#she is such a headband girl u have to understand me!!
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himediana · 6 days ago
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fem kaimon doodle tonight
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lewisvinga · 10 months ago
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L.O.V.E | alex albon x fem! reader x lily muni he
summary; no matter how many times they try to send hints, y/n couldn’t understand alex and lily’s advanced until a certain pair of brits decided to help their friends out
fc; znefer_ on ig
warnings; cursing
taglist; @namgification @louvrepool @locelscs @thehufflepuffavenger1 @minkyungseokie @goldenmclaren @ollieshifts @lavisenri
note; requested !
masterlist !
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liked by lilymhe, alex_albon, and others !
yourusername: in my pilates princess era 🩰🌷
username: here before alex and lily simp over y/n
username: their comments are the highlight of my day tbh
alex_albon: you’re the prettiest princess💗
yourusername: why thank u albono🫶🫶
username: girl….
lilymhe: wow😍😍😍😍😍
yourusername: lilssss💖💖
username: she probably just thinks lily is just simply complimenting her omg bless her 😭😭😭😭
username: ugh she’s gorgeous no wonder lily and alex r obsessed w her😩
username: pilates girlies>>>>
username: the headband + straight hair combo rlly eats
username: I LOVE U Y/N
carmenmmundt: take me to pilates w you next time!!
yourusername: lmk when you’re freeeee
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liked by alex_albon, lilymhe, and others
yourusername: g’morning 🤎
alex_albon: good morning, how’d u sleep pretty girl🥰
yourusername: amazing! thank u for asking alexxxx💗💗
username: he’s DOWN BAD LMAOO
lilymhe: bed must’ve been pretty cold, bet i know a few people who can warm it up😁
yourusername: surprisingly cats emit a lot of body heat!!😅😅
username: y/n not taking the hint, fork found in kitchen
username: the hair is HAIRING
username: im in tears alex and lily try soooo hard😭😭😭😭
username: isn’t it weird that they both like y/n?
username: who gaf as long as it makes them happy 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️
username: the hair😍😍
username: she’s so pretty i rlly understand why alex n lily are so obsessed 😩
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liked by lilymhe, alex_albon, and others !
yourusername: i finally got the hint ??!!
tagged; alex_albon, lilymhe
lilymhe: hey pretty girl ur alllll ours now😁🤭
yourusername: alllll yours 💗 luv u
lilymhe: LUV U MY PRETTY GIRL😩😩💗💗💗💓🧡❤️💙🤎💕💕💖💖❤️❣️💜🩶
username: i think she broke lily
username: LMAOOO LILY😭😭😭
alex_albon: don’t know how many ‘you’re such a good friend!’ i could handle before going crazy, doesn’t matter now bc now we have you😌❤️❤️
yourusername: i would like to sincerely apologize for bein so slow😞😞 but at least u both have me :p ! 💓💓
username: finally she admits she was being slow i thought us talking abt their crushes in her comments was enough for her to get the hint 😭😭
username: OMG FINALLYYY
username: lily and alex’s patience fr worked
username: ugh they’re all so fine
username: it only took you months babe !!!
georgerussell63: uhm EXCUSE ME???
landonorris: ikr😒😒😒😒
yourusername: thank u guys for making me realize the truth😁
alex_albon: i can’t believe these dumbasses fr did it
lilymhe: THANK U BOTH
landonorris: fuck u alex_albon WE PLAYED CUPID FOR YOU
username: not lando and george helping 😭
username: my 2019 rookies ❤️‍🩹
username: george and lando are so sassy LMAOO
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reilleclan-blog · 6 months ago
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I just thought of this, but why did I scrolled through an old post about Sasuke and Naruto having their "bond" symbolize through their headbands and I thought yeah that's a nice post but then the person under the picture decided to put something like "funny how they don't wear their wedding rings" (like maybe it's not that deep) but like why put down other peoples ships. after i thought about why a man may not wear a ring// a lot of times in society "society" it's usually something the woman cares about because the man is supposed to buy it, and again men don't care for it a lot of times in media as well is mostly a thing women care about. It's very rare to see a man caring about the ring. Men buying a ring is mostly to make the woman happy and 9 times out of 10 the man doesn't even care about it because to them wedding getting married is usually a "womanly" thing and/or "not necessary"
(So yes, they may not wear their rings but that doesn't mean they don't love their wives.. In Boruto Sasuke asks Sakura if that was something she wanted Sakura was fine without a ring but Sasuke wanted to give it to her... this is from the boruto manga it was Sasuke investigating the scientists that was controlling the dinosaurs . I can't remember the name) i personally don't care for Naruto and hinata's relationship they are cool. I don't have any hate or love towards them.
(That's why honestly when I was playing rdr2 I was super surprised John cared about marrying Abigail properly with a whole ceremony. It was sweet to see but it feels very rare to ever see lol)
(This is me talking about the OP) So yes I did agree with you but also you didn't need the whole snarky comment against Sasuke Sakura and Hinata Naruto. Let people be happy with said ships. I don't understand why people like to put down ships
(yes u can say I took offense b/c I personally like Sasuke and Sakura together their relationship is shown even more in "Boruto manga" but yeah I love them together, but I don't throw shade at ppl that like Naruto and Sasuke being together as well. Idk why it be feeling like a lot of "straight" girls be weirdly obsessive over two men being gay so much so that women would decide to be misogynistic in the process. Like please we can all ship and be happy. I hate when ppl pin the other shippers against one another , it feels so unnecessary lol. These are all fictional characters btw. The internet not even real like just calm down)
ship laugh love
(Also I used text to speech for this so I apologize if this kinda doesn't make sense I tried re organizing some of the stuff I said lol. I'm so scatter brained that's just how I am. I usually don't bother trying to re arrange what I say. Also no shade to said posters' post I just had this on my mind at 2am. It's something that I just decided to talk about)
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deprivedwithjoy · 10 months ago
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She Who Embraces Envy
A U T O B I O G R A P H Y
No one admits to feeling envious. The word itself is often highlighted by devils as a sin that ruins interpersonal relationships and progress of some sort. Once a toddler grows older, she realises that it's easier to point fingers at another toddler who seems more suspicious than she is to escape the consequences of taking the blame. Carrying an adorable teddy bear in her right arm, the little girl with purple ribbons greets her father with a warm hug; behind them is the bruised figure of an older brother who is currently lying on the floor naked. He cries in agony. His wounds are open which causes immense bleeding. Any longer now, he might lose his consciousness—all because of receiving the punishment for something he did not do. The same applies to envy.
My name is Joylyn Valencia, and this is the Autobiography of an odd girl who likes self-deprecating jokes relating to suicide. I was born on the 25th of July, 2006 at the Manila Hospital. Recapturing the past, I would understand if parents were to lock their doors just to prevent their children from conversing with me. At the age of 12, I began suffering from a mental health condition known as "Trichotillomania" which involves frequent, repeated and irresistible urges to pull out hair from my scalp. As a consequence, bald spots began to occupy a wider range of my head. I was forced to cover the whole thing with a black headband, and since Aphrodite's grace didn't perceive me as the chosen one for authentic beauty, I was merely a mortal who had no right to complain. I had to accept my fate. The fate that most of us had to accept... mediocrity.
Until now, I remained a loser to temptation. Imagine opening social media just to deliberately compare yourself to other flawless models who have a foreign ethnicity and a wealthy status. I don't know them, nor do I care about their roast turkey dinner on Thanksgiving, and their desperate attempts to advertise their lousy content infuriates the heck out of me. Either way, I envy them. Sometimes, I wonder to myself. Did they work hard for it? What is happening behind the scenes before they post one of these "perfect" pictures of an extravagant event? Who knew that back then, I was foolish enough to believe the quotation "Beauty does not define who you are"(?) For me, that is nothing but a sugarcoated lie. People do treat you differently when you're conventionally attractive. I can approve since I've landed on both sides of the coin.
Back then, attending class daily looking like a cancer patient with the shortest stature... made an impact on my self-esteem and how others treated me. Well, sort of. They don't even have to say anything. I'm not that dumb to not know the difference between envy and pity. Unfortunately, it took me some time to get a strong grasp of reality. According to a dictionary I found on Google, Envy often involves feeling resentment towards another person since they have something you do not have; it is a mix of admiration and discontent—if you've hit rock bottom before, you would know what I'm talking about. On the other hand, pity usually connotes feelings of superiority. Others call it compassion, but isn't it odd how you feel quite "better" the moment you've realised that some malnourished kid is suffering way worse than you in a rural area? For the second time, the majority of us find it difficult to accept these negative emotions. Accepting it is just too painful, this contradicts the title we have placed upon ourselves as "good people".
What is more shocking is that—denying the dark side of human nature ironically makes things worse. Instead of going through the process of dealing with these negative emotions and healing yourself from within, the majority of people I know would rather blame others because of a common false assumption: that everyone is hostile towards them for the reason of envy and they pity them for it. Withholding a sense of grandiosity, they claim everyone to be self-proclaimed and evil but for some reason, they are an exception. Stop denying it. Don't despise or hate me for being honest. How can an individual change themselves without a hint of self-awareness? They can't.
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jenrecs · 2 years ago
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yo !!!!!!!
This makes you smile. You’d been to that dorm once or twice, but you’d refused to hang out with Taehyung there because… well, dudes are stinky. And you’re not a clean freak by any means, but it was a little gross over there. 
you're right miss girl. a house with 7 boys is BOUND to get disgusting 😷 i love little details like this lol
[4:56 PM] Tae Bear 🧸: sorry [4:56 PM] Tae Bear 🧸: can’t tonight
god. GOD. it's fine. i'm fine. this is because of the whole "i can live without her" thing isn't it MY GUY 😔
“You aren’t in charge of me!” you yell, and head for the bar at a clip, ankles crying for mercy in your heels. You grasp the bar in both hands when you get there, steady yourself, and then reach up to fix your horn headband, which had been starting to slide. You thought Taehyung was right behind you, but when you turn to look, he’s talking to a girl in a mermaid costume. 
again, I'M FINE. I'M TOTALLY CHILL. *through tears* GO BONE THE MERMAID BEAR. LOVE U </3 jo why must you make me cry about this every single chapter
“Consequences like Taehyung would see?” he presses. His voice has gone hard. He’s tiptoed around this issue before, but it’s the first time either of you have ever really given it life.
oh my lord we're finally at this part omg i've been waiting for this since the snippet months ago omg omg omg og omg
You smile at him, relief giving you more of a high than anything else could right now. “No,” you say, and touch his chest lightly, just over his beating heart. You brush your hand down his chest, drop it to your side, and turn to stare out at the crowd. “No,” you say again, finishing the thought. “You aren’t delicate at all. You’re steady. That’s something I really like about you.”
i know they're having a semi serious conversation right now but all i could think was SHE TOUCHED THE TIDDIES 😭
“We have to go,” he pants. “Literally right now. Jungkook hit on some huge guy’s girlfriend, it’s about to be a thing. Help me find everybody?”
oh my gah jungo why r u cheating on me 😟 jungoo this isn't okay
It seems like Namjoon knows, and forgives you. He silently holds out a hand, waiting. You take it, keeping it tight in yours, not letting go even as you slide into the backseat of the Uber, as it weaves through the neighborhoods until it stops in front of your building, as it drives away, leaving you lit in red taillights before vanishing around the corner.
"namjoon knows, and forgives you." see i am living for this contrast between joon and tae. joon is undeniably more mature than tae and even tho he has feelings for her and wants her to choose him, he doesn't know everything about her relationship w/ tae and he understands that a lifelong friendship isn't smth that can and should be unravelled within a single day. when tae finds out about her and joon, i just can't imagine him taking it well at all even tho i know he doesn't have malicious intent. oh my god is taehyung the elyse of this relationship 😟
He tugs you towards the stairs, and you think he’s going to lead you inside. Instead he spins you and presses you back against the stone balustrade, one hand splayed across the middle of your spine, the other cupping your jaw as he kisses you insistently.
OH OKAY KISSING AGAIN MHMM OKAY. OKAY . HES FULL OF SURPRISES ISN'T HE okay dimples way to go
He looks at you for a long minute, expression unreadable. Finally, he says, “Goodnight,” and steps back out into the darkness of the living room. When he gets to his room this time, he closes the door behind him with a soft click. You stare at the inch of light that comes from under his door for a minute before hurrying to close your own door against the dark.
NO WHY DID HE CLOSE THE DOOR NOOOO JOON N HIS TIDDIES DONT SHUT US OUT
He gives a quick, self-deprecating laugh. “I wouldn’t get anything done. I’d just talk to you.”
+
His smile grows. “Wouldn’t help. I’d still be able to look at you.”
+
His grin turns wolfish. “I assure you, that will not solve the problem.”
again, u're full of surprises aren't u dimples! why am i surprised that he's openly flirting with her even after their 2 make out sessions
You’re curious if Taehyung would have still asked you to join him tonight if Jimin hadn’t turned him down first. 
+
You smile up at him, happy to have someone to talk to about this. Kris would listen, you’re sure, because Kris is a good human, but they would much rather talk about romance. And Taehyung… it’s November, and Taehyung has asked you about your classes or your thesis exactly zero times. 
okay jo, RUDE. this is hurting me! but i feel like it's necessary so i'll allow it 😔 it's clear from the start that she isn't as big of a priority to tae as he is to her, but especially since the last chapter i feel like he's somewhat actively trying to pull away from her to prove that he doesn't need her, that he'll be fine without her (the same obviously cannot be said for her) which objectively speaking, is a bit of a childish approach bc she's his best friend 😭 it feels like he's pulling away but still expecting her to stay the same but i guess it's fine since my guy's just a lil dumb 😭
ANYWAY joon and his door thing. i might be reading into it a lil too much BUT it feels like as much as he wants to wait for her and wants her to choose him in the end and all that, he's starting to set some boundaries and trying not to put his all into this bc it might not even lead anywhere and he doesn't wanna get burnt again he doesn't wanna love someone more than they like him again ok bye !
VI. Don't Think About Him || KNJ
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(banner by @/itaeewon)
Title: My Feet to Follow, and My Heart to Hold (Masterpost)
Rating: NSFW - minors dni
Genre: college!au, roomie!au, angst, s2l, the absolute slowest of burns
Pairing: Namjoon x female reader, unrequited Taehyung x reader
Beta'd by @/kookstempo, @/casuallyimagining, and @/toikiii - thank you endlessly!
Summary: You know a lot about the many types of love thanks to Kim Taehyung. You love him as the only person you see as “family”, you love him as your very best friend, and you love him as the beautiful, funny man he’s become. But when a twist of fate during your senior year has you rooming with his good friend Kim Namjoon, you just might find that you have plenty left to learn about love. 
Lesson One: there are such things as a right way and a wrong way to love and to be loved.
//
You try - and fail - to figure out who and what you want.
Section Warnings: excessive drinking, bar scenes, language, kissing, groping, maybe grinding idk
WC: 6k
The world is mine: blue hill, still silver lake, Broad field, bright flower, and the long white road A gateless garden, and an open path: My feet to follow, and my heart to hold. - Journey | Edna St. Vincent Millay
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Sunday October 28th
Fire burns low in the hearth, but my feet itch and beg to go, into the night where the wolfpack hunts, into the storm of wind and snow.
I can hear only their hunting song. The blizzard steals from me my sight. I have no map to traverse this land, But I peer wistfully into the night.
The wolves, the storm, the wild land, Even still I must decide. I know despite the dangers, I can’t afford to stay inside.
“That’s fucking terrible,” you mutter, closing your book and scooting it away from you in disgust. “Wolves? Am I fourteen? For fuck’s sake.”
Still, it does touch on how you feel: like proceeding forward will result in you getting ripped to metaphorical shreds - but staying here, stuck in the familiar just because you’ve deemed it safe, would somehow be worse.
“Talking to yourself?” someone asks, and you jump with a shriek. 
“Namjoon!” you scold, as you register that it’s him in the doorway. “I thought you weren’t home for a few more hours!”
He crosses the room and tosses his bag onto his bed. “Yoongi has a lead foot.”
“How was it?” you ask mildly.
Namjoon wiggles his head, indicating both good and bad. “The brewery was really fun,” he says. “And it was nice for us all to hang out and talk at the house. We all used to dorm together… it’s been weird not living in the same place as them. I didn’t realize how much I missed it.”
This makes you smile. You’d been to that dorm once or twice, but you’d refused to hang out with Taehyung there because… well, dudes are stinky. And you’re not a clean freak by any means, but it was a little gross over there. 
“Well it was lonely and boring here,” you report. “I’m glad you’re back.” 
You’re instantly unsure if that was too forward, too much. Namjoon going away the literal day after you’d kissed him had given you plenty of time to think in private, but it had also given you room to sow doubts in your own mind. But Namjoon smiles shyly, pleased, so cute it makes your toes wiggle.
“I’m glad to be back too,” he says. “I’m gonna go shower and unpack. Have you made plans for dinner yet? We could order later?”
You hadn’t, but you have a feeling Taehyung will want to hang out after two days away. “I have plans,” you lie, figuring it will end up being true. 
“Ah, no problem then,” Namjoon says easily, and heads into his room, closing the door behind him with a little wave. 
You text Taehyung - “welcome home!! dinner later?” - and get up to start some laundry. By the time it’s done washing, and drying, and you’ve folded it, he still hasn’t answered. 
You try again - “hello??? this is y/n, looking for signs of life???”
This time, the response is almost immediate. 
[4:56 PM] Tae Bear 🧸: sorry [4:56 PM] Tae Bear 🧸: can’t tonight
In the end, you walk to campus alone, eating by yourself in the far corner of the cafeteria. You’ve splurged on ordering too much lately when these meals are built into your tuition. Besides, you don’t want Namjoon to know that your “plans” fell through. 
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Friday November 2nd
Angel on the right… Devil on the left… 
You look side to side, conflicted. Such a strong case for each. 
“Are those for tonight?”
You jump, spinning away from the two Halloween costumes you’ve laid out on your bed. It’s not like Namjoon to come over to your side of the apartment; in fact, you’re not sure he’s ever talked to you while you’re in your own room. It’s usually you going over to his door to bother him, if you aren't both in the living room or kitchen. 
“Yeah,” you say. “I can’t decide. You’re coming?”
“I think we all are, except Yoongi,” Namjoon tells you. “I’m going as a detective. I have a magnifying glass and everything.”
You laugh. “I can’t wait to see that. Any thoughts on which way I should go tonight?” You mean the costumes. You’d texted Taehyung for his opinion and he’d returned with, “flip a coin”. You’re not sure why you expected anything else from him. 
“I think that’s going to depend on your mood,” Namjoon teases. “How are we feeling today? Naughty or nice?”
You raise your eyebrows. Was that… outright flirtation? “What if I’m feeling both?” you ask.
He laughs. “You need one of those half-and-half costumes. I’ve seen them in the stores.”
You have too, but you think they’re cheesy. “I think I’ll go devil,” you muse, a finger on your lips as you consider. “The angel wings are pretty cumbersome. And the bars are going to be slammed.”
“Naughty it is.” Namjoon flashes you a grin and disappears from your doorway, throwing over his shoulder, “No complaints from me!”
You slap a hand over your mouth to muffle the giggle. Well this is new, and damn, you want to keep playing. 
You Uber together to the first bar of the town’s Halloween pub crawl, the guys waiting for you outside. Taehyung howls in laughter at Namjoon’s long coat, fedora, and magnifying glass. 
“I see the devil won the coin toss,” he says to you, grinning.
You roll your eyes, still a little peeved that he couldn’t take anything seriously, even when you needed him to. This was a trivial thing, but still. It wasn’t a lot to ask.
Jungkook hands you and Namjoon a flyer with a QR code - it listed the locations of each bar and what time the group would move, in case you got lost or missed the exodus. Inside, you have to pay to get wristbanded, but the wristband earns you special prices at each of the stops. 
“This does not go with my costume,” you pretend to pout, the bright yellow wristband glaring against your short, red dress.
“I think everyone will understand,” Namjoon teases. Taehyung appears on your other side, pointing out the little laminated sign that advertises this bar’s drink specials. 
“You two need to catch up,” he insists.
Three hours and two bars later, you think you’ve achieved this. You and Taehyung cling to each other’s arms, holding each other up, somehow taking turns being the one who needs help staying upright. The first two bars had offered specials on shots, but this one only has special offers for mixed drinks and beer. 
“Do we pay full price for shots, or do we let The Man tell us it’s time to settle down?” you muse loudly into Taehyung’s ear.
“Don’t start with that shit,” he tells you. “This is Halloween, not a hippie convention.”
“I see at least four hippies,” you sniff indignantly.
“I think you’re seeing double,” he counters. “No more shots for you.”
“You aren’t in charge of me!” you yell, and head for the bar at a clip, ankles crying for mercy in your heels. You grasp the bar in both hands when you get there, steady yourself, and then reach up to fix your horn headband, which had been starting to slide. You thought Taehyung was right behind you, but when you turn to look, he’s talking to a girl in a mermaid costume. 
Of course.
It’s fine.
The bartender finally catches your eye and you flash your wristband, indicating you’ll take the special. He nods, turns and picks up a bottle. A body settles beside you; you turn, expecting that Taehyung caught up, or maybe Jungkook stopped by for a beer. Instead, a guy you’ve never seen before smiles at you. 
He’s in scrubs, complete with a fake stethoscope (you think it’s fake, anyway) slung around his neck. His nametag reads Dr. Love. You laugh out loud. “That’s so corny,” you say, your filter well and gone for the night.
Luckily, he laughs too. “It’s sewed on!” he protests. “I honestly almost Sharpied it out, but I thought that would look even stupider.” 
He’s really cute, you notice. He looks… clean. Older. 
“You look…” he trails off, letting his eyes roam to your feet and back appreciatively, “phenomenal. Is there an angel wandering around here looking for you?”
You grin. “Just me.”
If Kim Taehyung can find a hookup everywhere he goes, why can’t you?
But as you lean against the bar and take a sip of your drink, your eyes scan the bar before you. In the mirrored wall behind the team of bartenders, you can see a slightly distorted view of the patrons and all of their costumes. 
