#the best explanation i've been able to come up with is he picked his name himself

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

full metal alchemist isn't even full metal. he's like, 30% metal at best. shameful

[yxngbxkkie]

secrets (b.c)

the seventh installment of my skz street racing series! i'm in complete awe that it's coming to a close. a part of me didn't think i would've been able to finish it! anyway, i do hope you guys enjoy this 🩷

feedback is greatly appreciated 🥰

You tap your fingers against the kitchen table as you wait for your best friend to arrive. The food you ordered is beginning to get cold, a frown etching onto your lips. You release a sigh and reach for your phone, checking for any messages from Chan.

“This is getting ridiculous,” you mumble to yourself after seeing no texts from him. You press your lips together before deciding to put the food away.

For the past three weeks, you've been desperately trying to hang out with Chan. And every time you plan something, it never works out.

After putting the food you bought for Chan away, you grab your tray of sushi before heading into the living room. You get comfortable on the couch and slip your phone out of your pocket.

You pull up Felix's contact and press the call button. You put it on speaker phone, listening to the ringing while stuffing a piece of sushi into your mouth.

“Hey, Y/N,” Felix greets you, hearing the cheeriness in his voice.

“Hi, Lixie,” you chuckle while setting your food down. “Can I ask you something?”

You can hear him shuffling around on the other end, waiting for him to answer. “Yeah, of course. What's up?” Felix asks as the background noise on his end stops.

“Do you happen to know what's been going on with Chan?” You question, casting your gaze to the floor. Before Felix is able to answer, you continue your rant. “I've been trying to hang out with him for three weeks, and he hasn't shown up to a single one. I'm just… worried that I've done something to upset him.”

Felix sighs, and you can feel your heart pound against your chest. “It's not my place to say,” he ends up telling you.

Your chest clenches at his answer, and you swallow the lump in your throat. “Okay,” you whisper, clearing your throat.

“Just know that it's nothing to do with you, okay? Channie adores you,” Felix reassures you.

Tears pool in your eyes as you try to believe what he's telling you. “Thanks anyway, Felix. I'll talk to you later,” you mention before bidding him goodbye.

You set your phone down and grab your sushi again, eating in silence. A couple of tears slip down your cheeks while you're eating. You furiously wipe them away and glance towards your phone.

You finish your tray of sushi, humming in delight before setting the empty dish onto the coffee table. You pick up your phone again and try to call Chan.

The phone rings and rings. Your breath hitches in your throat when he answers. “Y/N, hey, I'm a little busy --”

“You've been busy for a month, Chan,” you cut him off, your lip trembling. You sniffle, and you wipe the tip of your nose. “I-If you don't want to be friends anymore. I would prefer it if you told me.”

“Woah, woah, baby,” Chan’s pet name he calls you comes through the receiver, making your heart jump. “I don't not want to be friends anymore. I'm sorry I haven't really been around.”

“I just want an explanation, Channie,” you whisper into the phone, tucking some hair behind your ear.

Chan sighs as you wait for him to say something. “I'll explain everything soon, okay? I promise,” he tells you, causing you to scoff.

You shake your head, standing up from your spot. “You know what? Forget it,” you tell him before hanging up. You toss your phone onto the couch, gently biting the inside of your lip.

After taking a minute to calm yourself down, you grab your trash from the coffee table and bring it into the kitchen. You clean up your mess, and you try to distract yourself from what just happened.

~

It's been two weeks since the incident with Chan, and you've made no attempt to reach out to him. If he's not going to put any effort into your friendship, then you're not going to either.

Hyunjin walks you back to your apartment, balancing the various shopping bags in your hands. “Thanks for coming with me today,” you smile at him, appreciating the company.

He takes the bags from you, noticing your struggle to grab your apartment keys. You thank him and rummage through your purse, grabbing your keys.

“It's not a problem, Y/N. We haven't hung out in a while,” Hyunjin mentions while shrugging his shoulders.

His words remind you of your situation with Chan, making the smile slip from your lips. “At least you've made the effort,” you say bitterly, unlocking your door.

You take your bags from Hyunjin and walk into your apartment. He follows closely behind you, shutting the door behind him. “I know you don't want to hear this, but Chan's got a reason for all of this,” he defends his friend, plopping himself on your couch.

“What reason could he provide?” You ask him, slapping your hands against your thighs. “He's had over a month to explain, and he hasn't. Clearly, I'm not that important to him.”

Hyunjin sighs and holds a hand out to you. You take his hand in yours, and he squeezes it gently before making you sit beside him. “It's not my place to tell, but I want you to promise me to hear him out when he decides to explain, okay?” He shakes your hand in his, his thumb stroking the back of your palm. “Promise me.”

You stare into his eyes for about a minute, internally debating on whether it'd be worth it or not. A sigh leaves your lips, and you nod your head yes. “I promise,” you whisper, giving Hyunjin a small smile.

A knock on your door makes both of you turn your heads. Your eyebrows furrow as you're not expecting anyone to drop by. You and Hyunjin stand up before walking towards your apartment door.

“I should get going. I'll see you later, alright?” He pats your shoulder while opening the door.

Chan stands on the other side with a bouquet in his hands. His eyes widen, and he takes a step back as Hyunjin leaves. His younger member pats him as well before leaving the two of you alone.

“Hi,” he greets you with a soft smile, holding out the roses. “I, uhm, I got you these.”

Your cheeks blush, grabbing the bouquet from his hands. “T-Thank you,” you clear your throat. Silence fills the space between you as you keep your gaze on the flowers.

“I'm sorry,” Chan pipes up, making you lift your head. He scratches the back of his neck, and you notice the nervousness in his eyes. “I should've told you what's been going on.”

“Chan,” you sigh, combing your fingers through your hair. “I don't want to talk about this. I know we're best friends, and you have every right to keep secrets from me-”

The brunette pushes his way into your apartment, shutting the door behind him before resting his hands on your arms. “Y/N, please listen to me,” he begs, squeezing your biceps. “I know I've been a shitty friend, but I promise that what I've been doing has a point.”

You bite your lip, peeling some of the dry skin off of it, and nod for him to continue. You lead Chan into your kitchen, setting the roses he bought into a vase.

“I've been working extra to build up some money,” Chan starts while leaning against the counter. You furrow your brows in confusion, and he grabs a hold of your hand quickly. “Not from the job I have now, but something else.”

“Is it illegal?” You whisper, your anger towards him turning into worry.

His eyes drop to your conjoined hands, feeling him squeeze it. “It's not drugs or anything,” he clears up, which makes you feel a little better. “But, it's still illegal.”

“Can you stop being so cryptic?” You ask him, taking a step towards him. “You're making me worried.”

Chan laughs and nods his head. “Why don't I show you? I promise you that it's not totally bad,” he offers, tugging you towards your door.

“Fine,” you cave in, allowing the man to drag you out of your apartment.

~

Your eyes widen when Chan pulls into a filled parking lot. Many sports cars are on display as groups of people are huddled around each one. “Well, this explains why he has a sports car,” You think to yourself.

“This is what you've been doing?” You ask him as he parks in a spot. “Street racing?”

Chan nods his head while turning the vehicle off. He keeps his neon lights on before turning to look at you. “Yeah. This is where I've been. Uhm, I've been competing in these races, and I'm pretty good,” he chuckles nervously. “If you win, they give you a cash prize of three hundred thousand.”

“Holy shit,” you mumble loud enough for him to hear.

“I wanted to get enough to take you on a trip,” he confesses to you and his cheeks blush, glad that it's dark outside.

Your breath hitches in your throat, staring into his dark eyes. “Really?” You whisper, your heart pounding against your chest.

Chan reaches for your hand, lacing your fingers together. “Yeah,” he mumbles while stroking the back of your hand. “I wanted to take you to Jeju Island and confess my feelings for you.”

A gasp leaves your lips, your free hand covering your mouth. “Channie,” you tear up, squeezing his hand. “Oh, God. I'm sorry. I-I shouldn't have acted the way I did.”

“It's okay. You reacted in a way that anyone else would've. Especially after I abandoned our hangouts. I should've told you sooner, but I really wanted to surprise you,” he mentions, pressing a kiss to your conjoined hands.

You reach your hand out, resting it on Chan's cheek. His gaze meets yours, and you see the admiration in his eyes. You smile softly before leaning in to kiss his lips. Your thumb strokes his cheekbone as he kisses you back, deepening it instantly.

“I love you,” he whispers against your lips after pulling back slightly. “I'm sorry.”

You shake your head, bringing your hand to his hair. “It's okay. It's behind us now,” you reassure him, resting your forehead on his. “I love you too, Channie.”

He smiles ear to ear, laying one more kiss on you before speaking again. “This is the last race I need to win. You wanna be my good luck charm?” He asks you, his smile turning into a smirk.

You blush at his words but nod your head nonetheless. “Of course I do. But, you don't need a good luck charm if you've already won the others,” you tease, biting your bottom lip.

“Well, maybe I'll need you for this one.”

Chan pulls his vehicle up to the starting line, revving his engine a couple of times. A part of you is extremely nervous since you've never experienced a street race before.

His hand finds a place on your thigh before he gently grips it. “It'll be okay. You'll be safe,” he mentions.

You nod your head as a woman moves in front of the line of seven vehicles. Your hand grips the bar above the passenger door so hard that your knuckles are turning white.

The woman raises the green flag and waits a couple of seconds before dropping it. Chan shifts the gear stick and floors it. A short scream leaves your lips as you squeeze your eyes shut.

You can hear him chuckle beside you as he races the others around him. “You can open your eyes,” he tells you before drifting around a corner.

“Nope!” You squeal as you hold onto the bar tighter.

Chan continues to laugh as he speeds down the semi-empty streets of Seoul. You peek one eye open, and you notice no one in front of you. You release a deep breath and look behind you to see two vehicles not far behind.

“We're really in first?” You ask him, looking over at him.

“Of course,” he smirks, winking at you.

You playfully roll your eyes at how cocky he sounds, lightly slapping his arm. It doesn't take long for Chan to cross the finish line, and he instantly slows down after.

In celebration, Chan does a couple of donuts, and it causes you to release a scream. He laughs and drives into the parking lot, parking the vehicle.

Both of you pile out of the car as people begin to congratulate him. You giggle while watching him bro hug other racers. You walk towards the driver's side of the vehicle, people moving back so you can get through.

Chan smiles at you before picking you up in his arms. Both of you chuckle as he spins you around. Your arms wrap around his neck, dipping down to passionately kiss him.

Cheers and hollers become louder around the two of you. You pull away after thirty seconds, grinning widely. “I'm proud of you,” you whisper to him.

“It's all for you.”

~

tagging: @strawboorybunny @reddesert-healourblues @spacegirlstuff @moon0fthenight @foxinnie8 @like-a-diamondinthesky @luckieleaf @stayconnecteed @tiaxa @yoonrimin @sunny-future @daysofskz-ateez @endzii23 @sweetbutpsychovalkyrie @bunnies-only @sleepyleeji @hhwangsmoon @emily505 @backintomykpopphaseagain

[jebewonmorelike]

Your Wish Is Granted

(part one) (part two) wc: 2.6k warnings: light swearing, a bit of angst, fluffy ending pronouns: none used; n/a (reader is a trainee on boys planet, but it's just a story-- you can pretend any gender is allowed to compete, it doesn't affect the story!) summary: it's been radio silence from park hanbin ever since his favoritetrainee!reader left after the second elimination. did hanbin forget about them? is he interested in someone new? and will this potential couple be able to reconcile at the finale? 👀 ~bp masterlist~ ♡ ~kofi (no pressure at all)~ i KNOW y'all didn't see this coming but... my pal bp-zb1fics kind of convinced me like a week ago lol everyone say thank you lexxxx. i LOVE how this turned out. this is a text AND written fic and i think it's super fun this way. i hope you enjoy this final installment of phanbin x favoritetrainee!reader :)

╭──────────.★..─╮ april 7th ╰─..★.──────────╯

~

"BITCH WHAT!?" Woongki shouts into the phone immediately after you pick up. "What happened!?"

You sigh. "Nothing happened... I guess that's the problem."

"But you kissed him!" He exclaims. "And he said he wouldn't forget about you!"

A sad laugh escapes your lips. "I thought maybe you were all just super busy preparing for the Artist Battle, and I totally understand that. But the more you texted me over the last two weeks and the longer I went with radio silence from him..."

Woongki is uncharacteristically quiet on the other end of the phone.

"What?" You ask, a little seed of worry sprouting in you. "What's wrong?"

"But I saw him on his phone every night," he says softly. "I thought he was texting you."

Your heart sinks to your stomach. Was it true? Had Hanbin really moved on to someone new?

"I'm so sorry, babe," Woongki comforts. "I don't know for sure that he was texting someone else, but..."

"But what other explanation could there be?" You finish his thought for him.

"Ugh!" He groans in frustration. "How could Hanbin do that? I never could've imagined that he'd play with your feelings like that."

You're not quite sure what to say. A lump growing in your throat, you try to force out some nonchalant response but you just can't.

"Hey," Woongki coos, clearly just as upset as you are-- if not more. "Do you want me to go beat him up for you?"

The thought of Woongki and Hanbin in a fist fight is enough to make you reluctantly laugh. "Are you sure you'd win that fight?"

"Okay, rude," he responds, a pout audible in his tone. "Seriously though. Should I go talk to him? Ask him what his deal is?"

You have to admit it's a little tempting. The past two weeks were hard enough wondering when Hanbin was finally going to send you a message. But now, thinking that it could be because he isn't interested in you anymore-- and didn't even have the decency to let you know.

"I don't think it's a good idea," you decide finally. "I don't want him knowing I've wasted so much time and energy thinking about him when he didn't miss me at all."

"(Y/N)," Woongki sighs sadly. "You don't need to feel bad for any of this. He deserves to feel bad for this!"

"I knowww," you respond softly, trying to force a smile back on your face despite the situation. "I love you, Woongki boy. You're literally the best."

"Are you free tomorrow?" He asks excitedly. "We can get boba with Seowonnie and shit talk Hanbin!"

"Count me in."

~

╭──────────.★..─╮ april 13th ╰─..★.──────────╯

~

"(Y/N)!"

The sudden call of your name as you're walking down the busy street to your favorite coffee shop. You turn back around in the direction of the sound, your eyes landing on two familiar faces standing outside the salad shoppe.

"Yo, what the hell?" Kamden calls as you walk towards them slowly. "I thought you were busy this afternoon!"

Unsure of what to say as you approach Kamden and Matthew under the shoppe awning, you try not to let your uncertainty creep onto your face. "Oh hey guys!"

"Liar," Matthew mumbles, a little suspicious pout on his lips.

You roll your eyes, a laugh now escaping you. "You guys are so needy. I'm just grabbing coffee quickly before I get back to studying."

"Look at you, smartypants," Kamden teases, taking a sip of his iced tea.

"Why are you guys all the way out in this part of the city?" You ask curiously. "Had to be a bit of a bus ride."

"Hanbin wanted to come here actually," Matthew explains with a shrug. "He said he and Taerae had been talking about it."

You frown. "Oh."

Your eyes widen when Matthew's words finally register in your brain. The whole reason you'd said no to lunch with the boys in the first place was because Hanbin would be there.

"Um, where--... Where is Hanbin?" You ask, looking around nervously.

"I knew you'd want to get a glimpse of your boyfriend," Kamden says, smirking.

Matthew shakes his head uncertainly. "Taerae and Hanbin have been attached at the hip lately. Every time I see them, they're always whispering about something."

Your eyebrows raise as you consider this. Could the person Hanbin's been texting every night be... Kim Taerae?

"Really?" Kamden asks, frowning. "I haven't noticed."

"I mean, even right now," Matthew continues, pointing to the salad shop behind him. "They're both still in there after they told us to wait outside for a minute."

Your stomach flips a bit at this revelation. Taerae had always been so supportive of your little crush on Hanbin-- even when you weren't ready to admit it yet. Had he secretly been plotting against you this whole time?

"I'm sorry guys," you apologize quickly, starting to back away from Matthew and Kamden. "I really have to get going now. Text me next time you're going out-- I'll try to make it!"

"Good luck with your schoolwork!" Matthew calls, waving at you.

Kamden smiles, but you can see the slight suspicion in his eyes. "See you soon, (Y/N)!"

You walk back in the direction of your apartment, giving up on your coffee for today.

~

╭──────────.★..─╮ april 19th ╰─..★.──────────╯

~

"Who are you texting?" Woongki asks, lying upside down on your couch-- his hair gently scraping the carpet as his face grows a bit redder every minute.

