#so like my actual experience in the field is idk maybe half of what it should be 💀💀💀

[diteach]

I'm familiar with the tasks I've been assigned at work, obviously, but I come from a company where everything sucked ass and was never done properly, so now that I'm in a real company, it looks like I've never even seen a computer in my life

It's embarrassing what the hell

[butt-puncher]

I wish that I was more

[nishayuro]

thank you for doing my mentor Stanley request and I loved that you did it platonically. Idk if you’re still doing Stanley asks but can do Stanley being best friends with reader?

Dr.Stone Being Stanley Snyder’s Best Friend

A/N: I’m glad you loved it! And yes, feel free to send in more requests, even if its other characters~ Also, the amount of searches I made to get information for this. I went ham with this request T.T

Genre: Fluff

GN! Reader

You can read this as platonic or romantic, but the main point is you're each other's best friend.

Pre-Stone world

Childhood friends!! You both met at the playground, probably competing with each other on who can hold onto the monkey bars longer. 

It was friendship at first sight. He loved your energy and you loved his. 

You’re physically active like Stanley, so he’ll invite you to play different sports, which you two will eventually get really good at and then move onto the next sport. 

One time you were both deciding what to do for the day, and you both said the same answer at the same time. He declared you as his best friend then and there. 

Will introduce you to Xeno, and you three will become a trio. Being friends with Xeno means that you can join in on their experiments, which means that Stanley doesn’t have to spend half his time with each of you individually. 

In high school, Stanley joined the football club, Xeno joined the science club and you joined the karate club. 

Despite your different club activities, Xeno will always stay the most late, so you both go to the science club room to pick him up and drag him home.

When Stanley revealed his growing interest in marksmanship, you decided to come with him to the shooting range. 

Each time you come with him, you develop a love for the sport as well. 

Now both you and Stanley train with each other, sometimes going to a paintball ground just to train more.

When Stanley revealed to you and Xeno that he was thinking of enlisting, you also revealed that you’ve been thinking of it too. 

Xeno said you both shared the same brain cell when it came to stuff like that, and that although he will be sad to see his two best friends leave for long, he supports your decisions. 

So when the opportunity came, you and Stanley took it, and enlisted. 

You both entered boot camp together and went through the training, and whenever you can, you both meet up and catch up with each other before another rigorous training happens. 

You both also send letters to Xeno to keep him up to date, and he sends you both letters to keep you both updated as well.

You both excelled in the marksmanship training obviously, and you also excelled in hand to hand combat. 

When you and Stanley eventually got into the actual military work, you were both assigned in the same unit. 

And as time passed, you both climbed up the ranks, and you became his second in command.

He knows you can handle yourself, but in field ops when your unit is deployed, he’s protective of you. Although only subtle.

There was one time where a mission got so dangerous you almost got killed and only narrowly escaped death, I kid you not, you have never seen Stanley more afraid in your whole life. 

After that, he’s become slightly more protective. 

When your elite unit was called last minute to attend the DARPA expo, you had your small reunion with Xeno. 

“Doesn’t explain why our elite unit got a last-minute invite. Something smells fishy, and we’re a long way from the ocean.” Stanley said, looking at Xeno. “Maybe it's the sushi they’re serving at the food stall” you joked, earning a chuckle from him. “It concerns this. Terrorism via unknown weapon…or an attack by a foreign power” Xeno stated. He went on and on about the sciency stuff of it, bringing back a nostalgic feeling of when you three hung out to do experiments. 

“So… things hit by this new weapon…stand a chance of surviving…” Stanley started. “If they force themselves to stay awake?” you continued. As soon as you said that, an eerie feeling shot up your spine. The same feeling you feel on the battlefield. You look towards Stanley who you figured also felt the same feeling. 

“TAKE COVER! GET BEHIND SOMETHING!” Stanley ordered, pushing you and Xeno down in a defensive position. “THERE’S PROBABLY NO DODGING THE PETRIFYING LIGHT, BUT…THE REAL BATTLE BEGINS AFTERWARD!” he shouted. “DON’T LET YOUR MINDS FADE!” you shout, adding to his instructions. 

A green light engulfed your surroundings, and a feeling of paralysis hugged your person. The last thing you saw was Stanley looking towards you with a determined look. You’ve been through hell and back together. You’re not about to give up now. 

Post-Petrification

You occupied your mind with anything, from recalling songs, movies, books, to even reminiscing on your childhood with Stanley and Xeno and your days in battle along with your best friend. Anything to keep your consciousness from fading. 

You think about Stanley, you’re sure he’ll survive this. He’s had intense focus training as a sniper, and you yourself know just how strong his mental resilience is. 

And when you feel the stone crack, and you see light for you don’t know how long. The first face you see is your best friend’s

You both helped Xeno build his colony, with him employing you both as his military’s commander and executive. 

A good chunk of your unit was freed from the stone, so you both got into training again. After all, 3,700 years of inactivity takes a toll on one's body. 

And when the kingdom of science arrived, you both were deployed, with you piloting the plane and Stanley with the machine gun. 

“H-helloooo. Is anyone there?” a voice called out, Stanley got into shooting position and you in defensive position. “Whoa! Who are you?! I totally didn’t realise anyone was up there!” the man said. You jumped down from your position after seeing him non hostile towards you both and pat him down. After a short back and forth between him and Stanley. He was escorted towards your base to meet Xeno. 

When Xeno gave the mission to assassinate the enemy’s science leader, Gen, the newcomer asked, “Great idea, brilliant-bay, truly… B-but can you pull it off?!” You and Stanley looked at each other briefly, and then looked towards him. “We can.” you both said in sync. Gen sweats, “How exactly?!” he asked again. “We can.” you both answered again. A more fierce look in your eyes. 

“Mr. Gen! When Stan and N/N claim that they can get the job done, There’s no need to question it!” Xeno says, threatening the magician. “Because they can” he ends, with you and Stanley getting ready. “Get Luna, we’ll need her for this.” Stanley orders, I nod and get Luna to come with us, along with her lackeys. 

As we walked towards the sniping location, Luna asked if we can trust Gen. “A person who trusts a person that just double crossed his team needs an appointment with a head doctor.” Stanley claims, “That’s just basic knowledge, Luna. Never trust anyone easily.” You added. Causing the girl to go on a spiel about her capabilities. 

As Max and Carlos catch up, carrying the water bottles, Stanley orders Luna to not carry a thing, because her role is important. You all set up your gear, you hand Stanley a weather vane made by Xeno. Luna’s lackeys start asking questions, to which Stan answers that it affects the bullet’s velocity. 

“I’ll snipe the enemy science leader… with a rifle made by Xeno’s science.” Stanley declared, getting into position. Luna starts doubting the plan, asking if you’re about to kill them. “Just their science leader” you answered, scouting the area more using binoculars. “Isn’t that kind of awful?” She asks, to which both you and Stanley sent her a harsh glare. “Just kidding! Just making sure those two wimps don’t try to chicken out of this! That’s part of my job!” She exclaims in a panic, to which you chuckled at. 

You tell Luna her role, about being Stanley’s yardstick and help her get into place and out towards their boat while you wait for her to signal where Dr.Taiju is. “Of course miss Luna snuck in no problem! The bad guys are probably head over heels for her!” Carlos exclaims, “Curse Stanley for exposing Miss Luna to danger like this!” Max adds, “Would you two shut it? Any more loud noise could give away our location!” you whisper-shouted, which made the two silent. 

“Heh, reminds me of old times” Stanley said, eyes still focused on his scope. “Tell me about it, it’s kinda nostalgic in a dark way.” you replied. Your role was to scout out the other members of the enemy team to see what their abilities could be, as well as weapons or assets they might have if ever a battle ensues. You also have great lip reading skills, so you’re also trying to “eavesdrop” on their conversation.  

You saw a few of the warriors on deck, taking note of them in case you’re forced into close quarter combat. You also deducted who the captain of the ship is, which is valuable information for later. “They’ve got a lot of warriors, hmm?” you muttered, to which Stanley responded, “We might have to face close quarter combat when we take over their ship. Be careful, they seem to know their weapons well.”

“I have experience with disarming spear type weapons, the karate club loved playing around with sticks when in our downtime. Also, these gears Xeno made us are no joke. I had Jack go up against me in knife combat and not even a graze hit me.” you replied, earning a chuckle. 

“I wonder how long we’ll be here…? Carlos asked. “For as long as it takes for Luna to do her job.” you answer, scaring the two. “Which one is he? Which one is Dr.Taiju…? The junior science genius?” Stanley mutters, You move your sight towards Luna, who looked like she was analysing the crowd, and then suddenly looked flustered. “What is up with that girl…” you mumbled. Still observing her movements and interactions. “Why does she look so shocked about everything, what the heck?” you added. 

You noticed she went inside the ship, the waiting game continues until night. Max and Carlos fell asleep down below, which leaves just you and Stanley doing reconnaissance. “As much as i’m used to waiting hours on end for the perfect shot, she could be faster than this.” Stanley states, “You’re telling me. They’re having ice cream right now. This girl is just enjoying her time.” you sneer. “Think they’re tryna bribe her for info?” he asked. “Most definitely. I don’t think she’ll say that a gun is aimed towards them right now though, or else she won’t be this ‘smooth operator’ girl she claims” you laugh. “And members wouldn’t be on and off deck if they knew, gotta give props to her for not spoiling the plan,” he adds. 

“Can you tell what they’re talking about?” He asks after a while. “Nope, can’t see their mouths” you answer. “Bummer,” he replied. You observed Luna a bit more, and then the others who were out on deck. ‘Something feels off…’ you thought. Luna then starts walking towards the group, a little hesitant. You see her pointer finger up, you and Stan wait for her to point somewhere, however, she just stuck both fingers up her nostrils. “What the fuck is wrong with her?” you muttered, with Stanley letting out his own irritated sounds. 

You noticed she faced your direction, adjusting your binoculars to get a better read when you see her mouth words. “Po-ssi-ble… friend… of… Xe-no’s… Guy… named… Sen-ku… Seeen-kuu…” you relay to both Stanley and Xeno using your comms. “Scout the others, i’ll focus on Luna” Stan says, to which you respond with an okay and they look around. You notice the captain looking around, and then at your direction, to which your eyes widen. 

“Captain’s eyeing our location.” you say, “okay… looks like you’re Dr.Taiju!” Stanley says, about to shoot before Xeno shouts through comms to not shoot, explaining that Taiju was a decoy, and then revealing that the real target was the guy named Senku. Xeno then starts to describe the target, to which you scout. “Three people fit, one left, two right.” you say. 

“A sniper! We’ve got a Sniper!” the captain’s yell was heard even at your location. Causing you and Stanley to be on alert. You saw Luna look this way. “Hello, Senku Ishigami.” Stanley says, you see the guy duck below the railings to hide. “But that actually tells me right where you are.” he mumbles. “Xeno, last chance, so I gotta ask… you sure you want him dead?” Stanley asks, a few seconds pass, before Xeno gives a ‘yes’, and then Stanley shoots. 

Stanley jumps down, you wait a while and see the team hovering around someone, and you see Senku’s mouth bloody. “Job’s done.” Stanley said, "You jump down as well, “The enemy science leader is dead.” you continued. 

You two hang back to keep watch.” Stanley orders. “But what about Miss Luna?!” the two exclaimed. “Leave her, help her, your choice. Not my problem” Stanley answers, grabbing the equipment from you and walking away. “She seemed to be enjoying life on their ship, hehe, although I don’t know how that’ll fair once they realise she’s a spy.” You added. 

You and Stanley walk back towards the base, leaving the two alone. “Gotta say, it’s been a while since we got deployed like that.” Stanley says, removing the head gear of his armour. “Right? Kinda missed doing recon with you. My last recon back in the old world was unbearable. The sniper kept flirting with me the whole time even after I told him to shut up.” You complained. “Oh yeah, you told me about that, heh. I gave the guy extra duty and a hard time at training after that stunt.” He revealed. “Hah! Serves him right!” You exclaimed. 

