#their answer was junior jumble

[rinaforpages]

how (not) to survive academic invalidation

park gunwook x reader

hahahha...

using the american hs system bcs wow! im american... (i half wrote this at the end of last school yr so)

warnings: swearing, self-deprecation (obv), yn hits themself, angst with a bit of fluff at the end, reader is actually smart but surrounds themself with geniuses.

2.6k words

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# 1 dont compare yourself

"junior year kicks everyones ass." you wanted to kick whoever said that ass. not only was the school work kicking your ass, your friends and classmates seemed to be doing just fine.

they were working on ap chemistry minus laura and gunwook who were working on ap environmental science, and you, who took neither of those classes, felt extremely out of place, doing your ap us history homework.

"whats species richness again?" laura asked gunwook, who quickly answered her question. you looked up, planning to ask the soon-to-be early graduate a question, only to see him helping sarah with a chemistry problem.

you weren't like them and you despised that. your friends were top of the class, an average of a 4.4 gpa, an early graduate (and first in the 2024 class overall) and there you sat with your measly 3.75. they were in 3-4 ap classes, and you sat there, struggling through your 2. (in your defense, ap lang and apush are the two hardest aps juniors could take).

you didnt excel in any way shape or form. they had just about an a in every class (minus ryan in french, who had a b), and a b was your most common grade.

a good 10 minutes later you had finished struggling through apush, you moved on to mandarin. you were the only one who took mandarin, everyone else opting for french. the characters jumbled your brain as your friends spoke in french, seemingly coming easy to them.

you heard footsteps walk by, and ricky laid a hand on your shoulder, looking over. "thats wrong." he said simply. the french kids careened their necks to look at you. he grabbed your pencil and wrote the right character, then walked away. you hummed as you circled the characters you didnt know, opting to ask zhang hao over bothering ricky again.

"you ok over there?" gunwook asked. you scowled.

"i dont understand why there are so many idioms! im losing my goddamn mind." parker laughed, mumbling that you chose the language. you couldnt (or didnt want to) voice your doubts as you thought you could.

as they focused their attention on their homework again, you waved over zhang hao, who hanbin had asked to help cut fruits for you and your friends. he set down a plate in front of you, then sat down.

"what does 开夜车 mean zhang hao please im gonna kill myself." he laughed as hanbin looked up, extremely concerned.

"you know 熬夜, right?" you nodded "so its kind of like that but youre doing work. it literally means burn the midnight oil" you thanked him as he patted your head, pulling the plate of fruit away from your friends and toward you, gunwook making a sound of discontent.

you sighed, packing up your bag at a text from your oldest brother. he was home from his masters program in germany, apparently, and was now waiting outside the dorm. you loved your older brothers, you really did, but they were so much smarter than you ever will be. the oldest graduated magna cum laude from mit, now achieving an accelerated masters for mechanical engineering, and the younger was attending harvard for premed, both completely full ride.

your friends, finally re-noticing you, looked up. "where are you going?" gunwook asked, shushing yujin.

"brothers here," you mumbled, not wanting to wreck your self-esteem any more than you had. sarah pouted, but nodded, whipping out her phone. gunwook opened his mouth, but then quickly closed it. "bye hao, thanks for the help. bye, hanbin and jiwoong!" the three oldest members waved back, hanbin hugging you as you walked by. when you got in your fathers' car that your brother was driving, you spilled your guts.

# 2 dont fall behind

at some point, your motivation fell through. all you wanted to do was lie down and stare at the ceiling all day. sadly though, education laws (and school rules) prevailed.

as you trudged up the stairs from last lunch to pre-calculus, you cursed the architects of the three-floor building and whoever required you to go to school.

two of your friends—laura and ryan—had junior priv, which meant they left early. sarah and coral (who had missed the study session) were in ap chem, and gunwook left for a shoot. without your friends to motivate you to work harder, you felt there was nothing left for you to do.

you had fallen asleep in mandarin earlier that day, so why were you still exhausted?

quick answer: you had stayed up late finishing your apush bonus points.

actual answer: you had no motivation to do anything.

you were falling behind on homework: what used to be doing homework as soon as you got home turned into doing it right before class. a teacher had approached your freshman-year english teacher about it, the one teacher who you could talk easily to. yujin was standing right there; they mustve not have realized you two knew each other.

ricky and zhang hao had invited you over for a cdrama binge session. (ricky said "itll help you" in his texts.) but yujin quickly pulled you aside.

"youre falling behind?" he asked, pointedly. you sighed, nodded, opening your mouth to reply as gunwook walked by, asking what you were doing.

"nothin! ricky and hao invited me over." the words rushed out, and they were so not convincing, but gunwook shrugged and moved to sit down beside ricky and gyuvin. you hushed yujin and walked over and sat down beside hao. gunwook stared at you.

"come here." he motioned, shoving ricky off the couch. you hesitated as you made eye contact ricky, but eventually, there were only so many thumps against the couch you could take. "see? more comfortable over here" you hit him, and he let out a yelp.

"do you have much homework, yn?" taerae asked, setting down a bowl of popcorn.

"only a couple of classes," you replied, shoving a kernel in your mouth.

matthew laughed, "the usual suspects, im guessing?" you nodded. gunwook threw a (toned) arm around you as the two chinese members debated the drama.

"how much have you done? its sunday." gunwook asked, lightly, rubbing circles on your arm with his thumb.

"i can do it all tonight and tomorrow." you sighed, the sentence reminding you of where you are in school. gunwook hummed.

"make sure you get sleep, though. you need sleep, its not healthy if you dont." fuck. you were in deep shit in two ways. you were falling deeper into your rut, and you were falling deeper in love with your childhood best friend.

# 3 dont be too hard on yourself

...was easier said than done. your mind cursed you every time you got a bad grade. you wondered what was the point: you werent good enough to get into the likes of yale, or any of your colleges for that matter.

you had long since fallen off the ladder. it had injured you your 8th-grade year, and every attempt to climb back to where you were or any pushing from a 3rd party proved futile, as you only slipped and fell back down again.

the sat was fast approaching, and every practice test you did was never where you wanted them to be. every stupid math problem you got wrong brought a punch to your head. you had called gunwook, only realizing when he didnt pick up that he was in a shoot. panicked, you hung up before the voicemail. when he called you back (10 times with his members also calling you), you opted to ignore it. it was getting late, anyhow, and you had to go in early for apush in the morning.

apush lab made you want to kill yourself. sarah sat next to you, but everything always seemed to favor her. the quizzes, the teacher. it was unfair, really. american history was supposed to be your thing. so why were you struggling? after lab, sarah asked you what was wrong. "gunwook had called us in a panic because you didn't pick up." you shook your head, lying through your teeth.

