#oh and also how gates is kinda treated like a joke even though everything he says is true

[dabruzzy]

I may not like the Threeboot but I do appreciate that there's one version of the Legion that isn't government-sponsored

[tomboyneedshercoffee]

Lovedust Pt.8 || Peter Parker x Stark Reader

Summary: Y/N and Josh talk things over about where they stand as Y/N tries to build the courage to confess to Peter. One night on top of the roof, Y/N and Peter reveal any secrets they’ve been keeping from each other. 

Word Count: 5k

Author’s Note: This is technically the last part of Lovedust but there will be an epilogue. I was going to go a whole different direction and make it too angsty because sometimes, life works out that way but you guys deserve a happy ending ;) This series was only meant to be about three parts long but because of ow supportive and kind you all have been, I just have no words except thank you all so much. I will give a better thank you for the epilogue  but until then, enjoy the chapter. 

Warning: adult language

part one || part two || part three || part four || part five || part six || part seven || part eight || epilogue 

You stared up at your bedroom ceiling quietly, picking at the stitching of your blanket to the point where you had about four inches of loose thread massaged between your thumb and middle finger.

Three minutes. 

Peter was presumed dead for three minutes as you were giving him CPR that was literally a race against the clock. One hundred eighty seconds was the span between life or death and you couldn’t help but think of what if you had stopped after a minute? What about one hundred and seventy-nine seconds?

Three minutes. Your mind was so fucked that the only thing you could compare the time to was that Peter was dead longer than the time it took to pop a bag of popcorn in the microwave.

You thought back to the time where you had gone to California with Tony where you were alone in the hotel room while he had a conference. You remembered how scared you felt when the ground started to shake underneath you as the earth rolled underneath.

That earthquake must’ve only lasted fifteen seconds tops and yet, you felt like it was an eternity of shielding yourself underneath one of the desks that would’ve surely broken if the roof caved in overhead.

It’s odd how times works, whenever you’re in a dangerous situation, your body literally slows downtime so you can have the best chance at survival. So while those three minutes didn’t seem like a long time, the lingering fear of losing Peter after everything sent your body through emotional distress like no other.

It felt like a cruel joke; you had only come to realize you were in love with him when he was dying in front of you. What was even crueler was that even though everything seemed less complicated now that you really understood how you felt about him, it was only the tip of the iceberg.

It had been a few days since you had seen Peter since the night of the party and you felt like you were slowly losing your sanity. Your dad tried convincing you that Peter needed to be monitored for a while but maybe he just wanted you two to stay away from each other since you practically almost killed him by kissing Josh.

You loved Peter and he “loved” you yet once he was cured, he wouldn’t share the same feelings for you. What would happen once he was cured? How different would things be between you, especially since you would be having feelings for someone who doesn’t love you back? 

Loving someone who surely wasn’t in love with you felt like a whole new level of self-destruction.

Your phone rang from underneath your pillow and temporarily interrupted your thoughts. You reached under the pillow to pull out your phone to find that Josh was calling you. 

You inhaled sharply as you practically leaped out from under your covers, unsure of what to do. 

The last you heard from Josh was the night of the party but just like Peter, you hadn’t seen or spoke to him since. That wasn’t the full truth, Josh had been texting you to make sure you were okay but you didn’t have the strength to even reply to his worried texts. 

Poor Josh. He felt like an innocent bystander who got hit in the crossfire of what was going on between you and Peter.

In past relationships, you were like Josh. Your past boyfriends seem to always treat you as a rebound, a backup in case things went south and as gross as it made you feel, it was like you could sort of understand why your exes felt that way.

You didn’t want to lead Josh on, he was too nice of a guy to deserve that type of treatment. Your thumb hovered over the screen and you answered his call at the last second. He deserved that at the least.

“ Hey sorry, I was um, preoccupied. Is everything okay?” You asked as you started to pace your room.

“ I was going to ask the same for you. You haven’t been answering my texts and I was getting worried.”

You bit the inside of your cheek as a wave of guilt washed over you,” Y-Yeah I’m sorry. I’ve just been going through some stuff. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“ You don’t have to apologize, I get it. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something in person, are you doing anything at the moment? 

You rolled your shoulders back as you let out a deep sigh. In all honesty, you didn’t feel like leaving your room but if you were going to pick Peter over Josh, you also would have to owe him an explanation.

“ Okay, where do you want to meet?”

“ We can meet outside your complex, I don’t want to inconvenience you.”

“ Oh that’s probably easier anyway, when are you gonna come over?” You asked as you fell backwards onto your bed.

“ Um...I’m already outside.”

Your eyes widened as you scrambled over to your window to squint out towards the entrance. Sure enough, if you squinted really hard, you could make out Josh’s car outside the front gate.

“ Oh fuck! Sorry um, I’m coming out now!” You didn’t bother to let Josh respond as you hung up the phone and practically rushed out of your bedroom.

You practically sprinted across the front lawn all the way to the entrance and once you opened the gate, you leaned your body against the side of Josh’s car to help catch your breath.  

“ You didn’t have to run all the way here, I could’ve waited,” Josh said with a smile as he watched you struggling.

“ I know,” You huffed as you felt yourself calm down,” but it would have been awkward if you just stood there for five minutes and watched me walk the whole way.”

“ Okay, that’s fair,” Josh chuckled as he leaned against the side of his car beside you,” I wanted to talk to you about the night of the party. I just want to make sure you’re okay and I’m sorry if I overstepped by kissing you. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”

You felt your heartstrings tug at his words as you looked down at your flip flops. You didn’t know how to explain to him that he wasn’t the one who overstepped but that the kiss was never supposed to happen. 

“ You don’t have to apologize Josh and you didn’t make me uncomfortable at all. It’s just...I know how you feel about me and don’t get me wrong, I’m so flattered that you actually like me because to be honest, you’re way out of my league but um,” You awkwardly rubbed your sweaty hands against your pajama bottoms and let out a shaky breath,” I thought things were fine and that they would go back to normal but um, things kinda just happened and you were there and I thought hey he’s cute, like super cute, and Kim was being so pushy-”

“ I know you have feelings for Peter, it’s okay Y/N,” Josh interrupted as he took a moment before wincing,” I didn’t mean to interrupt you but I had a feeling that’s where you were heading with it. Plus you ramble when you’re nervous and I don’t want you to say something embarrassing. ”

Bless his soul, Josh really would be the death of you.

“ Is it that obvious I like him?” 

“ Painfully obvious yeah. I kinda figured you two had something going on but after you gave him CPR and you two gave each other that look, that’s when it all clicked for me,” Josh said as you felt the tips of your ears get hot.

“ Josh, I am so sorry. I really mean it when I say that you’re the sweetest guy I have ever met and I really do wish you the best,” You answered honestly and you felt even guiltier when Josh only shrugged, a small smile tugging at his lips.

You couldn’t believe that even now as you were telling Josh you didn’t share feelings for him that he was still being incredibly sweet towards you. 

“ Same goes for you, I hope he treats you the way you deserve to be treated. I have to be honest and say that I can’t get rid of my feelings for you overnight but hopefully we can be friends somewhere along the line,” Josh offered as you felt your heart snap in two.

As you looked back at Josh, that’s when you could really make out the distinct difference between the two boys. You weren’t sure if what Josh was saying was truthful, he was harder to read than Peter and even though his mouth was saying one thing, you could see that there was some pain behind his brown eyes that told a different story. 

Yet nonetheless, you admired that Josh, despite having the full right to completely guilt you and make you feel like shit because of what happened, still chose to put any malicious intent aside for your own good.  

“ Is it okay if I hug you?” You asked as Josh returned a sweet smile, embracing you in his strong arms. 

Despite the heaviness in Josh’s chest, he felt his heart flutter at the feeling of your body pressed against his. The hug was short but even in those few seconds, Josh felt himself trying to take a mental picture of this moment, something he would replay over and over as he did his best to get over you. 

After Josh had left, you made your way back into your cave and hid out in your room for the rest of the night. You had school first thing in the morning and yet, you found yourself tossing and turning yet again. 

To cure your restless mind, you left your room and headed into the kitchen to make tea. You were never the type to drink tea but you didn’t have the patience to just lay in bed, at least this way you were occupying your mind with something else.

As the water boiled, you kept your eyes on Peter’s bedroom door, your knee bouncing up and down as if you were anticipating him opening it. You wondered how he was feeling, considering he almost died and all.

You just wished you could have the confidence to just go up and talk to him, to admit that it was him all along and that you chose him. 

You poured the tea into a mug and cradled it in your hands carefully as a pair of feet made their way into the kitchen. You turned around, anticipating Peter’s face but instead, you looked up to see your dad.

“ You didn’t hear it from me but Peter is up on the roof waiting for you. Just in case if you were wondering,” Tony said as he nonchalantly dragged his finger across the countertop and peeked his head towards your tea,” aren’t you glad I made you learn CPR? I know it was part of your lifeguard course but I’m glad it came in handy.”

“  Too soon,” You sighed as you watched your dad haphazardly look through the cupboards,” and I wasn’t wondering about Peter. I’m just minding my own business and then I’m heading to bed.”

“ Minding your own business? That’s not the Y/N I know.”

“ Well, what would the Y/N you know do?” You asked as you looked down at the inside of your mug,” am I supposed to just run over to the roof and profess my love for him?” 

Tony furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head,” I never said anything about love kiddo but the Y/N I know loves to talk so yeah, I expect some emotional reunion of the sort. You’ve always been known to be a bit theatrical.”

“ And who do you think I get that from?”

“ The one and only Potts,” Tony chuckled as a small smile crept onto your lips,” I don’t know what to say because I don’t think I can bring myself to give my daughter relationship advice about a guy who lives only a few doors down. If anything, it’s against my best interest but I will make this the one exception where I will intervene simply because if I don’t, no one else will. I think you should talk to Peter. He’s been through a lot and he has some things he needs to talk to you about.”

” Well he’s the one avoiding me so maybe he should come over and say it to my face,” You didn’t know why you turned so aggressive but you took a small sip of your tea to try and ease your nerves,” I know he’s been through a lot but we both have. That night of the party was just...too much for me. ”

“ You really are my daughter, always making it about you. You gotta give the kid a break.”

“ I- Dad it is all about me. That night fucking-not sorry- sucked and I don’t know what else to say. I jumped into a pool with my clothes on and I thought Peter was dead-”

“ But he’s not dead. He’s alive and breathing and waiting for you on the roof like I told you,” Tony interrupted as you exhaled slowly,” you love him, it’s a fathers worst nightmare but even I can see clear as day that you have feelings for him, are you going to tell me I’m wrong?”

You liked to think you knew yourself better than anyone else and for the most part, it was true. Tony was probably the closest to knowing who you really were as a person and yet, everything he was saying still wasn’t enough to make you less paranoid.

“ I wouldn’t say you’re wrong but I’m too scared to say out loud that you’re right,” You said as Tony rolled his eyes,” what? What did I say?”

“ You love to talk and yet, you never say enough. I don’t have the patience to stand here and listen to you beat around the bush,” Tony kneeled down towards one of the cupboards and grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the shelf,” you have a problem. Let me know how things go with Peter. Or don’t. I’ll find out anyway.”

You stood there, mouth wide open as you watched Tony playfully bump into your shoulder, what a bastard,” Yeah sure! You’re the one drinking at three am but I’m the problem?”

Tony only gave you a hasty wave before turning the corner to where the elevators were, leaving you alone in the kitchen. He was right, everything he was saying made perfect sense and yet, it annoyed you on how right he was.

You had absolutely no idea how to start a conversation with Peter now that you were sure of your feelings and yet, all you wanted to do was find him and reveal everything to him. You looked between your bedroom door and the elevators. You could either go back to bed or you could talk to Peter and nervously choke on your words like a schoolgirl.

Fuck no.

You walked over to your room with your mug in one hand but before you could open the door, your legs started to move in the direction of the elevators, seemingly with a mind of their own.

Fuck it.

You stepped into the elevator and made your way up the floors until you hit the roof access. You hardly spent any of your time on the roof since you had no reason to ever be up there in the first place but once you opened the door,  you were immediately taken aback.

The greenroof took up almost half of the roof itself, the addition being nothing more than a general garden area to look aesthetically pleasing from the sky. Since most of the energy needed to run the facility was either solar or space related, the greenroof was more of a private garden that didn’t account for energy efficiency.

A mixture of moss and summer grass covered the roof in a thick blanket that never grew beyond the border of the garden and at first glance, the brightly freckled flowers planted along the pathway seemed random but as you walked down the graveled path, you could tell that there was some element of planning that went along with it.

Along the pathway stood different hues of green bonsai trees that stood tall and proud in their wooden boxes. You were so focused on the bonsais that you didn’t notice Peter sitting on one of the benches about a couple of yards away.

Your breath hitched in your throat but your feet continued to crunch along the graveled pathway as you made your way over to him. From Peter’s spot underneath the patio, he could hear you walking towards him but kept his eyes looking straight forward, unable to tear them away from the cityscape in the far distance.

You hesitantly took a seat beside Peter on the wooden bench and tucked your legs back so you could rest the mug on your thigh. The lights that Peter had strung up a few weeks back had lost it’s brightness, leaving behind a faded orange glow in its place but it was just the right amount of light needed to where you could read his expression carefully.

“ How are you feeling?” You asked quietly as you attempted to get a feel for what mindset Peter was in.

“ Good, I feel good,” Peter said back, almost quieter than the volume you started out with,” how are you feeling?”

While both of your minds were racing at the thought of the other person, the thoughts suddenly felt almost too personal, the atmosphere being instantly filled with the conversations you two weren’t having.

Out of the two of you, Peter felt like he had more to share and yet, more to hide. You were still completely clueless on the following; A) Peter was cured B) You cured him because of the kiss and C) He loved you back

It seemed like a dream come true, Peter was still in love with you without the lovedust and you felt the same way towards him and yet, he was still terrified. As everything began to feel more and more real, suddenly the idea of being with you made his chest tighten up.

He never knew if he could ever admit it outloud but he was scared that you liked him back because what if after all this time, after all the trials and tribulation the two of you had gone through, what if you two still didn’t work out?

There was so much history between the two of you and he was worried that all of the heartbreak and pining wouldn’t be worth it in the end. He loved you so much to where he knew that he needed you no matter what. It only hurt him more to think that from your last argument, you couldn’t even bring yourself to admit to him that you loved him. 

Now that you were here in front of him, Peter would make sure you wouldn’t leave without hearing you say it back. 

As Peter tried to carefully put his thoughts in order like he had practiced, you thought back to what your dad had told you and decided that you needed to start somewhere and you had to do that by being honest.

“ I’ve been struggling these last couple of days with what happened at the party. I can’t tell how you guilty I feel for putting you through so much pain and I wish I could take it all back. I feel so guilty because it was my fault you died- did you know that? I know the paramedics talked to you but you were dead for three minutes Peter and honestly, that was one of the worst moments of my life. I mean it’s up there with what happened to my parents,” You paused as you remembered to take a breath,” I don’t know what I would’ve done if something had happened to you.”

Peter felt his mouth dry up and for a moment, it was hard to swallow,” You didn’t kill me, you saved me. I still feel like I might be in shock from it all but I don’t blame you for anything that happened. I’m sorry I even put you through that cause I’m sure it was...a lot. But don’t ever say that you killed me, none of it was your fault.”

“ It was my fault. If it wasn’t for me and Josh-,” You stopped yourself before saying more. You didn’t want to talk about Josh, all you cared about was Peter but now, the thought was evident in Peter’s mind and he couldn’t seem to shake it out of him.

The image of you kissing Josh replayed in Peter’s head over and over again as his heart ached. Josh made things more complicated than they already were.

Peter’s biggest fear was losing you but to lose you to another guy? And yet, it still made Peter feel like he was between a rock and a hard place because Peter had only meant Josh on one occasion and it was enough to give Peter an idea that Josh didn’t have cruel intentions towards you.

Just because you loved Peter didn’t mean that you didn’t have feelings for Josh and that’s what made Peter crazy. You must’ve liked Josh enough to return the kiss right?

“ He’s a good guy, I see why you like him,” Peter finally said as he shifted awkwardly in his seat, not knowing what else to say,” he would make you happy.”

The comment shakes you in an uncomfortable way, was that supposed to make you feel better? Your annoyance was jealousy in disguise, you didn’t want to talk about Josh, you were here to tell Peter how you actually felt about him but because of how Peter was delivering it, it seemed like he was giving you an out.

“ It’s not- I don’t like Josh like that.”

“ You kissed him, I saw the whole thing. Do you just go around kissing people you supposedly don’t like?” Peter couldn’t help himself and let the words slip out so easily.

It was a low blow and the two of you both knew it. 

It took every fiber of your being not to lash out at the accusation because you knew Peter had a right to be upset but you didn’t like what he was insinuating and you didn’t want the conversation to take a bad turn,” You don’t have to worry about Josh anymore. If you want me to be honest, yes, I thought there was something there but things changed. I came to talk to you because my dad said you needed to tell me something important but if you’re going to just sit here and belittle me, I’m not gonna take it. I get it, the lovedust is messing with your emotions but I’m extremely sensitive tonight, more than usual so just come back to me when you’re calm.”

You got up from your seat with a quickness but before you could step off the patio, Peter grabbed your wrist and pulled you back towards the corner of the bench.

Peter felt like such an idiot, whenever he got anxious on the fine details, he had a tendency to let the big picture escape him but it was something he knew he needed to work on while he was around you. He wasn’t going to let the conversation die just before it had started, he knew his big mouth tended to escalate conversations with you but he couldn’t let you go, not this time.

“ I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. I’m just frustrated because this feels so one-sided. I never know what you’re thinking because you never tell me anything. You always avoid answering the question but I need more,” Peter practically begged as you felt yourself get a bit aggravated,” I am being calm but I’m desperate at this point. I need to know how you feel about me, don’t try to change the subject, I need to know. Tell me how I make you feel.”

Your tongue felt heavy in your mouth as you pulled your hand away from Peter so you could regain your thoughts without him distracting you. You were suddenly chickening out, you had never felt so nervous in your entire life and you wanted to tell him how much you loved him. You wanted to tell him what he wanted to hear but it wasn’t easy taking a step forward when you don't know where your foot will fall.

“ This is hard for me Peter, I’m trying my best and I’m sorry if it isn’t good enough but ever since the lovedust, the dynamic is different and you’ve changed. It’s so much to get used to because of...how I feel towards you,” You said as Peter let out a frustrated breath.

He hated this feeling of going back and forth, he didn’t want to hear any of it. All he wanted was to just shake your shoulders because in his mind, you had no reason to be hesitant on opening up to him,” The lovedust didn’t change just me, it changed you too! I was vulnerable and I opened up to you, I showed you how I felt about you every second of the day but you have given me nothing!”

Nothing.

That word made your blood boil because nothing? Just because it was hard for you to let your emotions out didn’t mean Peter was getting nothing back in return. Since he was infected with the lovedust, you had been doing your best to open yourself more to him and you thought you had been doing a good job.

After all those years of Peter belittling you and tearing you down, of course, you would be a bit hesitant to let down your guard and yet, you did it anyway. It took so much to get to where you were comfortable with Peter to be vulnerable, especially when you broke down from your nightmare of your parents.

To break down and crumble in front of Peter wasn’t an accident, you could only be that vulnerable if you knew that he could help piece you back together.

“ Nothing? I gave you nothing?” You spat as you felt your eyes tear up,” I saved your life! I gave you the breath in my lungs to stop you from dying! I don’t owe you anything, I don’t need to prove shit to you!”

Peter stood up from the bench and while his heart ached from seeing you so upset, he knew that he couldn’t hold back,” Don’t pull that with me Y/N, you know you haven’t been honest with me. We both know that we can’t live without the other so don’t act like you did me a favor by saving me. Why won’t you admit it, even after everything we’ve been through, you’re still scared to just admit that you might love me!”

And just like that, you felt yourself let go.

“Of course I’m scared! I’m fucking terrified Peter! Is that what you want me to say? Do you want me to admit that me almost losing you would’ve broken me? Because you’re right! Yes, I love you!” You cried out as you took in a shaky breath,” I love you so much it hurts me and I didn’t understand how badly I loved you until I almost lost you! All I could think about when I was trying to save you was never hearing your laugh and never feeling your touch and I swear Peter, if you died, I would’ve never forgiven myself. I’m sorry it took me so long to say it but I love you.  But none of it matters, you know why? Because you’re sick in the head, the lovedust is fucking with you and now it’s fucking with me!”

There it was, finally. After all of that time denying it and trying to hide your feelings to save your own sanity, you finally confessed. You had so many chances to confess that yes, it really was him all along. 

When he came into your room and comforted you through your nightmare to the two of you shouting at each other in the rain, you had always loved him. 

