#she said good bye to me like ‘have a good day! sell lots of books!’ bestie I WISH

[ephemeral-winter]

still no phones or internet at work but I being clever brought my laptop and figured I could make do with a hotspot off my phone. well now my phone is not doing the thing. so i am sipping some coffee and reading a book about the civil war instead

[compassionatereminders]

Hi Kat,

I know you have quite a big following so I want to ask you something, just to see if any of your followers or even you experienced something similar. I apologize for a very long message btw.

The topic is: A STRANGER CLAIMS THEY KNOW YOU BUT YOU HAVE ACTUALLY NEVER MET THEM.

Firstly I would just like to say that I don't do drugs or drink. I'm a few years older than you, so while yes I'm 31 I'm still not an old grandma and my memory is pretty good.

I'm a person who still recalls how the voices of my ex-classmates sound (when I read books, or anything else, I read it with a voice in my head... if you know what I mean. I can recall voices I like and read text in that voice), I still know their names and last names. Except I don't know all the last names of my classmates that I went to high school with for 4 months (but I remember how they looked like, sounded like and I know their names, I just don't know last names of some people who had pretty long or complicated last names).

Now to the story. Last year I went to pay a lottery ticket for my dad. He plays a lottery ticket every week. I don't really know what this little store is called in English, we call it "trafika". You can pay lottery tickets there, you can pay bills, they sell magazines, some alcohol, cigarettes, little chocolate bars, chewing gums... and that's pretty much it. It's very small. A woman owns this store and she has 1 employee. One works in the morning, another one in the evening.

Last year, it was during summer break time I saw a new cashier - most likely the owner took some time off.

The new cashier wasn't rude looking or anything, but when I stepped into the store I got such an odd vibe, just a very uncomfortable feeling. This happens a lot to me... it's like an intuition I guess. And I'm usually right because when I get an odd vibe from someone something usually goes wrong.

I wanted to pay the lottery ticket when the woman called me by my name. I was quite surprised since I had never seen this woman in my life. She told me her name and because I was looking at her confused she told me she used to be my classmate.

I went to some high school for 4 months before I changed schools. Her name wasn't common, and I was even more confused because I would 100% remember a unique name. I have never had a classmate with that name.

I'm a loner, a quiet type so she would 100% not know me if she weren't my classmate. But even if I'm a loner I did speak with those classmates, heck I was forced to when we had to do stuff in groups and so on, so I 100% interacted with all my classmates at some point.

She even told me the name of the school I went to. I told her that I don't remember her at all, she seemed kind of disappointed and a bit mad, but since I saw this woman for the first time in my life I didn't feel the need to lie and pretend I did know her. I just felt like it would be more awkward if I lied. I paid for the lottery ticket and I said bye to her and told her I had to go because I was in a hurry (that was a lie but oh well. Her mad stare was kinda making me feel awkward so I just wanted to go asap)

The next week I didn't pay lottery ticket there but I went to the post office instead because this interaction kinda freaked me out a bit. I even crossed the street when I walked by in the next few days. But after a few days, the owner was back (you can see easily inside because it's a glass window and that woman never returned since then). I don't even know how many days that woman worked there because for 3 days I was too freaked out to even look at that direction, I know it sounds silly. And the day I looked there the owner was back. So I guess she was there less than 3 days?

What else gave me the creeps is... she really wanted to convince me that we knew each other. Something about that just felt off to me.

I know like 15 years passed since then but I swear to you on my life I don't remember ever meeting this person. I remember people who take the same bus as me, even if I see them on that bus once every month. And I don't brag I can recognize every person I have ever seen, because I can't. But if I remember a random person I see on the bus once per month, I'm sure I would remember this woman like I remember every single one of my classmates. This is why I feel crazy.

I deleted my facebook ages ago, and when I had facebook I was never sharing personal info like which school I went to or where I worked. So it's not like she was bored, saw me on social media, and decided to prank me.

I listen to yt stories sometimes and some stories are about how people shifted into a different reality. These are just interesting stories to me, nothing more. But that day I felt like this woman met another me in some different parallel universe, I know it seems crazy.

I find the idea of a parallel universe interesting but I don't know if I believe in all this, but it just felt like she is from a different reality where she met me. And in this reality, I never met her.

I lost all touch with ex classmates (they also live far away from me so it's not like I can run into them either) I can't ask anyone else if they remember her.

I usually don't message you on anon, but in this case, I will turn on the anon button... because I feel kinda crazy. Some time passed already but whenever I walk by I always think of this incident. And I was just curious if anyone else experienced something like that?

I agree that it's odd, but I don't believe in reality shifting and I think it's far more likely that you genuinely forgot one classmate after 15 years than that she's from a different reality. Even if your memory is unusually excellent

[wilkpinthewillows]

Your Annoying Tumblr Mutual strikes yet again !!

I'm gonna ask you a few questions :> (these are all so random lmao) (as always, feel free to ignore ^^^)

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌��﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

✰ how long have you been on tumblr?

✰ how did you come up with your url/username?

✰ what’s your phone’s lock screen?

✰ do you have any piercings//tattoos? (any you’d like to get?)

✰ do you wear glasses//contacts?

✰ has anyone ever told you you have a "celebrity look-alike"? if yes, who?

✰ best compliment you’ve ever gotten?

✰ are you a collector of anything in particular? If yes, what?

✰ I HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD REST OF YOUR DAY AND TREAT YOURSELF AND I APPRECIATE YOU AND YES OKAY BYE FOR NOW <3

HIIII OMG FUN IM ANNOYING TOO!!!! also you're not actually being annoying this is v sweet

✰ how long have you been on tumblr?

oof, okay so I'm not super sure. I was on tumblr before this tumblr account but I don't rember when that was. I vaguely rember being on tumblr in like, middle school so maybe since I was 11-14 maybe? and I'm 19 now, so maybe 5-8 years? I'm not super sure about this one sorryyy

✰ how did you come up with your url/username?

it came to me in a dream!! Actually that's not far off lol. I was trying to think of a username that I liked and it just wouldn't leave my head. I adore weeping willow trees, I feel like I cry a lot, and I love the word weeping so I thought it was perfect!

✰ what’s your phone’s lock screen?

I don't have a phone, but if I did it would probably be a picture I'd taken. There's this one picture that I think would be kinda nice as a background but I can't find it rn rip

✰ do you have any piercings//tattoos? (any you’d like to get?)

I have my ears pierced and I kinda think I'd like to get some more piercings eventually. I don't have any tattoos rn and I don't know if I'd ever get any. I might eventually?

✰ do you wear glasses//contacts?

I don't wear glasses//contacts, but the majority of my family does

✰ has anyone ever told you you have a "celebrity look-alike"? if yes, who?

I don't think anyone has? at least not that I can rember

✰ best compliment you’ve ever gotten?

Oh, I can think of a few that I really love. Okay so, whenever someone compliments the pictures I take I die, it makes me so happy. I love when people have told me that I make them comfortable. This ask I got was probably one of the sweetest things ever. Omg and when I was in middle school I was out sick one day so a teacher had to go get my books from my locker and she said my locker was the cleanest one she'd ever seen when I was in school I'd stay after school to take everything out of my locker and clean and reorganize it lol

✰ are you a collector of anything in particular? If yes, what?

I have a doll collection! But they have to be from thrift stores or garage sells, idk they just seem to have more character(to me). I kinda have a collection of tarot decks, if that counts. I've got like three decks, so I kinda feel like that counts. Also, I have a special jar for special things (rocks, shiny things, coins, things I find, that kinda stuff). I'm sure there's more, but I can't really think of them rn it's sleepytime lol

✰ I HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD REST OF YOUR DAY AND TREAT YOURSELF AND I APPRECIATE YOU AND YES OKAY BYE FOR NOW <3

THANK YOU!!! I HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD REST OF YOUR DAY TOO & I APPRECIATE YOU TOO <333

Oh, also if it's okay to ask, what are your answers to these questions?

[joshuasearing]

Thursday 20th April 2023

Hey journal so yesterday was good I started the day of by firstly getting up and getting ready for the day then my mum dropped me off to the gym when at the gym I did a push session and it was good. After I finished in the gym I ended up being stuck on the toilet for about 10 minutes straight. Anyways after this me and caitlin met each other outisde the gym once she got there. I quickly went into the cafe and got myself this brownie flavoured chocolate shake. Then after this me and Caitlin went to a couple shops to get some things. As Caitlin needed to get some things. Also in one of the shops both of us got a energy drink called p***y so not a great word but we made a lot of jokes about the drink. Now it just sits at the top of my shelf. Then also in one of the shops I bought myself the original flavour of the tyson fury energy drink as I am collecting them and I have all of them now I think. Then after this me and her walked to my house as she was sleeping round mine. When walking we had an in depth private conversation and sort of explained both are sides of the situation and sorted everything out. Then after about 25 minutes of walking we got to mine. Once we got to my house we relaxed in my bed for the next few hours and watched films, youtube and also just relaxed with each other. At one point we started to watch black widow as I have never really watched marvel and I want to see whether I like it or not. Anyways I ended up loving the film. Anyways whilst we were watching this Caitlin ordered us a takeaway papa johns which was really a nice, and was a nice thing for her to do. We ended up ordering a meat feast pizza, bbq chicken wings and also this massive warm chocolate cookie cut up in 8 individual services. By the end of the food I was in a food coma to say the least I could barely move and It made me feel really bloated and tired. However it was really nice. Also at the end of the night me and Caitlin watched the simpsons which was actually really good, I love the simpsons. Midway through watching one of the episodes me and Caitlin fell asleep.

Today has been ok we started the day of by relaxing, then shortly after we got ready to get the bus as me and Caitlin needed to go places. She needed to go college and I needed to go to the gym. Anyways we ended up getting to the bus stop as soon as the bus arrived it was perfect timing. Then shortly after I got of the bus and said bye to her quickly on the bus. At the gym I did a pull session and it went well like usual. After the gym I went to Icelands warehouse and bought myself these tyson fury caffeine energy gum things. I also bought myself a protein shake strawberry I got it instead here as I realised they sell protein shakes cheaper in icelands warehouse compare to the cafe. Anyways after this I walked home. One I got home I made my documenting my mental health video on tiktok, Wrote in my book journal and also done my spanish on duolingo. I am now on a 52 day streak on duolingo I think when it comes to learning spanish. Anways after all this I went out with my mum and we went to the yard for my dads business. I helped open the container for my mum as she needed to get paperwork out. Anyways at first we forgot the code then after a while we figured it out by looking back through messages on my mum phone from the past. After this we drove back home and on are road near are house their was this pigeon and my mum very nearly run it over as it did not fly out of the road although it had loads of time to see us coming. It left it right until last minute to fly away. Anyways I will speak to you later journal. Bye journal!

[oikawaplssteponme]

original request: @bakugousmymassa Hi willow🥺❤️❤️ ok so this has been on my mind for so long and I hope it makes sense. Ok so bakugou x fem reader and like yk she’s simping for him through manga/anime little does she know he’s doing the same thing is his world. And like they start thinking about each other and it comes through in the manga/anime and like they somehow find a way to communicate through it and like their love/simping becomes so strong that she randomly pops up in the common room and the bakusquad/class 1a is like 👁👄👁 and like they kiss or whatever Ik it’s long and weird but like omg I can’t get it out my mind sorryyy😭😭

pairing: Katsuki Bakugou x fem! reader

warnings: some swear words

genre: fluff, a bit angsty

a/n: thank you so much for the request bb! i added my own twist to it so i hope you like it!!

finally done with all my inbox requests!! 99% of them were bakugou in which i had zero complaints. i am here for all your bakugou needs 🤩i got a bit carried away with writing this so that’s why im letting it have it’s own moment☺️ i loved writing this and i would love to hear your thoughts on it (reblogs are greatly appreciated too🧡) enjoy xx

•

It was your favorite bookstore. It was where you bought your first manga. It was where you found a love for all these complex characters and incredible storylines. This bookstore seemed to satisfy every craving you had in regards to a 2D boy to fawn over. So there was no surprise that when you strolled into the bookstore, you headed straight to where the My Hero Academia mangas were.

You had read them all, even watched the anime. For some reason, you just kept coming back. You couldn’t get enough.

Something on the bookshelf had caught your attention. Among the original mangas, there was one lone book, different from the rest. You stared at the cover. It had your favorite character on it, keeping you intrigued. You had never seen this one before. Was it a side story? Was it a new release? If so, why would there only be one? Out of your own curiosity, you decided to buy it.

You handed the bookstore cashier the manga and your money. They looked at you, simply smiling.

“Is Katsuki Bakugou your favorite?” they asked.

“Yeah, he is,” you smiled. They handed you the book.

“Unfortunately there are no returns on this special edition. I guess you’ll be stuck with him,” they said. You chuckled, taking their comment as a joke.

“I’m okay with that.”

~

Once you were home, you sat down on your couch and pulled out the book, opening it up.

“What the…”

The pages were blank. The entire book had nothing in it. No words, no drawings, just plain white paper.

“How can you sell an empty book?” you groaned. You thought you had wasted your money on this. You set the book down, staring at the blank page angrily.

Suddenly, one spot of ink appeared on the page. Then more. Your eyes grew as the pages created their own drawing in the corner.

“This isn’t happening…”

You stared at the drawing, stunned.

“What kind of idiot buys a book before opening it first,” read the text bumble. On the page was a drawing of Katsuki Bakugou, his arms crossed with his classic smirk.

“H-How did you just…”

Another drawing began to appear next to the original.

“What? Never seen a self-drawing manga before? Come on dumbass, keep up with me here.”

You couldn’t believe your eyes. Bakugou was talking to you, through a manga.

“B-But you’re not real… you’re just a drawing…”

“Sure I’m a drawing right now, just as you are a drawing on my end. Doesn’t make me or you any less real.”

“Why are you talking to me… how did you find me?”

“Well, how did you find out about me?”

“I read about you in my mangas and I watch your show…”

“Then there is your answer gorgeous. I do the same.”

“I’M A CHARACTER IN A MANGA?” Your brain couldn’t seem to process everything that was happening.

“Of course you are. Damn, you aren’t the brightest…”

“B-But then how did I get your book? Anyone could have bought it.”

“Well me and Shitty Hair figured out a way to leave something behind for you. So that’s how you can talk to me through the book,” explained Bakugou.

“This isn’t happening...this is a lot to process right now. You’re like my dream guy but you’re supposed to be fictional and I’m not entirely sure what to do with all this new information,” you sighed.

“I can explain better in person.”

“I’m sorry, what-”

“Go grab a pen.”

“Bakugou-”

“Go grab a pen Y/N.”

You did as you were told, grabbing the nearest pen.

“Okay now what?”

“Go to a new page and draw yourself, like how I am,” Bakugou instructed. You were skeptical but did it anyway. You created a small box and drew yourself, resembling a manga panel.

“Now write your location as ‘in the common area’.”

“This has to be some kind of fever dream…”

“Just do it dumbass.”

You carefully wrote your desired location.

“Okay now what?”

“I’ll see you later dumbass,” smirked Bakugou. Your eyes grew.

“What- no you can’t just leave-”

“Bye nerd.”

No new panel appeared. You sighed, still in shock.

“There’s no way that was real…”

You set the manga down and laid on your back. You felt a wave of exhaustion come over you. You yawned, slowly falling asleep.

~

“Be quiet, you’re gonna wake her up!”

“How did she even get here?”

“Do you think Bakugou would be mad if I asked her out?”

“It’s not like she would say yes…”

“HEY-”

“Shit I think she’s awake....”

You felt groggy. As if you had been sleeping for days. You slowly started to open your eyes. People-like figures hovered around you.

“Back up, give her some space…”

You sat up, rubbing your eyes. The room was bright. The yellow-tinted walls and green floor caught your attention.

“Where am I…”

“UA High! A prestigious academy made for creating the world’s best Heroes!”

“Wait… Iida?”

“Correct!”

You soon realized what had happened. You looked around to all the familiar faces.

“Iida, Deku, Jirou, Kaminari, Momo, Mina, Kirishima, Todoroki…”

“Damn you’re good!” smiled Denki. You couldn’t believe it. You had some how made your way into your favorite story.

“Am I in the anime?”

“What anime?” asked Todoroki.

“Our anime! Or manga whichever you prefer!” smiled Deku.

“This has to be a dream, right?”

“How? You just woke up?”

“Todoroki it was a rhetorical question…”

“Oh…”

“Um where is Bakugou?” You asked. Everyone smiled.

“He’s waiting outside. You can go meet him,” explained Kirishima. You gulped. It’s not every day you get to come face to face with your fictional crush. Well, not so fictional now.

“Uh okay…” You stood up from the couch, beginning to make your way out the door. Taking a deep breath, you opened the door.

Bakugou was sitting on the steps of the dorms. His heart was beating out of his chest, though he wouldn’t admit it. He twiddled his thumbs as he waited for you to show up.

“H-Hey…” you whispered. Bakugou perked up, immediately standing up and turning around to face you. He looked at you with widened eyes. The both of you just stared at each other for a bit, fathoming the idea that you were really there. Seeing him on a screen or on a page was nothing compared to seeing him in real life.

“Damn…” he mumbled.

“What?”

“You’re beautiful.”

Even though this was technically your first meeting, the two of you weren’t strangers. You knew everything about each other. The endless admiration through pages seemed to have led you here. Exactly where you were supposed to be.

