#thank you for your concern griff

[bthump]

Although both characters absolutley hate being too vulnerable with each other, which of do the two do you think would end up open up about their feelings first? personally, i think it would be Griff but ahsdhs i still feel like it's not something he would easily let out unless there were specific circusmtances involved.

I fully trust your knowledge on Griffith, Guts, and their relationship in general so who do you think would open up about their feelings towards each other first? Of course, in a context where Guts never left the hawks lol.

Thanks for your interest in my opinion!

Personally my take is it would probably be Guts, because imo he's the one who's more aware of his feelings, and able to talk about them. I think Griffith didn't even consciously realize how important Guts was to him until he ended up in a torture chamber. He can't even admit to himself that Guts is his friend during the Golden Age.

Guts, on the other hand, at least knows he wants to be Griffith's friend and has told other people, so it's (slightly) less of a leap to imagine him telling Griffith how he feels.

But honestly a big barrier for me when it comes to either Griffith or Guts declaring their love is that I think they both have the kind of internalized homophobia that makes them see themselves as inherently evil/predatory for same sex attraction. The way both their backstories involve csa trauma while they're nearly canonically in love with each other and super repressed about it, and both hating themselves and seeing themselves as monsters in addition to that... it all fits together very well.

But yeah if one of them is going to a) recognize their own feelings, and b) talk themselves through it and work up the nerve to confess those feelings, I think it'd be Guts. Especially because he's in a pretty emotionally healthy place during most of the Golden Age, comparatively, while I think Griffith is more emotionally fucked up during the Golden Age, thanks to the pressure of his dream. Like Guts is getting a bit less self-loathing during the three years with the Hawks, a bit more secure in his own acceptance, but Griffith is still very trapped in a cycle of guilt and self-loathing and needing to believe his dream is the most important thing.

This is all assuming that Guts doesn't overhear the Promrose Hall speech, because I think if he did no amount of self-reflection would get him to confess his feelings to Griffith. As far as he's concerned after hearing that, Griffith has already rejected him.

That said, if there's some kind of catalyst I could pretty easily imagine either making the first move, though I imagine it more like an impulsive kiss that they're then forced to deal with, rather than a confession. Guts nearly dies and Griffith gives him a thank god you're alive kiss, or they're drunk and someone gets impulsive, that kind of thing. It's a lot easier for me to make the kiss/sex come first, and the talking/self-reflection come after for them lol. So yeah I could definitely see Griffith being the one making the first move, but like you said it def depends on the circumstances.

Thanks for the ask!

btw if you want to share what circumstances you think would spur Griffith to say something first, pls do, I'm curious!

[aidanchaser]

A Mari/Griffe remix of Partners in Clown by @miabrown007

And with that, my participation in the @mlsquaredance 2023 event comes to an end! This is my final remix! Thank you again @ladyofthenoodle for organizing and for encouraging this little brain worm. Thank you @wield-the-mighty-pen for beta reading!

And without further ado, enjoy some angsty teens flirting badly.

Read below or read on Ao3.

Adrien leaned towards his reflection and tilted his head to get a better look at his neck and jawline, the way a young man might search for a sign of his beard growing in. Instead, jagged lines like lightning spread out of his chest and climbed up his throat. He had grown used to the sharp black lines and had taken to wearing turtlenecks to hide them, but the claw-like cracks that spread out onto his cheek were new. He thought it all looked rather cool. He certainly wasn’t scared of what it might mean, not in the least.

But Adrien was a liar, especially to himself.

He poked curiously at the black wound centered over his heart. A sharp ache pulsed in time with his heartbeat. The pain, however, wasn’t the thing he was concerned about. Adrien reached for his bottle of concealer.

He finished hiding the marks on his jaw and cheeks then smeared foundation and matte powder over his marred face. He was putting the finishing touches on his heavy eye makeup when he heard his bedroom door open.

Of course his father didn’t knock. Gabriel never knocked.

“Adrien!”

Adrien immediately thrust his shoulder against the bathroom door. Had he been dressed, he might have kept Gabriel out just to be a nuisance, but he certainly didn’t want his father to see him like this.

“Adrien, open this door.”

Gabriel tried to yank the door open, but Adrien held it closed firmly from the inside. His father gave up, as he always did, with a heavy sigh.

“I only wanted to remind you to stay in your room tonight. It’s for your own safety.”

Gabriel had already texted him this—twice—but Adrien hadn’t replied to the texts, and he didn’t bother to reply now. He could lie easily and promise to stay inside. It wasn’t the lie Adrien had a problem with; it was the talking to his father that he took issue with.

Adrien hadn’t exchanged more than three words with Gabriel since his mother’s funeral. Not since Adrien had dared to stand at his mother’s coffin and say, “But couldn’t the Supreme—” and Gabriel had cut him off with, “Don’t speak.”

So Adrien had stopped. What was there to say, anyway? The only thing Gabriel ever wanted to hear was, “Yes, Father.”

Gabriel tried to pull the door open one more time, but Adrien kept it firmly closed.

“Just stay in here tonight, please,” Gabriel finally said with a sigh weighted with defeat.

Adrien listened to his father’s footsteps fall away and waited until he heard the familiar click of his bedroom door’s deadbolt, sealing him inside.

Adrien used a hand towel to cover his face as he pulled the turtleneck over his head, an old trick he’d learned on set—not that he was ever on set these days. Once upon a time, he and his mother had frequently visited the shooting locations for Gabriel’s designs. His mother had even modeled once or twice, and Adrien had been allowed to attend shoots with her. Even though he had never been allowed to model himself, he had enjoyed watching his mother work. Now, Adrien was lucky if he was allowed into his own dining room.

He double-checked his appearance to confirm that any sign of the cracks in his skin had been covered and that the edges of his eyeliner were as crisp as when he had applied it. He thought about fixing his hair, but that didn’t matter too much. No one was going to see it.

Adrien was going out, but not as Adrien.

Gabriel had a good reason to keep Adrien locked in his room tonight. There would be people visiting, people whom Adrien was not supposed to know. The fashion designer and recluse, Gabriel Agreste, was hosting a competition to find his next new designer and his next season’s iconic model. Designs and headshots had been submitted, and tonight, Gabriel was supposed to announce the winners.

There were always concerns that something celebratory might spark Hesperia’s interest, so the Supreme had asked Griffe Noire to crash the event in order to keep the chaos and tension high. And, if possible, chase any purple butterflies back into their holes.

That was fine with Adrien. He probably would have done it anyway.

When Griffe Noire arrived at the event—it was merely a leap out window with the loose catch and a short slink across the lighting rig strung up over the stage in the Agreste Manor garden—he found that there was already plenty of tension and chaos present. He could practically taste it in the air.

Modeling culture’s competitive nature didn’t exactly induce a pleasant, warm atmosphere. Still, there was plenty of room for him to cause trouble.

The miraculous themselves were supposed to be secret, so he kept his destructions small: crumbling the leg of a chair so that when someone sat down, it collapsed beneath them; brushing his Cataclysm against a portrait wall of the model contestants, leaving their faces half-eaten with rot; catching his claws against a blazer; plucking a hole in an elbow or waistline. His chest burned with each tiny Cataclysm, but he didn’t mind. If anything, it made him feel alive in a way few other things did.

As he approached the food table, wondering just how many gowns he could manage to stain with a single bowl of punch, the sight of a girl with a familiar pink streak in her bangs stopped him in his tracks. Though her dark hair was pulled up into a bun instead of tied back in her usual pigtails, her makeup was still just as heavy. For the event, her smudged eyeshadow flared with bright pink and blue. Her dress was black, but the tulle over her skirt was a vibrant pink, and roses of fuschia sequins spiraled over the black bodice. The square neckline fell on top of a dense black mesh that climbed her throat and covered her arms. Griffe Noir’s insides did a full somersault, and he practically skidded to a stop.

He didn’t know her name, didn’t know how to get her attention, but he knew he had to talk to her. He might not have another chance. Every other time he had seen her had merely been an opportunity to stare at her, him sealed away in his car and her encased in her bakery.

He plucked a cupcake from the stand and proffered it to her with a low purr. “A sweet treat for the purr-incess?”

Her shoulders drew up tight as she turned to look at him and, before she even quite saw him, she smacked the cupcake from his hand. Her blue eyes stared at him with a combination of fury and disdain, a look he was fairly familiar with on his partner. He didn’t like seeing it on this baker anymore than he enjoyed it on Toxinelle.

“What are you doing here?” she asked in a tight voice.

It was the first time he had ever heard her speak. He wondered if she always sounded so nervous.

“Making trouble,” he grinned and reached for another cupcake. “Are these yours?” As he peeled off the paper and took a bite, the lavender frosting smeared across his nose.

“I don’t own the cupcake table, you stupid cat,” she grumbled and folded her arms over her chest.

“You didn’t make these?” He swallowed the last of the cupcake and reached for another.

“No. And I don’t even think you’re supposed to eat them.”

“No?”

“It’s a fashion event. No one actually eats at these things.”

Griffe Noire hummed thoughtfully. “Who told you that?”

“Do you see anyone else eating?”

She had a point. The plates and napkins sat untouched. No one gathered near the punch; only a few guests bothered with water. He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised that models would prefer to feast on the scent of food rather than its substance, but he didn’t know how anyone could ignore these sweets. He checked the cupcake wrapper and sure enough, her bakery’s logo was embedded into it.

He leaned against the table. It creaked under his weight, but didn’t collapse. He could Cataclysm a leg and make a bit more trouble for the event, but the girl next to him looked so intent on avoiding attention. He didn’t want to make it worse for her.

He took another bite of the cupcake and through a mouthful of cake and frosting said, “So you do modeling, too?”

She looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Are you insane? I entered the design portion of the contest.” And then she bit down on her fuschia-stained lips and turned away, as if she hadn’t meant to confess that much.

“Did you design your dress?”

Though she didn’t answer, he could guess by the way her shoulders tightened up and curled in on herself like she was trying to hide her dress, that he had hit the mark.

“It looks nice,” he said, then immediately bit down on his tongue. He wasn’t supposed to be sincere. He’d had enough warnings from the Supreme about letting his Cataclysm out of control. The last thing he needed was to be scolded for being nice to people. “You know, for—pink,” he finished lamely.

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “You still have frosting on your nose,” she said.

He swiped at it with his thumb, but it only smeared over his cheek.

“You stupid cat,” she grumbled. She took a napkin and wet it with the condensation that clung to the base of the punch bowl.

His heart went perfectly still as she stepped closer to him. She smelled like sugar and fresh bread, just like that first whiff each time he opened the pastry bag. The bakery was the closest he ever came to the outside world as Adrien. How could he have done anything less than fall in love with her?

But he couldn’t risk her smudging through his layers of concealer. When he ducked out of her reach, she balled up the sopping napkin and threw it at his face.

“Oh, come on,” he complained as it fell short of its mark and struck his shoulder. With a grin, he swiped his finger through the frosting of a cupcake and smeared it over her cheek.

“Hey!” she protested and tried to push him away, but he grabbed her arm.

“But now we match,” he grinned. “Partners in chaos.”

“We are not partners,” she hissed with a rather venomous ferocity.

He gave her an insincere pout, hoping that the true hurt in his chest was masked appropriately. “So fur-ocious, princess. What did I do to deserve such bite?”

But before she could answer, a familiar shrill voice cut through their conversation.

“Is that Dupain-Cheng?”

The girl in front of him went so stiff, it was as if Chloé’s loud sneer had sliced its way up her spine with a force that made even Griffe Noire’s heart lurch.

And then she disappeared. She was in front of Griffe Noire one moment and gone the next, vanishing through his fingers like smoke. Chloé stalked up to him and looked around with a sneer on her face.

“Where did that girl go?”

Griffe Noire turned behind him, but he saw no sign of the baker and designer. “I think she took a dive into the punch bowl. Care for a swim, Queen Bee?”

Chloé didn’t like that. Her sneer turned to a snarl and she shoved him back into the table. It was bold of her to pick a fight with him, but he was glad she did. He was itching for a real fight. It was a shame Toxinelle wasn’t here to antagonize as well.

“Too soon?” He picked up a cupcake and peeled the paper wrapping back with his claws. “Don’t worry; I think only half the world thought Chloé Bourgeois’s dip in the Seine was funny. The other half probably doesn’t think about you enough to care.”

She drew her hand back to slap him, but he was ready. He ducked beneath her hand and shoved the cupcake into her face. He hissed, “Cataclysm,” and his power crackled in his other hand. He crouched to swipe low—obliterating one heel was the funniest, most irritating thing he could think to do to Chloé—but something tugged on his tail and he froze.

Chloé didn’t seem to notice. She stepped away from him, face burning with fury but eyes trained warily on his Cataclysm. She was familiar enough with his brand of power. He’d never used it on her actual body, but he’d used it on enough of her accessories that she’d learned to fear it.

She tried to wipe the cupcake from her face, but only managed to smear her makeup and the frosting further. “You stupid cat,” she shrieked, voice on the edge of tears. “I’m going to tell Daddy, and he’s going to tell the Supreme, and—”

“And what? You think the Supreme will just give you back your miraculous? After you let Hesperia get one of his moths into it?”

Chloé shoved him backwards again, no longer concerned by the black power crackling in his hand. This time, when he hit the table, he felt certain he heard a muffled yelp from beneath it.

Chloé didn’t seem to hear it, though. She stalked off and, to Griffe Noire’s satisfaction, snapped a heel as she crossed the lawn. Her scream of frustration echoed across the manor grounds.

He dismissed his Cataclysm and the burning in his chest dimmed. There was another tug on his belt and this time, he followed its source to beneath the table, where he found the baker, crouched with an arm around her knees, glowering at him.

“She’ll be worse now because of that,” she grumbled.

“So I take it you know Chloé Bourgeois,” he said.

“Who doesn’t?”

“Then why didn’t you let me Cataclysm her? She deserves it.”

She let go of his tail and looked away. Something shimmered in her blue eyes, but even with his night vision, it was hard to make sense of.

“Doesn’t it hurt?” she whispered.

“That’s kind of the point, isn't it?”

“I mean, doesn’t it hurt you?”

For Adrien, the answer was unchanged. But instead, he lied. “No.”

She frowned at him and suddenly, he felt seen in a way he never had been before. Even his father’s ever-perceptive assistant didn’t pause to examine Adrien’s lies. Something tugged in his chest, like a line had been pulled taut between him and the baker girl. Suddenly, he didn’t remember how to breathe.

“You’re a terrible partner in chaos,” he finally said in an effort to undo whatever had just been done, “leaving me to face Chloé alone. We could have done a real number on her together.”

It worked, though it hurt his heart in a fully different way to see her curl back in on herself. She was no longer looking at him, no longer looking through him. He felt like he’d just stepped out of a warm bath and into cold air.

“I can’t stand up to Chloé,” she murmured into the tulle bunched over her knees.

“You stand up to me,” he said.

“You’re an idiot.”

“I am the smartest, funniest person in this entire house at the moment, I’ll have you know. I’m the best at absolutely everything.” He paused to consider her, then added, “Though I suppose I may not be the best fashion designer here.”

“Gabriel Agreste literally lives here.”

“Gabriel Agreste sucks like a supernova gone dark. I wasn’t talking about him.”

She frowned again, and it occurred to him that he didn’t like it when she frowned. It hurt somewhere near where his Cataclysm burned in his chest, but like a dull, persistent ache rather than a sharp, throbbing pulse.

“Why are you being nice to me?” she said. “You don’t even know me.”

Though she was technically right, he didn’t know her in any real sense, he certainly felt like he did. He felt like he knew the draw of her shoulders and the pout of her lip. He felt like he knew the way she tied a scarf around her throat to bury herself, the same way he was constantly burying himself, like maybe if he died enough times, his father might miss him, too.

“I’m not nice,” he snapped. “I smeared frosting on your face.”

“You still have frosting on your face too, doux minou.” She reached out and swiped her finger against his nose.

He grabbed her wrist as she touched him, heart pounding from the contact between them, from the strangely delicate affection in the nickname he had never heard before.

Her eyes were wide, too, like she hadn’t heard it until after she had said it. That line between them pulled taut once more and his breath hung suspended in his chest. Griffe Noire was so terrified of what it might become that he knew his only choice was to unravel it now.

He pulled her hand down to his lips and licked the frosting off of her finger.

She went very still but didn’t try to pull away. He wondered if that was because she could feel the press of his ring against her wrist and knew how easy it would be for him to summon his Cataclysm against her, or if it was because she genuinely did not mind.

He leaned in closer, and still she did not move. She had stood her ground against him all night, had stopped him from using his Cataclysm against Chloé, and had dared to ask if using his Cataclysm was dangerous to him. He didn’t see why she wouldn’t back away now if this wasn’t what she wanted.

He got close enough that her knees dug into his chest. His lips hovered over hers. He tasted fresh mint on her breath, cool and inviting. Could taste the sugar on his, too?

But instead of closing the space between them with a kiss, he tipped his head and licked the frosting off of her cheek. He murmured into her ear, “Still think I’m a sweet kitty?”

She both pushed him away and scrambled backwards in a single flurry of motion. Beneath her makeup, he could see a blush rising in her cheeks and her chest rising and falling in a new rhythm.

“Why did you do that?” she asked.

He quirked an eyebrow. “Why did I do what?”

Her shock turned into a glare and this time, he was prepared for the ache in his chest. He braced himself against it the way he braced against his Cataclysm. He relished it the way he relished his Cataclysm.

But instead of folding in on herself the way she had all night, she crawled closer to him. She leaned in, just as he had done to her. His lungs filled with her cool breath once again and a shiver curled down his spine and coiled itself in his stomach.

Her hand reached for his chin and pain lanced through the growing wound buried beneath his makeup. She brushed her fingers along the smeared crystals of sugar along his cheek, wiping them away, then drew her hand back to her own lips, licking the sweet off of her own fingers.