Even though Peter knew how you felt about him, this was the first time he heard it with his own ears and it was like hearing the symphony for the first time. Like your own soundtrack that swelled during the climax of the movie that was you and Peter, Peter could listen to you say it over and over again.

He didn’t care that most of your confession involved a string of swear words because, without them, it wouldn’t have been your true self. He knew once he admitted to you that he was cured, there would be no going back.

“ The lovedust is gone Y/N. When you kissed me- or saved me by giving mouth to mouth- the lovedust flushed out of my system completely. Banner did extra tests and he confirmed that I’m okay and back to normal all because of you.”

Your heart dropped to the floor as your eyes raked up Peter, testing to see if he was lying but he didn’t falter. This is what you were afraid of, confessing everything to him only to find out that he didn’t love you anymore but who would’ve thought it would be you to make him go back to normal.

And yet, a huge part of you was relieved because finally, the lovedust was gone. You didn’t need to worry about it ever screwing with you and Peter again but as you studied his expression, your chest felt heavy.  

You had seemingly set up your own demise,” Oh, that’s good...I’m happy for you.”

You felt yourself take a step back but Peter reached his hand out to softly hold yours. You pulled your hand away but Peter swatted your stubbornness away and held your hand tighter. He rubbed his thumb over your knuckles and when he looked back up at you, he felt his heart swell.

“ And yet, even though the pain is gone, I feel more love for you now than I have ever felt in my entire life. I understand what they mean when they say love hurts but if anything, it heals even more because you made me feel whole again. When you saved me and the first thing I saw was you looking back at me, it was like I was given a second chance to love you the right way, the way you were meant to be loved.”

“You were right, the lovedust made me fall in love with you but ever since you cured me, it was only a matter of admitting to myself that deep down, I’ve always cared about you. It opened my eyes and showed me that I will never have to look further in finding the one for me because you are everything and more,” Peter said as you moved your eyes from the floor to his figure,” I love you. I mean it. No exceptions, no strings attached, no lovedust required.”

Right then and there, you were at a loss for everything you could possibly hold; no words, no breath, no thoughts. Any resentment you held had shattered into microscopic pieces that would dissolve once crushed between something as delicate as your fingertips because he said everything you wanted to hear.

“ You love me?” You said quietly to where Peter made you repeat yourself,” Are you serious? Do you really mean it?”

Peter nodded and softly let out an ‘ of course I do’ as he brushed his fingers lightly over your cheek. He cupped your face gently with one hand as his thumb wiped away a stray tear,” Can I finally kiss you?”  

Peter’s cheeks grew red as you nodded and leaned into his touch, innocently brushing your lips against his. Peter dipped his head down to close the space between the two of you and kissed you so softly, you had to pull him closer to you to actually kiss him back.

Even though Peter was the one who asked, he felt completely unprepared kissing you back. He had imagined over and over how warm your lips would be against his but now that he was actually kissing you, he didn’t think he had enough self-control to ever stop kissing you.

You never knew a kiss could be innocent and yet so intimate but as his lips moved in perfect sync, any other logistics of the feeling went away because all you could think about was Peter. You practically melted into his touch but before you could savor the kiss, Peter pulled away breathless.

“ S-Sorry, I forgot to breathe,” Peter gushed as you smiled back up at him,” what does this mean for us now?”

You traced your finger along Peter’s wrist as you thought quietly,” I don’t know but we can figure it out together.”

Peter hummed happily before dipping his head down to kiss you and when he pulled away, he fell himself falling in love with you all over again.

taglist: @eridanuswave​ @juliet-winterson​ @akacalumtrash​ @ilovepeterparker13​@parkerboop​ @juliebean247​ @multi-fan-lover​ @ffffan-----girlll @lukesbabylon​@danicarosaline​ @parkeret​ @marvel4geeks​ @hollander69​ @spideyyeet​ @spn-assemble-seven​ @vibraniumdaisies​ @spaghetittiesbcimgay​ @vi-bi-bye@lemonsnips​ @aduky​ @faithfullcompanion​ @stopthemotherfuckingmusic@satellitespidey @foreverpark​ @marvelobsessedteenager​ @deadpoetsbackup@zalladane​ @starcourt-s​ @parkersinfinitywar​ @stargazingcarol​ @littlesugarb​@itsteph13​ @jennasmmith​ @liljennyx3​ @harryspet​  @todaynotseen @oh-whatabeautiful-parker​  @tiny-friggin-human @popluckbih    niiight-dreamerrrr     sovereignparker  marie-is-in-the-darkbuckyboy-soldier   maia030   parkershoco wolverinesbeer   cherrysruin  sunkissdes  kiainspace  songofcosplay spideylovin write-from-the-heart  thatcrazywhovian09 eternallyvenusthollandxmsrawog  idiosadeoro imawkwardandherewearefoundwolvesthequeen-oni silverwolf-sama inspiring-beamultiversegalaxygirl lastupidebitchette idekwho1amsilverwolf-sama  wishing-wanting  annoyinglyloudcomputer  faithful-music akacalumtrash  agusdoti   panickedbrain serendipitous-amorshannonthewriter-blog    darth-andy   farfromtom   xroselightsmurdermornings dorbiksbitch   baby-unidorn   yes-multi-fandom-girl multiversegalaxygirl a-disappointing-teen-author rivas0309 vlogsquad-wannabe   spicy-embryoo takemetoneverland420teenage-tragedy  roxybefab   hopebaker timeless-crowmarvel4geeks  desteweirdo  panicattheeverywherekid miragee3cjphoenix135 liawhite03zeusmysterboinkybarnesleftarmaunicornmademedoitActionsMinimizeClosetomshufflepuff  drishtisikarwar  peterparkoure frantasmicjillanaholland   imdoingathingmom shawni-h  lukesbabylon  dsl1999 queenmochi heyarely16  jokersqueenofchaos  agusdoti karmaboundlife lalabruhh  blackloveangel13  flufflymota07  un-viaje-en-las-estrellas lozzybowe  teenwolfrebel   panickedbrainspaghetittiesbcimgay   itscaminow shirukitsune petersquipsbuckybsxroselights saucyparkerr zeusmystermsmimimertonfudgemesteveharrington 1999yaniraboinkybarnesleftarm  parayeet-amiright  peterparkoure   zoey-one-oh-fun  drishtisikarwar  theunicorndinosaur  spideylovin flufflymota07  marzbarz1360 sspidermanss  honeyheartzz  overcaffeinatedbuttired @toreadortowrite​  kyarahollander2013 my-soul-is-the-moon marvel-snowbaz cuddlefishpeter 1-800-jackgrazer spicy-embryoo shannonthewriter-blog  @tomshufflepuff​ @xoxohollands​   starriglcss  fandom-phaser  starryseavey the-specific-oceans  @sspidermanss​ 

[lacharcutiere]

still [sawamura daichi]

1,6k words

previous | masterlist | next ➪

part eight of i’m gone i’m gone i’m gone miniseries. you can only put these things off for so long.

JST: japanese standard time (GMT +9). EST: eastern standard time (GMT -5). EDT: eastern daylight time (GMT -4).

tings // fluff, a little bit of angst, kinda suggestive at the end ?? // i swear this søng is abøut eating øut my best friend's pussy - cøzybøy // dm, ask or comment to be added to taglist ! minors dni.

☾𓆙𓂻

— JAPAN, SUMMER 2024.

the summer passes like this: you and daichi laughing too loudly in busy restaurants and train cars; having arms around each other in the back of taxis on the way home from clubs; making instant udon at three a.m.; walking up and down the neighborhood a hundred times; laying silently side by side and not needing to say anything. it's a routine, it's familiar—it's home.

a couple weeks before you're set to head back to new york, daichi asks you a question as you lay next to him on a blanket in your driveway, staring up at the stars.

"have you decided what your plans are after college?"

"i'm gonna come back here."

"i thought you wanted to go to grad school? you can do way better in the states, especially with a degree from columbia."

you roll onto your side so you can look at him better. "i know. but i've been away too long already. i miss you."

he gives you a little smile. "but i'm right here."

"right here is pretty fucking far from america."

"hm."

"hm."

that's the end of the conversation.

— 2 AUGUST 2024. 23:09 JST.

everything happens the exact same way it has for the past three years: he takes you to the airport. you try hard not to cry; you say your goodbyes. check-in, security, buy some candy to eat at the gate. board the plane. sixteen hours later, you're in america.

one thing was different, though.

when he said goodbye, his lips touched yours.

you don't stop thinking about it for weeks.

☾𓆙𓂻

— AUGUST TO NOVEMBER 2024.

slightly relieving is the fact that amid thesis writing and too many classes and working an internship under one of your professors (that one's nice, it even earns you enough to get a small apartment a few blocks from campus), there proves to be little time to be spent missing daichi.

you finesse your schedule to fit weekly facetimes on friday evenings (new york time) and shoot random texts back and forth about your day between classes and during meals, and without much space for anything else, it's enough. good things are worth waiting for, anyway.

— DECEMBER 2024.

but then winter sem break rolls around and there's no school so it's back to having too much lonely alone time with your thoughts. you write daichi a christmas card and drop it off at the post office. it's early this year, but oh, well.

☾𓆙𓂻

a week before christmas you receive a call from an unknown number. the phone speaker crackles when you accept the call.

“hello?”

“hey.” the voice on the other end is bright, smiley, accented. it’s tōru.

“tōru? what’s up?”

“i’m outside,” he says, “come down and meet me?”

you’re a little confused, but you decide to humor him. “uh, okay, give me a minute… do i need anything?”

“bring a coat, it’s cold out. i’ll be waiting down here.” the call ends.

a few minutes later you push through the doors of the building to be met with a brisk wind and tōru standing by a payphone, grinning.

“do you have your subway pass?”

you feel inside your pocket for it and nod.

“good,” he says. “come on, we’re in a hurry.”

“where are we going?”

“downtown.”

“ohhkay?”

he laughs. “‘s not anything you won’t like, promise.”

you follow him into the nearest subway entrance, lost in thought as you push through the barrier and step onto the train. it's only when he nudges you and says, "this is our stop," that you realize you've been looking at the ground the whole time.

tōru notices how absent you seem to be and asks, "are you okay?"

"i would be if i knew what was going on," you respond.

"yeah," he says, leading you up the stairs and into the terminal, "yeah, i think you will be."

you're in grand central. tōru asks if he can borrow your phone for a second. when he hands it back to you, he doesn't say anything, just takes you by the arm smiling widely and leads you into the fray of commuters that fill the station.

"tōru!" you groan, "can't you just tell me where we're going?"

"magnolia," he replies simply.

"we came all the way here just for coffee?"

"mhm."

"tōru!" he stops walking and turns back to you, trying and failing miserably to stop grinning for a second. "what the fuck?"

"come on," he says, "you'll like it."

"we've been here before! what's so special about—"

"you'll see."

☾𓆙𓂻

coffee in grand central is surprisingly good. it's also surprisingly expensive. ah, well, it's new york. new york has much more to offer than just overpriced cafés.

such as... this. such as a laughing man that leads a remarkably pissed-off looking girl by the arm, towards this stupidly good, stupidly overpriced café.

the pair are weaving through a stream of people, almost there, and then they're there, and the girl is looking much less agitated now. she looks somewhere between crying and wanting to run in the opposite direction. thank god, she chooses the former.

he loves you. so much.

☾𓆙𓂻

"daichi?" you mean it to be a scream but your voice cracks a little and it comes out airy.

he has the exact same look on his face that tōru's had this whole time. "hi."

"oh my god, what the fuck?"

"you said it was lonely, tōru told me maybe it would be nice for you to have a date for new year's, i had some extra money saved up. so i came."

"you— what?" you look back at tōru. "you planned this? just? last minute?"

"nah," daichi laughs, "no, i meant to come visit you for christmas a while ago. i already had tickets and everything, i was gonna tell you but then i got your card and figured it might be more fun if it were a surprise."

"oh my god." that's all you can think to say.

— CHRISTMAS 2024.

you can't even explain how good it feels to wake up and walk into the living room to find daichi asleep on your couch on christmas morning, how good it feels for it to not just be you. the whole time he's been here, though, you've forced yourself not to think about the fact that he's going back home in a week and a half, forced yourself not to do anything just yet. soon, though. just a few more months.

☾𓆙𓂻

when he wakes up, you're making coffee for the two of you.

"merry christmas," he says, wrapping one arm around your shoulders. he places a card on the counter in front of you. "open it."

its message is simple.

you do as it says.

"i, uh, haven't gotten you anything yet, but—"

"daichi," you laugh, "it's okay. and um, i may have also not been able to get you anything. also because i didn't know you'd be here."

"wait, wait, i'm not finished."

"okay?"

"what do you want to do after you're done this year of school?"

"i already told you," you say, "i'll move back home."

"no, what do you want to do? you want to go to grad school, right? continue studying here?"

"no, i just want to stop waiting." you sigh, a little frustrated. "i don't wanna have to keep putting this off, it's been—"

he cuts you off. "i'll be here."

"huh?"

"i'll be here. or wherever."

"i don't get it?"

you've always loved the way daichi's nose scrunches up when he smiles. "you're the one planning on studying more, not me. not immediately, anyway. i'll go with you."

"daichi."

"what?"

"you're fucking joking."

he laughs; you look so confused right now. "i'm not. promise."

"i don't even—"

"hey."

"hm?"

"think you can handle long-distance for five months?"

"uh—" you inhale sharply. "yeah."

"good," he says, "then we don't have to keep putting this off."

it's been five months since you last let your lips touch his. it still feels just like the first time it happened.

— 31 DECEMBER, 2023. 19:36 EST.

he tries not to let you pay for dinner, but in the end, you slip the waiter your card while daichi's in the bathroom. it's his birthday; it's your treat.

and after dinner, there's that new year's eve party that tōru's been going on about. it feels good, so good, not to be there alone. it feels good to watch the broadcast from downtown and count the seconds to midnight as daichi's arms are wrapped around you from behind. the clock reaches zero; daichi kisses you hard. you're both drunk on champagne.

you watch him smile across the room at tōru, who's got his girl on his arm. the two of them look happy, too. everything is warm.

— DEPARTURE: 3 JANUARY 2025. 08:15 EST.

daichi's asleep next to you when the alarm on his phone goes off. you'll miss not waking up next to him for the next five months, but at least that's all it will be.

he makes faces at you in the mirror as you both brush your teeth; keeps trying to tug your sweater off when you get dressed. you spend these thirty minutes laughing with him until it hurts. the two of you take the subway back to grand central; make out in a corner of the terminal while he waits for his train to jfk international to arrive.

"see you in may."

— 21 JANUARY 2025.

taglist: @sakruisin-thru @softetsurou @oligbia

[wincore]

wasted nights | liu yangyang

pairing: yangyang x reader

words: 5.5k

summary: firstly, you don’t think you should have survived this long. secondly, this might be the zombie apocalypse but your survival doesn’t feel as threatened by zombies as it does by liu yangyang. thirdly, you’ve chosen the worst time to develop a crush.

genre: zombie apocalypse!au, fluff, humour(?)

warnings: mention of injuries & blood, violence (against zombies), dumbassery, do not attempt during an actual zombie apocalypse

song rec(s): wasted nights - one ok rock 

a/n: october birthdays get halloween specials~ although this one is just full of unnecessary appearances by cats. also campfires because october campfires hit different. (i’m definitely saying this because i was born in october) also not me writing this as a joke and reaching 5.5k words </3

It’s two hours till sundown. 

What would you be doing on a day within the ordinary? Likely getting back from after school activities, chatting with a friend or feeding the stray kittens by the school building, or maybe pretending Liu Yangyang doesn’t exist—the possibilities were endless. Now there’s only one.

“Yangyang,” you call, more worried than not.

On a day out of the ordinary, you wish you hadn’t prayed for your exam to get cancelled the day all of this broke out. You wouldn’t be scavenging like some sort of rodent and you wouldn’t be standing at the gates of an abandoned shrine, though now is undoubtedly a better time to pray. It’s not the best of situations (especially not with a certain little rascal attached to your side). 

And understatements are definitely your thing now.

“Yangyang,” you call a little louder this time, eyes shifting around the shrine area. 

Should you step in? He asked you to wait, the stone steps now looking a little glum without him skipping over them. The only signs of life you’ve seen around has been a family of raccoons looking rather smug and a single spotted dove preening itself atop a branch. The lack of visibility into the forest surrounding the shrine bothers you, like something could jump out any minute and you suck your teeth, growing annoyed. Where is that boy?

You tap your foot against the ground soundlessly. What if a zombie were to pop out? They might be slow but the sight of them is still gross enough to paralyze you. Yangyang has his baseball bat with him, which leaves you defenseless in terms of weapons. Still, it’s not like the bat would have done you any good. You are, in the truest sense of the word, average at any sort of combat and freezing at the limbs comes to you more naturally. Zombies are not fun; whatever nonsense Yangyang has been trying to explain to you for weeks is optional, as is every other suggestion that comes from his mouth. It’s quiet and quiet, creepy shrines have never been your favourite place in the city.

You hear a low growl behind you, stiffening at the sound. Best case scenario, it’s a big rat. You’d rather not think of the worst case. Eventually, you gather some courage and turn slowly only to jump back with a short scream. 

Yangyang takes the old festival mask off to reveal a giant grin on his face, urging you to knock it right off. The anger that follows is natural and he should be used to it by now. Yangyang continues smiling, as if he didn’t just pull your soul right out of your body, and when he opens his mouth to say something, you’re quick to land a swift punch to his gut. He lets out a pained cry, dropping to the ground in a squat.

“Don’t do that,” you seethe. “Why can’t you greet me normally?”

“I’m okay!” He signals a thumbs up while the other hand clutches his stomach. 

“I didn’t ask.”

He moves his hand to place it over his chest. “Ow. Oh, and to answer your question, it’s because you don’t want to do my special handshake with me.”

“Hm. Get up. You said there were supplies here. What did you find?”

He pouts, finally getting up. “I can’t believe you’re just using me for supplies.”

You cross your arms. “Just get up already.”

Yangyang springs up despite the (admittedly) strong blow to his stomach and presents to you the plastic bag he’d been holding. In any other circumstances, it would spark some disapproval on your behalf but it turns out, those things do outlive most everything. For a moment, the ridiculous image of pulling a plastic bag over a zombie’s head crosses your mind. 

Yangyang finally responds, taking out whatever items he recovered. Not everything is useful however; he’s simply taken to collecting knick-knacks. 

“I found toothbrushes! Maybe your breath will stop stinking—”

You raise your clenched fist as a threat.

“—I was kidding. Obviously. You have lovely breath.”

You pinch the bridge of your nose in an attempt to contain your exasperation. 

“Also, I found clean water so I filled up some bottles and yeah, I couldn’t find much else but oh! There was this huge cat and I mean huge like a big chonk kinda guy, you know? And I’m sure he was, like, trying to tell me something, like, he kept hissing when I went near him but…”

You wonder if Yangyang ever gets tired from speaking so fast, his words fading out of your comprehension. You shake your head, clearing your throat.

“Can we leave now?”

Yangyang raises an eyebrow, almost smirking as the gears in his head turn.

“You’re not… superstitious, are you?” he asks. “I heard there’s a lot of reported sightings of ghosts here.”

“No,” you blurt, quick to deny. Yangyang might have seen you crying after getting lost in the dark, almost fainting after encountering a zombie for the first time or even in deep sorrow after you lost your friend—but there’s still part of your dignity to protect before you can admit your fear of ghosts. There’s just something about this abandoned shrine; there are no visitors apart from the caretaker and if loneliness is responsible for anything, it’s making lonely things seem a whole lot scarier. You’d rather leave before the sun sets.

Yangyang laughs. “Who do you think would win in a fight? Zombies or ghosts?”

You roll your eyes. “That’s so stupid. Obviously ghosts.”

“No. Okay, maybe. I just think…”

There he goes again. 

You wonder if he was always this way—when you passed him by in the hallways, when he shot you a polite smile at club meetings or when you saw him being loud with his friends blocking part of the sidewalk. You’re sure he couldn’t have been entirely sane.

“Oh my god.”

Yangyang’s voice jerks you back to the present. You follow his line of sight to a cardboard box beneath a particularly dense shrub; it's a large one—quite possibly a carton of some commercial product which doesn’t matter anymore. However, it’s not the details of the box itself so much as it is the contents that grab your attention. 

You can almost see the sparkle in Yangyang’s eyes as he views the cats huddled together inside the box. They don’t seem to mind each other within their personal space—you count four of them, tightly packed and eyes closed in a late afternoon nap. How the box hasn’t ripped apart yet is quite a mystery, and what’s more troubling is how at ease they seem to be with the entire human race in disarray.

You grab Yangyang by the collar before he can make his way to them.

“Don’t harass them,” you say, massaging your temples. “Jesus, it’s like they’re glued to each other. Do they have to be in the same box?”

