#the rest of us just wanna either kick him like a soccer ball or put him in a kangaroo hoodie pouch

[call-me-aesthetic]

If Twisted Wonderland was an American Public School

WARNING: There are some slight sensitive topics that are featured in here! Reader discretion is advised!

Part 2 can be found here

Heartslabyul

Riddle Rosehearts:

- That one preppy girl who takes all honors and AP classes 😑

- Wants everyone to know that he’s becoming a doctor one day for his strict parents or he’ll dishonor the family

- Reminds the teacher about homework, knowing well that he’ll get slander for it

- Complains about how he got a 90 on his test or a B on his report card, a try hard much?

- Wears a cardigan with thicc but cute glasses since he’s one of those people with can’t see shit on the board so he has to move to the front of the class

Ace Trappola:

- The SoundCloud rapper, that’s it

- “Wanna listen to my mixtape? It’s pretty fire, my guy.” 😩🔥

- You will not miss him BLASTING out some song on his Bluetooth speaker, that shit be echoing through the hallways

- Tells you to stop what you’re doing only for him to either sing horribly or do a backflip, thinking that he’s so cool

- Wears a Supreme jacket with AirPods and waves on his head

Deuce Spade:

- Assuming that he’s still a delinquent, he’s that kid with the most fucked up school record

- Not much of a bully but will still talk shit to your face without caring, might even throw stuff at you during a lesson and you would be the one getting in trouble instead of him 🗿

- If he ever gets mad, it would be overdramatic like kicking the desks, punching the lockers, or walking out of the classroom unannounced and everyone would look at each other wondering wtf happened

- Covers the entire desks with drawings of skulls and those “s” if you know what I mean

- Wears Champion hoodies, wants you to know that he’s broke and rich at the same time

Trey Clover:

- The guy that’s not really popular but everyone knows him since he’s in all their classes

- Most people might have a crush on him because he’s REALLY nice 😳👉👈

- Gives off “older brother” vibes based on the way he looks and acts, like offering you a ride home if you beg ask nicely

- Secretly bakes creme brulee but doesn’t want to mess with the flow so he sticks to the status quo

- Wears the school’s hoodie just because he thinks it looks good on him, and the fact that he doesn’t know what else to wear

Cater Diamond:

- Hot Cheetos girl 🥵

- Has a whole buffet of food in his backpack and will not hesitate to eat them during a lesson, no sharing either sorry

- Excuses himself to the bathroom or full on skips class just to film a Tiktok

- Has about 100 followers on Instagram Magicam and brags about how he’s famous

- Wears a Thrasher hoodie with large hoop earrings and his hair in a bun

Savanaclaw

Leona Kingscholar:

- The kid who flunked their freshman year that also sort of vibes with new classmates

- Always gets mistaken as a teacher by people since he looks and sounds old

- Knows the lessons but still fails them anyways, didn’t really give a damn either 🙄

- Captain of every sports club you can think of, never actually plays but has a lot of knowledge on them

- Wears the school’s letterman from years ago since it used to be his brother’s and that he’s too lazy to buy a new one

Ruggie Bucchi:

- That one kid who NEVER has money for the book fair or any other school event

- Always has to ask his classmates for some cash

- If he somehow does, then he’s one of those kids who buys Diary of the Wimpy Kid or the World Record books

- If he’s feeling cheap, he’ll buy the “cool stuff” like the chocolate scented calculator or fruit snacks 😭

- Wears oversized hoodies and basketball shorts that are clearly hand-me-downs

Jack Howl:

- That one athletic kid who’s both scary good and competitive when it comes to school games like football or soccer

- Literally the best player on his team and without him, they’re trash as hell 💀

- Tries his absolute best to support his teammates without yelling at them for how dumb they are

- “KICK THE FUCKING BALL! DO YOUR LEGS EVEN WORK?!”

- Wears the school’s jersey just to show off his “school spirit”

Octavinelle

Azul Ashengrotto:

- The kid who sell snacks for “charity” but everyone knows he’s keeping the money to himself

- If you don’t have cash or try to negotiate with him, the only thing he’ll do is raise the price up

- “What do you mean you don’t have ten bucks? I can see it in your pocket.”

- Just bring nothing with you, he’ll doing anything to steal your stuff 🤭

- Wears a collar shirt with a tie and khakis that have pockets to keep his glasses and money in

Jade Leech:

- The kid who puts on a goody two shoes facade but is actually a stoner

- Only does “safe” drugs like vape but occasionally smokes weed, mostly in the bathroom or behind the school 🌬

- Can play it off and hide the scent when he’s high, teachers never suspect anything from him

- No one really cares to stop him unless he gets caught or something idk

- Wears clothing that either makes him look like a businessman or a junky, there’s nothing in between

Floyd Leech:

- The kid that’s plays basketball or volleyball just because he’s hella tall, and is actually good at the sports but doesn’t put much effort into them

- Always stays behind after gym, even though the teacher tries to make him leave for his next class 😬

- “I swear after this one shot, I’ll go to class.” *He never made that shot*

- Will jump you no matter who or where you are, and will get angry if you step on his new shoes

- Wears the jersey of any famous team with the latest pair of Jordan sneakers

Scarabia

Kalim Al Asim:

- VSCO girl at best, don’t lie to me now 🤡

- The only words he knows are “And I oop– sksksk.” and “Save the turtles.”

- Walks during a track meet while everyone else is running and sweating hard, the teacher doesn’t care either

- Doesn’t really do anything in gym but talks to his classmates and stands near the water fountain to refill his Hydro flask

- Wears tie dye shirts with cute scrunchies

Jamil Viper:

- That one quiet kid who everybody thinks is a serial killer but he’s actually not, I swear

- He just wants school to be over and spend the rest of his summer relaxing 😔

- Although he shouldn’t abuse his “power,” he‘ll move his hands in his pockets or backpack to make it look like he’s about to pull a weapon out.

- “Chill, I’m just grabbing a pencil.” *Everyone in the class started crying*

- Wears dark colored hoodies that intimidates people but are actually comfy

Pomefiore

Vil Schoenheit:

- The baddie popular girl 😌💅✨

- Arrives to school late with a Starbucks in hand from his local Target

- Fixes himself every 5 seconds like reapplying his lipgloss or spraying Bath and Body Works cherry blossom perfume

- Uses acrylic nails and long hair extensions as weapons during a cat fight

- Wears a crop top with ripped jeans and those clout sunglasses

Rook Hunt:

- That creepy guy in the hallways who tries to get your attention, even if you don’t know him

- Scares people when he says, “Ayo, where my hug at?” 🥶💯

- Uses at least 10 cans of Axe body spray a week after gym class, which stinks up the locker rooms

- Waves at you if he passes your class, even walking into the room just to say hi

- Wears literally anything but always include a hat

Epel Felmier:

- The artist girl who just wants to be alone 🧑‍🎨

- Purposely draws in front of you but pretends like you’re not looking

- If you complement him, he’ll just brush it off and proceeds to diss himself

- “Thanks but I’m not THAT good at drawing, teehee.” *Insert Radio Rebel face*

- Wears a hoodie or a cardigan with big pockets to put his art supplies in

Ignihyde

Idia Shroud:

- I don’t even need to tell you who he is, y’all already know ahaha 🥴

- Sneaks a whole PlayStation in his backpack so he can play with it during lunch

- Is on his phone 24/7 even in class to the point where teachers don’t care anymore

- Tries to get people into anime but only to little success

- Wears a shirt of any anime character or that damn ahegao hoodie, girl bye

Ortho Shroud:

- The nerdy kid who’s known for destroying others at many games

- Plays classics like D&D, Yugioh, Pokémon, the whole shabang

- Daily Beyblade battles during recess with everyone surrounding him, the menacing aura radiates off of him

- Will steal your things if you lose to him but gives it back a week later cuz he’s sweet 🥰

- Wears light up Sketchers shoes and those Minecraft shirts you find at Old Navy

Diasomnia

Malleus Draconia:

- The theatre kid who also goes to band practice, change my mind 👁👄👁

- Takes his role seriously when it comes to school plays and concerts, even if he gets casted as a damn tree or doesn’t go solo

- Remembers the songs and their lyrics to any musical you name, a really good singer at that too

- Plays almost every instrument, you definitely know this since you can hear him down the hallways during a test

- Wears a white button up shirt, black pants with fancy dress shoes, and top it all off with a fricking Rolex watch

Lilia Vanrouge:

- The weird guy who pranks people and vandalizes school property in every way possible

- If you ever get a textbook with a message that tells you to go to a certain page only for you to found a picture of a dick, yeah that was him 😒

- When using a Chromebook, he’ll leave a tab open on YouTube so when the next person uses it, pray that your ears will still work by tomorrow

- During lunch, he is a literal DEMON that mixes milk with chicken nuggets together and having the audacity to eat it too

- Wears an oversized raincoat or a windbreaker but idk wtf kind of things he has hiding underneath

Silver:

- That guy in class who consumes Monster energy drinks and falls asleep 99% of the time but somehow manages to pass the class 🤷

- Whenever he’s awake, he’ll talk to the teachers since he’s basically friends with them for some reason

- Writes his name out of boredom on any desk you sit on but in different places, sometimes around the corners or the sides

- Has a sixth sense because he’ll wake up if you try to draw on his face and if you did get something on him, it’s on sight

- Wears those colorful hoodies that zips all the way up to cover his face with a matching backpack, it’s pretty cool ngl

Sebek Zigvolt:

- That kid who literally knows everything about historical wars and will show it off during class

- Also has knowledge on weaponry, which has people questioning him but he’s just very dedicated on serving his country and people

- Knows how to fight and defend himself from a bitch since he spent his summer at a military boot camp, put respect on my man’s name 😤

- Honestly a great partner for a group project, actually does the given work but not the whole thing for you

- Wears anything that has camo pattern and chunky combat boots

I only made this because me and my friends were talking about our school memories so yeah. This is based from my experience so they might not be exactly accurate. Might even be a part two if you want.

[troubatrain]

sober - m.barzal (pt. three)

a/n: onto the next one for reposts :)

Two - Four

Game Days were busy.

There were a few things about a Rangers game day that were always consistent. Someone always kicked a soccer ball into one of the rafters, usually Mika who thought his girlfriend’s soccer skills were rubbing off on him. You couldn’t speak to Hank but you knew where he was because he did the same thing every game day even if he wasn’t playing. Trouba would ask you some sort of dumb question when you tried to get footage of him walking into MSG so you couldn’t post it online. Finally, Chris would follow you around and then claim it was part of his own superstitions.

“So you just left him?” Chris clarifies, somehow always sticking his nose in your personal life.

“Yeah I went home,” You shrug, sipping your coffee to hide the fact that you were flat out lying to someone you really did trust. 

“You just went home?” Chirs quips a smirk on his own face, “Because you’re in an awfully good mood today Y/N.”

“If you really must know Chris, I am capable of getting myself off,” You remind him, sarcasm dripping from your voice while Chris chuckled behind you.

“Alright Ice Queen,” Chris rolls his eyes, “We get it, you don’t need a man.”

Nobody does. You thought to yourself while you pushed Chris into the Rangers locker room to get him out of your hair for the rest of the night. It was something you reminded yourself constantly, your happiness didn’t need to depend on someone else. If you could just remember that, then there was no way anyone could ever hurt you. It drove your own mother crazy, and the romantics in your life always seemed to be annoyed by your lack of commitment, but you didn’t care. You were never going to be the girl who cried on the way home in the back of some taxi because a man broke your heart. Your life wasn’t going to be the sad part of a romantic comedy that was set in New York, because you wouldn’t let it.

**

The Rangers lost, one of the grueling overtime losses that you hated to even walk past the locker room after. You stood by the exit, watching the sad faces of the team leave to greet their significant others and see their kids. It made you soft for just a moment, your thoughts broken by a text to your phone from a number you should have deleted. It was from Mat, the location of a bar downtown attached.

Tough loss… come for a drink?

Does that drink come with strings attached?

If you’re asking me to tie you up, I’m in.

I cannot stand you.

You won’t be able to stand, just come and see me.

You bite your tongue, holding in the thought of asking Mat how many other girls didn’t answer him before he finally landed on you. Maybe he had a list, or maybe he just scrolled through Instagram until someone’s thirst trap caught his eye. Those seemed too logical for Mat, so you settle on the idea that he probably plays contact roulette until he finds a way to get his dick wet. A part of you screamed not to go, just to get on the subway back to your apartment and pack it in for the night. But you ignored your logical side for just a minute, grabbing a cab and giving the driver the address Mat sent you.

Mat, in a weird sense, was like a safe bet. Sure, you could have gone out and taken someone else home, it was easy in a city as big as New York. But, Mat was good in bed, and you’d be damned if you let him know that. You were letting your pussy take over for you, screaming that at least you were going to get off a few times.

“You’re here!” Mat cheers, scoping you out from the moment you stepped into the bar. He reeked of booze and bad decisions, his arm wrapping around you.

That was when the group he was with caught your attention. Standing on the other side of the bar were a few of Mat’s teammate’s who you knew of.

“Are those your fucking teammates?” You grit out, your lips as close to Mat’s ear as they could get.

“Would you relax? I didn’t mention what you did for a living, as far as they're concerned you’re just another girl,” Mat scoffs, his large hand landing on your lower back.

“Keep your mouth shut or I’m never speaking to you again,” You scold, wagging your finger at him while you walk over to the bar.

Mat’s teammates were interesting. It wasn’t that you didn’t like them, or that they were anything less than kind to you. It was that it felt so wrong. Just a week before that, you were sitting between the benches during warm ups listening to Matt Martin roast Trouba from the blue line and now you were listening to him gush about his pregnant wife. It was like you’d entered some alternate universe and you found yourself having a better time than you even anticipated.

“You’re too cool to be here with Barz,” Tito chirps, cheering you on while you took your third shot of the night.

Mat’s smile was dopier than normal when he threw his arm around you and pulled you into his chest, “It’s because I’m her conquest not the other way around.”

You roll your eyes, tucking your head into Mat’s arm and nibbling at it lightly to get him to shut up for just once. Mat smirks, leaning to whisper in your ear, “That’s a turn on princess, wrong move.”

“How about I just kick you in the balls?” You grit back, Mat’s eyes widening at the threat. 

“If you come home with me, you’re free to do whatever you’d like,” Mat chuckles, turning you around and pouting, his hand resting on your hip.

You bite your lip, if you went home with him you knew what that meant for you. It meant Mat was getting what he wanted - a spot on the roster. The problem was that Mat was probably better in bed than anyone else you were currently seeing, and admitting that was the equivalent of defeat. Another part of you screamed, that maybe he was just perfect for casual.

Mat Barzal was dumb, smug, and hot. Three characteristics that you thought made someone a good fuck-buddy. Mat wasn’t boyfriend material, and he was never going to get to meet your friends because no one could know this was happening. Mat was smug in the way that he constantly wanted to win, and while it meant his personality could be unbearable sometimes, it also meant he was excellent in bed. Finally, Mat was hot in the way that it reminded you that god really does have favorites. But, Mat was like sleeping with the enemy. He was going to make you lie to people who you trusted for the first time, and was that fair to do yourself just so you could get laid? 