His heart stuttered in his chest as he realized that she was teasing him, that the glare in her cool blue eyes was revenge as much as it was anger.

Her fingers slid carefully through the spikes around the bell at his throat, like a gardner used to working with thorns. She yanked him towards her until their lips were separated only by a breath. “I never liked sweets much anyway,” she murmured, and pulled him into a kiss.

It was too short for Griffe Noire’s tastes. She pressed her lips to his and the moment he leaned into it, the moment he pushed his tongue against her, she dragged her mouth up his cheek and to his ear. He wanted to chase her, to follow her taste, but she held him firmly in place.

“You don’t have a monopoly on chaos, minou,” she whispered, then let him go.

He blinked, and once again, she disappeared. He tried to go after her, but all the dexterity and wit that normally pulsed through him seemed slow and sluggish. He struggled to crawl out from under the table and back onto his feet, and by the time he finally did, she was gone.

He ran his hand through his hair and tried his best to keep his breathing even. He slipped through the crowd, past models and designers and socialites, past displays and vendors, but she was nowhere to be found. Desperation grew in his chest and seemed to eat away everything else.

He wanted her. He wanted her more than he wanted anything else.

He glanced down at the ring on his finger and knew, whether it would upset the Supreme or not, he wasn’t going to use his power for the rest of the evening. For the first time in a long time he wanted something other than his own destruction. For the first time in a long time, it felt like living was chaotic enough.

[kylefletchersgf]

.ᐟᯓ ᡣ𐭩｡°ˀˀ『Why?』 .ᐟᯓ ᡣ𐭩｡°ˀˀ

'*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.

-ˋˏ [Word Count] ˎˊ : 1.1k

-ˋˏ [Genre] ˎˊ : fluff

-ˋˏ [TW] ˎˊ : fluff, cussing, mistakes I might have

-ˋˏ [Taglist] ˎˊ : @oblivionsera @nev-danielgarciawife

Translation:

“Quiero recuperar mi máscara” - I want to get my mask back

[Let me know if you want to be in the taglist]

'*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.

Veda is scheduled to be on Roh tonight and she is going to fight Robyn Renegade, you knew Veda when you started wrestling even before, you met her at a bar on a random night and got along very quickly. You entered the arena with your friend Griff Garrison rolling your suitcase to your separate locker rooms. When you both get in your gear you both meet up in the catering area and sit at a table, you look over at him “you fight tonight?” “no just a promo, you?” “no but I'm here just in case shit gets changed.”

He had a cereal bar that he didn’t finish so you guys decided to share it while watching the show until Maria came and got him, you look up at her “hi Maria” “hi love” she said nicely. She let him say bye before they went to Lexy for the backstage promo, you ate the rest of your cereal bar as you watched Griff. You listened as he gave his promo that was targeted at Angelico “over the past few weeks you have failed and failed again to beat me for the mask of your partner Serpentico” he laughed smartly.

Maria held up the mask as he continued talking “when I-” he got cut off by Serpentico and Angelico walking into frame, “Quiero recuperar mi máscara” Serpentino said annoyed that he can’t get it back. Griff laughed at him “Okay how about this? If you can beat me in this match coming up I’ll give you your mask back, but you are banned from ringside” he said the last part looking at Angelico. Serpentico looked over at Angelico to get advice from him “go for it you got it, you don’t need me to be there to get a win.”

Serpentico looks over at Angelico and nods so Angelico looks over at Griff “he accepts” when he replied Griff and Maria laughed walking away as Angelico said to Serpentico “It’s ok you got this.”  When Griff was done he came back to join you again which made you look up at him “Look at you growing without Cole” “shut up” he joked sitting back down with you. You both continued to watch the show; right now it’s Athena fighting Aleah James with Billie Starkz out there with Athena; Aleah is also someone you’ve became close with wrestling for the Indies.

When the match was over you look closer to the tv to see Veda again which makes you smile big, you haven’t seen her since that night you guys became friends. You watched her match closely; she was in control, Robyn was in control, and so on; what got you concerned was when Robyn hit her with a forearm that looked like it hurt like hell which made you squirm in your seat. Veda got the win but once the bell rang for the finish Robyn’s sister Charlette ran down to the ring from the crowd punching Veda with Robyn.

You got up from the table rushing out there to help her and once you came into view the fans cheered loud. You got into the ring tackling Charlette while Veda got control of Robyn, you picked up Charlette headbutting her making her fall to the mat rolling out the ring and Veda clotheslined Robyn out the ring. You looked over at her as she looked at you; you nodded your head with respect then rolled out the ring going backstage again. Veda rolled out the ring catching up to you backstage “hey, can I ask you something” “What’s up?”

“Why did you help me out there?” “Remember we met at that bar?” “yeah?” “you was nice to me then and did me a favor so that’s me repaying you” “thank you” “anytime” you say as you both go in different directions. Over the past few months you and Veda have gotten closer and closer, today was an off day so you spent the night at her house for fun. She looks over at you “Do you date Griff?” “As in Griff Garrison?” “Yes” “no why?” “Just curious” “oh no I don’t, he’s just my guy best friend” you smile.

“Do you like him?” “Oh heavens no I see him as just friends” “Does he like you?” “honestly I don’t know I never really asked him” you answered now curious yourself. You look over at her “how come you asked?” “just curious” “you sure?” “yeah” “is something wrong?” you ask, turning to her now concerned. “Do you need to talk about something?” “I guess” “go ahead talk, I’ll listen” you happily said. She turned to face you “I don’t know, It’s just that I kind of feel a way about someone and I don’t know if It’s fake or real.”

She continued “I don’t know if I just like them just so I can have them to myself or if I am genuinely starting to like them” “how do you feel around them?” “I feel happy, nervous, amazing, excited, warm, etc. you name it I feel it” “to me it sounds like you really do like them, why don't you try asking them out on a date to help you decide how you feel, maybe that’ll help” “thanks Y/n” “no problem” you smile. She looks at you seriously “Y/n?” “Yes Veda?” “A date this friday?” “You like me?”

“Yeah” “why didn’t you tell me?” “I don’t know, I just got nervous and I guess that fear of you looking at me differently because of it” “Veda love, I would never look at you differently because of it you know that. I’ll still love you regardless” "thank you” she said as you both smiled. “Do you need me to help by going on the date with you?” “Please?” “It’s a plan” you both agree. After the date that happened you both enjoyed it and agreed to go on more and the the more you went on you realized something.

You actually started to fall for Veda yourself so you both decided to make it official. Ever since you guys made it official you both have been so much happier and it’s noticeable. You both have been going on more dates weekly just to get out the house but in reality you both hated to be away from each other for so long; or when you don’t work. Around the 4 year mark the two of you decided to get a house together to test if marriage would be possible in the future, and also got a puppy to raise together because why not.

[burnmywholelifedown]

Hi it’s your Santa Swiftie here!!! I’m so excited to get to make you something for the holiday season, but first, I need some info/get to know you better!

Do you have any hobbies? What do you like to do on your free time?

Do you have a favorite word?

What's your top 5 Taylor Swift albums?

Favorite Taylor swift mv? Favorite photoshoot?

Pick 13 Taylor songs you like!

What kind of music you like besides Taylor?

If you had to pick 5 songs to describe yourself which ones would you choose?

Who were your most listened artists on Spotify?

I know this is a lot lol, so take your time to answer it all! I hope you have a great week and a lovely December! 🎄🧑🏻‍🎄🎁❄️🎅🏻

hey there!! I'm so excited 😊 Thank you so much for your patience while I was getting over my illness! My blog runs on a queue but I don't use a queue tag so I'm sure that didn't help your concern that messages weren't going through. I'm finally feeling better and able to answer all your questions. One thing you should know about me is that I don't pick favorites so you're going to get some lists lol.

Do you have any hobbies? What do you like to do on your free time?

I do have hobbies! Like many Taylor fans I love to write songs. It's such a fun creative outlet. I also am an avid reader. I read a lot of classics back in the day (and almost became an English major) but after college I've been reading more romance and fantasy books. I haven't been brave enough to venture into Brandon Sanderson territory but we'll get there. I needed to give my brain a bit of a break after all the reading for school.

Do you have a favorite word?

Oh my gosh thank you for this! A word I have loved since middle school is ephemeral. I think it just sounds so soft almost like it's fading away. And it's about such an angsty concept. For my Latin class we wrote a tradgedy called Ephemora. It was the most fun thing ever.

What's your top 5 Taylor Swift albums?

Mkay this question is so unbelievably rude. Right after Midnights came out?? How the heck am I supposed to rank albums at a time like this??? For you I shall do my best:

In no particular order - folkmore, midnights, Speak Now, Red TV, reputation

But debut is a close 6

Favorite Taylor swift mv?

OOTW, IKYWT, Cardigan, Blank Space, Love Story, ATW short film of course

Favorite photoshoot?

If we're going to talk album photoshoots I'm obsessed with the midnights, RED TV, rep and Lover ones.

Here are a few more I really enjoyed:

EW 2019

Glamour UK 2015

Fashion Magazine 2015

Glamour UK 2013

People Magazine 2010

USA Today Newspaper 2010

Pick 13 Taylor songs you like!

Cold As You

Illicit affairs

Cardigan

Ivy

Mastermind

YOYOK

TTDS

DBATC

Dress

Wonderland

The Moment I Knew

Enchanted

Breathe

What kind of music you like besides Taylor?

I tend to listen to singer-songwriters that write acoustic-esque pop. Oh and I also listen to some musicals. I was mostly a theatre kid because I loved classical theatre like Shakespeare but I fell in love with some musicals along the way as well.

If you had to pick 5 songs to describe yourself which ones would you choose?

Damn this is a tough one. I'm really bad at limitations so you're getting more than 5:

Why am I like this? - Orla Gartland

Colorado - Reneé Rapp

Pity Party - Cate

The List - Maisie Peters

Personal Best - Maisie Peters

Girls - girl in red

Kintsugi - Gabrielle Aplin

mirrorball - Taylor Swift

homecoming queen? Kelsea Ballerini

Walk In The Park - Kelsea Ballerini

Being Alive - Company OBC

Growing Sideways - Noah Kahan

Hold The Girl - Rina Sawayama

Who were your most listened artists on Spotify?

I know we're supposed to get videos for the people that we listened to the most but I don't know how to access those so in no particular order here are some artists I listened to this year: Taylor Swift, Noah Kahan, Maisie Peters, Reneé Rapp, Gabrielle Aplin, Kelsea Ballerini, Conan Gray, Demi Lovato (love their new album!!), Halsey, Rosie Darling, Gracie Abrams, Cate, Abby Holiday, Lizzy McAlpine, Griff, P!nk, James Bay

I hope all this info helps 😊

[meflemming]

[pm] Hey, is this Mim? It's Griffin, the jacket guy [d: that got staked in your store]. Wanted to let you know that I talked to our friend and that things should be good with 'em from now. One of those misunderstandings and shit. How's your employee holding up?

[pm] Griffin, so nice to hear from you! I’m glad you got everything sorted out with our dear friend. Misunderstandings like that can be so hard to work out, but I trusted that you had it handled. My employee was fine, just a bump to the head. He didn’t even stay around long enough for me to fuss over him when he woke up, something about being late to a party. You know how kids are.

[viscerax]

Please come back

Pairing: Griffin Stagg x older sibling!reader (platonic)

Warnings: kidnapping, bullying

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

"Griffin, cmon! You're gonna be late for school!" You called out from your car, honking the horn. Seconds later, your younger brother, Griffin, came stumbling from the front door, quickly shutting it and almost tripping on his untied shoelaces as he ran over to your car. His hair was disheveled, and honestly it looked like he just woke up.

You sighed and rolled your eyes, a small smile spread across your face, waiting for him to get in the car. He quickly hopped in, his backpack sitting at his feet.

"Whats got you so stressed, griff? Big day?" You glanced over at him a few times, feeling a smile spread across your face as you did. You loved your little brother to death.

"Today, we're releasing the butterflies from our caterpillar exhibit, and I'm worried for them! They grew up in this little cage for their whole lives, they won't know how to live in the outside world! What if they get eaten? Or stepped on? Or what if some kid tries to catch them and touches their wings and-"

"I'm sure they'll be fine, 'Fin." You smiled and reached a hand over, combing your fingers through his messy hair. "They're butterflies. They've got instincts. They'll know what to do." You gave him an encouraging smile as the two of you pulled up to his school. He started to get out, and before he did, you swiftly placed a kiss on his forehead.

"Stop it! You're embarrassing!" Griffin huffed, rubbing his forehead. You clicked your tongue, rolling your eyes.

"Oh hush. You're not old enough to avoid love from your sibling yet. I love you, Griff. Be good, have a good day." You waved to him as he nodded and quickly ran up to the front doors of his school.

Your school day had been overall boring. Except for one event. An assembly in the cafeteria, combining all of middle and high school. It was from the local police force, and the whole "stranger danger" schpeel you had heard a million times over. But everytime you heard it, you always thought of your innocent, loving, trusting, little brother.

After school, you got caught up chatting with a few of your friends. You glanced over to the clock in the classroom and gasped.

"Shit! My brother! I have to go guys, I'm sorry." You huffed and quickly ran to the front of the school. You had never driven faster. You were at least 30 minutes late to pick up Griffin, and you knew he hated being at school late.

The front of the school was completely devoid of any life. You looked around, and suddenly panic set in. Maybe you were just on edge from that assembly earlier, but all you could think about was some pedophile teacher stealing away your baby brother.

You left your car running in front of the schools pick up area and quickly rushed in, looking around frantically. The only people in sight was a teacher.

"Have you seen my brother, about yay high, brown curly hair, kinda looks like a dork. His name is Griffin?" You speaking was rushed and your breathing was heavy as you frantically hoped the teacher would lead you to a classroom and he would be there waiting for you.

"He left just a few minutes ago. Said he could walk home by himself. He told me you guys loved just around the corner, and that you said he could walk home on his own today." The teacher now had a concerned look on her face as well. Those were the words you never wanted to hear. "I'm sure he couldn't have gotten far though. He hasn't been gone for more then 7 minutes. You could probably find him if you leave now."

"Shit! Yeah, yeah okay, thanks for your help." You huffed and rushed out to your car. You spent the next hour driving up and down every street, yelling out his name. Tears coated your vision, and you could barely see as you drove, almost driving onto the sidewalk on multiple occasions.

The house was quiet that night. Your mom of course was out at work, and without Griffin there, it was just you, crumpled on the living room floor, unable to move, think, breath, without becoming overwhelmed with guilt. It weighed down on you like a rock, and at any moment, you would be crushed. This was all your fault.

Weeks passed, with no sign of Griffin. You had put up missing posters, held search teams. Every possible area of the town you had searched. And yet, still no sign of him. You missed your little brother. You missed his sweet voice, his curly hair, his little doe eyes that always looked up to you. Everything about him you loved, and now he was gone.

Ring...

Ring...

Ring...

The phone ringing caught your attention. You were sitting at the kitchen table, spaced out as you stared at your bland bowl of cereal. You heard the phone and looked up before quickly shooting out of your chair. You practically jumped over the table trying to get to the phone.

"H-hello?" You spoke urgently, holding the phone up to your ear. The other line was silent, except for a quiet breathing. The breathing was soft and raspy, and as weird as it sounded, reminded you of your little brother. "G-griffin? Hello? Griffin? Where are you? Please, come home. I'm so sorry." Tears were streaming down your face, and suddenly the other line hung up. You slammed the phone down, sobs escaping your mouth as you rested your forehead on the wall. Of course it wasn't Griffin.

Griffin was gone. He was dead.

The next day, you were eating again, and the phone began to ring. You didn't want to answer it again. You figured it must be some cruel prank. Some asshole messing with the person who let their little brother get stolen.

But the ringing was constant. It didn't stop. In fact, it went on far longer then any normal phone should. "Shut the fuck up!" You shouted and got up, angrily picking up the phone. "What? Calling to mess with me again? What is your problem. You are so messed up in the head, you know. If I was ever find out who this is, you better start praying." You huffed, waiting for a response from the other line.

"Y/n..." a familiar voice came from the other line. Suddenly, everything froze. Nothing else mattered. Nothing except you and this phone, and whoever was on the other line. "Y/n... I'm so cold. It's so cold here."

"Griffin? Wh-where are you? I'm sorry I was late to pick you up! Just tell me where you are, and I'll come get you. You're not in trouble!"

"Y/n... you can't come get me anymore. H-he..." you sat in silence as your younger brother began to sniffle. "Y/n... I miss you." His voice was wobbly, and you knew he was crying.

"I love you Griffin." You murmured, tears running down your cheeks. You didn't care if you were crazy. You didn't care if they were going to lock you away because you thought you could communicate with your dead brothers ghost through the phone. All you cared about was hearing his sweet voice. And killing whatever sick son of a bitch did this to him.

"Y/n... I wanna come home." He murmured, and for a second, you let your hopes get up, maybe he was alive. Maybe he was going to come home. But you knew.

"I want you to come home too..." you sniffled. "C-can you like... appear?" You had no idea how ghosts worked, but if you could just see your brother one last time, whether he was dead or alive, that would make you feel a lot better.

A loud crash was heard from behind you. You turned around to see a few of the dirty dishes from the sink had toppled over onto the other half of the sink. Standing there, next to the sink, was something you could never have imagined seeing. There Griffin stood, in the same outfit you had helped him pick out the night before school. His hair was matted and his entire body was covered in blood. His skin was sickly pale, but worst of all was the big red gash across his neck.

"Oh, griff-" more tears spilled from your eyes, but you wiped the away so that you could see clearly. Griffin, or rather Griffins ghost slowly walked up to you and wrapped his arms around you in a hug. You gasped. His touch was cold, but you could feel it. It wasn't like in movies where your hand went right through him. You could hold him.

You held onto him as tightly as you could. Because, for all you knew, if you let go, he would dissipate into the air.

"I love you, Y/n. B-but... I have to go. But... I'll be back. I promise." Griffin mumbled, letting go of you and prying from your arms like he always did when you hugged him for to long.