"i had a question, but then passed the fuck out like 5 minutes later." sarah laughed and nodded, saying she was glad you got proper sleep, mumbling something about the aforementioned friend. when you asked, she waved you off, the man himself standing outside your classroom. he swung an arm around you as sarah walked in the opposite direction to her next class. he asked you the same thing. you lied to him too, but he looked less convinced. he didnt press you further, though, as you two began to walk down the stairs to your creative writing workshop—a senior elective you had begged your guidance counselor to take. gunwook took it to fill spots in his schedule.

the teacher loved him. as did everyone. you wondered if you could ever experience that. your oldest friend was everything you weren't and it was a point of contention inside your mind. you cursed yourself that you were nothing like him. gunwook nudged you in the middle of class when you were given an opportunity to work, asking what was wrong.

"i know thats not why you called me and then didn't pick up. you're also in your head right now." he pointed out, softly. you hummed, scribbling down something in your notebook.

"i just... i had a question but it was stupid. i figured it out." he looked at you pointedly, a look that told you to tell him the truth. "seriously! im ok!" he nodded, grabbing your hand for a squeeze.

# 4 do your best

you were nervous. ok nervous was an understatement. you rocked from heel to toe as you awaited the announcement that the doors were open. your friends chattered nervously around you. for them, this was the first time they were taking the sat. this was your second. you had gotten a 1340 on your first try—nowhere near where you wanted it to be. your brothers had gotten 1600 and 1590, respectively.

you were on call with all your friends the night before, gunwook coaching you guys through certain questions. he had texted you, (only you, but you didnt know that) wishing you luck. ricky and zhang hao had wished you luck as well.

everything seemed like bricks in your bag. it was only a couple of things—a computer, for the digital sat, a pencil, a calculator, a water bottle, and a banana. but it felt like you had hundreds of textbooks in your bag for no reason at all.

the doors swung open, and you rushed up to your assigned room. the setup was a blur, and the reading section seemed to be so too. during the break, your friends voiced similar opinions. then, during math, you began to struggle. somewhere along the way, though, gunwook popped into your head. you dont know if it was   because you wanted to make him proud, or you didnt want to disappoint your oldest friend and crush, but it worked. you powered through module 1 and 2, module 2 being the toughest one by far.

when the results came back two weeks later, you waited with baited breath as your friends skipped class with you to check all of your scores. gunwook held your hand as you refreshed the page.

"i dont want to look." you said, hiding your face in his chest.

"ill look for you." he mumbled into your hair, scrolling down. you felt him smile into the crown of your head, "i knew you could do it, sweetheart." you looked, and a big glaring 1590 stared back at you.

"wook!! holy shit a 1590!!" you wrapped your arms around him, squeezing him tight.

# 5 talk about it

you sat with your friends and the members as you awaited gunwook's family's arrival. gunwook smiled from his seat on the gymnasium floor, holding up his phone. almost on instinct, you all checked your own.

wook🩵: this'll be you guys next year. ill be up there watching you all.

sarah burst in to tears. laura full on sobbed, and ryan and carols eyes were brimming with tears. as you read the text again and again, you got a separate text.

wook🩵: i'm proud of you y'know? i saw you struggling a bit at the end there but you made it through. i love you, yn. im glad to call you my friend.

i love you i love you i-

"hey yn sweetheart!" gunwooks mom sat next to you. his brother waved, and his father gave you a curt nod.

"hi. you guys must be excited." his mom laughed, nodding, then shoving your shoulder.

"im more excited about something else." you opened your mouth to ask her what, but the ceremony started

giving gunwook his graduation flowers made him blush. he shook his head. "do you not like them, wook? i thought theyre your favorites." he shook his head again, dropping the flowers into his mom's hands, grabbing your face.

"you are clueless, yknow that? i gave you so many hints. everyone knows." when you asked him what he meant, "yn, you didnt think id notice you putting yourself down? you know i cant fucking stand that. sorry mom. it kills me that the love if my life doesnt realize how fucking amazing they are, and it kills me that they dont realize that im in love with them." at this point, you dont know what you were doing. because gunwook was confessing to you that he both likes you and that he knows about your self-deprication. so now, surrounded by friends and seniors, gunwooks family and members, you kissed him.

it wasnt like anything you had imagined. your first kiss, you mean. peering seniors were waved off by shouts from matthew and gunwooks brother—both burly enough that even the biggest varsity football players would shrink away.

gunwook smiled on your lips as your friends cheered amongst themselves. you heard a loud "闭嘴!" from zhang hao to what you presume was ricky chatting with the senior mandarin class. when you broke off, gasping for air, gunwook tore off his graduation gown, pushing it onto his poor unsuspecting leader. he grabbed your arm, and the two of you sprinted as fast as you could.

out the gymnasium doors, out back by the cafeteria, through the back-woods path. he stopped when he was sure no one would follow him.

"so whats going on? with the whole." he gestured to your head. you knew what he meant, so you nodded. you told him everything, how you compared yourself to everyone, especially your friends and brothers, you were falling behind, your motivation was close to 0, and you never really believed that you could do it. he was quiet for a while. you knew he was trying to find the right words.

you wanted to cry, or throw up, probably both. it felt like the trees and the birds and your boyfriend? were judging you. but gunwook just apologized, for not noticing sooner, for not knowing how to help. you shook your head, tears threatening to fall, but he shook his too.

"no, no, im your best friend, yn, i need to be here for you. im serious, you have people to rely on, you dont have to shoulder this all by yourself." the tears threatening to fall were not a threat anymore, and the dam broke. gunwook grabbed the back of your head, pulling you into a hug.

—

mandarin guide:

开夜车: kai ye che, lit. burn the midnight oil

熬夜: ao ye, stay up late

闭嘴: bi zui, shut up/close your mouth

[caw4brandon]

Zutomayo: Mystery of Cool

Foreign Music has always been a strange thing both for the world and for myself personally. While everyone can appreciate a good Taylor Swift or some English indie. The world has a strange obsession with exotic musicians of a different language.

In retrospect, the K-pop boom: Super Junior, Girls Generation and Blackpink showed that music, doesn't matter in terms of the language. (not really)

It values the cool factor and the massive influence it causes to the internet. Just look at how [K-Pop artist; PSY] managed to unite the world. For me. My "Blackpink" is this faceless group?

- 「私もそうだよ」 -

Translation: [Everything is fine with me]

Debuted in 2018, Zutomayo (full name: Zutto Mayonaka De Iinoni) is a Japanese rock group. Translates as: I wish it was midnight all the time.

On June 4, 2018. Zutomayo released their first song on YouTube, [Byōshin o Kamu/ 秒針を噛む] becoming an immediate hit. Having 200,000 views within the first week. Assisted with an animated music video with a cast of peculiar characters.

Over the last seven years, the group has progressed from using just traditional instruments to adding non-traditional instruments.

Based on their live concerts. The group is seen using something called; [Electronicos Fantasticos/ Nicos] which is a collection of used electronic equipment turned into a pseudo instrument.

ZTMY's group members is uncertain since a lot of their talents alternate song by song. Their only consistent member is vocalist and songwriter; ACA-Ne/ ACAね an unidentified singer whose range is described as; energetic, expressive, and delicate.

