#proceeds to spend like 30+ minutes looking for paper

[cyncerity]

everyone is talking about the flower exchance and Oli the trash rat and knife siblings but i don’t see nearly enough people talking about Oliver “the r in rules stands for rat” Sleepy i love them so so much

[reijixia13]

Treat you better

°·。𑁍。·°᪥°·。𑁍。·°᪥°·。𑁍。·°

Andy Reed x F!Reader x Lee Yau

In where (Y/N) found out that all the dates she's been having with Andy was just a one sided love, And it was to also to waste his Mourn over his rejection he got from Elly.

°·。𑁍

(Y/n)'s POV

It has been a great while since I started seeing Andy, I've been busy with alot of work in the Mansion taking care of my Chickens, The weeds, The decorations and even at night I have to slaughter every single monnster that was lurking through our town. It makes me tired yes, But a date with Andy always makes me feel better! So Today, I invited Andy to walk around the Town's Peak at 7:30 tonight it's currently 6:50pm

As I was about to walk past the hospital I always see throughout everyday, I bumped into someone causing their files to scatter.

“Couldn't you get even clumsier?”

The Familar voice of Yau was heard, I sheepishly put a hand in my neck.

“Sorry Lee Yau, I was quite lost in my thoughts. Here let me help you!”

I said, I heard him sigh as we proceed to take all the papers before soem of them can fly away and giving it back to him.

“I- What are you even doing here out late?”

I turn to stare at Lee Yau for a moment, Despite the constant hang out we have here and there his turning out to be nicer than I thought, but his concerns are rarely there.

“Oh, I- uhm-”

Before I could even process to talk, Another Familiar Voice called out but it wasn't me.

I quickly walk around Lee Yau, at the sight of the Town Square into view I didn't know Lee Yau was behind me.

“Ugh- Hey! Wait! Where are you going?”

I didn't even want to reply to his words, As I saw Andy and Elly standing there.

“Why is everyone out late-”

I put a hand over his mouth and quickly hide in the bushes dragging him over, As we are neared, I heard it.

Lee Yau's POV

I was dragged into this not because im worried for (Y/N) but because im worried that she's gonna spend all her money into the hospital for exhausting herself so much to the point she's a regular now.

But right now, I don't know why we are here listening to this conversation.

“Elly, I like you”

Andy's voiced ringed in my ear, I turn to look at her, but her eyes are widening and it gloss with tears.

What?

“El, I like you for the longest time. Im always greatful whenever you pass by my Bar to gift me desserts, im always thankful for being your bestfriend but im selfish to ask us to be more..”

As every word Andy had said to Elly, my eyes were scanning through (Y/n)'s expression. Tears spilling through her cheeks, her hands holding onto the quite sobs she's having. I was about to atleast give her something to wipe her tears off, when we heard Elly talking

“Andy.. How many times had you confess?Are you drunk again? I thought you gave up after dating with (Y/n)? You know how many times you would confess and turn down I could take because before Ella likes you, (Y/n) was there to admire you even we we're kids before her parents left. It was a great opportunity as you two we're the closest people this year after she canceled going to the city.”

“But Elly, the one I had been admiring is you! Everytime I go on a day with (Y/n) it felt like im having you with me”

And that was it, (Y/N) stood up to look at Andy as I stand up beside her looking at Elly.

“You.. Andy you drunken idiot!”

(Y/n) yelled before running down town, I reach out to grab her arm but she has gotten strong as she swiped my hand away with force. I turn to Elly who looked in sorrow, I look at Andy to finally notice that he was standing there looking where (Y/n) has dashed away to.

“Honestly, What's your Problem?”

I started.

“L-Lee Yau..”

Elly was holding both of her hands up to try and calm me down, But no I pushed the files I've been holding to for the last minutes and walk to Andy.

“Can't you see (Y/n) genuinely likes you? Don't you know how many guys had been taking an admirable look to her? Do you know how fucking lucky you are to have her!?”

Andy can only look down, He may look mature and tough but whenever his drunk his reckless. That's one thing for sure.

“Lee Yau, That's enough”

Elly middled, Holding to my arm.

“Elly, What is there to be enough of? Is (Y/n) not enough for him?”

I asked Elly, But I was looking at Andy.

“Listen, Yau I like her as a sister. I've been since we've been friends again”

“If it's a sister you see in her, Then a sister she should be to you. For someone who look mature, I thought your responsible enough.”

I turn around before dashing to the direction where (Y/n) left on to, Hoping its the right place as it's getting late.

3rd POV

Elly was about to call out to Lee Yau, as he had dashed leaving his files to her before looking at Andy with softened expression. She walks to Andy and patting his arm.

“Andy, Is (Y/n) just a sister to you?”

She asked, Andy looked at her before Elly sighed and walk past him.

“Its thought you should think of, Lee Yau is right. Your lucky to have her. I'll be going home, have a great evening.”

As Elly was about to walk away, Andy turn to ask her.

“How long had you known she liked me?”

Elly glanced at him before sighing.

“We we're all kids at the time when she lost her parents, Leaving her in the mayor's care. I guess it was the times she actually look at you, at times you were the only one who could talk her out other than the mayor despite her family's closure with the Lee's ”

And that thought, Had leave Andy's head to a million thoughts while watching Elly get to her house.

°·。𑁍

Now, Lee Yau could be wrong but your favorite ppace was always the beach. He remembered your father finding you passed out in the beach and taking you to the hospital to treat your exhausted figure by his father.

As he neared the beach, A large beetle had block his way of view. Indeed he knew of the monsters that likes to lurk in the dark but HE DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS THIS BIG!

Before he or the beetle could react, A hand took grab of him and the other had took out a sword out and slaughtered the beetle.

“That's the last one..”

Lee Yau saw her familiar hair waving around the windy night, the color of her hair brightining the view waving like the ocean. She turn around to look at Lee Yau.

“What are you doing here Yau?”

Lee Yau dusted off his clothes and reposition himself.

"I-"

He actually didn't know, But for the fact that his heart beat is throbbing ever since (Y/N)'s frequent visit to him or to the hospital, His mind dizzy from the thoughts of her but Why did he really follow her here?

"Im afraid you'd do something reckless in the late night."

He said that like he wasn't overthinking things, His a pretty great lier. But why won't his idiotic heart stop beating so fast?! Is this even normal for human beings?

"You shouldn't. "

"Huh?"

That, His feelings, His mind, His heart stopped for a moment as it ache.

"I can take care of myself just fine, ok?!"

Why? Can't this idiot clumsy girl see his just looking out for her?

"Im just looking out for you, How stubborn can you-!"

A sob stopped his sentence, He stared closely to his once best friend before her parents died. It has been a while since he had seen her cry.

Lee Yau had matured early in his days of dreaming to be his Father, To continue his family business.

But it wasn't a great tragedy to lose one of the people he looks up to. (Father/Name) had teach him alot of things mostly on his days of living, the day of the Fire, The day both of the Adults of the only Mansion Manor in Harvest Town, Died in that tragedy. Leaving their only child alone in the dark as the funeral proceeds.

Everyone gave their greets aand condolences, But they would stare at the young girl who carried nothing but a sorrowed expression.

The LeeFamily had went to give their condolence to the quite girl, But she only stared at them. Lee Wah and his wife can only stare at one another before shaking their heads as they tried to push Yau in her view.

"Why don't you accompany (Y/N) for a while?" Lee Wah said to his eldest son, His son holding a book stared at his father and sighed obliged to his quest.

As he watched his parents go with his brother, He stared at the girl infront of her. She's nothing like the girl he'd seen running around the town getting herself in trouble.

"You seem quite."

".."

"Don't you have a tounge to even reply?"

".."

They stared at one another as the girl sighed continued to stare at the ground, Lee Yau had one thought in his head.

'This girl is really helpless'

Thought, His mind still wondered off, Back to (F/N) as he watched he and his father talked about everything and anything, But the most (F/N) reflect was his Daughter. Her energy. His plans to make her future brighter.

But what he left was nothing what he had said oe what he had seen.

"(Y/N), Have some milk."

Lee Yau's thoughts we're cut off as he stared at his friend, Andy.

(Y/N) can only stared at Andy like how he stared at the Lee's.

'Im telling you she's helpless-'

"There you go-! Feeling a little bit better?"

Lee Yau blinked as the (h/c)-ed nodded her head slowly as a small smile makes its way to her face, an unusual fewling came to his stomach as he saw her smile. It was either his happy to actually see her smile or the fact that smile wasn't for him.

For years she watched her grown into a fine lady, Even with the lost of her parents, he watched her grow and grow hard to work only to leave the town..Leave everyone and leave him.

But one day, She shredded those letters of scholarship and started to retrive what her parents had left. She come and go from the mountains, from the edge of the town, the cave and honestly go everywhere to do a living. To receive money from the town people, And to start a new life.

Lee Yau can only sighed as he walked towards the (h/c)-ed girl taking her face to look into his, only to stare at her tears.

"You shouldn't be crying too much. If you're father had seen this day, I would bet he'd make a large issue from your single tear."

Lee Yau gently but also swiftly wipe a tear out of her cheek and smiled at her, (Y/N)'s eyes sparked as Yau kissed her forehead.

"There's nothing to cry, Now that your here and well. If one doesn't deserve you, Then why wouldn't you give it to the other?"

(Y/N)'s PoV

W-wait what?!

Don't tell me-

"It's crazy to think that I liked you for years."

Lee Yau..

"I watched you come and go, and the only thoughts was to smile at him."

He had been thinking that, Did he?

"I would have treat you better, than he did."

..But he was mean-

"I know I had been harshed with my words, But I hope you'd give me a chance to stand right beside you."

Maybe..

"I'll treat you better."

I smile up at him as he stared down at me, I hugged him nodding.

"I'd like to give you a chance, Yau."

I felt him hugged me back, My smile was over the hills as he spinned me around, The wind following by as I giggled.

"Now, Take a rest from killing of huge beetles before you end up being a regular in my family hospital."

I laughed that off, He followed by as he guided me to sit down beside him at the edge of the sand near the waters.

He pulled me close, As I put my head in his shoulder.

"So mr grumpy had been there for years?"

I teased him as he flinched, He turned his head as I stared up at him, giving me a soft glare and with a roll of an eye he scoffed with a smile.

"Yeah yeah you win now"

The night end with only the two of us, A nice late night moment with Lee Yau.

He did promise to treat me better.

ACK IM SCREAMING- THIS TOOK ME TWO DAYS IF I HAD CONTINUED FROM THE VERY START BUT IF NOT IT ACTUALLY TOOK ME TO BE BACK HERE FOR LIKE 2 MONTHS?! PAK SHET THIS😭

Anyways Hope you enjoy-!

Im for sure making more Harvest Town x Reader because I love Andy. And for sure Lee Yau. Also because I can't mary Andy in the game 👺

There will be a part two lmaoooo

[eliteprepsat]

Don’t procrastinate (it only makes things worse). Eat well. Exercise regularly. Get a good night’s sleep. 

All of these are vital—and common—pieces of advice that will help you manage all forms of stress, academic and otherwise.

As anyone who has struggled with academic stress likely knows, each of these points is easier said than done. What I think is often missing from such advice is an account of the mental and emotional hurdles that can get in the way of effective time and health management. 

Maybe you struggle with anxiety or depression, or maybe you have family or other health issues that make sleep or exercise really difficult to come by. Stress is often a symptom of circumstances that need their own forms of management.

But stress is also often a learned pattern of thinking, one that we need to unlearn if we’re going to get things done.

YOU’RE PROBABLY WRONG

“You cannot get stressed out unless you believe your thoughts,” explains Susan Stiffelman, a licensed psychotherapist and author of Parenting Without Power Struggles. “All stress is precipitated by stressful thinking.”

Often, we convince ourselves that the tasks ahead of us are more difficult than they need to be. If you’re a perfectionist especially, you probably impose impossibly high standards on yourself and your work that may engender procrastination. 

After all, why spend the next 30 minutes trying to produce absolutely perfect work when you can just let your mind wander on Snapchat?

When Stiffelman warns against believing your own thoughts, she is suggesting that we question our assessments of what we have in front of us. Next time you’re stressed out over an exam, a paper, or college applications, try listing reasons why your assessment of the situation might be incorrect.

Do you have a record of academic success? Have you succeeded in the past on projects that you found daunting? If the answer to either of these is “yes,” then there’s a good chance you’ve misread your current situation. 

Sometimes, there’s freedom in getting things wrong.

BREAK IT DOWN

But even if you are correct, and if what lies ahead is very difficult work, pausing to consider why a given project is difficult—and writing out the reasons—often reveals a range of sub-tasks that are far less difficult than the project as a whole.

This is why Stiffelman also advises breaking tasks down into small chunks.

In my own experience, to-do lists are lifesavers. List out the tasks ahead and break these down into the smallest possible tasks.

One student of mine wrote out everything she needed to do on sticky notes and then threw the notes away as she completed each task. But if you want to avoid wasting paper—and I think you should—an app like Todoist is just as good for laying out a roadmap and for checking off items as you go.

⏱️ TIMING IS EVERYTHING

Let’s say you need to write an important paper for an English class. Your to-do list might look something like this:

Read the assignment [Monday]

Decide which text(s) I’m going to focus on [Monday]

Read my notes on that text [Tuesday]

Find 3-4 quotations from the text that seem relevant [Tuesday]

Draft a thesis [Tuesday] 

See if the thesis goes well with the quotations I’ve chosen [Tuesday]

If not, find other quotations or revise the thesis

Draft an introduction [Wednesday] 

Draft the first body paragraph [Wednesday] 

Draft the second body paragraph [Thursday]

Draft the third body paragraph [Thursday]

Draft the fourth body paragraph [Thursday] 

Draft the conclusion [Thursday]

Review my topic sentences [Friday]

Review my transitions [Friday]

Read the entire draft [Friday]

Check that the body paragraphs correspond with the thesis

Check that the body paragraphs proceed in a logical order

Make necessary revisions [Saturday]

Proofread the essay [Saturday]

Writing an entire paper can seem daunting, but reading the assignment is easy. Deciding which text to focus on isn’t too hard, either. Even drafting a thesis isn’t all that bad. Taken together, writing an entire paper might seem like a difficult task. But, when broken into small chunks, the job is much simpler than it seems.

Notice that I’ve given each task a day of the week. It’s important to recognize that your time is limited. If you give yourself a rough timeline, you can kind of mechanize the process a bit and give yourself peace of mind that you’re on track. Remember to stay flexible—adjust as you go, when needed, since some tasks might be more difficult than you first anticipated.

🍫 TREAT YOURSELF TO TRAIN YOURSELF

Keep yourself motivated by giving yourself a reward for each task or pair of tasks that you knock off your to-do list. 

You’re always practicing, always training yourself. You’re not all that different from a dog who learns how to do tricks. Just like a poodle, you need positive reinforcement to train your mind and body that getting things done is good.

If you practice being anxious with a stomach ache while writing, you’ll get really good at being anxious with a stomach ache while writing. But if you practice breaking writing down into small sub-tasks and rewarding yourself—with dessert or a video game or something else you love—you’ll learn to associate getting things done with feeling good.

In sum: change your thinking, make to-do lists, chart out a rough schedule, and reward yourself along the way. 

But of course, remember to avoid procrastinating, eat well, exercise regularly, and get a good night’s sleep. Those truisms are true, after all.

[isettreesonfire]

I always wanted to cut a tube of toothpaste in half and just sweeze out all of the paste out of it. Then i want to grab the paste with my bear fucking hands and play with it like playdoh. I want to slather the paste on the walls and counters, i want to make art of it. Then after i am done, i will eat the paste off of my hands, where i will proceed to get sick, vomit on the floor, and cry.

Then after im done crying, i'll realize i have a huge fucking mess i have to clean up, and i'll also realize what a huge fucking mistake i have made. I'll realize what a complete menace i am to society and spiral into self loathing. After spiraling into my thoughts, i'll notice that the mess is still there, and start to panic again until I realize that i am hungry.

So i walk out of the bathroom and go in the kitchen, where i will proceed to spend 5 minutes looking for something to eat. I eventually just settle on chicken nuggets, so i put that in the toaster oven for 30 minutes. I browse on reddit on my phone as I wait and see a repost for the 3rd time on the front page. As i comtemplate how i am wasting my life, i hear the ding, and i open up the toaster oven.

I grab each scalding hot chicken nugget with my bare fucking hands placing them on a foam plate, where it will proceed to burn through the plate so I have to go and grab another plate. I then open up the fridge and just now notice i have no more sweet and sour sauce, so i will just have to settle on ketchup instead.

I squeeze the ketchup out of the bottle onto the plate. I then decide to take the first bite and realize the taste of minty toothpaste and acidic vomit is still in my fucking mouth and i remember i still have a huge mess to clean up. So i gargle water and gobble the chicken nuggets and actually get my ass up to clean the bathroom.

I look at the horror that is the bathroom and ponder how i am going to clean up the mess. This is where i decide to just throw a towel on the vomit covered floor and work from there. I then get a wet rag and wipe the walls and counters, but that doesnt work out good and all i do is smear the toothpaste. So i panic and grab a roll of paper towels and wet some to get the most toothpaste off. The toothpaste stains are still there but i dont give a fuck.

I remember about the vomit on the floor where i placed a towel on. It soaked a bit of it up, so i grab the edge of the towel and fold it so it could possibly get more of the vomit off of the floor. Then i'll grab the corner of the towel and put it in my laundry basket and worry about it later. Then to get what is left on the floor, i wet some paper towels, drop it on the floor, and move it around with my foot.

Now my bathroom is clean, just ignore the mint smell and the stains on the walls. And i go hide in the dark dungeon that is my room.

Anyways yeah i thought long and hard about this potential situation.

[vamosaespana]

Morocco “my friends”

And the alarm goes off, not super early but early enough. We need to be there an hour before our ferry leaves at noon. GB wants to leave by 9:00 at the latest but ideally 8:30…well we compromise at 8:45. There is actually no argument of who gets middle I the back seat and I’m shocked. I don’t know about your families but there is a constant battle of who has to sit in the middle and then once in the car making sure everyone’s feet are in their dedicated space, none may cross the demarcation line invisibly made and only visible to the trained eye🙄 infringing on one’s space. Treaties have been made but are quickly broken once borders are crossed and then my friend you have a full scale sibling war that ensues where there are no winners and only casualties. I wish I was joking 🙃😵‍💫 The trip starts out quiet and peaceful for at least a good 30 minutes until we hit the highways of Spain. It was then that the stillness of the car was cut with a quiet ding…the tire warning light just came on. You have got to be kidding me!!! Ok. GB and I stay calm, I proceed to pull out the manual for the VW…guys….its all in German😬 there is nothing in English. Ok. Still staying somewhat calm…next step finding a gas station. Luckily we see one quickly and pull off to it. We stop at the air gauge and it is legit something from the 70s. No numbered gauge…no setting…nothing to measure. Fill up and say a prayer that you have enough air. There is no gauge either in the car either…thanks Hertz😑 GB fills up all the tires as we are unsure which one is the flat and then we watch a you tube to recalibrate the tires. Amongst all of this the kids are quiet, not sure if it’s because they are locked into their devices or if they just know better to even utter a peep at this time of tension. Regardless, GB and I are grateful for the silence so we can get to work. We head back onto the road and I say prayers to St Christopher to help guide us safely to our destination. It’s those moments that you hold your breath without realizing it and then time goes by and your like ok I’ll take a breath, just really quick so as not to disturb the car and cause the light to come back on. But then after 30 minutes goes by, you allow your body to somewhat relax, but still ever so ready to go back on alert mode. By the grace of God and St. Christopher we make it to Tarifa with no further sounding from our tire pressure light. The views of the Mediterranean are beautiful and we can see the Rock of Gibraltar in the distance. As we approach the port, we look for parking. Let’s just say their approach to parking lot parking is very different from ours…there are none! We found 2 lots that were tiny and of course full. What does that leave us you might ask, well the answer to that is street parking 😧 GB has been clutch literally and figuratively when it comes to driving the manual. But even these narrow, winding and hilly streets can intimidate the best of drivers. We literally then spend 45 minutes driving around the port looking for parking. Our beautiful 2 hour window of no stress has now changed to 75 minutes of finding a spot and getting to the boat so we don’t miss it. At the final hour we found a parking spot near a house where the owner is outside and says we are more than welcome to use it. Thank you God and St. Christopher for that one too! Luckily it’s a 7 minute walk to the ferry allowing us to reach the ferry ticket booth at our goal of 1 hour prior to departure 🙌🏼

We have no bags for this journey outside of my travel pack so we don’t have to worry too much with security. I will say the security on the train and ferry seem much more relaxed…almost too relaxed. Here we are freaking out about having things in our pocket or setting off the detectors and a majority of the time the worker sitting at the camera looks half asleep and just waves everyone through regardless of beeping 🤷🏻‍♀️😟 We have time to fill out our papers for Customs as well as grab something to eat before we board. This is where I finally get to have empanadas!!! These are a savory pastry that I grew up on with my mom making these on the regular. Similar to a turn over or a pirogi but in my humble opinion so much better! I have two and am brought back to home, tasting almost as good as my mom’s😋 In no rush and no worries with security 🙄 we easily board the ferry. We get settled in our seats and are ready for the journey to Africa (singing Todo in my head the whole time of course😆) The hour journey goes by quickly as we seem to be in Morocco before we know it. We get off the boat and the wind is something fierce. I was thinking dry heat of an unfathomable temp but not like that at all. GB pulls up the pic of our tour guide that we have to meet and start looking around. A gentleman comes up to us and introduces himself and we assume it’s our tour guide. We introduce ourselves and GB starts to talk about what we had set up and come to find out he is not our guide, he’s just looking for people to guide🤦🏻‍♀️ He then states how he knows our guide and that we are in good hands as he points out to the exit. And there “my friends” is our tour guide. I say “my friends” as this is how he constantly refers to us outside of our names of course. He was the kindest man, so cheerful and eager to show off his country. You could truly tell he enjoyed what he did and that was how I knew that we were in good hands. GB found him on a site called “tours by locals” as a coworker referred him to it and we have not been led wrong. That’s how he found MariaLuz in Madrid and now Achraf in Morocco. Highly recommend if you are looking to travel!