Your bond with your best friend might be weird, or unconventional to some. But this was how you both grew up. Be it playing on the monkey bars in the park, or staying still for hours on end to get the perfect shot, you loved every second of your friendship. And even in this new age, even in Xeno’s rule, you know you both would never exchange each other for anything. You’ll both help Xeno reach his dream, because he’s helped you two reach yours. 

masterlist

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[tciddaemina]

Best FromSoft game, rated by the number of fuckable characters and creatures?

dear fuck, you really aren't making this easy for me, are you? fine, fine, fine. out of the left field then - the answer is dark souls 1. it's not one i've interacted with as much, or engage with as much, but fuck okay, lets look at the bosses. you didn't ask for this, but since you've opened this can of worms let me give you specific details. its ds1 smash or pass edition

asylum demon - pass. just not it, plus literally the first boss, so pretty weak. could at least be a bit more impressive and lethal, very meh.

bell gargoyle - hard smash. look at him, he's armored, he's sexy, he's got a fanged maw and a very long tail. we loved something humanoid but cursed and fucked-up looking.

capra demon - very hard smash. ngl, half the reason this game is top choice. honestly, i really fuck with a skull head aesthetic, and look at him, he's jacked, he has a tail, he looks like a beast in the sack, he has two huge cleavers. everything that stands for the bell gargoyle stands for him

ceaseless discharge - pass. it would just be a bit complicated, and the lava looks like it would not be so fun. insane bonus points for his name tho, and so hey, bringing him up is a good excuse to show this meme

centipede demon - smash. honestly, not sure how it would work, but this guy actually has thicc thighs so like fuck it, why not

chaos witch quelaag - smash. look what do i have to say? she's gorgeous, she's a confident woman doing her own thing. i won't judge someone for what they've got going on in their pants. i already said smash for a centipede, so whats a few less legs? we dig it.

crossbreed priscila - pass. look she's basically just a regular lady. sure she's pretty, and has cute horns but like. pretty girls exist everywhere. nothing special, she's probably the wifu of like six million horny dark souls fans

dark sun gwyndolin - smash. very eerie, very unsettling, amazing tentacle game, messed up head with some sort of terrifying helmet. we love it.

demon firesage - pass. basically the asylum demon again, but now with the inconvenience of the ceaseless discharge. not worth.

four kings - hard smash. look tenshi you know my opinions about suits of armour. it's sexy. he's sexy. knives are sexy. he has sexy horns.

gaping dragon - smash. just- look. look. okay eldritch shit is very interesting, and dragons are very interesting and just- i don't need to explain myself, moving on

great grey wolf sif - pass. literally just a wolf.

gwyn lord of cinder - pass. on the one hand, very sexy armour and sword. on the other hand... sort of mummified old guy. i'm not so much into that 'fuck that old man' life. maybe if it was just his armour as a sentient suit....

iron golem - smash. bit interesting in terms of size, but look hey. gotta sexualise that suit of armour, am i right? it'd be an incredible blow to my rep if i passed on it

moonlight butterfly - hard smash. look at it, its gorgeous. so fucking pretty, what the hell. i feel like it would be very gentle with you. it'd be a very sensual experience.

nito - smash. literally just a pile of bones in a trenchcoat but like. idk that has some charm. could be interesting. why not

ornstein and smough - as a pair or individually? becase i'm still recovering from reading vow by [insert name when i can fact check when ao3 is back up] like two years ago, and that fic made me hate smough's guts. if smough has to be involved then pass, if ornstein alone then fuck hard smash. his armour is so sexy are you kidding?

pinwheel - pass. its just... eh. eh.

seath the scaleless - smash. almost a pass, bc he sounds like a bit of an asshole, but also man he's very pretty. and he's a dragon. always bonus points for being a dragon. very fuckable

stray demon - pass. look how many times do i have to say that i'm not super into the asulym demon? it doesn't matter how much he reskins, its still him.

taurus demon - hard smash. look at those horns. look at those shoulders. we can appreciate a terrifying only vaguely humanoid looking monster okay? okay?

bed of chaos - pass. look i know i've said smash to some pretty wild eldritch shit on this list, but again, the fire. also, basically a tree? the name is sort of compelling through, so very on the fence about this one. call it a maybe.

anyway i hope this is what you wanted tenshi. don't worry, i'm going to get you back just as bad

[brzatto]

I have some questions I wanted to ask :3c

I really love your Carmy drawing! You drew his sad puppy eyes and messy hair perfectly. Are you going to post any more art? 👀

I just started watching season 2 of The Bear and I was wondering how your rewatch was going. Any new thoughts after rewatching?

You're a Pacific Rim fan? 🥳 If Carmy and Richie were partners in that I feel like the Jaeger would immediately explode as soon as they were both plugged into it 😂 What are your AU thoughts?

helloooo <3

1. thank you!!!! ;_; as for posting any more art idk i doubt it >_< if i’m being honest i rarely ever draw at all and that doodle was just a one off but if i ever just so happen to do any more in the future then maybe! i’d like to get back into drawing more but the bear has pretty evidently manifested itself more in the writing side of my brain so

2. if i’m being honest i’m still on ep2 of my rewatch LMFAO every time i try and sit myself down and tell myself to watch it i end up finding an excuse to pull myself away. idk why i’m so mentally averse to it… what’s that thing called where people keep putting off things they genuinely want to do because that’s basically what’s happening rn. i do have a lot of thoughts and half formed posts in my drafts rn just from my first watch alone though i just feel like i should complete my rewatch before sharing them and then i keep… not doing that

3. i loooove pacrim it’s one of my favorite movies/universes ever. if i like a character or a pairing regardless of what the og media source is trust that i will be imagining them in a pacrim au… i’ve been toying with the idea for carmy and richie on and off in the back of my head since way back last year but i actually think it works pretty 1:1 with canon! mikey and richie being lifelong best friends and going into the pilot program together, finding out they’re drift compatible and becoming jaeger pilots together, mikey being kia, carmy always having this pipe dream of becoming a pilot and spending his childhood looking up to mikey and richie and wanting to be just like them but being deterred by something or another. maybe going through the program but because he’s naturally reserved and introverted he thinks he doesn’t have what it takes to be an actual pilot or that he’ll never be drift compatible with someone because he can’t really imagine connecting with anyone in that way. when mikey dies richie’s left in need of a partner but richie is richie so he’s not really compatible with anyone else until they offer to test carmy and lo and behold.. richie balks from it at first obviously because carmy’s just a rookie without any real experience in the field and he and mikey were pretty well established for years (if not just a little unorthodox) and internally half of him is unable to accept the idea of carmy being mikey’s replacement due to his grief and the other half of him is unable to accept carmy being mikey’s replacement due to his protectiveness of carmy (but he doesn’t mention or bring that up ever. i think their dynamics and history in pacrimverse would mirror their histories together in canon, but any genuine good intentions richie has is also probably overshadowed by his anger/resentment and he ends up lashing out a lot at the higher ups and keeping carmy at arm’s length the whole time this is happening. he’s just like.. not coping well. or at all for that matter) cue some very slow burn and mutually tentative bonding and richie always berating carmy for being “just a kid” throughout it and objecting about having him out in the field (not to his face or anything, probably not even with malicious intent or with the purpose of hurting carmy but carmy probably overhears or finds out anyways and resents him for it + feels all that self loathing and ineptitude because he knows he couldn’t live up to mikey either) and richie being given the ultimatum of either having carmy as his partner or being forced to retire but when they’re put in a tight spot they DO go out in the field together. something very dramatic and tragic happens because something dramatic and tragic is always happening in a pacrim au and it seems unlikely that they’ll both make it out and richie is adamant about carmy being the one who lives, still struggles with all that survivor’s guilt over mikey and wouldn’t be able to take going through it again, especially not with carmy. carmy of course is like… kicking and screaming and very much NOT willing to leave him behind and at the same time he’s ANGRY because all this time richie still doesn’t think of him as being capable nor does he trust carmy enough to be able to let him help and for them to go through this together. i don’t think carmy is as concerned as much about whether he lives or dies, or even really if richie lives or dies, i think whatever happens he just wants to see it through alongside richie. he wants richie to trust him, he wants them to be a team, and regardless of what happens to them he wants them to do it together meanwhile richie’s only priority is to ensure carmy walks away from this alive. at all costs.

since this isn’t necessarily a fic plot or anything just how i imagine a pacrim au for them would be like, the endings vary—richie deceives carmy/saves him against his will and has to deal with knowing he’s automatically lost all and whatever tentative trust carmy had in him leading up to this, either richie lives and he and carmy have to start again from the ground up bond wise (maybe they realize they can’t be partners after all and richie would rather retire than have to be put in a position like that again) (lawful evil end) OR carmy eventually forgives him and they work it out and continue being partners (lawful neutral end) OR richie dies and carmy’s left to deal with the survivor’s guilt instead. (neutral evil end)

alternate endings: carmy stays and saves richie instead—also up to you whether he lives or dies but in the event that carmy dies richie has to go through all that mess with mikey all over again and idk if he could like. mentally/emotionally/physically survive that (chaotic evil end) or carmy finally finally convinces richie to trust in him just this once and they combat the evil together and come out of it stronger and closer than ever (lawful good end). also if i’m being honest when i think of this au playing out in my head i surprisingly don’t think of them ever being explicitly romantic but they still have that air of weird unspoken homoerotic tension that they do in s1: richie still devastated and grieving and fighting a battle of internal conflict, carmy still rash and impulsive and oblivious, richie wanting nothing to do with carmy but still unable to stomach the mere notion of putting him at risk, carmy thinking richie is a washed up asshole but still desperately wanting his trust and approval. sometimes the pining is better ngl

[blood-mocha-latte]

unrelated and i totally get if you're not interested in asking questions about your career but how did you become a paramedic? how long was your training? I'm hoping to get EMT certification and maybe up it to paramedic eventually, but idk how much that will really interfere with my current career path.

hi love! don’t worry about career asks, i’m totally fine with whatever anyone wants to talk about (i have Chatty Bitch Disease)

and i’m afraid i misspoke because i’m a huge idiot that doesn’t know how to use words, lol! i’m emt registered and was going to become a paramedic, but ended up going to medical school instead and becoming an emergency medicine (em) doctor, working in an er lol. BUT i’ll still outline most of what i did, just in case. i also included things that my sister-in-law did, since she actually is a paramedic, lmao.

under the cut since this is kind of niche <3

becoming a paramedic:

- got high school diploma/ged (she took classes focused in anatomy and physiology, which isn’t required but can help to get you a foothold in what you want to do. i did this as well and highly recommend it)

- doing emt-basic certification training - for both of us, this took about half a year :) it was mainly just going into things like:

how to take vital signs and offering basic life support (i.e. administering oxygen, doing cpr)

other skills like controlling bleeding, taking care of burns, splinting bones, dealing with spinal injuries, and administering limited medication sets

- getting in-field experience! my sister-in-law did this but i didn’t, which i kind of really regret. even though it’s not required, getting more hands-on experience with emt stuff before applying for a program can help you get ahead and feel less lost :)

- complete a paramedic program - this takes about 1-2 years, typically (it took me about 14 months, and my sister-in-law 12, but we went through different programs). training mostly just looks like:

cardiology, dealing with physical trauma, administering meds, airway procedures, etc

field clinical rotations and ambulance runs are also a part of this, which are pretty fun

- getting certified/licensed (this is what my sister-in-law did, i went the opposite route and ended up getting an md, lol)

all states have differences, but you’ll have to take the nremt, which gains you certification as a paramedic. depending on where you live, there are other state requirements as well that would add on to what you would need to do to receive your license.

okay, that’s about it! some of this may be iffy, since this was a while ago and i don’t know where you are in this process/where you live/some of this is by word of mouth, but i hope this is somewhat helpful!

one thing i WILL say about going into anything healthcare is make sure you have the mental toughness for it. medicine isn’t for everyone, and emergency response/intensive care can be incredibly difficult to go through and maintain parts of who you are. i know people who haven’t been able to do it, and myself have troubles with c-ptsd because of it. hours can be rough (for the majority of this year i worked for 24 hours straight with 48 off, this is what a lot of my paramedic buddies do as well) and it can get in the way of life (i had to cut my honeymoon short by 8 days because the hospital needed extra hands).

i don’t mean to scare anyone off, because i love my job and can’t imagine doing anything else, but it can be a difficult field, so make sure you have a strong support system and know what you’re in for :)

thanks for asking! i hope this is both somewhat coherent and what you were asking, lol <3

[suckitsurveys]

Do you ever have days where you just don’t do anything? Yessssss I am looking forward to having several of those in a row soon. After this Thursday I am off work for 2 weeks!

Have you ever been extremely tired but refused to go to sleep? Yeah.

What is your favorite episode of True Life, if you have one at all? I don’t have one.

Have you ever experienced something paranormal? Nah.

What’s the longest amount of time you’ve been stuck in traffic? I think when L*d** and I went to Indianapolis to see Sarah when she was there. There was an accident on the interstate and we sat in the same spot for almost two hours.

Best field trip experience? I LOVED going to any kind of museum on a field trip. We also went to the Zoo a lot because it was so close to where I went to grade school.

Have you ever been to New York City? Not yet! I am going this spring though!.

If so, is it all its cracked up to be? --

What is the most amount of money you’ve spent on a meal before? Like $400 at a steakhouse once oops.

What museums have you visited, if any? A lot of them. Most of the ones in Chicago, and some in other cities too.

Have you ever had a group project and one of your partners bailed on you? Uh huh.

What’s your worst traveling experience? I've *thankfully* haven’t had any really awful traveling experiences. Just exhausting ones.

Sims 1, 2, or 3? Why? I never really played the Sims games.

Have you ever dealt with noisy neighbors or roommates? How did that go? The people who lived above us before our current neighbors had the LOUDEST dog that they would just let bark and bark and bark.

Who was (or is) the teacher that gave you the hardest time in school? My English teachers. All of them.

Best muffin you’ve ever had? Blueberry muffins with the crusty sugar tops.

Have you ever taken a woodshop class? Just a workshop, not like a whole class.

If so, was it required? --

How much time do you spend on Facebook, if you have one? Maybe 30 mins - an hour a day total. I belong to a shit ton of shitposting groups so I like to check those daily lol.

What area of math are you best at? Worst? Blah.

How do you feel when you meet someone with the same music taste as you? I mean, good? Idk. My music taste is “hey, I like the way this song sounds,” so.

How often do you “half-ass” things (put little effort in)? Every day at work baybeeeee. Lol I’m kidding, but it does happen.

Do you ever feel self-conscious when you eat around other people? Not really.

Has a teacher ever made you hate yourself/your work? My English teachers completely ruined reading for fun for me.

How reliable is your internet connection? It’s pretty good.

Have you ever missed a meeting/event that was required/necessary? Yes.

What’s something that makes you incredibly nervous? Making phonecalls.

What’s the latest you’ve ever stayed up to finish homework/a project? I’ve pulled some all-nighters in my time.

If you don’t have glasses, how would you feel if you had to get them? I do have them.

If you do have glasses, how would you feel if you didn’t need them anymore? It would be so refreshing to just wake up and be able to see. Or have other sunglasses I can actually wear lol.

How many vegetarians do you know? I can think of three of the top of my head.

Have you ever considered going to art school? I considered going to an art high school just because some of my friends were going, but I really didn’t have a desire to outside of that.

Is there anyone in your life who consistently angers you? My brother in law.

How quickly can you write an essay? I would need a full day to stress over it first.

Have you ever had problems falling asleep in class? Never fell asleep while in school.

Have you ever been on the barrier or front row at a concert? Yeah.

