#longest walk

[journey-to-the-attic]

"karasu search how 2 cheer human up"

"karasu search difference between sad human and zoning out human"

"karasu search how long is it safe for humans to zone out for?"

(+ a longer look at each scene:)

[luthqrs]

“I'm not going to explain this entire thing again to another mid-level bureaucrat who can't give me a sufficient answer. Put someone on the damn phone who can authorize what I need.” JENNIFER 'JJ' JAREAU in CRIMINAL MINDS 6x01 | ‘The Longest Night’

[cultofdixon]

Day One to the Rest of our Lives

Daryl Dixon • She/Her Pronouns • Part 1 • Before The Outbreak - The Farm • The nurse next door always had a soft spot for the Dixons as they were her family. It took the end of the world and an almost near death experience to get the youngest Dixon to make a move • ANGST/SFW • TW: Canon Violence / Scars / Injuries / Blood Loss / Emergency Surgery / Abuse / Drug & Alcohol Consumption / Anxiety

Requested by: Anon

NEXT

Before The Outbreak

“Merle you’re a fucking dumbass” Daryl groans trying to help walk a drunk and injured Merle up the stairs to their apartment.

“That bitch deserved it!” Merle shouted only to be shushed because of the time of night it was and most of the neighbors hated him.

Except, surprisingly, Y/N. Their next door neighbor that is rarely home or seen because her other home seems to be the hospital she works as a nurse at. One of the times their paths crossed was when Y/N went to the bar Merle frequents at and got blasted after a long day but still managed to give Merle stitches when he decided the bar window was nice to go through.

When the brothers reached the top of the steps, Daryl instantly noticed Y/N sitting on the floor propped up against her door. Merle squinted to see why his brother stopped.

“Y/N WAKE UP” Merle shouted causing Y/N to flinch awake and for Daryl to groan letting go of his brother making him fall onto the floor. “Bitch…”

Y/N blinked a few times to get the sleepiness out of her eyes as she gave a confused look to Merle’s still body on the floor. She was about to ask questions but decided not to and accept the extended hand coming from Daryl.

“Do I even wanna know?”

“Besides drunk, what else you wanna know?”

“Nothing” Y/N laughed a bit, bending down to grab her backpack to get her keys out. “He needs stitches?”

“Just an ice pack, I think imma let him hang there” Daryl crosses his arms looking at his now passed out brother watching Y/N walk over to him and rolling him on his side. “What’s that for?”

“In case he throws up. I’m gonna grab a blanket so he won’t be too uncomfortable out here” Y/N returns to her door unlocking it. “I know he may have ruined it but you want a beer?”

“More so a smoke than a drink” Daryl rubs the back of his neck giving a concerned look to his brother that Y/N noticed once she was halfway through the door.

After dropping off her stuff and taking her coat off, Y/N stepped out gesturing for Daryl to follow her lead in picking up Merle. Her by his legs and him by his arms. Eventually Merle got settled on her couch still on his side and with a trash can beside his head.

“We could’ve—-“

“Nah too many extra steps to get him back in your apartment. Besides, I’m a trained professional in case other shit happens” Y/N went over to her window as she spoke, opening it up enough for her to climb through with Daryl following shortly after.

One would think anyone wouldn’t want anything to do with the Dixon brothers mainly because Merle puts trash onto their name. But Y/N likes their company, Daryl’s mainly, because it keeps her sane and human. Working in a hospital so much to the point one is accused of “living there,” anyone would want normalcy.

It’s an added bonus finding themselves sat in the fire escape, sharing a cigarette from the pack that Y/N hides in the empty plant pot that the previous owners left at her apartment.

“I had to take a decontamination shower at the end of my shift because of the vomit and blood from that singular patient”

“Sounds awful” Daryl frowns, watching Y/N smoke for a moment as he kept his gaze on how tense she was for a while before finally relaxing after exhaling the smoke. Her eyes were exhausted just as the rest of her, but they told so much more that he worried for. “Ever thought of taking a break? Vacation more like”

“With all the hours I’ve got saved, I could. But I’ve been in the hospital for so long that I wouldn’t know what I’d even do”

“Uh…well you like Merle and I, you can join us for our hunting trip” Daryl put that up in the air, looking her curious expression. “It’ll be next month”

“I haven’t gone hunting since my old man was still around…” Y/N put out the last of her cigarette thinking about the option. “You sure Merle would be cool with it?”

He didn’t think that would work. Daryl shrugs as he looked back into the apartment where Merle laid on the couch snoring loudly. “The worse to happen is Merle would hit on yea for most of it”

“I’ve dealt with worse, trust me…a lot worse”

“So…?”

“I’d be happy to. As long as I get a ride from work. I wanna work as much as I can before taking a few days off”

“We can pick yea up from work. Merle will be on his bike and I’ll be taking the truck”

“Works for me, I’ll give you my stuff the day before” Y/N smiles and that quickly faded along with Daryl’s when both heard the eldest Dixon vomit his stomach out. “Yup. Love his company too”

During The Hunting Trip (and the start of the outbreak)

“You wear anything other than the scrubs?”

“Sundresses, but I wasn’t going to pack one of those for a hunting trip Merle” Y/N rolled her eyes, quickly stopping when she heard something. Merle quickly but stealthily followed the noise.

It felt unreal, how quick something can escalate from standing in the open waiting for either Dixon to come back from the noises they’ve heard…to falling back in shock to the undead stepping closer.

The closer it got, the more Y/N let the shock take over that when she reached for her knife…the sicko fell on her. But thankfully with a bolt in its skull. Y/N couldn’t register what had just happened until Merle kicked the corpse off of her body making her lock eyes with the equally shocked Daryl across from her.

“You alright girlie?” Merle asks, not waiting another second as he grabbed her upper arm pulling her up on her feet. “Come on speak! Are yea bit?”

“No I’m…uh what the fuck?!” Y/N shouted once it hit her letting Merle check her arms and neck before shoving him back. “Is this what that fucking radio broadcast was about?”

“Makes sense right about now. But the fact that one is out here…people makin’ camp and bringing those who’ve been infected out here with them”

“Fuck. The hospitals must be flooded with patients with symptoms before it reaches this stage.” The worry on her face only drew an annoyed one out of Merle and an equally concerned expression from Daryl but not for the strangers. “I have to go back, see if I can help or something!” Y/N stated as she started to make her way toward the truck.

“Doll, that won’t be a smart decision” Merle planted his hands on his hips continuing the annoyed look on his face until it turned to confusion when his brother quickly caught up with her.

“You can’t go back”

“I have to! I took an oath” Y/N scrambled a bit, putting her hunting rifle in the bed of the truck dropping her pack on the floor to grab a clean scrub top. “I didn’t spend years in school to not save people’s lives——“

“Y/N, if this shit spread. The hospital ain’t safe and I can’t lose you”

His words caused her to freeze in her place before turning toward him with a much softer expression compared to her worry filled one.

“W-We can’t lose you…okay? If they didn’t figure the virus out, I don’t know what you could do”

“I wish I could do something…” Y/N felt the burning sensation of tears building in her eyes forcing her to look away.

Daryl stood for a moment wanting to pull her into his arms, but both were startled by Merle’s crazed excitement when he found something off the corpses body.

They’ll have to get used to this…new life

The Quarry

“Does it still hurt?” Y/N frowns gently dabbing the cut on Carol’s cheek with a wet rag. She pulled the rag away to wet it more with water from her canteen. “Is he really helping Shane? Or waiting for you back at your tent”

“Knowing Ed, he’s waiting back at the tent. I’m just…thankful Sophia wasn’t there” Carol frowns, flinching when Y/N went back to cleaning up the blood giving her apologies for the suddenness. “You understand…don’t you?”

“I don’t get what you mean…”

“You know…being with them at the start of all this…I doubt they were good company” Carol scoffs when they both heard Merle shouting like usual at Shane. If they weren’t labeled “typical rednecks” when they first joined this group, then they would’ve seen it was Shane’s fault for what Merle was yelling at him for.

“You’ve got them wrong.” Y/N scoffed to her words, looking over at them in what looks to be an argument. Watching Daryl try to de-escalate the situation from how intense Merle decided to make it. “Me wrong too…I’ve known them for years. I was their neighbor and while Merle did have his moments, they were both still nice to me. Hell…even there for me when I needed it” she frowns looking back to her bag to take out a bandage for Carol’s cheek and once it was placed, she stood to her feet. “Give them the benefit of the doubt instead of judging right away…”

With that she took her leave toward her tent that was next to the Dixons which were a camp away from camp because a few shared private concerns making them isolate. Y/N wasn’t about to leave them even if Merle did make the comment when they first joined this group.

“She’s more like them” is what he said

“Stupid fuckin’ pig” Merle scoffs returning to their little campsite taking a seat beside Y/N who was just as annoyed as he was but more on the melancholy side of things while his was filled with rage.

Concern only washed over Daryl when he noticed her expression but he didn’t even get a second to say anything before Merle went off.

“Y’know I bet yea that motherfucker only wants me to go on that trip just so something bad can happen and I end up a sicko”

“Wait, what trip?” Y/N quickly turned to Daryl knowing he will give a better explanation of everything while Merle only focused on what mattered to him.

“Shane, the fucking moron that tells us not to hunt at a certain hour so he could do who knows what in the woods—-wants me to join the girlies, the Chinese kid, and the other two to go into Atlanta for supplies”

“Well, he’s Korean first of all…”

“Doll like I give a fu—-CK” Merle shouted when Y/N elbowed him in the side. “They using me as a goddamn escort nobody gonna give a fuck if I meet my maker out there”

“We do” Y/N gestured to Daryl and herself. “Merle, you’re more of muscle along a few of the others from the main group. You sure he didn’t ask for yea to make sure the others are safe?”

“That’s exactly how he put it, Merle is just dramatic” Daryl sets his crossbow down beside him once he sat on the ground with them. “They’ll die without us”

“As much as people can adapt, Daryl has a point here. Shane will only lose game if he went shooting his shotgun at deers and squirrels” Y/N leaned back on her hands. “Hell, the squirrels will explode if he shot at them. They’ll need the both of y’all to bring back a lot of game to survive. Besides, you know Atlanta better than most. You can survive a few herds”

“You both are a bunch of bitches” Merle wasn’t serious when he stated such at least when it’s directed to those two, but he still didn’t like the idea of leaving with these people to Atlanta.

That when they returned with someone who wasn’t Merle, Y/N knew they were about to meet a whole world of hurt.

“Fuck no”

“Y/N—-“

“I could never get Daryl to calm down” They both know that was a lie, Y/N is honestly the only person that could calm him down. But what they both can agree on is they don’t know how he will react to the news.

“Bullshit. You’re gonna have to try somethin’ so he doesn’t fucking kill the man”

“But isn’t that what you wanted?” Y/N watched the color leave Shane’s face. “For this Rick guy to remain dead so you can lay your pipe in a place you shouldn’t be laying it”

His fists clench at either side of him trying his hardest not to strike, but Y/N had enough of keeping that shit to herself. She didn’t care for what happened next…for the most part

When Daryl returned to the camp in search for Merle, ignoring everyone’s questions while he came up empty on finding his brother within the camp. But the annoyance only grew when he couldn’t find his—-Y/N.

“Where’s—-“

“We left Merle. Well, I did.” Rick stated noticing the concern on Daryl’s face which led him to believe there was more to it and he instantly turned to Shane. All the man ever does was shrug but it quickly turned to pulling the youngest Dixon off his “brother”

His presence would normally bring joy in any mood she was in, but given the situation and what happened prior to Daryl finding out about his brother? Y/N was miserable and hiding something.

“You hear what those fucking sons of bitches did?! Leaving Merle chained up to a goddamn roof!” Daryl shouted, quickly stopping when he noticed Y/N flinch to his words. “Sorry—-Fuck, I’m just—-“

“Mad. Rightfully, mad” Y/N rasped, squeezing her eyes shut while she pressed her wet bandana to her cheek. “That Rick guy said he was going to go back to get his dumbass even after putting him up there.”

Daryl didn’t say anything right away as he steps around her to get a look at her front watching her duck her head. “Lori wasn’t too happy about it”

“Figured” Y/N frowns continuing to look at the ground watching his shadow grow bigger practically covering her and indicating he was knelt in front of her. Daryl gently removed what she was using as a rag to see what happened. “It’s superficial. Not like I’d have anything to do stitches anyway…you need to get Merle back”

He didn’t say a word all he did was nod while reaching for her pack to take out those butterfly bandages she has.

“Can I—-“

“Yeah”

The youngest Dixon didn’t push her on what happened, all they talked about after he saw was the plan to get Merle’s ass back to the camp. Even if it meant she couldn’t come with which infuriated her.

But that didn’t matter. The feeling useless part passed quickly when their camp was being washed through with a herd. Y/N always had her axe beside her and didn’t hesitate to start taking out sickos while most of the women protected their children. The only thing she’d want to protect wasn’t there. She didn’t need to worry too much.

Carol let out a scream when one got too close that lead Y/N to quickly swing her axe into its skull watching her quickly get away following Lori. Y/N pulled the axe out and didn’t know of the walker creeping up behind her until a gun shot both killed the walker and almost burst her ear drum. But she quickly turned toward who fired and saw Daryl, both having a relieved look that turned into focused quickly to finish off the walkers.

Once all the dead and undead were mourn or taken care of…the plan was to go to the CDC in hopes for something to help Jim when it was revealed he was bitten. But on the way, they stopped and left him as per his request.

The CDC

Y/N of course sat with Daryl in his truck with Merle’s bike strapped in the bed of it. Neither of them talked for most of the ride given they were worried, angry, and a bit upset…but not at each other. Daryl knows Y/N has her reasons for not telling him how the cut on her cheek happened but that didn’t mean he didn’t worry. She on the other hand was infuriated and struggling to keep the tears at bay. Being a nurse and feeling useless was getting to her. That bastard leaving Merle was getting to her. That stupid bitch Shane was getting to her.

“You think Merle is fine?” Y/N questions while she watches the scenery go by the woods slowly disappearing. “What kind of son of a bitch cuts his own hand off? Doubt he even knows how to properly stop the bleeding…burning it isn’t the right way”

“Merle is a roach. He’ll turn up…eventually” Daryl frowns gripping onto the wheel tight as he continued to follow the RV. The truck ran over a walker causing it to jump and for Daryl to instantly force his arm in front of Y/N as she held onto it out of anxious habit with bumps.

“Never going to get used to that…maybe we should’ve just ditched the truck and taken the bike”

Daryl took note of that

When they got to the CDC, right away one assumed that it was empty and barren. Honestly who could blame the scientists for running from this mess? The government already decided more destructive solutions that didn’t work. But when the doors opened, everyone was on edge. Thankful, but on edge. Y/N was given the hunting shotgun Daryl he had back at camp to pair with the axe strapped to her back under her pack. She raised it instantly along with the others when the doctor stepped out to greet the survivors.

Dr. Jenner was his name and he happily let them in giving them the facility for the night. He of course had them get tested for anything which had Y/N feeling nostalgic and given her background, he asked for her help in a few ways before everyone decided to enjoy the luxuries that the place gave.

Booze. Booze was the start along with food.

Y/N only drank with Daryl and Merle, so she didn’t feel comfortable drinking as much as the others were during the dinner the doctor made for them. She kept an eye on Daryl given he was drinking til he couldn’t see straight anymore, he needed it after the Merle nonsense.

But every time he looked over at her, he smiled. In a way it was to make sure she was still there but there was so much more.

When the group started to turn in for the night, everyone stayed with who they were close with. But given how much Glenn drank, Rick and Shane suggested he’d stick with Y/N and Daryl. Mainly Y/N for she has the training in case he aspirated. Which nothing a good “having him sleep on his side” wouldn’t fix.

Daryl stumbles into the room squinting at the sight of Y/N helping Glenn lay down on his side before moving to the couch which would be her bed for the night. She made Glenn’s bed out of the back cushions of the other couch knowing Daryl was going to rip them off anyway. He came to the apartment drunk once and she’d let him crash, he did exactly that before passing out.

“Did you shower? In your state?”

“Nah. Got lost” Daryl scanned around the room quickly switching the light off.

Before Daryl even thought about going to the other couch and sleeping off the effects alcohol has on the body, he brought himself to sit on the floor leaning up against Y/N’s couch. He flinched slightly when she brought her hand to his forehead before easing into the smallest touch.

“Just the alcohol. No fever”

“Just checking” She said in a hushed tone before laying back on the couch keeping her eye on him watching his brows furrow contemplating on saying something or not. “You should get some sleep, bubs”

He felt the heat rise instantly in his face as he decided the couch was no longer an option and laid down right where he was. Y/N watched him get comfortable on the floor before grabbing a couch cushion and giving it to him to use as a pillow.

The night progressed and Daryl laid awake for the most part, thinking staying conscious would subside the feeling of liquor and the strange but familiar one lingering in his chest.

Just when most thought the next morning would be peaceful after some breakfast and much needed pain killers…it was revealed what the clock was on the wall. It was a countdown for total power loss and the last of it to destroy the CDC in a fiery explosion.

Leave or Die

Leave or Die

Leave or Die

Who would’ve thought that would be a hard decision to make while most panicked around her and once Jenner finally opened the doors for them. She froze in place and felt the tightness in her chest grow.

When Daryl watched the door open he immediately turned to his side half expecting her to be with him. But soon realized she stood by the panels with the doctor and those debating to stay or know for fact. He stood there waiting. Waiting for any sign.

Even if it was Y/N simply turning around to look at him with tears in her eyes. Daryl then acted without a thought by sprinting toward her and instantly picking her up before booking it for the main lobby of the CDC. Where the commotion involving a grenade was being conducted.

“Duck!” The sheriff yelled as everyone did exactly what he said, Daryl shielding Y/N when he crouched feeling her shift out of his arms but her arms remained around his neck holding him close.

They parted when the grenade explosion dissipated, but Daryl didn’t hesitate for a second to usher her out of the building before getting himself out.

The explosion of the CDC rattled the earth and those especially barely escaping it.

“Everybody alright?” Rick asks everyone getting a few yeses and more of annoyed groans after being shaken. “We have to get out of here. Before the herd comes”

“Help me get the bike off” Daryl gestured for Glenn to help as he went to do so. Y/N instantly bringing herself to the bed of the truck grabbing their gear before they took the bike off.

“Rick, siphon the gas from the truck and fill up your cars. Should hold us up for a while or at least until we find more cars”

As they were quick to scramble and move some of the gear from the truck to the RV, Y/N was about to move into one of the cars when Daryl gripped her shoulder gently.

“Ride with me, yeah?”

“I uhm. It’s been a while, Daryl…”

“Alright…Uhm. Don’t sit with Shane, least do that for me” The look he gave her when he said that, only told her that he knew. He knew who gave her that wound on her cheek.

