tug you up by the arm and hold you steadily so you don’t get thrown underwater.

he holds you tighter as the wave crashes down stronger, his other hand resting on your waist and it’s so large against your body that you’re doing everything in your power to ignore it.

“okay, maybe we’ll try again tomorrow,” he says lowly, removing his hands from you as his words fan against your ear. you wipe the salt water dripping from your face, your eyes boring into his harshly as your body starts to ache from being knocked around all day.

“what’s the use,” you say dejectedly, gathering your hair to squeeze the excess water out, “i’m never gonna be able to do it.”

but then just three days later, seonghwa watches as you stand up on a board and manage to come in on a wave. it was small and fairly unimpressive opposed to what other surfers were doing but you stood balanced and held your position the whole time, seonghwa watching with a small smile as he nods his head approvingly.

“i did it!” you squeal, bouncing over to him in the water with a smile on your face. the sun was beating down behind you, your wet hair cascading down your your sun-kissed skin, luckily no longer burnt thanks to seonghwa’s daily reminders of sunscreen.

“you did,” he says, his voice low but proud and he can’t take his eyes off your happy smile and bouncing figure. “i told you you were gonna get it.”

you smile up at him and clap your hands, turning around to see more doable waves coming in. “can i try again?”

he bites his lip at your eagerness, his deep voice mumbling “go for it,” causing you to smile and run out. he watches as you shakily make your way up on the board, steadying yourself with your hands out before your surprised giggle pierces his ears.

he hadn’t known what to expect this week, still surprised himself that he offered to help you in the first place. he couldn’t even think of why he asked you, just knew that before he could stop himself the words were leaving his mouth and then he was leading you down to the ocean.

he also hadn’t known how much he was gonna like helping you, looking forward to waking up and seeing you every morning; even though it meant hours of helping you and watching you struggle.

he liked your look of determination despite your bits of self-deprecation and negativity, rolling his eyes and insisting you go again. and even though it looked like you wanted to give up, you persevered; he also wasn’t blind to the fact he liked watching you in the ocean, water clinging to your figure and hair as your tanned face smiled up at him.

you didn’t smile a lot, a real happy smile at least, but when you did, it was almost always followed by a blush; because he really couldn’t help but stare at you, thinking it was one of the prettiest things he’d ever seen. but then when he finds himself having these thoughts, he shakes the cringey words out of his head and berates himself.

he doesn’t think he’s really good for anyone but he knows he’s especially not good for someone like you. a girl who’s scared of her own shadow and walks around giving people silly, overpriced figurines and has some obvious trauma attached to her.

he’s only known for a week but usually, that’s all the time he needs to sleep with a girl before deeming her too annoying, too clingy or just “not what he’s looking for right now.”

but there’s something about you, how he can’t resist smirking when he sees you bouncing toward him with an excited smile. “i did it again!” you squealed.

“i saw,” he says with a small smirk, wanting desperately to reach out and move away a piece of your wet hair. but you knock it away from your face before he can, floating in the water as you push the board back to him.

“are you gonna go now?”

“nah,” he says, shaking his head. “i don’t wanna make you feel bad.”

a scoff leaves your mouth as you shake your head, splashing him playfully as you narrow your eyes at him. “mean!”

he smirks as you guys float there for a few minutes, you splashing him occasionally and causing him to do it back. but then a harsh slew of waves proves too daunting and nearly forces you both out of the water.

it even knocks seonghwa down and you guys pop up with a giggle, accepting defeat for the day. you two had already been here for hours, the sun low in the sky and your muscles weak from being slapped around by the water.

you make your way to the bags where you towel is laid out with your clothes and flip flops. you dry yourself off before laying back with a tiny groan, stretching your sore arms above your head; you had severely underestimated just how physically challengingly surfing is.

“dramatic,” you hear a deep voice say above you, popping your head up to narrow your eyes at seonghwa.

“give me a break, i’m a rookie, okay,” you whine, a snort leaving him as he shakes his wet hair with a towel.

the water splashes on your body, looking at him just as he peeks his head up. hair shaggy and wet, his eyebrow quirks up at you when he notices your gaze and it immediately sends your heart into a frenzy. you never know what slight facial change of his is gonna make your hormone-filled, energy-ridden body react.

“you splashed me,” you say, voice small but full of amusement and he can’t help but snort.

“you splashed me, too,” he mumbles, shaking his head purposefully as it flings on you.

“hey!” you squeal, your girlish giggle drowned out by the sound of male voice shouting “traitor!”

seonghwa rolls his eyes upon hearing the familiar boy, reaching out to grab his board and lifting it in time to smack him in the face. jongho’s knocked to the side with an oomph, yunho’s cackle mixed with hongjoong’s concerned yelp bringing a smile to your face.

“dickhead,” yunho says, knocking into seonghwa before looking down at you in surprise. “oh shit, hey y/n.”

“hi,” you say as you crane your neck up, the boy’s happy smile and wavy blue hair still such a shocking contrast to his towering height. yunho looks over at seonghwa and notices his wet hair, eyebrow raised as he looks at his friend suspiciously.

“you already go out?”

you bite the inside of your cheek as you take in seonghwa’s appearance, something about it noticeably more frigid as his eyes move from you to his friend.

“only for a second,” is all he cryptically offers. yunho doesn’t comment on the fact that both of you have wet hair, raising a brow at him before looking down at you. he sees your eyes flash with confusion before they change to their usual twinge of lightness and fear.

“did you guys run into each other?” yunho can’t help but ask nosily, sensing something not quite right in the air. “or were you here together?” you fumble with your clothes and towel nervously, waiting for seonghwa to say something.

because when you grow up in a household like yours, it becomes like second nature to pick up on the subtlest changes in body language or the tone of someone’s voice, just a general feeling in the air. it’s the difference between getting hit or having an uneventful night, getting screamed at while spit flies in your face or having a tense, slightly awkward but peaceful conversation.

and right now, you can tell seonghwa maybe doesn’t want them to know he was with you.

but then jongho barrels over and pokes seonghwa in the stomach, the boy narrowing his eyes at the blonde before smacking him in the head. “fuck off,” he grumbles, yunho reaching around to grab jongho by the shoulder.

“he’s gonna punch you one day.”

“pussy boy would never,” the boy retorts, seonghwa snorting as he remains completely unbothered. you bite your lip to hide your smirk, the banter between the boys something you find all too funny and endearing.

“i know you weren’t the biggest fan of the other one but there’s gonna be another fire tonight, if you wanna come,” yunho says. you smile at the invite and the hopeful look in his eyes, looking over at seonghwa whose eyes are trained on something behind you.

“maybe,” you squeak out. “thank you.”

“no problem,” yunho says, smiling down at you happily before he smacks his red surfboard. “you wanna surf with us? i know you said you don’t know how but we can-”

“nah, water’s crazy today,” seonghwa says, quickly halting yunho from finishing his invite. “wouldn’t be a good day to teach her.” the blue haired boy’s eyes narrow at his friend and you feel your heart sink, the smile on your face falling ever so slightly.

“i’m sure she’d be able to-”

“no, it’s okay,” you’re quick to say, hating the way your voice is so timid and dismissive. “i should be getting back anyway. my aunt’s probably expecting me back for dinner soon.”

“oh, alright. maybe next time,” yunho says, smiling down at you one last time before he takes his board under his arm. “hopefully we see you tonight.” you nod your head at the boy’s, dropping your gaze when seonghwa looks at you and softly saying “bye,” as you start packing your stuff up.

you pack up your stuff and shimmy into your clothes as you watch seonghwa and his friends retreat down to the water, not surprised in the slightest he didn’t want them knowing you two had spent the past week together.

your aunt had fallen asleep after the third episode of your new reality tv show, looking over at her with a soft smile to see her curled up on the couch. she had cooked you dinner and then you sat outside on her back porch, drinking soda out of wine glasses with a plate of cookies next to you.

she always kept the conversations light hearted and easy and that’s something you loved the most about her. she was one of the few people in this world that you didn’t have to force yourself to converse with. pauses and silence in conversation were comfortable with her, it never made you feel uneasy or awkward.

you get up quietly and take the dirty cups and plates to the kitchen, washing  and putting them away before cleaning up the kitchen counter and small table table. you don’t feel tired yet, courtesy of the hour and a half nap you’d taken when you got home from the beach, and now you find your feet itching to go to the beach.

even though you know you’ll probably hate being there and wish you’d stayed home, there’s a weird pulling feeling in your chest to go down and try again. you think it’d be better than laying restlessly in your bed, hearing the faint sounds of people’s laughter and music that vibrate off the beach.

you leave a note for your aunt in case she wakes up and leave the house, slowly making your way down the beach as a gentle breeze pushes your hair back. the familiar scene of teenagers around a fire and chatting on chairs comes into view, a speaker atop a cooler blaring loud pop music.

your teeth are in your lip already, eyes nervously floating around looking for anyone you know. the sight of bright red hair relaxes you just a few seconds later, the boy looking up and nodding his head at you. you smile as you wave, hesitantly making your way over.

“hi, hongjoong,” you say sweetly, giggling slightly when he throws back his beer and his face grimaces.

“that’s fucking nasty, i don’t know why i drink this shit,” he says, taking two more beers out of the cooler before facing you. “me and the boys are playing cornhole, come with me.”

you follow him as he asks if you’ve ever played before, shaking your head before you see bean bags soar through the air. it flies past the board and into the sand, jongho and seonghwa snorting as yunho lets out a frustrated groan.

“fuck you guys! this shit is rigged or something.”

“you say that every time. you just fucking suck,” hongjoong yells to the boy. yunho’s eyes narrow at him, so annoyed and upset at his horrific skills he doesn’t even notice you standing next to him.

“you’re on my team, you dick! you should be-” his eyes move to see you looking at them with a smile, trying desperately not to burst out laughing. “y/n! you came!”

you giggle as you nod your head, not sure if the boy’s looking at you or you yourself are more surprised by that fact. you feel seonghwa’s gaze on you but ignore it like the plague, still not sure how to handle his attitude change.

“have you ever played cornhole?”

you shake your head again, jongho a few feet away gasping like you’ve committed a grave sin; they insist that once the round is done, you’ll have to join them in the next game.

“she can take my spot,” seonghwa says, your head snapping up to look at him as he pats jongho’s shoulder.

“what, why?” hongjoong asks, “we’re almost done.”

“i can’t stand this guy anymore,” seonghwa says, nudging jongho with a smirk. his eyes meet yours, the hurt and confusion swirling in them immediately causing him to drop them. “and i gotta go talk to someone.”

you watch as he nods his head toward a group of boys and yunho and hongjoong turn to see, the redhead groaning as the other rolls his eyes; they must not like them.

“we told you not to-”

but seonghwa stalks off toward the group of boys and you release a breath you didn’t realize you were holding. “asshole,” hongjoong grumbles, taking a swig from his drink before turning to you. “ready to learn?”

you were happy to see that your lesson of cornhole was going considerably better than surfing, an excited gasp leaving you the first time your beanbag slid right into the hole.

“fuck yeahhh!��� jongho roars - and really roars. it is so loud and ear-piercing because you’re quickly learning he’s quite the sore winner and loser.

he runs over to smack your hand in a high five and you giggle softly, meeting his as hongjoong and yunho’s face turn defeated. “this is beginners luck,” yunho grumbles, his eyes softening when you narrow yours at him. the two boys demand a rematch and jongho agrees before you can say anything, watching them scramble to set up.

you can’t help but scan the beach until you see seonghwa, a cigarette hanging from his mouth as he talks to the three others boys. they look intimidating like him, hard gazes and just an aura of power and dominance that makes you nervous even from afar. the dirty blonde looks even more scary than usual with them, nothing like the boy who was splashing with you in the ocean all week.

“y/n!” jongho says, seonghwa looking over and seeing your gaze on him. 

you quirk your lips into a small smile before immediately looking away, catching the bean bag the blonde throws your way. you keep your eyes and attention trained on the game, laughing at how truly terrible yunho is and ignoring the occasional bore of someone’s gaze watching you the entire time.

when you were surrounded by the fire again an hour later, next to yunho and hongjoong, you found yourself getting antsy. 

the group of teens is very similar to everyone in town, nice and welcoming but also overwhelming. it’s obvious they’re all close and comfortable with one another, sharing inside jokes and talking about old memories that you can only find yourself politely smiling about.

so, just like last time, you tell yunho you’re gonna check in with your aunt and sneak away from the group. you trace the same path you took to the rocks last weekend, the cold sand between your toes before the rocky surfaces puncture your feet. you make your way up steadily before plopping down, allowing your feet to hang over the edge as you stare out into the ocean.

as the gentle waves slap against one another, you can’t help but think about your week with seonghwa. how you slowly got a little more comfortable with him and saw his hard exterior break down every so slightly; he still seemed guarded and cold but you at least were able to see cracks in his strong demeanor.

but then all of that backtracked the moment his friends came around you guys; even tonight, he had barely talked to you. had barely looked your way and acted as if he didn’t really know you. and you suppose you guys really don’t know each other that way but you thought you were at least...acquaintances.

but then again what did you really expect? for him to proclaim some sort of immediate infatuation with you? proudly tell them he’s taken you under his wing and spending all day, every day with you? 

your parents always say how sensitive you are and now you see what they mean, shaking these thoughts from your head as you let out a sigh.

this is why you shouldn’t try to form friendships with people. why you shouldn’t get your hopes up and put your faith in others and-

“hey.”

his voice causes you to jump again, turning around to see his figure looming a few feet behind. he’s standing tall and confident as always, his head cocked the slightest bit; you turn around so you’re able to speak without shaking.

“hi.”

a few moments pass before he walks toward you, every step he takes causing your heartbeat to increase until he sits down next to you and you remind yourself not to hold your breath; because that’s just what you need, bothering him some more by having him save you from plunging off a cliff due to your lack of oxygen.

“how was cornhole?”

a small, breathy chuckle leaves your mouth, looking over at him with a raised eyebrow to see his eyes on the water. “good,” you tell him, “it appears i’m a lot better at it than surfing.”

you watch as a smirk crosses his face before you quickly turn away, your feet swaying back and forth nervously as you try to figure out what his deal is.

is he annoyed that you hang out around his friends? maybe he had enough of you during the week and didn’t want you around when he was with them as well; after all, you’re always in the fucking way and that’s proving to be more and more obvious as you live your life.

but he had seemed so nice. smiling over at you and touching you softly as he kept you from falling. putting sunscreen on you and gently encouraging you to keep trying. what could have happened, did you-

“did i do something wrong?”

you don’t even realize the pathetic words leave you until your hear your voice pierce your ears, squeaky and shaky, like the way it sounds when you respond for attendance and immediately feel embarrassed. you can’t bear to look at him now, cheeks warming as you fixate on one particularly jagged rock in the ocean.

“what?” he asks and you can feel his gaze boring into your face.

but it’s too late to backtrack, unless you spring up and risk slipping on the rocks as you make your escape. but you think that might be worth it, since now embarrassment and shame and humiliation is coursing through you, especially when you begin to talk.

“i...i don’t know, it seemed like you didn’t want your friends to know we were...” you bite your lip and close your eyes, wanting to hide your face in your hands and scream. “that you were teaching me to surf. and then you left the game.”

he listens to your words but doesn’t say anything, just shifts next to you as the sound of the waves and distant chatter of people surround the beach. you think he might just get up and leave you here, which might be better as your anxious mouth opens up again.

