#miles's bad end (at least the first) would be them falling too much into the role of thetis's reincarnation. the second is nero dying in ct

[devotedlystrangewizard]

oh no i have been caught by the imagining-my-ocs-in-a-visual-novel disease

[glitchfiles]

only 'til dawn. [ljn]

pairing ⋆ badboy!jeno x inexperienced/goodgirl!reader

wordcount ⋆ 2.7k+

warnings ⋆ SMUT MINORS DNI!!!, softdom!jeno, smoking, shotgunning, car sex, big dick jeno, corruption, praise, light degradation, oral (m receiving), cowgirl, spanking (once), light choking, creampie...

note ⋆ i had to leave this one in my drafts for some time first because i didn't want to upload two car sex fics in a row then i wanted to rewrite it then i couldn't be asked to do that fully... so yeah, enjoy :D

"fuck," jeno drawls out as his head lolls to the side, "you're shit at this." he chuckles at your feeble attempt to give him a blowjob.

you look up at him, he seems totally unphased by your attempts to get him off, even going as far as to fish a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of the inner pocket of his leather jacket. the scowl that forms on your brow shows how much it dents your pride; he smirks down at you tauntingly.

"open your mouth a little more." he places a cigarette between his lips and lights the end. "you don't mind if i smoke, right?" you roll your eyes, he could have asked before. at least he had the courtesy to wind the window down.

there was no reason for you to debase yourself like this, the whole situation is beyond demeaning. you’re on your knees in the back of jeno’s car, struggling to please him and now he’s having a smoke mid-head?!

it felt as if your jaw was about to unhinge at any moment, you didn’t know it could stretch this far. the girls in the videos made it look so easy, compared to them, the way you were slobbering all over his girth was far from sexy. not to mention how you were clumsily pumping the rest of his length. not to toot your own horn, but you picked things up easily, this was a whole different ballpark to academic work. 

"you're too big," you whine. your lack of experience definitely didn't have anything to do with the shoddy head you were giving. how he was still hard was a wonder, you’re sure he’s seconds away from going flaccid.

normally, he would have put an end to the whole thing. it's not like he wasn't one text away from a few girls that could suck the soul out of him. however, considering how unsavoury his reputation was, the fact that you, the university’s golden girl, and much-revered student union president, were so eager to please him behind closed doors inflated his ego more than anything else could.

he couldn’t help but find humour in how ardently you refused to acknowledge him in public at times like this; if you spotted him on campus you looked the other way. but the moment he shot you a text, you were swooning and giggling, begging to meet up. so, here you were, in the dead of night, at the back of an empty parking lot a couple of miles away from campus.

“you’re lucky you have a patient teacher, i’m going to turn you into an expert!” jeno directs you between drags of his cigarette, blowing the smoke out of the windows as he laughs at you being unable to get the hang of it. saying you feel frustrated would be an understatement.

"i don't want to do this anymore," you sit up, finally admitting defeat and letting his heavy cock flop down against his abdomen. if jeno were a better person, he would have stopped you a few minutes ago, but you were so eager to please him and he loved the adorable pout on your lips and how your brows furrowed whenever you were exasperated.

"then what do you want to do?" you can think of a few things, but they would be super embarrassing to say. so, you refused to answer. he sighs before slotting his cigarette between his lips, leaving his hands free to pull you onto his lap.

"wanna try?" you don't know what possesses you, but you nod. 

how bad can it be? 

he taps the burnt end off, letting the ashes fall out the window before setting the cigarette between your lips. it feels childish to admit, but the fact that you had shared an indirect kiss makes you smile. this doesn't last long, though; after a short pull, you end up choking.

"god, that's awful!" you squeak as he belly laughs, only stopping when you hit his chest. all he's done tonight is tease you.

"i thought so too when i first tried." he soothes you, so as to not incur any more of your light-handed wrath. "why don't we start with some baby steps?" 

you're unsure what he means until his large, rough hand is placed gently under your jaw and his thumb brushes over your lower lip, "open up for me, angel."

he takes a long drag before tilting his head to the side and filling your mouth with a thick cloud of smoke. you're not sure what this is, but it feels intimate. it feels as if he’s breathing life into you. your whole body warms and tingles, your head spins, and a fire lights in your core.

once his lungs are empty, he seals it with a kiss. it's slow and passionate. his hand slides round to the back of your neck, pulling you closer. maybe it’s the nicotine running through your veins, you feel lightheaded. you let him slip his tongue past your lips to dance around your own.

the sweet flavour of your strawberry lip balm he was used to intermingled with the bitterness of his cigarette. he can't help but groan at the fact you taste a lot more like him now. 

the cigarette he's momentarily forgotten in his hand gets flicked away to burn to a butt somewhere on the tarmac outside. his now free hand comes to rest on your hip. it guides your body forwards, bringing your clothed centre flush against his bare cock.

you mewl into his mouth, he swallows down the sound. he’s greedy for more and starts rocking against you. grinding out then gulping down your noises, they go straight down to his cock. it’s throbbing, you can feel how painfully hard he is underneath you. only when he’s met with an uncomfortable stickiness due to his precum seeping through his shirt does he put an end to his gluttony.

a begrudging whine fills the car as he pulls your lips away from him. the look in his eyes alone was almost enough to make you cream, it was different to the cocky, yet lewd, eye fucking that seemed to be his default. those dark eyes of his turned into endless pits of boundless desire.

warm hands glide under your sweater, tugging it over your head, off your body to let it land somewhere in the front of his car. he does the same with his own shirt, sitting back to let you admire the rippling muscles on his torso. you delicately placed a hand on his chest, sliding it down to his abdomen; it seems he doesn’t have to have his dick in your mouth to have you drooling over him.

“like what you see, baby?” the smug look on his face makes your stomach twist.

“shut up,” you smash your lips against his again before he can speak again. 

jeno rushes to unclasp your bra, pushing the fabric out of his way so he can knead at your breasts; not before long, his mouth leaves you to pepper kisses down your neck then it encloses around one of your pert nipples. 

“mmm, jeno!” you mewl as his tongue laps at the bud, causing your back to arch in search of more stimulation. a hand weaves itself into his inky, thick locks, pushing him to give attention to the other side. “jeno, more!”

“i love hearing you say my name,” he growls against your chest, “wanted to hear you say it all week, but you don’t even spare me a glance unless i have my cock out.” 

you ignore the slight bitterness in his tone focusing on how he nips at your skin, leaving dark marks he hopes will last until he next sees you. marks that he hopes others will see and know you belong to someone; you’ll probably chastise him later over text but he doesn’t care, anything to keep him on your mind like you're always on his. 

reluctantly, he detaches himself from your chest and sits back, eyeing the drying traces of saliva he left with a dazed smile. 

“what next? tell me.” his hands delicately caress your hips, your cheeks begin to heat up and you avoid his eye contact. “don’t act all coy now, where’s the girl that begged me to drive her out here and fuck her dumb?” 

you were still clinging onto the last dregs of your virtuous good girl persona - the last white spots on a canvas he had first found unsullied. your first sin had been naivety, too easily seduced by a good-looking face and the sweet nothings he whispered in your ears but he had been more than happy to lengthen the list.

you wondered if this was how you had always been - or was he corrupting you. he broke down every conception you had of yourself and no one outside of the car you both sat in would believe this was you - you barely did yourself. some would say he was ruining you, but he’d never make you do something you didn’t want to, this was all you.

“please…” you let your head fall onto the crook of his neck, voice barely above a whisper. “want you inside.”

“a smart girl like you can be more descriptive than that.” he strokes a finger down your back, leaving a trail of heat on your spine, in hopes of prompting lewder vocabulary. you take a moment to chew your bottom lip and swallow down the last bit of dignity you had.

“please, fuck me.” you weep against the shell of his ear, “fill my pussy up, i need you so bad, jeno.” 

“sound so pretty when you tell me what you want.” his low-toned praise makes you shiver as he flips your skirt up and raises your hips. he pushes your panties to the side to position his cock at your dripping entrance. taking a second to tease your slit, making sure to brush over your swollen clit, only to hold you still when your hips jerk forward.

“look at me, angel.” you perk up for him, “so beautiful,” he tucks a stray lock of hair behind your ear. his gaze holds yours firmly as he brings you down on his bulbous tip, stretching you out slowly.

you struggle to keep your eyes from shutting. your mouth hangs open letting out hushed gasps as you sink down an inch at a time. he thinks you’re the prettiest creature he’s ever laid eyes on. 

“keep going... yeah, just like that... so good...” his soft gaze, light touch and encouraging words make things easier. he can feel your walls begin to relax and hungrily accept his girth. 

“‘s so fucking big,” you wail out, not even having taken him fully. you couldn’t quite yet without his help, though you’ll get there eventually - he’d make sure of that. 

“i know, baby, but you take me so well. can you move for me?” you nod shyly, lifting yourself and dropping back down as far as you can with a long whine. up and down, you split yourself open over and over. 

jeno’s hands press into your flesh, silently encouraging you to take more of him. you work your hips faster, earning a deep groan from him as his head falls back. instinctively, your mouth attaches itself to his neck, mimicking the way he had kissed and sucked at your own earlier.

“for such a sweet, innocent girl, you sure do ride like a slut.” he breathily laughs as his hand comes down on your ass with a sounding slap. “like the way my cock stretches this tight cunt out.” there’s no hiding the way your walls clench at the sharp sting. you try to find refuge from your embarrassment by hiding your face in his shoulder, but he quickly takes ahold of your throat, forcing you to sit up straight.

“don’t hide from me,” he tells you warningly and squeezes your neck lightly. once again your eyes lock, his stare as intense as ever. your teeth sink into your bottom lip and you rest your hands on his strong chest, adopting a faster pace. 

he lets out moans which you naturally reciprocate, however, you embellish yours with his name; you feel his cock twitch at the sound of it. the look in his eyes turns wild as his fingers dig deeper into the meat of your ass, forming a nearly bruising grip; with the other hand, he’s careful not to cut off airflow but forms a hold that leaves you feeling dizzy. 

“you know exactly what you do to me.” he chuckles, “you were fucking made for me, made for taking my cock, weren’t you? yeah, so perfect, angel.”

your legs begin to shake, his words and his cock are quickly pushing you towards the pinnacle. you try your very best to work through the overwhelming pleasure and the ache in your thighs, wanting to get him off since you failed at sucking his dick. but you can't seem to power through it, tears well in your eyes as everything becomes too overwhelming, it's far too much.

“need help, baby?” his soft spot for you wins, “did such a good job for me. i’ll take care of you, make you cum all over my cock. want that?”

“please, need to cum so bad.” his hand leaves your neck and places itself and your other asscheek. he plants his feet firmly and then rams up into you.

your brain goes blank in an instant. 

he’s deep. so deep. too deep!

you cry out, nails digging into his broad, muscular shoulders to anchor yourself. the tears that had threatened to leave your eyes before stream down your face, staining your cheeks. your whole body quivers as his cock lays kisses on your cervix with each thrust. 

“jeno, oh my god, right there!” you practically scream. his face screws at the feeling of your walls constricting, getting tighter by the second and making it harder to move; he powers through by jackhammering into you with more force. 

it feels like you could break at any moment, he's bouncing you on his cock like you're a ragdoll and you're too weak to do anything but take and enjoy it. all it takes is a few more thrusts before you’re creaming all over him. your body seizes as your eyes roll back, and his name tumbles from your lips incessantly in pleasured sobs. 

it’s hard to keep you in one place as he continues to fuck you through your orgasm, but he handles your squirming body with ease using his strength. the most ungodly wet squelches fill the car as he races towards his own release, your sticky mess clings to both of your thighs. 

“shit… pussy’s sucking me in so deep, gonna cum.” his chest rises and falls dramatically, he can barely breathe. his thrusts get choppier as he loses himself to the feral urge to paint your insides pearly white.

a heavy groan rips through him as his balls tighten, he nestles his cock nice and deep as he pours hot spurts of cum into you. he fills you with warmth; you feel complete for a moment. unfortunately, all good things must come to an end eventually. 

you could almost start crying again when he pulls you off of him. his praise on how well you took his cum as it dribbles out of your cunt makes up for it, though. his tongue swipes across his lips as he watches it drip all over his cock, unbothered by the fact half of it is soiling his leather car seats too. 

the sound of your wild breathing is all that fills the car for a moment until his lips find yours one last time. breathlessly kissing you, there is less vigour than before but just as much passion. your heart warms for a moment at the almost bashful smile on his face as he rests his forehead against yours and wipes the tears that still cling to your soft skin.

this feels right, perfect even, but it only takes a few words for him to fuck it all up.

“wanna come over to mine?” jeno regrets his words immediately, the expression on your face sour at the thought of someone spotting you walking into his dorm or one of his loud-mouthed roommates blabbering about you spending the night together.

give jeno a hand and he’ll end up taking the whole arm.

you pull away from him suddenly remembering who you are.

“don’t be ridiculous, you know i can’t even be caught dead with you.” you grimace at the mess between your legs as you reposition your panties; then, you search for the clothing he had strewn around the car.

you don’t even look at him when you demand him to. “just drop me off where you usually do.”

jeno grins even at your cold-hearted rejection. not just anyone could say they had a place between your legs; he’s sure he’ll have a place in your heart too soon enough…

★ thanks for reading! my inbox is open for feedback and requests! :3

© glitchfiles

[butterfly-writer]

Could you do Jinx x male reader where Jinx is running from enforcers and runs into reader who helps her out?

A Little Help

Jinx x Male!Reader Summary: Jinx runs away from Enforcers and has a little help from a cute boy.

★☽A/N: Absolutely! It's a little bit short but it's probably still as enjoyable as most of my writing!

Contents: FLUFF

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“Haha! I’m so fucked!” Jinx laughed to herself as she ran as fast as she could away from the Enforcers. The two Enforcers that were chasing her were old and fat, no match to her better physique. She continued to run into a busy crowd to cut the Enforcers from her tail which was successful. She took a breather in the middle of the busy street. She was glad they were fat and slow. 

With a sigh, she walked with the crowd’s direction, unaware of other Enforcers seeking her. She was tired, she was ready to go back home and work on some inventions. Just for a few more miles, she would already be back at her place. She wondered what she would eat later. Perhaps buying food from the street? She took a look at all the street food on her left and right.

Suddenly she felt uncomfortable, like a piercing glare was burning her from behind. She quickly turned around and saw a tall Enforcer. It wasn’t the same pair from earlier, it was at least three Enforcers! All of them were much better fit, which gave her a slight disadvantage.

With a curse under her breath, she quickly picked up her pace and started to sprint. Soon, she started to run as she felt the Enforcers caught their eyes on her, recognizing her. She actually took a lot of effort to get rid of them off her tail but no matter how much she ran, or how much she turned left and right, they always managed to find her. This was turning bad, she felt panicked.

As a last resort, she turned into a street that she never went to. She may have lived in Zaun for a long time, but she hasn’t been there. It looked more shady than the other streets. The Enforcers were still on her tail, so she kept the same pace. She ran a bit too fast and bumped into multiple people.

She was so close to the end of the street until she bumped into a male figure. She was about to fall backwards when the figure held her to prevent her fall. She looked up to see pretty eyes, staring at her. They were mesmerizing. She was about to zone out when she heard the yells of the Enforcers.

As another last resort, she quickly grabbed the male by the shoulders. “Help me hide!” She pleaded. The boy was confused, his head slightly tilted. He was quite confused why she needed his help. He then realized when he saw the Enforcer inching closer. Thinking of all kinds of ways to hide her, he decided to be quick with a certain idea.

Swiftly, he gently grabbed her waist and turned her around. Noticing her very noticeable hair, he grabbed it and made a quick bun. The Enforcers may be close, but they couldn’t see what he was doing. Then, he bent down, his face inches away from hers. She quickly blushed at how close he was to her. She was skeptical of what he was doing. She was about to knock him off but didn’t when she saw the Enforcers close by. She allowed herself to be held by him.

She felt a bit flushed. He was holding her so gently. He was gentle with her, like she was a delicate flower. He didn’t look at her though, he continued to watch the Enforcers go by without notice. She was glad he was quick with his idea, despite how skeptical she was at first.

Once the Enforcers were out of sight, he let go of her. She couldn't help but miss the warmth his hands brought. She wanted to say thank you, but was a bit embarrassed to. He noticed her embarrassed look and just nodded, a soft smile across his face.

“You're welcome” was what he said before walking away from her. From that day forward, she found a new toy to be obsessed with.

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[itstheghostofmypast]

Simp For You

Five x (f)Reader

Genre: Angst + Fluff

Requested by: @imherefortea (birthday request)

Summary: Perhaps she had read one too many novels and classics, while romance was not part of the agenda, a hero was, one that would bring her a bouquet every morning, sing to her every night and love her for eternity. Emotions and love were mere signs of weakness, or at least qualities upheld by fools- Five Hargeeves was no fool, both logic and rationality were his tools, yet, for her, neither functioned properly. Yet, neither were willing to let up their beliefs nor were the two willing to let up on one another.