Your eye catches on a detective. 
Namjoon’s eyes hold yours through the mirror, though he’s about six seats down from you. There’s a tiny smile on his lips as he sips at what looks like a beer. A smile that says maybe he should have expected this. It’s the same face he’s seen on you when Taehyung does exactly what he did tonight. 
Beside you, Dr. Love is asking you something, but you don’t hear him at all. You don’t want to be here, in this spot, anymore. You want to be six seats over.
“I’m sorry,” you say, interrupting him, plastering a sickly-sweet smile on your face. “I just found one of my friends, and I’d lost them. Enjoy your night, though!”
You slip away before he can protest more than a syllable, before you can really register the disappointment on his face and feel guilty about it. Better luck next time, Doctor, you think, as you make your way to Namjoon.
As soon as you’re close enough he extends an arm, making a space for you right next to him. His arm tucks you closer, protective. He walks with you towards the far end of the bar, where it’s marginally less crowded. Once you settle into a spot there, he doesn’t remove his arm. His fingers rest on your bare, body-glittered shoulder, moving imperceptibly now and then, as if they have their own agenda. 
“Are you having fun?” you ask him. 
“Loud bars aren’t usually my thing,” he answers. “But the costumes are great.”
There’s a lot of alcohol in your system; your filter’s taken a hit. “I like this,” you sigh happily, closing your eyes for a second. You think you sway on your feet a little. The arm around your shoulders tightens.
“Like what?” His voice has gone deep, and you shiver a little. You want to kiss him again; you’d blame the shots but you’ve been thinking about it since it happened. The drinks just make it louder.
“Your arm around me,” you tell him honestly, and he ducks his head, dimples appearing along with a blush.
He shakes his head, still smiling. “You’re drunk,” he accuses playfully.
“It’s a Halloween pub crawl,” you point out flatly. “I’m supposed to be drunk.”
“That’s a fair point,” he allows. Then, he peers at you through squinted eyes. “Are you okay, though? How drunk are you?”
You consider this. “Drunk enough that I want to kiss you again, to hell with the consequences. Not too drunk to remember that there would be consequences.”
The playfulness leaves his face; it’s too obvious not to notice. “Consequences like what?”
It’s a challenge. He knows you know it.
“Namjoon,” you say, a little pleading. Don’t. 
“Consequences like Taehyung would see?” he presses. His voice has gone hard. He’s tiptoed around this issue before, but it’s the first time either of you have ever really given it life.
You feel like you want to cry. “Are you mad? About Taehyung?”
He softens. His fingers brush your shoulder again, absently. “No,” he admits, deflated. “No, I guess I’m not. But we both know that’s what you meant.” He removes his arm from your shoulders. It hangs listlessly at his side. You feel its absence painfully, like it had kept you tethered and now you might float away.
“Hey,” you say sharply, and reach for his hand. You miss and get his wrist, but you hold it like your life depends on it. He looks at you curiously. “I like you,” you tell him firmly. “A lot. I’m trying not to mess everything up - with anyone. But he’s my family, and if I lose him…” You take a deep gulp of air, trying to will your pulse to calm, your stomach to settle, your eyes to clear of stupid tears. “I have no one left. It feels… delicate,” you finish finally. You need him to understand. You wish you were better at explaining.
Namjoon twists his wrist from your grasp gently, but takes your fingers in his. “What about me?” he asks, voice a little pouty. “We aren’t delicate?”
You smile at him, relief giving you more of a high than anything else could right now. “No,” you say, and touch his chest lightly, just over his beating heart. You brush your hand down his chest, drop it to your side, and turn to stare out at the crowd. “No,” you say again, finishing the thought. “You aren’t delicate at all. You’re steady. That’s something I really like about you.”
There’s a moment of silence that stretches between you, tension building like a bassline, and then he gives a tug to the hand he’s holding. You turn back to look at him.
“What do you want, Y/N?” he asks plaintively. 
You open your mouth immediately to answer, but he cuts you off.
“Don’t think about him when you answer that,” he commands seriously, fingers clutching yours so tightly it almost hurts. “Don’t think about anything else but you and me. What do you want?”
What do you want?
“I…” you start feebly, unsure how you’ll even finish the sentence. “I want…”
Jimin rushes up to you, breathless, grabbing both of your arms. Namjoon drops your hand like it’s burned him. If Jimin notices, he doesn’t let on. 
“We have to go,” he pants. “Literally right now. Jungkook hit on some huge guy’s girlfriend, it’s about to be a thing. Help me find everybody?”
“Where are they?” Namjoon asks, quickly setting his beer glass on the bar and reaching for your drink too. You let him take it, eyes wide. 
“Taehyung grabbed Jungkook and ran - I think they’re outside. Have you seen Hobi? Or Jin?”
“Jin left with a girl two bars ago,” you supply, glad to be able to help. 
“I see Hobi,” Namjoon says, craning his neck to scan the crowd. “I’ll go get him. Y/N, go with Jimin, we’ll meet up outside.”
He moves without waiting for an answer, wading through the crowd in what must be Hobi’s direction. Jimin takes you by the hand - it feels much different than it had felt a minute ago with Namjoon - and leads you through the crowd hurriedly, dodging people left and right. You look over your shoulder as he pulls you, trying to find Namjoon in the sea of people, but you can’t.
Outside, Jungkook seems to be arguing heatedly with the bouncer. 
“Come on,” Taehyung is telling him, looking honestly pissed. “Let’s just go. The night’s already ruined, let’s just leave.”
You pull away from Jimin and head for Taehyung. 
“Hey,” you say softly, resting a hand on his arm. He turns on you, still furious, but you don’t waver. “Take a breath,” you tell him softly. 
His temper gets the best of him sometimes. 
He shakes his head, angry, but you see his chest move as he obeys anyway. A second later he says, more calmly, “Come on, Jungkook, we can even go somewhere else if you want. We won’t have fun here, that guy’s friends are all worked up in there.”
Jungkook relents as Hobi and Namjoon join you on the sidewalk. You slide your hand off of Taehyung’s arm, feeling weirdly guilty. 
“We rallying?” Hobi asks hopefully. “Or did we kill the buzz?”
“Rally!” Jimin cheers, going over and shaking a sullen Jungkook’s shoulder. “Come on! The night prevails!”
“I’ll go somewhere else,” Taehyung says. 
“I think I’m done,” Namjoon says, glancing at his phone for the time. “I’ll Uber from here.”
“Y/N?” Taehyung asks, looking to you. For a second, you’re not sure why. Then you realize - you either have to Uber home with Namjoon, or opt to continue on with the rest of the guys. 
The angel whispers that you haven’t hung out with Taehyung as much lately. 
The devil whispers that you and Namjoon could be all alone.
0-2 for the angels tonight.
“I’m tired,” you say. “I’ll Uber with Namjoon. You guys have fun though. JK, try to keep it in your pants.”
He flips you off wordlessly, still sulking. 
They all tell you goodbye, Taehyung giving you an extra-tight squeeze with his hug, and they walk down the block to find another bar. You turn to Namjoon, who’s tapping at his phone to order a ride. 
What do you want? His question floats in your head.��
You don’t know. You want too much, too many things, too many contradictions. 
It seems like Namjoon knows, and forgives you. He silently holds out a hand, waiting. You take it, keeping it tight in yours, not letting go even as you slide into the backseat of the Uber, as it weaves through the neighborhoods until it stops in front of your building, as it drives away, leaving you lit in red taillights before vanishing around the corner.
You’re standing on the sidewalk in front of your building’s front door, Namjoon’s hand in yours, your eyes sleepy but your pulse racing. 
He tugs you towards the stairs, and you think he’s going to lead you inside. Instead he spins you and presses you back against the stone balustrade, one hand splayed across the middle of your spine, the other cupping your jaw as he kisses you insistently.
You open immediately for him, giving a happy noise low in your throat. His spare hand, the one not holding you up off the rough stone below, grips the back of your neck for the barest of seconds before continuing down - rubbing patterns past your shoulder blade, the middle of your back, down to the dip of your waist, the swell of your hip, the meat of your ass. He’d better appreciate every curve, you squeezed into spanx for this dress. 
You grip at the lapels of his ridiculous detective coat, the earth spinning in circles around you in a blur. You’re aware of only where your hands bunch the fabric, of only where his teeth and lips and tongue clash with yours, of only the fiery path his hand traces up and down your body. You melt into his touch, wanting more, trying to pull him closer, trying to get lost in each sensation.
He breaks the kiss to nip a line of sharp nibbles down your neck. You whine, trying to give him more room. His hands come to rest on your ribcage, thumbs not quite reaching your chest, which has to be a conscious decision on his part. You can feel the cold night air on your thighs; your dress has ridden up. This snaps you out of the moment a little. 
“Namjoon,” you murmur, but it comes out a little whiny as he continues to nibble down near the juncture of your neck and shoulder. “We should go inside.”
He stills, then pulls away, eyes seeking yours for any signs of discontent. “Yeah,” he says finally, one syllable all he can handle. “Come on.”
He releases your body gently, letting you find your balance on the pavement. Then, he leads you up the stairs and inside. In the threshold of the apartment, you look at him, a question on your face.
“We’re both really drunk,” he says apologetically, reaching out to brush some stray hairs away from your face. “We should probably cool down a little.”
He’s right - you know he’s right. 
“Yeah,” you say, letting the front door close behind you. “Okay.”
You press one palm against the wall for balance as you fight with your shoes, sliding them off one at a time. 
Namjoon’s in his room, but the door hangs open. You pause in the doorway of your bedroom, realizing you have a problem.
“Um, hey,” you call across the living room, and he takes a few steps to come look at you. He’s lost the hat and the long coat, and his button-down is undone, revealing a tight, white undershirt beneath. “I promise this isn’t a come-on,” you say, biting back a smile. “But I legitimately can’t reach the zipper on this. Can you-?”
“Of course,” he says, crossing the living room. You turn your back to him, presenting the zipper. He gently sweeps your hair off of your nape and places it over your shoulder. You shiver, goosebumps rising along your arms, and you hear him hum a pleased noise at your reaction. You feel him fumble with the hook-and-eye at the top, and then the zipper sounds. He pauses halfway down your back.
“That good?” he checks. “You can reach that?”
“Yes,” you say, turning back to face him. He’s still got a bit of your lipstick on his mouth, and it makes you have to fight off a smirk. Down, girl. “Goodnight, Namjoon.”
He looks at you for a long minute, expression unreadable. Finally, he says, “Goodnight,” and steps back out into the darkness of the living room. When he gets to his room this time, he closes the door behind him with a soft click. You stare at the inch of light that comes from under his door for a minute before hurrying to close your own door against the dark.
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Sunday November 4th
You spend most of Saturday in bed, heart and head both pounding, which means you have a lot of homework to cram in on Sunday.
After you shower and eat, you set up in the living room to get some work done. Namjoon’s door is halfway open, and you can hear the clacking and bass thumps that mean he’s writing in there. 
Midafternoon, he appears in his doorway, stretching widely. Your eyes skim the inch of stomach exposed with the stretch and then flick back to your page before he can catch you. 
“How’s it going?” he asks, heading into the kitchen. 
You twist your mouth, eyeing your laptop and the text spread open on your lap. “I guess it’s going. Sort of.” 
“What are you working on?” he asks.
“A paper for one of the bullshit general classes,” you tell him. “Which makes it more challenging, because I deeply do not care.”
He laughs at this, then plops onto the couch a few feet away from you, a water bottle in his hands. 
“How about you?” you ask. “It sounded like it was going well.”
“It was going okay,” he agrees. “I reached the end of a scene, so now I need to like… process, look at what’s coming next. I might take a short walk and let it marinate in my brain a little.”
You smile. “How come you never work out here?” you ask him, just curious. 
He gives a quick, self-deprecating laugh. “I wouldn’t get anything done. I’d just talk to you.”
You flush, feeling your face heat up, and bite back a smile. “What if I refused to answer?” you offer. “I could just sit here like -.” You mime zipping your lips, still fighting a smile. For good measure, you lock it up and throw the key over your shoulder.
His smile grows. “Wouldn’t help. I’d still be able to look at you.”
Your blush intensifies; you’re tempted to go stick your head in the freezer to cool your cheeks down. “I’ll turn around, then,” you tell him.
His grin turns wolfish. “I assure you, that will not solve the problem.”
Your jaw drops. “Kim Namjoon!” you scold, but you’re giggling.
“I’m just being honest!” he defends, laughing deeply, holding his hands up in mock surrender. “Anyway, why? Does it bother you that I stay in there?”
“No,” you say immediately. “You can do what you want.”
He gives you a knowing look, like he’s used to your bullshit and isn’t falling for it. When did that happen? “Don’t get prickly,” he warns. 
“Don’t compare me to plants,” you grumble. 
“Do you want me to work out here instead?” he asks gently, smiling at you like you’re adorable, which just sets your prickliness off even more.
“I don’t know what I want,” you retort.
There’s a long, stretchy silence as you both consider just how true those words are, on several different levels. 
Finally, Namjoon gives you a nod in goodbye and heads back to his room. 
This time, he closes the door gently behind him.
Taehyung invites you out that night, to see a movie you’d been talking about. You tell him yes, as long as you can go to the earlier showing. But then you start to feel… guilty. Unsure.
You want to ask Namjoon if he cares if you hang out with Taehyung still. He’s bothered by some aspect of your friendship, obviously, but you don’t know what it is. Is it only the fact that Taehyung is a bit of a barrier for you two? Or is he threatened by the whole friendship? 
You lay sideways across your bed in the fading late afternoon light, considering this. You imagine asking Namjoon. You think his answer would probably be, do what you want, I’m not your boyfriend. 
Which, fair. That conversation needs to come first. Are you together, do either of you even really want that? 
In the end, you don’t bring it up. When it’s time, you do your best to sneak out of the apartment, hoping to avoid any conversation about it at all.
Taehyung’s car idles on the street below, and you let yourself in the passenger side and buckle up. You’re anxious, you realize, as Taehyung starts complaining about an argument he had with Jimin back at their place. You’re afraid he’ll ask something that will lead the conversation to Namjoon, afraid that he’ll catch you tripping up, clue in that there’s something worth his attention there. 
You can’t lie to him. He knows this as well as you do.
That’s why he never asks you questions he doesn’t really want the answers to.
You’re anxious for nothing, because Taehyung talks about his own shit for the whole drive to the movies, and the whole time you’re in line for snacks, and for the whole time before the movie starts as you sit in the back row of the theater munching on overpriced popcorn.
But the movie is good, and you get pulled into the fictional world, and when the lights come on you find Taehyung’s arm casually over the back of your seat. You hadn’t even noticed it was there. 
“I can’t believe Jimin wouldn’t come see this,” Taehyung scoffs as you file out of the theater and back to the lobby. “That was so good! Just because he doesn’t like that one actor?”
You’re curious if Taehyung would have still asked you to join him tonight if Jimin hadn’t turned him down first. 
But, like Taehyung, you don’t ask questions if you aren’t prepared to hear the truth. So you don’t ask. What would be the point?
You wonder during the drive home if you’d feel better talking to Taehyung about what was going on with you if the guy in question wasn’t his friend.
Maybe.
But only a little better.
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Monday November 5th 
Unlike the Monday before, Namjoon leaves for campus without you on Monday morning. You aren’t sure if he’s upset with you, or if he just needed to be there early. You’re too cowardly to ask. 
You need some support.
If it’s not coming from your “best friend”, you’ll have to outsource. 
You trudge through your morning class, eat as fast as you can - alone - in the cafeteria, and head to the student center. You get to the store well before your shift starts. 
You aren’t allowed to clock in yet, so you kill some time doing reading for class in the stock room. The second your shift starts, you’re at the front registers, uncomfortably close to Kris’s personal bubble.
“Yes?” they ask you archly, eyeing your proximity suspiciously. 
“I… have a confession to make,” you say, your voice as quiet as you can make it. You’re barely moving your mouth, you’re trying so hard to not actually say these words. “There… has been… perhaps… some kissing.”
Kris is stunned into silence for the first time since you’ve known them. Eyes wide and jaw slack, they stare at you. Then, they clarify loudly, “By you?”
You growl in exasperation. “Don’t be cute.”
Kris beams. “Can’t help it, it’s ingrained in my DNA.”
“I need you to be just a tiny bit serious,” you tell them, “because I am having a full-blown crisis.”
Kris sobers instantly. “Wait,” they whisper. “Crisis? Explain.”
“I kissed…” you cast your eyes around the bookstore, making sure no one’s lurking, “...the one I live with.”
Kris gasps. “You did not! You kissed him? Not the other way around?”
“I did,” you admit, feeling yourself flush again. “Twice. Well, the second time he started it, if you want to get technical.”
“I do want to get technical,” Kris whispers, voice almost reverent. “I can’t fucking believe this. So, why the crisis?”
You take a deep breath. Which factor to start with? Because you don’t want to give up on Taehyung yet? Because you don’t want to risk altering that friendship beyond repair? Because you don’t know if Namjoon will be able to handle your best friend being a guy - a guy that you’ve had feelings for?
“Because I don’t know what I want,” you say, the simplest truth. “I can’t get my head straight.”
Kris cocks their head. “If you didn’t know Taehyung - if you removed him completely from the situation -.”
“Impossible,” you protest.
They hold up a finger to silence you. “If you removed him from the situation,” they continue over you, “would you want to pursue things with Namjoon?”
Guilt hits you like an ocean wave, tugging you down, down, down. “Yes,” you whisper, because that part is just true. There’s no wiggle room, no if’s. You like him. You want to see where it will go. If there were no chance of losing Taehyung in the mix, it wouldn’t be a question at all.
“Y/N,” Kris says insistently, leaning towards you. “You are not doing anything wrong here. Taehyung is your friend. Nothing else - and that’s his fault. You aren’t, like, betraying him by catching feelings for someone else. He can’t expect you to sit around waiting for him until you die!”
“He doesn’t expect that,” you say, still in a whisper, because suddenly your throat is tight in that way it gets when you’re upset. 
“You need to talk to Taehyung,” Kris tells you gently. You groan. “And the conversation should not be you asking for permission, either!” they continue, impassioned. “You need to tell him I’m seeing someone and you need to be okay with it.”
“But they’re friends,” you protest. “It’s so messy. I’ve never had messy before.”
“You’ve never had anything before,” Kris points out.
“That wasn’t nice,” you grumble. “Yes I have.”
“Nothing that mattered,” they correct. “Nothing with feelings.”
You slump onto the counter. “I hate this.”
“I’m telling you,” Kris says airily. “If you don’t talk to them, this is all going to blow up in your face. You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.”
“Why do you have to be right all the time,” you complain. Kris smiles beatifically.  
When your shifts ends, your feet take you not towards home, but towards the academic building where Namjoon’s “office” is. 
You’re thinking about your conversation about Kris; you’re thinking about the idea of fairness. 
It isn’t fair, as Kris said, for Taehyung to expect you to wait indefinitely for something that was probably never coming, to hold you emotionally hostage.
It isn’t fair for you to do the same thing to Namjoon - to keep him waiting, wondering, unsure if you’ll ever be completely in it. You know that’s the reason things have kept progressing so slowly between you. You’ve felt guilty letting it get any further, felt afraid of those damn consequences. And if you had to bet, Namjoon has been trying to wait for you to sort it out, to make the choice - to choose him. 
You can hear the low tones of his voice as you approach down the quiet hallway. Only the staff are normally back here, sometimes one or two students who need to speak to a professor, so there’s not a lot of foot traffic. 
You linger in the hallway, leaning against the wall and messing around on your phone, far enough away to not be able to tell what Namjoon and the student are discussing. When the student - a young guy who looks absolutely dejected as he passes by you - exits, you slip past him and lean against the doorway. Namjoon doesn’t notice you right away. It’s clear that his hours have ended and he’s packing up his stuff. When he does notice a body in the doorway, he jumps, inhaling sharply in alarm.
He slumps against the back of the chair when he registers that it’s you.
“I’m usually the jumpy one,” you giggle. 
He gives you a sideways smile as he leaves over his bag on the floor, messing with the clasp. “I didn’t expect to see anyone else. What are you - I mean, what’s up?” 
“What am I doing here?” you tease, catching his slip. You feel a little nervous, but you’re determined to do this correctly, to treat him better. “I came to see if you wanted to walk back together.”
Namjoon goes a little still, and you hurry to add, “It’s okay if you don’t! It didn’t make my walk longer or anything to come here first. I just thought I’d check.”
He lets you babble. He does as he’s been doing since the beginning - he waits you out with a patient smile. 
“So…” you finally finish, the nerves fluttering and hopping around your stomach. “Do you? Want to walk back with me?”
He stands, lifting his bag from the ground and hoisting it onto his shoulder. “Yes,” he says simply, giving you a tiny smile. 
You follow him down the narrow hallway, back down the stairs you’d climbed a minute ago, and outside. It’s a nice day - bright and sunny, chilly but not freezing. Campus is busy, and you have to people-dodge a little as you cross the main section, the crossroads of the two main paths. 
The second you cross through the front gate and step onto the city sidewalk on the other side, Namjoon silently reaches for your hand. It’s different from last time, in the rain - not urgent, not pulling. It’s gentle and tentative and, weirdly, somehow sensual the way his thumb runs over your knuckles as he glances sideways at you to see if you’re okay with this.
You give his fingers a tiny squeeze.
You walk together in silence for a few minutes, and then Namjoon asks you quietly. “How was your day? You had class this morning? Was it for Thesis?”
You smile up at him, happy to have someone to talk to about this. Kris would listen, you’re sure, because Kris is a good human, but they would much rather talk about romance. And Taehyung… it’s November, and Taehyung has asked you about your classes or your thesis exactly zero times. 
“No, not for my thesis,” you tell him. “Just a regular lit class. It was okay! I was so tired, I could barely stay awake… I think I’m still recovering from the weekend.”
He laughs. “Can’t imagine why,” he teases, voice going a little deeper. “I’m sure you were a perfect angel all weekend long.”