"I love you too, Griff. I'll be here. Waiting." You hummed and pressed a kiss on his forehead, not caring about the dirt smeared on his skin. As soon as your lips left his forehead, he suddenly disappeared, and you were left alone again, crying in your kitchen.

[leesielex]

Magic Awakens | CH 47: Viserys Targaryen VII

Summary: Viserys gets closer to Young Griff, and struggles with the guilt of his actions. Being brought back to life has some side effects.

A Preview:

Viserys’ muscles ached as he parried another blow from his blue haired nephew. The dye had begun to grow out and silver roots now shone at his scalp. When Vis had the best knights of the Seven Kingdoms with him, he did not take his training seriously. He whined and gave up at the first sign of difficulty.

If his little sister defeated him, he would throw a fit and stomp off in humiliation and anger. It saddened Vis to look back on how he treated those around him previous to his death, particularly his sweet sister. Everything she did that aggravated him had truly only been an attempt to placate him, to encourage him.

She wanted to make him proud of her, to be able to protect herself so he would not feel the burden and sole responsibility. He repaid it all with treachery and hostility. Vis jumped back just in time for Aegon to swipe the air.

Young Griff’s swing had so much force behind it, he was easily able to then side step and swing to his already bent leg and sweep it out from underneath him. After a stalemate for nearly half an hour, Aegon finally yielded from his back in the dirt. Viserys reached out a hand to the younger man and helped him to his feet.

He clapped Aegon on the back as he said, “Thank you for the vigorous training session. You gave me a run for my money for a while there. I thought surely you had me, Egg.”

Aegon smiled at the familiarity in the nickname and returned the sentiment. “You have improved much, Uncle. First time you have been able to lay me out like that. I won’t lie, I thought I had you too. You seemed distracted. You fooled me, I think.” He winked at Vis.

Viserys chuckled. “No, you were right. I was distracted. I shook myself out of it just in time.”

They were walking back to the house as they continued speaking. Viserys liked his supposed nephew. He was hard not to like, full of charm and charisma.

He truly tried to be kind and friendly, yet tough and firm, a true King in all he did, as he was raised to be. Though he also had a fire in him and the dragon would awake sometimes. Mayhaps they were just tantrums, at least it seemed as such when Vis had done so in the past.

“Thinking of my aunt again?”

Aegon’s brow furrowed as he looked at Viserys’ face. He knew his nephew was truly concerned. Not just for Vis and his own relationship with Dany, but for his own sake as well.

Egg had demonstrated he was eager to meet his sister and had begged to find them sooner. The adults in charge of him would always say the time was not right. Now that Dany had amassed three cities of her own, he feared they waited too long and they only knew of the Bay of Dragons, as it was now called.

They were not yet aware that Asshai and Stygai were hers for more than a year now. Viserys took a long breath, holding the warm air in his lungs a moment before exhaling through his mouth.

“Yes, I was thinking of Dany. When am I not truly? Everything reminds me of her in some way.” Viserys smirked before he continued, “Even those pretty purple eyes of yours,” he chuffed.

Aegon punched him in the shoulder as he joined in his laughter. “Funny. We could use a fool around here. You have the face for it.” He guffawed at his own joke as Vis pretended to be offended.

“My prince, you wound me so,” Vis said as he grabbed at his heart. They neared the home Aegon was raised in, and Viserys came to a sudden stop.

His features pinched again. “Seriously though. I don’t know how I will make up for all I have done to her. Will she even care once she finds out I still live? Worse, what if she orders my execution.”

Viserys shivered as he remembered the odd reality of his own death and subsequent return. “I shouldn’t be here.” A feeling he had expressed many times now to his nephew.

Aegon looked at him sadly. “The Gods disagree, Uncle. They saw fit to bring you back for a reason and you are exactly where you belong.” He gave him a solemn smile, squeezing his shoulder in comfort.

Viserys could do nothing but nod and hoped one day he would believe that as well.

Click here to read full story on AO3

[nefastum]

What got you shipping GriffGutsca in the first place? I think it's really cool that you're so passionate about this ot3 and that you're providing such beautiful content for it

Hello there, love ♡ Thank you for the question.

Let's see, well like many my first introduction was to the anime and I couldn't help but love the interactions between the three of them there. ♡

At first I thought 'Oh this Guts guy has gotten dragged into this Hawk group and he's probably gonna start liking this white haired guy's girl who is clearly being set up to like him back eventually.' Classic boy/girl mean to each other because they like each other.

But then of course you have all these moments with Guts and Griffith, and my mind goes '...but maybe?' And by the time the Guts x Casca waterfall scene rolls around my eyes were going crossed and I couldn't make up my mind. Was I on the Gutsca side of life, was it Griffguts? The forbidden Griffcas? No, I liked them all, all the drama and all the twisted dynamics. Give me all of it and stomp on my poly heart ♡

And then, of course, the anime doesn't cover everything. Soo it was onto the manga, where I found even more things to love about all three of them and their individual interactions during the Golden Age. I could take things slower and really pour over their moments together. At that point I was hooked, these idiots owned my soul and no matter how much Miura crushed it in the future I would ask for more. 😅

So now here I am establishing a little island of my own for this ot3 like the madman I am 😈👍 I sat on the idea of ever sharing anything for a long time. I knew that it could probably draw a lot of ire from existing fans and fan creators- especially with Griff and Casca being concerned. There was always acceptance for Griffguts art and Gutsca art somewhere, but including both Casca and Griffith into an ot3 seemed like asking for trouble. In the end though, I cracked and gave in. I couldn't take the isolation anymore lol And now everyone else has to see it haha 😆

Thank you so much for your support, it means the world to me ♡ Rare pair stuff is always a risk and with the loving community I've seemingly landed in, it looks like it was well worth it to me ♡ Thanks, love!

[persimmono]

🧸 pick a card: september 2021 🧸

Hey guys! Welcome back to another tarot reading. Choose a Vanitas no Carte character from the image above using a method that works for you to find out what’s happening in September. Pile one is Noe Archiviste and pile two is Vanitas. Once you’ve picked, click/tap keep reading and find your pile to read the interpretation. Hope you enjoy :D

Pile 1: Noe Archiviste 

The Chariot, 8 of Pentacles, 3 of Pentacles, 10 of Wands, 10 of Cups, 4 of Pentacles on bottom 

In September, you will experience victory in wherever you have been working hard and collaborating with others. It could be related to a career or project that you are passionate about. You will finally experience harvest and rewards for the effort you put in. It’ll be a feeling of wish fulfillment and finally being able to put down the stress/burden. However, if this is financial, you will still be a bit frugal and conservative because it is what you are used to doing in order to survive/make ends meet. You could be a Cancer or dealing with one this month. 

5 of Cups, 4 of Swords, 3 of Swords, Ace of Swords on bottom 

You experienced disappointment, grief, and sorrow before. Something didn’t go according to plan. You have been recovering from it, and now you are reaching a breakthrough. 

Violet, Amaryllis, Hyacinth on bottom

Again, there will be some breakthrough, epiphany or clarity for you this month. The cards are also confirming you remaining conservative and frugal with finances. If you receive praise for your work, you will take it with humility and modesty. This is likely a creative endeavor that you have been working on which is bringing success. Otherwise, there will be an abundance of creative energy and drive during the month of September. You are being encouraged to have fun, embrace a childlike innocence, and lighten up a bit. 

Reconnection, One-Sided Love, Trust Your Intuition on bottom 

1:11 on the clock as I pull these cards...you may be reconnecting with someone that you’ve had a one-sided relationship with before. You’re being asked to trust your intuition and gut feelings with this situation. 

Tree, Praying Mantis on bottom 

Tap into your wisdom this month as you engage with others, especially with this person you are reconnecting with. Have fun and stay light hearted, but keep an eye out for any trickery/manipulation. 

The Ring, The Whip, The Moon 

A contract/promise that was painful for your career. Perhaps this is past energy– you’re experiencing something good this month where you’ve been working hard, but it wasn’t easy to get to this point. There might have been something in your career previously that was devastating. Look forward to what September brings. 

Song: Blueberry Eyes by MAX ft. SUGA of BTS

Thanks for stopping by! 🌻

_________________________

Pile 2: Vanitas 

The Hanged Man, The Hermit, The Knight of Cups, Queen of Swords, 7 of Wands, 8 of Pentacles on bottom

You’ve been in a quiet, introspective energy and this will continue into September. You’ll be focusing on yourself and your creative + intellectual pursuits while trying to your best to remain persistent with your goals. You’re heavily focused on your hobbies, work, and career. The spotlight is on you this month. 

8 of Pentacles, Queen of Pentacles, 9 of Pentacles, 5 of Swords on bottom 

Again, you’re just working on the things that are important to you. You’re trying to build your stability, both financially and creatively. You’ll see some rewards this month, but might feel a bit alone. It’s an energy of “I made it to this point, but where is everyone?” That kind of feeling. 

Anemone, Red Rose, Yellow Rose on bottom 

A feeling of holding your breath, waiting for the next big thing. That’s a part of the energy this month. You might already be feeling this– it makes sense with The Hanged Man and The Hermit. Your eyes are on the future, a mixture of anxiety and excitement. The Red Rose came out reversed, which only happens once in a blue moon (if any of you guys got that reference, you’re cool). You’re likely coming to an epiphany/breakthrough about something in September. There is also some emphasis on friendships– reach out to friends and enjoy their company if you’re feeling down. 

Yumiko Kurahashi

Something about you is transforming this month. It could be from that epiphany/breakthrough. It might have something to do with finances, status, and independence. 

Home & Family, Divine Counterpart, Boundaries on bottom 

You’re concerned with home/family in September. You may be talking with them more. If you have a partner, you’ll be spending time and energy with them as well. Boundaries might come up as an issue or simply something to work through. 

The Sun, The Snake, The Book, The Fox on bottom 

Clarity about enemies and secrets. How fitting. The Fox is also a slimy, tricky energy. Rest assured that you’ll receive some information about this situation. 

Notes: Pisces energy shows up twice in your spread– if you know one, they are important in September. There is also Virgo, Libra, and Capricorn. 

Song: 1,000,000X by Griff & HONNE

Thanks for stopping by! 🌷

[piratewithvigor]

Bestie im gonna need you to elaborate on pregnant hitchhiking ghost please

We begin in Zach's living room, where he and the lads are sharing cold ones and discussing totally impossible feats (like going to high school)

"Speaking of education," Zach says, "have you ever heard of the World Wide Web? Any information you could ever want is on there"

Sam comes down to join the gang in the basement, having finished his doctor's appointment. Zach, ever the concerned friend, asks how it went. "It was alright," Sam says, "but what can I say guys, I've got lung cancer"

Zach asks about potential treatment, but Sam tearfully explains he only has one month left to live. It's a tender moment, but the boys decide that for the next month, every night will be the night of Sam's life.

As any 'final month' begins, the boys first hit up the one place everyone wants to go:

The local gas station.

The gang is on the way to a restaurant and are just taking a quick pause for a smoke break and a gas up. Zach assures Sam that whatever he wants, it's on him tonight. Sam's not doing especially well, coughing frequently and having to lean on the car. Zach then reveals that Griffin actually bought shots at a bar earlier and Sam's just hammered. Pat helps him get into the front seat.

On the road, Pat passes out in the back seat and Sam's slugging back another beer. He's decided on shrimp scampi as tonight's main course.

"Can I ask you guys a question?" Sam pipes up. "Do you believe in miracles?"

"Miracles. Like miracles, you know? Like there's something else."

"Actually, I do," Zach responds. "Nobody can tell you what your destiny is in life. There's only two people who control it; God and yourself. Doctors, they say this and they say that, but anything can happen, man."

Sam's comforted by Zach's words and leans his seat back as they drive past a woman in a long dress.

She's walking along the road without shoes on and Sam is incredibly concerned.

"Was she pregnant? Griff, was she pregnant?" He asks, eyebrows raised high enough to be considered for canonization. No one's certain if she was pregnant, but Zach drives backwards to investigate and make sure she's alright.

"She could be in harm, in danger," Sam points out, opening another beer.

Zach inquires of the woman (named Margaret) if she's okay (she is), where's her home (a good ways away, 11 Keith Road) and if she's pregnant (she is; 7 months). Ever the gentlemen, the gang offers to give her a ride. She accepts gratefully and Zach pulls over to arrange a seating situation. Deciding that it wouldn't be right to have her squeeze in, Griff voluntells Pat to get in the trunk so Margaret can have room (90% chance Griff has the hots for pregnant girls, judging by his joyful whisper to the camera of "I might score")

Zach asks again for her address and plugs it into the GPS as Griff begins getting acquainted with such charming pickup lines as "you know, you smell good" and "you married?" and "how long you been pregnant?" and "can you feel it kickin n stuff yet?" and "what are you gonna name it?"

Margaret, it turns out, lives right up the road. Zach peels off to a jaunty disco tune and makes sure she's comfortable. Sam, meanwhile, is looking more and more sleepy.

"You know what man, I can't explain it, but I feel something special in the car. Unique," he tries to explain.

The gang pulls up to where Margaret's house should be, but are met with nothing but darkness. Margaret assures them this is the place and thanks them for the ride.

"Be safe," says Zach, brow furrowed in concern.

"Take it easy," says Griff, giving her the final once-over.

"See ya, toots," says Sam, lighting up the third cigarette of the night.

As Margaret walks away, Sam is overtaken by concern. Worries that it isn't right, it isn't safe for her to be left out in the woods, whether she lives there or not. He chases after her and expresses his doubts about leaving her there.

"Don't worry, Sam. Everything will be alright," she says, in a voice not her own. She pulls him in for a tender hug and whispers, "I believe in miracles too."

Sam runs in to the house and joyously exclaims to Zach and Griff that he is cancer-free, that there is no sign or trace of cancer in his body. After no reaction, Sam asks if the two are okay. Says they look like they've seen a ghost or something.

Turns out, Zach got on the internet and did some research. He learned a little something about that girl Margaret they picked up last week. Urbanlegends.com says that 60 years ago, a girl named Margaret and her unborn child died in a housefire at 11 Keith Road. Supposedly, she was 7 months pregnant and can be seen walking the roads within a few miles of there on the anniversary each year. But most interesting is that extraordinarily good fortune befalls anyone who offers her ghost a ride home.

"It really was a miracle..." Sam realizes as we fade to black

Meanwhile these dopey motherfuckers forgot they just straight up locked Pat in the trunk for a week

[tsuki-chibi]

Adrien AUG-reste Day 19 - Advantage

This story is part 5 of a series: a sequel to my Marinette March, Adrinette April, Marichat May, Ladrien June, and Ladynoir July stories; I highly recommend reading those first.

You can also read this story on AO3: Petrichor

---

As the brilliance of the portal died down around him, Renard opened his eyes to find himself standing on a rooftop. All of Paris stretched out before him. It was day again, and the sunshine was warm on his shoulders. When he looked to his left, he caught sight of that massive billboard with his own face plastered on it and knew that meant they were home again.

“We did it,” Lacorne said with a happy sigh, stretching her arms over her head. “Does it sound terrible to say that I never want to visit another alternate universe for as long as I live?”

Renard smiled. “Not at all. It was an interesting experience, but not one that I’m anxious to repeat.” The two universes had been both good and bad in their own ways. He wondered if there was a universe out there where everything was just good – or maybe even if there was one where everything was all bad…

“Are you okay?” Lacorne asked, stepping closer to him and putting a hand on his arm.

“I should be asking you that. Griffe seemed disappointed to see you go,” said Renard, glancing at her. Lacorne blushed slightly but shook her head.

“It’s just because he was a Black Cat,” she said.

“What?” Renard said, confused.

“I might have borrowed the Horse and Rabbit miraculouses, but I’m still a Ladybug at heart. I think that’s what Griffe probably needs,” Lacorne said. “Whether he recognizes it or not. They didn’t have the Ladybug miraculous active because it wasn’t useful enough, but that doesn’t mean the Black Cat doesn’t need their partner.”

It was pretty hard to argue with that logic. Renard had a difficult time imagining a scenario where the Ladybug miraculous wouldn’t be useful, given how vitally important it had been during the fight with Hawkmoth, but he supposed that anything was possible. He wondered if, in the future, Griffe and Chloé might change their minds about using the Ladybug miraculous after all.

“Besides, I meant that it was probably hard for you to see an alternate universe version of your parents,” Lacorne continued. Both of her miraculous beeped, and Renard looked at them automatically. She only had a couple of minutes left before she de-transformed, but she didn’t seem overly concerned. She was watching him worriedly.

Renard looked away. After a moment, he said softly, “I’ll be honest and say that it wasn’t easy. I couldn’t help wondering why Coccinelle and Tortue weren’t crazy like my parents are. But then… maybe my parents were normal at that age too. Maybe it was something that happened to them later to make them crazy. Something that might happen to Coccinelle and Tortue too.”

“Maybe,” Lacorne said, her voice carefully neutral, and Renard knew that meant she disagreed.

“I know. They could also both grow up to be perfectly normal people. Its an alternate universe, so anything is possible. I guess that just makes me wonder why I was unfortunate enough to get the crazy ones as parents.” Renard sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“I wish I had an answer for you,” Lacorne said.

“It just feels like I got the short end of the stick, that’s all.” He scuffed his foot against the roof, thinking about Griffe again. What would it be like to have a sibling?

It would probably be pretty cool… for a little while anyway. Marinette had no siblings, but both Nino and Alya did and their relationships with their siblings was complicated to say the least. Alya often complained about her parents taking advantage of having a built-in baby-sitter. Nino was endlessly mad over how often his little brother came into his room without asking.

Actually it might be like having Félix around all the time. Renard shuddered at the thought.

Yeah, no thanks.

“Anyway, I’m glad that we went because I think it made our fight easier in the end. But at the same time, I’m not sorry we’re home,” he finished.