“We’re setting some ground rules here Barz,” You finally land on, Mat’s eyebrows raising in surprise with your lack of protest, “Starting with if you ever force me to hang out with your teammates again, I’ll cut your dick off.”

“Noted,” Mat nods, “Anything else princess?”

“Yeah, that nickname has got to go,” You say, because princess irritated you more than any pet name, “And no sleepovers-”

“But we live in two completely different boroughs,” Mat protests, “And what if it’s late?”

“I’m a grown woman,” You remind him, “I can get home safe on my own.”

Mat rolls his eyes, “You’re a real pain you know that? Anything else?”

“Yeah, this stays between us, I’m not some pawn you can use to talk shit next time someone from my team hurts your feelings,” You say, poking him in the chest to make your point, “I’m serious.”

“You got it captain,” Mat nods, saluting you while he chuckles, “Now can we go? I’ve got plans for you.”

Mat’s use of the word plans made your pussy drip in excitement while you bid your goodbyes to his teammates. His teammates who had no idea that just a week before that you were sitting on the bench during warm ups with a blind hatred for each of them in your heart. His teammates who’d also fallen under your spell that maybe you weren’t a cold hearted bitch all the time.

“My place or yours?” Mat hums, pulling you closer while you waited for a cab.

“Yours, I don’t want you within thirty feet of my apartment,” You smirk, even though you hated Mat’s apartment because no one deserved those floor to ceiling windows if they had decor as terrible as his.

“You talk a big game for someone who left some nasty scratches on my back the last time I saw you,” Mat reminds you, nudging his nose with yours, “But, I can remind you why.”

Mat’s words lit a fire in you, if he thought he was so good, you were going to remind him that you were better. Two can play at that game. You grab Mat’s hand, pulling him into a cab while you waited for him to give the driver his address. Once the car started to move, the streets of New York lighting up on either side of you, you lean over and let your hand creep up Mat’s thigh.

“No,” Mat mouths, shaking his head while the cab driver makes small talk with him. You smirk, lightly using your fingers to land right over the bulge that was threatening to peek out in Mat’s too tight jeans.

“No what?” You whisper in his ear, a blush creeping up his neck. You had him so hot and bothered that everything before that seemed to make sense. It had clicked why Mat put up all the shit you gave him, he could have anyone he wanted with a smirk and a wink, but he wanted you - at least for the moment.

The rest of the cab ride was agony, after hitting about every red light from the bar to Mat’s building, he had you pinned against his door the second you got inside, “That was a dick move.”

“It just seemed like you needed a reminder of who was in charge here,” You whisper, your mouth close to his neck, “And who’s going to be screaming who’s name.”

“Yeah okay,” Mat scoffs, “There isn’t one thing you could do that would get that to happen.”

“Wanna bet?” You counter, sliding down the wall and stopping to unbutton Mat’s jeans. You pull them down, leaving kisses right above his boxers before they slid off too.

All it took was one lick on the underside of his cock for Mat to let out a moan that was so loud it echoed in the obnoxiously large bachelor pad he lived in. Mat’s hands ran through your hair, pulling it up so he could guide your head. You bobbed your head in a perfect rhythm, your hands digging into Mat’s thighs while you tried to get grip. Your head game was nothing short of spectacular, and you’d be damned if you were going to let Mat Barzal think anything less.

“Fuck Y/N,” Mat groans, trying to push your head back to give himself a break before he came way too early. This only egged you on, taking his whole length into your mouth, “Babe, I’ll cum right here if you don’t stop.”

“What if I don’t want to stop?” You look up at him, tears brimming your eyes from his dick in your mouth.

“You’re going to kill me aren’t you?” Mat asks, pulling you up to place a kiss on your lips.

“And no one will even know it was me,” You smirk, slipping out of his arms and making your way down a hallway that was becoming way too familiar, “Now c’mon Barz, I thought you had plans for us.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

“Eat me out.”

“Actually you can tell me what to do.”

[littlegiantslight]

Little Giants

After the success from the boys of the volleyball team, it’s time for the girls’ soccer team to take the spotlight and march their way to victory.

Under the command of Aiya Takahashi, this team will go through challenges, adventures, struggles and joy together. After all, the union leads to strength.

---

---

It was early in the morning back in Miyagi. The birds were the first annoying little creatures that marked their position as soon as the first rays of sunshine peek through the tree branches. But, just like those annoying little creatures, Takahashi was up as early as she could, getting ready for the day.

The young soccer coach of the Karasuno’s high school girls’ team put on the usual track suit that would be a pair of black shorts and an orange t-shirt, covered by the team’s jacket. The hair was pulled back and partially tied in a small bun, allowing the view of the couple of earrings that dangled back and forth.

The old schoolbag was still the only one used by the coach to keep the food for the day as some cereal bars that would be given to the team as a reward for their hard work. The backpack still had some autographs from the old volleyball teams, the old friends. Ukai, Akiteru even Tenma had his name in that old bag. That was honestly the coach’s favorite possession.

Walking to the high school wasn’t the best idea so early in the morning, so the old bike would be the mean of transportation for Takahashi. The peddling was very constant for a while, but it didn’t take long for the coach to realize that on the other side of the street there was another young boy, with bright ginger hair, almost as bright as the Sun, speeding himself to get to his destination almost like he was competing with the coach. Takahashi simply smiled and fastened the pace, increasing the bike’s velocity, carefully dodging every little rock that would make the coach fall to a very bad landing. However, poor ginger boy didn’t have the same luck. The acceleration made him almost fly out of his bike and land with delicate face on the gravel floor.

Takahashi got out of the bike and ran to his aid, checking for any bruises or broken bones. Nothing. The coach sighed in relief and helped the boy up, giving him a firm handshake as he stood firmly on his feet. The comparison with the bright Sun only became stronger to the coach when the young boy smiled and thanked for the help.

“The name’s Shoyo Hinata, I go to the Karasuno High School as well…” he quickly introduced himself, proudly pointing at the coach’s jacket. “Are you a third year or something? I think I know you from somewhere…”

“Let’s say I was a third year once, I’m a coach for the girls soccer team. Aiya Takahashi, pleasure to meet you, Hinata! I heard a lot about you! Takeda-sensei won’t stop mentioning your jumps and spikes!” She introduced herself as well, proudly speaking about the boy’s talents as well.

She could see Hinata’s bright flustered face clearly thanks to the compliment. Sure, he tried to brush it off, but Takahashi knew that he was purely happy for that achievement.

“As far as I know, you can become Karasuno’s new Tenma, I mean, Little Giant! Sorry, old friends with him!” She smiled and gently scratched the back of her head. “He used to work very hard just like you. However, don’t forget to rest and take care of yourself. Plus, you also have school so…” Interrupted by Hinata’s puppy energy.

“You really knew the Little Giant? How did you meet him? Was he as cool as he was on the court?” He bombarded the coach with a whole list of questions about his inspiration. She couldn’t help but smile at the boy’s happiness and specially couldn’t say no to it.

“Well, I used to be part of the old soccer team and was also the manager of the old volleyball team. I met him there. And yes, he was cool. Once of the coolest. Just like Tsukishima, well, at least when he showed up...” she sighed with the last memory from her old classmate. The ginger looked at her confused.

“Tsukishima goes to practice every time, even though he says, “it’s just a club and it doesn’t matter”. He is weird! I really don’t get him. Plus, he is like super smart and super rude!” Hinata explains to the young coach about his teammate and classmate. You could feel the annoyance irradiating from his small body.

“Oh, yeah Kei is pretty much like that, but I mean his brother! Akiteru was an amazing volleyball player, but he simply gave up at some point and joined me and Tanaka in the cheer.” The coach tried her best to explain. “Just please don’t tell Kei about his brother, it makes him moody and, well, weirder than what he already is…”

The young decoy looked at her confused again and asked who Tanaka was, realizing it was not the teammate. Takahashi spent the whole way to the high school explaining and introducing the old crew to the young boy. Surprisingly, a good time. They laughed a lot until they reached the high school’s gates.

The young coach wished Hinata a good day, messing his hair a little more. Unlike many others, Hinata smiled with the soft touch from her hand and gave her an unexpected fist bump. Takahashi then headed to the soccer field and got some smaller fields ready for practice later that day. While waiting for the time to pass, the coach decided to practice herself, some tricks and passes. Some of them made young students stop their track and watch the show she was giving, and others simply kept walking, commenting either some words of envy or the kindest of all compliments to the coach.

Between all the show watchers, a special one decided to make all the students get to class. He shoved some and pushed others until the outside was clear from students. The blonde-haired man looked at the young coach with a raised eyebrow. Takahashi finally noticed the silence as she stopped kicking the ball around, finally noticing the fellow coach.

“You really like to show off, don’t you?” Ukai asked with an annoyed expression written all over his face.

“Are you still jealous of the fact that your grandfather liked me more than you?” Takahashi smirked proudly, kicking the ball up to land on her hands. “Or, perhaps, you are jealous that still master my sports and you don’t?”

“Oh please! First of all, the old fart likes everyone more than me, so jokes on you that doesn’t affect me!” He complained loudly enough for the coach to hear him. “Second, I’m a coach just like you, don’t tell me I don’t master my sports, missy! Third, I’m older than you, so respect your elders!” He almost yelled at her, giving her the biggest smile ever of pure amusement.

Takahashi, as a team manager would learn from the old coach Ukai the basics of volleyball so she could later help not only the team but the coach himself. That led to a lot of her time training both soccer and volleyball and time with the two Ukais. Consequently, Takahashi became friends of some sort with younger Keisshin, since the two of them would spend full afternoons together with his grandfather.

“Oh, my apologies, senpai! I won’t do it again, at least I’ll try.” She smirked once again. “What are you doing here so early anyways? Your practice is only at night. Late afternoon?” She tried to guess the time of practice, knowing that she was close. “Actually, what are you doing here in specific? This isn’t a volleyball court coach. Plus, you can’t play soccer as far as I know.”

“The old fart wanted you to visit him, ask you how’s your team and how are the boys from my team. Seriously, sometimes I really think he doesn’t give to shits about my capabilities.” Ukai sighed as he entered the filed looking around. He feels slightly overwhelmed with the view. A volleyball court is big, but nothing compared to the soccer field. And it all looked even more surreal when the girl in front of him just speeded herself from one end to another in the matter of some seconds. “But what does he know? Anyways, you wanna join?”

“Sounds awesome, the old fart-” she decided to emphasize the nickname given by the other coach, “needs some company as well. Training little brats all day sounds exhausting, he deserves a break.”

That choice of words came out misunderstood to the blonde man, which made him pout in annoyance and calling Takahashi a brat. It took a while for the girl to remind him that his grandfather taught volleyball to young children, leading to very flustered face from Ukai’s side.

“You’re such an idiot! I swear, your thick skull really doesn’t learn…” She sighed and kicked the ball over his head, rushing towards it and making a whole new set of tricks, spins and slides that eventually lead to the main kick towards the goal.

“Stop calling me stupid, you dumbass! It’s not like you were the best student either!” He yelled all angry and pissed at the younger coach. “Ugh, you’re so annoying, I don’t understand how your team doesn’t get tired of you…” He commented with a comment that he knew would get to Aiya’s nerves easily.

A gleeful voice was heard complimenting Takahashi’s talents not far from the two coaches. Two girls, a short girl with a rather light brown hair and bright green eyes, with some bright green highlights all over her hair, tucked in two high pig tails, and a taller one, with a beautiful dark skin that shone under the rays of sun, her curly bouncy hair was tied in a small bun like the one the coach had, leaving some curls underneath the bun, loose. Both were wearing the team’s uniform and held the schoolbag on their side.

Hearing those compliments from them made Takahashi turn to Ukai with a mischievous smirk of pride and victory over his words. He simply huffed and stepped out of the field, wishing them a good practice and warning Takahashi to not be late to the visit later. She just chuckled and waved sarcastically, noticing the nasty gesture he pointed at her.

“And that’s how you shut a smart mouth!” The short girl smirked looking up at her coach and folded her arms over the chest. “I’m starting to think you like him, coach Takahashi…” She looked over at the other girl with the same mischievous smile.

“Yeah, either that or they wanna destroy each other. Then again love and hate walk together down the road, coach, I would be careful with that heart of yours if I were you.” The curly haired girl said smiling towards the coach waiting for a smart response from her.

“Who are you two to teach me about love and hate? I’m the one who’s a coach here! Now, go settle down your stuff and get your butts back in here for practice!” Takahashi ordered a little angry with the way they were teasing her. She was used to the playful words from the two second years, so she didn’t pay much attention at some point.

As they returned, Hana, the smallest girl, picked the ball and started guiding it around the field, training the control and some tricks along the way. She was far too smart when it came to sports, so Aiya would let her practice on her own while the rest of the team arrived and got ready. On the other hand, Yoko, the one with bouncy curls, was practicing her defending skills as a goalkeeper with the coach. Takahashi would give her some tips on how to control the time for her defense.

Later, the captain of the team arrived, the third year, Kiko Watanabe. The team would call her Kiko more often since they had this god-like trust on her and she was born in another country so they would use her first name more often than the last like it was usual. Kiko was born in Brazil, so the love for soccer was introduced to her almost since birth.

The captain greeted the coach and the two teammates before getting to the changing room. She tied her long thick hair in a high ponytail and got all the equipment carefully attached to her limbs. As soon as Kiko got back in the field, everyone greeted her warmly and with bright smiles. The young captain asked the practice program for the day and offered herself to help the other players while the coach trained the goalkeepers.

The practice was divided in warmups around the field and a little bit of running as well, just to make the legs work a little faster with the ice-cold wind that would freeze their legs. It felt so painful in the beginning, like the legs were stuck in one position and couldn’t move for a good 5-minute time. After the warmup, the team would be separated, goalkeepers from other players. The goalkeepers would do speed and reflex practice, to master their skills and adapt them to different situations, either distanced kicks or closer ones, faster or slower players, among other situations. It was almost like a challenge to them every practice, but after a game all the hard work was rewarding. For the final part of practice, the team would be divided in two in order to make a small game. Takahashi would often make the first years with little experience face the second and third years, so they could have a notion of how difficult it is to play against their own team, so consequently they would know that playing against other teams would be 10 times worst.

The coach was truly competitive, sometimes too much. Kiko would often tell her to calm down and that everything would be okay in the end of the game. Takahashi knew that, of course, she taught them all she knew after all. She had this blind trust on those girls, but sometimes, the nerves took over her body and there was nothing that could hold her back.

“Coach, I have good news!” A male voice was heard from behind Takahashi. That would be Kenta Satoshi, a third year that had the role of team manager. He would try to contact with other teams from around the country in hopes they could get practice games, just like other teams in Karasuno would do. “The girls from Date Tech accepted our practice game challenge!” He completed the information with a huge amount of excitement irradiating from his body. He was still as excited as he was in the first year, which made Aiya quite happy.