The joke - that you’d dressed as a devil - is not lost on you, and you grin up at him. “Clever,” you say.
He beams back, proud. “Sometimes,” he allows.
“How about you?” you ask. “Did you have class before your TA hours?”
“Yep,” he says, nodding. “Unfortunately, it was a research-based class.”
You groan in sympathy. “First thing on a Monday morning? Fucking ouch.”
“Tell me about it,” he says with a shake of his head. “I’m not much of a napper, but damn, I could use a nap.”
At the apartment, you decide to watch a show you’re in the middle of, and you settle on the couch with a throw-blanket over your legs. Namjoon appears in the doorway of his bedroom, looking at you a little balefully.
“Can I… do you mind if I read out here?” he asks.
You scramble to sit up a little making room on the other side of the couch. “You don’t need to ask,” you say, a little appalled that he’d felt the need. “You live here! I never mind, I promise.”
Appeased, he makes his way over and gets comfortable on the other side of the couch. It occurs to you that this is how you and Taehyung usually spend your time - on opposite ends of the couch - but you shove the thought away. 
You glance at him now and then as your show plays, and a few times you think you catch him watching more than reading. In between episodes, you notice his book face-down on his chest, rising and falling in deep, even motions. His head leans back against the arm of the couch, and his eyelids flutter as he dreams. 
Smiling a tiny smile, you fluff your blanket to cover his legs, and press play for the next episode.
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Thank you so much for being here!!!!! What did we think of what I lovingly call "the Halloween Pub Crawl Fiasco"?!
Section VII will drop on Friday, February 24th! I hope to see you there!!
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ageofevermore · 4 years ago
Text
「 FULL MASTERLIST 」
⊹ fluff, ✧ angst, ≛ nsfw, ** sensitive
find my retired masterlist here
find all concepts here
approximate total word count: 65.5k+
TOM HOLLAND
— what could be ⊹
tom starts to wonder if you really are better off as friends (1.3k)
— bridged ⊹ ✧
the bridge between friendship and something more is crossed in the middle of an airport terminal (1.4k)
— eighteen ⊹ ✧
you’re tired of feeling like the world silences you, but after an interview with sebastian and anthony, you start to wonder if maybe it’s your fault (1.9k) **
— the autocomplete interview ⊹
your favorite thing about interviews is how cuddly tom gets afterwards, almost like he’s a life size teddy bear (1.5k)
— magic in the parks ⊹
and maybe he was meant to find love in the happiest place on earth, or maybe they were just strangers in the same room at the same time (5k)
— daddy’s girl ⊹
and since the day she was born she’s been his biggest fan (1k)
— wrapped in red ✧ ⊹
first time parents go santa shopping for their baby (1.4k)
— home for the holidays ⊹ ✧
tom doesn’t think he’s going to make it home in time for your daughters first christmas (2.3k)
— love to call you mine ⊹
she’s got somebody else’s eyes but you love her as your own. or, tom has a daughter from a previous relationship, but she’s your little best friend with honey eyes (1.5k)
— influencer ⊹
you’re the youngest holland, and what you want, you get (1.4k)
— no pants with his love ⊹
tom never miss out on an opportunity to rave about just how much he adores you (1.5k)
— SERIES
— butterfly kingdom ⊹
periwinkles have blossomed for eighteen years between the old english kingdoms of florence and arkadence. two royal families— one of many sons, and one of a single daughter, have filled the acres of land with peace for centuries. now, the two kingdoms will become one. (3.4k)
one | two | three | four | five | six
[ find the sole masterlist here ]
HARRY STYLES
— amalfi coast ⊹
and maybe it was meant to be harry and his golden girl on the southern coast of italy, capturing magic before their lives changed forever, again (0.9k)
— lookout point ⊹
you’ve always been a fan of hallmark movies. you’ve made him watch them with you so many times, that when he chooses to propose, it’s in a snow sprinkled garden with a ring you’ve always dreamed of (3k)
— canyon moon ⊹
in which harry dedicates fine line to his and your daughter, then brings her on stage to close the show (1.4k)
— adore you ⊹
in which harry goes away for a few weeks and upon his highly anticipated arrival home your daughter doesn’t recognize him (1.7k)
— golden ⊹
in which harry doesn’t understand how he can possibly love such a small baby so painfully much (1.7k)
— seven tomorrow ⊹
you run into him at your campus starbucks not expecting to fall in love with his smile and the stupid holiday headband holding his hair back (1.5k)
— light up ⊹
in which harry hates that the two of you can’t enjoy a night on the town without the blinding lights of paparazzi (1.3k)
— ten little fingers, ten little toes ⊹
he proposed, you danced, and you created a family, all to one song, and now he’s singing it with your kids beside christmas lights and framed memories (1.2k)
— strawberries ⊹ ≛
you get carried away in front of a chocolate covered strawberry audience (1.1k)
— on your knees ≛
after being away for so long, you decide to test harry’s patience while he’s in a virtual business meeting (1.2k)
— falling ⊹ ✧
harry doesn’t want losing you to be his fault, but he can’t help the way he feels (0.6k)
— SERIES
— four ⊹
from a little british town to first class flights, you’ve always had a place in your heart for harry, and he’s had a place for you in his (0.2k)
one | two |
[ find the sole masterlist here ]
CHRIS EVANS
— don’t wake dodger ⊹ ✧
you settle down for a night in with the family, showing off some of your favorite christmas films after an eventful afternoon in the kitchen (1.2k)
— BLURBS
[ find the sole masterlist here ]
PETER PARKER
— heavy without you ✧
death is heavy on your mind this christmas season, but it’s even heavier on peters (1.8k) **
— you scare me ⊹ ✧
she had known him for so long, wasn’t it meant to be obvious that every night he snuck out of his bedroom to save the world? (1.7k)
[ find the sole masterlist here ]
BUCKY BARNES
— BLURBS
gentle (0.2k)
[ find the sole masterlist here ]
HARRISON OSTERFIELD
— COMING SOON
— BLURBS
[ find the sole masterlist here ]
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hstyleshoney · 4 years ago
Note
hey! could u maybe write something where h notices Y/N is distant after he comes back from tour? like she doesn’t feel stable in the relationship anymore bc he’s always away or something like that but he doesn’t want to break up. lmao this is weirdly specific but I really hope u get over your writers block <3
This has been in my drafts for a couple months now. Finally had time to finish it. Sorry it took so long. Hope you like It! <3 
WC: 5.3K // angst, fluff 
April.
Harry is tired.
He’s only been back in London for two days but he is completely drained. Mentally and physically. All he wants to do is snuggle down on the sofa with his girl and relax. He wants to hold her as close to him as humanly possible; feel her warmth and her smooth skin against his. He wants to spend all night just giggling away at nothing in particular with her because they’re both just so happy to be around one another again and whisper sweet nothings to her all night to let her know how much he missed her and loves her.
He has 21 days home before the next part of his tour kicks off - in Australia. He wants to make the most out of their time together before he has to leave again.
But something is wrong.
She is distant. She’s not letting him hold her, she hardly smiles when she sees him and she’s being off. It’s weird. Harry doesn’t like it.
He noticed it the second he arrived at her flat Monday night. She didn’t come running when he walked through the door. She didn’t talk non-stop for hours like she usually did when they had spent an excessive amount of time apart. She didn’t dig through his suitcase to get a look at all his latest purchases of clothes just because she loved fashion and got excited about all the designer items he owned. It was odd.
They didn’t even have sex.
Harry told himself it was probably just because it was late when he arrived and she was probably just tired. She’d be fine in the morning.
But she is still being as off with him as she was on Monday night, despite the fact that he has been back home in London for a couple days now. Harry doesn’t know what to do. Usually being back home with her brings him comfort and lets him relax after weeks on the road. Now it only has the opposite effect. It’s disheartening. He doesn’t understand it.
On Friday night they go out for dinner with a couple of friends of his. Harry hopes it will lift her spirits but she stays quiet for most of the evening. She is gloomy, not her usual self, and the twinkle in her eyes is missing. It’s awkward and when James shoots him a questioning look from across the table Harry knows that everyone has noticed that something is wrong.
Harry feels sick.
He is worried. Stressed. Anxious. Maybe even a tiny bit angry.
And he is afraid to ask her about it because he has a bad feeling about the whole thing. His gut is telling him that her lack of affection is because of him. He knows he has to ask her about it, but he is holding off for as long as he possibly can. Because asking her about why she is being distant makes it real and he is not ready for her to confirm his suspicions. He is still holding onto the small hope that her mood is because of something that happened at work or with her friends.
But she usually tells him everything and now she hasn’t said anything.
So the only explanation Harry can think of is that he is the reason for her low mood.
And he is not ready to hear it.
He knows her though. He knows she hates upsetting or disappointing others and will avoid it at all costs, even if it means neglecting her own thoughts and feelings until she’s too overwhelmed by it all. She has the kindest heart he has ever met; she is perhaps too kind for her own good.
Which is why he knows he has to ask her and get her to open up about whatever is going on in her head. For her sake but also for his own.  
The car ride back to his house after their dinner is, unsurprisingly, quiet and somewhat tense. Harry wants to ask her right there and then why she is being so off, but he also knows he won’t be able to focus on the road if he does. He can hardly focus enough as it is. So he stays quiet and glances over at her whenever he gets the chance, and his heart sinks from how sad she looks.
She doesn’t look at him once though and only rests her head against the window as she watches the other cars around them, picking at the skin around her nails; a sign Harry has learned means that she is either stressed or upset... or both.
Once they make it to his house reality kind of hits him like a ton of bricks and he is one hundred percent sure her mood is because of him now and he is anxious to find out the reason why that is and fearful of where the conversation might lead. What if he loses her? He is not sure his heart can take it.
But she lets him put a hand on her back as they walk into the house and it’s nice to have her close again, she smells so good, and he has to stop himself from falling into her. He wants to wrap his arms around her and never let go.
“I’m gonna go get ready for bed,” she tells him quietly when they get inside, avoiding eye contact, and swiftly disappears up the stairs before he gets the chance to ask her about anything. Harry almost calls her name to stop her but decides to give her a couple of minutes before he approaches her about the elephant in the room.
Also, he needs some time to get his own head together and prepare for whatever might be thrown his way. As scared as he might be there is also a frustration building up inside him from her shutting him out. He had been gone for almost three months and they hadn’t been able to see each other as much as they would’ve liked to. He had been looking forward to just coming home to her and getting a couple of weeks with her before continuing his tour.
There is a lump in his throat as he makes his way up the stairs. His palms are sweaty. His head is spinning. And he realises, for the first time in his life, that he is absolutely terrified about the possibility of losing someone. Her. He has been in love before. He has gone through break-ups. But none of them have made him feel like this. It’s like someone is suffocating him.
And the break-up hasn’t even happened yet. He doesn’t even know if it will happen. He just knows that the girl who has his whole heart in his hands is being distant and won’t talk to him after weeks apart. It’s not a good sign.
She is still in the bathroom when he comes upstairs. The door is open and he takes a few seconds to just watch her, leaning against the doorframe with a fond look on his face. He can’t take his eyes off her. Her hair is pushed back by her pink fuzzy headband and her face is free from all the makeup she had previously worn. She is beautiful, he thinks and closes his eyes for a second to savor the small moment.
It’s just so familiar. He has seen her get ready for bed a hundred times before and he never gets tired of it. It’s the simplest thing but it makes him feel home.
She feels like home.
And then she spots him by the door and a small squeal escapes her lips which brings him back. “Bloody hell Harry” she breathes out and puts a hand over her chest. “You scared me.”
“Sorry,” he replies and shoots her a weak smile.
“I’m almost done, just give me a couple minutes and then the bathroom is all yours” she says and picks up one of her many skin care products to continue her routine. She speaks fast and avoids his gaze. Harry clears his throat awkwardly.
“Actually,” he starts. “I was wondering if we could talk?”  
She freezes for a brief moment and Harry almost feels bad. Silence falls over them again and it’s all the confirmation he needs to know that whatever is going on has something to do with him. Harry is almost certain she’s going to tell him she’s too tired to talk or come up with another excuse, but eventually she nods.
“Yes,” she murmurs. “Of course.”
“Thank you,” he nods as well and tries to give her another small smile to ease the tension between them but it’s useless. The knot in his stomach weighs him down too much. “I’ll let you finish and you can just come find me, yeah?”
Harry waits for her in the bedroom. He sits down on the bed before standing up almost just as fast. Then he sits back down again. His throat feels dry and his heart is beating so hard inside his chest it feels like it might burst. He’s trying to come up with what to say to her but as soon as she walks in his mind goes completely blank. He wants to believe that he is wrong, that it’s just a big misunderstanding, but her sad eyes make it hard.
She looks so soft and small as she takes a seat next to him and Harry has to fight the urge to just pull her into his arms. It’s strange and he doesn’t understand why she is being so distant. Everything was fine between them before he left for his tour and as far as he knows nothing happened while he was away.
“Have I done something wrong?” he begins.
She sighs and looks down at her hands, still doing her best to avoid eye contact.
“I’m sorry H,” she says and her voice cracks a little at the end. Harry feels sick again. “I know I've been acting weird. Distant. I’m sorry.”
“Will you please look at me?” he begs because he can’t stand her shutting him out like she is. It’s never happened before. So when she looks up at him with tears in her eyes both relief and pangs of agony washes over him. It kills him; fills him with worry. Harry doesn’t know how he is going to get through this. This wasn’t how he had planned his return home. Far from. “What’s going on?”
“I love you,” she tells him and swallows thickly.
Harry nods and tries to stop his head from spinning so much.
“And I love you.”
“I... I don’t know if I can do this anymore.”
There it is. He knew it was coming but hearing the words come out of her mouth is a punch to the face. He doesn’t know how to respond to it. Silence falls between them just as heavy raindrops start to fall against the windowsill outside.
“Okay,” is all he can say.
“I just - I hate missing my best friend every single day.” A tear rolls down her cheek and she’s quick to wipe it away, taking a shaky breath. “I feel very alone.”
“You’re not alone,” Harry says and reaches out to take her soft hands into his, holding them tight. She gives him a sad smile and laces her fingers with his. He never wants to let go.
“I know,” she replies softly. “But it feels like I am. I come home to an empty flat, have dinner on my own and watch some stupid reality show to kill time. I can’t even call you whenever I want to because you’re on stage or busy with something else. I feel like I’m just constantly waiting for you. It feels impossible for us to build a life together.”
Harry wants to tell her it’ll change. That it’ll get better. That he’ll be better. But it’s a promise he can’t make because he’s leaving again, soon. He still has shows to do in Australia, North- and South America. He still has a tour to do - and hopefully more tours in the future as well.
And he loves his job. It’s his dream. He is so grateful for everything he gets to do.
But he has never hated his job as much as he does in that moment right there, and he hates himself for that too.
“I’m here now,” he says weakly and tightens his fingers around hers.
“Yeah, I know,” she croaks and when she cups his cheek in the hand he’s not holding Harry can’t stop himself from leaning into her touch. “But you’re leaving again, what happens then? We’ve been in the same time zone and country now for three months and barely had the chance to talk - what happens when you’re on the other side of the world?”
“I’ll make time for you. I promise,” Harry tells her and blinks away his own tears that are threatening to fall.
“But you won’t be here,” she replies sadly and pulls away from him. Harry feels cold as soon as her hands leave his. He wants to scream but there is no air in his lungs. He’s losing her and he doesn't know what to do or say to stop it. He’s helpless.
And when a strangled sob escapes her he thinks his heart might shatter into a million pieces. It’s the worst sound he has ever heard and it kills him knowing it’s because of him. “I hate this,” she cries. “I’m so sorry Harry. I’m being so fucking selfish.”
“Stop,” he huffs and angles his body so he can move himself closer to her. Desperate to fix whatever is happening between them before it’s too late.
“I’m sorry,” she sniffles and bows her head, avoiding his gaze. “I don’t want to make you feel bad because I know how much you love what you do and I would never ask you to stop. I love watching you on stage, it’s my favorite thing in the world... but I just- I just don’t know if I’m happy like this. I don’t like the person I become when you’re away.”  
“What can I do?” Harry begs even though he knows there’s not a lot he can do right now. “I’m not losing you.” He takes her hands into his again, running his thumb over her knuckles. “I love you.”
“I love you too Harry, so much.” Her voice trembles as she speaks and Harry feels his whole stomach drop as the next few words fall from her lips. He’s sure he is going to pass out. “Sometimes love isn’t enough though, is it?”
“What are you saying?” he whispers as he tightens his hold on her hands. She looks up at him, her glossy eyes meeting his green ones, and Harry can no longer hold back his own tears.
“I don’t know yet,” she admits, her voice low and thick. Harry tries to think of something to say that will change her mind but his head is swirling with a million different things all at once. He can’t think straight. He only knows he refuses to lose her. He won’t lose her. So he tells her that again.
“I’m not losing you.”
That night they fall asleep on different sides of the bed with their backs facing each other and Harry might just break.
.
May 19th.
Harry Styles ❤️ 11:34 AM We just landed in Australia. I wish you were here. I love you. xxx
.
May 31st.
Harry Styles ❤️ 5:47 PM Last show is done. I’ll be home on Tuesday. Let’s talk then. xxx
.
June.  
She is tired.
The last three weeks have been brutal. Or, actually, the whole month has been brutal. Ever since she told Harry about her insecurities regarding their relationship she felt like her whole life had just fallen apart. She couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t eat. Nothing.
She went to work and when the day was over she went straight home and watched every episode she could find of ‘The Great British Bake Off’ to numb her mind. Her co-workers express their worry when they see her come to work with the same outfit for the fourth day in a row, greasy hair and big dark circles under her eyes. They tell her to take a few days off.
But she doesn’t.
Because she needs work as a distraction. She can’t just sit at home and think about everything that happened between her and Harry before he left for Australia. The morning after their talk they hardly said a word to each other and she could see that he was hurt. It killed her knowing it was because of her.
It was just that the European tour had been harder on her than she ever could've imagined. Other than the London shows she had only been able to go to the one in Manchester and the one in Paris, but that was it. She couldn’t get more time off to go see him and whenever she finished work at the end of a long day and had time to call him he was already on stage or about to be.
They hardly spoke and it made her sad. The reality of how different their lives were slapped her hard in the face that first leg of his tour. So hard she couldn’t bring herself to be happy when he came back home to London, because she knew he was leaving again.
She figured that maybe she just needed some time to get used to having him around again and that things would go back to how they usually were after a day or so. They didn’t. Instead all she could think about was the fact that he was leaving again and how every hour that passed was an hour of their time together that was gone.
She had been stupid to think he wouldn’t notice.
When he asked her to talk she knew that she would no longer be able to keep things to herself. It all just came crashing down.
She hasn’t seen Harry in almost a month now and her whole body is aching for his touch again. At the same time, she knows she has no one but herself to blame for her heartache.
She loves him. She loves him so fucking much.
She just doesn’t know if she can handle the distance. She doesn’t know if she can handle only speaking to him through text messages because of the time difference and/or because their schedules don't add up. She doesn’t know if she can handle all the rumors circulating on social media whenever he has been seen with someone she doesn’t recognize. She’s become jealous and she doesn’t like it.  
But she loves him.
She knows in her heart that he is The one.
And maybe that’s why she is so fucking terrified of him leaving, because what if he never comes back to her?
She’s not sure she’s going to be able to handle it.
So when she told him she wasn’t sure if she could be with him anymore she did it so she could leave first, but then he looked at her like she had just crushed his entire soul. After spending every night for the last couple weeks replaying the moment over and over again in her head she realises she won’t ever be able to leave him. She doesn’t want to.
And now he is coming back again, after spending two weeks back home in Holmes Chapel with his family to clear his head and two weeks down under in Australia doing what he loves most, and she is still terrified.  Because he might show up and tell her he’s had enough of her games and leave with her heart.
She takes that Tuesday off from work and cleans her entire flat, anxiously waiting for Harry to show up. He texted her earlier to let her know he would arrive in London by noon and would be coming over, to which she only replied an ‘okay’ because she was overthinking and didn’t know what else to say.
They never officially said the words “we are over” so she has no idea if they were still together or broken up, and she didn’t want to say something that could be misinterpreted in any way.
Then she gets another text from him asking her if she could come over to him instead because he is too jet lagged and wants to just go home and have a shower. And she convinces herself it’s only an excuse from him. An excuse to get her to come over and get all her stuff she has left laying around his house the last year, so he can remove any traces of her ever being in his life.
She still tells him she’ll be there in an hour.
That hour ends up being one of the worst hours of her life. She’s an anxious mess as she tries to get ready and ends up spilling her coffee all over her shirt and the freshly mopped floor. Her favorite cup with a small dachshund painted on it, the one Harry got her after their first date when she told she was obsessed with dachshunds, falls to the floor and breaks in half. She has a mini breakdown over it all.
She’s also about two seconds away from running over an old lady by the crossroads leading up to Harry’s house.
Then when she arrives at Harry’s house she has forgotten the code to get through his gate. She has another breakdown thinking he has changed it because he doesn’t want her to know what it is anymore.
Turns out she only missed a number.
Before she knows she is knocking on his door and just stands there waiting for him to come let her in. Normally she wouldn’t knock and just waltz right in but it didn’t feel right this time. She isn’t sure if she is even allowed to anymore.
So she waits.
When Harry finally opens the door and she is face to face with him again she feels like she might actually collapse. He looks tired, eyes puffy and cheeks rosy, but he still smiles when he sees her. And even though he has his grey hoodie up she can still see the little hair clip on top of his head that’s holding back his damp curls from falling in his face.
“Hi,” she breathes out and clasps her hands together in front of her because she doesn’t know what else to do. Her heart is beating painfully hard inside her chest.
“Hi,” Harry says and takes a step forward as if he is about to pull her into a hug, but he stops himself and takes a step back again. They stand in silence for what feels like an eternity, just taking each other in, before Harry clears his throat and opens the door a little wider for her.  “Come in.”
As she passes him she catches a whiff of his perfume and it’s so familiar and calming that she forgets for  a moment that they’ve been in a downward spiral for the last month.
