#markate

[taylorshope]

I hate them (affectionate)

[unhingedlesbear]

I MADE IT IN TIME lets gooooo! Just a bunch of furry au sketches of some of my favourite SMG ships. Shhhh yes they're all canon smh

Valentines day 😍😍

[zenlesszonezero]

Join Zenless Zone Zero with Tsukishiro Yanagi, the deputy leader of Hollow Special Operations Section 6! Beneath her ordinary office lady exterior lies a meticulous, emotionally intelligent big sister to the team.

[qusok]

[urtrickster]

ok hi <3 i am choosing kate as the target of my confusing wrath, so buckle up because we're in for a mess of thoughts all shoved together into one post and it isn't gonna be pretty.

i don't think kate will ever truly get over mark's death, especially if she abandons him on the boat. to me, they're like... soulmates. they are each other's other half, even if those halves aren't perfect.

i think the guilt eats her alive, and i think she has nightmares about him almost every night. she already struggled with sleep, but now that mark haunts her dreams, asking her why she left him, it's as if sleep has completely abandoned her entirely. but she deserves it, doesn't she? it's what she gets for abandoning him. that's what she thinks, at least.

and what's even worse is that mark never gets a proper funeral. his body never washed ashore, so they were forced to bury an empty casket. kate hates herself. he probably would've survived, had she stayed on the boat. there wouldn't be an empty casket. there wouldn't be a funeral. she wouldn't be wearing black, and she wouldn't be crying the way she is if she weren't such a selfish coward.

or maybe she would've died with him. honestly, that probably would've been better than being forced to live without him, y'know?

the others tell her that it isn't her fault, but it was. it is. she could've done something to save him. she should have done something to save him. she's the reason he's dead, even if they don't want to think that she is.

and after his death, i can see her wearing his clothes to feel a little closer to him. they're a bit big on her, but they're his, and it's the closest she'll ever really get to being held by him again.

his death makes her realize all the things she took for granted. you'd think she'd learn to cherish people more after what happened with shelby, but it seems like she's yet to learn her lesson. she'll never get to see him smile again. she'll never hear his laugh. the only time she'll be able to hear his voice is when she listens to old voicemails she saved or when she watches old recordings of him.

he'll never be able to live out his dreams, and it's her fault.

and i think she keeps all of his old cameras. on particularly bad days, she'll look at all the old photos he's taken and she'll always cry because a lot of them are of her. or the rest of the crew. she'll never be able to see his collection of photos grow.

she'll never be able to tell mark that she loves him.

[marigoidz]

Markate × Humpty by Mitski edit because I had to

[108garys]

Afterimage

Here is what can only presume is the first Du'mark fic, based off the idea of Mark ending up in the blackout room instead and because @unhingedlesbear's Du'mark propaganda gave me the idea. This is the first time I've written for Mark and I'd love to hear how I did, also there's a little Markate in there too

I basically did this in one sitting at whatever o'clock in the morning so I can only hope that it flows well and all that(I may be a Du'lie/Heclie enjoyer but this rare pair demanded at least the one fic lol)

@kassiekolchek22 @delurkr @tatjana-fantasy @qusok @blubary @ctrvpani @kindheartedgummybears @mybrainrotforreal @ivycross I know it's not the weirdest thing I've ever written but I'm almost here like "sorry for inflicting this on you"

And before I forget "Du'met" is Morello and "the stranger" is Du'met because Mark doesn't know any better at this point and consider this a hate letter to Mark's light source

He went through the images he'd captured before dinner as the faint scent of decay stalked him. The floorboards creaked under foot as he walked the hall, echos of past arguments playing over in his mind…

Mark stopped. A door shut down the hallway, further down than their rooms… He turns to investigate and… Crying?

He picked up his pace, a woman? Mr Du'met said his wife had died, a child? Jamie said they left but maybe…

Suddenly the lights go out. He stumbles, putting his hand against the wall, steading himself as his eyes adjust. He breathes slowly, focusing, looking around trying to find the source of the crying. He clutches his camera with a trembling hand, the dim red light reflecting eerily off the paintings and giving him a few feet of visibility. The texture of the wallpaper grounding beneath his finger tips as he takes step after cautious step down the ominous hallway and still… Decay creeps at the edge of his senses. Hounding him, waiting for him to lose his way and-

Another door slams shut back the way he came. He hears the sound of an argument but can't make out who or where… He feels eyes on him. Things moving in the darkness. On impulse he raises his camera and snaps a picture. The flash lighting up the hall, showing him the way and disorienting him in the process. He leans against the wall. Breathe. Breathe… Breathe. Every breath decay enters his lungs, the taste of death on his tongue. A ghost of something long gone invading his senses. What is that?

The sobbing continues. He pushes himself away from the wall willing himself to continue, it was this place that had him on edge, he reminded himself, the dark isn't unnatural and it was just a big old house. He figured if he was smart he could make his way with decent visibility but he couldn't help but envy Jamie and Erin for having flashlights.

