#that or they tell me to “calm down”. omg. your so awesome. all my anger just evaporated! tysm!/s

[thebekashow]

when you have anger problems, and someone tells you to calm down.

(or tells you to count down.)

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Hello! I loved the hc of gholdengo not wanting to go to the pokemon center.. so can you do hcs of how that whole ordeal could unfold? (Like from the start of the day to then feeling better at the end?)

Omg yeah. I'm currently working my way up to getting a Gholdengo (I got like 200-something coins as of typing this,,,,yippee)

........

Imagine it taking you forever to get all 999 Gimmighoul coins...but your hard work pays off as you finally get to evolve your little Gimmighoul into a Gholdengo.

They prove to be quite awesome in comparison to their cowardly first stage, always hiding in their chest and blending in. Now they were riding around on a skateboard, loud and proud.

You two became best buds fast, crushing any trainers who thought to stand in your way.

Unfortunately, since Gholdengos were such a rarity in Paldea, their trainers were often envied for being rich. So you’ve met a lot of jealous people in your travels.

Even ordinary residents would approach you, asking how much they’re worth or if you’re willing to trade.

And that makes Gholdengo quite insecure, worried that you’ll find a better Pokémon one day and sell them. Though at the time, they’re too prideful to admit this.

But when they get hurt in battle, you need to take them to a Pokémon Center...and they do not like how the PokeMart salesman stares at them as you’re approaching.

So rather than listen to you and get back in their pokeball, they show defiance by collapsing into a pile of Gimmighoul coins, scattering themselves everywhere.

You were stressing fr because their pokeball wouldn’t accept them in this state (bc technically they're now TM Materials and you can't shove those into one).

So you scrambled to find a container to put them in--praying no wild Pokémon scurried off with a single coin lest you lose Gholdengo forever--and hauled ass to the Pokémon Center.

“Welcome, Champion [Y/n]! Are your Pokémon in need of......?” The lady’s usual speech trails off as you set the coins on the table, huffing and puffing.

“Yes, this is a Gholdengo in need of healing. They’re just...shy.”

It’s an awkward situation to explain (even baffling the TM Machine), but in the end you get a max potion and set up a picnic somewhere quiet, pouring the coins onto the table before spraying them.

Then suddenly, Gholdengo reforms like nothing even happened.

You just scowled at them, disappointed. “Why did you do that? I hope you know you made me look ridiculous in front of them.”

Yet you calm down when they finally admit how scared they were of being sold, feeling guilty for angering you.

But since you understand where they’re coming from, you reassure them that you won’t be selling them anytime soon.

Of course, you didn’t struggle to find 999 coins just to give them all up for regular money.

“If any of those salesmen stare at you next time..I’ll just sell ‘em a fake nugget.” You joked, which makes Gholdengo smile, relieved you wanted to keep them.

To make up for the stress they caused you, they’ll let you teach them whatever new moves you believed were best for them, and ultimately they became your ace.

And if anyone tries asking you how much they’re worth? 

You’ll tell them to screw off and get a Meowth instead if they want money so bad.

[ooops-i-arted]

If people aren't going to bother understanding what attachments actually are in Jedi culture or try understanding the Asian religions they are inspired by and instead dismiss it? Then they need to just refrain from writing Jedi at all instead of spreading more misinformation. Like how are fans going to even properly analyze and critique the Jedi Order if they don't even know WHAT they're actually critiquing and base their opinions off this fandom playing a long game of telephone? I'm getting really tired of seeing the same discourse of how Jedi discourages emotions like love or sever cultural ties or prevent cultural expression when that's not supported in the original six movies. Also, imagine being that dense to think Grogu's or Reva's trauma was caused by the Jedi order instead of the Empire that genocided their culture or the traffickers that sold Force sensitive people. Clown behavior.

A+ rant, I definitely sympathize. People really do overemphasize the no emotion things when like, it's VERY explicit it's about regulating your emotions. Right in ANH, Luke is missing his Death Star shots until he calms himself down and focuses. My personal favorite is Obi-Wan vs. Maul. Obi-Wan is consumed by grief and anger when Qui-Gon is killed, and almost gets himself killed - until he controls his emotions and is able to kill* Maul. We see him attending a funeral later where he (and other Jedi) are shown mourning Qui-Gon, so it's not like he can't have those feelings. He just isn't allowed to be ruled by those feelings, which, when you have superpowers it's a good thing you're not blindly ruled by emotion. Anakin goes apeshit because he's so ruled by his fear of losing Padme and look how many people die.

*Side note I feel like Maul living is stupid (he was cut in half!) and invalidates this incredibly important moment in Obi-Wan's character development and I will never acknowledge that Maul lived past TPM.

Lol when watching Kenobi, where Anakin is shown murdering children on-screen so explicitly they had to put a content warning (and personally as a teacher I even found it a little triggering/anxiety-inducing) my first thought was still "and Those Certain Fans will still blame the Jedi for this/defend Anakin." Sigh.

I usually just scroll past those discourse posts because well, they're just... irrelevant to me. Sure, I can see why people wanna critique them, because realistically the Jedi could have a lot of issues. But this isn't our world, this is a galaxy far, far away, and George Lucas approached it as mythology/fantasy more than anything. The good guys are good because they're good and are nice and help people. Narratively, that's really all there is to the Jedi. Some people like to go deeper than that, or flip the narrative. Me, it's enough. To each their own.

Plus Star Wars has a very unique approach to children being portrayed as being just as capable as adults. Does it work in the real world? No of course not! It's there because it's what makes Star Wars truly for all ages and enjoyable to all. 11-year-old me wrote fanfiction about my Very Mature 14-year-old Jedi OC being a Super Amazing Awesome Smart Jedi Commander in the Clone Wars because I was 11, 30+-year-old me obviously knows I was an idiot at that age and a 14-year-old kid has no business being in a war but 11-year-old me just enjoyed living vicariously through a story/media that didn't treat me like a dumb kid just for being young. I think adult fans kinda forget that aspect and get hung up in "omg the Jedi treat kids awful" when it's a story that supposed to appeal to kids, that's why you get young heroes and heroines. I loved it as a kid. I saw you got a laser sword and never had to get married, sign me the fuck up, and I've been a diehard Jedi fan ever since.

If someone doesn't like the Jedi, cool, us Jedi fans don't mind that... but please stop ganging up on us and telling us we're terrible. Just let us enjoy the Jedi in peace and we'll let you write your discourse posts in peace. Simple.

[onceuponastory]

Coming Back Home: Chapter Seven - Whistle For the Choir

“Is it out of line if I was to be bold and say "Would you be mine"? Because I may be a beggar and you may be the queen I know I may be on a downer, I'm still ready to dream” - whistle for the choir: the fratellis

Plot: Based on a prompt by @orphicodysseywrites​

Tag List: @shinydixon​, @baker151910​, @silverwings1999 and @thesundrop​. Let me know if you want to be added!

Warnings: Some mentions of alcohol and anxiety. Also a few tiny sex mentions/references but nothing smutty. Notes: Wow. So it’s been a while since I’ve posted for this fic, hasn’t it? I’m sorry about that. BUT I love this story, and I intend to finish it. This chapter is more of a filler one before the wedding in the next chapter or two, so Y/N and Nick’s relationship isn’t a huge focus, but I hope you all enjoy it regardless!

Read the other parts / Read this story on Wattpad!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Nick or his character! I just used Nick bc he’s the only character of Dacre’s that fits this prompt. Aside from Nick being in this, this fic has NOTHING to do with The Broken Hearts Gallery. But you should all see the movie if you can, because it’s adorable!

Softly groaning, I wake up. For a moment, I feel something on my waist, and almost scream, until I realise I'm still in Nick's arms. He's still fast asleep, his chest slowly rising and falling with every breath. I smile, watching him sleep for a while. He looks so content...so peaceful. Is this what it's like to get a proper nights sleep? But as soon as that thought crosses my mind, another replaces it. I didn't have a nightmare last night...did I? I had a proper nights sleep too. Frowning, I wiggle out of Nick's arms, trying not to wake him. Once I've done that, I roll over to where the clock beside my bed reads 7:47am. Oh my god. I slept FULLY through the night for one of the first and only times in my life. I sit for a few moments, trying to decipher what it was that helped me sleep so well. Is it because I’ve been drinking less wine? Or is it because I’ve been eating healthier recently? 

“You idiot.” I tell myself. “You know why you slept well, and he’s sleeping right beside you.” Nick grunts, and shifts a little in his sleep. Looking back down at him. I smile again. He's beautiful. And he likes me. Me. Despite my anxieties, my awkwardness and well...everything else, Nick likes me just for myself. Kissing him again wouldn't be so bad. Maybe just a small cheek peck? But Nick soon starts mumbling to himself as he wakes up. As he looks around the room, his blue eyes focus on me looking down at him, and a soft chuckle escapes his lips. 

"Were you watching me sleep?" He asks, his voice husky. It takes all my willpower to not kiss him right there and then.

"...Maybe. But you looked so peaceful. Who could blame me?" Instead of replying with words, Nick leans up and kisses me again. God, if this is still a dream, I don't ever want to wake up from it. Nick sits up, and his arms go around my back as the kiss deepens.

"Good morning." He whispers once we pull apart. The look he gives me sends my heart into backflips again.

"Morning." I smile. But before we can say anything else, a knock sounds on the door.

"Y/N, are you there? I'm coming in! Just checking if you're okay after yesterday. Nick's not here, so I don't know if he-" The two of us spring apart just as Katie walks into the room. Her eyes go wide as she takes in the sight in front of her...her big sister in bed with the best man.

"Um....morning sis." I smile awkwardly, and Nick gives a small wave from beside me, trying to cover some of his body with the quilt.

"Oh. My. God."

~~~ "I need details immediately. What happened?" Katie asks, eyeing us both as she takes a bite from her toast.

"Katie, I swear we didn't...do it-" Nick begins, but she cuts him off.

"Not you, I mean Y/N." She states. My cheeks flash red.

"Well, uh...Nick came to see I was okay, as you know. And well..." I don't know why I'm so nervous. After all, Katie had said she was okay with me acting on my feelings for Nick, which I had done. And yet, I didn't want to tell her what happened. Maybe because she walked in on us, rather than us telling her ourselves. "We kissed. That's all." She raises an eyebrow.

"That's all? I found you both in bed together at 8am. I mean, you were both fully clothed, but still."

"We just shared a bed, we didn't do anything else." I tell her. I'm not sure if she believes me, but she nods anyway, before going back to munching on her toast. "Anyway. How are you feeling after yesterday? Is everything okay?" I ask. She reaches over the table and takes my hand.

"I'm feeling much better. Thank you for being there for me Y/N. And you Nick. Adam helped too of course. I think I'm starting to put it out of my mind." She smiles. "What, with the wedding and all." Suddenly, her eyes go wide, and she drops the toast onto her plate. "Oh my god. I'M GETTING MARRIED THIS WEEK!" She squeals. I can immediately sense her anxiety levels rising. "I'm...what if...we-" She begins to panic. "And there's the rehearsals and the dinner, and omg I still have to do this and-"

"Hey, hey, hey. It's okay. We're here to help. And besides, everything's ready to go, we just need to take everything over to the hotel and to the venue before the big day."

"You sure?" She asks, and I nod. Katie takes a deep breath. "You're right. I'm calm. Everything will be fine. We'll show our Dad. We'll make it a party he'll regret missing! I mean, can you believe he wanted to miss it? Idiot." A smile grows on her face, and Nick and I give each other a look, both sensing something is off.

"Uh Katie, are you sure you're okay? We can talk about it if you want." She shakes her head.

"I'm fine. Water under the bridge."

"Katie seriously, if you're still upset, we-"

"NOPE. I'm fine. How could I still be upset when I have THIS!" She waves her arms at us. "Two of my favourite people have found each other and are finally happy! Man, I love love! I love weddings!!! Best time ever. Now come on you two. We have work to do!" She announces, getting up and leaving the room, taking her plate with her.

"Uh...Is she okay?" Nick asks as we watch her go.

"I have no idea. I better keep an eye on her. I'll see you later, okay?" I ask, and he squeezes my hand for reassurance. It's going to be a long day.

~~~

"Seriously sis. I'M FINE." Katie tells me again as we load the garment bags containing our gowns into our bags. "But enough about me. What's Nick like? You know..." I gasp. "Not like that! I mean kissing wise. Was it nice?"

"Yeah, it was really nice." I answer, feeling my cheeks flushing slightly. Katie smiles.

"Maybe we'll be planning your wedding next. Will it be as awesome as mine though? We'll have to see." She winks, organising the bags. Frowning, I open my mouth to say something, but she cuts me off again. "Right, time to load these into the car. Come on sis, let's go!" She calls, picking up a load of bags and walking out of the room with them. I watch her go again. For a moment there, it almost looked like Katie's smile dropped, but she replaced it before I could say anything.

Something definitely isn't right with her.

~~~

As the day continues, and Katie and I finalise final bridal preparations, I can still sense something isn't right. But I don't want to prod her too much, so I let her go on and on about how great the wedding is going to be, and how it's going to be the best party anyone has ever been to. If she's ready to talk to me, she will.

And soon, she does. As we’re carrying boxes to the car, a centerpiece slips out of the box she is carrying, and it lands on the driveway. "I'll get it!" I call, bending down to pick it up. Before I even get back up however, I hear a sniffle from beside me.

"Just leave it. It's stupid anyway. This whole thing is stupid." I snap my head up.

"What do you mean?" I ask, rushing over to her.

"Look. There must be a reason why Dad doesn't want to come to the wedding. Even if I make it a great party, he still won't come. Maybe it's stupid." She sighs, wiping her eyes. Anger rises within me. Our Dad already made me hate myself for twenty one years, and I won't let him do the same to Katie.

"No. It's not stupid. The only reason why Dad doesn't want to come is because he expected us to welcome him back with open arms after what he did, and make him part of our family. And we didn't! He's just too proud to admit that his daughters don't care about him or what he thinks anymore."

"But...I do." She sniffs, and I pull her into a hug. "Even if he doesn't care about me."

"I'm sorry sis. But trust me. He is not worth it. He is not worth ANY of our tears. Years of therapy and trying to learn how to love myself taught me that. And look at us now! We're both happy with people we love and care about around us, and yet he can't even get his two daughters back because we know what a piece of garbage he is. He means nothing to us. If he cared a single iota about us, he would've shown up long before this. And he would have stayed for your wedding. But he didn't." Katie looks up at me, her eyes glistening.

"Maybe you're right about that..." She trails off.

"I am right. Trust me. He is not worth any of your pain. And no. Your wedding isn't stupid. Who was the one who specifically wanted a vintage shabby chic theme for your wedding, even when your planner said it is one of the most basic and popular choices?"

"Me."

"And who has constantly picked things she wanted without letting anyone else change her mind...even Caroline and the bachelorette venue? Or me and this town?" Katie sniffles, and giggles.

"Me!"

"And who's going to have a PERFECT wedding, all by herself, not giving a single fuck about whether or not her Dad is there?"

"...Me?"

"That's right! Because you and Adam picked out everything to please yourselves. Nobody else. So you don't need to worry about pleasing our Dad or making him jealous, because pleasing others is never what you wanted to do. All you ever wanted to do was celebrate your love to Adam. And you'll do exactly that. Dad or no Dad." I tell her. "And besides. I think these centerpieces are beautiful. After all. I helped make them, so I might be biased." Katie laughs again at that, this time a proper, happy laugh. It makes me smile.

"Yeah...yeah you're right. I'm sorry about that. I was probably letting what happened yesterday and my nerves get the best of me."

"It's okay. Hey. How about when we get back home, I give you the number of my therapist? You don't have to go...but maybe it'll do us both good to talk about it with a professional. It’s been really helpful for me so far."

"I'd like that."

"And until then, you know I'm always here for you right?" Katie nods, and we hug again. We both load the box into the car, and head back towards the house. I slip my arm around her waist and pull her in close. Another crisis averted. For now anyway.

"Wait, did you just say that you're in love with Nick?" Katie asks, her eyes wide.

"I said nothing of the sort." I mean, I didn't...it just slipped out. I don't even know how I feel about him. I mean, I like him, of course I do, and I want to see him again after the wedding is over. It's just...I don't know if he wants to see me again. And love is a strong word to use when we only kissed yesterday. And this morning. Still though. It's too soon. "You idiot." A little voice in my head says. "Of course he wants to see you again. He wouldn't have kissed you otherwise. He's not the kind of person to kiss someone and then just ditch them....at least I hope not."

"Look at you blush! You totally did say that!" Katie grins, pointing at my face. "Are you going to tell him?"

"No! Katie I don't even know how I feel yet, or how he feels. And besides, it's not like I have time to think about it, because we're literally leaving the day after tomorrow to go to the wedding rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner, and then we're staying in the hotel with the rest of the bridal party the night before, remember?"

"Yeah, you're right. But you should give it a think." She says, and I nod. She was right, of course. But I didn't want to think about it. I wasn't ready to consider the possibility that Nick was going to leave me, and that I'd be alone again. I already have to deal with what feels like losing my younger sister to her new family, I can't handle losing Nick too. I mean, I was happy for Katie, of course I was. What kind of monster would I be if I wasn't happy for my little sister getting married after the shit childhood we had? But it had just been the two of us for so long. We lived together for so long, spoke everyday on the phone when we were at university, and we even live about an hour away from each other by train. But now I have to come to terms with the realisation that she might not be living so close to me after she gets married. I know I can't protect her for the rest of her life, and I don't want to smother her...but actually coming to terms with that was hard. God, is this what parents feel like when their kids finally leave the nest? Cause it's shit.

~~~

That night, as I finish packing up my things to take to the hotel before the wedding, I spot a picture of Katie and I the night of her senior prom. Smiling fondly, I pick it up and sit down on my bed, looking down at the picture. There's a knock on the door.

"Come in." I call. Nick opens the door and sits beside me.

"Hey. What'cha looking at?" He asks.

"This is Katie and I the night of her senior prom." I let him look at the picture.

"Oh my god, her dress looks like a marshmallow."

"Hey! I helped her pick that out! It's a very pretty marshmallow. Even if it's bright pink and sparkly."

"Is her dress like this?" He asks.

"No! You'll see it on Friday." I sigh, looking down at the picture. "God, this feels like it was just yesterday, and now she's getting married..." I trail off as tears start to fill in my eyes. Fuck. I can't cry in front of Nick.

"Hey, are you alright?" Nick asks. He gently presses a soft kiss to the side of my head. And that is what sets my tears off. Shit. I mean, Nick has seen me at some of the worst points of my life, and still stayed beside me, but it doesn't mean that I like being so vulnerable in front of him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I sniff, wiping my eyes. "It's just been tough, realising that she's growing up and won't be my little sister who's just across the hall from me or an hour away from me anymore. It's dumb, I know. This was always going to happen, I just never thought about it until now." Nick smiles softly.

"I understand. It's not dumb." He gently takes my hand, and I look over at him. God, how is he always SO nice? I swear it's not normal. As I look into his blue eyes, I realise that I’m not ready to say goodbye to Katie...and I’m definitely not ready to say goodbye to Nick either. I’m not ready for this change. "Maybe you should talk to her about it though. I mean, she is your sister, I'm just a friend of hers.” 

“Easier said than done." I sigh. “She’s focused on only the wedding right now, and then she’ll be away on her honeymoon early the next morning, so I don’t think I’ll have any time to.” Nick gives me a small smile, and gently rubs my arm.

"Well I hope you do get to speak to her. It sounds important.” His face lights up with remembrance. “Oh! By the way, when you get a chance, can we talk? About...this? About us?" He asks. My heart sinks. This is what I've been worrying about. I can feel my separation anxiety is about to rear its ugly head again. Maybe Nick does want to leave me after this wedding. And then Katie will be gone too, and I’ll be all alone again.

"I mean, we can try, but given that the wedding is literally in four days, it might be too hard to do that." I laugh awkwardly, hoping that he doesn’t pick up on my nervousness. Thankfully Nick chuckles. “We could, uh, talk about it now if you want?” I offer. Nick shakes his head.

“Sorry, but I can’t now. Adam needs me to help sort some stuff in like ten minutes, and then I’m booked and busy for the rest of the week.”

“Same here. But we’ll talk. I promise. You better go help Adam.” I reassure him. Smiling, Nick pecks my lips, and leaves the room. As the door closes behind him, I sigh, trying not to let my anxiety get the best of me. Nick likes me. He keeps kissing me, after all. He must like me. Right? He obviously wants to tell me he wants to see me again. At least, that’s what I hope for. Ever since I was young, I’ve wanted someone to love and to love me back. Someone who wasn’t my family. Someone who wouldn’t leave me...and even though it might be too soon, I think Nick might be that person for me.