“How is this even real?” You questioned. Bakugou chuckled.

“You do realize your world isn’t the only one out there. So I had to take you to mine.”

“So I’m like a character you read about?”

“Yeah, just as I am that to you. I read your story just as you read mine. It’s not that complicated.”

“Why me though?”

Bakugou took a step towards you. He smiled, taking your hand.

“Why wouldn’t I take the opportunity to meet someone I’ve always dreamed about?”

Your face got hot as you tried to hold back your smile. You squeezed his hand.

“I’m glad you did.”

“Then let’s go dumbass,” he said. You raised a brow.

“What?”

“Well we have to write the rest of the book, don’t we? Come on, I’ve only got you for 300 more pages,” He explained.

“Wait there’s a limit on this?”

“Don’t worry about that now. Now come on, we’ve got shit to do.”

~

You and Bakugou spent the entire day together. He showed you around Musutafu, introducing you to all his favorite places. He showed you his favorite places to train, his favorite restaurant, where he likes to buy his mangas, and even where he found the book that brought you here.

You couldn’t help but take mental notes while you were with him. His hair was a lot softer than you imagined, and he actually did smell of sweet caramel. His red eyes weren’t intimidating at all, actually, you found them adorable. Bakugou had little patience, which you figured correctly. As you held his hand, he would mumble soft ‘sorry’s’, afraid that his hands were getting sweaty. You reassured him that he was fine. That caused his cheeks to blush.

The two of you sat at a park bench, enjoying the view of the city before you. Your head was rested on his shoulder as you held onto his arm. You couldn’t believe this was real. The boy you spent ages crushing over through a screen actually felt exactly the same. It was better than words.

“I wish there were fireworks,” you said. Bakugou chuckled. He removed his arm from your grip.

“Here. How’s this?”

Bakugou started to create mini-explosions in the palms of his hands, resembling fireworks. You stared at the beautiful sparks. Your smile was contagious. You looked up at him but he was already looking at you. You felt your face turn hot.

“So how many more pages until I’m allowed to kiss you?” blurted out Bakugou. You flinched. The burning in your cheeks grew stronger. You smiled.

“None.”

You grabbed the collar of Bakugou’s shirt and pulled him towards you. You crashed your lips together. He gently cupped your face as he held you close. The way he kissed you was beyond anything you could have ever imagined. His heart was beating out of his chest too. He was looking forward to seeing you in person just as much as you were, maybe more.

You looked at Bakugou. His face flushed pink, a cheeky smile from ear to ear. He wrapped his arm around you.

“Wait I have something for you,” you remembered, “I don’t really know how these work but I thought you could use it too.”

You had handed Bakugou a book, similar to the one he had left for you.

“I just think we deserve another volume,” you grinned. Bakugou kissed the top of your head, taking the book.

“I think so too.”

~

You woke up to the sound of your phone ringing. You stretched and rubbed your eyes. Then you remembered.

“Was I really there?” you mumbled. You tried to orient yourself, still slowly waking up. You reached for the manga that sat on the other side of your couch. You took a deep breath opening it up.

The pages were no longer blank. They instead were filled with perfectly detailed drawings of you and Katsuki Bakugou, following the storyline you had just experienced. You wiped the stray tear from your eye and brought the book to your chest.

“Until next time, Katsuki Bakugou.”

•

[general taglist (form in masterlist) : @lealofsblog @iwaisa @bakugousmymassa @roesaurus @evivn1 @astrooliver @tetsoleil @bokutory @vangoghmusings @moonlightaangel @complimentaryhugsgirl ]

[nejibaby]

Paper Rings

Pairings: Neji x Y/N

Song reference/inspiration: Paper Rings by Taylor Swift

A/N: HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY! I WROTE THIS ON A WHIM. AND NOW I AM GOING TO ASCEND BECAUSE OF THIS. Please let me know your thoughts~

The birds were chirping by the time you woke up. As you stretched your arms, a smile had found its way into your face.

Usually, you’d be so grumpy in the mornings because you truly weren’t a morning person, yet there are random days like today where you find yourself waking up with bursts of happiness.

Most days there were reasons why you were feeling such a way, like when you’d get a full eight hour sleep, when you’d have a great dream, when you know you’re going on a date with your boyfriend Neji, or when you’d get your payment for your missions. This time, however, you didn’t know the reason why you’re this happy first thing in the morning.

You quite literally woke up on the right side of the bed today, which has always been Neji’s side of the bed, but he was nowhere to be found. You would’ve preferred to have woken up in his arms like you normally did.

You raked your mind trying to remember Neji’s schedule for the day. It was his day off so he didn’t have to go on missions and he didn’t have to meet up with Team Guy. You wondered where he went at such an early hour but you didn’t put too much thought about his whereabouts.

He was probably called in for an emergency mission or maybe he had an unexpected meeting with the Hyuga clan. He was, after all, going to be the new head of the clan. After the Fourth Shinobi War, he was recognized by his clan for his contribution during the war and for representing the clan with dignity, honor, and strength — the traits that the Hyuga clan deemed necessary for the next leader to have.

Regardless of the reason why Neji wasn’t there by your side when you woke up, you knew you didn’t have to worry because you knew he’d be safe. He can handle himself and besides, it was a time of peace.

You didn’t have any plans for the day so you found yourself going out and about. You found it amazing how your good mood could drastically change your perspective. For example, on most days, you wouldn’t take your time looking around the village and the people in it, yet today you found yourself entranced with the village. The sun was shining bright yet somehow the village seemed to be brighter.

As you walked through the streets, you caught sight of a stall selling accessories. It was no secret that you were a fan of these things. Even the merchant knew you by name from the amount of times you bought from their stall.

More often than not, you’d buy earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and anklets from the merchant. You just generally like shiny things. But this time however, your eyes strayed towards a simple lavender hair clip. It reminded you of Neji’s eyes and you couldn’t help but reach out for it. Without even thinking twice, you bought it.

Neji wasn’t the type of boyfriend who would stop you from buying things you don’t need. He wasn’t controlling. However, he sure was blunt in telling you that you don’t need that much accessories. Who would need eight necklaces when you only have one neck anyway?

You almost giggled at the thought of him commenting on your recent purchase when you still have four unused gold hair clips at home. As a response, you could always tease him for buying a ton of books when he doesn’t have enough time to read them. Although you wouldn’t admit the fact that you’ve read all the books beside his bed.

The thought of Neji made you smile, making your day much, much better than how you felt waking up. Your good mood seemed to be infecting the others as well since there were a lot more people smiling at your direction.

At one point you came across Tenten too who beamed upon the sight of you. You had a whole conversation about how your day went and even got a compliment from her about your new hair clip. Was she chirpier than usual or was that just your imagination? Either way, her company was great.

“So have you seen Neji yet?” She asked.

“Ah, not yet. Do you happen to know where he is?”

It was a good thing you were both walking and you weren’t looking at her direction, rather, you were staring at a bird that flew by. Otherwise, you would’ve noticed the way her smile faltered for a second.

“Uh, I don’t t-think so.” There was a hint of nervousness in her answer.

Normally, you would’ve pried as to why she answered that way, but you were still happily watching the bird flying freely in the sky.

“Hmm? Oh, alright then. I’m sure I’ll find him somewhere,” you distractedly said.

“Ah, I’ll have to go! I forgot I have to meet with Lee today. Bye Y/N!” Tenten quickly said.

You finally tore your gaze from the bird and looked back at her to wave her goodbye. “Okay. Tell Lee I said hi,” you yelled with a smile while watching her figure walk away.

You continued your trek around the village, just contentedly watching the citizens do their own thing. It was after an hour and a half of Tenten leaving your side did you see Neji. He was looking rather anxious so you immediately went to his side.

For someone who had an amazing visual prowess such as the Byakugan, he still got startled when he saw you standing in front of him despite you being in plain sight. You wondered what was going on in his head. He must’ve been thinking hard about something for him not to notice you.

“Neji, baby, are you alright?” You worriedly asked.

“Ah, uh, yes.”

You weren’t satisfied with his answer so you pulled him to an alleyway, away from people’s prying eyes since you knew Neji was a private person. Whatever’s plaguing his mind was definitely something important for him to look that much anxious. Because if it wasn’t, he wouldn’t have trouble masking his emotion.

“Is there something troubling you?”

“Nothing.”

“Was this about your mission yesterday? Or were you assigned on another S-rank mission today? Are you worried about it?” You blurted out the questions one after the other.

He shook his head, “No it isn’t about a mission.”

“Is it about Naruto or Hinata? Or both?”

“No, not really.”

You frowned. “Well then, is it because of me? Did I do something wrong?”

His breath hitched at your question. Then he looked at you tenderly. His eyes found your newly purchased hair clip and his hand gently touched it. “This looks good on you,” he softly said.

“Yeah, it reminded me of you,” you automatically answered. Then you realized he didn’t truly answer your question. “So it’s me, right? I probably did something wrong. I’m sorry I’m not sure what I did but if I hurt your feelings in any way, I’m sorry I didn’t mean it,” you babbled on.

“No, you didn’t do anything. Don’t worry.”

“It’s the Hyuga clan, isn’t it?” You guessed again.

“No, the clan is doing fine. There isn’t any issue.”

If those weren’t the cause of his worries then there was only one more thing that would make him feel this distracted — thoughts about his father.

“Is it… is it about Hizashi?” You almost whispered.

A small smile had appeared on his face at the mention of his father’s name. “I do miss my father, but that’s not what I was worried about. Frankly, I’m not worried about anything at all.”

That was clearly a lie.

Neji used to have a habit of keeping things for himself back in the day but he changed. It seemed like today he reverted to his old ways.

However, you’ve already asked a ton of questions and you knew well enough when to stop prying. If Neji was ready, he would tell you at his own pace.

“Okay… You must’ve had a long day,” you said. Instinctively, you gave him a quick peck on the lips.

Neji certainly wasn’t expecting that. He blinked a few times before regaining his bearings. A blush crept into his cheeks. “What was that for?”

“Nothing,” you cheekily said.

Then another peck on his lips.

This time a genuine smile was etched on his face.

“It’s going to be alright,” you told him with a sweet smile.

“Thank you,” he looked at you lovingly.

“No problem, baby,” you chirped.

And then after a minute of looking into each other’s eyes, he paled, as if he was hit by a sudden realization. You only looked at him curiously after he reacted that way. He cleared his throat, “I remembered I had something to do with Lee.”

You furrowed your brows and tilted your head. Neji almost swooned at how cute you looked. Then you asked, “What are you guys up to?”

Neji could feel a sweat forming at your interrogation. “Huh? What do you mean?”

“Well, I caught up with Tenten a little while ago and then all of a sudden she dashed out saying she was supposed to meet with Lee,” you told him. “So what are you guys going to do?”

“We, uh… Lee… is, uhm…”

“You know what, you don’t have to tell me,” you cut him off. You knew well enough that Lee could talk Neji into doing ridiculous things. Tenten would be a little more apprehensive but if Neji would do it, she would give in eventually. And you knew Neji preferred not talking about whatever Lee had him do.

You could hear the sigh of relief Neji released when you answered that way. Without saying anything more, he quickly made his way to meet his friend.

You chuckled at your boyfriend. He looked absolutely endearing whenever he was flustered. You shook your head and got out of the alleyway, deciding that it was time for a quick snack.

You made your way to the bakery to buy your favorite cinnamon roll. It wasn’t surprising that you found Hinata there as well. Your friendship with Hinata was furthered by your common love for cinnamon rolls after all.

You chatted with her for the entirety of your time eating the delicacy. She always reminded you of Neji despite them having different personalities, so you were quite comfortable in her company. You continued your conversation with her even after you both finished eating. Even as you both left the bakery, you couldn’t be separated. It’s been a while since you last saw her and you had so many stories that you wanted to tell and hear from her as well.

Hinata seemed to be talking a lot more this time and she looked so excited as well. Why? She didn’t say, it felt weird to ask. Maybe she woke up in a good mood just like you? In any case, you were happy that she was happy.

The subject of your conversation shifted to the wedding preparations for her and Naruto’s wedding. You offered to help in any way you can but she told you everything was coming along just fine. Then she made a comment that if you needed help in some things, she’d be there to help too. It sounded like she was talking about something and you wondered what she meant but thanked her anyway despite not knowing what she was possibly implying.

You were rambling about your most recent mission at the Hidden Cloud Village where you bumped into the Eight-tails jinchuriki, Killer B. You were telling her about this rap he did. You were too deep in your story that you didn’t notice she was leading you to the riverside.

Hinata waited for you to finish your story, giggling in the right parts. As your story came to an end, she said, “I’m glad you had fun with your mission. I hope you had fun spending your time with me too,” she smiled, “but I’ll have to go now. I still have to talk to Iruka sensei about something.”

“Of course, I had fun with you! It’s been awhile since we last hung out together. Sorry if I took up too much of your time though. You should’ve told me earlier you had other plans.”

She giggled and told you it was fine. Then she walked backwards, waving goodbye.

When she was out of sight, it was only then that you noticed that the sun was setting and that you were right on time to witness it.

A few minutes later, you heard someone behind you clearing their throat. When you turned around, you saw Neji.

Instantly, you beamed and went to hug him. “Neji baby!” You greeted, voice muffled because you’ve buried your face into his chest.

Neji shook his head at your antics but with a smile on.

You pulled away and asked, “So how was your day with Lee?”

“Tiring. How was yours?”

“It was nice. But it became better now that I’m with you.”

A blush had formed on his cheeks at your statement. He avoided eye contact too. Then he suddenly grabbed your hand and led you away.

“Where are we going?”

He didn’t respond. You just went along. But it only took a few steps before he came to a stop. You peeked over his shoulder to see where he led you. It was your time to blush.

In front of you, just further down the riverside where Hinata left you, was a picnic mat that had been set up with a basket containing fruits. It was the perfect spot to watch the sunset.

“Was this what you’ve been up to?”

Neji nodded.

Your heart swelled. It wasn’t everyday that Neji did grand gestures like this.

“Oh, Neji!” You hugged him tightly. “You’re so sweet! Was this also what you were worried about?”

“Ye— I mean, I told you I wasn’t worried about anything.”

“I’m sure you weren’t,” you teased. “This is nice, come on let’s watch the sunset together!” You said as you tugged his hand and sat on the mat.

You both sat on the mat side by side, silently watching the sun and the soft golden glow it casted on the sky. Unbeknownst to you, Neji’s eyes were only on you.

All of a sudden, Neji spoke up, “I love you.”

You tore your eyes away from the sunset and focused on Neji. In this lighting, he looked mesmerizing. “I love you too, Neji.”

But once again, Neji looked unsettled. “But I have so many flaws and I’ve done so many wrong things when I was younger…”

“I still love you just the same, regardless. Besides, everyone makes mistakes and if it weren’t for those, we wouldn’t be who we are now. We probably wouldn’t be here together too.”

“...and my clan is just... They aren’t that great too…”

“It’s fine, Neji, that’s fine.”

He was going to say something more but the words got stuck on his throat when you said, “I love you. In your entirety. Even with your flaws, complications, and problems too.”

He then went to grab something in the basket. You curiously watched as he searched for something. Then when he retracted his arm, a small box was enclosed in his palm. As if on cue, you noticed fireflies flying around, making the moment look more magical.

When he opened the box, you gasped. Tears had started forming in your eyes.

“I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”

In that moment, somehow the rest of your time together as a couple flashed before your eyes. You remembered the bickering between the two of you. You remembered how you got together. You remembered the days you spent training with each other. You remembered him moving into your place. You remembered the fights between the two of you and how you made up. You remembered how you almost lost each other during the war.

Neji panicked at your silence. You were close to tears and he didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

The first thing that came out of your mouth after the silence was, “I love you, Neji.”

And then you stopped talking again.

“It’s the ring, isn’t it? I know it’s simple, I should’ve just got the other one,” he nervously rambled.

“The ring is perfect,” you cut him off.

“But—”

“I like shiny things but I’d marry you with paper rings.”

Neji looked shocked. “Really?”

“That’s right. Darling, you’re the one I want.”

“So…?”

“Yes, I’ll marry you, Neji.”

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

One Night🌙6

Warnings: noncon sexual acts (to be warned later in series), nocturnal playtime, unwanted touching.

This is dark!Andy Barber and explicit. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: One night changes your entire life.

for @kittykatlow​‘s 200 Follower Celebration

Note: I’m working on more drabbles and Eye of the Storm! But for now, enjoy some Andy.

Hope you enjoy it. Thank you. Love you guys!

Please leave some feedback, like and reblog <3

Your appointment went as well as it could have. The doctor ran bloodwork and several other tests as Andy nodded knowingly as if to say ‘I told you so’, which he also did aloud several times after. The drive home was a reiteration of what you should, and more enthusiastically, what you shouldn’t do. 

It was really starting to feel like he believed you were an actual child. Your own father had never talked to you in such a way. You couldn’t say the same for your mother but even she could reel it in long enough that you didn’t feel like a complete moron. Andy just seemed to latch onto every mistake you made and sink his teeth in until he tasted blood.

And like the teenager he treated you as, when you got back to his house, you stormed up to the guest room and slammed the door. You fell onto the bed and screamed into the pillow. Oh yeah, that long lost adolescent rage returned. Then it all drained from every inch of you and you rolled over to stare at the ceiling.