Achraf took us all around town. We were able to see the 0 Km marker that denotes the start of Africa at the beginning of our trip which I thought was pretty cool. Just another reminder that “holy cow I’m in Africa!!!” Our van dropped us off in the center of the city as our guide showed us all around the streets and shops. Explaining architecture and how streets/houses we’re designed that people would walk and stay cool from the summer heat. He talked about the influences of so many cultures and how they affected the styles of homes in each area of the city.

We then stopped to eat at a place of his suggestion overlooking the harbor. The food was amazing with all the different spices. I loved how the food there wasn’t spicy but full of flavor from all their traditional spices. He talked about how some countries need the spicyness to help with digestion in really hot climates such as India and Mexico. But that in Morocco, the heat wasn’t as hot and they didn’t need the super spicyness focusing more on the flavor from spices to really capture different tastes. 1 and I had swordfish, GB had the chicken and 2 and 3 got chicken tenders 😒 Still hoping their food palates will eventually open up to be more adventurous 🙏🏻

After a good filling meal, we went back to walking the city. I needed all that walking to aid in the digestion of all the delicious food I ate😋 Our guide then took us into a shop of a friend of his…it wasn’t till I walked in that I knew where this was going. When we were in India we took many tours, one of them in particular dropped us off at a shop that sold a variety of things…expensive things…one of them being rugs. The shop today was no exception. We walked in to a room of beautiful ornate wooden boxes, vases of all different sizes and all sorts of jewelry with precious stones and gems. He then leads us to the room of rugs. He begins to talk about all his rugs and has his workers roll one out after another of various sizes and colors of rugs. 3 makes me giggle and she runs up to me and says how it’s so satisfying hearing the rug hit the floor and roll out completely with a thump. Now those of you who know me, know I don’t like to spend money especially a lot of me. This looks to me like a lot of money….I get this weird feeling in my stomach and I legit start to get sweaty. I can’t explain it, it’s almost like a nervousness and an uneasy feeling. Now GB, on the other hand, does not have this problem whatsoever. I guess that balances out, could you imagine a couple of 2 big spenders😬 Now don’t get me wrong the rugs are gorgeous and he shows us the quality of the handmade weaving. No plastics or synthetic fabrics as he lights a rug on fire with a lighter and there is no melting of plastic. Again, all handmade and beautiful pieces of art but not what I’m looking for. The man sees this and immediately goes to GB…he knows who he needs to talk to. There is many whispering in corners and patting on the backs and nodding of heads…are we signing a treaty or auctioning off one of the children…what’s going on here?🤷🏻‍♀️ Later I found out before we left, GB was measuring our rooms as he knew he wanted a rug from this trip. I had seen him some time with a tape measure and asked him what he was doing. He blew me off just saying he was measuring a room. I thought nothing of it till now. 2 and 3 were shown another room to explore little trinkets. 1 is like me and wasn’t in the mood to spend money. Well at the end of it all, we walk out with 2 rugs, a gemmed genie lamp for 2, a carved wooden elephant for 3 and 2 tall camels carved out of wood. The Camels I loved as they are able to coincide with our 2 penguins from Chile and 2 elephants from India. GB leaves happy with his purchases and the deal he got so again if GB is happy the rest of us are happy. Our guide then tours us more around the souk showing us different cultures and the variety of things sold in the souk. He then takes us to an herbal shop…here we go again. We are provided seats and this herbalist goes through all the herbs both food and medicinal he has to offer. We knew we wanted saffron as that is a big thing here in Morocco. As we left the shop we also ended up with amber (for mosquitos), herbs for snoring/congestion and herbs for indigestion. As of right now we will be the most mosquito free, well digested and well rested people you will ever meet🤣

We explained to the kids how the back and forth works for the tour guide and the stores he takes us to. We explain how much he makes and that by taking us to the stores he is hoping to help his friends out, who in turn “return the favor” to him, and we hope in return we are getting good quality items and not “something from Morocco but made in China.” It’s trusting one another that each person is helping the other. They understood but still were shocked at how expensive things can be. Our kids I feel live a very charmed life. That for me can be frustrating especially after a long hard day at work when I feel they don’t appreciate all GB and I go through so they have what they have. I want them to realize that this doesn’t come easy but with hard work can come reward but know that sometimes hard work also comes at a price. A simple “thank you” or “I appreciate you” goes a long way. Hoping that drilling it in to their heads makes it stick 🙏🏻

We then wrap up our tour of the souk and head to the van to travel to the Atlantic side of Morocco. He shows us where the king of Morocco lives and all the beautiful villas on the coast over looking the ocean. We then head down to the beach. There we pull onto the beach and park alongside a group of camels. GB had planned camel rides for the kids which quickly was then coerced into camel rides for the family. The kids were beside themselves! We all board our camel and in a camel train we take our camel ride along the desert coast. Smiles all around! So many great photos captured and memories made. It definitely made those long work days so worth it🩷

As the sun sets we make our way back to the ferry. We all agreed that our trip and tour guide were both a success! We thank Achraf and he takes a selfie with us. He likes to take pics of the tours he gives to remember them by and also post on his site. What fun we had and we told him we would happily write a review on the fun we had. He talks up about next time we should come to Morocco for 2-3 weeks…oof that’s a lot of PTO I’ll need to save up 🤭

Our ferry ride back is a quiet one as we are exhausted from all the walking but also tired as it’s 11:00 at night when we get back to our car. GB is able to maneuver our car out of its small parking space and we are on our way home. We all settle in, 2 falls asleep,1 and 3 are on their devices, GB and I are talking about the trip, everyone is in a good place…ding! Our car chimes in once again with its reminder that our tire is low on pressure. Ok now it’s pitch black dark and 12:00 in the morning 😣 I start my prayers all over again. I just cringe at thinking of us on the side of a dark road with a flat tire not knowing where we are to even get a tow truck…all these things are darting through my mind. Alas a gas station…perfect….although not perfect as we get closer we realize it’s closed and all dark☹️ I look up gas stations on GBs phone and a good chunk of them are closed with a 24 hour one still a good 30-45 minutes away. We end up pulling up at a closed one hoping we can still use the air pump with the flashlight off our phones. We pull up to one and thank goodness it’s an air pump that has a number gauge to tell us how much we are filling up. A little math is needed as we have to convert PSI to Bars but we are fortunately able to fill up all our tires to their designated pressures and we are back on the road. 2 remained asleep and 1 and 3 remained silent during the whole thing. Nothing to see here folks…nothing to see. We arrive back to Seville and poor GB is starving as we haven’t really eaten anything of sustenance since about 2:00 (the selection of food on the ferry back wasn’t the greatest)and it’s 1:30 in the morning! There is a 24 hour gas station I find on the way to the house that looks like it has a convenience store and we stop. I get outside and see the doors are gated shut…oh no😣😣😣 As I approach the worker at the window, I see that he goes back and grabs what you want from the store. There is a freezer section and the selection of pizzas is taped to the window #winning! I grab a frozen pepperoni pizza and head to the car. The look of relief on GBs face is priceless. We arrive home tired and exhausted with each child going to bed without a peep. Oven preheated now and ready for GB’s pizza. Tomorrow we were going to go to Ithaca but we are going to play it by ear. A long day in Morocco we realize sleep is what everyone needs the most. I set my load of laundry for the night, (you know me and my laundry every night😉) and GB scarfs down his pizza. We then both finally head to bed around 3:30, falling asleep to the smells of pizza 🍕 ☺️

[missspringthyme]

February 26th, 2024

I genuinely don't remember what I did today besides make mushroom pasta and take a shower. I watched a new show, why women kill, while my hair dried. I've seen clips of the show on Instagram so I'm finally watching it. My hair dried really well and looks really good, but it's hell not having heat tools to style my bangs.

Oh also, T texted me today and asked me if I was still trying to be off my phone because he wanted to tell me something. We talked for a little bit first what about texting I dislike, and on paper he understands. He describes exactly how I'm feeling and what I don't like and then proceeds to do the very things that cause the things I don't like to happen and then laugh about how we still haven't figured out texting. My issue is, T always seems to want to have full, long conversations over text. Having a conversation 30 seconds at a time is irritating as hell for me and it means that I have trouble doing anything else because half of my brain is waiting for the next text to come in. If you spend an hour texting me, that is functionally an hour where I struggle to do anything else. To me, texting is a medium designed for quick thoughts that don't need a ton of back and forth, to T every quick thought is a chance to have an hour long conversation over text. So eventually I stop texting and we both get frustrated. My ideal would be a call once a week, and texting only consisting of " 'I did X thing today' 'that sounds cool!'" Or random pictures or whatever with the occasional long text for when and only when it's absolutely necessary. Even then, if you can, I prefer you just call me for 10 minutes. There's something being lost in translation in between T being able to perfectly describe my feelings but not understand how his actions are causing them. I'll figure out a way to explain eventually.

[goth-cowgirl-03]

The doll maker

This one was an idea I had when I was listing to play date by Melanie Martinez, let me know if you would like to be tagged fir anything Eddie munson, also just stranger things.

Warning: Metions of death. please let me know if i missed any.

Hawkins, Indiana was known for very little, but there was something about a shop that called people to it like a spell was cast to pull you towards. The shop was that of a toy or doll maker shop, the owner, an old man and his wife, made dolls of each little girl who wanted one, the doll always looked like its owner, who bought one. The wife of the owner could always be found cleaning the dolls on display, caring around a feather duster, and a wipe. She spends at least about five minutes with every doll cleaning them, but one she spent about 30 minutes, and that was the doll that was made to look like their daughter. The story goes that their daughter had died in a fire that happened years ago. But things changed every year, like it was aging. Her legs appear longer than a doll, almost life-like, though the height stopped at 5ft. Her hair had reached the hair, and the wife would braid it in a three strand dutch braid, with flowers placed in different spots. One morning in 1986, the doll still sat in the window with her legs crossed and hands placed on her lap. Her dress is a beautiful, lilac purple, with a dark blue bow on her chest. As the wife went around cleaning each doll, a group of young high schoolers walked by, with more older high schoolers following behind. One looked towards the window, locking eyes with the doll. “Man, that doll is creepy. I remember the day I first saw it.” The voice of Gareth sounded next to the taller one. “Why does it feel like it’s not a doll tho.” Eddie asked, as he watched the eyes of the so-called doll. “I don’t know, but it was made after the shop owner's daughter died, it was made to look like her in memory.” Gareth left no long after, their last sight of Dustin and Mike, Eddie had stayed behind looking at the window display, when The wife finally came over noticing the young man watching the doll. She smiled at the young man, then proceed to clean the arms of the doll. That afternoon, after school let out, Eddie, Gareth, Jeff, and Barry found themselves in the shop of the doll maker, Gareth had been meaning to find a gift for his sister. As the three looked around, Eddie found himself being pulled towards the doll in the window, her face framed with little bits of hair laid across her cheeks. His ringed hand reached to twirl the little bit of hair. Once the soft strained was wrapped around his index finger, he lighty pulled away, and watched as it fell back into place with a slight curl now in it. “She’s pretty, isn’t she.” The voice of an older woman made Eddie jump a bit, looking toward the graying haired lady. Her smile was strained as she looked from Eddie to the doll. “My daughter would have liked you, she was into all that metal music. I remember when my husband came home, and found her listening to it. Man, he went off like a volcano.” She said with her eyes filled with sadness, and something else that Eddie couldn't figure out. Eddie listened to the older woman, with a sad smile. “Well, I think we would have been friends. I’m sorry for your loss. How old would she be by now.” He spoke to her, with his arms across his chest. “She would have been 16 going on 17.” She smiled as she looked at the doll, until she heard husband call her. “I’m sorry, I have to go now. It was nice talking to you.” She said as she held out her hand for him to shake, Eddie took her hand with surprise at the woman. When she walked, Eddie made his way outside, still looking at the doll. When the paper in his hand, made him look. Opening it up, the words made him freeze with wide eyes. ‘She’s not a doll, please help her.’ Eddie looked back to the window to see the wife cleaning the doll again, her eyes moving to look at him again. Eddie nods, one that if you weren’t looking at him closely you would miss it, once the rest of his friends made their way out, he grabbed Gareth by the arm pulling him towards the way to Dustin’s house. Gareth was yelling at him. “Hey, what the fuck. My house is the other way.” Eddie looked at him once they reached the van. “Just get in the van, I’ll explain on the way.” Once inside, Eddie handed Gareth that paper. Gareth looked over the words with frowned eyebrows, until he looked towards the shop window, then to the page again, then at Eddie. “What are you gonna do?” He asked his older friend, Eddie looked at the window then to Gareth. “Well, we’re going to see Dustin Henderson.” He said as he started the car up.

[pascalpanic]

F*ck Around and Find Out (Javier Peña x f!Reader)

Sequel to Fooled Around and Fell In Love

Summary: Your former fling and now boyfriend, Javier Peña, had a shitty day. Instead of soft comfort like last time, you go for something a little rougher.

W/C: <3k

Warnings: SMUT (18+), oral sex (m receiving), handcuffs, bottom!javi if you squint, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it babes), creampie, also lots of language but that’s a minor concern here lol

A/N: Well, I fucked around and found out. and it led me to this.

This is a sequel to Fooled Around and Fell In Love (linked here and above), but you can definitely read it as a standalone too!

Javi had another shitty day. Working for the DEA is a fucking grind, to say the very least. His weeks normally consist of at least one shitty day, but this one takes the cake for the entire month. 

He could’ve really used your calming touch, a kiss on the side of the face, something just to ground him, but you were busy. No matter how hard it was for him, Javier would not admit defeat. He would not ask for the tenderness he knew you’d so eagerly give, he couldn’t. He didn’t know how. So he didn’t, he took his anger out as he furiously wrote a report on the typewriter, smoked half a pack more than normal, and drank at least two pots of coffee from the break room. 

When the day ends, the clock striking 5:30, he pulls on his jacket with no hesitation. “Where the fuck are you going?” Steve asks as Javier shoves his shit in his briefcase. 

“Home, Murphy,” he snaps. “I’m getting the fuck out of here before I strangle Stechner until that balding head pops,” he grimaces. 

Steve’s eyes widen. “Well. Get some rest, maybe get laid. Get that shit outta your system.”

“Don’t you fucking talk about my girl like that,” he threatens.

Steve raises his hands in defense. “Just… saying that you need something to get that anger out. Have a good night, Javi,” he says and gets up from his chair, going god knows where. Javier couldn’t give less of a shit if he tried. 

Javier then proceeds to drive over to your apartment. He pulls out his brick of a sat-phone in the car and calls yours. You pick up after a few seconds. “Hello?”

“Hey dulzura,” Javier says with a sigh. 

“Hi, where are you? You could’ve just found me,” you chuckle, crossing your legs. You’re sitting on the edge of your desk, where Javier could’ve easily known you’d be if he had a single brain cell left that wasn’t being roasted by his hotheadedness. 

“I’m headed home- well, to your apartment. If I spent one more fucking minute in that place…” he trails off, anger fading to exhaustion. “And I just want to spend some time with you. Maybe slow dance in the kitchen again.”

You smile, hugging your free arm tight around yourself. “Of course, babe. You can get comfortable in my apartment, have a drink or something. I’m gonna be about an hour or so before I’m home. Fuckin’ Limón left a paper trail in Medellín and we’re trying to wrap it up.”

He sighs. He’s already waited this long, but he doesn’t know how to ask. He doesn’t know if he can ask, if he can tell you that he needs your love right now or he might burst. “Okay,” he says, nodding. 

His voice is so tired. So sad. You pout a little, looking over at your own cluttered desk. “Or… I suppose Limón can wait until the morning. He’s not going to do something crazy overnight, right?” You chuckle. 

There’s a small smile on Javi’s face now. “If he does, I will personally take over whatever you’re doing.”

You smile at the words. “Maybe I want him to do something crazy now,” you tease for a moment. “Well, I’ll head home now. Meet you at my place in a bit. I love you,” you tell him honestly. 

“Love you too, baby. See you in a bit,” he says and hangs up. He lets out a deep sigh at the relief of your voice, of the way just talking for you with less than a minute can take all of his stress away. 

He parks outside of your place, unlocking the door with the spare key you gave him. He sets his briefcase on your kitchen table. He finds a bottle of wine in your refrigerator and pours two glasses, sipping one and setting the other down for you.

Javier looks around your apartment, smiling softly. There’s a photo of the two of you on the end table by your sofa. It’s a shitty print of the two of you smiling into the disposable camera, faces washed out by the flash. Javier picks it up and chuckles. You’re grinning ear to ear, exposing your teeth and pressing your cheek to Javi’s. He may not show it, but he feels the same, although his smile is significantly smaller than yours. Closed lipped. His brown eyes show the weight of his joy. 

He sits on the couch and watches the TV with half of his attention. His anger from the day sinks back in, making him forcefully breathe slow to remain calm. She’ll be home soon, he reminds himself. She’ll kiss your skin and wrap her arms around you and tell you how much she loves you. You know she will. 

But Javier can’t wait. He gets up, pacing around the apartment. It’s only a short drive from the embassy to your place, but you probably had to put away some files and shit. He’s in the middle of his third lap from the kitchen to the living room when the doorknob rattles. 

He opens the door and sees your smile, and he wastes absolutely no time in cupping your face and kissing you deeply. You giggle at first, taken aback, before wrapping your arms around his neck and kissing back. You walk him backwards into the apartment, kicking the door shut behind you and slipping off your heels. “Bad day, huh?” You ask between kisses as the two of you meander to your couch. 

He breathes out a confirmation and you frown softly. “We better fix that,” you tell him, pressing your forehead to his. 

“I think we’d better,” he nods and kisses you again hungrily. Hard. Desperate, his tongue pressing against the seam of your lips. 

You break away as you reach the couch, sitting next to him and pulling him down with you. “Can I take care of you tonight?” You ask him, running a hand through his tobacco-brown waves.

He frowns a little. “What do you mean take care of me?” He asks, his head tilting to the side with his confusion. 

You smile. “Treat you right. Mainly in bed, that was kind of my plan,” you chuckle. 

“Oh really? Is that what you had in mind?”

You nod and press a soft kiss to his face. “You deserve it. Let me take the lead for once,” you mumble, kissing his jaw and his neck. “If you’ll be good for me.”

“What happens if I’m bad?” He mumbles, his head tilting to the side. He pulls you onto his lap, angling his head so you have better access. 

“Why don’t you fuck around and find out, hm?” You ask teasingly, nipping at his skin. He gasps in surprise and smirks. 

“Do your worst, baby girl,” he murmurs, and you kiss him again desperately. 

Your lips cling to his, arms pulling him as close as you can get. You don’t care that you’re still in your work clothing, you straddle him and palm him through his jeans. He groans and you push your tongue against his, moaning softly. 

The two of you stay like that for a little bit, your hand palming Javier’s hardening dick in time with your lips against his. He’s straining against his jeans, bucking into your hand when you pull away. 

You get off of him and stand, hands on your waist. You examine his belt, searching for one of the tools you know you can always find there. He’s about to ask if you need help unbuckling it, like the sarcastic asshole he is, before you lean down and grab the handcuffs with a grin. “I told you, I’m gonna take real good care of you. Now let’s head to bed,” you tell him, grabbing his hand and pulling him up.

He’s stunned, really. He’s never been anything but dominant in bed, always taking the lead, always putting in the heavy efforts. Even when you ride him, he’s the one thrusting up into you. But you jingle the handcuffs in front of you while you walk him to your room, and he thinks he’s already seeing stars.

“Fuck,” you sigh as you walk into your room and Javier squeezes your ass. You turn around, stripping your blazer and unbuttoning your shirt. “Take off your clothes,” you order him.

Javier obeys, smirking. “I think I kinda like it when you boss me around,” he teases, eyes widening in lust as he sees the curve of your breasts when your shirt falls to the floor. 

“Then you’re going to have a very good night,” you assure him teasingly, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. “Is this okay? I know normally you’re the one doing this.”

“This is fucking perfect,” Javi laughs as he pushes down his jeans and then his boxers. “I’m excited to see what you have in mind. You know I’m down to try anything once.”

“You ever been handcuffed?” You ask, holding them up now that you’re in just your bra and panties- unintentionally matching today, a dark silky black. 

“No,” he admits. 

You raise an eyebrow. “I kind of expected someone like you would’ve, Peña,” you tease, pushing him down onto the bed. “Hands above your head. Got it?” You ask. 

“Yeah,” he mutters out breathlessly, putting his hands against your headboard. He positions himself readily for you, already rock hard and ready for you to do whatever the fuck you want. 

You smirk at the sight, tracing your fingertips over the line where your bra meets the flesh of your tits. “And you don’t get to touch tonight,” you tell him with a smirk, “but I promise it’ll be all about you.”

He smirks too. “Get over here so I can kiss you, at least,” he asks, and you nod, straddling him and bending down to kiss him where he lays, flat on his back. You grind your panty-covered slit across his dick, and he shudders as he can feel your wetness through the cloth. “Baby,” he mumbles. 

You pull away and look down at him, hands tracing over his body. “You’re so fucking hot, Javi,” you chuckle, fingers splayed out against his abs. “I am so lucky that I get this whenever I want it.”

“Whenever,” he nods in agreement, sitting up and kissing you again softly. 

“And I have never been one to take what I have for granted,” you murmur as you press him back down into the bed and kiss at his collarbones, his pecs, his abs and stomach and down to his hips. You leave soft marks across his skin, tasting every inch of it. “So fucking hot, Javi. God, you make me so wet whenever I even think about this.”