Word Count: 6k+

The thing with feelings and emotional representation were not attributes Five was against, but he felt the need not to express them to or for anyone. Especially since he had decided to travel back in time to proceed with saving the world- the only addition to his plan was Y/N, someone he had met back at the commission.

Although their first encounter was not when he had noticed her, in fact, he pretty much ignored her- not intentionally, but because she was part of the insignificant, someone who was just supposed to correct the timeline and hand him the files- do all his paperwork.

On the other hand, Y/N was unable to 'ignore' him, for the encounter that he considered as their first meeting was not their first meeting for her actually. In fact, before him being introduced to Y/N by the Handler, the girl had been saved by him a few days back, as such;

Today had been a shitty day at the commission, more paperwork, more mistakes to correct, more bad coffee- ew just ew, her entire day was ew. Not the best choice of adjectives but it was true, to top it all off, as she was walking to her residence -a cozy little apartment a few miles away from the Commission building- it began to rain. No, mother nature had perhaps tipped a bucket load of ice-cold water on her. Maybe it was the screams of the falling droplets or her blurred vision, but she was unable to hear the blaring horns of the bus driving right at her as she crossed the street. Much like every animal, she remembers freezing and staring at the bright white lights waiting for the angel of death to pull out her soul before the immense pain could hit her system. Fortunately for her, a second before she made contact with the metallic giant a flash of blue blinded her, after which she felt like she was being spun at unimaginable speed. 

"You okay?" Her eyes snapped open at the stranger's -good-looking stranger's- voice. She could sense an undertone of concern in his question, though his expressions showed more anger than concern of any kind. Perhaps because she was still in his arms and had shown no signs of moving.

"I- Uh-"

"I don't have time for this." he sighed before setting her down, patting his coat and looking around, "Try to look both ways while crossing the road, and oh- the pavement is used by pedestrians, not the damn road." with that and a flash of blue he was gone, leaving an everlasting impression on her. This was technically how they had met, not that he remembered, she believed he just needed her to remind him, he was a clever man after all. 

Unfortunately, even after THREE YEARS of working with the dunce he had not even batted an eyelash at her, let alone have a whole ass conversation. No hint, no comment, no compliment, nothing had made him even glance up at her from the paperwork she handed him before every mission. By the end of the third year, she had practically given up, he was no knight in shining armor sent to pull her away from her mundane life, he was not her Zorro or Hercules- three years of simping after a man who probably doesn't know her name gone down the drain, what a waste.

Perhaps that was what fate was waiting for all along, for her to stop trying. 31st December, New Year's Eve, a night where everyone gathers around, parties hard, does questionable things in the name of celebration, and often wakes up hungover the next day- starting the new year right. Y/N however, was never made for such loud parties or rowdy crowds because they were annoying and just stupid and she had no one to share her new year's kiss with- there it's been said, and honestly as pathetic as it may sound, it was the truth, the haunting thought that would linger at the back of her mind, but on occasions like these, it would come prancing forward to knock on her door every few hours. 

Metaphorically speaking, or so she thought because when there was an actual knock on the door, she glanced at the clock, 10.59 PM- she wondered if she had attracted a murderer to her apartment. Placing the bowl of raw cookie dough on the coffee table and pausing a rerun of her favorite sitcom she pulled on her cardigan, shivering at the cold air that her blanket had been protecting her from for the past few hours.

Opening the door she came face to face with what an author could describe as the most 'annoyed' face in the world. Five Hargreeves in the flesh, standing there in all his suit-cladded glory, frowning at her, eyes boring a form of annoyance that could scare off just about anyone, but she wasn't just anyone. She was his filer, his desk worker, his partner- which was exactly why when he found a mistake in the file she had left at her desk for him, he decided to go ask the slacker if she would prefer to quit herself or have him report her to the Handler.

"Mind explaining this?" he slams the file in her chest, as she caught with an uff, "Thought you were better than the rest of the slackers," huffing he stuffed his hands in his pockets, before looking around at the apartment's door frame then the corridor then peaking over her head as she read the file, into her apartment- simpleton. He thought to himself before glancing back at her, watching her mumble to herself as she read each line, her eyebrows knitted together as she licked her bottom lip, a habit of hers, something she'd do when she was concentrating. The first time he had noticed it, he had thought she was flirting with him, much like the many other desk freaks did, which led him to turn even colder to her, only to realize after a while that this was a habit, rather than an antic to get into his pants. Nonetheless, he was still irritated by her carelessness-

"Umm...Mr.Hargreeves."

"What?" 

"Where did you get this file from?" She asked, totally confused.

"From your desk. You left it for me there-"

"No...I didn't, you had no missions for today and...I took an off today, did you not...notice?" she trailed off at the end with a defeated sigh, handing the file back to him, and giving him a tight-lipped smile.

"Why would I notice that- who put it on your desk then?"

"Probably the person who wrote it." sighing, arms crossed she leaned against the doorframe.

"What-"

"Not that you noticed the change in writing style either, this was written by Beatrice." She motioned towards the file, "It's in a faded beige file and it's typed in black ink. I type in blue ink and use black files or envelopes unless we're sending it to you through the pipes. My guess is she had a date with her field agent, considering he does know she exists and thought of putting it on my desk, knowing you'd probably pick it up and the train engineer is supposed to have a heart attack before the express mail train slams into the other upcoming one, he doesn't fall asleep. If I'm correct you or well Brian- Beatrice's field agent was supposed to induce a heart attack, enabling the tragedy of Ogden, Utah to occur." 

"Oh." was all he could manage to say.

"Indeed, Oh." with that she straightened up and nodded at him, "Happy New Year, Mr.Hargreeves." before closing the door, only to be stopped by his hand as he pushed it open. 

"Wait, but what about- you need to come to the Commission and file this correctly."

"What? No, are you kidding me?"

"Clearly, I am not, the timeline is important-"

"Not really, time is irrelevant here." She shrugged, "And anyway, it's her file, her fault, just slap it back on her desk and-"

"I'm not asking, I'm telling ya!" He snapped at her, causing her to flinch, biting her lip to hold back the rush of emotions, she had never imagined him using such a tone with her, let alone yelling at her. She took a small step back, shaking her head slightly, staring at the floor, the angelic, god-like image of him shattering in her mind. Not only did he not recognize her work, but also thought she'd make such a mistake, and he had the nerve to come up to her apartment and yell at her.

"What is the matter with you?" he groaned, checking his wrist watch, "We don't have much time-"

"What's my name?" she muttered, catching him off guard.

"What?"

"I said, do you know my name?" she asked, tears threatening to fall at any given moment as she glared at him through glassy eyes.

"What is the point of that question, of course, I know your name, it's -" he paused, thinking to himself before shaking his head at something and blinking away with a flash. 

Sighing in defeat she finally closed the door and went back to her couch, wrapping herself in the warm, heavy blanket. Three years of working together, of writing his reports for and after the mission, adding a small 'tips' section and sometimes maps of areas he could rest or eat at just because she thought that's what a good partner would do- three years of time wasted on a partner who didn't even bother learning her name.

Jolting awake at the sound of something falling followed by a hiss she fought off the blanket that had somehow put her in a chokehold. Finally managing to push it off she gasped for air, only to lock eyes with forest green hues, emitting a, "WHAT THE F***"

"Happy New Year to you too."

"WHY ARE YOU HERE- DID YOU EAT ALL THE COOKIE DOUGH?"

"Well, I came to tell you I had to file the report myself, no thanks to your stubborn ass and complained about Barbra or whatever."

"What-"

"Also, Y/N, what kind of fool do you take me for?" He asked, sitting crossed as he side-eyed her while watching TV.

Frowning at his question she scooted further into the corner of the couch, "So ya read my name of the file-"

"No you desk worm. I've known your name since day one." He sighed, turning to look at her cocooned form, feeling somewhat guilty as trailed off, "Just didn't realize how useful those tips were."

Her ears perked up at that little compliment, instantly threw off the blankets, and stood on the cold floor, hands resting on her hips as she let out a smug huff, "Well then, guess we learned something today, didn't we?"

"That you're a lonely worm? I already knew that though." 

"You can be mean sometimes Mr.Hargreeves," she muttered looking at the screen and then at the clock, it was an hour past midnight, what a way to start the new year.

"Anyway." Getting up he patted the invisible dirt of his clothes, "I'll see you at work tomorrow, and I prefer if you call Five. Mr.Hargreeves makes you sound like a gold digger." Before she could react he blinked away, sowing the seed of a relationship that was soon going to blossom into a full-blown field.

The best thing to come out of that weird night was that much to everyone's amazement, Five had begun to warm up to his  'desk worm'. More importantly, he would sit at her desk after missions, as she wrote the report. Usually, he'd be drinking his coffee, watching her type, pitching in a few details from time to time, and earning a comment from her. Many, including the Handler, had tried to eavesdrop on their conversations, for getting Five Hargreeves to say or talk in any decent manner was next to impossible.

Herb had forgotten his wallet at work, so decided to head back to the Commission. Naturally, he had expected the place to be empty, minus the security guards, but was amazed to enter the workplace to find Y/N laughing at a Five who seemed to have been glaring at her, face flushed. So, like any nosy little office worker, he hid behind the wall to listen to them.

"I did not save you."

"Yes! You did! I can't believe you didn't remember me!"

"Why didn't you tell me then?"

"It's embarrassing."

"Well, they do say never meet your heroes."

"They're right, I thought I was miserable. No, Five Hargreeves has it worse."

"Welp, that's the last time I will converse with you."

Herb heard a chair screech followed by her laughter, causing him to panic.

"Wait! A gentleman is supposed to drop the fine lady home!" She said grabbing her purse and linking her arm with the taller man, looking up at him with those shiny expectant eyes, earning an eye roll from him, though he didn't pull away.

 The two walked out of the office, passing by SMALL GUY who was hiding behind a file cabinet, bickering about tomorrow's mission and other useless topics one could think of.

Y/N didn't care how long it was taking to peel off each layer or break down every wall he had built around him, she was just glad that he was letting her to do it. Five on the other hand was extremely conflicted, on one hand, he had his own plan and on the other his heart had begun to slowly blossom every time he was near her or thought of her. When he joined the Commission he had planned on going solo for the long run, no friends meant no liabilities and no lover meant no weakness- or so he thought.

If it wasn't her obnoxious laughter that would get his heart racing, it was the unasked-for, but somewhat welcomed, touches. From the way her fingers would brush against his while handing him a file to the night she held his hand to comfort him when he had 'accidentally' ended up telling her about how much he missed his family. That cursed night at her apartment had his brain ready to fight his heart-forcing him to spend the entire night awake in the guestroom. 

Regardless, he had always been a firm believer in "You may not be able to control your emotions, but you can control your actions." That is until she turned 29, well, technically it wasn't her age that had affected his policy but her simple invitation to a bar for some "birthday drinks", sure did a number on his rationality. All he remembered from the merry little event was the low-cut dress that she had chosen to adorn that night and that they may have had a drink too many, cause after she purred out his name, he blacked out. The next morning he woke up with a massive headache and her next to him. 

Not the way he had ever assumed he'd start a relationship this way, but then again he had never thought he'd be in one in the first place.

The first thing he had to learn while being with her was that they were very different. He was blunt, rude, and straight-up obnoxious (words of other people, not his), she was polite, considerate, and to some extent a bit too nice. Another thing about her that he had to embrace was the difference in love languages; he would consider small gestures, like making her coffee or arranging her files at her desk- barely anything physical. Y/N on the other hand loved physical affection, from cuddling to holding hands to just sitting next to him, close enough for their shoulders to touch. At first, it would bother him, the lack of human contact for all those years had him irritated by the thought of love. To some extent he had assumed that this was a tactic to assert dominance, a routine conducted by the Handler- but over time he had realized how her actions were genuine and filled with love. 

Love, she loved him, and to his surprise when the first time the words 'I love you', had been uttered to him, he had instantly responded with 'But I can't love you.' leaving them both standing there in the middle of her apartment, staring at each other.

"Oh-"

"Wait, I - Y/N it's not like that, I-"

"It's okay Five- I mean it's not okay okay but I- " she paused, vision turning blurry before sniffing to hold back her emotions. 

He reached out to touch her only for her to take a step back, "Y-you can go if you want, I'll clean up myself-"

"That's not what I meant." His voice held a certain edge to it as he watched her clean up the place where they had been watching a movie- the movie now forgotten. He was pissed, more at himself than her, it's not like he had asked her out, she did and he had other plans too and- all his thoughts came to a halt when he heard glad shatter followed by a yelp. 

Blinking into the kitchen he saw her standing next to what appeared to be a broken glass, holding onto her other hand that was bleeding.

"Shit."

"It's fine, just go." 

Blinking in front of her, he gripped her wrist, staring at her. Glaring up at him she was about to retort but when their eyes meant. Now, as sappy as it could sound, she could literally see an internal argument swirling within his forest hues- she knew that look. The look he'd give when he would be trying to outdo his heart in a battle with his 'logic'.

"Five."

"Wait. I'm thinking."

"About."

"You know what."

"You don't have to force yourself to love me-"

"I'm forcing myself not to."

That was all it took for the two to realize how he had confessed back to her, admitting he had felt the same way about her. 

"Why?"

"No, you'll be in danger and become a liability and I have other plans and-"

"You'll be happy for once?"

He doesn't remember the last time he had ever let his heart win against his mind, but perhaps the reason for the argument siding with his heart made it easier for him to rule it out, allowing him to break free from the restraints that had held him down ever since he had time traveled. 

Although they were ready to move onto a stronger and more important change in their relationship, he had been ever so kind to set ground rules;

"Rule number one, you will do as I ask if we're in danger, your life matters more than anything."

"Rule number two, you will STAY PUT, and I mean it, none of that hero shit."

"And most importantly, if I ever disappear or am no longer here, you will move on."

Simple right? 

Not really.

For at that very moment, the Hargreevs were staring at their 13-year-old brother arguing with another teenager, who had fallen out of the portal behind him, in the kitchen.

"Umm...number Five-"

Not now Luther. I have bigger fish to deal with-"

"Why are you mad?!"

"WHY AM - OH MY - GOD YOU - "Everyone in the room could see the boy malfunction until he paused, taking a deep breath he exhaled and looked at his siblings, "What's the date?"

"Five I-"

"Not. A.Word," he growled, not even sparing her a glance.

"But-"

He shushed her by placing a finger on his lips then pointing with that same finger with his brows raised, seething out a "Silence from you."

That was the first time the siblings had seen their brother in a long time, and it horrified them how he had turned into a worse nutjob than they had imagined.

...

After the little kitchen fiasco, Y/N was instructed by Five to stay in his room.

"WHY ARE YOU LOCKING THE DOOR!"

"Clearly because you can't be trusted. Nor can the idiots outside, so make yourself comfortable or something." He yelled from over the door and stomped back down the stairs to get a cup of coffee.

"What're you looking for?@ Klaus asked, feet perched up on the table, "Scratch that, who's that wee lass locked up in your dungeon of a room?"

Clicking his tongue he threw another empty can away, "My wife- well, that's it, gonna get myself a cup of coffee"

"Excuse me? Your what?" Allison spat, arms crossed as she looked at him with raised brows, causing him to turn around and glare at her, "What part of that statement was unclear to you?"

"I mean I'm just amazed someone would even go out of their way to spend more than an hour with you, let alone marry you." She snorted, glancing at Diego who entered the room.

"Heard you got divorced by the way." Smirking at her scowl he blinked away. Initially, he was going to go get coffee but then the thought of locking her upstairs was bothering him even more, which is why he blinked into his room, only to find her tying up his bed sheets. 

"What are you doing?"

"Redecorating."

Cue him dragging her to the doughnut shop with him, grumbling his way there as she swung their hands back and forth, "You never listen, I mean I told you- we've been married for so long and-"

"Oh look we're here."

The argument did erupt until the two were actually sitting and waiting for their coffee. 

"Rule number three..." Five glanced up from the map the man had made for him on the napkin, noticing how his wife was just staring ahead as she began speaking (never a good sign), "What about it?" he muttered casually.

"Did you always plan on leaving me behind?" 

"I-" he paused, causing her to look up from her doughnut, was he really going to not answer her again, if she hadn't jumped into the portal behind him, he would've just left her, wouldn't he?

It amazed her how well he could still easily shut her out, even after being married for so long, sometimes she would feel as if she was completely bare in front of him, while he stood there, layer upon layer, gazing at her with an air of mockery. 

"Five I-" she was cut off by the sound of the bell, pausing when she felt him grab her hand and give it a little squeeze. She could hardly react before she was blinked out into the back of the shop. 

"Wait-" he grabbed her face and looked at her, trying to console the pain in her eyes, "I'll be back, don't move." before blinking away.

That was the first time she had experienced the adrenaline, the fear, and the anxiety that came with the job, being a desk worker had protected her from all these things, he had protected her from all these things, but now that she was here, she had begun to understand why he wanted to leave her behind. To some extent she had wanted to apologize to him, beg him to leave her behind so he could carry out his task, but on the other hand, she knew she couldn't survive without him, she needed him to be able to live on. 