You could hear Andy below. You listened to him moving around, the decisive click of his polished leather shoes. He climbed the stairs and you heard him stop outside your door. He sighed and retreated to his own room. Your day off an you’d spend it like this; raging at your new warden.

The knock on your door made you flinch. 

“Hey,” Andy’s voice sounded decisively through the door. “I’m going into the office for the rest of the day. I’ll be in around six.” He paused and the handle jiggled but didn’t turn. “You know where everything is.”

You didn’t answer him. You waited until he left, the footsteps on the staircase, the front door, the soft rollover of his car engine. You sat up and pulled out your phone. A single voicemail; your parents’ number.

“Hey, kiddo,” Your dad’s voice rose from the speaker. “Your mom wants to know when you’re getting the rest of your stuff.” A slight pause and a cough. “You know I don’t care and you take your time but if she asks, I told ya to come get it… Love you.” The line buzzed. “And your mom loves you too but she’s just as stubborn as you, you know? Well, anyway, uh, bye.” Another glaring silence. “Oh, and it’s still my house. I’ll be happy to see ya, kiddo.”

You saved the message and dropped your phone to bounce on the mattress. You put your head in your hands as you tried to resist the overhwelming swell of sadness that overcame you. You didn’t care about your stuff and you couldn’t bring it here. You wouldn’t. Sell it, toss it, you didn’t care.

You sat up and dropped your hands to the bed in defeat. You were such a fuck up.

🌙

You avoided Andy for a few days. You found excuses to stay in your room when you weren’t working and even spent a good deal of time in the backyard, weeding the overgrown garden. It didn’t matter. Autumn was close and most of the plants were dead. It must have been her job, or maybe a cherished hobby.

Aside from Andy’s prickly nature, she made it harder. That stranger; Laurie. You were an imposter in her place; usurping her as she laid in a hospital entirely unaware. You only knew what the press put out. He never said much about it. Did you really expect him to? All he ever spoke about was you, the baby, and everything you did wrong.

After a rather long day at work, made longer by your suddenly returned appetite and the smell of cinnamon and coffee, you returned to the house and found yourself back in the yard. You sat at the patio table and scrolled through your phone. 

Felicia wanted to meet up the next night. You hadn’t told her yet. If she took you for drinks, as she always did, she’d figure it out pretty quickly. Well, why were you hiding it? You wouldn’t be able to for much longer. You already felt a little bigger, wider at least. Would it be so bad to tell? To not be alone?

You swiped away her text and bit your thumbnail. You’d think about it and send your answer before you went to bed.

The screen door clattered and you sat up straight. You looked up as Andy emerged and strode across the deck. He had a beer in hand and placed it on the glass table as he neared the other side of the table. His tie was gone, his top button undone, and his sleeves were rolled to his elbows.

“Here you are,” He said as he pulled out a chair and sat. “How was work?”

You shrugged and turned over your phone. “It was work,” You sat back and crossed your arms. “Do I ask you? Is that the right thing to do?”

He chuckled and popped the cap of the beer and took a swig. “Well, it was an exciting day. Had a defendant attack the judge. Didn’t get very close but a they took him out,” He turned the bottle on the table. “He got me good on his way out, even if he missed my face.”

You let your arms fall to rest over your stomach. You didn’t know what to say. Did he want pity? Surely you couldn’t relate to his courthouse crusades.

“Well, that sounds… scary.” You offered.

“It happens. Not a lot but you can never predict people,” He took another gulp of beer. “What are you doing out here? It’s gonna rain soon.”

“Yeah?” You looked up at the grey clouds. “I never minded the rain much.”

He was quiet as he picked at the label of his bottle. His toe tapped and he pushed his shoulders back.

“Your mother came to see me,” He said gently. “Said something about tossing your stuff out on the lawn.”

“Shit,” You winced. “She shouldn’t have--”

“You haven’t talked to her?”

“And say what, exactly? She made her feelings about me pretty clear.” You played with the case of your phone as you turned it over. “My dad called me but… I don’t care about all that shit.”

“We can go get it. It’s not--”

You laughed and shook your head. “Why? You’re so eager to erase my former life, why would you care?” You threw your hand up and planted your elbow on the table. “It’s just books. A few stuffed animals. I never really could afford much of value. The poor pauper girl.”

“I never--”

You stood and slid your phone into your pocket. You still wore the plain black shirt and matching pants from work. Your fly was half undone to relieved the pressure and your shirt had caught in your waistband. You pulled the hem down and pushed in your chair.

“I’m hungry. I’m going to get changed and make something to eat.” You said.

You left him there and went inside. After slipping into some leggings and a loose tee, you swept into the kitchen and surveyed your options. Some linguine with chicken and spinach. That didn’t sound too bad.

You pulled out a chicken breast and the cutting board. You put the water on boil and heated the frying pan. You started to chop up the chicken into chunks as you heard the back door. Andy appeared and set his bottle down across from you as he stood on the other side of the island. It gave a hollow clink; empty, already.

“So, what are you making?” He leaned on the marble.

“Pasta,” You answered curtly. “You have any hot peppers? Hot sauce?” You opened the fridge. “I wouldn’t mind something spicy.”

“Check the door,” He said. “You must be past the nausea. You know, I always heard the cravings were the worst part. I never really considered pickles anything to drool over but---”

“Stop, please,” You interjected as you turned back with a jar of banana peppers. You could dice them up and mix them into the sauce. “It’s miserable. All of it.”

He sighed and stood straight. He rounded the counter and opened the cupboard. He added oil to the pan and it crackled. He put it back and turned to grab the spinach and rinsed it in the colander. He set it on the counter and turned back to watch you slice the chicken.

“You gonna keep this up?” He asked.

“What?” You set the knife down and dumped the chicken into the pan and washed your hands..

“You gotta try to meet me halfway,” He turned.

“Meet you halfway? Andy, christ,” You spat as you stirred the chicken and seared it. “How much more can I give you?”

“Bit of courtesy, maybe,” He said. “I’m trying here but you won’t even--”

“There you go again, speaking to me like a child. I am not a child. Let’s start there,” You pointed at him with the spatula. “You should know that.”

He considered you, his blue eyes drifted then returned to you. He gave a small smile. “I definitely know you’re not a child.”

“I’m serious.”

He nodded and exhaled. “Alright, I’ll try to ease off.”

You squinted at him. “I really wanna believe you will.”

He scoffed and brushed past you. He went to the fridge and grabbed another beer. He flipped the cap off and leaned against the door.

“I’m a lawyer. I can’t help it.” He shrugged. “But for the sake… of the baby, I’ll take my foot off the pedal. A little.”

“Cool,” You set the spatula down. “So you won’t mind if I go out tomorrow night. My friend Felicia wants to have dinner.”

“Dinner?” He repeated. You raised a brow. “Yeah, fine. That sounds like fun.”

“Great,” You smiled and grabbed the linguine noodles. “And you know, you’ll get a night to yourself. Win-win.”

🌙

You texted Felicia after dinner and for the first time in a while, you felt excited about something. So excited you found it hard to settle down. A bigger problem because you had an opening shift the next morning and you were already constantly exhausted.

You laid in bed and tossed and turned. You stared at the ceiling, then rolled over and stared at the window, then tried laying on your stomach until your leg fell asleep. It was at least an hour of endless turmoil, trying to force yourself to doze, before you just resigned to blinking into the dark.

You listened to the gentle spatter of rain. As always, Andy was right. It was really annoying. You sighed and peeked out the window as the rivulets streamed down the glass. The moonlight shone through the droplets in silver orbs. You turned onto your side and counted them, hoping it would coax you to sleep.

Then you heard it. At first, you were certain it was nothing. The wind, maybe. But it continued, steady, slowly mounting. The heavy breaths coated with sultry groans. You froze and craned your head to look over your shoulder as you listened. You’d left your bathroom door open without thinking and could hear a little too much through the one at the other end.

You dropped your head back to the pillow as the voice continued; deep and drawn out. It wasn’t hard to guess what was going on; what the only other person in the house was doing. Andy was only human after all. Well, you’d fucked him almost on sight. You were no saint. Yet it felt so wrong, hearing him like that. Worse that as you closed your eyes, you could only imagine him in the other room with his hand…

You pulled the duvet over your ear and pressed your head to the pillow. You felt a tickle between your thighs and squeezed them together. Ignore it, just listen to the rain. But his voice only got louder and louder until it finally peaked in a sharp grunt. Your lips parted and you shuddered. He was done, thank god.

It was silent for a few minutes, all but the gentle patter of rain. Then the bed groaned through the wall and soft footsteps. You were tense as you listened, moreso as you heard him near the other side of the bathroom door. 

Shit, he had to clean himself up and… 

The door opened and you heard his feet on the tile. He let out a growled and cranked the sink on. Your door was still wide open. It sounded as if he was right beside you as the water flowed and his breathing evened out. He turned off the faucet but lingered in the bathroom.

Then he stood in the door to your room. You could feel him there, looking at you. You were thankful your back was to him. Slowly, he crept closer and you felt him looming over you, just at the side of your bed. Your nerves were on fire, every hair on your body was on end.

The blanket moved just a little as he tugged at it. You made yourself stay still as he paused, waiting for you to react. He let out a long breath and yanked harder to dislodge the duvet from under you. You squeezed your eyes shut, terrified. You should say something, do something, tell him to fuck off!

He bared your leg and the cool air raised goosebumps along your skin. Your shorts offered little coverage and had ridden up your ass. He let the blanket rest on the other side of your leg and his fingertips grazed your calf and thigh. He touched your ass and pressed more firmly against it.

Then suddenly he recoiled. You heard him swallow and he pulled the blanket back over you. He turned and retreated into the bathroom, your door clicking closed behind him, the second which led into his own room. The silence was pierced by his muffled voice.

“Shit.”

[ketsuyuki-hibana-typed]

I get it, Anon, I get it. All of the Pillars are alive. But, I'll be lying if I said I'm not mad at Muzan, but he's hot. And Muzan you is still a dick.

HEEE HEEE *MJ voices*

Overall, this is really fun to write!

Kibutsuji Muzan x Friendly!Reader (Domestic Taisho EraAU)

Let's say. Muzan didn't really care about the Pillars. He actually sickened by "Killing Muzan by Ubuyashiki: A Whole Plan" scenarios, but keep searching for Blue Spider Lily.

He didn't order his Upper and Lower Moons to kill the Pillars. Whatever, they could slay his minions, yadda yadda but he will not lay up his hand on the Pillars nor the Ubuyashikis.

The reason was simple.

You.

"Muzan, it's me!" Your cheerful voice was heard from the front door, he stopped everything he do and quickly rushed to you

"Good morning, (y/n)."

"Morning, Muzan!" You put your shoes on the shoe rack. "I will make breakfast, like always! What do you want, Muzan?"

"Everything you cook will be fine by me."

"Okay!"

He actually didn't need to eat that, but seeing you with your Demon Slayer uniform covered with apron every morning was really pleasant. Also your food is somehow great on his taste bud.

"Oh, thank you for the antidote! Shinobu-chan said that she wanted to know you, but since you said to not tell anyone, I came up with a reason!" You put rice on his bowl and gave it to him.

"And what kind of reason you give to that Shinobu?" He took that bowl and started to eat. Who the fuck is Shinobu, he thought.

"I said that I picked it somewhere on the ground!"

"That's the stupidest reason you could come out with. And she believed that?"

"I don't know, she just sighed and continued her works." Muzan chuckled. He usually stared at you eating, almost forgot his own food.

He remembered the first time he met you. He was hiding after he lose on his fight with Tanjirou and the Pillars at Ubiyashiki residence.

Muzan recognized you as one of the new Pillars and about to change his appearance but he was caught by you. He really thought he will be killed

But instead, you said, "Are you lost? Can I help you? You look pale."

Instead killing you on the spot for saying him 'pale, he's playing along with the role, told you that his name is Toshikuni Muzan and he's a doctor who had special disease that couldn't stand under the sun.

When he knew that you are new Pillar, he thought about taking advantage from you to gather information about Demon Slayers. He thought about turning you into demon, or abducting you from there.

But none of it was done.

Now, the whole plan is a mess. His intelligence and tactical thoughts are useless. He was simply enthralled by your own charm. He could read your mind, clearer than the sky. He never sense any animosity thorough your head. It's just cloud of full happiness and full of kind thought.

He fell, really hard, for you.

And you didn't realize because thanks to you, the demon races including Upper and Lower Moons were about to extinct because he didn't create them anymore. He simply ordered his only trusted demon and Upper Moons now, Kokushibou and Akaza, to searched Blue Spider Lily. The rest could fuck off.

And now, you became his 'personal assistant' including his lover.

After cleaning the plates, you headed out to headquarters to give daily reports.

"Where's my daily kiss?"

"Hm, what kiss?" You stood in front of the shoe rack, looking confused.

"Here." He pointed his cheek.

"But aren't that supposed to do by married couple?" You tilted your head.

"Aren't we going to be a married couple soon?"

"We are going to be?" You became more confused, it made Muzan infuriated but he hid it well. "Just once won't hurt, I guess."

You tip-toed and hold his shoulder, did a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Have a good day."

"Bye, see you on night!"

You didn't live with him because you still have sick dad and little sister at your home. He has offered you to stay at his house, along with your family but you refused since you didn't want to disturb his research.

When you don't have something to do on the headquarters or currently not training your students, you visited him again in the afternoon.

You usually asked him what he wanted to do, helping him or sometimes just sitting on his lab and reading some journals he made.

"How is your father? Did the medicine I made worked?" He asked while shaking his test tube slowly.

"Yes!" You jumped from your seat and ran towards his desk. "He felt so much better! Thanks to you, Muzan! I probably never find a kind doctor like you!"

"Well, that compliment seems super honest to me."

"Of course, I'm honest! Right! How should I pay you back?"

"Date with me, tonight."

"Whaaat?? Aren't we always dating at night? Well, except the day when I have mission."

"That's fine."

"If you insist, we'll go!"

He smiled again. You always succeeded on attempt to make him pleased, more than anyone else. It's just a simpel thing though, but he appreciated it.

After eat lunch, you took a seat on his sofa, doze off and take a nap there. Muzan joined you, sometimes he slept on your thighs, sometimes you slept on his shoulder when he reading his book.

"Muzan-sama, I came to-"

"Ssh." Muzan put his finger in front of his lips when he saw Akaza from the window.

"Ah." Akaza lowered his voice when he peeked up on Muzan's shoulder. "Miss (y/n) is here, I see. Excuse me."

He didn't want anyone to disturb your nap. Not after he saw your eye bags, plus scars here and there.

Well, should I ordered my remained demons to escape or don't attack her, he thought. He looked at you again. Wow, what an idiot expression.

"Mu... Zan... How about... Scaly... Skin..."

He wiped your drool, and smiled with the same idiot expression with you.

It really hits different when people were in love, indeed.

When night comes, your 'date' with him is started.

You will hold his hand and pulled him around on the way. The reason, again, is simple.

"I'm not really familiar around this city."

"Huh? Even though you live near here? No worries! I'll be your guide!" You showed him smug smile, and grabbed his hand.

If Douma was around, he probably laughed at you because he knew that Muzan could remember roads and places in the blink of eye.

But, no, he won't tell you the truth.

When you walked around, you usually bumped on your fellow Pillars.

"Tanjirou!!"

"(y/n)! How are you doing?" Tanjirou approached you with bright smile.

"I'm great!"

"Did you just go alone? I just got news from Kasugaigarasu about this place. There are demons, it's dangerous to walk around alone in this city."

"Huh, but I walked with Mu- I mean, Toshikuni-san, my- eh? Where did he go."

"Hm?"

"It- It's my acquaintance." You looked around like a chick lose its mother.

"I see. Anyway, please be careful."

"I will! Thank you, Tanjirou!"

After Tanjirou waved his hand, you looked for him. "Muzan! Muzan, where are you- whoa!" You almost slipped and someone caught your back in time.

"Careful there, lady."

"Muzan! Where have you been? I just meet one of the strongest Pillar, I wanted to introduce you to him."

"I didn't want to meddle with Pillars except you."

"Why is that?"

"By the way-" He put a red hairpin on your hair. You tapped your head, feeling something. "Perfect."

"Muuuu, you always bought me things when we're dating! The only things I ever gave to you were handmade omamori and knitted scarf. It's so unfair!" You light-hitting his chest, he just laughed while playfully fend your hand.

"That's the essential of dating." He patted your hair. "Let's go."

You're still grumpy but soon forget about that. Both of you continued your walk, from the square to a little bit quiet place.

"Oh, hi, grandpa!! How is your udon selling today?"

"Auntie, let me help you!"

"Girl, you look cute on that dress!"

Muzan rubbed his forehead. Are you really not knowing the concept of 'Minding your own business'?

"You're really friendly."

"These are the people who helped me!"

"Just a little help."

"It means a lot for me!"

"Hah, read the situations will you." He mumbled. He didn't really like her being so friendly towards other. It really pissed him off.

"Oh? Oh? Muzan, are you jealous?" You elbowed his ribs.

"Yes, so kiss me." He moved his face towards you. You hold his face down.

"Why is everything had to be resolve by kiss?! Muzan you-"

You suddenly stopped. The sense of demons lingered around your body.

"Muzan, back off." You unsheathed your hidden sword. "The demons are here. Tanjirou was right about the rumour."

You didn't waste your time. Not wanting the demons attacking first, you went to the direction where the demons were ready to kill you.

He just stood there while crossing his arms, smile proudly of his little baby slashing down numerous demons in no time.