“Me too… though I have to admit, it was interesting to see Chloé as the guardian,” Lacorne said.

Renard glanced over at her. “Thinking of giving her a second chance?”

“Maybe. If she’d grow up a little.” Lacorne stared out over Paris for a moment before she added, “But we’ve all had to grow up, maybe a little too fast, and I started thinking that maybe it’s not all our faults if we’re not growing up the way we should be, all things considered.”

[zahrajackson]

mini-playlist task!

ft. @rorycollins , @alicealder , @caseyfm .

zahra & rory: achilles heel.

little talks - of monsters and men. ( there's an old voice in my head / that's holding me back / well, tell her that i miss our little talks. )

Sometimes you listen to a song you’ve listened to a lot and suddenly go “huh. this reminds me of the jackson girl’s nightmare patrol”. There’s just a tenderness to this song that I think mirrors the tenderness Zahra approaches Rory with in the middle of the night. We are respectfully ignoring the bridge in the hopes it never applies to them tho, thanks.

sister - k. flay. ( if you ever go and get your heart broke / i would take a red eye plane / ride or die forever / i got you (i got you). )

Okay, they’re not technically sisters, but aren’t they though? Rory is Zahra’s ride or die. There’s a lot she’d do just because Rory asked. And, yeah, she does want to call Rory her sister. Half the time I accidentally write that instead of cousin. This song really just encapsulates all that.

some things are meant to be - from little women, the musical. ( let's be wild up high above the sand / feel the wind, the world at our command / let's enjoy the view and never land. )

This one is a little fucking depressing okay, I’ll admit it. Like, (spoilers for Little Women ig) this is the song Beth sings on the beach right before she dies.  It’s just my ‘siblings who are really close’ song. But beyond that, there’s something about it - the beach imagery, the certainty of love, the little “beth is mine!” at the start. It captures the feeling that Rory was meant to be in Zahra’s life, and that won’t ever change. Rory is hers - Rory is a part of her. Anyway, if Rory ever dies I’m suing.

run - taylor swift, ed sheeran. ( give me the keys, i'll bring the car back around / we shouldn't be in this town. )

I’ll admit, I’m not totally happy with this one. But! I needed a ‘holy shit we gotta get out of Cherry’ song. Zahra’s been wanting to get Rory out of town since day one! Because Cherry might actually get them killed, and also who wants to be trapped in their small town forever?

girls just wanna have fun - cyndi lauper. ( i wanna be the one to walk in the sun / oh girls, they wanna have fun. )

I just wanted them to have a real fun one. A ‘dance around the room, singing along loud enough to annoy Rocky’ kinda song. They’re the dream team, baby! They gotta have fun with it!

zahra & alice: bitter dregs of childhood.

slumber -  sløtface. ( even as a child i know / that i’ll never have friends like these again. )

It’s about childhood! It’s about looking at your best friend(s) and knowing this is something special. I don’t know, it just makes me think of all the sleepovers Zahra and Alice have had, and all the moments of simple childhood friendship that have long passed. Things were so good once. Things were so easy once.

motion sickness - phoebe bridgers. ( i hate you for what you did / and i miss you like a little kid. )

I’ll be honest, that first line really is a big reason for this songs presence. It’s a great encapsulation of how Zahra feels - hatred, and a yearning for her friend back. It makes her feel childish and angry. And now especially emotional motion sickness feels accurate. She went from hostility to concern to whatever the hell they’re doing now over the past year. If anyone can send Zahra on an emotional rollercoaster, it’s Alice. (And Lux).

shade of yellow - griff. ( oh, 'cause there's a light in your room / and the lamp is a shade of yellow / and it makes me feel safe and sound / and I swear that's rare these days. )

This is the real early days - the Zahra’s parents are arguing and her mum’s about to leave days. The days she’d go over to Alice and Lux’s houses rather than be at home. And, even after she got through that, the specific comfort that came from being in her best friend’s room. Alice made her feel safe - and maybe she still does. And part of her always wants to run back to Alice, despite all the bad blood between them.

allies or enemies - the crane wives. ( what happens now? / do we have another go? / do we bow out and take our separate roads? / i'll admit i've had my doubts / but i want to be let in not out. )

I had to have a Crane Wives song somewhere in these playlists, and this really does capture the ??? stage they’re in. Are they friendly? Are they fighting? Are they just gonna stay in this weird liminal space between those options? Things have irrevocably changed between them, and they’ve both hurt each other, but Zahra wants things to be better. If not friends, then allies. Just... something.

good 4 u - olivia rodrigo. ( i've lost my mind, i've spent the night crying on the floor of my bathroom / but you're so unaffected, i really don't get it / but i guess good for you. )

There’s gotta be a song here that’s just fucking angry. Zahra hates Alice. She also loves her. It’s complicated. Needless to say, feeling angry just feels better than feeling anything complicated. And good 4 u really channels the, like, perceived lack of care? Like, Zahra definitely started off just like,, oh, so Alice just doesn’t give a shit about me? and I’m out here in emotional turmoil? Fuck you too. A girl’s gotta channel her resentment, bitterness, and abandonment issues, y’know? Especially when it seems like someone she cares so much about just cut her out like she was nothing. So yeah. The Angry Song.

zahra & casey: glitch in the heart.

nothing like you and i - the perishers. ( we spent some time together walking / spent some time just talking / about who we were / you held my hand so very tightly / and told me what we could be / dreaming of. )

From the first verse, this song immediately makes me think of their quiet moments - of the talk on the beach, about how they felt and what could be. Zahra has never really had something like what she has with Casey before. For her, ‘nothing like you and I’ is true, and will be no matter what happens. It’s a quieter, subtler, more contemplative kind of song. When she lets it happen, he brings that out in her.

don’t worry, you will - lovelytheband. ( she said, "i can't find a thing i don't like about you" / and i'm like, "don't worry, you will". )

Thinking about Casey insisting he’d fuck things up. Thinking about expecting someone to leave. Thinking about the cynicism woven into their dynamic. And beyond Casey’s insecurities (illegal Ella, wtf), I’m thinking about Zahra, who... insecurity is never the right word for, but is very much aware of the worst parts of herself. They’re her best defence. She uses them to stress test her relationships. And then there’s the role she played in the Audrina-Harvey-Casey shit, and the way (with the Candy Girl arond) it coming out feels like an inevitability. Casey hasn’t found a reason to pull away yet? He will. (bonus content: i did eye the song ‘broken’ by the same band, so. do with that what you will lmao)

nobody - hozier. ( i’d be appalled if you ever tried to be a saint / i wouldn’t fall for someone i thought couldn’t misbehave. // and on the other side, why should we deny the truth? / we could have less to worry about, honey, i won't lie to you / but everything i do, i've had no love like your love. )

It’s about caring for someone both in spite of and because of their rough edges for me babes. Like, neither of these people are goody two shoes. And it also makes me think of Zahra leaving Cherry for the big wide world, and finding herself coming back to Casey whenever she came home. Sure, maybe she’d have a fling or two while away at Harvard, but there was still no one like him. Their whole thing could be easier and simpler, sure. But maybe it’s worth the complication.

his hands - blegh. ( he feels handcrafted just for you / but he's a little bit too far away and / you can’t, you can't / his hands are on you / and you know you’ll be gone by the morning but you know he loves you / and you know you like his strong hands, strong hands. // i kissed every stranger in the corridor that night / i think i was searching for the taste of you in every one. )

This one lives in my head rent free tbh. I think the repetition at the end does a good job on encapsulating the weird mix of denial and self-awareness Zahra had (and probably still has) regarding her feelings for Casey. Like, the way she knew she cared about him and considered him a friend, but also knew she probably could and would fall for him the longer their thing went on. Maybe she already had. Even when she was pretty sure of how he felt, there was still a struggle to come to terms with her own feelings. Also she likes his hands. Sometimes it’s about the hands guys idk what to tell you.

luminous - sløtface. ( you’re a / glitch in my heart / punch to the gut / you’re a luminous. )

I think there’s like,, three concepts in this song for me. First off, let me let y’all in on something about Zahra: sometimes people just click. It happened with Lux and Alice. It happened with Rory. It happened with Audrina. It probably happened Savannah. It doesn’t always happen immediately, and it doesn’t happen with everyone, but it’s like something locks into place and they become Important. And the first time she really talked to Casey, once high school was over and intermediary friends were gone? Something clicked. Or she felt it clicking and tried to ignore it (see: “ i was gone / before i went anywhere with you ”). Then, there’s the element of just, like, wanting to stay up late talking to someone? For all that they started off hooking up, Zahra really does enjoy just talking to Casey. And finally, I think Zahra feels very viscerally when she lets herself (especially watching Casey get stabbed... now that was a punch to the gut fellas) and the chorus really encapsulates that.

dress - taylor swift. ( i’m spilling wine in the bathtub / you kiss my face and we're both drunk / everyone thinks that they know us / but they know nothin' about / all of this silence and patience, pining and anticipation / my hands are shaking from holding back from you. )

Ella you said you couldn’t decide between this or Dancing With Our Hands Tied for yours so I put it on mine. For more than just that, but partly because of that. I think I could make another playlist that’s just, like, Taylor Swift songs that remind me of them in some way. This one just! Captures a lot! The secret relationship, the trying not to reach out, the more than friends in a romantic and sexual way! Idk it’s just a vibe!

bad idea! - girl in red. ( it was a bad idea / calling you up / was such a bad idea / i'm totally fucked. )

The title says it all babes. This whole thing was a bad idea from the start! And yet the mad lads did it anyway! And keep doing it! Sometimes you just gotta hook up with someone pretty ig.

[5bi5]

We have known about the vampires in this town for a long time now.

Our whole way of living is sort of built around it, actually. The whole water supply is holy water – the water in our taps, in our pools, in our fire hydrants. I've always thought if I had to kill a vampire I'd want to do it with a fire hydrant. You have to think about these things, you know. They teach you in school: wear a cross, carry a stake, hang garlic over your door. Never invite someone into your home unless you are certain you can trust them. And for God's sake, don't go walking alone after dark without some kind of weapon handy.

Things happen, of course. Things are always happening. People will just quietly disappear – most of the time the bodies are never recovered – and although it can't technically be said for certain just what happened, everyone knows. And then they talk. In hushed voices, in places where the family of the deceased – sorry, the "missing, presumed dead" – can't hear them, they talk. She must have done something wrong, they whisper. If she had just worn a cross like she was supposed to, if she had just stayed inside after dark, this would never have happened. Stupid girl – this was always bound to happen to her.

We all grew up watching those same vampire movies as everyone else. Dracula, Nosferatu, even Twilight. Let me tell you something: vampires don't sparkle. There is no sure way to identify a vampire until it's too late. Until there's no time to reach for that stake that you always keep in your purse, that if you could just get to it, maybe you could save yourself, fuck, where is it, where is your purse – there's no time for that. You're already dead.

Although I grew up knowing about the vampires, constantly hearing warnings and rules and stories, I didn't see one (not knowingly, at least) until I was twenty. At this point, although I knew theoretically that I could be attacked on any given day and it was important to be prepared, subconsciously I had begun to believe that it was never going to happen to me. I'd never so much as glimpsed a vampire in two decades, and everyone just droned about them constantly. Surely, if it were going to happen, it would have happened by now.

So, as I cooked a romantic dinner for myself and my boyfriend of three months, the threat of vampires seemed as distant as the possibility of an anvil falling out of the sky and crushing me to death. I was gearing myself up to tell him I loved him for the first time; I was not a romantic person by nature, but things had been going really well so far, so I wanted to make an effort. That effort also included making coq au vin and, in the interest of staying as kissable as possible, omitting the two cloves of garlic which the recipe called for.

That particular evening was one of the darkest and rainiest I had seen in some time, so when my boyfriend showed up twenty minutes late and apologizing profusely, I just told him not to worry, and ushered him in out of the rain.

"Why don't you take a shower while I get dinner on the table?" I suggested. "I can give you a pair of sweatpants and a t shirt." I wasn't really sure my clothes would fit him, but he was soaking and shivering, and he took me up on my offer right away. At worst, I got to see him in a too-tight shirt, right?

I gave him the biggest t shirt and sweatpants I owned, and I set about pouring wine and dishing up soup. In the interest of both warmth and atmosphere, I dug out just about every candle I owned – which, to be fair, was only a handful – and set them on the coffee table, where we could admire them without the smell mingling with the scent of the food. By the time everything was ready, he was back, wearing my sweats and shirt. They fit him better than I would have guessed, but he was still clearly uncomfortable, frowning and tugging at the shirt hem to stop it from riding up. It wasn't exactly the start I had pictured to our perfect romantic night, but hey, if something had to go wrong, this didn't seem so bad, right?

"You look cute." I said, grabbing his hand away from his hem and squeezing it in both of mine. "Come on, Griff, let's just have some dinner."

Griff gave me what might have been a forced smile, and sat down. "Thanks for making this."

"Happy to." I smiled back and took my seat across from him. I decided to wait until his mood improved a little before I sprang the whole "I love you" thing on him. I didn't want to freak him out.

We ate mostly in silence, and I regretted not thinking of a romantic soundtrack to put on. By the time we finished, I was desperate for some kind of noise – or just something to take the sullen expression off of Griff's face – so I suggested we watch a movie. We settled on The Hangover; again, not exactly how I had hoped the evening would go, but whatever made Griff happy.

It didn't take long for his attention to wander away from watching the movie and towards kissing me, which was all fine as far as I was concerned. Good thing I'd left out that garlic, right? I closed my eyes and leaned into the kiss, trying to parse whether this was the right moment to tell him. Before I could decide, however, he suddenly sprang away from me with a gasp.

When I opened my eyes, it was obvious what had happened, but my brain refused to register it. That burn mark in the shape of a cross had been there before I leaned towards him, hadn't it? It wasn't from my cross, the one I always wore around my neck, was it? It wasn't from any cross, of course not, my eyes were playing tricks on me.

I wish I hadn't wasted precious seconds processing all of this. Maybe I could have done something, said something, at least moved, before he was tearing the cross off of my neck with another pained yelp and leaning back over me. The jig was up now, and it was clear that unlike me, he wasn't wasting any time.

I wish also that I could say I survived through some great, heroic moment, but that's not what happened. I just sat there, shellshocked, until his mouth reached my neck and he began to bite – and then my body seemed to act of its own volition, thrusting him away from me with both hands. This caught him off guard, and he fell backwards, landing directly on top of every candle I owned. His shirt – my shirt – caught fire, and he dashed out the door into the rain.

At the very least, I can say that I made the conscious decision to lock the door, and then barricade it with a table. That's about all I managed to do before collapsing on the couch, back into the same spot I had been just minutes beforehand, and burst into tears. I didn't even bother trying to stop the blood leeching from my neck; I just cried until at some point I eventually fell asleep.

They taught us so much about preventing vampire attacks that it never even occurred to me before that moment that I had never been taught what to do if one did take place. Maybe it was assumed that if you got attacked by a vampire, you weren't surviving. Still, that seemed to nullify the point of carrying stakes and wearing crosses and blessing the water and whatnot. Maybe it was because everyone in this town seemed to believe that if you got attacked by a vampire, it was your fault – if you were smart, you wouldn't be out after dark in the first place, now would you?

Except I wasn't out after dark. I was wearing a cross. I survived. And now I had to continue surviving with no idea how to proceed. I couldn't ask anyone, either – even if they didn't lecture me to my face, surely they would whisper about me behind my back. Stupid girl, didn't even realize her own boyfriend was a vampire. What was she doing, inviting him into the house, when he clearly wasn't trustworthy? She should have known better.

For days, I stayed in my apartment, afraid to go out. I showered, with holy water, of course – except, weeks later, it dawned on me that Griff should have been hurt by the holy water. So, what was the truth? Was holy water not really an effective weapon against vampires, as we had always been taught, or was the water we had always been told was holy not really holy at all?

I did the best to cover the wound on my neck with makeup and collared shirts. There was no one there to see it, but I couldn't bear to look at it, and when it wasn't covered, I couldn't stop. I'd just stand in front of the mirror and stare at my neck, thinking of everything I should have done differently. Still, I was alive, wasn't I?

Wasn't I?

The first time I went out, it was to gather supplies: more stakes, more crosses, more garlic. Matches, bottles, spirits, and rags. Knives, too, although I didn't know if they would help or not. I wasn't really sure what I knew anymore.

The second time I went out, it was to hunt. No more being shocked, no more being attacked in my own home. I was taking the fight to them. After all, what was the point in trying to stay somewhere safe if nowhere was safe? What was the point in following the rules if they weren't going to protect me?

The vampires in this town have known about us for a long time now. What started as a solo effort has now grown into a small movement, which I'm proud to say consists of several people whom I saved from vampires. People who, like me, had no instructions on how to proceed – except for the ones that I gave them.

Of course, they've had time to prepare now. They protect their hearts more carefully, they don't reveal that they're vampires until they're alone with a victim, they even carry what I assume is non-holy water to put out any fires we might start. Often, our efforts feel futile; sometimes I'll go hunting several times and not come across anyone I can say for certain is a vampire. It's hard to know for sure if I'm making the right call. Sometimes it feels as if I am making no difference at all, as if I am still sitting on the couch doing nothing.

Still, things happen.

[gotyourgnarlyinmyawesome]

Expect The Unexpected

Summary: What seemed like any regular outing to a festival turned into a series of unexpected events. With Team Griff, you always expect the unexpected. Also, it's about time we spiced Moon's life up a little.

Val ran a hand through his hair “I wonder what Simmons has in store for us this time.”

Eve folded her arms across her chest “Ugh, probably another complaint, knowing him.” She huffed, already dreading whatever was awaiting them. Mac simply shrugged. The DJ couldn’t care less.

“What do you think he’ll moan about this time?” Skylar asked, turning his attention to Ty.

The Norwegian gave him a sheepish look “How am I supposed to know? We piss him off all the time.”

“Cheers.” Freya interjected.

