#pray this is the last post i have to make about this dumb project!

[luckyguyy]

group project is due tomorrow I’m in my full villain era*

*just telling my group members what to do because we don’t have time to fuck around anymore

[maddiwrites]

Secret Lives

Pairing: JJ Maybank x reader

Summary: You and JJ never got along so your friends trap the two of you on a boat in the middle of the marsh to work it out. Only it doesn’t go as planned.

Note: Hi guys! This is my first writing piece. I tried not to do a two parter for my first one but it ended up being so long. Sorry! I would love to hear your feedback so feel free to leave me a message! Part two will be posted soon. Also I have completed a rewrite of the show with a JJ x Routledge sister pairing so keep an eye out for that! Also wanna shout out @skiesofthesketchy​ @malfoyfarms​ @collecting-stories​ because they were some of the first masterlists I read and I loved them and it inspired me to write my own. So thank you!

Word Count: 5.3k

Warnings: Language, angst, very slight mentions of abuse

Part 2

Y/N Y/L/N. That’s you. Or as some like to call you, Hannah Montana. You live the best of both worlds, living it up on Figure Eight and wearing hundred dollar dresses to fancy dinners and parties, sneaking expensive mimosas to brunches with your friends, and getting biweekly mani pedi’s with your sister. Meanwhile, when you’re not rolling around in the luxuries of Kook Life, you’re rolling around in the dirt with your Pogue friends, baking in the sun on a dirty small boat while drinking the cheapest beer one of the boys’ could get their hands on. Most Kooks hated you even when they wanted to be you. And most Pogues didn’t trust you even as they tried getting in your pants.

One of them being JJ Maybank.

Kiara introduced you to her group of friends right after freshman year. The two of you were the black sheep of Kook Academy. Both your families have money, sure. But you weren’t jerks about it. You enjoy a little pampering here and there, but you’re not tone deaf and superficial like the rest of your peers. You were so grateful that your science teacher paired you two together for that year’s science fair. You instantly clicked with the curly brunette and spent most of the class talking about whatever came to mind instead of actually brainstorming project ideas. After working together for months on a science fair project with a shared passion of wanting to help save the environment, Kie finally introduced you to her best friends.

John B and Pope immediately made you feel like one of the group. Sure, they were curious about your life but you never felt like you were being interrogated with questions. They included you on inside jokes and even gave you the nickname ‘Sassy’ after proving to them that you can hold your own in a verbal fight.

Thanks to JJ.

From the start he claimed to never like you. He hated where you were from, who your parents were, and that you never had a job. He hated that you didn’t even have to try to get people to like you. In his eyes, everything was handed to you on silver platter. You had a picture perfect life and all you had to do was bat your eyelashes and show off your pearly white teeth. He couldn’t stand you.

Yet, he was dangerously attracted to you.

He loved the way your hair shined against the setting sun, he loved that you didn’t wear makeup every single day like every other Kook on the island, he loved how your white jean shorts perfectly shaped your curves, and he loved how your temper was as equally as short as his because it made you fighting with him that much hotter.

Last night was no different than every other night with you and your friends. It was quiet, spent around a bonfire in John B’s back yard. You sipped on cheap beer from the can while the smell of JJ’s marijuana smoke wafted through the air. Kie lightly strummed the strings of her ukulele while Pope and JJ bickered about the pros and cons of smoking weed.

This was your family. You had friends on the other side of the island too but you weren’t as close as you were with the Pogues. You would do anything for the people surrounding you. Even JJ. You tried to tell yourself you hated him just as much as he hated you, but you couldn’t help but feel like every other girl on this island, falling for his ocean blue eyes and golden locks. His wit and his charm. His loyalty and protectiveness of his friends. How he looked with his shirt off. How he would wink at you when he caught you staring. You wished you didn’t, but you loved him.

“Hellooo, Y/N?” John B waved his hand in front of your face. You hadn’t even realized you’d been staring.

“I’m sorry. What were you saying?”

John B smirked but didn’t say what he was thinking. He always thought you and JJ were acting dumb when it was clear as day that the two of you were attracted to each other. He always caught you two staring at one another when the other wasn’t looking. You two would always ask about the other person when they weren’t there even if it was just to throw a sharp jab behind their back.

“I asked you what you were up to this weekend.”

“Oh,” You shrugged. “Probably run some errands, babysit my neighbor’s kids...”

Just like Hannah Montana, you also lived a secret life. Your life wasn’t as perfect as everyone thought it was, but you’d never admit to it. Your mother would be crushed, your friends would find you stupid and pathetic, and you would hate yourself even more than you already did.

“Good. Sunday we’re going to check out the surfing competition on Seasill Beach. JJ’s trying to qualify for it next year.”

Your smile immediately dropped. “Sunday. Oh.”

“Already got a spa day planned, Princess?” JJ smirked from across the way.

“I, uh,” You tried your best to fake a grin. “I’m sorry. I can’t go. I already have plans.”

You held you breath as you waited for someone to respond. This was the third time this month you flaked on your friends without a good explanation. You never knew what to tell them, only that you had plans. You were afraid if you said anything else, they’d find out you were lying.

“Again?” Kie stopped playing her ukulele to look at you. “Seriously. Is there some secret boy we should know about or something?”

You scoffed. “No.”

You felt the most guilty lying to Kie. After all she was your best friend. The one you were supposed to be able to share everything with, even the stuff you couldn’t tell your parents.

“Kie’s right. You bailed on us last week last minute too,” Pope said.

You opened your mouth to say something, but your head wasn’t working fast enough to come up with a lie.

“We all knew this day would come.” JJ’s smirk was gone. He flicked the butt of his joint into the fire and claps off the ash from his hands. “Hannah Montana dips her toes into the wild life. She feels free and independent long enough to decide she’d rather go back to her cookie cutter life and live with all the privilege that daddy has to offer.”

The word ‘daddy’ physically made you flinch. Your eyes narrowed in a tight glare as you dug your fingernails into the palm of your hand, hating that this was the way JJ thought of you.

“J...” John B tried to warn him but JJ didn’t listen.

“No, seriously.” JJ stood up. “I bet the reason she’s not telling us what all her ‘plans’ are is because she knows you’ll all be disappointed. Me? Well, I couldn’t care less whether you hung out with us or not. In fact, I’ve been praying for it. So tell us, Y/N, what are you doing that you won’t tell us? If it’s not some dude, then maybe you decided you’d rather be a Kook. Are you going to fancy lunches and riding yachts across the ocean? Maybe you’re spitting in the faces of the people who work to make your life easier. Maybe -”

“JJ!” Kie yelled.

You stood up, your vision turning red and your skin going hot. Usually you could take JJ’s insults. You were use to JJ throwing your family’s money in your face, trying to make you feel bad for something you can’t control, but this was too much. Because now he was calling you out on your loyalty to your friends. And he was so far from the truth.

“You would like that, wouldn’t you?” You said. The other three stood up when you took a step in JJ’s direction. John B stood close to you. He didn’t know what you were going to do, but he’s never heard your voice so low and threatening in a long time. The other time was with a Kook who was giving JJ shit. Ironically. “For me to just leave.”

“I didn’t stutter, did I?”

“Well I hate to break it to you, but I’m not going anywhere. In fact, because I’m such a nice friends, I’m going to give you some free advice. First, the last thing you want to question me about is my loyalty to the people who’s lives I would put before my own. Second, I would suggest removing that stick up your ass because it seems like your way too uptight to handle it.”

JJ glared at you and didn’t move to respond. A part of you was surprised he didn’t have anything to come back with and the other part of you was relieved.

The thick tension between you and your friends was suffocating. Your night had been effectively ruined by a simple question. But the sad part is, you didn’t even know who to blame. JJ, or the other man causing most of your guilt and grief.

“Y/N/N...” Kie tried stopping you as you gathered your stuff to leave.

“I’m out of here.”

You stormed out of the backyard and into your car. There was only so much you could take until you broke. And you were not going to give JJ Maybank the satisfaction of seeing you break.

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

You couldn’t fall asleep last night. JJ’s words kept replaying in your head like a bad song stuck on replay. You wanted to hate him. You wanted to blame him for not trusting you. But instead, you hated yourself. Because you’re the reason he can’t trust you. Cause you have secrets you don’t want shared.

Your thumb hovered over his contact. Not JJ’s. The man who’s made your life a living hell for the last sixteen years. You wanted to scream and cry and slap him in his face. But instead, you stayed frozen in fear. Like the little pathetic girl he says you are. And you hated yourself more for proving him right.

Your attention was taken away when someone busted through your bedroom door out of breath. Kie immediately went to your drawers and pulled out the first bathing suit she could find and threw it at you.

“Kie -”

“We need to go,” She said. “Get dressed.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Pope and John B ran out of gas doing grocery runs for Heyward. We need to get them with the HMS Pogue.”

“Where’s JJ? Why can’t he help you?”

“He’s working,” Kie said quickly. “Come on.”

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

You and Kie found Heyward’s boat stranded in the middle of the marsh like Kie said it would be. John B and Pope were waiting for you on the back and thanking you both for coming to help. You hold the gas as they helped you onto the boat. They directed you to the tank while they helped Kie.

As soon as you made your way to the front of the boat, you heard the engine of the Pogue rev and take off. You dropped the gasoline gallon and sprinted to the back of the boat where they left you. John B and Pope waved back to you as Kie drove them back to the Chataeu.

“What the hell?” You yelled at them to come back.

“You and JJ need to work your shit out!” John B yelled back to you.

“What...” You mumbled to yourself before you heard the sound of heavy footsteps running towards you. You gasp in surprise when a sweaty JJ passed you to glare at the boat that’s getting smaller and smaller by the second.

“What the fuck?” He screamed.

“There’s food and blankets in the cabin!” Pope yelled back.

“We’ll come get you in the morning,” Kie said.

You clenched your teeth together with frustration. JJ looked just as pissed off and small part of you was disappointed with that. He turned around, cursing to himself and hitting random shit in his way.

This was going to be a long day.

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

After four hours, you and JJ still hadn’t spoken to each other. He took over the cabin while you laid out on the back of the boat. Your head was running with different thoughts. Should you try to make up with JJ? Should you just continue to ignore him? Should you tell him why you can’t go to the surfing competition tomorrow?

You didn’t know what to do but you knew you couldn’t sit here in silence anymore.

You reluctantly stood in front of him with crossed arms. He was smoking a blunt and looking out into the setting sun. If you were friends, you would take a picture of him right now. The pink sky painted his skin perfectly.

“What?” He said without looking at you.

“Seriously?” You raised one brow. “We’re asked to do one thing on this boat and that’s all you have to say?”

“I’m not sorry for what I said last night.”

“Neither am I.”

“Fine.”

You rolled your eyes. The problem with both of you was that you’re both stubborn. But if the problem with JJ couldn’t be fixed today, you didn’t know how much longer you would be able to put up with his rude remarks and assumptions about you.

“What the hell is your problem?” You said.

“My problem?”

“Yeah. Your problem. You’ve been treating me like shit ever since Kie introduced me to you. What could I have possibly done to make you hate me so goddamn much?”

JJ shook his head in annoyance. “I’m not doing this.”

He got up and walked to the back of the boat where you were sulking not even five minutes ago. You followed him like the stubborn person you were and you continued to grill him.

“I’ve tried so hard to be your friend. I’ve bought you drugs, I’ve even done yours and JB’s laundry. I put in a good word to the tourons who ask about you at boneyard parties. I laugh at your jokes, even when they’re about my friends. I try so hard to be on your good side and you still want nothing to do with me!”

“Because you’re a Kook!”

“So?”

“You have everything. Money, family, friends, a future. I don’t trust you because I don’t know what the hell you want with us. What do we possibly have that you can’t get on Figure Eight? Hm? Are you trying to prove a point to your mom that you don’t need her? You trying to prove to your dad that you’re a tough girl and don’t need his money or protection to keep you safe? Huh?”

“You know what your problem is? You don’t listen! I’ve told you time and time again that I don’t care about any of those things. I hang out with you guys because you are my friends. I have a good time when I’m with you. Why is that so hard for you to get?”

JJ scoffed. “Please. You don’t think I see you constantly checking your cell phone? Making sure no one can see who you’re texting? If we’re such good friends, why won’t you tell us what you’re doing tomorrow? You always have ‘other plans’ and then you never tell us what they are.”

“Because that’s none of your business!”

“If my friends are going to get hurt because of some lying bitch then it is my business!”

You were breathing so heavily, you were basically panting. Your blood felt like it was boiling under your skin and your head felt fuzzy with lack of thoughts. You didn’t know what to say, truly lost for words.

JJ took another step closer to you. You’re so close to him, you can feel his breath on your face and see every mark on his skin. You never knew he had a scar right above his brow or a freckle under his ear. He smelled like weed and sun sunscreen and his breath like mint. Had you not been fired up with rage, you would have thought he looked hot and maybe even made a move.

But now it was the last thing you wanted to do.

“I’m sick and tired of you spoiled brats getting everything you want. You’re nothing but a spoiled rich kid who doesn’t even know the kind of privilege she has if it hit her in the face. You can’t relate to anything we have to go through. You don’t have to get dirt underneath your fingernails to make a buck. You don’t have to wonder where your next meal is coming from. You wouldn’t last a week on the Cut because you’ve never known what it’s been like to live the life we do!”

“You don’t know anything about me!” You snapped. The heart in your chest felt like it was being shredded to pieces by a rapid wolf. You felt like you were being torn apart one by one with each insult he threw in your face. Little did he know, he was wrong.

“I know enough to never want to see you again. I will never accept you into our group of friends. Don’t you get that? So you can stop playing the nice girl act around me and go back to Sarah Cameron and the other Kooks that you still hang out with despite knowing everything they’ve done to us. To Kie!”

Bringing up the fight between Kie and Sarah was a low blow and JJ knew it. It was something you always struggled with because you continued to be friends with both of them separately. At first, they were both mad at you but then accepted your friendship when they came around to loving the idea that you would fight for both of them. You tried getting them to talk and make up, but both of them refused. Maybe you should just stick them on a boat in the middle of nowhere and force them to work it out.

Although, clearly your experience with it wasn’t going so well.

“That’s not fair.”

“Yeah, well life’s not fair sweet heart. But you wouldn’t know about that.”

You thought the fight last night was bad. But this one took the icing off the cake. You wished so desperately that Kie had just trapped you both in a locked room, so at least you had the chance to break out and run away from the darkness that was clouding around you.

You were most upset that this was how JJ thought of you. You didn’t know if you would have the same devastating reaction if someone else had said these things to you. You wanted so badly to be friends with the blonde Pogue. You saw the way he interacted with his friends and you wanted to be a part of that small circle so badly, you would almost do anything to be in it.

But you didn’t think you could last another second of being belittled and tormented with JJ’s outspoken feelings towards you. You wished there was a rewind button so you could go back to bed and hopefully never wake up and you’d lock your door so Kie couldn’t break in.

You swallowed back the tears that threatened to fall and admit your defeat. You wanted to find the nearest corner and crawl into it and escape the murderous glare of JJ Maybank. JJ was wrong. You didn’t have everything. Because in this moment, you still wanted him. And you were just realizing that you never will.

“You judge me by the surface. You’ve never once tried to get to know me. You don’t ask. You just assume that I’m like every other kid on Figure Eight. You don’t know where I’ve came from. What I’ve been through. What I live with. You don’t know my plans for the future or my hobbies or even my favorite color because you didn’t ask!” Adrenaline pushes through your veins like a wave of energy. You’ve never felt so powerful but so small in your life.

“All right. So tell me,” JJ said. “Tell me whatever story you can think of that will change my mind about you.”

You paused, standing there face to face with someone who will never accept you. You were suddenly overcome with so many emotions you didn’t know which one to choose from. Anger, sorrow, fear, confusion, shame.

You couldn’t believe you even thought about telling JJ your story. A story that you haven’t even told Kie. The story about how you were actually born and raised on the far end of the south side. How your dad use to abuse your mother right in front of you before she managed to escape when you were eight. For six months you lived in her car before she got a job as a housekeeper at a cheap motel used mostly for hookers and their cliental. Her employer let you live rent free if your mom accepted a cheaper pay check. During one of her shifts, your mother ran right into Andrew Y/L/N. No, he wasn’t one of the hooker’s clients. He was actually on the property looking to buy out the place. Even though he was a Kook, he looked through the housekeeper’s uniform into my mom’s heart and loved everything about her. He took her on a couple dates, then less than a year later, married her. You changed your last name to his because you didn’t want any relation to your father anymore. You thought the man was scum and deserved to rot in hell for everything he put your mom through. You hated him and even wished for him to die. Sometimes you even thought about doing it yourself. But then you saw him again. At a gas station in the middle of The Cut. You couldn’t believe he recognized you and you were even more shocked he had the audacity to talk to you. And you listened. He told you how sorry he was. How he never meant to hurt your mom. How he missed his baby girl and wanted to be in her life again. You fell for every word because a part of you you didn’t know existed missed having a biological dad.

That was your biggest mistake.

He didn’t change. He was still the same bastard he was eight years ago, using violence and threats with people much weaker than him to get what he wanted. He loved guilting you with your new luxuries. How you now had everything right under your fingertips after you left him to wither away with nothing. He said you owed him. Because you were his daughter and you were supposed to love him unconditionally. And you fell for it every time. He never hurt you like he hurt your mom. A few slaps here and there but nothing to leave a mark to get your mother questioning.

So now you were trapped - trapped in his world and in his life. Using your own money that you actually worked for, little did JJ know, to pay for his bills, his drugs, and sometimes, even his bail.

You didn’t tell anyone about this secret life because you didn’t want anyone to make you feel any more pathetic and weak than you already felt. And most importantly, you didn’t want to hurt your mother by telling her you’ve been supporting the one person she’s been trying to protect you from.

And you were about to risk that by telling someone who probably still wouldn’t care about you even after hearing what you had to say. You are who you are. If JJ didn’t like you now, he shouldn’t like you after telling him your story, anyway.

“No.” You shook your head.

“No?” JJ scoffed. “I’m finally asking you tell me something and you’re saying no?”

“Because you don’t care, JJ! Not really. You think knowing my sob story is going to get you to like me? I don’t need a pity friendship. I am who I am because of shit I’ve had to overcome. And this is me now. So if you don’t like it, then fine. We’ll do it your way and call it quits.” JJ didn’t say anything as you turned around to find somewhere to pass out in hopes of getting morning to come faster.

You found a blanket deep into the cabin and pulled it over your body, shielding yourself away from the world. You hoped the darkness would sweep through your head so you wouldn’t be plagued with torturous thoughts about your past or what’s going to happen to tomorrow. You cried - you cried because even after JJ ripped into your like a zoo animal, he still hated you.

JJ was wrong. You didn’t have everything. Because you didn’t have him.

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

Surprisingly, the sun rose sooner than you expected it to. Sleeping on the swaying boat wasn’t as awful as you thought it was going to be. In fact, it was kind of peaceful with the stars above you and the sound of moving water right under you.

The morning wasn’t so calming. You were slapped in the face with memories of the night before. Your stomach twisted at the thought of being face to face with JJ again. You knew what you had to do and thinking about it made you sick and depressed.

You pushed yourself up and checked the time on the radio. 8:03. Anxiety instantly flooded through you. You only had two hours to get home to be ready in time to run ‘errands’ with your dad.

You looked out to the back of the boat where JJ was looking into the horizon, probably waiting for your friends to come.

Fresh set of tears pricked your eyes at what’s to come. You loved your friends and you even loved JJ. But you couldn’t stay with the Pogues. You didn’t want to make JJ any more uncomfortable than he already was and you were afraid the constant fighting would push your friends further apart. You didn’t want to be the reason for that.

You pulled the blanket tighter around your shoulders and walked next to JJ. Without a word, you looked out in the same direction he was looking and admired the morning sun.

Surprisingly, JJ was the first one to speak. He looked at you and instantly felt guilty all over again. He tossed and turned all night contemplating on whether he should wake you up to apologize or just wait until morning. He knew he wasn’t being fair. You’ve done nothing but tried to earn his trust since day one. You accepted him for all his flaws and he couldn’t do the same for you. Yeah there was the phone thing and not telling the others what you’re up to, but it wasn’t like you were constantly in his business. If you see him with unexplained bruises, you don’t pester him about it. If he comes back to the Chateau in a pissy mood and blames it on a fight with his dad, you try to make him forget about it with a distraction instead of making him tell you what the fight was about. Why couldn’t he give you the same respect?

Truth was he wasn’t so much worried about his friends getting hurt as he was getting hurt. He liked you more than a friend should which would make your departure from your friends that much more heartbreaking for him. He never felt this way over a girl, let a lone a Kook and he tried so desperately to hate you. But it didn’t work. Instead, it made him feel like the biggest asshole in the world. He wanted to fix what he broke. He told himself he still had time left. His friends weren’t back yet to get him.

“Listen, Y/N -”

“It’s fine, J,” You sniffled. This time you couldn’t stop the tears from running down your cheeks. You tried blinking them away which only made them fall faster. You hated crying in front of people. Your dad always said it was a sign of weakness and you believed him. You wouldn’t be surprised if JJ laughed in your face right now and called you a loser. “It’s done.”

“What are you talking about?”

JJ’s heart physically broke when he saw your tears. He had never seen you cry. Not even out of joy. He couldn’t believe he was the cause of this. That he had made someone as beautiful and as kind as you actually feel bad about herself. He wished he could take back time and start over. He wished he gave her a chance from the beginning. He wished it wasn’t too late.

You both looked up when you heard the engine of the HMS Pogue. In the distance, you could hear your friends laughing and calling out to you, not yet realizing their plan went to shit. You had to make this quick.

“The last thing I want is to get between you and your friends. You don’t have to worry about me hurting anyone, especially Kie. I’ll back off.” You said, making JJ’s brows furrowed in confusion and his heart raced with worry. “I’m giving you what you want. I’ll stay out of your life.”

