#thank you for letting me scream in your post

[trulyradicalactivist]

My name is Act. I use She/They/It/Neo pronouns. I have been a radqueer since the original coming, and a part of the pro-para and proship communities before that. This is not a usual pinned post. This is a letter to my community. This blog is designed to support, uplift, and announce all forms of activism for our community and encourage each one of you to begin the revolution. For our identities, for our pride, and for our loved ones.

My call to action is under the cut. I ask you to take the time to read it. Thank you.

For too long, we’ve lived in the shadows of a world that dismisses, marginalizes, and oppresses us. Many wouldn't say oppression. Many downplay what we go through, saying that we’re just trolls taking up minimal space in the digital era. But we have been oppressed. In our own spaces, we’ve had civil wars, fighting over one thing or another, specifically designed to divide us! In spaces beyond our community, we’ve faced not only hostility, but outright discrimination. Told to kill ourselves by cowards who hide behind anonymity, many people who simply desired to be themselves, driven to suicide. Are you not angry? Are you not driven to the brink by what these people have done to us, justified by hatred and misinformation? I'm angry!

We’ve carried the weight of a world that refuses to see us for who we are, and we’ve endured the pain of invisibility and injustice. I refuse to accept that the identities in this community will endure that pain any longer. No more.

This is a call to every single one of you. Whether you’ve been part of this community for years or you’re just now finding your voice, know this: you are not alone. Our strength lies in our connection, our shared experiences, and our collective will to change the minds of people who hate us, to educate, to bring a new era of peace where radqueer is the norm. Everyone thinks the future is radqueer, and I agree, but to make it that way, it takes a community willing to change the present.

We need community and we need action. Not later, not tomorrow, not yesterday, the time hasn't passed and it isn't coming towards us. The time is now.

In the digital age, our voices can and do echo across the world. Activism is not just a tool; it’s a lifeline. It’s where we educate, organize, and amplify. Share your stories, challenge injustice, and build networks of solidarity. Every post, every comment, every shared resource matters. Together, we can flood people’s minds with truth and resistance. We can make a new tomorrow.

But I also recognize the power of individual action, even in isolation. Real life protest does not always mean marching in the streets; it can mean standing firm in your truth, no matter where you are. Writing “radqueer is the future” on a desk, on a bathroom wall. Scattering posters, flyers, stickers in the streets, putting them on benches in parks or sticking them into lamp posts.

Resistance is not a singular act—it’s a lifestyle. It’s choosing, every day, to reject the narratives that tell us we’re less than. It’s refusing to be silent in the face of oppression. It’s demanding change, even when the odds seem insurmountable, and believe me, they certainly seem impossible, but I promise you. They aren't. We have done this before, we will do it again, and again, and again, until we need not fight anymore.

Let’s not forget why we fight. We fight for the right to exist as we are. We fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. We fight for future generations, so they won’t have to endure what we have. And most importantly, we fight because we believe in a world where justice and equality are not ideals but realities.

So, here’s what I ask of you. A few actions, if nothing else.

Be loud. Use your platform, no matter how small, to speak out. Share resources or even create them, talk about your stories, and call others to action. Scream from the rooftops who you are, what you live for, what you fight for.

Be relentless. Don’t let apathy or exhaustion silence you. Take breaks when you need them, but never lose sight of the goal. I know. I know people who hate us break you down, try to make you tired, ruin your mental health. Take breaks. Always take that time for yourself. But a fight waits for nobody, so feel in your heart, even while you aren't fighting, we are. We’re fighting for you.

Be united. This community has shown itself to be a magnet for division, but do you expect to fight while shooting at those fighting with you? Differences in belief aside, differences in opinion on the future, what should be, what shouldn't be, who shouldn't and who should, put them away. We can come back to discuss those when the future isn't against us, when the enemy has laid to rest and we have made a life with them, where they do not want us dead or wish harm upon us. But for now, they do. Together, we are stronger than any force that seeks to divide us, so put away your issues with the person beside you and find that two make a better fight than one ever could.

Be bold. Challenge the status quo, whether it’s online, in your workplace, or in your personal relationships. Change starts with discomfort, and progress begins when we confront what’s wrong. A picrew says radqueer’s aren't allowed to use it? Use it. Make it your profile picture. Do it with flags. Identities. Terms. Pictures. Anything that says you, because of your identity and your beliefs, aren't allowed to use it. Anything that wants to oppress you. Do not accept it.

This is our moment. This is our fight. And we will not stop until the world hears us, sees us, and respects us. I will fight. I will fight for you, for this community, for all of us with identities we cannot share for fear of our income, our lives, our safety.

Justice is what I fight for. What do you fight for? Your family, your friends, the people you love? The right and ability to be yourself? To express yourself the way you desire to? To have the right to change your race, age, gender, species, anything at all, in the court of law? Do you fight for anarchy, for revolution, to tear down the status quo? Then fight.

The revolution begins with us—and it begins now.

[slaaverin]

Your post on Jikooks love had me crying, that was really beautifully put.

I have been unable to really express why their love draws me in, why I think it’s so true and beautiful

You’re right, it is hard to put it into words that do it any sort of justice. There isn’t a simple way to describe it, to simplify what it is we’re seeing. It’s too much, too large, and yet it’s also not. Because they simply love, they love each other. I know they are on the world stage and are only accessible to us because of that, but they just love each other. So much so they do allow us to see them, because they are entwined in a way, but it’s also purposely done sometimes, because I imagine they want us to see them sometimes, and be in control of that. I get it.

The kind of love they have I actually don’t think we see anymore, the only famous equivalent maybe is Tom and Zendya, the best friends type of love, where that person is your everything. It’s rare I think, that sort of love, but Jikook have it. I’ve seen posts from people who can’t imagine this sort of love, I think that’s where the doubt comes in for many people. But they have it, and it’s real.

It’s all in the way they look at each other, the love in their eyes, still ever present. The flirting, the need to touch, the support, the championship of one another, the bickering, the unwavering strength and devotion they have. Who has that anymore? As I said it’s rare

Their love is just so beautiful, and I am so grateful to them we get to witness a small fraction of it, because then, maybe the world can heal a small amount.

Beautifully written anon 👏🏻

I know they are on the world stage and are only accessible to us because of that, but they just love each other. So much so they do allow us to see them, because they are entwined in a way, but it’s also purposely done sometimes, because I imagine they want us to see them sometimes, and be in control of that. I get it.

As you said their love is a rare thing and I would imagine that if I held a love such as theirs, I would inevitably feel a pull to share it. When people are in a certain type of love they kinda want to scream it from the rooftops sometimes, I guess from the sheer joy of it.

We've got so much footage of them over the span of 10 years, so many close-ups and moments, it would be inevitable for us to not notice something, and they must be aware of that. This is a huge part of themselves, and it is engrained in many bits of their lives, so it would be very hard to hide. Lying and hiding also takes much more effort than being yourself, so I guess they took the best out of both worlds.

Jimin & Jungkook have shared a lot since the group came to be, it became natural for them as it did for the other members. They are people who, on top of being their job, like to be giving to others. So I feel in a way it is it an act of generosity for them to be so open about it.

I think they know about their fans, the jikookers, and how supportive we are. They know their relationship makes a lot of people happy. And they want their fans happy. The support is pretty encouraging for them to being themselves even more.

It might be a self-centered thought, but I've felt AYS was a gift specifically to us. A loving, thankful gesture (of course it was for themselves first).

It was nice how they let themselves be open, but also could control the narrative with the show. It worked brilliantly.

I think you are right, a small part of the world is healing thanks to them 💜 they fill our hearts with warmth and joy and love, and they give such good examples for people to follow. It is truly inspiring.

I'm always in awe because they shine so brightly and intensely, I feel humbled to witness their journey as humans. And I'm glad they get to share this beautiful love in this lifetime and truly get to enjoy it 🥺

Thank you for your beautiful words anon 💜 I think we understand each other 🫂

[lilywily143]

Broken Visit

I realize I'm really predictable, aren't I? (Is this a spoiler to my comic if it's the same as every comic I have made?)

And with this meme, the post is at the 30 image max

Door opens

Uzi: You better be trying your BEST to fix him!!!

Door Closes

Khan: God, I wasn't expecting her to be yelling...

N: Hello?

K: Hi, N. I heard you got hurt.. I wanted to visit.

N: Th-thank you...

Nori: I'm here too.

SD- N: Thanks, heh

K: ....so, what exactly happened?

N: If you wanna talk about it?

SD-N: It's nothing bad... And I'm sure they'll fix me up.

Look of: He's lying through his teeth, ain't he?

S L A M

Help me.

U: They say the disassembly drones can't be covered by insurance. We'd have to pay in FULL. It would be $48,000!

K: Oh god Are 5 LED's meant to be that expensive?

U: They... No.. They're his functional eyes.

K + N: THOSE ARE HIS EYES?!

N: Are they not going to fix me....?

U: I'll help you with this honey, I just need to walk with them.

K: I'll try to help too.

N: I-I genuinely cannot tell who you are, sir. But please please stay. I don't wanna be alone any longer.

K: I-I can stay..

N: Th-thank you...

U: Okay mom. You. Me. Let's scream at a manager.

SD-N: Mrs. Nori? She's here?

N: Yeah. Don't worry Nathan. We're getting you fixed.

CLOSE

Pat pat

K: .... I have a question for you.

N: Yeah?

K: Aren't you able to regenerate?

K: or did it break today? or

N: no no no no

N: NO I DON'T WANNA REGENERATE

ican'tican'tican'tican'tican'tican'tican'tican'tican'tican'tican'tican't

K: I'm sorry for asking! Please stop using your claws!

....

N: i'm sorry Mister Khan... I just... That was a Solver ability.... and it...

N: It re-required me to eat drones.

N: I hate HARE that I only survived my fight with that thing was because of the suffering of others... I'm supposed to be so much more broken...

K: N... You're not meant to be broken. You are meant to be healthy and fixed.

N: THROUGH CANNABILISM?!?

K: wince Look... You weren't in a good scenario. You can't blame your past fully on yourself.

N: But... How much of my actions can I blame on the solver until I'm just the victim..?

K: Oh my robo-god. You were a victim! You did bad things because you were a victim. It happens a lot. Some people don't take responsibility because of that. But you're taking too much responsibility.

K: I know it's hard to find a... balance in this situation. But I know you will figure it out. And anything you put on yourself? I wish you gain the compassion you need to forgive your actions. Because I do. I hope this is helpful. I'm not a therapist. I can't forgive myself that easily either.

N: Thank you.... for... everything...

[he got fixed at this point]

[chimivx]

gimme gimme gimme 2 -> mingi x fem!reader -> nice for what

wc: 6.7k warnings: 18+, sexual content and alcohol consumption in every part, infidelity themes... if i missed anything please let me know! posted: 1/12/25 8;54 pm est.

masterlist ~ <- previous part - next part ->

Standing three stories tall and taking up more space on the property than the ATZ house, your residence for the next month gagged everyone but yourself when you arrived, when you stepped inside. Noses pointed in the air as they all got out of the cars, gawking up at the house sprinkled in tiny hints of daylight as the sun rose from the beach behind it, you reveled in the compliments, in the praises of what a good job you had done picking it out, making sure everyone would be happy for the next thirty days.

It was a house your parents dreamed of their entire lives but had never been able to make happen, all of their beach house money going to your sister and the dreams she was chasing across the country, auditioning for movie after movie, show after show. At least they handed you enough to make this month happen, and then some. Your father was a sucker. As much as their attention was on your sister and her dreams, your father made up for it in cash, depositing wild amounts of it into your accounts monthly. This vacation had been mentioned once and within minutes of clinking martini glasses with him, a large deposit hit your savings and you booked this house that everyone fell in love with upon one glance. 