I just hope he feels the same.

~~~

Three Days Later: The Night of the Wedding Rehearsal and the Rehearsal Dinner. One Day til the Wedding.

“THAT’S Nick?!” Brooke gasps, pointing over at where Nick is standing, talking to some other groomsmen. “He’s even more attractive in real life.”

“Yup. Isn’t he dreamy?” Katie sighs fondly. We all look over at her. “What, just cause I’m getting married tomorrow doesn’t mean I can’t have one last look. He is nice, isn’t he Y/N?” She asks, wiggling her brows which almost makes me choke on my champagne. All of the bridesmaid’s faces turn to me, some frowning at me. “Oh, didn’t she tell you that she and Nick are totally a thing now?” My mouth drops open, along with the rest of the girls. 

“That’s not true, we haven’t even spoken about-” But before I can finish, the officiant clears their throat, encouraging us to take our places for the wedding rehearsal. As Katie and I walk to the beginning of the makeshift aisle, we pass Nick on the way. 

“Hey.” He smiles, and my heart almost stops. God he’s gorgeous. He’s wearing a suit, just minus a tie. I can see part of his chest poking through his shirt. If this is how I feel seeing him now, how will I manage to see him in his full suit tomorrow? And the fact we haven’t even managed to speak about our feelings for each other yet wasn’t helping either.

“Hi.” I whisper. 

“Good luck with uh...you know. This.” He says. I raise an eyebrow. 

“With...walking?” Nick’s face flushes pink, and I hear Katie snigger from beside me.

“Y..Yeah! With walking. And heels and stuff. Don’t want you to break your ankle before tomorrow or anything.” I start giggling, and even Nick lets out a small smile. Even if it’s a bit awkward, it’s still cute, and I appreciate the sentiment.

“I’ll try. Thanks Nick. See you soon.” We both nod, and Katie and I take our positions. Katie is still giving me a look, and I frown. “What?”

“You and Nick! Look at you. It’s so obvious that you two have the hots for each other. Anyone in this room can see it. Even Adam’s parents.” Now I start blushing, and I hiss:

“Okay, we are not talking about this right now, especially not at your wedding rehearsal dinner of all places.” Katie just gives me a wink, and the two of us don’t say anything else as the bridesmaids and groomsmen start to walk down the aisle together. Soon, it’s our turn to go. As we walk down the aisle together, my eyes wander towards Nick. He’s staring at me. Why is he staring at me? God what if I do fall? Shit. Okay Y/N, think of anything BUT Nick.

Nick’s POV

“Why are you staring at her like that?” Adam whispers.

“What? I’m not staring at anyone.” I lie. Adam rolls his eyes. 

“Come on man, it’s pretty obvious.” He retorts, before turning back and walking up to receive Katie from Y/N so they can be married. Y/N smiles widely as she mimes handing her sister over to be married, and her smile makes me feel all warm inside. It’s a beautiful smile. It fits her perfectly. Y/N takes her place beside the other bridesmaids, and her gaze catches my eye again. She gives me a small smile, and I smile back. She looks stunning. She’s in a navy lace dress that hugs her figure perfectly. And I just want to rip it off of her. God, I hope she likes me back too. Even though we’ve kissed each other, I still can’t be sure. Y/N’s such a great person, and she deserves someone who can tell her that everyday. And I want to be that person for her. But before I can think of anything else, Adam and Katie suddenly cut into my thoughts:

“And then this is when we get the rings from Nick and do our vows.” Katie explains, and I nod. God, my best friend is getting married to the love of his life tomorrow and all I’m thinking about is how I want to make out with the maid of honour. I need to talk to her about my true feelings as soon as possible. The wedding rehearsal finishes up pretty quickly, but before I can talk to Y/N, she’s swept up by Katie and the rest of her bridal party who leave the room, clearly ready to go to dinner together. I sigh as Adam walks up behind me. 

“Come on loverboy. You can talk to her later.” He says. I frown, about to ask him how he knows what I’m thinking about, but he doesn’t respond, and instead gives me a knowing look. “Come on lover boy, we better go.” He orders, walking away with the rest of the groomsmen. I sigh. Hopefully he’s right, and that I can talk to Y/N soon.

~~~

A few hours later

Y/N’s POV

“So.” Vanessa begins, sipping on her wine. We have finished our dinner, and Vanessa, Sam and I are hanging out with each other. “You and Nick, huh?” She raises an eyebrow. My heart rate speeds up, and I gulp down the rest of my wine, already feeling the familiar buzz of becoming tipsy. God, I wish I brought more.

“Uh, what about us?” I frown, trying to feign innocence. Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t work. She and Sam scoff.

“He’s been staring at you for the whole night. Actually, babe, is he still looking at her?” She asks Sam. Sam’s head whips around, not subtly at all, and my cheeks flush red.

“Yup, he’s still looking.” She confirms, and goes back to sipping her beer like nothing major was going on. My cheeks now feel like they’re on fire. “Awww, young love.” She smiles. “I remember that feeling, don’t you babe?” Vanessa nods.

“Why don’t you talk to him? He obviously wants to talk to you. Either that, or he’s trying to win a staring contest.” I splutter.

“I can’t talk to him! For one, my sister is getting married tomorrow, so that takes priority, and I don’t even know if he likes me in that way, despite our kiss.” Sam and Vanessa’s eyes go wide. Now I remember why I don’t drink wine. Because I can’t shut up when I do.

“YOU KISSED?!” They gasp in unison. I quickly shush them, but they continue. “Okay, you definitely need to talk to him. Now.”

“But-”

“But nothing. Katie will understand. And don’t be silly, of course he likes you in that way.” They reassure me, gently pushing me in Nick’s direction. “And if he breaks your heart, we’ll deal with it.” They wink, giving me one last push. Why does it feel like I’m being thrown to the wolves? Nick sees me, and he smiles, relief flooding his features. My heart rate speeds up even more. He’s so beautiful. I can do this, right? I just have to go up to him and say:

“Hey, I think you’re extremely attractive, and I want to know how you feel about me, even though we’ve kissed a lot these past few days, and I was wondering if you wanted to be my boyfriend?” ....Okay no. No wonder I’ve been single this long if this is what I think classifies asking someone out. Maybe I should just talk to him? Even though it’s easier said than done. I take a deep breath, steeling myself, and start the walk over to him. It might be easier said than done, but I have to do it. 

But just as I’m about to reach him, a voice from beside me calls:

“Oh Y/N, dear!” Adam’s mother walks up to me. Oh great. Just what I need. I’ve only spent time with Adam’s mother a few times, probably less than ten times, and she was lovely all those times, but I have more important things to do. 

“Hi, it’s nice to see you again, but I actually-” I begin, before she links her arm with mine, and pulls me in the direction of some more aunts and uncles. Oh, this is not good. “Actually, I have to do some-” I start, but she cuts me off.

“I wanted to introduce you to some people. Adam’s great aunt Agnes actually has a question about tomorrow, and I thought you’d be able to help, because you and Katie have done such a wonderful job so far.” That’s nice, but I don’t know what I’m supposed to be able to fix before tomorrow. And I have more important things to do. I look back over at Nick, mouthing the word sorry to him, and he nods, but still looks disappointed. I sigh. There goes that chance to clear things up. Meanwhile, Adam’s mother is still chattering away, and hasn’t even noticed me looking at Nick, or my half assed replies or nods. Thankfully, Katie soon appears in front of us both, announcing that she needs me for important maid of honour duties. I sigh happily. Thank god. “Wait!” Adam’s mother calls before we leave. “I just wanted to say...I know you girls haven’t had a mother figure in your lives for a while, and I just wanted to say that you both have one in me. Even you Y/N. Your sister may be marrying my son, but I love you both as if you were my own. And besides, after tomorrow, we’re family!” She smiles, pulling us both into a tight hug. As she squeezes me tightly, I feel tears stinging at my eyes. Now I feel bad for trying to escape...even though it was so I could confess my love for the best man. “If either of you need anything, I’m here for you okay?” She asks, and we nod. “See you tomorrow.” Katie and I wave, and she leads me away. 

“Thanks for saving me.” I whisper. “Now, where did Nick get to?” Katie frowns.

“Nick? He and the rest of the groomsmen left to go back to the house a while ago.” My heart sinks. Dammit. “I was actually coming to get you. It’s time for us to head over to the hotel, and I gotta give you girls your presents!” She squeals excitedly. She leads me outside to a limo, and we get inside, being greeted by the others. Sam and Vanessa look at me expectantly, but I shake my head. They look disappointed, but say nothing. As the car sets off towards the hotel, everyone starts to chatter excitedly and pass around glasses of champagne, while I just stare out of the window. I know my mind should be focused on my sister, and I am excited for her, of course I am...but I just want to see Nick.

~~~ In the Hotel

“Okay, so these are your robes to wear while we’re getting ready tomorrow.” Katie explains, passing them around. “Aaaaand, there’s these too. There’s a little note in each.” She hands each of us a little gift bag. Soon, the room fills with a chorus of ‘awww’ and ‘thank you’. I reach into my bag and pull out a bracelet with a little heart charm. My initials are engraved into the charm. “Read the note.” Katie tells me, and I open it.

“Dear Y/N, aka the best big sister in the world. I just wanted to say thank you for everything you’ve ever done, and continue to do for me. I know I say this to you a lot, but it’s true. I hope to one day repay the kindness you’ve shown me over the years. You’ve been the only person who has supported and loved me throughout our lives. Even though I may not be able to see you as often as usual, I’ll always be there for you. You’ve been the one constant in my life, and our bond is unbreakable. I’m not going anywhere any time soon, and I’m not letting you go either!

Lots and lots of love,

Katie xxx

P.S. Ask Nick out. Please. He won’t shut up about you and to be honest it’s getting annoying.”

With tears stinging my eyes, I immediately pull Katie into a huge hug, which she returns, squeezing me tightly. “I love you so much.” She whispers, as we both start crying in each others arms, and the other girls comfort us as best they can. I was worrying for nothing. Katie was right: our bond is unbreakable, regardless of where we live, and who we’re with. 

Whatever happens, she’ll always be my sister, and my best friend.

~~~

The Next Day: Wedding Day.

Small lines of sunlight come through the windows and into the room. The room is silent, aside from a few snores and the occasional mumbling as the girls turn in their sleep. Soon however, the peace is shattered with an excited squeal.

“I’M GETTING MARRIED TODAY!”

[intothewickedwood]

Once Upon A Time Rewatch: 6x12 Murder Most Foul

Oh! This is a Charming centric, I think? Awesome!

Aww! Baby David and James!!

So James was named before he was adopted. Interesting that George and his wife chose to keep that name.

I wonder which twin is older. I think I’ve said this before. I hc that David is younger by a few minutes.

Omg Ruth pointed a knife at Rumple for trying to take one of her sons. 

That really must be an impossible decision. 

Rumple gave him the coin! 

I forgot they went by heads or tails. I thought David was just Ruth’s favourite.

Uggggh! That’s so horrible! It hurts!

Creepy ghost is creepy!

Archie! I miss seeing Archie more. I wonder if he has any trauma from when Killian kidnapped him. And now he’s his therapist!

Snowing miss each other so much!

David is going through the motions today! 

Neighbouring king? I always thought Ruth and David lived in King George’s kingdom. Do you think that if King George knew about David as well, he would have adopted him too, by force if he had to, in order to keep the secret? I think he would have. If someone saw another boy looking exactly like the prince, then they may have said something. Though, would it have to be a secret? Were they allowed to have adopted heirs in their realm? I mean, Regina would have made Henry heir to her throne and then she is not Queen due to line of succession even though she was born a princess. Couldn’t King George change the law if he wanted? It may have been an issue if the secret was the reason he wanted to kill David’s father. Oh, in England it’s been illegal for centuries apparently. That is beyond stupid! What are you gonna do if the next in line to the throne is asexual or gay and wants to adopt or just wants to only adopt? Not that I’m a fan of the concept of royalty in the real world but that’s straight up discrimination! Laws may be different in the EF though. I just can’t remember why George wanted to kill David’s dad. 

Awww look at little David!!

Omg he’s adorable!!

David, honey, you need to get some sleep. I know you miss Snow, but you probably haven’t slept in ages! 

Maybe David is seeing things that aren’t there. I always start seeing things that aren’t there when I haven’t slept, especially spiders. I f***ing hate spiders. 

Talking to a dead significant other’s alternative self must be so weird. Are they trying to court over stories of the original Robin? *whispers* That’s kinda weird.

Zelena, what the hell? That’s not even his child. Calm down, girl. 

I mean, I guess she is biologically his child. When an identical twin is an uncle, do they have dna matches as if they were the biological father also? I’ve probably asked this before. And then when it comes to alternate versions of the same person, don’t they share 100 per cent the same DNA? So biologically Robin Jr. may be Wish Robin’s child. The same goes for Original Hook and Alice and Wish Hook and Hope, I suppose. I wonder if the Hooks would act like uncles to the kids that aren’t technically theirs. 

Zelena, that was so random.

That’s not even the Nottingham you know, Robin! 

Was this what original Robin meant about having a dark past, or something. Was he like this before?

I wanna see Emma and Henry’s canoeing trip!! If there are any edits of this, please point me to them! 

Wait, there’s another curse Emma wants to break? I can’t remember there being one. What happened this time? Oh! Her parents’ sleeping curse! I thought there was another dark curse I’d missed. That could have very well been the case.

“I’d do anything to see my boy and tell him I’m sorry.” You can see Rumple felt that because it’s exactly what he wants to do. He doesn’t even need a hair from his head, he’s just trying to keep his image up. Really he’s helping him for free because he knows what that pain is like. Yep, he threw it away!

Rumple: “Someday, may we all be reunited with our sons.”

You go canoeing Emma! You guys have fun!

Why didn’t Regina give those hearts back once she decided to turn over a new leaf? I know she said she took so many she lost track but if everyone who’s heart was taken came forward, they might be able to figure it out through trial and error.

She really was hoping to get with this Robin so that they could be part of each other's fresh starts. But wouldn’t that feel like a betrayal to the other Robin? It’s kinda like replacing him with a copy. 

Oh snap! They kissed! Regina, don’t do this, girl. It’s too weird.

He’s stolen something, hasn’t he.

Pleasure island makes me feel so uneasy. I used to be terrified of Disney’s Pinocchio. Pleasure island is just creepy in that movie.

I hate the fact that they put Pinocchio in the flashback of this episode so much. If we’re to assume this puppet is physically 6 or 7 then he’s probably older than David! He must have remained physically a 6 or 7 year old puppet for at least 20 years. I liked him being closer to Emma’s age. Why did they retcon this? And this Pinocchio has so much more attitude than the young Pinocchio we’ve seen in previous episodes.

I love James’ Prince outfit! It’s so cool! Omg! I’ve just realised it’s the same outfit the prince wears in the Snow White Disney movie!! How have I not realised this before?!

James doesn’t want to kill things! George completely manipulated him. He had a good heart and why would George do this to his frightened son?? And he’s only 6! So cruel!

Nope. That doesn’t make sense. No way August took the pages about Pinocchio out of the book. Henry had already read the whole book by then. The whole idea was that August added the story of Pinocchio to help Emma figure things out or something. Henry said the Pinocchio story wasn’t there before when he got his book back. 

David, no!

I feel so sad for James. He’s just a kid. Leave him alone! Let him run through the forest and sing to birds, as Disney princes should. George basically got James killed. Just be a decent father, George and don’t be so cruel to your own freaking son. Jeez! I bet he was a horrible, controlling husband too. He is so controlling! 

Random thought but I kinda ship James with Zelena. They both had terrible fathers. Zelena had two! I wonder if she ever met her other dad. Would she have pulled a Tom Riddle and killed him? 

David’s dad stood his ground. He was told of James’ father’s abuse and tried to protect James, even knowing he would pay dearly. And then afterwards no one was left to protect James. Maybe his mother did before she died and maybe that’s when George began trying to force him to become a knight. I like to think his mother was loving to him until she died when he was young like Zelena’s was. They got a taste of unconditional love in their early years and then it was torn away from them and replaced with control and/or contempt.

This guy has just told James he is his biological father, George acknowledges this and then tells them to kill him in front of Janes?! How freaking heartless!

Look how angry David was when he thought he’d found the man who killed his father. Then when he realises it was Killian he’s like “it’s all cool bruh. We chilling at Granny’s tonight?” Let. The. Charmings. Express. Their. Anger. And. Pain. It’s like Regina and Killian are Gods to them who can do know wrong, require instant forgiveness and nothing must be spoken against them. As for other villains, good freaking luck! And if your one of the Charmings or considered a hero from the start, if you so much as look at someone the wrong way you are the worst most evil villain in existence. Like Eva. Due to her deeds, which I agree weren’t nice, Regina considered her the villain as compared to freaking Cora. What??! She was the bully in that situation, yes, but how can you compare her misdeeds to Cora’s?!

David, bby!! I’m sorry! I love you! 

Oh Lord, I’m crying!

I want to hug David so badly!

David says he doesn’t know if he has a way to repay Killian, Killian says he may have an idea and then asks for David’s blessing. Like, “Yeah you can repay me! Repay me with your daughter’s hand in marriage, suckkker!!”

Hey! I’ve kissed many photographs of my dog! And if you believe hard enough, they will walk through the photo into your living room and frighten the sh*t out of you!

Called it! He did steal something.

Interesting choice for August to give Killian the pages with him killing David’s dad. He should have given them straight to David. Maybe that’s what Wish Pinocchio meant when he said that Emma put her faith in him and that he hopes she never does that again. I love August but maybe Blue imbued him with some of her shadiness when she turned him into a real boy.

And Killian was naughty to look at those pages. Or maybe that moment wasn’t part of those pages. Maybe Killian just recognise the face of the man he ruthlessly killed!

The thing is, why would Killian care if he saw him kill the King’s men? He’s spent years rebelling against royalty. I’m sure he’s known by now. 

Killian must be taking one of his trips from Neverland ordered by Pan at this point.

The heartlessness! He hears the man has a family and a child, he believed him and then kills him horribly afterwards. This has got to be one of the evilest things Killian ever did. And it’s Emma’s grandfather!!

Even one of his crewmates is look looking at him like “Wtf.” It makes me so angry. Don’t get me wrong, I actually think it was a great twist, but I hate how it was handled. I hate that David, who was so hurt by this didn’t get to express his anger at Killian towards him or at all. That’s just not realistic. I guess he was following how Snow forgave Regina for killing her father. But even that took many years, not freaking minutes!

At least tell Emma.

Is that ring getting smaller the more I look at it or am I high on my meds? 

[p-artsypants]

Longest Night (39) Remembering

I just want to say thank you to everyone for their reviews. I can’t respond to all of you because I just don’t have the words. But thank you! I read each and every one, and they keep me going when times are rough. Over all, reviews have been kind. I was expecting some ‘omg you’re a terrible person and I hope you die’ but that never came. You guys are just awesome and I appreciate you so so much!

I didn’t expect this story to be so long, and I’m kind of losing steam to pump it out so fast. I’ll finish it of course, but some chapters take time to figure out what’s happening. I have most of the story planned out, but the ‘when’s and ‘how’s are a little fuzzy. You guys have been very patient and I appreciate it. I just wanted to keep you informed. I think you all deserve it.

Ao3 | FF.net

—

You would think that since Adrien and Marinette were finally allowed to be together, things would be smooth sailing.

But it wasn’t. It was awkward.

Which was completely unfair in fact. She was finally with Adrien, but never alone. And he couldn’t talk. They were just out of arms reach from the other, and even if he could speak, what would they even talk about? Small talk? Surely not about the time in the catacombs.

Did he know what she did? Did he remember being an akuma? Did he know how they got out?

So many days passed in that room in silence. They watched feel-good movies one after the other. Nino and Alya would come to visit and share stories of uplifting things that had happened.

They learned of their trending hashtag. They watched the interviews with Nadja. And they got to watch the benefit concert.

“All that money was put into a fund for you guys,” Alya explained. “That way, you don’t have to worry about supporting yourselves. You are taken care of for life!”

On one hand, yes. Wonderful. Finding work and going back to school were two things that Marinette was afraid of doing, afraid of failing at. Like two giant boulders she’d have to pick away at with a tiny hammer. So to know they had a large safety net was a relief.

On the other hand, it was kind of disgusting. They were real people being tortured, with no granted privacy. Everyone had seen both of them naked, in their most vulnerable moments of weakness, crying, panicking, even hallucinating. And people were just watching it. And they got invested and wanted to know more, like they were characters in a show and not people actually suffering!

Taking donations? Fine.

But making a concert out of them like some sort of spectacle? Disgusting.

Watching the interviews, it became apparent that everyone knew about Marinette’s debilitating crush on Adrien. How awkward she was around him, how she embarrassed herself.

There was a reason she had a secret identity. So that Marinette would be safe. Marinette and her family.

What did she have left of her own?

“What was the point of that?” She asked as Jagged’s ‘Exit Music’ faded out.

“Girl, it’s a benefit concert.” Alya quirked her head to the side, like she had no idea what was wrong.

“The benefit of who?”

“Of you two, of course. What else would it be?”

“Did you plan this?”