JJ couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe he drove you to do the one thing he actually never wanted you to do. “Wait. You’re leaving?”

You looked JJ in the eyes and he wished you didn’t. Because for the first time, he didn’t see the light behind your eyes or the little crinkle in the corner when you smiled. They were dull and lifeless, making him sick to his stomach.

“I didn’t stutter. Did I?” You used his words from the other night and it felt like a stab in the heart to JJ.

JJ was left speechless which almost never happens. He wished he could say something, anything, to make you feel differently, to tell you he was wrong and sorry. But nothing came out. He could barely breathe.

“Hey you crazy kids,” Kie’s voice pierces the air, jokingly and airy. If only she knew that wasn’t how you were feeling.

“Missing a key or something?” John B joked alongside her.

“You should have called us sooner!” Pope added.

When the boat came closer to yours, they finally got a look at the two of you. They were shocked to see you silently crying and looking like all the life had been sucked out of you. JJ looked mad but they couldn’t tell whether he was mad at you or them or himself.

The three of them went sick with anxiety, suddenly wondering if this was a bad idea. Kie tried to get you make eye contact, but you wouldn’t look at her. You couldn’t look at any of them - afraid you might actually break completely if you did.

“Y/N/N...” Kie said softly.

“You guys okay?” John B asked wearily.

JJ helped Pope tie The Pogue to Heyward’s boat and hopped on right after. Pope traded spots with JJ and came up beside you and stood there awkwardly. He didn’t know what to do either.

You looked up at him before he could come up something probably stupid to ask. “Can you drop me off please?”

Pope glanced back at his friends and nodded. “Uh, sure. John B will probably get you there faster though if you -”

“No, it’s okay,” You said. You didn’t think you’d be able to handle being in an enclosed space with JJ for another minute. You just wanted to go home and forget the past two years ever happened. “I’ll stay here.”

Pope shrugged at his friends when you trudged back into the cabin and curled yourself into the corner. You didn’t know what the next few weeks would be like, but you hoped they go better than the last twenty four hours did.

[deexchanel]

Don't do this to me.

Word Count:

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x BlackFem!OC

Warning: Angst, Sadness.

Summary: Charmaine's first mission with the team but it doesn't end well and the team loses a member.

Go to the series masterlist before you read this chapter, if this is your first time: Charmaine

A/N: Okay so I feel way more comfortable posting this chapter after I said I wasn't going to post the rest. Let me know if this cringy, I love feedback.

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

The day was Friday and it was the same as any other day, Charmaine was back home from her class, Peter was getting out of school, the team either train or helped find the location of the Hydra base that held the scepter. One month after the avengers been staying in the tower. The relationship between Charm and Bucky was growing every day, at times they act like a couple without even noticing.

"Did you enjoy dinner?" Charm questioned while washing the few dishes that were in the sink. Bucky walked over placing a kiss on her cheek and putting his dirty plate in the water.

"I loved it, that lobster mac and cheese was amazing."

She blushed at the comment and his boldness of him kissing her on the cheek. He winked then walked over to the couch sitting down beside Sam, joining him in the movie that was playing. Bucky let go of the nervous breath he was holding,  he seemed confident on the outside but on the inside, he was scared as fuck.

Charmaine wasn't no easy girl that he would flirt and take home the same night in the '40s. She was the girl that he wants to get to know fully, learn the little things about, be himself around. So most time he was around Charm, he was nervous as hell praying that he wouldn't say something dumb.

Charmaine hummed one of her favorite songs while cleaning up the last dish thinking about a certain long-haired brunette. She turned around coming face to face with spiderman who was hanging upside down.  The 21-year old let out a yelp clutching her heart.

"Peter don't do that !! What the hell dude."

"You okay Charm?" Bucky questioned from the couch looking over at her. He saw Peter hanging down so his concerns washed away. "Oh, Peter just scared her."

"Yeah, you alright?" Sam asked as well not taking his eyes off the screen, ignoring what Bucky just said.

"Sorry Champagne, I just came back from patrol and I rushed in here before you left to ask you this. Can you make brownies? I wasn't here the last time you made them and everyone said they were good. " Peter rambled as he let himself come down, sitting on top of the perfectly clean marble countertop.

"They were!" Sam chimed in.

"See! I want to try them." Peter pout poking out his lip.

"I be spoiling you guys I swear. I'll make some just for you Peter."  Charm groaned playfully, opening the cabinet grabbing the brownie box. "Get your ass off my counter, I just cleaned it."

Peter hopped off happily," So? You and Bucky?"

"Peter if you continue to say something about that topic, I'm not making the brownies." She warned looking in the fridge for the eggs.  Maria walked in from the elevator with a serious face grabbing everyone's attention.

"They found the base. Cap said suit up and meet them in the lab in 5. Peter, Happy is downstairs waiting for you."

Everyone nodded and Charm hugged Peter. Tony had let slide with one of his kids going on the mission, not both so Peter was going home until they got back. She kissed his forehead.

"This mission shouldn't take long, I'll be back to make your brownies. Be good for Aunt May."

" I am Champagne, be safe and please come back. "

"I will Petey. I'll always come back."

-----------

Charmaine walked in beside Sam as they were the last two to join the rest in the lab. She found a spot beside Scott. Everyone was in full armor ready to go except Bruce and Tony because you know.

"Glad of you two to finally make it," Tony said sarcastically then started swiping away on his tablet. It projects a hologram of what seems to be Rome. "We are going to Rome. Intel tells us that hydra has a camp in the countryside."

The hologram shows a huge vineyard with a building that looked abandoned with little buildings surrounded.

"Inside sources tell us that the person who is over this organization called M.A.Z.E is supposed to be visiting any moment now. We're taking down two operations at once so be prepared for this mission to be one of the hardest." Maria said reading something off her tablet. Charm snuck a glance at Bucky who was in his winter soldier attire. She hoped that this mission wasn't going too hard for him.

"Brief explanation. Stay focused at all times, take out as many as you can, feeling overwhelmed? Walk it off. Get in, Get out. Anyone that has the chance grabs the scepter." Steve spoke with determination.

"When we get there we fight anyone that comes our way. Sam or Stark will find a way to get us in. Charm you stay by someone at all times okay? first mission and we don't want to lose you."

"Gotcha." Charm nod her head understanding his rule.

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

Inside the quinjet, she sat beside Bucky. Both had their mask off to communicate with each other. Everyone was in either their own zone or in a conversation. Bucky closed his eyes so he could converge on how to not lose control of himself, he didn't want to completely turn back into the winter soldier.

"You like my suit?" Charmaine asked softly taking him out of his trance.

Bucky turns his head giving a smile, "I like it. You make it look good and very badass."

"I feel like a badass." She jokes making them laugh. As their laughter died down, Charm grabbed his hand pulling it in her lap. "Are you okay about this whole mission? I know history with you and hydra isn't really that good."

"I should be good, I just don't want to be captured again, you know? Steve and I are still working on me not reacting to my trigger words. It's hard but it's working. Plus I got you fighting by my side so we are going to be the coldest duo."

"Well I'm not going to let that happen, you protect me so I'm going to always protect you . If you don't mind, I could help with the trigger words? I'll be there to hold your hand or something." Charm said with quiet empathy giving him a soft smile. " Coldest duo? Well, this mission should be over in no time. When we get back can we finish watching Legally Blonde? You fell asleep before it started leaving me up by myself."

"I'll check with Steve when we do it the next time, I wouldn't want you to get hurt if anything happened," Bucky said nodding his head towards Steve. " And I told you that I was tired! You didn't listen and put on the movie anyway."

"I'm not going to get hurt and I thought you were playing!" Charm said in defense then calmed down. "Hey, Bucky?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm always going to be here for you okay? You mean the world to me and I don't want to lose you under no circumstances." She said holding his hand to her face. Charmaine looked him in the eyes, showing that she was serious. A world without Bucky is a world that she can't live in. She needs him.

His hand opened and Charm cuddled to it. Bucky looked at her in admiration rubbing his thumb against her cheek. He admits it, Buchanan was head over heels for her,"You mean the world to me as well so don't think you're going anywhere. You're my lucky charm."

In the next four hours, they had arrived Rome's countryside and everyone prepared for landing. Charm stood next to her dad as his Iron Man suit connects over his body. Before his helmet covered his face, Tony turned to Charm.

"Kiddo, be safe alright? Don't get hurt or anything."

"I will." She reassured and he kissed her forehead. 'Now thinking about it Tony has a weird way of expressing his feelings' Charmaine thought to herself. The doors to the jet opened and Steve spoke up, "Stark, Sam you're up!"

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

A/N: I am not good with action so skipping to the juicy part.

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

Charmaine ran down the hallway trying to find the exit to the big building. Thor didn't retrieve the scepter and they were still looking but time was winding down. She ran into this room where there were big computer screens on the wall with a closed-cell in the corner.

"Ahh, I have been looking for you." A female voice came from behind her making Charmaine turn around swiftly. "I'm Mazikeen and you are going to be on in my unit."

The room filled with tension as they circled each other not losing sight of one another. "Unit? I'm not going to be anyone's slave. Let alone let you lay a finger on me, so let go of that stupid ass idea you have." Charmie snapped holding her fist up. Mazikeen winked getting in defense mode as well.

"Snarky? I like that. Let's do this shall we?"

She swings on Charm who easily blocks it. The two fight hand-to-hand combat for a couple of minutes, none stop. Charmaine was getting tired but she held her weight up. She kicked Mazikeen on her back, placing her foot on her neck. The Demon grabbed her ankle smirking then rolled over making Charm fall on her side. She gets on top, pulling out her knife.

"This won't hurt one bit. Well, maybe just a little."

"Anyone have eyes on Charmaine? The building is going to blow in 3 minutes." Tony's voice came through the comm.

"I'm busy at the moment!" Charm yelled pushing Mazikeen's arms up so she wouldn't get stabbed in the face. The dark skin girl moved one of her hands to the side grabbing the demon's hair yanking it.

Mazikeen fell off and it gave her enough time to get back to her feet. Charm kicked her to stay down but Mazi grabs her foot mid-air then twist it making her body twirl, falling on the ground.

"I will have you to myself and make you my eternal flame. Right along with the other 3 elements. You are going to be the most powerful." Mazikeen leans down grabbing her hair yanking it making Charmaine cry out in pain. The demon moved her mouth close to Charm's ear with a sinister smirk.

"I'm going to have you kill anyone that stands in our way."

A guard's body flew in the door from someone kicking him through. Bucky walks into the room angrily seeing Mazikeen holding a handful of Charm's brown hair.

He runs over punching her in the face making the demon drop his lover. Bucky grabbed Mazikeen by the neck with his metal hand dragging her towards the closed-cell.

The bounty hunter's eyes widen from the pressure that was on her throat, she hit his arm repeatedly but that didn't do anything. Bucky flings her into the closed cell like she was discarded trash.

Charm sits on the ground rubbing the back of her head, the words haunting her mind. Bucky goes back over to help his best girl onto her feet.

"We need to out of here now."

But it was muffled because of the mask. She nodded putting her weight on him as they walked to the exit. On the roof, the two ran to the middle.

"We're on the roof! Bring the Quinjet!" Bucky yelled taking off his mouth cover. Charm was hunched over trying to catch her breath, she literally just fought 5 minutes straight now she doing a full-out run. She needed more exercise.

The explosion sounded off and the building shook. Just in time, the Quinjet hovered down lowly so they could get on. A huge crack in the roof separated the two.

The building was going to collapse.

They looked around frantically as Charm's side start to slowly but gradually fall.

"Jump!" Bucky yelled, holding out his hand.

Charm did as told, not even second-guessing, leaping off the fallen building. She catches the side of the broken roof, barely holding on with one hand. All she needed to do was use her upper body to lurch her forward so her other hand could grab his. Bucky bends over, reaching for her hand, not taking his blue eyes off her brown ones.

Charmaine's eyes were filled with fear, feeling herself slowly losing grip, "I can't reach it!"

"Use your strength, Charmaine. Grab my hand!"

"I can't, Bucky; my body is too tired. I feel myself slipping!"

"Charm, grab his hand! Bucky, you need to need to grab Steve's hand. That building is going to collapse any second! He will pull you guys up." Natasha said in the comms but was ignored by both.

Bucky leans forward more without noticing that he might fall himself, "I'm not leaving without you charmaine. grab my hand!"

"I'm trying!" Charm yelled when she tries to lift herself; it aches in pain. She drops her hand down in pain. Tears clouded her vision as she knew this was it; Bucky stared at her scratched-filled face knowing what she was thinking.  He shook his head; He can't lose her, not now, " No Charm, you're leaving with me!"

Charmie could feel the building she was holding on to began to fall, sobbing; she looked into Bucky's blue eyes one last time. "I'm sorry Bucky."

"No Charmie, you have time. Just grab my hand! P-Please." Bucky yelled as tears clouded his vision. "You're my lucky charm. I need you!"

The building collapsed, and his feet slip from under him. A hand grabs his keeping Bucky from falling in the rubble; Natasha lowered it down in time just for Steve to grab the back of his armor from falling with her.

"No!" Bucky stared in horror watching Charmaine screamed, falling into the explosion reaching out for him.

Steve gasp as tears fell down his face seeing the horrible fate of his sister.

There was nothing either could do.

With the help of others, Steve pulled Bucky into the quinjet.

Bucky laid on his stomach sobbing with heartache.

Tears weld in Thor's eyes as he saw that Charmaine wasn't on the jet. This didn't seem real to him; he couldn't accept it, "Where is Charmie? Why isn't my sister on this jet?!"

"Steve, where is Charmie?" Natasha asked, slowly getting up from the pilot seat as Clint took over. Her heart raced, hoping that he would say that Tony has her or something. Bruce grabbed her waist, but she snatched away from his touch.

"Natasha, sit down."

"Don't tell me to sit down! Where is she?!"

Steve couldn't say anything as he drops to his knees, breaking down. Sam catches him before he hit the floor. "I got you man."

The jet doors opened as Tony flew in; he raised an eyebrow to see the team in tears. He was getting files in this underground room but got out in time just as the building collapsed. He noticed someone was missing.

"What's going on? Where is Charmaine?"

No one answer, which made Tony panic.

"Where is my daughter?!"

"Tony, she died; she f-fell into the explosion," Scott informed him while wiping his tears.  Her falling replayed in Bucky's mind like it was his personal hell. Charm reached out for him, and he couldn't save her. He failed.

Tony's world crumbled as tears blurred his vision looking around the jet as if she was hiding, "What? Barnes tell me he's lying! Where the hell is my daughter!"

Bucky sat up now with his knees to his chest; he couldn't stop crying no matter how much he tried. He lost the one person that meant the most to him other than Steve, the person he saw a future with. His best girl is no longer here.

Tony sat down in a seat in disbelief; for once in his life, he cried. He completely broke down, not being able to hold it. She filled the lonely hole in his heart; everyone he ever loved was gone, and the person who made him happy.

Was gone too.

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

It was evening time when they got back; they had been gone all day.

The living room was silent; the avengers sat down sulking and mourning. Bucky squeezed his eyes tightly closed as the memory of her falling hit his mind like a truck. Tony had his head in his hands, just letting his mind run all over the place. The elevator ding, and a frantic Peter walked out looking for Tony.

"Mr. Stark, I'm here! What happened? Is everyone okay? Are you okay?" Peter rambled, walking into the living room. He noticed everyone's sad behavior, then looked around for Champagne. "Guys?  Did something happen? Where is Charmaine?"

Tony gets up from the couch, going to Peter, engulfing him in a hug. Peter hugged back, shock that he did that but was still confused about what happened. "Mr. Stark, what's wrong?"

"She n-not co-coming back, kiddo."

"H-huh?"

"I'm s-sorry, kid."

"N-no, you're lying! This isn't a joking matter, Mr.Stark; everyone can put smiles on their fucking faces, and Champagne can pop up from under the couch." Peter said abruptly, pulling back from Tony's arms; doing a 360 to look around for a camera. Steve rubbed his hand over his mouth to keep from crying again.

"Queens, it's not a jo-joke."

Peter's face reddens from anger and sadness," She said she was coming back! She promised! What happened to her?!" Charmaine promised without even promising him because she always comes back. Peter prayed that this a sick ass joke; she was his best friend. Him and Her against the world.

"She fe-fell into the explosion Peter," Bruce said sadly; with that, Natasha broke down in his arms. Peter wasn't taking this well, and that broke everyone's heart even more.

"N-no guys, stop this, pl-please."Peter cried, shaking his head, then he looked Tony in the eyes. Her father nodded his head as a way of saying that it's true. Peter broke down mentally, " My Champagne is su-supposed to be here with me. My best friend is.."

Tony pulls his son into his arms; tears threaten to spill.

Peter sobbed his heart out.

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

2:43 a.m.

Bucky's body lurched forward after grabbing the gun that was kept under his pillow for 'emergency purposes' raised at...

Steve.

"Bucky, drop the gun. It's me."

"Shit, I'm sorry, Steve." His fingers slowly lost grip of the gun, and the weapon dropped to his lap. His chest drew up sharply with each breath as he tried to control his rapidly beating heart. Steve sat on the edge of his bed.

"It's fine Buck, you were yelling, so I came in here to see if everything was alright."

"I should be fine."

"Okay, I'm going back to bed and try to get some sleep before my morning exercise." Steve sighs, getting up from the bed. He wasn't getting any sleep at all, but he didn't want to tell Bucky that.

"Steve?" Bucky called before he could leave out the room. Steve stopped in his tracks looking at him.

"Yeah?"

"Can you stay with me and watch Legally Blonde? I was supposed to watch it with Ch-Charm when we came back, but..."

"I'll stay Bucky; I don't mind."

Bucky gave a small smile getting out of bed, grabbing some pillows and the comforter. Steve grabbed his laptop from the desk to find the movie. 5 minutes later, the two super soldiers were lying on the floor, eyes glued to the computer enjoying the movie.

-----

Awe this is a filler and it's long so bonus.

Give feedback plsss😂. If this is cringy let me knoww!

————-

Next Chapter: Eternal Flame

stay slutty my friends!

[mcwriting]

The Marriage Project (2)

part 2 is already here! fun fact, I’ve actually written like 16 chapters and I probs won’t always be posting weekly but I really wanted to put out part 2 sooooo... yeah. The Tom Holland x reader high school AU continues

Story Masterlist

Warnings: mild language

Word Count: 2365 (shorter than before, I know)

% approximately 1st week of September %

The next week had been relatively uneventful. Mrs. Flynn gave you both an A on your budget for the first week.

She also drew the next weekly condition, which for you was a $300 doctor’s visit of one family member.

“Well that’s stupid. If this were real life, we wouldn’t even need to take our kids to the doctor as PA’s,” Tom argued.

“First off, it’s not real life, and secondly, what if the kid broke a bone? Who’s gonna cast it, genius?”

“Well we probably wouldn’t have to pay,” he grumbled

When Friday afternoon hit, you were almost disappointed to see Tom not in the stands for your game, but remembered that the team had to start all their pregame rituals a couple hours before kickoff.

After crushing the competition, you took a quick shower and put on the shirt every senior was supposed to wear and walked to the field, where some of your friends had already claimed a spot on the bleachers. 

It was still a half hour before kickoff, so you talked as they helped put paint streaks on your cheeks and tie ribbons in your hair to show school spirit. You also watched the boys run drills until they were called to the sidelines for the national anthem. 

The team captains met for the coin toss, and as Tom and his co captain headed back to the team huddle, Tom spotted you in the crowd and pointed directly at you.

You didn’t know what he was doing so you quickly flipped him off and went back to your conversation.

They ended up winning the game by a field goal, and true to his word, Tom had actually played pretty well, aside from getting sacked towards the end of the game. 

You and the girls, not yet wanting to go home, hung out in the parking lot as families left.

“Hey, look. It’s your husband,” Alexis pointed out as Tom and a couple other players came limping down the lot with bags in tow. They were still wearing their football pants but had removed their jerseys, leaving on sleeveless compression shirts.

“Ugh. Don’t remind me. But I will say, his mom already loves me. We’re on a first name basis.”

She gave you a little low-five out of pride.

You couldn’t help but notice Tom pull the necklace out from under his shirt’s collar, the ring still attached.

Did he wear that the whole game?

He spotted you from a few yards away and yelled out,

“Hey hey hey. What did I tell you? Swooning yet?” he held his arms out as if to show he was right.

“Not quite, bub. But I’ll give you that touchdown pass. Don’t forget we have to work on the budget tomorrow!”

“Yeah yeah, see you then, princess.” He waved a hand as he continued on to his car.

Ugh. Princess.

Tom had been calling you that ever since the time freshman year you were the leading princess in a school play. 

You had hated the role for many reasons. 

For one, the character had no development and was basically dumb and defenseless (aka the exact opposite of you and everything you stood for). On top of that, the costumes were hideous, and what should have been a couple of pretty ballgowns and flowing skirts ended up being completely unflattering in color, shape, and style.

Everyone knew you hated it, and Tom loved to rub that in your face.

Eventually, you decided to retire home for the night since you had had such a taxing day.

%

You rang the Holland’s doorbell again, and this time it was opened by Tom’s youngest brother, Paddy. He was in the 5th grade, so you didn’t know him well. 

A perfect opportunity to make a good impression.

“Hey there, Paddy. Is Tom around? We’re supposed to work on our project today.”

“I’m not sure where he is, but I’m sure I can find him. Come on in.”

“Oh thank you. So polite.”

He sheepishly looked down as his face reddened. 

“I’ll be right back.”

He ran to the stairs and disappeared up them. A few minutes later an exhausted looking Tom appeared at the top of the stairs next to his brother.