After a few more minutes of tense wondering he turned a corner and saw a row of windows letting in moonlight and an open door at the end of the hall. Light emanating from inside…

It was the only place the crying could be coming from. Mark entered the room, it was small and empty. The source of the crying came from a cheap recording device attached to the wall. He stared at it as the crying played over… He couldn't make sense of it, who would do this? Why would someone do this? He was unnerved as he as he reached to deactivate the recording but then-

"Fuck!" that was the third time he'd been scared by one of those fucking HH Holmes mannequins. He stumbled back, falling on his ass in the process, his head snaps to the direction of the only door as it shuts tight behind him and he is again in complete darkness. Breathe. He tries to calm down as he scrambles back against the wall, camera forgotten on the dusty floor in his panic. He keeps his eyes shut, as he slowly stands up, the cool wall pressed against his back, strange noises in the distance. He opened his eyes, letting them adjust what little they could and... And he was not alone. He felt the movement in the dark, the presence of… Someone. He can't quite make out. A small light blinking on his camera just barely illuminates a stranger's hand, gloved and clinical. Offering the return of what was his…

He reaches tentatively for his camera. Trying to make out the man's face but as his fingers brush the edge of the lens the camera dropped. The hand grabbing his wrist. The flash goes off, lighting up the space. Lighting up the stranger's face. Tall, masked and dressed to fit with the rest of this awful place but Mark could only see those eyes. Intense, blazing with unnatural determination. With certainty.

Then darkness consumed him. Blind after the light fades. Pressed against the wall, pain in his wrist, chest to chest… Heart beating rapidly. He stares out unseeing, feeling those eyes, ingrained in his mind. The sharp edge of a blade whispers against his jaw. Warm breath against his lips. The afterimage of decay, the ghost of a long dead devil. Everything screamed at him to fight but cold metal kept him in check.

His hand numb as the vice grip tightens around his wrist, the knife's edge drawn slowly under his chin. Tilting it slightly. His mouth part as he takes slow nervous breaths. Thinking of what to do. If this was the end. Of his family. Of Kate and a life in Brooklyn. Of those eyes staring through him, etched into his psyche and blotting out all else like spilt ink across everything that he is and values. This man had made himself the centre of the universe and he held Mark's breath as the blade jerked, cutting a thin line under his chin. 'I could have killed you, it would have been easy' Mark felt it in every fibre of his being, he knew it was true. He leaned his head back as the stranger got closer-

A knock at the door caught what little of his attention he could spare. "Mark?" he heard Kate's voice as she knocked again. "Are you in there? I heard you and-"

"I-I'm fine, I just-!" he panicked, as he felt the stranger's tongue slide against the small cut. He could explain… How could he explain!? The man let out a soft sigh as if he enjoyed the taste of Mark's warm blood. Was he going to kiss him or kill him or… Or worse. "The door shut behind me and I," he tried to turn his head, to not think about the eyes full of certainty that the man's will would be enforced, he can barely feel his fingers. He didn't want her to freak out. "I… I think it locked behind me."

"O-okay we'll find away to get you out." Kate sighed with relief, Mark heard her call out. Heard Charlie respond and footsteps running down the hall. The stranger leans in as if to kiss or to bite. Mark's nose press against the painted noes of the mask. He could almost see it. That image burnt into his minds eye. He feels the lightest touch of soft lips against his own, seemingly inadvertently. Mark holds his breath as the stranger pauses, as if debating his next move…

He pulls away at the sound of banging at the door. Mark puts an arm and feels… Nothing? Where did he go? How did he get in? What the hell just happened!? His head was spinning and he could barely make sense of what the others were saying. He slid down the wall, even now he felt those eyes on his skin. The uneasiness of not knowing, the ghost of an almost kiss that may have spared his life, of what would follow… What would follow?

His universe was small containing only the banging at the door, the beating of his heart and eyes like black holes drawing him in with certainty. The crushing palpable sense that he had been marked by decay, no longer outside of him… He reached for where his camera had fallen. It's familiar weight comforting in his hands.

He snaps out of it as the door bursts open. The light blinding him momentarily as Kate rushes towards him to see if he's okay. He blinks, disorientated as her face comes into view. Her eyes, full of warmth and uncertainty and life… She helps him to his feet, the scent of decay replaced by her perfume as he steps into the light. Mark pulls her into a tight hug, burying his head in her shoulder as he calms himself.

He loves her. Soon he would have to explain what happened… At least what he thinks happened. Soon the eyes would return and death would stalk the halls again but for now he just held tightly to her.

His love... his life.

[smgsecretsanta]

A gift from @galaxyzone to @qusok!!!!

Text under the cut

A/N: I really liked the request for a summer camp fanfic, so I thought I would give that a go! Just a disclaimer that I haven’t written fanfiction in years, but I am very confident in my writing ability, so I hope you enjoy it! Also, this story is essentially a Summer Camp AU and is not tied to the canon game, as the characters are all about the same ages (except Charlie) instead of there being like a 6-year age gap between Erin and Kate, for instance. In this story, Jamie & Erin are 14 while Kate & Mark are 16. I also may have incorporated some of my headcanons about the characters, as well as some headcanons I’ve seen from other people because I liked them! Oh, I also have included a little easter egg referencing The Quarry if anyone happens to catch it. It’s very subtle but let me know if you find it! Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy it! <3

Jamie always hated these things. The stupid orientations on the first day of camp where the adults go over the rules & regulations, give sleeping arrangements, discuss the “itinerary” of activities instead of actually doing said activities, talk about the code of conduct, etc, etc. It was already hard enough for any teenager to sit still for a prolonged period of time and listen attentively while monotone adults droned on and on, let alone a teenager who already has difficulties with attention regulation such as Jamie. As the counselor moved on to talking about how meals would work, Jamie huffed and slouched even lower in her chair.

