#sorry to interrupt your regular programming lol

[prince-liest]

Omg, I just wanted to say I ADORE your characterization of Al and Vox! I don't even have the words to express how much I love reading your stuff, especially the Anon responses you post on here. The behind the scenes thoughts are literally my food, lifesource, its so good when people not only write characters IN CHARACTER, but also include stuff about their analysis/understanding of the character too.. I'm literally obsessed with breaking down characters and yk, cracking their chrome domes open to see how they work (which admittedly, I am not the best at <_< but I love reading them). Just wanted to say how much I love your writing. I had maybe 2 questions, please don't feel pressured to answer them :>

What in your mind (in reference to the 66.6 fics) would motivate Alastor to let Val get close to him in the first place? Or was that more you picking these two characters up by the scruff of their necks and plopping them into a hypothetical scenario to explore their character and write some fun intimate thingsTM?

What do you think of the dynamic of Vox and Al vs something like Lucifer and Al? Personally I've noticed that something Alastor craves, behind the mask of his static smiling persona, is attention. He's (at least how I saw it) usually peeved when people don't care about his absence, and seems especially bothered by the King of Hell refusing to really acknowledge him, so he goes out of his way to push Lucifers buttons (like calling himself a father figure to Charlie, IN FRONT OF HER ACTUAL FATHER LOL) whereas with Vox, Vox is literally CONSTANTLY thinking about Alastor. Man literally interrupted his regular TV program to do a segment about how much he totally didn't at ALL care about Alastors dissapearance or the fact that he returned (suree buddy). So Alastor can have more fun with him and annoy him by ignoring and messing with him on purpose.

ty if you do respond to this, sorry if it was hard to understand, sometimes I forget how to put the thoughts in my brain into coherent words!

Ahhhh, thank you very much, anon! I'm especially happy that you're enjoying my commentary on Tumblr, haha - I spent a while on Twitter because that's where all the fandom zines I was in were being hosted, but nothing beats Tumblr for giving me a nigh-unlimited word count and a captive audience for my rambling! >:D <3 I'm back to cocooning myself on the OG hell site.

Thank you for this ask, it really brightened my day! :D

As for your questions:

1. I'm assuming that was a typo and that you mean Vox (but in case you did mean Val: that was just a funny accident of him walking by the room! Alastor wasn't paying enough attention until it was too late), and to that I say:

I think Alastor allows Vox to take a go at him in canon because he finds Vox's obsession with him to be entertaining, but also because Alastor is kind of a narcissist and that same obsession massively feeds his ego, especially in a political climate that otherwise forgot about Alastor. Vox's whole "Who gives a shit about Alastor coming back?! Haha, now let me have a public meltdown and short out power to the whole city about it! Oh, fuck, why is he back, though?? Can we send a spy in to find out??" is exactly the reaction that Alastor wants every time he mentions his mysterious absence and gets brushed off.

At the same time, Alastor doesn't seem to register Vox as a sincere and genuine threat. He's a big enough fish in the Pride Ring pond that his obsession with Alastor is gratifying, but Alastor's self-absorption also doesn't really allow him to treat Vox as a threat tier above "annoying in a funny way, and also television is stupid." (Perhaps this will change in season 2... :eyes: (or perhaps Alastor will get Even Worse) (please god let him get even worse))

So those two things in combination make Vox the perfect candidate for Alastor to experiment with while maintaining his ego and not feeling particularly threatened. Despite Vox's Safeword 101 talk, Alastor would never put stock into that system with Vox unless he was certain that he himself would be able to back up a 'no' with overwhelming force. Him even considering safewords in the Live On Air! series is less for his own sake and more a politesse he offers on Vox's request to warn Vox to slow the fuck down before Alastor tries to put his insides on the outside.

2. And in direct contrast, we have Lucifer...

... Who Alastor obviously actually cares quite a bit about, because he's a whole nother power tier from both Vox and Alastor, and furthermore and possibly even more importantly, a credible threat to Alastor's relationships and standing in the hotel. I think a lot of discussion I see about Alastor prodding Lucifer seems to talk about how quickly he got annoyed about Lucifer's comments, but that misses the fact that he was pissed off before Lucifer even showed up. He got pissy the moment he saw the welcome sign, actually! And I wager that he was narratively absent for the scene where Charlie actually calls Lucifer because he would have done his best to manipulate her out of doing so had be been there.

And given that the two clearly haven't met before (though obviously Alastor knows of Lucifer - and hates that the inverse isn't true, hah), it's not 100% clear exactly why he's immediately so annoyed, but in my personal view of things and barring something like "he's projecting onto Lucifer because his contract is with Lilith," I think that what we know of Alastor's personality points most strongly to "he liked being the hotel's benefactor and sees it as His Project, and doesn't like the idea that Charlie called daddy for something that she thought mysterious, powerful Alastor couldn't handle." He distracts a lot with obviously-goading comments about practically being Charlie's dad in his duet with Lucifer, but underneath that he puts a lot of emphasis on the work he's done for the hotel and the fact that he's been supporting Charlie and the hotel from the start, so why the fuck is this deadbeat asshole suddenly turning up?!

Tl;dr: Charlie missed her insight roll on Alastor's personal investments and he's sooooo offended - and taking it out on Lucifer!

I think one of my favorite things about both Lucifer and Alastor is that they both sooo obviously belong in the Pride Ring, hahaha.

[goosefilms]

apologies for the 90s ralph posts interrupting the regular top gun and mash program but unfortunately it WILL continue

( also hi all the ralph accounts i follow sorry if i like all of your posts lol )

[robobrainmurdermysterytheatre]

Scrolling the ol’ dash today I saw at least a couple of reblogs about organizing writing IDK if it was from the same person or if several people are struggling with this because IT IS A STRUGGLE. I started out my now 85k word fanfic (which is still a rough draft still and honestly probably will be for all time and eternity but it’s fun to write) in Google Docs. When I got to about 30-40k-ish words I was struggling because I write things out of order. I jump into the middle of the meaty action and messy feelings and figure out the rest. Or I’m working on an earlier chunk of the story and I’m like - I can fit in a callback to this in this other scene in the future, let’s go back and add that. Since its a Fallout 76 fanfic sometimes I’m playing the game and end up a place or do a quest and I go “Fuck! I know what my story needs now! Right in the middle of these two scenes I’ve already written!”

So, belated announcement, I got a new job a little while ago and I work with authors. Big career change to go from school custodian to what I’m doing now, lol. I love it and I’m happy. ANYWAY, one of my clients mentioned Scrivener. So I asked @thuumwrestler​, who has an actual whole college degree and a novel in progress and is a real writer, what they thought about Scrivener. They said the learning curve for it wasn’t worth it and in my research I found out you have to pay money for it. Pfft.

So I googled free alternatives to Scrivener because *all* I wanted to do was to be able to divide up the story so I can easily find the different sections of it and add, move, do whatever to those different chunks easily. I decided to try SmartEdit Writer as a starting point to compare the different programs I found and got it right on the first try!

LOOK AT THIS:

This is only like a third of the story, if that, hence why I really needed this lol.

So, the way it’s intended to be used is each folder is a chapter and each page is a scene. I don’t have chapters, just vague chunks. My “scenes” are sometimes like 1-5 page scenes, but I have at least 1 that’s a 10k word chunk probably closer to a chapter because I started something and couldn’t stop for 3 days. You can leave notes like you see above - I have a note for “Treehouse Town” because I needed to remind myself I need to actually write that part because I skipped it over to get to the next part.