“Missed you today,” he breathes out as you slowly pump his dick, twisting your hand around him. “Needed you. Some love.”

“Yeah? You could’ve come and got me,” you chuckle, pressing kisses around the base of his dick. “Asked me.”

“Didn’t know how,” he admits breathlessly, grunting as you lick around the base slowly. “Didn’t wanna bother you.”

You pout up at him, stopping for a second. “You can always come get me, baby. You know that.”

He nods. “Doesn’t matter now. Just… oh fuck,” he shudders as you take the tip in your mouth, shivering at the sound he makes. “So good, Goddamn.”

He won’t last long at all tonight, but that’s fine by you. Tonight, you intend to get your pleasure through his, to put him first and treat him to a night of relaxation. Your hand pumps the base of his dick slowly, making him cry out and tug against the restraints of his hands, as your other hand pulls off your panties. 

“Javi,” you murmur with a devious smirk. “Good boys don’t tug.”

Even when you’re the one in control, Javier still holds the power. He can still make you do whatever he says. “Good girls don’t tease,” he flirts right back and it goes straight to the pooling heat between your legs. 

“I’m the one in control here,” you remind him, even though it’s weak. You both know it’s Javier pulling the strings. You rub his thigh softly. “Just relax for me, baby. Let me take the lead, just let it all go. I’ll take care of you like you take care of me.”

His thick adam’s apple bobs in his throat. “I’d relax better if you were riding my dick.”

“God, Javi, you’re so impatient,” you whine and look up at him. “I was getting there.”

“Sorry, sorry,” he chuckles. “Take your time then. I’ve got nowhere to go,” he shrugs, clanking his handcuffs around as a reminder that it’s not only a joke but literal.

You shoot him a glare and he gives an apologetic little smile that makes you giggle. “God, have I mentioned how much more I like you when you admit you love me? You’re not so intense in bed, even though you still can be. You can even be… cute.”

“I am not cute, dulzura,” Javier frowns.

“Yes you are! Look at that cute-ass pout you’re giving me,” you laugh. “You are adorable, Javi. Especially when you make those noises when I go down on you.” You take the tip in your mouth again, swirling your tongue around it.

Javier holds back the noises, now trying to prove a point. He’s nearly silent for the next few moments as you work him just the way he likes it with your mouth. You pout and pull away. “Will you let me hear those noises again if I get on your dick?”

Javier’s panting but he smiles and nods. “Maybe I’ll even listen to you and relax.”

You grin and bring your lips to his, kissing him deeply. “I think you will, because I have a surprise,” you murmur.

“I thought the cuffs were the surprise.”

“Just one part of it… I want you to cum inside me tonight. Raw.”

Javier’s breath catches in this throat. “Fuck, you’re sure?” He asks, desperate to touch your sides and grope your breasts in that gorgeous black bra. 

You nod. “I’m protected and clean.”

He nods back. “I am too, now please, baby-” You waste no time and sink your hips down over his, shuddering at how good it feels. “Javi,” you whine as you push all the way down, his thick cock bottoming out inside of you.

Javier’s already on the verge. “Fuck,” he grunts, biting down on his lip. Your hands rest flat on his chest, pushing him down into the bed. He can’t roll his hips up into you, can’t try to control the movement. It’s all on you. “Please, cariño,” and he’s already whining for you. Needy, desperate.

“Yeah baby? What do you want?” You ask flirtatiously, hovering your breasts in front of his face. Your hips wiggle teasingly on his, making him groan from the friction.

He pulls his head up to bury his face in your cleavage, tracing his tongue around the warm flesh of your tits. “Take it off for me. Please, baby.”

“No,” you say forcefully and lift all the way off of him, leaving you feeling achingly empty inside. “I’ll stop like this if you don’t behave.”

“I’ll do anything, dulzura,” he nods, hooking a leg around yours. “Please, just-”

“Good,” you practically purr as you line yourself up on him and sink down, moaning. “God, you’re so thick. Feel so good inside me Javi.”

He throws his head back into the pillow, your incessant teasing making his dick ache with tension. “If you keep fucking edging me, I’m gonna die,” he chuckles.

“Oh baby, this isn’t even real edging,” you murmur into his ear. You finally give in, putting your hands over his on the headboard, bouncing up and down on him. You kiss around his neck, working soft marks into places the shirt can cover tomorrow. “How does it feel?”

“So good,” he groans. “You feel so good on top of me, get me so deep inside of you,” he shudders, hips wiggling a little but stopping the motion as it makes you slow your pace.

“You’re a quick learner,” you mumble as you lick a hot stripe behind his ear. “You gonna cum for me?”

“Yeah,” he nods frantically, shuddering. “Please?”

He said please. Javier fucking Peña just asked you for permission to orgasm. You could get used to this. “Yes, come on baby, cum inside me,” you tell him and he follows your command. He thrusts up into you once, desperately, and the friction leads him to spill his hot seed inside of you. 

You whimper at the feeling, biting your lip. “Good job,” you mumble as you work him through it. It’s pure bliss for him, the feeling of your walls clenching around his bare dick and your slick soaking the hot skin there.

As he’s done, you slow down and roll off of him, grabbing the key to the handcuffs from the nightstand and unlocking the cuffs. His hands immediately find their way to your sides and pull you on top of him, kissing you hard. “That was so good, baby.”

“I thought so too,” you chuckle. “Maybe next time you can stop being such a stubborn bastard and give in for me.”

He nods. “I do like that. Although, I won’t lie, I like destroying you more,” he teases, fingers tracing down to the aching clit that never got an orgasm tonight. His own cum mixes with the wetness dripping from you in anticipation. “Mm, you need to cum, don’t you?” he groans and bites his lip. “Let’s fix that, baby.”

-

taglist:

@remmysbounty @mishasminion360 @softly-sad @blo0dangel @luxurybeskar @binarydanvvers  @sleep-tight1 @apascalrascal @randomness501 @spideysimpossiblegirl @notabotiswear @pedro-pastel @sanchosammy @dreamingindigital @theteddylupinexperience​

[rkived]

extra drabble #2: love is in the air and it’s rubbing it in right on pediatricsurgeon!jungkook’s face as he’s reminded that he’s awfully single once again. that doesn’t mean he can’t gift a special someone something, right?

or in which, jungkook thinks you’d look nice with tiffany & co. jewelry around your neck. (hospitalplaylist!au)

📍drabbles masterlist

‘‘What do you think she’ll like?’’ Taehyung asks Jungkook as they peruse through the Tiffany & Co. counters filled with expensive jewelry. 

The youngest shrugs his shoulders, ‘‘Shouldn’t you know? You’re the boyfriend,’’ he comments, but it only garners him a displeased side-eye from his friend. 

‘‘Why do I even bother asking for your help? You haven’t had a girlfriend in over a decade.’’ Taehyung mumbles, shaking his head as he keeps analyzing the sparkly bracelets. ‘‘So until you have one, don’t even try to use the I’m the boyfriend and I should know argument…women are far more complicated than that.’’ 

One of the pediatrician’s eyebrow raises, curious about the neurosurgeon’s words. 

Jungkook blames Med School for his lack of ‘‘women knowledge’’. His dating life was basically nonexistent all throughout the years he was studying to get his degree and although he did try his best to go on a couple of dates after he got his specialization, he had realized that he was absolutely clueless about how to even date. 

If he could grade his dating skills, Jungkook would give himself a less than average score. 

He has to give credits to his friend. Although the older male was stressed about getting his younger girlfriend the perfect Valentine’s Day gift, at least he was trying. The neurosurgeon isn’t a patient person at all, and on any other occasion, Taehyung would’ve picked anything at random, swiped his credit card, and called it a day. 

Jungkook doesn’t understand why does one put themselves through so much stress for one day. He’s a firm believer that there shouldn’t be a predetermined day to be romantic with your partner. Then again, Taehyung is right, the pediatrician hasn’t dated in a hot minute so what does he know? 

The neurosurgeon clicks his tongue as he starts to think that he won’t be able to find anything for Yoonah in this store. He’s about to call Jungkook over to tell him that they should try Cartier next, but he holds himself back as he notices the youngest is stuck staring at one of the showcases displaying the latest arrivals. 

Taehyung chuckles, placing his hand on Jungkook’s shoulder and startling him. ‘‘Thinking about getting someone something for Valentine’s?’’ He asks, wiggling his eyebrows playfully. 

Jungkook laughs nervously, ‘‘No! I uh─’’

‘‘I think Y/N would really like that, don’t you think?’’ Taehyung interrupts him, a teasing tone to his voice. He actually has no damn clue what you even like, but he thinks it’s funny to pester his friend, especially when it comes to you. 

It’s almost comical how embarrassed Jungkook gets whenever you’re romantically implied to him. 

In any other moment, he’d tell Taehyung off. What does the neurosurgeon even know about what you like? This time, however, Jungkook remains silent as he looks back at the necklace that had caught his attention. Two interlocked pendants hanging delicately from the gold chain. It is something you would like. 

‘‘So, are you gonna get it?’’ The neurosurgeon asks him, it almost feels like he’s cornering the youngest into swiping his black card right then and there. 

Jungkook stammers, lips slightly ajar as he debates inside his head if he should. 

He’s really not the type to give people gifts, not even to you. Although he did give you that spa day certificate last year, it was only because his mom had given it to him in the first place and he couldn’t seem to find the time to use it, regifting it to you because coincidentally you had been complaining about knots in your back that same week. 

 ‘‘Let’s go,’’ the pediatrician mumbles, tugging his friends’ jacket to get him to leave the store. 

There’s a really vivid picture of you wearing the necklace with a big smile on your face that he can’t seem to get out of his mind now. 

---

You’ve always had mixed feelings about Valentine’s Day. 

On one hand, you think the festivity is cute. The hospital gets decorated with pink and red colors, there are heart-shaped paper banners hanging from the walls and there’s even free candy all over the place! 

On the other hand, it serves as a yearly reminder that you’re terribly single and have no one to spend this day with. Of course, you could always do something with your friends. Sadly, your friends are all busy doctors. Besides, you are very aware this day is marketed for couples. Whoever came up with the friendship idea must’ve been single and felt left out. 

You already have plans of your own anyway. A bottle of wine and a family-sized bag of your favorite chips are waiting for you at home, you’re only left to pick what movie will be the chosen one for tonight. 

The debate of what rom-com to watch is stopped as you enter your office, a gasp escaping your mouth as you notice the bouquet of flowers over your desk. Your eyebrows raise in surprise, taken aback by the sudden surprise. 

You hadn’t been expecting anything from anyone. You were quite content with the amount of candy you had received, but something like this was far away from your mind. 

It almost even scares you to look at it closely. Afraid it could be a terrible joke or a simple mistake someone had made, an arrangement wrongly delivered to you instead of the original owner. That’s a possibility. 

Mustering up the courage to get closer, you pick up the bouquet to notice there’s a small blue box snuggled between the pretty flowers. Your eyes widen because...Tiffany & Co.? Yes, this must be a mistake. 

There’s no note attached, which only makes you wonder who could possibly this gift be for. 

You can almost hear a little devil Yoongi whispering from your shoulder finders keepers, it’s only fair since it’s in your office anyway. But there’s also ethical angel Namjoon on your other shoulder telling you to do the right thing, which is to head towards reception and ask who had entered your office and left it behind. Which you do ─ angel Namjoon rejoices as devil Yoongi swears he’ll get away with it someday. 

The receptionist is typing away at her computer’s keyboard, registering the new files into the system as she notices you approaching with the bouquet on hand and she stops her work to smile at you. 

‘‘Hello, Doctor Y/L/N! I see you got your Valentine’s Day gift, heading home already?’’ She asks curiously. 

You chuckle, ‘‘I think there’s been a mistake.’’ The comment makes the receptionist’s eyebrows furrow together, confused at your words. ‘‘I don’t have a Valentine, so there’s no way this is for me. There’s not even a note attached to it.’’ 

‘‘Ohhh, I see.’’ She says in a tone you can’t quite pinpoint, getting back to her typing quickly. 

You clear your throat, ‘‘I was wondering if you know who went inside my office today?’’ 

The receptionist refuses to look at you again, eyes focused on the screen in front of her. She shakes her head no, ‘‘So many people come and go, I lose track of them!’’ 

You sigh, defeated. The receptionist takes one last look at you before you leave, ‘‘That gift is for you, Dr. Y/L/N.’’ Your gaze moves back towards her, but you can tell her lips are sealed. Whoever left this behind must’ve asked for secrecy. 

Looking back down at the bouquet in your hands, you smile slightly at the idea of this being yours. Someone actually gave you something for once. 

The receptionist chuckles at your flustered cheeks and the smile you’re biting back from spreading across your face. 

----

Jungkook’s phone buzzes as he steps outside his bathroom. It’s a message from the group chat and he quickly opens it, fingers beginning to tremble as he hopes it’s the long-awaited message he’s been hoping to see throughout most of the day. 

[9:30 PM] Y/N 🥰❤️: i think i have a secret admirer? 

[9:30 PM] Seokjin: Welcome to the club! 

[9:31 PM] Namjoon: Why? Did you get something today? 

The message that proceeds is one that makes Jungkook’s heart stop momentarily. It’s a selfie of you smiling, a gold necklace being the main focus as it sits pretty on your chest. These are the moments the pediatrician doesn’t question Namjoon’s diagnosis, he is crushing hard.

[9:34 PM] Yoongi: It looks expensive, good for you Y/N. 

[9:32 PM] Taehyung: omg :0 

[9:33 PM] Taehyung: that necklace looks awfully familiar…..

Jungkook is too busy staring at the picture to even notice Taehyung’s teasing. 

It’s just like he had pictured, but much better. 

a/n: hiii guys happy valentine’s day!! my gift for y’all is this drabble <3 pining 101 is a crowd favorite and i feel rlly guilty abt abandoning it :( but i HAD to write smthn for these two for vday!! hope u enjoyed n sorry (again) for the wait :P ps: although this is an extra drabble, this does take place during the main drabbles timeline!

[sope-and-shine]

The Right of a King: Pt. 1

-> SFW // Soulmate!AU // fluff, angst // mummy!Namjoon -> Pairing: Namjoon x Reader -> Word Count: 15.1k  -> Summary: Life as the night guard for your local high-end museum was supposed to be simple and easy. The most dangerous part of your job was only supposed to be the middle-aged patrons who insisted they get a discount for a line being too long. Nowhere in your contract did it say you’d be taking care of a 1,000 year old king that had been mummified. Thankfully, for you he’s harmless, but the storm that comes with him is not as welcoming. -> Warning(s): mild language, brief crude humor, Namjoon is kind of a jerk but he gets better...kinda, also a bit of a misogynist, technology abuse RIP the museum equipment, Jimin IS that salesman that uses his charm to steal your money - but will anyone complain? no.  

A/N: This whole fic is a BEAST i sWEAR! I am however really excited to share this fic with everyone! This was originally for a collab that never got to happen -RIP - but I liked the idea too much to just throw her away!

I do want to give a huge shout out to @sakuraguks-main​ for beta reading this as well as my squad for their constant encouragement throughout the writing process.

Now if you excuse me, I need to get back to writing part 2 

Masterlist

* * *

“Just the lunch box and the banana milk this time?” 

“Uh…” You look up from your wallet to view your items on the counter. It was just one prepackaged lunch and a few banana milks, much less than you usually buy on your routine dinner stop. You don’t want to buy too much, but you’d need something for later in the morning too. 

You settle for grabbing a few bags of chips off the rack next to you and set them on the counter, “I’ll take those too.”  

He nods and rings them up, bagging them while you pay with your card. He grabs your receipt and tucks it in the bag, handing them to you as you slide your wallet back into your bag, “Have a good evening, (Y/n)!”

You nod, “Thank you! See you tomorrow, Gyu!” You wave to him as you exit the convenience store and step back into the bustling city.  

Stopping for food is always a must for you before every shift with it being smack in the middle of your route. If you were to spend 10:00p.m. to 8a.m. by yourself with no food, you would probably go insane. It wasn’t like you couldn’t bring them from home, but it was much more convenient to stop on your way there. Occasionally, you’ll attempt to pull back on your snack intake, but Gyu never makes it easy on you when you do. He just makes it another typical day for you.

Wake up at 2:30, take a shower, do your school work, get ready for work, leave the house, stop to buy food from Gyu, and then arrive at the grand entrance to the Seoul Museum of History and Art.

The building itself is 4 stories high - not including the lower level storage it sits on top of - and 1 city block in length and width. It’s exterior is grand and extravagant with 3 large pillars that encase the 4 doorways that lead into the lobby. A large staircase greets you at the sidewalk, flower beds decorating the front along the brick railing on either side of the stairs. You never take the stairs on your way in, choosing to take the ramp hidden in the flowers up to the entrance instead. You’d have enough problems walking around the entire museum, adding more stairs to the mix would only ruin your mood.

Thankfully, Jin is always there to greet you on your way in. He never fails to brighten your day when you see him. Dressed sharp in a white button down tucked into fitted black dress pants with a grey suit jacket on top, he stands with his hands together in front of him and a large welcoming smile. His hair is parted just off center, not losing shape even as he nods to the patron in front of him.

You wait for him to finish his conversation before you greet him, “Well, if it isn’t Mr. Worldwide Handsome himself.”

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out.” Jin chuckles. He lets his shoulders relax, moving his neck from side to side before looking at his watch. He looks impressed, “Wow, you’re earlier than usual.”

You shrug, “Yeah, Hoseok said he needed to talk to me about the exhibit pieces that are coming in.” 

“Say no more,” Jin raises his hands in front of him and shakes his head, “I’ve heard all I need to.”

“Yeah, I know how you feel,” You laugh. You shake your head and sigh, “I should get going so I can get ready to clear the last minute rush.”

“Don’t work too hard, night guard.” He gives you a mock salute and you turn away, waving goodbye to him as you continue down the corridor into a sea of people.

Most people would think a museum wouldn’t be so popular, but your crowds never seemed to dwindle. You suppose you’d have Yoongi to thank for that. He ran the museum so smoothly it was almost like clockwork. Doors opened at 9 and they closed at 9, new exhibits rotate in and out every 7 ½ months to the day, and employees were put through severe background checks and training just to make sure they’d be competent enough to work in his museum. Everyone that works in the museum was handpicked by Yoongi himself, and everyone chosen contributes everything they have to be here.

You pass by the gift shop, spying Jimin at the counter helping a few kids pick out candies. He notices you passing and smiles, giving you a quick wave that you return before he gives his attention to the children in front of him.

You continue on down the hall, passing the cafe and the restrooms. The walls begin to lose their decor the farther you go, becoming planer and planer until you reach the break room doors. 

“He was like, ‘do you think toys for cavemen were any different from present day? Like that shit must be wild bro’ and then they all started laughing at me when I said they didn’t have a Toys R Us, so yeah, they were different from now.” Jeongguk says as you enter the room. His impeccable timing for ‘strange conversation’ never ceases to amaze you every time you walk through the door.

Jeongguk’s a great guy, always very respectful and eager to learn more, but he’s been working as a tour guide in the museum for about a year now and he still hasn’t seemed to pick up on anything. You’re pretty sure Yoongi only hired him to keep the single ladies coming back. It was hard to correct someone with such a cute, bunny smile and such remarkable enthusiasm in the work place.

“Do you think it was an inside joke?” He proceeds to ask, his attention trained on Johnny who stands at the locker to the right of yours.

The man in question can’t stop himself from giving the younger a disappointed frown, “Dude...you’re the joke…”

Jeongguk tilts his head in confusion and you jump into the conversation, “I’m sure they’re just being teenagers, Guk. I wouldn’t worry too much about it.” You turn to briefly glare at your locker mate as you open it, turning your frown into a smile when you face Jeongguk again, “Tomorrow is another day!”

“You’re right!” He closes his locker and throws his bag over his shoulder, his confidence already returning, “I’ll learn everything I can about cavemen toys and come back tomorrow prepared to tell all of my tours about them!”

He leaves before you can say anything back, off to do whatever it is he usually does after work. You don’t mind though, it’s a little hard to understand the college sophomore anyways. At least with him leaving you can relax before your shift starts.

Johnny sighs next to you, “You mother him too much.”

“I don’t mother him. I just don’t want to explain to him what they’re actually talking about.” You argue, placing your bags on the hooks in your locker. You take off your overcoat and replace it with your black security jacket, fixing the collar, “Besides, he’ll figure it out by this weekend and then he won’t make eye contact with either one of us for the next week.”

“Whatever you say.” He pulls out a lint roller and hands it to you before closing his locker, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Waving behind you with the roller in hand, you say, “Have a good night!” You hear the door open and close behind you, leaving you alone in the room to sort yourself out. 

You make quick work to de-lint your black work pants, setting the roller at the top of your locker. Then you take the bags you set down and pull them over to the table at the center of the room, leaving your locker open while you take out your food to be refrigerated. When you have everything you need, you place the leftover snacks back on the hook and shut the door. 

The door opens on your way to the fridge, Hoseok walking in with a folder in his hands. He looks up from whatever he’s reading and his eyes widen in surprise, “You’re here!”

You open the fridge, “Yeah, you told me to come in a little early.” You set your bag on the top shelf, close the door, and turn to him, “You wanted to talk to me about tomorrow?”

“Right.” He approaches the table and sets his stuff down, sorting through a few papers before he pulls one from his stack. He extends it to you,  “This is all the information about who we’ll be meeting with tomorrow. It has times, names, and a manifest.”

“Everything is the same from the texts you sent me, right?” You ask, eyes skimming over the sheet for anything new.

“Yes! Each artifact was individually packed, so we should only have 12 new pieces coming in tomorrow.” 

“Okay, so we just need to keep an eye on what they bring in.” You say, more to yourself than to him. You take a moment to let the information sink in, nodding in understanding when you’re sure you have it all down. You look back up to Hoseok who’s already discarding his security jacket, “Did you have any luck on new night guard help?”