Y/N instantly nods and goes to join Andrea, Glenn, and Dale in the RV while Daryl got situated on his bike leading the way back to the freeway. Hopefully they can find shelter elsewhere.

The Farm

“You and Daryl seem…close. Is there like more to that?” Glenn thought maybe since there wasn’t many in the RV, and especially Daryl, that he could ask things like that.

Y/N being more open to answer after spending more time with these people. “We’re close, but if you’re insinuating what I think you are then no…”

“Is that what you want?” Andrea cuts in, looking directly at Y/N from her spot in the passengers seat. “You want something more don’t you?”

“I-…Well, why would I if the other party doesn’t seem interested” Y/N stated, only for Dale to scoff with a laugh after. “What?”

“You would have to be blind as a bat to not notice how much that man cares for you. If you really wanna know? Try and talk to Shane. About anything.” Dale gave her a look through the rear view mirror before stopping in the freeway when his RV started to make noise. “Damn thing breaking on me at the wrong time”

When the RV stopped, everyone stopped.

Daryl brought his bike to the banks of the freeway watching the RV from his spot seeing Dale get out first along with Glenn. He was about to go in to check on—-

“Hey, this’ll be the perfect time to fuel up on some gas. Even check some of the cars for anything that will be useful.” Rick interrupted his thoughts, Daryl nodded to his words watching him go ahead of him before taking a quick glance at the RV finding Y/N stepping out with a look he couldn’t fully read.

“Hey, Y/N can you take a look at these meds I found?” Lori caught her attention instantly and the second she approached him, Daryl went ahead to investigate some of cars himself.

Then things turned for the worse and a herd started to come through the cars. Most hid underneath the closest car they were near and Dale got stuck on top of the RV…but the worst to happen was the cries of Sophia had attracted some of the walkers. Leading her to run away and the sheriff quickly went after her.

‘Sophia’ Carol whisper shouted as they couldn’t entirely leave when the herd was passing, they only started to get out of hiding and took out the stragglers.

Y/N quickly pulled herself out from under the car watching Carol quickly get out with Lori trying to stop her. She wanted so badly to chase after her daughter and the walkers but Rick’s got it. He’s going to save her…

“You didn’t find her?” Carol couldn’t hold back the sobs anymore, Lori laid a comforting hand on her back.

“They’ll find her or at least try their hardest” Y/N tells Carol with concern littered in her voice even if she only wanted the first part. “There’s still plenty of people in the world even after it ended. She could’ve ran into somebody that will help her get back to you…” she gave a sad smile before turning to Daryl watching him straighten up.

“We’ll find her. We’ll keep lookin’”

This is a mother’s worst nightmare Y/N thought as she organized the trunk of their findings before being pulled away to help T-Dog in terms of his injury.

Rick and Shane left a while ago with Carl to go search for Sophia which left the others splitting into searching themselves and staying at the RV. Y/N being with the RV group given she wanted to keep an eye on T-Dog’s injury but some part of her was screaming internally over this whole situation.

Sophia hid because Rick instructed her to do so but she ran. You would run if your life was about to be in the hand of walkers…

Now Rick, Shane, and Carl disappeared. What could’ve possible gone wrong?

“Are you okay?” Y/N frowns watching Andrea come into the trailer with a bit of annoyed but equally anxious look on her face.

“Yeah, but someone took Lori. Knew Carl and her name so we are gonna go to the place they are at” Andrea sat across from her at the little table noticing Y/N pinching her arm which some spots started to bruise.

As Andrea reached across the table to take her hand to get her to stop, ultimately holding it so she wouldn’t continue. Daryl flew the door open instantly locking eyes with Y/N before stepping away to get on his bike while Glenn and Dale flooded in.

The second the RV arrived on the farm, Rick ran out of the house toward it. He gently pushed Glenn and Andrea out of the way to get Y/N taking her hand dragging her toward the house.

“Where’s the fi—-“

“Carl’s been shot. The man of the house is a vet and is doing his best. Could use another set of—-“

“I’ve got it” Y/N didn’t need to hear more to understand the just of it. She was going to be told everything by Hershel, the head of the house, anyway.

Once Shane came with the right medical supplies, Hershel was relieved to have someone with full medical training to help him fix Carl’s injuries. But that didn’t stop him from discussing certain matters.

“If you don’t mind me asking…”

“Is it about this?” Y/N gave him a confused look keeping hold of the retractor while Patricia continuously squeezed the ambu bag that Shane managed to snag for Carl.

“No…these people you’re with…you trust their judgement?”

“Yeah, a little bit. I’m still trying to get used to the fact that one of them left my—-my best friend’s brother on a roof” Y/N picked up a piece of gauze to dab at the blood that spilled. “He wa—is a racist sexist son of a bitch so. Who could blame him”

Patricia fought back a laugh as Hershel rolled his eyes but was going to take her word for the first part. He can give some trust in these people.

“Listen, Hershel. I may have not been with these people for long…but they are good people. They mean well at the end of the day even with their flaws.” Y/N finished her thought before helping him finish with the closing.

After the operation, Y/N stepped out into the kitchen where Patricia instructed her to wash her hands in the sink. As she was doing so, Lori instantly went to her and without any words she gave her a smile and let Hershel explain how everything went smoothly.

Y/N stepped out realizing how late it was and how everyone set up their tents already. Part of her wished she still had her apartment and could simply crash without having to set anything up. But when she was about to head toward the RV to get her things, she noticed her tent set up and close to his.

Sweet… Y/N felt the twitch of a smile before entering her tent and laying on the floor for a moment.

Laying on the ground in a tent after a successful surgery was very different compared to laying on the kitchen floor with a half empty bag of chips and a bottle of Merlot. Felt nicer and worse in some way.

“Y/N?” Daryl whispers, just in case she was still asleep but when she opened the tent flap he relaxed a bit from the awkward feeling. “The kid alright?”

“Yeah, he’ll probably need another transfusion but we won’t know until he improves” Y/N sat in the way of the flap giving Daryl an unreadable look and all he wanted to know mostly was if she was alright after what she had to do. But decided to focus on different matters. “Did you need something, Dar?”

“Uh. No I just…I’m gonna look for Sophia in the mornin’. Wanna let yea know”

“Thank you…be safe and back before nightfall”

“I promise, sunshine” He gave a small nod shortly leaving after, letting Y/N get some sleep even when once the tent flap closed she felt the heat consume her face when he called her that.

But that small happiness faded when her anxiety started to eat at her the more the sunlight faded in the next day.

“You need to stop pacing. You’ve done laundry, you checked Carl’s incision site, you gave Maggie and Glenn a list of drugs to look for on their run, amongst other small tasks. Creating a ditch in the dirt just from pacing back and forth is only going to wear your shoes out and not make Daryl come back any fast” Andrea told Y/N while she got up on top of the RV to take watch.

“She’s got a point. You’re wearing yourself out over possibly nothing” Dale said while handing his rifle up to Andrea expecting her not having to use it. “He’s looking for signs of Sophia or her overall and will be back. He told you that much”

“Least you know what his intentions are. Most partners don’t realize their significant other is cheating on them because they beat around the bush when asked “where have you been”” Rick stepped out of the RV saying such which in response was a confused expression from Y/N. “He is your boyfriend is he not?”

“No! We aren’t together at all…”

“Hm. Odd”

“How so?”

“I had to pull off a very angry drunk Daryl off of Shane the night we spent at the CDC. Threatened to kill him if he ever laid a hand on yea again” Rick shrugged. “That’s when I thought y’all were somethin’ more.”

Andrea laughed at the situation, earning an annoyed groan from Y/N as she turned to Dale about to question if he knew about that incident when her friend’s tone shifted.

“WALKER” Andrea shouted rising from the lawn chair. “Walker!”

“Just the one?” Rick question without a confirmation on the number but he couldn’t focus on that anymore when Shane, Glenn, and T-Dog started to make their way over to said walker. “Hold up. Hershel wants to handle the walkers”

“We’ve got it” Shane assured continuing on his way while Andrea had the brilliant idea that she can take out the walker with the rifle she has and the sun in her eyes.

Dale kept trying to tell her not to take the shot. Maybe because they were heading their way toward the “walker” and she couldn’t accidentally hit the living.

But she did that. To the walker that was actually an injured Daryl.

When he dropped, the ounce of joy Andrea felt immediately faded when all three by the RV heard the shouts of no!

Y/N quickly made her way over to the shouting and noticed the limp hunter in between Rick and Shane that she started to feel that itchy feeling that came with anger. She gripped the tank top she was in, quickly turning around and heading straight for her tent to get her scrub top before making it to the house the second Hershel was informed.

Regardless of the minor protests of having her patch Daryl up, even from the man himself, Y/N was persistent and pissed.

When the adrenaline wore off, Daryl passed out but thankfully his wounds were taken care of and he was left alone. Not entirely though. Y/N sat on the window bench watching the rise and fall of his chest every now and then. But for the most part she kept her focus on her hands and how much blood stained her skin. Especially her nails.

Just the thought and fact of it being his blood resulted in her curling up on herself and sobbing ever so softly.

The time Carol came in and told him how grateful she was that he still went out of his way to go search for Sophia, Daryl noticed Y/N’s sleeping form in the window but especially the redness slightly above her cheeks.

“She’s been here the whole time. She does a good stitch job from what Hershel says” Carol whispers with a small laugh at the end of her sentence. “Get some rest, Dixon”

Y/N woke to the sound of struggling and a few curses. Daryl thought he could go unnoticed given their group was asleep in their tents and so was the family that owned the house but the light sleeper that was his—Y/N woke up.

“Stop starin’ and give me a hand”

“You deserve to rest in a bed, Daryl…” Y/N frowns getting up from her spot and approaching him but before he could protest, she helped him stand to his feet. “Least let me help you to your tent”

Daryl nodded, letting Y/N wrap one of his arms around her shoulders before getting out of the house. She made him take it slow and practically at her pace given it was what she wanted him to go at.

The silence was killing him that when they finally reached his tent and Y/N was about to part from him, he gently grabbed her wrist pulling her back.

“What’s wrong?”

“What?”

“You haven’t talked. Not a long walk but still. You just…haven’t”

Y/N stared at him. Stared into those deep blue eyes that bore into her soul for an answer which only let the damn break loose.

“Do you have any idea what you do to me?” The wobble in her voice shook him in his core. “Seeing you…in the state that you were in…yeah, you made it…but a little over and you wouldn’t be here and I would’ve lost you” she felt a few tears slip, pulling herself away enough so that she could hold his hand. “You mean…so much to me, Daryl Dixon.”

The staring from said Dixon only continued and that couldn’t help the thought of crossing a line to flood Y/N’s mind. But before she could even think to pull away and head to her tent, Daryl pulled her in and pressed his lips firmly against hers…

[redwitchrune]

something about comfort, blue and orange, and new perspectives

[charlieconwayy]

OTP Meme [1/10 Scenes]: Stolen Kisses

"I mean just that. I can't keep kissing you. Alright? I've done it twice now."

[grimesgirll]

rick has to be the most possessive man you know.

you love him, but you also love daryl.

so that complicates things. it confuses you even more the number of times both of the men managed to have you bent over between them. being as jealous as rick is, it’s hard to believe that he could even think to share you. daryl’s his brother however, and you’re an individual, you can make your own decisions, rick guesses.

he can’t fault you for your obsession with his best friend. daryl’s a moral man, a provider, good looking enough that you can’t help but run your hands through his hair every chance you get. sometimes it takes rick some deep breaths and a moment of grounding to contain his jealousy. he loves you too much to not see red every time you’re swooning for someone who isn’t him. he even loves daryl but he can’t help it, not when it’s you.

so rick will never stand between you and daryl, not when you show no signs of ever dropping your infatuation with either man, especially not the sheriff. everyday when he comes home and plops down on the sofa after a day of his enduring constable’s duties, you’re on top of him in his lap. you don’t even have to be horny to make yourself at home with your head against his chest.

adoring his deep blue eyes, you straddle him every opportunity you get for the time to lock eyes, hands on his shoulders and his on your hips as you talk about your days. after a long day out in the community, it doesn’t take long for rick’s dick to tent in his jeans and you to feel a pressure against your clothed slit.

it isn’t uncommon for daryl or rick to come home and find you curled up with the other on the sofa. so rick has to endure the empathy exercise that is not dragging you from the sofa, tossing you over his shoulder and retiring to the bedroom for the night.

plush lips parted with only your breath coming through, you just melt into them whenever you have the opportunity. one look and you’re a puddle.

how can he not be jealous when you’re this fucking sweet?

he tries to extend daryl the same courtesy of enjoying you without the drama but rick is still getting used to the dynamic - more than the group is at this point.

the three of you were an unusual case but the group had gotten used to it after long enough. it only took a few weeks for them not to take a second glance at rick’s hands on your waist or how daryl’s crossbow could almost always be found somewhere around your sleeping situation.

that’s why it’s not awkward when carl knocks on the door in the mornings to hand judith off to his father and you and daryl are snoozing away in the background. you do your best to keep the pda to a minimum but the neighborhood doesn’t mind, so rick often doesn’t.

you think back to gabriel's church in georgia; you'd been hiding with the members of your group that had stayed while the others went out to do in the cannibals once and for all. your plan had went off without a hitch but that didn't mean that the event hadn't shaken you to the core.

one of the savages whose name you couldn't be bothered to remember had graphically described how specifically delicious your parts would be.

rick slashed his throat.

the entire series of events had rick on edge but even after the bloodbath, rick couldn’t stand to have you out of his sight.

“what’re you doin’ all the way over here?”

you tensed up.

“rick, i-,”

“why the fuck were you wandering off?”

you paused, recognizing the ire in rick’s voice when you hear it. you almost wanted to say nothing to avoid what you know will be a fight regardless but you know you’ll be accused of not speaking up.

“i didn’t mean to. i was stretching my legs. i’ll stay closer.”

“yeah, you will.”

the group’s known about how rick feels for you for a while.

it’s why you’re wrapped up in rick’s arms while you watch your newly assimilated group and the alexandrians trying their hands at the compound bows hanging around the makeshift archery range.

daryl’s leaving everyone in the dust of course.

“show off,” you whisper to rick who snickers in agreement.

this is nice; quaint and tranquil, just like the suburbs out to be. you never imagined ending up essentially married with two husbands and two children, shacked up in a gated community in a nearly million dollar house with the dead being a greater issue than a mortgage or getting the kids into college but you’re content with it.

you’d rather watch as daryl does trick shots - going as far to pull out the old splitting the arrow in half trick, which you almost whistle at. are they going to put an apple on the windmill next? you chuckle at the thought.

“when are you going up?” maggie calling your name snaps you out of your musings about daryl.

you scoff at her playfully. “you know i’m a bad shot, maggie.”

the redhead shrugs. “don’t think you’re as bad as you say you are. c’mon, even the kids are trying it.”

she’s not wrong - even sam is picking up a bow and giving it a try with some encouraging from ron.

“sure,” accepting the challenge, you untwist yourself from rick; not before indulging in one last full lipped kiss, a “good luck” on rick’s lips as you head to the picnic table to gear up.

you select a familiar looking compound bow and join daryl at the shooting line. he frowns when he catches sight of your arm.

“wait, baby, you’re not even wearin’ your armband right.”

you shrug. “it’s been a while.”

he’s in you; fixing the nearly sideways arm shield. muttering about you never taking safety too seriously. you’d beg to differ but you’re too bewitched by his striking blue eyes up close. the man slides the band in place before dropping his hand back to your rear, letting a hand fall down your cargos as he gently shoves you towards the cylinder full of arrows at the spray painted shooting line.

the delight is all over your face when you knock your arrow with no notes from the bowman observing your practice.

archery isn’t your strong suit but you’d come into contact with it at summer camps in your youth and in gym class. your form is fantastic - or at least it always starts that way. the arrow that flies flies flawlessly and suddenly you’re beaming at the cheers once you notice your arrow a mere inch from where a bullseye should be.

maggie’s awestruck face and rick’s grin are enough for you to start knocking another arrow, sending daryl a cocky look.

the problems start when you reload and tilt your bow upright. you’re drawing your arrow back like your boyfriend showed you all of those times before, but something makes the auburn haired man stop and correct your form, saying, “here,” softly and moving your left arm long.

he steadies a hand on your hip as he helps to steady your aim. despite being momentarily tucked in daryl’s steel embrace, you feel eyes boring into it.

rick is striding over, not caring about glenn approaching the other end of the shooting line to give it a go or even your almost perfect bullseye.

“i think you would’ve gotten that one is daryl would’ve given you some space.”

an eye roll is sneaking out of daryl and rick still has his arms crossed. you shake your head to signify that it’s all a misunderstanding. “rick, i’m shit at archery because i’m shit at archery - not because daryl has his hands on me.”

rick grunts. “that’s not what i saw.”

you smile sweetly at the constable. “he’s just helping me learn to shoot, babe.”

“yeah, let her learn. might come a day when we’re out of bullets,” daryl backs you up, citing an obvious concern now that scavenging was growing riskier and riskier.

“might come a day when you stop drooling over every touch.” rick jabs.

an eyebrow shoots up. “you don’t seem to have a problem with me drooling over you.” you counter. “just wait until later. you’ll be changing your tune about all of this,” you gesture to daryl.

rick’s eyes are alight with something stronger than irritation, more personal than just being annoyed. he looks like he almost wants to bend you over his lap and you’re sure he’s about to say something just as embarrassing until a voice interrupts his thought before it comes out.

you and daryl seize your getaway when rick is summoned up onto deanna’s porch to try some of her famous peanut butter buckeyes. “proudly from ohio,” she’d proclaimed of the recipe.

midwestern sweets are the perfect cover for you and your archer to stowaway in the barn, somewhere it would take rick a long time to look. daryl has you next to him on a hay bale in an empty horse stall before you can even count how many horses are actually around. not that it matters with the stall dividers giving you more than enough cover.

the finger screwing you open has you screaming your face with pleasure. this is what you’d been wanting rick to do at the archery range. you would’ve done whatever he said for him to whisk you away and take care of that specific need right there and then.

“real quick? just to hold you over until later?” he’s massaging your worked up insides like he’s aware of every tension that’s been brewing in you all day long.

“dare’,” your ability to keep it together is slipping.

“you want me to fill you up with a finger now, baby?” daryl toys, middle finger joining his pointer in your pulsing cunt.

you say everything but no when daryl embarks between your thighs.

deanna’s buckeyes were delicious.

not as great as his mom’s peach cobbler but enough of a sign that this place is where the group should lay down there roots. where you three should put down your roots.

rick doesn’t want to be the overbearing boyfriend, not when you and daryl are on the other end of it. the idea of sharing you is still just so foreign. in bed, it mostly goes off without a hitch but during the daytime is another story.

jealousy manifests in all kinds of inappropriate ways - like spoiling your moment with daryl after you shot so well, rusty as you were not having picked up a bow in god knows how long. rick wants to apologize. the thought’s on his mind but the way his body moves, searching for you and his friend, he’s more of a predator than a man. moved almost as if by the primal need to be close to you. to know where you are.

so when he finally finds and daryl in the stable, he thinks his head might explode.