“Well…yeah? Most of it. It was Jagged Stone’s idea though.”

“Did you pat yourself on the back afterwards? Thought you picked a bunch of really vulnerable moments to really drive the emotion up?”

“What? N-no…”

“You know what I saw? A bunch of people singing a bunch of useless songs to make themselves feel better. What was even the goal? To bring awareness to our suffering?”

Alya huffed. “Don’t be like this, Marinette. Jagged brought the idea to us because there was nothing else he could do. He’s a musician. So he wanted to play music to help you somehow. I’m sorry that my video choices upset you. I thought they were funny and captured the person you are outside the suit. I wanted others to see that person.”

Marinette didn’t have a response to that.

“And you know what? Maybe we did want to feel better. What good does it do anyone if we all sat around feeling hopeless?”

“Yeah, like I didn’t know how that felt.”

Alya exhaled hard. “That’s not what I’m saying. If everyone lost hope, who would even bother to save you? If there was no chance?”

Marinette glared at her. “Well, I hope Hawkmoth really enjoyed the concert, since he was the only helpful one.”

“He wasn’t—“ Alya growled, but bit her lip. “You know what? It’s not my place. I’m sorry. I legitimately didn’t know this would hurt you.”

Marinette turned her gaze away. “I’m sorry for snapping. Thank you for putting the concert on.”

“Nah girl, you can thank Jagged when he comes to visit. He was really worried. And you might thank Luka too.”

“I’ll try.”

—

For his own part, Gabriel was practicing the art of holding his tongue. Some moments it was difficult, but he had to tell himself it was an emotional response to seeing his only son in pain.

In this time of quiet observation, he watched Marinette and Adrien, studying the changes in behavior. Noting was setting them off in anger, and what they were okay with. His goal in the next several months was to push those boundaries.

There was no reason for Adrien to hiss at nurses that were touching Marinette.

Besides this, he was also trying to consolidate Chat Noir and Adrien, and Marinette and Ladybug. It had been a chore since the beginning, but it was still so hard to piece together.

And now with their changes in personalities, it was impossible.

He hadn’t really known Marinette. The few times he met her, he’d describe her as small. Timid, shy, unable to have eye-contact, and incredibly clumsy. From Adrien and Lila, he learned that she had a lot of people that trusted her and was easily liked.

Ladybug on the other hand, demanded attention and respect with her very presence. She exuded confidence that he had found annoying, if not respectable. Though they had been enemies, she was certainly a formidable opponent. Calm, calculating, and creative.

New Marinette was none of these things. Closed off, bitter, quiet, and volatile. Words were like pouring salt on her bare back, some grains fell in open wounds, and it was impossible to predict what would set her off.

Adrien used to be polite, graceful, and wore his emotions on his sleeves, no matter how hard he tried otherwise.

Chat Noir was obnoxious, reckless, and larger than life. He came off as a goofball, but Hawkmoth could tell he took his duties seriously.

New Adrien was impossible to read. Silent, watching, calculating. Completely stoic unless someone touched Marinette. There was no way to tell how he was coping, other than to assume he wasn’t.

The doctor was right, they were unrecognizable.

The only saving grace was the softening gaze Adrien had when looking at Marinette. She was the only thing that seemed to pull him out of his abyss.

“Good morning,” Dr. Boucher stated early one day. Adrien was awake, but Marinette was still sleeping.

“Good morning,” Gabriel returned for his son.

“Well, things are going great, I’m really thrilled with the progress both of them are making. We’ve avoided every complication, quite Miraculously. So I was hoping to do one more procedure on Adrien while he’s still admitted.”

Adrien glanced at the doctor, seemingly listening.

“Your vocal nodules. It’s a really easy procedure, we won’t even put you to sleep. Just numb the area and use a tiny laser to remove the growths. Shouldn’t take too long at all.”

Adrien turned to Marinette, whimpering in the back of his throat.

“I promise you won’t be gone long. Might even be back before she wakes up.”

“I’ll let her know if she does,” Sabine spoke up from Marinette’s side of the room. “You might as well get this done now, Adrien. Then you don’t have to come back.”

“And they’ll only get worse as time goes on.” The doctor added.

Adrien screwed up his lips and gave a stiff nod.

“That’s a good boy.”

—

Marinette awoke to Dr. Boucher speaking. “Now, in order for your vocal cords to fully recover, I don’t want you to speak for two weeks. After that, you can gradually start speaking softly. No yelling for a while. Okay?”

Marinette raised her head to see the doctor was talking to Adrien.

“What’s going on?” She asked.

“See, I told you you’d be back before she woke up.” The doctor smiled. “We just got done removing Adrien’s vocal nodules, so he should be able to speak within the next few weeks.”

“That’s wonderful.” She said softly.

“And how are you feeling?” He asked her.

She frowned. “Gross. I want to take a bath.”

He smiled. “Well, I’m afraid you can’t. But we can give you a sponge bath and wash your hair.”

Oh.

Oh.

Huh.

What a strange trigger.

One moment, she was safe in the hospital, the next, she was standing in the rain, a deranged Chat Noir next to her. They were looking in the window of a salon. Then she was in a chair, staring at her own horrible perverse reflection.

“Can I wash your hair? Give you a trim? It might make you feel better.”

And then…

Blood. Everywhere. Salo’s lifeless face dissolving into ash. Gunshots ringing in her ears. Adrenaline pumping. Bodies of her tormentors laying all around her.

And Chat smiling with blood in his mouth.

“Marinette?”

Alya’s little sisters hiding and crying. Chloe, terrified and cowering against a shelf. A man dangling over the edge of a building by his neck. Dozens of men being eviscerated, torn to shreds. A whole building worth of angry thugs laying on the floor and writhing in pain.

“Marinette!”

Bodies hanging from the Arch de Triomphe. A fight with Hawkmoth, and Chloe, and Nino.

“Alya!” Her own voice screamed. “Come out and face me! Face judgement for your neglect and betrayal!”

Over and over. Blood. Screams. Death.

Because of them.

Because of her.

A stern hand grabbed her arm. “Speak to me Marinette, what hurts?” The doctor was speaking, but Marinette wasn’t listening.

She turned to look at Adrien, who was only staring at her wide-eyed, tears of his own streaming down his face.

Gabriel was right there with him. “He’s upset too. What did you do?”

“I don’t know! I thought a sponge bath was a fine idea!”

Marinette was reading the look on Adrien’s face wrong. Her own anxieties fed her lies and told her that the fear she was seeing was directed towards her.

And to be honest, she was a little afraid of him too.

He had torn out throats with his teeth, and then laughed about it. He had enjoyed their murder spree.

And so had she. Justice, she said. They were setting things right. Doing what others were too cowardly to do.

But violent revenge wasn’t that far off from what Salo had been after.

In fact, theirs had been much much worse.

“I’m just like her…” Marinette sobbed. “I’m just like Salo.”

“Honey no.” Sabine demanded. “Absolutely not.”

“I’m not an idiot!” She choked. “I know what I did! I know the whole story! I remember all of it! I’m disgusting!” And she turned away. Away from her family, away from Adrien.

But she stood firmly facing her guilt.

It was a veil being lifted. A fog rolling back to reveal memories that were aching to be noticed. Deep primal instincts that thundered inside. There was no ignoring it, and it was only a matter of time before the truth became known.

“I can’t take this,” stated Tom, who had been quiet since Marinette awoke. In quick strides, he was across the room and scooping his daughter up into his arms.

Marinette allowed him, and clung to his shirt as she wailed. Sabine came up behind her and petted her hair patiently, silently.

Adrien had his back turned from them, and trembled in his horrified shock.

How could he?

How could he be so cruel and demented? How could he enjoy murdering? With his bare hands no less?

Was he so loyal to Ladybug that he’d kill for her? She hadn’t even asked him to. Was he so depraved that that felt like the right thing to do?

He was a monster. An absolute monster.

Shakily, he took off his Miraculous and tossed it blindly, hearing it ping against the linoleum.

He didn’t deserve to be a hero. He didn’t deserve to live.

“Adrien,” Gabriel said as he crouched next to him. “You should hold onto this.” The ring rested in his palm.

Adrien shook his head, burying his face in his pillow.

Gabriel watched his son sink into himself, swallowed into a dark abyss. One he feared he’d never make it out of. But how was he supposed to help? A pat on the head? ‘There there’? Comfort was so out of realm of his expertise.

Still, there was hope for him yet if he realized there was a problem and wanted to fix it. Looking to the Dupain-Cheng’s, he found Marinette snuggled against her father. The scene was so sweet if he hadn’t known the context.

Gabriel looked to Dr. Boucher. “Can he be moved?”

“Uh, yes. I think that’d be alright.”

Coming around to the other side, Gabriel slid an arm under Adrien’s waist and forced him to sit up.

His head flopped forward and rested on Gabriel’s collar bone.

“Come on, Adrien, it’s alright.”

But Adrien just sobbed against him.

“Adrien,” Tom stated firmly. “Come here, son.” And he held out his hand.

Adrien lifted his head, his chest rising and falling with erratic breath. He looked Tom in the eyes, trailing down to his outstretched hand. That was something he wholeheartedly didn’t deserve.

“You can go,” Gabriel assured. “It’s okay.”

After a split second of hesitation, Adrien staggered to his feet and fell the last few feet to reach Marinette’s bed. Tom caught him before he hit the ground and swept him up onto his lap.

There were tears, there was repentance, and shame. It lasted far too long as the 12 hours of memories roared like a debilitating hurricane in their minds.

And then soon, it started to feel good to cry. It wasn’t great. It was exhausting and draining, but in a good way, like after running a race.

“You remember how it ended, don’t you?” Sabine asked softly. “You gave me your earrings, and I did Miraculous Cure. They’re all okay now. Maybe a little scared and confused, but they’re alive.”

Marinette sighed with a shutter. “I have to apologize.”

“If it will help. But I’m sure they understand and don’t hold it against you.”

Gabriel mimicked Sabine’s comforting motions on his son. “You were both akumatized. You know better than anyone else that akumas are irrational. They embody the very emotion they felt when they are transformed.”

“You remember when I turned into Weredad?” Asked Tom. “I trapped you in a tower, and beat up Chat Noir. You know I’d never do that. I want to protect you, but I also want you to enjoy life and make your own decisions. It was irrational.”

“And you remember when Nonna turned into Befana?” Asked Sabine. “She wanted to hurt you, Marinette. And she turned your father into coal. Grandma would never want to hurt you.”

“You see Marinette,” Gabriel continued. “A lot of akuma’s hurt, and some even kill. They petrify, and turn people to ice cream. But life goes on. Paris heals. You are just unfortunate enough to remember it.”

“Why?” Marinette whispered. “Why did we remember?”

Gabriel frowned. “I think Hawkmoth might be the only one to know the answer.”

“But that’s something to worry about later,” Sabine interjected. “You have plenty of emotions to sort through as of right now.”

Marinette nodded sagely and wiped her cheeks.

Then her eyes flicked over to Adrien.

He managed the smallest smile for her, the fear disappearing from his eyes.

It sent a spark to her heart, and her face heated up.

[robinrunsfiction]

The Lonely Road

Pairing: Gerard Way x Female Reader

Rating: Teen (for online harassment)

Requested By: None

Word Count: 2,400

Author’s Note: Inspired by the song Outnumbered by Dermot Kennedy, so feel free to give it a listen as you read. Originally this was gonna be a Valentine’s story, but now Valentine’s is over, and so I just took out the brief mentions of it. Also it’s a Gerard story so of course it’s longer than intended so taking parts out probably is for the better 😅 Shout out to my number one @mariawritesfanfic for helping me wrap this story up

You scrolled through your twitter feed, as hours on the tour bus left you with few other options to pass the time. Your new album had just come out and you wanted to see how people were reacting to it. 

OMG @(YFN)(YLN)’s album is awesome! Everyone check it out now!

The only reason she’s famous is bc of @gerardway

The album is ok if you consider she fucked her way into stardom

I stg if mcr ever breaks up it’s gonna be (YN)'s fault

(YN) should just break up with gee so he can be with frank liek everyone knows he wants to be

You felt sick to your stomach as you read through the messages. Sure there were tweets from fans saying how much they enjoyed the album, and they love Gerard and you together, but those weren’t the ones that stuck out in your mind. It was the negative messages that caught your attention and soured your mood.

As if he was reading your thoughts, a text from Gerard appeared on your screen. “Hey sugar, congrats on the album. It’s amazing and so are you xoxo love you”

You could feel the tears welling up in your eyes at the love and kindness of his message. “Thanks love," you replied before tossing your phone aside. You pulled shut the curtain on your bunk and let the tears fall silently. 

~

You had met Gerard at an award show. You had always been a fan of his and My Chem, but you were beyond nervous to say anything to him when you saw him across the room. When he approached you and said he actually had been listening to your music and was a fan, you thought you might transcend onto another plane of existence right then and there. You found him to be surprisingly easy to talk to and exchanged phone numbers so you could hang out sometime.

Hanging out sometime turned into hanging out often. Then one night under the stars in his backyard, your casual hanging out turned into sharing your thoughts, hopes, and fears you'd never voiced to anyone. The next day you were worried you'd never see or hear from him again, having revealed too much of your emotional baggage too soon, but that afternoon he called and asked you out on a real date. The date was perfect for two people like you and Gerard, complete with a tender, careful kiss that took your breath away. In an instant, you were falling hard.

After that it really became you and Gerard. When all of your friends found out, they were so happy for both of you, as they could see how happy you made each other. Then one day the rest of the world figured it out as well. Gerard had come to one of your recording sessions and had snapped a picture of you laughing in the recording booth and posted it online with the caption "the most beautiful person making the most beautiful sounds ❤" The fans put it together and a barrage of messages flooded your social media feed. Some people thought it was cute, many were awful, but you let it all roll off your back as you were too in love to care what anyone thought.

Months passed, and now that album was out. You had hoped Gerard would be able to join you on the road, but My Chem was in the studio themselves so he wasn't able to be there. You understood, but being away from him for the first time, while dealing with the stress of releasing an album, your first tour, and his angry fans, it was almost getting to be too much.

You had finally fallen asleep only to be awakened what felt like moments later by your manager Christine's voice.

"Rise and shine rock star, time to charm the lovely people of," she paused and you could hear her flipping through papers, "Fort Wayne, Indiana."

You sighed. You had wanted this for so long, it had been your dream for years. But now you were questioning everything.

~

"We're joined in studio by (YFN) (YLN), her new album just came out last week and we are loving it here on 106.7 FM," the overly cheerful radio host announced. “You have a lot of fans here in Madison!”

"Thank you," you replied with a tired smile. You hoped your lack of energy wasn't evident by your voice.

"Tell us, how much of an influence was your boyfriend? And for anyone who hasn't heard, (YN) is dating that oh so sexy MCR frontman, Gerard Way."

You had gotten this question at almost every interview, as if you were incapable of creating your own music. "He was there for some of the recording sessions, but a lot of the album was written before we met, so not a huge influence musically."

"What's it like to date someone so famous?"

"I mean, it's not like a topic of conversation for us," you replied sharply. You glanced up and saw the look Christine was giving you. "I mean, we talk about music and our projects and give each other feedback, but that's pretty much it. We're pretty normal weirdos."

After the interview was over and you played a few songs live, and then reboarded the bus.

"What the fuck was that?" Christine asked as the bus rolled down the road.

"What the fuck is with these interviews? It's never about me and my music. It's about Gee or the people on the internet and all the bullshit! That's not why I'm out here! I want to talk about my songs!"

Christine nodded. "Ok, I'm sorry girl. You're right. I'll make sure the next one we keep it focused on the music. We can't have you blowing up on another host."

"I didn't blow up! I snapped at worst," you retorted, rolling your eyes.

"Either way, we're on our way to Iowa now."

"Can't wait," you muttered and crawled into your bunk.

~

The dark cloud that had settled over you was not going away or getting better. While Christine was doing a better job of reminding the interviewers beforehand to lay off the relationship questions, they still came up, sometimes after the actual interview was over, sometimes they just disregarded your wishes all together to get juicy gossip. You did your best not to appear annoyed, but the longer you were away from Gerard, the harder it got.

She's an ugly, untalented leech! She doesn't love gee or else she would have put a song about him on the album!

He doesnt seem happy like he used to before her

The album jsut sucks. I mean i didnt listen to it, i just assume it does

She should just die

You couldn't take it any longer. The constant, incessant stream of hate coming at you was too much. You dialed Gerard and went into the back of the bus, shutting the door behind you.

"Hey (YN), how is everything goin?"

"I can't do it anymore Gee," you said, trying to keep your voice steady 

"Do what?" He asked, immediately concerned.

"Tour, be a musician, be someone in the public eye, I can't take it!" You sobbed, unable to control your emotions any longer. "I feel like I have no privacy anymore! Everything I do is wrong, everything I don't do is wrong! I just wanna give up! I don't wanna do this anymore!"

"Hey, hey, sugar, it's ok. Did someone say something to you today?"

"It's been every fucking day," you cried. "I wanna come home, I don't wanna do this anymore. I don't want anyone to know who I am anymore."

"Take a deep breath," Gerard said, trying to keep you calm. "Where are you?"

"On the bus."

"Where are you going, or where were you?"

"I don't even know anymore. All I see is fucking corn everywhere."

"Ok, umm, where is Christine?"

"In her bunk," you sniffled.

"Can I talk to her?"

You got up and made your way to the bunks and knocked on the frame surrounding Christine's.

"Yea?" She asked, opening the curtain. "Woah, girl, what's wrong?"

"Gee wants to talk to you," you said holding out your phone.

"Hello? What's going on?" Christine asked Gerard. She listened and nodded and mm hmm'ed along. "She seemed stressed, but not that bad," she said as she watched you sink wearily to the floor, pulling your knees to your chest. "No, I hadn’t heard that… Yea, we're setting out from Omaha now, on our way to Denver," she paused. "Ok... Yea... Sounds good. Yea, we'll get our girl through this."

You looked up at her from your spot on the floor and she smiled down sympathetically and handed the phone back to you.

"Gee?" You said softly, the anger and fear and frustration having quieted.

"Hey sugar, we've got a plan for you, you're gonna be ok. But where are you hearing from the people that are criticizing you?"

"Twitter," you mumbled and you heard Christine mutter "I knew it."

"Delete it, you don't need that in your life. You're too talented and beautiful and wonderful to let anyone make you feel anything less," he said gently. "I love you, (YN) ."

"Love you too," you replied, a smile finally cracking through.

"Get some rest, we'll talk soon."

~

You had immediately crawled into your bunk and fallen into a deep sleep. The weight of your thoughts no longer weighing you down now that you had shared them with Gerard. When you finally woke up, you were rolling into Denver. You made your way to the front of the bus to find Christine on her phone.

"What's on the schedule today?" You yawned.

"Nothing."

"What?"

"You need a day off. We've been pushing you way too hard, and I just wish I would have realized it sooner. So we moved your interview to tomorrow afternoon and we're staying here overnight."

"Really?" You asked, stunned.

"Yep, we're going to the hotel right now."

It was incredibly refreshing to be in a hotel with a real bed and shower, and everyone was actually thankful for your meltdown that got them this break. 

You took an extra long, hot shower to allow your muscles to relax, and then crawled into bed to call Gerard and give him an update. As his phone rang you heard a knock on your door. Keeping your ear to your phone in case he picked up you answered the door. 

"Gerard!" You squealed as you launched yourself at him and he wrapped you in his arms.

"I missed you so much (YN)," he murmured against your neck. "I couldn't stand to hear the pain in your voice and not be there to make it better.”

"But you hate flying! And your studio time!" You exclaimed as you pulled him into your room and he dropped his bag on the floor.

“We were spinning our wheels and needed a break from recording,” he smiled reassuringly before he leaned in and kissed you with all the longing that had built up over the weeks apart. You ran your hands through his black hair and felt the tears slip down your cheeks. “And I’d fly to the moon if it meant I could spend a minute with you. I just wish I could have been here for you from the beginning, I wish I realized that you were struggling.”

“I didn’t want you to worry about me. I thought I could handle it, but everything kept chipping away at me until I broke down completely.”

“I wanna worry about you, (YN). You’re my girl and I love you, and I wanna be there for you no matter what,” he said softly, wiping away the tears on your cheeks.

“Thank you,” you replied. “It’s just hard when it’s coming at you from every direction.”

“I know,” he said, pulling you back to him in a tight hug. “But for today it’s just you and me. No one else matters.”

You smiled up at him before pulling him into another sweet kiss.

~

The next morning you woke up with Gerard’s arms wrapped around you, holding you close. It almost felt too good to be true. As he slowly started to wake up, he gave you his lopsided smile and you couldn’t help but grin in return.

“I needed this so much,” you said as you buried your face against his neck.

“I did too,” he said squeezing you tight, his voice still raspy with sleep.

“Thank you for being here. I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” he said leaning down to give you a quick kiss. “Wait, I didn’t give you your presents yet.”