- 今日どうしよ？-

Translation: [What should I do today?]

If we were to describe Zutomayo's type of music. It would be difficult to narrow down as to what ZTMY's genre fall under. The general belief is that they are rock based but is riddled with techno on the side.

Whatever the case, the group's music has its own unique identity. Upon listening to their songs (for multiple times) the group prioritizes on the bass guitar, the chaotic slams of the keyboard and the Nicos. Lyric wise, its rather difficult to paint a discernable picture since its of a different language. According to some Japanese listeners, ZTMY's songs to have a lot of wordplay and double meaning in its phrasing.

In the song, [お勉強しといてよ/ STUDY ME] the song spews a jumble of nonsense. However, the music video tells a unique story. STUDY ME follows a girl who is stuck in a perpetual cycle where she is somewhat complacent with her being a background character. Until she realizes that she can make a difference in defiance of her program.

Another song, [勘ぐれい/ Hunch Gray] its lyrics share the sentiment of chasing one's dreams but is uncertain about the venture. Trapped in a distorting world where the answers are unclear.

Still, the author wants to continue. Confronting problems one at a time. The video however, is about two childhood friends who got separated by dark entities of authority and is in the midst of a rescue mission.

- 3,2,1...Mirror Tune! -

Its worth mentioning the iconography found in ZTMY's music videos. For the most part, the main characters are mostly human. Nira-chan is the girl seen in both [STUDY ME] and in another song; [暗く黒く/Darken] although she is more cyborg than human in the latter.

The videos are animated by several independent artists such as; [tvchany] for their stylish and sharp style on [ミラーチューン/Mirror Tune] and [残機/Time Left] Another artist, [sakiyama] uses a rather messy and incredibly expressive style seen in [勘冴えて悔しいわ/ Kansaete Kuyashiiwa] which played this meta joke of its main character attempting to save the characters from the other videos.

I could honestly go on about the various art styles found in Zutomayo's MVs. There is also an official [Card Game] for them all. On the topic of consistency, The one creature seen in all of its videos is the adorable Hedgehog; Uniguri-kun.

With that said, Zutomayo is a mysterious group of talents shrouded in shadow. Both the musicians to ACA-Ne herself. It adds excitement to the identity of the alluring talent but it also enhances the variety of genres found in their music. Allowing its audience to explore and experience a type of music they rarely listen to.

ZTMY takes away the popularity because, unlike other bands. They don't exactly have a "face" to refer to. Rather, they let their songs and the MVs speak to the fans both in Japan and overseas.

Zutomayo is not just music but also an exploration of style. As seen with their clothing line. It's an inbred of Easter eggs with its upbeat songs filled with messages of melancholy. That is what makes ZTMY mysteriously cool~

[nachosforfree]

When you come to the crossword puzzle in undertale and the bros ask if crosswords or junior jumble is harder, I honesty answer junior jumble because I legitimately have trouble unscrambling words but am very good at crosswords. So when Sans says "that's for saying that just to appease my brother" I'm like FUCK YOU HE'S RIGHT

[maxladcomics]

"Sans doesn't read a bedtime story to Papyrus" <- okay but he literally does. It's canon. Like your entire reblog bordered on the "My hcs and interpretations are better because I'm fully canon and no one can enjoy others" carlyraejepsans level shit but I assumed you didn't mean it like that and I was used to the bullcrap so I was reading in too much. But like. :/ it's never confirmed he dOeSnT hAvE nIgHtMaReS or shit. Have fun with character analysis and hcs and have fun writing him strictly to canon but don't make stuff up and state its canon -_- you seem like a well meaning person but please actually do some research before you decide what's canon?

BUT IT'S ONLY CANON IF I LIKE IT DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND???

Anyway about interpretations/headcanons how bout that headcanon of my blog lmao. I guess that's how I come across strictly from blog view and not when I'm spamming dumb theories at people in discord oops.

I'll clarify then.

I don't like apologizing because I'm never wrong it seems like an excuse to let people kick you if you show weakness on the great old internet, HOWEVER. I will make an exception and say sorry.

I'm sorry for giving the impression or directly saying? (memory bad) that I only follow canon and that canon is obviously the best and only way to see things. That is very unfun for everyone, and I like having fun, a lot of it. I also hate controlling others or others attempting to control me (see: my entire existence in this fandom).

I have only said it on discord but I should make it clear here as well:

I purposely ignore/put down Sans's importance in anything, it could be out of spite? hatred? (I do not have the time for hate I have to draw) or simply for entertainment.

Spoiler: it's for entertainment, a majority of stuff is about Sans and I find it a lot of fun to go out of my way to remove him from concepts/ideas/theories. I've also found this very interesting because it forces me to look elsewhere for concepts/theories and see things I hadn't before because he was in the way. (I don't mean this maliciously)

Contradicting or nonsense headcanons are loads of fun, are mine better? Of course to me they are, that's why they're on my blog, that's why I post about them. Are there headcanons I don't like? Yes, a lot of them, I used to complain about them a lot in the past, but lately I'm wasting my time more efficiently by searching for stuff in Undertale for the 100th time that's not actually there.

I'm not 100% canon. Do I want to be canon? Absolutely not. Do I use canon to bully people? YES. IF YOU THINK SANS LIKES PUNS THINK AGAIN. DO YOU THINK SANS IS STRESSED WITH BILLS? HAHA JOKES ON YOU. WHAT? HE HAS NIGHTMARES? NOT ON MY WATCH.

I want to enjoy my Papyrus focused content in my Papyrus focused corner is that too much to ask? (It is)

ANYWAY. To answer the original grievance:

Undyne stays the night? (It is not confirmed if it's more than one night) at Papyrus's house, and confirms that he doesn't sleep, that specifically: He doesn't know HOW to sleep. Does this mean that he NEEDS Sans to read to him to sleep?

No. Because it's not mentioned, it could have easily been brought up at this point since Sans already puts himself in some calls already, but it's not. The only one who brings it up is Sans when he's alone, where no one else can argue it or confirm it. What if it's too embarrassing to say in front of Papyrus? Well I mean he already teases him for the junior jumble thing so it wouldn't be out of line for Sans to tease him about that, too.

BUT, if Sans reads Papyrus a bedtime story, why doesn't he remark on the fact Papyrus has nightmares? Wouldn't he have to read to him every time a nightmare woke him up? But again, Papyrus also mentions that he's just too busy to sleep, no mention of needing to sleep, or reading a bedtime story, Papyrus also doesn't bring up Sans reading, or reading to him in any context.

Anyway to argue the "Sans doesn't have nightmares" statement, I'll refer back to my thing of 'removing Sans from ideas because it's funny'. Hahahaha.

But also there's no proof Sans has nightmares, AND WHILE I UNDERSTAND THE HEADCANON- I refuse it because it's funny, but also because Papyrus DESERVES nightmares as a trait and it's unfair to take that away from him.