As she scanned the room, she recognized only 2 familiar faces. One was a man, one of the counselors, who was sitting up at the front with the other counselors, flipping through a stack of papers. Charlie was the director of activities, which Jamie considered a joke since she was pretty sure the man would lose his own head if it wasn’t already screwed on. Actually, Jamie questioned if it was even screwed on tight enough, or possibly even a little too tight. That would explain his constant stress responses to every little hiccup he encounters. The other face Jamie recognized belonged to a boy, another camper whom Jamie knew from both her previous 2 years at camp. He was wearing a well-loved gray hoodie and had his favorite camera strapped around his neck. During their first year at camp together, Jamie and Mark didn’t know each other too well. Jamie was extroverted and liked socializing and getting into trouble with the other kids, whereas Mark was more introverted and preferred keeping to himself and his camera. However, all of the kids that Jamie had hung out with during her first year did not attend camp the following year, leaving Jamie to make new friends. One of the only faces she recognized was Mark’s, so she decided to adopt him as her designated introvert, as many extroverts like to do. Even though they were different, the two of them got along pretty well and Jamie was happy to see that he was back.

Just then, the girl sitting next to Mark leaned over and whispered something to him. She had auburn hair and was wearing a beanie that looked almost as well-loved as Mark’s hoodie. Jamie didn’t recognize her. Was she someone Mark knew from school? Jamie shrugged and resumed slouching in her chair. She bent her head back, looking up at the ceiling, and heaved a sigh. These stupid things always dragged on.

After the orientation finally ended, Jamie quickly found her cabin and was surprised to already find another girl inside. She didn’t notice Jamie come in, she had her back turned towards the door and was rummaging inside her bag.

“Hey,” Jamie gently greeted the girl to get her attention.

“Oh!” The girl spun around, holding something in her hand. She greeted Jamie back with a small wave, “Hi.”

The girl was wearing a yellow t-shirt over a black long-sleeved shirt and a pair of headphones around her neck.

“I’m Jamie,” Jamie stuck her hand out for the girl to shake.

“Erin,” The girl replied as she softly took Jamie’s hand and gave it a gentle shake.

“It’s nice to meet you, Erin.”

“You too,” Erin gave Jamie a soft smile.

Their hands lingered a little longer than normal, still awkwardly and slowly shaking for a good couple of seconds before Jamie chuckled and retracted her hand.

“What were you looking for in your bag? You forget something?”

“Oh, no, I was looking for this,” Erin held up a blue inhaler. “There’s probably a lot of dust and stuff at camp, so I wanted to make sure it was accessible, because the last time I had an attack and didn’t have it on me, it was— well,” She stopped herself short. “I’m sorry, that’s probably too much information, i-it just helps me breathe.”

“You’re good,” Jamie gave a small, amused chuckle. “I don’t mind, I like learning things about people. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t care.”

“Oh, well that’s a relief,” Erin plopped down on her chosen bed as Jamie set her bag on the other bed and started to unpack. “I’m just so used to people getting annoyed with me for sharing too much.”

“Those people are lame,” Jamie said in such a blunt tone that caught Erin off-guard, but in a good way. She wasn’t used to other people immediately having her back in such a confident manner like the one Jamie exudes.

“Yeah,” Erin giggled. “I guess so.”

“Go ahead, say it.”

“Say what?”

“Say, ‘those people are lame.’ It’ll make you feel good, promise.”

“…Will it?”

“As someone who’s been saying it practically my whole life, yes. I guarantee.”

“O-okay… Those people are lame?”

Jamie stopped rummaging in her bag and turned to Erin.

“Mmm, no. Like you mean it.”

“But what if I don’t mean it?”

“Come onn, just say it.”

“Okay, those people are lame…”

“Louder.”

Erin looked around, unsure of herself, as she was a much more quiet and reserved person than Jamie was. It would appear that Jamie had found her designated adopted introvert for the summer.

“I won’t judge you,” Jamie encouraged her. “In fact, I’ll think you’re pretty cool. Go ahead, let it out.”

“Alright… Those people are lame.”

“One more time.”

“Those people are lame!”

Jamie chuckled, “Pretty good, does that feel better?”

“A little,” Erin admitted with a sheepish smile, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Good! Sometimes you gotta let that stuff out instead of letting it bottle up, y’know?” Jamie finished unpacking most of her stuff before she turned back towards Erin. “You wanna go look around?”

Erin looked up at her, “Don’t you still have to finish unpacking?”

“Eh, that stuff can wait, I wanna go see everything. Wanna join me? It’ll be fun!”

Erin, wanting Jamie to continue to think she was cool, shrugged and placed aside the book that she had gotten out.

“Sure, I suppose. Where are we going?”

“Anywhere! I wanna see what kind of activities they have set up.”

Jamie headed for the cabin door and Erin followed after her, inhaler in her pocket and headphones still around her neck.