“Ah-...no,” Hoseok sets his jacket over the back of the chair in front of him. He’d been searching for new help ever since Chanyeol left, leaving you to run the night shift alone. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t ideal for a museum in the middle of the city. You knew that and so did Hoseok. “I’ve been working on it, but it’s been hard with the new arrivals. Besides, you know how Yoongi is when he’s hiring new employees.”

You nod, knowing exactly how anal the museum director could truly be, “Yeah, I know. Just keep me updated though?” 

You don’t really mind working by yourself, but you could only go so many days without a single day off. Thankfully, Hoseok was understanding of this, “I will! I’ll work something out, I promise!”

“Thank you,” You smile. You grab your bag off the table and hoist it over your shoulder, “I’m gonna go clock in and see about ushering the night crowd out.” 

“Hyuk should be starting on level 1.” He informs you. 

“I’ll take level 4 then.” You bid Hoseok goodbye and head across the hall to the security room, setting your stuff down in your chair and clocking in at the main computer. You take a moment to check the camera’s, looking for the most populated areas to look out for and which exhibits you could close as you go through.

This was something you did everyday. You’d find the unpopulated areas first so you could sweep the rooms and lock the exhibits behind you. One by one, you make sure to clear the floor before you move to the next level.

The third level is much busier than the other levels, having had the most change to it’s layout since the new exhibit was brought in 2 weeks prior. Families make their way to the stairs while couples try to catch one last look at exhibits they missed in favor for another.

Walking into the Ancient Dynasties Exhibit, you nod to the partons that you pass on their way out, stopping by the occasional straggler to let them know it’s time to go. You rarely ever have problems with getting someone to leave - maybe once or twice you’ve had to get physical with someone or call the police to escort them out of the museum - but the number of times is so small you could count them on one hand. There’s only one person you have to repeatedly kick out of the exhibit, and he’s worse than any patron you’ve ever dealt with.

“Taehyung, I need you to leave.” You tell him, approaching him from behind. His green, 3 piece suit is only slightly wrinkled from his work throughout the day, his jacket discarded and set off to his side.

The bubbly curator turns his head over his shoulder, dirty blonde locks still kept in a perfect side-sweep thanks to his “very essential” hair gel. His smile is almost a tease as he says, “Just a few more minutes.”

You cross your arms and sigh, “I’m counting.”

The saying “Just a few more minutes” has lost all meaning with Taehyung. You haven’t believed him since your third day of working together. He’s never been good at leaving his exhibits, wanting to take pride in his work. Despite having the ability to take pictures of the area as it’s curator, he insists on committing them all to memory. In hindsight, it’s very endearing. However, his wants tend to put you behind your own schedule.

He turns back around and you take a seat next to him on the bench. You take an obligatory look around the section he sits in, glancing over each artifact that decorates the walls. From tapestries or writing displays that hang on the walls, to small podiums with items far more fragile encased in glass. In front of you - roped off and on a placed on a small stage - is a large sarcophagus covered in gold with two lit candle placed beside it. Behind it is a wall of flowers, all apparently favorites from when the King was alive. 

“Have I told you about Namjoon hyung?” He asks, referencing the mummy in front of you.

King Kim Namjoon of the Kim Dynasty. The only king of Korea to be mummified. Of all the exhibits you’ve been through with Taehyung, this one was his favorite. You could really say he’s obsessed with the dead King! Even with 6 more exhibits to his name. Taehyung spent almost all of his time in this section.

“I think I could talk about this guy in my sleep!” You laugh, nudging his side playfully, “And should you really be calling him ‘hyung’? If anything, he’s an ‘ahjussi’ to you.”

“Yes, but I know so much about him that he feels like a hyung to me!” He argues with a certain admiration in his eyes, “I’ve spent years waiting for this moment to have him in one of my exhibits, and now he’s right at my fingertips!”

He really isn’t exaggerating either. Before the king arrived, Taehyung would show you continuous updates about his uncovering and the updates on how his body was kept. The day his exhibit was approved, you thought he was going to explode. Of all the curators and all of the possible museums, he got King Namjoon. Anyone who didn’t know would’ve thought he won the lottery. In a way, he did.

“His exhibit here is a permanent one, Tae. He’s not going anywhere, so you don’t have to worry about him leaving anytime soon.” You assure him, placing a hand on his arm. Your smile turns into a grin, “What I am worried about is you leaving soon. Get out of my museum before I go find Yoongi.”

“I’m not afraid of Yoongi.” You raise an eyebrow at him and his shoulders drop, “Okay, so maybe I’m terrified of Yoongi, but that’s not important right now!”

You give his shoulder a light nudge, “Go home, Taehyung. The rest of your hyung will be here tomorrow.” You tease.

He sighs and leans his head back, “You say that like he didn’t arrive all put together. He’s a mummy, not Frankenstein.”

You hit his arm, “Get out of here.”

“Okay!” He stands up and turns to you with a boxy grin, “I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t work too hard.”

“I never do.” You wave him off, watching him saunter out of the exhibit with a little jump in his step. Even after 14 hours on the clock of rounding the museum to look at his works, he’s still running like he just woke up. Some days you wish you could be as happy with your job as Taehyung is, but how many people truly loved working the night shift in a dark, quiet museum?

* * *

“Alright, let’s make this fast and efficient everyone!” Yoongi barks, walking up to the loading dock where you and Hoseok stand on opposite sides of the doors. He eyes the unloading crew unlocking the truck and sends them a warning glare, “It’s a full moon tonight, and I will not be out at 3am like last time.”

“You need to relax, Yoongi,” Hoseok warns him, still standing across from you, “It’s just a few small pieces and then we’ll be out of here before your ‘witching hour’ is here.”

Hoseok wiggles his fingers for a “spooky emphasis” and you stifle a chuckle. Yoongi is not as amused, “Laugh all you want, but at least I won’t be dead.”

“Is that a threat? Can I file an HR complaint?” Hoseok asks.

Yoongi sighs, “Just do your job while they unload so we can leave.”

You offer a teasing grin and a nod, “Yes sir~”

Yoongi walks away and Taehyung replaces him, standing next to you instead of in the way of the workers. He rolls back and forth on his feet, watching happily as if he were a child at Christmas.

“Did I tell you what’s coming today?” He asks.

You roll your eyes, “I’m sure you may have mentioned it here or there.”

Of course, you know what was coming in. Your job is to protect it with your life. Hoseok gave you the run down via text on your last 5 shifts and again today as soon as you walked through the doors. More paintings, a chair, a dusty old book, and the shining jewel of the King’s tomb.

“His lover’s necklace!” Taehyung beams, “According to what we know, this necklace was used by the King to find his soulmate. We believe that because he didn’t take a queen, he never found his other half.”

You shrug, “Maybe he wasn’t really looking.”

“Maybe...maybe not. Most historians believe he mummified himself so when fate brings his soulmate to him, he’d wake again and they’d spend eternity together.” He turns to you and flicks your forehead, “You would know if you actually paid attention to me.”

You push him back, “Well, excuse me if I can’t listen to you talk about his majesty for more than 10 minutes a week.”

Taehyung rolls his eyes and turns back to the movers. His annoyance quickly turns to excitement as he catches sight on the last box being carried in, “Is that the necklace?”

“Uh…” The man carrying the box looks at the label on the side, nodding to Taehyung in confirmation, “Yes sir.”

“Oh! Follow me!” Taehyung grabs your arm and pulls you after him. You turn your head back to Hoseok for help but he’s already waving you off while he closes the loading doors. You both follow the crew member to the table where a few other small items are being opened already, waiting long enough for the man to open the box for you. You can’t see the inside of the crate with Taehyung in your way, but he gets the first look at whatever dingy piece of jewelry is inside. He flails in excitement, “Look at this!”

Taehyung rushes forward, pushing the man helping him out of the way to reach into the box. When he turns around, he holds a smaller box in his hand, “It’s right here!”

“That’s another box…” You point out, eyes narrowed in irritation.

“It’s not just another box!” He argues. He undoes the latch and pulls the lid back towards him, revealing the most beautiful necklace you’ve ever seen. A delicate string of silver stones bedazzled with small fuschia gems all laced together with a golden band weaving under and over. It glistens in the shine of the storage room work lights, drawing you in with every hypnotizing twinkle. 

Taehyung smiles knowingly, enjoying your sudden engrossment in the artifact, “Isn’t it gorgeous?”

You nod, wanting nothing more than to reach out and touch the delicate jewel. It takes a surprising amount of restraint from you just to pull away, “It’s definitely pretty.”

Yoongi claps his hands from the table beside you, “Let’s get these up to the Ancient Dynasties exhibit and in their places so we can get out of here.”

Everyone takes a box and begins to move upstairs, you and Hoseok helping the men with the old chair to ensure it doesn’t get stuck on anything. With the few items left to be brought into the exhibit, it didn’t take long at all for everything to be settled into their rightful places. 

“Perfect! It’s all perfect!” Taehyung cheers, clapping his hands and squeezing them together. His excitement for this event was unmatched, and you know that in the morning when you see him next, he’ll be bouncing up and down just as he is now.

Hoseok nods to you, “Let’s lock them up.”

“Right.” You pull out your keyring and begin the process of going case to case while Hoseok sets their alarms after you. You make it all the way around the room until you stand in front of the necklace again. It’s beauty draws you in, having never seen something like this before. Many would think it too bulky and busy for someone to wear everyday, but a part of you could see it’s appeal.

A part of you wouldn’t mind wearing it at all. 

Taehyung walks over to where you stand locking the cases and audibly gasps behind you, “Fix it!”

You jump, “Fix what?”

“The necklace! It’s not straight!” He points at the case and you turn your attention back to the object beneath the glass. Staring at with a clearer mind, it is indeed tilted just slightly to the left. If you were to just glance at it, you probably would have never noticed. But nothing could get past a perfectionist like Taehyung, “We have to fix it now!”

“Okay!” To appease the overly attentive curator, you unlock the case and adjust the necklace yourself. You pull the delicate string of stone and gem into place, locking it back up when you’re done. It glimmers in the corner of your eye as you turn back to Taehyung, “Better?”

He grins, knowing fully well that you’re more than annoyed with him, “Perfect.”

“Alright, now that we’re all done, everyone needs to leave so I can go home.” Yoongi announces.

Hoseok chuckles, “You really don’t want to be up past midnight do you?”

“I don’t care about being up past midnight. I don’t want to be out past midnight.” The older man grumbles, most likely cursing the other in the back of his mind, “There’s a difference.”

“Sure there is.” Hoseok teases, making Yoongi glare at him even harder than before. He turns to the movers and waves for them to follow him, “Gentlemen, let me show you back to your truck. We wouldn’t want the grump over here to bite your head off.”

The group follows after Hoseok and so does Yoongi, “You’re so lucky you’re my friend, Hoseok, or I would fire you so fast.”

Hoseok only laughs at his loose threat, “Well, if you’d like to take the bus then be my guest.”

They all leave the exhibit and you turn to Taehyung who still stands in front of the case admiring the necklace inside, “So, I’ll see you early tomorrow, Tae?”

He turns back to you and gives you a large, reassuring smile, “Bright and early.” 

“Go and get some rest for your big day then.” You say, placing a hand on his back and nudging him towards the door.

You watch him leave the exhibit, laughing at the way he dances to the music playing in his head. You take the responsibility of closing the gate, glancing over the exhibits contents between the bars before following Taehyung yourself. You say goodbye to Yoongi and Hoseok at the front door, ensuring the door gets locked behind them before getting to your own duties that were halted because of the shipment.

---

It’s later in the evening when you finally get to make your rounds through the empty halls of the museum. You’d checked every camera in the building twice, filling out your night paperwork as well as the visitor log for Hoseok to look over in the morning as you went. All you really had to do was roam the halls every now and then, keeping an eye on the monitors for anything suspicious.

The night shift was never quite as tiring as the day shift. Your interaction with patrons or real people was always far below what Hoseok and the dayshift would have to deal with - that was part of the reason you chose to take over the night shift. It was a bit more time consuming with just you, but hopefully Hoseok will find someone to replace Chanyeol before the New Year.

You hear a faint bang down the corridor and you pause. You’ve heard bumps like this before, mostly when it would rain and the tree by the ramp outside would hit the window. Rain wasn’t on the forecast for the evening, but that had never stopped it before. Not so easily scared, you continue on down the hall, stopping at the end of the hall when you hear it again.

“What the fuck…?” You say to yourself, a slight shake in your voice. The bang sounds again and you reach for your flashlight, it being the only protection against intruders. 

In the three years you’ve worked as a security guard, you’ve never had a break in. Even before you, there had never once been an attempt by anyone to steal anything. In reality, the alarms should’ve gone off by now if someone had made their way into the museum. That meant that someone was smart enough to get past the security system, or you were going crazy.

You really hope you’re going crazy.

You make your way down the hallway, following the bumps and bangs into the Ancient Dynasties exhibit. The gate is locked - it hasn’t been unlocked since you left the room at midnight - but the noise isn’t one easily mistaken. 

Against your better judgement you unlock the gate, stepping in and leaving the gate cracked behind you. If you needed a quick escape, then you wanted to be able to yank it closed as well. The noises cease as soon as you’re completely past the gate, sending an ominous chill up your spine. At a glance, nothing in the room seems out of place. Nothing looks to have been moved or damaged, but that does little to settle your unease.

“This is normal...everything is normal.” You say to yourself, trying to trick yourself into having the courage to move forward.

You spot the necklace in it’s spot close to the sarcophagus. It’s glass remains intact, just like every other item within the exhibit’s walls. It would make sense for someone to come after it considering it’s value, yet there it remains untouched.

“So where did the banging come fr-Agh!” You scream as the sarcophagus lid bursts open, falling to the floor in front of it and ripping the ropes connected to the wall right out.  

Inside the now open casket, the ancient king covered in tattered, dusty cloth rolls his head. You can see his mouth move from underneath the dirt as he yawns. His arms raise to stretch in front of him, the mummy taking one step out of his box.

You can only stand in shock as you watch what happens in front of you. You had to be dreaming. There was no way you were actually awake witnessing a dead king coming to life in front of you. This had to be some sort of sick joke from Yoongi for calling him short. Maybe Johnny for calling him out in front of that group of fourth graders. Someone has to be messing with you. 

The mummy turns his head to you and your breath hitches. You’ve never wanted to have seen The Mummy so much in one moment than this one, wishing you knew what exactly to do in this situation. You wish your feet would move, but they’re planted so firmly to the ground that they feel more like cement than limbs.

The monster before you takes a step in your direction, and you scream. You will yourself to move back, but you can’t stop yourself from stumbling over your own feet. You trip and land on your bottom, your body not even registering the pain as you attempt to scoot back away from the danger that continues to follow after you.

Every step he takes is another scream that releases from your lungs, your fear getting the best of you. It isn’t until your back hits the large display case that helps to divide the room that you realize you have nowhere else to go. You turn your head away, preparing yourself for whatever is about to come.

But nothing does.

You take a peek at the tall being before you and notice that he’s stopped moving, towering over your cowering form with his head tilted. His mouth opens and sounds come out, but his speech is muffled by the bandages. He seems to realize this though as his bandaged hands fly to his face.

You watch him pat around his face and neck until he finds a loose cloth, pulling it out and beginning the process of unwrapping his face. You watch in horror, unsure if the image before you will haunt you forever or not. To see what’s left of a 1,000 year old decomposed body that’s been “preserved” was something you never thought you would ever have to bear witness to. Hopefully, your therapist for this experience will understand.

If you get that far.

However, you weren’t expecting to see a full head of healthy brown hair appear as he went, nor did you expect to see healthy, tanned skin be freed from the confines as well. Brown eyes meet yours and a smile is uncovered, “Hello.” 

“Hi...” You blink rapidly, hoping if you do it enough times your vision will clear, but the man in front of you still half-covered in gauze doesn’t disappear. You shake your head, “Am I awake?”

“You are as awake as I am.” He says with a pleasant smile.

“That’s not a very reassuring answer...” You can’t help but stare at him in awe and wonder just how this was happening. Of course, Taehyung had told you countless times about this supposed curse or whatever it was, but you thought it was all just a hoax your ancestors believed in. There is no possible way that you are actually awake and experiencing reincarnation or rebirth or whatever this is firsthand.

“Ow!” You feel a pinch on your calf, pulling you from your thoughts and back to the matter at hand. Or more specifically, the person before you. 

“Well, did you feel that?” He asks. In your dazed state, you hadn’t noticed the man bend to your level and reach out to pinch you with rag covered fingers. The dust and mold leave a stain on your work pants and you can’t help but frown in disgust, “Yeah. Yeah, unfortunately I did.”

“You must be frightened and confused. Allow me to introduce myself-” He bows his head to you from where he kneels on the floor, “-I am King Kim Namjoon of Korea.” He looks back up and smiles bright, showcasing his dimples, “It is my pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.” 

You tilt your head in confusion at his choice of words, “I’m sorry, you’ve been waiting for me? I don’t understand.”

“Are you not aware of our bond?” He asks, tilting his own head to the side.

Of course you know about his bond, it’s all that Taehyung has ever told you about! His necklace was gifted by the moon goddess so that when his soulmate touches it, he’ll wake up and they’l-

It takes you a moment to realize that he believes you to be his long lost soulmate, and you’re ready to spiral into another frenzy when you do, “No…” 

Soulmates aren’t real. Nobody just walks around and bumps into their soulmate on the street. They don’t hear their voice in the back of their heads. They don’t wait over 1,000 years to be matched with a fucking dead guy.

“No.” You repeat, more confident in yourself. 

“I understand you may be confused as to what this all must mean, but I’ll explain it to you-” Namjoon tries to reach out to you again, but you’re quick to push him away this time.

You stand from the floor in a rush and take two steps towards the center of the room where the two display cases separate and show a clear path to the exhibit’s only exit, “No, you won’t. Please return to your box.” 

He stands up after you but stops when he sees you step back again, “But we’re destined to be together!”

“Destiny isn’t real! This-” You gesture with both hands from you to him, “-isn’t real!”

“Our bond is as real as you and I!” He argues. You can feel the want and passion dripping from his voice. It isn’t hard to tell how much he truly believes you’re his soulmate, but he’s dead wrong - no pun intended. “I’ve spent so long waiting for you.”

“Nope.” It didn’t matter how many times he flashes you that lovestruck look. Soulmates weren’t real, and whatever is going on in front of you isn’t real either, “This isn’t happening.” You turn away from him, resorting to pacing out your frustrations instead of voicing them. 

Namjoon watches you with a disappointed frown and slumped shoulders, “Well, this isn’t how this was supposed to happen.” He mumbles.

You attempt to calm your breathing, pleading with your rationale to find some way - any way - to explain what’s happening. The whole interaction felt like a crazy fever dream that manifested on the worst day of a cold. They’re always weird, but they’re never this realistic. 

You turn back around to address the not-so-dead king and yelp when you see him pulling at his wrap, “What are you doing?!” You ask as he tugs and pulls at the rotten fabric.

Namjoon looks up, pausing his ministrations to give you an answer, “I’m removing these incessant wrappings.”

He returns to his unwrapping, leaving you to watch him as he goes. He wasn’t naked - thankfully - but you weren’t prepared for him to immediately unwrap himself. In all honesty, you wanted him to wrap himself back up and return to his box. Fortunately for you, under his wrappings he wears a loose white shirt and loose tan pants, his shoes long forgotten. 

When he finally frees himself, he takes a moment to look around the room. His gaze trails over the walls, “What is this place? Why are we not in my tomb?”

“You’re in a museum.” You explain, watching closely to gauge his reaction. In a way, he wasn’t really that old in retrospect, but you doubt he’d seen a museum before.

He turns to look at you, just as confused as you expected him to be, “What is that?”

You shrug, “It’s a place where people go to see old things and art.”

Namjoon breaks into a smile, a red tint coloring his cheeks, “I wouldn’t say I’m art.”

“I didn’t.” You say, causing Namjoon’s face to drop just the slightest.

He’s quick to mask his disappointment with a polite smile. Turning to the side of the case he stands on, he looks back to the exhibit around him. He looks up and his eyes trail over the lights above him, “What dynasty is this?” He asks. 

“Uh...the capitalist dynasty?” You reply, unsure of what you would call this era of time. Namjoon looks confused and you sigh, “You’re in the 21st century.”

“Fascinating…” He takes a long look over the glass case a few feet in front of him - the one that holds the crown made for his queen - before he moves forward, reaches out, and swipes a hand over top of it, collecting a thin sheen of dust on his fingertips.

“Don’t do that!” You rush forward and grab his wrist, pulling it away in fear of the alarm going off. Anybody who even got too close to it should set it off, yet no siren wails at his touch. The alarms had been set by Hoseok himself, so they have to be broken if neither of you were setting it off, “What…?”

“Can I have my arm back, or is this a new rude custom I’m unaware of?” Namjoon asks, staring at the place on his wrist your hand holds hostage. 

“No, just-...” You release his arm and take a breath as a poor attempt to remain calm, “-just don’t touch anything.”

“We’ll need to touch the case to get your necklace so we can return to my home together.” He says as if what he suggested was completely normal for him.

You’re once again taken aback by his words, unsure if you heard him correctly or not, “I’m sorry?” You ask.

“We’re soulmates,” He explains, “It’s only natural for you to come live with me, so we can spend our days together.”

“We will not be going anywhere together!” You tell him. You step forward and grab him by the shoulders, turning him around so he faces his sarcophagus. You attempt to push him, “You will be staying here in your box, and you’re going to go back to sleep.”

Namjoon fights against your attempts, digging his feet into the hardwood floor beneath him. He scowls at the realization of what you’re trying to do, “Did you not hear what I said earlier? You are my destined lover. That’s how this is supposed to work!”

“And I told you that destiny isn’t real!” You argue, now using your shoulder to push all of your weight against him.