“it’s okay if you don’t want them to know. i-i just, i’m sorry if i made you-”

“you didn’t do anything,” his deep voice says, immediately halting your words. he doesn’t like that you’re apologizing for no reason, feeling his stomach knot with shame that he made you feel this way. but it’s not even like he could say he didn’t know, because he knew very well what he was doing.

you relax slightly at his words, knowing deep down you hadn’t done anything but still accepting the blame. the same way you do when your mom yells at you for her knocking over a glass or when your dad slaps you for talking with the wrong tone.

because if you accept the blame and just apologize, maybe people will like you. maybe they’ll stick around and stay.

“i just didn’t want them knowing my business,” he says, turning your neck to look at him. his eyes are on you and they’re soft in the glow of the moonlight, a deep brown that looks like they feel and have seen so much.

your eyebrows pinch together, because they’re his friends? why would he keep things from them? but then he must catch it because he opens his mouth again.

“you see how they are, they’d be annoying. make a big deal out of me helping you or whatever.”

you bite your lip and drop your gaze, toying with the small bits of rock and debris the same way you did last time. you think his words should be making you feel better but they seem to weigh heavy on your heart and you’re not sure why.

“you didn’t have to help me,” you say quietly, subconsciously flinching at the way you talk back and defend yourself. “i didn’t expect you to-”

“i wanted to,” his deep voice says, commanding and powerful and you know his words ring true from the force behind it. you meet his gaze again and his eyes are even more intense, roaming over your face before they soften.

“if i didn’t want to hang out with you, i wouldn’t,” he says. because that’s the reality of the situation. if he didn’t wanna help you surf or buy you food this past week, he wouldn’t have. he wouldn’t have even looked your way or approached you in the first place.

and embarrassingly enough, that statement mixed with the look in his eyes settles you ever so slightly. brings a small, shy smile to your face that causes you to look down at your swinging feet.

“is that why you followed me up here again?”

you can hear his low chuckle and know a smirk is probably across his handsome face, his head shaking as he peaks at your blushing face. “had to make sure you weren’t gonna dive off.”

“that will never happen,” you assure with a humorless chuckle, “so you don’t have to keep doing that.”

“but i want too,” he repeats again, squinting his eyes at you challengingly.

it sends a warm fluttering feeling through you stomach and bite down on your lip as you smile, feeling like a stupid middle schooler talking to her crush. he smirks seeing you smile before he looks back out in the water, watching the gentle waves crash in the empty ocean.

“you know what else i wanna do?”

you hum quietly at his question, looking over so your gazes meet before he abruptly stands up and extends his arm. your eyebrows pull together in confusion and he resists the urge to roll his eyes, wiggling his fingers slightly in a silent demand to take his hand.

you swallow nervously before doing so, meeting his slightly calloused skin as you get up slowly. and like the warmth and way your hands fit together perfectly has now effect on him, he guides you down to the other side of the rock. he tightens his hold when you get to a particularly rocky point, bringing you in front of his body and placing his hand on your waist.

the warmth of his hand seeps through the thin material of your dress, breath quickening and stomach turning as you try to focus on making your way safely to the sand. and once the your feet hit the soft, cold surface his hand falls and you find yourself able to breathe again.

“what are we doi-”

his hand raises and grabs the back of his shirt, pulling the black material over his head with ease. you can’t help the way your eyes widen, the chain around his neck the only thing hitting his exposed chest. and stupidly enough, you throw your hands over your face with a squeal.

“what are you doing!”

his deep chuckle brings goosebumps to your skin but you still keep yourself hidden, because if you don’t you’ll just stare like a complete fucking creep.

“what is wrong with you? you saw me like this all week.”

you peak through your fingers to see him smiling at you, his perfect row of white teeth shining in the dark. how is that even possible? as if he wasn’t blessed enough with a sharp jawline and perfect facial features, he has the most beautiful, sparkling mouth full of teeth you’ve ever seen. they can’t be real, he can’t be real.

“you just did it so fast! it was unexpected!” you squeak, cautiously removing your hands from your face. “and you wanna swim now? it’s kind of cold.”

“that’s night swimming, city girl,” he says teasingly. “usually skinny dipping but something tells me your heart would fail if i suggested that.”

your eyes widen and cheeks flame as he looks over your figure, hands folded into one another and even with just the moonlight and light-posts behind you guys, he’s able to see he’s correct.

“i...i’ve gone skinny dipping before.”

his eyebrow raises as he looks at you, taking a step forward and causing you to swallow nervously. “really?”

“yeah,” you lie easily, surprised you didn’t stutter but not surprised by how hot you feel. 

his lips quirk to the side as he brings his hand to your shoulder, running his finger slowly over your warm skin as you take in a sharp inhale. he smiles upon hearing it, stepping another foot closer as fiddles with the strap of your dress.

“with who?”

his voice is deep and low in your ear, tracing up over your collarbone like he’s trying to memorize each and every part of your skin. his touch is soft but also teasing, the way his fingers trace over the bone and tickle at your neck before he starts toying with the strap again.

you can only try to control your breathing as you look up at him, his dark eyes unwavering as they look at you. you’re faintly aware of him moving the strap down your shoulder, circling your skin as he cocks his head to the side.

you breathe shakily, trying to get the words out but feeling like you’re stuck. stuck under his gaze and the way his finger is trailing up and down your skin, the strap hanging off your shoulder and warming you in a very unfamiliar way.

“my-my friend.”

you don’t mean to whisper the lie but that’s what happens, the smirk on his face never falling. he knows exactly what he’s doing and you have no idea what you’re doing and it makes you feel all the more vulnerable and exposed. but you also can’t pull yourself away, you like feeling caught in his trap.

he raises his eyebrow at you one more time, taking the strap between his fingers and pulling it back on your shoulder. his skin feels hot against yours and it feels as if sparks are shooting through you until he drops his hand to his side.

“you’re a bad liar.”

your head snaps up and he smiles big at you again, your mouth opening and closing as you try to find anything to say to him. “i wasn’t-” but he only puts a finger to your lips, your words immediately dying in your throat.

“don’t lie to me.”

you swallow nervously at his deep tone and eyes, your lips parting and his tongue flicking out to lick his own as you do so. you’re finally able to nod after a few seconds, watching him looking over you approvingly before taking a few steps back.

“you gonna come?”

your eyes widen again, wider than before because you can feel how big they are, and a loud deep chuckle bubbles out of him, probably the loudest, truest laugh you’ve heard from him since you met.

“swimming. are you gonna come swimming?”

your cheeks burn and you immediately shake your head to dull your embarrassment. “i don’t have a bathing suit.”

he raises a brow before bending down and giving you his black shirt on the floor. 

you look down at it dumbly before up at him, the boy only shrugging before silently making his way to the water. you watch him before looking down again at the shirt in your hands, feeling the soft black material and biting at your lip before pulling your dress over your head.

you can’t be scared forever.

you go home that night with a smile on your face, you and seonghwa looking at one another before you softly wish him a goodnight and rush into your room. you throw your body down on your bed, staring up at the ceiling as memories of the night play over in your head.

frolicking in the ocean with seonghwa, giggling when you splashed him by accident and then yelping when he grabbed you around the waist and threw you down. cupping salt water in your hands and dumping it over his head in retaliation, your soft giggle with his deep chuckle echoing through the beach.

and even when you got out absolutely freezing, teeth chattering and fingers and toes numb, you couldn't wipe the smile off your face as your arms bumped and hands grazed on the walk home. 

you can feel that this is only gonna end up hurting, knowing you shouldn't trust a boy that looks like him and acts the way he does, but you also just can't find it in yourself to care.

because you're already hurting, you've been hurting since you could grasp what feelings and emotions were. so why not go through it because of him now?

(part 5)

[is-that-another-soulmate-au]

Zuko says fuck all of you, this war is stupid, your bending elitism is stupid, I'm gonna end your stupid existence with sheer spite and teenage angst

>If He Used His Strength<

"Maybe you'd like one to match!" Zuko snapped at Zhao

"Is that a challenge?" The irritating older man sounded all too cocky

"An Agni Kai, at sunset" he glared daggers at the man who just so happened to agree to the duel

Once Zuko used a move outside of his firebending the match was over quickly. He easily broke Zhao's root, kicking flames only at his feet until he fell back. He stood over him with a dark stare. He was tired of this. Tired of running around. Tired of chasing a twelve year old boy. Tired of tirelessly searching for the love of a terrible father. Tired of the war. He was done with it. And he had the power to end it. Not the fire power per say. But the ability to fight against and overpower multiple benders without ever lighting a spark himself

"DO IT!" Zhao spat at him

Zuko let out a loud growled shout and punched the ground right next to Zhao's head with a bright flame exploding from it. "This war is over. I beat you. And I'll beat him. I dont need fire to take you down."

"Wha-"

"So far your biggest enemies have been a twelve year old monk and a sixteen year old boy with trauma. So save your questions for your prison cell you cocky piece of trash" and with that he spit in his face and made a flip off of him and to Iroh. "Lets go"

"What do you plan to do prince Zuko?" Iroh asked in a confused tone

"Im going to end the war"

And with that they were off leaving Zhao to stand up and look down at the indent in the ground from where Zuko punched. A dent in the solid ground. "Send a warning to the firelord. He has company coming, and its not going to be petty" Zhao said as he came to the realization that if Zuko had actually landed that punch on his head he would have died on impact.

About two days later he was stopped in a small port town to grab some supplies and he ran into Aang who rightfully went into defense mode but he held up his hand "I'm only here to restock before I go fight my dad"

"What"

"Im done trying to please the bastard, he's terrible and this war is terrible, everyone in the firenation thinks fire is the best but it just sucks." Zuko shrugged "so I'm gonna go fight him and take the throne so I can end this stupid war"

"Oh... are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious, who do you think burnt my face? Of course I wanna fight him" Zuko waved to Iroh who was coming up to the pair with a bag of rations

"Oh, hello Avatar, sorry to run into you again" he apologized with a bow "Zuko came to some realizations and-"

"He already told me, hey, if you want to fight the firelord and you're serious about it, I can go talk to my friends about it and we can give you a lift on Appa and you'll get their quicker"

"Alright, we'll be on the port until sunset, if you come before then to get me then I'll come with you, if not, I'm sailing there"

Meanwhile the gaang were camped out when Aang came running in with what seemed to be confused excitement "guys, Zuko's gonna end the war"

Katara and Sokka looked up from the map that Sokka was holding "what thats insane, We're going to end the war, that's why you're training. Besides Zuko is our enemy and part of the firenation. Why would he end the war? And how would he even?"

"Okay, maybe I should have been more clear. Zuko is fed up with the war, and he's on his way to fist fight dad and end the war"

"Okay.. this... this I gotta see, we should find him and give him a lift."

"Funny you say that, he's in town and I offered him a ride"

After Aang went to go get Zuko and Iroh they made a walk towards the camp where the group started asking him questions to be certain he wasn't just trying to trick them and also to figure out how in the hell he hopes to do this.

"So. You want to go... fist fight your dad?"

"Uh, well, that's not exactly how I'd word it"

"Why not use your fire bending?"

Zuko let out a long sigh "alright, let me give you guys a run down on the fire nation okay? First of all, firebending is seen as the only form of actual power. Any non benders or late benders are seen as weaker and often times are. But they hold bending on such a high pedestal that most benders never take the time to master anything else. They don't practice any other form of fighting, let alone any other sort of strength training.

"I was a late bender so my bending is weaker than most. But I've taken the time to train with swords and multiple different fighting styles. I can easily break a solid steel chain with my foot in a shoe and I can break solid wood with my bare feet." He took a second to look around at the group "while I havent attempted it, I could probably crush someone's skull as well if we're taking into account of the two other things I know for a fact that I can break"

The group looked at eachother with terrified expressions "Zuko holy shit, you could have killed me at the south pole"

"Yeah, but I have control over the amount of force in each kick, and I wasnt trying to kill you... you were just in my way"

"Alright, well, I'm convinced, lets go"

And with that they were off, Zuko agreeing to have the group help him if he needed it. Iroh decided to teach Zuko how to redirect lightning on their journey incase he needed it.. When they landed Ozai was already outside prepared, having gotten the letter a day before and hearing that the bison had been spotted.

Jumping off of Appa Zuko and Ozai stared eachother down "Zuko"

"Father," Zuko narrowed his eyes "I challenge you to an Agni Kai. But. By your honor and mine. You and I are only able to use fire once during the battle. If you can defeat me with only one fire attack, then you can keep up with your stupid war. But. If I defeat you with the same limits then I take the throne" motioning his hand forward he continued "do we have a deal"

Ozai gave him a cold glare "you truly are pathetic," glancing at the avatar on the bison he gave in "deal"

The fight didn't last long, Ozai had already used fire within the first few seconds and Zuko took the low ground beneath it as a means of attacking. Running low and sliding between the older man's legs only to come up behind him and land a quick kick against his side. Sending him to the ground where Zuko took his advantage point to lift his leg up and slam it down directly on the man's chest.

A loud crack could be heard throughout the courtyard. A few broken ribs and probably some fatal internal bleeding kept Ozai on the ground. Zuko turned to the firenation officials who came to witness the fight. "This war is over. Go cry a river if you oppose its end."

"That was a cheat!" Someone in the crowd shouted

"How so?" He mocked back "it was a duel, I used only what I have and no extra weapons, I set a single extra rule and followed it to the extreme." Tilting his head he gave an irritated grin "would you like to fight against me with the same rules? I'm more than happy to give another show if you'd like"

The crowd had no other objections after that. Funny how that happened. Azula came bounding out into the courtyard, probably ready to see Zuko down but was instead met by the scene of Zuko standing over Ozai victorious.

"You- actually won?"

"I didnt use fire Azula, wanna try your hand?" He made a move to get into a fighting stance but instead was met by her running up to him with her arms open for a... hug? He didnt hug back for a moment, confused, but heard a few muffled apologies and returned the hug.

"So, you're gonna be firelord huh?" She asked as they separated, he nodded "And you're ending the war?"

"Exactly"

"Lame" she groaned out

"Everything I do is lame to you isn't it?"

"Not everything, but most things"

And with that Zuko ended the war, got himself and his sister some much needed therapy, Aang left to train around the world while it was healing from the war, only coming back to the firenation to train under Iroh and Zuko. Sokka managed to go to master Piando with Zuko's recommendation(though Sokka didn't know he'd been recommended). Katara managed to dismantle the sexism in the north pole after training with the swamp benders and whooping Pakku's ass.

Ozai is fckn dead, rest in fckn hell dude.

[lifeofroos]

Part 45. Okay, water of the river Styx is not a drink, but it is a fluid, sooo...

In short: Nico gets therapy from Dionysus. In this chapter, they confront the voices that have been plaguing Nico. The rest can be found on AO3 and FanFiction.net! And also in Tumblr-tags like Dionysus, Nico di Angelo, hurt/comfort etc. 

This might be crazy: Chapter 45: Stygian Water Instead of me eating at the Apollo table with Will, Will ate at the Hades table with me. I didn’t know what the other campers knew, but I did notice they kept looking at me. In between shoving pancakes down my throat, I glanced at Dionysus, until he stood up and sat down across from me and Will. 

‘I see you have taken my advice.’

‘Yes. I am eating. A lot.’ I stuffed another pancake into my mouth. 

‘That’s his seventh pancake,’ Will confirmed. He was chewing on an apple. Oh, how the tables had turned. 

‘Hestia already told me that she would be coming along,’ I said.  

Dionysus slowly rolled an apple around. ‘Was that all she said?’

‘No.’