“the fuck are you two doin’ in this stall?”

your climax is put on pause as daryl freezes his tongue over your clit. despite your frivolous wrenching of his auburn waves, your efforts to at least enjoy a release before rick starts on his lecture prove to be futile. daryl’s not just abandoning ship but pulling up your underwear.

“and the fuck are you whimperin’ about?”

you stop; a deer in the headlights. “what?” you mumble through swollen lips.

“move the fuck over, daryl,” before you know it, rick is doing the unexpected and taking your lover’s spot sucking your clit.

rick doesn’t give you anytime at all to mentally or physically adjust to him just jumping in and slurping you up.

the lack of warning has you coming on his tongue and daryl’s eyes widening. none of you can be surprised by the fact that rick isn’t stopping. you’re fine with that; you can’t face his “i told you so” looks right now anyways.

rick rarely gets to eat you out as often as he wants to. usually it’s daryl torturing your sensitive cunt without abandon. the scene before you: rick, with a tongue treating you like the last popsicle in the hell, tongue fucking you even as you grip as his hair.

“rick,” you say starry eyed.

“he’s busy, baby,” daryl explains and settles into the spot next to you against the hay bale.

“rick, rick!” you’re stirring up straw around you as rick adds a finger to his artful invasion of your pussy. the tongue isn’t enough, no, he needs to penetrate you with a finger as well. it doesn’t matter that his nose is shiny with your slick or that you’re begging for a break. you’re gonna overload all over his face like the good little slut he knows you are for him.

at least that’s what he tells you after he holds you down and tag teams you with daryl to incur a whirlwind of pleasure from your sensitive pebbled flesh to your slippery entrance. your kicking legs don’t phase him, much less than tsunami of pleasure that washes over you and coats his mouth.

the intense breakdown from inside your core has your mind completely wiped. you’re so fucked out, you’re begging for rick to do the dirtiest things to you on this hay strewn floor.

“you need me to smack your pussy baby?”

“yes, rick!”

the light sting that flushes your cunt has you gasping into daryl’s mouth when he leans over to lock puffy lips with you. another swat or two is more than enough to have you even wetter than you were when rick interrupted you and daryl. the stretch you’re expecting comes more as a squelch for the first few inches.

rick has gotten used to you over time but as daryl props you up on his lap, you grit your teeth. the older man is hitting that marianna trench deep angle with his horsecock fitting for the stable that’s on the verge of battering your cervix.

kudos to daryl, you think. how supportive of your fucking antics. you know why that is.

daryl will let rick go as far as he does because he knows it’ll end up with the three of you right here. right on top of each other, gliding into position wordlessly. the tent in his pants has been freed and by the way he’s palming himself, you can tell he’s not saving that thing for your mouth.

the massive cock splitting you up and imprinting some kind of shape, begins to pulse. you’re ready to come all over him when you feel an intrusion at your sopping hole.

“what the-,”

“relax, it’s a finger.”

“you’re cutting in here already?”

daryl raises an eyebrow at his brother. “you’re tellin’ me that you don’t wanna double stuff her?”

you clench around rick at the younger man’s words.

rick laughs, wrapping his arms around you before starting to roll over, “well, when you put it that way.”

and he sends his tongue down your throat as soon as the second dexterous finger struggles inside of you. the pressure ebbs and flows from pain to pleasure. regardless, the pain is dull enough that the hold rick’s maintaining on your sides is enough to distract you.

you’re draped on top of rick, snug against him but he still starts to run his cocky mouth.

“i thought the bigger dude’s supposed to be on top. isn’t that what that magazine you guys found said?”

daryl raises a tawny eyebrow, not bothering to slow the pace of his fingers. “you’re really gonna brag about your dick right now?”

rick pistons his hips upwards, squeezing a cry out of you and proving his point.

“you’re an asshole,” you’re muttering as you endure another pointed thrust.

rick gets his recompense when daryl finally feeds his own impressive cock, centimeter by centimeter at first - eyeballing it and checking in on you and rick as you both start to squirm.

daryl’s struggling to not give it one heroic thrust and dive balls deep but he knows that would probably tear you in two. theres no way you can handle anything other than slow right now. rick is the same with a matching flustered expression. he accepts your hand when you grasp his much larger palm in yours.

the once cocky constable is now absolutely being shut up by your all encompassing, air tight walls and daryl’s cock edging you two as he edges further inside of you.

daryl’s fingers were pipe cleaners in comparison to his meaty cock cramming into you as if you weren’t meant for only one. it doesn’t matter though. no one would hear you complaining. this isn’t the first one they’ve stretched you on both of their cocks and it won’t be the last - not if you have anything to do with it.

once the man above you is a bit more firmly entrapped in your tight warmth, you start to move your hips back. rick is smirking beneath you when daryl warns you with a spank not to squirm too much - not if you want both of them to come in you. the conditions have you settling your hips and clinging onto rick, stilling with the close contact as daryl sandwiches you into him.

rick has no reason to complain, not with the sunlight coming through just the right panes of the barn’s skylights and painting your face and your hair a delicious shade of golden hour. daryl’s disposition is made only more chiseled and picturesque with the waning daylight.

neither of them are lasting long with the way the day’s gone.

you don’t make it a piece of cake holding on regardless. wound up since rick first pulled you into his arms back at the range, you have no patience for the men overfilling your walls. your hips can’t wait to thrash and jerk just like daryl’s. the archer is rasping in your ear to calm down but with the blush bringing, brain fogging pressure that two cocks in your entrance brings, you barely listen.

your constable comes first of course. he’s the one that sets off the real showstopper of a release that wrings a cry so loud out of you that one of the horses sighs in the background.

the warmth of his come fills you from his position buried deep in your pussy. it’s slipping out of you with each erratic propel of daryl into you, fucking the two of you straight through your orgasms.

come floods from your womb and out of your entrance, spilling down your thighs once daryl finally pulls out. he whistles and gestures for rick to check it out but the man is too worn out to look between your sticky thighs. instead, you’re flush against his chest and he’s calling daryl down with the two of you.

tangled together in the hay, you can’t think of a better way to spend this idyllic day.

[vox-anglosphere]

Crowds line Windsor's Long Walk for Queen Elizabeth's final journey

[myokk]

before it felt like a sin, ch. 2

ch.1

pairing: Sebastian Sallow x f!MC

word count: 6900

summary: Eloise never wanted to be different.

And yet, her differences are what have defined her life up until this point: growing up as a squib in one of the most prominent wizarding families, being exiled to muggle society, and then attending Hogwarts at the age of sixteen.

She finds herself thrust into the life she should have been prepared for from birth but was denied. As she navigates this new life and her new precarious position in her family, she must come to terms with the fact that maybe what she dreamed of her whole life isn't turning out how she ever expected it would.

a/n: here's chapter 2!! I just wanted to add these amazing beautiful drawings I look back on allllllll the time, by @kay9leo 🥹🫶 I LOVE YOU SO MUCH !!!!! 😙💓😙💓😙💓

I also want to reiterate that this fic is REALLY CANON DIVERGENT!!!!! I will NOT be following the game’s plot at all really with this (it really starts to diverge around chapter 6/7 maybe I don’t remember), and I don’t see Eloise as the game’s MC either.

Things were definitely not going as planned…not that Eloise had really known what to expect. Almost from the moment the portkey had brought her to meet Professor Fig, it seemed like everything had gone from bad to worse.

And it had all started out so well. He had handed her the provisional wand, and upon contact the magic coursing through her had been exhilarating. Finally Eloise was able to experience what she had dreamed of for so long. All too soon, however, she was putting the wand to use in ways she hadn’t imagined. Watching Mr. Ospric die had made her blood run cold but then she didn’t have the luxury of processing the shock as so much was happening at once and there was a dragon and death and then…another portkey? Before she knew it, she was fighting some sort of sentient guardians in some mysterious Gringott’s vault and there was concrete proof of the goblin uprising…it was simply too much to take in at once.

Now, she was standing in front of the ornate entrance to a room Professor Fig had called the “Great Hall”. He checked the pocketwatch inside his robes again, and muttered (more to himself than anything) “hopefully the sorting is still going on…” and then in a louder voice as he glanced at Eloise - “come along then, young Eloise!”

He peered more closely at her then, taking in her pale appearance and added in a kinder tone, “I’m sure you’re hungry. We’ll just head in and get you sorted into your house, and then an early night for the both of us. Don’t worry about the things that were lost in the attack - I’m sure one of your new housemates will share her things with you until they are replaced.”

With that, he pushed open the doors and ushered her in. In any normal circumstances, Eloise was sure that she would have been absolutely in awe of the breathtaking appearance that greeted her. It was simply…for lack of a better word, magical. The ceiling was enchanted to look like the night sky above the castle, stars glimmering through the wispy purple clouds that covered the ceiling. There were thousands of candles floating in the air, illuminating the hall in a soft, golden light.

She couldn’t focus on any of that.

As soon as Fig opened the double doors, the low chatter that filled the Great Hall slowly faded as everyone turned to look at who had entered. Eloise froze. Hundreds of faces all staring at her, filled with curiosity.

Judging her.

They must all know that she was a squib and didn’t actually belong there.

No. She had proved her magical capabilities earlier that day, albeit in a different manner than she had expected. She deserved to be here just as much as they did.

The teacher at the far end of the hall was saying something and the students surrounding her had begun to whisper amongst themselves. There was so much buzzing in her ears that she didn’t hear a word that was said. Then, a familiar voice - how in the world could it still be familiar after so much time? - broke through the fog and her head turned sharply to the side at the noise.

“Eloise?”

Her gaze met familiar hazel eyes as Leo quickly stood up, taking a step towards her before he caught himself and stayed where he was. If the shock hadn’t already been apparent enough in his voice, one look at his expression told Eloise everything. He hadn’t had any idea that she had been accepted to Hogwarts. After she had been burned off of the family tree by her mother, it was like she didn’t exist anymore. Of course he hadn’t known that she would be there.

Leo had changed since Eloise last saw him. Of course he did, she thought to herself. It had been five years, after all. The same unruly black curls, same eyes. And yet…he almost seemed a stranger to her. He was taller, face more angular and defined than it had been at thirteen. Voice deeper. But, the expression of vulnerability and guilt written all over his face was something she recognized well. It was the same expression that he had had the last time he saw her, the face she sometimes saw before falling asleep. Just as quickly as it flashed across his face however, it was gone, hidden behind a stony exterior. His expression hardened and he sat down just as quickly as he had stood up, quickly averting his eyes. The people around him were looking between them curiously, but before Eloise could even begin to process this new situation, she felt a gentle push on her shoulder.

Professor Fig had been talking to her. “…the Sorting Hat. You need to go up and get sorted into your house.”

She looked up at him and realized that he was gesturing to the front of the Great Hall, vaguely recalling how Leo had described the sorting ceremony in his first letter home from Hogwarts. Everyone was still staring.

Well, let them, she thought. Eloise tossed her braid over her shoulder and lifted her head high, straightening her posture in the meantime. Did it matter if everyone was staring at her? She determined that if people were going to be whispering about her, speculating about her, she would give them something to talk about. About the girl who was admitted in her fifth-year at Hogwarts. The girl who surpassed them all.

Eloise shook off Professor Fig’s hand and walked to the raised platform, where there was a stool and a professor waiting with an ancient wizarding hat in her hands. As Eloise sat down, a semicircle of professors behind her and the tables of students in front of her, the hat was placed on top of her head. It was so formless and well-worn that the faded fabric slid over her eyes and she was surrounded by darkness.

Hmm…interesting, a voice purred in her mind. Eloise jumped at the sound. Don’t worry, dear. I won’t hurt you, although I suppose that not everyone would say that. My, my. You have had a rough go of things, haven’t you?

It’s not often I get to sort a new fifth-year student. She realized that it was the hat talking to her. Always much more interesting, you see. The first-years are always fun because I get to see their potential and who they will turn out to be, but even that can be fallible sometimes. People are shaped by their experiences.

An older student, though? Someone closer to the person they will be, with more experiences that have shaped them? Oh yes, these are the ones I like the most.

Wait, thought Eloise. You’ve sorted others like me before?

Oh yes. A pause. The voice purred in her ear. I can see the hunger for knowledge in you. But…Ravenclaw seems too simplistic. Behind the intelligence lies great ambition. A desire to prove yourself. Prove you belong. Yes, you may have had a rough life but you have managed to use what’s around you to your advantage. So, you must be a…

“SLYTHERIN!”

Eloise started at the sudden shout, realizing that it must have been out loud. As the hat was pulled off of her head, she could see the students at the table at the far end of the hall, the one Leo was at, break into furious whispers amongst each other. The teacher with her smiled kindly and pointed Eloise in their direction. “That’s the Slytherin table, dear. Once you sit down, we can begin eating.”

Eloise got up numbly and slowly walked towards the table. The whispering got louder as she neared it, and the students kept shooting her glances. Most seemed simply curious about the new, older student who had just been sorted into Slytherin, but others looked at her with hostility. Two students moved aside and motioned to her.

“Figured you would rather sit with us than the first years.”

The girl who spoke gave her an appraising look, taking in her muggle clothing and mussed-up hair. Eloise sat down next to her, nervously smoothing her hands over her skirt. Now that the sorting was over and she was actually interacting with her future classmates, she felt exhausted and completely unable to keep up her facade of nonchalance.

“I was going to ask if you like quidditch but…judging by your clothes -“

“Gods, Imelda,” came a drawling voice to Eloise’s left. “Can’t you give the poor girl a break? Not even one second at our table and you’re already trying to recruit her for the team.”

The boy who spoke gave an amused look to Imelda before turning to Eloise. “You’ll want to watch out for that one - if she even gets a whiff of the fact you can fly a broom, she’ll be out to recruit -“

“It’s not my fault!” Imelda interrupted forcefully, smacking her hands on the table and leaning over Eloise to talk to him. “Our best players all graduated last year and I have it cut out for me -“

“- you to the Slytherin team,” the boy concluded, ignoring Imelda’s heated protests. She sat back with a huff and crossed her arms. “Just ignore her. It’s what we’ve found works best. I’m Sebastian Sallow and this is Ominis Gaunt. Two people you will actually want to spend time with.”

He stuck his tongue out at Imelda as he held his hand out to Eloise. The boy across from them snickered quietly to himself as he listened to Imelda splutter in denial. Eloise shook Sebastian’s hand hesitantly. “Eloise. And actually,” she added, turning to Imelda, “I do know what quidditch is. Unfortunately, I’ve never ridden a broom though.”

That got Imelda going again, this time about how it was absolutely impossible that someone could know about the existence of quidditch without ever touching a broom. She seemed to be of the opinion that knowing of its existence meant an undying desire to learn how to play. “So you’re not a mudblood, then? Oh, who am I kidding - of course you’re not. We’re in Slytherin, after all. But how…”

Fortunately, food started appearing on the table before Imelda could finish her thought. It was enough to move her attention from Eloise as she began to pile different foods on her plate. To be quite honest, Eloise was relieved. She wasn’t sure how much she wanted to tell others about her circumstances, especially during this first night before she knew anyone. Would they think differently of her if they knew that she had been disowned from her family and presumed a squib?

Who was she kidding? Of course everyone would judge her for that. Besides, she knew she wanted to talk to Leo before revealing anything - maybe he could help her get a feel for how to approach the situation. If he wanted to even associate with her, that is. Once again, the thought passed through her mind that he could have changed through the years, just as she had. Their parents could be quite persuasive, and more often than not the two siblings had learned that it was easier to go along with them than against.

Leo had grown up with the adoration of their parents, showing magical prowess at the young age of three, when his favorite toys started following him around in a little parade. Eloise, on the other hand…as the years passed and she still wasn’t showing signs of anything at all, not even a measly show of a sneeze blowing her away, their parents started working to distance the siblings from each other. It hadn’t been very effective and yet…without her presence, she could see him moving on in his life. Just as she had tried to do.

A sharp poke to her side. Eloise jumped and looked at Sebastian. “Aren’t you going to eat anything? You need to grab the good things before they’re gone - it’s every man out for himself during the feasts.”

She looked around and, sure enough, the food on the plates was steadily going down. It all looked absolutely delicious - mountains of meat, bread, puddings…her stomach growled loudly as she took it all in. Eloise hurriedly started putting the closest food to her on her plate, reaching over to give herself a heaping serving of mashed potatoes on the side. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” he replied after swallowing the food he was eating. “I’m sure you’ve had a long day if you arrived that late to the sorting ceremony. As you walked up to the stool, Ominis and I had a bet about which house you would be sorted into. I told him, after my first glance at you, that I could tell you’d be one of us, but unfortunately, he - “

“Hey! I can hear you,” Ominis said from across the table, leaning forward slightly. Eloise realized that he was blind - his eyes had no pupils at all. His gaze was unfocused but his head turned in her direction. He explained, “I could only sense your form as you walked down the Hall. And, for the record, before Sebastian can say otherwise, I said I could tell you would be a Slytherin. Will the blind jokes ever get old?”

“As long as I have breath in my body - hey!”

Ominis had thrown a roll at Sebastian’s head which, surprisingly, hit its mark.

“I might not be able to see what just happened, but I know that I’ve just won,” Ominis said smugly, returning his attention to his plate.

Eloise just sat there, not really knowing how to react. This time, it was Imelda’s turn to say, “just ignore them. Luckily, we won’t need to see much more of them as the feast’s finishing up.” She wrinkled her nose in Sebastian’s direction, a gesture that was swiftly returned. Even though she had just met the three of them, Eloise couldn’t help but feel happy just listening to their back-and-forth. She did feel a twinge of…something, though, knowing that she could have been with them since their first year, if only her magic had shown itself sooner.

Mountains of dessert started to replace the remnants of the dinner: plum pudding, lemon tarts, cakes…it was more dessert in one place than Eloise had ever seen in her life. None of the students held back at all trying to get their favorites, especially if it was at the expense of another. The atmosphere was electric - everyone was excited to be back among their friends and catch up over everything that had happened the summer before, and Eloise was happy to just be among them.

She reached for a lemon tart, and when she looked up, she saw that Leo was staring at her intently. He looked away as soon as they made eye contact, but the moment didn’t go past Imelda’s notice.

“Do you know him?” she asked, nodding towards Leo. Eloise flushed and looked down at her plate, nodding reluctantly. She knew as soon as they went through role call the next day, everyone would know that she was a Babbit.

“Yes, he’s…er -“

Eloise broke off, grabbing the nearest goblet of pumpkin juice and drinking the whole thing in one go. When she came up for air, Imelda was still looking at her expectantly. Eloise took a deep breath and tried continuing, but… “I’m not really sure,” is all that came out of her mouth.