"What do you mean to leave you?" he asked, as he stared at her, the two were making it back to the house. He was holding onto her hand, pulling her closer ever so often.

"I mean, I understand if you want to leave me behind, " her words stung him more than she could ever imagine, but she could see that as soon she glanced at his furrowed brows, eyes sharp as he stared ahead. 

"You say that so casually, yet, you're the one who made me believe in love," he whispers to himself, entering the quiet Hargreeves mansion, hopeful that everyone was asleep.

"I- no, Five, what I mean is, I now understand what you meant when you said I'd become a liability." she pulled on his hand, only for him to slip it out of her grasp and go to the mini bar, grabbing a bottle and glass. He was in no mood for this conversation,  no mood for her insecurities, no mood for her selfless nature. For once he was glad that she had decided to be selfish, to follow him here, sure, he wasn't happy about her being put in danger, but feeling her next to him, knowing she was with him, especially after the commission sent people for him, made him realize how even if he had left her behind, they would’ve gotten to her- doing God knows what to extract information out of her.

"Five, please talk to me." 

Klaus slowly peaked up from behind the couch, a lover's quarrel was more entertaining than listening to Ben yells at him.

"What do you want me to say Y/N?" he sighed, pouring himself a glass, "Please enlighten me, what happened for you to follow me here but then" He took a swig f his glass, gulping it down in one go before slamming it on the counter, smacking his lips as he glared at her.

She flinched at his tone, he had never used that tone with her, let alone yell at her. "I-" words caught in her throat she looked at the ground, gripping the ends of her coat's sleeves, "I just...thought...maybe- I mean I." her words dying out as the rush of emotions finally started taking over, one of the many things that made the two different.  While he was a being more composed than the statue of Buddha, she was a whirlwind of emotions, moments away from breaking loose. The only thing the two did have in common was their ability to bottle up their feelings. 

"Aw no, little girl, don't give up." Klaus whispered, earning  a "shush" from Ben who was standing next to Y/N then looking at Five, "Klaus, defuse this situation, say something so they stop arguing."

Shaking his head in response he leaned back down on the couch, he wanted to see the drama, not a part of it. 

Sighing in defeat she looked at her shoes, he was right, why did she follow him, why did she decide to put him in more danger than he was already in, why was she making it more difficult for the man who had saved her numerous times - at this point, she was sure it was the raging teenage hormones, because the moment he called out her name again, with that sweet, calming tone, she broke down, sinking to her knees.

Five watched her struggle with her words, he knew he was pushing it too far, not once in the time of being with her had he done this. Usually, because she was the more upfront one out of the two, saying what was on her mind, asking for what she needed, doing what she felt was right, like how she'd throw away the file he'd be reading after coming from work, "prepping for the next mission"

"Woman! I was reading that-"

"Come to bed, it’s a simple mission, we've gone through worse."

We, that's what was bothering him, since when did they go from "We" to "i", "me" or "you". Singular pronouns were barely part of her vocabulary, so what had happened for her to suddenly say this? Was he scared? Of course, he was afraid, he had been with her for so long, relying on her for so long that the thought of her leaving midway may have bud some form of separation anxiety. Yes, he had wanted to leave her behind, but perhaps those three seconds he spent staring at the portal, back in the 60s were him waiting to see if she would follow, or at least come looking for him. Hypocritical, it was, but he had never claimed to be some saint, he was a walking canister of red flags. It was her, she was the pure one, the proof of innocence and humility, if anyone out there deserved true, ultimate happiness, it was only her and if the world was not always at war with him, he would've spent time trying to give it all to her.

He looked at her, wanting to continue but froze when he saw her crumble before him, instantly blinking next to her as he held her close, whispering nonstop apologies. Kissing the top of her head,  heart squeezing when he felt her grip on his jacket, mumbling how much she loved him but was afraid. 

"I know you are. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe, my love." 

That very night- when Klaus was knocked out Ben saw a different side of Five, one that he had not seen even when he was alive, the way Five was holding onto her, assuring her of how much he loved her but would also keep her safe, how sorry he was that he dragged her into this. Ben had never known Five to be one to give value to emotions, let alone use any words of comfort. 

It was safe to say, over the next couple of days, Ben had developed a certain bond with the girl, not that she knew he existed, but he felt like he owed it to Five- or rather he felt like Five deserved to have that ounce of security and happiness kept safe and alive. Sometimes Klaus couldn't find him, he'd call him but he wouldn't show up, he'd look for him, call him out had him thinking his powers were losing their effect. In actuality, Ben would be following her around, while she would make little trips to the library to find books for Five or sometimes the doughnut shop to get something. He knew she wouldn't know about him, perhaps he wanted to befriend her, someone who was not a Hargreeves, someone who was not a freak. So, he was content, watching over her like a guardian angel, even if she didn't know he existed

Or that's what he had thought.

"It's all right, I'm fine, I feel safe with you," she said buckling up in the truck, the one they had just stolen, and fixing her attire, the first thing she had done after coming to the sixties, got a pair of pants, after following Klaus catfish old rich women, and create a cult- technically that wasn't how hippie culture had come to being, her inner 'desk worker' kept on reminding her, but since their arrival had already messed up the time, might as well lets these people do whatever they want.

"Why thank you, that brings me great joy" Klaus chided, as he stepped on the gas, the beads on his weird beard jiggling.

"Not you, Ben." She said simply, flipping onto the page she had bookmarked in her book, the only activity that would remind her of her husband.

"I- who?" Klaus squeaked, Ben, who was sitting in between the two gasped, turning to face her, "Yo, did she just-"

"No, I can not see him, but I know he's here, I read about all of you, from the diary your father wrote- snagged it off Leonard, so, I figured out, the mysterious feeling of being watched came was not me losing my mind, but that your brother never crossed over." She mumbled, turning to another page, "Thank you, Ben, I'm sure Five would appreciate it."

"You sure are something, doll," Klaus muttered as he saw Ben smiling like a five-year-old child who got that very special toy he wanted.

It was after this confession that she wanted to see Ben and get to know him better, Five had told her about his siblings but had mentioned how Ben was one of the most innocent ones. That's why she wanted to meet him, something she told Five, a few minutes before they were going to go back to their usual timeline.

"You know, I saw you die." He whispered, sitting next to her on the stairs of the porch, looking at the bodies, "I almost broke my promise."

"Almost" she smiled, reaching for his hand, gently placing her head on his shoulder, playing with his fingers, "I knew you'd save me, oh, by the way, did I tell you, Ben has been my guardian angel all this time."

"I had a feeling," he whispered, bringing her hand to his lips, pressing them against the back of her hand, "Glad you figured it out, my clever little desk worm."

"When did you figure it out?" She asked, pulling him up to his feet as she stood up too, going to where everyone was not standing in a circle, "When you told me about the book floating above your head, you would've loved him if you met him."

WRONG

"Five!" she gasped, ducking when a tentacle almost hit her, missing her but almost hitting Five who had blinked away. 

"Nice to see you too Ben" he yelled, sitting on the top of the railing, "Mind not aiming at my wife, she's not like us."

For a split second, Ben stopped, glancing at her before nodding towards the exit, "Scram kid, and get a new boyfriend."

.

"So, that was Ben?" she asked, pressing a napkin against Five's bleeding forehead.

"An asshole, yes." Klaus groaned, staring up at the sky, "Is it me or were they better than us."

"Who were you kissing by the way," she asked, both lost in their own little world, "You" he responded simply, ignoring the headache and the way Allison was screaming at him to figure this out.

"Hey, love birds, what do we do now?" Diego asked as the lot walked out of the park, pausing to look up at the billboard of the Sparrow Academy. 

"Find a place to rest and think?" She said, tugging on Five's hand who was focused on something else, "Hmm? yeah, sure."

.

"What are you, a commie?" Diego groaned, as Five flopped on the bed, ignoring him before mumbling something and knocking out, knowing Y/N was in the same room as Vanya and Allison.

Y/N had left the sisters alone, they seemed to be having a moment, and she did not want to be part of it. She had decided to take a shower, changing into some sweats she had bought with a card she had swiped off someone on the streets, pickpocketing was one of the only few tricks Five had taught her- never how to hold a gun though, said she was too pure for it.

Making her way down to Five's room, she heard the boys shuffling and arguing inside,

"Fuck- KLAUS, I said chocolate!"

"It is chocolate my bro- only with a dash of-"

"Hey Five, where do you want the presents?"

"By the table you big ape."

"Klaus, please get a decent cake."

Cake? Opening the door, which as per expectations was unlocked, she met with 4 pairs of panicked eyes, a pair belonging to her husband in a bathing gown, squeaky clean. She could see some balloons on the ground around a table, on top of which was a reddish cake, poorly wrapped boxes on the other end.

"Surprise~" Klaus sang weakly as Five face palmed, Diego hiding the gift he was holding in his hand behind him, Luther just standing there frozen. "What are you - what is happening?" she asked, entering the room, before looking around.

"Its- I thought you were asleep." he muttered going over to her as he held her hands, "Happy birthday my love." he smiled, kissing her forehead, "I'm sorry I didn't remember earlier, I don't know how it slipped my mind." he muttered, "I didn't get you anything special but-" he paused when he felt her envelope him in a hug, almost crushing the air out of him as she let out a small sob.

"Aw, don't cry" Klaus clapped from behind them as Five pulled her away, wiping her face with his sleeve. "We're here." Victor declared as they entered the room, Allison behind him, "I brought the pastries, which weren't cheap by the way- are we late?" She asked, eying Y/N who was busy unwrapping a gift.

"No, Mrs.Five Hargeeves was early," Diego said as he took the box of treats from her, and placed them on the couch. 

She gasped at the mini journal, flipping through the empty pages, ready for her to fill. Caressing the blue leather, she didn't know what she'd fill it with, but she knew by the end of the year it'd be filled to the brim. Honestly, she was surprised about how he remembered this, their little tradition, admist this chaos, he'd get her a journal each year, for her birthday, telling her that even if he was not there anymore, their memories would be engraved in letters, ones she could go through whenever she missed him. She didn't know when she had begun crying, only realized it when she felt a hand on her shoulder, looking up to see Five, smile at her, not his usual cheeky confident self, but a smile of reassurance, one he gave her when he had rejected her confession, when the two had realized a child could never be part of their marriage when they had lost their little turtle.

"I'm sorry." he whispered, only for her to shake her head, "Please don't be, I'm just glad I'm with you."

"So am I."

None of them really knew what was going to happen to anyone, what was going to happen next, if there was ever a moment for them to find their own happy ending, but at the end of it, she knew that Five would find a way. She believed in that blindly, after all, he was her savior, he was her knight in shining armor sent to pull her away from her mundane life, he was her Zorro or Hercules- her idiot husband. Her one true love.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A/N: Thank you @imherefortea for requesting this and an EXTREMELY BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I am so sorry for how long this took- it's a shit load of, I lost motivation, and I thought since I missed the deadline I'd write something longer to my laptop stabbing me in the back like Brutus. EITHER WAY- I hope you like it and thank you so so so so very much for being this patient with me.

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thank you, you lovely people for choosing to be part of my taglist ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ✩‧₊˚)- if you'd like to part of my TUA taglist, feel free to drop a message <3

[jwirecs]

Recommended NCT Fics of February - March 2023💖

hello, hello! here are my nct recs of february - march! hopefully these beautiful stories get more recognition as well as the writers 💝

** anything in parentheses and bolded are my thoughts that can be disregarded if needed **

🔞smut || 💔angst || 💕fluff || ✅completed || 🔄ongoing || 💯favorite

Be Here With Me || @twogyuu​​​💕💔✅

↳ a series of events in one night that made Mark and you realize maybe you loved you each other more than a cherished childhood best friend.

Hickeys || @jjsneo​​​​💕💔✅

↳ your boyfriend, chenle, is competitive. and even though the comment about you giving better hickeys than him was a joke — he’s always up for the chance to prove you wrong. yes he loves you, but that doesn’t mean he’d let you get away with thinking he was bad at something — especially not something you claim you’re better at than him — so he settles it.

Love Me Now || @justwritedreams​​​💕💔✅

↳ “Can I request an angst to fluff for jeno about how reader is the one who loves jeno more (she confessed and said I love you first) while Jeno was still in the process of moving on from his first love?I would love a happy ending, but after jeno fights for it.”

Me, You, And The View || @jishyucks​​​💕✅

↳ after being ditched by your entire friend group on an out-of-town trip, you and your (not-so-close) friend Mark are left alone to explore the destination together

Open The Gates, Let Me In || @chenfleur​💕✅

↳ Jeno always seems willing to do anything for you, and it takes a lot of inner nagging for him to finally realize why.

Perfect Present || @jjsneo​​ 🔞💕✅

↳ it’s your boyfriend’s first birthday with you. too bad he’s too stubborn to tell you what he wants, leaving you to take matters into your own hands. still, you’re certain the little blue set you have at the back of your closet will be just the perfect present for him.

Spin The Bottle || @ohmytyong​​​💕💔✅

↳ you knew you loved lee donghyuck ever since you met him, when the two of you were little kids. you had become best friends and were practically inseparable. until one day, donghyuck had to leave town and he also had to leave you. however, your feelings for him only grew stronger and stronger and you knew you had to confess to him when you met him again in college. but all this time, you kept suppressing them and you were always left wondering one thing; if he ever loved you back. 

The Perks of Having A Hot Best Friend || @jaeyunverse​​💕💔✅

↳ having a hot best friend is nice until you start getting butterflies in your stomach every single time you look at them.

When Cupid Falls || @cherryeoniis​​​💕💔✅💯

↳ you’ve never thought of love as something possible for yourself, but it only takes lee donghyuck accidentally drinking an aphrodisiac meant for mortals to change things very, very quickly.

An Unwanted Love Story || @jaehyunssi​​​​💕💔✅

↳ You know what everyone says and warns about how much of a jerk Jeno is, but why the hell is he standing in front of your house now?

Hearts Are Won At Practice || @angelwonie​​​​ 🔞💕✅

↳ jung jaehyun is an obnoxious, way too handsome footballer whom you have no intention of getting to know. at least until a series of coincidences forces you to spend time with him, and you realize there might be more to him than what meets the eye.

Run That Mile || @cherryeoniis​​​💕✅

↳ He’s not going to lose. Not at fucking flip cup of all things, and definitely not in front of you.

Shelved Away || @sehunniepotwrites​​​💕✅💯

↳ You and Johnny have been academic rivals since the day you first met. Top Two on the Dean’s List for your university’s English Department, it was hard to tell who claimed the number one spot on the list. You always butted heads, whether it was over who led the discussion in a course lecture, who got a higher grade on a paper, or who helped more customers at the bookshop you both worked at. When a bet to see who could sign up more customers for their shop’s loyalty program came to life, the both of you would stop at nothing to win this little game even if it meant getting closer to the other.

22:23 || @daegall​​​​💕✅💯

↳ The alcohol in your system is too much.

Cliche || @prodbymaui​​​ 🔞💕✅

↳ As a member of the cheerleading squad and as the girlfriend, it was safe to say that it was your job to cheer on the captain of your university's basketball team, Jung Jaehyun. As cliché as it was, you were and will always be his lucky charm that made him win every game. What's more fun than celebrating the win in the locker room?

Fighting Dirty || @jjsneo​​ 🔞💕💔✅💯💯

↳ you’re boyfriend has too much pride, which leads to an unnecessary, petty and unresolved argument. too bad the both of you are too stubborn to apologise, resulting in you playing dirty by sending spicy videos to him whilst he’s away.

Give Me A Kiss || @locallixie​​​💕✅💯

↳ your boyfriend is a little shy to love you sometimes.

Guns and Roses || @sun-kore​​​​ 🔞💕💔✅

↳ A supposed to be quiet evening at home turns into a disastrous one when the unexpected happens. With this new reality kicking in, will your relationship survive?

Hickeys || @jjsneo​​​💕✅💯

↳ your boyfriend, chenle, is competitive. and even though the comment about you giving better hickeys than him was a joke — he’s always up for the chance to prove you wrong. yes he loves you, but that doesn’t mean he’d let you get away with thinking he was bad at something — especially not something you claim you’re better at than him — so he settles it. (i havent read a lot of chenle fics but sweetheart...i cant tell if im a lil soft for this fic or what but i enjoyed it to an extent.)

It’s Friday, Baby || @neoaevis​​​​​​🔞💕✅💯

↳ You and Mark have been dating for a year, and your relationship is built on mutual respect and affection. You have a fantastic time together and love spending time together but, when it comes to physical intimacy, both of you have taken things gently, even though you both want to be intimate, you’ve never gone past making out.

Orange || @yutasbellybuttonpiercing​​​​​🔞💕💔✅💯💯

↳ your happy relationship with jaemin lacks nothing but a little spice in the sheets, in your opinion. hence, you want to tickle a kink out of your boyfriend. who would've guessed that his best friend plays a huge role in said journey, and could change your relationship forever?

Our Story || @honeymark​​​💕💔✅

↳ in which you & Taeyong tell your respective sides of your love story.