An open floor plan on the first floor, a generous kitchen, a cozy living room adjacent to a gaming space, full of old arcade games, a ping pong table, air hockey and more. Everything lightly colored screamed you’re at the beach! and it brought pure joy. The almost white wood of the floor, the pastel blue of the furniture, the pale finishes of the furniture, the make up was stunning, chic, and fed your soul more than you thought it would.

Just stepping inside filled you with ease. A calmness washing over you, almost like the atmosphere had reached into your head and turned everything off.

Two bedrooms on the second floor, one for Seonghwa and the other for Soul, were positioned on either end of the house with a bar space between them, low hanging dim lit chandeliers living over the bar and the lounge chairs strategically placed throughout it. Three bedrooms were on the third floor, the space primarily for them alone, tightly spaced together. Wooyoung and Aurora took the one on the far end of the hall while you and Mingi took the one closest to the stairs and farthest from their room. The one in between stayed empty, and for good reason.

The boys brought in your luggage for you, carrying it up the stairs while you and Aurora wandered around the home in awe. What was beautiful and perfectly on brand for you was completely new to her, a detail you never let go untouched, unnoticed. She got to experience these things with you, with her sisters in ITZ. Her family didn’t take vacations every summer, they didn’t visit places like Haos or stay in homes like this one. She was lucky to even be able to go to Nasara. It’s why you didn’t mind letting her stay here without chipping in, though you knew she’d be throwing down her credit card as much as she possibly could when you’d go out.

Before she ventured to bed she hugged you, one long and tight, with a billion whispered thank you’s before the two of you never spoke of it again. It wasn’t something she dwelled on, it was something that made her clam up, so you allowed her to mention it once, and didn’t beg her for more.

Joining Mingi upstairs, following him up with the last of your bags after wandering around a while longer with everyone, buzzing about what a month you were going to have, you watched Aurora follow Soul into his room, Wooyoung not thinking twice about it. He simply followed you and Mingi up to the third floor, bidding you goodnight before disappearing behind his door. Seonghwa didn’t even spare an extra glance toward the scene, making you wonder if he noticed, or if he hadn’t any clue at all. He hadn’t been around for the moment at the party, where you let everyone know that the three of them were sleeping together. 

You’d discuss tomorrow.

Or, you wouldn’t… And would let the situation go on without tampering with it again.

Shutting the door to your room, pressing your back up against it, you watched Mingi push the luggage into a corner and get himself ready for bed, flopping onto the king sized mattress with a groan, rolling onto his back, extending an arm out at his side for you to fall into.

Raising a brow, you stayed where you were at the door. “What did Wooyoung want to talk to you about?”

Mingi tilted his head and sighed. “Yunho.”

Eyes bugging out of your head you hurried for the bed and leapt onto it, falling into his open arm. He smiled, holding you close. “What about Yunho? Aurora? You?”

“Everything in general,” he said. “He was just checking in. He really is a good friend.”

That was something you should be doing with your own boyfriend. That was something you should be doing with everybody actually, but you couldn’t stomach it.

“Right,” you whispered, eyes falling to the white bedspread beneath you and Mingi’s outstretched legs nearly reaching the edge of the mattress. “He is, I guess.”

“You guess?” 

Giving him a look and a shrug, you said, “I haven’t really talked to him, he’s preoccupied.”

Lowering his brows, he gave you a smile. “Right,” he breathed through a laugh. “He definitely doesn’t have time for anything else outside of his relationship, ‘cause he’s the type of guy to do that.” Scoffing, you pushed yourself off of him and rolled off the bed onto your feet. “Tor, come back,” he groaned.

“No,” you said, starting for the bathroom on the other side of the bedroom. “I need to get ready for bed. Go to sleep.”

Pulling off his glasses, laying his phone on the bed beside him, Mingi watched you until the door was shut. Inside, you flicked on the light and rested your elbows on the edge of the porcelain of the sink. Rubbing your fingers over your eyes, colors appearing as you vigorously brushed over your lashes, you dropped your hands, staring at yourself in the mirror. Sleepy hooded eyes stared back.

You moved to the bags Mingi had laid over the shelves on the wall, just below a long bay window who’s curtains were drawn for the time being. Tomorrow morning you’d pull them open and let the sunshine in, but for now they stayed closed. The neighbors didn’t need a show.

Pulling out a bottle of micellar water, cotton pads, various face washes, everything you needed to brush your teeth, and face masks, you moved through your routine swiftly, letting the muscle memory take over and your active brain take a rest. It was something you were typically good at, not letting the little shit get to you, linger with you. In moments like this one, moments just for you, when you were alone, it came easy. No show or act to uphold, no one to perform for, no need to be on.

Somehow it made everything much heavier.

Every little thing grew tenfold- has been growing tenfold. All the tiny moments of saying the wrong thing, letting your feelings get the best of you, not thinking before you spoke on something. It all haunted you, stood over your shoulder, clung to your back, gum on the bottom of your shoe you couldn’t get rid of.

You made it to your moisturizer before you realized you were crying, tears welling up and blurring your vision until you couldn’t see yourself in the mirror any longer. 

Aurora was here, in the house, you could go find her, talk to her.

Mingi laid right outside in bed, you could go to him, talk to him.

But, none of it made sense.

If you couldn’t even put into words what you were feeling, how was anyone else supposed to help? Or even understand?

Wiping beneath your eyes, steadying your breath before you let out a cry that Mingi could hear, you calmed yourself. The last thing you needed was him questioning you.

From the counter beside the sink your phone vibrated. Grabbing it with a sniffle and an internal groan, you unlocked it with a few taps and craned your neck to take a peek. Knowing who was awake at this hour, you weren’t looking forward to this.

[Unknown Number]: u in haos

Scrunching your nose, your entire face scrunching with it, you picked up your phone and typed back.

[you]: who the hell is this

They answered back instantly.

[Unknown Number]: dont worry abt it

[Unknown Number]: little birdie told me u were here. so am i

[you]: how’d you get my number. who are you.

[Unknown Number]: u will find out soon enough tori

[Unknown Number]: see u soon ;)

[you]: tell me who u are or i’m blocking this number, fucking creep

[Unknown Number]: hm no i dont think u would do that

[Unknown Number]: ur curiosity overwhelms u

[Unknown Number]: i always see it in ur eyes

[Unknown Number]: the what if

[you]: maximum fucking creep, ur blocked, bye

[Unknown Number]: but then how will i talk to u around the boyfriend

What the fuck?! You typed back, then deleted it. You typed again, then deleted it. You couldn’t do anything but stare at the screen, and you did, for many minutes, rereading the conversation.

Leaving the bathroom, locking your phone, you found Mingi absolutely knocked out, tucked onto his side of the bed. The lights were out, leaving you to shuffle through the darkness, changing into something you didn’t wear to the airport. Rolling onto the bed beside him, ample space between the two of you, you watched him sleep for a second. The rise and fall of his chest, the way his body laid completely still, a bit tense beneath the covers, the white sheets. He wasn’t asleep. When he slept he sprawled himself out over the mattress, his large frame taking up most of the space. He’d breathe heavily, and he’d be completely relaxed.

Tempted to reach over and turn him over, have him hold you while you moved beneath the covers, you decided to leave him be. You did snap at him before you left him here. In fact, you’d been snapping at him all day, aside from the half hour spent at his house. 

He was over it. At least for today. And you didn’t blame him.

Settling yourself over the pillows, laying backward, stretching out your legs under the softest sheets you’ve ever slept in, you took a deep breath and let your eyes close.

Tomorrow would be better.

The house was alive, because of course the fuck it was. Rolling over to an empty bed, tossed back sheets, you reached for your phone and tapped the screen.

2:55 pm.

Strange of Mingi to not wake you up when he did. Usually there’d be a kiss, or a head scratch, or he’d lay you out and take you half asleep knowing that you’d take him later whenever it pleased you. He left without any of it, not that it surprised you after how the two of you fell asleep last night. Countless times you woke up, tossing and turning without one of his arms wrapped around you to soothe you back to sleep. Even opening your eyes to you half wrapped around him had you retreating back to your side of the bed.

It took you back to the weeks you spent with him and his family over winter break, when Aurora was wrapped around two of them, you barely had your one on you.

You’d turned into one of those couples who seemed to tolerate one another, the honeymoon phase coming to a plummeting end faster than you’d expected it to.

Music thumped from the first floor. Voices carried up the stairwells and in through the cracks on the door, shouts from the boys and laughter from Aurora, someone’s deep voice trying to sing along to the words dancing between the steady beat. Seonghwa, without a doubt.

Kicking the sheets off you roll over the edge of the bed and catch yourself on your feet. Stepping about the room reluctantly, stripping yourself of the clothes you wore to bed, you rifled through a suitcase and pulled out a black bikini, one Mingi approved of last summer. He approved so hard you couldn’t wear it around him if you were with other people, and not because he didn’t want others to see you in it.

He should be up here to help you into it, maybe fall back into the sheets with you to pull it off of you, then help you back into it if he didn’t make a mess in it first. Like he made a mess in you yesterday. One you couldn’t reciprocate.

Biting down on your bottom lip to keep tears from slipping down your cheeks, you hurried to the bathroom, fixed your chestnut layers into a ponytail and washed your face. Glass hits the floor downstairs as you wash away bubbles and twist off the water.

“If everyone is drunk, I swear to God,” you muttered with a groan. Dabbing your face dry, you inspect your appearance, decide on no make up, twist your earrings around in your ears, and take yourself downstairs.

Bare foot, trying not to race down the stairs, the music called to you, pulled you in, like it would in the frat house. The music went on, drinks were handed out, and problems were forgotten. As much as it sucked to be the last one up, the last one to the party, a drink or three wouldn’t hurt. If anything, it would help.

Isla would slap you across the face if she were here.

Passing by closed bedroom doors and the untouched bar on the second floor, you contemplated taking a shot from a liquor bottle on a shelf, but kept moving. Sunshine leaked through the windows, you needed to be on a beach. The song changed to another you’ve heard before, one of the guys had on their party playlist. You didn’t have the sets memorized, the songs came out shuffled, but each one brought back such vivid memories it nearly cured everything you’d been feeling.

That was until you descended down the last flight of stairs and found the kitchen a mess, Seonghwa cooking something on the stove, opened empty cans littering every surface, Mingi leaning across a counter with a dopey smile on his face, Aurora straddling Wooyoung’s lap at the kitchen table, and Soul bouncing around with a broken bottle in his hand throwing away glass. Every boy was shirtless, except for Soul, and like you, everyone was ready for the beach.

“There she is,” Mingi cheered, the first to catch a glimpse of you. Turning around completely, flashing you his bare, sculpted chest, he met you halfway, throwing an arm around your shoulder as he pressed a kiss to the top of your head. 

“You didn’t wake me up,” you said, looking up at him.

Giving you a lazy smile he said, “You were out, and tired. We’re on vacation, why would I want to wake you up?”

“So we could spend time together,” you almost whispered, and his smile faltered. 

Pulling you into his chest, skin on skin, so he could kiss you for real, he took his hands to your cheeks and brushed his thumbs along your bottom lashes. “Okay,” he breathed. “From now on I’ll wake you up. No matter what.” His lips met the center of your forehead, and just before he let go of you, Aurora shouted for you.

“My turn,” she teased, leaning backward onto the kitchen table, her elbows on the edge. She almost matched you, except her bathing suit was a deep purple and almost hooked over her hips where yours lived as low as possible, something Mingi took note of before you walked away from him. One of his fingers hooked into the strap, snapping it against your tan skin with a smirk as you shot him a look over your shoulder. “Hi, Tor!”