Oh, what a poor demons, they probably wanted to report something to Muzan. But nah, he will just ask Akaza what happened

"Done! I'll give the reports thorough my crows later."

"What a reckless move." He wiped the blood on your cheek. "I see you're not hurt anywhere. Thank you for protecting me."

"Of course!"

"Let us continue our walk."

It's just both of you now, heading back to home.

"You see, Muzan. I might kill demon and all but..." You looked down and smiled vaguely. "I wonder what kind of life they had before they become demon. Is she a daughter? Future bride? A samurai? I don't know. But I always pray they will get a good life in the next reincarnation after I ended their life as a demon."

"Really? How thoughtful of you." He stopped and stood in front of his house.

"Yeah. So-" You looked at his eyes, grabbing his hand and clasped it gently. "I hope you could heal, I hope you could see the sun, feeling the warm dissipate into your body on our next life. I hope we could meet on our next life."

Again, he read your mind. Nothing. just pure thought about him being a complete healthy... Human. It's weird because he saw the human value inside you.

He didn't just fell for you, he was demolished by you to the ground.

Your sister sometimes told you to stay him at night because he seems lonely.

"Nee-chan, I will take care of father."

"But-"

"I'm a Demon Slayer too, count on me!"

"Well..."

"Toshikuni-san looks lonely in that big house, as his lover shouldn't you accompany him?"

Since there's no problem with it, sometimes you went to his house an sleep with him. When you do, he's really happy and always promised he didn't do anything weird towards you without your consent.

His bed was so big, unlike the futon on your house. After change into your bed robe, you likes to roll around without worry.

"You really like my bed?"

"Uh-hum." You put your cheek on his pillows. "It smelled like you."

"That's why I told you to move here." He positioned himself besides you. He tugged you into the blanket, kissed you on the forehead and brought you closer to his chest. He caressed your back until you fell asleep.

"Good night, Muzan."

"Good night, (y/n). Sweet dreams."

He didn't need sleep, he only need you to stay by his side.

Oh how he wish he went back to human again.

[aph-honk-kong]

Passing Seasons

Harald gets a taste of opulence the moment he touches down on Hong Kong. [A continuation of this.] [Written for @aphasiaweek with a focus on Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong.]

  He probably should’ve noticed the moment they got on the plane.

  Even though Harald and his brother have had the privilege of travelling to a different country once a year since they were young, all of their flights have been spent taking the economy class. But on the flight to Hong Kong, he and Leon were accosted by a smiling flight attendant right at Heathrow Airport and lead to the very front of their plane, where they have their own private suite.

  He’s in said suite now, the divider up between him and his boyfriend while he calls Stellan before takeoff.

  “This flight probably costs more than what I make in a year!” He exclaims. “Leon said the tickets probably got mixed up or something, but in that case it’s the luckiest damn mixup ever. Look at this place!” Harald moves his phone around to display his surroundings. “The seats are so soft I could melt into them.”

  On his phone, Stellan’s eyes widen at the sight of the cabin. “My goodness, I’ve lived in college dorms smaller than that.”

  “I know, right? Leon’s on the other side of this divider, having a pre-flight cocktail. I didn’t even know that was a thing, for fuck’s sake! Imagine getting drunk before you’re even in the air.”

  “Did Leon tell you where the two of you will be staying, by the way?”

  “I think we’re staying in a hotel,” he replies. “He’s been really secretive about this trip, even though it’s so important.”

  Stellan frowns. “Oh, that’s not good. Has he been acting differently lately?”

  “No, not really. But I’m a little nervous, going so far away while knowing so little.”

  “That’s natural. Remember to look out for yourself, especially since you don’t know much about Leon’s family and friends in Hong Kong.”

  The intercom crackles above. “Cabin crew, prepare for takeoff.”

  “Take care.” Stellan’s eyes crinkle as he gives a rare smile. “Call me if anything happens, okay? Even if it’s three in the morning for me I’ll get up to listen.”

  “Thanks, Stell. I have to go now, but I’ll call again when I get to Hong Kong. See you.”

  “Bye.”

  He lowers the divider in the cabin after he’s hung up. “I’m still in shock,” Harald tells Leon. “How on earth did the airline mess up this much to our favour?”

  “We’re just lucky, I guess.” Leon slides him a flute of champagne, eyes already slightly-glazed over. “It’s a good start to our trip. You nervous?”

  “A little,” he admits. “It’ll be my first time to Asia, for one, and I’ll be meeting all your old friends and your family. What if they don’t like me?”

  Leon cups his cheek, smiling tipsily. “They’re all going to love you, I promise.”

  The aircraft rumbles and begins to move. He leans over to nuzzle his neck. “If you say so.”

...

  Thirteen hours later, a very disoriented Harald clings on to Leon’s arm while they stumble through the Hong Kong International Airport. Groups of people are milling around, searching for the washroom, baggage pickup or both. Despite not having been back in years, Leon seems to know his way around perfectly and manages to get the two of them out of the airport without a hitch.

  A neatly-dressed lady is waiting for them outside the airport, standing by a limousine with a pleasant smile. “Welcome to Hong Kong, Mr. Wang and Mr. Grieg,” she greets. “We are here to take you to the Four Seasons Hotel. Would you like us to help you with your luggage?”

  “Wait, wh - “

  “Yes, please.” Leon nods to their cart of suitcases, and a group of workers immediately exit the limousine to pick them up. “Thank you very much.”

  “Leon, what the hell is going on?” He hisses. “Isn’t the Four Seasons one of Hong Kong’s most expensive - “

  “Just relax, babe.” He pecks Harald on the forehead. “I know what I’m doing.”

  He leads him into the limousine and sits him down on the plush velvet seat. Harald stares out the window, as though about to try and escape any moment. “Is this another mixup?”

  “I hope not.” Leon places his hand over his and smiles. “I just wanted you to be able to stay at the best place possible while here.”

  He gapes at the limousine, at the people still carrying their suitcases and stowing them in the trunk. “How much did all this cost?”

  Leon fidgets, suddenly looking down. “Uh...” he mumbles, “thirteen thousand six hundred pounds - “

  “What - “

  “ - per night.”

  “WHAT?” He nearly leaps out of his seat. “We can’t afford this! How long did you save up for the stay? Did you have to sell anything? How deep in debt are we? What the flying, soaring, somersaulting shit - “

  “Harald!” Leon wraps an arm around him. “I promise we’re not bankrupt or anything like that. I just happen to be friends with some people who work at the hotel, and they managed to get us a special discount. Really, you don’t have to worry about it.”

  “You could’ve at least warned me. If I’d known we’d be picked up in a limo, I wouldn’t have boarded the plane looking like a hungover college kid.”

  “I think you look as cute as ever.”

  “Shut up.”

  They begin to drive away from the airport. Harald can’t help perking up to look out the window, staring in awe at the massive white bridge they leave Lantau Island on, then the rolling countryside mingling with the occasional building. 

  They pass schools, shipping ports, shopping malls galore, but the most stunning sight is that of Hong Kong Island. Soaring skyscrapers are a massive contrast to the few colonial buildings left, and everywhere, pedestrians of all kinds mill around. 

  Leon snuggles into him, squashing him against the window. “So what do you think?”

  “It’s beautiful.” They pass a mall that looks like a miniature version of New York’s Times Square. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

  “Wait ‘til you see our hotel.”

  The limo pulls up in front of the Four Seasons and Harald’s jaw drops. This can’t be their hotel, it just can’t. The representative opens the door for them and leads them into the grand, gleaming building while their luggage is being taken care of. Still in shock, Harald steps into the stunning lobby and looks around. Not even the W Hotel, reputed as one of London’s best hotels, is this extravagant.

  The elevator is transparent, letting them look out onto the busy streets of Wan Chai. He can’t stop pinching himself, for this breathtaking building can’t be where he’s staying.

  The biggest shock comes when they open the door to their suite.

  “What is this?” Harald can’t even bring himself to step inside. The suite looks more like the living apartments of some Western monarch of old, with plush, elegantly-carved furniture, floor-to-ceiling windows showing the view and an actual chandelier hanging from the painted ceiling. Their suitcases are already there, opened up in their bedroom and waiting to be unpacked. 

  Leon is already making himself comfortable, pulling his clothes out of his suitcase and picking some out to wear after his shower. He looks at Harald, who’s still partially in shock. “What’re you waiting for?”

  He gingerly enters the suite, eyes wide. He can’t even speak.

  While Leon busies himself with showering, Harald takes out his phone and calls his brother. 

  “How was your flight?” Is the first thing Stellan asks after picking up.

  “It was amazing. The food was great, for one, and in the middle of the flight the attendants flattened my seat into a bed. But that’s not the point.” Harald flips his phone’s camera around and moves it around his room. “This is the hotel suite Leon booked for us!”

  He sits in silence for a while, quietly observing the room. “Well,” he finally says, “that’s certainly... something.”

  “It’s a lot.”

  “How much did this cost?”

  “Too much, that’s for sure.” Harald glances at the bathroom. He’ll have to shower after Leon. “Thankfully Leon has friends here and pulled some strings so we can stay here cheaper.”

  Stellan glances at something out of the camera - probably his husband - and waves him away. “It should be about three in the afternoon in Hong Kong right now. What do you have planned for the rest of the day?”

  “I’m going to shower first. How ‘bout you?”

  “I have an interview this afternoon, but that’s about it,” he says. “Have fun in Hong Kong, okay?”

  “I will. Good luck in your interview.”

  They chat for a while more before Leon is finally done with his shower and it’s his turn to freshen up. Even the bathroom is fancy - everything’s made of marble, the towels are still-warm and the soap fragrant. He almost wants to stay in there forever until he remembers he has a city to explore.

  Leon is on his phone, sitting on their massive bed when he comes out. “My brother and a friend of mine are meeting us at the hotel lobby in five minutes.”

  “Your friend?”

  “Her name’s Ling,” he explains. “She’s from Taiwan and pretty famous in the fashion world - her store opened a branch in Milan just last month.”

  “Ooh.” Harald flops down next to him. The sheets are impossibly soft. “Woah, this is the best bed I’ve ever slept in.”

  “Don’t get too comfortable,” Leon jokes. “We have go to down to the lobby.”

  He reluctantly gets up from the bed and follows him out of the suite.

 ...

  Vicente and Ling are waiting for them at the doors of the hotel. Leon waves at them, hand in hand with his boyfriend, and power-walks towards them as fast as he can without looking like he’s running. 

  “Jia Lin!” Ling rushes forward and envelopes him in a hug, laughing, “it’s been too long! You’re way taller now and your hair’s no longer a disaster but I see you still have shit fashion sense!”

  His brother ruffles his hair. “Well, you can’t blame him. Londoners are even worse.”

  Leon squirms out of Ling’s arms. “Why is it that the first thing you two do after seeing me is to roast me?”

  “Is that your boyfriend?” She abandons Leon to approach Harald. “Hello there! Welcome to Hong Kong!”

  With a skittish glance at him, Harald manages a smile. “Hi. My name’s Harald, and it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “No need to be so formal lah, just saying ‘hi’ is enough.” Ling stops in front of him, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “I’m Yue Ling, but people always manage to mess up ‘Yue’ despite it being a three-letter word so just call me Ling.”

  “Uh, sure.”

  Vicente gives Leon another slap on the shoulder before going to greet Harald. “Hi again. I don’t think you forgot who I am, right?”

  “No, who are you?”

  “Shut up.” 

  “So!” Leon interrupts. “Where do you want to go?”

  Ling turns to him. “Shouldn’t you be the one deciding that? You’re the one who hasn’t been back for a while.” 

  Where to go first? There are so many old spots he simply has to revisit, but what sort of place will give Harald a good impression of his home city? Then his stomach growls. “I say we go eat something first.”

  “Why don’t we go to Chu’s, then?” Vicente suggests.

  “It’s still up?”

  “Of course. I don’t think anyone would have the heart to close that place down.”

  “Hell yeah.” Leon goes to take Harald’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “I haven’t had their milk tea in, like, forever.”

  Fifteen minutes later, the four of them are seated on rickety plastic chairs around a table, surrounded by shouting customers and waiters alike. He stares at the menu flattened to the table by the pane of glass and tries to decide exactly what he should order. These are foods he won’t be able to find anywhere outside Hong Kong, from garlic-fried noodles to fresh fishballs to egg custard that’s actually good, and every one of them gives him a pang of nostalgia.

  Harald is pressed up next to him, squinting at the characters. “I understand all these words separately.”

  He points at one of the dishes. “That one’s Hong Kong-style French toast. The one next to it is a, uh...” How do you translate this into English? “A toasted bun with condensed milk.”

  They place their orders soon after. It feels amazing to be able to speak Cantonese again, to be surrounded by his mother tongue like a warm blanket. The chatter of the restaurant makes him feel like a secondary school student again, having afternoon tea after a long day of class. Leon takes a sip of his creamy milk tea and indulges himself with the memories for a while. 

  His phone rings in the middle of one of Vicente’s story. He looks at his screen, rolling his eyes when he realises it’s Yao. “Hello?”

  “Ka Long! You’re back in Hong Kong now, right?”

  “Yeah. I’m coming over for dinner tonight in case you forgot.”

  “I know, I know. Did you bring that boyfriend of yours along?”

  How did Yao know he brought Harald over? Better not to question. Leon sighs. “Yes.”

  “What’s his full name?”

  “Harald Grieg.”

  “Aiyah, you brought a gwai zai home?”

  He grits his teeth. “Why does it matter if he’s a Westerner or not?”

  “No, no, it doesn’t. I’m just surprised, that’s all. What does he do for a living?”

  “He’s the head chef at the Dragon Room.”

  “Really now?” Yao says incredulously. “Very impressive. Educational background?”

  “He didn’t go to university - “

  “HE DROPPED OUT!?”

  “No, he made the decision not to go.” Leon shoots his boyfriend an apologetic look even though he knows he can’t understand the conversation. “He went to culinary school and got a diploma.”

  “Which culinary school?”

  “No clue.”

  “Okay, sure. What’s his net worth? If you don’t know, what’s his family’s?”

  “I don’t know that either.”

  “How many houses does he own?”

  Leon blinks. Only his brother would want to know his partners’ property statistics. He prods Harald. “This is a stupid question, but how many houses does your family own?”

  “There’s the house in Trondheim, which is the one my brother’s living in, and we have a summer home in Akureyri. Why do you ask?”

  “Nothing, nothing.” He parrots that information to Yao. 

  “Only two houses?” Yao repeats, disappointed. Leon resists the urge to throw his phone. “How many cars, then?”

  “One.”

  “Ugh, of course. Boats?”

  He pokes Harald again. “Another stupid question, but do you have any boats?”

  “Stellan and I have a motorboat we used to go out to sea with,” he replies. “What’s with you suddenly taking interest in the stuff I own?”

  “It’s nothing, really.” Leon pecks him on the forehead. Across the table, Ling makes a face. He tells Yao over the phone, “he has a motorboat.”

  “No yachts?”

  “No yachts,” Leon confirms. 

  There’s silence on the other side for a long time. Then Yao finally asks quietly, “so you’re dating someone with no university education, two houses, one car and only one boat?”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake!” He half-shouts in English. Some people from other tables turn to stare at him. “Who cares if Harald’s not a multibillionaire? I love him, and that’s that!”

  “He doesn’t even have a yacht!”

  One more comment on Harald’s lack of yachts and I will throw this phone across the room, Leon seethes internally. “Quit your judging for now. You can make up your mind when Harald comes over for dinner tonight.”

[jojoimaginestories]

Thank you (Giorno Giovanna)

Thank you

Paring: Giorno Giovanna x Fem! Reader Words: 1699 Warning: Mild Language, Fluff, Protective!Abbacchio a bit, Bruno wants to play matchmaker, kind!Reader, a little bit dark but not EXTREMELY dark Requested By: None

**Gif not mine**

Some people would describe you as a broken soul. You were between this existence and the land of the dead. Some would say you had lost your will to live and were just trying to find someone who would give you that one shred of love you ask for. Some have just assumed you were extra baggage no one claimed. You were nothing, in their terms. Others, however, described you as something differently.

You did things for the kindness of others. They explained that you haven’t found your path and were a bit misguided by others. You were tossed on a beaten path and came out scarred. Well, they weren’t long. Life itself was scarring. It gave people wounds deep within, things that needed to be buried up and held inside.

Despite you being in your mid to late teens, your experience made people think you were in your late 20s. Wait until you tell them your age. Their jaws will drop in an instant. The first person whose jaw didn’t drop was your leader, Bruno Bucciarati.

Bucciarati had found you while you were young and easily influenced, but he knew really why you were the way you were. Years of neglect, searching for something to do, searching for a purpose. He was one of the men in your life that gave some meaning. The second, was Leone Abbacchio. Back in his cop days, he found you searching through a trash can trying to find food and he bought you something to eat. You were very thankful to him. The day you found out he wasn’t a cop anymore, you asked Bucciarati to find him and scout him. That day that Abbacchio joined, you were grateful. You had already met Fugo by that point, then came along Narancia and Mista. You had your own family, and had found a piece of something you had searched for.

The day Giorno Giovanna joined Passione, you felt that he had different intentions than the others. There was something about him that didn’t settle with you, but it couldn’t be that he was bad or anything. He was actually quite nice to you, in fact, he warmed up to you due to how close you both were age-wise. He opened up to you and Bucciarati more. Abbacchio had a thing against him, but the others were fine with him.