You groan, "Taerae."

"NO!" Woongki screams, haphazardly maneuvering himself until he's sitting upright. "Oh my god, what did he say?"

"He asked if I was coming tomorrow," you answer, rolling your eyes. "Obviously I'm coming tomorrow. I have to. Everybody has to."

"Yeah, right? I wonder why he'd ask you that," he muses, pushing his lips into a pout. "Maybe he wants to confront you publicly!"

You think about quiet Taerae for a moment. His big, dorky glasses, his broad, dimpled smile... his incredibly endearing loser energy. You couldn't imagine that Taerae was planning to humiliate you in front of all of your friends. On the other hand, you couldn't have imagined before a week ago that Taerae would potentially steal your crush from you.

"I doubt it," you respond.

"Hmm," Woongki hums. "I guess he could be asking for Hanbin? Being his little spy."

"Maybe," you agree, picking up your phone again and scrolling to Hanbin's contact. "You don't think this is my fault right?"

"Your fault!?" Woongki exclaims, outstretching his arms to you. You take both his hands in yours as you sit on the floor in front of him. "How would it be your fault!?"

"Maybe he doesn't want to date a loser," you say, sulking dramatically.

"Well who would?" Woongki asks, grinning. "Good thing you're not one."

"What would I do without you?" You ask rhetorically, resting your chin on his leg.

"Die," he says matter-of-factly. "You'd die."

"I'd also have no one to paint my nails for the finale."

"Exactly as I said," he responds with a grin, sifting through the container of your nail polishes before pulling out a steel blue color. "You'd die."

~

╭──────────.★..─╮ april 20th ╰─..★.──────────╯

~

You're surprised your bottom lip hasn't started bleeding yet considering how much you've been chewing at it. Your blazer constricting you slightly, you roll your shoulders back hoping to stretch the fabric slightly and relieve the binding tension.

Hwang Minhyun is about to finally announce P09 after an absolutely nail-biting four hours. Poor little Yujin has to go home in literal minutes, so Minhyun has started rushing like crazy.

You watch as Hanbin presses his lips together, wringing his hands as he waits nervously-- Minhyun speeding up the reading of the result greatly as compared to P08-P01.

"The trainee in Ninth Place and therefore taking the final spot in ZeroBaseOne..." Minhyun pauses, because he just can't help himself. "Is..."

"Han Yujin!"

You jump to your feet as all of your fellow trainees do, showing your support for the young boy. But your eyes are still fixed on Hanbin. He's smiling, nodding as he accepts his fate. You think that maybe he knew the chances were slim...

But, as you know all too well, preparation doesn't make it hurt any less.

Seowon rests his head on your shoulder from behind you. "Are we happy? Are we sad?"

You sigh. "Both."

The finale ends and all of the trainees start making their rounds; congratulating your friends or consoling them. You give Kamden a huge hug, joking that now you both can debut together.

The celebration moves backstage as the arena begins to empty. You're jumping up and down with Matthew when you feel a buzz in your pocket.

~

~

You look up at Matthew, sighing as you smile apologetically. "I've been summoned."

"Go talk to your boyfriend!" Matthew encourages, pushing you off down the hall. "I'm sure he's eager to see you."

"Right," you mumble, making your way to the door labeled 'East Wing'. "Boyfriend."

You pull the door open, surprised when the hallway is completely empty. You walk forward cautiously, wondering if Hanbin is actually playing some mean prank on you.

"Boo."

You jump, your hand clutching your heart as you try to catch your breath. You turn around to find Hanbin grinning at you.

"Am I really that scary?" He teases. You look down to see a little purple gift bag in his hands.

But the adrenaline is pumping through you now as a result of his little entrance. Not stopping to think it through, you find yourself suddenly laying into him:

"Are you kidding me!? You don't text me for a whole month and you think you can just walk up behind me, give me a heart attack, and then act like nothing's happened?"

Hanbin's head tilts to the side confusedly. "What do you--?"

"I get it-- believe me!" You cut him off. "You don't like me anymore. You like Taerae. That's fine."

"I like Taerae!?"

"I know! I just said I get it. You can like each other all you want. But you could've at least done me the courtesy of texting me and telling me. I was..."

You falter, a lump beginning to build in your throat. Hanbin's just blinking back at you, eyes wide in surprise. "I was really worried about you," you manage to say. "And I missed you. And to find out you didn't give a shit about me the whole time!? I can't believe you, Park Hanbin!"

Taking a breath, you look at Hanbin now. He's biting his lip, corners of his mouth turned up-- clearly trying to keep himself from smiling.

Your brow furrows confusedly. "Why--... Why are you--?"

"God I like you so much," he says, finally breaking out into a grin. "So, so much."

"What?" You ask, taken aback by his unexpected sentiment. "No you don't. You didn't text me for a month!"

"No," Hanbin responds, pressing his lips together. "You didn't text me for a month."

You blink back at him; unsure of what to say. "Wh--... What do you mean?"

"You never gave me your number."

Oh fuck.

"I put mine in your phone before the second elimination, but... you never gave me yours," he explains, visibly enjoying the look of horror and shame that is playing out on your face.

After a long moment, all you can manage to squeak out is: "Oh."

Hanbin's brow raises expectantly. "So is there any of your little spiel before this that you'd like to take back now?"

You nod pitifully. "Yes."

"Which part?"

"All of it," you mumble. "I'm so sorry."

"That's what I thought you'd say," he says with a smirk before his expression softens. "And I'll forgive you."

"Really?" You respond hopefully.

"Of course," Hanbin affirms with a nod. "But..."

"Oh no."

"I just think that if you got to tell me off," he says, giving you a mischievous smile. "Then I should get to tell you off, too."

Your bottom lip tucks between your teeth as you smile sheepishly. "I guess it's only fair, yeah."

Hanbin smiles at you fondly before a melodramatic dramatic anger suddenly shifts his expression. "HOW COULD YOU NOT HAVE TEXTED ME FOR A WHOLE MONTH!? I kept waiting for you to text me or call me or, god forbid Facetime me so I could see your adorable face! I was so worried about you. Not to mention, I missed you so much."

Your heart melts at his words; so ashamed you'd been so silly.

"AND THEN," Hanbin continues, his eyes narrowing. "To hear that you had the time to text Woongki and Kamden and Taerae but not me!? I thought you didn't like me anymore. I was devastated."

He pouts, his brow furrowing cutely as your heart pounds in your chest. You ask quietly, "Why didn't you just ask someone for my number?"

"BE. CAUSE," he sighs dramatically, emphasizing each syllable. "I didn't want to seem clingy or anything."

You throw your arms around Hanbin, unable to hold back any longer. Squeezing him tightly, you feel him reciprocate the embrace-- one arm snaked around your waist and the other holding your back comfortingly.

"So you're not dating Taerae?"

"Ew, no. I'm not dating Taerae," he says with a laugh, pulling back from the hug to see your face. "Taerae's just the one person I was confiding in about you. I didn't want any of the other trainees gossiping too much about you."

"Of course," you say sadly. You should've known Hanbin had actually just been trying to protect you.

Hanbin holds out the purple gift bag to you now with a smile. "Taerae actually told me that you'd mentioned you liked that salad shoppe we went to for lunch last week. I actually got you a gift card after we ate when Kamden said you couldn't come that day."

"You are the sweetest ever... and I'm an idiot," you say, shaking your head as you continue to grip onto each other for dear life. "But I have to go now."

"What?" He asks, brow furrowing confusedly. "What do you mean? Where are you going? I'm coming with you."

Lacing your fingers in his, you begin to pull him with you down the hallway and back towards the dressing room area.

"I owe the new main vocalist of ZeroBaseOne a little apology."

“Eh, I think he can wait,” Hanbin says suddenly, smirking as he stops walking. You try to keep pulling him forward, but he’s fixed to the floor like a stone statue. Curse those perfect dancer muscles.

“Hanbinnie,” you whine, stepping towards him with a pout.

“(Y/N),” he says softly, giving your arm a small tug until your faces are inches apart. He seems to admire you for a moment, studying every inch of your face until his lips are on yours.

You’re lost in the moment, arms wrapping around his neck to bring him closer to you. You don’t even consider where you are or who could see you and take a picture and ruin both of your careers. You’re too busy finally kissing Hanbin after a whole month of absolute insanity. And it's everything you'd wished for and more...

“Oh my god,” a voice calls behind you. “What do you think you’re doing!?”

Entirely caught off guard, you’re immediately set into panic mode. You detach every part of your body from Hanbin’s and jump at least two feet away from him.

“APOLOGIZING TO TAERAE!” You shout the first thing that pops into your head before turning around to see who is watching you.

Taerae frowns, brow furrowing nervously. “You… You’re apologizing to me by making out with Hanbin?”

You and Hanbin turn to look at each other, equally shocked by being caught. After a moment, you both turn back to Taerae and nod; simultaneously answering, “Yes.”

Taerae stares at you for a second before finally shrugging:

“Apology accepted.”

[9leaguesofmirrors]

His Soul's Best Mate (a Dave Parkes and Phil Proctor friendship fic)

I've recently become obsessed with the friendship dynamic between Phil and Dave (the other members of Legz Akimbo) and decided to write this: a fic about platonic soulmates

Two boys sat in a waiting room among several other hopefuls, waiting for a chance to audition for an up-and-coming theatre company called Legz Akimbo

One has his head buried in his audition book, murmuring his lines under his breath and making notes as he went along. If this went well, it could mean breaking through into a tough industry he'd been training for all his life

The other's scrolling through his phone. He doesn't quite know if this is what he wants, but that doesn't mean he isn't up for giving it a good go. Growing bored of Letterboxd, he puts his phone away and glances over at the man next to him. He sees the monologue

"I almost picked that one."

This caused the other man to lift his head in surprise, which quickly changed into a warm smile

"It's one of my favourite plays, you've heard of it?"

"Only thanks to a lot of researching!" Laughed the stranger "I'm not exactly an encyclopedia of theatre knowledge."

"What did you end up choosing?"

"Found a play called One Man, Two Guvnors. Figured I'd give it a shot."

"You're a fan of comedy! I had a feeling."

"Wow, it's that obvious?"

That made them both laugh. In a potentially volatile industry like the theatre, it was nice to meet someone that felt like a human being

"I'm Dave by the way." He extended his hand, a big grin on his face "Dave Parkes."

"Phil Proctor." He shook it

"No way, Proctor?" Dave chuckled in disbelief "Like in The Cruci-"

"Yes," Phil sighed with a smile "just like The Crucible. I guess my destiny was laid out in front of me since birth."

"Better hope you're good then!"

That's when Phil knew he'd found a very good friend

*********************************************

Rehearsals were interesting. And by interesting, Dave meant "his personal hell". Seriously, their new director was more unstable than a dingy boat on a stormy sea! He thought that, overtime, he'd get better. He was yet to be proven right

One evening, Dave was on a video call with Phil for their weekly line-learning session. They figured they'd start early, plus Dave appreciated being able to talk to his friend without Ollie breathing, or rather screaming, down his neck

"Have you worked with Ollie before?" He asked during their post-run through break

"Nah, first time. You?"

"Same here, was just wondering how you were finding it. I mean, Ollie seems to like you-"

"Like me?" Phil laughed a little at that "Funniest thing I've heard all week!"

"But he always brings up that audition you're going to, the one for that radio show?"

"Only because he's pissy about me missing rehearsals!" Phil muttered "Sarcastic git..."

Once Dave heard that, it all started to click. It would explain why Ollie spent so much time talking about it, yet never showed any real interest aside from that

"Right. Sorry, sarcasm gets lost on me." Dave shrugged "Joys of autism, I guess."

As soon as he saw the look of surprise on Phil's face, Dave couldn't help but laugh - he'd forgotten that was part of him he didn't know yet

"I was diagnosed pretty recently, plus I'm really good at hiding. Trying to get better at not doing that."

"Why didn't you say anything? I mean, you don't owe anyone an explanation, but surely you could get additional support-"

"From Ollie? Not a chance! We both know what he'd do:" Dave took his pink-tinted sunglasses from his desk and put them on, imitating Ollie's voice and mannerisms "My name is Ollie Plimsolls, and welcome to my new play entitled Autism Speaks. I have no idea that this is also the name of a crapsack company because I do absolutely no research. Please sit through this agonising performance while these two actors beside me slowly feel their souls decay!"

Phil could hardly breathe from laughing, and Dave was no better as he took his glasses off again. There was something about having someone that shared their irritancy with their director that felt like Spring air

"He really is something, isn't he?"

"I think the word they use is 'crackpot'." Phil said "I'd quit, but I need the experience. Plus, I like doing stuff with you."

"Boo, that's soppy!"

"Dave, don't be a dick!" Phil teased lightly "Speaking of dick, I don't think Ollie will like it if we still don't know our lines by next week, so we should probably go for another run-through."

Dave started to move his hands like Ollie again

"You don't have the whole script memorized after 2 weeks?! What kind of actor are you?!"

"Don't Dave, I'll start laughing again!"

They only made it through a page of the second run-through because Dave kept doing the "Ollie Voice" and Phil couldn't concentrate

*********************************************

4:00...

They'd been there for half an hour...

And Ollie was still ranting

Phil had stopped listening about 10 minutes in... actually, that was a bit generous. He'd probably clocked out by the 5 minute mark. It was Dave's fault, really, for improvising onstage. That was the reason he started laughing. It never happened, Phil was always great at staying in character, people saw it as a challenge, to make him corpse onstage

So far, only Dave had succeeded. And he had a consistent success streak

Of course, Phil wasn't completely innocent. After Dave started it, he had to get him back somehow - besides, they always ended up laughing when they faced each other head-on

They enjoyed it

The kids loved it

Ollie clearly didn't see the funny side

"How hard is it not to laugh onstage? Neither of you are that funny, surely it should be a simple task!"

When Ollie's back was turned, Dave looked at Phil and mouthed you hungry? That earned a silent shhhh from Phil, who was not about to enrage their director anymore - he actually wanted to go home at some point today

"You two are impossible!" Continued the angry blond man, still not looking behind him "You've ruined my production, you've ruined my reputation-"

You ruined my dream journal! Dave mouthed, laughing as Phil tried desperately to hold back his own laughter

"It's like watching a 5 year old throw a fit." Phil murmured, quiet enough that only Dave heard it

"In those silly jumpers, he looks like one too."

"How far could you push him in a pram?"

This time, it was Dave's turn to clamp his hand over his own mouth, trying to avoid any sound coming out

"Odds on 6 meters?"

"No please, I insist!" Barked an irate Ollie "Your turn! Since you're so intent on interrupting everything I do, what is it? Spit it out!"

"Just agreeing with you, Ollie." Phil said quickly, fearing that laughing in his face was a very bad idea

That seemed to set Ollie off on yet another tirade and he started to pace again. For a while, both Dave and Phil were silent. Then Dave turned to face him

"Y'know what this reminds me of?"

"..."

"My neighbour used to have this chihuahua-"

Neither of them could hold it in, and the torrent of angry yapping from Ollie afterwards was completely worth it

*********************************************

"What do you mean 'not well'? You were perfectly fine yesterday!"

"It caught up to me, Ollie, I told you there was a bug going around. Dave went off with it, you'll probably get it next."

"So help me if either of you give me your disease-"

"We should be alright by tomorrow, we can pick things up then."

It took a little (more like a lot) of convincing, but eventually Ollie caved. As soon as he'd hung up, Phil turned to Dave with a confident smile

"That's him off our case for the rest of the day!"

"He really has no idea what day it is," Dave would've been lying if he said he wasn't a little downhearted by that, but it didn't matter much in the grand scheme of things "and he says he cares."

"He's all talk, no action. Or height."

They both laughed, some jokes never got old

"So," Phil took a neatly wrapped parcel from his bag and handed it to him "the celebrating begins!"

Dave took the package and opened it, and his eyes instantly widened. Never did he thing he would be holding a vintage polaroid camera in his hands

"How did you even find this?"

"You'd be surprised what you find in Camden market."

"You actually managed to fend of Tish to get me a gift?"

"Don't even mention her name," Phil groaned "I wanted to go on my own, but you know what she's like. You mention Camden Market and she follows you like a bloodhound."

"I think it's just you." Dave adopted her voice "I just love you gay guys!"

"Right, I'm taking back the camera." Phil teased as he reached for it, only to be swatted away by a laughing Dave

"Get Tish to go with you!"