“Fantastic, what about the princesses from Aoba Johsai, did they reply to the invitation?” Takahashi asked curious. She missed the first-year rivalry between Hana and her cousin. It was almost like an action movie between two little girls, trying to prove their best and show everyone else on the field who’s the boss. Besides that, Seijoh was one of the strongest teams in the whole country, leading most of their players to the national teams.

“Yeah, they will be there as well. Almost every high school from the prefecture will be there, in fact. It’ll be quite the show actually!” He affirmed looking at the list of notes and things to do as manager. “By the way, I would like to ask if my little sister can replace me one day. The swimming competition will be at the same time as practice next Thursday and I can’t miss.”

Takahashi simply answered that it’s all okay, if the young girl is ready to help the team like he does. Of course, Kenta defended his sister’s capabilities and assured the coach that he had everything under control. His big self-esteem even led him to promise to bring home the gold, as a reward for everything that was taught to him as well as every favor and friendship.

Satoshi talked like every third year in their last competition. They always promise to bring home the gold. The trophy. The price. They always promise that, but Takahashi knew that only the strong reached victory. Back in her days, she wasn’t strong enough to bring the gold to Karasuno, ending in fourth place in the national soccer championship. But, however, she knew that the fight wasn’t done. It wouldn’t be the last time that the championship would hear the name Aiya Takahashi. That was her promise.

The practice was over. The girls gathered around Takahashi to hear the news about the future games in the Date Tech gym and asked them to get the permissions to go. She looked at the second years that would have a test that week and wished them best of luck and even offered them some notes from her old classes, corrected by Takeda himself so they could study together and get the best grade possible. To the first years that joined that year, she was finally able to reward them with the team’s uniform. They were clearly excited to finally be part of a team like that, where their talents would finally be appreciated. Being a girl in soccer is being constantly underrated, which made Takahashi work harder to hype those girls to do their best always. No matter who they are facing, who is watching or who is hating on them. They would always be her girls, no matter what. That unconditional support was not only given by the coach, but also the third years, who assure the young ones as much as they could. Especially their captain. The third years thanked the coach for the practice and helped gather the material before leaving for the other classes.

Kiko, Kenta and the other third years offered to buy the younger players some treats in order to welcome them to the team and make sure they feel welcomed, as well as motivate the second years to give their best as per usual. That was a tradition since the beginning, which increased their connection a lot. In return, the first and second years wouldn’t only give their best, but also give small gifts to their senpais before big competitions or big occasions.

Takahashi wasn’t surprised by their companionship after seeing that happen in front of her eyes.

The young captain headed towards the classroom, but was quickly stopped by Hana and Yoko, the two of them looking clearly worried. The second years knew how intelligent their captain was, knowing as well how her kindness controlled her actions. So, before any difficult test they would rush to Kiko for help, always with the same desperate look on their faces. Sometimes they didn’t even need to say anything, Kiko would just set a time and place to meet them and ask them to bring the books, notes and notebooks, if needed.

“Let me guess, study date?” The captain asked, visibly amused with their expressions. She chuckled softly allowing the entrance of other students in the classroom. The girl grabbed two little cards to offer the two girls with her address and phone. “Call me two hours before arriving, please. I’ll get my room ready to help you out. Also,” she said fixing her uniform and bag, “you literally have Ennoshita in your class. He’s a very smart boy and would be more than welcome to give you some help as well.”

“She’s right, he is more than welcome to help!” One of Kiko’s classmates, Daichi Sawamura himself, responded, right before walking in the classroom. His voice not only made Kiko jump with the sudden appearance but also blush like a little girl in love. “Now, excuse us, girls, but we have a class to attend and so do you…” He spoke with his usual serenity.

“Ugh, always a dad, Sawamura-san…” Hana spoke with a smirk on her face. The little girl thanked her captain for the help. “Take care of our captain, Sawamura-san! We’ll take care of Noya-kun!” She joked to the much taller boy in front of her, making him chuckle softly, saluting them almost as a thank you. After all, he knew better than most how hard it was to handle Nishinoya.

“Sorry about them, Sawamura-san…” Kiko excused her teammates behaviour, making Daichi reply that his team was pretty much the same. He was used to the joke being used towards him and admitted that sometimes it did feel like that. The girl chuckled softly and offered him to walk in first, but it ended the other way around. Both sat in their assigned places and waited for the teacher to arrive and for the class to begin.

---

[gayforheadphonesgirl]

Falling Back Into You (Chapter 1) - Alex Morgan imagine

(A/N): Here’s a multi-chaptered SingleMom! Alex Morgan imagine nobody asked for but I’m going to give you guys anyway lmao. Alex and r are former teammates on the USWNT and haven’t seen each other in years. Shoutout to the cracl heads who are helping me name OCs.

It’s been about 10 years since (Y/N) had seen most of her US national team teammates, with her retirement and social work keeping her away.

So she had absolutely no idea that the kid who caught her eye in a soccer camp she helped with was more connected to her than she thought.

The seven-year-old girl peaked (Y/N)’s attention with her prowess on the field, but what really intrigued her was the kid’s smile that (Y/N) swore she already saw somewhere else.

The girl continued to practice after camp finished, running up and down the field with her small legs handling the ball.

Drawn to the child’s motivation, (Y/N) approached her.

“Still not tired after training with us I see” (Y/N) said, looking affectionately at the young player.

She looked up at (Y/N) and beamed. The older woman was caught off-guard with her eyes, a mix of green and blue that seem so familiar.

“Nope. I want to be the best in the world, like my momma!” The kid said, showing off some dribbling skills to the former USWNT star.

(Y/N) chuckled.

“Yeah? You’re mom was a soccer player too?” (Y/N) said, motioning for the girl to pass the ball to her.

“Yup! The absolute best!” The girl replied. The pair continued passing the ball back and forth.

“Well, I’d sure like to meet her. I want to learn and play with the absolute best in soccer” (Y/N) said, grinning at the kid.

The girl seemed keen to the idea, with her face lighting up at the mention of playing with her mother.

“That would be awesome. She’d kick your ass” The girl replied. (Y/N) giggles at the small girl using the word ass.

She was just about to reply when a new but familiar voice called from behind them.

“Mia! There you are. I’ve been waiting forever for you” The voice called.

“Mom!” Mia said, immediately leaving the ball and running towards her mother.

(Y/N) turned around to look at the pair and immediately, her breath caught in her throat.

“You should’ve been finished 30 minutes ago. Now look, you’ve forced one of your coaches to stay with you-” The mother started to say but stopped dead in her tracks when she looked up.

“(Y/N)?” She said, eyes widening.

“Alex?” (Y/N) replied.

Both women squealed in delight as Alex put Mia down to crash into a hug with (Y/N).

“Wow. It’s so good to see you” (Y/N) said, still hanging on tightly to the former Orlando star.

They pulled back and grinned at each other.

“How long has it been?” Alex said, smiling at her old friend. Mia looked curiously at the two adults in her midst.

“Too long, Alex” (Y/N) said with an elated look on her face.

“Wow, Mia. You were right when you said that your mom was the best in teh world” (Y/N) said, crouching down and ruffling the girl’s hair.

Mia giggled and playfully swatted (Y/N)’s hand.

“She said that?” Alex said, smiling down at her daughter.

“Yeah. But she definitely won’t kick my ass. As far as I can remember, I beat her during scrimmages in practice before” (Y/N) said, standing up and nudging Alex’s shoulder.

“Shut up” Alex replied with faux annoyance. Mia seemed to connect the dots and looked alternately at the two ladies.

“You played together?” Mia said, looking at her mother curiously.

“Yep. Won two World Cups together too” (Y/N) replied, grinning proudly at Alex.

The forward’s heart warmed at the flashback of memories with (Y/N) coming back to her.

“Too bad she had to retire before the 2023 Cup, then we could’ve won three together” Alex said smugly. (Y/N) scoffed.

“Well, my body wasn’t that strong. I’m a bit older than you remember” (Y/N) retorted playfully.

“Grandma” Alex said. (Y/N) gaped at her in disbelief.

“Ooooh burn” Mia said, laughing at the antics of her mom and friend. (Y/N) grinned at the kid.

“Feisty. Just like your mom I see” (Y/N) said.

Mia smiled and nodded her head. (Y/N) laughed and looked at Alex again.

“Wanna go get some ice cream? It’s on me. This kid killed it today” (Y/N) said. Mia perked up at the mention of ice cream and looked pleadingly at her mother.

Alex pretended to think about it but the smile that cracked her face moments after told Mia and (Y/N) she was gonna give in.

“Fine” Alex said. Mia squealed in delight and started running off the pitch.

“She’s quite something” (Y/N) commented, walking leisurely with Alex.

“She is” Alex replied shyly, suddenly conscious that she’s alone with (Y/N).

“Just like you” (Y/N) said, grinning at her former teammate. Alex playfully swats (Y/N) on the arm.

(Y/N) laughs and the pair continue walking in comfortable silence. Mia was already in the exit by the time the two adults caught up to her.

“You sure you have time to take us to ice cream?” Alex said, as the trio walked towards an ice cream parlor (Y/N) knew was near the field.

“Yeah, of course. No biggie” (Y/N) said, shrugging her shoulders.

They had arrived at the ice cream parlor not long after, got their fill and walked around the nearby park.

Mia headed off by herself in a playground in the park with a few other kids while Alex and (Y/N) kept an eye on her in a bench.

(Y/N) took a deep breath and finally asked Alex a question that’s been nagging at the back of her mind all day.

“So, how’s Servando?” (Y/N) said, taking a cautious spoonful of her vanilla ice cream.

Alex tensed up a bit at the mention of her ex-husband. She sighed but nevertheless turned to face (Y/N).

“You really haven’t been keeping in touch, no?” Alex said, smiling at her old friend. (Y/N) almost looked guilty.

“Sorry…” (Y/N) said, looking down at her half eaten ice cream.

“Don’t be. But…. he’s been gone for a while now. He didn’t want kids and when I suddenly had Mia, he didn’t want to stick around anymore” Alex said, shrugging her shoulders.

(Y/N) looked at her in disbelief and felt a feeling strongly reminding her of anger and hate bubble up inside.

“What? Why?” (Y/N) said, wondering how anyone would willingly choose to leave Alex and such a sweet kid like Mia.

“He just didn’t want us anymore. It’s fine though, I mean I guess I really didn’t want him anymore either” Alex said nonchalantly.

But (Y/N) was still fuming, taking angry spoonfuls of her ice cream. Alex chuckled at the sight of her friend.

“What are you laughing at? He’s a total dickwad!” (Y/N) said loudly, flailing her ice cream-occupied hands in the air.

“Dickwad” The pair heard Mia say. The adults whipped their head to look at the seven-year-old who was apparently already next to them.

“Nope. We don’t say that word” (Y/N) said, starting to panic at having accidentally taught a kid a swear ward.

Alex laughed at (Y/N)’s efforts to explain to Mia how she shouldn’t be saying that word.

“That’s…. that’s a really bad word and I’m really sorry I said that. Auntie (Y/N)’s going to be in trouble for that later. Don’t imitate it” (Y/N) rambled on.

Mia looked confused at the older woman’s rambling but simply nodded her head.

(Y/N) looked helplessly at Alex and mouthed ‘sorry’ but the latter just chuckled and waved her off.

“Your Auntie (Y/N) is a bad role model. Don’t be like her” Alex said playfully taking her daughter into her lap.

“Hey! I’m not that bad!” (Y/N) said defensively. Alex rolled her eyes and simply laughed.

The trio continued their day talking about soccer tactics, with Mia wanting to learn from her mother’s former teammate.

“Someday, I wanna be a World Cup champion like you two!” Mia said, skipping happily as they walked out of the park.

“I’m sure you’ll get to do that, baby girl. After all, it runs in the genes” (Y/N) said, ruffling her hair again.

“Where will you be going home to?” Alex said, continuing to walk with (Y/N) – Mia a few steps ahead of them.

“I have a loft a few blocks down on 26th street. Just moved in last month, actually” (Y/N) replied.

“Wow. So I’ll be definitely seeing more of you very soon?” Alex said, smiling.

“If you want to, yeah” (Y/N) replied, grinning back.

The trio came to an intersection where (Y/N)’s house was off to the left while Alex and Mia should head right.

“This is you right?” Alex said, pointing to the left. (Y/N) hummed in response.

“Yeah, but I’d like to walk you two home if you let me” (Y/N) said, shoving her hands into her pockets, moving around nervously.

Alex blushed at how cute and shy (Y/N) was being.

“We’d like that” Alex said as Mia nodded in approval. (Y/N) grinned and walked to the right with the pair.

Alex and (Y/N) continued catching up the rest of the way, with Alex finding out how (Y/N) has been spending her retirement.

“I’ve been pretty busy with social work still, we sometimes go to local communities and start a soccer club there. You know, just to get kids into the right kind of hobbies,” (Y/N) said. Alex nodded and was a bit impressed at how passionate (Y/N) was with what she was doing.

“I also have a small athleisure wear I manage. It’s not much but it pays the bills” (Y/N) said, chuckling.

“You’ve been pretty busy huh? Well, Mia is my whole life now. Although I do coach a university women’s soccer team” Alex said. (Y/N) beamed at the mention of the sport.

“Still can’t leave it, huh?” (Y/N) said, grinning. Alex nods.

“It’s the love of my life” Alex said. (Y/N) hums in approval.

They finally make it to Alex’s house after a few minutes and (Y/N) walks them up to the front door.

“Well, this is me. It’s been great seeing you” Alex said, smiling affectionately at (Y/N).

Mia had already opened the door and dashed inside to play with their pet dog Bob.

“Yeah… same here” (Y/N) said, leaning on the door frame as Alex stepped inside.

“I’ll see you soon?” Alex said, with a hopeful glint in her eyes. (Y/N) blushes a shade of pink and nods her head.

“Definitely” She replied. She almost, almost doesn’t notice the subtle lip bite Alex does before smiling back at her.

“Good. Well. Bye” Alex said, motioning to close the door. (Y/N) stood up straight and shoved her hands into her pockets again.

“Bye” She said. Once the door closed, (Y/N) released a breath she didn’t know she was holding in.

Who would’ve thought she would run into the girl she’s been in love with all these years?

To be continued

[cbseung]

cobblestones: modern prince hyunjin au - part 9

[masterlist]

[pt 1] [pt 2] [pt 3] [pt 4] [pt 5] [pt 6] [pt 7] [pt 8] [pt 9] [pt 10] [final]

well howdy there pals hope your week has been good to you~! two parts left!!! also a short part this time so the parts line up with each other!!

pairings: hwang hyunjin x reader

wc: 1,100

description: alright here’s the plan: confess to the boy you like but know it won’t work out but pretend to be a couple anyway.. what could go wrong? 

“hwang hyunjin... i like you too”

AH THERE 

YOU SAID IT 

HOW DOES IT FEEL

“.... ᵒʰ ˢᵉʳᶦᵒᵘˢˡʸ I MEAN- i know, who wouldn’t like me” he said smirking

...