At another section of the camp, Mark sat on a bench and pointed his camera at a small family of ducks floating in the lake across from him. As one of the ducks popped back up from the water and shook its head, Mark clicked his camera and took a couple of quick photos. After a short succession of shots, he took the camera away from his eye and reviewed them, determining which ones to keep. As he clicked through them, the auburn-haired girl strolled up to him.

“Get anything good?” She asked him.

“Just some trees and ducks,” He turned the camera screen to show her his favorite from the bunch, which was a snap of the duck shaking off the water.

“Looks good! Is that a new camera?”

“My mom got it for me for my birthday. She gave it to me a little early so I could have it at camp.”

“That was sweet. How is your mom?”

“She’s good. She says hi.”

“Ah, well, tell her I say hi back! You know… when you get back home, of course…” She trailed off before letting out a sigh as she sat next to him. Mark chuckled and turned towards her.

“For sure. You all unpacked?” He shut his camera off and put it back in his camera bag.

“Yup! Ah, so, Mark… I—”

“I’m really glad you could come along this summer, Kate. It’s a lot of fun and I’m pretty excited to finally share it with you.”

Kate gave him a soft smile, “Me too, Mark. I’m really happy we get to have a fun summer together. There’s just, um…” Kate looked at her hands, picking at the skin around her fingernails.

“Who knows, maybe if you enjoy it just as much as I do, we can come back next year and be counselors or something.”

“I thought you had to be eighteen to be a counselor.”

“Oh, yeah, you’re probably right. I just assumed that because sixteen was the cutoff for campers, that meant that seventeen was the eligible age for counselors. Although maybe there’s a junior counselor option? I don’t know, it was just a thought.”

Kate gave him another warm smile, “Well, you should definitely look into it, I think that would be really great for you. Maybe you could teach these kids about photography!”

“You think I could?”

“I don’t see why not. You’re a really good photographer, Mark.”

Mark couldn’t help but blush a little. “Thanks, Kate. Maybe you could teach them about journalism or something!”

Kate smiled at him again, although this time it was more of a sad smile. He was so excited and she was so happy to see him thinking about the future, especially since the Mark she’s used to usually just lets life happen. How was she supposed to tell him about her mother’s new job and about how it would take her away from him?

“Mark, I have to tell you about something—”

“Hey, Mark!” Kate was cut off by Jamie, who was waving and walking up to them with Erin at her side.

“Hey, Jamie, good to see you again!” Mark stood up and caught Jamie slightly off-guard with a hug.

“Oh, hey, yeah, you too!” She patted his back before they let go.

Mark, realizing he had to make introductions, awkwardly gestured to Kate, “This is Kate, we go to school together. She’s that friend I told you about last year.” He then turned to Kate and gestured towards Jamie, “Kate, this is Jamie, she was my friend last year at camp.”

Kate stood up and shook Jamie’s hand, “Nice to meet you, Jamie.”

“You too. Mark told me a lot about you last year. In fact, sometimes it seemed like he wouldn’t shut up about you.”

Kate looked at Mark, who opened his mouth to object, clearly blushing. “Really?”

“I— I wouldn’t say I wouldn’t shut up about you, that’s… an over-exaggeration, I just had a lot to say about… school, and… stuff…”

“Uh huh,” Kate smirked before turning back to Jamie. “Well he told me a good bit about you too, he said he had a lot of fun last year.” Kate then turned to Erin, “What’s your name?”

“I’m Erin.” Erin awkwardly lifted her hand, unsure of whether or not she should hold it out for Kate to shake. When Kate extended her own hand, Erin clumsily took it and gave it a small shake. “I’m just… Jamie’s roommate. Or, uh, cabinmate,” she said before she awkwardly folded her arms just so she could have somewhere to put her hands, which she was suddenly overly conscious of.

“I’m taking her around, showing her all of my favorite spots, telling her which places to stay away from, et cetera,” Jamie jumped in, taking the attention and pressure off of Erin.

“Did you show her the waterfall?” Mark asked.

Kate echoed, “Waterfall?”

“There’s this little lake that we all used to go swimming in, and above it there’s this stream that has a mini waterfall flowing into it.”

“I haven’t gotten that far yet,” Jamie answered. “I was actually heading that way now when I saw you guys. You… wanna join us?”

“Sure! Kate, you wanna go?”

Kate hesitated. She knew that she shouldn’t put off what she needed to tell him, but she also knew that she technically had all summer. She figured it was best to not dump it on him right away, so she said, “Sure, that sounds like fun.”

“Alrighty, campers, let’s goo!” Jamie started leading the way, Erin right behind her, and Mark and Kate behind Erin.

When the four of them made it to the waterfall, they laughed and talked about everything they thought of, simply having fun getting to know each other. They splashed around in the water a bit, but Mark was resistant to getting his favorite hoodie wet while Erin was protective of her headphones, not wanting them to get ruined. They hung out for about an hour or so before a counselor came looking for them.

Later that night, after dinner, Kate knocked on Mark’s cabin door just as he was finishing getting unpacked. Because the doors had mesh windows on them, Mark could see Kate standing outside under the glow of the lantern that was mounted on the outside wall.