‘I thought so.’ Just in time, he stopped the apple from rolling off the table. 

Will sighed. ‘Can I come, too?’

He hadn’t even stopped talking or Dionysus shook his head. ‘No. Too dangerous.’

‘I don’t mean I’ll follow you to the place where he’ll meet the primordials, but just to the Underworld. I can stay in the palace or something. Persephone knows me.’ 

‘The answer is no.’ 

Will sighed again and laid his head on the table. ‘I am worried too, you know.’

‘I never thought otherwise. Still, you can’t come to the underworld. We don’t want you to get hurt.’ 

‘Hmpf.’

I ate the rest of my pancakes and some fruit. After that, I kissed Will on the lips. ‘I swear on the river Styx I’ll see you again.’ 

He pulled me into a hug. ‘You better.’ 

Once he let me go, I noticed he glared at Dionysus for a second, before he helped me get up. 

Hades was already waiting in front the gates of his palace. Persephone was dawdling around behind him. When she saw us, she put her hands on her hips. ‘Didn’t Will Solace come?’

I nodded towards Dionysus. ‘He was not allowed.’ 

Persephone gave her brother an angry look. ‘Why not?’

‘Too dangerous.’

‘Well…’ 

‘I say we do this as soon as possible, before he gets hungry again,’ Hades interrupted her. Persephone rolled her eyes. 

Dionysus nodded, before looking back at me. ‘We have to wait for Hestia.’

Hades did not ask why we had invited Hestia. She came within minutes, we looked at each other and silently agreed that yes, it was time to go.

There was a small platform near the banks of the Styx. I had seen it a few times while walking through the Underworld, but I had never asked what it was for. Now I knew. 

Dionysus gripped me by my shoulders and led me to the middle of the platform. I  looked over my shoulder, at Hestia and dad, who stayed near the beginning. Dad looked nervous. Hestia was as calm as ever, which made me feel a little better. 

‘Nico?’

‘Yes.’ I turned my head around. In front of me was the Styx. 

‘Okay. Take a deep breath.’ I did. The fumes of the river tickled my lungs. ‘Again. What do you feel?’

I felt the air prickling in my lungs and coursing through my body. My heartrate slowed down. ‘I feel calm. Calmer,’ I muttered. I felt the Styx as well, but I could handle that. 

‘Good. Then your body is relaxing. Now, how is your mind?’

My mind was a mess. I did some more breathing excersises, until I began to feel closer to the Styx. After a few minutes, it was all I could see. ‘I see the Styx. The turmoil is calming down.’

‘Keep focussing on the Styx. Tell me when it is dry.’

I did not know what he meant with ‘when it is dry,’ but I let it go. I let it all drift away on the river, until the river itself was gone, as if it had run dry... Oh. ‘I think it is dry.’

‘Concentrate on the drought. Don’t worry if it takes a few times.’ Dionysus’ voice seemed to be coming from some place far away. I was a little afraid to concentrate on the nothing in my mind and it slipped through my fingers. I tried it again. The Styx went dry once more and there was nothing, until even nothing left. I was in a trance. I was somewhere completely different.

Dionysus kept his hands on Nico’s shoulders for a few minutes, until he was sure Nico was in trance. Slowly, he let the boy go and took a few steps back. He seemed  stable. 

Dionysus stepped further away, until he was near the edge of the platform. Far away enough if something dangerous were to happen, but close enough to quickly run back in case it was necessary. 

Hades twiddled his thumbs. ‘What if something goes wrong?’

Hestia folded her hands together. ‘It can always go wrong, but it hasn’t yet. There is no use  thinking about it.’

‘I am still doing it.’

‘Don’t.’ 

Hades stared at the floor. He realised that if Hestia hadn’t been there, he would probably have been in a panic. Just don’t, he thought, just don’t think about it.

‘Who is he? He is ours. How can somebody be yours?’

What? Me? What am I hearing? 

‘Nico? Can you hear me?’

I took a deep breath. Chunks of the Underworld coursed through my body. ‘Dionysus?’

‘It’s me. Do you hear the voices of the Elder Gods?’

‘I don’t know. I am hearing something, at least.’

‘I would call that disrespectful. He just doesn’t recognise us, he cannot do anything about that. He should know! No-one ever told him.’

On second thoughts. ‘Yes. I think I hear the voices of the Elder Gods.’

‘Is there a difference between the voices you usually hear and voices that are kinder to you?’

Negative! You are talking him down, what do you think? What negative! The kid deserves it! 

‘Eh... I think so, yes.’

‘Try to seperate them into different groups.’

Oh gods. Sure. If I knew what that meant, I would. 

‘He is ours! Ours!’ ‘He can’t be yours.’ ‘He is!’

Was I doing it? I thought so. Yet, I could not be entirely sure, or could I? Who was really... who did I know and who was new?’

‘He’s ours and he’ll come to Tartarus to find us!’

Perhaps I was sure after all. ‘I...’

‘You’re doing great. Keep going.’

‘Come to Tartarus. Come. Come. You won’t escape.’ ‘You don’t have to go to Tartarus.’ ‘You do!’ ‘You can stay here.’ 

‘No! Come free us! Come free us!’

‘They have to get out of there by themselves.’

‘Tartarus is where you belong! Don’t deny it!’

‘Let them deny it first.’

‘I think I got them separated.’ I am not entirely sure about it, though. 

‘Okay. Now shift your focus onto the new voices.’

Shift my focus to the newer, peaceful voices. Sure. 

‘Thats us! We are the others! The true ones! Help us!’

‘Try to focus, youngling.’

I knew who I had to focus on. Their voices were lighter as well, less aggressive and slightly higher pitched. 

‘That is because we are in the elder place.’

‘We know one thing and that is that we need to be free! Are you truly going to let us suffer?’

‘They would suffer anyway. The difference is that they would take you with them.’

‘We are suffering! Suffering!’

‘And they made you suffer as well. They can only get out by themselves. You cannot do anything for them except let them be. That is the quickest way to make their suffering end.’

‘Don’t leave us!’

‘Nico? The world can be beautiful, don’t you think? Imagine the way the sun shines through a window, or when you taste something especially tasty.’ 

‘That’s us!’

‘It is partly them, but they can only come to their full power once they get out, which they can only do by themselves. You’ll make it worse if you go to Tartarus. Now think of the last time you basked in the sun, Nico. How did it feel?’

It felt warm and light. I was happy there. You make me happy. As if little lights go on in my head. 

‘Why, thanks! Think of your happiness. That is how the world should be, isn’t it?’

Yes.

‘No! Suffer!’

I don’t think I will. 

‘Good, Nico. Feel the warmth. That is you. That is what you need.’

That is what I need. 

‘No…’

‘Nico, when did you last eat a strawberry? Was it good?’

I picked one a little while ago. It was delicious.

‘We are sure of it! Was it sweet?’

Yes, it was. Warmth, sweetness, it all makes me think of Will.

‘Will?’

My boyfriend.

‘Wonderful. That is a good sign, if you love him so much he makes you feel warm.’

Yes. Yes it is.

‘He is probably why you like the sun and strawberries so much.’

Maybe. Before I met him, I never cared much about Strawberries. 

‘How sweet.’

There was silence for a few seconds. I heard a sound like soft, clattering laughter. ‘We’ll see you, Nico. Thanks for speaking to us. You seem sweet and warm yourself.’

‘Thanks.’

The place around me began to fade. The darkness came back, followed by the river. I opened my eyes, everything dawned on me and I crashed down onto the floor. 

‘Nico!’ Hades tried to step onto the platform. 

Hestia quickly pulled him back. ‘Hades, let Dionysus make sure everything is alright first.’ 

‘Yes, no, yes…’ Hades stared at his son, who was laying on the platform. Dionysus walked towards him. 

He looked at Nico. He was breathing calmly, with a small smile around his lips. Dionysus felt the boys’ pulse. Normal. 

Slowly, he rolled him onto his back. ‘Come on, Nico, its okay. You can wake up now.’ 

I opened my eyes. Dionysus was looking down on me. ‘Ah…’

‘Nico, it is okay. I am going to help you stand up and we will bring you back to camp half-blood. Then you will get a nice long rest.’

Yes. I wanted to rest. I nodded and stood up, with Dionysus’ help. ‘I think I did the thing, Dionysus.’

‘I am sure you did the thing, Nico. Now try not to relax.’

We limped towards the edge of the platform. Dads’ eyes were almost rolling out of his skull. ‘Is he safe!?’

‘I feel like I am,’ I mumbled. ‘Just sleepy.’ 

Hades took a very deep, shaky breath and bit his lip. Hestia patted his arm. ‘Dionysus, I am glad you asked me to come,’ she said with an ironic look. 

Dionysus chuckled. ‘Yes, I am too, although maybe not just for this one.’ He looked at me.  

‘Can we go home?’ I asked.

‘Yes, Nico. We can go home.’

When we got to the palace, Persephone was waiting in the front garden, with none other than Will. Dionysus opened his mouth to say something, but Persephone held up her finger. ‘You cannot expect me to stay alone for hours on end.’

Hours? ‘Persephone…’ Dionysus sighed. Will came towards me, fast at first, but more careful once he noticed I looked tired. ‘Nico…’ 

‘Will...’ I answered with as much energy as I still had. 

‘How are you…’

‘I am okay.’ I was. I was okay. I felt lighter, more free, or something. 

With some effort, Dionysus handed me over to Will. ‘We… he needs to go home.’

Dionysus and Hestia nodded in agreement. Hades sighed. ‘Sleep, Nico,’ was all he said. He looked like he needed to sit down for a moment as well. 

In the blink of an eye, everyone who should was back on the surface world. 

‘Will?’ I curled up under my blanket. 

‘Yes?’ He stopped untying his shoes. 

‘Can you light the candles in Moms’ memorial?’

‘Of course.’ He got up and went outside for a second, even though he was only wearing one shoe. 

I closed my eyes. It was noticeably more quiet in my head. 

I had overcome one of the biggest issues I had. The voices, they were... no. I did not dare think it. I did, however, think that it might be time to talk about the other big thing I still had on my heart.  

A/N: And the voices are… gone. 

Not that the story is over. The story is really not over, I’ve got more to write about, soooooooo….

Okay this thing seems very experimental and a little unclear, even. The next chapters are going to be more normal. They’ll be about Percy. 

[living-dead-parker]

Homecoming Queen

Summary: Request by @kalianoble - I was thinking something along the same lines being Tony's daughter and friends with the team And someone actively is trying to replace her, but she sort of pours out everything into her music and songs that she writes

Inspiration: Homecoming Queen by Kelsea Ballerini

Songs Used in the fic (not my original writing, credit goes out to the musicians): With Ears To See And Eyes To Hear & The Left Side of Everywhere by Sleeping With Sirens

Pairings: Avengers x stark!daughter, Shawn Mendes x stark!daughter

Warnings: cussing I think, implied sex, ooc Avengers

Word count: 1.9 k

"Oh come on, she's not trying to replace you," your friend Serena states, trying to reassure you. Your frown deepens as you lean back in your chair until you're nearly falling off of it.

"The other day, she was in my dad's lab, laughing and chilling with him and Bruce,  as if they've been friends their whole life. Then, they barely acknowledge me and she would try to get rid of me way too quick."

Your friends wince, not entirely too sure how to respond to that. However they do feel bad, seeing how much it's taking a toll on you. Meanwhile, you sulk in your pity. As spoiled as it may sound, you'd always gotten attention from your dad and the Avengers. They never bothered to get to know any other interns or temps. Why now? What's different this time around?

Eventually, you find yourself back home and upon entering the common room, you see Peter, Sam, and Bucky sitting on a couch each. Much to your disdain, Chrissy, the Avengers thief is there too. You feel the dislike bubble inside of you. A smirk evident on her face.

"Hey, you," Bucky calls out, offering you a smile.

"Hey," you respond, not feeling or sounding too eager. They all pick upon it, but what they don't pick up on is the way Chrissy glares at you. Chrissy scoots closer to Peter, resting a hand on his thigh. You chose to ignore it.

"Is everything okay?" Sam asks.

"As much as I'd like to chit chat," Chrissy speaks up, sounding way too sweet to actually be sweet. "I think Tony might be looking for you."

"He is?"

Chrissy shrugs, picking at her nails, not looking up at you. "Last I checked," she mumbles. You roll your eyes, walking off towards your room. He would have called it it was important.

From that point on, nobody talked to you for the rest of the day. You stayed in the comfort of your room's solitude. Not a single person asked about you. Not when Chrissy was there to entertain. An angry sigh escapes your lips as you watch them all play a game of Cards Against Humanity without you. Everyone laughs as Chrissy cheers from winning another round.

The days seemed to pass by much in this fashion. Days turned to weeks, which turned to months. It was slowly growing on you until being alone was all you wanted to do anymore. The lonliness began to eat you up, making you feel depressed and angry. You'd begun to feel like you were truly loosing your place, and slowly, your assurance in your purpose.

Chrissy continued to climb the ranks and everyone was wrapped around her finger. You'd try to reach out to the others, understanding that communication is a two way street. However, it always seemed to fall apart as soon as Chrissy walked into the room. You're convinced she's watching your every move because she's always there to intercept every single interaction. Ultimately, she got to a point where she was invited to events.

Parties, galas, and any other event was no longer fun because all you ever got was a simple greeting and a rushed five minute conversation.

You sit alone at a table at one of your father's gala after parties. The gold dress you wear making you stand out, yet no one approaches. until you see an all too familiar man slowly walk up towards your table. Curly brown hair, warm brown eyes, and an inviting yet excited smile. It's contagious as you find yourself smiling back.

"This seat taken?" he asks. Looking up at him, and with a certain excited gleam, you shake your head eagerly.

"Feel free," you respond, watching as he pulls the chair opposite you out and takes a seat.

"I'm Shawn-"

"Mendes, I know," you cut him off. He looks amused as you gasp from how rude you're being. "Sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off. I'm Y/N-"

"Stark, I know," he cuts in, a s mink on his lips as he leans back. You never really took him as a cocky person, bout here he is, making a Stark all flustered. "Can I ask why you're all alone?"

You seemed to naturally let your guard down around him. The walls were quick to fall and you held such deep and personal conversation with him. He reciprocated, letting you in on tons of personal information. As the night continued, the two of you talked, danced, and laughed together.

From that point on, the two of you became close friends and Shawn introduced you to the amazing world of writing and making music. As your family continued to push you away and fall into Chrissy's hand, you learned to write your feelings away in some of the most lyrically beautiful prose you could. So much so that Shawn was taken aback by it all.

As time passed, you found yourself constantly examining your relationship with Shawn, realising that it's not as platonic as you'd expected. The cuddling, the kisses, the hand- holding and gentle touching. Maybe the fact that you'd just slept with him last night, just before he's meant to leave for tour.

"Are you sure you'll be fine?" he asks, stepping out of the restroom, towel wrapped around his waist. You bite your lip as you watch him  walk over. He picks up your shirt from the floor and tosses it at you nervously.

"I'll be fine," you tell him. He nods, still unsure. You sigh, kneeling on your bed and crawl over to him as he stands leaning against your bed. Your arms wrap around his shoulders, lips pecking his shoulder. "Seriously, I'll be fine," you assure him. "Maybe I'll write something new while you're out being a popstar," you joke. He chuckles, placing his lips to yours.

"Maybe you'll write something better than me," he states when he pulls away.  "Who am I kidding? I know you can."

Your heart swelled at his words. How can someone be so sweet and caring? So loving.