.....

did he JUST

“ah no no i’m kidding ... i’m really glad” hyunjin responds back

“so..”

“soo??”

“what now?”

“what do you mean”

“hyunijn,, i have to go home, you have to go home, do we really wanna do long distance?”

“i- i guess you’re right.. so what? we just pretend this never happen??”

“is that what you want?”

“i mean.. i kinda wanna take you on dates and hold your hand and tell you you’re pretty all the time and kiss your cute forehead and-”

“okay! okay.” you say as you freak out and put your hand over hyunjin’s mouth.

LIKE YOU’RE .5 SECONDS FROM BLUSHING LIKE A CHERRY TOMATO

 “why don’t we.. go and dates and do all the fun coupley stuff but not.. actually call us a couple???” you suggest

.. really

(i feel like you read enough fanfics to know that this idea is a horrible idea)

“y/n, i’d do whatever if it makes you happy”

aH

MY HEART

okay this is okay

doing fun couple stuff without the commitment? what could go wrong?

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

“rise and shine beautiful!!”

WHAT on EARTH

“hyunjin??” you mumble

“of course! unless someone else calls you beautiful.. and if that’s the case i’ll fight them”

“omg shh let me sleep”

“no can do!! we’re in charge of last minute preparations for the ball!!”

yoU GROAN

BECAUSE

YOU JUST WANNA SLEEP in

but you’ll reluctantly get up

for hyunjin of course

“ah even with a bedhead you’re still looking as stunning as always”

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

when hyunjin said last minute ball preparations he meant

oh let’s just 

stroll around london pretending to check on the cake and the decorations while we stop for bubble tea and talk about our lives

“no way! you’re an anime nerd!”

“you’re saying that like it’s a bad thing”

“i am NOT!”

“well whatever midoriya izuku has my heart and a half”

you guys sit down for a mid-afternoon picnic when you hear a

“wow mister you’re so tall!! can you help us get the soccer down from the tree??? jeongin kicked it up a tree >:(” a small boy says to hyunjin pouting

“seungmin hyuuunngg i didn’t mean toooo D:” a boy responds back

hyunjin ruffles ‘seungmin’s’ hair and says, “of course buddy”

and you watch as hyunjin gets the ball out of tree

and the boys are awe because ‘woW big tall guy helped get the soccer ball out of the tree!!”

and so they ask if he can play with them for a while

and duh hyunjin says yes because who can say no to those two adorable boys

and so you watch as hyunjin plays soccer with the boys and think about how much fun he’s having and how much the kids love him and how cute he looks with the sun is hitting his face just right and-

“hey y/n you okay?”

“huh?”

hyunjin runs over and puts a hand on your forehead

“you look pretty dazed.. are you okay? and you’re kinda burning up?”

oh that’s probs because you made me blush but haha we’re ignoring that

“uH NO I’M fine i’m okay!!!!”

“you sure?”

“yes yup totally bro”

“uhh okay... one more goal and i’ll promise we’ll leave!” hyunjin says as he leans over and kisses your forehead

cue the blush x2

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

you guys spend the rest of the day together

and like

you thought it went pretty well!!!

“hey hyunjin..” you start to say as you guys are walking back to the palace with your hands intertwined

“hm?”

“i.. had fun today”

“aw you did? i’m glad”

“can we.. do this again? before i leave?”

“ugh don’t remind me.. when do you leave again?”

“ two weeks or so,, but the ball is coming up and i know we’re gonna be busy because we didn’t actually do any work today”

hyunjin laughs and you can’t help but to think that it’s probably your favorite sound?

“it’s a date babe”

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

unfortunately 

that ‘date’ never comes

you haven’t seen hyunjin in like four days?

and the ball is this weekend?

you try to replay your last conversation in your head

he DID say he was gonna take you out on another date right?

and it’s not like you sat on your butt waiting for him

like you asked everyone if they knew where he was

because gosh darn if he didn’t ask you then you would ask him

but no one seemed to know where he was

yeji didn’t know where he was

“hey yeji,, have you seen hyunjin lately?”

“actually no.. i haven’t,, don’t be too worried though i’m sure he’s doing last minute stuff for the ball..”

and felix was no help either

“hey lix,,, have you seen your brother?”

“now that you mention it.. i haven’t seen him in a while.. i’ll let you know when i do, y/n” 

you start thinking things like

what if he’s dead in a ditch and no one knows??

what if he just left england without saying anything to you?? you didn’t have each other’s numbers?? why would you when you were staying TWO doors down from him??

what if he was abducted by aliens and now they’re trying to do weird experiments on his brain?????

but like

you can’t help but to think of him

and your feelings

because what DO you feel for him??

you like him. that’s for sure

is it something more than a simple crush though?

is it 

love?

there’s like

no way

it’s been like 

a day

(technically it’s been a month and a half since you’ve known him)

but still

too soon for love

luckily

three days later,, felix runs up to you and says

“Y/N i just saw hyunjin head outside to the garden”

you actually can’t believe it

so he didn’t leave you without a word

he didn’t die in a ditch

he wasn’t being probed my aliens!!!!

you run and run until you reach the garden

super excited to see the boy who has been running through your mind the past WEEK

and you open the doors with the biggest smile in your face 

and wow! a sight that wipes that grin right off your face

you see hyunjin

linked arm in arm with a girl

a very very pretty girl may you add

“y/n?” you hear him say

“hyunjin?”

you and hyunjin look at each other with shocked faces

but hyunjin is the first one to break eye contact

before looking back at you with a look you can’t decipher

“y/n, meet mirai, my fiancée”

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

a/n: pals i don’t know if you saw that coming but like let me know if you did because while i love the cliches,, you know how it goes

n e ways, next part is the ball scene we’ve been waiting for!! 

thanks for reading pals it means a lot!!!!

[pxnk-velvet]

Momma Bear (d.d. Imagine)

Summary: Y/n, David’s best friend, gets a little protective of him around ig models

Warnings: cussing, fluff, ig models, horrible writing (its my first imagine, i know it sucks)

Word Count: 1.5k

“I’m home bitches!” I scream, entering the house, kicking my slides into the pile of shoes at the door. I drop my bag onto the pool table and turn to be greeted with smiles and waves.

“So what’s the plan for tonight?” I question, leaning against the back of the cloud, leaning over Natalie. The closeness normal after a decade of friendship. Many memories made and shared with her and David was right beside us.

After moving to Vernon Hills, I was the lonely new girl in the neighborhood. Up until the day a soccer ball flew through my living room window, and I was the only one home. A group of kids stood outside the broken window, guilt written all over their faces. But I wouldn’t have changed a thing, because without that broken window I wouldn’t have found my best friends. Now years later, I stand in the living room of the house I shared with Natalie and David. Natalie his assistant and me there just for fuck sake.

I lean against the couch fully, my arms wrapped around Natalie, my chin resting on her shoulder.

David emerges from his room, noticing me and Natalie, stating “We’re probably gonna swing by Stass’s house to chill.”

“Yippee.” I mutter sarcastically with an eye roll, groaning when David leans over top of me.

“What was that?” Zane asks, laughing at my sarcasm. Everyone’s attention turned towards me.

I go to answer, but David wraps his arms around me, picks me up, and spins me around. I remove myself from his grip, giving him a “not now” look.

“You guys know. Don’t be stupid.” I roll my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest.

David grabs me by the shoulders and shakes, “Why do you always skip out on stuff whenever she’s around?” His hands falling from my shoulders.

“Because it’s always Stass and then some.” I explain.

Natalie looks over her shoulder with knotted eyebrows, “And then some?”

I sigh, not really wanting to deal with this, “Either Kelsey, or Cindy, or some other fake instagram girl.”

The group bubbles with responses. Either defending, agreeing, or compromising. The chatter loud and obnoxious at this point. I sigh and roll my eyes like a complete brat. Which wasn’t normal. Yeah, I can be moody sometimes, so what? But being this bratty is on a whole other level.

I turn and leave, heading towards the kitchen to grab a drink. I get to the fridge and pull the door open. The cool air hits my face, allowing me to take a well needed deep breath. I open my eyes, my mood lifting a bit.

I scan the shelves for an appetizing beverage. And they land on the bottles of Coke. I grab one, taking the cap between my teeth and popping it off. One of my few talents. Not really a show, but people are still somehow amazed.

By now everyone had died down a bit and David walks over to where I’m sitting in the kitchen.

“Please come. Just this once. I’ll get you something.” He kissing up. I rolled my eyes with a knowing grin, sipping on my soda.

“Hmm…” I pretend, holding my chin in thought, “Anything?”

“Anything.”

====

I walk through the doorway with a large chocolate milkshake in hand. Already preparing for a night of anti-social-ness of sipping my shake. Everyone is greeted by hugs from whoever, while I stand towards the back of the group, near the wall. David is already out of sight, putting me on edge. I knew how these girls acting around David. I wasn’t a fan. It’s also part of the reason why I’m not around when they are.

Once the group dissipates throughout the house, I get a better look at who’s here. Stassie, the blonde one that’s best friends with Kylie Jenner. And Kelsey, the one from that one vlog with fake lips and botox. And then a few others I wasn’t too familiar with.

I was still by the door when everyone had gone to the living room. I follow quietly, walking into everyone scattered along the large couch. With no space to sit, I wander towards the kitchen. I peak around the corner, sipping my shake with my other arm hugging my waist. In the kitchen, people were fucking around on the stripper pole... A stripper pole in your kitchen? Odd. I squeeze by Zane, who was pretending to pole dance, and almost knocks me over.

“Could you be a bit more careful on that, Zane?” I speak up, stepping towards the counter.

“Alright, Momma Bear.” He jokes back, earning an eye roll from me as lean on the counter.

David nudges me lightly, asking, “You ok?” Camera in his hand, recording whatever is going on.

I let out a sarcastic laugh, “I wanna go home.” I say, grabbing his new disposable camera sitting on the counter between us. I mess with it a little, probably touching things I shouldn't be, a flash going off in my face.

I yelp, rubbing my eyes, David laughing next to me. I mock his laugh, something me and Natalie did all the time.

He laughs even more, then Stassie buds in.

“Hey, Y/n, right? You think you could snap a pic of me and Davey?”

“Sure.” I smile on the outside, groaning internally.

Stass stands next to Dave, wrapping her arms around him and kissing his cheek. David smiles but I could tell he’s uncomfortable.

So I make it quick and stand back with the camera in my hand and count down, “3, 2, 1.”

Click

I snap a picture of Stass kissing David. Not on the cheek like I thought she was. She had managed to kiss him on the lips, to which David and I both react.

“Woah! What the hell are you doing?” I push her away off of David as he turns away to wipe his mouth.

“What the fuck, Stass!” He says, almost as angry as I am. She just rolls her eyes, saying, “Like you didn’t enjoy it.”

And that’s what did it for me. My blood was boiling and my teeth clenched.

“What in your right mind made you think that was ok?” I yell, stepping closer to her. My yelling had caught everyone’s attention and they were all tuning in.

“It’s not! If this was the other way around and some random dude kissed you, you wouldn’t be too happy would you, Stass? Huh?” I continue, basically in her face.

“Y/n,” David tugs on my arm, “Maybe it’s time to go.”

Breathing deeply through my nose, I look him in the eyes. They were soft and pleading. I gave him an agreeing look, “Go ahead, I’ll meet you in the car.”

He gave me that pleading look again but listened. I turn back towards Stass and by now Kelsey had joined her side.

“If I ever catch you pulling shit like that again, your done for.” I threaten through clenched teeth. “You too.” I point to Kelsey.

I turn hard on my heel, stomping out of the house, milkshake and camera in hand. I get in the car, slamming the door just a bit too hard, making David look at me.

“Hey-“

“I don’t wanna talk about it.” I huff, putting the shake in a cup holder and dropping the camera in my lap.

====

When we got home, the first thing I did was throw away my hot, melted shake. David decided to get some editing done before having to go back to pick everyone up. He was in his bedroom, while I stood by the trash can in the kitchen.

“What a waste.” I mumble to myself, tossing it out and heading towards my room. I turn the corner and enter my room, falling onto my bed.

“Hey.” David pipes up from the other room.

“What?” I say into my sheets. After a few moments of silence I sigh and sit up. Through the new Black Mirror that was situated right in front of my doorway, David stared at me, leaning against the doorframe to his bedroom with his arms crossed.

I run a hand through my hair, “Are you mad at me?” I ask quietly. I watch him as he pushes off the frame and turns the corner, entering my room.

“No but-“ He sits next to me.

“But what?” I question, throwing myself back, laying down. David following suit, using his arm as a pillow.

“Why don’t you like them?” He asks, turning towards me.

I kept my gaze on the ceiling, “Cause, they only want to use you David. Can’t you see that?”

After a short pause, I spoke again.

“And… as your best friend, I feel the need to do something about it because it’s not right…..but we aren’t kids anymore and we’re all grown up.” I say getting teary eyed. I finally turn to look at him. His eyes glossy as well. He reaches for me and I lay on his chest, allowing him to play with my hair, engulfing me in his arms.

“And you know how I get...Especially with you.” I say, playing with my fingers.

"I know bub." He laughs sweetly, "But now it looks like I should be the one doing the protecting."

I shot up, testing him, "Just because you're a lot taller than me doesn't mean I still can't kick your ass." I laugh.

“Yeah?” He smiles.

“Oh, it’s on.”

[sanderssidesfanfiction]

We’ll Carry On - Chapter Fifteen

We’ll Carry On Tag

General Content Warnings: Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, Substance Abuse, Abandonment, Minor Character Death, Transphobia, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Dissociation, Bullying, Homophobia

June 31st, 2017

Patton was stunned. This was the first time he had come outside his room to get a glass of water himself after bedtime and his mom was watching a show with lots of yelling, and blood.

He made sure he was as quiet as a mouse as he got his water, but he couldn’t help but watch in morbid fascination at the scenes playing out on the TV screen. There was a man in a funny dress, who was being called a judge. There were lots of people in suits, and lots of gruesome pictures.

Was that what the world was like when bad things happened? Lots of blood and men in funny robes and horrible people being chased after by police officers? He scurried back to his room, drinking his water but not feeling very good all of a sudden. He looked over to Virgil, sleeping in the bed on the adjacent wall, and shivered. He hoped that Virgil never saw what he just did. And he hoped that both of them never had to go to that “court” place the pictures were being shown.

February 20th, 2019

Patton was nervous. He and Virgil were dressed in twin polo shirts; Patton’s a light blue and Virgil’s a deep purple. They had to be somewhat dressed up today, because they were going to be in court. Patton had never been in a real courtroom before, and the judge sitting at the huge chair didn’t look super super nice. But he put on a brave face. Virgil was already close to having another panic attack, so he had to be the brave one for both of them.

Their mother and Charles sat across the way from them, a table set up for them and the fanciest lawyer they could buy. Mister Emile and Mister Remy had also gotten a lawyer, but they couldn’t afford one with the track record that their mom’s apparently had.