“Hey, Brat,” Abbacchio muttered towards you as you looked up to face him.

“Yeah Abba,” You asked innocently.

He ruffled your hair. “I’m gonna be gone on a mission for a few days. It’ll just be you, Bruno, and the other brat,” He hummed. “If he does something to you, I’ll fuck him up, alright?”

You blinked. “…Do you mean Giorno?”

He grunted at the sound of his name. “Yeah. I mean him. If he does something, I’ll make him wish he was never born. Alright?”

You slowly nodded. “Don’t threaten him like he’s going to murder me. We’ll be fine, alright? You better come back,” You stood and puffed your cheeks towards him. “Last time, we couldn’t play cards and you promised we would.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll be careful.” He ruffled your hair again before walking off.

You watched him and the others depart, wishing them luck and waving bye. You saw Bucciarati turn towards you and Giorno as he nodded.

“I have to go somewhere for a bit as well. I won’t be back until tomorrow, hold down here (Y/n),” He nodded to you, then nodded towards Giorno. “Make sure she doesn’t get in trouble. She does that often.”

“…Not often,” You puffed your cheeks out. “But sometimes…”

“Exactly,” He chuckled and left.

You grabbed your book that you were reading and returned to your sitting position on the couch, leaving Giorno where he stood.

“What’re you reading (Y/n),” Said boy appeared near you as he looked at the book in your hands.

You perked up. “This is a good book! It’s about a knight fighting for a princess against the whole kingdom because she’s betrothed to another. It’s so cheesy, but I like it!” You grinned and looked up at him. “What’re you gonna do, Giorno? You can practically do anything while they’re gone to keep yourself busy.”

He stood up straight. “I might just go on a walk. I’m a bit hungry actually.”

You stood up next to him. You weren’t that short compared to Giorno, but you still had to look up at him. “Then let’s go! I know a place that sells home cooked food~!”

You dragged him along and giggled. His cheeks were a bit flushed.

--

You two spent the day walking around the city. You admired a lot of things, mainly scenery and little snacks you two decided to eat on your adventure. What Giorno did was admire you. You see, ever since he met you, he couldn’t help but feel attracted to you. He thought there was something enchanting about you, something he couldn’t ignore. He wanted to say something to you, but knowing who was there to protect you, Abbacchio would be first to deliver a swift ass-kicking to Giorno for tainting you. Though, really, you were simply an innocent girl just trying to find her path. And he wanted to be there every step of the way when you would soon find your path one day.

“Look, it’s (Y/n),” You both heard. “She looks so happy for once, maybe someone finally wants her.”

“Oh, I doubt it. I heard she’s a prostitute. She sells her body because she can’t find anyone who would want to touch her.”

You froze at the voices. Your happy exterior vanished as your mind became hollow. It was typical to hear things like that at this point, but it didn’t stop your emotions from feeling something from it. Giorno saw your face and thought. He breathed. He cupped your cheeks and made you face him. He pecked your lips gently and pulled away.

“Don’t believe them,” He murmured. “You are the happiest girl I’ve ever seen. Even I know there’s something enchanting about you, and rumors won’t change that.”

Your hollowed eyes returned your emotions as you stared at Giorno’s fiery-green eyes. He pulled away and tugged on your hand.

“Let’s get you some gelato. I want your smile to return.”

You stared at him as the two of you walked. You moved towards him and wrapped your arms around one of his. You stared at him in awe.

“Why’d you just kiss me,” You mumbled.

He blinked as his face got red. He looked away from you and rubbed the back of his neck. “I-I… I just wanted to, okay? Don’t think so much into it,” He murmured.

Your eyes glowed. “Do you like me, Giorno?”

“Of course, I do. Everyone in Passione does.”

“But do you LIKE me? As in, are you in love with me?” You smiled. “Do you?”

“…I may…”

You giggled. You leaned up and kissed his cheek. “Then I’m in love with you too~!”

He looked at you. “Won’t the others hurt me for confessing my feelings for you?”

You shook your head. “No, just Abbacchio, but if I explained how you defended me, he’ll just reprimand you. I’m pretty sure Bucciarati had nothing planned and wanted us to be by ourselves.”

Giorno blinked in realization that the way Bruno left was a bit too sudden for his liking. “Huh… do you think that clearly?”

“I study people for a living, Giorno,” You winked. “It’s my job to.”

His cheeks flushed a bit as he smiled. “You should tell me more about it.”

“I will when you buy me gelato first~! That way, we can properly enjoy this date.”

--

By the time the others returned, they saw Giorno leaned against you as you were reading. You looked up and waved.

“Did you two fight while were gone? You both look tuckered out,” Mista chuckled.

“Aw, we missed the fun,” Narancia pouted.

“We didn’t fight,” You sighed. “You think so lowly of us,” You pouted.

Abbacchio’s eyes darted between you and Giorno. He glared at him. “Oi, brat, get off of (Y/n),” He muttered and almost kicked him.

You gasped. “Hey, don’t mess with my boyfriend,” You muttered.

They all gave you a shocked expression as Bruno sipped his cappuccino in a recliner. “I told you all leaving them alone was good,” He hummed. “Give me by bets now,” He held his hands up.

Fugo grunted. “You staged it, you know that,” He asked.

“It was just convenient.”

Fugo turned towards you. “Was this forced,” He asked. “I know you rush into things quickly, (Y/n).”

“No, this wasn’t force,” You waved dismissively. “I’m full of genuine feelings. Now seriously, he’s napping Abba, if you kick him, I will kick you.”

“She won’t hesitate either,” Narancia laughed. “She did that once and your headphones almost broke!”

“It was almost scary,” Mista shivered. “That’s why I stay on her good side.” He walked off.

Abbacchio still glared at Giorno. You leaned forward a bit and looked into his eyes. “He saved me from these women calling me out on the street, you know? One called me a prostitute and said that no one loves me. He reminded me that I am loved.” You smiled. “So be nice to him.”

He huffed. “Alright, fine, I won’t kick his ass. But he better watch himself,” He muttered and walked off. “I need a bottle of wine.”

“Thank you Abba!”

Giorno woke up from his nap as he looked up at you. “Why did I hear voices,” He asked quietly.

“The others got back. Bucciarati is now richer, Abba was a bit pissed but he won’t hurt you, Mista and the others are cool with it, and I’m pretty sure Fugo is going to punish Narancia with math. You didn’t miss much,” You winked.

“Huh. You did say that Abbacchio wouldn’t hurt me but reprimand me.”

You nodded sharply. “I’m a smart cookie! He’s just telling you to watch yourself.”

He chuckled. “You’re lively aren’t you? You’re certainly not hollow.”

Your cheeks flushed a bit as you stared at him. You smiled softly. “Thank you, Giorno.”

[britishchick09]

my little pony: a new generation livewatch

what’s even better than livewatches being back after 2 months? mlp g5 being here!!! i haven’t watched g4 since the midway point of season 6, but i’ve kept up with all the pony news on equestria daily. at first i wasn’t too excited about g5, but since more clips and info have come out, i’m pumped to get the party started! :D

the orchestra is beautiful! very disney :D

IZZY BALL!!!! :D

HOLY FRICK TWI??????? :O

YAAAAAS!!!!! :D

i bet this is the show sunny watched as a foal! :D

twilight: “we’re the guardians of friendship! with the power of our friendship we will...” pinkie: “spread love!” flutters: “give hugs :)” rarity: “FRY BRAINS!” this is so sailor mo- WAIT WHAT DID RARES SAY????

did this just turn into a pony.mov video? or propaganda?

aww they’re playing!! :D

i didn’t expect sprout to be here!

OMG HITCH DEFEND SUNNY GEEZ

sprout wants to play pegasus bbq WUT

sprout kicked the rainbow dash doll RUDE

phyllis: ”you’re brainwashing their minds!” argyle: “it’s called research, phillys. and by the way, i leave all the brainwashing to you!” OHHHH NOT YET DEAD DAD JUST ROASTED HER!!!! :D

sprout wants to ‘keep everypony in line’ when he’s sheriff BOI

aww sunny wants her dad to see the unicorns and pegasi with her! :’)

OMG THIS IS SO CUTE!!!!!! :D

not even 5 minutes in and there’s feels!

twilight is ‘as bright as the sun’! :D

besties! :D

SUNNY SAID ‘PEGASUSES’ AWWWW!!!!!! :D

beautiful! :D

argyle: “one day, we’ll figure it out... together :)” OMG FEELS :’(

OMG THEY SAID ‘HOOF TO HEART’!!!! :’(

argyle: “good night, my little pony :)” roll credits! :D

sunny to her mane 6 toys: “good night, friends.” OMG!!!! :’)

things have changed around here! :o

sunny’s hair is like anna’s bed head! :D

:(

argyle’s death is sadder than most disney parent deaths and it’s just implied! :(

awww sunny said ‘wish me luck!’ to her dad’s photo! :)

ooh she’s a skater! :D

and this song is pretty cool! :D

sprout’s still alive :/

GEEZ HE JUST STOLE SOMEPONY’S DRINK!!! >:(

izzy? :o

;)

yay! :D

OMG THAT LONG NOTE THO!!!! :o

hey it’s hitch! :D

he’s sheriff! :D

aww he’s a critter magnet! :D

hitch: “give me some space.” the critters: *move half an inch* lol! :D

aww sunny and him have a hoofshake! :D

oh sprout’s a deputy :/

sunny tries to sneak into a show every year! :o

;)

canterlogic guy: “got any questions?” random pony: “where are the smoothies?” guy: “can’t answer that one.” lol! :D

it’s the show with propaganda devices! :o

rip balloon guy :/

hitch: “yikes, that’ll be a lot of paperwork.” omg lol!

THIS ISN’T YOUR DAY SUNNY

sunny: “let’s lend a hoof-“ *machine locks her in* “...that’s not what i meant.” lol :D

sunny trying to speak her mind while being trapped in a device tho!

DID SUNNY JUST SAY ‘EAT MY AAAAAAASS?’ :O

phyllis: “how do you think we should solve this? with hugs and cupcakes?” crowd: *laughs* pinkie pie’s about to go into a rage with that one...

omg sunny broke too many laws to count! :o

yeah sunny’s right hitch could be a good pony influence! :D

hitch: “all that unity stuff was just a foal’s bedtime story made up by your dad.” and a best selling tv show for foals in our world! :)

aww poor sunny! :’(

sunny: “...i wish you were here dad.” SAME :(

omg running ponies! :o

IZZYY!!!!! :D

izzy: “is everypony playing hide and seek? i see you!” aww! :D

hitch: “your kid is safe now ma’am!” pony: “...this isn’t my kid!” lol! :D

izzy’s never seen the sea! :D

sunny: “earth ponies hate unicorns!” izzy: “really? that seems a bit harsh!” yeah it does!

aww izzy’s skipping! :D

oh no she was captured in a box! :o

SHE PRESSED THE RED BUTTON! :o

izzy: “bye! it was nice to meet you all!” aww :D

hitch: “to the lighthouse!” sprout: *locks himself in the box* “oh no, i appear to be trapped!” hitch: “you’ve got to be kidding me.” lol :D

a smol bean! :D

aww sunny’s fangirling! :D

:)

she has so many questions! :D

izzy’s a great balancer! :D

hitch: “you’re completely surrounded!” *he and sprout are the only ponies there* lol! :D

izzy: *sniff sniff sniiiiiiff* sunny: “what are you doing..?” izzy: “you don’t smell!” sunny: “thanks! ...wait what?” lol! :D

izzy’s so cute!!! :D

ooh izzy and sunny have a song! :D

besties! :D

this sounds so 80s! :D

pretty scenery! :D (and balloon guy in the background!)

aww!!! :D

don’t arrest sunny, hitch!

sprout has pizza! :o

unimpressed :/

THAT SMIRK THO

hitch wants sprout to ‘keep the peace’ while he’s gone... hans much?

HITCH HAS ABS AND A PAID OFF MORTGAGE???

phyllis called sprout ‘sugarcube’! :o

sprout a literally foal child :/

omg sunny and izzy are in trouble! :o

and they’re in az! :o

zipp fab af! :D

wait how is she flying without magic?

she sounds kind of like rainbow dash! :o

zipp: “don’t tell them you saw me.” izzy: “there’s no way we couuuld we don’t even know your naaaame!” lol! :D

cuties! :D

so many moods! :D

the guard collects sneakers?

:D :D

check out the sony, cbs and t-mobile parodies! :D

ooh a royal celebration! :o

news host: “an excursive vid from pipp!” a news anchor saying ‘VID’???

look at those emojis! :o

aww izzy saying pipp’s slogan! :D

the queen’s...

a fluff ball???

there’s FAB, FAB AF and... fab phone addict!

cutie pipp! :D

aww cutie izzy! :D

zipp’s like ‘no no!’ and izzy just wipes her smile away lol :D

queen haven sounds like rarity!

queen haven: “nopony must know they’re here!” pipp: *INSTANTLY LIVESTREAMS IT* BOI

the guard took sunny’s book! :o

sprout calls his mom ‘mommy’... :/

sprout: *flings open the door* citizens! *door close* “AHHH!!!” lol! :D

somepony: “we want a real sheriff!” same!

ew sprout has a song :/

WITH HEAVY METAL YO

and NAZI IMAGERY WTF

BE PREPAAAAARED!!!!!!

PIPP PERFUME AD???

wowza! :o

and it’s playing on a big tv in the jail room! 101 much??

more like room 202 wowza! :o

zipp is here! :D

sunny: “i’m sunny!” izzy: “and i’m izzy moooonbooow!” lol! :D

the unicorns losing their magic ‘changes things’! :o

zipp has the journal! :D

their smiles though! :D

aww it was sunny’s dad’s journal! :/

zipp recognizes the star! :o

here comes pipp!

pipp’s here ‘for the content’ BOI

only royals can fly? zipp doesn’t seem so sure about that...

yay zipp unlocked them! :D

eyyy! ;D

aww hitch is beloved! :D

hitch is such a detective! :D

cutie bunnies!!!!! :D

BELOVED!!!! :D

hitch LOOK BEHIND YOU AT THE AWESOME MUGS!!!!

hitch: *smirk* “gotcha ;)”

zipp: “watch your step!” sunny and izzy: *fall* lol! :D

zipp found maritime bay and bridlewood maps! :o

wonderbolts! :o

zipp’s been faking flying? :o

WIRES AND LIGHTING???

wheee!!!! :D

she’s so happy! :)

omg twilight! :o

sunny: “oh my stars!” oms! :o

there are crystals!

beautiful lighting! :D

izzy: “we’ve gotten, like, a bazillion crystals in bridlewood!” wowza! :o

queen haven sings her own version of the mlp theme in the shower! :o

zipp is a spy at a pasta store! :o

press: “princess zipp! are you wearing-“ she’s not wearing anything tho...

press 2: “where’s the bathroom?” lol! :D

ooh a crown swap! :o

zipp: “swapping the crown will be easy breezie!” breezies! :o

zipp is gonna be queen since she’s older!

lies = safety in modern equestria... :/

pipp sounds like a modern pop star!

oh no the doggie suspects something! :o

OMG HITCH! :o

pipp’s song sounds like a blackpink song now! :o

aww hitch is wiggling! :D

oh no the power flickered out! :o

i think pipp was lip syncing since her voice cut out a bit!

lol hitch is singing! :D

oh no the wires have been exposed! :o

save her zipp! zipp: *doesn’t save her sis* ...oh :/

izzy: ‘her mom is the queen!” hitch to zipp: “you’re a princess?” zipp: “oh so the sheriff just became a detective.” lol :D (and how does she know he’s a sheriff?)

QUEEN HAVEN’T BEEN ARRESTED FOR BEING A PHONY PONY BALONEY!!! :o

and they lost the crown? NOOO-

oh thanks pissed off pipp! :D

oh no the princesses are gonna be arrested! :o

pipp’s voice crack is so cute! :D

the mane 5 is here!!! :D

hitch: “but i’m a sheriiiiff!” but you’re a mr. whiny pants!

construction isn’t going well in maritime bay...

OMG SPROUT SOUNDS LIKE DARTH VADER WHYYY

oh he’s just sipping a soda :/

phyllis: “oh dear. somepony’s getting a big head.” yeah you think?

zipp and pipp aren’t going through a good time right now but at least the scenery is beautiful! :D

hitch lost his badge! :o

izzy: “if you ask me, that badge was creating an unhealthy power dynamic! *sings guitar music*” lol :D

omg! :o

sunny: “once we find the crystal, you’ll get your magic back, you’ll have your fans and you’ll put me in custody!” lol :D

izzy knocked down a tree and saved the day! :D

it’s him! :D

zipp: “need some backup, sherrif?” hitch: “i’ve got it!” *barely makes a spark with some twigs* lol :D

cuties! :D

zipp called hitch ‘dude’! :D

aww izzy doesn’t want to leave her friends :(

OMG IZZY FOUND SUNNY’S MESSAGE!!!! :D

aww ‘hoof to heart’ :’)

hitch wants to do his part! :D

hitch: “the unicorn forest sounds pretty magical!” the forest: “is dark and scary* lol!

izzy’s house is stunning! :D

aww she calls it ‘la villa izzy’! :D

what a cool house! :D

the music machine plays the mlp theme!! :D

woah! :o

pipp: “i so wish i had livestreamed that!” sigh... :/

izzy’s song!!! :D

cutie!! :D

this song is so catchy! :D

smiley gals!!!! :D

lol! :D

hitch tho! :D

izzy rap!! :D

epic! B)

‘if we fail we’ll go to prison’ is really a line in the song lol! :D

the scenery! :D

izzy: “crystals! crystals! cryyystals!” lol! :D

people are depressed af around here! :o

british foal: “yoooou said a bad word! bing bong bing bong!” lol how random! :D

why is mayo a bad word tho?

they’re doing to a crystal dealer!

rubik’s cube! :o (it was also on the sheriff’s desk in maritime bay!)

and that pony is named alphabittle!

alphabittle: “deep talk for a little pony.” sunny: “you’ll find i’m average height,” lol! :D

omg he wants a dance off! :o

pipp: “feel the rhythm take you over! you feeling it?” sunny: “i’m feeling it!” DO YOU FEEL IT NOW, MR. KRABS???

epic! :D

yay she won! :D

OMG NO SHE DOESN’T GET THE CRYSTAL???