"But Max, can't they both get nightmares?"

NO.

[retro-system]

i love that papyrus canonically cheats at puzzles. he loves building them and watching other people solve them but if they're more effort than they're worth he'll just google the answer to this week's junior jumble.

[apuzzledprince]

Idk if i ever posted this here, but! This is a short thing i wrote after fighting Papyrus when attempting the genocide run and then immediately reseting because i felt awful about killing Papyrus.

___

Merciful - 441 words

Stepping into Snowdin, you feel an uneasy chill run down your back--the townspeople eye you wearily, and vaguely you understand that they know. They know what you have done, however spotty the memory, they know to fear you. Suppressing a shiver, you hold yourself tighter and continue walking--oh how you want to walk into the shop, to warm yourself for even a moment. You aren’t sure you deserve it.

After you had left the Ruins you had done everything you possibly could to befriend Papyrus--you did his puzzles, poked at the too-frozen-to-eat spaghetti, told him Junior Jumble was difficult--and still you felt as though you could never make up for what you had done.

You walk past Grillby’s, you walk past Papyrus’ and Sans’ house, you walk until you stand in the bone-chilling cold with Papyrus in front of you. You try to let him kill you, to soothe the ache left in your chest from before the Reset. He never does; the moment your HP hits one, you are put in the shed and asked nicely to stay put. You don’t; you can’t. You don’t deserve this Mercy.

So here you stand, Papyrus in front of you. Between the two of you, the words “Papyrus is Sparing you.”

And for a moment you’re not here; you’re back before the Reset, you’re holding a weapon in your hands. Your hand hovers over the Mercy button in front of you, and you know it’s the right choice--the choice that you would rather make--but you retract your hand and press Fight without looking at Papyrus.

The snow is cold, your blood is colder. You realize that you’re staring at the Fight button and quickly jerk your gaze to Mercy. Your sin weighs heavily on your shoulders, it sticks like dust to your Soul. This is the right choice. This is the choice Papyrus deserves, you know this to be fact as your hand gently touches Mercy, but is it the choice you deserve?

Your Soul aches and pulses with magic, you don’t know the answer anymore. Papyrus clearly thinks so, he’s smiling so, so, wide, but you can see the tremor of fear echoing through his bones. He doesn’t trust you, not fully; something is telling him to be cautious. You can’t really blame him.

You pull your hand away from Mercy, choosing instead to Act. You ask Papyrus to kill you, to cut off your head, to make you pay for what you have done. He’s concerned and confused. He tells you that he can help, that you can be friends.

You want to believe him.

[tooti-fruiti]

THE BIRDS AND THE BEES [CHAPTER SIX]

More puzzles

After leaving the puzzle behind, you found a station selling ice cream called "Nice Cream".

It's an ice cream popsicle with a compliment written on the stick.

Then you pushed a snowball into a hole.

Then you saw Papyrus and Sans again, standing behind a piece of paper.

"HUMAN! I HOPE YOU'RE READY FOR-"

Sans cut himself off when he saw the paper.

"PAPYRUS!!! WHERE'S THE PUZZLE!?"

"it's right there, on the ground. trust me, there's no way she'll get past this." Papyrus said, lighting a cigarette.

Sans reached it up and stole it out of his fingers, and stomped it into the snow. Which made Papyrus chuckle and pull out a lollipop instead.

You stared at them for a few seconds before picking up the paper and looking at it.

It was a monster cross word.

Since you didn't have anything to write it with, you put it back down on the ground and stepped over it.

"PAPYRUS! THAT DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

"whoops. I knew I should have used today's crossword instead."

"WHAT?! CROSSWORD?! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT! IN MY OPINION, JUNIOR JUMBLE IS EASILY THE HARDEST."

"what? really, dude? that easy-peasy word scramble? that's for baby bones."

"UN. BELIEVABLE. HUMAN! SOLVE OUR DISPUTE!"

"Uhhh, I guess crosswords are harder?"

"YOU TWO ARE WEIRD!" Sans said before storming off, mumbling about the crosswords.

Papyrus smiled and looked down at you. "he got stumped trying to figure out how crosswords work yesterday."

You let out a little giggle and Papyrus gave you a wink before teleporting away.

You continued walking forward and found some tacos.

Frozen tacos left by Sans.

Then you met more dogs, and you were happy to pet them.

You saw Sans standing in front of a puzzle with his back turned to you.

There was a sign explaining the rules of the puzzle, and after you solved it, Sans turned around.

"WHAT THE-?! HOW DID YOU AVOID MY TRAP?! AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, IS THERE ANY LEFT FOR ME???"

You were confused about what he was talking about until you remembered his tacos.

"I, uh. I left it. Sorry-"

"REALLY? WOWIE! YOU RESISTED THE FLAVOUR OF MY WONDEROUS TACOS SO THAT YOU COULD SHARE THEM WITH ME?!"

Before you could say anything, Sans smiled and sighed. "FRET NOT HUMAN! I, MASTER CHEF SANS, WILL MAKE YOU ALL THE TACOS YOU COULD EVER WANT TO SHARE WITH ME!"

Sans laughed and smiled at you. "COME ALONG HUMAM, THE NEXT PUZZLE IS JUST UP AHEAD."

You two walked together and stopped in front of the puzzle.

"THIS WAS THE PUZZLE, BUT... HOW DO I EXPLAIN THIS, YOU TOOK A LONG TIME TO ARRIVE SO I REARRANGED THE PUZZLE TO LOOK MORE LIKE MY FACE!"

"HOWEVER THAT MEANS THE SOLUTION IS DIFFERENT. BUT WORRY NOT! I KNOW THE ANSWER!" Sans said, proudly putting a hand on his chest.

He lowered his hand and looked down at you. "FEEL FREE TO TRY IT OUT ON YOUR OWN HOWEVER."

You stared at the puzzle, trying to figure it out.

It did look like Sans.

Kind of.

After thinking about it, you came up with a solution to the puzzle and solved it.

"WOWIE! YOU SOLVED IT! AND WITHOUT MY HELP! INCREDIBLE! I'M IMPRESSED!"

"Thank you." You said.

"OH YOU'RE GOING LOVE THE NEXT ONE!"

Sans laughed and ran away again.

You soon caught up with him again and Papyrus was beside him as well.

"HELLO HUMAN!" Sans said. "YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE THIS PUZZLE, IT WAS MADE BY THE GREAT DOCTOR UNDYNE!"

"YOU SEE THESE TILES?"

You nodded.

"ONCE I THROW THE SWITCH, THEY WILL BEGIN TO CHANGE COLOR!"

Sans explained what each color did, but he went too fast for you to understand him.

"OKAY, UNDERSTAND?"

"Uh no-"

"GOOD!" Sans said as he threw the switch.

The tiles began to rapidly change colors before they stopped to make a path.

Sans didn't say anything, he just turned around and left.

Once he was far away enough, Papyrus laughed and turned to you.

"did you eat the tacos?" He asked.