Managing to avoid Phil's grasping, he pointed the camera in front of both of them and snapped a selfie

"Dave! Fuck's sake!"

"This is going on my fridge!"

"You better not!"

"It is!"

Once the laughter subsided, Dave looked at the developing photo. It was as if, somehow, he'd managed to capture the chaos and joy and everything he liked in their friendship.

Part of him wished more people remembered his birthday, he wouldn't even have minded Ollie giving him a visit!

"Thanks for this, mate. Means a lot."

"You OK, Davey?"

"Yeah, I just..." He looked at the photo, then back at Phil with a smile "I'm fine."

Phil knew that wasn't true, he gave a firm pat on the knee. A silent assurance that, all teasing aside, he was there for him

"I just feel..." David started to alternate between clenching and unclenching his fists and pressing the pads of his fingers to his thumbs, trying to find the words "... just feel a bit invisible sometimes."

"Invisible?"

"Yeah. I mean, Ollie's the main guy: writer, director, producer... all the stuff. You're Phil Proctor, lead in every performance - which you're great at! But... then there's me. Just... Dave."

Phil hated hearing his mate talk about himself like that, especially when his skills were so obvious to him. He picked up Dave's Polaroid camera and held it up

"You," he said with a smile "are Dave Parkes. Future filmmaker and producer."

"Is this you haggling for a role?"

"Well... maybe!" Phil joked, wrapping an arm around Dave's shoulder "But I know that you're gonna make films that put these plays we're doing to shame."

"That's not hard!"

After that day, Dave started to look forward to his birthday again

*********************************************

Dave had been off all day, and he'd have been lying to himself if he said he didn't know why

It meant a lot, that he was the first person Phil told about his new job opportunity, he was filled with pride to think of his best friend finally escaping Legz Akimbo prison

Even so, there was a tiny part of him that wasn't happy about it at all. At first, he assumed it was jealousy. Phil was free to live his life, while he was trapped doing educational plays for kids that didn't care, with a director that seemed to hate his guts

As he sat in his living room, pressing the pads of his fingers against his thumbs in a self-soothing manner, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his phone buzzing. He heard a familiar voice at the end:

"Davy!"

"You alright, Phil? How does it feel to have nearly finished your life sentence?"

"Good. Really good, yeah."

Dave knew Phil well enough to know something wasn't right

"Thought you were meant to be a good actor!" He joked "Now tell me what's really going on."

"Alright, you got me." Phil managed a small chuckle "I'm not ungrateful or anything, trust me - I've wanted out of here since day 3!"

"So what's the problem-"

"Is this a bad idea?"

Out of all the things Phil could've said, Dave wasn't expecting that

"You what?"

"I want to get out, I have for ages, but what's gonna happen after I leave? It'll only be you and Ollie left."

"He spoke to you."

No answer. Not that there needed to be one

"Yeah. He did. Usually, I don't listen so much. But he said all this stuff about how I'm such a "bad friend" for leaving you behind. I know he's just saying it to hurt me, probably doesn't even meant it. But you know how I get."

Dave did. Phil had opening up about the pressure he felt to constantly make the right decision. Theatre was a difficult business, one wrong step and you could fall hard. There were many moments where Phil would need that extra bit of reassurance, just a push in the right direction

Not that he'd always ask for it, that was still tricky for him. But, when he did, Dave was there for him

And, even though he'd have loved to keep seeing his best mate every day at rehearsals, keep making him corpse onstage, and ranting about Ollie and all the other things that they did to keep themselves sane, he knew he had to be there for him here too

"Phil, you've earned this! Don't worry about me, I'm a grown up - especially when you see me stood next to Ollie!" He heard Phil laugh on the other end, which was a good sign in his books "This is about you, mate! You'll do great!"

"It'll be nice to work with a director that doesn't keep trying to lob chairs at me."

"Exactly!"

The conversation started to flow into a number of topics: films they watched recently, the most recent episode of their favourite show, their current (Phil's final) future disaster they were part of thanks to Ollie Plimsolls. Phil's departure almost forgotten until the end of the call

"Showtime next week," he said humourlessly "if it wasn't in front of kids, I'd do it tipsy."

"Not very professional, are you?" Dave teased

"No, but I think I deserve it."

A pause. Dave's fists clenched and unclenched and each finger pressed against his thumb again; with show week happening so close and the fact he wouldn't see his closest friend anymore was eating at him. Come the week after, things wouldn't feel the same. Well, they wouldn't be the same

He didn't realise he wasn't talking until Phil did:

"Odds on Ollie blowing a blood vessel tomorrow?"

Despite himself, Dave laughed

"Very probable, I'll send you a video."

"Davey?"

"Yeah mate?"

"I'll call you next week."

"OK."

Another pause

"Let me know when the ad comes out."

"Promise."

That's how the call ended: with Dave Parkes, alone in his living room, trying not to think about the week after next

Because he was used to the late nights, the rehearsal stresses, the tantrums and the bullying

What he wasn't used to was going about it alone

*********************************************

"Why are you doing this, Dave?"

It was the first time he'd seen any sort of genuine care towards him being shown by Ollie. As if this was the moment he realised that Dave was exhausted. As if he finally felt even the slightest bit of sympathy

Dave looked at him. He wondered if, in another life, they could've actually gotten along. Maybe, if things were different, Legz Akimbo could've really been a trio. Three friends working together, collaborating and supporting each other

But that was a universe lightyears away...

"I just can't stand you, Ollie."

... In this lifetime, they were just too far apart

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Phil! Wait up!"

Upon hearing his name, he turned around, surprised to see Dave running towards him. Phil's shoulder's were grabbed as his best mate caught his breath

"Dave, what happened?"

"I quit!"

"What?" Phil's eyes widened "I mean, that's great but-"

"Remember what you said ages ago? About me being a filmmaker? Well, you were right. I wrote something months ago and I sent it off to Jed Hunter this morning!"

"What did he say?"

Dave's eyes seemed to light up even brighter, his whole face glowed like a lantern about to be launched into the air

"Phil... I'm gonna be a producer."

For a few seconds, Phil was stunned into silence. Then, his arms opened slightly

"Can I-"

His question was answered by Dave pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. That's where they stayed for what felt like a joyful eternity, a buzzing clump of laughter and freedom

"Phil?"

"Yeah?"

"... Odds on you helping me out?"

Phil pulled away, slightly confused, but wth a glimmer of excitement in his eye

"As long as I'm not playing Joseph the carpenter." He joked

"No, but I did write a role with you in mind. Jed said you'll have to audition... but I'm producing, so my say goes-"

"Why are you doing this, Dave? I mean, it's great but.." why me? Was the unspoken part What makes me worthy?

Dave wrapped an arm around Phil and beamed, as if he could see their successful futures right there and then

The struggles, the little achievements, the pushbacks and the pull forwards

He could see the films he'd create, the roles Phil would go on to play, and the awards they both would eventually win - both seperately and for their collaborations

But, right now, he answered Phil's question with the only thing he knew for sure:

"Because you're my best mate, Phil."

[aesterblaster]

Actually- further elaboration/explanations on this bc I've been looking for writing inspo LMAO

Incredibly neat and perfect crew

Aryu's handwriting is just yet another stylish component to his aesthetic! He even got into calligraphy for a while. It distracts him from the horror of having to write his old fashioned name on each assignment.

Kaiser picked out his signature when he was 10. What can he say, he signs a lot of checks. It's like a nobrainer for him and you already know all his notes, whether it be a detailed analysis on a soccer player or written on a napkin are evenly spaced and frustratingly small.

Oliver prides himself on being spatialy aware, and that translates well to his writing. He gets easily bored by reading and writing and doesn't do it often but hand him a pen and his skills haven't degraded at all. His writing errs on the large side but is still very neat.

Nagi's handwriting is *almost* perfect. It drifts to the right though. Other than that, his handwriting is similar his sports skills because even though he never really tries to write neatly the characters just end up fitting in every box.

Kunigami is now technically ambidextreous but his dominant hand writes much neater than his previously non dominant hand. It gently curves and swoops just a bit, but not enough for you to claim it's not neat. His signature in english is just a neat print of his name.

Chigiri actually kind of tries to write neatly. Sloppy writing is a pet peeve of his and when he was younger, he tried his best to stay within the lines. When he was in the hospital for his acl injury sometimes he had little to do but doodle, read or practice his handwriting.

Loopy and pretty cursive possy

Lorenzo like Kaiser, signs a lot of checks. He also grew up with cursive as a big patt of his life, everytime he got a birthday card lovingly stuffed with some bills it was in cursive. And every teacher he liked, including Snuffy, knew it. So it only made sense that his writing began to follow similar patterns.

Noa learned english when cursive was popular and seen as neccesary. Never one to slack off when learning a language, he also learned cursive. He liked the way the words looped together and quickly learned shorthand. Although it's pretty, you probably won't be able to read it.

Reo is rich rich. Like his parents made him learn some latin rich. And cursive also exists in Latin. He picked up some writing habits from it that never quite went away. He can still write Catallus 8 from memory, words looping and leaning into one another as if for support.

Tabito loves fancy writing. He learned Kanji first because of the area he lived in and had a deepseated insecurity of being looked down on for it. So he makes sure to learn the most "proper" forms of writing in any language he learns as well as in his mother tounge. Sometimes he finds himself erasing and rewriting characters over and over, which makes him prefer pencil to pen.

Completely illegable, you need dental records to identify these words club

Sendou's handwriting was never the best. But who cares! He wanted to become a big soccer star anyway not get good marks in school, so he never improved upon it. Every paper he turned in would come back marked with question marks but he didn't particularly care. He thinks it's just another charming part of his character.

Bachira likes writing left to right in japanese way more than up and down, but this form suffers from a severe lack of quality. Some characters are illegable. Others are too large and overpower the "less important ones". Especially since he has a tendancy to write with his hand tilted all weirdly.

Rin never got his handwriting together and although all his notes look neat to him, anyone else would have to squint to read it. The letters and characters are always unbarably small and hard to decipher from one another. Rin is honestly a bit shy to show his writing to others because of this.

Raichi never concidered writing very important. Even when he was much younger he picked up on it later than his classmates, making spelling mistakes that embarassed his parents. He still makes plently of mistakes making his handwriting suffer more from grammar mistakes than any immediant messiness.

Crushed but legible bloc (the c got edited out on accident)

Lavinho's writing used to be much worse, his teachers forced him to get it together though. Even though he focused more on honing his sports skills than school, chasing football fame, he knew communicating with people is important. If anything his handwriting is better now because he used to be embarassed that people could barely read it.

Isagi's writing is wordy. Always. He never conciders how much space he needs and before he knows it he's almost filled the page and has to crush in his last few sentences. Without fail it starts our neat and then gets more rushed as time goes on, character having justtt enough space for you to distinguish them from one another.

Shidou gets suprisingly good grades. He's one of those kids who you wouldn't think takes school seriously then turns out to be a sponge of information. He loved learning as a kid and writing was no different. He spent an obessive amount of time perfecting his name and he's pretty proud of his handwriting and all it's quirks.

Sae used to have horrendous handwriting, similar to Rin. But he took his advisors advice when he told the rising star to get his writing together, especially his english. He worked at it and it got better, but he can't deny he still dislikes writing for long periods as it gives him cramps and hurts his wrist. So he naturally prefers shorthand.

Hiori, like Tabito, learned Kanjj and then standard Japanese writing. Unlike him, he has no shame about it. He likes learning languages and writing in general, so even though his handwriting has grammar mistakes here and there it isn't unforgivable thanks to hours of practice. A bit messy, yes, but not indecipherable.

[reapers-fanfic-exclusive-blog]

How to Save a Life

Warnings: mentions of torture, murder, death, injury, blood, gore, human trafficking, mentions of sexual and physical assault (briefly)

Lev raced back to Nekoma's base. The whole way he was trying not to cry, he couldn't lose Y/n, he just couldn't, she was one of the only family members he had left. He called Kuroo and Kenma and told them he needed help, that he had someone who needed medical assistance, and needed it bad. The two were confused, Lev was never frantic like this, he's hyper yes, but not panicked, never panicked. As soon as they confirmed the injured wouldn't become a threat, they agreed to help. He quickly pulled up to the house, grabbed Y/n gently, and sprinted inside. He ran to his room and laid her on the bed all while calling for Kuroo and Kenma. The two, sensing the urgency in Lev's voice, dashed in, only to be met with a horrific view. Lev, covered in blood, and a female, with pieces of his shirt tied around her throat, stomach, and shoulder. "Help. Her. Please." Lev gasped out before falling to the floor, exhausted, his legs finally giving out on him. The two males quickly got to work, they removed the bullets from the girl's shoulder and stomach, wrapped her shoulder, stitched up the organs the bullet had damaged, stitched her stomach closed, and then went to work on her neck. The bullet hadn't gone straight into her neck, it just grazed it pretty badly, which means that she was with it enough to be able to move and avoid a fatal wound. They were gently working on fixing her neck up, the bullet had still passed too close to vital areas.  They finally got her stitched up and asked Lev for her blood type. Turns out Lev was the only one who matched it,  O negative. After all was said and done, and everything was cleaned up, Lev, Kuroo and Kenma sat down to talk with the rest of the group.

"Alright Lev, explain now, who she is and what happened. " Kuroo said, while showing her picture to the group,  he was extremely curious about why Lev had acted the way he did. Lev fidgeted with his fingers, suddenly nervous about telling him. Then, Yamamoto gasped as he recognized the girl, at least, partially. "Holy hell Lev! You didn't tell me you knew Angel!" He said loudly.  Everybody looked at him waiting for an explanation.  He sighed, "this goddess Lev brought in, is the best florist in the country! She owns Angel's Bleeding Hearts floral shop!" He explained quickly. Lev nodded quickly, confirming what Yamamoto had said. Kenma pulled out his laptop quickly and began looking for info on 'Angel'. A scowl quickly came over his face. "What's wrong Kenma?" Yaku asked, noticing the change in demeanor. "It's weird," the boy with the dual colored hair began. "There's no 'Angel' registered to owning the shop, I actually can't find who does own it.  And this 'Angel' only showed up in Japan in the last couple years..... And I know that's not their name, but I can't find their real name anywhere. I've been to Angel's Bleeding Hearts, when I picked up flowers for a funeral once. I asked who would name their kid that without knowing their personality, the workers explained that it's a nickname, since she's such an angel to everyone." Kenma finished his explanation, and everybody looked at Lev with suspicion. The boy in question sighed and leaned back in his seat, "you're right, her name isn't Angel," he said quietly, "her name is Y/n L/n, she has only been in the country a couple years tops. She was born in Russia. And you all have heard of her guild title,  she's the Angel of Death. And before you say anything, she's not a danger to us." The group looked at him shocked. When asked how he knew her, he became red and more nervous. "You guys remember Alisa and my mom right?  And how they escaped Russia a couple years ago? Well, that was Y/n. She's my half sister on our father's side. It's true she killed her family, except for my sister and mom, they're innocent so she let them live and helped them come here. Her family was going to scam people in the human trafficking rings, by selling her as much as they could,  and when she wasn't useful... they were going to sell her, in pieces, on the black market. That's why, when she came to Japan, she would help people who were kidnapped and sold into the trade. Then, she joined the Shadow Hounds, and became the leader. The only reason other mafia groups want her dead, is because they know they're next, because they sell humans on the black market." Lev looked at Kuroo, waiting for his response. Kuroo looked back at him and nodded. "Well, that explains why you fought taking the contact on her. And from what we've read, she is more of a guardian angel than anything. She can stay and heal. She's your half sister, which makes her our family too." He replied.  Lev smiled and thanked him. Then, they all went in to check on Y/n. She was still unconscious, but she had gained since color back. Kuroo looked for any distinguishing markings that would tell them who did this to her. They soon found a small brand on her foot.  They looked closely and gasped, quickly becoming enraged.

"Karasuno," Yaku growled. Lev grit his teeth then pulled out Y/n's cell phone, dialed a number, and put the phone on speaker. "Hello, Y/n?" Hinata Shoyou's voice came through, sounding hopeful. "No, it's Lev...... Shoyou, we need to talk.  Now." Lev growled. Hinata, sensing something was wrong, responded quickly,  "tell me you found out who hurt Y/n Lev." The group of males scoffed, thinking he was acting. "Sho, has Karasuno taken any contracts recently?" Lev asked quietly. After some back and forth, and a lot of anger, it turns out Karasuno had declined the contract as well, but three people came back with 2 million dollars. Yachi, Kiyoko, and Takeda, and when asked where it came from, had said a couple side jobs. Hinata was beyond furious, so much so, that he abandoned Karasuno and headed towards Nekoma immediately after being told that Y/n was in a small coma, but that she should make it.  After the call ended the males in the room left so that no one would bother the injured girl. They were all contemplating revenge on the three who hurt their newly discovered family member.