When you���re writing in it, it works just like any word processor. Another cool feature is you can open multiple scenes in tabs and flip between them:

VERY helpful when I’m referencing something from another scene.

There’s WAY more functionality to it than what I use it for. You can keep track of research and notes in it’s own separate little window.

It’s not a resource hog on your computer. I tried to put the 40k word version of my fic into LibreOffice and froze my poor lightweight little laptop. I never have a problem loading the story up fast at 80k words in this. It’s also software on my computer, not in the cloud like Google Docs so I can take my laptop wherever and write, if I have internet problems, I can still write.

When you’re done (or to create a backup) you can export the whole thing as one file!

I also got @thuumwrestler​ to use it and they approve!

I wish I was getting paid to plug this but I am just really delighted and wanted to share how helpful it was to me in case other people are struggling!

You can check it out here: https://www.smart-edit.com/Writer/

[chilligyu]

info: im jaebum/reader, teen+, strangers to lovers au genre: soft angst, romance | word ct: 5.1k warnings: suggestive themes summary: for years, jaebum tried to forget the woman who broke his heart. little did he know that she wasn’t so easily forgotten, and that her face would haunt him at every turn. note: so I started this three years ago after listening to got7′s face for the first time and I’ve been editing it and forgetting it ever since. lol maybe someone will enjoy it

“Jaebum, I’m sorry.”

Okay.

“I really am.”

Okay.

“Please understand—”

Okay.

“Jae? Don’t just stand there.”

Okay.

“Please—please say something!”

Like what?

Jaebum didn’t know what she expected him to say, not after that. After she ripped out his heart.

“I don’t love you anymore, Jaebum. I’m sorry.”

She just stood there in the doorway, bag in hand, waiting for his response with tears in her eyes. He knew she was trying to stay strong, he could see her lip trembling as she held it between her teeth. How long would she wait there? How long would she bat her eyelashes at him innocently waiting for him to make it all okay? What did she even want from him? Forgiveness? Reassurance? Did she think that somehow an apology would make their breakup hurt any less?

“Goodbye, Seohyun.” He forced out through clenched teeth. “Thanks for everything.”

“Wait—Jaebum—!”

Closing the door on both her and their three year relationship, Jaebum couldn’t remember what he did next. He couldn’t remember clawing every photograph off the walls, he couldn’t remember how his fingers stung as they dug into the plaster. He couldn’t recall pulling every plate from their cabinets, he couldn’t recall how his feet bled when he stepped on the broken porcelain. He couldn’t recollect how much he hated the man who stared at him in the mirror, he couldn’t recollect how his fist destroyed the glass and how it finally reflected how he felt inside.

“I don’t love you anymore, Jaebum. I’m sorry.”

That was over a year ago. And it felt like an eternity to him. Looking at himself now, suit neatly pressed, shoes freshly shined, he didn’t see any semblance of the man from that night. After he destroyed everything that reminded him of her, as he saw the pictures of happier times reduced to embers in the fireplace, he made himself a promise. He swore that he would never let anyone ruin him so completely ever again. Steeling his heart and caging it in ice, he wouldn’t even give them the chance.

Never again.

“Jae?” Jinyoung inquired, knuckles rasping against Jaebum’s door. “We’re heading out for drinks, want to come with?”

He didn’t even look up from the reports he was filing. “Can’t. I’m busy.”

Jinyoung crossed his arms. “Shocker. You’re always busy.”

“That comes with being the boss.” Jaebum countered easily.

Rolling his eyes, Jinyoung leaned against the doorframe. “C’mon, Jae, just pretend you’re a regular guy and not an office robot for a couple of hours. Would it hurt to have a little fun?”

“Maybe. Socializing is against my programming.” Jaebum teased in a robot voice. “I cannot acquiesce to your request.”

“Dammit Jae.” Jinyoung sighed in disbelief. “Your humor is wasted in this tiny little room. Go out with us. Free yourself from the confines of this dastardly place. One night with the guys isn’t going to kill you. And if it does, I’ll buy lunch for a week. Scouts honor.”

Jaebum snickered quietly. “Alright, if it gets you to shut up I’ll go out for a couple of hours.”

“And do a couple of shots?” Jinyoung pressed hopefully.

“Don’t push your luck, Jin.” Jaebum chastised him, leering over his glasses. “I’ll have a glass of wine and that’s it.”

“I’ll take it.” Jinyoung shrugged. “We’re leaving in ten minutes. You want to catch a ride with me?”

Pursing his lips, Jaebum shook his head. “I’ve got to turn these in before I go. I’ll meet you there if you text me the address.”

Jinyoung narrowed his eyes at his friend suspiciously. “I swear to God, Jae, if you flake on us I’m going to come back here and kick your sorry ass.”

“Like you could take me.” Jaebum smirked. “Just go, I’ll be there soon. Promise.”

Jinyoung didn’t relent, his head dragging as he headed towards his own office. “I’ve got my eyes on you, Im Jaebum. You’re not going to fool me.”

“I’m not trying to fool you.” Jaebum informed him. “But if you keep bothering me I’m going to magically find a stack of financial statements that need to be filed. And who better to file them than my good buddy Park Jinyoung—”

“See you there!” Jinyoung interrupted, dashing down the hall like his heels were on fire. “I’ll text you!”

Chuckling at the expense of his friend, Jaebum leaned back in his chair and tapped his pen against his leg. He couldn’t remember the last time he went out just to go out. It had been too long since he was desperate for the numbing sensation of alcohol pulsing through his veins to simply function normally. The last time he could remember drinking he couldn’t recall anything that happened after. Not until he woke up in some woman’s bed that he didn’t bother to learn the name of. He wanted to feel bad, or at least some part of him did. Because she wasn’t the first, and she most certainly wouldn’t be the last.

Not tonight. He decided. Not this time.

When his phone lit up, a text message from Jinyoung waiting for him impatiently, Jaebum quickly got to work. As much as he tried to keep his stoic face in front of his friend, he needed to get out of the office. If he had to read another poorly written report littered with inaccuracies and spelling errors, he was going to lose his mind. Jinyoung’s offer could not have come soon enough.

By the time he was done, the sun was already starting to set. Cursing underneath his breath, Jaebum grabbed his coat and bolted out the door. Opting to take the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator, he checked the bus schedule while tugging on his gloves. Jinyoung had already been at the bar much longer than he’d like, meaning that Jaebum wasn’t going to get out of the night unscathed. Lucky for him he was always prepared for such occasions. The bottle of aspirin in his desk drawer and him were about to be fast friends.

“Jae!” Jinyoung screamed through the phone. “Where are you!”

Jaebum groaned loudly as he made it out to the street. “I’m sorry, I’m still at the office. But I’m leaving now, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“You better be!” Jinyoung continued. “Because I’ll—I’ll kick your ass if you’re not!”

“Shut up Jinyoung, you’re drunk.” He muttered, ending the call and stuffing his phone in his pocket.

Wrapping his scarf around his neck, Jaebum walked briskly to the bus station just down the block. Instantly regretting turning down Jinyoung’s offer for a ride when the cold winter air pelted his skin. Opening his eyes even the slightest caused his eyes to water, each step he took sent a chill down his spine, frost nipped at the tips of his ears, he could barely stand it.