“Hi Ror,” you said, sparing a glance at Wooyoung clearly several drinks deep with how he ogled Aurora and had his own fingers twisted around the ties on her hips. “I need to catch up,” you sighed, looking around for a bottle, or a shot glass, or anything. 

“Shots, let’s do ‘em,” Aurora said, attempting to slide off of Wooyoung’s lap. His arms wrapped around her waist faster than she could move, his devilish smile peeking out as the chair pushed further beneath the table forcing their bodies together.

“No, no, no,” he mumbled to her, drinking up her giggles. Grabbing onto her, hands pressed to her any which way he could have them, he laid sloppy kisses on her cheek and down her jaw, mumbling things to her amidst her giggles that you couldn’t make out.

Turning from them with an eye roll you bump into Soul, bright eyed and half smiling where he stood offering you a bottle of Soju and a little crystal shot glass. Adorable, really. Tousled, frizzy blonde hair that desperately needed to be cut, dark, shining eyes, pouty pink lips. Any moment caught face to face with him put everything into perspective, you got it. You understood why. Without even trying he most likely could have you on your knees, it didn’t take a genius to figure out why Aurora was doing what she was doing. 

He didn’t say a word, he wasn’t much of a chatter, only when provoked, or drunk, or if he was on Aurora’s hip like a toddler, or a shadow behind Wooyoung. Taking the shot glass from him, his soft fingers brushing over your own, his smile deepened as he looked down to the glass and filled it to the brim. Watching him, this kid who got wrapped up in the shitstorm that was your junior year, this boy who brought her pain and now resided in her sheets, though he was cute, you couldn’t help but wonder how Aurora allowed herself to get so deep in it with him.

Even Seonghwa. Standing at the stove, bouncing between counters, sleek black hair sweeping his shoulders and framing his cheekbones, slender, toned golden frame on display. He played his own game with her, for his own gain, his own reputation.

As did the man currently beneath her.

And she forgave them all. Treated them as normally as she did you and Mingi.

Soul waited patiently, stepping back some to give you space to knock back the glass, which you did, and fast, holding it out for another pour. With a snicker he obliged, filling the crystal with juice.

“Thanks,” you whispered.

Soul smiled at you, his cheeks rounding beneath his black eyes. “Course,” he said quietly, just over the music for you to hear. His gaze lingered a moment longer, then he was off, listening to Seonghwa’s orders for him to help him cook, or clean, or whatever the eldest wanted him to do.

The rim of the glass hit your lips as your eyes slid over to Mingi, tall, broad, bare chested Mingi, lingering nearby Seonghwa, chatting with him, though his eyes were on you. All over you. His overgrown blonde hair and melty dark roots taunted you. His glassesless face, structure on display, it called out for you. Wider than Seonghwa, he had more muscle on his bones, more definition in his chest, his torso, down to his fucking ankles. Skin soft, so smooth you could feel it running over your fingertips just by looking at him, you knocked back the shot and contemplated pulling him upstairs.

In one look he could see into your head, he knew your thoughts as if they were his own, and he smirked, one so small not even Seonghwa could see it. But you could.

He shook his head, then he winked. Pushing off the counter with his backside he purposefully slid his hands over his middle and dipped the tips of his fingers beneath the band of his suit. Chin tipping back, he looked down at you, leaving nothing but a centimeter of space between you after he swaggered your way. Without looking at it he took the shot glass from your hand and slid it onto the table behind you. In one fluid motion he placed a finger beneath your chin and lifted you by the jaw, his own head tilting ever so slightly, dipping down the same, his warm breath dancing over your skin, his scent alone enchanting you, creating a space just for you.

Rising to your tiptoes to catch his lips with your own, he retreated backward with a click of his tongue. “Mm,” he hummed, voice low, deep in his chest. “You’ve got to wait.”

Lips pouting, you whispered a harsh, “Why?”

Mingi went unmoved. “Because I said so.”

He took his hand back and walked away, taking his eyes from you faster than you’d have liked.

Your stomach took a tumble.

This was not the time for him to play this game.

The baiting game, the ignore, deflect, have control game.

“Beach?” Aurora asked, throwing an arm as best as she could around your shoulders. Inches shorter than you, she stood on her tiptoes and held onto you with a smile.

Glancing over the other she wasn’t clinging to, you found Wooyoung beside Soul, the two whispering. Well, rather, Wooyoung whispered to Soul while the boy wrinkled his brow and tried to keep up with what he was saying.

“Beach,” you answered her with a nod, looking over at her and her happy face.

“Let’s go before the guys,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “Get some peace before they come and get loud, and play their music, and wanna play games…”

Some peace.

“Sure,” you shrugged, letting your eyes wander around the kitchen. Seonghwa and Wooyoung were picking at the plates of food, Soul bustled around like Wooyoung had sent him on a mission to straighten the place up, and Mingi stared at you. His hardened gaze flickered between you and Aurora, actually, and he was thinking.

He was thinking things you couldn’t figure out.

A piece of you hoped he didn’t feel out of place here. Without Yunho.

The tilt of your head and softening of your eyes alerted him that you put it together, his thoughts surrounding the fact that you were here with Aurora, you were here with Mingi, but Yunho wasn’t here with Aurora. With Mingi. Breaking his gaze, he focused elsewhere, not keen on wanting to talk about it, or think about it for much longer.

If last October had gone to plan, the way you and Mingi hoped, the way Mingi dished about to you, this trip may have looked a bit different, would’ve had different people residing in these walls. Less people. 

“Let’s go, Ror,” you mumbled, and she smiled.

“Let’s go.”

“Oh my god, he’s nuts,” Mingi muttered from behind you on the same towel you lounged on.

Everyone had eyes on Seonghwa in the clear blue water, diving into waves, jumping over them, hanging around a couple of guys who seemed to be around your age. He was good at that, making fast friends, charming strangers, beguiling them all. It came natural to him, and it seemed to amplify the moment Hongjoong stepped down from his presidency at ATZ and appointed Seonghwa to fill the position. 

It took him a week to accept, way longer than it took Aurora to snatch hers up and write your name down on the sheet beside Vice President. Seonghwa moved like his normal self. Calculated. He thought over every possible outcome, every possible situation that could arise, the shit show that Hongjoong was leaving behind for him to take over, for him to handle. That’s ultimately why he kept him close by. On the shortest of leashes. He made Hongjoong his Vice President, and he kept him in his pocket. He gave him all the freedom in the world however, on one condition.

“He’s finally not worried about shit,” Wooyoung said from your right, laying on his own towel, tanned legs stretched out in front of him, elbows propping him up where he laid. Sunglasses were perched on the edge of his nose, a pair of Cartier shades he bought himself recently. You can remember that phone call with Aurora, she was all teary eyed because she couldn’t afford to buy him anything he’d actually want to wear. 

Mingi laughed to agree with him. “Right,” he huffed. “A month of nothing, he’s gonna either lose his mind, or lose track of time.”

“I hope it’s time,” Wooyoung muttered, looking behind him up the stretch of sand toward the dunes where bars and lounges lived, luring tourists and beach goers in. “I want him to not think about anything that has to do with Nasara.”

You squinted at him, sitting up from where you laid. Tucking your legs in, crossing them beneath you, you asked, “Have you thought about his offer anymore?”

Wooyoung whipped his head toward you and scoffed, Cartier glasses sliding further down his curved nose. “To come back? Fuck that.”

“How come?” you asked. Mingi leaned forward and wrapped his arms around you from behind, sliding closer so he could press his chest to your back.

“The whole thing is screwed up,” Wooyoung shook his head, looking backward at the bar once more. “I don’t wanna be a part of something capable of that.”

“Capable of what?” you asked, egging him on. 

He looked at you with only his eyes. “Ruining lives.”

Mingi tried to nestle his head into your neck, the warmth of his body pairing with the warmth of the sun, all of it becoming too much. Shrugging, making him move, you smiled back at him and asked, “Get me a drink?” 

The corners of his lips perked up as he retreated off of you. “Sure,” he said gently, and took himself toward the bar Wooyoung kept watching.

Gaze following Mingi, you watched him step up onto the wooden ledge beneath the palm leafed covered awning and place a hand to Souls shoulder, giving him a little shake. The boy whirled around, sitting beside Aurora, the two rubbing elbows where they chatted, where they whispered. Your boyfriend smiled at him, said something to the both of them, and ordered you a drink.

“You don’t wanna be with them?” you asked Wooyoung. He didn’t give you any more of his attention, instead he focused on Seonghwa trekking up the sand, hair pushed back from his face. His suit clung to his thighs, outlining every muscle.

“Who?” Wooyoung asked, reaching over for a towel to hand to the eldest. “How was it?” he asked Seonghwa, giving him just as big a smile as he appeared with. 

Shaking the towel open he dried his hair first, pushing it backward before throwing the towel around his shoulders. “So good, you guys gotta get in there. It’s so warm, you don’t even have to wait to jump in.”

Wooyoung sat up completely and moved backward to give him a place to sit. “I will, Ro wants to go with me, I’ll wait for her.” 

Seonghwa sat and folded his legs, using the towel around his shoulders to dry his face and the rest of his arms. “Good shit,” he muttered without meeting his eyes. “Where’s she at?”

“At the bar,” you said quickly, and Seonghwa looked up at you. “With Soul.” Wooyoung looked at you. You looked at him. “You don’t want to go up there?” He raised a brow and tore off his sunglasses, tossing them in the space between him and Seonghwa.

“No,” he said, and you screwed your brows in confusion. “I’m not drinking again until later.”

“But they’re up there,” you said, throwing a hand in that direction. “Without you.”

Seonghwa glanced between the two of you, towel out of hand, completely dumbfounded.

Wooyoung maintained face, barely moving as he said, “And that matters, why?”

“One drink for Torilynn,” Mingi half sang as he rejoined you where you sat. You all looked up at him, two of you frustrated and one of you terribly confused. Your boyfriend took you all in and handed your drink over slowly. “What’d I miss?”

Ignoring him, you took the drink with the little umbrella poking out the top and whipped your head to glare at Wooyoung. “She went to his room last night.” Seonghwa pulled his lips in a line and averted his focus to the ocean, probably wishing he’d taken a bit longer to come back.

Wooyoung’s eyes narrowed in a way that sent a chill down your spine. “And then she came to ours ten minutes later.”

Sipping your drink, you shook your head. “Damn twenty year olds.”

His eyes widened. “You think they-”

“What do you mean by that?” Seonghwa asked. Wooyoung turned to him with a sigh, sending a glare your way shortly after.

“I mean-”

Mingi placed a hand on your shoulder. “Tori.” Sharing a look with him, one that nauseated you, you sipped your drink and took a breath. Blinking a few times you turned to Seonghwa.

“Who’d you hang with at the party?” you asked him, but it did nothing to cure the burning need to know in his dark eyes.

He glanced at Wooyoung, now leaning back on an elbow swiping through his phone, then back at you. “Yeosang,” he shrugged. “Him and H. Mostly H, actually, now that I think about it. He wasn’t sure what he was going to get into there, he was nervous. I hung with him to make sure he’d be okay.”

Mingi smiled. “You’re so good, Hwa.” His president returned the smile. Groaning internally, your eyes rolled outwardly. Mingi leaned in to kiss your cheek, lingering close by, watching you suck the liquor up through the straw. “Listen,” he said quietly, just for you. “You keep your mouth shut and I’ll let you do anything you want to do to me later.” The drink paused in your straw, and he snickered. “I know you can do it, baby, you can be such a good girl for me.” You looked at him, pulling the straw from your mouth. “Can you?”