OMG hitch just said mayo! :o

they escaped tho! :D

QUEEN HAVEN???

and hitch’s badge! :D

queen haven wants them to ‘spin the story’ BOI

oh no queen haven and alphabittle are fighting over the crystals! :o

alphabittle threatens to use his powers but he doesn’t have magic?

sunny: “stop! you don’t have magic!” random pony: “bing bong!” lol! :D

omg...

aww cuties! :D

aaaaand......

it doesn’t work :/

maybe because there needs to be an earth pony crystal or a twilight star?

aww poor sunny :(

she’s about to cry!!! :’(

:’(

hitch: “i guess this is goodbye... friends.” zipp: “better hurry... sheriff.” :’‘(

sunny didn’t fix the crooked photo of her dad!!! :(

no she put her mane 6 figures away!!! :(

circle??? :o

the lights!!!! :D

CIRCLE??? :O

!!!!!!!!!

maritime bay hasn’t been treated too kindly i see! :o

oh no evil fireworks! :o

everyone has the unicorn mind hats on! :o

sprout is being treated like royalty now GREEEEAAAAT

and there’s more nazi imagery with that big mural of him!

sprout: “citizens of-“ *mural of him falls* lol! :D

the citizens didn’t want to fight in the first place! :D

OMG HE HAS AN EVIL LAUGH NOOOO

OMG ROBOT???

even phyllis thinks this is overdone! same mommy!

yay they’re reunited! :D

queen haven: “we need to get home!” alphabittle: “before we’re all jinxed!” queen haven: “excuse me, do you see my mouth still a-talking?” lol! :D

queen haven called sprout a ‘big robot pony’ lol :D

they need to stop it with magic! :D

sprout: “OH NO YOU DON”T” sassy man!

aww zipp has hitch’s back! :D

OMG SPROUT CRACKED THE LIGHTHOUSE??? :o

omg pipp and izzy fell! :o

queen haven saved alphabittle! :D

phyllis: “sprout! let’s put the toy away!” sprout: “mom, i’m in the middle of something!” lol! :D

HE WAS ABOUT TO RUN HIS MOMMY OVER!!!! :o

OMG THE LIGHT HOUSE IS CRUMBLING!!!!

omg! :o

aaaand it didn’t work! :o

magic of friendship it’s your tur-

OMG THE CRYSTALS ARE FALLING!!!! :o

THE LIGHTHOUSE IS FALLIIIIING!!!!!! :o

:(

everyone’s still alive though!

sunny: “it’s not the crystals that need to be brought together...” it’s us?

“it’s us!” knew it!! :D

yay choose friendship and love! :D

aww queen haven fixed the picture!

and so did alphabittle!

and phyllis!!! :D

uh guys what’s that over there...?

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YAAAAS!!!!!! :D

SONIC RAINBOOM!!!! :o

magic is back!!!!!! :D

they can fly!!!! :D

sunny’s flying with the princesses! :D

the unicorns are back! :D

the pegasi’s wings have such a pretty glow! :D

beautiful sunny! ♥

alphabittle says ‘hi there buddy’ to a little foal! :D

sprout: “mommy, was i a good sheriff?” phyllis: “oh look a flying dog!” lol! :D

hitch: “you did it sunny.” sunny: “no... we did it... together!” yas!!! :D

the gang’s all here!!! :D

izzy: “now we never have to be apart!” yay!!! :D

aww they all did ‘hooves to hearts’! :D ♥♥♥♥♥

balloon guy is back! :D

balloon guy: “hey guys! what did i miss?” *turns around and sees the mane 5* *SCREAAAAM!!!!!* lol! :D

and that’s the end! :D

besides the end credits scene...

;)

so that was the mlp g5 movie! i loved it a lot more than i thought i would and it wasn’t kiddie like g3. it was a lot like g4! the connection between that and g5 is awesome! the characters were fun and the story was really interesting despite it being a typical hero’s journey. it reminded me so much of disney! i can’t wait to see what adventure sunny and her friends have in store! :D

[gatherthesuspectspod]

Our London Podcast Festival Script

Two weeks ago, Gather The Suspects were invited to perform a short live piece as part of the Audio Drama Debuts Hour. We had such a blast and while we don’t have a recording of the brand new material we performed, here is the script we performed in full: 

GATHER THE SUSPECTS: LONDON PODCAST FESTIVAL

SCENE 1: INT: JACK AND KARA’S FLAT

JACK and GERAINT are sat in JACK’S flat. They are playing a game on the PlayStation…

JACK: Get him! Get him! Aaaaah, balls. G, why didn’t you cover me!

GERAINT: I told you I’m rubbish at this game

JACK: Are you still stuck in the doorway at the spawn point… hah - you are! What a noob! Coo-ey…Geraint...

GERAINT: Hey! No friendly fire!

JACK: Ger, you know the rules, if it’s part of the game then it’s all fair…

GERAINT: You shot my guy blank in the face… I really don’t see how that’s part of the ga- oooh, I have another life left! 

JACK: You don’t get lives anymore in games, G… this isn’t the 80s

GERAINT: What about Super Mario?

JACK: Nope… you run out of lives, you just lose coins now…

GERAINT:  I dunno, society really is beyond repair! Talking of which…what about this ‘big case’ you’ve been working on...  (reacting to the game) Ha-hah! I’m out of the door! Finally! (back to Jack) I’m guessing, as you’re sat here with me getting your arse kicked at video games... likely by some random twelve-year-olds… that it’s going swimmingly!

JACK: Hey, I’m not getting my arse kicked… I’m just… never mind that. I have a day off...Who’d have thought going undercover would be so exhausting! 

GERAINT: Yeah, to be honest, the thought of you having a job is still quite amusing, even if it is just for appearance’s sake.

JACK: Hey, what’s so funny about me having a job? 

GERAINT: (laughing) Oh, I don’t know, maybe it’s the… (Jack shoots him a look) 

GERAINT: (composing himself) Oh, you were serious... Oh, nothing…just didn’t really see it as your...um… ‘scene,’ that’s all... So, you reckon you can solve it?

JACK: Uh-huh… 

GERAINT: Aaand? 

JACK: Just uh-huh… nothing much to write home about yet, really. 

GERAINT: Jack, it’s a murder, surely there must be something exciting! Like what happened?

JACK: Angry boss…disgruntled employees... shot, by the looks of it… (reacting to the game) YES! Take that… right in the…(remembers what they were talking about)... oh, uuh… that’s about it really…

GERAINT:  “That’s about it?” Sounds like quite a big deal to me… so, you got any suspects?

JACK: That’s the problem right now… there is literally an entire office full of ‘em! But, it’s my day off and I am not thinking about it… just going to chill here and play some…

SOUND: PHONEVIBE.WAV

JACK: (Sighs)... hello…

KARA (on phone): Hey…

JACK: Hey Kara

KARA (on phone): Guess what?

JACK: The office has burned down and I don’t have to go back to work tomorrow?

KARA (on phone): Hah, you wish… no… Harrison just announced in the morning meeting that the police are coming in today to search everyone’s lockers… The whole sales team is freaking out! 

JACK: (excitedly) What!? The police are actually doing something? I can just imagine their panicked little faces!

KARA (on phone): Dai blew up at Harrison in the meeting and called it ‘an affront to his human rights...” Like, since when has douchebag Dai cared about anyone’s human rights when he’s been sleazing his way around the office. 

JACK: Ooooh, I’m coming in! 

KARA (on phone): You won’t be allowed… your card won’t let you into the building if you’re booked off on holiday… 

JACK: What about if I ask Harrison about coming in? Surely he’ll -

KARA (on phone): You’ll be lucky, he’s gone golfing. You’ll just have to wait for me to get home and fill you in on all the fun and games, I’m afraid.

JACK: Gaah! Just give me a call if they find anything, alright? 

KARA (on phone): Jack, it’s the police... they couldn’t find anything if it was surrounded by a big shiny arrow and neon writing declaring ‘I’m a clue’. Think you are safe on that one… It will be interesting to see how people react though. Like I said, they all seem pretty worried at the mo... Me and V are going to watch - I’ll let you know if any fireworks happen.

JACK: Thanks, K. Bye.

KARA (on phone): Tarra, bye. 

Phone beeps as JACK hangs up. 

JACK: Ger, get your coat… we are going to work……..

GERAINT: What?! Now? I was just getting the hang of this bloody thing too!

JACK: I’ll explain on the way. We are going on a stakeout!

SCENE 2: EXT: WELTEL CAR PARK

We open on JACK and GERAINT stood in the carpark of the Weltel call centre.

JACK: Oooh, how exciting, our first stakeout! 

GERAINT: While I’d like to share your enthusiastic outlook on the situation, couldn’t you at least have hired a car or something… just standing here in the open staring at the building doesn’t feel very… well, ‘discrete’, quite frankly. 

JACK: (mocking) Oh, I’m sorry ‘chief inspector’, I would have gone for the usual unmarked car with tinted windows, but the carpool budget has been rather reduced since, you know, the world fell apart. 

GERAINT: Alright, alright. I was just saying... We aren’t exactly inconspicuous stood here though, are we? Particularly when you keep looking through those opera glasses!

JACK: I was rushing and couldn’t find my binoculars…

GERAINT: Why do you even have opera glasses anyway… have you ever even been to the opera -

JACK: (interrupting) Shush! Look… (whispering) act natural… (they act very unnatural, suspiciously looking around staring at the sky and their shoes. 

GERAINT starts to whistle and turns away from the mic) what’s she doing?

GERAINT: Who is it? I can’t see because of all the acting natural….

JACK: (gives up whispering) Oh, just turn around, mun. Look, it’s Amy…

GERAINT: Jack, you seem to forget, I don’t work here… I have literally no idea who that is!

JACK: OK, so… Amy is married to Dai, who is possibly having an affair with the other Amy, who is definitely selling coke in the toilets to Hikari, who got in a fight with Harrison, who is having an affair with Julie, which was discovered by Cathy...

GERAINT: Who swallowed the fly… but, we are yet to discover why she swallowed said fly… perhaps…

JACK: Don’t be facetious… It’s Cathy who has been murdered, mun…

GERAINT: Aah

JACK: Get it now…

GERAINT: (unsure) Uuuh, not entirely… no… it sounds like being in school again!

JACK: Very much is, G. Just exchange flashing your rare pokemon cards around the playground for flashing your five-figure Rolex around the weekly stats meeting... and it’s basically the same.

GERAINT: What’s she doing, can you see? 

JACK: She’s stuffing something into the wheelie bins… 

SOUND: DOOR.WAV

JACK: Good she’s gone… let’s go see what it was…

SOUND: DOOR.WAV

GERAINT: Wait… who’s that…

JACK: That’s douchebag Dai… let’s just hang back here a bit…

GERAINT: Douchebag Dai?

JACK: Yup… his name is David and he is a douchebag… easy enough…

GERAINT: And he is the one selling coke in the toilets?

JACK: No, keep up, G… That’s Amy… the other Amy… the one that Dai is sleeping with and not the Amy he’s married to and just saw shove stuff furtively into a wheelie bin.

GERAINT: She’s isn’t the only one either… look where your Douchebag Dai’s headed… 

JACK: The bins! Quick, what’s he holding, G… can you see?

GERAINT: (sarcastically) Why don’t you take a look with your opera glasses?

JACK: Aaah too late, he’s stuffed it in there… 

SOUND: DOOR.WAV

JACK: Right, quick let’s go see what…

SOUND: DOOR.WAV

JACK: (annoyed and too loud) Aah, Jesus Christ! What now... 

GERAINT: Sssshhhhh!

JACK: Uh-oh, she’s looking around… duck.

GERAINT: Back to my earlier point… I’m not sure ‘absolutely nothing’ provides us with the best form of cover for quickly ducking out of sight...

JACK: Look, It’s not like I’m particularly experienced in hiding around spying on unsuspecting people, is it…just get over here by these flower beds… Oooh, It’s Julie! 

GERAINT: Another one heading to the wheelie bins! (innocently) Clean office, is it?

JACK: Like the Tour de France, G

SOUND: DOOR.WAV

JACK: Let’s just hang back and check no-one else wants to empty the content of their guilty conscience in the bin before we go… (wait and look around)

GERAINT: I think we’re good

JACK: Right, let’s have a look at what we’ve got… (lifting the lid) Eeeeugh it stinks… (they both peer into the bin)...look there’s some stuff right down there at the bottom… G climb in and get it - I’ll hold the lid…

GERAINT: I’m not climbing in there! This is your case, you climb in there...  

JACK: Well I can’t go in, it’ll set off my asthma…

GERAINT: Since when have you had asthma?

JACK: (coughing for effect) I don’t tell you everything about my life, you know, Ger...and, if you must know, it comes and goes… 

GERAINT: What? like, comes when you don’t want to do the dirty work yourself and goes all the rest of the time…

JACK: My doctor said I’m not to go near anything that could set it off, like dust.. Or uum…

GERAINT: Hard work? Oh, for goodness sake, just give me a boost in, OK? But you owe me! (JACK helps GERAINT into the bin) So… what have we got here… (rustles around in the small amount of rubbish covering the floor of the bin.) Some receipts for a restaurant called ‘Chez Henri’ and what looks like a stack of love letters badly wrapped up in cellotape… here you go…

JACK: (reading) “To my Darling, H. Each moment I stare at you through the glass is pure torture…” Well, that’s creepy! Anything else…

GERAINT: A lot of empty tinfoil packets… you sure you had the right Amy?

JACK: Well I didn’t say who else she was selling the stuff to...

GERAINT: There’s a folder in here too… It’s got pictures in here of Harrison and Julie… wait, there’s something else in the back part… oh my god… Jack - It’s a gun!

JACK: What?! Let’s have a - Jeeeeesus, that’s a bloody gun! 

GERAINT: I see why you have developed such a good reputation for your detective skills… What are we going to do with it? 

JACK: Look don’t touch it - I’ll…

POLICEMAN: Hey!

JACK: Oh bloody hell, it’s the fuzz… hide (Jack slams the lid shut and runs)

GERAINT: (whispering angrily) Jack! What? Let me out of here! I swear to god I’m going to…

The POLICEMAN walks over and lifts the lid

GERAINT: (flustered) Uh, hi? 

POLICEMAN: Hello, sir… may I enquire as to why you are sat inside a wheelie bin holding a gun?  

GERAINT: I...Uh… oh bloody hell

---End---

[thealexxa123]

Calming Winds - a Venti x Xiangling fanfiction

Third-person POV

Venti starred at Aether and Paimon talking about a certain restaurant he's never heard of.

"And the food there is amazing! Paimon likes that restaurant!" Paimon yelled in an excited tone.

"Me too Paimon." Aether said in a calm tone, unlike Paimon.

"Uhhh...guys? What are you talking about?" asked a really confused Venti.

"There's this restaurant in Liyue and it's AWESOME!" Paimon explained.

"Do they serve dandelion wine there?" asked Venti.

"They don't have it on the menu" Aether explained calmly. Venti sighed.

"But wait!" Aether screamed loudly which confused Venti more.

"What?" asked Venti. Aether smiled smugly.

"The main chef will prepare you anything even if it's not on the menu!". Venti gasped when he heard those words which made Paimon giggle.

"So...are you gonna come with us when we visit Liyue, Tone-deaf Bard?" Paimon asked smugly.

Venti suddenly lifted himself up. Aether and Paimon stared at him in confusion. Venti smirked at them and whispered softly.

"I'll be going on my own right now.". Hearing those words, Aether and Paimon starred at each other while having the most "what the fuck" looks on their faces.

Venti then proceeded to run away to a teleporting waypoint so he could teleport to Liyue. As soon as he teleported he realized he forgot to ask Aether and Paimon where the restaurant is located. He decided to ask people where the restaurant is.

"It's close! I'll show you!" a random man said and showed Venti around. As soon as they reached the restaurant Venti thanked the man and went inside the restaurant.

Venti saw a cute waitress giving out food to people and blushed. He sat at a table and the waitress approached him.

"Oh look a new face in my restaurant! What do you want to order?" the waitress asked Venti who took a look at the menu.

"Uhm.....I would like a bowl of spicy ramen please!" Venti said. The waitress nodded and quickly went to the kitchen.

Venti waited for 4 minutes and as soon as he was about to lift himself up to go outside, the waitress returned with a big bowl of ramen. Venti drooled while looking at the ramen.

"Enjoy your meal!" The waitress said and ran away quickly to take other people's orders.