“It might just be the last cardboard box left on earth.” Yangyang shrugs.

The cats mind their own business, grooming their fur or closing their eyes in an odd sort of bliss. You wonder what it would be like to be so unbothered by all the chaos. It reminds you of someone.

“Come on,” you urge, thinking back to older times. “Don’t think I forgot how much you used to bother old Louis back then.”

Louis was the university cat, fed with so much love that he eventually started avoiding people like the plague. You wonder how he’s holding up for a brief moment.

“Don’t think I forgot how you were back then too.”

“What do you mean?” you snap, glaring at him.

“You were already a zombie,” he says before engaging in a cheap mimicry of you, drooping his eyelids and taking slow steps muttering, “I… must… maintain… gpa… grr.”

You almost take off your shoe to throw it at him before deciding it’s not worth your time. Ah, if only you had done that during club meetups, perhaps you’d have felt better about him joining. Everyone treated him so differently, and you hate to admit you now understand why. 

Everyone loves a good troublemaker.

And there happens to be another thing special about your sole competitor for the debate club’s president position. Apart from his strange antics (charms, he says), even this virus—this fuckall literal killer virus can’t infect him. He’s immune—an occurrence with a possibility lower than you finding him attractive. (There, you said it.)

You look at Yangyang still talking about Louis and a small smile crosses your face. You’d feed your right arm to a zombie before you admitted it but it’s nice having him around. You furrow your brows at the sudden familiar bubbling in your chest and shove it away in a flash before your conscious decides to tell you what it is. 

Your heart jumps to your throat when you make eye contact with Yangyang, turning away in a rather awkward manner. Oh, the end of the world does awful things to you.

“Are you listening?” Yangyang raises an eyebrow. “Oh my god, you weren’t listening at all.”

You roll your eyes. “I was distracted.”

“By me?” he offers in a sing-song voice, prompting a smack from you. It’s easier to pretend this way.

Yangyang massages his shoulder with a huff. “Why are you hitting me so much today? I’ve counted like eight and the day’s only just over.”

“Sorry,” you mumble before clearing your throat. “I mean, you’ve also said something annoying, like, more than eight times today.”

“I’m not annoying.”

There’s a pause.

“Okay, maybe a little bit.”

The sun starts to lay in rest by the time you reach the city. Compared to the green, red and yellow of the yet standing shrine, this place is in dull monochrome with the occasional coloured signs that flicker to life. You force yourself to think but have a hard time remembering if it was always this way. Was it any different with the rushing cars or apathetic crowds? You can’t tell. You were part of them, after all. 

“Hey, how about a bottle flip challenge but with traffic cones?” Yangyang thinks aloud, walking backwards as you pass by a particularly well-lit alley. 

You roll your eyes in response. Is it the lack of people making him that way? Your unflustered companion looks at home among neon lights, all of them seeming to point towards him as an answer to a question you haven’t quite figured out yet. 

You glance at the alley just a second longer. The electric lanterns still glow red, and although dim, there are many. The shops almost look like you could enter and be greeted with a crowd of university kids or a group of office workers drinking away in celebration of the weekend. You sigh. It’s most certainly deserted inside; there’s no doubt. At the most, the tables are still arranged neatly and the meat grills aren’t completely rusted. You wonder if it’s a Friday.

There was never much grass in the city but whatever growth there was has withered into a mustard yellow or a lamenting grey. An empty city is hardly appealing, but you can’t deny the ill-favored things you’ve done the past few months in the absence of people—a part of you questioning whether breaking into supermarkets is still against the law when no one’s around to keep it. You smile at the memory of Yangyang pushing you around in a shopping cart, though you’d gotten drunk off the (stolen) liquor prior. The neon lights hanging as a banner over sketchy shops sometimes spark alive before dying down over and over again, and to be fair, you don’t think they ever shined too bright. Ironically, they’re the liveliest thing about the city now. 

The sky’s soaked in ink at a time you assume to be around seven in the evening. You walk closer to Yangyang without realizing; it’s not often you’ve been out this late the past few months.

“Hey.” Yangyang snaps you out of your daze. “Be careful.”

The words are strange coming from him but you understand why. You look up ahead with caution and a shiver runs down your spine as you stare at the intersection, a lone, tattered figure droning aimlessly. It’s only one, you tell yourself. And they’re slow.

The memories of your previous encounters send warnings over your skin, shivers begging you to run as fast as you can. You would if it weren’t for Yangyang’s grip on your hand, tugging you forward gently and though it’s something he does every time, you wonder if he knows how you’re really feeling. His footsteps are soundless, with the same red sneakers he’s worn since the beginning of this but something tells you it’s not the shoes that give him a cat’s footfall. The purple lights flicker on and off over the shop on the opposite street, the suddenness of it making you latch onto Yangyang for a short-lived moment. You’re quick to let go, throat too dry to make any sound. 

You curve around what would be a straight path, careful not to be in the creature’s line of sight when you cross. The streets seem wider when they’re so empty, and somehow it feels more unlawful this way. Yangyang signals to you to stay closer, and you follow before bumping into his back when he stops abruptly. There’s absolutely no sound, the feeling in your gut much worse than at the shrine.

“Something’s wrong,” Yangyang whispers.

A strangled shriek erupts from your mouth when something launches itself onto the two of you, making you land on your butt. You would’ve placed your hands over your eyes, but you’ve learned how to be less of a coward these past few days. 

A shaky breath leaves you. A cat. It was a stray cat. The little asshole looks at you with almost twinkling eyes, tail swishing from side to side before deciding you’re not worth its time. Your shoulders sag, a moment of relief despite your stiff muscles.

“Uh, (name)?”

You look up only for your stomach to fill with dread. The zombie from before is staring directly at the two of you, the same vacant look in its eyes that has haunted you for the entirety of the apocalypse.

“It’s okay, he’s too slow,” Yangyang reminds you, voice barely a whisper as he helps you stand.

“We can just take the other street—it’s a little longer but it’s mostly safe and there’s no way he can—”

Yangyang is interrupted by a sickening growl from behind you and you jump back. There’s another one. And another. You count four more before holding back a swear. Yangyang grabs you by the shoulder and the two of you take a step back, onto the sidewalk. There’s a shop behind you; you read a smeared sign above the plastic door curtains indicating a dumpling place. Even if you were to hide in there, there’s no guarantee you’d be safe. 

But if you’ve learned anything in these months, it’s that anything is always better than nothing.

The night has settled in completely, you realize. You’re about to tug Yangyang to the inside as you turn around, only to freeze up in your spot. A pale woman emerges from the store, her makeup still fresh but you know that look, the look in her eyes. How cruel.

“Please,” she mumbles, taking a step towards you and you think you might just cry. It’s not long before she turns, you think with dread.

You stumble back to Yangyang when she emits a blood curdling screech, lunging at you and to either your alarm or worse, relief, Yangyang pushes you back. You watch with wide eyes as the woman sinks her teeth into his arm, nausea growing at the sight of blood. He moves fast though, his arm swinging the baseball bat to meet the woman in the head, hard enough to knock her out. In these few moments, one of the zombies is close enough to reach an arm out towards you and you swear you can hear the horrid sound of his bones cracking when you step back. The longer you remain in this state, the slower you are. You suppose you should take comfort in these words but when you look at it, you still see a man.

Hollow. They’re all hollow. 

You take a deep breath.

Just as the thought crosses your head, you see Yangyang swing his bat again, meeting the zombie on the head and much to your wide-eyed horror, the head flies off into the dumpling shop and the body reacts with just about as much confusion as you do. It wildly waves about its hands in the now vacant spot before crumpling onto the road with a quiet realization.

Yangyang makes a face, pressing his knuckle to his mouth to prevent himself from what you presume is gagging. However, when you look closely, he seems to be holding back a laugh instead and very painfully so. You know he has a habit of laughing at the most inappropriate times but this, it really takes the cake.

“Home run?” he suggests, turning to you with a sheepish half-grin. There’s no hint of malice in his voice and you think that it’s probably not that he enjoys swinging his baseball bat at zombies. 

“You’re disgusting,” you reply, shaking your head.

“Maybe I should leave you here then.” 

You can’t believe he has the gall to be cheeky with blood running down his arm and four of the undead drooling at the sight of you two. 

“Do you think we can find ingredients that aren’t stale here? I miss having dumplings.”

“Yangyang.”

“Okay, okay.”

The other ones are still far enough and the two of you take this chance to run off towards the street Yangyang mentioned earlier and safely out of view. You notice him panting heavier than before, and your eyes scan over his arm in worry. The bite is ugly, red with oozing blood, and you hold back the urge to ask him if he’s anaemic. 

Yangyang follows your eyes before an ‘ah’ leaves his lips. He spins his head to the right, trying to catch a glimpse of the wound in the same manner a dog chases after its own tail. He puts the bat down to try and twist his arm to see the injury but you stop him, clicking your tongue at his silly behaviour.

“You’re not twelve, Yangyang,” you scold. “Let’s get back to the hotel first.”

He shrugs, and you think some provoking words are ready to leave his mouth when he simply picks up his bat and walks off. You blink before quickening your steps to catch up with him. The blood dripping down his forearm makes you feel a little unwell but you know better than to touch infections.

It takes around fifteen minutes longer than usual to reach the hotel—Yangyang was right. It is safer here, with no zombies lurking around the corners. He must have been out late when he was scouting, you think with distaste.

You reach the now-rusting gates of your haven without trouble and the moment you reach, Yangyang falls to his knees, heaving a breath he seems to have been holding. You rush to him, eyes frantic when you reach your hand out to him, and he flinches, moving away from you.

“Don’t,” he mutters before getting up. “You turning into a real zombie would be my personal nightmare.”

It’s not enough to curb your worry but you follow him nonetheless, the stupid, wavering grin on his face making you unable to decipher what he’s really feeling. 

The familiar smell of honeysuckle washes into you as you pass by the entrance, locking the door behind you as Yangyang falls onto one of the chairs in the lobby. Kunhang happened to be passing by, a muffled swear leaving him when he sees the blood on Yangyang’s arm.

“You didn’t touch him, did you?” he asks, pulling on his gloves to further see the wound. A former med student is the best you have here, and somehow, you’ve never seen him complain about having to take care of someone as bothersome as Yangyang. 

You shake your head in reply to Kunhang and watch as he runs from shelf to shelf to procure more bandages than you’ve ever seen in your life. You’ve been seeing an awful lot lately. 

“We’re going to run out of bandages in a week if he keeps this up,” Kunhang says with a frown, moving so fast you can barely see his hands. “He’ll be okay, I guess. The virus just makes him dizzy.”

He’s probably thinking the same thing you are. Something serious happening to Yangyang is a little bit of a miracle. Maybe he’ll finally be set right in the head. 

Even so, you know Kunhang is worried despite his quick response, his frown lines deepening once he’s done wrapping up. He sighs before waltzing off to discard his gloves.

It’s not that you aren’t impressed by Kunhang; you’ve just seen him do that too many times to count. And of course, it’s mostly Yangyang on the receiving end. They might be good friends but this also happens to be the only time they're serious together. Moreover, Kunhang seems to beat Yangyang in the talking-for-twelve-hours-straight department. You have to admit though, being in charge of first aid for the few people stuck in this hotel is not an easy business. 

You take a seat opposite to Yangyang, dozing off in his chair and wonder if you should wipe the drool off his chin. Disgusting, you think to yourself, but another part of you dares to offer the word cute. 

The best thing about barricading yourself in a hotel during the apocalypse is not having to worry about beds. There’s at least five hundred rooms in this skyrise, more than enough for, what, sixteen people? The place is so big that you hardly run into the others. The only rule around here is regarding the pantry—to write down who’s taken what on the notepad stuck to one corner. Despite what movies show, people are far more helpful to each other in times of need, more so than usual even. You relax into the chair, the velvet cushion feeling comfortable against your back. 

There’s a nice communal feeling in this place. 

You frown. It’s not like you can stay here forever. 

At the very least, you can pretend each sundown and sunrise is ordinary here. You close your eyes, and slowly, thoughts of why you’re trying so hard to remember life before this drift away.

//

Yangyang wakes up before you do, grinning like crazy as he shrugs you awake. You stare at him through groggy eyes, untangling your limbs from yourself. The cold seeps into you and you shiver, hugging yourself.

“We found the keys to the lounge,” he rushes, albeit in a gentle voice. “Guess what?”

“Unh?”

“There’s a campfire spot over there! The others already started but I thought I should wake you up.”

It’s just like him to be excited about something like that. You get up nevertheless, Yangyang pulling you through the stairs and onto the only elevator that seems to work around here. There’s quite a few things about this hotel left to be figured out. You’re going to have to start worrying anyway when the power from the generator runs out.

Kunhang and an older man, Mr Kang, are the only ones there once you reach. You had expected it but the lounge is gigantic and a small part of it provides the artificial campfire area. There are paintings of wild animals and trees for children, you assume, on the walls only cut off by a large vent on the ceiling. The fire burns bright over the large circle of soil and firewood, whose authenticity is debatable. You sigh at the warmth, having grown tired of the autumn weather’s mood swings.

Kunhang greets the two of you with a grin before delicately poking Mr Kang to at least acknowledge your presence. It’s funny, the lot of you.

The place is a little small, considering there’s a literal fire in the middle of the room. You almost sit on Yangyang because he shifts too suddenly at Mr Kang’s disapproval of proximity, a small yelp leaving you whereas Yangyang, for the first time, looks like he’d rather die. He mutters an apology, and two of you manage to sit a good two feet apart, sudden awkwardness rising in the air—all of it unnoticed by Mr Kang. You heard he was a banker but if Kunhang and Yangyang had a polar opposite, it would most certainly be him. You can’t even remember the man’s voice.

You think you should say something but Kunhang’s laughter breaks the silence. There’s an unspoken exchange between him and Yangyang, piquing your curiosity though you aren’t sure what you should be asking. You just assume it’s one of their stupid inside jokes.

“I left your gift on your table. You can add it to your dumb shoe collection,” Kunhang tells Yangyang, smiling before standing up to stretch. “I’m going to bed. Mr Kang, won’t you accompany me?”

Mr Kang gets up begrudgingly and you’re about to ask them to stay longer when Kunhang turns to you enthusiastically. “Good night, (name). Don’t have too much fun. Although, I suppose there’s no better time to have too much fun either.”

You watch with furrowed brows as the two disappear into the doorway and down the stairs. You spend a couple of moments in silence before clearing your throat. When it goes unnoticed, you turn to Yangyang despite the warmth on your face. 

“It’s not dumb,” he mutters to himself, a little zoned out.

You stare at him for a few moments and the familiar feeling rises in your throat, now with a little voice to accompany it. 

Cute.

You cough, distracting yourself with any and all thoughts you would rather have, even of the zombies. Now isn’t the time—or is it the perfect time? You shake your head, calming yourself.

“Does it… hurt?” You ask, eyeing Yangyang’s arm.

He looks up as if broken from a daze, the campfire lights still dazzling in his eyes. You hold back a laugh. He really is a child; if he’s so easily mesmerized by fires, that is.

“Probably not any worse than the lady I whack-a-mole’d. Now that must’ve hurt.” Yangyang puffs his cheek before looking straight at you.

You stare back. It’s not the weirdest thing he’s said.

“What? I feel bad beating the crap out of zombies sometimes,” he says, scratching the back of his head. 

You hum in response. The thought of Yangyang developing a conscience is almost as bad as having to think about zombies. Though, you’ll have to admit, it does give you a strange relief. Zombies can’t really feel pain—they are, after all, numb in every possible sense—but some part of you wonders if it’s alright like this. Morals and survival aren’t meant to overlap. 

You feel the need to distract yourself with something.

“Hey,” you call, moving closer to Yangyang such that your shoulders almost touch. Before you know it, you brush the hair from his face, trying to style the mess into something more neat—a thing you’ve been wanting to do since the first time you saw him. Every time you’d see the messy mop of hair at an official event of the debate club, you’d have this strong urge and an almost putrid form of annoyance. You still don’t know how he managed to get in.

“You don’t look terrible with parted hair,” you muse. “You could’ve looked more decent at the debates.”

You look down from his hair to see Yangyang frozen, eyes wide as if a deer in the headlights.

“Are- Are you not breathing?” you ask.

Yangyang sucks in a large chunk of air, fast enough to choke on it and break into a coughing fit as he turns away from you. You reach out to pat his back but he waves his hand at you, indicating he’s fine before he can turn to you.

You look at him with no particular emotion, the night breeze having worked its way to you.

“What was that about a gift? Are you and Kunhang getting things for each other without telling me?” you say, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

There's a short pause, filled with the crackling of fire.

“It’s my birthday,” Yangyang says with a small smile as the campfire lights dance across his cheeks.

And yet, the words come out sad as if he’d been waiting for an occasion to tell you. You look at him, eyes widening ever so slightly accompanied by the loss of words and take a sharp breath.

“I’m not going to ask for a gift,” Yangyang teases. “Don’t look so worried.”

You open your mouth and close it again, unable to explain the gentle wash of sadness overcome you when you see just a boy. For all the talking he does, he never asks for much. 

“I mean, I- I liked spending the day with you. Why do you look so sad? Did I say something? Again?”

You look over his features, from his brow bone to his wide eyes to his lips and the conclusion arrives as gently as the end of the world. What’s the worst that could happen?

You quickly pull him into a hug, still careful of his injury, and a vaguely embarrassing sound escapes Yangyang, something akin to a sheep’s call. He clears his throat which turns into coughing before he can wrap his arms around you, his breathing soft against your shoulder. 

“I’m- I’m alive, you know? I don’t think I’m dying any time soon. I- I can’t even get infected! You know that.”

“That’s not why I’m- I…” You pull back, steeling your eyes so you don’t feel the warmth of embarrassment. 

Just like you prepare for debates, you think to yourself. Maybe Yangyang was right about you being a zombie—the way you follow the same drudging formula.

“I like you,” you say, your words more of a strained whisper but they’re out before you know it. You can fake confidence, you tell yourself. It’s horrible timing and spending your (potentially) last days with someone who rejected you is just another way to shoot yourself in the foot.

But part of you has been wanting to do this for so long that you almost don’t mind.

Yangyang sucks in a breath, pressing his knuckles to his mouth as he straightens.

“That was- Wow. Okay. I- Uh. Wow.”

You let the heat grow stronger in your cheeks, racking your head for an explanation or even a lie. Maybe you can say it was a mistake. 

“I- I meant…” You lose track of your words. You can’t lie.

“I’ve never been confessed to,” he blurts, and if you squint, you swear you can see him blushing.

“Huh?”

Yangyang coughs again, followed by the same embarrassing sound. “That was- That was the first time.”

The silence between you is accompanied by the crackling of fire and the soft path-making of wind. You’re at a loss for words, something that you should be used to by now—they clearly belong to someone else.

“Oh my god, that was so stupid,” he says, pulling a horrified face as he frantically waves his hands about. “I meant to say I like you too but I- I guess I forgot to say it out loud. Ah, crap- I sound even stupider now, don’t I?”

Your lips twitch, trying to contain your smile but you’re seized with uncontrollable laughter anyway. The mortified expression on Yangyang’s face makes you burst into another fit of giggles before you can somewhat compose yourself.

“I think that’s the longest you’ve been quiet for,” you say in between recurring laughter. “Did anyone ever tell you being able to talk fast doesn’t get you ahead in debate clubs?”

Yangyang frowns.

“Oh, I just joined because I thought it’d get on your nerves,” he says, not a hint of jest in his voice.

You straighten away from him, the smile dropping from your face.

“You can’t be serious.”

He grins sheepishly, scratching the back of his head and offering no explanation. You huff in exasperation, getting up abruptly to avoid another oncoming headache. It’s a little difficult, considering you have the human version of it right beside you.

“Wait- Where are you going?” Yangyang scrambles up to his feet. “It’s my birthday, you know?”

You turn around and put your hands on your hips, a small smile on your face at the sight of him. “It’s midnight already.”

“Oh. How was I supposed to know?”

You laugh, shaking your head. Maybe the little rascal is special.

“Hey,” Yangyang calls. “You know, since this is the end of the world and all…”

You stare at him, heartbeat erratic at the lack of distance and despite the fading of teenage fantasies. Yangyang shifts nervously, glancing here and there while simultaneously trying to keep eye contact with you, an action which makes you hold back a chuckle. There’s a particular twinkle in his eyes but he can’t seem to be able to look at you straight.

“Can I kiss you?” he asks, finally.

And what a daring end to the world it is.

[heart-wit-strength]

Lean on Me -Amphibia Oneshot

'Sometimes in our lives, we all have pain, we all have sorrow, but if we're wise we know that there's always tomorrow.'