But she is quickly reminded of the situation when Harry awkwardly leads her to the lounge and they sit down on opposite ends of the sofa. Her fingers tremble a little as she pushes a couple strands of hair behind her ear. The room is quiet and cold. The whole house smells like detergent and soap, it always did when he hadn’t been home for a while, and she hates it.
“So, um, how was Australia?” she asks, keeping her eyes on the bright colorful painting that hangs on the wall above Harry’s head and avoiding his green ones that are staring her down. She’s positive he can hear how fast her heart is beating.
“It was alright,” Harry answers and tilts his head forward a little, brows drawn together, as he tries to get her to focus on him rather than the painting behind him.
“Good,” she mumbles and takes a shaky breath, still avoiding his eyes. Harry sighs deeply and she shifts uncomfortably in her seat. This isn’t like them. Far from. She wants to crawl into his arms; wants to feel the comfort and safety he always brings her when he holds her. Her whole body is screaming for his touch again, but her head stops her - what if he didn’t want to hold her anymore?
“We can’t go on like this,” he tells her then and her blood instantly runs cold.
This is it.
Harry is going to tell her he can’t be with her anymore and it’s her own fault. She pushed him away.
“Okay,” she whispers. Tears are already welling up in her eyes and she is quick to blink them away before they fall. But her vision is still blurry. Her throat feels tight and dry. The room is closing on her and she has to wipe her clammy hands on her pants to make sure she’s still in her own body. A huge part of her wants to run, although she is not too sure her legs will carry her. This is what she gets for pushing him away though she supposes.
“I need to know if you’re leaving or not.”
She snaps her head in his direction as soon as the words come out of his mouth.
“What?”
She’s not sure she’s heard him right.
“I can’t do this anymore,” Harry continues and a small curl falls out of his little hair clip as he shakes his head. “I need answers from you. These past few weeks - I can’t...  I need to know where we stand. I need to know if I’ve lost you.”
She blinks.
“Harry, I-“ She can't find her words. She had been so sure that he was going to tell her he was leaving her, that he was tired of her selfishness and wanted nothing more to do with her. Now her whole body is frozen as her mind tries to catch up with what Harry just told her. He looks worn out, sad, and she feels so incredibly stupid. Guilty. This mess is all her fault. “No.”
Harry inhales sharply through his nose and gives her a short nod.
“Alright.” His lips are pressed together, jaw tense, as he averts his gaze to something other than her face, refusing to look at her any longer.
“No Harry, I mean, you haven’t,” she is quick to say when she realises he had misunderstood her words. Her head is spinning. There is so much she needs to say but she doesn’t even know where to start. “You haven’t lost me. I didn’t think- I thought you were leaving me.”
“What?”
And just like that it’s all just too much. The last couple weeks washes over her as soon Harry looks at her again and she notices how glossy his eyes are. She’s overwhelmed.
“Oh, I’m so sorry H,” she cries and hides her face in her hands, finally letting her tears spill over and run hot down her cheeks. “I’ve been so fucking stupid.”
She lets a sob rip from her throat and buries her face deeper into her hands, wishing she could just disappear. Guilt is eating away at her conscience knowing that Harry had walked around thinking she was leaving him while having to go out on stage and put on a good show for thousands of fans. She should’ve talked to him before he left. She should’ve replied to his texts. She feels like the worst fucking person in the entire world.
“Heey, noo, don’t cry.” Harry moves over to crouch down in front of her. His touch burns through the thick denim of her jeans when he puts his arms down on either side of her on the sofa, his thumbs rubbing small circles on her thighs. “Talk to me, Love.”
“I’m so stupid,” she repeats.
“You’re not,” Harry says softly and gently pushes some of her hair away from her face, tapping her fingers lightly to get her to get her to remove her hands from her face and look at him again. When she peeks at him through her fingers she’s met by his small dimple. He takes the opportunity to carefully pry her hands away completely and holds them in his own. “There we go,” he murmurs. “S’just me. You can talk to me.”
“I’m scared,” she admits and runs her fingers over his rings. Harry frowns but doesn’t say anything, just lets her take her time to gather her scattered mind. It’s hard though when he is finally so close again and all she can think about is how good he smells and how familiar and soothing it is to have his hand in hers again. “I don’t know - I guess I just worry that you’ll get tired of me or feel like I’m just holding you back or that you’ll meet someone much more exciting than me while you’re away. I’m terrified that you’re going to wake up one day and realise I’m just some loser who lives a boring life that you actually have no interest of being a part of...  And I don’t think my heart could take it.” Her voice cracks with the last part.
Harry holds her hand a little tighter in his.
“I don’t think my heart could take it either,” he tells her.
And even though he is right in front of her, holding her hands in his, she can’t stop the feeling of hopelessness coming over her again. She doesn’t want to lose him. Refuses to be the one who leaves.
But he is going away again soon and she doesn’t know what she is supposed to do when he does. The issues of her feeling alone and insecure are still going to be there, and what happens then? Is she going to put them both through another tortures couple weeks again, where neither of them know where they stand? She can’t do that to him.
“Do you think we can make it work?” she asks him and presses her lips together to stop herself from letting another sob escape her.
“I don’t know,” he answers truthfully and swallows hard. “But isn’t that part of it? Not knowing. Life is far too short to worry about what might happen in the future. There is alway going to be some bad and some good. The only thing I know for certain right here, right now, is that I love you and that I want to be with you. I don’t want anyone else.”
“Neither do I.”
Harry smiles.
“Okay then,” he says softly and moves himself a little closer to her. “Maybe we can just leave it like that then? And we’ll just figure it out as we go.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Me too.”
There's a moment of silence and she wants to stay in that moment forever. Just the two of them. It’s all she wants. Always. To just be with him.
And when Harry stands up and simultaneously pulls her with him she falls into his arms. His body is so warm against hers and as he grabs her chin and tilts her head back so he can press his soft lips to hers she knows that things will work out between them. 
She loves him too much to not at least fight for it.
It will by no means be easy and she knows that when he leaves again in a couple weeks that he is going to take a piece of her heart with him.
But she also knows that she has a piece of his heart with her at all times, and that knowledge fills the small void inside her chest for many years to come.
.
Let me know what you think! <3 
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beewolfwrites · 4 years ago
Text
The Oar in the Sand - Chapter Four: Guessing Games
@cheshiya @tenseoyong @szallejhscorner @something-more-original-please @ofsunsetsandpoetries @nek0dzuken @allozaur @serenzippity
I’m sorry if there’s any typos or mistakes in this. Some chapters are just harder to write, and I end up repeating words over and over haha. If you spot any, do let me know! 
As always, I’ll leave the AO3 link here. And I hope you like it! 
--------------------------------------------------
The Latin alphabet.
The message could be written in any language from English to Spanish, Czech or even Latin itself.
It could mean anything.
Unlike An, Headband or Pigtails, I had the advantage, and I could still save us. Except I had no idea where to start, and the steady pressure of the game was already settling on my shoulders like a thick fog.  
The Queen was smiling at me from the other gallows. I understood now, the way her eyes had lingered on me back in the reception. She probably hadn’t accounted for a foreigner to be here – after all, her game was intrinsically designed for native Japanese speakers. And yet that smile, the way the corners of her eyes crinkled ever so slightly; she was still confident.
And she should be. She already knows I can’t read morse code.
‘I don’t mean to rush you,’ said Pigtails, ‘but do you think you’ll be able to decode some of it?’ Her previous hope had wilted away, and she was now watching me with apprehension.
The message glared at me from the screen, nonsensical and confusing. The dots and dashes were swarming, melting into one dotted mass that darkened the room. My arms and legs felt detached, swinging from this noose like a doll. So many people had died. The teenage girl, the business man, Pink Scrunchie, countless players accused of being witches... I wasn’t able to save any of them.
And now, four more lives would be added to the list.
‘Stop panicking.’
I jumped at the sharpness of An’s voice. The dots and dashes returned to their screen. My hands and legs were still intact, still moving.
‘Take a deep breath and focus,’ she instructed.
Swallowing, I breathed in and out shakily. My chest felt hollow, and at the same time, it was crawling with jitters. ‘How can you be so calm? 何を知っている分からない.’ I don’t know what I’m doing.
‘Yes, you do. Chishiya brought you to the Beach for a reason.’
Chishiya?
That was why she trusted me?
I couldn’t hold back a bitter laugh; no matter how much I loved him, what he did at the Beach, the way he had almost betrayed me, it was still painful to think about.
‘違う.’ You’re wrong. I didn’t exactly have the vocabulary to explain properly, but I was sure they’d get the gist. ‘苣屋は私を使ってトランプの盗むしていた. それが唯一の理由だった.’ Chishiya was using me to steal the cards. That was the only reason.
An’s lips parted in surprise. Headband and Pigtails were whispering in low voices. I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but from their tones it was clear they didn’t think too highly of Chishiya.
‘So that’s what really happened,’ An muttered, filling in the rest of the blanks herself. ‘It was hard to believe Arisu could be capable of doing something like that.’ She shook her head slowly, processing the new information. ‘I suppose it no longer matters, since the Beach is gone now. But Chishiya still made a good decision bringing you to us. I’ve heard about your games, and I believe you’re more capable than you think.’
I remembered my conversation with Chishiya the day before the second stage, when he told me I would be good at Diamonds. Back then, he was wrong. Just looking at the dots and dashes on the screen, I knew this game was beyond me. And yet, it would be nothing more than a simple brainteaser for someone like him.
I wonder, what would he do? How would he approach this game?
I tried to picture his response to a morse code message. I tried to imagine his methods of breaking it down logically. But even so, it was impossible to understand how his brain worked. He was totally different to me. He was rational and analytical, able to uncover a solution to even the most complex situations. All I could do was notice things. I wasn’t Chishiya, nor would I ever be. And right now, was he wandering the streets looking for me? Probably not. Knowing him, he might have even gone straight to the Jack of Diamonds venue.  
No. That can’t be true.
He cared. I knew that. I’d felt his fingers playing with my hair whenever I drifted in and out of sleep during the night. I’d witnessed that unreadable expression of his when he first saw the bruises Niragi left. I’d felt his hands tearing me away from the balcony edge when...
‘If we were in a game together, and say, someone pointed a gun at me, would you do that? As in, would you stand back and watch?’
‘I don’t know.’
My vision glassed over at the memory. Chishiya, you...
You liar.
I rubbed away the tears and tried to hold my chin up higher. ‘みんな、ごめんね. 今大丈夫.’ I’m sorry everyone. It’s okay now.
There were only fifty-two minutes left. The Queen, who had remained silent this whole time, was watching on with a vague, academic intrigue. Despite the pristine neatness of her olive suit and her black shoes, she was relaxed, raising her delicate eyebrows as I looked at her squarely.
‘You said before that you might be able to answer some of our questions, so I want to make a deal.’
‘What kind of deal?’ Her eyes glinted as if I’d just proposed a new game – as if I’d made this even more fun for her.
The drawing of the gallows was still waiting, empty, on the second screen. ‘If we figure out this message and clear the game, you have to answer my questions.’
She took the time to consider it. ‘I suppose that’s fair,’ she said. ‘One of us will die here, so it hardly matters anymore. It’s a deal.’
I’d said those same words to Chishiya, and I had no intention of breaking our promise here in this library. With a little more confidence now, I analysed the coded message closely. Normally in a game of Hangman, vowels were a first choice because of how often they were used. But we could only pick two.
What’s the most used vowel in the Latin alphabet?
Most people would assume it was A, but if I had to make a guess, I’d probably say E. Lots of languages with a Latin alphabet, like French, Spanish and Italian, used words like el, es, e, and est. But if E was the most common vowel, would that make it too obvious a choice?
I chanced a look at the Queen. She was smiling, not in a manipulative or secretive way, but as if she was quietly supporting us from the sidelines. It was peculiar. There was a chance she had purposely avoided E because of how often it was used, and I wouldn’t put it past her – she was still alive for a reason.
So what’s the second most common?
U was a no-go. Out of all the vowels it was definitely the least popular. A would be far too obvious as well. It would have to be a gamble between I and O. There were just forty-eight minutes left, and there was no time to waste hesitating between them.
Pick one, pick one.
‘If it’s okay with everyone,’ I said, ‘I’m going to choose O.’
Pigtails and Headbands looked unsure, most likely because I kept switching languages accidentally. On the other hand, An was open to the idea, replying only with, ‘I trust you.’
I held my breath, transfixed by the dots and dashes before us.
A number of Os appeared, scattered throughout the message; two in the first line, three in the second, four in the third, and one in the fourth. The drawing of the empty gallows remained unchanged.
We did it!
Beside me, Headband exhaled a sigh of relief and murmured a subdued thank you. Much to my surprise, however, the Queen didn’t seem disheartened by our small victory. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she looked pleased for us.
‘A good choice to start with, I must say.’ She clasped her hands together, resting them against her blazer. ‘Unfortunately, you’ve used up one of your vowels, but you seem like smart girls. I’m sure you’ll do well.’
How could she be so happy?
‘Isn’t this a bad thing for you?’ I asked. ‘Aren’t you worried?’
‘Should I be? There’s no good or bad,’ she countered, ‘just two perspectives.’
She’s a gamemaster, isn’t she? She set up these games, and she’ll die here if we win.
‘But we’re your enemy...’
She smiled warmly once more. ‘I think you’ll find we’re on the same side.’
On the same side? I didn’t understand. It didn’t make sense at all. ‘What do y—’
‘Don’t bother.’ An took off her sunglasses, openly assessing the Queen. ‘She’s intentionally wasting our time.’
She was right. The clock was now on forty-seven minutes, and the Queen seemed to be particularly skilled at raising more questions than she answered. I could interrogate her about all of this once we’d cleared the game – some things took priority. I focused my concentration on the code, trying to find some kind of hint or pattern there.
.-.   ..   -.   --. / .- / .-.   ..   -.   --. / O / .-.   o   ...   .   ...
.- / .--.   o   -.-.   -.-   .   - / ..-.   ..-   .-..   .-.. / o   ..-. / .--.   o   ...   ..   .   ...
.- / -   ..   ...   ....   o   o / .- / -   ..   ...   ....   o   o
.--   . / .-   .-..   .-.. / ..-.   .-   .-..   .-.. / -..   o   .--   -.
From what I could see, the O in the first line was capitalised. It was a standalone word – usually that would mean the word was either archaic, or it was in another language. But the Os in the third line were even more curious. The morse symbols repeated themselves twice, with the Os hinting at what could only be either onomatopoeia, or again, archaic terminology.
‘What do you think?’ Pigtails asked.
My eyes scanned the repetitions in the third line. There was something off about it. Words didn’t usually repeat themselves twice in a row like that... unless they were poetic. It would certainly explain why the O was alone in the top line, and why this message was carefully constructed with line breaks in the first place.
If it’s poetry, I might have heard it before.
Headband perked up suddenly. ‘What about going with the most common characters?’
By characters, she must’ve meant letters. I still didn’t know what language the message was in, so I could only use the letters I knew rather than those with accents. Although, playing Hangman as a child, there were always certain letters that wielded the best chance of success.
‘Let’s go with M,’ I said at last. There was usually at least one hiding somewhere. The four of us looked at the screen in anticipation. My fists clenched at my sides as I willed for an M to appear in the mix.
The screen changed.
The wrong screen. A circle appeared below the noose in the drawing. The hangman now had a head.
I could feel the others looking at me, aware that they had put their trusted me and I had let them down. ‘I’m sorry...’ I told them. ‘I’m sorry. ごめん.’
A hand lightly squeezed my shoulder. ‘It’s okay,’ Headband said. ‘We’ve still got more tries.’
Pigtails stepped as close as the noose would allow. ‘This was going to happen at some point. And at least now we know which characters aren’t there. It narrows down the possible words.’
There was silence from An. Perhaps she was disappointed in me, or even regretting her decision to let me captain this game. I wouldn’t blame her if that was the case. I felt the same way, only my regret was stained with guilt too. If I couldn’t save the three of them, at least I would die too. At least I would get what I deserved.
I glanced up at the timer. Forty-five minutes until someone gets sent to the gallows. I couldn’t let it be them.
I can’t lose control of myself like this.
‘You’ve used up one of your ten consonants,’ the Queen reminded us, steady and composed as always. ‘As a word of advice, relying on an age-old strategy doesn’t necessarily work.’
Every time the Queen opened her mouth, she only confused me more. And judging from An’s response, I wasn’t the only one to feel that way. ‘Why should we listen to your advice? Our failure is your win.’
‘Maybe you shouldn’t,’ the Queen replied. ‘But I’ll leave it up to you to decide.’
She didn’t sound like she was purposely trying to mislead us, but that in itself could be what made it so misleading. Most people tend to gravitate towards common letters when playing Hangman – is that what she meant by an ‘age-old-strategy’?
In that case...
I took a deep breath. Maybe this was worth the risk. ‘I think we should try doing the opposite,’ I stated. ‘I think we should choose an uncommon letter.’ Realising I’d slipped between languages yet again, I tried to remember the words in Japanese. ‘逆が試みよう.’ Let’s try the opposite. ‘レアの文字.’ An uncommon letter.
The Queen could have purposely avoided using popular ones to throw us off. But if I was wrong, was it worth losing a turn? The bodiless head dangled from its noose on the other screen.
Only six chances left.
‘It’s worth a shot,’ said An.
Pigtails peered at us from the end of the platform. ‘Are you sure? We don’t have that many chances of guessing.’
I understood her hesitation. It felt like we were gambling with our lives, and I was the one calling the shots. And it was even worse for her as she was placing her life in someone else’s hands. ‘I know, わかてる,’ I tried to reassure her. ‘If it doesn’t work, we can try a different approach.’
Headband was twiddling her fingers again, although there was a hardness in her posture. A resolve to win. ‘It won’t be a waste, because we’ll know then that it’s the wrong strategy. I trust you two.’
It felt good to know they had my back, even if my previous attempt at guessing hadn’t worked. Maybe things would take a turn for the better? I exhaled slowly, trying to assemble the most unlikely letters. Q was definitely a contender. Z was again, too obvious, but X was hardly ever used because there were fewer words you could make with it. It was probably the most unlikely letter to appear in a game of Hangman.
Forty-three minutes ticked down to forty-two.
‘X.’
We waited with bated breath. Headband played with her fingers. Pigtails chewed on her lip. An clutched her sunglasses in both hands, her eyes locked on the message before us.
Please... please.
‘Relying on an age-old strategy doesn’t necessarily work.’
A black line appeared beneath the hangman’s head, his new body dangling from the noose.  
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AIGHT Y’ALL I wasn’t tagged but I’m doing this anyways because f u c k  i t
It's the year 2021 and you're obsessed with The Karate Kid. How are you feeling?
Deadasss weird as fuck, my dude. Like...out of all the things I could’ve predicted happening in our lord’s year 2021, it definitely was NOT getting hyperfixated on a hammy gay ship with a punk and a nerd from a goddamn karate soap opera. And yet...here we are??? I will never understand hyperfixations, my guy. But I’ve met a lot of really cool people in this fandom, so I can’t really complain.
Did you grow up with TKK or are you new to the series?
I have never seen a single Karate Kid movie in my entire life. When I was a kid, it looked kinda dumb so I never got into it XD But then I saw my roommate watching Cobra Kai on Youtube Red one day (he has every streaming service known to man) and I was hooked. And...here I am!
We gotta do the basics. Favorite character:  
Literally EVERYONE except for Kreese, Yasmine, Kyler, and Tory, sorry stans
Okay but if we gotta pick, Johnny Lawrence is my Problematic Fave. Also I love my boy Daniel, he’s trying his best!!! And Amanda LaRusso, we stan a queen!!!
Among the kids, definitely Miguel, with Demetri as a close second. I also love Sam, Aisha, Moon, and Hawk (pre- and post-Bastardization Arc, anyways XD)!
Favorite ship:  
Take a look at my username and take a WILD FUCKING GUESS lmao Yes it’s Eli/Demetri because DUH, every interaction they have is so fucking gay and Eli fucking saved him!!! And came back to him!!! And betrayed the world’s most terrifying dojo with a WAR CRIMINAL SENSEI all for Demetri!!! And how Demetri was willing to forgive him for everything at the drop of a hat because he always had faith there was still good in his best friend??? That’s TRUE LOVE motherfuckers. Please let them kiss in Season 4. I will sell you all of my limbs. Sam/Miguel is a close second because they’re cute as shit and it’s just so lovely to see two people so unapologetically smitten with each other. They are in LOVE, and I will RIOT if they break up again!!! Keep Sam and Miguel together 2k21!!!
Underrated character:
SAMANTHA LARUSSO!!! The amount of hate my girl gets for acting like a normal teenager and fucking up occasionally JUST like the rest of the cast makes me want to start punching things. She cares SO MUCH about her friends!!! And she loves the shit out of Miguel!!! She hasn’t always been the best friend but you know what??? Neither has Hawk, and we still forgave his ass!!! Also LET HER BE FEMININE but also kick utter ass, my god!!! Femininity should not be synonymous with being weak, y’all! ALSO DEMETRI, like yes, he likes to complain and occasionally run his mouth, but guess what else he likes to do??? Never give up on the love of his life his best friend Eli Moskowitz and refuse to lose faith in him no matter how much of a little shit he’s become, and I for one think that’s very badass of him. Also the way he takes care of Eli pre-Cobra Kai in his own snarky bastard way makes me absolutely Weak and needs more appreciation. Like the dude has charisma and COULD have probably made other friends and left Eli behind if he wanted, but did he??? No, he wants the weepy loser with the lip scar in the polo shirts and dorky sweaters and will protect him as much as his wimpy ass is able!!!