“Come on up, I need to take a piss before we get started.” he called down, ever the charmer. He rubbed his eyes. He was only wearing a pair of sweats.

You followed his word and sat down on his bedroom floor, pulling up the documents on your computer as you waited. He came back wearing a shirt, a mug of coffee in hand.

“Want some? I made it fresh. I just woke up if you couldn’t tell.”

“No thanks. I don’t drink coffee, I find it disgusting. Caffeine addiction’s bad for you anyways.”

He looked down at the drink and back at you.

“Well we can’t all be perfect little princesses.”

You wanted to slap him, but just fired back with an insult and got to work. There wasn’t as much to do today other than reallocate the funds for the appointment and make up a story of what could have happened.

You both laid on your stomachs looking at the screen. As you typed, you heard heavy breathing and glanced over to see Tom had fallen back asleep.

Wow. He almost looks nice when he’s sleeping. What a disappointment.

You finished your paragraph and shook him awake.

“Ugh. sorry. I told you I’m a mess after game days.”

He went to push up to a sitting position when he winced, inhaling sharply. He put his head back on the ground.

“Woah there. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just pulled a muscle in my back last night. I think it’s from that sack.”

“Do you need me to get you something? LIke icy hot or some advil? I carry both at all times.”

“Icy hot would be perfect. I already took some painkillers.”

You shifted up and grabbed your backpack, pulling out the tube. You tossed it next to him to use.

“I hate to ask this, because you’re you, but could you put it on for me? I don’t think I can reach.”

You hesitated, but agreed since you knew what it felt like to be in pain like that. 

“Okay. Give me a general idea of where it is and I’ll poke around to find it.”

“Just under my shoulder blades on the right.”

He pulled up his shirt and you went to touch his back lightly. He flinched when your fingers graced his skin.

“Oh yeah, my hands are cold by the way.”

“No shit.”

You put your hand back, pressing lightly until he winced again, then you put a small amount of the ointment on your hand, massaging it in.

 You rhythmically rubbed your hand over the area in little circles, trying to loosen the tight muscle with your palm. You didn’t think much about it until he let out a moan, and you pulled your hand back like he was on fire.

“Oh my God I’m so sorry. It just felt so good on that spot and it just slipped out-”

“Let’s just agree to never mention this again. I’m gonna go wash my hands. And hopefully my brain while I’m at it. Where’s your bathroom?”

“Just across the hall. Can’t miss it.”

A little bit later and you were finally done for the day, so you helped Tom up and again packed your things.

“Sorry again about earlier. Thanks, though. It really helped.”

“Like I said, we don’t need to talk about it. Just never make that sound again, please. See you Monday.”

And with that you were out the door.

%

Another week, and Mrs. Flynn gave you another A and a budget condition.

Both you and Tom again won at your respective sporting events, and you again went to Tom’s.

Throughout the week, you and Tom had been on your usual game, firing shots. But at home it was like he was a different person. Sure you still jabbed at each other occasionally, but there was a more friendly aspect to it this week.

You were sitting on the floor when you felt a familiar pain in your lower abdomen.

You ignored it for a minute, but then it hit twice as strong. Immediately you shot up.

“I'm going to the bathroom,” you stated, speaking quickly.

“Uh. Okay?”

You rushed in and as you sat down pulled up your period tracker app. 

You weren’t supposed to start for 4 more days.

Well that’s a lie you thought as you caught a streak of red upon wiping.

You dug through the under-sink cabinet, hoping and praying to find something, anything you could use. When that came up dry, you just stuffed up some toilet paper and resigned to getting a tampon from your backpack.

A sense of panic filled your chest, however, when you realized the little bag you kept with extra supplies was nowhere to be found. That’s when you remembered that you had taken it out to replenish and apparently never put it back.

“Oh no. Oh no no no!”

There wasn’t even a single liner at the bottom of the bag.

“What’s got you in a tiff, princess? Don’t we have everything we need already?”

You sighed. You weren’t one to announce when you were on your period, since guys liked to believe that all women become bitches when they bleed. But you were desperate.

“Look, I know you’re gonna make fun of me, but I just started my period and don’t have anything to deal with it and I don’t know what to do.”

“Can’t you just hold it?”

“Ha ha good one. Seriously though I don’t know what I’m gonna do. If I don’t figure out something fast, I’ll bleed through my pants.”

Tom looked at you confused.

“Wait a second,” you started. “You weren’t serious right then, right? Like you do know it’s something women can’t control?”

“WHAT?” he exclaimed. “You can’t?”

“You know, for someone who calls himself so smart you sure are a dumbass. How do you know nothing about periods? You play football, haven’t you had a girlfriend before?”

He got quiet.

“No. I’m too busy competing with you that when I do get free time, everyone gets really intimidated by you.”

“Oh... “ you didn’t know what to say, but then a cramp hit you like a ton of bricks and you doubled over. “Ugh. could you just go get your mom? I need to go back to the bathroom and try not to throw up.”

Eventually, Nikki came and left some midol, tampons, and a heating pad for you and you were able to go back to Tom’s room, finding him leaning against his bed. He sat up straight when you walked in.

“Are- are you okay? You seemed to be in a lot of pain earlier.”

You plugged in the heating pad and turned it on, laying down on your back so you could drape it across your stomach. The midol hadn’t yet kicked in.

“Yeah, I’m good. It was early this month and I just wasn’t prepared,” you said staring at the ceiling, but turned your head to look at him. 

“Sorry if what I said was insensitive. I just figured you knew more about it than the average guy and I was so panicked that I wasn’t thinking straight. I’ve never had a boyfriend either. Same situation.”

“Hah, nerd.” 

You rolled your eyes and threw a nearby pillow at him. 

“Like you have room to talk. Now let’s just finish this so I can go home and take a nap.”

%

When you got to home ec Monday, you hadn’t spoken to Tom since leaving his house Saturday. Frankly, you were embarrassed about the situation still and figured he felt awkward too. 

Then, of course, you learned that Mrs. Flynn had decided to throw the class a curveball to tie the marriage project into regular class assignments.

For a unit on sewing, she was making each couple work together to make a small “marriage quilt” approximately the size of a baby blanket. Partners would have to work together to choose the colors, make a design, and sew it together within 2 weeks in class.

So there you were, sitting in the back corner of the room discussing design options and drawing up a pattern with Tom.

Upon realizing you both loved blue, you decided to make a blue based quilt. There would be little teal and pink accents as well in a couple of the fabrics you chose.

You sat in silence as you both cut small squares of fabric and batting. Other groups were talking, but things still felt heavy.

“Hey, uh. About Saturday…” Tom began quietly from the right of you.

“Please don’t bring it up. Everything turned out fine so let’s just keep it that way. I don’t need you to embarrass me more.”

“No, it’s not that. I just… what you said got me thinking. I know about all kinds of stuff and I’d like to go into medicine one day, but I know nothing about women’s health. So, I spent a good portion of yesterday researching and honestly, I had no idea how much you all go through. We may hate each other, but I respect you a lot more than before.”

“Oh. Wow. You know, I’m sure you read about it yesterday, but it’s super different for everyone. I wouldn’t even consider mine nearly as bad to some peoples’. But that’s really nice of you. And just because we hate each other doesn’t mean I won’t offer to let you ask me questions whenever. Education is way more important than any rivalry.” 

He smiled slightly and looked down at his desk, then back up, putting out his left fist. 

“Is a fist bump a good enough agreement to let each other ask any kinds of questions like that, no malice intended?” he asked.

You smiled back and hit your right fist to his left one. Eventually you went back to your normal arguing, but you couldn’t stop replaying the scene in your head.

%

A/N: thanks for reading guys! I’m so so busy with school right now that it’s going to be hard to release chapters weekly but I am trying to keep a somewhat regular upload schedule! I’ve written about 16 chapters so I have a lot of content to share already and there’s still more before I finish. As always, I can’t reply to post replies but my messages and asks are always open! 

Tag List: @jackiehollanderr, @one-big-fangirl, @l0lmk, @primadonnasdream, @bookworm06

[diegolabhont]

I didn't mean to fall in love with you

Chapter One

Book: Queen B - Choices (Universe)

Pairing:  Poppy Min-Sinclair x Trans!Male MC  (Beck Hughes)

Genre: None (in this post, al least)

Rating: Anyone can read it, really.

This is me trying to write by and for the Trans community, specially FTM community, meaning, trans guys, but I actually took the liberty to use They/them pronouns for everyone out there who´s interested (Also, the name Beck was the most neutral one I could find, trying to use the cannon Bea Hughes)

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

Can someone explain to her how a person who claims to be so disinterested in the ranking was magically climbing to the top twenty?

Poppy didn’t buy it for a second, she always knew Beck were going to be a pain in her ass ever since the first time she saw them looking at her as if they weren’t impressed, but she wasn’t fully aware of how much.

“You don’t have to worry about them, Poppy” Chloe said while the strawberry blonde retouch her make up in the mirror inside her own room. “Beck is just a dude”

“Transphobia much, Chloe?” Veronica murmured playfully, wanting to start drama among her streaming fans.

“No! What I'm saying is… Beck's brain works as a regular dude, right? How much smart can they be?”

“Ha! That´s rich coming from you” Veronica laughed.

Both girls started a discussion about related shit, Beck’s brain, hormones and else while Poppy put on the mascara. Completely silent, thinking.

She treated Beck as a common enemy, she attacked them just like she would to any other lost lamb trying to be the wolf but it was not enough. Even one of those plans exploded in her own face: ruining and breaking Beck's guitar caused that they not only get a flashy and beautiful new one, but sang side by side with the one and only Jaylen Riaz, making a huge performance. Even better than hers, which was something painful and humiliating at the same time, especially after Veronica told her Beck’s YouTube channel had a followers increase, making them even more popular.

Chloe was right on something: Beck’s brain worked like a dude, and if she had learned something was that men in general were manipulable. Take a look at Michael, he was dumb as hell. Liam was a douchebag. Luis, Ford… well, they… they´re there. The only golden boy among them was Carter, and yet, he wasn´t that hard, she just gave him what he wanted in that party and after that, everything ran smoothly.

And that´s what she needed.

Poppy´s look changed, her eyes sparkled in a very malicious way and a smile crossed her face for a split second. She now had a plan, and unexpectedly, it was a Chloe attribution.

“Maybe if we accused them of cheating…?” Chloe suggested, but Poppy knew better.

“That won´t be necessary, Chlo” Poppy intervened for the first time in a while, making both girls look at her intrigued. They knew Poppy, and the little smile she had on her lips as she applied lipstick was a proof. The blonde was onto something juicy. Veronica ended the live and awaited. “Beck will be mine.”

~~X~~

It was kinda lame to her, but finding Beck completely alone under the football stands playing guitar was at least convenient. They were an eye candy from the start, that was a fact. The way that white t-shirt embraced their body was something else to see, her mind went back to the second time she saw them. The sassy rock star kind of look Beck had, even the haircut was perfect, Poppy knew that was a Zoey Wade signature and she kinda thanked her for it. Beck was damn fine, that fact made easier her plan to be honest.

“You know… You do pass pretty well as a man”

Beck stopped playing, literally frozen in place as a statue.

“What did you just say?” Their tone of voice was cold, almost insulted. Did she just get it wrong? No, she´s never wrong. A Queen can´t be wrong, especially a Min-Sinclair queen.

“It was a compliment, Farmsville” she said, rolling her eyes.

“That´s not a compliment” Beck chuckled, putting the guitar aside. “I mean, I don´t mind, but if you are going to use that to the trans community… It~ may not end well” Poppy frowned, a little pissed off. She was doing an effort, no-one had ever heard a compliment from her and this little sh… “But thanks.” Beck offered her a sweet smile a second before turn it into a mocking one. “You do pass pretty well as a woman, too”

“Go fuck yourself!”

“And now she gets it!” They started laughing, making her really angry. Poppy walked away fuming, her head up high and a killer look murdering anyone who dare crossing ways with her.

That stupid ASSHOLE. Did they THINK they could disrespect her?! To HER! She was the number ONE, the fucking RULER of the entire school. Beck was lucky enough to be in her radar and they just throw stupid shit like that!

“To be fair… I did say it first”

“I thought it was a COMPLIMENT” She fight against herself. “What am I? Some trans expert?!”

“No… But I can be. I mean, to destroy my enemy…”

“I have to know them...”

Even thought she was still mad about it, Poppy tapped wildly though her phone. She needed to do something, and she knew just the thing.

“It´s ON, jackass”

~~X~~

POV: Beck

Top fifteen. Everyone was losing their shit because they were now top twenty and Beck... Well... They just didn´t want it.

And yeah, sure, that was kinda good. The students in Belvoire had begun to pay attention to their music as well, Beck even caught a few of them listen to songs Beck wrote and some other cover as well. Their art was taking off and that was awesome, don't get it wrong, that was something Beck wanted for so long, but...

They were afraid.

What if it was because of the stupid ranking?

What if Beck just wasn´t that good, and the only thing people would want was that Beck who studded up against Poppy Min-Sinclaire and lived to tell? Even Zoey, she was talking about popularity, Belvoire elite, and some “Person to watch-out” or shit Award which yes, was huge! But… Beck really was afraid that it was Beck who puts the music high and not backwards.

What if…

What if Poppy really messes all up?

“You know… You do pass pretty well as a man”

Poppy´s words in their mind caught Beck off guard. What was her deal anyway? She came and said some weird shit, and...

Actually, everything in that interaction was weird as fuck. And not just that, Beck meet Taylor by accident later that day in the ice cream shop, they both talked a little and they found out she had a big crush onto some random guy Beck didn´t knew before.

Of course Beck was the matchmaker! They even helped her by carrying those stupid anti-diarrheic pills to the lion´s den. Ok, yes, maybe~ Beck should´ve had given them to someone and not just let them in the front door… But it wasn´t their fault that The T found out!! Poppy was losing it, and of course it was them to blame.

Why can´t they just have a normal life… with normal problems… and not… this?

“I´m dead… I´m actually dead…” Beck thought while burying their head on their hands, tired.

“Beck? Hello? I assume you heard the details of the assignment.”

“What?”

“Ehm… Yeah! Totally” Beck said with a “confident” smile that nobody believed in, Professor Roberta even frowned before going back to the lecture, while Beck tried uselessly to catch something about the assignment from their classmates´ laptops. She hated Beck anyway, but it wasn´t good news to be always in her bad side.

“Shit! Shit! Shit! … What did she say?”

“Mass comm is all about reaching people far and wide, so this project is meant to give the voiceless in our own community a voice by…”

A penetrant gaze nailed their nape, giving them chills. Beck immediately looked for that one hawk over them and not to their surprise the person found on the other side was that deadly beauty called Poppy Min-Sinclair, watching Beck as they´re a prey. Feeling really drove up the wall, Beck winked playfully at her, expecting her to look away or some rude expression towards them.

But no.

Scaring the shit out of them, Poppy actually smiled back at Beck. A sweet, flirty smile that left them feeling their heart racing as crazy and their cheeks burning red, her dark eyes so into theirs that all their system collapsed... What was happening?

“Earth to Beck!”

Professor Roberta yelled, making Beck jump a little in their sit, breaking all eye contact between them both. When did Beck turn their body completely to watch Poppy? Of course the professor was mad, Beck was practically giving her their back! As faster as they could, Beck took the right seat, being even more embarrassed now while Poppy let go a chuckle, they could hear her from any other laughter just as clearly as if she were so close.

“Oh, sorry. I… Sorry”

“Find your community service project partner please” Professor said. Beck gathered their things and head into the aisle, looking around, praying to find someone whiling to work with them and, mainly, explain to them what was that project about. The thing was everyone had already a partner. Everyone except for…

The strawberry blonde was gazing Beck as sure as someone who´s waiting for this chance can be. Smiling that same smile that caused them to feel butterflies in their stomach… Beck wasn´t sure if they were aroused… or scared.

“Professor Roberta… I need a new partner” Beck practically begged. “I´m sorry. I just can´t work with Poppy.”

The pretty but odd teacher was about to say something. Something bad based on the expression on her face, but a perfect made-up laughter cut her words, as Beck was feeling how a soft and warm hand hooked to their arm.

“Nonsense, professor! I am pretty sure we´ll be working just fine.” Poppy said, a relaxed expression drawn on her porcelain face. “Let´s go, Hughes.”

Ok, Beck was now scared. As both of them walked out the classroom, Beck´s brain was running wild, thinking about every and each form Poppy could use to disappear them from the face of the earth. Ironic, Beck survived Farmsville but they´ll be totally done in New York. Ha! Life hates them.

“Listen, I know what you are thinking…”

Really?

“... but the last thing I need right now is having my GPA taken away. So I´ve already figured it all out. We´re doing an animal shelter commercial for our project. I can ask daddy to borrow the equipment and crew”

“Didn´t think of you as a daddy person” Beck laughed, a little more repose.

“Shut the fuck up, Farmsville. This will be easy, so all I need you to do is… Oh my god.”

Poppy stared at her phone completely in shock, color draining from her face as it was sucked by a dementor.

“I have to go. We can figure out the deets later, I´ll text you where to meet me”

Then, she just left. Beck took a deep breath and let out a hiss.

“Gosh, this school is going to kill me!”

They said, who would have thought a class could be so much?

-----

Next

[gothfoxx]

Miraculous Ladybug, Male! Marinette x Lila, They were partnered up with in a project but they hated each other. They have settled their differences or they would fail the project.

(I’m using @virgil-is-a-cutie ‘s male!Marinette name for this)

When Ms Bustier said they would do the project in pairs Marin could feel the eyes of everyone in class glance hungrily in his direction. There was sure to be a fight for an easy grade. “Partners will be assigned at the end of the lesson so please pay attention!” The teacher informed them. ‘Ha!’ Marin thought as all the greedy vultures groaned and moaned about their lost meal ticket.

“That leaves Alya and Juleka as the last girl team and Lila and Marin as our last co Ed team!” Ms Bustier said way too cheerfully for someone that just sent a guy down the river. “Remember I want to see effort from both of you in your project for this lesson, think of it as your idea child. Raise it together with love and care!” The woman added a happy little half clap to emphasize her giddiness at the prospect.

Marin held back an eye roll that he was sure several other students could share. At least it was a subject he liked so if he had to do all the work he wouldn’t be struggling. The plopping down of a bag jars the bluenett out of his musings huh Alya left already and when he looks up he sees his nightmare hasn’t ended yet, “Hey~ Marin. So I guess we’re working together huh?” Lila asks feigning innocence and dripping artificial sweetness. When he doesn’t address her right away she tilts her head and pouts, if he didn’t know it was all an act he might have been swayed into being sorry.

He heaved a sigh to rivial a tiny god’s and puts on his ‘customer service’ smile, “Guess so. So do you have an idea for what we should do? I’m all ears!” Might as well jump to it and prepare for the worst. She surprises him by pulling out a piece of paper with some sloppy writing on it. “I might have one idea.” She beams, ew she can fake that too is that healthy?. “Oh cool.” Came his less than enthusiastic reply as he tried to read the paper, “So what IS the idea?” He finally asks after getting nowhere trying to read from the paper. Lila grinned and this time if was the kind her was used to, the sly cruel smile of a Predator on the hunt.

“I’m glad you ask Marin! It just so happens that my grandpapa’s work involved research of this area. We have some of his old journals at home. We practically have this done!” She boasted, and for a lie this one seemed rather...dumb to say the least. How was she going to get out of something so plainly��put up or shut up’? “So I guess we’re doing it at your place?” He remarks as he looks back at his notes for the list of suggested topics. A sound like a strangled cat catches his attention back to the brunette, she was red in the face and sputtering, “excuse me? Come again?” She wheezes between two steadying breaths. He’s confused at to what set her off but he repeats himself, “Are we doing the project at your house? Where the journals are?” And by golly she goes from looking mad to being embarrassed. “Oh, sure” comes the oddly soft response.

After school Marin texted his parents that he’d be home for dinner and prayed that if this was some kind of murder plot that they would at least start the search for his body quickly. The awkward silence dragged on until it got to be too much for the boy so he asks, “So what did your grandpa do?” After a few steps Lila answers with a grand sweep of her hand towards a front door. “You’ll just have to see, welcome to the Castello Rossi!” For all the grand showmanship it’s a very plain looking house, well kept but plain. “How nice, I like your plants.” Marin comments trying to be civil since they still have work to do.

As Lila opens the door with another grand gesture Marin is shocked to see how empty and impersonal it feels. Most of the front room looks unlived in with just two picture frames sitting on the mantle. “Mama won’t be home till later so let’s go to the office and get as much done as we can.” She states, beckoning him to follow. The office is a stark contrast to the room earlier, stacks of important looking paper tower on the dark wooden desk, Knick-nacks and books fill the shelves, and family phones are scattered along the walls. While Marin is taking it all in Lila goes to a shelf in the corner and pulls out two worn out sketch books.

As it turns out Lila’s grandpa was part of a team of anthropologists that studied post World War I art and his books were a mix of notes on the how the war changed how the art had changed and sketches of people he had interviewed. It was all so fascinating and emotional. Marcelo Rossi had a way with words, Marin felt like he could hear the man’s voice narrate as he read entry after entry. They easily got most of their project done, the impact of WWI in everyday life, all they needed was a second source and they would be finished. All in all it was a not horrible experience, maybe if Lila could shape up they could really be friends like everyone wanted.

Ending 1: not so bad

Marin was surprised that in the week and a half that they had been working together to discover the Rossi family were well known in nitch circles of the anthropology and archaeological sciences. He had seen a picture of her great aunt recording the dying language of the Tihan people of Tiahana, gotten to read the musings of the eccentric late great-great-uncle Sal who studied prehistoric plants. They were amazing people who changed their fields, it was a wonder Lila depended on lies to get attention. When the day of the presentation came up Marin was excited to share what they had written, Lila even brought scans of the sketch books to pass around. Everyone else’s reports were pretty standard in comparison so when it was their turn they knocked it out of the park!