Namjoon turns to face you, causing you to lose your balance and fall forward. Namjoon grabs your arms before you can fall to the floor, using this opportunity to hold you close, “Is my life not enough proof for you?”

Dark brown eyes bore into your own, his sincerity written all over his features. You can tell he’s hurt, but you can’t help but continue to fight against him, “I don’t know! I’m still trying to process everything that’s happening right now!” 

“As soon as we leave, I will explain everything to you in much greater detail.” He says, now offering a smile. However, leaving with him is the last thing you wish to do.

You push away from him and take a few steps back towards the exhibit's entrance, “We are not leaving.”

“I am a king, I have wealth beyond your wildest dreams! I can take care of you and it is my job to do so.” He reaches out and takes you by your wrist, “We’re going!”

“I don’t even know you!” You yell, pulling your arm away from him once more and stepping closer towards the exit behind you.

Namjoon looks annoyed, but he takes a deep breath before he continues to try and pursued you, “Why don’t you allow us to get to know each other then? At least tell me your name.”

“Just-” You pause, unsure of what you should even do. You take a few more steps back and he follows, “Stay there!” You demand, raising a finger to him. He does as told - whether he wishes to or not - and allows you to take a few more steps back until you catch sight of the gate in your peripherals. As long as he stays where he is, you could slip out without him, “Good.”

Namjoon, however, takes offense to you keeping your distance from him. This was no way to treat a king, especially ‘your’ king nonetheless, “Do not speak to me as if I am a child! I am a king, may I remind you.”

“You may. But may I also remind you that your rule ended over 1,000 years ago and you no longer hold any power.” You say, watching the frown on his features deepen into a scowl. With every minute that passes, his calm exterior continues to break, showing you his true nature. You take this moment of weakness against him and reach for his exhibit key on your belt, “I, however, am in charge of this museum after hours, so you have to listen to me.”

“I am a man-” He tries to argue, but you’re quick to shut his misogyny down.

“-And I am a woman,” You retort, thumbing through the labeled keys. Hoseok always made fun of you for trying to organize them, but it looks like the jokes on him. Not that he would really believe you if you told him. 

“Your man card doesn’t work in this age, so try something else, your highness~” You tease.

Namjoon crosses his arms over his chest and glares, “You have quite the tongue when you’re not screaming.”

“Thank you, I get it from my grandmother. Now-” You slip through the crack you left in the gate and pull it close, pulling his key from it’s retractable clip and locking him in, “-go back to sleep.”

He blinks a few times before he moves towards you. He places his hands on the bars and pulls at them, but they don’t budge under him. His eyes widen in shock and he turns to you, “Did you just lock me in here?”

“I did.” You nod, smug smile and all.

“Unlock it. Now.” He demands, tightening his hold on the bars.

“Hm…” You pretend to contemplate his request, tapping a finger against your chin before you come to a fake decision, “No.” 

“You insolent girl!” Namjoon yells, banging his fists against the gate that holds him.

You step back with wide eyes, stunned by his sudden outburst. You knew you were making him angry, but not this angry, “Wow, that’s one way to talk to your apparent soulmate.”

“I’ve been pleasant long enough! It’s time for you to accept the truth and let. Me. Out!” He demands.

You shake your head, “I don’t think I will.”

“You’re being unreasonable.” He huffs. 

Staring at him through the bars, you take in his features. He’s angry, that much is clear. But there’s something else about him that just seems more hurt than anything. You don’t want to feel bad for him, but you have to give him credit where it’s due.

You release an exasperated sigh, “Look, I’m sorry, okay? This is probably hard for you and...a fever dream for me-” Fever dream is perhaps the most lax way to describe this experience, “-but I think your necklace chose the wrong person.”

Namjoon stiffens and he almost looks offended at your assumption, “The moon goddess is never wrong.”

“Well, this time she is,” You insist.

“So what do you expect me to do?” He asks.

You shrug, “I’d prefer it if you went back into your box.”

“You want me to live my life in a box? After I’ve already spent so much time in it?!” He asks.

“Yes! No...I-” You’re unsure of what to say. On one hand, you feel a bit guilty asking him to return to a box he’s spent 1,000 years in. He died once, believing that when he woke he’d be greeted by his one true love. Instead he woke up to you screaming at him. 

But on the other hand, he was supposed to be dead. 

You sigh, “I don’t know what I want, but I can’t deal with-...” You raise your hands, grasping at the air before gesturing to him, “-this.”

The king looks offended, but he holds his tongue. Instead he crosses his arms and straightens his posture, “Well, I will not be going back in that box.”

“Wha-?” You cut yourself off, in disbelief of this man’s stubbornness. You huff, “Then go find your palace or wherever you lived before!”

He shakes his head, “I won’t leave if you refuse to leave with me.”

“Then you better get used to your view, because this is all you’ll be seeing!” You state, finally having enough of him. You turn on your heel and begin to walk away, something you should have done when you first came up to the exhibit.

“You’ll come to realize that our intertwined fates will not go away just because you wish them to!” He calls after you, his voice echoing off the walls around you, “And then you’ll be crawling back to me!”

When you continue walking and refuse to answer him, he yells again, “At least let me explore!”

“Not happening!” You call over your shoulder.

“This is humiliating! You can’t do this!” You hear him rattling the gate again, but you pay him no mind. “Come back here, you insolent child!”

You bypass every other exhibit that you were supposed to check, instead rushing back to the safety of your office. Once you’re in you bolt the door behind you, just in case anything else in the building decided it needed to come to life as well. You drop yourself in your office chair and take a moment to yourself, giving yourself time to take in all of the events that just transpired.

The mummy from the new exhibit just came to life, you were somehow able to talk to him without passing out, he thinks you’re his soulmate, and now he’s upset with you because you locked him in his exhibit that he shouldn’t be freely roaming in. 

You turn to your monitor and switch through feeds until you find Namjoon’s exhibit. He’s still standing by the closed gate, his hands slipped through the bars to try and fiddle with the lock. His posture that he once held with you is lacking, not as pristine as it was before. You can’t help but watch him with pity as his attempts to get out continue to fail.

But you can’t bring yourself to go back before the night ends.

30 minutes before the morning shift was due to come in, you use the intercom to tell Namjoon he’d have to return to his sarcophagus for the day. You couldn’t hear him, but you didn’t need a microphone to know he was not only confused but also very unhappy about that. You managed to convince him by informing him they would take him away to rot in a cell without you if he didn’t, and that seemed to kick him into gear. 

Thankfully, he didn’t need your help making it back to his bed or putting the cover on top. You were not about to go down to his exhibit. Especially when the room itself looked completely untouched on the camera. The ropes that had been torn from the wall were back in their place as if nothing had ever happened, and the wrappings the King decided to discard were nowhere to be seen.

After that, you sat and waited for the morning shift to come and take over for you. You said good morning to all of your coworkers, and then you left. You went home and you went to bed, but waking again didn’t feel like a new experience. The looming feeling of knowing what awaits when you get to work again haunts you until your once again clearing the exhibits for the night. 

You make it to the exhibit that has weighed you down for the past 12 hours and you hesitate to step inside. Clearing the room and locking it up will start the night, and then you’re left with the chances of seeing him again. Seeing him again means that everything you saw last night wasn’t a joke, and that you really have a living mummy in your museum.

What’s worse is he thinks you're his true love. 

You come across Taehyung, once again sitting on the bench in front of the king’s sarcophagus. He wears a loose white button down and a pair of black dress pants, balancing a sketch pad on his thigh. He attempts to draw the exhibits main attraction with the altar that took weeks to create. If only he knew the object of his affections was alive and well only 15 feet away from him.

“Having fun there?” You ask, sitting next to the fashionable curator.

He takes a moment to answer, defining a line on his paper before he acknowledges you, “I always do when I’m here with Namjoon-hyung.” You roll your eyes at his use of ‘hyung’ and he chuckles. He turns his attention back to his paper, “Did you have a good rest of your night?”

You feel every bone in your body tense at the mention of the previous night. Last night was almost an out of body experience for you, and there was no real way to describe what you went through.

You shrug, “It was okay, same old same old.”

“That’s good! I’m glad you’re doing well here on your own at night.” He looks up from his shading and sets his pencil down, his expression becoming somber, “It must be hard without Chanyeol.”

“Yeah, it can be...” Working without Chanyeol really wasn’t any worse than working together. The only thing is now your new coworker is a 1,000 year old un-dead guy, but that’s a little much to explain, “But it’s fine! It really isn’t that strenuous on me at all.”

He smiles at your response and turns to look at his drawing, “I guess I’m holding you up aren’t I?” 

You want to tell him more than anything that today you want him to stay just a little longer. Today is the day you want to hear all about every exhibit in the museum. More than anything, you just don’t want to face Namjoon alone, but no one would believe you if you told them the truth. So instead, you hum in agreement.

“Alright, I’ll get out of here. I’ll see you tomorrow!” Once again, you watch him pack up and dance his way out of the exhibit. Only today you follow close behind, locking the king’s exhibit and rushing to the next - much more normal - exhibit.

 ---

It’s surreal to watch Namjoon through a screen. Sure, seeing him the other night was an experience, but to see that your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you is another trip entirely! With Namjoon truly existing, that leads you to really question his claims. You did touch the necklace, but so had plenty of others. Not to mention, it took him almost 3 hours after you’d touched it to wake up, so who’s to say that Taehyung isn’t his true soulmate? Even Yoongi could be!

Anyone but you.

He’s much more different now that he’s ‘chilled out’ from last night’s events. He’s no longer pacing back and forth or banging on his exhibit’s gate - though he has tried to pull it open once or twice. Now, he just sits on the bench where you had sat with Taehyung, only he sits facing away from his final resting place. 

He looks to be in deep thought, as if he’s contemplating something as he stares ahead of him. You like him better this way, calm and quiet instead of trying too hard to convince you to run away with him. This king you could babysit until he fell back asleep as he should’ve been in the first place.

With him seemingly content, you allow yourself to work on other things you’d normally do throughout the night. You mainly focus on the online coursework you didn’t get done due to the distraction on the screen in front of you, organizing your office in between assignments. You don’t really pay any mind to your cameras until you catch movement coming from Namjoon’s.

On the screen, he appears to be waving his arms and yelling, resembling those people you see on TV when someone gets injured. You can’t help but sigh. You’ve been putting off your rounds just so you wouldn’t have to go by his exhibit for him to accost you, now you didn’t have a choice but to go see what was troubling him before he broke something.

You grab your flashlight and tuck it into its place on your belt clip, leaving the safety of your office to see what his majesty so desperately needs from you. It must be desperate if he’s yelling for the entire city to hear. You quicken your pace to get there faster, hopefully before anybody besides you has the chance to hear his cries.

“Soulmate!” He yells, his voice clear as day as you reach level 3, “Come here! I demand your presence!” 

“If you don’t stop yelling for everyone to hear you, then I’m going to turn around and leave you alone!” You yell back, assuming he hears you when the yelling doesn’t continue. You make it to the gate of his exhibit and find him waiting for you with his arms crossed, no longer as relaxed as he was when the night began. 

“What?” You ask, stopping in front of him.

He doesn’t give you the pleasure of knowing right away. Instead, he looks you up and down with a hard glare, “You didn’t bring me food.”

“That’s what you’re yelling about?” You ask in disbelief.

Namjoon takes offense to your indifference, “Yes! For your information, I am very hungry for someone who hasn’t eaten in over 1,000 years.”

In hindsight, you’d most likely be a little angry too if you hadn’t eaten in so long as well - though it’s not really an excuse for his behavior last night. But explaining why an unconscious guy was chilling on the floor of a locked exhibit with security footage showing him coming out of the sarcophagus would not be fun for anyone involved. 

“I’ll be right back.” You leave him to run back to the break room, grabbing the prepackaged lunch you had bought for yourself, a pair of disposable chopsticks, and a banana milk that you kept stashed behind Hoseok’s forgotten lunchbox before heading back up. 

Namjoon gives you a strange look when you come back, his eyes trained on the box in your hand, “What is that?”

“It was my lunch, but you probably need this more than me.” You look for the key to his exhibit on your belt, sifting through until you find the right label and pull it up to unlock the gate. You pause before turning the lock, “Move back to the case.”

“Really?” Namjoon asks, his eyes narrowed in a glare. You return your own glare until he finally gives in and takes the steps back to the case as you asked him to, “Happy?”

You nod and turn the lock over, opening the gate and slipping inside with the food you brought for him. You hand him the lunchbox and the milk before you reach into your back pocket for the chopsticks, “Sorry if it’s not what you’re used to, but this is all I’ve got-”

“-There’s no need.” He raises a hand to stop you - an action that irks you to no end - and sits on the floor with the food you’ve given him. You watch as he struggles with the tape that holds it together, holding back your laughter when he manages to get it off the box and stuck to his fingers instead. He seems to relax when he rubs it off on the floor, but his next challenge comes when he opens the packet of chopsticks and there’s only one inside, “What this?!”

“I’m going to assume you’ve never seen this before.” You bend down to his level to take the chopsticks from him, holding each one and pulling them apart to create two, perfectly good chopsticks. You bite back a laugh when you see the amazement written across Namjoon’s face, “Pretty cool, yeah?”

“Very…” He says. You hand him the chopsticks, watching with amusement as he tries to fit them back together. One drops and he fumbles to catch it before he realizes you’re still watching him, quickly using the utensils to shove food in his mouth as a distraction. 

“Here.” Not wanting him to embarrass himself further, you take his banana milk and open it for him, setting it beside him while he eats. He takes a moment to take a sip and his eyes widen in surprise.

“What is this?” He asks, holding the bottle close to his face to inspect the label.

You shrug, “It’s just banana milk.” 

“Well, it tastes fantastic!” He tilts his head back and chugs the rest of it, wiping his mouth before turning back to you with the same expression of a puppy ready to play, “Is there more?”

“Uh…” You hesitate to answer, afraid he’ll try to boss you around again, “Yeah, we do.”

“Bring me-!” He stops when he sees your expression sour. Instead, he clears his throat and bows his head, “If you wouldn’t mind, could I please have another?”

“Sure thing.” You smile, and he smiles back. It wasn’t much, but it felt like an understanding after the fiasco that happened the night before. 

So, you rush back while he continues eating, grabbing two more banana milks and a bag of chips for you to munch on yourself. When you come back, you’re not surprised to see that he’s finished his food and left the box laying on the floor with the empty milk container. You want to be upset with him for just leaving his trash lying around, but it’s hard to be mad at him when he’s trying so hard to work the kiosk.

“This infernal contraption doesn’t work!” He yells, hitting the top of it as if that would somehow make it work. Of course, he’s not the only person to try this - you’ve seen many middle aged men try to do the same thing when you close - but it would only prove to break if he didn’t dial it back.

“Don’t do that!” You rush to his side and push his hands away, blocking him from touching the kiosk any more. “You can’t just hit things and expect them to work. That’s not how people solve their problems.”

“Well, it doesn’t have a mouth, so how am I supposed to talk to it?” He questions.

“Okay…” You heave a sigh and grab the headphones that rest on the kiosk’s base, a pair for you and a pair for Namjoon. You place yours on your head and then move to place Namjoon’s over his ears. He flinches away from your touch and you pull back a bit, “It’s okay, I’m just going to show you how this works.”

He relaxes, bowing his head so you can place the headphones over his ears. Once they’re well adjusted, you tap the screen of the kiosk to bring it to life. You read through the options designed for the exhibit, choosing to let it read through information about Namjoon himself.

“The Kim Dynasty-” The woman’s voice fills both of your ears, scaring Namjoon so much that he jumps back and his headphones clang to the floor.

His scared expression is priceless, eyes wide and hands raised to defend himself. You laugh, picking up his headphones and extending them to him, “That’s supposed to happen.”

“How is it doing that? Is there a woman trapped in each of these?” He asks, eyeing the other kiosks that line the wall beside the one you share.

You shake your head, “It’s called a recording. They made a copy of her voice and put it in here so the people that come here can learn more about you.”

“Oh…” He accepts your answer and the headphones in your hand, “I see the moon goddess has been very busy.”

“Here.” You grab his hand and fix it so his pointer finger sticks out, guiding his hand so it presses lightly against the glass to select a different option. A new section of Namjoon’s life begins to play and Namjoon seems impressed by the ‘power’ he holds in one appendage. “This is called a touch-screen. You just have to tap the buttons on the screen and it’ll change.”

He nods, staring intently at the screen before him. He tilts his head and taps the little home button at the top left, surprised when the screen changes from a video to the screen it started on. He smiles, his dimples popping out as he chooses another option, “This is amazing!”

His smile is infectious, as well as his eagerness to learn more about the technology in front of him, “I’ll just leave you to play with that for a bit, I have a job to do.”

“Yes! Okay.” He waves you off, paying more attention to the kiosk than to you. 

You lock the gate behind you when you leave, though it doesn’t seem like Namjoon even took notice of either action. Even after you rush through your duties to come back to him sooner, he’s still playing with the same kiosk with a child’s enthusiasm.

“You’re really enjoying yourself.” You muse, standing off to the side behind him.

Namjoon nods, his fingers still dancing across the screen, “This technology is amazing! If only we had this in my dynasty. I can only imagine the advantages we would have had.”

You nod in agreement, “Yeah, it definitely comes in handy. Though, a lot of people believe it’s made us weaker as a society.”

“I can see why. Everything I could ever want to know about myself is right here at my fingertips,” He says, scrolling through the different options he could look through. He comes across a picture of himself and grimaces, “I wish they would have used a different portrait.”

You chuckle in amusement, “Well, if you’re not having my trouble, then I‘m going to get back to my office.” You go to leave the room again when Namjoon grabs you by the arm.

“Wait!” He yells, pulling you back to him. It takes him a second to realize what he did before he let’s go, “Sorry!” 

“It’s fine.” You mumble. 

“I just-...” The king pauses, taking a moment to collect himself, “I wanted to know if I could look at more exhibits tomorrow?”

His eyes look down into yours, so hopeful for a good answer. You’re unsure, “I don’t know…” You want to say yes to him, but there’s so much at stake if you were to let him walk around on his own. Granted, he couldn’t trip the alarms, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t break anything. 

“I won’t touch anything, I swear!” He promises, both of his hands reaching out to take your own. He holds them to his chest, lightly cradling against the fabric of his shirt as he begs you, “I just don’t want to spend the rest of my time sitting in this room when there’s so much more around me.”

That gets you.

If there was one thing you could understand, it was being somewhere new with so much knowledge that you just had to know more. For someone like Namjoon, this was more than that. He had a whole world to try to come to terms with, and he was standing in the best place to do so. If you denied him that, then would you be able to deal with it?

“Tomorrow.” You say, “I’ll let you explore the museum tomorrow.”

Namjoon’s eyes light up and it looks like a weight is lifted right off of his shoulders. He doesn’t hesitate to bow to you, “Thank you, soulmate.”

“It’s not the whole museum!” You add quickly, “And my name is (Y/n).” He seems unhappy at first, but he does eventually nod to give his thanks where it was due. You give a polite bow back, “You’re welcome.”

The next night comes all too quickly for you. Leaving him alone to explore was more than nerve wracking. You were probably out of your mind for even considering letting him out on his own, let alone trusting him in the first place. Sitting in your office you’d check the camera’s every few minutes just to be sure he was still in the hall, or you’d pinpoint his last location and make your final round of the museum according to how he’d walk through the halls.

That first night, Namjoon only went through his exhibit and the rest of level 3. Occasionally you’d catch him playing with a water fountain on the camera’s in front of the bathroom. Another time you caught him turning towards a planter and you quickly changed screens, reminding yourself to open a bathroom for him for the next night. 

As two more nights pass, you notice his want to get closer to the exhibits than to just sit on the outside. More often than not, you caught him with his face pressed against the metal bars trying to get a closer look at everything. It wasn’t hard to tell that he wanted to be in the room with the art itself, but a part of you is still worried to let him have that extra inch.

It’s only on the 5th night when Taehyung takes notice of your woes that you change your mind.

“What’s wrong?” He asks, leaning over himself on the bench to look at you. You sit with your hands in your lap just staring at Namjoon in front of you, wondering if you can really trust him to continue keeping his word. You don’t notice Taehyung, nor do you hear his question. He rolls his eyes and taps your knee twice, “Hey!”

“Huh?” You blink away your thoughts and turn your attention to him. Unaware of what he asked, you tilt your head in confusion, “What?”

Taehyung hums to himself and nods, “I’m right, something is wrong with you.”

“What do you mean something’s wrong with me?” You ask defensively.

Taehyung sighs and shows you his watch, showing you that it’s 5 minutes past weekday closing time, “This is the longest you’ve let me sit here rambling to myself. 10 minutes past our normal time!”

You shake your head, content to push him away, “I’m just a bit distracted, that’s all.”

“By what? Is it a work problem? Family troubles? You can tell me, I’ll listen!” He assures you. 

You have no doubt in your mind that he will listen to you, but how do you explain your situation is the real problem at hand. There were only so many excuses in the world, and if you weren’t careful you might get yourself fired just for using a bad analogy.

You weigh your options and sigh, “My niece - she’s really little and way too rambunctious to come here - really wants to come and see the art on display. I want her to come see where I work because I know she likes the art, but I know my sister is worried about her breaking something or causing a scene.”

“Hmm...I see.” Taehyung hums, not showing any sign of suspicion against you. He really thinks about your ‘concern’ before he comes to a conclusion. “I think she should come and see.”

“Really?” You ask.

He nods, “Yeah! It’s best to let children experience art and it’s creativity for themselves! Even young children have an eye for art, and those who truly appreciate it only want to see it up close to see every detail.”

“I guess that does make sense…” Thinking about it, he does have a point. Namjoon may be from a different moment in time, but he’s still a grown adult. 

Taehyung seems to sense your uncertainty and places a calming hand on your knee, “Art isn’t meant to be viewed from afar. It’s made to make us feel emotion.” He explains, “Even the most unlikely of patrons can find something that makes them appreciate art.” 