What bug frightens you most? I’m not “afraid” of bugs, but earwigs and centipedes creep me out the most.

Are your parents supportive of you? Yes.

How often do you take the train to go places? Rarely.

Do you play with your phone in awkward situations Sure.

Have you ever participated in a mock trial, or a real trial? Yeah, mock trials in school.

[cerastes]

Man that autism post resonates so hard for me rn. Had a 'friend' of mine start randomly calling me an "egg" and "in denial" of being autistic because I... enjoy asmr and rock in my seat sometimes. Like straight up arguing with me over it in front of other people. It was so uncomfortable and really upset a few of our mutual autistic friends. Idk what this trend is but I hate it so much

No yeah that's outright disgusting, like it's one thing if someone autistic makes a gallow's humor post about it or not even necessarily something gallow's-ish, just, you know, talking about it, making a humorous spin on it, the works, that's totally fine, we all do it about our own life experiences. It's another thing entirely to make it into a trend or "fashion-nize" it as some sort of quirky personality trait that makes you a 'freaking awesome bean' or whatever and then do what this acquaintance of yours did, like, without even getting started with the use of 'egg' here and calling someone else an 'egg in denial', that's a whole other can of worms by itself, just going at someone with the whole "you're actually X you just don't know it yet" is incredibly irresponsible. One of my sincerely least favorite arcs of Tumblr is when this was happening to ADHD, and having to see a lot of friends reblog those posts like "oh no I identify to so many of these posts... Perhaps I Am One Of The Abnormals" like man, read the room, I'm The Abnormals, and I don't hold it against anybody, because I know for a fact that none of them meant anything negative by it nor did they mean to insult, and I know this because I know my friends, but it was a tough period of time to have a dashboard, and I can imagine anyone less secure about themselves, of their conditions, or of their online social group feeling upset or offended by it.

It's like (the most mainstream) mental health things all go through their own turn in the Trend Spotlight, and right now, it's autism, before that, it was ADHD, and many years ago, in a real Tumblr Classic, it was the whole anti-recovery stance ("um, drinking water isn't gonna help my depression, KAREN") that even some supposedly educated-ass people I personally know backed up for some reason that transmogrifies me into The Jonker for half a second before I calm down ("uhhh maybe some people had a bad time with their own therapy :(" shut the hell up and leave people making helpful little posts about stuff that's helped them alone). And even before that, it was the Wild West of people going ham self-diagnosis with absolutely everything they could, objectively the worst period, and it wasn't just self-diagnosis, it was sometimes diagnosis others, for instance, one person that shall remain politely unnamed one time responded to a vent post I made many years ago "hey those are signs of depression, you should get that checked out".

To me.

Not just an actual professional psychologist that literally does this shit for a living, but most importantly, someone they don't really know on the internet. That was one of the few times I've actually gotten so pissed I went off, because holy shit my man you can't just diagnose people like that, you may be unknowingly predisposing someone who otherwise was just having a bad day into actually developing depression, which is a thing that happens.

I'm not going to say "stop talking about my field reeee" on the contrary, mental health needs more discussion about it, but it needs to be given the proper respect a topic as weighty and sensitive as mental health deserves. Properly inform yourself and, to help with this, ask. Ask mental health professionals, ask autistic people, ask ADHD people, ask people with OCD, ask people with Schizophrenia, ask them what's up, and always keep in mind there's no universal experience. I wish these things were universal, it'd make my job much easier and life much easier for me and many more people, but it isn't the case, so tighten your pants and do your due diligence.

[prince-simon]

au of the pscu where rwrb actually happens 👀. idk how the timeline would work but i imagine them being around the same age. the three princes would only vaguely know of eachother at first but maybe by the time firstprince email leak happens wille and simon would be together and would help them? also the whole squad would be invited to the nye gala and omg a wilma and nora friendship would be a whole vibe. idk where i was going with this but just putting this out there as a free fic idea...

hellooo anon! i can't believe i'm writing an au for prince simon now. but here you go... as a treat... if anyone wants to add to this pls be my guest!

--------

Simon padded into the living room, bleary eyed and craving cuddles. He was half-tempted to just pull Wille back into the bedroom and spend the rest of the day in a warm cocoon.

However, he quickly realised that those plans had to take a backseat. He found Wille curled up on the couch, his knees drawn up to his chest, staring blankly at his laptop in front of him. He was shaking.

“Wille?” Simon asked softly, approaching him slowly. He walked around the couch, into Wille’s field of vision so as to not startle him. “Baby, what’s wrong?” He sat down next to Wille, draping his arm over the backrest of the couch but not touching Wille yet.

A moment later, though, Wille fell into his embrace easily, and Simon tightened his arms around him. “It’s okay,” he murmured senselessly. Helplessly. Humming softly in Spanish, Simon let Wille shiver and shake in his arms, quiet sobs falling from his lips.

“It’s not fair,” Wille cried into his chest, and Simon squeezed him tighter.

Simon kissed the crown of Wille’s head, and then his eyes caught sight of the laptop and the headline staring back at him.

GAY ROYAL PANDEMIC: Prince Henry of Wales — another gay prince!

Simon felt bile rise in his throat as his eyes quickly scanned the article, bashing both him and Wille, but more importantly Henry, who’d just fallen victim to being outed by a horrible email leak.

Simon ached.

This felt like deja vu and judging by Wille’s current state, it felt like that for him too.

Simon had felt this exact same way when Wille had been outed with his then boyfriend Nils, and all he wanted to do was help. In any way he could. This time he’d actually do it. But for now, Wille was his priority.

“Hey. Baby, mi corazón, look at me,” Simon said softly, lifting Wille’s chin up so his fiancé looked at him, teary-eyed and hopeless. “I love you,” Simon told him for good measure, brushing his thumbs over Wille’s wet cheeks and resting them there in comfort. “Breathe with me, okay,” he instructed, taking a deep breath himself that Wille reluctantly mirrored.

Over the years, they’d become so attuned to each other, it was easy to talk the other done from a panic attack most days. It helped that they felt safe with each other.

“I love you,” Wille mumbled when he slumped against Simon, pressing his nose against Simon’s neck. “I wish I could do something.”

I wish I could do something. Simon was feeling that in his bones. He should’ve done something for Wille all those years ago, and he would help Henry and his boyfriend now in any way he could.

“He must feel so alone right now,” Wille went on, fresh tears spilling from his eyes and soaking the collar of Simon’s sleep shirt.

Simon squeezed Wille’s waist. “I have an idea,” he whispered, “Pack a bag, we might be going to England.” He was nothing if not reckless. He followed after Wille into the bedroom to grab his phone, dialling before Wille could even ask him what the plan was.

When the call was picked up, Simon said, “Hey Pez, it’s Simon-“

Pez Okonjo, who Simon had worked with on different events for their respective charities and who’d become a close friend over the years sounded frantic when he replied, “Hey man, it’s a bad time right now-“

“That’s why I’m calling. Listen. If you think it helps, we’re bringing in the cavalry. Wille and I are willing to help any way we can. I have experience dealing with homophobic queens,” he rushed out, taking a wild guess that the old bat Queen Mary was anything but ecstatic about these developments concerning her grandson.

Wille looked at him wide-eyed and a little bit in awe. Simon smiled at him reassuringly.

“You would, wouldn’t you?” Pez gave half a laugh, “Well then, we could use all the reinforcements. Alex- that’s Henry’s boyfriend, is already on the way from Washington. Be my guest, we’re gonna break Henry out of the palace if we have to!”

Simon smirked. Maybe somewhat inappropriately, excitement was bubbling in his stomach. If he loved something, it was stirring diplomatic chaos with bigoted monarchs — his mom would forgive him. Eventually. She wouldn’t have to know for now. That would be better for her sanity. “I’m calling my pilot right now. I’ll see you in a couple of hours. Keep me updated!”

Pez whooped, “Let’s save the prince!”

[sehnsuchts-trunken]

Wait omg, how did I not notice that you write for shadow and bone??

Okay, so obviously I’m rolling in here with a shadow and bone request now lol.

Maybe some headcanons about going from enemies (or rather: can’t stand each other but still on the same side you know) to lovers with Nikolai Lantsov and maybe a tidemaker reader?

If you don’t feel like writing this or just can’t find inspiration for it, you can totally ignore this of course! But thanks already <3

I kind of may have forgotten this existed and uh so yeah. let me try and do my best. I'm quite motivated because I really love enemies to lovers but I've never personally written anything with it so idk if this is gonna turn out good in any way lol

(they got quite long so this thing was necessary)

- Obviously you were talented. And obviously he was too. And still, even after years and years spent at the same place, scouting the same grounds, meeting the same people, neither of you were about to acknowledge that. Secretly perhaps. Yes, secretly, in thoughts and dreams while dancing at masquerade balls and sitting through court. Stolen glances, sneers and pointed coughs during long monologues.

- Yet when the time came and Nikolai had his plans set out, his drawings done, and the best of the best of Grisha on a list to involve in his doings.... He'd never admitted it, and it hurt every part of him to do so. But he had Materialki already beginning to build, Corporalki on his side whenever necessary, two Squallers and Inferni and one Tidemaker, and they all were geniuses in their fields, and still something was missing. Someone. Because they were talented, all of them. And they were the best at what they did too, at least ignoring all those that were too close to the Darkling to trust. Just one of them was lacking. One of them because when he watched you train at the lake, the only spot you could practice your powers at, and unfortunately also his favourite part of all the castle and its grounds, he couldn't stop watching you. He wasn't the only one either - no, everyone was well aware of your little talent. No matter how much anyone else tried and learned, you were simply and just the best at what you did.

- So he, too, did what he could best. And who could've said no to his little secret, to that wonderful mind of his? Not you, even though you did your best to make fun of him for at least half an hour to his face and then behind his back for another week. He heard all of it one way or another and for the sake of your own amusement you made particularly sure that he did. But you had said yes, and in a way you were quite excited.

- Working together was certainly an experience. Group work at first, with everyone on board at the same table, didn't lead to too much distress. Really it was kind of fun, bantering and shooting sarcastic comments back and forth, both a ready mind and a quick tongue. You could snort whenever you found him stupid and make him narrow his eyes while he was trying hard not to upset anyone far too much - this time, he was reliant on all of you, not the other way around. And it was such a wonderful feeling for once, so much fun that you hadn't had in years like this. Being able to snicker at what he said and then correct it in the same tone you'd use to speak to a five year old - certainly you could get used to this. If only it stayed that way.

- It did not, of course. Oh, it did not. Because after the first rough sketch was planned out and had taken on form, Nikolai began separating. Training and practising in private. You were the last one to receive such treatment - you had heard all about it from the Squallers that he'd been asking and teaching just how he wanted them to make his ship soar and fly. And even though you were certainly not looking forward to having to spend time one-on-one with him, it still injured your pride that you came last. (btw 'injur ones pride' is an actual phrase?? like why does it sound so wrong,,, my dictionary said it's right like this, then why doesn't it sound right)

- You waited your turn, impatiently in a way and wishing it would never happen in another, and when it came, somehow it was exactly what you had expected. It also was not. It was difficult to explain, but the second you stepped onto his ship, legs wobbling as the waves slowly caused it to float on top of the lake, you found yourself back in your element, the same way you had always when you were near any greater body of water. It was dark, the night sky black against the moonlight, and you could barely make out Nikolai even as he stood so close to you that you could feel his breath. It had to be this way, that's what you'd all agreed on, because there could not be commotion around something so already uncommon to see. So training began at night.

- The two of you talked as quiet and as few as you could; for two reasons, and even though the more important one probably should have been not to draw attention, it was mainly because you couldn't be bothered to do so. You had basically planned half the thing, no matter how clever Nikolai might have been with his first, incredibly glorious idea, so you knew your movements, and at some point you realised that it was actually far better to train in the dark than to do it by day. This way, if you were ever going to seriously take this ship to sea, you would be able to navigate it no matter what, you'd know every turn and every loose piece of wood or rope.

- And so you trained. And you trained and trained and trained for days and weeks and months. You had to admit that despite your very clear dislike for each other, you and Nikolai made a good match. Where you lacked strength, vision or strategy, he filled in, and when you eventually began running tests and practising as a group, with all Grisha that he'd assembled working together, it became very, very clear that you were somehow able to deal with him best. And he could deal with you best too - not that anyone needed to deal with you, really. But the nights went by in a flash, and suddenly, there was a twinkle in his eyes when you wrapped them all in a huge bubble of water, and you found yourself laughing at his jokes one time too often.

- He was a gloriously stupid bastard, that's what he was - an idiot wrapped in a sweet package, a charming prince with a cunning mind and clever thoughts. Nikolai sometimes made you want to throw yourself out of the palace windows because you couldn't figure him out. You'd despised him, and now you weren't so sure if you did anymore. That had you feeling like stabbing yourself in the gut and turning the knife twice.

- The day came when he declared his departure. And yours in a way. He did not force any of you, quite the opposite; he made sure that all of those that had trained with him were given the choice whether to stay or to come. To your own surprise and everyone else's, you were the first to agree to leave. You were surprised not because you initially wanted to stay (you'd always wanted to travel) but because it meant going with him.

- The day of the departure came and you went, with the rest of the group at your side, and him at the ship's wheel. The sea was salty and wet and better than anything you'd ever imagined - the water called to your power and made you sing, and you smiled and laughed so often and thought so few about the negative that you felt like a wholly new person. Your spirits were high, your moods even better, and for once you seemed as though you were and could just be simply you, yourself, fully. Shocking though was the fact that you began tolerating Nikolai. Or Sturmhond, as he had started calling himself the second he had unpacked his captains hat. You didn't know whether that sudden toleration was your doing or his, whether your change or his change caused it, but you couldn't quite say you were disappointed either way.

- God, he was charming and handsome and made you want to write poetry for some reason. Like a little girl, you giggled at his stupid jokes - if only by yourself because after all, you had some shred of dignity left - and found out that you could somehow very well show every side of you to him. He read you like an open book and in a way, that was very freeing.