[natsubeatsrock]

Top 7 Things I Enjoyed in 2023: Number 3

This was a year I caught up with so much of the comics backlog. I've been meaning to talk about something from Iconic Comics because everything I read from them this year has been amazing. Alas, that might have to wait a year. This spot belonged to Infinity Gauntlet for most of the year. I was excited to talk about how much this was like the Marvel movies it inspired. It genuinely felt like the best experience I had reading any book in the medium. 

Was anything I was going to ever read going to top it?

Well, it turns out that only one man could give a better experience. And who else but the man behind the best stories involving my favorite comic series?

Number #3 - Uncanny X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills

For the uninitiated, Chris Claremont's run on X-Men is the stuff of legends. He didn't create the X-Men. However, nearly everything iconic about the group is in some way related to his run. Almost every major story that inspired the movies came from this run of over two decades.

I have been slowly making my way through the Uncanny X-Men omnibus series over the past few years. If I were any faster, I probably could have put the whole series on a past list. At the very least, there wouldn't have been as much of a break between Marvel products being on this list as has been true recently.

This book exists as a primer for the series. If you want a simple explanation of what the X-Men, especially written by Claremont, are without reading dozens of comics for context, this is the place to go. It's the core group of X-Men trying to work through a tough situation which tests their resolve and identity. 

In particular, they face a threat from an anti-mutant televangelist named William Stryker who grew to hate the mutant race because of events from his military days. In other words, business as usual.

This time, though, they team up with long-time enemy, Magneto. Magneto has often represented the opposite extreme to Stryker and the absent Senator Kelly. He wishes for mutants to replace humans as the dominant species and subjugate them the way many wish to see his people taken care of. (Ironic considering his time as a Nazi concentration camp captive.)

However, this is one of the few times he feels sympathetic. We see him mourn over the murder of young mutants. His pleas to Professor X feel placed in a desire for urgency for change can't be achieved through his old friend's ways as quickly as necessary, if ever.

Admittedly, my bias in this pick shows in my connection to my copy of the comic. There are two editions: an original version and an extended cut with a couple of edits to the original and a new framing of the events. My copy is the latter, but I was able to have Claremont sign my edition during the last NYCC.

That said, I wouldn't get it signed if I didn't love the story. I can't wait to read through the rest of Uncanny X-Men in the years to come.

[theerurishipper]

I offer some more.

-

"Aha!"

Marinette stood back, triumphantly, looking over her latest creation with pride. Tikki hovered by her side, looking over Marinette's latest creation with horror.

"Marinette, what is this?"

Marinette beamed. "It's my plotting board!" she announced emphatically. "Chat Noir wanted a fight, did he? Well now he's got one!"

Tikki sighed. "I'm sure he doesn't want a fight, Marinette. Perhaps you should consider talking this out-"

"Huh? Sorry Tikki, I couldn't hear you," Marinette said, earphones in her ears. "I'm too busy picking out the perfect music for my victory dance when I finally get even with Chat Noir."

Tikki sighed. She was the embodiment of creation itself, she could handle this...

"Marinette, perhaps this was all just a big misunderstanding! Maybe it would be best if you approached Chat Noir with your concerns and asked for an explanation!"

"Hm..." Marinette hummed, finger tapping at her chin. "You do have a point..." Tikki exhaled in relief.

"Nope! He knew what he was doing! That smug look on his face, that catty grin... I've seen it a thousand times before! But I won't let myself get pushed around by some catboy in a clown costume!"

Tikki took some deep breaths. All that time spent learning calming techniques from the Guardians to deal with Plagg certainly were paying off.

"But Marinette, Chat Noir has only ever been nice to anyone! Why would he insult you?"

Marinette scoffed. "It's all part of the act, Tikki! He thinks he's so slick, parading around with those deep, soulful green eyes and that cute, boopable nose, making everyone believe he's a great guy and all. But I won't fall for it! Not me, nuh-uh, no siree! I've seen right through him, as I do. And I know just how to deal with it!"

Tikki almost dreaded to ask. "What're you going to do, Marinette?"

Marinette smirked. "Heh heh heh," she laughed, and Tikki hated herself for being curious. "Elementary, my dear Tikki! Step 1: I'll make my way to a random yet inconspicuous rooftop as Ladybug. Step 2: I'll wait for Chat Noir to show up. Step 3: I'll start recording on my phone. Step 4: I'll jump off the roof. Step 5-"

Tikki's eyes had almost bugged out of her head. "J-j-jump off the roof?"

"Yeah! That way, Chat Noir will have to save me. Pay attention Tikki!"

Tikki lost all her will to keep herself in the air and dropped to the floor with a soft thud. She cursed softly at not being granted the fortune of falling unconscious, all while Marinette continued to ramble on, unaware of her kwami's depleting will to live.

"Step 5: Chat Noir won't be able to resist insulting me! He's already shown a lack of self-control when it comes to that, and I'd have just annoyed him by causing trouble. And I'll have it all on video! Step 6: I get Alya to post it to the Ladyblog. Step 7: Chat Noir, exposed! Step 8: Adrien gets so impressed by my masterful plan that he falls in love with me, and we get together and get married and live in a beautiful house and have three kids and a hamster named-"

"MARINETTE!"

"What?"

"You need Chat Noir to defeat Hawkmoth, remember?" Tikki asked, though her voice was slightly muffled from where she was still lying face down on the floor.

"Pssh, that's easy. He can keep it! You don't need to be liked to be able to help me out! Or you can just choose a new Chat Noir! One that's nice and heroic. Like Adrien! He'd make a great Chat Noir, and he'd be a much more handsome one too." She sighed. "Oh, Adrien..."

Tikki longed for the sweet release of the loss of her corporeal form.

-

Adrien was a having a day.

He'd woken up five minutes later than usual. His attempts to bribe Nathalie with camembert for her discretion had failed spectacularly, and his father had thereby decided to forgo the monthly five minutes of time he granted his son.

"Sir, today's the day your monthly five minutes with your son are scheduled for," Nathalie had reminded him earlier that day.

"Can't you see I'm busy, Nathalie?"

"Sir, he'll be very disappointed if you don't show up."

"Hm, yes. Tell me, what microscopic, insignificant mistake did he make today? Make something up if you have to."

"He woke up five minutes later than usual. It did not cause him any delays."

"Perfect. He has utterly disappointed me, and for that he will not see me today."

"...Very well, sir."

"Now leave me be. I must perfect my evil laugh."

But on the bright side, the Gorilla had called in sick. Adrien felt bad for him, but he got to walk to school instead of travelling in that car. His father often travelled in it, and as a result, it stank of suffocating perfume, the ones his father had concocted.

"What's with the happy smile? I thought you'd be disappointed that your father refused to acknowledge your existence once more."

Adrien beamed. "I'm totally and utterly distraught about that!" he laughed, doing a little twirl. Plagg, despite himself, felt a little unnerved.

"So... what's with the goofy grin?"

"Don't you remember, Plagg? Ladybug called me cute yesterday!"

"Huh?"

Adrien sighed. "She told me that she saw a cat that was cuter than me! It means she thinks I'm cute! Not as cute as that cat, but it's something, and I'll take it!"

Plagg sighed. "I think we have two completely different understandings of what happened back there. Whatever, give me Camembert."

Adrien reached school, and made his way over to Nino to receive his daily hug and words of affirmation. "You. Are. Kenough," Nino told him today, hands on his shoulders, eyes staring right into his own. Adrien sniffed, feeling a single tear roll down his face perfectly, shining as it reflected the light of the sun. Everyone in the immediate vicinity fainted, blinded by the glare.

A wistful sigh echoed from somewhere, followed by the thump of a body hitting the floor, and it sounded suspiciously like Adrien's very good platonic friend Marinette.

Adrien barely paid attention in class today, too busy doodling 'Adrien Agreste Ladybug' and trying to come up with names for their future hamster.

Somehow, the school day ended far too quickly, and Adrien was nudged out of a daydream about Ladybug showing up to see him at his house for ten whole minutes. Nino gave him an extra hug to compensate for his father's lack of attention.

Adrien took off before Nathalie could show up to come get him. He'd already jumped out of the window to be able to walk to school, he wanted to walk back too. On his way, he saw his lady swinging across the rooftops, heading in the opposite direction.

"There's no akuma, you don't have to-"

"Plagg, claws out!"

i think there should be more marichat enemy aus. i DONT mean marichat stories where ladynoir are enemies and marichat bonds. i mean actual marichat enemies where marinette and chat noir are actively trying to destroy each other’s lives. something goes wrong during evillustrator and somehow they both come out of it thinking the other hates them. the idea of chat noir hating her civilian self pisses marinette off so she decides to hate him too. marinette constantly has the upper hand here because ladynoir are still partners. chat noir does not understand why his lady is upset with him or why marinette is so mean.

meanwhile adrien is ABSOLUTELY terrified marinette will find out his secret identity and start going after him in real life too. so he avoids her at all costs. marinette is devastated by this and knows in her heart this is somehow chat noirs fault. meanwhile they are making out as ladrien.

[ddejavvu]

Congrats on the milestone!!!!

can I get 🎃 Molly’s pumpkin patch with Derek Morgan and best friends to lover?

come vacation on my island!

🎃 molly’s pumpkin patch - send me a trope and a character, and i’ll write about what it would be like! (ex. enemies to lovers with regulus black)

--

You feel the aftereffects of the numerous drinks you'd had last night before you feel the arms wrapped around you, but both come as quite a shock.

You hadn't remembered drinking that much, and your head felt like you'd consumed absolutely every drop in the entire bar. And the aforementioned arms, you couldn't remember the last time you'd fallen asleep cuddling a hookup.

You took a moment to admire what you could about the person holding you before looking up at their face. Their rich, bronze arms were littered with, you felt your cheeks heat up, bite marks. Their chest was sculpted beautifully, pecs full and muscled with delightfully firm abs beneath them. Your hand was actually resting on said six-pack, and you slid your fingers experimentally down the skin, the toned ridges something you felt privileged to be touching.

Apparently your touch had awoken your mystery date, and you felt your chest ache slightly as you realized this would be the last time you were able to ogle their beautiful build. You felt a soft kiss be pressed to the crown of your head, and you scooted forwards to bury your face in their chest.

"Did you sleep well?"

You knew that voice. Your blood ran cold as you snapped your head up and out of their chest, your eyes widening as they met your coworker, Derek Morgan's.

His face dropped just the same, an bewildered, 'Y/N?' falling from the lips you'd presumably kissed plentifully last night.

"Oh my god," You shot out of bed, no brainpower available for you to feel self-conscious about standing naked before him, "Oh my god!"

You paced anxiously, your head buried in your hands. Now that you were able to see your surroundings, you recognized a hotel room, the pristine white sheets probably remembering more about your hookup than you did.

"Calm down," Derek urged, "We'll figure this out."

You only let out an exasperated whine, shaking your head frantically.

Of course you'd had to sleep with the one man you wanted more than sex from. Of course your drunken self had clung to your sober crush, the man who'd left you yearning for more than the slightly unprofessional pick-up lines he told you in the office to make you laugh.

You heard a light scoff come from the bed and you peered at him through your fingers. An incredulous smile lit up his face, "My god, I can't believe I finally got to sleep with you, and I don't even remember it."

"Finally?"

"Angel," He raised one eyebrow quizzically at you, "Come on. You really never noticed I had a thing for you?"

"How could I have noticed?! Name one hint you dropped."

"Last night, when I said I had a thing for you."

You did recall that statement. Your coworkers had been teasing Derek for icing out a woman who'd been interested in him in the bar, politely declining her offer of 'more sex than you'd know what to do with'. The only explanation he'd offered to his out-of-character behavior was a cheeky wink at you, a suave, 'I've only got a thing for Y/N.' making your tipsy heart flutter.

"Okay," You threw your hands down at your sides, "Fine. Fine, I missed a few signs. But you never told me anything! I mean, I thought those were all jokes! If you wanted to sleep with me so bad, why didn't you ever seriously offer?"

"I wasn't sure if you'd be into it," His usual confidence faded, his eyes slipping from your face to the bedsheets, "I didn't wanna ruin things if you weren't interested."

"Derek," You groan, crawling back onto the bed and sitting before him, still feeling slightly exposed, "You must not have been looking too far into my behavior either?"

"I pay attention to every little detail about you," He admits, bashfulness lacing his words.

"You haven't seemed to notice my habit of staring at you," You start, "Or laughing way too hard at your stupid jokes, or tripping over my own feet when you startle me."

"I.. I thought those were just things you did to everyone."

"You fucking idiot."

"Alright! Alright, we're both imbeciles." A charming smile flitted over his face, the one that you'd spent years of your life committing to your memory to savor the image, "Listen. I understand that these weren't exactly ideal circumstances to figure this out in, but for what it's worth, I'm glad it happened."

"Me too," You hummed, reaching out to lace your fingers with his, "And, um, I'm sorry about the marks on your arms."

He turned a confused glance towards his biceps, eyes widening comically at the curved indents in his flesh.

"My god, did you go feral?"

"Only for you," You teased, your words eliciting a beautiful, booming laugh from Derek, "I just couldn't help myself."

[layanasstories]

Oblivion

THREE

Andy looks my way worried "Are you okay? It looks like you just saw a ghost". His words make me alert again. "Yeah, I'm okay. It's just -" I swallow the rest because I don't want to speak my thought out loud. To give some kind of explanation and to reassure him I continue "I just think it's weird, that's my brother! I'm getting really tired of his stupid jokes.". Andy raises his eyebrows in disbelief "Your brother?" then he sighs "Maybe it's time for a hearty word with that brother of yours.". I nod that I agree with him. "Yeah, I definitely will. Sorry Andy for this waste of time.". He shakes his head of no "No need, I have siblings too and know how annoying they can be.".

When I take one last look at the screen, I see something I've missed before. It was not one piece of paper, but two. The second fell to the floor when I took the first off my keyboard, I had overlooked that. I don't say anything to Andy, but I do make a mental note of it. I thank Andy for his time and make sure he knows that I will keep my promise to bring him those cookies tomorrow.

When I get back to my desk, the first thing I do is search the floor for the second piece of paper. I find it under my desk, almost all the way back. I pick it up and open this also:

Add this number to your contacts: 01040

I don't really know what to do at the moment, so I put the paper in my pocket. I need to think this through carefully before doing anything at all. Now it's time to work, I see three people waiting in line, and I gesture to the first that it's their turn. The rest of the day passes slowly, I have helped a number of visitors with their requests or complaints. I spent my break alone on the square in front of the building. And when it's five o'clock, I clock out and go home. My thoughts have been with the stranger for the rest of the day. And now that I'm on the subway I can think quietly without being distracted. Why is he in my nightmares, what does he want from me. And most importantly, how does he know I'm on medication. Though I know intellectually it should scare me, but it doesn't. I certainly think it's strange, but afraid no.

I try to get the thoughts out of my mind as best I can when I step into my house. I want to be able to do my routine, so I greet both my cats by giving them a pat on the head and back. Then I take off my work clothes and put on my house clothes. I take the note with the phone number from my pocket and place it on the coffee table. Then I take my evening meal out of the fridge and heat it up in the microwave. I like to cook, but not the daily meal. When the microwave beeps that it's ready, I take out my food. Then I sit on the couch with my dinner and eat it. But this time it's just different. Instead of turning on the TV, I grab the note. 0-1-0-4-0, 0-1-0-4-0 ... that's how I repeat the number in my head. With every bite I take, I doubt whether I should add the number or not. But my curiosity wins. I open my contacts and click on the plus sign to add a contact. I have no idea what name to use, so I come up with the idea to use Anonymous. Because that's what it is, for me. The moment I click on save I see that the name I entered had changed to Nym-0s and a profile picture of a red eye was added. I wasn't afraid, and I still am not, but my heart is racing in my throat. That eye, I had completely forgotten that, that eye always appears in my nightmares too, never prominent right in my view. But I saw it on walls or on a newspaper. Always subtle, but definitely there. Before I get completely confused, I get a message.

Nym-0s: If you're curious about your past, we can meet.

Layana: Why the hell should I meet you? Any idea how creepy you seem?

Nym-0s: Yes, I get that.

Layana: You get that? But you don't care?

Nym-0s: Pretty much, indeed.