Imelda furrowed her brow, clearly trying to figure out how that answer made sense and Eloise wasn’t about to clarify for her. Although it wouldn’t be long before it got out that they were siblings, she wasn’t sure how much she wanted these new acquaintances to know about her at the moment. She had had enough pitying looks to last her a lifetime, and she just knew that once they found out she had been a squib…

“Hey Sebastian,” a pretty blonde girl said, leaning towards the group. She shot Eloise a curious glance but quickly looked back at her target. “Where’s Anne? Is she still gone this year? What a pity…the two of you are…were…sewn together at the hip and I was looking forward to finally being the one who gets between the two of you this year.” At this, the girls surrounding her started tittering and she flipped her hair over her shoulder and pouted. “I thought there would be more of a challenge. But if you’re going to be the changed Sebastian again this year…”

“Who’s…” Eloise trailed off as she saw Sebastian’s expression. It had changed into something almost unrecognizable - at least, to someone who had only known him for all of forty-five minutes. He was looking at the girl with a mixture of barely-controlled fury and…something else that Eloise couldn’t quite place. She shrank away from him as she took in his stricken expression.

“She’s still sick,” he said shortly as he stood up. His hands bunched into tight fists and his body was shaking. Sebastian quickly turned and stormed down the hall. They all watched him go in silence; once he left, the blonde girl turned to Ominis.

“Gods, what’s his problem? So what if she misses a few days of school?” She looked around at everyone, pouting. “You all know I’m right. Last year he was a mess but he should be getting over it by now.”

“You always speak before thinking, Victoria,” Ominis said tersely, getting up. “One of these days, it’s going to get you in trouble. If you keep this up, when that happens nobody will be around to help you pick up the pieces.” With that, he strode away after Sebastian.

Eloise blinked and looked around. The rest of the students were starting to get up and slowly move towards their respective common rooms having finished their dessert, and the prefects were starting to herd the first-years along. Victoria laughed weakly and turned to her friends, effectively ignoring Eloise and Imelda as if they weren’t there. “I think the summer holidays have made people extra sensitive this year. I honestly don’t know what their problem is.”

“Come on, then,” said Imelda, shooting Victoria a dirty look. “Let’s head to the dorms.”

Eloise stood up and started following Imelda’s lead. She was parting the students with ease as she walked through the crowd. Her strides were so long that Eloise had to half-jog to keep up with her. “Our common room is in the dungeons,” Imelda said, looking over her shoulder at Eloise. “The other houses are creeped out by it, but they haven’t actually seen it. You’ll see.”

Because of how quickly Imelda strode through the corridors and down the stairs, Eloise didn’t have much time to take in the rest of the castle. She did however realize that they were winding through the corridors in such a way that she would be hopelessly lost if Imelda weren’t with her. The two of them arrived at the Slytherin common room well before the other students due to Imelda’s fast pace. As they entered the common room after saying the correct password - basilisk - Eloise couldn’t help but look around in wonder. There was light piano music playing in the background - Chopin, Eloise thought she recognized it from her piano lessons at the muggle school. Even though the overall tones of the place were cool - blues and greens filtering through the tall glass windows and from the lamps, the checkered marble floors and columns giving off an air of cold elegance - the beautiful rugs and happily crackling fires made it all come together and seem oddly cozy. Various tables and desks were scattered around the space, and comfortable looking armchairs and couches crowded around low tables. Eloise could just picture it teeming with students studying after class or hanging out on the weekends. She knew that it was a place that could finally feel like home to her.

“I tried, Ominis,” came a hushed whisper from near the windows. Imelda and Eloise froze at the entrance to the common room and glanced at each other. “I just can’t do it. I know what you and Anne told me but…”

“Sebastian. Anne doesn’t want you to wallow and waste your time here worrying about her. I know that you’re worried for her. I mean, I am too. You know she’s like a sister to me.”

“You have no idea,” Sebastian interrupted fiercely. His back was hunched over and he was holding his face in his hands. “It should have been me. I can’t live with myself. With this guilt.”

“No, you -“ Ominis cut himself off as the sound of the other students filtering in started to fill the room. The boys abruptly sat up straighter, although they didn’t look at each other. Oblivious to the tension between the two, a group of second-years sat on the sofa right next to them, as they excitedly caught up with each other.

“I’ll show you our room,” Imelda said, turning to Eloise. “It gets pretty crazy here the first night back from any holidays, with everyone catching up. I don’t know about you, but I want to get some sleep! Quidditch tryouts are next week and I already know how exhausting it will be.”

Eloise really was exhausted, and nothing sounded better to her than finally going to sleep. The dorms seemed to be set up so that the stairs going up led to the girls’ dormitories, and the ones going down to the boys’. Imelda explained that it was due to the fact that boys weren’t to be trusted, and the stairs would turn into a slide if any boy attempted to go up them. It wasn’t something that Eloise had even considered, due to the fact that she had just come from an all-girls school, but she flushed at the implication.

As they reached the staircase, they almost crashed into Sebastian. Imelda had been marching towards the stairs with a single-minded determination and Sebastian had been heading towards his with just as much purpose.

Eloise bounced off of his shoulder. She grabbed her own, wincing slightly. He was more solid than he looked. He looked blankly at the two girls before shaking his head and realizing where they were. “Gods, I’m so sorry. I’m just -“ he gave his head another little shake and saw that Eloise was holding her shoulder. “Are you hurt?”

“It’s fine,” Eloise reassured him. She gave a small smile. “I’ve had worse, it’s really nothing.”

“Yeah, yeah,” interrupted Imelda. She shot Sebastian a concerned look. “Go to bed. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

Imelda shook her head sadly and the girls resumed their path. “Poor boy. He hasn’t been the same since the summer after our third year. I mean, he was always kind of obsessive, but in a charming way. He was on the quidditch team with me, and always really determined to be the absolute best, always working hard to show all of the other students they don’t even know half as much as he does. That sort of thing, you know? It’s not like he was insufferable, his charm drew everyone to him.”

She held the door open and Eloise walked in. It was a cozy circular room, with five four-poster beds. A small fire in the middle of the room warmed the whole place up, and Eloise was relieved to see it. When Imelda had told her that their dormitory was in the dungeons, she had immediately pictured a dark, cold, slimy space. Only one of the beds didn’t have trunks placed at its foot, and Eloise went straight to it. Her trunk had been lost in the dragon attack. She was relieved to see a nightgown laid on top of the bed and a pair of green slippers neatly lined up on the floor; she hadn’t been sure what she would wear.

Imelda sat down heavily on the bed next to Eloise’s and started unlacing her boots. She continued talking. “Then, in our fourth year, he comes to school after summer holidays. Alone. He hasn’t been the same since. Nobody’s quite sure what’s going on with his sister, except that it’s bad. She’s not expected to live much longer.”

“Oh my god,” breathed Eloise. “I can’t even imagine.”

“Me neither.” Imelda shook her head. “He got into trouble left and right last year, there were even rumors of a duel…I don’t think there was a single week where he didn’t have detention. I mean, I don’t blame him, but - he was taken off the team! This year he better not, I can’t afford to lose my best beater again.”

The girls continued chattering quietly to themselves about other topics as they got ready for the night. Slipping into their nightgowns, braiding each others’ hair, and, finally, slipping under the freshly turned bed covers. Eloise turned towards Imelda and simply whispered, “thank you.” Although they had just met, Eloise felt certain in the knowledge that she had just made her first friend.

Imelda waved her off. “It’s nothing. Get some sleep, the first day of classes is always overwhelming. I can’t even imagine starting as a fifth-year.”

With that, she rolled over and soon Eloise heard her breathing deepen as she fell asleep. She stared at the canopy covering her bed for what seemed like an eternity. The low murmurs of the other girls as they came in and got ready for bed slowly morphed into drowsy good-nights, until finally the room was silent except for the steady tick of a clock and their breathing.

As tired as she felt, Eloise couldn’t stop the racing of her mind. It felt like the last few days had more action than the entirety of her life. Even though banished had, at the time, been incredibly momentous for her, it paled in comparison to finding out that she actually was a witch and had been admitted to Hogwarts. She had used magic for the first time today. The rush of power that ran through her body when she cast spells was unlike anything else she had ever experienced. It just felt right. Like some part of her that had been hidden away had finally made itself known and she felt whole for the first time. She wondered if everyone else felt that same rush, that same desire to know and master absolutely every aspect of magical knowledge. She had been given a gift that until now had felt like a pathetic little daydream and she wasn’t about to waste it now that she had it.

The clock kept on ticking lazily and still Eloise was awake. She eventually got up and after shrugging on a robe and slipping on the green slippers, headed towards the common room. She and Imelda hadn’t spent much time in it earlier, and she wanted to see it at least once without any people, maybe as a space just for herself.

As it was even later in the night - it must have been around three - the fire had been extinguished and the light filtering through the windows had turned an even deeper shade of emerald green. It covered the mahogany furniture with an eerie light, as if Eloise had stepped into some strange underworld instead of the empty Slytherin common room. She trailed her hand along the velvet back of a sofa, mesmerized by the stark contrast of the green highlights and black shadows as her hand moved. Lazily twirling a globe as she walked past, the room silent except for her muffled footsteps.

It was precisely the silence that absorbed her completely. Being alone had always been her favorite thing; there was just something so special about being the only person in a place, feeling as if you were the only holder of some great secret. Eloise made her way towards the tall glass windows as if in a dream, not really noticing anything of her surroundings and yet taking it all in. The feeling of being there.

When she heard the soft voice she nearly jumped out of her skin.

“You couldn’t sleep either?”

Eloise whirled towards the voice, feeling as if her heart was about to burst through her chest. The student - a male - was sitting by one of the windows. Since the only light source was the windows, his face was entirely shrouded in black. Eloise was suddenly very aware of how indecently she was dressed to be outside of her dormitory. The sudden change from complete, eerie tranquility was shattered and she wrapped her robe more tightly around her, keeping her arms hugged around her body.

“Who -“

The boy straightened up, tilting his head back toward the window and, with the aid of the green light, Eloise saw that it was Ominis.

“What are you doing down here, Ominis? You almost gave me a heart attack! You’re sitting in the shadows and I thought I was alone.”

“I could ask the same of you,” he said simply, the hint of an amused smirk gracing his features. “And, might I add, I didn’t mean to scare you on purpose. I thought you were purposely walking towards me. For all I know, it could be the break of dawn and I’m basking in the early rays of the sun.”

Eloise’s jaw dropped open in mortification. She had completely forgotten that he was blind. “How did you know that I was walking towards you?” She clapped her hands over her mouth in horror, the words leaving before she could stop them. What was wrong with her? With her sudden movement, her robes had fallen open again, revealing her nightgown, but she was too distraught over possibly having offended Ominis than continuing to follow the rules of propriety. “Oh Merlin’s beard, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

He just huffed quietly. They hadn’t spoken much at dinner, and Eloise was positive that he was angry with her. Maybe he had only acknowledged her presence because his best friend had seen fit to talk with her. Growing up blind, it would make sense for him to be sensitive to any comments regarding it…her face was flushed with mortification and guilt, and she slowly started backing away. Eloise figured it was better to just end the whole encounter being ruder still by making a hasty retreat, than to put her foot in her mouth once again and risk offending him more.

“No, wait,” Ominis said as soon as he realized she was walking away. His voice was choked with emotion and it seemed difficult for him to get the words out. Eloise froze and looked at him. His whole body was shaking, and she couldn’t tell if he was angry or…

Was he laughing?

“I might be blind, but I’m not deaf. In this silence, I would have been able to notice if anyone had entered the room even if they were trying to be sneaky, which you certainly were not. Stay, if you want.”

Eloise hesitated, then took the seat across from Ominis in the window. She nervously smoothed her nightgown over her legs. “Just so you know, you’re completely in shadow. If you hadn’t said anything, I probably would have walked right past you without realizing that you were here too.”

“I’ll choose a better spot to sit next time then, when I can’t fall asleep in the middle of the night,” he replied seriously. If not for the fact that he had just been teasing her, she would have thought that he was really taking what she said into consideration. “You never answered my original question. You can’t sleep?”

Eloise shook her head, then quickly added, “no. So much has happened these last few days…my brain always has a hard time turning off. Especially after a day like today.”

Ominis hummed in understanding, tilting his head towards her. The green light filtering through the water danced over his gaunt features, making his cheekbones and the dark circles under his eyes more prominent. His pupil-less eyes glowed eerily in the light. “I can only imagine. You arrived late to the sorting, and your aura was very unnerving as you stepped into the Great Hall. I immediately knew something was extraordinary about you.”

“My…aura?”

“Yes. I might not be able to see, but my wand does it for me. It’s hard to explain but…I can sense the people around me. I can’t make out features, but everyone has their own unique aura radiating from them. Yours is…different.”

Different? It must have something to do with the fact she hadn’t had any magical ability until recently. Maybe it was stunted or…maybe her aura was different due to the stress of the day.

“I saw someone murdered in front of me today,” Eloise blurted out before she could stop herself. Ominis didn’t look surprised by her sudden outburst, he merely remained still as he waited for Eloise to continue. “It was…shocking. A dragon came out of nowhere and just ripped our carriage in half, taking Mr. Osric with it. The worst part is…I’m-I’m shocked because it happened. But I’m not sad. I don’t feel the horror I think I should be feeling, and that is more horrifying to me. When I was lying in bed, the events of today kept replaying in my mind on a loop and I kept on trying to make myself feel the correct emotions. But I couldn’t. Something inside of me is broken.”

Eloise looked down at her hands, fingers wringing and untwisting together in her lap. She tried to force herself to sit as still as Ominis, but it was impossible. She couldn’t believe how easy it was to unload all of this onto a stranger, but he didn’t seem to mind listening. There was silence for a few minutes, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable one. Eloise peeked at Ominis from under her lashes. The boy appeared to be deep in thought.

“I couldn’t sleep either,” he finally said. “It’s normal for me, though. I also have a hard time turning off my thoughts, especially at night. This little corner of the common room feels like mine, in a sense. I’ve been coming here to think since I was a first-year. Maybe I subconsciously chose this place because, if you’re right, it’s more hidden than the rest. Nobody will see me if they’re sneaking around late at night, and it’s so peaceful.”

“That I can agree with,” said Eloise. “I actually came down here to see what it was like when it’s empty. I don’t quite know how to explain it, but this place already feels like home to me. A far sight better than the place I left behind. Places.”

“If you want me to leave, I’m fine with giving up my hiding place for a worthy cause.”

“No,” Eloise said quickly. “I…I like having you here. With me. It means I don’t have to be alone with my thoughts.”

Ominis smiled and tilted his head, not quite looking at her in that odd way of his. “It’s nice, talking to you. Most people avoid me. I can’t imagine why.”

Eloise huffed in quiet laughter. They sat in silence for a while longer, until Ominis broke it again. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. But…am I correct in guessing that you and Leo Babbit know each other?”

Eloise’s breath hitched in her throat. She still wasn’t sure how much of her past she wanted people to know…but she also knew that as soon as the day broke the castle would be swirling with rumors. And, as much as she hated the thought, the truth would come out one way or another. She had been lucky enough so far…her name hadn’t been said at the sorting due to the unusual circumstances. But, come morning, everyone would put the pieces together once her name was called out by a teacher.

She could test the waters with someone like Ominis, who seemed like the sort of fellow who would take it in stride.

“I…like I said, you don’t have to tell me,” Ominis said softly.

“No! No, it’s fine,” Eloise assured him. “It’s…complicated. I would prefer if it never came out but…if the school I was at before is any indication, everyone will know by lunch tomorrow regardless of if I say anything or not.” She took a deep breath, steadying herself. “My full name is Eloise Babbit. Leo is my brother.”

Ominis showed no reaction. It gave her the strength to continue.

“I was rejected by my family. As the years went by and I still wasn’t showing any signs of magic, I was ignored by my parents in favor of Leo. When my eleventh year came and went without any acceptance letter to Hogwarts, I had to come to terms with the fact that I was actually a squib. Up until then, I had held onto the hope and the day I lost that, I lost everything. I was banished and burned off of the family tree, like I never existed. Until a few days ago, I was learning how to become a perfect muggle wife at one of their horrid finishing schools. My family had already prepared a marriage for me to a prominent muggle family, reasoning that I could at least give them important connections.” She spat that last word out. Even speaking the words was a bitter reminder of the life she had almost led. “Based on Leo’s reaction, he definitely didn’t know that I had been admitted to Hogwarts. I don’t even know what’s worse: if my parents knew and decided not to tell him, or if the fact that I was burned off the family tree means that they wouldn’t have received a notification.”

She stared at her hands again. What was it about this boy that made her want to unload everything to him? Yes, he had asked her about it, but she still felt guilty for talking to him at all. Like somehow, telling him would make it his problem as well.

“If there’s anyone in this school who understands the horrors of one’s family, it’s me,” he said. Eloise looked up at him in surprise. He chuckled quietly, as if he could see her expression. “My family are direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin. Absolutely stark-raving mad, pureblood fanatics. We’ve gotten quite reclusive in the past hundred years or so, and don’t have much contact with the outside world. Your family’s inbreeding resulted in fear of giving birth to a potential squib. Mine, in the form of a useless, blind son who has no interest in continuing their crazy beliefs. I guess you could say we are two kindred souls. Maybe that’s what your aura was trying to tell me earlier this evening.”

“I guess so,” Eloise replied. Both could tell that the other wasn’t saying everything on their mind, but she wanted to give him the same comfort he had offered her and decided not to pry. “Thank you, Ominis.”

He inclined his head towards her and then moved his unseeing gaze to the large stained glass window. They sat there for quite some time, at least it felt that way to Eloise. The passage of time seemed not to exist as she and Ominis sat there, deep inside their own thoughts. Formless shadows danced behind the window, their regular movements helping to calm her thoughts. After what seemed like an eternity, Eloise found herself stifling a yawn.

“It seems your day has finally caught up with you,” Ominis said, smiling softly. “I think it’s best if we head to bed. Hogwarts might be more progressive than the muggle school you’ve just escaped, but if anyone sees us here together it would just further the rumors already swirling around you.”

Eloise nodded her assent and stood up slowly. She hadn’t realized how much time they had spent there until she felt the stiffness in her muscles that only comes from remaining still for a very long time. Ominis also got up slowly, gracefully stretching out his long body in the process. As he stood, she saw him grab his wand out of his pocket, and it began glowing a faint red as he walked. That must be how he gets around, she thought to herself. He did say his wind has a mind of its own.

She followed him and they slowly made their way to the two sets of stairs leading to the dormitories. They paused once they were about to part. “Goodnight, Ominis.”