- So perhaps, yes, at some point, you had started to not only tolerate him anymore. At some point, your heart skipped whenever he stepped into your vision (which, considering you were on a ship that was not too huge after all, was a lot of times) and your world lit up when he smiled. How this had happened you wouldn't know and wouldn't bother to find out; you enjoyed this new emotion far too much to do so, it seemed to warm you up from inside.

- The day when it would become apparent that he felt the same was barely different from all the others. But barely still means a little, and yes, this day was just a little different. You woke up to sunlight, not before dawn as you usually did, and no one had woken you up either to tell you that you were late. It seemed that Nikolai had begun handing out 'break days' whenever possible to one person, and well, you were the first to receive this honour. So perhaps it was more than just a little different, but at the same time, you seemed to do exactly what you'd done all those days before. Let the wind ruffle your hair and the sea guide your movements. Despite your earlier protests, you found yourself enjoying this lucky break.

- Then at dusk, you volunteered to do the night watch. You'd had your fair share of peace and quiet while the others had been working, so this was only fair. Nikolai for his part had decided to join you. Where you would've been more than annoyed a few weeks earlier, you were almost relieved not to be stuck with anyone else. So you smiled and kept your mouth shut for a long time, doing just, well, what you always did. Watching the stars and the sky and the water and the waves. You did not get to enjoy your alone-time as much as you would've wished to, but his sudden presence next to you at the railing didn't come as a shock. So you talked. About anything and everything, and you laughed and you wondered how you had been able to miss out on the beauty that was this man, both in physique and in character. Seriously, how had you never before noticed how attractive he was? How his eyes glinted in the moonlight, how his hair perfectly framed his face, how his cheekbones seemed to basically call for someone to run their fingers along them.

- Tonight, you were sick of morale and judgement and logic, you were sick of planning your every move and guiding by principles. Your heart pointed firmly in his direction and this time, you would listen to it, if only once, screw everything and everyone else. So you did. And when you kissed him, you knew that you'd found every missing piece, every wasted breath, every part of your soul and your mind that hadn't been whole before. The brim of his hat pushed against your forehead as he pulled you closer, and he lifted his hand only to take it off - or, perhaps not only to take it off. No, a second later, he'd placed it on your head, which clearly you hadn't seen coming. But when you dared to break the kiss, to pull back away from him, he hooked his fingers under your chin and tugged you back, and he'd do so every time you'd jokingly escape his embrace from now on.

so this just turned into a whole ass oneshot wtf- also it sounded way better while writing than editing lol

[alilbihh]

woods&witches — knj

masterlist

pairing: namjoon x reader

summary: You think it ends with you saving a fox. That is, until you start getting love letters sent to your doorstep and little knick knacks left on your window sill.

genre: fox shifter!namjoon, witch!reader, fluff

words: 4.5k

a/n: this was meant for the bingo challenge but completely escaped its original prompt. anyway. heres shy!lovestruck!namjoon bc i love him. also no this is nOt a witch au blog idk whats wrong w me

A finch flutters onto your windowsill, and you shuffle over once you hear a tap, tap, tap on the glass. You push it open and the bird hops inside, beak leaning forward tentatively.

You take the letter. "Ah, so they sent you this time?" Or maybe the finch volunteered, you wouldn't be surprised. They are quite the gossips.

It's a soft blue envelope, and when you turn it over there's a scrawled #12 on the left side corner. You think that even if he hadn't written that, you'd know. It's easy to keep track, after all.

A maple leaf slips out when you open the envelope. You set it aside and tentatively take the letter, brush a hand over the ink. It was written by hand in messy but deliberate hand writing and it smells like chamomile and honey, like it was written under a half-moon.

You read it once then twice then three times until it feels like you've been dipped halfway underwater, until the buzzing of the midday cicadas has faded into white noise and everything is suddenly tinged blue.

The man, you deduced a while ago, tells tales of palm trees and blue ponds and red and pink frogs, of catching crabs on a stranded shore. He's writing poetry but he's not, writing reality but he's not, and you don't know how he does it, how he can make five paintings with just one phrase.

You clutch the letter to your chest, feel yourself have an out of body experience because of a not-poem. Your head whips towards the finch when it chirps suddenly, and you huff.

"Why're you still here?" You shield the letter from the bird's eyes. Its head tilts. "And don't give me that look, I know exactly what you're thinking."

The bird only gives another chirp before flying away.

You scoff out a laugh, and when you walk towards your bedside table, the drawer opens before you can even think too much about it. You glare at your walls before tucking the letter with the others, as if to stop the house from teasing you too much.

It all begins and ends on a sunny afternoon.

The tree roots whisper as you pass, as if to purposely lead you astray, but you follow them anyway. The forest is never wrong, after all.

So when you stumble against a snowy white fox lying on a field of wisteria, you're only a tad bit surprised.

"Ah, you don't want to do that," you say some time after it woke up in your home and stopped panicking. It's now looking down at your polka dot socks, then looks up sharply to stare at you. You don't think there's a way for foxes to show emotions, but you think that if there were, he'd be staring at you with a little bit of awe.

You clear your throat. "Your foot, I mean. You don't want to strain it."

It just keeps staring at you, one ear twitching a bit.

"Um." You say when it doesn't stop, "You'll be better in a few weeks time. It wasn't that serious."

The fox blink blink blinks before shaking itself off, fur spilling every which way. You take it as acknowledgement enough.

In a few minutes he's managed to sniff and inspect every piece of furniture in your home, ranging from your small couch to your droopy house plant. He trudges and limps and sometimes skips from place to place, and then becomes highly confused when you don't let him climb the kitchen table.

Yoongi appears on your window somewhere between the fox kneading at your rug and the fox trying to catch a moth with its mouth.

"Hey grump," you say to the black cat, scratching behind his ears. Yoongi's tail twitches in dismissal, but he whines when you stop petting him, anyway.

You can almost see when Yoongi's gaze settles on the fox, because when you turn to look he's frozen solid on your couch, as if hoping he can't be seen if he stays still enough. The cat gives you a look.

You raise a brow. "What? Don't look at me like that."

He keeps looking at you like that.

"I helped him over by the wisteria. His foot's a little bad, but it's nothing too bad." The fox stays curled up on your couch, digging his nails into the cushions much like a cat would. An ear twitches in your direction, as if he's sheepish but won't admit to it.

Yoongi mewls a single, drawn out mewl of acceptance. You nod nod nod, and the cat jumps down your window and disappears into the woods right when the wind starts blowing north and the sun starts climbing higher before dropping lower.

The world stills for a while as you work through your home, organizing your chipped cups and bent spoons and funny forks. The mushroom wraith on your door wiggles when you pass it by, and when the frog figurine on your counter croaks in greeting the fox nearly jumps out of its skin.

(The fox is gone by morning, right when the sun settles over the honeysuckle tumbling down your thatched roof. You try to feel for his presence, but it's overwhelmed by the snails and woodpeckers and oversized mushrooms.

You think that's when the letters started coming, perched nicely over your windowsill whenever you're not looking).

There's a man in your pond.

The carp in the water yells indignantly as the man tries to stand but tumbles, pondweed curled over his ankles as if begging him to stay. You just stare because the man tries to get up once then twice then three times, hair loose and windblown and positively drenched, twigs and pondweed in the knots.

You stare and stare until the man notices you and startles, looks away quickly before cringing and hesitatingly meeting your eyes. He lifts a hand, lowers it, lifts it again and waves. You wave back.

"Hello." You say. The man looks a little stunned, more stunned than when the carp had nipped at his feet. You point at the pond, "You're standing in my pond."

"Ah!" He startles, head whipping down like he'd forgotten all about it. "I am! In your pond, I mean. Sorry, sorry." The pondweed untangles itself mercifully, and he shuffles out of the water, toes curling into the dirt around it.

"It's okay!" You shoot him a thumbs up. He stares. "Do you want to, uh, come inside?"

So the man walks through the slim wooden trellis and diligently wipes his feet on the rug, shuffling through the door with hesitant steps. He looks a little like a painting left out too long in the rain, all ruffled hair and stiff shoulders, but pretty nonetheless.

"Would you like some tea?" You say, already grabbing the kettle from the cupboards, "It will have to have milk, though, since the cups don't like serving without."

"Okay! Tea is nice. Thank you." Then he smiles with knee-deep dimples and pinchable cheeks and something inside you kinda melts a little.

The man's name is Namjoon and his skin is tan despite it already being winter, the color of salted caramel. He's so bright you find it easier to look away, to look instead at the space around him, the shadow against the pane of his neck, the length of his-- very long legs. You'll pretend you never noticed that.

You don't talk about why he was in your pond, not really. He's already apologized to the carp, he says. You talk instead about mushroom glades and why avocados are acceptable dinner foods and his intense love for moths and his hopes for snow this year.

When Namjoon leaves it all feels a bit unprecedented. Lost souls show up on your doorstep often, always leaving after a cup of tea and a few helpful directions, but Namjoon doesn't look lost at all. Looks a little like he belongs, really.

He rubs awkwardly at the back of his neck, then sticks a hand out in offering. You shake his hand. He nods, lingers on the doorway, plays with a loose stitching of his soft green overalls.

"I'll-- be seeing you, then," he clears his throat, and you just laugh a little loosely because no, you won't. With lost souls, you never do.

Except Namjoon does return. He returns, in fact, in green baseball shorts and an open-collared shirt with sugar packets sticking out of the front pockets. He looks a bit like a dad showing up for his son's football game. Looks a little dangerous but in a harmless way, like a huge gangly bug. A six-foot stick insect hovering outside your door.

You're a little stunned. Very stunned. So stunned that Namjoon cringes, shuffles a bit on your welcome mat. It's a frog with a thought bubble that says welcome! that Namjoon has expressed his love for on multiple occasions.

"Hello," he purses his lips. "I... wanted to thank you. Again. For everything." He sucks in a breath. "Bad time? Bad time. I don't actually remember knocking-- did I knock? God, I didn't, did I? I'm so rude, I'm so sorry."

"No, no," you say once you've recovered. "You, you definitely knocked."

"Oh!" His lips form a surprised little 'o'. You're so fond. "That's good. Okay. I'll... be leaving, then."

"Um!" You interject, "You can come inside, if you want?"

So he comes inside and drinks tea and names the cactus by your windowsill Gerald and discusses his complaints on climate change and you're a little content and a lot confused, because--

Only creatures of the forest can find your house more than once.

Unless--

(That night, you knock on your own walls and glare indignantly. Say, "You led him here, didn't you?"

The walls do nothing. You think you hear a floorboard creak, though.

You stomp your feet like an overgrown child. "I don't know what you're trying to accomplish, but I'm not falling for it!"

No response. Except the wind chimes outside sing brightly, but when you look out the window there's no wind at all).

Namjoon visits once then twice then three times, always showing up unplanned and out of nowhere. He brings a pinecone first then a dandelion next, blushes and says I didn't pluck them against their will! I told them they looked pretty and they volunteered to help me.

He's so pretty it's become a little harder to hold in. He was always pretty, always smiles a bit too brightly, like he's swallowed a star and can't quite keep all the brightness to himself, but something's shifted a bit.

(You contemplate this in a mid afternoon. As in: whisper-screaming to the ceiling for a while. And then whisper-screaming some more when Yoongi walks directly across your face.

"You're a monster," you inform him.

He digs his tiny monster-claws into your stomach.)

One day, you learn the man is weirdly good at knitting. You learn he has a pretty solid grasp on quantum physics. You learn that when he laughs it's a little hah! under his breath, and when he really laughs it turns sideways and belly-up, pitching into something that could almost be defined as a giggle. You learn that you need to stop staring.

Another day, Namjoon sits in the corner of your couch, curled up reading a book he'd picked up from the next village over. It's small but very thick with what could only be very small letters, because he's squinting a bit as he reads. It's vastly endearing.

Another day, he makes cheesy bread in your toaster and felt bad about it for the next three weeks. Which is also the amount of time it took for you to get all the cheese out.

Everything's great.

Today, though, you're walking through the forest alone. The forest doesn't guide you, not really, maybe because it knows you're walking on your own terms.

The forest is noisy with the sounds of birds calling and trees growing and little things skipping here and there through the undergrowth. Your shoes are so muddy you don't really care for how much worse they get, and they squelch when your heels sink into puddles and spongy moss.

You walk and walk until you come across a clearing, a bird feeder propped neatly over a tree branch. A sparrow squawks when it sees you.

"Hello," you say in greeting, and the tree with the bird feeder sighs, the wind blowing and carrying the sound.

A tree root on the ground grabs a fistful of dirt and promptly flings it onto your knees. You shriek indignantly.

You have a lot to figure out, the tree echoes because of course it does. It has a history of saying things vaguely and hoping you'll understand.

"I don't understand," you say out loud.

It flings more dirt onto your knees. You step back protectively, "Okay, okay! I get it!"

One, two. Four clouds in the sky, for now, it says at last, and you're a bit afraid of prying, so you just accept what it says as fact and move on, say one last goodbye to the bluetit that flutters onto the bird feeder.

It starts raining not long after that, when more than four clouds settle over the evening sun, makes it a bit harder to maneuver through the woods. You walk based on feeling, a hand brushing over the tree trunks, silently cursing the tree.

Namjoon is already waiting when you arrive home, hurries forward when he spots you through the trees, holding an umbrella up high.

And it's-- sweet. Just a really sweet thing to do, really considerate. He could have waited inside, in the warmth and shelter, but instead he's walking through puddles to meet you halfway with an umbrella.

He looks a little funny when he stops in front of you, hair disheveled and sticking up in random places, eyes all worried and sullen. He looks like a goose.

"You look like a goose," you say out loud with a little laugh, "I'm already wet though, so there's not much point in this, you know?"