Underrated ship (don’t say therapy, lol):  
Among the adults, Daniel/Amanda!!! Like maybe I just don’t watch that much tv, but it seems kinda rare to me to see a happily married hetero couple, and it’s just nice to see a married couple who genuinely love each other and where there’s not like...lingering resentment or some shit. I feel like this ship gets overshadowed by Lawrusso a lot (which like--okay, fair!!! Daniel and Johnny do have a ridiculous amount of chemistry, and the gay undertones are undeniable, so I get it), and it makes me kinda sad. I do love Lawrusso, but I don’t like when Amanda has to get her heart broke for it to happen, you feel? Among the kids, honestly YasMoon. Like I really love the idea of Yasmine trying to better herself because of Moon’s influence on her and because Moon like...inspires her to be a better person, I guess? With their pretty strong friendship, it just makes more sense to me for Yasmine to get a redemption arc through Moon than through Demetri. ALSO girls DO often pull the whole “mean girl” shtick to cover up being closeted lesbians, and Moon IS canonically bi, so it could work!!! I just think this one could be a really interesting Friends to Lovers take, and could make a really nice coming-out arc for Yas. And MoonPiper too, honestly!!! Like they only got 5 seconds of screentime so I understand WHY it’s underrated, but I still love what we DID get and loved that there was a canon gay ship (even if only for 1 scene lmao). I’m really excited to potentially see more of them in Season 4!!! Please, I’m begging!!!
Wax On, Wax Off or Sweep the Leg?
Sweep the Leg because it will always be deeply hilarious to me how Demetri took note of the first move Eli ever used on him and spent presumably weeks perfecting it OUT OF SPITE just to get him back with it at the soccer game MONTHS later. Just goes to show how OBSESSED Demetri is with Eli and their little karate rivalry which is just NOT straight, I’m sorry
Which of Daniel’s dumb little outfits is your favorite?
There’s something so funny about this pretentious little fuck walking around in fancy suits once he becomes a #SuccessfulBusinessman, and still occasionally trying to do karate in a full-ass suit (take THAT, Tom Cole’s boba!!!) I’m also a big fan of how he looks in his gi with his little headband. Still killing that look as a 40-50-something!!!
Character from the films you most want to return, who’s not Terry Silver:
Tbh I have still never seen a single Karate Kid movie (they took them off of Netflix, RIP), so...I don’t really care if they bring anyone else back??? I’m invested in the characters we already have in the show, I don’t need some rando from the movies to make a cameo to have a good time XD The only character I really wanted them to bring back was Ali, and they already did, so like...I’m good??? That’s all I really needed, I can die in peace now XD
Scene that lives in your head rent-free:
Basically any fluffy Elimetri scene, but 5 in particular: ~Miguel first meeting Eli and Demetri at the lunch table, and Eli looking at Demetri like he hung every goddamn star in the sky ~Demetri going off at a terrifying, “unhinged” karate sensei on the first day of Cobra Kai because he made fun of Eli’s lip and Demetri is not about that shit ~ELI STEALING DEMETRI’S NACHO AND SMIRKING AT HIM, LIKE EXCUSE ME SIR PLEASE BE A LITTLE LESS HOMOSEXUAL IN FRONT OF YOUR GIRLFRIEND ~Eli yanking Demetri onstage during Valley Fest to hold a board, and Demetri being visibly like...extremely turned on when Eli breaks said board ~ELI SAVING DEMETRI DURING THE CHRISTMAS FIGHT, ELI APOLOGIZING, DEMETRI AND ELI KICKING COBRA ASS TOGETHER AKSBDCUWYVCBU
Will Anthony LaRusso ever be relevant?
I hope not! He’s kind of a funny meme character to pop up now and again but I don’t think he deserves a serious plotline when there are so many more interesting characters to follow.
You live in The Valley and are forced into the karate gang war. Which dojo do you join?
Miyagi-Do because Cobra Kai would eat me alive. Also I’d probably straight up get stuck and die in that cement mixer, if I even made it that far XD Besides, being salty that your friend who you have a crush on likes martial arts better than you and starting martial arts to impress them but also being too lazy to join anything TOO intense is a Big Mood and I am certainly not speaking from personal experience here, no sirree
What’s your training montage song?
"Shut Up and Drive” by Rihanna for a weight-training and bicep-flexing montage, “Whatever It Takes” by Imagine Dragons for a more intense punching-and-kicking-shit montage. I don’t know why this is, I just feel it in my heart.
It’s the crossover event of the century! Which TV show are you combining with Cobra Kai for an hour-long Saturday night special?
*Briefly panics because I don’t actually watch that much TV and most of the stuff I do watch is fantasy/sci fi shit that absolutely would not work for a CK crossover*
Hmmmm okay but ACTUALLY
You know what would be fucking funny as hell would be an It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia crossover. Allow me to elaborate: ~The Gang goes to LA on vacation during the height of the Karate Dojo Wars. They literally can get barely anything done without all these goddamn karate-fighting teenagers getting in the way. ~They are all very annoyed by this. Even the most obscure of tourist attractions is eventually intercepted by karate fights. ~Mac tries to join Cobra Kai because he sees all this karate fighting on, and wants to unquestionably prove both his badassery and masculinity. Both Johnny and Kreese are like “Wtf are you doing here? Aren’t you like 30?” ~Mac gets a planet-sized crush on Johnny after all of 5 minutes and endlessly gushes to the gang about him. The gang mercilessly roast him about this and about how much of a pathetic loser with his life together in no way whatsoever Johnny sounds like. They proceed to have exactly 0 self awareness about this. ~The Waitress is in town visiting family or something, and Charlie is stalking her, as per usual. However, every time he’s about to go up and talk to her, a pack of battling Miyagi-Dos and Cobra Kais throwing punches and kicks everywhere blocks his path. One times, Mac is among one of these packs and Charlie is like “???? He didn’t get kicked out of that teen karate dojo yet???” ~Seeing how much the Kids These Days seem to like fighting, Charlie drops by a local high school to try and sell Fight Milk to the kids doing karate. Only Kyler and Brucks buy into it, and subsequently get the entire West Valley High wrestling team sick. Charlie is inevitably arrested, as Counselor Blatt thinks he’s selling the kids drugs. ~Dennis makes a plan to have sex with every hot chick he can in Los Angeles. He meets Ali on a dating app post-divorce, and inevitably tries to bang her. It doesn’t work. ~Frank crashes the rental car, and inevitably the gang ends up at one of Daniel’s dealerships. Dee quickly takes a liking to Daniel and is like “Watch, assholes--Imma homewreck this guy’s marriage.” She starts frequenting the dealerships to attempt to flirt with Daniel, until one day she walks in on him having sex with Johnny in a back room and she’s like “Is that the guy from Mac’s goddamn dojo?!?!” ~Dennis, of course, tries to sleep with Amanda. Amanda is not having it, and rebukes him in the most snarky, Amanda-esque way possible. Dennis is just like “Oh not AGAIN--the women in this goddamn diva city have too high of standards!” ~Later on, the gang is at the beach and Dennis spots the blonde lady he went out on an ill-fate date with, and decides to give it another shot--that is, until he sees her go up and kiss another woman and he’s like “IS THAT THE LADY FROM THE CAR DEALERSHIP??? STUPID-KARATE-KICK-COMMERCIAL’S WIFE?!? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.” ~Dee complains to Dennis about her lack of luck getting laid, and Dennis is just like “Oh come ON, is everyone in Los Angeles gay???” Smash cut to Hawk and Demetri having sex, Moon and Piper making out, Bert and Nate holding hands, Chris and Mitch doing oral, and Amanda, Ali, and Carmen having a threesome. ~Frank tries to scam Kreese into buying cheaply-made karate equipment for his dojo. The gang ends up having to leave LA because Kreese is quite literally plotting all of their murders.
For tagging, uuuuhhhhhh @jackonthelongwalk @soe-leo @max-eagle-fang @cc-tinslebee @backawayfromthegay @asphodel-storm do the thing, if y’all haven’t yet!
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bbhyeoliskooks · 4 years ago
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Hi, could you make a scenario when one day txt wake up with cat/dog ears and tails on them? I was thinking of this bc I saw how taejun are called 냥냥즈 (kittenz XD) and the rest are 댕댕즈 (puppiez XD). Thank you so much and also, I love your carrd XD
﹡⊹﹡ 𝟐𝟒 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬, 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐏𝐞𝐭? ﹡⊹﹡
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Cat boys and dog boys were certainly the end of you... 
﹤⳾⳾⳾ U・ﻌ・U ..﹡⊹﹡.. ໒・ﻌ・७  ⳾⳾⳾﹥
Genre: 9 3/4 cups of fluff !!
Warnings: Unedited~~
Song: Cat and Dog
(Omg, I'm so sorry that this took so long! As you can expect, this girl who wrote it had a project right here and needed to do it before the due date since she procrastinated??? Yes that, but i'm so sorry that it’s a bit short too :cc However, I hope you enjoy! I wrote this in an hour, so I hope it’s good enough !)
﹤⳾⳾⳾  /ᐠܻܻ   ့⑅ܻᐟ\  ..﹡⊹﹡..(๑´ﻌ`๑)⳾⳾⳾﹥
"Y/N, Y/N! Wake up, please wake up!"
At eight am in the morning, the side of your cheek was being tickled with something soft...? Something... something... wait, is that supposed to be fur? Yeonjun's velvety voice echoed through the room worriedly as if there was an important event you were missing, and you could say you were tempted to open your eyes until you remembered one, particular thing.
Groaning quietly, you turned to the side while shaking your head in annoyance. If this was another one of his pranks, you swore you were going to punch him in the gut for disrupting your beauty sleep. You shouldn't expect so much from him when you knew he should've been sleeping during this time anyway. Normally you'd gone up to help him, but after everything that happened this week it was safe to say you wanted nothing to do with him- yet. This was one of the only days you could catch up on sleep after stressing about the things you had to do, and you weren't going to lose it to some tiny prank he'll laugh about all day.
For a few moments, you thought he was finally going to leave you alone, the silence being refreshing for you to fall back into the soft arms of comfortable sleep. Well, that was until the boy screamed into your hear again.
"Y/NNN," he whined, tugging your blanket enough to make it scramble off the bed, landing on the floor with a quiet yet noticeable, ploof.
Okay, this was enough.
Throwing the pillow you were holding so dearly in your arm with a harsh grimace quickly permeating throughout your face, you were going to slap him away when you noticed that in your blurry vision... there were grey, furry cat ears on Yeonjun?
It wasn't your usual cat ears on the headband that kids bought whenever they wanted to pretend to be a feline, but those grey cat ears were seemingly attached to his head, almost as if it was sewn into the crown of his head. Stunned, you gasped at the sight, your right hand flying up to cover your dropped mouth.
His eyes were blown wide in pure innocence too, causing you to subconsciously gush at the sight. They both watched your movements intently, sparkling with what you could see mischievousness as well. From before, you knew that they were like this but... they weren't as gigantic and cute from before?!
You weren't able to stop yourself now, rubbing on his ears as he sighed in euphoria. As you expected, the ears were soft and you petted them all the more, feeling satisfied when you felt him seemingly purr due to what you assumed, your touch. He melted into your embrace, nuzzling his cheek against your neck while you giggled with delight.
"Yeonjun, what did you do? Question is, how did you do this all without me knowing?" It was at the very least to say that Yeonjun was simply adorable as his fur tickled the top of your chin, choosing to snuggle up against your chest in blissfulness.
From the corner of your eye, you could see his grey tail lazily spin around in circles while you ran your fingers through his freshly dyed, hair. You weren't sure how he became like this, but you had to admit that you weren't complaining! It was a secret to everyone that you adored cat boys and now that Yeonjun was like this, you could feel your heart swell with joy.
"I didn't do anything," he murmured, closing his eyes when you scratched the back of his ears, "I just woke up like this, next to you." A content smile spread throughout his face and you could feel your own human ears burn from how nonchalant he was about that last sentence. You couldn't recall how you didn't feel him squeeze up next to you last night while you slept soundly, but obviously there were no complaints either.
"Hey, it's alright! We'll figure this out later when all the other boys wake up. Maybe at least one of them would know these things?"
Speaking of the devil, you heard the door slam open with two of the boys running around in circles just to see you. They ceased their steps at the doorway, paralyzed when they both saw Yeonjun in your arms, stopping as if they walked into something they shouldn't have.
The amount of gasps you elicited once you saw them, gently pushing Yeonjun away from you, your steps carrying you towards Beomgyu whose sighed mixed with a low groan. His ears were ones of a golden puppy dog, twitching when you neared closer, pressing up a hand against the top of his head. Oh my goodness, talk about cuteness 1000%?!
Taehyun, on the other hand, was adorned with brown cat ears, revolving around in circles when you stared at him with wide, surprised eyes. He didn't allow you to touch his ears until you shot him a grin- a sign you weren't going to do anything bad to him. Eventually he softened up, turning his head to the side so that you wouldn't see his cherry cheeks while you petted him.
Yeonjun then stomped to the three of you, clinging onto your back with possessiveness. There wasn't anything much that happened other than him waking up with cat ears and a tail to along with that as well, but when you easily got up just to wonder thoughtlessly about their condition, he felt himself burning up from the inside with jealousy. Maybe it was his instincts that came along- like he noticed the first time you petted Beomgyu- but there was no denying he was turning green.
You laughed at the predicament, shaking your head without a care in the world. What really happened last night that you didn't know of? They couldn't have been that bored that they figured out how to appear as hybrids when they woke up.
"You guys... don't tell me that the rest of you are like this too? Because Yeonjun woke up with cat ears, although it can't get that much worse..."
You spoke too soon.
Another pair of puppy dog ears bust through the doorway, budging between the clingy bodies of Taehyun and Beomgyu while panting loudly. Your face turned white at the sight, all the warmness in your forehead disappearing without a trace. Why were you shocked at this point? If the three of them woke up with new body parts, then there would be no surprise if the rest of them did as well.
Your smile could only grow even wider, taking in the endearing pile of boys who zoomed close enough to feel their breath against your nose. Both Kai and Soobin were both playful puppies along with Beomgyu too?! Yes, and with the ears and tails too that stirred in several shapes! You held back a high-pitched scream that could possibly damage their sensitive drums. 
“Soobin...? Kai...? The same thing happened with you too?” 
They just had to be the cutest babies you’d ever seen before, despite them fiddling with their fingers in a nervous fit in fear that you weren’t going to like it.
“No, no, no! I’m the one who should protect Y/N since I was the first one she saw,” Yeonjun whined, pulling you against his chest. You fell against his warm embrace, feeling the corners of your lips turn into a tiny grin that clearly didn’t go unnoticed by the others. 
“Yeonjun, that’s not fair! You didn’t even let us get a chance with her yet!” Soobin pulled you away from Yeonjun and you giggled at the two of them fighting as Taehyun spoke up again.”
“Um first of all, we shouldn’t expect a lot from her? She wouldn’t want to be near any of your musty as-”
“Shut up Taehyun!” They all yelled, and you groaned at how complicated the problem became now.
You ran your hands over your face, the fatigue in your body definitely catching up after staying up to turn in an important document. All of this yelling back and forth about who was going to spend time with you got to your tiredness, and you made a suggestion of which you hoped with all your heart that they would accept. 
“Guys, I know I’m the only one who needs sleep here after staying up into the wee hours of the night, but can we please figure this out when I’m more awake? I need to get some sleep for the time being so that I can understand these things.”
You weren’t surprised when they all cuddled up against you while you tried to doze off for the nth time. 
﹤⳾⳾⳾ U・ﻌ・U ..﹡⊹﹡.. ໒・ﻌ・७  ⳾⳾⳾﹥
“Oh my gosh! They’re adorable, aren’t they?!”
“Who could’ve believed this would happen?
“Awwe, Y/N with fluffy ears? This must be a disease!”
“Beomgyu, hurry up and take some pictures!”
Kai’s voice was the last thing you heard in your sleep then you stirred, taking a look at all the boys who crowded around you. 
What was happening now? It must’ve been two hours since you dozed off, your eyes landing on the clock that read 10:47am. Tiredly, you stretched and the whispers of the boys grew louder with every second that passed. Your arms made contact with something soft and you assumed that was one of the boys ears until you felt something so foreign twitch on the top of your head. It was almost like... almost like- wait a minute!
Now the same exact thing was happening to you. 
---
Posted: 2/27/21- 5:00pm
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mistaeq · 4 years ago
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I hope u don't mind me requesting again, I just l o v e your writing ^^° but I was wondering if u could do headcanons for Speedwagon(pt1)/Joseph(pt2/Caesar/The pillar men (if u can ^^) with a reader who can morph their body into anything for a specific purpose like if they need to climb they can morph their body for that specific task (if u don't want to u don't have to :D)
Multiple Character Work: s/o who can Morph their Body
TW // none
Thank you for your request and for what you said about my writing! You're a sweetheart :( The Speedwagon HCs look a bit like they're connected, I got inspired :) Enjoy!
Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency Headcanons, neutral!s/o
WORD COUNT: 1.3k
ROBERT E. O. SPEEDWAGON
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When you first met Robert, you chose not to say anything about your power.
Speedwagon is a strong man, and living in London's streets - before becoming the rich man he is - is not easy at all. He thinks you're the one who has to be protected.
You've always done a lot for Speedwagon with your power, but he doesn't know. You just care about making him happy.
Unfortunately, after Jonathan dies and Dio isn't defeated, a vampire happens to find you two and attack Robert. Maybe he recognized he was one of the ones who helped the young Joestar.
You never thought this could happen. You had already been enough scared of losing your man when he went away with Jonathan. If hiding your power meant Robert could die, then you couldn't just watch.
When the vampire is about to get him, he closes his eyes in fear, but doesn't move away: he has to protect you. When he opens them back, you two are on a building, climbing out of the vampire's reach. You morphed to pull yourselves up.
"H-Holy shit, y/n... how did you do that...?"
For the first minutes, he doesn't even really care about how did you do that, he's just happy that you're safe, and will kiss you and hold you tight to make sure you're really there.
When you finally explain him your power's abilities, he's shocked. He would immediately call and tell Erina, but it would imply telling her that a vampire is still in London.
You sometimes morph into one of his hat's blades, confusing your enemies when he throws his hat and instead of a little blade, a whole ass person attacks them.
You and Robert form a great team. After he becomes rich, he always tells you that without you and your amazing powers he wouldn't be the man he is.
JOSEPH JOESTAR
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When he finds out you can morph into whatever you want, he's amazed.
"Do... do you think we can blend your power with my hamon? Like... you would be a great bridge for the waves..." he talks Lisa Lisa into letting you two train together on this.
You care a lot about your boyfriend, he's always ready to risk it all and you're afraid he'll die one day - we all know Joseph dying is impossible, the bitch will come back from the dead -
Due to this, you're always morphing your arms for them to be longer and being able to hug him multiple times around his body. You sometimes don't even let him move, you know he's gonna do something he's probably gonna regret.
You play with him a lot. You love putting him in awkward situations. The most common is the situation in which you're passionately kissing, but when someone walks in, you morph into a random object, making Joseph look as if he was kissing a radio, or a chair, or a pillow.
You once morphed into water and suprised him while he was taking a bath.
You sometimes tease him by morphing into Caesar's headband. Joseph gets jealous. Like a lot.
That's why he owns a lot of stolen headbands. He could never tell whether you had morphed in one of those or not, so everytime he saw Caesar with a headband, he stole it.
Anyway he's a sucker for your power, all things considered. He'll always brag about how strong his baby is. He covers you with compliments.
"Nice, nice... very nice, y/n-chan."
Joseph Joestar, son of George Joestar and Elizabeth Joestar, grandson of Jonathan Joestar and Erina Joestar-Pendleton asked you to morph into his underwear once and then felt no shame.
When he has to fight against the pillar men, he wants to leave you behind. He wants to be your hero, but you want to go with him.
You're powerful too, and you don't actually want to leave his side. You're too afraid he might come home in a coffin.
CAESAR ANTONIO ZEPPELI
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Not gonna lie, he found out you had powers because one day, he tried to kiss you out of excitement when you weren't even dating yet, and you morphed into a flower.
"I must admit am a little taken aback by your behavior, tesoro, you refused a kiss from me, Caesar, but this is amazing. How did you do that?"
He's too flirty, but now he knows how does your power work, and will only flirt with you when you're in public and you won't be able to morph into an object without ordinary people noticing.
He loves playing darts. Even though he's unbrearable sometimes, he'll convince you to help him win against Joseph.
You morphed into Joseph's darts, and would make him lose on purpose by hitting low numbers.
The poor Joseph had never been more confused, but Caesar's laugh made you understand that maybe the young Zeppeli wasn't so bad as a person.
You'll have to use your power to save Caesar's ass from Lisa Lisa a lot.
He gets too distracted when you're around, and when she sees Caesar wasting time, you'll morph into the first object you can come up with, just so Lisa Lisa doesn't think he was flirting again.
Lisa Lisa knows.
But please, don't hide too many times when someone finds you flirting. Not getting in awkward situations is okay, but despite his confidence in himself, if you do it too many times Caesar's self-esteem will be affected.
He'll think you're ashamed of being his girl/boyfriend, so instead of morphing into an object, morph your fear of awkwardness into a smile and maybe into another kiss.
PILLAR MEN [Esidisi, Wamuu, Kars]
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As soon as you show your power, Esidisi has a mental breakdown. It just looks too powerful and he grows slightly afraid of you.
He doesn't care that you are you, he knows you're powerful enough to fight against him, but he's also able to regenerate, which you can't.
After your training, if you lose, he'll smirk and tell you that you must win, if you want to get closer to him, considered that you're just a human and the fact that he isn't killing you is generous.
If you win, he'll have another mental breakdown, but afterwards, you'll be able to even sit on his lap.
When you show your power to Wamuu, he gets slightly startled. He recognizes you as really powerful.
He doesn't trust you enough to let you wander around them with those terrifying powers. For this, he'll put his "Wedding Ring" around your heart like he did with Joseph. If one day you'll ever betray him, that ring will break and kill you instantly.
When he uses his technique of the Divine Sandstorm and you morph into the sail of a boat to deal with his power, he can't help but laugh.
Wamuu teases a lot, but he cares about you.
As soon as you show him your power, Kars knows you're made for him.
Such powers are so strong that only the ultimate form of life's wife/husband can have. He's pretty old school - very old -, so if he says you're gonna marry him, you're gonna do it. You don't complain, though.