“What presents?” You asked sitting up, as he reached over the side of the bed to grab his bag. "I don’t have anything for you!"

"It's nothing, just a couple things I made for you," he said pulling out a large flat envelope and handing it to you.

You carefully pulled out the drawing that was inside. "Oh it's beautiful!”

"It's us the night we watched the stars and talked for hours. That was the night I realized I was falling in love with you. I was so scared you wouldn't even like me like that," he laughed softly.

"It's perfect," you replied. "What's this? ‘Gee+(YN)=gross, a big sappy love mix’" you laughed at scribbled handwriting on the cover of the cd case. Around the words was a big heart and lots of little hearts.

"It’s a mix of songs that remind me of you, and me and you, but Frank decorated the cover. He doesn't really think we're gross, he's just-"

"Frank," you laugh.

"Exactly," Gerard replied. "I was just hoping this would help you get through the last days of your tour."

"It will," you smiled and threw your arms around him. “I think just having you here for a day was enough to get me through. And I know now that I shouldn’t just bottle up what I’m feeling.”

Gerard nodded. “We’re a team, you and me. Let me help you when you’re down and keep you safe from all the bastards and shit talkers.”

“Sounds like a plan,” you smiled as you leaned in and kissed him. “But only if you promise to let me help you do the same.”

“I promise.”

[inthestars011]

hii could you please tell me something about aries sun in 3rd house, leo moon in 8th, sagittarius rising, taurus mercury in 4th, taurus venus in 5th and gemini mars in 6th? i'll understand if that's too much, have a nice day :*

heyyy thanks and hope ur doing well 

as for your leo moon in the 8th and your sag rising (both awesome placements xx) , i believe i described this in my last post and because it’s so recent id rather not type it all again so maybe you could just go check that out for that part, the person yes has a different chart but there is a paragraph i dedicated to those certain placements that will most def apply to you as well for the most part xx

Aries sun in the 3rd- likely was seen as very smart and intellectual at a young age,since ur sun is in a fire sign, i assume this type of intelligence was bursts of creativity and grand ideas. You’re naturally curious and naturally talkative as well, probably a rather fast talker. Probably excel in your studies. You are naturally proud of your smarts and knowledge and if badly aspected could be a bit of a smart ass. Honestly a natural teacher. If you have any siblings they probably were of importance to you in your life, whether you looked up to them or were compared to them etc. Very good social skills, friendly and communicative the type to chat up a random person in line (unless u have rlly anxious placements that counteract). Tendency to gossip!! be careful with that, especially since you have an honest and firey tongue.

Taurus Mercury in 4th- many ppl think taurus mercury is all common sense and though you can be you also have quite a musical and artistic mind. you are slow to formulate thoughts and usually i’d say you are slow talking but you have sun in the third which is usually quite a fast talker so take what resonates. very book smart. Your parents are likely well educated and encouraged you to voice your thoughts. May be truly fascinated with where you come from, the type to research ancestry and such. May also be fascinated by history. You probably enjoy curling up with a book or doing this research as one of your hobbies and even prefer it to going out all the time. Very attached to your culture. You really like your home and probably don’t want to leave and if you have, you may have a frequent home sick feeling. Can be stubborn to opening ur mind to new ideas if you are really stuck on a thought you’ve grown up with. This is a placement of bias though we all are biased. Don’t cling to what you know, be more open to understanding you don’t know everything.

Taurus Venus In 5th-marry me omg i love taurus venus’s lol. A taurus venus loves physical touch when it comes to love they express it quite physically.  they love all the sensual pleasures, so they love scented candles, good food, flowers, neck kisses etc. Extremely loyal and romantic. Can become possessive. They are cautious about commitment so if you have expressed your love you really mean that you are ready for the long game. You love practical forms of romance like jewelry and all things beautiful and venusian to show you care. You are also likely incredibly stylish. Though cautious you’re still rather playful and fun in love with your venus in the 5th. You probably are pretty popular and love kids as well. You almost always have a silent crush or an actual affair even in childhood or early teen years. If negatively aspected some promiscuity can happen, but either way love will somewhat be fun and a breeze for you in life. You naturally get a lot of admirers which can turn you into a heartbreaker of sorts. Sex has to be passionate and romantic. You have lots of artistic tendencies and may often show your romantic love through art. Can be at points in life, a bit of a party animal. The taurus however keeps you in control and keeps you still valuing your alone time. Just be sure not to overindulge in the fun you’re having, too much of anything is self destructive!

Gemini Mars in the 6th- AYYY i have mars in the 6th too. If you identify with the male archetype, you sexually seduce people through your words. You know that the things you say are charming and irresistible and you’re a bit of a tease. May have a non committal vibe as well. and if we bore you, you’re moving on to the next person. If you identify with the female archetype, You are super attracted to people who are intelligent, smooth-talkers, and maybe even teases. You like people that keep things light and flirty and always keep you on your toes. Whichever archetype you are, when in a dispute you tend to verbalize your anger, you can say things that are very brutal when you are hurt and maybe even regret it after. You thrive in high paced situations. And you may have an issue with gossiping too much but how you relieve stress is talking through things. With mars in the 6th, you may over work, or over stimulate, or overstress yourself and this damages your physical health a lot. You probably have a daily routine and will be very stressed if someone tries to mess with it. It is doubtful that you are lazy when it comes to your work. You need to be less perfectionistic when it comes to your work and learn to calm down your insane anxious energy. Don’t doubt your amazing contributions to the world because you contribute a lot but you need to lay back once in a while and slow down.

Overall I’m seeing a lot of placements with anxious energy so maybe try meditation to combat that. also a lot that give you great social skills but perhaps lay back on the gossiping!

have a nice night xoxo

[kenbunshokus]

#ZOSAN

zoro/sanji, nami/vivi | 3.5k words | 1 of 7 chapters

“Who are they even… 'shipping' me with? They know Usopp is with Kaya, and didn’t you just make your whole thing with Vivi public a few weeks ago—“ Zoro trails off as realization hits him, all at once, and he feels his stomach drop in the same way it would whenever he faces a particularly strong opponent in a kendo match.

“No,” he breathes.

“Obviously,” Nami says, shoves her phone into his face and points at a comment that says, OMG PLZ blonde and green are sitting side by side again. OTP! as Zoro sees his life flash before his eyes. “They’re shipping you with Sanji.”

(Or, the one where the Strawhats are Youtube personalities and people, naturally, start shipping Zoro and Sanji.)

(ao3)

catburglar 572 posts | 2.1M followers | 47 following Nami Bellemere stealing your hearts, one picture at a time http://youtube.com/user/thestrawhatshub

❤ 8,277 Likes catburglar lunch with the fam @sogeking @pirateking @strawhats #food #nofilter #cafe

View all 5,405 comments

ivolatan OMG THOSE TWO GUYS ARE IN THE PICTURE AGAIN

bananapigeon ok seriously, who are those two untagged guys in these pics. esp the blond one with the eyebrow. i keep seeing them in the vlogs too.

mikphail @catburglar Can you tell us the name of the green-haired guy sitting on the right? Beside the blonde? Asking for a friend.

+

“People are asking for you,” is the first thing Nami says as Zoro walks into the apartment she shares with Usopp and heads straight towards the fridge.

“Which people?” Zoro asks, suspicious. The comment seems innocent out of context, but Zoro narrows his eyes at her anyways because it’s Nami. “Actual people? Or,” he pauses, sifting through his mental vocabulary before giving up and settling with, “your people.”

He can hear her laugh from the living room. “Zoro, people from the internet are still real people.”

“They aren’t just people,” Usopp pokes his head out of his room to join in the conversation, “they are the subscribers, nay, followers— nay — fans of the Great Usopp—“

“They’re strangers,” Zoro points out, matter-of-factly. He doesn’t really get this whole…internet thing Usopp and Nami seem to have made a decent amount of money from no matter how many Technology 101 Lectures from Franky he’s sat through. They work for Luffy’s YouTube Channel—the Strawhats Hub—and post a bunch of videos online about how they have burger for lunch or some other mundane shit, and somehow people pay for that. Well, the sponsors pay for that, technically, but they get money all the same. Zoro doesn’t really get it.

He does understand one thing for sure, though. “I don’t give out my details to strangers.”

“Zoro, you’re like, a decade too old for Stranger Danger,” Nami says, disapproving, “and you know you can’t avoid being famous if you want to be the strongest swordsman in the world.”

Zoro sighs at the familiar argument between them, and makes sure he groans loud enough for her to hear. He’s usually up for any kind of sparring, verbal or otherwise, but not today—not after four back-to-back, two-hour lectures at the university and kendo club training afterwards with no breaks in between. He snatches the nearest canned beer with a little too much force, and it hits the fridge door with a loud bang.

Nami seems to catch on the sour mood and switches the subject. “You know, I think they’re shipping you.”

Zoro blinks. He waits for a second, two, three...yeah, the words still don't make sense. He gives her a confused stare. “What does that even mean?”

“it means they want you to be together with someone,” Usopp, their designated Technology-to-Zoro translator, explains. “Like, together together.”

Zoro scoffs. “What is this, high school?” He waves a dismissive hand at Nami, deciding to focus more on the free beer in his hand instead, eyeing it appreciatively. Nami’s an unpredictable storm with a flexible moral compass reminiscent of a witch, but she provides an endless supply of booze and is the only person who can hold her own against him, so Zoro figures it all balances out in the end.

The cold liquid hits the back of his throat with a familiar biting sensation, and it calms him down enough to finally process Usopp’s words. “Who are they even… shipping me with?” The foreign word stumbles clumsily out of his mouth, and he pauses, trying to wrap his mind around the concept. “They know Usopp is with Kaya, and didn’t you just make your whole thing with Vivi public a few weeks ago—“

Zoro trails off as realization hits him, all at once, and he feels his stomach drop in the same way it would whenever he faces a particularly strong opponent in a kendo match.

“No,” he breathes.

“Obviously,” Nami says, shoves her phone into his face and points at a YouTube comment that says, OMG PLZ blonde and green are sitting side by side again. OTP! as Zoro sees his life flash before his eyes. “They’re shipping you with Sanji.”

+

nami @catburglar

We’re kind of bored, so @sogeking and I are answering everyone’s questions in the next hour! Don’t forget to use the hashtag #AskUsoNa <3

 nami @catburglar

so a million dollar AND a free trip around the world? I’d take it! 

\m/ @queenmelissa

Would you get a million dollar but every time you sneeze you’re being teleported to a random place in the world #Askusona

 nami @catburglar

I’ve known Usopp since high school. I’ve known Luffy the longest, though. We’ve been friends since we were cute little ten-year-olds.

Jenna Rowen @jrowen

#AskUsoNa How did you get to know each other? Love your vids!

 nami @catburglar

Zoro and Sanji are roommates, not dating. Or are they? ;)

bad luck kate @gingerchic

are the two guys in some of your vids dating (U KNOW WHICH TWO) #askusona @sogeking @catburglar

 bad luck kate @gingerchic replying to @catburglar

HOLY SHIT DID U JUST

 bad luck kate @gingerchic replying to @gingerchic @catburglar

WE JUST GOT A FUCKING NAMES REVEAL. @ STRAWHAT RPF FANDOM THIS IS NOT A DRILL

+

The smell of well-cooked seafood, mixed with a tinge of booze, touches every nook and cranny of his apartment as people eat, drink, or laugh with each other (or, in Luffy’s case, all three of them at once). Zoro sprawls comfortably across his favorite sofa in the middle of the cacophony, and he closes his eyes, soaking in the familiar atmosphere, a half-empty can of beer dangling by his right hand.

Today isn’t their usual weekly Friday Night Hang Out; today, Ace is on leave from the military for the first time in ages. Luffy promised his big brother a huge, awesome feast, and their ragtag group of broke college students deliver the way they know how—His and Sanji’s apartment, Brook’s music, Sanji’s food.

Zoro doesn’t care much about parties, but he does like Ace and his stories about Whitebeard's platoon. Free booze is also a plus.

“Tired already?” A voice asks over his head, and Zoro has spent enough time with Luffy’s family ever since he was ten to know it’s Ace without having to look up.

“As if,” he says, skipping the greeting. “Just making sure I don’t appear in Usopp’s videos.” He thinks of the photo Nami showed him a few days ago, the one on the… instant… gram… thing… and adds, “or photos.”

“Oh, I’ve heard about that!” Ace plops onto the other sofa across the table, entering Zoro’s field of vision. “I heard somebody’s famous now.”

“Tch,” Zoro grunts, but refuses to elaborate. He doesn’t like where the conversation is going.

“And I heard,” Ace continues anyways, his grin all-too-innocent and therefore completely terrifying, “someone’s famous with someone else.”

Zoro jolts upright from his position, for once ignoring the beer he spilled on the carpet—Sanji will kill him for that later, but whatever—and turns to search for Usopp among the crowd. He glares at Usopp in a way that says, I’m going to deliver you a drawn-out, painful death, and Usopp pointedly looks anywhere but back at him.

Ace chuckles, impervious to Zoro’s death glares. “Actually, Luffy was the one who told me.”

“The shipping thing sounds so cool,” Luffy, that traitor, chimes in around a mouthful of meatballs. “I wonder who they’d ship me with.”

“Meat, probably,” Sanji says before Zoro could, and bodily pushes Luffy aside with his leg to place a plateful of fried prawns on the table. Both brothers’ eyes widen comically at the sight and the two of them dive into the plate as Sanji narrows his eyes at Zoro, “that is, if people can even be trusted these days. I still can’t believe they, what’s the word— ship me with marimo head over here when Nami is also in the picture.”

That—well.

Stings a little.

Zoro mentally maneuvers around the flare of jealousy and opts for anger, because it’s easier. Familiar. “Not like I’m enjoying the idea of being a boyfriend of someone with those eyebrows,” he fires back.

Sanji’s left eye twitches at that. “Didn’t know you have enough intelligence to even form an idea, seaweed brain.”

“Pervert cook.”

“Brainless moss.”

“Please keep the lover’s spat within the privacy of your bedroom,” Nami teases as she somehow manages to gracefully pluck a prawn out of the mess Ace and Luffy are making on the table.

“Right, Mellorine!” Sanji sing-songs in record speed.

Zoro sighs and puts his face in his hand. “Do you even listen to yourself, idiot,” he says, and narrowly dodges a kick to the head.

“Says the person who got lost so often the train station officers from the neighboring city start recognizing him!” Sanji yells back, and avoids the pillow thrown at him with practiced ease clearly born through repeated fights.

“How are you two even friends,” Ace observes in between chews, amused.

Zoro and Sanji instantly whip their heads towards Ace in unison, and say, in eerie synchronicity, “we’re not friends.”

Nami shakes her head, but it’s fond. “That’s how.”

+

❤ 2,103 Likes catburglar exclusive photo of Zoro enjoying Sanji’s food #nofilter #candid

View all 7,151 comments

martiknee I assume Sanji is a chef, then?

thefantasyren I still can’t believe we’ve been blessed with their names. Strawhat Fandom, rejoice!

ostenmah @martiknee ur an idiot, he could just be someone whos really good at cooking

martiknee Wow, thanks for the unprompted hostility, I was just asking. Either way, do you fucking have eyes, look at those prawns. Look me in the eyes and tell me he cooks THOSE and doesn’t cook for a living. @ostenmah

  brie @strawhatnami

so I heard Zoro is in his college’s kendo club

 a gay @bisexualusopp replying to @strahwatnami

he’s the CAPTAIN

 brie @strawhatnami replying to @bisexualusopp

source pls?

 Kal @THEKALZONE replying to @strawhatnami @bisexualusopp

can confirm, my brother goes to the same college as him, wasn’t exactly difficult to find a dude w green hair named zoro

 a gay @bisexualusopp replying to @THEKALZONE @strawhatnami

apparently he used to appear on a bunch of tv shows about modern swordsmen or sth with his sister back then?

 brie @strawhatnami replying to @bisexualusopp @THEKALZONE

HOLY SHIT I REMEMBER WATCHING IT WHEN I WAS LIKE. FIVE. kuina was my fave. I wonder if she goes to the same college too?

+

The thing is—the crux of the problem of this whole mess of a situation is that—Zoro has code. Some sort of personal, unsaid rules he has dedicated his life to following. And now this whole fiasco is slowly breaking these codes—two, particularly:

Zoro, as a general rule, dislikes attention. He used to be some sort of a child star way back when, before Usopp and Nami and even Luffy, before—the thing with Kuina. It was hardly bearable when Kuina was with him, holding his hand whenever it started to tremble during tapings, and now with her gone he’s not touching that industry with a ten-feet pole. That means no stupid interviews with awkward pauses and one-word answers, no troublesome photo shoots that leave him with cramps at places he didn’t know could get cramps, and most importantly, no getting recognized on the street by random strangers. He looks like shit on photos. He doesn’t even have an autograph.

Zoro has the largest, most pathetic crush on Sanji, and nobody can find out.

The second rule is more important than the first, of course. So far the breaking of the first code only results in minor inconveniences, but the fact that there’s a whole group of people dedicated to telling the world that Zoro wants to get into Sanji’s pants is not something he can live with. Not something Sanji can live with, that’s for sure. Sanji has been brushing them off as a joke, thankfully, but Zoro figures there’s only so much the Straightest Man on Earth could take before he would start avoiding Zoro in disgust and pretty much stomping on Zoro’s heart in the process.

Which is why, as soon as he spots Usopp coming out of the college’s workshop, Zoro stops him in his track and growls, “this is all your fault.”

Usopp covers his head out of instinct and stammers, “whatever it is, I didn’t do it and I’m sorry.”

Zoro crosses his arms in front of his chest and huffs. “Stop it—I’d never hit you just because I feel like it.”

“This bump on the right side of my head disagrees,” Usopp says as he peeks through his fingers, “I think it’s developing into a tumor .”

“You can’t get a tumor from getting knocked in the head,” Zoro says.

“I don’t think you’re qualified to make that judgment,” Usopp insists, but visibly relaxes anyways when he doesn’t see Zoro’s hands anywhere near his head. “What is it?”

“It’s just,” Zoro says, almost ominously. “People.”

“You’re not a fan of them. Yeah, I got that, like, five years ago when I first met you.”

“Shut up, I’m not done. People, they—“ Zoro drops his voice as low as possible to adequately convey the severity of his predicament, “—they started recognizing me. From your pictures.”

Usopp visibly perks up at that. “I know , right? People say, Usopp, being famous on the internet is nothing, no one’s going to know who you are in real life, but hater’s gonna hate, you know? One time a princess from a European country asked for my autograph—“

“It’s not a good thing,” Zoro cuts in, ignoring Usopp’s make-believe story. “Three different people asked for my photograph on the way here. A girl tried taking a picture while I was eating and I accidentally spat in her face.”

Usopp at least has the audacity to grimace at that. “I guess—I guess I can see where you’re coming from, but come on, Zoro, live a little!” He emphasizes with a  friendly pat on Zoro’s shoulder. “There are, literally, thousands of people lining up to be in your shoes.”

Zoro can’t help bristling at the touch. “I didn’t sign up for this. Not like you and Nami did, with Luffy and the whole YouTube thing,” he says and adds, more urgently, “especially not for the whole thing with the Cook.”

Usopp should know. Usopp does know, because Zoro told him once under the influence of one too many drinks. They never really talked about it afterwards because Zoro has the emotional constipation of a sixteen-year-old emo teen who still listens to My Chemical Romance, and Usopp has enough self-preservation instinct not to bring it up, but there’s always this silent agreement that Usopp knows.

Usopp raises his hands in the universal sign of defeat. “Look, I admit things did go out of hands a little bit, but it’s nothing big. It’s the internet. People will ship any two people who so much breathe the same air.”

Zoro narrows his eyes critically at Usopp, and while Usopp gulps under the scrutiny, he also looks—honest. Trustworthy. Damn it, Zoro does have a soft spot for his tattletale of a friend, and one day it’s going to be his downfall.

“All right, fine, I’ll take your word for it,” he says, and Usopp releases a relieved sigh, which immediately gets sucked back in as soon as Zoro growls, “but if Nami even says something remotely different—“

“If I say something what?”

Zoro is a skillful and trained martial art practitioner. Rumor has it that he has no openings; opponents who go into a fight expecting one would get a reality check in the form of a kendo sword to the head. He’s like a wild predator, they all say, and you are his natural prey.

They are all wrong. Sitting comfortably on the apex of the food pyramid is Nami, and she knows all of Zoro’s weaknesses like the back of her hand.

Zoro jumps and thinks his heart stops for a moment as Nami appears out of nowhere and joins in the conversation, and she laughs when she notices his surprise.

“Shut up,” he growls, and she just grins even wider.

“I was just telling him about the shippers,” Usopp fills her in, oblivious to Zoro’s mini-heart attack, “that they’re. You know. Harmless?”

Zoro doesn’t like the unspoken question mark tacked at the end of Usopp’s sentence, and he likes it even less when Nami says, “well, I wouldn’t exactly call them harmless.”