Namjoon's smile is a bit dopey, a bit sloppy at the edges. "But there's not many trees to shield you, from this point on." He says, "Let's-- go inside?"

So you go inside, the house already setting the fireplace with its never-ending firewood, the frog figurine croaking and the wind chimes singing and everything feels a little right. A little more homey.

"Did you find your way back easily?" Namjoon says later, hands cupping his tea mug as he sheepishly adds, "I know this is your-- home, obviously, I don't wanna just assume anything, but-- For me, it's a bit harder to navigate when it rains like this. Fogs my senses and all," he clears his throat.

You purse your lips to keep from smiling, "Do you know how a wood witch works, Namjoon?" You continue when he shakes his head, "A wood witch is the one who planted the first seed that sprouted the first tree that grew the first forest," you say, half-chanting it, cite it like a rhyme long forgotten.

He looks a bit awe-struck. A lot awe-struck. Says, "Oh." And that's that.

You add, sheepish, "It's really not much. I'm not as powerful as other wood witches, but I am grateful to the woods." You hum, "They gave me this cottage. They gave me who I am, really."

"Oh." Namjoon says. "Oh." He stares and stares, open mouthed and in awe and sort of dazed but pretty, pretty. His gaze trails over the room once before settling back on you, says, "You're all the beauty in the world."

And the world-- stills, maybe-- balanced atop a drop of nectar.

You whisper a small, delighted "Oh." And that's that.

Namjoon somehow manages to drag you outside the woods.

You're being dragged through busy streets, cars and crowds and carriages that boggle your senses. The difference between the village and the woods is astounding. (Not that you've never been to nearby cities or villages-- sometimes you crave poptarts and there's nothing you can do about it-- but it's been a while since you've walked into the very heart of it).

You might be a wood witch, but Namjoon is the one who looks a little — lost, outside the woods.

"This is my favorite corner cafe," he admits proudly, "Um, if Seokjin-hyung says anything, please be aware I'm not associated with him."

"Got it." You like this Seokjin guy already.

Taylor Swift is blasting through the speakers when you walk inside, a broad shouldered man swaying from side to side behind the counter as he pours milk into a cup. Once his eyes land on Namjoon he positively grins.

"Namjoon, my man!" He belts out a particularly impressive high note as Namjoon approaches him, but no one around seems at all fazed. "It's been so long!"

"I've been here last week, hyung." Namjoon says but he seems a bit happy to be missed, sheepishly ducking his head.

"That's too long. You should visit more often, it's great! I get free coffee here and don't have to walk through muddy paths and ominous sounds to visit you."

"It's not free though?" Namjoon frowns, "You may own the shop but you're the one who buys all the coffee in the first place."

The man behind the counter makes a noise that's too distorted to understand. "If I wanted someone to tear apart my ideas with logic I'd talk to Yoongi, you're both insufferable."

You want to interject but at the same time don't. You get so absorbed in your own thoughts you almost don't notice when they mention a Yoongi. Huh.

"Oh, you know Yoongi? The cat?" You blink when two sets of eyes settle on you.

"Ah, yes. Yoongi." The man you've now established has to be Seokjin sighs, resting a chin over his palm, "The devious fiend. The pest of the nest. The gremlin goblin."

"Do you ever think before you speak."

"I do! I thought of those words and then I said them."

Namjoon sighs and none of them elaborate any further, but you decide not to pry. You can always just ask Yoongi, anyway.

You both sit in a booth in the far corner where light reflects onto it perfectly but not in an overwhelming way, just enough to be warm and comforting. Seokjin pads over with your drink and Namjoon's latte and shoots excessive finger guns as he leaves, and Namjoon looks a bit like he's refraining from apologizing on his behalf.

Namjoon doodles on napkins and talks like he's reciting a far off poem, except he's talking about what should be the correct pronunciation of pickles and you're kinda maybe really hopelessly endeared.

"Do you think I should paint my nails?" He's saying, closely inspecting his nibbled nails, "Maybe it will make me stop biting my nails."

"Have you thought of green?"

He hums delightedly, "Green! I love green. I'm thinking pink though, since gender norms are a social construct and pink is just pretty in general."

"You'll look like a pretty little winter fairy!" You grin. He flushes pink, too.

Then when you get up to order another drink he stands quick, as if intending to order it for you, but you're already grinning and skipping to the counter and when you turn to look at him he's slowly sitting back down, defeated.

You're maybe smiling too hard when Seokjin walks to take your order. "Ah, Y/n-ssi! How may I help you, my gentle woodland elf?"

"Can I just have the same thing, please?" You say and he hums, walking mechanically towards his cabinets.

Then after staring dazedly at the separate christmas mugs and cinnamon buns and droopy plants, you're looking around when you spot a box by the back counter that looks like an awful lot like a letter slot, a stack of envelopes sitting neatly on top. Oh.

"What's that for?" You gesture towards the box, and Seokjin turns away from the coffee grinder to smile something a little gentle. A little secretive.

"We're a letter shop too, you know?" He looks like he's suppressing a sort of devious smile he doesn't want you to see, "We deliver letters on the writer’s behalf, so the sender stays anonymous."

Your organs twist and melt together all at once. You mumble a small "Oh" and that's that.

Then when you leave Seokjin winks before sending you both off, the man waving boisterously and maybe obnoxiously but you're immensely endeared, wave back until the shop is out of sight and Namjoon is sufficiently embarrassed.

You predictably invite Namjoon inside after you arrive home, deciding that soup after coffee doesn't sound too bad. So you watch as the fireflies do somersaults and the moths hover over lamps as you both go for seconds and then for thirds and you don't say much, maybe say nothing at all, but that's okay, too.

The soup signals a change, you think. Either

1) You are in love with Namjoon and need to tell him.

Or

2) You are in love with soup and need to seek help.

So you walk through the forest.

Namjoon is at home, you know, but you feel that talking to Namjoon about your possible love for Namjoon is a bit counterproductive, so you walk through the forest instead.

Everyone is still adjusting to last night's downpour, the floors muddy and the leaves droopy and everything smelling like wet earth. You walk but you're hovering a few inches off the ground, silently thank the forest for its kindness.

You walk through the forest again the next day, think back to the tree with the bird feeder and think that maybe he wasn't so vague after all. Just wish that he could tell you what to do next.

It's easier to listen to a tree's vague advice than it is to follow through with it, you think, until a few weeks later, when the universe decides you need a little push. A big push. The biggest push.

Namjoon has been visiting consistently for the past month or so, sometimes staying over and sometimes staying just before nightfall, but for maybe a week you haven't heard of him at all. He's disappeared without a trace.

The forest guides you this time, patches of sunlight shining through trees as you follow. You think you hear the shrill argument between a finch and a jay on the treetops as you navigate through mushroom patches and mossy rocks.

It's the field of wisteria. You're in the field of wisteria when you find a small burrow, a little home for a woodland creature.

When you turn, you see-- Namjoon. Namjoon, eyes widened in horror, a strangled sound breaking free from his throat. Two white fox ears standing ramrod straight on his head.

You clear your throat. Say, "Hi, Namjoon."

He shrieks.

A finch flutters onto the bird feeder, eyes twinkling, "Guys, you will not believe what I just found out--"

"We know," the jay says.

"We know," the bluetit says.

"We know," the sparrow says.

Even Yoongi mewls from a higher tree branch.

The finch squawks, gossip stolen from right under its wing, "How on Earth did you all know?"

"The forest made the house bigger," Yoongi drawls, tail swishing here and there, "And we all helped deliver the letters."

"Different from someone, we can actually keep secrets!" Says the jay, chest puffed proudly, ignoring the offended squeals from the finch.

"You know, it was actually kind of obvious."

You hum from beside Namjoon, his arm draped over the back of the couch inches away from dropping onto your shoulder. He wants to tug you closer, comb a hand through your hair, but the mere thought has his face burning and ears threatening to pop out at the stress. He's kissed you before, dozens of times, for many reasons and for no reason at all, but it all still feels a little nerve wrecking, like one push will have you burst at the seams.

(Which, frankly, is ridiculous-- you're the strongest person he knows, but-- but.)

"What is?" He says to distract himself.

"The letters stopped coming after you started showing up, and you literally took me to a letter shop." You falter and add, "And just.. the way you say things, it sounds like how you sound when you write. I don't know if I'm making sense, but it's-- nice." You explain, a hint of affection on your voice.

That has nothing to do with being a fox shifter and everything to do with you sitting so prettily next to him, smelling like Ilsan sunshine and kept promises and damp earth, like the forest itself.

"Hmm," he hums, a hand settling on your thigh, finally gathering the courage to drop his arm onto your shoulder--

"Namjoon, you really don't have to hesitate for this kind of stuff." You say, turning to look at him with a grin. His face burns as he clears his throat pointedly, crossing one leg over the other as he finally drops an arm over your shoulder.

"M'sorry," he mumbles.

"Don't be," You press a kiss to his chin, "And you better kiss me properly this instant, because it seems you still think that crocs are acceptable footwear. I'm gonna come to my senses any second now."

"Please don't," he says, a little wild. Then he's moving, nose brushing over your cheek, and then— and then—

A hand curling softly over your cheek, a little giggle, and his lips pressing gently over your own. Something a bit real. Un-takeback-able. You taste a lot like the poetry he writes, still writes, like you're pressing the wonders of the world to his lips, like he's skimming the universe with his hands.

(Once upon a time, you saved a fox lying in a field of wisteria.

The rest of the story is told in open envelopes, messages left for the moon to see.)

[4stars-uswnt]

To Be in Love With Your Best Friend [Kelley O’Hara]

requested by @13uswntimagines​: Prequel to “What a Night Out Can Lead To”… one of them kissing the other and that’s how they officially start dating

A/N: this is a PREQUEL to What a Night Out Can Lead To, but you don’t need to read it to understand this one (but you definitely should ;)). ok i actually really enjoy writing this universe and so expect to see a sequel of sorts (which comes from another brilliant idea from @13uswntimagines​) also....i think this might be my longest imagine yet but idk

You slide into your bus seat after training and wait for your best friend to join you. This was your fourth national team camp, so although you had some experience and were a seasoned soccer player, having played in high school and at Stanford, you were still somewhat new on the USWNT.

“Hey loser.” Kelley smiles, plopping down in the seat next to you.

“Hey, Kel.” You return a smile, leaning your head on your best friend’s shoulder.

“You had a great practice today. I’m sure you’ll be getting regular call ups now.” She wraps her arm around your body and runs her hand through your hair.

“You think so?” You look up, with eager eyes.

“Mhm. You’ve been playing great, like always.” Kelley affirms, squeezing your shoulder. “Probably because you’ve been playing with me for the past nine years.” She adds, smirking.

You scoff, picking your head up to scoff at your best friend. “Yeah right. If anything that’s why I didn’t get called up before.” You tease her, sticking your tongue out.

“Oh? Is that right?” Kelley raises her eyebrow, a mischievous glint in her eye, one that you were all too familiar with.

“No, Kelley, don’t!” You put your hands up and move back against the window, trying to put as much distance as possible between the two of you.

“You asked for it…” Kelley sings, as she reaches for your sides and starts to tickle you.

“Ah, Kel, stop!” You gasp between giggles. “I can’t breath, ahhh stop!”

“Say ‘Kelley is awesome and the best friend ever’ and I’ll stop.” The freckled woman bargains, still tickling you.

You could barely speak, as you were laughing so hard, but you manage to breath out the sentence. “You’re awesome and the best friend ever!”

With that, Kelley retracts her hands, and you catch your breath. “See, now was that so hard?” She jests.

“I hate you.” You scowl and pout, crossing your arms.

“No you don’t.” She sings, placing a sloppy kiss onto your cheek.

You feel your face warm at the gesture, as you playfully roll your eyes at your best friend. For the rest of the bus ride, the two of you make small conversation, just enjoying each other’s presence.

—————

Later that evening, as you were finishing up dinner, you hear a chime from your phone, and a text from your mom pops up on your screen.

Reading what your mom had sent you, you can’t help but chuckle. You reach out to nudge Kelley, who’s leaning over to ask Tobin something. As the defender is finishing her conversation, you continue to poke her side, wanting her attention.

“What do you want?” Kelley light-heartedly snaps, slapping your hands away.

“My mom texted. She’s gonna call me later and wants to talk to you.” You explain, waving your phone for her to see.

“Hah!” Kelley laughs, throwing her head back. “I knew I was (Y/M/N)’s favorite.”

“Shut up, Kel.” You roll your eyes and stick your tongue out at your best friend. “So, stop by around 8?” You look up and ask, as Kelley gets up from the table.

“I’ll be there.” She softly smiles and leans down to kiss the top of your head before leaving the room with Alex, Allie, Tobin, and Christen.

You go to finish your dinner, but before you could take another bite, you notice Julie smirking at you from across the table.

“What?” You tilt your head and put your fork down.

“You and Kelley are so cute.” She coos.

“Uh…thanks?” You furrow your eyebrows, taking a bite of your food.

“Have you two been dating since college or like when did you start dating?”

At that, you choke on your food. You cough and take a sip of water, as you try to regain your composure. “Kelley and I aren’t dating.” You sputter out.

“You’re not?” Julie frowns, and you shake your head. “Oh, sorry. I just assumed, seeing the way the two of you interact and how you look at each other.”

You feel a blush creeping up your neck and flushing your face. As you think back to the past several years of your friendship with Kelley, you couldn’t help but as yourself: did you have feelings for your best friend?

Noticing your silence and anxiousness, Julie softly speaks up. “(Y/N), I’m sorry. I did’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“No, J, you’re good.” You give her a small smile. “I think I’m gonna head up.” You stand up to clear your plate, your appetite suddenly gone.

“(Y/N/N),” The blonde midfielder calls after you, “you sure you’re good?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about me, J.” You nod, before you make your way up to your hotel room.