Self-Care Day With Mark || @daydreamingyuta​​​​💕✅

↳ (the title says it all. and this sht is too soft)

9:29AM || @ncityavenue​​​💕✅💯

↳ (theres no summary but lord this is the cutest sht ever)

Alibi || @paintmebare​​​🔞💕💔✅💯💯

↳ banding together to celebrate nine years of friendship with your bestest of pals is exactly how it sounds; partying too hard, drinking too much, breathing too little. until the following morning, when your body is discovered lifeless and nobody knows why. now your best friends must band together with a detective to unravel the mystery – who killed you?

Better Than Your Next (I’m The Next) || @ddeonuism​​​💕💔🔄

↳ you should have known your penchant for fueling your motivation with spite will come and bite you in the ass one of these days. It all started the moment your ex-boyfriend came back from studying abroad, 2 years after the break up. Normally, you would have just gone about your day. He was someone of the past, you didn’t think he was that  important to lose your complete cool over. Well, that was until you found out he wasn’t exactly faithful during the duration of your relationship and being the spiteful bitch that you are, you didn’t want him having the last laugh.

Color Evasion || @ncteez​​​💕✅

↳ You were just browsing, looking at all of the various kinks and fantasies the great world wide web had to offer. It’s not like you intended to make an account on a specific website to meet someone. Really, you were just curious about what was behind the “only members can view this page” banner. What you definitely weren’t expecting was to be pulled into actually meeting one of the men behind said banner, or enjoying it so much that you’d like for him to hurt you more. or the one where you join a kink website and a specific dom’s profile catches your attention enough to actually meet him at a hotel an practically ignore your safe words because man, he’s good.

I’m Sleeping In The Couch Tonight || @markflrt​​​💕✅

↳ (theres no summary but lord this is v cute)

Like We Were Eighteen || @twogyuu​​​💕💔✅💯

↳ Upon your best friend’s insistence, you attend prom for a second time. Much to your surprise, you enjoy it more than either of you were expecting because of a certain someone you wished you met sooner. Alternatively: A surprisingly unforgettable night that made Kim Doyoung feel like he was eighteen again: Unsure, giddy, and nervous because of a mere crush. Maybe he’ll listen to Yuta for once and slide into your DM’s.

Rodeo || @babecoups​​​​🔞✅

↳ After Johnny sees you showing off on one of the set’s mechanical bulls, he can’t help but pull you into his trailer and put your riding skills to the test.

Romanee-Conti || @yougotthatbilly​​​ 🔞💕✅

↳ Having a sugarless- sugar daddy is proving to be more difficult than planned.

Seed of Pomegranates || @anashins​​​​ 🔞💕💔✅

↳ The day the god of the underworld steals you away, he expects to have found a timid wife to make his isolated life more bearable. Little does he know that the rose he picked from the garden called earth bears knives instead of thorns, and he might not have found a timid wife, but a queen with a heart as dark as his.

Solitude || @yutaholic​​​🔞✅

↳ Taeyong is your roommate and you’re stuck in quarantine together

Sundays With A Twist || @caffeinatedteen-kpop​​​​✅

↳ Mark Lee is just another college student who wishes that his Sunday goes according to plan, but what happens when he disappears in a cloud of blood red smoke? (mark really said im taking haechan down with me. i love that)

The Girl Is Mine || @luvrkives​​​​🔞✅

↳ mark and hyuck can’t stop fighting over you. who fucks you better, who makes you laugh more, who you like most, who fucks you better. yada yada yada. but honestly, why argue when you would happily take them both?

Break The Chain || @paintmebare​​​ 🔞💕💔✅💯

↳ Born into less than nurturing families, you and your husband, Yuta, want nothing more than to give your teenage daughter the life you never had growing up. When your teenager tells you she’s stepped into the dating scene, you and your husband make it a point to be accepting, but you and Yuta must navigate your own pain and past.

Do-Over || @writemekpop​​​💕💔✅💯

↳ You give your kid’s deadbeat dad Johnny one last chance to step up. A snowstorm puts him in danger of letting you down yet again.

Make Me Move || @yutaholic​​​🔞💕💔✅💯💯

↳ You were pregnant when Johnny left to follow his dreams and not a day goes by that you don’t wonder if you did the right thing by keeping his daughter a secret from him. Then, unexpectedly, Johnny comes back into your life, but neither of you are sure if he’s ready to be a father.

Forgotten || @scented-morker​​​💕✅💯

↳ it's been a month since you and your ex broke up for some dumb reason neither of you remember. when he heard you were in an accident he freaked out, only to be told you were completely fine, except for one minor detail- you got a little case of amnesia and may have forgot you broke up.

Hoodie Thieves || @suhnshinehaos​​​💕✅💯

↳ the one where your hoodies go missing and the culprits are pretty obvious (i need my daily dose of 96!liners so here enjoy this other one from them with me🥺)

If You Need A Lover || @suhnshinehaos​​💕✅

↳ the one where your friend jokingly tweets you as a valentines date for hire which gives a certain group of friends a gift idea for a certain birthday boy

Hotflash || @smileysuh​​​​🔞💕✅💯💯

↳ There’d been a time when leaving you alone to deal with your heat as an extreme precaution against unwanted pregnancy had been something the alpha could live with. But in the months he’s had you as his mate, your cycles have synched up-and the thought that you’re ripe and ready to be fucked - to be fucked by him - well, the wolf inside won’t be tamed anymore. And Hyuck doesn’t want it to be.

My First and Last || @neopuppy​​​🔞💕💔✅

↳ You have to escape your packs land after a human hunter invasion. The Lee pack becomes your new home. Only one problem, future head alpha Jeno Lee, can’t stand you.

The Moon Makes No Mistakes || @loudstan​​​​🔞💕💔✅💯💯💯

↳ It had to be some type of sick joke. There was no way Jeno had imprinted on his best friend's mate.

Do check out all of the other NCT Fics that i have reblogged as well!!

** if there is any fics that you guys would like to recommend, please do! i am slowly running out of fics to read **

[miserymet]

Posting another piece of writing! This one is the opening chapter for a Bass-centric Modern AU. Much longer than the Drabble I posted, but rereading it made me nostalgic for this old AU. I’d like to do some art for it at some point.

Anyway, without further ado, here’s the fic:

His name was Ballade.

Bass doesn’t know much more than that. All he knows is his name and that he was year above him. He either doesn’t remember the rest or never learned it. See, that was the problem with Ballade. He was completely and entirely irrelevant. A stain on ruined shirt, a blemish against tattered skin. He didn’t matter, not in the grand scheme of things and not to anyone at school. A nobody in every sense of the word. Bass doesn’t remember what was so annoying about him either. All he remembers is that one day he said something, and Bass wasn’t in the mood to hear it.

Ballade was the first to end up on the pavement, blood leaking from his face. He was not the last.

Bass Wily’s history is best described as “colorful.” From a young age it was easy to see that he was different from his peers. Teachers described him as difficult, classmates as terrifying, and parents as concerning. That was only the beginning. His first fight was in elementary, with the aforementioned Ballade, but his real beginning was in middle school. Why, the list of his enemies was so long they could make it into a phone book. The list of people he beat to a pulp wasn’t quite as long, but the amount of fights he lost wouldn’t even take up a footnote. As you can imagine, this was a nightmare for his father.

It’s no wonder the old man got sick of him. He came out of freshman year with bloody knuckles and a bad attitude. Most would have sent him to a boot camp. Most would have the shame to admit that they had failed somewhere along the way. But not Wily, no, he could never call his own blood a lost cause. Not when his rotten son ending up in juvie was sure to make the headlines. No, Wily had a different plan in mind. A plan that got Bass out of the way and wiped his record clean. A plan he never planned on filling Bass in on until it was too late to make a run for it.

A plan he named Zero.

That’s how Bass finds himself in the passenger’s seat of a car he’s never been in before, staring out over a dark and endless highway. The lights are few and far apart, covering the car for only a moment before cutting out again. For as far out as they are, there’s nothing to see. All around them are miles and miles of roads and fields and lifeless desert that threatens to swallow him whole. It’s a wasteland. That’s all that lies between the cities out here. Dirt and dust and rock. It’s miserable. At least now it’s too dark to see anything.

The inside of the car isn’t anymore comfortable. His jacket hangs loosely over him, unzipped and falling off his shoulder. It’s just cold enough to make him uncomfortable, but it’ll be too warm if he zips it up. So he doesn’t. Bass just slouches in his seat and breathes a deep sigh. 

The radio buzzes in his ear, playing something that was probably popular thirty years ago. Now it’s nostalgic. Retro. A pathetic ploy to remember the past as better than it actually was. It’s so easy to remember those years as too much synth and makeup, as bright lights and exposed skin. It’s just music. Music that said nothing and meant even less. Bass hates that. Hates that the same people who call modern music soulless praise this garbage because it’s old. Hates that they’re all listening to the same bubblegum bullshit, but from a different time. 

He doesn’t know why he cares. People have been touting their self importance since the dawn of time. He can imagine their prehistoric ancestors measuring their sticks to see whose was the biggest. Only now people care less for sticks and more for music that takes itself too seriously. That’s the issue, he guesses. Everyone cares too much. Wily cares too much about his image, Bass cares too much about everything, and Zero…

Bass doesn’t know what he cares about. Doesn’t really know the guy. At all. 

He reaches for the radio and switches to another station. Bass is immediately inundated with a different kind of garbage. Modern electronic music. At the sudden change, Zero speaks up for what must be the first time in over an hour. 

“I was listening to that.”

Bass rolls his eyes. “I wasn’t.”

They lapse into silence again as Bass switches through various stations. Some play pop, some rock, some are pure static. None of it is worth listening to. Bass didn’t think any of it would be, but at least playing with the radio gives him something to do. His phone died forever ago, leaving him with whatever he has on hand to entertain himself. His backpack is full of sentimental junk, nothing he can really use to distract himself. Treble is napping in the backseat and Bass doesn’t have the heart to wake him. So this car radio is all he has for company. Zero doesn’t count. He’s not company. 

Bass barely even knows the guy. Which is why he’s trying so hard to distract himself. If he thinks too hard he’ll remember that he’s riding with a stranger to a city he’s never seen before. The knob turns in his hand as he thinks, sliding between stations haphazardly. He’ll be in a new place, away from everything he’s ever known, living with someone he doesn’t know. Someone unpredictable. Sure, anyone that isn’t Wily is probably an improvement, but Bass is used to Wily. He knows how the old man thinks. Knows how he works, how to deal with him. Bass doesn’t know Zero, hasn’t for five years. Which makes the man unpredictable. Which makes Bass nervous. He fiddles with the knob just a bit faster, static breaking through the speakers.

“Forte-,”

��Bass. It’s Bass now.” He keeps his eyes trained on the car radio, watching the stations flicker by. “Has been for a while.”

Zero sighs, loudly. “Well Bass, pick something or turn it off.”

He lands on static. Bass is pretty sure he sees Zero’s eye twitch out of the corner of his eyes, but he chooses to ignore it. The satisfaction of annoying Zero lasts for only a minute. After that, he quickly realizes the consequences of his actions. There’s several hours between him and his destination. Several hours he’s going to have to suffer through with the sound of static accompanying all of it. How lovely. It’s times like these where Bass almost wishes he were someone else. Of course, that’s only when his difficult nature affects himself. Any other time and he’s perfectly happy being the most antagonistic person in existence.

People are stupid. People like Wily, like Zero, like his teachers and his peers. People that look at him and see only what they want to see. People that look at him and see Forte. See this teen with a bad attitude and dark clothes and assume that they know everything about him. Bass exists to defy those assumptions. He is not the expected, not the convenient. He’s loud, abrasive, aggressive. He’s everything Wily pretends he isn’t. He’s whatever’s going to infuriate Zero the most. He’s whatever pisses everyone off. A contrarian. A problem. Bass gets to control what everyone thinks of him. He gets to pick what he wants to be. Everyone else just has to deal with it or move on.

Most choose to move on. Even the most patient people in the world get sick of him eventually. The smart ones leave as soon as they can. As you can imagine, it leaves him on his own more often than not. That’s fine. Bass has been on his own for a while. He’s used to it. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches a glimpse of Zero. This won’t be any different. A change of scenery won’t fix what’s wrong with him. Bass won’t change, won’t get better, won’t get worse. He’ll just continue on as he always has. Zero will get sick of him eventually. Send him back in a few months, throwing Wily’s mistakes in his face once again.

The thought isn’t as comforting as it should be. As nervous as he is about this move, the idea of returning home isn’t thrilling either. That house, that city hasn’t felt like home for a while. It used to. It used to be familiar and comforting. It used to be his. Now it feels like any other place. Those long halls, those labyrinthine streets, they don’t feel the same. Not since…

Wily certainly chose a convenient time to get sick of him. After everything, it figures the old man would cut him loose after he’s already been hanging from a string. He wonders, briefly, if that was exactly Wily chose to do this now. The old man never cared much for the company he kept, so why would he get rid of him after his old gang had left? Why wait until he had nothing to ship him off? It doesn’t make sense. Maybe it was just convenience. That he was waiting for Zero to come home, that this was always the plan. Of course, that just leaves one unknown variable.

“Why…” Bass falters and hates himself for it. “Why are you doing this?”

Zero grips the steering wheel a little harder. “Doing what?”

“This! The move, the new house, the new school-, why? Why any of it? Why?”

Bass flails his arms in useless gesture. The man next to him huffs in what might be amusement, which makes only one of them. He slouches in his seat and turns away from the man. Pouting, he knows, but he figures he’s earned the right. His life is being upended by the only two people that still hold any power over him. Two people that don’t even know him, for all the years he’s lived with them. Wily and Zero never cared to learn anything about him, and Zero’s missed a third of his life. Bass was ten when Zero left, ten. A lot changes in five fucking years. And Zero doesn’t know the half of it.

“Didn’t he tell you what you’re dealing with? My record? My ‘attitude problem?’”

Zero stiffens a bit at that. Bass wouldn’t have gotten as far as he has if he didn’t know how to exploit a weak spot. He prods further.

“C’mon, how much do you know? I have to know what the old man said about me, which one of my greatest hits he told you.” Bass tugs on Zero’s jacket, jostling him a bit. “Was it that kid whose nose I broke? Or the one who got his older brother involved, who I destroyed by the way. What about the one who showed up with a bat-,”

“Bass.” His grip is harder now, jaw clenched as he stares dead ahead.

“What? I just want to know-,”

“Why are you proud of that? Of what you did to those kids? What-,” Zero takes a deep breath, barely keeping it together.

Bass rolls his eyes. “What’s wrong with me? A lot. I’m sure you can make a few guesses.”

“Do you enjoy hurting people? Is that fun for you?”

“I enjoy winning.” He pulls back his hand, crossing it over his chest. “I enjoy being better than all the idiots who see someone whose barely five feet and thinks that they can take him. I enjoy when everyone else is wrong. I enjoy making them admit it.”

“Well, you weren’t doing much of that when I came home! Your father said you weren’t doing anything. That you hid in your room all day. That you stopped leaving the house. That’s what he told me.”

Bass opens his mouth. Then shuts it. He honestly didn’t think the old man noticed. No, the truth is that he honestly didn’t think the old man cared. So what if he was in his room? It’s his room. It’s his house! He’s allowed to be there! The alternative was being somewhere else, doing something illegal. Most parents would be happy that Bass wasn’t doing any of that. That he was somewhere they could see, that they could keep him out of trouble. Actually, considering how fond Wily was of pretending his own son didn’t exist, this was almost textbook. Figures the old man would only care because he had to suffer his own son’s presence. Still…

“What do you care?”

Zero doesn’t answer him, not right away. Bass spares him a glance. He’s kinda like a monolith, in a way. He sits straight, arms stiff and limbs locked into place. He’s about a foot taller than Bass so he almost towers over him in his slouch. Zero has towered over him for a while. A monument to everything Bass is not. Zero is tall and lean, with smooth features and a pretty face. His skin is tan, his hair blonde and his eyes a vivid blue. He was a straight A student all throughout high school, at the top of his class, and he even got valedictorian. Not to mention the Ivy League school he went to, which he graduated a few months ago. With flying colors, of course. 

Bass is nothing like him. He’s short and awkward, his face round and features mean. Bass is a darker complexion, with black hair and dark eyes. What’s worse is that these features only look bad on him. If Zero had them, he’d look great. But Bass isn’t Zero. His grades are mediocre, his attendance record awful, and he’s never gotten anything more than a participation trophy. And, not to be redundant, but the record. Even if it’s being swept under the rug here, it still exists. Bass did everything he got in trouble for. Beat up every name in that file. He’s every counselor’s nightmare.

“I care because I don’t think you’re a bad kid.”

He blinks at that. “You’re insane.”

“I mean it, Bass.” Zero takes another breath. “Your father isn’t…a good person.”

“He’s a shithead, I know.”

“Yeah, he is. And having a father like that doesn’t make for a good environment to grow up in. It leads to…people like us.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“We’re not normal, Bass. Normal people don’t beat people up for fun, they don’t have rampant anger issues, they don’t pick the farthest school from their family because the thought of living in that house makes them sick.”