“Let’s at least hear him out. It likely won’t take long.” Moon suggested in an attempt to lighten the mood.

“Still a waste of my fucking time.” The redhead added.

--

“You’re late.” He growled.

Freya rolled her eyes. “Good evening to you too.” Griff pretended not to see that. “Sit down.” He simply ordered, gesturing towards the chairs placed in front of them. Ever so obedient, Moon did as she was told. The rest, not as much. He expected as such but it was worth a try nonetheless. “We don’t have all day, just say whatever it is we did wrong, we’ll apologize as per usual and go about our day.”

Griff sighed. “Believe it or not, I didn’t gather you all here to point out your mistakes.”

“What?” Skylar frowned in disbelief. That was unexpected.

Griff sighed again. “Yes, Aguilar, I’m sure this comes as a shock to you but I assure you it’s the truth.” He continued while resting both elbows on the table. He already regretted his decision. How he hadn’t fired any of them so far was honestly beyond him. They had caused him nothing but trouble… or money. “Actually, as much as I hate to do this, I am asking you for your input.”

“On what exactly?” Eve asked, squinting. “Fashion? Sense of humor? Optimism? Lord knows you could use it.”

“Trends.” Griff simply stated. “Please do not disappoint me for once.”

“What were you leaning towards?” Moon asked interestedly.

“Whatever it is the youth is into these days.” He replied. Griff didn’t bother with social media. He had a team to take care of that for him. Besides, he was so busy he simply didn’t have the time to keep up with it either way.

“The fuck? You’re the youth, you’re supposed to know. You and Moon are the youngest ones here.” Skylar objected, pointing at the pair of them.

“For crying out loud can’t any of you do as you’re asked? Just for once?” He threw his arms up in defeat. At this rate it was going to take all day.

“K-pop.” Moon suggested, a warm smile gracing her lips. “The genre has gained worldwide attention. Some of the biggest names have even made it to mainstream Western media.”

Finally, he thought. “Go on.”

“Adventure time!” Ty chimed in excitedly.

“Preferably something more engaging, Thorsen.”

“Tik tok.” Skylar added.

“Yes, I am familiar with tok tik, thank you very much. Anything else?”

“Fortnite?” Mac added, unsure of his answer. “Or was it Minecraft… No wait, it’s Roblox!”

“Saving the planet, as well as sustainability.” Moon added, providing examples such as straws, clothing and much more. Griff simply nodded in response while taking mental notes. Much to his surprise, they weren’t completely useless for a change. Unexpectedly, they had actually given him suggestions he could work with.

It was Sorian’s turn “Gay rights, diversity, inclusivity and alcohol. Oh, and cancel culture. Which totally doesn’t work by the way.”

Freya rested her hands on her hips “Drama channels.”

“Taking down the patriarchy.” Eve added.

“Enough! That’s enough. That will do.” Exasperated, he leaned back in his chair. “You’re all dismissed.”

That was it? Surely there was more to it. “Uh, not so fast. What do you need this for anyway?”

“For now, it doesn’t concern you. You’ll know when you need to know.” Freya wasn’t pleased with that answer which frankly, wasn’t an answer at all to begin with but that was all she’d squeeze out of him. Griff sighed. “Believe it or not, I care.”

At this, Skylar laughed out loud. “That’s a good one. Perhaps he does have a sense of humor, Eve.” The girl scoffed in response.

“Let’s just say it’s a surprise. From me, to you.” Team Griff looked at each other in disbelief. Griff waited for an answer but was met with silence instead. It was awkward, really. Moon, ever the mediator, eventually broke it. “We’re looking forward to it.”

--

“How nice of him to do this for us.”

“Yeah, well, don’t get your hopes up. This is Simmons we’re talking about.” It had been three weeks since Griff had gathered them in his office. They had tried to get him to spill the beans on numerous occasions but Griff didn’t budge. He didn’t even drop a hint. Eve and Freya even went as far as to break into his office and go through his computer. Their efforts proved fruitless. Whatever it was Griff had organized, it was a complete surprise and Freya hated surprises.

“Pack your essentials. I expect you to be ready at seven in the morning. Whoever fails to show up on time will be left behind.” was all he had told them the evening before.

“Don’t you think it’s kinda sus he wouldn’t give us any details, though? He just dumped us in a cab and that’s it.” Skylar yawned. The trip was going to be four hours according to the driver’s GPS.

“Rich bastard couldn’t even spare us a private jet. I mean, what the fuck are we even working for then?”

Sorian shrugged “Whatever, we have booze.” He was resting on Moon’s lap, which the girl didn’t mind one bit since she loved playing with his hair. Over time, they had grown quite close despite not having much in common. Amused at her friends’ antics, she chuckled.

“Seriously though, what part of him thought it was a good idea?” Freya turned to Moon, offering her a drink which she politely declined. “He couldn’t even bother to travel with us.”

“I’m excited to find out where we’re heading to.” Moon replied truthfully. Freya held her hands up in defeat “Afraid you’re the only one here.”

As soon as they had arrived at their destination it became evident that Griff’s so-called surprise was nothing more than a PR stunt in disguise. At face value the event looked like any other festival. Three stages, food trucks and tents… The whole shabang. Upon a closer look Griff had done everything in his power to cater to a younger, more impressionable audience. So much for caring. Yet Moon, for whatever reason, insisted on giving him the benefit of the doubt.

“Welcome to CULTURPOP!” he stated proudly, as if he had organized it all. Freya was willing to bet he saw an opportunity to make money, slapped their names on promotional posters and called it a day. When asked about the program, he told them “All in due time.” Great. When asked about their location, he ignored them. Also great.

“So basically we’re at your mercy. Fan-fucking-tastic.”

“Of course, Parker. You always are, I write your paychecks.” It took every fiber in Freya’s being not to flip him off right there and then. Ginger bastard.

Sorian, for one, was excited to let loose for a change. He knew he was going to regret it in the morning but fuck it, you only live once. This was a festival for crying out loud, what better excuse to party like there’s no tomorrow?

Griff however had other plans. “Where are you going?” he questioned, to which the blonde responded “To party, of course.” as if that was a perfectly reasonable explanation. Griff laughed. Not on his watch.

He proceeded to usher them backstage with the promise of having a good time. Skylar scoffed. Griff’s definition of a good time was vastly different from his. “Now, we don’t want to make our guests wait, do we? Move it.” After being pushed onto the stage, Team Griff had started their day off by holding, in typical Griff fashion, a press conference. Of course the media was involved. Of course it all came down to exposure. Of course views, clicks and likes mattered more than what they wanted. Most members were understandably upset at the reveal but tried to make the best out of it nonetheless.

Until Sorian had decided otherwise. On the topic of hobbies, some clueless journalist had asked him about what he liked to do when he wasn’t snowboarding. “What a stupid question.” He retorted. “Seriously, do you even do your research beforehand?” In his defense, he had heard the question countless times before and his answer had always been the same. Fuck the media, he was going to give them a piece of his mind for a change, not some pre-cooked script their entourage had come up with. “Why don’t you ever ask me real shit like: if dinosaurs were still alive, what would they taste like or whatever.” Sorian wasn’t finished. “If you must know, darling, it’s sucking your daddy’s dick.”

Both Griff and Moon were horrified while Skylar was laughing his ass off.

“What are you standing there for?! Cut his microphone!” The American grit his teeth. The crew swiftly did as they were told. Griff then promptly made his way to the stage to avoid further casualties. He was going to murder him. He quickly thanked the press for coming, stated that Team Griff wasn’t responsible for any emotional damage and proceeded to kick his team off the stage. “Someday you’ll be the death of me.” He accused, to which Skylar responded he could only hope that was the case.

After that fiasco Griff had decided it would be best to give his team a break. Both Sky and Sorian considered this an open invitation to start drinking, much to Freya’s dismay. Griff on the other hand was on the phone discussing ways to minimize the damage Sorian had done. Much to his surprise, the majority of the attendees (he had the fanbase to thank for that) had sided with the blonde, stating how awful the paparazzi were and how they shouldn’t exist in the first place. Crisis averted? Frankly, Griff didn’t understand what was going on but that no longer mattered. This somehow turned in his favor and he was going to take full advantage of that. Looks like Sorian got to live another day.

Thus, the team had decided to attend the first performance of the day. This stage was much bigger and across to where the press conference had been held. It was a heavy metal band no one was familiar with except for Ty. Excited or downright clumsy, the Norwegian had slipped on spilled food (or vomit, no-one could tell the difference), hit someone on the back of the head with his elbow which in turn resulted in him accidentally starting a mosh pit.

Mac had lifted Eve in his arms in an attempt to keep her safe, only for Eve to be swept away by a stranger. The guy had somehow interpreted this as Eve wanting to crowd surf and who was he to turn down a beautiful girl’s wish? Mac’s stomach dropped when he noticed she was no longer in his grasp. She was going to kill him. Eve tried to wrestle her way out but to no avail, she was already making her way to the front. Mac stupidly ran after her, as if that made any difference at this point.

To top it all off, both Sky and Sorian were starting to get tipsy while both Freya and Moon were holding on for dear life. “Fucking hell, where is security when you need it!” the redhead yelled. They were on lunch break, by the looks of it.

It didn’t take long before Sky had thrown himself in the middle of the pit. It was now up to Val to retrieve him before he got hurt. Meanwhile, the poor bloke Ty had knocked the fuck out was getting trampled by the crowd. “Don’t just fucking stand there!” Freya screamed at no one in particular “Get the medics!”.

Griff already dreaded an incoming lawsuit but once again, much to his surprise, the victim turned out to be Norwegian… and a big fan of Ty at that. Battered and bruised, that did not stop the fan from asking Ty for a selfie, which he happily took. The fan was so grateful he almost burst into tears and with that, was brought to the nearest hospital. Another crisis averted. Was this the power of team Griff, he wondered? It couldn’t be. It was just a game of expecting the unexpected with them. It always was.

Anyways, Griff then decided it was time to move on to a meet and greet. What could go wrong with those, right? Well it didn’t take long for him to find out. By this time both Sorian and Skylar were getting pretty drunk. It was useless trying to give them water, they had rejected it at every occasion. “It’s a fucking festival.” Skylar growled. Freya had warned him they’d be more likely to comply if he just let them be but Griff ignored her as per usual. Well, be careful what you wish for. It was only a matter of time before they had started drawing all kinds of inappropriate things on their photos (while giggling, mind you) instead of actually signing them. Sorian almost went as far as to sign a baby but was luckily held back in time by Val.

While the Russian was distracted, two girls had started a cat fight over whoever got to take a selfie with him first. It seemed one of them had cut in line and decided to be petty about it. Griff quickly motioned security over before things truly started getting out of hand. He was used to this but his employees had yet to taste real stardom, naturally.

As both drunks were egging the girls on and chunks of hair were falling to the floor, one superfan adorned in Freya merch had taken the opportunity to sneak up to the redhead and declare his undying love for her and additionally, her rack. She calmly warned him to, in her words, “Get out of my space before I rearrange your face to look like a cherry pie.” and debated on whether or not she should throw him a stick, since he was slobbering all over her tits like a fucking dog. She finished off by telling him to “Make an Onlyfans, people are into dog play these days.” Give an inch and they take a mile, right? That didn’t scare the fan off in the slightest, since he only tried to get closer, claiming they were perfect for each other. Ty had to get in between and lord knows he was a terrible meat shield.

Finally, the guard body slammed the poor bastard and escorted both him and the girls from the scene. Griff gave them a signed picture of both Freya and Val respectively as compensation before heading back to the stage, reassuring the crowd that everything had been taken care of and that the meet and greet would resume as scheduled shortly. Skylar gagged. He despised the fact that Simmons was acting like the fucking hero after doing jack shit but this was Griff they were talking about. Such behavior was to be expected from him.

And so, Team Griff was dismissed for the time being because God forbid Griff would ever willingly share the spotlight with them. Their morning had been so...eventful they didn’t realize they were starving until the crew had asked them what they wanted for lunch. Probably against Griff’s wishes (or schedule, not that anyone cared) they went to explore the food stalls at the back by themselves, since those were stationed in a designated area reserved for staff only.... and it showed. Team Griff already regretted setting foot outside and contemplated on whether or not they should go back backstage. They then decided anything was better than seeing Simmons’ punchable face, waving about and posing like some fucking republican president.

Of course Griff wasn’t going to let them mingle with other artists unless he could supervise the whole thing. Of course Griff had done the bare minimum when it came to them (sparing no expenses, my ass). Of course the stalls were placed right across the port-a-loo’s, merely separated by event fencing. While it wasn’t as smelly as she thought it would be, it sure as hell no longer made Eve feel hungry. She scrunched up her nose in disgust.

“This area is all to ourselves?” Ty wondered.

“Yeah, right next to the fucking shits. How considerate.” How very considerate indeed. It summed up how Griff treated them according to Freya.

This gave Sorian an idea. He waddled over to where Skylar was standing and tugged at his sleeve. “See where those port-a-loo’s are?”

“Yeah?”

“I dare you to climb one and scare the shit out of whoever is inside.” Great thinking, since the victim was already on the toilet.

The blonde had Skylar’s attention. While their speech was slurred, they seemed to understand each other just fine “And what’s in it for meeeee?”

“A bottle of Mama Juanaaaaa?”

The Dominican grinned wickedly, oh how long it had been since he last drank that “Deal.”

--

“Where is Aguilar?” Griff demanded. He had finally bothered to show his face. "We are to resume the meet and greet this instant."

“Dead in a ditch.” Freya replied sarcastically as she took a bite from her sandwich. If only that were true, Griff thought. He’d be the first to arrange his funeral. “Ha! Maybe he did amount to something after all.” This time it was Freya who ignored him.

“I thought he had to pee?” Ty asked, confused. Come to think of it, both he and Sorian had been gone for a while, their food untouched. “Oh for fuck’s sake.” It didn’t take long for Freya to realize the two of them were probably up to no good. It was one thing to lose them at a festival, it was another when they were also shitfaced. Who knows, they might be on the other side of the country by now. Luckily and unexpectedly, she needn’t look far.

Mac was shielding his eyes from the sun with one hand (which was ironic since he was wearing a baseball cap backwards) and pointing towards the toilets with the other. “Yo, is that Skylar? My man!”

Both Griff and Freya spun their heads in the direction the DJ was pointing at. Indeed, there he was, standing on top of a port-a-loo in all his drunken glory. Moon gasped, covering her mouth with both hands.

Griff’s blood was boiling. He just couldn’t catch a break, could he? One day, just one day where they’d all behave and do as they’re told. Was it really so much to ask for? It seemed like with them, everything was destined to turn to shit. Yet he couldn’t just stand there and do nothing. They were his responsibility, whether he liked it or not. Oh, he was going to give Skylar far more than an earful. “My father will hear about this. Aguilar will be the death of me someday, you just wait. I will sue him from my grave.” Griff hissed as he stomped towards the toilets. Ty wasn't sure how Griff's father had anything to do with this. With no time to lose and their jobs on the line, Freya jumped into action with the rest of Team Griff following suit.

--

It seemed the Dominican had already drawn a crowd. They were all cheering and clapping like the fucking sheep they were. Griff thought it was pitiful and classless. He had to push his way to the front, not apologizing once for all the toes he had stepped on nor the drinks he had knocked over. His eyes were locked on Skylar. “Aguilar!” he bellowed, “Get down there this instant or I will yank you off myself! Insurance is not going to cover this!”

“Might need a ladder, not sure your short legs will get you far!” Skylar taunted. “Use your ego instead!”

“I’ll shove it right up where the sun doesn’t shine, alright!” The American retorted hotly. Sorian, who was now being carried by Val, thought that was rather kinky. Ty on the other hand could’ve sworn Griff was foaming at the mouth. Quite frankly, it scared him a little.

“Sky, please be careful. We don’t want you to get hurt!” Moon shouted out, concerned for her friend’s well-being. She was holding her hands in prayer. In Freya’s opinion she was being too kind once again.

"Sweetheart, let me handle this." Drunken Skylar wouldn’t relent unless you used brute force, Freya had learned this the hard way. She strode forward, pushing Griff aside. The American had lost his balance and landed sideways in the mud. Or shit, no-one could tell the difference. While Griff was yelling all sorts of profanities at Freya, the redhead was busying herself with Skylar instead.

“Get the fuck down there! If you break your legs you can crawl to the hospital yourself!” she'd break his arms on his way out for good measure. To be fair, she was just as irritated as Griff. Skylar had a talent for ruining her outings. This was no different, even if she had decided she was going to hate it from the start. Yet the Dominican knew how to make himself forgiven time and time again. She knew this was going to be no different. Freya sighed.

“Pfff, I’ll be fine! Don’t be a party pooper, Freya. Look!” He exclaimed, speech slurred, as he jumped over to another portable toilet. Team Griff collectively held their breaths.

“See? What could possibly happen?” He said perhaps a tad bit too soon. As fate would have it, the roof caved in and with it, Skylar. There was a scream, which they guessed came from Moon, then another, which came from inside the toilet itself. Task failed successfully? If Griff had to guess, it likely came from Aguilar… or at least he hoped that was the case. Yet again the American dreaded an incoming lawsuit. Now Skylar had definitely signed himself up for more than just an earful. The loo’s door swung open and out limping came Skylar. He was holding his fist up in the air, posing as if he were Freddy fucking Mercury. Once again the fans were cheering and clapping like fucking blockheads. Griff was flabbergasted. He was truly surrounded by idiots.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” He heard Freya screaming Aguilar’s ears off.

“I’m fine! Relax.” He groaned as he rubbed his left knee. He winced. She was going to beat him with his prosthetic. She retorted by saying she was perfectly calm and escorted him from the scene, grabbing him tightly by the arm. “You’re going in time-out.” she stated, then pointed at Sorian “You too.” the blonde dared not anger her further. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

A wardrobe change later, Griff was already threatening the press to hush up about their fuck-up. Lord knows how much this was going to cost him. For good measure, he had lawyered up (you can never be too sure when it involved his team). Yet again, much to Griff’s surprise Mac had recorded the whole thing and had uploaded it to tik tok. In a matter of seconds, the clip had gone viral with the majority siding with Skylar. They called him “a fucking legend” among other things. Upon seeing the amount of views and exposure the clip had gathered the American pulled a one-eighty and congratulated Skylar on a job well done. “That’s a wrap for now.”