—————

You spend the next couple hours surfing the TV channels, overthinking, and pacing your room. Thank goodness Crystal was in Julie’s room, or else she’d definitely think you were having a mental crisis, which in a way you were. As you were scrolling through your Instagram feed, trying to distract yourself from your consuming thoughts, you hear a knock on your door. You glance at the clock and realize it’s almost 8 o’clock, meaning that that is probably Kelley.

Making your way to open the door, you hear a muffled shout from the other woman. “Hurry up, (Y/N/N)!” She knocks a couple more times.

“I’m coming, chill.” You mutter under your breath and swing open the door.

Kelley bursts through and skips right past you, jumping onto your bed. “So, what have you been up to?”

“Get your dirty feet off my bed.” You swat her legs, and she slips her shoes off. “Nothing much. Just been relaxing.”

“Chill.” She hums. “So, when’s your mom calling?”

You open your mouth, but before you could respond, your phone starts ringing. “Now, I guess.”

You tap the screen and put her on speaker phone. “Hey mom.”

“Hi, sweetie!” Your mom’s cheerful voice echos through the phone. “How’d the first day of camp go?”

“Pretty good. We had training earlier and some fitness testing.”

“Well, that’s fun.” You could practically hear your mom’s smile. Your parents had always been supportive of your decision to pursue soccer as a full time career, and you were extremely grateful. They would always come to your games and cheer you on, being the loudest ones in the stands. “Your father wanted me to tell you that he sent you some stuff for your apartment, and it should be arriving in Utah in a week or so.”

“Awesome, thanks. I’ll be sure to text him.”  

“Is Kelley there?”

“Hey Mama (Y/L/N)!” Kelley exclaims, leaning closer to your phone. “How are you?”

“I’m doing well, sweetie. How’ve you been?” Your mom coos.

“Good, good. Camps have been much better now that your daughter’s making a regular appearance.” The defender smirks, nudging you, and you can’t help but roll your eyes.

“Aw, Kel, you’re too sweet.” Your mom lets out a loud laugh. “Oh yeah! I wanted to tell you: my Beat Everybody sweatshirt came! I’ll have to send you a picture.”

You find yourself intently observing the freckled woman, as you listen to Kelley and your mom have a conversation, and it hits you like a truck. You were in love with your best friend.

Crap.

—————

The next day, you did your best avoiding Kelley, choosing a different passing partner and even going as far as switching bus seats. To say Kelley was utterly confused would be a massive understatement.

As she watches you slide into the seat next to Allie, she frowns and her brows furrow.

Alex sits down next to Kelley and pulls her earbud out. “Wanna tell me why (Y/N) asked me to switch seats with her? Did you two have a fight?”

“I don’t know! She’s been avoiding pretty much all day. She switched seats with Crystal on the way to training, didn’t talk to me at all during practice, and now this. I don’t know what happened or what I did.” Kelley whines, rubbing her forehead.

“Hmmm, I don’t know, Worms.” Alex frowns sympathetically at her friend and offers a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Maybe she just had a bad day or something, and doesn’t wanna talk about?” The forward offers.

“Maybe, but I’m her best friend. Why wouldn’t she come to me?”

“I couldn’t tell you, Kel. Just give her some space and let her come to you.” Alex suggests, and the defender nods.

“Yeah, alright. I can do that.” She whispers to herself. “Time and space.”

—————

Kelley had given you your time and space for the rest of yesterday and all morning, but she was starting to get anxious and frustrated. You were still avoiding her and didn’t even come to her room for your pregame ritual that you’d done for every game since you were in college.

You had once again asked one of your teammates to switch seats on the bus ride over to the stadium. Seeing you sitting with Julie just made Kelley angry, her patience worn thin. But she didn’t have time to grovel, as there was a game to be played, an important one at that versus Spain.

—————

It was about the 86th minute, and the game was tied 1-1, Alex scoring off an assist from Christen in the first half, and Jenni coming back early in the second half for an equalizer.

You watch, as Lindsey plays a diagonal ball out wide to Tobin, and you make a run to the top of the 18. Tobin does what she does best, splitting two defenders, and sends a high cross into the box. You sprint onto ball, the change of speed losing your defender. Jumping in the air, you connect your head with the ball and nod it down into the lower left-hand corner.

You throw your hands up, as Christen crashes into you for a bone crushing hug. Alex and Tobin join in for the group hug, patting you on the head. As you make your way up the field, back to center, your other teammates give you high-fives and side hugs.

You see Kelley approaching you, ready to do your traditional goal celebration. You give her a small smile, and the two of you do your secret handshake. No matter how confused or angry you were or if you were avoiding her, you would always do your secret handshake goal celebration, as it was a representation of your long lasting friendship and constancy in each other’s lives.

The game restarts, and for the last four minutes, plus two minutes of extra time, Spain frantically tries to score another equalizer. But they come up short, as the referee blows her whistle, signaling the end of the match and another USWNT victory.

The team crowds you, the subs sprinting from the sidelines, and celebrates with a giant group hug. A huge grin breaks out on your face, as Megan picks you up from behind.

“What a goal, (Y/N)! That’s what I’m talking about.” She exclaims, putting you down on the ground.

“Thanks, Megan.” You turn around, smiling.

After the team huddle, where Vlatko congratulates everybody on the win, you all head back to the locker room to shower and pack up.

Making your way onto the bus, you notice Kelley already sitting in her seat, occupied by something on her phone. You walk down the aisle and apprehensively take your place in your usual seat. Sensing your presence, Kelley looks up, surprised to see you seating next to her.

“Hey.” You say, nervousness leaking through your voice.

“Hi.” She whispers.

The two of you sit in an uncomfortable and unfamiliar silence between you, before Kelley breaks it.

“Can we talk when we get back to the hotel?”

You nod, not trusting words to come out of your mouth, and you go back to sitting in silence, the only noise coming from the rest of your teammates.

—————

Once you get back to the hotel, you follow Kelley up to her room. You each set down your bags and take a seat across from each other, one of you sitting on each bed.

“So what do you wanna talk about?” You ask, fidgeting with the hems of your sleeves.

“Really?” Kelley looks at you disbelievingly.

“What?”

“You really don’t know what I’m talking about?”

“Talking about? Kel, you haven’t said anything. Why are you so upset?”

“I haven’t said anything?!” Kelley stands up, waving her hands in the air frustratedly. “You’ve barley spoken to me for the past two days. It’s like you’ve been avoiding me. My best friend ignores pretty much my entire existence for two days, so yeah, that’s why I’m upset.”

You hang your head, ashamed of your actions, knowing there’s no way you could possibly explain your actions to her.

“You still have nothing to say?” Kelley laughs sarcastically. “Like what the hell, (Y/N)? You don’t talk to me, you ask our teammates to switch seats with you on the bus, and you just completely avoid me. Is this because I hogged your conversation with your mom? Because if it is, I’m sorry, but you could’ve just told me. Like what did I do wrong? Just tell me, (Y/N), because I can’t go any longer with you—”

You stand up and place both your hands on her cheeks, bringing her in for a kiss, effectively cutting off her rambling. Kelley doesn’t kiss back, too shocked by your actions, so you pull away, regret and embarrassment written across your face.

“I’m so sorry. I’ll just go.” You turn to leave and save yourself from embarrassing yourself even further, but Kelley grabs your wrist, pulling you back into her body, connecting your lips again.

You feel yourself melt into the kiss, as your lips move languidly against each other. Pulling away, you rest your forehead against hers and let out a watery laugh.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for almost eight years.”

“I’ve been wanting to do that since I took a body shot off of you at that frat party our sophomore year.” Kelley confesses.

“I really love you, Kel. Like I’m in love with you.” You whisper, a tear leaking down your cheek.

“I really love you, too, (Y/N/N).” She gently wipes the wetness from your face, as you move your hands to play with the baby hairs on the back of her neck. “Is that why you were avoiding me?”

“Mhm.” You nod, biting your lip. “And I am so sorry for doing that.” You remove yourself from her embrace, frustrated with yourself. “It’s just— Julie had assumed we were dating after watching us interact a couple of days ago at dinner, and it just made me think about my feelings. And I realized that I’m in love with you and have been for years, but you’re my best friend, so I was scared I was gonna lose you.” You look down at your feet, unable to meet the other woman’s eyes.

Kelley takes a few steps, so she’s now standing in front of you. “(Y/N), will you please look at me?”

You still refuse to look up, so Kelley puts her finger under your chin, lifting your head, your eyes meeting her green orbs.

“There she is.” The defender smiles, taking your hand in hers. “(Y/N), I understand, I really do, because I’ve felt the same way. I’ve loved you for so long, but I didn’t want to ruin our friendship, so I didn’t say anything. But I’m so glad that we’re here now because I can finally express all my love for you.” She kisses your forehead, and you close your eyes, wrapping your arms around her body.

“And I hope you know,” Kelley adds, “you’re never going to lose me, no matter what.”

“I love you, Kel.” Your eyes soft and full of love.

“I love you too, loser.” She pulls you closer into her body, as the two of you enjoy each other’s embrace.

Leaning your head against Kelley’s chest, you feel her chuckle. “What’s so funny?”

“Your mom is gonna have a field day.”

You giggle, a blush creeping up onto your cheeks. “Yeahhh, she’s been bugging and teasing me about my crush for years.”

“Ah, so that’s why I’m her favorite.” Kelley playfully boasts, and you slap her shoulder.

“Hey!” She grabs where you hit her. “That hurt!”

“No it didn’t.” You roll your eyes, as Kelley pouts with her best puppy-dog eyes. “Oh, stop it. You’re a big baby.”

“Yeah, but I’m your big baby?” She says hopefully.

“Hmmm,” you pretend to think, “only if you take me out on a proper date. Tomorrow after the match? Say, 8?”

“I think I can do that.” Kelley smirks, leaning down to kiss you, but you stop her with your finger against her lips.

“Hey, there. I don’t kiss before the first date.” You turn and grab your stuff.

“But—But what about before?” The freckled defender fumbles.

Now, it’s your turn to smirk. “Just think of that as making up for lost time. But no more freebies” You give her a wink. “See you later, Kel.”

You shut the door, leaving behind a stunned love-struck Kelley O’Hara. Before heading back to your own hotel room, you lean back against the door, soaking in all that just happened. You smile, feeling your heart explode.

How lucky you were to fall in love with your best friend.

[vodkassassin]

My dude, my gal, or maybe nonbinary pal (just to be sure, don't know your pronouns) you gave me the light, you have opened my eyes. All this ships I didn't know I needed and now can't get enough of. Your writing is a DELIGHT. For a prompt, how do SQH's disciples see him? What about the demons under MBJ? That one shot of LQG getting jealous of MBJ in which the underling backs away slowly means this isn't the first time that has happened right?

Thank you so much! It really makes me happy to hear that people enjoy reading my stuff. It’s half of what makes writing it so enjoyable for me. Another part I enjoy is how I seem to be dragging all you poor fools down with me into my shipping abyss of rare pairs. God bless.

I went with the demon perspective! Might do a disciple perspective next time? Idk. @quiensecomioelpie

—

As an agent of the Northern kingdom, Mao Liang is required to attend strategy meetings whenever they are present within the palace. Regardless of whether they had just returned from a long, grueling mission in the field only the day before, or not.

Luckily, there’s never that much attention brought to them, and Mao Liang is never expected to share their opinion or thoughts during the meeting, only directly to his majesty and the advisor afterwards. A relief, because if Mao Liang had to speak to the dozens of generals and high ranking soldiers and fellow agents that stand around the colossal, war room table alongside them… Well, that’s a crowd, isn’t it? If Mao Liang was forced to publicly speak, they might actually die.

Someone who doesn’t seem to ever have a problem with addressing a crowd of demons, though — be they gruff soldiers or generals or a glowering, looming king — is someone that is worth admiring.

Lord Shang pulls his furs around his shoulders more tightly, attention directed almost entirely on the maps sprawled out over the table they’ve all gathered around today. His head tilts toward the side just slightly, like a predator whose eyes have zeroed in on his prey, and Mao Liang has to fight the urge to shiver at the sight.

The odd twitches that they see in their fellow demons tells them that they, too, experience the same unease, so at least they’re not alone in this.

It was an odd thing, at first, to fear a human — much less a cultivator. In the beginning, as Lord Shang was just ascending into his climb for power in the Northern Kingdom, it had been something Mao Liang had been almost offended by. Just as any demon in their right mind would be, faced with such a slight, twitchy little thing, whose eyes rove to and fro as if they are a frightened animal. It screams of weakness, to any demon eyes.

Any demon that doesn’t already know better, at least.

Within the decade, however, it became clear that this feeling did, indeed, have its place in Mao Liang’s heart. That they were not experiencing a falsity. That Lord Shang, despite his diminutive appearance, is deserving of this respect, and not just because his majesty is so fond of him.

Not only is the cultivator powerful — Mao Liang still shudders in remembrance, whenever there is a storm in the sky strong enough to birth lightning — but he is conniving. He is intelligent to a terrifying degree. He is scarily efficient, productive, and reliable.

When Lord Shang says something will be done, it is done.

When Lord Shang says changes need to be made, they are made, no matter how many voices make their dissent known (nor how many idiots have, over the years, attempted something much more underhanded — they all fail, each and every one of them, and eventually the attempts were fewer and fewer, before just completely grinding to a halt).

If Lord Shang decides you are not fit for a position….

Well. In the beginning, he’d have just taken care of it himself. Through varying means, all of them increasingly terrifying, according to the rumors Mao Liang has heard over the years. Now, though…

Now, if Lord Shang decides someone has to go, the king himself is ever so obliging to make sure that it happens, often post haste.

So much power in the palm of a single person, even if he is an immortal master — it’s awe-inspiring.