After class Marin walked out with Lila like he had done everyday for a week when to realized that he didn’t need to follow her anymore. It caught him off guard at how sad that made him, he liked seeing the real Lila under all the lies and faux confidence. Did they really have to pop their little bubble just because they didn’t share a goal anymore? “Aren’t you coming?” Lila asked tugging on Marin’s sleeve, “We need to celebrate, that report was definitely an A. We deserve a treat!” She declares, dragging the less than reluctant boy along with her. They announced their relationship a few days later to the cheers of the class.

Ending 2: how did it end up like this

Marin had gotten to know the real Lila over the week and a half they worked together. He had really gotten through to her as he assured her that what her family did was interesting and there was no need to hide behind her web of lie. She agreed to come clean to the class with Marin to vouch for her after the project. He was really proud of her and was planning on asking her to lunch together later that day.

Strangely when they walked in that morning in prep for the report Marin felt the burning feeling of eyes boring into the back of his head. Ms Bustier met them at the bottom of the steps, “Lila is it really a good idea for you to come in today with everything that you’ve done?” The teacher inquired with a grit of her teeth. A murmur rippled through the room as Marin realized the glares weren’t aimed at his mmm for a change. Lila paled and looked around the class before focusing back on Ms Bustier, “What’s going on? What do you mean by what ‘I’ve done’?” The brunette asks a bit nervously.

It was Alya that stood up and pointed an accusing finger at Lila. “You lied about everything, you made me think you were going to help me with my career! You just strung us along like puppets!” She roared, Juleka had to hold the journalist back from rush the Italian. “Alya sit down! I will handle this!” Barked Ms Bustier, looking very run down and already very tired for the time of day. If Marin though Lila was pale before then she looked ghostly now, her eyes looked huge on her face as she looked at the struggling Alya. “As you can see. It would be best if you spent the day with the principal. Your mother should be here soon” the teacher growled.

Just then Juleka lost her grip and Alya rushed forward making Lila bolt out the door. Marin braced his body, the same way he did when Manon tries to escape to cling to her mom, and grabbed Alya around the middle and kept her from chasing his friend. “Why are you stopping me! She lied, you know she lied!” Raved the girl trying to wrestle her way out of his grip. “She played us!” She snarled. “She played you like the cheap kazoo you are!” Marin responded in kind. “I told you before it was a problem that she was lying but none of you would hear me out, you asked for proof, you called me envious! But it’s now that I like her and she promised to come clean that you choose to see the truth!? Fuck you guys!” He yells, dropping Alya on her ass and running after Lila.

He finds her crying in the hall that leads to the principal’s office. Her eyes are red and puffy, it breaks his heart to see her scrubbing her face in an effort to make the tears stop. Kneeling down next to her Matin holds his arm out so she can curl up into his side. “Don’t worry about them. They never knew the real you. After all the talk they spout about friendship and loyalty and giving chances they never even tried to get to know who was under all the celebrity stories. They all dropped you without asking questions or giving you a chance. So don’t worry about them. You have me.” He promises, rubbing her back soothingly. They wait there a long time before Mrs Rossi arrives, Marin stays for the meeting holding Lila’s hand through the whole ordeal. With compromises on both sides Lila is allowed to stay in the school but she will be switching classes and seeing a councilor. After Marin walks Lila and her mom back to their car, it might not be the best time but he’s not sure when he’ll get the chance again, “Once you’re not grounded anymore will you go out for coffee with me? Or a movie, I don’t even know if you like coffee.” He rambles get stopped in their tracks when Lila leans over and places a peck on his cheek. “I’d love to” she smiles, eyes still a bit wet, before having to close the car door and drive away.

[mymelodyheart]

Forget Me Not Chapter 1 ~Prologue~

Brian and Ellen Fraser had been long-time friends with Quentin Lambert Beauchamp, an accomplished archaeologist and historian. They met in the mid-80s in Hurghada, Egypt, while the Frasers were on honeymoon and Quentin on a break from a field survey in Mt Sinai. It all had started in a quaint traditional Egyptian coffee shop in the old town of El Dahar when Quentin offered the couple seats at his table as the locale had been bursting at the seams. What was supposed to be only a brief encounter, had turned into a very close friendship after Brian and Quentin discovered that they shared the same passion for history, Egyptology and scuba diving.

Over the next few years, the friends religiously kept in touch. As Quentin never married, the Frasers embraced him as part of the family and was often invited to their home in Lallybroch whenever he took a break from fieldworks or was in the UK. When Quentin's brother and sister-in-law, Henry and Julia died in a horrific car accident, Brian and Ellen immediately went to Oxford to be with their friend and to offer their support in any way they could. It was there the Frasers learned that the tragic couple left behind a five-year-old daughter, Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp, leaving Quentin as the child's sole living relative.

Ellen instantly fell in love with young Claire and was captivated with the child's unusual, amber eyes which were almost too big for her cherubic face, framed with short chocolate brown curls. Devastated already for Quentin's lose, her heart broke furthermore when the child pointed at her parents' coffins. "Mummy an' Daddy are in there," she had said, as she tugged at Ellen's coat. 

The Frasers knew there was no way that Quentin could single-handedly raise Claire and still do the job he passionately loved. After the funeral, Brian and Ellen sat Quentin down and offered to take care of the child while he was away at work, or until Claire was old enough to attend a boarding school. Ellen thought it was the most sensible plan for a young child to grow up in a loving family and she couldn't bear the thought of Claire, young as she was, not having a mother figure so early in her life. The Frasers already having three children of their own, supposed another one in their big household in Lallybroch shouldn't be an issue.

At first, Quentin was speechless as he could never take advantage of such generosity, let alone their friendship. It never even crossed his mind to leave his niece in the care of anyone. But the Frasers weren't just anyone. To him, they were family, but still, he knew he couldn't impose. He was already of the mindset of changing his job, maybe taking a post offered to him a few months back before the tragedy struck. Quentin had always taken comfort in knowing he would always have a place at Oxford University - it was his fallback plan. Selfish as it was even to contemplate the Frasers'offer, he knew working as a professor wouldn't be as thrilling as visiting ancient sites and being hands-on with surveying and excavating. On the other hand, he knew he was clueless when it comes to raising a child, and he couldn't deny Claire a normal childhood the Frasers were offering.

And so it was decided after a lot of discussions and deliberations that Claire would stay with the Frasers while Quentin was away at work. And in summer, Claire would go with his uncle to visit sites he was working on or go on holidays with him to faraway exotic places. The Fraser children, William, Jenny and Jamie, embraced Claire as part of the family and loved her as any brother or sister could love a sibling. There was enough money in the trust fund left behind for Claire that would ensure a secure future, but the Frasers never concerned having an extra mouth to feed as they ran a successful family-owned hotel business. It wasn't until Quentin died in a crossfire in a war in Congo, the Frasers became Claire's official foster family at the tender age of ten.

..........

2007 

17-year-old James Fraser had debated all day whether he ought to go to the school dance or not. Having no interest in dancing whatsoever, it should have been a straightforward choice. Not even the bonniest of girls from school who asked him out made the decision any easier. After a lot of weighing, Jamie decided to go in the end, convincing himself it would be something to do on a Friday night and all his mates would be in attendance. And so that night, he went alone, arriving two hours late to the dance.

Inconspicuously, he had entered the dance hall and leaned against the wall, watching his 15-year-old foster sister, Claire from the shadows. She stood with four other girls eagerly anticipating to be asked for a dance, as she tucked a non-existent stray curl behind an ear and straightened her eyeglasses for the hundredth time. His best friend, Frank Randall, had promised Claire to take her to the school dance in return for writing his essay on Egypt for a school project. But like a cad that he was, Frank bailed out the last minute and decided not to hold his side of the bargain. Despite the humiliation, Claire held her head up high and insisted on attending on her own, with hopes Frank would at least ask her once for a dance. 

Looking at the time, Jamie knew it was nearly coming to an end. There were only two dances left, and soon it would be over. He could see Claire was starting to fret by the way she fidgeted nervously with her hands.  Damn ye, Frank, damn ye to hell!  But why should he even care when he had warned her so many times about his friend that behind the charming facade was a very selfish, insensitive person. She was an intelligent enough lass, and Claire had her outstanding grades to prove that, but when it came to Frank, her better judgement seemed to dissipate.

As the last dance for the evening was announced, he noticed the other four girls that stood next to her were already on the dance floor with their respective partners, leaving Claire on her own. Jamie knew any minute now she will grab her coat and run out upset. He had hoped it wouldn't come to this and that some lad would come and ask her to dance. But nobody came.  Oh to hell with it!  Before he could change his mind, Jamie quickly walked over to her.

"Sassenach, ye fancy a dance with me?"

"Oh, it's you! Hi Jamie!" Claire smiled feebly. He knew she had been silently praying for a miracle that Frank would appear.

"No' the greeting I was hoping for," Jamie teased softly, offering his hand for a dance.

Claire took his hand, and this time, she smiled warmly. "You're always coming to my rescue, and you know fine, I'll be alright."

"Aye, ah ken." He guided her to the dancefloor and twirled her awkwardly before taking her into his arms. Jamie was glad it was a slow dance as he would have felt dumb swaying to fast music on his own. Claire giggled as they nearly bumped into another couple, her forehead colliding against his chin.

"You know what Jamie, other girls are dying to dance with you. And besides, what are you doing here? You don't like to dance at all."

Jamie looked down at her, and he could see himself in her eyeglasses. And when she smiled, the disco light above them reflected on her braces. He tried not to chuckle. "No, I dinna care really for dancing that's why I came late. After the dance, I'll be going out with the lads."

"Oh! Is one of the lads, Frank?" Claire asked earnestly, her face flushing.

Jamie had always known about Claire's infatuation with his friend. It had all began in school when Frank picked up the books she dropped. As he handed them back, he had winked at her. For young Claire, she thought that was the most romantic gesture, and ever since then, Frank became an obsession. 

"Aye, Frank is one of the lads," Jamie admitted, his jaw tightening. "Will ye be alright later, Sassenach? I can take ye home after the dance if ye wish." He tried to ascertain what she was thinking, but her glasses were obscuring her eyes and noted they needed polishing.

Claire's chin wobbled a bit as she smiled, and Jamie knew she was trying her best not to cry. "I'll be alright, Jamie. You go and have fun with your friends. Willie will be picking me up anytime soon."

Friend or not, Jamie wanted to throttle Frank for using Claire, enticing her with a promise of taking her to the dance and then backing out last minute. "I tell ye what Sassenach, how 'bout I take ye fishing tomorrow? Just the two us. Will that cheer ye up?"

"Jamie, you don't need to do that! Honestly! I'm fine! You're always so sweet to me, and I know you'd rather be hanging out with Laoghaire," Claire pressed gently, giving him a reassuring smile.

"Laoghaire? What makes ye think that?" Jamie was surprised at Claire's response. Laoghaire MacKenzie was a popular girl in school who liked to make an impression on everyone that she was his girl after he took her out once at an icecream bar. It had only been one time as he found her crying one afternoon after breaking up with a boyfriend. Feeling sorry for the lass, he thought icecream would cheer her up.

"Well, I've seen you talk to her, and you look at her as if she's the most gorgeous girl in the world. Sometimes I wonder how it would be like to be chased by the boys. I feel invisible at times, and it doesn't matter what I wear, do or say, I'll always be a Sassenach. It's not fair...Frank is English like me and yet he's so well-liked at school." 

Jamie's arms froze around her. "Claire...I'm so sorry...does it offend ye that I..." 

"No, not you, Jamie. You don't say Sassenach in a mean way like the others. Like what I said earlier, you're always so sweet. I couldn't have asked for a better brother." Claire stood on tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "Right... dance is over... you go and have fun with your friends. Willie is probably waiting outside already. And I promise I feel loads better already because of you."

Funny that Jamie didn't realise the music had stopped when he usually would have counted the seconds until the dance was over. But before Claire could turn around and go, he grabbed her arm. "I'm taking ye fishin' tomorrow and make sure ye pack some crisps and sandwiches...alright?"

This time, Claire's smile reached her eyes, her braces twinkling under the disco light. "Okie-Dokie! I'm looking forward to it. And now go! Have fun with the lads and see you in the morning."

Jamie watched her walk away as Frank, and the rest of his mates approached him. "Little sister sorted then?" Frank asked mockingly as he put a hand on his shoulder.

She's not my sister!  Jamie wanted to punch his friend on the face for hurting Claire's feelings, but instead, he mentally counted to three and breathed deeply. "Aye, my brother has come to pick her up."

What can he say? They didn't know her as he did and what she had been through. In the eyes of those who knew Jamie in school, he was just like Frank; a popular guy, great in sports and hanged out with the right people and went out with pretty girls. And as for Claire, she was just a Sassenach; unconventional, highly intelligent, nerd and the ugly orphaned child taken in by the Frasers. Jamie thought of what Claire had said of him looking at Laoghaire like she was the most gorgeous girl in the world. What she didn't realise was, it was Claire he was looking at. She had taken off her glasses that day and was cleaning it with a piece of cloth, and her poor eyesight must have made her believed that Laoghaire was the subject of his admiration. Oh, how his friends would jibe and taunt if they knew, him, James Fraser, one of the popular guys in school was madly in love with his foster sister, Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp, braces, eyeglasses, wild hair and all.

[theantisocialcritic]

Archive Project - January 6, 2014 - Best Films of 2013

Welcome to Day 2 of the Hummy Awards! Today we will be reviewing the best movies per genre of 2013. The Genres we will awarding today will be: Comedy, Fantasy, Science-Fiction, Romance, Action, Thriller, Super-hero, Animated, Book-Adapted, Drama, Christian, Family and Art. We will also be awarding movies with the titles of: Least Subtle Movie of 2013, Most Divisive Movie of 2013 and Most Underrated Movie of 2013.   Lets get started! ————————————————————————————————————————— Best Comedy of 2013 ————————————————————————————————————————— Nominees: This is the End, The World's End, Anchorman 2, Saving Mr. Banks. Winner: The World's End!! Runner-up: Anchorman 2 This year we were treated to the final part of the "Cornetto Trilogy", the end to a long term mashup of the creative team behind such works as Shawn of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. The World's End is a wonderful sendoff from that creative team. I hope we see more from Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in the future! ————————————————————————————————————————— Best Fantasy Film of 2013 ————————————————————————————————————————— Nominees: The Great and Powerful Oz, Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, 47 Ronin. Winner: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug!! Runner-up: The Great and Powerful Oz Its a Lord of the Rings movie, even the worst Lord of the Rings movie is still dwarfs everything around it… ————————————————————————————————————————— Best Science-Fiction Film of 2013 ————————————————————————————————————————— Nominees: Star Trek into Darkness, Pacific Rim, Oblivion, Elysium, Gravity, Ender's Game. Winner: Elysium!! Runner-up: Star Trek into Darkness Props to Elysium for being the freshest new Science Fiction movie out in a while! Same for Star Trek for being an awesome sequel to the famed 2009 reboot. ————————————————————————————————————————— Best Romance/Relationship Movie of 2013 ————————————————————————————————————————— Nominees: Warm Bodies, The Spectacular Now, Don Jon, About Time. Winner: Don Jon!! Runner-up: Warm Bodies Trashy as it may be (and believe me, its is really trashy!!), Don Jon stands as a fascinating exploration of relationships and an impressive directorial debut for Joseph Gordon-Levitt! ————————————————————————————————————————— Best Action Movie of 2013 ————————————————————————————————————————— Nominees: Olympus Has Fallen, Iron Man 3, Star Trek into Darkness, Man of Steel, White House Down, Pacifc Rim, Elysium, Kick A** 2, The Wolverine, Lone Survivor. Winner: Elysium!! Runner-up: Olympus Has Fallen Props again to Elysium for giving us some of the coolest, most awesome and bloodiest action this year! ————————————————————————————————————————— Best Thriller of 2013 ————————————————————————————————————————— Nominees: Gravity, Captain Phillips Winner: Gravity!! Runner-up: Captain Phillips What can I say? I liked Gravity more than I liked Captain Phillips... ————————————————————————————————————————— Best Superhero Film of 2013 ————————————————————————————————————————— Nominees: Iron Man 3, Man of Steel, Kick A** 2, The Wolverine, Thor: The Dark World. Winner: Iron Man 3!! Runner-up: Man of Steel Nearly a year after The Avengers, nobody knew where the Marvel movies were going to go. How could they possible be as good as before? Where would they go? How can they make the stories without having the entire team show up? With Iron Man 3 we got our answer! Standing alone as the best movie in the Iron Man series and serving as an awesome followup documenting life in the post-Avengers world. No other Superhero movie had bigger shoes to fill and filled them so effectively. ————————————————————————————————————————— Best Animated Film of 2013 ————————————————————————————————————————— Nominees: Monsters University, Despicable Me 2, Frozen, Epic Winner: Frozen!! Runner-up: Despicable Me 2 Heres where I begin getting hate letters for not making Monsters University the best movie…. Frozen stands as a movie so good is competes with major film releases. So it wins!! The End! ————————————————————————————————————————— Best Book Adaptation of 2013 ————————————————————————————————————————— Nominees: Warm Bodies, World War Z, Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters, Kick A** 2, Twelve Years a Slave, Catching Fire, The Book Thief, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Great Gatsby. Winner: The Great Gatsby!! Runner-up: Catching Fire All the flare of Hollywood Blockbusters put into one of the best novels of all time and you get one of the most interesting adaptions this year. ————————————————————————————————————————— Best Drama of 2013 ————————————————————————————————————————— Nominees: Prisoners, Rush, Twelve Years a Slave, American Hustle, Lovelace, 42 Winner: Prisoners!! Runner-up: Rush For being the tensest and best made drama of the year, Prisoners takes away best drama. ————————————————————————————————————————— Best Christian Film of 2013 ————————————————————————————————————————— Nominees: Grace Unplugged, I'm in Love with a Church Girl, Black Nativity Winner: Grace Unplugged!! Runner-up: I'm in Love with a Church Girl For having the best message for young Christians, Grace Unplugged wins Best Christian film of 2013! ————————————————————————————————————————— Best Family Film of 2013 ————————————————————————————————————————— Nominees: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Saving Mr. Banks, Oz the Great and Powerful, Monsters University, Despicible Me 2, Frozen. Winner: Saving Mr. Banks!! Runner-up: Oz the Great and Powerful If you don't mind a few swear words, Saving Mr. Banks is one of the sweetest films of the year! ————————————————————————————————————————— Best Art Film of 2013 ————————————————————————————————————————— Nominees: Inside Llewyn Davis, Twelve Years a Slave, Dallas Buyers Club, Spring Breakers. Winner: Inside Llewyn Davis!! Runner-up: Twelve Years a Slave For being an deep, fascinating look into the life of a down on his luck Folk singer with lots of symbolism and lull, Llewyn Davis wins best Art film! Thank you to the Coen Brothers! ————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————— Least Subtle Film of 2013 ————————————————————————————————————————— Least Subtle Film is an award specifically designed to call out films that either intentionally or accidentally favor blunt or unsubtle stories ands themes in their films in favor of subtle storytelling. While being blunt isn't inherently a bad thing, it stands to reason that lacking subtlety in a lot of cases is detrimental to the films. Nominees: White House Down, Elysium, World War Z, Grace Unplugged Winner: White House Down!! Runner-up: Elysium   I wanted to give this award to Elysium for how severely blunt that film's message on social inequality is but I liked that movie, so the award goes to White House Down. This movie works under such a black and white understanding of American politics and calls out Republicans as evil, dumb, corrupt, puppets to the corporations that want nothing but money, while stating the Democrats (notably Obama) are thoughtful peacekeepers that want to help the poor. If your liberal, chances are you'll think this film is cheesy and fun but to a conservative like myself it's a giant middle finger. The action is fun but I have nothing else positive to say about it. I think Olympus Has Fallen was much better. ————————————————————————————————————————— Most Underrated Film of 2013 ————————————————————————————————————————— Every year dozens of great films pass under the radar while major action films and romantic comedies hog the spotlight. Here we pay tribute to a few of them that the majority of film buffs missed out on. Nominees: Oblivion, Pacific Rim, Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters, Kick A** 2, The Spectacular Now, About Time, Dallas Buyers Club. Winner: Kick A** 2!! Runner-up: Pacific Rim While Pacific Rim flopped in the US it did rather well overseas (surprising from the US being obsessed with the Transformers films for some reason). Kick Butt 2 on the other hand received very little attention and was heavily criticized by a number of critics. You know what? The critics that gave this movie negative reviews are wrong. It might not be as great as the original film but Kick-Higny 2 feels like a natural continuation of the story from the first movie and makes me extremely excited at the possibility of a third movie, as teased in the final scene. Hopefully the lowered budget on this film allowed it enough of a profit margin to earn the rights to a Kick-Glutius Maximus 3. To quote a movie nobody but me has seen, "Pray everybody!". ————————————————————————————————————————— Most Divisive Movie of 2013 ————————————————————————————————————————— I don't even need a nominees selection to determine which film this year had audiences more split over it. Winner: Man of Steel!! No film this year has divided audiences more to hate or love a movie this much since Les Miserables last year! I'm in the camp that enjoys the film as an awesome action movie with a fresh take on Superman. This movie however has a lot of detractors who point out major flaws in the film and the directing the Warner Brothers is taking to force out a Justice League movie as soon as possible. Honestly though we can't accurately judge where Warner Brothers is taking this until after Batman vs. Superman and Justice League have both be released so for now I'm just enjoying an awesome movie with my favorite Superhero. If you disagree that Man of Steel is good than I completely understand your thoughts but these are mine. Man of Steel is a good movie IN MY OPINION. ————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————— For more on Man of Steel, check out the Nostalgia Critic and Angry Joe's review here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1AJyKJ4BCo

[thatdarncatchronicles]

That Darn Cat | Issue No. 4 | Jericho

Warnings | Snek (if you have a phobia, maybe skip this chapter?)