That explains why Zero never visited. Bass kinda assumed he was too busy studying or whatever to bother, but it makes sense that avoiding Wily was his main motivation. Bass did the same thing, although he could never get as far away as Zero did. And he eventually had to come home. But every moment he spent away from Wily was one he savored. Even if he was just loitering or hanging out in empty parking lots. Anything to not have to be home. Bass remembers staying out for hours, far after sunset, just so he could be sure Wily was asleep.

Sometimes one of his friends would wait with him. Tengu’s presence was typical, seeing as he didn’t have any good reason to go home either. His parents weren’t ever around and Bass learned not to pry. He wasn’t good company, though. Bass kinda got the feeling he only stuck around because he felt like he had to. Burner sometimes stuck around too. Usually to get the smell out of his clothes, but sometimes he didn’t want to go home either. Bass didn’t like Burner, for a lot of reasons, but he could be nice when he wasn’t on something. 

His friends weren’t normal either. Bass knew that, instinctively, but that was why he hung around them. Because they knew what it was like to not be normal. To be ugly and awful, to be unforgivable to everyone else. They were so not normal that it made Bass feel normal. Like he wasn’t some freak of nature. Like it wasn’t his fault that he came out like this. That it just…happened. Like it did with all of his friends. 

Zero is the opposite. He’s a stark reminder of how messed up Bass is. Because if Zero ended up as perfect as he is, then Bass doesn’t really have an excuse. Bass just isn’t good enough. Someway, somehow, he is insufficient. Flawed. Imperfect. But hearing Zero say that he isn’t normal, that something wrong with him? It’s bittersweet. It doesn’t fix Bass, but it does make him feel better to know that Zero isn’t as high and mighty as he might seem. But again, that only explains part of what’s going on. Bass knows why Wily sent him away, knows why Zero wants to leave, but it still leaves one thing unanswered.

“That explains why you’re moving, but why the hell did you bring me along?

“Because getting away from that-,” Zero falters for a moment. “Getting away from our father was good for me. College was good for me. Getting to be around normal people with normal lives made me realize how fucked up ours was. It made me realize that things didn’t have to be like this. That we don’t have to be like this.”

Bass doesn’t say anything. He got what he wanted. Now he knows that this is some strange attempt to “fix” Bass. He’s not sure how Zero thinks he’s going to accomplish that, but he’s welcome to try. It’ll be entertaining to watch him fail for the first time. Well, second if you count what happened in Zero’s junior year, but Bass doesn’t. Zero did win, after all.

“You deserve a chance to have a normal childhood. With someone who hasn’t given up on you. I…want to give you that. I want to try. God knows someone has to.”

They fall into silence again. Bass doesn’t know what to say to that and Zero seems to have said all he had to. Now it’s just them and the open, empty road. There’s a part of Bass that’s hopeful, despite everything. That thinks maybe this can work. That he and Zero can play pretend. That Bass can survive for a little bit longer. But it’s only a small part. Every other part of him tells him not to hold his breath. Bass sighs and turns his attention to the window. The sky seems to be brightening, which means that morning isn’t too far off. He relaxes in his seat.

When he wakes up, he’ll be in a new city. When he wakes up, he’ll have to figure this out all over again. Bass closes his eyes and dreams of nothing.

[exaltedfuzz]

HI I LOVEEEEE your Art I LOVEEEE your ema! I wanted to ask if you've played aa6 and your thoughts on aa6 ema! I really like that they brought her back and i really think they balanced her personality well by making her more upbeat because of her job, but shes not wholly optimistic either. I really like her relationship with prosecutor sadmadhi throughout the game too! I feel like there's a scale in emas mind from Most to least acceptable prosecutor men and on one end is Miles edgeworth, the other is Klavier gavin, and sadmadhi is in the middle. if that makes sense lol. I just think she talks like she doesn't like him, but she goes along with him way more than she would if Klavier ever asked her to do half the things he asks of her. Also I think it's really interesting that aa6 had ema and mayas first canon interaction! that was interesting to me because ema was sort of designed with Maya in mind and lana and mia obviously have some history, I think it was time for their sisters to meet too. sorry for the Long ask but I just treasure your interpretation of these characters so much!

Hi! I recognize your username from my notifs. Thanks for the support, and for your ask! 🫡 Glad you like the Emas!

I have mixed feelings on SoJ, but Ema is my favorite part of it. I like her a lot in it. She's still got a bit of the edge from AJ, which is nice to see. I like some of her new sprites too, like the swaying thinking one and the 🥺 one. Much prefer her munching sprite from AJ though. The shovelling snacks into her mouth is much more Ema. I also really don't like her official full body art for SoJ.

Unfortunately, Nahyuta doesn't really interest me... His design is too complex to do silly drawings of, for one. I feel like their dynamic was a little underdeveloped, a bit shoehorned in. It's a shame, because their backstories set up a possible dynamic that could be quite interesting, since Lana and Nahyuta kind of have the same motivations - writing team missed a trick. Also, I think Ema would have realistically been grumpier about having to fly halfway across the world every few days. It didn't reeeeaaally feel organic to me. But I do like the idea of their dynamic.

I like the way Maya and Ema interact, even if it's brief. Implies that they have met before, and they're friends, which is cute, though I wish it was a little more delved into. I feel like Maya's characterisation in SoJ is kind of boring. Not as bad as Pearl got it, but still nowhere near as good as she was in the trilogy. Honestly, the whole game falls flat for me when you compare it to the emotional weight the trilogy and AJ have. I really like some of the cases though. And Ema's mini games are great as always. Except the bit with the suitcase which lagged out my 3DS and made me restart it twice, haha. (Though, again! Her mini games were kind of better in the other games!!!)

So, to answer your question, I do like Ema in SoJ. And, despite my criticism, I do like SoJ! Just not as much as the other games in the series. When you play them all in a row, it feels kind of disappointing. I think it's because it's not on the intimate, domestic scale of the trilogy, which is where I think Ace Attorney really shines. (Case in point: Bridge to the Turnabout)

Super happy to see her in another game though, she's really fun, exactly what SoJ needed, and I'm really glad she was the detective they went for. Also, the outfit they put her in for the DLC cutscenes at the wedding is really really good. They were cooking with that one.

I'm really happy to hear you're interested in my interpretations, it means a lot. They're characters I've grown quite fond of.

This turned out quite long. Haha

Here's Ema and Nahyuta for you:

[229zmi]

CRASH AND BURN

PAIRING: Oikawa Tōru/Reader

CONTENT: reader is emotionally constipated, crying, comfort, i use the derailment of a train as a metaphor

WORD COUNT: 2.1k

(Picture this: an empty train in rectilinear motion, careening through rolling hills and lush greenery that appear to stretch on and on for miles. The exterior is scuffed, worn after decades of use, though the interior isn’t any better with its chipped paint, cobwebbed corners, and torn seats. Back outside, billowing wisps of smoke twist their way into the troposphere, slowly dissolving into the inky swirls of the sky.)

Oikawa can’t remember the last time he’s seen you cry. You aren’t one to wear your heart on your sleeve, and based on what he’s gathered throughout all his years of friendship with you, it would take a lot for you to cry.

Because you didn’t cry that time you painfully crashed your new bike into the neighbour’s garden and thus spent the rest of your summer break helping them replant everything as an apology. Neither did you cry the time you landed on your knee after toppling out of that old treehouse in your backyard nor when you knocked out a tooth during a game of tag. All Oikawa remembers is you sprawling out on the ground like a starfish and wailing until somebody helped you, but you didn’t cry. There were no tears.

You didn’t cry either at any of the sappy rom-coms movies you and him watched together, even though Oikawa figured you weren’t a very empathetic person anyway after he told you he found a roach in his shampoo bottle and you merely laughed in his face. You didn’t cry after a tumultuous breakup with your boyfriend of a whopping two months, not even after you got fired from your shitty job or during your high school and college graduation ceremonies, and you most certainly did not cry over the tragic end of another relationship years later — of a whopping two and a half months this time.

(Listen: the wheels clash against the rails with a continuous rumble. The wind whistles deafeningly, drowning all other noises of nature as the train picks up the pace.)

So you weren’t a sentimental person either, he eventually concluded, but for the longest time, he thought there was something wrong with you, or maybe you had a lacrimation allergy that he wasn’t aware of.

But no, that’s just how you are. The first image he sees when he thinks of you is exactly this: you with a loose grin, a thumb jutted at yourself, and your chest puffed out for the effect of confidence. Whether it’s mock or real, he can’t tell.

You’re an amalgamation of no use in crying over spilled milk, c'est la vie, and so on; you’re nearly the textbook definition of the jester archetype. Happy-go-lucky and lax, you laugh at the bad and then carry on as if the aforementioned bad never existed.

…At least on the surface, where it matters.

You’re like an onion in that sense, he supposes. Peel back all the layers, and suddenly the reality becomes clearer. You are nothing but a hollow, emotionally-constipated shell of everything you were taught, not through mundane lectures at school or how-to tutorials on YouTube but rather through reprimands that built up over time. Of crying equating to a display of vulnerability that would, in turn, only precipitate uncomfortable stares and artificial pity from others, and of repressing your shitty feelings so you wouldn’t have to deal with them.

(Listen, again: a sharp, grating noise rattles the vacant vehicle wholly. Too loud, too haphazard-sounding. There might be something wrong, but if a tree falls in a forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?)

The then Oikawa might have shared a similar sentiment at some point, a very low point back in high school, but the now Oikawa knows all too well that this facade you keep up is a lot like a banana with too much ethylene gas; it’ll only continue to get worse over time until it ultimately decays.

In your case, you’re bound to self-destruct sooner or later. He’s sure of it.

But — you turned out fine, didn’t you? After all, you had escaped most of your childhood injuries with temporary bruises and scars that faded later on anyway and a fucked up knee that only mildly inconvenienced you at times. You’re not sure what was the problem.

And anyway, he’s getting off-topic. The point of this is as follows: it would take a lot for you to cry, he’s never seen you do it anyway — that’s just how things have always been.

(The harsh noise repeats itself, and the wheels start to come off the train. Another screech — shit goes off the rails.)

It’s a Monday evening. A torrential downpour had hit the city approximately half an hour ago and still persists; the local weather forecast says it won’t be at least another fifteen minutes or so before the rain starts to clear up. Thunder echoes overhead nonstop with the occasional jagged flashes of lightning ripping through the sky.

On a Monday evening, you show up at the door to his apartment unannounced. No text, no call. Just you. Oikawa surveys you all in one glance, eyes quickly flitting from your drenched figure to your slumped posture as if there’s an invisible weight physically holding your shoulders down. There’s a downcast expression overtaking your face, your lips are twisted into a scowl, and a translucent sheen glazes your puffy eyes.

Almost like you’ve been crying.

“[Y/N]…” he breathes out, instantly alert as all the alarm bells in his mind ring. His jaw might as well have dropped to the floor and scuttled away with how visibly shocked he is. Opening the door wider, he grabs you by the shirt sleeve and pulls, no, yanks you inside. Various questions threaten to spill off his tongue, the most prominent being something along the lines of What are you doing here?, but one more once-over of your haggard appearance and he decides that perhaps the prying inquiries can wait. Regardless of the situation, you’re way more important anyway.

After closing the door and with an arm slung over your shoulders, he guides you over to the living room. Or, at least. Tries to. The thing is, you sort of give up halfway there against your own will, falling into safety net of his arms right before you crumple to the ground, and perhaps this situation could be considered romantic if it’s not for the fact that you’re now crying. Like really crying, snot-faced and uncontrollable hee-hawing type of crying.

For a moment, Oikawa isn’t exactly sure what to do besides hold your trembling body closer to him and gently rub circles into your back, hoping that will somehow help soothe whatever it is that you’re feeling right now.

“I’m—“ You inhale intensely as if it’ll help you gain your composure just enough to finish your sentence, but then you break into another sob, moving your hands up to aggressively swipe at your cheeks. Oikawa catches your wrists with one hand, not wanting you to accidentally hurt yourself in the process with how rough you’re being, and wipes away your tears for you with the other.

“It’s alright, let it all out.”

“Tōru— I’m so sorry,” you finally manage to blubber out, your voice all gurgly and muddled with hiccups in between. You sniffle and then curl your hands into the fabric of his sweater, suddenly despising the shameful feeling that now shrouds you. Regret bubbles inside of you like a loud burp waiting to be released as you stare at the large wet stain on his sweater. “I’m sorry— for messing up your sweater and— showing up without letting you know I was gonna visit. I just— shit, I don’t know, I wasn’t thinking.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. You don’t have to be sorry at all,” he assures. His thumb swipes over the back of your hand tenderly. “Are you okay, though?”

You nod, not trusting your voice to speak again without breaking.

“Do you want to talk about it? Need anything? Water?”

This time, you shake your head, and the conversation falls to a standstill. Outside, the sky emits yet another low rumble and a flash of light that briefly illuminates the two of you before darkness engulfs you again. Rain continues to lash violently against the window — a stark contrast to Tōru’s comforting embrace.

You speak up once your hiccups fully die down and you’ve had enough of listening to the sounds of the thunderstorm, “Still, I’m sorry for… y’know. Getting all dramatic on you.” You chuckle with a smile that falls short of your eyes. “I don’t even know why I was crying.”

Your words hang in the air for a moment before Oikawa processes them. His voice abruptly cuts through the silence, coming out harsher than intended.

“I don’t know whatever it is that’s bothering you, but you were not being dramatic, and I don’t want you to think that,” he snaps. You blink at him, momentarily stunned as if what he just said was outlandish in any way, though you quickly recover, painting on what appears to be a bashful expression.

“Aw, you don’t have to lie for my sake,” you tell him. There’s a hint of humor in your tone, yet the tension in his shoulders doesn’t ease. Matter of fact, it grows; you’re making him nervous. “I was literally full-on sobbing. Boogers and everything. You don’t think that’s at least a tiny bit dramatic?”

“That’s just you letting out your emotions after keeping them bottled up for so long.” You open your mouth to speak, but he’s not done. “[Y/N], that’s — that’s normal, and there’s no shame in doing so by crying.”

A loud roar of thunder shakes the walls of Oikawa’s apartment. You don’t respond in the couple of seconds it takes for the sound to dissipate, instead deciding to stare distantly at the ground for a moment as you gather your thoughts.

“Huh,” is all you say at first before your voice grows somber and tense, even more than it was minutes prior when you had just finished crying your heart out. Oikawa listens attentively. “You don’t think I’m weak or think any less of me for it?”

“Of course not! Look.” He stands up and gestures for you to follow him. The two of you stop once you reach the window, and he pulls away the curtains.

First, you see your reflection in the glass — a bleary image of your tear-stained face and Oikawa standing beside you, who offers a smile as your eyes meet, setting your cheeks aflame. You quickly divert your gaze out of embarrassment, and you next see the city — a labyrinth of towering skyscrapers and wide, open streets bustling with people and vehicles despite the deluge.

“It’s like this. You see that it’s raining outside, right? Lots of people say that means the sky is crying, the city is crying, whatever. Does the city look weak to you?” he asks.

“No.” You squint your eyes down at all the buildings, the cars, the people, as if it’ll magically improve your vision. You could say that it looks vibrant because of all the lights, that it looks busy because of those who still have places to be. But instead, you say, “It looks alive.”

“Does the sky look weak to you either?”

“No.” You look out at the torrent and the storm clouds and the lightning all at once and think the words to yourself this time: it looks beautiful.

“Then why view crying as a sign of weakness? It’s only a natural response to whatever you’re feeling,” he says. “And if anyone tries to convince you otherwise or says they think less of you for it, I’ll just— I don’t know. I’ll beat them up or something.”

He curls his hand into a fist, holds it up with the base knuckles facing you, and shakes it a bit as if the action is supposed to be menacing. Really, all that does is further dwindle his credibility, especially since you’re confident this man cannot fight for shit, but whatever — it’s the thought that counts anyway.

The ends of your mouth curl up, and a particularly strident laugh escapes you much to your surprise, cutting through the tension with ease. Your shoulders scrunch up and tremble and your eyes fill with tears of mirth as you try to contain your giggles, though it’s too late because Oikawa’s already thinking: he has never seen anything more beautiful.

Your own hand comes up to wipe away your newfound joyful tears once you find the moment no longer amusing. You exhale, like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders.

“Do you feel better now?”

There’s a beat of peace and quiet — a shift in the air. Neither of you can hear the thunder anymore. Eventually:

“I do,” you conclude. “I do feel better.”

Outside, the rain relents at last.

[ssukidesu]

what friends do

Fandom: Fairy Tail

Pairing: Nalu

Rating: T

Nalu Week 2024 ( @thenaluarchive @allaboutnalu )

Summary: Lucy gets a little too happy and does something (maybe not) regrettable.

Chapter 2: when friends return the favor (PDA)

Ch. 1 Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5 Ch. 6

Read on AO3

Read under the cut

Maybe if I ignore them, thought Lucy, they’ll go away.