“For now? You mean there’s more?” Eve complained.

“More? You’ve done the bare minimum, Shephard.” Truth be told Griff had two interviews scheduled for the evening but due to some unforeseen circumstances (thanks a lot, Aguilar) he had to cancel his plans. “Now go enjoy the main event before I change my mind.” they hadn’t exactly done anything to earn that privilege according to him but he had hoped that it would boost their motivation.

--

By the time the main event was about to start, both Sky and Sorian had started to sober up. Val and Mac had to fight tooth and nail to get them to drink water and they eventually managed it. They totally didn't force it down their throats to the point both had almost choked to death. Not that Sorian minded. In fact, it almost felt like he was into it.

Griff also realized, albeit way too late according to Freya, that it was perhaps for the best to move his team to a VIP area where they wouldn’t be mobbed by a horde of fans… or mugged… or groped. No more mosh pits this time. Needless to say, Team Griff’s day had been nothing short of boring and security had been nothing but utterly useless.

“So much for a fucking surprise.” Skylar complained. Little did the Dominican know that one of his fellow members, the one who managed to remain somewhat spared by today’s events, was about to have the biggest surprise of them all.

“Fortunately we get to see the main event.” Moon chimed in, ever the sunny disposition. Freya threw her arms up sarcastically “Surprise!”. Sorian opened his mouth to give his two cents about the event as well but was promptly interrupted by the announcer. At long last, the main act was about to hit the stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen, lovely people of CULTURPOP!, the main event you’ve all been waiting for: please give a warm welcome to international K-pop sensation N-SANE!"

The brunette gave Skylar a puzzled look. She had one hand wrapped around his arm and was holding her drink in the other. “Did you catch that?” He shook his head “Dude almost shoved his mic down his throat. I’d be surprised if anyone caught that.”

She giggled. Whatever it may have been, the crowd seemed excited and she was more than content with that. While pretty much everyone was cheering and clapping, team Griff included, the Belgian girl couldn’t help but notice the majority of women seemed particularly excited. If she had to guess, it was likely a male performer… and a popular one at that. Right she was. Seven young men took the stage, taking turns in introducing themselves in a language she was familiar with. Upon closer inspection, one particular individual stood out to her.

Her eyes widened in shock. Moon was clumsy, so it didn’t come as a surprise when she had dropped her drink. Sorian ran a hand through his hair. He needn't look who had done it. As a matter of fact, he was surprised it hadn't happened earlier. “I get it, they’re crazy hot but keep it in your pants, will ya? If I can, so can you. Your jaw is practically on the floor.” Moon tried to speak but no words came out.

Val, ever the gentleman, seemed to be the only one to notice something was off. He glanced down at her, grasping her shoulder tightly “Are you alright, dear? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Moon tightened her grip on Skylar’s sleeve to hide the fact that her hands were shaking. How her legs hadn’t given out at the revelation was beyond her. She didn’t know the song, nor the lyrics or the dance for that matter. What she did recognize was the face. She’d recognize it anywhere. There was no doubt in her mind.

“That’s my ex.” Was all she eventually managed to say.

Eve wasn’t sure if she heard her right. “Come again?! Where?!” She had practically shoved Skylar out of the way to have a look at the crowd below. She tried to follow Moon’s gaze but couldn’t make out who she was staring at “Well then?” she urged.

“Wait… so you’re not a virgin?” Sorian interjected.

“Sorian!” Freya glared at him.

“What? I’m just asking!” he shrugged “No offense, honey.” To be fair, Moon was so vanilla she might as well be.

Moon shook her head “None taken.”

She swallowed hard. A whirlwind of emotions attacked her at once. What were the odds? She knew they weren’t going to let this one go anytime soon. She had already said too much. Eve was staring at her impatiently. Shakily, she managed to lift a finger to point at the stage “The one who’s currently at the front, with the two-toned hair… His name is Park Tae-Min and he’s my ex.”

There was a moment of silence. Then it dawned on them. “Your ex is a fucking pop star?!” Team Griff yelled in unison.

“And you only told us now?!” Eve’s eyes widened in shock “Bitch, we have a lot to talk about.”

“I can explain.” The brunette stammered, holding both hands up in a defensive gesture.

“Sis, you better start speaking.”

“It’s a long story. I don’t know where to start...” Moon spoke softly.

“We have all day.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew she wasn’t going to weasle her way out of this one. “Alright, let’s start from the beginning.” she sat down while her friends had formed a circle around her, hanging onto her every word. She started off by telling them how they had met in Davos, Switzerland, while on vacation with her parents. She had bumped into him by accident, which surprised no-one. She made sure to leave some details out, as she believed this was not her story to tell. They didn't need to know about how he had fled his country after a dispute with his parents nor how they had tried to force him into stardom. How they had abused him both verbally and physically, how they had hunted him down and forced him to return to South Korea… Or how they had threatened to hurt her if he didn't comply. In the end, it seemed they had gotten what they wanted.

However, she did explain that his parents did not approve of their relationship because she was a foreigner, despite Moon’s best efforts to learn what she could about their culture, language and social etiquette. She finished by saying his parents made sure there wouldn’t be any way for them to keep in touch. No matter what they tried, they were always a step ahead.

“I understand this all sounds incredibly unrealistic but I assure you it’s the truth. Here, let me show you.” To further prove her point, not that they didn’t believe her to begin with, she showed them a couple of archived pictures of them together. Even though he had a different haircut then, surely enough, it was him. Freya believed they seemed very happy… and madly in love. “He was my first love. After almost three years… We didn’t want to break up but we had no choice.”

“A series of unfortunate events.” Val sympathized. He hit the nail right on the head.

“Yes, precisely.” She nodded while fighting back tears. All this time she had hoped that despite what had happened, he was happy. That one day, they’d meet again… On their own terms. She didn’t want to cry in front of her friends but her emotions got the best of her. On the other hand, she trusted them and felt comfortable enough to show vulnerability. She was blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people.

“That’s fucked up, yo, I’m so sorry.” Mac pulled Eve closer who in turn asked “Do you still love him?”

"Let's just say that if it had been up to us, he would've been my last." She smiled faintly as she wiped the tears away from her cheeks. Eve knew there was more to it but she didn’t want to press her. She had been through enough. "I believe you all know who has my heart, despite my best efforts to hide that fact." She chuckled this time. “Perhaps in another lifetime Tae and I will be reunited.” It was a beautiful yet sad way to look at it. “Thank you for your support, truly. I am touched.”

"From a pop star to Simmons? Talk about a fucking downgrade." Freya knew all too well you didn't get to choose these things but even after almost a year of living together, she failed to see whatever it was Moon saw in that asshat.

Moon chuckled again "Ah, that is also quite the story." Freya gave her a warm smile in response. “Perhaps later. It would be rude not to pay attention to their performance. We’ve already missed a part.”

Val agreed “Indeed, it would be rude not to. An opportunity like this one only comes once in a lifetime.” He gave Moon a reassuring smile, which she returned. He felt for the girl. Right now, she could use the distraction to collect her thoughts.

--

Well, that didn’t quite go as she had hoped. Moon had sincerely tried her hardest to focus on the performance but she simply couldn’t bring herself to enjoy it the way she had hoped. Her eyes always seemed to fall back on him and when they didn’t, she’d stare at the void, memories once buried deep creeping back up. The more she tried to repress them, the more vivid they became. She remembered it all: his smile, his laugh, how he’d blink when hungry, how he’d frown when thinking, his touch… all of it. Every single thing she loved about him. It was painful.

Skylar was impressed. “They’re damn good performers, I’ll give them that. I can see why you like K-pop so mu-” Eve pushed him aside before he could finish. He was getting used to it at this point.

“Can I see the pictures again?! Pretty please?” Eve asked. Moon nodded as she drew her phone from her pocket. She opened her mouth to speak but was abruptly interrupted by a door slammed open. Both girls jumped in surprise.

“There you are, I’ve been looking all over for you!" Oh no. "Where have you all been?! Not a single one of you even did so much as text me. Talk about loyalty. I need to be able to contact you all at all times. Understood?" He was angry for sure. Now was not the time. Eve quickly grabbed Moon's phone and shoved it in her pocket. If he wanted to see those pictures he would have to pry them from her perfectly manicured hands. Griff, unfazed, continued his rant. "Well? Explain yourselves!"

"Where the fuck else were we supposed to be? You locked us in here." Skylar objected. Griff dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

“We were discussing the main event. It was quite the performance.” Val lied in an attempt to de-escalate the situation.

Miraculously, it worked. “Yes, speaking of which, I had a word with JetSet Entertainment and managed to get you all backstage. You can thank me later.”

Moon’s stomach dropped. She had made her peace with seeing him from afar. In fact, she believed it was for the best. There was no use in rehashing old wounds now, was there? “Pardon?” she asked meekly.

Griff raised his brow. “What’s the matter with you?” He asked.

How was she supposed to tell him? Team Griff looked at her in anticipation. The girl took a deep breath to calm her nerves before saying. “Well, the truth is-”

“Ah, but of course. You’re a big fan! You did tell me you liked K-pop on numerous occasions. See, I care. I remember.” Only Griff could interrupt someone else to pat himself on the back.

This was going to be a nightmare. Even she had no clue how to remain optimistic in this situation.

She couldn’t blame him. He had no clue, it wasn’t his fault. He was simply doing his job and if it had been any different it would’ve indeed been a once in a lifetime opportunity. One many, many fans were willing to sell their soul for being in Team Griff’s shoes. She was supposed to be grateful. “Yes, precisely.” She simply responded.

Griff cleared his throat. At least someone appreciated his efforts. He proceeded to explain how the meeting was going to be recorded and how they were expected to interact with the members.

“So basically you want us to merge two fanbases.” It was smart, but way too sneaky and manipulative to Skylar’s liking. Griff wasn’t at all impressed. “Will you look at that! The class clown understood the assignment for once.” Skylar was so ready to punch him in the face. Luckily, Val was quick enough to hold him back.

“We can’t do that.” Ty interfered.

“And why is that?” The American questioned.

Ty was at a loss for words. He looked at Freya, then at Moon, then back to Griff. He couldn’t just tell him what his fellow European had said. It didn’t feel right to him but then, what else was he supposed to say? Ty was a terrible liar and Freya knew this. The redhead waved her hand horizontally across her neck, urging Ty to shut the fuck up. “Well, what I’m trying to say is…”

“...Is that we don’t mean to disturb them. They’re probably exhausted and would like to rest.” Moon swooped in to his rescue.

“Yes, exactly that!” Griff seemed to buy it. Crisis avoided.

“Nonsense. Their management reached out to me with the proposal. We cannot refuse.”

Or not. “Understandable. How kind of them to make time for us.” Moon murmured, already mentally preparing herself for the worst.

Griff continued “I expect you all to be professional. This isn’t a fan meeting, it’s a creative collaboration. Now let’s go, time is money.”

--

Moon was not mentally prepared for this confrontation. She wanted to scream, or run, or both. ”Are you alright?” Val asked. She shook her head. A million thoughts were racing through her head. What was she going to say? What was he going to say? Did he know she was there? If so, how was he going to react? How was she going to react upon seeing him up close?

Eve realized this backstage looked vastly different from theirs. The hosts had spared no expenses to tend to the artists’ every need, unlike someone she knew. She glared at him, this was the kind of treatment she deserved and expected. She hesitated on whether or not she and Freya should make a run for it and explore the backstage by themselves but Griff was breathing down their necks. Sneaking away was going to be impossible.

“Your assignment is to record a segment together. This special will, once edited, be broadcasted on national South Korean tv, as well as uploaded to their youtube channel. It will also be part of their upcoming tour documentary. It’s a collaboration with Netflix so don’t disappoint me. We’re in charge of posts, tweets and reels.” None of them were paying attention to what he was saying but that didn’t stop Griff in the slightest. “Understood?”

“Sure, whatever.” Sorian responded.

Moon lifted her hand.

“This isn’t middle school. Speak.” He barked.

“Uhm, before we get started… is there a restroom nearby? I’m terribly sorry for the inconvenience.” Griff wasn’t at all impressed. Why the hell was she shaking so much? For how long had she been holding it in?

He sighed. “Down the hall, be quick about it.” She thanked him and promptly left.

--

Truth be told, she didn’t exactly have to go. She simply needed a moment to come to her senses. Deep breaths, Moon. It’s going to be okay is what she told herself on repeat in an attempt to calm down. There was no way out, it was going to happen whether she liked it or not and she had to accept that. A part of her was thrilled to see him again after so long although she wished it had been under different circumstances. Perhaps she was asking for too much. Her heart was racing. She wanted to throw up… or was she about to faint? She was so preoccupied with what to say that she didn’t consider the possibility for Griff to find out about him being her ex.

Welp, it was too late now. “Wow, careful! Watch where you’re going.”

How typical of her to bump into someone. It happened so frequently it might as well be her signature move at this point. Well, she deserved it. That’s what you get when you’re not paying attention to where you’re going. “Oh gosh, I’m so sorry! I wasn’t paying attention. I feel so bad, are you alright?”

There was a chuckle. Moon could have sworn she had heard it somewhere before. The mystery figure was holding onto her arm tightly, offering her the support she desperately needed to stay on her feet. “I’ll survive.” He joked “You okay? You hit your head pretty badly.” he asked with genuine concern as he pulled her up.

“I’m okay, thank you. I’m so sorry about that.” He assured her it was fine which didn’t stop her from apologizing profusely anyways. Finally, she looked up to face her companion and froze when she realized who it was. For a moment, time stood still. They were staring at each other, with their mouths slightly hung open, for what felt like an eternity. Could it be? A part of her knew very well who she was facing yet she failed to process the information.

Eventually, he spoke. “Uhm… Hey.”

She finally remembered to breathe. “Tae-Min.” she exhaled.

“So uh… How have you been?” He asked.

“I can’t believe it…” He couldn’t either. Was this really happening or was it just a dream? She didn’t give him much time to ponder over it as she pulled him close, burying her face in his chest. She didn’t realize she was crying until she felt a warm liquid trickle down her cheeks. There was so much she wanted to say but words failed her. They say your first love holds a special place in your heart and it couldn’t have been more true.

“Hey, please don’t cry. It’s weird.” He patted her head awkwardly. Welp, whatever reaction she expected out of him, she hadn’t expected him to be so… cold? Indifferent? She knew he was rather stoic but still. This was awkward and it was about to get worse. Dare she say his reaction upset her? Did she even have the right to feel this way? Was she in the wrong?

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” She muttered as she broke the hug to wipe away her tears. He assured her that wasn’t the case. Judging by his tone, she wasn’t so sure but she’ll take his word for it.

“Are you safe? Are you okay? Your parents… There’s so much I want to ask, I don't even know where to begin.”

“Easy, easy.” He held both hands up in a defensive gesture. He told her no one had troubled him since they had parted. It wasn’t the truth but he assumed that was what she wanted to hear. She sighed a huge sigh of relief.

“I was so worried… I’m glad you’re okay.” She spoke truthfully. She hadn’t changed one bit, that much was clear.

There was an awkward silence. He shuffled uncomfortably. Compared to her, he didn’t quite know what to say. What does one say to an ex they accidentally ran into? “So uh…” he trailed off “What about you?”

She beamed at him. Moon explained what she had been up to ever since they had parted ways. How she had graduated, how she had joined SSX and why she was here now. He was happy for her. She seemed to have picked herself up and carried on “Good.”

“What have you been up to? Tell me all about you.” She had a fair idea but wanted to hear it from him. He hesitated, which she noticed. She lowered her head. Perhaps she was being too invasive. It had been years since they last spoke. She didn’t mean to be rude. It was none of her business after all. Yet here she was, making him feel awkward while all she wanted to do was make him feel more at ease.

“Have you seen the performance?”

“Yes.” She nodded.

“When I came back, that’s what I was signed up for.” So his parents had gotten what they wanted… so what he had said earlier was a lie. She apologized. He wasn’t sure what for but knowing her it was probably because she sympathized with his situation.

“If you don’t mind me asking… Are you happy?” It came from a place of genuine concern. Truth was that he wasn’t but he had kind of made his peace with that. It was what it was.

“I love performing but I hate being an idol.” He, in turn, explained how he’d come to an agreement with his parents. It wasn’t exactly what he had hoped for but it was more than he had expected. “I’d do my part until my contract expires. After that, I’m finally free.” She could only hope they’d keep their word. He understood where she came from, he had his doubts as well but it wasn’t like he had a choice.

Moon couldn’t imagine what he had been through. If only she could’ve been there for him. If only she had tried harder. If only she had fought tooth and nail for him… Perhaps things would’ve been different. She blamed herself for his suffering, even if it wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t his either.

There was so much more she wanted to elaborate on but unfortunately for them their reunion was cut short. “Moon!”

She yelped. Now she was really in trouble. “A word, if I may?” Griff was tapping his foot impatiently.

Crêpes. She quickly wiped the rest of her tears from her cheeks as she strode towards him “W-What can I do for you?” She stuttered. How long had he been standing there? Did he hear it all? What did he see? She could feel her palms getting sweaty already.

“When did you plan on telling me?” Welp, it’s official. She was royally screwed.

“I’m sorry I didn’t speak up earlier… This is hard for me to admit but-”

Griff interrupted her “What? What’s so hard about admitting to speaking Korean?”

Wait, what? “Pardon?” she blinked in confusion.

“Why didn’t you tell me you could speak Korean? How and why, you know? Can you imagine the possibilities?! The sponsors are going to gobble this up!” Apparently she had been speaking Korean this entire time.

“Oh… Well, I-” She was interrupted once more.