*Following the ending of 'Marcy At The Gates'*

Because I just wanted to write Anne and Marcy being cute without, y'know, dying for once. My first Amphibia fic so no, it's not that good, but well, I tried. Here ya' go @milkshakekitty ❤️

––

Anne smiled warmly as she clutched onto Marcy’s hand as they swiped through the pictures, she had to catch her up with all the adventures they had in Amphibia without wasting any time. “Here’s me and Sprig by the lake. There was a snake that tried to eat us.” Anne commented. “Oh, oh, and here’s us running from a centipede that-”

“Let me guess, tried to eat you?”

Anne gasped, mouth agape in astonishment. “How did you know?”

Marcy giggled to herself. “Duh. This is Amphibia. What do you expect?” they swipe through some more pictures. “Wow, Anne. You and Sprig really seem really close, huh.” Anne blushed, twirling a strand of her hair in her finger.

“You could say. He’s…kinda the reason I've really been able to keep going, especially ever since separating with you guys, life’s been hard.” Anne admitted. “Feels like yesterday when I was absolutely freaked out was when I found myself stranded in the woods of Wartwood all alone. I’m gonna be honest with you, Mar-Mar, eating bugs ain't my favorite thing ever, or fighting tax toads…and stuff but I’ve come to think I’ve somewhat grown on this place and it’s because of Sprig and the Plantars.”

Marcy joyful smirk couldn’t help but fade slightly at the sound of all the things Anne had been through. “Yeah, I…can't disagree with that.” She muttered, looking away and pulling a strand of her hair behind her ear. “The Plantars really are sweet. And the little frog dude? He seems quite protective of you, no wonder you mean a lot to him.”

“Uh, yeah. I’m sorry for all the…suspicion Sprig had on you earlier. I told him it was kinda uncalled-for, but a lot of stuff has happened and…”

“Oh please. I don’t mind at all. Believe me, I’ve seen a lot worse phases of skepticism in several rural civilizations I visited. Your friend seems a lot more open.”

Anne frowned, could she really blame Sprig though? Her other friend had almost killed him, and initially Hop Pop too. It just felt a bit uneasy having to tell Marcy that he had thought she was gonna be the same, what would she think? She didn't want Marcy to also hate her best friend like the other one did. Anne vaguely swiped through another picture on her phone, and what came up was her other friend. Anne’s didn't acknowledge herself holding her breath and frown at the sight of the blond girl on her phone screen.

“No way! Is that when you and Sasha reunited?” Marcy exclaimed with excitement, pushing her face between Anne and the phone screen, the picture of Anne and Sasha smiling and posing at the camera. “Heh, the armor suits her. Is that a Toad army uniform? She looks so different.” Anne rolled her eyes.

“She does.” Anne shoved the phone back into her pocket and stood up, looking into the distance, clutching the tip of her sleeve. “Literally. She’s changed.” Marcy, with a look of uncertainty, approached her.

“You said you had you had a fight, didn't you? But see, Anne…you know Sasha, we’ve known each other since we were kids, that’s the way she’s always been. Sure, she’s got a bit of temper, but I’m sure she’s still our friend. No matter what.”

‘She’s our friend. No matter what she does.’ The words echoed in her mind. ‘Nothing can change that.’That’s the one thing that had kept Anne bounded all these years. She was so busy making sure Sasha got away with all the trouble she was too blind to figured it out whatever she was doing with them was anything but friendship. All for they just couldn’t risk her somehow not wanting to be their friend anymore, for that would be the end of it all.

Wouldn’t it?

“She tried to kill my family, Marbles.” Anne’s tone cracked. Marcy’s eyes wide opened, stunned.

“She what? No way,”

Anne sniffed. “She tried to hurt Sprig, and Hop Pop. She’s far from justified. It’s too late, it’s time she takes responsibility of her actions. She’s way past treating us like we need her to make our decisions for us. Acting like…she can do whatever she wants because we just can't risk losing her because she convinced us that we’re NOTHING without her.” She panted, her face going red in exhaustion. Marcy stared silently at her friend with wide eyes. Anne breathed out and smiled warmly, looking into her eyes. “Well, we’re not. You and I are here, without her, doing just fine. The Plantars helped me make my way here to find you, we don’t need her to lead us. Dang, look how far you’ve come, Mar-Mar, you’re the literal hero of Newtopia and all, you bet Sasha would’ve never guessed that to come from the School’s science nerd, am I right?”

“Aw, quit it, Anna-Banana.” Marcy punched her playfully with a blush. Anne rubbed her arm and elbowed her with a smile. “How about we go for a walk? Bet that’d help. I know the perfect spot, c’mon, Anne!” Anne had barely processed anything Marcy had said yet before she was grasped by the arm and yanked along by her. After a moment of blindly letting herself be hauled along, when Marcy finally stopped Anne was marveled at the scene before her. What they stood upon was a hill, from where all of Newtopia could be seen. “Whoa.” Was all Anne could say, “That…sure is something, dude.”

“I know, RIGHT?! This is the most fun spot of the city next to the library, check this out!” Without a warning, Marcy hopped off her feet and let herself roll down the shimmering cool grass. “Anne, look I’m a Springroll!” Anne couldn’t help but chuckle at this until she noticed that Marcy was going to rolled herself right into a giant rock.

“Rock! Marcy, rock!” She shouted.

“I know! I rock at this!”

“NO! Marcy, look out!” Anne didn't acknowledge herself diving down and grabbing the girl before she’d crash herself. Anne panted heavily, holding her close. Marcy grinned.

“Heh, I get carried away sometimes. Thanks, Anna-Banana.” Anne sighed deeply and got to her feet, dusting herself.

“Sometimes. Pfft, sure. You can do me a great favor by being careful for five minutes for frog’s sake.” She retorted. Marcy blinked, wondering if she wasn’t being a help. Nah, there was no way for that to be, she knew how to cheer up her friend. Just as Anne began walking away, Marcy grabbed her hand and pulled her down. “Marbles, what are you…? AAAA-” she screamed as the two rolled further down the hill. “MARCY!”

“Isn't this cool?!” Marcy laughed as she gripped on her tight. When they stopped, Anne held her spinning head.

“Dude, what the frog?!” She complained, rubbing her head as Marcy continued to grin. “That was insane.”

“Insane and fun!”

“Pfft, yeah.” Anne couldn’t help but chuckle, slightly punching her shoulder. “Don’t do that again.” She looked up at the sky full of stars, sighing to herself. Funny how it was only her and Marcy now, without Sasha telling them what to do, just like back in…kindergarten? Well, that was quite long ago.

And surprisingly for all, she was actually feeling…good? It was true she always felt a lot liberated around her. As Anne had described to Sprig earlier, Marcy was indeed harmless. It was almost astonishing how she was totally living the moment and barely seemed concerned about everything that had been going on. How long they had been away from their parents, and haven’t seen each other in months until now, how Sasha tried to kill her family…

She couldn’t keep herself from remembering the tearful look in the girl’s eyes during their last encounter. ‘Hey, Anne?’ The last words from Sasha echoed in her mind again. ‘Maybe you’re better off without me.’ And in a blink of an eye, feeling her hold on Sasha’s hand loosening and having to see her former friend nearly fell to her doom.

Anne shook her head. No, that wasn’t her fault. There was no way it being her fault that Sasha rejected the help, rejected her, something she had always been afraid of. But somethings were inevitable, and in the end they were alright, she was okay and Sasha had…other people to stand by her, to follow her lead rather gladly.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Marcy spoke up, who was relaxing down on the grass.

“I often like coming out here to read. It actually feels pretty great out here, heh. Andrias prefer to join me sometimes, we had SO much fun together. Gosh, I LOVE this place!” She lied on her back, whirling her arms and legs, and enjoying the feel of the soft grass beneath them. She suddenly gasped and sat back up, eyes shining and a dreamy look on her face. “Y’know what I just came up with? What if…we made a hideout here? Brilliant idea. If we use the correct type of wood according to the air moisture, but wait we also need to bug-proof this place, we could try-” She stopped when we noticed Anne zoned out. “You okay there?”

“Huh? Yeah, and yeah we should totally do that.” Anne said, sitting down beside her, one arm wrapped around herself.

“Are ya’ cold?” Marcy asked with concern.

“Huh, no, it’s not that. I’m just-”

“Aw shucks! I should’ve known it! You always get a cold out in the night. Here, have this before you go all sneezy.” Marcy proceeded to take off her cape.

“No, Mar-Mar, really, I’m-” Anne was interrupted by her own sneeze. “…fine.”

“You’re not, Sneezy.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Heh. You know? It could be a sign someone is thinking about you.” Marcy smirked, tapping her chin.

“Yes, I know that, Marcy.” Anne replied, flushed and rubbing her itchy nose. “But I think I’m just cold.”

Marcy shrugged. “Eh, anyway. Here, you can have this. Don’t worry, it’s not on fire…yet.” she joked as she wrapped the cape around her shoulder. “Remember when we used to go to the café after classes, you always ordered hot chocolate while me and Sasha went for soda. Even then, you get sneezy. You always have it colder than us.” Anne blushed as she curled up.

“Thanks, Marcy.”

“About Sash, Anne, all of that sounds real rough, hard to believe actually, I never thought she’d…go that far.” She sounded much disappointed by the finish.

Anne sneezed again. “I’m not even surprised at this point. She’s always been a jerk, we were just too blind to notice.”

Marcy leaned back, fiddling the tip of her toes. “I…kinda always thought she was like the protector of the group, and that she’d always look out for us.”

“She likes to show me that I’m the weakling,” Anne’s voice cracked. “So that she’d feel better about herself. That’s why she tried to kill Sprig, he has been the first to make me realize that I was friends with a jerk. I guess that’s it, all she cares to have is control.”

Marcy’s eyes moved back and forth for a moment before she gently placed a hand on Anne’s shoulder who just sat there, hugging her knees. She felt a bit guilty about the fact that despite always being there, she had never been the one to realize what Anne had been going through, that Sasha was basically pushing her around. Maybe if she even did, there wasn’t much she could do to change it.

“Hey, you ain't a weakling to me. Pfft- Yeah sure, Sasha always liked to show off her strength, I rolled with it because it seemed like the only thing she was ever into. But hey, you know how much you look out for me.” She lifted Anne’s chin. “Even back in that cave today? You looked out for me. My point is, you’re so much more than you think, Anne. We might need her on our way back home, we aren’t gonna leave her behind. But whether or not she is there, you know you matter so much to everyone. You’ve got me, you’ve got the Plantars, and Sprig; it’s gonna be okay.”

Anne wiped her watery eyes with a smile, Marcy blinked as Anne embraced her into a hug, she smiled and hugged back. There was a moment of silence between them while they hugged until suddenly, Marcy sneezed.

“Huh, wonder who’s thinking about me?” She remarked, wiping her nose.

“Perhaps the librarian back home, for all the books you didn't return.” Anne commented sarcastically. Marcy narrowed her eyes and elbowed her. Anne shook it off with a chuckle and wrapped the other end of the cape around Marcy’s shoulder. “There. Now you won't get all sneezy either.” Marcy rolled her eyes with a smile. Anne leaned her head against hers, staring up at the stary sky, spotting a shooting star passing by.

“I don’t ever want to lose you again, Mar-Mar.”

“Me neither.”

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-yigas]

Bathtub sex. That's it that's the request. (okay also let me tell you again how much I'm enjoying your writing. The latest one had me squealing at the sweetness of Sooga caring for his master but also... like, talk about depth when it comes to Kohga?? Of course he wants to be strong. And he IS strong, and it's hard to be vulnerable and... ahh you're so good at writing this sort of thing) So yeah, bathtub hanky-panky plz XD

Thank you for the kind words, really! Means so much to me! As for your request, you can ABSOLUTELY have some bathtub fun times! I’ve written them in the tub before, but I have NOT done hanky panky, and shame on me for that.

“I still can’t believe you let me do this.”

Kohga and Sooga were in Kohga’s bath, and both were in the middle of undoing their hair from their classic yiga styling. Kohga chuckled as he fluffed it up in his hands.

“What? Be in my bathroom?”

“Yes. Many of us find it a rather sacred place, and it means a lot, that you deem me worthy of this.”

“‘Worthy’ this and ‘worthy’ that with you. I like you, and you look good naked, it ain’t that deep.”

He held Sooga’s face in his hand, lightly squeezing his chin.

“BUT. It’s sweet, in a way, knowing it means something to you. It’s why I got you a little something.”

Kohga let go of his face, in order to dig into the cabinet. From it, he pulled out a yellow candle, giving it to Sooga.

“This is...for me?”

“Yeah, your favorite is those electric Safflina , right? Saw this candle at the market yesterday, figured you’d really like it.”

“Oh. That’s...very kind of you to remember. Thank you.”

“God you’re smiling that big, dumb smile of yours. Just light it and get in the tub with me.”

Kohga always waved off any sort of praise from Sooga like that. Such simple gestures were nothing to Kohga, but they were everything to Sooga. Sooga lit the candle (along with god knows how many others Kohga liked to have around), before joining him in the tub. There was something so indulgent about Kohga’s tub. Full of flowers, steam, and fragrances, it was like a spa. And what else did a spa have? A handsome guy there to give just the best spa treatment. Aka, Sooga, massaging his scalp in his favorite shampoo.

“Master Kohga, please stop squirming, you know it needs to sit for a moment.”

“Wouldn’t squirm if you’d stop touchin’ my damn ears!”

“...Your ears are cute, I never get to see them.”

Kohga grumbled something about Sooga being a sap, before he begrudgingly let Sooga continue. Sooga, ever since he was allowed in the bath, assumed full responsibility of making sure Kohga was clean. It was annoying, but it was cute, and less work on his end. Plus...it felt nice, having those big, nice hands roaming his frame. It was nice, how careful he was with him. And how there wasn’t a single spot he wouldn’t clean. From his back, to his arms...right to his legs. Kohga leaned up against Sooga, and stopped his hand as soon as it went between his legs. He didn’t wash there TOO much, for ‘honors sake’ as he put it, but why would he have Sooga half ass something with him? Just wasn’t right.

“You know Sooga, you really should take more care of me, if I let you do this.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m saying you need to really clean me here. If YOU’RE gonna do it, do it right.”

Kohga saw the wheels turning in his big, dumb head, and it took him SO long to process what he meant.

“Ah. I see. I suppose I have been slacking, Master Kohga. Please, do forgive me.”

He wrapped an arm around Kohga, before using his other hand to start to lightly stroke Master Kohga’s cock. He was always so slow at first. It was cute, but god dammit Kohga liked his shit right out of the gate. He was going to complain about it, before Sooga leaned down, and pressed his lips against Kohga’s, It was soft, smooth kiss, and it kinda made Kohga forget that Sooga’s hand could be going MUCH faster. Kohga chuckled once they parted, cupping the side of his face.

“Now THIS is way more like it. You know, I like a LOT of things about you, but my favorite thing has gotta be those hands of yours. Though, the hair is a damn close second.”

He wasn’t gonna be the only one getting something out of their little bathtime. He watched Sooga slightly melt as Kohga dug his fingers through his hair, giving it just an ever so slight pull. Sooga chuckled, clearly not expecting Kohga to get frisky in return.

“I like many things about you as well. Your way with words, your nice hair, your ever so skilled hands…”

Sooga’s thoughts drifted off as Kohga pulled him into another kiss, chuckling into it. Sooga lightly squeezed at his balls, before returning to stroking his nice, thick cock. It was borderline romantic, how he was treating Kohga. Not his usual cup of tea, but...Kohga liked Sooga. A lot. Kohga chuckled, lightly shaking his head as Sooga gave him such a loving set of puppy dog eyes.

“Ha. You love me. Idiot. You got the biggest, fattest crush on me.”

“I do, I really, really do.”

Sooga chuckled, quickening his pace on his hand just a little bit. He knew his Master liked it fast, but Sooga MUCH preferred it when they took things slow. It was cute, watching his Master slowly unravel in his hands. He pressed his lips against his bare shoulder, sighing at the soft, aromatic skin.

“Even eight pack Sidon?”

“I do like you. I like you so very much, I can’t imagine myself really liking anyone but you.”

“Even him.”

“Even the Goron Sweetheart, Daruk?”

“That’s you, Master Kohga.”

Kohga looked up at him, as if he was offended. So what if he was stroking his cock in a nice and hot bath? Didn’t mean he could talk shit.

“Excuse me, I can’t be the only one here who thinks Gorons are hot as hell.”

“You must be, because quite frankly, I don’t. Daruk is...sweet, and rather simple. Not my type.”

“It’s mine. Makes sense why I like you. Especially when you tie that with the pretty hair, I like the pretty hair.”

Sooga took his turn to huf, burying his face in the crook of his Master’s neck, speeding up his palm just a little.

“...who has the better hair?”

“Don’t tell me you’re getting into a pissing contest with DARUK of all people.”

“I am not. It’s just a question.”

Kohga laughed, sort of finding it hard to think as Sooga’s hand was starting to speed up still. THIS was way more like it.

“Look, I like YOU, what does it matter?”

“It doesn’t answer my question.”

“You jealous dog.”

Kohga chuckled, leaning up to peck at his neck. He sighed as he relaxed in Sooga’s arms, starting to feel that build up in his gut. He let Sooga look at him in eagerness, before he finally relented.

“You BOTH have pretty hair. But trust me, I like yours a lot better. He’s the sorta ‘dumb blonde’ type. While it’s cute, I like yours a lot better. Super soft and long. I like YOU a lot more, Sooga.”

“Good. While I have no qualms with you being in bed with others...I dislike the idea that you’d like them better than me.”

Jealous little Sooga, muttering his bitterness right into Kohga’s ear as his hand started to very quickly pump his cock, making him squirm in his grip. Kohga laughed, digging his fingers in his hair, and giving it a nice, good pull.

“It’s like food, Sooga. I like Tabantha bakes, but no way would I take them over my bananas. I don’t like anyone more than you.”

“I don’t know, I see how often you look at Rhoam’s rear end.”

“Listen, dude’s got some thunder cheeks, I can’t stop that.”

They both shared a snicker at that. While they were somewhat kidding, Kohga DID think Rhoam was such a dilf.

“You’re such a unique man, Master Kohga. I know I personally couldn’t love anyone more than you. No one. No one is prettier than you, no one is as sweet as you, no one plagues my thoughts like you do. There isn’t anyone in the world more hunky than you.”

Kohga didn’t need much else. Aside from the fact that his palm was working so fast against him, those sweet, honest words were enough to make Kohga cum, clinging onto Sooga’s arm as he did just that. He laid against Sooga as he sighed in relief, though it didn’t last long, given the fact that Sooga started to decorate his face in kisses. Kohga laughed, pushing his face away.

“Sooga come ON! You just made me cum, can you give me two seconds before you get all mushy gushy on me?”

“No. Because I love you so much, I want to be the only one in your thoughts. Not Daruk, not anyone.”

“Even Link?”

“...”

Sooga suddenly got out of the bath, covering himself in a towel. Kohga cocked his head from the tub.

“Where are you going?”

“I have a knight to neuter.”

“Sooga, come on, enough joking, that’s-wait why do you have your sword? Sooga? SOOGA NO-”

[soyeahitsmiddleearth]

*not sure how this works, but here goes...* Imagine meeting the company in Bag End, but they don't know you're mute. There's question as to whether or not you should even come on the quest because you don't even have a sign language in the Shire (how will you signal any trouble, call for help, etc). You have some skill throwing knives and can whistle quite loud. There's debate amongst the company about teaching you the secret dwarven sign language (objections being from the older members mainly)

OH MY GOD THIS IS MY 100TH CHAPTER (on ao3)!! Should I do something special for it?

Also for this one I kinda just imagined Tinkerbell (Peter Pan) when writing the reader? Idk. Tinkerbell is quiet, feisty, clever, and like, the best? So I used her for inspiration.

---

You weren't born like this. 

For the first few years of your life you could speak, scream, cry, whisper, and make usual noises like every other child.

You were not a disliked child whatsoever, but you were always quite small, small even for a hobbit, and were also considered rather odd. The other kids considered you odd because you didn't like to play the games children usually liked playing, nor were you particularly good with conversing with others. Other children made you nervous, so you avoided them. 

Unfortunately, they took your avoidance for you being stuck-up and mean, so they often liked to pick on you and torment you for things. The fact that your older brother Bilbo would always stick up for you didn't help this fact either. 

It happened when you were 8; the incident that lost you your voice.

Some of the other Shire children were being mean to you as usual, throwing things and running after you when you tried to get away, and they chased you up a tree. They were armed with branches, rocks, and various other 'weapons' which you didn't much like being hit with, and so you raced up a tree and hid from them in the high branches to wait them out. 

You tried to call for help several times, but you were too far away for any adults to hear your cries, and at one point one of the children nailed you right in the head with stick. 

You fell from the tree screaming, and when you hit the ground, you never made another noise again. 

The fall damaged your larynx, and while you can still do things like hum, cough, and make some simpler noises, you cannot laugh, speak, or even whisper. 