“Come in, Kate!” Mark called to Kate, and she opened the door to let herself in. Mark was organizing his camera bag for what Kate could only guess was maybe the fiftieth time since they got to camp that day. Mark’s roommate was sitting on his own bed on the farther side of the cabin, listening intently to something on his phone with earbuds in his ears. “Hey,” Mark greeted Kate, “What’s up?”

“Hey, Mark, do you have a minute?”

“Luckily I just finished unpacking, so yeah! Why?”

Kate shrugged, “Wanna go on a walk? It’s really nice out tonight.”

“Sure,” Mark finished crewing a lens on his camera. “Should I bring my camera?”

“I don’t know how good the lighting is here at nighttime.”

Mark looked down at his camera, contemplating what Kate said. “Good point,” he said as he put his camera back in its bag and zipped it shut. “Okay, let’s go!” Mark grabbed his gray hoodie and wrapped it around himself, zipping it up, before following Kate towards the door. Before leaving, Mark turned to his roommate and said, “I’ll be back, man.”

His roommate gave him a small thumbs up as an acknowledgment before Mark followed Kate outside and let the door swing close behind them.

“Where to, m’lady?” Mark asked Kate, putting his hands in his pockets.

“Anywhere, really, I just thought it’d be nice to look at the stars. It’s so much easier to see them here than back in the city.”

Mark followed Kate’s gaze up towards the sky, where he could indeed see more stars than he had ever seen back in Chicago. “Think you can recognize any constellations?”

Kate chuckled, “No, I’m not really familiar with any constellations.”

“You’re not?”

“No, not really. What makes you think I am?” Her tone wasn’t snappy at all, she was genuinely curious as to why he thought that about her.

Mark shrugged, “I dunno, I just thought since you’re into crystals, that you would be into all of that kind of stuff.” Mark gave her a sheepish smile, which Kate returned.

“Nah, not really my thing. I do like astrology and studying the zodiac signs, but I’m not really a constellations girl.”

Mark let out a chuckle and said, “Fair enough.”

The two of them walked in silence a bit longer, appreciating the night sky and the sounds of the crickets around them. They eventually made it to a little hiking trail that led away from the main camp. As they started walking down the trail, Kate looked at Mark, who was still admiring the night sky. Kate smiled to herself. She was going to miss this big dork a lot.

“Mark, I kinda have to tell you something.”

Mark looked back to Kate. “What’s up?”

“Well, firstly, nothing is wrong,” Kate reassured, not realizing how strange of a statement that was to start off with until Mark gave her a weird look.

“O-okay? Is everything ok?”

Kate was suddenly very aware of the cool breeze that was blowing through the trees around them.

“Y-yeah,” Kate let out a shiver. “Everything is f-fine.”

Mark, noticing Kate shivering, immediately unzipped his jacket and, without saying anything, removed it from himself and wrapped it around Kate’s shoulders. She gave him a sweet, grateful look before graciously taking it and putting her arms through the sleeves. What was she ever going to do without this big meatball? Once Kate had the hoodie on, Mark wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him so she could share his body warmth. Kate had always been one of those people who got cold pretty easily, and Mark was always more than happy to warm her up.

“What did you wanna talk about?” He asked.

“S-so,” Kate let out one last shiver before relaxing into his embrace. “You know how I told you my mom was looking for a new job?”

“Yeah, she wanted better pay and a better work environment, right?”

“Right… Yeah, so… She, uh, she found one.”

“Oh yeah? That’s great!” Mark smiled at Kate, who still looked nervous, which seemed strange to Mark considering the good news she just shared. “So how come you don’t seem happy?”

“The job is in Georgia.”

Mark stopped walking and loosened his embrace on Kate.

“What?”

“The job is located in Georgia, which means… We have to move,” Kate gave him a sad look. Mark dropped his arm and turned to face Kate fully.

“You’re moving?” Mark searched Kate’s face, looking for some type of indicator that there was hopefully some good news to balance out the idea of them having to split up. “When?”

“At the end of the summer. When we get back home, I basically have to start packing right away. Our flight is August 28th.”

Mark felt like someone had just jabbed a needle through his chest.

“So…” He started, trying to wrap his head around what he was hearing. “What does this mean, then? For us?”

“It, well… It means we have to break up,” Kate’s voice hitched as she said that. She hated the idea of them having to break up, but she hated the idea of a long-distance relationship just as much. “I’ve never done long-distance before, and to be honest, I don’t think I could handle it. I just think it would be even more painful than just being friends, which I don’t wanna do either, I want to be with you, I just… I don’t have a choice. Not until I’m an adult with my own job and can stand on my own feet.”

“You have a job.”

“I mean a real job, one that pays an actual living wage.”

Mark looked down at the ground, not wanting her to see the pain on his face. Mark was one of those people who hated the feeling of sadness so much that he would rather feel anything else, even if it was anger. To him, it was easier to be angry than it was to be sad. It was like an unhealthy coping mechanism designed to suppress his feelings rather than regulate them.

“Is this why you came to camp with me this year? Because you felt bad that you’ll have to leave me?”

“No, Mark, I wanted us to have a good summer before I have to go! I didn’t want to dump it on you right before we leave, which is also why I thought I should tell you now instead of at the end of summer. That way, I figured we could just focus on having a good time before, y’know…” Kate trailed off, not wanting to finish the thought.

“Kate, how am I supposed to have a good time when I know that it’s going to end when we go back home?”