As he waited less than patiently, Jaebum found himself watching the people that passed him. An elderly woman wearing a mismatched set of mittens, a small dog in a boorish sweater jogging along beside her. Two school boys fussing over a handheld video game, laughing jovially despite their harsh words. A young couple walking hand in hand, their eyes filled with affection and warmth, leaving Jaebum with a foul taste in his mouth.

“I don’t love you anymore, Jaebum. I’m sorry.”

Lighting a cigarette, he did his best not to think about Seohyun. About how she left him on a night just like this. How each kiss on her eager lips tasted like lies. How her brown eyes hollowed out his very soul. And how each promise she made cut him like knives. Jaebum had been trying to erase her from his life for a whole year. But no matter how much he drank, or how many women he kissed, he could still taste her on his tongue.

Even cigarettes do nothing to mask her taste. He mused, inhaling deeply and savoring the tobacco that filled his lungs.

When the bus pulled up to the curb, Jaebum dropped his unfinished cigarette in the street. Sighing, he tapped his foot impatiently as the doors opened and people spilled out onto the sidewalk. He had completely forgotten how cramped public transport could get during the winter. Another reason why he hated the desolate season. And Jinyoung’s persistent drunken text messages and calls weren’t helping his rapidly souring mood.

“What is it now, Jinyoung?” Jaebum exasperated, getting on the bus and swiping his card.

“Do you know that fish cake shop by the bar?” Jinyoung asked sluggishly. “The one that I really really like?”

Jaebum pinched the bridge of his nose as he found a seat at the back of the bus. “No, I do not. But I take it you want me to stop there?”

“Yeeeesss.” He dragged out. “I’m dying for a good fish cake.”

Sometimes I wonder how we’re friends. “Alright, fine, I’ll get you your stupid fish cake. How far away from the bar is the shop?”

“Not far at all!” Jinyoung exclaimed. “Just down the street a ways, you can’t miss it! Thanks Jae! You’re the best!”

Beep beep beep.

Pocketing his phone, Jaebum did his best not to let the night get away from him. He had to keep reminding himself that all of his problems could easily be solved with the bottle of scotch that was waiting at the bar. Jinyoung owed him, and getting free drinks out of him while he was drunk was an easy task for Jaebum. All of that was worth the annoying errands that his best friend was infamous for sending him on.

There’s a scotch on the rocks waiting for you. He told himself over and over again. Do it for the scotch. Scotch can get you through anything.

“Now approaching, Namdaemun Market. Thank you for choosing Seoul Public Transportation, have a nice day.”

As the bus rolled to a complete stop, Jaebum quickly stood and waited for the doors to open. Shouldering past the new borders, he apologized quietly, thankful to finally be off the cramped bus and back out on the street. Even if it was a bit colder than he remembered. Shivering, he pulled his lapel taught over his face, scanning his surroundings for the fish cake shop he was supposed to visit. What he found instead was a ghost from his past. A ghost with hair as black as the hole she gouged into his chest.

Seohyun? He swallowed nervously, his palms sweating despite the brisk December air. Is it really her? Please—please tell me that I’m seeing things.

It had to be her, he knew it deep down inside. He knew by the way his heart stopped, how his stomach sank, that it couldn’t be anyone else. But—his mind wasn’t so easily convinced. How could it be her? How could Lee Seohyun be standing right in front of him? Just as beautiful as the day she ripped out his heart without a care in the world. Waiting outside an electronics kiosk, a lollipop stick protruding from her perfect cherry red lips and a guitar slung over her shoulder as if—

A guitar? Jaebum questioned. Since when does Seohyun know how to—

Realization dawned on Jaebum almost instantly. His eyes were playing tricks on him, like they had so many times before. It wasn’t Seohyun, it would never be Seohyun. No matter how much a small miniscule part of him still wanted her back in his arms, she never would be his. The woman before him was simply his projection of something he would never have. Underneath his breath, Jaebum cursed himself for being hung up on her after all this time.

Still, his gaze didn’t waver as he watched the Seohyun look alike walk down the street. The resemblance was uncanny, had he been intoxicated he would’ve surely mistaken her for Seohyun. She even walked like her. The way her hips swayed—Jaebum couldn’t bring himself to look away. She was beautiful, breathtaking, mysterious, entrancing, the same dangerous formula that Jaebum became addicted to so easily.

For a brief moment, he couldn’t find the differences between them. From the way her dark hair fell languidly over her shoulders, the way her lips twitched into a hesitant smile, how her eyes glistened with a palpable passion. It was almost as if he was looking at a direct reflection of a memory. One he would’ve preferred to remain lost to time.

I need to get to this fish cake shop. Jaebum reminded himself. More importantly, I need to get the hell out of here.

Gathering his runaway thoughts, he started down the busy street, doing his best to avoid the mysterious woman. She was a reminder that he couldn’t afford to fall back into the hole that Seohyun cast him into. The man that loved Seohyun wasn’t one that Jaebum admired. In fact, he was a man that Jaebum tried time and time again to erase. And, until that exact moment, he thought he was doing a fair job of it.

“Get your fish cakes here! Best around!”

Jaebum’s ears perked up at the shouting vendor, appreciating the distraction more than he cared to admit. Besides, his head was in a complete haze ever since he spotted that woman. He wouldn’t have been able to find the shop on his own even if he ran right into the door. Which he practically did. The control Seohyun still had over him terrified him to no end. And he had only seen a woman who looked like her, it wasn’t even her. He shuttered to imagine what would’ve happened if she was really there. Whispering in his ear, her hands gliding up his body, the curves of her body beneath him—

“Jaebum…”

Squeezing his eyes shut, Jaebum willed her husky voice away. The shivers that travelled down his spine—he had to ignore them. He had to get away from her. Ducking into the shop, he quickly purchased the fish cakes and left without a word to the clerk. He feared his own voice, feared how it would betray him. The only thing that mattered to him was getting to the bar and as far away from her as possible.

Without really paying attention to where he was going, Jaebum shouldered past someone and sent them stumbling backwards. Unconsciously, he reached out to steady them, taking hold of their wrist and pulling them in close to him before realizing who it was. It was her. Her. Her slender wrists were within his grasp, her dark eyes looked up at him in surprise, and coherent thought evaded him.

“Thanks!” She exhaled, running a hand through her hair. “I really should look where I’m going.”

At that close distance she looked even more like Seohyun. Jaebum didn’t think it was physically possible, but the proof was right in front of him. The scent of her perfume filled his senses, taking him back to a time when her fragrance was the only thing between them. He tried to swallow past the lump in his throat, he tried to respond, he tried to say anything that could distract himself from her lips. Her perfectly shaped cherry red lips…

Brushing her hair over her shoulder, she offered him a dangerous look. “Not much of a talker, are you?”

Jaebum never made it to the bar that night.

He woke up the next morning tangled in sheets that weren’t his own. Lying beside him was the woman who unknowingly unravelled every effort he had made to forget about Seohyun. She made him painfully aware that his previous beliefs were nothing more than optimistic delusions. Jaebum hadn’t moved past her, not even in the slightest. He wasn’t sure if he ever would.