Layana: How can I trust you?

Nym-0s: Because you've always trusted me.

Layana: That doesn't say anything about whether I can trust you now.

Nym-0s: All right, you want proof. Fine. Follow my advice, stop taking the medication for 3 days. If your memory hasn't cleared up a little by then, this was our last conversation. And if so, you can send me a message and we'll talk. Is that a deal?

I think for a moment. Three days is not long, it is enough to slow down the effect enough. But short enough to start again if necessary.

Layana: Okay, deal. But if it worsens my health, I'll just take them again. And then I know I can't trust you.

Nym-0s: That's understandable, although I can guarantee that you will only feel better.

Layana: We'll see.

I'm calling myself crazy, how can I agree to this. I can kick myself, but I'm also very curious about my past. I have zero memories and the desire to get them back is very strong. That's why I'm doing what this stranger advises me to do, and I'm leaving the pills out tonight.

[jafndaegur]

Things Said and Unsaid

Jumin Han x MC

Mystic Messenger

a/n: now that the zine is long past, here is my story from the Garden of Eden Zine:) Enjoy!

Jumin twisted the flower stem between his fingers as he reclined further against the chair. Waxy pink petals mocked him in a way that he did not appreciate and the bright bloom weighed heavily, leaning forward in his careless grasp. He rested his chin on the back of his free hand, temple twitching at the not-quite perfect amount of wine for a buzz but enough for a headache. 

MC's voice still floated in the air as if she'd just called about her final report for the RFA event.

"All of the flower arrangements are ready for the party," her voice was stilted over the phone even as she tried to be chipper.

Jumin wondered if she felt uncomfortable around him with everything said and done. "They'll look beautiful I'm sure." He reassured. 

The pause and silence between them felt unnatural and constricting.

"What did you pick? For the bouquets." He finally peeped out, his voice rocking with concern. Had they always struggled with communicating? The memory of being able to freely converse with her, speaking of any little trivial thing that came to mind an easy and amusing way for him to pass the time. Surely he hadn’t ruined things so thoroughly during the time she had spent at the penthouse.

MC’s airy and pitched laugh reached his ears in a painful display of her discomfort. "That'd ruin the surprise."

And what a surprise it'd been.

Jumin had been eager, and even anxious, in awaiting her arrival to the party. Afterall they all owed its renewed existence to her. And he himself owed so much to her too. When they had parted the night before, V rightfully helping her return to the apartment, it had been with a tender apology. She'd embraced him—held him close and promised things would work out the way they should.

He wasn’t sure if it had been a lie or her convincing herself. Perhaps some odd adherration of both to her conviction.

The day of the party came, but MC did not.

It was obvious that Seven had hesitated his journey before finally making the reluctant trek to Jumin with a piece of paper in one hand and a tied bouquet of flowers in the other.

The pink camellia had seemed so bright and vibrant in the light of the ballroom. And even now in Jumin's hand, standing stark and vibrant, the bloom dazzled against the rest of his muted parlor decor. It smiled and flourished, and yet here he sat more dejected and more confused than ever.

Somehow, he managed his way back to the kitchen, where the rest of his  bouquet lay abandoned on his dining room table—scattered petals and bulbs strewn across the wood top due to his careless toss of the bunch. He had been angry and frustrated at the time, but now he felt guilt tugging at the span of his ribs when he thought of the disregard he gave to her last gift to him. The note lay innocently next to it, as if trying to appease him with the gentle slope of MC's handwriting.

I've meant everything Jumin. Said and unsaid. I don't regret anything and I hope you won't either. But we both need this to move forward, I think this is what's right...I hope you'll see that. I've left you the best.

-MC

Among the flowers, pink carnations were the easiest to pick out. The petals crimped and wavy, and the blossoms themselves the most commonplace and plain. And yet MC had made sure the flowers had stayed nestled close amongst bushels of goldenrod. Another odd pick for a formal party. His eye for detail made things easy to recognize that beautiful hardworking and problem-solving touch MC made with every  deliberate and precise choice. He knew that much. From the sorrel that warmly held everything together, to the pink camellias blushing prettily at the center wrapped in forget-me-nots.

In times such as these Jumin realized he had one consultant he could count on, a source where information passed easily from itself to him. Where he could learn unhindered and without bias about the best that MC left behind for him. Because surely, she did not simply mean the best flowers from the bunch. She was too clever for that.

He found himself at a library, in the area with the farmer's almanacs and horticulture how-tos. It was an aisle he frequented when seeking answers to inquiries about his vineyard. 

Heavy and cumbersome, he found an encyclopedic tome titled Whispers from the Flowers. It was an odd name but upon opening it he found satisfaction knowing that his assumption on its topic had been correct. The flower language. Something not in a million years he imagined himself researching. But for MC, he would do anything. And his beloved left behind one very, very important clue. "Things said and unsaid." And he hoped it was more than a mere sentimental way of saying she left him behind regardless of whether or not she was able to relay all she wished to. 

Jumin found the index at the back of the book, searching for sorrel first. MC had meticulously ensured that the green and stringy plant entwined itself around the main bouquet like a cradle. It was hardly a flower and yet the vibrancy of it added life and color outside of the thematic pink hues of the other blooms. Affection. Sorrel is the gateway to confessions and the key to unlocking the heart—it lays bare the raw and pure emotion of those who offer it. His fingers danced over the words, tracing the letters with the faintest of smiles. MC's disappearance seemed like a rather large lack of said-affection, but he knew there had to be further explanation. And all answers resided within the little puzzle she had set aside just for him.

Because she knew and understood he had every capability to solve it. He hoped.

Encouragement. Good fortune. Goldenrod offers the same blade with two edges. One of well wishes and the other of outstretched hands. It is an easy flower to convey both farewells and prosperity. 

Jumin’s breath curled within his chest and his fingers hovered. “Farewells.” It was a mutter, something that he dare not speak more than a whisper.  MC left behind hide nor hair of her existence. The memory of her laugh and gilded eyes were the only proof he could offer. Yet somewhere amongst the agonizing pull in his chest as he read the summary over and over again, he feared that she had truly meant her goodbye hidden within these flowers. 

He knew his own faults had greatly weighed upon her decision to leave with Jihyun that day. But had he really ruined things so much that she chose never to see any of them again to escape him? Were all affections between them nullified because of his shortcomings.

Breath hitched and his fists clenched the book. Memories of true love. Forget-me-nots are the staple flower of sweet love. Anyone gifting their sweetheart with these iconic blooms know every moment spent with their true love will be cherished and treasured. Jumin’s brow furrowed. Contradictory. This was all so illogical and contradictory. If he had not just recently gone through a week-long anxiety attack and now the loss of the woman he had planned to propose to, he’d chalk these meanings up to happenstance and throw the book into the closest recycling bin. But everything said had been meant. And everything unsaid had been meant. He needed for his own sanity and for his own comprehension to know if these flowers truly enveloped MC’s feelings for him. Or if he was just a fool trying to pry into a love that was never his to keep.

“I’ll never forget you.” 

A shudder. The words flowed past his lips as he read the phrase mechanically. “I’ll never forget you.” Each utterance a tremor to his heart as the walls constricted and shook.

I’ll never forget you. Pink carnations are easily the most misused and the most misunderstood. Believed to be a simpleton’s flower, the meaning behind this bloom is often lost due to being handed out of context. It’s beautiful and pastel color can often be misleading. It is a mournful flower, often handed at the cusp of goodbye. A beautiful tendril to remember a fleeting yet vibrant romance. 

The search through the index for the last flower was a trembling one.  Jumin’s fingers skimmed the crisp paper gentle against his skin as he tried to account his increasing pulse to apprehension or suspense. He was approaching the last piece of MC’s riddle and good or bad—real or not—he had been able to come to some conclusion about their parting. About their romance. About them. 

His vision blurred and he felt the world spin.

A note had been tucked away close to the spine where the pages parted. It was a small envelope, no bigger than an index card. “Jumin” had been scripted neatly on the front, and on the back, there was a little flower drawn over the edge of the opening flap. He recognized MC’s handwriting anywhere. Impulse struck a chord with his nerves and he plucked the note quickly before forcing himself to slow down. He wanted to finish this mission. 

Pink camellias. Longing for you.

No more waiting. Jumin dropped the book and tore the envelope open. His heart pitter-pattered and he double took the gentle slope of that oh-so familiar handwriting. The gentle sweep and slant of her penmanship was obvious the moment he gazed upon the ink. There before him, tiny and hopeful, was a phone number. He'd arrived at the end of her puzzle with a growing smile, shaking his head with a fond chuckle. His finger brushed the new note.

"You can be greedy, you know," he whispered reverently. "Around me don't worry. Whatever fears or struggles we may have to face, we'll figure them out together. You don't have to hold back for my sake or for yours."

He pulled two business cards from his wallet, placing one in the forget-me-knots section and the other in the section about pink camellias. Satisfied, he closed the book and walked to the front desk where the head librarian sat typing away on the computer. Noticing his approach, they gave him a warm smile. Holding out their hand, the librarian inclined their head.

"Got everything you need?"

Jumin nodded and handed the book over. "I will soon enough. In the meantime, could you place this on hold? A friend is going to pick it up."

"Of course," the librarian nodded. "Name and number."

"Han MC," Jumin decided with a touch of humor, a welcomed break to his multi-day anxiety high, before reciting the number from the note.

The person assured him that MC would be notified and that the book would be on hold for the next twenty-four hours. He bowed his head slightly and graciously thanked them before heading to the car where Driver Kim awaited. There was so little time to get ready but he wanted to make the most of this anticipation that clung to his lungs with baited breath.

[gangrenados]

"Are you afraid of the dark?"

Venom!Jason Todd x fem!reader.

What does the title has to do with all of this? Not much, it just sounds cool

@astroherogirl thanks for helping me with this weird ideas and also thank you for the moodboard ilysm 💖💖

Warning: violence, blood, sexual content.

Also this is like a version of Venom who is more similar to the Tom Hardy movie?? And also it has my touch, so it might be kinda ooc

THIS IS LOOONG

It's not weird that beingsfof other universes end up wandering in this earth somehow. It has happened before and it will happen again no matter what the heroes do.

But in that night in particular something went bad, affecting Red Hood who was supposed to stop some members of the cartel.

It was supposed to be an easy thing, but before he knew it black goo was straggling him in the middle of the gunfire.

Jason fought against the thing, but it was a stronger than him and determined to make him submit into it's force.

So after what it seemed hours of fighting, Jason was left disoriented between dead bodies and a weird voice talking to him. He became the new host of this parasite...

•Jason's mind was a mess, it reminded him of those days when he was fresh out of the pity and it's less to say that he wasn't happy about it. Not feeling in control always got this negative effect on him, also having a voice in his head doesn't make things any easier.

•The voice was talking about making greater things, claiming it was destined to become a fearful name who imposes respect and always is there to protect the weakest. This thing wanted to be in control, but Jason was not gonna give it to it.

•So they fought until both of them were too tired to make a move, finding out each other weakness and spitting out harsh comments.

"What the fuck do you want from me?" Jason said breathlessly, rolling on his side to sit up. Blood was running down his nose and he spat it when it started to accumulate in his lips.

•The black goo looked at him cautiously, not daring to get out of the corner. The walls had a lot of gunshots marks, but the alien preferred to stay hidden in the shadows.

" You are not so mean as you like to pretend." The deep voice of the symbiote echoed in the room." You're just a little bitch who is scared to show what's deep inside you"

"Say something like that again and I'll set you on fire..."

•Red Hood was a name of fear among the underground. It was shocking to see him more taller and muscular, he was like a monster  who would not hesite to tear apart your body with his big, sharp teeth.

•  Also his attacks were more violent  and agressive, he didn't hesitate to kill and now his ways of fighting didn't limited to jst shoot a few bullets and land some punches. Red Hood would abusive his strength, playing with the criminals before he would break them as if they were mere paper.  Nobody wanted to end up dismembered by this lunatic.

•High ranked criminals weren't dumb, they knew very well something was going on and it wouldn't take long for them to find what it was...

•The presence of "venom" also changed a lot of Jason's behavior, affecting his dating life without a doubt. He acted more nervous around you, hiding things and avoiding you as much as he could.

•It was less to say that Jason wanted to keep you out of this mess. Deep down he feared this weird thing would cause you any harm or that you will find so weird that he's the new host of a very stubborn symbiote.

Everything could be summarized in a phrase: Jason didn't wanted to lose you.

"Where the fuck have you been Jason Todd? I've been calling you so many times, I was going insane! Where have you been!?"

Yeah, Jason didn't really thought that if he was being so evasive you might start to worry.

" ...so this human is your mate?" The voice in his head made him groan, Jason didn't answer him but he didn't had to. "You might be an idiot, but you got good taste."

"Shut up." Jason says sternly at the alien and you gasp shocked, ready to start a fight if it wasn't for those white eyes and big smile full of teeth that was seeing you so eagerly from your boyfriend's shoulder.

"What's that?" You point to the tiny black goo who's smile grows wider. The thing wants to go farther, it wants to touch you and have you in ways that can make anyone blush.

"(Y/n) go. Now." Jason demands as he does his best to control this thing, but it's power is getting stronger. Maybe this is time for the symb race to grow, another member would be greatly accepted.

•It's less to say that this little inconvenient cost Jason a lot of things, mainly his strenght to go and face you. He wasn't sure that you'll accept him now and to be fair, he wouldn't blame you if you did wanted to dump him.

•So Jason decided that it was the best if you both take separete ways for the moment, just a little breake until he figures out what he's going to do.

"You should go with your mate." the voice said sternly as Jason punched a thug in the jaw.  Jason has lost count of how many times this thing has tried to convince him to search for you, he knew Venom wanted more than just get Jason a happy life...its thoughts were enought to explain what were his morbid plans with you.

"I just wanted to have some fun, alright?" Venom shouted" It has been so fucking long since I've had sex...I just wanna breed that pretty little human."

"God, you're disgusting." Jason growled, taking a deep breath and letting all the smell of blood and gunpowder fill his nostrils. Just another day in the job, too bad he wouldn't be able to see you anytime soon.

•It didn't took much before all the bats started to haunt him down and although Jason did his best to lost them, they were really stubborn and annoying.

"We can help you, Red Hood." Bruce says as he dodges one of Jason's hits and by the corner of his eye he can clearly see Tim and Dick trying to get a sample of the symbiote.

"So this is your family? Iit's quite lovely" Venom says in Jason's mind, but it's all ignored.

•He felt like he was escaping and it was so annoying.

• Avoid his family, kill criminals and have to live with this thing was too much for him, Jason was so tired, but sometimes -when this thing wasn't blood thristy or saying nasty things- it would be funny.

•Jason couldn't help but chuchle at the naivity of Venoom toward mundane earth things, like soap operas or why bread was so delicious even when it wasn't made out of meat. Deep down, Jason knew that maybe you and this thing could get along...

"Are you sad?" venom poke Jason's cheek; his concerned tone make Jason rolls his eyes so he just stays focused on eating his sandwich. However, Venom doesn't back down and it decides to expand more to be in Jason's eye vision." You should call her."

By now Jason is done with this over used phrase." Will you stop if I do so?" Venom noods eagerly, not daring anymore time pass before he picks up the phone right next to Jason and marks your number.

•When you both finally are together the silence that filled the room is constricting as it best.

• For one part there is Jason who just wants to keep you safe and save himself for the embarrassment and the hurt of rejection and in the other end there is you who just want an explanation of what's going on.

"Why didn't you tell me?" You ask with a faint voice as you bluntly sit down in the couch.

Jason scoff at your words." It's hard to explain how you get involved with an intergalactic parasite if we're being honest." Your hard gaze makes him sigh, maybe this wasn't time to be a little shit." Sorry, I didn't knew how tell you and I didn't wanted to put you in danger."

•It takes a while before things get back to normal between you too. Jason was happy to have some stability back in his life by having you.

•Yeah, things were were slightly different now with you and Jason adjusting your life style for this weird goo who apparently had a thing for eating raw meat at 3a.m.

•Your relationship with Venom was...weird. Don't get me wrong, you could get along at times and sometimes you'd even team up to annoy Jason, but you couldn't help but feel weird out towards this goo.

•For Venom in the other hand, the appreciation it had for you grew so much that maybe the world "love" was more appropriate to describe it. You were their girlfriend, no just Jason's.

•Jason didn't really knew how to manage all of this, but at least one thing they had in common was the fact that they wouldn't hesitate to beat the shit out of whoever dares to harm you.