“Because we can make the most of it, you know, knowing that it’s… our last few months together. We can go all out— water balloon fights, hiking, scavenger hunts, swimming, all that stuff!”

“But knowing that you’re going to leave doesn’t make me wanna do that stuff, it makes me just want to reverse time or find a way to keep you here. Or, well— not keep you here, at camp, but I mean— like, keep you in Chicago. With me.”

Kate gave him another sad look, not entirely knowing what to say. It wasn’t her choice to leave him, she very much wanted the opposite, but her mom needed this new job to better make ends meet.

“I’m sorry, Mark, I wish I had a choice. You know how much my mom needs this job.”

Mark sighed, feeling his anger wash away as soon as he looked into her eyes. From just one glance, he could instantly tell just how much this was tearing her apart. That was the thing about Kate’s eyes— they always did the best job at portraying her inner thoughts and feelings, even more so than her words sometimes. That was one reason she often wore sunglasses when she could— they allowed her to be mysterious whenever she was around people she didn’t fully feel comfortable letting in. Mark, however, was not someone she felt the need to keep a guard up around.

“I’m sorry, too,” Mark took Kate’s hands. “You’re right, I know that, and I know you don’t have a choice, I just…” Mark sighed again. “Tell me there’s a chance that it’s not goodbye forever?”

“Oh, definitely not, you know I couldn’t do that,” Kate pulled her right hand free and used it to cup Mark’s face.

Mark looked back down at the ground, feeling slightly overpowered by the emotion glistening in Kate’s eyes, afraid that he would fully break if he were to continue looking into them; but it was too late. A tear started rolling down his cheek, which Kate promptly wiped away upon feeling it reach her fingertips.

“Hey,” Kate said softly. “We still have all summer before we have to worry about it. Let’s have fun, okay? I want you to show me everything you love here, like Jamie was doing with Erin. I want to see all your favorite spots, I want to do your favorite activities, I want to do dumb, reckless teenager stuff before we have to deal with boring, shitty adult stuff. Can we please do that?”

Mark nodded, “Yeah, of course.”

Wanting to ease the tension a little, Kate joked, “Good, because I’m really looking forward to crushing your ass in a water balloon fight.”

Mark chuckled. “You wish,” he said.

“Is that a challenge? Alright, buster, well we’ll just see who crushes who then, won’t we?” Kate gave him a playful kiss, which Mark quickly melted into, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer. The two of them deepened the kiss, not wanting to let each other go. They could have stayed like that for hours if it weren’t for their need to break for air. When they finally parted lips, they kept their faces close together and leaned their foreheads together. They held that position for a good minute or so, feeling more connected than they ever had before. Neither of them was sure what they would do without the other, but they both figured they would put that thought off for as long as possible. For now, they just wanted to be present together, keeping company in each other’s warm embrace.

Back at the cabins, Jamie and Erin were chilling in their respective beds. Erin was reading a book, while Jamie played with a baseball, bored out of her mind. She suddenly looked over at Erin, who was still wearing her headphones around her neck.

“I’m bored,” Jamie said, getting Erin’s attention. “Do you wanna do something?”

Erin, sensing that Jamie wanted her full attention, placed a bookmark in her novel. “Like what?” She asked.

Jamie pondered before suggesting, “I kinda wanna go back to that lake. You feel like swimming?”

“Oh, uh, I don’t know. I’m not much of a swimmer.”

“Do you know how?”

“I do, I just… don’t do it very often.”

“Well, why not do it now? Did you pack a swimsuit?”

Erin wasn’t sure why, but she felt herself blushing at the question. Erin wasn’t the most comfortable person in swimming attire, especially not around someone she just met, and especially not around someone as intriguing and alluring as Jamie was.

“I-I, well, I— I mean, I did, but—” Erin stuttered.

“Okay!” Jamie popped off her bed. “Then let’s go!”

“Oh, uh, r-right now?”

“Yes, silly, that’s why I asked if you wanted to do something,” Jamie said in a light-hearted tone to let Erin know she was joking and not actually making fun of her.

“Oh, o-okay, sure!” Always the people-pleaser, Erin put her book aside and got up to get her swimsuit.

Jamie took a quick moment as she observed Erin rummaging through her bag. There was something adorable and charming about Erin’s awkwardness that Jamie couldn’t really explain. Jamie had been aware of her attraction to girls for a while now, but this attraction was especially interesting to Jamie because Erin wasn’t typically her type. She was used to being attracted by the girls who exuded even more confidence than Jamie did, but there was something about Erin’s soft and caring nature that Jamie couldn’t help but be drawn in by. Though Erin likely saw herself as an open book, she was somewhat of a mystery to Jamie, who couldn’t wait to learn more about her.

Once the girls both had their swimsuits on underneath their camp clothes, they started on their way back to the lake. They walked in silence for a few minutes, appreciating the nighttime ambiance, before Jamie noticed that Erin still had her headphones around her neck even though they were going to go swimming.

“Hey, can I ask you about something?” Jamie asked.

“Sure.”

“What are those headphones for? The ones you’re always wearing?”

“Oh,” Erin blushed as she looked down at said headphones, not even realizing she was still wearing them. “I guess I just get so used to having them on me, sometimes I forget to take them off when I don’t need them.”