“Goodnight, Eloise. I’ll see you tomorrow. Or rather, I’ll sense your presence later on this morning.” He gave her a faint smile and then turned to head down the stairs leading to his dormitory. Eloise stood there, watching until she couldn’t see the red glow of his wand anymore. With a yawn, she turned towards her room and soon slipped under the covers, sleep finally coming. Before she fell asleep, she had only the fleeting realization that Ominis had not actually answered her question.

The title is a link to everything on ao3, but just in case you didn’t catch that, here it is🫶

next chapter

[practicemakesperfect10hiyya]

oh one of my dearest old headcanons for tdroti was when the cast was announced knock off merchandisers immediately got to work after the success of gen 1 and mass produced shitty little button pins of each contestant with the photos either poorly cropped promotional material or straight up personal photos of their faces from the internet

dakota already keeping an eye on her publicity finds them and goes wow these are the ugliest things ive ever seen. and buys the cast an entire pack

everyone gets a pin of their own face and while some people (scott) immediately threw it out some have been traded around or kept in their bags because come on theyre funny looking. there's an ongoing competition to see who can keep brick's the longest. mike gives zoey his pin instead of that terrifying necklace. b has managed to accumulate atleast 3 of his face and they dont know how.

[19871997]

and what if we were first overalls tasked with saving an entire city at eighteen years old .

[falderaletcetera]

okay so the need to write has been gnawing at my ankles again but the part of my brain that gets interested in things is still hibernating - if anyone wants to drop me a prompt, I promise I will pick one and at least try? barebones is fine, I just need the social pressure.

[kanershuffle]

mo and kaner…I’m having visions

Same!!! They’re quickly becoming my favorite pair in Detroit. Like Mo really loves Kaner, and Kaner has gotten close to him really, really quickly.

Like look at Kaner demanding attention:

And the number of moments during Kaner’s return to Chicago, OMG. Here’s when you can tell how much Mo loves him because some Detroit fans were saying that Mo isn’t usually so animated after goals, but he was going wild for Kaner.

Mo was hyping up Kaner so hard while he was doing his lap (he’s just like us) (x):

After Kaner scored, Mo pushed his way to get closer to him in the huddle. From the excited jump to yelling Showtime in Kaner’s face, hahaha:

Then, before Kaner was about to do his final lap after he scored the OT winner, look at this wholesome hug, now this is special:

“Oh, that was a beauty,” Mo was saying.

There's this really cute compilation of their moments from the game on twitter by @catboyseider.

[qoldenskies]

what's your separated au about? :0

WHERE WE WENT WRONG ASK SPOTTED [LOCKS IN]

okay essentially without going into spoiler territory (it all seems kind of typical but there's a lot of twists and turns i have planned!!! trust me)

VERY basic premise, with leo/donnie with draxum and raph/mikey with splinter. i'm going to keep leo and donnie's names as they are for simplicity's sake and say that at one point they just decided to use the names their bio father gave them when they asked draxum for like... Actual names, they were probably just numbered before. they both have kind of messy complicated relationships with him

^^^ draxum is a pretty shit parent but im not going to make him super abusive (its fine when people do, im just going for the more nuanced approach!!). he's very goal-oriented and for a long time he's struggled to see the weapons he created as people, although he never outright Abused them. he was pretty emotionally neglectful and hard on them when it came to training/pushing them into their roles, and over the course of the story he's going to grapple both with humanizing them and also descending into a spiral of paranoia as things go on (all im gonna say about what's going on with him right now)

personality alterations are more subtle in some places and more obvious in others. raph is a lot more serious and overprotective, mikey's very similar to his canon characterization but he's a lot more rebellious and determined to prove his own independence, and donnie's actually very blunt and deadpan to counteract leo being UHHHHHHHHHH. hmmmmm. an insane person!! (lmao raph/mikey are dog-coded in the way that mikey is an excitable puppy and raph is an old sad sheepdog, and leo/donnie are cat-coded in the way that donnie is a cat that stays in high up places and glares at you, and leo is the type of cat that rolls on its back and looks cute and then ATTACKS when you try to pet it. thats the best way i can summarize them)

donnie was very much the family stickler on his side of the equation and leo was unruly and untameable, but that kind of... switches after some things happen. leo becomes complacent out of fear (he is so complicated and fucked up god bless) and donnie changes his priorities after he meets mikey.

because essentially the core of the story is that donnie and mikey being the youngest of their families, with overprotective older brothers who are actually kind of more reliant on them than the other way around, want to connect and actually be a family (as well as stop the conflict going on) but raph and leo REALLY DO NOT WANT THEM TO.

and i mean REALLY. really really. raph distrusts donnie and hates leo and leo DESPISES both raph and mikey (disaster twins are really codependent and its gonna shine through), so there's really just opposition on every side of the equation. things turn out alright in the end, but it's.... a long, long process. there's a point in the story where they have to do the unlocking ninpo thing and it takes so much longer and it is so much worse and its such a fucking mess LMAO

wow i love my sep au (one man's junk but with more crying and blood in it)

if things go according to plan it'll start after i finish canary continuity, i already have it all outlined. its just beginning stories that is kind of a struggle for me so the first few chapters are gonna be hard. even though i KNOW what im doing bleckgh.

[daiseukiis]

╰ ⋆ ❝ 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓'𝐒 𝐌𝐘 𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃 ! ❞ ଓ.° ╮

FEAT. ⠀⠀⠀⠀ mikage reo

CONTENTS. fem!reader x mikage reo, profanity, mutual pinning, best friends to lovers, frustrating slow burn boo

SUMMARY. you and mikage reo go way back, since second year of jr high. yet who knew you'd fall for your one and only best friend.

W/C. 15.2k

A/N. good fuckin' tangina this is done. i didn't even expect it to take this damn long. here's to the ( possibily ) longest mikage reo oneshot in ur lives bc damn imma sleep now. im too tired to proofread u gais r on ur own omg. @17020 @adorlings @lov3nagi uhh who else ugh whatever goodnight at 6:30am

⠀⠀⠀⠀ “you’re pretty good.” the bustling sound of ‘high score!’ rings through your ears along with the sounds of loud gaming machines with the occasional ‘k.o!’ from a fighting game. your hues look directly at the ball which swishes through the net and the record of the machine changing from the bright led light of 48 to 62. the ball spins in your hand momentarily as you throw it once more despite the timer already ticking to zero— just for fun. “thanks, i’m actually on the basketball team.”

“no wonder, you beat the record.” periwinkle strands matching with his eyes look at the score you hit before directing his eyes to where yours was. the boy smiles, one which you easily reciprocate as you point at the blinking number 60 on his side of the basketball game. “you did pretty good yourself, you also beat the record on your machine.”

“what can i say?” the young boy shrugs his shoulders, making you chuckle at his easy going attitude— he surely did interest you lots. you pick up your school bag and blazer you had thrown to the ground upon arriving at your game, quickly putting on your belongings as you notice him also grab hold of his school bag, one which you recognize to also be in jr high.

“you’re cool, i’m yn.” you outstretch your hand to him with a smile. he takes your hand, showing you a smile of his own that made you want to melt on the spot. the sound of his voice brings you quickly back to reality, “i’m mikage reo.”

the more you soak in the features of this boy the more something in you just wanted to tell you to stay, even the warmth of reo’s hand was like calming a sea of uneasiness. there was something in his violet diamonds that allured you like a moth to a fire. but you knew you had no luxury to find the truth so easily.

“hate to be rude, but you’re kinda screaming rich boy.” you wanted to distract yourself from this bubbling interest, quickly pulling your hand away that had seemed to hold on for a bit too long on to his. your smile wavers slightly though not noticeable to the human eye. with a lighthearted joke, you continue your conversation with him. “and your name sounds like the—” 

“heir to the mikage corporation? yeah, that’s me.” your jaw almost drops at his response, staring at his handsome stature. you blink your lashes a couple of times, letting the new information click in until it finally processes properly. your gasp surprises reo, raising a brow at your sudden change of attitude once he revealed the truth about his background. “no way, you’re a rich boy and pretty boy?”

“i guess so? thanks, you’re pretty too.” reo didn’t know how to reply back to your words, in fact he found you odd. usually at this point, maybe people would suck up to him for connections, yet you didn’t. “you’re flattering, really.” you were… refreshing to him. the boy grins, changing his confusion that that of a more comfortable look. “let’s keep in touch, yeah?”

the way your eyes lit up at his question made him internally chuckle, he had to admit it, you’re cute. “i’d love to!” reo goes and reaches for his pocket, taking out his phone to gesture to you to exchange contacts. “do you have line?” 

you look slightly bewildered at his actions, staring at the line home screen to add contacts. “uhm, email or number works, is that okay?” you nervously look through your bag, lifting up your rather outdated flip phone at him. “i know, i really need a new phone but it’s a hand me down. hope you don’t mind.”

“i can get you a new one.” reo says so instantaneously that it catches you off guard. you blink your pretty lashes at the look of his raised brow, waiting for the answer. shock is instantly running through you as your face scrunches up, “what?”

“i’m serious, you’re my friend now and you seem like you’re struggling with that.” to say you were speechless was an understatement, he couldn’t be serious, right? though the look on his face is unwavering you start to think— he’s serious. “hold on! i appreciate the offer but that’s too much, seriously.” 

“here,” you quickly grab hold of his phone, quickly typing in your contact information to his number. you lift the device, creating a peace sign with your free hand as you click the button to create a contact photo for yourself. as you finish it up, you hand the phone back to reo before spinning on your heels out of the arcade. “text me later, alright? let’s meet up again, mikage! i gotta head to work!”

reo watches as your figure disappears from his view. he can’t help but smile to himself at your rather honest and odd antics, he was going to lie to himself that he tried to test you earlier if you were just going to use him for his money; and you didn’t disappoint. this encounter would forever be burned into his mind, for better or for worse.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ “she’s pretty, think i could get her number?” a male classmate say out to his group mates, the female of the group letting out a small chuckle at him. “pfft, i thought you’d want a girl with more class?” the boy sends her a smirk, shrugging his shoulders. “hey, maybe she’ll let me be her sugar daddy? i got the money for it.”

‘what assholes.’ it’s not like reo didn’t want to be there, it was more or so he had no choice but to be with the other three students from his class. what did he expect though? he knew that they only chose him for his relations and connections, and for the fact that it wasn’t going to be the last instance like this to happen.

“oh, here she comes!” one of the other guys smacks their friend by the forearm, slightly pointing a finger towards the waiter discreetly. everyone but reo was whisper yelling their cheers to the male who had gotten his words ready in his mind to say. “get ready.”

“here are your orders—” this voice. immediately the boy turns his head to the side, eyes going into contact with your jewels. “yn?” there was a small pause in the air, your hand had reached out to place a drink down on the table. you felt a part of your locks drop from your shoulders due to the angle of you hovering over. “mikage?”

“you work here?” reo being surprised at your appearance was an understatement, and you seeing reo at the cafe you worked part-time at was also a pleasant discovery for you. after placing down the rest of the orders the table had gotten you prompted yourself up to a more relaxed position upright, a hand pushing back the lock of hair which fell earlier. “yeah, surprise to see you here!”

“that’s why you’re always so busy.” he jokes, jabbing at you since you did tell him that you had other plans and bailed out on him last week due to a sudden work shift. you can’t help but smile at him. “work and basketball, i’m a busy body myself.”

“clearly. just take rests too.” reo scoffs at you, knowing full well that your life revolved working shifts like a dog and playing ball after school with little to no social life left for you. rolling your eyes you can’t help but scoff back at his slightly nagging nature. “yeah, yeah, i heard you, mikage.” waving a hand out, you dismiss what he says. “anyways, i’ll be right back. i’ll bring that latte over for you.”

“yeah, go ahead.” without another word you nod your head at the other three, walking away from their table to go back to the front counter. just as you were out of ear shot all eyes direct themselves to reo with questions flying out their mouths. “yo! you know her?”

“we met at the arcade playing on the basketball machine.” one of the guys wraps an around reo’s shoulders as he grins at him. “cool, she plays sports too huh.” interested, the female soon asks her question as well; all surprised to see reo know the same girl their classmate was after. “what school does she go to?”

“i remember her telling me she went to teiko.” reo says, sighing a bit as he removes his classmate’s arm off his body. the other boy is astonished by the fact, “woah, that powerhouse? the kiseki no sedai are there!” “think she knows kise ryouta?” his girl classmate urgently asks, yet all these questions were tiring reo out. the two know of each other, and it was just around two weeks ago, it annoyed him a bit that rather than finishing what they came there for he was being interrogated. “dunno, ask her yourself.”

“alright, here’s your latte.” just when another question could be fired at reo, you had came and placed the last glass of the order down on the table. gods, did reo was good to see you come back so fast and save him from his classmates. “hey, i got a question for you.” you hum in response, looking at her after you put down the tissues and straws for them. “you’re from teiko, right? do you know kise ryouta?”

“ryouta? he’s a friend of mine, what about him?” though slightly odded out, this was once again a norm for you. “great! could you give me his number?” being on the basketball team of an infamous school really had its perks and cons, and seeing how you watched the girl search through her school bag to fish out her phone meant that it was going to be one of those days. 

“can’t do that.” she stops her actions and twists her brows towards your direction. “what, why?” you shrug your shoulders at her, blunt as possible since this scenario played so many times in your life already. “i don’t know you.” the small glare is evident on the girl’s features, “fujmoto tsukina, second year jr high. now you know me, will you give it to me now?”

“i don’t just give ryouta’s number to anyone.” you were quite surprised when something like this first happened, you’d thought some people would have common sense but clearly they were either shameless or pushy. the girl at the table pouts, crossing her arms and slumping back on to her seat. “ugh, fine.” was it another fangirl crushed? definitely.

reo had to admit that you were a charismatic character, seeing your ideals and beliefs showed what type of person you were in his eyes. you were so different than all the others around him that he can’t help but be attracted at the single thought of you. noticing the gaze reo had on you makes you beam a smile, one which felt so different to him compared to the ones you gave his classmates. “if there’s nothing else that you need, i’ll be going now.”

“wait, what about your number?”

‘he still asked for it.’ reo internally sighs to himself, glancing at you to see what your reaction would be to being asked that question. ‘what’s your answer, yn?’ your body pauses for a moment, though you stand up properly and send your customer service smile towards the boy. “you’re not my type.” and without another word you walk away from the table.

“damn! she shut you down bro!” reo is beyond baffled at what you said, starting to laugh at himself the moment you were out of ear shot. it was like the more you were around the more life felt so… lively. the rest of the group pout and huff at your words, yet reo was starting to take such an interest in you. “mikage, you sure you’re friends with her?”

“right! she’s so stingy!” the female of the group groans, remembering the interaction itself annoyed her. as soon as reo hears those words leave from her mouth he starts to frown, staring at her with furrowed brows and a dark look. “don’t talk about yn like that.”

⠀⠀⠀⠀ “you off your shift?” the look of shock on your face was almost priceless in reo’s books, a small chuckle erupting from his mouth as you stood there with wide eyes. after collecting yourself, you couldn’t help but also laugh with him— you knew you probably looked funny. “what’s this? you stalking me now?”

“i just thought i’d walk you home, it’s getting pretty dark.” he was right. the sun had already changed skies with the moon that barely illuminated both your bodies, yet with the help of the tokyo street lights were you able to see him there. reo did scare you, but regardless of that you found it comforting that it was him out of anyone else in the world. 

“aren’t you sweet.” the boy sends you a toothy grin, one you can’t help but send one back. gripping hold of your school bag you make your way towards his figure, leading him towards your home. “were those your friends?”

“you could say that.” reo flatly responds to you, thinking back to the group that he was with in the cafe. “we were working on a school project.” you nod your head remembering how they interacted towards each other. “i noticed. you didn’t seem too close with them.”

“yeah, sorry about that. i know they were being kinda rude to you.” he sighs as his right hand goes to rub the nape of his neck, to say that he was embarrassed and felt bad for you was an understatement. reo knew that to some extent you had to be professional due to the fact that a word from them could get you fired. you giggle at how he reacts, feeling his honesty which noticed that many privileged like him don’t usually have. “i appreciate your concern, mikage, but i’ve dealt with worse.”

“hey,” with that simple word the conversation resets to another, your giggling dialling down as you stop to listen to what he has to say. “what’s up?” “y’know, you can call me reo.” you blink in astonishment, seeing the look of seriousness on visual. it was as if he was in a board meeting for god’s sake! but then again, it has only been a few weeks since your last encounter with him and it was the second time you saw him in person was today. maybe he just rather be called by his first name?

“sure we aren’t going too fast?”

“what?”

“in this relationship.”

“huh—?!” the shocked look of wide eyes and a blush that hid under the darkness of the night sky is what causes you to burst out in laughter as you clutch your stomach. “i’m just kidding! don’t get your panties in a knot, pretty boy.” 

“you’re so unexpected.” it takes reo a second to recover from your joke, cheeks pouted out for a few moments. his head is a bit jumbled by what you said to him, who wouldn’t? he watches as you finish your laughing fit, wiping a tear of joy from your eyes after witnessing an award winning expression. “i get that a lot.”

“well, this is my apartment.” you point to the building right around the corner in a quiet neighbourhood, it had a modern look to it with a slightly old infrastructure. you lead him up the stairs to the second floor and stop at the very last door that had number fourteen on it. you go through your school bag to take out your keys. “did you want to come inside?”

“sure, if that’s alright with you.” since he was there and had time to spare he thought why not? it was you who invited him in the first place as well. “it’s no problem,” you nod your head and turn the doorknob for the place to open up. you take a step in and open the lights to the entrance of your cosy apartment, “a bit cramped so i hope you don’t mind. make yourself at home though.”

he answers with a hum, mumbling out ‘pardon for the intrusion’ before taking a step in your home. reo takes off his shoes and places it beside where you have left yours, noticing that there wasn’t many shoes on the rack. “do you live by yourself?”

“yeah, my parents are always abroad so it’s just me.” you casually throw your bag on your sofa as you make your way to your kitchen not even bothering to turn the lights on. it was already such an exhausting day for you. from basketball practice in the morning and a full shift having to deal with rather rude customers; yet you can’t really complain since you chose that sort of lifestyle.

“it’s probably not as big as your mansion, but here,” opening up your freezer you grab hold of a popsicle, taking out the wrapper and snapping it in half. “i know you just ate but share this with me.” reo looks at your hand as you make your way towards him, he gives a rather odded out expression as you direct the other half of the popsicle to him. you chuckle and urge him to take it, one which he hesitates to take. “thanks.”

you shot one of your signature smiles at him, though to reo your smile just made his heart skip a beat. with a smile that elegant he felt like he was dreaming. what was this feeling? the more he steps closer to you as you make your way towards such a small balcony, watching as you lean on the railings while the wind plays with your hair, hell, even the curtains started to dance along the night breeze. the way the moon shines down and blesses your skin was like looking at a goddess, and reo knew in this moment you were much more than just a simple girl he met at an arcade.