Zoro glowers at that. “Explain.”

“I mean, you’ve been way too closed up about yourself, you’re practically an urban legend,” Nami says, “and people love knowing things, Zoro. It makes them feel like they’re part of something special. When the internet wants something, there’s no stopping the internet.”

“Like legalizing weed,” Usopp adds, “give them information and you can control what’s coming out. Give them nothing and you’re unleashing a hungry beast.”

“I’m not going to start using The Instant Gram for them,” Zoro says, frustrated, and bits his lips in a way that almost resembles a pout. Not that he pouts, of course.

“I told you it’s not called the Instant—you know what, I tried,” Usopp says under his breath, and Zoro ignores him.

“We’ve been at this before, you know,” Nami continues, shaking her head, “they want to know things about you, and they’re going to find out. Age. Height. Blood type. The brand of shampoo you use. Which side of the bed you’re sleeping in. The fact that you have a crush on Sanji—“

Zoro stops in his track. He blinks. “No one—no one knows that,” he says, and curses himself for stuttering. He catches Usopp’s eyes, and reluctantly adds, “unless I told them.”

“You never told me,” Nami points out.

“You don’t count,” Zoro insists, “you can read me like a book.”

“I want to be flattered,” Nami pats him on the head, like humoring a small child, “but it frankly doesn’t feel like much of an accomplishment when your book only says I HAVE A CRUSH ON SANJI in eighty point bold font.”

He definitely doesn’t blush at that. Desperate, he turns to Usopp. “This isn’t what you told me.”

Nami looks at him, and is that—damn it. Is that pity in her eyes? “Zoro, I don’t know what lies Usopp has been telling you this time, but everyone knows you have a Big Gay Crush on Sanji.”

“One, it’s not a—a Big Gay Crush,” he sputters, “and two, both of you hardly counts as ‘everyone.’”

“No, really,” Nami says as she pulls up safari on her iPhone to open the fuckyeahzosan tumblr page, “I mean everyone.”

+

FuckYeahZosan

The very first Zosan Blog. Zoro and Sanji flirt with each other and ignore everyone else in group pictures because they’re assholes in love.

mods: zorosanjis and queerbellemere

our edits

fanart | fanfics | fanmixes

 fuckyeahzosan

Nami just posted a new picture and it’s everything we’ve ever hoped for.

#sanji is cooking for zoro #what is air #zosan #official

452 notes

 fuckyeahzosan reblogged zoro-sanji-for-the-win 

I can’t believe we only got their names a month ago and today we’ve got two dozens new pictures where they surreptitiously look into each other’s eyes, found out they’ve been roommates for years, gone on yearly road trips with just the two of them, and are practically canon.

I feel like this has all been a collective fever dream we just haven’t woken up from.

It’s all real and you better believe it.

#reblogged #text

2,252 notes

 anonymous asked

Ugh, people like you are the reason why I hate the Strawhat Fandom so much. Zoro and Sanji aren’t even SIGNED to the Strawhats Agency. They’re just FRIENDS of Nami and Usopp. And now they’re the most popular pairing in this fandom? Bullshit.

Sorry, we can’t hear you over how often Zoro and Sanji appear in the Strawhats' videos they may as well be Strawhats, and how even Shanks treat them like they’re part of the fandom.

#asks and answers #mod a

564 notes

 fuckyeahzosan reblogged queennami

zoro + looking at sanji with a love-struck look on his face when he thinks no one’s looking

#THE THING THAT REALLY GOT ME ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP #or friendship or whatever #is that it’s so loud and flashy you can’t help but notice #but with glimpses of quiet moments like this #like you KNOW they have the typical alpha male friendship #roughhousing and name calling; the whole package #from the way nami and usopp talk about them in interviews and stuff #and how they glare at each other in pictures with insults teetering on the tips of their tongues #but sometimes we get glimpses of this when they think no one’s looking #zoro staring at sanji – startsruck – like there are constellations clinging on sanji’s back #and there’s always that small smile zoro probably reserves just for sanji #and I Die #stab me in the chest and it would’ve hurt less #zoro #sanji #zosan #strawhatedit #rpf for ts (via queennami)

#reblogged #photoset #tags #lord have mercy on me

4,425 notes

+

Usopp is so going home with a new bump on his head.

[bumblebet-20]

What we left behind

5sos x reader

warnings: swearing, divorce, angst (oh so much).

A/N: GUYS OMG THIS IS MY VERY FIRST SERIES AND IM SOOOO EXCITED :3

Couldn't have done this without my boo @aspiringwildfire

-FLASHBACK-

“Happy Birthday, Enid!” Everyone yells after I blow out the candles, tossing up confetti they held in their hands.

“What did you wish for, Ed?” Calum asks, face covered in frosting from the chocolate cupcake.

“You know I can’t tell you, Cal!” I giggle slightly, turning towards the slice of strawberry cake in front of me.

“I can’t believe my baby is 7 today!” My mum says, suddenly behind me and nearly squeezing the life out of me.

“Hey, Ed! Let’s go play!” Michael exclaims on the other side of the yard, holding a yellow ball in his hands. A quick giggle escapes my lips as I quickly move out of my mum’s arms, running over to where he stands, followed by Calum and Luke.

“Be careful of your dress honey!” My mum hollers as we chase the ball, her words barely reach my ears as I focus on beating the other team.

We played football until the sun set, the only time we took a break was when people left and I had to say goodbye to them. Daryl came out and brought us inside for dinner, only us four and our parents remain to finish the celebrations.

“Eat up kids, we’ll set up the tent in a bit.“Liz says, setting down a box containing a large Cheese pizza in front of us.

-After finishing the pizza and getting the tent set up, we settle in our sleeping bags, the only source of light being the lantern in the middle of our circle.“Did you have a fun birthday?” Michael asks, stopping his game of ‘Crazy Eights’ with Calum.“

I had a blast! You three made it great” “

Aw, Ed! We’ll always be here to make your birthday awesome” Luke exclaims, pulling me into a tight hug. The others soon join, causing a dog pile and loud laughs to erupt from all of us.

Once the laughter calmed down and we resumed our previous games, a thought ran through my head “Hey guys? Can we all agree to remain friends no matter what?” 

“Of course! Nothing will tear us apart” Calum says, earning agreement ‘yeahs’ “We’re gonna be best friends for life!” Luke hollers

.-10 years later (2012)-“Come on,Becks! We can’t miss this!” I exclaim, grabbing the hand of my best friend, weaving through the crowd outside the building and stopping in front of the stage, waving at the boys while they are getting their instruments ready.

“Oh! Here are our seats” She points to a round table filled with chairs right in front, our names scribbled on paper. 

“Hey girls,”Joy says, taking a seat in her designated chair, Mali following right behind her. 

“Everyone else is right behind us, “Mali says, motioning to the door where the familiar heads of the Hemmings’ bobs over everyone else.

-

Once everyone got settled in their chairs, Luke taps the microphone lightly.

“Hello, we are Five Seconds of Summer and welcome to our show!” Luke says into the microphone, earning a round of applause and a ‘whoop’ from me.

“1,2,3,4!” Ashton exclaims before the music begins, filling the nearly empty space with the beginning of ‘Unpredictable’. My foot starts to tap at the beat, unable to contain my smile when Lukes’ voice fills the room.

“She sit at home with the lights out” Rebecca sings lowly next to me.

“Seeing life in different colours” We finish together, pretending our hands are microphones.

-

“Thank you for coming! This has been Five Seconds of Summer! Good night!” Luke exclaims into the mic before walking off stage.

“Alright, let’s go see our boys,“Liz says as she stands up and heads to the doors where the boys went off from.

“Mum!”  Luke exclaims, running to her once we all enter their changing room. All the boys greet their families before I’m swiftly picked up by Ashton and spun around.

“Alright,put her down before you hurt someone, “My mum says, stopping Ashton from spinning my brains out and gently places me on solid ground.

“So, food anyone?” David receives shouts of agreement in return.The parents walked ahead to the cars while we took our time heading out.

“Oh boys! I made some gifts for you” I dig around my bag before finding the plastic baggy, taking out four bright bracelets, each one having a letter for each boy. Rebecca takes two and puts them on the right boy’s wrist.

“Are these friendship bracelets?” Michael asks, twirling around the orange one on his wrist.

“Yeah. I just thought that you boys are gonna make it big someday and I just- don’t  want you to forget about the little people” I awkwardly shuffle my feet across the concrete floor, suddenly feeling embarrassed that I even did this.

“I love it! What better way to signify our friendship than with a bracelet!” Ashton tugs me into a hug, squeezing me tightly.

“Alright you kids, let’s go!” Liz says from the end of the corridor, motioning with her hand to come.

“We better go, don’t want an angry Liz on our hands” Calum comments as we all walk towards the door.

[1 month later]

I hum quietly as I braid Becks hair, the two of us deciding to have a sleepover at my house.

“Have you been watching the videos they upload? They’re gaining a lot of views” She says quietly, busy drawing in her sketchbook.

“I know, it's about time people realize their talent”

A knock on my window makes us jump as we turn to it and see Calum’s face pressed against it.

“Cal, what are you doing?” I question once he’s inside.

“ You won’t believe the news we just got” Becks and I share a confused look before returning our attention to the bouncing boy.

“Well? Spill dude” Calum gives her an unamused look, but continues to bounce.

“Okay so we’ve been getting a good number of views on our covers and earlier we got an email asking if we’d be interested in opening for this group-”

“What group?” Rebecca asks, curiosity getting the better of both of us.

“One Direction” Both our jaws drop at the name.

“That’s amazing Cal! I told you you boys would get famous one day!”

“We sign the contract tomorrow and start working out a setlist”

“When do you guys leave?” Calum nervously swallowed at the question.

“Three months” I feel my heart drop at how soon they’ll be leaving.

“Senior year starts in three months…”

“We know, but this is such a great opportunity and this is the boost we need to become famous”

“I’m so happy for you guys!”I exclaim overly eager, earning an odd look from Rebecca.

“We just knew you would be!” He flashes us his award winning smiling before slipping back out the window.

“Alright, spill. That was such a fake congratulations.”

“I’m- I’m happy for them”I fiddle with the brush I was holding.

“Bull. Shit. I’ve never seen more forced joy than right there.”

“What’s gonna happen when they leave for tour? We’re gonna stay behind while they go off and make a name for themselves.” 

“Aren’t you happy that they got this opportunity? This is what they want” I sit on the edge of my bed and she joins, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“Yeah but- I can’t help but think that it was supposed to us 6. Forever. No one and nothing can come between us”

“They’re still your boys. Now-” She stands, grabbing my hands on the way. “Let’s go get some ice cream and watch movies.. We can deal with this later” I laugh but follow her out to the kitchen.

[5 months later]

“Any response yet?” I simply shake my head at my mum’s question, returning to the book I was reading. “They’ll text back. Just got to be patient honey.”

“Yeah” I reopen IMessage and all texts to them since they left have all been left on read and I can’t figure out why. “I’m going to hang out with Rebecca for a bit” I say after reading her text, receiving a simple ‘mhm’ from my mum.

<

“And they haven’t even said a simple ‘hi’ or ‘ thanks’?” Rebecca questions, popping a crisp in her mouth.

“Nothing. Did- Did I do something? Should I have sent mail or-”

“Ed stop. You did nothing wrong, okay? They’re hormonal teenage boys, we should really expect this behavior.. But that by no means excuses their rudeness.” I go quiet, opting to play with my sandwich.

“They’re performing in Sydney in two weeks.. I was thinking of stopping by” I casually say, not looking up from the food.

“Alright.” I look up at her, shocked by her response. “I don’t agree with this idea but I’m not not gonna let you do this- definitely not alone.” She puts her hand over my own, offering a soft smile. “Now. About this Art assignment”

\night of concert\

“Okay, the plan is as follows: we go to the concert. Park where we see tour buses and wait. Find the boys and talk. Ending the night with pizza, candy and scary movies at my place.”

“Sounds like a well thought out plan.” I take one last look at myself, adjusting my top before turning to my brunette friend. “Ready?”

“Ready” We loop arms, skipping the whole way to her car.

..

“Damn, they are loud” Becks jokingly says from our position against the car, listening to our boys play.

“They sound good (feels good hehe :D)” I comment, pushing some of the gravel around with the toe of my combat boots.

We remain in a comfortable silence until the doors swing open and familiar voices fill the air. I look over at her, wide eyed.

“Now or never babe”

“What do I-”

“Hey boys!” She screams, making them all turn around, alarmed looks on their faces.

“Uh- Hi” Luke says, waving awkwardly in our direction.

“Enid here would like to talk to you boys. In private”She nudges me forward and I take timid steps to them.

“Let’s go in the bus” Ashton opens the door for everyone before closing it behind him.

“So-”

“Why’d you guys do it? Why did you just up and ignore me?” They nervously look at one another before Calum steps forward.

“We- uh got busy?”

“If you wanted to still be my friend you would’ve made an effort” I state, crossing my arms across my chest.

“We do it’s just that-” Luke begins but I cut him off, anger starting to run in my veins,

“What happened to ‘remain friends no matter what’”?

“You don’t understand, our life is so crazy now! We still consider you a friend, not best friend but, friends. Why are you still upset about this? It’s not like we completely abandoned you” Michael says from his position in a chair.

“ You couldn’t say ‘hey thanks!’ when I congratulated you?”

“Yeah bu-” Ashton tries but I cut him off.

“You could’ve tried.. But you ALL decided I wasn’t worth the effort!” I take a few slow breaths to try and keep calm “I tried to keep this friendship when you guys left but, not much I can do when you won’t even try”

“We still want a friendship. It’s just gonna be a little different now” Ashton says, taking timid steps towards me.

“No. If you wanted a friendship you would’ve kept up with it. None of you even reached out when my parents went through a horrible divorce. I really needed my best friends support but I got nothing.”

“We didn’t know your parents divorced Ed” Michael explains, all four of them clearly looking distressed.

“Stop. Stop right now. Our parents all still talk so you would’ve been told about it but sure, let’s play dumb. Also, that nickname is reserved for close friends and none of you are that.”

“ Alright,let’s all calm down and think about this rationally.” Ashton says, trying to mediate the best he can.

“I’ve already said everything that I wanted.Goodbye” I quickly leave the bus, practically diving into the passenger seat.

“How did it go?” At the sound of her voice I immediately break down in tear, sobs shaking my whole body. “Oh honey no shh” She brings me into her side, rocking us slowly. “They didn’t deserve your friendship. You’re too kind and you need someone who will love you for yourself and not make you cry like this.”

“I’ll never trust them again” 

- 

AND THAT’S PART 1 HOLY SHIT I’M SO EXCITED. please let me know your thoughts but be nice cause I’m a small bean :3

[noneya-business-me]

Are you ever going to do another part to Married Life? It would be so awesome if you did!! You're a great writer omg

The team watched with sadness as Shiro pulled a sobbing Lance away to the truck. Hunk wrung his hands nervously, glancing in the large windows of the mansion. Furniture was flung everywhere, photos and painting were off the walls; it was utter chaos. “This isn’t right,” he mumbled quietly to himself. Shiro walked back over to the group, looking frustrated. “You got us into serious trouble, Shiro!” Pidge snapped, stalking towards him, “We have no charges laid on him, we don’t have a reason to have him in handcuffs. Let alone that one of the guys assaulted him!”“Calm down Pidge,” Shiro sighed, messaging one of his temples, “We’ll figure it out down at the station.”She crossed her arms with a huff, shaking her head. “I’m going to take part of the team and head back to the station with the truck,��� Shiro said finally, “you two stay here and keep me updated.” Pidge and Keith nodded, heading up the stairs to the mansion and disappearing inside. “Hunk, you’re with me.”He nodded with a frown and headed to the passenger side of the vehicle.

As they turned the corner to the station, the sidewalks were covered with people. Most holding either cameras, mics, or other recording devices. “What the hell is going on here?” Shiro growled, pulling up to the curb. “It’s the press,” Hunk stated, “they must have heard about Zarkon and Lance.”
Shiro sighed in annoyance, slamming his door behind him and heading to the back. How could he have forgotten that Lance wasn’t only Zarkon’s husband but also quite a famous model. He opened the van door and glared at the two before his eyes widened slightly. Lance looked terrible to say the least. Fat tears were still rolling down his face, his nose was still bloody from getting hit, and he was barefoot. Neither of them were wearing enough clothing for them to be covered by anything either. He grit his teeth as he pulled him from the back and walked him through the crowd; Zarkon following close behind by Hunk. They were let in quickly by other officers but before they could be escorted to separate rooms the Captain stepped in front of them. “What is going on out there Shirogane?” He hissed. “Well, it obviously has something to do with this one.” He replied, motioning to Lance. “Can I call my lawyer please,” Lance sniffed, looking up at the Captain. “You better have a fantastic reason why this young man is bleeding from his face.” He stated with a glare. “Someone hit me when I was getting out of bed,” Lance interrupted.“Is that true?” The Captain asked in disbelief. “Well, I didn’t see it happen-,”“Garett, watch these two,” The Captain stated, “I’m going to have a little chat with Shirogane.”
He pulled him into the borrowed office and shut the door. “What charges does he have?” He asked, clearly out of patience.“What charges?” “Yes! What charges does he have that would give another officer the reason to break the kids nose?!” He yelled, “just wait until his lawyer gets here and hears that he was assaulted by an officer! So what charges?!”“I haven’t figured that out yet.” Shiro answered quietly. “Excuse me?” He asked through gritted teeth.“He wasn’t arrested on any charges as of yet.”“You are fucking joking me right?” He hissed, “This is a fucking joke. It’s bad enough that the freaking paparazzi outside already snapped a couple thousand pictures of the condition he’s in, but now he’s here without reason!” Shiro glared at the ground with a frown. “Go un cuff him before his lawyer comes, if they see him like that we’re more screwed then we were before.” The Captain ordered, pushing him out of the office.“Shit.” Shiro sighed, seeing a smartly dressed man talking to the couple while Hunk stood to the side with a grimace. Hunk spotted him and crossed over to him. “Let me guess,” Shiro mumbled, “that’s Lance’s lawyer?”
He nodded, glancing at the mans clear displeasure. “He was here almost immediately after we arrived.” Hunk added. “One of their workers must have called him in for them.” Shiro figured. “Are you the one that arrested these two?” The man asked, giving them a once over. Shiro nodded with a tight frown. “I’m Alexander Bell, I’m their lawyer.” He stated, “If you would be so kind to get my client medical attention and some warmer clothing.”“They’re being processed.” Shiro replied curtly.“His nose is clearly broken,” Alexander hissed, “you do realize that he’s a model right? He’s losing precious work because of you.”“Shiro, it’s part of his rights.” Hunk added.“He’s not leaving this building.” Shiro argued.“Then get a team here!” Alexander snapped, “Where is your commanding officer?!”
Shiro sighed motioning to the office behind him. Alexander huffed walking past him and slamming the door behind him. Hunk was already on the phone calling the hospital when the team from the mansion entered the precinct. “What is with the crazy mob outside?” Pidge asked, setting her computer down on one of the desks. “The doesn’t matter right now,” Shiro replied, crossing his arms, “what did you find?” “A whole lot of nothing.” Keith replied, with a grimace. “Nothing? What do you mean nothing?” Shiro hissed.“Exactly what he said,” Pidge replied, “nothing illegal, or even any clues of anything.” “That’s not possible.” Shiro grumbled, falling back into his chair. “What about any clues on the murder outside?” Pidge asked.“Nothing that links either Lance or Zarkon, and they wouldn’t have been able to do it themselves and get back to the house before we arrived.” Hunk replied, hanging up the phone.“So we’re sitting on nothing right now?” Shiro asked.There was a hesitant nod from everyone. “I’m so screwed.” He perked up glancing over at Lance, who was leaning against Zarkon with his eyes closed. “Unless I can get something from him before his crazy lawyer gets back.”“Shiro, that’s a terrible idea.” Hunk argued.“Keith you’re coming with me,” He said grabbing him by the shoulder, “send me a message when they get out of the office.”He quickly grabbed Lance out of his seat and brought him into the interrogation room. “What are you doing now?” Lance hissed.“We’re just going to ask you a few questions.” Shiro replied, bringing the cuffs in front of him and attaching them to the table. “This is so illegal.” Lance sighed, resting his head on the table.“Don’t talk to me about illegal.” Shiro snapped.“Oh, really? Then tell me Shiro what exactly did you find that’s illegal?” Lance mocked.“It’s none of your business.” Shiro snarled.“Yeah, it kind of is because it pertains to me.” Lance snapped back.“Lance we just need to know what Zarkon is hiding from us and the public,” Keith said, sitting down across from him, “it could be dangerous for everyone involved. Including you.”He stared at him for a minute before sighing heavily. “Do you think I’m stupid?” Lance asked, “if he was involved in anything I would know about it.”“Come on Lance, we know you more than you think.” Keith said, “you’ve always been observant, you had to pick up on something.”“You don’t know me that well anymore.” Lance snapped, “like I said before you left me behind.”“We couldn’t stand seeing you with him!” Keith yelled, “We just want you away from him!” “Well I guess it’s too bad that your opinion doesn’t matter.”Shiro grumbled loudly again. “This is bullshit.”“Are you serious?” Lance laughed, “do you know what’s actually bullshit? This right here.”
He motioned around the room. “My face is fucked up, which is a pretty huge part of my job. I was handcuffed and put in the back of a police wagon without any charges laid on me or any reading of my miranda rights. I know for a fact that you’re not stupid Shiro, so tell me what that would mean for you.”“You didn’t read him his rights?” Keith hissed.“Good to know.” Alexander said from the doorway, the Captain behind him.“If I may interject for a moment,” the Captain said, stepping in, “you called Shirogane Shiro. Do you know him?”“I knew all of his team for years before any of this happened.” Lance replied. Shiro clapped a hand to his forehead with a groan. “Kogane, get both of them released. Shirogane, come with me.”