The judge was droning on, asking questions to the adults, and reading over reports. And then, Patton heard his name. “Patton Sanders?” the man asked.

Patton sat up straighter and resisted the urge to gulp. “Yes, sir?” he asked.

The judge motioned for Patton to step up closer to him. “Would you please come up here? I’d like to ask you a question or two personally. As well as your brother.”

“Could...could we come up together, sir?” Patton asked timidly. “I don’t like being away from Virgil, and he doesn’t look so good even with me next to him.”

The judge nodded. “Both of you may come up at the same time,” he allowed.

Patton stood and nudged Virgil up to a standing position, and the two made their way up to the judge. The man standing by the judge told them where to stop and Patton shuffled on his feet as the judge hmm’ed and looked over reports. “It says here that you told Detective Reagan you would run away if you were sent back to your mother, is that right?”

Patton tried to ignore the offended gasp his mother gave behind him. “Yes, sir. I love my mom, but...but I can’t live with Charles...uh...I mean, Mister Baker.”

“Why not?” the judge asked.

Patton opened his mouth, but no words came out. Virgil stepped in. “He drinks, sir. A lot. And when he drinks he breaks things and yells at us and sometimes hurts us. No one ever sees the bruises because they’re all hidden by clothes, but I think the nurse at school took a few photos once when my ribs were bruised, and that one time Patton got hit with a soccer ball in PE right over where Charles kicked him two nights before.” Virgil sent a dirty look to Charles as he said, “I hate that man and never want to live with him again. But either we go or Charles goes, and Mom won’t leave Charles.”

The judge looked at both of them. “I do see some pictures of bruises in these reports,” he muttered. “And you both feel comfortable with the Picani’s?”

“Yes, sir!” Patton and Virgil chorused. “They haven’t even raised their voices once at us,” Patton continued.

“And they make sure that we have enough food and they don’t drink the way Charles does. I’m not sure they even drink at all, actually,” Virgil added on. “They haven’t where I’ve seen them, at the very least.”

The judge nodded, and noted something down. “Very well, boys. I assume you would rather stay with the Picani’s, then?”

Patton nodded as Virgil replied, “Yes, sir.”

The judge nodded. “You both may take a seat.”

Patton and Virgil walked back to Mister Emile and Mister Remy. Patton sat between Virgil and their mom and Charles, so his brother didn’t get the brunt of their nasty glares. He resisted the urge to squirm as the judge continued to look over the papers. “Very well,” he eventually said. “After considering all the evidence, I will be granting custody of Patton and Virgil Sanders to...”

There was a brief pause as the judge looked over everything one last time, and Patton felt like he couldn’t breathe. Virgil’s eyes were wide and terrified, and Patton knew he probably wasn’t much better. It seemed like even the ticking of the clock had stopped.

“...The Picani’s,” the judge finally said. “Court dismissed.”

He banged the gavel and Virgil and Patton whooped, hugging each other and crying in sheer relief. The man standing by the judge led their mom and Charles out, their mother yelling all the way, but Patton and Virgil paid her no mind.

Patton was still crying as Mister Emile and Mister Remy-their new dads-got packed up and were talking with their lawyer. Eventually, Mister Emile and Mister Remy led him and Virgil outside to the minivan, and it suddenly hit Patton. He never had to see his mom or Charles again. No longer would he be blamed for not being nice to Charles, no more would he and Virgil have to hide in their closet from an alcoholic stepfather. They were free.

Virgil looked about ready to pass out; it seemed like the realization hit him as well. “Pat, we never have to go back there!” he exclaimed. “We’re safe!”

Patton gave him a huge grin. “I know! No more Charles! No more yelling! I can barely believe it!”

“Believe it, baby!” Virgil yelled. “We’re officially adopted!”

Patton giggled and Mister Emile and Mister Remy were looking at them fondly. “You boys ready to go home?” Mister Remy asked. “School’s out for the day, and Logan and Roman should be back.”

Virgil and Patton looked at each other before looking up and nodding, various affirmations leaving their mouths. Now not only did they both have one brother, they had three! Three brothers! Patton couldn’t believe how excited he was! He could be Patton Picani, once the paperwork came through!

He scrambled into the back of the van, where the booster seats were, happy squirming all the way. Virgil sat across from him, beaming. “We’re adopted!” Virgil exclaimed.

“We’re adopted!” Patton parrotted.

“Adopted!”

“Adopted!”

“Adopted!” Virgil threw his hands in the air and whooped. Patton victoriously banged his feet into the empty seat in front of him, laughing all the while.

As they started to wind down off the high of knowing they were safe from Charles, Patton started to cry again and Virgil looked like he might pass out at any moment. “Man, I’m beat,” Virgil mumbled.

“You and me both,” Patton agreed, wiping at his tears. “That was really scary.”

“Yeah. Had you ever seen a courtroom before?” Virgil asked.

“I saw them on one of mom’s shows once. There was a lot of blood in it,” Patton admitted. “I was scared they were gonna do something like that with us, too.”

Virgil shuddered. “I’m glad they didn’t. When did you see one of mom’s shows?”

“I was getting water one night and she didn’t hear me, I guess,” Patton said with a shrug. “I never told her. I was too scared.”

Virgil nodded knowingly. They both knew how their mom would react. Telling Patton he shouldn’t have gotten out of bed, that she wasn’t responsible for what they saw once they decided to disobey her rules. Ever since she had gotten with Charles, the blame game never stopped. And usually it landed on Virgil or Patton’s shoulders.

As they got back home-and that was a weird thought, they were finally home-Logan and Roman came out the front door. Patton could hear them the second Mister Emile opened the door. “Are they here? Did you win? Do they get to stay with us?”

Patton and Virgil got out of their seats and flung the side door open. “Why don’t you ask us yourself?” Virgil exclaimed as he jumped into the open.

As he landed on the ground, Patton laughed and jumped out too. “We’re staying!” he exclaimed, whooping in victory.

Roman cheered and came over, high-fiving both of them and hugging Patton tight. Logan stood there, beaming like he hadn’t since his own adoption was finalized. Patton grinned back and as they all went inside, they chattered about what they would do now that they were staying, and the move, and anything that came to their heads, really. They were just so happy that they got to stay together.

Patton yawned and stretched, and Virgil poked his side. “You know that if you’re tired you can sleep, baby bro? No one will wake you up for at least half an hour.”

“I know,” Patton yawned. “But I don’t wanna sleep. I just got back home.”

“You might want to rest soon, though,” Logan said. “After all, tonight’s a school night.”

“Well, yeah, but I don’t take naps right after school!” Patton shot back. “I wanna do things!”

“Well, you could always help us pack up stuff we won’t need immediately until after we move,” Roman proposed. “Neither Logan nor myself have touched your room because we didn’t know if you’d be staying or not. Now that we know, we can start packing.”

Patton hadn’t even thought of that! “Oh, yeah!” he exclaimed. “And because Virgil and I don’t have today’s homework, there’s nothing stopping us from doing that!”

Virgil shook his head. “Packing up is gonna be boring, though!”

“Maybe, but at least we get to pack, right?” Patton asked. “If we didn’t, we would be back at Mom’s.”

Virgil considered this new information and frowned at Patton, who read his expression loud and clear: I guess you have a point.

Patton grinned and shrugged easily. Well, duh!

Virgil rolled his eyes and muttered a half-hearted, “Shut up,” before running up the stairs.

Patton clambored after him and they got to their room, the one across from the master bedroom. They walked into their room, looking around. There was little to pack, because Patton and Virgil had been living out of a suitcase in case they had to be sent home. Now that they got to keep everything, though, they had to pack all of that extra stuff up. Patton went for the sentimental things, first: the books Roman had shared with them, and the drawings and writings Logan would occasionally indulge in and pass over to him and Virgil. Roman and Logan would occasionally draw together, but usually wound up teasing each other on their subject matter, so most of the time they did it alone to avoid distraction.

Virgil, he noticed, was going for their clothes, and his blanket and Patton’s kitty. The things they needed more than wanted. “You know, Virge, you can get some of the stuff you want to keep, too.”

“Maybe,” Virgil said, “But I want to make sure we have everything we need first. What if we run out of room?”

“Well, we can ask for another box,” Patton said, like it was obvious.

Virgil shook his head. “Maybe we’ll get one, but what if we don’t? We have to be ready, Pat. We won’t be running away again, I don’t think, but that doesn’t mean we can get whatever we want.”

Patton felt a little deflated at Virgil’s explanation. “Maybe if we run out of space we can pack some of our stuff in Logan and Roman’s boxes?”

“Maybe,” Virgil said. “But I don’t want to take that chance, you know?”

Patton sighed. “Yeah, I don’t either. That’s why I’m taking this stuff, though. It’s important to me.”

Virgil nodded in understanding. “Yeah, I know,” he said. “And we’ll be okay. We just have to remember that we might not always have people there for us except each other.”

Patton sighed and nodded. Much as he hated it, Virgil did have a point. “Yeah. I wish we could, you know, know that people would be there, though. And I do think that Mister Remy and Mister Emile will be there for us when possible, but...”

“It’s not always possible,” Virgil said, nodding as he finished Patton’s sentence. “I know.”

Patton scratched his arm and continued to pack. “Do you think of Mister Emile and Mister Remy as our dads?” he asked Virgil.

Virgil considered. “Maybe a little,” he said. “But I don’t know if I want to tell them that just yet. I don’t want them flipping out or getting mad, like Charles did.”

Patton nodded and agreed softly. Sure, Mister Emile and Mister Remy weren’t Charles, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t freak out if they heard. Maybe he and Virgil could save that for later.

[blueraspberrycoolatta]

2018 writing self-evaluation

yoo @suspendrs​ tagged me in this and i got so excited!! y’all know i love any opportunity to yell about my fics!!

ALL FICS MUST HAVE POSTED ON AO3 IN 2018

1. Number of stories (including drabbles) posted to AO3: 15

2. Word count posted for the year: 122,531

3. List of works published this year (in order of posting):

play me a memory (5 february)

don’t stop us now, we’ve started (11 march)

Ain’t That A Kick In The Head! (with @lesbianharrie​) (23 april)

come find me in the afterglow (14 july)

you look just fine on your own (6 august)

some princes don’t become kings (11 august)

melodies and memories (31 august)

I Get A Kick Out Of You (with @lesbianharrie​) (18 september)

i’ve learned to loathe these goddamn visions (7 october)

a little bit stressed out (2 november)

take off your colours (16 november)

no time for getting old (2 december)

hold onto this feeling (3 december)

taste the tension, now i’m begging (5 december)

half remembered, halfway across the world (first chapter posted 2 february, last updated 11 december)

4. Fandoms I wrote for: the legend of zelda: breath of the wild (8), one direction (5), 5 seconds of summer (1), kingdom hearts (1), choices: stories you play (1)

5. Pairings: louis/harry (5), link/revali (3), louis/zayn (2), calum/luke (2), hayner/roxas (1)

6. Story with the most:

Kudos: Ain’t That A Kick In The Head! (1062)

Bookmarks: Ain’t That A Kick In The Head! (432)

Comments: Ain’t That A Kick In The Head! (141)

9. Work I’m most proud of (and why):

it’s a tie between don’t stop us now, we’ve started and melodies and memories. don’t stop us was one of those stories that ran away from me in the best way—i intended it to be around 5k when i started it, 7k max, but as i dug into calum’s backstory, everything just kind of...started writing itself. 

melodies and memories was similar. it doubled in length from what i’d originally planned for it to be, but what i actually like most about this one is that since it’s so closely linked to half remembered, halfway across the world, i’ve been putting little easter eggs and phrases/occurrences that mirror each other, either within the same fic or across both of them. the paraglider that zayn makes for louis in melodies and memories is the same one troye uses in half remembered. loius tells zayn he’s not the type to make promises, once in melodes and memories, and then again in half remembered. zayn there are a ton more but i can’t say them cos those chapters haven’t been posted yet, but i’ve been having way too much fun putting them in. (as emma’s said: i’m playing 3d chess with this fic) 

10. Work I’m least proud of (and why):

probably take off your colours? i posted a first chapter and people seemed to like it but i started it with no idea where it was going and i’m worried i should have waited to post it, wrapped it up to make it a oneshot, and then just left it, rather than setting it up for a whole chaptered story. and i feel like the revalink fandom already has a bunch of soulmate fics and like do we really need mine fskjdfh

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

oh! can i post two? i’m gonna post two. the first is from a revalink fic, and the second is from the soccer fic.

Then it’s Link’s turn to say his vows. “Revali.” Link’s voice is soft, but steady and clear, no signs of nervousness as he picks up the diamond pendant. “When we first met, I thought you hated me. I thought you wanted nothing to do with me, and I thought I’d be just fine never seeing you again.” Scattered chuckles from the crowd. “I’ve never been so happy to be wrong. Revali, falling in love with you was like falling out of the sky. It happened so quickly, and I didn’t know what was happening, and it was scary at first, but once I accepted it, every moment has been thrilling and exciting and I never want to hit the ground and let it come to an end. I want to spend the rest of my life falling in love with you. So I take you, as you are, pride and all, to be my husband. I will be by your side, through storms, through Calamities, through everything life has to throw at us. I promise to support you and love you, unconditionally. You already have wings to take you into the sky—I promise to be the wings that take you into our future.”

Well, that does it. Revali blinks back tears. “Your vows were way better than mine,” he whispers, no venom behind the words even if he wanted there to be.

Link snorts fondly, standing on the balls of his feet to tie the pendant around Revali’s neck. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you that not everything’s a competition?”

~

and then:

“I have dual fucking citizenship, you weeb.”

12. Share or describe a favorite review you received:

i really truly love every comment i get. it means the world that someone not only read my fic, but took the time to say something afterward. but i got several comments this year that were all along the lines of: i never thought about this this way. and i love that even in a fic context i can bring something new to the table, a unique perspective.

also, someone called me their favorite revalink writer and that made me into the literal hearteyes emoji i almost cried

13. A time when writing was really, really hard:

when isn’t it hard? but actually, nano was hard this year. i wrote more than i ever have, but i just felt like the pressure was Too Much. usually pressure is a good thing for me but for some reason it got to me this year. i was writing 4+ different projects, in 2 different fandoms, and i just couldn’t really focus. 

14. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:

all of 5sos in the breath of the wild au took me by surprise with the depth of their dynamics, but calum especially. i didn’t Mean to give him a fuckton of backstory, but i did, and he just kind of...developed on his own. next thing i knew, he was a conflicted teenager with a penchant for fighting but a whole lot of guilt. i’ve been really loving digging into his character, not only in the prequel but with the way ashton and luke talk about him half remembered. in fact, he surprised me so much he’s getting a sequel set after the events of half remembered. but that won’t be for a while yet.

15. How did you grow as a writer this year:

i want to say i surprised myself with the emotional themes i’ve been exploring in fics this year. i’ve had so much fun writing angst, especially in the breath of the wild verse, and i used to say i’ve never do angst or i’d never be good at writing it. i don’t know if i can say i’m good at it just yet, but i definitely feel like i’ve been getting better at conveying more emotion in my writing. also, i like to think i’ve gotten better at humor. 