•Is worth to mention that the presence of this alien made Jason a lot more horny.

•He wanted to fuck at any free time you both had, it didn't matter if was just a blowjob or him fingering your pretty cunt. Jason wanted all of that nasty stuff.

•Venom had an especial preference for eating you out, he could be down there for hours and no complain even a little. It large tongue would fuck your pussy delightedly and make you see stars, yeah it might be a weird view but it was worth it.

•Venom would also use its ability of expansion to fuck you senseless. Jason would be fucking your pussy and the black goo would be fucking your ass:

"Jay please..." you whined as your boyfriend rubbed the tip of his dick across your soaked pussy. He was looking down at you with a shit eating grin, so delight to have you begging.

"Please what? Use your words, princess" Jason demanded and you groaned.

"Please fuck me like a slut. Just do it."

Venom was too overwhelmed with all of this, dreaming about fucking you became it favorite thing to do and now the time has come.

It only took for a few moments after Jason introduced his cock in your throbbing cunt for being the last straw for Venom. The way you moaned when Jason was thrusting you was making its mind foggy.

Venom wanted to participate.

A strand of black goo went to your neck, keeping a tight grip on it while another takes advantage and sneak in your ass, pumping slowly, spreading all of your juices before setting up a pace. All of this made you gasp, however, the shock washes in just seconds as Jason starts to fucking you harder.

He's gone. It's like the only thing in his mind right now is cum and nothing else, you look like nothing but a toy.

"Of fuck! Keep going" you moan and Jason goes down to kiss you and before you know it, his fingers are teasing your clit in such way that's making you tremble.

"You look so pretty taking my cock like this," Jason groans. By know you more than sure that the grip his hold on your hips will leave a bruise, but it doesn't matter that much since you're more focused on the pleasure and the way his balls are slapping your ass." You're gonna look prettier with my cum dripping down your cunt, babe."

Tag list @bathroom-sand @aterriblelangblr @simpery @strangerthings14 @jyarumu0619 @kellieriddle96 @adarksoul098 @rosethegothamhistorynerd @duckmylife18 @panic-attheplace @malfoys-demigod @darkraven1983 @magicisabluewish @hamdehlesmis @lucy-roo @lovelyartemisa @missmaskedwriter @c0-77 @ginevraxrogers @imagines-fluff-yandere-smut @shadygoateeprincess @nervousfandom @ghost-bitch @silverw19 @thegirlwholovesbooksblog @hecatemacbeth7 @unknowntoanyone @mistalli @screechingghostbananafarm @psych0crybaby @barnowl48 @waroncheer @lady-stirling @ghostly-ginger @greeknerd007 @la-femme-lupita @jasonsballsack @violettessuniverse @wondergal21 @pree-2003-blog @dreamxcollide @thirstiestpotato @magicalbeanie @dreamingforthosewholost

[thefairyletters]

✨ Spooky Recs✨

I read a lot of fanfictions... More than I am proud of. I thought I should recommend as I go before I lose sight of their existence among the sea of my favorites.

Since past few days I have been craving for some creepy, unnerving fanfics that will keep me restless and awake at night. I remembered my favorites and wanted to read more of the kind so I looked up, patiently going through each story that sounded compelling. I also revisited old stories for nostalgia's sake.

Of course, rare as they are, in Naruto fandom no less, it's even harder to find a horror and mystery fic that is well written, not dropped under 2 chapters, and really keeps your attention.

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Comedy

I've rated 4 aspects of the work -

Writing – I don't judge writing based solely on the grammar and vocabulary. I also consider how the author expands upon a subject, if they are consistent with the facts, if they are able to keep the attention of the readers regardless of their creative writing skills.

Characters – If the characters are well-developed, in their given character, if OCs have any real significance to the story.

Plot – How gripping is the storyline, if the story sticks to its original plot, the structure of the story, plot holes.

Flow – Mother-of-slow-burn, slow-but-steady, steady, fast, I-am-speed

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When the flowers cry : TCOOKIES777 || M || AO3/FFN || SasuSaku || Goth Horror || Post-Canon, set during Blank Period || Ongoing

When one of the greatest medical-nin in the world goes missing in what should have been a simple delivery to the Land of Spring’s Hidden Snow Village, the rest of Team 7 must reunite to find her. But even the most powerful team of shinobi will find themselves challenged in a battle against the supernatural. With Sasuke's return, vengeful ghosts of the past will test him and his love.

My thoughts : One of the best stories I've read in a while, and top tier SS stories. I read this in one sitting. I never listen to music while reading, preferring silence, but for this one, I suggest you do as the author says. Also, keep some tissues and food with you. This story is major in mystery and minor in horror but otherwise full of SS fluff.

Writing: 10/10

Characters: 10/10

Plot: 9/10

Flow: Steady, if a bit confusing (but that's why it's mystery)

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Kyuro : silver_shot || T || AO3 || SasuSaku || Mystery || Post-Canon || Complete

“Oh,” says Naruto, “well, its sort of like that. Except in this village, the story has a way more darker ending – it basically goes like this: the girl and the guy plan to run away together. The guy steals a bunch of treasure, and stashes it away. But then, when he goes to get the girl at her village, he kills her and decides to run away with all that money. But then he is killed by the guards of the girls village and now they're both dead and the treasure is hidden away somewhere”. Sasuke stares blankly at the blond, “that story makes no sense”.

My thoughts : I know you must be thinking the same thing as Sasuke – "makes no sense". I did too, but it's a pretty cool short story. It lies on the funny, creepy side that slowly starts to lose its funny touch. SS makes stupid mistakes later on but it could be because they are MCs. The ending is very ambiguous. It's not my favorite mystery but it is something. Enjoyable read but not something I will pick again.

Writing: 8/10

Characters: 8/10

Plot: 8/10

Flow: Fast

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Moon stuttering in the sky : xfrinz || T || AO3 || Gen || Mystery || Pre-Shippuden || One-shot

Kakashi is suspicious of many things about Haruno Sakura. Too many things about her don't make sense, with too many incongruous explanations.

My thoughts : Author of this story just summarised Pre-Shippuden in less than 4k words and made some tiny changes to it. Not much though. One of my favorite gen fics yet. Read it if you haven't yet. You'll feel more sad than thrilled tbh. But worth it.

Writing: 10/10

Characters: 10/10

Plot: 10/10

Flow: I-am-Speed

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Breath mints : silver_shot || T || AO3 || SasuSaku || Comedy-Mystery || Post-Canon || Ongoing (maybe)

Their home no longer exists with the life it once had – in fact no settlement thrives anymore; they exist only in a snapshot that contradicts time itself. Families within their own homes sleep in a slumber that they cannot wake from. Those that were chatting on the street prior to the event simply drop their heads and remain unresponsive.

My thoughts : I picked it up for Mystery but I stayed for Comedy. But of course that's not to say supernatural elements in this story is not it, but it sure pales in comparison to effortless humor in this story. Lee and Kiba pair is something you don't see often but they get along too well here. Charactisation is on point as well. SS angst! + NS angst (but it's downplayed)

Writing: 10/10

Characters: 10/10

Plot: 9/10

Flow: Steady

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The Curse : sincerelyLen || T || FFN || SasuSaku || Horror || Post-Canon || Ongoing

Team 7 is unexpectedly assigned an S-Ranked Mission involving an unsolved mystery of 10 years. An eerie adventure that will test their teamwork, strengths, and greatest fears. Do you believe in Curses?

My thoughts : My all-time favourite horror Naruto fanfiction. To me, this sets the standard of how mystery and horror elements should be handled. I have never been able to get this story out of my mind even it's been years. Perfect charactisation of Team 7 with Smart-yet-Stupid!Sakura, I-can-fight-aliens-and-reanimated-corpses-but-keep-ghosts-away-from-me!Naruto and I-dont-get-paid-enough-for-this!Sasuke. I especially love OCs here. They kinda reminds me of Pillars from KnY. You must read this story, loosely based on Zombie apocalypse + curse concept.

Writing: 10/10

Characters: 10/10

Plot: 10/10

Flow: Slow-but-Steady

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Silent High : Istoria || T || FFN || Gen || Mystery || Post-Canon || Complete

A bit of the Silent Hill series mixed in with Naruto. Trapped in an illusion whose rules are unknown, they struggle to find answers before darkness consumes them.

My thoughts : One of the best mystery fanfictions I've read. I especially loved how this story handled Genjutsu in the best possible way it could without it turning into some cliche, ghost story. Though really, this story has shown what my greatest fear actually is. I will never be able to leave my back open to a wheelchair. This story has simple writing yet it gives you creeps with the twists and turns. A must read one because it is unlike any other in this list.

Writing: 9/10

Characters: 10/10

Plot: 10/10

Flow: Steady

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Silence of the Damned : Daystar Clarion || T || FFN || Gen || Psychological Horror, Mystery(?) || Pre-Shippuden || One-Shot

When Naruto wakes up to a dead body in his bathroom, he begins a quick spiral into madness.

My thoughts : Listen to Halsey's Control while reading this. Quite chilling, deals with mental issues and morbid but in a fascinating way. It gives a new meaning to Dark!Naruto, but one that actually makes sense. I never saw the ending coming... I had something else in mind and I was convinced it would be, but nope. Here's a sequel to this One-Shot (Uzumaki's War) which I never picked up.

Writing: 10/10

Characters: 9/10

Plot: 9/10

Flow: Slow-but-steady

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To the Victor : Letta || T || FFN || NaruSaku || Psychological Horror || Shippuden || One-Shot

Naruto loses the fight and Sakura is a trophy of war.

My thoughts : A very twisted NS, if you squint. It's not horror but it might as well be... it is still a disturbing story to see from the eyes of Sakura. Quite chilling to be in Sakura's shoes. But I love this because it is one shot and I loved the ending.

Writing: 9/10

Characters: 10/10

Plot: 8/10

Flow: Steady

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Under the Skin : BukkakeNoJutsu || T || FFN || Team 8 || Body Horror || Pre-Shippuden || One-Shot

Your actions don't make you a monster. Your reasons do.

My thoughts : There's a reason why Shino is my favourite team 8 member. In my opinion, Shino is also one of the strongest Shinobi of his generation. His clan techniques are just that horrifying. This story is testament to that. He is so terrible.

Writing: 10/10

Characters: 10/10

Plot: 10/10

Flow: Slow-but-steady

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Instant Message : Keelah || T || FFN || SasuSaku || Murder mystery || Modern AU || Incomplete

She gave him names to kill, in order not to be killed herself. But having blood on her hands was turning out to be much worse than dying. "…There's still round 2…3…4…" When does this game end? She asked. "Don't you see, Sakura?" He said, "It never does."

My thoughts : I read this story a long time ago and have read this twice. Personally, it has the most interesting concept of all stories in the list. It reminds me of Vocaloid series, "Bookmark of the end". Kind of. To those who are thinking of picking this up, go ahead! It's a great book and has one of the best suspense I've read in Fandom. BUT, it has been stopped in mother-of-all-cliffhangers and Author is MIA for 4 years now. But, all things considered, it remains to be one of the best stories I've read.

Writing: 10/10

Characters: 9/10

Plot: 10/10

Flow: Steady

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Monomoth : Ohtze || M || FFN/AO3 || SasuSaku || Horror || AU || Incomplete

Everything ends, eventually. Eight years after the war, Sakura's unhinged and Sasuke's obsessed. The fields are filled with corpses.

My thoughts : I read this story right after "The Curse", my favourite. From what I remember, Sakura and Sasuke are both mentally deranged, in different ways. Lots of death and gore to stomach, so not for weak readers. There's no speak of fluff in this one. Zero, Zilch, Nada. I wouldn't call it your classic 'Horror', but it is very disturbing, so psychological horror is more like it. Don't eat food while reading this one. Did I mention how Sakura is mentally disturbed beyond help in this one? And Sasuke is obsessed. If these suit your tastes, go ahead.

Writing: 10/10

Characters: 9/10

Plot: 10/10

Flow: Slow

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I hope you enjoy this list. Let me know your opinion in comments.

[sritzthefirefly]

The Not-so French Mistake

Pairing: Slight Dean x reader

Word Count: 1.9k

Warnings: Language

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Supernatural. Any and all comments on this are appreciated. I’m sorry for any grammatical errors that I might have made. This is my first fanfiction (as a one-shot, I've written a few earlier in poetry form) so please go easy on me.

“You are going to die.”, he states nonchalantly, as if three men entering your house and telling you that you are going to die is an everyday occurrence.

“I…WHAT?!”, I shout, my eyes round as saucers.

Well, today was a seemingly normal day. Until the seemingly normal day wasn’t as seemingly normal as I thought it would be.

                                2 hours earlier

“Hey, I’ll be leaving now”, my best friend said as she packed the small handbag she always carried around with her.

“Don’t forget the pickle jar and then come back 15 minutes later telling me you forgot the one thing I reminded you about”, I shouted to her from the top of the stairs.

She turned around to pick up the jar from the centre table when her eyes landed on me and she whistled. I pulled the drawstrings of my silk dressing gown tighter as I walked down the stairs.

“Ooooh, would you look at that, someone’s looking good. So, are you going to sleep after I’m gone, or are you going to have some company tonight?”

“I…..I just can’t……not so soon after...ummm……I know I’m stupid but I just wanted to feel good about myself”

She closed the few steps between us and hugged me tightly.

“Hey, you know he’s an asshole. His words don’t count, ok? No guy has the right to make you feel bad about yourself”, she said, pulling away.

“But he…….”

“No missy, you listen here, he’s an idiot who doesn’t deserve you. He should feel lucky he’s not in town or I would’ve kicked him so hard in the balls that impregnating a woman would’ve been a foreign concept to him.”

I gave her a small smile.

“Thanks for hyping me up, love. I’m now going to have ice cream and cry my heart out to sad rom-coms.”

“Bitch, you hate rom-coms. You’re just going to binge-watch Supernatural and you’re not telling me that because you won’t admit that you’re obsessed with the show”.

“Okay, okay whatever……Aren’t you getting late for your train?”

 She looked at her watch.

 “Oh shit! Bye, see you later.” she said as she ran out of the door, slamming it behind her. I sighed to myself and walked over to the TV, switching it on.

“Self-care time for me now!”, I said to myself, as I opened the fridge to get my favorite ice-cream when suddenly, the doorbell rings. I immediately turned my head towards the centre table and sure enough, the pickle jar was there.

Shaking my head, I picked up her precious jar and walked over to the door, pulling it open.

“I knew you……..”, I stopped short when I saw who was standing outside.

There, standing on my porch were, none other than, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki.

And then I woke up.

Yeah, if only it happened that way.

I knew I was looking like an absolute fool in front of them, opening and closing my mouth like a fish, my eyes wide and my breath short as I stood there, taking in the two handsome men adorning my doorstep. They were dressed in their Sam and Dean outfits -plaid, over layers of plaid- it seemed like a scene straight out of a set.

“Hi! You’re Y/N right?”, Jared said in his usual husky voice while Jensen stood beside him, strangely staring at me with something akin to awe in his eyes.

“W…what? I…uh…yeah…I…I am Y/N”, I somehow managed to choke out.

“You’re awesome”, Jensen Ackles breathed out with a sigh with literal heart-eyes in my direction. He cleared his throat and blinked twice and then seemed to step out of his reverie. He gave me a small smile and looked me up and down with a small smirk and I blushed furiously. Wait, was Jensen Ackles checking me out?!

Okay, so there were either of these two things going on- either I was dreaming or I had completely lost my mind. But since I had already pinched myself and well, that damn pinch did hurt, so the situation pretty much tilted towards the latter side. I mean, Jensen Ackles knows me and he thinks I am awesome?!

“Yep, definitely not a fan”, Jared whispers somewhat sarcastically to Jensen to which he replies under his breath with a “Shut up, Sammy!”

I would have paid more attention to what Jensen said had I not had my whole focus on Jared’s last words.

“Ummm…..excuse me? No offense but I’m standing right here and you can rest assured that I am 100% a fan, of both of you. If you don’t believe me, ask me anything about Supernatural.”, I say, crossing my hands across my chest.

“Wha-Supernatural? Like the book Supernatural? You have that here too?”, Jensen asks seemingly surprised.

Alright, is this a game for their show? I thought to myself, utterly confused and dazed. They seem to know my name and well, address too and that can be the only logical explanation as to why Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki are here, on my doorstep. But I couldn’t see any cameras nearby. Maybe they were hidden? Maybe I was meant to be taken by surprise? Oh shit, did I just challenge them right now? Was this being filmed? My mind rushed with a million things- ‘Oh god, I must be looking so stupid right now, acting like a blobfish instead of doing anything!’