Even after your talk is finished and you’ve left Namjoon’s exhibit unlocked for him to let himself out, you’re still debating your next course of action. There’s a big risk in letting him roam through the exhibits, but you can’t in good conscience let him sit around doing nothing forever.

You find Namjoon on level 4, his face pressed against the bars of the Apparel Through the Ages exhibit. You sneak up behind him and clear your throat, “Good evening, your highness.”

Namjoon stumbles back, not expecting you to be there. It’s amusing to watch him scramble into a more respectable position with his hands behind his back. He glances your way, “Have you come around already?”

“No, I haven’t,” You say. You pull at the keys on your belt and jingle them, “I’ve come to open an exhibit for you.”

“What?” He’s surprised, “Will you really?” 

“Someone told me that those who appreciate art want to take in all the details they can.” It didn’t take a genius to see that Namjoon wants to see more than he can see at the exhibit’s gates. An old soul like his could probably use some new perspective, “You choose the exhibit and I’ll unlock it.”

“Any of them?” He asks.

You nod, “Just lead the way.”

The light in his eyes that you saw the night before comes back and it relaxes you for some reason. Even as he takes your wrist to lead you down the hall to the exhibit he wants to see, it’s as if he’s two different people. It’s almost confusing how quickly his demeanor changes with you. When he doesn’t get what he wants, he becomes a child. Yet the moment you offer something new - something for him to learn about - it’s as if he’s just a child at heart. 

When you open the Animal Kingdom exhibit on level 2 for him you’re thrown for another loop. He only gives you a simple thanks and walks away, leaving you to question if he’s just inherently an asshole or if he’s just petty. Even as you come back around from your rounds to close up for the night, he still seems to flip back and forth with his own personality and his thanks.

You go home that morning confused and on a mission. You throw the notion of sleep out the window and settle onto your couch with a cup of coffee and your laptop, determined to know more about this so-called King that intends to ruin your life little by little. 

A simple Google search brings you many results, ranging in portraits and newspaper articles to biographies written by renowned historians. You click on the first link available, taking you to a page drowning in photos and art. It would seem that even in life, Namjoon enjoyed surrounding himself with art. 

His portraits were absolutely breathtaking - you could understand his disappointment now that you’ve seen more than just the one - and the pictures they showcase of his palace are surrounded in flowers and gorgeous statement pieces littered across the grounds. It’s surprising to read that they’ve remained there for so long without any disturbances. You would have thought they’d taken one or two lawn pieces like they had taken Namjoon, yet they remain in their home without any signs of distress to them. 

You take another long sip of coffee and move onto another page, checking out a more informative website. This one goes into detail about his life as a prince and as a king. You discover that he became king at the young age of 17 when his parents sadly passed away during an ambush to the throne. Apparently, he changed over half of the Kingdom’s laws the very next day and saw to every change in policy himself. It only took him 3 months to get the people of his kingdom to trust in him and his guidance, which - according to the article - was a big feat for his time.

You’re surprised to read about his contributions to his people. He strongly encouraged his people to progress forward and bring him their concerns, he housed over 30 children in his home at one time because they had no homes to go to and he even had a sort of sanctuary for animals to be cared for under his watch. He oversaw their historians writing, ensuring that they put every detail on paper. Even his failures were written down under his careful eye, despite his power to erase them from future generations

This Namjoon was so kind and caring. He was so well educated and well-spoken, and he was loved by all of his people for his generosity and understanding nature. How is it that a man who was known for being so kind, could be the same man who bossed you around and demanded that you spend the rest of your life with him?

How is it that a guy who sounds so sweet on paper can be a total dick in real life?

* * *

After hours of research with no sleep and a cold shower to wake you up, you find yourself standing in front of Namjoon with a copy of The Little Prince tucked on top of the food you’ve brought him for the night.

Namjoon accepts the food, taking the boxed lunch with one hand so he can pick up the book with the other. He inspects it carefully, flipping it over a few times to look it over, “What’s this?”

“I did a little research on you, your highness. According to historians and the internet, you were quite the avid reader.” You’d read a lot about Namjoon, and every website you visited gave you list upon list of books read by him when he was still alive and well. They all spoke of his fascination for fantasy novels and those with deeper meanings behind them. The Little Prince seemed like a no brainer to you when it came to more relevant novels to fit his tastes. “I figured you might get bored sooner or later, so I brought you something to pass the time until you fall asleep again.”

“You know that’s not how the enchantment works, yes?” He asks.

You think about it for a moment before you reply, “No, I don’t know that. Do you?”

“I-” Namjoon is at a loss for your teasing words. Instead he frowns and turns his nose,“It doesn’t matter if I’ve seen it happen! I trust the moon goddess!”

“Mhmm, whatever you say~” You laugh, much to his annoyance. Namjoon sits down to eat his food and you take that as a sign for you to continue doing your job, “Enjoy your book and your food.”

You go to leave, but the king calls after you, “Can’t you stay here? Keep me company?”

You pause. His company wasn’t terrible, but you don’t want to stay and risk giving him a sense of false hope. He was still over 1,000 years old, and you were still a broke college student trying to pay her way through life. You’ve never been the type to play with someone’s emotions, and you weren’t going to start now. 

“That’s not in my job description.” You say. You almost regret your choice when you see his sad expression, but you steel yourself, “Have a good night.”

You leave him, not coming back until you’re making a lap on your rounds. And there - sitting against one of the large display cases - sits Namjoon with the book held loosely in his hands, his face holding a look of pure concentration and a ghost of a smile. He looks so peaceful and content sitting cross-legged on the hard wood of his exhibit, you almost feel bad for asking him to return to his sarcophagus. But that night he goes willingly.

And you can’t help but notice the glow of the necklace on your way out.

---

“Hey-!” You turn your head away from the water fountain, hearing Jimin’s voice call down the already noisy hall. You spy him at the entrance of the gift shop, but his attention is on a girl passing by who’s turned to look at him as well. He holds a box in his hand, but you can’t see what’s inside from where you stand. “Have you seen our new merchandise that just came in?”

“Uh...no, I haven’t.” The girl seems slightly uncomfortable. Either from his approach from the gift shop for her to buy something, or just from a guy who looks like Jimin approaching her - you don’t know which. 

You walk closer to the gift shop, curious yourself about the mystery box in Jimin’s hands.

“This - my lovely lady - is our newest piece of jewelry.” He opens the box and you catch a glimmer of silver and fuschia, “The necklace of King Kim Namjoon’s lost lover.”

Her face lights up initially when she sees it, but then her face drops and she shakes her head, “Oh, no, thank you.”

“You don’t want to buy it?” He asks. Jimin pouts and you can feel the immediate distress coming off the poor girl he’s talking to. 

“It’s pretty, but it’s a little expensive…” She tries to explain her situation - whether it’s true or not - but Jimin is relentless.

He looks around the hall to make sure no one is too close to listen - all but you anyways - and gets closer to her, “But don’t you know the legend behind the necklace?”

“Of course I do! King Kim Namjoon’s soulmate is supposed to wear this necklace.” She says.

“Yes, but that’s not all!” Jimin makes a point of string into her eyes, unwilling to break their eye contact, “Legend says he prayed to the moon goddess herself to find his true love and she gifted him with her own special moonstone to guide his other half to him!”

He moves closer, so that the two are almost shoulder to shoulder just so he can give her a closer view of the product, “These pink stones are pieces of the King’s soulmate's heart, and they’ll glow brightest when his lover wears his necklace by his side!” 

“Wow...that’s so romantic.” You can see her resolve breaking, and you almost feel bad for her that Jimin is the clerk on duty today.

“Do you want to know the best part?” He asks, his smile reaching his cheeks and his eyes full of mischief that resemble love almost too closely. She nods enthusiastically and Jimin brings the box closer so she can see, “This gold string that holds it altogether represents their connection to each other. It’s a bond that can’t be broken by anything in the universe.” 

He carelessly throws an arm over her shoulder, just light enough to be seen as friendly. Though, it would seem the small trick is already working it’s magic on the poor thing. He squeezes her shoulder, “A lot of people believe that wearing this necklace will bring you closer to finding your own true love, so they package them with their own prayers to the moon goddess in hopes she’ll grant them eternal love as well.”

“Really?!” She asks. She looks to him as if he holds the whole universe in his hands, having been swayed by the blonde’s charm.

“Yeah!”

Just like that, you watch him lead her back to the counter and then wave her and her new treasure goodbye, holding a sticky note close to his heart. 

“Should you really be lying like that?”You ask from the store’s entrance. You’re more than disappointed to see yet another girl fall for the man’s charms

Jimin shrugs, “I didn’t lie. I just stretched the truth.” 

You walk up to the counter and snatch the note out of his hand, “Stretching the truth sounds a lot like lying.” 

“Don’t you have a monitor to watch somewhere?” He teases. You hand him the paper back and he sticks it in his pocket, bending below the counter to grab another.

You can’t help but think about what he said, and the legend behind the real necklace. You’ve heard a lot about the real thing, but all of it usually went in one ear and out the other as myth for you. Now that you know it’s real and far from a hoax, you have so much more that you need to know.  

Jimin pops back up with a stack of necklaces in his arms and sets them on the counter in front of you, pulling out a sheet of tags that go with them. You take the sheet from his hand and peel one off, handing it to him, “Can I ask you a question? About the necklace?”

“Sure, but Taehyung is the expert around here.” He says, accepting your sticker to place on the box in front of him.

“You think I don’t know that?” You laugh. You look down and peel off another one, “Is all of what you said about the necklace itself true? About the real necklace?”

“According to Taehyung it is!” He nods, not even sparing you a glance, “The moon goddess gave the King a necklace so powerful that only he and his lover could tear the bond if they chose to, but they never got the chance to meet.”

You hand him another sticker, but you stare into space as you do, “That’s...really sad.” You can’t help but think of the pain Namjoon had to go through knowing his soulmate would be by his side, but not knowing it wouldn’t be in his first lifetime. Not only that, but to wake up and then be met with someone who doesn’t even want to be his soulmate? You can’t help but think about how you’d act towards him if the roles were reversed and he were in your shoes.

You’d be devastated.

“It is.” He takes the sticker from you with one hand and flicks your forehead with the other. You flinch and pull back with your hand rubbing the spot he hit while he just smirks at you, “You would know if you ever listened to Taehyung.”

“Yeah.” You don’t even register your response before handing the sticker sheet back to Jimin and pushing off the counter, “Thanks Jimin! Have a good night, okay? Don’t call me at 2am like last week.”

“No promises~” He sings, going back to his work in front of him.

Later that night when you’re handing Namjoon his dinner, you sit with him to eat yours as well. The look Namjoon gives you as you calmly open your dinner across from him is almost too good to ignore.

“What are you doing?” He asks, slowly unboxing his own lunch.

You pay him no mind as you break apart your chopsticks to start eating, “You wanted me to keep you company, remember? Or is my presence no longer appreciated?” You pick up a clump of rice and turn your attention to him, eyebrow raised.

Namjoon is quick to shake his head and get started on his own food, “Of course it is!” 

You both eat in awkward silence, neither of you quite sure how to start a normal conversation. You’ve only ever made polite talk with him, and he only ever seemed to anger you no matter what he said. The only time you were ever civil was when you would show him something new.

Namjoon swallows his food and clears his throat, “Where would you like me to escort you tonight, my lady?”

You shake your head, “First of all, don’t call me ‘your lady’ or anything else other than my name.” You warn him, pointing at the tag on your jacket. He nods and you continue with your rant, “Second, I have some rounds to do, so you can join me tonight as long as you don’t bother me too much. Understood?”

“Yes, my la-” You narrow your eyes at him and he corrects himself, “(Y/n).”

The two of you finish your food quickly with some small talk made here and there. When you’ve cleaned up, you allow Namjoon to lead you to another exhibit he’s yet to see. All the way on level 1, he wants to see art he’s more familiar with.

“So, you said you asked the moon goddess for a chance to meet your soulmate?” You ask one you’re inside the museum.

“Indeed,” Namjoon nods, listening to you as he takes in the art around him, “I prayed to her one night on a full moon and I begged her to send me a lover. Someone I could confide in and care for, and would do the same for me.”

You tilt your head in confusion, “And instead she gave you the necklace?”

“No, she gave you a way to find me.” He says, a genuine look of happiness on his face. 

“Still-“ You feel a heat rising in your face and you can’t help but turn away from him out of embarrassment. Your eyes land on a painting of a couple and you feel the knife dig just a little deeper, “-you asked her for someone to rule by your side as your equal and she let fate tear you apart.”

He shrugs, “Maybe we weren’t meant to meet before now.”

His calm exterior bothers you. If you had asked for what he had, you’d be livid! He made a promise and that promise was misguided! 

“How can you be so calm?” You ask, allowing your thoughts to be heard.

Namjoon stops to look at a picture of a cherry blossom in the winter, it’s petals covered in frost. He smiles, “You said you read about me from one of your current books. The internet? What do they tell you of me?”

You chuckle at his misunderstanding of what the internet truly is, “Well, the internet told me that you were a very generous and beloved king. They said you were intelligent and caring.”

He chuckles, “I’m flattered.” He looks to you with an amused smile and you elbow his side carefully, causing him to laugh, “I’m only joking!”

You roll your eyes, “Oh, sure.”

Moving on to the next painting, he follows after you, “What else did your book tell you?”

“Well, it told me about your love for the arts.” You remember the extensive biography you’d found during your research. You didn’t read it in its entirety, but you did skim through it, “I read that you would host a festival every year?”

“Yes! Just something special during the summer seasons to enlighten everyone.” He has a far away look in his eye as he recalls the fond memories of his past life, and you can only begin to wonder what a day in his life would have been like, “I’d import goods from everywhere just to have the best for my people.”

“It would seem you’re truly generous, your majesty~” You tease.

“Namjoon.” He corrects you. You give him a quizzical stare and he only smiles in return, “If I’m to call you by your more common title, then you should feel free to use mine. I am attempting to woo you after all.”

“Right.” You smile awkwardly, remembering that you were actually trying to give him a chance. You’d actually been comfortable for once, that you hadn’t even noticed just how easy it had become to talk to him.

“And to really answer your question of why I am as calm as I am,” He pauses in front of a portrait of a town under the night sky, his attention trained on the light orb in the background of the painting. “The moon goddess is lonely herself by nature, so separated from our world. Just like this portrait, we see her, but we pay her no mind.” 

You stand beside him and take your own, clear look at the picture. If you would have looked at it on your own, your main focus would have been on the town and the people in the foreground. You would have glanced at the moon, but the orb and her stars were painted so faint compared to the rest of the picture.

“She came to me - and perhaps it was out of boredom for her own happiness - but she made me a promise. Promises are something I don’t take lightly.” He says. His words are spoken like a true king, but you can’t help but wonder if he himself truly means what he says. 

Namjoon turns to you with a peaceful smile, “Fate works in mysterious ways, and sometimes it’s best for us to wait and see what it brings.”

He’s ready to move on and you both bask in a new found silence as you continue to walk through the exhibit, stopping occasionally at a portrait here and there. Though at every painting you stop, you can’t help but look at the man next to you.

This was the man described in everything you read. This was King Kim Namjoon at his finest, and you were privileged enough to be there.

“Did you really house orphaned children?” You ask out of the blue.

He blinks at first, registering your sudden outburst. Though, when he does realize what you’ve asked, he smiles fondly, “I did. Of all the people we should take care of, our children and our elderly are most important!” 

His words are filled with passion, and you can tell he really cares about the people he’s talking about, “Our elders have shaped our generation, and we shape the generations after us. It’s only fair that we see they’re well taken care of.”

There’s a part of you that truly wishes to see what he was like as a ruler for yourself. You smile, “Well, I guess the internet doesn’t lie.”

“I suppose it doesn’t, though I’m probably not the correct person to ask.” He sheepishly admits, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

You nod in understanding. He really didn’t know much about this era or it’s advancements besides the kiosks in his exhibit. It takes you a moment, but you think of the perfect exhibit to introduce him to the 21st century. 

You take his hand in yours - effectively catching him off guard - and you pull him in the direction of the exit, “Well, allow me to educate you about the world I live in.”

Namjoon doesn’t even attempt to hide his blush this time around. He only nods and allows himself to follow you, “Please.”

You lead him out of the more classic featured art section and into the Modern Art Exhibit. This exhibit starts very tame, sticking to photography and modern painting styles before it morphs into free form art sculptures in the connecting rooms.

One sculpture is made of metal and it’s shape reminds you of a round mushroom. It's definitely interesting, but you don’t necessarily understand it’s appeal. It would seem Namjoon is confused as well.

“This is art?” He asks, his head tilted to the side as he follows his distorted reflection.

“It is.” You assure him. You had a feeling he wouldn’t get it either, you just wanted to show him what he was missing. You sigh, “I don’t really understand it either so don’t fe-”

“It’s so intriguing.” Namjoon says, cutting you off. 

“I’m sorry?” You ask, slightly confused.

“The structure and the colors, they’re so complimentary to the other! I don’t want to look away.” His entire being is completely enraptured with the piece in front of him. It’s so simple, yet his eye contact doesn’t break from his reflection. “I feel as though I am in a trance.”

You squeeze his hand - not even caring that your hands are still connected, “Well, there’s much more of this to see.”

A look of pure joy and elation blossoms on Namjoon’s face and you feel a faint flutter in your heart. You’d never noticed how bright his eyes shine until now, nor did you notice just how cute his dimples really were.

Are you really falling for him?

~ Read: Part 2 ~

[justmemewriting]

The Sister (Javier Peña x reader) Part 8 - duck huntin’

It was the next day. You had just woken up with a slight headache. No, you weren't hungover, but you definitely weren't used to drinking that much anymore. Of course you weren't. You had been so focused on your work the past few years that had completely forgotten to have fun. You knew that trying to catch Escobar would take up a lot of your time, but you were hoping that there would be a lot more times in the future where you could have this much fun with Javi.

At 7 AM you decided that it would be a good idea to finally get ready. After getting dressed and downing your coffee, you decided that it would be best if you waited for Steve at his car. After about 5 minutes of waiting, Steve finally came and greeted you.

You took a seat in his car and he drove off.

"You okay?" Steve asked you while glancing at you quickly. He must've notice the bags under your eyes from the lack of sleep last night.

"Oh, yes. I just didn't sleep so well." you told him. You weren't sure if you wanted to tell Steve that you had gone out for a drink with Javi. Surely, it was only an innocent drink, but you didn't want him to assume anything was going on between you and Javi, so you decided not to tell him.

Shortly after, you arrived at the Embassy. You, Steve and Javi had a meeting to discuss how you were going to proceed further in the Escobar case, but that meeting wasn't until 10 AM.

At 8 AM, Javi arrived at the Embassy and greeted you and Steve. By the looks of it, he didn't seem to struggle with the amount of alcohol he had yesterday, so you assumed that he definitely drank alcohol more often than you did.

"I need to make a call really quick" Steve told you to which you nodded. He left the office.

You went over to Javi's desk where he was currently sitting. "Do you still have the photos Carillo gave us yesterday?" you asked Javi.

Javi quickly looked for the pictures on his desk which was honestly a complete mess. He handed them to you and you looked at them. You didn't know what you were looking for, but you just felt like you needed to look at them.

"By the way, I had a really great time yesterday" Javi told you and flashes you a smile. He looked deep into your eyes and you blushed. You quickly looked back down at the pictures and smiled. "Me too. Thanks again for inviting me."

"Are you free next Saturday? I thought maybe we could go dancing like we said yesterday." he asked you.

"Sure. I'd love that."

"So, are you looking for anything specific in the pictures?" Javi asked and went to stand behind you where he could also look at the pictures.

"Not really. I just wanted to look at them again before the meeting. Maybe I'd see something that we haven't." you told him and turned to look at him.

Once you turned around you realized how close you were actually to him. You could feel his breath on your face.

"Sorry, that took so long." Steve said entering the office.

You quickly turned back around realizing the position that the two of you were in. Honestly, you hadn't even heard the door open.

"Are you guys ready for the meeting?" Steve asked you and Javi to which the two of you just nodded.

You entered a small conference room that was stuffed with boxes and files. In the room there were two men that you hadn't been introduced to yet, but seeing that they weren't going to introduce themselves to you, you just took a seat and waited for someone to start talking.

"So what's the plan?" one of the men asked.

"If we get proof that Escobar is violating the terms of his surrender, then they have to send him to a real prison but we need more than these aerial shots." Javi told the men getting right to business.

"Can you get us satellite communications or wire intercepts?" Steve asked the two.

"There's a no-fly zone over the prison, with antiaircraft guns manned by the Colombian army to enforce it." the same man as before said.

"You're playing with fire if Noonan finds out." the other man continued.

You saw that Steve was looking at the pictures so you decided to look at them with him when you noticed something that you hadn't before.

"Steve, is that what I think it is?" you asked him. "Fuck yeah, it is."

"We don't got shit on him without intercepts." you heard Javi say behind you.

"We don't need them" you told them and placed the pictures on the table.

"What? The hell we don't."

"They're not using phones," Steve explained and pointed at the picture.

"The hell is that?" the man asked.

"I could spot a coop a mile away. That's how they're sending messages." Steve told them, but they all looked just irritated. Javi grabbed the picture and looked at it from up close and nodded.

So it was planned. You, Steve and Javi were going to Escobar's prison to try and figure out what messages Escobar and his men were sending. It was decided that all of you would be leaving immediately, so that there wasn't any time wasted.

The ride was rather long but it was actually rather fun. Plus, it was nice to spend some more time with your two partners.

Of course, you couldn't get too close to the prison because of Escobar's deal but you went as close as you could.

Before you left, you had quickly prepared a few sandwiches and some coffee because you figured that it might take some time until you caught a bird or they actually send a bird.