Once he left, you were stuck by yourself. However, you didn't allow yourself to get upset because you decided that you cannot buse all your happiness around Shawn. So, you got up and got productive. You showered, cleaned your room, got breakfast, and cleaned some more. You managed to say hi to your dad before Chrissy came along and you went back to your room. You grabbed your notebook and your pen, walking over to the garden room, guitar case on your back.

"Okay, we can do this," you say as you pull your guitar out. You flip open to the last song you wrote, one that's close to completion. Just needs a line or two. You then press record on your phone's voice recorder app.

"Falling over and over again," you sing, trying the chords you'd accidentally strummed the other day. You decided to keep the same general progression. "Oh, why does it have to be this way?"

The sound wasn't working, so you ditched the guitar, trying to find a sound through other mediums.

"From the place I was, to the place I am, to the place I want to be," you sing, following your own tune, letting your voice be your guide. "For the mountains I've been climbing over and under and over," you continue, finding your voice.

"From the place that I was to the woman I've become, I'll be there to see the tower you fall from," you belt out, really getting into it. "No this kingdom isn't quite what it may seem. You're an illusion you'll never be queen."

You sigh, flipping the pages in your notebook. "We'll come back to that one later, let's try Left Side of Everywhere," you tell yourself. This song was complete, now it's just a matter of recording it.

"There is no doubt tonight," you sing as you strum along on the guitar. However, you find yourself ditching the actual lyrics and singing something new. "I'm falling, I'm falling so in love with how you are to me. For you I would give anything, try to be a better person."

The words took you by surprise as you think of Shawn. You take a pause, falling into a rabbit hole of emotions and thoughts.

First and foremost, you're in love with Shawn. How could you not be? He's been nothing but kind and supportive of you. He's helped you through multiple breakdowns and he's given you purpose again. Sure, you've always had purpose even before he came along, but he helped you realize thats you're so much more than Tony Stark's daughter or a friend of the Avengers. So much more than just Shawn's friend. It doesn't matter if everyone is blinded by Chrissy's temporary shine, because you're so much more than that and you have things to say. Shawn encourages that. You don't need people who easily push you away and forget about you when someone new comes along.

"Now that I have the world in front of me," you sing excitedly. "I'm never turning back. How could I ever let this go?"

You pick the guitar back up and press record again, repeating the line and letting all your thoughts out.

"So many times I fall, I'm falling, I fall apart," you sing. "I'm so concerned with pity things, it drags me farther down. Why do we run from things we're scared of? I see it now it's all so clear. No, there's no turning back from here. Now that we have the world in front of us, we're never turning back. How could we ever not believe?"

It all seems rather silly, but you grow more excited with every word. You lose track of every word you've sung, but good thing you recorded it. Finally, after a minute, you end it, settling on going back to a loving tone,

"How could I ever let this go? I love the thought, what this all could mean. You're the only good thing left in me. Now that I have the world in front of me, I'm never turning back. How could I ever let this go?"

With that you call it a day.

Three months later, Shawn comes back, way too excited to see you. He arrives at the tower, meeting you in the common room where everyone, Chrissy included, is hanging out. He steps out of the elevator, quick to pull you into his arms and press his lips to yours in a sweet yet passionate kiss. When the two of you pull away, you grab his hand, pulling him towards the hall without acknowledging anyone.

Back in your room, you show Shawn your semi completed album. He listens to it, a large smile placed on his lips.

"So?"

He pauses as he pulls you into his arms. "It's amazing, just like you."

You smile, pulling him in for a kiss. He smiles into the kiss, pulling away to mumble a simple question. "Be my girlfriend?"

An excited squeal escapes your lips as you eagerly nod. Loving every second of this moment. You're excited. For your future, in music and with Shawn. Hopefully, a reconciliation will be in your future as Well, but for now, you're okay with where you are and you believe everything will fall firmly into place.

Send in feedback, requests, or asks, plz and thank you!!

[mousehole5000]

wow i made this draft on november 1st i really took a break from this huh anyway tgcf chapters 121 - 142

i realize now this coffin scene was inevitable. feel kinda weird about hua cheng  back and forth from Teen to Big Man but it is very funny that theyre having their “dude dont look at my boner” moment while in the jaws of a water dragon

pei ming: why didnt you guys make a bigger coffin so you didnt have to squish together like that? xie lian: haha yep!! anyways what brings you here?

“In the grand, spacious centre of the entrance hall sat a person. And this person, dressed in all black, its face snow-white—was a corpse! Instantly Xie Lian shut the doors soundly.” - king of minding his own business.

okay this is where i stopped putting notes here for a while but i did save some in my e-reader so here’s some of the highlights

“Guzi used to have a good sleeping form, but perhaps with his cheap dad’s bad influence, now he was also spread out on top of Qi Rong’s stomach like a dead fish. Lang Ying himself was curled neatly in the corner, and was covered by a few shirts. Xie Lian lifted the blanket covering Qi Rong, suppressed the urge to smother his face, and covered the two small children.” - xie lian funny moments. also it would be really funny if qi rong redeems himself by learning love through these misfit chiildren and it might actually endear me to him but i hope that doesnt happen

Every heavenly official was yelling, and even Ling Wen was throwing a fit. “DON’T THROW EVERY BIT OF USELESS INFORMATION MY WAY, HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK I HAVE TO GO THROUGH EVERY DAY? DON’T YOU ALL KNOW TO USE YOUR BRAINS A LITTLE BEFORE ASKING ME?!” - ling wen marry me right now

“An expression like “seen a ghost” that only mortals experienced was now showing on his face for the first time. Shi Wudu’s pupils shrank to the smallest they could, and he blurted, “You’re still alive?!” “I’m dead!” He Xuan said coldly.” - okay everythings going tits up rn but i did laugh

i did see spoilers re: ming yi/he xuan reveal + shi wudu’s fate beforehand so i dont have a genuine reaction other than oh shit

“He slowly enunciated each word. “I won’t touch your fate. But, here in this place, chop off your brother’s head for me.”  CLANG! He threw a rusty blade onto the ground. Shi Qingxuan stared at that blade, his eyes wide. He Xuan continued, “Then, never show yourself before me again, and I will pretend you’ve never existed in this world.” - okay idk what else is going to happen but rn im concerned that this is like the 2nd biggest ship. i guess we’ll see?? i mean i am really curious whats going to happen to them. shi qingxuan keeps calling he xuan “ming-xiong” and i... sad

shi wudu im not really invested in you as a character but these next two bits... interesting

“If I don’t die but have nothing, then that’s truly a fate worse than death. If I’m not the Water God, I can’t take care of you. I won’t even be able to protect myself. I’m scared that we won’t even last two days…TAKE IT!” - damn. something about the wealthy losing everything and not knowing how to live without it bc thats their entire life and identity

“EVERYTHING I HAVE TODAY, I FOUGHT FOR MYSELF. I WILL FIGHT FOR WHAT I DON’T HAVE. I WILL CHANGE FATE I DON’T POSSESS. MY FATE IS UP TO ME AND NOT THE HEAVENS!” - okay so the whole committing spiritual fraud by tormenting a man and his family to get your brother a cushy title thing aside this was kind of badass. heretical? possibly. but still. also is he intentionally riling up he xuan so sqx doesnt have to kill him? if so damn...

also okay as long as im here im just gonna say it. the choice that he xuan gives shi qingxuan is fucking brutal but i actually think its probably as fair as it could be. sqx didnt know about or participate in what happened to hx but they did benefit from it greatly while hx lost EVERYTHING and i can understand he xuan’s thinking of “if you really feel bad for what happened to me then you have to make a sacrifice and understand the suffering and this is as clean as its going to get” and theres a bit where sqx is trying to beg for mercy but cant get the words out which im guessing is bc theres no good argument!! what happened was fucked up!!

“When Pei Ming saw that reinforcements had arrived, he didn’t appear particularly delighted; instead he threw the sword into the ground, then rubbed his nose and said, sounding grim, “You all just had to come just as I finished making these, what the heck.” - pei ming making coffins chopping down trees with his sword i love it #wastehistime2k17

“Xie Lian brought that basket of eggs along, and gave them away as souvenirs from the mortal realm. Many who received the eggs were overjoyed; some deciding to eat it along with their own blood, and some proclaiming they would hatch an eight-foot monster.” - GHOST CITY GHOST CITY

“Placing the brush down, he blew lightly at the ink and smiled. “If I like something, then my heart will not have room for any other, and I’ll always treasure it. A thousand times, a million times, no matter how many years, this will not change. This poem is the same." - thats nice and all but king... get therapy. i actually have further thoughts but tbh i dont want to put them into words bc they are simply too personal! moving on

didnt take any notes but somewhere in here was the bit with mount tong’lu opening and hua cheng losing it and kind of um. hm. that scene. thats another trope i really hate tbh i dont care for it as a way of including physical intimacy between characters and idk if it really ever adds anything but whatever moving on

The Half-Maquillage Woman - kind of interesting monster idea bc women and aging…. yeah. however i think this would be a lot stronger if there were a) more girls and this was b) discussed or illustrated at all prior to this moment. still interesting that its included knowing the author is a woman tho and there’s been comments on how ling wen is perceived vs pei ming. this book does keep giving me hope for interesting female character arcs i really want it to deliver something

quan yizhen..... i get u

lmao i have a note on a bit with lang ying that says “please dont be hc in disguise” and..... my clown nose was on but at least i knew that. for real this is bothering me how much he’s just. always. there. i know he’s a lead but we didn’t really need him around for a lot of this. oh well.  okay now to my current notes

“Yet it was precisely because it wasn’t cooked that it had to be eaten quickly. Once Xie Lian cooked it, it wouldn’t be edible anymore” - fucking fantastic

“Xie Lian hugged his belly. “Of course! Only after having met you did I rediscover that it’s such a simple thing to be happy, hahaha…” Hearing this, Hua Cheng blinked. Xie Lian’s laughter quieted a bit, realizing what he just said was a little too revealing.” - okay i know i said what i said about being tired of hua cheng being everywhere but... the line…. the fact that theyre laughing together…. :pleading:

“It’s not,” Ling Wen said. “At least, I believe, there will definitely not be another in history who can create a dish called ‘Incorruptible Chastity Meatballs’” - and truer words were never spoken

“I, DO NOT WORSHIP GODS. “I, AM GOD!” - this was every bit as badass as i hoped but no one told me it was immediately followed up by a little bit of the ol dinner theater fjalkdsfjsd. also puqi shrine noooooooooo

“Xie Lian sighed as he thought, “Qi Rong has taken Guzi away, who knows if the poor child was eaten or abandoned. Wind Master...... ..... who knows if Black Water took him away. Pray they’re both safe.” yeah hey are we going to fucknig. find out what happened to the child???

and yeah i dooooont really care for the age regression? thing thats going on. i just dont like that trope tbh. but tiny hua cheng whipping out his fat ghost king wallet in the store was funny tho. it is really funny that hualian are just like wandering around some random towns while the heavens are in an uproar. i guess theres not much else to do but its funny

“Me too, me too. You all know of my shixiong, right? Talented, with an infinite future! He only had one small vice: he loved playing women. Decades ago, a little prostitute ghost seduced my shixiong and sucked him dry into human jerky, and that Hua, Hua, Hua, that ghost king dared shelter her.” - yes omg give me the forbidden hua cheng lore i love this for him for real it goes along nicely with xie lian’s principles about giving another cup. god i love shared values

“Hua Cheng poked again, and a small hole appeared on the wall, as if the wall was made of tofu.” - how’d he do that. why is this a ghost king power. its useful tho

*me shaking qi rong when he pops up* WHERE IS THE CHILD

mu qing fu yao is here okay im happy now. once again no one has a good grasp on their secret identity and i love that. this inn has descended into chaos and im delighted and im glad lan chang is back

“The good ol’ kitchen was suddenly squished and crowded, loud and noisy. Fu Yao was chasing that fetus spirit leaping up and down, Lan Chang was chasing after Fu Yao like she had gone mad. Half of Qi Rong’s face changed shape by the way Xie Lian was pressing him down on the chopping board, his back turning into a target for those yellow talismans Fu Yao hurled while being observed by a crowd, and Lan Chang would step on him from time to time.” - this is pure chaos. i love that mu qing was in that room when the mob checked and he didnt say a word didnt open the door just sent out a talisman as a warning. king your disguise is transparent

“Xie Lian remembered the way Feng Xin laughed until he was hoarse when he first heard that verbal password all those years back, and couldn’t help but feel nostalgic, even though it wasn’t the right time.” - awwwww omg im emotional about this... faithful friend feng xin laughing at xie lian’s stupid joke password and remembering it!!! ;_;

“They have, but they’re not effective,” Feng Xin said. “Usually they’re the most diligent in scorning the Palace of Ling Wen, like they could do the job way better if they had the position. Now that we need them to take up the task, not a single one can do even half of what she does.” - typical... typical typical typical

also emotional about the fact that feng xin contacted xie lian at all.....

also!! emotional about lan chang as a mom and wanting to help out sick lil guzi.....

xie lian forcing “fu yao” to let him help “his general” is making me.... what is friendship if not playing along with your buddies little shenanigans while also making them accept your help

“Someone like Mu Qing, even though he’s narrow-minded, petty, sensitive and skeptical, has a bad personality, constantly guessing, doesn’t say nice things, likes to nag, always offending people and has a lot of people who dislike him, has no friends, can remember small, unimportant details for a long period of time…” ”Xie Lian went on in one breath with a straight face, but in the end he concluded with, “...But I’ve known him since we were kids, after all, he’s still got principles.” - XIE LIAN PLEASE AFJDLKSFJDL omg ive seen this quote before but i figured he was talking to someone else not actually to mu qing himself fgjasdkfjsl. god thats amazing. hey im gonna help you out because i care but i will roast you first <3

waaaaaait so is lan chang aka jian lan that girl from book 2 we took a page to talk about and then disappeared? that has to be it why else would we have stopped to discuss her

“Jian Lan spat on his face, then choking his neck, she slapped him twice again. “WHAT SHITTY SUPREME! YOU SURE KNOW HOW TO BLOW YOURSELF UP! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, THINK YOU’RE EVEN WORTH TO BE THOUGHT OF AS EQUALS WITH THE OTHER THREE SUPREMES? WHAT ARE YOU EVEN GOOD AT? YOUR THICK SKIN? OF COURSE I DARE HIT YOU!” - oh this feels so good i cant lie. YES GET HIM!! CHOMPING AND VIOLENCE YES!!!!

okay this description of cuocuo.... im... that sure the hell is a creature

this book is so entertaining bc i already saw spoilers for the feng xin/jian lan/cuo cuo reveal and yet i could never have predicted the circumstances that brought it about. imagine being feng xin. the heavens are in an uproar and your only friend/enemy has been jailed for possible fetus spirit-related crimes but he escapes along with this female ghost who keeps causing problems. you figure “fuck it lets see if dianxia kept his old phone number” and he has but then he hangs up on you. you’ve got fuckall else to do so you go find him. mu qing is there but he’s in his disguise the two of you were using so you could watch over his highness while staying aloof. you think you see hua cheng only he’s a chiild for some goddamn reason but who knows at this point. the female ghost is also there and theres a fetus spirit climbing trees and biting your arrows in half. you realize the female ghost is your ex and the little demon is your son. it bites you. what do you do

amazing that despite everything going on everyone is still playing along with the “fu yao” persona when it would probably be easier to drop pretenses at this point. then again tbh if i could explain my actions to my friends while pretending to be a third party.... i probably would so.. carry on

“With all his devotees gone, only Feng Xin still treated him like the Flower-Crowned Martial God and His Highness the Crown Prince. ” “...his protection charms were all seen as trash. However, Feng Xin was still determined and tireless in handing them out; telling Xie Lian, look, you still have devotees.” “After all, he was the darling of the heavens since birth, high and mighty. Feng Xin so naturally spun around him like he was the world, so how could he possibly have his own life, his own heart” “Whether or not that fetus spirit was Feng Xin’s son, if it was that period of poverty that made Feng Xin lose the girl he loved, Xie Lian wouldn’t be able to forgive himself no matter what." ohhhh my god this relationship i. im...

oh my god i still have 30 more chapters until book 4............ its naptime now i think

[hoffkk]

The Best is Yet to Come

A Brightwell Fanfic

Story By: @hoffkk

Prompt: Gimme a starting question, and I’ll give you a brightwell fic that ends with a kiss!