Ratings | K+

Genres | Friendship, Snark, Action, Suspense

Guest Stars | Edna (OC), Anaconda Man (OC)

Word Count | 1.5K

Summary: Selina provides unwanted backup when Jim makes the ill-advised, if extremely predictable, decision to hunt down the Anaconda Man all on his lonesome. Cue snek, sarcasm, and stubbornness from both parties.

Selina darted back against the alley wall as Jim Gordon climbed from his vehicle and stepped out into the light rain. He’d parked a couple blocks away from the projects. Smart.

To her surprise, he turned and began walking towards her. She dashed behind a dumpster barely in time to conceal herself before he entered the alley, but he didn't seem to be aware of her presence. Huh. Apparently she wasn't the only one with a working knowledge of Gotham's secret shortcuts. When Jim reached the end of the alley and turned the corner, Selina left the shadows of the dumpster and crept after him. The rational part of her brain whispered that it was just as dumb for her to follow Jim as he tracked a serial killer as it was for him to go after said serial killer alone. She ignored it. About half a block away from the killer's hideout, she closed the distance between them and fell into step beside him. "How ya doin, Detective?" Jim startled for the second time that night. "Selina! What are you doing here??" "Ideally? Keeping you from getting yourself killed." "You shouldn't be here." "Neither should you."

He shook his head in exasperation. "I'm not taking you in there with me." "Nope. I'm going in there with you." "No. No, you go home, Selina." She crossed her arms and planted her feet. "Fine." He raised his hands. "Fine. We'll both go home." Selina snorted. "Yeah, right. You'd drop me off at my place and come right back here. Besides. You got the tip from me." "Selina—" "How bout I shout "police" at the top of my lungs? Then he'll run off, find a new hidey-hole, and you can have fun tracking him down again while his little pet swallows folks like they’re rats." Jim rubbed his eyes. "I can't let you go in there. What if he's armed?" "You mean with more than a giant snake?" "What if he's got a gun?" "How about this—I'll take cover as soon as we're inside, and I'll only come out if you need me to smack him over the head with a booze bottle." Jim was shaking his head again. "You know I'm good in a fight. Come on, Gordon. He killed my cat." Jim sighed. "There's nothing I can say to make you stay back, is there?" "Nope!" She patted him on the back. "C'mon, Detective. It'll be fun!" She started down the alley, leaving Jim no choice but to follow. The apartment complex was eerily still and silent where it loomed over them, casting them in shadow. They stood looking up at it for a moment before Selina crept forward. "I saw the snake go in through a basement window." Jim grabbed her arm. "Selina—" "Don't even start, Gordon." Then she was making her way around the building, searching for a way in. They found a cellar door around the back, one of its doors torn away to reveal a cement staircase that gave in to black shadows after three and a half steps. Jim drew his gun and pulled out his flashlight before turning back to Selina. "You keep your promise. You find cover, and you do not come out unless I call you." Selina nodded. She would keep her word. He eyed her suspiciously until she rolled her eyes and whispered back, "I'll do what I said I’d do." Jim turned away reluctantly, switching on his flashlight and bracing it across his raised gun. Then he descended the stairs and was swallowed in blackness. Selina waited until he was far enough away with the flashlight for her own descent to be obscured, and then she planted a hand on the concrete and sprang into the shadows to the left of the steps. There was an alcove beneath the stairs, and she crept into it, listening intently and watching Jim's silhouette against the beam of his flashlight. She suddenly became aware of how afraid she was—adrenaline was surging through her, and she could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears. Surely even Jim could hear that racket. She took a deep breath, then another. Better. But what if they could hear her breathing?? Then something cool and smooth and very much alive slid over her hand where it was braced on the ground, and her heart seemed to stop altogether. The snake was heavy, and Selina felt something sick in her stomach when its shape abruptly changed against her from smooth and sleek to a series of large, distended bulges. She clenched her jaw and tried not to think about what—who?—the bulges had once been. Not daring to move her hand or call out, she squeezed her eyes closed as the cool scales eased over her hand for what felt like an eternity. Eventually the body thinned into a tail, and then, with a final flick, it was gone. Selina heaved a silent sob of relief, but her elation was short lived.

The snake had slithered into the pool of light from the open doorway, and it was making a beeline for Jim. Selina's heart leapt into her throat as she tried to think of a way to warn the detective without endangering him. The snake was moving faster, now. Jim, still oblivious, took slow, careful steps forward, the beam from his flashlight sweeping to and fro as he searched for evidence of what was right behind him. Wanting nothing more than to scream in frustration and fear, Selina balled her hands into fists against the cold floor. And froze. Her left hand had closed around something small and hard.

A nail. She could work with that. Leaning further from her alcove, she tossed the bit of metal away from her and prayed it would be enough.

It was. The nail made a few tiny clinkclinkclinks against the concrete, and Jim whirled around, backpedaling when he caught sight of the creature now a scant yard from his feet. He shot it. Selina startled violently at the sudden sound and flash of light. The snake writhed and twitched, still advancing, but Jim stepped on its head, all his weight focused on the foot that trapped the creature. She heard a crunch, and Jim stepped back, shoulders slumping, head turning towards her hideout. The shadow came out of nowhere. Selina didn't even have time to call out a warning before the man slammed into Jim, knocking him to the ground and screaming something about Edna. The gun clattered across the floor. Selina was on her feet before she knew she was moving, swiping a pipe from the ground as she ran. She leapt over the still-twitching corpse of Edna and swung with all her might at Jim’s attacker. Her blow struck true against his shoulders, and he fell. Darting around to go for his head, she swung again, but he wrapped his arms around her ankles and she crashed to the ground. She was obliged to discard pipe in favor of defending her eyes as her attacker clawed at her face, still shrieking the name of his dead pet at the top of his lungs. Then Jim dove at him and they rolled a few feet away. There was a brief scuffle, but Jim fought his way on top and pounded the man's face until he went still. He sat there for a moment, panting, before turning the man over and pulling out his cuffs. He looked over to where Selina was picking herself up. “You okay?" "Yeah, I'm—I'm fine. I'm good." She took a deep breath and clenched her fists to squeeze away the trembling.

“I told you not to come out unless I called you.” Jim’s gentle voice didn’t match the reproach in his words as he clicked the cuffs closed and got to his feet.

“Like you were gonna call me. Besides, I said I would keep my word. I didn’t say anything about yours.”

Jim opened his mouth to speak, but a movement behind him snagged her eye and she cut him off. "Jim!" The perp had scrambled to his feet and was barreling towards one of the iron supports, slamming into it full tilt. Dust showered down on them, and before either Jim or Selina could react, he was running again, straight at another brace. This time, chunks of plaster came down. Time slowed as the old building groaned above them and Jim turned towards her with wide eyes. "Run." She did. She saw the killer make it through the cellar door and felt Jim hot on her heels as the rumbling intensified. Then there came the shrieking of metal and Selina was knocked to the ground for the second time as Jim braced himself over her.

The last thing she heard was Jim's pained grunt as a sudden weight took the air from her lungs and the building came down on top of them. A/N: To be continued...

Previous chapters linked below! Thank you for reading, hooman. You is kind. You is smart. You is beautiful. I love you!

Make sure to follow @thatdarncatchronicles​ and #thatdarncat (no spaces!) to never miss an installment! :)

Issue No. 3 | An Unexpected Party:

https://thatdarncatchronicles.tumblr.com/post/621198286498512896/that-darn-cat-issue-no-3-an-unexpected-party

Issue No. 2 | A Hint of Pesto Aioli:

https://thatdarncatchronicles.tumblr.com/post/620559916396052480/that-darn-cat-issue-no-2-a-hint-of-pesto?is_related_post=1

Issue No. 1 | Of Spaghetti and Sneezes:

https://thatdarncatchronicles.tumblr.com/post/620372790294528001/that-darn-cat-issue-no-1-of-spaghetti-and?is_related_post=1

[2ki8h1]

What if Ishimaru and Mondo had both survived the killing game?

So, at the beginning of this year (2019), I decided to embark in a different project: to write a full fanfiction surrounding a certain idea: “What if both of them had survived the killing game?”. The goal of this was to include Ishimaru, as well as Mondo, in the canon plot described by the games and anime (I still haven’t read the novels or the mangas) by creating an adventure surrounding them but also focused in points I wished I saw in Danganronpa. In other words, write about their character development, their relationship (yes, it was supposed to be mainly focused on Ishimondo as a couple, slowly blossoming their romance) but it was also an opportunity to write about tragedy and despair (I enjoy writing horror and angst). I won’t reveal any major spoilers (about my fanfiction) because I haven’t decided if I will continue to work on this. I have other tasks at hand that I need to prioritise. It was supposed to be a big project which I estimated to be longer than 100.000 words. [so far, I have only written over 13k with the 1st chapter still at the beggining, while the second one is already at the middle with over 10k words.]

The point of this post: since I don’t know if I continue this or not, I would love to share the best moments I have wrote so far (both humorous and romantic and I have decided to not share any gory/sad parts). I will give context for every part I share without giving too much details.

NOTE 1: The narrator tries to put themselves in the feet of the character they are focusing on. So, they also try to adopt their way of speech and attempt to convey their feelings facing the various occasions (for example: the narrator is more crude and sad when the character in focus is Mondo)

NOTE 2: English is not my first language. So I apologise for any mistakes found.

WARNING: HEAVY SPOILERS FOR DR1 AND SDR2.

1.       “Hopes and Dreams”

Chapter: 1

Context: epilogue of DR1, looking at the metal gate that locked them inside the school, after defeating Junko.

The prospects of a new start were high amongst everyone. Makoto was experiencing a restraint holding his body, in other words, he felt tensed. Suddenly, the feel of warm leather touched his right palm. Kyoko had approached him and gently held his hand. She didn’t made eye contact however he appreciated her kind gesture. “You will not fight this battle alone.” Her speech motivated him and invoked a determined willpower from within which led him to furrow his eyebrows and squeeze her hand slightly harder. Amused by his mood changes, Kyoko tried but failed to conceal a shy, joyful smile.

Mondo walked closer to his brother and hurriedly hurled his long coat to fall over the other man’s shoulder and placed his right arm around Ishimaru’s neck to enfold him in a friendly embrace. That action startled Taka, who barely succeeded to sustain both feet on the ground after the abrupt (and clumsy) headlock. Along with an open, radiant grin, Mondo spoke: “Finally, we’re leaving this place!” Taka with his left hand reached and grabbed Mondo’s right wrist and looked back at him to return his kind words with a soft, resolved smile.

(...)

Byakuya continued to show suppression of his emotions to let his cruel image rule whatever perceptions he wishes others to have of him. Toko was next to him, fidgeting her fingers in embarrassment, peeking briefly at her “beloved” every two seconds with an odd, lustful desire on her face. Hiro, in the other hand, was screaming and crying in ecstasy, praying down in all fours, blessing the floor underneath and showing gratitude to whatever god (or alien) was looking after him.

2.       “Lost happy memories”

Chapter: 1

Context: shortly after opening the door, the survivors stand inside the school grounds but outside the building, thinking what they should do next.

Even if any of the lost memories had still not returned, Mondo remembered fondly of the small time he spent with Chihiro during the game, it had been enough for him to develop feelings of admiration towards the geek. He reached out for a specific content that was sitting inside of his long coat’s left pocket (the same coat that continued to shelter Ishimaru’s shoulders) to purposely find the set of stolen photos that served as evidence in the former trial. He glanced upon one in particular. It starred him hugging fiercely both of the baseball star and the computer nerd – he was happy. No, he was extremely happy. Look at his wide, stupid grin; it was a smile that he didn’t recall to see a long time ago. He browsed through the rest and his suspicions were confirmed. He had good times at Hope Peak’s academy. However, the collection was limited. Did he get along with the rest of the class? Were he and Ishimaru as close as they currently are or were they fierce enemies fighting about dumb things? There were a few of him smiling towards Taka. More than anything, he wanted to believe in the happiest statements. He glanced through the same photographs once again but he ended up with the same doubts. He wished to rewind time and relive through those moments one last time where he could adopt the same idiotic, relaxed posture he seemed to use back then. At least, he wished the set included a photo of him with his kyoudai. Did they also resolve their differences with a competition in the sauna? He laughed at the thought.

Ishimaru sighed while pointing at one of them. “I will miss them as well.” At the end of his index finger was a photograph captured by Makoto: They were all posing for the picture, in their school uniforms, inside their classroom (well, almost everyone - of course, Leon insisted in wearing his version of a “uniform”). Mondo turned his head to encounter red eyes glazed, stained with tears that fought to break free. Wow, he really was kind. “We were lucky… I wonder if I truly deserve to be one of the s-”

Maybe too kind for his own good. “Shut it...” He caught Taka surprised with the response. “What would I do without my brother next to me?” Mondo added, wrapping an arm around the other’s neck in a friendly way.

“Maybe it’s true. I still have a lot to lecture you about the true value of effort!”

That was not what Mondo wanted to hear “Oi-“

“And, as selfish as this may sound, I am truly relieved you weren’t the one who passed away.”

Sadness and guilt. Mondo looked at Kiyotaka and remembered how those two words felt. Those were feelings Kiyotaka was over familiar with… hell, even he knew the despair hidden behind those terms.

Mondo had quickly learned to detect those moods. In fact, he was pretty good at it! And he was unnecessarily proud of that achievement... The diagnosis? Symptoms of a low self-esteem. He still hadn’t figure it out how to improve his condition however, he had to think about it later; right now, he wanted to focus in leaving this creepy-ass school.

“Movin’ on… What th’ hell is this creepy smile?” In a sloppy attempt to change the subject, he shoved the mentioned picture in Taka’s face.

“Whatever do you mean?”

“Look at your face! You look like those creepy clowns but without the makeup. So stiff and robotic and why are you behaving like a soldier?”

“Ghk- Are you saying I am ugly?”

“Wha-! Ah- Shit! no!” just like mentioned before… embarassingly sloppy “That’s not what I meant! I just wanted to tell ya’ that ya’ need to smile naturally and not force yourself just ta’ try to look good in th’ pictures because it has the opposite result you intended!” Mondo pulled off a different photograph. In this one, they were with their gym clothes, enjoying a P.E. class and Ishi was smiling brightly while cheering for their class “For example, in this ya’ look natural ‘cause ya’ got caught off guard!”

“Oh- I see.” Disappointment was felt in his voice.

“Well- See? It doesn’t mean yar ugly or nothi’, actually I think ya’ are very good lookin’. Ya’ just look funny in photographs. Not everyone is photogenic! ... (especially you…)” he babbles.

“Thank you.” Taka released a soft smile. The type of smile someone would like to record it with a photograph “You are a very kind man, kyoudai!”

And Mondo gets easily flustered with sweet (and cheesy) praises “Oh! Stop it! Don’t worry that pretty head of yours thinking that yer’ ugly or some bullshit like that…”

“I don’t usually concern myself over those issues. But I can’t stop myself from wondering if the lack of a more relaxed posture or behavior is the result of my failures at adopting socials skills.”

Mondo couldn’t deny it. He had the same opinion. He gave it a shrug in an attempt to give the conversation a closure.

“And if I may say so myself. I think you are a very attractive man yourself, Mondo.”

Mondo blushed even harder at the sudden compliment. And again, that cute smile… if only he could make him smile like that in photos…

“I know!! What if I force you to smile spontaneously?”

A small silence broke between the two “Force me to smile spontaneously?” Mondo cringed at the obvious mistake “Did you think that through?”

“Eh- shit! Atleast I am tryin’. I don’t see ya’ spittin’ any ideas!”

Taka chuckled. Mondo never considered to see Ishimaru laugh as he did right now. It created an ambience of comfort. It’s a new side that Mondo wished to see his brother with it in more occasions. “I will try to think of something too, then.”

Observing those two talking was Kirigiri; detective mode activated: the right index finger intertwined and resting on her chin as she would normally do whenever she found herself immersed deep in her thoughts. “Those two seem to be in a good mood. It’s good to have someone to rely on.”

“Well, I consider myself lucky too. After all, I am the ultimate lucky student if I have you backing me up.”

That was… unexpected. Was he trying to be smooth, flirty or just kind? One look at his facial expression: huge smile, eyebrows tense, shoulders determined. He was definately not trying to be flirty but that comment was very effective. She turned around, flushed.

3.       “Makoto, the servant”

Chapter: 2

Context: daily life of Makoto in the Future Foundation.

Makoto had woken up with a tedious mood. He checked his alarm clock and groaned… 4 a.m., “Great!” He said before slamming the snooze button and slumping back into the flat, old pillow. He blamed Togami for that. The man continued to impose him waking up at ridiculous hours to perform the most preposterous tasks. To be honest, he sometimes felt to be Togami’s pet or worse… a servant. He cringed at the idea and quickly dismissed such unwelcomed thoughts to not further the cranky mood he was in.

“Peasant, I will need my coffee at exactly 65ºC (150ºF) with just a sniff of cinnamon or I’ll have you thrown into the dungeon. Naegi, you tell them the answer!” He adjusted his imaginary glasses, pointing forcefully to a random nearby object while attempting to copy Togami’s presumptuous act with an over exaggerated high-pitched voice. “Makoto, that was not what I wanted y-you to t-tell… t-them.“ …but he merely ended in chuckles in the middle of the last one, ridiculing his own failed attempts.

He pushed the sheets to one side and hopped off out of bed. Imitating Togami would always lighten his mood. He grabbed his phone to see what horrifying tasks awaited him that day…

4.       “Reunion”

Chapter: 2

Context: Mondo was part of the 2nd division (army) while Ishimaru belonged to the 14th division. Mondo was a soldier, facing wars in different points of the world; while Ishimaru worked in Future Foundation’s headquarters, safe from any danger. This was not their first reunion but it was the one where they spent the most time apart. The location of the reunion was in a cafeteria inside FF.

At the end of the corridor, he rested his hands over the knees to normalize his respiratory rate. One mental reminder to himself was to put his exercise in order! Those sleepless nights and postponing his exercise regime were clearly affecting his stamina. Though, he would have to worry about that later. Still panting, he recomposed to an upright stance to meet the single entrance of the beautiful building where Mondo awaited him. The smell of freshly baked buns was causing his stomach to start rumbling. He touched the glass door but didn’t push it to open. Instead he looked through the stained glass and tried to spot him. Shaky breaths were quickly turned into condensation whenever these brushed over the surface of the glass, defocusing the once clear image and forcing Kiyotaka to clean the droplets with his right sleeve. It had been wise to look for him behind the entrance door. It avoided a clumsy search inside the cafeteria for anyone to watch and whisper. He sensed something was beating fast inside of him. He confirmed that his heart was racing when he placed a hand close to his chest. Why did he feel so nervous?

The cafeteria was still pretty empty at this time of the day but a few people were starting to fill the empty chairs and placing their trays on top of the metallic round tables to start enjoying their meals. Loud laughter and loud chatter slowly scattered across the space, too much to his annoyance. He looked at his right, straight to his usual table. It was almost hidden by a load-bearing wall, away from the restless crowd and at the same time, closer to the landscape he so enjoyed. That blooming tree filled his morning with color and energy and made him believe that he could endure another harsh, boring day. Darn, someone was already occupying that… spot. Wait… sun-kissed muscles, different uniform (if not mistaken, he recognized it to be from the 2nd division), bleached long hair… That was Mondo right?

“Mondo.” he whispered only letting himself to hear before opening the door. The smile vanished in a brief second after he noticed bruises, scars and some bandages covering his best friend. Mondo turned his head around almost unconsciously to the scraping sound that the front door’s metallic base did over the tile floor, a common sound that repeated every time someone moved it to open.

Not five seconds passed when a very trembling Ishimaru had his arms around him. Mondo felt a stream of warm tears running loose in his cheeks, damping the collar of his t-shirt. Taka was crying, of course. Gently, Mondo folded his arms around the other’s midsection, pulling him to his lap to allow his forehead to drown in Taka’s neck, surrendering to the embrace.

The comments mocking the odd pair suddenly reverberated through the room, filling the air of not-so-sneaky murmurs. Without separating himself from the warmth radiated from Taka’s right shoulder, Mondo rotated his head, locking eyes with the few smug fuckers. A narrow purple iris shined in contempt out of a squinted corner of his left eye. Some deviated his looks, frighten by the former delinquent’s cold stare, while the boldest ones maintained the glare beside a derisive smile, maliciously enjoying the scene.

Yet, Taka was only focused in who held him; giving minimal concern to his surroundings. “Without hearing from you, I thought you were gone for good!” Hell, he didn’t even seem to notice the bastards around them! He only knew how his arms trembled and how his eyes hurt, overdriven with emotions.

Taka shifted to close the embrace even tighter, to reduce any amount of space that still remained between the two. The strong dedication put in those words chocked whatever sickening feeling Mondo was struggling with. Kiyotaka cherishing him was the remedy he needed to immediately light his mood and now, it was his turn to return the favor. Mondo moved one hand to ruffle Taka’s soft hair, while the left rubbed his back, working in tandem. Whatever it was, the affection was soothing the other’s tears. Mondo gave him time to compensate the time they had been away from each other so this position lasted for a few minutes.

Suddenly, Taka raised his head to look directly into the other’s eyes, who replaced kind eyes for a big smile. Mondo had a wide variety of smiles but this one, this stupid wide, teeth-clenched one meant ‘everything is alright’ where as Taka just continued to feel as hurt and tired. He inspected the scars meticulously, especially the ones across his face before unwrapping his arms around Mondo’s neck. Mondo didn’t budge but his palms slid to rest in other’s hips. Taka detected a tiny cut just under the left eye. He glared at it for a bit before rubbing it gently with his thumb to depreciate the change of texture that usually escorted injuries.