Griff seemed incredibly pleased with this discovery. “Nevermind that for now, it’s great! Ah, I see you’ve met their leader.” He motioned Tae-Min over. Just by this condescending gesture alone Tae-Min had already decided that he disliked him. “Do a skit together after the special, the fans will love it. Now let’s go, JetSet is waiting.”

--

Team Griff was exhausted. Recording the whole thing had taken them much longer than expected (more like, longer than they had hoped for) since Griff insisted on adding more segments. “The fans won’t know what hit them.” he claimed. The closing act had taken the longest. None of them, with the exception of Moon, spoke Korean so naturally their pronounciation was shit according to Griff (who knew fuck all about Korean himself).

“Can you sound more enthusiastic? Like you actually want to be here?” he complained. Skylar thought that was especially rich coming from him. He had asked Jin, one of the members, the translation for ‘asshole’ in Korean, to which Jin laughed out loud in amusement.

The relief when the producer had told them “That’s a wrap! Let’s take a breather.” was real. Finally they had a moment to themselves. Team Griff took this as an opportunity to get to know the members better, especially Tae-Min, as well as thank each other for their hard work since Griff wasn’t going to.

“Your boss does sound like a real pain in the ass.” Tae stated matter of factly.

“I like him.” Skylar grinned, “You and I will get along just fine.” Tae had no doubt about that. He was a bit of a trickster himself when he wanted to be.

“Agreed.” Sorian bit his lip. Now that he saw them up close he liked what he was seeing. “And this one is handsome too.”

Eve squealed excitedly “I ship it. You two make such a cute couple.” Moon was now a blushing mess thanks to her friends, which only worsened when Tae pulled her close. It confused her. Earlier he had been so distant… What made him change his mind? Was he finally feeling more at ease around her? Had she just been imagining things all along?

“Thank you, Eve! I think so too.” He offered the smaller girl his most charming smile. Oh, how Moon adored that smile. It made her swoon every time.

“Just wondering, have any of you ever punched him in the face?”

Moon gasped at the unexpected question, covering her mouth with both hands.

Skylar laughed, “We’ve lost count.” Tae expected no less if it meant having to work for him.

"Lost count of what exactly?" Great. Playtime was over.

"It's nothing important." Eve retorted, clearly annoyed with Griff butting into their conversation. Of course it wasn't since he wasn't part of it. That much was evident to Griff.

"Stating the obvious, Shephard." He dismissed her and turned to face Moon. “Perfect! You’re already paired up. Stand over there so we can do the skit. Parker, Aguilar, see to it.”

Freya rolled her eyes for what felt like the billionth time today. Did he ever think of anything else besides exposure? At this point he might as well breathe and consume it. She was willing to bet he found it more nutritious than actual food. “Sure, Freya! Thanks a lot for your hard work, Freya!” Reluctantly, both did as they were told but only because Moon was involved. Griff could go fuck himself for all they cared.

“Your parents…” Moon spoke in Korean just loud enough for Tae to hear, brow furrowed in worry. He understood what she was hinting at.

“They can’t hold this against us. This is work-related, we didn’t know.” They hadn’t arranged this meeting, higher-ups did. While this was true, Tae was certain his parents would find a way to blame this on him somehow. Even they couldn’t have predicted this. He could only hope they wouldn’t find out but his chances were slim. However, he couldn’t have her worry about that. She had to worry about herself first. While she understood, Tae wasn’t sure if he had convinced her. He still felt awkward about seeing her again unexpectedly. It wasn’t her fault, he simply didn’t like surprises. Rather, he liked to prepare beforehand.

While both Moon and Tae discussed what they wanted to do, Skylar offered to upload bits and pieces to his tik tok while Freya would send the rough material to their media department. It was a good idea. The redhead figured it would cover the majority of their socials. Even Griff should be pleased with it.

“What are we supposed to do in the meantime?” Ty asked.

Exasperated, Griff sighed. Lord help this poor soul. Perhaps comparing him to a labrador wasn’t so far-fetched after all. “You sign the jacket you’re wearing and put it up for auction on Ebay.”

“Really?”

“Of course not, you cretin. You pack your things and get your asses in the van. We’re leaving after this.” Perhaps Ty’s response would’ve entertained Griff if it wasn’t so pathetic. Can he even tie his own shoes? Wipe his own ass? Griff sighed again.

“I’m sorry about that, they’re usually more… competent.” Even Griff didn’t buy that. Tae simply pretended not to hear what he’d just said. He already disliked Griff so the way he talked about his team did not do him any favors. It reminded him of his trainee days. If this was the way he treated them in front of others, God knows what was going on behind the scenes. The thought of Moon under his rule did not sit well with him at all, even if he didn’t show it. The rest could fend for themselves, that much was clear. It didn’t seem like he had much influence over them anyways. Moon was another story entirely. Yet she didn’t seem miserable in the slightest.

Tae-Min squinted “They’re far better than I am.”

“What do you mean?” Griff asked, intrigued. He could smell money from miles away. Perhaps the description of a dog was a better fit for him, Skylar thought.

Tae shrugged “I know a thing or two about boarding. It is my first love besides, well…” He turned to face Moon, winked at her, then back to Griff. “Performing, of course.” It was a lie. Moon stared down at her feet, blushing. Griff was seeing too many dollar signs to notice any of his blatant flirting. Not that Griff knew anything about flirting to begin with. Even if he proclaimed to be a true ladies’ man he couldn’t keep a woman happy for a hot minute even if his life depended on it.

Freya had a bad feeling about this. She couldn’t quite tell what was going on but something felt off to her. Moon seemed upset while Tae-Min seemed pretty laid-back. Nonchalant even. Was this truly the person Moon was talking about earlier? Was this the reunion the Belgian girl had imagined? Did he simply not know how to act around her? Especially after so long?

“Interesting… Very interesting indeed. I could definitely use Asian representation on my team. I hereby invite you to join Team Griff.”

Amused and slightly troubled with his reasoning, Tae chuckled nervously. What kind of person names a team after themselves anyways? How ridiculous.

“It wasn’t a question.” Griff urged. Moon pursed her lips. She knew Tae well enough to know he wouldn’t appreciate his tone. The Korean had a tendency to be blunt, especially if people got under his skin. It was the one thing he was criticized for time and time again by management. As the leader, he had to remain professional at all times. As a performer, he had to be obedient and desirable. As much as he despised it, complying was better than being punished.

Tae kept his cool despite being irritated. “No can do, I’m afraid. Our contracts expire two years from now. Until then, I am obligated to stay with JetSet.”

“Give me a call in two years then.” Griff slipped him a business card, to which Tae responded that he’d think about it. Displeased, Griff excused himself to retrieve the rest of his team.

Skylar was glad to finally be rid of him. “Let’s get this over with. That way he’ll leave us alone.” He told the couple in an attempt to distract them. He could tell Moon wasn’t her usual cheery self. She probably sensed something was going on with the singer. Or was it?

Moon gently poked Tae’s arm. He jumped in surprise. “Are you alright? I’m so sorry about that. He tends to be quite invasive. Especially when he’s interested.”

“You can say that again.” Freya scoffed.

Tae-Min, once again, assured her everything was fine. “You’re right, let’s do this. Let’s give the fans something they’ll love.” The brunette agreed. The fans came first. If Griff’s goal was to bring the two fandoms together they were going to make it happen. Besides, if both companies had a good relationship this might open doors for future collaborations, especially if there was a demand for this type of content. This possibility consoled the brunette… One could only hope.

--

“Simmons will cream his pants when he sees the views on this. Give it an hour or so before it explodes.” Skylar gave the pair of them a thumbs up.

Freya pulled a disgusted face. “Speak of the devil, he just texted us to hurry up.” So now naturally she was going to take her sweet time just to spite him.

Moon understood this was Team Griff’s cue to leave, even if she didn’t want to. What if she never got to see him after this? It was a possibility, no, it was likely going to be the case if neither company kept in touch. Against all odds fate had brought them back together, was it really supposed to end this way? This thought deeply saddened the girl. She was staring at the floor, lip quivering, which Tae immediately picked up on.

He gently cupped her face and gave her a warm, reassuring smile, finally letting his guard down. “I may not be able to contact you for the time being…” He had decided that was what was best for her safety, which she understood. She didn’t want him to get in trouble and he didn’t want her to get hurt, especially because of him. “Give me two years, okay?” It was a promise. He had always regretted letting her go without putting up a fight. This time, if he could change the course of time at all, it was going to be different. He’d come back for her once he was free. “Can I have your phone for a second?”

She nodded and handed the device to him. Looks like Eve had slipped it back in her pocket earlier. “Of course.”

The password was still the same. While he dared not give her his number he did take the opportunity to snap a selfie. A picture of him, just for her. A picture no superfan will ever come close to obtaining. A reminder of his promise to her, a reminder that everything was going to be okay. Years ago she had been the one to tell him so. This time, it was his turn. He felt like she needed to hear it. She had taken their reunion way harder than he had by the looks of it.

He gave her phone back to her and told her to stay put while he went to retrieve something. She wasn’t sure what he was up to but did as she was told. Moments later, he had returned with another member. She believed his name was Gi-Hun. Moon couldn’t make out what he was holding until he had handed it to her. “Here.” He stated. “A souvenir of our reunion.”

“Oh, thank you so much, Tae! I will hold on to it tightly.” She exclaimed excitedly. He didn’t doubt her one bit. She was grateful for the goodie bag and insisted on giving him something in return. He assured her it wasn’t necessary.

“I hate to do this but we have to go. I’m sorry.” Freya hated being the bearer of bad news.

Tae nodded. “Can I ask you two for a favor?” The pop star was going to pay them back for their kindness somehow.

“What’s up?” Skylar asked as he put his phone away.

“Would you please look after her for me? I can tell she cares deeply for you all.” He didn’t trust Griff in the slightest, especially not when it came down to having her best interests at heart. He needn’t tell Skylar twice. To him, she was like the little sister he never had and he knew the feeling was mutual. Not to mention he couldn’t fucking stand Griff either.

“Of course.” Freya gave him her word. Ever since Moon had been part of team Griff she had somewhat taken the younger girl under her wing, whether she realized that or not. Team Griff had each other’s back. While it may not seem like it, they did look out for each other. They stood alone, together. Tae felt slightly less worried knowing she was in good hands.

--

“Everything alright? it took you a while.” Val questioned as Sorian was busying himself with his drink. Looks like he somehow managed to sneak in booze unbeknownst to Griff.

“Sorry, that’s on me. Thank you all for your patience.” Moon apologized as she fastened her seatbelt. Val noted she sounded somber. He let it slide.

Simmons arrived not even a minute later. “We’re leaving. You all better be ready because I’m not going back to retrieve your belongings.” And with that, he slammed the door of the van shut and barked at the driver to get a move on.

The drive back was incredibly awkward. It was quiet… way too quiet to Griff’s liking and it was driving him crazy. Judging by the way his team was acting, he suspected they knew something he didn’t. Why the hell was Aguilar rubbing Moon’s shoulders? Why were none of them being their usual loud selves? Why did Moon of all people look like she just witnessed the death of a puppy? What the hell was she holding? This wasn’t like them at all, especially not her. He didn’t recall ever seeing her not smiling. Except for that one time Aguilar had broken his nose at a halloween party. He hated being left in the dark, especially if it concerned him. “So…” he started off, turning to face Moon who was seated at the other window end. “How come you speak Korean anyways? I’ve been meaning to ask.”

She didn’t respond, which again wasn’t like her. She was simply staring out the window, lost in thought. Earlier Eve had asked her if she still loved him. Back then she was convinced they had both moved on. Now, she was not so sure.

He frowned and leaned over to pinch her in the arm. Dragged out of her stupor, she spun her head to face him. “Pardon? Sorry, I was lost in thought.” Clearly. “What can I do for you?”

“I need to know. The sponsors will love it.” Of course they would because numbers are all that matter to you anyways. Freya rolled her eyes.

Moon understood what he was hinting at. There was no use in hiding it any longer. He was going to find out eventually, by any means necessary if needed be. Now that she had the choice, she’d rather have him hear it directly from her. “My ex is South Korean.” she replied truthfully. Team Griff collectively held their breaths. “I wanted to be able to communicate with him in his native tongue.”

Silence. It would’ve made sense for her to learn the language since she was a fan and wanted to understand the lyrics or whatever but never in a million years did he expect this to come out of her mouth instead. Griff pursed his lips and averted his gaze from her. Usually she’d get a little flustered when he was staring at her. He suspected it was because she was intimidated by him. Who wouldn't be? This time however, he was the one to break eye contact first.

“I see.” He sounded bitter.

Skylar couldn’t help himself. “Jealous, Simmons?”

It seemed the Dominican had hit a nerve. “Mind your own damn business, Aguilar. The grown-ups are speaking.”

“Oh he totally is.” Skylar mused while plopping himself back in his seat.

“This conversation doesn’t concern you.” Griff reprimanded.

Skylar grimaced. “What the fuck? This doesn’t concern you either, though?!” Sky was right but Griff told him to shut his trap anyways.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He continued, ignoring the taller man. His tone was more stern this time. Moon was a little taken aback by his reaction but obliged nonetheless. “Oh, I’m sorry. It was never brought up. Besides, I didn’t think it was relevant.”

It was the truth. Damn her. “I’m your employer. Of course it is relevant, I need to know my employees’ history.”

This time, Eve butted in. “You need to chill.” she told him, waving a finger in his face. The American was having none of it. It didn’t take long for them to start hurling insults at each other and Freya coming to her best friend’s defense. “This isn’t a fucking interrogation.” She exclaimed while holding Freya back from scratching Griff’s face. “You’re acting like she committed a crime.”

Moon felt the tension rising and knew she had to do something before someone ended up in the hospital. Again. “Guys! I appreciate you all looking out for me but it’s quite alright.” Reluctantly, both Eve and Freya backed down, the latter watching Griff like a hawk.

Griff took a minute to compose himself then shamelessly continued his assault on the poor girl “So, this ex of yours, do I know him?”

No backing down now. “As a matter of fact, you do.”

Griff frowned. Now he was really confused. Moon knew he was smart enough to put two and two together but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall who he could’ve met that matched the description. Then again, Griff met so many people on a daily basis. “You seemed to like him.”

Still no response.

“So much so that you asked him to join Team Griff.” The look on Griff’s face was priceless. Suddenly, tonight’s events all made sense. This was bad. Out of all the members she was the only one that actually listened to him. A part of him knew damn well he had no control over the others, even if he’d never admit it. They simply did what they felt like. As for Moon, that was another story entirely. She never once complained or defied him. She trusted him and did everything in her power to make him happy.

Dare he even say she was essential to keeping this circus afloat? No, surely not. She was merely a pawn in the grand scheme of things, right? She wasn’t an actual friend, right?

No, that was irrelevant. He simply couldn’t afford to lose the one member he had a grip on, that’s all. This… Distraction was a nuisance to her commitment. Her devotion was to him and him alone and he would see to it one way or another. She made him money… a lot of money and he was going to milk every drop of it. No, he definitely couldn’t afford to lose control over her either. Not the one employee that took her job seriously. Perhaps he misheard.

He was in her face now “You’re joking.” She shook her head. She was dead serious. Perhaps a bit scared by his sudden outburst, as she clutched the goodie bag tightly to her chest, but definitely serious. Well shit, he hadn’t misheard.

Val had had enough. “Leave her alone, will you? Can’t you see that you’re scaring her?” Even Griff dared not question the now angry Russian. Moon silently thanked him for coming to her rescue. She owed him big time.

Reluctantly, Griff backed down. “Fine.” He whined “But this conversation is far from over.”

--

It’s been a week since the festival and Griff was at his wits’ end. The situation had bothered him more than he was willing to admit and Griff wasn’t exactly patient to begin with. He hated not being in control. He hated things not going the way he envisioned. He hated the fact that she had been listening to their songs all week and wearing the merch she had gotten her hands on. He hated the fact that he, whatever his name was, was in the picture. He had to get rid of him somehow… The faster, the better.

Since Ty was from up North, he was in dire need of Western European representation. She was loved by both her country and the States. Little girls looked up to her. Everything with her name and face on it sold like hot cakes. He couldn’t afford to lose the money she raked in, corporate was going to throw him to the wolves if he did.

He had retreated back to his office to come up with a plan but to no avail. Exasperated, frustrated and irritated beyond belief he decided that getting some fresh air might help get his creative juices flowing. As he made his way to the back, he couldn’t help but overhear some members of his team talking and giggling. Griff naturally decided that whatever they were discussing was his business and eavesdropped on their conversation.

“No way, dude. Pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza.” Of course their topic of conversation was boring and trivial. He didn’t expect them to discuss anything remotely intelligent. Just when Griff decided he had had enough of Aguilar’s opinion on food toppings he heard Shephard mention his name.

“Ah, yes. I did promise I would tell you, didn’t I?” Now it was Moon who was speaking. He’d recognize her accent right away.

Freya rubbed her hands together “Let’s hear the dirt on Simmons.” Griff Grimaced. Of course Parker was here too, poisoning Moon’s mind with her vile tongue like the snake she was. As far as he could tell, that was all of them. Either way, now that his name had been thrown around it definitely concerned him. Of all people, he didn’t expect Moon to be the one to talk behind his back but here she was, about to spill whatever it was she had on him. I knew I had to make them all sign an NDA upon hiring, he thought to himself. He was going to make her pay for this one way or another.

“Well, we’ve known each other since we were twelve. There was no one else remotely close to our age on the roster so we naturally gravitated towards each other. We had similar interests in gaming and sweets as well.” It made sense to Freya for them to get along, especially since they were only children. Griff however frowned in confusion. Where was she going with this?

Moon explained how they’d often go out boarding together and how they’d sneak out at night to stuff their faces with sweets from the local night shop. How they’d trade pokémon on their gameboys, how they’d build snowmen around the lodge and how they’d often fall asleep at the root of the gigantic pine tree and be found by staff in the morning.“I had such a wonderful time and can only hope he felt the same.” Griff wasn’t sure if he did. With time, the memories had faded. It was hard for him to remember how he felt. Still, what point was she trying to make?