Question: What do you think I’m doing here? from @officerparker

Summary:  When Malcolm and Dani become engaged, his mother gets a little overzealous with the wedding planning. The couple is grateful but also annoyed and at a loss. How does one stop Hurricane Jessica?

**********

"Mother, what are you doing here?" Malcolm asked curiously. He wasn't expecting her arrival this morning, yet here she was just letting herself right into his apartment as classy and sassy as ever.

"What do you think I'm doing here?" Jessica retorted exasperatedly. Not waiting for a response, she quickly added, "I'm here to plan the wedding of course."

Sitting at the counter next to Dani drinking coffee, he shared a confused look with his new fiancée then flicked his gaze back to his mother and replied, "We literally just got engaged two days ago."

"Exactly. We're all ready a full day behind," She noted, moving forward with her designer handbag in one hand and a large paper shopping bag in the other. "and if this is going to be the event of the season, we must begin preparations as soon as possible. Speaking of... what season were you two thinking of getting married in?"

"We haven't really gotten that far." Dani told her.

"Oh, no matter, we should really pick the location first and then see what they have open over the next year," Jessica said with a wave of the hand. "which reminds me, I took the liberty of making a few calls yesterday to the trendiest wedding venues in the city and..." She continued to rant as she walked off toward the living room to put down her bags and get out her phone. Malcolm rolled his eyes then mouthed "Sorry" to Dani who just smirked and gestured with her head to follow. Heading down the hall with their coffee, they all sat down on the couch as Jessica looked at the notes on her cell and listed off the venues she had called and the dates available. After much discussion, they settled on the Tribeca Rooftop. It had the wow factor that Jessica wanted, and Dani liked the idea of an outdoor wedding, especially after looking at the pictures of the location in a wedding magazine that Jessica had brought with her. As for Malcolm, he was happy as long as both of the women were happy. With this decision made, his mother made a call to book the location. Next, Jessica grabbed the shopping bag she had brought and pulled out a fancy white board with white ribbons stretched across it, creating an elegant diamond pattern.

"This is the wedding vision board." She smiled as she handed it over to Dani.

"Vision board?" Dani queried with a quirk of the brow as she passed the magazine to Malcolm and took the board.

"Every time we make a decision, we add it to the board under one of the ribbons to create the perfect vision of the perfect wedding." Pausing a moment, Jessica grabbed the wedding magazine from Malcolm and her scissors from her purse. Then, after some tearing and cutting, she slid a small picture of the rooftop between two ribbons in the center of the board. "There. Brilliant." She went on, admiring her handiwork. "Now, let's talk about color scheme." The discussion went on for a couple hours as they talked colors, flowers, and food. The latter brought up the question of the head count for the wedding. When his mom was talking about inviting over 300 people, Malcolm knew he had to put an end to her madness but didn't know how. Then, like a miracle from heaven, his phone rang. Hastily pulling it from his pocket, he answered after the first ring, "Hey, Gil. Good to hear from you, buddy. What's up? A case? Uh huh, of course. We'll be right there. Bye."

"Malcolm, you can't leave now." His mother grumbled unhappily.

"If there's a case, we don't have a choice." Dani told her. "Don't worry, we will finish this conversation later."

"We better. The wedding is in 8 months, and we've got a lot of work to do." Jessica told them.

"Right. Why don't you head home and work on the guest list then? You make your own, and we will make our own, then we can cross reference them later this week." Malcolm suggested.

"Fine." Jessica huffed. "I suppose that will work. Oh, and I want to make an appointment at Kleinfeld 's Bridal, so you need to decide on the wedding party ASAP, okay?"

"Will do." Malcolm nodded.

"All right, go do whatever it is you guys do to get ready for work. I'll show myself out." Then, grabbing her purse, she gave a wave and an air kiss then called out, "Ta-ta for now, my darlings."

The couple stood and returned Jessica's goodbye as they watched her head back to the front of the apartment and out the front door. Once the door shut behind his mother, Malcolm sank back down to the sofa and breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh, thank god."

"What are you doing? We have to get going." Dani said crossing her arms and staring down at her fiancé as he ran his hands through his hair and leaned back.

Resting his feet on the coffee table, he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, willing away a small headache that was beginning to form. After second, he replied casually, "No, we don't. That was just Ainsley."

"What?" Dani questioned, feeling puzzled.

"I lied to get my mom to leave." He explained.

"Wow. Thats..." She trailed off, coming to sit beside him before finishing. "one of the sweetest things you've ever done. Thank you."

Malcolm felt her warm lips against his cheek and suddenly felt much better. Opening his eyes and dropping his hand, he inquired, "So, you're not mad."

"No." Dani assured. "Don't get me wrong, your mom was being very helpful, but she was also a little..."

"Intense? Neurotic?" He suggested.

With a smirk, she shook her head at him then amended, "I was gonna say overwhelming."

"Yeah, well, Jessica Whitly is nothing if not a planner, all the way down to the very last detail." Malcolm assured. "And when she sinks her perfectly manicured claws into a project, she really gets into it, especially if it involves me."

"Clearly." Dani retorted, staring at the nearby upholstered chair that currently displayed their vision board which was exploding with magazine clippings now. "I mean, knew wedding's were a lot, but Whitly weddings are A LOT a lot."

"Don't worry, I'll talk to her." He told her as he moved his feet back to the floor and threaded their fingers together."I'll tell her to back off and let us make the decisions. In fact, just say the word, and I can tell her we changed our minds about everything we decided today."

"No. Don't do that." She tossed back. "I like our plans."

"Really?" Malcolm challenged skeptically. "Because I know you, Dani Powell, and grand events aren't exactly your style. You can't really want a fancy rooftop wedding with over 300 people."

"The concept isn't terrible." Dani replied vaguely, not wanting to admit that he was right. "Besides, it made your mom so happy when I agreed with her suggestions."

"But this wedding isn't about her." He argued. "It's about us."

"I know." She nodded, pulling his hand into her lap and sandwiching it between her own. "But I also know your mom has been through hell ever since your dad's arrest twenty years ago and deserves to finally have something good to celebrate. You all do. So, let her plan her heart out and create an amazing celebration as big as she wants. She'll be happy, and it'll make everything much easier for us in the long run."

Malcolm looked into her warm brown eyes and smiled at how incredible she was. He never thought about the wedding that way, but Dani, as usual, was right. Happy occasions were in much shorter supply for the Whitly family than most. They had been since he was ten. So, now that these joyful moments were coming around more often, they owed it to themselves to make the most of them. Needing to be certain about her stance on this though, he asked in confirmation, "Are you sure?"

"Positive." Dani smiled back. "Honestly, this may not be the wedding I always pictured, but there is only one detail that really matters to me."

"What's that?" Malcolm questioned with a tilt of the head, trying to read her expression.

"You, waiting for me at the end of the aisle." She smiled affectionately, meaning every word. It was true. Jessica could do whatever she wanted... release 1,000 doves, dress her like a cupcake, invite all of New York City... it didn't matter. As long as the end game was marrying Malcolm, she'd be happy, truly, blissfully happy.

"Done." He beamed with pleasure before closing the gap between them and kissing her slowly and deeply to seal the promise.

Dani responded in kind, cupping the side of his face with her free hand. After a long moment, she pulled back and stared into his sapphire gaze as she stroked his cheek tenderly with her thumb. Not wanting the moment to end, Dani bit her lip then said, "You know, we should probably do that again... as practice for the big day."

With a cheeky grin Malcolm countered, "Or we could practice for the big night."

Her smile widened and amusement lit her eyes as she replied, "We could do that."

Without hesitation, Malcolm moved in one quick fluid motion, lifting Dani from the couch bridal style. She squealed in surprise and giggled in delight as he headed down the hall and across the threshold of the bedroom. If being engaged was this wonderful, Dani couldn't wait to be married. Starting a life with Malcolm was definitely going to be the best thing that ever happened to her. Yes, the best was definitely yet to come.

[amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines]

FP Jones//The Midnight Club (part 2)

part 1 

“FP. Please say something.” In a matter of seconds FP’s world had come crashing down, for the second time that day. 

You’d found him as soon as you’d composed yourself enough to make full sentences. He was sat at the lunch table talking to Fred about his party tonight. As soon as he saw you, his expression brightened but once he saw the scared expression on your face, his smile fell. You’d made your way over to him and he’d instantly asked if you were okay or if Alice had said anything else, but you ignored him, simply turning around and walking back out, expecting him to follow you, which of course he did. He had lost you for a few seconds until he was pulled into the janitors closet where he was met with your sobbing form. And when you muttered those simple words he felt the world come crashing down around him. The sound mixing with your sobs. 

“Like?” He finally snaps himself from his thoughts. Instead focusing on trying to calm you down, however the look you give him tells him that he’s not doing a very good job already. 

“I dunno.” You shrug. “Anything.” 

“We’re in the janitors closet and you’ve just told me you’re pregnant. What do you want me to say?” He snaps making you cry harder. “Shit, I’m sorry baby.” His tone softens as he rubs soothing circles on your arms. 

“Again. I dunno. But this isn’t exactly idea for me too.” 

“I know baby.” He pulls you into a hug. 

“So what are we gonna do?” You ask, your voice is mumbled against his letterman jacket and you feel slightly more at ease when you smell his cheap cologne. “If your dad finds out, your dead. If my parents find out we’re both dead. And if people at school find out, we’ll be crucified. How the hell are we, two teenagers living on the Southside in a trailer park, gonna support a child?” You ramble anxiously. The same thoughts are swirling through FP’s head. There is no way his dad is going support the two of you. And as for your parents, they’ll probably send you away. Everything was already a mess in his life, and now everything has just gotten a million times worse. 

“I-dunno.” He sighs. He wants nothing more than to take all of this away from you. For everything to go back to normal. Where he didn’t have a kid on the way and another girl accusing him of knocking her up. He was normal FP Jones, star football player, most popular guy in school. And you were normal Y/n Y/l/n, head cheerleader, most popular girl in school, and FP Jones’ loving girlfriend. 

“Well thats just great isn’t it?” You snap, pulling yourself away from him and he sighs again, giving you a sympathetic look. 

“Its gonna be okay.” He reassures and grabs your hand, placing a gentle kiss to your knuckles. 

“Is it?” You laugh bitterly. 

“Yeah.” He nods, trying to convince himself more than you. “It has to.” 

“Sure it will.” 

“Look, I’m trying here.” He says angrily and you sigh. 

“I know. Sorry.” You mumble, looking at the floor. 

“Its fine.” He hooks a finger under your chin, gently tilting your face upwards to look at him. “I have an idea!” His face brightens and you narrow your eyes suspiciously. 

“I’m listening.” 

“Okay, what about tonight, just for tonight. We forgot everything. We forget Alice and her baby, we forget about our parents, we forget about our...problems. And we can just be teenagers. Happy, drunk, carefree, stupid teenagers.” 

“Errr.” You start unsure. You had been really excited about Fred’s party, but now you just wanted to go home and hide after school. 

“Come on.” He nudges you. “It’ll be fun! And I’ll get Fred to play our song.” He continues and you sigh before reluctantly agreeing. You know either way FP will go and you don’t really want to be alone at the minute. You suppose, you’re never gonna truly be alone again.

------

“FP.” You tug on his hand and he briefly stops his conversation to look at you. “I wanna go home.” You’ve been at this party for four hours, which is usually normal. Usually you don’t go home until the next morning, sometimes afternoon. But you’re tired, uncomfortable and the smell of sweat, weed and alcohol is making you feel sick. Plus you keep being bashed about and the music is making you disorientated. Not to mention you really need to pee but all the bathrooms have been taken for various reasons thats not peeing. 

“Just five more minutes.” He slurs and you roll your eyes at how drunk he is. 

“You said that ten minutes ago.” You reply, starting to tap your foot impatiently. 

“I knowww. But come on. Loosen up a little.” He grabs your arms and starts to sway the two of you but you push him off you. 

“I want to go home. You said we could leave twenty minutes ago.” 

“Whats your problem?” He shouts and your eyes widen. The commotion has made a few people around the pair of you to stop dancing and look at you. You’re already feeling exposed in the stupid dress you have on, thinking everyone can tell you’re pregnant, even though you have no bump. And now you feel even worse. You wrap your arms around yourself, while you try and will your tears away. “You’ve been uptight ever since we got here. If you want to go home, just go.” 

“What?” You ask in disbelief. “Why are you being like this?” 

“Because you’re annoying me. Go home and leave me the hell alone.” He spits and you glare at him. 

“You’re such an ass.” You turn around and start pushing your way out of the cramped living room. 

“You’re the one dating me...baby.” He calls after you. 

“Fuck you!” You flip him off before finally getting outside. The cool air makes you feel slightly better, the sick feeling easing gently, however now you feel like there’s a weight on your chest which isn’t much better. You drop to sit on the porch steps, your head falling into your hands as you sob quietly.

“Awww.” A sickly sweet voice starts and you groan. Please, anybody but her. “Trouble in paradise?” She asks and sits beside you. 

“We’re not in paradise.” You mumble and you can hear her laugh softly. 

“You sure? It seems like it. With a pretty little northside princess and her bulldog boyfriend...too pure for this town.” 

“What are you doing here Alice?” You ask, lifting your head up slightly so you can look at her. She looks like she usually does, all black outfit, scowl on her face, and a cigarette in her hand. Although, now she looks sadder, tireder, and you know exactly how she feels. “Its not like you can drink, or smoke for that matter.” You glance at the cigarette in her hand and she rolls her eyes before throwing it out into the dark street. 

“I’m here for the same reason as you apparently.” She replies and your eyebrow quirks, for a second you worry that she somehow knows about your situation. That its something all pregnant women have a sense about. 

“And whats that?” You ask as cooly as possible. 

“To shout at your boyfriend. Speaking of which, the last time I saw him, he was trying to figure out how to get onto the roof so he can jump onto the trampoline.” 

“He can break a leg for all I care.” You mutter and a smirk takes over her features. 

“Oooo. You guys really are in trouble.” 

“Well, thats what happens when a girl says you’re boyfriend knocked them up.” 

“Awww, I’m so sorry. I hope you guys can work it out.” She says in a mock sad tone. He lips curl into a small pout but there’s a smirk hiding behind it and now you’ve officially had enough of this night. 

“Listen.” You stand up suddenly and she looks at you slightly startled. “If you want to shout at him, I’d do it when he’s hungover, because you’re gonna get no sense from his right now. Do you want a lift home.” You add the last part on quickly. Even if you don’t like Alice, you know the Southside and you know its not safe for the best people, let alone if they’re pregnant.

“What?” Her eyes widen. 