16. How do you hope to grow next year:

i just want to keep writing! i feel like especially this past month, i’ve just been hit with bursts of inspiration, and when that happens, i just want to go with it rather than be like ‘oh, that’s interesting, i’ll come back to that later when i have a better idea of what’ll happen.’ some of my favorite fics i’ve written this year have been largely unplanned and spontaneous so i want to carry that energy into the new year. 

17. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

my loggies! i loved getting together to write (even if not a lot of writing got done) but all your encouragement and support has meant the world. also i wanna shoutout @lesbianharrie for being the absolute best cowriter i could ask for. i feel like she’s helped me be funnier, which has been something i’ve always wanted to do. also, writing comedy is always more fun with a friend!

18. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year:

please refer to the entirety of Ain’t That A Kick In The Head!

19. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

honestly, you have to like what you’re writing. otherwise, you’re gonna slog through it and you’ll hate every moment and that’s no fun, especially if writing is meant to be a hobby. write the stories you want to write, even if it seems like no one will read them. you never know—people might surprise you. and even if they don’t, hey! you wrote something you like and you’re proud of, and that’s enough.

20. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year:

I’M GOING TO FINISH HALF REMEMBERED. I’M SPEAKING IT INTO EXISTENCE. the second half is actually going to be posted more quickly because i keep writing it out of order. like. i have the epilogue done. but do i know what’s happening in the immediate next chapter? not a clue!

but also, i have some really exciting new projects in the works as well! i have a high school bagpipe band au that’s gonna be ridiculous and (hopefully) funny, my fic for the @hlmusicalsficfest that’s gonna be based on nice work if you can get it, and at Least two (2) more disaster harry fics. get pumped!

21. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read.

uhhh idk who’s been tagged and who’s already done it so i’m just gonna say: anyone who sees this and wants to do it! just tag me, i wanna read your answers!

[letmeletmetrashyourlove]

Millie

Summary: Billy finds out that he is having a baby girl.

REQUESTS OPEN      FEEDBACK APPRECIATED

Author’s Note: Killing two birds with one stone with this fic! It was requested, but also for Amanda’s 3,000 follower celebration! Yay Amanda! Love you!

Billy leaned against the doorframe as I stood in front of our daughter. She was sitting on the bathroom counter, playing with my necklace as I tugged her hair up into pigtails on top of her head. Though she had my hair color, she had gotten Billy’s ringlet curls.

        “Alright, silly Millie.” I sighed when I was finished, hoisting her off the counter and into my arms.

Today was her first day of soccer, and she couldn’t be more enthusiastic. Billy, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck. Every bump, bruise, and fall she had ever suffered was made worse by his overreaction. She would fall over and be fine until her dad gasped and came flying over to her asking if she was okay.

His panic drove her to cry more often than not. Which is why I was contemplating making him stay home for the duration of soccer practice, knowing he would lose his mind whenever she went down. I passed Millie over to him as I exited the bathroom, he peppered kisses on her cheek, making her squawk.

Billy followed me as I went into her bedroom, pulling out a pair of knee high socks with red bands around the top. I tossed them to him. He struggled to get her feet in them as she kicked fiercely, giggling the whole time.

        “Hey! Save the kicking for practice, will yah?” He exclaimed.

        “Mmm. No!” She cackled.

He rolled his eyes, flipping her upside down so her feet stuck up in the air,

        “Teamwork!” Billy hollered, holding her legs still while I shoved the socks over her feet.

        “That’s cheating!” Mille protested, crossing her arms as she hung upside down, her pigtails dangling.

He flipped her right side up again, throwing her over his shoulder.

Billy Hargrove had somehow straightened himself out since he was in high school. My suspicion was that it was entirely to do with getting away from Neil. Despite being flat broke, when he turned 18, he moved out and into an apartment down the street from my childhood home. We met when he came to my door when I was home from college on spring break. Without his mullet, he was nearly unrecognizable. If it hadn’t been for his signature smirk, I wouldn’t have known who it was.

        “Oh, hey, Y/N.” He greeted, “Jeez, it’s been a couple years, hasn’t it?”

        “Yeah. It has.” I replied, looking him up and down.

He and I never really got along in school. He relied too heavily on his fists to get his point across, though, despite that, he had never shown an ounce of hostility towards me.

        “So, uh, what brings you here?”

        “Oh, yeah. Sorry. I just…” He wavered, “Saw you and you got me all distracted.”

He blushed, drawing his lip between his teeth. I placed my hands on my hips, recognizing his flirtatious ways.

        “I’ve been taking care of your parent’s lawn for a while. I just wanted to come over and see if they needed help with anything.”

        “Oh, yeah. Uh… Come on in, I’ll go find my mom.” I told him, stepping aside so he could come in.

He studied the walls of the house, tucking his thumbs into his pockets as I trotted to the living room where mom sat with a book in her lap.

        “Hey, mama.” I notified, “Billy’s here.”

        “Oh, Billy!” She beamed, drawing herself from her seat.

She brushed past me, meeting him in the entryway and pulling him into a hug.  I was taken aback by the gesture, especially as Billy gladly returned the hug.  

        “How have you been?” She sought, rubbing her hands up and down his biceps.

        “Good! Good!” He smiled down at her.

        “Got a girlfriend yet?” She asked, making his cheeks go red as he shook his head. Mom motioned over her shoulder to me, making my cheeks turn an equally dark shade of pink.

        “She’s still single, and I want grandbabies.” She whispered, nudging him with her elbow.

        “MOTHER!” I exclaimed.

        “WHAT!?” She retorted, “YOU CAN’T WAIT FOREVER.”

        “I’M ONLY 22!” I shouted back.

        “I was 21 when I had you. Gotta use that uterus while it’s still good.”

        “OKAY, HOW ABOUT WE STOP TALKING ABOUT THE EFFICIENCY OF MY UTERUS IN FRONT OF OUR GUEST?!”

Billy could hardly contain his amusement as he watched my mother and I stare each other down.

        “Well. I don’t have any work for you to do yet. But, I have something to give you.”

She traveled into the kitchen, getting a pan out of the freezer and handing it over to him,

        “Lasagna.” She told him, “I’m tired of seeing those takeout cars going down the street to your place every night. Eat some real food, will ya? I don’t know how you keep your gut with how you’ve been eating.” She jabbed him in the stomach.

Despite our awkward reunion, Billy somehow managed to overlook my mother’s constant talk about grandbabies long enough to ask me out on a date. To say I was reluctant would be an understatement, but the way my mother talked about him persuaded me. She insisted he was hardworking and kind. Told me an adorable story about how he found a bunny nest in the backyard and ended up taking the little creatures to a wildlife rescue.

But when I finally accepted his request, I saw what she was talking about. His rough edges had softened over the years. He even managed to come up with kind things to say about his stepmother and Max.

After I finished college, he proposed to me. And a couple weeks later we found out I was pregnant. Billy went into freak out mode, insisting that he was going to turn out just like his own father. I had to grab him by the face in the middle of him ranting to make him look at me,

        “You are nothing like that bastard, do you understand me?” I hollered, “And if I had even an ounce of doubt about that, I wouldn’t be with you.”

He subdued for the next couple of months, only having another freak out once we figured out the gender. A baby girl.

        “What- What am I supposed to do with a baby girl!?” He roared, pacing back in forth in the nursery, awkwardly stepping around deconstructed furniture.

        “Babe. Chill. It’ll be okay.” I reassured, lounging on the recliner with a bag of bugle chips, supervising while he was supposed to be putting the crib together.

        “No… No, no, no, no.” He stuttered, “Nope. No. I know how girls are, okay. She’s gonna fall in love with some asshole and get her heart broken.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his outburst, earning me a scowl.

        “Billy, she’s not even as big as a softball yet, and you’re worried about her future boyfriends.”

I didn’t bother to look up at him, placing the chips over the ends of my fingers as he continued to pace around.

        “I’m gonna run that asshole over in my car. Then I’m gonna end up in jail. I’m going to end up in jail and I can’t go to jail, I’m too pretty to go to jail!”

I rolled my eyes, holding my hands up with the bugels on the end and wiggling my fingers,

        “I’ll get you my pretty, and your little dog too.” I cackled, doing my best wicked witch of the west impression.  

        “HOW ARE YOU SO CALM WHEN I’M ABOUT TO GO TO PRISON FOR VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER!?”

        “Actually, honey, it would be vehicular homicide, unless you do a good job and make it look like an accident.”

        “I’m gonna go to jail.” He repeated.

I let out a sigh, throwing a bugel at him and hitting him on the cheek,

        “The only person going to jail is me when I murder you for being irrationally worried about this.” I threatened, “And then you’ll be gone and I’ll have a baby in prison. And then she’ll have to go live with my mom.”

        “Oh no.”

        “And you know what my mom is gonna do to her?”

        “Dress her up in those freaky doll outfits.” He gasped.

        “Exactly.”

I pulled him down to sit beside me, resting my head on his shoulder and patting his chest reassuringly.

        “What if she doesn’t like me?” He whispered, scarcely audible.

        “What do you mean ‘if she doesn’t like you’?”

        “I mean… I don’t know… I’m just…” He sputtered, “I don’t know. I’m kind of an asshole.”

        “Yeah. I know you are. And I still let you knock me up.” I replied, finally getting a laugh from him, “She’s gonna love you. I know she is.”

He nodded,

        “Got any name ideas?"  

I shook my head,

        “How about…. Joan? Or Bonnie?”

        “WE ARE NOT NAMING OUR CHILD AFTER JOAN JETT OR BONNIE TYLER!” I screeched.

        “WHO SAID THAT’S WHY I PICKED THOSE NAMES?” He defended with a gasp.

        “Is that why you picked those names?”  

        “Yes.”

        “That’s what I thought.”

        “What about Joni?” He offered, “Combo of Joan and Bonnie.” 

I rolled my eyes, 

        “We’re not naming her after Joni Mitchell either.” 

A few months later, we decided on the name Millicent, after his mom’s mother. And a few months after that, we got to meet Millie for the first time. She instantly took a liking to Billy, for a while him being the only one able to rock her to sleep. Literally. Rock her to sleep. He sang rock songs to her, and the only requirement on the song was that it had to have the word ‘rock’ in it.

        “Here I am, rock you like a hurricane.”

        “I love rock and roll, put another dime in the jukebox baby.”

        “We will, we will rock you.”

        “Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus, oh, oh, oh Amadeus, Come and rock me Amadeus.”

        “I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day. I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day.”

He’d creep out of the room, shutting the door carefully behind him,

        “You know, I really should start recording you when you do that because it’s disgustingly adorable.”

Despite my refusal to name my daughter after Joan Jett, Billy had taught Millie to love her and she now knew the words to most of her songs. They sang it in the car on the way to soccer, her tiny voice standing out against the chorus.

We pulled up to the park, watching other little girls in pigtails clamber out of their cars and run into the field, soccer balls tucked under their arms.

Millie was playing in the youngest league, only being three years old. Billy pulled her out of her car seat and carried her onto the grass. Once we reached the field, she squirmed to be put down. As soon as her cleated feet hit the grass, she took off running to the group of toddlers that was kicking the ball around before practice had even started.

        “She’s too big now.” Billy lamented, coming up behind me and resting his head on my shoulder.

        “Yeah, that’s what happens.” I sighed, watching her make quick friends with a girl who had matching socks with her.

We waved to her as she turned back around, giving us a thumbs up before returning to play. The coach finally rallied all the girls together, which was about as difficult as herding cats. Within a few minutes, she had them kicking the ball up and down the field. Billy had a grin plastered on his face. Until Millie fell, that is. She landed face first in the grass, dirt sticking to her cheeks as she looked up in horror. Billy let out a gasp, attempting to run towards the field. I snagged him by the back of his shirt, preventing him from going any further.

The girl that Millie was playing with earlier ran over to her, helping her to her feet. She brushed the mud off her face before hugging her. Not a single tear was shed on Millie’s part, the first time she’s fallen without Billy there to catch her.

        “See. She’s fine.” I reassured, “She’s a strong girl.”

        “Told you letting her listen to rock music would turn her into a badass.” He smirked.

I gave him a playful smack in the gut,

        “Oh, please. You were closer to crying than she was and you’ve got 23 more years of rock music than her.”

        “I guess she must take after her mama then.”

        “Yeah. Uh-huh. Whatever, you big baby.”

[gabriellapatterson-blog]

Emma Fic 2

Dear Emma,

Just had my first date with Ben. It was so much fun we went and we played baseball. I got kind of nervous at times like he helped me adjust my stance to hit the ball and I got all tense. At least I didn’t run away like that one time you got me to give Jonathan that stupid like what are they even called? Mason jar! That mason jar with the little encouraging notes for his SAT. I just left it at his front door, remember? Lol. I feel like I shouldn’t be writing lol in a letter. Like I feel like these are supposed to be more formal than that but like it’s you? I’m not gonna write like “To my darling darlinest beloved companion Emma Florence Woods.” That’s just weird. But anyways, lol. OH MY GOSH JEREMY IS BACK? Why? We weren’t like super close at the time so I doubt you remember this but we used to play soccer together all the time! And well well well a cute doctor, good on you. Keep my up to date on everything. And oooh tell Ellie I miss her too. Give her a big ol’ hug for me!

Lots of love,

Gabriella Patterson.

I read the note with a grin as Eliana sat on the floor of my room.

“Emmy, emmy, how do you spell Gregory?” She asked as she worked on her letter for Gabby.

“G-R-E-G-O-R-Y. Are you telling her about his new blanket?” I asked as I rested my chin on my hand.

“Yup. The newest reject. We think it was because he doesn’t like pink. Just salmon. The blanket must have been too colorful for his masculine taste.” Eliana said with a giggle.

“Hey, boys can wear pink too.”

“Oh yeah Gabby’s new boyfriend seems like the type to wear pink.” She replied with a grin. Eliana had recently taken to flipping through my magazines to look at pictures of either Prince Benjamin or Gabby. She commented that the princes hair looked too perfect in the picture, I said that it was probably styled that way for the picture. She’s convinced he’s gay now like the kid in her class who is gay and also keeps his hair in a very specific way.

“He’s not gay, Eliana! For the hundredth time. If he were gay he would have a male selection and he wouldn’t have kissed that girl before the selection started.” I brought up.

“He could not be ready to come out of the closet, also I think that last kiss was an attempt to get the selection canceled.” She replied as she finished up her letter and shoved it in her envelope and licked the seal.

I sighed and took her letter and put both of ours in my purse. “Do you wanna get some ice cream on the way back?” I asked to which she just cheered. She was getting to be such a weird age now. We could talk about if a dude is gay or not and the gossip of the country but she still jumped at the chance of ice cream and wrote in pink glitter pens.

We dropped the letters off at the post office and walked into the ice cream shop. The cool breeze welcoming us both in and out of the late spring heat. Walking in I was welcomed by two unfriendly face. Well, one unfriendly, one confused. Nina and Jonathan. Gabby and I’s best friends in high school. Jonathan must be back from his first year at college. Nina from her first year of modeling in a bigger city.