“Get me in the water!” Aurora shouted, both her and Soul hurrying from the bar, kicking sand about. Rounding the group, she fell into Wooyoung’s lap, taking him by surprise in a fit of giggles, happy giggles. Throwing her arms around his shoulders she straddled his lap and laid him out on the towel, half of him in the sand. Soul, with a smile, waited patiently beside Seonghwa, the two laughing at the couple, then sharing something amongst themselves.

Lost in disgusting kisses, like they weren’t surrounded by their friends, on a crowded beach, you curled your lip and looked around to see if anyone else was as disturbed by the scene.

They weren’t.

“I’m gonna throw you in there,” Wooyoung said, muffled by her lips. 

Aurora giggled again. “No you will not.”

“I am so sandy,” he said, hooking his hands under her thighs. “You are getting thrown in,” he laughed, jumping up to his feet. Aurora clung to him tighter with a shriek, throwing her head backward with a wicked smile for help, for assistance. Her eyes met yours twice.

“Help,” she breathed. All you could do was watch.

“No one’s helping, Ro, you did this to yourself,” Wooyoung laughed along with her, Seonghwa and Soul too, all three of them gleaming. He flew down the sand, the other two following right behind. Without even knowing if they hit the waves, if he threw her in or not, you turned back to Mingi who hadn’t moved an inch. You were the only thing he paid attention to, even amongst the chaos.

Taking a hand to your cheek he danced the back of his fingers over your skin, then he reached into his pocket and pulled out two phones, handing one over to you. “Here,” he said softly, eyes never leaving yours, “That’s blowing up.”

Tearing your gaze off of him you took to your phone, tapping the screen, swiping it open. Three messages stowed away in your inbox. One from your father, the other two from that phone number that sent you all of those messages last night. You’d get back to your dad later, when you had a free minute. The unknown number totally wasn't the excuse you were using to not talk to him.

You held your drink out for Mingi to take, and he did, standing up to move over to the towel beside you. He picked up Wooyoung's Cartier glasses and pushed them back on his head.

[Unknown Number]: hope the beach is fun

[Unknown Number]: u look hot

[you]: stop texting me. you creep ass motherfucker

“Who’s that?” Mingi asked, sipping from your drink. Giving him a look, his brows were furrowed. “You look mad at the world.”

“My sister,” slipped through your teeth with all the ease in the world, so much so it scared you, but once he heard the words his face softened.

“Makes sense,” he nodded, “Tell her I said hi. You guys haven’t spoken in a while, this is weird.”

Staring at the screen, waiting for another message to come through, you cursed this stranger for not having their read receipts on. Your message lived on Delivered. “Yeah, I guess this is weird,” you mumbled, locking the screen. 

“Are you feeling any better?” he asked quietly, dropping his chin. Glancing at the sand, at the water and your friends splashing about, Aurora on Wooyoung’s shoulders, Soul on Seonghwa’s, you shrugged.

“Totally,” you said, and a sarcastic laugh fell out of him. “What?” you whined, giving him a look.

Mingi shook his head and sipped from your glass. It took him a second to speak, to form any words, all he could do was stare at you in disbelief that you were still lying to him. And then he said it. 

“I can’t believe you’re still lying to me.”

“Mingi,” you sighed with a slouch of your shoulders.

He shot you a half smile and handed back your drink, one now half empty. “I opened a tab.” With a slight squint to his eyes, he said, “I’m gonna go hang out with them, okay?”

Sighing louder, you grabbed onto your phone, you gripped the glass, and you leapt to your feet, tossing your ponytail over your shoulder. “Enjoy, I’m gonna go do a shot.” His demeanor fell, his eyes going extremely soft. “Just don’t,” you said just above a whisper. “Go have fun.”

“Do you want me to come with?” he asked from the sand, glued to you as you started toward the bar.

You looked back over your shoulder to him and his traveling eyes. “Not if you have to ask,” you said with a smile, leaving him where he sat.

Bodies filled the bar, leaning over the tropical styled counter, lounging in cushioned swings hanging from the ceiling, surrounding tables, everyone in bathing suits and sandals, or completely barefoot. Party music poured out of the speakers, a beat unknown to you but recognized by a few who chose to dance between tables, or down on the sand. People of all ages minded their own, kept to themselves or the people they came with. Not a soul paid attention to you as you approached the edge, sliding onto a stool with your now empty glass.

“What can I get you?” the girl in the bikini behind the bar asked as she basically danced up to you. Long caramel hair swept over her shoulders down to the middle of her back. The hot pink of her suit complimented her mocha toned skin, leaving you to wonder if it was natural or if she spent ample time in the sun.

“Whatever this was,” you said with a small smile, pushing the glass toward her. With one look at it she knew, snatching the glass away to fetch you a fresh drink.

Spinning on the stool, twisting to face the water, letting the ocean breeze brush over your skin, chilling the burn you’d been starting to feel from the sun, you took a deep breath and released it with a slow close of your eyes. All that was to be heard, the bar music, the people within it, and the crashing of the waves. No friends shouting, no boyfriend in your ear, no worries.

Peace.

Until your phone vibrated in your lap.

With a groan you opened it up.

[Unknown Number]: such a way with words miss tori

[Unknown Number]: lets be nice to each other

[you]: not like this, no. i’m going to block you.

[Unknown Number]: u would have done it yesterday if u were serious abt it

[Unknown Number]: tell me

[Unknown Number]: what keeps u from pressing that button

Damn. 

[you]: who are you.

[Unknown Number]: see i knew it

[Unknown Number]: ur curiosity overwhelms u

[you]: you tell me who you are, and then i block you.

[Unknown Number]: u’ll figure it out soon enough

[Unknown Number]: i promise ;)

Opening the contact, you clicked around on the settings and turned off the notifications. You also turned off your own read receipts. You also double checked that your location wasn’t shared with every single contact in your phone.

Even though apparently this person was already in Haos, they said so themselves last night.

They were right, whoever it was, you weren’t going to block them. Who in their right mind would block somebody like this without knowing who it was? Without knowing their motive? You’d dig deeper. You’d figure out who they were, and if it ended in disappointment, that was that, but if it happened to uncover something deeper, that was worth it. What if it had to do with Aurora? Her dad? What if it involved Mingi, or one of your other friends? It could be associated with Isla, if she was in trouble and you did nothing to help her, you’d never forgive yourself.

Swiping back into the messages, there was one unread.

[Unknown Number]: u know who i am tori.

Gulping, you spun back to face the bar, your fresh drink sitting in front of you all pretty on display, fresh fruit in the glass, tiny umbrella poked into the pineapple. Grabbing onto it, you guzzled it down quickly, barely giving yourself a chance to breathe. You locked your phone completely, deciding to message again later. Or tomorrow. Or if they texted again.

Resting an elbow on the bar, placing your chin within it, you took another long, much needed deep breath. You should tell Aurora about this person, or Mingi. Somebody other than you should know, just in case. Scanning around the bar, taking everything in, the beach paradise you’d be spending a month in, some sort of excitement shot through you. A type of electricity you hadn’t felt in weeks. Maybe even months. That number, that person, was your secret. You didn’t have to tell anyone.

People bustled by, people shouted while they danced, the world moved around you, and it suddenly didn’t seem so awful. No one would know. No one will know.

A smile crept onto your face, one you couldn’t swallow down. Grabbing your glass, you spun on the stool and jumped off of it, starting for the sand.

“Tori!” 

You froze on the ledge. A boy called out your name.

Turning toward the bar, your stomach dropped to your knees, and your cheeks surely flushed of all color. 

Across the bar, the entire thing a giant square, three familiar heads of hair greeted you. Two with smiles, and one with a look that sickened you.

Or fueled the excitement within you.

You weren’t sure.

Intak, Jiung, and Jongseob. 

His dirty blonde hair and bare shoulders should not have your heart pounding between your lungs, he should bring nothing but disgust, and shame, and regret, and more disgust. His friends waved, but he stared. He stared at more than he should before that shit eating smirk showed off his dimples.

little birdie told me u were here. so am i

hope the beach is fun

u know who i am tori.

Well, this should be fun.

read it on ao3 | talk to me | my masterlist

you do not have permission to copy or translate my works without my consent.

[kirby-derb]

The sound of boots pounding against concrete echoed in the night as you and Simon sprinted across the rooftop. The city lights glowed dimly beneath the thick fog, casting long shadows across your path. The group of assassins chasing you wasn’t far behind, their voices barking orders through the air like hunting dogs closing in on their prey.

Simon glanced back, his face set in a grim mask. "Keep moving!" he barked, his deep voice cutting through your growing fatigue.

Ahead, a gap between the buildings yawned wide, an alleyway that seemed impossibly vast. Simon didn’t hesitate. With a powerful leap, he cleared the chasm, landing solidly on the opposite roof. He rolled to absorb the impact, then scrambled to his feet, immediately turning back to you.

“Come on!” he shouted, holding out a hand.

Your chest heaved, every muscle in your legs screaming from exertion. You pushed yourself harder, barreling toward the edge. But as you launched yourself into the air, Simon’s eyes widened. You weren’t going to make it.

“Damn it.” he growled. Without hesitation, he grabbed the rope he’d secured moments earlier to a vent pipe and dove back toward the gap, swinging down to meet you mid-air.

Your stomach flipped as you realized he wasn’t on solid ground anymore, his arms reaching out like a lifeline. Gravity yanked you downward, but then his hands caught your wrist, iron-strong and unyielding.

“I’ve got you!” he grunted, his muscles straining as the rope swung the two of you into the side of the building.

Your breath hitched as you dangled, the city spinning below. “Simon!”

“Don’t look down!” he barked, his voice sharp and commanding. His grip tightened as he wrapped the rope around his other arm, bracing himself.

The pipe groaned above, the weight of you both testing its limits. Simon's face was inches from yours, his dark eyes blazing with determination. “You’re not slipping out of this,” he said, his voice low and steady despite the tension in the air.

With a grunt, he began pulling you up, every movement controlled and deliberate. It felt like an eternity before he finally hoisted you up onto his chest, anchoring you with one arm as he maneuvered the rope.

“Hold on to me,” he ordered.

You clung to him as he climbed back up, his strength almost superhuman as he dragged the two of you onto the roof. When you were finally on solid ground, he collapsed beside you, both of you gasping for breath.

For a long moment, neither of you spoke, the adrenaline crashing hard. Then Simon turned his head toward you, his mask partially askew, revealing the sharp line of his jaw.

“You ever scare me like that again,” he rasped, no daring to sit up just yet, “and I’ll kill you myself.”

Despite the situation, you couldn’t help but huff a weak laugh. “Noted.”

His gaze softened as he reached over, brushing a stray strand of hair from your face. “I mean it,” he murmured, quieter now.

“I didn’t plan on it,” you replied, your voice trembling.

He nodded once, then helped you to your feet. “Good,” he said, his tone gruff but his actions gentle. “Now let’s get out of here.”

(THIS FUCKING SCENE THIS THIS THING??? IN MY BRAIN FOR WEEKS.) Anyway, any feedback or anything like that you got I would be super duper thankful for. I'm not new to Tumblr but I am to the writing and posting part, so truly, feedback means sooooo much! BYEEEE

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

This show is driving me insane as you know @colourme-feral and this is just one of the 1525431 reasons why. (I stole your ss from the post above btw 💜)

The first time we watch this scene is pretty straightforward. Shirasaki is saying the words and meaning them. We know it's out of self preservation and his own feelings but either way he means what he says. Why can't he just accept that he is adorable and Hayama thinks he's a gift the gods sent specifically to him? Yuki we need to do something about that self esteem.