No dice. Happy was still floating in her face—such bad table manners he had, as the action put his rear end right over the food-covered table that she and the rest of their teammates were currently using—and Natsu was standing right at her side, having eaten an hour ago. She refused to turn her body on the bench to face him fully, but that didn’t stop Happy from trying everything in his power to hold her attention.

They both looked at her with sad eyes—which only pissed her off more, since she knew they really wouldn’t be that beaten up about it.

Maybe if I close my eyes…? If I can’t see them, they can’t see me, she hoped. She covered her eyes with her fingers in exasperation.

“Luuuuucyyyy,” whined Happy. “Please?”

What was it with them not taking “no” for an answer? Erza, Wendy, and Gray didn’t even seem surprised about it; in fact, they didn’t even bother coming to her rescue. They just kept on enjoying their meals, hardly paying them any mind. Hers was surely getting cold.

She pictured it: waking up at the ass-crack of dawn, making breakfast sandwiches with the rest of the food in her fridge, walking two whole miles to the river, and sitting for hours just for her to catch nothing at all while these two idiots flaunted their superior luck and fishing skills?

No thank you.

Lucy could count the number of times she’d gone fishing with them on one hand—but the few times she had, she’d been forced to the miserable conclusion that she sucked at it worse than a little kid practicing his cannon ball skills in between casts.

Fingers still shielding her eyes from their pouts, Lucy repeated, “Like I said, I’m no good at it. It isn’t fun at all for me.”

Well, maybe that wasn’t entirely true. Even when she wasn’t catching anything, the knuckleheads at least tried to entertain her. She suspected it was always to cheer her up, but Natsu would often work a little harder than normal to make a fool of himself so that she’d laugh, and Happy always devoted a number of his catches to her.

“This one’s for you, Lucy!” he’d say.

And Natsu would pitch a jealous fit. “Hey! What about me? No fair!”

And then he’d set to work sabotaging Happy’s success—whether through baiting his hook poorly to ensure the fish would come loose (Natsu did, of course, have to bait Happy’s hook for him, as his thumbs were superior in mobility) or through raging himself up to leap into the river to “catch one first”.

Lucy would always feel better after that. It was hard to be sullen, after all, when your ribs hurt from laughing so much.

“Come on,” came a voice deeper and raspier than Happy’s. “Please? We’ll make sure you have fun even if the fish ignore you like before. Your bad luck has to run out eventually.”

Lucy frowned—not at his words, but at her own faltering resolve.

She sighed audibly and let her hands fall from her face. “…Fine.”

Before the syllable had fully left her lips, the two fools were shouting and punching the sky in celebration.

She crossed her arms indignantly over her chest, sulking in her defeat. Whether what Natsu did next was due to him noticing her sour face or not noticing it at all, she couldn’t be sure; all Lucy knew was that one moment she had been entirely in her own bubble, and the next…

Natsu’s hands were gripping both sides of her face and holding her into place, and his wet lips were smacking sloppily against her cheek.

Not even half a second—that’s all it was. A brief and flippant thing. But as Natsu and Happy continued their celebration on their way to the door and out of the guild hall, Lucy wondered why she could still feel him there.

And why her cheek was scorching hot. But then she realized it was probably her whole face that was burning.

“Um… Lucy?” asked Gray in a humorously tense voice.

Shit, she panicked. Forgot they’re here.

“What was that?” cried Wendy, already clasping her hands together in excitement.

“Uh—I…” she stuttered, eyes still glued to the guild doors, through which he had already disappeared. Her hand had come to cover where he had kissed it with a mind of its own, and she felt her skin’s violent blush. She saw no point in lying to them. “I might have told him that’s what friends do when they make each other happy…”

“Oh,” exclaimed Erza in a surprised squeak. Clearing her throat, she continued, “Well, I suppose that’s fine…”

Gray slammed his hands down on the table and pushed himself wildly to stand, startling everyone. “You mean that idiot is gonna go planting one on anyone who makes him happy?! Shit, Lucy—now I gotta make sure I never do anything nice to him ever again!”

Not appreciating the finger pointing, Lucy tightened her crossed arms over her chest and cringed. “You’re never nice to him, Gray. You’ll be fine.”

But Lucy suddenly felt even less fine than before. She hadn’t even thought about that risky consequence—that he’d go around kissing anyone who made him happy. Surely he wasn’t that much of an idiot… right? But she imagined him grabbing other people’s faces and smacking his lips on their cheeks the same way he had just done to her—and a rock formed in her stomach that she didn’t think she’d be able to medicate away. What if he did that to a poor clueless girl who would misunderstand it?

Lucy groaned. She would have to talk to him again, before he did something stupid and hurt someone’s feelings…

Like mine, a pesky voice deep within her said. She shoved it away, not even validating it with a response.

Well, she really did mean to take care of this misunderstanding sooner rather than later, but when she saw him the next day, he kept his lips to himself, even when she finally managed to catch a fish and made him smile so hard his dimples remained indented beside his mouth long after his smile faded. She wondered what it was about yesterday’s events that made him so damn happy that he considered his expression warranted, and after wondering and wondering during every second that she could spare, she decided that he probably wouldn’t be as liberal with it as she’d initially feared. Lucy decided that she would keep a close eye on him whenever possible, and if he did assault some poor unsuspecting victim’s cheek with a sloppy kiss, she would immediately take it upon herself to explain everything to them.

But in the meantime, she’d let it be. Maybe he’d forget about it altogether and never do it again—to her or anyone else.

The thought was initially comforting—but after Lucy returned home that night and readied herself for bed, something about it gnawed unpleasantly at her gut.

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

This was really fun for me and a nice little break from the other stuff I write and people seemed to like the other two soooo....

Paz lives modern au part 3

part 1 part 2

Miles made good on his promises to Paz after their fight

He’d get Spider ready for the day every morning and would get the toddler ready for bed every night

Spider loved getting so much of his daddy’s attention. 

Before his parents fight Spider would maybe get held by his dad for a few minutes before being passed to his mama, or his dad would half heartedly wave some toys in front of his face.

Now Miles was invested, always giving his undivided attention to Spider, putting 100% of his effort into being a good dad.

He put just as much effort into being a better husband too.

Miles started to cook for his family on the weekends. And he was bad at it.

When he was a bachelor he lived off t.v dinners or unseasoned boiled chicken and vegetables. 

So when Paz watched him plonk some unseasoned chicken into a pot of boiling water she said oh hell no.

Paz and Miles cooked together after that so that Miles could learn.

Miles even took it upon himself to learn by watching food network during his lunch breaks at work.

He could competently cook a decent meal by himself after a few months.

Miles did start paying Paz to be a stay at home mom. $1,000 cash every Friday 

When he asked Paz if she thought that was enough she was stunned and just said yeah. She was only going to ask for half that amount.

When their second child was born Miles took as much paternity leave as he could. 

He was only given two weeks but he luckily had a lot of vacation days saved up (having never taken a day off once in his entire military career) so took another two weeks of vacation time, then worked it out to where he could work from home for two weeks after that.

He basically spent the time policing Spider while Paz took care of the new baby.

They’d switch kids depending on their needs, (Spider just wanting his mama, Miles agreeing to hold the baby while he slept because he’d start crying as soon he was put down) and so they could both properly bond with the new baby while making sure Spider wasn’t feeling neglected by either of his parents.

Just because I like the idea, Miles and Paz unintentionally keep up with Jake and Neytiri when it comes to baby making.

They never plan a single one of their kids either

I don’t mean in a natural family planning way, I mean in an irresponsible, horney on main kinda way.

Which no one would even expect because Miles and Paz aren’t very affectionate with each other. Not publicly at least.

In private though, when they can let there walls down, they are one of the most loving couples you could find

I like the idea of them having two other boys then a girl.

Because I feel Miles especially would feel super comfortable with his ability to raise boys

So they’re on baby number 4 and they find out they're having a girl and Paz is just like “oh. I didn’t even think we could make those.”

Meanwhile you could knock Miles over with a feather.

He’s freaking out (internally, not showing it all externally) all the way up until their daughter is born.

He instantly falls in love. He instantly fell in love with all his kids but this is different. This is his baby girl.

I imagine the kids  all being about 2-3 years apart. Spider would be 7-8 when his little sister is born.

Spider is a protective big brother, but he’s not responsible like Neteyam. Oh no. He’s the ring leader type of big brother.

Anything wrong happens in the house his parents are coming to interrogate him first because he either knows everything or started everything.

The kids are all pretty well behaved though. They just get up to normal, weird kid shenanigans that are typically harmless, although somebody will end up in the e.r every once in a blue moon.

Miles is the disciplinarian. He doesn’t yell (because Paz would kick his ass if he did) but he will use his stern commander voice when the kids have screwed up.

Paz is more like “is that the best you can do?

[darkaviarymc]

The Evergreens Enfold the Shrine, A recursive fic of The Incandescence of a Dying Light by @quaranmine

Chapter 2

June 13th, 1995

-

The Owl Head Trail was a five mile side trail off of Pinnacles and connected to it at both ends. The intended start was by the parking lots at the start of the main trail and the end was just past the campgrounds.  There was no rule against going the opposite way, though, which is what Gem, Etho, and Beef did on that early Tuesday morning.  It was considered a intermediate level trail because of some falling hazards along the edge of the path, steep hillsides and even some sheer drops alond the edges of the path.  The trio no longer considered themselves novices, though, not after spending the past week exploring the first stretch of Pinnacles as well as a few novice level side trails.     

“Can’t believe our vacation will be pretty much over once we reach the end of this trail,” Gem said with a forlorn sigh.  “I miss it already.

“Well, my name’s on the rental car,” Beef said, “But feel free to stay the whole season if you can figure out your own ride to the airport.  I’ve got summer classes for my bachelors program starting in a week.”

Etho shook his head.  “Nah, Pause would kill me if I didn’t come home.  He was worried about me traveling all the way across the continent as it is.  You know how roommates are.”

“It’s too bad he couldn’t come,” Beef said.  “It sucks missing part of the team.”

“Yeah,” Etho agreed.  “It was just bad timing that the only week I could get away from work was the same week as the Iceberg Festival, and that’s like, a big cultural thing.  It wouldn’t have felt right to ask him to miss it.”

“That settles it then!” Gem declared and spun around, walking backward to face Beef and Etho while she talked.  “Next summer, I say we plan better.  Maybe pick a different campground and come earlier, that way Beef won’t have to worry about his summer classes and Pause can have two vacations.”

“Sounds great!” Beef agreed. 

“Turn around and walk straight, Gem,” Etho warned.  “You’ll fall down the hill and crack your head.  Don’t you remember the story you told last night?”

Gem rolled her eyes but did as she was told.

“You know,” Etho continued, “Pause says that someday the internet’s gonna take over the world.  You’ll be able to go to school, work, movie theaters, and all kinds of stuff all on the computer no matter where you are in the world.   Then you won’t have to worry about getting home for class, Beef.” 

Beef scoffed.  “In his dreams!  The internet’s full of nothin’ but dweebs and sex pests.”

“Excuse me!  I use the internet all the time!” Gem protested.

Beef laughed.  “Like I said.  Dweebs.” 

Gem playfully slapped Beef’s arm, and then noticed that Etho had stopped and was standing on the edge of a path looking at something off trail.

“What are you doing?” she stopped and asked.

“Did you see the ghost of mustaches past?” Beef asked as if he was asking a serious question.

“Not funny, Beef,” Etho replied.  “I did see a sialia currucoides, though.  Or at least I thought I did.”

Gem cocked her head.  "A what?"

Etho didn't answer.  He instead simply reached into his vest pocket and pulled out his binoculars.  He adjusted the focus as he looked through them, trying to find the best setting with which to search for he bird he thought he'd seen.

"I thought you wanted to hurry so you could get to the library and make good on your bet with Gem?" Beef said.

"Yeah, but the whole point of taking this detour to the car was to see the sights one more time, right?" Etho answered, not lowering his binoculars.  "I've always wanted to see one of these in the wild.  Their populations have been steadily declining over the past twenty years, you know."  He stepped up onto a large rock to get a better view, not looking where his feet were landing, but instead at what he'd finally found.  Through the binoculars he saw not one, but three mountain bluebirds, all males judging by their bright blue plumage that contrasted beautifully against the dark brown bark of the fir tree they were perched in.  But his enjoyment at the vibrant sight was short lived.  His foot slipped on the rock that was still damp from the morning dew.  He spread his arms out to steady himself, dropping his binoculars in the process, but is was too late.

"Oh Sna-AH!"  He yelled as he completely lost balance and fell.  He tumbled down the steep hillside, his body striking rocks and tree limbs along the way.  Somewhere in his mind, Etho was aware there was pain and would be even more later, but the disorientation caused by the startling fall made it impossible to tell exactly where he was being hurt.  He was vaguely aware of someone shouting, but...

"ETHO!" Gem screamed and darted towards the rock Etho had fallen from.  She was stopped so abruptly by Beef's tight grip on her arm that she almost tripped backwards. 

"If you run after him like that, you'll fall, too!" Beef scolded.  He only released her once he was certain she wouldn't run off recklessly.

Gem's eyes darted between Beef and the rock.  When she approached the rock again, she did so much more cautiously.  "ETHO!" she screamed again.  When she was met with only muffled, pained groaned in response, she looked again to Beef, eyes filled with desperation.

"Shit," Beef cursed through clenched teeth.  "Etho?"

"I'm alive...I think...ow."

Beef breathed a sigh of relief while Gem inched dangerously close to the edge, craning her neck as much as she could to try to find where Etho had landed. 

Beef looked around the tree line and eventually found a long, sturdy stick.  Using it as a walking stick for balance, he took a few slow, careful steps down the hillside.  With one hand on the stick, he held the other hand out to Gem.  "Step very gently," he warned.  "Hold on, buddy," Beef called to Etho, "We're coming to ya!"

Again, Etho only groaned in a response that Gem and Beef could barely hear.

Gem nodded and took Beef's hand, and together, they carefully and methodically made their way down the hill.  Occasionally Gem would feel her foothold becoming unsteady and tighten her hold on Beef's hand, prompting him to stop and allow them both to regain their balance before continuing down. 

They reached the bottom safely; the few minutes it had taken them had felt like hours.  What they found there made their stomach turn.  Etho was laying on his back, and blood flowed from a deep gash in his forehead and many smaller cuts on his face, making him squint to avoid getting it in his eyes.  His long sleeved black t-shirt was torn in several places, revealing even more bleeding wounds, though none as serious as the on his head.  Also concerning was the way his right ancle, the one he's initially slipped with, was bent.  It was twisted much farther to the left than an ancle should be, and it didn't take a doctor to tell at first glance that is was most definitely broken.  

They wanted to be relieved that Etho was alive and conscious, but they instantly knew looking at him that in this state, there was no way they could possibly get him back onto the trail.  

Gem dropped to her knees a little less carefully than she should have.  She winced as her legs struck the hard ground, but she paid her own pain no mind as she opened her pack and unpacked her sizable first aid kit.  Beef had called her paranoid for bringing something so large and comprehensive, insisting that it was unnecessary weight and space to take up that could be used to carry more beer.  She'd insisted on it, though, having been the only one in the group to do her proper research (Etho had researched too, though his pre-trip readings had been mostly on the topic of birds native to the area).

"Go get help," Gem told Beef while opening a pack of gauze wrap and alcohol pads. "I'll stay with Etho."

"'M fine, Gem," Etho said.  His slurred speech was added evidence that he'd most likely suffered a concussion. 

"No," Gem insisted.  "You are not fine.  You have a very serious head injury and probably a broken ancle.  I don't even want to move you right now until we know if your back is hurt, too."

"'Im'ma a bology major, I know wha'I'm talkin bout."

Gem stopped and glared at Etho.  "You're an ornithology major, and unless that dorky tactical vest you always wear is hiding a set of wings, I highly doubt your studies apply to you."

"Yeah well, you're jus' a pharm-cicity tech, yeah?"

Gem rolled her eyes and began gently dabbing the alcohol pads around, but not directly on, Etho's most serious head wound.  "Pharmacy tech?  Yeah.  I still took first aid classes."

"I'm ag-sci.  I'm useless here," Beef said.

Gem nodded.  "Which is why I'm sending you to get help."

Etho winced when the alcohol stung his wound.  His vision was blurry and he couldn't quite make out exactly what Gem and Beef were saying.

But then, just for a few seconds, he felt a moment of clarity.  He could hear some sort of ringing, but not quite like the persistent ringing in his ears.  This was a lighter, almost melodic tone, like a wind chime or...

A bike bell.

His eyes opened fully and he stared directly over Gem's shoulder.  What he saw there wasn't some vaguely human shaped shadow or a transparent apparition. 

He was there. 

He was there as clearly and fully as Gem was: a man with black hair and an immaculately groomed mustache, dressed in a pink Hawaiian shirt.

Weakly, Etho raised his arm and tried to point.  "Behin' you, Gem!"

Gem wiped her head around, but saw only trees and rocks there.  She sighed and abandoned her efforts to clean Etho's still-bleeding head, opting instead to press a thick cloth against it in attempt to controll the bleeding.  "No bird watching right now, Etho."