I opened my mouth to say something, anything at all, when Jared cut through. 

“Ummm I’m sorry, Y/N, but it’s not really a good idea to be standing outside and talking. I promise we’ll explain everything. Can we please come inside and talk?”

“I….uh…..yeah sure. Come inside please.”, I was about to ask what their deal was but changed my mind when I saw Jensen nervously looking around and then back at me, pleadingly. 

I closed the door behind me as they settled on the plush red sofa. I walked across the room and sat on the chair facing them.

“Y/N”, Jared started. “There’s no easy way to say this but I’m Sam Winchester and this is my brother Dean. Like, from Supernatural.”

“Ummm…. I’m aware? Despite your contrary belief, I told you I was a fan.”, I said, confused.

“You’re our fan?!”, Jensen asked, somewhat stunned. “Haha sweetheart, am I living my dream!”, he added, his emerald eyes twinkling.

I stared at him through my eyelashes.

“Hold up, quick question, are you a Dean girl or Sam girl?”

“Dean, not now…..”, Jared sighed.

“Dean girl!”, I blurted out, immediately blushing deeply. Jensen’s entire face lit up and I hurriedly added, “No offense to Jared here.”

“Jared? You mean Jared Pada-whatshisname?”, Jensen asked incredulously.

“Padalecki, Dean”

“Son of a bitch! Fake us lives in the same universe as her!”

I started laughing and the both of them turned towards me quizzically.

“Ummm what is this? Some spin-off of The French Mistake?”, I asked.

“The French what?”, Jared looked at me, his eyebrow raised.

“That’s not important right now. Y/N, I know, it’s hard to believe us right now, but we are not your TV actors-we are not Jensen and Jared. I am the actual Dean Winchester and he is my brother, Sam Winchester. The trickster, the archangel Gabriel, owed us a favor and he let us travel into your universe.... Sweetheart please, you have to believe me. I umm uh, I have been a-”

I stood straight up from my chair, angrily.

“I’m sorry but what kind of prank is this? Going to people’s houses and-”, I started angrily when suddenly the entire room got spontaneously flooded with an immensely bright light.

“Cover your eyes!”, a deep, somewhat robotic voice filled the air and I immediately did so to lessen the risk of my precious peepers being completely burned out by an unknown source of dazzling light in my seemingly normal house in the middle of a seemingly normal (absolutely weird) day.

Slowly, the light faded.

And there stood Misha Collins-

No, that could not possibly be Misha. Unless Misha had suddenly evolved to be able to exhibit bioluminescence or had sprouted long black wings from the back of his trench coat or had learned to hover like a bee in mid-air. No, definitely not Misha. 

That means, this must…this must be-

“Holy mother of God”, I gasped out.

“I….am….not….the….I am the son of God”, he said, walking across the room to sit beside Jar-no, no......Sam.

Holy shit! CASTIEL?! That means that all this time, Jens- Dean, had not been lying. I collapsed on my chair, my mind, not being able to form a single coherent thought. Dean leaped up from the sofa and rushed to my side.

“Darling….darling, look for yourself, that-”

“He is Castiel.”, I said, boring into Dean’s green eyes, they brought me comfort. “I believe you…… Dean.”

A look passed between Sam and Dean and Dean immediately held my hand and squeezed my palm as an act of reassurance as he beamed at me.

Sam got up from his chair and smiled at me, “Thanks to Cas here, you believe us. At last. I thought you were two seconds away from throwing us out.”

I snorted. A really ugly snort through my nose. In front of three delicious-looking men, especially Dean, who was somehow still looking at me like I was God’s gift to mankind. Hah, no wonder I was single.

I cleared my throat to relieve the awkwardness and continued,

“Well, in my defense, you guys were acting real creepy.”

Yeah sure, not even in my wildest dreams would I actually throw Jensen and Jared out of my house, no matter how creepy they act, but they didn’t need to know that.

“But how…why……..”, I started asking the questions bothering me.

“Umm well, yeah, about that…”, Dean started, gulping.

Castiel walked over and looked at me with downcast eyes.

“You are going to die.”, he stated nonchalantly, as if three men entering into your house and telling you that you are going to die is an everyday occurrence.

“I…WHAT?!”, I shouted, my eyes wide.

                                        Now

“CAS!”, Sam and Dean both exclaim at him at the same time.

“She was asking.…..”

“No Cas, not like that!”, Sam tells him prickly.

“Please tell me what the hell is going on! Why….How am I going to die? What’s happening?!”, I say, hiding my face with my hair.

“Darling, promise me you won’t freak out.”, Dean says, staring straight into my soul. “You are a character from a book in our universe. My favourite book. And trust me, this...you…. I am a huge fan of you. Have been, since I was a child. Now you see, few months ago, we stumbled into your universe when Gabriel pranked us. And then I saw you. I met you. The real you....just….perfect….And I just wanted to.....I mean..... I came back...I came back because…..”

“Because?”

“I know everything. I know how the book ends and I have come back here to save you, darling.”

Tagging -  @thatmotleygirl @msmarvelouswinchester @athenapotter @mvdeanw​ @bts-spnlvr12​ @holylulusworld @jensengirl83

[doc-pickles]

all roads they lead me here

This is the last time you tell me I've got it wrong

This is the last time I say it's been you all along

This is the last time I let you in my door

This is the last time, I won't hurt you anymore

“Hey it’s Alex, leave me a message or whatever.”

“Alex, it's Jo. I just talked to your mom because you weren’t answering my calls and she said she hasn’t seen you or heard from you in awhile. So… please call me back. I just need to know you’re okay. I love you.”

“It’s me. It’s just been… A really long day and all I really want to do is curl up in bed with you. But you’re not here and you’re not in Iowa and I’m starting to worry that you’re dead in a ditch somewhere. Anyways I love you, please call me back.”

“Hi, it’s me again. Jo, you know your wife? The woman you married? I just… I’m worried about you and the longer I don’t hear from you the more worried I get. So please just call me back. I love you.”

“Alex, please pick up the phone. I don’t care where you are or what you’ve been doing. I don’t care if you’ve… committed murder or something. I don’t know, I just… I need you to answer me. If you’re not coming home I need to know so please just stop my wondering and answer me. Please. I love you, call me back.”

Alex sighed as he listened to the plethora of voicemails that Jo had left for him, her voice sounding more desperate the more messages she left. He wanted to call her, to answer one of her phone calls but he didn’t think it was fair to her. How was he supposed to drag her away from Seattle and everyone they loved to come to the middle of nowhere? How could he ask her to make that sacrifice when he was struggling to accept it himself?

As if hearing his thoughts, his phone screen lit up with a photo of Jo and him on their wedding day. Despite his doubts and worries Alex punched the green accept button and brought the phone up to his ear.

“Alex? Is that you?”

He only hesitates for a moment before letting out a sigh and answering, “Yeah it’s me.”

The relieved sigh and barely concealed tears break his heart as he listens to Jo on the other line. This was why he couldn’t go back, why he couldn’t face Jo again. Just hearing her on the other end of the phone was breaking his heart, he knew if he stood across from her and told her the choice he’d made that he would never be able to walk away.

“Oh my god, I thought you were dead,” Jo’s voice rang across the line, cries punctuating her words as she spoke a mile a minute. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt or in trouble or anything are you?”

“No… No, I'm okay. I’m fine I promise.”

“Good then where the hell are you,” Jo’s voice went from worried to stern in a flash, her tone almost scaring Alex as he listened to her. “I haven’t seen you in a month and a half and no one has been able to contact you for almost three weeks now. I thought you were lying in a coma somewhere so you better have a damn good reason as to why you haven’t been answering your phone.”

Of course she was angry, she had every right to be. If Alex were in Jo’s shoes he would’ve lost his mind trying to figure out where she was. But he wasn’t, instead he was lying in a hotel room thousands of miles away from Seattle keeping a huge secret from his wife who he normally told everything to. Alex let his eyes roam to the crisp white envelope on the bedside table next to him, Jo’s name in large letters across the front of it.

“It’s a long story, Jo.”

“Well start talking then Alex. I have been losing my mind here and I deserve an explanation,” Jo paused for a moment, her voice coming back clear and resolute when she spoke again. “If you’re leaving us, if you’re not coming home I need you to say it. I can’t keep sitting here playing back everything I’ve done trying to figure out what I did wrong.”

“Jo you haven’t done anything wrong, you could never,” Alex is quick to stop the destructive thoughts he knows are swirling around in Jo’s head. A deep pang of guilt hits him as he realizes that his lack of communication has probably torn her apart. “I’m just trying to figure some things out and… that might mean I don’t come back to Seattle.”

The line is silent and for a long moment Alex almost thinks that she’s hung up on him. Finally Jo speaks again, “You're telling me I didn’t do anything wrong but you’re not coming home? I don’t get it. Can you just tell me what's really happening?”

“I have kids.”

“I was going to-“

“With Izzie. She used the embryos and she has twins. We have twins,”

The all consuming silence from the other end of the line surrounds him once again. This time though, the pause felt like the heaviest thing he’d ever felt, the weight settling on his chest and taking his breath with it as he waited for Jo to respond to him.

“Oh.”

“Jo, I had no idea. I called Izzie before Mer’s trial and I was telling her all about you and then… then I heard them in the background. Alexis was singing some song and Eli was yelling at her to stop and I couldn’t not ask about them,” Alex let out a sigh as he ran a hand across his face. “They’re perfect Jo, god they're… They’re everything, the best of me and the best of Izzie. I have a chance to make this family whole, and I just hope you love me back enough to let me ta-“

“You have a family here too Alex! You have people that are depending on you and waiting for you to come home,” Jo was on the verge of tears and she yelled down the line, her voice trembling as she tried to get her point across. “Why didn’t you tell me? Or answer your phone? God Alex I love you but sometimes you can be so stupid. I’m looking up flights now, I can get there tomorrow afternoon.”

“No babe, I don’t need you to come out here.”

“Then tell me what I’m supposed to do! Because I’ve been sitting at home for the last month and a half waiting for you to come home and that didn’t do anything.”

Alex let out a sigh, his shoulders falling as he leaned back against the headboard of his hotel bed, “Jo I’m sorry but I have kids and I need to be here for them. I’ve already missed five years of their lives, I don’t want to miss anymore.”

“Then let me come out there Alex! If you’re planning on staying why won’t you let me come out,” the next pause that comes is from Alex as Jo let’s his silence answer her questions. “You really weren’t planning on coming back to me, were you?”

“Jo, please-“

“No Alex! You don’t just choose to end things without asking me! It's like the past seven years have meant nothing to you,” a steadying breath sounded over the line, Alex’s heart beating out of time as he listened to Jo. “You cannot just leave us here like garbage Alex. I deserve more than that, we deserve more than that! So either you come home or…. Fuck! I don’t know. Alex please.”

Alex thinks he can almost tangibly feel his heart breaking in two as Jo cries out to him. He loves her, more than anything he thinks, but he has children and their faces pop into his mind every second of the day now. He can’t fathom leaving them after already missing so much of their lives.

“Were you even planning on coming back home? Or were you just going to ignore my calls until I got the hint.”

“I didn't know she would have my kids, and now that she does, I don't know how to look anyone in the eye if I don't stay and do everything I can to make this work, make this a life, make this a family,” Alex’s pauses to catch his breath, listening to Jo’s cries. “I never meant to hurt you Jo-“

“Then you should’ve told me! You knew for weeks before you left and you didn’t say anything. You just kissed me and laughed at my jokes and ate dinner across from me crawled into bed next to me and made love to me like nothing was wrong. But the whole time you were just counting down the days until you left without another word,” her breaths are unsteady now, Jo hyperventilating on the other end of the phone in a way that makes Alex want to forget everything he’s seen in Kansas. “I can’t breathe, I can’t do this Alex. If you’re leaving us just say it. Please.”

“Jo, I’m sorry-“

“Just say it!”

“I wish getting everything I always wanted didn't have to hurt you in the process. But I can't lie to you. And I can't come home,” Alex is forcing the words out, barely able to say them without bursting into tears himself. “I'm not coming home, Jo. I can't face you. I can't look you in the eye because I wouldn't be able to walk away.”

“And that doesn’t mean anything to you? Everything we worked for, every uphill battle we fought to be together means nothing now? Did you ever think I would go with you, no questions asked,” Jo takes a deep breath before finishing. “I get that you have kids in Kansas, but you have a family here too Alex and we’ve been here for years, we’re always going to be here waiting and wondering and… I have to go. I love you and I’m sorry we weren’t enough.”

The line finally drops silent and Alex lets the tears he’d been holding back fall. He thinks he’s making the right choice, being there for his kids and giving them what he and Jo never had as children. But the pain and aching in his heart make him second guess his decision, if only for a moment.

-

It’s two days after his phone call with Jo when Alex realizes that he might have royally screwed everything up. His eyes follow Eli and Alexis around the farmyard as Izzie tells him about their life.

“We were actually in Tacoma before moving out to Kansas. Well, really it was just me but I was already four months pregnant by the time I decided to move,” Izzie let a chuckle out as Alex’s brain began to work overtime. “Somehow we made it though, I swear those two have been keeping me on my toes since they were in the womb.”

Alex ran back Jo’s words from their conversation in slow motion. He had played them over and over again in his head since she’d hung up on him but now he realized they might have a new meaning.

“If you’re leaving us, if you’re not coming home I need you to say it.”

“You have a family here too Alex!”

“You cannot just leave us here like garbage Alex. I deserve more than that, we deserve more than that!”

“We’re always going to be here waiting and wondering.”

“I love you and I’m sorry we weren’t enough.”

Sure she might have meant Meredith and her kids and the family he’d found for himself in Seattle but Alex knew Jo better than that.

“You know what I mean,” Izzie’s voice snapped Alex out of his daze, his eyes glassy as he looked from his hands to the blonde next to him. “You okay?”

“I uh… I think my wife is pregnant.”

+

It’s nearly 10 PM when a knock sounds on the loft door. Jo almost doesn’t get up from her spot on the couch as her fatigued body sinks into the cushions, reasoning with herself that anyone of importance has a key. When there’s another knock however, she begrudgingly drags herself up to slide the metal door open.

“Oh my god…”

Standing in front of her is Alex, eyes tired and hair damp from the near constant downpour of Seattle rain. She tries to ignore the suitcase at his feet, not wanting to get her hopes up when they’d already been so crushed just a week before when she’d spoken to him.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I walked away from you and from all of this,” Alex runs a hand through his hair, his gaze floating to the ceiling as he struggles to keep his composure. “I want to be here Jo, you mean everything to me.”

“How am I supposed to believe that? How am I supposed to let you back in when I know you were about to leave me without a word,” she’s begging herself not to cry right now, she’s done enough of that in the past week. But her stupid hormones bring tears to her eyes that she tries unsuccessfully to blink away. “Alex, you were ready to walk away from everything we’ve built without so much as a goodbye!”

“I know but-“

“But what?! Izzie sent you back home? Your conscience suddenly crawled back into your body after taking a two month vacation,” Jo’s voice rises as she stares Alex down. “What do you think you could possibly say that would make this better?”

Alex takes a step forward and Jo can’t bring herself to step away from him. Her mind is swirling, tears stinging her eyes as she meets his gaze, “Jo, I’m sorry.”

“Well sorry doesn't fix everything Alex.”

There’s a quiet moment between them as they stand mere inches from each other, eyes locked but no words exchanged. Alex does look remorseful, like every decision he had excluded her from is finally weighing heavily on his shoulders.

“I’m not going back to Kansas. Well, I’m not staying there at least,” Jo blinks up at Alex, waiting for him to continue before she says anything else. “I love my kids, god they're perfect, but that’s not where I belong. And I’m sorry it took so long for me to realize that, I’m sorry it took you yelling at me to realize that because it just confirmed that I should’ve talked to you as soon as I found out.”

Alex takes another step forward, his chest almost touching hers as his hand comes up to cradle the curve of her stomach that one of his old shirts had hidden. In the month and a half that he’s been gone Jo’s figure had curved outward significantly, the baby bump now noticeable no matter what she wore. She’s not sure how he’d figured it out, but the simple act breaks the flimsy hold she has on her emotions. Instead of the tears she’d become so used to though, Jo finds herself overwhelmed with anger as she pushes away from Alex.

“If this is why you're back you can turn around and leave again.”

"It's not…. Well it is but it's not the only reason."

"Alex!”