“Its late, its dark and you live on the Southside. I’m not an idiot.”

“Wow.” She’s recovered from her previous confused state and has snapped right back into stone cold bitch mode. “Do you really wanna cross the tracks. We wouldn’t want you to ruin your heels. Plus how do you know you’ll make it back out?” 

“I think I’ll be fine. So do you want a lift or not?” You ask while looking through your bag for your keys. 

“...yeah, sure.” She agrees quietly and you smile to yourself. You almost made Alice Smith speechless. 

“Do you need to say bye to anyone?” You ask and start to walk down the driveway. 

“Nah.” She shakes her head, walking beside you. “No one’s talking to me after I ruined your boyfriend’s image.” 

“Well, what do you expect.” You shrug. “FP Jones is untouchable.” There’s a hidden sadness behind your tone which Alice picks up on but decides not to ask. She can’t imagine you’d want to talk to her about the weather, let alone personal problems. “I’m parked down the street.” 

“Lets go princess!” She teases and you roll your eyes at her. But you’re kinda glad that she’s still being the same old Alice, it makes you feel a little better about the change. And a part of you is kind of thankful that you’re not alone yet, even if you are hanging out with Alice Smith. 

You pull into the trailer park after being given awful directions by Alice. You knew exactly where you were going and you’re thankful that you live on the other side of the park as Alice does. Even in the trailer park there are some class issues. Where you live is the slightly nicer part, where you have windows that are un-smashed, doors that still have hinges and a few of you have crappy little cars. Alice lives on the side where the windows are more cardboard than glass, the doors are held together by glue and string and the closest thing they have to cars is bikes and scooters kids have stolen from the northside. 

Once you stop outside her trailer you look around to see if you can see FP, however she takes your looking as an insult and instantly scowls. 

“You worried someone’s gonna steal your shitty little car?” She asks sarcastically. “It looks like something you’d find on the nice side of Sunnyside. The sunnyside of Sunnyside if you will. Why hasn’t daddy bought you a nicer car?” 

“You’re welcome for the lift Alice.” You cut her off before she can go any further. 

“Why are you being so nice to me? I’ve insulted you at least 10 times, just on the way here and you’ve just sat there taking it.” She asks curiously and you start to worry that she’s gonna figure it out again. 

“23 times actually.” You correct her making her roll her eyes. “Turns out we have more in common that I thought.” Why did you say that? If she didn’t know before, she’s definitely gonna know now.

“Pfft.” She laughs. “Like I’m anything like you.” 

“As always, it was lovely talking to you Alice, but I’ve got a pillow to cry into. Have a good weekend...and stay safe.” You glance at her stomach and she moves her arms to cover it. 

“Thanks.” She nods. “You too.” There’s a moment of silence as she grabs her bag and opens the door, she’s about to step out when she turns back to look at you. “Hey Y/n?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Do you want to come in and watch Edward Scissorhands or something?” She asks quietly and you have to take a minute to process what the hell just happened. Alice was being nice to you. Was this just some ploy to get you in to her house so she could murder you and dispose of the body quickly so she could have FP. Right now she could just ask you for FP and you would agree, telling her to take him. 

“I prefer Heathers.” You shrug making her laugh. 

“Of course you do. You’re such a Heather.” 

“Rude.” You mumble. 

“I never specified which one.” She argues. “Now, do you wanna come in or not?” 

“Sure.” You shrug. You’ve got nothing better to do and today already has been weird, why not make it weirder. “Won’t your parents mind?” You ask, getting out the car and she looks at you. 

“Clearly you’ve got no friends on the Southside.” 

“Yeah...clearly.” 

“Welcome.” She says once she’s opened the door. She goes in first, throwing her jacket on the chair before walking into the kitchen. “Make yourself at home.” She waves her hand about and you take a seat on the sofa. “Mind the drugs, needles, knives and dead bodies.” 

“Of course. Wouldn’t want to crumple my dress.” You reply, a small smile playing on your face and for the first time, Alice actually genuinely laughs at something you’ve said...and not in a mean way. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” She asks, sitting beside you. 

“Not really no.” You shake your head. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

“With you?” You ask and she nods softly. “Not really.” 

“Yeah. Fair enough. I don’t really wanna hear about your rich girl problems.” 

“Lets just forget our problems and watch Winona and Johnny.” 

“Good idea.” She smiles and presses play. The film starts and the two of you sit in weird, yet comfortable silence, however a knock on the door causes you both to look at each other confused. Alice pauses the TV before standing up and making her way towards the door. You follow a little behind her just in case she needs help. “FP?” She asks confused once she’s opened the door. Your eyebrows furrow at the mention of your boyfriends name and you move to stand further behind the door. 

“I need to talk to you.” He says, his tone is frantic and Alice is staring at him confused and annoyed. He’s clearly sobered up quite a bit from the last time you talked to him and you’re kind of annoyed that he came here instead of trying to find you and apologize. But then again, he could be here for you, so you decide not to jump to conclusions...yet.

“Now’s really not a good time.” She shakes her head and tries shutting the door, but he stops it with his foot and she looks at him even more annoyed. 

“Please. We have a problem?” 

We? What does he mean we. What problem could him and Alice Smith possibly have apart from the obvious. You can feel yourself getting angrier and you have to stop yourself from moving from your hiding space and punching him in the face. 

“Y/n’s pregnant.” 

[officialthiamlibrary]

2019 THIAM REVERSE BIG BANG MASTERLIST

Below is  the masterlist of all of the creations by the amazing artists and writers for the Thiam Reverse Big Bang… four months of fantastic work, preparation, organization and collaboration between the creators are in this list, and we’ll never stop shouting about how thankful we are to everyone who participated this year for the work that you’ve put in to these!! 

Some of those participating were even creating for other events (including our Halloween event) in between this one… and they still have these fantastic works ready to show everyone... so PLEASE show them some love for their hard work by commenting, reblogging, and giving likes/kudos/comments where you can! <3 

All fics are arranged by the date each collaboration was scheduled for posting, titles for both each artwork and fic will take you to each individual creators post.

Special Thanks to @manonisamelon for creating this event’s roundup banner!

16 December 2019

The Price of Freedom + Artwork 1,  2

Author: @volsungar-the-mighty   Artist: @moondrunkmonster56

[41k Words | Rated: M | No Warnings]

When the McCall pack find out that Mason is the Beast of Gevaudan, the Dread Doctors plans go awry, and Theo is left in the firing line. He goes on the run, only to be captured and paralyzed by them before he gets too far.

Liam, a Fallen Angel turned demon, is convinced to leave hell for the first time since his Fall. When he comes across Theo, paralysed, wounded, and about to be tortured and punished by the Dread Doctors, he offer's the Chimera a deal.

Theo's freedom, in exchange for his soul. But something goes wrong when Liam makes the deal a reality, and he becomes stuck on Earth with Theo.

And thats when the fun begins.

Archive Tags: Thiam Big Bang | Thiam Reverse Bang | Thiam | demon au! | Demon Liam! | Bargains | Selling of Souls | Violence | Action | Kinda Romance | Slow Burn

~~~

Making The Pieces Fit + Fic Aesthetic , Thiam’s Story Aesthetic , Aesthetic for Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, 

Author: @bookwyrm07   Artist: @manonisamelon

[7.5k Words | Rated: Teen and Up | No Warnings]

When Theo was hired to rob a bank he knew he could do it, but now that two of his crew have taken themselves out his only option left is to get help from his ex.

Archive Tags: Alternate Universe - Criminals | Past Liam Dunbar/Hayden Romero | Past Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken | Getting Back Together | Bank Robbery | Light Angst | Idiots in Love | Mild Sexual Content | Thiamrbb19

~~~~~

17 December 2019

Eyes Unclouded + Artwork 1,  2

Author: @wolfenboyb   Artist: @marauders-mess

[6.5k Words | Rated: General Audiences | No Warnings]

Inspired by Princess Mononoke... Theo leaves his remove village after it is attacked by a mysterious dark god. Cursed, he ventures out into the world to discover the source of unbalance in the land. He discovers a wolf prince at war with an encroaching town of humans making iron out of sand and destroying the sacred forest. As tensions rise, Theo must find a way to end the conflict and protect the one he loves

Archive Tags: AU | Inspired by Princess Mononoke 

~~

Those Who Wait + Artwork 1, Aesthetic 1,  2 ,  3 

Author: @lovelylittlegrim   Artist: @tabbytabbytabby

[6.5k Words | Rated: Explicit | No Warnings]

Theo finally gets what he's always wanted. 

Archive Tags: Dark | Manipulation | Murder | Smut | Claiming | Biting | Alpha Theo | Top Theo | runaways- freeform | Theo’s been so very patient | Established Relationship

~~

Like The Trembling Heart Of A Captive Bird + Artwork 1,  2 , 3

Author: @impalachick   Artist: @osirismind

[9.5k Words | Rated: Explicit | Warnings: Underage]

Liam is head boy for the Juniors at Beacon Hills Preparatory Academy, and Senior Theo Raeken gets in trouble a lot. They don't exactly get along.

Everything changes when Gerard Argent shows up. Liam finds out that the supernatural seniors are to be drafted and sent to Vietnam on Gerard’s orders. Liam is determined to keep the pack safe and is surprised when Theo agrees to help. When they work together, Liam realizes there is much more to Theo Raeken then the bad boy stereotype implies.

*The underage tag is checked because in this story, Liam is 17 (and Theo is 18). There is discussion about the Vietnam War Draft Lottery and the drafting process, and the pack seniors face the stress of possibly getting drafted.

Archive Tags: Alternate Universe - 1970s | 1970s | Alternate Universe - Boarding School | Enemies to Lovers | School Dances | First Time Blow Jobs | Vietnam War | Evil Gerard Argent | Banter| Explicit Sexual Content | Cigarettes | Clothed Sex | Suit Porn | Suit Kink | Formalwear | Getting Together | Getting to Know Each Other | Werewolf Senses | Christmas | Christmas Party | Angst with a Happy Ending | Teamwork | Pack Dynamics | Head Boy Liam | bad boy Theo

~~~~~

18 December 2019

All The Broken Pieces (you chose to love) + Artwork 1,  2

Author: @flyde  Artist: @marauders-mess

[22k Words | Rated: Mature | No Warnings]

Life fell to pieces, not suddenly, not violently, but slowly. Softly, the broken parts were caught. Safely, they were held. Lovingly, they were protected, although they could never be put back together.

Or: a childhood friends to tragic lovers AU

Archive Tags: Emotional Hurt | Emotional Hurt/Comfort | Angst | Minor Character Death | Depression | Sadness | Childhood Friends | Friendship/Love | I'd tag this happy ending but I don't want to promise too much

~~

The Strangeness In You Is The Strangeness In Me + Artwork 1, Artwork 2, Artwork 3

Author: @eneiryu   Artist: @18-sweet-poisoned-heart

[28k Words | Rated: Teen and Up | No Warnings]

Theo’s life is never boring, considering where he works, but he’d have to say that his job doesn’t truly get exciting until the day that their entire station gets taken hostage by the Fae King of Northern California, pissed off that Theo arrested his murderous little protégé prince.

Archive Tags: Alternate Universe - Magical Realism | Alternate Universe - Fae | Supernatural Cop!Theo | Fae Prince!Liam | Life is Full of Misunderstandings | Thiam RBB 2019

~~

(Not) Dying For Brew + Artwork

Author: @nabawrites   Artist: @snaeken

[7k Words | Rated: Teen and Up | No Warnings]

Liam graduated from college, and now he’s back in Beacon Hills. He didn’t expect to run into Theo again, especially not in a coffee shop. It stirs up some old feelings he hadn’t ever really forgotten about…

Archive Tags: Miscommunication | Angst | Fluff | Banter | cute nicknames | Getting Together | First Kiss | coffee shop AU | Future Fic | Anchors | puns | Friends to Lovers | sort of slow burn?

~~~~~

19 December 2019

When the Day Met Night  + Artwork

Author: @imjustafangirl-nobodylovesme    Artist: @lightfiretomypaperwings​

[8.2k Words | Rated: Teen | No Warnings]

The day finally arrives where Theo is told he's officially joining the family business. He's not happy to hear the news. Life under his father's thumb is a nightmare come true.

On his last day of freedom, he meets Liam Dunbar, a human ray of sunshine that changes everything.

Archive Tags: Original Genderfluid Character | Organized Crime | Mob Boss's son Theo | Photographer Liam | Theo and Tara hate their lives

~~

Saw the shadow of the valley but the shadow was mine + Artwork

Author: @eneiryu   Artist: @colder-bones

[17.3k Words | Rating: Mature | No Warnings]

No one ever trusts Theo, but then again: they’re not supposed to. It’s Liam they never see coming.

Archive Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence | Dread Doctor Spy!Liam 

~~

Caput Mortuum + Artwork

Author: @imjustafangirl-nobodylovesme   Artist: @moondrunkmonster56

[16.3k Words | Rating: Teen | No Warnings]

Liam had pretty much resigned himself to never leaving his home, but then HE moved in. Or

The one where Liam is a ghost (but not really) and Theo buys the house he haunts (but not really).

Archive Tags: Alternate Universe - Human | Haunted Houses | Home Renovation | cursed liam dunbar | theo is handy with tools | that's not relevant to their relationship | i just thought you'd like to know | For reasons

~~~~~

20 December 2019

Melting The Ice + Artwork

Author: @extrasteps​  Artist: @snaeken

[30k Words | Rated: Mature | No Warnings]

Liam's entire world is shaken up when Scott McCall, the captain of the Los Angeles Rams and Liam's mentor at the club, unexpectedly asks to be traded to the Dallas Stars. As Liam struggles to deal with this in both his personal and professional life, his teammate and friend, Theo Raeken, is there to help him in any way he can.

Archive Tags: Ice Hockey AU | Liam doesn't handle his ied very well | Scott is a prick (sorry) | First Kiss

~~

The Memory + Artwork 1,  2

Author: @tabbytabbytabby   Artist: @lovelylittlegrim 

[5k Words | Rated: Teen and Up | No Warnings]

When Theo's away and can't reach Liam he gets worried. Especially when neither Liam's parents nor Mason will give him answers. When he gets back to Beacon Hills he's able to quickly find Liam. The only problem is, Liam has no idea who he is.

Archive Tags: Memory Loss | Established Relationship | Light Angst | Post-Canon | Future Fic | Curses | Good Theo Raeken

~~

Be Free With Me + Video

Author: @ethereal--jeonghan  Artist: @underthegallowws

[20k Words | Rated: Mature | Graphic Depictions Of Violence]

After being recaptured and dragged back to Eichen House, the place he's been running from for years, Theo vows to do whatever he can to escape instead he finds himself being drawn towards Liam, someone who was deemed as a 'high-level threat' within Eichen.

Archive Tags: Alternate Universe | powers | Angst | Sadness | Everyone Needs A Hug | Angst and Hurt/Comfort | Self-Hatred | Nightmares | Comfort | Emotional Healing | enemies to friends to something else | Enemies to Friends to Lovers | Sort Of | Happy Ending | Slow Burn

~~~~~

21 December 2019

You Just Need To See The Signs (Quite Literally) + Artwork

Author: @marauders-mess  Artist: @wolfenboyb 

[9.5k Words | Rated: Teen and Up | No Warnings]

Liam is used to not notice most things.

Like when Mason gets a new shirt or his mom gets a new haircut.

The usual, y'know.

But not noticing he got a boyfriend is kind of a new level, even for him.