“Everything you did tonight, you did wrong.” the Captain said to the team, “and not only that, you had way too much of a personal connection to them. It’s clearly swayed your judgement.”“We-,” Shiro started, but was quickly cut off.“I reviewed the tape. What you said in there is pretty clear.” He stated, “They’re both getting released tonight, and you Shirogane are getting suspended.”“Suspended?” Shiro asked in shock. “That was the only consequence that I think is appropriate for this screw up,” He sighed.He turned to the rest of them. “You’re all being put on different cases until this is fixed.”“Sorry Shiro, this really sucks.” Keith said patting him on the shoulder. “I deserve it.” Shiro mumbled, “I really let my anger take over today.”“Lance and Zarkon have already been released so we just need to pack up,” Hunk stated, “why don’t you head back first? We’ll get everything taken care of. You look like you could use the extra sleep.”“That sounds fantastic,” Shiro yawned, “I’ll see you guys later.”He grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder.

His car hummed quietly as he pulled into the extravagant gates of Zarkon’s mansion. “Do you want your car parked in the garage?” The attendant asked as Shiro hopped out of the drivers seat. “That’s okay Henry, I’m not staying over.” He replied with a grin.He didn’t even knock as he entered the house. Immediately going to place a painting back on the wall. He whistled loudly as a gun was held up to his head but quickly lowered. “Jesus Shiro, you scared the shit out of me.” Lance huffed, tossing it on the side table.“I was just putting your painting back up,” Shiro whined, “I was being nice.”“Oh, shut up.” Lance laughed back as Zarkon entered the room with them.“Hello Shiro, how’s it going?” He asked politely.“Not too bad,” He replied taking a seat on the living room couch, “sorry about your face by the way Lance.”“Our private Doctor looked at it, she says it’s going to be fine.” He replied with a shrug, “good thing I’m taking a break from work anyways.”“Anyways how did your end go?” Zarkon asked. “I was suspended, and the rest of the team is off your case for awhile. That’ll give you time to get rid of or hide anything you need. The witness was taken care of and there’s no link to either one of you or a direct link to anyone else for that matter.” Shiro replied with a smirk.“That’s a relief, thanks.” Lance sighed. “It’s the least I can do,” Shiro replied, “you’ve done more than enough for me in the past.”He clutched his prosthetic tightly, “Is there anything else you need from me before I head out?” He asked, standing from the couch. “Keep us updated.” Zarkon replied with an easy smile. “And come visit us more,” Lance said with a frown, “that reminds me!”He hopped up from his spot beside Zarkon and rummaged through one of the drawers in the coffee table, pulling out an envelope. He ripped it open and pulled out a picture. “Because you never visit, I never had the chance to give you some of the wedding photos.” It held it up for him to see. The three of them were smiling widely for the camera, with glasses of wine in their hands. “It was a great night.” Shiro took it with a smile. “I’ll see you guys soon.” He assured, tucking the photos in his bag and heading out the door.  

[peterparkyourassonme]

long distance; tom holland

pairing: tom holland x reader word count: 1,342. more than thought, tell me if you want a part two to this. summary: you and tom meet each other on the internet.  warning: none, (y/f/n) means your friends name, the friend is not described as any gender, you can chose. I think you got it.  part two| my other work

‘yo, you have a new number right?’ 

‘this is (Y/n) by the way’ you sent your friend who just got a new number a text.

‘I don’t know a (Y/n)’ the person, who you thought was (your friends name), texted back. 

‘ha ha very funny, (y/f/n)’ you responded as you rolled your eyes at your screen. 

‘this is not (y/f/n), I’m sorry but I think you got the wrong number mate’ the now stranger texted back. 

‘oh, sorry my bad’. You felt really awkward.

‘I am Tom by the way’. You were surprised that he kept the conversation going. 

‘nice to meet you Tom’

‘nice to met you to (Y/n)’. 

Weeks had gone by and you and Tom had talked everyday over text. Tom really wanted to video chat, but you were a bit scared. What if he wasn’t this total awesome, British, twenty one year old, but some weird creep. Maybe your friends even scammed you to prank you. Every time he asked to see your face you got out of it. But not today. 

‘What are you doing rn?’ Tom asked. 

‘Not much tbh, pretty sad if you think about it, it’s Saturday night lol’ You replied. 

‘Want some company?’ He asked. 

‘What do you mean’ You sighed as you knew what he was gonna say. 

‘Call me or I can call you, whatever you want’. You rolled your eyes. 

‘Tom..’ You hit send and started typing again. But he already responded. 

‘Come on (Y/n). I wanna see how pretty you are’. If you didn’t trust him, that would be the creepiest thing ever. 

‘You know what, fuck it. Call me’. You hit send with slight regret. 

incoming face time call from ‘tom’ 

accept. 

You were greeted with the face of a very handsome smiling young man. Brown hair, brown eyes. Very cute features. Both of you were looking at each other with adoration. Stunned by one another’s beauty. 

‘Hi’ You said with a little grin. ‘Wow, I mean hi, (Y/n)’ Tom almost choked on his spit. ‘You. You’re. You’re beautiful’. ‘Not so bad yourself’ You said and laughed. 

You sat in silence for a bit. 

‘Talk to me. I want to hear your voice, love’. You could hear Tom was desperately flirting with you.

You and Tom had gotten closer and closer. The line between best friends and soulmates was almost transparent. 

You were sitting on your bed with (y/f/n). You were giggling at you phone, because you were texting Tom. (y/f/n) rolled their eyes. They could see you were texting him, because you were always blushing if you were. 

They grabbed your phone. ‘Hey! I was texting-’ You got cut off. ‘Tom? Yeah I know. This silly little boyfriend of yours is distracting you’ 

‘He’s not my boyfriend!’ You did not want them to see your conversation with him. ‘Whatever (Y/n). He’s distracting you! From college and from your friends! I’m deleting his number’. They tapped on your phone while your jaw dropped. His phone number was the only thing you had of him. ‘No!’. You were not ready to lose Tom to (Y/f/n). They could not do this to you. ‘Blocked and deleted, now you can have your phone back. Thank me later’ They were very proud of them self and found the whole situation hilarious. 

‘Are you an idiot? That was all I had of him. Why did you have to ruin this!’ You were boiling with anger. ‘(Y/n) take a chill pil. You did not even know the guy, it’s not like he cared about you or something’. 

‘Get out of my house!’. ‘W-what? (Y/n) you’re being ridiculous. You know I’m right’ They backed off slowly walking towards the front door. ‘I said get out! You obviously seem to care less about me than you think Tom does. Thank you very much, you don’t have to show me your face again’ You opened the door and shoved them out. ‘Bye!’ You slammed the door shut. 

You collapsed to the ground and started crying as you just lost the contact with Tom. You could not get it back, you knew that. And he couldn’t text you, because (Y/f/n) blocked him. 

‘What’s up darling?’ yesterday 10.07 am

‘Yo are you busy?’ yesterday 1.15 pm

‘(Y/n) are you there?’ yesterday 5.30 pm

‘I’m getting worried, what’s going on?’ yesterday 9.45 pm

‘Goodnight love, please text me back or return my phone calls’ today 2.10 am 

‘Good morning. (Y/n), did I do something? Don’t ignore me, you can tell me anything?’ today 10.50 am. 

Tom let out a growl of anger. ‘What’s up?’ Harrison asked. ‘She’s not texting me back or returning my phone calls Haz, I am worried. What if something happened to her!’

‘Tom I’m sure she’s fine’

‘You call her than!’ Tom sighed after he spoke up, he did not want to fight with Harrison. ‘Pff okay’. Harrison dialed your number. ‘Sorry mate. Call denied’ Haz looked at Tom with an apologetic look. 

‘Come on..’ 

If you couldn’t call or text him you would google him instead. 

In the middle of your search you got called up by a foreign number. You decided to deny the call, they would probably be like one of those numbers that charge you loads of money. 

‘Tom Holland’ you mumbled and typed the name in the google search bar. What appeared in front of you was shocking.

“Tom Holland (Actor) - Wikipedia”

“Tom Holland (@ tomholland1996) |Twitter”

“Tom Holland Instagram photos videos and more”

Your eyes widened as you scrolled down the screen. This couldn’t be him. You clicked on his google biography. 

“Thomas Stanley Holland a British actor. Most know for his roles as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming and Lucas in The Impossible”

He was an actor for Marvel?! All these questions were bouncing though your head. Maybe you could reach him through social media. You followed him on every platform and sent him; ‘Tom it’s me, (Y/n). My so called friend deleted and blocked your number, because they thought you were a silly distraction. Which you’re not! Please if you see this, send me your number so I can unblock you’ 

No response, not even after a week. Why did you even think that would work. He’s a superstar like he would answer your stupid DM. 

The fact you now knew he was famous made you very unconfident. Why did he even talk to you, he could do better. 

The weird number kept calling over the weeks and you got sick of it. They called about three times a day. You decided to pick up this time. ‘Who is this and why do you keep calling me?’ You angrily said into the phone. ‘(Y/n)! It’s me Tom!’. 

Your mouth fell open. ‘Why haven’t you been answering the phone or my texts! I was worried sick? Is it something I did, are you mad at me? (Y/n) please say something!’ Tom was trying to talk as fast as he could he wanted damn answers. 

You sighed. ‘Tom, I’m sorry’ You started to tear up after finally hearing his voice again. ‘I’m so so sorry’ And you started sobbing. ‘Hey, (Y/n) what’s wrong. Darling please tell me what’s going on’ His warm voice calmed you down. You took a deep breath. ‘Okay, My friend got sick of me talking to you and thought I did not mean anything to you. They said you were a distraction from college and from my friends. And you’re not! I broke down after they did delete it and tried to find a way to contact you… Than I found out who you are, Tom.’ You said slowly. ‘(Y/n), I’m sorry I didn’t tell you! You did not know who I was so I thought it would be for the better’ 

‘It still pisses me off. I don’t think I can handle all of this right now, Tom. I-I’m sorry’ You cried. ‘No, no, no. (Y/n) please don’t hang up I-’. You hung up and cut him off. 

‘love you’ 

A/n: wassup friends! Hope you enjoyed this! I am planning on making a part two, let me know if you want a part two!

lol my PE teacher hit me in the face with a baseball today, now my nose is all swollen and purple. Love it when that happens ha ha. 

I am working on a prompt list atm, and I’m very excited about it! Expect that coming soon. 

For the rest of the night I’ll be answering ship requests, so if you want to request one for your own feel free to! 

For the people who have requested one shots etc.. I’m working on them don’t worry loves. 

We’re also really close to 400 followers *faints*. Omg update WE HIT 400 FOLLOWERS, babes you're incredible.

I hope you have a great day and I’ll see you in the next one!

[maxattack-powell]

The Freshman 1-12

Book 1 - 12

Chapter 12: The Birthday Girl (Part 2)

Masterlist - go here for other chapters and related original fics

Disclaimer: The following are fics (adaptations from actual game chapters AND original works) to Choices: The Freshman and The Sophomore stories. It is a fictional adaptation. I do not work for Pixelberry Studios, the game developer or own the rights to the characters Chris Powell, Nicole or any other IN GAME character. All of the ORIGINAL characters, storylines and events were developed for my adaptation of The Freshman story.

Comments: I enjoyed playing Choices The Freshman… and then I found this awesome group of people and their works - I’ve loved it all, very much so. Deciding that I wanted more interaction than the options allowed, I’ve gone through the first book, chapter by chapter (omg painfully slow) to follow the story (95-99% I’d say) and add to it as I felt would benefit.

Basically, I wanted to include certain things that weren’t really full fic size worthy, adding to the story. However, I did add some full size fic moments also… some are included in cannon chapters, some are their own full chapters in between. I wanted to see MC and Chris through their freshman year… with more angst, fluff, sweetness, real life and overall detail. So, if you like that pairing then you’ll be satisfied, otherwise sorry James & Kaitlyn fans lol. I even added some parts from Chris’s POV, so that we have a chance to see what he’s thinking, knowing what she experienced.

There will be ADULT and/or NSFW moments in certain chapters - this is a warning lol. I will try my best to make it obvious as it occurs…

Paring: MC x Chris

POV: ~MC~ or ~Chris~

~MC~

Chris and Becca cut through the crowded club as they make their way over to the group of friends. Zack yell-whispers so only their immediate group can hear. "Incoming drama in three, two--" He snaps his fingers and points. "Hey, guys... what are you all doing here?" Chris looks around the group, hovering his gaze on each person anxiously. Becca scoffs loudly. "Who cares? Tonight's supposed to be about us, Chris. You can see your roommates any old time." Zack apparently has had enough of Becca, standing to look directly at Chris. "Really? Cause it kind of feels like we never see you anymore, Chris." Abbie's face twists with disappointment and disgust. "Yeah, it's only Kaitlyn's birthday... but I guess that's not a big priority for you." She motions towards Kaitlyn who's nervously chewing on her bottom lip, her expression overall an anxious pout. Chris's face falls, his shoulders sag slightly when he realizes. "Oh, crap... I totally forgot. I'm so sorry..." He clenches his fist, bringing it up to his chest.

"It's fine. Really. Don't worry about it." Kaitlyn breaks her eyes from them, looking down at the table. Chris takes a step forward, shaking his head. "No, it's not fine. I'm sorry I haven't be around more. It's just that things have been kind of weird between..." His eyes flicker to MC, giving her a meaningful look. His actions earn MC an evil glare from Becca. MC clears her throat. "Well, Chris... I'm not the one who's making it weird. But if that's how you feel, I guess we should just steer clear of each other." Becca steps up and grabs Chris's arm. "Well, I will. Come on Chris... let's go find somewhere with a little more privacy."

She tugs at him until he lets out a small sigh, searching MC’s face for something. His jaw clenches as he breathes out forcefully through his nose, his eyes pleading with hers. MC can only stand there, noticing a look of regret cross his face before Becca finally succeeds on leading him away.

She turns her back to them as the club is only so big and if she didn't, Becca would make sure to put Chris on display in front of her. MC was mad, hurt, and basically tired of all of this. Every time Chris told her he wasn't ready, she tried to listen. She tried to give him space and stay away. But he would come back to her, initiate affection between them like he never said anything to the contrary.

Those moments with Chris felt so… real. So raw and honest. MC swears she could feel the sincerity in his words, in his touches, and in his lips. Yet here he was, with Becca, the succubus. She squeezes her eyes tightly, fighting back the emotions that were threatening to spill over. The feeling of loss was prevalent. Kaitlyn tosses back the rest of her drink and slams the glass on the table. "Ugh, I can't believe they're here on my birthday!" She hisses in the direction they were last seen. Leila, not understanding the situation, interjects. "I mean, this club is open to the public... it's not like you reserved it."

MC flinches, knowing what's about to happen while feeling sorry for Leila’s innocent observation, however glad to have a new distraction to focus on. "Yeah, I know that, Leila." Kaitlyn spins her head, glaring at her. "Aren't your friends, like, wondering where you are?" Abbie joins Kaitlyn, her tone cold and unforgiving. Not missing their attitudes Leila responds in turn, her face turning ugly. "No need to be nasty just because you're jealous of me." She narrows her eyes slightly before turning towards Tyler, her mood drastically changing. "I'm going to use the restroom, Tyler. Dance with me when I get back?" Completely caught off guard Tyler reacts with only a second's thought. "Yeah, sounds good." He swallows hard, trying to survive the unpleasant environment. Kaitlyn shoots MC a look and whispers to her. "This is our big chance. Abbie needs to make a move now or she could loose Tyler forever!" MC nods and leans over towards Abbie next. "Hey Abbie, ask Tyler to dance while Leila's gone. This might be your last chance…” She trails off, brows knit together tightly. Kaitlyn and MC watch as Abbie glowers after Leila as she disappears into the restroom. She quickly downs her drink and turns towards them both with a look of determination mixed with anger.

"You know what? I think I will!" She forcefully sets her glass on the table before standing up and stepping towards Tyler. She grabs him by the wrist, pulling him onto the dance floor. Tyler's mouth falls open as he looks at her in shock, not putting up a fight. "Where are we going?" Abbie turns her gaze to him momentarily and speaks with a huff. "Were dancing, okay? Just go with it!" "Woo, get it Abbie!" Kaitlyn cheers and laughs from her seat. Zack sits up straight with a surprised look on his face. "Where did that come from?!" He jerks his thumb towards Abbie. MC laughs at his befuddled expression. "I may have old her to steal Tyler while Leila was out of the picture..." She winks at him. Kaitlyn laughs and hugs MC. "You are officially my hero." The three of them watch from their booth as Tyler and Abbie dance close together, nearly touching. Kaitlyn doesn't budge except for her growing grin. "Should we give them some privacy or keep staring?" MC nudges her playfully. "Let’s try to find something else to look at..." She sweeps her arm across the expanse of the entire dance floor. Her movements jerk to a halt and she lets out a deep gasp that is swallowed by the music, as she sees Becca pull Chris into a passionate kiss. Her hand falls limply to her side. "Or not." Zack grimaces as he sees it as well. His repulsion quickly replaced with a sighs as he sees a previous issue return. "Uh oh, Leila en route!" Leila marches across the dance floor toward Tyler and Abbie, her fists balled up in anger. MC shifts on her feet next to Zack, chewing on her thumbnail. "This could get ugly..." He nods in agreement and Kaitlyn gives her a look. They all get up to join Tyler, Abbie and Leila on the dance floor, hoping to defuse a potential explosion. Tyler sees Leila storming into view behind Abbie. "Leila!" Her face scrunches up with anger. "Yeah, remember me? The girl you said you'd dance with tonight?" MC steps closer to them, trying to place herself in the middle as a buffer. "Let's all just calm down, okay?" Abbie scoffs and shakes her head. "It was just one dance, Leila, it's no big--" "Shut up Abbie!" Leila shrieks, intuiting her. "You're so obviously jealous of me, it's pathetic." Kaitlyn immediately bristles. "Hey!" Zack becomes irritated, his usually pleasant face turning dark quick. "Not cool." "That was totally uncalled for, Leila..." Tyler steps between Abbie and Leila, his face twisted with anger. Leila doesn't care. "Sure, take her side. She's only interested in you now that she can't have you, Tyler. Anyone can see that." She flicks her hand at Abbie wildly. Tyler clenches his jaw, his anger dissipating into a frown. "I..." He closes his eyes and hangs his head. "I guess I can't argue with that." Abbie looks as if she was physically hit by his words. "Tyler, that's not true!" He turns to her and looks up to meet her eyes. "Really? They why did you turn me down earlier?" Abbie frowns deeply, her eyes apologetic. "I didn't understand what you were asking, I'm sorry!" Tyler shakes his head and breaks eye contact, his face turning into a sneer. "Right. Whatever, Abbie. I'm tired of being played with..." MC steps in, unable to watch them tear each other apart. "Tyler... Abbie's telling the truth." Abbie looks at Tyler, pleading for him to look back, but he doesn't, keeping his gaze down he sighs. "This is all way too confusing. I think I need to be alone for a while." Leila shakes her head and grinds her teeth. "Fine. If you ever figure out what you really want, give me a call." She storms away, disappearing to another part of the club as Tyler goes to the bar to get another drink alone. Abbie's shoulders drop. "Well... that wasn't exactly how I wanted things to go, but at least Tyler knows how I feel." Zack pats her on the back, still reeling by the recent events. "And Leila's gone, which is always a plus in my book." Abbie sighs. "I think I'm going to sit down for a while, too... I'm not really in a dancing mood anymore." She turns and heads back to the booth. MC frowns. "Let us know if you want to talk, okay?" Abbie acknowledges that she heard with a wave behind her, never turning her head back to her friends. "Will do." Zack turns towards MC and Kaitlyn. "So..." Feeling the awkwardness he pauses. "What should the three of us do?" Kaitlyn perks up, trying to salvage the night. "Let's dance! It'll be fun. Especially if we grab a few more drinks on the way!" She hauls them both over towards the bar where she orders drinks for them all. After a few drinks and some time out on the floor, MC looks towards the door and spots a familiar face. "Speaking of which... look who just walked in, Zack!" Zack's mouth about hits the floor. "Brandon!" Brandon walks up to the three of them, a huge smile on his face as he addresses Zack. "Hey. MC told me to come by. That cool?" Zack melts as he tries to maintain his composure. "Very cool." Brandon's eyes crinkle as his smile grows. "Wanna dance?" Zack laughs. "God yes. Let's go!" "Just one second, actually... gotta talk to MC real quick." He steps towards MC for a little privacy as Zack gushes with Kaitlyn. MC tilts her head. "What's up?" Brandon leans in and whispers into her ear. "Just wanted to thank you for making this happen. I'd almost given up on ever hearing from Zack." "No problem. Just make sure you take good care of him okay?” She raises her eyebrow at him, daring him to do otherwise. “Now go dance!" She laughs through her smile. He nods at her. "I will." Then turns to grab Zack's arm and they head deeper into the dance floor. Zack mouths a thank you at MC as they drift to the center. Kaitlyn comes up and nudges MC with her elbow. "Nice work, MC. You're becoming quite the little matchmaker." MC acts innocent. "Who, me? I barely did anything." Kaitlyn's smile fades to a neutral expression. "Do you want to rest for a bit? These shoes are not great for dancing in..." She wiggles her feet for emphasis. "Yes, please." MC gasps. "My feet are killing me too." They find a bare patch of wall away from the dance floor to lean against, watching the silhouettes of figures moving to the beat, their faces briefly illuminated by flashing lights, basically unrecognizable. MC leans close so Kaitlyn can hear her. "So... how's your birthday going?" Kaitlyn happily nods. "Mmm... it's pretty good. I think that has more to do with drinking than anything else, though." She giggles. MC looks at her questioningly. "Yeah, you we going hard earlier. Are you feeling okay?" Kaitlyn looks out across the crowd. "Better than okay. Just... glad to get off my feet for a bit." She starts to slip down the wall so MC reaches out and catches her. Kaitlyn slumps into MC's arms, laughing. She then throws an arm around her waist to steady herself. "Oops... sorry." "Do you want to sit down?" MC points back towards the booths. "No, I'm good, I promise. Besides, I like this. Standing here..." She looks up into MC's eyes. "...with you." Kaitlyn closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "Kaitlyn, I feel the same way." She flashes Kaitlyn a friendly smile. Kaitlyn's eyes flutter open, and a big smile spreads across her face. "Really?" "Of course." Kaitlyn turns to face MC, leaning her head against the wall. Her knee grazes MC's just below the hem of her dress. "MC...?" MC didn't notice the physical contact while leaning on the vibrating walls. "Yeah?" "You know how I said I wanted to get my courage up for something?" Kaitlyn's cheeks turn pink in the dim light. "Yeah..?" MC looks at her expectantly. "This is what I needed courage for." Kaitlyn sneaks her arm around MC's waist and pulls her in close. MC suddenly realizes what's about to happen and gently pulls away.