That may sound horrible, but you actually got lucky all things considered, since many larynx fractures and damages can be life-threatening. 

Suffice to say nobody messed with you after that, though it's very sad that it took a life altering injury to stop your torment. 

You have long since given up your anger and hate for what happened to you that day, though sometimes you do feel a great deal of frustration for not being able to voice your thoughts or outright tell people what you mean or need. 

With all the negatives that come with being mute, however, come some positives as well. 

For example, you are a master of silence and stealth in your own right, you're an excellent listener (not that you can reply anyways), you've made good on plenty of other talents like writing and cooking with your brother to name some, you've got excellent aim, and your patience and charades skills are unrivaled. 

So when Gandalf the Grey comes about one lovely morning and proposes an adventure for you and your brother, suffice to say you were overjoyed to finally do something. 

The first meeting with those rowdy dwarfs was a doozy, and you got lots of questions about why you wouldn't speak, though, clearly, you couldn't answer them. 

When Gandalf announced that you and Bilbo would be coming along there was a lot of apprehension, and not just because you're mute either. 

Bilbo is, quite literally, the softest and least durable hobbit in the entirety of the Shire; and mix that with a verbally challenged hobbit as well? 

Suffice to say there was a lot of protest, but Gandalf shut it all down without hesitation and demanded that the two of you be welcomed onto the trip and treated fairly. 

Bilbo didn't want to go, and at some point he passed out and a bunch of things happened, but you made up your mind and let Gandalf know that you would do it with or without Bilbo. 

He can't look after you forever, after-all. 

You were as silent as usual that next morning while everyone traveled, joked, and placed bets on whether or not Bilbo would show up, but you were fairly certain that he would arrive eventually - so you didn't worry much about it. 

Some of the dwarfs tried to make small talk with you while you rode along with them, and though they knew you couldn't verbally respond, you still did your best to act out what you wanted to say; that, or you let your facial expression do the talking for you. 

It seemed that you could get your point across pretty well too, either that or they were sparing your feelings and pretending to understand, because they give an appropriate response to you each time. 

Bilbo did, ultimately, show up at some point, and from there the journey really began. 

---

Your inability to speak really does make things a lot harder a lot of the time, but you usually manage to push through. 

No matter what weaknesses you have because you've spent so much of your life in silence, the strengths always shine through in the end. 

This is one of those times. 

Fili and Kili managed to lose track of some of the horses and stumble upon three trolls, and then they had the bright idea to send in you and your brother to retrieve them! 

Obviously you both did it, but unfortunately Bilbo got caught and all the dwarfs came out and began to fight the trolls with everything they have. It wasn't enough, though, for soon they are all bagged and piled up. 

You got lucky and managed to hide in a nearby bush, and while you know for a fact that you can't take on three trolls by yourself, you can certainly find a way to release the poor. frightened ponies. 

Eventually, once the trolls are completely distracted by other things, you creep out from beneath the bush and army man crawl towards the little pen they made. 

The forgotten weapon lay there on the ground next to the gate, and without hesitation you pick it up and start to saw away at the rope holding it shut. 

Like usual you manage to go by unnoticed up to the end, and once the rope is cut, you open up the gate and watch as the ponies rush away at top speed. 

"Oi!" One of the trolls yell when it notices the fleeing ponies, taking a few quick steps in their general direction before another one of the trolls tells him to forget about it since they've got something better. 

"But how did they get out?" The same troll asks suspiciously, looking over in your direction. 

When he turns towards you, you dive to the ground and hide behind one of the supporting pillars of the gate, squeezing your eyes shut while your heart hammers in your chest when loud footsteps approach. 

Even though you know he can't hear you, you still find yourself holding your breath and awaiting his descent upon you. 

Only it never comes. 

"Huh..." The troll grunts, then turns and rejoins his troll friends around the slow roasting dwarves they've tied above their fire. 

You slowly poke your head up and look at the backs of the trolls who are gathered around the fire, then you glance over at the pile of dwarfs and meet Thorin's gaze from across the way. 

Slowly you bring up your hand and point at yourself, then point at him and make an untying motion with your hands. 

He glances at the busy trolls, then down at the dwarfs by his feet before looking over at you again and slowly nodding his head. 

As soon as you get confirmation you drop back low to the ground and carefully pick your way through the underbrush and manage to avoid crunching or snapping any dead leaves and sticks that may be in your way. 

Eventually, you manage to sneak your way over to the rock just above Thorin, and once you're sure none of the trolls are looking in your direction, you slide down it and land right next to him. 

He looks at you and whispers, "As quiet as a mouse, as always." 

With slightly shaky hands, you begin to try and undo the ties keeping him contained in the sack, but it seems that the knot is rather sturdy since you can't get your fingers into any of the holes in the rope. 

You tug on it a bit and furrow your eyebrows in frustration, going in to pick at it some more before he whispers again, "They're looking this way, hide!" 

As soon as the words leave his mouth you drop to the floor and roll over so you're hiding behind the stack o' dwarfs and fit yourself between Thorin and Balin's legs, reaching up discreetly to begin working at the knot entrapping Gloin. 

It's around this time that you hear Bilbo begin to speak and try to convince the trolls to let them go, though his logic doesn't do much, so you start to work faster 

You're so engrossed on freeing him that you don't notice the loud and large footsteps coming back towards you, and it's not until you hear, "What's all this then?" that you realize you've made a mistake. 

It's unfortunate too, cause you just managed to get Gloin free from his bindings. 

The back of your shirt is lifted suddenly, and then you're in the air next while the dwarfs you were trying to free start to yell and freak out, and Bilbo cries your name in a panic. 

You flail your arms and kick your legs, swinging your fists and beating on the hand holding you by your shirt while you mouth silent curses at the troll. 

"What's this? Another hobbit?" The troll asks, lifting you up to eye level so he can see you more clearly. 

You lash out and hit it right in it's big ugly nose, feeling a moment of triumph when it yelps and reaches up with it's other hand to rub it's abused nose. When that works, you start to beat on it's stupid face more, but before you can get in much more it pulls you away from it's face and starts to shake you back and fourth quickly. 

Troll uses earthquake; it is very effective. 

In seconds you're in a daze and left dizzy when it stops shaking you back and fourth. 

"Well now what? Can we eats that too?" The one with the lower pitched voice asks, looking at the other two while it resumes its turning of the dwarfs hovering over the fire. 

"Of course we can! Go get another bag." The higher pitched one holding you states, dropping you onto the ground from up high. 

When you hit the ground with a silent 'oof' you smack your head and the dizziness increases, but you still hear Gandalf's booming voice and the yelling of the trolls as they turn to stone when the light hits their skin. 

Slowly you push yourself up to your hands and knees and press a hand to your aching head, whining softly when the throbbing gets worse as you move. 

"Y/N!" Bilbo calls from behind you , worry clear in his voice. 

The sound of his voice snaps you out of your stupor, so you hurriedly get to your feet and scramble over to him with slightly wobbly steps, immediately going to the knot holding him in the sack and cutting him loose. 

Once he's freed, he reaches up and moves your head out of your face to check for any injuries, and when he sees none he sighs in relief. "You're not hurt anywhere, are you?" 

You shake your head no, then point over at the still trapped dwarfs, Gloin being the only one free at the moment while he tries to free Bombur from his prison. 

He seems to understand your point right away and nods his head, walking over to them so he can release them. 

You look around the camp for a moment while Gandalf rejoins you all and grab one of the heavy discarded swords, bringing it over to Gandalf then pointing at the few suspended in air and no doubt roasting hot in their position. 

The elderly wizard smiles at you kindly and accepts the blade, immediately going over to cut loose those still stuck. 

When you turn back around almost everyone is freed, and you find an unconscious smile spreading across your face when you see that they're all okay. 

Bilbo bounds over to you as soon as he's done freeing them, though not before getting some praise for his quick thinking and distraction that saved Bombur's life and gave Gandalf more time to free them, and when you overhear their praise of him your smile broadens. 

"But of course, Y/N provided an excellent distraction as well. Gave the young one a good beating." Thorin muses while he dusts off his coat and trousers, looking at you with a pleased expression on his face. 

You can feel your face heating up slightly at the compliment, but your smile remains and you nod your head eagerly in thanks. 

"Though, I suppose your job would be a fair bit easier if we could properly communicate with you..." He adds slowly, reaching up to stroke his beard lightly. 

Your joy deflates at that, and right away your smile is replaced with a pout.

There is no unspoken form of the language you once spoke, for if there was, you would've learned it a long time ago. Of course you can write well, but there's no time to write what you're thinking in the middle of a conflict. 

Bilbo sighs and shakes his head, "There is no other language for her to speak. I have no knowledge of any other signed languages, unfortunately." 

A few moments of silence pass on by before Bofur hesitantly suggests, "We could teacher her some iglishmêk." 

As soon as the words leave his mouth there is some protesting from Balin, Oin, and a few others, them saying things like, "only dwarfs can speak iglishmêk," "that's a horrible idea," and, "that's against our customs!" 

Bofur shrinks under the scolding and yelling of the older members of the company, but Thorin, surprisingly, says nothing. 

Kili comes to Bofur's rescue, thankfully for him, and states, "Well we need to communicate somehow! I think it's a good idea. We all know it, and I think it would be beneficial to the group." 

HIs brother nods in agreement as well as some of the other younger dwarfs, meanwhile you, Bilbo, and Gandalf kinda just sit back and watch them argue it out for a few moments.

It's not until something catches you eye that you leave the arguing, and once you catch sight of that odd glimmer from somewhere off to the right you follow it.

Nobody notices you slip away as per usual, but no matter, for you've just found a lovely gold coin. 

Right before you turn to go show everyone, you see another, and then another, all the way leading to a big hole in the ground. 

You can tell it has a strong stench even from your spot above it, but your curiosity gets the best of you so you venture cautiously into the small tunnel and see various things inside. There's some bones, more gold, a whole bunch of weapons, some random trinkets and horse saddles, and, like mentioned before, an awful smell. 

"Where did Y/N go?" You hear someone ask loudly suddenly, and right away you remember that you shouldn't go wandering off alone.

You crawl back out of the slippery slope and pop your head up out of the ground, seeing everyone looking around frantically for you. Since you can't yell for them, you take one of the gold coins you collected and chuck it at them, hitting Thorin in the back with it.

He turns and sees you, and right away his shoulders relax and he calls, "There you are! Why are you all the way over there?"

You gesture for them to come over with a 'come here' wave of your hand, then walk out of the cave completely and point at the hole in the ground when they come over. 

A few of them go in, but you stay outside with Bilbo this time and look at the handful of coins you collected from inside there. 

Bilbo looks at them over your shoulder and states, "As far as I'm concerned, you have first claim over everything in that tunnel." 

You look up at him with a big smile on your face and laugh soundlessly, shaking your head at his words. You only found it after all, that's nothing too special or hard, and it was the gleam of a coin that caught your attention anyways. 

To show him this, you lift up one of the coins and shrug your shoulders, then point back down at the cave and shrug again. 

"I know you think it was nothing, but you always manage to find and do things that later help us out. You're by far the best of us." 

You pout at that and shake your head in disagreement, putting the handful of coins into your pocket so you can cross your arms over your chest. 

"Don't you look at me like that. You know I'm right." A smile creeps onto his face while the two of you jokingly argue back and fourth, for he's missed this wordless banter (on your part) between the two of of you. "Just take a compliment for once, won't you?" 

A little longer do you stare at him, but when he doesn't waver or relent, you sigh and nod your head.

"You seem to understand those gestures and facial expressions really well." Balin comments from off to the side, smiling at the two of you with that same old sweet and cheery expression on his face. "It's like you know what Y/N is thinking." 

"Well to some extent, I do. We're siblings after all, and we've been around each other since even before the silence came about." Bilbo explains, putting an arm around your shoulders in a very brotherly manner. 

You nod your head in agreement and look over at Balin with a smile of your own. Honestly, you don't know where you'd be if you didn't have someone like Bilbo to understand you. 

A moment of silence passes by where you all just look at each other before Balin's smile lessens and he sighs, "Maybe we should teach you iglishmêk..." 

That certainly makes you brighten up. 

Oh how you crave the ability to properly communicate with others, so if they teach you and Bilbo this secret sign-language then you'll be able to properly talk to him for once, to talk to them too. 

You get up and walk over to Balin, kissing his rosy cheek lightly while the smile on your face remains just as vibrant and happy as before. 

Oh, you hope that they will. 

[mor-beck-more-problems]

The White Crest Job || Morgan & Felix

TIMING: Current

PARTIES: @streetharmacist & @mor-beck-more-problems

SUMMARY: Morgan and Felix take a field trip to rescue a very important item from an auction house on Erin’s behalf.

CONTAINS: gun use, violence

Stupidity got people killed. Talking got people killed. Now both in the same suit? They did a bang up job with that kinda thing. As Felix waited and tapped his feet, he had to attribute that to why he had a cooler full of brain on a weeknight. One man’s stupidity was another’s advantage and the fae kept that in mind. There was that telltale jittering under his skin, that sensation before a job and the wonderment at whether or not it would be pulled off. After everything, he felt more than ready to tag in. Erin had gone through enough and she could use a night off of crime. As it worked out, he could use a night of crime. Desperately. With a little luck and pixie dust, he and Morgan might be able to come bearing good news that would make the whole thing sting a little less.

At the sight of Morgan approaching, he stood up from the rickety bench and adjusted his suit tie. It was a special night at the auction house and he wore some of his sharpest attire. He smiled at her and waved. “It’s real nice to see you, Morgan,” he greeted. “You excited?” They were about to walk into the mouth of some sort of beast but as long as they had their eye on the prize, it should be fine. He reached for the cooler and offered it to her. “I got something for ya. One of Roy’s finest. I wanna say the old sport worked at the auction house.” His grin grew. “Not anymore though.”

Morgan could swear her body was vibrating with the need to do something straightforward and easy. Or at least easier than the past few weeks had been. Sure, the primary criminal activity of her life had been charging people for rocks she transmuted from dirt and trash, but Morgan was nothing if not a good student, and being a walking dead girl leant itself to certain advantages. Mushrooms could strike, ghosts could rise from the deep, worlds could fall apart, but Morgan’s limbs would always grow back shiny and limber no matter how many times they snapped off. And this errand, at least, was for a good cause. Morgan rolled up the sleeves of her turtleneck and beamed at the fae waiting for her. “Sorry I’m late, I wasn’t sure what the dress code was for our clandestine date,” she said with a smirk. “Me? Oh I’m ready to dance. It’s been a rough fall, and Erin’s one of my best friends. It’s kinda nice, having something to do that makes an easy kind of sense. All the steps are clear. No back-and-forth, no second guessing.”

She shook her worries back to the far side of her mind and turned to the cooler. “Mother of earth,” she chuckled. “Dinner and dancing? If this is how you treat your friends, Bea’s a luckier gal than I thought.” Flipping open the lid, she fished out the sliced brain, wrapped in sandwich paper like a happy meal burger. Tentatively, hoping that the old whoever had at least been a nice gangster, she took a bite. “Is this to help me blend in?” She asked between bites. “Because I’ll have you know I’ve killed a woman with just my own sparkling personality bouncing around my head.” She took another bite, moaning with pleasure. “Not that I’m complaining, obviously. Think this’ll magically download everything he knew about this place?”

Felix beamed as much as he safely could in return. He intended to save that old song and dance for a special occasion. One maybe an hour or so away, he thought. They would just have to see how the night went. As it was, he was more than interested in seeing an auction hall go off the deep end. The job that he and Morgan had on their docket took precedence over seeing a few strangers lose it for a bit. He smiled at her and was inclined to agree. He did as much with a tip of his head. It did make an easy sort of sense, didn’t it? Easy as snapping a neck. They just needed to get their hands on it first. “Right there with you, my friend. See, I think this’ll be good for us. All of us.” A brow lifted. “I think we got a real nice night ahead of us. As for everybody else in there?” He shrugged.

At the mention of Bea, an easy smile slid into place and his skin warmed. Buzzed even. He didn’t want to think of the night going any way but up for them. He had a gal to get home to. He was sure Morgan could relate. “You know, I’d say we’re all pretty lucky,” he said as he framed his chin with his thumb and index finger. “You, me, Bea, and Deirdre!” As much as he knew that they could spend the rest of the night waxing poetic about their loves, they had some skulls to crack. Speaking of...It didn’t bother him when Morgan took to the brain. Over the years he had developed an iron stomach, of all things. Blood and brain, guts and bone. It all sorta mushed together. He struck a match and lit a thin cigarette. He considered dust briefly earlier in the evening. The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced he wouldn’t need it. Smoke billowed out of his mouth and curled around his glasses as he laughed. “Oh hell, I believe you,” he said with a smile. “I’m not too familiar with how the ol’ brain works, especially in this sorta case, but I think it’ll be a nice thing to have on our side. Y’know, the whole knowing is half the battle thing?” He offered Morgan the crook of his elbow. “Ready to paint this whole gig red?”

“I guess we are lucky, huh,” Morgan mused, smiling into her next bite. Stars above, it tasted so good, she had to ask herself why she didn’t do this more often. She groaned shamelessly as the rich, meaty flavor spread over her tongue. “Felix, you’re making me miss my Texas burgers,” she said, smirking with her mouth half full. “Tell you the truth, I could use a lucky night. I know you’re not supposed to let the bastards get you down, but stars, it’s...fucking hard sometimes. But!” She scarfed down the last of her brain. Nothing felt immediately off the way the urge to listen to a hockey game that night at Erin’s had felt off, but she did feel a little more verve and fire in her bones as she got to her feet. She took Felix’s arm and grinned up at him. “Felix, pal, I’m ready to dance like there’s no tomorrow. I just got one question for ya.” She quirked up a brow at him, nodding to his car and the joint they were about to bust open. “What kinda guns you got stashed in your car? I’m feelin’ like blowing some fireworks.”

“That’s why I’m a big advocate of getting back at the bastards!” Felix said cheerily. Whether it was through bloody footprints or a bullet in the head, things had a way of coming back around. “Nothing really perks up the spirit like some old fashioned vengeance and looking good while doing it. But this is business tonight. The rest can come later.” Heck, would it. The amount of receipts they owed people had started to stack itself high. “Oh, Morgan, I’m so glad you asked. I think you’ll like it,” he said as he looked at her. The tone of her voice, the fire behind it, danced a little differently and he couldn’t help but grin. It reminded him of an old friend. Tommy Toblerone, a fella that had earned his name from the rather unorthodox and sweet ways he could take a person out. “I had to leave the Tommys at home since I don’t think we wanna get the toys taken away early and all.” After he tugged on a pair of black leather gloves as a safety precaution, he pulled out a .38 Smith & Wesson and a .357 Magnum. Without a second thought, he handed her the magnum revolver and a handful of cartridges. “I think you’ll like that one,” he said smoothly as he slid the .38 into the inside pocket of his suit jacket. “I’m more about slicing and dicing myself but I got this one just in case. Old faithful! Been awhile since she’s seen action but I’m feeling good about tonight. You?”

Morgan loaded the revolver. She hated guns, didn’t know the first thing about them except how to hide from one thanks to all the safety videos she’d had to watch for all her shitty jobs. But her hands spun the cylinder and admired the shine of the metal in the night like it was something familiar. Something powerful, even cozy. She loaded the chambers, then popped the beauty back into place. She stroked the frame, smiling at the moon’s reflection. “I feel like a shiny new penny,” she said.

Millie Mayfield didn’t like being interrupted from her movie time, but Roy wasn’t dicking around when he said please, honey, so instead of watching pretty teenagers get cut up by a chainsaw, Millie was getting her boots dirty slipping in to take some delicate goods off the hands of the less deserving. If she could only do it without the B-Squad posse, she might even have herself a good night. “Hey, Mac?” She asked, twirling her bat as she approached the guy behind her. It wasn’t the same as her cheerleader batons, but it killed the time in a pinch. “Can you run and get me some McDonald’s? One of the really sad, dried up specials. You can tell when their tag says FIVE YEARS! With a party hat sticker. Pretty please with cream cheese?”

Mac would, because Roy also said she was in charge, and he knew she’d bust his kneecaps into confetti if he didn’t.

Something rattled at the end of the warehouse. Company. Roy hadn’t mentioned anything about it being a party, but she was an adaptable girl. Millie sauntered into the warehouse, bat held out and ready to strike. She signaled to Mac to get out his gun. “It’s not nice to gate crash,” she called inside, her voice almost sing-song. “If you came to play with the big kids, let’s play.”