As was customary after every one night stand he stumbled into, he quickly pulled his clothes back on and quietly left her apartment without bothering to wake her. He called for a taxi, pointedly ignoring all of the angry texts and numerous voicemails left by Jinyoung as he made his way home. Jaebum wasn’t in the mood to explain himself. Ironically enough, all he wanted to do was drink. He settled for a silent ride through the city that was supposed to save him from himself, but he was beyond saving.

Days passed and he couldn’t shake the memory of Seohyun’s lookalike beneath him. She was a rarity, an anomaly that wandered into his life without any sort of warning. And as easily as she traipsed through his thoughts, she was gone. Frankly that was his own fault, he did it for his own good but it didn’t matter to him. He wanted her, he wanted more, his body ached for her in a way that was all too familiar. He sat at his desk, fists clenched in rage, hating himself for falling back into his old ways. All he wanted was a life without Seohyun, he wasn’t sure it was possible anymore.

At first, he was determined to stay away from her. He willed his thoughts and memories to the back of his mind, trying to get on with his life once more. But it wasn’t so simple. He found himself back on that street corner without realizing how he got there just a few nights later. Diligently looking for the cherry red lips that stained his own and drove him wild.

He would always find his way back to her.

“Did you miss me?”

She came up beside him with a coy smirk, she already knew his answer.

“Still not much of a talker, are you?”

Soon after they would wind up in bed again, as it was slowly becoming their routine. Jaebum had never felt more connected to a complete stranger, someone who could’ve easily gone through life without ever meeting him. He had Seohyun back, in some way. Like a ghost from the past letting him have one last glance at what could’ve been. He could’ve been happy, he was happy. Now he didn’t know what he was. All he knew was her because that was all he wanted to know. And he wanted to know more. 

On the first day he learned her lips, on the second day he learned her name.

On the third day she learned his.

“Jae...” She breathed beneath him, desperate for him as he was for her. “Please…”

He loved how she said his name. It pained him that he couldn’t say hers.

“Jae.” She tested on her tongue. “You called me Seohyun again.”

He watched absentmindedly as her delicate fingers dusted over his skin, offering nothing more than a quiet, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” She mused. “I just need to know, someone you’re running from or running to?”

“I don’t love you anymore, Jaebum. I’m sorry.”

“Both.”

She visibly winced at his honesty. “Well, I hope I can help with that a little.”

And she did. Her lips pressed against his jaw as her hand slid down his abdomen, he hissed in response and took her in his arms. She was—magic. The second his mind would be occupied by thoughts of Seohyun she would pull him in with her own hypnotic gaze, letting him forget about the woman that brought them together in the first place. It didn’t last for long, but the reprieve was appreciated nevertheless.

On the fourth day he called her Seohyun again. The fifth day was the same.

On the sixth day he said her name and she smiled.

He lost track of the days after that.

The moment their relationship stopped being casual and became something more wasn’t entirely obvious to Jaebum. One day he simply woke up and instead of hoping to see her again soon he decided that soon wasn’t enough. They started to see each other every single day, some of those days didn’t end up in bed either. Maybe that’s when he noticed that she was more to him than he originally intended. Maybe that’s when he knew he was doomed to be in love with Seohyun for the rest of his life. Forever seeking her out in the woman he had hoped would make him forget.

One morning when she was gathering her things, giving Jaebum the space he had so foolishly convinced himself he needed, he asked her to stay. So she stayed. He couldn’t ever remember things with Seohyun being so simple. Seohyun was a woman that made Jaebum fight for every inch, beg for every moment, he was addicted to her and didn’t realize how quickly she was killing him. While he didn’t want to admit it, the moment she left him was probably the kindest thing she had ever done.

But she was perfect and he still loved her.

He hated himself, as he spent more time with her and could only see Seohyun in her eyes, he hated himself. He had hoped that they would separate, that he would see her for her and not for the woman he hated and loved all at once. Because she was perfect just as Seohyun was, all he had to do was wait for the inevitable. Either he would get fed up with her or she would realize the truth. She would learn that she was a replacement for someone that wasn’t worth replacing. Someone he evidently couldn’t let go.

“You look like you have a lot on your mind.” She whispered, dusting her fingers over his arm. “Do you want to talk about it?”

What hurt him most, was that she loved him. She loved him. Not some version of him that only existed as a ghost in her mind, as a lie she couldn’t give up. She loved him for exactly who he was. A man who looked at her and saw another, who reached for her everyday, who was haunted by a touch that was forever ingrained in his skin. He was disgusted by the man she loved, by himself. But if he ever told her the truth, he knew it would break her heart.

Break her like Seohyun destroyed him.

And then she would be gone.

So he would continue to lie to her, betray her no matter how much his own words tore him up inside. A sensation that was all too familiar, one he knew better than most after knowing Seohyun for as long as he did. Ironically, he was just like her. Selfish to the very end. 

“I’m alright.” He lied easily as always.

Except she wasn’t convinced, not in the slightest. She had never been convinced of his lies, he could tell just by looking at her that she was enduring his facade as much as he was. Pretending to be fooled so they could continue in blissful ignorance. Because she knew his heart better than even he did, a heart that had long since been locked away. Because she loved him despite everything that he was. And everything that he wasn’t.

It was close to their anniversary when he decided that enough was enough. She had introduced him to her friends, her parents, and he had done the same. Their lives had become intertwined to a point that severing their ties could only result in a catastrophic mess. He had to come clean, he had to put his heart at ease and end the nightmare he almost believed was a dream. He had to let Seohyun go, he had to let her go. Once and for all he had to free himself from her grasp and break a heart that belonged to a woman whose only mistake was running into a man in a fish cake shop.

“I don’t love you anymore, Jaebum. I’m sorry.”

His heart ached as he thought about that day, hated how much his own actions would soon imitate that very moment. Looking at someone who loved you with everything that they had and telling them that it was all over. That you never loved them. That everything was a lie. That you were nothing but a monster.

God I need a drink.

So to put a bit of distance between them, to gather his thoughts, he went to the bar that technically started it all. He ordered his usual drink, he pretended to watch a game that didn’t interest him, and he sat in silence as the moments ticked by. Every now and again the bartender would try to strike up a conversation, but after being ignored for the fifth time he finally gave up. Jaebum wasn’t in the mood to pretend to be a decent human being, it was taking every concerted effort he could afford to keep himself from falling apart at the seams.

And despite the fact that he had been sitting at the bar with two fingers of scotch in front of him for nearly an hour, he had yet to take a single sip. He kept swirling it in his hand instead, using it more as a distraction from his rampant thoughts than a means to soothe his agitated nerves. As much as he wanted to get the whole ordeal over with, he couldn’t get drunk. He had been selfish enough in the past year, he had to endure the next few hours sober because she deserved more than what she was given. She deserved more respect than he had ever offered her. And he deserved the misery he was destined for.

Once a couple of hours had passed, he decided it was time to face her. She would be starting dinner soon and he didn’t want her to waste her time. Not when he was going to be effectively kicking her out of his life forever. With a sigh, he put on his jacket to leave and pushed his untouched drink back towards the bartender. Then, a young woman took a seat beside him.

“Why don’t you let me join you for a drink?” She hummed seductively. “You’re looking a little stressed.”

 For fucks sake. “Thanks, but no thanks.” He returned without looking at her. “I’ve got better things to do.”

Apparently she wasn’t giving up so easily. “Is that anyway to talk to a pretty girl like me?”