“Have you ever fallen asleep with them on?”

“No…” Erin chuckled before a realization hit her. “Wait, yes…”

Now Jamie chuckled. “Yes?”

“Yeah, I forgot that one time I— well, it’s kind of embarrassing…” Erin trailed off.

“You can tell me,” Jamie reassured, “I won’t judge you. Trust me, I’ve heard plenty of crazy stuff from plenty of people, nothing really fazes me anymore.” Jamie and Erin both chuckled.

“Well, sometimes I use them for noise canceling. You know, to drone out overwhelming noise?”

“Yeah, lots of people like noise-canceling headphones.”

“Right, and, well… One night I heard… some people arguing and it just got to be a little too much for me, so I put them on and curled up in my bed, trying to ignore it, and I… eventually just fell asleep,” Erin let out a sheepish chuckle, not sure if she was sounding dumb or crazy or both.

“Ah, I’m sorry those people were arguing so much,” Jamie frowned.

“It’s okay, I’m used to it.”

From Erin’s demeanor and tone of voice, Jamie could sense that the arguing wasn’t just annoying neighbors, but likely possibly coming from somewhere within the same house that she had been in. Not wanting her to feel uncomfortable, Jamie changed the subject.

“So, what do you wanna do when you grow up?”

“Me? Oh, I don’t know…” Erin pondered the question before replying, “Well, I like doing sound editing.”

“What does that entail?”

“Sound editing? Well, it’s kind of like how movie editors choose certain sound effects for their scene, or how they’ll balance their channels so that the music doesn’t overpower the dialogue or vice versa. I’ve been doing it for a little while by making edits and things, but I’m just getting into doing it for shows. This past year, I helped with the sound design for a show that the theatre department put on at my school. It was really fun, and they said they’re always in need of more tech people, because, y’know, most kids want to do acting, so I said that sounded great, and…” Erin suddenly realized she was probably rambling. Feeling self-conscious, she quickly finished her thought, “Anyway, yeah, sound design! I like it,” she let out another sheepish chuckle.

“That sounds like a lot of fun,” Jamie smiled at her genuinely, allowing Erin to relax the tension she hadn’t realized she was holding. “I’m glad you’ve already found something you’re so passionate about, not everybody has something like that.”

“What about you?”

“Nah, not really. I kinda like art but I have no idea what I’d do with it, you know?”

“Well,” Erin started, “I think the thing about art, is you can do anything you want with it, really. What kind of art do you like?”

“I dunno… I like colors.”

“Have you thought about technical theatre at all? Maybe you could do lighting design. They use colors all the time, depending on the mood and atmosphere of the scene.”

“I hadn’t really thought about that, no. Maybe I’ll look into it,” Jamie smiled at Erin, who returned the smile.

When they finally reached the lake, Jamie stood up on a rock that looked much too slippery to Erin.

“Careful, Jamie!”

Jamie chuckled, “I’m fine, don’t worry.” She looked at Erin, who looked even more captivating under the moonlight shining through the trees. “You know, you’re cute when you worry about my well-being like that.”

“I just don’t want you to—” Erin cut herself off, realizing what Jamie had just said. “Wait, cute?”

“Yeah, that’s what I said,” Jamie said, not backing down from her very true observation regarding Erin’s adorableness.

Erin’s cheeks suddenly felt very hot. “I— I don’t—” Erin stuttered, hoping that it was too dark for Jamie to see just how red her face had turned. “I don’t know what you’re—” Unsure of what to do with her body, Erin awkwardly shifted her feet, accidentally stepping on one of the wet rocks. “Oh!”

Erin suddenly slipped and stumbled forwards, into Jamie’s readied arms.

“Whoa! You okay there?” Jamie chuckled as she helped Erin get reoriented on her feet.

“Oh, y-yeah, thanks…” Erin started blushing even more, which she hadn’t even thought was possible. “Can I ask you something now?”

“Of course,” Jamie replied as she sat down on one of the drier rocks. Erin slowly followed suit, making sure to check that the rock was dry before sitting on it. When she was seated, she let out a small huff.

“How are you so…” Erin trailed, searching for the right word.

“Awesome?”

“Cool. I mean, like— chill.”

“You mean how am I so confident?”

“Y-yeah, I— guess that’s the word I was looking for.” Erin smiled sheepishly.

Jamie shrugged, “I don’t know, I guess I just learned how to fake it really well.”

“You mean, you… don’t actually feel confident?”

“Well, no, I do— but I didn’t always. I guess my dad kinda helped me with that. He’s an actor, so I guess it kind of runs in the family… even though I’m adopted,” Jamie cocked an eyebrow, realizing how silly it sounded for her to have inherited something from someone she wasn’t biologically related to. It was the first time that day that Erin had noticed Jamie double-guessing something she said, which made her seem a lot more relatable than she originally did.

Erin smiled at her. “That still makes sense, though, if he taught you.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Jamie returned the smile.

They both made direct eye contact for the first time that day and instantly found themselves looking into each other’s eyes for longer than anticipated. Neither of them could quite place their finger on just what exactly was so intriguing to them about the other person, but they were both experiencing the same butterflies and racing heartbeat. They weren’t sure what gravitational force was at play when they found themselves slowly leaning in, suddenly much closer to each other.