“from now on let’s stick together, reo.”

this was where mikage reo knew he found his treasure.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ “oh look at these,” you stop by a stall on the way to the train station, a shop which sells charms of all sorts. your eyes land on a minimalistic phone charm which had a golden bell and a deep plum stone connected to it all with a white string. you point at the object catching your friend’s attention, “it’s so cute reo!”

the two of you were on the way to meet up with nagi at an arcade on a wonderful saturday afternoon, the sun shining on both your figures to warm up the skin on your bodies. nagi who was late as per usual was not yet there, and reo who had went to pick you up from your apartment earlier that day had suggested you might as well browse around and look at the things in tokyo.

“those are real amethyst.” the elderly shopkeeper states, smiling at the two of you to urge you closer to her booth. reo didn’t care much if it was real or not, but the way he watches your body looks at the charms with so much interest he couldn’t help himself. “we’ll take two.” “wha—” it wasn’t the first, and it will never be the last where reo would impulsively buy something just because you mentioned it, you love the thought, but it weighed down on your consciousness that in the long run he has spent a lot on you subconsciously.

“close your mouth yn, you’ll catch a fly.” reo lets out a chuckle, glancing at your flabbergasted expression with amusement. the boy fishes out his wallet to pay for two of the exact ones you had pointed out earlier. “why did you buy it?” you pout at the boy who soon hands you one of the charms, the two of you sitting down at the side to attach it to your phones.

“it looked nice.” though he won’t say it verbally that it was because you like it, he genuinely thought that the charms you saw were beautiful pieces. he pops his phone case off, wrapping the small section of string through the holes intended for the charm to go in “besides, these are best friend charms for the both of us.”

“that’s a first.” mirroring reo’s actions, you stop when he places his hand to you for him to wrap the charm himself for you. though reluctant, you gave your phone to him, a smartphone which he forced you to take two years ago saying that it’ll ‘help’ him contact you better. you knew he was bullshitting and was just giving you excuses to receive the phone.

“i can give it to nagi if you don’t want it.” he gives you a side eye, taking the charm and halting his movements from putting it on your phone case. you gasp at him, obviously offended to why he would suggest that. “don’t you dare!”

you lunge forward at reo, but due to that guy’s superior physique he stretches his arm faster than you could grab the charm from him. one hand landing on the other side of reo’s body and your other hand outstretched to the sky, yet even with your efforts you couldn’t reach the charm. lady luck really wasn’t on your side today, leaning a bit too fast caused your momentum to throw yourself on reo, and the boy securingly wraps his arm around your waist so you wouldn’t tumble and fall.

if you let out a breath now, reo would for sure feel the graze of your lips moving ever so slightly on his. both hues stare so deeply at the other, faces centimetres away with noses touching each other as light as a feather falling. it was cliché, and the both of you knew that. yet you can’t help this feeling of attraction to your best friend, it was like your heart was beating in sync with his. 

as reo lets go of your waist you sit up just as fast as you look away from him, hands laying on your lap with your cheeks turn into a pink blaze. you manage to croak out a measly, “i’m sorry” to him where he just nods at you. the both of you didn’t know how long you were in that position, but was enough to make your hearts go in a frenzy. the sa

words cannot describe such a feeling of catharsis that threatens to escape through the heart— was it really worth the risk?

“just don’t get upset yn.” he wasn’t too sure if you were alright with the silence, but reo knew for a fact it didn’t sit well with him at all. as a sigh came out from his mouth, he tried to ignore the fact that the tips of his ears were burning a bright red colour. with that one comment alone you reset back to your conversation. “you threatened to give our friendship charms to him!”

“thought you didn’t want it.” the boy flat out states something from earlier, but you roll your eyes at him, finally looking at the face that mocks you teasingly. “i do though!” you grab hold of your phone case once more, hand out for the charm as this time he finally obliges and has it to you. reo watches as your slender fingers work with the string to put it into your case. you finish by putting your case back on your phone

“because look, we’re matching.” you take reo’s phone from his lap and hold the two devices side by side to show him. lo’ and behold the two charms matching with both your phones. your grin doesn’t fail to make the boy’s feel some type of way. just the way you smile at him is enough to question why you weren’t in his arms.

“wherever i am, you’ll always have a piece of me with you.”

⠀⠀⠀⠀ “when do you plan on telling yn we’re going to this blue lock?” nagi mumbled, eyes focusing on his phone as he tries to win a fighting game. him and reo recently finished school club activities, walking back to their respective places. nagi momentarily moves his eyes to glance at reo who shows the look of distraught on his face. “i was going to visit her today after work to let her know we were going.”

“she’s not gonna be happy.” reo’s white-haired friend stated, a groan leaving the said male’s lips just thinking about how upset you’d be when you hear the entirety of what the project is about. “i know.”

“well i’ll leave you to do that, i’m going home.” nagi had no interest in your guys’ quarrel, especially knowing since he’d felt the terror of ln yn before. so this was an off limits final boss that he had no magic armour to participate in. reo shoots a semi-small glare, knowing as much as nagi that the situation was less than optimal but is undeniably unavoidable. “thanks for the support.”

“no problem. i’m tired, so tell yn i said hi.” he gives reo a thumbs up as a sign of good luck against the final boss, waving his hand right after he had done the same. “yeah, i’ll see you nagi.” the second year heaves in a small breath, walking towards where you worked. the automatic doors open once they notice his presence, and there you were.

his plum hues land on your figure that had been helping with a customer over the counter, your signature customer service smile so bright as you hand the bag of goods to the person. reo wasn’t going to deny it, as many times he had seen you in uniform for work, your beauty never ceases to blow him away. be it at work or just a bare face, he knows you made him feel such a warmth in his stomach. 

“reo! just give me a second, i gotta have to clock out.” it took him a moment to realize you were already standing in front of his figure with the smile that causes his stomach to go through twists and turns. reo nods his head, smiling back at you. “take your time.” he watches as you wave your hand out, bidding you a short ‘bye!’ before you grab hold of your water bottle and head to the staff room to change.

reo walks out the store, waiting by the entrance of the building as he continues to check through his social media to see what the world was up to— not much interested him really. despite having his phone in his hand, the thought of your sad look that may grace such visuals made his heart crack just a bit. why did it hurt like this?

“alright, i’m all done! thanks for waiting for me.” your voice breaks him out of his train of thought, eyes scanning your once work uniform now in your school attire. reo nods his head to show you that he heard you, a smile to greet your figure as you take your position beside him.

the walk home seemed… awkward on your end. it was unusual for reo to seem tense around you, and he knew that you knew he was hiding what was on his mind. with an expression that shows reo’s slightly furrowed brows and droopy eyes, it wasn’t hard to tell that he was distracted.

“hey, i gotta tell you something.” you flinch at his sudden words, much to your surprise he was the first to break the silence. your mouth was already open, yet he beat you to it— perhaps knowing how awkward he was making this. “what’s up?”

“me and nagi got accepted to this blue lock to train for football.” a small gasp leaves your lips, a grin spreading from ear to ear. immediately your first response was to jump hug him ( one which you gained a habit from nagi ). a loud giggle runs through reo’s ears, his body slightly leaning forward due to your leap on him. “that’s great! you guys are aiming to be the best in the world!”

“here’s the thing,” reo starts as he sucks a breath in, his tone was far from happy which causes you to raise your brows at his rather negative reaction. “i don’t know how long i’ll be gone.” your movements stop as your arms remove itself from around reo’s neck, much to his dismay. you regain your posture, standing up straight to face him, the smile on your face slowly drops at the news. “you’re leaving?”

“just temporarily.” it hurt reo to see this look on your face, it burns his heart knowing the smile falters from such a face like yours. you couldn’t lie to him even if you told you weren’t happy with his decision, but who were you to stop him from his dreams? it’s a hard pill to swallow, but you never wanted to get in the way of him and his future so you can’t help but put on a smile, “don’t make me wait too long.”

“and then what? are you gonna leave me?” he didn’t really want to hear the answer, even if he was praying to the gods that keep you from answering it. reality was always inevitable in many ways than one, and that included you.

“of course not.” to reo, your smile was as angelic as the day he met you. the wind plays with the locks of your hair, causing you to lift your hand up and put the strands behind your ear. reo can’t deny it, just your existence alone made his heart beat out of his chest— winning the world cup was almost a side quest to him in that moment. 

“i’ll just miss you too much.”

and that’s how mikage reo knew he had fallen in love with you.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ “hey, yn’s working right now right?” reo notices that nagi had been texting you, or so they were notifications from three hours ago. the white haired boy nods his head at him, showing the chat which just consisted of you and nagi talking about how work was ever so busy on your end. “hmm, yeah, said she got a full shift.”

“you know when it ends?” reo quickly scans the text messages that nagi was willing to show him, but the boy shrugs his shoulders after trying to recall what you had texted earlier that morning. “beats me… you text her.”

“woah, hold up.” multiple blue lock players freeze on the spot when they hear their conversation, stopping whatever they were doing and stare at the two boys who only hum in confusion. “‘she’?” another presses on, moving towards nagi and reo while a few others follow suit. the lot of them were in shibuya having a break from training, and were hanging out until the topic of you disrupted the flow of things. 

“who’s yn?” the first to ask is isagi, just as interested as everyone to hear your name being casually dropped in a conversation with nagi. to him it was the first to see reo be interested in something other than the said boy, so he couldn’t help himself but be curious. chigiri gapes at reo a bit, “is she your girlfriend or something?”

“she’s my best friend!” reo yells out rather too defensively which makes many of them question his feelings for you. the boys snicker, not even bothering to respond back as the smirks and evil grins some of them had only made the lilac haired footballer to lift a fist up along with his middle finger.

“i thought i was your best friend?” nagi was nowhere near offended, in fact he didn’t mind at all since he knew how reo looked at you. before the rich boy could answer back nagi heaves a sigh and leans his head on the table, “well, it don’t matter anyways… you want yn to be your girlfriend.”

“don’t just say shit like that, nagi!” reo screams out, making nagi only close his eyes, lips pursing into an ‘x’ like shape as he takes both of his index fingers and plugs it into his ears; mumbling things along the line that he was being too loud.

“oh, now we gotta meet ‘er!” the black haired boy; karasu gets up from his seat which causes a chain reaction where the other boys who are equally invested in figuring out this mystery girl that reo and nagi are talking about. reo panics a bit as he also stands up when they do, trying to stop their advances. “she’s working right now!”

“who cares.” otoya shoots at him, holding reo’s right forearm and urges him to get a move along. seeing how reo almost fell, karasu quickly grabs his left forearm to drag him forward as well. the boy gave a smug grin, joining in on the teasing, “i’m sure you’re dying to see her!”

“alright! let go of me!” reo is now struggling to even keep you to himself, and he knew for a fact that these guys were not gonna let you go after carelessly mentioning you. the boy stretches his arms out in an attempt to get out of the two’s grasp, which they did. 

reo can hear multiple other players asking nagi to lead the way, as well as asking who you were. when he looks up from groaning and struggling free, he could already see half of them walking away from his figure. “yay! to yn-chan!” reo could not catch a break, easily when bachira threw himself on the said boy’s back. 

⠀⠀⠀⠀ “oh yn, you’re always helpful as usual.” you chuckle at the elderly woman in front of you, giving her the change she has from the purchase. with two hands you hand the receipt to her, giving a courteous bow. “thanks so much, tanaka-san. i’ll follow up next week to see how that cream is doing for you!”

“such a sweet child, tell that mikage friend of yours hello for me!” tanaka swipes her hand down in a slow motion, flustered to hear such kind words coming from you. she gives you a sweet smile before giving a wave and heading out towards the exit of the store. “not too sure when i’ll be seeing him, but i’ll let him know.”

“she’s yn?”

“holy shit.”

“she’s so glamorous!” 

“ya girlfriend’s a hottie.”

“like i said, yn isn’t my girlfriend.” his words are stern and sharp, almost malice dripping out from his tone of voice. reo is irritated at this point, throughout the entire walk to get to your workplace they had been non-stop asking questions about you that he would have rather they have not asked, and answered questions he had not wanted to answer. at this point he’s convinced that they’re doing this to annoy him.

“she’s not your girlfriend, so can i make her mine?” 

“back off!” otoya face drops from a bright up to an irritated look. his phone was already out to ask for your number. though that was what caught the group’s attention, but how both reo and nagi had shut them down at the same time. “woah, even nagi’s agreeing!”

“reo?” your eyes connect with the said male’s lavender gems, ones which held the warmth and comfort you always looked for. your eyes widen at the sight of him standing just a few feet away from you, were you dreaming? your body freezes what it was doing watching as he starts to make his way to where you were, until he stands right in front of being.

“i’m back, yn.” 

the way your eyes brighten, hiding the glistening sea that almost escapes your hues shows the feelings of sadness she had been suppressing. in a quick motion you wrap your arms around him into an embrace, the feeling of joy overwhelming you that you’d even discard the professionalism you were supposed to have. but in this moment you wanted no other but to feel his warmth back in your arms.

the action catches reo off guard, not knowing that you’d even react this way after not seeing him for a couple weeks. the tips of his ears flush that pink, arms hesitantly wrapping around you in a slightly awkward manner. this wasn’t the first that you two have hugged, but this type it felt different.

“i can’t believe you’re here! i saw the game!” pulling away a bit too soon than reo had wanted, you take a step back to quickly fix your attire. to you, this was one of the moments you had dreamed of for the last few weeks. yet to reo, he was quickly shutting down any sort of snickering remarks he was quietly hearing from his blue lock mates. though the mention of the game catches his attention, “you were at the stadium?”

“i worked a shift… but i was watching it on my phone.” you playfully stick a tongue out with your peace sign, sending an animated wink his way which seemed to have caused reo to sigh in defeat at your antics, once again.

“hi yn.” a familiar white haired boy steps into your field of view. the sight of him made your body excited just remembering the moves the two of them did during the game— in fact you never saw nagi be that motivated for anything in his life! “nagi! you guys looked so cool!” the boy nods his head, a small smile creeping up his lips. “thanks.”

“are these your teammates?” you point to a rather large group of boys that was currently occupying a good chunk of your section. almost all of them were identifiable thanks to the close ups and names that popped during the game, yet seeing them in person did kinda make you feel nervous. reo notices the shift in your body language, he steps a foot closer to your body and puts a hand of your shoulder to ease you up. “yeah, from blue lock. we were hanging out and passing by when we heard you were on shift.”

“it’s nice to meet you, yn.” the first to greet you was a certain male that you were very familiar with— in fact, he was quite popular outside of blue lock already. mouth gapes open to see the brunette male and his signature glasses moving forward to you with a bow. “oh my gosh, you’re really yukimiya kenyu!”

“you’re a fan?” maybe yukimiya should’ve expected this; he knew he was popular with the ladies due to his modelling career outside of football, and the shocked and rather excited expression you gave when he called out to you really showed. he just wished reo would stop giving him that stink eye that he saw from the side of his peripheral vision, though it seems like you didn’t even notice your best friend was doing that. “kinda, my friends have a huge crush on you so like i just hear about you lots.”

“right. rie and rosie.” reo watches as the two of you interact with each other, the annoyance getting to him as he clicks his tongue at how excited you are to meet his teammates. a frown slightly drooping by his lips and hands by the sides of his hips as he watches you fish out your phone, “think we can get a selfie together? they’ll totally get jealous!”

“yeah, that’s no problem.” he knew he had no right to have this feeling, especially since the two of you weren’t really in a relationship but there was just something in him that made his eye twitch seeing you get so close to yukimiya, holding up your signature peace to take a selfie with the model. 

a quick ‘thank you’ and bow is given to yukimiya by you as he bows back before you direct your attention once more to the group of boys. “thanks for dropping by, let’s catch up later? i still got about half an hour left till i’m off.”

“ya wanna come hang out with us after?” karasu questions as he takes a step forward before nudging his head as a gesture to include everyone. just as you were about to decline their offer due to the fact that you were still on the clock, you felt bad for having them just wait around the store. “i’ll wait for you.” closing your mouth you look at reo who nods his head, which is very reassuring to you. a breath of defeat goes out, smiling at him you look back to the group of boys. “if that’s the case, i’d love to.”

“yn!” subconsciously you straighten your back and turn on your heels to the owner of the voice, “yes!” your manager makes his way towards where you are, looking at you, the boys behind and then back at your figure with a brow raised up. “what’s with that crowd? friends of yours?”

“yea, they’re blue lock—” your voice easily drowns over your manager’s deep one, shutting your lips tight as he waves his hand to ignore whatever you had to say to him. he sighs, not wanting to waste any time than he has to. “listen, suzuki called in sick today. i’m gonna need you to work till eight tonight.”

“but that’s overtime for me… i have plans today sir.” you wanted to give it a shot, and you knew that it was hard to convince your manager for anything but this was important to you. “we’re short staffed, you got no choice yn.” 

“sure then.” you sigh in disappointment as you nod your head. “and stop talking to your friends if they’re not gonna buy anything, you got lots to do and hourly quotas to reach.” with that your manager waves you off and leaves you be for now.

“ugh, fat pig.” you groan as your smile drops from your face, sticking your tongue out at your manager before turning around to the group of boys who were as equally as bummed out as you. arms cross over the other in an ‘x’ and you shake your head, “sorry guys, yn is cancelled for tonight.”

“hey, he’s obviously overworkin’ ya.” karasu states out while many of them look amongst themselves. chigiri suddenly starts getting worried for you and your health, stepping forward with his thoughts. “isn’t that like… illegal?” 

“what can i do? besides, i guess i am behind on rent so i need the money.” you shrug it off like another typical saturday. this wasn’t the first time you had to do this against your will, and this job was your only source of income so you had no choice but to actually stay.

“you don’t go to the same school as reo and nagi?” pulling a deadpan expression on whatever isagi says, your thumb pointing at the said two. with a more or so condescending tone you say, “you’re asking too much. my brokeass could never attend some high-class super expensive preppy school like these guys.” 

“yn, why don’t you just quit.” reo suggests but you scrunch your nose and purse your lips together, “easier said than done.”

“how much do you get paid an hour?” you hum, thinking in your head about it. “like ¥1000 per hour… on top of commission maybe i hit like ¥210,000 a month?” you try to do the quick calculations in your head, thinking how your usual monthly income looks like. reo pulls a look, softly facepalming once he hears the numbers come out of your lips, with any other purchases  you had to do on top of rent. “and rent is ¥150,000. if you told me you were behind on rent you should've told me.”

“you haven't texted me in like weeks!” pointing an accusing finger at reo, you start to remember how you were indirectly being ignored ever since he entered this blue lock ( all which comes back to you only after the excitement of seeing him again disappears ). “in fact, you didn’t tell me you were gonna be gone for that long!”