Red eyes were glazed deep in thought to which Mondo frowned and sighed. “Who are you?”

Taka was taken aback with the question. “What? Do you not recognize me?”

The exaggerated dismay on Ishimaru’s expression lines was what caused the loud, boisterous laugh that followed. It started off as a snort but it quickly developed to guffaws. That laugh only belonged to Mondo and to Mondo only. Taka simply gawked at him in absolute oblivion until the other stopped to explain. “I-I am just playin’ ya.” He managed to say between chortles “Ya’ almost fooled me with that long hair of yours, but your face continues the same. Oh gosh! How long has it been? 5 months? Hmph- it looks good on ya!”

This had not been the first time apart but it had been the longest they have been away from each other.

“This is hardly the time for games!”

“Sorry! Pout as much as you want. That cute angry face does not work on me! It was fuckin’ hilarious to see your reaction!”

Mondo conceded. He did look older, more mature, like a proper business man. He smirked turning Taka alert to his movements. He proceeded to remove his gloves and threw them carelessly on top of the table. He cupped Ishimaru’s pale but warm face against his cold hands. He flinched with the abrupt change of temperature but melted into it nevertheless. He pushed Taka’s bangs back revealing the angry wrinkled forehead and some kinky strands of hair that fought free from the grip. He noticed the obvious dark rims under the eyes, knowing full well he was the cause of that predicament. Regardless, he chose to leave the subject untouched. In any case he still had the same face and the same soft raven hair.

(…)

Although not evident, Kirigiri did worry about Ishimaru’s well being. He had a gorgeous smile when he truly felt happy and he was the only who could perform such a confidence boost in Taka.

“Hello, Mondo. It is nice to see you’re back safe.”

He looked at his right to see the former ultimate detective staring at him with a formal smile. “Hello Kirigiri. How are you?”

“Good. What about you?”

“Meh- could’a be worse!” he answered, looking fondly at Taka.

The conversation quickly died and Inadvertently, Kirigiri’s eyes fell over Mondo’s lap, where Taka was still sitting.

For once, Taka was able to read the surprise in Kirigiri’s face and immediately jumped out to his upright position leaving Mondo stunned.

“I didn’t realize I was still in y-your lap. I am so sorry kyoudai!”

He could have been quieter in saying that… Kyoko attempted to cover a snicker behind her usual thinking expression which became apparent that it would be a hard task when holding an apple in each hand.

5.       “???”

Chapter: 2

Context: after the “reunion” moment. Taka went to grab breakfast for himself and Mondo, while the other waited for him in the lounge.

Taka rushed to the kitchen without running. Old habits die hard I guess. Mondo chuckled at that. A tall man with ridiculous hair was now approaching Mondo.

“Mondo! So nice to see you again, man!”

“Same, Hagakure. How are you doing?”

“Fine. (gasps) those are some ugly, nasty scars.” Hagakure pointed it out “Are you ok?”

“No, dude. Can’t you see I’m dead?”

“AHHHHHHH- a ghost!”

Mondo is now the one stunned by Hiro’s overreaction.

“Bro… Chill… I am just teasing you… Did you seriously think I was dead? How high are you?”

“Are you sure you didn’t come to haunt me??” Hiro continued, half-hunched, covering half of his face with his forearms, squinting towards an even more stupefied Mondo,

“You have serious problems. I was bein’ sarcastic, ya’ big idiot!”

“Oh- haha! I am glad to hear it!” Hagakure quickly to his usual chirp self and laughed it off “It would be bad news if I had been haunted by a ghost.”

“Whatever man…”

Thank you so much for reading!! And apologies for my terrible sense of humour!

[zukofenty]

Sugar

➜ Summary: The one where there’s a former skateboarding photographer turned teenaged masked vigilante running around protecting the city from crime. Yet, Katara always knew she wasn’t meant to just sit a good fight out.

“Did you just fucking slap me?” Zuko is incredulous, clutching his reddening man tit.

“Yeah, what are you going to do about it? Be mad?” Katara bites back.

➜ Genre: Spiderman!AU, Modern!AU, humor

➜ Words: 3.8k

➜ Warnings: I love Zuko😩

AO3, My Zutara Month Playlist

@zutaramonth​ hi!!! this my late day 1 hehe

“Self care 2020 is officially over. We’re doing drugs again.” 

  Suki stares at Katara quizzically. “No, I don’t think that’s how it goes.” 

  “Are you sure?” Katara asks, puzzled. Suki just rolls her eyes, picking at her chipping manicure as Katara focuses on her biology homework. 

  “It’s only been like two weeks into the New Year. Yeah, I’m sure,” Suki deadpans. “What makes you think that doing drugs again is remotely going to-” Her rant is abruptly cut off at the sound of commotion coming from the courtyard. “Fuck, not Jet again.” 

  Katara jumps to her feet. Not this bitch again . Before she has to do more damage control than Camila Cabello’s publicist every time she opens her mouth and something stupid (and/or racist) for the 1000th time, Katara surveyed the scene before her. Freshman Aang, still prepubescent and so, so tiny was spared from having his face shoved in a moldy grilled cheese sandwich the cafeteria gave to kids who couldn’t afford lunch (yay public school!). He’s not facing Jet’s usual wrath inflicted on any short king 5’9” and under. Instead, a figure was gasping for air in an oversized black hoodie, hands clawing at Jet’s angular face. 

  “Hey Jet!” Katara yelps, pulling the tall boy up by his belt loops. He pauses in pummeling Zuko’s oh so pretty face, and grins unabashedly at Katara. The smile she knows is only reserved for her. 

  “Yes, Katara?” He smirks when he could almost hear pussies clench. He knows his power. 

  She smiles back at him, making it almost reach her eyes. “I did a little research, and guess what?” 

  “What?” 

  She pushes her bangs from her eyes, looking so sweet and innocent in her blazer and her signature knee length boots. “You’re a whore. A dumb whore.” He can’t help but let anger paint his face. “Leave these damn kids alone ! Don’t you have another class to ditch? A military program to join? A car to mod? Find a hobby. Go to therapy. Stupid.” 

  Her hair flows whips around as quickly as she does, flowing and bouncing effortlessly as she heads to AP Chemistry. 

  Zuko smiles, despite the pain in his chest from where Jet shoved his converse into. He thinks he loves her. Or what anti social kids like him thought love was because he doesn’t think she knows who he is. So polished and passionate about everything she does. Captain of the debate team, president of the Student Advocate’s club, and head intern at Phoenix Corporations in working on projects to mass clean polluted waters. She managed to do everything and still have kindness in her soul. The kind of love that you could almost feel surrounding a person. 

  He decides he likes staring at her, even if it’s the back of her head during chemistry. It was too easy to fall in love, when she was yelling at him to photograph the debate club’s photos in a certain light so they could post it on their Facebook for student recruitment season. He manages to always trip on his laces every time he’s around her, or stumble on his skateboard when she sends a small smile his way as they pass each other in the hallway of Ba Sing Se Academy. It’s always worth the detention Principal Pakku serves his way, if it meant he could get her attention. 

  In high school, guys like him and girls like her weren’t meant to be together. He’s impossibly clumsy, according to Uncle Iroh, and dangerously emo, according to everyone else. Katara, well she’s meant for bigger and better things, she’s meant to be out in the world and changing it. 

  She startles him, the way she turns so fast her ponytail narrowly misses his bruised face. “It was great what you did. It was kind of fucking stupid. But great.” 

  “Thank you?” 

  Katara beams impossibly wide. “You’re welcome. What’s your name?” 

  Zuko’s giving her a lopsided smile. “You don’t know my name?” 

  “Am I supposed to? You know I only keep up with Black Chyna and the lord.” Her wide eyes squint in a smile. His heart thunders, and he somehow feels as though Katara could sense it, with how much bigger her smile gets. 

  //

  “Welcome to the company single handedly transforming the genetic and biological industry. The future lies within!” The monitor’s voice announces repeatedly, Phoenix Corporation’s recognizable slogan. 

  Zuko’s in awe. He wasn’t meant for a world like this, with fancy lab coats and holographic presentations and people with glasses spewing larger than life terms. Hell, the revolving doors got him fucked up! That shit was too advanced for his liking. Science was his thing , but this was entirely out of his league. He donned glasses as an homage to a father he had never known, abandoning him when he was a baby on his Uncle Iroh’s doorstep. A labcoat was handed his way after the intern program directors approved with the badge of some guy named “Lee.” Zuko desperately tries to ignore the pleas of the real Lee coming from the lobby of the building. 

  “I swear I have a badge, I swear I’m an intern here!” 

  A guard shoves him out the door. “Can it, zit bitch!” 

  “I don’t think security guards are supposed to pick at people’s insecurities,” Lee whimpers. 

  He’s avoiding eye contact as Katara prattles away, taking the sweaty interns every which way through the company’s headquarters. “And here is Dr. Ozai, who will be discussing his cross elemental genetics project.” 

  He’s a formidable man. Tall, broad shoulders. He looks intensely polished, the type of man that always gets his way. The type of man who refuses anything less than what he wants. Zuko can’t help but stare. He looks different from the pictures Zuko found in Iroh’s basement. Meaner . Is this what he will look like in the future? He tries not to think about it too hard.  “Does anyone know the history of the firebenders are?” Zuko sees Ozai relishing in the confused faces of the teens, oily foreheads seemingly glistening in the fluorescent lighting. 

  “They were-”

  Zuko promptly interrupts him. “They were born with the ability to will fire any way they wanted. Legend has it that benders were born with abilities to manipulate all the elements: water, earth, fire, air. These people were invincible.” 

  Ozai smirks. A first for him, a student who understood his work. “Yes, all true. But the truly powerful ones were the ones who could firebend. This element is the most destructive, yet can bring beauty all at once.” He pauses to bring a holographic video to the attention of the students. “My goal is to recreate this ability that once came so easily to our ancestors. To bring humankind to be this powerful again. Where nothing will ever get in our way, no illness, no fear. Just us and the elements, joined together once more.” 

  As the fellow interns become increasingly enraptured by the presentation detailing his work, Ozai turns to Katara reviewing notes for the rest of the office tour. “Who was that kid?” She couldn’t help but feel pride in her soul. As she turns to introduce him to her mentor, her brows furrow in confusion. He’s nowhere to be found.

  //

  He hadn’t meant to sneak into the top secret chamber of research, he swears. One minute he’s looking for a bathroom because he downed one too many Fiji waters because they were fancy and he wanted to feel fancy. And then of course he’s distracted by pretty buttons, and of course the rebel in him is able to remember the passcode scientists used to enter this top secret chamber. (The password was “thrussy.”) 

  He certainly hadn’t meant to get burned. He hastily climbed into the empty tube to hide himself as security guards routinely checked the room. While trying to unlock the door, of course he just had to trip on his laces, and of course he just had to press some button. Next thing he knew, he was surrounded by rainbow colored flames, engulfing his body. He remembers the last thing he searched on his computer was “what are furries festival” and prays that the police spares that from the report when they investigate his death. 

  But, he’s fine. He’s more than fine. He’s fucking fantastic . He’s strong, he has the reflexes of a fucking ninja, and he can conjure fucking flames from his hands. From his hands! 

  He practices every night, after the day at Phoenix Corp. He singed his towels, accidentally broke open his medicine cabinet when he reached for his anti depressants, and exploded his Aveeno bedside lotion. There’s an abandoned building near his apartment, and he climbs to the rooftop every night to control his newfound powers. He’s not clumsy, and swears he can rival Tony Hawk with his skateboarding abilities.

  But the best part is how agile he’s become. He’s strong, noodle arms now muscular. His baggy shirts like a conscious fashion choice, and not just because they were the cheapest in the Walmart clearance rack. The kids that ignored him and continued to make out in front of his locker without any consequence? Pushed to the ground. The bully targeting petite kings? Basketball shoved firmly into his head. 

  “I’m trying my hardest to stop being mean. It’s really not my fault everyone is so fucking stupid.” Zuko petulantly stares at the suspension slip Pakku had written as he waits for Iroh to finish speaking to the principal. Apparently justice has consequences. 

  “Zuko!” Katara serious tone is heavily contrasted with laughter. 

  “Fine, you caught me. I’ve been ditching therapy to hotbox in the Denny’s parking lot.” 

  Katara huffs. “Denny’s? Really, bitch? You couldn’t have chosen, I don’t know, Target at least. Here I thought you were classy.” 

  Their collective laughter was interrupted by Iroh’s appearance, anger maring his usually gentle face. “We’ll talk about this later. Zuko, you know better than this. Why did you have to humiliate that boy?” 

  “He deserved it!” 

  “Enough! I’m have to pick up some later shifts at the tea shop today. Show up for yours today, too.” Zuko senses his uncle has more to say, more to berate him for. He just looks exhausted . Defeated. It’s all his damn fault. Iroh swerves to Katara. “He has you on his computer by the way! I’m his parole officer, nice to meet you.”  Zuko’s mouth falls open, trying to explain to Katara who is barely holding herself together with how loudly she’s guffawing. 

  “I love you,” Iroh says, moving to exit out the school.

  “I know.” Zuko starts to move away, before he pauses. “I love you, too.” 

//

  He thought, you get the girl, you get the firebending skills and you get hot and everything is ok. Everything is perfect. The universe has so many ways to fuck up your life, because serenity is just too easy. 

  Zuko’s heart clenches, staring at his Uncle’s body. There are tears that promise to slip, but never embark on their journey. A monitor nearby is noisily beeping, a tired nurse pats Zuko gently on the back. He’s becoming a recognizable figure, after all he does visit his Uncle Iroh two times a day. 

  It’s his fault . 

  It’s a thought that becomes permanent in his mind. It’s his fault that he lost track of training himself, and didn’t show up for his shift. It’s his fault that Iroh was running around the whole damn city looking for him. It’s his fucking fault his uncle was beat nearly half to death by robbers. 

  He grabs his uncle’s limp hands gently between his own calloused ones. “I’m going to make this right. I’m going to make you proud.” He slips away before he can feel his heart threatens to simply stop, unable to process the infinite pain he feels. 

  //

He glances at his watch nervous for multiple reasons. One, that he was going to miss his shift at the tea shop and get lectured again by June, his neighbor who has graciously taken over running the shop and housing Zuko until Iroh wakes from his coma. Two, that if he stares at the sea prunes any longer without actually eating them, Katara’s grandma would start laughing at him. Three, if Katara’s father kept glaring at him he would combust with how fucking nervous he was. It didn’t help he snuck in through Katara’s window and Hakoda had discovered him watching Tik Toks on her bed. 

  The dinner was a bust. Halfway through and he’s already gotten in an argument with the police chief over a certain masked figure. 

  “I think his name is The Blue Spirit.” Zuko admits, fighting to hide a smile. 

  Hakoda stares down at the boy. “More like Blue Dipshit. He’s destroying the city!” Katara quickly steps in as the argument grows heated, taking Zuko out to her building’s rooftop. 

  “Oh my god, you should be glad he didn’t shoot your ass up.” Katara clutches the railing, staring out to the city lights. 

  The same city lights he lives by, swears by. He remembers trying to seek out his uncle’s attacker. A man named Zhao notorious for his violent temper and attacks on the city’s elderly. He was able to run into his gaggle of minions on his nights long quest. While they had successfully nearly beat him to a pulp, he swears he’s set a few jackets on fire and managed to outrun them. Even if it meant he had fallen through an unbuilt building, tumbling down six stories before landing in the pits of a former fight club. He saw it then, the Blue Spirit legend. An ancient swordsman who dominated the underground scene. 

  He decided he was going to be the best damn superhero the world had seen. Even if it meant wearing an all black leotard every night. He designed it to best complement his firebending, resistant to the heat. The mask he slipped on every night, built to protect both him and his identity. The swords at his back that he’s been training with hours on end. 

“Are you a cop?” he remembers his uncle’s attacker questioning, his new target blocked by Zuko’s presence. 

  “Really? You think a cop is going to be wearing a blue face mask and black spandex?” He doesn’t remember much of that night, anger too palpable and blinding his senses. All he will admit to is leaving him in some police car. Not the bruises littering the bandit’s body. Or his missing pants. 

  “I have to tell you something.” He joins Katara at the railing. 

  She gasps. “I knew it! You listen to Post Malone unironically.” 

  “No, god no. I haven’t hit rock bottom yet to start doing that.” He’s proud of himself for making her laugh. 

  “What’s up?” She asks. He can’t back out now. Not when she’s looking at him like he’s the whole world, not when she’s become his whole world. 

  “I-I can’t” He stutters, breaking their eye contact. 

  She nods in quiet understanding, turning away from him to walk back to her apartment. Zuko sighs, rubbing a hand at his forehead. “ Fuck.”

  He conjures up a storm of flames to surround Katara. The force was enough to whirl her around and towards him, waiting to catch her in his arms. 

  “What the fuck was that?” Katara yelps, before being cut off with the feeling of Zuko’s lips pressed against hers. 

  “I just wanted to let you know. I Am. A. God.” He swears, the flames growing steadily from his palms.  

  “I’m kind of scared of you right now. Not because of the firebending or anything, just because the amount of testosterone is making me nervous.” She initiates the kiss this time. Her lip gloss tastes sweet, and he keeps kissing her until her lips become chapped. His hands can’t help but roam her body, her hands teasing and finding contact with his toned stomach beneath his hoodie. 

  “Are you kidding me!” Sokka calls from the rooftop’s entrance, hands covering his eyes. “I swear to Spirits above Zuko I am not afraid to castrate you right here right now. Katara, get the fuck inside!” 

  Zuko blushes. 

  // 

“Katara, you’re so incredibly mature for your age.” Hama insists. 

  Katara is beaming. “Thanks, it’s the childhood trauma!” 

  The chemistry teacher freezes, looking at the still smiling girl peculiarly. “Um, well. My point is, it’s not worth it. I-I know it’s none of my business. I just see so much of myself in you. Including the mistakes I know you’re going to make. Honey, it’s not worth mixing yourself up with a guy that’s only more trouble than anything else. You’re going to go to the best college in the nation, I just know it. You just can’t afford to lose your focus now. Been there, done that. It’s not worth it.” 

  She smiled seemingly understandingly, struggling to keep her mouth shut. If only she knew. 

  The Blue Spirit couldn’t fight all the crime in the city alone. As much as Zuko was convinced he was the shit, he really wasn’t. The Blue Spirit couldn’t dare match up to The Painted Lady. 

“You’re The Painted Lady?” Zuko questions, eyes closed in confusion while trying to process all the information. To be fair, he’s only gotten two hours of sleep a night ever since his life as The Blue Spirit began. He’s convinced the police really only sit around and eat donuts. If this was Law and Order: SVU , he just knew Olivia Benson wouldn’t need a masked teenager saving people. He opens his eyes when he begins to feel pulsating water near his wounds, Katara controlling its every movement as it works its way through his wounds. 

  After reuniting with his father and become an official intern at Phoenix Corp, he soon realized his father was not as occupied with cross elemental theories. No, he was much more focused on how to resurrect the dragons of the world. The true firebenders, he noted. Zuko had found hidden notes his mother had written before leaving his father. Partners in crime, they were working on their research together. Before his mother had left with the solution, before his father could understand the consequences of his work. Before his father had made himself a subject and injected their concoction into himself, become a half scaled half human hybrid roaming the sewers of the city. 

  He had found his father, bitter to no end as he continues producing the serum that was supposed to make the most powerful being on the planet. Zuko was left with gashes in his chest that made him wanted to vomit with how much blood was pouring out. He was left to die in dirty sewage water, his father cackling as he disappeared. Until she showed up. 

  The Painted Lady. 

  The city’s emblem, etched on coins and dollar bills. He’s heard rumors about her cleaning up the city’s rivers, healing patients doctors long gave up on. Her grandmother had told her their family comes from a long line of waterbenders, the last one born 400 years ago. She had her swear never to reveal her talents, never talk about it, never do anything about it. It was dangerous, the government would want to talk to her. She would disappear, the whole family would be in danger But Katara was never one to listen to directions very well. 

  “Did you just fucking slap me?” Zuko is incredulous, clutching his reddening man tit. She’s nearly healed all the cuts on his body at the hands of his father’s claws. The burn from a dragon is more painful than any other, and Katara’s upset. She can’t heal his eye, no matter how hard she tries. 

  “Yeah, what are you going to do about it? Be mad?” Katara bites back. She pauses the water disappearing from her hands and back onto the mug on her night stand. “I can’t believe you’re so fucking stupid.” She’s in his lap, clad in only a t shirt. Her hair falls in her eyes as she returns to heal his wounds, and he gingerly brushes the strand out from blocking her. 

  “I know.” Zuko couldn’t help but press a kiss to her cheek. 

  “Don’t return the sweatpants,” Katara throws out. 

  Zuko raises his eyebrow. “Why, doesn’t Sokka want these back?” 

  “He says, ‘I don’t want emo butt juice on them,’” Katara shrugs. 

  He blows a stray hair from his scarred eye out of frustration. “I consider myself chic punk more than anything else.” 

  She pauses again. “What if there’s more of us out there?” Katara uneasily peers up at his questioning stare. “More benders?” 

  Even with all the tests and insistence Ozai had for recreating this power, Zuko had been the only successful case. The only person to fully exhibit the power of his ancestors. “I don’t know. Wouldn’t they need to go through some sort of freak accident like I did?” 

  “What if your power was suppressed this whole time?” 

  He contemplates the idea, hands rubbing up and down her waist. 

  “I think my grandma used to say something like ‘One queef and this whole building could tumble down.’”

  He is glaring at her quizzically. “No I don’t think that’s right. What does that even mean?” 

  “It means, life as we know it will change forever. If we find other benders to defeat your father. If we expose what bending is. Hell, the city still thinks you use jetpacks to propel yourself around the city.” 