Archive Tags: Alternate Universe - Human | Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés | Oblivious Liam Dunbar | Deaf Theo Raeken | Deaf Character | Crush at First Sight | Strangers to Lovers | Getting to Know Each Other | Getting Together | Getting Back Together | Awkward Romance | Fluff and Humor | Attempt at Humor | The Author Regrets Everything

~~

Blue + Artwork

Author:  @flyde​    Artist: @li0nh34rt​

[10k Words | Rated: Teen and Up | No Warnings]

Every werewolf has a soulmate.

Every werewolf has a soulmate, and this is how it happens: On every day you spend on earth, the stars move a little closer together above your head until they form a line - the curve of a closed eye that will one day open to look upon you. From that day on, you will have someone to watch over you in life and death, and you will never feel complete without the soul that the eye belongs to.

But what if your soulmate's eye opens to reveal something you didn't expect?

Archive Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates | some angst and some fluff | Sharing a Bed | Sharing Clothes | Holding Hands | First Kiss | Happy Ending

~~

You've Got Nothing Left To Lose (I Have Even Less Than You) + Artwork

Author: @snaeken​     Artist: @theraeken​

[3.5k Words | Rated: Mature | Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death]

After everything that’s happened in Beacon Hills, Theo really shouldn’t be surprised soulmates exist. He just never thought he would have one of his own. 

(Still to be completed, word count below is as of 1st chapter)