Venti started slurping the ramen. Because he was used to eating spicy food he didn't flinch when he felt the spicy feeling on his tongue. After finishing the bowl the waitress came to his table again.

"Want anything else, sir?" the waitress asked. Venti then wanted to ask for a glass of dandelion wine but he was left out of cash. He could only pay for the ramen.

"I wanted some dandelion wine but I'm out of money." Venti explained and sighed sadly.

"Dandelion wine?" the waitress asked confused. "That's a thing?"

"Yes, it is. In Mondstadt, my hometown." Venti told her and then decided to show her how to prepare some. "I'll show you how to prepare this wine!"

"Thank you, sir! That's kind of you!" the waitress thanked.

"Oh, by the way, my name is Venti! Getting called sir is.....weird." Venti said, a bit uncomfortable.

"And my name is Xiangling! Nice to meet you!" Xiangling said in a cheerful voice.

Xiangling then dragged Venti to the kitchen. She had lots of dandelions there that she used for decorating food. Venti started preparing the wine while explaining to Xiangling how to do it.

"So, did you get it?" asked Venti. Xiangling nodded while writing the recipe in a book.

"So can we taste it now?" Xiangling wondered. Venti nodded and put some of the wine in a small glass. Xiangling took a sip then drank the remaining wine from the glass.

"IT'S SO TASTY!" she yelled which made Venti chuckle.

Venti looked out the window and saw that the sky started to get darker. Before he went away Xiangling gave him a bottle of wine as a thanks.

"Thanks a lot!" Venti said while holding the bottle in his hands. Xiangling giggled and hugged him then quickly let him go.

"Bye Venti!" Xiangling said in a cute tone. Venti waved and went outside. He's never had so much fun ever since he got to help Aether and Paimon fight off monsters, which happened about a year ago.

He quickly went to a teleporting waypoint and teleported back to Mondstadt. He found his way to the tavern where he lived and got greeted by Diluc.

"Hey there Venti! Where have you been?" Diluc asked. Venti explained everything while blushing.

"And then she gave me this!" Venti said, showing Diluc the bottle of wine. Diluc chuckled, which really confused Venti.

"She seems to like you." Diluc said to which Venti blushed.

"B-BUT WE BARELY MET!" Venti screamed, his face red as Diluc's hair.

"All lovey-dovey things aside...you should go to sleep. It's late." Diluc said while giving Venti the key to his room.

"Goodnight, master Diluc!" Venti said loudly. Diluc waved at Venti and then went to sleep. Venti did the same and fell asleep quite easily.

The next morning Venti woke up feeling really rested. He went downstairs so he could ask Diluc to make breakfast for the both of them but noticed Diluc was still sleeping.

"Guess I'll go somewhere else to eat..." Venti said disappointingly while sighing.

He went outside and ate some food from "Good Hunter". After eating his food he decided to pay Xiangling a visit. He went to a teleporting waypoint and teleported near the restaurant. He went inside and as immediately as Xiangling saw him she ran to him to hug him tightly.

"Hi Venti!" she said while hugging him tightly.

"Hey, Xiangling!" Venti said back while hugging Xiangling back.

Their friendship went like this for a few months, until Venti and Xiangling actually started having feelings for each other. Venti fell in love with her after she saved him during a fight against a horde of Hilichurls and Xiangling fell in love with Venti after he defended her from Dvalin, who tried to attack her.

A few customers of the restaurant noticed the close friendship and decided to make a ship cult. They called it the "VenLing cult" (which they created by mixing their names together) and they would gather at the restaurant once a week and plan stuff like fanart and fanfiction.

One of the members was Diluc. Since he knew Venti would hang out for about 2 hours at Xiangling's, he would write fanfiction while Venti was gone, as he couldn't draw.

The whole cult thing has been going on for months, and for some reason, Xiangling and Venti didn't know anything about it, even if almost 90% of Liyue shipped it.

One day, Venti and Xiangling had a fight because Xiangling wanted to "improve" the dandelion wine recipe by adding slime condensate, which angered Venti.

"You're not adding slime in the dandelion wine! Understood!?" Venti screamed furiously.

"But I'm a chef that improvises! I have to try my idea!" Xiangling tried to defend herself.

Venti's anger made him slap Xiangling's face. He gasped after he did it and tried to excuse himself but Xiangling had enough of him.

"Out! Out of my chicken! I MEAN KITCHEN! OUT!" Xiangling screamed while crying a river of tears. Venti immediately went outside, without looking at Xiangling or caring about her feelings. That really hurt Xiangling's feelings and it made her cry more.

Venti started regretting it but he decided to go home and cry to himself. He teleported near the tavern and as soon as he went inside the tavern, Diluc put down something he was writing.

"What's that, master Diluc?" Venti asked curiously. Diluc hid the paper and grinned.

"It's nothing Venti!" Diluc said, trying to hide the fact that he was writing Venti x Xiangling smut.

Venti took the paper in his hands and read what was written on it. He blushed at the details and then broke the paper in pieces. Diluc wanted to say something to Venti but Venti rushed outside and, without teleporting, went to Liyue on feet, by gliding and by swimming. He entered in the Wanmin restaurant all wet and tired. Xiangling saw him and asked him politely to go outside, because he was getting the floor wet. He dragged Xiangling with him outside and explained the whole thing to Xiangling.

"I already know of this thing.....Now leave and never look at me!" Xiangling screamed at Venti and pushed him away. Venti was about to leave but Diluc came in, hiccuping from the alcohol he drank.

"Master Diluc, what are you doing here?" asked Xiangling, confused by the man's sudden appearence.

Diluc didn't say anything and just pushed Venti, making him kiss Xiangling's soft lips. Venti gasped but before he kissed Xiangling she broke the kiss and ran inside. Venti regretted making her sad and started crying. Diluc hugged his friend and pat his back.

"Wait I got an idea!" Venti screamed with an excited tone and then ran to someone selling flowers from Mondstadt.

He brought a few flowers and waited behind a bush for the closing hour at the Wanmin restaurant.

As soon as Xiangling got out, Venti got out and surprised Xiangling with the flowers.

"I just want to say that I'm sorry for being rude to you and that...I love you Xiangling!" and as soon as he said that, he kissed her. Xiangling's eyes widened but then she closed her eyes, and started kissing Venti back.

Xiangling broke the kiss and teared up. She hugged Venti tightly and cried on his chest.

"I love you too you idiot!" she said between sobs.

Venti kissed Xiangling's hair and started crying as well. They sat there like that for a few minutes before breaking the hug.

"You know what? You can add as much condensate in the dandelion wine as you wish! I bet it will taste good!" Venti said while smiling dorkly.

Xiangling took him back to Mondstadt and when they reached the tavern, Xiangling kissed Venti's cheek as a goodnight then left to a teleporting waypoint that was nearby. Venti then went to sleep and he sighed as he took a stone off his chest by confessing to Xiangling.

And that's how Venti and Xiangling got together!

The end!

[fundielicious-simblr]

💕 Love Day Love Story Series 💕

(AN: These two have my entire heart 🥺 I also deviated from the original question format for this one because it was necessary for storytelling purposes - also, this one is LONGGGGG cause there was a helluva lot of information to tell, hence the deviation from the OG question format.) 

Reece & Stacie

How did you meet?

[Reece] “I was really young when I realised my love of programming after volunteering to help with the A/V team one year at Family Bible Camp, when we got back I enrolled in a programming course through my home church. After certification I was able to take on jobs and help around more at camp, I even became the official family technician with my main job being installing and maintaining different censorship software onto our computers at home. At camp I was also made an official member of the A/V team, and helped out at the different, smaller conferences that my parents travelled to. I first met Stacie at a conference in Windenburg that my parents were speaking at, she was volunteering with both the admin team and the children’s program at the time. For me it definitely was an immediate crush, but I had to focus on my work at the conference meaning that we didn’t get much time to talk during the program itself, but I did snag a chance to meet her parents and introduce myself as they were talking to mine. I think my mother saw right through me, cause on the way home she was ‘informing me’ about the Shelton family; she’d heard that different members of their (very small) home-church and others in the area were praying for the father to get a job so that they wouldn’t be in so much financial distress, for her father to be guided so that he can lead their family back into harmony. Basically, the deal was that the family was struggling quite a bit, but I didn’t want to judge Stacie on her father’s actions since what I saw was all very good, so I convinced my parents to let me ask her dad to court her and they agreed - but if they felt the Lord was leading us elsewhere then they had the power to end it, we were both teenagers at the time so it made sense.”

[Stacie] “So, to be brutally honest, life at home growing up wasn’t so fun. Dad had a horrible gambling problem and so we struggled basically all the time, he wouldn’t allow my mother to get a job so she had to be creative with ways to make money by baking goods to sell, selling things she grew in our garden and other things so that bills (and various loan sharks) could be paid - all while homeschooling us because dad said so. We went to church every sunday where dad would put on this show that made it seem that everything was alright, when in reality he did everything that the pulpit preached against - he drank and smoked in addition to his gambling, and when he wasn’t at the bar he was at home yelling and just being plain mean. My sister and I would always volunteer at church events just so that we could be out of the house, and so when we heard about a conference being hosted by a local church we volunteered right away. I put my name in for the children’s program, but then I heard that the admin team needed help too so I volunteered there too, and that’s where I first met Reece. Whilst it’s probably every girl's dream to get married, if my father was to be the one picking my husband (the way he said he would) then I think I would’ve preferred to remain single, and my father was very big on us and “not besmirching his good name”, so my sister and I had little to no interactions with guys. Reece was so nice, and it definitely was an instant crush for me too, but everyone in the local area already knew about our family so I knew that the Collinses eventually be told, meaning that by the end of the conference Reece would want to have nothing to do with me.”

How did you end up courting?

[Reece] “The hard part was getting my parents to agree, the easy part was asking Stacie’s dad if I could get to know her more. He was all for it, but like my parents, he said that if he didn’t feel right about it then he had the power to veto. On the last day of the conference I got the chance to ask her dad if I could spend more time with her, and he agreed on the condition that there was no physical contact between us - I didn’t mind it, because at least he agreed. Since Windenburg is so far away, we had to really plan out trips to see each other, but we did start emailing each other and writing each other letters right away (which were read by both our parents, and we cc’d them in on the emails) When we did get to see one another (my parents had me pay for half of their airplane tickets), her sister always came as a chaperone meaning I didn’t need to bring my own [laughs]. Since Maggie started courting a bit before I did, we’d double date whenever Shane and Stacie were in town at the same time, which was fun as it gave Stacie a chance to get to know more people.”

[Stacie] “When Reece asked my dad if he could get to know me, my dad was ecstatic - the Collinses are so well known by everyone that he was over the moon to have a chance at being linked with their family. But he’s the kind of person that always needs to feel like he’s in control of the situation, so for the entirety of our courtship we couldn’t have any physical contact. I didn’t mind that though, the fact that Reece was such a nice person and actually wanted to get to know me meant that I’d agree to whatever my dad said (as if I had the option to disagree but anyway) 

Ever since I was young I’ve loved being on the computer, our mother would take us to the library for our homeschool lessons that needed a computer, and every time I was allowed a turn on the computer it was so much fun. Volunteering at the admin office for the conference gave me a chance to use the computer too because we don’t have one at home, Reece telling me about his love of programming was like an answered prayer because then I could pick his brain for information about tech since I had no real way to access it. And what’s even better, is that he wasn’t even annoyed by it! Reece gladly told me everything I wanted to know, but we did have to wait for conversations in person since my dad didn’t think that a girl should be learning “useless things that won’t help you get a husband” - looking back at it, the irony in that statement is not lost on me.”

What was it like when you got engaged?

[R] “Eventually (not that long in reality) I realised that I loved Stacie, and that if we wanted the relationship to progress then the only was was marriage - not that I minded. One day when I was in Windenburg with my sister Zoe as chaperone, I sat down with Mr. Shelton and asked him if I could propose to Stacie, that’s when he told me that in their family, engagement was essentially a ceremony where you asked the girls father in front of everybody and he gave you the go ahead to put the ring on her finger, so we planned for it to happen at a dinner at my house with both of our families there. I had been hoping to propose while in Windenburg, so I had to rethink my plans, but i did manage to make it special for us. Whilst my parents raised me to be obedient to my elders, I realised a few weeks into our courtship that Stacie’s dad didn’t always have what was best for her in mind, she’d mentioned her parents relationship to me and told me that she’d always dreamed of having a proposal rather than the engagement ceremony - so that she could be the one to say yes herself rather than her father. 

So, this next part of the story has a teeny tiny bit of deceit in it. 

Since I was already there, I said bye to Mr Shelton to make him think I’d left and was on my way home, and by this time I already knew his evening schedule, meaning that he’d be heading out to the (what I now know to be) the bar and wouldn’t be back until late. I had Nina come out and light a lamp in their garden to let me know when it was clear to come back inside the house, so I went in and surprised Stacie when she was on the couch reading a book - I was able to propose to her in the way she had always dreamed of, and it was actually a surprise to her which I loved being able to do too. I couldn’t leave her with the ring because that would be a dead giveaway, but we did get to hold hands whilst I did the proposing which is something that we kept as ‘our secret’. Her mother then came in and said that I had to go because Mr Shelton sometimes had his ‘friends’ from the bar watch the house, and she didn’t want anything to jeopardise our relationship. I went home after, but I told my parents about the ‘engagement dinner’ and they were alright with it, so we went ahead and planned it. The dinner turned out okay, her dad gave us a one-off to hold hands in the moment which was great, but we knew we had the ‘real’ proposal to cherish in our hearts. Planning the wedding was done by my mother and sisters in collaboration with Stacie, her mother, and her sister. They did a great job I have to say, but you’ll forgive me if I was focused on something else [laughs]

[S] “Well, I’d explained to Reece the whole ‘engagement ceremony’ and how I wasn’t keen on it - the whole thing started with how my parents met and got married. My dad approached my grandfather (my mother’s father) about courting and then marrying my mother, and my grandpa accepted on her behalf. Whilst I recognised that I was under my father’s authority, I did want to at least be able to say yes to a proposal, which is something I communicated to Reece. What I didn’t know is that he’d actually manage to make it happen. He was in Windenburg for a visit and I thought he’d left to head home after saying his goodbyes to all of us at the house. My usual routine in the evenings when dad is out depends on what work I’m doing at the time, and on this specific night I was sitting on the couch reading a library book as I was trying to finish my schoolwork for winter break, when Reece walked in. I was surprised cause we’d already said bye and everything, so in my head I’m trying to draft the next email I would send him when he walks in and music starts playing in the background, he then sits next to me, and asks me:

“Remember how you said you wanted a proper proposal?”

And in my head I’m still trying to comprehend the fact that he was still here, so it took me a while to answer; he then grabs by hands (queue internal shrieking for joy), repeats it again and he says:

“Stacie, I asked your dad if I could marry you earlier today, but I wanted to ask you now before we meet at my house for dinner. So, Stacie Shelton, will you marry me?”

I turned to look around trying to confirm if I was seeing things, but when my mother and sister started mouthing at me to say yes is when I came back down to earth and said yes! I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I was speechless for a bit after; he put the ring on my finger to let me see how it looked (and whether it fit) but he obviously had to take it back with him so he could ‘officially’ give it to me later on. I couldn’t tell you what happened between that night and the engagement dinner, but I was riding an emotional high that nothing could phase me - I couldn’t show all my emotion though because I didn’t want to give away our secret to my dad. After the dinner we dove headfirst into getting me all done with school and wedding planning, and boy was it stressful. Even though went to a home-church, and have churches in our area that we could have used, my father saw this as his chance at the spotlight, so he insisted on us having the ceremony at this massive church in the (what I call) ‘rich people neighbourhood’. Reece’s dad knew people on the board for the church, so we were graciously allowed to use it, my dad was annoyingly determined to be involved with the wedding planning to add his own demands that it took everything in me not to melt into a puddle - but if it got me to the end of the aisle with a ring on my finger, I tried not to dwell on it too much. Our wedding was a magical day, even though a blizzard happened to rip through the city meaning that we couldn’t take any pictures outside, everything was a dream from beginning to end.”

How’s married life?

[Reece] “Well, it’s pretty different for the both of us. I work as a freelance programmer, so we moved to the city to be closer to job opportunities. It's great for us as we get to go to the same church as my aunt Harley and her husband, as well as Shane and Maggie, so we aren't lonely. When we were still courting, the subject of children came up, and we said that we’d be open to any that the Lord felt necessary to bless us with, but when we didn’t have children for the first year or so we decided to not wait around and be productive with our time. Stacie had mentioned always wanting to properly learn how to program, so she enrolled in a course and loved it. We were married for a while before Stacie got pregnant with Liam, so we got some time to ourselves before we expanded our family. It was when she got pregnant that we learnt that she needed injections twice a day, for every day of her pregnancy - it was definitely a steep learning curve as I learnt how to give her the shots she needed. Since the pregnancy was high risk I also evolved to become her nursemaid, I didn’t mind it though, gave us even more bonding time before the baby came and changed everything. I definitely didn’t think that this was going to be my future, but now all I can do is thank the Lord for his goodness and for my determination. I don’t even mind the bumps in the road, I’d do it all over again if it meant that I could marry Stacie at the end.”