"No, they were frozen."

Papyrus stuffed his hands into his pockets and chuckled.

"pro'lly a good thing because i don't think humans can eat glitter."

You stared at him confused. "What do you mean?"

Papyrus took the finished lollipop stick out of his teeth and tossed it into the snow. "sans makes his tacos with...a lot of glitter."

"Oh. Yeah, humans can't eat glitter."

"thought so." He said. "catch you later squirt."

And just like that, Papyrus teleported away again.

(Hope you enjoyed. Stay tuned for more and have a good day)

<-Chapter Five

Chapter Seven->

[dojunie]

Also could you explain the timeline a bit? Bc I thought that the sleep over was 4 days before the night of seeing my YouTube. But then hyuck said he got the tickets from somi weeks ago? But they only met some days ago so I wondered if my mind has the whole thing jumbled up now?

THANK YOU FOR ASKING!!!! i'll answer all of your asks just in this one, for the sake of clarity lmao

somi knows that jaemin is Mosquito Boy™️ because mc and somi have been friends since junior year of highschool, and the hook up happened the summer before college started, so they were close enough at that point to spill secrets like that! the first thing mc did when she got back from the lake house was tell somi everything, including the jaemin thing, since somi was most of the reason mc even had the balls to hook up with one of mark's friends lol (you'll find out the exact details when the lakehouse chapter drops LOL)

and for the timeline, i've got it mapped out like this:

friday, aug 29 = the first chapter, and night of the nabi bar incident seven days later, the next friday, sep 5 = night of wooyoungs party and the sleepover at somi's (and the night that hyuck mentions the tickets to somi in the car! in my head this is when somi sends them to him, through text!) the next day, sat sep 6, the beginning of jeno pov chapter, when he + jaemin + hyuck all drive home from somi's house five days later, thursday sep 10th, the movie night where hyuck mentions that he got the tickets from somi 'like a week ago'

which means that somi gave him the tickets 5 days ago at this point!!! so you're right, they've only known eachother about a week at that moment :D

i've been meaning to figure out the exact dates that all this stuff happens, so thank you for giving me the push to pull out my calendar app lmao

[umbral-stigmata-unbound]

Scenarios Prompt | Open

@sometimesrufus​ asked: @Vincent // 9.  DANCE :  for one muse to ask the other to dance at a party.

He was standing aside, much like the other array of guards. Some areas of the hall simply had infantry roaming. Some, nearer the bigger names, had 3rd and 2nd’s stationed. There was only one lingering Turk that would come and go, showing presence for the sake of making their presence clear enough to be a warning, but without committing full and obvious presence. Such was necessary, given this was to be a long and loud party, and important at that (when it wasn’t pretentious). Many big names of business partners were here, as were most of the division leaders of ShinRa Electric Power Company. There had to be protocols in place, for every scenario.

And then there was Valentine, belonging the none of them in a traditional sense, yet working the same job. His was to be focused, as of late, on one ward however. The junior currently mingling closer and closer to the shadows. Rufus Shinra, heir to the company, and wearing every rumor and expectation and limitation that was brought with that name and being sired by the man he was. Valentine had observed the unique existence of Rufus for a while; valuable enough to keep alive and keep allowing chances to grow and act and prove himself, while still being limited as if under the belief that he deserved not of it. But as valuable as he was, for ShinRa’s future, as well as the risk for ransom, he had to be rather specifically protected.

And Vincent Valentine had been serving that role for some time now. Many months were nearly verging on a year at this point, but as dangerous as it was, the experience...well, maybe it all seem to jumble and blur sometimes. It was less of time passing and more...of an experience in each moment. But he was a man who would stay focused. Serving as a guard, protecting his ward, keeping professional, he most the time had a very intense conviction about that.

And then there were these moments.

“Care to dance, Valentine...?” came the far too smooth, far too confident tone. The way it was spoken seemed knowing, seemed sure, and Valentine knew he should defy all of it. Even as he had watched Rufus Shinra work his way to his spot in the shadows, he intended to stay put.

He stared at the hand offered to him, then looked into blue eyes. “On duty, sir.”

“I’m fairly confident in your ability to multitask, Valentine.” Rufus countered, still now lowering his hand, and the smirk on the other mans lips made him wonder if this was an act of casual, fleeting defiance and humor, or if it was any act of interest. Rufus could clear as day to him sometimes, but then a complicated trial to understand other times.

“I imagine you’d be entertained by testing that in this fashion, sir.” Valentine retorts, in his usually gruff monotone, though it earns a chuckle. But he stays with his arms crossed across his chest. 

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“I believe I did, sir.”

“No. You gave a statement of fact. Not your answer. Do you care to dance?”

Valentine narrowed red eyes upon the other mans features, beginning to garner his own look of tired and mild exasperation. “...I don’t dance. So no, I don’t care to dance.”

“A rather poor lie. You’re trained better than that.”

Was he....scolding Vincent? Raven brows scrunched up faintly, before one raised in question. “I lie well when it matters. Satisfying petulant whims isn’t worth my full effort. Sir.”

“Ohoo.” Rufus chuckled faintly. He just seemed to keep...enjoying this.

Why did Vincent want to continue, too...?

He sighed, shaking his head and getting a look over the party, which he’d lower his attention from momentarily. The only way to stop this back and forth, which usually got dangerous in his opinion, in ways he had no intention of any others but the two of them know. So, in his mind, the only way to stop this continuing was to satisfy at least one need.

He lowered his arms, mostly, but didn’t take Rufus’ arm. Instead, he offered his own elbow. “One dance. That is all you’re getting.”

“What if I demand more?”

Vincent Valentine suddenly takes Rufus’ stubbornly stalled hand and links it around his arm, forcing him close as his tone fell a bit low and dangerous in a way next to none experience, save for the blond himself. “Then I’d suggest you learn how to properly command me. That is all you’re getting.”

Suffice to say, with a few stars lingering, Vincent Valentine proved his weak lie very wrong, as he led himself and Rufus across the floor and the two showed up just about every other dancer moving to the slow song. The stares could be a threat, but Valentine had his attention at the ready, and he could see well that most looked at them like Rufus was simply having fun with a play thing as any rich heir might when he’s bored.

Valentine couldn’t be bothered to look at Rufus long, however. He would had to prove him right that he could satiate this silly whim and get his job done at the same time. No matter how much everything almost...tried to fall away with every move and step and sway to the soft music.

He wouldn’t fail. Not again.

[the-undertale-mouse]

Undernet

An Undertale Fanfiction in which a kid camping near Mt Ebott hack’s into the monster’s wifi.

   Honestly, I don't mind camping. The outdoors are beautiful. The fresh air is nice. Campfires and s'mores and sing-a-longs are all fun and good. Even sleeping on the ground isn't that bad. But would it kill them to give this place some free Wifi?! I’m out enjoying quality time with my family, and that's good. I like that. But what's so wrong with wanting to share that with my friends on social media? If friends isolating you from your family bad, isn't your family isolating you from your friends just as bad? I know they mean well, but I’m just saying there needs to be a better balance.