Glancing at her, he wasn’t impressed. “Sorry, but I have somewhere I need to be. Drink by yourself if you’re so inclined.”

As he stood to leave, she took a firm grasp of his arm. “Jaebum? Are you seriously going to ignore me? Are you really that cruel?”

He rolled his eyes at her continued pathetic attempts. “You even learned my name, wow. How long have you been watching me?”

Turning back to look at her, he realized there was something familiar about her. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. But that didn’t matter to him.

“Seriously, I’m not on the market.” He persisted. “Good day.”

“Jaebum!” She shouted in disbelief. “Do you seriously not recognize me? We dated for three fucking years, I feel like I’m owed more than a cold shoulder. Or are you the complete asshole you’ve always been?”

A chill ran down his spine.

“Don’t just stand there!”

No… it—it can’t be… that voice... 

“Say something!”

Seohyun?

Realization dawned on him, stomach acid rose in his throat. It had to be her, there wasn’t a doubt in his mind after hearing her say that. Those words, nearly those exact words were seared into his soul ages ago. That voice berated him for years. There was no way he would ever mistake that voice for anyone else. But—she didn’t look like the Seohyun he remembered. The mere sight of her didn’t drive him mad, he didn’t have to fight back the urge to throw himself at her feet. She was Seohyun without the best and the worst parts of her.

She wasn’t the woman he loved.

Not anymore.

“Wow…” He exhaled with a smile. “You’ve really changed, haven’t you.”

Which, now that the initial shock had worn off, he realized that she was the exact same. Painfully so. Her nails were freshly manicured, her hair and makeup were set perfectly in place, her clothes were fresh off the runway, she was Seohyun in every sense of the word. Perfectly plucked from time and placed in front of him. She was everything he thought he loved. Before he learned what love really looked like. And god it didn’t look like her.

“And you haven’t changed at all.” She huffed. “Still the rude asshole I dumped forever ago. I can’t believe I doubted myself for a second there, spotting you across the bar made it seem like the good old times. But I really made the right call, didn’t I?”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “You really did. Goodbye, Seohyun. Thanks for everything.”

She scoffed as he left. “Yeah, whatever.”

After that, Jaebum didn’t hesitate. He took off running for the bus stop, desperate to get home to a woman that he had loved for a whole year and just didn’t know it. He had been so sure that the love he felt for her was just a projection, that she only reminded him of Seohyun so that was the only reason he loved her. Never in all his life had he been happier to be wrong.

I love her… He chanted in his head, over and over again. I love her!

Once he got home, he burst through the door and stopped immediately when he saw her standing there. How had he never noticed before? She was beautiful, she was perfect, she was the woman he loved with his whole heart and he was a fool for not knowing sooner. She made him laugh, she made him smile, she made him forget about Seohyun a hundred times and even wiped her from his heart forever. And he was the idiot who thought it was all a lie.

“What’s wrong, Jaebum?” She asked innocently. “Is something on your mind?”

“Yes.” He confirmed easily, approaching her slowly and taking her hands in his. “I’ve done a lot of thinking, a lot of soul searching this past year, trying to make sense of my feelings for you. And I think I finally know what my brain has been telling me since the very beginning.”

There was a nervous glint to her eyes, but she played along. “What would that be?”

“That I love you.” He smiled. “I love you for being you and no one else.”

Those words, those simple words that wouldn’t make any sense to someone else, made her face light up like a fireworks display. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his chest, overwhelmed with a feeling he knew all too well. For the first time in four years, Jaebum could breathe. A huge weight had lifted from his shoulders, the ghost of Seohyun was finally gone. He was free.

“I love you too…” She mumbled. “I’ve loved you for so long…”

“I know.” He whispered gently, tilting her chin up and kissing her gently. “And I will thank you everyday for waiting for me.”

[everybuddiewantssome]

So.... I looked it up and determined how many of these rambling posts I've made (including the sentence long ones when I first started) so anyway.... welcome to.... part.... 60 (I'm not proud of myself lol)

Lois talking about losing her mom I'm already crying

"Tess you said you needed help I thought you meant watchtower not scrapbooking"

I see this is going to be one of those emotional episodes

"This may come as a surprise to you Clark but I've never really identified with any saints"

"They call her granny goodness" whAT?

Yet another time Lois makes me cry

"I left my notebook in the car"

Sweet old granny turns them into viscous assassins. That's about right

Clark literally being knocked off his feet

Powerful? Are her parents the Luthors or what?

Somebody save me

I literally can't read that sentence normally anymore

Somebody saaaaaave meee

Ok I'm done now. Back to regular programming

"I told you to look after him, not slaughter him" well little miss knife hands kinda went ahead and did that anyway

Tess just destroyed knife hands I love her

Lois just goes to the fortress by herself. Why not

"Hello, mr..... el"

"Clark.... I mean.... kal el"

"Clark can't see it with the ghost of your disappointment"

"He's lucky to be rid of you" oh shit Lo oh no

The way Clark motors through the kryptonite to blow the chain down

The way they didn't even show Clark take the girl out they just show him zip up and then she's on the ground and he's beside her

They got holograms not just a voice!!!!

"I don't think he's that easy to read being that he's an ice fortress and all"

HE HAS A RING

Omg she is a Luthor my hunch was on point

"Clark you go reign in flipper"

"Let me guess. You woke up feeling odd with fang marks on your neck"

"I wasn't the first one to sign up for operation guinea pig your boyfriend was"

AC playing with dolphins

"You think cause I didnt check in at the treehouse I'm going rogue"

Ok ac has a wife?

"My dad always said I'm made of more brass than his medals"

Will always love Lo's secret sneaky tactics... the lighter, go queen

Ollie baby I'm stressed

"I know you're in Clark's superhero club. So unless you want a sudden tracheotomy you will tell me where he is"

"For the record you know I was bluffing right"

"Miami in winter. Who doesn't love to snowbird"

"Is this a secret tryout for the nfl"

"I'm human" damn right Oliver I love you for it

Mira just casually strips in front of Lois

"His people like down under and not Australia"

"Little mermaid your friends and I dated for like a day"

"Sorry to interrupt the real housewives of metropolis"

Oliver is literally being tortured by being strapped into a pool essentially and I'm just like..... he's hot

"Unlike the half dolphin over here"

"You're up gill boy"

Will never get over Ollie's weapons skills. Boy just threw a shard of glass at pinpoint accuracy

I love when bullets ricochet off of Clark into the bad guys trying to shoot him

"Underwater you look like a clownfish"

"Your endless optimism is the one thing I actually like about you" how sweet lol

In all seriousness AC's pep talk, yes please

"Seriously, don't make me get out my hair dryer and shrivel you"

"We didn't just get off on the wrong fin"

"That's our boy scout"

"Alright wave runners. Next time you're in town be sure to swim by"

"I'm glad I only booked a one way to Miami. Your arms are a lot better than some seat in coach"

"I take back that whole work wife thing your satellite totally trumps my cell phone"

"Are you seriously trying to tell me that out of all the intergalactic bad boys we've ever faced, this one's actually worse" Oliver 😂😂

[seeingsomnalene]

Hoodies and Sweaters

erm...i had a lot of inspiration come at once...so

we interrupt your regular program of the kotlc cat au to bring you...

the squad with my personal hoodies and sweaters!