“I told you already, I can’t eat ice cream I’m on a no dairy, gluten, sugar, all vegan diet.” I heard Nina say as she turned slightly noticing Eliana and me.

“OhmygoshlookitsEmma!” She yelled and walked quickly over to us as Jonathan sighed.

“Hey, Nina.” I replied as she hugged me closely, my shoulders tensing.

“Heyyy, how was Malibu?” I asked.

“Oh my gosh I have so much to tell you. Oh my gosh oh my gosh I heard Gabby got selected! I mean I totally would have signed up if I wasn’t with the best teddy bear in the whole world. But like isn’t that amazing the Angeles selected was from OUR town of all places. Like that could have been me, could have been you, could have been Eliana- well no not Ellie because she's still little but oh my gosh you get my point. Like when I heard her name I was like totally shook and I was like oh my god no they can’t possibly mean like MY Gabby right like what? But then her picture showed up and I was like OH. MY. GOSH. It is MY Gabby. Do you remember her in freshman year? Like I bet she would be kicked right out if people knew what she was like then? I partially take credit for her blossoming since like I fixed you up then you fixed up Gabby so like I helped. Oh my gosh do you remember what YOU were like in 9th grade? You would always leave your hair all curly instead of straightening it then making it wavy. Like you looked like someone dumped a bowl of ramen on your head. And then there was that hot pink jacket you wore like every day, and those big ol, hoop earrings.” She went off.

“Oh, yeah, that’s cool.” I replied and walked up to Jonathan.

“How’s schooling, kid?” I asked as Eliana followed behind me.

“It’s going. How’s deciding on an occupation?” He asked.

“Actually just decided on it a few days ago. Mathematician.” I answered.

Nina scoffed, “Math, really? You may as well just draw some acne on your face and go back to wearing those tiny glasses.”

“Hey, remember nice, Nina.” Jon replied trying to keep the hot headed Nina just a little cooler.  

“So what lead you to going into math?” Nina asked, the ice cream man seeming annoyed at us for just chatting. It’s not like there’s anyone else behind us Mr. Swern. He coughed just a little bit clearly making it on purpose.

“I would like 2 scoops of chocolate crunchy monkey with gummy bears on top.” Eliana started not bothering to wait for the boring adult talk to finish.

“I would lik-” I started only to be interrupted by Nina.

“You’re really going to get an ice cream? I figured you would have paid more attention to your figure by now.” She scoffed. I showed just a moment of weakness,

“I’ll just go ahead and pay then.” I waited for the number to come up and gave him my card as Jonathan looked away ignoring Nina’s comment.

Soon we sat down and Jonathan and Eliana ate their ice cream. I grumbled and tapped my fingers on the table as I listened to Nina ramble on until finally she got up to go to the bathroom.

“I don’t see why you’re marrying her.” I sighed to Jonathan.

“You used to be friends with her, you tell me.”

We sat in silence for a moment more before Eliana finished up her ice cream and went to throw it away. “Oh Emma, I got these for you and Gabby. I know how much she likes gummies so I bought them for her just before she got selected. She probably won’t be back in time to have them though. And I brought you some fancy chocolates, that is if you’re okay with all those calories. I know Nina didn’t mean anything by it, she's just grumpy from her new model diet, you look fine. “ He said and gave me a small bag.

“Thanks, Jon. It was nice seeing you, good luck with well..Nina.” I replied and took the bag and made sure Eliana was following me as we left the store.

We walked slowly up the hill to the Pattersons home before creeping in. Once we were in I made my way down the hall to Gabriella’s room, just to look around and feel a bit more normal without Gabby.   

I sat down on her bed for a moment and laid down.

“...Hey?” I heard a voice peep up from Gabby’s bathroom causing me to spring back up in the bed. Oh yeah Jeremy was staying here to work with Ms Mary-Nell.

“Hey. Funny seeing you here.” I replied as I looked Jeremy up and down noticing he was in nothing but a towel, he must have just gotten out of the shower as his hair was dripping.

“Am I hot?” I asked him, he seemed surprised by the sudden question.

“Of course.” He replied.

“Kiss me then.”  

“Sure.” He said and walked over to me giving me a gentle kiss on my lips which I quickly made rough.

Maybe it was out of frustration at Nina or maybe just loneliness with Gabriella being gone but I quickly escalated myself with Jeremy. Oh god Gabby is gonna kill me if I tell her I had sex in her bed. Ugh I’ll just say we went to my house.

Dear Gabby,

[thetaikamiya]

Digimon OTP Week: 08/28: The Last Hurrah, or A New Dawn

First off, I want to shout-out @digiotpweek for their dedication and planning for putting this event together, and for all the fellow fans, participants, readers, or neither. This is my...well, I’m not sure what to call this story. Regardless, I hope you all enjoy it!

Taichi kicked around the soccer ball, losing much of his drive to practice. He still had the latest Digimon situation replaying in his head, with highlights catching him off guard. He was so distracted, he didn’t even notice someone walking up to the seats and sit down, wordlessly and with a hint of somberness.

After years and years, Taichi felt like he had a sixth sense about when this particular person showed up. This time, he felt anxious, a feeling he thought he had dealt with years ago, and popped the ball up with one foot, and caught it with his hands mid-air. No matter how much he wanted to avoid this situation, no matter how hard he lied to everyone, himself most of all, this was the time and place for it.

So Taichi walked up to the seats outside of the field, and quietly sat down in front of his friend.

Friend. It was a great title for her, but some days, he felt she could be more...that he could be more. He always wanted to help, and time and time again he failed to. Failed to listen. Failed to say what he meant clearly, or in a kind and reserved way. But, this was...This was Sora.

He had to try. Even if he messed up every single time in his life, she was worth every effort he could make.

“Sora...” Taichi said with a raspy voice, giving away his nervousness, concern, and the fact he had been outside for hours in the late Fall.

“Taichi, I...I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you, I just...”

Taichi turned around so he’d face her. Sora, as per usual, had that glowing smile of hers, though for all her hard work to hide it, the pain was noticeable. Taichi knew if he gave any indication that he knew, Sora would probably turn his own false happiness back on him and ask what was bothering him instead.

“You didn’t interrupt me Sora. You know how I am, I like to have a way to wind down and relax, and soccer is still the best way for me.”

Sora nodded, looking out above Taichi’s hair, occasionally meeting his gaze.

“Hey, wanna kick the ball around a bit? Show me who’s the boss on the field?” Taichi beamed, reminding Sora of nearly every day they spent together while growing up.

Growing up. It was an odd sensation, and definitely a subtle one. One day, she decided she wanted to practice some crochet instead of practicing her return with her off hand. After that, the choice became easier and easier as each day came and went. 

Yet...

Here was the one part of her life that always called her back. It didn’t matter if she thought she was the team mom, or the worst friend ever, this one part of her life was consistent at the heart.

Taichi. 

Always doing his best to make sure his friends and family were alright. Sometimes he certainly talked before he thought all the way through, but she knew he only did so because of his lifelong drive to do as much to help others as he could. As he got older, he became more and more willing to let go of what he held dear so that, in the case of people, they could fly, that the people he loved could find others to love and care for, and in her case...

No. 

Sora stopped herself from doing exactly what Taichi would normally do. Her feelings weren’t as concrete as she had expected, her interests were changing enough that she had to quit several of her long time favorite activities to give even a little more time for her new hobbies, jobs, gifts, and whatever else would be on her plate.

Taichi is consistent at his core. Yamato is consistent at his core as well.

So why did she come here to talk to Taichi in particular?

“Sure Taichi, I’d love to.”

She decided she’d figure it out later, for now, these two friends needed to relax.

“Sora, I’ve been thinking...A lot actually.”

He was terrified of even thinking of maybe starting this conversation in his lifetime, but it had to be done. Otherwise it would mean all his words of praise, affection and friendship were all parts of the past, or at least that’s how he felt.

“Taichi, you do think a lot more than you give yourself credit for. I know you do.”

Taichi nearly faltered, but recovered quickly enough to kick the ball back to her.

“I know you and I haven’t talked one on one like this since before Christmas years ago. Heck, here we are with another year about to fly by. But Sora...”

Sora quietly swallowed, preparing herself for the good...and the horrible feelings and results of this conversation. But she knew, deep down Taichi was right, this had to be done.

“Taichi...” Sora walked closer, gently kicking the ball forward with every other step until she could place her hand on the back of his neck.

Neither could keep their finely crafted facades up at this close range. This was what they called the “Truth Zone” from back when they were very little kids. At this close distance, neither was allowed to lie, especially since they could tell if the other was lying thanks to the up close view of every movement of the feet, legs, hips, arms and face.

“I’ll listen.”

Taichi closed his eyes, and sighed. It was now or when it’d be far too late.

“Sora, I want you to know the truth. That day, I was...I was torn. I had feelings for you, and that part of me hurt that day when you made your decision. But the rest of me...The rest of me knew that where I failed, Yamato could understand, and succeed. I had faith he would care for you, understand you, and that you would be the same for him. No...I knew you would.”

“How exactly do you just know something like that? I mean we never quite dated but...”

“It was close enough that I knew the moment you said you were going to his concert that I would be horrible to stand in your way then and there. You made your choice, and I respected it.”

Taichi looked down and to the right, trying to hide his facial expression for what he was about to say next.

“Lately though...I feel like you and I have drifted. More than I ever could handle. I mean, I couldn’t even help you when...”

Sora stopped him, very, very much aware of the moment he was referring to, the moment he showed he listened to Piyomon and herself so intently that years later he could give her the same advice.

“Taichi, you tried. You tried to help me, you and Yamato ran after me, but gave me room when I needed it. I know it hurts to see that your words don’t get through right then, but they always reach me.”

The two stood still silent, looking at one another. Both Taichi and Sora had flashbacks to several moments in their lives together, of the good and the bad, the choices they regretted and choices they would never change.

This moment was their time to decide. Would they give themselves a chance at love with one another? Would this be the last moment of a relationship that almost was?

One last look. One last hand hold. 

The moment was a rush, an eternity neither wanted to leave. The stresses of the future, the mistakes of the past and the confusion of the present all seemed smaller, manageable, and surmountable. 

Each time, each potential future, each step, each day, their minds and hearts would not fathom without the other being a part of their lives in some way or form.

So they made their choice.

The gentle press of a mutual kiss sent both of their hearts racing, and the adrenaline made them both want to take a run around Tokyo on foot to burn off the excess energy, yet the kiss was far too wonderful for either to want to leave.

Once they both moved their faces back from one another, Taichi spoke up.

“I will always try to help you be happy Sora. No matter what happens, I will try. You’ve given me so many amazing days, so many memories I treasure, and you believe in me. You...You gave me courage.”

Sora had a mixture of being touched by his words, and humorous surprise that Taichi was being somewhat romantic.

“Really. C’mon Taichi, fess up. You don’t normally namedrop your crest like that.”

“Sora, you know love does funny things to people.”

Sora rolled her eyes.

“Okay...Truth is, when we were at the pyramid and you were kidnapped, I got back to that electric fence. The one I just waltzed through the first time, thinking we didn’t have to worry about what happened to us. Well, I realized that was definitely wrong, and do you know what got me through? You, Sora. I did it because I knew you were on the other side, fighting with all you had, and I...I always felt like I was my best with you there. So...I decided any effort I could make to save you was easily worth more than my life. That’s the choice I would never change.”

Sora started to feel like she was tearing up, sorely tempted to say some phrase she used to say to Taichi all the time as a callback, but instead she kissed him on his cheek.

“Whenever I get scared, or nervous about making a big decision, I hear you, in my mind telling me to ‘Go for it! You’re Sora, you can change the world with a smile...or you know, something like that.’. And every time, you open the door, I find my inner strength and I make my choices, for better or worse. You let me shine, and you’d give everything to show everyone what you’ve seen in me for our whole lives.”

Sora dug into her pocket and pulled out a very familiar hair clip. Without a word she held it out to Taichi.

“Wait...you want me to wear it?!”

Sora giggled, and held it out closer to Taichi.

“No you goof, I wanted to offer it to you to put in my hair.”

Taichi blushed, but gently opened the clip up and placed it in her hair, patting down a small portion that he had moved out of place.

“I was thinking of seeing if you might want to come with my family to the Nyuto Onsen up in Akita in a couple weeks, before the holiday rush.”

Sora smiled the trademark smile that always made Taichi feel happy and nodded.

“I have a lot to catch Hikari up on, and I haven’t talked with your parents in awhile too!”

“When you talk it over with your mom, let her know she’s invited to our multi-family vacation. To most people, we just reeeeeeeeeeeeeally want to get away from any would-be Digimon attack. Truthfully though, they wanted to have as many of us as we could have some time set aside just to relax, and for our parents to talk and get to know each other better.”

“I think I can convince my mom to be on board for that. Honestly though I’m looking forward to going with you all to the Onsen. It should be the start of the winter season, so I figure we’ll need to pack lightly and heavily, just in case.”

“You’re going to want to help me pick some clothes out. I’d be more likely to bring my usual clothes instead. For now though...want to grab something to eat?”

Sora nodded, and pulled out her cell phone. 

“Just letting my Mom know I’ll be getting dinner with you tonight.”

As Taichi went to pick up the ball, Sora leaned down and said with a sly smirk “I’m paying for dinner Taichi.”

Taichi turned to look at her and chuckled, knowing he wasn’t convincing her otherwise.

“You win this one Sora.”

“Just like old times, huh Taichi!”

Taichi shook his head, drawing curiosity from Sora.

“No. This...is even better.”

With that the two, somewhat  awkwardly at first, held one another’s hand, then comfortably walked towards dinner and a bright future for the both of them.

Together.

[spaghettiappletater]

The Seventh Soul

He'd hesitated long enough, having spent almost an entire day stalling just outside the barrier after shortcutting his way past Undyne and her guards. The doubt in his soul started small but by the time he finally stepped through it had almost consumed him, causing his head to ache from spine to shatter. The bits of humanity inside him had made him stronger for sure, but they'd also made him weaker, in a way. Maybe he should have expected them to be waiting just there on the other side but he hadn't. The two nearly collided, Sans' head ducked and covered by his hood, several layers of clothing concealing his broken form from full view. He thought he'd have to go a bit further into human territory after all, and they wouldn't have reacted well to a bloodstained skeleton waltzing around.

They had stood there, at the barrier, for a while.  It wasn't exactly the right place to enter in from, but it wasn't the wrong place either.  Besides, it was kind of an interesting place to stare and think and ... be indecisive. Frisk hadn't changed too much.  Taller, maybe a little more gaunt and scrawny.  Lots of sleepless nights, it looked like.  The kid wasn't really a kid anymore, but they didn't look ready to be an adult either.  Some overlarge striped sweater ( though not in blues or purples ) with its own hood that knocked itself back from their head upon collision with ... 'Sans'. "O-oh excuse me, I'm -- ..."  They paused in the midst of their apology, taking in the bundled appearance of who they'd run into.