   Oh! Connection available?! I guess some people have their priorities in order. Undernet? Interesting name. Of course, it is password protected. That's only fair. But I wonder...do I dare?P-A-S-S-W-O-R-D? Nope. Oh well...wait...I had caps lock on...p-a-s-s-w-o-r-d...I’m in! I can't believe it worked! Wait till I tell my BFF! Huh? The app’s not working. Lame. Let me check google just in case it's the app, not the internet. “Sorry, I don't know what you mean by ‘google’ did you mean ‘Boogle” you're kidding me, right? F-a-c-e-b-o-o-k? Top result… ‘fangbook’? The next result is a popular book about the many faces of ...monsters?

    What is this? Halloween isn't for almost 2 months. This is overboard. Where are the real sites? Alright, I’ll make a new account on one of these sites then. I should make a name that fits this weird monster theme to fit in. Huh...I don't need an email? They just trust me like that? I guess that works for me since I'm not sure if I can get to my email to confirm right now. Here goes nothing.

FangtasticMon101 wants to join the chat

FangtasticMon101  added to chat

FangtasticMon101: hey guys, I’m new here. What's up?

ajealoustroll: hi new here, i’m a jealous troll ;)

MewMewLizzyQT: don’t listen to him, he does this to evry1. I’d block him, but he keeps hacking in, so we just put up with it. anyways welcome to the chat! =^.^= you can call me Lizzy for short.

FangtasticMon101: thnx for the warm welcome Lizzy.(and jealous troll i guess) I just rlly needed to chat online and get away from it all.

MewMewLizzyQT: I know what u mean. It's nice 2 come here and just 4get everything.

Coolskeleton95: IS THAT A NEW FRIEND I SPY WITH MY VIRTUAL EYE? I, THE GREAT COOLSKELETON95, SEND YOU A VIRTUAL FRIEND HUG (ONLY IF YOU WANT IT)

FangtasticMon101: sure. I could use a hug rn. But, uh Coolskeleton, I think your caps lock is on.

Coolskeleton95: YES IT IS, THANK YOU FOR NOTICING! I WANT 2 MAKE SURE U CAN SEE EVERY 1 OF MY GREAT WORDS SO U CAN REMBER THEM AND QUOTE ME WITH EASE WHEN I BECOME FAMOUS!

MewMewLizzyQT: ^.^” don't worry Fangtastic, he’s just confident like that. He’s a good guy, I promise.

FangtasticMon101: Lol I believe u. I just wish I had that level of confidence myself.

Coolskeleton95: DOTH MINE VIRTUAL EARHOLES DECEIVE ME? DID MY NEW CHAT FRIEND JUST WISH FOR MORE SELF CONFIDENCE? WELL VIRTUALLY LOOK NO FURTHER! FOR I, THE GREAT COOLSKELETON95 WILL BE YOUR CONFIDENCE MENTOR!

FangtasticMon101: Thnx Coolskeleton. I think just being in ur presence is enough for your confidence to rub off on me, so don't worry about trying too hard.

Coolskeleton95: TRUE. I SUPPOSE MY PRESENCE ALONE IS ENOUGH TO HELP ANYONE IN NEED OF CONFIDENCE. STILL, IF YOU EVER WANT MORE, I AM ALWAYS READY TO TRY HARD FOR MY FRIENDS.

ajealoustroll: tht's not tru

Coolskeleton95: YOU AGAIN! HOW DARE YOU QUESTION MY HONESTY?!

ajealoustroll: u try hard 4 evry1, not just ur friends.

Coolskeleton95: NYEH! HOW DID YOU KNOW?! >=0

ajealoustroll: I know a skeleton about you Coolskeleton95 ;) but a good jealous troll never reveals their secrets!

*MewMewLizzyQT PM*

Fangtasticmon101: hey Lizzy? Should we stop him? Is jealous troll being a creep or does Coolskeleton know him irl?

MewMewLizzyQ: jealous troll is Coolskeleton's brother. He likes to mess with him, but if you notice, it's always in a weirdly positive way. Or just harmless puns. I don't think Coolskeleton has caught on yet, but I’d just leave them to it.

FangtasticMon101: k thnx. They had me worried 4 a sec, Lol.

MewMewLizzyQT: np. =^.^= I am ur humble guide in this crazy chat. In general: just roll with it

*General Chat*

Coolskeleton95: FOR THE LAST TIME, JUNIOR JUMBLE IS HARDER THAN CROSSWORD PUZZLES.

ajealoustroll: im telln ya, its 4 bb bones. but lets get an outside opinion, lizzy already opted 2 stay out of these debates, so its up 2 u fangtastic. which is harder: crossword or junior jumble?

Coolskeleton95: AN EXCELLENT IDEA FOR ONCE, JEALOUS TROLL! FangtasticMon101, PLEASE SOLVE THIS DISPUTE!

FangtasticMon101 is typing...

Napstablook22 wants to join

-Request Deleted-

FangtasticMon101: wut was that about?

MewMewLizzyQT: *sigh* don't worry about it, Fangtastic. Napsta tries to join a lot and always backs down before I can let them in. I don't think they are very confident with themselves. v.v”

Coolskeleton95: IF ONLY THEY STAYED LONGER, THEN MY CONFIDENCE COULD RUB OFF ON THEM TOO.

ajealoustroll: i think ur 4getting something

Coolskeleton95: NYEH! THE DISPUTE! OAO” FANGTASTICMON101, IF YOU PLEASE

ajealoustroll: if u pls wut?

Coolskeleton95: IF YOU PLEASE AND THANK YOU, SOLVE THIS DISPUTE!

FangtasticMon101 is typing...

Coolskeleton95: NYEH! HE GOT ME AGAIN! I ONLY MEAN ‘PLEASE SOLVE THIS DISPUTE’ THE THANK YOU WILL COME LATER.

FangtasticMon101 is typing...

-FangtasticMon101 got disconnected-

ERROR 111777

👍🏁💀💀👉👍❄✋🏁💀  👈✌✋😞👉👎  ❄🔆🔯  ✌☝✌✋💀  😞✌❄👉🔆

“Connection failed, try again later” OK? That's normal out here I guess, but why the heck is it in wing dings? Awe man, I really wanted to solve their dispute. I guess someone else will have to.

“C’mon Frisk kiddo, we didn’t come here to lay around in our tents, we came to have fun!”

“Comming, dad!” He really does mean well. Family comes first. I’ll try talking to those guys again later.

[popeyerus]

@megalobonea

"hey, bro." he's never seen his brother quite as crestfallen before ever since his special attack didn't go right due to a dog eating his bones. and watching papyrus this way simply broke the elder brother's heart. with a hand landed on pap's shoulder, sans leaned in to try and find his face. "you alright?" he wasn't, that much was plain to see. but sans believed asking him that would give papyrus room to speak freely.