this might’ve been done before but...ya know maybe i have an original idea in here somewhere

mmmmm some general random stuff before we get into the art

the squad do a hoodie and sweater swap every week

the swap(tm) happens at havenfield, on the main floor

whoever gets there first lays down their hoodie/sweater

once someone else gets there, they also lay down their hoodie/sweater, the first person can take theirs and the second person can take the first persons

or they can wait for the others to get there, in hopes of getting their favourite

they can’t wear a hoodie/sweater they had the week before

everyone has their own favourite hoodie/sweater

there is a VICIOUS fight for their favourites every week

these fights include:

races to the leapmaster

tackling

pranking so the other cannot get there in time

sicking the bodyguards on one another

sometimes, to get revenge for something or other, someone steals someone else's favourite

these revenge attacks have lasted for weeks on end

oKAY SO i have drawn everyone in their favourite sweater/hoodie...which also belong to me irl so yeah, there’s only 4 but just pretend they have others in the mix okay.

i have also included pictures of me wearing the said hoodies/sweaters (with my face blocked out because i am child)

first up: the oversized beige one!

sophie and keefe both love this one

they FIGHT TO THE DEATH TO GET TO THIS ONE FIRST

ro and sandor get pretty involved a lot of the time

they love this one so much because of how oversized it is on both of them, especially sophie

keefe tends to leave stuff like crumpled up drawings in the pocket accidently, the squad has a collection of them

next: the champion one! yes, i know, i own champion, i sincerely apologize but anyways

tam and marellas favourite

these two get fiery (haha get it) over this hoodie

tams bangs have been singed in the past

tam always manages to leave the strings uneven, the squad rag on him constantly for this

this hoodie is slightly shorter than the rest, marella likes it that way because she gets kind of hot in the other ones

aaaaand here is this rainbow sweater!

dex and biana share a fondness for this one

dex doesn’t stand a chance against biana in physical combat, so he creates crazy plans involving tech to stop her getting to havenfield before him

biana has avoided this as much as she has fallen into his traps

although this sweater is pretty average sized, dex has kind of short arms so the sleeves are long on him

dex is so adorable sorry i just had to say that

finally, the fuzzy gray sweater!

linh and fitz love this one to death

IT’S SO FUZZY AND COZY

linh loves keeping animals under this sweater

fitz is such an adorable little dork in this

fitz was slightly hesitant to fight linh for this sweater, but soon enough they were both fighting as hard as they could to get this sweater

the squad made them make a pact that linh can’t dump water on fitz after if he gets the sweater because it happened every time he got it, no one liked miserable wet fitz

some final notes about the drawings!

i used the idea of giving everyone typical long elf ears, credit to @sophie-foster for that!

these may seem like ships but all these children are gay so...they ain’t lol

hands? didn’t have the energy to draw them past the construction lines n stuff

arms? broken and unproportional but once again didn’t have the energy

it’s overall not the best? still haven’t figured out my human style, just trying some new things so forgive the strangeness

biana and fitz! i know most of y’all headcanon them as a lot more tan than what i’ve drawn them as (i think), BUT i’ve been having some identity issues over my race lately, and how i cope sometimes! is projecting my race onto fictional characters! i also have an older brother so like...biana is a prime candidate lol

hope y’all enjoyed this, sketching 8 characters (humans/elves especially) is v tiring and i pulled an all nighter last night for no reason okay anyways bye lol

[paxignite]

The Bet

Fanfic – The Bet - 2/??

Summary: Computer Science teacher, Daisy Johnson has to help the new Spanish Substitute teacher get his bearings at Garfield High School.

Rating: PG

Word Count:

A/N:  Written for AU – Quakerider as teachers in a High School

ff.net/ ao3

Finally the next chapter! A special shout-out to @quakerider-hell for being an amazing beta reader whom I love to bounce ideas off of, and for also providing constant reminders and motivation to get it done. Lol Hopefully, once finals are over and I have an actual break from work, I will be able to hash out this story in its entirety. I already have it pretty much all outlined out, so fingers crossed that the wait won’t be as long and that it is worth it.Thank you all for your patience. I hope you enjoy. :) 

——————————————————

“Ugh how many more??”

“Only fifteen, now relax”

“Remind me that you owe me coffee for the next ten years.”

“Stop being so dramatic..”

“Oh, I’m dramatic? Do your students really need this program?” Daisy complained.

She had to admit she was getting annoyed with herself, but the fact that she had been awake so early had caused her regular irritations to increase tenfold. Helping for the past week and a half trying to input as many programs into the Spanish classroom made her irritable. She was hoping there was an easier way, but unfortunately it wasn’t just a simple “pop in the disc and program installed.” Since they decided on getting the most cost-efficient program, it got a bit time consuming downloading and reinstalling the program into their ancient computers. She knew they were ancient, but actually installing them in another classroom made her realize how lacking the classrooms were in regards to new technology

He finally stopped working on one of the computers and turned to face her: “Ya deja de quejarte…I’m hoping I can get these ready so my students can start using it by the fourth week anyway. So, mientras más callada te quedes, the faster we can get this done which means no more desmadrugadas…”

“Alright I may not know a lot of Spanish, but I know judgment when I hear it, Reyes” she said raising an eyebrow and feigning offense.

He smirked, “And if it was?”

“Then I’m doubling the number of months you are going to buy me coffee?”

Smiling he said “Maybe you should actually be using this program as well to practice Spanish yourself, I mean you live in Southern California—East LA—of all places…I mean… I would have expected you to know some more Spanish.” He teased.

“Hey now! I just—“Daisy tried to retort.

But she didn’t get a chance to finish her rebuttal because she didn’t realize that a student barged in.

“¡Buenos días maestro!…wait…Ms. Johnson??…uhm…Good morning?”

When she took a good look at the student she realized it was Edgar looking on puzzled at their banter. As Edgar was about to rush out, Daisy called out to him, ���Good morning, Edgar. Don’t leave. I was just about to lea–wait…what time is it?”

Edgar smiled a bit and as if reading her mind, “Don’t worry Ms. Johnson. I’m here a bit early, so you’re not late” He quickly assured her, “I’m just here to practice my Spanish a bit more,”

“¿Cómo estas Edgar? ¿Todo bien?” Robbie interrupted.

“Muy bien, gracias,” Edgar smiled back.

Quickly forgotten, Daisy observed how Robbie’s interaction was with Edgar and she suddenly saw why Edgar bet on him with such confidence. Robbie seemed like a completely different person while talking with him. It was a complete shift the way they were taking with each other and Robbie’s demeanor demanded respect, but also gave such a brotherly vibe that she felt that she was suddenly imposing on their interaction. Feeling intrusive, she looked away and quietly started walking to gather stuff.

Noticing her presence again, Robbie called out to her, “Thanks Ms. Johnson for all of your help. It’s alright, we can pick up tomorrow morning…”

“Sure…yeah…don’t worry about it. I can also try to finish at lunch so we can get them done.”

He looked taken aback but laughed, “I wouldn’t want you missing lunch, but if you really hate working on these with me in the morning I can get you off the hook with Principal Coulson,”

She didn’t mean that she hated working with him, but after seeing Edgar, she was intent in not cutting into his tutoring time and reflected that for a computer science teacher that loved her students, she was doing a bad job of showing it.  She mentally kicked herself and was annoyed with her own actions. She hated to admit that she enjoyed their banter, but now that caused her to be behind as well as cut into student tutoring.  She has never been this inefficient.