“i got preoccupied, alright? calm down yn.” reo brings his hands up in defence as you get closer to him, leaning backwards a bit due to your close proximity. many of the blue lock players chuckle and snicker at the sight of you two having a quarrel. karasu snickers, “uh-oh, yer girlfriend’s mad at ya.”

“y-you told them i was your girlfriend?” you’re taken aback by karasu’s words, really blessing the gods that you applied that blush make up today for work or else they would’ve noticed how such a pink dances across your cheeks. reo on the other hand had that exactly happen to him, more or so embarrassed that they kept insisting that the two of you were a couple. “no, i didn’t!”

“if that’s the case, i’m otoya eita. can i get your number?” you weren’t quite sure how he quickly got in front of you, touching the tips of your fingers so gently with his phone out on his other hand. you were impressed— but you were also at a lost for words in a weirded out way. you stare at his hand that touches yours for a few seconds, not really knowing how to respond to him. “yn…?”

“cut it out.” reo is glaring daggers at otoya, but he isn’t the slightest bit afraid at the purplette boy’s words whatsoever. “what, she’s not your girlfriend. that means i can take her on a date.”

“you’re not yn’s type.”

“how would you know yn’s type?”

“yn’s type is someone with money and is a complete ikemen.” 

nagi blurts rather easily, causing your face to dance with pink. “don’t call me out like that!” the rest of the boys watch as you shake nagi by his shoulders in a rather aggressive way. they’re silent, but they knew exactly who fit that description perfectly. ‘ah… so she basically likes reo.’

“yn, just quit your job already.” reo pinches his nose bridge, trying to stop the possible migraine that might come flying into his head the more he stays here and listen to this bullshit. you scoff and cross your arms at him with an incredulous look, urging him to continue with his plan. “then what?”

“work for me.” the silence is a bit too loud for everyone when reo blurts out those words. a piece of your hair falls on to your face, “what?”

“work as a maid at my place?” reo’s response was more of a question rather than an answer, one you weren’t expecting like the rest of the group. with the look of bewilderment on your face, you open your mouth, nothing coming out only for you to close it shut once more not knowing how to respond to reo.

“oh~ ain’t that kinky?” karasu chuckles at reo’s suggestion for your new occupation, one which you have no comment on for. many others nod their head and agree. hell, even nagi has something to say about it too. “i didn’t know you had those kinds of fantasies, reo.”

“shut up! or be my assistant, just quit this job yn. i can treat you better than that scum.” reo was most likely losing braincells the more he hung out with these guys, ignoring how pink his cheeks flare up for a second. this is when you finally have something to say, chuckling at reo’s cute reaction to everyone’s comments. “as much as i’d love to do just that, i can’t rely on you all the time.”

‘i wish you did.’ 

“i’ll pay you twice what you make in a month.” he sighs and twists his brows, thinking of ways just to get you to leave. you ponder on that for a bit, it was a really enticing deal though your dignity to always have reo save your ass stops you from it. you give a smile, one that hides how exhausted and painful it’s been. “thanks for the offer though, reo.”

“are you sure? he’s giving you a pretty good offer.” yukimiya urges you to take the deal knowing full well that that type of salary is above the average amount a regular worker earns. shaking your head off the concerned looks you were getting from them, your smile ever gets wider. “yeah, i think i’ll try to manage.”

“if that’s what you want, yn. i’ll always be here for you.” if he can’t change your mind, he’ll just have to live with it not wanting to pressure you into doing something you’re not comfortable with. though he reminds you that you’re not alone anymore. ‘she’s always so damn stubborn. she knows i can easily fix her problems but she never asks for help.’

“i appreciate it reo.” your smile looks sad to him, and this doesn’t go unnoticed by the human analyzer karasu. he coughs, breaking the sentimental aura around the all of you to get a move along— he felt bad, but he knew pity was the last thing you’d want from anyone. “we should probably get going, sorry for bothering you at work.”

“no, it’s fine! i’m happy to meet you guys!” you reassure them that they weren’t bothering you with reo moving to talk to you. just as the rest of the group had bid their goodbyes to you, they start to walk away.

“let’s meet up sometime this week, alright?” reo suggests, trying to make up for today’s rather unfortunate turn of events. a small laugh comes out, with your hand pushing a lock of your hair behind the ear.“i’d love that.”

“yn, get to work.” your manager’s voice is heard loud and clear in your ears, but the footsteps of mikage reo walking away from you overshadows it. though the sting of your heart to see reo with a rather disappointed expression, waving his hand and walking away from you. it was as if he was leaving you behind…

“no…” when you think about it now, did you really want to waste your youth stuck working over forty hours a week in a management that doesn’t even care for your well-being, trying to make a day’s ends meet? “what did you just say?” your manager is baffled, urging you to repeat those words again so he can hear you loud and clear.

“i said no. i don’t want to work overtime, you can't keep me here!” spinning your heels to face him full of determination, you indeed were fed up with this place. “you perverted manager!”

“why you—! then you’re fired! get out before i call security!” he screams loud and clear for even customers to hear, a vein popping by the top of his forehead. even if he towers over you, shouts and let his anger out on you, there was no shred of fear that runs through your body. you tilt your head slightly to the side and smile, “fine with me.”

“yeah~! yn-chan in her bad bitch era!” bachira cheers you on, clapping and hollering while a few others of the group whistle and make remarks about your rather boss girl moves ( all which are very proud of you ). “you tell ‘em!”

despite the glare your now former manager was bestowing on you, you felt the weight of a million burdens fall off your shoulders. your chest that felt tight to the core loosens, maybe this job really was taking your youth away without you knowing? hands take off the name tag that used to be pinned at the corner of your left shirt and placing it down on the counter. you walk away from him and towards reo that stood with a rather proud look on his face.

“reo, does that offer still stand?”

“for you, always.”

⠀⠀⠀⠀ “where’s everyone else?” you exit from the building, looking for a certain group of football players that you would have thought would make a commotion. though reo was the only one you saw, not like you minded. in fact, you preferred it this way. your voice causes reo to look up from his phone in the same spot he would always wait for you to finish your shift. the messages he was getting from the group telling their whereabouts were. 

“told them to just hit the arcade and we’ll catch up with them.” he says as he scans your body while you move in front of him. the more reo looks at you the more he sees that nothing had changed at all, you were still in your uniform and the only difference about your appearance now is that you were holding your bag. the boy raises a brow, slightly offsetted at the turn of events. “you didn’t change?”

“i wasn’t planning on going anywhere after work.” you deadpan while shaking your head. this motion was enough for reo to get the jest of it, knowing full well with what you meant as a small ‘oh’ comes out from him. reo points with his thumb behind him towards the whole of shibuya. “then let’s just buy some new clothes.”

“i’m broke,” you scoff, baffled at his sudden declaration. this wasn’t a first that he suggested things like this, in fact; you should’ve been used to it by now! a hand manages to be placed on the side of your hips, the other lazily pointing a finger at yourself. “how do you expect me to buy clothes?”

“the least i could do for not texting you back.” reo brings his hand out to yours, that smirk of his making you succumb to his antics once more. this man is one-tracked, you knew if he wants something he’ll definitely get it one way or another. though reluctant and even opposing his idea, you hand him your bag to carry as the both of you start to walk towards the shopping district of shibuya. “fine. but don’t spend too much on me, i feel bad.”

“what do you have to feel bad for?” he blinks his periwinkle hues thrice, glancing towards your figure from the corner of your eyes. the two of you continue to cross the infamous shibuya crosswalking, moving closer to you so neither of you could get separated from the crowd. you pout, looking at a different direction away from his gaze. “you’re my best friend, i feel like i’m using your money.”

‘right, best friend.’ those words stung, especially since it came from the same lips he always wanted to kiss so badly. he didn’t mind if he said it since he didn’t want to risk losing you, but when it’s you who says those words it would make his stomach churn. “let’s go to this store.” reo grabs hold of your wrist, dragging you to the store that had caught his attention.

‘that’s pretty.’ the moment reo had let go of you, you had already started booking it to the nearest outfit that caught your eye. he can’t help but smile at how you immediately started getting happy at all the amazing outfits you could pull off with just that one shirt you were looking at. “does anything catch your attention?”

“wait, this place is kinda pricey…” your eyes are ready to pop out of your sockets when you see the multiple zeros at the end of the number on the price tag, contemplating if you should even let reo buy anything from here for you.

“just let me spoil you, princess.”

“if you insist, my prince charming.”

when it came to free stuff, reo realized quickly it was easy to convince you on three things; food, clothes and anime. in fact, he had bought you an airfryer for your birthday once and the fact that you didn’t stop posting and raving about your airfryer on your instagram for a good three months made him think you just haven’t started to feel alive yet. 

“what do you think?” opening the curtains of the dressing room you stood there with all your glory on the platform with reo just waiting for you to come out on one of the sofas. you wore a rather oversized sweater with a linear pattern to it coloured in white, blue and maroon. a pair of blue baggy jeans to finish off your simple look for today’s outing.

“you look beautiful.” even if you didn’t ask, reo would have said it already. especially since you had let him agree to even pick out the clothing he couldn’t help but stare at awe. the look of infatuation in reo’s eyes makes you want to melt, “t-thanks.”

“let’s get outta here?” a hand goes out to you, and you gladly accept as you eagerly want to go see the others and get to know the people reo had spent his days with. your phone vibrates in your back pocket, so you reach out to it and see that it’s an email from your former manager. you click on the attachment, and there it shows your contract with the company nulled. “oh, i just got the termination letter from my manager.” 

“you really made a flashy exit, huh?” the both of you can’t help but laugh at what you did back there, even you still don’t believe you did that. “yeah, to be honest i was so fed up working with him and trying to keep up with the hours…”

“let’s just sue him for breaking youth labour laws and wrongful termination.” why didn’t you think of that? you have yet to turn seventeen and he had already made you go overtime, which was against the law in the first place ( thanks to reo even reminding you ). “you’re a genius!”

multiple bags soon fill up the counter, one employee folding clothes to put in the bag as another scans them. they were like woodswork, going at a swift and quick paste. though you and reo waiting at the counter confuses you since the two of you were the only customers in the store. you point at the ever growing line up of bags, “wait, whose are those?”

“they’re for you.” reo says so nonchalantly you could break down by just looking at the total of all of them. especially since reo gives you such an innocent smile that hides the intent of spoiling you like spare change. “we only agreed to have you buy my outfit today, not an entire closet.” you pout at him but he looks away, “just accept my gift.”

“won’t change your mind even if i said please?” you inch closer to the boy, giving him your best selling puppy dog eyes to see if he would budge if you were to act this cute. “nah.” the same ones he gave a side eye too before inserting his card in, a few button presses and the transaction goes through.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ “woah, what took ya guys s‘long?” karasu is the first to notice the two of you walking towards the bowling lane that was assigned to the group. many others turn their heads to anticipate the both of you who wave back at them. a specific heterochromia captain, oliver is amused at the sight of you, “who’s the girl?”

“oh god— almost everyone from the game is here.” you recognize many faces, seeing how half of them were on the opposing team of the football game you had watched. the look of excitement to be able to meet such talented players is shown all over your face. “yeah, we’re bowling with them.”

“wanna join us, yn-chan?” bachira is waving his arm nice and big, urging you to come to their side of the bowling lane. your eyes light up at the invitation, “can i?!” “‘course ya can! be on our team.” karasu gestures you to come over to them and you move your feet to make your way to their group. “don’t mind if i do then!”

“she your girlfriend?” oliver walks over to reo who gives a dissatisfied look, out of everyone he didn’t expect the other team to also be interested in you. “she’s not.” he flat out says, but the look on oliver’s face shows that he’s amused by reo’s reaction. “doesn’t seem that way.”

“what’s in the bag?” yukimiya approaches reo with otoya in tow, everyone’s eyes now looking down at the paper bag that reo had been holding ever since arriving with him. “yn’s uniform.”

“did you buy her clothes?”  the model asks, intrigued with how everything has been playing out today for you and reo. somehow, reo senses that he’s being picked on and his brow starts to twitch slightly. “i mean she just quit.”

“she quit just for you.”

“stop fuckin’ annoying me you guys.”

“yn’s up!” chigiri hollers after you when the name switches to yours on the tv screen. you stand up all excitingly after you put on your bowling shoes, the boys cheering your name as you look for a bowling ball that wouldn’t weigh too much when you throw it.

“i’m gonna strike this!” with a rather smug grin you cockly announce, quickly making your way towards the bowling lane you let go of the bowling ball from your fingers. you as well as everyone watch as all pins fall down in one full swipe. you jump up with your arms out wide, laughing out loud with everyone on your side as the tv reads ‘strike!’ 

“hell yeah! all hail yn-chan!” bachira screams all excited, jumping on your back along with nagi. you can’t lie that all of them were feeding your ego a bit too much. you go around giving high fives to them all congratulating you for your flawless strike.

“beat that. you shits are losing to a girl.” barou taunts the other group with a smug grin, one which touches you because you heard a few things about him and complimenting you almost even made you an egoist. you make your way towards barou, wide smile with hands up for a high five. though he scowled at you, he grumbled things along the lines of ‘it’s only ‘cuz you got a strike you deserve this’ before giving you the double high five you wanted.

“awe, look at ‘em bein’ some proud boyfriend.” karasu who bares his teasing smirk crosses his arms and looks at reo who had been admiring you from afar, watching you get excited with the players that he had grown close with. he loves how your smile just gets brighter the more he watches you, your laughter tuning out everything else from the rest of the world— or so it did until karasu opened his damn mouth. “shut the fuck up.”

“how long have you known reo?” isagi takes a seat beside you, easily taking an interest between you and reo’s relationship. you hum in response, quickly thinking about the first time you and reo had met. “it’s been three years now? we met second year of jr high at an arcade.” the boy’s eyes smile at his new found discovery, quietly applauding such a long time friendship that the two of you had. “woah, it’s been a while then! it’s weird, nagi and reo never mentioned you whatsoever.”

“because reo said if we mentioned yn there’s a possibility that you guys would hit on her.” nagi walks over to the two of you, finishing his turn to bowl. the young boy scratches the nape of his neck as he takes the seat on the other side of you. you didn’t mind, to be honest you saw it coming since you were kept a secret from the blue lock members which may have been for better. though, it might’ve been because nagi and reo cared too much to share you with the others and that thought made you giggle. “ah, and he was right, huh.”

“omg, are those the football players from tv?” you turn your head with a few others to spot a crowd of girls who had their phones out and talking to themselves, giggling to see so many boys in one area playing a game of bowling ( while also completely ignoring you there ). two boys, respectively otoya and sendou went up to them asking for their socials. “they’re so handsome!”

“could we take a picture together?” reo looks to his side as he comes into contact with a female, her face flushed and shy at his presence alone. you could tell she had a crush on the football player, seeing how her phone was out and the lockscreen was reo from the game they had. the boy pauses for a moment, before nodding his head and moving beside her. “sure.”

“what’s with the face?” chigiri who stands a few feet in front of you tries to hold in his laugh at how you had a deadpan expression, eyes slightly furrowed and watching at reo and the other girl’s interaction. isagi notices your change in aura, looking at where your eyes had directed and examines your face, you looked like you were trying to burn holes behind that girl’s back. “you look jealous.”

“i am not.” you snap back at the two of them, but their chuckles only cause you to lowly growl ( in a cute way ) at them. you knew they were teasing you, but were you really that damn obvious that you didn’t like how reo was talking to a bunch of fans? was it because you thought some of them even looked prettier than you? 

“i thought you liked reo.” nagi inserts himself into the conversation, overhearing it after he had took his turn throwing the bowling ball. the boy makes his way to sit on the other side of you, and out of everyone you didn’t really want nagi to know because you making him a third wheel was something you’d rather avoid. you wave your arms in front of your body, trying to justify your actions and what you said, “i-i do! he’s my best friend—”

“yn stop lying to yourself.” your white haired friend’s words are sharp, as if stabbing you and stopping you from spouting anymore excuses. it was like getting hit with nagi’s ult and immediately you were shut down. you whine in response to his words, elbows being placed on your lap and your chin laying on the palm of your hands.  chigiri and isagi nervously laugh since they didn’t know how else to react because they knew you had accepted the truth.

“just give it a chance, maybe he’ll like you back!” isagi is the first to try and cheer you up, trying to get you back to the positivity you were in before nagi had hit you with his negativity. chigiri nodding his head and seconding that opinion, trying to make you look at the bright side of things. 

“we’re not close enough to be having this conversation, isagi.”

your eyes lazily give isagi a side eye with an exasperated sigh, not even bothering to turn your head fully to acknowledge him. maybe he’s right, or maybe not. at this point you were probably coming to a dead end. the said boy bashfully scratches the nape of his neck, chuckling and agreeing to your words, “i guess you’re right.”

“yn! let’s exchange contacts!” bachira comes running back to you after his turn is up, phone in hand along with a large grin. you sit up properly and smile back at him before standing up and walking over to the table. “sure, bachira meguru right?” you spot your phone with many others that lay on the table, glancing back at bachira whole sends finger guns your way and a playful wink. “bingo~!”

the others also ask to exchange contacts with you, and you happily accept it before everyone huddles around your figure and bringing out their phones. you go to your contact profile, showing them your number so they can insert it into their profile. “that charm…” chigiri notices the bell and amethyst that hangs from your phone, and with him bringing it up the other two start to take notice of it.

“oh, this?” seeing how everyone was now looking at the charm you had attached, you bring it up into a better view after the trio had finished putting your number in. all three of them stare intently at him, yet your smile comes forth everytime you see this charm. “reo bought it for me a few months back.”

“i knew i saw it before!” isagi points at the charm in your hand, not really knowing what he means by that. the three football players then recall back to the u-20 game where reo had left his phone out, and everyone thought it was chigiri’s due to the slightly cutesy girly charm by the phone. bachira giggles, feeling all giddy just thinking about the two of you. “you two like to match, huh? it’s so cute!”

“you could say that?” why did you even say that? because you have absolutely no idea what they’re referring to. blinking your lashes thrice they just giggle at you, as if they didn’t even want to inform you in the first place.

“what’s not cute is when they flirt in front of my face sometimes.” nagi’s voice interrupts their giggling, you gasp dramatically at him. when you look at nagi he looks away, avoiding eye contact with you knowing you’re just going to lecture him.  “we do not do that in front of you!”

“so you two do flirt with each other!” bachira gives you a teasing grin with the other two, hand in front of him as if he was one of those gossip girls. he wiggles is brows at you, causing the peachy hues burn the tips of your ears and slapping him ( affectionately ) on the arm as an attempt to stop their teasing. “that’s not what i meant!”

���⠀⠀⠀ “so what do you think about the guys from blue lock?” after the lot of you finished a day filled with fun activities, reo had offered to take you home, as per usual. you can’t help but give him a big grin. “they’re nice,” you think back to all the new memories and friends you made today, it was probably the most fun you had in years. yet what really made it special was the way reo smiled when he was with them. “you looked like you genuinely were enjoying yourself.”