  He pecks chastely at her lips. She hates how easily she’s able to relax when he kisses away her worries. “You know, I used to think if I had a boyfriend I would simply go beat pedophiles to death with him as a hobby. I don’t know whether or not to be delighted this has come true.” 

  “As long as The Blue Spirit always has The Painted Lady. Everything will be alright.” 

  “You promise?” 

  “You rise with moon. He does, too.” Zuko’s staring at the mask in his hand. His other hand firmly around Katara’s. 

[weaselle]

pay no attention to this collection I just need to post it so I can find it

hit walls and floor... tall inside of my skull; if I never fall at all, clever's awfully dull - so if "push" says the door you'll be watchin' me pull - 'cause I only shop for china when I'm walkin' with bulls

Order me sit? dope, I'm askin' how high; I out right hope my notes are causin' outcry - where do I fit? miles as the cow flies - statistically shit, climbin' slopes to outlie

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I can juggle knives, and proselytize, and wink my eyes in flirth (or mix words like mirth and flirt, like, ask what planet Dirt is wearth) I can lift a person by their soul, or... even let them down; I can fit myself to any role: demon, prophet, clown. I can write like frightened squid, or read a book from any shelf- but a lifeguard out at sea can drown, and I can't save myself

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I want an adventurous crew, less than 100 and much more than 2; I've got an idea or four to do and believe that "to lead" isn't "ordering you" - I want be thicker than thieves: if one of us cries, everyone grieves; stacked deck for success, form small companies so that every ace dealt goes up all of our sleeves - I wish I had Boromir's horn; I stand full of arrows, small and forlorn I'd summon an army as sure as you're born and we'd rend every obstacle / mend what is torn

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yo when it's late I don't know if debate is a pro that I'm prone to or con I conflate; yawn ok great it's the dawn of new date too soon gone like a pawn in a perilous state - do I wander or wait, keep closed yonder gate or transpose these ten toes 'til exposing my fate? if not off to bed nodding off head berates and refuses to do more than snooze/obfuscate

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I don't have time enough to tell the clock to stop its ticking talk, while I'm sublimely sleepy, still ensconced in twos of shoes and socks; I'm staring off in awful need of themes that breed these searing thoughts- I breathe more air when all unfair reality congeals and clots; when sleep is claustrophobic, fear near stoic in its static stay, I ride my nightmares into mounts more suited to the dreams of day

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time for me to be known from home to home, on the campaign trail like when Romans roam, I'mma do the damn thang, prevail and own every twist in this life-line vine I've grown

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sick like a little bit with a bad tum and sniffle it's not a badda-boom bat beating but a wiffle hit; sleep like the bleeping sheep gotta wring it outta me, sore like a freaking score that you sing without a "c".

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i got nothing to say, i'm all bluff in this play, i mean i'm here to swerve some verse it's clear i'm thumpin' away at the buttons with the letters on whenever it’s day like a cat attacks a sweater, just pretending it’s prey - I need to catch the thing I’m chasing, like, it’s gotta get caught, and so I jot it down a lot to try to capture the thought; but though the plot is often written out in dashes and sketches, i rarely cash in those checks, i need more carry than fetches, so I’m dreamin’ and dumpin’ out all the schemin’ or somethin’ and like, even if it’s meaningless these keys I’ll keep thumpin

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with the internet i’m magic and i’m casting a spell call a song out of the air to here as clear as a bell private playlist from the A-list like i’m famous as hell making music moving quickly so I’m faster as well

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“oh no” I shout “Where’s Trusty my phone?” I don’t know the whereabouts, must be shown- adjusted the tone of the ring to silence now trying to find it brings me to violence; really need to locate as I motivate to go today I throw the flippin’ sofa pillows hopin’ for a stowaway... but oh no way it’s gone I pray this song will make a tiny spell; a lesson less on lost forlorn and more intent on finding cell

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pocket full of humbug, some'll argue/ some shrug but damnit my whole planet's stupid like it's on the Dumb drug will there be a U.S. war? (I mean ANOTHER on our list) maybe something civil: neo-drivel vs. power fist... maybe accidental, mental trump insulting china's boss I fear these pale tears will steer us straight into a giant loss

so many people on the earth are searching for a safe life the rich'll keep their swords but lord they'll take away our steak knife Nothing free for you and me our banking fees are never waved; an act by black or poor is "crime" for white or rich it's "misbehaved" They're pouring us an ethanol and calling it an eggnog - time to run away and trade these reindeer for a sled-dog; the season of the commie christ whose message hasn't landed yet: money only isn't evil if the people's needs are met

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no thanks on the news, yo crank up the tunes, don't bank on the crankiness taking a snooze unless I get dressed from neckless to shoes and charge the horizon more wise than confused __________________________________________________________

hear the too late beep, missing two days sleep, and the road to a dream is a two way street; so the mood stays bleak though I do make sweet this coffee with cream and the brew ain't weak

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been a While since I styled out the verbs and tenses, went around the Gates and straight hopped the fences; penUltimately gotta be a sultan of self: master mind, rule body, find my worth-and-my-wealth; if i'm quiet too long I'll have sloth not stealth so I try to move along and get my words off the shelf.

my projects: objects I invent/books writ - that shit won't pay the rent; throw fits, I have, it don't prevent: what's real from feeling devil-sent.

so I must be clever, do each: sum total; whatever needs eating this dead-beat goat'll; ask what is the art in a pace grown sickly? cut to the part where the chase goes quickly

Now hook or crook I must prepare, to tell each truth/take every dare stand hand on hips, and one in air, you can kiss my lips, or my derrière

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got me a hit list, swear i'ma get this done til the sun goes under the business; witness, this is crazy and witless, lazy lately: maybe the wiz kid just hid restless - put to the test his quiz is bested get to the rest it's now or not again, get that got and then kill it til the whole damn lot is a slaughter pen, sweat til the wet drip drops gettin' hotter than the metal that your kettle corn kernel keeps poppin' in; hoppin' and hippin' and readin' what's written i gotta be gettin' to the List no skippin'! slippin like fall, new leaves i'm flippin - givin' my all just to keep on grippin'; breakin' what doesn't bend wrong way through, as i make it to the end of the long To Do

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i post at the prompt, chew big what i've chomped; grew kid to a ghost haunting most of this pomp; listless within this to do list i'm swamped - spirit in fits, corpse slow to go romp

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incautious swatches of saying; watch as he washes the playing: switching the swerving and swaying into some terms of conveying wishes conditions occurred in which this envisioned un-blurred digit could get itself heard and flip politicians the bird

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in the trace of the face off you tasted last, is the scent of the sense made fading fast, so your dreams leak sieve-like hiking past a scared nightmare crew of an all-you cast

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got me a pallet of shall get around to, climb out of shallow kie, it's not about you; just look at the play and see where the props ain't, take out a brush but don't rush it you'll drop paint; stop sayin' you're praying for planet like damn saint but get out and do, do it, do, 'til you feel faint; yes do it, true get into some writing, what you must chew is how much off you're biting, i dust off the lightning and plug it right in, if i play hard enough then my bluff just might win, all this tin in my pocket while walking about til the hat-caving camptown will clean me all out- my ten other projects, pretend money fudge it, i'll sell all my objects and end up with budget; i'd love it if some of my ideas ran, but i'll finish the one and be one happy man

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each piece is news, new peace in reach; tho a few of you choose nude tweets of Preach- but the rest got best bits fittin' here, what tests my pets must sit and hear: forget that past rush last two years going mash-gas fast 'til we're clashing gears, it's clear no room for fear to be, but the info flash is a blast to me- from the crashing sea to the land locked loam, we're lashed to the new word womb to tomb; and it's all fantastic like plastic foam that'll patch like magic a tragic home, or a tech part heart in 3-d print that'll let docs talk too intelligent; it's so elegant, that an elephant could do operations like he hella went: to harvard med my head is full but the school yard's sharp like a shaving tool; i'm a raving fool, but i drink it in, article particles 'til i sink and spin, win wonder i'm under delusions grand- will i sunder illusions and understand? or is it too much fuss will i cuss and worry, will i do what's just 'mid the dust and fury all i know is i go with the flow i find, tryna rein in my brain while i fill my mind

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so often was the A.M. spent prayin' for mayhem, like seeing riots firing inspired me to 'amen'; i'd hate when the job sucked, my robbed luck, i'd get stuck- attempts at free society my hopes and dreams were all fucked; but lately (don't hate me) the game is less crazy- i bust twice as lustrous if bosses don't make me; So new to the bragging, i catch up from lagging and write down solutions more lucid less nagging

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no sleep awake i sit and wait until the mill will dim/abate some whim shall take my fancy fate is to be sleeping dreaming state my eyes won't close i'll type i 'spose i'll write a night time rhyming prose those words i've heard but rearranged their meaning seeming weird and strange i've changed but how i could not say i only know no other way yet days gone by then who was i my mind was mine but what i tried to bind untied it flies! it runs! i rue what once i 'knew'; so dumb- untruth undo what time has done i can't so chant of what's to come oh spin oh sing oh show such things oh paint me what the future brings if won't be still then say your fill i pray my brain abstain from frills and spill the beans and give me scenes of things that help divine the means which plan to make which paths to take? i sit and wait no sleep awake

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rework this

i want things to be different, starting with me; like to find me a new mind, with new eyes to see; like to start a new life, with new ways to be; can't be hard to do right, or this dude might flee- but i like the older version, no aversion to he: the kid who up and did lots, and got up from knees; who figured bigger sub-plots, and thought it was neat; who questioned syncopation, by stepping off beat; so i'd like to start a nation, a tribe or a team; one with no reservations just, a vibe and some steam; a group think to shout out 'thou shalt know peace' and to try it they're provided with some elbow grease; what i mean is, i think it's, so nice to be me; and the thing is the scene seems a singularity; but my brain goes, down more roads, than the branches of trees; and with more crew, i might do, more glancing with ease; so for multiples of loyal, one/two/three: i might try it royal, and become true We

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[canadiananimatorguy]

The first KyoAni series I watched was back in 2006.

I was just starting high school at the time and was also just getting into watching anime. Til then I had just watched whatever they had on YTV (a Canadian channel), you know, Pokemon, Sailor Moon, Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh! all the kids stuff. Fullmetal Alchemist started to pull me into more serious shounen types of anime and then there was Bleach. I was in the middle of Bleach, grinding through the hundreds of episodes of standard action and prolonged fights. It was cool to me, I liked the characters and sword fights, I was content.

Then a friend told me to watch Air. She said it really affected her and strongly urged me to watch it. I was hesitant at first. The art style wasn’t what I was used to, I hadn’t really seen a moe-type anime before. But, being a dumb kid going into high school, of course I wanted to impress this girl, so I watched it.

It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The conversations flowed naturally, not like the stiff writing I was accustomed to. The characters, how they acted, the world, it all felt so grounded and real. Of course the art was weird at first, but once I actually saw it in motion that perception melted away. If anything the characters in Air moved so fluidly and authentically that it felt like Bleach was the unnatural show in comparison. I had also never seen a slice of life series before. I had only watched anime about battles and fantasies, I hadn’t seen a show (live action or not) that was just about people. People doing things, people talking, people crying, people with problems. The story wasn’t straightforward and that mystified me. The ending left me feeling confused and strange, but I wanted more. I had been touched by the KyoAni magic.

Then I watched The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. I heard it was good, and read online it was by the same animation studio. This was the one that changed everything. As good as Air was, Haruhi was on a whole other level. It was all so interesting. The set up, the plot, the characters, the way I had to watch it in broadcast order and keep track of the non-linear storytelling. Bleeding in these other-worldly elements into a daily school life felt like a new concept, even though that was exactly how Bleach began. The reason it felt so different was because of how it was framed, the amazing fantastical stuff wasn’t the focus, in fact it barely showed up in some episodes. The real focus was on the people. Once again they felt so real and lifelike, they acted like actual teens would. It was funny and clever and so dense with quality. It was like I had hit a goldmine of anime.

After that point I stopped watching Bleach altogether. It was simple math. Why waste my time on 200+ episodes of Bleach when I could get an experience just as gripping in a short-but-amazing 14 episodes? Other interesting anime stories and experiences had to be out there too. I went on the hunt for more of the classics. Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Hellsing, FLCL, Wolf’s Rain, Death Note etc.

It was when I took on Lucky Star that I started to take notice of KyoAni’s distinct mark of quality. Buttery smooth animation. Genuinely well executed comedy. Cute characters. This sort of attention to detail that was hard to find elsewhere. I got into the mindset that whenever I watched a series by KyoAni I wasn’t going to be let down. That mindset has never changed. I began to hoard their backlog like a dragon on his pile of gold, saving watching their shows until I felt the time was just right.

Clannad After Story was one that really stuck with me. It still does. To this day it’s my personal favourite series KyoAni has made. Even with all their newer stuff I still love Clannad the most. To me it’s slice of life at it’s peak, a perfect mixture of drama and comedy with a healthy mix of tears. I won’t hesitate to admit I bawled like a child by the ending. It’s affected me in ways that nothing else ever has, and I know countless other people feel the same way. This one was the moment that solidified KyoAni as the best anime studio in my eyes. The only series I love more than it is Gurren Lagann, but in terms of watching something that’s grounded in our world, Clannad can’t be topped. KyoAni’s consistent track record of amazing anime is unbeatable in my opinion and as the years kept rolling by that idea only got stronger.

A couple years later I started becoming more obsessed with watching anime. Browsing online Pokemon forums led me to a sub-board where people kept up to date with current anime series. Before long I dipped my toes in. In my first actual season of watching *new* anime, Nichijou started to air. The look of it reminded me of Lucky Star, and I knew it was by the same animation studio so I jumped into it. It was even funnier than I imagined, easily becoming my favourite anime comedy series, each episode had me laughing my head off. For the next 25 weeks I eagerly anticipated every Saturday. The ritual of sitting down to catch a new episode was so ingrained into my mind that yes, I STILL remember that it aired on Saturdays nearly a decade later. Saturdays were Nichijou Days, every week, no questions asked, until the very last episode had aired.

After that I was in. Any season past that point when a new KyoAni show premiered, I would watch it. Hyouka, Chuunibyou, Tamako Market. Even Free!, it didn’t matter what. I would go online and post gifs and awe at the animation. I would listen to the theme songs wherever I went. I always found myself captivated by the beautiful storytelling that held together each series. Watching KyoAni’s episodes would be the highlight of any week they had a show airing. Every year there was a new project to get excited for, a new thing to end up loving.

Going back a bit... At the same time frame as Nichijou I was just as obsessed with video games as I was with anime. I had chosen games as my career path. I wanted to be a game designer, or someone who worked on games. I was dumb and young and hopeful, so the actual position didn’t matter. Reality hit soon after. For monetary reasons outside of my control I couldn’t continue with games as a post secondary education. I was pulled from my university Game Design course just one semester in. Because of those circumstances I missed my opportunity to get into the other Game Design course at a more cheap local college. I was left distraught. It was then that I had to make a choice. Take the college’s other course offered to me... or wait an entire year for my next shot. That course was Animation.

Without my current love of anime I probably would have reconsidered. The affection for the anime medium had been nurtured inside me for years at that point. I don’t think I’d had the same love for it as I do without Kyoto Animation and all their shows. I’d still be watching low quality stuff like Bleach, I might have even gotten bored of it and stopped watching anime altogether. The path I took was because I had seen Clannad, because I had seen Haruhi, because I had seen Air even. KyoAni literally changed my life. Without them I wouldn’t have gone into an animation career. I wouldn’t have ever got my name in credits of Avengers. I honestly don’t know where I would be, if I would keep trying with video game stuff or go some place completely different. 

It was devastating to hear about the fire yesterday. I’m still torn up about it and I’m probably going to be feeling like shit for a while. I don’t think I can express enough how much my heart goes out to them. KyoAni has affected me so personally, and I know the same goes for millions of others. Their work is something no one else can replicate, the amount of heart and soul that goes into each production is palpable. I felt it from the first time I ever saw it in Air and I can still feel it now. I pray and wish them all the best in this horrible time. There is no taking back what happened. Someday I hope they can return to doing what they love. It will be a long and difficult journey getting there, but if their hearts are anywhere as strong as the ones they’ve given to all of us then I know they can make it through.

[kira-ani-mcgrath]

I am redeemed You set me free So I'll shake off these heavy chains And wipe away every stain Now I'm not who I used to be I am redeemed

"Redeemed" by Big Daddy Weave

I drew this picture specifically to go with the personal story below the cut. Thank you in advance if you take the time to read it, but no worries if you don't. Either way, have a wonderful day.

Late December 2018 was when the Frozen II calendar leak began circulating. Included in the leak was information on the Russian caption for the page, translated to be a vague movie summary. This plot teaser stated that the group (Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven) would be heading north into the forest due to some Arendelle-related mystery.

This was a bit of a let-down for me. You see, since my initial introduction to Frozen in 2013, I have been hoping and praying that the inevitable sequel would include Hans' redemption as part of the narrative (for various reasons that are too lengthy to detail here). Such a plot thread would be easier to accomplish if Frozen II involved travel to some other kingdom (or multiple kingdoms), especially the Southern Isles. With the information revealed in the plot spoiler, it was harder to picture a scenario where Hans would join the rest of the gang for an adventure. Yes, it could be done, but it would be more convoluted, possibly to the point of not being an option altogether. Perhaps I was being too pessimistic, but there was no denying the fact that I was feeling rather down about Frozen II.

A few days later, I was driving home with the radio on, but I wasn't paying attention to it. Instead, I was once again mulling over various ways Hans could be redeemed in Frozen II. Yet the more I considered possible scenarios, the more it seemed that the movie's revealed plot would make Hans' redemption an unrealistic feat. I reached the end of my train of thought, and, feeling disheartened, mentally chided myself, "I should just give up. Hans isn't going to be redeemed in Frozen 2."

At that precise moment, the opening notes of "Redeemed" began to play on the radio. Being quite familiar with the song, I immediately laughed and pointed an index finger to the sky. Not only was the title of the song the exact word my mind had just used, but I have long associated this song with Hans (one of many songs, but also one of my favorites). I had no doubt this was the Lord confirming something to me, as this was not the first time such a "coincidental" occurrence has happened.

It's important to know that, in the years since Frozen, I have created (and am still creating) multiple fanworks that posit different takes on how a Hans redemption could come about (and that's not including all the ideas I've had that aren't developed enough for full-fledged works). There have been several times when I've questioned the value of creating such things, only to have affirmation of my work come from unexpected sources at just the right time. Additionally, I have had many such question-and-confirmation experiences in my life, as well as a noticeable increase in the quantity of such instances within the past several months (albeit unrelated to Frozen and instead dealing with various other matters, such as my faith, my most recent pregnancy, and random everyday life things). Thus, when this specific incident occurred, I immediately recognized it as yet another such moment.

Since that night in December, I'd been internally debating sharing this anecdote with the world. Every few days or so my mind would recall the incident and I'd consider posting about it, but I'd always end up deciding against it. After all, it is highly personal, and it takes quite a bit of explaining to impart the importance of this experience (and I'm still leaving out personal details which make it much more powerful to me). This went on for some time. In mid-late February, I was once again musing upon the occurrence and whether or not I should share it. I jokingly thought to God: "If I hear 'Redeemed' on the radio this morning I'll take it as a sign I'm supposed to share this." And, since you are reading this post, you must know where this is going. I already had the radio on, and after getting back in my vehicle after child drop-off, I flicked through my presets to find a song I wanted to listen to. And, lo and behold, my second-to-last preset was playing the first verse of "Redeemed." (Granted, all of my presets are Christian radio stations, so that does put the odds more in favor of my "wager" coming true. On the other hand, the song is from 2012. That means it's 7 years old, and I honestly didn’t hear the song very often at the time, as more recent songs get played much more frequently. In my mind, the proposition was a joke, but I suppose I should have known better, since a lot of my recent question-and-confirmation experiences have been me joking and God proceeding to do the thing.) And thus, here we are. The large time gap between the second occurrence and this post is because 1) I take a while to get my thoughts out and refine them into something fit for public eyes, especially in a personal case such as this one, 2) it seemed appropriate to do some art to go with this, since I've been lacking in productivity in the creative departments for some time, and 3) life things requiring my attention.

On an interesting side note, I had three additional confirmations of this post while I was working on it.

#1) When I said, "There have been several times when I've questioned the value of creating such things, only to have affirmation of my work come from unexpected sources at just the right time," there's a particular incident that sticks out to me. One night in 2016, I stayed up late finishing chapter nine of my fanfiction, Frozen: Sacrifice and Forgiveness. Even though I posted the chapter, I was really depressed about it. Thoughts such as, "Is this really something I should be investing so much time in?" and "Does God actually want me to write this story?" weighed heavily on my mind, though I kept them to myself. After some internal arguing, I directed an unspoken question to the Lord: "Is this really what I should be doing?" Not much later, before going to bed, I checked my phone and saw an email from FF.net saying I had a comment on the latest F:SaF chapter. The comment was from a fellow Christian who had read through the posted chapters and was very encouraging about my story. It was just the right kind of affirmation at precisely the right time. Fast-forward to Wednesday, February 27th, 2019. I checked my phone in the morning and saw an email from AO3 that someone has left a comment on the last posted chapter of F:SaF. This was quite surprising, as I haven't updated the fic since September 21st, 2017. The comment was very positive, and it immediately reminded me of this post, which was a WIP in a computer document at the time. Not only did the new comment correlate to the aforementioned unexpected sources of encouragement, but F:SaF has been on my mind recently in terms of working on it again. Then, as the cherry on top, I was listening to the daily scripture reading on the radio while driving to work that morning, and the song that came on immediately afterward was "Redeemed".