Etho tried to shake his head, but didn't get far due to the pressure from Gem's hand.  "wan'n a bird," he slurred, his breath growing heavier as he spoke.  "I's him.  The guy from th'story."

"You think you saw the ghost of Pinnacles Trail?" Beef asked, raising an eyebrow.  "Dude, you really did hit your head bad."

"Badly," gem corrected.  "And what are you still doing here?  Go!"

"Right!  Right, going now.  You sure you'll be okay?"  

"We have plenty of water and there's bear spray on my necklace," Gem assured him, emphasizing her point by raising up her lanyard to show him the small canister of bear spray hanging there.

A few moments of silence passed after Beef walked away, interrupted only by the ambiance of the forest and Etho's labored breathing and occasional whine of pain.

"Y-you think he died right when'e fell?" Etho asked softly, a tear streaking down his bloody face.  "Or did'e lay there like this?  Knowin' he's never gettin' up?  Jus' waitin' t'die?"

Gem shook her head.  She closed her eyes tightly to suppress her own tears.  "Don't talk like that," She said, her voice cracking despite her best efforts to hold her composure.  "Beef's going to get you help, and you're going to be okay.  Pause would kill us if we came home without you."

Etho's eyes slipped closed and he let out a ragged breath.  "Y'now how... roommates are..."

"Etho?" Gem asked just short of panic when she felt her friend go limp.  "Etho!" She yelled when he didn't respond. "No no nonono no," she muttered and  touched Etho's pulse point.  She nodded to herself when she felt the thump against her fingers.  She layed a hand on his chest and could feel his breathing that was much too shallow to be safe.  

Gem looked up at the hillside.  She couldn't see her other friend through the trees, and could only hope he would find help in time.

"Please hurry, Beef."

Halfway up the hill, Beef was moving as fast as he safely could.  He'd abandoned the walking stick, opting instead to use the rocks and branches around him to pull himself up.  He wished he could sprint up the hill like some kind of wild animal, but he knew that if he rushed himself, he would end up just like Etho.  He heard something crack and crunch beneath his feet.  He looked down and saw Etho's binoculars.  Under his foot was a lense that had popped off in the fall.  They probably weren't totally beyond repair and he wanted to stop to pick them up, but he couldn't afford to risk loosing his balance.

Not to mention any more precious time.  

He could see the top of the hill and the trail now, as well as the top of someone's head.

"HEY!" He shouted to the person.  "Hey, excuse me!"

The person in question stepped out from behind the tree to find him, and Beef had never felt such relief.  Standing there at the top not far from where Etho had fallen was a tan-skinned man with black hair and a stubbled beard dressed in what Beef hoped was a forest ranger's uniform with a hand radio clipped to his belt  

The ranger crossed his arms.  "Excuse me sir!  What are you doing of trail!"  His facial expression and posture were stern, his voice was more curious than accusatory.  

Beef took a second to catch his breath.  "Can you help?  My friend feel, he's really hurt."

The ranger didn't take a spare second to pull a collapsible hiking stick from the deep pockets of his pants.  "Show me."

Beef nodded and let the ranger follow him down the hill.  "He was birdwatching," Beef explained as they made their decent.  It was faster than it had been with Gem.  He somewhat knew the trick to keeping balance on the loose rocks now, and the ranger knew what he was doing as well, likely from years of experience on these trails.  "He was paying more attention to the view than where he was walking and slipped.  His head's bleeding and I think his ancle's probably broken. 

"Is he alone?" the ranger asked.

Beef shook his head.  "No.  Our other friend is still down there with him.  She knows more first aid than I do.

The ranger nodded.  "Good, good."

When they reached the bottom, they found Gem in tears.

"I can't wake him up," she sobbed.

Beef knelt down next to Gem.  "Is he breathing?"

Gem nodded.  

The ranger let out a low whistle.  "Oh, this is bad."  When sobbed again, he responded with, "Sorry.  I don't sugar coat things, I tell it like it is."  He unclipped his radio from his belt and adjusted the frequency.  It squeaked and crackled a little before going silent again.  "Bdubs to HQ, you copy?"

A voice came over the radio in response.  "HQ to Bdubs, I copy."

"We've got an injured hiker on Owl Head.  We're gonna need a med-evac."

"Copy that.  Coordinates?"

Beef and Gem watched Bdubs pull out some sort of device covered in dials and listened as he rattled off a bunch of numbers that were likely the coordinates HQ had asked for.

"Copy that, Bdubs.  Wait there until the chopper arrives."

"Copy that, HQ.  Bdubs out."

Beef stood back up to be face to face with Bdubs.  "Thank you."

"Of course.  As a forest ranger, it's my duty to make sure all you fine visitors are safe.  But just a second now..." Bdubs looked around the area, down at Gem and Etho, then back at Beef.  "There wasn't a fourth person with you was there?"

Beef and Gem looked at each other, then back to Bdubs and shook their heads slowly.

"It's just been the three of us all week," Gem said softly, her voice still rough from crying.

"Hm,  Must not have gotten enough sleep last night.  A full night's rest is important you know.  Keeps you strong and healthy." Bdubs ponded his fist against his chest to emphasize his point, then winced and rubbed the place he'd struck himself.  "Ow.  See?  I'm so strong I even hurt myself." 

Beef chuckled awkwardly at the ranger's odd antics.  He wanted to further address that "fourth person" comment, but there were more important matters to attend to. 

Bdubs knelt down next to Etho on the side opposite Gem.   He looked him over, paying special attention to the other side of Etho's heas.  "Has he been moved since he fell?"

"No," Gem answered.  "I didn't want to risk hurting him more in case something happened to his back.  

"Good thinking."  Bdubs reached over to Etho's broken ankle and gave his foot a light tap.

"What are you-" Gem tried to protest the action, but was interrupted when Etho roused slightly and grimaced in response.  

Bdubs offered Gem a reassuring smile.  "If he can still feel his feet, that's a good thing.  No major spinal damage.  And he's responsive, so he's not comatose."

"I...I guess that makes sense."

Bdubs visually checked Etho over some more while he asked questions of Gem.  

"Was he unconscious when you found him?"

"No, he lost consciousness about... five minutes ago maybe?  He could talk before that, but he was slurring like he was drunk."

"Had he been drinking?  The paramedics will need to know if he's got any substances in his system."

"He had a few beers last night, but nothing this morning."

Bdubs nodded slowly.  "That slurring means a concussion then, for sure.  Looks like there's another wound on the back of his head, too."

Gem sniffed.  "He warned me to be careful when I was acting dumb and now he's the one who fell.  It was my idea to take this stupid trail in the first place."

"What's your name, sweetheart?" Bdubs asked, giving Gem a serious look.

"My name's Gem."

"Gem.  Beautiful name.  Accidents happen, Gem.  You can't blame yourself.  And this gentleman here is..."

"Etho," Gem completed the sentence.

"Etho," Bdubs repeated.

Hearing his name in strange voice caught Etho's attention.  He groaned and his brow furrowed.

"Hey there, buddy,"  Bdubs said softly.  "You waking up?"

Etho's eyes flicked open just for a second before closing again.  "Who'r you?"

"The name’s Bdubs.  I'm the ranger who just called a med-evac for ya.  We're gonna get you out of here, just hold tight."

"Gem?" Etho asked, sounding groggy.

"I'm here, Etho."

"Me too, buddy," Beef said from behind Gem.

"Hurts," Etho grunted through clenched teeth.

"I know," Gem said.  "I'm sorry."

"Pain means you're alive."  Beef gently squeeze Gem's shoulder, and she returned the gesture with a small, tired smile.  "Stay that way for us, okay?"

"'K.  Can't die here."  Etho's lip twitched up in was was meant to be a smile.  "Pause'll kill me 'f I die."

Gem and Beef both laughed, taking Etho's clearly intact sense of humor as a good sign.

Gem echoed Etho's previous words.  "You know how roommates are."

"Is his roommates him emergency contact?"  Bdubs asked.

Gem nodded.  "We're all each other's contact, but he's also on the list."

"I'll need to radio back to HQ so they can contact him."

"Here..." Gem offered before rummaging in the inner pocket of Etho's jacket.  She pulled out a small, clear, waterproof bag containing Etho's passport, trail permit, and list of emergency contact names and numbers.  She handed it to Bdubs.  "Here's all his information, just in case they need it at the HQ."

Bdubs took a moment to admire the bag before standing up.  "This is a genius idea."

"It was all Gem's idea," Beef said, patting Gem's shoulder.  "We all have one on us."

"Well, Gem's great!" Bdubs said with a wide-eyed grin and stepped away to radio back to HQ.

"You really are great," Beef said to Gem.  "I honestly don't think I could have handled this without you.  I wouldn't have had a clue what to do."

Not knowing how to respond, she slumped backwards against Beef's chest and let him hold her steady.  Etho had slipped out of consciousness again, but the bleeding had slowed enough that she felt she could safely remove her hand from the head wound. She left the cloth there just in case.

She looked down at her blood covered hands, and again she began to cry.  She buried her face in Beef's shoulder, and if she felt a few tears that weren't hers roll down her forehead before trickling down her cheek and mingling with her own, she would never say so.

[littlepinebed]

Little Pinebed: The Old Cabin (Borrower AU)

Characters:

Will (They/Them)

Sam (He/They)

— — — — —

The first days of spring. Meant to usher in the warm, pleasant summer, with gentle rains and flourishing flowers; there was not, however, meant to be a mild snowstorm. Yet due to the changing climate you could have a week without a hint of frost, only to be buried under a foot of snow overnight. On one of those nights, two unlucky people would come to meet.

Sam sat in the low branches of a tree, along the edge of a steep hill that stretched for what seemed like miles. Well, miles to the ten centimeter tall borrower, at least. He pulled his cloak tight around himself in an attempt to cling to what little warmth was held in his small frame. “Sorry I won’t be able to pay you back for this, Isaac.” The borrower muttered to themself.

Their first time outside coinciding with heavy snowfall was not what Sam was hoping for. That's what you get for showing yourself to a human. Sam guessed. What were you even hoping for? A friend? Stupid. Humans… are nothing… but trouble. 

Sam’s eyes, heavy with exhaustion, closed as the evening's events weighed down on the borrower and sent them into a deep sleep. Nearby, someone else was dealing with the sudden storm almost as poorly, despite being much larger.

— — — — —

This is what I get for not checking the weather forecast. Will thought to themself. They adjusted their scarf and pulled their hat down over their ears before stuffing their hands back in their pockets. I should have brought my mittens. Something warmer than a windbreaker too. Will looked up to the cloudy sky, snowflakes falling all around them. “The view was worth it though.” Will spoke aloud to nobody in particular, “It's a shame you can't see this much starlight in the city.”

As Will continued his trek down the mountain towards the quaint little cabin, the path took a sharp turn and became a bit precarious for the intrepid stargazer. I should be fine as long as I don't- As if to demonstrate what he shouldn't do as he explained it to himself, Will made the immediate mistake of looking down.

There must have been a foot of snow, at least, covering the ground, yet they could see the broken branches and long-dead shrubs sticking out of the snow clearly. Will tried their best to quell the anxiety that began to stir inside them, but that left them distracted; their next step hit soft powder, which broke under their weight and sent them tumbling down the steep slope with a loud yelp.

— — — — —

Sam jolted awake. “Wha?” They opened their eyes and held their aching body tight. I must have… passed out? Sam thought, Isn't that bad to do in the cold? Sam took a moment to calm down a bit of anxiety that began to creep up on him, when he noticed a low, rumbling sound approaching him.

It was like an avalanche. A massive object rolled towards him, bringing with it an amount of snow that would easily bury him if he wasn't already in the safety of the tree.

Thunk! The thin tree shook wildly from the impact as whatever was rolling down collided with the tree Sam was perched in.

Sam managed to grab the branch underneath him while he was still on it, only to watch his pack fling off into the distance. “I'm not getting that back…” Sam mumbled as he started pulling himself up. 

Another, smaller impact shook the tree, and caused the borrower to lose his grip and plummet to what was surely his end.

— — — — —

Will clutched their aching body. Their clothes were torn, their body bruised and covered in scrapes and scratches. Annoyed, they slammed the tree they had been leaning against with their elbow, which only elicited a further wince as a stabbing pain shot up their shoulder. Clutching their right arm, they pulled their hand back to find a thin line of blood drawn across their palm. Need to grab a bandage… Will reached for their pack, and noticed they didn't have it with them. Did I drop it somewhere? 

Taking a moment to look around, Will couldn't see their pack on the hill they fell from, and didn't notice any of it sticking out of the snow around them. “Damn,” they muttered, “Must have left up on the patio.” They considered wrapping their scarf around the wound, but a quick check showed it was mostly bruised and had already stopped bleeding. Their scarf was mostly unwound from their neck. It draped off one of their shoulders and onto the ground next to them. Looking down, they finally noticed the figure that was laying on it; Will nearly jumped in surprise when he saw i t-no, them- move.

The figure was dazed, confused, and unmistakably human. Will could barely believe it, but there was a tiny, shivering person laid out on their scarf. They couldn't be more than a few inches tall, half-covered by some sort of white cloak.  Will could make out visible stitching on the gray t-shirt and pants they wore, made from what Will guessed were scraps from similar, larger pieces of cloth.

— — — — —

Snow-covered branches whizzed past the falling borrower. Sam attempted to twist his body in the air for a better landing; only to unexpectedly slam into an, oddly soft, wall. Sam tumbled down the steep slope, landing on his back on another soft surface. Sam lay there, wind knocked out of him, gasping for breath. While he looked up to see what he had hit on his way down, it only confirmed his fears. His eyes followed the green scarf he was laying on past the gray wall of a coat and up to the pale face of the giant he was faced with.

They were looking away. If Sam could just roll off the scarf and into the snow... He'd be practically invisible under his cloak, l and just had to hope the human didn't get too close when they stood up. He rolled onto his side, only to break out into a coughing fit from his aching lungs. When his coughing subsided there was a noticeable silence. Sam looked up to the giant to see two giant, sapphire-coloured eyes staring back; He had run out of time.

 — — — — —

Their attention shifted to the tiny person's features, the first thing Will noticed was curly, brownish-orange hair. Their skin was pale, though it was hard to tell the exact shade with the amount of freckles that covered their face and arms. Looking into their tiny, emerald eyes, Will asked:

“Are you ok?” The small person only shuffled back further, nearly falling off the end of the scarf. Will saw their hands and face were unnaturally pink. It was hard to tell whether the tiny was trembling more from fear or from the cold.

“You're freezing...” Will muttered. They reached down towards them, only to stop after seeing the tiny wince. “S-sorry. I wasn't thinking. Is it alright if I hold you, and try to warm you up?” 

That seemed to surprise them more than trying to grab them. After what felt like a long, grueling silence for the human, The small figure gave a nod, and Will gently scooped them into their hands.

— — — — —

When the giant hands closed around Sam his first instinct was to flee. The idea quickly faded as he felt the heat emanating from them. They were nearly as pink as his own at this point, but even then they were still much warmer than Sam would ever be able to get on his own. He quickly settled into the giant's grasp, and began to fight a sudden tiredness. It's warm…

— — — — —

Will needed to get home soon. They went over to the tree and held their hand holding the tiny up to the nearest branch. Instead of climbing off, the tiny remained sat in Will's hand and looked at them with a pleading expression.

“Do you… want to come with me?” A nervous nod confirmed Will's guess. Will used their free hand to pull their scarf, and let the tiny person climb down onto their shoulder before wrapping the end of it around their neck. They felt the tiny adjust their position, sliding their legs under the collar of Will's shirt and leaned against Will's neck. After making sure their little passenger was secure, they resumed their trek through the forest, towards home.

Not long after that they found the clearing and Will was able to spot a light not that far in the distance.

“Alright, the cabin's that way. We're almost there.” Now that they knew the direction they quickened their pace and made it home just a few minutes later. 

Built by Will's grandmother when she was young, the cabin must have been at least fifty years old. Will was surprised at how long it lasted without any visitors, but from what they heard about their grandmother it made sense.

They pushed open the door and let out a thankful sigh at the warmth that enveloped them as they stepped inside, shutting the door behind them.

Will slipped one hand under their scarf to support the tiny passenger as they used their other to slowly unwrap it from their neck. 

“Well,” Will said, “We made it.” They looked down to find the little one curled up in their palm, eyes closed. The last thing Will wanted was to wake their potential new friend, so they gently laid their scarf on the console in a way for it to resemble a nest, and placed the tiny person in the middle.

Will got to work removing their gear, taking heed not to get too close to the console.

“Thank you for bringing me out of the cold…” Will looked down to see their mini guest sat up in the scarf, groggily rubbing their eyes. So they do have a voice…

“No problem.” Will responds, “I'm Will by the way. They/Them. And you?”

“I'm Sam…” They looked down, and cocked their head to the side, as if in contemplation. “I'm… not sure if I want to use he, or they…”

“Sam's a nice name,” Will responded, “You could always use both, and put whatever pronoun you prefer over the other first.”