“hey, that was back in jr high.” he retorts back making you laugh at him. you remember all those times he had study sessions at the old cafe you worked in, it was really a sight to see such a social bird still being picky to who he talks to. “when you hung out with the classmates you had, it was like there was a wall between you and them!”

“they were snobby, yn.” his matter-of-fact tone doesn’t go unnoticed by you, which gives you a chance to tease him once more. you use your elbow and gently nudge his side, “oho? and i’m not?”

“‘course not! you’re literally one of the most precious people in my life.” the way reo had said those words struck your heart, it wasn’t the usual sarcastic one he would throw at you when you were teasing him, it felt more honest. your lips slowly curl into a smile, looking at the ground you walk to avoid eye contact with him. “i can say the same to you too, reo.”

“are you free tomorrow night?” breaking a string of silence after the previous topic, he glances down to you where you pull a questionable look towards him, not really knowing how to answer. “i mean, i quit my job? so, yeah, i am.”

“my parents are making me go to this party, i’m wondering if you want to go with me?” you ponder on the offer for a bit, humming in the process as you think about it. “i don’t have the facilities to pull off anything remotely close to all this rich stuff. what’s in it for me?”

“there’s free food.” 

“you should’ve started with that.” giving a rather dramatic hand gesture, you lightly tap his chest making him laugh at your antics. you smile at him, loving how such a joyous sound could emit from his lips. “food really is your love language, huh?”

“of course! growing up in the working class, you might not know my dear struggles.” you bring two fists up to your eyes as you pretend to cry and wipe your tears away, fake sobs here and there as you ramble on about minimum wage jobs and rude customers. reo blinks his lashes, slightly done with how you indicated that such hardships cannot be found in the day to day life of a rich boy. he rolls those lavender hues, “haha, very funny yn.”

“wait, do i wear a dress?” you immediately look up, the party suddenly sinking into your brain. if it was a social gathering that his parents was making him go, then wouldn’t that mean that it was going to be a formal party that included wearing decently expensive clothing that your paycheque could never handle? the thought of that makes your brain spiral, and reo easily saw the look of distress on your face despite the smile. “there’s one in the bag for you.”

“oh, so you were gonna bring me to the party from the very beginning?” sighing in relief you had dodged a financial bullet to the heart, though that makes you look at all the bags reo had been carrying for you all day. you’re reminded of how you went back to one of the train station lockers to get all the bags. “i knew you’d be free.”

“anyways, thanks for being there for me today.” as the two of you near your apartment door, you open up your home for the two of you to come in. “i’m happy to see you again.” reo places multiple bags near the entrance of your doorway before heading back out again. he gives you a sweet toothy grin, “anything for you.”

chuckling at him, you take a step out of your apartment towards reo. taking to heart what a certain striker had told you earlier, you took your chances. placing your lips on reo’s cheek makes your heart beat faster than the force of a football being kicked into the goal, eyes shut close as you make this quick. reo stands there in a blushing mess as he watches you retract back into your apartment and closing the door in front of him.

“goodnight, reo.” 

⠀⠀⠀⠀ “i’m nervous, i’ve never been to these things before.” when reo had guided you up some rather luxurious stairs, you knew instantly this was not a lifestyle you were used to. the feeling of your stomach wanting to flip inside out earlier has a whole new meaning to you now; one that involves trying to walk through this black evening gown and heels reo left at your apartment last night.

“don’t worry, you look beautiful.” the boy takes your hand in an attempt to soothe your worries away, his thumb ever so gently rubbing the back of your hand as he takes the lead and carefully helps you up the stairs to the entire mansion. you puff out your cheeks without fully soaking in what he just said, eyes looking at the staircase to watch where you were placing your foot so you wouldn’t trip up. you weakly groan at him, “i know, but that wasn’t my concern—”

“just wanted to let you know.” quickly reo takes hold of your hand and pulls you close to him, his arm wrapping around your waist as he pulls you close to his chest after you had successfully missed the last step of the stair. a rather defeated look plays on reo’s face when he sees how clumsy you were in the dress, noting to himself to probably not have given you feels nor a dress like that if he knew you were just going to place your face on the ground within the first thirty minutes of you wearing it.

“jeez, pretty boy.” as you try to keep up the farce that you weren’t embarrassed by how close you were to him, you look away for a bit, hand placing on to his chest to create some distance between the two of you. taking a step back, you start to rethink your life choices up from the moment you put the damn dress on to now.

after last night it was unfortunately normal between the two of you, much to your dismay. you had thought that if you at least made the first move reo would start to realize you liked him more than just a best friend. in fact, the ride in the limo was awkward for you, and up until now it still is because he has yet to mention last night to you. gods, this is not good for your heart.

“the food table is over there if you want to calm down.” reo knows exactly what was on your mind, especially since he was the reason you had the look of discomfort. he nudges his head to the side where your eyes track to; which was a long table of hand food for you to eat. instantly the clouds that flew in the sky of your mind is wiped away at the view of such delectables— some you’ve never have even seen before. “can i take some of it home?”

“knock yourself out.” though it was only for now, reo had successfully distracted you from your mind that was hung up on last night. you happily make your way to the food table with reo following behind, grabbing your phone and taking all sorts of videos and pictures of such high class food before getting a plate to eat all of it.

“i’ll be right back, alright?” reo is behind your body as he puts his hand by your waist, him being a bit too close for your comfort. you can’t bring yourself to look back at him when you start to stiffen up, for god’s sake you can feel his breath on the nape of your neck already.  “my father’s business partner is calling me over, stay here.”

“i’ll see you soon.” trying to hide the voice crack that emerges from your voice box, you knew reo had heard it. his hands stops lingering by your waist before nodding his head and walking away, then only then did you dare to look at him disappear into the crowd. you knew that if he stayed any longer your heart might go into cardiac arrest.

“odd to see your face here, waitress.” taking you out of your trance is a slender woman around your age, your eyes dart to look at her stoic look that was unphased. you pounce on the thought for a bit, trying to see in your little pretty head if you could remember who she was, but no no avail you say, “do i know you?”

“i— why—” she fumbles on her own words, lost for what to say as she’s taken aback by your blunt response. she lets out a groan, fingers pinching her nose bridge before running her hand through her brown locks. “it’s fujimoto tsukina.”

“ah.” you had just now remembered, she was the girl reo was with in the cafe a few years ago with you. you’ve only encountered her a few times but since you never really did go to reo’s preppy school often you weren’t familiar with the people he knew other than nagi. “if you’re going to ask for ryouta’s number again, i’m still not going to give it you.”

“oh shut the fuck up!” your deadpan expression frustrates her, hands balling into fists as she’s insulted thats all you remember her for— it was three years ago. you raise a brow at her actions when she finally cools down, regaining her composure with a slight cough to calm herself. “but i’m not surprised you’re here. i take it you’re still smooching off mikage.”

“what…?” there was something with the way she worded those words that made your lips drop down into a frown, eye brows starting to scrunch up. “don’t ‘what’ me.” fujimoto heaves a prolonged sigh from her nose, rolling her chocolate hues to mock you. “there’s a reason why no one is entertaining you here. you might dress the part but a lot of us can tell you’re not part of this high class society.”

“and that’s understandable, but that’s not the answer that i’m looking for.” quickly snapping back at her, your questions start to raise each moment she’s in your presence. “i’m not smooching off reo or whatever you want to call it.”

“really? it doesn’t look that way to me.” fujimoto gestures at your figure, rolling her eyes at you. “a chanel evening dress with a matching handbag, van cleef necklace with christian dior earrings and bracelets. you’re branded head to toe, commoner.”

you knew she was right, but you never asked for any of this. you bite your bottom lip trying to hold yourself back from trying to make a scene. “i didn’t ask for any of this, i’m just borrowing it—”

“oh cut the shit, yn.” she scoffs obnoxiously, looking to the side to change her scenery before glancing back at you. fujimoto cross her arms and confidently says, “we all know mikage reo can do better than a gold digger like you.” it takes a bit to process that information— that description in general. fujimoto can see from how your face twists that you were taken aback. you blink, “are you jealous?”

“of course not! you just need to learn your place!” her face turns red and puts the blush she applied to shame, causing you to verify your suspicions. you scrunch your face up in discomfort at the second thing she said as your patience starts to run thin. “i’ve barely talked to you in my entire life.”

“that’s a good thing because you don’t belong here.” fujimoto’s voice lowers down in an attempt to scare you. she moves towards your figure whilst opening her limited edition black birkin handbag. her eyes feast on the sight of cash bundled up in her small bag, grabbing hold of the stashes of ¥10,000 banded together. the girl aggressively grabs your hand and places the money in your palm without a second thought.

“don’t bother mikage reo anymore and get the hell out of my sight.” fujimoto tsukina had just bribed you to stay away from reo. her words holds malice and resentment towards you as she looks at you ask if you were in hindrance in her eyes. you look at the cash in your hand, it was probably enough to not work for the next five years. yet the way she started to walk away from you left a bad taste in your mouth.

“fuck you.” clicking your tongue in annoyance, you can’t help but let your frustrations out at the source of your negativity. fujimoto turns around angrily at how you had addressed her after she had just selflessly helped you out; as if charity. your eyes show the rage and raw emotions you’ve been bundling up since the beginning of this conversation.

“i’m not leaving reo because i’m in love with him.”

it was your turn to unplug the cord to fujimoto’s power trip, walking up to her whistle taking the bands off the money she gave you. just as you were at a good distance from her, you effortlessly threw all the cash she handed to her right back at her face. the look of anger bubbling up on the rich girl’s face from in between the paper that fell from above only causes you to smile ever so menacingly.

“take your money, bitch.”

the last yen bill falls to the ground along with the last shred of fujimoto’s dignity, her sense and social awareness thrown out the window with only the thought of slapping your face. she tramples through the money and raises a hand to bring down on you. “why you—”

“don’t fuckin’ touch my girlfriend.” 

you never expected that hand to come down on you, but what shocked you was reo’s interference— nevermind that, but what he said is what set your mind in a spiral. reo had grabbed fujimoto’s wrist and stopping her from touching you, and by the look on his face you can see her was furious at what was happening. hell, a crowd had even started to form just now, and were already whispering to each other.

“g-girlfriend?!” fujimoto chokes on her own words, she’s more shocked about reo’s words than his appearance in your twos’ argument. his grip letting go of her wrist when he notices that she wasn’t going to go through with her movements. he furrows his brows and gives her a look as he steps in between the two of you, “you got a problem with that?”

“she’s a good digger mikage!” fujimoto’s voice is over the top, her finger accusingly pointing to the girl behind reo ; you.

“yn is one of the most honest and hard working people i know, she’s anything but a gold digger.” he scowls at her words, flicking his wrist to slap her accusing finger out of his view. “don’t you ever bother us again.”

reo grabs hold of your hand and pulls you to exit the seen of gossiping rich people who had nothing else to do but bad mouth others. you try to pick up your pace to match with his as you grab the dress with your free hand so you wouldn’t trip again as the both of you make it outside where there was more privacy for the both of you. you’re speechless, baffled and… honoured? your thoughts are all jumbled and everywhere, yet your brain is still in hung up on one thing;

“since when did i become your girlfriend?” this is when you finally snap out of your daze, looking at reo who was checking if you had gotten hurt with your argument with fujimoto. instead of being shocked to hear that you suddenly have a boyfriend now, you rather tease him for it. your eyes raising a brow of curiosity.

“ever since you said you were in love with me.” reo heaves a long sigh whilst looking out towards the garden of the mansion. he had to admit, he was being way too bold back there, but he can’t shake the thought of you getting hurt either. he had just said whatever was the quickest way to get fujimoto to back off, and calling you his girlfriend was something he didn’t think through after hearing what you said.

“you heard that?” your eyes widen slightly, were you too loud? you were sure the crowd only started to form when you called fujimoto a bitch. you felt the blush creeping up to your cheeks, tinting it with a coral colour just realizing maybe you had gone overboard with your confrontation.

“yeah,” he flatly says, swallowing the lump of saliva that was stuck in his throat. reo starts to rub the nape of his neck, moving his feet to face you, but his head hangs low due to the fact that he lost all confidence to look you in the eyes, “i’m sorry if i’ve been making things awkward for you today—”

“just shut up and kiss me.” you grab hold of the velvety tie that hangs around his neck as you pull him towards your body. you close your eyes in embarrassment as your lips move to crash into his soft ones. reo’s eyes are wide at the sudden change of pace, but he can’t deny that he’s been wanting to kiss you for all these years.

his gaze softens before he too closes his eyes to melt into the kiss. reo’s left hand wraps around your waist while the other holds you by the side of your neck to pull you close to him as he kisses your lips right back. in that moment the both of you felt like everything was finally complete, the missing piece finding its rightful place within you. your stomach erupts like little fireworks, you wouldn’t have your first with anyone other than mikage reo, but let’s keep that a secret, shall we?

in that second reo wished that you were the only air he needed in his life as the two of you gently pull away, your foreheads leaning on each other while the small shaky breathes escape from both your lips. even as the silence engulfs you whole, your sweet soft laughter comes out.

“i love you, reo.”

“i love you too.” 

snuggling your nose against his he chuckles at your actions, pulling back to leave a chaste kiss on your forehead. “let’s get out of here.” the love and sincerity in his eyes is what makes your heart skip a beat and want to melt in his gaze, his gentle touch cuffing your cheeks makes you lean towards him. 

reo wasn’t going to lie to himself any longer, nor was he going to hide how much he loves you anymore. you are the same, and maybe you’d just have to thank isagi’s encouraging words.

“wait, just one more thing.” reo raises a questioning brow at you, though not answering he was curious to know what else you had wanted to go before your departure. sending him a rather mischievous grin, you slyly take one of the wine glass from a butler. making your way to fujimoto who had been ranting about her encounter with you to other guests that attended the party. many of the guest she was with starts to quiet down as they notice you approaching behind fujimoto, before you finally go ahead and tap her shoulder.

“what the fuck do you want—” her words are cut short when you throw the glass of wine at her face. many people gasp dramatically loud which attracts the attention of many people. raising the middle finger at her, you can’t help give her your award winning smile. “i’ve always wanted to do that.”

“that’s my girl.” reo looks at your direction in a fond way. unexpected? yes, but he wouldn’t trade you for anyone in the world. your goofy grin drowns the ear piercing shrek fujimoto lets out, making you scoff before running towards reo. grasping on to his hand intertwining with yours you urge him to run with you, which he gladly accepts. “now we can go!”

“mcdonalds?”

“you treating me?”

“i’ll treat you like my princess forever.”

bachira : guys !!!! yn texted me!!! isagi : what did she say? bachira : she said ty her and reo are tgtr now isagi : told her to take her shot otoyo : she could’ve been with me aryu : thats so SLAY of her <3 chigiri : nah yn is way too whipped for reo nagi : good for them yukimiya : i hope reo can stop sending me death threats abt yn now karasu : r none of yall gonna question why tf they’re in suits n dresses in a mcds

REBLOGS ARE APPRECIATED !

© daiseukiis 2023. all rights reserved. do not repost, modify, translate without permission. do not claim work or layout as yours.

[userlaylivia]

@nessa007, @clubglee, @forbescaroline

[girlmetalsonic]

i feel like wave 2 of the dlc may be relating to 8's memories? more tin foil hat theory stuff under the cut. (also full disclosure.. im an agents fan and im assuming this is agent 8 even though it really could be some random octoling LULZ)

SO we see agent 8 in a white, dead coral version of inkopolis square.. the battle tower looks to be under construction almost? maybe thats how its always looked but to me it looks MUCH higher and less finished?

and here we see pearl in the same area as seen by the background. important to note here is that she's smiling, if the square was really destroyed like that i dont think she would seem so happy. she isnt one to be super calm when it pertains to the destruction of the square as we see at the end of octo expansion with her reactions to failing to defeat commander tartar.

this makes me think she isnt ACTUALLY there with 8, and its just some kind of reflection of their memories.

in this image we see them clutching their head VERY SIMILARLY to how they do at the start of octo expansion after losing their memory, further connecting the dlc to agent 8's memories.

this part is more speculation but the glaring light effects (not the shine, the box-looking things) kind of looks like the lights that come out from the windows of a train? and looking to the background it almost looks like pillars you would find in a subway? its not super clear but to me this further relates to their memories of the deepsea metro.

in this image we see several versions of agent 8.. to me this seems like it means theyre struggling to find identity due to their amnesia? the one near the front is colored with marinas color pallet, possibly just due to the lighting but it is important to note that 8's hair is generally warm colored in all of the other art for the dlc; maybe hinting at looking to marina and trying to be like her?

further implying the search for identity.. we have agent 8 staring at their reflection, we cant fully see their expression, but judging from the mouth they look confused? maybe due to their memory loss they dont remember who they are?

taken less literally it could just be a more abstract sense of searching for themself and the artwork is just meant to represent that search without actually being them not recognizing their reflection.

here we see pearl and marina(?) the image is very blurry and its unclear if that is actually marina due to her face being partially obscured but im going to assume it is because shes with pearl. pearl looks.. kind of young in this? maybe not a child but definitely younger than she appears in game. its not super clear what shes holding but based on her expression i would say its probably a camera/phone?

marinas full expression isnt totally shown but it looks like shes smiling and from the way shes holding herself it seems like shes laughing? again its not super clear but it looks like shes holding a splattershot type weapon.

the background is a little too blurry to make out anything super confidently but it SORT OF looks like the battle tower in the background, it might just be marinas hair since there isnt a super defined edge.

here we see marina clearly, she is looking off screen and looks worried and like she is in the middle of saying something? because of the glitchy effects surrounding her it makes me think she might also be a part of 8's memories.

you can see the same blocky train lighting from before, but lower this time.

i originally thought the object closest to the camera might be the tartar goop stuff, but looking closer it doesnt really make sense for there to be holes in it. the farther object im pretty sure is a skull of some sort?

walking away i initially thought this was marina, but looking closer at the shoes they look a lot more like the ones agent 8 was wearing in the overworld shot of the square.

its very difficult to see whats going on in this one, but judging from the tentacles id say its most likely an octarian, probably an octoling. cant say much else besides that other than it looks like theres wires plugged into the top of their head? maybe relating to how octolings are born or created like how at the start of octo expansion in the character creator agent 8 floats around in green goo.

last thing i have any kind of analysis on is this image where we see 8 next to an elevator, looking towards the end of the hallway either at something off screen or at the growing foliage inside the building.

most likely id say this takes place inside the memory world thing? because of the white colors and plants growing indoors.

my main problem with this theory is, how would 8 get inside a memory world? i know there was the mem cakes and all that but unless its some sort of metaphor (which i dont think splatoon would go for something that complex) theres really no feasible way for them to actually be inside their memories? maybe some kind of world that morphs to the thoughts and memories of individuals? its too early to tell.