Kaitlyn's eyes pop open, looking startled. "What's wrong?" Her face turns sad. "Are you... are you not interested in me?" MC is torn, not wanting to hurt her best friend. "I..." She takes a deep breath. "I'm not, no." She gives a small apologetic smile. Kaitlyn's face falls. "Oh no. Did I... did I just ruin everything? I did, didn't I?" She gasps and cries out. "I'm such an idiot!" Tears start to glisten in her eyes as MC pulls her into a tight hug. MC rubs Kaitlyn's hair. "You didn't ruin anything. I just... didn't expect that, that's all." Just then MC notices a familiar face out of the corner of her eye. James looks at her shocked. He quickly turns on his heel and heads for the door. Torn again, MC frowns. "Kaitlyn, I'm sorry, I... I just spotted James leaving. I invited him here tonight so I should at least say hi..." Kaitlyn takes a step back, her eyes searching. "Did... did you invite him, like, as a date?" MC gives Kaitlyn a small smile. "No, just as friends." "Okay, well... don't keep him waiting on my account. Seeing as we're 'just friends' too..." She refuses to look at MC. “Kaitlyn... I'm sorry, okay? I... I didn't know that tonight would turn out this way." MC sighs. "Well, sorry if I made things inconvenient for you." Kaitlyn's face scrunches up with irritation as her eyes flicker to and quickly away from MC's. MC frowns. "Let's talk about this later. I'll be right back, okay?" Kaitlyn's head hangs low as she barely nods. "Okay..." MC turns and makes a beeline for the door to catch James out on the sidewalk. "James, wait!" He turns and looks at her, somewhat not surprised. "Oh. It's you." She raises an eyebrow at his curt response. "What's that supposed to mean?" He huffs loudly. "I don't know, MC. What was any of this supposed to mean? You ask me to come out tonight, and then I see you and Kaitlyn about to--" MC wildly shakes her head. "I didn't plan for that to happen! Kaitlyn just tried to kiss me out of nowhere!" He rubs his head and sighs. "Well, can you blame her?" He sucks in a deep breath. "I mean, you're--" "I'm what?" MC wasn't sure if she was about to feel flattered or offended. James takes another deep breath and turns away from her. "You're trouble. You know, you get so down on Vasquez for causing all this drama in your life, but it's not just him." She takes a step back. "What are you saying?" "You love it just as much as he does. Maybe more, even." He stares her down. MC gasps at his accusation. "That's not fair! I--" Chris suddenly bursts out of the club onto the sidewalk, looking around frantically. "MC!" As soon as he spots them he runs over. James just shakes his head in disgust. "Great, another one of your conquests. See what I'm talking bout, MC?" Chris gives James an incredulous look, his mouth hanging open. "This isn't about that!" His intense eyes turn to MC.

"MC... it's Kaitlyn. She's passed out right at the bar! She's totally unresponsive." His brow creases with worry as he gasps for air. "What?!" MC is about to take off when James grabs her wrist, stopping her in her path. "Chris, stay with MC and call an ambulance. Show the paramedics inside when they get here." James sets his eyes on the front door. Chris nods at him and pulls out his phone while MC tugs her hand from James, attempting to follow. "Where are you going?!" Chris quickly grabs her wrist with his free hand, his eyes locked on to hers as he speaks into the phone. James starts taking steps away from her quickly. "To check on Kaitlyn. Trust me, I took some EMT classes last summer. I know what I'm doing." And then he was gone. Chris lets go of her wrist as she sinks to the sidewalk, barely hearing him on the phone with the emergency line. A crushing sense of dread begins to take over. "Yeah... Shade, the club downtown. We'll meet you outside. Please hurry." Chris hangs up the phone and sits down on the curb next to MC, his face drawn with concern. He turns to watch her as she begins to speak. MC's eyes stare blankly into her lap. "This is all my fault." She says quietly. Chris frowns as he watches her collapse. "MC, that's crazy... you can't blame yourself for this." "But I can, Chris!" She cries out and turns to face him, torment streaking across her features. "She only drank this much because she was nervous about..." Chris’s eyes narrow as he notices her pause. "About what?" "About..." MC turns away from him, shaking her head instead. "...never mind. You wouldn't understand." Chris gently picks up MC's hand from her lap. "Actually I would."

She looks up to his beautiful blue eyes and he continues. "MC... I kind of saw what went down between you two. It's not your fault, okay?" She closes her eyes and hangs her head low. "Sounds nice when you say it, but... I'm not so sure." "Well, I am." He gives her hand a squeeze before letting it go, wrapping his arms around his folded knees and letting out a frustrated sigh. "By the way... I'm sorry Becca and I came here tonight. We didn't know you'd be here." He glances at her without moving his head, trying to do so without her noticing. She clenches her eyes tightly as she covers her face with her hands, whispering into the dark. "Tonight should've been perfect. How did everything get this messed up?" "I don't know, MC..." He replies, also barely above a whisper. "But so long as we're all together, we'll get through this." He looks to her earnestly, hoping she will look back. She slowly lowers her hands and turns to inspect his eyes, searching for the Chris she knows is inside. "So... you're sticking around?" He gives her a small smile. "Of course. That's what friends are for, right?" Any fragments of hope she may have had about ‘her and Chris’ flew out the window with his choice of words. She takes a long, slow breath in and turns her head away before closing her eyes. "Right." Seconds later they hear the sound of sirens as flashing red and blue lights of the ambulance illuminate the city street. Chris jumps to his feet and reaches down, offering his hand to MC. She quickly turns her head and pretends not to notice, somewhat struggling to get off the curb in her tight dress without assistance. MC wrings her hands together over and over as she stands nearby, waiting to see them bring Kaitlyn out of the front doors. "Please let everything be okay..."

~Chris~

He studies her face, her hair, her dress… thinking to himself that she looks amazing tonight. That its a shame everything had gone so… wrong.

"Of course. That's what friends are for, right?" Chris gives her a small smile. He tries to comfort her, reassuring her that he would be there for her and the others. But he can instantly tell that he said something wrong, making her feel even worse.

He frowns as she takes a long, slow breath and turns her head away from him while closing her eyes. "Right." Seconds later they hear the sound of sirens as flashing red and blue lights of the ambulance illuminate the city street. Chris jumps to his feet and reaches down, offering his hand to MC. She quickly turns her head, struggling a little as she stands from the curb in her dress without his help. He shakes his head a little, realizing she probably saw that he tried but turned it down anyway. MC wrings her hands together over and over as she stands nearby, waiting to see them bring Kaitlyn out of the front doors. "Please let everything be okay..."

Chris moves to stand next to her, as close as he dares without making her upset, trying to provide comfort with his presence.

[brittainrhea]

Ghouli

- Ghouli looks so cool.

- Those girls were slicing and dicing. Damn! Calm down!!

- "You see what I want you to see"

- "Frozen on a stranger's bed" That's not creepy at all.

-Omg the three-piece business casual set of satin pajamas have returned!! I can't remember who on here talked about her always wearing it and referred to it as a three-piece business casual set of satin pajamas BUT I always scream "three-piece business casual satin pajamas!" EVERY. TIME. It makes me happy. Then I think about somebody saying she was a cozy bitch. Yeah...that makes me happy. So happy. Geez, how many times can I say three-piece business casual satin pajamas? So many times...so many...

-Scully is looking pretty badass walking through that house in her three-piece business casual satin pajamas holding a gun. Such a badass.

-They're being followed...that's not good.

-William is watching them on the Chimera.

- Bob! Go get your coffee!

- It's breath smelled like cinnamon?

- A dream just like Scully. Okay, so these girls were both Jackson's girlfriends and they didn't know what his house looked like? I mean you would think they would have seen it at some point. I guess it depends on how long they've known each other. Anywho, the one said her parents didn't approve of her having a boyfriend so did she mean a boyfriend in general or didn't approve of Jackson. She says "they're really lame but he's cool." Kind of makes me wonder if she was meaning they didn't approve of him specifically.

- "Kids would get stoned on it in the summer. Not me." Mulder's face and the way he throws his hands up at this comment was pretty funny. He's like yeah right...lol!

- Van de Kamp. Scully's face says it all.

- Woah, people still use the steering wheel and pedals on games?! What?! I know this is not the important part of the scene but I haven't seen anyone use those in a long time.

- I just want to hug Scully. Did you see her face?

- "You're trying to find answers to questions nobody else is asking." Well yeah...you don't understand why but it's kind of important for them to know this stuff.

- A murder suicide to me would seem a bit strange unless there were known issues with the family which I don't remember them saying anything about throughout this episode so...yeah...it seems a bit strange that the detective was so quick to accept that.

- Seriously Scully, seeing you like this just makes me sad and want to give you a big hug.

- I like that they had his room decorated in space stuff. Nice touch.

- I like that Mulder goes full detective.

- These DoD peeps are dicks.

- The first time I watched Scully's speech in the morgue...it was sad but I just didn't feel much of anything which for me was incredibly weird. However, the second time I watched it, I connected with it more.

"I wish I could have been there to ease your pain."

That part got me. Out of everything she says that part really got me. Gillian Anderson did a wonderful job which is nothing new. She's awesome. Well I think she is. Have you seen her in The Fall? So awesome.

Both times I watched this scene when she says "if you are William...this is what I'd say." Seemed so weird. So strange for her to say. I just feel like if that line was cut out, it would have been better. If she said "If you are William...I'm sorry." I would have been more immersed in the moment because both times I watched this as soon as she says "this is what I'd say." I immediately was pulled from the scene. Something about that just bothered me. My brain was just like why would you say it like that?

-Poor Scully...Poor Mulder... You can tell this is really getting to him, he's just trying to hide it for Scully.

- Mulder is right. She doesn't need to apologize for anything. She tried to do what was best for him.

- "Is this a message for me? Or am I sending a message to you?" After watching this episode, I'd like to know that answer too.

- "Did you take that from his room?" You can hear in his voice that he's struggling to keep it together.

- ”Do you like windmills?”  My brain immediately started thinking about the “I like turtles” kid.  

- "I like this one." Scully is so sweet.

- DoD douchebags here to ruin everything. Good job with the soda, Mulder!

- Skinner, come on dude. You're so lucky that I like you. I know you're in a tough spot and you try to help Mulder and Scully but damn dude! OMG! CSM, why must you show up?! I'm completely okay with not seeing you. I really hate you now. I didn't like you before but I could at least watch your scenes without getting completely pissed. You've gone to the next level of douchebag and your complete being just angers me.

- "It's cold and it smells." Skinner don't be a baby. Your warning is a little late dude. Skinner stop talking...you're making this worse. Mulder must think they're to blame for William's death. So sad. Skinner definitely feels terrible now. Maybe he should have told them this crap sooner. Well maybe he didn't know all of it yet.

So...CSM is using Mulder and Scully to find William?  And does Skinner not realize this? I feel like Skinner would have really tried convince them to stop searching for William if he knew this.  It seems strange...he know so much or appears to know so much.

- "It's an alternate reality Fox doesn't exist in coffee shops."

- CSM and Project Crossroads. Another experiment that Scully was unknowingly a subject of...well I guess we don't know for sure yet. Scully didn't seem to have much of a reaction to finding out that she was possibly the subject of another experiment thanks to Ol' Smokey. I know her main concern is William however she was just told that she was experimented on again. I would think she would be visibly pissed, upset, something!

- Where is he now? Well Scully they decided to make your son into kind of an ass so he's going to hang out with his two girlfriends. You know the ones he decided to test his powers on. Possibly traumatizing them by making them see the other as a monster which made them attack and almost kill each other.

- Okay...the first time I watched this whole Jackson at the hospital scene...I was so pissed that they made him seem like such a douche that I didn't notice some of his expressions when he was apologizing to them and explaining what was going on with him. I didn't pay close enough attention to how he was saying stuff and to what he was saying either. Obviously all this makes a big difference when watching this scene. I originally thought it seemed like he didn't care about what had happened with everything. To me it seemed like he was scared that these people were trying to kill him but that was about it.

Now the second time...once I had time to cool off...I noticed that he did seem bothered by what he had done, what happened to his family, and he seemed really confused and scared. He seemed like he was in shock after all this which is understandable.  He still seems like an ass which is disappointing.

- Jackson...you need a haircut...it would be a lot easier for you to escape if you could actually see where you are going.

- Again, Ghouli looks cool. Too bad it isn't real. What a shame.

- WILLIAM GET OUT THERE AND TALK TO YOUR MOTHER! I was so pissed at this part and I literally yelled this at the tv.

- I liked the final scene between Scully and Jackson. It seems so weird calling him Jackson and not William. I wish he would have just shown his face and actually talked to them before driving off. Was that too much to ask? Seeing Mulder and Scully watching the video...seeing him and hearing him was a very sweet moment. But I feel like they should have tried to go after him. It seems more like something they would have done... well at least it seems like something they would have done back in the day. I felt like Scully would have realized that was him before he drove off. I know she thought something was strange but it just seemed like with their knowledge of his power that she would have put that together.  I mean they just discussed it.

- To be honest, I was super pissed and incredibly disappointed after I watched the episode the first time. I was so excited to see this episode in particular because we all knew we would see William. We would actually get to see what he's become. I was so pissed that they made him seem like such an ass. I felt like I did at the end of MSIII. I tell you when I realized where they were going with the En Ami episode with CSM and Scully...I freaked especially since I've read the theories about it before and that was the one thing I said I really hoped they did not include in the show and guess what they did it!

Anyway...I guess my disappointment was with what they did with William not so much the episode as a whole because we had some great Mulder and Scully moments.

I enjoyed the episode more the second time I watched it. As I said before once I had time to cool off and not go into it being super hyped. I'm still not happy with the choices they made with William. His overall appearance irritated me. Seriously dude...cut your hair...if not cut your hair then get it out of your face...style it differently. Just do something different...geebus... The whole two girlfriends thing and testing his powers on them...I really just don't like it. I know he apologizes for what happened on the Chimera but he doesn't seem to see anything wrong with having two girlfriends that knew nothing about the other. The whole going to the hospital to see them and so on...ugh... It makes him look like an ass.

I feel like we were left with more unanswered questions that we will more than likely never get the answers to.  

I’m still on the fence about this episode...I liked it better the second time but I’m not sure I can say that I necessarily thought it was a good episode.  I just didn’t hate it. I don’t know...I felt like this episode should have been so much more.  

Other random thoughts....

Scully, why didn’t you seem upset about being a part of another experiment thanks to Ol’ Smokey? It seemed like they just acted like Mulder didn’t say anything about it. Why bring it up?

The Van de Kamps are now in Virginia? In like some fancy ass house. In season 9 weren't they on some farm in Wyoming. That's a major lifestyle change. Will we find out what happened with that? They were in the middle of nowhere before but now they're in some fancy neighborhood. Very weird.

I wish the Ghouli was real. It seems like a waste of a monster for it to just be something Jackson made up in his head. It looked pretty cool. They could have made him some failed experiment from the eugenics program. Like some branch of doctors working on the program really messed shit up. Lol!! I was really bummed that it wasn't some badass monster.

I noticed that both times Mulder saw William dead he kind of stares at his face and then suddenly looks away like he can't handle looking at him. First time when he goes upstairs to find Scully and sees them putting him in the body bag. The second time when he's hugging Scully in the morgue. So sad.

Ghouli.net was cool.  When Jackson said he made everything up, does he mean just everything about the Ghouli? Or did he make up the stories about the kid seeing the red haired woman too?

They need to rename this episode 'Mulder and Scully need a hug.'

[inkstainedfanfics]

I Still Exist

Requests: Omg your stories are awesome! I was wondering if I could suggest a newt x reader with the song "Where Do We Go" or "Shatter Me" by Lindsey Stirling? Where the reader feels kinda neglected and depressed for quite some time and newt fails to notice because he is in a lot harsher mood and snaps a lot as a result of working on his book? And one day she goes "missing" and worries newt? Lots of angst pls!(Idk it sounded a lot better in my head)You can come up with the rest. Thanks!       AND      hi !! i really love your stories, and i was wondering if i could request an v angsty one where newt is under a lot of stress and snaps at reader? ❤️❤️

Word Count: 2,701

Pairing: Newt x Reader

Part 2   |   Part 3

Requested by Anonymous

Requests are currently open! Feel free to one in

The workshop smells about how you’d expected when you crawl into the case. A burning mixture evaporates somewhere nearby, partly covering up the odors of the various feed bags for the creatures and the plate of raw meat rotting on the table. You shake your head, disgusted, and slip past the shed. Scanning the field, hand over your eyes to block out the blinding sun, you spot Newt next to a murtlap. He’s on his knees saying something to the snarling creature. You swallow down the heart breaking in your chest. He’s exchanging more words with that beast than he has with you in the past month.

“Newt. Newt!” You shout, crossing through tall grasses and kicking stones out of your way. For God’s sake, “Newt!”

He twists enough to ensure it’s you before turning his back on you. “One minute, love.”

Hands on your hips, you wait as he chatters with the beast. It’s not that you’re against his research, it’s that he’s trying to cram chapters worth of new material into the book. You’d supported his idea when he first told you a month and a half ago. Now, though, you’re not sure you would’ve been so encouraging had you known he would spend every waking minute in the case without you.

“I don’t have all day, Newt. I have to get to the bakery with Queenie before it closes.”

He shakes his head, facing you. “I’m busy, love. Can’t it wait?”

You can feel the tension in his voice, strengthened, no doubt, by the bags under his eyes. “I just need to know if you’d prefer apple or peach pie for dessert.”

He mumbles something that sounds like ‘that’s it?’ but when you question him, he simply says, “I said it’s your choice. I’m sure you’ll make the right one.”

“All right. How about a bag of flour? I was thinking we could make some doughnuts together tomorrow morning.”

Newt sets his quill down on his paper and stands, brushing the dust from his knees. “I wish I could.”

“But you’re busy with your book?” It’s more a sentence than a question.

He reaches down to pick up the dirty journal at his feet. “I’m sorry, love. You know I want to. I just need to finish this study on the murtlap’s instinctive reactions to mishandling.”