The second time it's through Hayama's pov, and he is hearing the words but not really. This is just my opinion, but in this moment he's too busy keeping his stoic persona in front of Shirasaki that he doesn't realize what's happening.

Because just after that we have this amazing moment.

Like a flip was switched. He just now realized what's happening. Look at him. He is so pretty it hurts me. *looks at the gif 523 more times. *

I'm back. Now for this episode. We have Shirasaki remembering that same moment and we have a whole new perspective.

Not front facing. Not obscured because it's his own pov but still partly hidden. And this flashback happens right after he says

"Soon I have to say goodbye to Takumi and Ryouji-san. (their drama chars). After the filming's wrapped, I probably won't see Hayama-san again. "

Pretty much since the beginning the lines between the drama and real life have been blurred. And now that he's contemplating the end of one, he needs to deal with the possible end of the other.

So... drunk baby sweetie poor Shirasaki is crying in his wine remembering this conversation, not seeing things clearly because, well the wine, and we again have a partially obscured view of that same scene. and then Hayama makes an entrance and baby Yuki chugs that wine and almost falls down and I cannot believe my sweet Hayama wasn't the one who picked him back up. I mean I believe it because that would almost look like caring and that's like and emotion and yuck... but still. Hayama is forgiven because of the piggyback but still. Didn't you go to the place you lost your feelings shouldn't you have come back with some? anyway...

My thoughts are all over the place right now because I'm screaming internally at this

HOW AM I SUPPOSE TO FUNCTION FOR SEVEN DAYS? REALLY SHOW? THIS WHAT YOU LEAVE ME WITH?

I need to go lie down now.

PARALLELS IN AT 25:00 IN AKASAKA / 25 JI, AKASAKA DE (2024), EP 6 vs. 7 At 25:00 in Akasaka / 25 Ji, Akasaka De parallels・Other parallels

[lxvi-gloria]

Drabble Prompt: Post-canon Levi, struggling with chronic pain and mourning his dead loved ones, being visited by his still alive loved ones

Anon, you knew how to talk pretty to me <3

hihi requests are still open btw

I feel like I gotta put a disclaimer or something lmao. So, the length of my drabble requests is usually something between 100-400 words. This request is just an incredibly unexpected exception. it just happened to fit into this idea I already had been thinking of, which was how the remaining 104th would ask Levi to be part of important events in their lives because well, they like the dude lmao, so expect that sort of one-shot soon. Additionally, since I kept reminding myself that this was supposed to be a drabble, I might have glossed over the chronic pain and mourning bits so I'm sorry about that ;;

that being said, 2.4k words of Levi and Gabi be upon ye <3

Now on Ao3!

The angry hissing of the kettle makes him flinch. It brings a loud ringing to his right ear. Instinctively, he places his right hand over it, and gives his ear a couple of gentle taps; it's more of a grounding gesture, a distraction from the buzzing. He usually keeps watch over the kettle, so that he can lower the heat just right before it gets a chance to scream at him. 

He realises then that he must have spaced out while waiting. It’s alright, he thinks. It’s been like that a lot, recently. He’s been like that. Lost in thought-- lost in time, if he allowed himself to be precise. The last days, weeks even, as the temperatures started to drop, blended into each other. There’s a little calendar on his bedside table, it had been a birthday gift from Armin – or had that been Mikasa’s? He isn’t sure, he had received an absurd number of presents from the kids last year, it had been hard to keep track of who gave him what and now the fact escaped him. Turning the pages of the little calendar, with its delicate botanical illustrations on each day, quickly became part of his morning routine, and so he was sure that time was passing at all. The stillness of the routine, he guesses, made him like this.

His vision blurs momentarily while he scoops the tea leaves into the teapot. He squints, trying to will his good eye to focus, but all he gets in return is a throb in his right eye. After putting the tea canister away, he presses the inner sides of his wrists to both eyes, placing just enough pressure to relieve the discomfort. When he opens his eyes again, he is pleased to find he can read the small print on the canister an arm’s length away. 

There’s a loud slam coming from the front of the house, followed by footsteps coming further into the house.

He quickly recognizes the heavy stomping as Gabi’s gait. She’s always been so loud.

Gabi crosses the arch into the small kitchen and dining area. 

“Don’t slam my doors,” he says as a greeting, slowly turning his head to his left side, trying to catch a glimpse of her in his periphery.

“Aye, aye,” the kid waves her hand, shoots him a teasing grin, “someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”

Levi hums in response but doesn’t say anything else. He busies himself with placing everything they need for their morning tea and coffee on a metal tray on the counter, which Gabi takes from him as soon as it’s ready and sets it on the table.

He grabs his cane from where he had hooked it on one of the kitchen drawers. He has been leaning against the counter, his right leg supporting most of his weight all this time. He braces himself for the sharp pain that will surely surge from his bad knee, through his left hip and up his spine. Cold mornings like this one and being still in one place for long will do that to him. It’s not so bad. It could be worse.

It takes 4 steps to get from the stove to his chair, which Gabi has already pulled out for him. It sits at an angle that allows him to easily slide down on it and rest his right elbow on top of the table, leaning back and against his good side.

“I have something that will cheer you up,” she holds a couple of envelopes in her hand and waves them at him, “You’ve got mail!”

He nods at her in acknowledgement but does not take his attention away from preparing his first batch of tea of the day. There’s a ritual to it, it almost feels like, and he doesn’t want to mess it up. Not when the ringing in his ear is still there, the building pressure in the upper back part of his eyeballs, and the cold air seeping into his bones through his thick jumper. Oh, how he needs a good cup of tea right now.

While Levi waits for it to steep, he grabs the papers that she had shoved in his face, squints his eyes at the first envelope and finds that he is unable to make out much of the handwriting. He brings it closer to his face, squints harder, steals a quick glance across the table and hopes Gabi isn’t paying him any mind, too preoccupied with choosing from the bag of pastries she brought with her. It is with an impassive expression that he hands the stack of envelopes back. 

“Read it for me.” A beat and then he adds, a little reluctant: “Please.”

He knows Gabi prefers coffee in the mornings, and black tea in the evenings, so he makes sure to have a fresh brew of the former whenever he knows she’s coming over; so, with shaky hands, Levi gets to prepare her cup of coffee. While he enjoys the aroma of it, he remains faithful to tea; at first, he thought he didn’t like it because he had butchered his first attempts at brewing it. But even after Onyankopon had taught him how to do it properly and he had enjoyed his cup, it didn’t bring the same comfort as tea. It just never hit the spot.

She shoots him a mischievous grin, “Oh, you sure? What if I read something personal, hm?” 

Levi just shakes his head, scoffing at the idea of Gabi finding his junk mail fascinating.

“Is this how I find out you have a secret lover you’re exchanging raunchy love letters with?” Gabi teases, wiggling her eyebrows at him.

He lets out a tired sigh and rolls his eyes, “just wanna be done with it, ” he stirs the milk into Gabi’s coffee, which now has turned into a cup of milk with coffee. “We have a lot to prepare for tonight.”

She clicks her tongue at him, but still rips the first envelope open, “Mr. Levi, your reading won’t improve if you keep doing that,” she jokingly scolds him.

Although Levi mentally recognises handing her and Falco stuff he couldn’t be bothered reading before, that’s not the case this time. He’ll let her think that for now, though, because he doesn’t want to mention the pressure building in the back of his bad eye, it’s not important and she, a kid, doesn’t need to know his newly found ailment of the week. He can see just fine around him right now. He can see Gabi’s big eyes and playful smile at the other side of the table, and that’s good enough; smaller details, he doesn’t feel he can do them, not without making himself go dizzy with a migraine.

Levi slides the cup of coffee to her and is pleased with himself when she approves of the colour of her drink.

“It’s from Armin,” she announces as she scans the letter. 

From this angle, the soft morning light illuminating her face and thanks to his faulty vision, Gabi’s image stirs his memory. His heart faintly constricts as he is reminded of the many times Hange read their research reports to him during breakfast in the mess hall before presenting them to Erwin. Levi always wondered how they could read so fast, sometimes he even doubted they were actually reading at all, their words barely being able to catch up with her eyes; he never asked about it, maybe reading came easy to them as numbers did to him.

A high-pitched squeal from Gabi startles him, bringing him back to the here and now.

“Oh… ohh, Mr. Levi,” she starts, her smile widening by the second “This is good news!”

Gabi makes a show of clearing her throat and then starts reading “Dear Captain, I hope this letter finds you well and in good health.” 

Levi can’t help but let a sardonic huff at the irony of the greetings but doesn’t let himself be bothered by it. He has written only a handful of personal letters throughout his life, and by now he knows it’s just something you’re supposed to say because jumping straight to the point isn’t acceptable, or so that’s what he had been told. 

Gabi continues reading Armin’s words to him. For the most part, it’s a standard letter coming from him: he asks Levi how he’s dealing with the changing of the seasons, how Gabi and Falco are faring, if business at the tea shop has been good, if there’s anything Levi needs that he can’t get in town so that Armin or the others can get it for him. He tells him a little about the country he’s writing from, he even includes a photograph. Then, after the expected pleasantries, Gabi can barely hold her excitement and starts reading faster, trying so hard not to trip over her words.

“If I’m being sincere, we would prefer to ask you in person,” Gabi stops for a second to look up at him from the paper, gauging for a reaction and finding nothing, she continues. 

Armin apologises for not being able to visit him before the holidays, Annie included, and so it is implied that he won’t be attending tonight’s reunion. 

Sometime during the last five years, the Alliance brats had decided to make showing up at Levi’s doorstep together once a year a sort of custom; the first time it happened was during an early winter, a blizzard had stopped them from leaving Levi’s until the next morning. It had been a really nice evening despite the awful weather, Levi remembers, after everyone pitched in one way or another, they all shared a simple but hearty meal together. It was Connie who jokingly said they should do it every year. The following year, Onyankopon, Gabi and Falco joined them. 

This year would be their fourth, and the first someone wouldn’t make it. That fact sits heavily in Levi’s chest, stealing the spotlight from his throbbing eye.

“...Annie and I have decided to get married. The both of us would like you to officiate our ceremony!” unable to contain her excitement, she tears her eyes away from the paper and looks at Levi. “Huh?! This is good news! What’s with the constipated face?!”

That doesn’t sound right. It figures that Annie and Armin would be the first to marry; in a way, he is happy for them, they clearly care for each other. No, that part is easy to understand. Their union is logical to anyone who knows the couple. What Levi can’t figure out is why they are asking him such a thing.

He clears his throat, assumes it’s been 3 minutes and his tea is ready to be poured and so he distracts himself with that.

When he doesn’t answer Gabi, she picks up where she left off. 

He isn’t… well, he isn’t that close to either of them. He’s sure Annie must have other relatives that could step in his stead. Maybe a brother, a cousin. Even Jean or Reiner would be better options than Levi. He isn’t good with words or people like they are, he couldn’t possibly give them a speech about something foreign to him as it is that kind of love, that’s what people expect, right? His title of Captain is obsolete in this new world, so it can’t be that either. Hell, he has never been to a fucking wedding. 

Just… why him?

As expected, Armin doesn’t really go into the details of their choice but does let Levi know they do not expect a fast answer and that they do not want him to feel pressured to accept it, despite how much it would mean to them if he did. Armin asks if there’s anything in particular that he would like for his birthday, as it is a month away, and closes the letter by saying he looks forward to seeing him and everyone then.

When the letter is closed and put back into its envelope, silence falls around them. For a moment the only sound that can be heard is the clinking of tableware as Levi places the teacup back on its saucer.