So, Lord Shang indeed deserves the respect he commands from the heart of every Northern demon, and even those beyond their borders. However long it had taken them all to realize (and then accept), the state of the kingdom in recent years has been thriving more than it ever has in the past. Things haven’t been this good since perhaps the early golden age of the current Mobei Jun’s great and mighty ancestors. And they all know exactly who to credit that for.

“Here.”

Mao Liang startles, gaze snapping down to the map and zeroing in on where Lord Shang’s dainty (and deceptively powerful, mustn’t forget that) finger is tapping on an outlined enemy outpost.

“Eliminate them, first.” Lord Shang says.

“Ah — my lord?” One of the generals hedges awkwardly, tone coming out rather flat in his attempt not to offend — as it happens with most demons, their accents when speaking the common language does not leave a lot of room for niceties and polite speech. It’s caused a lot of scares with Lord Shang, where the demons under his attention are never certain if they’re about to get banished from the kingdom or executed by the king (which would be a mercy, certainly).

Mao Liang winces, covering it up by clenching their jaw tightly and eyeing the general who spoke from the corner of his eye, as Lord Shang turns his attention directly upon him.

The general is standing ramrod straight, shoulders stiff and brow pinched, when the advisor’s aquamarine gaze cuts to him. The demal shouldn’t have spoken up at all.

“What is it?” Lord Shang asks, pleasantly. Mao Liang feels a shiver wrack their spine.

Lord Shang is always pleasant, right up until he isn’t. It’s when he isn’t, that one has to watch out for oneself. But it’s ever so difficult to know when that caution is required, because Lord Shang is unpredictable, in a sense.

It takes a lot to truly and irreparably offend the honorable advisor. The last one who had…

They’re still scraping the poor guy’s innards off the wall of that conference hall, Mao Liang is pretty sure.

“That outpost…” the General begins, haltingly. He eyes the peak lord hesitantly, searching the neutral mask for any sign of displeasure, before continuing. “It’s not very important in the grand scheme of things, my lord. The enemy does not particularly value it. To expend our forces on its destruction would, I believe, be a waste of our resources at this time.”

There. Succinct and to the point. Mao Liang cranes their head around to peer at the advisor, who stands at the head of the table.

In the shadow of his majesty’s great bulk and dark glower (which is currently directed at the silently sweating General, poor demal), Lord Shang looks so much smaller than he actually is. Almost breakable. Non-threatening.

Mao Liang has never heard a more hilarious joke in their life. Non-threatening, their ass.

“You would think so, wouldn’t you?” And oh, there is cheer injected into the advisor’s voice, now. Mao Liang watches in fascination as the general visibly cringes. “Ah, but that’s where you’d be wrong, General Peng! You see, this particular outpost actually is rather important, especially to our enemy. They’d just like for us to think that it isn’t. The larger outpost, here?”

Lord Shang sweeps his hand across the map to the larger outline that’s much closer to the Northern borders.

“That seems more of a threat to us, just like you pointed out earlier. And I agree, it does seem that way — however, this larger outpost is only a decoy. A red herring, if you will. It’s larger and more heavily manned specifically to distract us from this smaller outpost over here.”

General Peng flinches minutely, having his own contribution to the meeting so effortlessly and nonchalantly thrown back into his face as only an incorrect assumption rather than a logical deduction. He doesn’t speak, though, even to ask the advisor where he’d gotten such information from.

No one ever asks Lord Shang how he knows something. Everyone knows that if Lord Shang knows something, then he just knows it, and you are to trust it, because he is never, ever wrong.

It is frightening enough, having the advisor of the king know your name, personally, without you ever having introduced yourself to him. Small, meaningless facts about you, the names of your family, where your clan ancestral ritual grounds are (something that no demon tells anyone outside their own clan, upon pain of death. And having that just thrown out there in casual conversation? Terrifying.). What you had been doing, while undercover, just the week before….

Mao Liang’s first meeting with the Peak Lord Shang had been memorable, to say the least. They had come out of it with a very, very healthy fear and respect for the man, of course. Ask any demon in the Eternal Winter Palace — hell, any demon in the damn kingdom itself — and they would tell you the same.

“It’s this outpost we have to worry about.” Lord Shang is saying, tapping once again on the smaller outline. “It’s the center of their operations. Everything that actually matters is hidden underneath it. It is absolutely crucial that those of you in the field ensure that it will no longer be a problem. You should take, I’d say, around three platoons.”

Mao Liang glances down at the outline. The outpost is tiny, nestled into the belly of a valley. Just looking at it, they would guess there are only perhaps a thousand demons in total guarding the place. Sending in six thousand soldiers to take it out is a bit of overkill.

But, then again, if the real operations are all happening underground, concealed….

General Peng’s lips thin into a pale line. Then, the demal nods in acceptance. “If Lord Shang says so.”

“I do,” Lord Shang says, quietly, not even lifting his gaze back up from the map, staring down at where his own finger is pressed to the outpost.

General Peng’s entire face goes pale.

Before anything else can happen, like Lord Shang going completely silent and unhelpful (It’s happened in the past, Lord Shang deciding that they no longer required his advice, if they were so certain of their own (always subpar) intelligence on the matter. His majesty’s ire, in response, had been absolutely brutal on everyone even peripherally involved. Mao Liang had been lucky enough to not have been in attendance at that particular meeting, but they’d heard stories.)— before anything like that could happen, the king himself decided that enough is enough.

Mobei Jun shoves off the table and sends them all a sharp glare.

“Well,” his majesty says, powerful voice expanding into the air and filling the cavernous war room like it was something material. “You have your orders. What else do you want? Get out.”

As they all scramble to their feet and head for the door, Mao Liang is at the forefront. They hate tactical meetings. They’d rather be on the field. Or in their quarters, sleeping. Or in their quarters, reading. Anywhere that other people are not. This meeting has already drained their meager energy levels to almost nothing. It’s nap time. It’s nap time.

“Mao Liang,” Mobei Jun’s voice calls, and they fall to an abrupt stop just before the doors. “Stay behind.”

Demons, generals and soldiers and even fellow agents, stream past them, and they quietly despair. Fuck! They’d been so close!

They turn, and step back to the table. They execute a bow, working to keep any expression off their face entirely — especially when Lord Shang smiles at them. Oh, ancestors.

“There’s a mission that requires the best counter-intelligence agent that we have,” Lord Shang begins, as flattering as ever, and Mao Liang knows immediately that they’re in for a lot of work. Dammit. “Here, follow me. There’s no reason to do this in such a drafty, echoing hall. I’ll debrief you on the way to the kitchens.”

Ah! Mao Liang hasn’t eaten since yesterday! And from the glimmer in Lord Shang’s eye as the man smiles, he knows it too.

Another thing about Lord Shang, that Mao Liang particularly admires, is how the man cares, despite everything else. If you ever work directly underneath Lord Shang, you can always be absolutely certain that he will look out for you.

In the Northern Kingdom, there is no place safer.

[lavenderbexlatte]

Hello!!! Welcome to 🦋 anon's probably-way-too-overthought analysis on the m&m series in light of the new part. I have stopped crying and had about 24 hours to think, and I have discovered I have many thoughts, and this will probably be way more detailed than it should be.

The first thing I would like to address are some of the accusations Chan made at the end of the most recent part. (While I understand that they're supposed to not quite be accurate because of their obvious root in insecurity, and a lot of what I'm saying may just be like "yeah, obviously," I still would like to tell at the character a bit but I can't so this is what I have.)

Claim #1: "You fucking came at us at that party with your little girl-dom agenda and the guys fell for it, hook line sinker!"

This one's fairly self explanatory, no she didn't. They literally came onto her, even him, with his "There’s that pretty blush," and "Whatever you want it to be," lines. (And while yes, it's very likely that he was just trying to play it cool, but there's no way she could've known that, I'll come back to this later.)

Claim #2: "Nobody fucking asked me what I wanted!" "Nobody asked if I was sure that I wanted…"

Also mostly false, but he does have a tiny bit of a point. Yes, reader did grab his hair without asking, which is a little iffy, but she didn't actually rough with him until he goads her on. But I would argue that the reader is actually the ONLY one who asks him what he wants, if he's okay with things. While there may have been a little bit of discussion on the decision to approach the reader that we didn't see because of perspective (him saying this is kind of telling me that there wasn't, or at the very least not enough, maybe even some pressure for this to be the moment), or maybe Changbin said something while reader is with Jisung on the couch, after that, we don't see Jisung and Changbin check in with him at ALL, and there's not really an opportunity any other time for it just not have been noticed by the reader. As his partners, and the ones in the situation who have the full knowledge of Chan's situation, it should've been their responsibility to make sure he was alright throughout the process, even if they're not the ones in control for this situation, ESPECIALLY if they're going to keep this information from their Domme for the night (which really, I would say, wasn't a good idea, but no one is required to out themselves so I'll leave it alone).

HOWEVER, the reader does check with him, several times. She asks for boundaries/hard limits/etc before they even start anything, and while again, he's not required to say "hey, having a sexuality crisis, first time with a girl, kinda nervous," and he may not want to tip off Jisung and Changbin that something's wrong, that would be the time to say something like "I'm not feeling anything rough tonight, if you could be gentler that would be great." She asks them if there's anyone that doesn't actually want to fuck her. Also, she implements a safeword system (which she specifically calls him out to make sure he's okay with), which they weren't even going to USE, and asks them at least twice throughout the scene for their color, and Chan specifically if he's okay at least two more times besides that. Actually Chan almost makes fun of her for asking so many questions, so I think this claim is just another part of his insecurity-fed delusion that she's conspiring to ruin his life, or something, but again I'll come back to that. My point is that despite being the only one who doesn't know his situation, reader is also the only one who checks in with him.

There are a few other things he said that I took issue with, but those are the main two.

Next; Chan's delusion that reader is like conspiring to ruin his life. (Really like how you depicted this by the way, though I may be thinking wayyy too far into this.) I remember watching some video when I had one of my mental health/disorders hyperfixations. The video was about schizophrenia, and while I definitely don't think Chan has schizophrenia, one of the things the video talked about was types of delusions, and this kind of reminded me of one of them. I don't remember what it's called, but it's basically a delusion based around one idea, and then you force the world around you to fit into that idea. One example of this that I can think of is Azula from ATLA. Towards the end of her arc in the TV series, she starts seeing hallucinating her mother everywhere, and you get a peek of her fixed belief that her mother is behind everything that has gone wrong in her life, which is expanded upon a little bit in the books. Obviously Chan's not experiencing delusion to the extent that she did, but I did see some (albeit much less intense) parallels that were interesting. See, if he only talked about how his boyfriends seemed to like the reader more than him, that would be one thing, but he brings up his mother as well, which even though they did speak, it's a little out there to say that your mother likes someone she's talked to once more than you. That, combined with his insisting that the reader is playing some sort of game makes me think of that a little.

Of course this was only at first, when I was like "wtf, where is this 'my boyfriends like you more than me' thing coming from?" And then I reread the first few parts for this monstrosity of an ask that I'm writing rn. While at first I thought that this was entirely out of left field, when I read through the first few parts, especially the second one, with the knowledge that he felt that way, I noticed a few things you had put in there.

For the majority of the scene, or at least the first good chunk, the reader deals with Jisung and Changbin alone, leaving Chan by himself to watch. Obviously, as we see the reader's perspective, we know that it's because she found Chan's attitude intriguing and wanted to be able to deal with that one on one (at least that's what I got from it), it's easy to see now how to someone who's already insecure about their relationship and themselves, that would read as someone replacing you. Especially when Jisung, with no ill intent, but still, outright rejects his help in favour of the reader, and once again, he is left out, only this time it's accompanied with the sting of knowing (or at least feeling) that your partner didn't want you involved.

Now I kinda want to go character by character, and idk, talk about what I think they did wrong? We'll see, I'm not going to edit this so here we go.

Jisung and Changbin : Honestly, looking back on 3racha's first encounter with the reader, they really should have done better as Chan's partners. Like I said earlier, as the ones who knew Chan's situation, and the ones who likely pressured him slightly into he whole ordeal, it was really their responsibility to make sure Chan was okay with everything that was going on. That, and them feeling the need to sneak around with reader behind Chan's back doesn't sit right with me. I get that they have an open relationship, but there's a difference between having an open relationship and hooking up with someone your partner doesn't like, and actively trying to hide that you're hooking up with them. Their relationship boundaries may be fine with that, but idk, something feels off about it.

(I couldn't figure out where to put this and you may have already addressed this but it's my little theory/headcanon that Chan actually suspected it was reader at Jisung's place, and when there wasn't anyone there, he kinda gaslighted himself afterwards, idk. With the new knowledge it feels likely.)

Also, knowing that they were together for a while before Chan joined the relationship I think explains so much about the communication issues they seem to have with him. While I do think Chan has trouble communicating his feelings about things, I think their established communication and knowing eachother really well doesn't help. I may just be making things up at this point, but I feel like they have trouble with communication with Chan specifically, maybe forgetting that he doesn't have the same time/experience thy have with each other? If that makes sense?

Chan : oh boy. I've gone into a lot of detail already, so I'll try to keep this brief. Obviously, I think he has a looooottt of insecurity he needs to work through. If I were reallllyyy analyzing this I would say maybe a past cheating partner(?), but unless that's relevant to the plot I'm not sure if that's just me reading too much into this. Also mentioned before, COMMUNICATION ISSUES. One thing that would prevent half of the issues with this series is Chan communicating with his partners, though I suppose that wouldn't be near as much fun to read. Or just communicating I'm general, like I said, he had a plethora of opportunities to communicate to reader if he wanted something different, and didn't. So, yeah. Honestly I think he causes most of his own problems, but I feel like we knew that.