"Anyone want some food?" you asked the two and pulled the food out of your backpack.

"God yes" Javi said and snatched a sandwich out of your hand. "You are the best" he told you and kissed you on the cheek. You smiled at him, feeling flattered by the gesture.

You poured each of you a coffee and that's when the boring part started. Now you just have to wait until one of the pigeons starts to fly.

The three of you took turns looking through the binoculars.

It was Javi's turn looking through them when Steve asked him "You see anything yet?" "No, man" "You're blind as a bat. Give me those". Javi handed the binoculars over to Steve who looked through them.

"Oh, one's going" Steve told you seeing one of the pigeons start flying. "Ten o'clock. Coming in low"

"I got it" Javi told you and grabbed the rifle.

Javi took multiple shots at the poor bird, but missed every single one of them.

"That's a fast fucking pigeon" Javi told you and turned to you.

"Or maybe, someone else should try it next" you laughed and grabbed the rifle from Javi's hands.

"You trying to say I'm a lousy shot?" Javi asked you.

"No, I'm not saying anything like that."

"Well, it feels like she is" Steve told Javi. "She totally is" Javi agreed.

Javi grabbed the binoculars again and looked through them.

"Heads up" Javi told you and you adjusted the rifle in your hand.

You knew that you had to wait a bit in order to not miss the shot.

"Shoot." Javi told you getting impatient, but Steve just stood there with a knowing look on his face.

"Shoot!" Javi told you again.

BANG

You shot the bird and it immediately fell to the ground.

"And that's how it's done, fellas"

The three of you went over to the bird.

Javi still looked shot that you had managed to shoot the bird immediately.

"Even been duck huntin'?" Steve asked Javi with a smug look on his face.

"No, I have not been duck hunting, you...fucking hillbilly." Javi answered and you laughed.

Steve grabbed the pigeon and pulled a piece of paper from it. He handed it to Javier telling him that it was in Spanish.

"Delivery due with El Paisa in the tunnel." Javi read out loud. "The son of a bitch built a tunnel under the jail."

You sighed. Of course Escobar would do something like this. But how could nobody have noticed that he actually built a tunnel?

Once you arrived back at the embassy, you immediately reported back to your supervisor.

When Steve and Javi were taking a break, you were pulled aside. The two men from earlier informed you about the result from some flyovers they did of Escobar's prison.

"There you are" you told Javi and Steve once they came back from their break.

"What's wrong?"

"They did a high-altitude flyover of the prison."

"And?" Steve asked noticing the urgency in your voice.

"They said that there aren't any tunnels. Something about the tomography not indicating anything of the sort."

"Did you ask them if we can measure radio frequency energy?" Javi asked you and you nodded.

"They said that they could, but that it wouldn't go deeper than 30 feet. They said that the only way that there's a tunnel under there is if they dug it to China"

"Great" Steve said sarcastically.

The three of you decided that it would be best if you left the office for a while, so it was decided that you'd go to Steve and Connie's for dinner and hopefully you would figure out how to continue from there.

"Maybe we can...We can ask the military to do light detection and ranging" Javi suggested once you were sitting around Steve's dinner table.

"We got a better chance of Noonan authorizing a divining rod." Steve answered.

"This is just frustrating" you told the guys and put your head in your hands. You felt exhausted and annoyed that you weren't getting any further with Escobar.

"Alright, I'm calling it a night." Javi told you and went to stand up.

"Nah, finish up." Steve told him.

"No, you can't even smoke in here." Javi said and got up with a cigarette in between his lips

"No luck?" Connie asked.

"These aerials don't indicate a single tunnel in the whole mountainside." Steve told her. You could tell that he was just as exhausted as you were.

"Maybe, we're missing something here." you told him.

"Hm. The only thing I can see in all of them is this truck." Connie told you and proceeded to clean up the dinner table.

This quickly caught Javi and your attention. Javi grabbed the picture and looked at it intently. You went over to him and looked at the picture and there it was. A damn truck.

...

"Steve, I'm leaving." you told your brother and hugged him. "Tell Connie thanks for the lovely dinner"

"I will"

You left the apartment on you way to your own one. That's when you saw that the door to your apartment complex stood open. You quickly peeked through it and saw that it was Javier smoking on the door steps.

"Can I borrow one?" you asked Javi. He quickly handed you a cigarette and lit it for you.

"I didn't know you smoked." Javi told you. You sat down next to him and shrugged.

"I don't. Well, usually I don't. I only smoke when I'm stressed or sad or frustrated." you told him and took a puff of your cigarette.

"Which one is it?" he asked you.

"All of it", you told him and turned to look at him.

You were looking into Javi's eyes and he was looking into yours. For a moment it felt as thought time was completely lost. The two of you were just enjoying each other company.

You leaned your head on Javi's shoulder while the two of you continued to smoke in silence.

Javi stroked your arm as a caring gesture to cheer you up which you really enjoyed.

If you were honest, you had never met anybody like Javi. He was loving, caring and a truly good friend. Javi really was sweet to you and you had to admit that you loved spending time with him.

The two of you sat there for a bit longer.

After some time, Javi sighed and stood up. He held out his hand for you and helped you stand up.

"You should get some sleep" he told you and accompanied you to your apartment.

"Well, you should too. Good night, Javi"

"Sweet dreams (Y/N)"

[anabantoid]

The Ubiquitous Betta Care Guide

Literally everyone and their mother has written a care guide about bettas, but I felt like I could provide a care guide based around my opinions and experiences in keeping bettas. I’ve kept bettas since I was about 15 years old, they were one of my first fish, and I fell in love with them and at one point I had over a dozen bettas at one time! That’s ridiculous now, but this was 2005/2006, bettas were cheaper and not as disposable then, definitely lasting for the oft-quoted “2-3 year” lifespans that people struggle to see today. Nowadays, I struggle to be able to get a betta to live past 6 months. So, what’s happening? Am I suddenly taking worse care of bettas than I did when I was 15? 

Well, no, all of my most recent bettas were kept in tanks that were over 50 gallons, well planted, my tap water is soft (kH of 5), my pH is neutral (7-7.4) and my water is easily modified with botanicals or wood to be about 6 if need be. They live in filtered tanks with 80 degree water, eat nothing but live or frozen food, and never fall ill with disease or parasites. That’s more than I can say about teenage me. I dealt with a lot of issues, obviously, from bacterial to fungal infections because of my ignorance, but nowadays I can’t say I’ve had to treat a betta for anything, they just sorta..die, and at seemingly random too. What’s going on? 

Today, bettas come in every color, shape and variety you can think of, which wasn’t the case when I was 15. The reason for the huge variety is the desire for more ornamental fish, but for commercial selling, there’s mass breeding on an industrial scale which leads to poor stock, inbreeding, and deformed fish and genetic issues we just can’t see. It doesn’t matter if it’s a local breeder or from a store, they’re all coming from the same stock now. 

I’ve touched about betta problems in the past, and if you’ve followed my blog for a few years or see me in my discord server (Fish Tea), then you already know how I feel. That’s not what this post is about! This post is about caring for your betta, what I’ve learned in my experiences with them, and how to treat and care for the common ailments that befall them.

THEIR CARE:

Min tank size: 10 gallons. Why 10 gallons? In all my time keeping bettas, they do best in larger tanks that allow them to move, they get proper muscle tone in larger tanks because they’re able to move, and I’ve never had an issue with constipation in bettas when placed in larger tanks because movement makes it easier for animals to pass their waste. I can’t think of any other 2 inch-3 inch, active fish that anyone would suggest for a 5 gallon, but for some reason people all say 5 gallons is fine. This is MY recommendation, this is something I will tell people to follow, but whether or not you agree is up to you. You can keep them as you wish, but I prefer having bettas in larger tanks.

Temperature: 80+. In the wild, the Betta genus comes from hot, humid environments in Southeast Asia, living in shallow bodies of water that can be over 80 degrees in temperature. Wild Betta splendens have been observed living in rice paddies with an average temperature of 84 degrees (Jaroensutasinee & Jaroensutansinee, 2001). While it can be argued that domestic bettas are different from their wild counterparts, we have not bred them for cold resistance, and bettas display poor health in colder temps, lethargy, loss of appetite, bloating and constipation. 

Water Params: My position about water parameters has evolved over time, but I still think a betta does best in neutral to acidic waters, because a betta in a pH of 8+ will not have a great time. Essentially, most people’s tap water will be fine, you don’t need RO water to keep a domestic betta.

Feeding: I feed my bettas live food in the form of blackworms, fruit flies, random small bugs I find, a spider….anything that’s an invert and they can swallow, they can eat it. I also feed them frozen foods such as bloodworms, krill, mysis, cyclops and sometimes just cut up cocktail shrimp. You can feed them live and frozen, and you can also give them prepared foods, like New Life Spectrum, Bug Bites, or Bug Pro. They have excellent sources of protein that are not derived from soy like other brands such as Hikari, Omega One, Tetra, Aqueon and such. You can also make repashy grub pie and feed them that. 

Furnishings: Bettas naturally come from environments that are dense with vegetative growth (Jaroensutasinee & Jaroensutansinee, 2001), which means your bettas should also be in tanks that are filled to the brim with plants! I like live plants, but you can use soft silks too, anything that can provide them some cover that they can serpentine and swim through. My rule of thumb usually is if you can see straight through one end of the tank with no broken lines of sight, you don’t have enough plants. Lack of proper coverage can make them stressed out, lethargic and more susceptible to illness and refusal to eat.

Tank mates: If you want to keep bettas with other fish, I suggest a 20 long as a minimum. If your betta has long fins, avoid getting any boisterous, nipping fish like tetras. Kuhli loaches make wonderful tankmates for bettas because they tolerate the high temps a betta likes, as well as Hypancistrus plecos, some corydoras, smaller spiny eels and more. I don’t recommend ever putting shrimp in with bettas, aside from larger shrimp like amanos, because shrimp are a betta’s natural prey and they will hunt them all down!

WHAT IF MY BETTA GETS SICK?

Bettas can and will get ill, you will most likely encounter an issue with your betta one way or another, but what can you do to help? In most cases, the problem is lack of proper care and poor water conditions. The best way to insure your betta remains happy and healthy is to have a clean tank. The easiest way to do this is to make sure your tank is cycled and you do regular, weekly water changes of 25%-30%. 

When you buy a betta, make sure you are picking out an active one, don’t try to be a saint and pick out one laying on its side, half dead. The likelihood is that it will just die, you’ll feel upset, and then you’ll go out and try it again. I’ve been there! It doesn’t work! Get a fish that wiggles at you and looks like it wants to kick your ass. That’s a good betta.

Here’s some common betta ailments:

Popeye: This happens because your water quality is poor and a bacterial infection brews up, causing fluid retention that can pop the eye out. Your best course of action is to address the water quality issue, then use an antibiotic such as kanaplex or metroplex. 

Bloat and constipation: The betta is fed too much, the tank is unheated, the water quality is poor, the tank is too small, and more. This is a symptom of an underlying issues, and it needs to be addressed by seeing what you’re doing wrong. To treat it, give your betta a soak in an epsom salt bath for 10-15 minutes in a bucket or other container, with 1 tbs of epsom salt per gallon. Feed them some frozen food like daphnia or brine shrimp to aid in passing their waste. 

Ich: This can literally happen to anyone, and it sometimes just. Happens. Inexplicably. Whether or not it’s introduced or always in the water, it can crop up in even the warmest of tanks, as ich nowadays seems to have gotten particularly strong. Up your temps to about 86, your betta can handle temps into the 90’s, and use an ich treatment, I usually do Ich X, follow the directions on the bottle. You can also do a salt dip on the betta at the first signs of ich, 1 tbs of aquarium or table salt per gallon in a separate container, do a 10 minute soak. Up the temps and see if the ich subsides, if not, follow through with medication.

Fin rot: This is a water quality issue, you need to address this first before proceeding with treatment, as usually providing clean, warm water is enough to stop fin rot. If you do this but notice the fin rot is especially aggressive or starting to proceed onto the body, treat with an antibiotic such as kanaplex.

Velvet: This is a parasitic infection like ich, though for this one it comes from yet another water quality issue. It can happen in the store they come from, or it can happen in your home if you’re not up and up on your care. You would treat it the same way as ich, however shut your lights off, as it appears to be light sensitive.

Lethargy, bottom sitting, loss of appetite: These are symptoms of a bigger issue, be it water quality, age, or simply just something going wrong internally that we can’t see. If your tank is too cold, you’re not feeding enough or you’re not on top of water changes, you can help by adjusting all of that. If it’s from age or something else, all you can do is wait and see how much longer the betta has left, or euthanize if you feel he won’t get better. You can attempt an epsom salt bath, raising temps, and feeding live or frozen, but at that point it’s palliative care rather than a solution.

What if you just got your betta, and it seemed fine, and then one day it didn’t look good and the next you found it dead? Well, circling back to my long winded intro, you can see that the answer is in the poor breeding practices. Bettas are not as strong or hardy as they used to be, in fact they seem to just be about as durable as tissue paper nowadays and will die after a few months or a year, with some exceptions. It can be disheartening to feel like you’re failing at a fish that’s touted as being one of the hardiest fish out there, but I promise you that if you’re providing the best care for them, they’ll still die early, and you’re not at fault. I still get bettas, but I only buy one after another passes, and I try to not spend more than $15 on one. I settle with the fact they won’t live as long, and I enjoy them while I have them, and if you feel the same way, go for it.

If you’d like to learn more about bettas, their alternatives and more, the best way to reach me and a whole community of experiences keepers is through Fish Tea, an lgbt+ friendly discord server dedicated to all things aquatic.

(reference: Jaroensutasinee, M., & Jaroensutansinee, K. (2001). Bubble nest habitat characteristics of wild Siamese fighting fish. Journal of Fish Biology, 58(5), 1311-1319. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2001.tb02288.x)

[eliteprepsat]

Don’t procrastinate (it only makes things worse). Eat well. Exercise regularly. Get a good night’s sleep. 

All of these are vital—and common—pieces of advice that will help you manage all forms of stress, academic and otherwise.

As anyone who has struggled with academic stress likely knows, each of these points is easier said than done. What I think is often missing from such advice is an account of the mental and emotional hurdles that can get in the way of effective time and health management. 

Maybe you struggle with anxiety or depression, or maybe you have family or other health issues that make sleep or exercise really difficult to come by. Stress is often a symptom of circumstances that need their own forms of management.

But stress is also often a learned pattern of thinking, one that we need to unlearn if we’re going to get things done.

You’re Probably Wrong

“You cannot get stressed out unless you believe your thoughts,” explains Susan Stiffelman, a licensed psychotherapist and author of Parenting Without Power Struggles. “All stress is precipitated by stressful thinking.”

Often, we convince ourselves that the tasks ahead of us are more difficult than they need to be. If you’re a perfectionist especially, you probably impose impossibly high standards on yourself and your work that may engender procrastination. 

After all, why spend the next 30 minutes trying to produce absolutely perfect work when you can just let your mind wander on Snapchat?

When Stiffelman warns against believing your own thoughts, she is suggesting that we question our assessments of what we have in front of us. Next time you’re stressed out over an exam, a paper, or college applications, try listing reasons why your assessment of the situation might be incorrect.

Do you have a record of academic success? Have you succeeded in the past on projects that you found daunting? If the answer to either of these is “yes,” then there’s a good chance you’ve misread your current situation. 

Sometimes, there’s freedom in getting things wrong.

Break It Down

But even if you are correct, and if what lies ahead is very difficult work, pausing to consider why a given project is difficult—and writing out the reasons—often reveals a range of sub-tasks that are far less difficult than the project as a whole.

This is why Stiffelman also advises breaking tasks down into small chunks.

In my own experience, to-do lists are lifesavers. List out the tasks ahead and break these down into the smallest possible tasks.

One student of mine wrote out everything she needed to do on sticky notes and then threw the notes away as she completed each task. But if you want to avoid wasting paper—and I think you should—an app like Todoist is just as good for laying out a roadmap and for checking off items as you go.

Timing is Everything

Let’s say you need to write an important paper for an English class. Your to-do list might look something like this:

Read the assignment [Monday]

Decide which text(s) I’m going to focus on [Monday]

Read my notes on that text [Tuesday]

Find 3-4 quotations from the text that seem relevant [Tuesday]

Draft a thesis [Tuesday] 

See if the thesis goes well with the quotations I’ve chosen [Tuesday]

If not, find other quotations or revise the thesis

Draft an introduction [Wednesday] 

Draft the first body paragraph [Wednesday] 

Draft the second body paragraph [Thursday]

Draft the third body paragraph [Thursday]

Draft the fourth body paragraph [Thursday] 

Draft the conclusion [Thursday]

Review my topic sentences [Friday]

Review my transitions [Friday]

Read the entire draft [Friday]

Check that the body paragraphs correspond with the thesis

Check that the body paragraphs proceed in a logical order

Make necessary revisions [Saturday]

Proofread the essay [Saturday]

Writing an entire paper can seem daunting, but reading the assignment is easy. Deciding which text to focus on isn’t too hard, either. Even drafting a thesis isn’t all that bad. Taken together, writing an entire paper might seem like a difficult task. But, when broken into small chunks, the job is much simpler than it seems.

Notice that I’ve given each task a day of the week. It’s important to recognize that your time is limited. If you give yourself a rough timeline, you can kind of mechanize the process a bit and give yourself peace of mind that you’re on track. Remember to stay flexible—adjust as you go, when needed, since some tasks might be more difficult than you first anticipated.

Treat Yourself to Train Yourself

Keep yourself motivated by giving yourself a reward for each task or pair of tasks that you knock off your to-do list. 

You’re always practicing, always training yourself. You’re not all that different from a dog who learns how to do tricks. Just like a poodle, you need positive reinforcement to train your mind and body that getting things done is good.

If you practice being anxious with a stomach ache while writing, you’ll get really good at being anxious with a stomach ache while writing. But if you practice breaking writing down into small sub-tasks and rewarding yourself—with dessert or a video game or something else you love—you’ll learn to associate getting things done with feeling good.

In sum: change your thinking, make to-do lists, chart out a rough schedule, and reward yourself along the way. 

But of course, remember to avoid procrastinating, eat well, exercise regularly, and get a good night’s sleep. Those truisms are true, after all.

[aforrestofstuff]

What's the heroes' morning routine to start their day before going to work? Or their night routine before they're going to sleep? (And here is sprinkle of positivity vibes for you today: 😊😉👌💕💞💗💓💝💝💖💖🌟✨🍀🍀🍀🍀💐💐 Have a nice day! ❤)

Thanks for the request, anon! ❤️❤️ sorry this took me so long to get to, hope you’re still around!

Tornado of Terror: I’ve said in a previous hc that she sleep-levitates and wakes up in the weirdest places. So, she’d probably spend 10 straight minutes prying herself out of her bathtub or some shit with hella cramps. After that, she’d spam Fubuki over text message, asking her how to make a cup of coffee for the 57th time, then manage to burn it anyway, and finally go to work salty as fuck.

Silverfang: Wakes up at the crack of dawn, mediates next to a waterfall or some shit, broods over Garou, and makes himself a nice breakfast with a cup of tea. After that, he drags Charanko’s ass up the mountain to do some training, meditate some more, drink more tea, and around then it’s gonna be like 9 AM, so he’d probably just go the fuck back to sleep for a quick nap before actually going to work. Look, he’s old. Let him vibe.

Atomic Samurai: Also wakes the fuck up at the crack of dawn and proceeds to freeload a breakfast off of Iaian, wash it down with some alcohol at 6 in the AM, and complain about the weather. Then, he’d probably run over some sorta training routine with his disciples before doing group meditation and finally, finish it off with another drink. His tolerance is so damn high at this point. He shows up to work while pretending he wasn’t ten seconds away from getting wasted that morning.

Child Emperor: Wakes up rather early (if he even slept at all), runs diagnostics on all of his machinery, does tests on his latest weapons, takes 7 decontamination showers, and then makes himself a hearty breakfast consisting of Froot Loops and choccy milk. He shows up to work early and energized, running solely on his 87th lollipop and the single shot of espresso he had that morning. If it’s a weekday, he’d wait off on going to Association headquarters and teach a few classes at the local university instead. He’d then go to work in the middle of the day, grading papers and dying internally at the dumb shit his students say. He keeps a mental tally of how many people forget to write their names on their assignments. He’s suffering.

Metal Knight: Upon slapping the shit out of his alarm clock, he rolls out of bed and commands one of his bitchbots to make a Michelin-Star quality breakfast for him, then proceeds to stalk to the bathroom. He doesn’t shave or shower. He just takes a 45-minute shit because he’s forced himself to go to the bathroom once a day to “save time” when it, in fact, does not save time. After that, he takes a decontamination shower before entering his lab (also another 45 minutes because he’d spend the whole time je— nevermind) and doesn’t show up to work at all because he’s a little bitchboy hellbent on building Skynet in his mom’s basement.

King: Wakes up, cries, plays video games, cries some more, eats some cereal, takes a shower, cries, calls Saitama over, plays video games, Saitama leaves, cries. Then, he’ll show up to work for a single meeting at 4 PM just so everyone knows he isn’t dead, have an anxiety attack, go home, and then cry (while having another anxiety attack). After that, he’ll play video games until 3 AM. Rinse and repeat.

Zombieman: He’ll wake up at 3 AM and then sarcastically open his blinds like “oh wow, what a beautiful morning”. He’ll make himself a hearty breakfast consisting of leftovers, some protein pills, and half a pack of cigarettes. Next, he’ll shower, shave, and do some routine vigilante detective work out in the town before coming back home just as the sun is beginning to rise. After that, he’ll take a thirty second nap and walk his ass to work (because his car has been in the shop for like, seven years) so he can vibe for 3 hours before throwing in the towel and isolating himself for the remainder 18 hours of the day because depression.