She then explained how she was pulled from the roster due to an injury. Skylar knew what she was hinting at, as they both had bonded over leg injuries. Griff also knew this was about Allegra. Now he could see the picture of her lying unconscious in the snow very clearly. He shook his head, he’d rather not think about it. “Upon departure, he insisted on giving me his signature sweater as he believed it would bring me luck.” She chuckled, “I still have it.” This was true. Griff smiled the faintest of smiles as he recalled this particular memory. He had plopped himself on the floor now, the back of his head resting on the wall.

“While I was recovering at home, we kept in touch via MSN. We’d speak often, actually.” When the On Tour era started, they’d arranged to meet up, much against her parents’ wishes. She made sure to leave that out as it wasn’t relevant to the story. “While I wasn’t allowed to board, I did have the chance to spend time with him as well as show my support to the friends I had made two years prior. I made sure to wear the sweater he gave me.”

The more time they spent together, the more evident it became that she had come to like him. “It was just the two of us. I remember us sharing an infinity scarf and my hair somehow got caught in it. He gently brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. I can’t explain what happened except for me realizing that, from then on, I liked him. A lot.”

This came as news to Griff. It now became clear to him that she wasn’t talking badly about him at all. Guess she got to live another day. Eve thought it was really sweet. She also recalled having seen her around, albeit from afar. Moon confirmed this. This was also brought up when Moon had joined forces with SSX to take Griff down. “I dared not tell him the way I felt. I was too afraid. Besides, I didn’t know if he felt the same. I didn’t want to ruin the friendship we had.”

They had kept in touch after that as well. “By the age of sixteen we had arranged to meet at a snowboarding competition. He had invited me to come see him. I planned on confessing for a while but now I had the chance to do it in person. I really wanted to see him.” And so they did. They didn’t get to spend much time together but she cherished the times they did dearly. “He showed me a pine tree covered in lights and asked me if I thought it looked like the one we used to go to when we were twelve. Funnily enough, it did!” It was beautiful. He couldn’t have picked a more perfect setting. It’s as if the universe was trying to tell her something. “My heart was beating like crazy. I was so nervous. I don’t remember much except for us laughing and then… we were leaning in for a kiss.” It never came to be, as they were interrupted by what she assumed was his manager looking for him. “Maybe it was just my imagination.” She was blushing. Embarrassed, she lowered her head.

Eve took a sip of her drink. “Perhaps he does have a soft spot for you still, even if he’s too self-absorbed to realize it.” Griff had to admit he did treat her differently, whether he realized it or not. For starters, he called her by her first name. Second, he wasn’t as tense around her. They rarely hung out but when they did, he wasn’t on the verge of getting an aneurysm. Nah, he was hallucinating. Those were just intrusive thoughts, nothing more. This was so long ago, where was she getting with this? What was she trying to prove?

“I don’t know what happened after that. Over time, we’d talk less and less until he stopped responding completely. I have no ill will towards him at all for doing so. I understand he was incredibly busy. I wasn’t a priority and I respect that. I just couldn’t help but wonder if it was something I did or something I said.” It wasn’t but Griff would never admit this.

“Nah, he’s just a prick.” He expected no less from Parker.

Moon shook her head. “I tried reaching out to him on numerous occasions but to no avail. I didn’t want to bother him any further so I put it to rest.” Whatever it was, Moon believed he had his reasons and it was up to her to give him the space he needed. “I had to respect his decision. He was doing great and I was genuinely happy for him. I still am. He deserves nothing but the best.” Out of sight and out of mind. Over time she had moved on and focused on other things instead, such as her education and re-introduction to the joys of snowboarding: her first love. Two years later, she met Tae-Min. Her first true love.

Four years down the line she was recruited by Zoe to take on Griff’s challenge. Eve, Freya and Sky all knew this, as they were there in the flesh when it all went down. Griff was annoyed to seemingly be the only one who didn’t know what had happened behind the scenes. Then again, Griff didn’t particularly want to recall his humiliating defeat either. These simpletons his team consisted of were already embarrassing him enough.

“Oh, the look on Simmons’ face was priceless.” Skylar spoke in a mocking tone which Griff didn’t appreciate in the slightest. Of course that was ingrained in his memory instead of, I don’t know, proper work ethic.

“I hadn’t heard from him in weeks. Frankly, I was starting to get worried. However, I was also determined. I had given him the space he needed in the past… This time, I was going to put my foot down. I’m not one for confrontation but it was long overdue… necessary, even.” She believed it was rude and inconsiderate of her to force him, even if he had been the one to come to her at his own volition. “I was the one who had damaged our friendship so it was also my responsibility to fix it.”

That wasn’t exactly the way Freya, Eve or Skylar saw it but they let her continue. She knew it was going to take a while for him to trust her, he had said so himself. In fact, she didn’t know if he had grown to trust her at all. It had been almost a year since their face-off. It was true that Griff had asked Zoe (more like, demanded) to transfer her over to him so he could keep an eye on her. She was a traitor and more importantly, she was the bridge between him and SSX. Yet she never once spilled the beans on them. Still, she was reliable. Perhaps he did trust her. He didn't actually care for her, did he? She was nothing more than an employee, right? Yes, of course… duh. Makes perfect sense, Griff, he thought to himself.

“Ever since the transfer, we’ve been at his side.”

“Unfortunately.” Skylar sighed heavily. Both Eve and Freya chuckled. Moon simply smiled.

“The times Griff and I hang out are far and few between… but I cherish them all the same.” It reminded her of when they were younger… when times were simpler. Every once in a while he showed her a glimpse of his former self, the self she had fallen for once. Perhaps it wasn’t so far-fetched that she had fallen for him again. While she hadn’t forgotten Tae-Min and didn’t think it was possible for her to move on at all, over time it had gotten easier and she believed he had moved on as well. Especially since there was no way for them to contact each other. Not that they had a choice to begin with.

“One particular evening Griff and I were gaming.“ She had bought it on sale and he had asked her about it. She explained they had been struggling to clear a certain level. “Until we managed to do so.” Team work makes the dream work and this was no different. “We were so happy we both jumped up and started dancing.”

This sounded particularly funny to Skylar, as it was completely out of character for Griff.

“Then, out of nowhere, he hugged me tightly.” She hugged herself to demonstrate. “My heart jumped. It was so unexpected. It was at this moment that I realized I had fallen for him once again… and my feelings for him have only gotten stronger since. I’m in love with him and that’s the truth… But after what happened last week I’m not sure how to feel. It’s gotten complicated and I’ll need to think about it.”

This came as an even bigger shock to Griff. Moon was in love with him? Everything that had happened in the past year suddenly made perfect sense. Sure, she would’ve made the perfect daughter in law. She knew his parents and vice versa, she was rich and had a great reputation. She was adored by millions, his fans included. Come to think of it, it wasn’t the first time social media staff had brought this to his attention. They called it ‘shipping’ and explained how some fans couldn’t agree on whether to call them ‘Moffin’ or ‘Griffoon’. Frankly Griff didn’t understand what it meant at the time nor did he care to (then again, the fans enjoyed pairing all team members with each other). This was a different story however. In fact, it was perfect.

Griff smiled wickedly. Now that he had something he could work with, all he had to do was conjure a plan so she can forget all about the Korean boy and focus on lining his pockets instead. God himself had reached out to him to hand him exactly what he needed on a silver platter. God bless America.

[butterflies-dragons]

Love your metas ❤️. By the way , I thought the showrunners were trying to frame Jon and Sansa as a couple with all the editing and camera positioning and later chickened out . Do you think GRRM didn't spoil everything to D&D?A year before the finale, there were leaks concerning the endgame due to which they had to change Jorah's ending. The leaks were correct as far as the endgame of main characters were concerned except 1 where Sansa was supposed to marry her hero beneath the Heart Tree 🤷‍♂️.

Hello Anon,

Thank you ♡. 

They definitely framed Jon and Sansa romantically.  Look at their reunion with the snowflakes and the music, the same with the candlelight tent scene, the Ned/Cat looks, the swaying hugs, the kisses, the lingering glances, Jon leaving Ghost, part of his soul, to take care of her, Jon chocking Littlefinger, Jon saying the North is yours, etc, etc, etc.  Compare Jon reunions with Bran and Arya, no music, no snowflakes, their conversations were mostly about the war and Sansa being right not accepting his new girlfriend... Did they chickened out? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  

I’m not sure what they were doing the whole time....             

I think George didn’t spoil everything to D&D, because he didn’t know everything either.  He knows the beginning and the end, but the way to get to the destination point could change everyday.  D&D took all the creative license for secondary, tertiary and back row characters, so this would be surely different in the Books.

The endgame of the major characters would be similar, not exactly the same. How? We need to wait for the Books...

Oh I remember those leaks, they were all true minus the wedding bit... It wouldn’t be the first time that we know about D&D changing original plans during the filming of a season... After all, they cut Rickon’s dialogues during Season 6 and changed drastically the Northern plot, making the Umbers traitors of House Stark, etc, etc, etc... 

There are things that are a complete mess and nonsense, but when you think about some changes you will find that they followed “certain logic”...

For example, in the Books the Hound and Rorge are both huge, disfigured, brute killers, with dog connections, that almost rape Sansa and Arya. Also Rorge took the Hound’s helmet after him. But in the Show D&D gave the Hound the epic battle with Brienne, instead of Rorge. After Brienne killed Rorge, Lem Lemoncloak, a member of the Brotherhood without banners, is the one that took the Hound’s helmet. But in the Show D&D gave the Hound Lem’s Lemoncloak and his place in the Brotherhood without banners. 

All of these changes won’t happen in the Books, where Rorge is already dead, the Hound is retired in an island and Lem is present during the hanging of Brienne and Podrick following the orders of Lady Stoneheart. 

And D&D didn’t do this kind of thing only with back row characters, they did the same with main characters.

Indeed, D&D gave Daenerys a lot of elements from Young Griff/Aegon Targaryen, another “Targaryen” pretender to “reclaim” the Iron Throne, like Varys’ speech about how great ruler Dany would be, that in the Books is about Young Griff/Aegon Targaryen, Tyrion’s support, Jorah getting greyscale, while in the Books that happened to Jon Connington, Young Griff/Aegon Targaryen’s closer advisor, etc.   

As you can see, those changes followed certain logic... While other changes and last minute decisions are still a messy nonsense painful to (re)watch...  

Thanks for your message.

[spectraspecs-writes]

Leviathan - Chapter 102

Link to the masterpost. Chapter 101. Chapter 103.

@averruncusho @ceruleanrainblues @chubbsmomma @strangepostmiracle thank you for reading, you get a tag. @skelelexiunderlord thank you for support, you get a tag.

--------

One hour earlier…

“Well, if we’re going to pick someone to save our skins, we’d better do it quick,” Carth says, “In another minute we’re going to have Sith troops marching up our loading ramp!”

I can see Rena quickly turning over all sorts of ideas in her head, but come on, how many of them are actually going to work? We’re totally screwed!

Unless…

I raise my hand. “Ooh! Ooh!” I’ve got an idea! Rena, I’ve got an idea! She looks at me. “I can break out of anything! Maybe I can goad the guards into making a mistake!”

She cocks an eyebrow. “What sort of mistake?”

Well, I don’t really know for sure yet. But I know I can do it! “If I get them mad enough, they might put me in a separate cell to punish me. With them focusing so much on you three I might be able to sneak out of my cell and come rescue the rest of you!”

Big Z doesn’t like my plan at all. I appreciate him worrying about me and all, but I can do this! “No, it’s too dangerous!” he says.

“It’s a risk we have to take, Big Z!” I say to him, “I can slice my way free from any security cell! Don’t worry, I can pull this off!”

Rena’s concerned, too, I can tell. I’ve gotten that look from a lot of people for a long time. But it was always because they saw me as a kid. Rena sees me as a friend. She’d give the same look to anybody, even Jolee. “Mission,” she says, “are you sure?”

I am absolutely positive. I mean, sure, the Sith are dangerous, but they’d be dangerous to anybody, not just me. They’re more likely to underestimate me than they are anybody else. “Yeah, Rena,” I say with a nod, “I want to do this.”

The ship shakes suddenly. “Hold on!” Carth says, “They're dragging us into the docking bridge!”

Rena steps over to me. “Get to the starboard quarters,” she says, “Make them come to you, fight on your own turf.”

Ooh, good idea! “Got it.”

“Fight dirty, curse, piss him off. Insult his mother, if you run out of ideas.”

“Absolutely.” Like a bar fight!

And she hugs me. I wonder… is this what it’s like to have a sister? “Good luck,” she says.

All right! This should be fun! And of course serious, I know that, but totally fun. As I start to move off to the starboard quarters and we all scatter, Rena stops me one last time. She touches my shoulder and smiles at me. “Go get ‘em,” she says. It’s nice to hear someone be proud of me, you know? To have confidence in me. I never had that from anybody before. Not even Griff or Big Z. I know Big Z believes in me, but he’s more the strong, silent type, you know? He’d never say it. And Rena hasn’t said it, either, but, I mean, she’s shown me. She cares about me. I knew I could do this, of course, but knowing that she believes in me makes it all better.

I pass Canderous on my way to the starboard quarters. He’s positioned himself by Davik’s swoop bike. “Good luck, kid,” he says as I pass him. Man, these guys, this crew, they really are my family. More than I’ve ever had before. Not that Griff neglected me or nothing. He taught me everything I know. He has his faults, sure, but I know he cares about me. Same with Big Z. We take care of each other. But it’s different with these guys. Rena, Canderous, Bastila, even Juhani and HK-47 in their own way. And they’re all counting me to rescue them. I won’t let down my family. I’m going to make these Sith wish they were never born!

I hear their armored boots clanking along the deck plating. I try not to be scared. It’s not the first time I’ve dealt with Sith troopers - they used to come around the Lower City sometimes. Plus I think they designed the armor to make that sound. It’s a really loud, metallic clank. I’ve never heard that sound from any other boots. But I don’t hear any blaster fire. Good - nobody’s hurt. Not yet, anyway. Nobody's come to see me yet. I hear the order to search the ship. Come get a piece of this.

Right when the Sith trooper opens the door, I scream and jump on him. He doesn’t even have time to raise his gun. I curse at him in Twi’leki while trying to pull his helmet off. He tries to throw me off but my legs keep a tight grip around him. It’s like a rodeo! I manage to pull his helmet off, throw it aside, and bash his head with my fists. And for him that’s the last straw. “Get off me, you mad Twi’lek!” he shouts, “I need reinforcements in here! There’s a little girl who’s gone mad!”

“Who you calling little, you nerfherder?” One of his arms comes up to grab me and I bite him through his armor. Maybe I don’t break the skin or nothing, but I totally hurt him based on his screaming! Another trooper comes in and pulls me off from behind. Big mistake! He’s obviously never grabbed a Twi’lek before - he doesn’t know to avoid the lekku! I slap him in the head with them and step on his foot. I knew this would be fun!

But that’s when the other one grabs me by my lekku and cuffs my hands behind my back. Well, that didn’t last as long as I wanted it to. The second trooper looks real mad. So I spit at him. He’s even madder now! “You little punk,” he sneers as the first one grabs his helmet back.

“Look in a mirror, you kriffing pig!" He slaps me hard across my cheek. And that really hurts! But I can’t show it. Even though I think there’s a bruise forming. I’ve been in worse fights in Javvyar’s Cantina, and I’ve had worse than a slap across my face.

“Let’s see how Admiral Karath deals with you,” the first one says as he puts cuffs on my lekku.

They shove me out into the hallway, holding their rifles at me. “Wow, guess you’re real brave with those rifles, huh?” I jibe, “What, are you compensating for something?”

“Be quiet, girl!”

“Make me!”

I can’t tell whether it’s the first or the second one, but one of them raises his rifle like he’s going to shoot me in the head. But the other one stops him. “Stand down,” he says, “She isn’t worth the paperwork. Besides, Admiral Karath wanted to question all the prisoners. We can’t do that if she’s dead, can we?” I stick my tongue out at him and he groans. “Don’t!” the other one says. And the trooper lowers his rifle. Looks like part one of this plan is going perfectly!

They escort me out of the ship and I see everyone else being led out of the hangar. There’s a silver trooper talking to a red trooper. He looks like he’s in charge. “Bastila, Carth and the crew have been taken prisoner as you ordered, commander!” the silver one says. So the red one is definitely in charge.

“Ensign!” one of the troopers behind me calls, and another trooper comes over. “Keep an eye on this one. Do not let her out of your sight.” I hiss at him, and he leans back in shock. The two troopers start to walk over to the commander.

“Excellent,” the commander says, “Have you searched the ship thoroughly? Admiral Karath warned me to be on alert for any kind of treachery.”

That's when the two troopers I tormented come in. “We found a young Twi'lek in the back,” says one, “She's got quite the mouth on her! She swore at me and spit on my uniform!”

“She pulled my helmet off and bit me through my armor!” says the other, “And you should have heard what she said about my mother! Of course, it was in Twi’leki…”

“Admiral Karath needs to teach her the proper respect for the Sith!” the first insists.

“The Admiral doesn't have time to bother with some Twi'lek girl!” the commander sneers, “Take her away to solitary confinement. I'll leave it up to you to teach her the proper respect for the Sith!”

“Yes, sir,” they both say, almost simultaneously. What dorks. They come take me back from the ensign and escort me out of the hangar.

That’s part one complete! Made them angry enough to put me in a separate cell from the others. Now I just have to get out of whatever cell they put me in, find out where they’re keeping the others, and get everybody out! Only… there will probably be a lot of Sith I’ll have to fight when I get out. And, also, sure, I’m real good and breaking into and out of stuff, but when it comes to computers, I’m not that good. But I can do this. They’re counting on me.