He doesn't want Esidisi or Wamuu to lay their eyes on you. Kars is possessive. When you're together and they walk in, he usually tells you to morph into an animal. Like a cat. Or a fox.
You're not just a human to him. A human so close to an ultimate form of life themselves is not a human. He wants you to give him children to raise as gods, if you're a woman. If you're not, he'll want to give you his powers, so you'll both live forever like deities.
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nightrosebud · 4 years ago
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So my @toa-secret-santa was for @arcadia-trash who just asked for “Barbara and Strickler,” so I went with a whole bunch of fluff. I hope you enjoy and Happy Holiday!
"It was the night before Christmas, and all through the ward, not a patient was stirring; seriously, I'm so bored."
Barbara felt her lips twitch, but she tried not to smile as she finished the chart in front of her. When done, she closed the folder and glared at the nurse leaning on the counter next to her. "Stop that," she growled. "Talk like that will summon a ten-car pile-up, and I would like to get home before midnight, thank you very much."
Nurse Choen sighed and readjusted his headband. He had lamented that he couldn't wear his ugly sweater with a lit dreidel on it, so he had snuck in a cheap headband with a light-up menorah instead. The little blubs on it twinkled on and off, like each one was being lit separately. When Barbara pointed out that the headband was not allowed because of the dress code, he had just grinned bigger and started singing Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel at the top of his lungs. "Sorry, Doc," he said with a bashful grin. "I guess when I signed up for this shift, I figured we would be busy with the holidays." He gestured at the empty hallway. "I didn't think we would only have two patients and no emergencies. I like staying busy."
"Well, have you stocked the rooms?"
"Yep."
"Put away patient files?"
"Done."
"Made sure the medicine is in order?"
"Oh yeah, and stole some good stuff for me," he joked. Barbara glared at him, and he put up his hands in the universal sign of surrender. "I kid, I kid. So why did you sign up for tonight, doc? Trying to get away from all the kiddos at home?"
"Actually, no," she confessed. She leaned on the counter and looked down the hallway. They only had one patient who had drunk too much at the office Christmas party and came in complaining that he couldn't stop throwing up and one man who had a heart attack two days ago while shoveling some surprise snow from his driveway. Both were asleep and quiet at this late hour. 
"We had a lot of back-to-back adoptions in the last few weeks, so Walt and I decided to wait until after the holidays to bring out more babies from the cradle stone." Most of the people working at the hospital knew about the babies she and Walt were taking care of, so Cohen just nodded in understanding. "Since Jim is older and was spending the night at a friend's house anyway, I figured I would come in and give someone else a chance to spend the night with their families."
"Well, we only have an hour, then we both will be free at midnight," he said. Barbara smacked his arm, and he jumped. "Ow! What was that for? I hope you know that I can go to HR for assault."
"Stop saying stuff like that!" Barbara hissed but then laughed. "You're going to cause an accident. Or the end of the world."
"Oh yeah, don't want evil trolls coming out of the ground and wrecking downtown. Or giant aliens walking around and wrecking downtown. Or evil magic users flying around and wrecking downtown. Or Titans rising up and wrecking downtown." Cohen paused and cocked his head to the side. "What do the bad guys have against the buildings downtown?"
Barbara smirked. "I think Jim has asked that question himself a few times over the last year."
"You know," Choen said with a grin, "When I left New York, I thought I had left the magical creatures behind."
"What do you mean?" Barbara asked.
"Haven't you heard? There are gargoyles in New York."
"Ah," Barbara said, wondering if she should force the nurse in front of her to take a drug test. "How about you recheck the supplies?"
One hour later, the next shift of one doctor and two nurses showed up to relieve them, finding Doctor Lake and Nurse Choen having the quietest race of rolling office chairs they could manage.
"Good to see that the hospital was left in good hands," Doctor Roberts joked as the two of them crossed the finish line made of gauze, Barbara in the lead.
They handed off the patient charts, all two of them, and they said their goodnights and goodbyes. Choen escorted Barbara outside, and they paused at the doors, watching some snow drift down. "Ah, now this," Choen said with a smile, adjusting his coat and blinking headband, "this I missed."
Barbara hummed in agreement, and they spent some time just enjoying the quiet. Suddenly Barbara heard a sound, the sound of bells, and she swore they were coming closer. Before she could ask Choen if he heard it too, something rounded the corner and rapidly came towards them down the deserted street.
It was a sleigh, the kind of sleigh you found on vintage Christmas cards, red with gold details and golden bells. Only, instead of a horse or reindeer pulling it, Aaarrrgghh!! was in front, running as fast as he could on all fours, mad grin on his face. Behind him, Barbara could make out two figures in the sleigh, but in the dark and snow, she couldn't tell who it was. They were laughing, though, as Aaarrrgghh!! turned into the parking lot and skidded to a halt in front of Barbara.
One of the figures stood up and placed a foot on the front of the sleigh. "Ho! Ho! Ho!" it cried, and Barbara could finally make out Toby, smile stretching from ear to ear. "Happy Chanukah! Wait! No! Kleb! That's not what I should say. Meeerrryyy Christmas!" Darci was next to him, and she put a hand over to her mouth and giggled.
"Toby?!" Barbara asked. "What are you doing here?" The smile on her face died when she had a terrible thought. "Where's Jim? Is he alright?"
"Oh, he's fine, Doctor L," Tody said as he hopped down from the sleigh. He walked over to the other side, giving Aaarrrgghh!! a pat on the arm as he passed the troll. Toby had had some growth spurts in the last year and a half since Jim found the amulet, and he was finally taller than Darci, who was still his girlfriend. He bowed and reached out a hand. "My lady," he said in a slightly deeper voice, and Darci took his hand and jumped down from the sleigh, smile on her face. "We're here to take your car home while Aaarrrgghh!! is taking you to your Christmas gift."
"My car?" Barbara asked perplexed. "What about a Christmas gift? Is it from Jim?"
"Not Jim," Darci explained but didn't elaborate on who else would send a troll-drawn sleigh to pick up Barbara.
"Come on, Doc," said a voice from the sleigh, "we need to get a move on before it gets too late." And NotEnrique stood up in the sleigh's seat so Barbara could see him. He was wearing a suit, and a fat cigar hung from his leering mouth.
Barbara felt her stomach drop, but she was being pushed into the sleigh by Toby and Darci. "Um, I don't know about this," she said as she sat down. Everyone else was smiling at her, though, as Darci made sure a blanket covered her legs.
"No sweat, Doctor L, you are in good hands with Aaarrrgghh!!," Toby said, and Aaarrrgghh!! looked over his shoulder to give her a grin, but Barbara didn't know how to explain that it wasn't the hulking troll that gave her pause.
"Well, you have to make sure you tell me what this is all about next time I see you, Doc," Choen said. He lifted a hand and waved. "Happy Chanukah, everybody!"
"Chag Urim Sameach, dude!" Toby said with a grin. "Love the headband!"
As Choen walked to his car, and NotEnrique grabbed the reins attached to Aaarrrgghh!!, Barbara reluctantly gave her keys to the teens. "You two be safe in the snow," she said. Toby tossed the keys into the air, and Darci grabbed them before he could catch them. He gave her a hurt look.
"Don't worry, Doctor Lake, we will be careful," she said, stepping back. 
"Have a nice night!" she said as the couple waved.
"Okay, hang on Doc, Aaarrrgghh!! here is a little fast on the corners," NotEnrique told her, chewing on the cigar.
"And why do you have that?" she asked.
"My payment for my work this evening," he explained, taking the cigar out and wiggling it. "The big guy here is working for socks, I believe."
"Mmmm, socks," Aaarrrgghh!! rumbled.
"Well, just don't light it while I'm behind you, please," Barbara asked.
"Light it? Doc, I plan on eating it," he said with a grin, and with that, he snapped the reins and Aaarrrgghh!! was pulling them away from the hospital.
-----
They flew down the dark, deserted streets, Barbara's face starting to hurt from the cold. The lights wrapped around streetlights and trees twinkled, and the giant Christmas tree in the town's square lit up the whole block. Aaarrrgghh!! kept his pace, but suddenly NotEnrique yelled. "Oi! You missed our turn!"
"Oops," Aaarrrgghh!! rumbled, and he made a u-turn in the middle of the street, making Barbara and NotEnrique cry out as they were almost tossed out of the sleigh. Aaarrrgghh!! straightened himself out and started running towards the museum.
Two figures waited outside for them, and as they got closer, Barbara recognized Claire and Zoe. The two young women gave her large grins as Aaarrrgghh!! slid to a stop in front of them. "Merry Christmas, Barbara!" Claire cried.
"Merry Christmas!" Barbara answered back. NotEnrique helped her out of the sleigh, and she rubbed her hands to warm them. "Are you the one who set this up?"
"Nope," Claire said with a grin. "We are your glam squad!"
"Glam squad?" Barbara asked, but the two girls just smiled.
"Have fun, Doc!" NotEnrique cried out, and he grabbed the reins. "Come on, big guy, let's go get some eggnog spiked with glug." And the others waved to them as Aaarrrgghh!! galloped off.
Claire and Zoe guided Barbara into the museum and then into the bathroom. Claire handed Barbara a garment bag. "Tonight's affair has a dress code that doesn't include scrubs, I'm afraid."
Barbara gave the bag a look, but she went into a stall without comment. A few moments later, she laughed. "What's up?" Claire asked her.
"Oh, nothing," Barbara said with a giggle. "I just realized who planned this whole thing."
"How so?" asked Zoe.
Barbara stepped out a minute later. She was wearing a flowing, floor-length sapphire-blue dress, the empire-style waist accenting her bare shoulders. It was covered in crystals that twinkled as she took a turn. "Only Walt would pick something like this for me." Claire clapped as both girls laughed.
Zoe made a motion with her hand, and a pillow started to float in the air. Barbara hesitated but then sat down and put her full weight on the pillow, happy when she didn't fall to the floor. The girls began to tug her hair out of its bun and helped her to style it. "What do you say, Doctor L?" Zoe said with a grin, gesturing to her own pink hair. "Want to try a new color?" 
"No thanks," Barbara said with a grin. "I think I'm too old for the bright colors."
"Aw, no, you're not," Claire said as she pinned crystal hairpins onto Barbara's hair.
When finished, the girls escorted Barbara deeper into the museum and to the large room in the middle of the building. Jim messed with three table settings on a small table set up with a white tablecloth. Douixe was nearby, his hands glowing blue as candles floated and lit up around the room. Walt himself was in the middle of the room, supervising. He was wearing a green suit, tailored to fit his slim frame. Barbara slowly walked up to him and hugged him from behind. He turned his head to give her a tusk-filled smile. "Hello, darling," he said.
"Hello," she said back. "What in the world do you have planned?"
"Your Christmas gift," he replied with a grin.
"Dinner in the museum? Benoit's would have been easier."
"But Benoit's wouldn't have the rest of your gift for you."
Jim looked up from the table and grinned. "Hey, mom. How was the sleigh ride?"
"Terrifying," she confessed as Walt pulled out a chair and she sat down. "Did I throw everything off schedule by going in for a shift?"
"It pushed the evening's plans back, but all parties were able to adjust," Walt said as he also took a seat.
Jim grabbed the silver dome in front of Barbara, and with a flourish, he uncovered her plate. "Steak au Poivre with mashed garlic potatoes." He grabbed the silver dome in front of Walter and revealed a dish for him. "Raw steak with motor oil," Jim said, in a flatter tone. "Let it be known once again: I'm happy to have human taste buds."
Barbara pointed to the final setting. "Who else is joining us?"
"Me," said a voice behind her, and Barbara turned to see Nomura walking into the room. She also wore a suit, but unlike Walt's, it was jet black.
"You're late," Walt growled.
"Fashionably late," Nomura said with a grin, uncovering her plate. "Believe me, I wouldn't miss one of Little Gynt's meals."
Jim smiled and then leaned down to kiss Barbara on the forehead. "Have fun, mom. I hope you like your gift."
"You're not staying?" she asked.
"We are going back to Toby's and watching Christmas movies until we pass out," Douxie explained. "And don't worry, Doctor, Zoe and I are acting as chaperones."
"Strickler. Good luck," Jim said cryptically.
"Thank you, Young Atlas," Walt said while sipping on water.
Jim and Claire linked arms while Douxie threw his arm around Zoe's shoulder. The young adults waved as they left. "Merry Christmas!" Claire and Jim cried while Zoe and Doxie bellowed, "Happy Yule!"
"So," Barbara asked while she cut into her steak, "what exactly do you two have planned for tonight?"
"Well, Strickler and I have been talking, and we think you need a partner who would appreciate you more," Nomura said. She took a bite of her own raw steak and hummed at the taste. She used the fork to point at herself. "Mainly, me."
Walt rumbled at the other changeling. "Nomura, as curator of the Arcadia museum, was essential in setting up tonight's event." He glared at Nomura as she grinned at him. "Otherwise, she wouldn't be here."
Barbara laughed. "Let me guess, Jim's cooking was your payment for this evening?"
"Yep," Nomura confirmed as she took another bite. "Being turned into a half-troll really helped that boy to be a better cook, for both humans and trolls."
"Well, dig in then," Barbara said with a smile. "I wanna see what you two have planned for me."
-----
When done with their meal, Walt helped Barbara out of her seat, and they wandered to another part of the museum, Walt and Barbara linking arms while Nomura followed behind them. Before they turned a corner, Walt stopped her and looked at her. "Do you trust me?" he asked.
"I do," she said with a little trepidation, but she laughed when Walt gently covered her eyes and started to guide her around the corner. "Don't want to ruin your surprise, just yet," he explained.
They walked for a few moments, Barbara holding onto Walt's cold hands as they slowly moved forward, and then Walt had her stop. 
"I hope you like it," he whispered in her ear, and then he lifted his hands, and Barbara gasped.
Barbara had heard about the exhibition coming to Arcadia, centered on the works of Impressionism artists. She had pointed it out to Walt, proclaiming her excitement at such an extensive collection coming to their small town. Usually, she would have to travel to San Francisco to see a show like this in person. But now, Barbara looked around, and she recognized the works of Monet, Manet, Cézanne, and Degas. All the artists she idolized but had never had the chance to see in person. She held her hands to her mouth and wandered around, both changelings watching her with small smiles on their faces.
"Oh, this is..." she started but stop as she felt overwhelmed by emotion. "This is beautiful." She looked at Walt. "But we could have come here later. Why the secrecy?"
"Well, then you would have to suffer as small children and uneducated heathens roaming around and obstructing the view," Walt said with a smile. "This way, you can enjoy everything without interruption."
Barbara looked around, identifying as many as the works as she could. "La Japonaise. Monet's first wife Camille Doncieux modeling a red kimono." She rushed over to another piece. "Manet's Gare Saint-Lazare. Oh, I didn't know how small this was; I thought it was huge." She slowly made her way to another painting, eyes lingering on the young woman with the sleeping dog in her lap. She gasped when she recognized the third piece. "Degas' La Classe de Danse, featuring Degas' friend Jules Perrot, a ballet master of the Paris Opera." She rushed up to the next piece. "Cézanne's Pyramid of Skulls, one of his last pieces. Oh, look at the detail."
Barbara spent the next 30 minutes wandering around, looking at the paintings and studying each one. Sometimes she would give the changelings a detail or fact about the works, even if she thought they already knew it. They followed her around, smiles on their faces as they watched her enthusiasm at seeing the art in the flesh.
"Oh, thank you, Walt, Nomura," she said after she finished looking around. "This is a really wonderful Christmas gift."
"We aren't done yet," Walt said. He took her arm and started to lead her to another wing. "You see, the museum wanted to feature a local artist with the exhibit. And Nomura and I felt we knew the right person who would fit the bill."
"Who?" Babara asked but gasped as they rounded a corner.
There, on display, was the majority of her work. Goodbye, Walt, Eye of the Storm, her piece figuring goblins, Vendel staring out at the viewer, Jim in his Daylight armor, Blinky in his cubic glory, Walt holding one of the babies. Even the painting that featured the kids after their fight with the Titans: aliens, wizards, and humans all together passed out in a large pile in her living room. Something that she had made to celebrate their victory while also showing them at their most vulnerable. She looked around in wonder at all her work hanging on the museum walls, like she was a proper artist.
"I can't think of anyone who would be more deserving to be featured in the show," Nomura said as Barbara gaped at the walls.
"Oh," Barbara breathed. "Oh, I don't know, guys. There has to be someone else more worthy than me. I'm not an artist."
"A better artist than most," Walt said with a growl. He gestured to Goodbye, Walt. "I wouldn't want anyone else capturing my likeness."
She laughed but then wandered from one painting to the next, trying to see them with new eyes. Were they as good as the others in the next room? She couldn't say. But seeing them on the walls on full display made her heart soar in a way she couldn't recall feeling before.
She paused in front of Goodbye, Walt, studying the piece with a smile on her face. She felt Walt next to her, and she turned to smile at him. "Do you like it?" he asked in a low voice.
"Yes," she said, grinning so hard her face hurt. "It is an excellent surprise, Walt."
"Well, there is one last thing," he said, and he cleared his throat and sent a pointed glare at Nomura. She grinned but then left the room with no comment. Walt turned back to Barbara and gave her a shy smile. "Barbara, I have a question for you."
"What is it?" she asked.
"This last year and a half, well... I mean to say, I have lived a long time..." he started to say.
"I will figure out how old you are, Walt," she said with a grin.
"What I'm trying to say is," he growled but paused again and pulled at his collar. "Bloody hell, I didn't imagine it would be this difficult."
"Walt," she said, taking his hands. "It's okay. What are you trying to say?"
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, gently taking his hands back. "This last year and a half has been the best period of my life. And I can say that with no irony. You are teaching me to be a better person, and I know it is not easy for you or myself, but you make it worthwhile."
He fidgeted with his lapels and then reached into his jacket. "I would like to continue, growing, learning, with you, as long as you would have me. What I'm trying to say is Barbara, is that I want to be with you, officially." He paused and cleared his throat. "And now I made it sound like a business transaction."
She laughed but stopped when he brought a small item out of his jacket. It was a black jewelry box, and he opened it, revealing a gold ring with a green stone. She gasped and covered her mouth as he dropped to one knee. "Doctor Barbara Lake," he asked, barely above a whisper, "marry me?"
She suddenly hugged him so quickly that he almost toppled over. But he caught himself and returned the hug. "Yes," she whispered, trying to answer around the lump in her throat. She leaned back so he could see her face. "Yes, Waltolomew Stricklander, I will marry you."
He stood up and kissed her, crushing her until she couldn't breathe. When they broke the kiss, he reached into the box and put the ring on her finger. She moved it around, trying to identify the stone. "What is this made of?" she asked.
"A piece of my living stone," he explained. He placed a hand over his heart. "Nomura craved it out, so you will always have a part of me."
"Oh Walt, that is.... so weird," she said with a laugh. "But it's so beautiful, thank you." She started to tug on Walt's suit. "Can you show me where?"
"Hey now, no funny business in the museum," Nomura joked as she walked around the corner.
Barbara laughed and felt her cheeks warm in a blush. "Thank you Nomura, for helping with tonight."
Nomura shrugged. "You do deserve to be part of the exhibit, Barbara. We are pleased to feature your work." She crossed her arms and gestured at Goodbye, Walt. "Too bad your best work will inflate this one's ego."
Walt grumbled, but it didn't seem threatening because he was grinning ear to ear. "Well, darling," he said, turning to look at Barbara, "it's late. Are you ready to go home?"
"Yes, I think I am," she said, linking her arm with his.
They headed to the front of the museum, where Walt's car was waiting for them. Nomura handed the keys back to Walt but didn't let go of them. "Just remember Barbara," she purred with a grin. "You are always welcomed to kick this one out, and we could elope."
"To Las Vegas?"
"Of course," Nomura said as Walt finally tugged the keys out of her hand.
"I think I will be happy being Mrs. Strickler but thank you."
Walt looked shocked. "You would take my last name?"
"Nope, still going to be Doctor Lake."
"Figures," he sighed as Barbara laughed at him. She reached up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
The couple waved and said goodnight, and Walt rushed Barbara to the waiting car. Walt got in and started their ride home. Barbara carefully threaded her fingers with his free hand as she watched the snow coming down outside her window.
"Merry Christmas, Walter Strickler."
"Merry Christmas, Doctor Lake."
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dnarez · 4 years ago
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Chapter 15 - Sports Festival Part 5
((((REAL QUICK
I lov u all so much! Thank you all for 4k readings!
I was going to stop after the Sports Festival but since u all like it so much I will continue beyond it.
Also, here is a warning, I WON'T get to where the manga and to where the anime is, I will probably stop around the License exam, not that I don't like it is just that I have another fic on my pocket and have around 5 chapters ready, but since I'm updating this one I won't start posting it until this one has some kind of end. (I'm too lazy for update 2 fics at the same time)
Thank u for the 4k reads again and have a good reading)))))
"I knew he would come to us sooner then later" Y/n smiled and patted Midoriya's head "you make strong enemies don'tcha?"
He looked guiltily at her "sorry... I did suppose we'd have to face them near enough to the final phase of the battle but..."
"Don't worry, I doubt that you made it on purpose" she petted his head again and straightened up looking at her enemy with predatory eyes. "Big brother will be very proud of me if I win against a Todoroki"
Her pupils turn into slits as her orangy yellow wings puff up, giving a more intimidating look.
-
"WE STILL HAVE HALF OF THE MATCH LEFT! KEEP MOVING! THE ONES COMING AFTER US AREN'T JUST A SINGLE TEAM!"
She looked at team Mineta that would try to get advantage on Todoroki's team back and got back to staring at Shoto's team seeing their lip movement as they came full force made her realize their plan.
She flew them back as pikachu boy activated his quirk after Shoto covered himself and his teammates with the cloth that the creator girl created.
Being far enough from them she was able to save her team from the shock, but seeing Dark Shadow's distress from the light made her cover him with her wings.
Dark Shadow looked at her surprised but smiled at her.