“See you during the lunch break Mr. Reyes,” She finally said being mindful that Edgar was watching their exchange.

She saw Robbie hesitate, but he just nodded.

As she walked out, Daisy was stressing. Lost in her thoughts she didn’t notice her student calling out to her.

“Ms. Johnson!”

She turned around to see Edgar run after her gasping for air.

“Edgar, didn’t you have a mini-tutoring session with Ro—uh Mr. Reyes?”

“Yeah…I just…um wanted to ask. Um,” Edgar said fidgeting and blushing profusely

“Yes?” Daisy inquired.

“Well…you umm. I know you probably wouldn’t…but I just have to ask…um…you didn’t tell him about the bet…did you?

She had completely forgotten about the bet that students had to get rid of Robbie so soon, and it made her eye Edgar suspiciously, “No…actually I didn’t”

“Oh…okay…like I knew you weren’t like that…but I got nervous for a sec…when you know…I saw you in there,” he stuttered.

Daisy was quick to counter, “You know teachers do also overhear things from students, so he might find out about it anyway” she countered.

“I know but I really hope he knows that he is still welcome you know…and I mean it— bet or no bet—I really hope he stays till the end of the semester.”

Great Daisy, way to be overly-critical, she mentally scolded herself.

“Don’t worry, I will keep it quiet as long as possible. Unless someone specifically asks me about it, I won’t say anything,”

“Okay, cool…Um could you also not tell the others I’m getting tutored. The fact that I’m here this early. They are never gonna let me hear the end of it,” he laughed nervously.

“Your secret is safe with me,” Daisy smiled and assured him.

“Thanks Ms. Johnson. I appreciate it.” After giving her a smile, he quickly turned around and ran back to the class.

As she walked back to her class, she couldn’t help but think about the bet and how Robbie would actually take it.  Would a little bet really send Robbie packing? After working with Robbie for the past week and a half, she couldn’t help but smile smugly at the thought that it would take a lot more than a bet for him to leave.

—

After leaving her fifth period class, which was as always beyond energetic, she was looking forward to the break so she could help Robbie. But before she could do that, she knew she had to go get her lunch to be better citizen. So Daisy tried to quickly sneak into the faculty lounge to get her lunch and hurry to Robbie’s class; however, her attempt to avoid conversation didn’t work in her favor.

“So, I hear you’ve been hanging out with Mr. Reyes a lot lately; you don’t even want the coffee from my Keurig anymore hmm…” Her co-worker Jemma teased while watching her from a distance in the lounge.

“ha-ha very funny. He owes me from the spill and for helping him with his programs, but I’m almost done. Actually, that’s where I’m headed now. I told him I was going to help during lunch right now.”

“Interesting…that is a pretty nice deal you have going.”

“Hardly. Making me work on his programs. Why can’t he just teach Spanish the old fashion way?  Why can’t they just have some vocab exercises or just have worksheets?”  “They all better enjoy those programs.” She muttered.

“Oh Daisy, because if we had to be serious, how well did that strategy serve us as students when we were learning another language,” Jemma argues “I’m actually interested in this innovative and interactive method, and if we are being truly honest, he’s not making you do anything,” Jemma sarcastically answered as she took a sip from her coffee.

Trying to avoid the subject and Jemma’s piercing stare, Daisy turned around to quickly prepare herself a coffee from the infamous lounge coffeemaker: “Alright, alright, whatever, I get it. Enough of me, let’s actually talk about you. Because you know, recently, I’ve heard some little birdies twittering about something going on between a certain physics/engineer teacher and a certain biology/anatomy teacher”

Jemma blushed “Oh goodness. Don’t tell me those birdies are students. How mortifying…I swear I hear rumors every week, but I’m afraid…that this rumor has some truth to it. He actually just asked me out for dinner and…I said yes.”

Daisy nearly choked on her coffee that she barely started sipping. “What?” Her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. “Since when?! And why haven’t you told me!? I need the details quick!”

“Well…it all started when—” Jemma started but was cut off.

“Simmons, Daisy, how are you ladies today?”

Daisy didn’t want to look around and acknowledge Grant’s unwelcome intrusion.

“Good afternoon,” they both said.

Grant not really expecting or caring about how their actual day was going continued, “Hey Daisy, I’ve been meaning to ask you. You wouldn’t mind coming to my class to fix my computer right; I mean you don’t look busy now. You want to come now?”

Daisy tried to keep a calm demeanor, but preventing an eye roll was taking more effort than usual.

“Sorry I already made a commitment to finish helping Robbie,” she calmly stated while looking at him over her shoulder.

Grant scoffed, “You’ve been ‘helping’ him all week; I think you can spare some time to just help me get rid of a simple glitch”

Officially annoyed but trying to stay civil, she turned to fully face him and smiled.

“If it’s that simple, I think you will be just fine without me,” she answered sharply.

Grant trying to gather his bearings quickly rephrased “What I mean is, you can just check it fast and work through it really quick way before the bell rings.”

Daisy looked at Jemma and Jemma simply shrugged not knowing what to say either.

“Look fine, I’ll go quick, but then I have to leave.” Daisy replied

“Great!” Grant said smiling, but Daisy was just thinking how she was going to avoid his idle chatter. Unfortunately, that was very hard to evade.

“So how is ol’ Robbie handling the transition. I heard a bet going around that they are trying to get rid of him”

Daisy couldn’t help but stutter in her step in surprise, “How did you hear about the bet?”

“Come on Daisy, of course I know. The students are in my class as well.”

“Right, yeah…” Daisy mumbled. Her mind was racing. She couldn’t really pinpoint what her real surprise was. Grant knowing about the bet and being the type who would actually tell Robbie. Or the familiarity that he said “ol’ Robbie” as if they have known each other for quite some time.

Once they got to the classroom and she started to check his computer, Grant seemed to not want to let the topic go: “So what do you think?”

“I haven’t really found the glitch you were talking about. Is your system running slow or something?” She asked confused. Why was he wasting her time with this?

“No, I meant about Robbie! You have been hanging out with him for the past week, so I’m curious about what you think.”

She didn’t look at Grant, but stayed focused on finishing her task at hand. Speaking of Robbie, she needed to get back to his class because she didn’t want him thinking she didn’t want to work with him. She needed to clarify to Robbie that that wasn’t the case. She also made a promise to him.

“Again, I’m not sure why you care what I think. I only came to help you with your computer ‘glitch’ so let’s just cut the chatter and finish this” Daisy answered curtly.

Grant’s demeanor became more stern, and it was clear he wasn’t getting the answer he was looking for. However, he knew just how to unsettle her.

“Care to do a bet of our own?” Grant proposed.

“What?” Daisy turned around to fully face him, annoyed and unsure of where this was going.

“Yeah, tell you what. I bet that he won’t last here for a month. I know for a fact that he is not the best role model and it’s only a matter of time before he does something stupid. So I think, within a month he won’t make it. He never sticks through with anything anyway. Why should this be any different? And if I win, you treat me to lunch.”

“So, you do know him,” she said accusingly.

Grant scoffed, “Well I guess we do have some…history” he said as he looked outside the window clenching his jaw.

Daisy was not one for work politics, but the fact that Robbie wasn’t here to defend himself and the fact that Grant was trying to manipulate her so he could have his date, forced her hand.