It bothers him, that he knows he will be letting Armin down by refusing something that any other well-adapted person would consider an honour. But the thought of embarrassing him and himself, because he gave an awkward, most likely insensitive, speech, mortifies him. No, he can’t put them and their guests through that. He will find a way to make it up to the couple, maybe he can… he doesn’t know yet, but he will come up with something.

As he finishes his first cup, Levi realises that at some point while he was lost in thought, the ringing in his ear has subsided and now it’s back to that muffled, cotton-in-ear sensation he’s used to and he doesn’t feel his eyeball pulsating anymore. Glancing at Gabi, he notices she is trying really hard not to say something, her brow furrowed as she takes a sip of her own drink, followed by a big bite of her pastry. Flakes stick to the corner of her mouth and for once it doesn’t disgust him. Instead, it makes his lips twitch as if going into a smile.

“I can help you... if you want,” she says eventually, sounding uncharacteristically careful and small of her.

Levi quirks an eyebrow “Help? with what?” 

She shrugs, “How to… tell them you don’t want to,” she avoids looking at him for the first time, finding the flakes on her plate more interesting. She shrugs again and tilts her head to the side, a thin line of a smile appearing on her face. “...or prepare for the ceremony.”

Not unlike many times before, Gabi’s words render him speechless, if only for a moment. He spares his tea a glance and he thinks: it’s bold of her to be so upfront about offering her help to him, and had it been any other morning, one where he couldn’t think past the constant ache in his body, he would’ve chewed her head off for simply trying to help him because he himself doesn’t know how to accept that kindness.

This kid is trying her best and he can’t help but feel somewhat proud of that.

“You have shit on your face. Here,” he points to where the flakes would sit on his own face and picks his refilled teacup back up.

Gabi quickly wipes her mouth with the back of her hand, getting most of the flakes off. Levi gives her a thumbs-up with his free hand.

“I’ll think about it,” he finally concedes and tries to ignore the little happy dance she does in her seat.

This time, when the amber liquid touches his lips, it’s remarkably sweeter than before.

[lostloveletters]

Human Touch (Gale Cleven x OC)

Summary: By 1954, Gale Cleven's a widower, and Leona Spinelli's a divorced single mom, but a reunion brings the two lonely hearts together, thawing a mutual longing that had been on ice for over a decade.

Note: I’ve been wanting to write for Buck for a while and thought a post-war dynamic would be an interesting place to start! I hope I did alright with his characterization...Leona was featured briefly in Crimson and Clover. Title comes from the Bruce Springsteen song, but in all honesty, I listened to the I'm On Fire intro loop a lot. Do not interact if you're under 18, terf or radfem, or post thinspo/ED content.

Word count: 3.8k

Warnings: Inevitable historical inaccuracies (I know flavored lip balm wasn't invented until the 70s but let me have this one thing). Some canon divergence. References to death, grief/loss, guilt, and period-typical misogyny. Brief mentions of past sex.

1954

Gale glanced across the bar in the hotel ballroom, and though Leona had no good reason to be looking at him, he hoped she was. Couldn’t exactly tell who she was talking to by the back of the guy’s head, but her hand reached for her conversation partner’s shoulder as she laughed. Gale took a sip of his ginger ale. With the distance, he wasn’t able to tell if her wedding and engagement rings were gone. He had heard as much from Holly, but wanted to see it for himself.

Leona’s profile always made his eyes linger on her longer than they should have. Two thousand years contained in her cupid’s bow lips and strong Roman nose. Whenever he walked into a museum, her face echoed in the clay and marble statues on display. She’d find the complement undoubtedly strange, but she had a knack for making him feel that way.

Like how his stomach flipped when she caught him staring, her dark eyes lighting up at the sight of him. He heard others say making eye contact with her was uncomfortable, a little too intense for their comfort, as if she could see something in them that they weren’t even aware of. In this instance, as he held her gaze, it made him feel awake, whereas for the past few hours, he’d been stumbling around the reunion in a haze of condolences and pitied glances.

She brought her attention back to whoever she was speaking with, said something accompanied by a parting kiss on the cheek. He quickly pulled the toothpick from his mouth and placed it on the cocktail napkin next to his drink. The room fell to a hush as she walked over to him. Or maybe it was the blood pounding in his ears.

“Hi Buck,” she said, giving him a hug, her lips gentle against his cheek. Her hair, the same dark brown as her eyes, brushed the tip of his nose with the gesture and he could smell it—gardenias, lighter and fresher than he remembered, but it’d been a while.

“Good to see you, Leona,” he said, squeezing her lightly against him. She felt almost plush beneath his fingers. Must have gained weight since the last time he held her so close. “Missed you last year.”

“The divorce was a mess. I just couldn’t make it out here.”

His gaze fell to the hand wrapped around her wine glass, the stripe of pale skin on her ring finger nearly matched his. He’d only just stopped wearing his own wedding band two months prior. Felt almost naked without it. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Can’t have it all, huh?” she sighed. “How have you been holding up?”

“Just…taking it day by day.”

“That’s the most you can do sometimes.”

He cleared his throat, placing the toothpick back in his mouth. “Seat’s open, if you want it.”

“Sure, thanks, Buck.” She smiled. “I’m gonna see if I can wave down the bartender from here.”

When she turned beneath the low bar lights, strands of gray shimmered in her dark hair like Christmas tinsel. His mouth went dry for a moment, and he brought his glass to his lips, drinking his watery ginger ale.

She looked good. Really good. About as good as she did in the summer of ‘43, when she basked in the sun the way her cat-like eyes almost implied she would—taking in the rays, her honeyed skin glimmering with a sheen of sweat whenever he saw her sunbathing, her blouse unbuttoned, black heels kicked off in the grass somewhere impossibly quiet. He wondered if, at the time, he had subconsciously gone out of his way to wander to one of her usual spots just to catch a glimpse of her.

He almost slunk into himself when she brought her attention back to him. He knew he looked rough. Bags under his eyes, sometimes would go a day or two before remembering to eat. Going through the motions did him no favors. But he came out for the weekend, if only to placate Bucky and Holly. He was trying.

The bartender refilled Leona’s wine glass, and she took a sip before turning back to Gale. Maybe not exactly liquid courage, but something to loosen her up a little before they actually got into a conversation. From the first day she met him, she thought he looked like an absolute dream, almost acted just like one, too, and the years had been kinder to him than to her. Thought the scars he returned from the Stalags with added a layer of rugged intrigue to his poster-perfect flyboy look.

Barely able to take the time off of work and find a babysitter for Luke, Leona was aware her appearance left much to be desired with the limited time and budget she had been working with. She decided painting her nails and waxing her eyebrows and upper lip took precedence over dyeing the grays that’d been popping up in her hair ever since the divorce. 

He motioned to her drink. “How’s your—“

“Merlot, and this is my second and last glass of the night,” she said. “I don’t even drink around Luke.”

“How is he?” he asked. “Luke’s gotta be three, now, right?”

“He’s actually turning five in October.”

“He’s that old?” Gale smiled. “Shoot, I remember when you showed us his baby pictures.”

“I still have the little hat Marge knitted for him, with the ducks on it and the ribbon,” she said. “Before he got too big for it, I put it on him all the time, especially back when we’d go to the Shore.”

“She was always making things like that. She really appreciated it when you sent the photo of him with it on. Probably still have it around the house somewhere.”

Leona sent a card when she heard from Holly that Marge died. Wasn’t even sure she had the right address at that point, but was surprised to get a response from Gale. A simple thanks, and good wishes for her and her family. Funny to receive in the middle of filing for divorce, but it had been nice to get something in the mail that wasn’t from a lawyer.

‘Best wishes to you, your husband, and Luke’ like he couldn’t remember Will’s name but wanted to be polite. The envelope was addressed to Mrs. Leona Deguire, so she suspected that had been the case.

But Luke. He remembered Luke. She had named her son after the Gospel, the news of her pregnancy the greatest she’d ever heard. The second best day of her life after the day he was born, followed closely by his baptism. 

And she wasn’t even allowed to take communion anymore.

She could forget about that for a few hours, though. Gale was more than good for that, had plenty of stories in his pocket that made her nearly howl with laughter. She noticed, though, that while she accidentally peppered in mentions of Will, however dismissively, Gale didn’t really bring up Marge. Made her wonder if she misstepped in mentioning the hat, if she simply shoved her finger into an open wound instead of sharing a fond memory. She nearly scoffed at herself. Of course she had. His wife had died suddenly and tragically. It wasn’t a contentious and bitter divorce like she had.

Luke was a safe conversation topic. Gale at least seemed interested in her little anecdotes about her son and his antics. In the middle of a story about Luke and some of his friends, the opening notes of an all too familiar song began playing, and a cacophony of groans and heckling was directed toward Bucky.

“Oh god,” Gale groaned.

Leona laughed. “Can’t say I missed that last year.”

“Do you wanna take this conversation somewhere else?” he asked, his voice nearly drowned out by Bucky’s off-key singing.

“That sounds perfect. Let me close out my tab.”

She got up from her seat to wave down the bartender. 

Gale’s attention turned to Bucky, half-serenading a giggling, blushing Holly—until Bucky nodded toward Leona and winked at him. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to thank or strangle his best friend in that moment, but Leona rejoined him before he had time to do more than shoot a playful glare Bucky’s way.

“They’re so funny,” Leona said, a slight smile on her face.

“If you mean funny–weird, then yeah, they’re funny.”

“Well, where are we off to now?”

“Is my room alright?” he asked.

She nodded. “Sure.”

Walking side by side to the elevator, she wondered if the heat radiating off of him was real, or just the buzz she had after two glasses of wine with barely anything else to eat or drink for the past few hours. Christ, she couldn’t hold her alcohol as well as she used to. Things looked almost sideways until she leaned against the wall on the far side of the elevator, watching as Gale pressed the button for the seventh floor. Her room was on the fifth.

“You okay, Lee?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said when the elevator doors finally opened. “I–I think I just need a glass of water or something.”

Almost felt like a sunburn, his hand on the small of her back, leading her to his hotel room with concern etched across his handsome face. She nearly insisted she was fine, but knew he wouldn’t be satisfied until he knew for sure.

He sat her on the edge of the bed and disappeared into the bathroom for a few moments. Her gaze fell to her hands as the faucet ran, her nose crinkling in disappointment when she noticed her cheap drugstore nail polish already chipping. Should’ve dyed her hair instead.

Gale emerged from the bathroom with a glass of water before she could sink too far into the depths of self-consciousness. “You’re probably dehydrated.” It seemed he'd thrown away his toothpick while in there, too. Almost odd to see him without it.

He sat down next to her, rubbing comforting circles on her back as she drank. It was almost too overwhelming. She hadn’t been taken care of in so long, but she felt like her head was back on straight with something other than wine in her.

“Thanks,” she said, setting the glass down on the nightstand and wishing he hadn’t pulled his hand away from her when she did. “I really don’t drink. Especially not around—I already told you that, didn’t I?”

He smiled sympathetically. “Who's been watching Luke since you’re out here?”

“One of my neighbors in the building. He likes going over there anyway, they have a television and their son is about his age, so they play cops and robbers, or superheroes.”

“It’s good he’s made friends.”

“He sees—maybe sees isn’t the right word since he refuses to wear his glasses,” she half-joked. “Everything's an adventure to him. He hasn’t started asking a lot of questions yet—not the heavy stuff, anyway—so it gives me time to think of answers.”

“Must be hard on your own.”

“I manage. It took a while to find a job that paid halfway decent, but the alimony helps,” she said. “I think once we settle down somewhere, I’ll buy a television. Not that anyone in their right mind would give me a line of credit, but I can save up for one if I’m careful. I think he deserves it after everything.”