As fun as it would have been to crack a couple jokes at the expense of the rich, Felix and Morgan didn’t have that luxury. They had a docket to make a couple checkmarks on. As it went, his patience was thin to nonexistent. Maybe it was because of the mushrooms or maybe it was because things had a way of not going their way lately. He checked over his knives and the gun in his hand. Even clicked his heels for the knife he kept there. All in tip-top shape. The knives were slid back into place. The back of the auction house had a padlock on it but that didn’t matter much as he jimmied it open with a grin flashed Morgan’s way. The chain rattled as the fae toed the door open. From where they stood, there seemed to be plenty of shadows.

Perfect. That good feeling fluttered in his chest again. Even when a voice called out. As a pair of steps entered the auction house’s backroom. Even better. If there were ever a night to have a tussle, it would be this one. He slipped off to the left. Slipped into darkness.

“Do me a favor and let us know when they show up, yeah?” He took his switchblade in hand. “Much appreciated.”

Millie had two choices. Go for the goods, or go for the party crashers. Roy said the merchandise would be small, easy to miss. Not exactly something you could nab with some sleeze pulling your hair. Besides, Millie never turned her back on a fight. “Real funny, Tricky Dicky. Maybe you should run back home to the kiddie p--” A gunshot burned through the air and into her chest. “Ow!” Millie looked down at the scorch mark in her dress. “That was genuine vintage!” She shrieked.

There was still smoke at the end of Morgan’s revolver when she realized her mistake. This dame wasn’t the kind you pinned down with a bum shoulder or a busted kneecap. For all her grousing about the clothes, there wasn’t even a lick of blood coming out of the wound. It had been a rookie mistake, thinking she’d go down easy. This dame wasn’t human anymore than Morgan was. “Sorry, sweet cheeks. I don’t make exceptions for people who get in my way. Equal rights and all that,” she said, stepping into the light. She risked a glance at Felix, who was visible only by his switchblade. She hoped he was watching too, that he saw her little nod to go for the gold. She could keep one little dame busy for him. “You might wanna dance back to your go-go party before this gets worse. It’d be a shame to knock such a pretty block off.”

Millie was already marching forward, bat ready. “Try me, bitch.”

Nothing like the sound of a revolver and the smell of spent gunpowder to remind Felix of home. Let alone a heist! The fae tipped his blade Morgan’s way before he started to climb over boxes and through shadows. What they were after was small, easily concealed. But if he had heard right, it packed one hell of a punch. A bullet that would be real damn nice for them to have in the chamber. While Morgan dealt with the dame with the bat, he’d get what they needed. The light of a waning moon overhead bled through the smallest tear in the roof. Caught on something that shone with iridescence. He sure as heck hoped it was the something they were after. There wasn’t any hesitance to the way he moved toward it, hard-charging if there ever was any.

A hard charge into a forearm that caught him right across the throat. He puffed out a few breaths as he skittered back and recuperated enough to bring him to his feet, back into the shadows. His throat smarted as he looked at what had caught him. A forked tongue flicked out of a fanged mouth. Their head swiveled to follow him as Felix moved. They had a knife too. One with a jagged sort of blade.

“I can smell you, shadow.”

Morgan had seen too much violence since coming to White Crest to mistake the sound of a fight. The smirk on her lips flickered as she turned. “Felix—?”

“You got way bigger problems than that, Dollface,” the same sneered. She swung her bat, hard enough to knock Morgan off her balance.

Her head felt like it was off kilter, but that was just her skull bones bending around the wound. It was right again in seconds and Morgan leveled her revolver again to fire off another round, this one landing square into the girl’s eye. Faintly, she knew she hated guns. The sound, the way they looked, how they went from zero to disaster with just a bang. But something strange in her liked it too. She readied another shot, but the dame was already charging her, anger blazing out of her now ruined face. She was hell in high heels and creamsicle orange. Hell and payback. The bullet hadn’t even moved her an inch. Morgan threw away her gun, useless, and tried to run. A hand caught her by the hair by the hair and dragged her back.

“Zombie, huh? This is gonna be fun.”

“Morgan, ya alright?” Felix’s eyes were ahead but his ears were behind him. His expression wavered from one of confidence to one of concern. He liked Morgan. A great deal. And they had people to get home to, let alone a fucking point to get across. Any wavering halted. When he moved, the lamia’s eyes followed him. They placed themselves as a body between the box full of iridescence and the lampade itching to get his hands on it. Felix slipped his jacket off and wadded it up. It could be said that Felix was a planner but as he rocked off his heels and went forward, not much thought went into it. The lamia struck out, their knife cutting easy through the fabric. The tip nicked Felix’s palm as he let go and danced back. The lamia’s tongue flicked out again as he stepped through the shadows.

The fae hit his heel against the ground hard enough to spring the knife from his shoe before he lunged forward with a kick. The lamia was larger than him, muscle packed tight together, and he felt it when the knife in his shoe clipped through the lamia’s suit pants to lodge itself in. It wasn’t the strongest of knives and it broke off as Felix pulled his foot back. The lamia jabbed at him again with the knife and cut a line of black, ink blood across his chest. Felix hissed then grinned as he rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt, switchblade still in hand.

“Alright, alright,” he muttered out with a laugh. “So much for working this out, huh?”

The next time, it was the lamia that moved to meet him in the dark. Knives out.

Morgan caught the dame’s hands and twirled in her grasp, getting enough space to knee her in the stomach, get a new grip on her arms, and throw her into a stack of crates. She didn’t run this time, but picked up her opponent and slam her down again. Maybe if she’d been some lousy human, it would’ve broken her in a couple of pieces, but this girl wasn’t the type to roll over easy. She pulled out a knife from the front of her shirt. It wasn’t big enough to lob off her head, not quickly anyway, but her eyes burned red and Morgan realized she was staring down a bonafide vampire.

They tousled, slinging blows with all their strength and all the ruthlessness of two women desperate for a win. No more maybe this times. Morgan was walking out of here with her prize for Erin. With something done the right way. Crates shattered under Morgan as the dame threw her again. Glass and powder spilled onto the floor. Morgan didn’t care, those goods weren’t her problem. She grabbed some of the broken wood and swung it hard enough to crack the damn thing to bits. When she was through, she had a nice stake sized piece, sharp and jagged, as far as the stuff went.

The vampire dame snarled and leapt out of her reach.

“What’s the matter, doll?” Morgan asked. “I thought we were gonna dance.” If nothing else, she sure as hell hoped Felix found this magic blade soon.

It had been a hot minute since Felix had been in a knife fight. After everything that had happened, he supposed it was only a matter of time. As he weaved through the shadows of the warehouse, the lamia was there with him. His glamour had dropped the more that black wisps of blood smoked out of his dress shirt. Knife fights were ugly, feral affairs. He couldn’t help but grin as he ducked back from the lamia’s swipe. Only for him to come to a stop as a painful tug spread pain along the top of his skull. The lamia’s hand was wrapped around the main beam of his right antler, close to the fork. Felix reared his head back and flipped the knife in his hand to stab at the lamia’s hand. The blade nicked skin but it wasn’t much. The lamia who had him locked in place kicked at the side of his leg and brought him down hard to his knees.

His eyes widened and flashed white as the lamia brought the serrated edge of his knife to the bone. Felix frantically shook his head violently and tried to rear back. Dig his heels into the ground to force himself back into the dark. It didn’t matter. The lamia would find him and he wasn’t going anywhere.

The lamia knew what he was doing. Maybe it hadn’t been the first time for them. But it had been the first time for Felix. Breakage. The crack deafened him. Dulled his senses to anything other than pain and pure, undiluted rage. As the antler separated from him, the lamia stepped back from the force of it. Felix was on them in an instant as he threw his full weight into him. The antler clattered from their grasp and the fae took it in hand. Didn’t second guess when he started to plunge it through the lamia’s scales. The ones that lined their neck, their chest, their organs. All the soft parts that made the rest crumble.

He didn’t realize he was yelling until the lamia went still underneath him and inhuman blood splashed his chest. His chest heaved as he sat back, eyes wide and wild. His throat hurt. His head hurt. Momentarily, he forgot what they were there for until his eyes locked on the box and he brought himself to stand. Antler still in hand, he went to it and looked back to where he could hear the sound of Morgan’s own scuffle.

“Morgan,” he rasped out. “Fucking kill her, huh?”

They were bounding through the warehouse, chasing each other like filthy animals. Somewhere between running around crates, the dame found Morgan’s gun and had herself a nice time driving the rest of the bullets into her body. The steam was still on the muzzle when the wounds healed up, but the rounds must’ve sounded like pennies from heaven all the same. She heard the shouting and stopped to turn. It was the wrong move. The dame’s bat smashed against her skull, hard enough to send sparks through her vision.

“Maybe get the fucking knife, huh?” Morgan called back.

She still had a grip on the stake, but the vampire was hanging around her like a goddamn flying monkey. Morgan lost count of how many surfaces she bashed her into befor she let go and slid off. It wasn’t every day you regretted bringing a gun to a knife fight, but that was White Crest for you. Morgan pinned the dame down and decked her with her fist. Felix hadn’t sounded so hot when he called out to her. They needed to end this quickly. The stake came up--and splintered in the vampire’s grip. Morgan didn't even see her arms come up to knock her down, just the view of those damn go-go boots as she ran away. Good riddance.

“That’s gonna be a ‘negative’ on that kill,” she groaned, easing up to her feet. “But she’s out of our hair. Maybe some son of a gun hunter will have a better night. You find it yet?”

“If not,” Felix started as he approached the box. “I’m sure I can hire somebody. Plenty of fucking nobodies that wouldn’t mind getting a tooth or two from her.”

He tried to ignore the splinter ache in his head. Even as he tilted it, it felt lighter. Unbalanced. Uneven. His forehead felt wet and as he touched his fingertips to it, pulled them back, he saw more bloody wisps. His skin felt cold, his nerves even more so. The fae looked at Morgan with dim half-moon, a fist clenched around his broken antler. The knife sat unbothered atop a heap of fabric. With the exception of its glass blade, it was otherwise unexceptional. Bullets and blades for another kind of destruction. What the fuck else was new.

“I did. You alright?” The question was clipped with an aimless agitation. No, it wasn’t aimless. He knew exactly who he was pissed at. He gestured loosely at the knife and leered at it. “That’s the fucking thing right there. It better be worth it after all this shit.”

Morgan shuffled over to Felix, giving a whistle when she saw how worse for where he was. “You had a worse time than me. Guess Roy got the same tip we did, and wanted to get ahead of the game. And now that dame knows who Erin’s friends are. She’s gonna blab to Roy and give him the scoop.” Morgan spat on the ground, shaking her head. She was too small to see from the ground, but one hop onto one of the few crates that wasn’t busted and she could see what all the fuss was about.

The hilt wasn’t anything special, but the glass was a beaut, thick enough that you could spit on one end and not tell from the other, and serrated, brought to a deadly point. Morgan couldn’t imagine you made something like this in any old forge, but what did she know about this stuff. “In the right hands, it’ll stick Roy in the ground for good, and that ain’t nothing,” she said. “Come on, compadre. I’m feelin’ like a cigar. This ol’ brain is a doozie, and you need to get the edge off before that ride home.”

Felix made a low sound of affirmation. “It’s not every day you break an antler,” he intoned. It truly fucking wasn’t and his lip curled. “That sounds about par for the course in this town, huh? Word travels fast.” He glanced at the dead body of the lamia. Whether or not they had been close to Roy, he didn’t care. A dead body was a message all the same. He shrugged loosely as he looked back at Morgan. The night was still fun in its own way, breakage and bullets be damned. “Lucky us.”

“Think I’ll need more than a cigar but I ain’t about to turn that down,” he said with a glance to Morgan as he pieced his human glamour back together. His glasses were somewhere but he wasn’t in the mood to look for them. He wasn’t in the mood for much other than that cigar she offered. “Roy will be in the ground before he fucking knows it and y’know, I like the sound of that very much. Let’s get out of here. We did good and ought to treat ourselves to something nice.”

With the knife in their possession, they could leave the warehouse and good riddance to that. It’d be nice to burn it down, he thought. Burn it all down. His anger was loud and alive in his head. His hate. As they made to leave, one thought crossed his mind. Just how tired he was of only walking White Crest’s streets. He wanted to fucking own them.

[themidnightfarmer]

A one sided revelation || Luke & Jared

Timing: A while ago 

Location: Hardware store

Tagging: @lucastheunlucky & @themidnightfarmer

Description: A reunion, in which one party figures out a few secrets.

Triggers: none?

Jared was in for a real set back in his bank account. Not only had he bought a rather expensive beast from a guy he barely knew, but that beast had also required a few things to get comfortable on the farm. A few very expensive things. And even after that Jared had gained some houseguests. He wasn’t living a very budget friendly lifestyle so to speak, so the one thing that perhaps shouldn't have been suffering was going to have to suffer for the moment. He eyed the more expensive, stronger gate locks and mechanisms with a heavy heart. He was going to have a few very long nights until he sold his next crop watching the gates. Lifting the smaller cheaper lock into his hands he turned abruptly and recognised the man down the aisle with a jolt of realization. A smile slid onto his face and he called out, “Hey Luke!”

Luke’s heart jolted, mind immediately racing to who said that?! Hearing his name called anywhere always startled him a little, Gotch put that in him though, and he needed to break that bad habit. He’s not in deep hiding anymore, even if he was risking quite a lot walking around during the day after four, almost five years not being able to. Turning around and seeing Jared, grown up more, and smiling made Lucas’ insides melt at seeing an old face. One from childhood always stirred old memories. “Ah, man. Look at you. Still cute and shit--” he grinned back, and walked over to slap his hand. Lucas juggled his items into a bucket he was buying, and set it on the ground. “Are you in town? I didn’t realize it.”  

Luke was Luke, and no matter the time that had passed he was the same guy, it was good to see. At least on the surface that Jared could observe, Luke was the same as he’s always been. “I’ll forever be adorable.” Jared agreed with a laugh and a dramatic brush of his hand through nonexistent hair around his shoulders. “Never left, just been too busy to traverse the shops at regular people times, get things delivered to the farm directly now. It’s for the best, my livestock keep me on my toes.” Jared grinned. “I was gone for the last two winters though, went...soul searching I guess.” he explained. “But what about you bud? How’ve you been! Feels like the last time I saw you was at a party at Martins house before graduation.”

“Same, I’m always up very early,” Luke agreed, leaving out the hiding part. He forgot Jared had a farm, and something in the back of his head wondered which one. “Soul searching-- I get that. I do that shit almost every month in the woods, just bum it out with a tent, fire, and myself and nature. Sometimes it’s necessary to get out of town.” At the mention of the party long, long ago Luke had to huff a laugh. “Shit, yeah. I think so. It feels like another life doesn’t it? High school was easy comparatively. They don’t exactly tell you that being an adult comes with so much stuff to worry about. Did you go to his funeral a while back? It was a nice service.” 

“It really takes you places that’s for sure.” Jared grinned, his own soul searching the first time had been a migration following a local Kerashag towards canada, it had been a very informative trip, and much like Luke described his own being. “A lot of camping and not much else is good for the heart.” The reminder of the not so fun part of being from town hit then when Luke mentioned Martins untimely death. “I missed it, I was working and couldn’t get the time off. I dropped off some flowers graveside though the day after.” Jared shoved his hands in his pockets with a grim face, he’d been unable to go to the funeral due to encouraging the beast that had mauled Martin to leave. An uncomfortable reality of his life, that one. “Heard his older sister gave the eulogy?” 

“Mhm, yeah. She did well--” Luke has gone to so many funerals in his life that some of them blurred together. It wasn’t awkward but more a reflective moment. That graduation party years ago had been pretty fun, and Jared did look well all things considered. Usually running into a familiar face came with him darting out of the picture, but today he could stand here and talk for a second, the change Luke was thankful for. “Yo, where is your farm at? I know there are a few right? Around here? Must be hard with the Maine weather-- you do crops or cattle?” 

“I’m the one in the outskirts, edge of the forest. Though not many travel far enough down the dirt path to actually reach my gates, you know? Bit too far for most.” And Jared couldn’t help but think that was truly for the best. His ‘livestock’ were not usually the kind to take intruders lightly. “Got a small greenhouse, but I’m mostly an animal man. Carried on my parents livestock.” It wasn’t technically a lie considering he HAD kept the real cattle for a while, but Jared still felt bad omitting the whole truth. “I free range them all in together, so I’m not really an easily visited place. But that’s fine by me, most people don’t treat my kids right.” He tries to joke. But there’s an edge to it, a memory of a recent fuck up he was still healing over. One of his kids still had bandages on from being let out by someone. Someone who had yet to be identified.

Lucas worried the edge of his lip, and thought immediately-- ‘oh, shit. Jared you have the monster beasts?!’ Luke wasn’t surprised with any development involving supernatural anything, having grown up here, it was a perk of living in chaos while the humans got hurt, died, and well-- lived their best lives in the dark on such things. Luke nodded as Jared continued to explain and Luke, well he was the one killing those beasts off. They were so fun to chase through the woods, and satisfying on the stomach under the full moon. ‘Whoops.’ he thought, and tilted his head in a puppy dog way. “Why you looking at these locks? They ain’t going to do much for you with cattle right,” ‘especially not a werewolf. Shit Jared, what in the world.’ “Yo, I’d love to see the place sometime, you working alone though? Seems like a lot of work for one person.” 

Jared mirrored Lukes tilt of his head unconsciously, still trying to keep smiling. His mind had to move fast when Luke asked about the locks but decided maybe the truth was better in this situation. No one would assume he farmed anything but cattle after all, he was safe enough. “Someone has been tampering with my gates, and since my herd is all free range and stuff it’s not so good. A bull of mine escaped not long ago and went to a frat party, and then I think a bear got to him.” Jared tells Luke, his face falling at the admission. Despite it being sabotage of some kind the nymph still held himself responsible. They were his kids, and he’d not found Hayhay in time. “Yeah I work the place alone, got some housemates at the moment but they don’t help out on the farm. I manage fine.” He actively ignored the wish to come over, it just wasn’t safe for humans, humans that didn’t know what was going on at least. He hoped Luke wouldn’t notice.

“A frat party? Wow-- did it come back with a bong hat attached?” Lucas asked, and as Jared continued it was obvious that this all bothered him. Luke pressed his lips together, unsure how to admit or say such a thing without exposing things. Better off just pretending it didn’t happen, and not do anything more. “Hey--” he shoved Jared lightly when his mood seemed melancholy, “seriously, if you need help just ask. I’m pretty strong, and Ill hull some stuff for you if you ever need it, alright? No need to shoulder everything-- I be telling my employees this shit everyday, it’s like the younger generation doesn’t hear it enough. Do I gotta rope you into them?” He teased, “also, I own this pizza shop in downtown, called Yum!Pizzeria-- you should stop by. I only do lunch so I can have the evenings free.” Luke did notice how he didn’t bring up coming over, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t try again later. 

“Spoke to a partygoer, he smashed out of the glass door apparently.” Jared cringed. “He’s only a baby, shouldn’t have been at a frat party with all that alcohol.” he tried to joke to cover up his discomfort with the idea. It was a mystery how the frat had managed to get the bies safely into their dorm when the beast was most certainly not ‘friendly’ in any definition of the word. Then again he was just a baby. Easily bribed. “Oh sure lump me in with the ‘kids’ just because your birthday is coming up old man.” the nymph joked. Jared perked up further when Luke spoke about his own business. “Hey! A pizza place!! That’s great bud! You’re looking at your new most frequent customer.” Jared reached out and playfully punched the other in the arm. “You’ll never be rid of me,” he grinned. 

The joke was so poor that it was actually kinda funny, even if he’s surprised it didn’t hurt anyone. When Jared compliment him and made such a declaration it felt like he wasn’t turning thirty one, and instead nineteen. Seeing anyone he knew when he was a kid stirred the inner playfulness in him, and he couldn’t help but really wonder how many of his friends back then knew more about the supernatural than any admitted. His mother always made sure Lucas was quiet about it at all costs, not that he needed reminding with Gotch bothering him back then. “Oh yeah?” Lucas wanted to ask him to promise, but Regan had really put the scare in him over such a word and tried not to use it anymore. “I will hold you to too it-- plus, I still really want to see the farm sometime. Don’t think I didn’t notice you leaving that open. But no pressure, if you are the shy type now-- I won’t hold it against you too much.” Luke teased and grabbed his things. “You still shopping? What else you looking for?” 

Jareds smile turned sheepish when he was called out on ‘forgetting’ to address the wishes to come over and see the farm. But he grasped onto the excuse he was given by Luke and ran with it quickly. “Hold me to it all you like, you’ll be sick and tired of me so fast. Ah...the farm isn’t that special. Cows and fields and nothing all that interesting. I’m no pizza place.” Jared tried to distract the other, bringin the conversation back around to Luke himself. “Mostly just the locks, some spray paint as well, but I couldn’t see any in this isle.” 