"You okay there buddy?" She petted his head. "It's almost over don't worry"
He nodded and looked at her determined as she folded her wings again and saw all the other teams stock on ice.
"WHA-WHAT'S THIS!? TODOROKI HELD BACK THE MOB OF HORSES IN ONE SWOOP!" Mic shouted... again
"He use Kaminari's quirk to stop everyone firmly in their tracks so he could be sure to freeze them all... he's looking back at the obstacle race where too many were able to dodge his ice for his liking." Aizawa calmly explained
'Aizawa's explanation is so good... I want him as my teacher!' Y/n looked at Shoto's team and didn't try to fly away, her team looked at her panicking
"WHAT HAPPENED???" Midoriya asked panicking "YOU CAN'T FLY??"
"ARE YOU ALRIGHT?? DID YOU GET HURT?" Uraraka asked as she looked at Y/n's wings then back at her enemies.
"No... My instincts are telling me to not fly, I can't go against them, sorry but... WE HAVE TO FACE THEM HEAD ON"
"I'll stop them" he attacked with Dark Shadow but the creator girl protected against his attack.
"DAMMIT! THAT DAMN "CREATION" QUIRK IS SOMETHING ELSE!" Midoriya shouted staring at the creator girl.
"Get distance from them! Don't let them get too close!" Y/n shouted frustrated about not being able to fly away. "MIDORIYA! The worst is Kaminari! I can protect Dark Shadow only partially! He is weaker on the light! We must stay on guard with all the members of that team!"
He nodded "Our attack power is down... but they don't know that do they?"
"In all likelihood. I've only ever told Kouda at USJ, and Y/n, I doubt that they told anyone." Tokoyami said
"Let's get advantage on that... Takami-chan Todoroki refuses to use his left side"
Y/n nodded understanding what he meant by that.
"THERE'S ONLY ABOUT A MINUTE LEFT!! AND TODOROKI HAS SET THE FIELD... ALL THAT'S LEFT NOW IS TAKING THOSE THE MILLION POINTS!!! IT'LL BE SWIPED UN AN INSTANT!!!! OR SO I MIGHT HAVE THOUGHT UP UNTIL FIVE MINUTES BACK!! BUT TAKAMI HAS DONE WELL TO KEEP AWAY DURING ALL THAT TIME, EVEN IN THIS CONSTRICTED SPACE!!"
Todoroki had made a ring like formation not leaving space to Takami's team to run away.
Takami's team was being able to keep distance from Todoroki's right side while keeping a good distance from his left one.
'She always put her distance to my left... she's seen through me. Now even if I use ice for a short distance, I'll catch Iida in it. And if I use my ice recklessly. I'll be ruining my on chances. Kaminari's lightning too, can be fended off by Tokoyami and Takami... only a minute left...! DAMN YOU!' Todoroki's eyes didn't leave Y/n for a moment.
She felt Iida's lips moving and felt his quirk being activated. "Bad feeli-" before she could even finish the phrase Todoroki's team ran past them, and toke her headband. "OH NO! FAST! WE HAVE TO GET IT BACK!"
"WHAAAAAAAAA!? WHAT HAPPENED!!? THAT WAS BLISTERINGLY FATS!! IIDA, IF YOU HAVE SUPER ACCELERATION, THE WHY DIDN'T YOU USE IT IN THE PRELIMINARIES!!!? THE BACK AND FORTH BATTLE ENDED! AND THE ONE HAVING THE PAST LAUGH IS..."
"I thought I told you, Midoriya. I'M CHALLENGING MYSELF AGAINST YOU!!" Iida looked at Midoriya meeting eye to eye.
"TURNABOUT!! TODOROKI HAS THE TEN MILLION!! AND TAKAMI HAS CRASHED BACK DOWN TO 0 POINTS!!"
"LET'S GET OUR POINTS BACK!" Y/n was with her wings full red again
"As long as Kaminari's with them we can't attack! I think aiming for the other team points might be advisable..." Y/n look at Tokoyami and them at Dark Shadow, seeing their distress and feeling that the determination was still on everyone.
They moved close to Todoroki clashing on their front, Y/n extended her hand to the headband on his neck, when she was on Shoto's front she could feel all of his emotions.
With her right hand holding his left arm that was now on fire and her right on his left one, she moved his hand out of the way with one movement. Her left hand picked the bottom headband from his neck as she was carried away in top speed. "GOT IT!"
She looked at the headband that she took and there it was the 10 million headband. "I GOT OURS BACK!"
"Put yourself together, Todoroki!! That was dangerous!" Iida told him as Todoroki calmed down.
"We shuffled the order just in case and even so she got it! How?!" The creator girl asked
Y/n chuckled and smiled sweetly at them "You should have guessed that I would be able to tell which one was which since I was with my headband over my eyes since the beginning! I will tell you how I got it IF YOU CAN STEAL IT AGAIN!!!" Her wings went from full orange to full yellow and gold, showing happiness and pride.
When the count down started Bakugo had got inside the icering, Bakugou's team and Todoroki's team went both to Takami aiming for her headband, but they forgot something important about her and her team, just because they couldn't fly before didn't mean that she couldn't now.
"HOLD ON TIGHT!" She smirked as she opened her wing and felt her friends hold on to her, when Todoroki was about to get near her again she flew up out of their reach.
"TIME UP!" as Mic said that beautiful phrase Y/n flew down and put them on the ground.
"NOW SHALL WE SER WHO OUR TOP 4 ARE!? IN 1ST PLACE, TEAM TAKAMI!!! IN 2ND PLACE, TEAM TODOROKI!! IN 3RD PLACE  TEAM BAKUGO!! AND IN 4TH PLACE, TEAM TETSUTE... WAIT, HUH!? HEY! IT'S TEAM SHINSOU!!? WHEN THE HECK DID YOU MAKE IT SO HIGH UP!? THE 4 TEAMS WILL MOVE ON TO THE FINAL EVENT... NOW STEP FORWARD!!!" Mic announces.
Midoriya fell on his knees and start crying "I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO LOSE!!!"
Y/n smiles at him and knees down next to him "We wouldn't be able to get 1st place without you Midoriya-kun" she side hugs him and pet his head "you did a good job, you all did a good job" she separates the hug to meet Izuku's blushing face, she giggles at that and get up."Thank you all for your hard work" she hugs each of them tightly.
"Without you, we wouldn't be able to do it too!! Your wings helped so much!" Uraraka said after separating the hug
Tokoyami and Dark Shadow hug her "She's right, we will wait for you to become a student to our class."
"So we can become heroes together!" Dark Shadow complete his phase and part the hug and start waking forward.
Y/n walk behind Shoto, but before she could call him, to congratulate him, she heard him talking to himself. "I... I can't let it go on like this... this is exactly what Father always said..." she could feel his feelings, the anger, the sadness and the regret that were consuming him.
She thought it throw and decided against calling him instead she got next to Shinso and patted his shoulder. "You did great!"
He gave her a small smile and petted her head "And you did awesome"
"THE EVENT WILL BE AFTER AN HOUR'S LUNCH BRAKE! SEE YOU THEN!!! HEY, ERASERHEAD! LET'S GO GET SOME FOOD...!" Mic announced the break
"You wanna go grab something with me?" Hitoshi scratches the back of his neck looking at her lazily.
"Of c-" before Y/n could finish she looked at one of the more empty gates and saw Todoroki and Midoriya go there, the tension between then was big, and the feelings of confusion, anger and terror where around both of them.
"Hey, earth to birdbrain!" Shinso waved his hand in front of her eyes and she looked back at him "let's go...?" He nodded to the gate that had the quickest way to the food trucks.
"Sorry, I just... gonna call big brother and then I come find you okay?" She gave him a quick hug not giving time to him hug back "I knew you could do it" then Y/n started to run behind the two boy trying not to be noticed, leaving Hitoshi alone, he sighed and went to get food.
Y/n hides behind the wall at hearing distance from them, Bakugo appeared behind her but she made sign for him to keep quiet, as he was about to complain he heard Midoriya's voice.
"You wanted to tell me something... what is it?"
She made eye contact with Bakugo and they both nodded to each other agreeing to keep quiet, so both could eavesdrop
- . . . . . . . . . . . .
1950 words
Yoh! Hope you all are enjoying this book.
So to the important thing about last chapter.
NO ONE COULD CONVINCE ME TO CHANGE THE CHARACTER TO ROMANCE WITH.
I always read every comment, even the silly ones and the mean ones, but no one have a good enough resoning for me to change it from shotoXreader to katsukiXreader.
So I will keep it with Shoto as the romantic partner, that was the last chance you all had to make me change my mind, from here on this will be a shotoXreader only. DON'T FORGET THAT THE FOCUS OF THE STORY IS HAWKS BEING THE BEST BIG BRO EVER.
(Also poor Hawk's still is helping people on his way to U.A. poor big brother)
Buuuuuuut! Since I can't give you a fic with Bakugo stay with this cute Bakugo surprised n blushing for u all❤
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hey-hamlet · 5 years ago
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BNHA AU Ideas : Darker Stains
Also on AO3 
TL;DR: 
Being a villain might run in Izuku's family, but that doesn't mean he needs to be the same type of villain as his dad. After all, the world doesn't need another All for One.
But I could do with another Stain.
AKA: Izuku, stubbornly follows Stain around until the guy warms up to him, all while he slowly poisons his gen ed class against the concept of heroes. Iida is stuck in the middle of all of this and finding himself begrudgingly agreeing with the kid who seems too sweet to be a villain.
Basically, deku is stain's apprentice
Ok less apprentice, more like "kid he cant get rid of"
izuku has afo and is sensei's kid and its kinda been his mission to get stain onside, but he just kinda started staning stain
so he said "love u dad but can i just like, follow this guy" and his dad said "you know what, its good to broaden your villainous horizons" So he makes a deal w stain: the heroes don't have to die, but izuku will take their quirks from them
in this AU izuku can "borrow" a quirk pretty quickly but needs a solid minute of contact to fully take it
izuku goes to ua, hes a gen. ed. student! he's there to get connections/blackmail but he only shows up around 3 days a week because of "family matters" but he’s holding great grades so they haven’t pushed too hard about his attendance. the only quirk izuku is listed as having is minor telekinesis, its all he uses in school but he gets pretty far in the sports festival, all the way to the tournament but has to forfeit his match because he needs to do something
(it was against bakugo. he honestly could have fought it but bakugo would be way angrier not being allowed to fight him so he left a little early)
so bakugo has always been kinda,,, scared of izuku. he lives w his dad, his mum lives in europe or something, bakugo isn't sure (afo told her it'd be safer for her to leave the country because all might vs him would be dangerous. She agreed but asked that he A, look after izuku and B, she be allowed to give her quirk to him as a gift to keep him safe. its izukus favorite quirk) and izuku has always let off a creepy aura. he had a "weak" quirk but did a lot of unexplained things, was too smart etc and his dad was creepy as all hell
bakugo would never admit it, but he was kinda glad he didnt have to fight izuku
Iida doesn’t get the call from his mum until later so he gets his medal and everything.
turns out? tensei was stopped by the hero killers, they don't "kill" people but they do kill heroes, tensei fought, lost and lost his quirk
so everything happens as in canon up till hosu (mirio has ofa) so izuku knows iida a little, was on his team with todoroki (replaced kami, his quirk was great for grabbing headbands). He actually picked iida's team because he wanted to know more about him before they took on ingenium
he wasnt 100% onboard with the removal of ingenium because he wasn't all that bad but he wasn't perfect for stains ideology because he was pretty profit-focused, had no other heroes on team but loads of sidekicks who make lower rates than heroes and give his agency a funding boost and was from a Hero Family so it wasn't super likely he wanted to be a hero just to save people
but he was a nice guy and put his life on the line for people so izuku thought he was pretty ok but stain was sticking to his guns and izuku didn't want the guy dead,,, so he said sure. so, izuku kinda,,, knows iida is going to come after stain. he saw all the people who put in internship forms, he saw where iida put down and put 2 and 2 together. but, thing is? he really likes iida! every time he's met iida the guy has been super nice to him, if a little uptight. during the cavalry battle he even took a hit for izuku he didn’t need to and izuku liked that so he’s trying to steer stain away from where he knows iida is probably going to end up because fuck endeavour and he's in Hosu
(plus izuku wants that sweet sweet fire quirk because he's not allowed to take dabi's)
also: relevant but only just, izuku has a really cutesy villain costume and isn't linked to the hero killer (like, think bunny poncho)
so izuku is wandering around, trying to work out how to lure endeavour into a dark alley and not having much luck because the nomu are L o u d and he ends up getting pushed to the ground and trampled in a person stampede
which he's a little salty about! but, iida, a knight in shining armour, stops his search for the hero killer to help izuku up and ask if hes ok and izuku blushes despite himself because even tho hes trying to steal the number 2 heroes quirk hes a big fan of heroes and iida? pushing all the heroic buttons
so yada yada, stain ends up taking native because endeavour wasnt leaving the crowds and izuku goes over to take the quirk for him and iida shows up
He steps between izuku and stain (assuming stain ment to hurt izuku) and says hes going to get revenge for his brother
and stain just fucking,,, sighs because he can see izuku's blush from here and the kid is all starry eyed over baby ingenium but like, the kid is vengeance-y and that’s not great for a hero, so he thinks the least he can do is rough him up a bit to teach him what a hero should be doing, because he’s trying to make a point more than anything he doesn’t use his quirk yet and tries to explain his point to iida
izuku is sitting off to the side with native and just watching this go down (he,,, may also be stealing native's quirk,, because fuck that guy but thats not the point)
anyway, iida is losing, and pretty badly too because the kid is angry and alone. izuku has finished taking native's quirk, who still hasn’t realized because hes stupid so he hauls iida over his shoulder from where hes a little concussed on the ground and runs off with him, leaving stain to sigh because what has his life come to
izuku talks to iida about stains ideas while patching him up, admitting that he thinks iida's brother was actually a pretty good hero and that stains a little strict. iida cant help but understand stains way of thinking, even though hes mad at himself about it. he tries to ask izuku what he was doing but he just gets shushed
izuku kinda dumps iida on todoroki and runs
(todoroki swears there was something familiar about the rabbit costumed kid)
so, izuku like comes up to iida during school, says he heard ab. stain and that it was really impressive that he did all that yadda yadda, and then leaves, 20 minutes later todoroki sees iida trying to flex his arms and grimacing. iida admits his arms are a little sore but its nbd
during hero training iida collapses a little and ochako runs over, hes trying not to scream because his arms hurt so bad.
he heads to recovery girl and hes? ok? but now also got engines where his brother did? and todoroki and ochako are so lost. todoroki turns to iida and says "i know this is off topic, but didnt your involvement with stain get suppressed from the media?" and iida freezes
iida trying to find this gen ed student but he doesnt really remember izukus name. hes just "green boy w minor telekinesis who knew too much"
i want izuku ducking behind his bestie shinso to hide from the big bad hero student. shinso is ready to throw down for izuku honestly. izuku confided in shinso ab. his villainous quirk and shinso is honestly shaping up to be his righthand man. together they'll show the world what heroes should really be, by tearing the system to shreds
iida is trying to find "green boy". short skinny green boy who hides behind his tall angry friend and is only on campus like, half the week. 
needless to say iida is having some trouble
so iida, honestly losing faith in heroics (in this au, todoroki told iida about the quirk marriage) goes looking for stain
iida: “where is izuku”
everyone in gen ed: 💪🏽👁👄👁👊🏽
iida, now in tears: “what are you  say i ng”
basically in this au izuku has managed to poison the gen ed. kids against heroics. some of them cant stand their teachers anymore, none of them want to transfer, they fake gag when they see the heroics students and some of them have even dropped out but no one suspects izuku because the kid loves heroes!!!
mic is his homeroom teacher
ooooOOOH TRAITOR MIC TOO
so mic is also the traitor
but hes like,, stupidly in love with aizawa and izuku kinda loves eraserhead so izuku makes his dad promise to not hurt 1a/aizawa so in this au? aizawa doesn't get smashed by the nomu. aizawa was trapped by stains quirk so the guy has tr a u m a but he's not in pain. afo is honestly trying to kill allmight but izuku likes all might so they fight about it but like, a soft fight? and it's disturbing even shigiraki because you should not be lightly bickering over the life of a man
shigaraki s in the corner tears in his eyes because izuku just gave afo permission to “lightly maim him” like goddamn kid what’s wrong with u
stain runs into iida and he's like "god please i dont wanna fight you again the boss' kid will cry" and iida is like ",,, so tell me about izuku" and stain fucking glares at him w such intensity iida is both 1, sure he's correct 2, scared for his life
so stain calls kurogiri and throws iida into the bar and izuku jumps like, 6 feet in the air like a cat and is clinging to the roof but he calms the fuck down and iida is so shook that the only thing he can think to say is ",,, we are too young to be in a bar"
and izuku busts a gut and hes like, crying laughing "you're right we are way too young, why don't we go to another room?" dabi wolf whistles, then has to dodge izuku's now flying milkshake iida n izuku just chat! n iida is a little creeped? because izuku is charismatic and charming and iida agrees with him 100% but he shouldn’t be? he should be nervous or angry or at least a little confused but hes just so charming and bubbly its a little odd. honestly, all the stuff izuku pointed out? iida starts to see how bakugo can get away with acting like an ass but shinso can’t even look at someone wrong without getting set upon
iida is making massive leaps in his training because his quirk has doubled in strength! but, it feels like hes stolen something from his brother
but thats not possible, right? you cant give and take quirks.
of course not
...
right?
iida starts wondering what midoriya's quirk really is, exactly. he never named it. just said "i can use telekinesis on light stuff" but, he hung around villains and seemed to be respected by them, without any visible training, weapons or strength
and shinso, when prompted, said he empathised with midoriya, which iida thought was an odd word choice?
anyway, iida doesnt feel great during hero training. all might's villain costume feels almost offensive? and the profiling aizawa has them do feels wrong, like making assumptions based off the quirk, not the person. it just feels gross and wrong and he's starting to feel really conflicted. because stain hurt people. izuku hurt people.
but he agrees with them
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slowlymadeart · 5 years ago
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[Image 1 Description:  A Crowd of people, all colored blue, with the label "Interneters" on them. To the left of the crowd a young man stands out. He is a repeat character. We'll call him "The Interneter." He has dark brown skin, short light blue dread-locks. He wears a burgundy colored hoodie, a dark teal V-neck shirt, and dark bluish-grey jeans. The Interneter says "You never told us what a "Spoonie" is."
To the middle right is Rachel, we can only see to the bottom of her shirt for now. (She has pale white skin, short and messy blonde hair, teal shirt with ferns printed on each side, Maroon shorts, light cyan thigh-high stocking with cut outs of leaves on them, maroon shoes). Rachel, smiling wearily, looking right at us, holding her index finger up:"Well, you could just google it. But hey, what the heck? Why pass up an opportunity to be the first person who tells you what it means?" 
We see Rachel again on the lower left side, smiling while raising an eyebrow, holding her left hand to her face, and her right hand out towards us: "Ya  ready?" 
The crowd lines the bottom of the image. The Interneter stands in the middle, with a speech bubble above "Yes." and a speech bubble to his bottom right, "That's why we asked."]
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[Image 2 Description: There is a lavender square at the top of this image, on it is the text:  "Spoonie" comes from a disability metaphor first described in a 2003 essay by christine miserandino called "The Spoon Theory" in which she tells the story of trying to explain to a friend what it feels like to have lupus, using spoons as visual representation of her daily energy. She actually handed her friend a bouquet of spoons and said: "
Below Christine, a white woman with long brunette hair, a white headband, purple dress shirt and jeans, holds out a sparkling bouquet of spoons saying "Here you go". 
Below this we see her down on one knee. To her right her friend, female, brown skin, long braided dark brunette hair with a reddish tint, blue over-all dress, and teal leggings, sits on a stool holding the spoons Christine handed her.
"You have Lupus." Christine says, to which her friend nervously responds "Haha, whaaat?...... Please explain."]
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[Image 3 Description: Another lander square fills the top of this image, on it is a quote from Christine's Essay,  "Most people start  the day with unlimited amounts of possibilities- energy to do whatever they desire...for the most part, they do not need to worry about the effects of their actions...I wanted something for her to actually hold, for me to then take away. If I was in control of taking away the spoons, then she would know what it feels like to have something else being in control." 
Below Christine sits alone, her legs "criss-cross". She is smiling at us and holds a giant spoon. Around her are little blurbs in purple text, "Might actually own a giant spoon" "Has done awesome advocacy work" "Read more at butyoudontlooksick.com (if you want to)"]
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[Image 4 Description: a chart titled "How Spoon Theory Works". A single spoon equals a unit of energy that a person can use safely. On the left is "spoon cost per activities" on the right is icons to show the activities.
1 spoon; Getting out of bed, taking medications, changing clothes. 2 spoons; Watching a tv show, a microwavable meal, using the internet.3 spoons; Enagaing in a small activity like art, cleaning something, making a meal that required stove or oven.4 spoons; Taking a shower, leaving your home, socializing.
Narration text: Why use it? I'll let this quote by a doctor who was originally using buckets of water (???) with patients explain. "Using analogies and/or metaphors...can help clinicians and patients' loved ones get a better understanding of the impact of specific activities on a patient." (John Hopkins Neurologist Scott Newsome, DO, on the topic of "Spoon Theory")]
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[Image 5 Description: The Interneter is looking worried, sweating. He says to Rachel,
"Oh wait, so I have major depression disorder, insomnia, and ADHD. During my last episode, I was barely able to make it to one class a day, and maybe get one meal. My insomnia felt uncontrollable. I ran out of mental brain power for my classes, but I still attempted as much class work as I could, even if my brain couldn't fully show up. Don't get me wrong- I still tried, so hard. Even if I was too depressed to feel things like 'normal' I still wanted to be embracing my college life. I feel like spoon theory would have really helped me in times like those. Especially since I haven't found an antidepressant that works on me yet. I know it's not like what you go through, like chronic physical illness. I wouldn't want to make less of your experience or appropriate this term. I'm just wondering if-"
 Rachel, looking calm, finding The Interneter endearing and smiling slightly, "Your experiences are just as valid and the level of impact your depression has absolutely qualifies you as a spoonie."]