“He’s lucky to have you as a mother.” The sincerity in his voice made her breath catch in her throat. “You’re doing a lot for him, more than most people could handle. You’ve always been pretty tough, though.”

She couldn’t acknowledge the compliment or she’d start crying. Wasn’t something she heard very often, typically the opposite over the past year or so.

In Newark, the first day she showed up to work without her rings on was her last, as her boss brought her into his office and told her that as a family business, he simply couldn’t abide a woman separated from her husband working there. Humiliation and rage initially blinded her through the first few hundred miles of the drive to Nevada to establish the six-week residency required to file for divorce from Will. Making the move with Luke in tow, the reason she was certain divorce was the right choice in the first place, replaced those feelings with determination to make the messy situation work.

Money was inevitably tight on her lone income until the court finally ordered Will to back pay alimony. But she had a chance to really start over, without the judgmental stares and whispers from the people she’d spent her whole life around. Outright condemnation from her oldest sister, a nun, disapproval from her parents, and varying degrees of skepticism from the rest of her siblings. How could they expect her to grin and bear it, to allow her son to grow up in a home where his own father barely acknowledged his existence, hardly bothered to even pretend he gave a damn about him, so complacent in the casual cruelty. She felt almost sick thinking about it again.

“I don’t know if I’ll stay in Reno forever, especially with Luke starting school next year. It’d be like raising him in Atlantic City,” she said, quickly waving her hand as if to dismiss her own worry. “But I’ll figure it out, maybe go to a few different places and see where he likes best.”

“I’m back in Wyoming for a while. You two are more than welcome to visit if you want to make the trip.”

“How long is a while?”

“Till the end of the summer, at least.”

“Are you sure, Gale?” she asked. “I mean, Luke’s a good kid, but he can be a little wild sometimes. I just don’t want to put you out or anything.”

He smiled. “I’m sure he and I will get along just fine. I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t mean it.”

“Reno to Wyoming…I’ll have to drive through Utah or something, won’t I?”

“We’ll find Croz tomorrow and get him to map it for us.”

She laughed. “Come on, I made it from Newark to Reno on my own, and I only got lost twice. Maybe three times, but that last one was because Luke had to go to some miniatures museum in Oklahoma.”

“Oklahoma?” He raised an eyebrow. “What were you doing driving through there to get to Reno from Jersey?”

“We mapped out a road trip ahead of time. I wanted to make it fun for him, not like he was stuck in the car for a week because…” she trailed off, sighing softly to herself.

“It sounds to me like you did the right thing.”

“That means a lot coming from you.”

His light scoff held a hint of nervousness. “It shouldn’t.” 

“Why not?”

“Come on, Lee.”

Her lips twitched a bit. “You were far from my worst, Gale.”

“The way I acted after was horrible.”

“You were scared,” she said. “We all were.”

“That’s not an excuse.”

“I’ve barely even thought about it since then,” she lied.

“That’s funny. It’s always…been on my mind, somehow,” he said, fidgeting with his watch. “Maybe—maybe I made it out to be more than it was.”

“What was it to you?”

“Back then?” He hesitated. “Everything.”

Leona was silent for a few moments, her feline gaze sizing him up. “I would’ve never guessed.”

He only ever lingered, made himself known to her one time. The space had been murky, there was no other way for him to put it. Blindsided by a letter in which Marge expressed the desire to end things despite all of her promises otherwise, Gale spent hours pouring over her previous letters for some indication of her discontent, a tell he had foolishly missed. It wasn’t until Bucky pulled him from his cot, telling him moping wouldn’t do him any good, that he should embrace his singleness, as if he weren’t already head over heels with Holly.

Gale embraced Leona instead. He’d always liked her. Interesting, nice to talk to, but most of all, he wanted her to see him, really see him, and know for certain that deep inside him there was someone worth wanting, maybe even loving, despite everything else. 

Her buttery skin shimmered with sweat which lent a salty tinge to her usual gardenias, the foreign name of her perfume whispered softly in his ear when he sat next to her in the grass and mentioned it. Made him feel dizzy, her proximity and his heartbreak mixing into a heady impulsiveness that saw him placing a hand on her knee, and then a bit higher when she smiled at the gesture. Felt that smile against his own lips, fingers digging into her tender thighs in an attempt to steady himself. In that single sweltering afternoon, he fell a little bit in love with Leona Spinelli, and never quite fell out of it. 

And it did scare him, how quickly the taste of her cherry-balmed lips and sounds of her moans seared in his memory.

The sleepless night that followed found him scrawling an impassioned letter to Marge imploring her to give them another chance, to not give up on them (not as easily as he seemed to, though he never whispered a word of it to her in shame—perhaps not so much for doing it, but for finding pleasure in another woman so easily). She was worth fighting for, that one last desperate cry for the woman who was his one and only.

An alien sickness filled his gut when he confronted Leona after bringing the letter to be sent back Stateside. It was a mistake, he told her, he should have never taken advantage of her kindness the way he did, so intimately and impulsively. Her gaze cut through him like shards of glass, though her voice was cool when she assured him she understood and they could still be friends.

Miraculously, she didn’t hate him. He was almost certain she would. They didn’t speak much again after that, but just as everyone else had, she embraced him upon his escape from the Germans, greeting him with a kiss on the cheek and a ‘Welcome back, Major’ , his knees almost giving out at the gesture.

“Leona, I should’ve—“ 

Except she was asleep, lying on the bed like she did on the blanket she’d taken from the women’s barracks back then, during his last summer as a free man for nearly two years. 

He pressed a soft kiss to her cheek before lying down on the other side of the bed, a respectable amount of space between them. When he closed his eyes, he fell into a dreamless sleep for the first time in weeks.

The following morning, Leona awoke to a dimly lit room, a top sheet having been thrown over her at some point. Good thing, because her skirt had bunched up, and she awkwardly pulled it down before pushing the covers off. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw Gale standing in front of the nearby mirror.

She realized she hadn’t seen him in anything besides a uniform, as like Bucky, he continued his career in the Air Force following the end of the war instead of returning to civilian life like so many others.

“Do you own any other clothes?” she asked, her voice hoarse and judgment lacking from drowsiness.

He snickered. “Yes, I do, and good morning.”

“Morning,” she said, sitting up. The glass on the nightstand was full again, and she smiled softly at Gale in thanks before taking a sip of water. “What time is it?”

“A little after eight. You fell asleep around midnight.”

“Oh, you could’ve kicked me out.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you, Lee. Besides, there was plenty of room.”

She got up from the bed and made her way over to him, feeling a bit awkward standing beside him in her wrinkled clothes. “Did you sleep okay?”

“Better than I have in a while,” he said, adjusting his tie in the mirror before turning to her. “How about you?”

“I just have a little bit of a crick in my neck is all.” 

She tilted her head to the side slightly, trying to relieve the tension that had built up overnight but winced when she pushed it too far.

He placed his hand on the side of her neck, his fingers pressing tenderly against her skin. “Here?”

“Yeah.” She knew he could feel it, her rabbit pulse thumping beneath his touch.

His gaze fell to her parted lips. Each breath she took gently beckoned him closer, to close the distance between them. Either her sighing or his imagination rang in his ears with a whisper-quiet plea—‘kiss me’. 

She didn’t leave him any room for doubt or hesitation, kissing him back as soon as his lips met hers. Different from how she remembered, the combination of experience and longing made her a little weak in the knees. It’d been so long since she’d been kissed, and kissed so well, at that. She nearly whined when he pulled away.

“My address is the same,” he said quietly, his nose brushing hers.

Her brows furrowed. “What?”

“From when you sent the card,” he said. “I really wanna see you again, Leona, and I don’t wanna have to wait another year for that to happen.”

She hesitated, letting his words settle in her mind before responding. “Are you sure it’s not too soon?”

“Rather it be too soon than too late. These things…you never know.”

“Oh Gale,” she whispered, caressing his cheek. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t—don’t pity me. You weren’t doing that last night,” he said. “It was the first time in a while that I felt like I was having a real conversation with someone besides Bucky.”

“Okay,” she said. “Okay. I have to square some things in Reno first, like telling Luke, most importantly. If you give me your phone number, I’ll call you when I get home and have a better idea of when we can visit.”

He nodded. “Anytime, Lee. I’ll be waiting there for you.”

“Maybe we should make it a surprise, then,” she joked. “Keep you on your toes.”

He smiled, pulling her closer and kissing her again.

She felt almost sorry when she reminded him that she still needed to go down to her own hotel room to shower and change clothes. Ten minutes of gentle coaxing and half a dozen kisses that were supposed to be the last before she slipped out, but not without swollen lips, hopelessly mussed hair, and the ghost of his hands squeezing her hips. 

In return, she had his phone number written neatly on the hotel stationary and folded securely between her fingers, and the satisfaction of finally knowing what he sounded like when he moaned without holding back.

[rking200]

And here we are, at the final Sunday! ('The Final Countdown' blares in the background) Jokes aside, I hope this last chapter doesn't disappoint as the conclusion to this wild ride. It's been a wonderful time, and while I'm sad to see the fic finished it's nice to have something like this finished. I never thought I would be able to write something this long, this involved, and yet here it is sitting every-so-calmly on my AO3 <3 Thank you for everyone who's been keeping up this entire time, and welcome to anyone who was waiting for it to be completed in order to dive in. An especially big thank you to @dbh-bb and @connor-sent-by-cyberlife, as the event and collab partner that made this all possible. For some reason, Tumblr won't let me put this link in all fancy-like, so please excuse the boring link below ; ~;

https://archiveofourown.org/works/58781611/chapters/158487766

The Red Room (162392 words) by rking200 Chapters: 18/18 Fandom: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Hank Anderson/Connor Characters: Hank Anderson, Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Original Chloe | RT600, Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Elijah Kamski Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Human, Stalking, Vomiting, Suicidal Thoughts, Top Hank Anderson, Bottom Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Connor is a Mess (Detroit: Become Human), Hank Anderson is Bad at Feelings, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Missing Persons, Abduction, Manipulation, Death Threats, Mental Health Issues, Zlatko didn't do it, POV Alternating, Slow Burn, Sex at some point Summary: Connor Stern is a law school dropout who dreams of making it big in the music industry. He manages to get into a special apprenticeship program with the musical genius Elijah Kamski and, despite working two jobs and struggling to stay afloat, feels like his dream is finally within his grasp. When Hank Anderson stumbles into the lounge Connor performs at, The Red Room, he becomes entranced with him. As Hank falls in love with Connor's voice, he ends up entangled with conflicting emotions and delicate situations. Slowly, his nights are filled with Connor's songs and his closeness, even if he feels he doesn't deserve it. They reach several roadblocks along the way of getting closer, some more dangerous than others. A collaboration written alongside Connor-sent-by-Cyberlife for the Reverse Big Bang 2024, told with a POV alternating between Hank and Connor. Chapters added weekly.

[merry-andrews]

Boxer!Bradley AU;

Bradley fights big matches and wins big prizes. He's one of famous ones. one night at a bar he meets Jake. He's a run-away kid looking for finding a job in this big town and a new start and it's supposed to be a casual one-night stand but morning after when Jake walks around Bradley's small kitchen, wearing Bradley's shirt and sitting on Brad when he's doing his push-ups, Bradley just gets too fond of him that he suggests Jake to stay with him until he finds his own place to live.

he's set for a big match for next couple of months and his competitor is also a good boxer with good reputation too so it's a real challenge if he can beat him. Talking about moneys and bets here which he can make a whole new life someplace else (with Jake💗 Brad's planning on to purpose him) something that he doesn't know, Jake's his competitor's lover.. and all this was a plan from start to get under Bradley's skin to get to convince him losing the match without polluting his own name. So Brad finds out somehow and they break up and while Jake truly has feelings for him, but he doesn't say a word or begs him.. he just leaves..