"hhhhh eh heh heh..." Normally the surprise contact would have sent him right over the edge without second thought but needless to say he was more than a little bit absorbed in his own thoughts. The inner struggle only raged harder when he realized who he was looking at, that he wouldn't have time to watch them and steel his nerves before making his move. What took them so long? His eye socket twitched and his fingers clenched inside the pockets of his jacket. "well look who it is. took ya long enough, kid. you're eleven years and several months behind schedule. sup with that?"

Frisk blinked and -- tipped their head to one side, taking a step or two back to give the skeleton some space.  They didn't look scared, maybe nervous.  They figured there shouldn't be anything too different or wrong, but that ... there was definitely something different and wrong. "I don't really have an excuse, I guess.  Did you ... did you get my messages?  I left a few.  This phone is about eleven years old though, so it might not have -- ..."  They fished in their pocket for their phone for a moment.  It's the same old thing Toriel had given them forever ago, with the upgrades Alphys had put on it as well.  Even so, its casing was old and cracked in places, dented, worn, dusty and faded where color would have been.  Its screen was cracked and a lot of the buttons were worn down. "I was ... in the hospital, the entire time, just about."

"got a few. enough. or maybe not enough at all." The sound of the skeleton's voice was a little bit different too. His throat sounded wet and raw. Could skeletons get colds? Then there was that metallic creak every time he moved a shoulder. After so much time, though, maybe they'd simply misremembered him. Had he grown a little too? "sounds like... we've got some catchin' up to do, huh? c'mere. sit down. there are some things i need you to understand."

With a little gesture to a nearby rock they'd been sitting and stalling at before, Frisk moved, taking a seat and pocketing the old phone.   Shoving their hands into their jean pockets, the human waited and listened, eyebrows furrowed.  A lot of their face was still the same, maybe a bit less of the childish baby-fat and slightly more pronounced facial structure.

"I'd -- like to know what happened.  Something feels very different, but ... for a long time I had people telling me that none of what I remembered was real to begin with?  So I don't quite feel like I'm remembering everything the right way anyway."

The monster took a seat on a rock as well, taking a moment to look up at the sky before returning his attention to Frisk. He'd never seen the sky in his own timeline, at least not that he could recall. There was something, a distant memory, perhaps, or just feedback. It felt familiar somehow but too far away to really pin down. "kid, i dunno where to start. so i guess i'll say it's a damn good thing i ran into you on your way in. undyne claimed the throne, ya see, and she's not at all pleased about whatcha did to asgore. he was the closest thing she had to a dad guy, ya know. really went downhill without him. you think she was scary before? hoo. she's big on the idea of human genocide these days." Sans had no idea that it was actually Flowey who was to blame for the late King's death, nor did anyone else.

"I didn't-- ... I - ..."  There was really no use in it, was there?  Frisk cut themself off, glancing down at the ground.

"That old fellow in Waterfall told me Asgore knew her when she was really little, and taught her how to fight, and -- ..."  Frisk sighed.  Guilt ( even if it was more or less inapplicable in this case ) pooled in their stomach, and they pulled one hand out of their pockets to tug the striped hood over their head, huddling against the rock face behind them.

"K-keep going?"

"mmm. toriel was supposed to be the new queen, but undyne wasn't having that. said she was too soft. scared her back off to the ruins and didn't take kindly to it when i stood up to her either. she pooled all of our resources for the royal guard and made our military the top priority. left the rest of us without much to scrape by on. even my brother wants out of the guard at this point, but undick ain't having it. we're not on the best terms. i kinda want her dead." He put an elbow on his knee and rested his chin on his hand, fingers longer, sharper and dirtier than before for sure, but it was dark, concealing the extent of those cracks and claws. "now you tell me somethin'. i don't wanna sit here and monologue all night by myself."

"I remember a big rumble almost as soon as I left through the barrier.  It made the whole mountain shake, and -- honestly, I fell not too far from here, where we're sitting, I think.  At least, that's ... what I was told?  When I woke up.  I spent a lot of time in physical therapy, trying to get some strength and mobility back.  I had a lot of people tell me none of this was real, when I tried to explain why I was on the mountain in the first place.  Nobody came back to claim me, or help me." Frisk kicked a pebble off the ground and it scattered, like a mockery of a soccer ball, over toward Sans.   "I don't know why they didn't just pull the plug.  Sometimes I kind of wish they had?"

"you know, somebody told me it was probably something like that. they must really care about you, for some reason. i guess nobody's completely alone in the world." He scuffed his shoe, more concealing than his usual slippers, along the ground and knocked the rock back. "what you heard was the core melting down. i was gonna get to that in a minute but i might as well tell ya now. there was nothing anybody could do. it wiped out more than half the population. made the rest of us really sick. nothing grows in the underground anymore that doesn't do more harm than good."

For a moment, Frisk looked sick.  Their expression twisted and both hands yanked out of their pockets to hide their face and rub at it.  A shuddering little groan and a shiver was more than enough reaction to the news.

They hadn't gone through the Underground wantonly murdering, not like in a lot of the dreams they'd had.   A few, here and there.  One or two, maybe three, but only when it looked like it was absolutely hopeless -- and they'd felt sick about it every time.

After a moment, they croaked a few words. "S-sorry.  I-- I meant to go back.   I d-did, I could have-- ..."

"yeah. i know you could have. i don't remember how i know. see, i've got this real bad..." Twitch. "...memory loss problem these days. i get confused easy. thinking clearly? it just... doesn't happen. but i know it wasn't supposed to be like this. we just missed our happy ending, didn't we? i think you know that somehow too." There was a wheeze, more pathetic than threatening, as he pushed the hood down off his skull with a quick, almost dismissive bat of his hand. "i don't think i actually lived through all a that, kiddo. but being made of magic? kinda blurs that line. i guess what i wanna know is... what do you think you can do about it now? cause i think it's too late."

Sitting there, and possibly getting any kind of look at the human's soul, was difficult.  It certainly wasn't the blazing, determined red that it once was.   Something lighter, a little more on the orange side, but not orange either.  It lacked deep color, and looked faded, weak.  Mostly, it burned with remorse, and maybe a touch of perseverance. "I can't go back anymore.  I tried so many times, in therapy."  They muttered, kicking the pebble back at Sans.  They lifted their head to look at the skeleton in the dark, staring, sighing. "I can try again, right now, if you want.  I don't know.  I thought maybe if I got close, or if I came back and could see for myself that all of this is very real, maybe I'd -- ..."

"you're not as scared as i thought you'd be." The skeleton squinted at them, smile spreading wider. He felt the sting of pride in his own soul, chipped, veiny and rotting, more grey than cyan with tiny streaks of sickly yellow stretching from the core outward. Their soul, however, was no longer what he hoped it would be. "would you believe in me if the roles were reversed? i don't know if you can improve things around here anymore, but i know that, with one more human soul, i could. things aren't gonna go back to the way they were before but i could at least stop the corruption from spreading. a couple hundred years down the line maybe the underground would be habitable again." He gave them a moment to think before continuing. "what did you think? this probably isn't what you expected, is it?"

"I don't know what I was expecting."  Frisk said, still staring.  The nervousness that gripped them at the first initial bump into the skeleton had simmered down to what ... felt like acceptance.  Like a kind of ... inevitability.  Did they trust Sans?  They had before, as far as they could recall.  Bits of ... silly memory, weird things, -- "I can't do anything.  I dropped down into the Underground for a reason, and wasn't expecting to live through it.  I don't have a reason to go back to where I came from, either.  I guess -- ..."  Frisk held up a hand, cutting themself off, dark circles under their eyes. "Before you do, you deserve to know some truths, if -- ... if you want to hear them."

"yeah.  i think we owe each other the full truth. i'll hear ya out. i did care aboutcha, ya know. maybe a parta me still does. unfortunately, i don't think i'm ever gonna be able to let this one go. i'm not a very good person anymore. saying that i'm bitter? that'd be the understatement of the decade." It was almost alarmingly easy for him to trust them, at least to trust them not to run or to attack him unprompted. Did he think they could handle what the underground had become? No. But did he believe that they had good intentions now that he saw what the passing years had done to them? Yes.

"I -- ... cared about all of you, too."  They muttered, head lowered, eyes on the ground. "There was -- ... a flower.  It killed Asgore.  I don't know if it's still in the underground after what happened, but it might be.  It had the power to reset before I came along.  I'm sure you -- you know what resetting is, I think.  If you don't, you should.  Determination gives the power to reset, and whoever's determination is strongest has that power.  He had it before I came along, I think." Frisk looked up from the ground to stare at Sans.  "I don't think it'll make a difference to Undyne, but -- ... it matters to me.  I had to tell someone."  The human stared for a moment. "You've -- you should be careful with all those souls, too.  I think it's ... kind of a corruptive power, but you're already plenty ... maybe not corrupted, but ... I guess you did say you're not a good person."

"so you noticed. yeah. i didn't wanna get this desperate, but i figured, we were already desperate enough to start eating the people who fell into the underground after you. why not give it a shot? how much worse could it get, really?" He stared back, unblinking with his hollowed socket and bright, angry red eye. "a flower. yeah. i remember something about that. something... hey, believe it or not? i think the souls helped. i feel more than i did before. my own soul wasn't doing so hot." There was a brief pause as he wiped a stream of sweat from the unbusted side of his skull. "downside to feeling so much is that i'm torn now. i only need one more, and now i'm stalling? what are you waiting for you dumb stupid fuck?"

Staring at that bright red eye, Frisk tilted their head.  "You might be able to do something with whatever's left of my determination.  You -- ... seem pretty determined, yourself.  Even if it's just a determination to survive.  That counts for something."  They stood, and their hands pulled from their pockets to hang their arms at their sides. "Do ... you shouldn't wait.  It only gets harder the longer you wait.  If you want, I could -- ... I get violent, sometimes, when things get really foggy.  If you want, I could ... I don't know.  Could do something, make you defend yourself.  It'll feel less terrible."

"ya know, you sound almost like you wanna die. that makes it harder to wanna kill you, somehow, so... sure. if that's how we're gonna do it, i guess you could attack me. thing is, i was expecting a lot more determination. i'm not even sure if it's worth it anymore." The monster finally blinked, eye sockets falling and mouth curling into that smug grin he always wore when he felt he was shining light on a situation. "if you've got it in you to try and kill an old friend... well i guess i'd owe you one, kid."

"You know, it's -- ... odd.  I only ever feel determined like this anymore.  And even then, it's never enough."  Taking a glance about, Frisk reached for a large stone, boney fingers only just grasping over it. "What do you mean, you'd owe me one?"  They asked, looking over the rock before staring back at Horror.

"i mean one of us has to take that dive, right? somebody has to get violent first. if it was you? i could stop stalling." He glanced between the rock and it's wielder. It hardly seemed like an adequate weapon, but then again, they'd made effective use of all sorts of silly things when they were smaller. "you can't reset anymore huh? figured as much. i guess we're both in the same kinda pickle."

"I could just start crying.  Crying gets on my nerves.  I want to make it stop, when I hear it.  You ever feel that way?"  They asked, turning the rock over in their hands.

"Alternatively, I could bash my own head in with this.  You wouldn't have to lift a finger.  I don't particularly like the idea of you killing things.  Or anyone killing things."

"actually, i'd rather not witness another suicide. i'd rather kill you myself than watch you try to do it with a rock. i'm not sure what makes the difference there but it's something. as for crying, i'm not sure. i teeter between really enjoying it and getting pissy about it. it's kinda messed up." Stalling. Stalling. Stalling. "...it's usually easy, but i've lost a lotta friends. i kinda blamed you for it. papyrus told me that was silly, and that you'd come back. he'd... really like to see you, i think. he got long."

They had been trying not to think about Papyrus, or what all of this might have done to him. "... I'll be honest.  I was kind of hoping he was someone who didn't make it.  I don't want to think about -- ..."  There was a little sniffle there, and Frisk's vision finally blurred.  At least it brought a measure of relief to the lump in their throat.

"M'sorry.  This is stupid.  Just do it -- just do it and don't tell him about me.  If you can just -- ... maybe you can do something good.  Or at least ... marginally good compared to what's been done to the both of you."

"ugh. i wish you'd just screamed or something. made it easy. it's too late now, i know it wouldn't be sincere. if it makes you feel any better? papyrus hasn't changed all that much. he's just bigger. still a goofball, still a good person... or maybe i'm delusional. i don't think i could see my brother as a bad person no matter what he did. so, here's an idea." He stood from the rock he was sitting on and got to his knees, stretching his arms out toward the human with his eye turned down toward the rocky ground, avoiding looking at their tears at all costs. "c'mere, kiddo. death doesn't have to be the end, right? this way, you can stay with us. i uhh... i just wanna take you home. we'll look at it that way?"

They'd had dreams about this.  A hug, and then it all ended into some nice, quiet, comforting nonexistence.  Can nonexistence be comforting?

Regardless, physical affection sounded nice.  Too nice.  So nice.  They couldn't have resisted the call even if Sans had been made of sharp knives.  Scooting forward, Frisk dropped down and got close, pulling their arms around the skeleton's shoulders.  Hiding their face on his shoulder, Frisk said utterly nothing, but seemed ... relaxed.  At ease.

The end was quick, sharp and relatively painless. Sans figured it was nothing next to the pain he now understood both of them to have endured, at least. Spikes of bone rose and fell, rose and fell, targeting their brain and heart first. That wasn't at all how it had played out in his head, but he had been delusional. A fool, he figured, desperate for a scapegoat. Their soul was soon pulled from the remaining gore. His head hurt worse than ever, stomach churning despite the fact that he had nothing that even resembled one anymore. He tucked it under his coat and sweater, through his ribs and next to his own, away from the others. The others were of no real importance to him, tools and nothing more. “i hope you can still hear me. the others won't talk to me. no surprise there. ...we're basically god now, right? that's how it's supposed to work.”

The human slumped, body instantly shutting off with the hit to the brain and heart.  They didn't have much in the way of defenses, or healthy blood pressure, or anything like that -- a few weak spurts here and there, but mostly a great deal of lazy rolling and thick red welling in places and dripping.  Not much muscle or fat to tear through to get their soul, either.  Bones snapped like brittle candy. Confusion registered from the soul at the question.  Then warmth.  It felt oddly warm, content.  “Good. Be careful what you do.  I've seen them act against their user.  It's what they did to the flower.  The only reason I survived him.”

“i'm not keeping them long. just you. the others are gone as soon as i fix the core.” The warmth felt nice. Hearing their voice inside his skull made him feel much better about rifling through their belongings than he would have otherwise. Shame he put holes in their sweater. Oh well. He took it anyway. He'd wear it too. It seemed baggy and he wasn't as round as he used to be. “if you wanna stay with me, i mean. guess i couldn't blame you if you wanted to try moving on instead once this is done.”

“I feel alright here.  At least for now.  Not feeling tired is nice.  Maybe it'll help you.  Thank you for making it quick.  I don't know why I was scared.”