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[Image 6 Description: Narration text  "Today  a spoonie is someone with a condition that causes limited amounts of physical and/or cognitive energy, such as chronic illness, mental illness, or disability. It's also used by neurodivergents who deal with persistent energy limitations."
Below sits 4 girls all smiling, waving, and looking at us, left to right; The first girl has an average frame, tan skin, long navy blue hair, a maroon hat, faded pink pants, a blue/purple/lavender striped shirt, and cutting scar on her arms. Second girl is Kitt, she was in another comic, she has a plus sized frame, dark brown skin, shoulder length curly/dark brown hair. she wears a teal dress with white strips, a waist long blue jacket, blue shoes, her left left is a purple prosthetic. Third girl, she is Asian, very light but still tan skin, with black hair in cut in a pixie style. She has on a white sweat shirt that has lavender sleeves and a salmon color at the bottom, in the center is the rainbow infinity sign for neurodivergence. She has on mint pants and wear white and salmon colored sneakers. On the floor below them sits Rachel. 
Narrative text "Not all of us are literally measuring out energy in terms of spoons, but having such a metaphor is extremely helpful."]
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[Image 7 Description: Narrative text "Spoon Theory embraces acknowledgment of a condition's control, which is weirdly liberating because this reminds a person:"
Girl number 3 is on the right is whispering to The Interneter "Lack of control isn't proof of personal weakness. You don't have to beat yourself up for experiencing your condition." 
"I know that. . ." the interneter says shyly, blushing and smiling.
"Do you though?" Rachel says from the left.
Below her is girl number one. "Do u? I've been doing this for 13 years and even I forget sometimes."]
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[Image 8 Description: Narrative text "For young people in particular, spoonie is the first word a person may use when starting to rewrite what their life with their condition could look like."
The Interneter lays flat on his bed, we see him from the side looking hopeful "Having to live life this way isn't easy, but I want to make it work."
Below we see he is centered on his bed holding 1 spoon, "especially since I'm still having that episode of depression." On the right side his words continue "I didn't say anything because I was afraid of messing up the flow of the comic."]
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[Image 9 Description: Narrative text "Spoons can be a silly thing to associate with possibly not having enough energy to manage basic survival activities, which is one reason some don't bother using the term at all. Still, it's easier to say,"
A woman, standing in the center of the image with a long purple dress, short brunette hair, and a purple walking cane, holds a hand to her chest smiling "I'm a spoonie!"
To her left is a large man all in red, hand on his hips smiling, "My own experiences of feeling tired helps me empathize with you. You make me feel validated."
To her right is a little girl colored pink "Spoons are good!"
Next to her is a woman in maroon "Such a cute and positive take!"
At the bottom of the image narrative text says "Rather than bring folk's moods down with-"]
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[Image 10 description:  "My body is disabled! Living an existence with a condition that is unpredictable and invisible sometimes breaks my brain! Please don't shut me out until I'm "Fixed". Just respect my limits." Rachel says, now in the center of the people instead of the purple-dressed spoonie. She sits in her wheelchair with legs up, holding her arms out, her expression is crying yet smiling.
The large man to her left has his arms folded, now very uneasy "How do I tell apart your "disability" from excuses, self pity, and faking stuff? And who sits in a wheelchair like that?"
On the right the little pink girl is crying, her maroon mother bending down to hold her. "Isn't "Disabled" bad?" the girl ask.
Her mother responding "Nothing we need to worry about, sweetie. There are plenty of programs that think of the disabled so we don't have to."
Narrative text, "Yes. Spoonie can at times feel detached just enough from harsh reality to ease people's discomforts."] 
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[Image 11 Description: Narrative text:” Perhaps detached enough for misguided normies to think,”
A young woman standing in the center with one hand on her hip and one raised with her index finger pointed upwards says "Hey! I feel like I have limited energy to! I like this "spoons" idea. It will help me be mindful and proactive with my energy! I'm a spoonie now!"
She is white woman with tanned skin, long bleach blonde hair in a pony-tail, wearing grey yoga pants and a green tang top.  On her tang top are the words "Has no condition is just human".  
To her left Girl number 3, Kitt, and Rachel are huddled looking at the woman. “Don't-” says girl number 3. "Oh no, wait-" says Kitt. "You're not one now, but hey, you'll be one of us eventually. No need to rush." says Rachel.
On the left is a young hipster male all in orange "You're just a product of obsessive online health trends." He calls out. 
Narrative text "Let's hope it doesn't turn into the 'snuggie' of disability lingo.]
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[Image 12 description: Narrative Text: "Now, being disabled by a condition, especially it's fatigue aspect, doesn't mix well with the 'hyper-productive' narrative that today's society puts out." 
A Pinkish-maroon leg with the words 'society that doesn't fully realize the systemic harm of it's ableism' on it, kicks a stick figure of the Interneter high up into the air in a Team Rocket fashion.
 "Looks like having problems with my human body is causing me to be considered less of a human agaaiinn!!!" The interneter says, surrounded by anime sparkles. 
Narrative Text "Still, being active, productive, and accepted by some form of community, lay the foundations for self-confidence and a sense of worth. Contributing online is one way even the most debilitated amount us have managed a version of that foundation."]
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[Image 13 Description: Narrative text: "Disabled communities are sources of support, love, guidance, and empowerment built upon collaboration, inclusion, and knowledge. They help bring together people with a willingness to listen, because they all know the value in feeling heard."
Two horizontal rows of a diverse group of people with disabilities, drawn to show them all in bed,  all interacting with each other like the would if the were together in person. Below each person is an awareness ribbon to indicate the condition(s)they have.
 From left to right, top row; A young woman with very dark brown skin, black hair in a bun, is looking concerned and reaching for a young man in the row below her. He is black with slightly lighter skin, very short hair, a 5 o'clock shadow, wearing glasses. He is reach towards her with is left arm, his right arm is curled due to his medical condition.  Next in the top row, a  Young woman with curly brown hair, tan skin, glasses, and cutting parts on her arms is smiling and being handed a book by a young white male with Downs-Syndrome, he hair short light brown hair and glasses.  A young woman with tan skin, glasses, wearing a hijab, has a pink prosthetic arm holding a piece of paper, and is using her other arm to hold hands with the person she is smiling/talking with- a thin non-binary with short blue pixie hair and braces on her elbows and right arm. This person is also holding a piece of paper, eyes shut from laughing, with happy tears coming from their eyes.
Bottom row; Next to the young man with dark skin, is a plus-sized woman with white skin, her hair is deep violet in a pixie cut. She is holding a yellow ribbon, looking concerned and speaking a "?" as she taps the should of the girl next to her. This girl is Asian with black hair in a short ponytail, she looks back at the woman with the ribbon, her arms are on the back of the next woman, whom she is comforting. This woman has medium dark skin, half her head is shaved, the other is short navy blue dreadlocks. She is curled up and crying, below her is a yellow ribbon next to a purple one. The young man on her left has his left arm around her, and has a sympathetic expression, talking with the woman to try and provide comforting. He has tan skin and short curly brown hair, with short curly brown facial hair. 
Narrative text: "Spoonies are just one part of this collective, their efforts displaying that a condition's control isn't proof of weakness, as if can exist even along side massive amounts of inner strength."]
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nyisles · 5 years ago
Text
Magic In The Hamptons
~ part two, be kind ~ 
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part one
Player: Mathew Barzal 
Words: around 3.3k 
Warnings: language?
Notes: wowowow, part one was so well received that I honestly just pray you folks enjoy. Anywho, she’s here and she’s unedited :-) 
Now it was just a game. How long does one wait to text someone back after they disappear for three weeks? You hadn’t thought much of it after week two. The first week you were a little down on yourself, spent a little too much time wondering what exactly was the problem? It was a constant topic of conversation amongst you, your girlfriends, your work friends, and Reese who all seemed to love to talk about your nonexistent love life. They also didn’t quite understand the magnitude of ‘professional hockey player’ who ghosted, it cut a little deeper than your regular ghosting. You felt like maybe the Islander wags’ advice wasn’t even worth it, you should’ve just gone home with him. Maybe he felt rejected, but you never outwardly said no? Right now you wished you had Grace’s number. An SOS text was what you really needed, and she seemed to really be clued in on Mat. This absolutely sucked, he decided after three weeks you were worth the text and it didn’t give your ego a boost at all. Something that Mat didn’t fail to do when you were together at the wedding. You were a big self love, forget about those who don’t want you kinda girl, but God you couldn’t help but want to text him immediately. Your heart sped up and the butterflies in your stomach kicked into overdrive after you saw the text. It wasn’t even a drunk text. It was a casual 3pm text message, which made it hit a little different.          “Maybe you could wait like...a week?” Reese said laying back on the couch in your studio apartment scrolling through his phone, not paying you any mind. He was great at getting you into this whole mess, taking you to a wedding you weren’t even invited to. Now he was here and unable to give you any sort of boy advice. At this point in your friendship you should’ve known, but you had no one else who understood the scenario. He was one of your best friends. His legs hanging over the armrest dangling along as you paced back and forth of the apartment, fuzzy socks sliding along the hardwood floor. “You know, I think this whole thing is dumb. Just answer the guy. He texted you for a reason.” The pout on your face said otherwise, you didn’t find this dumb at all. This was a serious matter. “I need more female friends. You are no help. Yesterday you called me a 6 with a personality!” You exclaimed, pushing his legs off the side of the couch making room for yourself to sit down. Throwing yourself onto the couch you feel into a slumped position. “I need someone well versed in hockey boy, you just aren’t cutting it.”        Within seconds Reese grabbed your phone off of the coffee table in front of you, unlocking your phone with great ease. It was moments like these where you regretted letting him know all of your passwords. The next moment happened in what felt like slow motion, but as soon as he picked up your phone you knew you were doomed. Reese was always like an older brother figure, someone who could embarrass you in less than a minute. Watching his fingers type away, you attempted to lunge for the phone but it was too late, you never thought he’d follow through with the action, but he did, locking the phone throwing it back at you on the couch. “Six’s with personalities deserve love too.. Or at least a hot hookup.”        (Y/N): three weeks and all you got is ‘hey’?        You shrieked reading over the text message Reese had sent to Mat in your honor. “Why would you do that? Are you stupid? Is your brain the size of a literal pea?” With that you saw the beginning and end of your short little fling. This was not part of the advice you got from Grace or any of the other girls. In no way would you ever text any male this, except for maybe Reese because he was an absolute moron. Best friend sabotage is what this would be considered. “Reese, I’m going to close my eyes and when I open them I want you to be out of this apartment, and you can only come back after you’ve bought me lots and lots of apology fries.” Eyes closed you heard footsteps, then your front door open, and close. All of it almost distracted you from the small ding that came from your phone with the screen lighting up to show one new text message. It’d hadn’t even been five minutes from ‘your’ original text. Your eyes sprung open, and that funny feeling in your stomach returned. Heart pounding, you picked the cell phone up off your lap letting out a deep sigh. Facial recognition unlocked it within seconds, but it wasn’t really fast enough. In your head you could only imagine the rude things Mat would say about how it was kind of him to even send you a text, or maybe the text would spring back at you because he decided to block your number.        Mat Barzal: haha, what r u up to?        Mat Barzal: down to chill?        You tried not to be instantaneous with your answer and play it a little bit cooler than his double text, which honestly brought a huge grin upon your face. Suddenly you felt as if your apartment was getting warmer, was it the flush brought upon by the texts or were you just getting more and more nervous? The idea of having to pick out a cute outfit and getting out of this old ratty hoodie seemed nearly impossible which added a special level of stress. Counting down from 60 very slowly you decided you would be able to answer his text, enough time had gone by to not seem overly interested. Internally rolling your eyes at yourself for thinking waiting a whole minute was some sort of accomplishment, slowly typing a reply.        (Y/N): sure, whats the move?        Mat Barzal: finishing up @ the rink, rly craving ice cream if ur cool with that?        (Y/N): lol cheat diet already? Sounds perf.        Mat Barzal: kk cool, drop me a pin. See u in an hour?        After sending Mat your location you liked his message letting him know that worked for you. You felt like you couldn’t really waste time trying to have a conversation through text when you needed to figure out how you were going to go about an ice cream date without flashbacks to any corny and horrible middle school date you had. Just be cool was all you could tell yourself before rummaging through your closet trying not to be the dramatic girl in movies that would say she had nothing to wear with piles and piles of clothes surrounding her. Settling on a pair of your favorite “ass flattering” jeans and a plain white t-shirt. It was only ice cream, you had to remind yourself. There was no reason to do anything more, but you still added a simple necklace and one of those fancy velvet headbands they sell for way too much money after spending a solid 10 minutes scrolling through Sydney Esiason-Martin’s instagram trying to figure out what looked cool.        It was almost scary how perfectly exact Mat’s timing was. Right after an hour on the dot you heard a buzz come through to your apartment, letting you know you had a visitor. “I’ll be right down.” you voiced over the intercom, grabbing your keys and bag. It was a five floor walk up to your apartment and you didn’t want to put this boy through any more torture after a practice. You tried not to keep him waiting too long, but you also went at a slower than normal pace giving yourself enough time to breathe. It was just a boy you’d already been out with. How could this be so bad, you tried to remind yourself. He was just a silly boy dancing around shirtless at a wedding. He stood in the entryway of the apartment building looking around at the paintings on the walls, they were cheap and not well done but it gave the appearance that maybe people with money lived here. He was in a blue and orange islanders hockey t-shirt and sweats, his hair was slicked back and damp, clearly from a post practice shower. Since the last time you saw him, he was clean shaven, no little stubble that had scratched your cheeks during sneaky kisses. His hair was also freshly cut, you liked it, but you also found the long hair to be endearing. To be honest you were just so nervous and excited that you couldn’t even tell which hair you liked better, and you didn’t have time to contemplate it as he called for you. “(Y/N).” Mat said catching your eye, he stepped closer to you, bringing you in for a warm hello hug. He smelt like mint mixed with the kind of bar soap you get at hotels, yet at the same time he smelled familiar and homey. “So I was on yelp and there’s this homemade ice cream spot in and I thought maybe we could go and hang for a little.” A smirk slid upon your face maybe a little too soon, “Yelp?” you joked with Mat. Rolling his eyes, he stuck out his hand for you. “Well are we going or not, (Y/N)?” disregarding your subtle dig. Placing your hand in his you followed his lead out of the apartment lobby. Have you ever been on a first date where someone wanted to hold your hand? Maybe at the end of the date, but this was the beginning. You just silently prayed your hand wouldn’t get sweaty in the meanwhile.        It was a short drive in Mat’s white cadillac, which you had learned was the butt of many jokes. He let you take the aux cord and play whatever you wanted, which was your current September 2019 playlist. Mat was bopping along to it which gave you little butterflies in your tummy. The way his short hair flopped around and the goofy grin on his face just made your heart melt. This was a boy who in such a quick period of time made you feel like you wanted to be near him 24/7. He had an infectious personality. At one point during the car ride you thought he was singing along to Lizzo, but you didn’t want to call him out. Mat was clearly in his element and so comfortable with you that it all just felt fun and exciting. At a red light, he looked over at you and just smiled. He said nothing, but just moved his hand over to yours. Someone needed to let you know how this boy was driving with one hand, while the other was holding onto your own as his thumb traced back and forth. “Alright, I have two rules for us. First being you need to send me this playlist, and any future playlist you make. Second, don’t let me get anything larger than a medium.” You scrunched up your facing almost saying ‘are you really sure about that’ without any words “And I’m now instituting a third rule… Don’t make that face, it reminds me of my mom.” He said letting out a giant cackle. The one you had originally heard at the wedding. It was so stupid, but you liked hearing it and knowing you were the reason for it. You couldn’t help but laugh along with him. - - -        “So I’m thinking two large sugar cones, one for you and one for me. I want cookies and cream, I’m not sure what you plan on having.” You said bumping your hip into Mat as you both stood overlooking the ice cream counter as the teenage girl behind it patiently waited for the official order. “I know you want it and ugh, look.” You said letting out a moan pointing at the barrel of mint chocolate chip. “It’s calling you.”        “Shut up, ice cream whisperer.” Mat chuckled bumping you right back, “We’ll get two large sugar cones. She’ll get cookies and cream, I’ll take...hm.. Buttered pecan.” The girl behind the counter just nodded and went to work as you turned to look at him letting out a small laugh. “Buttered pecan? Grandpa is that you?” you said turning up the banter with Mat. If there was something he seemed to appreciate, it was the way you were able to joke around with him. He was a hockey player for God’s sake, he loved to be chirped. “Oh for sure, I’m the hottest grandpa you’ve ever seen. Have you seen my ass in these pants?” Mat said taking his hands and lightly giving his tush a squeeze for dramatic effect, before being cut off by the now very embarrassed girl serving you ice cream. She mumbled the price and before you could even open your purse to grab your wallet Mat had already paid for it. “I’d say you’ll get it next time, but you’re a bad influence, I don’t know if there will be a next time for ice cream.” You just smiled taking a lick of ice cream, finding a table in the back corner trying to give you both a little bit of privacy so you both wouldn’t embarrass each other any longer. It was like those few weeks with no conversation between you two weren’t a thing, everything flowed naturally between you two. From conversations about your job, to what you’d rather be doing than working and him training, to what you both were currently binging on netflix. “The office is just so good. I end up crying because I’m laughing so hard just about every episode.” Mat said finishing off his ice cream. “I need to show you this episode, you have to come to my apartment.” And with that you were whisked away to the Barzal apartment. - -        It was surprisingly homey, it was all neutral toned except for bits of a royal blue that would peek out in a throw pillow or picture frame. You couldn’t help but wander the apartment (with Mat trailing), looking at the photos he had hung of his family and friends. “I like this one.” you said pointing to a picture of Mat as a kid, making some sort of silly face with who you presumed was his sister, she was practically his twin, but blonde. “You look the same, haven’t changed a bit. Still as goofy looking.” Mat’s face rolled his eyes once more, rubbing his cheeks with the palms of his hands, then reaching out for your arms holding your wrists gently as his eyes pleaded with you, “Why do you hate me?” he gently shook your arms playfully. A small giggle escaped your lips, “Has your mother ever told you when a girl makes fun of you she likes you?” you said quite boldly, taking a step closer to Mat with his hands still wrapped around your arms. He was so much taller than you, and you hadn’t really noticed until just now when you found yourself looking up at him. His eyes were this piercing green you couldn’t look away from, and you just stood for what felt like forever hoping he would get the hint and kiss you again. It only took him a second before leaning in to place a much gentler kiss than those you shared at the wedding and after party, probably because you were completely sober this time. The soft kisses turned into more passionate ones as he moved the both of you from you standing in the hallway of his apartment to lying on his couch in his living room, him gently on top of you careful not to weigh down his whole body’s weight on yours. Maybe you went on kissing him for ten minutes or hours, you couldn’t tell exactly the time. It was kind of mesmerizing, you were totally lost in this boy, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck that wasn’t as long as you had once noted. His hand slowly tracing up your side, slipping underneath your shirt. God it was only the second date, (Y/N), you tried to tell yourself, but you didn’t pull away, nor did you really try.        “Barz? Mat?” was all you heard bringing you two out of your dazed kisses. Pulling your lips away from him as the two of you sat up trying to look as innocent as possible. You didn’t think he had a roommate, but you weren’t quite sure. He really didn’t get that far, and you thought you knew all of his friends, or at least teammates you’d met at the wedding. It was an unfamiliar voice, but a shorter boy with lighter hair walked into the living room with a stupid grin on his face. It would’ve been cute if he hadn’t interrupted. Completely not even noticing you on the couch, he continued to speak, “You’ll never fucking guess who texted me today asking about you...” With that you saw Mat’s face tightened, the happy smiley Mat had disappeared within seconds and you needed to make a mental note of that. Almost as if Mat knew what the boy was going to say. “Tito…” He said distinctly to the boy now standing in front of you two on the couch, it’s like he had seen you with his peripherals but was far too excited to take note of the other human in the room. You couldn’t help, but look down at yourself trying to fix your t-shirt making sure you didn’t look silly… if the boy was to ever take note of the stranger inside Mat's apartment. “No Mat, for real, she said she wanted things to be different, she was thinking of surprising you here.”        “Tito” Mat now spoke a little bit louder and firmer than before. It was almost as if it brought his friend from the cloud of happiness that drifted on. Honestly you could tell this was a conversation you weren’t supposed to hear, and it made you a little sick. Another girl? Surprising Mat? Nothing about this sounded promising in the slightest. And it really only got worse for your feelings. “Whitney clearly fucking wants you back. You sat around all summer practically crying to me and now what…you fucking get her back!”        “Tito, this is my friend, (Y/N).” Mat said bringing this Tito character out of the clouds and back into Mat’s living room where the three of you were. Tito’s eyes just widened, face getting red. “I-uh, Hello.” He said softly unsure of what more to say.          “Mat, this was fun, but uh… I think I’m going to go now.” You said politely standing up, feeling your stomach take a turn. You didn’t even have a ride home. God, it didn’t even matter, you just wanted to leave. Clearly there was some other girl in the picture and it almost disgusted you to know that Mat could act this way with someone when he was clearly interested in some other girl. You reminded yourself once more, boys are disgusting and not to be trusted.        “(Y/N), let me give you a ride home.”        “No. I’m ok.” You said swiftly showing yourself to the door making sure not to look back at the two boys you had left in the apartment. You honestly weren’t sure how you had gotten to your apartment. It would’ve easily been a twenty minute walk, but you were in such a daze that you sat back on the couch somehow back in your own apartment, surrounded by apology fries from Reese as he tried to coax the story of your date. Maybe you should’ve just seen it coming, it was only the second date and it all felt very silly, you were crushing way too hard. You needed something like this to bring you down to earth.  As your thoughts were flying a mile a minute, a ding came from your phone. Your day ending just how it began, with a text from Mat.        Mat Barzal: hey.
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