Reader : Now. I spent most of this series completely on the reader's side. Last night after reading part six, I was like "oh my god. He's right!" But then I took a while and thought a lot about it (as you can see), and honestly, I think reader probably did the least wrong out of everyone. Yes, the hair thing was a little iffy, like I said earlier, but once I went back and realized that he was actively participating and egging her on, I don't think that's necessarily something she did wrong. Beyond that, she did the most in regards of communication (at least during sex, after is another story), even more than the partners themselves. I think she did the best she could with the information that was given to her. She saw three guys approach her as a unit, and while yes, she didn't ask before engaging with Chan, I don't think it's really her fault for assuming that they were all interested as a unit as well. She had no reason to question any of their sexualities, why would she? She sees three partners approach her in unison, why wouldn't she assume they were on the same page? Anyway, all that to say, I think reader is the most innocent of all the main characters so far, though I may feel different after sitting on this for more time.

Anyway, here's this unedited brain dump, loved the new part, enjoy. Or not ig - 🦋

i've been sitting on this for like a week bc it's just so long and amazing??? and i have no idea what to say?? 🥺🥺

the bit about chan having a sort of delusion that reader is out to ruin his life in a pointed, conspired way is VERY interesting. their dynamic is actually something that i pulled from myself, in a way. i'm really superstitious about dumb things. i hate, like, bumping into someone or accidentally saying something that hurts someone's feelings bc i know that that karma/vibe/intention (whatever you wanna call it, i'm not spiritual just paranoid) is gonna come back around.

reader is the opposite. she's just walking around doing things and thinking about herself, and then being shocked when there are equal and opposite reactions to the stuff she does. i overthink everything, so reader doesn't think nearly enough.

but lemme say

that the best thing you said is how jisung and changbin are absolutely not the innocent bystanders that everyone seems to think they are 🤐🤐 most readers LOVE those two. but think about it...what are they trying to accomplish, here? 👀

[honestlyfrance]

first lines

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. Then tag 10 of your favorite authors!

thank you so much @buckyrhodey for the tag!! miss youu 💕

idk what were my last stories so i went deep for these hehe, mostly a mix of published and wips

1. A Better Starry Night (sam/bucky ; horror)

The sky was silent. There’s a thundering crack from down the horizon, heads turning down by the mountainside. It seems to be approaching — faster now.

2. the sweetest tragedy (sam/bucky; mcd) - def a fave of mine!

It's a goddamn tragedy, it's what it is. You love him but he's leaving, high on euphoria with a rank under his name, you're going to lose him in every universe and there's nothing you could do about it.

3. to cease intimacy (sam/bucky ; first date) - this makes me yearn till this day

It's that moment when your heart hitched in your throat and you're unable to breathe freely, feeling asphyxiation nipping at your veins, it’s like you know that your heart was too full of emotion to function right, too much love that sends your heart running a marathon. It was a good feeling, a blissful moment, yet there was that betrayal within it that makes you question your feelings over and over again because there’s that one question running through your head: “Why is it him?” but it’s all good, everything’s peachy-keen because you don’t have to hide it anymore — you had to show it now, however, and that was a wave of dread coming all at once.

4. hug infinitely (sam/bucky ; protective!bucky)

It’s only a fact that you can’t protect who you love from every little inconvenient thing. You can’t fix every crack in the world just so you could breathe easy thinking your love wouldn’t trip. You also can’t make the sun go away so your love can’t get a sunburn on your nice little beach date. It’s miserable thinking that the world just has it’s ways to hurt your love, but that’s reality, and to have it bother you so much, it’s only a tragedy in three acts.

5. falling in love against gravity (sam/bucky ; sam centric) - i loved exploring sam’s experience with flying in this one

Falling was a violent act. You’ll trust the fall with intent so dangerous it’s almost like a kiss with death, and you’ll love it. You’ll love how you can fall backward and have a night with death. You’ll love how you could close your eyes and never open them again. Yet, you fly instead somehow. You fall then you fly, defying the law of gravity.

6. pine (wip name) (sam/bucky/steve ; thirst tweet acc)

The thing is, it didn't happen suddenly at all. They had mulled it all over, understood the risks and consequences. It's dangerous work, and there's no assurance that they'll make it out with their dignity, but what the hell. The 21st century needed more of Captain America and the Winter Soldier pining over the Falcon; let them be.

7. (wip name after mutual heh) (sam/bucky)

Little boys growing up in grand houses and ocean views are the kind of boys who would like adventure, the kind of boys who would yearn for the woods, and cozy little cabins in farms. Instead, December comes and they grow up smoking like chimneys in winter. Yes, little boys grow up and move into cities with blinking white lights, but they always come back seeking adventure.

8. death speaks (they called it kindness) (sam/bucky ; sam centric ; wip)

They say death aches like a motherfucker. Sam Wilson presses on it like a bruise, wanting to feel something before the sensation leaves his senses. He’ll ache for it, flawlessly manipulating it, and sooner or later, he’ll resurface and regret every single bruise he’d made. They say death licks all the wounds of the forgotten faces away, but to Sam, it’s just unforgivable.

9. milkshakes in two (sam/steve/bucky ; stucky fight for sams luv ; wip)

Truth is, love comes in many forms, but the form of a fist fight at a parking lot in three in the goddamn morning, like a modern-day Achilles versus Hector except they both leave with a cut under the eye and a broken nose instead of, you know, a bloody corpse, is just as romantic as leaving cute sticky notes around the house for them to see. It’s even more romantic if they noticed it, but sometimes a romantic gesture such as a fist fight between two supersoldiers need to tilt towards the murder part of Troy before a certain Falcon could notice.

10. field of flowers (sam/bucky fatws drabble 1x03)

When you look into Sam Wilson’s eyes, maybe you might see something surreal. Maybe something you shouldn’t have seen in the first place. After all, the eyes are the window to the soul, wouldn’t it be quite intrusive to look at him so bare?

(yall know my damn first lines are chunky paragraphs long so more below 🥰 )

11. love sweeter than candy, cavities to the heart (sam/bucky) 

It’s not that Sam despised the idea of it, in fact, he breathes it in like cocaine, feeling the rush and instant fall of his senses, and maybe it’s not actually drugs to him but maybe something milder, like, a kiss, one that is so slow and soft that it makes him scream at the deprivation, making himself aware of how desperate he just was about touch, literally any sort of touch, but then again, it’s Sam we’re talking about; suppressed and no-nonsense, he couldn’t possibly want something so good like some cliche grand romantic gesture that is too cheesy for its own good, and maybe it’s for the best that he keeps quiet about this want because it’s not like he gets it every day.

12. Partners (sam/bucky)

It was in the bathroom of a safe house that Sam Wilson finds himself bandaging himself up. There was a small gash on his forearm from the afternoon before; it ran down from below his shoulder blade to above his elbow, but it wasn’t as deep as it should be, just looking quite raw but wouldn’t need any serious stitching.  He’s been washing the same spot with clean water from the faucet for the past solid half hour, the sound of water gushing echoing in the tiny bathroom.

13.  oranges in october (sam/bucky) - this one!! this!!

You’d think that just because he had wings and he flies, that makes him an Icarus. Icarus fell to his death. He did not resurface, he did not live beyond that power. Sam Wilson soared high into the missiles of war and came back battered and red, dripping love and death as he stands in the aftermath of it all. You think he was an Icarus when he was actually Apollo. Anyone who gets close to him falls to the ocean waves, then sooner than later, he’s left singing eulogies as his heart rattles in a cage.

14.  It Rains Every April 10th (sam/bucky; mcd) - this too! ive been told by someone that this was the most accurate desc of depression theyve seen

Depression hits like a wave on a cliffside — sometimes you see it coming, sometimes you didn’t see it, and sometimes you just let it happen. It sometimes gnaws at your skin, always there, but more of a ghostly hand hovering over you; there’s that presence but you think you don’t have enough proof to prove it existed. Times like these you try your best to move but you become unmotivated, absolutely immobile except for the moments your body decides to exhaust itself for unrelated things you shouldn’t be doing. It takes a toll on you you wouldn’t even realize, and even then, who else realized it? You’re just tired. You don’t cry. You’re just tired.

15. to hold dear (sam/bucky)

Bucky Barnes didn’t want a lot of things. He’s got a really low bar of standards now, even just waking up without a threat on his life counts as a win. He doesn’t even mind if there wasn’t any more soap in the bathroom; he’s just glad he’s got a shower in the first place. Breakfast? God, he’s just glad that he could walk around a house with his guard let down.

i have no more (:

tagging: @enchanted-lightning-aes @siancore @pianistwriter80 @glittercake @lesbians-love-samwilson @mariahthelioness29 @rhodeslabs @lovelyirony :)

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

And the second half of chapter 13, covering the actual USJ introduction and the beginning of the villain attack that will go on to shape the rest of the series. 

[No. 13 - Rescue Training]

Image Description: Universal Studios Japan, c. 2250 AD or something IDK.

...no wait, it’s not? Damn, my bad. At least I’m not the only one to make that mistake. Still, the place if fucking HUGE, lookit how tiny the kids are there at the top of the stairs.

But seriously, I feel like this layout is different from what’s shown in the anime? 

Yeah, I was right, the layout is adjusted in the anime. Not, like, completely changed up or anything, but it’s a noticeable difference. I suppose it’s related to the differences between a static medium and a dynamic one…

The kids are all wondering if this is Universal Studios Japan. Thirteen speaks up, pointing out several of the zones - flood, landslide, conflagration - before mentioning that the place has every disaster and accident imaginable. She then states he built the facility himself, and that she calls it the ‘Unforeseen Simulation Joint’... or USJ for short. 

(While the translation here uses male pronouns for Thirteen, the original Japanese uses neutral language here, erog the translators having to guess. But the most recent databook confirms Thirteen as female, as does the fact that the English dub was told to use a female cast for her by the Japanese anime studio, so. I’m rolling with the official databook on this one, in case you’re confused at the mismatch in pronoun use between me and the manga.)

Izuku and Ochako continue to prove to be perfectly in tune with one another:

Can’t believe she’s out-excited Midoriya ‘hero nerd first, human being third’ Izuku when it comes to a hero. Truly shows how much she admired Thirteen. 

Anyways, Aizawa asks where All Might is, since he was meant to meet them there. Thirteen mentions that he seems to have reached his limit during his morning commute, while holding up three fingers - ergo, right now the hero is resting in the break room. We get a brief flashback to the call Toshinori made, apologizing and saying he’ll try to show up near the end of the exercise. Aizawa grumbles about it being the height of irrationality, then says they should get started while thinking they should be on guard just in case.

Before they begin, however, Thirteen wants to discuss a few points. She brings up how her quirk, Black Hole, can suck in and tear apart anything. Izuku brings up how it’s been used to save people in all sorts of disasters, while Ochako is just vibing at high speed.

Truly, she and Izuku are soulmates. Thirteen agrees, but then goes on to explain how her power could kill easily - and that she has no doubt that there are some among the class with similar abilities. Interesting that in this frame, Katsuki is centered, even while standing behind Izuku and Ochako.

Both Izuku and Katsuki are more directly destructive, but I think Ochako and Kirishima, the other two really in panel here, also have quirks that can harm as well, if in less direct and obvious ways. Perhaps a nod to how any quirk can be dangerous?

Thirteen goes on to explain how the used of quirks is heavily restricted and monitored, and that while the system might seem stable, they must never forget that it only takes one wrong move with an uncontrollable quirk for people to die. All of this is explained over a cinematic shot of some idyllic city, and I can’t help but wonder whether this is the city that eventually will be known as Jakku. Or perhaps this is Kamino?

Anyways, the speech continues. Aizawa’s physical fitness test helped the students learn their own hidden potential, and All Might’s battle training let them experience the danger their quirks can pose to others. This class, however, is meant to show them a new perspective - how to use their quirks to save lives. Their powers are not meant to inflict harm. 

Thirteen concludes their speech with their hope that the students leave the USJ with the understanding that they are meant to help people. They bow and thank the students for listening, and, well.

Get yourself a squad like this.

Aizawa takes over, starting to speak about what they’ll be doing first, only to cut off as a swirl of darkness appears in the plaza behind and below him. He notices immediately, turning to look as the darkness opens up into a portal, a hand peeking out from the center.

(Kind of makes me think about Dr. Strange’s portals from the MCU? Or, well, maybe the comics, since I don’t think the movie was out yet.)

And so our main villain shows up.

Terrifying! :D

Izuku’s narration notes that ironically, the villains appeared before them during their rescue training. Meanwhile, Aizawa shouts at the class to huddle up and not move, with the class staring in confusion. He then tells Thirteen to protect the students, all while more villains stream in through the now massive dark portal, its glowing eyes menacing.

Kirishima asks what’s happening, and whether those down below are battle robots like in the exam. Aizawa tells them not to move again as he pulls his goggles over his eyes, declaring the enemies as villains. 

You expect me to believe those aren’t freaking nomu as well???? I. What.

The shadow starts to condense again and speak, identifying Thirteen and then, after a brief pause, Eraserhead as well. It then mentions that according to the staff schedule it received, All Might was supposed to be there. Aizawa identifies the shadow(?) as the cause of ‘that whole incident’, which I only just grocked to refer to the break-in the day before.

The guy with the hands all over (heretofore referred to as ‘that bitch’ or, more commonly, ‘Shigaraki’) asks where All Might is, and that they’ve come all this way and brought so many playmates, before again asking if All Might is here. This is probably meant to mockingly refer to All Might’s ‘I Am Here’ at the end, if that wasn’t blindingly obvious to everyone else.

Izuku’s narration comes up again, noting that the class learned (that day) what the pros are up against, what they face in the field - evil unleashed. Alongside this, we see that bitch Shigaraki wondering whether some dead kids will bring All Might to them, while Aizawa leaps into the fray with his scarf floating, and the class watches on in fear.

And that concludes chapter 13! What a marvelous introduction to our primary antagonist of the series, like, the anime does not do that creep level justice in the least. Next time, we begin the fun process of traumatizing school children! :D