“Fine, fine,” he waved lightly, “but I can not possibly, be sick of you. No way. Especially now that we ran into each other. I’m-- the one who is going to annoy the hell out of you.” Luke glanced at the locks and had to wonder which one was actually the most ‘werewolf’ proof, even if he’d stop pulling from there on the full moon from now on. Jared should probably have a decent one. He’d have to ask Miles. “Maybe some chain with a lock would be better?” He asked, “and I’m here for a bunch of random shit for the pizzeria. Want to have a hardware drawer just in case something breaks.” Luke made it seem like he’d walk with Jared for the rest of their shopping needs, and when they checked out, he pulled out his phone. “Dude, here,” he handed his phone over. “Give me your number, and we will hang out or go do something fun.” 

“A chain is far too much work.” Jared joked. “Nah, I need easy access for real it’s calving season.” And Jared knew this fact made his farm a mess every year. Vicious mothers tended to get even more so the closer to term they became. Especially the bies. So to combat this, new hardware would be needed. Especially since someone was sabotaging him. “Good call about extra stuff, you’d think I’d have learnt that lesson, then again…” Jared paused and peaked into Lukes basket that he’d previously put down. “We probably need different sorts of supplies huh?” He grinned however when Luke indicated he’d stay the journey. Jared took the phone and typed in his contact details. “We will, if you don’t see me far too often at the pizza shop. I’m not kidding, I eat so much take out when I have the spare cash it’s unreal.”

“Just come hang out, I’m in downtown near the shop anyway. It’s easy to get around,” Lucas took his phone back and sent him a quick string of emojis so he had his number. “I hear that shit all the time. Pizza is easy, but you better keep up the active life or it will get to your health. I just got back on my feet a few weeks ago after an injury. I missed climbing and running, and throwing a football. I’ve been thinking about getting a few of us together sometime for flag football. You down for that? Can you catch and run? Cause that’s all there is too it.” Luke chuckled. 

“I can definitely run, catching isn’t a strong skill for me. But I can learn.” Jared bumped their shoulders as they waved their way through the isles to the register. “Count me in for football. I’ll try not to make a fool of myself relearning the rules. Been a hot minute since i’ve had anything to do with sports.” he laughed as he put his basket down to pay for the locks. “But hey. Text me. Or see me at the shop today because I'm ordering like five pizzas in celebration bud.” 

[atopearth]

Steins;Gate: My Darling’s Embrace Part 1 - Kurisu Route (Resonance It Repeats)

Honestly, the calling Kurisu Christina joke never gets old, I love it. Absolutely love the opening of the usual Okabe telling Kurisu to call him the mad scientist instead of Okabe lol. Hmm it seems that the story is exploring the potential slice of life love story it could have been instead of the saving the world story after the discovery of D-mails changing the past? Gotta love seeing Kurisu lecture Okabe and his chuunibyou persona lol, she's right that he should have kept track of his D-mails so he could find out which one caused the time line to change lol. LMAO, I love the tip explaining that Okabe is a textbook example of what chuunibyou is hahahaha. I love how everyone ignored Okabe's announcement for a roundtable conference and instead kept with the agenda that it's a party in celebration of having created more future gadgets past the Phonewave lol. Hahahaha, I love Suzuha's logic that if Mr Braun told her to look after the store, it means that she can just close it up early and party instead since she's in charge now lmao. I still absolutely love how Faris' crazy made up stories are actually too crazy for Okabe and he has to be the normal one to keep the conversation going lmao. The new gadgets are actually very quirky and interesting though! Like, the one referencing Detective Conan with a skateboard, but having diet cola mixed with menthol to give it a burst of speed lmao. The Surprise Specs are cool too since it turns what it's seen into data and you can replay it in a 3D projection! LMAO when Mayuri was about to call the Reading Steiner the Eating something🤣

It was so heartwarming to see Mayushii so happy that she can finally help Okabe by doing something more practical to his lab (getting people to buy his gadgets!). Her existence is honestly enough (like Okabe says) but it was just so sweet for her to finally feel more of her own sense of worth there. Lmao at Okabe sending her off at the station and treating her like a kid by telling her not to talk to strangers haha. Seeing Mayuri so happy simply because she helped Okabe really made my heart swoon, her simple happiness is really what makes me so happy haha. HAHAHA, I nearly died when Kurisu found the game Daru made where he's the harem protagonist and Kurisu, Faris and Mayuri are fawning over him LOL. I love how the true boss of the lab is Kurisu when she's mad, since even Okabe can't go against her hahahah. Moeka playing a prank?! It was also a really creepy prank lmao, she legit made it seem like she was stalking him hahaaha. I love how Faris always gets Okabe and Mayuri with her serious face when she really just goes back to talking about her crazy made up stories hahaha. Aww Kurisu sleeping was cute. The "Darling, You Idiot!" gadget is pretty hilarious if it zaps the wearer when it thinks they're trying to cheat hahahah, I wonder how it determines that though, like through scanning their lies by checking if they're sweating profusely or something?🤣 The gadget is pretty bossy LOL, you get electrocuted if you're arguing or mad at each other?! Well, with how Kurisu and Okabe are, they're gonna get zapped a lot (since it's now stuck on their wrists after activation lol). Aww, once they feel connected to each other, the bracelet will come off by itself?

I guess I'm properly in the Kurisu route now~~ Let's see how it is! LMAO when Kurisu pretends to be insane after being stuck with the gadget on for so long, she suggests cutting their hands off to get rid of it hahahaha. It's kinda funny that they're used to automatically holding hands the moment they start arguing to stop themselves from getting electrocuted haha. Honestly, tying up Okabe so that she could take a shower was pretty mean of Kurisu. However, I can understand forcing him to put on headphones hahaha. Loll, I can imagine the data that will be broadcasted if they can't find Future Gadget No. 14 is just something silly related to Okabe, since when Okabe put the headphones on Kurisu, she was talking about him in her sleep after all. Honestly though, it's such a forced situation imo, like, to have everything happen like that and force them to look for the shopkeeper that bought their gadgets, but know nothing about him lol. So now they have to run around Akiba looking for him, and I have no idea why they didn't bother asking Mayuri what he looked like, and instead asked Faris loll. Anyway, I found it cute when Okabe cheered Mayuri up when she felt so bad about not asking him for contact details, Okabe is right, just like the name of their lab (Future Gadget Laboratory), they need to focus on the future and not on the past! Lol at Daru not realising he didn't tell them there was a timer on the invention before it automatically broadcasts the info, like omgg loll. I still absolutely love how Okabe can so easily out Kurisu as an @channeler, Kurisu is so into it, she understands all the common references haha. Lmaoo when Kurisu said he can sleep on the bed, and Okabe thought she would be sleeping on the floor instead of him by suggesting that hahaha. They're both so silly but it's nice to see them understand each other better and enjoy the other's company. I found it cute how they held hands to sleep, like aww!

I have to admit that the punk guy bashing up Okabe for bumping into him, and Okabe trying his best to protect Kurisu causing their feelings to be mutual towards the desire of the both of them wanting to protect the other, and therefore breaking the binds by the gadget was very...cliche and forced lol. But I guess the whole entire situation from the beginning felt quite forced hahaha. Anyway, Tennouji randomly picking up the broadcasting gadget was lol, but super obvious. HAHAHA, as expected though, Kurisu's dream that got broadcasted was of course a romantic Korean drama-like scene with Okabe. I would die if I was her hahahah, so embarrassing to have that broadcasted everywhere, especially in front of their friends hahahha. Pretty disappointed that despite all that, nothing happened between Okabe and Kurisu though, like what? All that happened and it just goes back to their normal relationship? I thought this game was more romantic?! Even the original had better scenes loll. Sigh. Oh well, guess I shouldn't have expected much since the story was pretty meh overall. I guess it's nice if you want to see some extra banter between Okabe and Kurisu but otherwise, not really interesting or fun lol.

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Three Hundred Four: A Crystal Cup ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: Divine Light ] [ AO3 Link ]

Passing through the city gates is a bit nostalgic.

Astride his dark mount, Sasuke comes to a stop just outside, observing for a short while. The first time he beheld the Luxerian capital, the protective barrier was still erect, shielding the city from outsiders. Its roads had been ghostly, empty and silent as he, his brother, the light mage, and Hinata all made their way in toward the castle atop the knoll, and the statue of Luxeria standing guard. It was there the healer at last found the knowledge necessary to cure Itachi entirely, and repay her friend’s side of the debt: the agreement between the fire and water mages then complete. Hinata had gotten away from her father, learning about magic...and in turn, Sasuke’s brother was cured at long last.

From there...things seemed to snowball.

Determined to resuscitate the city of her ancestors, the lux mage had enlisted both Itachi and Hinata’s help in rebuilding the council of the twelve elements. Itachi agreed to take igni’s mantle, and Hinata aqua’s. 

Sasuke...had felt betrayed.

His brother had promised that - once his body was whole - they would return home to their parents and finally enjoy a normal, healthy life. It was the one thing that had kept Sasuke on this path: the promise of his brother’s vitality, and seeing their parents’ faces upon their return. At first, he’d been angry - livid - convinced that the lux mage had twisted Itachi somehow to get him to agree to such a hare-brained scheme.

And Hinata, too! She’d been friends with the healer before he’d met her, but still…! Did all their journeying together - all they faced together - mean nothing? Was she really ready to throw away the freedom she’d earned and become shackled to another destiny? Give away her autonomy to involve herself with politics?

All Sasuke had ever wanted was a free, peaceful life with his mother, father, and brother...and suddenly, everything felt like it was falling apart. Perhaps it was childish...but he chose to be angry: chose to blame the lux mage and her ambitions for Itachi’s change of heart.

...of course, that had only been partially true. The blooming friendship between the pair - with hints of something more than friendship - had swayed him. But once he managed to corner his younger brother, Itachi had explained his feelings: of wanting to help restore balance and peace for their people. No longer would the el’ven have to live in fear and hiding.

Hinata, too, admitted to similar feelings. Her own family’s flight took place when she was old enough to remember, unlike Sasuke’s in his infancy. It weighed on her far heavier...as it did on Itachi, who also witnessed the downfall of their city.

...it took time, but he came to understand, if a bit stubbornly. And after meeting with the monster slayer and assassin Kakashi, Sasuke honed his skills further, taking to the road as his brother and Hinata pursued their own futures. It’s been a year, now...and he’s finally returned.

Maturity has stripped a bit more of the fat from his face, hair longer and half-tied in a tail behind his head. His brashness has tempered with patience after so many hunts and contracts. Finally, it seems...he’s grown up.

His year on the road has changed him greatly...and helped him see many matters from another angle. It’s that alone that brings him back, and at this particular time. In only a few days, the second of the new council meetings will begin.

Hence the current bustle in the city, so unlike his first glimpses of it. Allowing a hint of a smile, he gently urges his horse forward, shod hooves clacking pleasantly against the stone streets. Those on foot part like water to let him pass as he makes his way to the stables. Mount housed, he then makes his way up to the castle doors. Guards preside carefully, asking his name.

“Sasuke, house of Uchiha,” he replies evenly, seeing the recognition in their eyes.

“Oh, aye sir! Please, make your way inside.”

Nodding, he passes them into the entry hall. Flawless white stone and peerless glass windows seem to alight from all angles. Even here there are considerable crowds: mostly palace staff, alongside Luxerian acolytes dressed in white and gold. Intermixed are other elemental colors, the twelve represented and gathered to prepare for the week of festivities and negotiations.

For a time he stands and watches the bustle, mostly unnoticed as he only receives curious glances. He doesn’t stand out much in his plain traveling gear and cloak, looking every part the wanderer and sellsword he’s become.

“...Sasuke…?”

For a moment, the tone stills the beats in his chest. Then a glance aside reveals Hinata. Pale eyes are wide in surprise, posture half hesitant as though weighing the decision to reach for him. The traditional colors of Auquiana - deep and shallow blues - color every inch of her garments, accented subtly by silver. Her hair is still long, loose along her back.

“...Hinata.”

Brightening, she abandons her indecision and approaches him, bearing a warm smile. “What are you doing here? Did Itachi ask you to come?”

“No...I’m here of my own volition. Thought I’d see how things have progressed in a year’s time.”

“I see…! Then...have you plans to remain until the summit is over?”

“Perhaps. We’ll see how it holds my interest.”

That earns a wry smile. “I’m sure it will. Even if you’re not a fan of politics, the meeting of cultures is always of intrigue. I’m sure if you asked, Itachi would let you sit on his council if you wished to see the proceedings up close.”

“...we’ll see,” he replies vaguely, not too keen on the political side of things. “I hear there’s a gala…?”

“Yes, for the dignitaries and their parties, as well as some notable guests.”

“So...those with deep pockets,” Sasuke counters.

“Some, yes. Others are experts in ven, or in negotiations. Some are just important members of each culture. This isn’t just for the rich and powerful.”

That just earns a hum. “...well, I suppose I might at least participate in that, if I must.”

“It’s by far the most entertaining day,” Hinata agrees. “It’s the first, so we all begin on a friendly, light-hearted note. At least...that’s how it felt last year. We’ll see if history repeats itself. But for now...why don’t we catch up? It feels like it’s been eons since I’ve seen you…”

“Is a year really that painful?”

Hinata gives him a glance. “...was it not so for you?”

“Well...I kept rather busy.”

“As did I. But I always found myself hoping you’d write.”

A bit of guilt settles in his stomach. “...next year,” he half jokes, half promises.

“You’d better…!”

Hinata dispels her entourage, and the pair retreat to the back gardens. They aren’t alone, but the atmosphere is quite a bit less stressful than the interior of the castle. As they come to a stop nearby a fountain, a member of the staff seems to appear out of thin air, holding aloft a tray with crystal goblets filled with sparkling white wine.

“A bit early for that, isn’t it?” Sasuke asks.

“It helps keep things...relaxed,” Hinata replies in jest, accepting a crystal cup.

After a pause, Sasuke does the same, taking a small sip. “So...how has all of this treated you?”

“It’s hard work, especially since we’re still only just beginning,” she admits, watching the water. “But we’ve already made excellent headway. Treaties and new political lines are always in the works. Things are changing...slowly, but surely. The relations between el’ven and el’kor are bettering. Tensions remain, but...it’s to be expected.”

“How has my brother fared? He’d write me on occasion but otherwise I heard little - he was always vague and light on words.”

“In all honesty, I doubt I can tell you much more. As much as we work together, so too do we have plenty to do apart. But you’ll see him soon - I think he’s due to arrive today or tomorrow.”

“It will be good to see him…”

Hinata glances to him thoughtfully. “...and it’s good to see you,” she murmurs. “I take it the road treated you well enough?”

“Fairly. I sent most of my earnings back home. It hasn’t been glorious, but honest enough. Engaging enough.”

“Don’t you ever get lonely…?”

“...a bit.”

“...is that why you came back?”

His lips tick upwards. “...maybe it is. At the very least, in part. A break in the monotony is always good. There’s variety in my work, but it’s all still work.”

“Mm...I understand.”

For a moment, they stand in silence...and then Hinata lifts a hand. Casually, playfully, she starts manipulating some of the water in the fountain.

In a way it makes Sasuke nostalgic, thinking back to the first lessons he gave her about the powers her father had forbidden her to use.

“I guess our paths have no intention of slowing any time soon, do they?” she then murmurs, letting the liquid meld back into the pool.

“...I suppose not. But maybe that just means we enjoy what we have while we have it.”

A brief smile flickers across her face. “...maybe. At the very least, I intend to.” Hinata gives him a glance. “...which includes your company.”

“...I look forward to it.”

                                                         .oOo.

     More crossover with my original fantasy verse! Admittedly this one hasn't had much...story? At least not linear among all I've done with it: just random bits and pieces, sort of like the ALAS stuff. Hence not linking things (yet) because it's really all over the place lol      Speaking of, I HAVE been slowly working on a spreadsheet trying to get all of these sorted into mini series. Maybe by year's end I'll be done :'D      But yeah, not much to say about this one...just a lil reunion after some character growth. I kinda DO want to make a fic out of this, maybe...I'm just wary since it has original elements of mine. I've been doing one with a friend of mine's OC and mine, and a few canons...but SH really isn't in it, as it takes place a bit later than this...kinda? So idk if anyone here would be interested lol      Anyway, I'm...very tired, and in a lotta tooth pain, so I'm gonna call it a night~ Thanks for reading!

[sparkleeemarkleee]

Take Me Home Prologue

Prologue: So Am I

Ok so I didn’t really intend for readers to listen to the playlist while reading the story, but you can definitely do it if you’d like to! I was simply using these songs as prompts. Enjoy lovelies!!!

P.S. Idk how to make page breaks so um I’m just gonna use lines for now lol

Also this story will be written under y/n’s POV :)

💙 Song prompt: So Am I by Ava Max ft. NCT 127 💙

Masterlist

Playlist

Introduction to Main Characters

Prologue

Dozens of little kindergartener boys and girls waddled down the hills shrieking and giggling. As per usual, I watched the entire scene unfold. By the time the sun’s intensity felt like the glowing eyes of a phoenix their parents would stroll into school grounds.

It seemed customary for the kids in your class, division 21, to have play dates right after school. I never really understood why they enjoyed it so much or why they would rather be away playing in dirt, sand, and rocks when they could’ve just stayed home with their parents. I watched closely as a pretty aunt with short black hair call her nephews: Jaemin and Jeno. Pretty Auntie had her arms out to embrace them and the boys moved towards her—without taking a breath, Jaemin ducks under her arms with Jeno and they skittishly move across the field back into the big blue slide that they fondly hid inside. Another girl named Lami, who always wore sparkly tiaras, was currently savouring a sundae with her dad. As if she was sparkling, her dad’s eyes seemed to dissolve under her loving gaze. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. I wondered what it would be like to twinkle like that.

I could only gawk from afar. It got hard sometimes because everything here was family oriented; the parents of all the kids in your class knew each other; before kindergarten even began, everyone made friends and clustered into their own group. Leaving you to sit on the sidelines, if it weren’t for your only two friends.

“Y/N, do you want us to drive you home today?” Dana, the second friend you’ve ever made, asked with mud all of her white dress. Her mom smiles at you as she hastily wipes the brown splatters off her daughter.

“No, it’s okay. I’ll just wait for my family,” I said sheepishly. You watched them as they exited through the green gates of your school. I watched them all one by one slowly making their way back home as you sat on the swings patiently letting time roll by.

It began to get cold and your bare legs from under your dress started to prickle under the coolness of the air.

“Y/N,” He huffed. I spun around quickly to see a black haired first grader in a grey hoodie giving you his hand.

I didn’t know it yet back then, but here was my hero—my first friend and first love.

“What took you so long, Mark?” My voice sounded screechy from holding back the tears.

“I’m sorry, but something confusing happened with Hyuck earlier so I had to deal with that and your sister—”

“I know. She had her dance recital today. How’d she do?” I said as I brushed off the tears and any trace of sadness in my voice.

“I dunno. I haven’t talked to her about it because of Hyuck.”

“What happened to Hyuck?” I wondered aloud.

***

“Mom! I didn’t mean to!” He screamed as Mama chased him with a broom in her hand. Instead of watching Tom and Jerry, Sara, Mark, and I comfortably sat on the leather couch and were genuinely amused at Hyuck’s fiasco.

“Answer me again,” she said sternly. “What were you doing hiding in Cecil’s garden?”

“I was admiring her petunias,” Hyuck said with a cheeky smile followed with more chasing until he gave in to Mama’s threats. Sara stifled a laugh, but you and Mark couldn’t help but explode at the hilarity of the entire situation.

“I’m sorry, mom! I was just waiting for his son Rio to come.”

“Why were you missing for 5 hours then? You could have at least called me if you wanted to meet with your friend,” Mama huffed out exasperated. Her busy hands and legs could finally sink into her comforting rocking chair.

Mama might have been sold on the story but you didn’t buy it—neither did Sara or Mark. Being Mama’s eyes and ears, the two acted like parents and were very aware of the many abilities and tricks Hyuck could have up his sleeve. You on the other hand grew up with your younger cousin’s devilish antics that you knew better than to trust his impish smile. One time in preschool, he tricked you into walking into the boy’s washroom and accidentally ran into Mark and his best friend (that you at the time thought was dreamy).

Mama abruptly stands up before her heavy eyes could shut and blurts, “Ms. Kim next door has been patiently waiting for me! I’ll be gone for about 10 minutes, but when I come back make sure to be ready,” she rambles while grabbing a thin jacket out the door.

Once Mama scurried away, you three swarmed around Hyuck practically bursting with excitement to prod at what real business he had to do at Cecil’s.

“So I was kinda dared to steal a petunia from her garden,” he starts off, already making Mark annoyed and Sara to roll her eyes. Sara had an important dance  and couldn’t afford any additional stresses that specific day; Mark on the other hand carried most of the responsibility for Donghyuck and I because of Sara’s recital and nearly jumped Donghyuck at his explanation.