Papyrus attempts to conceal his emotions, but he's never been good at that. He's always been like an open book. He goes to greet Sans- a futile attempt to act like he isn't slumped in the snow. However, it seems that Sans has already figured him out.

Red boots shuffle in the snow. How does he explain this to Sans? Someone who seems to excell in conversations and interactions...when he isn't too lazy to take part (at least Papyrus puts it down to Sans' slothful ways).

A huff. 'I wanted to check on how Dogamy and Dogaressa were getting along. And that was all going fine. Until...until, well it wasn't. I thought my advice was helping them. That they could improve from my great wisdom and that they were enjoying my assistance.'

'But then...they said that I was being a nuisance?'

'I-' He lowers his head. 'Sans? Why am I different to other monsters? I...greatly misinturpreted their feelings...and its not the first time I've-'

'I think everyone is plotting against me.'

[spectacledraws]

What if Papyrus is majoring in every subject. All of them.

Well not really but he has so much energy. He does not sleep. He takes everything he doesn’t understand home and pins it to a cork board (with the little red strings) for future pondering, right next to the junior jumble

He can be found in the back rows of random lecture halls, or sprinting across the campus at incredible speeds. If you ask him a question on any subject he’ll either give a nonsensical answer. Or he’ll rattle off an amazingly in depth explanation of incredibly dense material. Is he even enrolled? Nobody knows

I love this sooo much this is my favorite. Very papyrus

[a-snowpoff]

He was no nervous about confessing to you that he accidentally gave away the answer to his junior jumble cupcake puzzle 💗💕

@mmhinman How dare you draw him so adorably!!!! >:0 You better post that art so I can link it from this post! I dare you, I triple (lasagna stealing) dog dare you! I stayed awake to draw this because of you!!!!! IM GOIN FERAL OVER HERE HE IS SO CUTE IN THIS SWEATER FKSSDFKJGDFHJGDF MY MIND IS GOIN PLACE IN ALL THE WAYS HE CAN BE ADORABLE DKDHFKJDFHJH

——-

UPDATE: [LINK]

[dedicatedfollower467]

a thought just came to me

papyrus dislikes crossword puzzles cuz they aren't really puzzles. they're just a weirdly-worded trivia quiz that relies on the player having a decently broad knowledge base, which papyrus doesn't exactly have. yes there are some puzzle-like elements to it when you have a lot of the answers but not all of them, but what do you do when you can't even fill out like ten words because you just don't have enough knowledge? it's boring and irritating, so you just fill in every box with z because that might as well be correct!!

but junior jumble is interesting and challenging for him because it is actually a puzzle, i.e. you're rearranging parts of the whole to make a new thing. it's pure pattern recognition and logical deduction, and barely requires you to even know the word you're trying to spell if you know most of english's spelling conventions. you could do junior jumble with abstract shapes if you knew the shapes had rules about what orders they go in.

i bet papyrus loves sudoku

[lynxgriffin]

I got some theories to test out here, more importantly are the Princes aka Asriel’s journal entries. Somethings got me…curious about them, for starters why would Asriel have a secret diary and if so why on the back of ‘Junior Jumble’ puzzles? Further more if this is a ‘secret journal’ where is the original? I know your probably gonna say the ‘secret journal’ is the original but…hear me out ok?

What if it isn’t, these entries seem to be sporadic. Journal entries sometimes yes are not chronological but Asriel seems to write only when something happens to Kris, we saw how Kris was self destructive as a child and Asriel worked hard to calm him down. They were kids so…as a kid sure you’d write it down but why not in a notebook or a special diary with a lock? Why use something that can be easily found or discarded, further more why hide them in random places?

…….Unless they were meant to be found.

Recall the last entry with the prince of justice [yellow] We get a look into a rare side of Asriel and thats anger, most of the princes have been somewhat positive if not a little standoffish at times but this is the first time a prince attacks Kris but its not out of anger but for protection. My theory is that after Asriel learns the ‘truth’ he decides to leave but not without leaving something to help his brother. He made the room and put the first entry there maybe as a test to see if the ‘dark world’ would appear and help Kris. If thats true then the other princes were as a type of Guard or Guardian for Kris’s wellbeing. I believe we’re gonna see Asriel very soon when the truth comes out, whether or not things turn out ok….

Thats up to the author to decide

There are some questions that can be answered, since Asriel actually mentioned them in his first entry: he was writing them secretly and hiding them because he believed that Toriel was sneaking in sometimes to read his real diary, and he used the backs of Junior Jumbles because he had those on hand to keep him quiet during church when he was little.

The rest is speculation, though! ;)

[watermelonlipstick]

Dreams, Chapter 16

If you haven’t read this series before, you might want to start on Chapter 1, or check out the Dreams Masterlist! Here’s the series description:

When Dean dies for good leaving Sam and his girlfriend (the reader) behind, they must figure out how to carry on without him. Alone, reeling, and unsure what to do next, trying to honor Dean’s memory and follow their hearts gets even more complicated when their nightmares become dreams that feel a little too real.

Title: Dreams, Chapter 16

Pairing: (past) Dean Winchester x Reader, (eventual) Sam Winchester x Reader

Word Count: 1754

Summary: Some of Sam’s efforts to ‘nest’ in their new life together reveal new possibilities.

Warnings: angst, FLUFF, swearing, s l o w  b u r n

           Water laps at the weather-beaten wood of the dock underneath you slowly and the rhythm feels like hypnosis with the sun beating down a blanket. You sense Dean at your side without opening your eyes.

           “So…was he any good?”

           You can’t help but laugh, hearing the echo go out over the small lake, and get up to your elbows. It’s bright enough that you have to squint over at Dean where he lays next to a couple fishing poles and a cooler, t shirt hitched up to show a sliver of his stomach with his arms behind his head. His smile is devilish, made even more smug with eyes closed against the sun so his lashes cast an inch-long shadow on the dusting of freckles across his cheeks. “You can’t ask that!” you giggle.

           His lips flatten into a knowing line. “So that’s a no?”

           “Jesus Christ, of course it’s not a n—you know what, I’m not talking to you about this,” you smile, laying back down.

           “Ooh, so it’s a yes,” he teases as he turns on his side to face you. “Go Sammy. That mean you two are, like, going steady now?”

           You let your head loll over to him and roll your eyes. “Are you done?”

           “Not yet. Is he going to let you wear his letterman jacket? Take you to junior prom?”

           “I’m giving you ten more seconds.”

           Dean laughs, free and easy. “Fine, okay, I’m done. Wait—did he wrap it?”

           “DEAN!” you yell, covering your face in embarrassment.

           “Okay, alright, okay.” He’s still chuckling when you open your eyes to look over at him and reaches over to slip a piece of hair behind your ear. “You, ah, you seem happy.”

           You search his eyes for any hidden anger and find only the softness of calm affection with a pinch of solemnity. Where his hand lingers in your hair you turn into it, pressing your lips to Dean’s palm. “I am.”