Archive Tags: Soulmates | Time Loop | Temporary Character Death

~~~~~

22 December 2019

Darkened Skies + Poster, Aesthetic for the fic, Theo aesthetic, Liam aesthetic, Liam with his dragon tattoo, Theo with his dragon tattoo, Theo and his dragon

Author: @lightfiretomypaperwings​   Artist: @manonisamelon

[3k Words | Rated: Teen and Up | No Warnings]

In a world where black dragons are a sign of evil, Theo Raeken was automatically an outcast. Coupled with a tragedy from his childhood that he was responsible for, it was easy to understand why everyone was afraid of him. But not Liam Dunbar, the friend from childhood that Theo hasn’t seen since the fire that claimed his family.

Archive Tags: Dragons | alternative universe

~~

I don’t suffer from my sanity, I enjoy every minute of it + Artwork

Author: @lightfiretomypaperwings​​    Artist: @moondrunkmonster56​

[8.4k | Rated: Teen | No Warnings]

When Theo Raeken became the new therapist at Eichen House, he didn’t expect a collection of secrets. His high priority patient, Liam Dunbar, won’t speak a word to him during their sessions. But when Theo uncovers a stash of notes from a previous doctor, he finds more questions than answers.

Archive Tags: Eichen | Echo House | insane asylum | Secrets | Alternate Universe

~~

Your heart or mine (we’re running out of time) + Artwork

Author: @lightfiretomypaperwings​​    Artist: @snaeken​

[3.8k | Rated Teen | No Warnings]

Theo Raeken knows it’s a long shot. Finding the heart of immortality feels like an impossible task, but it’s an adventure he has to pursue if he wants to survive. He doesn’t expect to meet Liam Dunbar along the way, a man with a record of violence that wants the heart just as badly. When circumstances force them to work together, Theo discovers there’s a whole lot more to Liam than his mercenary past. Can these two manage to get along on their quest or will they tear each other apart?

Archive Tags: Treasure Hunt | some steampunk vibes | Enemies to Friends to Lovers | Angst | Alternate Universe

And that’s it! Thanks again for a great event and we will see you all at the next one ;P

OTL Team

[marie-03]

No Longer A Ladies Man

Bucky X Fem!Reader

No warnings.

Word count: 2.3k

You pretend to be interested in the jabbering of your friend as she talks about a man she had met down at Coney Island. Apparently he was tall, dark and handsome. Loosely translated, that meant he was most likely an alcoholic who was also, very conveniently, slightly good looking.

"I've told you before, Lila, don't get involved with men who you describe to be 'tall, dark and handsome'. Never once has that gone well for you." You swirl the alcohol around in your glass, bitter bronze splashes over the rim and lands on the sticky table, "Don't you remember. . . what was his name?"

"Mike? Ed? No, Robert." You nod your head when she finally says the right name in her long line of ex-lovers.

She sighs when you knock back the rest of the liquor in your glass. "Yes, Robert. Not only did that man go on a bender each night and knock back gallons of booze by sunrise, but when you weren't there he had a call-girl between your sheets. Funnily enough, you described that souse as tall, dark and handsome too."

Her cheeks flush scarlet, if you didn't know any better, you'd think she was a show girl with make-up ready for a stage. It was clear that she knew you were right, you usually were about these kinds of things.

Never once had your heart been broken. Some may say it's because you were smart enough to do the heart breaking, others would say it's because you steered away from relationships completely. You would agree with the latter. It wasn't intentional, the steering away that is, but you had never found anyone who was capable of both catching your eye and not sleeping with the honey next door.

"What about James? You know, the one who's friends with the kid thats always sick." Lila eyes you, smirking slightly when the tips of your ears turn a faint pink. So, maybe you lied.

"That kid is called Steve and he's older than you." You sit straight, and cast your gaze out towards the bar.

A rushed tune is performed from the corner of the pub, a band of four play various instruments, the most noticeable being the piano. In front of them, on the dance floor, is multiple couples kicking their legs to and fro. You had never understood dancing, plus you had two left feet.

"You never answered my question. What about James?"

You'd be lying if you said you had no feelings for the man with the pretty blue eyes. Ever since he had moved into the house next door, his girl-winning smirk had been stuck in your head and you knew that he knew that. Even now, he sits next to Steve at a table near the dance floor, eyes locked onto your face turned away from him.

"He's a ladies man. Not one bone in that mans body is at all reliable."

Lila wags her brows. "I can think of one bone that seems to be very reliable."

"Don't be crude, Lila." You try to remain serious but can't help but chuckle, "But no. Don't get me wrong, Bucky's a looker but all that man wants to do is get into any woman's unmentionables."

"Hmm, I don't know. Apparently he hasn't shown any interest in any of the woman throwing themselves at him recently." Lila grins when she turns her head, eyes landing on Bucky who quickly looks away from you and starts talking to a very bored Steve.

Your head shakes. "And? I ain't no dreamboat, Lila, he isn't turning away woman for me. I don't think I've even spoke to the man for a few months, we occasionally wave to each other through the window but thats about it."

"Well, he's coming over so you might want to think of some conversation." Your eyes widen as the man in question enters your eye line. He looked as amazing as ever in his navy blue shirt tucked into coal pants. Despite Brooklyn being rather gloomy the last few months, you spot a tan line under the sleeve of his shirt.

Bucky slides into the booth next to you, he grins at Lila who winks in your direction before jumping from her seat and making her way over to a now lonely Steve.

"What brings you here, doll?" You can't help but notice how close he sits to you. His thigh brushes against yours, he leans in closer, grinning down at you with those beautiful baby blues.

"I was here to meet with Lila but you pushed her away, awfully rude, Mister Barnes."

He chuckles, then drawls in that seductive voice of his, "I like the way you say my name, do it again."

"Are you trying to make a pass with me, Buck?"

"Is it working."

You smirk through the red of your cheeks. "Maybe. Buy me a drink and we'll see if it's working then." He bangs his hands against the table in celebration, and stands, heading to the bar. You watch him leave with a smile, though your head was confused as to why you let him flirt with you so easily.

Bucky wasn't the type to get you drunk and take advantage, so you weren't worried about him filling you with alcohol to have ten minutes with you later on. What worried you was that that was all he wanted. Just ten minutes.

It wasn't like you were expecting the man to pop the question right there in the middle of the bar, but you were hoping that maybe, just maybe, one day he would ask the question almost every girl wants to hear.

Plus, unlike every other man you had met, Bucky had both caught your eye and not slept with the honey next door because that honey would be you. However, you wouldn't be against it. Not as a one night stand though, you hated those, especially when one side of the party felt so much more than the other. Watching people leave a bar together almost always broke your heart because although they're having fun, almost always one of them gets hurt when the sun comes back up.

Two empty glasses and a bottle of scotch is placed on the wooden table chipped by years of abuse from bar brawls and overly excited drinkers. "Most ladies like wine." You joke, as he removes the cork and pours the fiery liquid.

"You aren't most ladies." He hands you one of the glasses as he takes a swig from his own. You chuckle when his face screws up at the taste of the alcohol made to attack the taste buds.

"Whats wrong, Buck? Wishing you had that wine now?"

He cocks his head, grinning despite the drink left discarded on the table. "Wine seems more romantic, don't 'cha think?"

"Good job you didn't get wine then." You say, taking a sip from your own glass. Bucky quirks a brow, when he leans forward you don't move away or edge closer.

His lips brush against your ear, the touch sends a shock down your spine. "It's a real shame that you don't see this that way, I'm truly a romantic."

"Sure you are, Buck." You turn your head towards him. Your noses meet, and at this point there was no room between the pair of you.

The bar was like an ice box but Bucky was warmer than the campfires your father would light during your yearly camping trips. It was almost comforting, and strangely it felt like a hug you never wanted to pull away from. "I can show you how romantic I am if you'd let me."

The corners of your lips quirk. "Show me."

He pulls away and stands, holding out a hand for you to take. "May I have this dance, doll?"

"I have two left feet." You slip your hand into his, letting him pull you to your feet.

"It's a good job that I have two arms to keep you up."

The tune played by the now lone piano wasn't one you recognised but instantly loved the second it graced your ears. The man playing had musicians hands, it was like he was born to grace the ebony keys. Unlike most tunes, this one didn't have a ridiculous dance to match the solemn notes and trills that made people want to swing themselves around the room.

At least five other couples were on the tiled floor, swaying and twirling to the music. Everyone else that was in this part of the pub before had left, either because of the music change or because they had someone to bring home for the night.

Bucky places his hand on the small of your back, and entwines the other with your hand thats not clasping his shoulder. He smiles down at you who stares at your feet, making sure they're not going to step on the polished slacks that he wears.

"You're not going to step on my feet." He says it so softly that you're sure you're imagining it.

"I don't want to ruin your shoes." You respond. Bucky shakes his head and stops the pair of you to stand on his own feet, dulling the shine with dried mud.

"They're already ruined." Bucky spins you at the same time as the other men spin their own partners, and pulls you back, flush against his chest. You hesitate, but place your cheek against his shoulder, "(y/n), do you like me?"

Your brow furrows. "In what way?"

"You know what way I mean." He says, looking away from you to Steve who was giving him a thumbs up.

Clearly, your answer was yes, and not because he was quite possibly the prettiest man you had ever set eyes on. No, you liked him because of who he is. Bucky was one of the most loyal people you had ever met, and he was always gentle with you, never once had he raised his voice or directed his rage towards you. Every time the pair of you were together, he would make sure he was next to you at all times, defending you against any man looking in your direction in a way you didn't like.

Then there was the fact that after all the years, your crush had probably turned into something a little bit more. During the day your mind often wondered, and usually, no matter where it wondered to, it always found Bucky. Even when you were at Coney Island, you often found yourself looking for Bucky's face in the crowd of people.

So, it came as no surprise to you when you say, "Yes, and you."

He grins to himself when the song begins to come to close. When the last note is played, Bucky dips you and places a chaste kiss to your neck. "There's a reason that the 'famous ladies man' is no longer a ladies man." With each word, his lips brush against your skin more an more. His confession lands multiple kisses to your neck and leaves you a blushing mess.

"A simple yes would have sufficed." Your voice was quieter than it was meant to be. If Bucky wasn't still holding you at his mercy, he probably wouldn't have heard you.

Your eyes flick from Bucky to the crowd of people gathering to watch the pair of you at the bar. Multiple women scowl, their cherry painted lips cutting into you like sharpened knives ready to kill. Some men, mainly one's you had brushed off in the past, watch Bucky like a pack of hungry wolves ready to snatch up their prey.

"Bucky, people are staring." You can feel his smile against your neck tainted pink as he pulls you to your feet and nods to the pianist to start a new song.

When the new tune plays, Bucky shifts his arms to wrap around your waist. "Let them stare. Let them know that I have the prettiest girl in Brooklyn blushing in my arms." You swat his arm when you blush again.

"You did that on purpose."

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't."

His forehead rests against yours, and you can't help but look up at him with all the love and adoration you can muster. Which just so happened to be a whole lot. You hadn't felt love before, but if this is what it felt like, you were very much on board with feeling this until you die.

"If you keep looking at me like then I might have to be the ladies man one more time." His eyes darken, their gentle nature being replaced by something that made you slightly weak in the knees. Your smile grows as you press your lips to his, the grip he has on your waist tightening.

Steve and Lila grin from their spot at the booth you previously occupied, the pair of them finally happy to have the pair of you together. For months, Steve had to listen to Bucky whine about you not paying enough attention to him.

Bucky's lips were soft against yours, his touch gentle and on purpose. He didn't want your first kiss to be something that forced the two of you into bed. No, he wanted it to mean something more, mark something more than the first time the pair of you spent the night together.

The cold of the bar is long forgotten when Bucky pulls the pair of you away from the dance floor, and into his arms by the far wall. He pulls his lips away from yours. You whine in protest.

"Everyone's definitely staring now." He says, placing his chin on your shoulder to watch all the disappointed faces ordering drinks at the bar.

You smile. "Let them stare. Let them know that Bucky Barnes is no longer a ladies man because he's mine."

[dahniwitchoflight]

Homesquared Chapter 3

So i have seen smidgens of this on tumblr but just havent had time to do anything about it

and jesus christ Callie Jade is so horrifyingly creepy, and you know the things she’s narrating the characters can also hear which is also hilarious, it just reminds me of that comic about how “yeah sure there’s a giant ominous red floating eyeball in your kitchen, constantly staring, constantly judging, but can you be sure that’s a bad thing?”

and then someone tries to talk to it, but it doesn’t answer and the person goes “fine be an asshole i dont give a fuck”

thats exactly the dynamic happening with Callie Jade right now

Grumpy DaveKat is hilarious

and Hey! we finally get to see how people look, I really dig Roxy’s look

“ROXY: dude doesnt "believe" in "substances"”

This line from Roxy makes sense, as a person wholly ensconced in the idea of their own self and always being in control of themselves and their own mind and faculties they would hate anything at all that causes that iron mental grip to slip

That’s probably why Dirk avoided sleep even when his dreamself was awake, even sleeping and dreaming was considered a form of himself losing control over himself that he couldn’t integrate the idea himself and his dreamself were the same person rather than two identical people and also I remember that the Jujupop didn’t affect him either

Later on Dirk in the narrative will say something about his own trauma, but not really go into what it is, but if I had to hazard a guess (and really it’s not much of a guess at this point)

Dirk probably has memories of a version of himself being under the mental influence of another, Lil Cal, LE, Doc Scratch etc what have you, So Narrative Dirk may actually be a version of Dirk who’s not quite yet poisoned into being a version of those 3, but his words also hinted that just because he’s aware of a certain way that he’s acting doesn’t make him more likely to stop it

Like he’s equating that you can be aware of the influence something else is having on you and in the exact ways it is influencing you without being able to stop, the exact thing he is traumatized and afraid of being most likely

So his one driving fear, is he does not want to lose control of his own soul, his own being, his own way of life and existing, to something else, something other. Even though he most likely is fully aware of the things and mannerisms of the other that have slipped into himself? Like he’s probably fully aware of the similarities between himself and those mentioned above, but maybe the thing that he’s hinging on is that instead of those guys poisoning him into being like them, instead perhaps he can convince himself that it’s his own self influencing others to act like himself instead. His influence reaching out and expanding instead of shrinking as he fears it

Anyway, Dave and Kanaya have a cute moment, I really like that

We get a nice shot of them in shadows against a backdrop of stars and Kanaya starts talking about a story Rose would once tell so that’s story is already gonna be dripping in metaphorical potential

“ A Wriggler Story About A Young Prince And The Beloved Flower He Loved And Lost”

Though that’s a story I’m actually familiar with

KANAYA: A Singular Wild Rose He Failed To Cherish When He Had Her

KANAYA: And His Journey Of Discovering What She Meant To Him All Along

KANAYA: Culminating In A New Quest To Find Her And Win Her Back

KANAYA: The Story Comments On The Nature Of Friendship

KANAYA: And Of Course In Turn Love

KANAYA: How Once They Connect There Is No Distance Or Circumstance That Can Seperate Them

KANAYA: How The Worlds In Each Ones Mind Take On Contours Shaped By Their Memories Of The Other

KANAYA: Places And Moments And Orbiting Passersby Becoming More and More Entangled In The Context Of Their Mutual Affections

KANAYA: Such As With A Garden Calling To Mind An Engagement Once Declared There

KANAYA: Or Something To That Fucking Effect

So obviously Dirk and Rose

Dirk has Rose with him, discovers an actual genuine connection with her, likely because he already viewed her as an equal, despite his manipulations of her, and chapter 4 spoilers but he genuinely wants to play a game with her when there really isn’t any reason for it, so he is actually curious to see who comes out on top of it, Him or Her, so Dirk is probably in some way desperate to have an actual equal partner in some way instead of drowning in himself all the time, not surprising. But Rose, obviously, will leave and reject him, likely when the manipulation comes around and is revealed/Kanaya and all them reach her/that part of the story

But then the story tinges onto a romantic nature and is framing Dirk trying to get her back as a romantic quest to save his partner/friend something something love and friendship, “no distance can separate them” yeah that doesn’t sound like obsession with the first person you’ve ever truly seen as an equal/a real person, 

yeah “A Garden calling to Mind an engagement once declared there” definitely sounds like the garden of eden/adam and eve paradise fantasy that Dirk has been trying  for some reason, to setup on the new planet

Really begs the question for why Dirk cares at all to do all of this? Except we now the answer is already its not the thing itself he cares about, its the value hes putting into the story as something that generates interest in the audience

He doesn’t care about actually making a society or being gods or whatever, he just knows thats what the audience wants to see and cares about so therefore he does it

and the reason he does all of THAT is because is ties into his trauma of his sense of self eroding away becoming a person he’s unfamiliar with

I wonder how he’s going to handle how much he’s going to change in order to fit the role of the story he’s writing when all is said and done

the Dirk at the end of this is going to be very different than the Dirk that started in Homestuck, despite all of his fears and intentions, and that he could not say all of it wasnt his own doing because of the iron control he made sure to have from the very beginning, I honestly think that will be kind of a shock for him if a meeting like that ever one day happened

Specifically for the fact that he seems to be aware of the romantic in nature tropes hes writing himself and Rose into and for now still seems to be avoiding them, not having gone that far, but, well

Maybe this is where we’ll start to see where Doc Scratch’s odd tendencies starting coming from

You know he was always really weird with Rose and Vriska (Maybe because he sees Light players all as extensions of Rose herself?)

Anyway yeah this is def the story metaphor I think we’re going to see in this, but Kanaya doesn’t fully get it, she thinks the story refers to herself and Rose

DAVE: that seems kind of wack for a kids story

KANAYA: Its Possible I Am Projecting Slightly In This Specific Circumstances

KANAYA: It Was Just A Metaphor

KANAYA: But In A Way I Feel As If It Is the Greater Universe Trying To Tell Me Something

KANAYA: It May Simply Stem From My Longing To See Her Again And How Much Is Indicative Of Something More Sinister

Which is cool because it makes this opposing connection between Dirk and Kanaya as opposites, which I like because it solidifies a tiny bit more the idea of Sylph being Passive Create to A Prince’s Active destroy.

Oh yeah, there was a tiny hint of Mind metaphor as well, can’t forget Terezi is with them

KANAYA: How The Worlds In Each Ones Mind Take On Contours Shaped By Their Memories Of The Other

KANAYA: Places And Moments And Orbiting Passersby Becoming More and More Entangled In The Context Of Their Mutual Affections

KANAYA: Such As With A Garden Calling To Mind An Engagement Once Declared There

Basically the idea that your experiences of a person and your memories of them shape who they become as well, the boundary between you and I is controlled by both of us, so each has an effect of the personality Heart of the other through our own decisions and Mind

like the way people tend to mimic those they like and want to be close to, or the way they actively try to distance themselves and what they are like from those they hate

But that at all seems to be more about Mind in general than referring to anything specifically Terezi

though it is exactly that understanding of Mind versus Heart and how one affects the other that could make Dirk realize that in the question of the self he’s only had half the picture the whole time, he’s only had the understanding of Heart and has thus far not been able to understand how Mind plays a role in the sustaining of the self, how what other people do to help you to be you, which is his entire philosophical conundrum

“DAVE: the dude youve spent the last 7 years convincing yourself isnt an egomaniacal anime villain

DAVE: and who isnt actually lying in wait to completely decimate your life and your emotions and shit“

oh, that makes me sad, this is def bringing up some bad trains of thought for Dave ):

“ KARKAT: KANAYA BARELY EVEN TALKS, CALLIOPE WON’T LEAVE THEIR CABIN, JADE JUST FLOATS AROUND LIKE A CREEPY BALLOON THAT’S MOSTLY MADE OF HAIR.

OH RIGHT, I forgot Calliope is actually WITH them on their journey, despite seeming to want absolutely fuck all with Jade Callie, I totally thought she was gonna stay back on Earth C but I guess not!

It’s so odd to see them so terrified of their alternate self like this when they’ve interacted mildly before. I still don’t know what to think of that much, other than they seem to be doing that weird thing that the other kids went through, like how John scribbled clowns on the walls unknown to himself for the longest time due to Gamzee’s unseen mental influence

that’s exactly the type of shit Dirk would be afraid of, so I wonder if that’s what Callie was afraid of as well? Maybe its Jade Callie that’s influencing them this way not Gamzee, to scribble strange things on the walls and not come out, but it’s the same fear of the other regardless manifesting and changing the self.

It is a very oddly non social thing for Our Calliope to do, when the point of different between the two Callie’s was how social Calliope was versus how antisocial Jade Callie is. Worries me ): but at least they’re here I guess

KARKAT: SOMETIMES IT ALMOST FEELS LIKE WHATEVER SLATHERING MONSTROSITY OF A COSMIC HELLBEAST THAT PUT ALL THIS SHIT INTO MOTION...ACTUALLY LIKES ME?

ROXY: fucked up if tru

Karkat is really popular as a character in the fandom lol

and that’s that one, time to get to Chapter 4, which has a lot more juicy exposition

With all the Garden of Eden metaphors though I can’t help but think of the Apple of the Garden of Eden when I think of “story exposition” now

The juicy tantalizing forbidden red fruit that when you bit into it you suddenly understand and know things you did not before and you’re eyes are opened, I wonder if that’s enough to just make Apples a solid Symbol of Light in Homestuck’s context? Most of it’s association with knowledge is external to Homestuck, just referenced symbolically, it’s not actually used in any cirumstances pertaining to knowledge, but more as the metaphor of it being the gate to leave the garden of eden, more like a teleporter, Rapture and Revelation in general rather than just Knowledge itself

aka my new headcanon is that one thing needed to Alchemize a Transportalizer is inexplicably going to be an Apple, if that ever comes up at all

[theuniversitychallengereview]

UC 50.13 - Manchester vs Edinburgh

Generally speaking, there are two kinds of all-conquering sporting dynasties - those that seem fair, and those that don’t. In the second category we have the likes of Michael Schumacher at Ferrari in the early 2000s or Manchester City and Chelsea in modern football. 

While there is undoubtedly a massive amount of sporting talent on show in each of those cases, there is something about the inevitability of their successes that makes them feel a bit unearned, be that by virtue of the vastly superior car the German had in at least three of his five consecutive championships, or the stinking piles of dirty money that has allowed Pep Guardiola to squander more than £400m on defenders in his tenure as City boss. 

In the other category we have Michael Phelps, or Serena Williams and the Big Three in men’s tennis. They have exerted a vicious dominance over their sports, but without any seemingly unfair advantage over their peers, other than their sheer talent and determination (obviously they will have had various advantages that allowed them to reach the top in the first place, but I think professional sports is one of the few places where consistent greatness is truly reflective of who the greatest people are at a given thing).

This realisation, as to why I always resented Schumacher his relentless winning, while simultaneously being annoyed when someone other than Federer, Nadal or Djokovic (or Andy, of course, one of the only people to ever make me cry) won a Grand Slam (how dare they break the streak), only came to me today when thinking about the Manchester University Challenge team. 

There’s just something that feels more organic, and therefore more impressive, about Federer making 34 consecutive Grand Slam quarter-finals than there is about the Golden State Warriors winning back to back NBA titles having signed MVP-calibre Kevin Durant off the back of the best season in NBA history (not sure how niche that reference will be to the readership here, but I already deleted a bit about him earlier on, and I’ve put a link to the story in so you’ll have to deal with it).

The Manchester Uni Challenge team of 2005-2013 fall somewhere in the middle of the two categories (so I guess there is, as with all things, another category that encompasses everything between two extremes). Those of you who have been reading this for a while (and I have no idea how many people will have stuck around even since last year) will have heard this spiel about the semi-final streak before (because I relish talking about it every time Manchester are on), but I’m going to go through it again because its a great story.

So, first of all, Manchester do have some obvious advantages over other teams competing to win University Challenge. For one, its pretty massive, with more than 40,000 students. This means its more likely for them to be able to put together a team who will make it onto the live recordings - and indeed there are only two teams (Durham and tonight’s opponents Edinburgh) who have made more appearances on the show in the Paxman Era. 

However, between them Durham, Edinburgh, York and Warwick (the other two most appearing-est institutions) have fifteen semi-final appearances out of seventy five. Manchester alone have ten, with nine of them coming in a ten year period when they didn’t exit the tournament before that stage. This historic run saw them lift the trophy four times, tying with Magdalen College, Oxford for the all-time record.

The source of their sustained excellence can be attributed in part to the coaching of Stephen Pearson, a man known as the Sir Alex Ferguson of University Challenge (I really do recommend reading the linked article here). Under his tutelage, successive cohorts of students were able to create a dynasty this quiz had never seen before (and isn’t likely to see again). Thats one of the things which makes it seem fair, that the system he built allowed different sets of four students to repeat the same results.

Another is that it broke up the historic duopoly that University Challenge is famous for. Between 2008 and 2019, Manchester were the only non-Oxbridge side to win the competition, and it is the teams from Oxford and Cambridge who you can most easily level the ‘unfairness’ tag at, what with their combined ten entries a year (yes, yes, I know. If you combined the college teams you’d create a monster team and no one else would ever win (I think they would, but that’s beside the point) but that’s beside the point).

Manchester haven’t reached the semi-finals since the end of that run in 2013, but with back-to-back quarter-finals in the past two years they look to be on track for a return to the top (I’m going to look very silly after all this if they lose tonight, which you probably already know, reader). 

I’d like to talk about Edinburgh too, my beloved Alma Mater who finally upgraded my degree after two years of appealing recently, but I’m conscious I’ve already spewed out a full article on my Manchester intro. I will say, however, that if Edinburgh win, there will be four Scottish Unis in the second round for the first time since ever (there are already there guaranteed for the first time since 1995).

Anyway, you’ll all be exhasuted if you’ve made it through all that, so I won’t bother with the rules; here’s your first starter for ten.

Edinburgh are introduced first, with Jeffcoat, who’s actually wearing some kind of tweed blazer rather than a coat, but I’ll let him off. Their mascot is possibly the best I’ve ever seen on the show - a framed photo of the moment Robbie Campbell Hewson won Edinbugh the title in 2019 (bottom right of below picture). They have a scottie dog too, but its the picture thats the real star.

Manchester have a pig in a hat (or possibly a scarf, or possibly something else entirely), but the main interest on their table is Jones-O’Brien, who has perhaps the first name I’ve ever seen to contain both a hyphen and an apostophe. Good job all round, there. 

It is his captain, Spacey, who kicks things off in a luxuriant velvet jacket, with Jane Eyre. Manchester take a full set on the bonuses, and then another, racing off into a 50 point lead. Jones-O’Brien is whats known in the game as a leaner, and rotates his body 45 degrees towards Spacey each time Paxman reads out a question. It seems to be working though.

Jeffcoat, who has a pen stored in his blazer just incase he needs to do some working out, gets Edinburgh off the mark and shoots his teammates a wink for good measure. They zap a hat-trick out quickly too to halve the deficit. 

No one gets the first picture starter, which is an arrow on a map to ‘Worthing’, and I’m not surprised - who the heck has even heard of Worthing let alone knows where it is on a map (offence to Worthing), but Manchester pick up the bonuses, which are more towns that have won Pier of the Year, as according to the National Piers Society, something I am extremely happy to hear exists but never wish to be a part of (I’m sure they wouldn’t want to write University Challenge blogs either).

Paxman laughs as Edinburgh’s Clarke gives an answer which suggests that a puffin makes a noise that sounds like the word puffin, and to be fair thats a pretty funny mental image (mental sound image?). The perfect bonus streak is over, though Manchester will manage a fourth set before they miss any five pointers. The music starter goes to Edinburgh, but they remain ten points adrift despite having been better on the buzzer, thanks to Manchester’s bonus-work.

Now, I’d actually been taking notes for once this week, but around this stage I got so caught up in the action that I quite literally was unable to pick my pen back up, so I’ll just go from memory (I know I could just slide the timer back on iPlayer, but I’m on a bit of a roll here and I don’t want to slow myself down).

Manchester went on a bit of a run at this point, opening up a lead that would probably be unassailable. By the time of the second picture round the gap was in three figures, so Edinburgh would purely be fighting for one of the high-scoring loser spots (tough first round draw for both teams this). 

Jeffcoat jolted them out of their stupor with Degas (who I almost spelled as Degat. For some reason I can never spell painters names correctly. For years I though Titian was Tischen), but only a single bonus followed (though Clarke did pronounce Seurat impeccably, both as a wrong and right answer). Spacey hit back with O, but Manchester struggled for the second time tonight on science-y bonuses. They wouldn’t score another point, but they’d already won. 

The two captains then guess the 8th and 2nd of December as the date of Jesus’ conception - the heat of the competition was getting to everyone - but Clarke makes up for it with Oak next time around, and Fricker comes up clutch with Flag on the next starter as well. 

A full set of bonuses saw them reach 150, which would be enough to see them make the play-offs, but Winter negged on the next to drop them down to 145 (which would also have been enough, as it turned out, so I was getting too excited at the end). Clarke then got them another to put me at ease for the final few seconds.

Final Score: Edinburgh 155 - 200 Manchester

Another excellent, high-scoring game - probably the highlight of the series so far for me - and I’m very glad we’ll be seeing both sides again. 

Phew, that was a long one. If you’ve made it this far (first of all, congratulations) then you might like the retro reviews I’m doing of the 2015/16 series of The Challenge over on my Patreon. To sign up for exclusive content, for as little as £1/month, you can follow this link.

Thanks for reading, see you next time out.