Drive Knight: he sleeps plugged into the wall like a Samsung. Either that, or he’s solar-powered.... or maybe he runs on AAAs. I don’t know, but his ass ain’t waking up like everyone else. He’d power on, do some routine checkups on his laboratory or whatever the fuck he’s got going on, and then show up to work for 3 seconds only to dip the fuck back out and go poach some endangered monster species for his collection or some shit. Look, he’s a robot.

Pig God: wakes up at 10 AM like a king and eats a small breakfast consisting of three rotisserie chickens, a whole pot of rice, 57 eggs, and a cool glass of milk (because calcium is important, kids). He’d spend 4 hours on the internet before he gets hungry and decides to go outside, stopping to casually devour an entire species of demon-threat monsters in the middle of the street while simultaneously traumatizing every single child living in a 3-mile radius in the process of doing so. After that, he’d do some hero work for like 30 minutes (and somehow eat like, 200 living things in that timeframe), go back home, and then indulge himself in a 17-hour food coma. He’s earned it.

Superalloy Darkshine: Homie wakes up at 5 AM, works out for two hours, takes a shower, and eats a breakfast big enough to feed a small family of 19. After terrorizing every health expert in the country with his buckwild diet (ironic considering Pig God exists), he hits up his bro Tanktop Master for another 2-hour workout. He then proceeds to take 3 seconds getting dressed in his hero uniform because it’s literally just a thong, and goes to work for a full 8 hours because he’s a good boi who takes his job seriously and genuinely wants to make the world a better place. :)

Watchdog Man: wakes up, pisses on a fire hydrant, eats dog kibble, sits on his pedestal in city Q, and then gets dressed.

Flashy Flash: wakes up in a forest somewhere because he’s probably homeless. The local birds flock around him and sing a morning song. He feeds a baby deer like a Disney princess. Then, he bathes in a waterfall and spends two hours doing his hair. After that, he buys himself a fucking bagel and takes his ass to work smelling like the inside of a Cabella’s. He vibes at HQ for like, 30 minutes, before traveling 500 miles away on his 57th quest for revenge and ends up breaking a record for “most homicides committed by a hero” on the way there.

Genos: wakes up, makes breakfast for Saitama, takes a shower, and spends half an hour doing chores while Saitama bums around with a yolk stain on his pajamas. Then, he’d hit up the professor for any news about upgrades, and go on about his day handing out justice as he sees fit until Saitama suddenly gets the urge to go buy some cabbage. It’ll be another 2 hours of walking around the inside of a grocery store while holding 2 grams of food (because it’s all Saitama could afford, broke ass) before he actually goes to hero HQ for a single meeting (while Saitama tags along), and then slaughter 87 monsters on his way home.

Metal Bat: wakes up at 6 AM because it takes him 8 years to do his hair. He’d wake up Zenko about an hour later and tell her to get ready for school while he hauls ass downstairs to make breakfast (burnt toast and 8 Flinstone vitamins). They walk to Zenko’s school together. He takes ten minutes to shower her with love, and then he turns back around to walk to his own school only to show up like, 45-minutes late to his first class. He only attends hero meetings on weekends because A. Homework and B. He doesn’t give enough of a shit to juggle official hero business and school in the same day (unless it consists of a monster/criminal [or 12] in need of a beating).

Tanktop Master: same as Superalloy. He wakes up at dawn, works out, eats enough to feed a small army, and then calls his actual army over for a meeting. He and the gang discuss ways to better represent the Tanktop ideology over tea, while also sharing workout tips and just having a good time together in general. Around then it’ll probably be 8 or 9 AM, so he’d join Superalloy at Hero HQ and do hero work for the rest of the day alongside his homies. He’s living the life, honestly.

Puri-Puri Prisoner: he’s in prison so he’d wake up at 8 AM on the clock every day, eat his nasty-ass breakfast (although, I’ve said in a previous headcanon that he gets special meals prepared for him on account of being a literal superhero, but I digress), and then he works out in the courtyard for a good hour before going to work in the cafeteria for 3 bucks a day (or the yen equivalent). During visiting hours, he and his boyfriend are inseparable. They’d make some crafts together, gossip, and just hang out. If there’s a threat in the area, Puri will waste no time busting himself out and hugging that shit to death. A true icon.

Amai Mask: he either wakes up at 10 AM or 2 PM every day, there’s no in-between. He’d spend his morning doing every self-care routine under the sun: taking a warm bath, doing a face mask, eating a good breakfast (prepared by his own personal chef, of course), listening to an audio book, you name it. If he has a concert that night, he’d spend the entire day surrounded by people as he gets ready/rehearses/prepares. If not, he’ll just patrol the streets, handing out autographs and some slices of justice. He wouldn’t really show up to any meetings or do official hero business at HQ unless he’s in the mood to cuss out Sekingar and Sitch over some stupid shit or insert himself in S-Class business.

Iaian: wakes up earlier than any of the other disciples and Atomic Samurai because he’s like, responsible or whatever. He meditates, showers, does his own personal routine, and then kicks everyone out of bed for breakfast like an angry suburban mom. After that, he’d participate in everyone’s routine training, and then take his ass to work while showing up to every meeting at HQ (sometimes tagging along with Kami) because he’s a good boi and he has no problem engaging in business. :)

Okamaitachi: She sometimes wakes up with Iaian, but sleeps in most of the time because she needs her beauty rest, obviously. After breakfast and participating in everyone’s training routine, she’d do her hair/makeup and go do her own hero work the majority of the time. She’d sometimes tag along with Iaian, but she prefers to go on her own every so often. If she has some extra time before breakfast, she’ll also do a face mask or catch up on her favorite soap operas.

Bushidrill: this motherfucker sleeps like a log and Iaian wants to kill him for it. He wakes up like, 2 seconds before breakfast and hasn’t shaven in a month. Still, somehow, he manages to get ready in time for training without Kami trying to assault him for being a doofus.

Fubuki: She wakes up hella early and texts her herd of hooligans the daily plan before dealing with Tatsumaki’s shit over the phone. Then, she showers, does her hair, and takes fifteen minutes to get her makeup done right. It doesn’t take her long to plan out her outfit because she has like, 87 black dresses. After an actual hearty breakfast (unlike the rest of these clowns) that she makes herself, she meets up with the blizzard group to discuss business and engage in hero work together as a ✨team✨. She never gets asked to participate in official business by HQ because Tatsumaki strictly forbids it.

Saitama: he brushes his hair and sits on his ass all day.

Mumen Rider: wakes up at dawn, feeds the cats outside, eats a good-ass breakfast (despite being poor, because he’s actually really good at budgeting), and goes out for a nice, morning patrol. He’ll also call his mom and make sure she’s having a good time because that’s important. If it’s not a busy day, he’ll go to the gym and treat himself to some time at the park afterwards. If there’s monsters all about, he’ll spend the rest of the day in the hospital after getting his shit rocked for the 300th time that week. They’ve basically got a bed reserved for him at this point. He’s so pure but so, so selfless. And a little dumb. But mostly selfless.

[lilybudgie]

Welcome to a list of my reactions to my first playthrough of Zero Escape 999

HEAVY SPOILERS FOR THE SUBMARINE ENDING

"His name is Junpei? FUCK YEAH HES GONNA BE DUMB!" proceeds to be right

First puzzle start "NOTEBOOK TIME" proceeded by brain storming puzzles in VC with friends

Lotus appears "her titties are OUT" and "where are your pants madame?"

"Pink haired girl is cute" "shes crazy" "fuck"

"White haired dude looks so-" brain stops functioning when Akane first appears

"You DECICIDED to name yourself SANTA??" "I mean it's a pun..." "SANTA?!?"

Gay p a n i c

Constant making fun of Junpei and Santa's... everything

"JUNPEI/SANTA SAYS FUCK!!"

Falling in love with Snake the moment he speaks

"He just blew up. I mean he deserved it but... damn..."

Constant brain thinking about the the fuck digital root works

Picking group 2 so the groups are evenly split

"If lotus and santa put the amount of brain power they are putting in bitching into actually solving the puzzles WE'D BE OUT WITHIN 2 MINUTES"

Constant "why are they adorable" and "June you are so blatant" to Junpei and June's dialogue.

Science lesson time!

"Junpei is about to get-" gets fucking throttled by Lotus for calling her a demon "yep"

Spends 30 mins in the kitchen being confused until realizing I can put oil on the stuck bolt "fuck me I'm stupid."

"Sweetheart, lotus, hunny, you are not wearing the right clothes to exist near the freezer."

"Neither are you Santa"

"Junpei has enough sweaters to go around."

Call back to the curses conversation "ITS THE MUMMY LADY!!" In the freezer

Science lesson two electric boogaloo

Make shift bomb making with Santa

>:( directed at Lotus

"Dumbass energy runs high in this group" after santa slams his hands against a HOT GRILL

Spending another 30 mins trying to figure out where the fuck the knife is

Bad at math tm

Grabby hands "I want to hug June"

Meets up with the other group "SNAKE!!!" Chorus of me and my friend adoring Snake.

Snake goes missing

P a n i c

Endless want to protect Clover

"Ace seems like a bastard." "Oh hes a snake, well not act- you get what I mean."

"He seems noble but I knoooow he isnt."

"Hmm they are going to be really mad at me." Proceeds to pick door three and force the others to fight for a spot.

"Something wet is on the- fuck that's blood isnt it."

Body reveal. Sobbing EXTREMELY hard

"Snake cant be dead, I refuse to believe that." Furiously googles

Too distraught to do puzzles for like 30 mins.

"Hehe what if I put toilet paper around the broom- oh shit that worked? I was just fucking around??"

Santa off handedly mentioning something about a thermometer not needing to go above 107 cuz people would already be dead by then

"This child is going to attempted murder my ass with hot water isnt he?"

Gets absolutely throttled again by Lotus

"Hey you're on the non-axe murder Clover route!" "The W H A T?"

Elevator time

Is Lotus and Seven time babyyyy

Adoration of Seven goes up the the high heavens

Not realizing the drawer had a mirror on the bottom and getting irrationally angry about it.

Takes out all the e's in "emergence"

"Hehe eeeee- wait that was the answer??"

"Oh its the tourcher room!" Fearful lily noises

Almost constant frown on face going through the room

"Lotus is a MOM?? I love her more."

Finds the bodies "fuck." Tears already flowing

Finds Akane

Hardcore sobbing

Entire final sequence of this route was distraught silence and quite sobbing.

"That's was so good, ohmygod that was so good."

[wren-fell]

Stuck in Borderland

Chapter 2: Six of Diamonds Part 1

Warnings: Language, weapons, violence

I split chapter two into two pieces, because I felt like it was getting too long. Part 2 is a WIP! Thanks for reading!

All characters are ocs except for Hatter and Kuzuryu who belong to Haro Aso.

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

Sayaka leaned against the wall in the back of the lobby with Madoka, while Hatter stood on a balcony addressing the entirety of the beach with the same bullshit speech about hope.

           “So he does this same speech every night?” Sayaka whispered leaning over to Madoka who nodded.

           “More or less. It’s pretty much the same.”

“And you have to be sorted into groups for the games?”

“Yep. There’s always at least one militant in the groups. He says it’s to keep everyone safe. Gives us better odds if at least one person has a gun, but…” she cast a glance around the room and dropped her voice to a whisper, “I think it’s just to make sure we hand over the card in the end.”

Sayaka nodded. It had been 3 days since she had completed the 3 of diamonds game and been brought to the beach. And every night she had been treated to Hatter’s speech about hope, rallying the members before they went out to their games. But, now it was night three and Sayaka’s own visa was expiring, and that speech was directed at her.

Hatter ended his speech wishing them all luck and a cheer erupted from the lobby, as everyone charged to the front to receive their group assignments. Sayaka quietly pushed forward with Madoka, her visa also at its end. They made it up to the table where one of the beach members handed Madoka a folded piece of paper. Sayaka reached for her own paper when Kuzuryu appeared behind the table, “no need Sayaka you’re coming with my group. We want to test your skills see if you’re fit for an executive position.”

Sayaka stared at him wide-eyed before glancing at Madoka who smiled, “well good luck then. I’ll see you after, stay safe.” She flashed her the four from her card and gave Kuzuryu a nod, “nice to see you Kuzuryu.”

Kuzuryu nodded at her before turning to Sayaka, “we need to get going come along.” He turned sharply heading to the entrance.

Sayaka pouted, but glanced at Madoka with a sigh, “see you later be safe,” before following Kuzuryu. She didn’t want to be an executive, honestly the less time she had to spend around any of the executives the better. She had learned Niragi the man with the piercings was severely unhinged and was way too eager to kill someone should they make a mistake. Hatter gave her the creeps always taking different girls that looked way too young for him up to his room, and then there was Chishiya. He had been watching her since the night she had gotten to the beach. Sayaka always saw the flash of his white hoodie out of the corner of her vision, though he had never actually tried to talk to her, which just made it twice as creepy.

Sayaka was led to the same beat up corvette as the other night, though now she noticed that it had a crude “2” spray painted on the side. I guess that’s what the numbers mean. She sat in the car as it sped off into Tokyo to find a game arena.

“Sayaka.”

“Yes.”

“We will be using this game to test your skills. You excelled in the 3 of Diamonds game, if you do well tonight I can almost guarantee an executive position for you, which does have it’s perks so,” Kuzuryu glanced over his shoulder from the front passenger seat at her, “try and impress me.”

Sayaka frowned, but gave him a curt nod, “do my best.” She had no desire to impress him let alone be an executive. They pulled up to a high school one of the few buildings in the area with its lights on.

Everyone piled out of the car and headed towards the entrance with Sayaka lagging behind to survey the team she had been saddled with. If Kuzuryu wanted her in charge for the game she should know who she had to deal with. Their team of five consisted of Kuzuryu, herself, two militant men each with a handgun sticking out of their swim trunks, and one girl who seemed to take a liking to one of the militants hanging onto him saying how scared she was. Could be better, could be worse I suppose… But, it all depended what type of game this was.

They walked up the steps to the entrance passing through the doorway with the familiar shing of the security grid activating behind them. Sayaka picked up a phone from the table and the screen lit up, “facial recognition in progress, please wait for the game to commence.”

As the timer on the wall counted down Sayaka drew in a deep breath, the waiting was the worst part. The anticipation of finding out what type of game they were playing. She could see the fear starting to form on some of their faces. The girl who had been faking being scared actually started to look horrified, and was clutching tightly to the militant boy who was staring intently at his phone.

DING DONG, “registration is now closed. The game will now commence.” Sayaka stared up at the ceiling where she assumed the invisible voice was coming from.

“Game: Trivia Crush, Difficulty: Six of Diamonds,” Sayaka felt bile rising in her throat as she stared at the card lighting up her phone screen. She hadn’t played a game above difficulty level 4, especially a diamonds game.

“Rules:

Complete the trivia questions correctly to advance to the next room.

Answer a question incorrectly, and there will be consequences.”

“What kind of consequences?” The other beach girl asked, but everyone shushed her in response causing her to shrink into herself.

“There are 10 rooms in total.

Leave the 10th room before the timer stops, and you will have successfully cleared the game.

If you do not leave the final room within the time limit, you will die.

Time limit: 60 minutes,” a door opened on the room to the right of the lobby causing everyone to jump, “please proceed into the room to begin the game.”

Sayaka drew a deep breath before she walked into the room letting it out as she entered, you can do this, you’ve played trivia games before.

Once everyone had piled into the room the door slammed shut and locked with a loud click. Sayaka took this chance to survey the room. It was an old classroom with the desks still placed in neat rows with pencil and paper sitting on each. If it weren’t for the boarded up windows she would say there was nothing suspicious about it. The blackboard at the back of the room flipped causing them all to jump.

“Your time has started.”

“Alright Sayaka,” she turned to Kuzuryu, “this is your executive test, so you are the only one to answer these questions.”

She stared at him wide-eyed, but gave him a curt nod. What else was she going to say? Very slowly she turned her head towards the blackboard. Please don’t be math, pleeeaaaasseeee. Sayaka nearly cried out loud when she read the board.

Written in almost unsettlingly perfect handwriting was the question, “1. Write out the empirical chemical formula for Titin.”

“I know that!” She screamed as she ran full speed to the board fumbling for the chalk that she made fall onto the floor in her hurry.

“You do?” One of the militants asked.

“Yes, I’m a chemist. I memorized this as a joke to impress one of my professors to get an internship” she let out a breathy laugh at how insignificant that piece of her life seemed now, “it worked too.”

As she wrote it on the board the girl from the beach chimed in, “are you sure that’s right? There’s some sort of consequence if it’s not!”

“Shut it Akiko! Let her work!” The militant she had clung to a moment before snapped.

Sayaka paused and glanced to the side as she set the chalk down and took a step back, “yes,” she drew in a deep breath, “I’m sure this is right.”

“This answer is…” The was a long pause as the voice spoke, “correct! Congratulations, please advance to the next room.”

Sayaka let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding and raked a hand through her hair, “thank god.”

A door to the right of the blackboard popped open and Kuzuryu walked past her towards it, “nice job, one down nine to go.”

She pouted, “don’t remind me.”

The next three rooms seemed a breeze simple trivia questions about the human body or science that were right up Sayaka’s alley.

They all walked through the fourth door to another classroom, but when Sayaka saw the question that was written on the board her heart sank. “Three resistors of equal resistance are connected in series. Compared to the voltage provided by the battery, voltage across each of the resistors is _______.” She walked up to the board and stared at it for a moment before turning to Kuzuryu, “I don’t know the answer.”

He nodded, “well you have to figure it out. This is your executive test.”

“Yea, but I don’t know anything about electrical work.”

“You can figure it out.”

Now Sayaka was starting to get mad, “what word do you not understand. I. Don’t. Know. The. Answer.”

“If you cannot solve the question on your own then we all die,” Kuzuryu said calmly.

Sayaka drew in a sharp breath sucking in her lower lip, “fine,” she leaned against the wall and crossed her arms, “guess we’ll die then.”

The militant who had snapped at Akiko stomped up to her pointing the gun in her face, “solve the fucking question!”

“I can’t.”

“Do it or I’ll shoot you!” he screamed pushing the gun in her face.

Sayaka turned her chin up at him, “go ahead. You’ll die whether I answer it or not.”

“You have to answer it Sayaka,” Kuzuryu said trying to remain calm, but she could see the panic starting to build in his eyes.

“I can’t.”

“You’re not even trying!” The militant snapped.

“What do you want me to do teach myself electrical engineering in the next 40 minutes?”

“There are now 30 minutes remaining.”

“The next 30 minutes, excuse me,” Sayaka corrected leaning back against the wall.

“So we’re just supposed to die!?” The militant snapped.

“Guess so,” Sayaka shrugged.

“I can solve it.”

All of their heads snapped around to Akiko who was taking a hesitant step forward.

“We only have a one chance Akiko, shut up and stay back,” the militant snapped.

“Shut up!” Sayaka snapped and took a step towards Akiko, “how do you know you can solve it?”

“I was an electrical engineering student. I used to work with circuits all the time,” she said quietly.

There was a long pause as they all started at her, “I think she should do it,” Sayaka said.

Kuzuryu snapped his head around to look at her, “no this is your test.”

“Fuck the test Kuzuryu! Do you want to die?!” Sayaka flailed her arms.

He hesitated looking from Sayaka to the board to the phone in his hand where the timer continued to tick down, “fine.”

“Akiko it’s all you,” Sayaka said quietly holding the chalk out to her. Akiko drew in a deep breath and shakily took the chalk from Sayaka before walking up to the board. She drew a crude rectangular diagram with the same waves on 3 sides and an open space on the other.

“If this is what the resistors would look like, then the voltage would be…” she hesitated.

“Just answer it Akiko!” The militant shouted.

“Yelling at her isn’t helping!” Sayaka rounded on him.

“The same!” Akiko scribbled it on the board and closed her eyes, “the voltage would be the same!”

There was a deafening silence within the room before there was another chime, “Congratulations please advance to the next room!”

“Thank god! Great job Akiko!” Sayaka smiled patting her shoulder as they all clambered into the next room, room number 5.“What is the largest organ in the human body?”

“At least it’s another easy one…” Sayaka mumbled and headed towards the board, but Akiko’s militant was already scribbling on it.

“Psh, yea even I know this one!” He turned around crossing his arms, “it’s the stomach.”

Sayaka stared at him in horror, but when she opened her mouth to say something there was a loud buzzer sound. They all looked up at the ceiling as the silence came over them again, “That answer… is INCORRECT.”

“How is that not the answer!?” The militant screamed turning back to the board.

“Well what’s the consequence?” Akiko asked glancing at Sayaka who shook her head.

“I don’t know, but knowing the game makers it’s deadly,” she whispered. There was a loud thud and then the sound of screeching metal, and they had their answer as the ceiling started slowly dropping and spikes lowered from circular holes.

“Holy shit, change the answer! It’s skin! The largest organ is skin!” Sayaka screamed at the militant.

“You idiot skin isn’t even an organ!” He snapped back.

“Change the answer Kaoru!” The other militant yelled.

“That’s not the fucking answer Daichi!” Kaoru screeched back.

Sayaka honestly didn’t know what to say and just stared at him until Kuzuryu made a dive for the board. He erased the stomach and crudely scribbled “skin” down. They all paused waiting for the voice, but the ceiling kept lowering.

“That answer is…” The voice paused teasing them, “Correct! Please proceed to the next room.” The door next to the board popped open and they all made a mad dash for it.

Kaoru shoved Akiko out of the way knocking her down as he scrambled for the door. Sayaka helped Akiko to her feet and held her arms as they both slipped through the door and it closed behind them with a thud. They all stood breathing heavily until the voice chimed in, “there are 20 minutes remaining.”

“There are five rooms left that means 4 minutes per room,” Kuzuryu said turning to the board and they all froze. Sitting on the board was a long complicated calculus problem with the simple words, “solve this equation,” written above it.

“Oh we’re so fucked,” Sayaka breathed.