“Well it must have been a shock for you to see him back, but I need to remind you he has only been here a week and honestly, he has been able to genuinely help and connect with more students than you ever have. Your glitch is fixed, but I can’t say the same for you.” She stared at him intently and unmoving as if challenging him with that bet.

Grant stood there gaping at her, and as she stared back into his eyes; she saw how Grant’s eyes shifted from annoyance and illustrated a hint of anger, but there was something else.

“Well… we will just have to see how long good ol’ Reyes is here for then,” He said smiling; hollow and sarcastic and not at all happy.

She didn’t know what compelled her to say it, but she responded without missing a beat “You’re right. We will just have to wait and see. And just so you know, if it wasn’t clear,…I’m betting on Reyes.”

As she was turning to leave, she hadn’t realized some students were already in the classroom watching them stare intently at each other. She had no idea when they came in or how much they heard, but it just made her flustered and rush out faster.

She didn’t know what caused her to say it, but she had to defend Robbie. And she just about had it with not knowing the actual story and hearing ambiguous statements. Thank goodness, the bell rang, but that also meant she couldn’t finish helping Robbie which caused her annoyance to become anger because Grant got exactly what he wanted.

While she was watching her students work on their projects during the last period of the day, she was devising a plan to meet Robbie right after class to apologize but to also learn more about this rift. However, it would be just her luck that the seniors who were getting ready graduate had to ask her all of their questions right after class.

Once the last students left, Daisy rushed to his classroom.

“Shit.” She wasn’t surprised he had already left; it was after all 30 minutes after the last bell. However, while standing in the empty class she felt a strong resolve and decided it was time to at least finish what was left of all the computer programs so she could surprise him in the morning.  She didn’t understand why, but the thought of surprising him made her smile.

“Alright, Daisy. Let’s get to work”

—

After finishing the last programs, she didn’t have time to feel proud of herself because it was already almost two hours after school and she needed to get home. She had enough of school for the day.

After gathering her stuff, she walked to her car and noticed how empty the school was except for a few cars. She could already imagine it being Principal Coulson and Vice Principal May preparing for the next day.

As she got in her car and started leaving the parking lot, she devised her new plan to talk with him and actually think of ways to ask Robbie the history he has with Ward. However, she didn’t want to be insensitive and was having difficulty brainstorming ways to bring it up naturally.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice the abnormal amount of white smoke escaping from the tailpipe of her car, and in a matter of minutes white smoke started coming from under the hood of her car and the engine stalled.

“Shit! No, No, No, NO!” Daisy exclaimed and pulled over.

“Why would you break down only two blocks away from school!! I want to get home you stupid piece of junk!!” Daisy shouted at the car as she got out quickly to try to pop the hood, but before she could do that, out of frustration she kicked the rim as hard as she could and instantly regretted that.

“Excuse me, are you alright?”

Daisy snapped around trying to ignore the growing pain in her foot when she noticed a young man in a wheelchair peering at her with inquisitive brown eyes.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I um didn’t know anyone else was around…Um. Did you hear…?” Daisy questioned nervously.

He smiled at her, “No worries. Trust me, I’ve heard worse. Is your foot okay?”

“Yeah. It was just a reaction that I should have thought twice about. I’m sorry for startling you. It’s just one of those days. You know?”

“I hear ya. If it helps, my brother is actually a really great mechanic, and I know he would be more than happy to help you. I can call him right now. I think he should already be at the garage so I think he can come right away.” The boy smiled.

Daisy become overwhelmed with gratitude this kid felt like her guardian angel. Again, she knew she was acting overly dramatic but as the day was going, she needed something positive. “That would be amazing! But are you sure that won’t be too much trouble? Is he picking you up?” She asked hesitantly.

“It’s not trouble at all. I normally take the bus because I get out of Physics Club at this time, and I don’t want my brother to have to drive back and forth from his job to the garage, so I finally convinced him that I can take the bus and it drops me off right by his work. Although he wasn’t okay with it for the first couple of weeks I was finally able to get him to let me go on my own. And now here I am, babbling about my brother, but also simultaneously saving a teacher from breaking her foot” he smirked.

Daisy couldn’t help but chuckle and for some reason looking at his eyes and the way he grinned gave her a weird sense of familiarity, but she didn’t have time to ponder because his comment caught off guard. “How did you know I was a teacher?” Daisy asked in surprise.

“Oh, I’ve seen you around the halls at Garfield, but I also just saw your car leave the faculty parking lot” he grinned.

She scoffed remembering she was still only two blocks away from the school

“Hahaha right. Well I am glad you are saving me too mister….?” She asked inquisitively.

“Oh, haha no need for mister. Just a student helping a professor in need. The name is Gabriel but I go by Gabe.”

“Well, thank you for being my guardian angel, Gabe,” she thanked.

“It is my pleasure miss…??

“Johnson.”

“Alright Ms. Johnson, let me just call my brother, and he should be able to get here in about 15 minutes.”

As Gabe wheeled to the side to call his brother privately, Daisy couldn’t help but be warmed by his kindness. Knowing herself, she would have been more frustrated if she had to call Jemma and get her out of her possible date. Or worse, walking back to campus and having Principal Coulson help her. She shuddered at the thought.

While Gabe was talking on the phone, she started walking to her car and finally opened her hood. As the extreme smoke engulfed the air around her, Daisy started coughing and cursing the universes interesting way of challenging her mental state. But as she briefly overheard Gabe’s voice talking on the phone, Daisy was happy at the mere fact that a student was kind enough to offer his help. And a student from Garfield high school at that. Smiling at the thought, she realized that she should start taking her stuff out of the car. Reaching in to gather her papers, laptop and electronics, she heard a car drive up, and heard Gabe start talking to someone in Spanish. Realizing it must be his brother, she gathered the last of her stuff and double checked the backseat once more before stepping out her stalled and stupid vehicle.

“Daisy?”

She stopped abruptly. Frozen. She didn’t need to look up from her stuff to know that the voice didn’t belong to Gabe. No, she had been working with that voice for the past week and half. She knew that voice already.

Finally looking up, she looked at the man with the same brown eyes as Gabe, back in his leather jacket that she saw on the first day they met.

Well shit.

—-

Translations:

“Ya deja de quejarte” - stop complaining

“…mientras más callada te quedes” - the quieter you are

“Desmadrugadas” - early mornings

“¿Cómo estas Edgar? ¿Todo bien?” - “How are you Edgar? Everything good?

“Muy bien, gracias,” - “Good, thank you.”

AN: Thank you so much for your patience with this AU. I hope you enjoyed it. I had to re-outline some of my main ideas, so it took me a bit longer trying to regroup and outline my expectations for this fic and I want to make sure I finish it and not leave it “in-progress” forever.  A special shout-out to @quakerider-hell for being an amazing beta reader whom I love to bounce ideas off of. And for also providing constant reminders and motivation to get it done. Lol Hopefully, once finals are over and I have an actual break from work, I will be able to hash out this story in its entirety. I already have it pretty much all outlined out, so fingers crossed that the wait won’t be as long and that it is worth it. I really hope you enjoy it and I am so thankful to the growth of the quakerider/ghostquake fandom. It was awesome to see the increase in stuff.

Any comments, or reviews are welcome! Thank you again!