“I didn’t do it though!” he defensively continues, “because I know Mama would kill me, but I made a new friend...and she’s really pretty,” he then breaks off into fits of giggles. You share a look with Sara and burst out laughing. Meanwhile, Mark swats him for causing so much trouble. 

After Mom forgave Hyuck, she brought us out to our favourite diner. Like always, Sara would get herself a grilled cheese sandwich with a milkshake, Mark and I got burgers and split a sundae, Hyuck got fried chicken and lemonade, and Mama would get herself a salad.

Life was simpler back then. Whenever we had a problem, a simple sorry would suffice, we would go out to celebrate, and the atmosphere was always blissful and filled with laughter. It always washed away any pain you felt from school or anything really.

“Y/N, stop taking all my chocolate ice cream,” Mark whines as he tries to scoop off the ice cream on my spoon.

“This is for leaving me alone at the school until 9:30!” You say sticking out your tongue.

“I’m sorry, Y/N,” he said while ruffling your hair and earning a dirty look from my five year old self. “How about...I treat you out to ice cream to make up for it?”

I could never really stay mad at Mark. I pouted a little to pretend that I was thinking about it and finally decided: “Only on one condition.”

*****************************************************************************************************

“The signature chocolate ice cream with green tea cheese cake, only for you, madame,” Mark jokes as he brings out my favourite ice cream.

“With oreo drizzle?” I perked up from the pages of my exam studying. The wave of anxiety from finals cramming just started to hit me now. “You know that I refuse to eat any ice cream without it.”

“Oh, c’mon, Y/N. You’ve been begging for this combination since you were five. Just because I’m older now doesn’t mean I lost my memory,” Mark laughed as he passed me a spoon and slid the bowl of ice cream on my desk. He sat himself down on a stool beside my chair and leaned forward into our conversation.

“Mark, I’m kind of stressing out because I need to do really well on these exams,” you ranted while digging into your ice cream. “Last term, Sara nearly got 98% as her academic average and I only had around 92%. My parents are going to kill me!”

Your parents worked abroad so the only way they really knew you and your sister were through report cards and occasionally video chats. You barely spoke to them, but the only thing they ever told you was to try harder. Even after spending countless hours applying for internships, working on your part-time jobs, and studying to build up your resume, work harder was always their feedback. It wasn’t easy; you were always being compared to the undefeated competition of all time: Sara.

Despite having similar aspirations and work habits it all seemed to come to her naturally. If you spent 6 hours self-studying, Sara could manage with just 2 hours. Every single time, she seemed to effortlessly have new talents appear like magic tricks and she always had one up her sleeve. How could you ever compare?

You hated crying, but you couldn’t help the tears that began to slip from your eyes. 

“Hey, hey, don’t be like that,” Mark said softly. You try to turn your face away from the embarrassment of having him witness everything. He gently brushed his thumbs over your eyes to wipe your tears.

You never fully told Mark about how you felt about your own sister, but thank God he understood. You never had to tell him; he always knew. He wrapped an arm around your back and his other arm carefully bringing your head to rest on his shoulder. You shut your eyes and let your troubled mind just unwind.

[vohalika]

I suffer for my art

For an article appearing on thefandomentals.com, I actually sat down (with a lot of booze) and subjected myself to watching the Lightning Thief movie again. Here are unfiltered live notes, so everyone can suffer with me.

(Why yes I do channel cinema sins. just a little bit)

·         The first 10 seconds do away with the one core rule of the franchise; as Poseidon for some reason steps out of a river, a fisherman SEES him. The books avoid this by having a thing called “mist” exist that keeps mortals from seeing ancient greek mythology stuff going on. Unless, of course, that particular fisherman was blessed with clear sight and is destined to be the next oracle. Suck it, Rachel.

·         Oh god, Sean Bean is in this movie, and he doesn’t even die. That alone says everything about the quality you need to know.

·         Why the fuck are they meeting in mortal forms on the empire state building? Yes, that’s where Olympus is, but Olympus is metaphysically ABOVE the fucking building, not the deck they’re on, which would be crowded at any and all times of day.

·         Okay. So they meet here to discuss exposition. Zeus knows Poseidon has a son. Zeus is also to blame for Poseidon never contacting said son. I mean, technically it’s a pact the two of you made with your other brother after he spawned Hitler and a world war happened, but, uh, is that even canon to this movie?

·         Okay, Sean Bean establishes the summer solstice as a deadline. Keep that in mind. SUMMER SOLSTICE.

·         Why do we put the plot into the first three seconds of the film? Was Columbus afraid we’d fall asleep after this and wouldn’t be able to catch up?

·         Okay real talk Logan LErman would have been the perfect Percy about 5 years before this movie was made. He grew up a little too baby faced to still be a good fit for battle hardened don’t fuck with me Percy of the follow up series, but still, such a missed opportunity.

·         Okay so Percy regularly hangs out at the bottom of the swimming pool for 7 minutes to think. That’s, ah. Weird. You know. If you do that regularly, people might notice. And Grover, whose job is to keep him safe, and also to technically keep him from realizing he’s not quite human, is encouraging this. Because. Sure. Why not.

·         OKAY. SO. They kept the NAME of the school, but not the boarding school aspect. They turned Mrs. Dodds into an English teacher so she could make a joke about the word fury in Othello. And they choose to establish the dyslexia and ADHD thing during dialogue while not actually showing any ADHD symptoms. I can’t quite talk about how well they do with the dyslexia, but from what we see, it’s the letters just fogging over and randomly turning into Greek letters which is not how it is described in the books at all. Seems more like Percy needs glasses here.

·         Oh my fucking god. Gabe comes home, sits down in the uncomfortable kitchen chair, demands beer and smacks Sally on the ass, and both Percy and Sally treat him like a rude house guest maybe, not like the abusive asshole he’s actually supposed to be. Percy even stands up to him and thinks it’s necessary to explain that this is his mother and he will not have her sexualized in this kitchen. Gah.

·         How can this house both be Gabe’s while at the same time, he never held down a job?

·         Also Percy comes into the pretty house at the ground floor and calls for his mother who is like on the third floor. Is that entire house theirs? If so, damn, Gabe is a rich unemployed white trash person.

·         Oh and now Poseidon just randomly wanders around New York to stalk his son amazing

·         Percy wears headphones during the plot related exposition at the MOA

·         At least he’s fidgeting now. That’s progress.

·         OKAY. So Ms. Dodds pulls Percy aside in the middle of the lesson, and Grover and Mr. Brunner can totally leave too to help him. They also cut the action sequence but sure, whatever.

·         Percy gets weirdly ableist when Grover says he’s his protector. Like, in the books Percy’s objection to that was that Grover was constantly being bullied and Percy had to stand up for him.

·         In fact, Percy and Grover could possibly pass for cool kids here; neither of them look like losers. Percy is pretty and has amazing abs. That’s… Completely contrary to how book!Percy feels. Like, he gets better once he reaches the age where boys stop looking like cave trolls, but, uh, that takes a while.

·         Then they go home to Sally, Grover downs Gabe, and they run off, and Gabe’s poker buddies just let them be. What.

·         They start conversation about the father while the sun is setting in New York City, and only commence it in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere

·         The minotaur who just toppled their car is suddenly all the way up the hill. Wow.

·         Sexist edit: In the books, Percy’s mom explains to him how to fight the minotaur. Here, he just kinda figures it out himself.

·         Okay. Two dumb things: With the mom evaporated just before the camp gates, why do they fight the minotaur at all? In the books, Percy is half a mile away from the camp when the showdown happens and he fights to save himself and his mom. Here, he just charges out there to avenge his mom even though the magical gate is right there.

·         Second: instead of going for his sword, the actual weapon, Percy goes for the horn stuck in the tree, almost getting skewered himself. Now, the narrative for some reason rewards him for this, but this is just dumb. And there was also no indication that the horn was going to work better than the sword, which is also right there and not stuck in a tree.

·         The fury roughed him up more than the minotaur did, and yet this is the part where he falls unconscious

·         Grover is BUFF

·         He’s supposed to be a scrawny loser kid with anxiety issues

·         Also nursing Percy is Annabeth’s part. This is important. Ish.

·         Yeah, okay, Grover giving Percy the tour is… Unfortunate. In the books, there were actual adults giving him these talks, and also Annabeth, and you get the feeling Satyrs are veeeeery low on the pecking order. Also, Mr Brunner was there to actually take him seriously

·         Also, the camp just looks wrong. Way wrong.

·         UGH

·         UUUUUGH

·         OKAY

·         We’re introduced to BRUNETTE Annabeth while a bunch of people do badly choreographed battle around her. This is wrong. This is so wrong.

·         Annabeth is good in a fight, yeah. But her main asset is her brain. And the first glimpses we get of her is taking care of Percy, both nursing him and giving him the tour, because she piecing together how he fits into a prophecy that concerns her and is her ticket out of there.

·         Also they kind of combine her role in this movie with that of Clarisse, who is a daughter of Ares and a bully like the ones Percy never had to face here. I have no idea why they did that, and it’s even more ridiculous since Clarisse appears in the sequel.

·         Why did they have to put more than one centaur in here, they’re supposed to be party animals roaming the countryside, EXCEPT for Mr. Brunner who is Chiron fuck everything

·         Okay. They also conflated the daughters of Aphrodite with the naiads that are around, and both groups would NEVER give Grover the time of day. Buuut I guess considering where this leads, we do have to play up his sex appeal, huh?

·         OKAY. The cabins in the books are actual fancy and pretty houses, befitting Greek gods. Being claimed by a god is also a special thing, and the fact that it is special contributes greatly to the 5 book story arc. Here, they just shove Percy into a weird wooden structure full of sailing paraphernalia specifically built for him.

·         Okay so apparently the only danger kids of the big 3 pose is making the other big 3 jealous for some reason, not because they literally kicked off the world wars

·         And apparently, Gabe’s smell isn’t supposed to keep monsters away, but the other gods?!

·         Well I mean everyone seems to have known about Percy, sooo

·         Also Percy has no way to integrate into camp or anything , has no connection to any of these people, anything

·         Luke is missing a scar, and is also completely creepy from the get go

·         Why do we keep getting meaningful close ups of Annabeth, what is she supposed to mean to anyone at this point

·         Why was she fighting with a knife minutes ago and is nnow using a bow and arrow, it’s Athena not Artemis

·         This game of cpture the flag is stupid

·         And also undercuts Annabeth’s actual point

·         In the books this involved like tactics and shit

·         But like, I commend the script for making Percy lampshade how ridiculous this all is

·         It’s just that capture the flag had a narrative purpose, too, which is null and voide when he was already claimed

·         Also Percy is such an idiot for just going for the flag like that

·         Annabeth has boob plate

·         "My mother is goddess of wisdom and battle strategy. You know what that means?" - IT MEANS YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN TO TAKE OFF YOUR HELMET WHILE FACING AN ENEMY WITH A SWORD.

·         AND ALSO YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN TO MONOLOGUE AT AN OPPONENT

·         WHAT IS HER BEEF WITH PERCY? Yes, he rudely stared at you for a while, but why do you need to cut him up like that?!

·         She just beats him down and nobody does a thing they all just stand around staring what the fuck

·         And then everyone cheers when she’s done beating down the completely untrained new kid?! WHAT THE FUCK

·         ArE YOU ALL BRAAVOSI WHAT IS EVEN GOING ON

·         THERE ARE BLUE FORCES RIGHT BEHIND YOUR FLAG WHY ARE THEY NOT DOING ANYTHING

·         Percy, who already knows he’s a son of Poseidon needs to be told by divine intervention to go to the water, the only place he actually liked before

·         Brief contact with water then turns him into superman and has him actually sort of beat Annabeth

·         Though not as cruelly as she beat him

·         And then everyone just lets him walk to the flag. Why the fuck.

·         You know who actually figured out how the water powers worked? Annabeth!

·         You know who actually made a battle plan to get the flag for the blue team? ANNABETH!

·         Gaaaaaaaaaaaaah

·         Percy gets party invitations. The fuck.

·         Annabeth chases them away and then flirts with him for some reason. Percy is also completely turned on by a public beat down.

·         “I definitely have strong feelings for you” whaaaat the fuck. Whaaaaaaat the fuck. This is soooo weird.

·         WHERE IS MY FIVE BOOK AWKWARD PUBERTY SLOW BURN

·         Oh hello flame demon. How nice of you to just show up like that and deliver the plot to us

·         Okay. So. Hades wants the bolt, but outright states that he doesn’t have it. So far, the plans are to talk to one of two enraged gods and convince them he didn’t take the bolt. That’s…Not much of a plan at all unless someone here knows how to cast a zone of truth spell or something

·         Hades now comes along and offers his mom in exchange for the bolt, instead of being framed for everything like in the books, and the camp counsellors just… leave Percy alone after that?

·         Like, not only Grover, but the random chick who brutally tore into him in front of a crowd figured out he was going to bail without ever receiving a tiny bit of training, guys. This is stupid.

·         Annabeth wants a quest. Sweetheart, this is not a quest. There is a protocol to these things, as you would know. A god has to assign it, there has to be a clear objective, and at least according to camp regulations, a prophecy, and the entire thing has to be official. But sure. Tag along with the random unprepared kid who’s going to get his mom.

·         OH THAT’S JUST GREAT YEAH Annabeth would not know how to get to the underworld, she has to go ask A MAN for info SOMEONE SHOOT ME

·         Luke is in a completely empty cabin with a gaming console and flat screens and pokes fun at the ren faire feel

·         Luke, Annabeth has daddy issues completely independent from her godly parent but okay fine

·         YEAH LUKE LECTURE US ON GREEK MYTHOLOGY

·         NO NOT LIKE THAT

·         Okay so my personal interpretation of Persephone is more that of an ancient times beauty and the beast kind of deal, so that she’s not entirely unhappy

·         Also like, Greek mythology has a maaaaaajor Madonna/whore complex. Maaaaajor. And while she’s not one of the chastity goddesses, Persephone kiiiinda doesn’t fall in the dedicated adulteress part of that spectrum

·         But foreshadowing. I get it.

·         Convenient map is convenient

·         Super literal soundtrack

·         Also they still haven’t told us where the underworld is or how to get in there, just that it’s easy

·         “Let’s split up, check everything” Greeaaat plan, Percy. And then just go looking around without actually looking thoroughly

·         Now Annabeth is dragged along screaming and Grover actually knows how is greatuncle died and is the one to figure out what’s going on. Great.

·         Like, in the books, he still finds his uncle Ferdinand, but no one ever knew what happened to him because he got lost during a search at a place where no one really returns from

·         Annabeth is the first one to figure out that the nice woman giving them burgers and asking them to pose for pictures is not their friend and saves both Grover and Percy, and Percy figures out who she is himself immediately after, before the veil comes off and the snakes start hissing

·         Oh, Uma Thurman, you are too good for this

·         I need to watch Kill Bill after this just to calm down

·         It’s weirdly cathartic to fight your own murderous instincts

·         CALL ATTENTION TO ANNABETH’S HAIR JUST TO RUB IT IN WHY DON’T YOU

·         Annabeth knows this story dammit

·         Also villain monologue

·         I dunno, Uma, you’re still pretty hot like that

·         At least Percy figures out the reflection thing

·         Ugh Annabeth has to get rescued

·         How can you sense him if you were surprised by his presence before?

·         Percy says he can look at her reflection and then throws away the phone he’s using to look at her when he actually sees her

·         Where the fuck did they get the car

·         How did Annabeth learn to drive at camp

·         She can sense him, sees him coming, and he still gets to cut off her head from behind

·         And then she conveniently carried around the pearl with her

·         DID THIS MOVIE JUST IMPLY PERSEPHONE GOT FREAKY WITH MEDUSA?!

·         How do they get a motel room, do they actually have credit cards or something? What the fuck.

·         Yeah okay I don’t feel creepy at all looking at Logan Lerman’s naked torso some more

·         So I guess Percy’s ocean powers in this movie work like waterbending and can also heal other people

·         How he figured that out? No idea. Why he doesn’t start carrying around water everywhere he goes for just this purpose?

·         And aaaalso I think the more significant story for the animosity between Athena and Poseidon would be how he fucked Medusa in her temple, but sure. The story about Athens.

·         Book!Annabeth, when prompted, brings up both, by the way.

·         Why is it forbidden for all gods to interact with their kids?

·         DID SHE SAY SALLY UGLIANO?! SALLY JACKSON NEVER TOOK HIS NAME AND THAT IS FUCKING IMPORTANT

·         Why is there laundry service in the middle of the night?

·         And how did they get to check out after that?

·         Yeah okay this Parthenon business is completely not in the books

·         “I wonder if she really looks like that” Okay okay cutting out the field trip is fucking stupid

·         No one checks the bathrooms before closing up the place?

·         And no on turns off the lights in the bathrooms?

·         Cleaning staff ruining the day yet again

·         Every time Annabeth shoots anything in this movie I die a little on the inside

·         Also hey, there are more black people in this movie than Grover and Persephone, and they all work in maintenance

·         Ugh, son of Poseidon taking to the air

·         Aaaand the maintenance squad has been possessed

·         Annabeth gets to point out the obvious, Percy is on fire like it’s no big deal, and Hail Hydra isn’t even a thing yet. At least not in the main stream.

·         Flying shoes are now fully attuned and working for him

·         Annabeth shoots shit again

·         At one point, it is a plot point that children not of Apollo aren’t that good at archery

·         And Annabeth in the books fights with a knife, an invisibility cap, and her wits, and never shoots shit

·         Medusa petrifies the hydra through fire

·         Okay then

·         Where do they get their money for food from

·         That’s a major obstacle in the books

·         The credit cards they totally have?

·         And the gas money for that car

·         Okay so the underworld is actually visually striking and could have had potential

·         Hades is actually vengeful and out to kill the other gods

·         Persephone mentions her allotted time away from him, but is still there before the solstice.

·         She double crosses Hades because she hates him and shit, it’s weird

·         And then she hits on what for all intents and purposes is an underaged boy

·         The staredown is sooo unsatisfying and thematically rrelevant

·         Luke just conveniently happened to flutter around the empire state building close to midnight because….?

·         Does this camp have no security?

·         The fight is badly, badly choreographed

·         Luke also just has delusions of grandeur and wants to ascend to gdhood or something

·         “You’Re no hero” – actually, per definition, he is.

·         Also, this fucking lightning bolt is supposed to be more powerful than nuclear bombs, STOP USING IT IDIOTS

·         And then Luke just kinda chills on top of the building, waiting for Percy to come and angage him in aerial combat like a video game boss

·         Okay if you’re using the lightning bolt, fucking use it

·         HOW CAN PERCY’S SWORD REFLECT IT DAMMIT

·         No, really, if a celestial bronze sword can do that, what’ so great about it in the first place

·         They use this thing like a flashier version of a tazer

·         Also, they’re right underneath Olympus, you’d think the gods might actually intervene this close to their home turf

·         Luke then uses Percy’s lack of proficiency at aerial combat to suggest he might be no son of Posedong after all… Which I agre with, actually, because Zesu would blast any sons of Poseidon out of the air immediately

·         He also effectively reminds Percy of his waterbending powers, so he can make water tanks explode for dramatic final battle poses

·         The bolt somehow doesn’t electrocute Luke when caught in a tidal wave

·         Water somehow knocks Luke’s shoes off

·         Mortals are allowed to go to Olympus

·         Ah wait, just to ride the elevator up there

·         Athena has a random British accent

·         And the gods are arguing, completely oblivious to what’s going on, but also totally prepared for imminent war

·         With each other in a council chamber

·         Riiight

·         Also the movie gave absolutely no reason for Luke to be angry

·         Athena and Poseidon are conveniently already standing

·         Zeus just like that agrees to bring Grover from the underworld WHICH IS NOT EVEN HIS DOMAIN

·         Poseidon gets to talk to Percy and doesn’t even shrink down to do it. They never say why the gods aren’t allowed to talk to their children

·         …Gods become human when they spend too much time with mortals? AND THAT’S WHY THEY’RE NOT ALLOWED TO VISIT THEIR CHILDREN?! WHAT IS THIS BULLSHIT?!?!!?!?!

·         Zeus and Poseidon are RIVALS. Godhood can be BESTOWED. The rational thing to do would have been to let him become human and appoint a new god of the sea loyal to Zeus

·         You’d think some tactical minded deity who doesn’t like Poseidon very much would have thought of that

·         Sally can just kick out Gabe, just like that

·         Chiron is totally into students disobeying. Let word of that get around, and everyone will run away and be eaten by monsters, defeating the entire purpose of the camp

·         Gd dammit you kids have no chemistry and with the intense eyes and same hair color look more like siblings

·         Making this almost kiss really uncomfortable.

·         Also, how is Percy suddenly able to stand up against her clunky pirouette fighting without having stepped into water first?

·         Ugh