Brad wins the prize (Jake's heart was beating so fast he was so scared, on the edge of tears whenever Brad got hit. At the end Bradley's locking eyes with Jake while they raise his hand to announce winner) and at that same night Jake comes knocking on a moping Bradley's door, tears in his eyes when Brad pulls him in a kiss, says he's in love with Bradley and he put bets on Bradley instead of his ex-lover💗

[trashfaun]

Life and all sorts of things have been slightly in the way, but I crawled out of my temporary grave to post again A gift for @ashcroft-writes of his amazing lad Nuni from Homeworld Elegy, an absolute delight to get to know and not to mention draw, surrounded by plants

This took me some weeks... or months... but that's beside the point! Hope you enjoy!

[cadoodledoodleydoo]

If I'm understanding this correctly, then Gah... with a dash of Oh!!

Get creatured!!! You're a lil plant guy now!!! Hey so the feelings stated above are extremely mutual fam????? Jix introduced me to your blog via the HEM/SAINW powers posts and I LOST MY EVER LOVING MIND!! Youre writing and understanding for the brothers is god tier. Poetic and beautiful and paints gorgeous visuals IN MY MENTAL THEATRE I HAVE SO MANY THINGS I NEED TO DRAW BECAUSE OF YOU HECC!! I would absolutely love to chat and hang and get to know you better! Please please please feel free to message me whenever you want! Lets chat turtles and aus and ocs and whatever else comes to mind! Lets be cool little creative creatures together!! Thanks for sending me all of these lil ask memes too???? I feel so loved haha!! ‎٩(⸝⸝ᵕᴗᵕ⸝⸝)و̣̩₊⊹♡

[codecicle]

BACK TO BACK SLIMECICLE STREAMS????? IS THE CURSE FINALLY WORKING IN MY FAVOR?????????

[mitamicah]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh your songs are so freaking neat, your voice sounds so freaking pretty. I said it before and I will say it forever. Love love love. Ahjhhhhhhjhhhhhhhhh. The videos are so well done too. So freaking talented 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛.

Oh yes ahhhhhhhhhhjjjjj, so good. Nostalgia is such a nice feeling (to me it counts as an extra emotion) (that can be so beautiful but also hit you very hard) so so so good. Red cardinals are so cool. Asaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh.

Thanks for listening to me screaming.

*Me (Bojan) looking lovingly at you (Jure)* Thank you so much for the nice words, Jay 🥹💚

[yuichiroswife]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏𝐒 𝐄𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐃.   without   bothering  to  hush  them,  the  little  killer  darts  across  the  labyrinth  of  misty  streets�� &  flickering  lampposts,  searching  for  none  other  than  his  dearest  friend.  he  knows  that  he  is  around  here  somewhere,  trapped  in  this  delusion  of  a  moonlit  city  much  like  all  of  the  other  (  unfortunate  )  children  whom  happened  to  be  caught.  the  nonchalant  guards  don’t  even  blink  as  he  passes,  just  rushing  down  the  cobblestone  pavements  until  the  familiar  sight of an angel  sitting  at  the  edge  of  a  fountain  comes  into  view,  so  terribly  lost  between own thoughts &  its  dark,  shimmering  waters.

the  little  killer  slows  down  into  a  halt  just  then  &  with  a  soft  breath,  squats  down,  falling  right  into  mika’s  line  of  sight.  as  always,  no  words  escape  those  silent  lips. instead, min-jun  proceeds to  reach for  something  in  his  pocket  &  with  a  hint  of  a  smile,  reach up, pushing  a  lone  chocolate  square  right  between  mika’s  lips.   it  melts  almost  instantly  along  the  tongue,  tasting  of  sweet  caramel,  luxury,  &  a  secret  meant just for him. // happy white day ♥ !

✠ — ALL SOUND SURROUNDING HAD BEEN COMPLETELY BLOCKED OUT BY THE STATIC NOISE WITHIN THE BLONDE'S MIND, sapphire gaze staring unflinchingly into the water's depths as he remained ever still — almost as if mesmerized by the way the water moved because of the fountain's constant flowing stream — yet the look held within his eyes was not something that one would call childish excitement or curiosity. No, instead his eyes held something more concerning. Something much darker. Almost as if the shine had been completely taken from the blonde's eyes. What exactly could have caused such a thing, one couldn't be certain, especially given the fact he wasn't even focused enough to speak, but one thing was for sure — whatever it was certainly had him anxious. Though if one knew him well enough, the cause could likely be chalked up to a certain silver-haired vampire.

✠ — Gaze remained fixated upon the fountain's waters until the sound of hurried footsteps draws his attention, HEAD JUST ABOUT TO TURN TO THE SIDE WHEN SOMEONE CROUCHES DOWN IN FRONT OF HIM. He doesn't speak though, instead now focusing his sights upon the pale facial features of the one he called his beloved friend and companion. Seemingly taking a few moments to break his mind away from the overwhelmingly loud static, lips parting ever so slightly as if he was to say something — only for his mouth to be occupied by something being pushed between his lips.

✠ — THE SUDDEN RICH AND SWEET FLAVOR AGAINST HIS TONGUE TAKES HIM BY SURPRISE, finally forcing him back to reality as the shine in his eyes returns once more, clearly causing him to forget about whatever it was that was plaguing him — temporarily at least. Candy. 'Twas something that he hadn't had in a very long time... not since the world had ended anyway. How the other was able to get his hands on such a thing is a wonder in and of itself, ONE THAT MIKAELA DESPERATELY WISHES TO KNOW IN FACT, but alas... he only wishes that could could have shared such a treat with him instead of having the small square pushed into his mouth. Ah, but wait, the whole square wasn't in his mouth. It was perched in between his lips and only one side had touched his tongue, thus he had an idea. Ever so carefully, he manages to bite the small square in half before leaning forward to give the boy of raven strands a small kiss on the lips — transferring the other half of the chocolate square between Min-Jun's lips as he had done to him — before straightening himself back up.

✠ — "Haha, I hope you didn't expect me to eat that by myself~." There's a small fit of laughter that escapes his lips, A FAINT SHADE OF COLOR MANAGING TO TAKE OVER HIS FEATURES IN THE PROCESS, followed by an overly enthusiastic smile. Small hands move from their place upon his lap and reach forward, leaning down ever so slightly until delicate fingers were placed against both sides of Min-Jun's face. "I'd ask where you got that from, but I don't think you'd tell me regardless of if I did or not. So I won't even bother," he pauses for a moment as his thumbs make small circles against the other's skin, "though I have to say you caught me by surprise with it. I definitely wasn't expecting it!"

✠ — Even so, it was a delightful surprise to a rather dreary day for him, that much was for certain. Not to mention it was very sneaky of the other as well. Well played, very well played indeed. "Honestly... it's got me a little flustered." The words come forth in a rather uncharacteristically shy tone for once, further proving that the action made his heart skip more than a few beats, yet despite that, he still leans his forehead against his companion's. "Happy White Day, Min-Jun~. Thank you for the sweet surprise."

[starboundsingularities]

good lird they did not make a gimmick blog about a real life murder

#someone fucking DIED but whatever who gives a shit it's funny i guess

7 notes

🥚 eggvidenced Follow

honestly with how suspicious and confusing everything on the dl-6 case was i wouldn't be surprised if it came out that it was that prosecutor guy tbh

🌟 rockliker270 Follow

date posted: june 23, 2010

1,834,853 notes

⚖️ courtofpublicopinions Follow

🌟 rockliker270 Follow

ok hear me out. what abt winston payne though

🧊 just--ice Follow

okay now they're just making lawyers up

#also didn't mvk die or something?

28,932 notes

🔥 triedbyfire Follow

why the fuck are you people still posting about the gavinners as if theyre not copaganda. didn't the guitarist get convicted of murder

🎸 guiltiest-lovers837 Follow

so fucking tired of this "um um didn't daryan get convicted of murder" YEAH AND HE'S LITERALLY NOT IN THE FUCKING BAND ANYMORE. dipshit

🔥 triedbyfire Follow

are you gonna address the copaganda thing or

1,092 notes

🌻 attorneybout Follow

he's so. 😳

📂 trialanderror Follow

why is he defending

📂 trialanderror Follow

OP WHY IS HE DEFENDING???

24,374 notes

🦈 giantlakemonsters Follow

i just wanna hear about another gourdy sighting thats all

🥜 liberdeez Follow

op. i'm so sorry op. gourdy isn't real you have to let her go. they had a whole trial about it.

🔐 wrightorwrong Follow

hi!! so this isn't actually the case as while gourdy was briefly mentioned in a trial, said trial had nothing to do with whether or not gourdy was "real" per se as much as. well. murder, actually. while gourdy WAS found out to be an inflatable steel samurai this was not brought up in the case at all as the veracity of gourdy wasn't really as relevant as the fact that the witness was looking for gourdy rather than at the murder she claimed to have seen. plus this was also a relatively small part of a MUCH larger trial which for those interested not only solved the dl-6 case but ALSO marked the end of prosecutor von karma's ~40 year long record and the court records are really a fascinating read through!!

🦀 mad_libz_87 Follow

net 0 information post

#thanks again lawblr

94,834 notes

🍒 cherriescoola Follow

btw i was at the park the other day and klavier gavin (of gavinners fame) was there and obv there was a huge crowd but this guy was there with him and at some point he (the other guy) waved to the crowd and someone still screamed like it was klavier??? who was that guy ive never seen him before in my life

2,284 notes

🩸 has-dl6-been-solved-yet Follow

December 28, 2016

YES!!!

702,947 notes

🪙 tellerlikeitis Follow

guys help i'm a bank teller and this guy just introduced himself as robin banks what do i do

🔪 violencekilling Follow

you gotta let him rob you that's the law

302,948 notes

👻 ghostesswiththemostest Follow

look if i ever get convicted of murder im just hiring the lawyer with the coolest sounding name

💼 courtofwaw Follow

bestie if you already got convicted it is Too Late

62,193 notes

📋 lawandwhoreder Follow

guys i know it's real fun to think people just can predict whatever but if you look at the earliest reblogs of that post that "guessed" the true killer in the dl-6 case it was actually a post about how they didn't want to go to the store. clearly edited

#stg nobody bothers to factcheck anything anymore

7,293 notes

🐺 lawnewolf Follow

i am NOT homophobic or whatever the fuck you guys are saying now i just think its weird to write fanfiction about realass people?? go touch grass ffs

🌈 lawsbian Follow

the fun police (this guy) putting me in yaoi court but the lawyers (phoenix witrght and miles edgeworth) just keep trying to make out (real court is like this too btw)

🐺 lawnewolf Follow

YOU HAVE SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOU.

#look idc what your enemies to lovers fic bullshit says #they're straight. and more importantly REAL PEOPLE. #there's TENSION because they are in COURT and there are LIVES on the LINE. #not because they wanna fuck. god.

12,293 notes

🔮 inhighspirits Follow

why dont they just ask the spirit mediums to ask the victims who killed them this law shit is easy

837,495 notes

💞 lawveyourself Follow

seriously i cant believe they gave this guy a law degree

💞 lawveyourself Follow

what do you mean evidence fraud

503,893 notes

🎧 instrumentalillness Follow

fuck you *unguilties your love*

384,568 notes

🎀 copiicat Follow

perjury isnt illegal btw in fact if youre one of tge witnesses youre legally required to lie on the stand. thats why everyone does it. trust me