           Dean smiles, straight teeth a perfect row of pearls so white you think for a second they might ‘ding’ with sparkle like a cartoon, and he looks relaxed enough as he puts his hands back behind his head that it calls up images of a kitten falling asleep in a sunny spot like this even as he keeps his eyes on you. “Took you guys long enough.”

           “And you’re still okay with this?”

           “Yeah, hell yeah. That’s the best I could ever ask for, you two happy. So, what do you say? Want to see if we can catch some fish?”

           Spring was a blessing; clean greenness breaking through the grey and white purifying the air and breathing new life into you, Sam, and the community you’d come to be a part of. The cabin was that much nicer with the new hours of sunlight pouring through the windows and all the upgrades you had put into it, to the point that you began to feel truly comfortable there. You even invited the Kaisers over for dinner a few times, feeling more like equal partners in your burgeoning friendship with them.

           You started to feel stable enough to get things; picked up a bookshelf at the combination flea/farmer’s market that happened in the K-12 school’s field every Saturday morning and got higher quality spatulas to cook with, the kinds of nonessential stuff you never would’ve bought before knowing you were going to stay in one place long enough to get good use out of them. Sam, in turn, kept building: changing the locks to sturdier ones and erecting a shed big enough to hold a lawn mower.

           You’d been cooking on an early Sunday afternoon when Sam came home and crossed the cabin in a few strides, giving you a kiss on the cheek before setting a thick paper bag down on the kitchen counter. “Smells great, what’re you making?”

           “Ratatouille!” you buzzed, placing a slice of eggplant carefully into its slot. “I’ve never had it, but I’ve always thought it looks so pretty. Hopefully it’s good. Where were you?”

           “Hardware store. I thought maybe I could build a greenhouse; see if we could grow anything. Might be enough to work against the cold.”

           You raised your eyebrows in appreciative surprise. “Look at you! What’re you thinking? Poppies? Platinum OG? Purple Haze?”

           Setting a box of screws down, Sam rolled his eyes through a smile. “My plan was more along the lines of tomatoes or something, but I’ll, uh, take those suggestions under advisement.” You had a sudden urge to twist a gentle finger into the dimple that stayed on his cheek as he unloaded the rest of his supplies but didn’t want to embarrass him, instead sweeping some garlic skins into your hand to throw into the small bucket Sam kept under the sink to collect scraps for the compost pile. When the bag was empty he refolded it and took off his jacket, passing by you to put it on its hook by the door. “Want any help?” he asked, sounding about as breezy as you’d ever heard him.

           “It just has to bake for about an hour. Does a late lunch work with your construction schedule?”

           Sam leaned over to slip a hand around your waist and kissed the top of your head before grabbing an armful of stuff to take outside. “Definitely. Just yell when you’re ready for me.”

           You giggled and waggled your eyebrows suggestively. “I’m always ready for you.”

           He tried his best not to blush but bit his lip in spite of himself, looking up at you with a bashful twinkle in his eye. “I walked into that one, didn’t I?”

           In response you held up a spare slice of zucchini that Sam readily accepted, opening his mouth like an obedient puppy and chewing as he went out the back door.

           You loved watching Sam work on his greenhouse in the weeks that followed, getting so excited about the tiny shoots sprouting up from the soil that he sometimes woke up early to check on them before starting his day. After a few weeks he woke you up one morning with a cup of coffee, bare-chested under slightly sleep-tangled hair and the hems of his flannel pants sloppily half inside his boots. “I wanna show you something,” he said, throat still gravelly. You accepted the mug and got out of bed, following him drowsily and jamming your feet inside your shoes at the door, too tired to worry about the laces.

           He led you into the greenhouse with its clear plastic walls and pointed down at a petite bud on top of a green stalk. It had the telltale waviness of a basil leaf, and when you bent down to look closer at it the plant already smelled herbaceous. “It’s so cute!” you hummed. Sam practically glowed with satisfaction, an unbridled smile the perfect accessory to the broad span of his chest where it was backlit by the fuzzy light through the greenhouse walls. You straightened and rubbed his back in congratulations, staring down at the plant together with your coffees like parents on Christmas morning. Tucked in the corner of the greenhouse behind the basil, a scattering of bitty white flowers caught your eye against the burnt umber soil.

           “Wait, you already have stuff flowering in here? What’s that?” you asked, tiptoeing around the wooden stakes in the soil to get closer.

           “Oh—I, uh—” he stammered behind you.

           At arm’s length the flowers looked vaguely familiar and you stopped short. “Is that—?” You turned back to Sam, who seemed not to be able to come up with anything to say, his face the kind of blank surprise that indicated he didn’t know whether you were about to be upset. “Really? Where’d you even…how did you get some?”

           He tucked his hair behind his ears to stall for even a half second. “I—well, I found a guy who got me—got us—some.”

           “You still have an African dream root hookup?”

           Sam’s lips pressed into a well-practiced silent ‘I guess?’ and he reached back to ruffle the hair at the nape of his neck, the movement stretching his side distractingly enough that if you hadn’t been so startled by the discovery of a plot of dream root literally in your own backyard you might’ve forgotten what you were talking about altogether.

           You raised your eyebrows expectantly, waiting for him to explain.

           “I made some calls, found someone in Milwaukee who got his hands on some and he mailed it here. I didn’t want to, uh, tell you in case I couldn’t get it to grow.”

           All kinds of possibilities and frustrations raced through your head. “So you’ve had this for weeks? That’s why you built the greenhouse?” Sam didn’t answer fast enough. “Never mind, I don’t care,” you found yourself saying, and surprisingly, actually meaning. You took a deep breath to stop the words from jumbling together. “Do you think it’ll work?” you breathed, knowing he would understand the real question: would we be able to see Dean together?

           “Only one way to find out.”

           For whatever reason you’d gotten freshly showered, made up, and dressed before brewing the tea with Sam on your next day off of work. It felt like there should be some level of pomp and circumstance about it, this giant undertaking that might be able to change your whole life again, even knowing that your prep wouldn’t translate into a dream. You were giddy with anxiety and almost wished you could reasonably put it off, the idea of this new possibility being yet another dead end making you nauseous.

           “Your place or mine?” you asked, trying to put a little sheen of humor on your nerves.

           Sam chuckled but you could tell he was nervous too, rubbing his palms dry on the knees of his jeans over and over again. “You haven’t done it before, right?”

           You shook your head. “Is there a learning curve or something?”

           “Honestly it’s been long enough that I don’t really remember. Hold on—hold still.” He reached out and very gingerly swept a finger across your cheekbone, drawing back to show you an eyelash stuck to the whorl of its pad.

           You straightened where you sat on the edge of the bed. “That’s as good a sign as any. Cheers, I guess.” Sam dropped the tiny hair into his mug and touched the ceramic to yours, his eyes hopeful and reassuring as you took tandem sips.

           And then you were off.

-

Continue to Dreams, Chapter 17

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