Jamie broke the silence, “Am I crazy, or do you feel something too?”

“I-I don’t know, I mean… I feel— something, I just— it’s new to me,” Erin admitted, having little to no experience with crushes or the like.

Jamie smiled at her. “It’s new to everyone at some point. I can help show you if you want,” Jamie said, not wanting Erin to feel pressured.

Erin blushed again. The idea sounded so daunting to Erin, but in a completely amazing and incredibly tempting way. She had never received this type of attention before and she wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. Not knowing how to respond, Erin simply nodded.

“Okay, only if you’re sure though,” Jamie reassured.

“Y-yeah, sure, I’m sure,” Erin stuttered, causing Jamie to emit a small chuckle.

Jamie looked back into Erin’s eyes, ensuring that she was good, before finally closing the gap and tenderly touching her lips to Erin’s. Erin quickly leaned into it, giving Jamie the greenlight to deepen the kiss on her end as well. Her hands swiftly moved to Erin’s face, placing each palm on a — still very red — cheek. Erin placed her hands on Jamie’s upper arms, not completely sure about what to do with them. The two of them both leaned into the kiss more, but Erin must have leaned in a little too far because she suddenly slipped off the rock she was sitting on and plopped onto the ground, breaking the kiss and catching Jamie off-guard.

“Oof,” Erin grunted as she dropped to the ground.

“Oh, are you okay?” Jamie asked with a hint of amusement in her tone.

“Ugh, yeah… I should have figured that would happen to me,” Erin said, chuckling at her own misfortune. Jamie joined in her giggling, slipping off of her rock and joining Erin on the ground.

“Maybe we can try again later, when we’re in a drier environment,” Jamie suggested.

Erin perked back up. “Y-yeah, that would be— great. Maybe there’ll be fewer rocks, too,” she joked, and the two of them giggled some more.

“Well,” Jamie said, leaning back on her hands and looking up at the night sky, “Maybe for now, we can just admire the stars and listen to the crickets.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Erin smiled as she joined Jamie in looking at the sky. “It’s so beautiful here. You can’t see the stars anywhere near this well back in the city.”

Jamie looked at her. “What city are you from?”

“Chicago.”

“Dude, no way, that’s where I’m from too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! We should definitely keep in touch after camp is over. If you want to, of course.”

Erin giggled, “Yeah, I think I’d love to.”

The two of them smiled at each other, both even more excited for the summer they were about to have than they originally were. After a moment, they turned their gazes back to the clear night sky.

Jamie pointed up at something she saw. “Is that a shooting star?”

Erin looked at where she was pointing and squinted before giggling. “No, I think that’s just a plane.”

“Oh,” Jamie said, disappointed, as she put her hand back down on the ground behind her. “Can’t believe I was just about to make a wish on a plane,” Jamie joked, earning an even heartier giggle from Erin, which of course made Jamie smile.

The two of them sat in quiet for a moment before Erin asked, “So, uh… Were we going to go swimming? I mean, like, did you still want to?”

‘Yeah, for sure, I mean… if you want to,” Jamie looked at Erin, who returned the gaze.

Erin shrugged, “I dunno, I mean… I’m pretty good just looking at the stars, but I don’t know about you.”

Jamie smiled. “I��m good with that too.”

Erin smiled back at her. “Cool,” she said before catching Jamie’s eye.

They both leaned in and shared another gentle kiss before pulling back, Erin feeling her cheeks get flushed once again. After a moment, they both gazed back up at the twinkling stars and sat there for a good while, simply enjoying each other’s company and the atmosphere around them.

[sargeantsarmy]

Can I get uh... one Markate for the ship thingie with a side of fries please

For you 🤲

[qusochek]

IMAGINE THE CONCEPT WHERE ONE CHARACTER DIES AND THEIR LOVER SOMEHOW GOES TO THE CURATOR TO TRY AND GET THEM BACK

[kindheartedgummybears]

The Ultimatum ending except it's Jerin instead of Markate sorry not sorry🕺🕺

[taylorshope]

Mistletoe kisses

[unhingedlesbear]

Hey Markaters (all 3.5 of us) how we feeling abt this picture

[qusok]

THE WAY SHE CRADLES THE BACK OF HIS NECK I'M DEAD 😭😭😭🤲

MY PRECIOUS BABIES

[urtrickster]

do you ever think about how kate probably sees mark as her home? you ever just think about how kate feels as if she can drop the 'bitchy' persona when she's alone with mark? you ever think about how, if she could go back in time, she would choose mark all over again, even if it leads to the same outcome over and over again? you ever think about survivor kate and how, with mark dead, she's lost the one person who's felt like home to her for the first time in a very long time? do you ever just think about markate angst...

[marigoidz]

I think if Katherine and Markael sword fought in a parking lot it would be at either an ALDI or Marshalls

[108garys]

head empty have some Markate 😘

@kassiekole22 @delurkr @tatjana-fantasy @ctrvpani @blubary @unhingedlesbear

[zenlesszonezero]

Join Zenless Zone Zero with Tsukishiro Yanagi, the deputy leader of Hollow Special Operations Section 6! Beneath her ordinary office lady exterior lies a meticulous, emotionally intelligent big sister to the team.