“Just listen please. I'm not back because we're having a baby, I’m back because you being pregnant made me realize how stupid I was being when I decided to move to Kansas. Eli and Alexis... They're amazing, but they were amazing before I got there too. And I don't want to be a dad without you by my side. I want it all with you Jo and I know that might be hard to believe right now but-“

Before Alex finished his statement Jo had launched herself into his arms, tears staining his shirt where she had her face pressed against his chest, "I'm still pissed at you but these stupid hormones all telling me to give you another chance.”

“Thank god, I didn't have a backup plan if you kicked me out again.”

"But,” Jo leaned up and fixed Alex with a serious look. "This is your last chance. If you EVER screw up this badly again…”

“I won't.”

Jo leans back, pressing her lips to Alex’s as she pulled him into the loft, “Welcome home.”

[downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles]

We Met Within This Screen (chapt. 3 PART 1)

[Donnie x reader]

sfw, part 2 here

"Leo?" 

Donnie froze. Leo stood firm where he was. The atmosphere of the lab fell still and Donnie got up from his chair, slipping his phone into his pocket. 

"I was getting ready," Donnie almost stammered out, though he managed to get through it barely. "Just…" 

He couldn't think of anything to say. No excuses; he knew he was caught. Why would he have been smiling, chuckling at his phone? Why would he have been that distracted as to not detect his brother? There was no explanation to give. He was far less acute than their leader in his senses—less intuitive—to have been able to know that. He berated himself as Leo folded his arms and gave him a look of knowing. Always with that look. You knew you were busted when Leo deployed that one. 

"You can either tell me what's going on now or you can do it out there, where everyone can hear," said Leo sternly, body partially blocking the exit anyway. 

Donnie scratched on the same spot on the back of his neck that he'd always picked at when he felt uncomfortable. "I can explain," he finally said in a low tone. "Just let me. And please don't alert everyone else immediately. Promise?" 

Pausing, Leo contemplated on his response, coming to the decision that he'd at least give him that. He nodded and motioned for him to start, "Go ahead."

"I, um…" 

Donnie's heart rate picked up a bit as he began to feel a wash of embarrassment seep in. He'd never been very open to his brothers about how he sometimes wanted connection with the outside world. He hadn't thought much about love or romance given their situation, either, but it did crop up from time to time—he still never mentioned it. 

Releasing a deep breath, he explained, "I met someone. Over a game. She wanted to text, and I figured that, since the possibility of—" 

Leo halted him. "Time out, what? You met someone on a game, they wanted to text, and you just...agreed?" he asked, surprised himself by Donnie's actions. Before he would hear his brother's response, he continued, cutting him off once again, "Did you forget that there's a reason why we don't just go around talking to whoever?"

Donnie felt a spark of anger and he stood up straighter, stepping forward toward Leo. He hated nothing more than being implied he was stupid or naive. But he still kept his distance, and still tried to keep his voice low so that prying ears couldn't hear. 

"Trust me, Leo! I've been talking to her for a few weeks. We only started officially texting recently. You know I've fixed up our phones so they aren't traceable; what is the issue? Am I not allowed to have my own life?" 

Leo scoffed lightly, shaking his head. "Don, come on, dude," he reasoned, "can you even be sure that's a girl?" 

Donnie's lip twitched in annoyance and he scoffed, himself. Of course he was sure! If he'd ever had any inkling he was being baited by an older man, he never would have played with them, or even agreed to text. But Leo didn't seem to listen to anyone's intuition but his own and Splinter's, and so he wouldn't hear out that argument. Donnie suddenly wished she'd sent a picture of herself so he could prove to his brother that he was not, in fact, that empty-headed. 

"Also, you do have your own life, it's with us. Which means I have to look out for both you and the rest of the family. I mean it when I say this is risky. Don't be a fool, Donnie. Plus, what were you planning on doing when she eventually wants to know more about you? Lie your way through it? Even if she is who you say she is, it still doesn't change the fact that she's a human girl and you're a mutant. And you can't keep up the charade forever." 

Donnie's heart panged at his last words. He wanted so badly to say that he was wrong, but really, he knew that Leo was painfully correct. He couldn't keep up the act forever. Not unless he wanted a friendship built upon lies and deceit by omission. As much as he hated to admit it, Leo was right; it was foolish to have thought it would somehow work out. 

Silence befell them, and even though he spoke the truth, Leo felt bad upon seeing his face fall like that. He reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "I know it gets lonely. We all do. But you have to face it, Don. That up there? It isn't for us," he told him gently, trying hard to lift the tension from the room. "Let's just stick to what we know best, okay?" 

The shadows. 

Eyes averted at the ground, Donnie swept the hand on his shoulder off. He walked right past his brother and grabbed some gear on his way out. "Yeah. Let's go." His reply was quiet and curt, steady as he could make it. Though on the inside, he was frustrated. Frustrated that he'd dug himself into a hole that he'd now have to not only dig himself out of, but let down someone else while he was at it. He'd have to let her go. Less angry was he with himself as he was his situation, and Leo knew that feeling well. He wanted to protect his brother—he just hoped Donnie would see that. 

Out on patrol, they went about their routine as usual, but everyone noticed the mood-shift. Raph and Mikey were excitable as ever, but the other two were more reserved that night, not talking much to each other. 

They leaped from one rooftop to another where they decided to stop for a quick rest, Mikey racing ahead of all of them as he vaulted from the roof and onto the next. "You guys are slow!" he called from the other side. He grinned and jumped up onto the scaffold of a water tower while Raph  barrelled across the gap with a roll on impact, Leo choosing to take a flip. Donnie trailed behind and simply jumped the ledge. 

"Yo, what's up, D?" Mikey asked through heavy breaths, picking up on his standoffishness. "You been quiet all night!"

"And you're slow as hell," Raph commented. While not as perceptive as Mikey, he had noticed the odd tension and was beginning to get suspicious as well. He knew someone wasn't saying something; he just didn't know what. 

Leo and Donnie exchanged looks. He silently hoped that Leo would take the hint, but when Leo sighed and glanced back at the other two, he knew it was hopeless. He'd get chastised at for being ignorant all over again. At least by Raph, he judged. Mikey couldn't really talk because he'd been in a similar boat before, and now, he knew how he'd felt all those times they got onto Mikey for trying to make contact with humans. 

"Well?" demanded Raph, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "You gonna tell us or what?" His eyes were on Leo rather than Donnie, because he already had an idea that they both knew something that he and Mikey didn't, but everyone turned to Leo when something like this came up.

Leo chewed on his lower lip for a second, conflicted as to whether he would come out with it or save Donnie's pride. They were brothers, family—he couldn't feel truthful keeping them in the dark. But he also recognized that it wasn't his place to say it. He instead turned to Donnie himself, looking for any sign of what they were gonna do. It was up to him, he concluded; if he wanted to stay quiet about it, he could. 

Mikey was confused. Raph was growing more impatient. Donnie felt pressured to blurt it out. And he did. 

Breaking, Donnie strung out, "I met someone online and we started talking and Leo found out and I didn't want you guys to know because it was stupid and...and...oh, just let me finish this now!"

Leo awkwardly stood back in silence while Raph looked at Mikey, then back at Donnie and him, and soon enough everyone was just staring at one another, all waiting for someone to say something, but no one did. Done, Donnie took his phone out and opened up the messages shared between him and her, holding it out for his brothers to see. 

Without warning Raph snatched the phone from his hand and started scrolling, Mikey peering around his shoulder and trying to push him out of the way to see. 

"You actually talked to a girl," Mikey awed. He was excited at first, but it faded when he thought about the fact that Donnie had kept a secret from them. They didn't keep secrets. 

"Yeah, one named [y/n], who lives in New York City," Raph emphasized, "and works at wherever this is…and...how did you even meet this girl, Don? Is that even a girl?" he questioned Donnie accusingly, waving the phone around as he spoke. He almost dropped it and Donnie quickly took it from him, telling him to be careful as he slipped it back into the strap on his bicep. 

Leo kept vigilant watch around them while the conversation played out, being the only one truly paying attention. His eye caught some erratic movement in a tucked-away alley down below them. 

"For the last time, yes! She is a girl! And I met her on a game," Donnie answered, throwing his hands down. 

"Save it for later, guys, we got company," Leo interjected. He pointed down at the alleyway adjacent to the building they were on and motioned for them to get moving, dropping down onto the fire escape of an apartment complex. 

Raph bumped Donnie in the arm purposefully as they approached the edge of the roof, "We ain't done yet," he said, dropping onto the fire escape. 

"Yeah, not done yet," Mikey added whimsically. 

Groaning under his breath, Donnie whipped out his staff, and leaped down. 

Mikey followed behind him, jumping the ledge and launching himself to the opposite balcony. They came upon the scene of a couple of men each carrying a sack out of a backdoor in a building, what was assumed to be the ringleader overseeing it from a car parked next to them. 

They turtles were silent, perfectly hidden and moved within the black of night as they descended. Raph pulled out his sai and was about to drop down on one of the unsuspecting men when Leo shoved him back. "Hold on," Leo told him. Begrudgingly, Raph stood down. Donnie peered around the corner from ground level while Mikey clinged to a wall in the shadows. Above, Leo and Raph took the high ground, watching them from a balcony nearby. 

"Hurry up and get this shit loaded into the car, I don't wanna get caught back here," a rough voice ordered from the vehicle. Donnie spotted another person in the passenger's seat. 

"We're goin' as fast as we can!" one of the men spat back. All were beefed up, tattooed, and based on the scars, no strangers to a fight. 

Raph looked at Leo with a smirk. Leo gave the signal and everyone closed in, red and blue dropping from the balcony onto the two completely unaware men, while Donnie and Mikey went to take care of those in the car. 

"What the fuck?!" a man shouted, stumbling back as the duo dropped heavily in front of them. He tossed the sack away and Raph saw he was going to pull out a gun, which Raph went for immediately with his sai. He charged into the man before he could even try to aim and stuck the arm holding the pistol with his three-pronged weapon, forcing his wrist down and the gun to fall out of his hand. Leo took the other and barely had to use any force in pinning the man against the wall with his blade and forearm, but had to duck out of the way when Mikey came through swinging his nunchucks at one of the men who had tried to flee the scene. 

"Watch where you're going with those things, Mikey!" Leo yelled, grunting as a crowbar collided with the side of his head. He spun around and threw his fist at whoever was behind him, an incapacitating blow to a human, but barely his full strength. 

Mikey easily caught his target and gave his legs a mighty sweep to sent him tumbling down. "You thought!" he bellowed with a laugh. "Can't outrun M.C. Mikey." 

Donnie caught the driver on the far end of the fight scurrying to pick up the sacks before making his getaway, and quickly he forcefully jabbed his staff into the solar plexus of the man, sending him onto his back. He was winded, coughing and struggling for air. 

"Donatello! You good over there?" Raph called out, delivering one final kick to the stomach of the man he was on. Donnie heard the skid of a shoe on the pavement behind him and didn't even have to look as he whirled around with a swing of his staff, hitting the man in the head with near-devastating force. It was a knockout blow—the guy dropped, and the fight was over as quickly as it had started. 

Donnie looked around and collapsed his staff, "All good," he answered curtly. 

All five of the men lay on the ground, a couple flat-out unconscious while the rest hissed and groaned in pain. While Donnie inspected the sacks strewn around, Raph chuffed and kicked the gun that had fallen away from the hand that was slowly reaching for it, looking down at the pathetic criminal as he instead stepped on his wrist. The burly man let out a whimper, like a baby, and Raph chuckled. 

"Just money," Donnie announced. All of them heard the sirens of police cars approaching. "Let's get out of here, guys." 

"Those morons weren't even a warm-up," Raph gloated, fist-bumping Mikey. Leo and Donnie were already scaling up to the roof. "Guess if I want to be bored outta my mind, I'll find these guys again." 

"Oh, we'll find 'em again," Mikey added, pulling himself up onto the fire escape. He glanced back and saw the red and blue flashing lights starting to round the corner. "But, uh, not before the cops do." 

The four made their way back up to the roof and left the area. They still had some time left on patrol, so for a minute, they lingered around, Raph keen to reignite their earlier conversation. Donnie already saw it coming and mentally prepared to answer all of the questions that were about to be thrown his way—which he was correct about, as Raph proceeded to open with, "So, what, you're keepin' secrets from us now? Anything else ya been doing behind all our backs?" 

"Cut it, Raph," Leo said, stepping between him and Donnie, "you know that's not it. Don?"

"We're your pals, man, you should have told us," frowned Mikey. 

"I just didn't want anyone to freak out," Donnie explained, "and I didn't know I was going to meet anyone I liked that much, I was only planning on playing the—" 

Both Raph and Mikey asked in unison, "'Like'?" 

He scrambled to fix his wording. He cursed his nervous chatter; he couldn't help himself, he was uncomfortable. Maybe even anxious, because he knew he was going to have to face reality and break it off with his new friend.

"No, not—not 'like'. Like, not like that. I mean in general, as a person," he stuttered, floundering with himself. 

Mikey knew he was lying. He knew it well. Though gullible at times, when it came to the heart, Mikey truly was the most in-tune out of the four. As for the other two, he couldn't say as to whether they saw the lie here, because sometimes, Donnie stuttered just because he was excited or frazzled. Other times, it was definitely because he was lying. The entire time he felt a little bad for his brother. He imagined himself in his shoes and it made him sad, thinking about having to let go of a friend right after having them in his life. 

Putting a hand on his shell, Mikey shook him a bit, "You like her, bro," he whispered. 

Donnie lightly pushed him away. "She's a friend," he clarified, eyeing Mikey. 

Raph was silent for a moment while he thought about everything. He wasn't mad about the fact that Donnie has found someone as much as he was that he never said anything, kept a secret from his brothers. The four of them had a rule that went without saying; they didn't keep secrets from one another. Not about anything major, at least—which this was. He didn't even contemplate on what he thought Donnie should do about it, just that he'd hidden something significant from all of them.  

"Still doesn't change the fact that you didn't seem like you were plannin' on coming clean with any of us," Raph huffed. "Not if he didn't catch ya." He pointed at Leo. 

Donnie suddenly felt his temper flare, and he bit back, "What about you, Raphael? You constantly hide your feelings! How is it not the same thing?" 

"Except for his anger, he's pretty upfront about that," Mikey quickly added in before sinking away from the two. Leo sighed and flicked his head. Donnie was right. Raph was a hypocrite and they were getting nowhere. 

"My feelings don't endanger people around me," growled Raph, stepping in toward Donnie. They met each other half-way as Donnie wasn't about to back down from his brother, who he was not scared of. "That is absolutely different from what you're doing!"

"Guys, we need to get going," Leo stated, seeing how the moon was far its descent. "Splinter's clear about when he wants us back." 

"I'm finishing this right now," Donnie said, pulling out his phone. He opened up the messages and began typing.

Hey. Sorry for the sudden message and I apologise, but I can't do this anymore

He hadn't noticed yet, but the last text he'd received was only twenty minutes prior, right before they dipped from the crime scene they'd just handled. It read: 

Damn, I hear all this racket outside my apartment and it's kind of making me nervous

Like guys yelling and stuff getting banged

Nvm someone called the cops, I guess it's good now 

Everyone was gathered around Donnie watching the screen as he typed. Raph and Leo both caught that last message. He pressed send and it was only then he saw it, too, and everyone slowly looked at each other in recognition. Everyone was thinking the same thing. 

"Awkward," Mikey drew out. 

All were at a loss for words. When a new message pinged, they all shoved at each other to get a good look. Raph accidentally stepped on someone's foot. "Ouch! Give me some space, guys," Donnie snapped. 

What? 

What's wrong? 

Donnie looked sadly at the screen. He started typing his response, something skin to "it's complicated" followed by an apology, but Mikey stopped him. "Dude, you can't tell her that, it's gonna hurt her feelings!" Mikey exclaimed, "this is totally unfair! To both of you."

"Look, I ain't tryna be petty, but last time I checked, the rest of us aren't allowed to have human friends," grumbled Raph.

A new message popped up and it read:

Well...I won't question your decision. Bye Bo, I guess

Sighing, Donnie turned off his phone and put it away. He turned to everyone. "Happy?"

"Of course not, bro," Mikey responded. He looked around, as if expecting agreement. There was none; Raph stood away and Leo was watching Donnie's face go from annoyed to dejected. "Guys?"

Leo patted Donnie on the shoulder. "You did the right thing," he said. Donnie didn't say anything. "Alright, let's get going."

Chapter 3, part 2