“He bites you. There’s your answer.” You cross your arms over your chest. “Now will you please spend some time baking doughnuts with me tomorrow morning?”

Newt frowns. “You know it’s more complicated than that.”

“It’s been ages.”

“I know. It’s been ages since we’ve had time together. But my book is being published soon.” He starts forward, leaving you to follow him. “I need to be sure the information in it is as precise as possible.”

You step next to him and wrap your arms around his side. “Please, babe?”

Newt shakes his head. “I don’t have the time.”

“Newt-“

He pulls the door to the workshop open. “I told you this would take a lot of work. You were fine with it then.”

“I didn’t realize it would mean that I’d lose all of my time with you.”

He tosses his journal on the table and rushes toward the heated liquid that you’d first smelled when you’d walked into the shed. “I will try,” he murmurs, lifting the vial from the flame with a pair of tongs, “to find some time.”

“Try?”

He raises his eyes to yours as he sets the vial in a cooling rack. “That’s the best I can do.”

“I miss being with you.”

“You’re with me right now.” He quirks an eyebrow at his dry joke.

You groan. “That’s not what I meant.”

He wipes down the table with a rag. “I know what you meant. I don’t want to promise anything.”

You step forward to stand across the table from Newt but gag at the plate of rotting meat in front of you. “Why not?” You ask as you round the table and lean against it, next to Newt.

“I don’t want to disappoint you, love.”

You would consider that sweet if you didn’t see his left ring finger tap the table twice: his tell. “Don’t lie to me.”

He swallows, staring at the table. “I would never.”

His finger twitches. “Why the hell don’t you want to promise anything?”

Newt sighs and turns, rolling his eyes when he thinks you can’t see, but tries to keep his tone light. “It doesn’t matter, love. Don’t you have to get to the bakery?”

You suck in a long, slow breath. “Tell me the truth.”

He’s silent for so long, you almost ask again. When he does speak, though, you know why he was so hesitant. “I’m tired of your whining.” The words are quiet but harsh.

The long breath leaves in an instant. “My whining?”

Newt braces himself against the window’s wooden sill with two hands. “You have a tendency to complain more than is necessary.”

Your cheeks flush. “I’m so sorry I want to know if you even care anymore. I’ll try to keep my worries to myself from now on.”

He scowls, eyes flashing in anger. “You asked me to be honest.”

“I didn’t realize that my boyfriend would have an issue with me asking for him to spend a second of his time with me.”

“I am right now.” His voice hardens as he turns toward the tube. “Looks how that’s turning out.”

He stares at the vial like it holds the rest of his manuscript, completely ignoring the crack in your voice. “I’m sorry to waste your time. I’ll just see my own way out.”

“Please do.”

You want to both scream and cry and the result is your crimson face and puffy cheeks. You spin on your feet and march out, muttering curses at him beneath your breath.

You miss Newt. You miss joking with him, miss cooking burned suppers with him, miss late nights stargazing and sipping butterbeer until the sun comes up. This Newt, though, you wish would just go away.

Slipping on your jacket, you grab your purse and head into the kitchen, hoping Queenie will be ready to head to the bakery. The kitchen is empty, so you shout for Queenie twice. You’re about to head out the front door to see if she’s outside already when you notice the note stuck to it.

Something came up. I won’t be able to make it to the bakery with you. So sorry. Could we go tomorrow? Xo Q.

You step into the hallway alone. Your feet thud along the ground, one heavy bang at a time as your fury melts out, replaced by nothing more than a heavy despair. Newt doesn’t want you around. Queenie made other plans without consulting you. You’re little more than a shadow on the wall.

You continue down the staircase, growing tired and slower with every step. There’s no reason to hurry. No one’s waiting on you anyway.

The steps seem endless when you’re not pounding down them in a race against Newt or gossiping with Tina about the residents on each floor that you pass. By the time you reach the landing, the familiar feeling of hopelessness has wormed its way into your heart and made its bed.

As you trudge to the bakery, you wonder if it even matters if you return to the apartment.

Newt casts a charm on the final candle, sending it floating into the air around the blanket. He sets two plates on it, flicking a pebble off the nearby pillow he’s going to sit on later tonight. The basket of biscuits floats over, settling on the checkered setting. He looks over everything else one more time. The sun is already halfway finished with its descent when he stands. He chose this spot on the flat stone outcropping because of its view of the midnight sky. You’d loved stargazing with him on your first date, pointing out random shapes and making up stories for whatever you saw. It was all you had talked about for the next month.

Newt rubs his neck as he leaves the spot to go find you. He hadn’t meant to say what he said. Sure, maybe you could be persistent, but it isn’t your fault the two of you hadn’t had a date in so long.

He’d felt terrible the moment he’d calmed down, but when he had climbed out of the case and searched for you, you’d already left for the bakery with Queenie.

The next hour of his research had been worthless; he’d spent the entire time wondering how to properly apologize for what he’d said.

Now, though, the picnic is ready and you’ll be back from the bakery.

Crawling out of the case, he notices your jacket isn’t strewn across the bed. Odd, but he continues forward. Queenie sings in the kitchen, swaying along to the jumping record playing in the corner.

“Queenie?”

“Hey, honey, I was wondering about you. Will you join us for dinner tonight or are you gonna be too busy in that case?”

Red tinges his cheeks. So everyone feels the same. “I’m afraid I’ll be in the case again. How was the trip to the bakery?”

“Oh, apologize for that, would you? I feel horrible for having to cancel.”

Newt’s face screws up in confusion. “Wait, you two didn’t go together?”

“No. I had a work situation.”

“So you’re alone? You don’t know where she is? She’s not with you?” Newt’s innate protective side pesters him.

Queenie giggles. “Why would she be? I thought she was with her ‘handsome, clumsy boyfriend.’”

Newt ignores Queenie’s use of your thoughts and asks when she last saw you.

“This morning at breakfast. When you would barely look at the poor girl.”

Newt’s guilt digs deeper. “Do you know where she is?”

Queenie stops dancing as she sets a pot of food down. “Probably with Tina.”

“Who’s with me?” Tina calls from her room, appearing in the doorway.

Newt tries to calm his heart before it begins pounding.

Queenie steps to Newt’s side. “She’s probably just running late at the bakery.”

“Impossible. It’s getting dark out. It’ll be dangerous for her to walk alone.”

Tina interrupts. “She’s probably in the case. You just didn’t notice her.”

Newt nods. Of course. He could’ve just passed you when you were standing behind some trees or feeding a large creature. “I’ll check again.” He’s back in his room and in the case in a minute.

He walks through the fields, calling your name from habitat to habitat, but the further he gets without a response, the faster he moves, until he’s jogging, running, sprinting back toward the apartment. He smacks his head trying to hurry out.

He rolls across the bedroom floor, yanking the door open and dashing to Tina and Queenie.

They take in his red face, terrified eyes, and hands on his knees as he pants. “She wasn’t down there. Anywhere.”

Tina can’t hide her nerves when she peeks through a curtain and spies the black sky. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.” Newt spits out. “We need to find her.” He stands and strides toward the door.

Tina reaches a hand out and grabs his arm. “Newt, wait. We don’t even know where to start.” “We’ll figure it out.”

“If she’s really in danger, we need a plan.”

Newt is quiet. “I have one: Find her and save her.”

“One more developed than that.”

“I’m sorry, but we don’t have time to wait around thinking.”

“Stop and think!”

“She could be hurt!”

“Wow,” you interrupt meekly from the now open front door, “you were really going to give up some of your precious time to try to find me?”

Newt’s shoulders sag when he sees you. “Where were you?”

“Out.”

“Look at what time it is. You could have been hurt.”

You walk in and shrug the grocery bag off your shoulder. “Why would you care?”

“I care about you.”

“Yeah?” You walk past him, sliding your jacket off your arms. “What a great line to pull out anytime it seems like I might leave you.”

“Don’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Please let me explain.”

“Let you?” You hang your jacket on a hook and turn, eyebrows raised. “I should do something for you? Why, exactly, should I when you can’t even give me five minutes of your time to talk?”

Newt winces at the blow. “I know I haven’t been paying you enough attention lately. I’m sorry.”

“Lovely. It comes at the perfect time.” You run a hand through your hair. “Whatever, Newt. I don’t want to fight right now.”

He follows you into the bedroom. “Where were you?”

“I was leaving.” You pull open the case, voice flat.

Newt’s shoulders curl in. “To where?”

“Wherever the wind blows me.”

Newt climbs into the case after you. “Why did you come back?”

“I didn’t feel the wind, and I don’t know where I’d go on my own.”

“For what it’s worth, I’m glad the wind stayed still.” He tries to smile at you.

You don’t reply.

Eyes flickering between you and the ground, he breaks the silence. “Are you going to leave again tomorrow?”

“I don’t know, Newt. It’s not like it really matters to anyone.”

He blinks. “What?”

You can barely meet his eyes when you face him. “How long did it take for anyone to realize I was even missing? Four hours? Five? It wouldn’t matter to any of you if I just vanished one day.”

He stops you by grabbing your hand. “You matter to me. So much more than you understand.”

You swallow at the pain in his eyes, but you’re too exhausted to fight tonight. “You can’t just act like this after a month and a half of pretending I don’t exist.”

“I know I don’t deserve forgiveness, but will you give me time to make it up to you as best I can?” His sincere pleads almost convince you. Almost.

You draw your hand from his grip. “I need space for now.”

His voice shakes and grows quiet. “Please don’t leave me.”

The little flame of anger in your chest burns your next words. “I won’t make any promises.”

He flinches at the words. “I’m sorry.”

He leaves, shoulder drooping low, when you turn your back on him without so much as a nod.

You look over your shoulder to be sure he’s gone before you slouch to the ground and close your eyes, letting the grief take over. You sink into the ocean of it, letting the waves drown you until you’re not sure if you’re awake or dreaming. You lose track of time as the ocean consumes you. Hours may have passed by the time the wind tickles your face and slowly blows the ocean of grief from your chest.

You prop yourself onto your elbows, peering around. Hours have definitely passed. A pink sky has replaced the midnight black. A pack of diricrawls waddle nearby, pecking at seeds. You rub your eyes and push yourself to your feet. The air is surprisingly cool and you just want to curl up in your bed.

You reach the shed and are about to leave when a beaten journal catches your eye. Newt’s collection of notes for the book. He treats it like a child treats his favorite teddy bear. He’s never even let you flip open a page before.

You lift it and examine the outside. Streaks of dirt cover it, results of carrying it everywhere. The corners are rounded from wear, and ink splotches are dotted around it like a design.

You open the cover, expecting the table of contents, Newt’s way of knowing what page he’d need to flip to. Instead, it appears to be the dedication page.

To my love,

You freeze, reading and rereading the final sentence five, ten, twenty times before you accept it. Your name is right next to Scamander. Written in the same messy scrawl. As though he hadn’t picked up the quill, as though he had meant to put the names so close together.

As though … as though he means to marry you.

[florencetheflowerfairy]

TSOL Chapter 30 Liveblog

For @lightchildofthespring

The Song of Love by Koukacs / Lightchildofthespring is a longfic retelling of Digimon Adventure where Taichi and Yamato never became Chosen Children, so the focus is more on the other children. It’s epic and dramatic and the ladies are awesome.

Supposedly SHOCKING THINGS are supposed to happen in this chapter, so I have decided to liveblog it!

Please, DO NOT READ THIS LIVEBLOG unless you have read “The Song of Love”! There will be massive spoilers!!

Anyway that’s me (I’m both of them), SUPER READY to tackle this chapter!

How much suffering will you get away with, Koukacs?? I’LL FIND OUT!

Thoughts before I begin:

Supposedly this chapter is darker than “For Friendship, Perhaps,” where there was a GRISLY MURDER.

I REALLY DON’T KNOW HOW YOU CAN GET DARKER THAN THAT BUT OKAY.

BASICALLY I AM EXPECTING KOUSHIRO TO DIE.

Though of course he will get better. 

Though I also have a wild theory that you will parallel Otae and Koushiro by having them both watch their brothers get killed.

WHAT IS THE REVEAL? Something to do with how Fate was created? Are we going to see that? Was Makoto involved?

Is Koushiro going to get a fabulous hairdo ala “Steven and the Stevens”?

So many important questions. OKAY LET’S DIG IN.

1. “The end of all things”

WHAT A TITLE. I MEAN, WHAT CAN I EVEN SAY ABOUT THAT.

2. “I did nothing wrong, Hikari-san.”

Fate, is that you?? My favorite villain?? Also LOL, “nothing wrong,” you TWAT.

3. YES IT IS FATE. MUAHAHAHA.

4. “You’re not really that logical. There’s a lot of pain in you. And anger.”

Hikari is so perceptive and brave!

5. FATE IS PUNISHING KOUSHIRO?? BECAUSE HE INFECTED FATE WITH GLITCHES OF BEING ABLE TO FEEL EMOTIONS??

AAAAAHHHH AW MAN.

6. OMG I love Hikari being so logical about how Koushiro is the brain and absolutely integral to the team, while Fate is being such an emotional mess about this.

This mysterious conversation is giving me lots of Utena vibes and Fate is like Dios.

7. Okay wait. The person Fate is talking to is NOT Hikari? That finally clicked in my brain. I assumed it was like a Dream Version of Hikari. Um.

8. The mysterious wise Hikari-like person just said that Love is Eternal, awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

9. “You’re just a simulation of her that I created!”

I am suddenly reminded of Sirelo’s Ex Machina fanfic. HIKARI THE ROBOT STRIKES AGAIN.

10. “In the end, you are a part of me, just like those other two!”

The other two?? Are the other two Koushiro and Makoto?

11. The story of the Shepherd Boy STRIKES AGAIN.

12. BACK TO YOSHIE YAY!

13. “Among my friends, I was the one who took the longest time to start understanding my partner.”

This made me emotional.

14. Yoshie isn’t shocked at all by Motimon’s assessment of Koushiro’s personality, and she even talked to Masami about it! It’s amazing how similar she and her son are!

15. Aaaahhhh, Yoshie and Koushiro love each other but are terrible at communicating. SO YOSHIE NEEDS TO PLAY HER VIOLIN FOR HIM! THAT’S BEAUTIFUL! I hope to see that happen!

16. OH HI MASAMI. And Koushiro is unconscious, oh dear. STILL ALIVE, THOUGH. THAT’S A PLUS.

17. Back to Koushiro’s vision which Fate has apparently been planning for ages. Makoto’s face is so similar to Yoshie’s!

DON’T TOUCH ME.

18. Haha!! I like how Koushiro is already trying to outsmart Fate! :D

PLAY IT COOL, KOUSHIRO. YOU CAN WIN THIS THING. BE COOL AND CONFIDENT AS WHOEVER THIS LADY IS.

19. DON’T FALL FOR THE TRAP, KOUSHIRO. SOMEBODY IS GOING TO DIE IN THIS CHAPTER AND I DON’T WANT IT TO BE YOU.

20. Fate would use TENTOMON against Koushiro. EVIL EVIL EVIL.

21. “I can hear Koushiro’s heartbeat” and this is shocking?? ARE THEY ALL DEAD AND IN HEAVEN EXCEPT FOR KOUSHIRO? IS THAT’S WHAT GOING ON? Oh wait it’s literally Hell isn’t it.

22. Aaaaaand now Makoto and Tentomon are acting as though they can “still save Koushiro from Fate.”

23. YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO BE VERY CONVINCING IN ORDER TO GET ME TO TRUST YOU.

24. “Calm down, please. We’ll tell you everything you need to know. It’ll be hard to believe...”

“I’m very open-minded.” The other boy spoke in a defiant tone.

THAT’S MY BOY. THAT’S MYYY BOOOYYYY. THAT’S SOME QUINTESSENTIAL KOUSHIRO RIGHT THERE RIGHT THERE. THAT MIGHT BE THE MOST KOUSHIRO-ESQUE THING YOU HAVE EVER WRITTEN.

I LOVE KOUSHIRO.

“I’M VERY OPEN-MINDED AND ALSO HOW DARE YOU ACT LIKE I’M NOT.”

25. Makoto and Tentomon are the other two computer simulations!! :O

ROBOTS GALORE. IT’S A ROBOT CHAPTER. YAY!

26. “Who were the others? Am I not the first one whose mind Fate abducted? Did those other people... Did Fate kill them all?”

Steven and the Crystal Gems

Come on now don’t be shy

I learned to stay true to myself 

by watching myself die!

I mean I knew this was coming so I’m not surprised but STILL.

27. Aaahhh, so many Koushiros, tortured to death. Koukacs...

28. I’m willing to believe that these Sophisticated Imaginary Friends are good people and that they can help Koushiro. I need to believe that!!

29. I’m very curious why Koushiro is older in this place?? 

30. FAKE-HIKARI IS HERE. SHE’S GOT BLACK BOOTS AND A BADASS PINK COAT. WILL SHE BE FRIEND OR FOE?

31. I’m like barely halfway through this chapter. XD

32. Aaaaahhhh, Koushiro is so afraid that Fate is putting his mother through the same anguish that it did to him. :’’(

33. THE SHEPHERD BOY STRIKES BACK.

34. It’s Real-Hikari! (?)

I CAN TRUST HER, RIGHT?

35. MAYBE SHE’S NOT REAL-HIKARI EITHER GAAAH.

36. MASAMI, SAVE YOUR SON.

37. I have decided that I don’t trust this Hikari after all.

38. “The third question is ‘How many seconds of time are there in Eternity?’”

And Lo, Florencetheflowerfairy answered: Count the number of letters in The Song of Love. Then start from the beginning and count them again. And once you have finally understood all the mysteries in this fanfiction, exactly one second of Eternity will have passed.

39. Anyway, it seems like the reason Koushiro is in this unusual circumstance is because he and his mother have “synchronized.” Not unlike what happened to Koushiro and Sora when Sora was trapped in her own personal hell! The word “synchronized” also makes me think of two hearts singing together, like a song of love. :)

Koushiro and Sora!!! Their friendship!! <3 <3 <3

40. Okay I am TRYING to trust this Fake-Hikari. She seems like a good Sophisticated Imaginary Friend.

41. Aaahhh, Koushiro is being very smart to ask them for information to ask on how to kill Fate! I wonder if that will happen??? (Certainly these computer simulations inside of Fate don’t seem to be as evil...)

42. “I want to know how Fate was created” and then apparently this knowledge is VERY BAD AND WILL HURT. Oh nooooooo. BUT KOUSHIRO IS TOO CURIOUS. HE MUST KNOW.

43. “You really hate the Spirit...” WOW, YOU THINK?

Makoto is sad about this.

I don’t know how this is possible, but is the Spirit somehow made from Koushiro or Makoto’s spirit...?

44. “You’ll be bringing yourself your own end!” Tentomon says. Aaaahh, that old prophecy, finally finally going to happen.

BUT HE’S GOING TO GET BETTER. IT’S OKAY.

45. Aww, I’m glad that Koushiro remembers that his friends and family love him! :’)

46. That’s very clever of the Sophisticated Imaginary Friends to say that they can tell him everything that happened leading up the the creation!

47. And now, they are telling the story of the drabble you posted on your tumblr, when Makoto told the Fairytale to Koushiro... 

48. It really sounds like Koushiro and Fate are the same and I don’t know how that’s possible.

49. Oh no, Masami and Yoshie died in this universe. :’’’(

(I’m fine, don’t worry about me. They’re fictional.) (BUT THAT’S SO SAD, REALLY.)

50. “HE”? IS KOUSHIRO FATE? DID HE DIE TO CREATE FATE? TO CREATE UNIVERSES WHERE HIS PARENTS WEREN’T KILLED?

51. “Where have you been?” And Koushiro thinks that the voice sounds familiar? Who else could it be but Koushiro? Or, Makoto?? Somehow??? I DON’T KNOW???

52. Fake-Hikari is deleted, aww. :( 

53. Aaaaand Fake-Tentomon is also deleted! Makoto will probably be deleted soon, like I thought at the beginning...

54. Aww, Makoto loved him!! <3 :’)

55. Aaahh, Koushiro promises to tell his parents about him!

56. Makoto dies before Koushiro’s eyes. Just like what happened to Otae! Poor Koushiro!!

57. And now we see the chair from Wizarmon’s vision!

58. “Don’t let that thing scare you! Be brave!” BE BRAVE, MY SON!!

59. “I know you too well.” THIS THING HAS TO BE KOUSHIRO. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY.

60. “But I know I would never do something like that!” I sense a big dose of IRONY is going to smack you in the face, Koushiro.

61. It’s Koushiro. The chapter ends with the image of Season 1 aged Koushiro and Season 2 aged Koushiro looking at each other.

62. WELP

63. OH GEEZ

64. HOW CAN HE EVER GET OUT OF THIS MESS?

65. GOOD LUCK I LOVE YOU AND YOU’RE GOING TO BE OKAY AND YOU’RE GOING TO HUG YOUR MOM SOON.