#2) On Friday, March 1st, I had finished this post to my general satisfaction (as I knew it still required minor edits, plus I still had to finish my drawing) before getting ready for work. Upon entering my vehicle, I thought, "Wouldn't it be funny if 'Redeemed' played on the radio again?" I then instantly berated myself: "That's dumb. You don't need to be looking for confirmation of things all the time." I then flicked through my presets, and the first verse of "Redeemed" was playing on my second-to-last preset — the same song position and the same preset as when I was debating whether or not to make this post.

#3) On Friday, March 8th, I thought to myself as I was getting ready for work, “I really need to finish that post.” When I started my car, the radio was on, but I didn’t care for the song it was playing, so I jumped to my first preset. “Redeemed” was playing, starting from the very first word of the first verse.

Now, the question is: what was being confirmed to me with the original occurrence in December? The most straightforward answer is Hans' redemption in Frozen II. Mind you, not a redemption based on worldly methods such as "cleaning yourself up" and "earning it," but rooted in the Christian standard of unconditional love, mercy, grace, and faith. I'll admit, it seems far-fetched, given the fact that Disney is not a Christian company and the creative team has no Christians on it (AFAIK). Then again, "What is impossible with man is possible with God." Still, I have thought of other meanings for this incident. Perhaps it was simply a reminder to not get so depressed over a fictional character. Perhaps it was merely encouragement to keep going with my various fan projects, despite Frozen II looming in the distance. Perhaps it was a nudge that the sequel would contain a small hint of a future Hans redemption. Of course, that all sounds like me trying to talk myself out of trusting God for something amazing, as I am prone to doing. It's a struggle to wait on the Lord (especially for someone like me who hates surprises and wants to know things ASAP), but the truth of this incident will be revealed when the time is right.

One may wonder why God would care about a fictional character or a fictional story. It's not that He cares about those things in and of themselves, it's that He cares about His children and the salvation of humanity. My prayers (which are mostly just God-directed thoughts as I go about my day) regarding Hans' redemption were always something along the lines of, "Hey, God, it'd be really awesome if Hans gets redeemed in a way that reflects how Jesus saved us." Then I would mentally argue with myself about even making such a request, and always end at a variation of "Whatever is best, Lord." Though a fictional character's redemption is trivial in the grand scheme of things, God can use the most unexpected means to reach someone regarding a matter of eternal importance. He knows that, for me, this isn't just about a fictional character — it's about using that character's story to connect real people with the hope of the Gospel. Frozen was a movie with weak morals and a character that is looked down upon as irredeemable by the majority of viewers. If, by the grace of God, the sequel displays true love and redemption, then perhaps one soul out there will see the truth: anyone can be saved because Jesus can save anyone.

Feel free to message me if you aren't comfortable utilizing public replies or reblogs. Thank you for reading, and God bless you.

Update (Sept. 4th, 2019): So I’ve been lurking on a few Discord servers for a while now in addition to my Tumblr lurking, and overall there is a very negative attitude regarding Hans returning in F2. It’s coming from all directions: antis/haters who don’t want him in it, neutral parties who don’t see an available role for him to play, and fans who have lost hope due to lack of news. Last night I had an unpleasant dream on the subject. While the specifics are hazy, I know it involved the fandom discussing Hans’ absence in the movie. When I was going about my business this morning, I thought about the dream, this post, and the incident that brought this post into being. I mentally argued with myself, as I often do, about the situation. Lately, I too have been feeling disheartened on this matter. As I said, the fandom as a whole has been negative about this, so it was starting to get to me. In addition to that, as new leaks reveal more of the story, the chances of Hans appearing in any meaningful fashion get slimmer. However, no matter how bleak the outlook, I was given a supernatural sign to keep hope in a Hans redemption. Still, there was always the possibility I had interpreted the incident incorrectly, and adding in the other factors at play, this morning I was once again questioning God. I wanted another sign or some kind of spoiler-type proof, then scolded myself for being greedy and for seeking worldly validation of what God has said (instead of trusting Him to fulfill His promises). I had the radio on KLOVE as I was driving, and one of my “Hans songs” came on. It was a “lower tier” one (a.k.a. one I don’t like quite as much as others), so as I listened to it I thought, “It’d be nice if the next song after this was another good song, but one of the top-tier ones. It’d make me feel better about this whole thing.” Of course, I then chided myself, thinking, “Why are you always asking for stuff? Isn’t what you have already enough?” The song came to an end, and the next song began to play. It was “Redeemed.”

[ourpositivelatitude]

Everyday Life in a RV

Another beautiful day in Florida!  I ABSOLUTELY understand now why snow birds make their way to Florida to spend the winter.  The weather here is second to none!  While we arrived in Florida a little early and caught the end of summer temperatures (in November) with slightly high temperatures and incredibly high humidity, the weather has since leveled out and is practically perfect every day.  

When Mark and I planned this venture, we vacillated as to whether or not we would tow a vehicle.  We knew we “wanted” a vehicle and having one would be more convenient.  However, we ended up settling on getting fold-able electric bikes (e-bikes) and to be inconvenienced by having to run our errands in the RV between stops or on our e-bikes.  That has turned out humorous on more than one occasion.  

As an example, we had issues with the drain in the RV shower and worked on that problem tirelessly.  Let me rephrase, Mark worked on that problem tirelessly.  My “work” involved paying for my very first “pay” shower at a park in Oklahoma where I had to choose between three showers.  One had a tarantula guarding the inside of the front door.  Nope.  The second had a wolf spider guarding the shower floor.  Nopity, nope, NOPE!   The third was just right.  More accurately stated, it didn’t involve any intimidating spiders or snakes so I took it.  I don’t remember how much it cost, but I would have paid serious money for a decent shower that didn’t involve creatures that could kill me.  

Getting back to the shower repair -- Mark got parts at three different hardware stores that didn’t end up fitting/working.  So, we eventually fixed the RV in the Home Depot parking lot so we could return parts as necessary.  It was hot as bejesus that day, but Mark didn’t complain.  He took advantage of the return policy and got our shower back up and in running condition before we left the parking lot.  While I don’t mind doing my part, I’d be happy as to not have to pay for another shower anytime soon.  But let the record reflect, I’m a giver.

Between RV stop locations, we usually plan a grocery store venture and/or a Costco run.  While our fridge isn’t Costco worthy by any stretch of the imagination, we do buy Costco dog food for Riley and Duke (and red wine need not be refrigerated).  This particular stop we are at for a full month and while I’m not out of red wine (yet), we did need a few necessities.  

On Sunday after church service, Mark and I ventured over to the local Winn-Dixie (grocery store) on our e-bikes, which is approximately three miles from our RV for some necessities.  We both take our backpacks to carry groceries, but on this particular venture we needed a few more things than would fit in both of our backpacks.  For example, we NEEDED the half ham that was on sale for only $10 (love those post-Thanksgiving sales)!!  Also, diet Coke was on sale, buy two 12-packs get one for free!  Our backpacks were full of salad, coffee creamer and other necessities, so I convinced Mark it wouldn’t be a problem to bungee cord anything else down to the back rack on our bikes.  He was a willing participant as long as he could get his diet Coke.  This is a picture of Mark with the half of a ham and one pack of diet Coke.  While this picture doesn’t represent the “Clampett look” I was sporting with the other two diet coke 12-packs AND groceries, it does give you an idea of how humorous such a simple thing as grocery shopping can be.   

Much of the rest of any given day is like everyone else’s, EXCEPT looking for stuff.  We have such a small amount of space and we kept very few things.  However, nothing is more frustrating than knowing you have something and in 31 feet of space, you can’t find it.  Many times I’ll be looking for something, like the dog’s nail clippers.  I know I have one ... but where in the 42 bazillion little containers, cabinets or under storage compartments it is, I have no clue.  I’ve lost these dumb dog nail clipper thingies TWICE now.  I don’t know what is up with that, but I’ve noticed that on a rig this size, that tends to happen.  You know it exists.  You know it’s in your possession...somewhere.  You’ve seen it in the last few months, weeks and sometimes days ... but when it’s necessary to find it, it’s no where to be found.  Grrrr.  I’m blaming this problem on the size of the RV and praying it’s not my old age kicking into high gear.  

Learning how to live in 31 feet of space has been interesting, fun and challenging.  I love our little space in life.  It’s portable and I can take it to any place I’d like.  I can enjoy the outdoors in any state, any weather, any place I desire.  That’s pretty cool.  It’s also easy to clean and doesn’t take too long to clean.  It’s such a little space, cleaning is done in a breeze.  With two dogs though, cleaning needs to be done more often than one would hope (definitely an argument for getting rid of the dogs, but we all know that is never going to happen).  

I also get to spend a lot of time with my husband.  I like him.  I love him.  I enjoy his company.  I find him hysterical even in the every day humdrum of life.  So I enjoy having him around.  We also have our subtle ways of getting our own alone time.  It may involve a walk, a jog, a bike ride alone or sometimes its as simple as putting in ear buds as a signal that “I don’t want to interact”.  We are both independent, so just taking on a project is usually a signal to the other that we are “good” on our own.  None the less, it’s been a great experience for us both and we still enjoy each others company.

The other thing I get asked about quite frequently is the bathroom situation.  Yes, there is only one bathroom.  Its not a Jack and Jill bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub and a separate closet with a toilet.  It is a dry toilet with a small sink and stand-up shower, all in one small space - meaning one person can stand between the sink, toilet and shower.  There is a spray wand next to the toilet to fill the bowl with water and a foot pedal that is used for flushing.  The sink is small, like a doll house small, but large enough for the task of washing hands and face, and brushing teeth.  The shower is plenty big.  I’m 5 foot almost 2 inches and I can stand up in it.  Just kidding - my 6 foot husband can stand up in it, so it’s definitely functional (now that the drain has been fixed).  There is a vent in the ceiling with a push button exhaust fan and the toilet is like a regular toilet, except for needing to fill it with water yourself.  That’s the bathroom situation.  Nothing glamorous and generally no secrets. 

My husband and I don’t keep the same hours.  Meaning, it’s not all that uncommon for him to get up between 3:30-5:00 a.m..  At the same time, I’ll look at the clock, do a quick calculation in my head and then a happy dance over the 4 hours I still get to sleep.  When my husband gets up, he’s really respectful of the fact that most normal people are still asleep, including his wife and two dogs.  So he quietly relocates to the living room/dining room area and does his thing until the sun comes up.  We have levelers on the RV, so his movement is negligible.  

As soon as I stir, or when Mark gets stir crazy, he’ll take the dogs for a walk.  There is nothing subtle about that process as much as Mark tries to keep it contained.  Our 70 lb. black Labrador retriever, Duke, moves about the cabin like a bull in a china shop.  Between his wagging tail slapping against the cabinets and his incessant yawning, even the neighbors are ready for him to WALK ALREADY!  Riley, our 23 lb. Japanese Spitz isn’t all that cooperative either.  She gets a psychotic episode and is afraid to walk across the vinyl floor.  Yes, she’ll step out on it, and step back on her little piece of carpet, then back out on the floor and back on the carpet.  From underneath the comforter all I hear is Mark loudly whispering “Riley, come!” and the tap-tap-tap of Riley’s toenails on the vinyl floor several times until she drums up enough courage to make a break for it and hurriedly jogs across the four feet of vinyl flooring between her little piece of carpet and the door.  As my friend Wendy says, she was perfect until I got her.  

Everyday life in an RV is pretty much like everyone else’s everyday life,  with a few slight nuances.  Mark and I could have made different choices so as to not have to bungee cord our groceries to the back of bikes, live in a home that we sleep in and drive, live in such a small space, and/or waited until the dogs were gone to start this venture.  But for us we talked about the choices we were making in advance and collectively agreed while some things would be inconvenient, we would give it a whirl and see what we thought.  If we found we hated it down the road, we’d make a change.  So far, we don’t hate anything about it.  Quite this opposite.  We are super glad we took this journey and in the way we did.  

As I mentioned previously, we are transitioning to a “newer” journey.  We found the boat that we would like to live on and have an accepted offer on that boat.  Because there are still many steps in the process (it’s sooooooo different from buying a house) and too many things could go wrong that it would be premature for me to talk about the specifics of the boat.  However, in my next blog I’ll talk about the boat purchasing process and hopefully we’ll be far enough along in the process that I can reveal a thing or two about what I hope to be our new home.  Stay tuned....

Until we meet again,

Sherri (and by contractual obligation, Mark)

[rkhyeon-blog]

YOUTUBE - @LHHCOVERS UPLOADED A NEW VIDEO            UNDER COVER COVER - BY HOHYEON, HARUTO,                                       MARK, LILY & SIYEON

@rkhyeon as byeongkwan @rkharuto as jun @rkmxrk as wow @rklily as donghun @siyeonrk as chan line distribution

over a month of planning and practices and hard work and finally they were ready to record this cover. if the mgas hadn’t come about, this would have been posted over a month ago and hohyeon would have moved onto some other venture. but maybe the extra time was a good thing, gave them all more time to prepare and practice for longer than he usually would and that might hopefully mean the quality was better. because mark his words, he was not going to upload anything until it was perfect - if only because he wanted to prove those dumb ceos wrong with what they said about him. 

doing a vocal and a dance cover was not a new thing for him, having done one before, but doing it with a group was actually a new thing. and he wanted it to be perfect, so he had gone and bothered some of the theatre kids for some of the microphones they use during their performances. and while they were a little hesitant to lend them to him, eventually they had agreed so long as one of them could keep an eye on everything to make sure they didn’t get broken. 

which was why there was now a bored looking kid sitting in the corner of the room on his phone. hohyeon was just going to pay him no mind, instead turning his attention to the four others gathered in the room. 

haruto he had approached first, and honestly it had been a little hard to get the kid to agree, but he was thankful he finally had. mark was a familiar face and had featured in one of his videos before, so it wasn’t hard to get him to agree to do another. he had then asked lily after a debate with himself whether he really wanted her or not, and then lily had brought along siyeon. and that was how they were all standing there now ready to do this after all the hard work they had put into everything. 

the camera was set up in the usual position at the front of the room, hyeon just fiddling with it one last time before he nodded to the rest of the group, fixing the microphone taped to the side of the face just to check that everything was in order. “right, let’s get this bread then,” he grinned as he spoke the english words, moving towards the middle of the room and quickly turning around from the camera to take up his starting position in the middle of the group as the others moved around him. and only once everything was in order did he signal to the helpful theatre kid (who was actually called hanbyul, but theatre kid sounded better) to press play on the music. 

the choreo started with some sharp movements in time with the music, hohyeon tilting his head a little to the side before rolling it, looping his arms through haruto and siyeon’s arms. he has to basically rely on them not to drop him as he leaned back on them, though there was extra support from the other two has he finally tipped backwards. but he didn’t end up falling, which he was supposed was a good thing as they stood up again and hohyeon finally spun around to face the camera as he barrel straight into his first part. 

ay girl i see you on the low low ay so hot she banging like a bongo let it go, got me strung like santana

mark was next to follow up with his own strong vocals, hohyeon having to smile just a little as he danced. it was no wonder the boy was a trainee, though it still made hyeon incredibly jealous just to think of that. but he supposed mark was talented and deserved the position, and all he could really do was hope that one day he would get his own chance to join a company and be a trainee. he needed it to happen one of these days. 

it really was a high energy choreography with some very strong lyrics as they all participated in the chorus of the song, vocals blending in nicely with each other. as soon as the mv had dropped he had wanted to do a cover of the song, and now it was actually happening. and the boy was determined to do it all sorts of justice. he was used to rapping with a mic now after his short stint on the mgas, so it wasn’t as hard as he thought to keep his rap steady and powerful enough to be heard as he body moved in well practised and strong motions. and he trusted the others were doing the same, after the weeks of work they had put in he would hate to have to do this too many times because someone kept messing up.

step back, she toxic cock back and pop it 총에 맞은 가슴 쾅 뛰네 brat tat tat can't stop it 말 없이 다가가 널 멍하니 쳐다 봐 바보처럼, 버버버벅 니 앞에만 서면, dumb

mark followed him up again as hohyeon bent over, the choreo allowing the other rapper to control him and the others with his hand movements, standing him back up and turning him almost like a robot. but then he was bent over again, this time siyeon coming in with her own vocals as she leaned on him with an elbow. and he was pleased that the girl had eventually joined in with this project, he had been a little uncertain at first having never met the girl before, but she was clearly talented. and now he had absolutely no worries about the girl and her skill. 

finally it was haruto’s turn and hohyeon just smiled softly at the boy as he sung his couple of lines. it was quite clear from the beginning that he didn’t really like performing in front of a camera, or in public at all, really. so he was rather thankful that the boy had agreed to this, and hadn’t backed out even after hohyeon had dragged him on the mgas with him. the japanese boy had talent and hyeon just wanted the world to see that and maybe, one of these days, haruto would realise it as well and stop being so nervous about everything. performing and singing on a stage was a good thing, not something to be frightened of. 

the pace of the song and choreography was still slow as the moved towards the chorus, lily finally getting her own chance to shine. it was true that the two of them weren’t really friends at first, but now, the other girl had sort of grown on him over the time they knew each other. and while he still wouldn’t go as far as saying they were good friends, he could at least stand the girl a little better and didn’t incredibly mind hanging out with her. 

things suddenly picked up again as they jumped into the chorus, the five of them mixing their vocals for the first three lines, hohyeon staying as strong as possible with his movements as he basically bounced around the place. and then it was dropping onto his knees, one arm over his face as they body rolled as lily sung her line. then haruto was the only one standing as he sung, hohyeon dropping to the floor, managing to stand up again without using his hands. it was a move he had practised a lot and used a lot when he was breakdancing, so it wasn’t much of a bother for him to get it. though he could see how others could struggle with it, but they had practised this, so it shouldn’t be a problem. 

but after both mark and siyeon had a couple more lines to get through, hohyeon was in the middle of the group, bouncing on his feet as he started to rap his next part. 

okay, tension 높아 뜨겁게 타올라 느낌 so high 불꽃같이 pop pop pop pop

and, once again, he was quickly followed up by mark as they were the only two standing. this was their centre stage moment, and honestly, the bit he had been worrying about the most. there had been more than one mistake in the practice room when going through this bit, including accidentally kissing each other when their heads turned a little too close to each other. hohyeon was just praying that it wouldn’t happen this time as well as he stood a distance from the other boy, only their wrists touching as they both straightened out their arms. 

거부해야 해 지금 네 status 정신 차려야 해 기횐 단 한 번

he was close to mark now, standing just behind him, head almost resting on his shoulder as the other boy followed up with his own lyrics. and their heads were rolling towards each other, hohyeon’s hand almost brushing the boys cheek. thankfully there were no incidents this time, both of them stopping before they managed to make any lip contact. and there was no stupid laughing or pushing each other away this time, either. they actually managed to get through that but in one piece and hohyeon couldn’t be more thankful about it. 

as siyeon started singing again it was a bit of downtime in the choreography, just a moment for them to catch their breath as siyeon moved through them, parting them like the red sea. and hohyeon was taking as much time as possible, keeping his breathing under control. they were more than half way through this song now, only the last bits to go and that was the end of his solo singing. all he had to worry about now was the rest of the choreography and keeping in tune with the others for the longer bits to come. 

after lily’s lines they were back to the high energy chorus, the familiar and well practised choreography running in his head as his limbs moved in time with the music. he really did love dancing and really did love this song, it was a lot of fun to perform and he would do it again given the chance. maybe he would have to think a little more about doing more covers in groups instead of just focusing on himself. working with others, it wasn’t actually as bad as he thought it was going to be. no, it was fun, a bit of hard work, sure, but it was fun to be a team and actually produce something together. all the hard work paid off in the end. 

moving into one straight line one behind the other, hohyeon waited for siyeon to finish her line before they all jumped out at different angles, crouched on the floor before slowly moving up, taking a step back to be close again. he popped his chest a couple of times with the music, moving to roll over the back of siyeon before dropping to his knees, pounding at the floor before standing again. now came the fun part, the part which made you feel completely worn out with no energy left. but this was the sort of dancing he loved, he could never do really slow and methodical dances, not for very long, anyway. 

jumping forward again they were all dancing in a line, voices harmonizing together as they powered through the rest of the choreography. and he was sure this was going to look really cool when it came out on the video, the five of them dancing and working together to produce a great cover. it was the chance for people to realise that he did have talent, that he deserved to make it to the finals and get a contract just as much as everyone else did. they eliminated him too soon. and he was never going to stop believing that, not for as long as he lived. being a trainee was his only chance of making it out of the slum, for making a better life for him and his mother and he was not about to let that opportunity slip. 

and when they all made a circle in the middle, hands in the centre, one on top of the other as they raised their arms together, hohyeon could do nothing but smile at them. he was thankful for each and every one of them because without them this cover would have never really made it off the ground. 

there was only the last chorus left now and hohyeon was dancing just as strongly as he had in the beginning. though he was tired, chest heaving from the effort and sweat dripping from the brow, he felt satisfied, confident that he hadn’t put a foot wrong or said something incorrectly. this was probably going to be one of the best covers he had ever uploaded and he didn’t really know how he was supposed to surpass this next month. he would probably come up with something, he did have his eye on per_se and would quite like to cover their debut song simply because it was so good. but maybe he would think of something else. 

siyeon was the one who closed them out with her vocals, a last couple of moves, a kick forward before hohyeon was throwing his head back to the ceiling as the music finally died down. only then did he slowly lower his head back to the front, raising his arms as if he were holding a huge weapon. and that’s the position they held for just a moment longer. 

but that was the end of that, there was no more singing and no more dancing. it was over and he was sure they had all put in maximum effort. even theatre kid hanbyul had looked away from his phone and was now just sitting there and clapping at them. hohyeon just grinned. performing was everything to him and each time he did a cover it only solidified that dream in his head. one of these days he would get to stand on a stage and debut and let the whole world know his name. 

this was who he was and nothing was going to change that.