[Stacie] “Everyday I wake up and thank the Lord for everything he’s done in my life, growing up we didn’t have much money to travel but now I live in the city and have seen more of the world, and I realise that I would never have this if Reece hadn’t thought to take a chance on me against all oddswhen I wasn’t even willing to give myself a chance. A while after we got married, I guess my father kept doing his thing - the drinking, smoking, gambling - and he wasn’t careful one night when walking home and fell into a frozen lake windenburg one night, and was unable to save himself. Whilst it’s sad that he’s gone, I won’t pretend that the lives of my mother and sister haven’t changed. Now that my mother doesn’t have to homeschool the both of us, she has so much more time for baking, and since we own our house she only needs to pay the mortgage and utilities, which is easier for her now that she doesn’t have several loans of my fathers’ to pay back. In the first few years of our marriage, Reece was gracious enough to pay for me to do a programming course, so I was able to do projects and send that money home to help them out. My sister Nina was able to save up and go to college, so she’s now working as a teacher at a local preschool after getting her degree in education. Getting pregnant with Liam revealed the need for daily injections, which were painful but I appreciated because they kept him safe and healthy whilst he was in my belly. The pregnancy also made me fall in love with Reece all over again, he was so eager to learn how to give me my shots, and basically banned me from doing any work that required me lifting more than a plate [laughs] He’d talk to me belly sometimes early in the morning when he didn’t think I was awake, and he was the one to bug me when it came time to decorate the nursery [giggles] He carved time out of his day to make sure I got the recommended amount of exercise every other day, and seeing him as a father shows me everyday that I am so blessed. I can’t wait to see what the rest of my life brings, as long as I’m with my boys I don’t think I’ll mind too much.”

[percysaysfuck]

THREE OLD BITCHES KNIT THE SOCKS OF DEATH

I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly. This twenty-four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle. For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me. The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr—a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip—had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas.

Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho.

It got so I almost believed them—Mrs. Dodds had never existed.

Almost.

But Grover couldn't fool me. When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, then claim she didn't exist. But I knew he was fucking lying.

Something was going on. Something had happened at the museum.

I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.

The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room. A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy. One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.

I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. My grades slipped from Ds to Fs. I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her shit faced friends. I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class.

Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him an old sot. I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.

The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.

Fine, I told myself. Just fine.

I was homesick.

I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious fucking stepfather and his shitty poker parties.

And yet. . . there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view of the woods out my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees. Id miss Grover, who'd been a good friend, even if he was a little fucked up. I worried how he'd survive next year without me.

I'd miss Latin class, too—Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well.

As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for. I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-and-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.

The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw the Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology across my dorm room. Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards. There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon, or Polydictes and Polydeuces. And conjugating those Latin verbs? Fucking forget it.

I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.

I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson. I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book.

I'd never asked a teacher for help before. Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried.

I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.

I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said ". . . worried about Percy, sir. "

I froze.

Shit.

I'm not usually an eavesdropper, but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking shit about you to an adult.

I inched closer.

". . . alone this summer," Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the school! Now that we know for sure, and they know too—"

"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more. "

"But he may not have time. The summer solstice deadline— "

"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can. "

"Sir, he saw her. . . . "

"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that. "

"Sir, I . . . I can't fail in my duties again. " Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean. "

"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now lets just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall—"

The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.

Fuck.

Mr. Brunner went silent.

My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.

A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archers bow.

I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.

A few seconds later I heard a slow clop-clop-clop, like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on.

A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.

Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice. "

"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn . . . "

"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow. "

"Don't remind me. "

The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office.

I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.

Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.

Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.

"Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"

I didn't answer.

"You look awful. " He frowned. "Is everything okay?"

"Just. . . tired. "

I turned so he couldn't read my expression, and started getting ready for bed.

I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing.

But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They thought I was in some kind of danger.

The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam, my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.

For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.

"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's . . . it's for the best. "

His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit fucking smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.

I mumbled, "Okay, sir. "

"I mean . . . " Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time. "

My eyes stung.

Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.

"Right," I said, trembling.

"No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say . . . you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be—"

"Thanks," I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for fucking reminding me. "

"Percy—"

But I was already gone.

On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.

The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were rich juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities. I was a nobody, from a family of fucking nobodies.

They asked me what Id be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city.

What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.

"Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool. "

They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed.

The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had, so there we were, together again, heading into the city.

During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen. Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.

Finally I couldn't fucking stand it anymore.

I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"

Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha—what do you mean?"

I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.

Grover's eye twitched. "How much did you hear?"

"Oh . . . not much. What's the summer solstice dead-line?"

He winced. "Look, Percy . . . I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers . . . "

"Grover—"

"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and . . . "

"Grover, you're a really, really bad fucking liar. "

His ears turned pink.

From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer."

The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes, but I finally made out something like:

Grover Underwood

Keeper

Half-Blood Hill

Long Island, New York

(800) 009-0009

"What's Half—"

"Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. "That's my, um . . . summer address. "

My heart sank. Grover had a fucking summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.

"Okay," I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion. "

He nodded. "Or . . . or if you need me. "

"Why the fuck would I need you?"

It came out harsher than I meant it to.

Grover blushed right down to his Adams apple. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I—I kind of have to protect you. "

I stared at him.

All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me. And here he was acting like he was the one who fucking defended me.

"Grover," I said, "what exactly are you protecting me from?"

There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs. The driver cursed and limped the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.

After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else.

We were on a stretch of country road—no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.

The stuff on sale looked really fucking good: heaping boxes of bloodred cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice. There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks Id ever seen.

I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.

All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.

The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right fucking at me.

I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching.

"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man—"

"Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"

"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"

"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all. "

The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors—gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.

"Were getting on the bus," he told me. "Come on. "

"What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there. "

"Come on!" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back.

Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that snip across four lanes of traffic. Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for—Sasquatch or Godzilla.

At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.

The passengers cheered.

"Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"

Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the fucking flu.

Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering.

"Grover?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you not fucking telling me?"

He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"

"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like . . . Mrs. Dodds, are they?"

His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds. He said, "Just tell me what you saw. "

"The middle one took out her scissors, and she fucking cut the yarn. "

He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost—older.

He said, "You saw her snip the cord. "

"Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal.

"This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time. "

"What last time?"

"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth. "

"Grover," I said, because he was really starting to fucking scare me. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me. "

This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.

"Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked.

No answer.

"Grover—that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to fucking die?"

He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin.

Fuck.

[calypsoff]

Thirty Eight.

A month into the overseas tour and I can honestly say I am enjoying it; I am enjoying it way more than I did for my American tour dates. Everything is ever so relaxed, we are going country to country very fluid, I have been happy, it’s been nice to visit these places and get to see more countries. Overseas fan love is just so much more different, I feel the love from them, but I am most excited to be landing in England, I just love the place. I feel like the place has close connections to France and Germany where I can expand my horizons in the fashion industry and makeup line, I just want to spend some time here again and just get a feel for the place. Maybe move here with Chris obviously but the base in England will be so much better, the connections I can build. I did my river island deal here so I can do it, I just need to see how I can do it, but I will eventually. I am currently on the jet to England now, get to the hotel and then I’m out again for dinner with the managing director of Puma, I am trying to make moves and it will happen. Chris has been so good, like I think my happiness stems from the fact Chris is happy. He’s just positive vibes, he misses me a lot though but he’s very upbeats. He wants to do a lot; he is showing improvements. I tend to go through his therapist talk with him, ask him what they spoke about because I want him to know I care and I listen, which I do. He’s drawing again, and I warned him about making any type of mess in that home, it’s rented. I am not paying out for the damages, so he said I got a book, and he will show me soon “oh we about to land soon” Yusuf announced “thank god, I need to get to the hotel and get ready. Big night for me, if I can pull this off I am untouchable” not to be big headed “I am telling you they will want you” Yusuf sounds so confident in that, not so much me.

“Bitch move your phone, I can’t do your hair” Yusuf complained, looking up at him “one minute please” I pleaded with him “fine” he walked off, I am trying to talk to Chris while getting ready and I can say it’s not going well because I’m trying to speak to him while they are trying to make me look pretty “I’m happy you got there safely anyways, I guess you got to go but will you call me once done? I will be waiting. Maybe FaceTime if you would like, I can show you my two step” I laughed out “boy please, I don’t want you spraining your ankle, but we shall FaceTime. I miss your beard; I am going to murder you if I come back and you’re still the same. We are going onto a month into this tour Chris. Please” I think he’s now doing it on purpose, I have a feeling “soon, I keep saying this twin. But goodluck with Puma, get me some freebies while you’re there, joking. I know you’ll kill it out there baby, I really do. But talk soon, take care yeah. Love you” I do like this Chris, such a calm soul “I love you more baby, don’t worry I’ll haggle some freebies for you, talk soon. Bye” I hate saying bye to him, disconnecting the call “oh my heart, splitting up the lovebirds. But time is of the essence, we need to get the hair done” he has a point “did you tell Chris how you were being proposed too by these Arab princes” I snorted “hell nah, I wouldn’t because it will play on his mind but it was funny. Imagine me being a princess? But anyways I’ll pass on that” my phone buzzed on my lap, looking down at the message “bitch!” Yusuf spat “let me see, it’s Chris” opening the message.

From: Chris

To: Robyn

What hotel are you at? I’m not coming I just want to know ❤️

To: Chris

From: Robyn

Corinthia London I got a little excited then..... lol

From: Chris

To: Robyn

So did I 😕

He’s stupid “anyways proceed” let me stop playing around because this is becoming a longer process for me right now.

Walking into the restaurant alone, I mean Rich did walk me to the door but the waiter let me follow them to the table, I am a little nervous about it all. I am just hoping I can do this; I really want to get into fashion “right here madam” seeing this bald Middle aged white man, always white of course. He shot up from his seat “you look beautiful, pleased to meet you Rihanna” he shook my hand “likewise Bjorn, I have been counting down the days until I meet you” he gestured for me to sit “the people are going to think how did I get someone so beautiful to eat with me, my lonely self. But please” I smiled sitting down, my nerves are kicking in “we saw your River Island set, we saw the demand. The queues, the love. We absolutely loved it and we do feel that you will bring that creation to Puma, when our mutual friend reached out and said Rihanna is interesting I said set up the meeting, I wanted it ASAP. I feel like you create things that is with the times and it sells, you sell. So yeah, I am grateful you came” I cooed out “little old me, stop it but this is literally a dream for me. When I were asked I said of course I will meet him and I’m glad I have” I am excited “shall we start going into detail now?” Nodding my head “why not” I want to get over with the whole small talk, I want to start the business talk already.

Closing my book ever so quickly “what was that baby?” my mother questioned, she is so damn nosey “mom stop creeping up on me like that, it’s not nice” that was annoying, I am testing myself, I thought I would draw Robyn naked, see if I remember every curve of her body and then see if I got it right, hand on my heart I know I am right. The picture is not degrading at all, not like she got her legs open; I mean I know her coochie off by heart but it’s more tasteful, a little side boob showing. It’s my imagination anyways but I like it “I was just asking baby, you seem so quiet in your book now” watching my mom sit down “yeah because I am designing for my clothing so stop being nosey” rolling my eyes, I lied but it’s whatever “guess what I did anyways” I cheesed “what did you do?” my dad asked “I sent roses to Robyn’ hotel, she has like this big meeting with Puma, I know she’s going to do well so I sent her congratulation roses and I miss you” my dad didn’t look impressed even though I am happy about it “and what if she don’t get it?” waving my dad off “do you not know Robyn? She gets what she wants, they set up the meeting. They worked around her schedule; I know she has. But what you think?” I think he was concerned she might not have got it “if you believe that then I am fine with it, it’s the sweetest thing you can do. She will love it son” I grinned so wide; I can’t wait for her to call me all excited now.

I need to tell Robyn that I am not on crutches anymore, I mean I feel stupid, but I am using a walking frame now. I can shuffle to places, I don’t hop anymore “I was telling your mother how proud I am of you, watching you sweat. You are pushing yourself to get the leg better more than ever” nodding my head smiling “yeah, I am getting a six pack too. You see those leg exercises” lifting my tee up “six pack!” I spat “six pack Joyce, he is doing the most but with Robyn how come you didn’t do that? Just a question, you seemed maybe a little laid back I suppose” good question “erm, because I made a promise to Robyn, I promised I would be better. I would do better for her, and just seeing her on tour and how beautiful she looks, I said to the therapist. I said I get a little jealous, like I don’t feel I can compare to her and he made me feel better, he really did, and it made me realise that Robyn is with me looking a whole mess, she didn’t care. She took care of me a lot, something I wish she didn’t, but she did. The therapist every week, I just feel more and more positive. The things that happened to me wasn’t my fault, I am just in a good place. And then this, I can literally shuffle, I am slowly being able to pick my foot up while walking. I am happy” my mom looks so emotional “and the beard will remain until she is coming back because I want to annoy her” I laughed to myself “you love stressing her out, Chris I am so sorry we never took you to therapy, we just didn’t know. We are sorry” shaking my head “don’t be. But I am going to propose to her” I said smiling “what!?” my mother shouted, “really son?” my dad is a little shocked “you work faster then I did, wow boy” my dad said, I chuckled “yeah well, it’s time. She has been nothing but be a wife to me, she wants that title, and I am going to give it her soon, I will let you know when I figure it out but it’s closer then you both think. But I am going to propose to her, I am going to wife that up on sight” my mother gushed “my daughter in law, god. I wished for someone to be loving towards you, and she is perfect. I am so over the moon Chris; I love you son. A wedding!” my mother got up from the couch running to me “mon, this stays between us. I am telling you both first, just keep it quiet until I get permission, doing it like a man” I am doing it the proper way.

My mom keeps on looking at me in awe “what?” I questioned placing my fork down “I can’t believe my son wants to get married, I am just shocked. All I ever wanted was for you to happy, to see you smile and I always saw that when you were with Robyn but it’s just so emotional, you are marrying the love of your life Chris, it’s just so emotional” here we go, my mom would cry “yeah I know, so did you” I grinned “that honestly made me want love, to see you both at home. You both have set that goal in my life; this is why I had to find out. I had to see if Robyn did remember me, she did. I knew it was love then” I mumbled “it is baby, it’s love. She loves you so much Chris, I see it in her eyes. but marriage? I am just so happy for you both” my mom is not going to drop this “mom, this needs to be a secret. Please stop speaking on it” she needs to calm down, my phone pinged on the table. Picking my phone up and opening the message.

From: Robyn

To: Chris

OMG! I am calling you in 5 minsss

I chuckled, she has seen the roses then “I think Robyn has seen the roses, that is me though. I will be going to sleep after the call, tired after today” getting up from the chair steady “careful son” my dad said, he worries about me walking but I am getting there “I know” grabbing my phone and placing it in my pocket, grabbing my walking frame “I hate this shit, I look like some old man. Mom, you don’t need to get up” she does the most “it’s making you better boy, you can do this” my mother placed her hands over my cheeks “I am so happy for your progress, the happiness you are showing. It reminds me of my son that I knew” I laughed “thank you mom, I love you” she kissed my cheek “I love you too, goodnight baby. See you in the morning” nodding my had, let me shuffle myself to the bedroom, I will get there.

Sitting on the bed, I just got into the room. Robyn has tried to facetime me twice, but I have been trying so hard to get to the bedroom, takes me a little while to get here. Tapping on Robyn’ to facetime her back, I hope she picks up and she did “Christopher!! Oh my god, poppa. I am literally so emotional right now Chris, oh my god. These are beautiful, I came into my room and this” Robyn turned the camera showing the roses “I am so happy you like them; I know it’s not me but still. Oh my god, is that my bear? That is so cute, look how he is just sat laid out on the bed. Missing me that much huh” I laughed “oh I really do, I posted the roses on my Instagram, thank you Chris. It bought a smile to my face, I love, love, love you so much poppa” I cooed out “I love you too, I just wanted you to smile, and I got it. To see your happiness is my happiness” Robyn really can’t stop smiling, I love that for her “and I got it baby, Fenty x Puma!!!!!” Robyn shouted “oh my god, really!? Robyn that is amazing, see I knew it. You read the card? I predicted this; I am proud of you baby. I love you and your smile” Robyn giggled “thank you” she is so happy “so this is a secret for now? I just want to make sure” Robyn nodded her head “keep it between us until we can release the actual announcement, I can’t wait Chris. The managing director said he wanted me to work with them, they love my vibe so yeah. I can’t wait, you can help me too or I can seal your clothing ideas” I gasped “you better not” it’s so refreshing to see her like this.

I made Robyn close her eyes, I propped the phone up for this “ok, I am ready. You can look now, I mean it’s nothing much, but I am using a walking frame now and look” I shuffled ahead a little “oh my god, Chris! The progress!!! I have only been gone a month, oh wow. You’re going to be walking in no time, I am so proud of you” I laughed at my stupidity, it’s really nothing “also, look at this” turning slowly “six pack too, I kept this a little secret” I hope she can see “my panties are wet Chris, you working out there? You are doing this while I am gone?” Robyn looks offended, shuffling over to the bed carefully “I do a lot of leg exercises at home, remember they said it takes a lot of strength, it’s building my muscle I guess” sitting on the bed and grabbing my phone “you about to look handsome for me?” raising an eyebrow “with my beard yes” Robyn rolled her eyes “I will accept for now because of the roses, Chris you really made my day. You really did, thank you. I miss you poppa, I sniff the bear now and then, it smells like you of course” I miss her face so much, I just want to touch her so bad “I love you” I smiled down the phone.