Still a little confused, Sam responded with a nod and a “I'll think on it, then.”

“Okay” Will smiled, “It's nice meeting you by the way.”

Sam returned the smile, “It's nice to meet you too, Will.”

[albonoooo]

what is your comfort media? like a book, show, movie, a race ect. (ps, i liked ur suggestions too!!)

amazing question, i've got a whole list anon!! i'll try to sort this into categories so it doesn't get too chaotic.

movies

die wilden hühner (trilogy). i have seen these films countless times, i've laughed and cried at them countless times and they make me immeasurably happy. i rewatch them at least once a year. i can't put into words how much i love them. (the third one lacks a little bit of the magic of the first two, but it's still amazing.)

vorstadtkrokodile (trilogy). a very close second, i saw them for the first time in primary school and have rewatched them many times since. the theme song used to make me feel invincible and hannes was one of my first ever crushes (i think i already said this in a tag game some time ago). (the first one is definitely the best!! the third one especially kinda doesn't have the same feeling to it, but i still love them all.)

sherlock holmes movies (the ones with rdj and jude law). something about them just tickles my brain right and i could watch them on a loop.

shows

deadliest catch (reality tv). there's nothing inherently comforting about it, quite the opposite actually, but i was obsessed with this show as a kid and if i had the opportunity now, i'd still be watching it all the time. it's so fascinating to me and just the right amount of engaging to not be overwhelmed, but also not get bored. that being said, as with all things, i did get very attached to the people in the show and cried several times over the course of it when some of them passed away.

books

the gemstone trilogy by kerstin gier. my most reread books by a country mile. are they perfect? no. are they perfect to me? yes. i gobbled these up the first time around and they're my go-to remedy for a reading slump. the only thing i don't like is the ending 💀 there is a movie trilogy that was made based on the books and they rewrote the ending, but it's still bad lol. (the second book, sapphire blue, is my favourite out of the three!)

youtube videos

the man, the myth, the legend, mike's mic. specifically, his appropriately unhinged recap of pretty little liars. top tier rewatch material. he's hilarious and i could listen to him speak for hours. have i ever watched pll? no. everything i know about it, i've learned from mister microphone and i'd like to keep it that way.

this performance of swan lake. i don't know anything about ballet and i'm not really that interested in it, but something about this is so soothing and relaxing to me. and, obviously, the music fucking slaps. tchaikovsky really ate with this.

honourable mentions

carlos sainz's interview on the 'p1 with matt & tommy' podcast has helped me fall asleep more times than i'll ever admit.

yakari was probably my favourite show as a child. it's been many years since i've last watched it and it would possibly bore or even annoy me now since it's tailored to small kids, but i can still recite a worrying amounts of episodes' content by memory.

from the bottom of my heart, i am sorry this got so long lmao. thanks for the ask, this was a really fun one!!

[danicalithegirl]

Holy Shit! Metallica! (One Shot #8)

The band had been on the road for two months. Two long, empty months. Eddie had called me almost every night, either before or after the show, and he’d written a massive amount of letters. But this didn’t change the fact that I was alone in our apartment for the first time with the dogs. But not extended like this, since we’d moved in together a year ago. It sucked, to say the least. In fact, I’d even dug out one of his old packs of cigarettes and taken up that vice, just to make it smell more like him around the place. It helped with my nerves too, so it wasn’t all bad, I guess.

Usually, if he called after a show, I could hear fans swarming, press, and even general backstage chaos. Then you’d have him telling me he had ducked back into their green room or the van to talk to me, where it was quieter. But this time was different. When I picked up my phone, the noise was off the charts. I could barely hear him. The screams and cheers drowned out his voice, and he seemed to be swarmed by female fans trying to get a piece of him.

He was yelling over the chaos, excitement bubbling in his tone. “Guess what!? Metallica came to the show! We’re backstage with them right now, partying our asses off. I got to meet Metallica!”

I tried to steady my voice, forcing myself to be excited for him. “Wow, that’s amazing! I know they’re your favorite. How cool is that? Are they nice? Wow.” But he was clearly being pulled in a million directions, and his voice sounded so far away.

“Gotta go! Love you!” he shouted before hanging up abruptly.

My heart sank. While I was genuinely happy for him, I felt that familiar sting of hurt. Did he even want to know how I was doing? How my day had been? No. And I get it. It’s Metallica. But still.

I sat there, staring at my phone, the call ending with a click that echoed in the silence of our apartment. I lit a cigarette, the smoke curling around me like a reminder of him. I took a long drag, trying to taste his presence in the air. It was a weak substitute, but it was something.

I let out a shaky breath, frustration bubbling up. Part of me wanted to scream at the universe for this situation—he was living out his dreams while I was left here, counting the days until he returned. I wanted to be proud of him, to cheer him on from the sidelines, but it was hard when it felt like I was fading into the background of his life.

I tried to rationalize it. This was his moment, his chance to shine, and I wouldn’t be the one to hold him back. I took another drag, the ash falling to the floor like my resolve. But a tiny voice in my head whispered that I mattered too.

With every moment that passed, I replayed the call in my mind. The excitement in his voice, the way he had sounded so far removed from me. I wanted to reach through the phone and pull him back to me, back to our life, our shared routines.

As I stubbed out the cigarette, I realized how much I missed his warmth, his laughter filling the empty spaces of our home. I closed my eyes, leaning back against the wall, trying to ground myself.

Then, I picked up my notebook, flipping to a blank page. I started to write, pouring out my feelings, mixing pride with longing and a bit of frustration. Writing helped me feel closer to him, even when he was miles away. Each word was a bridge, connecting me to him, reminding me that this distance was temporary.

Tonight, he was living the dream, and I was here, feeling the weight of his absence. But I also knew he loved me, and that love would span any distance, no matter how far apart we were.

Hours later, as the clock ticked closer to midnight, I still couldn’t sleep. The apartment felt too big, the silence too loud. My mind raced with a thousand thoughts—each one a reminder of how alone I felt without him here. Just when I thought the night would stretch endlessly, my phone buzzed on the table.

“Hey,” Eddie’s voice came through the line, a warm and familiar sound that soothed my frayed nerves.

“Hey,” I replied, trying to mask the surprise in my voice. “What’s up?”

“I’m sorry about earlier,” he said, his tone instantly more serious. I could picture him sitting on the edge of the hotel bed, his expression shifting as he realized how abrupt the last call had been. “I didn’t mean to cut you off like that. I’m... I’m alone in the room now, actually. It’s just me.”

Relief washed over me, mingling with the lingering hurt. “Yeah? How was the party?”

“It was insane. I successfully swatted away every girl that tried to talk to me,” he said, a hint of pride in his voice. “But I’m a little anxious and lonely without you here.”

My heart fluttered. “I’m glad to hear that, but you were with Metallica!”

“Yeah, it was awesome! I still can’t believe I met them,” he admitted, excitement bubbling through the line. “But honestly? Meeting you is still at the top of my list.”

I let out a sigh, the weight on my chest lifting slightly. “That’s sweet, Eddie.”

“Seriously, though. How was your day? How are you doing?” he asked, genuine concern coloring his words.

I hesitated, knowing I needed to be honest. “It was okay. Just… the usual, I guess. But I have to admit, I took up smoking again. Just to remind myself of you, you know?”

There was a pause on the other end. “What? You’re smoking? Why would you do that?” His voice held a mix of shock and something else—anger? Concern?

“I don’t know. I just… I thought it might help with the loneliness,” I said, feeling a twinge of guilt.

“I’m a little mad at you for that,” he replied, his tone softening. “But I guess I can’t blame you entirely. I mean, it’s not like I’m around to keep you company.” He chuckled nervously, trying to ease the tension. “Just promise me you’re not going to start wearing leather jackets and playing air guitar to my records or something.”

I laughed, the tension between us dissipating. “No promises there. Maybe I’ll start my own band.”

“Perfect! We can tour together! The world’s first ‘Eddie and His Smoky Girlfriend’ tour,” he joked.

“Very funny,” I said, rolling my eyes playfully. But his humor helped.

“Just take care of yourself, alright? I don’t want you picking up any other bad habits while I’m away,” he said, his voice turning serious again.

“I promise,” I replied softly. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” he said, and I could hear the sincerity in his voice. “I’ll be back before you know it. Just a couple more weeks.”

We continued to talk, sharing little snippets of our day, laughter punctuating the conversation like a lifeline. It felt good to reconnect, even if it was through a phone call. As I listened to him talk about his night, I could hear the excitement in his voice, and I was reminded that while the distance was hard, our love was stronger than any miles between us.

Eventually, we said our goodnights, and I hung up feeling a little lighter. The loneliness still lingered, but I knew we would get through this together—one late-night call at a time.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Jackpot! (2024)

I don’t like criticizing premises. The movie’s “got to happen”, so picking away at the rules of a fantasy or science fiction realm and asking the movie details about backstories or events that took place before the action even begins doesn’t add to the conversation. This brings us to Jackpot!. If the premise HAD worked, this could’ve been an action comedy with some fresh ideas. Unfortunately, it doesn’t pan out and the weak setup proves no one sat down to make sure they were making the best movie possible, they just figured things would sort themselves out at some point during the filming.

By 2030, California has created the Grand Lottery. Now, every month, a lucky ticket winner wins big - and in the process, the financially desperate state generates some much-needed revenue. There’s a catch, however. You have to survive until sundown to claim your prize and whoever kills you before then gets your money. When Katie Kim (Awkwafina) accidentally enters the lottery and wins, the whole city is after her. Soon after the news breaks, she’s approached by Noel Cassidy (John Cena), who offers to protect her in exchange for ten percent of her prize.

Let's address that setup. I understand California wanting to make money by selling lottery tickets but what does that have to do with allowing anyone to murder the winner? Wouldn’t it discourage people from entering the lottery? We’re also told you can’t kill them with guns or bullets, which seems like a plot-demanded ruling rather than a logical one. Basically, if people COULD use guns, this movie would be over in minutes. Anyway, the opening text card says “Some people call it dystopian. But those people are no fun.” which feels like a half-hearted attempt to squelch some much-deserved criticisms if you ask me. I think even Jackpot! knows its premise doesn't make sense.

That rickety foundation wouldn’t be the end of the world if the rest was terrific. The thing is, Jackpot! is quite funny at first. Awkwafina is a talented actress and comedienne, as is John Cena, who can handle the stunts no problem. You'll be laughing until you realize a problem with the dialogue: no one in this movie has a distinct voice. Everyone makes the same kind of jokes as everyone else. There isn’t a straight man (or woman in this story) because everyone is always making wildly inappropriate comments about pop culture, their surroundings or people all the time. After a while, none of the dialogue surprises you because it’s constant and always “the same”. It feels like director Paul Feig is falling back on his old technique of letting everyone say whatever they want and including all of it whether it matches their character or not. More than once, characters deliberately put their lives on the line for the sake of a gag. The best example is a scene (prominently featured in the trailer) that has Katie donning an extremely elaborate makeup disguise that transforms her into an old man. There is no way anyone could recognize her… but she takes it off minutes later! Is she afraid for her life, or looking forward to the next wacky scenario she’ll find herself in?

The logical problems continue until the final act when we're introduced to a villain. You read that correctly. The premise is that everyone wants to kill Katie but for some reason, we need a bad guy too. The way this villain (who you can see coming a mile away but I won’t reveal) plans on getting away with what they’re doing just pokes more holes in the film’s logic and makes you start asking questions you were never meant to ask like, “Does anyone care about all these new, murderous billionaires living in California?"

The dopiest thing about Jackpot! is that the Purge franchise has a similar premise but handles it so much more intelligently. Yes, the first installment wastes its potential and creates profoundly idiotic protagonists that are practically begging to be killed… but at least within the movie people understand the danger of being targeted by maniacs who want to kill you. The script of Jackpot! (or whatever loose blueprint was given to the actors) is weak and it doesn't do anything smart with its central idea. The laughs get more derivative the further along we get and the second Simu Liu enters the frame, you can predict everything all the way to the end of the movie. If you choose to watch Jackpot! despite this review, you might as well stick around for the end credits, which contain several gags. (September 1, 2024)

[jjsstars]

Scott McCall Week 2023: Day 2, Scott & parental figures [melissa & rafael]

|| for @scottappreciation event

|| made the sun - posted on my ao3 | 1k+ word count

|| tags : bad parent rafael, angst, mentions of alcoholism, scott remembers what happend the night rafael left, mentions of isaac/alison, re-write of a few canon scenes from when rafael first appears, good parent melissa

Scott would never say it out loud but he remembers what happened that night Rafael got kicked out for good. He remembers his heart dropping when he started to fall down the stairs, the blur in his vision when he came to on the floor with Melissa’s hand cradling his head, he remembers the tears in his mothers eyes, the pounding in his head, the screams that ended with Rafael storming out of the house as Melissa scooped Scott up to take him to the hospital.

[cut off for possible triggering topics & longer word count]

It hadn’t come back to him till a few weeks after everything went down, and at that point telling Melissa would only make things worse. She had already picked up double shifts to cover Rafael’s half of the bills, he could hear her crying when she thought Scott was sleeping, the whispers between Stiles’ mom and dad to Melissa, how many more play dates he and Stiles had because his mom was working. Or she needed to be alone. Scott doesn’t know what the reason was, but he knows the pained look in his moms eyes each time she’d drop him off.

Scott never cared that his dad didn’t call or that they didn’t see each other much, he liked it better when it was just him and Melissa anyways. There’s not many happy memories with Rafael to hold onto, at least not many that aren’t tainted with the later realization that Rafael was drunk.

His dad never had one type of drunk, not like what people say, he wasn’t a ‘happy drunk’ or a ‘sad drunk’ or an ‘angry drunk’, he seemed to be all of them swirled together. But Scott knew what to look for to spot each type of drunk, his least favorite was ‘angry drunk’ dad. It only really came out around Scott, when mom wasn’t home, when it was too late for Scott to hop on his bike and ride to Stiles’, when dad knew Scott couldn’t hide. Or run. Or do anything but stand and listen to whatever Rafael was saying, willing tears away because his dad hated when he cried, gripping his fists tight so he didn’t scream back, just trying to keep control and stay steady.

He was never violent but he’d yell. Certain phrases still repeat in Scott’s head late at night, haunt him. “I don’t know why you’re acting like this” being the one that lingers the most. It stings each time he remembers the words, like stepping into a hot shower with a fresh scrape on his skin, the water only igniting how painful it is.

And that’s how it feels when he sees Rafael standing in the Argents apartment. He doesn’t want him to be here, in Beacon Hills, in Alison’s home, around Alison or Isaac at all. He runs when the smoke grenade Alison sets off starts to fill the room, he doesn’t stop running until Isaac grabs his shoulder because they’re miles from the apartment building and at some point Alison couldn’t keep up so Isaac had picked her up. Scott doesn’t say anything in the moment but part of him is glad that she has Isaac there to protect her, Scott doesn’t think he’ll be much of a good protector when he’s still scared of his dad.

Scared feels like such a harsh word but he isn’t sure what else to call it. Timid? His wolf feels timid, skittish, reluctant to show any of itself to Scott as he stands in the kitchen yelling back at his father. He’s saying something back, something that’s more than just ‘yes dad’ or ‘no sir’, he thinks the nerves might kill him.

“You can’t do this!” Rafael trying to take Noah’s job is not what Scott needs right now, it’s far from it actually. And just as he goes to tell Rafael to get out, for the umpteenth time: Melissa walks in.

“What the hell is going on here?” She lays her purse on the counter, Scott moving to his mothers side before his brain even connects that he’s doing it. It’s always better when she’s around, dad won’t yell as loud, won’t be as mean, he needs his mom there.

“I don’t know why he’s acting like this!” The words burn Scott’s skin in an instant, he recoils hearing his father spit them out again, as if nothing has changed since that night he left.

“He’s trying to get Noah fired!” He shouts despite how badly he wants to curl up into Melissa’s side and hide away. He grabs the back of her scrub shirt instead, gripping the material the same way he would as a kid, holding it like a lifeline.

“What?! Rafael.” Her voice drops to the same disappointment and sorrow it always held when Scott was a child. So tired, too tired for someone like Melissa, someone so bright and beautiful, Scott used to swear to Stiles that she was the one who made the sun, he still believes it. Science be damned, his mom made and hung the sun, the moon too, and the stars. All of it.

Rafael and Melissa keep arguing, a familiar buzz of angry words that Scott tunes out and instead focuses on the feel of Melissa’s shirt. It feels childish and he knows Rafael is probably shooting him a disappointed look. Melissa always “coddled” Scott, he needed to act more “mature” and stop clinging to his mother, Rafael hated it. Told his son to act like a man at the ripe age of seven.

Scott’s seventeen now. He thinks he’s grown up a lot, become a man of sorts, he’s a leader now, a true alpha. So who cares if he wants his mom to tell him everything’s okay and that his dad doesn’t mean the yells he lets out, she’s done it so many times before, yet Scott still believes her. It’s easy to hear her soft voice and not question a thing, she’s always protected him, been there for him, something he can’t say the same about Rafael.